#bit of a longshot though

[the-awful-falafel]

I really hope Rick and Morty as a series will finally move on from portraying Rick's love for Morty / his family as this special, redemptive trait that Morty just needs to open his eyes to. Or portraying it as something Rick just needs to be emotionally honest about, finally admit in a grand gesture, and then everything will be healthy and resolved.

Two things can be equally true: Rick can sincerely care about Morty, deeply enough to be tender with him, showing gestures of affection, being protective of him, being truly proud of him... and can also constantly let Morty down, put him in mortal danger, make Morty feel responsible for his emotional health, treat him awfully and in manipulative controlling ways, and not be there for him when it matters most. His love is real, but is also a fickle thing that Morty cannot always rely on. That uneven dolling out of affection is exactly what entrenches the abuse and damages Morty further. Even now that Rick is slowly improving as a person, his simultaneous love and unreliability persists in milder ways, and the long pattern of abuse leaves deep scars on his grandson.

In my opinion, it makes perfect sense for Morty to see Rick's care for him as this unreliable, dangerous, and potentially non-existent thing, but also to paradoxically crave it nonetheless. Every time he lets his guard down and starts to trust Rick too much, he's been kicked in the nuts for it to varying extents-- even recently. I don't think he actually believes Rick cares nothing for him, but he's been trapped in this cycle of good and bad for so long that his self-worth is eroded and wholly defined by his grandpa's conditional affection, and he's scared of and dependent on it simultaneously. Even if Rick became truly healthy and openly caring from now on, that won't change how he's screwed up Morty with his behavior.

The series isn't going to make any meaningful progress if the writers keeps cycling around the superficial "does Rick care? does Morty know how deeply Rick cares?" question that they've asked since Season 1, instead of progressing to more meaningful, realistic questions about what Rick's love even means after all the past seasons of codependent abuse, and how much it should be worth to Morty in the end. (Ideally, much, much less than it's worth now.)

Yes, Rick cares. Yes, he loves his family deeply. But as with many forms of abuse, that's part of the problem.

[deus-ex-mona]

manifesting album crossfade for today’s release p l s

[the-travelling-witch]

𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔

summary: your boyfriend undoubtedly loves you very much but some positions just get him going unlike any other

pairings: bachira :: nagi :: chigiri :: kaiser :: sae :: rin :: reo x fem! reader (all characters are aged up!!)

warnings: nsfw/ minors dni, i’ll put individual warnings on each part to not flood this intro but i’d say there’s a tendency for dom! character (overall pretty tame though), pet names, cursing

this is a repost because i'm moving my nsfw works onto this blog!!

blue lock masterlist

♛ 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐀 𝐌𝐄𝐆𝐔𝐑𝐔

tw: creampies, slight hair pulling (f! receiving), manhandling, implied multiple rounds

Bachira is insatiable, to say the least. Chances are his stamina outlasts yours by a longshot. And he’s so absolutely enamoured with you, his favourite position is whichever one he currently has you in. Although there are some you find yourself in more often than others: namely riding him, which almost always turns into him lifting you up by the hips and slamming you back down on him; being nearly folded in half as his hands grab at the flesh of your thighs and Bachira presses you into the mattress with his weight alone; and burying your face into the pillow as he holds you up by the hips, one hand tangling in your hair. Absolutely has bent you over every piece of furniture in your home before, he’s a monster in his own right…

Fingers were dancing up your spine and pressing you down further into the cushions, accompanied by playful laughter that absolutely didn’t match Bachira’s ruthless thrusts which had you gripping onto the armrest of the couch harder. How did you get here again? Your boyfriend came home from practice… and next thing you knew he was rearranging your guts.

“Ah, Meguru… ‘s too deep, I can’t–” you panted, breathless from the effort of trying to keep up with the man behind you. Seriously, shouldn't he be tired after running around all day? Where did he take all that energy from?

“What was that? Sorry, baby, I can’t hear you over the sounds of your wet pussy.” You could practically see his smirk without even having to crane your head around. The hand on your back tangled into your hair, your body bowing as he slightly raised your head, creating a new angle for him to drive his cock into you, his balls smacking against your sensitive folds. “You want me to go deeper, ‘s that it?”

You loved this, you loved this a little too much perhaps. Whenever Bachira bent your body to his liking, almost using you however he pleased, it always left you with your thighs shaking and your eyes rolling into the back of your head. If you ever had to admit it, you might die of shame but with your walls clamping down on his cock and Bachira’s snigger ringing through the room, you had the hunch he already knew.

With his fingers leaving your hair, you fell forwards again but only momentarily before being pulled up entirely by his hand resting on your collarbones to meet his bare chest. You could feel the muscles of his abdomen against your sweat-slicked back, the way they contracted with every thrust upwards. Everytime he pulled you back down to meet him, a firm smack echoed around the room as his strong thighs collided with yours. 

“Talk to me, baby, you know I like hearing your pretty voice,” Bachira said, giving a particularly nasty snap and forcing a sharp gasp of his name from you, “especially when you sing my name like that~”

“I’m almost there, Meguru, just hngh–” 

“Me too… You can make both of us cum, right? Bet you’d like it if I did this,” your boyfriend huffed, finally showing at least a little bit of strain as he neared his release. The hand on your hip wandered to your core, his index finger pulling up the hood of your clit. When his middle finger put pressure onto the bare tip of the nub, it sent a bolt of electricity racing up your spine, making you straighten in the striker’s hold. Throwing your head back onto his shoulder you let your moans spill freely while digging your fingers into the flesh of his thigh, the other coming to rest over his on your chest. You felt the needy twitch of his cock inside of you as he groaned curses into the skin of your neck. “Shit, you’re making it pretty fucking hard to move when you clench down on me like that.”

Bachira gave a few thrusts before his hips stuttered and he pressed as far into you as he could go as warmth started to flood you and fill you up. The combination of him stuffing you full, his low moans and the practised flicks on your clit sent you straight into your high as well, cunt creaming around him as Bachira moved both hands down to your waist to stop you from trying to run from the overwhelming pleasure. 

For a few minutes, your shared panting was all that could be heard as Bachira lazily moved you up and down to ride out both your highs. You were absolutely putty in his arms, more so than before, as he carefully guided your chest to meet the couch again, all the while staying glued to your body. With his weight on top of you and his cum leaking out of you, that was when you realised: he was still hard.

“You always feel so good when you make a mess all over me.” Bachira gently uncurled his and your arms from your tangled bodies, bringing them down on the cushions so he could lay his hands on top of yours and intertwine your fingers. 

“Let me give you another one, yeah?~”

♛ 𝐍𝐀𝐆𝐈 𝐒𝐄𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐎

tw: cockwarming, creampies, implied exibihitionism/ voyeurism (kinda?), mentions of face-sitting, size kink /difference if you squint hard enough

Nagi is a fan of all things low-effort, not exerting himself when he sees no reason to. So why bother exhausting himself when he’s perfectly capable of making you a mess on top of him? Whether that means having you sit on his face as he eats you out ‘til your thighs are shaking on either side of his head and your hand losing its grip on the headboard or letting you ride him ‘til your legs give out and you breathlessly beg him to take over. That isn’t to say he doesn’t ever take the initiative; you can kiss your ability to walk goodbye whenever that happens though…

You loved watching your boyfriend play games. Not necessarily because of what was happening on the screen but much rather because more often than not you got to sit there for hours on end with Nagi’s thick cock nestled snugly inside of you, clad in nothing but one of his oversized shirts.

Sure, having to hold still when he was rubbing against all your weakest spots so deliciously could be considered a form of torture specifically designed for you but at the same time you felt too full to complain. Instead you merely rolled your head back onto his shoulder, bleary eyes blinking open every now and then when the mindless noises from the game sounded somewhat interesting.

Whatever he was playing didn’t seem to cooperate with him though, curses pushed through gritted teeth giving away to his frustrations. Hearing his deep groan upon having to restart the level again set off a chain event as your walls fluttered around him and you ground yourself down harder in desperate search for some friction. In return, Nagi’s hips thrust up instinctively before tightly clutching your hips to halt your movements. “Not yet, angel. Still need to beat this stupid boss…”

“Sei…” Reaching back to wind your hand into his snowy strands, you lightly raked your fingernails over his scalp and tugged his roots, which earned you a heavenly moan from your boyfriend. “Why don’t you take a break? Maybe you can focus on it better afterwards.”

“Yeah, you gonna help me relax, pretty thing?” Nagi was nosing down the back of your neck, placing open mouthed kisses to your nape as his large palms wandered under your shirt, cupping your boobs and kneading them between his fingers. You merely responded by arching into his touch and rolling your hips down on him again, accompanied by a quiet whine for him to do something, anything. “Fuck, you’re so good to me.”

Guiding your legs to rest over the armrests of his gaming chair, Nagi ran an experimental hand down to your folds, swiping through your arousal and giving your clit a quick swipe of his thumb. The short contact was enough to have you buck into his touch, a whine for more escaping your throat as you shuddered in your boyfriend’s embrace.

“Sei… Please fuck me, I need you so bad, please.”

“Eh, I guess it’s only fair. Been so patient with me, hm?” His big hands were lifting you up by the hips, pulling you off of him almost entirely before sinking you back down, slowly building  a steady pace that had your eyes rolling into the back of your head with how deep he was hitting. Nagi brought you to the peak of pleasure so quickly, you weren’t even embarrassed anymore at how eagerly you were clamping down on him.

“Shit, I’m so close, baby, don’t stop,” you panted, breath hot against the side of his neck. One of his hands left your hip only to reappear on your clit, deft fingers drawing firm circles on the little bud, boneless in his grip as he kept bouncing you on his cock. The lewd squelching of your pussy combined with Nagi’s grunts and the slapping of skin against skin had you hurtling toward your high at a dizzying speed. “‘S too much, I can’t–”

“You can and you will, pretty thing,” he huffed as your nails dug into the skin of his wrists. “Almost there, too… Let’s cum together, yeah? Gonna let me fill you up?”

Apparently that was all it took for you to come undone, your walls milking him for all he was worth as he held you tightly against himself as you tried to wind out of his arms. Tilting your head up, Nagi connected your lips in a messy kiss, one you tried your best to reciprocate, swallowing down all the moans bleeding out of you. With a few shallow thrusts upwards, his hips stuttered as his balls clenched and warmth flooded you. 

For the next couple of minutes, you both just sat there, trying to catch your breath as his cum leaked from your hole despite his cock still stuffing you. Gently massaging your sore spots, Nagi peppered light kisses all over your temple and cheeks as you simply gazed at him in bliss.

The peaceful atmosphere was broken however when the sound of an incoming discord call rang through the room. Looking at the screen you could vaguely make out Reo’s name before the cursor hovered over the ‘accept’ button, Nagi’s dick twitching back to life.

“Wanna play a game, angel?”

♛ 𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐈 𝐇𝐘𝐎𝐌𝐀

tw: oral (f! receiving), hair pulling (m!receiving), oral (m! receiving) implied

Any position in which you can pull on Chigiri’s cherry red locks is a good position in his eyes. Be that tangling your fingers in the strands at his nape while he gazes down on you oh so sweetly in missionary or reaching your hand back to find something to hold on to and ground yourself as he angles his hips deeper into you with your back pressed to his chest. If he had to pick a favourite, however, it would be how you grasp desperately at his hair to pull him where you need him most when he goes down on you…

His shoulders nudged your legs apart further as Chigiri settled between them, at the same time smoothing his hands up the back of your legs to push them up with him. You could feel the adrenaline pulsing through you, shifting along the mattress as his bright eyes drank in the sight in front of him. He watched intensely as your glistening pussy clenched around nothing in anticipation, slick leaking from your slit.

“Don’t you look delicious, sweetheart?” His soft voice drifted to your ears as the pad of his fingers gathered your arousal. Holding them up for you to see, the webbing between the digits was clearly visible in the dim light as he spread them. “All for me, hmm? Are you this wet just because of me?”

“Yeah, of course,” you smiled, one hand cupping his cheek as Chigiri propped himself up. “It’s only ever because of you.”

His pillowy lips broke into a grin as he feathered kisses from your knee up your inner thigh, guiding your legs to rest over his shoulders and frame his beautiful face in the same motion. “You really do know what a man likes to hear.”

“It’s the truth though, nobody’s ever made me feel this way before. In any aspect of life,” you whispered, searching for his hand on the mattress to intertwine yours with it.

You gladly pushed your torso forward to meet your boyfriend halfway as he pressed his lips to yours. Carding your fingers through the strands behind his ear, you scraped your nails across his scalp, making him moan into your mouth as he deepened the kiss. Tongues tangling together and spit dribbling down your chin, you had to break the contact to catch your breaths, Chigiri’s panting heating up the crook of your neck.

Hungry red eyes bored into yours as he swiped some of your mixed saliva from the corner of your lips. “Please let me show you how much hearing that means to me. You’ll let me make you feel good, right angel?” 

Chigiri could feel the vibrations of your hum against his lips as he slowly kissed his way back down your body. His free hand wrapped around your thigh to keep you close to him as he took his previous spot between your legs, breath fanning your sensitive folds.

You gripped his hand harder as he gave the first experimental lick up the length of your pussy, thoroughly riled up from his treatment beforehand. Groaning as you slick coated his flattened tongue, your boyfriend pressed his hips into the mattress, searching for friction to relieve the bulge straining against his sweats. 

“Ah shit, you taste so sweet, how’s it always so good?” Chigiri said, voice muffled by your core and sending sparks straight through you. He watched with rapt attention as your back bowed off the bed when he wrapped his lips around your clit and sucked firmly.

More slick poured from you and coated the lower half of his face as he pried your folds apart with his wet muscle just to hear your beautiful whimpers, which doubled in volume as he sunk his tongue into you. There was no denying how much you desired this, desired him, as you immediately clenched around the intrusion. 

But you wanted -needed- more of him. With a dazed sigh of his name, your fingers tangled in his fiery strands and tugged him further into your heat. Mindlessly rutting against the bed at the sting on his scalp, more angelic groans spilled directly into you as Chigiri’s long lashes fluttered shut. The position he currently had you in, allowed his nose to rub against your bundle of nerves with every movement and it had your thighs clasping around the sides of his face, threatening to suffocate him.

The striker didn’t even seem fazed by it, in fact, his actions became more enthusiastic, driven by the goal to bring you to the peak of pleasure. And he knew you were almost there as your hips bucked upwards, trying to grind against him with his hair still secure in your fist. 

By the time the coil in your stomach unravelled, there was no way the two of you could physically be any closer, even though you tried your hardest as you pressed your heels into his shoulder blades and curled your toes. Spurred on by the high-pitched whines and whimpers escaping you as your movements stuttered, Chigiri lapped up every single drop of cum you offered, completely drunk on your taste.

Swallowing heavily as your boyfriend gently set your legs down on the mattress again, massaging your calves as he did, you gave him a breathless smile. Sitting on his knees, he cast one last glance at your glossy pussy, glistening with a mixture of your release and his spit. The sight made his dick twitch with need as he licked his lips, which were stained with you.

Crawling back up your body, Chigiri carefully sunk down in order not to crush you under his weight as you wrapped one arm around his neck while the other travelled down the planes of his back.

“Did that feel good?” he asked, cherry eyes searching your own for any sort of discomfort as he trailed his palm up and down your side without any sort of direction. “Could I deliver my message well?”

“You did amazing as always, Hyoma,” you grinned, watching as his eyes widened and his hips jerked forward when your fingers dipped into his sweats and cupped his bulge through his boxers. “You’ll allow me to return the favour, won’t you pretty boy?”

♛ 𝐊𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐄𝐋

tw: oral (m! receiving), deep throating, kaiser is a little mean, slight dacryphilia, sir kink (once) 

Kaiser is a sadist and frankly… a bit of an asshole. He’ll coo at you when heat spreads through you out of embarrassment and gets off on seeing tears of pleasure, overstimulation or frustration stain your face. Having you completely spread in front of a mirror as he toys with you really gets him going. Not only does he get to see all of you, no, he can also make you watch yourself unravel for him and only him. It’s a sight that can only be matched by you on your knees between his legs, worshipping him like a king… 

“You like this, don’t you?” Kaiser was smirking down at you, his tone mocking but he was right. You hated how his taunts made your stomach churn with want and your panties soak with your own arousal. “Oh, forgot you can’t talk with my dick down your throat. Apologies, princess.”

A whimper escaped you as he pulled you off of him, a string of saliva connecting your lips to his glossy tip. Mascara was running down your cheeks and your lipstick was smeared across your lips, stains of the same shade wrapping around his cock, all the way down to the base; you looked so fucked out already and Kaiser was living for it. “Go on now, tell me how much you like this.”

“Yes, Mi-“ a tug at your hair cut you off. When you looked up to meet his eyes, you shivered at the chilly raise of his brow. “Y-Yes Sir, love it. Love it so much.”

“That’s a good girl. Now put your money where your mouth is.” Sliding his hand down to hold your chin between his fingers, he tapped his cock head against your lips, the salty taste of his precum hitting your taste buds. “Come on, open up for me, princess.”

You flicked your eyes from his dick back up to his as you opened your mouth again, tongue lolling out as you took in his form looming over you. His lips curled up at the corners to see you so obedient for him. Sinking into your warmth again, Kaiser huffed out a groan as he held you still, going slow until your lips stretched around the base of his cock. With your nose pressing against his trimmed pubes, tears welling in your eyes as the breaths from your nose fanned against his skin, he held you there for a little, indulging in the clenching of your tight throat around his tip as you tried not to gag.

But that was as far as your boyfriend was willing to test his patience that day. The way your tongue ran against the sensitive vein on the underside of his heavy shaft had his balls tightening as he tried to starve off his release as long as possible. As his hips jerked forward the first time on their own, he took it as his cue to start thrusting.

Your eyes screwed shut and you had to dig your nails into the muscles of his thighs, not caring at all whether his shorts would cover the marks the next day, as his tip hit the back of your throat over and over. Saliva pooled on your tongue, spilled over your lips, dribbled down your chin and onto your chest. The lewd sight had his abs contracting as his cock twitched against your pink muscle.

Pushing his bangs out of his face before bringing his palm from your chin to the back of your head as he leaned back on the hand propping him up on the bed, Kaiser pushed you down on him completely once again as his musky scent invaded your senses. You rubbed your thighs together to relieve some of the tension as you took in the light shining onto the slight sheen of sweat coating his skin, his hair messed up from running his fingers through it, looking downright ethereal.

“Look at me while you swallow everything I give you, princess,” he gritted out as he shallowly ground his pelvis into you until his hips stuttered. With your teary eyes fixed on his again, he let a guttural groan slip from his lips as he tipped his head back and ropes of hot cum shot down your throat. “Don’t waste a single drop, got it?”

Letting you pull off his dick, he closely watched the way your throat bobbed as you swallowed. He scooped up a drop that escaped the corner of your lips with his thumb and pushed it back into your mouth, smirking as you diligently sucked the digit clean.

“As much as I love seeing you on your knees, I think you earned yourself a reward. Come here, pretty,” he said, holding out his hand for you and pulling you up to stand between his legs, sniggering when you lightly stumbled as you stretched your legs again. Pushing your hair out of your face he gave you a sweet peck before turning you around and guiding you down until you sat between his spread thighs with your back to his chest. 

As he trailed kisses from the back of your hand all the way to your shoulder blade and hooked your knees over his muscles, you finally understood what Kaiser was playing at when you raised your head and met his half-lidded gaze in the floor-length mirror across from you.

Your cheeks flared with heat as your eyes flitted across your exposed form, the wet spot on your underwear clearly visible to the both of you, as you tried to close your legs in shame only to be stopped by a large palm.

“Why so shy all of a sudden? I just want you to see how gorgeous you look when I make you cum, so keep your pretty eyes on that mirror,” he whispered against the shell of your ear, his fingers dipping into the waistband of your panties. “After all, a princess is meant to be shown off, wouldn’t you agree?”

♛ 𝐈𝐓𝐎𝐒𝐇𝐈 𝐒𝐀𝐄

tw: mean dom! sae, blindfolds, edging, implied overstimulation, fingering (f! receiving), name calling (slut), slight degradation, mentions of dacryphilia

Sae loves reducing you to a whimpering mess before he even thinks about fucking you deep into the mattress, his cerulean gaze sharp and almost painfully neutral. His favourite way of achieving just that has to be fingering you for what feels like hours. Not only is he stretching you nicely to take all he gives you later on, it also allows him to run that mean mouth of his. Whether he’s edging you mercilessly or making you cum so often you barely remember your own name is a gamble though…

The room was positively spinning, you felt like falling despite being propped up against the pillows on your bed. Sweat slicked up your skin as you dug your fingernails into your palms, certain that half-moons would be visible even the next day.

“Sae, no more, please. I’m sorry,” you sobbed, voice hoarse from pleading with your boyfriend for what felt like hours. With the blindfold covering your eyes you couldn’t see the way Sae’s lips tugged up at the corners as he took in your messy hair and the tear tracks visible even with the black fabric wrapped around your head. Your thighs were coated with your own slick as Sae had brought you to the brink of an orgasm more times than you wanted to count before cruelly ripping it away from you again.

“Are you? I’m not so sure,” his voice was painfully neutral as he circled your puffy folds again, lazily running his fingers over your slit but not with enough pressure to actually satisfy you. Against your better judgement, your hips twitched up to chase his touch which only made him pull away entirely with a tut. “After all, I made it pretty clear you shouldn’t touch yourself while I was still at work and yet, what do I find when I come home? My pretty little girlfriend with her fingers stuffed in her messy cunt.”

The harsh tug at your nipple ripped a groan from you. You felt his hand trace down from the valley between your breasts, over your stomach leaving a featherlight trail of goosebumps in its wake, Sae softly humming as you shuddered. His other hand smoothed up your thigh, the simple action alone tightening the coil in your stomach again, too sensitive from your ruined orgasms. It settled at your hips, rubbing small circles into the bone, an unspoken apology for what was about to happen next.

You threw your head back into the pillows with a strangled moan as he pressed two fingers onto your throbbing clit, hurtling you down the path to another high he’d possibly take away from you again. Your babbling from before started once more, begging him to finally let you cum.

“Aren’t you enjoying your punishment a little too much, you little slut? I mean, look at you,” he chided. With his thumb continuing to press down on your twitching nub, his middle and ring finger met no resistance as he thrust them into your drenched cunt. Sae knew your body like the back of his hand, so he had absolutely no trouble finding the spot that made your knees jerk up against your will. “You want to cum, is that it? Do you think you deserve it?”

“Yes Sae, please! I’m sorry, I’m sorry… Please I won’t do it again, please.” If you could hear anything over the blood rushing through your ears, your whimpers would seem pathetic even to you. But right now, the only thing on your mind was your boyfriend’s fingers rhythmically pushing in and out of your pussy with a wet squelch as you gripped the sheets as if your life depended on it.

“Hmm, I guess you’ve behaved well enough, even kept your hands to yourself,” he mused, his tone still cool but his movements didn’t stop. “Go on and make a mess then before I rethink my decision again.”

A constant string of ‘thank you’s tumbled from your lips as you finally fell over the edge of pleasure, Sae keeping his thrusts steady even as your walls clamped down on him furiously and white hot fire set your whole body ablaze.

As you gradually came down from your high, panting to fill your lungs with much needed air, two fingers slipped under the material covering your eyes and gently pulled it off of you. You blinked your bleary eyes open at the sensation of soft lips pressing against your temple. But your attention was soon drawn to the light tap of his cock head against your clit which had you whimpering, no idea when Sae had undressed.

“What’s wrong? You said you wanted to cum right? I’m just giving my slut what she wants.”

♛ 𝐈𝐓𝐎𝐒𝐇𝐈 𝐑𝐈𝐍

tw: size kink, implied multiple rounds, light marking

It has become somewhat of a routine for the two of you to shower together. While it doesn’t always end up in shower sex, Rin comes home pent-up from practice often enough and who are you to deny him (and yourself) the pleasure of sudsy hands roaming your body, feeling you up and kneading at your soft curves before he inevitably presses you into the cool shower tiles? Although, some nights, you find yourself in the shower again only a few hours later to wash away the remnants of the following round(s)...

Steam curled around your body, rising from your skin and fogging the bathroom mirror. But the water was nothing against the heat pooling in your stomach, your soft moans drowned out by the splashing of the drops. To the man behind you, they were still clearly audible though, his chest pressed firmly against your back as his hands roamed every inch of your skin. 

Rin held you up with his arm wrapped tightly around your waist as he ground his hard cock between your ass cheeks with a low grunt. “I missed you today. So much.”

“I missed you too, baby,” you crooned, leaning your full weight into him. The wandering of his hands came to a halt, fingers running over your slit.  “Fuck, Rin, I need you, please fill me up.”

“Are you sure, love? Let me prep you at least a little–”

“I can take it,” you cut him off, grinding back against him. “Just– Just go slow.”

“If that’s what you want. Tell me if it hurts, yeah?” Trapping one of your hands against the shower wall, he intertwined his long fingers with yours as well as he could. The arm that previously held you steady now grabbed onto your hips, pulling them back to slightly bend you over. Stuffing his cock between your legs to coat himself in your arousal, his light thrusts through your folds had his cockhead catch your clit with every movement. “Ready?”

You barely managed to squeak out the words before you already felt him prod at your core. Even just the mushroom-headed tip stretched you so well, you parted your lips in a silent scream, head hanging low as you focused on standing upright. Inch by inch, Rin continued to sink into you and you could feel every vein drag against your walls agonisingly slow. When he grazed past your sweet spot, you offered a small sob as you clenched down on him.

“It’s okay, baby, you’re doing so well,” he whispered against your shoulder, peppering conciliatory kisses along your skin, sucking a bruise into the juncture of your neck before moving up towards your jaw. “You’re always so good to me, aren’t you?”

By the time his hips were finally snug against your ass, you swore you could feel him in your lungs. Letting go of your hips, his hand came around to press down on the bulge in your stomach, feeling himself nestled inside of you so deeply. Then, he dipped your head back to connect your lips, the initially sweet kiss growing messier until you started whining into his mouth to finally move.

Rin wasted no time giving you what you wanted, revelling in the way you arched back into him as he slowly dragged out of you, groaning as your pussy didn’t want to let go of him. Building up to a steady pace, it didn’t take long for your legs to wobble slightly. He pulled you tightly against him, using his palm against your boob as leverage for his thrusts. 

