#but I managed to wash a set of sheets all my towels every single one of them 50% of my wardrobe my shower curtain and my couch pillow cases

[queeriboh]

holy shit I did so much laundry today lol

[devilyn]

i want to tell you i love you | tsukishima kei

— alexa, play: i won’t let you feel alone again by demxntia

Every single time that I lay my eyes on your face I'm falling for your body and your mind too Forget the past we can leave it all behind you I won't let you feel alone again I won't let you feel alone again, no

— synopsis: sometimes, tsukki wished he could be more honest with himself. because if he had honestly told you how he felt about you, he wouldn’t be standing outside your front door wondering how he should beg you for forgiveness right now. — genre: angst, happy ending, implications of nsfw, tsukki’s pride again. — word count: 1.8k

He wondered if he should even be here, standing outside your door without calling you beforehand. He knew you had to leave in 10 minutes if you wanted to make it to lecture in time, and he knew if you saw him your day would most likely be ruined.

Yet he didn't move from his spot by your front door.

Did you even want to see him? Chances were low. If anything, him being here was more likely to hurt you. But without thinking, his feet had brought him to your doorstep. Softly, he cursed and ran his hand through his hair.

He never knew what to do when it came to you and your undefined relationship.

"What are we?" you finally asked the other night with a softness in your eyes he never wanted to let go. 

"Nothing," is what he instinctively said to keep the walls around his heart up, but he felt it throb in his chest when he saw the way your expression fell. 

He hated labels. He hated defining things. It's why the two of you lasted so long. But it was only natural that you'd want some sort of definition of what was happening between the two of you.

If his high school teammates saw him now, most of them would probably be disappointed in the type of man he became. In fact, they'd yell at him to treat you better. So what was stopping him?

Pride. It was always his pride, and he hated it.

He nearly jumped in surprise when he heard your front door click and then swing open. You let out a similar noise of shock before finally looking up and meeting his golden eyes. Your haggard expression managed to become even more tired than before just at the sight of his face, and suddenly, he regretted coming.

"Why…?" you trailed off, knowing he knew what you meant.

"...needed to see you," he answered honestly, though he almost regretted that too when your brows furrowed and your expression darkened.

"I have class," you responded coldly, stepping outside the warm comforts of your apartment to brave the winter air. Tsukishima could see your breath, and the way you shuddered at the cool wind that blew by.

"M'not here for sex," he murmured and you scoffed, checking the time on your phone.

"Yeah, I figured that. You never come anytime before 9pm for sex," you tilted your head. "In fact, you never come before 9pm at all."

He felt like he was going to collapse, but his feet stayed rooted to the ground as he gazed down at you with an unreadable expression. Despite that, your hard expression softened into one he couldn't understand. He watched you glance at your phone again and curse under your breath. You would be late if you didn't leave now.

"Look, Kei," you stated quickly. "I need to go or I'll be late to class."

"You can miss one lecture."

You rolled your eyes and took a step forward in an attempt to slip past him. He wasn't sure how, but he managed to pull his feet from their spot by your front door to plant himself in front of you instead, blocking you from taking any more than three steps away from your doormat. Your expression morphed into one of displeasure once again.

"Kei," you spoke in a warning tone. "I'm going to be late."

"I want to talk--"

"You had your chance to talk last week," you interrupted, voice calm. "So move out of my way, or I'll block your number and you definitely won't be able to talk to me then."

"Either way, we know you're going to end up blocking my number after today anyway," he retorted with narrowed eyes, as you desperately looked for a way around his unnecessarily tall frame. "so let's talk now."

You scoffed and threw your hands into the air in defeat. Quickly, you whirled back around and forcefully unlocked your front door before yanking it open. Before stepping inside, you turn your head to glare at him.

"This is your last chance, Tsukishima Kei." 

He flashed you a bitter smile before following you inside your familiar apartment.

"Excuse the mess," you mumble, dropping your bag by the couch as you head into the kitchen to grab him a beverage.

He closed the door behind him, the soft click of the lock sealing his fate. How would he go about this? It's not like he came here with a plan. He had acted on emotion alone, and somehow ended up here. Yet, as you said, this was his last chance to be honest with himself, and with you.

"I hope water's fine. I don't have anything else," your soft voice pulled him out of his thoughts. He watched you toss used tissues and napkins from the coffee table into the trash, briefly wiping it down with a wet towel before setting his beverage on top.

He took in your apartment for the first time during the daylight. It was uncharacteristically messy, with an emptied bag of chips tossed aside and a blanket and pillow laying haphazardly on your only couch. Your shoes were kicked to the side, and some clothes that he deemed as your pajamas were on the ground by the couch. As if you knew he was observing the sight, you hurriedly cleaned up the area.

"You don't need to clean," he said softly, though you made a soft noise that sounded like a snort. Clearly, you weren't going to listen to him.

"Sit," you told him as you made your way back to your bedroom to toss everything onto your bed to clean later. "And think thoroughly about what your excuse will be."

He did as you told him, taking a seat comfortably on your couch. He's spent an excessive amount of time here with you, usually with you perched in his lap with your lips against his. You always had this soft giggle he adored, and would try to draw out of you by kissing areas on your neck he knew were ticklish. He would rest his head on your lap after a long day of classes, volleyball practice, and generally dealing with others. You would run your hand through his hair absentmindedly while watching a show on your laptop, and he would gaze up at your focused expression with stars in his eyes. Then, his hand would reach up and pull you down for a kiss, which would eventually lead to more. 

There were many nights where he'd let you force him into washing the sheets because of the mess the two of you made, and you insisted it had to be a team effort because it was mostly his fault for initiating in the first place. Still, the sight of you writhing beneath him with red cheeks pleading for more always made the laundry day worth it. Plus, the bright smile you wore watching him reluctantly pull the sheets off your bed made him feel things he couldn't put into words.

"I love you," Tsukishima whispered softly to himself, as he heard the quiet pattering of your feet become louder with each step as you approached the common area. That was the lame excuse he had come up with.

You took the spot on the other side of the couch, turning so you could face him.

"So?" you tilted your head, fingers messing around with your phone as a distraction. "What's the excuse you came up with that was good enough to force me to skip class?"

He was silent, eyes taking in every inch of your face and the small changes that occurred over the span of the two days he hadn't seen you.

The bags under your eyes were new, along with your chapped lips and the sadness in your irises. His hand reached forward and he inched closer to you, leaning in to cup your cheek gently. Though you allowed the action, you stiffened and never tore your gaze from his. His golden-brown eyes flickered to your lips, thumb brushing over them slowly.

"I'm sorry," he finally mumbled, eyes closing as he leaned in again to rest his forehead against yours.

"For what?" you inquired quietly. You were testing him, and he knew it. He deserved it, really.

"For saying you meant nothing to me when that obviously isn't true," Tsukishima still had his palm cupping your cheek, his thumb brushing over your supple skin as he sighed quietly. The two of you were silent for a bit before you spoke up again, your voice shaky.

"...what am I supposed to believe, Kei? That you really want to be around me for more than just sex, or are you cruel enough to lie to my face to keep me around as someone you can run to whenever you wanna fuck?"

"You're worth more than that," his voice was weak, and he suppressed his pride that scolded him for speaking his true feelings. "And I'm sorry that I made you feel like you weren't. I'm sorry that I disproved my actions with my words because I was scared of giving my heart to someone."

He finally opened his eyes, and his heart trembled at the sight of your teary expression.

"I can't forgive you so easily, you know," your fingers reached up to trace the outline of his jaw, and a pleased hum left his lips.

"I'll make it up to you, until you believe me," he placed his hand over yours, bringing your knuckles to his lips and pressing light kisses to your fingertips. Your gaze was soft, admiring the adoration in his eyes.

"I like you a lot," you whimpered weakly, and he couldn't help but smile. He leaned down to finally kiss you like he had been wanting to since he first saw you, his fingers intertwining with yours.

"I know," he mumbled against your lips, and you weakly smacked his shoulder to which he snickered.

"Do you like me…?" you asked quietly, voice even smaller than before, as if you were afraid of his answer.

"...yeah. A lot," he answered honestly, and his heart swelled up with joy at the sight of your teary smile. With a soft giggle that sounded like home to him, you wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him down on top of you to press your lips to his again.

One day, he'd be able to vocalize just how much he loved that laugh of yours. One day, he'd be able to tell you honestly just how much he loves you.

[captainstiddies]

Little One ; Lawyer! Levi Ackerman x Fem!Reader

a/n: this is my first time in like years posting smut so be gentle lol, but massive thank you to @illumisbundles for being my test dummy and helping with the title and everything love u!!

universe: modern, lawyer! Levi

pairing: Levi Ackerman x fem!reader

warnings: SMUT MINORS DON'T INTERACT LIKE AT ALL, jealous!Levi, edging, dacryphilia, slight overstim, daddy kink, dom!Levi

Levi was always incredibly formal, always a firm handshake and a cordial nod at these types of events. He always had a firm hand on your back leading you through the crowds of people at the annual gala. He was already so stand-offish on the day to day but having to be surrounded by every single one of his rich clients whose only problem was picking which summer home to visit this year was headache-inducing. Having you by his side, however, made it so much more manageable. The way you could navigate any conversation with a graceful smile while always finding a quick way out, made these events much more pleasing for the lawyer.

He tapped your back twice signalling silently that he was going to get a refill on drinks and you nodded pressing a kiss against his temple as he walked towards the bar. Leaving you standing at a small table by yourself, it wasn't long until one of his interns had approached you sparking up a lively conversation. At first, it wasn't a big deal you learned his name was Eren Yaeger and it was his first gala and he at first just seemed nervous until you could tell he started leaning in a little closer, complimenting your 'form'. And when you met eyes with your boyfriend across the room you could see him seething.

Even with how logical Levi was he couldn't help how jealous he became whenever he saw someone flirting with you. Especially when they were almost a good foot taller than him and still taller than you in your heels. He stalked back towards you and by the time Eren even noticed you weren't interested Levi was beside you again this time his hand was gripping your waist, bunching the fabric of your dress. "Yaeger, don't you have better things to do than annoy her?" His stern voice could've made Eren shit in his pants if he hadn't rented the tux, so he almost ran away from the table.

Turning towards Levi you went to speak but instead, you were met with that look in his eyes that already had heat pooling between your legs. "Downstairs, get the car I'll be down in five minutes." With that, he kisses your cheek walking to Erwin to make some excuse that you both have to leave, and without a second thought, you gather your coat and clutch and head towards the elevator.

Your crossed legs bounced as you waited in the backseat of the car, the driver simply smoking as he leant against the wall. You on the other hand couldn't seem to relax knowing exactly what punishment you were going to be given. When the driver swung open his door you jolted upright and less than a second later Levi slid into the seat beside you adjusting his jacket and tapping on the divider signalling to the chauffer to leave. For most of the ride Levi's silent, his hand placed firmly on your thigh squeezing just enough to remind you what you were in for when you got home.

The minute Levi let you into your condo he pulled you into a searing kiss, his hands gripping your hair before he pushes you against the wall. "Levi..." His glare silences you before you can continue before picking you up by your thighs, instinctively causing your legs to wrap around his waist. Levi's lips attach to the soft skin of your neck, sucking and biting harshly intent on leaving marks in his wake. He carried you to your bedroom before letting you fall onto the sheets and Levi had to admit he loved seeing you like this, dress up over your hips, lipstick smudged across your mouth, your heaving chest showcasing the already developing array of reds and purples marks along your neck.

His hands came to run along the skin of your thighs as he sighed. "Oh angel, do you know how much Yaeger truly angers me? He acts like everything belongs to him, and you played right into that didn't ya?" His eyebrow cocked as he looked down at you but all you could focus on was the feeling of his index finger ghosting over your clothed pussy. "Answer me." His command is followed by a swift slap to the outside of your thigh, watching as the skin jiggled. "No! No, I swear Daddy." He tsked at your pathetic plea before finally rubbing against your clit through your panties eliciting a moan to fall from your lips. "Little one, don't lie, I know exactly what you did, you showed him just how low cut that dress was, you let him think he could have you but no. You're mine." Pushing your panties to the side he slid his fingers into your already slick core, curling against the spongey spot inside of you. Setting an intense pace he leaned over you.

"Say it, don't make me ask twice angel." Levi's hot breath against your ear sent a shiver down your spine. "I'm yours, all yours, please I'm all yours-Please." You begged a hand going to his shoulder to steady yourself as the heel of his hand hit against your clit eliciting a lewd moan to leave your lips. Levi snickered as he lowered to his knees. "Use your words little one." He knew you like the back of his hand he knew from the minute he entered the car he knew he had you all riled up the way each time he squeezed your thigh a little harder and you would jump. Now even with his fingers knuckle deep inside you he could read you like a book the way you rolled your hips at each curl of his fingers or the shiver and whine that came from him blowing cool air against your skin.

"I want your mouth, hnn Daddy please i-I'll be good I promise." Your voice hitched as he pulled his fingers from inside you, a whine leaving you as Levi hooked his fingers into the band of your panties pulling them down and throwing them over his shoulder the smirk never left his lips nor did his eyes ever leave yours as he lowered his mouth to your now soaked pussy. He blew cold air against your clit causing you to jolt and whine out for him a hand going to his hair before Levi grabbed your wrist. "Hands above your head angel, one-touch and you won't cum for the rest of the fucking week." You did what you were told and when he was satisfied he sucked your clit into his mouth causing a loud moan to leave your lips gripping tightly at the sheets above your head, back arching as he continued his assault on your clit.

Levi slid his fingers back into your aching core curling up against your g-spot. You were getting close and he could tell from the way you clenched around his fingers at each thrust and from how desperately you were clinging onto the sheets trying to be his good girl."'M so close daddy- Fuck! So close so fucking close, please!" Sadly, your cries fell on deaf ears as you felt the knot tighten in your stomach until Levi pulled away completely. "Bad girls don't get to cum."

Levi continued his attack on your pussy bring you to the edge over and over again until you were crying for him to just fuck you. You were a blubbering mess when he finally rose from his knees, from where he was standing he towered over you, was able to look over your naked form. The dress had been discarded almost ten minutes ago your body was twitching and shaking from the sheer amount of times your orgasm had been ruined. Levi wiped your slick from his chin as he watched you pant. Your eyes glazed over with tears as he undid his belt and pulled his pants and boxers off. Levi slowly worked his hand along his cock, precum already slowly spilling from the swollen tip. Grabbing you from beneath your knees he pushed your legs against your chest, exposing your spasming pussy to him.

He pushed himself into your tight walls, a low groan came from his chest as he bottomed out. "Still so fucking tight angel, so fucking perfect." He started his pace slow and deep rolling his hips against yours every time, hitting your cervix with each roll. It didn't take long for that knot to tighten again inside you, Levi's lips met yours in a bruising kiss, you could still taste yourself on his tongue causing an almost pornographic moan to leave you. The second his free hand came to your clit rubbing hard and fast circles your hands flew to his shoulders. "Please, oh god! Please 'm gonna cum!" This time however he didn't pull away instead he moved his lips to your shoulder biting against the soft skin. A scream ripped through you as the white-hot of your orgasm moved through your body.

Watching you come undone just drove Levi crazy, his thrusts turned erratic as he came closer and closer to his own edge his fingers never stopping as he made you jolt from the overstimulation "No, no daddy, I can't." Your cries were masked by the absolutely lewd sounds coming from your pussy as Levi pistoned into you. "You've been begging to-fuck cum for an hour angel, Jesus Christ can't take another one?" his head fell forward resting his forehead against yours as he pressed further against your legs with his chest his free hand came to your neck squeezing it as he watched you cry from pleasure, the orgasm almost catching you by surprise. You clawed at his back as wave after wave of pleasure washed over you.

Levi snapped his hips into you one more time as he let out a low groan quickly followed by thick hot spurts of cum. Pulling out he watched as a mixture of yours and his cum dripped from your fluttering and gaping hole. He was tempted to finger it back into you, maybe if you got pregnant no one would ever act as if you were free to be picked up like a common whore. His eyes scanned up your body and landed on your tear-streaked face. "Little one, look at me... c'mon open those pretty eyes." He cupped your cheek, thumb brushing against the damp skin of your cheekbone. Slowly you opened your eyes a hand coming to rest on his. "There's my pretty girl." He cooed softly as he kissed your forehead. Standing up he went to the ensuite damping a towel for your face and another to clean you up. Pulling on a clean pair of boxers he sat beside you running the cool cloth against your skin cleaning you as best he could until your shower in the morning.

Once you were situated under the covers he pulled you into his side, pressing soft kisses along your hairline, rubbing gentle circles along your spine. "You were so good for me little one, I love you so much don't forget it ever, please." His voice was soft as he whispered against your skin. Sleepily you nodded, your body was still sore and would probably be tenfold in the morning. "Levi...I love you too, 'm not gonna leave you for some stupid intern, you know that right?" It was his turn to nod, reaching over to turn off the table lamp. "I know angel, sleep now. You need to rest."

[cherrycocaineee]

17. Min Yoongi - Aftercare

*Warning - mentions of sex, making out* *Slanted, bold words mean that it’s being spoken in Korean.*

*Min Yoongi’s p.o.v*

      The sweet smell of sex filtered out of the room once I cracked the window open, letting the cool air drift through the hot, sweaty room, emptying it out. Hadley’s tired form was covered by the thin sheet, her sweet, bright brown eyes drooping tiredly. Even though she was tired, she still made an effort to smile at me happily. Chuckling, I crawled back on top of the bed and moved over to her. She turned over to her back and watched as I leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

 “Let’s get you taken care of,” I whispered against her fleshy, soft, pink lips.

