#but the idea of even like. going to work today with overgrown eyebrows put me in an enormously big bad mood

[ephemeral-winter]

At this point I’m kinda whatever about my own body hair even though I remove some of it semi-regularly but I am always stressed about the existence of my facial hair and I couldn’t get an appointment with my usual place this week and I have a date tomorrow and well. I am extra stressed now

[sleeepy-sim]

Hi!! If your taking requests for donnie darko, can i give you an idea?

Imagine love at first sight with him in a library!!!! It can be fluff, smut, dddne or whatever youre comfy writing! Thank you<3

So sorry this took me so long. I do have to admit I'm not good at writing 'love at first sight' but I did do my best. Working on the other requests as well!

I also did not put any NSFW because . . . well its a library and I didn't feel like dragging it on.

It had been a free hour, with all your friends busy with a class, so you sat in the library. Usually, you either did your missing work or homework, though sometimes you said ‘screw it, I can do it at home.’ But today, you had decided to do your English project that you put off a couple of days back. 

So there you sat, towards the end of the library, working on your English project. You hadn’t noticed him, nor had you noticed his stare from a couple of tables up. Though anyone paying attention—unlike you—would have noticed his gaze; it was hard to miss.

After a moment of frustration of not knowing where to start on the project, you looked around the room, only to meet someone's gaze. His short black hair seemed to either be a little overgrown or messy, for his hair hung a bit on his forehead. 

His blue eyes quickly darted down to the book on top of the desk, putting his head down - face out of sight. You did the same, eyes back on your paper. After a moment of overthinking the situation, you sneak a glance. 

Again, only to see him also stealing a glance. Your eyes widen, shooting back down to your paper. After a moment of not moving - due to overthinking he was watching your every move, you look up as you hear the chair in front of you, scrap across the floorboards. 

You take a deep breath as you watch the ‘mysterious’ guy sit in front of you - your heart beating a little faster, from the awkwardness or how hot you noted he was - you’re not sure. You grip the paper in your hand a little tighter, the nagging feeling in your gut from what is going to happen from this moment and the next. 

“Hey,” He awkwardly smiles, nodding his head as he looks at the paper in your hands and on the table before looking at you - taking your features in. You swallow, afraid your voice may crack due to not talking for the last 20 minutes - and not wanting to seem like a loser in front of a hottie.  

“Hey,” You nod, the awkwardness of not knowing what to say nor what to do - sinking into your bones. You look at his book for a moment before looking back at him - not wanting to seem like a creep. 

“You have Ms. Pomeroy, right?” He asks, tilting his head a bit as his gaze continues to look you over before settling back on looking at your face. 

“Uh . . .” You trail off, surprised by the question and his accurate assumption. You lightly suck on your bottom lip, nodding - a questioning look on your face. “Yeah, I do.” You say, nodding your head with your eyebrow slightly raised on ‘how do you know this.’ 

“I have her right after 6th period. I uh, I saw you leave one time.” He says, looking a bit to the side as he probably realized just how creepy that sounded. You lightly chuckle at his sentence, shifting in your seat for a new position. 

“I’m sorry. That sounds weird.” He awkwardly chuckles, looking around - probably to see if anyone heard that or to break the now even more awkward encounter. You quickly shake your head - a small smile on your lips as his awkwardness was cute - even if it matched yours. 

“No, I get it.” You smile at him as he leans over the table - face more closer to your own. He smiles with appreciation and relief as you didn’t think he was ‘too’ much of a weirdo or creepo. He already knew the staring had put you off - with that sentence as soon as it left his lips he knew you would regret looking up. 

You take a deep breath as you both stare at each other in silence. Surprisingly, the silence was comforting, just looking into his eyes was intimate. Yet, for just meeting someone - who you didn’t even know his name - was making you more comfortable than anyone else had in a while. 

As if he read your mind, his hand reached just a little due to the closeness, out in front of you. “Donnie.” He smiles as you shake his hand, smiling back at him. You hand grips his - a little tight, but not tight enough to be considered ‘why did she squeeze tight?’ 

You tell him your name, your hands still moving from the on-going handshake. His hand was ruff, not in a way that said ‘I’ve been working for years’ but the hand that said ‘I don’t put lotion on that much.’ 

He smiles as he hears your name said from your lips, you both slowly unclasp hands. Your hands are now resting on your paper - now sitting on the table. His eyes dart down from your face to your hands - which leads to his next sentence. 

“Do you, uh, maybe want to work on the project together?” He says, motioning to your papers and notebook. You nod, thinking ‘thank goodness, i need help and desperately - but - what if he thinks I’m an idiot?’ 

“That would be great.” You smile awkwardly - not from the awkwardness from the two of you - that's long gone - but the worry of him thinking bad of you from the bareness amount you had for the impending project.   

You two had worked the whole period, from laughing and sneaking glances at each other. You couldn’t help but think ‘why haven’t I noticed him before?’. The bell rang, causing you two to look at each other in despair as everything was going so well and now you two have to separate. 

“Well . . .” Donnie chuckles, looking from you to the papers you two were working on. “Since we’re not done. I was thinking . . . maybe we could work on it after school?” He shrugs, slightly avoiding eye contact.

“Yeah, that, um, that would be great.” You smile at him as you stand up, shifting the papers into a neat pile. He smiles, licking his lips as he stands up as well - helping you with the papers. 

“Meet after school by the buses?” He shoots you a smile, slightly smirking. You smile back, nodding. 

“Sounds good.” You say as the two of you walk out of the library. He chuckles before smiling at you as he turns the corner, heading to his class.  

[roalinda]

another very late entry for @prongsfoot-microfic 💀 but it's better late than never. 😭

☆☆☆☆

March 14 + May 27

Study + Hedonism

☆☆☆☆

"Tell her that your lap is mine." 

Sirius looked up from his Herbology book as a childish whine echoed through the common room. Accompanied with the saddest doe eyes, James sounded like either Sirius had just committed some absurd crime against humanity or had murdered all the strays in the neighbourhood. Either way, this fake pity fest of his was not going to work because James' acting skills were as poor as his eyesight. Right now, he was just jealous, not sad.

"My lap is his," said Sirius with such a poker face that could have put the most professional gamblers into eternal shame to Lily who was unabashedly lounging on the said lap and went back to reading or at least tried to.

"Tell him that sharing is caring," hummed Lily lazily before rolling her eyes, because in all honesty dating James meant dating Sirius as well. Obviously, James disagreed, unamused by her playful approaches towards his best friend.

"Sharing is caring," said Sirius monotonously, already resigned to his fate of being two overgrown children's favourite toy and being fought over and put his book aside. Not that he could read with those two bickering anyway.

"Tell her that I don't care! Your lap is off limits." James stomped his feet and Sirius snickered. "How old are you again?" 

His reply was a cushion in the face which only made Sirius laugh harder as he turned to Lily.

"He doesn't care, my lap is off limits," he parroted.

"Tell him not any more."

"Not any more," this time Sirius' eye twitched as he repeated Lily's words. 

"Tell her…"

"Can you guys just bloody admit that you want to shag Sirius and be done with it? Some of us here want to study." A frustrated voice cut in and everyone gasped.

'Great job Lupin.' 

Sirius thought sarcastically as he glared at Remus who had just presented Lily and James with unnecessary sexual fantasies as if he was shoving a handful of candies down a pair of annoying kids' throats to shut them up. 

James gaped like a fish out of water and Lily's eyes went wide. Well, at least they both had the decency to blush and while Sirius found it amusing he couldn't help but to plan Remus' penile amputation. 

"You want to shag Sirius?" James asked carefully, staring at Lily with wide hazel eyes.

"Who doesn't?" answered Lily casually, voice steady despite her flaming cheeks.

The radio silence would have been funny to Sirius if he was not the main subject of this preposterous erotica.  

"Don't tell me you have not shagged him because I won't believe it, James." 

It went without saying that Sirius was already developing a migraine.

"Actually Sirius shags James. James prefers to bottom," said Remus - the ever helpful - Lupin and James turned the same shade as Lily's hair, hiding his face into his hands. 

'Wanker.'

"Shut up. How do you even know that?" snapped Sirius.

"You guys usually forget the silencing charm and James is loud," Remus raised an eyebrow as if he was talking about tomorrow's weather.

James looked pathetically embarrassed at this point and Lily's amused gaze was making it worse. Sirius sighed in defeat at last. He should have stayed in the library today.

"I'm going to the dorm to cast silencing charms. You two come up whenever James is done with strangling Remus," he told Lily and smirked in satisfaction as James cursed Remus with a stinging hex. 

"Will the show be hot enough to compensate for my boyfriend cheating on me with his handsome best friend?" asked Lily shrewdly, green eyes shining with mischief.

"You have no idea how hot your boyfriend is when he is prettily begging for it. People would pay Galleons to see," Sirius winked cheekily.

"Black, you slut," smirked Lily suggestively. 

"So is your boyfriend. Now, go grab him. My N.E.W.T.s schedule is tight and there are two of you," Sirius laughed merrily in response, persuasive and warm.

[lionessinarms]

The Months in Between Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

It's late afternoon at Wade's mom's apartment. Wade is outside on the balcony talking to his older brother Allen while Eddy and Brooke are working on game day treats in the kitchen. Lake is playing with Marco and Polo in the living room. Wade is trying to get relationship advice from Allen.

Wade starts, "Thanks again for helping me out with the ring fund."

"Hey no sweat. You can watch the kiddos anytime. I love getting more date nights with Eddy." Allen takes a chug of a beverage from a glass bottle.

Wade then nervously asks, "Hey speaking of which, I could use your help with something." Allen raises an eyebrow but let's Wade continue. "Kind of feel weird asking my bro this but since Dad isn't here and Mom is well..." Just then you can hear loud sounds from Brooke and Eddy in the kitchen either laugh or crying at something they said. Probably both. "...Well Mom... I could use some advice. Like adult advice."

Curious, Allen laughs. "Oh this ought to be good. Ask away."

Wade shyly continues, "Well, it started at the pharmacy..." Flash back a Water Pharmacist is laughing at Wade. "... then my doctor's office..." Flash back to the doctor's office. The Receptionist, Nurse, and Doctor, all Water, are pointing and laughing at Wade. "... And even tried a Herbologist." Flash back to an old hippy looking overgrown weed of a Earth dude just slowly shaking his head at Wade. "No one will help me find it."

"Find what?"

Wade looks down and nervously rubs the back of his head he answers, "Fire... proof... protection."

Allen laughs at his younger brother hard. Like when he told Ember the sponge story.

Wade is not amused and grumbles to himself, "Agh, I knew this would happen."

Allen catches his breathe, "Ha ha, I knew you and Ember have been heating up but don't you think you two are moving too fast? Like I get the ring thing takes months but this?"

Wade reassures his brother, "Actually the subject hasn't come up yet and I'm just thinking of the future. I want to be ready and take responsibility for making her feel comfortable with me if this does happen." Wade nervously plays with his hands.

"Brother, you will never be ready, trust me. Have you tried looking in Firetown? Also isn't this like a no no before marriage in Firish culture?

Wade freaks, "No way am I going to search in Firetown. Ember'a dad, Bernie, he knows everyone there. He told me himself. He'd boil me alive if he ever found out about this. And no. I don't know if it's wait till marriage thing. If it is I'm fine though I'm totally with that." Wade has a dreamy smile on his face thinking about Ember.

Allen teases, "Whoa look at you all grown up." He puts his arm around Wade and gives him a noogie. 

"HEY!" Wade laughs.

Allen stops with the noogie but keeps his arm around his brother. "Nice to see you thinking of the future Bro." Allen then comes up with an idea. "You know, Ember is probably the solution to your problem. After all Eddy is the one who uses protection with us." Then winks at Wade.

Wade sighs, "Okay I'll ask her when the time is right. I also got to tell her I ran into River today.

Allen taking a sip of his drink almost chokes on it and spits it out."Cough, cough. Don't tell Ember about her."

"Actually I already told her the party story because I don't want to keep big secrets from her."

Allen puts his face down on his hand, "That was not a good idea but I guess if she took it well."

Just then a yellow glow can be seen across Wade's face. Wade turns to see Ember in the kitchen with the Brooke and Eddy. He can't contain his excitement. He goes in to greet her.

Allen shakes his head and takes a sip of his drink, "Hopeless lover boy."

Wade runs up to Ember in the kitchen, picks her up, and twirls her around. She laughs at him. "I'm excited to see you too." Ember tells him. As he gently puts her down then they give each other a kiss. Eddy and Brooke go aww.

Wade gives Ember a loving look but then snaps back to reality and tells her the bad news. "The weirdest thing happened to me today." He start to rub the back of his neck and breaks eye contact with her. "I uhh, ran into my ex while at work. Just for a brief moment." At this time most of the Ripples minus the kids were all eavesdropping. 

Ember quickly responds, "Oh Wade that's okay. No need to tell me."

Wade asks unsure, "Yeah?"

Ember then continues, "Wade, if I told you about all the exes I run into I'd be messaging you daily because they are mostly regulars at the Shop."

Wade looks slightly confuse then concerned, "Oh? Ohhh."

Ember laughs at him. Seeing that he thinks there is competition but there's actually none. "They come in with their kids or wives most of the time. Don't sweat it. But I do appreciate you telling me though." Ember turns toward Brooke. "Is there anything I can help with?"

Brooke gets teary eye at Ember wanting to be a good guest, "No sweetheart you go relax in the living room, I think the pregame is just about to start."

Wade offers his arm and Ember takes it. Off to the living room they go.

Ember cuddles with Wade on back couch in the family TV room. Wade isn't really watch the game much as he normally would do. He is just enjoying this time with his girlfriend. The rest of the family is sitting up front intensity watching the game. Ember starts to nod off on Wade's shoulder. The whole family cheers at a point made. Allen goes to Wade, "Bro, did you see that? That was epic!" Brooke gets up to head to kitchen to get more snacks for the family.

Wade lies and responds, "Huh? Yeah that was cool." Wade notices Ember trying to be attentive to game even though she is very tired. She props her head up to smile at the screen. Ember doesn't notice but Wade gets a thought bubble. He's too nervous to say what he thinking and hesitates a second. He opens his mouth to ask Ember a question but Brooke walking back in, beats him too it.

Brooke says to Ember, "Aww you're more then welcome to spend the night here dear. That way you get more sleep for work tomorrow." Brooke then winks at Wade.

Ember is glowing a bright yellow but not enough light to block the family's view of the TV. Wade is shocked at his mom and gives her a "what the hell?" look. He hides it though as soon as Ember turns to look at him. He can't stay silent now and starts to ramble like he did when he mess up calling Ember hot. Pleading this case. "Yeah.. and I can take you to work in the morning. The train ride is shorter from here then Firetown." Next part he says a little softer. "And.. and I promise nothing weird because I.. I can sleep on the couch." He ends his rant with a nervous smile.

Ember looks down and says only to Wade, "I don't know what my parents will think of this idea?"

Brooke over hearing says, "Oh your mother is fine with it. I looped her in with a text while I was in the kitchen. She agrees you need the best rest."

"Wait you've been speaking with my mother? For how long?"

Wade is also confused and gives Ember a it wasn't me shrug.

Brooke responds, "Oh I've been talking with Cinder since shortly after the flood, Mother bonds are universal, and she is my new best friend." Eddy gives Brooke a high five to mother's bonds are universal. "So don't worry dear she is fine with it."

Ember checks her phone to see a thumbs up message from her mom.

Wade and Ember look at each other surprised then Wade softens a bit. "Up to you. I can still walk you to the wetro station later too."

Ember whispers to Wade, "I'm really not introducing?"

The whole family goes, "NO!" And the never leave their eyes off the game too.

Ember exhales a sigh, "Well that will help me rest a bit more." She curls up back with Wade and says to him, "Thank you." 

Wade smiles putting his arm around her. "Any time."

An hour and half later the game is over and Ember has been fast asleep on Wade. Wade's been enjoying even minute of it. Even though they've well established that their chemistry is in sync, he is still in aww that this was happening. That his water was giving her comfort enough for her to stay asleep. That her fire hasn't made him feel too hot. It just feels perfect. Admittedly he can't wait to feel what it would be like to have a whole night like this and with even less in between them. Wade rubs his head again at the intruding thought bubbles. They are getting worse. He knows he needs to talk to Ember about them eventually. Maybe she feels the same way? Wade slowly picks her up in his arms off the couch. As he does she rolls her head on his chest and subconsciously lays her hand over his heart. Wade is trying so hard not to cry at this cuteness overload he's experiencing. Brooke looks at the scene and is too trying not to cry.

Brooke says softly "Aww poor thing I hope she's not overworking herself."

Wade goes to his mom, "SHHH." He looks over and is relieved to see Ember still fast asleep.

Wade carefully walks past her to go upstairs to his room, Brooke continues quietly, "Then again I worked that hard when I was her age."

Wade gently lays Ember in the river rock bed. He then slowly pulls a blanket up over her. The blanket looks like one of those emergency foil space blankets but it has a soft matted texture to it. Very comforting. He was testing it out because it was one of the only blankets he could find that was both water and fire proof. So far he likes it and he hopes Ember finds is comfortable too. He gives Ember a soft kiss on the head. As he turns to walk out he feels like his shirt is caught on something.

Ember subconsciously has a hold of Wade's shirt. Wade starts to sweat a bit not knowing what to do. He obviously does not want to wake her. He decides to just lay down next to her and wait for her to let go. He stays above the covers because he promised nothing weird, even though this is weird, or not? His mind quiets down when he feels Ember roll her head on his chest and stays there. Wade just relaxes and lays his head on top of hers. Regardless of traditions, boundaries, promises, whatever this right here doesn't feel wrong at all. He wants her to feel this safe around him, always. Wade looses track of time and falls asleep right next to Ember.

The sounds of an alarm clock wakes Ember up. Wade reaches his hand over to turn it off and looks back to Ember trying to read her thoughts. Wade pleads his case, again. "I know I said the couch but you wouldn't let go and I really didn't want to wake you up, I'm sor-" He gets interrupted by Ember giving him a kiss.

Ember laughs, "Good morning I love you too." Ember then looks away bashfully, "Honestly, I didn't want you on the couch anyway."

Wade is surprised but relaxes. Maybe she does feel this growing desire same way as him?

Brooke can be heard yelling from downstairs, "Breakfast is ready!"

"I got to take a quick shower, don't wait for me, go get yourself some food." Wade then looks at the clock. "You got about an hour before you need to leave for your shift."

Ember goes, "Wow that much time? Yawn, I'm glad I stayed. I feel so rested."

Wade goes softly, "Yeah me too. Well you better got get breakfast."

Ember yawns again, "Okay."

Ember walks down stairs toward the kitchen. She then realizes she's never had Water breakfast before. Wonder if it will fuel her like a fire- then she smells it. A pot of Lava Java. 

Ember is so excited, "Mrs. Ripple thank you so much. You're really making me feel at home." Ember's smile fades as she makes eye contact with Brooke. Brooke is about to have a crying fit. She whales and Ember just stairs. She really needs to watch what she says around the Ripples. They get too emotional.

Lake walks in and sits downs next to Ember. "Don't worry my mom is fine, you'll get used to it."

"I guess I'll watch what I say?"

"Nah, just be yourself. You can't stop the water works in this family."

Brooke finally calms down and asks to Ember in a high pitched voice, "Coffee?"

"Thank you."

Brooke is back to normal, hands Ember the mug, "Oh I hope I made it right." Ember smiles at the cup in front of her but then gets an idea spark from Brooke's next words. "I followed your mom's instructions." Ember thinks of a quick flashback to when she saw Wade talking to her mom, getting ideas on what treats she likes.

Ember lights up, "Hey I want to get Wade something." Brooke and Lake look at her. "But I have no clue what to get him."

Lake asks, "Why?"

Ember continues, "Your brother has been so sweet to me. Meeting me at my job for lunch almost every day. Making sure I get home okay after he's been all over the city. He even made a date with just my favorite snacks on the roof top of the Shop."

Brooke reminiscing, "Aww I remember when Dewey and I would have little moments like that while we working hard on our careers."

Ember then thinks aloud, "Careers? Does Wade like this job?"

Lake goes, "Oh no he hates it." 

Ember is surprised and tells them, "Really? I've been hearing nothing but good things from the folks in Firetown about his work."

Brooke, "Yeah that's because he is basically doing two jobs at once. He's only suppose to report the violations but he can't stand not giving a solution. He connects, loves comforting people, and letting them know it's going to be okay. Then he stays up late coming up with those solutions."

Lake, "Yeah I don't know where he is getting this energy from."

Brooke says, "It's passion for the work, sometimes you won't love it, but the end results can still drive you."

Lake then goes, "It's just nice to see him so focused on one job for once."

Brooke agrees but then points out, "Yeah but he really doesn't need to come up with those solutions."

Ember is sipping at her java thinking about what they are saying. Wade was able to help Ember get the strength to be herself and follow her dreams. She wants to help him do the same. Sounds like he is trying but is in the wrong place. Maybe she can use the welding job to not only cover expenses but help give Wade the time to find his dream?

"Good Morning!" Wade enters.

Lake does their usually, "S'up."

"Good morning dear!" Brooke bubbled.

Wade hugs and kisses Ember's cheek from behind her and asks, "How's the coffee?"

Ember responses with a smile, "It's great." Ember then notices how refreshing her boyfriend smells after a shower and blushes. Oh she could get use to mornings like this as she sips her coffee trying to hide her bashful face. Wade goes and takes a seat next to her. 

Brooke then remembers something, "Oh since you're both here I got some news to tell you. A couple of firms got together with the city and they are putting on a charitable ball for the Firetown flood. All of Firetown is invited as guests at the Argentum Aurum Hotel.

Wade goes, "Whoa that's a fancy place."

Brooke says, "The best in the City. I'll let you all know when. They haven't picked a date yet but it's in the next few weeks."

Monday rolls around and Wade is at city hall first thing in the morning. Gale texted him over the weekend that she has a replacement for him to train and to be in her office Monday. Wade walks into Gale's office then gets look of horror on his face from seeing who's also there.

"Wade I'd like you to meet Ms. River Florentine, your replacement you'll be training for the next month." As Gale finishes, River turns around in her chair and does a little wave with her fingers.

Wade takes a deep breath in and out and awkwardly goes, "Okay."

River then tells Gale, "Wade and I go way back." As Wade reluctantly sits down in the other chair. To say his job just got way harder is a understatement but then remembers why he is working so hard. To save up for that ring for his Ember. As he looks down as his hand he thinks to himself that he's not going to quit now.

"Oh you two know each other?" Gale asks. "That's perfect should make the transition even smoother. You two get on it."

River gets up from her chair and says, "Right away."

Wade takes advantage of River walking out to the office and quickly says, "Yeah I'll just be a minute with Gale, wait out here please." And before River turns around to question it Wade closes the door.