“Ah~ Rin, ‘s too much, you’re too big.” Your moans bounced off the walls, breathless as you clung to his arm. “Keep going, don’t stop!”

“Saying it’s too much and then whining for more? Can’t make up your mind, huh? Let me decide for you, then,” your boyfriend grunted. Gripping the back of your knee, he folded it up to your chest, spreading you open wide to angle his hips better, deeper, into your cunt. Pinching your nipple between his fingers as he reached around you to play with your clit. “At least your cunt knows what she wants, clamping down on me so damn tightly… you’re close aren’t you?”

“Yes, yes, god Rin, yes. Please make me cum!” you nearly yelled. “Only you– Fuck, only you can make me feel this good.”

“That’s right, now show me how good you look cumming on my cock.” His words were searing against your neck as you crumbled underneath him. You quivered in his arms as he shushed you, gently setting your knee back down and running the flat of palms down your sides. When you had stopped grinding back into him in a post-orgasmic haze, Rin pulled out and spun you around.

Hoisting you up with his hands grabbing at the fat of your ass, the striker caged you against the wall as you wrapped your legs around his hips. Cradling the back of your head in his large palm, he took in your fucked out expression with half-lidded eyes before stealing all air from your lungs again in a hungry kiss. He swiped his tongue along your bottom lip, asking for entry which you gladly granted. Tangling your tongues together, it still wasn’t enough to distract you from the way he lined himself up with your cunt again.

“Gorgeous as always,” he mumbled against your lips, cerulean eyes focused solely on you. “You can do that again for me, right? Want you to cum with me this time.”

♛ 𝐌𝐈𝐊𝐀𝐆𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐎

tw: switch! reo, soft dom! reo, lingerie, bondage, face-sitting, fingering (f! receiving), oral (f!receiving), light marking, praise, pet names, mentions of exhibitionism

Reo and you are on equal playing grounds both in and outside the bedroom. Taking turns teasing each other, riling the other up until they can’t take it anymore, that’s what makes being with Reo fun. You never know what to expect when you get intimate with him; will you watch as you order him to get himself off before you even think about touching him or will Reo have your nude form pressed against the glass of the floor-to-ceiling windows of his penthouse? Perhaps neither of you will take control as you exchange slow caresses, drunk on the taste of each other? As always, Reo does it all and he does it so perfectly… 

“Don’t you look gorgeous, baby?” Lithe fingers danced across the red silk binding your thighs together, experimentally hooking his index and middle finger under the material, effectively pulling your exposed core closer to his face.

The plan for this night had been to tease him, the pretty lingerie you had put on especially for that sake lying discarded somewhere between the door and bed. Reo had apparently had a similar incentive this time around, not willing to hand over the reins so readily and the flimsy material you wore only spurred him on as he produced the red bindings from behind his back.

In his defence, you didn’t put up much of a fight as he crowded you against the bed, his large hands running up your spine to unclasp the lacey bra. As he slid the straps off your shoulders, his mouth busied itself by sucking blooming purple marks against your skin while you felt up the muscles underneath his shirt. The second his hands were free, one of them clasped both your wrists behind your back before loosely wrapping the silk around them.

“This okay, bunny?” he whispered against the shell of your ear and, frankly, the speed at which you nodded should have been embarrassing but you were way too curious to find out where this was going. The striker chuckled at your eager response, fastening the glossy red against your skin. “Aren’t you just the cutest? Don’t worry, I’ll make it worth your while.”

That was how you found yourself with your knees on either side of Reo’s head, quivering from both the effort to keep yourself upright and his tongue flicking continuously against your clit. You could feel the slick leaking out of you, pooling on the lower half of your boyfriend’s face as his fingers diligently worked you up to your orgasm. Curling his digits into you, he was searching for that one spot that always had you seeing stars and when he found it, you rocked your hips forward with a needy whine, trying to grind down on him to the best of your abilities.

With glossy eyes, you watched as Reo’s crinkled in amusement at your desperation, deliberately pressing into your sweet spot over and over to see you fall apart for him. Fire was licking up your spine as you wriggled in his grasp, the hand on your back immediately holding onto your bound wrists when he noticed you were about to topple over. Pulling your arms down, he arched your back to only press you further into him.

He shushed your cries of his name gently, the vibrations of his voice sending sparks directly into your bundle of nerves. “You’re doing so well for me. Now show me how good I make you feel when you cum all over my fingers and tongue, yeah?”

By now, you were reliant on the way he held you up, your own bones seemingly turned to jelly as his mouth wrapped around your clit, gently sucking on it and giving the faintest graze of his teeth against it. The effect was instantaneous as you hiccuped his name, the tight knot in your stomach snapping as you released all over him.

“Fuck, that’s it, baby,” letting you ride out your orgasm before slowly pulling his fingers from your pussy and licking them clean, his grin was finally visible to you. Smoothing his hands up your trembling thighs, he squished the flesh around the silk, a mischievous glint in his violet eyes.

“Let’s see what else we can use this for, now that I already have you like this.”

© the-travelling-witch 2023 - do not repost, translate, copy or edit

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[luveline]

this request may be a bit of a long shot, but would you be willing to write a drabble for mouth of september? maybe she gives the boys a scare either by going out and then not coming home at the time she said she would or maybe she faints from not having eaten enough? totally okay if you don’t want to or if you want to use this as a prompt for something else, mos has just been one of your fic series that i think about pretty consistently even two-ish years later.

anyway have a great day and hope you’re doing well jadey <3 love u

I love you! me writing this actually did feel like a longshot but not cos I didn’t love it and not cos I don’t love u, I hope you enjoy it!! been so long since I wrote this !!🩵 fem! 4k words

cw suicidal thoughts/suicidal ideation

It’s cold tonight. 

You blow on your fingers, feeling them warm, stiffness lanced for precious few seconds. You didn’t mean to walk so far from the house, not while the wind is racing like this. The corner shop just seemed to move around while you weren’t looking. You should’ve asked Sirius to go with you, he has a better sense of direction, even if he would’ve complained the whole time about the shit weather. 

Remus would’ve come and not complained, but he was sleeping at the time and waking him felt cruel. James would’ve come, racing around in Lily’s car, but then he would’ve followed you back into the house insisting on making you some supper or a cuppa or something, and what you’d wanted was to be alone. A bar of chocolate wouldn’t hurt either. 

Stupid travelling corner shop, you think to yourself. Stupid me for fucking losing it. Should’ve just stayed home. Can’t even walk to the shop. 

You take a deep breath. You give the streets a wretched, embarrassed glare and flop down onto the nearest bench. Fuck’s sake. Lost and freezing to death. 

If Sirius were here, if he heard what you were thinking, he’d frown at you with that dark pinch to his eyes and tell you to Stop it, now. 

He’s maybe half of the reason you’re out of the house tonight. Maybe all of it. It’s all complicated and horrible and everyone thinks it’s a bad idea but the thing is that Sirius himself isn’t complicated, he isn’t horrible. He’s kind to you in funny ways, and when you’re together Sirius makes you feel like you’re someone worth being kind too, which doesn’t happen often. 

Your self annoyance fades to something more familiar soon enough. Everything goes quiet, leaving you there with your heart, quick and slow beating, can’t seem to choose, and your cold feet. Your socks feel too tight. 

Your teeth start to chatter. You can’t sit here forever. 

(But wouldn’t it be better? If you stayed? Caught cold?) 

If you get poorly from the cold, you’ll feel miserable from the moment you wake up. You’ll be ill at work, which will make work worse. You’ll have to stay in your room so you don’t get one of the boys sick, and that really would ruin your week. Nothing means anything if you don’t get to see your best friends. 

You gather yourself up and turn toward the street you’d just walked down, determined to retrace your steps. 

In the distance, a familiar shape is jogging toward you. 

“Y/N?” James shouts, sounding as though all the breath in the world has been sucked from his lungs. He doesn’t stop jogging until he gets a few feet from you, where he bends to catch his breath. “Fucking hell!” His head snaps up. “Fuck, shortcake, are you alright?” 

You close the distance. “I’m fine.” 

“Are you?” He forces himself to stand, breathing hard as he grabs you by the wrist. “Are you okay? You scared me so badly.” 

You grab his arm back. “I’m really fine, I’m fine, what’s wrong?” 

“You’re what’s wrong, you aren’t home!” James swallows a lump. “You left a note, you’d be home by seven. It’s nearly ten. Remus rang me in a fit ‘cos he didn’t know where you’d gone, we thought–” James gives you an imploring look, though it’s so so sorry at the same time, you feel your stomach twist into a hard knot. “We thought you were having a bad night.” 

“James.” Embarrassment makes you soft-toned. “I’m really sorry I scared you, but I got lost, that’s all.” You don’t really like to lie, only James seems to need to hear it. “I’m glad you found me. I was worried I wouldn’t get home.” 

James gives a breathy laugh. “Oh, good.” 

You’re pulled into a hug. 

“Sorry,” you say. 

“No, it’s okay.” He rubs your back with force. It feels more for him than you, though you don’t exactly mind it. You can pretend as much as you want that you don’t like it when the boys give you affection, but they know it’s not true, and they know it’s alright to give it to you most days. “It’s fine. Everything’s fine as long as you’re fine.” 

“Fine,” you say. 

He pulls away. “Oh, god. Alright, let’s go back to the house. It’s freezing, you’re not wearing a proper coat?” 

“I didn’t plan on being out long.” 

“No?” 

He takes you by the shoulder to encourage you back the way you came. “Just wanted some chocolate,” you say. 

“I’ll get you some.” 

You both know it doesn’t add up. James doesn’t make you say much else, relieved you’re alright, and you fester in the guilt of worrying him so harshly. 

“Where are your glasses?” you ask. 

“I forgot them in the car.” 

“Where is the car?” 

“Remus thought you might’ve gone to the library, you were supposed to take that Sky-Fi back.” 

“Sci-fi.” 

“Right, the space books. He took it to see if you were walking home, I said I’d come this way, and Sirius…” James grimaces. “Not sure where he went. He was already out by the time I got to the house.” 

“How are we gonna find him?” 

“He’ll come back eventually.” 

You stick close to James’ side, dodging crisped up leaves and following him down the dropped kerb and finally onto a familiar road. “Guess I’ve lived here so long, I should’ve known the way,” you say. 

“It’s alright.” 

You bite your cheek for a second. “I’m really sorry, James, I– I didn’t– is it really ten?” 

“…Aren’t you cold?” he asks softly. 

“I didn’t think about it.” 

“I wish you would.” He pokes his tongue against his cheek. “I want to know if you’re having a bad night. It’s alright if you were. If you need more time, more help, it’s okay.” 

“It’s not like that… not all of it. I was walking to the shops, I swear. Just feel so,” —your voice slips into a colour of shame you despise— “weird sometimes. I’m sorry I made you worry. I don’t know why I keep doing this.” 

“Is this a common occurrence?” 

“Not the walk, just. Just this. Making you worry. I didn’t mean to make everybody worry.” 

“Well, I am worried. When you disappear for a couple more hours than you say you will, it’s scary.” James gives you a shrug. “I love you, I’m gonna wonder where you are.” 

“But–”

“I worry about Sirius when he goes to the pub until who knows when, worry about Lils when she does too many hours at work. I worry about Remus every day, his eyes are worse than mine ‘cos all he does is read,” he says with a laugh. “It’s fine.” 

“I worry about you too,” you say. 

“About what?” he asks, stricken. 

“Remus told me you can pop your knee out from your kneecap when you weight lift. I know you think it’s fun and stuff, but that’s scary.” 

“I’m getting fit!” He rolls his eyes. “Lily likes my abs.” 

“Well I liked you when you were soft.” 

James cackles at your poor fake-flirting. “I’ve never been soft, take that back! You know being captain made me solid as a rock.” 

“James?” a voice calls. 

You look up at the same time. Sirius is sitting on the wall in front of the house smoking; he takes a harsh, quick drag and stabs it out so hard that ash sullies his fingers as he stands. 

“Oh,” he says, blowing the smoke from his mouth quickly, his breath a ragged thing as he bounds across the road to hug you. “Sorry.”

You don’t get what he’s sorry for. “It’s okay.” 

He smells so strongly of smoke it’s like he’s blowing it under your nose, but he’s not so sharp to the touch. You falter at being touched kindly, feeling tension in his back as you curl an arm around him. 

Sirius digs his face into your neck. 

“Hey?” you ask quietly. 

He steps back suddenly, an accusing fist held between your two abdomens. “Where have you been?” he asks, and there’s the sharpness to match his smell, scowl turning his grey-blue eyes to pitch, lashes in a furious tangle. “You can’t do that. You can’t just disappear for hours.” 

“I’m sorry–”

“It’s not okay.”

“She said she’s sorry,” James interjects, “maybe let’s leave it?” 

“Being sorry doesn’t erase the last two hours of us panicking, though, does it?” 

“She got lost–”

“James, it’s okay, it’s–” You shake your head. “Maybe you should go inside to warm up? You’re not wearing a coat either.” 

“I was in a rush.” James gives Sirius a warning look. “I’ll make you a cup of tea. Five minutes and I’m coming back out.” 

James trudges up the garden path to the house. You twist your hands together, staring into Sirius’ face, wanting to see every bit of his anger, keeping tabs on all of it so as not to be surprised. You should’ve known he’d run out of patience with you eventually. He’s had to deal with your awful moods more than anyone else. 

“I’m sorry.” 

“Do you realise how scary it is to worry you’ve hurt yourself?” Sirius asks starkly. 

You flinch. “It doesn’t exactly feel great for me, either.” 

“That’s not what I’m saying.” Still, he softens. You feel like you’ve cheated. “I don’t understand. You got lost? How far away from the house were you?” 

“I don’t know, I was trying to go to Del’s.” 

“You’re not being honest with me, or any of us. It’s not fair. My heart is like a fucking racehorse,” he says, pressing his hand to his chest, fingertips smudgy with ash, “’cos all I’ve thought tonight is that you’d gone off and jumped off of a bridge or something. I know you wouldn’t.” He lets his hand fall. He quietens. It is almost apologetic, how he slows. “I know you wouldn’t. I knew you’d come home. But please don’t make me think about it.”

He’s gone pale in the cold, his hair in twists and tucked haphazard behind his ears. In his thick bomber jacket and his jeans, he could’ve just hopped of the bike, windswept as he is, but it’s the mark of worried hands having pushed his hair back repetitively rather than the weather, though the longer you stand there in the wind, the more tangled it becomes. “I dont get why you’re so determined to be alone,” he says. 

You don’t want to talk about it. When do you ever? More than ever, you’d like to stalk past him and slam your bedroom door, let him know you’re fine by yourself and seething, let him stay ignorant to you as you squirm in a bed you’ve come to hate. How often do you lay there wishing you could be alone forever? It’s not fair to anyone. It doesn’t make sense. They all love you and you feel sorry for them, ‘cos you tricked them, ‘cos you’re nothing worth thinking about for long. 

Sirius won’t stop frowning at you. It makes the drowning feeling worse. 

“I’m sorry,” you say again, hoping this time it’ll stick. “I don’t know what happened, I just wasn’t thinking. I don’t feel very well.” 

“I know.” He scoffs to himself. You relax at the hint of self-deprecation. “It’s not your fault. I’m fucking furious with you but I know you can’t help it.” 

“Sorry.” 

He shakes his head. “I’m sorry. For saying you’d jumped off a bridge, that’s horrible, but you really fucking worry me sometimes and I’m so relieved that you’re okay that it’s making me horrible.” 

“You’re not horrible.” 

“I’m mean.” 

“You’re not.”

“No, I am. You’re the only person who doesn’t see it. Or at least doesn’t say it.” Sirius rubs his face, scraping a stray hair from his nose. “Sorry for shouting. Here,” —he holds out his arm— “let’s have a proper one.” 

He hugs you nicely, no force to it, less lingering smoke. The scratch of his cheek catches yours, his hand at the bottom of your back, your jacket and shirt rising with every sweep of his touch. You press your closed eye to his hair. 

“Why didn’t you come and sit with me or– we could’ve talked. Could’ve just led in bed, doesn’t matter, I would’ve gone to the shop with you.” He squeezes you, pressing his nose to your shoulder. “I can be morbid. We can be two miserable layabouts together.” 

“I didn’t…” You cringe. “Sirius, it’s not on purpose, I swear. I didn’t do it to make you worry.” 

“I know that, Jesus.”

“Sorry.” 

“It’s fine. I’m just glad you’re home.” 

You pull apart as a car turns onto the street. That’ll be Remus. Another for your troupe of worry. 

“What do you think, is he mad at me too?” you ask. 

“Remus?” Sirius gives you another half hug. “‘Course not.” 

And true to form, Remus climbs out of the car with a fond smile. “Hey, where have you been?” His hair ruffles in the wind, scars turned palest purple in the cold. “You need to learn how to tell time.” 

You let him hug you. “Sorry.” 

“That’s alright, let’s go inside though. Have some tea. Did you eat much today?” 

You ignore the question. “Tea,” you say. 

“Yeah.” 

Remus ushers you down the path to the house, Sirius on your other side like bodyguards. 

“Thanks for, uh, looking for me.” 

Remus takes you by the forearm. “We’ll always look for you. But next time, wake me up first.” 

You nod gratefully. “Uh, okay. Thank you.” 

“Stop saying thanks. It’s alright, Y/N. It’s fine.” 

That’s what you’ve all said, but it doesn’t make it true. 

—

James goes home, though he doesn’t want to. “I can stay,” he says over the rim of his mug, half-pleading, wanting you to ask him to. “We can have a sleepover.” 

You insist that you’re really fine, he has work tomorrow, it’s late. When he doesn’t move, you say, “I feel bad enough that you were out looking for me in the cold.” 

Your voice is pathetic and scratchy and he can tell you’re going to cry, they all can, so he doesn’t push it anymore than that. He goes home, and you go to bed, and Remus follows you up a little bit later with a glass of juice and some thick, buttered slices of teacake. 

“You okay?” he asks, climbing into bed next to you where you’re laying down. 

“Fine.” 

“Didn’t eat much today?” 

“No.” 

“Have the juice, at least.” 

You take the glass. 

Between your sorry sips, Remus picks at one of the slices of cake, steals looks at you, though he doesn’t try to hide what he’s doing. 

“Sorry about today. Didn’t mean to worry you.” 

“You can stop saying sorry.” Remus lets his head tip from one side to another. “I can hear it in your voice that you don’t want to say it. Not that I don’t believe that you’re really, actually sorry. But you keep repeating it because you’re worried I want you to do that, and I don’t.” 

“It’s what I should say.” 

“Well, you’ve said it.” Remus turns to you, all bookish and rakish at once, lovely but tired, and he must be giving you a similar appraisal. “I wanted to be your friend the second I first talked to you. It wasn’t guilt.” He shakes his head. Wasn’t ’cos they’d played that prank on you with the shoe-eating goo, spied on you crying in a school hallway, overwhelmed. “I just liked you, and that was without any sort of knowledge of what you’re like. Now that I know you, I couldn’t be rid of you. Truly. I love you, you know that?” He smiles gently. “Even when you need time and you disappear. Please… don’t really go anywhere though, will you?” 

“I won’t.” You decided a long time ago that ending your life wasn’t in the cards. There are terrifying moments, numb ones, blink-and-it’s over ones, where you feel like it’s the only option you have. But it ends eventually, or it sinks into a background to be forgotten until the next time it aches. 

“Are you eating properly?” he asks. 

“Remus–” You shake your head as he brings a hand to your forehead, like he might stroke your hair. “You don’t have to do this.” 

“You don’t like answering, that’s all.” 

“No, I don’t.” 

“I’ve made you talk much more than you would’ve liked to, tonight.”

“I like talking to you. To all of you.” You rest your head on his thigh. “You really are my favourite people in the world, Remus. I wouldn’t… wouldn't give you up.” 

“Good,” he says, stroking your forehead just a few times. “‘Cos we can’t be without you.” 

Sirius finds you collapsing in on one another a little later and rounds the bed to lay on your other side. He doesn’t bother sitting as Remus did, pulling the blankets up and slipping in beside you without worrying about what parts of you are touching parts of him, nor the slip of your back where your shirt’s riding up, nor how warm it is under the quilt. He grabs the end of your t-shirt and pulls it flat over your stomach, before his hand spreads out there, and you realise half-heartedly that he’s hugging you from behind. The room is barely seeable. Remus is nearly sleeping. Your tea cake went uneaten, left stodgy and dark on the nightstand. 

“This okay?” Sirius asks. 

“Yeah.” 

He burrows nearer, rubbing his nose against the back of your neck, then taking a long breath of you. 

“Are you mad?” you ask. 

“Not anymore.” 

You can’t believe that any of them could love you so much as to look for you. That James would want to stay the night, and that he’d let you turn him away. If you had any energy left in you tonight you would’ve done the same to Remus, and then Sirius. James won’t be happy when he finds out they’d slept in the bed with you and left him out, but he’ll forgive it eventually. None of them should care so much about you, what’s special about you? What’s even really good? What’s worth it? 

Sirius breathes behind you. He doesn’t seem scared to touch you, not worried to lay as close to you as your bodies will allow. His heat sinks into you. 

“Know any poems?” he asks, letting you shift into his back as he pushes an arm beneath you, curling, really holding you to him, a spoon of a hug. 

“What kind did you want to hear?” 

Sirius doesn’t answer. You hold still as his hand begins looping over your stomach. 

“I can’t remember anything right.” 

“Can you guess at one for me?” he asks. 

You stare at Remus’ falling chest. You’re lucky to have good friends. 

“I read one a few days ago, a couple of times, it was only a few lines.” You wait. Sirius doesn’t say anything, so you start to relay the poem slowly, stringing the words together as they come. “The world was a… nautilus shell... And the world was a grain of sand.” Your voice is odd, but the lines come to you regardless. “The world was a honeycomb… And the world was a strip of tender bark.” 

Sirius lets his lips warm your neck, asking softly, more touch than sound, “That was the whole poem?” 

You take his hand where it’s against you. “That’s it.” 

He nods. 

The world was a nautilus shell. And the world was a grain of sand. The world was a honeycomb. And the world was a strip of tender bark. You run through the poem again, three times, tripping over strip and tender and bark as Sirius’ breath warms your nape. 

“Please don’t do that again,” he says. 

“I didn’t mean to–” You force yourself to stay still. “I would never do something like that to scare you.” 

“Nobody in this room or out of it believes that you went on your walk tonight to scare them.” His nose tips down your neck. His hand spreads wider over your stomach. It feels so weird, so warm and rigid. It’s the best touch you’ve ever been given, and it doesn’t matter because you’re so ashamed of yourself —you went on your stupid little walk with at least some bad intent, and your friends noticed because they love you when they shouldn’t bother. This is a stain now, something you’ll remember. “But I can’t take it. Do you get that? I can’t take it. James found you two hours ago and I still feel like I don’t know where you are.” 

“Didn’t mean to.” 

“I know, love.” He actually does kiss your neck then, quiet smack of a real kiss. “I know. I know.” His forehead presses to your shoulder as he settles in. “You’re okay. I’m not mad.” 

“Me neither,” Remus croaks. 

You let yourself relax enough to feel tired. Warmth from either side of you threatens to bowl you over. 

“How are you feeling now?” Sirius asks. 

“Fine.” Always fine. They deserve better honesty. “I didn’t want to hurt myself. Jus’… I needed to move, like, go, and I hate this part. I don’t think it should matter that I’m not– that I don’t feel well.” 

“Don’t get upset,” Sirius says quietly. 

“I’m not.” You sound tight. “When I want to be somewhere, it doesn’t make sense that it matters. In the moment, I don’t remember that you…” 

“Love you?” Sirius asks. 

“I know why you were worried, I promise. I don’t live in a bubble. I know I’m selfish.” 

“Not selfish.” 

“It was, though.” 

“You’re thinking about it like we have a problem with what you did, and it’s my fault because I got so mad, but it’s not really that you did it.” His hand curls shy of your breastbone. “I was mad, but– darling,” —you squeeze your eyes shut— “you’re not on trial. You don’t have to prove your way out of this, all we need to know is if you’re alright now.” 

“Not really.” 

Remus gives a half-sleeping mumble. 

Sirius sits up in bed to look at both of you. “We love you. We,” —he gestures between you and Remus emphatically— “aren’t going to stop. No matter how many walks you go on, how many scares you give me.” He frowns at you sympathetically. “We’re not getting any further, are we?” 

“Sorry.” 

“I’m sorry.” He grimaces, dark around the eyes. “I’m a right prick and I’ve made a right mess of everything.” 

“It’s okay,” you whisper, chancing a touch, terrified you’ll be reprimanded for it but knowing, as you know he loves you, that you’re allowed. The tips of your fingers touch his collarbone. Sharp thing. 

He pulls a jib, lips all up and thinned like a smirk gone wrong. “Love you.” 

You must’ve petrified him. He’s never so open with his feelings, even when it’s half-joking like this. 

“I love you, too.” 

He makes another face. Good enough, it says. 

“Make me hot chocolate?” you whisper. 

“Mm, come on.” He pulls you from the bed by your wrists. “Don’t complain when it’s gritty. I’m not skilled as Remus.” 

“Quite right,” Remus mumbles. 

You hug him quickly before you leave. 

[ohdeerfully]

Headcanons! Alastor with a plush demon reader :3 like readers sinner form is a plush! Because I love height differences and it sounds real cute

-🃏🐱

hi 🃏🐱!! i wrote this more platonically, so it could be read either way, but i might write a more romantic flavored one too :3! sorry its rather short, i hope you enjoy it anyway!

edit: after rereading the request i realized u asked for headcanons but i wrote a whole oneshot im </3 *knocks on my head and it sounds hollow*

Alastor x Plushie!Reader

PLATONIC fluff TW: none! readers kind of a weirdo by accident

join my discord!

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It was no surprise that you became popular in hell very quickly after manifesting. You were often stopped in the streets by people wanting to squish your soft skin, and some people wanting selfies.

I mean, who wouldn’t fall in love with a living stuffed animal? You were very likely the first of the kind.

There was one demon, however, that seemed immune to the charm. No matter how many times you stood on his lap, your giant squishy paws pressed onto his chest, looking at him with your shiny button eyes… he just would not yield. And it frustrated you to no end.

So, you had made it your life—or, death—goal to get him to squish your plushy skin. Even if you had to force him to.