 “You don’t have to, Yoongi,” she replied, “I’ll do it. You should rest.”

 But I ignored her, gently grabbing her shoulders and pulling her upright. The sheet she was using slipped a little, almost revealing her breast. I looked down at them, spotting the reddish, purple marks I had caused to form after assaulting her flesh with my mouth. Her cheeks started to turn a bit red as she caught me staring.

 “Yoongi,” she whined.

 I took the sheet off of her and pulled her into my arms; her naked form brushing against the cloth of my gray sweatpants. Her head pressed against my shoulder; the feeling of her brown, soft hair touching my skin caused me to shiver. I took her into the bathroom and placed her in the tub. The heat from the hot water mixed with the aroma of the bath bomb and bubbles I had added to it. Vanilla and coffee, the two smells that reminded me of Hadley the most, especially when I was away on tour. Kneeling beside the tub, I grabbed the wash cloth I had pulled out and dipped it in the water. Hadley sunk a little lower into the water, a relaxed breath puffing out as she closed her eyes. I could only smile, feeling absolute love and admiration for the girl sitting in front of me.

  I started dragging the cloth over her body and wiping away the sweat that was still clinging to her skin. My eyes watched her breast move up and down as she continued to breathe; her breath was getting heavier and I couldn’t tell if she was asleep or aroused from all of my touching. Not wanting to take the chance of her being asleep in the water, I reached over and shook her. Her eyes fluttered open.

 “Don’t fall asleep,” I hummed, “it’s dangerous.”

 “Yes sir,” she whispered, tiredly.

 I smiled again and continued to clean her up. Once all of her body was cleaned, I moved to washing her hair, pouring a cup of already soapy water over her head. A soft giggle left her lips as the water showered over her.

 “Yoongi,” she said, “come on, you don’t have to wash my hair too.”

 “Let me spoil you, doll,” I hummed in her ear, “I hardly get to do this being away for so long. And aftercare is important.”

 “Oh fine. But tomorrow, I’m taking care of you.”

 I only hummed in response, letting her go back to relaxing instead of talking. I wanted her to enjoy herself. After washing her hair and rinsing her off, I wrapped a towel around her frame and picked her back up, not caring if I got wet. Placing her on the bed, I went over to the dress and grabbed her brush and hair dryer. It wasn’t good for her to have wet hair.

While I blow dried and brushed her hair, I listened to her read from the book she grabbed off her nightstand. The book was called

“The Great Gatsby”

and it was one of her favorite books. Just hearing her voice when she read from the page made me happy. I stopped the hair dryer and leaned over her shoulder, staring at the book’s pages, unable to read them just yet. However, Hadley was teaching me every day how to read and pretty soon I would be able to read the book to her while she was falling asleep.

   Hadley’s brown eyes turned to look at me, her soft, puppy dog stare watching me curiously.

“Everything okay?” She inquired.

 “Yeah,” I whispered, “I’m just admiring the most beautiful girl in the room.”

 “You’re too kind.”

 I nestled my head into the crook of her neck, she turned back and continued to read a little longer while I rested. After a while, I finished drying and brushing her hair then started her skin care routine. Once again, she tried to tell me to let her do it but I ignored her. My baby deserved much more after sex so this was the least I could do for her. Hadley started laughing when I wiped her makeup off.

 “That tickles,” she laughed.

 All I could do was laugh with her. Hadley told me each step to her normal skin care routine while I did it. I was putting a clay mask on her when she climbed into my lap, wrapping her legs around my waist. When I first arrived, she had asked me if I had worked out because I was starting to get thicker and harder around my torso area. I cleaned my fingers off with a baby wipe just as Hadley reached over and grabbed the clay mask.

 “You do one too,” she said, taking a small amount in her hand and starting to put it on my face.

 I let her put the mask on and couldn’t stop myself from smiling. She was amazing. After putting the clay mask all over my face, she wiped her hands clean and set a timer, telling me that we had to leave it on for 10 minutes before taking it off. In the meantime, I watched Hadley go through her photos on Instagram; recently having posted some photos from her recent trip to the beach with a group of her friends. I enjoyed looking at the photos of her. Soon, she asked me to see the photos from my trip back home. So I showed her the ones I took, and some of the ones Jungkook and Hoseok took of me when I had my hands full.

  We were so content with what we were doing that the sound of Hadley’s alarm going off made us jump. She reached over and grabbed her phone, pressing the off button on her alarm. The two of us headed into the bathroom again and started rinsing off the clay mask that now felt like a sticky paste, ready to be taken off.

 Hadley used warm water to rub the clay off her face, her fingers moving in swift circles. I followed in her footsteps and did the same, watching her as she made sure to get every spot and carefully moving around her eyes and mouth so the clay didn’t touch there. Once all  the clay was gone, she dabbed her face gently with a soft towel, her name printed on it, then handed it to me so I could do the same. I started rubbing my face when she stopped me.

 “No silly,” she smiled, “dab, don’t rub.”

 Nodding my head, I started dabbing the water off my skin; her fingers still lingering against my skin as I did so. Our eyes locked. Setting the towel on the counter, I grabbed her hands and moved closer to her, my lips becoming incredibly close to hers.

 “I love you,” I said to her.

 “I love you too,” she said.

 My lips collided with hers, moving softly at first but then getting rougher with each passing second. Hadley’s arms wrapped around my neck as mine wrapped around her waist. I lifted her up, placing her bare ass on the counter top, our lips never disconnecting. Her small fingers tangled themselves into my hair as she moaned into my mouth. I slid my hands down to her thighs and squeezed, causing her to gasp leaving an opening for me to slip my tongue in. She moaned a bit louder when she felt my tongue exploring the inside of her wet cavern.

  Because of the lack of air, I had to pull away, panting and watching the small drip of drool pull from between us. My lustful eyes staring into her submissive eyes. Not a single word left our lips, but we were interrupted by the sound of my phone going off. Groaning, I removed my hands from her thighs and headed out of the bathroom to see who was interrupting my time with Hadley. Hadley followed soon after, grabbing one of her t-shirts from her drawer and throwing it on, not bothering to put on any panties, and climbed into bed.

I pressed the answer call, seeing that Jungkook was calling, and pushed the screen to my ear.

“Jungkook, why are you calling?”

I asked, stealing a quick glance at Hadley, hoping she wouldn’t fall asleep yet.

 “I was told to see when you’re coming home,”

he replied,

“we have a big photoshoot tomorrow, so no one wants you to be late.”

 “I’m not coming back home tonight. I’m spending the evening with Hadley.”

 It was almost silent on the other end as Jungkook was relaying my message to whoever wanted to know my whereabouts. A few moments passed and Jungkook came back to the phone.

 “Okay, just make sure that you’re here before noon. That’s when the photoshoot is.”

 “Alright. I’ll see you guys tomorrow. Goodnight, tell the others goodnight too.”

 “Goodnight, hyung. Tell Hadley I said goodnight! Bring her to the photoshoot tomorrow if she can come.”

 I wasn’t able to get another word out because Jungkook hung up quickly. Sighing, I placed my phone on the dresser and turned to see Hadley laying in bed, her eyes closed. Smiling, I climbed under the covers with her and wrapped my arms around her waist. She looked up at me.  “Goodnight, Yoongi. Thank you for taking care of me.”  “Goodnight, my love. I’ll always take care of you.”  With that, the two of us fell asleep in each other's arms. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of us breathing and the wind drafting through the room, still ridding the air of our previous sexual encounter. For the first time in what felt like forever, I was able to sleep peacefully. Not worrying about the manager walking in and telling me to get up, or the others walking in to wake me up so I can fix something. I could just sleep with the girl I loved. And I couldn’t picture anything better.

[ritzbernal]

Regrets and Realization Pt. 2

So I figured I should continue where I left off from my previous fic. I seriously thought writing that would somehow quench the thirst in me to write and maybe stop for a while but I guess I thought wrong lol turns out it's the catalyst to write more. One more fic from me and I'll be asking for prompts 🤣

This is the confession scene I imagine in my head. Sorry I can't really write fluff. I'll practice I swear. Anyway after the cremation, Chayenzo heads home to Cha Young's house.

Please read here Regrets and Realizations Part 1.

----------

The drive to Cha Young's house was very quiet. She offered to drive because she figured he should rest. He was looking out the window the whole time maybe contemplating how to defeat Babel. Cha Young steal a glance or two every now and then to see if he is okay. They left the arrangement of the funeral home and the papers to Mr. Nam and Mr. Cho which they gladly accepts for Vincenzo.

The Geumga Plaza tenants must have heard from Mr. Nam about what happened to Vincenzo's mom. That's why Mr. Lee and his wife offered to get Vincenzo clothes to wear which they picked up earlier.

Few minutes more and they arrived at her house. Usually they are drinking whenever they are in her house but today is a different story. Vincenzo barely spoke and Cha Young let him be in his element. As they entered the house, Cha Young said, "You should clean up first. Do you want me to help you?"

"I think I can manage, byeonhosa-nim." He sat on the sofa where he and Mr. Hong used to chat about Cha Young and other things, about Babel, about life. He was the first person who accepted him warmly and he will never forget the impact he has on his life.

Cha Young made her way to the kitchen to cook them something to eat. She knows he'll refuse but she can always work her way to make Vincenzo do things for her.

"Okay. I'm sure you know where the bath is. I'll prepare us something to eat."

"You don't have to bother. I have no appetite."

He heard her scoff and said, "But I am hungry and I don't want to eat alone. Go wash up. This will be ready after you finish."

"Yes."

Vincenzo then went to the bathroom where he was greeted by Cha Young's scent. It's a mix musk and flower petals. Then he felt himself relax. How do I let her know that I love her? I don't think I can last another day without telling her. I don't ever want to wake up one day and regret that I didn't let her know and let her feel that she is special. People like me don't deserve love. I don't deserve her.

-------

A few minutes later she heard Vincenzo walking towards the dining table adjacent the kitchen. Her eyes followed him as he sat down on one of the chairs. He was wearing the same knitted sweater he wore when she hugged him the second time. Vincenzo noticed her looking at him and motioned on the boiling ramyeon so she went back to what she was doing.

There's something comforting on how Cha Young was treating him now. He recalled their soft conversation while buying bunggeoppang. Somehow everything that she says comforts him that he follows whatever she says.

"By the way, you can sleep in my dad's room for the mean time. I cleaned it up the other night. No one uses it." She said as she was transferring the kimchi rice on two bowls, one for each of them. Then she prepared ramyeon on two bowls and set everything on the table. They were sitting on opposite sides and started eating.

"Are you feeling better? Let me treat your bruises later." Cha Young broke the silence.

"I'm good."

"You know, it's okay to cry. When my dad died, I cried at every single thing that reminds me of him. I want you to know that I'm here for you." Then she remembered the letter and the scarf Oh Gyeong Ja gave her. It was meant for Vincenzo. She figured she should give it to him. But that has to wait the next day. Tonight, Vincenzo should rest.

Cha Young is on the process of comforting Vincenzo when he spoke.

"Can't I sleep in your room?"

"What?" She turned to look at him. For the first time in a while she was caught off guard.

"Can't I sleep in your room?"

"You mean you'll sleep in my room and I'll sleep in dad's room? I'm okay with-"

"I mean we'll sleep in your room." he said as if it's what they normally do.

She's at lost for words. She opened her mouth to speak only to close it again.

"Why?" She asked in a hope to get a proper answer from him.

"We don't need to sleep in the same bed. I'll sleep on the floor. I'll sleep in your room with you until we make sure your whole house is secure and safe." Vincenzo blabbed on.

"You didn't answer the question."

"I'll wash the dishes." Now it was his turn to be caught off guard.

-------

Much later after Cha Young tended to the bruises in Vincenzo's fingers and changed into pajamas, they both find themselves inside her room. She was sitting on her bed drying her hair with a towel while Vincenzo was looking around the room busily. He eyed her vanity desk which is seated beside to the end table, and took a mental note of the brand of her perfume. Her room was surprisingly neat, even the paper bag of the gift her mother gave her is neatly placed on the floor beside her desk.

"Let me finish drying my hair and I'll get you your blankets and pillow."

"Yes. You can take your time." He said sitting down on the chair facing her vanity desk.

"Byeonhosa-nim."

"Yes?" He answered while he toys Cha Young's stuff, her lipsticks and make-up. There are different sizes of brushes and whole bunch of skincare products.

"You don't have to do this. I can manage myself on my own."

"I can't risk it." He finally looked at her. They are now facing each other - Cha Young on the bed, Vincenzo on the chair beside her bed.

"Okay." She breathe a sigh and let it slide. But soon they'll have this talk. "I'll get your blankets. Wait for me."

She went out to get the extra sheets, pillows and blankets. He really won't open up to me, will he? I don't know what to do with this man.

It took her a while to get back because she wants to carry everything in one go. The sheets being thick made it impossible but she did in anyway. When she returned to her room, she found Vincenzo sleeping on her bed. She put everything down and stared at him. He must have been so tired.

Cha Young was contemplating whether to lay the extra sheets on the floor to sleep or lay beside Vincenzo. It's my bed! She thought to herself. Her bed is quite small for the two of them. In the end, she and herself agreed to lay on the bed facing him.

She looked at him lovingly - his face, the rise and fall of his chest as he breath, his lips. When her eyes landed on his lips, her fingers automatically went to her lips. She's reminded of that one magical night they both can never forget. She can stare at him all night, lost in her thoughts.

Her heart skipped a beat when Vincenzo shifted to face her. He's still asleep, she muttered to calm herself. That's when her hands took a mind of its own and touched his bangs. She let her fingers play on the strands of his soft hair.

Her heart skipped more than a beat when his eyes finally opened and said, "I'm still awake."

She would have smacked him then and there like what she did when he opened his eyes while she was about to finger flick him. But Vincenzo's hand was faster. He held her wrist and placed both their hands in between them.

It was a long day and she's too tired to fight back so she just looked at him. Then without a word, he pulled her in an embrace. His other hand still holding hers and the other on the small of her back.

"What took you so long?"

"What took you so long, byeonhosa-nim."

She heard him sigh nervously.

"I'm only saying this once so listen carefully. Hong Cha Young, I can't lose you and I can't risk losing you," there was a short pause before he continued, "because I love you. I love you so much and I don't know how to say it."

Cha Young then returned the hug and buried her face on the crook of his neck. One of her hands on his nape, the other on his back.

"Vincenzo Cassano, I know. Me, too."

-------

"Yah. Did you just pretend to be asleep?"

Vincenzo avoided her gaze, confirming her haunch. She then slap him in the shoulder, earning a flinch from him. She still has a lot to say to him and Vincenzo noticed this because of the face she' making. So he hugged her again.

"Let's just sleep, please."

[jostepherjoestar]

return from Sicily 🖤

sfw // gn reader // so much pining like whew 

Hello everyone, it is i, Cozy, back to give you a lil snack between schoolwork. This was fully self indulgent, to a worrying degree, so my apologies for that. But please enjoy, it was a fun little writing exercise since it’s been a while!💖✨

A distant car door shut, the sound muffled by the thick brick walls that separated you from the sparsely populated street where La Squadra Esecuzioni has been residing for a little while now. It’s not an uncommon sound, not at all actually. You’ve lost count of how many times you’ve woken up to heavy car doors slamming in the middle of the night, men of disputable morals stepping out and going about their even more so morally disputable business. But instead of filling you with annoyance that you’d have to lull yourself back to sleep again, this faint slam meant the return of your capo!

He’d been off on his very first holiday since joining Passione. Perhaps it was even the first in his life, the past never really presenting such opportunities unfortunately. 10 days. 10 whole days since the looming figure that brought a sense of calm and comfort to your shared homebase had left to start his travels to Sicily. And God had you missed him. You thought your crush on him had been manageable, maybe it would even dim by not seeing him for a while.

But oh no. It got worse. It got so much worse.

You hadn’t realised it before, but living so close with your teammates had conditioned you. You saw them every single day, for worse or for better. And that also included Risotto. Sometimes he’d be too busy to come out of his office but you were always sure to pay him a quick visit. Just to check up on him, you told yourself. You’d shoot him a warm smile that always received a small nod in return from the tired form pouring over his work.

A rush of excited energy barreled through your body, trying to suppress the need to wait at the front door like an overzealous golden retriever. You put down your phone and exhaled deeply, mentally preparing yourself as to not let on how much you’ve missed seeing him around.

You heard the familiar sound of the front door unlocking and got up from the living room couch you’d been lounging on as casually as possible. Casually making your way to the entrance to casually welcome back your colleague. Casual.

Risotto looked...magnificent. His skin had darkened under the Sicilian sun and given him a nice tan that evenly spread over his figure. He was wearing a simple black shirt that clung to the right places, adorning his chiseled chest and barely holding onto his built biceps. His hat was nowhere in sight and his silver locks poked out in different directions, clearly not bothered to tame them for his drive home.

Your quick once-over cut short over the sound of your own voice. “You’re back! Did you have fun? I missed you-” To your own surprise the words left you all too soon. In an attempt to fix the slip up you hurriedly continued. “We all missed you, I mean…” you trailed off. Risotto’s lips quirked up into an amused smirk, showing off his dimple that rarely appeared. He looked a lot more relaxed than before he left.