Wade turns around and tries to plead with Gale, "River's my ex-girlfriend and I'm really concerned that this could turn into an HR incident."

Gale puts both hands on her desk and leans forward to tell Wade, "Ripple this isn't high school and you have a job to do."

Wade gulps in fear and says, "Yes Ma'am." 

"Wow, these are some heavy suits." Ember says to Vinny as she looks at the one piece fire now covered to water proof suits. They look easily +50 pound of material to wear which will make getting around the welding job harder.

Vinny with a quick laugh, "Yep this should get the job done. It's probably going to even out energy wise to wear them but the benefit is..."

"Not getting your flame splashed." Ember finishes.

"Exactly." Vinny says with a smile. Vinny doesn't mind if the work is harder if that means his team is now safer.

Ember with the new suit on and hood over focuses hard on a weld with the other Firish men. The waterfall is running hard right off of their shoulders. It's added weight and pressure for sure but the benefit is, other then not being in fear of getting snuffed out, is that you are closer to the weld you're working on. Some of the Firish men struggle and are clearly uncomfortable because their flame flickers. "I don't think I can ever get used to this!" One of them says. Even though their new suits are now water proof the heat from their bodies are still creating tons of steam and it's getting hard to see. As Ember is focusing, the loud sounds of the water rushing off her back slowly disappear and almost change to the soft sounds of Wade's heart beat. She remembers hearing it their first night together. The steam around her makes her think of them holding hands and how safe that makes her feel. As she begins to relax the fire from her hands gets stronger and she is now clearly out pacing the other Firish men. Her beautiful light glows strong. Vinny from a distance notices this and nods with a smile.

Lunch time finally rolls arounds and Ember removes her hood with a large exhale. She is not as tired as she was when she started this job. Her endurance is stronger. She checks her phone for messages and sees one from her dad. She gives him a call.

"Hi Àshfá, how are things going at the Shop?" She asks knowing today is the reopening since the flood.

Bernie all excited goes "All is good but it so weird to take a step back and supervise. There is so much help here. Everyone is happy to see the Fireplace open. It really warms my heart to see our community being served the comforts from Fire Land imports again."

"That's so great to hear Àshfá." Ember is so happy for her father and for him to not be over working himself anymore. He is so close to retirement and this couldn't be anymore perfect.

"Also the motorbike is now repair so you won't have to stay at Water's anymore." Bernie innocently slipped by saying water and not Wade but it did not leave a great impression on Ember.

"Well what if I like staying at Wade's?" Ember then reasons with her father and accidentally slips. "It's a shorter commute and we're going to be moving in together at the internship anyways." Ember quickly realized what she did and puts her hand over her mouth in horror.

Bernie standing there in middle of the busy shop is wide eyed in shock. His angry creeps up and he starts to yell over the phone, "WHAT!? WE NEVER TALKED ABOUT THIS?!? THERE IS NO WAY THAT'S HAPPENING!!!

Ember on the other end of the phone is clearly hurt but her purple flame starts to form. Not wanting to cause a scene at work she sternly says to her father, "I got to get back to work." Then hangs up. She is still purple but it fades a bit as she tires to hold back tears.

Bernie on the other end of the phone suddenly relaxes his angry and quickly starts looking regretful as he slowly looks down at his phone. Cinder walks up to her husband and takes his arm to comfort him. Bernie looking down sadly tells her, "Change is hard."

Cinder assures him, "I know Bernie but you two will get through this. I've been talking with Mrs. Ripple and Wade seem like a fine gentleman for..."

Bernie finished "For Water. They want to move in together at the internship. This just isn't the Firish way."

Cinder then goes, "Remember, we are not in Fire Land. I don't want to see our daughter alone in a new city without her true love with her. The more I see them together the more I'm starting to trust Wade as well as Ember."

"Hmm." Bernie still looking down crosses his arms and is deep in thought. He is very hard to convince.

Back to Ember. She hears a chime on her phone and reluctantly checks it. She is relieved see that it is a text from her love.

It reads, "Hey do you want to have dinner with my buddy Jimmy and his Fiancé Wendy tonight? We can meet at my place after work and I'll take you home to Firetown that evening? I also have some news for you but I want to tell you in person."

Ember texts back, "Sure, but let's meet at Mineral Lake after work first. I love you."

Wade reads the text and immediately feels like something is off but he'll just ask her when he sees her this afternoon. There is another chime on Wade's phone. His eyes widen and as he reads the new text. He then gets a dreamy look on his face as more thought bubbles pop on his head.

The text is from his mom and it reads, "Hi Hun! Mark in your calendar I'm going on a business trip next month for a long weekend and taking Lake with me. So you'll have the whole house to yourself for a few days. Love you!"

Author's Note: Argentum Aurum is latin for silver and gold. It's so obvious how Wade feels about Ember that I forget that Ember is just as crazy about him so I wanted to try to write that in just a bit. Seeing as they are both in their mid twenties this is the time we learn how hard work and adulting can be. It's also a time when you start learning how to prioritize bigger goals and dreams for the future.

[luminnara]

I wonder what Dick would be like trying to flirt on the lead up if the mission, trying to be smooth and cool before screaming next to Weasel. The back track of trying to be cool again after than freak out would be glorious and I would probably fall for it, lol

Dick Hertz x fem!reader

This ended up way longer than intended and I am not mad about that lol

Sfw but raunchy!

Requests for oneshots and HCs are open!

You were no stranger to the concept of the suicide squad.

Thanks to your own colorful past, and powers that you couldn’t always quite control at first, you were stuck serving out a long ass sentence at Belle Reve, the shittiest shit hole of them all. Your only escape from the mundane, high-security monotony was the occasional mission from Waller.

The Suicide Squad—more officially known as Task Force X—was the latest installment in Amanda Waller’s series of highly classified, top secret, black ops teams. She chose Belle Reve’s most infamous criminals, many of whom had extraordinary powers and even more extraordinary reputations, and tossed them together on incredibly dangerous missions. You knew she didn’t care whether you lived or died, but successfully completing such impossible tasks always cut time off your sentence, and with nothing else to do with your time, you always thought it was worth the risk.

And besides...you hadn’t died yet.

So when Waller approached you during your daily yard time, you already knew what to expect.

“Yeah, yeah.” You grumbled as you followed her into the exam room and plopped down in the same old chair. “I know the drill. I go off mission, you blow my brains out.”

“—with the explosive device implanted in the base of your skull. Correct.” Waller said, unimpressed.

“And what, you have to give me a fresh one?” You raised an eyebrow as the doctor made you lean forward. “Lose the button for the last one or something? Or are you afraid that just one won’t do the job?”

Waller looked even less impressed. “I suggest you put a lid on that attitude today.”

“Why?” You winced at the feeling of a thick needle pushing into the back of your neck. “Jesus, fuck! Seriously, how many little bombs do I need in my head?”

“Good luck, puppy.” The doctor sneered as you stood up to follow Waller back out into the corridor.

“This is a black ops mission.” She continued with her usual spiel. “Your commanding officer is Colonel Rick Flag.”

You gasped. “The Colonel Rick Flag?”

She turned to glance at you.

“I have no idea who that is.”

You could hear her sigh in exasperation. “Suit up and go outside to the transport. You’ll meet the rest of the team and fly out to Corto Maltese.”

You couldn’t help but roll your eyes. Yeah, the Suicide Squad was a nice distraction from your shitty everyday life...but putting your ass on the line for someone who didn’t give a shit whether you lived or died, and who was always hovering above the button that would splatter your brains all over the wall, wasn’t exactly the greatest feeling in the world.

Waller waited as you ducked into a room to change. There was a black box waiting for you, and upon opening it, you couldn’t help but grin at the sight of your old gear. The dark gray leather suit fit like a glove, and your gun had been cleaned and polished after your last mission, the painfully bright fluorescent lights reflecting off of the barrel with a gleam. You grabbed your gloves and strapped your ammo belts on before buckling a gray carbon fiber mask on.

Wearing your own stuff always lifted your spirits. It was the suit you’d been arrested in a few years ago back in Metropolis, and after seizing it, the feds had been nice enough to give it some upgrades with newer tech. Anything to make you a better government-sanctioned killing machine, you guessed, and it’s not like you were gonna turn it down. After all, killing was how you ended up in Belle Reve in the first place, and it was one of the only things you were good at...it just made sense for Waller to want to put your near-inhuman skills to good use.

You walked out to join her again, lugging a canvas bag of equipment and supplies along behind you.

“Pick that up and carry it correctly.” She snapped as the doors at the end of the hall opened.

“Why don’t you eat my—“

You interrupted yourself by groaning at the bright sunlight as it hit your eyes, raising a hand to shield your face as you managed to spot an armored truck waiting for you.

“You’ll have a lot of new teammates.” Waller called after you. “Be on your best behavior. I’m not responsible for anything they do to you.”

“Probably just a bunch of old farts like always!” You yelled back as you jumped up into the back of the vehicle.

Two guards sat down on either side of you as you got yourself settled in. There was another woman already waiting, her skin orange, her hair in a high ponytail that seemed to be pulled through the top of her helmet. She was regarding you with very little interest, and that was absolutely fine with you. You had a few friends within the Belle Reve prison complex, and you weren’t necessarily looking for more.

The ride was short and uneventful. You passed through a few gates that took forever to open, waited for a few security checks, the usual shit. When the truck came to a halt and you hopped out again, you were at a small airbase hosting a few hangars for planes and helicopters, one of the latter already sitting outside. Guards from Belle Reve were lining the circle of armored vehicles, and as yours joined them and the back doors were opened once more, you grimaced at the bright sunlight.

“Afraid of a little sun?” The orange woman laughed, baring her teeth at you.

“Hurts my eyes,” you mumbled, jumping down after her.

You landed on pavement, looking down at your feet in an attempt to avoid the oncoming headache you knew was imminent. When your shoulder rammed into someone, though, you had to look up anyway.

What you saw wasn’t exactly what you were expecting.

A good looking blond guy was looking down at you, a cocky grin on his face. “Whoa, didn’t realize we were getting a babe this time!”

You glared at him, grateful for the mask covering the lower half of your face.

He couldn’t see you blush that way.

“Little girl’s got some ammo, huh?” He reached for one of the belts strapped across your chest,

Your hand flew up to grab his wrist and you held him in a Vice-like grip, your glare more pointed now. “Touch me, and you can see some of it from behind your eyeballs.”

Blondie whistled lowly, relaxing his arm. “You’re tough, huh? I like that in a girl.”

You dropped his wrist and rolled your eyes. “Still gonna like it when I’m ripping your balls off?”

You could swear he was swooning on his feet. “Baby, you are a goddamn tease...”

“Oy, Dickhead!” An Australian voice rang out, “back off!”

His grin faltered for a moment, obvious disappointment flashing over his face. “Oh. Got a man already. Damn.”

“Who, Boomer?” You grinned, unclipping your mask as you turned to wave at one of your only friends. “Nah, I’d never fuck that wanker.”

“I heard that!” The gold-toothed Aussie yelled.

You let out a loud laugh as you looked back to blondie.

You were caught off guard by the actual, genuine look on his face. He was admiring your smile now that your mask was off, his eyes lingering on your lips for a fraction of a second longer than they should have. He was trying to be smooth, you could tell, and most people wouldn’t have noticed something so slight...but you were an assassin working your way through a couple life sentences, and you weren’t most people.

It all only lasted a moment before the cocky grin was back. “So, after this, you wanna come back to my cell, maybe we could, you know...” he waggled his eyebrows at you, making a hip thrusting motion you almost couldn’t believe a grown criminal was making.

“Maybe focus on not dying first, slim.” You patted his chest before turning towards Boomer, leaving blondie to stare after you—or more precisely, your ass—with a dramatic, longing look.

Your friend was regarding you with an amused expression. “Flirtin’ on the job? Didn’t think you had it in ya.”

“Shut up.” You punched his arm a little too hard and he winced. “Who is that guy, anyway?”

“Dick,” Boomer said, rubbing his arm.

“Don’t call me a dick—“

“No, dumbass, that’s his name. Richard Hertz.”

“...very funny, Boomer, but there’s no fucking way his parents named their kid Dick Hertz.”

Boomer shrugged. “Believe me or don’t, I don’t care. Either way, it’s the truth.”

You scoffed and stole a glance over at your new admirer. He was tall and pretty well built, platinum blond hair short, lips pulled back in a grin that showed off straight white teeth. He was dressed in all black, two guns holstered to his chest, and as he messed with a Belle Reve guard by pretending to reach for one, he looked like an overgrown child who should not have been allowed to hold onto firearms.

“Please tell me he’s got a cooler name,” you groaned.

“Why? So you can scream it at night?” Boomer cackled. “He goes by Blackguard. He’s pretty strong from what I hear. Prolly pretty fun in bed, too.”

You wrinkled your nose and rounded on Boomer. “Shut up.”

“You like him.” Your friend grinned. “Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me. Just remember to name your kid after good ol’ Uncle Boomer.”

You gave him a rough shove and he stumbled back a few steps, laughing like a madman the entire time.

“Hey!” One of the guards barked at you.

Rather than pushing your luck with your armed babysitters, you huffed and crossed your arms over your chest. More cars were pulling up, dropping off the rest of your comrades, and while Boomer was distracted with them, you stole another glance at Dick.

He was still messing with the same guard, and was receiving some harsh warning glares in the process. Was he a complete idiot, or was he so cocky because he could actually handle it? He had to have ended up in Belle Reve for a reason. It wasn’t the type of place you went to for innocent misdemeanors. And if he was chosen for a Suicide Squad mission, that meant that his sentence was long enough to warrant risking his life to lessen it...and it also meant that he was useful.

When he winked at you, you realized with a start that he had totally noticed the way you were checking him out.

Fuck.

“Time to load up!” A voice yelled, saving you from any further embarrassment.

A few minutes later, you were strapping yourself into your seat on the chopper, pretending not to notice as Dick struggled with his seatbelt across from you. The guy sitting next to him had to help, and when you finally couldn’t help yourself, you let out a quiet laugh from behind your mask.

Dick’s head shot up to look at you, that cocky grin plastered to his face again.

“Wish you were over here helpin’ me,” he said bravely. “Rather have your hands down by my—“

“Dick.” Colonel Flag warned as he stood above you all with his gun in his hands.

Boomer let out a loud laugh at the unintentionally dirty euphemism and you snorted.

“What? Just makin’ some conversation,” Blackguard said, leaning towards you with a wolfish glint in his eyes. “You don’t mind, do ya, Princess?”

Your cheeks were heating up behind your mask, and he could see the way your eyes crinkled slightly with your smile.

God, he wished he could see your smile again.

“Hey guys, sorry I’m late!” A familiar voice said. “Had to go number two.”

“...Good to know.” Flag sighed as none other than Harley Quinn herself hopped in.

“Harley!” You called, reaching for her with grabby hands as she looked for her seat.

“Hey there, baby!” The pale blonde woman greeted, slamming her equipment bag into Savant’s head. “Hey, Boomer!”

“What’re you doin’ back in prison, Harls?” Boomer asked, hanging onto the nylon mesh cage behind him as he stretched his arms out.

“Got road rage. In a bank.” She finally found a spot between you and Javelin, and as Flag checked everyone over, the chopper took off into the air.

The lighting was dim and red, the thrumming of the helicopter blades blending in with the white noise of the pressurized cabin. Save for that, it was quiet for a while, everybody either sizing each other up, or, in Dick’s case, imagining how you looked under your suit.

“So, uh...how much longer you in for?” He asked you.

You raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Because I don’t exactly think I should be talkin’ about sneakin’ into your cell while Flag is here to rat me out about it,” Dick grinned.

You caught the colonel rolling his eyes.

“Hey, that never stopped anybody,” Harley said brightly.

“Boutta be in a whole big ass jungle,” Boomer elbowed you in the side. “Plentya room in there to be alone.”

You groaned as Dick gave you a sly grin.

“Y’know, this mission’ll be over in no time.” He said, stretching his arms out behind his head. “I’ve got some wicked ass powers. I got this.”

“Oh yeah?” You asked, recognizing the way he was trying to peacock and impress you. “Not worried about anything?”

“Baby, I’ll carry this whole team. Just you watch.”

“I’m looking forward to it, Dick.” You bit his name out as more of an insult, but he didn’t seem to care, giving you another wink.

He obviously thought that his flirting and posturing was working...but you were pretty sure he was just annoying. Cute, but annoying. Maybe good for a hook up here or there...but that was about it.

“We’re in a butcher’s freezer, Harls!” Boomer called from the other end of the bench. “Surrounded by dead hogs hangin’ on hooks. Only they don’t know it yet.”

“Leave ‘em alone, Boomer!” She called back with a laugh.

You chuckled at your friends, leaning your head back as you settled in for the flight. Harley was complimenting Javelin’s accent, you still didn’t know what TDK stood for, and Boomer was just starting to mess with him about the fact that all names were made of letters when the freaky weasel-thing next to Dick stole everyone’s attention.

It was one of the strangest creatures you had ever seen. Human height, covered in mangy brown fur, with big bulging eyes and a mouth full of sharp little teeth all made it both fascinating and concerning to look at, and as it made a few disgustingly wet retching sounds, Dick nodded towards it.

“Yo, is this a dog?” He asked.

“...What?” You asked in disbelief. He had to be fucking with you, right? There was no way he meant it.

“Is this thing a dog?” He repeated.

“A...a dog?”

“Yes.��

“What...what kinda dog do you think it is, mate?” Boomer asked.

“I dunno, I’m not familiar with all the breeds.” Dick gave him an incredulous look.

“I’m gonna go with Afghan hound.” TDK said.

“Since when does an afghan hound have bloody thumbs?”

“Oh my god, is it a werewolf?” Harley asked excitedly. “I’ve wanted to meet a werewolf for ever!”

Dick was already up and struggling against his restraints. “Yo, they sat me next to a werewolf?!”

“That’s not right,” TDK agreed as his neighbor slammed into him in his desperate attempt at an escape.

Boomer was laughing loudly, and you couldn’t help but join in. “You’re seriously scared of werewolves?”

Dick glanced up at you as he tried to unbuckle his seatbelt. “Yes, I fuckin’ am! So fuckin’—get me out! I do not fuck with werewolves, there is no fuckin’ way—“

“Maybe you should hop onto your new girlfriend’s lap!” Boomer cackled, jabbing a finger towards you.

“Poor baby,” you cooed, and as you saw the look in Blackguard’s eyes, you were pretty convinced that he was about to try to tear his way out so that he actually could.

“Hey, hey, he’s not a werewolf!” Flag yelled over the commotion. “He’s a weasel, he’s harmless! I mean, he’s not harmless, he’s killed 27 children, but I—I think we got him to—I think he’s agreed to this, so relax.”

“Thought you were super tough?” You asked as Dick calmed down and caught his breath. “Gonna carry the whole team?”

Rather than the snarky flirtation you expected, he actually looked a bit defeated. When you raised an eyebrow, though, he took the prompt, and the most desperate backtracking you had ever seen began.

“Yeah, well...” he scoffed, trying to give you a cool look. “Caught me off guard, that’s all. No big deal.”

“Off guard? Isn’t guard, like, in your name?” You teased, your smile genuine behind your mask. Alright...he was winning you over now. He was an idiot, but...maybe he was a lovable one.

He faltered for a second. “I-I mean, yeah, well...”

Flag was shaking his head. “Get into position to drop!”

Everyone unbuckled themselves and collected their things, lining up to jump into the ocean off the coast of Corto Maltese. When you saw that Dick was back to struggling with it, again, you smiled to yourself and leaned down in front of him.

“For what it’s worth...” you said as you pulled up on the metal tab, your hand dangerously close to his crotch, “I wouldn’t mind shacking up somewhere in the jungle with you.”

He stated at you with wide eyes, disbelief written all over his face. He really was cuter when he wasn’t putting on such a dumb, cocky facade, and he jumped up as quickly as he could to follow you.

You just laughed as you straightened up and walked away, Blackguard right on your heels. As the door opened and the big, dark ocean came into view below you, you felt a hand brushing against your hip and a firm chest press up against your back. You realized you could have stayed right there forever, patiently waiting to see how far he was brave enough to go...but you were both members of the Suicide Squad, and you had a job to do.

“I’ll see you down there, Dick,” you said, turning your head slightly to glance at him.

“See you on the other side, baby,” he grinned.

[bakusquad-assemble]

The Conference room

Genre: enemies to “lovers”, but they’re both emotionally stunted and don’t know how to express themselves.

Pairing: Katsuki Bakugou x bratty fem!reader

Warnings: 18+ content, unprotected sex, slight exhibitionism, degradation, hate sex, Bakugou catching feelings

Word count: 4.7k

Description: Reader is a pro-hero tasked with working with her worst nightmare; Bakugou Katsuki. The two of them have never seen eye to eye, making it impossible to get anything accomplished. But when Bakugou jumps at her from across the table, things take an unexpected turn.

A/N: had an idea and ran with it! I’m a total sucker for enemies to lovers so I had to indulge! While this can be read as a one shot, I also wouldn’t be opposed to making it a series? Lemme know what you guys think! This is my first time writing anything like this, so please be kind.



“God, you’re insufferable, you know that?” You rolled your eyes, falling back into your chair with an exasperated huff. There were a few things that you didn’t enjoy about being a Pro hero, like the long hours and the lack of privacy, but this absolutely took the cake.

Bakugou Katsuki, or Dynamight as he was known to the public, sat in front of you clad in simple business attire with the nastiest scowl plastered on his dumb face. The two of your agencies had found themselves working together due to an influx in connected crime, and it had been the absolute worst thing you had ever experienced. The two of you had never seen eye to eye in the best of times, constantly teasing and bickering whenever you were in each other's presence, but having to work side by side with the explosive hero was like pulling teeth without any numbing agent. The two of you just didn’t mesh well together, constantly fighting for dominance of the situation, and it made for a very tense working environment for everyone involved. You were currently in the middle of coming up with an infiltration plan for a big villain hide-out, and Bakugou kept fighting you at every turn. He shot down every single one of your ideas, but had not yet made one himself. He was infuriating, and you wanted nothing more than to just walk out of the conference room and never speak to him again. You knew that was impossible though. People's lives were at stake and you weren’t selfish enough to let your discomfort affect your hero work.

Bakugou clicked his tongue at you, only adding to your frustration.

“You’re one to fucking talk!” He snarled in your direction, his hands balled into fists on top of the white marble table placed between you two.

“You haven’t come up with one usuable fucking plan all day!” His words were like venom, corroding your patience with every syllable. He had to be joking.

“Do you really have your head shoved so far up your own ass?” You started, the prominent look of detest written on your features.

“If my ideas are such shit, i'd like to see you come up with a better one! Or is that outside your levels of expertise? Does that brain of yours even have a rational mode or is it all just explosions and violence.” You could see his eyebrow twitching in anger at your words, and for some reason that excited you beyond belief. You loved getting under his skin, giving him a taste of his own medicine. It was cathartic in a way, watching him squirm.