It started with you merely sitting next to him at every opportunity, swinging your legs against the cushion of the couch. Your legs barely reached over the edge; you were quite short. Sitting next to Alastor felt like sitting next to a skyscraper. 

You would lay down, sit up again, roll onto your back, over and over again, trying to get his attention on you. He wouldn’t ignore you, per say, as he would respond to your conversations politely, albeit a bit condescending in his typical manner; but, his hands never left the comfort of being folded neatly in his lap.

It got to the point where you were practically laying yourself on top of him, getting desperate now. But, every time, he would simply grab you under the arms and easily set you a foot or so away from him. He would give you a quick pat on the head, but you wanted more than that. Every pat on the head felt like a cruel reminder that he wanted nothing to do with you.

Your frustration has even caused you to get upset with Niffty a few times. While on one hand it was awesome to know another demon that was of similar height, on the other hand it pissed you off at how easily she seemed to grab his attention. Though, she was also just overall more insane—it’d be hard for anybody to ignore her.

You had to admit, though, that the lack of his attention only made your intrigue in him grow exponentially. In a Hell where you were stopped on every corner of the road, in every store, Alastor stood out to you. How come, of all the demons out there, even some of the cruelest in the Pride Ring, the one demon you were actually interested in… could care less about you? Sure, the only reason you were interested in him was because of this very fact, but still! Why?

You had gotten fed up. Alastor was in the midst of, again, picking you up off of himself, when he paused holding you midair at the look of fury on your face. You saw his grin widen in a sinister manner, and his eyebrows quirk quizzically. 

“What a huge expression for a face so little,” He laughed shortly. You hated the way his laughter crackled with radio static, and how it practically mocked you.

“You. Are such. A jerk!” You cried, swinging your legs in an attempt to kick his chest. You missed by a longshot, as he held you out as far as his arms could stretch. He only continued to watch you, amused.

“Just pet me!” You cried. You immediately halted after saying that, arms frozen mid-flail. You realized instantly how weird that was to say, especially to Alastor. And he knew, too, evident in the way his eyes narrowed at you and he rushed to place you down on the floor. You struggled to maintain eye contact when he stood back up, his height being the actual physical manifestation of impending doom. His hands brushed down the sides of his coat.

“I believe it makes sense for you to be a stuffed animal,” He said matter-of-factly. “Because of how utterly childish you are.”

You couldn’t help but stomp your foot at his statement; and his grin stretched at being proved right. But, like, come on! Yeah, what you said was kind of weird as fuck, but you weren’t in the wrong or anything! It’s only natural.

His gaze shifted up and ahead of himself, and your shoulders slumped in defeat. Another failed attempt.

That was, until you felt a clawed finger touch against your head and briefly scratch at your velvety skin, right behind your ear. You looked up, shocked, towards Alastor’s unreadable expression. The touch was very brief, and he stood and walked away without another word, leaving you standing there awestruck.

You shook yourself and bounced after him, trying to call his attention again but he ignored you. You opted to just follow him around for a bit, at least until he made it obvious you should leave him alone. He had his hands folded behind his back, a tune humming in his mouth as he walked down the halls. Alastor would never admit it to you, but he did find you rather cute, in a similarly chaotic way to Niffty. You weren’t quite as unhinged, but you had an entertaining amount of spunk and confidence, which he found sort of funny—so much personality squished into one tiny body. You sort of reminded him of a stuffed animal he had when he was a boy.

[aswefindourwayback]

I know how to ball, you know Aristotle

Author's Note: This was very much inspired by So High School by Taylor Swift. Not my best piece but it could be cute. I hope you guys enjoy it! Feedback is always appreciated

WC: 1085

CW: a bit of a makeout session at the end, little bit of drinking

Summary: the BAU participate in a company baseball game but you aren’t able to play due to an injury from work so you cheer on Spence and the rest of the team.

It was like 199° outside; fahrenheit or celsius, it didn’t matter. all you knew was that it was hot as balls out and you had to sit out there to watch the rest of the BAU participate in a baseball game against another department from work. 

You aren’t able to play due to an injury you sustained while in the field a week ago when the team was working on a case. It was basically due to clumsiness that you’re out of the game for a while. You managed to twist your ankle very badly. so you find yourself sitting on the sidelines, in hot ass weather, watching all your colleagues play an “exciting” game of baseball. Of course, you didn’t necessarily have to be there. You were there just to cheer on your favorite person. Although, he wasn’t the most athletic person out on the field, you hate to admit. But he was trying his best and you were proud as hell. 

Spencer had been nagging you about how to play well in today's game, considering you used to play in high school and college. You tried to help him out the best you could but, at some point you two had to admit that it would take a miracle for Spencer to be a standout player out on the field. So you helped him by making sure he could make some contributions to the team with simple skills.

It was now almost the end of the game and spence was killing it. When you first sat down to watch the game, you were scanning the field for him and when you found him, you shyly hid from him, using your baseball cap as a shield to hide your blushing smile. You loved watching him from the sidelines, just cheering him on and screaming til your lungs hurt when he managed to hit the ball with the bat. You were so incredibly proud of how well he was playing. that was your man, and you couldn’t be happier. It felt like high school, being in the stands and cheering on your boyfriend who’s out on the field playing the most intense game you’ve ever seen. This love felt so lively and carefree, it was just love. 

Every time you cheered for him and screamed, you could see his pink cheeks blushing harder each time, his eyes twinkling in the blink of an eye. 

The game ended with the BAU team winning by a longshot, which was honestly surprising. You weren’t gonna lie, your team was pretty fit and in shape, but their baseball skills were questionable, but they pulled through and you were so proud. 

After the game, the whole team went to a bar close by to celebrate and just hang out. The night was filled with laughter and teasing banter. Each one of them was absolutely battering the other for something that happened during the game. Everyone’s favorite moment though was when Spencer hit the ball quite far, and he decided that once he’d run the bases, he was gonna do a little dance and point to you to celebrate his amazing performance. The whole thing had you beaming with pride and joy. 

While the team were speaking amongst themselves, you wanted a moment with just Spence. 

“Tell me about the first time you saw me.” you’d said, head resting in the palm of your hand as you looked up at him. 

He pursed his lips before speaking, “Well, it was your first day at the BAU. You put up this front that you were confident and that you already knew everything. But I know that wasn’t true.”

“What do you mean?”

“You kept tugging on your clothes as if they were choking you. You also kept fiddling with your bracelet. You know, you’re not very good at hiding your feelings for a profiler.” he laughed. 

“Yeah, well, sorry, we can’t all be amazing profilers who can hide every little thing from everyone.” you let out a giggle. 

“But I was also thinking about how pretty you are. Felt like I couldn’t breathe when I first saw you. You’re mesmerizing. It was like I was watching an angel appear before me. And I thought you were so cool. I mean, the way you carried yourself was impressive. I didn’t expect you to be so nice either. Your resting face makes you look a bit mean, but turns out you’re the nicest and most kind hearted person to exist.”

You turned to face away from him, trying to hide the fact that he was making you so flustered. 

He moved to bring your eyes back to his, gently cupping the side of your face til he could see you again. Fuck. He had you wrapped around his finger and he knew it too. But you didn’t care. You would do anything for him. 

The night ended with everyone heading home after a few drinks. You and Spence were walking to your car, hand in hand, just in a comfortable silence. He walked you to the passenger side of the car and opened the door for you. You thanked him and got in the car. Once you were nicely in the car, Spence closed the door and rounded the car til he reached the driver side and went in. 

You two sat there, just staring at each other for ages. You couldn’t fathom that he was real, that he loved you, and that he was right in front of you. There was no doubt in your mind about him. 

Spence broke eye contact to look around the parking lot to make sure the team weren’t watching before he pulled you close to him and kissed the life out of you. He’d grabbed the collar of your shirt and pulled you so close. His lips tasted of the mojito he’d drank, so minty and fresh. Lips so soft, you wondered if he’d applied chapstick before leaving the bar. You moved your hand to rest on the side of his neck, just to feel him. His hand moved up from your shirt collar to the back of your head, deepening the kiss. God, you were practically melting into him. It was getting hard to breathe but you didn’t want to stop. 

No one’s ever had you like he did, and no one ever would. This was it for you. He’s the one you're gonna marry and spend the rest of forever with. He was your sun.

[paperdice]

Hey can I request a headcannon of the ancient Heroes feelings towards a new hero with the powers of all might

(sorry if I'm sending this a second time my brain couldn't remember if I sent it the first time or not)

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬

"The people, the heroes, even the villains, I stand to set fire in their hearts."

⋆｡˚♡•ᴗ• And here he thought hes heard some of the most incredible abilities, hearing stories of a new hero arising. Or that's what the cookies referred to them from pure vanilla cookies longshot memories.

⋆｡˚♡•ᴗ• hes heard of the growing of this hero, even meeting cookies that had been saved by said hero throughout the years. Every story seems to out do the last, one amazing save to another. Such inspirations.

⋆｡˚♡•ᴗ• He always smiled when hearing of this hero, to know there's a cookie out there with immense strength doing good with their heart of gold. He wondered if he would ever cross paths with this hero..

⋆｡˚♡•ᴗ• When he saw it first hand his eyes widened. A cookie was holding off a strong opponent that was attempting to attack innocent cookies, for "fun". He saw the hero throw one punch, one punch sent off strong wind behind the opponent causing all kinds of cracks on the dented ground.

⋆｡˚♡•ᴗ• Some pieces of the ground broke up and went straight flying in the air, yet by a mere second the opponent dodged it. pure vanilla was awestruck, calmly closing his eyes once again smiling that there was no need for worries. Not when this cookie is around.

⋆｡˚♡•ᴗ• He always gave props to the cookie, asking softhearted questions on how their dough can handle all that strength! Their powers were just like the gems but you know, with no gem!

he gave a quiet soft laugh at his own question, "please do tell me of your travels, i've heard of many wonderful stories with you in the center of it."

⋆｡˚♡•ᴗ• Though he does admire their powers he does have to tell himself to look out if they're going to throw any attacks, just so he can try can hold steady through the massive air waves and intense rumbling of the ground. Holding his hat and staff at the same time makes it a bit more difficult.

⋆｡˚♡•ᴗ• Sometimes the rumbling reminds pure vanilla of his youthful days, when dark cacao cookie would strike on the darkness of evil, thunder causing the floor to shake in fear. He's used to trying to stand still but this power was something he's never been around before, so he's still getting a hang of it!

⋆｡˚♡•ᴗ• He often asks to do checks up on the hero though, he can't help but worry if it's too much for their dough, what if they crack? no matter how many times he gets the same answer that they're fine, he will always ask about their well being.

⋆｡˚♡•ᴗ• pure vanilla is always left impressed when it comes to the hero, he feels a soften pride for them. Their determination for the greater good reminds him of himself in the past a lot.

⋆˚ ౨ৎ ˙˖° That new hero got hollyberry cookies attention real fast! She heard of a few stories here and there during her own travels, a hero with crazy strength and never stepping down no matter what. How she would love to see that up close!

⋆˚ ౨ৎ ˙˖° The woah in her face when she heard of the crazy stories of the hero's wins, she gets a good laugh every time! Such a large reputation of someone who's just growing! A cookie that can gain such a title all around must be no exaggeration!!

⋆˚ ౨ৎ ˙˖° One day while making her way through what she assumed to be a left village she noticed how the grounds grumble was only getting stronger and louder the closer she got from the cause. A cookie up against a gloomy group of what seemed about 10 cookies!

⋆˚ ౨ৎ ˙˖° The cookie that was all up against the group was also protecting a mother and her children. Naturally hollyberry cookie jumped in to help, what she didn't know was that the cookie was protecting the village by taking down the group so they don't disturb them anymore. (so it wasn't an abandoned village ohhhh)

⋆˚ ౨ৎ ˙˖° She also didn't know that she just bumped into the growing big hero! All the talk she heard was flooding her mind when she saw the scene before her, she knew it! It was that new hero no doubt! She smiled widely and laughed

⋆˚ ౨ৎ ˙˖° Sparring is a must! She wants to know just how much power is up their sleeve when up against her shield! The pretty colors that are created when gem and fist collide, the powerful throw back she gets from impact always gets her festive.

⋆˚ ౨ৎ ˙˖° Poor wildberry cookie, his protests always gets watered down so he has to constantly keep an eye out. Sometimes hollyberry tells wildberry to give it try so he see what she sees but he prefers not.

⋆˚ ౨ৎ ˙˖° Talks over food and drinks is a must! She wishes to hear about the hero's travels as well, she even mentions some of the stories shes heard in the past so she can get confirmation that it's true. and when it is...

a roar of humored laughter filled the room. "that one was one of my favorites you know? I'm glad to know it's true! tell me, what did the cookie say back after the whole ordeal!" she smiled and patted the heros back.

⋆˚ ౨ৎ ˙˖° Hollyberry loves to team up with the hero and give them small humble advice since they're so looked up upon, the way she started out in the beginning too.

⋆˚ ౨ৎ ˙˖° She stills goes out too likewise the hero but she likes to write letters to them, letters of how shes been doing and how have they been doing. Sometimes she writes out a story of the hero she was told about from cookies, along with her personal thoughts on it (laughter and jokes) and asked if it's true! She just can't get enough of the bright cookie.

˚₊·—̳͟͞͞♡⟢ Unlike hollyberry cookie and pure vanilla cookie, he never heard of a up coming hero. After all, he did spend many years within his kingdom isolated from any outsider.

˚₊·—̳͟͞͞♡⟢ But when he finally went out and continued his life, reuniting with his old friends, he did overhear hollyberry being surprised that pure vanilla had met a mutual cookie. She laughed and lightheartedly joked about the cookies personality to pure vanilla while he softly smiled and nodded in agreement.

˚₊·—̳͟͞͞♡⟢ Over the time he spent in the village (while gingerbrave could gather up his friends to his side for help) he did hear stories of a hero that often visited. Praises of admiration and hope over this cookie.

˚₊·—̳͟͞͞♡⟢ One night he settling down to rest for the upcoming busy day, till he heard pleas, cookies yelling and warning others. A flood. This had never happened before usually when it rained heavily the water would just go down stream but at the exit of the kingdom. It was bordered up with fallen boulders, stopping the water.

˚₊·—̳͟͞͞♡⟢ Dark cacao struggled to even get to the wall of massive rocks, the water was aggressive and flowing with complete madness. It was at dangerous levels but he needed to strike down the rocks so the flood could end, while he was barely making it there he swung his sword but before he struck he saw a cookie jump in out of nowhere. punching the middle of the wall and ending the flood.

˚₊·—̳͟͞͞♡⟢ This old man is left with a strong first impression by this hero, no wonder there was all kinds of talk, that was nothing hes ever seen. At least naturally, the cookie had no weapon and didn't use any kind of magic, that was all fist.

˚₊·—̳͟͞͞♡⟢ Dark cacao cookie leaves soft spoken compliments to the hero, but questioned of their intentions. What was in their heart truly, what were their morals, praises doesn't always speak the truth of a cookie.

˚₊·—̳͟͞͞♡⟢ Though that's what he thought during the first appearance n all, now he knows that the hero has no ill-hearted ends to them. He enjoys the comfort of their flowering words, the roots speak volumes and the petals are beautiful, or in easier words they're just a very solace cookie.

"you have a strong will with no welcome to falter, do you not fear to hesitate?" he looked at the cookie with the same stoic face he always has on, they looked back and smiled, as if he asked a foolish question.

˚₊·—̳͟͞͞♡⟢ He looks at the upcoming hero with a light of hope, for them to never let their guard down, to never let any poisoned words affect them. He's pleased to know that they'll be fighting on the right side together.

˚₊·—̳͟͞͞♡⟢ dark cacao cookie had put faith in this new hero (whether he knows it or not) that they'll carry the weight on their shoulders with nothing distracting them, no evil to creep its way up to their heart, and turn it black. No, he knows that'll never happen.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Ohohoho of course shes heard of this upcoming hero! what can she say? Once word goes around about a cookie it's only fair that the divine radiance would be one of the holders in this word.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Just like hollyberry cookie she was interested in this impending hero, how could she not after all of what she's heard? Powers unlike any other, she wished to meet this popularized hero.

ִ ࣪𖤐 With the help of hollyberry cookie, she did! Nothing big of an impression, the two heroes met she wanted to know everything! It was a rather "friendly possessive command" that she gave to the hero.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Due to how they met this also meant she couldn't see their powers in action and since the hero didn't feel like showing at the moment was appropriate, she was a little salty and doubtful.

ִ ࣪𖤐 But the wait was worth it, to see such a puny cookie take so many hits and throw so many insane counterattacks, their strength being unraveled right in front of her eyes. That cookie never backed down, and neither did golden cheese cookies support.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Talk about the favoritism treatment! Nobody knows exactly how the hero got to golden cheese cookies soft spot hell some didn't even know she can put her pride down for a favorite but they did and now here she is speaking greatly of them.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Spoils the hero with cheese and looks to them as if they're some kind of descendant or student under her wing. She too takes pride in them, she gives off the rich aunt that loves her nephews/nieces way more than her own sister.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Loves to mess about and joke with the hero, teasing about their abilities and sometimes joke that they should be by her side. Of course she knows its not going to happen but she insists that they'll live a life of luxury and safety once darkness falls.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Just like all the others she felt nostalgia being around them, that could be one of the reasons shes grown to like them. Such a promising symbol of peace hope, for all cookies to see that there's still hope.

"hoho now don't get ahead of yourself hero, don't think you'll reach limits further than me!" she laughs with a confident smile.

ִ ࣪𖤐 From a hero to another, she has their back, she doesn't say it aloud but the hero knows that she's always open to come and talk to with any trouble.

quick important note on white lily cookies portion, i never really got around to her story when her update came out, I was busy and the only reason I went in game was for the grind. So due to lack of knowledge I'll get straight to what she would think of the hero. deep apologies! </3

⋆˚✿˖° The heros abilities and powers were just, astonishing. She was deeply amazed and left curious, she wanted to know more, not in a high urgent "I wanna know now" kinda way. In a "please tell me as much as you like in detail" kinda way.

⋆˚✿˖° She's such a sweetheart, listening so intently to the stories and the heros personal thoughts. She told her own stories and from then on white lily cookie somewhat looked up on them.

⋆˚✿˖° She supported them to the best she could, after battles (if she was there anyways) she'd always try to make hero feel comfortable. She's more of an older friend type than the infamous ancient hero by their side.

⋆˚✿˖° She does worry for their well being, she knows first hand its not exactly the safest path to take. And she was in a group! yet here's the solo hero taking everything on their own.

⋆˚✿˖° Because of this she admires their bravery and love for the greater good deeply. She has high hopes for this hero with no doubt that anything can seem to bring them down.

"I'll be right here if you need me, hero." she smiled with a tinted blush on her cheeks.

Sorry it took a whole day to respond, I tried to squeeze this in with the time I had, I hope you enjoyed it!! <333

[five-flavor-soup]

This is technically in response/as an addition to a post on the supposed ‘double standard’ in the fandom between Zuko and Jet as Katara’s love interests, but it’s been so long since it was posted and I figured the OP would be entirely uninterested in my word vomit, especially after like one and half years—so, separate post. I added a link for those interested. There's a cut because this got quite long lmao.

In short, the post supposes the argument that though Jet would’ve made Katara kill people (something Zuko very much Did Not Do, no matter what you think about The Southern Raiders), he cleaned up his act after this. Zuko, on the other hand, did lots of Really Bad Things to Katara & Co. with far more frequency than Jet did and got redeemed after a multitude of episodes doing Various Things Moste Evile. To then slap Jet with The Toxic Ex-label and see Zuko as the ‘healthier’ and ‘better’ option creates a Double Standard(™) within the fandom, which is supposedly bad and not an arguably incorrect reading. 

But the differences in fandom perception between Jet and Zuko as Love Interests for Katara (one of which canonically, and the other potentially and apparently talked about in the writer’s room) are easily explained, as can the Supposed Double Standard—just by thinking about it from Katara’s viewpoint, or even the audience’s. Because, well, the worst things Jet ‘almost’ ended up doing didn’t happen because of outside interference only. 

That’s the important bit here. He 100% would’ve drowned an entire village just to get rid of a handful of Fire Nation soldiers, had Sokka not managed to evacuate everybody. He 100% would’ve grievously injured two people who, as far as Jet and everybody else were aware, were refugees who might not even be firebenders — considering nobody else saw Iroh heat up his tea, he could’ve been wrong — in an attempt to prove his own hunch. Had the guards not been there, had Zuko not been able to fight back with swords, Jet would’ve genuinely attempted to wound them for as much as a puff of smoke. And Jet consistently involves bystanders (innocent or not) in his desperate quest to harm and defeat the Fire Nation: the Gaang (and particularly Katara, through explicitly manipulative means) and the villagers in Jet; Zuko, Iroh, and the people in the teashop in City of Walls and Secrets. Additionally, we don’t see more violence from him because he’s not a main character like Zuko is—though it’s implied that Jet beats up villagers who are supposedly in cahoots with the Fire Nation often, only agreeing to turn over a new leaf when he, Smellerbee, and Longshot decide to move to Ba Sing Se. 

Zuko explicitly and frequently doesn’t harm people: that, or it isn’t important to the plot. He doesn’t burn down the village on Kyoshi, he literally only manages to lightly singe it. He threatens people with violence frequently but never actually goes in for the kill. I’d argue that the most explicitly violent thing he does in Book 1 is breaking Aang out of the Pouhai Stronghold—for his own ends obviously, but if it’s spelled like treason and sounds like treason, it’s probably treason. When he thinks of robbing the pregnant couple while he’s on the run, he stops himself of his own volition; when he considers using Appa to catch Aang (this was a point made against Zuko in the post), he’s unaware of what Appa’s been through prior to that point and sees him as no more than an animal used for travel, much like the ostrich horse he stole earlier in the season. 

Zuko’s schtick throughout Book 1 and 2 is that he doesn’t want to think of the consequences of his actions. His plans are never fully complete. He doesn’t think of how he’s going to get a chained, notoriously slippery little eel of an Avatar to the Fire Nation, and he doesn’t think about what would happen to twelve-year-old Aang after they got there—which is horrible of him, but it also shows an odd, ignorant kind of innocence that you’d associate with a kid who’s got a hard time telling right from wrong. Like, I love Zuko dearly, adore him even, but kiddo doesn’t think ahead until the Book 2 finale and even that’s debatable. He’ll eventually start thinking ahead a little bit but for the most part, he doesn’t. Not saying that takes away responsibility, because it absolutely doesn’t, but it is telling of Zuko’s character: he’s an ‘act first, think later’-kind of guy, all ‘fuck around; find out; maybe success’. His sole goal throughout Book 1 and 2 is going home, without even thinking on how to get there beyond like, Avatar in my custody => back in Fire Nation with Avatar => dad loves me again. And he says that his only intention is to go home too, in Ep 2 of Book 1:

Aang: If I go with you, [He holds his staff in front of him as an offer, making sure Zuko understands that he does not wish to continue fighting.] will you promise to leave everyone alone? [The camera cuts to a side-view of the area, Zuko's men still surrounding him, spears poised. After a brief moment of hesitation, Zuko erects himself and nods in agreement. Aang is apprehended by Zuko's men, who take his staff . . . ] Zuko: [Boarding the ship up the walkway. Determined.] Head a course for the Fire Nation. I'm going home.

(Added emphasis for my point)

Zuko is not the Big Bad. He’s not The Largest Threat. He never is. In Book 1 it’s Zhao, in Book 2 it’s Azula, and in Book 3 it’s Ozai. Zuko is a consistent threat, yes, but not a particularly large one no matter how good of a fighter he is. Because he’s presented to us as a disastrously hurt and traumatised little brat who we, the audience, are supposed to feel sorry for, and slowly grow fond of. Because we learn in The Storm that the notion of “caring for others is weak” has literally been branded into him. Because he keeps getting back up to fight, but consistently holds back. We are shown that he knows, on some level, that what he’s doing is wrong: the text suggests that Zuko is actively suppressing his morals. And by the time Zuko hires an assassin to ensure the Avatar is dead, we know that Zuko is incredibly unhappy with his choice(s) and is desperate to be safe; that he’s uncomfortable but wants to be comfortable; that he’s incorrect about the source of his fear while he’s back in the palace. The audience is shown this explicitly. 

By contrast, we’re shown that Jet is fully aware that those villagers will die. He’s fully aware that, if he manages to prove the two refugees are firebenders, they’ll be arrested and probably mutilated (if the hand-crushing is any indication). I love Jet and his character, but he’s supposed to be the example of poisoning yourself with your hatred, anger, and hurt. He’s revenge that goes too far, because he doesn’t allow himself closure. He knows the consequences and isn’t shown to care for them, as long as his goal is furthered.

And there is the small, but significant, difference between the two characters: Zuko initially just wants to capture the Avatar, is purposefully remaining unaware of what will happen when he does so, and is clearly shown to change, while Jet just wants to punish firebenders and is very aware of what will be necessary for him to do so, with a handful of lines of how he ‘stopped being like that’. And honestly, Jet is far more mature than Zuko is for quite some time, regarding the violence of war—basically as mature as Zuko eventually becomes at the tail-end of his redemption arc. But Zuko’s maturity is at that point healthier, because he doesn’t want to genuinely do harm. 

In regards to their separate relationships with Katara, there’s these fantastic points that @sokkastyles made in reply to the post:

The fact that Zuko actually did change and Katara actually forgave him makes ALL the difference. [ . . . ] The thing about Jet is how manipulative he was with Katara. He not only almost made her kill innocents, but he lied to her about the man he attacked having a knife when he was called out, so that Katara would see her as righteous. Someone who is willing to lie in order to make themselves seem good and someone who says they are going to change but then does the same things doesn’t have a good track record, and that’s a more troubling relationship dynamic than someone who acts as an upfront enemy but then sincerely changes.

And: 

I do think it makes sense to focus on manipulation being worse than being a cartoon villain when we're talking about personal relationships. I think many people can relate to having someone like Jet in their lives who seems nice but who lies and manipulates to justify their own bad behavior despite repeatedly claiming that they will change. Not that many people will experience being tied to a tree by someone who wants you to tell them where the Avatar is, and it is completely reasonable for people to be more forgivable of things Zuko did as a villain than things Jet did to Katara when he claimed to be a friend.

I actually don’t have anything to add to this, lol. It’s succinct and well-worded.