“Oh? We?” he said, making it a point to lean to his side to direct his gaze to the empty apartment behind you. No one else had been home. You felt heat rise to your cheeks and the desperate need to run and never return. Why was this already so hard?

You nervously chuckled and wrung your hands together, casting your eyes down at Risotto’s bag that had been put near the messy shoe rack Formaggio promised to clean up while your capo was gone. Sensing you weren’t going to rebuttal his comment, he continued. “It was nice. But I did miss you all, too.” The baritone of voice only stoked the fires burning under your skin.

He had missed you. Your mind swatted away the unnecessary word that followed his statement indicating that he’d also missed your teammates. You really needed to get a grip on your feelings.

You looked up again, feeling a bit braver to face your capo. “You look at ease, it really did you good, huh?” you softly hummed. His eyes held kindness in return, no matter how dark and spooky they were to some, they held no sharp edge whenever they landed on you.

As soon as you both stepped further into the apartment you heard him let out a deep sigh. It wasn’t of displeasure, no, those were way deeper and mostly kept for difficult meetings. He was breathing in the familiar smell of home. One that strangely enough had become the one he most associated with you. Walking behind you towards his room with his bag gripped tightly, his hand clutching the straps even harder turning his knuckles white.

He’d missed you too. So much. His trip was fun and relaxing and he could finally spend time by himself after being surrounded by people 24/7. But with every stroll past the beach, every dinner spent by himself- calmly sipping a glass of deep red wine, he wished you were there to spend it with him. To hold your hand and gently sway it as the sea breeze washed away the stress work had caused to settle onto you both. To rest on the beach together, lazing on a towel while the sun beamed down and a comfortable silence that rested between you.

Risotto was thankful for the holiday he never thought he’d have while working for Passione, but even more thankful to be back home. Where you were.

You had kindly opened the door for him, that cute smile resting on your lips as you let him pass by. The room smelled fresh and sweet like the breeze outside, the wind fluttering the curtains. “I changed your sheets and opened the window for you. Thought you wouldn’t mind it.” you shyly said as he set down his bag and huffed down on the edge of his bed. Idly caressing the light sheets in appreciation. He offered you a quick smile in return, instantly making that heat rise back to your cheeks.

“I’ll let you get settled.” You were glad he was back home safe, maybe you’d rest easier now and maybe your feelings would reach a more manageable level again. But before you could get far, not even a step further towards the hallway, you felt a big hand grasp your wrist. It felt warm and calloused, one that has worked hard and endured too much. You bounced back but steadied yourself to face Risotto who had cleared his throat and swiftly let go of your wrist. Bold move there, he warned himself.

“Sorry, I- I got you something.” he grumbled out the apology, brow creased as he dipped down to reach for something in his bag.

“Here.” He handed you a strangely shaped crumpled newspaper, cursing himself for not wrapping it in something a bit nicer. It was much heavier than your average weekly publication so you held it steadier, gently trying to unwrap whatever was hiding inside. Excitement was still bubbling inside, but a sense of ease that only Risotto supplied had nestled its way into you.

Risotto took over the discarded newspaper to let you admire the gift, trying his best to hide his excited stare, eager to know if you’d liked it. In your hands rested a ceramic mug, it looked handmade and the uneven strokes of shiny blue coloured glaze gave it a rustic touch. Lemons and leaves decorated the sides, making you turn it over a couple times to fully admire the handiwork. You were so enamoured by the gift you’d forgotten to let him know your thoughts.

“For your collection…” he trailed off, getting a bit nervous at his choice and doubting if you’d liked it. He knew you had a particular taste in mugs that were allowed into your hallowed collection. (not to be touched by your other teammates of course)

“I love it Ris. Really, it’s absolutely beautiful. Thank you so much.” You really did love it, your heart could barely take how much you did. Clutching the mug in your hand, you reached over and hugged him. He had barely processed the relief of you liking his gift to be hit with your form clinging to his torso. Carefully, he placed a single hand around your middle, not wanting to make you feel uncomfortable as he reciprocated. “Thank you.” you quietly let out while giving him a curt squeeze.

His arm eased you down  to sit next to him on the edge of the bed, feeling his very own surge of warmth ghost over his cheeks. His hand remained on your side, comfortably resting there, feeling right at home. You didn’t mind, not in the slightest. You were just so happy he’d returned and even brought you a thoughtful gift.

“Maybe next time I could show you around the shop I got it from. They have lots more to choose from.” he urged himself on, hearing his own heartbeat reach new speeds at the suggestion and its implications. A next time, but with you by his side.

You held onto the mug for dear life, clasping your fingers even tighter around the sides in case you’d drop it and shatter it like your chances with Risotto. Your mind raced, his suggestion having caused a mild short circuit of all functions. After a trained breath you find the strength to reply. “I’d like that very much. Just be sure to keep Ghiaccio away from the fragile stuff.” you chuckled nervously. A heavenly sound to the smitten capo.

“The rest of the team- as much as I like them- are uhm… not invited.” The smile that danced on his lips and the glint in his eyes made your heart flutter all over as you looked up at him.

A holiday? Just the two of you?

“Oh. Oh.”

You can’t seem to tear your eyes away from his as the thought settles between you. His hand on your hip hadn’t moved, only growing warmer and now finally urging you to scootch a little closer. His soft touch lingering on the small of your back now, closing in the distance and letting your hands rest on his chest as he moved to your inviting lips.

You felt like you’d burst any second, steadying your breath seemingly the hardest task you’ve had to face yet. But then your lips met, softer than any you’d felt before and easing over yours like it was the greatest privilege ever granted. A warm palm cupping your cheek, only deepening the finalisation of your mutual holiday plans. Everything you’d both been wishing to let out finally coming together, moving along your lips with a deep need and hunger that got its chance to grasp at a godly buffet.

With disbelief you both let go- regrettably so, softly gasping for air. If you wanted to go on a holiday together, you would still need to be breathing to get there. As you shared the lingering moment of closeness, appreciating the warmth and love of each other’s gazes, your hearing picked up on scuffling in the hallway.

Mortified you snapped your attention to Melone in the doorway collecting what looked like money from a passing Formaggio and Prosciutto. “Told you they’d do it after he got back.” he smuggly grinned, counting his winnings as you heard Risotto let out a small chuckle under his breath. Earning him a playful jab to his side from you.

“Melone, I won’t kill you if we split the winnings. We have a holiday to save for.” you grumbled.

[getheeheed]

I finished the stupid Neloth fic, @otvlanga come get your man, fellow rat wizard enjoyer. It's an x reader, and I used they/them for the character. I don't write often, so popping out almost two thousand words seems like a lot to me lol, and it's definitely a little sloppy. I had fun writing it tho and at the end of the day that's all that matters to me. Not Safe For Work stuff under cut, if I'm missing any warnings let me know and I'll add them as soon as I can.

Warnings: nsfw, voyeurism (slight), kind of graphic anal sex

All he wanted was a damn bath. Everyone seemed extremely adamant on getting on his nerves today, more so than usual, so what better idea to help him relax than a nice, hot bath, right? Wrong. You see, Neloth had forgotten one small detail, and it went by the name of [name]. And that little detail was currently occupying his bathtub, not even paying any mind to the fact that someone had entered the room. So there he was, standing in his bath robes, staring at the Dovahkiin, naked as the day they were born, going about washing themself, and the poor elf just couldn't look away. He knew, deep down, that it was wrong, that he should've immediately turned and walked in the opposite direction, but at that moment he didn't really care. Instead, he settled on closing the door behind him, and, as quietly as he could, lower himself to sit on a stool, eyes still fixed on the figure before him.

They seemed truly relaxed, something Neloth had never known them to be, as they dragged the sponge along their arms, carefully going over any new scratches or cuts and coating them in a thin sheet of soapy bubbles, slowly scrubbing the dirt and grime away. It was kind of fascinating, really, watching them twist and turn, trying to reach every spot on their back, but they got it eventually. Going from their back to the front of their torso, he felt a bit disappointed when they moved the sponge down, where the bathtub blocked his vision. So he settled, instead, for how the light reflected off their damp chest, until they lifted a leg up, making all the harder to access areas available for both their sponge and his eyes. He was enchanted, leaning forward to rest his chin on his knuckles, from the way their hand was moving up and down and up and down their calf, and then onto the next leg, repeating the movements. They then put the sponge down and took a cup in their hand, filling it with water and rinsing themselves, putting it down when they were done and getting up.

They reached for a small towel, drying their hair and face with it, then throwing it around their shoulders, and finally stepped out of the bathtub, dripping water on the floor. Neloth now had a view of, well, everything. The multiple scars adorning the Dovahkiin's body, their muscles flexing and contracting as they moved to grab a bigger towel to dry themselves off, starting with their arms, then moving down to their legs. The elf followed the movements, trained eyes making note of every single detail on their torso, moving down to where a dragon's jaws had left quite the scar on their abdomen, and right below that lay their- "Neloth?" The elf froze, quickly shooting up. Both stood there, dumbfounded for a second, one person left with a slightly open mouth, the other clutching a towel just above their knees.

"I…. I don't have an excuse." "No, you don't," [name] said plainly, lifting the towel to wrap it around their torso, taking note that Neloth's gaze still lingered downward for a bit, before turning to look up, "An explanation, maybe?". Neloth thought for a second, opening his mouth to speak, then immediately closing it, shaking his head and frowning. "No, I can't seem to find one," he said, still searching his mind for a crumb of reason behind his actions, when the other person took a step towards him, "What are you doing?" "I should be asking you that, you're the one that was watching me at my most vulnerable, and then offered no explanation whatsoever."

They were pushing, adding to the ever so growing tension between them. It had been there since the start, but now it was most unbearable. Neloth was (both literally and metaphorically) against a wall, he had to break sooner or later. "I- well- I don't-" Their bodies were inches apart. "I mean, if you had asked, I would have let you join." Silence. Did they push too far? Had they crossed the line? Their mind almost didn't register the hands grabbing at their hips, the small distance between their bodies closed, mouth pressing, no, more like crashing on theirs. The tension finally broke, and they kissed back with all they had, one hand coming to rest on his nape, the other sliding in his robes and up along his back, pulling him as close as possible.

He was sloppy in his movements, having not touched another person this way in over a century can do that to someone, but his enthusiasm and teasing hands made up for it. Well, not really. The teasing was maddening, the way his hands massaged up and down their sides, the small bites on their lips as they kissed, it drove them insane, so they retaliated by moving a hand to rest on his ass and placing their lips to his neck, nipping and sucking until they found the spot that made him moan. His hand immediately shot up to stifle the sound, but it was already out, and the Dragonborn pulled away to look at him with a smug expression. "I usually hate it when you're loud, but, I don't think I mind this". He glared daggers at them before shifting them so that their back was against the door, yanking their towel off in the process, and going on to give them the same treatment, with a few additions.

While his mouth was busy with their neck, his hands went down to hoist their legs up to his waist, grinding his hips on theirs. They threw their head back, hitting the door, a long moan drawn from their throat as they moved their hips with his, throwing their hands to his chest to claw at his robes. "Gods… Neloth, please…" they breathed out and he suddenly stopped, snapping out of his trance when he realized they were still in the bathroom, "Not here, come on".

Neloth practically dragged them to his room as fast as he could, lest someone else lay eyes upon his Dragonborn. As soon as the door closed, he crashed his mouth on theirs again, hands roaming their naked frame, slowly moving them towards the bed. Their hands worked fast, undoing his robes and helping him shrug them off, revealing his toned body as well as his already hardened cock, then pulling him down with them on the mattress. "[Name]... what did you do?" he managed to ask through kisses, "What do you mean?" "I haven't been able to finish a single project in the past three months, all because of you," he kissed the corner of their mouth, "every time I try to focus you creep into my thoughts," he moved to their jaw, "when someone mentions you my breath seems to hitch," he nipped their neck, "you must've slipped something in my tea when I wasn't looking or cast a hex or- I don't know, what did you do you little-" "Neloth." He turned to look at them, "What." "Shut the fuck up." And with that, they took his face in their palms and slipped their tongue in his mouth, soliciting a deep groan from the elf.

His hand shot out to the side, scrambling to open a drawer on his nightstand and retrieving a vial containing a questionable liquid, as well as a towel. "What's that?" "Lubricant," he replied, pulling the cork off and pouring some in his palm, "turn around, on your knees. Oh, and put this under you, will you?" he handed them the towel and they complied, confused, if a bit curious to see what would happen next. Once they were in place, he set the vial down, rubbing his hands together and gently massaging their ass, thumb brushing over their hole, making them gasp. "Take a deep breath," he said before slowly pushing a middle finger in, drawing out a long moan from the [race] and getting them to arch their back. "So needy, we've barely even started," it was his turn to be smug and they didn't even get to reply before he started moving the finger inside them, grazing their insides and adding another one, now scissoring them open. The whole time they were gasping and writhing under his grasp, trying to keep quiet in fear of being found out, and he added a third and final digit, slowly preparing them for what was to come before removing everything, making them whine at the loss.

"Sweet gods, Neloth, please…" the Dovahkiin groaned out, desperation quite evident in their voice, "Would it kill you to be a bit more patient?" Neloth questioned, taking the vial in his hand again and pouring out a generous amount, slicking his cock and positioning himself over the [race]. He placed his tip at their entrance, making them shudder, before pushing it in with an exhale, pausing to get a better hold of their hips before pushing himself in entirely, drawing out long moans from the both of them. Neloth gave them a few seconds to adjust to the feeling, and let the pain recede a bit, before he started slowly moving in and out, grinding his hips against their ass, cock never moving entirely out yet always pushing in to the hilt.

The Dragonborn groaned and writhed under him, a bit overwhelmed from the sensation, but they certainly weren't complaining, and as Neloth picked up the pace a little more they were gasping and moaning out in pleasure. Soon he had them screaming out his name, his hips snapping forward to thrust inside them deeper and harder, and it wasn't long until they came. Neloth himself wasn't that far behind, with one final thrust he released inside them with a loud moan, thick cum coating their insides, some spilling out and on the towel as he pulled himself out. When he was finished, he procured a smaller towel from the nightstand, cleaning himself and the Dragonborn best he could and putting the dirtied towels away, and laid down, pulling them with him in his arms, their back against his chest. They were both panting and covered in sweat, his skin was pleasantly warm against theirs, they noted. He also seemed softer, more relaxed than they knew him to be. Turning around in his arms, they wrapped theirs around his torso and placed their forehead against his chest. He pulled the covers over them and held them closer, kissing the top of their head. It was strange, coming from him, but they didn't mind, it was a nice change.

"We should probably have showered before crawling under the bed," they remarked, closing their eyes, "Probably. But I'm tired". "That's new," they replied, "Oh, shut up." And with that, they slept. When morning came, Varona was very puzzled as to why Neloth hadn't yelled for her yet, until she found the Telvanni in his bed, the Dragonborn in his arms, dead asleep for the first time in years. She let them be, making sure to warn Talvas not to enter the room, before setting off to make some canis root tea for when the elf awoke.

[loveislattes]

Everything Comes at a Price (Demon!Dark/Fem!Reader) Chapter 1

Commission prompt: Reader is really depressed, and Dark decides to roughly Fuck the depression out of them

Important: Reader has female pronouns and is a vagina owner!

Warnings (For this chapter specifically): Talk of depression and stressful life, mentions of unnamed character death, mentions of beheading/dismembered head and some minor blood/gore (not too detailed), cursing, mentions of family in the hospital, demon!Dark (akin to jinn or genie), and pet names.

A/N: PLEASE READ THE WARNINGS! This first chapter is allllll story setting. Part two will have the good ol' rough and dominating Dark fucking.

As always, if you would like to support me, I have a Ko-Fi (here) for donations and I usually have a few slots open for commissions (unless life gets in the way)!

“Look, I think it’s just best if you take some time off.”

Though worded nicely, you instinctually felt the pang of panic and anger already bristling in your chest.

“Time off…” you murmur, eyes sliding down to your boss’s desk in thought, “As in, a week or two or…?”

You let the implication hang heavy in the air. There was a telling silence that followed your question. When you finally met his gaze again, your boss let out a hefty sigh. Before he even said anything, you knew what his answer was by the sympathy on his face alone.

“We won’t fight your unemployment for the first few months, which hopefully will be enough time for you to find another place of employment. I’m sorry, Miss Y/N, but between the company making cutbacks and your recent drop in productivity, I had to-”

“Don’t you dare,” you hissed sharply, interrupting him before he could finish the excuse.

Rage fueled your motions, forcing you to your feet while your eyes narrowed on the man you’d once thought a decent person.

“A drop in productivity?” you scoffed, “My apartment building was just destroyed in a freak fire two weeks ago that, of course, my insurance refused to cover. I’ve been bouncing place to place between motels and friend’s homes until I can afford another deposit on the measly pay you give us. My mother is in the hospital, in the ICU, after a freak hit and run. My car broke down yesterday and I walked thirty fucking minutes in the pouring rain today just to make sure you assholes weren’t a man down with all this work. And you knew all of this, but you still decided to fire me? I can’t- You know what, fuck you. Fuck you and fuck this place! I hope this whole company shuts down and you get to experience even a modicum of the instability I’ve had to!”

Before he could respond, you slammed the chair back into place against the desk and stormed from the room. You could feel the confused gazes from your coworkers as you marched to the door but didn’t dare spare them a glance. Most of them you considered to be your friends and you knew you’d have to explain everything later, but you couldn’t allow anything other than anger to inhabit your body at that moment. One bit of sadness and you would crumble. Rage would keep you safe until you made it to your temporary home for the night.