“What the fuck did you just say to me?” He spat viciously from across the table, his fists banging on the surface like an overgrown toddler throwing a tantrum. This time it was you clicking your tongue.

“I rest my case. I should have known working with you was going to be nothing but hell. Some pro hero you are, can’t even make a simple infiltration plan without throwing a fit.” Bakugou growled loudly, and you couldn’t help but akin his behavior to that of a feral animal.

“Will you shut the fuck up!” He seethed, but you were unfazed. You simply leaned back in your seat with an excited grin, crossing your arms over your chest as you did so. You weren't sure why arguing with the explosive man gave you such a rush of adrenaline, but you needed more. It was as if his words of resentment were a highly addictive drug, and you were itching for your next fix.

“Aww what's wrong, can’t handle a little bit of criticism?” Your confidence rang through the air like gun fire, piercing and tearing at Bakugou's skin. He was heated, you could tell by the way his pale skin flushed and how the faint smell of caramel assaulted your senses as he let off a few pops of his quirk in his fists. If you hadn’t known the man in front of you, perhaps you would have been intimidated by his crude actions, but you knew Bakugou would never lay a hand on you. No matter how heated your arguments got.

This certainly wasn’t the first time you had argued like this, it happened to be a recurring theme for the both of you whenever you were in the same room, but today something felt different. The tension laid heavy between you two, tangible, but it was laced with something you couldn’t quite pinpoint; A warmth pooling in your stomach.

“I said shut the hell up!” He screamed, standing up from his chair in a huff. You had pushed him too far, letting your teasing nature get the better of you as it had been known to do. Yet, instead of dropping it, moving on with your work, you persisted. You poked the bear once more, but this time in a way that surprised even you. You locked eyes with his piercing crimson ones, rising from your chair with formidable authority. Your chin tilting up ever so slightly as you spoke, letting the warmth in your stomach take over.

“Why don’t you come over here and make me, Dynamight”

Bakugou froze, and you couldn’t help but smirk victoriously. You knew the teasing tone would be enough to fluster him, to shut him down and win the argument so you could get back to working in silence. What you weren’t expecting was the way his breath caught in his throat, or the fervent blush that crept up his neck and consumed his features. And you certainly were not expecting the way your face reciprocated immediately upon sight. The palpable tension consuming the two of you, and the realization hitting you like a ton of bricks. It was not the feeling of complete and utter disdain that always lingered there, but instead something far worse. The warmth that had been bubbling in your lower abdomen was now yelling at you, and you couldn’t help but wonder if that feeling had always been there, simply lurking under the guise of hatred. Your eyes took in his features with a new glazed expression, subconsciously nibbling at your lower lip as you did so. The way you could see his heart hammer in his chest made you question if he was feeling the same sensation you currently were.

Your mind didn’t have much time to process that thought however, because within an instant Bakugou was throwing himself at you from across the table. His mouth on yours in seconds and his hands gripped at the back of your head to hold you tightly into the kiss, as if trying to relish in a fleeting moment. It was like a shock wave of intensity took over you, throwing all caution to the wind, and you found yourself kissing back with unexpected heat before you even had time to think. He slammed your smaller frame against the cold concrete of the office wall and you couldn't control the small yelp that slipped into his mouth. He had no idea why he was doing this. Why did your words have such an impact on him? Whatever had possessed him in the moment seemed to have taken hold of you as well. He wasn’t expecting you to kiss back with such fervor, in fact, he was fully convinced he was going to earn himself a solid punch to the mouth. But that wasn’t the case, and it made him question if those flirtatious and subtle sexual nuances had always littered your vocabulary, or if it had been a heat of the moment thing for you as well. One thing he knew for certain was that he had always found you enticing. The way you quipped back at him with ease, moving through his words as if you were bullet proof. His insults never penetrating your perfect complexion. And the way you would smirk at him, it was intoxicating. The way you knew just how to get under his skin. He hated it, and even though he’d hate to admit it, he loved it so much more.

His rough and calloused hands kept a firm grip on you, finally getting a chance to enjoy that perfect frame up close and personal. Your hands tangled up in his ash blonde locks, pulling at them roughly and putting space between your mouths so that your lips were just barely hovering above his lower one. Even still he could feel the delicious grin that overtook your features at the involuntary whimper that escaped his lips from the lack of contact. It wasn’t long before he was pulling against you to initiate the kiss again, and you did nothing to stop him, allowing him to dive back in and devour those sweet and supple bruised lips of yours once more. God, how he had always wanted this. He let his pelvis grind into yours, his hand finding its home on your hip to pull you in closer, forcing a moan to creep its way out of your throat. He wasn’t sure what had come over him; repression, pent up sexual tension, pure feral instinct, but he just couldn’t control himself. Especially not when such a lewd and sweet sounding moan cascaded from your lips like that. He had to have you now.

The faint noise of the lock clicking behind him rang in his ears like one of his explosions, and he found his head whipping in this direction of the noise as if expecting to see someone witnessing something they weren’t supposed to. Instead he saw the faint golden glow of your quirk, and upon rounding his eyes back to you, saw everything that he needed to know written on your features. You had locked it over his shoulders using your psychokinetic quirk. He chuckled darkly above your lips, before swooping back in hungrily, taking your actions as a nonverbal cue to continue. You couldn’t get enough of his taste. The sickly-sweet sensation taking over your senses, and by the way he kissed you, you could only guess you were just as intoxicating to him. Your hips moved on their own accord, desperate to feel his hard cock rubbing against you through the slack of his pants, but you could feel the resistance from the blondes firm grip on your hips. You needed more of him, wanted to get rid of this disgusting heat inside of you. You knew he noticed how much you ached for him too, you could sense it in the way his ego grew in his chest with every movement. He was always so perceptive, and you hated that about him. How dare he be able to control you like this. Have this domineering hold around you that you most certainly did not allow in your daily life. You never took his shit. Never put up with his bitching. Yet here you were, horny and writhing in his grasp, desperate for his twitching cock to fill you up.

“What’s the matter, princess?” His husky voice cut through the room. The teasing nickname you detested grating at your senses and finding a new feeling bubbling up deep inside your abdomen. God, you fucking hated him.

“Don’t have anything else to fucking say?” He ground his hips against yours again, eliciting the same noise of wanting to come crashing around the two of you. You tried your best to suppress it this time, not wanting to give him the sheer satisfaction of knowing just how much he had you under his spell right now, but the noise forced its way out as a high pitched whimper. You felt the way his cock twitched against your heat, only adding to your sheer desire. Your head fell back against the wall as you bit harshly at your lip. How could you be so weak for this man that not even ten minutes ago you absolutely despised with everything in your being. He took that as an answer.

“Did I finally find a fucking way to shut you up, dumbass?” He whispered into your ear, the soft wetness overtaking your senses and filling you with pure adrenaline. His hand gripped at the hair on the back of your head like you had done to his only moments before, exposing your neck so that he could trail rough kisses down to your collarbone. Biting and nipping at the soft skin.

“If you want my cock so bad, beg for it. “ It was like a light switch had gone off in your brain at that very moment. You couldn’t let him win, Let him talk to you like this. No matter how much it made your juices pool in your panties like some kind of whore in heat, you couldn’t let him embarrass you like this.

“In your dreams, you fucking pervert.” you spat viciously, a salacious smile biting at your features. Bakugou's head rounded to meet your eyes, an interested smirk over taking his features.

“Huh? What did you say to me?” The venom was tangible, but it did nothing to deter you from spitting back again. This time the smirk on your lips growing into a confident one, even through your ragged pants of need.

“I said...in your fucking dreams. “ putting emphasis on each word He growled into your skin, vibrating your body with his raw and feral rage.

“You fuckin’ brat.”

You knew you had just signed your death warrant but you didn’t care, in fact, it only aroused you more. You needed to feel him inside of you. You needed the release. It was as if the room was spinning and the only thing that was keeping you grounded was the aching between your legs. The desperate need to feel something. You felt his grip grow tighter on you and before you knew it your face was pressed up against the cold wall in an instant. Bakugou's hand laid on the back of your head, gripping at your hair and pushing your face against the concrete, the other tightly locked on your hip, keeping your soaking cunt up against the hard bulge in his pants. You felt your body buck against it subconsciously, sending another shockwave of pleasure pulsing through your body, and his.

“You’re gonna pay for that.” He hissed into your ear. The hand that laid in your hair coiled itself around your neck, squeezing ever so slightly as he brought your head closer to his. You let out a slight gasp, but still a smirk laid ever present on your face.

“Good.”

His free hand made quick work of your soaking panties, pushing them to the side under the hem of your pencil skirt. One of his thick digits slipping against your wet folds before situating itself inside without much warning. Even with just his finger you felt so full. The warmth from his hand radiating inside of you and only aiding in your pleasure. Bakugou couldn’t help the noises that escaped his mouth as he worked your pussy with his fingers. The way your walls clamped around them and left them completely soaked only made his need for you grow.

“God, youre so fucking wet for me.” His breathing was erratic, greedy. He had been overcome with lust that he was barely registering what he was saying. Normally situations like this would absolutely fluster Bakugou, or just straight up never happen. Bakugou was always so focused on his hero work that hookups were few and far between, and certainly never quite this passionate. A quick fuck with no return call and that was it. There was just something about you that made his head spin. You were always a challenge, never backing down no matter how brutal his berating and instead firing back at him with such confidence that it caught him off guard more often than not. Sure, it was so infuriating, but he had a thing for strong women. So everytime you spit back with that ungodly sexy smirk of yours, the fire in Bakugou only grew. He never thought he’d see you like this though, never imagining that he would be able to make that pretty little mouth of yours moan out for him, but he had certainly spent countless nights alone with his hand gripped around himself at the very thought. He quickly added another finger as he pounded them into you, causing you to gasp out in pleasure.

“ Yeah, you like that? You little slut.” You shut your eyes tightly, feeling the embarrassment overtake you as your head nodded against his hand like the greedy slut you were. Normally you would never accept words like that to come out of a man's mouth toward you, but there was just something about the way Bakugou said them that had you reeling with anticipation.

He curled his fingers inside of you, toying with your sensitive spot ever so slightly. Did you really think a simple nod was going to satiate his need for praise? He was going to tease you until he got what he wanted.

“What was that?” He smirked against the skin of your neck, nibbling roughly at the sensitive skin. You felt your body jerk against him, sending his fingers deeper into you. You bit your lip hard to suppress the moan that overtook you.

“Just fuck me already, Katsuki! ” you whimpered, his first name feeling foreign in your mouth. You were growing impatient, and even though your words came out as a command, you knew deep down it was desperation. The embarrassment rampantly flooded through your body, turning you a deep shade of pink, but you pushed through it. You couldn’t keep letting him play with you like you were some toy, you had to take what you wanted any way you could. You needed to cum, and you certainly weren’t going to do it on his fingers, no matter how good they felt. You needed the real thing.

“I can’t take it anymore, just fuck me!” You reluctantly begged, trying to look anywhere but at the man behind you. You could feel the shock rush through Bakugou's body at your words, clearly taken aback for a second at your bluntness and hearing his name spill from your lips like that. A wave of determination flooded through his system. He was going to make you scream his name so everyone in the office could hear it, even from the confines of the soundproof meeting room. He quickly let go of you to fiddle with his belt buckle, but you didn’t dare move to look at him. Instead you found solace in rubbing your thighs together. The friction keeping you high, keeping you blind to what was really happening. To the fact that you had just begged Bakugou Katsuki, the biggest piece of shit you have ever met, to fuck you.

You felt the tip of his cock trace your sweet hole for a second, and you braced yourself for agony. You thought he was going to relentlessly tease you, break you, find some way to have you squirming in his grasp and begging again, but instead the feeling of him bottoming out in you quickly overtook all of your senses. He was surprised he had even lasted this long in the foreplay if he was honest. He needed you, needed to feel the way you felt around him. He had fantasized about this for years, what it would feel like to finally have you in such a compromising position, but he was in no way ready for the sheer bliss your walls brought him. You had him reeling. He grunted aggressively against your skin, not moving inside of you as if to take in this sensation. Who knew when it would happen again, or If it would happen again.

“Fuckkk” he whined, and somehow his words alone had you aching for more. If you thought his finger had you feeling full, it was no match for the size of his cock. You couldn’t help but rock back onto him, rotating your hips in a way that had the both of you moaning.

“Katsuki” His name dripped from your lips again like the words sweetest song. There was something about the way you said his first name that had him teetering on the edge. It was so sweet, like honey trickling down the curves of your lips, begging to be savoured, and like hell he was going to deny himself that sweetness. Even if he knew he would probably never get the chance to taste it again. He wasn’t going to miss this opportunity to pound you into oblivion. He pulled back for a second, his dick sliding out of your entrance and leaving you with a longing and empty feeling after being so full only a second ago. Your eyes widened, about to whimper out in distress at the loss, until the fullness came back to you forcefully. The roughness of his thrust sending your body bumping into the wall in front of you and causing a loud moan to escape your lips. Your hand quickly shot up to your mouth, covering it quickly in the hopes that no one had heard you. You felt Bakugou snicker in your ear, pulling your hand roughly away from its place over your mouth, his hot breath panting heavily onto your skin.

“Let them hear you. Let them hear so they know who you belong to.” He spat out in between thrusts, head clearly spinning from the pure ecstasy you brought him.

“You wish.” you hissed, sending your ass into him to meet his thrusts. Bakugou grit his teeth in pleasure, cursing out under his breath. You were definitely right about that. You were the one person Bakugou knew he would never be able to truly control, but honestly, he didn’t want to. You were a force to be reckoned with, and an absolute powerhouse of a Pro Hero, and he admired you. Just as you did him, in your own little way.

Bakugou brought his open palm down onto your exposed ass with a grin, the pain of his warm hand mixing with the pure ecstasy of his cock and eliciting a sharp gasp from your lips. You felt your eyes roll to the back of your head, spinning from the sensation. Bakugou found himself groaning with every thrust, unable to force them down. You just felt too good, too addicting, and he needed more; needed to cum. His hand gripped at the back of your hair, pulling your head to the side so that his face was flush up against yours, his mouth inches from your ear. The sound of his erratic breathing and raw grunts of pleasure filled your senses immediately, making the warmth in your stomach bubble with excitement. You weren’t going to last much longer like this.

“Fuck” Your voice came out in a choked whimper, laced with blatant wanton lust.

“Like that, don’t stop.” You commanded, and Bakugou groaned in response. The grip on your hair tightened ever so slightly and you felt his teeth snarl against your ear, nipping at the exposed skin. He could tell you were close by the way your walls clamped around him, making it almost impossible to hold out any longer.

“Yeah” He panted in agreement, his thrusts becoming more unpredictable as he felt himself getting closer to the edge. It didn’t take much before you completely came undone around Bakugou. It was as if your body was floating weightlessly in space, a beautiful expanse of stars and colors blurring your vision, before gravity was quickly pulling you back down to earth abruptly, leaving your legs trembling from the impact.

Your hands subconsciously gripped Bakugou's, savoring in his warmth as you rode out your high around his thrusts, your head spinning with pure ecstasy and adrenaline. Bakugou buried his face into the crook of your neck, as if to hide the flush that had spread across his face from nonexistent eyes. Watching your body tense and shake around him had to be the most gorgeous thing he had ever seen in his life, and that was exactly what sent him over the edge.

“F-Fuck” His voice quivered against your skin and you felt his grip grow tighter on your hips, pulling you back into his pelvis to burry himself deeper within you. If you weren’t currently trembling from your own climax, perhaps you would’ve stopped Bakugou from coating your insides, but in the moment you didn’t seem to care. You felt your walls clamp down around him once more, desperately taking everything in without any fear of the consequences it might hold. Bakugou didn’t pull away from you, instead leaving his body flushed up against yours as the two of you attempted to regain your composure.

The room was silent, aside from the panting that still hung close to your ear. The primal lust that had just engulfed the two of you was quickly replaced with confusion, and the room was suddenly too silent. Bakugou pulled away from you at last, and his warmth that had enveloped you just two seconds ago now completely dissipated. You weren’t sure why, but you missed it immediately. It just felt so right, brought you so much comfort, and that very thought alone scared you. You quickly pulled yourself off the wall and rounded to look at the blonde man behind you as he fixed himself up. His face seemed to mimic yours, and you weren’t sure whether or not that was a good or a bad thing, but for the moment it brought you solace. You let out a shaky sigh before straightening the hem of your skirt against your reddened thighs. You could feel his eyes on you, like lasers burning your skin. You quirked an eyebrow up at him, trying your best to muster a smirk while your fingers worked tirelessly at untangling your hair that Bakugou had made a mess of.

Bakugou felt his voice rise in his throat as his eyes finally met with yours once more, he had so many questions; what was that all about? What does this mean for us? Can I take you out for dinner? but all of those questions died in his throat before they made it to his lips. The shake of your head deterring him from letting them out. You didn’t want him to say something he was going to regret, something stupid you say after the high of an orgasm. You weren’t sure what exactly that would’ve been, but you liked it better this way.

“Don’t, your stupid voice is what got us into this mess in the first place.” You tried your best to keep your voice even, calm, as if none of this had shaken you to your core. As if he wasn’t still lingering inside of you. As if you felt absolutely nothing from that encounter. Just another meaningless hook up, that was all. Or at least that was what you tried to tell yourself. You watched as Bakugou’s eyebrows furrowed, as they did whenever you spoke, but this time it felt off. Laced with something different. It would take you a while to pinpoint that exact feeling, but it would come to you nonetheless. When you were alone in your bed late at night, thinking about the way his eyes glistened, and his body tried to stay steady. Hurt.

You moved towards the tall blonde with a false sense of confidence, though to the unsuspecting eye you never faltered. Your delicate hand moving up to the tall blondes cheek and patting it roughly. The curves of your lips forming into that smirk that Bakugou loved detested so much.

“Leave the planning to me, I don’t really need your help anyway.” Your eyes locked with his for a moment, before you felt the need to break away. To slam the cover shut on those feelings that threatened to spill over the top of Pandora’s box. You sauntered past his form nonchalantly, your hips moving in a hypnotizing form that had Bakugou unable to peel his eyes away.

“Just remember...” You started, turning your head to look at him from over your shoulder.

“Meetings in the conference room are confidential.” And with a wink, you quickly turned the handle of the door and made your exit, needing to get away as quickly as possibly so that you could breathe once again. Bakugou still stood at the center of the room, confused and finally at a loss for words. He had no idea how any of that had just happened, or why he felt a heavy pang in his chest as he watched you leave the room seemingly unfazed. But there was one thing he knew for certain, one thing he was determined to do now more than ever; he was going to make you his.

[lovelybarnes]

god- l. laufeyson

pairings: loki laufeyson x reader, mentions of other avengers x reader

warnings: mentions of blood and injuries, veryyy little angst

about: requested! loki gets captured by avengers and healer!reader watches him

a/n: thank you so so much for requesting! i am so sorry it took me this long to finish it, and it came out so much longer than i planned, but i didn’t want loki to be ooc, i hope this was good!!

part two

the words you’ve been reading over and over again are beginning to blur. you can’t find it in yourself to care too much, instead choosing to shut the book and stare at the door. your fingers are tapping on the hard plastic protecting the thin cot underneath you, and you try to concentrate on the noise rather than the worry you can’t seem to shake.

they were supposed to be back by now, you think, teeth finding your bottom lip. you weren’t allowed on this mission. while they said the reason you were staying was because they didn’t need everyone, the blatant absence of every single avenger and extended hero said the opposite. you knew the reality was that the threat you weren’t even informed about was greater than usual, and while you had powers, they weren’t as helpful as others when it came to fighting.

so you were stuck waiting for the teammates you hadn’t heard from for nearly ten hours, only able to stand by until they inevitably came back with cuts and bruises for you to fix. halting the thought of if before you could think more of it, you stood, beginning to set up all the medical equipment you usually use for when they arrive. you’re distracting yourself with pointlessly organizing popsicle sticks that you won’t need when you hear the unmistakable sound of footsteps on the hallway. you immediately look out your open door, expecting to see the avengers, bringing the smell of blood and exhaustion, not… loki.

you can’t seem to stop how your lips part and your eyes follow him as he nears, suddenly catching his eyes through the movement of the agents surrounding him. your face heats when his lips quirk up in a small smile, sending you a flirty wink before he’s passed and you are left staring at the trace of him. you’re in a trance, and as much as you’d like to blame it on the god’s magic, you know it’s simply how attracted you are to him, even when you know you shouldn’t be.

you’ve never had a conversation with the god, barely been in the same vicinity as him, and your mind seems to be flooded with him. the avengers rarely talk about him, and on the occasion they do, it’s never remotely kind. you understand why- you saw the damage he’d caused in new york, but the more you read on him, the more you can somewhat understand why he did it, as inappropriate as it is. you’d asked thor to bring you books from asgard that loki has read and asked him to tell you about loki.

you can’t help it- the god is intriguing; it’s so magnificent how powerful he is that it nears terrifying, and he’s so stunning you’re concerned you’d make a fool of yourself in front of him, or cut your fingers on his cheekbones (although how the hell would your fingers get there? you prefer to not think too much into your impossible fantasies).

you’re not even completely certain that what just happened actually happened- because there is no way loki laufeyson looked at a puny mortal like you and didn’t gag.

a hand dropping on your shoulder is what snaps you out of it, turning around to see sam and bucky, “you good?” sam asks, and you nod, scanning the men for the injuries they came to you for. sam has a large gash along his thigh that you can see through a slash on his uniform, and forming bruises along the rest of his body, tiny cuts scattered on his face. bucky is considerably better, his speed healing is helping. there is dried blood that you’ll clean later on his face, small and slightly more serious cuts all over him but already healing, and a clearly dislocated shoulder that he set.

“alright, sam, you know the drill. bucky, please don’t grab any medical supplies and stitch anything like last time and just let me do my thing,” you request, lowering the stretcher so sam doesn’t stress any of his injuries when he sits. “lay down so i can get to work on that cut on your leg, sam.”

you help him on the bed and let him settle down by himself while you soak gauze in antiseptic for bucky. sam’s shirt is off when you turn back, holding back a wince at the darkening bruise splayed on his abdomen. you cut away his pants, wiping away all the blood surrounding the wound and cleaning it with water. “clean,” you mutter, lightly dragging your fingers along the wound, a warm pink sparkling where your touch had been, disappearing with the slice in his skin.

sam sighs when it’s all healed, looking down at his leg, “i am never getting used to that,” you hum a laugh when you move to some of the smaller cuts on his face, all of them healing with a simple move of your fingers. the yellowing that was beginning to form along his abdomen fades back into his normal skin color when your hands drift past them, and he smiles in satisfaction.

