#but my st count is 3 too big

[earlyspringtranscendence]

this may be stupid but if a gauge swatch is knit in the round to measure 10cm x 10cm does that mean 10 around or 10 when flattened? bc i dont understand why you'd do a round gauge swatch if its supposed to be 10 in total.......... just do a flat swatch to measure 10 all.......

[sugarverse]

𝙲𝚑𝚎𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝙾𝚞𝚝 📚📖

word count: 3.3k out of 9.4k

synopsis: you, 23 reader, have been working at a library on the corner for awhile until your boss invites a hero to come and visit. The hero also happens to ask for your number... <3

authors note: yikes i know, it was originally in three parts but I don't necessarily know how to break it up, originally the story was 12k. it's written for poc!reader/black!fem!reader so there's mentions of brown skin and eyes but other than that it's your normal x reader. Izuku is aged up to 25, The smut is in the second part.

moodboard for fic by @fizziedoodle !

“Hey Miss!!” You peered down at the smaller voice, simultaneously feeling a book slip from your hand and onto the ground with a thud. The bookshelf wasn’t too high, but you still needed a ladder to organize and dust the top shelf. Which… hadn’t been so pleasant with children running around before their daily read. Regardless, you had a job to do. It wasn’t gonna stop for a ton of kids. You had been rearranging the books in alphabetical order before the kid startled you.. Thank god it didn’t fall on their head.

“Are you gonna read to us today? Or is Miss Maggie?” The kid didn’t look over six years old, blue eyes and long brown hair with freckles littering her face in the sweetest way. She wore a small dress full of sunflowers with bright pink gel shoes. You’ve definitely seen her before, although her name wasn’t ringing a bell.

“I wanted to read one of those pigeon stories you read us last time!” She squeaked, shoving the book in your direction. You let out a sigh of relief, climbing down to the ground. Leaning down to be eye-level with her, taking the book gently from the girl. The title read The Pigeon Needs A Bath.

“This book is pretty thin, You sure you want me to read just this one book, sweetheart?” You ask, handing the girl the book back before standing straight. Your hands found their way into your pockets, looking for your notepad to mark the row complete after you snagged the book back from the ground. 

“I’ll go find some more!” She hurried off, going to find even more things to shove in your face. You climb back up to finish your organizing. Their reading wasn’t for another.. what? 20 minutes? You had time to knock out another shelf. Time flew by as you finished reorganizing, hearing bigger footsteps behind you than the average 6 year old.

“I have to stop by Goodwill and get some more books.. I also gotta stop at the post office and some.. other errands?” The owner of the store, Maggie, looked over to make sure she had gotten your attention before naming off a few things that needed done in the shop “You got this reading?”

“Of course, What time will you be back?” You climbed down the last step of the ladder, patting off the dust from the bookcase that had gotten on your apron. It was some cutesy light blue apron you wore so the dust wouldn’t ruin your clothing. It didn’t match everything you wore but the baby blue made your skin pop. 

“I’ll be back in time for that uh, Pro hero guy..” She snapped her fingers, trying to place a face and a name. “I don’t know exactly who- my wife wrote him in.” Maggie waved her hand, grabbing her bag from behind the counter as you followed. “But I’ll be back to close, Promise y/n!” She gave you a quick side hug, rushing out the door.

You weren’t too involved with all the hero bullshit, competing for the number one spot on who can save more lives to be rich and famous? Please. The system in itself is ass and it wouldn’t make a difference in your everyday life for one of those snobby people to stop by. The kids seemed to love it, quirkless or not. You walked around to the counter, placing your notepad next to the register before going to sit in the small corner of the shop for reading time. Maggie left with a wave, letting a small chime rang through the shop as it called the children over for their reading, a few already sitting and ready to listen.

The library wasn’t big, it was a corner store completely renovated into a library for children. The second floor had been an apartment where the owner and her wife stayed. It was a cozy little place where neighborhood kiddos would visit for a read, parents come in to buy a few books. Maggie always made sure there was something for everyone, Along with cute little toys and those foam floor mats to sit on. The girl from earlier held 4 books in her hands, rushing to sit near the front with her pile. A few other kids held thin picture books in their hands as well, but only having 15 minutes to read to them, you knew you wouldn’t get to them all.

“Alright, Who’s first?“ You asked, smiling down at them. All twelve of them raised their hand, some even raising both so your attention was on them. Of course this wasn’t going to be easy. You thought to yourself as you put a hand over your eyes, pointing to some random kid. He held a small book, standing up slowly and handing it to you.

"My mommy reads me this sometimes..” If you give a mouse a cookie. You gave him a reassuring smile before he went back to his seat. You began to read and in no time at all you finished reading the few books children selected. Thank god it was a Friday, Most children would be picked up right after the reading for afternoon preschool etc. But it seemed like no one wanted to leave.. Was it that hero Maggie had mentioned? You sighed, hopping up and heading to the check out desk where you saw a small line of children waiting to scan their books. The store bell jingled, as if the creak of the door didn’t give away someone walking in.

“Welcome to ‘Maggie’s Magical Bookshop,’ You paid the person no mind as you spoke, handing the last child their book before letting your gaze fall upon the… very tall man in front of you. Noise almost immediately filled the shop, children running up to him screaming-

"Deku!” As loud as their little lungs could. He gave a flashy smile, leaning down to hug the children that ran straight for his legs. He laughed and lifted a few of them in his.. very strong arms. Was it hot in the bookshop? Was the AC fucked up? You force your eyes from the tall man.. fumbling with something on the desktop. Was he looking at you too? Your mind screamed at you to introduce yourself, Quickly walking towards a shelf to do something. Anything besides gawk at him.

“Are you Maggie?” There were hopping children behind him, playing with his gloves and such as he spoke up. You stopped in your tracks, huffing through your nose before turning around to face him.

“No, I’m y/n. Are you the um.. pro? She had been talking about?” He extended a hand, nodding with a cheesy grin on his face as soon as your hand was in his. It wasn’t like you never saw him on the news, but you sure did skip the channel as soon as it was some bullshit hero chart over who had been number one. He was newer to being a pro, you knew that much. He was also so much hotter in person..

“Yes! I’m sorry I’m so early, I finished patrol sooner than I thought!- I hope I’m not interrupting anything! The woman on the phone said before six, I told her I was sure I could make it before then!” Your eyes never left his, watching his gaze fall to your lips for a moment as he spoke.

“You’re fine, There’s plenty of time for you to hang out and sign all of their t-shirts and such. Make yourself at home, The reading area might be best for the swarm you got..” The kids dragged him to where you were just moments ago before he could respond, talking his ears off about different silly topics.

The poor hero stayed until close, kids coming from school to see him before going off to finish homework. It’s the busiest the store has been since opening day! However, Izuku made it a point to stay that long. He spent the last 45 minutes of the store being open to make some conversation with you, he just couldn’t help himself. You had this smile that he couldn’t resist. And quite frankly, he wasn’t used to the feeling of butterflies in his stomach. He fought some shit villain every day, What’s a few butterflies? Especially as pretty as you. Why wouldn’t he want to stick around?

“I really didn’t think it would be so calm this week! It feels like I’ve done nothing but catch up on papers!” The hero scratched his neck with his index finger, shaking his head lightly. “I guess I really am doing a good job!- Of course other pros are doing their jobs as well!” He let out a relieved chuckle, looking at you with a big, sincere, smile on his face. “How has work here been? It must be so nice working with so many children!”

You feel your eyes involuntarily roll, shaking your head and leaning against the wall behind you. “It’s nice until some kid gets sick on themselves and their mother isn’t here to help. We have extra clothing in the back because it’s happened more than once.. I don’t understand why kids throw up so much.” Your groan turned into a laugh, eyes leading to lost n found. You had an unamused look on your face talking about it. He noticed but couldn’t stop looking at your soft brown eyes. He felt like he was a kid all over again, the blush on his face never faulting.

“I see adults get sick all of the time if you can believe it..” He chuckled, looking out of the store window for a few seconds before speaking again. “Do you have a number I can text? I would love to talk to you more.. If that’s okay with you?” He braced for rejection, It was kinda weird to be hitting on you after dealing with kids wasn’t it? Maybe he should take it back. Was he coming off sleazy? Maybe he should talk to you a few times before he asks.

Your eyes widened in the slightest, feeling a smile tug at your lips. “Sure, Let me see your phone,” You stepped closer to the counter, seeing him fumble in the pouch of his belt before handing you his phone. You went to his contacts, making yourself one of them and handing it right back to him. He had an even bigger, cheesier, grin on his face after he took it back.

“I have to um.. I have to go back to my agency to make sure everything is settled for the night. I’ll be texting you as soon as I’m off!” He spoke quickly, stumbling over his words as he slowly backed towards the door. “I hope you have a good night y/n!” He waved, bumping into the door with his back before quickly leaving. He didn’t want to continue making a fool of himself.

Finally, you could go home as well. Not that he was a problem, but that man sure could talk. It was endearing. You thought to yourself, grabbing your keys and walking out to lock the small bookshop up. There was no doubt that you were attracted to him. Every woman in America.. Japan, Hell the world was attracted to him in some way. But he asked for your number. You felt your chest swell with some kind of pride. By the time you made it home, he had already texted. You two made plans to hang out soon and have dinner together. You talked for hours until you eventually fell asleep. He was ecstatic. You really enjoyed his company.

As the next Friday rolls around, He tells you to put on the most fancy thing you have in your closet. He refused to tell you where he was taking you, only that he’d be to pick you up at 6. You weren’t one for surprises but this couldn’t go too bad. Fancy clothing? Had to be a dinner! You hoped it was just dinner. Your social battery couldn’t take being fancy for more than about two hours max.

And 6:00pm sharp, there he was. He wore a shiny black tux with a handsome sage green tie, carrying flowers for you. Thinking that roses were too cliche, he had bought you a bouquet of daisies and pink lilies. He took a deep breath, walking up to your door and knocking before taking a small step back, wanting to give you some space to avoid smothering you as soon as you opened the door. The gold watch on his wrist flickered in the sunlight, the reflection of the light shimmering across your chest as you answered the door.

You had on a short, silk, black dress, fitting to your body in the best way possible. Your hair was done, your make-up was done, you even had on these cute black glittery heels you got on sale. You looked stunning. He blinked a few times, scanning your body with his emerald eyes. His jaw stayed slack, struggling to speak at first. “You look gorgeous.. I-I brought you flowers.!” He extended his arms out to hand them to you, feeling his face radiate heat from how red he had gotten. He tried to fan himself, laughing softly.

You simply smiled, taking them and going to put them in a vase. “You can come inside if you’d like! It’s not really tux weather, huh Deku?” You teased, turning on the water from your faucet and looking back at him.

He quickly nodded, walking in and shutting the door quietly behind him. “Please- Call me Izuku.” You undid the rubber band on the bouquet, sliding the flowers into the vase along with the small flower food it came with. 

“Is that your first or last name?” He looked around your cozy apartment, looking at pictures and the designs on the coffee table. Just soaking in small details. “My first name, Midoriya is my last..” He looked over at you, hearing the small clunk of glass hit the table lightly as you set the vase down. You bent over slightly, centering it at the table and moving the napkins to the kitchen counter top instead. “How’s it look, Izuku?” You looked over at him, standing up straight and leaning your arms on the back of the dining room chair.

He let his eyes drift over to the vase, smiling as he felt his face finally cool down. “I think it looks great! I didn’t want to get you roses, I just thought it was.. boring?” He didn’t want you to be allergic in some way or throw them away right after he left. Then again, He couldn’t ask what your favorite flowers had been. You would have known what he was getting. You began walking over to him, grabbing your handbag. “I think it looks pretty! Are you ready to leave?”

He beamed, nodding and opening the door for you. He gave a small bow for you to go first. You thank him, flicking off a few lights on the way out. He followed before shutting the door. You lock it with a small hum, checking that it was locked before walking you to the.. fucking limo he had waiting? Your eyes shot open in surprise, looking over at him as he looped his arm around yours and walked you to the newly washed, maybe even newly painted, vehicle.

“I hope I didn’t go too overboard? I just wanted the first date to be nice. Ya know?” He flashed a small smile, opening the door for you and hopping in himself as you two drove into town. You looked around the area, seeing fancy liquor and wine glasses close to a very clean mirror. The seats were cream colored and it smelled like new leather. Your eyes roamed, seeing Izuku sitting tense with his scarred hands placed in his lap. Maybe he was trying to avoid making you uncomfortable.. He really had been a gentleman.

You scooted closer to him, watching him quickly move his arm up top of the seat to give you room. You lean your head onto his chest lightly. “Where are we going?” You ask, looking at your freshly done nails. He wanted to leave it a surprise, looking down at you with a small chuckle.

“Nowhere too expensive,” He joked, letting his freckled hand slide to rub over your shoulder. You eased into his touch, smiling and looking down at the tight fit of his pants, rubbing a hand over his knee as well to make sure he was alright.

“That didn’t answer my question, Where we goin’?” You laughed, looking up at him to see he’s already looking down at you with the most lovey dovey face he possibly could. Still trying to soak in the sight of you.

“Don’t you wanna wait until we get there?” He faked a pout, holding back a grin creeping onto his face. You faked annoyance in return, huffing and scratching his knee a few times with your nails. “Fine, Fine.. I’ll wait.” You looked through the tinted windows, feeling your heels squish at the carpet on the floor of the limo. 

He looked at the mirror, seeing your pretty shaven legs and wanting to run his hands down them. Your skin was just so soft.. But he didn’t wanna be weird, sighing and looking away from your frame quickly. “You like steak? Or are you more of a sushi person?” Maybe he didn’t even know where you two were going, sliding his scarred hand down your arm lower than before.

“Steak is so good,” You laughed, trying to recall if you had even tried sushi. You think you have? You were up to try it again. You shrugged, “The sushi I don't mind trying, I’m probably just going to get something small.” You fumbled with your nails, picking at them slightly. Eating on first dates was always kinda weird. Especially when the person gets too scared to eat in front of you. Then you don’t wanna eat and it’s wasteful.. 

“You can buy everything in the place if you want. Don’t look at prices. I’m treating you, y/n.” He leaned down to your forehead, giving a small peck before he looked out the window again. You smiled wide as the feeling of the limo moving started to slow to a stop. The valet opened the door for the two of you, ducking his head down slightly and smiling. “Right this way,”

He bowed at the two of you, seeing the pro hero get out and turn to you. The place was lit with warm lights and music coming from the revolving door as people walked in with big flashy outfits and styled hair. You took Izuku’s hand, getting out and letting your heels clink against the top of the curb and onto the carpet leading to the entrance. He pulled you close, moving his hand to hold your waist. “Do you like it? I know we haven’t gone in yet but the lights on the outside look pretty cool, right?” The valet shut the door behind you two as you walked towards the door.

You were speechless, letting out a small but nervous laugh. “It sure is something.. It already looks too expensive.!” It wasn’t like you were poor, but it wasn’t like you were rich either. This place looked like the start off price was 200 a person for a damn drink! You kept yourself close to the hero as you both walked into the rotating door. The carpet from the walk-way turned to fancy tile that made a lovely click noise when you stepped onto it. The interior was more gold than anything with dark wood complementing the hostess stand and the pillars of the building. Gold designs littered the bar area, making it look more than pleasant. Looking to your left, there was the tallest fish-tank that you think you had ever seen. Still not as tall as the ceilings but it sure was tall enough. There had been lots of colorful fish, octopus, starfish.. Everything was in that damn tank. 

heres another link to part two if you don't wanna scroll up lol

[sp0-t]

𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐋

PoliceForce!141 x VictimsPartner!Reader

warnings - murder(er), descriptions of a crime scene, blood, not really gore, loss of a loved one.

summary - the investigation of an arising serial killer has every civilian on their toes, however it has a whole police precinct in even more of an erratic frenzy. The police force assigned to the job get the call that yet another body has been found, most likely another victim of the recent killer. The body count is high, but the tensions are even higher…

💿 (a/n) - it’s finally here!! Long awaited first post of this most likely very long ongoing series. The reader doesn’t really come out in this part but bear with me they will be out in the next! I hope you will stick around for future parts and other works in general. If you’re new to my page or this story in general, Hi! Welcome! If you’ve been following along with my updates and my page, thank you for sticking around! And I look forward to seeing you! Most importantly I hope you all enjoy and stick around some more!

prologue/ ➤ part one / part ???

2… 3… 5… 8…? How many would you leave this time, you didn’t know. You were on 10 now, how many did it take till you got bored of this one too? This one wasn’t as fun, this one didn’t put up a fight, this one took all the fun out of it. It was too easy honestly, it made you bored, easily. You stopped yourself at 23, sighing as you stood up.

You walked over to the trash can lazily taking off your gloves, making sure to engulf the knife in both gloves before begrudgingly tossing it into the tiny metal tin trash can. The metal bang rang through the small office space as you walked to the door. You pull out a cloth from your pocket before turning the doorknob and heading out the door.

“What was his name again?”

The sound of stretching as he pulls the blue latex gloves over his hands quickly dissipates while approaching the house's front door.

“Darren Boyle, he’s some rich big-time director of a construction company.”

“…Is there a reason you’re telling me this man’s finances?”

“Yeah, actually…”

The EMT halts her walking and hands the report to him

“Nothing was taken from the home, no money, no belongings, nothing.”

He takes the report and looks it over.

“Yet he still has 23 knife wounds all over his body”

The walk to the office space was short and brief, with multiple people at the crime scene, and multiple things happening all at once. The flash of the camera, the sound of plastic evidence bags, and the smell… that smell, that concoction of iron and decay that permanently scars the nose with its presence alone.

The rest of the force was already present at the scene littered around, each doing different tasks.

Officer Kyle “Gaz” Garrick, is probably the smartest in the entire county. From someone who started as a mere medical student, that ended up not being able to bear the weight of being the cause of a lost human life, went to become someone who brought “life” and justice to the lost and their families. He is the forensics specialist of the team, offering his smarts and intuition to the force. Gaz can pronounce the cause of death by a simple examination of the body, as well as match DNA evidence to a perpetrator, blood, fingerprints, spit, etc.

Officer Johnny “Soap” McTavish, investigator as well as one of the best interrogators, right behind Officer Riley. Soap used to be a big-time private investigator sometimes, often, closing cases faster than the police department itself. This eventually led to the police department trying to recruit, and find, Soap to their forces for his high investigator talent, which landed him with the force, after a very eventful high-speed chase…

Officer Simon “Ghost” Riley, aka. death reincarnated. Was discovered from his time as a mercenary, and would finish any job no matter the morals or ethics involved. The blood from his past haunted him, when he retired from his brutal position, he discovered his now-current sheriff. Who heard his story and convinced Ghost to come out of his early retirement and become a detective. Ghost took this offensively at first, seeing the offered position as some type of “downgrade”. He ended up convinced into the position and is now one of the most well-known detectives in the nation.

That leaves the sheriff…

“Sheriff Price. It’s been a while, although I’d prefer if we didn’t have to meet under these circumstances.”

“Laswell, always good to see a familiar face. Although I'd have to agree, these circumstances aren't exactly.. ideal.”

“A killer in your part of the city. A serial.. killer.”

She says the last part while narrowing her eyes behind her shoulder at the now dead body

“So”

She says with her head still facing the body

“Whats your plan.”

It wasn’t a question.. it was a demand

She turns her head, her frustrated look now landing on the sheriff.

“To catch this prick.”

They both made heavy eye contact with each other. Trying to square up the other with their looks alone, the tension rising. that is until they are interrupted

“Sheriff! You have to see this.”

A shout from Gaz, across the home office. Price’s attention immediately being stripped away from Laswell and reattaching to his officer

Gaz stands from his crouched position near the victim’s desk, the Sheriff joining his side to glance at what he had found. In Gaz’s hands was a piece of paper, one that had been splattered in blood, It wasn’t just paper, it was a note.

… a note for the Sheriff

written by: @sp0-t ©️

[thinkwosolife23]

She needs you, Alessia Russo

Today was one of the biggest games, if not the biggest game of the season.

As an Arsenal player, playing Chelsea has to be the most fustrating game to play. More importantly as a defender, you have the task of keeping Sam Kerr quiet. Even with Leah by your side, it can be extremely difficult. Despite being your rival, you have the upmost respect for the Chelsea team and all of there players, they are a talented side but that means they bring out the best in you. But it's got to the point where everyone almost expects Arsenal to lose, like we don't even put up a fight against them.

You've played Chelsea many times over the 3 years you have been at Arsenal, your win ratio isn't exactly ideal. You can count on one hand how many times you've actually beat them.

However, Arsenal have made some big changes and improvements this season. With the new signings and players returning from injury, you were hopefull, really hopefull that you could win,

One of the new signings just happened to be your fiance. You and Alessia had known each other since you were about 13 through the England youth teams.

When you were 18, you had made the venture to move to America to go to University and play for North Carolina Tar Heels. Alessia had also made the move, meaning the two of you became a lot closer. Eventually that lead to a relationship when your were both 19.

In 2020, you signed for Arsenal and Alessia had signed for Manchester United. The distance was difficult for the both of you, it definatly challenged your strength as a couple. But it mad you cherish the time you did have together even more.

You had proposed to Alessia in the iddle of Wembley stadium when you had just won the Euros, you couldn'y have thought of a better time to do it. Thankfully, she said yes.

You were over the moon when your soon to be wife decided to join Arsenal. Obviously, you knew that the choice was difficult for Alessia and you knew how much she loved her United. But you couldn't be happier knowing that for both club and country, you get to play alongside the love of your life. You had the hope that Alessia was exactly what Arsenal needed to beat Chelsea.

