#but i promise to be better and not give in to hopelessness the next time things don't look too great ...

[rickybaby]

i feel like daniel's fans need to have more trust in him, whether if it's him feeling like smth is up with his car or his qualifying. this is not like against anyone in particular but just a general thing i've been noticing and i feel like it contributes to a bit of fear mongering and hopelessness even before he puts his car on track.

I will put my hand up and accept the blame for being one of those people yesterday.

I know we should stop correlating everything back to the McLaren days because Daniel has said over and over again that his less-than-ideal start to the season is nothing like it was at McLaren - but if he had been in yesterday's situation during the McLaren times, there was no way he would have gone to achieve the feat he did during qualifying. And that's because he had the two key things he was missing at Mclaren: i) the confidence in himself to go and extract that last tenth even if he wasn't 100% comfortable in the car and most importantly ii) he had his whole team and Pierre standing behind him. They didn't go oh well that's too bad after FP3 and kept chipping away at it till the last minutes of Q3!

The other thing I've been thinking about since yesterday was how, when Max put it on pole yesterday, that new sky commentator remarked how drivers like Max always have that little something they keep in reserve to pull out in moments that matter - and I kept thinking that's Daniel! that's also Daniel!!! Sure, the big difference is that Max was doing it for pole and Daniel was fighting to make it to Q3, but still, even under pressure (or especially because of the pressure), he kept improving with each lap.

It sort of reminded me of how Alan Permane said back in 2020 how Daniel is right up there with Lewis, Charles and Max as being the 4 drivers who operate at a different level than the others. Obviously, Daniel hasn't been able to show it in the past 3-something years, but i am so glad he's back in an environment where he can work to show that he still has that special something that goes beyond just showing his speed ...

[temiizpalace]

☆┊I SWEAR I ONLY FELL FOR YOU ON ACCIDENT..

SUMMARY: he never meant to develop feelings for you, and seven are these overwhelming feelings doing things to him.

CHARACTERS: leona, jade, jamil

GENRE: fluff

WARNINGS: cursing, CRINGE, spoilers for book 3!!!

ROMANTIC, PINING

NOTES: (kind of) based off this song + flustering boys who pretend to not be flustered ever + lyrics in fic not in order

reader is g/n, reader is yuu

🦁┊LEONA KINGSCHOLAR

“one time you crossed my mind and i promised id be careful”

he would have never expect his feelings to be like this after your first encounter.

the hostility he held towards you, he should’ve warded you away. yet you kept coming back. talking to him all buddy buddy.. it was admirable from the eyes of others. if he would’ve known better he would think you saw him as a large house cat (you do). well guess what, he ain’t.

at the start, he thought of you as nothing but a huge nuisance and thorn in his side in this already bothersome school. but after seeing your courageous news during azul’s overblot, he’s got a newfound respect for ya.

everything was fine from then. you’d bother him occasionally, and he’d allow you to bask in his presence. what? did you expect something else? well you’re wrong. but these moments have kickstarted some brand new fantasies for our beloved prince to indulge in.

it started off normally, he’s napping peacefully as you read a book next to him, giving him an occasional glance or two before focusing on the piece of literature in your hands. as we know, dreams can range in a wide variety of things. some can be absolutely blissful, some are really random, and others are just straight up nightmares!!

now, leona had no idea where to classify this one.

he walks into his room after finishing some duties concerning the kingdoms wellbeing.. being king is no easy task. “back already? that was quick.” your voice rang in his ears as he tossed the choking royal garbs to the side, making way to curl up in your lap. “can’t stand these people..” he murmured into your stomach, making you smile. you play with his hair, making an occasional braid or two before pausing. “hmph, why’d ya stop?” you lift his chin, looking him in the eyes. “i’m helping you de-stress.” suddenly, he feels pulled closer to your face, your lips barely ghosting each other til finally—

leona sits up quickly in a sweat, startling you as he emerged from the ground. what the fuuuucckkkk was that????? “ah, leona? are you okay?” you ask, concerned as to how quick he was to wake up. usually it’d take 10 minutes to get him out of a daze! “fine.” he grunts, getting up and walking towards the mirror hall.

“uhh, where ya going?” no response. he seemed grumpy, but you had no idea why. did you do something? nahhh, probably just typical leona. ..right?

you’ve noticed he’s been avoiding you a lot more lately. he will not respond when you say hi to him in the halls, will just up and leave if you see him in the botanical gardens, and will walk in the opposite direction of you just so you don’t have to cross paths.

now you’re concerned. was he mad at you? to put it simply, yes and no. yes because why are you occurring in his dreams???? are you crazy???? smh. get out. he’s the one dreaming but ok

yet no because, he’s no fool. he knows when he’s in love and unfortunately for him, this is love. you don’t understand how much he’s tossing and turning in his room because literally every gap in his head is filled up with thoughts of you, how much this aggravates him because he can’t get adequate amounts of sleep anymore. your fault!!!

he wanted to avoid you like the plague for at least a month to let these feelings wash over, but to no avail. someone just kill him and bury the body he’s hopeless. he cannot wait to be found six feet underground because feeling like this for a magicless human was the last thing he wanted.

that’s it, he’s never gonna tell ya. ever. just him and his thoughts. yep. mhm. yeah.. you’d look really nice in formal attire—AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

he wants to scream but the best he can do is make a cringing face. how the hell do you make him so sappy??? this love stuff stinks… how could you do this to him?

🐬┊JADE LEECH

“one spark, you jump my heart and i feel it beating faster. yeah, it’s too late, im not ashamed.”

ah, love. something jade believed he’d never experience.

from the moment his eyes met yours, he’s always felt a twisting feeling in his chest. how peculiar.. to be fair, from afar you were quite bland to him. just another pawn and source of intel.

but then word began to get out you stopped two overblots, catching his interest. really? a magicless human? now he’s just dying to meet you.. and thank the seven he did. you had him the moment you spoke, your voice causing his heartbeat to speed up rapidly.

after azul’s overblot, though? jade is nothing but head over heels for you. without shame. he’s practically glued to your side, walking you to and from classes almost every day without fail, somehow always being your waiter whenever you ate at the mostro lounge, always having a hand on your back or shoulder.. huh.

it’s clear to anyone with half a brain that the leech twin definitely saw you more than merchandise, making them even more afraid to speak with you! whenever you were jade was like 2 feet behind.

only recently have you started to notice this. so, you’ll do what any normal person would do. ask him about it!

“hey, jade.” the eel-mer looks at you, an eyebrow raised with a polite smile. “is something the matter, prefect?” he asks, his demeanor the same as ever. “just wondering, but why’re you always around me? im not annoyed or anything! just.. just curious.” you stated quite bluntly, catching the boy off guard.

you could’ve sworn you saw him freeze with eyes wide, but the ability he has to rebuild his facade was impeccable. he pretends to think about it holding his chin before chuckling. “i suppose.. i just enjoy your company.” he smiles as you suddenly feel like an arrow was shot riiigghhttt through your heart.

“haha, really?” you laugh nervously, feeling the heat in your face flush to your cheeks as he stared you down with glee. before jade was able to respond, he was cut off by the sudden sincerity in your voice. “i enjoy your company too, jade.” you smile back at him, a sudden awkward silence falling before you.

“a-anyway, this is my class! gotta go! bye!” running inside the classroom, you try to hide the very obvious warmth in your face with your hands. THAT WAS SO CRINGE. IM FUCKED IM FUCKED IM FUCKED IM FUCKED. AAAGAGAGBABABAHAHAHAHAHA

this moment is going to haunt you for the rest of your life, you just know it. while you were dealing with the repercussions of the exchange, jade was in absolute heaven right now. his heartbeat was at an all time high, feeling nothing but sheer joy. falling for you was never his intention, but thank the seven he did.

the day passes by swiftly, nothing too out of the ordinary. as jade walks back to his dorm room, he flops onto his mattress face first into the pillows. an annoyed floyd looks at him with a disgusted expression, wishing this didn’t happen almost every day.

“yer so sappy, yknow that jade?” he grumbles, tossing a pillow at him with force. jade didnt care. it was worth it. all of it was worth it. falling in love with you was the best accident he’s ever made.

🐍┊JAMIL VIPER

“i’ll never see it coming but i know we’ll crash, cause when we’re with each other, yeah, we move too fast.”

kill him kill him kill him kill him kill him kill hi

those were the thoughts racing through jamil’s mind as you somehow convinced him to ride the magic carpet with you. what was he thinking??? he knows something is going to go terribly wrong whenever he’s with you.

not because of you (he hopes), but because of him! he’s a man who’s very meticulous about his work, making sure it’s done to absolute perfection. now, add you into the mix. it throws him horribly off.

when jamil first met you, he didn’t think much of it. you were a magicless human from another world. impressive that may be, that’s all you are. no major threat to kalim, so he’ll leave you be. then came the overblots.. you seemed more valuable than he originally thought.

then came his overblot. in all honesty, he hated you after that. or he thought he did. he always felt this burning sensation in his chest and this inexplainable image of you in his head nagging at him at any free chance he got! then came the scenarios.. domestic moments like brushing his hair, waking up next to each other, cooking meals for each other..

then he realized he fell into the deep end and fell in love with you. shit.

you treated him with such kindness! how didn’t he fall in love with you?? everything’s making his head hurt. the world must be upside down.

hearing kalim sing constant praise was nothing out of the ordinary, something he’s already grown used to and learned to despise. you on the other hand, your compliments send him to different universes. he swear fireworks get lit whenever you open your mouth and just explode all around him.

jamil’s behavior around you was a fairly noticeable difference to those close with him. he stuttered over his words, was a bit more expressive, and had a specific tone in his voice that seemed to be reserved for you. however, the most notable difference that almost anyone can see was the fact that THE jamil viper made a lot more accidents.

he seemed to embarrass himself every time he’s with you, but thank god you just shrug it off like nothing. screwing up was not something jamil EVER did before.. why must you ruin him like this? and these moments seem to just speed by, making it all seem like one huge fever dream that he just happens to remember. he hates it!

now, back to the present moment. he watches you sit onto the magic carpet, feeling the cold breeze in your hair due to the fact scarabia is much chillier during the night. he stares at you from the balcony, seeing as you turned back to smile at him. “you coming” you ask, watching him hesitate. “m-maybe i shouldn’t.. i must tend to kalim and—“

“do you trust me?” you ask, holding your hand out to him. he looks at you, taken aback by your sudden question. “what?” “do you trust me?” you repeat, a stern tone in your voice as you looked down at him with a certain gleam in your eyes that he just cannot resist. “..yes?”

jamil grabs your hand, pulling himself onto the carpet. the warmth from his palms spread throughout your entire body, suddenly regulating the your internal temperature. as you both kneeled on the carpet, your eyes met, staring into each other intensely. his hand subconsciously squeezes yours, holding to them for dear life, not wanting to let go.

while this was insanely romantic to you both, from outside perspective, it just looks like this 🧍‍♂️🧍

“ah, jamil, you’re squeezing my hand.” you laugh nervously, watching as the heat rises to his cheeks. “s-sorry. now then, shall we?” he clears his throat, sitting down properly before looking at you with a small smile. you can’t help but reciprocate, flashing him a grin before taking his hand again. “of course.”

before the carpet can take off into the clouds, cheering can be heard from inside scarabia halls.

it seemed kalim had a little.. arrangement for the both of you. jamil pulls his hood over his face in embarrassment as the carpet flies towards the glittering sky of stars, something both you and jamil can enjoy together.

A/N: jamil bias is EVIDENT (I kinda sorta didn’t go with the song that much and got carried away oopsies)

date published: 7/28/24

© temiizpalace — do not copy, steal, or put my work into ai. thank you!

[obsessedhoneycomb]

Unplanned

George Russell x fem!reader

part two here

Summary: High school sweethearts having the best time of their life, when everything seems so perfect. But sometimes, things don’t go as we plan them.

Warnings: angst, unwanted pregnancy, some curse words, a bit of sadness (but it gets better, I promise!)

A/N: I had a dream earlier this week, so it’s based on it. I don’t know how I feel about it (I read it nearly ten times, it’s fine, I guess.), personally I don’t think that George would act like he did in the beginning of this fic, so take it as a part of the plot. I have some ideas for possible part two, but who knows if I make it happen.

Please don’t use my writings without my permission! Pictures found on Pinterest.

———

Young and naive love, that’s all they’ve always said when they saw you and George intertwined with each other every time you walk through the paddock. Meeting at high school, you knew he was the one, and his thing about racing, it was something that attracted you even more.

You always loved to ruffle his hair before the driver’s parade, just to make him grumpy, because he spent so much time fixing his wave of golden brown locks. The way he could make you smile, his warm embrace giving you peace and comfort, the days you enjoyed in the countryside with your families because your parents simply knew each other.

It was perfect.

Until it wasn’t.

George’s move to F1 was sure, his dreams coming true, he couldn’t be more happy and motivated to push himself to the limits more. On the other hand, you just found out the horrible thing.

Walking through the paddock in Brazil, you fought the nausea, as you held onto George’s hand. You tried to tell him, but you were interrupted by someone or something every time. He noticed your strange behaviour, your pale face.

“Are you well, love?” He suddenly stopped to get a better look at you, leaning down closer to you.

This was your only chance to say it. “George, I’m pregnant.”

Your whispered words nearly gave him a heart attack.

“You’re- what?”

“You heard me. I don’t want to yell it here.” Your hand went to his cheek, the warmth of his skin seeping into your palm, bringing you comfort for your nerves.

George just stood there, his eyes wide with shock and disbelief. He grabbed your hand only to push it from his face away.

“We’re gonna talk about this later. I need to focus on the race.”

Your heart broke in your chest. Yeah, you thought just for a moment that he would be happy. But it was far from ideal.

———

George was pacing around the hotel room, while you sat on the edge of the bed, fiddling with your fingers.

“How could it happen? We were so careful, you on the pill and we were using protection.. how?”

“That time in the summer, when I was sick and taking antibiotics, that night on the yacht, when we weren’t sober..”

“Holy shit…”

“George, look, I know it’s not easy, it’s not perfect timing right now, but we can do it.”

“Are you crazy? We’re twenty. You can’t be serious about this.”

“What? So you want to give it up? Get rid of it?”

George pinched the bridge of his nose, getting frustrated and hopeless.

“I can’t take care of the baby now. I’m gonna drive in F1 next season, it’s a big thing for me and I’m not ready to be a father. I don’t have an energy for the act of loving family.”

That was enough for you to bring you to the tears. Your hand went down at your stomach, sign of protective love for the small bundle growing inside you.

George hasn’t single clue what to do in that moment. He just stared into the wall, his mind blank, feeling like his world just shattered.

“I’m sorry I can’t fit into your image of fairytale life.”

And with that he walked out of the hotel room.

Also it was a very last moment he saw you for a very very long time…

———

“George and babies! What a cute sight!”

“He should be a dad! Baby suits him!”

“Make him a daddy already!”

“Oh, what a father figure!”

You did a great job for those past six years to be away from media and spotlight. After that day you saw George last, you never looked back. Maybe it was selfish. But his opinion on the situation was clear. He didn’t want a baby.

“Mom, I said that I have to pee. Are you listening to me?”

The voice of your son William interrupted your thoughts, while you were scrolling through your instagram for the first time in the past years. Brushing your annoyance by those comments aside, you looked at Will with soft smile.

“I’m sorry sweetheart. I’ll wait here for you, just go to the restrooms there.” You pointed to the direction and Will just rushed there.

When he was about four years old, he came across the idea of karting. You were strictly against it, but after his teacher in the kindergarten was done with his ultimate rant about formula and racing, you just took him to the first lesson and that was a start. Yeah, of course you were scared, not much about George possibly finding out, spotting you, but about Will’s safety. But you cannot expect someone with strong racing genes to be interested in being a scientist.

While you were waiting for your son to come back, you haven’t noticed the buzz around the circuit, signalling the famous person appearing around. You grabbed small helmet and looked at it with soft smile, brushing your thumb over it.

“Mom! You need to see this! Mom! C’mon!”

Will was calling you from the small group of kids, his voice full of excitement and joy. You raised your brows with amused smile, when he was excited about something, he just couldn’t brush it off.

As you took a few steps closer to him, you were curious about what was everybody so ecstatic about.

“That’s George Russell, mom!”

At that name your blood ran cold. Oh no.

“Will, how do you know him?”

“Jeez mom, everybody around knows him! He used to race here as a kid. He’s cool!”

Well, it was inevitable.

Her eyes carefully found George, seeing him interacting with the youngsters. He looked good, more mature and composed. Also his hairstyle was different, giving him a manly touch. Wrinkles around his eyes were still the same, but more apparent, when he smiled. And his eyes.. god, they were the same mesmerising blue colour.

Will left her standing there, getting through the small crowd of kids, to get his signature from him.