Lastly, in addition the relatability and the relationships being different (the manipulative, emotionally hurt, and self-proclaimed anti-hero versus the initially childish, explicitly confused and desperate cartoon villain, plus the girl they hurt horribly), there’s also the problem of Jet not being a main character. Jet is a relatively well-written side character, whilst Zuko is very quickly established as a main-ish character with his own POV (as the writers decided during the conceptualisation that he’d be joining Team Avatar eventually). Zuko’s troubling, self-destructive nature that has been forced upon him and his Tragic Childhood is shown in high definition. The audience is supposed to eventually be okay with Zuko and hopefully like him, slowly adding puzzle pieces to complete the picture of a horrific earlier youth and treatment by nearly everybody he knows except Iroh. Something like this isn’t necessary with Jet, not just because he was already incredibly likeable and understandable from his introduction and onwards, but also because he’s neither a villain nor a main character. 

There’s multiple reasons as to why Zuko is often seen as the ‘better’ option, just like there are multiple reasons why Jet and Zuko are compared so frequently—they’re both traumatised teenage boys who ‘rebel’ to get some semblance of control back, but we see Zuko change into a kid anyone would be a little bit proud and fond of and that doesn’t happen with Jet. Double standard or not, Zuko and Jet are different characters who the writers also treated very differently, on purpose. It makes sense to me that the audience would think Zutara is the ‘less bad’ or far better option. We know far more about Zuko than we know about Jet; and Jet’s redemption arc, if we can even call it that, halts permanently when Zuko’s is reaching the height it for him to go into a freefall, ultimately culminating in a genuine redemption. We, the audience, know this. So does Katara.

[frenziedfireworks]

hello!! you’ve easily become one of my favorite writers<3 i have a request and it’s fred x reader :)

basically, fred wants to confess to the reader who is also his best friend, but has been too nervous actually say anything. the yule ball was just announced recently and he thought this could’ve been the perfect opportunity. he had a whole plan going on how he was going to ask them, but reader ends up getting asked to the yule ball by somebody else in front of fred. maybe he could quickly shut it down with a “she’s going with me” which results in a lot of confusion and then the confession (when they are alone)

if this is too specific i’m sorry❤️😭

Fred Weasley x Reader

Summary : Fred ignores the existence of the ball until it's too late and his dear Y/N gets asked.

A/N : Thank you so much!! I hope this is what you wanted. It was such a lovely idea and I was actually working on another story with the Yule Ball. Great timing!!

masterlist

Fred was your best friend. That was all. Or at least that is what you told yourself every night as you were plagued with romantic thoughts. It was torture really, and the upcoming ball did not help one bit.

“Y/N come join us.” Fred grinned and patted next to him. You rolled your eyes at his wild look and sat against the bench. You poured yourself water as Fred piled food onto your plate.

“You wouldn’t believe the night George and I had. Ridiculous really. Filch chased us halfway across the castle before giving up. Don’t know where the old coot gets the energy.” Fred nudged at George and they both nodded.

“Crazy. We plan to blow up his room as a little thanks in return.” George smirked and got back to his food. You only rolled your eyes at the comment.

A loud gasp was heard at the Gryffindor and you turned to the scene. One of your fellow classmates was getting asked to the ball. It was sweet and you couldn’t help but think about if Fred would ask you. It was a longshot with how popular he was but.. It couldn’t hurt to fantasize. 

“That’s cute.” You smile and Fred just groans.

“I swear there’s a couple getting together every five minutes.” You only snorted at Fred’s antics and got up.

“Well I think it’s nice. I’m off to class.” You said as you walked away. Part of you wanted to hint to Fred that you wished he would ask you but that was unheard of. You were best friends! You didn’t want to hold him back from finding a date.. Even if it hurt your heart to think about.

–

Later that day you sat outside as George and Fred played with fireworks. You had a lot of classwork to catch up on and the cool weather calmed your frantic mind.

“Y/N! Look at this!” Fred shouted as a firework zipped past your face. He moved it around in his hand before throwing it to George with a wink.

“Wow. So impressive Fred.” You rolled your eyes and went back to your book. It was always nice to hangout with the twins, even if you weren’t doing the same thing. Your fingers skimmed the reading material as a Dumstrang boy passed. You could feel his gaze and looked up. He gave you a small wave and wink before walking away. 

“What was that all about?” Fred questioned.

“Not a clue. I don’t know who that is.”

“Not a clue you say. Well obviously he knew you.” George wiggled his eyebrows and you scoffed.

“I’m sure he doesn’t. I’ve never seen that man in my life.”

Your mind raced with thoughts. Who was that guy? You had to assume he was messing with you or someone you had run across before. You could’ve sworn you had never talked to any of the Durmstrang boys though. A firework shot past your face and you jumped a bit.

“Fred!”

“Sorry darling.” 

–

It had been two days since the boy had flirted with you. Since then he had decided to up the ante, sending you sweets and notes. It had shocked you that some random boy would go to those lengths for you. It was kind, really, but it would never be Fred. Speaking of which, he was currently clinging to your side for dear life.

“I don’t get why that guy keeps coming up to you. Are you lying about knowing him?” Fred narrowed his eyes as Durmstrang boys passed. 

“Why would I lie?” You smacked the ginger lightly and rolled your eyes. “Come on. I want to go eat.” You tugged him along towards George. 

“Hey you two.” George started. Fred stayed silent as he sulked and you gave him a wave. 

“Y/N!” You almost jumped at the sudden voice and looked up to see your admirer.

“Oh.. Hello!” You mustered up and could feel Fred’s sharp glare from a mile away.

“Yes hello. I would like to ask.. Would you accompany me to the ball?” He smiled and your heart sank. You didn’t have a date but some deep part of you really wanted to go with Fred. Not that he had bothered to ask you.

“Oh.. That’s very kind-”

“That’s very kind but they’re coming with me. Sorry mate.” Fred piped up and your eyes went wide. You.. were going with him?

“Oh right.” The boy bowed and began to walk off. 

“Why would you say that Fred! Nobody has asked me to the ball. That could’ve been my chance.” You growled and he groaned.

“He’s not the type of guy you want to go out with Y/N. Trust me.” Your body filled with rage at this comment and you stood up.

“How would you know? You don’t know what’s good for me or not!” You stomped your way out of the great hall, tears threatening to spill.

–

It had been a day since Fred and you had the argument. You had been very distraught and confused but didn’t want to go running back to him. After all, he was the one in the wrong.

“Y/N!” You hear George from behind you and you turn.

“What George?” You exasperate. You were not in the mood for his teasing antics with everything going on.

“Fred wants to talk to you. He’s in the old classroom.” George told you and left no room for conversation, running away.

“Great.” You mumbled to yourself as you turned. You had an abandoned classroom to get to.

Your hand pulled at the door and you were met with Fred pulling you into a hug.

“I’m so sorry dear. I really am.” He whispered against your ear. As you pulled away from the sudden embrace you noticed his red cheeks. You couldn’t help but think he was adorable when he was embarrassed which happened very rarely.

“Why Fred?” Your hand rubbed at his as you looked up.

“I.. I didn’t want you going with him. I want you to go with me. I know it was selfish and-”

“I want to go with you.” You interrupted and Fred’s mouth spread into a grin.

“You want to go with me?”

“Yes. That is what I just said.” You retorted and Fred launched himself into your arms.

“Oh Y/N.. I’m honored.” The boy gave you a smirk as his hand rubbed at your jaw. You could feel yourself grow nervous underneath his strong gaze. 

“Fred..”

“Yes love?” The ginger’s hand rubbed at your lips, his face leaning in close to yours. You didn’t need to say anymore, closing the gap between you two. The kiss was desperate and messy, your mouths learning which angles and sides to use. That all quickly changed as Fred’s hand roamed down your torso and gripped at your hip.

“I don’t think best friends do this darling..” He teased and you could only snort.

“Good thing you’re all mine then.”

“Am I?” He pressed and you smacked his chest. His laughter was contagious and both of you sat enjoying the moment.

“I always have been.” He whispered and your heart melted.

“And I’ve always been yours.” Fred placed a delicate kiss against your forehead and hummed.

“I know. Who wouldn’t want to be mine?”

“Fred.”

“Only joking love.”

[honeyhotteoks]

this night together - chapter seven (j.yh + s.mg)

chapter seven: any time now

chapter summary: things are finally back to normal, but how long can that really last?

warnings: references to a/b/o dynamics such as heat and knotting and designations, general reader horny thoughts, masturbation

notes: major love for everyone who's been so patient while i worked on this chapter and this fic in general. i've been going through it recently, but hopefully this is a little fun one before we get back to the smut and angst ♡

pairings: alpha!yunho x alpha!mingi x omega!reader.......... but we're also featuring some alpha!seonghwa x reader, omega!wooyoung x reader (platonic)

genre: smut, a/b/o/omegaverse, angst, fluff, romance, polyamory

word count: 9.7K

previous chapter | next chapter | AO3

“No, no I’m telling you,” Hongjoong asserts, his eyes full of passion as he leans across the table, “Bowie was the greatest artist of our time. Period.” 

It's at this exact moment that you can see Seonghwa’s eyes go fuzzy as he realizes he’s introduced two of the more argumentative and passionate people he’s ever met to each other, and now he has to live with the consequences. And it’s not even like you and Hongjoong disagree, in reality you’re mostly just agreeing with each other - just loudly and with excitable hand gestures. 

You start going down the deep rabbit hole of Hongjoong’s musical preferences again and Seonghwa starts to look for a natural place to cut in, you can see it on his face, but you’re too focused on debating which of Bowie’s albums is actually the greatest of all time to even care. It’s only the second time you’ve met him, but it clicked with him quickly, and despite barely knowing him, here you are. 

“Favorite era?” Hongjoong recaptures your attention and you lean back in your seat. 

“This is hard,” You admit. 

“Mhm,” Hongjoong takes a sip of his drink and leans forward on the table, “there’s a right answer.” 

“Are we talking style or music?” You counter back. 

“You two,” Seonghwa groans, “I’m getting a headache,” 

“Shush,” Hongjoong slaps his friend’s arm softly, “you wanted us to be friends, right?” 

“At what cost,” Seonghwa smirks as he knocks back his drink. 

“Style or music,” You repeat, nudging Hongjoong. 

“Style,” He narrows his eyes. 

“Thin white duke,” You answer with zero hesitation. 

“Oh,” Seonghwa laughs, “you would,” 

“What?” You laugh, “What could that possibly say about me?” 

Seonghwa shrugs but Hongjoong nods, “He’s right,” 

“Sure,” You roll your eyes. 

“You like a man in a suit, that’s what it says,” Hongjoong laughs, “but I would have picked Berlin era.” 

“So we both like a man in a suit,” You nod at him. 

“You got me there,” He laughs, running a hand through his shock of blue hair. 

“I never hear music like that anymore,” You comment and Hongjoong smiles. 

“I’d love to produce something like that,” He admits, “but you need someone with a much stronger vocal range for that.” 

Seonghwa nods along, and it’s clear it’s not the first time he’s heard this sentiment from Hongjoong. 

“Stronger than the idols KQ has now?” You ask, your eyebrow raised. 

He nods, “It’s not that they’re not good, everyone’s very talented and I enjoy working with them… but the chance to work with someone one in a million is different,” 

“I could see that,” You concede. You don’t know much about music production or vocal performance, but you know a one in a million voice when you hear it. 

“You won’t have to wait long from the buzz I’m hearing,” Seonghwa drops his voice to a bit of a hushed tone even though there’s considerable space between your table and anyone else. 

“I’m not holding my breath,” Hongjoong says, “I don’t want to get my hopes up,” 

“I know it’s a longshot,” Seonghwa offers, “but I’m hearing good things,”

“Me too,” Hongjoong says, “but nothing’s on paper yet, so you know how these things go.” 

“So…” You give them a pointed expression. 

“Right,” Seonghwa leans in, “KQ is currently courting a big name from a group that just disbanded,” 

“To take on a senior group?” 

“No,” Hongjoong shakes his head, “just one of the members, as a solo artist.” 

“Oh,” You drop your voice, “who?” 

“You can’t say anything,” Seonghwa makes a hand gesture as if to say you’re dead if you do, “but Choi Jongho,” 

The pause between the three of you seems weighty, but you don’t know him and you have to admit it with a little shrug, “I’ve never heard of him,” 

“What?” Hongjoong shakes his head in disbelief, “I mean that’s crazy,” 

“I don’t keep up with it as much as you’d think,” 

“I mean,” Hongjoong blinks, “he’s the one in a million, he’s the voice.” 

“I believe you,” You nod quickly, “I just don’t know him.” 

“Well,” He sighs, “hopefully you will. If our CEO can close the deal,” 

“You really want to produce for him that badly? He’s that good?” You ask. 

“Without question,” He sighs, “I would kill to write him some R&B,” 

“Oh, now there’s a thought,” You lean in. 

“You just need so much more vocal texture,” Hongjoong explains, “but if you heard him, you’d get it.”

You nod along. 

Hongjoong sighs and leans back in his chair, running a hand through his hair again, the silver of his many rings catching in the overhead light, “If he signs we could get an album together for early next year,” 

“You really want to work with him that badly?” You nod, “He must be amazing.” 

“He is,” Hongjoong hums, “so cross your fingers.” 

You do and show him your hand, “Done,” 

The server passes by your table and smoothly passes the check towards Seonghwa, but Hongjoong intercepts it with practiced ease and slips his heavier credit card into the billfold before returning it to the server’s waiting hands. 

“Thank you,” The server nods, “I’ll be right back with this.” 

“Thank you, Joong,” Seonghwa smiles, “next time on me,” 

Hongjoong waves his hand and you realize it’s much the same as the last dinner. You wonder just how well producers are paid if this is his casual attitude towards a bill for three people eating rich cuts of meat and having crafted cocktails, but judging from Hongjoong’s lack of concern at the check’s total, he’s paid pretty well. 

“Thank you, Hongjoong,” You echo. 

“Of course,” Hongjoong smiles, and then the bill is back in his hands to sign off before you’re all up and away out the door. 

You walk a little ways with them, in the direction of a much busier block so you can catch a taxi home, all the while Hongjoong and Seonghwa chat about people you’ve yet to meet at the company and old times. They’ve been friends for years, you could gather that even without the download of information Seonghwa gave you after your first dinner out with them. They have an easy way about them that makes you smile, and even though you’re not in on any of these stories or jokes, it still feels comfortable. They both exude cool, in their style and the way they walk and talk, their handsome smiles and the cut of their clothes, but they never stray too far into pretension and it makes you like them both all the more. 

When Hongjoong checks his phone briefly as he walks and hums quietly, Seonghwa makes a disappointed noise with his tongue against his teeth. 

“What?” Hongjoong glances up. 

“Stop thinking about work,” Seonghwa interrupts his brain, “it’s ten o’clock,” 

“Normally I’m still working, you know,” Hongjoong tucks his phone away and makes a face. 

“You do that to yourself, Joong,” Seonghwa comments. 

“I know, I know,” He shrugs, “there’s nothing wrong with working hard.” He swivels his head to you at the same time Seonghwa does. 

“Don’t look at me,” You throw up your hands in surrender, “I can’t help you, Hwa, I’m at the studio late every day.” 

“I have to stop attracting friends who do nothing but work,” Seonghwa says, but he smiles despite his words. 

“Speaking of work,” Hongjoong grins conspiratorially at you, “he said you’re on the choreography team for the new tracks,” 

“Yes,” You catch Seonghwa’s pleased eye, “I’m assisting with it,” 

“How do you like the title song?” He asks. 

“I think it’s an earworm,” You admit, “I’ve been hearing it in my head for days,” 

“Not too commercial?” He asks. 

“I said it was going to be popular,” Seonghwa groans, “not that it’s commercial,” 

“I’m just asking,” Hongjoong throws a hand out to his side to smack Seonghwa’s arm. 

“It’s not,” You shake your head vehemently, “it’s just good, and catchy as hell,” 

“I can’t wait to see what your team does with it,” Hongjoong admits with a sigh, “I’m proud of this album,”

“I’m looking forward to hearing the whole thing,” 

“When it’s finished you should come to the listening party,” He offers, his steps slowing as you make it to the curb of the busier street. 

“I would love to,” You smile, and Seonghwa nods.

“You’ll be alright to get home?” Hongjoong asks, turning towards you. 

“Absolutely,” 

“Let me,” Seonghwa steps past you to the edge of the sidewalk and raises an arm out to beckon a taxi over, and a yellow cab flicks its occupied light on and smoothly cuts over to the side lane. 

“Thanks, Hwa,” 

“Come out again soon?” Hongjoong asks, “I didn’t even get to my thoughts on 90s music,”

“Anytime,” You smile as Seonghwa opens up the taxi door for you. 

“I’ll send you some albums,” He adds.

“I love it,” You nod and move to the open door, catching Seonghwa’s eye as you do. 

“See you tomorrow,” He says as you slide into your seat. 

“Tomorrow,” 

He waits for you to swing your legs inside the car and then shuts the door tight, tapping on the hood and backing away to stand next to Hongjoong. He waves, and as the taxi pulls away they turn to walk back the way you came. 

Things stay perfectly in this new status quo for weeks, your life so much fuller and richer than the first few months you worked at KQ and tried to find inroads of friendship. Now you have dinner from time to time with Seonghwa and Hongjoong, drinks with your new dance troupe trio, workouts with San, coffee breaks with Wooyoung, and a growing sense of normalcy with Yunho and Mingi as you get back to work with them. 

You’re just starting to get comfortable when your phone reminds you that normal never lasts. 

As ever, things change. 

The shift starts with the first real peace offering you get from Yunho, weeks after the first night back in the studio with them. You’re buried in your phone trying to map out the dates of your next heat, paying exactly zero attention to your surroundings as you go through the app on your phone that tracks out your cycle symptoms. One that sends you painfully patronizing push notifications like - Hey girlie! Your heat is scheduled to start anytime in the next two weeks! Be sure to drink lots of water!! - complete with a panting red faced emoji. The last person you really want to see at this second is Yunho, or Mingi for that matter, and to be reminded of everything that happened a few months ago, but you’re never quite so lucky. 

Yunho’s hand enters your eyeline, dropping a coffee on the table in front of you and you jump at the sudden break in your concentration as you snap your phone lock on and let it slip through your fingers. 

“Sorry,” He smiles, “I didn’t mean to scare you.” 

“It’s okay,” You take a steadying breath as you watch him reach for your phone that skid across the floor, “I was just lost in thought,” 

“Mm,” He passes the phone back to you and you’re infinitely grateful for your panic response that locked the phone and darkened the screen to save you any more embarrassment, “is everything okay? You seem a little stressed,” 

“I’m good,” You assure him. 

Adjusting the cap on his head he gestures to the coffee, “Well, either way you looked like you could use one of these,” 

“Thank you,” You smile, trying to let the moment be normal. You had missed him bringing you little things. Before your heat he was always checking up on you, delivering water bottles and protein bars and iced americanos. You can’t help but comment on it as you lift the coffee and give it a shake, “it’s been a while,” 

“I know,” He grimaces, “I’m sorry,” 

“Don’t be,” You brush him off, “I just meant it’s nice, I’m really glad we’re friends again.” 

He swallows a little tightly, glancing to his side, and you know being vulnerable like this isn’t really his favorite thing but he’s trying, “I am sorry though,” he says finally, “Mingi and I shouldn’t have let things get so weird. That was… I mean, this is work. We shouldn’t have let it interfere like that, we should have just talked to you.” 

“Me too,” You murmur, letting him off the hook, “it goes both ways.” 

“Yeah,” He breathes, and then his eyes come up, “but friends? That’s what you want?” 

“Of course,” You nod quickly, the sharp idea of going back to barely talking or looking at each other making you queasy, and the past few weeks of working together with them has felt like a weight off your shoulders. 

There’s a beat between you, and a noise to your right as the door to the break room opens and bodies spill in. Someone shouts your name, but your eyes are holding so tightly to Yunho that you don’t even know who it was, you don’t really care. You need to know that he’s on the same page. 

Yunho nods finally and smiles, “Good, okay, friends,” 

Mingi crashes into him from the side with an arm slung over his shoulders and his face lit up in a bright smile, “Hey,” 

“Hi,” You smile, watching as Yunho crosses his arms loosely and lets Mingi stay clinging onto him. You catch Mingi’s eyes, “You’re in a good mood today,” 

“I guess so,” He shrugs, “it’s a good day,” 

The chair to your side moves and your head snaps over to see San flopping down, a freshly mixed protein smoothie in hand, “You’re late,” he comments and you snap a look to your watch. 

Fifteen minutes late to your training with him, and you grimace, “Shit, I’m sorry,” 

“It’s cool, I’ll just have to remember this when you’re begging to get out of the last set,” His eyebrows quirk up at you playfully. 

Mingi makes a quiet noise and when you look back up at him he’s pouting, “You never let me give you training tips,” 

“That’s because you hate the gym,” You laugh. 

His nose crinkles, “True,” 

Yunho laughs at the exchange and shrugs Mingi off and he looks like he’s about to add something to the conversation, but the door opens again and Dahan and Yujin cut their way through the dining area. 

Yujin catches your eye and smiles, “Ready for today?” 

You nod and try not to seem too terrified, “Definitely,” 

“See you at four,” She says, brushing past your table and heading for the coffee stations at the far side of the room. 

You let out a shaky breath, one you didn’t know you were holding quite so tightly in your chest and Yunho’s brow knits together, “What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing,” You assure him, “it’s just a big day for me,” 

“The meeting?” He asks, referring to the session later today where you and the rest of the crew will meet with the girl group members for the first time. You’ve been elected to run them through some of the point choreography, and while everyone will be working together, you’re first and that level of spotlight makes you buzz with anxiety. 

“Yeah,” You shrug, trying to stay casual about it, “it’s not that big of a deal, I know, but I’m still nervous,” 

“You’ve been working like crazy,” San cuts in, smoothing a hand over your fidgeting fingers to calm you down, “you’re going to be fine, when have you ever choked?” 

“You’re right,” You breathe, pulling your hand back and pushing your hair away from your face, “Yujin and Dahan are just very good.” You don’t elaborate, but the idea of teaching choreography in front of them makes your heart thump loudly in your chest. 

“You’re very good,” Mingi dismisses instantly with a noise in his throat. 

“Thanks, Mingi,” 

“It’s first time jitters,” Yunho smiles, “I get them every time we do something new,” 

“You do?” Your eyebrows shoot high. 

“Mhm,” He nods, “actually, I have an idea,” 

“Yeah?” 

“Let’s go for a run,” Yunho checks his watch and then nods. 

“Yunho,” You glance to San, “I don’t know,” 

“It clears my head every time, trust me,” He presses, “something about running outside… it’s definitely going to get you out of your head.” 

“Go,” San nods, brushing off your unspoken concern about ditching him. 

“You don’t mind?” You check with him. 

“Nah,” He grins, pushing himself up to stand and offering you a hand to help you to your feet too, “I’ll just go bother Wooyoung,” 

“I’m sure he’ll thank me for that,” You laugh. 

“He should be so grateful,” San brushes your arm lightly with his fingers and then gives you a warm smile, “but you go, relax, and text me later.” 

“I will,” You nod, and he jogs off. 

You twist back to Yunho and Mingi at the sound of a throat clearing and Mingi shifts from foot to foot, “I’d join you on the run, but,” 

“You hate running,” Yunho finishes for him, “you’re good,” 

“Yeah,” 

There’s a beat of silence between the three of you, and then Yunho clears his throat again, “Meet me out front in ten? I just need to change,” 

“Sure,” You have to do the same, and idly in the back of your mind you wonder if he’s a good runner, the kind of person who makes it look easy. 

“Great,” He smiles and then he’s off. 

Mingi watches him go and then shifts his attention back to you, “You’ll be great today,” 

“You think?” Your nervousness slips out. 

“I know.” He nods, pointed with no room for discussion. 

You swallow tightly, but agree anyway. 

Mingi guides you back out of the pull of your own thoughts when he claps a hand down on your shoulder as he moves past you and around the table, “Just chill,” 

“Chill,” You repeat dumbly. 

“Mhm,” He shrugs, quirking up an eyebrow at you as he pushes through the door and away. 

You’re used to his naturally flirtatious energy, but even a look that intense from him can send your stomach into little flip flops. Your phone dings again in your pocket, the familiar sound of your cycle app sending you another reminder and you don’t even bother to look and see what it says, your lingering gaze on Mingi is enough to tell you. 

Alone in the break room you sigh and run your hands through your hair before shaking the little interaction off and heading out to meet Yunho. By the time you’re out front he’s already there, and you think it’s quite possible that this is the biggest mistake you’ve ever made when you lay eyes on him. He’s dressed comfortably, in shorts and running shoes, but it’s the sleeveless black top that makes your pulse quicken. 

“Alright,” He says as he sees you approaching, “let’s do it.” 

“Okay,” You stretch out your arms in front of you and do your best to focus on your own body and not his and all the ways you’ve seen it move before. 

He waves you along and then starts to run. 

You set a pace together with ease, and you’re not sure if it’s Yunho accommodating you or you accommodating him, but either way you fall into step smoothly as you start jogging through the streets of Seoul. He adjusts the black cap on his head and settles his arms into a comfortable running position and he slowly starts to increase the pace, but you match him smoothly right back. 

“Do you have a route?” You ask between controlled breaths. 

“Yeah,” He nods, gesturing up ahead, “just follow me,” 

You murmur your agreement, and then refocus your eyes ahead and not on the man to your side. He’s right, you do need this. Your shoulders have been tense with stress for days, your body tired and feeling jittery, but the steady steps over the pavement and the cool air have your muscles relaxing already. You stay focused on your breath and the rest starts to melt away. 

“This way,” He directs after a little while heading straight, and he takes a smooth left turn across a busy intersection where the walk signs are lit up for you. 

In the distance is a block of trees marking the start of one of the riverside parks, and you’re sure that’s where he’s running to. You can feel him glancing down at you every so often, making sure you’re still at his side, and it’s oddly comforting to run with him and not alone for once. It’s been a while since you’ve been out like this, you’ve taken to sticking with San in the comfort of the KQ gyms, but with Yunho at your side it feels comfortable and right. 

“Good?” He asks as you push over the next street and into the entrance of the trail, hooking through two lines of trees. 

“Good,” You confirm, “you?” 

He smiles and laughs a little, but keeps running, “Definitely,” 

You push on and keep pace, moving down the pathway through the trees, nothing but the sound of each other’s breath for company. Being cocooned in trees, this close to the water, makes you feel insulated from the city and with every step your worries about the meeting later have started to fall away. 