“well no broken bones this time,” you point out, patting his leg proudly. he grins, sitting up, “you proud of me?”

“very,” you respond, pressing a kiss to his cheek that relaxes all of his sore muscles, “you’re a gift to this world,” he thanks. you smile in response, sitting bucky down where sam was. sam picks up the clothing you always leave out, moving into your small bathroom to change while you work on bucky.

“how did it go?” you ask him, cleaning away the blood on his face. “not yours,” you comment on it, “i guess that’s good.”

“it went… as well as fighting a god can go,” he answers, you nod, “you fought a god?” you ask nonchalantly, as if you didn’t just have a strange encounter with said god. bucky nods, “loki. you saw him, y/n.”

your hands move in front of his face, warmth settling into the open wounds and closing them. “i was just making sure you’d tell me the truth. no one told me anything about this mission.” you pat at his arms, random injuries healing with a gentle pink. “no serious ones, right?” you ask, squinting at him as he shakes his head. “all of them healed down into small ones that you just healed.”

“okay, then,” you kiss his forehead, making his tense muscles loosen like sam’s. “do you know how much we appreciate it when you do that?” he asks, and you laugh. “making sure none of you are sore is a small thing, and i like doing it.” besides, thanks to that, you got natasha to warm up to your affection- she is now comfortable receiving hugs, and you consider that a win.

“so where’s loki going now?” you question, not noticing the three avengers behind you until tony answers, steve and natasha behind him. “one of the high security cells, you’re going to take turns babysitting him so he doesn’t try to kill everyone again.”

“i am?” you ask, motioning for the three to sit while sam and bucky leave. “not you, i don’t want anything to happen to you, but everyone else,” tony says, sitting in front of you. you roll your eyes in reply, “i’m not defenseless, tony. i’m an avenger for a reason. and it isn’t only because i can heal people.”

“why would you want to watch over him? rock of ages isn’t very interesting,” tony asks, you hold back the fact you think the opposite, continuing to pat at his cheek with a wet cotton swab. “it’s just sitting around and watching a man with an overgrown ego rant about evil plans,” natasha adds, making you shrug, “more than i usually do. most of the time, i have to sit around doing nothing until you guys come back, since steve won’t put me on missions,” you try to ignore how you’re defending someone who most of the people in this room consider a villain.

“we need to have you safe and intact in case anything happens,” steve defends. you sigh, having heard the same excuse multiple times before. “i know. doesn’t make feeling useless for most of the day any better.”

the topic is switched for the rest of the time they’re with you.

three days later, you haven’t even heard the god’s name. you can tell your conversation with tony ticked him off, and you’re worried he might have an idea of what runs through your mind when you think of loki, which explains the absence of anything loki-related. you’re disappointed, to say the least. the god you’ve been thinking about is in the same building as you, only a few floors below, locked inside a cell you know the code and have complete access to, and you can’t even think about him without the concern that tony might somehow find out. he’s been truthful about the babysitting; so far, each of the avengers have sat in with him, steve twice- you’re sure the second time was supposed to be you, but tony is infuriating and true to his word.

every avenger but you and natasha are gone today, though, and from the looks of the folder nick fury’s holding, walking down to loki’s cell where natasha is, it’ll be down to just you.

a few minutes later, you’re reading “the night manager,” when fury knocks on your door, making you look up. “you busy, l/n?” he asks, you shake your head, “have a mission for me?”

“yes. supervising loki laufeyson for the rest of the day, and preferably the night, too,” he instructs, an eyebrow raising when you haven’t moved from your seat, so you stand immediately, shutting your book with your finger bookmarking your page. “oh- yes, of course, sir. uh, i’ll get down there now, then,” you stammer, awkwardly squeezing past him in the doorway and heading to the elevator, “have a nice day, sir,” you wave, nearly bumping into a plant.

you always embarrass yourself in front of the man, which probably explains your limited interactions.

you try not to think about it during the elevator ride, foot tapping on the floor as the numbers lower until it dings. natasha is standing on the other side when the doors part, eyes meeting yours the moment they do. you smile at her, squeezing her arm when she passes to replace the kiss you’d usually place on her forehead to soothe the tense muscles you’re certain she has. she tells you to be careful in a whisper, unwilling to show anything to the god who is curiously examining you. the elevator hums as it closes, and you sit in the chair before the glass prison. “hello,” you greet with a small smile, slightly bowing your head before opening your book and flipping to the page you left off on.

it’s utterly useless, though. the words on the page are impossible to understand when you can feel his eyes on you, examining you in such a way, you’re sure he already knows more about you than you do about yourself. “it’s the night manager,” you say softly after a few excruciating seconds, setting the book down on your lap as you meet his eyes. “it’s a good book so far.”

your tone is light, and you think it’s part of the reason loki answers, “i have read it before. it’s… not completely terrible.”

“no way, i just got the god seal of approval on one of my books,” you say playfully, smiling at him before going back to reading.

“i have not seen you here before,” loki points out after a silent minute, and you nod in response, “that’s right, i haven’t gone down here since you came.”

there’s a dangerous smirk playing at loki’s lips, walking closer to you, “is it because you’re scared of me?” he asks, and you scoff softly. “you don’t scare me. you are… interesting. dangerous, of course, and i don’t agree with your actions, but i don’t think you lash out for no good reason.”

there’s a heavy quiet that follows your words, your gentle stare combatting loki’s suspicious one. you nearly pick up your book to resume until he speaks again. “you haven’t expressed your hate for me yet,” he observes, and you frown, “is that what they do? that’s not very nice.”

“neither am i, darling.” loki replies smoothly, making you shake your head, cheeks warming against your will at the pet name. “well, i don’t hate you. so i don’t see a reason to do that,” you point out.

loki actually looks… surprised for a split second, before his gaze sets on you, “and why is that?” he questions. you pause; you don’t actually know why. surely, you should- he attempted to take over your planet and hurt your friends, but you can’t bring yourself to hold any ill feeling towards him, not after hearing his brother talk so fondly of him even after all he’s put him through.

“i don’t know. i probably should, but i just don’t,” you respond in finality, trying to leave no room for the argument loki will surely bring. he quirks an eyebrow, watching as you stifle a yawn.

he surprisingly doesn’t elaborate, but you’re sure it was already on his tongue. your mind goes back to one of the previous things he’d said, and your frown returns, examining the god. you only realize it completely looks like you’re checking him out when he smirks, cocking his head, “would you like me to do a turn?” he asks, making you flush. “no, i- i was just-”

you let out a small puff of air, attempting to convert your thoughts into one coherent sentence, “are they feeding you correctly? i know shield is supposed to be humane or whatever, but some of the agents pick and choose, and-”

“do you always ramble like this?” loki cuts you off, and you shake your head, bashful, “not usually. but i’m not usually in the presence of a god.” loki smirks at that, “they haven’t. but as you pointed out, i am a god. thus i need very little food.”

the voice in your head that sounds strangely like tony is yelling at you to not care, because the person in front of you is evil- supposedly- and it would be highly inappropriate of you to care, but, like you usually do with tony, you ignore it, reaching into your pocket to get your phone. you type out that you’re hungry to maria, doubling your usual order of food with no questions from her but full of suspicion, you’re sure.

“what are you doing?” loki asks. “getting food. i’m not exactly sure what gods are supposed to eat, and it’s not like i can order a whole ham or whatever, but i don’t find myself loving the idea of starving prisoners.”

“why?” he asks, eyes slanted and head tilted like he tends to do. contemplating his question, you shrug, “because i can’t see why i shouldn’t.”

loki decides you’re bearable.

[elareine]

Tim realizing that since Jason has been in the pit, Jason is always cold. He cant get warm. Tim throws himself into working this out, there has to be something to warm Jason.

Hi, anon, thank you for your patience. I… took the sappy route with this. Since this got longer than 1k, I posted it on ao3, too.  

Attempt One

“How’re you doing?” 

Tim eyes the bundle in front of him critically. Jason dropped by his safe house thirty minutes ago, teeth chattering after an encounter with Mr. Freeze, and he only looked marginally better. The chattering stopped; that can be a good sign or a very bad one. 

Jason gives him a weak grin. “Alright. No danger of turning into an icicle any time soon.” 

Hmm. Tim will see that for himself. 

When he moves, Jason lifts a hand in protest. “Hey, no—“ 

Tim completely ignores Jason’s protests—he’d feel worse about it if it wasn’t the only way to handle injured Bats—and sticks his hand between the isolation blanket and Jason’s neck… just to flinch back. “Holy shit!” 

“Nah, it’s—“

“It’s hypothermia, is what it is!” Whatever bullshit is coming out of Jason’s mouth, Tim is not listening. “You’re going into shock! We gotta get some extra heat in here, or maybe actually call the hospital; I’m not equipped for this—“ 

Jason’s hand closes over his mouth. Tim gives him a second to remove it, then he licks it. 

Jason just grins. “As I was trying to say: It’s always like that. My body temperature never went back to normal after daying.” 

“Nnr?” 

“Never.” Jason shrugs. He looks completely unbothered in a way that leaves Tim incensed. That’s just stupid. Did Jason just accept the fact that he’s in constant discomfort as if that’s not a thing there should be—should be—multiple solutions to, what the fuck. Tim is gonna fix this, so God help him. 

Tim is so busy coming up with 315 possible solutions that he even forgets to bite Jason’s hand for a moment. 

(Only a moment, though. “Ouch!”)

Attempt Two

“I’m not sure how you think piling more blankets on me will help me raise my core temperature.” 

“Of course it’s not.” 

Jason raises an eyebrow at the three blankets currently on top of him. “Right. Silly of me.” 

Tim rolls his eyes. Men. So ungrateful. “Your core temperature is obviously affected. That’s why I brought heating blankets.” Many, many heating blankets. Jason ends up looking somewhat like a disgruntled duck by the end. Tim has pictures to prove it. 

Thirty minutes later, Tim takes Jason’s temperature. Still way, way too low for a human. He sighs. That would’ve been too easy, huh. 

“You know,” Jason waggles his eyebrows, “there’s a rather more traditional way of warming up under the blanket.” 

Tim swats his head. “Keep it in your pants.” 

“Even if I wasn’t, you wouldn’t be able to tell under all these blankets,” Jason tells him mournfully. 

Tim decides that retreat is the better part of valor. For today. Just until he can stop imagining what Jason could do to… warm up.

Attempt Three

“A hot bath.” 

“A hot bath.” 

“…you think I haven’t tried that?” 

No. No, actually Tim doesn’t, and his expression must adequately convey that cause Jason throws his hands up. “Okay, no, I haven’t, not really. My place isn’t that fancy.” 

“It certainly doesn’t have this tub. Now shoo, get out of these clothes.” 

“Why, darlin’, you only ever had to ask.” Without ceremony, Jason pulls off his shirt, then begins working on his belt. “Alright, tell me: What makes this tub special?” 

“From observation, I conclude that your resistance to high temperatures has also increased,” Tim begins in an excellent mad scientist voice, just to drop it right after. “Or you wouldn’t be able to wear that fucking jacket in summer. So I engineered a tub that will slowly heat up to a temperature just above 50 degrees Celsius.” 

“I sure hope so,” Jason grumbles as he climbs in, unabashed in his nudity, “cause right now it’s really fucking cold, babybird.” 

Funny cause Tim thinks it’s definitely getting hot in here. 

Hoping his face doesn’t heat up—haha—, he looks down at his phone and activates the heat settings on the tub. “At least,” he says thoughtfully, “we don’t have to worry about accidentally causing a heart infarct or anything like with normal freezing victims. I think.” 

“I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear that.” 

“We’ll take it slow, anyway.” 

Almost two hours later, Jason’s skin is red and wrinkled and covered in glitter from Tim’s bath bomb. He’s still cold to the touch. 

Attempt Four

“Tea? Really?” 

“You like tea.” Jason has been hanging around Tim’s place often enough that the younger man knows. (If there’s a corner of the top shelf just dedicated to Jason’s favorite blends, well, they don’t talk about it.) “And anyway, this tea is special.” 

Jason put down the cup. “Tim.” 

“Yes?” 

“Tell me you didn’t get this from Ivy.” 

“I didn’t get this from Ivy,” Tim recites just a little too dutifully. Truthfully, he hasn’t—it’s of his own creation in the lab—but seeing Jason squirm is just too funny. 

“The things I do for you, babybird,” Jason sighs and exes about half of it. When nothing obviously terrible happens, he drinks the rest in small, careful sips. 

“Nothing?” 

“A hint of chamomile—I get that one, soothing—and… bergamot?” 

“Yeah, that’s your favorite, right?” Tim’s taking down notes and is only half-listening. “How do you feel? Any warmer?” 

When Jason doesn’t reply right away, Tim does look up. “Jay?” 

The older man has a slight smile on his face. “A little warmer, yes.” 

Tim brightens and jumps up. Jason lets him stick the thermometer under his tongue without any objection. Tim is a little disheartened when it climbs up to 33°C and stays there, again, though he tries to stay focused on the positives: “I guess it’s a start, though. After all, the perception of warmth is just as or more important than the objective temperature.” 

“Uhuh.” 

“Also, you didn’t turn green, so that’s good.” 

“Tim!” 

Attempt Five

“Okay, if this doesn’t work, I don’t even know anymore.” 

“Please tell me you’re not hooking me up to electrodes.” 

“Sorry, that’s too dumb a lie even for me.” Tim is about to demand that Jason takes his shirt off again—an unfortunate side effect of this type of experiment, really, how terrible that he has to ogle those pecs and abs again—when he pauses. “Wait. Is that… a bad thing?” 

Which is terrible phrasing for Is this something that was used to torture you? but Jason seems to get it cause he shakes his head. “Nah, just didn’t know you’re into that.” 

“I’m not!” Tim isn’t. 

…at least, he doesn’t think he is? There’s certainly something to be said about the inherent homoeroticism of applying gel to another man’s skin and attaching electrodes. He’s so caught up in the entire thing—and the way Jason’s muscles jump and twitch when Tim applies his own brand of stimulant ray to them—that he doesn’t notice how quiet Jason is, too. 

However, in the end, the thermometer still reads 33°C. 

“Fuck,” Tim mutters. “I really thought I had it.” 

“Guess I can put my shirt back on.” Jason makes no move to do so. 

“Yeah.” Tim is looking at his notes again, trying to figure out where he went wrong. His joking words at the beginning aside, there are still options, avenues for him to pursue. It’s just that these are the most promising ones, and Tim can’t bear the thought of failure. The idea that Jason will just—will just have to live like this, forever cold and disconnected—

He lifts his face when he hears Jason putting his shoes and jacket on. “You don’t have to leave. I can still—“ 

“Nah, it’s fine. There’re only so many sex jokes I can make before even I can take the hint,” Jason sighs. “Thanks, though, Tim. I really appreciate the effort.” He turns toward the window. 

It takes 4.7 seconds for Tim’s brain to catch up with that, and then another 2.4 for it to convince his body to move. 

“Jay! Wait!” 

The Solution

The afternoon sun throws golden rays into their bedroom. Tim can feel her rays tickle his face, his eyes, so he turns further into the embrace that’s been offered to him all night. Jason doesn’t wake up, just snuffles out a slight snore and pulls Tim half on top of him as if his boyfriend is some sort of overgrown teddy bear. 

Tim snuggles into the crook of Jason’s neck contently. In his opinion, there’s no better place to be: His lover underneath him, chest rising and falling with every breath he takes, warm and alive and here for Tim… 

Wait. 

Warm. Jason’s warm. 

Tim scrambles up and frantically reaches for his bedside, where the damned thermometer has a place of pride after the last time he got sick, and Jason returned the favor by taking his temperature every five minutes. 

“Babybird…?” Jason’s voice is rough with sleep. Tim feels a little bad about waking him up, but: !!!! 

The thermometer climbs. And climbs. When it stops, it reads 36°C degrees. 

“That makes absolutely no sense,” Tim whispers, awed. 

“Nope,” Jason agrees amiably. “You’ll figure it out, though. Can I have some more snuggles first?” 

On the one hand, Tim is dying to look this up in the literature and maybe talk to someone who knows Lazarus Pits better. This doesn’t make sense scientifically, so there has to be some magic involved, right? Perhaps the pits are more into metaphors than they thought, or—there are so many possibilities, and Tim can’t wait to explore them. 

On the other hand… Jason’s looking soft and warm, opening his arms for Tim, and he’s smiling. It’s no contest, really. 

Tim presses a kiss to Jason’s cheek and sinks back into his embrace, scientific pursuits forgotten. 

[babyloposts]

RoseBud

My Hero Academia Gang AU

Pairing(s): Sero Hanta x fem!reader

Warnings: language, drug use, explicit content, sexual themes, gang imagery, violence

Summary: a simple crush on a guy quickly turns south as you become wrapped up in an unsafe life of lies, drugs, and violence. What happens when you become a key player in a war between to rival gangs and have to deal with a complicated love life all at the same time.

—————————————————

0.4

The tattoo shop was small and almost unnoticeable if it weren’t for the glowing neon sign in the window that read “Fuck Off!”. That sure is welcoming. Sero glanced at you, his signature smirk plastered on his face as you approached the shop.

“Tattoo shop?” You quirked an eyebrow at him.

“Figured you should get something you like, and will remember.” Sero chuckled and continued his walk to the back of the shop. It was cozy and surprisingly quiet. Not much business tonight even though it was the start of the weekend. You weren’t complaining though, it’d be nice to get some alone time with Sero.

You both neared a back room that was separated from the rest of the shop by beads that hung from the door frame.

“Is... anybody here?” You asked your guide hesitantly. He smiled at you and winked before going to another door behind the partition and banging on it hard.

“JESUS FUCKING-” You heard a voice yell from behind the door. Startled by the abrupt opening of the door, you stepped back a bit as a pink head popped from behind the wooden door. “Bakugou I swear if-” She began, but was cut off when she saw Sero’s smiling face.

“Not Bakugou. Better.” He chided and she came fully out of the back room. You were able to take in her appearance fully. She had short pink hair pulled up into a messy bun displaying her overgrown undercut. She was wearing a low cut tank top that showed off the top of her lace bra and tattoos that littered her skin underneath. And she was clothed from waist down in comfy oversized sweatpants and Nike slides. Lowkey she had looked like she just woke up or something, but her striking features and pierced skin was a beautiful contrast.

“Hanta? The fuck you doing here without the Creep Squad?” She laughed and pulled him in for a quick hug.

“‘Sup Hatsume. And it’s just me today. I was reprieved from my duties a bit early and decided to stop by. I hope I’m not, uh, bothering you?” He looked her up and down and she placed her hands on her hips and smirked.

“Never. Out of all of the hoodlums I deal with you’re probably my favorite. Well, aside from Izu~” she gushed before finally turning her attention towards you, giving you a once over. “And who’s this?”

“This is y/n. She wants to get a tattoo so I thought I’d bring her to the best damn tattoo artist I know.”

“Hanta please. Don’t flatter me. Especially before you tell me what you want.” Her gaze suddenly turned cold and was staring daggers into the tall man. He put his hands up in protest.

“I promise it’s nothing out of the ordinary, usual stuff. But really, she wants to get inked. You free?”

Mei sighed. “Of course I’m free.” She threw her hands up in the air and stomped off toward the main area of the shop leaving you and Sero a few paces behind her.

“I know how she seems, but don’t worry. I trust Hatsume to do all of my ink even though she is a bit... theatrical. Second only to Mina of course.”

You laugh and nod. “Yeah it must be the pink hair or something.” You quip as you make your way to the main area where Mei is already putting on some gloves and prepping her work station.

“So do you know what you want to get done?” Mei raises her brow at you questioningly. In all honesty you hadn’t thought about it. You never explicitly told Sero that you wanted to get a tattoo. He just volunteered you for it, but you weren’t gonna decline. It would be nice to get some ink that you could look at and love.

“I don’t know. I’m still kind of deciding.” You chuckled nervously, embarrassed at the fact that you didn’t have an answer for her. This seemed to annoy Hatsume more than she already was, but she didn’t let it show in her voice.

“Okay...” she trailed off and swiveled in her chair to reach for a photo album tucked beneath her work station. It looked like it had started collecting dust. “Well you can look through my portfolio, let me know if you see something you like. Or you can suggest something and I can freehand.” She smirked suggestively. You hoped that freehand didn’t mean she would do anything obscene.

You flipped through the book looking closely at some of the designs. Hatsume’s work was beautiful, but that was evident from seeing Sero’s tattoos. The designs were all nice, but none of them really spoke to you. You sighed quietly under your breath and paused on a page that had some flower designs on it. Your breath hitched as you felt a presence over your shoulder. Sero was behind you looking at the flower on the page you had stopped on.

“That’s nice.” He smiled, “it wouldn’t suit you though. Roses are definitely your flower.” He suggested and went to sit down at the waiting area towards the front of the shop.

Roses you thought. You already had a rose tattoo, and it’s not like you didn’t like it, but you wish you hadn’t gotten it when you did. Maybe if you got another one now, you could start to appreciate the flower as you once did.

“A rose?” Hatsume smirked at you. “Very romantic flower. I think it’d suit you.” She looked hopeful and you nodded. She smiled to herself and began to sketch out an idea.

“Ooh!” She squealed. “And I have the perfect idea. Do you know where you want your tattoo to go?” You shook your head solemnly. Again, you hadn’t really thought about it. You thought Hatsume would have been annoyed, but she looked ecstatic. “Perfect I know just the place. I’ve always wanted to do a cutesy underboob tattoo.”

Underboob? That seemed a little out of your comfort zone, but to be fair this whole situation was out of your comfort zone. You out with a guy? Unheard of to the masses.

Reluctantly you agreed and Hatsume took you back behind the beaded-off area.

“You can take your top off back here and go in that room. I’ll go get my stuff, okay?” She happily skipped back out to retrieve her tattoo gun and you followed her instructions to strip.

The room was small and the warm toned walls were barren yet inviting. You got up on the table that you vaguely remember laying on a few years back and positioned yourself so Mei had easy access to stick you.

Hatsume barged into the small room, startling you. Quickly you scrambled to use your hands to cover yourself, but clearly she had already seen.

“Girl, don’t be shy. Just think of me as your doctor. It’s a no judgement zone in here.” She reassured you and you calmed down from the mini heart attack you just had. “Plus your boobs are super nice. My A Cups could never.” She whined eliciting a laugh from you. Hatsume turned out to be pretty cool.

Once she was all set up and you were numb and had the design was applied your anxiety was quelled by the overwhelming feeling of pain that you almost forgot.

“Damn I forgot how much this shit hurt.” You laughed in an effort to not tear up. “Makes sense that I was black out drunk the last time.” Hatsume laughed as she continued the process trying to be as gentle as she possibly could (not much change was made, but it’s the thought that counts).

