#but the last like three days she's really been pushing herself and i am Tired

[yawneneteyam]

gorgeous (3) — i had a boyfriend, he's older than us

— GORGEOUS, an avatar smau ( by yawneneteyam ) masterlist

*dark mode = y/n light mode = neteyam*

— gorgeous, I had a boyfriend he's older than us !

before today, y/n wasn't sure if karma was real. she always considered herself a good person. kind, friendly, rounded up her payments to donate to charities when she shopped. although she was a good person, she had never been 'gifted' or 'blessed' with anything to make her believe in karma.

until, her professor read out her assignment partner.

neteyam.

the two of them smiled at each other, but kept quiet when they heard their names called. neteyam wanted to fist bump the air, he had to restrain from pulling out his phone and texting kiri the news. meanwhile, y/n was trying to not scream. not only was she ecstatic to get to look at neteyam more and more, it meant she actually had to speak to him outside of class now.. and use more than one sentence replies.

"did you want to meet up tomorrow maybe?" his words were slow, he was nervous. y/n didn't pick up on it- she was too busy looking at his freckles. "you could come to my place?" he suggested, "if you're okay with that," neteyam rushed out.

y/n chuckled and then began to nod slowly, "yeah, I'm happy with that". liar, she was elated. "does this mean I get to meet tuk?" she smirked.

"she will be obsessed with you," he laughed, "she loves any older girls to hang out with, think she gets tired of lo'ak and i. clings to kiri most days"

"thats so cute," y/n grinned, "text me your address tomorrow? you can tell me when you want me to come over, I have no plans tomorrow"

"yeah sounds good,"

the pair of them packed up their bags and walked outside of the lecture hall together. neteyam tried to keep his strides short and slow so he could walk with y/n for a little longer.

y/n looked towards the bus stop, "I better get going, my bus will be here soon"

"you catch the bus?" neteyam was surprised.

"uh, yeah" y/n shuffled her feet nervously, "I can't drive. I live on campus though, so its like a two minute drive to the dorms,"

"I'll have to teach you to drive so you can get to my house in ten minutes, instead of sitting on the bus for an hour," neteyam pushed his loose locs behind his ear, the rest tied up in a ponytail.

"I'll take you up on that," y/n smiled, walking backwards to her stop. the bus beginning to arrive in the distance. neteyam smiled, before a thought popped into his head.

"y/n!" he shouted, y/n already at the stop behind two girls waiting to get on. she looked over to neteyam. "I don't have your number!" he laughed.

"get it from tsireya!" she smiled with a yell, before rushing onto the bus. afraid it would leave without her. neteyam smiled and shook his head. he watched y/n pick a seat and sit down. she waved to him as the bus drove away. he waved back.

— gorgeous, I had a boyfriend he's older than us ! part three!! the last one got so much love, I was so shocked!! thank you to all the people in the comments helping me with terminology, etc to use for/with people of colour! if you notice I misuse a word or get something completely wrong, please tell me!!! I am really eager to educate myself and to learn <3 also peep y/n's ex getting tagged in her comments- thats drama.

[vultures-and-scavengers]

start.

curly, if any man needed a hobby, it's you.

he's not sulking: the commander of the inquisition doesn't pout.

but he has hobbies! he does! he spars every morning with his officers (wait, that counts, right? he enjoys it), he reads (books on tactics, but it's just lucky he finds the reading he does for his job interesting.), and he... he...

cullen has hobbies, he swears. he just can't... name one.

five minutes later, cullen thinks of one. chess! he likes chess. it's unfortunate annette-- lady trevelyan, he reminds himself-- likes to take dorian with her so much, and leliana is busy, so he can't play as much as he likes.

and sure, ann-- lady trevelyan-- has been in skyhold the past few weeks, and so has dorian, and he still hasn't played recently, but they just got back from adamant.

really, cullen doesn't have leisure time. if he had time, he's sure he'd know some way to fill it. cullen stares at the paperwork on his desk, pondering, telling himself an idea will come to him, any day now.

alright, he's got nothing.

he broods over that enough that he startles when lady trevelyan sweeps into his office, a small stack of papers in her hands. she looks unbothered, moving with a practiced grace as her skirts flow around her. she tilts her head slightly, asking if everything is alright.

oh, sure, he's fine, cullen's just contemplating the monotony of his existence. it's what everyone loves to do. he intends to tell her he's fine, really, but what he says instead is, "am i boring?"

right. he's going to resign and go live alone in the woods, now.

she doesn't react at first, her eyes unblinkingly focused on him, and then her lips purse. "what brought this on?"

that's not a no, he observes.

"ah," she answers for herself while he flails for an answer that doesn't make it look like he's obsessing over something varric said a week ago. he doesn't need to tell her that. she figures it out for herself. "is this about varric's comment?"

he chose the three most perceptive women in thedas to work with. cullen would appreciate it more if they turned that perception on him less. he nods, though.

"i think," she says, and while she always picks her words with deliberation, she seems even more cautious than normal, "that you have been put in positions where you had little time or opportunity to develop hobbies, but it does not follow that you must then be boring."

well, he can't ask her how to find a hobby he likes, so he tries a slightly different tactic. "well, what do you like to do?"

she opens her mouth, closes it, and cullen is rewarded with the rarest of visions: a flummoxed lady trevelyan.

"oh," he says. and then he laughs, because what else is there? it's a tired, disbelieving sort of laugh, because here they are, inquisitor and commander, and they can't think of a single leisure activity between them.

what a pair they make.

she flushes, but she only pushes her shoulders back and stands a little straighter in a defensive sort of defiance. "well, what did you do before joining the templars?"

at first cullen thinks to remind her he was raised on a farm, and that the work started before dawn and lasted until dusk. but he dusts off an old memory and furrows his brow, wondering why he'd let it grow so faded. his uncle had been the town carpenter, and on days cullen had been able to slip away, he'd spent hours in his uncle's workshop.

"woodcarving," he finally answers. it's a start. she escapes the conversation before he can ask what she had once enjoyed, but that's fine. he's learned by now that she's allergic to being known, but if he opens a door and gives her space, eventually she'll walk through it.

blackwall is easily convinced to part with spare bits of wood, and because cullen is still ferelden, he attempts to carve a mabari first. its terrible, but its a start.

he tries to carve a bird next. birds are much simpler. his raven hops closer, sitting on his shoulder as he sits back, summoning childhood memories to guide his hands. its much better. he locates paint, and paints it black, with a splotch of white on its chest, and he sets it next to his raven's perch.

it makes his raven seem pleased, and his raven can't tell him he's terrible at painting. its an ideal location.

as he carves a second bird one evening, lady trevelyan appears, a steaming mug of cocoa in her hands, and thick furs wrapped around her shoulders. he reminds her its summer and receives a haughty glare in response.

but he spins his chair around and she settles herself onto the couch shoved against the wall behind his desk, and slowly, shyly, lady trevelyan tells him she's fascinated by herbalism, by the histories behind how different plants are used and how the uses have changed over time.

he asks if shes tried growing her own, but she shakes her head, and tells him in a voice she can't quite erase the wistfulness from that its not lady-like.

he swallows his first instinct, which he still thinks is a quite reasonable one, to tell her to hang the nobility and what they think. but lady trevelyan has bound herself to their rules in order to play their game, and she is only more visible now. he's had (and lost) that argument.