“Mr. Russell? George. Can you please sign this? You’re my inspiration.”

His small teeth appearing in grin as he gave George his cap. George’s eyes fell onto him, smiling cheerfully as he signed the cap.

“Just call me George, I’m not much formal person, when it comes to kids. I want to be friendly, because I know how exciting is to meet your idol.”

William’s eyes were glowing with happiness as he held the now signed cap.

“You’re amazing! Thank you.”

George smiled at the boy, watching him running to his mom. It was strange, because he looked familiar. His smile faded as he saw you, looking down at the boy with proud smile.

“Mom! I’m so happy, look!”

Will was excited, nearly jumping on the spot from it.

“I never saw you this happy. Guess it was worth it.” You smiled at him, ruffling his hair.

Without another look at George, you walked to prepare Will for karting session. You thought that he hasn’t noticed you.

George stood afar, watching the kids getting ready, but giving his main attention to you and your son. Will was already giving you hard time with his rolling eyes, sighs and “of course, mom”. While you wore your worried face, furrowing brows there and there, kissing him on his forehead and then fastening his small helmet securely.

When the session started, you moved to the sidelines, watching the circuit with heavy heart and tightness in chest.

“He’s a natural talent, I must say.”

The well known deep voice made you froze in place, your palms sweaty and your throat dry. Carefully, you turned to look at George.

“He is. I can’t keep him calm for a moment straight.”

Trying to hold your voice steady, you looked back at the track. George took a place beside her, doing the same.

“It’s been a long time.”

The ridiculous situation made you chuckle.

“I don’t even know what to say.”

“Yeah, me too.”

The silence between you was thick as hell. Both of you had your own reels of thoughts in your minds.

“I often thought about meeting you again one day. What would I say to you. And I’m saying I’m sorry.”

You lifted your gaze at him, feeling surprised but somehow deeply satisfied.

“It’s okay.”

“It’s not. I was a total jerk back then. I should’ve acted more like an adult, I hurt you.”

The pain of the past years hit you like a train, while you just nodded.

“It’s strange seeing you happy now. You’re a caring mom, from what I saw. I guess the father must be proud too.”

That was the moment you snorted a little, making him confused.

“Look, George… I… I’m sorry too. We were young and it was a little selfish from me to want you to take responsibility.”

“We should’ve talk about it more that day. It’s one of the few things I regret in my life.”

“Well… I’m sorry that I disappeared. But I was so sad, hurt and scared, that I was sure that I need to do things alone. And I did a damn good job.”

George frowned a little, turning his head to look at you.

“William is six years old by the way.”

You said with sigh, locking your eyes with his. At first he didn’t understand. Then, it clicked in his brain. Pointing to track and gasping in shock, his eyes went wide. You just nodded.

Silence was deafening, while George collapsed at the nearby bench, sitting there speechless.

“William? You named him William?”

You took a seat beside him with soft hum.

“Holy fuck. I’m so shocked.”

“I’m sorry. You would find out sooner or later. And now I’ll be a fool. Fooling you, my parents, your parents, but mostly Will. I told him that his father and I broke up before his birth. He didn’t question it.”

George shook violently, running his hands through his hair.

“You kept this for yourself for many years. You kept the baby. Oh my god.. I missed so much. Six years.”

“I loved you and it hurt, I hadn’t had the heart to get an abortion. And I don’t regret that decision.”

He took your hand in his, the distant warmth of his touch seeping into your skin, making you smile.

“I want to be present in his life. I want to get to know him, to give him everything I could. I want to be a father I should’ve been.”

Your smile grew wide, tears glistening in your eyes.

“Sure, but it’ll take time. I need to reveal it to him carefully. I might be on the black list for a while, but he’d be over the moon, that George Russell is his dad.”

George let out a soft laugh, his voice shaky.

“I’ll take any time in the world. I’ll make it worth it. I won’t disappoint him. I won’t disappoint you.”

[synthetickitsune]

Mingyu (SVT) | Late night walk comfort | 0.7k | gn!reader

He finds you lying down on your bed, windows wide open and the cool night air flowing in.

“If it was safe, if I didn’t have to go to work tomorrow, I’d be out there. Walking, wandering,” you explain. Your voice sounds calm but you’re anything but. Call it his sixth sense, but he knows.

“I can help with the first one,” Mingyu gives you a soft smile, “And for the second… I could call in for you? Be your witness that you’re not feeling well? That wouldn’t work right…” 

You smile and it breaks his heart. The moisture collecting in the corner of your eyes carves deeper lines into the cracks.

“It’s okay,” you close your eyes, “I’m just sad.”

He can see that, but he’s helpless as to how he can help. He goes over the day - was there something to cause this? He goes over the whole week in his head, but he can’t come up with anything that could trigger this state. Not like it’s that simple. He knows sometimes it just happens. But he wishes it wouldn’t. He wishes that there always was something concrete, something that he could protect you against.

He takes a seat next to you, slowly stroking the top of your head.

“We can go for a short walk if you’d like,” he offers, still hopeful despite everything. He knows it’s not worth it - it’s late, before you put on clothes, shoes, then change and shower again, you’ll just spend more time with all that than the actual walk.

“It’s fine. It’s late anyway and going home too soon would just make me feel worse and more hopeless,” you sigh. While he’s not completely convinced, he lets it go. It’s better to trust you on this anyway.

He lays down, watching your face for reaction as he pulls you closer and wraps his body around yours. He feels reassured when you turn to lay on your side and snuggle closer to him.

“I’ll be fine,” you mumble into his chest, “I just need to rest. I need a vacation.”

He perks up. Mingyu knows it’s gonna take a lot of effort and planning to make it work but a nice long vacation, just the two of you, sounds like something he wouldn’t mind toiling endlessly for. 

“You’re working too hard,” he says while rubbing your back, “I’m surprised you’re not talking about work while you sleep.”

“You wouldn’t know anyway, you sleep like a log,” you grumble. He can’t refute that, so he just chuckles.

“I promise I’ll take you somewhere nice,” his voice softens, “Somewhere you won’t need to worry about anything at all.”

“I’ll have to worry about you,” you tilt your head up with a tired smile, “That you’ll wander off and get lost, beating girls off with a stick and stuff.”

He pouts, however happy he is to see you smile, he pouts deeply and whines. He knows you’ll do just what you do - pull him in for a kiss. He breaks into a wide smile when your lips meet his. It doesn’t last long before you cuddle up to him again but it’s enough.

“We should sleep,” you state. You always say that around this time. Only usually it’s laughing because you’re too in love with him to just cut your time with him short, or sulking because you want to watch one more episode. Not dejected like you’re giving up. And Mingyu still has no idea how to help.

“Sometimes sleep helps,” he whispers, more to himself than to you. Sometimes there’s nothing else to do but sleep and hope for the best.

He murmurs a goodnight into your hair and gets equally soft a response from you. He’s not entirely happy with the day ending like this. And it’s not like either of you will fall asleep any time soon.

He uses that time to think - how can he help? How can he lift even a little bit of the burden off your shoulders?

He falls asleep troubled by his helplessness and he doesn’t realize that he holds you too tight in his sleep. Or that you’re grateful; that it’s the only reason you fall asleep at all.

[pastryfication]

can you do something with lando or oscar where the reader does really bad on a test or exam that they studied a lot for and so he comforts them? i'm pretty sure i just failed my chem exam 😭

i choose lando bc it’s been awhile since i’ve written for him! hope you liked this, it was a bit quick but i wanted to post it for you asap 💗

hours upon hours of studying had let to this moment. sleepless nights and numerous crying sessions culminated in this. this test had been all you had thought of—it felt as though every aspect of your life had been about this moment in the last time.

you really needed to do well on this test, it was so so important to you. so when the result came back and you had failed, it felt as if your whole world crumbled.

you were supposed to pass. you were supposed to be smart. you had studied so relentlessly, so why wasn’t it enough?

when you came home to your apartment, you wanted nothing more than to go to bed and never get up. just stay there, in the warm comfort of your duvet forever.

but as you opened the door, something even better awaited you.

your boyfriend stood there in all his glory, an exited smile on his face. “welcome home, love!” lando sounded so joyful that you wanted to cry. you had failed him. he was going to be so disappointed that you didn’t pass after he spent so much time helping you study. the thought was almost unbearable for you, and you could feel your bottom lip start to tremble.

“i failed, lan.” your voice came out wobbly, the sadness more than evident. “i failed the test.”

his smile immediately turned into a frown, and in two strides he was by your side, enveloping you in a hug.

“oh, babe.” he leaned down to press a kiss to the top of your head, cradling you close to his chest.

his voice, tinged with so much empathy, was enough to open the floodgates, and before you knew it, you were bawling into his chest, all the emotions you had tried so hard to conceal on the way home coming rushing out.

“i don’t get it,” you hiccuped into his chest. “i studied so hard. i tried my absolute best…” your grip on his hoodie tightened and his arms around your back pulled you even closer in response. “i gave it my all and it still wasn’t enough.”

his heart broke at the defeat in your voice and it took him a moment to gather himself. he didn’t know what to say. didn’t know how to comfort you, so he just held on tight, kissing your head repeatedly and murmuring soft “i love you”’s into your hair.

“baby,” after a while of just standing there, he finally spoke up. “it’s- it’s okay to fail.” he pulled back, taking your cheeks in his warms hands to look you in the eye. “it didn’t go as you hoped, yeah, but the important thing is that you’ve tried. you gave it everything you had and that’s so incredible. you’re so incredible. you always give 110 percent, even when you don’t get it in return, and i’m so proud of you for that. for- for not giving up. it may feel hopeless right now, but it’ll get better. i promise. you’ll do better on the next one—or maybe you won’t, and that’s okay too.”

he ended his speech with a warm kiss to your lips, and you didn’t know wether to laugh or cry again. the way he cradled your face with such adoration, the way he stumbled over his words, desperate to say exactly what you needed to hear, it was just too much.

he was so perfect. the best boyfriend you could have asked for in that moment.

[ofoceansandtombsanew]

How the Straw Hats Love (As Told By Tarot) Pt I

cw. gn!reader, headcanons, tarot pairing. luffy x reader, zoro x reader, sanji x reader, usopp x reader notes. i've been meaning to this for the straw hats but considering the... amount of crewmates there are lol, i thought why not start with 4 of the bois. next i definitely want to do robin, nami, franky and... hmm maybe jinbei? but to start, our east blue boys! deck. prisma vision tarot, true black tarot

monkey d. luffy

seven of swords, ten of chalices, page of chalices

he isn't just your partner, luffy is your best friend. he knows loneliness and loss too well for comfort and he doesn't want you to ever feel the same way. in a lot of ways, it feels like luffy knows you better than yourself. you never have to question how luffy feels, he's honest and wears his heart on his sleeves. he loves you and he shows it freely through his actions. he doesn't lie to himself and he doesn't want you lying to yourself whether it be how you feel about him or any other aspect of your life. so much love flows from monkey d. luffy and his person for any and everyone, but you're someone special above the rest. you're a treasure among treasures. you're someone who makes him happy and he strives to make you happy. your dreams are just as important to him as his own. what makes you happy might not make always align with his own but he's sure to approach those things with with enthusiasm.

roronoa zoro

three of wands, the emperor, two of wands, six of cups

zoro's dream is to become the world's strongest swordsman. there's not really much else he took into account otherwise as far as what may happen on the path there. he couldn't have predicted luffy, the crew and her certainly never predicted you. in spite of that, zoro hones in on you much like a traveler following a guiding light. his goals allow for much leeway on the path there, there's nothing holding back his devotion and loyalty to you. your relationship is a promise and nothing this man does makes you doubt this promise. there's a tenderness in how he touches you and approaches you but he doesn't doubt your own strength. he trusts in it as much as you trust in his. zoro's is a love that feels like it approaches a part of your lost youth. the things neither of you might have had the chance the done when you were younger but can now indulge in fully by each other's side. enjoy the ride.

black leg sanji

the lovers, seven of pentacles, the fool, the anant

much to no one's surprise, the man's a hopeless romantic. sanji heartily believes in soulmates and fated persons and can only hope he's someone lucky enough to have one of his own. despite being a flirt, sanji isn't one who loves casually. when sanji has his person, he's as loyal and dedicated as they come; investing as much you give him. any love you give him, he appreciates a hundred times fold. if given another chance at life, he truly means it when he says there isn't a thing in his life he'd change if he knows that is the path that will lead him right back to you. there's a darkness to sanji, however. one that doesn't allow him to truly see the value of his person. he stumbles much like a blindfolded child in his yearning in spite of this. he wants so much to make you happy that he needs to be reminded in the importance of his own happiness as well.

god usopp

page of chalices, the tower, judgement, three of wands

usopp's no stranger to unexpected and, at time's disastrous situations. being part of a crew such as his own, he's learned to be prepared for it. there's no rainbow without the rain and if you have no umbrella, usopp is right there to craft one with his ingenuity and the resources at hand. the days of his pessimism and cowardice aren't entirely gone, but when it comes to someone having your back you can count on usopp completely and so too can you trust his affections for you. he might not be the strongest person and he's not the bravest, but his love for you is only ten times stronger. he encourages your creativity and he's tactful when gauging your wellbeing. usopp's desire for strength only stems from his desire to protect those he holds most dear. a brave warrior of the sea won't strive for anything less. out of all the things he imagines for his future, your image is the clearest.

[brbsoulnomming]

Heart On Your Sleeve Part 7

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

written for steddiebigbang2024 and belatedly posting here!

-----

Steve's half asleep on the couch when Dustin arrives the next day, and Robin lets him in.

“Hearts out,” Dustin demands immediately.

Steve winces. “Not a good idea, bud. My ribs are-”

“It's not your ribs,” Dustin interrupts. “You think I didn't see some blood when you were waving your heart around? Don't treat me like a baby, Steve, come on.”

Robin looks at him, and Steve shrugs.

“Okay,” he says, and Robin takes his heart out from her chest.

It looks better than it did yesterday, but it's still pretty pulpy, and Dustin goes pale.

“Steve,” he whispers, voice cracking.

“It's getting better,” Steve promises.

Dustin frowns, looking between him and Robin. “Are you having trouble breathing again? Why is Robin holding it?”

“It heals better when someone else has it,” Steve says. “Some kind of science thing.”

Dustin's frown deepens, then smooths out, and he holds his hands out to Robin. “My turn.”

“Dustin, I'm not going to ask you to-” Steve starts.

“You can't ask, I'm telling you I'm going to,” Dustin retorts. “I'm the first person who carried it, remember?”

Steve looks at Robin. She shrugs, and he can feel that she's not opposed to it, so he shrugs back. She hands his heart over to Dustin. There's some fumbling as Steve gives Robin's heart back to her and takes Dustin's instead, and then -

Huh.

Dustin is just as stubborn as he's always seemed, but underneath that is a quiet fear and a sense of love deeper than anything Steve's ever felt - other than from Robin.

“Come here.”

Steve gives him a hug - or as much of a hug as he can manage - then leans back on the couch again. “Breakfast's in the kitchen,” he says, already closing his eyes.

—

The next time he opens them, it's to the sound of half a dozen gremlins talking in what's probably supposed to be hushed tones.

“How did you all even get in here?” he asks.

They jump, then Dustin juts his chin out.

“I called them,” he says.

“We are here to help,” El says solemnly.

“Dustin told us what happened,” Lucas says.

Steve grimaces. “Look, you guys don't have to-”

“Will it work?” El asks.

Steve blinks at her. “Will what work?”

“If I try to heal your heart. Dustin says he looked it up, and it works best if it's someone you care about. Am I?”

Oh, that's just cheating. How is he supposed to protest with those eyes looking at him.

“Yeah, Ellie, of course you are. It'll work.”

She holds out her hands determinedly. "I don't have my powers. I couldn't save my - my dad, but I can do this. I can help you."

And that's that.

The next thing he knows, they've scheduled up a rotation along with Robin, and taken over his house, setting themselves up to watch TV or play games or do whatever else.

He finds himself alone with El, and he looks at her for a moment before asking, “Do you like cookies?”

Of course she likes cookies.

Steve can't actually do much work, but he can sit at the kitchen table and give directions, and she determinedly follows all of them as she puts together cookie dough.

He can feel the rough edges of her grief and her hopelessness, and he tries to give back as much support as he can.

She isn't alone.

“May I ask you something?” she asks, when a batch of cookies are in the oven and they're eating cookie dough.

“Sure,” he says.

“Dustin is not your brother.”

That's not a question, but he answers it anyway. “Not the way Mike is Nancy's brother or Will is Jonathan's, no.”

She frowns. “I don't understand,” she admits. “Mike says you are brave. That he likes you better now that you're not Nancy's boyfriend. I thought - you are like Mike.”

Oh, he is definitely remembering that for later. “Like Mike how?”

“Mike stepped off of a cliff for Dustin.”