Anyways, the Arsenal coach had just arrived at Emirates Stadium.

Before your warm up, you had chance to go onto the field to do the pitch check, to speak with some of the Chelsea players and have time with your own teammates.

After talking to Millie and Lauren, two of your fellow Lionesses, you and Alessia began walking around the pitch looking for your families in the quickly filling stadium.

"How you feeling, love?" You asked Alessia as she began tracing patterns on your hand whilst you were walking along, somethin she usually did when she was nervous.

"I'm good." She told you, her voice not at all convincing.

"C'mon Less, you know you don't have to lie to me."

"I'm just a bit nervous, that's all. It's a big game, there's so much pressure."

"Forget about the nerves, the pressures. I have no doubt that you'll be amazing because you always are. My stargirl."

By now, the two of you had stopped walking around. You had pulled Alessia into a hug, lightly kissing her temple, her head resting in your neck.

"I love you"

"I love you too"

Before long, you were stood in the tunnel waiting for both teams to walk out. You always were last in the line, it became an almost ritual for you now. You and Katie were messing around as usual, laughing at something one of the mascots had said.

Arsenal Starting 11:

GK - M. Zinsberger LB - K. McCabe CB - L. Williamson CB - Y/N. Y/LN RB - S. Catley CDM - L. Walti CM - K. Little (C) LW - C. Foord CF - V. Meidama RW - B. Mead ST - A. Russo

Chelsea Starting 11:

GK - Z. Musovic LB - A. Lawrence CB - M. Bright (C) CB - J. Carter RB - N. Charles CDM - S. Ingle CDM - E. Cuthbert CAM - F. Kirby LW - G. Reiten ST - S. Kerr RW - L. James

The game was fairly even at both ends. You and Leah had an amzing partnership at the back which the Chelsea frontline were currently struggling to get by.

At the other end of the pitch, our fowards were doing a really good job of testing Musovic in goal but nothing had managed to get past her.

Until…

45+2' Alessia Russo Goal (A: Y/N Y/LN)

You had sent a long ball from the halfway line, which managed to go ever the Chelsea back line and reach Alessia who kicked it into the back of the net.

She ran over too you and jumped, wrapping her arms around your neck and her legs around your waist.

In the second half, Chelsea brought a tougher energy. The players were acting way harsher towards the Arsenal players, way harsher than they were in the first half. Their tackles were higher, the shoulder barges were stronger and the shirt pulls were far more occurent.

However, even by the 80th minute, you still were in the lead. You and Leah had made no mistakes at the back, the Chelsea frontline couldn't even get a proper shot off without one of you making the crucial tackle or block.

Leading to this moment. Chelsea had a corner in the 83rd minute due to you blocking a Sam Kerr shot.

At Chelsea, you knew that they either aimed for Sam's head or Millie's. They would always aim for one of them two.

You were currently in the main mix of people in the box. You were glued to Millie's side, doing your upmost to mean that the ball didn't go in the back of the Arsenal net.

Guro's delivery was impeccable, the ball heading straight fo the mix of blue and red in the box.

You jumped up to try and deter the ball when you felt something a lot harder than the ball in the side of your head.

Everyone in the stadium watched as Sam Kerr's Boot connected with the side of your head, sending you limp on the floor.

The Arsenal players in shock when you didn't get back up like you usually did. Play was immediatly stopped when you were face down on the ground, not moving.

Your teamates headed in multiple different directions. Some members of both teams gathered round your unmoving state to give you privacy whilst waiting for the medics. Alessia and Katie headed stright for Sam's direction in an angrily manor, whereas Leah and Steph wher among some wsho where straight by your side.

Leah, slowly and carefully began to roll you over so you were on your back. Players faces screwed up in horror as your face was covered in blood, which was now all over your shirt.

"C'mon Y/N, I need you to wake up now." Leah said, whilst scanning your face to see if there was any sort of response.

Alessia's fustration towards Sam had took her attention, her mind thinking you would be up by now. In the midst of it all, she hadn't noticed how you were still on the ground.

Your eyes slowly flickered open, shocked at the amount of light you were faced with. The pain in the side of your head was unlike anything you had ever felt with.

"Less?" Your voice barely scraped a whisper as all you needed was your lover by your side.

"Give us a minute, love. She's on her way."

Leah darted her eyes to Alessia's direction, to see her still going at Sam, emphisizing her fustrations and anger.

Katie had now noticed your state, realising it was way more serious than anyone had anticipated. And was now trying to help Beth steer Alessia away from Sam. Alessia wasn't ever the type to get in shouting matches but everyone knew that you were each others weak spot.

"Less, stop! You've had your say, now leave it!" Beth's unexpectedly firm voice slightly startled Alessia. Meaning her and Katie could pull her away.

"Alessia, she needs you." Katie's words made her turn around to realise that you were still on the floor, blood dripping from your head, with Leah and the medics by your side.

Alessia made little time in rushing over to your side, guilt swarming her as she let her anger overwhelm her.

"Baby, i'm sorry. I'm here now." Alessia said, taking your hand in hers. Watching on as you drifted in and out of conciousness.

The medics were quick to get you on the stretcher and off the pitch to get you properly treated.

The players and stadium erupted in claps as you were took off the pitch and down into the tunnel, towards the medical room.

There was a significant amount of extra time in the match due to your injury, but the players concentration wasn't on the match anymore. It was on whether or not you were okay.

Alessia couldn't even think straight, let alone play a match. As soon as the final whistle went, Alessia disregarded all the usual expectations of post-match and ran down the tunnel to find where you were.

The confusion flooded Alessia as she approached the medical room. Your laugh could be heard from the outside of the room.

Alessia quickly swung the door open to be met with sight of you on the medical bed with pading and bandages covering the side of your head.

"Oh my, Babe your awake." Alessia said as she saw you, her body instantly relaxed a bit.

"Babe?" Your face crumpled up in confusion and so did Alessia's as your reaction to her wasn't what she expected.

She quickly directed her look to the staff on the room who were fast to reassure her that you were quite dosed up on medication.

"I have a wife, you know." You told her factually, crossing your arms over your chest.

"Ohh do you now?" Alessia had to hold in her laugh, but her eyes also softened at what you had just said.

"Yeah, she's so beautiful. The most beautifulest girl ever."

Alessia did now actually laugh at the word you had just created.

"Can you tell me what your name is? Just so I can go and get your wife, I'm sure she would want to know that your okay." Alessia tried to go along with your words, hoping you'd eventually realise that your fiance was stood in front of you.

"Y/N Russo." You told Alessia confidently.

Alessia eyes watered at your confession but she soon thought that the best thing was to just turn around and show you the back of her shirt.

"So you stole her shirt and now your trying to steal her wife."

"Right, love, listen. I am Alessia. Your my fiance, we're not married yet."

"Ohhhhh." You said, the realisation of your confusion finally hitting you.

Alessia came and sat on the bed next to you. You moved over so she could lay down meaning you could rest your head on her chest. Your hands wrapping tightly around her waist as hers lightly rubbed your back.

"I quite like the sound of Y/N Russo, though."

[kiiwiigii]

Abandoned

Demetri x Fem!Reader

Summary: Going to Italy over spring break was not what you had in mind, but Bella said she needed you. Until she didn't anymore, leaving you in the hands of a handsome vampire, who happens to be your mate.

Warnings:

Angst

Bella and the Cullens suck. (Ha ha. I'm so funny.)

Word Count: 1500+

Requested?: Yes!

heya thanks for answering my earlier ask about requests! Could I please request a demetri x reader angsty with fluff where they meet in new moon as reader tags along with bella to help and demtri is drawn to her cause theyre mates and volturi agree to let bella go and be turned later if the reader stays and reader is hurt that edward, bella and even alice agree to it so quickly so she feels abandoned and demetri works to earn her trust and comforts her about it at a later date? (If its too much or you end up tweaking it thats okay!!) <3

A/N: What kind of Volturi fic writer would I didn't do this trope? And for once it's not Alec-centric. I love it! Also, this is gonna be a two-parter.

I hated flying with a burning passion. But Bella insisted that I go with her for emotional support. I almost snapped at her to take Jacob instead. Emotional support animals were free after all. She just needed the paperwork.

Unfortunately, I don't think a big-ass werewolf-slash-shapeshifter would go over well if they were to accidentally transform. Bella was lucky that I even had a passport. In the end, it was Alice who convinced me, definitely playing the loyalty card pretty heavily. If only I had known that loyalty was not extended to me.

Italy was beautiful, but between the sweet relief of landing, Alice stealing a car, and getting caught up in the whirlwind that was the St. Marcus festival, I had barely any time to take it all in. The city was awash with hundreds of people, their red cloaks swirling about as they danced and celebrated.

Bella was diving out the car, screaming Edward's name. I dove into the crowds to follow her, making my way through the throngs of red cloaks to find her. It didn't take long before I was hopelessly lost. What had Alice said? Edward was going to reveal himself. What exactly would happen if he did? That was one thing I had never managed to get out of Bella.

Would he just… spontaneously combust?

No. That made no sense, he never would have come to the Volturi for death if that happened.

But where was the best place to do it?

I looked around desperately before my eyes landed on the clock tower in the center of the square. There. That was the prefect place. I pushed through the crowds, yelling Bella's name at the top of my lungs.

Demetri

"BELLA!"

He turned at the sound, and his dead heart seemed to beat for just a moment. Her voice sounded like heaven. Demetri scanned the square, eyes searching, desperate with hope that maybe, just maybe, she might be who he thought she was.

"Bella!'

It was closer this time, and through a break in the crowds he saw her. Time seemed to slow down as he took in the sight of her. She was by the clock tower, her chest rising and falling with the effort to breathe, as if she had just run a long distance. And given the beads of sweat along her brow and the trickles that dripped down her tantalizing neck, she had.

She was stunning. Beautiful. And more than everything that he had ever hoped for.

The other girl in front of him, Bella, turned around in both alarm and relief.

"Bella," Edward said softly. "Relax. He won't harm her."

"Demetri?" Felix asked, voice heavy with confusion.

"Stay with our… guests, Felix."

Demetri was next to the girl in the blink of an eye, stepping into her line of sight a moment later. She jerked back in alarm before making eye contact with him. And it happened. His whole world seemed to turn upside down. He grinned. She was his.

"Hello, principessa." He lifted her warm hands to his cold lips, enjoying the subtle taste of her skin. "I am Demetri. I will escort you to your friends. If you will follow me."

She raised a disbelieving brow at him, taking him in before landing on his eyes. She gulped a little and nodded her head. He held out his arm for her to take, and after a moments hesitation, she did so.

Upon arriving at the alleyway in which the others stood, his mate let go and hugged Bella tightly.

"You're alright." She breathed, her perfect voice hushed.

"I'm alright, Y/N."

"Good to have you back." It was Jane. "Aro has been wondering what has been taking so long. Let us continue."

He put a hand on his mates back, urging her forward silently.

Demetri found that he no longer cared what would happen with Cullen and his human, not so long as his mate stayed.

I was a moron.

Despite the seriously fucked up and dangerous situation that Bella had somehow pulled me into, I couldn’t help but blush as I felt this stranger's hand on my lower back.

'Demetri. His name is Demetri, Y/N.'

The gesture felt oddly warm and comforting. He felt oddly warm and comforting.

And I liked it. But also I didn't like it. He was making me feel all funny and I honestly didn't know what to do about it.

I glanced back at him, only to find him already looking at me, something akin to wonder in his eyes. He gave me a small smile and I turned back around, blushing harder. I liked that smile. A lot. I shook my head, following behind Edward and Bella, doing my best to not trip.

I had bigger things to worry about. Such as getting out of this situation alive. Alice had neglected to tell me much of anything, and I had only caught snippets of her conversation with Bella on the plane. All I knew was that the Volturi laid down the law, and they were not to be fucked with. I suddenly wished I had paid more attention instead of worrying about the death trap that was called a plane.

I grabbed Alice's hand, my anxiety spiking. She gave my hand a small squeeze, sending me another smile. But something was off. She wouldn't look me in the eye. In fact I couldn't recall her looking me in the eye since we had boarded the plane to Italy. And outside of his initial surprise to see me, neither had Edward. I frowned at the sudden realization, slowing down a moment and pulling my hand from hers. Demetri slowed down as well, gently pressing on my back for me to continue, but I stayed rooted in the spot.

"What are you hiding?" My voice cracked. "What did you see?"

Alice looked back at me, surprised.

"Now is not the time, Y/N." Demetri's lips brushed against my ear.

I really liked the way he said my name.

"Indeed." Jane turned around, her face blank.

Demetri tensed, angling himself so that I was out of Jane's eyesight.

"Do not worry, Demetri. I have no intent to harm your mate... As long as she keeps up."

She was so blasé about the whole thing that it took a minute for me to register what she said. Mate? I had a mate? Mates were a thing?

Demetri hissed at her and everyone edged away from the two of them, looking at Demetri as if he were a dead man. Jane just smiled.

"Let us continue. Demetri, do keep your human in line."

I wondered if my brain had just stopped working at that point because I would have normally said something back, but I couldn't bring myself to do much of anything. Demetri turned back around, looking at me as one would a spooked animal. And I was pretty close to a spooked animal. I was starting to hyperventilate, and I definitely wanted to run, but I couldn't get my legs to work.

"Y/N." He reached out, clasping both of my arms lightly. "I'm sorry. I didn't want you to find out this way, but we really must keep going."

I nodded, numb. Alice knew. How long had she known? And Edward hadn't bothered to say a damn thing to me either. Why? They couldn't bother to prepare me for this? I have a fucking mate. That's not something you can just shove under the rug. And Jane. Fucking Jane-

Demetri's hand slid into my own, the coolness of his skin breaking me out of my haze just enough to keep moving forward. I could feel myself beginning to shut down and disassociate, auto-pilot taking over. I could feel his thumb rubbing circles softly on the palm of my hand and decided to focus on that instead.

Jane pushed the heavy double doors in front of us open.

My brain refused to shut off, memories of the last 24 hours replaying repeatedly in my head.

Bella had been released under two conditions:

She was to be turned within the year.

I was to stay here, to be with my mate.

I didn't have a choice, not that it really mattered, because I would have given myself up in a heartbeat for Bella. But they had taken the deal with barely a thought. Even Bella. That's when I realized that she knew. She had known the whole time. And Alice. I kept thinking about how she had worked so hard to convince me to come. To be Bella's emotional support. I wasn't there to be her emotional support. I was there to be traded, like some dog. And it hurt.

I had lost everything.

My friends. My home. My family.

I would never see my mother again. My father had passed a little over a year ago to cancer, so my mother and I were already in the practice of mourning. But my mom, not only had she lost my dad, but now she would think I was dead too. How would she cope?

How was I going to cope? How could I ever trust anyone again? Bella and the Cullens had taken advantage of me. Of my love. My loyalty.

I wouldn't let it happen again. Never.

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Taglist: @alecvolturi @lack-lust-3r @pawspurpaw @pooka167 @rosedpetal

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[seeingivy]

ribbons release

actor eren x f!reader

**part of my method acting series

content: happiness for once. until it is not. ronnie's love for foreshadowing strikes again.

an: not a fan of this chapter, but we digress. read it and do not kill me if you don't like it.

song: not explicitly mentioned, but this chapter reminds me of about you by the 1975. ratty healy, I hate you but you ate on this one thing.

previous part linked here

--

“I ju-just sent my loc-location, Eren.” 

“I got it, Y/N. I just need you to hold on for ten more minutes, okay? Can you do that for me?” 

“Y-yes.” 

Seattle is famous for rain. You understand that all too well now. After what you’ve counted as twenty-seven minutes - from when you went to take the trash out to the mailpost you’re hiding behind now - you’re all but soaked. Drenched. 

Your phone is blowing up with texts, the rain is only getting harder, and the mini black dress and ribbon in your hair do no favors to keep you warm. You slide out of your call with Eren and quickly scan through the messages, buzzing so loud they’re blocking Eren’s voice. 

reiner: so, so proud of you always!!! stop being a big famous pop star and go back to being the little twerp who needs my help killing spiders on set :/ 

levi: I love you too, kid. And on a real listen, we really do love the album. 

armin: ann and i are smelling a triple threat on the horizon. love you to the moon and saturn <3

connie: i was accidentally pooping while i listened to dorothea for the first time and i think the combination of those two things at once gave me like a really visceral reaction. im not ok. u are amazing. 

mikasa: u are givg me aneurysm. pls don’t forgor to call me the scnd ur okay. 

erwin: Call me ASAP. 

erwin: Not urgent. Just feeling emotional about my little Canadian reaching hearts all over the world. 

king of bitches (maybe: ryomen sukuna): Fluff shit indeed. Blow me a kiss when you beat James for Album of the Year. 

danny: where is the album release post? it’s almost been half an hour. 

You have bigger problems at the moment. Like the frozen piece of fabric you’re wearing. You should have named the album sweaters or scarves or something. Then at least you’d be warm. And blend in with the paparazzi. 

Fuck.

“W-wait, Eren. Y-you ca-n’t b-be the one to get me.” you murmur, shivering through your teeth.

“Do you want to stay with someone else? I know nice people here. My neighbor is in her late forties and has like two middle school aged girls that are really nice. They’d take care of you, I promise you can trust them and-” he rambles. 

“N-no. I want to st-stay with you. But pa-papara-zzi. S-send ss-omeone e-else.” 

“Paparazzi? Why are-?” 

“Er-eren.” 

“Would it be that bad if it was me? Like it has to be someone else, Y/N?” 

“Y-yes.” 

“I have someone in mind. She’s leaving right now, okay?” 

Eren’s sound is muffled over the line now, which has you digging your phone into your ear to catch the ends of what he’s saying. 

Blast the heater….butt warmer on before she’s in the car….bring it up and I will kick your freeloading….

“Y/N?” 

“H-here.” 

“Good. I’m sending her. Don't get upset, this is the best I could do, okay? I-I promise she’s actually nice. You can trust her and-and I’d never send someone who would do something bad.”  

“O-okay. I t-trust you. J-just get me ou-out of th-this, please.” you whimper, praying to god the rustling behind you is a rabbit and not the group of them finding you. 

“I’m trying sweetheart, okay? She’s speeding. She’s on Main and Third, three lights and she’s there.” 

That’s when you see it. The flash of the camera. And hear five consecutive clicks right after. You look around the periphery, before you see two of them, two tall guys speed walking closer to where you’re hiding. 

So you do the only thing you can. Stand up and run instead. 

You scramble up off the pavement, hiking your dress down, and keep running down the block. Climb up the gates, knock over trash cans to block the way, anything to stop them. And when you look back, after who knows how long, you realize they’re gone. 

And sit flat on the messy pavement, finally lifting the phone back up. Only to realize Eren’s no longer on the line because your phone is dead. You drop it straight into your lap and dig your hands into your head, covering your ears to stop the pounding sound of the rain from getting any louder. 

God. Just breathe. Whoever is coming to get you is on the way. They’ll come get you and then you’ll be out of this mess. 

You hear three resounding clicks and a flash of a light to look up at two different paps, two girls this time, getting a straight on picture of you. And all you can do is put your head down in your lap and cry. 

They already got the picture. There’s no point in trying to run out of it anymore. 

“Y/N.” 

“Pl-please. I’m b-begging you. You already got your picture and can ss-spin it into whatever you want. I-I’m still a person, please. Just let me go.” you respond, the tears blinding your sight of vision. 

You feel a towel being wrapped around your shoulders and soft hands lifting you up by your arms. And then all of a sudden you’re in a warm car, being sped out of the neighborhood past the groups of paparazzi in between the houses, and not directly across from them having your picture taken. 

You’re in a car. You’re okay. You’re leaving. You’re okay. 

You lean back and breathe hard, phantom sobs still racking out of your chest, trying to register that you’re almost there. Safe behind closed, triple locked doors. 

“D-did you tell Eren?” 

“Yes. He’s not far, we’ll be there soon, okay?” 

“Okay. T-thank you. I’m Y/N.” 

“Lana.” 

You turn your head to actually take in the driver this time, to be met with the Lana you feared. Ricky’s ex-girlfriend, Lana. She has short brown hair - entirely different from her long, beachy waves from the Girlfriend incident - a pointed nose and a very clenched jaw. 

“Th-there are more blankets on the floor. I pumped the heater pretty hard, but I’ll turn all the fans your way. And anything you could possibly need is being rushed to the house for you, so just don’t worry, okay?” 

“I appreciate it. Thank you for coming to get me. I-I” 

“Please don’t thank me. I just-” 

She takes a harsh intake of breath and turns to give you a look, her mouth upturned. 

“He locked you out, didn’t he?” she whispers. 

“Yeah.” you respond. 

“What did you do?”

“I told him I didn’t like him back.” 

She turns her head towards you, a look of confusion on her face. 

“It was a PR thing.” 

She snorts. 

“Your managers must hate you.” 

“I’m starting to think they just might.” 

“Well. Don’t feel bad. Not for a fucking second. Just because he likes you, doesn’t mean he’s entitled to you reciprocating back. You like who you like. And if I were you, I wouldn’t stop liking a guy like Eren for a skeeze like Ricky either.” 

You lean against the glass, hot air blowing in your face, as you take in her expression - so enraged, so exasperated, so furious that it gives you a chill. But when she looks over and gives you a halfhearted smile, you see the pained expression there too. 

That’s when you pinpoint it. Lana reminds you of Historia. 

“I’m sorry.” you respond. 

“For?” 

“You knew he locked me out. He must have done it to you too, no?” you whisper, the tension in the air delicate. 

She swallows hard and clenches her knuckles on the steering wheel, eyes laser focused on the red light shining on her face. And beyond the original striking features - her sharp jaw and nose - you see the softness too. The dimples, the wrinkles near her eyes, the light brown freckles. 