"and?" he finally asks.

lady trevelyan-- no, annette-- looks over at him, and she has no answer. her confused expression fades, replaced by blank neutrality, but she sips at her cocoa. the silence that follows is more contemplative than tense, and when she speaks, its only to ask if he'd be willing to share more about how he learned woodcarving.

cullen lets her change the subject, the door opened. he tells her of his uncle, of the woodshop nestled up on the hill behind the baker's store, and of learning how to use his uncle's tools. later he'll savor the memory of wrapping his hands around hers, showing lady trevelyan-- annette-- how to hold the whittling knife so she won't hurt herself, her side pressed to his as she listens to him talk.

and three weeks later, a rather terribly painted mourning dove carving sits in a planter with an over-watered and drooping embrium.

its a start.

[its-in-the-woods]

The Woman Who Couldn’t Die Part 11

master list

Part 1 , Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10

Pairing: The Ghoul/Cooper Howard x Original Character

Synopsis: Our rambling pair finds a comfortable spot for a night, but ends up trapped there

MINOR GET OUT. Rating/Warning: This is based on Fallout expect typical horror as well as: Blood, Self Harm, scars, mention of SH, lovely dovey, fluffy, horror, death, drugs use, soft!cooper, angst, slow burn, hurt/comfort, Dead dove,

Note: Thank you for all your patience this one was a battle! But I think I like how it turned out!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jade sits in the middle of the crossroads, they’d pushed hard the last three days, including walking nearly blind through the night. Today had been the first day they hadn’t heard that thing, having crossed some invisible boundary between the forest and the grasslands. Whatever it was, Jade had started calling it a Regen, it seemed that its power was tied to the forest. Jade had been watching the Ghoul closely, he had been doing the same, he never went out of her eyesight. His shoulders had finally slacked a little, the tightness between his brows relaxing, he had even slowed down on the chem for a moment. 

As Jade sat on the dirt and gravel she wondered what the man was thinking. They had traveled in near silence for the last three days, leaving Jade more on edge than normal. She also wasn’t positive he had actually slept at all, not that he seemed to need it. She was hoping there would have been somewhere to camp tonight, but at the moment it looked like they were out of luck. 

“Think we should make camp here,” Jade states, if she tried hard enough she could sleep right there. Maybe they could make a fire now that nothing was following them. 

The Ghoul sighs, looking south, his head tipping slightly as he listens ahead of them. “We should move, looks like there’s some wreckage we could use as shelter. Plus somethin' else is out here.” 

Jade lays back onto her pack with a groan, “You go,” She waves her hand in the general direction, “I will get there eventually. I am sure they are far enough away for me to get a nap in. ”

The Ghoul walks over so he is looking down at her, “Really? Think I'm going to let you out of my sight like last time?”

Jade frowns at him, sitting up and crossing her arms, “Fine. I am just tired.”

He rolls his eyes holding his hand out, Jade reluctantly grabs it as he pulls her up. She straightens herself, the Ghoul watching her, he was always watching, but the hard mask of self-control was hiding him from her. She didn’t like it, she wanted to ask him what he was thinking. Yet every time the words get caught in her throat. Hopefully, they’d get to a town and he could relax some, and get the rod out of his ass. 

“It’s not far.” He grumbles, starting down the southern path with his usual swagger. 

Jade jogs after him, catching up so she is side by side with him. Her fingers itch to grab his, but don’t, hating how much she was second-guessing everything. Feeling like something had broken when she decided to take off from the shack, even if it had been the right thing to do. 

They continue walking, the sun now starting to dip behind the line of trees. Jade’s fingers clutch at the straps of her bag, her footfalls on the dirt a steady thumping rhythm. Ahead of them, there is a pile of old cars on the side of the road. She guessed that was where they’d be spending the night, maybe there would be a few with seats, better than the ground anyway. The itch on her left hand grabbed her attention, she’d been avoiding it, but tonight might be the night to finally unwrap and see the damage that was there. It was still weird not having any fingers, even though it often felt like they were still there. 

“We should look at your hand,” Ghoul says as if he can read her mind. “Make sure it’s healing properly.”

“I am sure it's fine, but I’d appreciate it.” Jade swallows, rubbing at the numbs. “It’s really itchy.”

“Probably healin',” He shrugs, putting his hand up to stop her. “You go left, I will go right, meet in the middle.”

Jade nods, pulling out her machete, and making sure her clip is full. It had taken a bit to get used to handling the machete with fewer fingers, but she was still skilled with it. Moving as quietly as she could, hoping that reivers or feinds wouldn’t jump out at her. As she came around the corner the only thing she saw was the Ghoul. He was leaning against the hood of what was once a truck, somehow looking both relaxed and annoyed. Jade came to stand closer to him, looking at the truck hood waiting for him to move.

The Ghoul grips the top of the car hood and pulls it to the side, Jade’s mouth falling when it opens up, revealing an inner space. He gestures for her to go, she walks down a metal-lined corridor that leads into a somewhat roomy space. There were old seats that had been laid out into makeshift beds, the cars had been positioned so that there was a central space open to the sky, but the beds were covered from any rain. Which meant you could make a fire without having to worry about anyone seeing. Turning back Jade watches the Ghoul pull the piece of metal back into place before pulling down a large metal bar that slipped into two U-shaped latches. 

“Let me guess. You knew about this place?” Jade asks, dropping her bag on one of the benches. 

“Somethin' like that.” Ghoul shrugs, dropping his own bag, he digs into one of the cars pulling out some wood. She wonders how many other hidden compartments were in this place. The man crouches down to start working on a fire, Jade relaxes on one of the benches. Taking a moment to undo her boots and flex her toes, she hadn’t taken them off since finding them. 

“I appreciate the accommodations. Nice to have a fire for a change.” Jade chatters rubbing at her sore feet for a moment, watching him as he carefully sets each piece in place. 

“Was travelin' with another acquaintance, and they were kind enough to show me this spot.” The Ghoul said as he used an old metal lighter to light some small kindling. “There are dozens of these scattered all over if you know what to look'or.”

“Didn’t know you traveled with companions.” Jade stretches, enjoying the comfort of the somewhat soft bench. “Figured you were more of a lone wander type.” 

“Sometimes a job requires a second.” He says quietly as the fire starts up. “Though, I rarely travel far with anyone.” 

“Is that why you’ve been counting the days?” Jade asks, happy to enjoy some conversation again.

“Just like keepin' track of time is all,” Ghoul says, the dismissive tone not lost on her as he refuses to look at her.

Why couldn’t he just be open and honest with her? She sighs, her eyes closing as the place heats up. Her mind drifts to the Inn with that hot shower, what she’d do for a hot shower. Her head rests against a cushion behind her, mind slowly drifting away.

A hand touches her, Jade jerking up, her hand caught mid-swipe at the Ghoul. A smile crosses his lips, his hand holding her wrist up. The two stared at each other, barely inches between them. Jade desperately wanted to close the space but waited for him to move. Her stomach twisting, she couldn’t remember anyone ever making her feel the way he did.

“Easy there, Tiny,” The Ghoul chuckles, fingers moving over the bandages. “Just wanna take a look at your hand, k?”

Jade nods, a twinge of disappointment pools in her stomach as he moves away. She lets out a breath and relaxes against the wall. “Yeah, sure. Umm, sorry I am just tired.”

The Ghoul just grunts, as he crouches down to unwrap her hand carefully, each layer slightly cleaner than the next. The skin is an entirely pink and red color, Jade is surprised to see that there are nubs pushing at the skin. She holds it up and wiggles it, watching the nubs move in the firelight with her other fingers. 

“Huh,” The Ghoul turns his head, carefully removing his gloves, he gently takes her hand and runs his textured fingers across them. Jade feels herself shiver a little at the touch, watching him as he carefully inspects each part of her hand.

“Are those my fingers?” Jade asks, flexing her hand and in awe as they move. 