Steve's brain screeches to a halt. “Mike what?”

“There were mouth breathers - bullies. They threatened to hurt Dustin if Mike didn't jump. He did. I caught him,” she's quick to reassure him, like that's what he's stuck on. “So - I thought you are like Mike. You protect your friends.”

“Like you, too,” Steve says, deciding to table the whole Mike thing for now. “You protect your friends.”

She smiles at him, a tiny, fleeting thing before her face scrunches in confusion. “But Max and Dustin and Lucas were not always your friends. Max says you jumped in front of a demodog the day you met her. I don't understand.”

Yeah, Steve's not sure he really understands either - a feeling she must pick up, because she looks even more confused.

“I just - wanted to help.” It sounds even lamer than it did when he said that about cleaning up the graffiti at the theater, but it's what he's got. “Maybe - we don't have to be like anyone, you know? We can just be like us. We can just want to help.”

Her expression smooths out, and he can feel - she kind of likes that.

“What I like,” she says, which is clearly a call back to something else with the way she's feeling, though he has no idea what.

It's okay. He doesn't really have to know what, he thinks - they understand each other.

And they have cookies.

—

He calls Mrs. Byers, just to make sure she knows where Will and El are.

She does, of course, but he also wants to check on her.

Her voice is unsteady and thick with grief, but she tells him not to worry about her, asks how the kids are doing, how he is.

He doesn't want to worry her, either, but he tells her what the kids’ plan is, how hard they're trying to help him.

How guilty he feels about it.

She's gentle when she tells him to let them help, that they care about him and they want to be able to do something good. He promises he will, and that he'll look after them.

He wishes he could do more.

—

Mike's up next, like he wants to get it over with.

Steve wants to tease him about the whole thinking he's brave thing, but when he's hit with everything Mike feels - worry and love and pride and protectiveness and how can I keep them all safe what am I supposed to do, he finds he doesn't want to give him a hard time.

Mike's angry at him, but he's angry at him because he's scared. Because he doesn't want to like him, doesn't want to trust him, but he does.

Mike likes him a whole lot, actually.

And Steve guesses that Mike can feel his own slightly amused fondness, because the kid scowls at him. “What?”

“Nothing,” Steve replies.

He thinks for a while, while Mike sullenly sits at the kitchen table with him and pretends like Steve doesn't know that he actually has feelings.

Eventually, even though he knows it's going to get him scoffed at, he says, “Do you know why teams have co-captains?”

Mike rolls his eyes. “Because they're too stupid to figure out how to play themselves?”

He tamps down on his irritation, though he knows not quickly enough, because Mike looks smug.

“So there's more than one person to make the hard choices. So if one person can't be there, the other can. So no one has to be in two places at once. So one person doesn't have to be everything to everyone,” Steve continues.

Mike scoffs, but Steve can still feel that it resonates with him. “Your stupid sports game is way less important than real life danger.”

“Yeah, sure. But so is your dragons game, and you guys use that all the time.”

He can feel that Mike wants to protest, though he also reluctantly thinks that Steve's right.

“So, what, you think we should pick captains for our Party?” Mike asks.

“Nah. You're already the party leader, right?” Steve asks. He knows that's how Mike sees himself, knows that's the pressure he puts on himself.

Now more than ever.

“But last time and this time, we had to split up, right? And you can't be everywhere.”

“You don't get it,” Mike says. “It's my job to protect them. How am I supposed to do it if I can't look out for everyone?”

“You get some help. Look - that's what I'm here for, all right? Let me help watch out for you guys.”

Mike snorts. “You?”

Steve raises an eyebrow. “Yeah, I think it's worked out so far.”

Mike glances away. Whatever he's thinking of, there's the faint memory of fear and an unbidden, reluctant wash of relief, of safety.

“Fine,” he mutters. “Whatever, you're in the Party.”

Steve doesn't point out that he's already been in it, according to some of them. He has a feeling that's the most he's going to get out of Mike, for now.

It's enough.

—

It's easy, with Max and Lucas.

Probably easier than it should be.

He and Max swap, and he sits with her angry, confused grief. He can feel her daring him to say something, so - he doesn't.

He opens his arms, and he says, “Come here,” and she's exhausted enough that she does.

He hugs her tight while she cries into his chest, angry with herself for crying and angry with Billy for being so terrible and saving her life anyway. Angry with Steve, too, but that one's too complicated for him to figure out with the echoes of the feelings he gets from her.

“I'm here,” he says after a while, even though it makes her cry harder. “I'm right here.”

He sits with Lucas, after, staring at the door where El and Max have retreated to try to get some sleep.

“I don't know how to help her,” Lucas says.

He doesn't sound lost, but his heart beats in Steve's chest, and he can feel it anyway.

“Me either,” Steve admits, because he knows Lucas can feel it from him, too.

“What am I supposed to do?” Lucas asks.

Steve thinks for a moment. “Be there for her. Don't push her, but make sure she knows you're there. That you're not going anywhere.”

Some of the helplessness fades, and Lucas nods.

“Yeah, I can do that.”

They're quiet for a little bit.

“I want to try out for the basketball team,” Lucas says suddenly, then shoots an almost shy little look over at Steve at his pleased surprise.

“That's awesome, man. You want to get some more practice in after a few weeks?” Steve asks.

Lucas nods, then hesitates. “I don't think that Mike and Dustin and Will are going to like it.”

Steve frowns. “They like me okay.”

“Well, yeah, but that's different. We used to think you were a douchebag.”

It startles a laugh out of Steve. “Wow, thanks, Sinclair.”

Lucas shrugs, unapologetic. “We know you aren't now. But they're going to think I'm abandoning them.”

Steve considers. “Are you?”

“No! I'll still play D&D and stuff with them, we'll still be the Party. I want to prove you can do both. I want - I don't want people to mess with them. I want to do what you did.”

Steve swallows, suddenly a little choked up. He wishes he could blame it on his injuries, but he knows damn well Lucas can feel how touched he is.

“You're gonna be great, man,” he says when he has himself more under control. “You're gonna be way better than I ever was.”

—

When Will's up in the little rotation the gremlins have worked out, he lingers a few steps away, hesitant.

"Hey, man, you don't have to," Steve says awkwardly. "I can tell the other gremlins that you're needed at home."

Will looks at him for a moment. "Do I count?"

"What?" Steve asks.

"You didn't hunt a demodog with me, or barricade a bus in a junkyard, or fight off a bully, or go to the Upside Down tunnels, or invade a Russian bunker. You just let me into movies for free and let me hang out at your house with everyone. Is that enough?" Will's tone had been very matter of fact, but it goes a little bit more tenuous there.

"Yeah," Steve says. "Yeah, it is."

Will comes up to the table, holding his hands out expectantly, and Steve drops his heart into them.

It doesn't hurt, but by now, he doesn't expect it to. Steve's not sure he'll ever be able to thank any of the kids for this, but if Joyce is right, if being able to do something helps them after everything they just went through, then he guesses he's glad for that.

The awkwardness lingers a little after they've exchanged hearts. Probably because now they can feel an echo of each other's feelings. It makes Steve scramble for a topic.

"Mike and Lucas apologize to you yet?" Steve asks.

Will looks at him in confusion. "What for?"

"You think I didn't notice they've been kind of shitty? My money's on Mike being more insensitive about it, but Lucas has been right there with him, you know? Ditching Dustin half the time since he's been back, and before that it was always you playing fifth wheel."

Will looks a little surprised. “How'd you even notice that?”

"Because the same thing happened to me," Steve admits.

"I doubt it," Will mutters.

"It did!" Steve insists. "I had two best friends growing up. Then in middle school, they started dating, and suddenly every time we hung out I was the third wheel. It drove me nuts at first."

Will frowns. "Wait, but. You were always dating girls."

"Well, yeah, because I knew I was supposed to. I did a lot of things because it was what I was supposed to do." Steve'd liked all of them well enough, enjoyed dating them - especially once he started having sex and realized how good at it he could be - but he's not going to pretend like there isn't a reason his relationships didn't last very long.

Nancy'd been the only one he could see a forever with.

The kid's brows furrow, like he's not really sure what to do with that information.

"My point is-” Steve points at him with his spoon. “-don't let them rush you, or make you feel like you have to do something you don't want to do just to fit in with them. They're a lot better friends than mine were; they'll understand."

Will considers that. "Jonathan says I should never like something just because people tell me I should. That it's okay that I'm a freak, because he's a freak, too.”

“Yeah?” Steve asks. “What'd you say back?”

Will scrunches his nose. “I asked if that was why he didn't have any friends.”

He shouldn't, but Steve gives a little snort of laughter. Oh, no, Will is funny.

“Your brother has friends,” Steve protests, to counter his laughter. “He's got Nancy and me.”

Will rolls his eyes. “Nancy's his girlfriend.”

“Point in your favor,” Steve admits. “Still leaves me. And Robin will be his friend.”

Will toys with an apple from the fruit basket on the island. “Are you and Jonathan even really friends? It's not like you guys hang out.”

“Ouch, Byers, I thought you were the nice one,” Steve says, giving the kid a fond little smile to show he doesn't mean it. “There's different kinds of friends, I guess. Did, uh. Did Jonathan ever tell you how I got involved with all this?”

“Not really.” Will says with a shrug. “Just that you and him and Nancy fought a demogorgon.”

“That's because your brother's a good guy,” Steve tells him, then nudges the chair across from him.

It only moves a handful of inches, making Steve grimace - he'd wanted to kick it all the way out from under the table, but clearly he's not at full kicking strength. Still, it does the job, and Will takes a seat.

“I saw Nancy and Jonathan together on her bed one night, when she and I had just started dating. She couldn't tell me about the Upside Down stuff yet, but I knew she was lying, and I thought they were seeing each other behind my back.”

Will's looking at him, eyes huge, and it makes guilt twist in his stomach at the thought of what he said to Jonathan that day.

“We got in a fight the next day,” Steve admits. “I was really mean to him. So I went to your house later to apologize, and that's when I stumbled in on him and Nancy setting their trap. I gotta tell you, it was a really rude awakening, getting my apology speech interrupted by a demogorgon.”

“Try getting your bike ride home interrupted by one,” Will says dryly.

For a moment, Steve wonders if he should feel guilty bringing it up and potentially traumatizing the kid, but - Will doesn't look like he wants to be tiptoed around, and he can feel the faint trepidation from the kid's heart beating in his chest. The fear that someone's going to treat you different.

So Steve snorts instead. “Okay, you've got me beat,” he concedes. “You win the gold medal of demogorgon attacks.”

“Thanks.” It's just as dry, but Will's smiling at Steve like he said the right thing, so he'll take it. “Do I get an actual medal?”

Steve gives a surprised little laugh. “You know what? Sure. Come on.”

His pace is slow as he heads upstairs, and out of the corner of his eye, he's pretty sure he sees Will's hands twitch like he's debating trying to help him up. Steve resolutely ignores it until they get to his room, and then he unearths his first place medal from the medley swimming relay in eighth grade.

“Hang on, let me-” Steve digs around for some duct tape and a sharpie, then slaps a strip of tape on the back of the medal, pressing it down to get it to stick well. He writes demogorgan attack on the tape, blows on it to get it to dry, then hands it to Will with all the solemnity as if he was actually presenting him with a first place medal.

“Oh my God,” Will says, looking a little gobsmacked. “You're a nerd. You're one of us!”

“Hey! You spread that around, and I'll take your medal back!” Steve threatens.

“No way,” Will retorts. “Come back when you get dragged into the Upside Down by a demogorgon for dinner.”

“No thanks,” Steve says. “It's all yours.”

Will is beaming at him, and Steve kind of hates to ruin the mood - but he also really has to sit down. The downside to having them all on a rotation of heart exchanges is that he can't hide when it gets really bad.

He sits down on his bed while he can still do it without just dropping down onto the mattress. Will watches him for a moment, then carefully sits on the bed too, a foot or so away from him.

“So - that's why you and Jonathan are friends? You apologized and you fought a monster together?” Will asks.

“Yeah, I guess so. Look, there's different kinds of friends, right? There's the friends you have because you share a class together, or the ones you play the same sport - or, uh, hobby with, or the ones you just hang out with sometimes. And then there's the good ones, the ones who know you. Jonathan and I might not hang out outside of school, but I know he's got my back, and I've got his. Any time he needed me, I'd be right there.”

His feelings about Jonathan are - complicated, but that's the truth. Whatever else, Steve cares about the guy a hell of a lot, trusts him like he trusts very few others.

Steve's not sure what Will can pick up from him, but it must be enough to convince him that Steve's sincere, because he just quietly says, “Oh.”

“That goes for you, too,” Steve tells him. “Okay? You need me, I'm there.”

Will's cheeks go just a little pink, and there's a faint flutter of some kind in his heart, but Steve can't really tell what it is. “Okay.”

They're quiet for a moment, but it's not really awkward anymore - or at least, not beyond Steve trying to figure out how long before he's going to be able to get himself back downstairs without leaning on anyone.

“Did you date Nancy because you were supposed to?” Will asks after a while.

“Nancy's different,” Steve replies automatically, hearing an echo of himself saying the same thing to Dustin the day they were looking for Dart, and knowing it's just as true now as it was then, even if he's over her now - or as over her as he thinks he'll ever be.

Will mulls that over. “So - I might find a girl one day that's different, even if I've never liked girls before?”

There's something about the way that Will says it that sends him back into the Starcourt bathroom with Robin, watching her stare at him as he said but Tammy Thompson's a girl, waiting for it to click into place for him, and -

Oh.

Oh, shit.

Oh, shit, he thinks he's accidentally implied something he didn't really mean to imply here. He thinks about trying to stutter out a clarification, that when Steve said he did it because he was supposed to, he didn't mean that he didn't like girls - he loves girls, girls are fantastic -

But.

But there's Eddie.

Will's voice had been so small, and whatever he can feel from Steve's heart in his chest is making his eyes go wide and scared, and it -

“Maybe,” Steve finds himself saying before he really knows what he's talking about. “But maybe not. And that's - that's okay. Whoever you like, or don't like, whoever you want to date or not date, it's okay.”

Steve pauses, feels like that isn't enough, and scrunches his face up. “Unless they're like, objectively terrible. If you get a crush on some little asshole, I can and will make fun of you.”

There's a ghost of a smile there. “Like Dustin and Suzie?” he asks.

“Way worse than Dustin and Suzie,” Steve says. “I had to be nice about Suzie, because everyone thought Dustin was making her up. I'm talking no holds barred here.”

—

"Do you think that guy's dead?"

Steve doesn't have to ask what guy Dustin means. He grimaces a little, because even if he wanted to, there's no way he can lie with their hearts in each other's chests. "We blew up their lab, man, I think most of them are dead."

Dustin frowns, looking like he's not sure if he thinks that's a good enough answer.

"I guess," he says finally. Then, so quietly Steve can barely hear it, Dustin asks, "Am I a bad person?"

"What?" Steve asks, thrown. "You've saved the world how many times now?"

Dustin gives him a look. "The same amount of times that you have."

Steve bumps Dustin's shoulder with the back of his knuckles. "Saved Nancy and Jonathan, maybe, but not sure how much world saving I did the first time. You got one up on me."

Dustin rolls his eyes. "Basically the same."

"All right, all right," Steve says. "We've saved the world a few times. Bad people don't usually do that."

Dustin fiddles with the hem of his shirt. "Billy did. Kind of. He helped, at the end. Does that make him a good person?"

Shit, Steve is way too concussed for this.

"No," he says after a little while. "I don't think so. Maybe if he had more time, but I don't think one good thing that he did while he was already dying makes up for all the other bad things he did."

Dustin screws up his face in concentration, then nods. "Me too."

Steve'd really like to just end the conversation there, but he's pretty sure Dustin needs him to keep going, and, well.

He's always going to be there when Dustin needs him.

"What makes you think you're a bad person?" he asks.

Dustin stares at his hands for a little while. "I don't feel bad."

Steve tries to make sense of that for a moment, then gives up. "You lost me."

"I killed that guy," Dustin says, looking back up at him almost defiantly. "And I don't feel bad. I'm not sorry he's dead."

Guilt stabs through him so strongly that he knows Dustin must feel some of it, and he grimaces a little when Dustin frowns at him.

"What was that?" Dustin asks.

"I'm sorry that you had to do that," Steve says. "It's not fair."

Dustin scoffs. "None of this is fair."

All right, yeah, Dustin's got a point. Okay, new tactic.

"Look at me, Dust," Steve says softly.

Dustin pulls a face. "I am looking at you."

"Ugh, no, I mean look at me." Steve waves a hand at himself.

"You look like shit," Dustin tells him.

"Exactly," Steve agrees. "You know why I look like shit?"

There's an echo of something remarkably similar to the guilt Steve just felt.

"Because of me," Dustin says, voice small.

Shit.