“I wanted to take time off from acting. It-I did a role that was really traumatic and I just needed a break. And he was just about to go on tour and he wanted me to come to support. Like a little cheerleader.” 

“So he locked you out?” 

“For two days. He-he’s just. A lot of the fame stuff got to him when he was really little. And now he’s got this convoluted sense of self-image and it just- I don’t know. He’s got problems.” she responds. 

“I’m sorry. Really, that’s-” 

You stop talking, words failing you. And maybe it’s the way your head was frozen ten minutes ago and it’s being melted now, or that the picture they took is going to leak soon, or that there is no good thing to say to something shitty like this. It only took him three months to turn on you, which you’re guessing is generous now. She must have infinite patience for putting up with it for an entire year. 

“In a weird way, I’m glad it’s me and not Eren. You- this does something for me. Making sure you’re not out there for two days, it-it helps me.” she whispers, looking over to give you a smile. 

“I really appreciate you, Lana. Thank you. And I-I’m not mad at you for the Girlfriend thing. You had every right to do that.” 

“Y/N. I have every right to drag Ricky James’ name through the mud. But not yours. And I- shit. Please don’t tell Eren we talked about this. He’s going to kill me.” 

“Why?” 

“He told me that if I brought it up, he’d kick me out of his house. I kind of stay there because I-I hate living in our townhouse on set because of how toxic it is and he was nice enough to offer. And he made it very clear that I have to pick you and make sure you’re okay, not make you uncomfortable or anything. We’re here to take care of you and-” 

“I brought it up. I’ll deal with him if he gives you a hard time. I used to be really good at that type of thing.” 

“I know for a fact that you could tell him to twirl in the air like a show pony and he’d do it.”

“I’ll test the theory and let you know.” 

She laughs, giving you a smile which you warmly return. Your phone buzzes in your lap, finally revived, and you send a quick message to Mikasa and Jean before shutting it off. 

“I-I didn’t know that it was going to go that far. I knew the song and that we were just going to sing it. Let people speculate it was about you. I-I didn’t know they’d have a girl who looked like you OR bring Eren up on stage. And Eren didn’t know anything about the song or the performance at all - they, they set him up.” 

“Why would they do that? I mean, they got horrible backlash in the entire thing.” 

“They thought people would like it. And they severely underestimated how much people love you. And they did it because, Eren- he. He doesn’t follow rules and-” 

“Follow rules?” 

“I’m saying too much. He-he’s going to get mad. Ju-just rest, okay? You’re okay now, we’re two minutes from the neighborhood..”  

You give her a questioning look, which she returns with a dismissive shake. Stubborn - she’s Historia alright. You lean back in the chair and reach for the music nob, twisting it on. Only to be met with the Teletubbies Theme blasting through the car and a very flustered Lana turning the knob off. 

“Fuck.” 

“Teletubbies?”

“I-I can explain.” 

“Please. I’d love to hear it.” 

She drums her fingers on the steering wheel as the silence hangs in the air. 

“Okay. Maybe I can’t explain.” 

“No need. I appreciate versatile music taste in prospective friends. Especially classics like this.” you respond, cranking the music back on. 

“Friends?” 

“Don’t be silly. Not exaggerating, but I think you quite literally saved my life a few minutes ago. You’re like the La-La to my Dipsy.” 

“Lame. You’re more of a Tinky-Winky. And anytime. We girls stick together, right?” she responds, reaching for your hand and giving it a squeeze. Like Eren. 

Did she learn the hand squeezes from Eren? Is he squeezing her hands? They live together so …are they dating? 

“We’re here.” 

You nod, appreciative of Lana more than maybe any person on god's green Earth, as she pulls into the driveway and helps you out of the car. It’s only after sitting that you’re realizing your legs are so bone dead tired that you’re barely moving on your own. 

You move past the hood of the car as Eren walks into the garage, immediately beelining towards you. His hair is long again - it’s always changing every time you see him - and he’s all wound up with tensions sitting in his shoulders. His hands are warm and cupping your face, yanking the cold towel off and replacing it with a warm one. 

“Hey. You-you nicked your face, Y/N. And you’re freezing, you-” he whispers, brushing his fingers across the skin near your eye that stings on touch. 

Lana holds the door open as he leads you in, arms aggressively moving up and down your shoulders and his face all pinched up in concern. 

“You’re good to go? I put your stuff out by the door.” Eren says, gesturing to Lana. 

“Is she leaving?” you ask, looking up at Eren. 

“Yeah. Don’t worry, it’ll be just us. And I’m sure Mika and Jean will drop everything to fly out for you tomorrow, I can tell them if you need me to and-” 

“Well, don’t make her leave. She shouldn’t stay on that stupid set just because of me.” you respond. 

Eren looks over and glares at Lana, who is now wide eyed and giving Eren a sheepish smile. Fuck. He asked her not to talk about that. 

“Lana.” he says, in a warning tone. 

“Eren. Chill out. I didn’t even-” 

“You’re so full of yourself, you know that? You- she got drenched and the rain and you were talking about set?”

“It’s not like that! It just came up and-” 

“Oh, for sure. You just happened upon it like you were a villager walking in a town square. Ooh Y/N. You just got drenched in the rain and chased by paparazzi, but more importantly, the girls I work with are super bitchy.” he responds, mimicking her voice. 

“You-it wasn’t like that! You’re so aggravat-” 

“Eren. Leave her alone.” you ask, looking up at him. And you’re sure you must look horrible because he immediately stops when he looks at your face again and signals for her to leave, which she’s receptive to. 

“Okay. Lana, text me when you’re there. And check if you were followed on your way out.” Eren says. 

Lana stops and holds both of your arms at your biceps, hands soft on your skin. 

“Do call me if you need anything, okay? Especially Ricky related. Whatever you do, I’ll back you up, Tinky-Winky. ” 

“Thank you, La-La. I’ll take you up on that.” you respond, giving her a warm smile. 

“Oh god. No. No, you don’t get to be friends now. Fuck no, Lana. Please stick to the geriatric grandmas you play Scrabble with.” 

“You’re just mad they beat you at mahjong last week. Because you’re a prissy loser.” 

“And you’re-” 

You jab Eren in the side, signaling him to stop, as they both nod and she slides her way out. From the way he’s arguing, the look on his face is so similar to the one he gives Connie when they argue, you know they could go on for years if they got the chance. 

“Fuck you, Eren.” 

“Eat shit, Lana.” 

She flips him off as the door clicks shut behind her, the lack of her presence making you suddenly aware of your breaths. And of Eren, warm Eren rubbing into your shoulders and concerned green eyes staring into yours. 

“I like her.” you whisper. 

“Me too. Don’t tell her that though, she’s got an ego problem.” he responds.  

You laugh, which has him smiling at you, and suddenly you’re sobbing. And on cue, Eren has his arms around you, his touch warm and his voice oh so soft that it kills you. That you haven’t seen him in two months. And haven’t talked to him for longer. 

“Eren.” 

“Hey, hey. Don’t cry, it-it’ll be okay. I- we’ll fix this, okay? I’ll call Levi and Hange, whoever you want, they’ll all come and-” 

You reach up, tangling your arms around his neck as he keeps nervously talking, trying to hold you closer even though it’s not physically possible. And he’s just so- 

So familiar that he feels like home. 

“You’re breaking my heart here, Y/N. Please stop crying, I-I’ve got you, okay?” he murmurs, straight into your skin as you nod, trying your best to even out the sobs still leaving you. And slowly but surely, the stream slows and your breath evens out enough to get at least a few words out. 

“Okay. Okay, okay. I’m okay.” 

“Y/N?” 

“Hm?” 

“As much as I like holding you, you’re freezing. Take a shower first and we can do this all you want, okay?” 

You pull back, wiping the tears off your cheeks and giving him a nod. He gives you a small smile, before placing his hands on your shoulders and leading you down towards the bathroom. And you don’t miss all the posters and pictures he has on his walls - one from each season of Attack of Titan, a few of him and Armin, and even one of him and Lana flipping off the camera together. 

He pushes you into the bathroom and immediately turns on the shower all the way to the hottest setting, before turning around and putting his hands on his hips. 

“Towels, clothes, shampoo. There’s soap in there already and take as long as you want. Sit in here for three days if you have to just- do-do whatever you have to do and-” 

You pick up the bottle of shampoo, the lavender scented Pantene, the one that you’ve been using since you were fifteen. And you know, you know that Eren’s atrocious ass uses a three in one hair and conditioner so it’s not his. 

“Eren.” 

“Hm?” 

“Did you just happen to have the brand of shampoo that I use?” 

“N-no. Those are Lana’s.” 

“Then why are they unopened?” you ask, giving him a smirk. 

He glares at you, before rolling his eyes and holding your face. And now he’s leaning so close, so close that your lips are only a few feet away from yours, when he talks. 

“You know why you can’t make fun of me for keeping a spare of your shampoos in my house?” he whispers, green eyes burning in yours. 

“Why?” you whisper back, stomach lurching. 

“Because you’re actually here. I knew you’d come back to me.” he responds, giving your cheek a pinch before walking out. 

And when you watch him walk out, giving you one last smile before he shuts the door, you can’t help but roll your eyes. Typical Eren. Funny, irritating, and soft all in one. 

He’s the same as you left him. 

--

You pad out of the shower, Eren’s hoodie and sweatpants ridiculously huge on you, as you follow the sweet smell into the kitchen. Eren is leaned over the counter, sliding vegetables into two bowls of ramen as you walk in. 

“Hey.” 

“Hi. Took a while. Thought you died in there.” Eren responds, pressing his hands to your skin to test how warm they were. 

“I almost wish I did.” you respond, laughing. 

Except Eren doesn’t find it funny and instead he’s dropping the utensils and standing at your side. 

“Y/N.” 

“I was joking!” 

“Nothing about that was funny. Don’t ever joke about that.” he responds, rummaging through the drawers at your side before pulling out a little tube of gel. 

Eren taps the top of the counter, which you jump onto, before he takes his place in between your legs. His hands are focused on reading the instructions, forehead all scrunched up in concentration.

“What’s that?” 

“It’s like this…scar ointment or whatever. Helps things heal better, I want to use it on that cut on your pretty face.” he responds, twisting it open and squirting some on his finger. 

He brings his hands to your face, eyes intently focused on your cheek. You hiss the second his finger makes contact with your skin, the tingling sensation catching you off guard. 

“I’m sorry sweetheart, I know it hurts.” he whispers, smothering the cold gel down the side of your eye. 

“I-I fell on the pavement. My knees are pretty bad too, Eren.” you whisper, which he nods at. 

After he finishes, he’s carefully sliding the ends of your pants off and carefully placing the ointment on each of the jagged marks on your legs. And you eye the bowls of ramen at your side - knowing instantly that the one without mushrooms is yours - and reach for the food. The broth is so warm it soothes the aching feeling in your throat, still seasoned to perfection the way Eren always makes it. 

“Eren.” 

“Hm?” 

“Can I ask you a weird question?” 

“Sure.” 

“Are you and Lana dating?” 

He looks up from your leg and gives you a devilish smirk. And then starts laughing. Like full on, crouched over, tears from his eyes laughing.  

“Okay. It wasn’t that funny.” you murmur, rubbing your hands against the warm bowl and frowning. 

“Oh god, Y/N. Jesus-” 

“It’s a normal question! She lives with you, you trusted her to come get me, and you guys have a picture together in the hallway.” 

“Are you jealous?” he asks, standing up and leaning straight into your space. 

“Absolutely not.” 

“Are too.” 

“Am not.” 

“You don’t need to get all embarrassed. Watching you kiss Ricky James made me want to break something, preferably his neck.” 

You swallow hard at the mention of Ricky again, the thought of him and what happened was so far away because you were with Eren. In his space, in your shared bubble, after so long. And he catches on too fast because he’s already profusely apologizing. 

“Hey. I didn’t mean to bring him up, I-I’m not trying to push you into telling me what happened it’s just-” 

“No. No, Eren. It’s okay. I know. I-” 

You breathe in hard and put the bowl of ramen down and reach for his hands instead. You keep your eyes focused on them - on the little mole on his left hand, the feeling of his knuckles underneath your fingers, and on him squeezing your hands three times before you start talking.  

“Ricky and I were faking the relationship for PR. Since London Boy and all that, it was Danny and Sareen’s idea. That-that’s why I stopped talking to you, I-I felt bad. And I was ashamed that I was even doing it, I-I don’t know. The Little Women press and all that, it would just get people to stream and talk. Make me a triple threat. And then today, I- He told me he liked me. And I said I couldn’t do that right now. That I don’t like him back. I went to take out the trash because it was so awkward and then I was going to go home but he- he locked me out. And when I asked to come back in, he repeated the same words to me. That he couldn’t do that right now.” 

Eren lifts your hands, still locked with his, and presses a kiss to the top of your knuckles, as you continue. His lips burn your skin, still. 

“I was out there and it-it was cold. And then I heard the cars and I saw seven paparazzi trucks, right on the porch. Ricky, his address isn’t leaked. No-no one knew I was there or that he was but they all showed up, right when I was out there and-” 

“He called them, didn’t he?” Eren asks, his tone so harsh, so unyielding that it almost doesn’t sound like him. 

“Yeah. And I ran, for so long. I- they got a picture. A few, I know they did and I was just so, so scared that I was going to be out there forever, that I was all alone and they were just going to-” 

Eren reaches forward, wrapping you in his arms for what feels like the fiftieth time tonight, but you welcome it. Focus on his heart beating under your ear, running your fingers over his fish tattoo on his bicep, and on his soft, steady breaths. 

“Eren.” 

“Hm.” 

“You didn’t say anything. What are you thinking about?” 

“What I’m thinking isn’t productive for you to know right now.” 

You look up at him, giving him a questioning look. 

“Drop it, Y/N.” 

“No. Tell me. I’m sure you’re mad and all but-” 

“Mad? I’m fucking furious, I’m livid. That he fucking locked you out and left you in the cold. You-you could have been seriously hurt. You are hurt. And not only that, the fucking paparazzi. You-you ran in the cold, you fell, you can’t stop crying and-and- I’m going to kill this asshole when I see him next because it’s his fault you’re feeling like this.” 

“Eren.” 

“No. Shut up, Y/N. I’m being serious. I-I don’t like seeing you like this and don’t tell me not to. He hurt you. It’s that simple.” 

You deflate, knowing Eren too well to know that he won’t drop this. Especially when he’s overly passionate, deep in the feeling right now. 

“Okay. But can you just be here for me right now? I need you here and not all….tense and mad. B-Be soft. And warm.” 

He stops, the frustration in his forehead dissolving as he takes a breath and smiles at you. Not fully, but it does the job. 

“Okay. I can do that. Let’s watch Fruits Basket. And then go to bed.” 

“You hate Fruits Basket.” 

“But I love you. Enough to watch your weird bestiality adjacent show and pretend to like it.” 

You smile and he reaches forward to pinch your cheeks. 

“Look at that smile. There she is. There’s my sweet girl.” he whispers, voice all tangled in his throat. 

--

You wake up to an empty bed, Eren’s side cold. And you pull his hoodie on before padding downstairs to find Eren’s phone pressed to his ear. He gives you a wave and points to the plate - a mix of eggs, french toast, and fruits - perfectly placed to perfection. 

You give him a smile and he walks off, taking the phone with him. You frown as you watch him disappear, jabbing your fork through the cantaloupe. 

What is he talking about that’s so important he doesn’t want you to hear? 

You jump off of the stool and quietly pad towards the direction he walked, hiding in the hallway. He’s leaning against the wall, staring at the picture right across - one of Levi and Hange kissing your cheeks at the vow renewal - and angle yourself to hear his words. 

“Is he okay?” 

“I’m glad. You tell me if you need anything else, okay?” 

“Okay, Coco. I missed you too, yeah?” 

Who the fuck is Coco?

He hangs up and you immediately scramble back to the kitchen, trying your best to stay inconspicuous as he comes back and gives you a smile. It doesn’t reach his eyes, the expression on his face almost tired. 

“Hey sleepyhead. You okay?” 

“Mhm. Food is really good, Eren.” 

He gives you a smile as he sits at your side, eyes focused on you as you eat your food. He places both of your phones in front of you, and you spot yours with nearly a hundred notifications. But when you reach for it, Eren grabs your hand in the air and locks it on his own instead. 

“Just-wait. Eat first.” he says, his tone hollow.

You turn your head to the side and take in Eren’s expression, downtrodden and uncharacteristically unexpressive. The complete opposite of Eren yesterday - moony eyes and soft smiles. 

“Eren.” 

“Y/N. If I ask you to do this for me, can you trust me and listen?” 

“No. You-what’s wrong? You’re being weird.” you ask, reaching for his hand. 

He looks over, the look indiscernible, as he leans forward and presses a kiss to your cheek. 

“You-I took care of most of it, okay? Levi and Hange are coming. Just, don’t panic. You-it’s okay.” 

“Eren. You’re scaring me. Just tell me.” 

He takes a deep breath, cracking the knuckles in your hand as he nervously talks. 

“You-your pictures leaked. The ones of you running last night. And-and people started speculating really fast - wondering why you were running and crying on the night your album released instead of celebrating it. And-and then Ricky, he tweeted a bunch of things.” 

You pale. And reach for your phone, which Eren stops again. 

“They’re lies. Obviously. You don’t need to read them, not yet. And Lana told me she’s ready to back you up, whatever you want, when you need it. But, that’s not-” 

“What, Eren? Just spit it out.” you respond, frantically. 

“They- Ricky’s fans are mad at you. They’re sending you death threats.” 

“Oh.” 

You deflate, staring at the cold mess of breakfast on your plate. Death threats. Hate, you’re no stranger too. Of people commenting on your looks, how bad your singing is, how lame you are. But wishing you were dead? Full on, unbothered and cursing your existence? 

“And not just you, but your family too.” he whispers, watching your face fall. 

Your family. Your parents, Colt, Falco-

“Excuse me. What did you just say? 

Eren doesn’t respond and the tears fall immediately from your eyes, hot and angry as he reaches forward, immediately swiping them away. His expression's pained, he knows this all too well.

“I sent your family a security detail. Don’t worry. Colt was only minorly injured and-” 

You stand up and grab Eren’s shirt, bundling the fabric into a fist in your hands, as you glare at him. 

“Injured? What the fuck do you mean injured, Eren?” 

He sighs, lifting his hands to move yours, and hold them. You’re still clenching hard, so hard you’re sure you’re drawing blood, but he’s doing his best to uncurl your hands as he talks. 

“They threw a brick through the window. And the glass, Colt was sitting right there. I was just on the phone with Falco, he said he’s doing better. The security detailing has medical so you don’t have to worry about that again and they’re both okay and-” 

“No part of this is okay, Eren! Quit saying it’s okay when it’s not! They almost killed my brothers.” 

“Y/N.” 

“No. No, this is horrible, Eren. They-they don’t do any of this stuff. Falco’s barely thirteen. And Colt - he’s going to college. He’s not a celebrity, he’s not a singer, he’s just a student. How is he supposed to go out after this? Why- how is it supposed to be normal? And now, they’re going to be like us. They’re going to feel like they’re trapped in this fucking suffocating ass fish bowl and everyone’s watching and laughing at them and they just-” 

“Y/N. Stop. It’s not going to-” 

“Falco’s too soft for this. He’s just a kid, Eren. I can’t- no. This isn’t fair. Eren, they didn’t even do anything. They’re literally just related to me, they just love me and they’re getting hurt because of it. You- you’re probably getting dragged in the mud too. Everyone who helps me gets subjected to this, loving me comes with this big thing behind me and I can’t even keep people who get it with me. I let you go when you were the only person who understood and I messed it all up and got myself involved with Ricky James of all people and-” 

“Y/N. Stop. Please."

You sit flat on Eren’s floor, head in your hands, and cry, teardrops falling straight onto the floor. And Eren’s sitting there with you, with your big mess of jumbled feelings and mistakes, and trying his best to help you with it. 

That’s how Levi and Hange find you two, after pocketing the spare key Eren told them about. After he insistently called them and payed for a private jet, going on and on about how Y/N needed them. And here you two are, despite their original conceived notions that you two were fighting, on the floor, in each other’s arms. 

“Some things never change, huh?” Hange whispers. 

“Yeah. They keep fucking crying every time we see them.” he whispers back. 

--

Between Levi and Hange - Jean, Mikasa, and Connie who make it out that night - and Eren and Lana, they fix things. Most things. 

Ricky’s narrative about you is clear cut - half-true and half-fake. Your team forced him to date you and defend you for PR purposes, after the Girlfriend incident. There was an agreement that you two would write certain songs, make certain appearances, and support each other. 

But then Ricky turns the gate. Says that you’ve deeply, severely hurt him. That you led him on, that you used him to boost your own ego, and that you were dangerously obsessed with fame and not him. That you were all things - heartless, fake, that he doubted if you were even a real person. A glorious pop-star, empty and hollow on the inside.

And people jump on it fast. Citing the fact that you would throw away your friendship with Historia to be famous, that you stopped dating Eren when he stopped being successful, that you can go to tours but not to Mikasa or Jean’s birthday parties. 

The worst part? Ricky lied, but the things they pointed out were true. Every mistake you make is on display and that people make it a point to draw attention o it. That you really were in too deep, too deep into pleasing Sareen and Danny, and being a triple threat that you forgot that they were all there too. 

Eren, especially. Sweet, sweet Eren who saved you, who held you when you needed him. 

You look over at him and Lana, the two of them very aggressively debating how to use their last turn of their daily Wordle, and feel your heart deflate. 