“Your fingers were cut to the knuckle, there was barely enough skin to close it.” He said watching her move them. “Whatta they do to ya at the Enclave?”

***

The Ghoul was perplexed as he watches Jade move her fingers. Well the nubs of her new fingers, the skin felt new, incredibly soft. It didn’t look like a mutation, or ghoulification, it looked like it was regrowing. His mind ran back to the critter, the Regen as Jade liked to call it. That had been able to piece itself back together. The only problem was Jade didn’t bleed black, and there was no black crawling into her skin. 

“I don’t remember a lot from Enclave.” Jade blinks, fingers running over the new flesh. “I’ve been cut before.” She lifts up her shirt to show scars, the Ghoul swallowing as he looks at her flesh, noting each pink-gray scar. “They always scarred, never regrew, and definitely didn’t look brand new like this.”

The Ghoul huffs, digging around in his bag to find a new bandage. Jade wasn’t lying, she was covered in scars and marks, some looking like they’d taken huge chunks out of her. So why was she healing now? What has changed? 

“Do you think it was Regen?” Jade asks as he wraps up her hand carefully, making sure to give room for the growing appendages. “I did cough up some of that goop.”

The Ghoul thought back, remembering when Jade had finally woken up how she’d coughed up the black goo. Was that enough to have changed her? To give her abilities to reheal? Was that even a possibility? He’d walked this land for so long, yet there was always something new to discover.  

The Ghoul pulls out a small knife, now that he has finished bandaging up her hand. Watching as Jade looks at it, before looking back at him. “Should we test it?”

Jade held her hand out, “If anyone is cutting me, it’s me. I’ve been cut up enough.”

“Fair,” He flips the knife around with practice ease, his stomach twisting as her face darkens. “I meant no harm.”

Jade shrugs, “Didn’t think you did. Just.” Jade licks her lips looking away as she grabs the handle of the knife. “Just not ready for anything too kinky.”

The Ghoul let out a chuckle, happy that she didn’t take it to heart, “Will save that for the second ate.”

Jade also lets out a laugh, he would never get tired of that sound. She moves the knife in between her fingers, Jade rolls up her sleeves and finds a spot with an old scar. Letting out a breath she quickly presses and slides along the mark. Red blood pushes past the skin, Jade grimacing as it starts to bleed. The Ghoul watches for a moment, happy to see red, normal blood coming out of her. He reaches to grab a rag to cover it but Jade stops him. He watches a few drops fall and can smell the iron in the air. To their surprise it slowly stops bleeding, it clots quicker than it should, the skin starting to knit itself closed. The old scar is now replaced with a neat red mark. 

“So you can heal.” The Ghoul watches, running his finger over the top of the clotted blood. Utterly fascinated with what was occurring right in front of him  “That’s unexpected.”

Jade laughs, “So my fingers are going to grow back. My skin is healing, does this mean I am going to become a ghoul?”

He felt his body go stiff at the statement, he sat down beside her groaning as he stretched out. Trying to cover how much that thought bothered him. The thought of Jade turning into a Ghoul was the stuff of nightmares. The ghoulification process was not something to want, it was more than painful. It was like being peeled alive and put back together over and over again until you couldn’t feel it anymore.

“No, you are not turnin' into a ghoul. It would scar. Take it from one, you’d know if you were.” Ghoul said, grabbing her bag digging out a can, and handing it to her.

Jade takes the cans and puts them by the fire. Grabbing her bag to pull out a sweater. The Ghoul strips off his duster, being able to feel the heat was a luxury he wasn't going to squander. 

“Would it be that bad if I turned into a ghoul?” Jade asks as she turns the cans over with a stick. The Ghoul wants to lash out at her for continuing to push the question, and for being so naive.  

He grits his teeth, biting back a harsh remark. “You aren’t dumb enough to want this.”

“You've lived for centuries. Why is that so bad?” Jade protests, playing with some of the embers.,

The Ghoul grabs her chin, turning her to look at him. She flinches but doesn't turn away, lips set in a firm but defiant line. Green brown eyes staring directly into his. It was something he’d always liked about her, her ability to not back down from anything, even him. It also irritated the heck out of him too. 

“I've lost everythin'.” He growls at her, “My family, friends, seen whole cities burn to the ground.” He makes sure to keep his gaze firm. “I wouldn't wish this curse on anyone,” He makes sure to put emphasis behind his words. “You deserve to live a life free of this torment.”

Jade just nods, leaning her head against his hands. She kisses his palm, her eyes looking past him, like she is trying not say something. Jade moves, and for a moment he thought she’d kiss him again, but instead, she fishes the cans out of the embers, rolling them to rest near the bench. The silence feels colder than it should, making the Ghoul want to climb out of the place. He doesn’t want the distance that has grown between them to keep growing. 

“You are all I have Cooper. If this healing thing means we get more time together I am not going to waste that,” Jade finally speaks using a shirt to place the cans in between them. “You can be as stubborn as you want. But-” Jade takes his worn hand in hers. “But this isn't something that comes around very often.”

Ghoul feels his heartache, hating how right she was. Whatever this was, Cooper wasn't going to dwell on labels much, it was something good. Something good in this shit world, he just wishes he could give her more. The urge to wrap her up in his arms and never let go made his hands twitch against his worn pants.

“Should eat, try to get some sleep,” Cooper swallows, opening the cans up with his knife quickly. He ate one-half of some green beans, Jade ate half of something close to chicken. The two swapped with each other like they had started to do nightly.

Once full of food Jade gets up smothering all but a few embers. The Ghoul gets up and grabs another bench seat, sliding the two together to make a makeshift bed. Jade crawls on top using the sweater as a pillow, gun above her head. Cooper scoots in, gun at his hip, using his duster to cover both of them. The girl quickly snuggles herself against him quietly. Cooper allows himself to wrap an arm around her. Waiting until her heartbeat and breathing had slowed down, his hand running up and down her back. Feeling the various scars, where different bones poked, how her muscles moved. He squeezed her a little tighter, not really knowing how to feel about any of it anymore. 

***

The banging at the metal door has Jade up, the Ghoul was already standing looking down the corridor. He looks at her putting a finger to his lips, Jade nods quickly packing their stuff and shoving her jacket on. She grabs her trusty machete flexing it in one hand, while she grabs the pistol in the other hand, the two of them both listening carefully. 

“Let us in,” Someone hollered from outside the door. “Please!” More banging, the door rattling but neither of them moving. “They’re coming.” The cries echoing in the hall, Jade wants to go and open the door and let them in. The Ghoul was standing stock still, shoulder tight, shotgun in hand, there was no way he would let her open the door. 

Cooper gestures for Jade to come closer, she moves quickly to stand beside him. He leans down keeping his eyes on the door, “Across from us, roll the window down, there is a lever that will close the roof.” 

Jade swallows and moves over to the opposite side of the shoot, she finds the window looking it up and down until she sees a handle. Grabbing it she rolls it down revealing a large switch, looking back at the Ghoul he nods his head. She grabs the large lever and starts pulling it down, a lot of screeching happens, both turning up to watch the iris of metal start to close. Jade grunts as she pushes it all the way down, a snapping sound as it hits the bottom. The banging outside stops as Jade quickly moves through the blackness. The only light small beams from seams and holes of the pieced-together metal. 

“What was that,” Jade whispers as she comes back to the Ghoul. Her eyes slowly adjust to the dimness. She peers past him down towards the metal door. Rattling now starts all the way around them like they are climbing up the sides of the structure.

The Ghoul looks up and around them, his face set in a firm line as he listens to the chatter. It was like the place was getting pelted by a hail storm, the whole place nearly vibrating with the thumping. 