"What? No! How is this your fault?" Steve asks.

"I pushed the Russian message thing. You only looked into it because I wanted to," Dustin says.

"That's not - I looked into it for the same reason I helped you look for Dart, okay? Because I'm in this, and we're in this together, and if there's something out there, it's going to find us. That's not your fault."

Dustin doesn't look convinced.

"There is nothing that's going to keep me away from being in this with you, okay? Even if you didn't push me. Even if you didn't even tell me. I'd find out, and then I'd be mad." He pauses. "Like, really mad. Like telling your mom you ditched me and got in trouble so she doesn't let you leave the house for a year mad."

"Okay, okay," Dustin says, but he looks happier. "So what was your point, then?"

His point?

Right, his point.

"I look like shit because of the dead guy and his buddies." Part of Steve thinks he should hedge around this, try to sugarcoat it a little, but - treating Dustin like he's a kid who can't handle this isn't going to do anything. "You saw my heart, Dustin. You think the guys who did that were just going to let me walk out of there?"

Dustin looks at him, eyes big. "No," he admits quietly.

"The only reason I'm still standing here is because of you. I mean it, man - I'd be dead without you. And it sucks that you had to do that, and I wish I could have been faster or better, saved you from being the one that had to, but I'm not sorry that he's dead, either. Maybe that makes me a bad person. Maybe I'm a bad person because I would do the same thing, because I'd have killed all of them to protect you and I wouldn't feel bad at all."

Dustin's lip quivers a little. "You're not a bad person, Steve."

"Neither are you," Steve tells him.

The kid's eyes look suspiciously wet. Steve shifts, straightening up a little and lifting his arms.

"Come here."

Dustin drops down onto the couch, squished into his side. Steve drapes his arm over his shoulder, gingerly hugging him, and pretending that he can't hear Dustin's quiet sniffles or feel the shake of his shoulders.

"You're like the best person I know," Steve says softly.

"You too," Dustin replies, voice a little wet. "You're gonna be okay, right?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna be fine."

His heart might not ever be the same, but with all of them trying so hard to keep it together and help it heal - it makes him feel pathetic, but he kind of thinks he might be even better.

It seems a good enough response for Dustin, who stays tucked in against his side, eyes slipping shut like he's going to fall asleep right there.

Steve wants to bitch about it, but he also doesn't want to move, so he just lets it happen.

"I used to be so jealous of Mike and Will," Dustin mutters sleepily after a while.

"Yeah?" Steve asks absently.

"All this sucks, and they had Nancy and Jonathan," Dustin says.

"Mmm," Steve agrees, feeling pretty close to sleep himself.

"I'm not anymore though."

"No?" Steve asks.

"Nah," Dustin mumbles. "You're way better than Nancy and Jonathan."

This is already written, and my plan is to post one part a day until it's all up here!

----

Part 8

Taglist (always happy to add more to this if anyone wants): @fairytalesreality @lostonceandneverfound @wheneverfeasible @awkwardgravity1 @theintrovertedintrovert @thewickedkat @ravenfrog @scarlet-malfoy @missmagillicuddy @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @ollyxar @cringe-culture-is-dead-99 @thedragonsaunt @makewavesandwar @cryptid-system @ajeff855 @mae-liz @the-fantastical-asexual @jettestar @warlordess @persnicketysquares @samsoble @my-love-of-books @mydysfunctionallife @dreamercec @holyangelstudentuniverse @breealtair @shunna @xtraordinarally @thatdamnfan @justalittledrainbamage @strangerfolks @disrespectedgoatman @amber-ambience @anxietyfulloption @thepossummoldypasta

[spatialwave]

i am LOVING your angus tully content 💕 would you please write an angus tully x reader where the reader meets angus in boston while they’re ice skating and then they get to know each other as they explore the city, sort of ‘before sunrise’ style and hunham gives them the space to do so? if you don’t like this idea though that’s totally okay!! have a lovely day regardless :)

𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫

pairing: angus tully x fem!reader word count: 4k notes: reader is very nervous & dorky! thank u for sending 🤎

the chilly december air stung your cheeks, leaving them reddened and sore, but that didn’t stop you from braving the weather and heading to the public skating rink. your friends had cancelled on you last minute, one of them falling sick with a nasty cold and the other deciding that her boyfriend was more important than a night with you during the festivities that boston had to offer. you couldn't be angry at her, though, you were a hopeless romantic at heart and would do the same if you had a boyfriend. you were happy that your best friend found someone so perfect for her, you dreamed of finding him too—the perfect boy.

though, you usually just giggled in your bed at night when you imagined yourself spending the rest of your life with david cassidy. that was much easier than finding real love.

so, alone you were as you willed your way ahead through the boston streets where your father had dropped you off. you promised yourself you'd start getting out of your nervous shell and what better way to test it than being alone at a skating rink? especially when you were notoriously clumsy and horrendous at skating.

if you could do this, you could do anything.

as you approached the skating rink you felt an overwhelming sense of anxiety flooding you. there were a lot of people, too many people, a lot of friends giggling with each other, children learning how to skate with their parents and partners holding hands as they stared into each other's eyes lovingly. you sorely missed your friends, but you shoved that thought as deeply into your consciousness as you could because you promised yourself you wouldn't wallow in your loneliness.

and you were here, weren’t you? successfully making do without them. all you needed to do was get the skates on and make your way onto the ice—that’s all. getting here was half the battle.

comfort warmed you as you fit yourself into the hand-me-down skates your older sister had given you. you tried so hard not to think about the negatives because even if you slipped and fell, it’s not like anyone here knew you. there was not a single person on the rink that looked even the slightest bit familiar and you thanked god you lived in a busy city.

of course, you were unsuccessful in ridding those thoughts because all you could think about was that there was a likely chance you could embarrass yourself in front of a cute boy. you were too boy-crazy for your own good, your mother blamed david cassidy for it.

as you let out a shaky exhale, you darted your eyes around the exterior of the rink as you shrugged off your bag and held your winter boots in your hand. you had ran into your first problem of the evening; there was no one to watch your belongings.

that’s when you noticed an older man just to the left of you, smoking out of a pipe and watching the rink, smiling to himself. he seemed friendly enough, reminding you a lot of your grandpa. there was no better person to watch your things!

“excuse me sir,” you said to him, smiling as you approached him cautiously, “is it alright if i leave my things here next to you? i’m not skating for long… i just don’t want to take them onto the rink with me.”

the man hadn’t realized you were talking to him at first as he pulled the pipe out of his mouth and looked between you and someone on the skating rink. he smacked his lips together a few times in thought, “okay. sure, i don’t mind.” he mumbled, though you could tell that he minded.

he was grumpier than you pegged him to be.

“thank you so much! i won’t be long!” you smiled, happy that you had some form of success, but again you had to ward off the image in your head of him running off with your things. at least he’d only have stolen a woman’s snow boots and three dollars from your wallet.

as you waddled away, you hadn’t noticed that a boy on the rink had skated up to the older man, you were much too focused on not toppling over. your ankles were already wobbling back and forth as you navigated through the snow, unaware of the set of eyes that lingered on you with each step you took.

“you got this,” you breathed to yourself as you made it to the entrance, taking a long and deep breath that caught in your throat. you froze in your spot, feeling frigid as you watched the tens of people skating along the rink so seemingly expert in their ways.

a woman cleared her throat behind you and you jolted up, looking over your shoulder and seeing a mother and her two children waiting to step into the rink, “sorry!” you squealed as you hurried onto the ice and clung to the railing for dear life.

the sounds of the young kids snickering made your cheeks burn red, so you kept your eyes downward and stared at your mitten-covered hands as they gripped onto the rail. then you focused on your feet, slowly moving them back and forth on the ice as you got used to the feeling of the skates gliding across the frozen surface.

with a triumphant huff, you straightened up and slowly started to skate with your hand keeping balance on the edge, much like a learning child. at least they usually had a helper.

you had focused on this for a bit, getting into the swing of things. you looked around with a content smile, slowly moving and breathing in the crisp air as you focused on the sounds of laughter. the christmas spirit was high and you were happier than ever to be experiencing this alone, you couldn’t wait to go home and gush to your sister about your first solo adventure as a young woman.

satisfaction wasn’t fully met, however. you needed to challenge yourself further before calling it a night.

carefully, you let your hand off of the rail and moved carefully away from the edge. your eyes darted around your immediate surroundings, making sure you had enough of a clearing to start skating without bumping into anyone. a big smile grew on your face, you were by no means quick, but at least you were moving!

you focused your eyes back down on your feet, watching closely as you moved one in front of the other with intention. you were getting the hang of it, muscle memory coming back from when you skated as a kid. with your attention far from the outside world, you didn’t notice a duo of young girls coming right for you—too busy laughing amongst each other to notice you drifting in front of them.

one of the girls bumped hard into your shoulder and yelped out a sincere ‘sorry’ as you lost your balance on your feet. you almost kept yourself upright, but you quickly fell back.

you expected to crash down onto the ice with a hard thump, but two arms caught you, hooking underneath your armpits and hoisting you back upright onto your skates. you didn’t have the means to turn around all that quickly, but the person who saved you seemed to realize that, so he skated in front of you and turned to look at you. he made it seem so easy to skate backward.

“you okay?” he asked, but you hardly heard the words because you were so fascinated with how beautiful he was. he had the biggest brown eyes you’d ever seen and a head full of wild curls that he obviously tried to tame. he was also taller than you, making you feel so small under his gaze, but not threatening in the slightest. all you could do was smile at him like a dork.

your knight in shining armour.

a few moments pass and the realization hit that you had been completely silent, “thank you!” you blurted out, your eyes widening in horror because of how you were staring at him like a goddamned fool, "i'm not very good at this."

"you were doing fine until you got bulldozed over," the boy smiled, unabashedly looking you up and down. he cleared his throat and held out two of his gloved hands, "hang on."

you obeyed with no hesitation, your arms extending so you could take his gloved hands in your own. you felt your mouth go dry and you had to force your hands to stop shaking. you were always so much more anxious around boys.

"oh, god," you groaned in anticipation as he started skating backward, pulling you along and forcing you to focus on keeping balance, "you really don't have to spend your time here teaching me how to skate." you looked up at him, feeling like a burden.

"i know," he replied, grinning at you as he kept pulling you along the ice, his gaze only breaking to make sure he wasn't about to skate back into anyone. those brown eyes fell back on you, watching you with a soft gaze as you kept moving with one foot gliding in front of the other, "i'm angus."

"hi, angus," you smiled, chewing on the inside of your lip after you returned the introduction. you could feel your cheeks blushing. you looked down and at your feet again, but your lack of focus got the best of you, "ah, shit!"

just as you lost your footing and balance, nearly flying forward, angus wrapped an arm around you and laughed aloud, pulling you against him so you couldn't tip over. you could've stayed like that forever, nuzzled against this boy's chest and forgetting about the outside world.

"you're clumsy," he teased, flickering his gaze down at you as he led you both to the railing for a rest.

"you only just noticed?" you retorted playfully as you leaned against the support, letting yourself exhale in relief once you could rest the entirety of your weight against it. shyly, you looked back over to angus after a few beats of silence, "you're not here with anyone else?"

angus scrunched his nose in response, shrugging, "it's a long story."

"i like stories," you mused, not ready to let this end. whatever this was.

a breathy laugh came from him as he glanced away to look at something, you hadn't been able to follow his gaze before he was looking at you again. there was something about him that kept your attention, likely the fact that he genuinely seemed to enjoy your presence. it made you giddy and your stomach swirled with butterflies.

"well, i came here with my history teacher," he said, almost sheepishly. you looked at him with slightly furrowed brows, uncertain where this would be going, "i go to a boarding school out of town, north of here. i, uh, didn't get to spend christmas with my family and so i've been stuck at school with him as my chaperone. guess i'm good at convincing people to take me places," he chuckled, his gaze looking anywhere but at you.

"i don't think i would've guessed that story in a million years," you giggled, a smile reaching your eyes as you looked over angus' face, "sorry about your family, though. must be hard around the holidays."

"it's fine," he quipped quickly, you figured it best to not bring up his family anymore.

you fell silent for a bit, thinning your lips as you looked around and focused on your surroundings to pass the time and try to ignore the awkward silence. you watched a group of kids skating together, playfully shoving each other and laughing when one of them wiped out.

"did you want to skate again?" angus' voice broke the silence and you met his eyes. with a small nod, he smiled and gave you his hands again.

the two of you had spent another twenty minutes on the skating rink, laughing together as he taught you how to keep yourself upright. you were happy to report that you'd only fallen on your ass twice, and even when he laughed at you, you felt your heart soaring.

there must've been some good karma you stored up over the year because you weren't sure why you were blessed to run into angus on a night like this. he was cute, funny and just as awkward as you were.

once you two were tired and ready to hang the skates up, you ventured out of the rink and stood at the exit. you had to catch your breath after laughing over some joke angus had made about his time at barton, something stupid that wouldn't have made you laugh in another other situation. angus was just... nice. funny, but in an endearingly dorky way.

as you bent down to untie your skates, you straightened up with a panicked look on your face. "my stuff!" you said, looking up at angus and then around the exterior of the rink, trying to spot the man you'd left your things with. that's where the bad karma came in, leaving you with nothing.

"are you looking for these?" a third voice spoke, your eyes landing on the pipe-smoking man that angus seemed to recognize. you put the pieces together.

"yes! thank you so much!" you smiled as you took the boots from him and your bag, quickly changing into the shoes that allowed you to stand steady. you sighed softly with a smile and looked between the two men, "i, uh, thank you again, sir, for keeping an eye on my things. and thanks, angus, i'm sure by next winter i'll be an olympic figure skater," you smiled, not quite ready to leave without spending more time with the boy, but you weren't sure you'd have the choice.

as luck would have it, though, his teacher, mr. hunham, seemed to have a soft spot for the boy.

"mr. tully, i'm calling it an evening and will be heading to the hotel room, i'm rather tired this evening," the older man explained. you could see the pleading look on angus's face, "i expect to see you there within a few hours or lest you deal with multiple detentions when we're back at barton," he continued with a satisfied look on his face when angus smile, "keep an eye on him for me." he turned to you, letting out a huffy sigh as he looked between the two of you once more before turning on his heels and leaving.

angus was speechless.

"he seems like a nice man," you said in awe as you watched him, growing nervous for other reasons now.

"trust me. he's usually not," angus replied, his hands shoved into the pockets of his coat as he looked down at you, "you look cold. i think i saw i coffee shop near here. they probably have hot chocolate or something."

"okay," you smiled, forcing yourself not to let your boy-crazy giddiness get the best of you again.

as you two ventured away from the skating rink, you found yourself feeling more comfortable with each passing second and talking about yourself like an open book. you spoke about everything and nothing, his favourite band was pink floyd and he was currently halfway through reading the novel dune. you shared your own love for the partridge family show, though, you kept your lips tight about your obsession with david cassidy.

you made a mental note to rip the poster of david off your wall if something were to ever come out of this night with you and angus, like hell he'd ever be in your room.

"what do you like so much about boston?" you asked angus as you two walked through one of the downtown streets in boston, your mittens shoved in your pocket as your hands cupped around the hot chocolate you sipped on. the heat emanated from the paper cup and warmed your hands. you two had been walking and talking for a while now and your drink was half-empty.

"you like long-winded answers, don't you?" angus said playfully, bumping himself against your side as you walked together. it caused a laugh to bubble up from you, your cheeks turning red at the closeness.

"what's so long about this answer?" you wondered aloud, glancing up at him.

"my dad is here," he said after taking a moment to think over his words, "he's uh, in the sanitorium," he murmured, not quite meeting your gaze, "not doing well mentally."

"you don't have to say anymore," you urged him, regretful that you asked the question in the first place.

"it's fine, i like you. you're not... judging me." angus admitted, flickering his eyes to you and smiling.

oh, god. that smile made your stomach do flips.

"why would i judge you?" you asked rhetorically, "you've been nothing but kind to me tonight. you didn't even know me and you caught me before i fell on my ass, i mean, that's the most any guy has ever done for me... and you bought me hot chocolate!" you were animated in your words as you spoke, not noticing how you lit up angus' facial expressions.

"like i said, it's because i like you." his lips twitched into a smile before he lifted his cup and downed the rest of his drink. you followed in suit, though, mostly to cover the way you had a smile stuck on your face like a lovesick puppy.

you two found an outdoor garbage bin and tossed your empty cups in, standing on a corner of the street that was near the courtyard with the skating rink. it was quiet there now, only then noticing how late it had gotten.

"so, what's your story?" angus interrupted your thoughts as he kept walking, you needing to take a few quick steps to meet his pace as he led you to a bench to sit down on. the perfect spot to watch the christmas lights flicker around the rink and people watch the last remaining people who were skating.