You dropped the ball. You’ll never make it up to him. 

Lana, in her infinite kindness, has chosen to share her own story, as a corroboration for yours. That Ricky taunted, mocked, and harassed her the entire time they were dating. That you're anything but the things he says. Because she’s had enough and she’ll do it to help out her Tinky-Winky. (Much to Eren’s dismay, he hates that you’re both becoming closer as time goes on.) 

And to complement the announcement, Lana asked for one thing. To go out in style. You wrote a song with her and promised her that she was going to be the lead actress in the music video. A girl rage moment, like The Man. Danny and Sareen approve the move, making no comments or concerns about anything else that happened, and ask to be involved when the time comes. 

You sit on it for a few days. Till you’re ready. But where you are now - with these people - needs to stay for a little longer. Before you brace everything again. 

“Yo.” 

You smile, opening up space for Connie on the couch for you. 

“Hi Con.” 

“Deep in your thoughts there, princess. Thinking about how your album is about to go Multi-Platinum?” 

“No. Just the entire thing.” you respond, frowning. 

Connie rolls his eyes, reaching forward to squish your cheeks way too hard. 

“Ricky, when I catch you, Ricky-” Connie says under his breath, 

You snort, reaching forward to push Connie off. You focus back on Eren and Lana, who are now pulling each other's hair and a nice string of insults, as Mikasa and Levi brew their tea, entirely unbothered in the back. 

And when the screen in front of you flashes, when your third album goes Multi-Platinum after a week of being released, they’re all climbing on you. Jean and Mikasa are hollering in the back, Connie and Lana are jostling you in the air and pressing kisses to your cheek, and Eren, Levi, and Hange smile at you, the three of them enveloped in their own hug, across the way.

You split your separate ways at the end of the week, when you’re ready. Connie, Jean, and Mikasa return to set, Lana and Eren are gone with the wind, and Levi and Hange disappear again. 

When you sit on your plane back home, it sits in. How lonely this entire thing is. How a week full of your friends who love you only happened because of this sickening thing. That it's not a given, that they're presence is only in the bad times and almost never the good.

Your phone buzzes in your lap and you pick up your phone to read the notification. 

eren: don’t be a stranger. fish like to swim in schools, not alone. 

It’s something that rings in your mind, time and time again. When everyone else wins the war, when you keep performing and letting them take and take, for the sake of the work. For the art, for your dream.

And when you give up acting, singing, and dancing at the end of it all and make zero intentions to ever do any of this again, the question still bothers you.

If fish like to swim in schools, why did Eren push you so far away? Why was he so intent on swimming alone? Where you couldn't follow?

eren: I'm not saying that for you. and I know that this is selfish but...

eren: I need you just as much as you need me.

.

.

.

Fucking liar.

--

next part linked here

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[milkweedman]

Sock issues. Trying to get the perfect gusset is harder than I hoped.

My usual gusset, which I have already established has far too much gusset material, starts at about 3.5 inches and doubles the stitch count on the heel needles. When the gusset is done I move onto a pretty wide heel. The socks fit, but there's slack for the entirety of the gusset, so they stretch out real quick. And waste yarn.

The gusset I was trying, which I just tried on (have not done the heel, but I got to the point where normally I'd start the heel): start gusset at 4.5 inches, increase sts on heel needles by about 2/3. There is almost exactly that amount of slack, and the sock is way too short to start the heel.

I think what's been going on with my socks previously is that they were too short but the excess gusset let them stretch big enough. I want them to not have to stretch that way tho, since it can constrict my toes a bit which is increasingly not great.

Excuse the awful pictures. But look at that slack, it's ridiculous. The body of the foot fits greats otherwise. But that excess is basically all of the gusset. So I don't think I need any gusset at all at least up to that point (I may add a stitch every 10 rows or so bc that would probably help keep the fit even).

People who are more experienced with socks pls help. I don't think I can omit the gusset entirely; I tried that when I first started sock knitting and i could never get my heel in the sock. Totally unwearable.

Maybe I do a very rapid increase gusset in the last inch or so before the heel ?

Advice appreciated.

[lionesses-lover]

New Girl - A. Russo

The one where you are hopelessly in love with the new girl on the team but she doesn’t seem to notice you.

word count: 5.5k

Notes: First fic ever! Hope you enjoy :)

The obsession wasn’t something you had planned. It crept up on you so suddenly that you never had a chance to process it. The minute you realised it was there you were already overcome with the powerful emotion and it was too late. You were hooked on the sweet, slightly clumsy blonde. 

Eight Years Ago

The first and only time you met was at an international camp. Norway U17s were playing England U17s at St George’s Park and at the big age of 16 it was your first time away from home and the pressure of representing your country was weighing heavily on your shoulders. The evening before the match you had felt sick to your stomach with nerves and nothing - not even the kind words of your best friend Ingrid - was able to calm you down

On the morning of the match you were still trembling with fear but tried to pull yourself together and eat some breakfast to help stop your stomach from screaming at you, telling you to go home. You eventually managed to get ready and go out to the pitch for your warm up. Then, you saw her. Chasing around a smaller brunette girl shouting something about shin pads.

“Tooney! I need those shin pads please give them back or I’ll tell the coach!” She shouted

“No way Alessia,” her friend, Tooney, replied, “this is payback for hitting me in your sleep on the bus.”

Alessia. That was her name. It was perfect.

You were stuck in place when you saw her. The light from the sun hit her perfectly, making her blonde hair shimmer and her blue eyes glisten. She looked like an angel, and just as she was turning around to carry on chasing her friend, her eyes locked onto yours. Only for a split second, but to you it felt like hours. However, before you could go and talk to her you were dragged away by Ingrid and then the match started. It was a tough match as the teams were quite evenly balanced, but unfortunately for you it ended 3-2 to England, with the girl who was already beginning to consume your thoughts scoring the winning goal in the 87th minute. All you wanted to do was go and introduce yourself, but sadly you had a flight to catch back to Norway. But that didn’t stop you from rapidly searching Instagram and eventually finding her account. Alessia Russo. Her full name sounded even more perfect. After scrolling through her posts, smiling to yourself at how gorgeous she looked, you quickly hit the follow button and turned your phone onto airplane mode before settling into you seat ready for the flight.

Unfortunately for you, that was as far as the interactions between the two of you went. A one second glance on opposite ends of a football pitch. When you switched your phone back on after your plane back home had landed you went straight onto Instagram in the hope that she had followed you back.

She hadn’t.

Present Day

“Have you heard the news?” Keira said as she bounced up to you upon entering training that day.

“No what’s happened now? Who’s injured” You asked, slightly worried as the last time Keira said there was news she revealed that Lucy had needed a minor surgery on her knee, which wasn’t the news you were hoping for.

“No one is injured don’t worry,” she replied, laughing at the panic that had spread across your face, “we are getting a new teammate tomorrow.”

“And we think you will really like her” said Ingrid, smirking whilst watching your reaction.

“Who is it?” You said.

“Alessia Russo, the blonde ex-Manchester United player, mine and Lucy’s teammate with England” answered Keira, grinning from ear to ear and bouncing around the changing room excitedly.

“Oh my god” you whispered to yourself, sitting down in shock at the thought of the girl you’ve been madly in love with for eight years finally noticing you. You turned on your phone to see the announcement posted on the FC Barcelona Femeni Instagram. Then you saw another notification.

@alessiarusso99 has started following you.

You couldn’t believe it.

“Are you finally going to make a move now?” asked Ingrid as she came and shook you out of your daze, reminding you that you needed to leave the locker room and walk to the training pitch. “You’ve been following her on Instagram for ages now, never messaged her and I know you’ve been in love with her for years. I think now is the perfect opportunity!” She said hopefully.

“I barely know her and she’s only just discovered who I am and followed me back, I’m sure she won’t be interested,” you replied sadly, “but that’s not going to stop me giving her the best welcome to Barcelona ever.”

“Ingrid, Y/N” shouted Alexia, your captain, “you can give relationship advice later, it’s time to train!”

———

After a very tiring and busy training session, filled with lots of teasing from you teammates, Mapi and Lucy in particular, who all knew about your not so secret crush, you finally made it home to your apartment. However you were not empty handed as you had decided to stop at a grocery shop on your way home to pick up some gifts to give to Alessia to try and welcome her to the team nicely tomorrow morning. You had bought some of your favourite chocolates, some fresh fruit and a small bottle of champagne so she could celebrate her new contract properly.

You went to bed early that night and made sure to set your alarm to wake up an hour earlier the next day. You were determined to make an unforgettable first impression on Alessia and that required you to get into training early so you would have the chance to speak to her and give her your gifts.

As you started to drift off to sleep, all you could think about was that gorgeous blonde who stole your heart in one moment all those years ago.

———

Your alarm woke you up bright and early the next morning and you had to take a moment in bed to remind yourself that today wasn’t a dream. She was really coming to play with you. After eight years of wishful thinking about being with her, eight years of staring at her through social media, your dreams were coming true. You were finally going to meet her.

After a quick drive you arrived at the training centre with a full hour before training began. As you roamed the empty hallways on your way to the locker room your eyes searched for a glimpse of  beautiful blonde hair, hoping you could talk to her and introduce yourself before your teammates arrived.

Unfortunately it appeared that luck wasn’t on your side today as Alessia didn’t appear until the rest of the team had arrived, Ingrid and Keira smirking to each other when they saw you patiently sitting by your locker with a small package next to you.

But when she did finally enter the room you were blown away. She was even more beautiful than her social media showed. You hadn’t seen her in person since that match eight years ago, but you were well aware that she had changed from a young girl into a grown woman, and that she had grown even more into her beauty in that time. You were not aware that her social media didn’t do her enough justice, even though she looked amazing in her Instagram posts. She was spectacular in person. Her long, tanned legs and her sleek blonde hair which was tied into her signature ponytail. Her stunning blue eyes which were shining with pride having just signed a new contract with one of the best clubs in the world. All of her was perfect. 

She walked timidly around the room, being introduced to all the players by Keira and Lucy, who had taken it upon themselves to give their national teammate the best start to the team possible. Finally, after what seemed like years, they reached you. 

“Hi Alessia it’s so nice to meet you, I’m y/n” you said, standing up to shake her hand in introduction.

“Hey,” she replied, quickly releasing your hand before staring down at the floor uncomfortably.

“I think you two have played against each other before” interrupted Keira, grinning at you.

“Um, yeah quite a while ago, I think you actually scored the winner Alessia,” you chuckled softly, hoping she would feel more comfortable.

“Oh, that’s weird I don’t remember it,” she said.

Across the room your eyes met with Ingrid as she looked at you sympathetically. She knew how much it must hurt you that Alessia doesn’t remember the moment you have been replaying in your head for almost a decade.

“No worries, like I said it was ages ago,” you smiled at her, before turning around and picking up the package you had been anxiously waiting to give her, “I actually got you a small gift, sort of a ‘Welcome to Barcelona’ thing, I hope you don’t mind.”

You had hoped she would open it then and there but sadly she just took the package, murmured a few words of thanks and moved on, following Keira as she was introduced to Alexia. 

Despite the slight rejection of your gift, you carried on getting ready for training as usual, ignoring the pitying looks of some of your teammates. You remained optimistic as you knew exactly what type of training was happening today, because you had checked the schedule in the coach’s office this morning before everyone arrived.

Today, the Barcelona women’s team would be doing training in groups based in their position on the pitch. This meant that, as you were also a forward, you would be in the same group as Alessia, who you hoped would agree to be your partner.

However, the universe seemed to have decided to make life hard for you today. By the time you plucked up the courage to ask Alessia to partner with you for one of the drills you were met with rejection once again.

“Sorry, I told Mariona I would go with her”

“Oh,” you said, trying to hide your disappointment as she refused eye contact and once again looked uncomfortable in your presence, “no worries I hope your first training goes well.”

Once again, you only received a small murmur of thanks before she turned around and walked away.

“Don’t worry,” said your national teammate Caroline as you partnered up with her instead, “I’m sure she is just nervous about being here.”

“It’s just sad,” you replied quietly, “I was so excited to finally speak to her and now I don’t think she likes me. What did I do wrong?”

“I don’t think it’s just you, she doesn’t look very happy to be with any of us,” Caroline answered, subtly pointing over to the other side of the pitch where Alessia and Mariona were working together in silence, with Alessia awkwardly looking around at the rest of the team.

“Hopefully she warms up to us soon,” you said, “I’m not sure my 16 year old self would forgive me if I let the girl of my dreams go without making a move again”

———

A month later, Alessia had made her debut for Barcelona and attended every single training session, slowly adjusting to the style of play that was always seen at the club. However there was one major issue. Alessia had not gone to any team bonding nights or accepted any offers from teammates to hang out after training. No one on the team knew what she did with her time, not even Keira or Lucy despite their many attempts to get Alessia to socialise.

Throughout the last month you had continued to try to partner up with or chat to Alessia, eager to get to know her better. However every time you were met with the same reaction. Short answers rejecting you whilst she looked uncomfortable. Each time this happened, it felt like a small piece of your heart was shattered, and you were dangerously close to having no heart all together after being rejected daily by the woman you so desperately wanted to be loved by. 

The heartache you were experiencing eventually got so unbearable that you found yourself going home with Ingrid and Mapi one night, in tears after attempting to ask Alessia if she wanted to go out to celebrate the latest Barcelona victory with the team. 

“I just don’t understand,” you cried as you sat with Ingrid sobbing into the cushions on her sofa, “why doesn’t she like us? Why doesn’t she like me? What did I do wrong”

“You didn’t do anything. I’m not sure why she doesn’t like us but it’s nothing to do with you,” replied your best friend as she felt her heart ache for you. She knew how desperately you wanted Alessia to like you, and didn’t understand why the blonde was so adamant not to accept your attempts at friendship.

“I agree with Ingrid, y/n”, said Mapi, “I’m sure it’s nothing personal, maybe she’s just shy.”

After another few hours of crying your heart out to your best friend and her girlfriend you decided to go home and attempt to get some sleep before enjoying your day off tomorrow. But once again, the universe had other plans. You were driving through the dark streets of Barcelona when you passed the apartment block where Keira and Lucy lived. It was also the apartment block where Alessia lived, in the apartment next to her English teammates in an attempt to make the transition to Barcelona easier for her.

Angry, hurt and disappointed, you suddenly felt the urge to visit the blonde. You needed an answer as to why she rejected the team, why she rejected you. You needed to know whether there was a chance that you would ever be someone she loved. 

So, you parked your car, walked into the building, took the lift to the second floor and walked up to the door of Apartment 3. Taking a deep breath, you knocked on the door and waited. Thirty seconds later, the door opened and you were met with the blonde beauty you cared so deeply for. 

“y/n, what are you doing here?” she asked, slightly alarmed at your sudden presence at her door.

“I need to speak to you, can I come in?” you asked shyly, now fully aware of where you were and what you were doing.

“Um,” she hesitates, looking behind her into the apartment, before eventually sighing and opening the door, “sure, come in.”

As you step into Alessia’s apartment for the first time, you are hit with a shock. It’s empty. The only things in the main rooms are a table and chair in the kitchen and a sofa and television in the lounge. There are no photos, no trophies or medals, no personal belongings suggesting that someone actually lives there. You look to your left into the bedroom and you see a mattress on the floor. She doesn’t even have a bed. 

Alessia clears her throat, “What did you want to talk about?”

“Why is your apartment empty?” you interrupt.

“I haven’t got round to settling in properly,” she answered, looking down sadly, “I also don’t really know my way around the city. I don’t leave the apartment that much.”

“Why?”

“I’m on the phone a lot. I call my mum, dad and brothers once a day, and my best friend Ella every two days. I also call some more of my old teammates every week.”

“Do you miss them?” you asked softly.

“So much,” she replied, looking up so you could see the tears that were appearing in her eyes, “I haven’t been away from them since I went to UNC for college but this is different.”

“I understand,” you told her quietly, “when I moved from Norway to Barcelona I was terrified about being alone that I texted my mum every hour. It was stupid but I genuinely thought no one else would talk to me.”

She stayed quiet, sitting down on the sofa playing with her fingers. You could tell she was trying not to cry. Taking a deep breath, you sat down beside her.

“Is that why you haven’t been accepting anyone’s offers to hang out?” you asked, “because you miss your family so you want to speak to them?”

“Sort of,” she confessed, “ I guess it started off that way but now I’m scared none of the others will like me. Barcelona is a tough team to join - you guys are all so close that it’s a bit intimidating to try and make friends with.”

“But we have been trying to get you to hang out with us for almost a month, you’ve even turned down Keira and Lucy,” you said.

“I guess I was worried I had missed too much. I thought it would be awkward if I tried to get close to the team now after being quite antisocial for the first month,” she sighed, running a hand through her beautiful blonde hair. “I’ve also been so busy trying to get settled into my new home at the same time as trying to improve and develop my skills on the pitch.”

“But you are doing great! You have played in 3 matches so far and the team is winning all the time,” you argued.

“I haven’t scored,” she whispered, “I’m a striker and I haven’t scored. I’m letting the team down because I literally can’t do the only thing my job says I need to do.”

“That will come with time,” you reassured, slowly reaching a hand out and placing it on her back, rubbing circles in an attempt to comfort the crying blonde, “when you are properly settled in you will be able to relax and just enjoy playing the game you love. The first thing you need to do is sort this place out. You can’t live with no bed and no photos and personal items around.”

“I don’t know where to go,” she admitted shyly.

“Well, we have a free day tomorrow, why don’t I go home now, you promise to get some sleep, and I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning and take you shopping. I’ll even help you organise everything so you feel more at home,” you suggested, secretly hoping she’d say yes in order to give you a chance to spend time with the blonde you had been dreaming of for eight long years.

Taking a deep breath, Alessia looked up at you.

“Alright, pick me up at 10?” she suggested shyly.

“I’ll be here.” you smiled.

———

The next day, as promised, you were outside Alessia’s front door at 9:55, five minutes early, which gave you five minutes to calm yourself down and reassure yourself that it was all going to be okay. You had been given a golden opportunity to make the girl you loved like you a little bit and you were not going to ruin it. Slowly, you reached out and knocked on the door, just like you had done the night before.

“Hi,” said Alessia as she opened the door, “I wasn’t sure whether you were being serious last night.”

“Of course I was being serious,” you chuckled, before holding out your hand and offering her the bouquet of flowers you had picked out at a local florist in your way to her apartment, “I um, I got you these, I thought they would be the first step in getting you settled into Barcelona.”

“Thank you so much y/n” she said, taking the bouquet as a grin began to spread across her face, “ I’ll put them in the sink until we buy a vase.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, it didn’t cross my mind that you wouldn’t have one,” you said, suddenly feeling very nervous.

“It’s fine don’t worry about it,” she chuckled softly, stepping out of the apartment, “that’s why you’re here, we are going to get me properly moved in so I can finally score my first Barcelona goal!”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m here for,” you said quietly. Was that all she thought this was? Did she just think you were doing this as a favour? You wished you could tell her how you felt, how you have been in love with her since you were 16 and you saw her once at a match. But sadly she didn’t even remember that match.

Taking what seemed like your millionth deep breath of the morning, you eventually said, “Come on Lessi, let’s go.”

If you had paid more attention to Alessia instead of focussing on trying to stop your hands shaking with nerves as you closed her front door behind her, you would have noticed the small blush that covered her cheeks as she heard the nickname you had used without noticing.

———

“I can’t believe you’re that clumsy!” You laughed as the pair of you returned to Alessia’s apartment, arms full with boxes of household items.

“It’s not my fault I couldn’t see the step was there!” she argued, grinning widely at you, “carrying this massive box is hard!”

You chuckled at her before replying: “Well at least you can finally sleep on a proper bed instead of a mattress on the floor.”

“Only if you help me set it all up,” she said, hoping you didn’t plan on leaving yet.

“Of course I’ll help,” you answered, your heart flipping around in your chest at the thought of spending even more time with the blonde, who finally seemed to be feeling more comfortable around you.

———

Four hours later, as the sun began to set in Barcelona, you and Alessia flopped tiredly onto her sofa, before looking around at her apartment. It looked like a home. You had bought some nice decorations for the rooms, as well as convincing her to finally unpack the many boxes containing photographs, trophies and medals from over the years, convincing her to display them to make the home seem personalised.

“It looks lovely, I feel so much better thank you y/n”she said softly, turning to face you, “I’m so glad to have you as my friend.”

Friend. 

Your heart broke a bit more upon hearing her call you that. As you looked into those beautiful blue eyes you desperately wished you could find the courage to confess all the feelings you had been keeping secret for the entire day. But sadly, you couldn’t. You didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable. You didn’t want to pressure her into something when she was still settling into her new life. 

“You’re welcome,” you replied quietly, “I’m always here if you need me, um, I should probably go, it’s getting late and we have training tomorrow.”

“Oh, um, sure,” she said, getting up to walk you to the door, “See you tomorrow.”

“Bye Lessi,” you said as you stood in her doorway, before taking a deep breath and doing what you knew deep in your heart you had to do. 

You slowly leant forward and hugged her. Putting your arms around her waist and letting her arms fall round your shoulders. It wasn’t a long hug, but it was what you both needed. You needed some love given to you after being in love for so long, and Alessia needed some comfort and a sense of belonging from a kind person who had managed to force themselves into her heart within a few hours.

As you pulled apart, both of you wearing matching blushes on your faces, you couldn’t help but smile at the hope that something could finally happen between the two of you.

“Right, I really need to go now otherwise I’m going to be late going to sleep, which means I’m going to be late waking up and so might be late to training and then Alexia will kill me,” you said, suddenly getting very nervous standing in front of Alessia.