Little curses and fury-filled resentment spilled from your lips as you stepped out into the dreary public. Of course, it was still raining. You hadn’t even dried off from your trek to work and now you were thrown right back out into the storm. A timely crack of lightning rumbled across the sky as you shot one last middle finger back at the door.

“I can’t believe this shit,” you grumbled.

Pulling your raincoat up over your head, you kept your gaze down and began your journey back to the hotel. The one upside to all the rain was that the sidewalks were nearly barren. Cars sped by on the busy roads but you were alone on foot. In fact, you didn’t see a single soul until you were on the block housing your hotel, and somehow that lonely occupant still managed to slam into you.

“Excuse you,” you muttered.

“So sorry, please excuse me.”

The person’s voice sent shivers down your spine and every last hair stood up on your arms. Reflexively you pulled back as a hand touched your side, ready to give them a mouthful, but they were moving on by the time you could gather your wits about you. All you caught was a tall form in a black business suit striding off in the opposite direction.

With an irked tsk and a mutter of “Fucking asshole”, you rushed into the lobby, stomping the rain from your shoes along the rubber mat. Sure you were pissed off but you still had the human decency not to create more work for others.

You managed a little nod to the desk clerk on your way by to the elevator. As you watched the numbers climb slowly down, you mentally questioned the fates if the world was against you. The elevator stopped on literally every- single- floor; All 25. Trying to maintain your composure, you leaned up against the wall and let your eyes flutter closed, slowly breathing in and out rhythmically. Just a little longer and you’d be in the safety of solitude. You could let it all out.

The ding of the lift doors opening pulled you out of your little meditative session and you immediately let out a grateful sigh of appreciation upon realizing it was empty. Being stuck in a small metal box with others for an undetermined amount of time made your skin crawl, much less when you were already on the edge of snapping. You mashed the close button repeatedly until the metal doors finally sealed shut and the elevator began to move. The rest of the journey was a blur until you stopped at your room door and fished your card out of your pocket, coming out with not only the plastic key but a large silver coin.

“The fuck?” you muttered.

As the door buzzed open, you flipped the coin over in your fingers, trying to think back on when you had gotten it. You were pretty sure you’d never seen anything like it before; completely void of any details on one side but the other filled with finely engraved words.

The loud startling thump of your keys as you threw them on the nightstand wasn’t even enough to draw your concentration away from the interesting little trinket. It took a few minutes and some good lighting but you eventually figured out what was written; the discovery only confusing you further.

“Clutch this coin to thee whilst ye make a plea

In return ye shall become my endless devotee”

“Yeah… that’s not creepy at all,” you sighed.

Tossing the coin on the nightstand next to your keys, you sloughed off your wet clothes and tossed them in the small hamper next to your duffle bag. After this horrid morning, you needed a long hot shower before you pondered on any strange coins or the mental shithole that had become your life.

You weren’t sure exactly how long you spent under the burning water but, by the time you exited, you were both hungry and in dire need of some caffeine.

“Or a nap. A nap could be heavenly,” you murmured to yourself.

Towel around your head, you dropped into the bed naked and took a moment to revel in the sheets against your freshly lotioned skin. There was hardly a better feeling. Thank god you had the good sense to buy some of your own sheets rather than rely on whatever the hotels had to offer. It made your day the tiniest bit better.

As you leaned back against the headboard, you snagged up the coin once more. The metal was cool against your warm fingers as you flipped it around and around. Did you dare give it a try? What was the worst outcome: You felt silly for believing a random coin and no one would ever know? Although, what if it was legit...?

Now that thought made you feel silly. A little chuckle passed your lips before you clasped the coin between your hands and brought it to your chest, closing your eyes as if about to pray.

“Alright, I don’t know how this works so I’m just gonna state my wishes out loud. I hope that works for, well, whoever you are. First off, I want that backstabbing business ruined. They fucked me over after I bent over backward for them, now they deserve to feel the same. Please. Second, I don’t know how you could do it, but I’d really like my insurance company to finally approve my apartment claim so I can find another place soon. Third-”

You trailed off as emotions immediately welled up behind your eyelids, the burning already tingling in the back of your throat from holding them in.

“My third and most important wish, please, if nothing else, find the one that put my mom in the ICU and make them pay. Those idiots down at the police department couldn’t find them, or so they say anyway, so just… give them what they deserve, please.”

With a stifled sniffle, you wiped away the few tears that had escaped and fell back against the headboard, eyes staring unseeing at the ceiling as you let the pain wash over you; Rage, dread, hope, apathy, desperation. Eventually, the unending barrage became too much to deal with. This wasn't a new thing in your life, but it had certainly culminated into something worse with everything going on in your life; clinical depression exacerbated by a series of unfortunate events.

With no other plans for the day and the weight of your heart heavy in your chest, you chose to simply roll over and bury yourself, and your troubles, in the fluffy comforter. You’d feel better after a nap. You were almost certain of it.

Even as you drifted off into sleep, the tears didn’t cease.

When you first woke, you weren’t sure what had roused you but you knew it wasn’t good; All you could feel was bone-trembling terror. You couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, felt frozen in place with only the ability to stare at the now dimly lit wall; watching the shafts of setting sunlight ever so slowly creep down by the minute.

“Come now, darling,” a low voice crooned in the void behind you, “I know you’re awake.”

Like a rubber band snapping, the grip on your body suddenly released and you shot up in bed, immediately turning around to find out who had spoken. You weren’t sure what you expected but it certainly wasn’t the devilishly handsome man that was seated next to the window. The sunlight pouring down on him made it very obvious that his skin was lacking any range of melanin, rather being pallor shades of whites, blacks, and greys, but that didn't detract from his appearance at all. In fact, he looked like something out of a Gothic romance novel or a Tim Burton movie. Once the enchantment of seeing him began to wear off, you finally noticed what sat on the table next to him.

A human head.

“Holy fuck!”

A hellish screech escaped your lips as you hastily scrambled backward, trying to get as far away from him as quickly as possible, only to go careening off the edge of the mattress. The pain of impact on the floor couldn’t even deter you. As your back hit the wall, you kept your eyes pinned on the intruder, watching for any sign that he was going to follow you or attack.

“While I’m certainly not minding the show, don’t you think you’re rather underdressed for this occasion?” he spoke suddenly.

It took a few moments for his words to sink in but the moment they did, you launched yourself back at the bed with a hushed curse and promptly pulled the sheets up around your naked body.

“Who are you? How did you get in here? I-Is- Is that real?”

Long clawed fingers made their way into the matted, bloody mess of hair and pulled the body part free from the table with a sickening pop.

“It is undoubtedly real, but I figured you’d believe me much quicker if I had a visual aide to my claims,” he replied, dropping the offending thing before tossing you a sharp, seductive, smile, “The name is Dark. I’m a demon and the owner of the coin you wished upon.”

Your tongue felt too heavy to move while you watched in horror as he licked the blood from his fingers like a cat bathing itself.

“I- I don’t-”

“You don’t understand,” he supplied helpfully.

As he rose from his seat, you stared at him owlishly, unable to take your eyes off his graceful form as he nearly glided across the floor to stand in front of you.

“That coin,” he hummed, pointing at the metal disc in question, “It belongs to me. When someone makes a wish while holding it, I’m able to hear them. In your case, I heard all three.”

Trepidation tickled the nape of your neck when your eyes slowly rolled over to the head once more. It was as if you couldn’t breathe. Sick crawled up your throat and it took every ounce of your strength to keep from vomiting at the man’s feet. You don’t know how long you sat there, struggling to breathe and ease the nausea but, when it finally went away, rage took over.

“I didn’t want you to actually KILL them!” you shouted.

The demon casually arched a brow in your direction before saying, “You specifically wished for the one involved in your mother’s accident to get what they deserved.”

“Yeah! Like prison! Not death!”

A soul-trembling crack resounded through the small hotel room as he slowly craned his neck side to side, ethereal pulses of red and blue emanating from his being. Some of the previous ire slipped from your hold when he moved even closer, step by step until his knees were touching yours.

“I will never understand you humans and your sense of righteousness. Would it ease your mind to know this wasn’t the first time they had committed such heinous crimes?” he asked.

“W-What?” you questioned softly.

“I will not delve into details but rest assured that your embarrassing sense of compassion was lost on them; they were vermin,” he explained, “Now, that makes three wishes fulfilled. You have two remaining.”

You thought back on exactly what wishes you had made and were immediately overcome with dismay.

“Wait, what did you do?!” you demanded, jumping to your feet and glaring up at him, “You didn’t kill anyone else, did you?!”

A twinge of disdain passed through his features. His hand landed heavily on your shoulder and you were shoved back down onto the bed with a 'tsk' of disapproval, as if scolding a misbehaving child.

“Fortunately for you, no. Your previous place of employment has simply been condemned for multiple code violations that have mysteriously come to light during a surprise investigation, and your insurance company has been informed that they’re facing a lawsuit if they don’t reevaluate your claim with a more positive outlook.”

Relief flushed through your veins and you thanked him meekly. You wouldn’t have been able to live your life knowing you had caused the deaths of so many people, let alone friends.

“So, what now?” you asked.

“You have two more wishes before your soul belongs to me.”

He said it with such finality and ease that you almost didn’t react at first. Once his words settled in though, oh, panic quickly followed.

Gaping up at him in wide-eyed disbelief, you tried to stammer out some rebuttal or plea, but nothing would come out. Panic soon gave way to defeat as you realized there was no obvious way to get out of this ordeal. It had been clear as day on the coin.

Thinking on the offending piece of metal, you looked over and snagged it up, reading the inscription once more.

“Clutch this coin to thee whilst ye make a plea

In return ye shall become my endless devotee”

“So that’s what this meant,” you sighed quietly, before gazing at him once more, “And there’s no way to bargain out of this?”

He looked mildly pleased by your inquiry, letting out a little hum before falling back into an ornate chair that definitely hadn’t been there a few seconds ago.

“And what would you bargain?” he purred, “What could a simple little human such as yourself have to give to me, other than your soul of course.”

You cursed his infallible logic and stayed quiet as you tried to think over your options. Truly, you had nothing else to give him; no money nor gifts. Your soul was the only valuable thing you owned, and there was no undoing what had been done. A person had died because of your wish.

With a heavy sigh, you sat up to your full height and prepared yourself mentally.

“Is there a time limit? Do I have to make my wishes today or can I think about them?” you asked.

“You’re free to use them when and wherever you wish. However, do not think this a loophole. Choosing to postpone your wishes until death does not release you from this contract. Your soul will still belong to me when you die.”

Well fuck. There went that option. If you were doomed no matter what, you might as well make use of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity... right?

“I’m going to need time,” you whispered.

“Fair enough,” he replied, finally taking a step back, “You have my calling card. You can call for me if you have any questions, otherwise, you know what to do.”

He strolled back to the window and snagged the dismembered head, flashing you a wide smirk that framed his fangs perfectly.

“I’ll just be taking this with me. Hope to hear from you soon, darling.”

[echo-hiraeth]

Chapter 6: “Te quiero”

Part of the “Illicit Limerence” series

Pairing: Javier Peña x F!Reader

Summary: Having her back in his arms, Javier needs to figure out what happened and more importantly what to do next.

Warnings: swearing, medical check-ups, angst, mentions of abusive household/parent, mentions of injury

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“¿Qué paso?”, he repeated, dashing his way over to you.

You opened your mouth but the only thing you managed to choke out was a loud sob. Protesting, aching muscles as you launched yourself into his arms, knees buckling as he grabbed a hold of you, entire body shaking with pent-up fear and emotion. He clung onto you, slowly sliding down the door to sit on the floor, keeping you pressed against his chest. Your cries sounded almost like screams, the intensity of it all causing Javier’s heart to go in a frenzy of trepidation and alarm. He’d never seen you like this, he knew what you were like when you were shaken or anxious, and this was anything but that. You were fucking hysterical, the way you ripped at the fabric of his shit not lost on him.

He stared straight ahead of him as he just held you, not bothering to say anything or try to touch you. It was best to let it all out now and God-fucking-damn was he happy he was here. When you hadn’t called him even once today, he grew a little worried, though not enough to do anything about it. It wasn’t until he’d talked to Steve about it, who revealed what had previously gone down in your childhood home, that he grew worried. By the time he’d gotten home from work, which was rather late, you still hadn’t called him. It was then Javier decided to call the hotel and after some light blackmailing the receptionist informed him that you’d left a couple hours ago. He’d fucking ran out of his apartment, not bothering to even tempt the hell that was evening traffic as he just sprinted through the familiar streets. By the time he was in front of your door, out of breath and soaked in sweat, it was about half past eleven. He knew there was a late flight and that you could be coming home any minute, so he decided to call Connie and Steve, informing them about what he’d discovered. They’d promised to call him if you showed up at their door, but just as he hung up the phone, disappearing in the bathroom to wash the sweat off of his face, he’d heard you come in.

 The poor man’s heart had crumbled at the sight. You were hunched over, eyes completely void of their usual light and joy, shirt torn and stretched out jeans not looking any better. Whether you’d been snatched by your father or a sicario was unclear to him – hell what happened was a complete fucking mystery. As your wailing diminished in volume and intensity, he carefully started scanning your face, scolding himself for not just being able to read you.

A black eye had begun to form, bottom lip busted and you had some smaller scratches scattered across the rest of your face. Your nose seemed to be somewhat askew as well, though that might’ve just been the lighting or even his paranoia. It was hard for him to be calm, anger and frustration fighting his self-discipline for the upper hand. But he wouldn’t allow it, you needed him to be there, you needed your Javi, not the vengeful, bloodthirsty agent. So he closed his eyes, pressing a tender kiss to the crown of your head as he counted to ten, taking a set of essential, deep breaths.

When the sobbing died down to sniffles and silent tears he slowly started to move, standing up with you in his arms. You were limp in his arms even though you were fully conscious and aware of your surroundings. He laid you down in the bed, slowly unlacing your tennis shoes as you looked up at the ceiling. You were usually very talkative so your lack of babbling was incredibly unsettling to Javier.

“I’m gonna take these clothes off, okay?”, he softly announced, searching you for any sign of protest.

He slowly got you out of your ripped jeans, shirt and underwear, only leaving the room to throw them into your laundry bin. While he was in the bathroom he wet a washcloth and grabbed a towel to help you wash up. As he sat back down next to you, he put a hand on your knee, to let you know that he was right there with you.

“Stop me if it hurts too much”, he whispered as he started dragging the cloth over your face.

You were still looking up at the ceiling, hands fisted in the sheets. Painfully aware of every sore spot as Javier carefully cleansed your skin. A hand found its way to your abdomen, slowly resting on the warm skin there, preventing him from touching you there.

He understood the message and left it alone, finishing up on your legs before chasing the wet skin with the soft towel. The chances of you speaking up about it tonight were low to non-existent, even he could figure that out for himself. So he decided to just help you into a fresh pair of underwear and a t-shirt, sliding the covers over your still form when he finished.

“I’ll be right with you baby, I’m just gonna give Murphy a call”, he promised, sat on his knees beside the bed. “If you need anything, just shout.”

When he left the bedroom he felt like screaming. He was fucking angry, enraged, livid. Who in their right mind would hurt his girl.. he wanted – needed answers. That’s when he dialled his best mate’s number, no matter the hour, he needed to figure this shit out, right this instant.

A groan was heard from the other side of the line, followed by some shuffling. “Murphy.”

“She’s in bed, battered and bruised”, Javi stated, voice completely monotone.

“Shit – do you need me to come over?”, Steve replied, sounding more awake already.

Javier rested a hand against his forehead. “I need some of my stuff, I’m staying with her but I don’t want to leave her alone.”

“Yeah, yeah, of course, I got that spare key around here somewhere. Fucking hell Peña… did she say anything?”

He sighed into the horn, feeling completely drained of any energy. “Not a single word, she was hysteric.”

“And the baby?”, he asked, tone changing.

“I-I don’t know.. didn’t really see any bruising but I don’t know.”

There was some more shuffling on the other end, the sound of metal hitting the floor. “I’ll be there in thirty.”

Hanging the phone back on the wall, he leaned over to glance into the room. You were still there, facing the door, eyes closed. He came back into the room, trying his best not to make any noise. As he got closer he could tell you were asleep, hands clutching onto the pillow next to yours, the one he slept on. He heaved another sigh, not entirely sure what to do now. He didn’t want to lay down next to you, reeking of sweat and knowing Murphy would be here soon. So he headed back into the other room, making his way over to the kitchen. Fuck he wanted a smoke, you probably had a pack around here somewhere. He started a frantic search, the urge to soothe the tension and panic growing stronger every passing moment. And there it was, a half empty pack of neatly rolled cigarettes, stowed away behind an empty cookie jar. He pulled the lighter from his back pocket, hands shaking with anticipation. The first drag felt like pure elation, so much so that he moaned at the sensation, his free hand tangling in his matted hair.

“Fuck baby, you’re breaking my heart”, he muttered with his eyes closed, bud pursed in-between his lips.

As soon as the smoke started curling towards the bedroom he stepped away from it, opening the windows in the living room. He smoked two more cigarettes and got your bag up off the floor before Steve arrived. The familiar knock making Javier jolt out of his slumber-like state. He opened the door, an overnight bag immediately pushed into his hands.