Hatsume had begun the finishing touches and clean up details when you started to hear a bit of commotion outside. You could hear two distinct voices aside from Sero’s coming from the front of the store. It sounded like yelling and it quickly approached you. Hatsume seemed unbothered by it until an angry figure popped its head into the doorway of the “private” room.

“Hatsume!” A buff blond guy yelled as he entered. It took everything in Mei to not accidentally stick you with the gun.

“Bakugou what the fuck!?” Hatsume yelled and whipped her head around. “Do you not understand the concept of a private room?”

“Hatsume I’m not in the mood. I just spent the last half hour getting yelled at for Sero up and leaving without telling anyone and I have to do his little chores now. So give me what Hawks wants so I can get the fuck out of here.” The blond man rants and raves all the while you’re just kind of sitting there trying to cover your tits from the glaring eyes of the crabby intruder.

When his gaze met yours his eyes went wide. You didn’t know what he was expecting to find Hatsume doing back here, but tattooing a half naked girl probably wasn’t it. His eyes snapped back to Hatsume and the malicious glare came back as if he wasn’t phased at all.

“Don’t come in here fucking yelling at me to get you something. One I’m with a client and two I’m doing Hawks favor with all this so don’t demand shit from me. You’ll get it when I’m done.” She seethed, her words laced with venom. She was clearly not a fan of Blondie over here.

At the commotion you heard another set of footsteps approaching quickly. Just great.

“Bakugou calm down.” A taller redhead popped into your view trying to get the angry man from berating the woman who was supposed to be dressing your wound. When he made eye contact with you his whole face lit up red as hell and he quickly turned away to spare you whatever dignity you had left. “Uh... j-just let her finish man.”

“No fucking way. I wasn’t even supposed to be working today, but fucking IcyHot bailed and I just had to chase Tape Face around the whole fucking world. I’m ready to get my shit and go.”

“You do know that this is my business, right? I have an obligation to my clients. Not Hawks, you, or any other goons that try and threaten me. So you will wait.” Hatsume seethed. This set Bakugou off. His large hand came down to grip Mei’s upper arm and pull her in close. His eyes spoke only violence and Hatsume’s an intense fear. This guy was not to be played with. If he was this bad you couldn’t imagine what this Hawks guy was like.

Bakugou was fixing his mouth to spew out another threat, but before he could finish you were already interjecting. “I can wait!” You catch everyone’s attention again; although rather embarrassing.

“What?” Bakugou glares now at you, his stare burning into your skin.

“I said I can wait. Go ahead and do what you need to do Hatsume. No need to cause trouble.” Hatsume’s eyes soften and she shakes out of Bakugou’s death grip.

“Fine.” She sighs and stalks off to the back room she had started in earlier that night. “Bring the car around back. I got everything ready for you.”

Bakugou nodded and he and Red exited out the way they had came in.

Finally you felt like you could breath again. There were no longer so many eyes on you and the tension within the room finally dissipated. This definitely wasn’t how you expected your first date with Sero to go.

A/N: I’m backkk. Had a bit of writers block and I was away visiting family last weekend but I had a free day today and got lots of good ideas about the story while writing this. So yeah ALSO I know in the show Hatsume has big boobs, but everyone has big boobs in My Hero so lemme change it up a bit 😩😩 anyways I hope you guys enjoyed and uploads should start becoming more frequent (I hope :))

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Masterlist

[pterodactylterrace]

Happy Anniversary

Title: Happy Anniversary

Chapter: 1/1

Summary: It’s their anniversary, he would be expecting something special

Rating: 18+

Warnings: It’s porn. Also, poor descriptions of pole dancing, property damage, insinuation of overstimulation and dirty talk.

Edited to add a cut. My bad.

He's expecting me to do something for him. He's been hinting at it for weeks now. He was nice enough to set up the pole for me in the spare room so I had a place to practice during quarantine. Our anniversary is coming up. It would be the perfect time. There's just one problem.

I have yet to master anything resembling a sexy move on that pole. He would be expecting his own personal stripper that he gets to sleep with. That's a pretty normal fantasy to have. Surely I could come up with a routine that would at least give the illusion of knowing what I'm doing, right?

Maybe he should just lower his expectations. That seems like the easier route to go. Certainly easier than me admitting I hadn't been able to actually make much progress with the whole 'fitness stripping' thing I had tried. He always preaches about self discipline and just going and doing your fitness routine. Unfortunately, my routine had the habit of turning into me just watching pole dancers on YouTube and barely putting any effort into it myself. Turns out it takes a lot more upper body strength than I had first thought.

"Just a little something. Show me how much progress you've made."

"I haven't made too much 'progress' to be honest." I mumbled, chewing on my lower lip.

"Well, show me what you can do." Of course. Always so encouraging and supportive. Couldn't he be a jerk, scoff at me, roll his eyes and drop the subject just this once?

"It's really not much." I admitted, reluctantly grabbing the pole. I kicked my leg out and fell back, catching the pole with the back of my knee and spinning almost gracefully to the ground.

"See? You're doing great."

"Don't get too excited, that's the most interesting thing I can do."

"Don't say things like that. You're doing great."

Always so damn encouraging. He's going to give me the confidence I don't have the upper body strength to back up. Just a fun little pirouette then. No air time involved. Just hold the pole up high, spin under my arm and lean back against it. Flirty little wink for some flair.

"You know more than you're letting on." He hummed. Even from my place halfway across the room, I could see his pupils taking over his eyes. Ok, now I'm definitely getting over confident. I jumped up, catching the pole between my legs and going for a spin. In my head, I went around the pole flawlessly and landed delicately back on my feet. In reality my grip slipped and I ended up on my butt with chafed thighs halfway through my spin.

"Are you alright?" Henry asked around a suppressed laugh, crouching down to check on me, fighting back a smile.

"Turns out, that's a lot harder than it looks."

"You did really good?"

"I wasn't supposed to end up on my ass."

"I didn't think so. Care to try again?"

"No, I'm mad now." I pouted, crossing my arms like an overgrown toddler. I'm sure the booty shorts and sports bra complemented the look nicely.

"One more shot. I'm sure you can do it."

"It's harder than it looks!"

"You were so close."

"If you think it's so easy, you try it."

"I have no idea what I'm doing."

"What do you tell me about making excuses?" Oh yeah, that shut his argument right down.

"Tell me what to do then." I really wish I had my phone with me to record this. My giant of a boyfriend trying to spin around a pole.

"Fine then, Mr. Its-not-that-hard. Grab up high with one hand, Higher, almost at a full extension. Grab on with your other hand at chest level. Then jump, catch it between your knees and keep your momentum going counterclockwise. That's the way that pole rotates."

"Sounds easy enough." Henry mumbled, tilting his head and eying up the pole. He practiced the motion he wanted his legs to do few times before giving it a go. I'm honestly unsure if he did it. Once his weight hit the pole and it began to spin, the tension proved to be unsuitable for a man of his size and he ended up on his back with a nice new hole in the wall from the top of the pole.

"Are you ok?" I asked timidly, staring at the carnage that had been created. The ceiling would need repaired. So would the wall. Also, my boyfriend's ego.

"That's going to be a lot of work to fix." Henry groaned, pushing the pole off.

"May I interest you in a sexy nurse fantasy instead?"

"By all means."

"Does it hurt here?" I asked innocently, rubbing his ankles.

"Nope." Henry hummed, laying back and letting his eyes drift closed.

"What about here?" I continued, my hands running up his calves to his knees.

"Little sore." Henry admitted as I pushed his knees further apart, crawling up between them. I squeezed gently, careful to avoid the ticklish spot I knew was at the tops of his kneecaps.

"How about up here?" I questioned, my hands sliding up his thighs, fingertips brushing under his shorts.

"Definitely more tense." We should have tried the whole 'nurse' thing in the first place. I am much better at groping than I am at pole dancing. I slid my hands out of his shorts and grabbed them by the waistband, Henry was more than happy to lift his hips to let me pull them down.

"Oh, I think I see some swelling." I teased, ghosting my fingers up his rapidly stiffening cock.

"Maybe you should kiss it better." Henry suggested, raising that damn eyebrow at me. That wasn't fair. He knew that eyebrow had the power to make me do just about anything.

"Maybe a massage will help the swelling." I countered, actively restraining myself from licking my lips.

"By all means." Henry chuckled, his eyes sliding closed, content to just feel for the time being.

I gripped loosely at the base, slowly sliding up to the tip, my thumb brushing through the glistening drop that had collected there. Another slow stroke back down, grinning to myself at his groan. I knew it wasn't enough, it was too slow, too gentle. Henry liked it when I was more rough with him, though he was always sure to be gentle with me, terrified that his brute strength would be more than I could handle. Like my pussy wasn't meant to take a pounding. Not today. I already had him on his back.

With one clumsy hand I managed to wiggle free of my shorts and underwear while continuing my slow torture of his cock I threw my leg over his and shifted my weight to straddle his thick thighs in one quick motion.

"Having fun?" Henry chuckled, his hands gently taking my hips.

"Yes, I am." I giggled, releasing his cock and shifting up, dragging him through my swollen petals, moaning softly at the feel of him. Fuck going slow. I needed him now. I gripped him by the base, lining him up and sinking down in one quick, fluid motion, Henry bucking below me, his eyes opening wide.

"Fuck sake, woman." He gasped, gripping my hips firmly to keep me in place.

"Want it now." I whined, clenching around him to try and gain more sensation than just him stretching me wide open. No matter how many times he took me, he always stole my breath with his sheer size alone, forcing me to mould to him and take every inch he had to offer.

"You're gonna hurt yourself." Henry scolded, his voice strained by my squeezing.

"No I won't." I pouted, pushing his hands away. I knew he could have easily held on if he wanted to, but he bent to my wishes and allowed me to take control just this once. I was taking no mercy this time. I set a punishing pace, bouncing on him like my life depended on it, spurred on further by his litany of curses. He felt so good, stretching me out, filling me so completely, the head of his cock slamming against my cervix every time I fell down on him.

"Fuck, slow down." Henry groaned, grabbing my hips again. "You're so damn tight, give me a second."

"No." I whined, squirming unhappily in his grasp. "I was getting close!"

"Fuck, so was I." Henry growled, flipping us over all to easily, rising up onto his knees, his forearms going beneath my knees to hold me up where he wanted me. "You think it's easy fucking this tight little pussy? Fuck, every time I just want to pound into you as fast and as hard as I can. Feel so fucking good around me. Need to take care of you first. I'm not cumming alone. Now touch yourself. Let me watch you get yourself off, and maybe then I'll finish fucking you."

That was all the encouragement I needed for my hand to shoot down, pressing against my needy bundle of nerves, rubbing in tight, quick circles. My other hand drifted to my breast, pinching and pulling on my nipple just like I knew he would. I looked up, moaning loudly when I saw him watching me intently, licking his lips slowly.

I squeezed around him, hoping to spur him into motion, but he held firm. He didn't move an inch, refusing to give me the friction I wanted. That didn't stop me from reaching my high, my back arching and his name falling from my lips. He started slamming into me the second I came undone, pushing me further into my bliss.

"That's my girl." He praised, his hips snapping into me, the sounds of our panting and slapping skin filling the room. "Fuck, so tight. Always so tight." He slid his arms from beneath my legs, letting them wrap around his waist so he could lean in, pressing his lips to mine in a hungry kiss, his hips never stopping their punishing pace.

This man was going to kill me. There was no other explanation for what was happening. He was literally planning on fucking me to death. It felt like a fire was building in my belly from how quickly I was hurtling towards the edge again.

"Come on. One more. Don't make me finish alone." Henry encouraged, his hand sliding between us now for his thumb to rub hard, slow circles on my already over sensitized clit. That was all it took for me to finish again, my nails digging into his shoulders as I tried to pull him deeper into me, Henry all too happy to oblige as he found his own release.

"Happy anniversary." Henry whispered in my ear once our breathing had slowed almost back to normal.

"Happy anniversary."  

Tag List:

@Xxxkatxo @Weallhaveadestiny @lunedelorient

[amelialincoln]

The Way Life Goes (2)

She thic and she important. Feel free to leave part 3 prompts or theories in my ask box. As always, enjoy...

TW: substance abuse

“Have you seen Amelia?” Was the first thing the general surgeon asked Link at the beginning of the work week on Monday. Link shrugged, pushing his overgrown shaggy hair out of his face and tugging his Ipad aggressively out of the charger.

“Nope.” He popped the ‘p’. Meredith eyed him in a way that made him uncomfortable enough to continue. “Scout and I have been crashing at Jo’s since Friday. I’d assume she’s at my apartment.” He didn’t get very far before Meredith stepped in front of him.

“Look, as irritating as it is, the minute shit is going down in her life she’s at my house in seconds. She didn’t come to the after party and hasn’t shown up for her shift yet today. I really doubt she’s just hanging out in your apartment.” She crossed her arms, looking somewhat terrifying, despite the fact that he loomed over her.

“I can't talk right now, I have surgery.” He replied, pushing back any fears of where she might be and focusing on the chart in front of him.

“She rejects your proposal and now you’re just done? What happened to you guys?” Link’s jaw tightened so hard you could hear the sound of his teeth clashing.

“She doesn’t want to be with me. It’s as simple as that.”

“I don’t think she doesn’t want to be with you. She just obviously isn’t ready to get married. And I think you knew that.”

“Whatever, Meredith.” Link’s throat was tight as he pushed past her, swallowing down his guilt.

She had somehow found herself to Link's apartment in a daze, praying he wasn’t there as she pushed through the door. He wasn’t. She grabbed some clean clothes and more cash before leaving once again.

It was somewhat exhilarating, living on the edge. Chasing high after high and making sure that the timing is perfect to prevent any meaningful thoughts from actually surfacing. So far she'd been excelling at it. However, it was when she was halfway back that she realized she had fucked up. Anger and self hatred hit her like a ton of bricks and she almost staggered back. The high had worn off and her mind had started to scream. You are so weak. Back here again after you promised the last time was the end. So many promises, she thought. So many empty promises that she’d broken time and time again. The promise that she’d made to be a good mother. Failed, again. Why should she even attempt to pick up the broken pieces after she found herself back to square one each time? Why not stop trying to fix it and just accept herself for who she truly is, an addict? Why keep disappointing the people that care about her over and over? There was no point. Not anymore. Scout’s name was blaring in her mind like an alarm. He’s better out without you. She convinced herself. Don’t let yourself ruin him. You destroy everything you touch.

“Amelia.” Camilla was looking at her weird. She tried to focus on her new friend, attempting to calm her shaking hands. “Wait too long?” She asked, digging into her bag. All Amelia could do was nod and pull out the cash. “This one’s on me.” Camilla placed a reassuring hand on Amelia’s shoulder as she rolled up her sleeve. She paused, with bated breath, until the image of Scout faded from her mind.

“Can you hear me?” Meredith practically yelled into the crackling phone. “I’m sorry, I know this is your honeymoon. I just still haven’t heard from her and you know her better than me so I need you to tell me what I should do.”

“Is this about Amelia?” Maggie’s groggy voice asked into the speakerphone. “You still haven’t heard from her?”

“I wouldn’t have called if I hadn't. I’m worried about her.” She could practically hear Maggie’s hesitation. “Don’t come back. Don’t even offer that.”

“She’s been having a rough time,” Maggie sighed. “Richard doesn’t let on too much but I know COVID has been hard on her. Link has good intentions. He just hasn’t ever had to see her at her lowest.”

“You think she’s using?” Meredith’s voice was hushed as she passed her Ipad to a nurse and thanked her quietly before letting herself into her office.

“I mean if I rejected a proposal from a man who meant a lot to me because I wasn’t ready I’d probably down a bottle of wine out of guilt." Maggie smiled bitterly.

“She’s stayed sober through a lot worse,” Meredith countered, glancing up to find Bailey waiting at the door with an expression she knew too well. “Hey, I’ve got to go. Tell Winston I say hi.”

“I will. Talk to you later.” Meredith placed her cell phone in her scrub pocket before meeting an irritated Bailey at the door.

“Where’s Shepherd?” Meredith knew what she was going to say before she even spoke the words. She bit the inside of her cheek, not knowing how to respond.

“Why?” She asked, receiving an eyebrow raise.

“Because she’s got a gliosarcoma in an hour and she hasn’t clocked in,” Bailey stated, fixing her lab coat and giving Meredith an exasperated look. “Look, whatever drama she and Doctor Lincoln are having, I don’t care. She can show up to work.”

“I don’t know where she is,” Meredith responded. “I honestly have no idea.”

“Wha--” Bailey started. She let out a grunt of disapproval before waving an agitated hand in the air and storming off. Meredith bit the nail on her thumb, sending yet another message to the missing neurosurgeon and wondered guiltily, for a moment, why she was so self destructive.

Link spent a lot of time in the ER compared to his colleagues. Compared to most other specialties, the majority of cases that presented themselves in the emergency room were ortho related. Most of the time it was pretty mundane, whether it be a broken ankle or a dislocated shoulder, but to keep the hospital from impending lawsuits, he was usually needed to supervise the interns, who were prowling in the ER looking for cases and trying to pop limbs back into place or reset joints, thinking they could handle it easily on their own.

As a result of this, Link was already in the OR when the trauma came in. He was sitting in the swivel chair behind the desk, dragging his feet across the floor to propel him side to side. He wasn’t paged so he was unfazed by the ambulance pulling up. Then again, he wasn’t really fazed by much these days after falling into a somewhat self deprecating state. He stared at the clock, hoping he’d be let off early.

“Did you hear about this?” Bailey asked Richard, as she secured her gown around herself and handed him a pair of gloves.

“Yeah,” Richard’s voice was a tone that Link couldn’t quite decipher. “Bunch of overdoses at Quilchena, saw it on the news in the lounge. Must’ve been something laced in whatever they all were doing.” He snapped his gloves aggressively over his hands as if he were mad at something. “This kind of thing has been happening all the time because of COVID. Addicts have been struggling during the pandemic. Never seen meetings so full.” Link found himself wondering if he was talking about Amelia. Bailey nodded to Richard sympathetically ask they rushed to meet the gurney’s being pushed into the ER.

“John Doe,” the paramedic announced. “Got naloxone at the scene, friend administered it. Conscious but having trouble breathing.”

“Page cardio,” Bailey ordered to a resident. Link watched curiously as Richard froze in place.

“Jane Doe,” the paramedic continued. “Unconscious but breathing. She--”

“Put her in trauma one,” Richard ordered firmly. Link wished he could see what was going on as he watched the blood drain from Bailey’s face. “Don’t let anyone see her. She wouldn’t want that.” It clicked in Link’s brain at that very moment when the pair of them turned to look his way. He got out of the chair he was in so fast that it clattered to the ground behind him.

Her face was so pale it was practically grey and her arms and lips were tinted a purpley blue. She looked so slender he felt like one could reach out and just snap her in half. Her expression was almost peaceful though, and that’s what haunted him most. The image of her was burned into his mind immediately and he knew, as they wheeled her away, that it would never be forgotten.

As Bailey and Richard steered her gurney away he felt frozen in place before finally, and without any indication from his mind, his feet began to follow them.

“She’s seizing,” Bailey exclaimed, her hands flying up to either side of her head to avoid holding any of her limbs in place. “Where the hell is trauma?” Link watched as she twitched, bile building up in the back of his throat. He felt slightly dizzy. He’d never been one to get queasy, even in med school while the rest of his peers either fainted or threw up during their first time observing in an OR. That’s when he knew he wanted to become a surgeon. He wasn’t sure if it was his ego telling him that he was superior for being the last one standing or the tiny and quick glance of approval the attending gave him before going back to ignoring him completely. Though, there must be something different about seeing someone he loved in this situation because he had to place a hand on the doorway to steady himself and looked away. Teddy came through the doors at that moment, brushing past him as if he didn’t exist. For a reason he couldn't quite explain let out a breath of relief that it wasn’t Owen. Something in his mind was screaming your fault, your fault, your fault. And selfishly, he hoped that Meredith, or really anyone who cared for Amelia half as much as he did, wasn’t at the hospital, and theorized that she’d probably beat him to a pulp.

“Can I help?” He found himself croaking, receiving only a glance from Richard.

“Absolutely not,” the general surgeon replied firmly, before finally getting Amelia connected to the monitor. Everyone in the room kind of paused for a moment, reading the levels and unanimously thinking to themselves silently, fuck.

“She’s coding,” Teddy proclaimed, as the alarm-like sound began to reveal itself. Link’s heart sank and he reached out to grab her hand, ignoring Richard’s orders for him to leave. Her palm was cold like ice, but not the dead kind of cold. Cold as if she’d just run in and out of the water, grinning and calling to him as if the ocean’s touch had electrified her, sending a rush of serotonin through her veins. Link remembers that look from when they’d gone down to California, for a conference that she was speaking at, like it were yesterday. She’d convinced him to go swimming, despite it being mid February, and had explained that diving into the frigid waves replicated the feeling of euphoria she used to get when a really good high would hit her full force. She’d told him about how she would swim a lot when she was first getting sober, craving the way the world felt like it was on pause and the way that silence filled her ears when her head was completely underwater. That was really the last time she’d grinned at him like that. Right before Covid had really hit. The first time they’d left Scout for the weekend with his parents. Coming up out of that water like she had been brought back to life.

He’d been so blind. He’d watched her slip into a mindless routine. Go to work. Drive home. Feed the baby. Put the baby to bed. Go to bed. Wake up. Every day, over and over. She would walk around like a ghost, stuck between life and death. He had ignored the way she'd fill her free time with meetings and when she had started going to sleep before he got home, brushed it off as postpartum and told himself that everything between them was fine. Postpartum doesn’t last this long you idiot.

“Clear!” Teddy’s calm voice echoed through the room, snapping him back to reality, and he pulled away his hand last minute before her chest rose and fell. His eyes flicked to the heart monitor, nothing. “Again, charge to three fifty. Clear!” The room fell silent as the compression pads thumped. Nothing. Teddy paused, staring at the monitor.

“Dr. Altman?” The nurse called out. “Again?” Her voice was quiet as the trauma surgeon lifted a hand in response.

“Wait,” her voice had become soft. The monitor beeped as a small peak rose and fell. “Come on, Amelia,” Teddy muttered.

“Charge again,” Bailey ordered.

“Just give her a second,” Teddy pleaded, not taking her eyes off the screen. “She’s fighting.” The trio of doctors stared at the monitor while Link fixated his eyes on his girlfriend and slid his hand into hers once again, interlocking his fingers with hers. Don’t die, don’t die, don’t die. The monitor beeped, and then beeped again, and then again. Link forced himself to look up and watched as the numbers climbed.

“Thank you, god.” Bailey brought a shaking hand to her face before closing her fingers into a fist and pressing it to her forehead. “We are lucky that the lord is looking out for this woman because the people in her life seem to not be.” The comment cut through Link like a knife.