“Not sure,” He walks over to the center of the room, the metal shutters vibrating as thumping continues. “But I think we are staying.”

Jade lets out a groan, “Damnit, could we get out of one place without something going sideways.” 

The Ghoul chuckles, “This is the Wastes after all. And you have a habit of drawing attention.”

“I do not,” Jade grumbles kicking her boots off, “Not any more than you do. You suggested this place.”

“So the roadway would have been better?” The Ghoul snaps back at her, walking around the place and touching various surfaces. Jade doesn’t reply instead grabbing her bag to go through things. Wondering how long they could go before they would have to find a way out. 

The rattling slowly stops, as the Ghoul opens up a door that has a small amount of cans in it. “Well, at least we won’t starve to death.” 

***

The banging had been going on for what feels like ages, the Ghoul had found a total of four more hiding spots. Unfortunately, no way out besides the door and the chimney. Jade had laid out all their supplies, carefully noting how much they had. Food was okay, water was another matter, and chems. Not low enough to be a worry for a few days, but any longer and it was going to get worse. He knew they were only a day at most from a town, but how long would they be stuck in here? 

Rubbing at his face he tosses his hat down on the bench, he already feels like he is stuck in a coffin. The rattling was not helping either. If it was just him, he’d be out the door already guns blazing. Jade would follow him if he asked, that was the danger. He paces the room one more time before going to sit on the makeshift bed bedside, Jade. She was lying down on the far side, her head covered by her sweater. 

He wants to reach out, drag her closer, kiss her, feel her kiss him back. Cooper’s hands clenches against the cushions, he was trying to put distance and it hurt more than it should. He was trying to stay focused, once they were in a town, they could figure out what to do next.

Cooper nearly jumps off the bed when Jade’s hand runs over his lower back. She lets out a small chuckle scooting closer to him, she leans so her head is near his hips, fingers resting on top of his thigh. Her other hand goes to his lower back rubbing up and down against the worn material. He does his best to relax against her touch, his instincts telling him to run in the other direction. Why couldn’t he just enjoy a little comfort? 

“They’ve stopped banging against the walls,” Jade says, voice mostly muffled by the cushions. “Think we could escape?”

Ghoul goes to push Jade’s hand off of him, instead he slots his fingers over hers. “No, I don’t think so. Could be waitin' for us to leave.” 

“I have an idea,” Jade says quietly, he hears her shifting around, so he scoots down so she can move to sit beside him. Cooper looks her up and down and she wiggles to press herself against him. “If you’re interested.”

He narrows his eyes at her, “Do yah have a shovel in your pack I didn’t know about?”

Jade groans, resting her forehead against his shoulder. “I was thinking of somethin' a bit more interesting. Way to pass the time,” She stands up in front of Cooper, leaning forward so her hands are on his knees. 

“No,” The Ghoul states, despite the heat in his stomach, and the way his stomach knotts up in anticipation. “We need to stay on alert,”

Jade stands back arms across her baggy shirt, walking away and circling the small room a few times. The Ghoul could feel the frustration radiate off of her as she stops and stands in front of him again.

“Is this some old-world thing that I don’t know about?” Jade asks, waving her hand in the air. 

“What?” The Ghoul replies, just as confused as she is. 

Jade moves forward so her legs are touching his knees, “Why you won’t have sex with me? Is it an old-world thing? Or do you not want that from me?” 

The Ghoul rolls his eyes, “We are currently stuck in a ramshackle stack of cars, that is surrounded by somethin' trying to get to us. It isn’t exactly what I would call romantic?” 

Jade puts her hands on his shoulders pushing at them, he refuses to move, Jade pushes off walking away. She throws her hands up, finding another bench to lay down on. 

“I live somewhere that is called The Wastes. I have no family, I have no job. My last, sort kinda, relationship was with a guy who locked me in a closet, pumped me full of chems, and sold me to randoms.” Jade muttered, shifting around on the bench, and staring up at the ceiling. 

Cooper gets up, peeling off one of the cushions, he places it on the ground beside her, groaning as he sits down. There was still no knocking happening, the place almost seemed too quiet. As if the walls were listening to them. 

He grits his teeth, fiddling at the worn frayed pants, “Jade.” He closes his eyes, “You deserve softness.”  Cooper twines his fingers with hers, “And before you start,” Jade lets out a huff of annoyance. “I don’t know what I want. But I know you deserve more than a ratty bench, a bed at least.”

Jade stays silent still looking up at the ceiling, her thumb rubbing over his skin. Her eyes close and her face goes slack as she squeezes his hand. 

“I don’t know if I deserve that, but I am not going to deny, a bed would be nice.” Jade sighs, bringing his hand up so she can kiss his rough skin. “You deserve softness too.”

PART 12

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Thank you all for the support and love, I cannot thank you all enough for sticking around as long as you have. This story does have an end in sight and an end written. Much love to you all!

@pixelatedprofilepic @hiddlebatchedloki @toogaytofunctiondangit @dionneroyal49 @dichromaniac

@whatsorceressisthis

[realperson022]

 I’m A Fine-Tuned Supersonic Speed Machine

Summary:

A fascination had grown within Sonic from seeing the Ultimate Lifeform's most prized possession ever since a joint mission was completed. But he never saw it in action — until he did...and experienced it first-hand, too. Or, 5 times Sonic looked at his rival with his motorcycle from afar, and 1 time Shadow caught him staring.

Rated Teen

1.

At the outskirts of White Jungle, a group of Mobians headed for the same clearing that had been their rendezvous spot before they had ventured into the thick and foggy wilderness, where an Eggman base now rested in ruins along with a myriad of destroyed bots.

"Whaaat a day, am I right?"

Sonic the Hedgehog was dropped safely to the ground by his brother, the fox coming to stand next to him after. Knuckles and the three members of Team Dark, who happened to have joined the heroes with today's mission, made their way over to where the two brothers stood.

"Tired so soon, Blue," Rouge teased, perching herself on top of one of Omega's bulky shoulders. The hero chuckled, shaking his head. "C'mon, I live for this! You do know adventure is my middle name, right? Besides, I've gotten through missions with a lot more badniks and fewer hours of sleep!"

"Even though, I agree and have suffered because of it--" Tails began, reaching out a hand to the cobalt speedster. Without having to say anything, Sonic already knew what his buddy wanted, sticking his hand inside his quills to pull out a small electronic device while scolding him. "I'm not torturing you, bud. I just don't want you staying up so late..."

The hedgehog gave the device to his brother, sharing a look with the genius that spoke of his caring side for him; with a sigh, the two-tailed fox smiled, grabbing his Miles Electric. "I know, I know, but if you're asking me to improve my sleeping habits, it's only fair you do it, too."

If it meant better health for his li'l bro, then why not? Sonic nodded and added his typical gesture of ruffling the youngster's bangs for fun. "You got yourself a deal!"

"Oh, how sweet~" the bat cooed from her place, watching the exchange between the two brothers before she grimaced. "So much that I can't help but feel like throwing up. Shadow, let's leave before they infect us with their gushy feelings and we start spewing the same nonsense!"

The black hedgehog grunted, already moving away from the group and toward a heap of heavy flora that had leaves meticulously overlapping each other. "You don't have to tell me twice," Shadow said, pushing the green foliage and revealing what was hidden under all that.

The sleek and shiny design, the recent paint job, and the familiar striking trademark that belonged to the last living descendant of the Black Arms - the Dark Rider was everything that defined spectacular and it represented the very thing that made Sonic's blood pump faster, his feet itch with anticipation, his face light up with excitement. Its name? Adventure. The dark vehicle was an open invitation to adventure, and the hero would be more than happy to take it one day.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye, boys," Sonic heard Rouge say somewhere in the background, probably thinking of giving Knux a personal farewell. And surely, his ears picked up on the usual bickering that came from the white bat's decision to do so, but he could care less about that. Right now, his full attention was on the bike that stood a few feet away from him, watching his striped rival climb onto the seat.