“She in there?”, Steve asked, already making too much noise for his liking.

“Yeah”, he put the duffel bag on the couch, “but keep it down.”

Steve rubbed a hand over his moustache, glancing into the room from where he stood. “Hysteric you said?”

“She was fucking weeping man”, he spat, lighting a fourth cigarette.

“Her dad?”, his friend asked, helping himself to a cig as well.

Javier let his head drop as he took a deep breath. “I don’t know, she’s been dead silent. Has he done this before? Is there a case against him in the States?”

“Not that I know of.. her mother just sorta made her promise never to get authorities involved, saying he’s still her dad and shit.”

“Bull fucking shit, a father doesn’t throw hands like that. You should’ve seen the state of her, jeans ripped to shreds, lip fucking busted open.. fucking repulsive.”

Steve put a hand on his shoulder, quirking an eyebrow towards the bedroom. “Watch the voice Javi, let’s just go outside.”

He shook his head, extinguishing the cigarette in the sink. “I wanna be here if she wakes up.”

“I understand, let’s just sit down, you need to settle down”, the blonde offered. “Let’s just have a beer and talk things through, yeah?”

The two men sat on the couch and shared a couple of drinks, talking everything over. When you were ready to talk they’d listen to you and if you’d be willing to file a case, then they’d fucking handle it for you. Steve had brought up the baby again, suggesting Javier take you to a hospital and get your injuries noted down. Javier had confided in Steve about how scared he’d been, frantic upon hearing you’d left the hotel. He’d listened to him, reassuring him you were a strong and smart woman and that you’d tell him if something was wrong. Furthermore Steve had promised to handle things at the embassy the next day, ensuring your boyfriend could stay with you all day. Javier had gratefully agreed, not wanting to so much as set a foot out of your apartment until you’d tell him you were okay.

“I should head back for the night, Con doesn’t like sleeping alone.”

He followed him to the door, clapping him on the back as he reached for the door handle. “Thanks, Steve, I appreciate it.”

“Just do us all a favour and take a shower, you fucking stink”, Steve teased, shaking his partner’s hand. With that he left the small apartment.

“Pendejo.”

But he was right. The bathroom sink and a hand-towel would have to do for now, the shower way too noisy at this hour. He slipped into a fresh pair of briefs, putting some cologne on before joining you in the bed. Your hand was still on his pillow, so he carefully pried it off, holding it in his as he scooted closer towards you.

 When you came to a couple hours later, all you could smell was him, your face nestled in the crook of his neck, a warm palm resting on your neck. By the light pouring in from the windows you could tell it was morning, but you felt completely exhausted still. As your brain slowly woke up as well you felt the way your body started quivering again. The man beneath you groaned lowly, nudging his chin against the top of your head as he changed positions. The more you focused on trying to make the trembling stop the worse it got, to a point where you just started crying out of frustration. Javier was quick to notice, rolling over onto his side, covering your body with his, ready to shield you from any harm. When he noticed what was going on he just laid back down, pulling you on top of him and securing you in a loving, comforting hold.

“S’okay, I gotchu, nothing’s gonna hurt you here”, he murmured into your hair.

The shaking got less and less severe the longer he held you, lips pressed to your forehead. You felt like you could finally breathe again, as if the heaviness within your chest had finally lifted, so that’s what you did. Javier’s ears perked out as he heard the shuddering breath.

“Need some fresh air?”

You looked up at him, eyes meeting his for the first time in ages. It took your breath away, suddenly very aware of your surroundings and what had occurred last night. The words left your lips before you could even comprehend it: “I love you.”

His eyes went wide with shock. “W-what?” It wasn’t that he hadn’t heard you, he just didn’t understand it. Well, he understood the semantic meaning of the phrase but he didn’t understand why you said it.. to him.. like now or at all. “Wait- shit, are you sure?”

It was your turn to just stare at him, not comprehending the situation yourself. “Huh?”

“I’m gonna kiss you, yeah?”

You closed your eyes, letting his lips slowly hit the space above your upper lip, strategically avoiding the injured one.

“Did you hit your head or something”, he softly joked, thumb tracing the outline of your cheek.

The tiniest smile formed on your lips, fingers lacing with his. “Thank you for being here.”

“Are you feeling up to eat something?”

You just nodded, not finding the energy to do much more. He got out of the bed, walking over to your side to help you stand. You braced your hands on his chest, forehead resting on his sternum. It wasn’t that you needed the support, you’d be fine walking on your own, you just wanted to be close to him a little longer.

“I-I’m scared”, you blurted out.

“Hmm?”, he questioned, tilting your chin up to look into your eyes.

“The baby- I-I haven’t felt… pregnant.. What if-“

He put a finger over your lips, encouraging you to stop talking. “We’ll go see a doctor after you’ve eaten something, I promise.”

You let out a shaky breath before cupping his jaw, giving him a half smile before walking out of your bedroom. The fact that he was here was beyond your comprehension. This was all you ever wanted and yet you couldn’t find it within yourself to be happy about it, the gnawing feeling of knowing the baby might not be okay eating away at you.

 After the two of you had eaten a small breakfast he drove you to the clinic as promised, his hand laced with yours the entire ride. He didn’t ask questions, instead respected your silence and didn’t push on it. His aviators rested on your nose, preventing the early sun from blinding you as you drove through the bustling streets of Bogotá.

“You want me to come with you?”, he asked, eyes squinted at the bright sunrays.

“Uh yeah, if you don’t mind..”, you shyly answered, raising a hand towards the window to provide some shade.

He pulled on the handbrake, turning his head to look at you. “I’ll only be there if you want me there, corazon.”

 The hospital was rather calm, aside from some emergency patients being rolled in. Javier had flashed them the good ole’ DEA badge, making you somewhat of a priority patient. He insisted you get some scans and x-rays done first, wanting to make sure none of the bruising and swelling was anything serious. Afterwards the two of you were put into a waiting room together, him with a coffee in his hands and you with your head on his shoulder, resting your eyes just a little while longer.

“Peña”, someone announced. Javi gave a nod, and the two of you followed a man into yet another room. “I hear baby needs a check-up too?”

“Uh yeah, we’re just a little worried”, he told the doctor, a protective hand on the small of your back.

The doctor gestured for you to take a seat in the medical chair, wheeling a cart carrying various equipment closer to it. “Well let’s have a quick look then. You can take a seat next to your wife.”

Javi sat down in the chair next to yours, giving your shoulder a reassuring squeeze as the doctor lifted your shirt. The gel was absolutely freezing, making you huff out an awkward chuckle. The applicator slid over your skin, the doctor trying to locate your baby as you looked over at Javier, who seemed to be entranced by it all. His brows were furrowed as he closely watched the doctor’s every movement, ready to step in if needed.

“There we go”, you both looked up at the screen, “baby looks good so far.”

“N-no complications?”, you squeaked out.

The doctor smiled at the two of you, flipping a switch on the cart to let the two of you hear a thumping sound. “Heartbeat is perfectly normal as well.”

You covered your eyes, letting out a sob as you listened to the rhythmic pulse. Javier was right there with you, eyes glossy with unshed tears. There was something so strange about it all, the stress and tension of the previous weeks suddenly just disappearing. It was peaceful, a moment nobody could intrude on or steal away. That was his baby right there, on that small screen. This was it, his everything, the woman he loved and the baby he never knew he wanted- needed. The doctor had stepped out, muttering something about giving you some time alone.

“I-I love you”, Javier expressed, bringing your free hand up to his lips and he’d never meant it more.

You dragged him down to you, crashing your sore lips on his. When you broke apart you wiped one of your tears off his face, slowly chuckling to yourself. “Te quiero Javi.”

 After your ultrasound finished up you got your results and when you were told there was nothing to worry about, the two of you set out on your way back to your apartment. Along the way you’d discussed filing for a restraining order and Javier had swerved the car back around, heading straight for the embassy.

“I-I don’t know if I should go inside”, you protested, suddenly feeling very nervous and self-aware.

“You’ll be fine, amor, it’s lunchtime anyway”, he assured you, pulling the keys from the engine.

You trailed behind him, clutching onto his hand as you walked into the building, looking down at the floor to avoid any and all stares. He swiftly pulled you into your shared office, where Steve sat in his chair, feet propped onto his desk. He promptly extinguished the cigarette in the ashtray on his desk, standing up to walk over to the two of you.

“I’m gonna start a case”, you announced, engulfing your friend in a lingering hug.

He patted your back, closing his eyes as he squeezed you a bit tighter. “I’m so proud of you, girly. We’ll get through this.”

The guys helped you set up your defence, Javi eventually taking one of the polaroid cameras to capture the evidence. He had you strip down to your undergarments, fixing the lighting to make sure the bruises and scratches were plenty visible. When he’d gathered images of your body be eventually got started on photographing your face, tilting your chin and adjusting his angles every so often. Steve had walked in, when you were once again fully dressed, staring into the lens.

“I take it baby’s good then?”, he asked, examining some of the developed polaroids.

“Yeah, don’t need to go back for another four weeks”, you’d replied, not wanting to overshare in the moment.

“This a maternity shoot or what?”, he joked, noticing the effort his colleague was putting in.

Javier put the camera down, ignoring Steve’s joke as he neatly stowed the images away in a brown envelope. “Let’s get some statements and then we can send this shit in.”

“Are you sure you want to be here for this?”, Steve asked so only him and Javi could hear.

“I need to know what that scumbag did to her.”

The blonde sighed, shaking his head: “This is about her, yeah? So keep your cool.”

He hit his partner on the head with the envelope. “I’ll go get the tape-recorder.”

You told the story just as it happened, sparing them no details. The urge to just get up and leave was there, but you wanted this all to done and dealt with. So you bit your tongue, answering Murphy’s questions one by one, taking five minute breaks after the really tough ones. By the end of it you were just about ready to get the fuck out of there.

“You got a good lawyer back home, in case he takes it to court?”

You looked up at Steve, lips pursed into a thin line as you impatiently tapped your fingertips against the table. “I’ve got some ideas, yeah. But if we’re done I’d really like to go home, I’m fucking bushed.”

He got up off his chair, stowing your signature and tape into the envelope containing the pictures. “’Course, you coming in on Monday then or?”

“Well I technically still have another week off, but I’ll see, I’ll give Con a call.”

“C’mon let’s go”, Javier intercepted, a hand on your upper back.

Once out of earshot you leaned into his side, whispering: “What was that about?”

“I want you all to myself tonight, amor, tonight is all about you.”

Taglist: @pedritomando @peterhollandkait @ophelia-ingenue @radiowallet @phoenixhalliwell @diogodxlot @rosiefridayrogersunday @a-court-of-feysand-and-elorcan​

[somsesh]

Last year, I bought a budget smartphone as I wanted to cut short my expense and I didn’t feel the need of owning a phone with a good camera. I don’t take many photos on my phone. The ones I take are bills, prescriptions, and some of my daughter Sufi when she is doing her usual monkey business. My wife on the other hand has at least 15-20 photos of Sufi alone every day. Google Photos had to give up on her and set up a space restriction for her library of images. Mentally, I find it annoying when my phone is cluttered and has five variations of a single shot taken at a gap of micro-seconds interval. The lack of mass that comes with digital files can build an excess that somehow compromises me from being accepting of the fact that you can't capture it all, and some moments are better left experienced than documented. My aversion to phone cameras is more than what I have said just now. It’s the fact that how much a victim you are to what your phone does when you tap the screen. You have very little control over how the image will turn out except that in most cases, it will be a decent, flat-out, result you would expect to come. This lack of control takes the charm away for me when it comes to photography. My father pursued photography as a hobby. We came from a family that had limited means and one could only afford to splurge cautiously. This is not to say we were starved for means and merry, but you still had to tread with care. My father had a Yashica FX3 2000. He had bought it from a black market of sorts, so the lens and the body came from two different brands. He had to quickly grab for the camera and equipment in a big bag full of ceased custom goods. Even though put together in a rushed manner with unfair means, he took care of the camera like his darling pet. On some weekends he would dismantle the camera, clean it with a brush, and a set of other cleaning agents, all laid out perfectly on a white towel. He would also try to tell us how the camera works by showing how the shutter speed is related to the opening of the window. But I was a goof, I didn’t value the beauty of such things and was busy poking at the hunting guns he had because it seemed more adventurous. 

After school, when I decided to join a design school for my education, my father was very enthusiastic about the fact that I would be studying photography too. He funded my first camera, Nikon F80, an expensive camera for a fresher in college. It was a semi-automatic manual SLR, and the price tag of it weighed on me somewhere. My first few rolls were overexposed, out of focus, washed out, all suggesting that I had got an expensive tool that I was only able to toy with. This sense of not being worthy enough made me hesitant to shoot with the camera. Thankfully, in my second year, I opted for a dedicated studio on Photography and started shooting my heart out. I learnt the basics and my camera was always on me. I remember cycling to college on some days strapped with my backpack, camera bag and drawing sheet holder tube. I am quite sure I looked like a camper on a design mission. I loved exploring the bulb mode the most on the camera, and with each of such experiments, I would wait eagerly for the results to come. Most of the outcomes will be rather dull from what I expected, but some would surprise me, and that exhilaration of seeing something that you intentionally tried to achieve and managed to extract on film felt like a rush. I would also try to break away from my earlier ways of looking at what I want to shoot, sometimes trying to make the unexpected part of the process. Shooting on film is an act of letting go. Those who are the masters know the craft on every single stage, from shooting to developing, but I had to depend on the human effort of the fellow developers, and trust that they will give my films a good chance. There is a lack of control here too, but you are willing to trust and embrace the wait of seeing your results. There is no denying that digital photography has plenty of benefits to offer, but for me, it also resulted in not trusting the moment you took the photo. Going back and validating the outcome after every time you release the shutter leaves the taste of dissatisfaction and not willing to move on. 

In the last ten years, my camera saw less and less light. I got busy with work that used drawing a lot more than shooting. The build of a camera felt like a weight I didn’t feel the need to carry. I had started to sketch more, but during the pandemic, I felt a block settling on my sketching habit. I then felt a wish to go back to my Nikon F80. My daughter is also growing up and the thought of having some of those moments on film felt like a warm touch to the cold days of isolated life in the pandemic. In December last year, I had gone home and searched for my father’s Yashica. The camera seemed in less of a rundown shape than I had expected it to be. I tested it and it had a faulty shutter release between the speed of 4 to 30. The light meter was dodgy because the button cell compartment’s plastic had chipped off and I had to tape it. The beauty of a purely mechanical film camera is that even with a few bibs and bobs off, it still works. I got a black and white film roll and started to shoot with it. The Nikon F80 didn’t have a split prism for focussing, so it took me some time to get used to Yashica’s. I had to also depend a lot more on my study of the light and what setting to go for the shutter speed with the aperture. Given how things line up for me, I accidentally spoilt the rewinding of the film because I was so used to the Nikon’s automatic rewind after the film roll got over. I manage to cut the exposure on the films by rewinding the roll manually in a dark room with my hands under a jacket. The results came this week, and a lot of the shots were underexposed and out of focus. It turned out that the lens had plenty of dirt and fungus too. I gave the camera and lens for servicing and repair, and I can’t wait to get it back so that I can go back to making my mistakes on it. I remember my instructor, Helmuth Conz from college, telling me how you have to put a value on every film exposure you have. Shooting on film is like a balancing act where you measure which moment is worthy of shooting and whether you should save some shots for later in case something comes your way. Extra film rolls are like added insurance, but film photography is in many ways how life is. It’s uncertain, yet you appreciate whatever control you may have, and when the act is done, you carry on.   

Very thankful to Prabhu Films here in Bangalore for still offering film development services.   

[skateboardtotheheart]

Domestic Headcanons

I wrote a fic in which the band were all alive and living together in their early twenties, and @zendrella sent me questions about what them all living together would be like.

**Established Willex, Julynn, and Ruke/PeterPatter in these**

- The band moved in to a large, expensive Hollywood apartment when the boys were 19 and Julie was 18. Their first two albums, released when they were all still in high school, had blown up across the country and the world, so they had plenty of money. They were able to buy their own apartment/house/whatever you want to call it with four bedrooms, a kitchen, living room, bathrooms, and an in-unit washer/dryer

- They still use the Molina’s garage as their studio- partially out of nostalgia because they have so many good memories there and partially out of convenience because Ray doesn’t make them pay and Julie gets to see her family pretty much every day

This got really long so read more under the cut!!

- Since they were already with their significant others when they moved in, Julie and Alex had offered for Flynn and Willie to live with them, too; they certainly had the space. Both turned down the offer, though, because Flynn was attending UCLA for music business and wanted the dorm experiences, and the apartment was just a little too far of a commute for Willie when he had to work at the Hollywood Ghost Club, so the skater has his own place that wasn’t too far away from the band’s

- It takes another two years after they all move in for Reggie and Luke to get together. Julie had been dating Flynn for six months by the time they got the apartment, and Willie and Alex had been together since they were 17. The four of them team up to stage an Intervention with Luke and Reggie so they would finally admit their feelings

- After the Intervention, suddenly Reggie's room becomes completely useless because he's always sleeping in Luke's. Eventually (read: within a week) it becomes their room, and they turn Reggie's old room into a guest space for Julie or Luke's families, or as the space they go to when they want to have a sleepover in their own house (usually with Flynn and Willie, too)

- When it comes to cooking, Julie is surprisingly enough the one Not Allowed in the kitchen. Yeah, she can cook pasta and stuff, but one time she tried to make one of her aunt's recipes for the boys and accidentally set off every fire alarm in their Very Large apartment and maybe a couple of the ones in the apartment above them too

- None of them are great bakers, honestly, but since they're at the studio basically every day, Ray is constantly sending them home with different baked goods from both him and Victoria. When it comes to cookies, though?? There is not a single chef/baker in the world who compares to Luke's cookies. He's never burned them once, can make basically any type the band can think of, and he never uses a recipe??? They're just freaking perfect every time and the rest of them Do Not Understand

- Luke stress bakes most often, but sometimes it’s Reggie in the kitchen at 3AM and he makes the best pie any of them have ever tasted???  But if you try to get Reggie to bake at any other time it always comes out burned or misshapen or just something's a little off and you can't tell what but it's possible he mixed up the baking powder and baking soda and holy fuck Reg is this olive oil???