“Bailey, that is not fair!” Richard exclaimed. Link had never heard the man raise his voice with such aggravation, even Bailey winced as she stormed out of the room, throwing her gloves to the side.

“She’s lost a lot of people...and a lot of surgeons,” Richard muttered in apology to him.

“Can she breathe on her own?” Link choked, looking at Teddy, who shifted on her feet.

“She’s weak. I’d like to keep the tube in for a couple of hours at least. See how she does. I’d also like to get neuro down here to give her a check. Let’s get her up to the ICU for now and monitor her closely. She’s stable. Let’s focus on that for now.” Link nodded, not knowing what else to say as Teddy pulled off her gown and tossed it into the bin before practically staggering out of the stuffy room.

“I didn’t know.” Something about the way Richard was looking his way was causing a buildup of defensiveness inside him.

“How?” Richard shook his head with disappointment, massaging his throbbing temple and trying to block out the emphysematous but rhythmic breath sounds coming from the breathing tube. “How, did you just not know?” His colleague was radiating judgment and Richard’s eyes narrowed into tiny slits before his entire body slumped, in no effort to lecture Link about something he should be hearing from Amelia. He looked at his friend, without a trace of condemnation, knowing, so easily, that it could be him in that hospital bed and her where he was standing. “It’s not my place,” he finally stated, tearing his eyes away from Amelia and blinking away any buildup in his tear ducts. He turned to the nurse and thanked her, always polite. “When you take her up can you make it discreet?” He knew the woman had recognized Amelia immediately. “Her reputation is on the line.” The nurse nodded as if she understood. Richard thanked her again before exiting the room.

Richard had ended up telling Meredith, who stopped by to let Link know that she and Hayes would pick up Scout from daycare and take him home with them. Link couldn’t read her expression, it was clouded as if she was undergoing an internal conflict that caused her to wince and look away upon glancing at Amelia. Some of the colour had returned to her cheeks, they looked as if someone had applied too much blush to a pale complexion and were hot to the touch. Teddy had removed the breathing tube about an hour ago. She’d gasped at first, her lungs whistling and wheezing in protest. Enough to make Teddy almost contemplate putting it back in before the breathing had settled.

“You didn’t look for her,” Meredith blurted out, as if she’d been trying to keep the words at bay. The look on her face told him that she regretted saying it almost immediately.

“Neither did you,” he bit back, more aggressively than he would’ve liked. Meredith’s face snapped away from him so quickly it was as if he’d physically hit her.

“If you really loved her. Enough to marry her. Her response shouldn’t have mattered,” her voice was as sharp as a knife. “She loves you and she’s been unfortunate enough to have most of the people she’s loved taken away from her. Do you know how rare it is for Amelia to come to Maggie and I teary eyed because she finally feels safe and loved and not being pressured into anything by the person she loves? " Meredith took a step back as if she didn't want to continue but couldn't help herself. "Amelia is a runner. She breaks under the expectations that the people that she loves have of her and she functions under the fear that the people she loves are going to leave her or die. So if you want to be an ass and make her feel like she isn’t enough for you because she doesn’t feel the need to commemorate her love to you on a stupid peice of paper, I will remove you from my sister’s life.” She was gone before he could even think of a reply and he stared wordlessly at the spot she’d just vacated.

“No,” the voice was so soft he could barely hear it. His head whipped to where she was lying. “No, no, no, no.” Amelia’s eyes were wide and she recoiled as he reached out to touch her. Her heart monitor climbed and he pulled back his hand. She was looking at him in a way that made his skin crawl. He realized, then, that she was looking at him in fear. She looked scared. It shocked him how quickly everything had fallen apart. How quickly he’d gone from someone she’d loved to someone she felt as though she barely knew. But it wasn’t really that quickly, a part of him was whispering over his shoulder. You just didn’t want to accept it.

“Hey.” The words sounded stupid as soon as they left his mouth. “It’s okay. You’re okay.” He found himself wondering what had happened to her over the last couple of days, the bruises scattered along her arms had become more evident as colour had returned to her skin. She gagged suddenly, moaning in a way that made him sick and he slid a kidney dish under her just in time. There didn’t seem to be much in her stomach so it was mostly dry heaving. Her heart monitor climbed every time he tried to touch her and he gave up on trying to hold back her hair.

“She’s awake?” Teddy stood in the doorway. Amelia looked up at her blankly before laying her head back against the hospital bed and staring up at the ceiling. The shame in her eyes were evident. Link nodded to Teddy, who gave him a somewhat genuine smile. “I’ll just do a quick vitals check.”

“No,” Amelia moaned, the pain in her voice causing Teddy to stop in her tracks. “I just want to go home. Let me go home.”

“You’re not going to go home though, are you?” Link glanced up to find Richard standing at the foot of the hospital bed, arms crossed. His stern expression was slightly wavering. Link wondered how hard it was for him to even be within two meters of her.

“Shut the fuck up,” Amelia spat, pulling her IV out of her wrist and throwing it across the room hard enough that the machine screeched against the concrete floor. Link grimaced as the IV site began to bleed. The sudden bout of energy seemed to exhaust her as she collapsed back onto the bed.

“We’re good for now, Doctor Altman,” Richard said softly, not wanting to watch as his coworker, and friend, incriminated herself in front of someone she’d regret. “You can go home with Maggie or I can check you into a rehab clinic, the choice is yours.” Link’s eyes fell to the floor, his face burning at the idea that he couldn’t be trusted to take care of her.

“Maggie’s on her honeymoon,” Amelia mumbled, the anger dying out in her eyes as she realized what his response would be before he even spoke it.

“I called her,” Richard confirmed her prediction. “Meredith is taking care of Scout and I shouldn’t even be in the same room as you.” Hot tears spilled down Amelia’s cheeks as she glared at him. You ruin everything. The voice in her head had been telling her over and over since she’d woken up.

“Rehab. I choose rehab. Call her and tell her not to come.” Maggie had arrived at the hospital an hour ago but Link decided to keep his mouth shut.

“Fine,” Richard sighed. “I’ll call right now.” He stepped outside where his daughter was waiting anxiously and placed both hands on her shoulders trying to calm her down.

“I need to go in and see her,” Maggie’s breathing was asynchronous, she held her shaky hands into her chest, trying to look into her sister’s hospital room.

“Don’t,” Richard warned. “She’s not herself right now. I shouldn’t have called and stressed you out. She chose rehab.” He watched as her face twisted in confusion.

“What? That’s ridiculous.” Maggie shook her head in disbelief. “Let me take her home.”

“I wasn’t expecting her to be this bad. It’s too much responsibility to put on anyone. I...I just don’t think it would be a good idea, Maggie.” He pulled her into a hug as she started to sob.

“Link, is he…” she trailed off as she buried her face into her biological father’s scrub top.

“It’s not anyone’s fault,” Richard sighed. “But out of everyone, he’s the last person that should be taking care of her right now.” Maggie nodded, cursing herself for not doing more as she had watched Amelia change over the last couple of months. “Has she mentioned anything about her friend Charlotte? She needs an ally, someone who understands how her brain works. I know how much you care about her, Maggie, but you can’t help her the way she really needs in a couple of days when the realization of what she’s done has hit.”

“Charlotte, the one in L.A.? I’ve talked to her a couple times, never really for too long, just over FaceTime when Amelia used to call her while living at Meredith’s.”

“Amelia brought her up a lot at meetings,” Richard bit the inside of his lip, hoping that he was making the right decision. “I think we need to call Charlotte. I think that she knows Amelia on a level that not any of us in Seattle can really understand.”

“Okay,” Maggie nodded, pushing her own feelings aside. “Get St. Ambrose Hospital in Los Angeles on the phone,” she loudly ordered to the intern, sitting at the nurses station, who had been just out of earshot, “And tell them I need to speak to Doctor Charlotte King.”

[lluvguts]

Cool Blue ; Chapter One

⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫｡˚۰˚☽˚⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫｡˚۰˚☽˚⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫｡˚

through sunsets we wander

⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫｡˚۰˚☽˚⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫｡˚۰˚☽˚⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫｡˚

☽ warnings: none

☽ fic masterlist

⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫｡˚۰˚☽˚⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫｡˚۰˚☽˚⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫｡˚

By the time Alberto had rowed out into the furthest stretch of waters toward that quaint little island he'd been eyeing for months, it was already nearing dinnertime. He promised his foster father, Massimo, and younger sister, Giulia, he would return to the Marcovaldo home with a lovely new piece for their kitchen or else Massimo's hearty dish of alfredo wouldn't be served to him.

Alberto had grinned at the promise. He knew that even if he came home with a stick figure drawing of himself, sitting cheekily on a beach someplace, they'd hang it on the icebox and love it regardless.

He'd done a few paintings of the sunset from their home, sure, but it was the beautiful curve of greenery this approaching island offered that Alberto just couldn't refuse. There hung something familiar in it's many trees and overgrown bushes somehow, but Alberto just wasn't able to place it. As he neared he hurried to moor the boat by the section of the island mostly taken up by dark, porous shore rocks. He chanced to teeter at the bow before jumping onto the closest boulder, its surface nicking his heels in a few spots but he didn't mind. He hated to wear shoes ever since he was a child, and Massimo had even claimed when he'd discovered Alberto as a wide-eyed toddler, he was absolutely shoe-free. The ground was damp with the constant ebb and flow of the ocean, and for the heat seeping into Alberto's toes from the sparkling sun-kissed sand, he felt oddly at home.

Alberto glanced at the sun, hardly able to resist reaching out a hand to remark on the beauty of it. He spun back to fetch his bag of paint supplies, clutching the case to his broad chest so as not to let anything plop into the ocean. From where he was standing, precariously but full of glee on the rocky shoreline, there was a small alcove just beyond Alberto's line of sight. There were a few times he'd wished he'd brought at least a pair of sandals--or perhaps he could use his work smock and tie it around his heels--as he walked down the beach, because the ground was steadily rising in temperature as the sun baked the sand, but he tried not to complain much when there was so much to marvel around him.

He set his bag down on the ground by a rocky pool, which Alberto promptly sat beside and rolled his pantlegs up so he could dangle his ankles in the warm water. From where he sat, he was given a perfect view of the sun, creeping closer and closer to the horizon, so Alberto pulled out his pad of paper and a few pencils just to sketch for a while. He shaded the trees around him, drew each jagged rock, and perfected the way the sun kissed the ocean and left sparkling trails down the horizon. He could draw today, just to soak up the scenery and get his concepts down, then bring out the paints tomorrow. Massimo would probably joke and ruffle his already messed up head of curls once he got back, with smudged fingers and no canvas, but say all was fine. As he worked he hummed to himself, a song from some old record Giulia played on their gramophone (or, as a younger Alberto favored calling it, the magic-singing-lady-machine) after dinner and the kids were cleaning up. Still focused on the page, steadily filling, Alberto reached out a hand and groped around in his bag for an eraser without looking. When he didn't find one, he grumbled a bit and pulled his hand back, only to realize he'd shook loose a few sticks of charcoal and a paintbrush that rolled across the ground and fell, soundlessly, into the pool. The brush floated along the surface but the rest slipped below the surface.

"Merda!" Alberto hissed, trying to grapple one of the charcoals with his toes but it only sank further into the murky blue below. He shut his eyes and opened them again, more than willing to dive down there and retrieve those precious charcoal sticks. They cost him quite a few allowances and extra shifts at the Pescheria.

But then something happened that made Alberto leap from his spot and hold his dripping knees closer to his chest.

One stick of charcoal was flung from the pool and landed on the grass a few feet from Alberto's bag, soaking the ground in black. Then came up another, this time closer to Alberto. He flinched at the torrent of gravity-defying art supplies, allowing himself to inch closer to the mouth of the pool, reflecting his green eyes wide, breath held, waiting. Another reflection flashed across the pool's surface, something vibrant that made Alberto look up. But there were no trees or even a bird to cast the reflection.

Alberto let his head fall. And, blinking back at him, with the paintbrush that had been bobbing balanced on its nose, was what looked like a fish. But fish didn't have huge yellow eyes that made Alberto think of his cat at home, Machi, but not in an endearing way. Fish weren't that smart. Alberto had seen sea turtles and dolphins many times before, and they were intelligent, sure, but nothing compared to the humanlike stare this creature had fixed on him now. It stuck it's face out of the water, wincing at the harsh sunlight making its scales shine a deep teal. When its big yellow eyes trained back on Alberto, he saw the creatures features darken from underneath the water line.

"I think you dropped this," It whispered, in such a soft and shy way it made Alberto take in a ragged breath. Okay, fish definitely didn't do that. Was this thing...actually talking to him? The creature stuck its webbed fingers from the pool and took the paintbrush, staring at it for a moment before handing it out to a speechless Alberto.

"Woah! Uh...H-Hello?" Alberto breathed, gingerly taking back the brush.

The not-fish waved, only a slight shake of its hand above the surface of the water, and Alberto noticed the thin claws on the ends of its fingers.

"I'm not supposed to talk to you," It whispered again. Alberto watched the stream of bubbles that floated along the pool's surface as it talked. He still had no idea what he was conversing with, the creature seeming less and less like a fish and more as something from his imagination. It waded in the small pool, he noticed, forearms paddling softly without stirring the water. Its movements so effortless it left Alberto in awe. And if he gazed into the deeper parts of the water, he swore he saw a tail lazily lapping behind the creature.

"I...uh, I could only imagine why," Alberto squeaked. The paintbrush was still in his hands but he was now gripping it so tight his tan skin was turning white at the knuckles.

The creature stifled a giggle by placing one clawed hand to its mouth, but even still Alberto caught a glimpse of its sharp teeth. If he hadn't run away now, that was a pretty good red flag to be packing his things and high-tailing home--but he didn't. He wasn't exactly afraid of this thing staring back at him. Just a bit baffled by it, he was dying to look closer but the more Alberto craned his neck down into the pool to see, the creature shied back into the depths.

"What are you?" Alberto asked aloud, more to himself but still he knew the thing heard him. "Sorry! Was that rude? I'm not trying to be mean, but you aren't exactly the type of seal we'd see in Portorosso."

The creature's cheeks turned a darker blue, and it glared at Alberto. "I am not a seal." It hissed, its tiny lip pulled back to reveal that set of sharp teeth again.

"I get it! I get it! I said I was sorry! I'm just trying to figure this all out," Alberto scratched his head, looking back at his sketchbook for a moment.

"I don't even look anything like a seal!" It was still stuck on the stupid seal comment, with its blue eyebrows furrowed and eyes dark. The more Alberto heard the creature talk he realized, with a flush of embarrassment or something else, that it was a boy. Not a thing. Not an it.

"Okay, so you're not a seal. We've established this." Alberto was gathering his sketchbook and supplies to put back in the bag. The paintbrush was resting at the mouth of the pool. "Are you some type of...seahorse? Or an overgrown fish?"

The boy spit out a stream of water into Alberto's face.

"I'm a monster," He said promptly, his voice on the edge of staying shy or holding a grudge for the seal comment. "So...you should be afraid of me."

Alberto let out a laugh. This cute little thing? "Sure, sure. That makes much more sense." He stuck out his hand at the boy. "Well, nice to meet you, sea monster...Or, uh, whatever you are. I'm Alberto Marcovaldo."

"Alberto..." The boy repeated in a hushed voice, looking down at the water now as he said it. He flinched backward at Alberto's hand, looking up at his fingers with burning yellow eyes. Without knowing much of what to do, the boy kicked his legs until he was treading the water, letting the top of his head graze Alberto's open palm. The small fins around the crown of his head brushed Alberto's hand, smooth and slippery like seaweed. Alberto decided he was quite pleased with the weird texture of it.

The boy closed his eyes and let out a small noise, the side of his face now pressed to Alberto's hand. He had a fin on his cheek that neared his fingertips, and when Alberto touched it the boy trilled, almost in greeting.

"Oh, uh, are you ok? I think you're supposed to shake my hand." Alberto stated. He found his face felt uncomfortably hot watching the weird gesture the boy had just made, and even more so at the soft noises rumbling in his throat.

For a moment the creature considered extending his hand and taking Alberto's outstretched fingers, but stopped with a low growl, blushing blue.

"I'm--ugh! I'm not even supposed to be out here!" He wailed. "If they find me out here with, with a land monster? My mom's gonna kill me! I've uh, I've got to go, so um..." The boy looked at Alberto's paintbrush sitting within his reach and took it.

"Goodbye."

He ducked back under the water. In a second his head of blue fins dashed back up.

"Forever."

Land monster? Alberto could laugh. He'd never heard that one before. But he scanned the mess before him, the slimy puddle of water next to his leg that the boy had left when he took (stole) his paintbrush, the droplets scattered along his sketchbook, all blazing in angry red as the sun finished its journey along the sky.

Alberto scrambled up from his spot, mentally slapping himself. He had a hard time rowing the boat this far out while it was daytime, it was sure going to be hell finding his way home in the near darkness. As he stumbled along the shore and dropped his things into the boat, he wondered if he had the right paint colors for the boy's eyes.

Wait, he hadn't even gotten his name! Do sea monster-things have names? Like humans do? Oh, what did it matter? The boy said he could never come back to the island again. Their awkward five minute interaction was all they had. But Alberto was still stewing it all over as he made his way back to Portorosso, now relying on the oil lamp beside him and the glowing stars above.

/ / /

"Figlio, you're late."

Alberto rushed to hang up his bag and wash his hands. Giulia seemed to have been stuck with doing Alberto's dinner chores in his absence, setting the table and pouring waters. When he passed her she stuck her tongue out at him and smashed his offending pinky toe with her sandal.

"Ouch!" Alberto steeled his eyes at her from across the table, but she only grinned devilishly. Massimo was still expecting some sort of apology for almost missing dinner so he cleared his throat and pulled back the chair for his father to sit. "Sorry, Papa. The place where I set up my paints was pretty far, and I got carried away and lost track of time."

"Blech, Alberto, you stupido, at least change your clothes...you reek like fish..." Giulia sneered as Massimo handed them their plates.

"Hush, Giulia." Signor Marcovaldo gave her a small pat on her shoulder then turned to Alberto. All concern lost, he asked. "Where did you go to paint?"

"The island...?" Alberto chanced a look across his water glass to see their equal expression of shock and horror.

"The island?" Giulia shrieked. She let her fork fall and alfredo sauce splattered on the table cloth. "Fratello, that place is swarming with monstro marino!"

"Sea monsters, really Giulia?" Alberto tried to sound calm, but his heart rate picked up. "There's no such thing."

"Actually, Alberto, there is." Massimo pointed to the newspaper clippings decorating one kitchen wall, still frames of what appeared to be creatures with glistening teeth and bloodied scales.

"But Papa, those papers are fake! You said so yourself! Ercole's father only made those to scare people." Alberto argued.

"They are a menace to this town." Massimo stared into his plate of pasta. "My only hope is that you never get to see so yourself. They are killers."

Well, the one I met today didn't seem like a bloodthirsty monster, Alberto wanted to spit back, but held his tongue.

"Did you at least get to draw anything?" Giulia asked. Alberto sighed, glad they let the subject on sea monsters drop for the time being.

"Y-Yeah! I actually did," He boasted, rising from the table to fetch his bag. He undid the latch and took out his sketchbook, walking while flipping the latest page open for Giulia and Massimo to see.

Giulia's eyes widened and she barked out a laugh. Massimo smiled faintly, giving Alberto a solitary thumbs up.

"What? What are you laughing about?" Alberto turned the paper around and gasped. The entire page was warped and still damp, the lovely pencil drawings now only faint grey smears along the paper.

"That's-That's not funny!" Alberto growled at Giulia, who was wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. "It was the boat! A wave must have hit the side, or something!"

"Oh, yeah, Alberto. Blame the boat," Giulia giggled.

Alberto huffed and slumped back into his seat. That sea monster.

Machiavelli sashayed into the kitchen, smelling the dinner on the table or perhaps the laughter lightening the air. He curled up next to Alberto's leg on the ground, rubbing his cheek and whiskers along his bare ankle, purring for a taste of the alfredo sauce.

"No, Machi. You can't eat human food." Alberto chastened him, nudging his face away from the table leg. Giulia laughed harder.

"Hah! He smells the fish on you, 'Berto! Were you taking a swim with Papa's catch today, hmm?"

"Giulia, I said that was enough!"

He smells the sea monster on me, Alberto thought. He glanced down at Machi again and stiffened when he realized his purrs had really been growls.

/ / /

"Oh, Giuseppe, I'm so stupid!" Luca dropped his head into his hands and a flurry of bubbles chased his fins. "I can't believe I actually talked to him!"

The school of fish floated beside Luca, unblinking. Giuseppe, the goatfish in interrogation, only blew a tired bubble from his mouth and huddled closer to Luca.

"I saw these weird sticks floating into the water, and they stained the water black like those oil spills Momma had warned be about, but still I went to see what it was!" Luca took Giuseppe by the hand and cradled him to his chest. "I wasn't expecting to see a land monster up there. I just didn't want those things in the water."

"But," Luca continued to himself, as his herd of fish were clearly unable to do much of anything, least of all lend him advice. "That weird stick with the soft thing at the end was really pretty, Giuseppe. It was purple! The wood was purple! How did he do that?"

"It was Alberto that did that, I think. He painted it purple." Luca jumped up in glee, then floated gracefully back onto the rock he'd been sitting on, giggling at the dark sea above.

"Ugh!" Luca was a ball of emotions. "How could I be such an idiota? I took something from The Surface! I had to hide it, of course, but still!" He pet Giuseppe's scales and the goatfish blew some bubbles in Luca's face to calm him down. "He looked so much different than the way Momma talks about the land monsters. Alberto wasn't scary...he didn't have a harpoon, so that's a good sign, right?"

Luca looked to Giuseppe, and sighed. "I don't know what's happening to me..." Luca murmured to himself, gingerly touching his face and remarking how warm it was in the cool ocean water. It had been like that when Alberto was watching him too, with those bright green eyes. Green like the sea glass Luca had collecting on the rocky ledge of his bedroom cave. When he stared at Alberto, something tingled in his belly, burning low and delightful. He knew what that meant, though he tried to press it down into his abdomen until the feeling eventually drifted away.

"Oh, sharks, I'm just a dumb little crab, aren't I? I even tried to scent him! But I couldn't help it! That land monster smelled so...different. Like the sun, you know? All warm and fuzzy...it was so sweet. Oh, if Momma finds out about this...It's not good, Giuseppe. Not good at all."

"Luca, tesoro it's time for dinner!" Signore Paguro called from a few yard away in the Paguro home. Luca gasped and a trail of frightened bubbles drifted pass his eyes. He grabbed his moss-covered staff and herded the school into a more manageable spot for the night, and swam toward home.