“Bye y/n, see you tomorrow”

———

Two weeks later

If you said the past two weeks had been great then you would be lying. They had been like a dream. 

Every morning you walked into training and were greeted by a grinning Alessia Russo, who had become a totally different person. Her blonde hair shimmered and her blue eyes shone brightly as she chatted to many of your teammates throughout the weeks, making up for the time that was lost as she was adapting to Barcelona life.

You had finally had the opportunity to partner up with her in a few training drills and it was wonderful. The bond between the two of you was slowly getting stronger and that was showing both on and off the pitch. The pair of you had began hanging out after training every day - watching movies, visiting coffee shops and going shopping to grow Alessia’s wardrobe after she had admitted to you that she left most of her clothes back in England.

However, the only thing that wasn’t perfect was your growing love for the English blonde. You tried to keep your feelings hidden but it was becoming increasingly difficult not to confess everything to her as you became closer. 

“I don’t understand you,” said Keira one afternoon at training, as she watched you watch Alessia run around, chasing after Aitana and Claudia.

“What do you mean?” you asked absentmindedly, trying to contain a smile as the sweet noise of Alessia’s infectious laugh reached your ears.

“You are obviously in love with her and she is obviously in love with you, why don’t you tell her how you feel?”

You turned round to face Keira, the smile on your face vanishing, “It’s not that easy, she doesn’t like me,” you said sadly, “she thinks of me as a friend. That’s it.”

“I think you’re being stupid,” sighed Keira, “at least tell her how you feel, please. I don’t like watching you obsess over her. It just makes you sad because you’ve convinced yourself you’ll never have her, which is a lie.”

“I just don’t want to get hurt,” you said, “I’d much rather be her friend than nothing in her life.”

Taking a deep breath, you turned away from Keira, trying to stop your tears appearing at the thought of Alessia rejecting you.

———

“y/n! y/n!” shouted Alessia, desperately trying to get your attention over the loud music at the club, “come and dance with me!”

You hesitated, not wanting to risk being at such a close proximity to Alessia without being able to hold her or kiss her.

As if she could sense your hesitation, she shouted once again, “Pretty please, think of it as my reward for getting my first Barcelona goal.”

You were hooked. The combination of her adorable puppy dog eyes and the memories of her gorgeous 57th minute strike (assisted by you) against Real Madrid earlier that day were more than enough to convince you to go and join her on the dance floor.

As you approached the beautiful blonde you had your first opportunity of the night to take in her outfit. She was wearing a gorgeous all-black suit paired with a black crop top. She looked flawless. You just wished you could tell her that she took your breath away.

However, it seemed that Alessia had also been having similar thoughts, as she shouted “you look so good tonight, I love your style, you look amazing,” before throwing you a lopsided grin.

“Thank you Lessi, you look beautiful,” you said, finding courage in the compliment you had just received.

You slowly placed your hands around her waist as she looped her arms around your neck - the pair of you slowly swaying to the music that was being played in the club.

“I’m so happy you helped me settle in to life here, it’s wonderful. I’m really grateful to have found a friend like you,” she said happily.

There it was again. Friend. The word that made your stomach turn and you heart crack. You wished she would see you as more than that - you would give her the world if she asked you - would a friend do that?

Once again, it was as if she could sense your hesitation as she softly asked, “what’s wrong y/n? Did I do something? You seem sad.”

You rapidly looked around, trying to think of an excuse to leave the conversation before you became dangerously close to exposing yourself. However, all you saw was Ingrid and Mapi, dancing a few metres away from you. They looked so happy and in love. Mapi looked at your best friend as if she was the only person in the room and Ingrid looked at her as if she had hung the moon and the stars. 

You wanted that. You wanted that with Alessia. It was all you had wanted since you first saw her on that football pitch all those years ago.

Suddenly, you were hit with the realisation that if you didn’t do anything about your feelings then you would never have the love you so desperately wanted. Slowly, you turned back to Alessia, smiling gently as your eyes met with her.

“No I’m not okay Lessi,” you said calmly, trying to take deep breaths and say what you needed to say, “I’ve been in love with you since I saw you on the football pitch at St George’s Park eight years ago and I know you don’t remember it but you stole my heart and you are all I’ve been thinking about ever since. I’m so sorry if you don’t feel the same way and I really don’t want to make things awkward between us but I needed to tell you before it breaks me. Because I can’t keep living my life too scared to admit that I love you.”

You quickly shut your eyes after your confession, not wanting to watch her reaction in fear of disgust and rejection taking over her face.

“y/n” she said slowly, “I need to tell you something too”

You looked up to face her, ready to hear that you were too late - she was in love with someone else.

“I remember the match. I didn’t at first, but when I was sorting out all my photos the other day I found a photo from the match. We won 3-2. I scored the winner.”

You nodded carefully.

“You’ve been so lovely to me over the past few weeks. You made an effort to try and get to know me even when I was too shy and homesick to accept your kindness. I was so excited when I joined Barcelona from Manchester United. Not only because I was going to play for the best club in the world but because I was going to finally meet the player that my friend Ona had been telling me about. The beautiful Barcelona player who her Spanish teammates played with. I found you on Instagram and I was hooked, you are gorgeous.”

“Lessi..” you began, still trying to absorb the new information about her feelings.

But before you could ask what she was trying to say, Alessia leant forward and captured your lips with hers, pulling you into her by the waist whilst giving you a bruising, passionate kiss in the middle of the dance floor. 

Previously, there had been many times where you had dreamed of kissing Alessia. But no dreams could ever compare to the real thing. Her lips locked onto yours so perfectly it felt as though she was made for you. As cliché as it sounds, everyone else in the busy club seemed to fade away. You could vaguely hear Keira and Lucy shouting in the background but you blocked them out, instead choosing to wrap your arms around the blonde, trying to savour every second of this moment.

Eventually, you both pulled away, breathing heavily and smiling giddily.

“So does this mean you feel the same?” you asked shyly, hoping to hear her confirm what you already knew.

“How could I not? I love you too y/n” she answered, pulling you into her again and pressing her lips against yours.

“Finally!” You heard Ingrid say, “she’s only been crushing on Alessia for eight years”

Finally, you thought, finally you had the girl of your dreams.

———

[sanemisstalker]

!spoiler!

hey, I saw your requests are open, so here we go...

imagine rengoku and y/n had a 'friends with benefit' relationship before he passed away, but then he comes back 2 years after his 'dead'.

as half demon.

he's sitting in front of your bedroom window one night and you can't believe your eyes...

he tells you how much he missed you and that his love for you grew stronger every day (soft human ren) but when he smelled that you let giyuu touch your body... oh dear

he shows y/n who she belongs to..(rough demon ren) his other half taking over and fucks y/n so hard and good to make it clear that she belongs to him. only him.

👉👈 hf <3

You deserve the most INSANE head for this concept oh ym fucking god. Oh my fucking g o d. I went delusional when I saw this last night.

CW/ Fem reader, AFAB genitalia, Breasted /Rengoku briefly mentions Suicide/ SPOILERS FOR THE MANGA......../ Giyu's life is on a clock/ Possessiveness/ BDSM Dynamics (mutual ownership)

-I can imagine how the news would've stricken you in specific. How muted it must have been. Day in and day out of hearing the cries of people much closer to the flame pillar than you could ever hope to be.

-You weren't his brother, you weren't his father- You weren't any of the young men that watched him pass- That had to stare at his, apparently, mangled corpse for hours, awaiting help in the uncomfortably hot air he left in his death.

-Hell, you weren't even a hashira yet. You just... knew the guy a little too intimately. Just enough for it to hurt more than you felt you deserved.

-It's not like he was going to marry you, or even ask for a partnership. They hadn't found a ring on his body in some grand last appeal-

-He wasn't even thinking about coming back for you-

-and it had felt that way for a while, now. You weren't counting the days, but you knew his birthday had passed twice. You hadn't quite remembered yours, but his had come and gone.

-Rengoku always remembered those kinds of details though. He was pretty big on the little things, so much so that he considered no thing too little.

-When the ex-water hashira had dropped off a small gift, courtesy of himself, you were partially confused. You hadn't known Giyu inherently well, nor did you think he paid you any mind.

-'I've been looking for your home for a while.' He'd hand you the gift. 'It was... hard to find.'

-'What is this for?'

-'Your birthday.'

-'It's my birthday?' The question came out more pathic than you'd hoped.

-'I- this may seem invasive... but... before his death, Rengoku had mentioned the date to me in passing. I had to ask around to see what was so important about it.'

-'He mentioned my birthday?' God, you were just full of pathetic questions, it seemed.

-'The... anniversary was just last week...' He was clearly stumbling.

-'I- maybe it's because my years are... numbered... but I- I wanted to put forward his kindness. I was too in my own head to do so while he was alive. Please open it before I say anything else.'

-It was a button. The top one of the demon slayer uniform.

-'I don't want to make any... assumptions about you and Rengoku, but I know, at the bare minimum, he was fond of you. I think he would've wanted you to have something of his... He left most of his clothes to his younge-'

-He'd begin apologizing profusely when you'd start sobbing. You'd collapse into his arms, clutching the box to your sternum and just wailing- A wail you hadn't known Kyojuro would even think you'd be worthy of.

-But Giyu thought you were worthy of it, and Giyu was the only one here right now. You cried in his arms for what felt like hours. You couldn't remember the last time you'd let somebody hold you- let a lone a man.

-His smell was cathartic. Like rain.

-His kiss meant nothing. Neither did the tear filled sex. Giyu was a dying man who'd done an inexplicable kindness. You got to pretend he was there, Giyu got to experience a warmth he'd never been rewarded for throwing a life away.

-You did not want Giyu to stay over in your bed, and thanked that button on your nightstand for his absence when you awoke in the dead of night.

-but Kyojuro remembers the little things.

-And you remember those loud eyes. They were perched at your window seal.

-You blinked once, twice-

-and then his face started to form in the darkness, and you were sure Giyu must have brought some ailment with him, because no. Not your Kyojuro, it must've been a delusion. Or maybe the original wasn't really dead-

-The way he said your name was undeniable. Past the buzz of the cicadas, and the huff of the wind.

-'Y/N.' The man said.

-'K-Kyojuro?'

-'Y/N!' There was palpable glee in the air, radiating from the man that claimed to be Kyojuro Rengoku.

-'W-who are you?' You'd croak.

-'...I'm Rengoku Kyojuro?' He'd respond softly. 'It is dark in here, I suppose. I'd meet you in the daylight if I could. I'm... not able, though.'

-How love stricken you must've been. At the mere chance that it was even partially him, you were bounding into his arms. You ignored the clear horns on his head, and bizarre markings along his neck. The undeniable smell of fear wafting from him-

-It was him. You knew even God or the devil himself couldn't recreate his warmth.

-It would take everything to remind Rengoku of his enhanced strength. The feeling of your body in his arms was heavenly- He'd only felt this elated maybe once before, in his mother's arms.

-'I missed you so much. Y/N, you will... Oh no, you're crying. You can't, or I'll cry too.' But he's already crying, afraid of his new found strength, and far too happy to see your face in the moonlight. Even if it's full of tears.

-'Sweet, and beautiful. You're just as striking as when I left. You look so tired... you've slept, right? Please don't tell me you've laid awake for me?' His heart ached at your nod.

-'I-I didn't deserve-'

-'Shshsh-' His hands would run through your hair. It was the first time in so long you'd felt the weight of your body- how slow you moved. 'I should never keep you so restless- come, sleep- sleep-'

-As the high of the night wore down, and Rengoku lulled you to bed with 'I love You's and the like, he felt at peace-

-But the smell of rain on such a dry night was aggravating his nose. He'd know that smell anywhere.

-Rengoku had formed a rather unfortunate temper since his supposed death. Not that he wasn't the same, fiery man at his core, calm, booming voice and all, but something he had never struggled with was the trade marked Rengoku male hot-headedness. (He'd always found his fathers decline in pride more than a little unsightly.)

-And he now struggled with it. Kyojuro had spent the last two years burning every unprompted shred of anger away so he could stand before you now as the same emotionally intact and strong man he'd died as.

-The one he hoped you loved.

-He'd sooner take his own life than take something out on you-

-but that smell.

-When you woke up, he questioned you as gently as he could.

-'Why do you smell like... water?'

-Your admission wouldn't be easy, but you couldn't lie to the man. You'd begin crying again, begging for forgiveness. He'd pull away to look at you with pity.

-'No, no- I'm the one that left you alone for so long. Don't apologize for my faults-' His hands would begin a slow decline down your body, tugging you closer by your ass. Your face would land squarely against his bare chest...

-And his hands- those big, all encompassing hands would move up your spine, to the nape of your neck.

-'Y/N, I'd like to address the elephant in the room.' He'd mumble against your temple as his hands wandered along your frame.

-'You're... You're not entirely human. I understand that.'

-'I... am not entirely right, anymore, Y/N. I want to warn you of that...'

-'I would...' hope, the thought briefly flitted in your head. Though clearly a travesty, Kyojuro had often waited for you to make the first move. The sudden interest on his behalf was more than nice. 'I would... assume.'

-'I don't want to harm, or scare you. Please don't let me do either. If I ever even- begin to... Behead me where I stand.'

-'I-I couldn't-' You'd shudder.

-'You can.' Rengoku would assure. 'I've developed an awful habit.' He'd be squeezing your hip, massaging just rough enough to rock you. He'd pull your leg up and over his own... Slotting himself between your thighs.

-'Y/N, did you let him cum inside you?' The word felt foreign on his tongue. How crude of him.

-'N-no!' You rushed.

-'Did he make you cum?'

-'....No.'

-'Mmm.' Rengoku hummed, his large hand running up your thigh. You quivered as he made contact with your sex. 'You haven't had one in a long time, then.' His fingers would slip past your gown, and pull your garments to the side-

-'I- I haven't. It didnt..didn't... feel right-'

-'Nobody can make you cum like I can, right, Y/N?'

-'Nobody.' You rushed. Your body was reeling from his touch. The mere possibility of his cock once again battering your insides was--

-'And this...' One of his fingers would slid into you, your insides still mushy from Giyu's use. 'This is still mine, right?'

-'It's- It's a yours. It always will be.'

-'Even in death?' Rengoku whispered against your temple.

-'For forever- For as long as you want it-'

-'You're my strong girl, right?' You'd nod. You'd be his anything. 'And this,' He'd add another finger, curling them inside of you.

-Part of him was pleased, you were all stretched out and ready. Giyu must have done you well....

-Giyu had no right to do anything with you.

-'This wants your cock?' He'd ask. You didn't even think before nodding. You'd never heard such words from his mouth.

-How daunting

-You'd cling to his bare chest, trying to just get closer. 'Say you want it.'

-'Give me my cock.' You'd slur. 'I need you. I've needed you. Please- please- I need you to let me.... Use me- I-' He'd already done you in, and he hadn't even tried.

-He could never turn you down. Especially not now that he was so much weaker.

-You stayed laying down, your body pressed against his broad chest- And Rengoku slipped his cock beneath your gown. He didn't bother removing your panties.

-He didn't even let you adjust before he wrapped his arms around you tight and just began pumping.

-How cruel, but it was the least you deserved for allowing another man so close. Rengoku would never punish you for it. He was too kind. He was too good, even when a demons blood crept through his veins. Rengoku was just too fucking good-

-'You're-' a hiccup would interrupt your sob. Words were lost on your poor, over fucked mind. You'd never experienced such speed, or such a grind. 'So- good- Kyo-kyojuro---!'

-His hand swiping at your clit was quick enough for it almost feel like vibrations. Climax after climax while your creaming cunt just begged for his seed.

-You felt like you were being consumed. He didnt break eye contact with you once- Not even allowing you the reprieve to look away from him.

-'Open your eyes.' He cooed, still thrusting up and into your pussy with a roughness that seemed almost impossible with such a tone. 'Look at whose loving you while you cum. Look at whose making you cum.'

-He wanted your eyes on him, and him alone. He wasn't sure what animal he'd become if they drifted away. You wouldn't. You can't.

-He'd never been so possessive. Had never claimed you- He had never really wanted to. Marry you, definitely. Kyojuro had never planned to bed you and not dedicate his romantic life to you-

-but you were always supposed to be able to leave, if you really wanted. He wasn't sure he was strong enough to let you do that, now.

-'Say my name again. Remember whose you are, Y/N. Burn it in your head.' He hissed, an unusual quiet to his voice. It made you hang on every word.

-You were his. He was yours.

-'Kyojuro! Kyojuro!' It was all you could manage. Every question he posed, every time he hummed, or thrust, or made you cum- You'd let him seer in across your stomach if he found fit-

-Rengoku had never loved his name so much. He'd make sure to burn it in your head again, if need be.

[wandafiction]

How Much?! - Just Us Chapter 3

Warnings: Suggestive themes

Word Count: 1644

Series List | Chapter 2 | Chapter 4

================================

The elevator ride was calm compared to the car ride, Wanda was lent against me with one arm wrapped around mine and the other holding my bicep of the same arm. Her head was leaning against my arm just below my shoulder, now I could take in how tall I was compared to her, a relaxed smile on her face as we both looked at one another through the reflection in the mirrored walls of the elevator. 

I also don't feel like slamming her up against the wall and making her cum once again. I think she feels the same, as she seems more relaxed than when we were in the club and the car. Maybe I should offer her a drink and chat before anything else. No, I will offer her a drink, and we will do this at her pace. She has never been with a woman before...well now she has...but I want to make sure she is comfortable this whole night. So her pace.

"Penthouse suite?" Wanda's gaze moved from looking at me to the sign in the elevator letting us know we had arrived.

"Uh, yeah this is my floor. Well two floors." I shuffled on my feet a little, I always hated showing off my wealth too much. Nothing screams rich fucker like a 2 story penthouse at the top of an already expensive apartment building practically made for the richer people of New York. 

"Do you mind me asking what job you have to be able to have a two floor penthouse?" Wanda's voice wavered a bit trying to gauge what I would do. 

The elevator bell dinged, the doors opening straight into the entrance hall. And before you think 'oh surely anyone can access the penthouse then'. No. The building has an interface system where you have to have a key card, or if you're like me and sometimes forget your key card, a password as well to be able to access past a certain floor. However, even then the cards and passwords are linked to a particular floor number so you can't access anything but yours. The only way someone could possibly get into my pent house without any of that is with a guest password, and each one of those is different so you know who accessed your place and when.

Pretty neat if you ask me. My friend Tony Stark came up with the idea when building this place, making sure I specifically got the top floor and allowed me to design my penthouse myself. He is a good friend.

Anyway, back to Wanda's question.

"No, it's fine. I am a business woman, CEO of a tech company that works in the medical field and also a partner in my friend's tech business." 

"Wow, so earning the big bucks." I stifle a laugh.

"Yes, something like that. Drink?" I pull her to the kitchen area where I have a large wine fridge and then another fridge with beers and other alcoholic beverages in it.

"Red wine please." Wanda makes herself home on one of the stools at the kitchen's island. 

"Any preferences?" I turn with the best two bottles of wine I have holding them up to her. "Château Ausone 2003 or Château Lafite 2010?"

"I don't know. I've never had either before. Whatever you think is best for tonight." She looks like she wants to ask another question as I open the Ausone.

"You can ask me Wanda." I turn around with a wine glass in hand passing it off to her, as she looks slightly confused about how I knew.

"How much does a bottle of Ausone cost? Because you opened it like it wasn't that much. I mean it sounds posh and expensive. Sorry it doesn't matter." She takes a sip of her drink to stop her rambling. 

"It's okay Wanda I promise. You're allowed to ask these questions, you're just curious I get that." 

"Okay well how much does it cost?" She asks with a cheeky grin on her face. 

"That one is the St Emilion Grand Cru. So roughly $1200 a bottle." I hear Wanda choke slightly at my answer, but she quickly covers her mouth recovering from her momentary choke.

"Sorry, but that's more than my monthly rent. Wow. It definitely tastes like a $1200 bottle of liquid courage." She then takes another sip, now obviously savouring the drink.

"Well you can't blame me for that one. It was a gift, it's been sitting there a while. So why not treat you to it." I raise my glass to my mouth watching her reaction. 

"Oh so this is your saving for a rainy day wine?" She jokes.

"Exactly. I had no one to share it with till now, so I thought fuck it, otherwise it will never get drunk otherwise." She hums in response. "Any other questions for me princess?"

"Why the name princess? Also is it rude if I ask how much you earn a year? I mean I'm just curious, you know, expensive wine in a two story penthouse. You have to be bringing home the bacon right?" Wanda places her empty glass on the counter, and I move to top it up again as I think of an answer. 

"I don't really know. It was the first thing to pop into my head when trying to fluster you, which worked by the way." She blushes slightly as I continue. "I mean I don't call anyone princess, never have. It just seemed fitting. And as for how much I earn, are you sure you really want to know?" 

"Hmm, I mean I don't have a name for you. You're just y/n. Why? Is it a lot?" Wanda tilts her head in question. 

"Y/n is just fine. I don't need to go by anything else. Define a lot. What is a lot of money for you Wanda?" 

"Well I have a 2 bedroom apartment that costs me around $1000 a month. I'm not poor in that sense of the word, I always have spare money and savings and my salary is decent. But a lot would be...I don't know...let's set the benchmark at $500'000." I finished off my glass of wine, liking my lips cleaning them of wine not missing Wanda's eyes darting down to watch the movement.

"Then I earn waaaay more than alot. Like I asked before, are you really sure you want to know?" This time I tilt my head in question.

"Can I guess? And then you say higher or lower?" She shuffles on the stool excitedly at the prospect of the small guessing game.

"Of course go ahead."