"it's hardly a story," you laughed, fidgeting with your fingers as you looked up to the night sky, the stars hidden because of the city lights, "i'm just crawling my way to graduation so i can get out of my parent's house and go to college," you look over at him, "are you graduating, too?"

he shook his head, "i was expelled a few times," he admitted with an amused look on his face, "should be graduating, but stuck as a junior because of my atrocious behaviour," he teased with a click of his tongue.

"expelled?" you laughed, "wow, i didn't expect such a gentleman like you to be so fond of troublemaking."

that got a laugh out of him, the smile reaching his eyes as he turned ever-so-slightly to better look at you while you two sat together, "yep, i'm the absolute worst. though, i plead my case as i've been wrongly accused of blowing up a toilet once when it was obviously not true."

"uh-huh," you smirked, "are you certain about the wrongly accused part?" you snorted a laugh.

the night was perfect. the two of you sharing so many laughs that your cheeks were hurting and you were beginning to feel like you knew angus for years and this was simply a reunion of friends. you knew at some point it would end, but you didn't want to think about it. not yet, it was too painful of a thought.

your laughter settled and you couldn't break your gaze from angus, the silence looming, but not overwhelming. as you admired him, you caught the way his brown eyes flickered down to your lips and you inhaled sharply, the breath catching.

"i, uh—can i kiss you?" his words were gentle, but they rang through your ears loudly, causing chaos and mayhem that left you feeling like a nervous wreck, "unless i'm reading this wrong."

you parted your lips to speak but nothing came out. all you could do was look down at his lips and nod, hoping that your movements spoke volumes. thankfully, they did.

angus leaned forward, hesitating for a second, but if you could will your way forward to adventuring boston alone, then you could sure as hell will your way forward to meet him halfway. you leaned forward bravely and closed your eyes just as your lips met his, a tingling sensation rolling waves over your skin.

it was a simple kiss, one that made your lips numb when you pulled away and looked up into his eyes. but it wasn’t enough for angus because you were soon pulled into another as his hand lifted and cupped your jaw, keeping you against him as your lips moved together at a gentle, easy pace. he parted your lips with his own, which gave him the space to slip his tongue into your mouth and cause a soft sound to escape your lips. you were fully entranced by him, completely malleable under his touch as you tasted his tongue on your own—sweet like chocolate.

this went on for a few minutes, maybe longer. you two indulging in the kiss you both were anticipating the moment you set eyes on each other.

“this sucks,” you murmured when the kiss finally broke, you two parting to breathe.

“why?” angus furrowed his brows slightly, his hand still on your jaw.

“because i really like you,” you said, pursing your lips into a pout, “and at some point i’m going to have to say goodbye.”

angus shared the sentiment, frowning slightly, “i’ll come to boston again, okay?” he said, just as passionate about you as you were to him, “and if you give me your number i promise to call you.”

you nodded, sighing and watching the way your warm breath fogged up in the cold air. the city was so silent and you’d never been able to experience it quite like this, let alone with a boy you kissed. knowing that it was getting late, though, left you nervous. you had told your parents you wouldn’t be out long and would go to your sister's apartment downtown for a ride back home—leave it up to a boy like angus tully to make it fun to break the rules.

“when do you go back to barton?” you asked him quietly like you didn’t want to hear the answer.

“the day after tomorrow,” angus murmured, his thumb stroking along the skin over your cheek, “i’m gonna’ try visit my dad tomorrow,” he said, “that’s the whole reason i convinced mr. hunham to bring me here, he doesn’t even know.”

you widened your eyes in surprise, “do you think he’ll let you go?”

“probably not, but i’ll find a way.” he said, but not quite fully convinced.

“it’ll work out, angus,” you said, a shiver running up his spine as you said his name, “just like you and me. i’m sure we’ll see each other again.”

he was glad that you managed to see the bright side in all of this, as the night was coming to an end he was beginning to let his negative thoughts pull through. already he could tell that you were going to be a big part of his life, even if it ended up being fleeting and short.

“come on,” angus breathed out, removing his hand from your cheek and standing up. he offered his hand for you to take.

“where are we going?” you asked him, blinking a few times as you took his hand, no mittens or gloves in the way as his fingers interlaced with yours.

“nowhere in particular,” he said, keeping you close as you walked through the quiet boston streets in the early morning hours and spending the last bit of freedom together that you two could muster.

when all was said and done, you found yourself exhausted as you curled up in your bed with the first bit of sunrise spilling through your curtains. it was a bittersweet end to your night with angus, leaving you uncertain about what the future would hold. all you knew was that you’d be waiting for that phone call he promised you.

and taking down your poster of david cassidy.

[luciferlightbringer]

Love in a Hopeless Place

Chapter 10

Chapter 9|Chapter 10|Chapter 11|Updated through Chapter 12

Lucifer x prostitute fem!reader Word Count: 3.6k CW: Slowburn, Angst, Prostitution, Hurt/comfort, trauma, fluff, depression, anxiety, insecurity,

Over the next couple of days, Charlie and the hotel crew started to prepare for their little "intervention" dinner with her dad. Charlie and Vaggie worked together to make up dinner while the others made sure the place was kept up, mostly Niffty.

Later that night, Charlie heard a knock on the front door. Was that him? Why didn't he just teleport in like usual? Charlie went to open the door and saw Lucifer giving his big focused smile.

"Charlie! It's so good to see you," he said enveloping his daughter in a big hug. It had been weeks since he had hugged anyone, the sting of how much he missed it had started to grow back.

"Hi Dad," Charlie said hugging her father back tightly and swinging him around. "I've missed you so much, it's been weird not having you around as much."

Lucifer tightened his grip on Charlie as they hugged, "I'm- sorry about that sweetie, I just... got busy. I'll try to be better about that, I promise."

Charlie loosened the hug enough to study her dad's face, it was tired and worn out, he looked like he hadn't slept in days. Lucifer tried hard to keep his facade up, but he knew his daughter was trying to read him.

"Dad... are you sure you are ok?" Charlie asked with concern.

"Yes. Why do you ask?" he said still trying to hold a smile, holding a silence but futile prayer that he could find a way to fool her into thinking he was ok.

The other members of the hotel, Angel, Husk, Niffty, Cherri, Vaggie, even Alastor started to walk in from the shadows of the hotel lobby.

"Cuz, with all due respect your highness," Husk chimed in "One, you are a bad liar, two, we actually do care about you," Husk looked over to Alastor out of the side on his eye, "well... most of us care about you, and three... we are also worried about (y/n)."

"Ya!" Angel added in, "You two were a couple of peas in a pod, she was even talkin' 'bout wantin' to move in here, den 'poof', ya both are nowhere ta be seen fa' weeks. What gives?! I thought we mattered to you guys!"

"Ya! I miss you and our girl, where is she?!" Cherri pipped in, "We loved watching you two hangin' out here togetha."

"She was a bad girl! But she was really nice! I liked when she would listen to me talk about my bugs fights!" Niffty added, holding up her knife.

Alastor sighed, "Honestly, I'm mostly here for the entertainment of your sorrow... but (y/n) was important to the growth of the hotel and it's community. Plus, she amuses me. I had grown unfortunately fond of her charms," Alastor said with a wicked smile, his comment made the room pause a moment, Lucifer glared at him.

"We miss both of you, sir, it's just not the same here without you. We just kinda feel like we've been left in the dark," Vaggie added, rubbing her arm.

Lucifer sighed, he didn't realize just how much you had meant to not just Charlie, but to the entire hotel. That you guys together had been. It was important for them to know the truth.

"Ok, ok... I'll tell you the truth... but it isn't going to be pretty," Lucifer said with shame painting his face. Lucifer went to go sit on the couch and the others came to sit around him and listen to the story. Lucifer gave an abbreviated story of the last several months of his time with you, truth that you were actually a prostitute he had hired, the story with how it all started with the conversation with Ozzie, the first appointment and the chaos and joy that cam from it, how you had helped him to connect with Charlie and the hotel again, how you supported either other through the stresses of the war with Heaven, how he protected you, how he realized he had fallen in love with you, and then the last night you were together, the blur and confusion of it all, and how finally you had banned him from being able to be scheduled with you again and how you had been told that the whole dynamic was just her acting like she cared about him. He didn't blame or try to paint you in a bad light, he was just defeated and sad.

During the story, the group went through a series of emotions, all of them now understanding why you had not able to talk about your relationship with him at all.

"Damn it! No wonder I liked her so much! She's in da same industry as me!" shouted Angel when the story was over, "She felt so kindred and I couldn't fuckin' see it. Oh, she is good."

"So... none of your relationship was real?" Charlie asked, sadly.

Lucifer shook his head, "No... no I don't think it was."

Husk shook his head, "You're wrong." Everyone looked at him. "Something here doesn't add up, Angel, Cherri, you remember our conversation with (y/n) the night before the war with heaven?" They nodded, Husk looked at Lucifer, "The only lie I have ever seen (y/n) tell you was that she was sad that night because of the war, which... she still was... but the reason she was sad before you came over to check on her was because she was sad that she could not be honest with us about your guy's relationship. We had asked her about what was up because you guys seemed more than friends, and she told us she could not talk about it. And she has tried to bluff some things about how she presents herself before when we first met her, probably all just to protect the secret you guys had. Trust me when I say, she was never fake with how much I saw she cared about you."

Lucifer shrugged, "It doesn't seem to matter though it though... in the end, she banned me."

"Why?" asked Angel, "Did she tell you? Did you ever hurt her?"

"No. Someone else at the place she works called me and told me, she was gone or... something. I don't know if I hurt her, never physically, but I was so drunk at the end of our last night together... I don't know what I did or why I got banned... and I'd never want to cross a boundary like that... she's had too many fucked up people in her life... I don't want to add to that club any more than I already had," he buried his face in his hands, "it sounds like keeping the secret was already a lot of weight on her, I didn't realize..."

"King, listen, I've been in the sex business for a long time, nothin' about this situation makes sense ta me, both from a sex worka' standpoint or from what I know about her. Did you pay her well?" Angel ask inquisitively.

Lucifer nodded, "Ya, I gave her big tips too, I wanted to to be happy and get what she needed."

"No good sex worka' in their right mind would full on ban you for one weird night, even if you did rough 'em up a bit. You told us there was some other client that had been roughin' her up a bit that you took care of. Tell me, did she ban him on the first night of havin' any issues with him?" Angel asked. Lucifer shook his head, starting to think about Angel's words.

"Right. So unless she was stupid, which I know she aint, she wouldn't've cut off probably the best paycheck in hell just because you had one sloppy drunk night where something may have gone weird. Also, on top a dat, sex worka's can be good actors and can pretend like they care. But they try not to get attached, and like Husker said earlier, she got attached, and boy it was obvious. That's probably a big reason why I didn't sus her out sooner. By da time we met her, nothin' about ya relationship was actin' anymore, on either side. Cuz you love 'er, dontcha?" Angel pointed while he leaned back on the couch.

Everyone looked at Lucifer, he nodded, "I do, I love her."

Angel nodded, "And you would do anythin' to make 'er happy, including keepin' yourself away from her if you thought it would make her happier, isn't dat right?"

Lucifer started to tear up, "Yes..." Charlie started to tear up and hugged her dad.

"Therefore... there is something fishy happenin' here, there must be some form of miscommunication, or... a third party that likes messin' with shit," Angel looked up at the ceiling thinking.

"How do you know all this?" asked Vaggie suspiciously. Angel looked over at Vaggie and have her a sly smile, "When you're life was spent in da Mafia and your afterlife was spent around shitty desperate sex worka's that are dying to get a taste of your success by any means necessary, you pick up on a few things, baby."

Charlie perked up, "You think someone at her work did this?"

Angel shrugged, "It's very possible, not 100%, but it's possible. Lucifer, did (y/n) ever talk about having any issues with other girls at her workplace?"

Lucifer thought a moment, "Hmm... she mentioned there being some annoying girls that she some sometimes needed to put in their place, but nothing this crazy hostile. But then again, she didn't like talking about the Lounge much, and I didn't like asking because I started to get more sad whenever I was reminded that I was just a client to her."

"The Lounge, like the Luxurious Lady's Lounge in the Entertainment district?" asked Angel.

"Ya... you know it?" asked Lucifer.

Angel smiled, "Know it? Ha! Sure do. I know exactly where it is too. May have even seen 'er once or twice without knowin' it"

Charlie smiled at her dad, "Dad, if we know where she is, we should just go and talk to her!"

Lucifer shook his head, "Oh. No, no, nonononono, Charlie... I can't do that."

"Why not? Dad, come on, we can try clearing all this up!" Charlie pleaded.

Lucifer sighed, "I just... until I know for sure that she didn't actually ban me, I won't want to risk that. It's just not a good idea... Plus, I don't want to attract more attention to her if she is having issues there," Lucifer hung his head.

Charlie thought for a minute, then a lightblub went off, Charlie got down to Lucifer's eye level, "Dad, she may have "banned" you for seeing her... but not me! I could go talk to her!"

"Charlie, hold on, dis is a bad idea," Angel piped up, everyone looked at him confused, "Rememba' what happened when you tried to talk to Val for me?" Charlie thought for a second remembering the disaster that was, feeling the guilt return at the memory. Angel smiled, "Obviously I need to go with you!" The room erupted into laughter, Angel almost had them for a second, even Lucifer managed to crack a smile in his down mood.

"You guys are really willing to do this for me?" he asked looking to Charlie and Angel.

Charlie looked at Angel and back to her dad, and grabbed Lucifer's hands, "Yes, for you... and for us."

Lucifer smiled, "Ok... but can we actually have dinner before you go? I was anticipating an actual dinner instead of an intervention, but I guess I should have expected both." The room filled with laughter again and the group set up for dinner before Charlie and Angel would head out to find the Lounge, and more importantly, you.

______________________________________________________________

Later that evening, you were hanging out in the lobby of the Lounge, the same way that you had the nights before Lucifer had started to take up more of your schedule. You were still getting clients, but it was back to the old torturous monotony as before, but it somehow felt worse now that you had gotten a taste of love... or what you thought had been love. Every client made you wish you were back in Lucifer's arms, wanting to explore Lucifer's body... not this shithole and all it's shitty clients.

You felt yourself grow more bitter as you saw Cynthhhhia grow back in popularity with the customers, it seemed her few days on the phones really scared her into staying in her lane, especially because Larry had apparently made her take all of the calls during those three days. Something did not sit right with you about her more recent success, but you didn't want to turn into another her. Plus, the happier she was, the more she left you alone. Guess there had to be a bright side, somewhere.

You were sitting on your favorite couch in a long, blue, shear, flowy robe, when you saw a tall pair of individuals walk into the lobby. But not just any two tall people, two that you recognized, Angel and Charlie. You eyes went wide, and you quickly slinked off to the dressing room to hide.

'What the hell? What are they doing there?!' you thought to yourself. You hoped they hadn't seen you, even though your time with Lucifer was up, you still wanted to keep his secret about the two of you.

Charlie and Angel walked up to the front counter where Larry was standing he did a double-take seeing both of them.

"Whoooaaa, Princess Morningstar! And the famous Angel Dust! What an honor to have you two in to join us this evening. Are we interested in having a little fun tonight? I am surprised, I didn't think one of Val's best boys would be needin' to pay for fun. Unless... you are looking for a change in employment?" He flashed a sharp smile.

Charlie piped up, "Hi! Uhh, Charlie is just fine. And no, neither of those things. We are here looking for one of your girls, (y/n)."

"Is she here tonight?" Angel added.

"Uhh... ya. What business do you have with her?" Larry asked, wondering how they knew her.

"She's a friend ah mine," Angel chimed in, "She's mean MIA for a few weeks and we have been worried about 'er, we were wantin' to check in on her. Charlie has gotten to know her a little too and wanted to come with."

"Can we pleaseee see her?" Charlie pleaded.

Larry thought for a moment, "I don't know, she is still on the clock for several more hours. I can't just let her off early." Charlie and Angel look at each other and nod, Charlie pulls out an bunch of cash, "Will this cover her for the rest of the night." Larry smiled as the amount of money in her hands, it was more than enough.

"I do believe that will work Ms. Mornin- uhh, Charlie," Larry said taking the cash, "Let me go get her." Charlie is glad that she learned that in some situations like this, money talked more than words or power. She came more prepared than she had with her conversation with Valentino over getting more of Angel's time.

Larry searched around before finding you in the dressing room, "Hey Babydoll, you've been bought out for the rest of the night by some friends of yours, Angel Dust and Charlie Morningstar. I didn't know you knew them." He said giving you a look.

They bought you out for the rest of the night? Did they come here specifically to find you? How did they know you were here? Did... did Lucifer tell them? You felt some fear and hope bloom in your chest.

"Oh, haha ya, you know me, I'm just not one to talk about my personal life at work," you gave Larry a big smile. He laughed, "Alright, keep your secrets, sounds like they wanted to talk to you about something, worried about you. Go show 'em a good time tonight, ok?" You nodded, and quickly switching out to a more solid less see-through robe, before walking out to the lobby.