You glance to Yunho and see that his eyes are still focused ahead, but you swallow hard at the pink blush across his cheeks and collarbones, the sweat now visible on his tanned skin. You have such a clear image of him above you, broad hand on your cheek and cock buried inside your body, looking flushed and sweaty just as he does now. 

“Feeling better?” He asks, not slowing his run at all. 

His voice jolts you out of your meandering thoughts, “Hmm?” 

“Are you feeling any better?” He tries again, “less stressed?” 

“A little,” You concede. 

He nods, but keeps moving. The lack of conversation between you both normally feels tight and unnatural, but lately it’s started to feel safe again. He’s always been a person you can just be around, nothing extra, just existing. It finally, finally feels right again. 

You make your way a little further into the park until it starts to curve around with the bend of the river. Yunho gestures up ahead to a block of benches that overlook the water and he glances down at you, “Let’s take a breath there and then double back,” 

“Yeah,” 

As you approach the benches and start to slow, Yunho grins, “It’s gorgeous today,” 

“It really is,” You agree, chest heaving a little at the effort from the run and you focus on deep steady inhales and exhales. 

He walks past the benches and up to the railing at the water, leaning down and resting his elbows on the dark blue painted steel, “That looks fun,” he comments, gesturing towards a group of boats on the water. 

“Mm,” You sigh, leaning next to him, your arms nearly brushing, “especially on a day like today.” 

He nods quietly, his eyes closing for a moment as he soaks up the warm sun, and then he turns towards you and leans against the railing with his hip, “So,” he says, “is it first time jitters, or is something else going on?” 

“W-what do you mean?” His words break you out of your thoughts again, and you didn’t even realize your mind was slipping away somewhere else, but every time he interrupts you it’s painfully obvious to you that you can’t stop worrying. 

“I’ve seen you nervous,” He comments, “this feels like more,” 

You shift towards him and look up, “A little, maybe,” 

“Tell me,” He prompts you, extending his hand for a fraction of a second before he lets it drop back to his thigh. 

Your first thought is that you want to touch him too, but you resist it. 

“Teaching these girls,” You trail off, dropping your eyes again to the ripple of the water as it kisses the rocky shore, “something about doing it in front of Yujin and Dahan… and even you,” 

“Me?” His voice runs high. 

“It’s just scary,” You admit, “I’m sure I’ll get over it.” 

“I don’t want to make you scared,” He murmurs.

  “It’s not that,” You glance up at him, but it’s safer to keep your focus on the water, “I just…. I don’t know if I belong in that room yet, and today all the attention will be on me. I’ve never taught anyone like this before,” 

“Yes, you have,” Yunho finally does touch you, nudging your arm and getting your eyes back on him, “you came up with good stuff for this routine. You taught all of us, and I saw you practicing everything together to show them. You’re ready,” 

“You really believe that?” The words slip out. 

“y/n,” His brow furrows, “of course I do, I wouldn’t have suggested you in the first place if I thought you couldn’t do this.” 

He’s right, you can do this, and with flying colors too if you really set your mind to it, but the question still brews in the back of your brain and you have to ask. “Yunho,” You sigh, “why did you suggest me?” 

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“We weren’t talking,” You explain, “we were barely looking at each other in the studio, but you still pulled me into this project. Why?” 

He’s still for a moment, his eyes flicking over your face and then he sighs, “Because you’re good, and because I know how hard you were working even when we weren’t talking. And because,” he pauses, “because I wanted you there,”

“For me or for my skills?”

“For your skills,” He nods, “the fact that it’s you… well, that just made my choice easier.” 

“You really mean that, don’t you?” You murmur.

  “I do,” He nods, “so be regular nervous all you want, but never doubt your place in the room, okay? I wouldn’t do that to you.” 

“Thank you, Yunho,” 

He nods and looks back out to the water before checking his watch and taking a deep breath, “You ready to head back?” 

“Let’s do it,” You agree with a sigh, shaking out your limbs. 

“Did this help?” He asks as he pushes off the railing. 

“Yeah,” You smile, “I mean, I’m still a little terrified, but I think that’s normal.” 

“Mhm,” He smooths his hand across your shoulders and gives you a squeeze, “plus, I promise you can dance circles around these girls any day of the week,” 

“Oh, shut up,” You roll your eyes, “now you’re laying it on too thick,” 

“I don’t lie,” He grins, “you know that already,” 

You open your mouth to retort but he takes the wind right out of your sails when he starts to jog backwards and he sticks his tongue out to tease you. As he twists around he calls back over his shoulder, “Race you back!”

You scramble forwards, “Hey! No fair, you got a head start,” 

He keeps running, but you hear him laugh, “Catch up then!”

You pump your legs harder, moving as fast as possible as you try to reach him. You watch as he glances back over his shoulder, goading you into pushing yourself harder, something swells in your chest. He’s close, if you just pick it up a little more, focus a little more, you’ll reach him. Maybe pass him. 

“You still with me?” He shouts back, voice light. 

Your heart is pounding in your ears, blood rushing loud, and your chest is screaming with the effort of working your body this hard but you don’t care. You want to win, you need to win. You pump your legs harder, clear your mind, and race. You gain on him inch by inch and you grin when you hear him laugh again, catching you in his peripheral vision as you scream up next to him. He says something but you miss it, your head too focused on every step in front of you. 

When you finally make it back to KQ you all but skid into the back entrance with him, colliding shoulder to shoulder and having to brace yourself on the entryway wall so you don’t pitch right over onto the hardwood floor. 

Yunho’s hands close over your hips to steady you, and you hear his heavy breath above you before he laughs, “Jesus, you’re fast,” 

“You annoyed me,” You wheeze, pressing on your side where a painful, sharp stitch has taken up residence. 

Your fingers brush along his for the barest of seconds and he pulls his hands back instantly before giving you an apologetic smile and pulling off his ball cap to wipe the sweat off his brow with the bottom of his shirt. The quick flash of his abs makes you dizzy. 

“I still won,” Yunho sighs, leaning against the wall. 

You shoot him a look, but you’re still catching your breath and at this point it’s not even worth the fight. As you raise your head to look at him, you suddenly notice the crowded hallway towards the side of the door. Wooyoung and San stand close together, angled towards you but clearly just in halted conversation with Minseok, Yujin, and two of the other dancers. 

Wooyoung gives you a single pointed eyebrow raise. 

“Were you racing?” Minseok asks, glancing between the two of you. 

You make an affirmative noise, all you can do while you recover.

  “Fun,” Wooyoung laughs a little to himself and if you had the energy you’d smack him, but you can’t even bother. 

“Why?” Minseok asks. 

“Why not?” Yunho shrugs and then turns his attention back to you, “Good?” 

“Good,” You nod.

  For a second he looks like he wants to say something else, maybe give you one last encouraging speech, but he just settles on a smile, “See you in there,” 

You nod, smiling back up at him, and then he pushes through the little pocket of your coworkers to get back to the locker rooms. You take another second to catch your breath against the wall, Wooyoung making an expression you need to roll your eyes at, but then you realize. You feel great. 

The nerves from the whole day have dissipated, the surging rush of endorphins from pushing yourself so hard, drowning out anything in your body except adrenaline, joy, and a little exhaustion. You could kiss him. 

At four o’clock, when you walk into the room, you do it with a clear head. In the back of the studio, Yunho smiles. 

***

A week later, your app dings again and this time it’s right on the money.

You submit the paperwork on Thursday after practice, another lozenge tucked into your cheek as you start to feel the first signs of your upcoming heat. It’s already better than last time, a more familiar kind of cycle than what you last experienced. You’re used to it being mostly mild, a few times a year leaving you achy and sore, and insatiably horny, but nothing like the desperate cramping from before. 

This time you have things down to a predictable science, and though you might have a few moments of serious weakness or deeper feelings of heat, you’d be fine. This time there would be no dizzy desperation, no crying into your pillow in hopes that an alpha would soothe you and take it away. No begging to be claimed. It would be fine. 

You should be fine. 

You leave the paperwork on the back desk and hurry out to catch a ride back home before you start to really feel it, but all you can imagine is Yunho’s face when he picks up the papers and you need to not be in the building when that happens. 

At home you set yourself up for the next few days. Bedroom door locked, a stash of water bottles, a stack of towels, and a bedside table full of charged and ready toys. You get undressed out of your restrictive leggings and tighter clothes, and pull on a simple pair of sleep shorts and a loose oversized top. Fabric that won’t cling or make you hot, just comfortable enough to relax and take it easy as your body starts to sink into heat. 

For a while things are normal and fine, regular aches and pains. You watch a show on your iPad and zone out the feeling, but eventually every little shift of your hips feels sharper, and a low throb starts to pulse inside you. It’s evening when you start to lose focus on the drama you’re watching. Something about the male lead seems familiar to you and your mind keeps drifting. 

You settle back into the cushions to get more comfortable and to try and refocus on the show, but the ghost sensation of lips on your throat makes your eyes drift closed. 

Your hand is pushing under the elastic of your sleep shorts before you can even think it through. 

Your mind keeps replaying the image of Mingi pushing his glasses up into his hair and smiling, the way his hands ran over your body and landed firm on your hips. Yunho’s head between your thighs. Both their fingers searching your body, pushing inside you, pulling you apart over and over again. Their hot breath on your throat. Pretty omega, they called you. Something tumbles in your chest, knots build up in your stomach. Your fingers feel good but they pale in comparison to what you had before and you work yourself up and up but nothing quite comes close to the edge of pleasure you’re looking for. 

You’re my best girl. 

You bite back a moan and push two fingers inside yourself. 

You can almost feel their hands on you, their hot kisses, gentle nips of your skin, but you can’t find the feeling of them inside you. You quicken your hand and replay the images faster in your mind. You miss them, you need them, you want them. You come hard and fast with a shudder, your eyes snapping back open. 

There she is. That’s our girl.

“F-fuck,” You breathe to yourself, pulling your hand out of your shorts. Your chest is heaving, a light sheen of sweat over you, and your core throbs like your body wants you to go again. 

“Oh my god,” You breathe, pushing yourself off the bed and stumbling into the bathroom, “what is wrong with you, get a grip,” 

You shake it off, trying to ignore the fact that you just thought about them while you were getting yourself off. It’s just heat, that’s all it ever is with them, that has to be it. Hot alphas will always scramble your brain at a time like this, you just have to listen to yourself and get a grip.

With a sigh you wash your hands, crawl back into bed, and try to just fall asleep and ignore the images still looping in the back of your brain. 

You don’t sleep though, you can’t. 

You toss and you turn, and you ache, but you don’t sleep. 

Around the third hour of trying to soothe your cramps with a heating pad that you decide to say fuck it and ask for help. You have a small window of time to get to wherever you’ll be spending the duration of your heat, and even though you know with your suppressants this won’t be quite as bad as before, your body still wants.

For a second you think about Mingi. You miss his hands, his easy smile, the way he would slowly stroke your back and massage your hips. You miss his scent, his warmth, and his all encompassing comfort. But things have just started to get back to normal at the studio with him and Yunho and you can’t let a moment of heat weakness lead you back. 

You open your phone, flipping through social media in an attempt to distract your mind but before you know it you have Yunho’s contact open and you’re fighting the urge to call, just to hear his voice for a second. 

Your finger hovers over the button, you can hear his voice in your mind. 

Sweetheart, just tell me where you are, I’m coming to get you. 

You can see it. 

But it’s just your heat. No matter how much Wooyoung likes to tease you about having a crush, it’s just this. Biology you can’t control rewiring your brain and telling you that they’re your perfect match. But you don’t believe in perfect matches or scent pairings. You don’t.

A particularly tight cramp ripples through your middle and you clench your fist through the pain, shifting in your bedding once again, sweat building at your brow. 

In a flash of genius and panic, you close Yunho’s contact card and open another. 

The phone rings and rings. 

He’s busy, you’ve probably missed him, and when he offered he was drunk anyways so he probably doesn’t remember but then suddenly the phone clicks and connects and his warm voice fills your ear, “Hey, y/n,” 

“S-Seonghwa,” You sigh, trying to sound as put together as possible, “hey,” 

“Is everything okay?” He checks, and you hear a little background noise and hope to god he’s not still at the studio. 

“Definitely,” You press your eyes closed and bite the inside of your lip to keep from making a tight, stressed sound. 

“Okay…” He waits a moment and then adds, “then what’s going on? You never call,”

The cramp passes and you take a breath, “Sorry, are you busy? I can call later,” 

“No, no,” He says, “I’m just grabbing a drink with Wooyoung and Joong,” 

“Is that y/n?” You hear Wooyoung in the background, “Tell her to come meet us!”

“Woo,” Seonghwa’s voice sounds a little far from the receiver and then he comes back on the line, “If you’re free, you can come meet us? We were just thinking about dinner, Hongjoong has a new project for us, you might be interested,” 

“Oh,” For a second, in the space between your cramps you forget why you called in the first place, “a new song?” 

“Two,” You can practically hear the smile on Seonghwa’s face. 

“Exciting,” You smile. 

“So what do you say,” Seonghwa says, “come out?” 

You would, you wish you could, but you shake your head, “I can’t, I actually… I’ll be out for a couple of days. I submitted the paperwork this morning,” 

“Are you going somewhere?” He asks, not yet picking up on the obvious. 

“Leave,” You smile at his question. 

“Leave,” He repeats, “oh, oh leave!” 

“Say it louder, Seonghwa,” You groan. 

“Is that why you’re calling?” He says, and a little blush creeps into your cheeks at the thought that he’s with other people and talking to you about this like it’s nothing. 

“Kind of,” You admit, “I don’t know, you’re busy I just remembered what you said, but you don’t have to,” 

“How are you now? I’m at least thirty minutes away, is that too long?” 

Warmth blooms in your chest, “I’m fine, honestly, go have dinner,” 

You can practically see him rolling his eyes when he says, “Stop being a martyr. Listen, I’ll call you right back, okay?” 

“Okay,” 

“And don’t worry,” He assures, his voice honeyed and warm, “I will call, I’ll only be a minute,” 

“Okay,” You manage, “thank you, Hwa,” 

He says something more but you miss it with the light commotion in the background, and then the line clicks dead. 

It takes two minutes, but he calls you right back. 

“Hey,” You sigh into the receiver. 

“Can you text Woo your address?” Seonghwa asks first, “We’re grabbing a cab,” 

“Oh,” You flip the phone on speaker and start typing, “okay, yeah, I’m… Seonghwa, are you sure?” 

“Mhm,” He replies, “as long as you are.” 

“Give me the phone,” You hear Wooyoung and immediately laugh. 

“What do you want?” Seonghwa says, clearly not talking to you. 

“Phone,” You hear him say and then after a brief groan, Wooyoung’s voice is in your ear, “Hey, you,” 

“Hey,” Something about him calms you instantly. 

“How far gone are you? Should we pick stuff up on our way or can you come back to my place?” He’s straight and to the point but still gentle, and you’re starting to feel glad that you called them and not anyone else. 

“I’m fine,” You assure him, “I can make it to yours. My roommates are here, I think it would be….” 

“Got it,” He says, “well just rest, we’ll be there soon,” 

Tears well up in your eyes and you sniffle softly, trying to keep it to yourself.

He picks up on the soft sound immediately, “Hey, hey, what’s wrong?” 

You swallow and wipe away the gathering moisture, “Nothing, you’re both just being so nice,” 

“Aw,” He murmurs, “jagiya you’re one of us now, we always take care of each other.” 

“Is she crying?” You hear Seonghwa’s voice raise an octave in the background. 

“She’s good,” Wooyoung brushes it off, ��alright, twenty minutes okay, get your stuff, take a deep breath, and I’ll text you when we’re downstairs.” 

“Thanks, Woo,” You manage. 

“Deep breaths,” He reminds, and then he’s gone. 

You must be insane. You must be fully crazy to invite this type of chaos into your life twice with yet another group of men, but something about this feels right. It feels safe and sure, and something about Wooyoung being an omega too is just making all of this feel so much simpler than last time. At least where your heart is concerned. 

It takes you all twenty minutes to get your things together, but you decide to focus on this instead of what all this chaos might mean. You pack a bag of necessities and then change into something loose but more presentable than your sleep clothes. When your phone buzzes again you don’t even look down at it, you just know that it’s Wooyoung arriving right on the dot and you slip out of your apartment as quietly as you can. 

Downstairs a car waits across the street and when Seonghwa emerges to greet you, he rushes forwards to take your bags. Your cheeks light up with blush and you have to take a half, staggering step backwards, already being outside and in the presence of an alpha your subconscious mind is reacting to him. 

“Let me get these,” Seonghwa says, pulling the bags from your hands, and the touch of his warm skin along yours has a shaky breath leaving your lips.

“Thanks,” You murmur, watching him pack them into the trunk of the cab, and then he turns. 

He takes a good look at you and nods, “Yeah, let’s get you to Woo’s,” 

“Is it obvious?” You cup your cheeks. 

“Not too much,” He assures you, extending his hand for you to take, “but let’s not waste time,” 

“Let’s go,” You nod, and he tugs you forwards gently to get you into the car. You settle into the middle seat between Wooyoung and Seonghwa easily. 

“Doing good?” Wooyoung asks you, trying to be subtle in front of the driver. 

“Mhm,” You nod, and you smile when he laces your fingers together and gives you a squeeze. 

Seonghwa gives the next address to the driver and you’re away. 

It’s quiet at first, all you can focus on is the way the miles slowly tick down on the map the driver is using, and you try to breathe through your mouth in the closed car full of competing scents but it’s nearly impossible. Seonghwa’s scent envelops you easily, especially in the closed air circulation of the car. Warm, like freshly brewed coffee. You close your eyes as a cramp passes through you and you try not to think of him even though his leg keeps bumping into yours every time the car takes a turn. 

The automated sound of a window breaks your concentration and you glance to your side. Seonghwa isn’t looking at you, but he’s cracked the back window a couple of inches, and the pulse of clean air leaves you able to take a shaky inhale and exhale. Wooyoung squeezes your hand again. 

The mileage counter keeps clicking down. Seonghwa’s scent stays present in your mind despite the fresh air. Your stomach tightens. The car takes a particularly curving turn and your body is pressed against Seonghwa’s from knee to shoulder and you squeeze Wooyoung’s hand back instead of letting the whine in your throat bubble out. 

Your stomach clenches again, and then you feel it. A rush of slick as your body prepares, a flushing flood of hot warmth rolling up your body and through your cheeks. Seonghwa’s arm crosses over you like a seatbelt and he closes his hand over your left thigh, his thumb drawing slow circles to keep you steady and protect you from anyone noticing. 

You let yourself glance up at him once more, but he’s still focused out the window, doing his best to comfort you without drawing an ounce of attention. 

“Out front?” The driver asks suddenly, and you realize the building ahead across the intersection must be theirs. 

“That’s perfect,” Seonghwa replies smoothly, “thank you.” 

The minute it takes to cross the intersection feels never ending, and then suddenly things start moving at two-times speed. As the heat cramps increase, Seonghwa’s arm is around your waist and Wooyoung is left hauling your stuff up into the elevator. They get you inside smoothly and as the doors close, Seonghwa lets out a sigh of relief. 

“I thought I was going to have to fight every alpha in the lobby,” Seonghwa laughs as the elevator begins to climb, “are you sure you’re on suppressants?” 

You can’t help but elbow him slightly in the ribs, “Yes,” 

“I’m kidding,” He squeezes you, “you just smell like an extremely edible cake,” 

“Mm,” You murmur as a small cramp passes, “well, you know, this is why I’m on the strong stuff,” 

The elevator doors open and Wooyoung steps out before you, glancing to either side down the apartment hallway before beckoning you both forwards. He gets out his keys and glances over his shoulder at you both, “Which?” 

You tell him the brand as you lean harder on Seonghwa who hushes you softly with a comforting squeeze. 

“Ah,” Wooyoung nods, “no wonder,” 

You open your mouth to ask him what he means by that, but he’s too busy pushing open the door to his apartment and opening it up for you both to slip inside. 

His place is overwhelmingly simple and clean, utilitarian with dark black furniture and gray moody accents, but it suits him. He drops his keys off on the kitchen island and beckons you inside, “Come on in, get comfortable,” 

Seonghwa steers you to the couch and settles you down on the middle cushion, “So, where are we at?” 

Settled onto the couch now, you honestly feel fine. Your back hurts a little, and your joints are a little stiff, but the aching, pulsing pain you felt back at your apartment has mostly dissipated, “I think I’m fine,” 

“Yeah?” 

“I mean,” You cross your legs, your hands itching to wrap a cozy blanket around yourself but finding none, “off meds I was practically feral, this is…. manageable,” 

“Manageable is good,” Seonghwa smiles. 

Wooyoung settles his hand over your yours, soothing your little trembles and then he dips his head to catch your eyes, “I have a room all set up,” 

“You do?” Your eyes widen. 

“Mm,” He tangles your fingers together again and gives you a squeeze, “I used to have a roommate but when he moved out I just converted the second bedroom,” 

“Oh,” You breathe, and you can’t imagine the expense to maintain an apartment large enough to have your very own heat sanctuary, but you dream of the day you get to. 

“Let’s go relax in there,” Wooyoung nods, “maybe you’ll like it and get a little sleep,” 

“Should we talk?” You glance up at Seonghwa. 

“We will,” Seonghwa assures you as he shrugs off his blazer, “but go get comfortable, I’ll start setting up,” 

“Setting up?” You ask, confusion evident in your voice. 

“Ah,” Wooyoung bumps you with his shoulder, “our Seonghwa takes his caretaker responsibilities very seriously,” 

“You’ll want for nothing here, jagiya,” Seonghwa smiles and takes a slight bow, “Wooyoungie is the most pampered omega in Seoul, it will be nice to take care of someone less bratty for a change,” 

You laugh sharply and cover your mouth with your hand, “What have I gotten myself into?” 

“A fun weekend,” Seonghwa smiles, “now relax, let Woo show you the place.” 

Already this feels less stressful than before, and maybe that’s the level of your heat or maybe it’s them, but it feels easy. Wooyoung pulls you up and watches you carefully as you stand to make sure you’re feeling well, and then he guides you down the hall. 

Wooyoung’s nesting room is exactly what you’ve been looking for. The bed in this room isn’t necessarily large, but what it is, is covered in blankets and plush pillows. The second bedroom of his apartment has been so smoothly converted into an office and omega haven that you almost wish you had been here for your last, harder heat. 

“Okay,” Wooyoung walks you in, “there’s a robe on the back of the door you can use, the mini fridge is pretty stocked, and on that shelf by the bed there’s lozenges, wipes, towels, you name it.” 

“Oh my God,” You breathe, scanning over everything as he gestures. 

“And over in that bedside table,” He points out the single nightstand, “there’s pretty much any toy you’ll need.” 

“Oh,” You blush. 

“Hwa and I will be here, of course,” He assures you, ���but I like a little extra something,” 

“Right,” You smile, “of course you do,” 

A gentle knock on the door behind you brings you out of your focus, studying every inch of his perfect heat sanctuary and you turn to see Seonghwa leaning against the door frame. 

“How are you feeling?” He asks gently. 

“Like myself,” You tell him honestly, “it’s starting, but it doesn’t feel too bad.” 

“Mm,” He nods, “it probably won’t be quite as bad as last time, but I’m certainly here for whatever you need,” 

“Thank you, Hwa,” You smile, “I can’t thank you enough,” 

His eyes light up with warmth and then he looks over you both, “This is nice,” he comments, “the two of you in here,” 

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Wooyoung laughs as he leans against the desk, “no one’s ready for your knot yet,” 

A throb pulses through you, but blissfully no one notices. 

“I just think it’s nice,” He shrugs, “two pretty omegas,”

You blush. 

“Oh,” Seonghwa smiles as he notices your pink cheeks, “you liked that,” 

“Hwa,” You protest weakly. 

“Ignore him,” Wooyoung cuts in front of you and leads you back to the bed, “get cozy, you’ll love this.” 

He all but puts you in the bed himself, but in minutes you’re relaxed against the cushions, under cooling sheets and downy comforters. Seonghwa waits in the doorway while you get settled, but once you are he smiles and crosses the room to sit on the edge of the bed. 

“You’re feeling alright?” He asks, reaching for your hand. 

“So far,” You nod, “and this bed is wildly comfortable,” 

“Good,” Seonghwa’s fingers smooth over your wrist, slowly stroking your gland and easing you further, “I’m going to go fix you both something for dinner, and if you need anything in the meantime Wooyoung will be right here,” 

“Okay,” You breathe. 

“I’m going to give Sannie a ring too,” His voice evens out in his chest, low and warm and tender to keep you melting into the bed under you, “is it okay if I tell him you’re here?” 

“Sure,” 

“Alright then,” He smiles, “just relax,” 

“Feeling pretty relaxed,” You tell him. 

The sound of your phone vibrating on Wooyoung’s desk draws your eyes, but you focus back on Seonghwa when he says, “I’m sure we can relax you more, don’t worry.” 

“You’re forward,” You nudge his thigh. 

“And you called me for sex,” He shrugs, “who’s forward now?” 

Wooyoung laughs sharply and claps his hands, “This weekend is going to be very fun,” 

Your phone buzzes again, then again, and your brows draw together as you look towards it, “Could you,” 

Seonghwa doesn’t let you finish your sentence, he crosses the room quickly and then passes your phone over to you, “I’ll be back in a little while, okay?” 

“Thank you,” 

He nods with a warm expression, and then leaves you and Wooyoung be inside this little cocoon. 

“Glad you called?” Wooyoung grins, cheeky and teasing.

  “Mm,” You sink deeper into the pillows behind you, “I might have to move in, just for this bed,” 

His nose crinkles, “We’ve got to update your space, you should have somewhere like this too,” 

“I’d like that,” You sigh, “someday,” 

Your phone buzzes again. 

“Soon,” Wooyoung dismisses, “until then you can always come here,” 

“Well, that’s really nice of you, but,” You tear your eyes away from him to finally illuminate the screen of your phone and your words die on your lips when you see the messages. 

Yunho’s name on your screen makes your breath quicken and you open the chat. 

hey I got your paperwork. of course it’s fine, but would you please let me know you’re somewhere safe? 

I probably shouldn’t have asked that. 

I just want to make sure you made it home safely, that’s all. If you need help getting home, you know I’m only a phone call away. 