[readyplayerhobi]

Flower | 29

; Hoseok x Reader

;Genre: Fluff, slight angst

; Warnings: Discussions of periods and contraception

; Word Count: 4.6k

; Synopsis: You finally decide to take a dip into the world of online dating and find the Flower dating app. One of the top matches for you proves to be a guy who looks to be your complete opposite; tattooed, pierced, a metalhead and oh…incredibly handsome. What happens when you throw caution to the wind and reach out to him?

; A/N: I know it’s taking a long time for me to update this but I hope you enjoy it :D Please reblog if you do and let me know what you think my commenting on this or sending me an ask!

; Flower Masterpost

-

“Hey, meeps,” You hear Hoseok’s voice calling to you from the end of the aisle, his new nickname for you now gaining its own nickname as well. “If sunflower oil is made from sunflowers, and coconut oil is made from coconuts...then baby oil…”

He trails off, raising his eyebrows and giving you a scandalous look as he holds up a bottle of baby oil. For a moment, you just stare at him blankly before sighing and rolling your eyes in amusement. Taking the bottle from him, you place it back down onto the shelf before linking your arm through his.

Thankfully, he lets you direct him back to the little section they have in this makeup and skincare store that’s fully dedicated to Korean beauty. This is one of those strange stores where they have tons of products that are basically on sale yet also have branded stuff alongside it. Not that you cared though; it had the Korean brands you swore by for your skin and you were more than tempted to try out the Japanese beauty stand next to it.

For someone who isn’t particularly bothered about the whole concept of skincare, though you had managed to convince him to at least improve his routine, Hoseok was being a pretty good boyfriend right now. He hadn’t complained about the half an hour you’d spent perusing the makeup to find new stuff to put into your collection and he still wasn’t complaining as you filled your basket with face masks.

If anything, he’d managed to entertain himself quite well. 

But you think he was being good purely because you’d gone with him to a concert last night. It had been for one of his favourite bands, Metallica, and he’d ended up with a spare ticket as Jungkook had ended up ill with food poisoning. He had been about to go on his own, but you hadn’t liked the thought of him being lonely so you’d gone with him.

You’d recognised some of the songs they’d played from whenever Hoseok played them in the car or the house but it hadn’t been your scene. Still, it had been fun enough and you’d more than enjoyed seeing Hoseok happy as he’d rocked out to his beloved band.

It did mean that you were exceptionally tired today though as the two of you hadn’t gotten home from the stadium they’d performed in until after 2 am. That had been the closest performance apparently and you’d been shattered, sleeping until well after 11 am. Hoseok had promised you a day of relaxation, which you’d jumped on by asking him to do a full Korean skincare routine with you tonight.

He’d agreed, and you’d eagerly dragged him out to this store to replenish your supplies. The makeup was just because it was there and you couldn’t resist it. Already you were coming up with ideas for looks in your head that you could create and then put onto your Instagram. Moving places had meant that you hadn’t done many looks lately and you were eager to change that.

Especially now that you had a yard to take nice photos in. Hoseok and you had both been working hard on the weekends and evenings to transform the yard from the overgrown mess it had been into something nice. Nothing too amazing or expensive as it wasn’t your own house but nice enough that it made from some pretty aesthetic photos.

Placing a final bottle of moisturiser in your basket, you smile at Hoseok and hold it up proudly. He just looks at you in amusement for a second before smiling back.

“All done! We can go to pay now.” While you pay for all your new stuff, he goes and waits outside for you. Which you discover means he intently window shops at the video game store, getting that look on his face when he wants to do something.

Feeling that your bladder is a little too full right now, you glance over to where the public restrooms are and move over to Hoseok. “You can go in if you want, I’m going to the restroom so I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

He takes your bag for you like the gentleman he is before disappearing inside, immediately making a beeline for the Playstation 4 section. You have a feeling he might be about to drop some money given how interested he’d been in some of the new games that have been released in the last few months.

Any thoughts of games are wiped from your mind very quickly though when you’re on the toilet. The sight of red staining your underwear has your eyes widening in horror as you realise that your period has decided to make an early appearance. For a moment you simply stare, brow creasing before you reach for your bag and grab your phone.

The period app you use says that you shouldn’t have started for another four days and you curse your body for doing whatever it likes. Scowling at the stain, you attempt to clean it before sighing in defeat, acknowledging that at least you were wearing black jeans today.

Another rummage in your bag causes you to find another problem, this one sending ice water running through your veins. Grabbing it and placing it onto your knees, you visually scan through every space and almost pull out the entire contents before letting out a small sound of despair.

You had no tampons.

Cursing to yourself quietly, you finish up and make do with an almost ridiculously large amount of toilet paper. Rushing out, you wash your hands before moving over to the machine that always had condoms, sanitary pads and tampons.

Only to see the ‘sold out’ sign on both the buttons you need. Groaning quietly, you do a little dance of frustration as you realise there are not even any other women in the restroom for you to ask. Not that you would. As if your social anxiety would allow for that!

So instead you have to slink outside and into the game shop, lip jutting out in a slight pout as you become hyper-aware of yourself. Can other people smell the blood? What if you leak through all the toilet paper and it does somehow show through your jeans?! What if you leak through onto a chair!

Hoseok wanted to get something to eat after this and you were dreading having to sit there for ages. Playing with your fingers nervously, you move over to where he’s crouched in front of the PS4 stand. He already has two game cases in his hand and is reading the back of another one, your bag of goodies on the floor between his feet.

Glancing up at you, he grins brightly before showing the cover of one of the cases he’s got.

“Look! The Spider-Man game is on sale! You want to play this, right?” Absentmindedly, you nod. The back of your mind takes in the fact that he’s also got Divinity: Original Sin 2 in his ‘buy’ hand and the other case he’s considering is the Doom remake. You wish that you could let him browse more but the drug store wasn’t close by and you didn’t want to just abandon him suddenly.

Still, the thought of what was going on down below was overwhelming and you found yourself shaking his shoulder slightly.

“Hey, are you done? Can we go?” Reaching down, you take your bag back and stand back as he rises, the crease between his brows letting you know he’s a little confused as to why you’re suddenly rushing him. He knows full well that there’s nothing important you need to do.

Still, though, he doesn’t question it and instead nods slowly. While he goes and pays for the games he’s buying, you go to wait by the entrance. Wrapping your arms around your waist, you realise that the low ache in your back that you’d had for a day or so was one of those early symptoms you got of your period.

Only you hadn’t thought anything about it. Not when you’d spent a few hours last night stood up. You’d just thought it was because you’d done a lot of work in the yard combined with the concert. Apparently not.

You’re pretty much already walking in the direction of the drug store by the time Hoseok comes out, causing him to have to jog to catch up with you. All you can think about is whether or not walking faster or slower would make things worse.

“Woah, hey, where are we going?” Hoseok asks, matching his speed to yours. You’re just thankful that there are not too many people out shopping today because it would only increase your stress levels if there was a big queue that you had to wait in or something.

“Just, to this store.” Admittedly, you’re not being very open and honest right now. But you’re embarrassed. Hoseok is fully aware of your periods and that they’re very much a thing that happens. They’d become a little more irregular recently as you’d had a copper IUD put in around a month before moving in with him.

Nothing drastic or anything, but then again they were also sometimes longer and a little heavier than you were used to when you were on the pill. It wasn’t exactly something you enjoyed talking about with anyone though; Soyeon and Chungha were pretty open about this kind of stuff but you had always mostly stayed quiet whenever they talked about it.

Which was silly. They were women who fully understood what you were going through and Hoseok understood that it was a monthly event. So it wasn’t like he’d be shocked to find out or anything. If anything, you’d probably done a bit of a bad job in explaining some things to him as you’d always got too shy whenever he’d asked things.

That was bad, you were well aware. But you’d only really got comfortable talking about sexual things with him. You knew that there were guys who thought it was gross that women bled for a week or so. Hoseok had never made those kinds of comments, but still. You were a work in progress.

“We’ve already been in here, why are you dragging me like Jason Voorhees is running after us with a knife?” He whines when you enter the store. You’re not surprised he’s confused because he’s right, you had come in here earlier and picked up what you needed. Still, though, he follows close by.

“I thought we didn’t need anything else.” Comes from him next, his lip pouting and you get the sense that he wanted to spend more time in the game store. A rush of guilt and shame washes over you, causing you to grip his hand even tighter as you shuffle awkwardly in place for a moment.

Finally in the store though, you realise just how silly you’re being with him. It’s not like he’s going to get outraged or upset. And you’re sure he’d have been much more willing to come along if he hadn’t been dragged along half the street with no idea what was happening.

Leaning into him, you cough slightly before swallowing as you feel yourself go hot with anxiety.

“My period started.” You whisper, keeping the words quiet enough so that he can hear them without having anyone else overhear. Though the rational part of your mind knew that you shouldn’t give a flying fuck what anyone else thought. It was a natural, bodily function and all that.

Your mind has never quite done things rationally though.

Hoseok has heard you though, you can tell by the way his head tilts to the side ever so slightly. But his expression is blank for a moment before his brow creases in obvious confusion, lips pursing as he contemplates what you’ve just told him.

“Okay...so why are we here?” Annnnd there it is. That famed male obliviousness to female problems. You couldn’t get annoyed at him though, not when he was good with you on everything else. He was cute.

“It’s early? And I have nothing to use. So I need to buy some.” His face changes immediately when he understands finally, mouth curving into an ‘o’ shape as he lets out a noise of recognition. It then contorts into worry for you, his eyes glancing down to your crotch area with wide eyes.

“Wait, so that means you’re...just…” He creates a rushing gesture with his hands, imitating a waterfall as he makes a ‘whoosh’ noise with his mouth. It’s a little too loud for your liking and you hiss at him, poking at his stomach before quickly pulling him over to the menstrual health aisle.

“I’ve used some toilet paper but it probably won’t last. It’s come on pretty hard and fast today. Please don’t laugh.” You beg him and his face sobers immediately, eyes darting over your own as he takes in your distressed appearance. Licking at his lips, he inhales deeply before nodding.

“Okay, you use tampons, right? So like...which ones? You never keep the box.” Automatically he starts to look over all the boxes of tampons; staring at the brands, types and absorption levels like he’s reading signs in Mandarin or something. It makes you want to laugh, despite the situation.

You appreciate his eagerness to help though, even when he points at random boxes with absolutely zero knowledge of what it was.

“What’s the difference in the brands? Is there a difference? Or is it like...when you buy those store brand biscuits and realise they taste the same as the branded biscuits only to find out that they’re made in the same factory and just relabelled?” That makes you snort with amusement, particularly as he’s now holding up a box of Tampax and a store brand to try and see the difference.

He’s not finished yet though, and even though you still feel the urgency to just grab some and run, you can’t help but let him entertain you. Because that’s what he’s doing. You’re not oblivious, you’ve realised over time that if you’re feeling anxious or uncomfortable or shy, Hoseok will often use humour to distract you away from your negativity.

It’s nice, which is why you let him carry on for a minute or so more.

“What are the drops for? And what’s the difference between regular and super? I mean, I think you’re pretty super but is this like...super big or something? Wait, is this plastic?! How does it absorb blood if it’s plastic?” Rolling your eyes at him, you bite your lip to stop the laughter that wants to escape before reaching past him to grab the box you usually buy.

Lifting it, you decide for a quick crash course in tampons. As your boyfriend, you never know when you might need him to run out to the store for some and the last thing you need is him bringing the entirely wrong type back.

“I use Tampax, purely cos it’s just the brand I’ve always used and I’m familiar with it. Super and regular are like the absorption so you’d use a super for the first few days when a period is heaviest. Hence why I’m getting these. The drops are the absorption rating too basically and it’s not plastic, that’s just the applicator that makes it easier to insert.” You say it all pretty quickly, but quietly enough that only he hears. 

Not that there’s any need, the store is loud enough that your conversation can’t be overheard and on top of that, there’s no one in this aisle anyway. But Hoseok nods thoughtfully, scanning the front of the box carefully.

“When we get home, I think I need a crash course in periods because I’m feeling pretty useless and dumb right now.” Laughing, you lean up to kiss his cheek quickly before heading in the direction of the cashiers.

“We can do that for you. It’s better to be educated after all. This is where I find out that you have this bizarre knowledge that is unbelievably wrong and I cringe.” Hoseok doesn’t answer back to that, causing you to look back and chuckle at his meek shrug and wince.

“What can I say? I’ve never had a girlfriend long enough to learn and education in high school was terrible. I’m not even gonna try to defend myself.” Humming lightly, you grin at him as you pay before heading out of the store. Looking in the direction of the toilets, you twist your lips as you consider your options.

“You want to eat at that place, right?” You ask, nodding your head towards the Japanese place that was down the opposite end of the street. Hoseok looks that way and nods, confirming his desire to you. Already you can feel your stomach rumble as you imagine the delicious food.

“Okay, we’ll just go there and I’ll go straight to the restroom in there. Come on.” Reaching you, you take his hand and smile up at him, your walk not so hurried now compared to before. Not that you aren’t completely aware of the fact that you’re free bleeding from your vagina right now, but walking faster might just aggravate it more. 

You had what you needed, so now you could relax a little more.

-

“Why are there so many steps in this? Don’t you get bored?” Hoseok mumbles, his words a little slurred due to the fact you’re rubbing serum into his cheeks. He’s already been here for ages in the bathroom as you’d used a cleanser to clean his face before exfoliating and then using toner on some cotton pads. 

You could tell that he was amused by the whole situation, even though he’d seen you do this many times before. But it was different experiencing it for himself you supposed. Still, he looked so adorable and you cooed to him, squishing his cheeks even more in amusement.

“No. It’s relaxing. You’re supposed to relax.” That makes him scowl, the expression not nearly as intense as he was going for given you’ve got his lips in the cutest pout. Still, you’re finished with that part so you let him go, laughing as he runs his fingers over his skin.

“I’m not relaxed. More...manhandled.” Scoffing, you roll your eyes as you get to work rubbing the serum you need into your skin, focusing on your eyes. The dark circles beneath them were far too...well dark for your liking.

“Okay, how’s your skin lately? Dry? Oily?” Frowning at you, he twists his lips as he considers your question. He’s been taking better care of his skin than he had been before dating you, but you knew that he still didn’t care that much. Surprisingly though, he has an answer for you.

“Dry?” Nodding to yourself, you reach through your box of face masks and pull out a moisturising one. Handing it over to him, you take your own and rip it open, pulling out the mask and carefully putting it on. Hoseok watches you intently before opening up his mask, his face immediately twisting into a cringe.

“Ewwww, oh my god. Why is it so slimy?!” He whines, holding it over the sink like it’s some monster that might kill him. With the mask on your face, you can’t laugh properly like you want to.

“Stop being a baby and put it on.” With a little more whining, he does so, lining it up and putting it onto his face. What follows is then complaints that it’s also cold and feels weird, causing you to roll your eyes at him once more as you help to smooth out any creases in it.

“Right, we’ve got to keep this on for twenty minutes so let’s go watch some Netflix,” Looking over him, you take in how he still manages to look handsome even with a white sheet mask on. “It’s not fair that you always look so good. Honestly.”

Hoseok just shrugs before licking his lips, his reaction immediate as he registers the foul taste. “Oh fuck me, what the fuck. This tastes fucking vile!”

“...you’re not meant to eat it, babe, they don’t make it for the taste.” He washes his hands in the sink to get rid of the remaining residue before following you out to the couch in the living room, Netflix still paused on the large television screen. Kasumi is curled up on her cat tree, fluffy body small as she sleeps quietly.

For around ten minutes, neither of you speak as you continue to watch Warrior Nun. It’s surprisingly got both your attention hooked, so you’re a little surprised when Hoseok suddenly speaks up and distracts you.

“Hey...I know this is a weird time to talk about this but after your whole period thing today it reminded me. So, I’ve been thinking lately. You definitely don’t want kids...right?” He looks at you and you get the impression he would raise his brow if he could. When you nod in response, he blows out a breath slowly.

“Okay...how would you feel if I said I wanted to get a vasectomy? I mean, I know you’ve said you don’t want kids but there’s always a chance that you might and a vasectomy is pretty final. Despite what people say.” Now it’s your for your expression to be mostly hidden by your face mask, your eyes widening until your eyelashes are uncomfortably touching the edges of the holes.

“You want that? I thought guys normally got all weirded out at that prospect. And I don’t want kids, ever. Full stop. Are you sure?” Of all the things you were going to be discussing tonight, you did not expect it to be this. It’s almost amusing that Hoseok has decided right now is the time for something so serious, when you both look so silly.

“I do. I just...I don’t want to risk a pregnancy and I know you’re scared of that too. Also, it’d put less stress on you, I know most birth control is usually aimed at women except for condoms and it’s a lot easier for me to get a vasectomy than for you to get anything done.” That makes you snort in acknowledgement, shifting on the couch until you pull your leg up and wrap your arms around it.

“Yeah, because god forbid a woman not want to fulfil her natural duty and pop out a kid, right?” 

“I’ve been looking into it, I’m pretty sure I could get one. If not, I’ll just talk the doctor’s ear off until they let me. Because it’s gonna happen. It’s way easier and less stressful than anything you have to do.” His dual concern for not wanting to cause an accidental pregnancy that neither of you wanted along with not wanting the burden to fall too heavily on you warms you, causing you to reach out and grasp his hand tightly as you squeeze at it.

“Is it easy? Or quick?” 

“Apparently. Some guys say it doesn’t hurt at all, others said it hurts. But...I’m pretty sure I want it. I just wanted to check with you that you’d be okay with the idea too. As I said, it’s final.” Hoseok smiles at you as best he can, causing you to shuffle a little closer to him. You’d like to rest your head against his shoulder but you’d just get it covered in face mask gunk.

“I mean, it’s your body. It doesn’t have anything to do with me.” Pointing this out to him, you look up and tilt your head, your statement almost a question.

It makes him sigh and focus on your hands, shifting them until he could interlink his fingers with your own. You let him do so, figuring he should probably be taking the lead in this conversation. It is about him after all.

“We’re in a relationship. A serious relationship and this decision would affect both of us. It’s cutting off the chance for biological kids, despite people saying you might be able to reverse it. I feel you should have a say too.” Nodding slowly, you hum lightly as you consider his words carefully.

“Well, if you want it then I’ll support you completely. I never want children so you don’t have to worry about that. It’s your decision, but I just want to make sure you think it over properly and do research, okay? Don’t go rushing into it.” That makes him snort in amusement.

“Meeps, if there’s one thing you should know by now; it’s that men do not take decisions regarding their dick and balls lightly. You can be damn sure I’m going to be 100% in my decision if I’m going to let someone come near my balls with a scalpel or somet.” The way he says this is so matter of fact that you can’t help but laugh, the sound not as big or bright as you’d like it to be given you still had your mask on.

“Man, I can’t believe I’m talking about someone knifing my balls while I’m sitting here looking like a dollar store Michael Myers.” Hoseok points at himself, his bemusement clearly obvious despite his poor Halloween costume and you giggle softly.

Reaching out, you run your fingers through his hair that’s currently being held back by a bandana and smile at him softly. “Come on, let’s go get these off and start looking human again.”

Hoseok follows you immediately, already peeling the face mask off and making casual comments about how the mask isn’t as slimy as it had once been. You take off your own and drop it into the small bin in the bathroom, making sure that he does the same.

“Okay, rub it in and pat it dry. Make sure you get the excess to go on your throat and stuff, it’s good for your skin there too.” Hoseok looks in the mirror, his face shining obscenely from the residue leftover and grimaces.

“Ew, this feels...gross,” One hand presses to his skin, rubbing it in and cringing. “Is this what it feels like when I cum on your face?”

The comment is so random that you pause for a moment, all thoughts disappearing as you comprehend what he’s just said. A glance at him makes you realise he’s being completely serious, his expression focused on rubbing his face as you’d told him. It’s moments like this that make you love him even more, the blasé comments he makes that are so funny and yet also x-rated.

“No...not really. That’s more...well it’s not all over, you know? And it’s thicker than this. And I don’t know why I’m explaining this to you. You know what your cum feels like.” A snort from him gives away his bemusement.

“Yeah, but I’ve never smeared it all over my face before.”

“Maybe you should. Experience it for yourself for once. It’s not all that good for you by the way, despite what people say. It has protein but it’s not enough to make it worthwhile or anything, so don’t think I’m going to be asking you for your special facials anytime soon.” Looking away from him, you grab the next item on your routine before looking at him with a smirk.

“Damn, there goes my plan to be self-sufficient. Could’ve made a whole organic spa thing out of it.” 

[mrcleanheichou]

The Toy

Pairing Jungkook/reader

Genre smut

Warnings Hand job, male masturbation, Sex toy (fake vagina), a little bit of dirty talk, Noona kink, oral sex (m receiving) Overall just a horny Jungkook living his best life

Summary Jungkook comes home from tour and asks you to help him live out his fantasies.

“Babe, I love you but you watch too much porn.”

“C’mon, y/n please. You have no idea how often I’ve thought about this” Jungkook whined breaking out his saddest puppy dog eyes while pouting in the way he knows you can’t resist. Right before BTS went on their ‘Speak Yourself’ tour you had bought Jungkook a special gift. A fleshlight, a brand of cock sleeve, for those lonely tour nights. You had remembered him complaining to you during their last tour about missing you and having to go back to using his hand again.

“Ugh, fine” you relent rolling your eyes only pretending to be against his idea. You’re incredibly turned on by the thought of it, if the growing wet spot in your panties was any indicator. Jungkook grins wide and tackles you on your bed kissing you all over your face while saying ‘Thank you’ over and over again. You were laughing at your overgrown puppy of a boyfriend when you suddenly feel something solid poking your thigh. “Oh my god, you’re already hard?”

“I’ve jerked off thinking about this for 3 months. You have no idea how ready I am”, Jungkook tells you before getting up.  The fleshlight and his lube are hidden deep in his closet. He has to hide it because one day he had left it on a towel in his hotel room to dry after cleaning it and Jin saw it. Of course he made a scene and told everyone else about Jungkook not being their innocent dongsaeng anymore. That was just as embarrassing as the time Namjoon walked in on him jerking off after they first debuted. Thinking about it still makes him shudder to this day.

You took the opportunity to strip while he was busy. Your panties were halfway down your thighs when he made his way back to you. “You’re one to talk about my boner when you’re already wet.” Jungkook teases reaching out and running his finger over your slit then popping it into his mouth, groaning at the taste. “Shut up and take your clothes off before I change my mind” you retort, getting goosebumps from that small touch.

“I love it when you’re bossy, Noona” he wiggles his eyebrows at you before practically ripping off his shirt. Next came his sweatpants and underwear all in one motion causing his erection to slap his belly rather loudly. A long string of precum begins to drip from his foreskin covered tip. Once the string broke another bead of the sticky liquid started dribbling out. He always has a ton of precum. Especially when he’s really horny, which is not fun for him if he gets hard in public. That’s one of many reasons why he likes black pants.