Angel and Charlie saw you coming, Charlie ran to you but you stopped her short of you, "Not here, come with me," and you led your friends up to you apartment. Once you were inside you room and the door was locked, you said "Ok now you can hug me if you want to."

This time, both Charlie and Angel want to embrace you at the same time, starting to tear up a little.

"Oh my god, (y/n)! It's so good to see you! We were so worried about you!" Charlie asked.

"Ya! When you and Lucifer stopped showing up at the hotel to visit, we started worrying, babe," Angel added.

"Wait... hold up, Lucifer stopped showing up to the hotel? How did you know I was here?" you asked.

"We sat my Dad down and he finally broke and told us the truth about everything," Charlie said.

"Ya, he spilled da beans on your guy's relationship, you don't have to keep his secret from us anymore," Angel added.

Tears started to well up in your eyes, "I don't?!" The two nodded. You started to sob and hugged them back. "I- I'm so sorry, I- I didn't want to lie to anyone but he wanted to keep it discreet, which I understand, he is the King! And it was so confusing, and then, one night he got really drunk one night, and it worried me, he wasn't acting like himself, and told me he loved me, but, but I didn't know if I could believe him. And he was getting all touchy and doe eyed, and I didn't know what was really what he wanted because it was all so sudden. So I ran! I ran because I was so scared, and- and- and-" Charlie and Angel both hugged you and tried to shushed you through your crying.

"It's ok, no one is mad at you. That sounds like a hard position to be in, it sounds like there was a lot of confusion on both sides," Charlie said.

"Confusion?" you sniffled, "Is that why he hasn't called to schedule with me again?"

Charlie and Angel looked at each other then back to you, "You didn't ban him then?"

You blinked, "WHAT?! Why on earth would anyone think I blocked him?! No! I freaked out and went on a trip for a few days to clear my head. I came back and I was told that he said he would call to reschedule, and then he just never did! I thought he hated me!"

"No!" Charlie cried, "No, Oh my god, he is a total wreck without you! He misses you like crazy! He thinks he was put on your "No Kiss List" or something"

"We can't even say your name without him shuttin' down and lookin' like we killed his dog or somethin'," Angel added, Charlie gave him a look, "What?! It's true!"

You sat down on the couch and stared out for a minute, thinking, "Why didn't he come to ask me himself?"

Charlie shrugged, "He doesn't remember what happened that night, he is convinced that he hurt you terribly and that it's why you banned him. He didn't want to hurt you so he respected that wish. We tried to get him to come tonight but he was scared in case you really had banned him."

You thought for a few more moments, who could have caused this? Who would have done this to you both. Your eyes widened. No, could this have been... did Cynthhhhia do this? Would she have been the one to make the calls that day since that was her punishment. You were pretty sure, but you didn't want to act without proof. You clenched your fists, starting to fill with rage.

"Is he at the hotel?" They nodded. You thought again, "Can you take me to him?" They nodded again with more excitement.

"I have just one question for you, before we go," Charlie started, looking into your eyes, "Tell me truthfully, do you actually care about my dad, not just for an income, but as a person?"

You took Charlie's hands in your own, "Charlie, I really do... more than anything... in fact... I'm pretty sure I'm in love with him." Charlie and Angel squealed and jumped up and down.

"That's all I needed to hear, let's do this!" Charlie declared.

You took a few minutes to get dressed, and soon you were off to see Lucifer again. Cynthhhhia eyed you a little as you left, wondering what you were doing with the most famous porn star in the Pride Ring and the Princess of Hell. She rolled her eyes and went back to chatting it up with her next client out it the lobby, it was probably nothing of substance, and she already had big enough fish to fry to keep her focused on herself. Although, she did briefly amuse herself with the idea of seducing the Princess' father, oh how wonderful a dream that would be, but she knew better than to put more thought into that. Why would the King of Hell ever need a prostitute? She laughed to herself.

You, on the other hand, were so full of fear and excitement at the idea of seeing actually Lucifer again, it felt like a dream and you were scared to wake up. But if Charlie and Angel's reaction was any indication of anything, maybe Brooklyn had been right after all.

______________________________________________________________

Thank you for putting up with torment! I made sure to get through this one quickier so that there was a return of hope. Next chapter they will finally talk in out, and then... a certain someone may see justice 😈

As usual, leave a comment if you want added to the taglist so that you can get notifications when future chapters drop! xoxo, dany (OMG there are so many of you!😍 Please let me know if the tag isn't working for you) Taglist :(red names are not tagging for some reason 😢)

@froggybich @wonderlandangelsposts @glowinthedarkbones1150 @marydragneell @crescent-z @superdinosaurnacho @jam0001 @kyo-kyo1 @so-get-this-sammy @lilzebeth @kelppsstuff @loquacious-libra @pinkhoneydrop @luleck @writer-girl99 @lavenz @stormz369 @littleladydemon @soujiswife @melday0105 @luluxx118 @sseleniaa @futureittomainn @cktkat @zaneyyyy @uravitsy @liecoris @starlitvenus @hannahrose130 @elleofdragons @butch-medusae @concentratedconcrete @erosamasan @stranger-chan @aquaamethyst96 @lxkeee @holyspacething @hulyenl @leximus98 @lu-ferri12 @mixplara @katnisspeetaprim @rebecca-hvnstn @roboticsuccubus83 @nekemewlita @femboyfatalle @thelethex @cryptidghostgirl @snowlotr @bangchansdirty-slut @glowymxxn @mcueveryday @hotvillianapologist @oneiric-rotaerc @wolfdaddyalphasworld @sleepypottersworld @wisterialagoon @theredviolets @theperfectmangovoid @lemonmoonmochi

[heartfullofleeches]

[Violence, Murder, Hints of Past Abuse but nothing mentioned in heavy detail]

AU with Human Rascal and Bunny Hybrid Creep Reader where Rascal is some freaky slasher dude who stalks and later kills Bunny Reader's previous, abusive owner. The violence enlivens the hopeless Bunny as they believed they'd always be under the watchful eye of their owner even if they escaped. Seeing their blood spill into the carpet and their fur gives them more of a rush than the treats their owner fed them to adapt better to their situation.

They ask Rascal politely if it will let them join him. Rascal doesn't really need a partner, but they have always wanted to pet. Bunny is cute enough, adorableness magnified by their red stained coat and the shine in their eyes when Rascal leaves them their knife. It isn't even a week until their new lives together before Rascal is developing a crush- Bunny is supposed to be their pet, they can't feel this way about them!

Since this is sorta a reversal of their roles, I'm kinda leaning towards Rascal having a more dominant role in their relationship - but Human or Rabbit Monster - Rascal is absolutely whipped for their darling and I can see Bunny gaining the upper hand simply because of how cute they are which fries Rascal's brain because it has never been admired by a cute person, but also the fact Reader might not want to be someone's pet after everything they've been through... So Rascal will just have to be theirs.

The gimp mask is a vital part of their character because I say so, so human Rascal is just a weird guy in bondage gear.

-

Is it really over?....

Crimson dye seeps into the curly fur of your bent legs, trickling through the bars of your enclosure. It all happened so fast- A broken window. Earth shattering footsteps thundering through the house. You think it came from the kitchen. Your owner had promised to bring you a snack not long before they ran into the bedroom, covered in small cuts with a busted lip to match. The light in their eyes as the knife shredded through their jugular faded so swiftly... As swift as the fear eating away at what's left of you vanished from your body.

It's over... Isn't it?

"Give it to me....."

Your fingertips itch- palms heavy yet empty at the same time. The knife... Yes, the knife! The intruder dropped it when they saw you cowering in your cage. It's impossible to make out their expression with that strange mask their wearing. You don't care. About them. About what happens next. Even if they kill you after- you have to make sure.

"Let me out. I need to make sure.. Make sure that they're gone. They'll never let me alone if I don't... The keys.. They should be in their pocket."

You'll rip them apart with your teeth if you have to. Your nail have been filed too short to use though. If you have the strength left, you'll make this stranger pay for taking this away from you. It should have been you who got the first stab- and the last. They didn't deserve to be the one who got to do them in. Hurry up. While that rotten excuse of a human being still has a pulse. So much has been taken from you already. They can't have this-

"Let me out! Let me out! LET. ME."

"Shhhh..."

The knife hits the bottom of your cage, cold blood splashing against your face as it lands. The allure is magnetic - your hands welded to its handle as the door of the metal prison creaks open. You wait no time, crawling out on your hands and knees into the light of their bedroom. The joints in your legs ache as though you've been stabbed with pins as you rise to your feet - body uplifted by a pair of arms before you collapse. A gentle squeeze steels your grip on the knife. The intruder guides your steps towards the limp husk of your owner, gingerly lowering you to your knees at their side.

They lift their hand to pat your ear, recoiling like a snake in the grass as you wince from the freshness of your stitches. You like to believe if they tried that again they'd be at the end of the knife, but you know they met well.

"Thank you....."

Blinking back tears, you face your former owner - silently praying for a just a little fight left in them as you raise the knife over your head.

[klaus-littlestwolf]

Honesty is Overrated- Klaus M.

Summary: When Kol has had enough of watching his older brother pine over a girl, he decides to do something about it and give Klaus exactly what he wants.

Sadly Kol has no idea what Klaus wants, the only thing the youngest Mikaelson brother thinks about is sex and unfortunately it might just get his brother in trouble this time when he hacks into the girls Instagram and messages his brother…what happens when Klaus falls for it?

Potentially Triggering:SA Mentions/Warning!!

I can’t label this Yan!Klaus (for obvious reasons upon reading it) but the themes overall are very Dark! Along with an apparent “Twist Ending” that my Beta reader called me a Bitch for…

(Major Warnings for this fic: Mentions of Non/Dub Con, Online Arrangements about Forced Fucking, Unintentional Forceful Touching, Hacking Others Social Medias, Asshole Little Brothers)

It was the painting that did him in. Seeing the painting of Y/n as Kol walked passed Klaus’ bedroom was the final straw for him.

‘Why don’t you just ask the girl out? Your obsession is getting out of hand and you’re clearly desperate for somewhere to stick your cock. Give her a painting, girls go crazy for that sweet bullshit.’ Kol teased from where he leaned on the doorway of Klaus’ bedroom.

‘You’re an idiot.’ He rolled his eyes at his younger brothers stupidity. Klaus knew he wasn’t bad looking but sadly he was the epitome of shy and awkward, talking…to a girl? Especially one that he’s had a crush on since their shared project in the 6th grade!

It was impossible!

‘Seriously bro. Give her a pretty painting, bend her over a desk between classes, and then you can finally get over this bitch! Or you’ll be onto the next one, you do seem like a hopeless romantic-‘

‘That’s not what that means dipshit! And some of us aren’t only interested in sex! I like Y/n. You know, someday you’re going to find a girl that you like for more than just her body and you won’t have a personality to get her to stay with you passed pulling your pants back on.’ Klaus grumbled, moving to shut the bedroom door and going back to his project.

Kol knew he needed to do something to help his big brother get the girl he so desperately wanted. Plus if he also got the girl that he had been crushing on for the better part of his high school career (Klaus’ girls best friend) then what was the harm, really?

She was exactly where she said she would be when Klaus arrived. He had to stop and take a breath, nervous and not wanting to do something wrong to upset her. He was determined to do this right, he was in love with Y/n and if this is what she needed from him then he would do it for her…he just hoped he could hold out long enough to make her happy.

Stepping up behind her was easy as he had taken off his jacket and shirt, no sound being made as he moved. There was never anyone at the pool until after school was over for extra curricular’s so her scream didn’t do anything for her when he wrapped an arm around her waist, his other hand covering her mouth and holding her to him tightly. She fought against him hard and he was honestly a bit surprised how hard she was going for it but Klaus was determined to show her how strong he was. If this is what she wants then this is what he will give her-even if it is a strange kink to introduce their relationship-he will use the opportunity to prove to her how strong the “quiet artsy kid” really is.

‘It’s alright love, I’ve got you. I know what you want and I’m going to give it to you.’ He promised, roughly shoving her down, flipping her onto her back on the bleacher and seeing her eyes go wide as she looked up at him. If he didn’t know any better he would think she was surprised to see him. After a struggle he had gotten the duct tape over her mouth and hands tied around her front, pressing her back against the bleacher before reaching for her pants making her whine loudly again and try to kick at him, though her legs were pinned under where he nearly straddled her. ‘I’m going to take good care of you Princess. You’ll never want me to stop playing with you.’ Klaus had just unbuttoned her pants when he felt a drop of water hit his arm making him look up.

He was stunned to see her crying. Maybe that was a part of it for her…but he didn’t like it. He loved Y/n…he had for years, this is not how he wanted Any of their time together to be, let alone their first.

‘I’m sorry…please don’t think less of me but I can’t do this…Not like this, I know that this is what you wanted but I love you…I don’t want to see you cry while we do this.’ Klaus reached up and pulled the tape from her mouth as gently as he could and began untying her hands.

‘What are you talking about?!’ She hissed and he winced.

‘Please don’t be upset with me, I just can’t do this the first time. I feel like I’m hurting you and I get that maybe this could be fun when you know each other better but for a first time I-‘ as soon as her hands were untied she reached her hand up and slapped him across the face painfully hard. He flinched back as she moved again, Mikael being the only person that had ever really hit him and he couldn’t help but flinch away making her stop and look confused too. For a violent boy that just tried to rape her…he didn’t seem very violent or sexually aggressive at all…

‘You said…you said this is what I wanted…why would you think I would ever want this?! Who told you that I wanted you to rape me?!’ She demanded and he moved quickly off of her lower body so that she could move completely. He shifted back a few feet to give her room away from him, not wanting her to be afraid.

‘You did! You messaged me online…I admit it was a bit strange but it was your account and you said personal things.’ He promptly grabbed his phone from his backpack and showed her the messages. She quickly read through them before going and grabbing her phone, sitting beside him on the ground and finding her messages. ‘You didn’t send these…did you?’ His voice sounded soft now…broken…

‘No, look. They say sent on both of our accounts. Someone hacked me and messaged you…’

‘Oh God! Y/n, I’m so sorry! Fuck!’ He exclaimed, jumping up and tugging on his hair painfully, her standing beside him quickly and stopping his movements. ‘Sorry doesn’t even begin to-‘

‘No, no! It’s not your fault! You didn’t know and…I can see how you responded to every single one of the messages and I’m not…you…you really are sweet.’ She laughed disbelievingly at how sweet this boy still was over these messages, reading them over again and seeing how many times he proposed just going to dinner, or letting him take her home and do whatever she wanted in a bed rather than a dirty school floor.

‘I figured it was just the surprise that got you off maybe? Truthfully? I was like…honored that you trusted me like that…but I’ve been in love with you for 5 years, I really just wanted to take you to dinner.’ He joked, trying to diffuse the tension a bit more. ‘I never wanted to hurt you…but I did-‘. he was ranting and seemingly having a bit of trouble breathing.

‘No Klaus. This is not your fault, someone did this to the both of us. You did Not hurt me!’

‘I pinned you down and had your mouth taped up, I was-‘

‘You stopped!’ She exclaimed, stopping him from his panicking as quickly as possible, grabbing his arms and stopping him from pacing. He looked up at her in surprise. ‘You stopped Klaus. I wouldn’t have blamed you if you had kept going, not now that I see how easy it would have been to take whatever you wanted-‘

‘I don’t want to take anything from you Y/n…I want you to give it to me because you want me and trust me and…and…Love Me. I’ve loved you for nearly 6 years now…I know that I’m not your type or whatever, and yeah, I want you but…when I saw you crying…I Never want to be the reason that you cry!’

Klaus reached his hand out and wiped away the fresh tears that were coming out. ‘Klaus…I never knew that you loved me…I love you too…’ the next thing Klaus knew she had leaned forward and was now pressing her soft lips to his making him pull back just slightly, their lips still brushing lightly as he spoke.

‘Are you sure? I feel like this setting might not be the right place to-‘ she cut him off quickly, moving to straddle his lap and kiss him again. He groaned as he felt her grind her crotch down against him, his erection presenting itself so quickly that it was almost painful.

‘At least one good thing came out of all this.’ Y/n sighed as she unbuckled Klaus’ belt, pretending to have trouble with it so that he would move and rip it off before yanking his jeans open at lightning speed, his hard cock smacking against his stomach and causing a whimper to escape his lips.

‘It did?’ He questioned stupidly, eyes dazed as he looked up at her attently.

‘It did.’ She hummed in an overly sweet way, loving how dumb his brain went so incredibly fast for her. ‘You’re all mine now, aren’t you, you little idiot?’ She coo’d and his eyes widened as he realized what she had said just before she sat down on his cock and once again his brain went stupid as he cried out. ‘Oh fuck! Nice and thick for me, aren’t you?’