Somehow, the way how Shadow did it so gracefully - his feet fitting into the foot pegs, his hands wrapping around the handles, and his bottom meeting the arch of the seat perfectly - made it hard to believe that he was naturally aggressive when on foot. Then again, the speedster never did really know why one of the fastest hedgehogs on Mobius needed a motorcycle to go around when running got him to places faster. Still, he had never said anything on that matter because the hero had been hoping to see it in action one of these days.

Surprising considering how much time he'd been recently spending with his rival outside mission-related things.

"Sonic?"

Without taking his eyes off Shadow and his bike, the blue hedgehog hummed, tilting his ears in his brother's direction to show he was listening.

However, it didn't matter as the fox was too engrossed with his device to notice where his brother's attention was. Instead, the kid continued tapping at the screen of the Miles Electric and relayed the information he discovered about another Eggman base nearby. "According to these readings, there seems to be another base a couple of miles north from here."

"Active or empty?" Sonic asked, seeing the rest of Team Dark come into his field of vision as they approached Shadow. While they were busy chatting among themselves, the speedster kept himself entertained by how his rival managed to twist his upper body around so easily while being seated.

"Uhhh, looks like it's empty. Do you still want to check it out today or..?"

Casting a glance up at the foggy sky, he frowned. "Will it rain?"

"Let me check," Tails murmured and so, the hero went back to his staring, directing his focus to the motorcycle and widening his eyes at seeing the roaring engine come to life. The sound sent a thrill up his spine, yet it was the swift motion of the hybrid lifting off the kickstand with one foot, seeming to be so well-practiced by the looks of it, that had emerald eyes lighting up brighter than stars.

"Oh, it appears it won't! Not for another hour, at least."

Finally, the Blue Blur, doing as his title claimed, turned around instantly to face the young genius with an excited grin, letting him think it was one arising from the good news. "That's more than enough time to bust down that old place! Let's go!"

Before leaving, Sonic whipped his head around to catch one last glimpse of the Ultimate Lifeform on his famed Dark Rider...Well, maybe a bit longer than a glimpse, but no one noticed as the striped hedgehog disappeared in a green flash.

Catching his eye, Rouge saw the hero looking over in her direction, waving at him before heading off with Omega back to HQ. Sonic turned around, seeing his brother already leading the way up ahead; no big problem as he could easily catch up. Though, it had seemed that someone did catch onto his subtle staring.

Next to the cobalt speedster, the Guardian of the Master Emerald was narrowing his eyes at him, the corners of his lips turned downward. Blinking once, the hedgehog raised an eye ridge, shrugging. "What? Just wanted to make sure they were off safely..."

Knuckles didn't believe that for one second but said nothing, only shaking his head and going after the fox. "Whatever you say, hedgehog."

Guess Sonic needed to work on the subtlety part a bit more.

---

2.

But like everything else, the hero of Mobius tossed the whole 'being discreet about his staring' aside, thinking that being caught by his reclusive red friend - that lacked enough social cues to not know when Rouge's bickering was blatant flirting - was a coincidence.

Besides, when an opportunity lay before you, it was only fair and smart of you to take it, right? Sonic had that opportunity and took it.

"Congratulations, guys!" Amy skipped over to the trio, the winners of the car race that had just finished a couple of minutes ago. The blue hedgehog glanced at her, seeing a newly acquired hammer in her possession, but it only lasted a second before his eyes were drifting to a certain something that stood several feet behind the pink heroine. With only a short 'thanks, Ames' in response to her words, Sonic let one of his all-known smiles set across his lips as he immersed himself in another moment to stare at Dark Rider.

And, in extension, Shadow.

Best of all, no one would notice a single thing! Because while it appeared that the Blue Blur was engaged in a conversation with his four closest friends, his focus was somewhere else, guarded behind the safety of his new favorite pair of black sunglasses that he bought off that small kiosk that weirdly popped up out of nowhere during the race.

So, there he was, nodding along to whatever was being said between Amy, Tails, and Knuckles, but mentally, he was somewhere else; his emerald eyes trailed the length of Shadow's motorcycle, the ride's polished surfaces seeming to shine brighter under today's blinding sun. Such luster, however, was a stark contrast to the aura that surrounded its owner, who leaned back against the motorcycle with his arms crossed over his chest, a stormy glare directed at Sonic.

'Ha!' The hero's idle smile lifted into a toothy grin, his rival's sour mood always bringing pure joy to him. Sonic the Hedgehog also lived to prove to the so-called Ultimate Lifeform that no superior title and all that garbage of being made to be above them all (and to think he had a big ego) was relevant when it came down to see who was the best of the two. After all, there could only be one to take the first place - today's race ended with evidence of that.

Sonic won, Shadow lost (because falling in second place was just as bad as losing in the hedgehogs' minds). As for the prize, well...the hero was taking it as of currently.

The distant voices of his friends continued in the background, still adding his nod or 'yes' into the conversation; meanwhile, his mind was deciding on how if Shadow just happened to have worn one of those leather jackets he had seen Rouge gift him, he would look the part of a gangster.

A gangster that would ride his bike around the city like a maniac, surely - skipping all those red lights, making sharp turns, speeding up to make a jaw-dropping glide over an unfinished lane or highway bridge to the other side! Just about anything that would leave Sonic exhilarated, feeling the ever-familiar sense of danger tingling under his skin; adrenaline had always been something that got his system overflowing with this buzzing excitement. And perhaps riding the motorcycle could give him that euphoric high he’d never reached with fighting Eggman and saving the day. 

Solely imagining what it would feel like to ride behind the striped hedgehog made Sonic's blood rush from wonderment. Brushing his peach chest up against the back of Shadow's leathered-clad back, securing his arms around his rival's waist, inhaling his scent as he rested his chin over one of Shadow's shoulders, whooping loudly to let him know how much he loved the sensation of the wind on his fur and making his quills dance wildly in the air as the hedgehog duo traveled at unimaginable speeds--

"--date, Sonic?"

Hearing his name, the blue hedgehog's mouth opened and answered, acting on autopilot but his wishful fantasy transferred into his tone. Without knowing, Sonic let out a dreamy sigh, "Yeah, sounds amazin'..."

"Oh my god, really?!" Amy's high-pitched squeal brought the speedster's daydream to a screeching halt. Under his shades, the hedgehog's eyes quickly turned to look at his friend's extremely happy state, the hammer-wielding fighter reaching out to grab Sonic's hand.

"Huh?" Sonic didn't know what was going on.

"I knew you would eventually start enjoying our dates!"

Dates? Oh fuck. The cobalt speedster glanced at his two friends next to him, trying to gauge what the hell he signed up for this time without paying attention. Unfortunately, Tails and Knuckles were reveling at the sight of one beaming Amy Rose thinking that her beloved hero was beginning to see her as something more when in reality, Sonic had been distracted, unknowingly accepting her request.

Even so, the Blue Blur tried to calm the bouncing female, telling her that this was a mistake (and Shadow's goddamn fault). "Look, Ames...you got this all wrong--"

Instantly, the pink hedgehog's demeanor changed, her bright smile slowly dwindling and her feet losing that upbeat skip. "Wrong?"

The hero chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head in an attempt to pull away from her grip. "You see, I was," emerald eyes flicked over to look at the black hedgehog who was mounting onto his prized possession, and all the mesmeric images of Sonic on that ride, too, came flooding back to the front of his mind.