"Uhmm a lot more than $500'000 so 1.2 mil?" I point my finger upwards to indicate it's higher. "2 million?" Again I point upwards. "5 million?" 

"Much higher." 

"12 million?" 

"Multiply that by five." It takes no longer than a second to do the Maths.

"60 million! A year? Holy shit!" 

"I make anywhere between 60 to 85 million. However, I put a lot of it back into the company and help start up small businesses and of course give to charity." 

"So what do you indulge in? Because every millionaire has something they spend lots of money on. So spend money on houses, cars or even islands? So what is y/ns favourite thing to spend money on?" 

"I am a car person myself, but I tend to buy rust buckets and fix them up myself. Of course I have luxury cars and that but they are more for formal events just for publicity and all that, my PR team seems to think it helps the company and so on and so forth. But in all honesty I like treating my friends most if all. What would you spend the money on if you had that sort of income?"

"I would love to say the same as you. You know, help others in need, give to smaller businesses and friends and family. However, if I jump from my salary to your salary I am spoiling myself first. Car, house, the whole nine yards." We both laugh at her honesty. "Now though I think I'm done with the small talk." Her voice is low, her pupils dilate as she speaks.

"Yeah and what have you got in mind princess?" I lean closer to her whispering in her ear, a shiver going down her spine.

"I think we should take this to the bedroom." Wanda sighs when I start nibbling at her ear.

"Oh yeah? And what do you want to do once we are there princess?" I move my hands to her thighs slowly moving them up and down.

"You tell me?"

"Well princess. I am going to make this the best night of your life. You're going to be screaming my name so loud you forget your own, your legs squeezing around my head as I bring you so much pleasure you won't be able to feel them in the morning. I'm going to find every little spot that sets you off and leave a beautiful purple bruise on them to remind you of how I made you feel." A small fuck leave her mouth, her legs closing slightly to gain some form of friction as I speak. "So princess, are you ready for me to take full control of you tonight?" 

"Fuck. Yes. Please. Just fuck me already." 

"I have your complete consent?" Just got to double check to make sure it is truly what she wants.

"Yes, now please fuck me y/n." 

"What's the safe word?"

"Red." 

"Good girl." A low groan leaves her lips as I pull her off the stool, her legs wrap around my waist as I start to carry her out of the kitchen. 

Tonight is going to be fun.

================================

[sourpatchys]

Chapter One: Hell Hole

Time: Right before the USJ attack

Rating: nothing explicit in this chapter, though overall this story is 18+

Word Count: 1k

Summary: To learn how to love after years of loathing— the very concept had Shigaraki sick to his stomach. He didn't love you, he didn't love anyone—not even himself. In which Tomura Shigaraki, a villain in despite of anything else, learns that maybe he doesn't hate everything after all.

A/N: Same drill as my other ongoing story! This first chapter is just a stepping stone to create some solid groundwork for future chapters, it may be short but the story cannot stand without it <3

It wasn't supposed to happen like this. You were supposed to be dead— a pile of dust in some dark alleyway where no one would think twice to look.

But you were alive, perfectly healthy and put together, staring at a sticky unwashed bar table just wishing— praying — that the floor would swallow you whole.

Disoriented couldn't even begin to explain the way you were feeling. You were nauseous, your skin was clammy and cold, a million thoughts were swirling through your head and you couldn't focus on a single one.

You were afraid to look up— hell— you were afraid to breathe too deeply without permission. No one was speaking, the only noise you could hear was the fast arrhythmic thumping of your own heart against your bruised ribs. The only concept you were able to hold onto was a single word, and even that was caught in your throat, unable to be spoken against the humid air— why? Why did this have to happen to you?

It was as if the world itself was mocking you, challenging you to try again— to go big or go home. You wanted neither.

Suddenly someone's throat was cleared, a gesture meant to grab the attention of the patrons, though you refused to look, afraid of what you might see.

"Tomura, what plans do you have for this girl?"

The voice belonged to the shadowy man behind the bar, you could feel his eyes on you as he spoke— it made your skin crawl.

"Does it matter?"

This voice was familiar, scratchy and untamed— it belonged to the man who had brought you here— the one who had tried to kill you not even a full hour earlier.

"I suppose not. I was hoping to understand the bedding situation, if she's staying I'll be needing to clean the storage room."

"Whatever."

The thought of staying in this disgusting place made you wish you would've died. It was awkward and stuffy, tense and so, unbearably quiet. Your body was in extreme amounts of pain, and you somehow doubted anyone within range cared enough to offer their assistance.

Sounds of shifting feet and clanking glass solidified your fears— you were going to be staying in this hell hole whether you liked it or not.

—

With nothing to focus on, minutes felt like hours and seconds left like decades— it was if your life force was being sucked out of your body bit by bit.

Usually, in movies or books there would be a clock ticking away in the background— a solid reinforcement that time was moving and the world hadn't ended. Unluckily enough this was reality and you were stuck clinging to yourself instead of abstract coos and ticks— not even your own breathing was loud enough to distract you from the overwhelming sound of silence.

You had almost forgotten Shigaraki was still with you— trying your hardest to lose yourself in make believe, pretending that this wasn't happening.

"Why didn't my quirk work on you."

His voice was demanding, seething and full of venom. It was an understandable question, even if it was disguised under something much more dangerous and lethal. It didn't seem as if he was used to not getting his way.

"I don't know."

It was an honest answer— choked out from your burning throat. You'd seen the horror that came from his hands. Cold, calloused and lethal weapons of destruction. When he'd touched you, you had made peace with the fact that you were going to die, that the world no longer had space for you and he was simply cleaning up the mess.

You could still feel of his fingers gripping your throat— and then your face, and then your arm and your leg. All he'd managed to accomplish was destroying your favorite jacket and turning your leggings into frayed shorts. If anything you were more confused than he could ever be.

"Bullshit. What's your quirk?"

Now this was hilarious, you weren't sure if it was the absurdity of it all or the pain finally turning your brain into mush— but you laughed. Giggling up a storm to the point your eyes were watering and your stomach felt as if it would collapse.

The stool Shigaraki was sitting on made a screech as he stood, marching towards you and grabbing the collar of your stained shirt forcing your face towards his in a frenzy.

"What's so fucking funny?!"

Without the fear holding you back, you found yourself looking into his striking vermillion eyes, small hiccups of laughter still spilling from your chest as you found the words to say.

"I'm registered Quirkless."

He threw his hands off of you, tossing your body back into the sticky unwashed counter. Looking at his face, devoid of the threat of dying, he looked like a pouting child. His brows were furrowed, his bottom lip was stuck in a pout between his teeth, and his hair was frayed in every direction, as if he had only just rolled out of bed. A distant part of you wondered how a man so slimy and unforgiving had become such a fuss in the world today. Though a much larger and present part of you knew, if he had wanted you dead, you wouldn't be sitting here right now.

In a shaky voice, one that made your bones tremble and your ever unceasing nausea to come back full force, he spoke once more. "You aren't leaving."

He was hunched over, his face now hidden under the turquoise locks that had framed his face only moments before. You felt sick again, the fear steadily creeping back into your skin as you looked away from his trembling body.

You wanted to take it back, to lie and make up some make believe quirk, just to see if maybe you could leave. To go back to your stupid 9-5 and forget this had ever happened. Realistically, you knew that wouldn't happen— Shigaraki had you in his grasp, like a snake strangling its prey.

Next Chapter

[acescorazon]

And here is the last part of my trial~

Title: Buggy's guide to bagging boyfriends

Chapter: 3/?

Rating: Pg

Word count: 2058

Chapter Excerpt:

“Why do you want to be my friend so badly?” Mihawk asks, genuinely curious as to how Buggy will respond to his question. Mihawk isn’t exactly good at socializing or being friends with people. He’s always preferred to be alone, so he doesn’t get why Buggy would think he of all people is the ideal person to be best friends with. 

“Because you’re super cool!” Buggy says, giving him a thumbs up, “And i think the three of us could be the world’s flashiest group of best friends ever!” Ah, but why do they need to be that…? “I know that you guys don’t exactly like me, but I swear I’m not that bad, and I think that we could all really get along. That’s how things should be, right? Cross Guild will be a lot stronger if we have a good relationship with each other, right?!” 

|CH1|CH2|

The showers on the wretched circus-themed island Mihawk now calls home hardly ever have warm water; it doesn’t matter if he showers early in the morning, or late at night, before everyone’s showered, or after, the place never seems to have warm water half the damn time and this is the one little thing that even Mihawk finds irritating. He can live with the circus tents and the ugly color scheme, he can live with the world thinking that Buggy is his boss, he can live with all of Buggy’s followers following him around and annoying him, but this? 

God, help him.

He showers as quickly as possible first thing in the morning, and every time he gets in the showers he hopes that: One, no one will join him. Two, that there will actually be warm water. Some days he’s lucky, some days he's not, and this is not one of his lucky days, but, oh, well, he’ll get over it. 

MIhawk swiftly makes his return to his room after his icy shower, hoping that one of Buggy’s insufferable followers won’t come up to him and start asking him questions first thing in the morning like: ‘Sir! Sir! Can you train me?’ or, ‘Sir! Sir! You’re so cool, can I have your autograph?’ Such ridiculous nonsense. 

As he returns to his sleeping quarters, Mihawk notices right away that Yoru is missing. Swords don’t just go missing, especially one of that size, so his mind instantly realizes that Yoru has been stolen, but by who? Who would be stupid enough t– 

Buggy. 

Mihawk sighs. Why in the hell would he steal his sword? Does he want him to slice him into... no, no, that wouldn’t work. Never mind. Does he want him to beat him within an inch of his life? On the outside, Mihawk remains calm as he exits his tent, but on the inside, he’s starting to grow a little peeved. It’s six in the morning, and Buggy’s doing nonsense like this already? 

And, yes, he knows that it has to be Buggy because everyone else on the island either fears him too much to go near him, or they worship the ground he walks on and would never touch his sword without begging him for his permission first. 

He searches, that big tent that Buggy uses to hold his meetings, but there’s no sign of Buggy in there. He checks his bedroom next, then the cafeteria, and the medical tent (he doesn’t know why he’d be in there either, but it doesn’t hurt to be thorough.) but no matter where he checks, he still can’t find Buggy. Is he hiding? What a coward, how dare he steal Mihawk’s beloved sword and then run away and hide? 

He searches for about an hour, an hour and a half maybe, before he runs into Crocodile. How dreadful, he really doesn’t want to hear him whine and complain first thing in the morning, especially when Mihawk’s day is already off to a bad start. He glances down and notices that Crocodile is without his hook, but doesn’t know why, nor does he bother to ask because he could care less. 

“Have you seen that coward?” Mihawk asks, and at this point, he can no longer hide his annoyance, it’s evident in the way he speaks and the way he carries himself, “My sword’s missing and I know he’s behind it.” He still can’t determine Buggy’s exact goal, but it doesn’t matter to Mihawk, he’ll knock him senseless regardless. 

“Nah,” Crocodile cackles, but despite his laugh being loud and obnoxious as always, Mihawk can hear a bit of irritation in his voice, “Don’t know if you could tell or not, but my hook’s missing.” He says a moment later, voice filled with sarcasm. 

Oh, is it now? Mihawk hadn’t even noticed! 

“And i’m pretty damn sure that the clown’s behind that too.”

What? Buggy actually had the gall to steal both Yoru and Crocodile’s hand? Why… if Mihawk weren’t so annoyed right now, he’d honestly be impressed by their ‘leader’s’ sudden bravery. What on earth compelled him to do such a thing? He has to know that he and Crocodile wouldn’t take such a thing lightly…and yet? He still did it. 

The pair join forces after that, searching high and low for Buggy and for someone who sticks out like a sore thumb, he sure does know how to hide. The longer their search drags on,  the more Mihawk’s irritation grows, and he wonders if he should just tear the whole island into shreds so Buggy won’t be able to hide anymore. He could use the small knife around his neck, it’s more for eating, but… he could make do with what he has. 

They eventually run into one of Buggy’s followers who suggests that he may or may not be in one of the island’s workshops, and Mihawk swears that if he isn’t in there, then he really will resort to destroying the island no matter how extreme the solution might seem. They waste little time rushing towards the workshop, and then heading inside, and the moment Mihawk sees Buggy with his sword in his hands, he grows utterly confused. 

What is he trying to do with it? Break it? No, if he wanted to do that, he definitely wouldn’t be trying to wrap something around its hilt… What…What is he doing? The sound of Crocodile asking where his hand is snaps Mihawk out of his thoughts and he decides to ask his own question, “Why do you have my sword?” He asks, and he’s not sure what’s more surprising, the fact that Buggy’s rewrapping Yoru’s hilt or the fact that Mihawk’s anger is starting to dim down a little. 

Mihawk hears Buggy’s explanation and takes a moment to process everything that was just said to him. He continues to watch him, dumbfoundedly, as he finishes wrapping Yoru’s hilt and then hands him back his sword. He… He did this for him..? He did this to be nice…So, Mihawk would look ‘cool’? What does that even mean? 

Mihawk blinks, thoroughly confused now, as he stares at Buggy’s grinning face. How strange, Mihawk didn’t ask for this… Does Buggy have any ulterior motives?... Did he do something to make Yoru weaker… but… it feels just the same as before… Mihawk is so confused. He’s not sure how to respond, so he doesn’t, he gives Buggy one last weird look and then leaves the workshop with a sigh, still trying to figure out if there’s something wrong with his beloved sword. 

He despises that something so important to him has been touched without his permission… But... He stares down and notices how Yoru is gleaming in the early morning sunlight, and how her hilt does look a lot nicer now that it’s been rewrapped, and Mihawk can’t help but think maybe this wasn’t the worst thing to happen, but he still doesn’t get why Buggy did it.

He said he was doing it because he wanted to surprise them and for them to look cool, but Mihawk still doesn’t get what that means…were they not cool before? The way everyone always treats Mihawk led him to believe that he was already cool… Was he incorrect? 

He spends the rest of the day, frequently looking at Yoru, almost obsessed with his sword now that it’s all polished and shiny and has a brand-new wrap around its hilt. It’s been so long since it’s looked this good, and part of Mihawk feels guilty that he’s been too busy to treat his sword better, and another part of him is… Grateful. He hates having his stuff touched, but Buggy just wanted to do something nice out of the goodness of his heart…and he also took such good care of Yoru, so maybe he shouldn’t be mad. 

No, he's definitely not mad, he’s still confused, but the more the day goes on the more that Mihawk actually finds his mood shifting. He begins to feel happy, and whenever he looks at Yoru he can’t help but smile, but then he catches himself and remembers why he’s smiling and who made Yoru so pretty and shiny, and he always quickly thinks of something different, unsure what all his sudden Buggy related thoughts mean. 

Around some time in the mid-afternoon, he finds himself a place to take a nap. Today’s location? On the beach, against a palm tree because it was the closest thing near Mihawk and he felt awfully tired. He could sleep anywhere actually as long as the place is quiet, so he gets himself comfortable and is just about to take his hat off and use it to block the sun from his face when he hears footsteps coming from behind him. 

He sighs, hoping that it’s not one of Buggy’s weird crew coming to ask him for something, and is pleasantly…yes, pleasantly surprised when he hears Buggy’s own voice calling out to him softly, “Uh, Hawkeye?” He asks, “Is it okay to talk to you?” Well… He supposes he can entertain the thought just this once, after all, Buggy did do something really nice for him. “What is it?” He asks, watching as Buggy carefully approaches him with a rather awkward smile. 

“Uh, i just wanted to say I’m really sorry!” 

An apology? But what for? 

Mihawk raises an eyebrow at Buggy, but says nothing, waiting for him to continue on with what he has to say. “I shouldn’t have taken your sword…” He says, now slowly inching forward, getting closer to Mihawk, “I just really wanted to be your friend and to do something nice for you, and, and…i didn’t really think it all through, and i should have asked first… i’m sorry.” Oh, well… how nice? He didn’t really have to apologize, Mihawk isn’t even really mad anymore. “Can i sit with you for a moment?” 

…Can he sit with him?... Can…he…? Why is he acting so strange?! Is he not afraid of Mihawk anymore? And why is he acting so nice? Honestly, Mihawk’s never had anyone so adamant in their attempts to be his friend, so Buggy’s behavior is… quite strange. Still, he shrugs, slightly amused now, “Be my guest.” He replies, and is stunned when Buggy actually sits down next to him, “I know I screwed up, but, hear me out.” He states, and Mihawk still doesn’t get why Buggy’s being so hard on himself when Mihawk isn’t even mad anymore. “I’m going to make it up to you for real this time! Crocodile says i can have a couple of days off, so i’m going to go into town and get you guys each the best gift ever!” He announces, “And then you guys will definitely want to be my best friends, right?!”  

Uh… maybe? No, wait… 

“Why do you want to be my friend so badly?” Mihawk asks, genuinely curious as to how Buggy will respond to his question. Mihawk isn’t exactly good at socializing or being friends with people. He’s always preferred to be alone, so he doesn’t get why Buggy would think he of all people is the ideal person to be best friends with. 

“Because you’re super cool!” Buggy says, giving him a thumbs up, “And i think the three of us could be the world’s flashiest group of best friends ever!” Ah, but why do they need to be that…? “I know that you guys don’t exactly like me, but I swear I’m not that bad, and I think that we could all really get along. That’s how things should be, right? Cross Guild will be a lot stronger if we have a good relationship with each other, right?!” 

Well, when he puts it that way…  Perhaps Cross Guild would be better off if they all tried to get along and be friends, though the idea honestly feels so draining. Buggy and Crocodile are so different than Mihawk. They’re both so loud and full of energy, and it honestly exhausts Mihawk at times, but… maybe he could give things a go? “Okay, that’s all!” Buggy says, suddenly snapping Mihawk out of his thoughts, “I just wanted to tell you that i’m sorry and that i’ll be getting you a different present instead, and yeah! I have to go get ready,” He chuckles, and as soon as Mihawk hears him laugh…

He starts feeling…strange... again. 

[pure-ablution]

City guide: London?

London is the nearest major city to me for much of the year, and I’m there an awful lot for all kinds of meetings and appointments. I’ve made a point of trying to step away from the basic clubs and restaurants popular amongst the usual set in the capital, and instead finding a few different places that I think are genuinely worth their while, even if they’re not the places to see and be seen. This is my own little personal directory of my top 3 (not ranked in any kind of order) for each major category—prices range, but the experiences remain top-notch, in my book.

Restaurants and bars:

German Gymnasium

1 King’s Boulevard, N1C 4BU

This lovely German restaurant is right next door to St Pancras station, and I can’t count the number of times I’ve stepped off the Eurostar and sunk into a seat at the bar here. It’s a big place, so there’s no worrying about getting a table, but it still manages to feel private and not too open despite its being housed in a former gymnasium. The staff are very attentive, and the food is both excellent and plentiful—this isn’t nouvelle cuisine in any description! Be prepared for very hearty German dishes which, although perhaps not as authentic as one might find in Germany itself, are delicious and hearty.

Le Beaujolais

25 Litchfield Street, WC2H 9NJ

This is a gorgeous, cosy little bistro and one of my favourite places in London for late-night catch-ups with old friends. Its wine list is quite extensive (ask politely behind the bar for the hidden gem list!) and the sharing platters on offer are a refreshing change from French haute cuisine in the capital, instead serving much more rustic and traditional dishes. A luxurious experience this is not, but it’s very fun, and I always meet some new and interesting people every time I pay Le Beaujolais a visit.

Gordon’s Wine Bar

47 Villiers Street, WC2N 6NE

Gordon’s is the oldest wine bar in London, and I don’t think the décor has much changed since it first opened! There’s always a queue in the evenings, so I recommend booking ahead, but once you’re inside, it’s a lovely experience. The little plates of cheese and bread to go with the wines are always very fresh and tasty, and, of course, the wines themselves are amazing. This isn’t a place only for wine buffs, I see a lot of people on dates whenever I visit, but the staff and many of the patrons are extremely knowledgeable, and you can always have a great conversation with a fellow aficionado if you look out for one.

Museums and libraries:

Victoria & Albert Museum

Cromwell Road, SW7 2RL

This is my absolute favourite of the big London museums, and probably one of my favourite museums in the whole world. I love the V&A. It’s a gorgeous space, the permanent collections form a fascinating journey through the history of decorative arts and design, and the temporary exhibitions are always incredible. It’s the world’s biggest museum of applied arts, and houses 5,000 years’ worth of textiles, jewellery, furniture, prints, and much, much more. I could spend weeks at any given time in the V&A, I just adore it.

The London Library

14 St James’s Square, SW1Y 4LG

I like to have the name of a pretty, quiet little library for each city in the back of my mind, just in case I have a little work to do or a few hours to kill, and the London Library fills that slot for me in London. It’s not as extensive as the British Library, nor as beautiful as some of the university libraries in the capital, but it’s exactly what I like, in a very convenient location for me. I pay an annual membership fee, and it’s worth it to me for the peace and quiet, the excellent staff, the open access policy, and the surprisingly extensive collection of books housed here. It’s a real hidden gem and one that I’m very grateful for.

The Wallace Collection

Hertford House, Manchester Square, W1U 3BN

I love a house museum, and I think that the Wallace Collection is an incredible example by which others ought to follow. It’s a large collection of fine and decorative arts, originally built by Sir Richard Wallace alongside the Marquesses of Hertford, in whose London townhouse the collection is held. The Wallace Collection houses one of the most important collections of 18th-century French decorative arts in the world, and puts on some extremely interesting temporary exhibitions programmes—even just browsing their exhibit archives is enough to inspire me!