‘You! Yes!’ He grunted, gripping her waist tightly to keep from finishing too fast. ‘Oh fuck! My girl now, Princess! All Mine!’ Klaus reached up, taking hold of her jaw and pulling her to kiss him roughly before holding the back of her neck and looking up at her as he rocked his hips up into her body. ‘God, you’re all fucking mine! Fuck!’

‘All yours baby!’ She promised, leaning up and pressing her lips to his lovingly. Her sweet touches and kisses were unlike anything Klaus had ever experienced before. She was gentle and loving with him, even though she didn’t have to be and he adored her every second.

‘Oh fuck…’ he mumbled, feeling the tingle shoot up his spine in a telltale sign of his end coming quickly. He tried to pull her close and readjust them but she wouldn’t allow it.

‘It’s okay baby…I’m close. Let me feel you.’ She begged and his head snapped up quickly, his eyes wide in shock.

‘You want me to-Oh Fuck…Fuck!’ He growled, Y/n clutching the back of his hair tightly as she faced down and watched his cock disappearing inside of her over and over again, the sight of which made her pussy drip even more. As he sped up his pace-chasing his end and by chance shoving her roughly into hers-she caused Klaus to have to slap a hand over her mouth as she cried out quite loudly. Her pussy clamped down onto his cock and his mouth dropped open though no sound came out as he came hard.

Y/n had calmed down fairly quickly, though as Klaus was still twitching she pulled him close and rested his head on her chest. ‘Shh…it’s okay. Take your time and relax.’ She insisted, knowing that he just needed a moment to catch his breath.

‘I’m okay…I’m fine I…that was…Holy Fuck!’ He exclaimed, bright blue eyes looking up at her excitedly. ‘Can…Can we do that again?’

Y/n giggled, unable to stop herself before she leaned her head down and kissed his lips. ‘Not right now we can’t, we have to clean up before class…I don’t know about you but I’m free after school…?’

Klaus’ eyes widened in excitement and he kissed her quickly before carefully pulling himself out of her body. ‘I’ll meet you outside the locker room.’ He told her before kissing her again, this time she had to be the one to pull away. ‘I’m never going to get tired of that.’

After cleaning themselves both up in the locker rooms they met outside the gym.

‘How did you-‘

‘I always keep an extra top and skirt in my bag just in case, I’ll put them in my locker on the way to class.’ He nodded, walking beside her down the hall towards their lockers which were right across the hall from each other where they got their books for their last class. ‘Klaus?’ Y/n questioned as they walked down the hall to the stairwell to get to the first floor for their English class.

‘Yeah?’ He spoke, barely hearing her as his mind was going a hundred miles a minute trying to figure out what to say or do now. Klaus had wanted Y/n for years though he never pictured it happening like this, in his fantasies he always took her on a date, ‘woo’ed her and made her fall in love with him before fucking her but now he was confused on how to ask her on a date considering what had already happened. What if she didn’t want to go on a date? What if sex was all she wanted? What if she hadn’t enjoyed it…what if she was just being nice and he had ruined his chance? He had blown it, he was so sure!

‘Are you…e-embarrassed to be with me?’ She asked quietly and he froze, his feet stopping in their tracks and turning to look at her.

‘What are you talking about?’ He questioned, taking her arm and pulling her to the side of the hallway and out of people’s way.

‘I mean, the way it started was fucked but we were…intimate…I thought you would at least hold my hand-I mean unless that’s all you wanted. We can just-‘ Klaus cut her off quickly, pulling her to his chest tightly and pressing his lips to hers roughly.

She wanted more! Y/n was giving him the chance to have her and he was going to take it! He moved his hands to her waist, pulling her lip between his teeth briefly before tangling his tongue with hers and squeezing her hips as she whined. He rested his forehead on hers, sighing contently as he took her chin between his finger and thumb, pulling her jaw open. ‘Stick your tongue out.’ He instructed and her eyes moved to look up at him curiously.

‘W-What?’ She mumbled prompting his smirk.

‘Stick your tongue out…don’t make me say it again gorgeous…’ she did as he asked a second later and he groaned, smirking as he pressed his thumb down against it before feeling her close her lips around him. ‘Fuck…imagine how good this hot little tongue is gonna feel on my cock…you’ll suck my cock for me tonight…won’t you? You’ll be my good little girl and let me fuck this pretty little mouth, won’t you?’ She nodded quickly, Klaus noticing how she rubbed her legs together making him smile, desperate to have her rub against him instead but that may be a bit too much in the school hallway…

Her hand held onto his shirt tightly as the other held the back of his neck, making him feel that much closer to her as she pressed her lips to his. She clung to him so strongly and he loved it so much he never wanted her to let go-until that is they just had to be interrupted.

‘Mikaelson! Y/L/n! That’s Enough of That! Get In Here!’ Mr. Tanner shouted, both of them jumping-Y/n in shock as if just remembering where they were and Klaus instantly pissed off that this asshole teacher (that already entertains himself by looking down girls tops in class) thinks he gets to yell at his girl for anything. As they moved to walk to the classroom Klaus took her hand in his, lacing their fingers together and seeing her cheeks turn a bright red shade.

‘You look so cute when you blush like that.’ He whispered in her ear as they sat beside each other in the back of the room.

Klaus kept hold of her hand as Tanner went over the last chapters of Animal Farm they had read the night before. About halfway through the class Mr. Tanner passed out a paper and they all set to work on the project they had to do since finishing the story, everyone now talking which seemed to prompt Vicky to turn around and speak to them.

‘So, are you two like, a thing now? Or are you just making out in the hallway for fun?’ She wondered, turning her chair around as she pretended to work on the project. Vicky was a gossip, in fact she was probably the biggest one next to Caroline and Elena. Klaus thanked the Gods that they weren’t in this class to question them like Vicky was, one was enough.

‘Oh, um-‘

‘Yes, we’re a thing Vic.’ Klaus answered prompting another blush and a cute smile from his girl as he leaned closer to talk without prying ears. ‘Do you want to do this tonight? You can come to my house and we can hang out and finish it…you can stay if you want.’

‘That sounds great! I would love to stay, honestly I miss your hands on me already.’ Y/n admitted and Klaus groaned, about to respond when Vicky began speaking again.

‘You two are so cute together! Honestly I like it much better than you and Damon.’ She spoke to Y/n and she gasped suddenly, sitting up straight.

‘Fuck! I completely forgot! I told Damon I would go to dinner with him tomorrow night! Dammit!’ She cursed, pulling out her phone.

‘You’re not going.’ Klaus stated with a warning tone in his voice that gave Y/n a chill up her spine.

‘I’m texting him and cancelling. Relax.’

‘Relax? You said “Yes” to a date with Damon Salvatore, and you want me to relax?’ He growled, instantly jealous at the meer thought of Damon with his girl.

‘Yes, because I’m cancelling Klaus.’ Y/n finished texting before leaning closer to him and letting him feel her lips against his ear. ‘I still have your cum inside of me baby, you really think you need to worry?’ His eyes went wide instantly at that realization, his cock twitching in his pants.

‘You’re trying to kill me.’

‘Just reminding you who I belong to. I said “Yes” to that date days ago, nothing to be concerned about.’ He nodded in agreement, nuzzling closer into her neck and taking in her sweet smell.

‘You make me want to squeal you’re so cute!’ Vicky gushed, beginning to ask Y/n a million questions about how they got together-all of them knowing that no matter what she said it would be all over the school by the end of the day.

On the way out of school Klaus held Y/n’s hand in his tightly, enjoying all of the jealous stares that he got. He was used to getting stares but not in a jealous fashion. Though Klaus had to admit that the one he loved the most was Damon who was glaring at him from his 1969 Chevy Camaro. He had always hated Damon-he was a player and an asshole and in a way it felt nice to win even if he didn’t consider his girl a prize in that sense. He was determined to make sure Damon keeps his hands to himself…Klaus would make sure no one would ever put their hands on his Princess again…

‘How did it go?’ Kol asked as he saw Y/n walk into the kitchen early the next morning prompting the smirk on the girls lips.

‘It went just right. Thank you Kol, I appreciate your help, and I’m assuming you received your payment?’ He nodded though she already knew, seeing the familiar shade of purple lipstick that her best friend wears covering his neck and chest. ‘I think it goes without saying that this secret dies with us, yes? Wouldn’t want your brother or my best friend to know, now would we?’ She smirked.

‘I’m not stupid. I hope my idiot brother was worth it.’ Kol spoke, grabbing the breakfast tray he had made and leaving the kitchen to go take his new girl breakfast in bed.

Y/n rolled her eyes as she continued making breakfast for her boyfriend. Honestly Kol really was an idiot if he truly thought Y/n’s friend didn’t know exactly what the truth was, she had wanted Kol all to herself as Y/n had wanted Klaus and so they made it happen. They’ll let Kol think he was the mastermind for the rest of their lives happily, and Y/n would let Klaus think it had all been a huge fuck up that turned out perfectly for them.

Who cares if not everyone knows what really happened that day? Everyone got everything that they wanted in the end.

Honesty is overrated.

Klaus M. Masterlist

[the-writing-pigeon]

Singing In the Shower

Bucky Barnes x F!Reader

Warnings: Fluff, showering, nudity, Bucky sneaking into the shower, physical touch, pet names (doll), suggestive/slightly dirty talk (if there is anything else let me know!)

A/N: This is something that I came up with, and since I am revamping some of my old stories, there will be some changes. It’s short but sweet, so I hope you like it:) Again, If you recognize some of these stories, I ask that you please do not interact as if I am the same person. I am trying to stay anonymous.

Ever since you were a little girl, you have always loved to sing. You would make a tune or rhythm out of anything. Whistle, drum, hum and most prominently, singing. Your family loved the concerts you would put on, your little plastic microphone in hand. All of those memories come flooding in when you start to hum your favorite childhood song: A teenager in love. 

“One day I feel so happy, The next I feel so sad.” 

You continued the song and smiled when you sang the lyrics that followed. 

“Why must I be a teenager in love?” 

You tried to be as quiet as possible with knowledge that Bucky was sleeping in the room right across the hall. He had a very long mission today, and waking up to a grumpy Bucky was not on your to-do list today. 

Your lips pulled up into a smile once again as you sang the chorus. You couldn’t help being a hopeless romantic, and you were so lucky to have found Bucky. The time you met, was a silly incident on a trip to Romania. 

You thought about the first time the two of you met. It was a silly incident while you were on a trip to Romania; 

You had tripped over your own feet and spilled coffee all over the ground. When you went to get napkins, you turned around and a man had come to help you with the mess. 

You smiled brightly and said, “Oh you don’t have to help me. It’s my own clumsy self coming out.” 

The man shook his head and replied, “It’s alright miss. It’s just some coffee.” 

Let’s just say that you haven’t ordered coffee in public since then. You shook off the funny memory as you rinsed your (length, color, and texture) hair. While humming to yourself, you didn’t hear the bathroom door creak open, your boyfriend entering the steam-filled room. 

The shower curtain barely shuffled open, and you could feel the warm presence of your loving, hunky boyfriend behind you. He had taken his metal arm off before hopping in, making sure the technology didn’t get ruined. His lips pressed soft kisses along your shoulder and up your neck, his right hand resting on your soft tummy. With his skin pressed against yours, everything felt right.

“I didn’t know you could sing doll.” His voice is low and groggy, most likely just from waking up. 

The butterflies in your belly fluttered, and a smile grew on your face. “Only in the shower.” You say, leaning back in his warm embrace. He gives your forehead a gentle kiss, and the two of you sway as you continue to hum your favorite song. 

“You know, I bought this album on vinyl when it first came out, it was my mothers favorite.” Your brows raised, almost forgetting that the man you love was born much earlier than you were. 

“Wow… it must’ve been a hit if it is still popular today, hm?” You turn, looking up at Bucky, his blue eyes crinkling with joy as he smiles. 

“It was,” He pauses and cups your cheek, his thumb grazing over the soft and textured skin of your face. “But I think it sounds better when you sing it.” The burly man leans down, peppering your face with kisses until he finally presses a soft kiss to your lips. Even though you have known him for a while, and you live with him, you still get nervous around Bucky. And every kiss feels like the first; Magical. 

His gentle hand helps you scrub your body, and he helps you condition your hair, turning off the faucet once he finished. He reaches out of the shower and grabs your soft towel, wrapping it around your body with his arm just like a big hug. 

“Do you promise to sing more often, doll?” He asks, smirking as adds, “Maybe on my cock next time?” 

With a gasp and a light slap to his chest, you giggle and press a sloppy kiss to his lips. 

“In your dreams!” You say, laughing with Bucky as you both exit the shower, feeling clean and happy. 

[enchantedtomeetyou1113]

dancing with your ghost

levi x reader

hi! okay so this isn’t my first work but it’s my first in over 5 years. i guess aot brought out my old ways (pray for me 🙏🏻) this is just something stuck in my head inspired by the song ‘dancing with your ghost’ by Sasha alex sloan im sorry if this sucks 😔

SFW !!! 🤍🤍🤍

WARNINGS: angsty but happy ending! mentions of death. female reader!

———————————————————————

“Do you promise you’ll come back?”

“I already said yes 5 times.”

“Yeah but-“

“Y/n,calm down.”

I heard his sigh before I felt his hand on my shoulder. A small gesture that felt a lot bigger in the moment. “I promise I’ll try my hardest to come back.” His grey eyes locked on my own wide eyed stare.

“Fine,” I sigh deeply. Bringing my little finger up I feel a small smile creep onto my lips. “Solemnly swear it?” The look on Levi’s face turned into a stoic one. “I’m not pinky promising, what are you 5?”

“This is a deliciously Levi.” I grin twirling my pinky. He rolls his eyes before bringing up his own little finger to wrap around mine.

“I take this very seriously. Don’t you dare do something stupid and wind up dead out there.” My gaze turned serious one last time. The thought of him not coming back sent a shiver down my spine.

“Yeah yeah I heard you the last time.” He looks towards the rest of the scouts and the commander getting on their horses. I follow his gaze feeling uneasy. “I mean it Levi.” “I know.” “Then you better listen.” He flicks my forehead.

“Are you giving me orders?” I heard the amusement in his voice. I roll my eyes “better get going captain, they wouldn’t want their strongest soldier to be late.” I watch him nod before taking a few steps backwards. He holds up his pinky reminding me of our promise and before I know it I’m watching him ride off with the rest of the scouts.

So what? He’s only gonna be gone 2 weeks. It’s an easy mission right?

Right?

-

A month passed. One whole month. The scouts never arrived back. Some say the mission is just taking longer than they expected. Others say the mission probably failed and all scouts are dead somewhere.

Me? I spent the first 3 in a panic state. Everyone knew better then to mention the words ‘failed’ ‘missing ’ or ‘dead’ to me. I wouldn’t listen when they did anyways. I merely brushed it off and other times I yelled and told them off saying something along the lines of ‘you don’t know what you’re talking about!” And “You don’t know Levi,”

I spent the next 3 days staying up all night telling myself he’s alright.

On week two I was sleep deprived with bags under my eyes darker then the night sky I stay staring at until my body shuts down. I wake up after hours that feel like mere seconds. I can barely sleep with the thoughts racing in my mind. It feels like an eternity of worrying and fear. My friends all tried reassuring me and they checked on me enough times for me to get annoyed. Telling me stupid things like I should sleep more.

“Don’t worry okay? We know Levi he’s humanity’s strongest for a reason, and if I know that man he’d let the whole world be a snack for a titan before he gave up on coming back to you.” Hanges words helped. They did really, until I was alone. At night. In my bed staring at the ceiling. I wanted to scream at the world. ‘Heaven only knows where you are now’ I think to myself. Every passing minute the pit in my stomach grew and the pain grew sharper.

I stare at the walls. A new habit I picked up on day 3. I think to myself how my room is dirty and Levi wouldn’t approve or appreciate the lack of cleaning I’ve been doing. He’d probably flick my forehead and call me a ‘messy brat’ before sterilizing it for me and calling me hopeless under his breath.

“You pinky promised you jerk.” I say to the ceiling.

-

2 weeks easily turned into 2 months.

Easily is a weird way to put it considering it was the hardest 2 months of my damn life. I began having dreams. Detailed dreams that felt more real than any current reality. More real than any memory or waking moment. Dreams of him coming back. Embracing me telling me the mission took a turn and it lasted longer then it was supposed to. I wake up to those dreams with the biggest smile on my face every damn time.

Of course the smile turns into to tears and eye bags.

If I thought people were telling me to move on before then boy was i wrong. How do I let it go? Move on and forget him? How do I love again? How am I supposed to trust again?

I think about what I’d say to him if he appeared infront of me more then I’d like to admit. A lot of name calling. I’m planning on slapping him across his beautiful face. His face that I miss more than anything, his face I wish I could hold in my palm and smother in kisses.