Just… please let me know. 

“y/n?” Wooyoung’s voice breaks through your buzzing brain as you read Yunho’s messages over and over. 

“What?” You manage, glancing up for the briefest second to catch his worried expression. 

“What’s going on?” He asks softly. 

“Um,” You murmur, but then your phone buzzes in your hand again, this time not a message from Yunho at all. 

He’s freaking out a little bit, but I told him you’re probably already home and sleeping. 

Which you are, right? 

The two texts from Mingi hang in front of you and a tense feeling knots up in your throat. 

“Hey,” Wooyoung interrupts again, pushing his way into the bed beside you without preamble and sidling up to your side, “are you crying?”

“No,” You shake your head, “sorry, I just,”

He waits, holding your gaze with his warm brown eyes and attentive nods, and before you know it you’re letting the phone fall into his hands. 

He reads the texts quietly, and then hums, “They’re worried,”

“I know,” Your voice is small. 

“Do you want to respond?” He asks. 

“I don’t know,” You confess honestly. 

“You don’t owe them anything,” He murmurs quietly, locking your phone and setting it to the side so he can turn to you, “I know I keep teasing you about it, but if you wanted to be with them you would have called them. You know how you feel, not me,” 

He smooths your hair back and cups your cheek, gathering you a little closer under the covers. You take a deep, shaky breath, and the sudden scent of him all around you feels like a blanket. Fresh linen and summer salt, like falling into bed after a long day in the sun on the beach. His skin is warm against yours and familiar. 

“Do you really think that?” You ask.

“Mhm,” He all but whispers, “and either way, you don’t owe them a response right now. You owe yourself rest,” 

“Yeah,” 

He gives you a minute, and then rubs his thumb over your cheek, “You want to watch something dumb? Maybe fall asleep on me?” 

You nod, lips locking tight as your throat stays tense. You feel like if you talk about anything else you might start crying, so you let him pull you closer and grab the remote for the TV mounted on the far wall. He doesn’t ask you what you want to watch, he doesn’t push you any further, he knows you need him to just take care of things before you crumble and text them back. 

He selects something funny without putting too much thought into it, and wraps his arm around you as you settle your cheek onto his chest. This was what you were missing so much the last time you went through heat, the steadying comfort of another omega. Your fluttering nerves fall away, and his scent makes you feel warm and your eyes heavy. 

“Woo,” You murmur into his shirt. 

“Yeah?” 

“You’re the best friend I’ve ever had,” You confess. 

He sighs, fingers finding yours under the comforter, “And you’re mine,” 

You snuggle into him a little more, fingertips brushing the warm hollow of his throat and your heart slowing to a steady, easy rhythm to pump in time with his. Distantly as you fall into sleep, you feel the buzz of your phone again somewhere halfway across the mattress, but this time you don’t even open your eyes. 

Wooyoung silences it when it buzzes again, his words soft against your hair when he says, “It’ll all wait until tomorrow, babe, you just rest easy,” 

You nod, a yawn taking over you and he chuckles.

“Just sleep,” He murmurs softly, and you do, their messages left unanswered. 

[runnning-outof-time]

Congrats on 3k, Flor!! @raincoffeeandfandoms - I absolutely love this idea for the theme! I decided to go the snack route here. I hope you like it - I’m sorry it took me a little bit to post it. Enjoy! :)

I’D LOVE TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! - YOUR COMMENTS & REBLOGS HELP ME WRITE!

When The Kids Are Away…

John Shelby x Reader

Warnings: mentions of drinking, language

Word Count: 1038

Summary: John and (Y/N) Shelby very rarely get a night off, so they were going to make the most of it tonight.

The couple’s giggles could be heard all throughout the empty first floor of their home. It was rare that this Shelby family household was so quiet. John and (Y/N) very rarely got a night off, so they were going to make the most of it.

They were in the living room, sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace. Two glasses of wine sat on the coffee table, and a bowl of grapes rested in (Y/N)’s lap.

“Ok, ready? Your turn!” (Y/N) exclaimed as she plucked one of the grapes from its vine. John relaxed back against the arm of the couch and got himself ready for his wife to throw the grape his way. “You better catch it!” she said to him, a wide grin gracing her face as she held it up; ready to throw.

“Just throw it!” John egged her on in a lighthearted manner, his eyes wide and mouth open as he prepared to catch the piece of fruit. He didn’t want to wait any longer.

“Ready? Three, two…”

“Throw it!” John cut her off. His impatience back-fired on him greatly when (Y/N) threw the grape his way the second he interjected into her countdown. It missed its mark and hit him square in the eye. “What the fuck, (Y/N)…I wasn’t ready!” he exclaimed, holding his palm to the eye that had just been struck by the fruit.

“You said throw it, so I threw it,” she responded, trying so hard, and failing, to contain her giggles.

“And you missed my mouth by a longshot,” he pointed out, removing his hand and blinking a few times before opening his eye wide to make sure that he was able to see. (Y/N) rolled her eyes at his dramatic actions.

“Here, let me try again,” she said before grabbing another grape and holding it up in her ready position. John only nodded before he also got ready, opening his mouth and focusing on the piece of fruit. “This time don’t try and rush me,” she warned him, waiting a moment before she bit on her bottom lip and focused on the task at hand.

The exchange was quiet this time, but (Y/N) still missed, even with John nearly falling off of the couch to try and catch the grape. He gave her a wide-eyed look and she merely shrugged her shoulders before bending her elbows and raising her palms to the roof in an ‘I don’t know’ gesture.

“Lemme show you how it’s done, darling,” John told her, a confident grin on his face as he swiped the bowl from her lap. (Y/N) let him take it, shaking her head at his confidence.

“Just don’t hit me in the eye, ok?” she told him, her eyebrows raised for added effect.

“Do I ever miss?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Considering we have five kids, I’d say no,” she quipped with a grin, her suggestive statement making him laugh.

“Let’s get serious,” John then insisted, even though he was the one who was laughing. (Y/N) only nodded, watching as he plucked a grape from the vine and held it up. “Ready?” he questioned, watching as she nodded once again. After steadying his aim, John threw the grape and (Y/N) successfully caught it in her mouth.

“Yes!” she exclaimed after she chewed the piece of fruit.

“See? That’s how you do it!” John matched her excitement as he lowered his arms; finished with his celebration. “Told you I don’t miss,” he then added with a smug grin, one that (Y/N) rolled her eyes at.

“Let me try again,” she said then, grabbing the bowl back from her husband, “I promise I won’t miss this time.”

“Alright…let’s see what you’ve got,” John grinned, getting ready to catch the grape.

(Y/N) held it steady in between her fingers, her tounge sticking out slightly as she concentrated on her target. After a few intense moments, she threw it…and it successfully hit John’s right cheek. The couple stared at each other afterwards, neither of the two saying anything until they both cracked up in laughter.

“You missed again, love,” John stated the obvious after he got ahold of his laughter.

“Well I promise I won’t miss with this,” she responded, quickly moving the bowl to sit beside the wine glasses before she leaned forward. She then placed both of her hands on John’s thighs to steady herself before her lips found his.

She only intended to give him a quick kiss, but she should have known that quick kisses were never enough for John Shelby. He grabbed hold of her cheeks with both hands, holding her lips against his to prolong the kiss. Their lips stayed connected until he pulled away and began peppering her lips and the surrounding skin with kisses. She let him do this until she was giggling so much that she needed to pull back and catch her breath.

“See?” she said once her eyes had found his again, “I never miss with those.”

John couldn’t help but chuckle at her statement, taking a moment to bask in her beauty as a sweet smile graced her lips. “You don’t…and I’m damn glad of it,” he grinned before he grabbed hold of her waist and pulled her body into his, making her shriek at the sudden movment.

It didn’t take long for (Y/N) to settle. She happily curled up in his arms as they laid on the couch.

“We should let the kids go to their aunt Ada’s more often,” he suggested as he rested his chin on the top of her head. (Y/N) was only able to hum as she closed her eyes and rested her head back against his chest.

“All this quiet is nice, isn’t it?” although she asked a question, the matter really wasn’t up for debate.

“It is,” John was agreeing with her in seconds.

The two sat like that on the couch until they couldn’t go a few minutes without a yawn. They then moved their cuddle fest into the bedroom, where sleep came over the both of them very quickly.

Tagged: @the-anxious-youth @mystcldydrms @look-at-the-soul @mrsalwayswrite @julkaamazing @evita-shelby @lilyrachelcassidy @shelbydelrey @theshelbyslimited @peakyswritings @watercolorskyy @strayrockette @peakyduchesss @alexxavicry @stevie75 @dark-academia-slut @zablife @cillmequick @letal-y-poetica @depxiety @shelundeadxxxx @areyenotfondofmelobster @padfootdaredmetoo @crabat-the-queen @sebastianstangirl01 @everythingelseisextra @kmc1989 @papichulo120627 @brummiereader @adaydreamaway08 @kissforvoid @raincoffeeandfandoms @peakyltd @johannelis2302nely @wildheartsalwaysburn @dragons-are-my-favorite @jessimay89 @slaymybreathaway

MASTERLIST

[goatsandgangsters]

favorite callbacks/foreshadowing payoff in A Power Unbound that made yell "oh goddammit" at my book

MY MOST SATISFYING "OH GODDAMMIT" MOMENT. FULL ON HAD ME PACING UP AND DOWN MY APARTMENT GOING "OH MY GOD THEY ACTUALLY DID IT, THE CRAZY SON OF A BITCH, THEY DID IT"

it wins #1 because this line always made me SO suspicious, but I also thought it was such a longshot. between the suspiciously specific phrasing of "blow up" and alan calling the lockroom easy to misuse in the same scene, my prediction was actually that the bad guys were going to do some fuckshit with the lockroom, because ART introduced us to the concept of "using hair to channel magic" and having a room full of everybody's hair seemed... uh, bad.

so I was just wrong enough to be delightfully shocked and just right enough to feel so satisfyingly smug. 10/10 felt terrific.

"adelaide tapping her ring" is SUCH a sneaky little detail. because she's tapping her ring all throughout a marvelleous light, and then sURPRISE it was the contract piece all along, beautiful bit of same-book foreshadowing, well done everyone go home

so when it showed up again in a power unbound, I was like "aw cute. I like that she's still got that little habit, even though it's not a Plot Relevant Foreshadowing Moment anymore, what a nice detail"

and then adelaide pseudo-flipped me off with her ring finger and went SURPRISE, GOT YOU TWICE, WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT MY PLOT RELEVANT RING?

this one didn't take me by surprise, but it's exactly what I love about reading a careful and deliberate writer.

this is in the same scene where we find out about jack's secretbind. so when I read it, I thought "okay well, we just found out he has A Mouth Thing. but he subconsciously touches his leg as well as his mouth, so probably he has A Leg Thing too." and then did a quick "probably from the war, right? seems most likely" and felt confident I knew that Jack had some kind of leg injury long before A Power Unbound even came out

and it's just SO FUN, because when you have a really good writer like this, you get the absolute joy as a reader of reading One Single Sentence and going "I see you, I know that means something." it's delightful, it's my favorite kind of puzzle, it's so rewarding

the way robin gets super uncomfortable with the penhallick crowd gossiping about what happened to jack and then changes the subject to magical people born into unmagical families who never discover their magic

the way jack and alan are linked together through this one worldbuilding-during-dinner conversation from two books ago. beautiful. profound.

and finally. my grand final of moments that made me go OH!! FUCK!!—

that's the first mention of jack by name, ever, at all, in the entire series.

that is the very first detail we ever learn about him.

AND THEN HE DID IT AGAIN, AFTER ALL THOSE YEARS OF NO MAGIC, AND I WAS SO PROUD, AND I LOVE HIM SO MUCH, AND ALSO I HUCKED MY BOOK ACROSS MY BED.

HIS FIRST MENTION AND HIS FIRST ACT OF MAGIC AFTER OVER A DECADE, crying, crying forever, we have come full circle

[discountsoysauce]

I don't understand the idea that Victor has no backstory. Like- yeah, his backstory isn't as horrifically tragic and detailed as Eli's is, but we do know a good bit about him from what he's said so far.

His parents are pretty successful, so we can assume he grew up rich. Victor states that they write all of these books about family but have never taken time out of their day for him, even saying something along the lines of the last time they put aside time for him was his birth (not exact quotes, I don't have the energy to look back through the books rn), so we can assume that they were incredibly neglectful, most likely leaving him at home for days, weeks, maybe months at a time and probably not paying much attention to him even in times when they were home. Whether they paid someone to take care of him in that time or he had to learn to be self-sufficient is debatable.

I personally don't think they were physically abusive, and there doesn't seem to be any evidence at present that supports that idea. Verbal abuse is more likely, but I still don't think it was the case. It doesn't seem like they were around him long enough to do either. I don't think those things really need to be a part of his backstory to make it interesting or compelling. His parents were neglectful, and it shaped pretty much everything about who he is.

The biggest and most obvious one is Victor's obsession with attention. There are multiple references throughout the books of Victor craving attention from those around him, namely Angie and Eli. More than anything, Victor wants to be seen. He wants to be a part of something. He wants to be remembered and acknowledged and thought about. He craves the attention his parents never gave him. He doesn't want to be left behind or forgotten.

Being left behind is another big fear for him (I'm mostly speaking about Lockland here, as he becomes a bit less dependent after he becomes an EO, though there can still be an argument made about him latching onto Mitch and Sydney and Dol and Dominic in a kind of makeshift family he never had). He hates seeing Eli succeed because it feels like he's being left behind. He wants to be so intertwined with another person that they can't possibly forget him. He wants to form a connection so deep that it's impossible to sever. To Victor, there's a connection between 'success' and being left behind. He doesn't want to just be an expendable sidekick or an accessory. He wants to be an integral part of someone. Victor's life revolving around Eli is a symptom of his upbringing.

His social skills and general demeanor are also something that can be analyzed. From the beginning, he's set up as the antithesis to Eli, from social class to backstory to appearance to demeanor. They're the same at their core, but opposites in nearly everything else. Compared to Eli, Victor is a total recluse. He hates being around people, he avoids parties, and we barely see him interact with or pay attention to anyone except the people he genuinely cares about unless he absolutely needs to. His demeanor is off-putting, and he doesn't really make an effort to hide that, although he does just enough to make sure he isn't a complete social outcast. Victor grew up in one home with no siblings and parents who were hardly around. Compared to Eli, who was carted from home to home, meeting new people and learning how to blend in all the time, Victor likely doesn't have much in the way of social experience. He didn't have to hide who he was nearly as much as Eli did because there was no one there to see it anyway.

This being said, he is described as being a good liar and able to fool those around him, although notably worse at it than Eli. This one is more of a longshot, but I don't think it's improbable. Victor's parents were successful published authors who garnered their success based on the books they wrote about family. It's possible that Victor had to make press appearances at some point when he was younger, and learned how to lie for the cameras, or he just spent so long out of the company of others that he started seeing other people as more objects to use and less real living people, making it easier to learn the motions of manipulating them. Either way, Victor learns how to do or say the right thing to get someone to believe him, but he states that Eli is much better at actually faking emotions than he is. This is because while Eli spent his life following his father's death surrounded by people and thus learned how to change his entire self to appear more presentable to the general public, Victor only learned how to manipulate people through speech or actions. He can tell you exactly what you want to hear, but he can't put on a fake persona the way Eli can because he never needed to.

In conclusion, Victor does have a backstory, and it informs every aspect of his character, including his relationship to Eli.

[arcanarix]

Fated Divergence, Ch. 3 // Yandere! Suguru Geto X Non-Sorcerer Darling

AO3 (+ prev. chapter)

When Satoru examined the parking deck, he sensed a surge of overactivity from low grade curses. Many which he could exorcise himself in practically nanoseconds. He recognized a few—and he knew that Geto had visited here, after all.

Hospitals were already a breeding ground for curses, but there had to be some other trick of Geto’s sleeve. There needn’t any reason to add more chaos here.

When he saw him with you, he wondered what Suguru could want, because on the surface, you didn’t seem like anyone who stood out.

Until he met you the other day, of course, because even he couldn’t deny, he sensed some kind of power dormant within you. Not cursed energy, or anything of the sort… in fact he didn’t have a word for it. The power coming from you felt like a purity, something untouched, untainted even from the horrors you must face as a nurse here and in general as a human being. Perhaps Geto sensed that as well, because above all nothing got the guy’s dick harder than a powerful tool.

Somehow he doubted Geto wanted you for a tool, though; it didn’t seem so.

Maybe not in the traditional sense.

“What’s your game, Suguru?” he mused out loud as he exorcised a demon just before him, one that Geto unleashed himself. He paused, glancing over at a car that he recognized had severe damage to the rear-end of it. Tilting his head, he inched closer.

That didn’t look like damage from a typical accident…  upon further inspection, the bumper had some indentations, like something bit it.

…and then he noticed a cursed spirit attached to the roof of the car, inside.

Grumbling, he managed to absorb that one as well.

“Gojo?”

He turned on his heel, and found you, with a dumbfounded expression on your face.

“Uh, yeah, we still don’t know who did that.” You gestured to the damage to your car. “I’m taking it to the shop tomorrow to get it repaired.”

So, it was your car then.

“Ah. Sorry, I guess I let curiosity get the better of me,” Satoru replied, adjusting his blindfold. “You already done for the day?”

You shook your head. “Nah, I’m just on break.”

Satoru grinned, resting his hand against your car like he owned it. “Oh, yeah? So, what do you do on break? Surely not to chat it up with beautiful men like me?”

Oh, he hoped you bought into the act. He knew how to play it cool when necessary.  

You eyed him with a hint of confusion before glancing down at what you held in your hands.

“Hide in my car from people and eat my lunch…”

He glanced at your bento box, and then back at the car, and then back at you, who looked drained as hell from a tough shift that wasn’t even over yet for you. His face fell.

He could take a hint!

Sort of…

“Oh, well then pardon me for intruding on your alone time. I was just exploring.”

“Right,” you remarked, your tone incredulous while taking out a slip of paper and scribbling something down. “If you wanted my number, you could just ask instead of doing all of this extra shit.”

He stared for a moment, a little befuddled. Did he expect more resistance? Maybe a tad.

Well, he did need your number, but not for the reasons you were possibly thinking.

Even if you were beautiful. He knew better than to do anything. Even now, he wasn’t about to meddle in his ex best friend’s love life.

Not unless he had to save you from a gruesome fate—being in Suguru’s radar was already a prescription (heh, he couldn’t help it) for disaster.

He felt a certain responsibility toward you, just like he still felt a responsibility for Suguru. Suguru wasn’t himself anymore by a longshot—even what he preached now didn’t align with what he believed in once before.

It was almost like putting young teenagers on the front lines to do an adult’s job was damaging to a young brain. Now Suguru became a shell of himself, a slave to the negative emotions he consumed from humans.

Realizing he was still staring at you, he adjusted himself. No need to make this situation more awkward for either you or him than it already became.

“Sorry,” he replied with a bashful smile, rubbing the back of his head as he accepted the slip with his free hand. “Well, that was easier than I thought it was going to be. You don’t seem like the type of lovely lady who impresses easy.”

You snorted. “You thought correct. I was half expecting you to reject me because you were taking so long to say something.”

“No! Of course not. Who could pass someone like you up?” He waved as he gave you some space. “Well, stay safe, alright?”

Stay safe? Seriously? He berated himself in his mind as he retreated, refraining from wanting to smash his head into something. Wouldn’t that just spike her anxiety up even more…?  

-- -- -- -- --

Peaceful sleep didn’t come to you that night.

You woke up in cold sweats, panting as you tried to remember you were safe then. Whatever you dreamed about, it couldn’t hurt you. But what you saw… it felt too real, yet you didn’t want to believe in this spiritual whoo-whoo shit. Not until you had enough evidence, because you weren’t about to fall for this shit.

Still…

It felt like numerous eyes from a monster glared back at you, and while you tried to sleep, it felt like hands roamed all over your body, exploring your most intimate parts.

Sleep paralysis? This didn’t feel like sleep paralysis at all.

But somehow you still didn’t believe in whatever horse shit Suguru Geto and the sort of people he attracted believed in.

You sighed, laying back in bed, pondering your options.

Then incessant buzzing of your phone had you jump in your spot.

At this hour? You glanced at the time on your lock screen. It’s 3AM…

Gojo: Hey. It’s Satoru Gojo. 😎

Oh, right. You’d given him his number. Maybe you were hoping for something to come out of this, but you doubted anything would. You idly wondered what he looked like without his blindfold on—he seemed full of it when it came to his appearance, so he better be able to back up those claims.

Smiling in spite of everything, you texted him back.

You: Hey, Gojo. Can’t sleep?

Gojo: eh, my bedtime’s not for another hour

You did a double take at the time.

You: you sleep at 4AM?

Gojo: and get up at 7 🫡

You: you in the military or something?

Gojo: in a way, but no

Gojo: hey listen, be careful around suguru

You quirked an eyebrow at that. Again with the cryptic bullshit? You had little patience for it but decided not to pry.

You: I don’t really trust the guy anyway?

Gojo: good. He’s more dangerous than you think, alright? If you need anything, call me

You: thanks, gojo

You eventually managed to get some sleep.

You decided you’d endure those nightmarish ghouls for now.

-- -- -- -- --

“Your patient died,” Mei announced as you entered the clinic the next day. The toll last night’s broken sleep took on you was evident—deeper set bags under your eyes, your face looked pale, like you’d just seen explicit horrors you couldn’t describe. Which wasn’t far off.

You glanced up at her, perking an eyebrow.

“Which one? I treat every patient on this floor,” you reminded her.

She froze, unsure of how to approach the matter, clearly.

“The young girl, Asuka Tanaka. The one who was supposed to be discharged today.”

Your eyes widened as the realization dawned on you, and you wanted to deny it.

“She was perfectly healthy!” you reasoned, and you tried to shake off the emotion from your tone, but you couldn’t. Why that little girl and not any of your patients on the verge of dying, anyway? That would have been at least easier news to break to their families, but how would their parents react to their perfectly healthy daughter dying when she was suppsoed to go home?

“We know,” she sighed. “We don’t understand what happened. One of our other nurses found her… and it was…”

“What happened to her?” you demanded.

“We don’t understand. Not fully,” she replied, tone steady and careful. “But it looked like someone came to…”

You felt tears welling up in your eyes, unable to listen or even make out what Mei was telling you, but you knew better than to get too emotional in the workplace. You had no choice. You always delivered this type of news to patients and patients’ familiies every damn day, but why did this feel so sudden to you?

“Do her parents already know?” you found yourself asking, as your lower liip quivered. That poor girl was barely 6 years old.

“Yes, they came in this morning to pick her up…”

“Oh God,” you sighed, trying to steel yourself from these emotions. You had a shift to finish first before you could fully process what happened. This was just part of it all, unfortunately.

“We’ll have dinner soon this week, yeah? On me.”

You smiled, having turned off your emotions for now. Came with the profession. “Sounds good. Thanks.”

“So wait,” Mei began, and you paused, becknoning her to continue. “Who was that guy you spoke to the other day?”

“Still so invested in my love life? At a time like this?”

Mei couldn’t help but sigh.

“Listen! Mine is nonexistent so I’m living vicariously through yours. Forgive the abrupt change of topic, but I just wanted to know, and perhaps it’ll serve as a distraction for you too.”

You pursed your lips. Typical Mei, all about the gossip.

“He was just asking me about Crazy Cult Man.”

“Is he a wanted man, or something? Well… in some cases, that’s true,” Mei hummed, “Lots of people joined that cult just because he’s hot.”

You shrugged. “Like Hell if I know. That guy just kept warning me away from him, but it’s not like I’m interested.”

“Damn, if you’re not, do you mind sharing with me?”

You groaned at her antics, rubbing your temples. Way too early for this shit!

“Mei!”

“Can you blame a girl for trying?” she pouted those pretty red lips of hers. If Mei had a little more confidence, she could get any guy she ever wanted.  

“You’re impossible.”

She shrugged. “You love me anyway.”

“Alright, you doofus. I’ll see you later.”

You had to put on your big girl pants and finish the rest of this goddamn shift. You had some new patients come in from last night, something about a lot of vomitting and nausea and a whole other plethora of symptoms that didn’t point to anything untreatable, at the very least.

What you didn’t expect to find as some new patients was two twin girls sharing a room, having fallen ill. Those two girls whose caretaker happened to be—

“—Suguru? What a…surprise to see you here.” No, you weren’t all that surprised. But you were surprised to find that he really did take care of twin girls, and it wasn’t just an act.

“Ah, I didn’t think I’d run into you again so soon,” Suguru replied. “It seems that my girls got some food poisoning from that bakery, so we had to take them here.”

Those two girls didn’t look too pleased to be here from their expressions. They looked fearful, but you figured that was expected. Nobody liked being in the hospital, even for something as typical as food poisoning. That and they still seemed young, teenagers at most, and everything about the hospital seemed scary.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” you replied, surprised that you could keep an even tone. “The doctor will be here soon, but judging by the severity of the food poisoning, it looks like your girls are going to be here for a few days.”

The twin with the brown hair glanced at Suguru. “That bites…”

“I told you not to eat too many of those Danishes,” he chastisted like a stressed out father would. You would smile at the scene if you didn’t know what sort of person Suguru was. Which you only had an idea, but that was enough to go off of for you.

“They were too good to pass up, Geto!” The other twin, who had blonde hair, replied.

“We’re sorry, Geto,” the blonde twin added.

“It’s alright, Nanako. I just hope you’ve learned your lesson this time around. We can’t keep losing money to things like this.”

Hospital bills definitely aren’t a joke, you mused to yourself. Even for someone as rich as Geto.

“So you already know this person, Geto?”

“Yes, Mimiko. She’s also fond of those Dansihes you both like so much.” It sounded like he was trying to sell them on the idea of you. Suguru glanced at you while he was speaking to his twins, and you felt something churn in your stomach. You swore you wanted to vomit yourself right then; something about his presence overwhelmed you, overstimulated you in the worst way.

He frowned, sensing your discomfort. With an all knowing glint in his eyes, he spoke up.

“Having nightmares lately, my dear?”

You froze.

“How did…?” you trailed off, feearing the answer.

“You look exhausted fighting it off,” he explained. He observed what was around you, the same way Gojo did when you met him. So there were things going on around you? You didn’t believe in this stuff, but if it was going to help you…

“You felt like numerous eyes were looking upon you. You woke up in cold sweats. Do you want me to help?”