"You were what?" Amy pushed, narrowing her eyes at him.

And not only that, but she happened to visibly shift the hammer in her hold that was now empty of her hero's gloved hand closer into his field of vision; a reminder of the repetitive story that happened between the two hedgehogs whenever things didn't end up going right.

So, not left with much of a choice, Sonic swallowed what was supposed to be his original idea and instead, smiled at his friend, fearing for his life if he didn't make it look like it was genuine - there were only so many horrible headaches and pointless games of cat and mouse he could take.

"...wondering where you'd wanna go?"

Amy's enthusiasm revived, taking Sonic by the hand again and leading him to the fancy, blur race car parked next to an almost departing Shadow the Hedgehog. Along the way, the female fighter rambled on about where they should head, but Sonic was too busy trying to see if he could catch his rival leaving on his motorcycle in a black blur like in his dream and yanked his sunglasses off.

However, it was not possible as the Resistance fighter blocked the hero's sight by startling him with a kiss on his cheek, winking at him afterward, and skipping over to hop onto the passenger's seat of his racecar; by the time he looked at the place where Shadow had been, there was nothing left but a billowing cloud of dust.

Maybe Sonic had won the race, but he didn't get his well-deserved prize in the end.

---

3.

At this point, if people knew of his interest when it came to the intimidating vehicle, they would have come up to the hero asking what exactly made him become fascinated with such a thing, especially when he wasn't one to prefer something over his feet. Was it the need to experience a ride? If that was the case, then Sonic could have simply gotten over it by testing any motorcycle at a local shop in Station Square's downtown area. Easy and quick.

Except it wasn't just about any motorcycle, the hero wanted to specifically take the Dark Rider around Mobius until he exhausted every last drop of fuel in its tank. For that to happen, Sonic knew he would most likely have to end up pestering his rival to use it, or perhaps, stealing it without permission would be better - the sparring challenge that would come after Shadow tracked him down only encouraged him to do it rather than stand here and think about it.

Well, he had been ready to act on it, the ongoing celebration of Tails' birthday party the ideal environment to pursue his one-step plan, but as he had walked past the crowd of close friends and spotted familiar black quills near one of the snack tables by the workshop's garage closed doors, he paused. The mischievous grin he had been sporting while trying to close in on his target faded away, a confused frown taking its place because right next to the Ultimate Lifeform and his precious bike stood the lavender feline princess.

Blaze.

Now what?

Honestly, her being there wasn't enough to refrain the blue hedgehog from doing something reckless around Shadow, considering that there was always someone present to see the shenanigans the hero got himself into by messing around with the one person that found him utterly annoying. So what exactly was stopping him?

He pondered the question while standing there, at a safe distance from the two most introverted people he knew at this party having a casual conversation. Luckily, someone was willing to offer an answer.

"Jealousy is not a nice look on you, Blue."

At hearing Rouge's voice, the speedster quickly shifted his attention away from his rival and the princess, exchanging his frown for a smirk. The bat had walked up to stand next to the hero, nonchalantly sipping at her red solo cup.

"Rouge, likin' the party so far?"

She snorted, shuffling closer to rest her elbow over one of his shoulders. "I am, but are you?"

Sonic gave her a weird look. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Ohhh, so we're gonna play dumb," the agent drawled with a roll of her eyes, finishing her drink before clearing her throat. "Look, sugar, as Shadow's 'friend'," she added air quotes around the term, "I should be telling you to get your ass as far away as possible from him."

"Why?"

Rouge gestured over to where her partner-in-arms stood. "When was the last time you saw him interact with someone apart from Omega, you, and I?"

The silence that followed gave away the answer.

"Exactly, so let him have this. Besides," her tone became suggestive, "you never know, those two could hit it off..."

"The man has a soft spot for kitties - the princess has an advantage already over you--"

"Psssh! Nice one, Rouge." The hero couldn't help but laugh at what she was saying, bending over to exaggerate the ridiculousness of the situation she was describing. Yet, uprighting himself, he noticed how the bat was not mirroring his behavior, the first sign that showed she wasn't joking, and her crossed arms only made him stop in an instant.

"You're serious?"

The cobalt speedster scoffed, picking at his ear with his gloved pinkie. "Sorry, Rouge, but I ain't looking for the Faker to have a soft spot for me."

"Then explain the ugly scowl you were clearly directing at your fiery gal."

Sonic stared at the GUN agent, holding his gaze steady before her, but after knowing how she wouldn't let this be and bring it up again at an inopportune time, he surrendered...somewhat.

"Okay, you caught me!" Sonic threw his arms wide open as if to show that she was right. "I'm jealous--"

"Ha!" she cheered, smirking. But her victory didn't last long as the hero raised a finger to cut her off, mirroring her smirk. "Of the fact that Blaze's welcomed to get close to Dark Rider without so much of a complaint on Shadow's part."

The bat took a moment to process the words, varying expressions flashing across her face to the Blue Blur's amusement and mild fear. He hoped she didn't think more of the situation because the woman tended to read between the lines when there wasn't any in-between to be looking through in the first place!

"The bike, huh?" she asked, turning around to observe the black hedgehog and princess in the distance, studying the way her teammate pointed at certain parts of his GUN-assigned vehicle while explaining something to the Guardian of the Sol Emeralds. Shadow and Blaze were certainly not close, yet it would be possible for the two to get along the most outside their small group of acquaintances. So to see how the two Mobians were interacting, Rouge had only wished to poke fun at the hero about no longer receiving Shadow's full attention, regardless of it being rude and aggressive.

But after hearing Knuckles' comment the other day about what he saw at White Jungle, this curiosity Sonic had toward the motorcycle wasn't what it meant in a literal manner. The Dark Rider was a substitute for something--no, someone that the hero of Mobius had yet to accept to feel something for.

"Well, good thing you got me as your friend, too," Rouge remarked, a plan formulating in her head unbeknownst to the hero, who ended up even more confused by her comment. Instead of elaborating, the agent patted Sonic's shoulder and smiled. "Let's fix you up a date with that hot ride."

"Date?" Sonic repeated, becoming flustered. "I told you, Rouge, I'm not interested in Shadow--"

"I meant the motorcycle, Blue..."

"Oh."

Oh, indeed. Rouge chuckled, walking away from the embarrassed male, and wondered why all hedgehogs were so stubborn when it came to these things about feelings and attraction. Well, she guessed she could add one particular red echidna to the list, too.

---

4.

Sonic soon learned what Rouge had meant that evening at Tails' birthday party. The answer came in the form of the two elite agents standing at the doorstep of the fox's workshop one week later. 

“So what happened again?” Tails glanced up from where he was busy taking in the damage done to the motorcycle’s engine. 

Shadow relayed the details, himself occupied with looking over the rest of his bike. “We had a mission over at Mazuri—”

“You guys went to Mazuri and didn’t invite me!” Sonic butted in as he came walking through the workshop’s entrance with a takeout bag in one hand. Passing Rouge on his way to put the bag on an empty counter, the hero gave her a knowing look to which she winked in response. “Hey, Big Blue. Aaaand you know we would have—"

Shadow scoffed, glancing up at the bat when she said that. “Never in a million years.”

Rouge rolled her eyes, “Okay, I would have sent you a message if I could, but it was a classified kind of gig. No outsiders allowed."

"Ah, I see," Sonic wandered toward where his brother and his rival were huddled around the motorcycle. The two talked and pointed at several parts from where the engine had been removed to take a thorough scan of the bike's interior. Already, the hero was closer to the motorcycle than he'd ever been before; unfortunately, this time there were dents, serious scrapes, and once sleek black colors now showing signs of rust. 