But I guess that moment hasn’t come yet and I’m not sure anymore if it will.

People talk…they tell me I should focus on myself and other stupid things like he’s gone.

It was another slow week and I’ve gone too many sleepless nights staring at the same ceiling I can’t seem to look away from.

I heard a creek in the floor. The floorboard I always avoid because the sound is annoying and wakes Levi up at night. I look towards the sound and before I can open my mouth,

“Tch, did you forget how to clean while I was gone?”

My heart missed a beat. And then another.

“Levi?”

“You know anyone else who’d be this revolted by this mess?”

I stood up so quickly I felt dizzy.

“Where-where were you?! What took you so long-you jerk! I’ve been waiting! Everyone told me to move on and that you were dead! I knew it I knew you were-“

“It’s okay,” he stops me with his cold hand on my cheek. Despite the coldness of his finger tips it was the warmest touch I’ve ever felt.

“I’m okay. You’re okay. That’s all that matters I’ll tell you later.”

I nod reluctantly

-

we spent what felt like hours dancing. He spun me around enough times for me to feel dizzy. I couldn’t stop the endless giggles that caused me physical pain in my ribs and the smile that hurt my cheeks. We listened to the same songs on repeat on my record player.

I closed my eyes feeling the music and just letting myself be happy for the first time in ages as he spun me.

I open my eyes and blink a countless amount of times hoping the sight would change. Not this damn ceiling again.

Of course It was a dream, it always was. Dancing with your ghost..

-

I lost track of the time honestly I have. 4 months? 5? You’re a damn liar Levi Ackerman that’s all you are.

Even if you’re really gone I don’t care. I’m still your girl and everyone knows it-hange tried setting me up with someone a few times. I bet you could imagine how that went. ‘I’m taken.’

Stupid boys come up to me in teashops and in the streets with stupid one liners and stupid compliments and I tell them all the same thing. “My boyfriend’s waiting for me.”

It’s more like I’m waiting for my boyfriend..

And my friends talk, they always do.

‘Come on y/n you gotta move on!’

But it hurts to try.

It’s all stupid.

-

8 months pass. That ceiling is my new best friend and I appreciate it more than the real people in my life. The ceiling can’t tell me he’s gone. The ceiling can’t set me up on stupid dates and try and force me to sleep.

My heads always in the clouds and my dreams have gotten worse and end up with a bloody Levi and floods from my eyes.

I speak to myself pretending you can hear. Honestly I’ve started to believe you can. Sometimes I tell you about my shitty day or how I miss you, other times I scream about how you left me and how I hate you, but those times I end up begging for you to just come back already.

I don’t talk to my friends anymore, something about I only care about you and it’s exhausting dealing with me. Who cares I don’t need them,I only need you. Where are you?

-

“The scouts! They’re back!”

That bell. I know that bell.

“No way I thought they were all dead!”

“Is that captain Levi?!”

Whatever was in my hand now long gone in my path I barely felt the wind pushing me backwards as I ran towards the yelling.

And I seen him. The real him after all this time after all those dreams after the stupid remarks from my stupid friends after all the prayers and all the tears.

“Levi!” My voice sounded a lot more shaky than it did in my head.

I seen him on his horse. It don’t matter if he was a little farther back I seen it.

He wiggled his pinky.

———————————————————————-

A/n Pls don’t ask me where the scouts went for 8 months i literally don’t know just pretend and pretend i know how to write while your at it 🥰

Thank you for reading <3

[psuedosugu]

Hope ★

Daisuke x reader

synopsis: Daisuke gives you hope in a hopeless situation.

notes: this is lowkey corny buttt idgaf also happy new years

The faint buzz of the Tulpar filled your ears as you sat against the metal wall, your eyes squeezed shut. Everyone else was on the other side of the freighter, and you had gone off for some peace and quiet so that you could think over your current situation.

The ship now crashed, you, and the rest of the crew, were now stranded in space. Food and oxygen was limited, and the chance of rescue was slim. You found yourself wondering how it had come to this. You had always wanted to be a pilot, had worked your ass off to get into college and to find this internship, but it all meant nothing now.

You were so lost in your thoughts that you didn’t notice the noise of the door opening and shutting, nor did you notice your fellow intern, Daisuke, stepping in. “Uhh, [name]?”

you flinched at the sound of his voice as your eyes flew open.

“Oh. Hi.” you blinked up at him. “Hey,” he responded, “I was looking for you.”

“Why?” you asked. he shrugged at your question, sitting next to you. Your heart fluttered as his shoulder brushed yours. Daisuke, perhaps the sole good thing up here. You still remember the day you met him, all gap-toothed smiles and sunshine, so positively good, unlike you, you thought. The two of you had hit it off, probably due to the 2 of you both being the youngest. He was kind but still honest, funny, a dream to be around.

The two of you sat in understanding silence for a bit before he interrupted. “So..” he began, “You good?”

“Just thinking,” you responded.

“About?” he asked.

“Life on Earth. All of the things I’m gonna miss out on.”

He frowned. “Don’t think like that. I bet they’ve sent a team out to find us. We just gotta wait.”

In any other situation his optimism would’ve been endearing, but now it only served as a reminder of how hopeless their situation was. You pulled your knees closer to your chest as you blinked back tears.

“Hey, hey..” he comforted you, noticing your watery eyes, “I’m being serious. We’ll be okay, okay? I promise.” It sounded like he was trying to convince himself too.

“We’re off the grid, untraceable, and even if they could find us, are their cheap asses really gonna waste all of that money trying to get us? We’re stuck here, stuck until we run out of oxygen, or food, whichever comes first.” you countered.

“But-“ he started.

“No. You can believe what you want, but I’m not getting my hopes up.”

“-We need hope,” he continued. “Without hope we don’t have anything at all.” You stayed silent at his words.

“Please? Just…you shouldn’t just give up now.” he pleaded. “What if we do get off?”

“What if we?” you responded.

“You don’t..have anyone you want to see? anything you’re looking forward to?” You had put all of your time and effort into your education, but after this? You weren’t sure if you ever wanted to step foot into another ship ever again. The company was closing down anyways, and you had no one, no parents or friends who cared enough to lean back on. You had nothing waiting for you on earth.

“…No.” you muttered. “I don’t have anyone down there.” Daisuke frowned. “How come?” His voice had an undertone of sadness. “Guess I’m not like-able enough for anyone.” you half-joked, trying to come off as unbothered, but the frown still lingered on his face.

“I don’t think you’re unlikeable. I really, really like you, [name].” His words made your face heat up. “You- I.. I like you too.” you stammered.

“You could stay with me. My mom would like you, I bet.” He suggested, his hand creeping towards yours. “You don’t have to do all that just because you pity me.” you shot back, a bit harsher than you intended.

“I don’t…pity you. I really did mean it when I said I like you. I want to be with you. I don’t want you to be alone. Please?” He squeezed your hand as you thought it over. You didn’t want to let him go, didn’t want to let go of that hope for a better life, one where you weren’t so alone.

“Okay.” You sighed, cracking a slight smile. He smiled back, that dumb smile that had you melting over and over again. You wanted to kiss it off of his face, so you did. It was an impulse decision, a stupid one at that, but you softly put your lips on his, wrapping your arms around him. He was tense at first but then melted into the kiss, wrapping his arms around your waist.

The both of you parted for air and fear started to creep into your vision. What if you had read the room wrong? What if he didn’t like it? But then he went in for another kiss, then another, then another, peppering kisses onto your face as you giggled.

“Now c’mon, you shouldn’t just keep yourself cooped up here. It’s not healthy.” He said, pulling you up from the ground, and you left that room feeling a little lighter, a bit more hopeful.

[steveshairychest]

Steve and Robin have been working at the plant nursery for months. It was the only job that would hire them both, and it's honestly been the best job they've had.

Steve loves taking care of the plants, loves the way the outdoor plants wave at him in the wind and sparkle in the sunlight after he's watered them. No one gives him weird looks when he talks to the plants because everyone that comes in understands, they're all plant people too, they know talking to plants is hard to resist. Steve loves that they are very good listeners, especially the ferns in the back corner of the nursery. They brush their long arms against Steve's cheek and make him feel so much better after he's finished dumping all his problems on the poor plant.

And then they get a new employee, a guy with long curly hair and too many tattoos and piercings for Steve to count. His name is Eddie. And he does not have a green thumb. Not at all.

Steve can't understand why the nursery hired this guy! He's hopeless!

Steve watches in horror from behind his beloved ferns as Eddie accidentally chops the head off one of the gorgeous rose blooms while pruning and then tries to hide the evidence. He walks away from the rose bush with the poor chopped off bloom clenched tightly in his fist and then he dumps it in the compost bin.

Steve spends the rest of the afternoon glaring at the new guy while talking to the poor rose bush. Eddie flushes a shade of red similar to the rose he murdered any time Steve looks at him, and Steve hates how pretty he looks, hates that it causes a small smile to pull at his lips.

And then Eddie drops a watering can on a peace lily, a peace lily that Steve spent weeks nurturing back to life and the spell Eddie put on him with his flushed cheeks and big, brown eyes is broken.

Robin pities the poor new guy, she can see he's struggling, so she just makes him do all the heavy lifting with her. She doesn't want him anywhere near Steve's precious plants. She saw Steve reach for his giant pruning shears a few days ago when Eddie went near his ferns.

"You know he's terrified of you." Robin says to Steve on their joint lunch break. They're sitting on a stack of soil bags watching Eddie potter around and show people the plants they're looking for. Steve will give him that, he's good with people. Really good.

"Why? I'm nice." Steve takes a bite of his sandwich and avoids Robin's stare. He knows she's giving him the 'don't bullshit me' stare and if he looks, he'll crumble and do something ridiculous like admit he has been kinda mean to the new guy and that he should have just helped him out from the start instead of threatening to chop his fingers off every time he touched Steve's plants.

Steve sighs. "OK, fine. I've been a dick." Robin nods and steals the last bite of Steve's sandwich.

"Now, make it right and play nice with the pretty boy."

"He's not pretty."

"That's not what you said to your precious ferns yesterday. I think you said –" Steve walks off before she can finish and ignores her laughter as he stalks over to where Eddie is crouched in front of the baby succulents.

Steve clears his throat to get his attention and the poor guy jumps in fright and nearly smacks a succulent off the stand. "Steve! Hi! I was just talking to them. I promise."

Steve stifles a laugh and sits down on the floor in front of the low plant stand. He gently pulls a dead leaf off one plant before offering Eddie a smile, a truce. "That's good. They like it when you talk to them. I actually sing to them when I'm here alone." His sudden gentleness must spook Eddie because he just blinks at Steve, his mouth open slightly as he stares in disbelief that Steve actually just spoke to him.

"You can sing?" Eddie sits down next to him and mirrors Steve's actions; gently pulling dead leaves off and checking the soil.

"No, I can't." He laughs. "But the plants don't seem to mind."

They sit in silence for a minute before Steve gathers up his small pile of dead leaves and stands up, Eddie follows suit. "I'm sorry I've been such a dick." Steve rushes out before he loses the courage to admit it. "It's just... you're awful with plants."

Eddie laughs, the sound catches Steve off guard and echoes around the nursery, and Steve realises in that moment that he's never heard Eddie laugh before. It's loud and beautiful and Steve wants to hear it again. Every day.

"I know. I don't have a green thumb at all, but this is the only job that would take me. I think the plants want me to quit."

Steve wanted him to quit. He'd grumbled to Robin about it nearly every day. Eddie knew that and he still stayed. He smiles at Steve in a way that says he doesn't mind, he's just teasing.

But Steve still feels like a total asshole.

"I could teach you how to look after them properly." Steve offers. "I should have offered to help weeks ago." He adds on quietly as they walk through the rows and rows of plants. Steve touches all of them gently, he grazes his fingers along their leaves in a friendly greeting.

"I'd like that. I'd like that a lot." Eddie says with a smile so bright it could rival the sun and cause all of the flowers to bloom.

They spend nearly every day at work together after that. Steve helps Eddie learn all the plants' names, their technical names and the secret names Steve's given them all. Steve shows him how to prune and shape the baby hedges and tries not to blush when their fingers touch while passing over the shears. Eddie is a fast learner. He absorbs everything Steve says and then executes it perfectly. He looks over at Steve and smiles excitedly after he successfully prunes the rose bush without chopping a single bloom off.

The more time they spend together, the more Steve becomes aware of the feeling blooming in his chest. It tickles his ribs and causes him to blush and bump shoulders with Eddie more often, causes him to tuck a stray piece of hair behind Eddie's ear and brush his hand along Eddie’s back whenever he passes him.

The new bloom in his heart causes him to kiss Eddie in the back corner of the nursery behind the ferns.

Turns out Eddie has a green thumb after all because there is something so beautiful blooming between them, and so far only the ferns know about it.

[hymnserendipity]

Troubles for Shinichiro

Fluff, mention of pregnancy and Princess nicknames

One afternoon, returning from an outing with some friends for hot chocolate, you go to the motorcycle shop to join your boyfriend Shinichiro and your four-year-old son Hiro. But upon entering you noticed that Shinichiro had just removed the child from atop a motorcycle.

"Shin!!! How many times do i have tk tell you to not place the baby on the bike???!!!" Shin's smile became a little guilty once he saw your cute angry expression. He sheepishly rub the back of his neck as he walked slowly towards you.

"Sorry, Princess. But you know me~ I can't help it, he's just so cute and I can't resist the urge of wanting to pet them."

"Uhhhh" you grunt as you take the kid back. "Hiro baby, is papa bad eh?" Shinichiro chuckled while seeing the baby. He then stop right in front of you, before snaking an arm around your waist to pull you closer to him.

"Heyy... I think I'm the one who spoils you more~" Shinichiro chuckled once again at how cute you look when you're mad at him. The baby, giggles too and spoke with his cute, little voice.

"Papa, you got scolded again, huh?" Shinichiro let out a sigh, before smiling sheepishly. He gently pinched Hiro's cheek.

"No need to rub it in, bud. I can't win against your mommy~" Hiro continued giggling, while you pouted at Shin.

The others who were nearby then spoke up.

Wakasa chuckled as he poked fun at Shin.

"Yeah yeah. Our Shinichiro Sano, being scolded again by his girlfriend~" Benkei snickered as he spoke. "Man, you're so whipped."

Shinichiro just rolled his eyes and ignored them. He focused on you instead and spoke.

"How can I make it up to you, Princess?" "My pooor baby" you say, kissing the kid on the forehead. " Is dada smoking next to you?" Hiro giggles again as you kissed him. Meanwhile Shinichiro chuckled and spoke.

The kid nod happy. Shinichiro winced upon seeing your mad expression, knowing he screwed up for sure.

He raised his hands up in surrender and spoke.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I promise I won't smoke next to him anymore, Princess." "Oh Shin you are in troubles." Shinichiro gulped slightly as he smiled sheepishly at you. The other boys who were there snickered as they continue to poke fun at him.

Wakasa chuckled. "You're in big trouble, Shin."

Benkei snickered. "He's definitely sleeping on the couch tonight."

"True Benkei. I would say three days on the couch, Shinichiro Sano." Shinichiro's eyes widened when you said that. He gulped once again and spoke, trying to defend himself.

"Three days? You can't be serious! I promise I'll stop smoking next to the baby. Just give me another chance, Princess!" Benkei then spoke up again, still in a joking manner.

"You're hopeless, Shin. If you don't want to sleep a week on the couch, you better do what the princess says."

Wakasa, who was still enjoying watching Shinichiro being in trouble, then spoke up too.

"Yeah, Shinichiro. If you don't want to sleep alone for the week, you better make it up to her."

"Plus this seems a good time to give you a news." Shinichiro raised an eyebrow curiously. He looked a little worried as he spoke.

"News? What news?"

Wakasa and Benkei also looked curious, as they stopped poking fun at Shinichiro and began listening.

"Hiro baby you are going to have two little sisters." You kiss the kid that start giggling. Shinichiro's eyes widened in surprise.

Benkei and Wakasa also looked surprised and spoke at the same time.

"Wait, you're pregnant again?!"

"Yes." Shinichiro's expression immediately lightened up and turned into a smile, while both Benkei and Wakasa looked shocked.

Benkei spoke up first. "Wow, you're really pregnant again? That's huge news."

Wakasa also spoke. "Damn, you two work fast."

"We are going to have twins." Shinichiro happily encircled his arms around you and the baby. He tightened the hug, pulling you closer. He then spoke with happiness in his voice.

"Twins? You're really carrying twins? That's amazing news, Princess! I can't believe we're going to be parents of three babies." Benkei and Wakasa also look happy upon hearing the news.

Benkei spoke. "Damn, twins? That's huge."

Wakasa also spoke, a smirk appearing on his face. "You guys work fast indeed."