Not being able to resist, you pull back his foreskin slowly and suck on the tip. Moaning at the slightly salty taste as you look up at Jungkook. “Quit it, that’s not what we’re doing today” he huffs grabbing the fleshlight and pouring some lube inside of it. Giving a quick last lick to his tip you leaned back to watch him stick two fingers inside of it to thoroughly coat the inside of the fake pussy with lube.

“Ooo, let me try!” Jungkook hands it to you and you stare at it. The toy is fascinating. It’s opening is very lifelike, there’s a clit and inner labia. You start touching the fake clit before inserting a couple fingers in it. It’s very soft inside, you definitely can understand why guys would want to put their dick in it.

“Having fun?” Jungkook asks amused while stroking himself slowly. Smiling at him you reach and replace his hand with yours. Getting all the residual lube onto his length. You then put the fleshlight to his cock and slowly envelop him with it, all the way to the hilt. Barely giving him time to adjust you start on a quick pace.

“Fuuuuck” he groans loudly.

“Does it feel good?” Jungkook pants out a ‘yes’ in response. “Better than the real thing?” He shakes his head no. Smiling, you pull it off of him and direct him to his desk.  He takes the toy from you and you stand behind him running your hands down his back, feeling him shiver.

“Are you going to be a good boy Kookie?” You ask placing a kiss between his shoulders. He nods quickly as you take his cock in your hand. You rub him over the opening of the fake pussy. Jungkook gasps, hips thrusting forward in response, he gets a couple inches in.

“Ah ah ah, None of that, baby boy. You only get to move when I tell you to.” You say as you grab his hip with one hand, pulling him back out until only the tip was inside, and you hold the base of his cock with the other. “Go in slowly.”

Jungkook complies, filling up the toy all the way, moaning softly at the sensation. You hold him still for a minute and then with a gentle pat to his balls you give him the go ahead to start fucking. He starts out with slow and deep strokes. “I’m not gonna last long” he moans, his body already feeling sweaty against you. You know that if you could see his face you’d see his bangs sticking to his forehead.

“We just got started, Kookie. You better not cum” you warn reaching up to pinch one of his nipples making him gasp. Jungkook recognizes the change in your voice. That’s the ‘disobey me and I'll tie you up and edge you for hours’ tone. As much as he loves for you to torture him he thinks he might actually die if you do it today.

“C’mon, baby boy, you can go faster” you encourage, smacking his butt, and he picks up the pace. The obscene squelching sound is loud. Much louder than what it sounds when Jungkook fucks you. That combined with Jungkook’s labored breathing and needy moans are making your core throb. You think about sneaking a hand between your thighs but you didn’t want to get distracted and miss a thing.

You let him continue his pace for a few minutes before you can hear him getting close. Wrapping your arms around his waist you physically stop him. “No, y/n, please I’m so close! Please, please let me cum. Please” he begs. Without a word you push him forward and he takes that as cue to resume his movments but you hold him back again. Jungkook whines loudly.

“You can cum but you’re gonna fuck at my pace” you tell him as you guide him forward and then back out. You set a slow pace and then pushed him faster. It’s empowering to be in control like this. Jungkook introduced you to the world of Fem Dom. He likes to be dominated and when he told you, it made you nervous. You didn’t like the idea of having to hit him but thankfully he explained that he wasn’t into pain or chastity cages. He just liked, in his words, to get bossed around by a sexy woman. He showed you edging videos and when he had enough time, which was rare, he’d let you control his orgasm for hours.

You felt his abdominal muscles flexing as you kept one hand playing with his nipples just how he likes and you moved the other hand down. You rubbed over his faintly growing happy trail that he forgot to shave yesterday.  You then worked it down to his balls, that earned you a gasp of your name. You’re at an awkward angle so you step back and to go between his legs from under him. You also stepped to his side and you could finally see him. He looked absolutely fucked out. His eyes were closed and his eyebrows were furrowed in concentration.

“Kookie stop, look at me” you command but he doesn’t respond. You say it again but you put some pressure on his balls this times. Not enough to hurt just a little bit harder than you normally would. That definitely got his attention. He stopped and looked at you, pupils completely blown wide.

“Noona please!” Jungkook cried out with his voice trembling.

“Please what?” you questioned with a sly smile on your face while rolling his balls in your palm “Does my baby want to cum? Does he have a big load in these pretty balls for me?” Jungkook released a wanton moan in response.

“Use your words baby boy or I’ll take your toy away and not let you cum.” Jungkook looked at you with a panicked look on his face. “I’m gonna cum so hard for you. Fuck! Noona there’s gonna be so much cum.”

You stayed quiet and let him suffer for a minute causing him to fidget before finally giving him the go ahead. “You can cum Jungkook. C’mon give it to me”

“Oh god! Thank you”, he cried out as his hips pistoned driving his cock in and out of the fake pussy like his life depended on it. You know that if it was you and not the toy it would definitely be a struggle to walk the next day. A few moments later you could feel his ball tense up in your hand and then Jungkook is moaning your name. His legs almost give out on him the orgasm was so intense.

Leaning forward, Jungkook was a panting sweaty mess. He pressed his head to the desk while you step around him and pull the fleshlight off of his softening cock. You turn the toy over and watch as his cum drip out onto your hand. There was a lot, he definitely delivered. “Good boy Kookie.”

He turned his head and smiled at you, “Thank you for doing this for me, y/n. I’ve wanted to do this for so long and it was well worth the wait.” You just hummed and helped him to his bed. You then ran to his bathroom to wash the fleshlight and your hands. When you came back you laid down next to him and ran your fingers through his hair earning you a contented sigh from him. He was basking in the attention you were giving him when suddenly he sat up.

“Oh no! You haven’t even gotten off yet!” he exclaimed sounding guilty. He went to touch your clit when you grabbed his wrist to stop him. “It’s ok. Go to sleep and you can get me off later”

He still felt bad but he listened because he was tired. You were extremely turned on but you knew if you waited he’d fuck you right. Ignoring the wetness cover your thighs you got up and put your panties back on and climbed back into bed.

“I love you, you big nerd.” You got a snore in response.

[redqueen-hypothesis]

sweeter than sherry ➳ victor (mlqc)

➳ PAIRING: reader x victor li (mlqc)

➳ WORD COUNT: 2070

➳ GENRE: fluff, suggestive

➳ SYNOPSIS: alcohol is known as liquid courage for a reason.

"Why do people like alcohol? It’s just... rotten fruit juice. Overpriced rotten fruit juice. I could buy a juice box for a tenth of the price.” You slur, legs drawn up to your chest as you swirl the wine glass dangerously in your hand. “What’s this one called? ”

“Moscato d'Asti,” Victor sighs from opposite the small ornate table the two of you are sitting at, his chin resting on his upturned palm and steel grey eyes taking in your reddened cheeks. “And wine isn’t rotten fruit juice, although it’s clear a dummy like you wouldn’t have the taste to know otherwise. Don’t hold the glass like that, or else the heat from your palm will ruin the taste of the wine.”

You pout at the clearly jibing tone in his voice but move your hand to the delicate wine stem before taking another deep gulp of the wine. The sweet, lingering taste of alcohol helps to ease the nerves that you’d previously had in the domineering CEO’s presence. Victor’s eyes flicker with some hint of consternation, although he keeps his mouth shut and doesn’t say a word. “Sorry, Mr CEO, but not all of us mere mortals have entire wineries that we can access whenever we feel like it.”

He raises a dark eyebrow slowly as he takes a sip of his own wine. The smooth liquid stains his lips a shade of carmine red, and you find your eyes fixated on them. Would they taste better than the expensive wine that you’re drinking right now? “Why does it sound like such an impertinent comment? Would you rather I not have a winery to graciously lend you for the filming your next series?”

Grumbling and unable to find a suitable retort with your wine addled mind, you fall silent at the comment, pressing your cheek against the wine glass. It’s wonderfully cool against the intoxicated heat of your skin, and you let out a little appreciative groan. “That feels good...”

Victor chokes on a swallow, hiding his mouth behind his palm, but you don’t notice, still rubbing your cheek against the wine glass like an overgrown cat. Coughing, the man rises to his feet and plucks the wine glass out of your hand, trying to maintain a stern facade when you whine and reach for it with those alluring, vulnerable eyes. As strong as the desire is to take, to ruin, the need to protect something so precious to him wins out easily. “That’s quite enough for today, dummy. Let’s get you home.”

“But we haven’t tried all the wines. I need to know which wines to choose for the show.” You protest, the high flush on your cheeks lingering in his eyes, refusing to leave his mind. He should bid you leave as fast as possible before he does something he regrets, and yet he finds himself letting out an exasperated sigh more steady than he feels, reaching for the last bottle they have yet to try. “This is the last one, and then you’re going straight home. Got it?”

You puff out your cheeks, looking obviously unhappy at the idea, but nod anyway. “Fine, fine, you’re such a dictator.” Why do you wear that expression on your face? You’re making things difficult for me, just as you do all the time, you brazen little dummy.

“This is a bottle of Pedro Ximénez sherry. It’s a dessert wine, very sweet and meant to accompany desserts, like pudding.” Victor informs you as he rolls up his sleeves to open the bottle, and heat dances along your cheeks. You duck away, playing with the intricate carvings along the rim of the table, suddenly oddly aware of how it’s just the two of you in the entire winery so late at night. In a bid to calm yourself, you joke lightly. “Too bad there isn’t a kitchen here so that you can make pudding to go with it.”

He casts a look over his shoulder, and you catch sight of crimson streaming into the glass in his hand. They glow like liquid rubies under the dim light of the chandelier hanging overhead, a clear red you have to stop yourself from being lost in. “How many times have I told you that too much pudding is unhealthy for you?” With a chide, he passes the glass over and you hum contentedly, pressing the rim to your nose to inhale its scent. Instantly, fruity notes of raisins, figs and dates ensnare your senses, a hint of honey dancing along just out of reach.

“It smells wonderful!” You exclaim in amazement, and the line of Victor’s mouth softens ever so slightly. “I bet it tastes really sweet!”

“It’s supposed to be the sweetest wine in the world, but it’s also pretty strong. Wait, don’t drink to much at once-” Victor begins, but you’ve already downed your entire glass, eyes sparkling under the crystal light. “... or you’ll get drunk fast.”

“I’m not such a lightweight!” You declare crossly, holding out your glass to him. A demand. “Another drink!”

Victor takes a moment to stare at the hazy look in your eyes, the heated red of your cheeks and exhales, rubbing his temples with one hand. “Haah... and you call me the dictator.” Relenting, he finds himself indulging you once more, wondering if he is the one indulging himself here as he pours you another drink.

When he settles into the chair opposite you, watching as you steadily work your way through your second glass of sherry, there’s a warm feeling of content there that he tries to ignore. Victor blames it on the wine, knows that this much isn’t enough to get him even tipsy, but he’s a grown man. He can make all the excuses he wants, especially to himself.

So he watches and watches, unaware of the fond smile forming on his lips, tugged loose from the confines of propriety by the comfortable atmosphere and the sweet smell of wine in the air. It’s only when the glass in your hand starts tilting dangerously that he reluctantly allows himself to rise to his feet, moving over to pluck the drink from your grasp. “That’s more than enough for now."

“But I haven’t drunk enough!” You protest childishly, and Victor fights to keep the side of his mouth from tilting up in amused laughter. When he moves to clear the glasses, he’s surprised to feel fingers wrapped tightly around the hem of his button down shirt. Turning around, he sees you hesitantly clinging on to him, the dark red flush on your cheeks too deep to be just the wine. “I don’t want to stop drinking yet...” you mumble, almost too soft for him to hear and not quite meeting his eyes. “I just want to... spend more time with you. I like spending time with you.”

All of a sudden, your eyes are too close to his, vulnerable and melting and oh so trusting that something in Victor’s chest flutters treacherously. He pulls his shirt away from your grip with gentle hands, sitting himself back in his chair, desperate to put some distance between you. “You’re drunk, idiot,” he reminds you, reminds himself, and shakes his head in fond exasperation to cool the heat that burns beneath his skin. “Let me clean up and then I’ll take you home. You’ll have a raging headache tomorrow, I’m sure of it.”

“I’m not drunk!” You argue petulantly, and Victor hums in absentminded acknowledgement as he reaches for the cork to seal the bottle. “Hey! I’m really not drunk right now!”

“I know,” he replies to appease you, still not looking up, when suddenly there’s the sound of something clattering to the ground. Worried that you might have hurt yourself, he looks up in alarm... only to have his breath caught in the back of his throat at the sight that greets him.

You’ve climbed onto the table between the two of you, cat like, on your hands and knees, dark eyes full of molten temptation fixed solely on his heated gaze. You’re moving closer, so close that he can smell the faint scent of your perfume along your neck like a siren’s call, so close that he can practically taste the wine staining your lips. His heart beats a ragged rhythm in his chest, breath lodged in his lungs, barely daring to move. It’s as if you’ve used his own EVOL against him and he’s nothing but a fly trapped in amber, willingly trapped in this moment for all infinity.

There’s a soft clink that pulls him from this dreamy hypnosis, and the both of you look down to see Victor’s forgotten glass of sherry spilled over your hand. Sucking in a breath, Victor makes to rise from his seat to escape the burning heat in his veins, heart hammering away wildly. Fucking temptress, that’s what she is. “Dummy, I’ll get a cloth-”

“No need, I got it.” Before he can even leave the chair, you raise the hands dripping with wine to your lips - he can’t tear his eyes away - and he watches in stunned silence as you lick the crimson drops off each finger, every stroke of your tongue sending liquid fire coursing through his body. Fuck, how would it feel if it were that tongue on his body instead, if he could just-

You’re moving again before he can find his mind, clambering closer and closer until your bare feet are on either side of his long legs. He barely has time to swallow the dryness in his mouth when you pull yourself into his lap, one hand coming up to grip the back of the chair behind him and the other resting on his shoulder, still sticky with wine. “See, I got it.”

It had to refer to him. You have him, pinned under you, his body and soul yours.

“Oh, I got some wine on your neck. Give me a second,” Victor’s protest is cut off into a sharp exhale when your head moves down to his shoulder, and your tongue, hot and wet, laps up a drop of wine there. His hands come up to grip your hips, and it takes all the self control in him not to leave bruises there to mark you as his. Your breath burns against his bare skin. “Tastes sweet.”

Victor has always been a man who’s prided himself on self control, on his restraint. Both traits are necessary in the world of business, where cold hard reasoning and and a mask of indifference have become his constant companions. But tonight he can feel the weak threads of them unraveling like spun gossamer, one by one, self control be damned.

“I told you, didn’t I?” Your voice is a hazy whisper in his ear as you draw yourself up to look into his eyes, so close that your noses are touching. Victor doesn’t remember what breathing is supposed to be like. “I’m not drunk...”

With that final word, you slump against his chest, clutching the fabric of his shirt as you snore softly there. For a second, Victor simply sits there, mind frazzled as he attempts to gather the wits that seem to have abandoned him completely, the warm weight of you in his lap running off with his good senses and dragging him along for the ride.

Heat still smolders under his skin, but one glance at the vulnerable girl lying in his lap with her arms wrapped around his neck and her head resting on his chest brings him back to where he is, who he has in his arms. Someone who has trusted him enough to drink with him alone, a silly fool too giving with your affection and love. Someone whom he needs to protect, even if it is from himself.

Especially from himself.

Victor allows himself to stare at you for a moment longer, taking in the soft blush of your cheeks, the way your eyelashes flutter like the wings of a butterfly in your sleep. Then he sighs, hooks a hand under your knees and lifts you gently into his arms, shaking his head with an exasperated groan to hide the gentle twisting in his chest.

“So troublesome.” He says out loud to no one. Amusing himself with the thoughts of how much you’ll regret everything that you’ve done tonight once you’re sober tomorrow and wondering how much of it’ll you actually remember, a smile curls one corner of his mouth, and he ponders for a second if he should tease you for it, a little revenge for how you’ve done the same to him tonight.

When you wake the next morning, he’ll definitely have to warn you not to drink with any other man again... except for him.

[hi-5-sunflower]

Saeed's intro

I did a post recently of the book's first chapter, which is Laura's introduction. However, since our other main protagonist, Saeed, doesn't come in until chapter seven, I'm jumping ahead to his intro to let the people of writeblr get to know this alchemist buddy a little bit 🙂

Length: 1,300 words

Summary: Saeed works on a potion to compete with his best friend for a permanent job as an alchemist.

Content warnings: Mention of illness. None others that I'm aware of (but please let me know if you think any need to be added!)

Saeed Azhari hardly saw where he was going as he made his way upstairs to the alchemy lab, his mind working like a colony of ants.

Stripewood bark has some anti-inflammatory properties, he thought, running a hand through his shaggy, overgrown hair. Might be a good addition to the sunleaf mixture.

The tiny lab was quiet when he arrived, and he took his preferred spot in the rear corner, close to the supply cupboard. He flipped open his pack to retrieve a stack of scribbled notes from inside before letting it drop at the foot of his stool.

A gray tabby cat leapt onto the long table to greet him, staring at him with huge green eyes.

“Hi, Quicksilver,” said Saeed.

He stroked the top of her head, and she responded with a purr, spinning around leisurely. Then he spent a few minutes absently gathering supplies for the day, considering the herb ratios for his potion. As he returned to his seat, the door swung open.

Tavi’s face was lit up in a broad grin as she strolled in. “Morning, Sai.”

“Hey. You’re in a good mood today.”

“Of course I am,” she said. “You do know what today is, don’t you?”

Saeed considered it, half panicking for a second that he’d forgotten her birthday. But no, that had been a few months ago. “Uh...sweetbread day in the dining hall?”

“No, silly.” She flopped her bag down onto her end of the table. “Today marks exactly one month until Emberhawk officially hires me.”

“Oh yeah,” said Saeed, his own lips quirking up. “Except I think you meant to say, until Emberhawk gives you the boot.”

“Ha!” Tavi casually tossed her burgundy braid back over her shoulder. “Honestly, you might want to spend today packing your bags. This thing is as good as done.”

“We’ll see about that.”

She was right about one thing anyway: the end of their year-long apprenticeship with Emberhawk Alchemy was rapidly approaching. At its end awaited a permanent, well-paying alchemist position with the company—but only one. Both of them had impressive achievements under their belts. The remaining question was which of them would come out on top.

Saeed pored over his notes for a few minutes as Tavi got settled. He’d been thinking about his current project—a cough remedy—nonstop, and he had some new ideas to try out.

Maybe a little more sunleaf this time. He shredded the herb by hand, staining his tawny fingers a yellowish green, and piled the foliage into his alembic. Fragrant vapors issued from the device as the mix simmered.

Most days, he and Tavi worked as lab assistants, running errands for the alchemy team, taking inventory, and performing repetitious production tasks. Today, however, was what they called a “free day”—a day off from their scheduled assignments, usually granted once or twice a week, in which they got to utilize this cramped little lab to conduct their own projects.

Simply put, these were the days that really counted. Here was the space in which they could prove their personal worth in potioncraft.

“How’s it going with the endurance tonic?” Saeed asked, his cheek resting on his palm while he waited for his concoction to distill.

“Could be better, actually,” said Tavi. “I had to scrap the recipe I was working on. We’re all out of lion blossom.” She rolled her eyes.

Saeed sympathized with that. Their limited access to materials was the one big stumbling block of the apprenticeship. Particularly with more expensive ingredients, they were allotted minimal amounts to work with, if any, so they had to ration carefully.

In fact, that was the primary challenge of his cough remedy project. Lyusk root was well-known to be highly effective for respiratory ailments—particularly this new, stubborn one, to which Saeed’s own brother had recently fallen victim—but there was never any of the root in their supply cupboard.

He’d just have to find an alternative.

And he would. One way or another.

Tavi stripped the husks off some chiba stalks, leaving green stains on her long fingers to match the ones on Saeed’s shorter human ones. As a member of the Jirian race, Tavi had a physique naturally built for arboreal life: remarkably long fingers and toes, effective for branch-gripping, and a prehensile simian tail. Their skin came in an array of grays, and Tavi’s complexion was a pale shade reminiscent of a dawn sky. Her burgundy hair was bound, like most days, into a single plait hanging down her back.

Saeed returned his attention to his notes for another quick review, then stood up and made for the supply cupboard again.

The shelves of the narrow closet were lined with jars and sacks of herbs, minerals, and brightly colored concentrates. Just standing in here, breathing in the cacophony of herbal scents, sent a thrill through his veins. Despite their complaints about the limits upon them, they still had a good variety of ingredients to experiment with.

Now, to find that stripewood. The S’s were on the lower shelves, which was convenient, as Saeed was rather short. There you are. He plucked a jar off the shelf. Curls of shredded brown bark filled it halfway, and Saeed unscrewed the lid, gingerly extracting a few pieces.

He closed his palm around them, focusing. In this dead and dried form, there was only a trace of its original life energy left within it, but it was there, and he could feel it if he really concentrated. He let his mind go quiet, let the little shavings tell him what their purpose was.

Its essence, once brought out, would provide a mild soothing effect, but without numbing. Just what I need. He sent a wave of gratitude to the bark before heading back to the table to put it to use.

In his peripheral vision, Tavi was scribbling away, making that face she always did when she was deep in her tasks, with her eyebrows furrowed and the end of her tongue sticking out. He set to work, smiling to himself.

Starting with their first alchemy lesson when they were just eleven years old, the two of them had shared a fascination for potion making, matched only by their drive to outdo one another every step of the way. They had something of a code between them: no cheating, no sabotage, and no being a sore loser. Even as teens, they’d adhered to that code strictly.

Most of the time, anyway.

Saeed used a mortar and pestle to grind the stripewood bark into a coarse powder before stirring it into the sunleaf mixture. Then he shuffled through his notes again, resenting the fact that he could barely read his own handwriting.

“Sai,” said Tavi, nodding toward his equipment, “let me borrow that quarterspoon really quick.”

He slid the little measuring scoop down the table to her.

“Thanks.”

They spoke little over the course of the next few hours, and Tavi wrapped up her day by transferring her potion-in-progress into a brass storage urn. Saeed did the same with his own product. Soon he’d need to find time to run safety testing on the potion, but he felt good about what he’d come up with today. He hummed a little tune as he set to putting away supplies.

“I see that cocky look on your face,” said Tavi, smirking as she came up beside him.

Saeed shot her a look of feigned indignance. “Who, me?”

“Yes, you.” Tavi gave him a playful shove. “Don’t you worry, I’ve still got some good ideas to try out.”

“We’ll see about that,” said Saeed. They walked back to the table together, and as Saeed prepared to pack up, he noticed a few greenish potion droplets on his notes. The ink smudged as he tried to wipe it dry.

We’ll see.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading! And as usual, here's the tumblr link to the book's full intro for anybody new to the story!

You can also buy a copy for 99 cents (USD)!

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