Beauty and wellness:

Pied de Poule

67 Mortimer Street, W1W 7SE

One of the nice things about London is the comparatively vast selection of Slavic beauty salons and providers available, and Pied-de-Poule is my favourite spot to call upon if I’m in dire need of an instantaneous makeover. I trust the beauticians here with my hair, makeup, and nails, and—in true Eastern European fashion—they’re capable of deploying their staff to carry out multiple services simultaneously, which saves me a huge amount of time in a city that moves fast. Pied-de-Poule is a chain franchise with branches in Ukraine and Poland, and although I wouldn’t pick them over other options back home, they provide a very respectable service and I’m very happy to use and recommend them in London.

Jinny Beauty

71 Kingston Road, KT3 3PB

It’s not quite in London proper, but it’s definitely worth the trek out to New Malden to visit Jinny Beauty if you’re in search of a good facial. This Korean salon has been providing locals with glowing glass skin for over 20 years, and I love that I can go straight to Jinny and trust that I’ll receive an incredible massage combined with top-of-the-range equipment, including Hydrafacials, oxygen therapy, and ultrasonic treatments. If you’re looking for a proper, full-spectrum Korean aesthetic spa in England, Jinny is the best place for it, in my opinion, and the girls there are incredibly friendly, skilled, and knowledgeable about what they do.

New Docklands Steam Baths

30a Stephenson Street, E16 4SA

This place has recently had a bit of a makeover, but it’s still far from glamorous, so I’ll let you search up interior photos for yourself and just give you the exterior for now. New Docklands isn’t for people who are looking for a luxurious sauna experience, it’s in a grotty area, and intended for expats and immigrants who are desperate for a good steam, and that’s what it does well. The steam is great, the clientele is a mixed—but always entertaining—bag, and I’d say that this is something similar to the Russian Baths in NYC, only without the cult status. The staff are helpful, the facilities are very clean, and I’d recommend sticking to the women-only sessions on Wednesdays and leaving your fancy things at home.

Shopping:

Liberty

Regent Street, W1B 5AH

I’m not all that bothered about Harrods or Selfridge’s, but I’m a huge, huge fan of Liberty. It’s just a little bit more quirky compared to other department stores, and I always find something unusual wandering around the gorgeous mock-Tudor building. Liberty is the artistic choice, I think, and I love that it supports and champions emerging brands, artists, and designers, instead of sticking to the tried-and-tested. Their own range of fabrics, of course, are stunningly beautiful, and the staff exceptionally helpful without being overly attentive to the point of bothersome—something that often grates on me in other shops.

Sign Of The Times

5 Elystan Street, SW3 3NT

Sign of the Times began as a celebrity consignment store, and it still specialises in vintage designer and luxury brands. It’s generally my first stop if I’m struggling to find a specific piece from an old collection. The shop itself is very curated, and I’ve often found a lovely piece I didn’t even know existed just popping in during a free five minutes. Lorraine, the owner, is incredibly knowledgeable about fashion history, and she’s been able to advise me better than anyone else when it comes to more niche brands, items, and provenance. You pay for the experience and expertise, of course, but if you’re a collector or serious fashion enthusiast, then I recommend Sign of the Times wholeheartedly.

Sunbury Antiques Market

Kempton Park, TW16 5AQ

I’m not a big fan of the independent antiques scene in London, especially the markets, and I’d always recommend looking elsewhere to scratch your flea market itch—but Sunbury is pretty good, and the closest you’re probably going to get within Greater London. It’s a big, big market, and you’ll need to come prepared to scrape your knees kneeling on the floor, sift through piles of dust and rubbish, and haggle like your life depends on it, but I’ve always come away feeling triumphant at the end of it all. I recommend arriving early, before 8am if possible, having a clear idea of what you’re looking for (and what price you’re willing to pay), and wearing tough jeans and sneakers you don’t mind getting a bit filthy.

[mack-devereaux]

Comfort

Vince Dunn

Authors note: Vince is my comfort player. I love him. So it’s only fitting that I write about him in a comfort fic. No clue on word count. Pictures are from Pinterest. I think the only trigger is like 3 curse words? And a little bit of angst, just a tiny bit.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

~~~~~~

Isn’t it strange? There are so many people out there who secretly love someone. And yet there are so many people who have no idea that someone secretly loves them.

~~~~~~

Vince was new to Seattle. He had just gotten traded, he knew it was coming, but yet he wasn’t prepared for how much of a difference it would be. In St. Louis he had his friends. But here, he was so new he didn’t have friends yet and with his family in Canada he was struggling trying to settle in. He just wanted someone to talk to and hang out with. His floor in his apartment complex was very quiet, as far as he knew there were only two tenants, him and a very very quiet person, as far as the other rooms, they were used for storage. He never saw his neighbor nor had he heard them when they came and went. Until today that is, he was texting on his phone while walking down the hallway when all of a sudden something, or someone, smacked right into his chest.

“Oh my god I’m so sorry, I wasn’t paying attention I—“ the cute blonde stopped speaking immediately when she looked at him “wow your eyes are really pretty.” Vince grinned. Kinda taken aback by the chatty girl. “Oh I didn’t mean to say that out loud. I’m sorry, I’ll pay more attention next time” the girl stuttered.

“It’s really not a big deal. I’m Vince” he stuck out his hand. The girl took his hand and she swore electricity shot up her arm. “Y/n” she smiled dropping her hand and reaching for her apartment keys.

“Well for the record y/n you have very beautiful eyes as well” he added with a wink and a panty dropping smile. He felt an odd sense of calm and peace when they touched hands. “Do you flirt with all your neighbors Dunner?” She asked.

“Wait how do you—“ his eyebrows pinched together, she knew who he was.

“I work for the Kraken sometimes. I’m one of the extra medics they call in when you guys get too crazy out there. It’s my job to know who you guys are. But you should get going before you’re late to training” she leaned into her doorway of her apartment.

“Shit, yea. Well I guess I will see you around then, don’t be a stranger. You can come hang out anytime, I’m only a door away” he smiled and started to walk down the hall to go to the gym. Looking back over his shoulder he noticed her watching him “you too Vince”.

*a few weeks later*

Y/n was sitting on her couch alone, only because Vince was out of town on a roadie. She didn’t realize how much she had gotten used to his presence until he was gone. Literally. He was constantly in her apartment, and if he wasn’t at her place she was at his. At this point they were the equivalent to roommates. Vince tried to convince himself it was because he felt calm and peace around her, not that he had a massive crush on her. He made the mistake of telling his friend Sam about her and he hasn’t heard the end of it.

Y/n wasn’t mad about constantly having the cute hockey player in her apartment over the last few weeks, however she did wish he gave some heads up when he came over though. There’s been many times he just barged in when she was looking like a mess or had just crawled out of bed with her hair everywhere. He claimed it was a cute look for her but she was still mortified. He was like sex on legs, he constantly looked amazing. Between his dark curls and his bright green eyes she knew she was fucked. Plus his constant flirting and the need for physical touch was not helping her case. She quickly picked up that physical touch was how he needed reassurance. He always mentioned how she kept him grounded and not in his head, she took that as a huge compliment, he didn’t seem like the type to let people in very easily.

Her phone vibrated on the table, bringing her out of her trance she had fallen into, she reached out and saw a text from Vince.

From Dunner 😈:

Hey babygirl, you able to talk?

Babygirl, the name he called her when it was just them, she loved it. It often became Babe around his friends and teammates. But she wasn’t mad about that nickname either. She hit the call button and waited for him to answer.

“Someone’s impatient” she rolled her eyes when he answered.

“You’re the one who texted me, I figured it would be a waste of time by texting you, just to have you call me” y/n explained.

“That’s fair. What are you up to?” He said, he sounded tired.

“Laying on my couch” y/n said.

“Sexy, what are you wearing” he smiled.

“Vince” she rolled her eyes “don’t make it weird.”

He laughed “come on babygirl live a little, I know you’re wearing my shirt.”

Glancing down she scoffed “no I’m not” yes she was, “How was your game” she quickly changed subjects.

“I knew it” he grinned biting his lip. He loved when she wore his clothes. “It was good, did you watch?”

“I always do” she sighed “when do you come back?”

“I knew you missed me” he chirped.

“Quit teasing me or I will hang up” she pouted. Messing with the hem of the worn out shirt.

“No you won’t, you miss me too much. But I’ll be back in a few days babe” he yawned.

“I’m gonna fall asleep soon” she said also yawning.

“You should stay up, I wanna keep flirting with you” he whined.

“You’re ridiculous” she laughed.

“You never flirt back, it’s boring” he said.

“Umm yes I do, you’re just super attractive and it makes me nervous to flirt with you too much, I never know when you’re being serious” she laughed.

“I’m always serious babe” he said, after a note of silence on her end he added “get some sleep, I’ll talk to you tomorrow yeah?”

“Yeah, goodnight Vince.”

As y/n hung up he looked at his lock screen photo of them. They were out at a club with the team, she was in a dark blue dress and he was wearing a black t shirt and dark jeans. She was sitting on his lap with his arm around her back and they were taking selfies. He had just touched her exposed shoulder with his cold beer bottle when she jumped. Then he snapped a photo of them mid laugh. It was his favorite picture of them. For as much as he teased her about her missing him, he was certain he missed her way more. Being away from her was weird. Especially since they had only met a short while ago. He’s never clicked with someone this quick before. He didn’t know what to make of it. His friend Sam had tried giving him advice on asking her out but he wasn’t sure how she felt about the situation. A text came through bringing him back to reality.

From Babygirl 🥵:

Goodnight 💕

To Babygirl 🥵:

Goodnight babe

~~~~~~

We looked at each other just a little too long to be just friends.

~~~~~~

*a few weeks later*

Y/n was adding some final touches to her makeup before she heard her door unlock.

“I’m coming!“ she shouted as she grabbed a hair tie to throw on her wrist. She walked out into the living room seeing Vince drop his duffel bag by the door, he was wearing a dark game day suit and his curls were styled perfectly. It’s a shame that hair will be covered by a helmet soon. Damn he looked good.

“You ready?” He asked.