-  Reggie makes the best coffee, but he also disgusts each and every one of them because he drinks it black??? What the fuck, man???

- Alex does the cooking more often than not, with a few nights a week reserved for Luke or Reggie to make dinner, but it's Luke who's in charge of grocery shopping. You'd think, like the rest of his life, it would be a chaotic mess, but in reality he would always go grocery shopping with his mom, every time without fail until he moved out. Emily always knew all the best deals, where to get the Good Coupons, and how to masterfully budget the amount of groceries they would need. She didn't even really teach Luke, but he'd managed to pick it all up. They discovered this the first time the band tried to go shopping, when the rest of them were confused and goofing off a little and Luke came out of nowhere with price calculations in his head and telling them "no, no, no, grab this one, it's less expensive and actually tastes better”

- Whenever they do the dishes, Luke is not allowed to put things away because even thought they’ve lived there for two years already he's the only one who does not seem to understand that THE SILVERWARE GOES IN THE DRAWER BY THE STOVE and THE GLASSES DO NOT GO WITH THE PLATES

- When they can’t sleep, they all get midnight snacks, but Alex is the most likely to get one almost every night. It surprises all of them because Alex is the healthiest eater yet his midnight snacks are always something sugary or very much not his usual healthy food. They lowkey blame Willie for getting Alex hooked on certain sugary foods because the skater has the Sweetest of sweet tooths

- They all stay up way too late, but it's a different person depending on the night. If they've done a gig or a concert, then it's definitely all of them. On weekends Alex and Reggie like to stay up late together to watch SNL reruns. Sometimes Luke and Julie have to physically be dragged to bed because they're working themselves ragged over a new song. Since Alex and Julie don’t get to spend as many nights with their significant others, if Willie or Flynn is over chances are everyone is getting less sleep than usual. Sometimes it’s because the couples get a little too loud and sometimes it’s just the excitement of seeing each other and all six of them start goofing off around the apartment

- Reggie is the designated "would you please go tell the neighbors to fuck off" person. Reggie loves talking to people even though he's kind of an introvert, and when they were moving in he made an effort to go say hi and introduce himself. Reggie has by far the best relationship with their neighbors, so he's usually the one who kindly asks them to quiet down a little because Luke and Julie are in Writing Mood and the noise is making them stressed, which is making Alex stressed, which makes Reggie want to vacate the premises as soon as humanly possible. Considering they're a band in their early 20s, the four of them are actually the quietest apartment in the building

- Julie, though, Julie's the one willing to yell at their neighbors. She may be small and innocent looking, and she really does hate confrontation, but she can destroy you with a single damn look that makes you regret your entire life. The other three just let stuff go usually, but after about 10 incidents of neighbor issues that aren't noise, Julie gets ready to blow and the boys just stand back and let it happen. They tried to stop her once and just got caught in the crossfire. It's even worse if Flynn has been staying over when Julie gets mad because Flynn will hype her up and support her even if she has no idea what the neighbors did

- For the most part they all do their own laundry because they have an in-unit washer dryer, so it's easy to just throw in a load, but if they're doing all their clothes or towels and things at once, Julie is definitely in charge of the laundry. The boys do not understand the concept of delicates or how to properly wash bras and things, so Julie does Not let them touch her clothes. She's had too many shirts shrunk in the wash because of them. And the boys' clothes never seem to come out cleaner than when Julie washes them. The one thing they all insist on washing themselves are underwear and sheets (because let's face it, all of them are in a relationship and things are bound to get at least a little messy, and they might be Close with each other, but no one needs to deal with that when doing the laundry)

- When it comes to holidays, decorating is always, always, always a group activity. They invite Flynn and Willie over when they do, and it becomes like a little party with the six of them. They dress up for whatever they're decorating for (in Halloween costumes, Santa hats and reindeer antlers for Christmas, reds and pinks for Valentine's day) and make hot chocolate, no matter the time of year. The entire apartment looks like holidays threw up on it, but it makes them smile and laugh every time, so they always do it

That’s all I’ve got right now!! If you have any questions about who does what or anything, feel free to send them my way and maybe I’ll do a part 2!! If you made it this far thank you very much for reading and I hope you enjoyed <3

[star-trekkin-across-theuniverse]

Worthy (pt5)

A/N: I thought I would try to get on top of things and cue a chapter. @rampant-salamander​ @bolontiku​

Markus, as it turned out, was the goofiest guy I was likely to ever meet. His passion for clean energy was matched only by his passion for collecting vintage pop cans. He was the only person on the team who had an office, and it was cluttered with partially finished projects, and mountains of proposals. And his bookshelf had not a single book on it, but instead was lined with pop cans, right back to the dawn of canned carbonated beverages. It was impressive. He pulled his chair around to sit beside me instead of across the table. And in a move that proved the clutter to be a highly efficient filing system, he pulled my proposals from the middle of one of the stacks of papers.

“Your three proposals have all been greenlit by Pepper and Tony, but I won the coin toss, so I get you first. I suspect that your green washer was your back-up proposal, but I love it. I think it’s important to make clean energy available to every household. Your washing machine is economical to build, and that will make it accessible to all income levels. But it also takes into consideration some pretty fantastic advancements in water reclamation. I was impressed by the various disciplines you worked with to put the proposal together, some clearly not your areas.” His speech was relaxed. He flipped through my proposal, certain areas highlighted.

“I’ve lived in university residences for the last nine years. I assure you, access to space and energy efficient washing machines at an affordable price was something I got quite passionate about as more and more of my clothing was destroyed by or stolen from the communal machines,” I laughed.

“I was particularly impressed with the water reclamation technology you managed to build into the machine. That’s usually a very cumbersome apparatus.” He flipped to the schematics I’d included in the proposal.

“I took inspiration from Mr. Stark’s arc reactor miniaturization, and consulted with one of the senior engineering professors to ensure my calculations wouldn’t decrease the output capacity,” I explained.

“You were the only applicant who not only admitted to consulting, but credited the colleagues you consulted with. My department is a well-oiled machine, and every person has a role to play. Your dedication to teamwork is why I pushed for you to work on this project first. Well, and that it’s really cool.” His compliments were making me feel overwhelmed again. I shook my head and looked away. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m worried about the fall-out when you all discover I’m not as amazing as you think I am.” My laugh was stilted. He clapped me on the back.

“By the time that happens, we’ll have the washer on the market and you’ll have secured your place at Stark,” he laughed. His comment made me smile, but it was seriously terrifying to have so many really amazing people telling me that I was awesome. I was untested, fresh from school and so inexperienced. The only reason I hadn’t hidden in academia longer and gone on to my PhD was because I wasn’t exactly sure what I would do with a PhD in engineering that I couldn’t do with a Master’s. 

“What are the other interns like? I didn’t get a chance to meet them last night,” I asked. Markus’s forehead wrinkled in thought.

“Well, one of them no-showed. So we’re down to just two of you. And the other seems okay. Arrogant. Maybe a little too arrogant. I looked over his proposal and passed on it. It seemed way too easy to weaponize,” he explained.

“Which one is he?” I had a hard time believing someone would give up the opportunity of this internship, but I understood the feelings of inadequacy that came with the pressure of accepting on a visceral level. I probably feel somewhere between the guy who showed and the guy who didn’t on the confidence scale. So I was desperately curious about the one who showed up. Know the competition, and all.

“The kid who proposed the mag-lev technology for automobiles. His proposal discusses crumbling infrastructure, and suggests that a mag-lev device in the shocks of vehicles would help protect the structural integrity of vehicles. He completely neglected to mention that it would also be helpful to the military in hostile situations where IEDs and mines can compromise troop safety. I wouldn’t have been suspicious about the proposal at all if he’d included that application and some research on it, but it was really conspicuous in its absence. I think the first thing Tony has asked him to do is flesh out the proposal with the appropriate defense department research. Like we’ve all said, you’re a stand out.” It was in that moment that I finally clued into why I was feeling so out of sorts. I wasn’t used to being recognized and lauded for my work. I was used to producing and working hard. I was used to long hours of research, long hours of application, long hours of revision. But I wasn’t used to even five minutes of praise like I’d been receiving since I showed up at Stark Industries. And as a result, I felt uncomfortable.

“Can I get you to do me a favour?” I asked, suddenly changing the subject.

“Is it legal?” Markus countered.

“Can you dial back the compliments? I appreciate that you are impressed with me and excited about my work. But I’m not used to anyone being thrilled with me like everyone here seems to be. I feel like an imposter. It’s a lot of pressure.” It felt good to say the words aloud. Markus leaned back in his chair. He crossed his arms, and just looked at me. Assessed me. Then he nodded.

“Sure, kid. No more endorsements, praise or approval until you prove yourself,” he agreed. “I give that about a week.” I think he thought he’d mumbled the last part quietly enough that I didn’t hear him. I let out a huff of resignation and shook my head.

“I appreciate it, Markus.” I pushed myself out of my chair. As frustrating as I found the golden child treatment to be, I could step back and appreciate it more knowing Markus was going to let me find my feet. I shook his hand again and headed back out, astonished to see how much time had passed while I was meeting him. Angela was back at my desk, and was holding a paper bag.

“I intercepted the distribution delivery to your room. Check out the towels you ordered.” She handed me the bag. I pulled a towel out and snapped it open. It was even smaller than the towels I already had.

“This said it was a bath sheet in the order book,” I protested. Angela laughed.

“Well, now you have hand towels for eternity. Let’s go get you some decent sized towels. Can’t have Thor seeing you in the altogether again, can we?” She linked arms with me, and started to lead me away from my desk. I barely had a chance to grab my purse and the bag of towels before she dragged me off. “I just need to drop this file off for Pepper, so we’re on our way up before we go down.”

We were intercepted in the elevator by a woman who was obviously fed up with the guy who was with her. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her mouth was set in a thin line. Every time she breathed it was like she was counting in her head. Slowly in, slowly out. I guessed it was my fellow intern, and I wasn’t wrong.

“Ladies.” He winked at Angela and smirked at me. I bit my lip and tried to hold back a snort of amusement. What a dork. Angela smiled at the woman with him.

“Marie! How is day two going? Are you settling Matt in?”

“You could say that. We’re just headed up for a little chat with Ms. Potts about policy and procedure,” she nodded. I looked at Angela in alarm. We hadn’t done that. Angela met my panicked look with a serene one, and just barely shook her head. 

“Ella, this is Marie. She works in the same capacity as I do, and has been assigned to orient the other intern to Stark Industries. Matthew Emerson is from MIT. Ella came from CalTech,” Angela offered. Matthew offered his hand and gave me a once over that was overtly unprofessional. I rolled my eyes.

“A pleasure, Ella. I’m sure we’ll be seeing much more of one another over the summer.” The way he said it made me want to bathe in bleach. I forced a smile and withdrew my hand from his sweaty grip. I turned back to the front of the elevator without saying anything in return.

The elevator stopped on the 77th floor and the doors opened. Thor stepped on, munching on what appeared to be a pop-tart, and nodded at us. He pushed the button for the top floor. Apparently we were all headed up to see Tony and Pepper. He was holding the hammer loosely in his grip, and the way the light caught on the surface, I could see the writing on it again. My mind flashed back to the moment I’d lifted it, and the shock that had coursed through my body.

“So, Ella. You don’t look like a CalTech girl,” Matt started. I gave him a questioning look. “I would expect you to be beach ready, with a perfect California tan. Tan lines optional.” He winked. I turned and faced him.

“Excuse me?”

“Well, come on. We all know you only got the internship because you’re the closest thing to attractive out of the women applicants. Pepper needed a sort of pretty chick for the face of her Women in STEM campaign. I just figured you’d be more summer girl than science girl.” His laugh was a derisive snort. Before I could respond, he slapped my ass. I saw red. The rage bubbled up so quickly, I wasn’t even sure where it came from. But I’d been dealing with asshats like him since I’d started university and I was not going to let his type win this round. I set my jaw and grabbed his arm, twisting it behind his back and pushing him into the wall. He made another disgusting comment. I’m not entirely sure what happened next, but when I came back to myself, I was standing over him, panting, and holding Mjolnir in my left hand. 

“Ella!” Angela reached for me. Thor put a hand up and prevented her from getting close. The elevator doors opened and Pepper and Tony were greeted with what was probably the strangest tableau they’d ever seen. The god of thunder looking on hopelessly as a raging intern held his hammer over the other intern. I could feel the lightning from the handle coursing through me again, but this time it wasn’t as painful or startling. It snapped me back to the present. I looked down at my hand in surprise and back up to Thor, meeting his gaze. I held out my hand without breaking eye contact. He took the hammer from me, and held out his other hand to stop the elevator door from closing on us.

“I don’t recall seeing anger management issues in your background,” Tony had come over to investigate.

“It was a warranted response, Tony. The boy spoke vulgarly.” Thor was in my corner, even if he was irritated that I kept stealing his hammer. Tony looked at Angela, who nodded.

“We were just on our way up to drop off this file,” Angela held the folder out to Pepper, who accepted it. She stepped back onto the elevator, and pulled me to the back with her. I think she was hoping we’d get away with leaving.

“And you?” Tony looked at Marie. Marie stepped off the elevator and gestured for Matt to follow her. He scuttled past me and pulled himself to his feet.

“Matt needs a policy and procedure orientation,” she replied. “From Pepper.” Tony raised an eyebrow, and in that moment, I realized that was code for something else completely. He stepped aside and let Marie and Matt pass him. Angela leaned over to punch the button to return us to the ground floor. 

“Not so fast,” Tony intercepted the attempted escape. “Ella is going to have to explain exactly how it was she came to be holding the hammer. Again. You don’t need to stick around though, Angela.” I sighed and stepped off the elevator, anticipating the worst. Tony led me over to the far side of the room, to the bar. Thor had followed, wordlessly. He dropped a couple of ice cubes into a pair of glasses and poured two drinks. He handed one to Thor and the other to me.

“Vodka, rocks, right?” He confirmed. I nodded. He nodded at a chair and I sat, smoothing my skirt over my knees. “Elizabeth Carmichael. Who exactly are you?”

[deobienthusiast]

rainy days

• pairing: kevin moon (the boyz) x reader

• word count: 1,050 words

• genre: fluff

• warnings: none

• notes: i don’t know what it is about kevin that makes him so easy to write about. i just have the easiest time writing about him💚😊

• requested: yes | no by anon

It was safe to say that nothing ever went as planned for you or your boyfriend Kevin. You two had the worst luck possible. Every time a date was planned, some type of factor ruined it, and today the rain happened to be that factor.

When you woke up, you were extremely excited as Kevin had told you how hard he had worked on preparing the perfect date for the two of you. The rain that was pouring out of the clouds seemed to have other ideas. As if on cue, you heard your phone ring.

“I hope I didn’t disturb your slumber, sleeping beauty.” Kevin sang, making you laugh.

“Not a chance. I was already awake and checking out the wonderful weather. Perfect for a date, isn’t it Kev?” You replied.

You heard him sigh before hearing a knock at your door. “I guess I’ll just have to bring the date to you then. Now open the door, because I’m getting soaked.”

Hanging up the phone as quickly as possible, you rushed to the front door, and swung it open. In front of you stood Kevin, soaking wet, with a fist full of drooping flowers and three pizza boxes that would probably have to be reordered. His hair sat on top of his head like a wet mop, sticking to his skin just like the hoodie and sweatpants he had on. You giggled slightly.

“You know, when you told me you wanted to be dancing in the rain, this isn’t what I had in mind.” You teased, making Kevin roll his eyes.

“That’s because this is just a minor roadblock. I will show you how beautiful I am when I’m dancing in the rain.” Kevin retorted as he stepped inside.

His shoes made a squelching sound that bothered your ears to no end as you stopped him walking any further.

“Shoes,” You motioned towards his feet. “Off. Now.”

Kevin chuckled as he handed you the pizza boxes, plopping the now overly wet bouquet of flowers on top, making you laugh at how they stuck to the top of the box like they were supposed to be there.

He stripped himself of his hoodie, and you laughed even harder making him frown. “Why are you laughing at me?”

You cackled. “You look like you’re doing a wet t-shirt contest. Who won?”

Kevin grinned like the cheshire cat. “Obviously I did. I channeled my inner Beyoncé.”

Kevin started to sing ‘All The Single Ladies’ as you pushed him off towards your bathroom.

“A hot shower, please. And dry your hair properly. I’ll reorder the pizza. It’s practically a waterboard.” You told him with a smile.