But what was a little adventure if not getting a few scratches here and there?

All that mattered to Sonic was being close to the bike, caring any less for how it looked now because appearances were only one thing. He stepped over to stand on the side where Shadow was crouching, staring at where ungloved hands were delicately propped on the bike. Sonic couldn't help himself from his indulging staring again, admiring the long and bold red stripe that slithered down Shadow's arm to his hand, splitting into two thinner lines that led to his middle finger and pinkie only. Even then, the middle finger's crimson stripe followed straight down to neatly trimmed black claws while the Pinkie's stripe curled around the smaller digit twice to reach an identical claw. 

Sonic always knew his rival was different, being half hedgehog and half Black Arms, but whereas the reminder of his bloodline often disturbed other people, it simply made the agent more attractive to the hero. Everything he thought was pleasing to look at for Shadow seemed like a threat to others; the sharp, striped quills, his much pointier fangs, and strong, powerful muscles.

Though, Shadow's bright, red rubies were Sonic's favorite. 

They reminded him of sunsets, of cherries on top of sundaes, of the molten lava surrounding the volcanic area in Red Mountain. 

Red had always been a meaningful color to the speedster, and to see his rival have it as a trademark trait of his without acknowledging Sonic's original intent already - like, hello, red shoes! - made Sonic chuckle.

It caught Shadow's attention, who glanced up at the blue hero hovering over him with a frown.

"What's so funny, hedgehog?"

Sonic shrugged, wearing a goofy smile that only seemed to make the striped hedgehog's eyes narrow further. 

"Nothin', just...noticed something, that's all."

"Noticed what?" Shadow asked, his tone suggesting the hero be careful about how he went about this.

Sonic gestured at the barely eligible insignia the Dark Rider usually had beautifully painted over on the side. "You went for red as your brand."

The agent looked at his scratched bike's insignia, staring at it with knitted brows. The little pout Shadow unknowingly made when thinking hard about something brought out another chuckle from the hero. 

"So?" Shadow huffed, not knowing what had his rival laughing at him beginning to annoy him.

A cocky grin slipped across fawn lips and emerald eyes lit up.

"Well, not to brag or anything, buuuut red's been my kind of thing since the start. I mean have you seen how many pairs of red shoes I own?" 

"He actually has a whole line of shoes and accessories made by him for that brand - Swift Speed," the fox genius piped in from the other side, where he was writing down notes about what parts to order to fix the motorcycle.

"Oh yeah! Forgot 'bout that, I really don't tell others, though..."

"Swift Speed?" Rouge grinned, catching Sonic's attention. "Oh my god..." Her teal eyes were glued to the dark hedgehog who was standing back up.

"Rouge, don't," came the simple warning, but the bat was too excited to share her discovery. "Shadow only ever uses that brand for when he wants to give his air shoes a break!" 

"Oh really..." Sonic grinned, turning back to stare at his embarrassed rival.

"Rouge, stop."

"You have like what? Two or three pairs of running shoes for each color they have," she snickered, making her friend groan in annoyance. "Something about the maker having good taste in style and comfort."

Meanwhile, Sonic was reveling in this new information, pushing this whole thing a step further by shuffling closer to his striped rival and bumping his hip with Shadow's.

"I guess we all know what that means, right?" Sonic teased, slinging an arm freely over ebony shoulders. Regardless of what Rouge just put him through, Shadow was still brave enough to look the hero in the eye and mutter. "No...what?"

"That you should be the starring model for my shoe line! Think about it...you could pose even with this bad boy," Sonic released the agent to turn around and place both his hands on the Dark Rider. And once he couldn't believe he was actually touching the motorcycle, he took the biggest step so far he could with Shadow's property. He swiftly swung a leg over it and posed for his dark counterpart with a smirk. 

"And if you need help, I'm always down to show you some poses," Sonic let his eyelids droop, becoming half-lidded and suggestive. 

"Get off my bike."

"Oh, c'mon, Shads! I'll take good care of you both," the hero winked, his flirtations leaving the dark hedgehog with an angered look by the way his face was burning brighter than the pretty red on his stripes. To further prove it, the hero's eyes widened as Shadow came at him with a menacing snarl. Quickly, Sonic scrambled off the bike and fled the workshop, offering a quick word of gratitude toward Rouge for trying on his way out with a hot-tempered striped hedgehog on his tail.

Rouge just watched the boys leave, the sounds of the fox tinkering filling the background. She couldn't help but roll her eyes at Sonic's blatant stubbornness, having found the smile on his face as he left running with Shadow after him bigger than the one he wore when he finally touched the motorcycle he desperately wanted. 

---

5.

It was always one step forward, and two steps back with Shadow.

Whatever chances he'd gained from last week through Rouge's help were nothing when the striped hedgehog simply ripped them away from Sonic's hands in the next moment. And because he couldn't figure it out yet, the hero blamed it all on his rival, and his outright rude intentions of ignoring him today of all days.

It was the World Grand Prix, and it was down to the last section for riders to use their boards to race through Mazuri's savannah and through exotic smaller towns around the citadel.

Sonic and his pals never missed a chance to show up and enjoy the fun with thousands of others that followed the races across the world; it also didn't stop the blue hedgehog from "accidentally" bumping into an old green-feathered friend and shaking things up with their nostalgic rivalry. And though Jet came off as the same self-centered jerk and remained to bruise Sonic's ego any way he could, deep down the hedgehog knew the hawk was more than happy to have a worthy challenge to look forward to racing with.

But, of course, no one could beat Sonic's best rival - Shadow the Hedgehog.

He was the only one that could test the hero in all the ways others dreamed of or tried and failed. No one could rise to the challenge like the Ultimate Lifeform, and that was something Sonic would rather take to his grave than reveal to anybody lest he want to endure the rest of his life with Shadow constantly reminding him.

Actually, right about now, Sonic wouldn't mind, still standing in the contestants' lane waiting for the announcer to call out the time to head over for the last part of the race. All the wins he had accumulated over the race meant nothing to Sonic right now as he continued to glare at where Jet and Shadow stood, sharing conversation.

Team Dark had arrived halfway through the Grand Prix, and they seemed to have no intention of participating this time around. It'd been a shame since it would've turned the competition a lot fiercer, action-packed...a lot more of Shadow to butt heads with. While Jet gave Sonic adrenaline to beat him at his own game, having Shadow around would have done wonders for the hero's excitement.

Heck, the blue hedgehog would have been delighted to have his striped rival witness first-hand how he beat the green hawk on the track.

Instead, Shadow didn't even acknowledge him! Not even a simple glance in his direction. The agent gave Sonic nothing, and only made the hero's mood worsen as the race progressed by voluntarily going up with Rouge to talk to the Rogues, both GUN agents engaging in civilized talk with the birds— well, Rouge more or so flirted with the purple swallow. But that was the last thing the hero cared about, his attention narrowed down to the green Extreme Gear racer and the Ultimate Lifeform.

"Oh no, here we go again," a familiar voice spoke up from Sonic's side.

He glanced over to find Knuckles coming to stand next to him with Tails at his other side.

"What do you mean?" The young genius asked, cocking his head to the side in curiosity.

The echidna pointed at the group standing across the lane, chatting comfortably with each other. "Sonic's jealous that Jet is striking up a conversation with Shadow because you see our friend here," Knuckles smugly swung an arm over Sonic's stiff shoulders. "He's got this little crush on the Ultimate Lifeform—"

"No," Sonic growled, shrugging off his friend's arm. "I'm not jealous because I don't have a crush on Shadow!"

"Say it any louder and he just might think so."