“Yeah, just let me grab a few things,” she grabbed her purse and her water bottle. She was going to the game tonight because they were playing the Canucks, the Kraken tend to get a little rough with each other when they played teams close to them. Mainly because the crowd was always intense and got the energy going in the arena. So naturally Vince had convinced her to carpool with him, with games like this he always got a little hotheaded. Just having y/n around him seemed to keep him calm. Which he would need after tonight’s match up with their Canadian neighbors. She was his first friend here, and somehow between the late night talks and flirting he had fallen for her. Even some of the teammates had noticed how he kept her close to him, literally and figuratively. Little did he know that she had fallen for him too. How could she not. The two of them just fit so perfectly together. The drive to the game was filled with flirty banter and small talk.

~~~

The game was a bloodbath. Penalties were called left and right. Players were coming off the ice like crazy with cuts and bloody noses and injuries constantly. It was a good thing they called in backup, which they definitely utilized. She was right behind the players bench watching everyone with such intensity, even the other team. The end of the second period was nearing, she couldn’t wait for the team to have an intermission to cool down. The energy in the arena was out of this world. She had been to plenty of games before, but none had been this intense.

Then it happened, gloves came off and it was a blur of blue and white wrestling on the ice, punches and insults thrown around like nothing. She forgot how to breathe once she realized it was Vince who was fighting. As a medic she was used to blood, especially at the hockey games, it never bothered her but it was different seeing Vince bloody. She wasn’t sure how long they had been fighting. After what felt like a lifetime the refs finally ripped the players apart. Vince immediately going towards the bench, he was yelling. The teams physician pulling him to the side and down the tunnel checking for any major injuries. They had moved so fast it didn’t register to y/n that they were halfway to the locker room already.

“No, I want y/n! Please!“ Vince shouted. Y/n snapping out of her frozen stance she followed the physician down the tunnel and into the locker room where she heard him shouting. As she turned the corner she immediately went for gloves and gauze. Throwing her hair up in a bun the physician was explaining what she needed to do, he had his hands full with this game, she was happy to help but still in shock that Vince was the one she was tending to. “No concussion, but we need the cut on his lip and cheek cleaned up and check his teeth for any other bleeding. He’ll return for the 3rd period. When you’re done with him send him where the rest of the team is. Oh and check his shoulder too, he took a nasty hit.”

“Yep. Got it” she said as she was washing her hands and putting gloves on to look at his face. As she stepped in front of Vince she grabbed his face gently making him look at her, still in shock over what she had witnessed. Yes she knew hockey was a violent sport. Yes she knew there were lots of injuries. But seeing Vince get hurt and in a fight was something she wasn’t prepared for. He was breathing hard, still pissed off about the call and the fight. But as soon as y/n was in front of him he felt better. She was explaining what she was doing, and asking permission to clean him up. He wasn’t listening, he knew she had to do that for her job. He leaned forward and just hugged her waist, leaning his head into her side, not saying anything. His breathing still heavy but starting to even out.

“Vince, I need to clean that cut,” y/n sighed.

“Y/n please. I need to calm down. Just—Please.” He was wound up, he tried to keep his voice level, not wanting her to hear him yell. So she let him, his sweat and probably blood going on her shirt. She just stood there and rubbed his back, well she tried to rub his back. It was hard with all the pads and gear on. After about 5 minutes of him just hugging her he finally pulled away. She didn’t say anything, she just looked at him, he nodded to her and she started looking at his injuries. He never looked away from her face. He notices the grey swirls in her eyes, she was holding back tears, the long black lashes, the freckles lightly dotting across her nose.

The cuts weren’t bad, and his shoulder was fine. Relief flooded her, when she was done she took her gloves off and threw everything away, “Vince, are you ok” she said looking at him. He was already looking at her.

“I’m ok” he breathed out “thank you baby girl.” He stood up and kissed her on the forehead, letting his lips stay there for a second longer than he should have, and walked to where the rest of his team was. She let out a huge sigh and sat down. After a minute she walked back to the bench for the last period.

The game ended in overtime with the Kraken winning. Y/n was charting and filling out paperwork when the team was finishing up post game interviews and showers. Vince walked around the corner to meet y/n by the team parking, and they walked together to his car. Once in the car Vince’s hand soon found its way to y/ns thigh, still needing some sort of comfort from her, she set her hand on top of his and intertwined their fingers. They said nothing the entire way home. Not even as he grabbed her hand and walked past her door straight to his apartment. It was rare that he was this quiet after games. They always fell so easy into conversations, but she didn’t dare speak first this time. She sat on the couch as he went into his room to change. After a few minutes he came out and handed her one of his old shirts, she walked to the bathroom to change. She grinned once she saw it was her favorite shirt of his, a very worn out hockey shirt from when he played for the Icedogs in his OHL days. It fell to her mid thigh, which was fine, she normally wore boy short underwear so she wasn’t super uncomfortable in just the shirt.

As she walked out of the bathroom she saw him in the kitchen. His sweatpants hanging low on his hips. She could see the tension in his back muscles still. She walked up to him and just hugged him from behind, even though he towered over her. He turned around and lifted her up to where she was sitting on the counter and his hands were on either side of her legs. They stared at each other for a minute. Y/n reached out to brush his curls off his forehead. He leaned into her touch and as she went to grab the side of his face he grabbed her hand a kissed the back of it.

“Y/n. I am sorry for what happened earlier.”

“Vince, I’ve seen you fight before it’s not a big deal, I just panicked for a second when I saw that you were the one hurt, and with everyone screaming that loud in there I just shut down.“

“ No, let me finish please.” He sighed, “it’s not that. I—fuck. He made a comment about you and it set me off. Y/n you give me a sense of calm that I’ve never had before. I’m pretty hotheaded and get worked up pretty easy out there. You’re the only thing that can calm me down, and that terrifies me. Every time I’m around you I just feel peace, and comfort. I’m not sure how to explain it, and I know it sounds dumb but I just need you to stay with me.”

“Vince I’m not leaving, you make me feel the same. I’m not sure when it happened for me either but everything is easy with you. I don’t want it to stop” Y/n said.

“Can we go to bed then? Just relax for the night?” Vince looked at her.

“Yes.”

[alwaysshallow]

coffee at midnight, part 6

John "Soap" MacTavish x f!reader

Pure domesticity with Soap, and meeting old friends. Your feelings are less clearer. (4,9k)

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A/N: i lied. i couldn't wait any longer lmao

Everything changes – you knew it too well, but when snow appeared on your apartment's balcony, for straight five minutes you were looking at it funny, like it was something unusual. It wasn't, you knew it was going to snow in the night from TV, yet, you couldn't stop looking.

Being on medical leave had you observing things around with your whole attention. Not even kidding; you couldn't somehow recall when you paid attention like this in the past. Field? Of course, but it was your job. You had to do it, and in your home, you usually just wanted some sleep, food, and you were onto another mission.

You were at home, though, so it had you paying attention to little details; how petals and leaves were no longer present, how green got more ashy, how days got shorter and nights longer. How dim lights around your apartment were light up quicker than usual, with orange light blinking on the street.

Most of it all, you even became friends with your neighbours. Not like you had any other way with Soap blabbing about your health and helping you, but you happened to visit some ladies to eat a pie with them. Most of them were simply lonely, so that's where the gesture was coming from, but so were you and Johnny, so discarding their proposition would be considered rude.

Besides, these pies were really, really good. Not to mention that they always packed some of it for you later, a win-win situation.

So yeah, everything was changing in a way.

What didn't change though? Soap being right by your side. Being on leave had a good influence on him apparently, even if he was addicted to military just like you were; he learned how to cook, it was wild waking up to not burned eggs one day. Maybe he wasn't the best in spices, giving too much or too little, but that was the gesture that counts. You definitely appreciated his tries to give you a healthy, non-ordered meal, especially when he didn't let you cook still.

You opened your balcony door slowly; you stepped right into the snow, barefoot, looking at the view outside. Whole city looked magical – unreal in the way because you swore that you haven't seen something like this for so long. Deployment, changing location every now and then, it was just... impossible to notice that little things that were constantly changing. Sometimes you didn't even were in your home for winter times.

Standing in snow though, on shorts and a simple t-shirt that was way too big for you, you realized that you like winter probably more than other season. It was so peaceful, so... simple, yet the simplicity of it all was warming enough; spending time under warm blankets, drinking cocoa, watching Christmas movies, baking. So many things to do, so many things to be happy about in winter. You could probably ramble about it on and on.

"Ain't ya cold? Thought I'm the stupid one" Johnny scoffed, taking your cold hand in his. Warm one, contrasting so much to yours; you looked at him with one brow raised. "Barefoot. On winter. In snow. You're askin' for a cold" he explained, pulling you inside.

He closed balcony door after him. "You talk exactly like my mom. Literally." you rolled your eyes, laughing, when he looked at you absolutely dazed with what you said. "Seriously! I hear her in your words. Rosalie, you're gonna be sick, come home, now."

"Okay, that's" he pointed at you "not what I thought 'm gonna hear. 'st taking care of you, aye? You need it."

"Need?"

"To be back in the field. Not taking chances with cold." he ruffled your hair, taking a few steps back, when you almost punched him in the arm.

"It wasn't even five minutes."

"Doesn't change a thing, bonnie." he shrugged, walking up to the door. "Coffee on the table, 'm gonna take a shower, just came from the run and..."

"...you were running?" you asked, your eyebrow a bit arched in question. "Willingly? On weather like this?"

"Yeah. Gotta keep myself in shape, eh? Next time, yer comin' with me." he winked, grinning even more when you shook your head. "What? Good for buildin' yer stamina!"

"Mmm, let's say, I will prefer a run in the gym, than on streets like this." you laughed, following him to the kitchen; a hot cup automatically warmed your hands, at which you sighed, relieved.

You automatically thought of Christmas market happening in your town, when you looked out of the window to see busy people and snow surrounding them so beautifully. Balconies decorated with trees, candycanes, snowmans, lights that were literally blinding you by their brightness.

Everything screamed winter, and when you looked around your apartament, it was a complete... well, a complete nothing. Nothing screamed Christmas, nor winter, it was just an apartment that had literally no spirit whatsoever.

"Hey, Johnny?" you called out, when the idea striked you. A quick "yeah?" coming from the bathroom, followed by him turning off the water, confirmed that he's listening, so you've decided to continue. "Thought about... well, buying something for Christmas, you know? Lights and shit like this."

"Oh. We can do somethin' like this, if ya want this badly. We need to do shopping anyway for our apartment, so."

"Badly, I need Christmas spirit here! Besides, you know it's my apartment, yeah? And you have yours?"

Not even a second after you said that, water turned on again in the bathroom; with higher pressure this time. "Can't hear ya, lass! Make us a breakfast!"

You let out a laugh, as you shook your head; he acted like he was there from the beggining and he didn't actually just stayed one day, deciding that he's gonna help you with everything. What was even funnier, but respectful in a way, he transferred money to your bank account, when you paid rent. It was hard to forget a smirk on his lips, when he handed you a cup of tea, telling you that now it's not one lady apartment, but two people apartment. When you asked him what does it mean, he just quickly said "you know", and he disappeared into the kitchen.

Most people, when they felt lonely in their space, adopted something. A cat, dog, perhaps something smaller, like a turtle or a fish, just to add something into their miserable lives; to make a difference.

You adopted Johnny.

What was even funnier, you didn't pay attention to his presence anymore – he wasn't a intruder when you felt bad and wanted to be alone again, he was like a monstera in your bedroom. Something that was just there, something that you wanted to be around, just because your vision of this apartment wouldn't be the same. You really couldn't imagine not watching a movie before sleeping, drinking coffee in the morning without him, nor gossiping with him about your neighbours dramas that happened way too often for your liking.

A certain routine, in your life. The domestic routine that you learned to like, but that routine had to include him – otherwise, you wouldn't be interested in it the same.

Hour later, you actually left your apartment with Soap, after a quick breakfast and after listing in your notes what exactly you need. Important as fuck, considering that your attention could be easily distracted in that environment; full of decorations for winter time, and you were just a sucker for them, it was embarrassing. You couldn't count how many times you bought something completely useless, just because a big, woody deer right in front of your door seemed like a good idea.

Spoiler, it wasn't a good idea. Mostly because that deer lived maybe a week or two, before some people completely destroyed him – and that was when you were deployed, so you didn't know who exactly.

The bitterness stayed, though.

"Bloody hell" MacTavish grunted; you were walking with him so peacefully around the Christmas market – with pavement that was covered practically with pure ice. He almost slipped a few times, and every time, you couldn't help but chuckle. "Whit's sae funny?"

"Nothing, Johnny" you grinned. "Just, you know. You could listen sometimes, I told you that sneakers aren't really for that weather."

He rolled his eyes. "See, I thought it wasn't that motherfuckin' bad. They could, like, get rid of it."

"Yeah, surely" you looked at him with amusement. "Just listen to me, sometimes."

"Mhm." he sneaked his arm around yours, bringing you closer. "For now, yer gonna be my support, aye?"

"And when you're gonna fall, I'm gonna fall with you. Not so smart, MacTavish."

"Oh, it is smart. You're gonna fall at me, so it's pretty rewarding after my fall."

"Won't stop teasing, hm?"

"Mmm, never."

The number of little shops around was enormous – lights, Christmas ornaments, snacks with weird combinations that you wanted to try, even if it was roasted beef and candy cane. You could swore that the amount of colorful lights would leave you completely blind with every step that you took; didn't stopped you from being adored by the view, though. Old ladies had all of your heart, and you just couldn't say no to them when they wanted to chit-chat with you for second or two.

Legend says that Soap had something against it – only a legend because he was even more of a sucker for them. They almost gave him every freebie from the food that they had, stuffing him with that stuff, while you just looked at your best friend, amused how adored everyone was. Good thing you had benefits too, with multiple discounts on their products, your fridge most certainly was gonna be full after this.

Old cute ladies weren't the only ones stopping you in your tracks; so were the men that talked with you, smiling widely. Market thing, you thought, it was bright as the sun they wanted to sell more, tactics worked like this, but Johnny was beyond disgusted with that, you noticed. Getting so touchy, wrapping his arm around you and being so close, when you were picking out things. Discussing about hanging things in "our home" – and he awfully tried to emphasize that every time. You got more time alone when he gone somewhere to get that cheese he wanted.

"No fucking way."

A voice you could never forget, and a voice that automatically got you grinning like idiot, when you walked closer to one of the little shops; with lights, this time.

"A way, I'm afraid." you said, glancing at your old friend behind the cash register. Cody went to highschool with you – worst and best times of your life, but your ways splitted after you decided to go for a military route.

You two were always close, though; your moms liked him enough to let him be around you, even joked a few times about you getting together. What they didn't know though, it was a few kisses between you and him, even more, but it wasn't the right time for starting something deeper. Not when you were so excited about your career.

"Gets tough at military, huh?" his gaze went to your arm for a second.

"Sometimes. Mostly, a job of my dreams."

He nodded, like he got exactly what you said. Probably he didn't even thought of things that you've done to get the mission done, but the less he knew, the better for him. "Looking for any specific lights?"

"Mm, no. I want to hang them on tree, so nothing too extreme. Maybe white?" you shrugged, giving him a little smile when he started looking. "I've picked white and blue ornaments, mostly. A bit of gold too, if that helps?"

Cody placed right in front of you lights in different shapes; classical ones, snowflakes, hearts, eve little trees. "If I were you, I'd pick white and blue ones. To make it more fancy." he winked, tilting his head.

"Fancy? You think I like fancy?" you raised an eyebrow, chuckling. "Or it's like, a marketing tactics on your old friend?"

"Does it work? The tactic?"

"To make me buy more lights than I need? Yeah, like, I'm literally gonna insane with those snowflakes ones and-"

"-well, not only that, but your number, perhaps? To catch up."

You coughed, a bit startled – guy was definitely not wasting any time. "See, after another month I'm probably back into the field, and time after that is... limited." you explained; tried doing that at least because catching up with Cody could mean one of two things in your mind.

"...Rosalie." Cody laughed, shaking his head. "Let's focus on today, yeah? You don't have to give me that, but..."

"Don't need to give him what, bonnie?" you didn't need to look behind you, when you felt a protective arm around. Not only that, Soap managed to sneak one of his hands in the front pocket of your jeans. His tensed muscles brought to you a lot of questions, but you've decided to ignore them for a while.

"Cody is old friend of mine." you swiftly avoided the question. "Cody, it's John. We know each other from military. Johnny, it's Cody, we went together to the same highschool."

Cody smiled awkwardly, extending his arm. "Nice to meet you, Johnny."

"John. Nice to meet you." he murmured, totally ignoring the proposition of handshake. The level of tension could be cut with a knife, and you just wished that Soap wouldn't interrupted you two. Hell, you wished that he wouldn't know that Cody existed in your life somehow, his tone wasn't pleasant at all.

That awkward silence had to be broken. "I'll take white snowflakes and blue classics." you said after a while; your eyes met with your best friend's, who hummed in agreement, giving you a little squeeze. "And as for phone number..."

"1-800-985-5990" Soap interrupted you, with fake smile on his lips; Cody almost dropped his pen while he was writing. It was definitely not your phone number, but you had no heart to tell him that and humiliate yourself like that.

"Thanks."

"'s alright. Gotta help a fellow brother, hm? We'll get goin' now." he waved to him, as you two walked.

"Hands to yourself, will you?" you murmured to him, right after that guy was out of sight. You honestly couldn't believe his behavior; the audacity, his snarkiness, sudden disapproval and tensing muscles. It wasn't a competition, yet, it felt like one.

"Cannot do, hen. Pricks are eatin' you up, none of them worth ya time, gotta protect you somehow" he shook his head, looking at you with shit-eating grin. "Besides. Thought you like when I'm a bit handsy, eh?"

"Pricks? Come on, they're not that bad." you rolled your eyes. His hand still caressed your waist, and you barely managed to keep yourself together – his touch always was comforting for you, calming, but in that moment... it was such a contrast. Such a contrast, because you could swore that his touch was burning something in you.

Something that you thought you're not gonna ever feel. Yet, here you were, conflicted.

"'st sayin'. You deserve someone worthy." his nose nuzzled against the top of your head, which caused your cheeks to heat up a bit; Soap acted like he was absolutely smitten. "Should we go to apartment? Drop these things off, or there's somethin' else you want to do?"

"We can go, I think. After we buy that jam, though, from that old lady in the beggining. I promised her."

"Yes, ma'am."

Oh, how you wished that wouldn't get you so much.

Three hours after you arrived to your apartment, pretty sure that you wouldn't go anywhere, you had to put your winter shoes and jacket again.

Why?

Well, there was this festival of lights Soap thought was a good idea to go to – and he couldn't tell you sooner, no, cause you were "romancing too much" with Cody-guy. You thought it would be better to remain silent on this topic, so you just coughed awkwardly, asking him details, which he happily told you.

It was supposed to be a light show on the building mostly, with releasing lanterns when it's gonna be a little bit darker outside. Releasing them had to be apparently with certain "intention" in mind; something like a wish, a dream that you wanted to come true, which was cute enough for you to agree on his idea.

"Gonna wish you a better arm" he joked, nudging your hip with his. A quick eyeroll from you caught his attention enough to trap you between his arms. "What? Am I wrong, lass? You need somethin' a bit better to put up with my arse."

"Alcohol will do good enough." you mumbled, which made him laugh – and it wasn't even your intention. Urge to give him another eyeroll was high.

"Like it would save ya." he winked, as he continued his walk to your couch, where he sat comfortably, patting the seat next to him. "C'mere. We can watch the end of the game, then go. Gaz won't be here for like... a hour top."

"Mm, right. I want him to take that lady he texts with" you sat beside Soap, opening up the chat with Garrick. "I have to remind him again."

Gaz also happened to be interested in that festival of lights, or whatever it was called; as he'd text you, "bonding with friends" were more important than ever, considering that the three of you were the only one on leave. It was only fair to take him with you two – he had to arrive first, right, but the feeling of having him by your side was warming enough. You missed your friend and texts weren't enough like a real conversation; hell, you even wanted at some point to meet with him eye to eye and get drunk, to talk with him about everything that happened over the days.

Maybe including how confused Soap made you over the days, but that's for maybe. Hard enough that he was also Johnny's best friend, wingman, and a partner in crime that everyone wished to have. Kyle was lovely, of course, but his tongue was a bit loose if it came to telling things to members of Task Force.

And you respected your privacy enough. Not like you didn't trust him, no, but you didn't need to complicate things more than they already had been.

"Told you I'm gonna always win, yeah?" you showed the screen of your phone to Soap, so he could easily read the conversation between you and Gaz, where he agreed to your plan of taking that "friend" of his.

Friend, which he talked to daily on base when he could – you teased him about it one time or two, to only meet with him being frustrated all over again. On morning run, before you got shot, he admitted that he indeed was flirting with someone; a civilian, and it caught your attention enough to be a bit of a matchmaker for him.

That boy deserved nothing but happiness. And if you could help your friend? You would do anything.

"We're goin' on real matchmaker mode, ain't we?" Johnny quipped; you rolled your eyes with a small smile, while you fastened your seatbelts.

"He needs a little help. Who knows, might be his love for life" tease coming from your mouth made your friend laugh a bit, while he was retreating his car, one hand on the wheel, another in the back of your seat. For the better view – you knew it, but you couldn't help to think that was something attractive to do.

"'s gonna be pure dead brilliant to see the moment they're not getting along."

"Soap!" you smacked him in his arm, giving him a bit scolding look because you were amused at this thought too – just a little, though.

"Ow! Seems like yer hand is pretty good right now, eh?"

"You have to support your friend." you pointed out, when his car left the parking under your apartment. He gave you amused look.

"Aye, but his taste is..." he took a minute to think "...questionable. You'll see what I'm talkin' about, Ros."

"Oh, like your taste isn't questionable" you rolled your eyes; a bit of snarkiness in your voice immediately drew Soap's attention to you, his eyes on you.

"Somethin' particular on your pretty mind?"

That blonde chick was on your mind, of course. But would you confess to something like that? Not in the million years, considering that not only he wouldn't let you live through it, you would also possibly give him a clue that you were jealous.

You weren't jealous. Slightly pissed off that he was flirty at work, but that was all, not really other reason, yeah? At least you liked to think that way, not dig deeper into this because it would cause something like snow avalanche, and for that you weren't ready.

Especially when you lived with Soap. If he would stay in his apartment, it'd be easier to be blunt because you could hide in your place and ignore him.

In this case... you had no other option that be silent and brush everything off, like it was nothing.

"Generally speaking" you lied swiftly, shrugging. It wasn't the place to tell him things like that; you weren't bold enough, too. Probably after alcohol you could brought it up easier.

"Uh-huh. You have advice for me, then? To be a bit better in my choices, eh? Yer a specialist, after all." his tone was challening; he knew what he was doing. Trying to lure you into telling him your thoughts.

You were best friends for over a year, you know these tricks a bit too well to fall in. "Don't think only with your dick, for starters?" you raised an eyebrow.

"Hen" he started, looking at you when he stopped at the red light "if I'd think only with my dick, trust me. It would'a been a bit different, things here."

And that single comment, even if you weren't hundred percent sure what he's thinking about, made you blush; you didn't answer this. Instead, you just switched the radio station and looked outside, paying attention to the snow that still was falling on the street, adding to the piles that were already there.

One point for Johnny, zero for you. Not a good score, but you eventually would manage.

It took you more than twenty minutes to go on that stupid festival, and more than ten minutes to find the right spot with Soap driving around like a madman. Apparently, finding somewhere to park was hard, people loved lights more than you've assumed – thank God for Gaz that appeared out of nowhere to lead you to right spot.

"Lookin' good, Ros." Kyle grinned, nudging your side, when you finally stepped out of the vehicle; he went automatically for a hug, and you did too.

"Everyone would look good after a break from Task Force."

Kyle theathrically put his hand on his chest, close to heart. "Very rude, considering you have Soap around."

"Hey!"

"Well, he's at least helpful. Sometimes." you poked out your tongue playfully, looking at almost offended Johnny, who walked with you side by side. His hands were close to your waist, but he wasn't touching it.

"Sometimes..."

"What about yer lass, eh? She's here, or she bailed already?" MacTavish asked immediately, which made your friend a bit confused. He scratched the back of his neck to say something, but a scoff from Scot got him off-guard. "Saw that comin'."

"She's gonna be here any minute now, quit it" he barked.

"Whatever ya say."

"Any minute" turned into an hour. Show was about to begin, you already ate some of the candies that local sellers offered, and you could just see the nervousness on Gaz's face, which was sad at some point. Your friend deserved so much, and yet the girl that he wanted to introduce to you two, finally admitting she's a real person, not some imagination of his (as boys claimed), wasn't even there.

Very upsetting turn of events to look at – at least for you because Soap was living his life with seeing Garrick like this, telling him some crap how people can't believe in love and how it's better to just drink and forget.

Apparently, it was suiting for him because he went to find warm wine that he read about before the festival.

"You really could quit on supporting his alcoholism" you chuckled, looking at the man next to you; even if it sounded like a joke, it was partially it. Everyone around knew that Gaz liked to drown his sadness into various beverages, and you liked to prevent something happening.

"It's not supporting alcoholism." he rolled his eyes with a little smile. "I know Gaz, trust me. It's not the lady he wants."

You raised an eyebrow, shivering a bit from the cold outside. "Not the lady he wants" was a statement that got you a bit shocked, considering that Soap didn't look like the one who talks about stuff like this. "You know what he wants? You don't even know what you want."

"Sometimes." he shrugged, casually. Noticing that you're cold, he wrapped his arms around you from the back. "And sometimes I do."

That gesture got you off-guard; arm around you so casually wrapped, like it was nothing for him; like he was doing it all the time.

You looked back at him, wanting to say something, but the words were stuck in your throat the moment your eyes crossed with his; sapphire ones, sparkling so beautifully in this dim, orange light. Snow was falling at his hair, and you couldn't help but notice that he looks even better with slightly wet, messy hairstyle – your stomach did a little flip when you realized how close you are. Your back, pressed to his chest, his arms around you, it felt...

It felt right, it felt like home.

"I told you to bring a hat" you whispered; not even fully understanding why are you whispering though, but it felt right in the moment, even if you were talking about something else before. Scot scoffed at that, shaking his head slowly.

"Not really thinkin' about that right now." he muttered, tugging a strand of hair behind your ear with such a gentleness to it.

You tilted your head a bit, letting the top of your head to rest against his shoulder; just to have a bit better look at him. "What occupies your mind, then?"

"Oh, wouldn't ya want to know." he chuckled; for a split second his eyes dropped to your lips. You didn't notice it since it was so quick; what you've noticed though, was Soap's muscles tensing a little bit. Probably he was thinking about it – if you're gonna call him out on that, and if so, what excuse would he give? Observing?

He wasn't even sure what made him look at your lips, but they looked pretty soft for him. Plump. Ideal to...

"I would, yeah. Tell me."

"Mostly, 'm pretty interested" he whispered right to your ear, causing your body to shiver at the feeling of his warm breath "in keeping you warm 'n cozy. Is it workin', bonnie?"

You swallowed the lump in your throat slowly; it was such a stupid question from him. Of course it was working – you were a mess when he was only touching you and despite many times that you tried to deny it, he had more impact than you liked it. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm warm. Since you know what you want, Soap" you bit your lip "what other things could you be..."

"Hey! Found that wine y'all were talkin' 'about. Not for you Soap since you're driving, but" Gaz waved to you two; probably interrupting the most intimate contact that you had with Johnny, and the contact that...

You didn't even want to think about it, it's not like you had time for it– instinct told you to back off before Garrick would notice how close you were. It could be more than awkward, so you tried to do the right thing and free yourself from that grasp that Soap had on you.

"Tried" was a really good word, though. His grasp became iron; if that was possible, his arms tightened around you even more, and he, with a smile on his face, nodded at Gaz with silent greeting. You tried to lure him into looking at you, so he would at least try to explain himself, why he wouldn't let you go, but it was unsuccessful. He wanted to prove something to you or what?

You could only wonder.

"Thanks, Gaz." you nodded too, smiling awkwardly when you got the cup, taking a bigger sip from it. You needed it, considering the situation and the look Garrick gave you two when he got closer, and you barely managed to hold that wine; thanks to Soap's arms that were snaked around you, like you were his precious prey, not an actual person.

Maybe something was in it, though; the way he held you, close to himself, like he was actually afraid to lose you, his earlier behavior...

Hell only knew with this man; he was driving you insane with this sudden mood changes, flirting, being possessive when you were taking your chances. In your mind, you tried to tell yourself it's because he cares, but that argument was faltering when he was closer, looking at you like you were his only treasure.

And it was like that – maybe you didn't know that, but you really were his treasure. No one else's.

[fuck-customers]

🎂(8/21/23) This will be a bit long but now that I don't work at the bakery anymore I felt like sharing the list of things that customer's did that genuinely irked me amongst other feelings:

Things customers do or say at work that make me want to commit a war crime (+ my thoughts I can't say outloud):

"I want to get one of everything. 🤪" (Fun fact, 1 of everything is about $100)

"I'm shouldn't even be in here right now." (Then why are you???)

"I'm breaking my diet for this." (I don't care.)

I shouldn't be eating this I'm diabetic." (I have family that's diabetic. Please actually take care of yourself. 😐)

Does __ count for the B5G1F?" (No, it's actually only the vanilla cake squares. /s)

"Can I have one of that and one of that?" (The name. Is on the display case. SAY THE GOD DAMN NAME.)

"Are yall still open?" (You were able to open the door weren't you? You were able to step inside…weren't you??)

"Wow I got here just in time huh?"

(Yeah. You did. Now hurry the fuck up.)

after paying for the things they've already wanted "Can I actually get _ too?" (I can't really tell you no but holy shit why did you just now think of this?)

after paying for their things they proceed to look at all the merchandise and find something else "I'm gonna get this too." (Of course you are. 😐)

points at the devil's food cake, which is clearly labeled "Is this a brownie?" (Does it look??? Like a brownie??? If you move to your left about 4 feet you'll see actual brownies.)

"Can I get a devils food cake square?" "With which icing?" "…what do you mean?" "We have 3 different icing flavors for the devils food cake. Which icing?" "Oh. Chocolate. :)" (Fuckin- you can clearly see that we have 3 different icing flavors on display why is this so hard.)

"I don't get how you can work in here." (I need a paycheck and I get a good discount.

Also after a while you get bored of all the sugar.)

"I wouldn't be able to work in here. I'd eat everything. Haha" (Haha, yeah, I bet you would. 🙄)

literally anyone who comes in reeking of weed (…can you don't though? Idec that you smoke but why are you coming in when it's so strong???)

"Can I get a pint/quart of this flavor of ice cream?" (…why. I hate making pints and quarts its stupid and if the ice-cream is super frozen it's an actual pain in the ass.)

any family of 5+ that comes in all wanting ice cream (Please go away.)

"Can I get the pieces that have a lot of icing?" (Not really, cause the baker spread it pretty thin.)

*grown adult gets pouty when they realize that the cake squares I gave them had a

thinner layer of icing than the display* (Much like when you were a kid, pouting doesn't help. Do you want the cake or not?)

someone asks how good a certain item is I generally say it's pretty/really good. "Oh, its just pretty good?" (Yeah, cause I'm not a huge fan of that item. But you might like it cause, you know, different taste.)

Literally anyone who doesn't know the pick up name for a cake, or any details about the cake.

Wanting a fondant cake with a 24 hour notice and getting upset when we can't do it (fondant takes a least 2 days to dry)

People who forget which store they placed their order at. (We only have 2 locations????)

People who don't understand that we close early on Sundays.

People who leave the store reeking of weed. Like, the smell stays for like 5 minutes.

People who come in for a specific flavor that

we've never made. And get upset that we dont/wont/can't make it.

Everyone who doesn't understand that pumpkin spice and carrot cake are seasonal flavors that replace each other during the year. (And no. We can't just make you a carrot cake cake during pumpkin spice season because we physically don't have the ingredients.)

Everyone who doesn't understand the big 5 get 1 free deal.

People who try to open the door an hour before we open or an hour before we close and look visibly upset when they see me not move to let them in like we arent???? Open???

People who don't even try to open the door at our smaller store and think we're closed when we are open. (And people are often inside.)

People who try to hold a conversation for way too long

People who don't take an extra 2 minutes to look for what they want before asking me

where it is only for it to be a foot to their left.

People who dawdle at closing time.

People who leave their phone/cask/card in their car and have to run out to get it. They normally don't notice until their rung up.

People who try to break a $100 bill within the first hour of being open then get surprised when we don't have enough change to do that.

One of the worst interactions I had was in the bakery. This lady asked me if the strawberry cheesecake was good. I said "if you like strawberry it is." I guess that offended her somehow and she made it her mission to see my try a piece so I can tell her if it's good.

The problem with her plan is I'm allergic to strawberries. She was not having any of my "lies" and found anyone and everyone one and told them I am a horrible worker because I refused to "accommodate her request." She eventually ran into the only douche canoe manager we had at the time and got him to start insisting I try a bite to make her happy. I ended up just walking out on the rest of the shift and he tried to write me up. HR forced him to drop it when I threatened to sue.

-Rodney