You went to order more pizza and let out a loud laugh as you heard Kevin practically belting out the lyrics to the Beyoncé song he had started before getting in the shower. You managed to reorder the three pizzas as you ran around your house to grab some sheets, blankets, and pillows. You pulled some chairs into the living room, right in front of your big window as you set up a comfy little fort to lay in.

“Hey, I used the rest of your lavender-honey body wash.” You heard Kevin say as you popped your head up from the fort.

“Kevin! That bottle was pretty much full. I had only used it once.” You said.

He chuckled nervously. “It’s smelt really good, so I got a little carried away.

You muttered out a ‘clearly’ as Kevin made his way towards you. He wrapped his arm around you, pulling you into a hug as the overwhelming smell of your body wash flooded your senses. You pushed him away as he whined.

“Gosh Kevin, you could suffocate someone with the amount of lavender and honey that’s radiating off of your body.” You told your boyfriend as he pulled you back into him, pecking your lips.

Your face contorted into one of disgust making Kevin throw his head back in laughter. “You even taste like it. What did you do, marinate in my body wash?”

Kevin pulled the towel he was using to dry his hair off of his head as he smiled. “What’s with the fort?”

You smiled. “Well I thought it would be nice for us to cuddle, watch Hocus Pocus, and watch the rain fall.”

The doorbell rang as Kevin added. “And eat fresh pizza?”

You nodded with a sweet smile as he left your side to grab the pizza and pay the poor delivery driver. Your house had no little ledge to stand under to shield from the rain so as Kevin took his sweet time trying to find the right amount of money to pay the driver, you finally reached around the boy to pay him. Kevin watched you as the driver shoved the pizza boxes into his hands.

“Thank you. And I apologize.” You told the guy as he gave you a wet nod before you closed the door.

Kevin giggled as you brought the pizza to the fort. “At least the pizza was salvaged.”

“Yeah, at the expense of the delivery driver. This rain is leaving behind no survivors.” You told him as you both got comfortable on the pillows in the fort.

Kevin held you close as you got the movie started and grabbed yourself a piece of pizza. You both cuddled up to each other, ate through the pizza, and pulled out your best Sanderson Sisters impressions. When the movie was over and the pizza was emptied, you both hugged each other as the rain continued to make itself at home over your city.

“You know, this might have been our best date yet.” You heard Kevin say.

You laughed quietly. “You think so?”

Kevin nodded. “I know so. Then again, everything is a blast when I’m with you.”

“That was so cheesy, Kevin. Please don’t say that again.” You pleaded with a laugh.

Kevin chuckled with you before pecking your lips again. “I love you.”

You smiled at the boy. “I love you, too.”

The silence sat upon you two before Kevin spoke again. “You know, we can still do the whole dancing in the rain thing?”

An idea popped into your head as you sat up. “Let me go change and we can reenact the scene from The Notebook.”

Kevin grinned. “I like that idea.”

[romanceimp]

Hey love! I was wondering if you could do some aftercare with shikamaru, or maybe the morning after yall fucked realll good but just make it pretty fluffy (it's fine if u don't want to! ik soft isnt ur style😉)

Absolutely! I am actually so soft but also just a total perv with no chill hahaha. It is an interesting dichotomy. But yes! After all the stories I’ve written about him completely destroying you, I think this is definitely in order...

One thing I would like to just quickly discuss is a lot of subs experience, subspace, or a sort of high from a BDSM scene due to the chemicals in the brain being released. Subdrop is the result of those hormones balancing back out to a more neutral state. Some common side effects of subdrop are feeling cold, moodiness/slight depression, lethargy, and sometimes a feeling of being disconnected from the space around you. The drop can happen immediately or sometimes a few days later. Aftercare is always important immediately after and the days following a scene. I don’t include it in every story I write bc of time, but know that if someone is unwilling to provide aftercare, they are not worthy or deserving of you at all, let alone your time in the bedroom. Aftercare is specific to the individual (I personally want tea and frozen grapes and cuddles) and in many cases, it is reciprocal between the Dom and sub. Remember, real Doms respect your limits and always always give aftercare. 

I’ll get off my soapbox now, I just want yall to have all the love and respect you deserve. Because every single one of you reading this are important.

AfterCare : 

WARNING: mentions of sexual things, D/s dynamics, subdrop, but mostly just super fluffy Shika caring for you and lots of cuteness

Your body was spent, breathing ragged and your skin was sticky with a mixture of sweat and cum. You were laying on your back, the afterglow of your orgasm, lighting up your aura. Shikamaru peppered kisses all over your face. “You’re such a good girl,” he said, “my beautiful girl.” You could only manage a smile in response to his praise. You reached up to cup his face and noticed the heaviness to your movements. Shikamaru traced over your face, down your neck, and to your collarbone. His light touches caused a shiver to ripple over your skin, goose pimples following in their wake. He kissed your neck tenderly. “You’re cold,” he observed. “I think we should get cleaned up before we cuddle, yeah?” he prompted. You did want to get cleaned up but you felt so tired. “Can we cuddle now?” you asked softly. He rolled over onto his side and pulled you into him. “We can but then we need to take a shower, we have to get you back in your body, my love.”  You nodded, eyes closed, hands clasped around his, pulling it into your heart. 

You weren’t sleeping, in fact your mind felt as if it was buzzing with no thoughts in particular, just strange random images that seemed to pass like clouds behind your eyelids. Shikamaru’s breaths were slow and deep, and you instinctively began to match the pattern. As soon as you’d calmed, Shikamaru kissed your cheek, “I love you.” You smiled and kissed his hand, “I love you too,” you replied, snuggling into the curve of his body. He kissed your head once more before moving to get out of bed. “Don’t go,” you pleaded. “I’m just gonna turn on the shower okay? I’ll be right back.” You shook your head, holding onto his arm. He laughed softly, “you’re so cute, do you wanna come with me then?” You nodded, you weren’t sure why it happened this way, but sometimes even the slightest distance from him could feel like an uncrossable abyss. “Up we go,” he said sweetly as he helped you move to sit. He gave your head a second to adjust to being upright, holding your face and kissing your cheeks, forehead, and nose. He then helped you stand up, “good?” he asked. “Mmhmm,” but you paused slightly, “can I go pee before we shower?” you asked. He laughed, “you don’t need to ask, love, just go.” You laughed and then padded into the bathroom. 

A few moments later you opened the door to let Shikamaru in. He turned the water on and carefully watched you as he waited for it to warm. You were spaced out, dreamy, sitting on the lid of the toilet seat. Your elbows were resting on your knees and your chin in your hands. It both amazed Shikamaru and slightly concerned him when you fell this deep. He understood it was just a part of the process, he just wanted to make sure you were okay. “Whatchya thinking about, gorgeous?” he asked. You turned your head to him and giggled. “This funny video that my friend sent me,” you replied. Shikamaru raised his eyebrows and then took your hand and lead you into the shower. 

He let you be underneath the water first, standing back behind you and the stream of the water. He admired the dark marks that covered your ass and the back of your thighs. He rubbed your shoulders and kissed your neck, he could still feel your muscles tensed and he worked his thumbs into your flex, coaxing you into a deeper state of relaxation. You stepped forward to allow him to get into the water as well. You turned to look at him and your face lit up. “Hey, you have your hair down!” He chuckled, his hair had been down for the last hour and you were just now noticing. It was a testament to how deep you had been in subspace, but also a sign that you were coming back to yourself. “I like it down,” you added. “Thank you beautiful,” he replied . “Okay now turn around so I can wash your hair,” he said and you did. You loved this, when he would massage the shampoo into your scalp. It was the way he did it, it was so conscious and done with care. It was as if he was trying to wash all the negative thoughts from your head. You felt loved and like you were being restored. He tilted your head back, careful to not get the soap in your eyes as he washed it out of your hair. Your hair and mind now feeling much more clean, you turned to Shikamaru. “Can I wash your hair too?” you asked. He smiled wide, handed you the shampoo, and said “go for it.” You moved behind him and began to lather his head. You had to reach up to soap all of his hair and then tipped his head back and rinsed his hair, using your palm to help remove the soap. 

When the water ran clear without soap you leaned forward, wrapping your arms around him. You rested your head against his back. He laughed softly, you were so cute, how could he resist. “Hey,” he turned around and hugged you back. You thought he was going to continue speaking but he finished his thought by locking his lips onto yours. It was a passionate kiss, reserved for the times where words weren't enough to communicate what he was feeling. 

He spun you around and did your conditioner and then this time did his own. He knew he had to get you cleaned up and into bed, it was already getting pretty late. Shikamaru took a cloth and lathered it with your soap before using it to scrub your body down, removing any of the evidence from your previous activities. Any marks that were left were washed gently and given a kiss to show his appreciation and affection. You took the cloth from his hands and repeated his movements, on his body this time. Shikamaru was surprised, you hadn’t washed him before but he didn’t complain. It was a nice testament to how much you cared for him. He rinsed off quickly and took your face in his hands. “I’m gonna put new sheets on the bed for us, okay? Can you stay here for a sec?” You nodded and watch as he exited the shower. You stood underneath the water and listened as he got himself a towel and began to dry off. The sound of Shikamaru exiting the bathroom and the rush of cold air that accompanied snapped something inside of you. A deep sadness welled from inside your chest and tears began to trickle down your cheeks. ‘It’s just the drop, it’s all okay,” you told yourself. You wanted to go back out to Shikamaru and lay wrapped in his arms. ‘He’s just outside making the bed, he’s not that far away, it’s okay,” you consoled. You felt embarrassed now, that you’d been crying for no reason. It made you feel anxious, worrying that Shikamaru would be frustrated with your up and down emotions. But you also knew that stewing in your current state would make it worse, so it would be better to se him. 

You turned the water off and grabbed a clean towel from under the sink. You wrapped it around you and opened the door to your shared bedroom. Shikamaru had just finished putting the fitted sheet on the bed. He had dressed himself in a pair of grey sweatpants, but still had yet to put a shirt on. Small beads of water rolled down his chest from his hair. He was unfolding the top sheet when he saw your eyes red and puffy, standing wrapped in the towel. His face dropped into concern as he looked over at you. “Hey, hey, what’s happening?” he asked gently. You walked over to him and nuzzled your head into his chest. He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled you into his lap. He rocked back and forth holding on to you. “It’s okay love, I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere,” he whispered as you began to calm once more. Your breath slightly shaky. You relished in the feeling of being enveloped by his warmth, his clean scent filling your senses. He slowly slid you onto the bed, pulling the towel from around you, folding it and placing it under your head so the bed didn’t get wet. “I’m gonna make the rest of the bed around you,” he explained smiling. He flipped the top sheet over you, then the comforter and then he cased the pillows and arranged them around you, like you were in a nest. “There you go, perfect,” he smiled down at you. You reached for him and he leaned down to kiss you. “I’m gonna get something for you to eat, okay love? Will you be okay?” You nodded back up at him and he disappeared down the hall. 

When he returned he had a bowl with apple slices, powdered with cinnamon and drizzled with honey, and a glass of water. He set the bowl down on the side table and grabbed a sleep shirt for you from the drawer. “I don’t want you getting cold,” he grinned. You reached for the shirt to put it on but he slipped it over your head for you. Shikamaru climbed into bed next to you and handed you the bowl of apples. “For you, my beauty,” he admired and you smiled as you ate your snack. “So do you wanna show me that video your friend sent you?” Your eyes lit up and that was the reaction he was hoping for. He needed to bring you back down to the present moment, back to your body instead of you floating outside of it. Shikamaru knew that this deep of a drop could last a few days but the sooner he got you even just a little bit more grounded the easier the transition would be for you. “Hold this for me will ya?” you asked and he took the bowl from your hands as you reached for your phone. 

One video led to many and soon you were laughing and talking more while munching on your apples. Shikamaru took the empty bowl and handed you the glass of water. You took a few sips and then held the glass to his lips, “you too,” you beamed. He drank and then thanked you before setting the glass on the side table. He rubbed your tummy and kissed it, “feel better?” he asked. “Yeah, much... thank you, I love you.” He kissed you, “I love you right back.” He coaxed you up and back to the bathroom to brush teeth and properly get ready for bed.

You both climbed back into bed and Shikamaru turned out the light. His arms encircled your body as they did every night. His warmth was comforting and you entertained your legs with his in an effort to feel ever closer to him. “You take good care of me,” you murmured, half asleep. “That’s because, I love you, and we belong to each other... for however long you want it to be that way,” he whispered. Your eyes opened and you turned to look at him. “For forever,” you said almost hurt at the implication. He kissed you for the last time that night, “alright then, I’m yours forever.” You fell asleep with a smile on your face that night. 

Your eyes fluttered open, the golden light of morning filtered through the blinds. You took a deep breath and stared up at the ceiling. A kiss on your cheek alerted you that Shikamaru was awake too. “Good morning Princess, how are you feeling?” You rolled over so that your head was on his chest. You drew small patterns with your fingertips over his heart, little flowers and other simple shapes. “I am wonderful, how are you?” “Even better now,”he responded with a kiss to your head. “Now, what do you want for breakfast?” You laughed softly, “no, you can’t do it yourself, I wanna help.” You paused, and snuggled deeper into his chest. “But in a little while,  I just wanna lay here with you for a little longer.” Shikamaru stroked up and down your arm, “we can lay here as long as you want.” “Forever?” “Forever.” 

[satoruvt]

the color of you - white (5)

ik keigo’s like a hero n he has his hero costume on all the time but for this chapter (for no particular reason) imagine him in light jeans and a black t-shirt ok thank u i hope thinking of that makes u as happy as it does me

pairing → keigo takami x bakery owner!reader

word count → 2368

summary → you’re not really dating, so you can’t really be in love with him... right?

song inspo → converse high by bts, somebody loves you by jeremy zucker, and some of can’t we just leave this monster alive? by tomorrow x together

this chapter → compromising positions, a flour war, a Moment, y/n realizes some things and keigo’s a little shit

part one | part two | part three | part four | part five

The sun has never been your friend in the mornings, and you’re reminded of that fact every single time you wake up. For someone who doesn’t like getting blinded first thing in the morning, you sure were bold to put your bed right next to the window, knowing full well the first few hours of sunlight shone directly onto your pillows.

Your brain wakes up before your body does, a few lingering thoughts from your dream swimming in your head in fragmented colors and sentences, and once you’re more coherent you open your eyes, flutter at the sunlight - wait, this isn’t your bed.

There’s sun nearby, sure, but the window’s too distant. Your vision’s a little blurry from sleep but you think you know your colors pretty well and these sheets do not match the ones you picked out from Target, like, two years ago. And then you remember, oh, awards ceremony. Hotel. Suite. Okay.

You move to stretch, manage to get your arms above your head, but even when you move the arm around your waist stays put. For a second you think holy shit, I’m paralyzed, but then you realize that you don’t have three arms. And then you realize that the arm around your waist belongs to Keigo, who’s still in your bed.

For the first time this morning your brain catches up on time with the sudden thought of “he’s not your actual boyfriend, what is this” but when you turn your head to wake up him with a flick on his forehead you stop. 

You’re a fan of him. It’s not hard for you to admit - it’s just an add-on, at this point, because Keigo is definitely more of a friend than an idol to you. You’re a fan, no less, you’ve dabbled in buying cute keychains and pens stylized with colors that he wore often. That’s why, you reason with yourself, you’re suddenly very aware of how gorgeous he is.

The sunlight isn’t on either of you, but it casts a gentle, warm glow into the hotel room through the break in the curtains and it dresses Keigo beautifully, subtly. Makes his skin look sunkissed and golden. His hair’s a mess, wild and sticking in every direction, but somehow it’s fitting for him. You can’t stop your eyes from tracing over his face, taking in his proportions and then dropping to his lips, and you keep your eyes trained on him as you turn so you’re on your side, facing him. You think about it for a moment, stopping your already-raising hand, then tell yourself that in the times he’s fallen asleep while you two were hanging out, he’s never woken up, so he won’t now. 

You get one push of your fingers through his hair - as soft as you can - and when you refocus on Keigo’s face he is definitely awake. You freeze, absolutely mortified, while he only raises an eyebrow at you. He doesn’t move his arm from around your waist.

“Morning, sunshine,” and oh God, that’s what his morning voice sounds like? “Is this your way of telling me you’re actually into me?”

Heat flushes to your cheeks and you take your hand away, laughing nervously and way too loud for the morning. You try to think of anything to say that’s better than “sorry, I couldn’t help myself, you just looked so good” but nothing comes to mind and you stay looking down as best you can.

“Couldn’t help yourself, huh?” Keigo says, and you realize you said it out loud, God fucking - “Hmm, I don’t know. Sounds like you’re harboring secret feelings for me, sweetheart.”

You fight a losing battle against a smile and roll your eyes playfully, shoving Keigo away from you as he barks out a laugh. “Get out of my room, you’re not allowed in here anymore.”

Keigo doesn’t give his usual protests outside of a smothered “nooo” into the pillows after you get out of bed - how cute, you think to yourself - and gather your toiletries and clothes so you can shower. You yell an “out!” for good measure before you shut the bathroom door, waiting for a moment until you hear the door to his room shut.

Your shower is quick, making use of the high-end hotel body wash, and you half expect Keigo to still be in the bed when you walk out of the bathroom. You dry your hair with a towel and your phone buzzes on the nightstand. You unlock it to see a text.

keigo baby 🐦

Can i come back yet i miss you

You snort at his text, send back a “get in here, bird boy” but then realize it’s almost nine thirty and you need to get to the bakery. Keigo walks in and you rush to find your usual sneakers. When you finally look at him, sitting on the edge of the bed and tying your shoes, he’s got an eyebrow raised.