You stared blankly at him. “Are you saying you can do something about this?”

“I can put it all to rest. Just leave it to me.” He glanced at the twins. “Watch closely, my loves.”

Within seconds, you felt your exhaustion vanish into thin air as he acted as though he absorbed something from you.

“Let me know if you sleep better tonight.”

You didn’t know how to react.

 “Alright. Well, let’s focus on your twins’ recovery.”

You glanced out the door to find the doctor down the hall.

“She’s almost here,” you continued. “I’ll step out for her.”

“I must get going, my loves,” Suguru announced, planting a kiss to the crowns of both of their heads. “Be nice to those treating you. Should everything go well, you’ll be back home by tomorrow at the earliest.”

He followed you out the door as the doctor stepped into that room.

You turned around. “Yes?”

“I’d very much enjoy if you stopped by the temple sometime. The girls are eager to get to know you. I saw it on their faces.”

“Th-that’s very kind of you to offer, Suguru, but—!”

He raised a hand to stop you, and you knew better than to test his patience.

“I insist, darling. I’d love for you to come after the girls feel all better from your clinic’s top-notch treatment. Them getting sick felt like the perfect opportunity to take them here even if I could treat them at home.”

“I don’t recommend that at all. If it was a mild case of food poisoning, then perhaps, but—!”

“—I believe you’re just the nurse here, darling. We’ll see what the doctor orders.”

No man alive was ever allowed to talk to you like that. You swore you felt a nerve snap, but you refrained from showing too much emotion. You doubted you could do much to deter or intimdate him, anyway.

“Might I have your phone for a moment?”

You knew better than to reject him. You offered your phone with a new contact page open for him to enter.

“Thank you, my dear. I sent a text to myself so I got yours as well.” He flashed his own phone.

Fantastic… you thought, biting back a sigh.

“We'll see you tomorrow, then."

“Very well. Until tomorrow, darling.

-- -- -- -- --

The night fell silent. You relaxed in your bed, focusing on your breath work. It was part of a therapy exercise you learned some time ago, something to help calm your nerves and help you sleep.

Something you so desperately needed.

Unfortunately, your quiet time was interrupted by your text message notification.

Groaning, you swiped your phone from the nightstand and saw who it was from.

Gojo: hey, just checking in

You: hey. I could be better for sure

Gojo: what’s up?

You: we lost a young patient today. No more than 6 years old.

Gojo: god, that’s terrible. What happened?

You: no one really knows, honestly.

Gojo began to call. You answered with a defeated sigh.

“Hey. Figured hearing a voice would be better than measly text,” he greeted over the line.

You giggled, your voice dripping in sarcasm. “My hero.”

“Feel free to call me that all you want!”

You giggled again. He was actually kind of funny.

“Are you going to be okay?” His tone seemed genuinely concerned.

“I will be. I’m just so sad for her.”

“You never get used to it, huh? The loss.”

“Not at all,” you replied. “Doesn’t matter what anyone says about professions like these.”

“I can definitely understand. Hey, like I said, I’m a call away.”

“Hey, wait, Gojo…” You bit your lip. Should you say anything at all?

“What’s up?”

“Geto came by the hospital today too.”

A pause. A long, uncomfortable pause. That same churning feeling in your stomach returned. Weren’t you supposed to say something?

“He did?”

“Yeah, his twins got sick with food poisoning,” you explained. “They’re still there.”

“Thanks for telling me.”

Should you keep going?

“He… he kept inviting me to his temple.”

“Don’t go,” he replied a little too quickly. You paused this time. Of course not. Why the hell would you ever want to go there?  

“I know,” you assured him, sighing. “But… if he really is as dangerous as you say, what if he tries something?”

“I’m here,” he told you, tone gentle and confident—like he appeared to be. “Don’t worry.”

“You’re laying it on real thick, Gojo,” you found yourself saying while chuckling.

“Hey, I’m just happy to help those in need.”

You couldn’t help the smile on your face.

“Thanks for checking on me, Gojo. But enough about me. How are you?”

You spoke on the phone for a bit, before Gojo had to hang up—something urgent with his job came up, he mentioned, and that he would check up on you later in the week. You fell back in your bed, staring up at the ceiling. He seemed like a genuine guy, but you doubted anything would escalate.

That night, in spite of the terrible day, you slept like a baby. Completely out like a light. No nightmares, no eyes, no creatures, no cold sweats… nothing. It still didn’t mean you believed in any of this; perhaps it was just coincidence. Nothing beyond that.

You weren’t going to seek Geto’s help for anything.

You knew much, much better than that.

-- -- -- --

“Hello, Nanako, Mimiko,” you greeted the next day when it was time to check their vitals.

“Hello,” Mimiko responded in a robotic tone.

“Are we set to go home yet?” Nanako asked, “Hospital stays are so boring!”

You chuckled, “We’ll see if the doctor says you’re ready to go.”

“Awwww,” Nanako huffed.

“You’re so dramatic, Nanako,” Mimiko quipped, “Geto influences you too much with those theatrics of his.”

“Speaking of, did he come to see you today?”

“He’s on his way,” Mimiko responded with a nod. “Geto looks like he really likes you, ma’am.”

“If Geto likes you then we have to like you,” Nanako piped in with an animated expression. “He has great judge of character.”

“Does he now?” you inquired, but you didn’t expect anyone to answer that—mostly talking to yourself.

“Ah! Hello, my loves,” Suguru waltzed in with some bouquets of flowers. “I have bought these for my girls, and a bouquet for you, my love. You seemed like the daisy type?”

Of course he was right about that.

You accepted the bouquet graciously, never mind the tightness you felt in your chest. “That’s kind of you, Suguru.”

You were definitely planning on tossing those straight in the trash.

You set them aside.

“Have you considered my offer, my dear?” Suguru asked, and you froze. You weren’t looking forward to answering this because you weren’t sure how he would handle rejection. You had to do this… smoothly.

As delicately as possible, like you were handling some fine China.

“I’m afraid there’s no room in my schedule right now to visit any time soon.”

“Ah, that is a shame,” Suguru replied with a click of his tongue. “We’ll work things out, I’m sure. The girls are eager to know you more after you treated them. Isn’t that right, my loves?”

The two twins nodded.

“She’s nice,” Mimiko stated. Suguru petted her head.

“Indeed.”

Using his twins as leverage over you? Oh, that was just diabolical.

Once you took the twin’s vitals, you stepped out of their room with your new bouquet in hand, taking it to your office to dump it into the trash. Your heart pounded out of your chest. At the very least, it didn’t seem likely that Suguru would cause any havoc in this setting. But now he had other means to torment you, and he hadn’t tried just yet.

You feared for the worst—and a part of you feared for your life.

[lipstickmarks]

everyone cheats on vacation

Pairing: Poe Dameron x bi!fem!reader, Rey x bi!fem!reader

Category: Light angsty with a happy ending, smut, fluff, and romance

Word Count: 7.7K

Summary: While on vacation aboard the Chandrila Star Line, you’re eager to spend some alone time with your girlfriend, Rey. But when her Jedi duties leave you feeling neglected, who else do you turn to for comfort but Poe Dameron, the cocky pilot who has a reputation for leaving women feeling satisfied and jelly-legged. You suddenly find yourself at the center of Poe's universe and you like it. He knows you better than anyone and lately, he's been doing everything in his power to tempt you over the line.

Warnings: NSFW, cheating, glorification of cheating, smut, piv, unprotected sex, cunnilingus, scissoring, fingering, light angst, Rey being neglectful, reader feeling neglected, reader being slightly petty, poe being smug, semi-public sex, food, discussion of "healthy" versus "unhealthy" eating habits, sugar daddy!poe if you squint, confession of feelings, love confession, panty kink, nipple play, slightly rough sex, finger kink, hand kink, finger sucking, feeling, no use of y/n.

Notes: This is a Poe-centric fic but there is a NSFW scene of Rey and the Reader.

Rating: explicit

You and Poe were in the ship’s lounge area playing a game of holochess. The smug bastard was licking his lips and smirking every time he outmaneuvered you. You leaned forward, focusing hard on the game pieces in front of you as you tried to figure out the best move. 

“Stumped?” Poe asked with a raised eyebrow and a sly smile. 

You playfully glared at Poe. His actions drove you crazy and he knew it. He was always like this. Always had to come out on top. You don’t know why you kept agreeing to play with him. 

“Hey, you two!” Rey called out. You turned your head and saw Rey walking through the entrance with Finn, both in their gym clothes. 

Rey sat on the arm of the booth and leaned down to kiss you while Finn slid onto the other end of the booth next to Poe. 

“Who’s winning?” Finn asked. 

“Me. As usual.” Poe’s voice dripped with smugness as you made a pitiful move. You resisted the urge to smack him. 

“Because he’s cheating.” You said.

Poe smirked at you. 

“Cheating’s allowed when you’re on vacation.”

Your eyebrows pinched together in confusion. 

“What?” 

“We’re on the open sea.” Poe opened his arms as if to illustrate his point. “There are no rules out here. We’re on vacation. You can eat cake for breakfast and get drunk before noon and cheat at holochess. Except I don’t need to cheat when you play so poorly.”

You scoffed as Poe boxed you in with no legal moves left.

“You made that up.”

Poe simply shrugged and in a huff, you turned the game off. 

Rey and Finn laughed at your petulance. You and Poe had always been quite competitive with one another, always having to be the first one in the door, leave the biggest tip, carry the most groceries. 

It was amusing to everyone on the outside but no one seemed to know just how much Poe got under your skin. You didn’t dislike Poe, not by a longshot but something about him brought out your primal side. The side that wanted to be top dog. There was some untapped tension between you and it was boiling to a head on the Chandrila Star Line. 

When Finn had the idea of going on a cruise, you were excited at the prospect of a romantic vacation with Rey. But her Jedi work never seemed to stop. She’s in the middle of building a new Jedi training temple and she left the construction in the hands of a team back home, who she constantly takes calls from. In addition, she’s constantly reading up on old Jedi lore. When she’s not doing that, she’s meditating or training Finn. This resulted in you having spent nearly every day of your vacation with Poe.

It wasn’t all bad, though. You enjoyed Poe’s company, save for when he’s being a sarcastic braggart. But still, you wished you could have your girlfriend to yourself for just a little bit. 

“Well, we just came to see if you guys wanted to grab a bite to eat?” Finn suggested.

“Yeah, I’m starving.” You said. 

“Losing work up an appetite?” Poe called out. 

You rolled your eyes as you stood up and slipped your hand into Rey’s. The four of you walked to a brunch buffet in one of the restaurants. The smell of fresh eggs, bacon, and syrupy pancakes assaulted your senses. 

Your stomach grumbled and you realized you hadn’t eaten yet today. Originally, your plan was to have breakfast with Rey on the outer deck while whale-watching. But, when you rolled over in bed this morning, you found nothing but empty sheets and a note that said: 

Went on a run! Catch up with you later! - Rey

But you were making up for it now. You piled your plate high with a stack of silver-dollar pancakes with blueberry syrup, bacon, eggs, toast, and a cup of coffee. The sweet smell of OJ drew you in so you grabbed a glass of that as well. 

Walking back to your table would prove to be a little difficult with a full plate and two drinks so you walked slowly, keeping your orange juice tucked close to you between your arm and your midriff. 

 You looked up from your plate, expecting to see Rey but she was on the other side of the room, picking from the organic side of the buffet. She and Finn were loading what looked like vegetarian sausage onto their plates.

“Health freaks.” Poe mumbled into your ear. 

You jumped slightly, not having realized he was behind you. 

“They’re Jedi. They have to take care of themselves.” 

Poe swiped a piece of bacon from your plate and you glared at him. 

“Hey!” 

He winked cheekily at you. His plate contained a double-decker club sandwich, loaded nachos, fried eggs, a slice of pepperoni pizza, and a big heaping of jell-o. 

“Poe, you can’t have breakfast food with lunch food.” 

“Sure I can. That’s what brunch is for.” He said, attempting to grab another piece of bacon off your plate but you held it away. 

“No. Brunch means you pick breakfast or lunch. You don’t mix and match. It’s like… a rule.” 

Poe bit back a smile. He looked as if he was trying not to laugh. He leaned in close to you. 

“Like I said, sweetheart. The rules don’t apply out here.” He leaned in even closer and whispered. “Everyone cheats on vacation.” 

Without another word, he grabbed every single dish out of your hands and carried it back to the table with ease. Both of your drinks fit in his large hands and he balanced his and your plates on his forearm. 

You shivered. Poe’s never called you that before. It had to be just him screwing with you again. But the way the nickname rolled so seamlessly off his tongue… it had you buzzing with anticipation. 

Quickly, you walked over to the table where Poe had distributed your food and drinks safely. You sat down across from him and were thankful that Rey and Finn were rounding the corner to join you. 

“So what are you two up to today?” Finn asked. “I know I’m heading to the sauna and then back to my room to take a nap.” 

Rey shrugged. 

“Haven’t thought about it.” She said as she brought a bite of eggs florentine up to her lips. “Probably reading my Jedi book.” 

The urge to sigh was powerful but you managed to swallow it down. You had so hoped Rey would plan something for the two of you. The ship offered tango lessons, couples massages, and private orchestras for rent, all of which sounded like a dream. You spent so many days leading up to this vacation daydreaming about the romantic things you and Rey could do. But at this point, you’d take anything. It didn’t have to be a super elaborate date. You would settle for doing a puzzle in your room or renting a bad movie, you just wanted to be with her. 

“I want to go shopping at the boutique.” You said. “There’s a really pretty dress that I saw in the window.” You turned to Rey and wrapped your arm around her bicep. “Do you want to go after brunch?” 

Rey nodded as she sipped her water.

“Sure, love. That sounds great.” She leaned over to kiss your cheek and you felt warmth blossoming in your chest. Maybe your vacation was finally turning around. You intertwined your fingers with Rey’s. 

Half a second later, Rey’s eyes went wide and she snapped her fingers. “Oh! That reminds me. I need to get some Jedi robes ordered for the temple. I should call the base and make sure someone’s working on that.” 

You shifted in your seat, frowning at the prospect of Rey doing more work that would take her away from you. 

“Oh, can we talk about the color? Because I don’t like the basic brown.” Finn said. 

Rey frowned.

“Finn. That color is a tradition.” 

“But I really shine in jewel tones.” 

Rey and Finn became embroiled in their debate over tradition versus new. You sighed, wishing your girlfriend would pay half an ounce of attention to you. You slipped your hand out of hers but she didn’t seem to notice. 

Stabbing your fork into your pancakes, you decided to eat your feelings a little. When you looked up, you saw Poe whose jaw was tense like he was unhappy. But when he caught you staring, his classic Poe Dameron smile returned to his face. 

He pulled his straw out of its paper casing and waded the paper into a ball. He then slid the paper toward you and then positioned his fingers like a triangle. 

You giggled and flicked the paper, launching it through Poe’s makeshift goal. The two of you wound up playing paper football through the whole brunch. 

—-

To her credit, Rey did make good on her promise. The two of you went shopping in the ship’s boutique but the dress you wanted turned out to be much too expensive. One look at the price tag squashed your dream of wearing it to a romantic candlelit dinner with Rey. 

You wound up buying a moderately priced swimsuit instead. It was a pretty sapphire blue bikini and hopefully, Rey would appreciate it. You marveled at your reflection in the bathroom mirror. It left very little to the imagination. There’s no way Rey would be able to ignore you now. 

You slipped on the matching cover up but let it dangle off your shoulders. You stepped out of the en suite, into your room and leaned against the wall.

“What do you think?” You purred.

You expected Rey to tell you that you looked ravishing and then, well— ravish you. But your girlfriend was laying on the bed with her nose buried in an ancient Jedi textbook. 

“Rey.” 

No answer.

This was ridiculous. 

You walked around to her side of the bed and took the book out of her hands, dog-earing the page and tossing the book onto the nightstand. 

“Hey!” 

“Rey.” You crossed your arms over your chest. “In case you haven’t noticed, we are on a cruise. A very romantic cruise. We’ve been here for a week and I am wearing the skimpiest bikini in the galaxy and you haven’t looked at me even once!”

Rey shrunk, her face pulling into a frown.

“You’re right… I haven’t been paying much attention to you and I’m sorry. You deserve better than that. I just… I’ve been so preoccupied with learning about the Jedi and building the new school. I didn’t-“ Rey swallows. “I didn’t realize I was neglecting you. I’m sorry.”

You sigh and let your arms fall to your sides, the anger dissipating from your body. 

“I forgive you. I’m sure it’s not easy, having the entire Jedi legacy resting on your shoulders. I just need you to put more effort into noticing me.”

Rey smiled coyly.

“I’m noticing you now.” She sat up on the bed on her knees and made her way over to you. “And how sensational you look in that bikini…” She slid her hands around your hips and played with the strings that held it together. “But you know what I think?” She said as she pressed a kiss to your breast.

“Hm?” You hummed, feeling a flutter in your lower stomach.

“I think you’d look even better out of it.” Rey teased. She kissed your other breast and loosened the tie in the back, making your top fall. She caught your nipple in her mouth and sucked on it, licking and nipping at the bud. Then, she kissed her way up your chest to your neck until you were moaning and sliding a hand through your hair.

You met her lips in a messy kiss, tongues tangling together as you scrambled to fall back into the bed together. 

The two of you undressed each other quickly, all your clothes flung to an obscure corner of the room. You kissed Rey deeply as her fingers found their way up your thighs and to your throbbing core.

“Oh…” You moaned as she slid her finger through your folds. 

Rey stroked you until you were trembling. This was it. What you had been vying for this entire week. When she finally brought you to your climax, your entire body trembled. 

Your face fell into her shoulder and you sighed happily, kissing at the skin there. 

“Satisfied, darling?” She asked, to which you nodded. 

You repaid the favor by laying Rey out on the bed and licking her to an orgasm. You suckled at her clit until her legs were shaking. When she finally came, you licked up all traces of it, not letting a single drop go to waste. 

Rey sighed dreamily with a sleepy look in her eye, but you were not about to let this end here. You had tried all week to get your girlfriend alone and you were going to soak up every minute with her. 

You sat up and climbed on top of her, swinging one leg over hers and positioning yourself to slide your hips against hers. The feeling of dragging your swollen clit across hers was delicious and too much and not enough at the same time. You can’t recall the last time you and Rey were this close. 

Rey moaned, clearly sharing in your sentiment. You leaned down and pressed your lips to hers. She gripped onto your hair, holding you in place. You slid your tongue across the seam of her lips and you made out lazily while you rocked your hips against hers. 

The feeling of sweet release was creeping up on you, just a few strokes away from bliss when a sharp knock sounded at your door. 

“Rey! It’s Finn! Are you ready to go?” 

Rey’s eyes widened.

“Shit! I forgot. I promised Finn we’d train this afternoon.” Rey scrambled to get up and you stared at her with disbelief in your eyes.

“Are you freaking kidding me?”

“I’m sorry, darling.” Rey hastily pulled her clothes back on and reached down to cup your face in her hands, kissing you sweetly. “I’ll be back in two hours. Stay naked for me?”

You rolled your eyes.

“No promises.”

Rey gave you another apologetic look. 

“How about this? Tonight, we’ll have a romantic dinner together. I’ll make a reservation at that restaurant on the top floor of the ship.” Rey dipped her head down to kiss your neck. “We’ll eat pasta…” She hummed. “Drink wine.” Another kiss. “Make out in the corner where no one can see us.” Another kiss and then one to your lips, her tongue swiping across yours until your pout dissipated. “Please let me make this up to you.” She looked at you with pleading eyes until you sighed. 

“Alright.” 

“You’re amazing!” Rey squealed and kissed you again. “I don’t deserve you. Meet me there at 7.”

You nodded as Rey ran out of the room. You fell back on your bed as you heard her and Finn’s voices get quieter and quieter. 

“Worst vacation ever.” You mumbled to yourself. 

You took a quick shower then tried to distract yourself from your romantic woes by reading a book. However, the characters were 2-dimensional and the plot was thin and you couldn’t begin to understand how the main character was falling for the love interest when he barely said two words to her. It felt like a giant cosmic pie in your face. 

After a long time of debating whether you were going to go to the spa or rent a movie, there was a knock at your door. 

Instantly, you perked up. Rey must have come back! You scrambled off the bed and hurried to answer the door, only to be disappointed by the sight of a crew member with a garment bag. After handing him a tip, you laid the bag out on the bed. 

When you unzipped it, you gasped. 

It was the dress. The dress. The one you wanted from the boutique. 

And there was an envelope taped to the hanger. You carefully opened it and read the note that was inside. 

There were a few dresses in the boutique window so I took an educated guess. But it wasn’t hard to figure out. This one is sexy and daring. You wouldn’t have picked anything else. 

-Poe 

Your heart started pounding in your chest. Poe bought this for you? You looked through the garment bag and found that not only did he buy you the dress, he also bought a matching pair of shoes, a set of rings, and a bottle of perfume. 

It would be good manners to protest. To seek Poe out and tell him this was too much and he couldn’t spend this kind of money on you and demand he return everything. 

But his words from earlier echo in your head. 

“There are no rules out here… everyone cheats on vacation.” 

–

The dress fit like a dream. It highlighted all your best features and hid the ones you weren’t so crazy about. The color brought out your complexion and the slit that went up the leg all the way to the upper thigh did wonders for your self confidence. Poe was right. It was daring and sexy. 

Poe. 

You had to find him. 

Adorned in every single item he had bought you, you made your way through the ship, turning more than a few heads. 

When you found Poe, he was sitting at a bar watching the pod races on a TV monitor. You cleared your throat to get his attention. 

When Poe looked at you, he whistled lowly. His eyes raked down your body, taking in your figure in the dress. 

“Look at you, the sexiest smokeshow this side of the Corellian Sea.” 

You tried to find the words to thank him but you were having a smidgen of trouble focusing. 

Poe was wearing the shortest gray swim trunks in existence and had left his shirt unbuttoned, exposing his toned chest to you. So much of his skin was on display and it was a deeper bronze shade than usual. He looked like sex on a stick and it was making you crazy. 

“Nice tan, flyboy.” You said, sliding onto the bar stool next to him. 

Poe held up two fingers to the bartender droid, signaling for him to bring you a drink. The droid quickly fixed up a cocktail and placed it in front of you. 

A mint julep. Poe’s favorite drink. 

“Thank you for the dress and everything, Poe.” You told him. “You really didn’t have to do that.” 

“Consider it a consolation prize for losing at holochess.” Poe smirked at you from behind his drink.

You rolled your eyes playfully. 

“Not to look a gift horse in the mouth but where’s your girlfriend and why am I getting the pleasure of your company instead of her?” Poe asked.

“Where do you think? She’s off doing Jedi nonsense.” You said with a bit more venom than you intended. 

Poe raised an eyebrow at you. He could tell something was eating away at you. You hated and loved that he knew you so well. 

“Okay, c’mon. Tell Poe what happened.” He said in a sing-songy voice. 

You groaned and let your head fall onto his shoulder. It felt all too natural, all too easy with him. 

“My girlfriend is ignoring me. I bought this skimpy little bikini and then she left me mid–” You cut yourself off, not knowing if you should divulge the completely explicit version of events to Poe. “Right in the middle of some… intimate activities.” 

You felt Poe tense underneath you but you kept going. 

“I’m taking a backseat to everything these days, even on vacation! I get that the Jedi are important. But I’m important too.”

Poe called your name and you felt a soothing hand running up and down your back. 

“You are. And you deserve to be treated like it. Rey should be worshiping you at your feet. If you were my girl, I’d-” 

Poe stopped in the middle of his sentence and you picked your head up to look at him. He was looking off in the distance as if he’d said too much. 

“Poe.” You gently took his chin between your forefinger and thumb and guided his face back to look at you. “You’d what?” 

His tongue swiped over his lips and you couldn’t help but focus on them. You never noticed before but they were so pink and plump and…

Kissable. 

You felt Poe’s warm hand on your back, grazing over the skin that your dress left uncovered. A shiver danced along your spine. You forced yourself to look into his eyes. His intense gaze should have made you nervous but… it made you tingle with anticipation. 

This is what you had been chasing. Being wanted. Being desired. 

“If you were mine,” Poe repeated, speaking softly as if you were the only two people in the room. “You would never wonder how I felt about you.” Poe leaned in close to whisper in your ear, his breath tickling you. His hand found its home on your thigh. “And I would certainly never leave you in the lurch for someone else to sink their claws into you.” 

Poe’s words made goosebumps rise on your skin. His lips ghosted over the shell of your ear and then, ever so gently, he pressed a soft kiss to your temple. It wasn’t anything more than a gentle brush of his lips but it held a guarantee of more to come. 

Poe pulled his head back to look into your eyes. Some of your hair was tangled in his curls. The sigh of it enthralled you, like even the hair on your head didn’t want the two of you to be apart. 

“What was it you were saying earlier?” You whispered, your throat feeling incredibly dry. “About rules?” 

The corner of Poe’s mouth lifted into a smirk. 

“They don’t have a place out here.” He said, leaning in close to you. “Everyone cheats on vacation.” 

It was you who crossed the barrier first. Faster than a lightning strike, you cradled Poe’s chiseled jaw in your hands and pulled him to your lips. You kissed him like he was ice cold water on a summer day, with an undercurrent of neediness and desperation. 

Poe’s hand slid up your thigh and his other hand tangled in his hair as he deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue along your bottom lip. You parted your lips and let him lick into your mouth. Everything about him was invading all your senses. The sizzling touch of his hand on your thigh. The taste of alcohol on his tongue. The smell of his cologne mixed with his suntan oil. 

Poe was like a walking pheromone made just for you. He was luring you in like a siren song. You thought about his reputation for being a playboy. How women and men were always eyeing him up and down. How his natural default is effortless charm. How the rumors of his sculpted body and penchant for pleasure rocked the Resistance and you wanted to find out if they were true. 

You finally pulled away, out of breath but still aching for more. Poe’s hand was still wound in your hair and the other was up scandalously high on your thigh. You were now gripping his shirt collar in your hands, forbidding him from going anywhere. 

The beeping of a merchant droid brought you out of your haze. You looked down at the tiny unit who was towing a cart full of bouquets and flowers. 

He beeped in binary. 

“A rose for your lovely lady, sir?” 