“In a rush?” He asks, and you send him a playful glare, but you’re already too late to think about banter.

“Yeah, I gotta get to the bakery,” you tell him, finalizing the knot on your shoe. You only brought a small bag with your things, and it doesn’t take long for you to gather them up. You take a quick glance around the room to make sure nothing’s forgotten, finding nothing that looks like it’s yours.

(Your eyes land on your dress from the night before, and you aim a look at Keigo that says “what should I do with that” and he tells you he’ll take care of it.)

“Okay,” you breathe, looking at Keigo. You feel the urge to kiss him on the cheek as a goodbye. “I’ll see you later?”

“I’ve got nothing to do until, like, noon. Do you mind if I see you to the bakery?”

You murmur an “of course not” with a smile and the two of you are off.

It’s a short trip - you take the subway to a station that’s only a few blocks from the bakery and walk the rest of the way. At one point Keigo slips his hand into yours, intertwines your fingers, and despite this now being a whole two-month (or something) endeavor it makes you choke just a little bit at how casual he is about it.

“Text me if you need anything,” you tell Keigo when the two of you reach the bakery, and he raises his eyebrows at you.

“Yes, I’ll be sure to call my fake baker girlfriend when I’m in a pinch with a villain,” he says, and you pout at him, pushing on his shoulder. He laughs, kisses you, murmurs “I’ll see you later” against your lips before leaving with a wink and a gust into the sky.

You open the door to the bakery and it’s only when you finally get to working fifteen minutes later that you’re sure you hadn’t seen any paparazzi around.

-

Keigo comes back about ten minutes after closing, when you’re in the dining area and setting chairs on top of tables. You’d given the employees working today the go-ahead to leave, since the last hour of business consisted of a couple coming in to ask for directions. The bell above the door rings and you turn your head, meeting Keigo’s eyes.

“Fancy seeing you here,” you say, mock surprise in your voice as you fold your arms over your chest and walk closer to him. “What can I do for you?”

“Ah, I’ve been craving your signature donuts for a while now,” Keigo replies, sending you a playful grin. “Think you could whip some up for me? I’ll even pay extra.”

“Sorry, hero, but we’re already closed.”

Keigo gapes at you and you snort before walking behind the counter to take the food out of the display case. “Come on, not even for your favorite hero? Your idol? Your boyfriend?”

You pretend to think about it for a minute, tapping your finger against your chin. “Hmm, I suppose I could make a quick batch…” you stare directly at him, point at him assertively. “But you’re helping.”

Keigo seems less than excited to do so, shoulders deflating at your words, but he walks behind the counter and into the kitchen after you without a complaint. In the back of your mind, you know you shouldn’t be wasting ingredients like this, but at the same time business has been really booming - you can afford to buy more. 

It’s fun, baking with Keigo. Even if he’s not keen on working and you definitely don’t trust him to measure liquids, he seems… eager to please. You tell him to mix and he does, to crack an egg and he does. The entire time he’s making jokes (some of them… really poor, painful dad jokes) and there’s a warmth in your heart.

Keigo pours out flour into a sifter over the large mixing bowl you have set up, but instead of batting the sifter against his hand like a normal person, he holds it like a pan and he’s sauteing something. You frown, taking the sifter from his hand (as gently as you can without spilling). “You’re doing it wrong,” you say.

“What, there’s a right way to…” Keigo pauses, and you raise an eyebrow.

“Sift?”

“Yeah, that - there’s a right way to sift something? Does it really matter?”

“...no,” you start, then furrow your brows. “But it’ll make a mess.”

“It doesn’t matter, you’re gonna have to clean up when we’re done anyways.”

An idea crosses your mind and you know, whole-heartedly, that it is probably your worst idea of the day for multiple reasons. But the knowledge of its consequences still doesn’t stop you from reaching into the sifter, grabbing a little less than a handful of flour, and spritzing it on Keigo’s chest.

“You’re just gonna take a shower when you get home, right?” You say, innocent as can be. You take another not-handful and rub it on his shirt. “A mess doesn’t matter.”

You look up at Keigo and his gaze says something like “this shirt was ten thousand yen” before he grabs his own handful of flour - not from the bowl or the sifter, but rather from the twenty-pound bag you opened specifically for him. He throws it at you and it lands in a puff in your hair, dusting you in white.

An unspoken agreement is passed between the two of you when you meet his gaze again - this is war.

In three seconds flat both of you are grabbing anything you can - flour, sugar, anything - and using them as weapons, throwing them in the general direction of the other. It’s gonna be a pain getting it out of your clothes, but you find you don’t really care. Milk is thrown from a measuring cup over your shoulder, lands on the floor with a splash mixed with your alarmed yelp. A single egg yolk hits Keigo in the chest, breaking like a water balloon on impact. Music you barely remember starting before the two of you got to baking plays like a soundtrack in a movie.

The Baking War of 2020 is short, though, and soon enough you both are panting and laughing as you stand in the kitchen covered in baking supplies. “Truce?” you pitch, wiping what you think is baking powder off of your eyelashes.

“Hold on,” Keigo says. He grabs an egg from the open carton on the counter, steps so the two of you are almost chest-to-chest. Your smile fades because oh, he’s really close, what is he doing?

He cracks the egg over your head. That’s what he’s doing.

You close your eyes, sigh, try to forget about your momentary panic as you feel the egg coat your hair. The yolk breaks somewhere between the top of your head and your eyebrow and you close one eye in hopes it won’t drip into it. “Truce,” Keigo grins.

“I hope you know that you helped waste my ingredients and you didn’t even get your donuts,” you mumble, pouting up at him. Keigo’s grin grows fond as he shrugs, uses his thumb to rub most of the yolk off of your forehead. You find yourself wishing that someone with a camera was around so you have an excuse to kiss him. 

“I’m rich, I can buy you more,” he says, and you really cannot stop looking at his lips.

It’s like last night - a part of you wants to shrug your heart pounding off as Keigo just looking good in all black and expensive rings, because anyone could tell he was easily the most beautiful person at the ceremony, but your heart is pounding just as hard - if not harder - right now and he’s wearing jeans and a t-shirt. It startles you, makes nervous butterflies erupt in your chest and stomach and blood rush to your cheeks, because you’re pretty sure this is -

Keigo’s phone rings and it makes both of you jump; you end up a solid three feet away from where you were before. It’s really hot in here, is it hot? It’s definitely hot. You need to turn off the heater.

“Shit,” Keigo curses to himself, and when you look at him he’s doing his best to brush off flour and sugar from his clothes with a rag. “There’s a villain downtown. I gotta go.”

You nod immediately, understanding, but you don’t trust your voice to speak that much. You swallow - gulp, really - and hope he doesn’t notice how jumpy you are. “Be safe,” you say, and cringe at how small your voice sounds.

“I’ll text you later,” is all Keigo tells you before he’s leaving through the back door of the bakery. You hear his wings as he takes off.

You don’t move for a moment, instead choosing to slump against the counter. Usually when you started liking someone, it was gradual, it wasn’t surprising or - or like this, you knew and it was fine, regardless of outcome. This didn’t happen to you. 

You sigh, close your eyes and try not to freak out too much about the very sudden and very scary realization that you like Keigo.

[prettybuckybaby]

don't be afraid; i am the satellite and you are the sky; chapter one

Leia can't sleep because of monsters. Peter helps scare them away

part eight of single parent peter parker

masterlist

read on ao3 here

Peter is sat at the kitchen table in their apartment in Queens, chemistry textbooks thrown across the surface, frantically scribbling down notes when Leia stumbles into the room.

“Daddy?” She whispers, tugging on his pyjama pants and climbing into his lap. Peter startles, sighing when he notices the redness of her eyes.

“It’s nearly midnight, princess,” He replies quietly, glancing at the time on his phone before wrapping his arms around her. “Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”

“Monsters, Daddy,” Peter coos softly when tears start falling down her cheeks. He stands up slowly, rocking her gently until the tears dry up. “Scary,”

“You know,” He starts when she calms down, just letting out little sniffles into Peter’s neck. “When I was smaller, just a little bit bigger than you, Uncle Ben used to make a monster spray to scare the monsters away. Do you think making one would help?”

“Monsta spray?” She lifts her head, looking up confused.

“Hmm,” He hums. “You mix all the ingredients together, and then you spray it in all the places monsters like to hide. You know, under the bed, in the cupboards, behind the curtains. It scares them away,”

“And the monsters leave?” Leia asks, looking hopeful. She sniffs once more, wiping her nose on her sleeve. Peter pulls a face.

“They should do. Do you want to make some? We might have to go shopping, though,” He muses softly.

“Now?”

“Yeah,” Peter laughs. “Night-time adventure, yeah? We used to have lots of them when you were tiny. We’d go out in the dark and go shopping in our pyjamas and we’d just walk around until you fell asleep.”

“We went out in our pyjamas?” Peter laughs at the confusion on her face. “But Aunt May says pyjamas are only for wearing in the house,”

“Well. What Aunt May doesn’t know won’t hurt her, hey?” Peter smiles down as the confusion grows on Leia’s face. He laughs. “Go grab your coat, baby. We’ll go and get everything we need.”

---------------

Leia giggles when they enter the store at half past twelve. Peter has a large smile on his face when he crouches down to be eye level with her.

“Okay, Leia. First thing we need is a bottle. With a spray nozzle on it. Where do you think they will be?” Leia takes his hand and pulls, running her way up and down the aisles, dragging Peter behind her. She skids to a stop when she’s in front of the plastic bottles. She looks up at Peter. “Take your pick, sweetheart,” He smiles when Leia bites her lip, looking at all the bottles the store has to offer. She eventually picks up a light blue one, holding it up to Peter.

“This one?”

“Sure thing, tesoro.” He grins, taking the bottle and placing it in the basket he has picked up. “Next! We need to find something strawberry scented,”

“Why strawberry, Daddy?” Leia frowns as she takes Peter’s hand again and starts pulling him through the aisles. Peter hums, trying to make up an excuse. Really, he picks strawberry because he knows it’s Leia’s favourite smell, mostly because they both use strawberry shampoo.

“Uncle Ben told me once that monsters don’t like the smell of strawberries. Real strawberries will make you all sticky though and I think you’re too tired to have a bath before you sleep now,” Peter grins as he sees Leia try and hide a yawn. “So, we’ll just have to get a special strawberry oil.” He steers them towards where he knows the bath products are. When he sees the essential oils on the top shelf, he picks Leia up and points up to the glass bottles. ��Pick one of those up, Princess,”

---------------

They spend another half hour going around the shop picking out ingredients for the monster spray. Peter has to bribe Leia away from the glitter, insisting that glitter will shine and encourage more monsters to hide in her bedroom. She frowns and pouts, tries to change his mind, but gives up easily when Peter offers to buy her a new teddy to be her bodyguard.

By the time they get to the checkout, the basket in Peter’s hands is full and Leia is dragging her feet across the floor. Peter tries to stifle a yawn as he puts the basket on the counter.

“Hey, Parker,” Peter’s head snaps up when he hears his name, confusion that was on his face clearing.

“Oh, hey, Clark,” He smiles tiredly, slipping the backpack off his shoulder and handing it to Leia, before picking her up and settling her on his hip. “I thought you’d quit, dude,”

“I did,” the kid replies, scanning the items slowly and handing each one to Leia to put into the backpack. “Then Chloe lost her job and couldn’t find another, so here I am,”

“That sucks, man,” Peter frowns slightly. “I’m sorry,” Clark waves him away.

“Don’t worry about it, man. Mom’s helping us out for now. Plus, it’s all worth it when I get visits from my favourite people,” He reaches over the counter and taps Leia’s nose. He grins when she giggles and scrunches her nose up. “Mom says you haven’t been round to see Ned for a while,”

“Aunt May’s been working out of state for a while, and then she went on a trip to Italy, so we’ve been staying with family out of town. We’re back now though, so we’ll go round at some point, say hi,” He smiles, rocking slightly.

“Good. She misses you both,” Clark finishes scanning the items, holding out the spray bottle to Leia. “What’s all this stuff for?”

“We’re scaring monsters ‘way!” Leia mumbles from where her head is resting on Peter’s shoulders. Clark nods.

“So, you’re making a monster spray?” Leia smiles sleepily. “Ned used to have monsters under his bed, and we made a monster spray. A week later, they had all disappeared!”

“F’rever?” She looks up hopefully. Peter laughs quietly.

“Ned hasn’t seen any monsters since. And that was years ago,” Leia nods and puts her head back on Peter’s shoulder, closing her eyes. Peter smiles as he takes the bag from where it’s slipping out of her fingers, slinging it across his shoulder.

-----------------

When they get back to the apartment, Leia squirms in Peter’s arms, trying to get down.

“Thought you were asleep, princess,” He says as he puts her down. He closes the door quietly behind him.

“Just did’t wanna walk, Daddy,” Peter laughs and bends down and starts unlacing Leia’s shoes.

“Cheeky,” Leia giggles when Peter tickles one of her feet. “Come on, take your coat off.” Leia shrugs her arms out of her jacket while Peter kicks off his own shoes and holds it out for him to hang up. “Okay, go and wash your hands and then we can get started!” She toddles into the bathroom, using her little step stool to reach the taps and washes her hands. When she walks into the kitchen, Peter has laid a sheet over the table and set all their ingredients on the top. He lifts Leia up to stand on one of the chairs.

“Uncle Ned had monsters?” She asks him while he washes his own hands. Peter hums and reaches for a towel.

“Lots of people have monsters, sweetheart,” He smiles and slips one of May’s aprons over Leia’s head and folding it a few times before tying it, so she doesn’t trip over it. “I used to have monsters. Uncle Ned did. Aunt Emmy probably scared all hers away because she’s very scary,”

“Did Uncle Tony have monsters?” Peter smiles as he gets a measuring jug out of the cupboard. He places it in front of Leia, hands her a bottle of water, and holds his finger about halfway up the jug.

“Pour this into the jug, up to my finger,” She struggles slightly unscrewing the bottle, but manages and begins to pour. “I haven’t spoken to Uncle Tony about monsters before, but that doesn’t mean that he didn’t,” She finishes pouring and hands the bottle back to Peter. He replaces it with another of the bottles that they bought and moves his finger a little bit higher.

“Okay,” She smiles easily. They talk quietly while they continue making the spray, Peter telling her stories of all the monsters he used to have in his room before he and Uncle Ben sprayed them away.

“Right,” He says as he pushes the jug towards the end of the table. Some of the pink liquid spills over the top and onto the floor. Leia giggles. “Oops. Oh, well. Okay, now we need to decorate!” He hands Leia the bottle, along with the foam letters, stickers, and glitter glue. Peter lets Leia do this part on her own, only helping her with the spelling.

By the time she’s finished, Peter decides that the spray has had long enough to sit. He pulls a funnel out of the cupboard and holds it out to Leia.

“This part might get messy, alright?” He asks her, smiling when she nods rapidly. “You’re going to hold this in the bottle, and I’m going to pour, okay?”

“Yeah, Daddy,” She grins. As she’s concentrating, her tongue pokes out of her mouth. Peter smiles fondly as she holds the neck of the bottle tightly with her two hands. He pours the liquid quickly before he takes the jug and the funnel over to the sink. He screws the lid onto the spray bottle quickly and hands it to Leia.

“Come on then, munchkin,” He laughs as he takes the apron off Leia and lifts her down. “Let’s go and spray the monsters away,”

They start in Leia’s room. Leia takes the bottle, spraying under her bed and in the bottom of her wardrobe before getting behind her door. Peter picks her up and places her on his shoulders so she can get the curtains and the top of the wardrobe and her cupboards. Peter lifts her off his shoulders and puts her down on her bed. He goes to take the bottle out of her hands when she makes a wounded noise.

“What’s up, baby? You don’t think we got everywhere?” He frowns.

“We gots t’ do your room, ‘Addy,”

“My room?” He asks, stroking her head. “I don’t have monsters, sweet,”

“Gotta,” She demands, eyebrows furrowing and beginning to frown. “Please, Daddy. Just ‘n case,” Peter smiles as he sighs dramatically.

“I guess,” Leia giggles as Peter lifts her back up. “But after this you’re going straight to sleep, okay?” She nods happily and makes sure to spray every inch of Peter’s bedroom until Peter laughs and forces the bottle out of her hand. He puts it down on his desk.

“I think you got it all. I’ll be super safe,” He smiles, moving Leia from his shoulders to his hip. She yawns and tucks her head into his neck as he walks back into Leia’s room. “Let’s get you to sleep, yeah?”

“’Kay, Daddy,” She doesn’t protest this time when he puts her down on the bed, lets him tuck her in. She reaches behind her head until she grasps Bearbear. Peter tucks him in, too, as well as the new teddy she got tonight.

“D’you think there’s monsters in Uncle Tony’s tower?” She mumbles as her eyes flutter shut.

“I don’t know, Princess,” He smiles as he crouches down by her bed. “We can go and visit after school tomorrow if you want? Get all the monsters out of your room there as well,”

“And your room. And Harls and Uncle Tony,”

“Of course,” Peter laughs softly and kisses her head before he starts running his fingers through her hair gently. “Goodnight, sweetheart,”

“Gots t’ save them from the scary monsters, Papà,” She murmurs, trying to fight her eyes falling shut. “Love you.” She whispers, breathing evening out.