Your cheeks flushed. You felt the need to refuse, to churn out a rushed explanation that you and Poe were not a couple, despite the fact that you had been frenching like horny coeds just a moment ago, but Poe acted before you could speak. 

“Certainly.” Poe handed over a credit and took the rose. He lifted it to his nose, inhaling the flowery scent before presenting it to you. “For you.” 

You took the rose, trying not to cry at the sweet gesture. 

“Thank you, Poe. I…” You tried to find the words to express what you were feeling in this moment. “I’m really grateful to have you.” 

Poe smiled, a classic Dameron smile that made everyone he met go weak in the knees. You were starting to think you were not exempt from this. 

You tucked your head into his neck and sighed. There was nowhere in the galaxy you wanted to be except right here, but the elephant in the room had to be addressed. 

“I have to meet Rey soon.” 

Poe lifted your arm and pressed a kiss to the inside of your palm. 

“Do you?” He murmured against your skin. 

“Poe.” You sighed. 

Poe kissed the inside of your wrist, working his way up your arm to your shoulder. Your body turned to jelly in his arms and you sighed blissfully as he buried his head in your neck, kissing the skin there. 

You shivered and fisted a handful of his curls, gently pulling him off you. 

“Poe.” You scolded lightly. 

He pouted and you resisted the urge to kiss it off his perfect face. 

“I have to go. We have a reservation at 7. We’ll talk after?” 

Poe looked like a wounded puppy as you stood up and slipped out of his arms. You patted his cheek and pressed a kiss to his nose to quell him. 

“Fine. But I’m gonna stare at your ass while you walk out and then I’m gonna go back to my room and think about you while I touch–”

“Poe!” You desperately covered his mouth but the shit-eating grin never left his face. He pressed a flurry of kisses to your open palm once more and you sighed dreamily. 

“What am I gonna do with you, Dameron?”

“To me.” He corrected. 

You laughed and pressed your forehead to his. 

“We’ll talk after.” You promised. 

You walked out the door and indeed felt Poe’s eyes on you the entire time. 

—

“I’m sorry, we don’t have a reservation under that name.” The maitre’d droid said. 

You groaned. 

“Can you check again?” 

“I can. But we do not have it.” 

You sighed and ran a hand down your cheek. This entire endeavor was leading to the beginning of a migraine. 

“It’s fine. Thanks anyway.” 

You didn’t need the droid to check again. You knew Rey didn’t make the reservation. She forgot. Again. 

You’re trying to remember why you even showed up to this stupid date in the first place. Rey clearly had higher priorities than you. Even though she was the last person you wanted to be with right now, you couldn’t help but feel jealous of all the other couples in the restaurant. They had fancy wine and a view of the stars as they got to be with people they loved. 

Why couldn’t you have that? 

You were about to run out of the restaurant when you felt the presence of someone behind you, but a welcome one. Then, the feeling of a solid chest pressed against your back. 

“Hi there. Reservation for Dameron?” Poe’s melodious voice said from behind you. 

The droid beeped in affirmation. 

“Yes. Dameron. For 2. The private rooftop package. Right this way.” 

Poe stepped into your peripheral vision and winked at you. He was dressed in a deep red silk shirt and a gray sport coat that outlined his strong shoulders. 

When he offered his arm, you gladly accepted it. 

The droid led the two of you behind the podium and up a hidden staircase. When you reached the top of the stairs, the droid lifted a latch that exposed the night sky to you. Poe tapped the small of your back, urging you to follow the droid out. 

When you did, you found yourself on the literal top of the boat where a single table had been set. 

You looked out into the open ocean, illuminated by the glow of the full moon. The sky was adorned with stars, much more than you could ever normally see. This was all too perfect, you had the urge to pinch yourself to see if you were dreaming. 

“I believe you wanted a romantic candlelit dinner under the stars?” Poe whispered, his lips ghosting over the shell of your ear. 

Again, his hand found the small of your back and he led you to your chair. While Poe took his seat opposite you, the droids carried in two plates. The silver tops were removed, revealing a decadent lobster dinner. The first droid opened a mechanism in its chest and extended a rod that lit the candle between you and Poe. 

When all the droids left and you and Poe were completely alone, surrounded by nothing but the ocean, the moon, and the stars, words finally found their way to your lips. 

“I can’t believe you would do all this for me.” 

“I can’t believe you think I wouldn’t.” Poe reached across the table to hold your hand. “You haven’t figured out by now that I’m crazy about you?”

Of course you felt the same way. You’re not quite sure when it happened, when you fell in love with Poe Dameron but now you can’t remember a time where you weren’t. 

All the time you spent competing with Poe was still time spent with him and that was time you learned about him and he learned about you. He learned about your deepest philosophies, fears, and beliefs. You learned about his family and why he wore his mother’s ring around his neck. He knew why your favorite book was your favorite. You knew what song he loved most. You had read each other like books, cover to cover, and were still aching for more. 

“I can’t believe I ever looked at anyone else other than you.” You whispered. Suddenly, every decision you’d ever made felt ridiculous. Choosing Rey, putting effort into your relationship, letting anyone else except Poe have access to your heart. 

Poe shook his head, bringing your hand up to his lips to kiss. 

“Don’t worry about that. You’re with me now.” He kissed the back of your hand feverishly like he was ill and you were his medicine. “Let me do the worrying for us.” 

Poe climbed out of his chair and sat beside you on his knees. He pressed kisses to your neck over and over. 

“I need you.” Poe mumbled into your skin. His hand found its perch on your upper thigh, fingertips gently digging into your flesh. 

You gripped his shoulders and pulled him off of you to look him in the eyes. Poe Dameron was made for the moonlight. His features were illuminated beautifully. His bouncy black curls, curved jaw, and pouty pink lips were otherworldly.

Your voice came out barely above a whisper when you said: 

“Take me.” 

Poe answered you with vigor, leaning up to capture your lips in a hungry, passionate kiss. All the pent up energy that had been stored for as long as you two felt this for each other was spilling out. Your ringed fingers fisted his curls and Poe moaned softly. The sound sent a deep pooling of heat in your belly and you wanted to hear it again. 

Desperately, you started to undress him. You shoved his jacket off his shoulders and your fingers trembled while you undid the buttons on his shirt. A shiver of anticipation ripped through you as more of his chest became exposed but Poe gently wrapped your hands up in his and pressed loving kisses to the pads of your fingers. 

“Don’t make me wait.” You said breathlessly. 

“No, baby, I think you’ve done enough waiting.” He affirmed. Poe reconnected his lips to yours in a more sloppy, rushed kiss. His hand slid up your thigh, this time disappearing past your dress. His fingertips ghosted over your panties and you decide at that moment you’re never wearing underwear again. You might not ever wear clothes again at all if it deterred Poe from being able to get his hands on you. 

You gently fisted Poe’s curls in your hand, tugging on them, which elicited a moan from your lover. This spurs him on. Poe wastes no time in shoving your panties to the side and sliding one finger inside you. Your breath hitches from the feeling and selfishly, you want more. 

“More.” You demand. 

Poe chuckles, pumping his finger in and out of you a few times before adding in another. The pressure is good, but it’s not quite enough. You need his cock and you know he’ll give it to you but he is in no rush. 

He pulls his fingers almost all the way out of you and then drags them up and down your slit. His thumb circles your clit while his fingers work you to an orgasm. 

The pressure builds in your belly, amplified by Poe’s intoxicating scent. You claw your fingers into his shoulder, leaning out of your chair and letting Poe hold you up while he fingered you. Being on edge sexually and emotionally all week has your release approaching much too soon. 

“Poe, I’m–” 

“I know, baby, I know. Go ahead.” Poe’s velvety voice carries you through. When the rope finally snaps, it’s better than you could have ever imagined. 

Your head falls to Poe’s shoulder and you’re fighting for breath, but he doesn’t let up. Poe continues pumping his fingers in and out of you, relentless. He adds a third finger and your delight in the feeling. He doesn’t stop until he draws a second orgasm from you. 

Poe finally pulls his fingers out and you feel empty. Cold. 

The last thing you were expecting him to do was slide his fingers into his mouth and lick them clean. 

“Mmm…” He moaned around his fingers, pulling them out with a sinful ‘pop’. “You taste amazing.” 

“Poe…” You breathe out. 

“I need more.” Poe slides his hands underneath your thighs and lifts you up, gently depositing you on the ground. Above you, he removes his shirt, bundling up the fabric and sliding it under your head, creating a makeshift pillow for you. 

Your dress is bunched up past your thighs and the soaked panties you were wearing are pulled down your legs. Poe examines them closely, paying special attention to the wet spot on the front. 

“These are for me, yes?” He bunches your panties up and slides them into his back pocket and your heart races from the obscene theft. 

Poe dips his head down, pressing kisses to your shaking thighs. He murmurs something into your skin but your head is still hazy.

“Baby,” Poe rasped out, calling your attention to him. When you looked at him, his eyes were glossy and his mouth was agape, like a man starved. “Tell me I can taste you.”

Not trusting your voice, you nodded. Poe obeyed, burying his head between your thighs. He licks a stripe up your slit and you cry out. 

His hands slide up your body and grip yours and the tenderness of it all makes you want to cry. You’ve never experienced this: equal parts romance and passion. Someone holding your hand as fiercely as they’re eating you out, like each action brings about the same level of pleasure and intimacy. 

Poe holds your intertwined hands on your stomach as his nose nudges against your public bone. His tongue swirls around and sucks on your clit. Every time he hits a particularly delicious spot, you squeeze his hand, letting him know exactly how you like it. 

He moans against you and you think it just might kill you. Has anyone ever died from pleasure? You might be the first. 

Poe’s smattering of stubble rubs up against your thighs and the slight scratch shouldn’t feel good but it does. Poe licks, swirls, sucks, nips, and bites at you and it’s more than you can take. He lays his tongue flat against you, dragging it along your slit tantalizingly slowly. 

“Poe…” You moan, tugging on his hand. 

He peaks up at you from between your legs. He lifts his head up and the sight of him is positively filthy. 

Blown out pupils, slightly darkened brown eyes, bee-stung pink lips, chin glistening from your slick. Unable to resist, you lean forward with your free hand and swipe your thumb over his chin, collecting your juices. Then, you gently tap Poe’s bottom lip. He opens his mouth for you and you slide your thumb in. His mouth closes around your finger and he sucks on it gently. You feel his tongue winding around your thumb and licking it clean. 

Like an insatiable madman, Poe grabs your hand and desperately starts sucking on each one of your fingers like it’s a drug and he’s addicted.

The erotic sight of Poe sucking on your fingers was enough to make you cum again right then and there. You couldn’t stand it anymore. You had to have him. Now. 

“Poe,” You lean up and paw at his chest with your free hand. “I need your cock inside of me. Now. Please, Poe, I have to feel you.” 

Poe looks up at you from sucking on your middle finger. Reluctantly, he lets your finger go, a string of spit connecting you. 

“You’re bad for me.” Poe breathed out as he placed his hand on your abdomen and laid you back down. “You’re gonna ruin me.” He said it like it was a mantra. 

Poe made quick work of unbuckling his pants and freeing his cock. It was big, bigger than you’d anticipated and the thought of him stretching you out had you wiggling with excitement. 

Poe wrapped his spit-slicked hand around himself, pumping a few times. Pre-cum was already spilling from his slit and you wanted so badly to taste it, but you could suck him off another time. Right now, you just wanted to be connected to him. 

Guiding his hips to yours, Poe aligns the two of you. He leans down, his curls tickling your forehead. 

“I love you.” He says, and at the same time that he presses his lips to yours in a feverish kiss, he slides into you. 

Poe feels even bigger than he looks. 

You’re stuffed to the brim and when he finally bottoms out, you have no idea how he’s possibly going to move. You feel featherlight kisses on your neck and across your jaw. 

It dawns on you then what Poe just said to you. He loves you. 

He shouldn’t be doing this to you, dangling the hope of a perfect future in front of you when the present has been so cruel. Trapped in a loveless, hopeless relationship when the man of your dreams was in your periphery this entire time. 

Your hands slide down Poe’s arms and come around to rest on his back. 

“Move.” You whisper in his ear. “Show me you love me.” 

Poe nods into your neck. The first snap of his hips is gentle and you want to chide him for treating you like a porcelain doll but the second– Oh. 

He bucks up into you, somehow managing to go deeper. This becomes his rhythm; deep slow thrusts that eventually grow into a fast, feverish pace. 

You moan, digging your nails into the skin of his back. 

“Fuck.” You whimper. 

“She doesn’t deserve you.”

You groan, disconcerted at the mention of Rey. Why does she have to exist in this moment? Why can’t it just be the two of you? 

“Poe–” You try to warn but it comes out as a moan. 

“Say my name. Louder. Let everyone hear how good I fuck you. I’m gonna make you forget about her.” 

Poe slides almost all the way out of you, leaving only the head of his cock inside. You whimper and whine from the loss of him but he slams back into you, causing you to cry out. 

Your nails sink further into his back and Poe groans. 

“You feel so good, Poe, fuck.” 

Poe responds well to your praise, speeding up the quickness of his thrusts. You raise your hips up and this seems to unravel something within him. 

“Oh God…” Poe moans into your ear and it’s the most sinfully delicious thing you’ve ever heard. You look up at his face and his brows are furrowed, mouth parted as gasps and moans fall from his lips. 

You realize now that the legends of Poe Dameron being a veritable sex god are true, not just because of the pleasure he delivers but how much he takes from it himself. You want to cum just from watching him fall apart on top of you. 

“Poe, moan for me again.” You beg. 

“Baby…” He moans, burying his face between your breasts and kissing whatever skin he can get his hands on. His moans against your skin and sucks a love mark onto the top of your breast, all the while filling you up with his cock. 

Poe is trembling above you, overcome with lust. He’s coming apart, even more than you are. His hand shakes as he reaches down to stroke your clit. 

“Ah-ah!” You throw your head back and exhale shakily. He’s slamming into you fiercely and swirling his middle finger around your clit. You don’t know how he’s managing triple pleasure: fucking you with his cock, carressing your bundle of nerves with his finger, and leaving beautiful purple bruises on your tits. 

You’re not sure when he started leaving a third mark on you but you don’t care. You want him to mark you everywhere, claim you as his. 

“You’re mine.” Poe says through a moan, as if he’s read your mind. “You don’t belong to anyone else except me.” 

You nod, unable to find your voice. 

“Say it, beautiful.” Poe places a kiss on the valley between your breasts. “I need to hear it.” 

“I’m yours.” 

Poe smirks and wraps his lips around your nipple, sucking on it with a loud moan. 

This is it, this is gonna send you over the edge. 

Poe’s thrusts are becoming sloppy. He removes his hand from your clit and holds both of your hands in his. He continues to lick and suck on your tits while he brings you to the brink. 

Your moans begin to sync up and you try your best to match his pace but Poe is relentless, fucking into you hard and fast. Your breaking point is coming, just over the horizon. Your legs are shaking and you squeeze Poe’s hands as you feel the warm pressure in your belly build up. 

Poe doesn’t seem to care that there’s an entire restaurant of people below you or an entire ship, for that matter. 

“Say my name.” His words come out in a desperate plea. 

You marvel at your lover, absolutely desperate for you. You loosen your grip on one of his hands to caress his jaw. 

“Poe, I love you.” 

Your words are all it takes. Poe lets go of your hand and places both of them on your hips. He starts fucking into you desperately, needing his release and yours. 

“Cum for me, baby. Cum for me.” He demands. 

The entire galaxy fades away except for him. His touch, his warmth, his scent. There’s nothing except Poe. 

You let yourself go. 

His hips are rocking against yours and the friction is finally lending itself to your climax. But what really sends you over the edge is Poe leaning down to gather you in his arms and press a searing kiss to your lips. 

You cum hard, all over his cock. 

He fucks you all the way through it until he finally reaches his peak. His lips are still attached to yours and he moans into your mouth when he finally does cum, spilling into you with no shame. You feel delirious and spent but in no capacity do you want Poe to let go of you. 

You relish in this feeling of being connected to him in every way. Panicked that he might let go, you slide your arms around his shoulders and keep him anchored to you. Poe chuckles against your lips. 

“I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart.” He kisses your bottom lip twice before gently taking it between his teeth and nibbling slightly. 

And Poe Dameron, true to his word, didn’t. 

–

You didn’t come back to your room until early the next morning. Rey didn’t ask where you were and you didn’t offer the information. She didn’t even remember you had a date. But this time, it doesn’t sting. Because the man of your dreams is gleefully striding over to you, clad in nothing but blue shorts, flip flops, and sunglasses. 

“Hey, pretty lady.” He grabs two drinks off a passing waiter droid’s tray and places one in your outstretched hand. 

“Hey yourself, flyboy.” 

Shamelessly, he places a large hand on your hip and anchors you toward him. He has a devilish look on his face, a smirk playing up on his lips, and a mischievous twinkle in his eye. 

“What are you thinking so hard about?” You ask in a low voice. 

Poe’s tongue darts out of his mouth for a millisecond. He grins at you, and then shakes his head. 

“You. Me.” His hand leaves your hip to grab your hand, lifting it up to brush kisses across the back of your knuckles. “Us.” 

“Us…” You echo. “I like the sound of that.” 

Poe rubs his thumb along your wrist, sending shivers up your spine. 

“There’s a question I’ve been meaning to ask you all day.” He says, eyes boring into yours. 

You lick your lips in anticipation.

“Oh yeah? What’s that?” 

Poe grins, biting down on his bottom lip. He pulls you closer to him by your wrist, pinning you with his gaze. His breath fans over your face and you feel your entire body radiating with excitement. 

This is what Poe did for you. He excited you, made you feel like you could take a running leap off the ship and soar through the sky. He never let you idle. There was always a joke to crack, a story to tell you, something to offer that would make you laugh, smile, smirk, or scoff. Poe would never stop making you feel. 

“Up for a game of holochess?” 

[silverheartlugia2000]

can someone help me brainstorm the next bit?

Danny was tired. More than tired, exhausted. Danny was the kind of tired that was so deep it looped right back around to constantly giddy. He sat in his chair at the Justice League meeting with a smile on his face and a vacant stare. The others were kinda giving him weird or concerned looks while he sang Twinkle Stars in his head cause the window kept distracting him. 

He should be paying attention to Hal who was talking, but his inner thoughts kept asking him if he could ask to go to Oa with the Green Lantern sometime cause, while he has been up around Earth’s space plenty of times now he’s rarely gone on trips off planet with anyone. Just because he’s wandered off during the trips once or twice they don't like bringing him unless they can rope him in the Fenton Fishing Line(™) that Jazz converted into what was basically a baby leash. He was almost 17! An adult! He didnt need no leash!!

Well except for when that happened…But he was better at it!! He couldn’t help it.. It just seemed to happen when he used up his powers a lot with no time to sleep or snack. Especially when he was still a new death, and it hardly ever happened anymore now that he was more experienced in managing his output! No one needed to know what his true core ghost form really looked like.. It just reflected how young he was as a ghost compared to everyone else he knew is all.

Heck Youngblood was almost 100 years dead. And while YB was still physically younger, he was still considered older than Danny! Apparently being a child ghost wasn’t quite the same as being the ghost OF a child. Eventually his core form should even out to reflect his death age in time..

Speaking of which he was hungry too, maybe when he gets home he could ask Mom for some of those Ecto cookies she hid away. She’s been putting them in the new ghost proof safe so Danny can't eat them all before dinner. They weren't nearly as good as Grampa’s but she has gotten better at not turning the food into ghosts, the hot dogs attack anything that even begins to twitch so that helps.

Wait, when was the last time he’d been home? There’d been an invasion going on the last week and the League was still scrambling with all the little things that happened because of that, looting, Lex trying to kill Superman while he’s tired, Joker’s jealousy popping up in a new attention grabbing scheme, more looting from low risk villains cause no one was around to stop them. Then the Big Three plus Flash getting pulled into another dimension temporarily. 

Lucky Danny was able to track them down and get them back home, though he missed the Watchtower by a longshot and landed somewhere in Kansas.. Future Master of Space and he still had trouble getting his Gate open to begin with sometimes. Though since it was so late when they came back they got to meet Superman's parents and spend the night. They were very nice, the mac n cheese they had for dinner that night was really good..

Maybe he should go home today, he didn't feel the giddy kind of tired anymore. He felt the bad kind of tired that happened just before that happened, he needed to go home to his family, his Mom would be happy to give him all the hugs he needed and Dad would sneak him snacks and Jazz and Sam and Tuck would let him nap and play all he wants until he feels ok enough to be his human age again. Maybe he could even go bug Dan for a bit.

He hasn't taken his meds lately either now that he thinks about it.. His travel box emptied a few days ago and he hasn't had time to get more, that's one good thing about being in the JL though, their own medical care and they actually had meds that work on weird metabolisms like his. Getting his anxiety and insomnia back under control had been a godsend after the two years he went without cause the accident made them not work anymore.

Just as this plan was finalized in his head the red lights and noise that mean bad things happening flashed and Danny loudly keens, curling into himself. Everyone is rushing off except for Superman and Batman who look at him worriedly. Tears prick his eyes and hands cover his ears, Superman obviously recognizes sensory overload with how strong the man's own are and Batman has so many Robins around Danny very much doubts he can miss an over tired teen nearing his limit.

But they have a job to do so with a deep breath Danny pulls himself together and takes off towards whatever is happening before the Justice Dads can call him out on it.

-

The fight itself shouldn't have been that hard especially since there were only a couple of them sent, the problem was that it was against one of the rarer rogues, and a magic one at that. Gentleman Ghost, he thinks? Which is why Danny got pulled along, cause of the power set. The guy might call himself a ghost but he didn't listen to Danny. Danny was the King! Danny was used to ghosts not listening, but most of the time that was his circle of frenemies who had known him since he was a new death, they claimed special rights as the ones who practically taught him ghost culture. They were more like extended aunts, uncles and siblings at this point. Except Spectra. Fuck Spectra..

This guy was more interested in his own shit and pissed at the fact that Batman outsmarted him on something again, what he didn’t know. The older ghost didn't even give him a second look, sure Danny didn't like flaunting his title and he wasn't able to fully use the Crown’s power for a few more centuries yet when he’d grown into it ghost wise but he was tired and getting pissed off. Mr Victorian is playing keep away and Danny is the only one that can keep up with him while Batman has to dodge things like walls and cars and the occasional blast of magic.

Things went to shit when he got hit. The magic hurt, he was used to being hurt seeing as fighting was practically socializing for a ghost, but there was just enough of the underlying feeling of electricity that made him tumble that last inch over the edge. 

He screamed.

It wasn’t a long one. Not nearly enough to get the full power in, a yelp of surprise more than a wail. But it was enough to blast the ghost unconscious and throw a few cars down the street, he was able to cut it off before he did more damage but it still felt bad that it happened. 

He felt bad that Batman had to arrest the ghost on his own, borrowing his thermos and catching the geezer so they could dump him on Constantine later, while Danny sat on the ground where he crashed, curled into himself and trying not to cry too loud. 

He felt more than saw, Batman coming back over to him and petting his hair softly, he was talking into the coms to someone but Danny didn’t care right now he just wanted to sleep. Danny flails for the hand that starts to retreat from its comfort. It comes back immediately and holds his and Danny is too tired to hold on anymore so he doesn't.

-

To say Batman is scared when Phantom gets hit is one thing. He’d seen the halfa take worse, it was the noise more than anything that scared him. He’d seen what Phantom’s Wail could do. And whatever had caused him to unleash it had to be bad. But he was glad the kid had enough awareness to cut it off immediately, his lessons on fine control with Canary were paying off. The fact that Phantom had shown clear signs of an incoming meltdown just half an hour before would have been enough to bench the kid from coming out at all if it wasn't for Constantine offering this mission instead. While the rest of the big hitters were busy with some kaiju-like monster that popped up on the other side of the world

Constantine had probably sensed Phantom’s exhaustion if the sudden diversion meant anything, cranky as the mage was to the rest of them, he had a soft spot for the kid, him and Marvel both. The two were as strong as any of the League, but they were still kids with way too much weight on their shoulders.

It almost didn’t work, Phantom kept insisting he was fine and could help, when John saddled up next to Batman and said something about an old artifact of magic power going up in a museum today, one that could be tempting for a particular rouge to steal if the talk he heard was anything to go by. Yes Batman had faced him alone before just fine but since the kid had a similar powerset, Phantom would be a big help on getting things done faster.

And that had been the turning point there. He has talked to Phantom’s sister before. She had told him at length when Danny first joined, his little tells and how to handle them. She and (Jason?Dick?) had been dating for a while at that point and Phantom had recently been recruited. It wasn’t unusual for Batman to feel threatened, between corporate sharks and kidnappers as Bruce to the endless supervillains as Batman. But it was rare that he felt the threats against him were justified, she wanted to protect her brother, and he’d be a hypocrite if he tried to argue that.

Phantom had a dual Obsession of Protection and Space, but Protection can be interpreted and sub divided in many ways, ghosts were possessive in general to what they saw as theirs and that's where the confusion was. Danny would Protect with all his might if there was danger yes, but specifically he preferred being Helpful more than anything. Even if it was only upgrading their equipment and defenses or even just flitting around fetching them things. It satisfied him either way.

Batman took a second to assess Phantom, swiping the thermos from his belt to contain the Gentleman Ghost. Really he should ask for one for himself, intangible villains were pains in the ass to contain..

He walks back to Phantom and runs fingers through his hair, fully set in Batdad mode, but unsure if the kid would tolerate anymore until he’s calmed back down.

“Oracle?”

“Here B.”

“Can you contact Nightingale? I’m bringing Phantom back to the tower, unable to tell if he’s physically hurt. But he’s clearly having a breakdown.”

“Like mind control, or RR up way past his no-sleep threshold?”

“I’m leaning towards the latter.” Batman does not sigh, cause that wouldn’t be a Batman thing to do. He does however move his hands away to secure the thermos and hit the remote control on the Batmobile, only for Phantom to whine and latch onto his wrist.

Batman quickly goes back to soothing the teen. Getting into a position to hoist him up when he was blinded by a bright light.

When Batman blinked the sparks out of his vision Phantom was no longer sprawled on the ground, instead Batman held a handful of black coils with a tuft of white.

-

(jazz when she gets to the tower) “Why did you let him go out if you knew he wasn’t ok?!”

“It was either let Constantine insist on chasing a literal phantom thief under my supervision, or let him fight a giant sea monster close to Korea.”

“....Ok fair..”