The hero huffed, ignoring the odd looks he was receiving from the other racers, and though he wish for his striped rival to not have heard him, a little part of him did just to get his attention.

"Look, let's just go get ready to win this race, okay?"

Because he'd rather stand under Mazuri's hot sun by the tracks than see another second of this preposterous scene before him, his friends also seemed to notice as they shared a look of amusement and followed the hero out from the sheltered lane.

Everything went downhill when Sonic saw Shadow approach Jet because he nor his team ended up winning the final race, earning second place on the scoreboard to the hedgehog's dismay. Still, he congratulated his friends and high-fived them as they walked back to the contestants' lane to get some water. Sure, the defeat wasn't what Sonic had planned, but he took the blame for that with his mind having been distracted on the race track, especially with Jet at his side taunting him and all.

It kind of got to his head, but he was ready to move on from today, suggesting to his brother and friend about celebrating with a good dinner. So, the trio headed into the citadel, walking the crowded streets and pointing out new things since they last visited Mazuri until they arrived at a local restaurant with the best meals served fresh.

They took their seats outside, chilling under the welcoming shade of the table's thatch canopy and sharing their thoughts on the Grand Prix. The crowds along the main road thrived with lively conversations, local sellers pulled in tourists to buy exotic tokens, and a small band was playing at one of the corners of the main road's intersection. It was all going well, perfectly well, but leave it up to Shadow to keep ruining the hero's day.

Sonic had been in the middle of telling his friends about the cool move he pulled off in the first leg of today's race when a roaring engine cut through the buzzing streets and lively music. Heads turned in the direction of where the sound was coming from; a handful of excited gasps and chirps of acknowledgment went around the other tables by Sonic's.

He figured out why pretty soon.

An eye-catching ride pulled up to the same street where Sonic and the others were sitting out to enjoy their dinner. The two riders on the motorcycle found themselves at the center of attention, the Dark Rider itself having attracted plenty enough, but with the two well-known Mobians climbing off the bike it doubled the spectators' awe.

"Seriously," the blue hedgehog scoffed, ticked off that of all the places in Mazuri this had to be the one they would come to. And that wasn't even the half of Sonic's problem, eyeing his green feathery rival with open envy as he stepped away from the motorcycle and its owner.

Unfortunately, his staring didn't go unnoticed by the hawk, azure eyes making contact with an unyielding emerald gaze.

"Well, well, well, look who do we have here," the cocky hawk sauntered over to the hedgehog's table, receiving two scowls apart from the hero's. "Celebrating your second-place win?"

"Until your ugly face ruined it, yeah pretty much," Sonic snapped rudely, crossing his arms over his chest.

Jet snorted. "Awful comeback, must be a side effect from losing."

"We didn't lose! It was just a choice of heart to let you win this time around."

"Whatever," the green hawk shrugged, still wearing his smug grin to the speedster's bother. "I think it was high time someone humbled you, and you should be thanking me really."

Sonic gawked, "Thank you? For what?"

"That it was me you lost to and not Shadow—hey!" Suddenly, the hawk leaned over and his azure gaze grew mischievous. "Did you know he bet on you winning? The poor guy came up to me before the race to settle a little deal only to be disappointed by your loss."

Sonic paled, the hawk snickering at his reaction. "I can't wait to tell him it was a choice of heart that made him lose our bet."

Jet was about to go off and do whatever he came here to do, but before he could, Sonic blurted out something. "What was the bet?"

Glancing over his shoulder at the hero, Jet smirked, motioning at where Shadow was busy talking to someone on his phone. "See that nice bike? Well, let's just say you aren't the first rival to get a cool ride on it...see you around, Sonic."

Off the Extreme Gear rider went, heading into the restaurant and disappearing among the crowd standing in line waiting for their orders. Meanwhile, the hero slumped back into his chair, stunned and annoyed by what Jet had revealed; Knuckles had been ready to poke fun at Sonic again, but a harsh nudge and silent glare from the fox stopped him from doing it. The two left their blue friend to figure out his thoughts alone and in silence, both already knowing why Jet's confession disturbed Sonic so much.

And it had nothing to do with the bike, but that was for the hero to figure out on his own.

They half expected him to head over and talk to Shadow first-hand, but they were simply witnesses to their friend's obvious staring. Sonic kept his gaze on the dark hedgehog by the street, who remained oblivious to what just happened and the eyes that were on him.

While Tails and Knuckles continued with their meal, checking on Sonic every other moment, the hero himself was dissecting his thoughts one by one, glancing between his rival and the Dark Rider. There were questions about why would Shadow bring his bike back to Mazuri when it had gotten damaged here in the first place, and why would Team Dark not want to participate in the Grand Prix this year. Alas, these questions were smaller in importance when compared to why would Shadow bet on Sonic winning and getting his most prized possession involved in the mix. Did the agent really think Sonic would win?

Sonic's eyes widened, is that why he was here...to see him win?

The thought of the hybrid solely coming to the races to watch Sonic made his cheeks warm, shifting in his seat at thinking about bright rubies following his every move from the moment he stepped out of the contestants' lane to the tracks. Sonic wasn't going to lie to himself; the mere idea of having Shadow's attention was satisfying, but knowing he believed Sonic to win, it was a lot more than satisfying.

It meant Shadow respected him, acknowledged his abilities, and perhaps, admired him. On some level. An equal level for sure if Jet's words were anything to go by, but it made the hero wonder if that were the case, then why treat him as if he were less?

"Why won't you let me ride with you?" Sonic asked, whispering under his breath.

"What was that?"

Startled by Tails' voice, the blue hedgehog looked over at his brother and smiled, shaking his head. "Nothing! Just thinking about what to order for dessert."

The fox slowly nodded, amused by his behavior. "Okaaay..."

Avoiding his brother's curious gaze, the hero went back to staring at Shadow and his motorcycle, finally noticing that it looked way better than it had been over a week ago. It got its shine back, a new paint job, and tires, too. Now seeing the bike sporting its usual attractiveness, Sonic couldn't help but think about the deal Shadow and Jet made a little more, recalling that the hawk only explained what he won because of the bet.

Though what would have happened if Sonic won the race leaving Shadow to take his side of the bet?

A what-if the hero would not know unless he asked Jet - definitely not - or Shadow - also not a chance. He let out a dejected sigh figuring he would never know the answer, and all because he got distracted by Shadow and Jet talking to each other as if they were best buds—oh, that asshole.

Of course, what an idiot he was!

Sonic was right; it was always one step forward, and two steps back with the Ultimate Lifeform.

At least now he knew that Shadow knew he was the winner before the race even began, smirking at seeing his feathery rival walk back out of the restaurant and flashing the hero another cocky grin. Sonic saw Jet reunite with Shadow at his motorcycle, saying something to each other before the dark hedgehog offered the hawk a helping hand.

Sure, it made Sonic's jaw tick, but the giddiness he was suddenly feeling surpassed the hotness he felt in his chest at seeing Shadow leave with someone that wasn't him on his precious bike. Because at the end of the day, all that mattered was that Shadow knew Sonic was his best rival, the only worthwhile to come to see and play an easy deal for to just end up fooling everyone else.

Well, he didn't fool Sonic.

---

6.

It was a month after the incident at the World Grand Prix when Sonic saw his rival again.

The spontaneous visit could have gone perfectly great if it weren't for the awful timing to end up with an injury after Eggman's attack. Luckily, with the additional help of Team Dark, the Doctor was easily defeated, cursing at the hero and his friends for ruining his plans once again. The one that didn't walk away from the battle so lucky was Sonic, sporting a sprained ankle.

So, now here he sat on the ground, bearing the same old argument Tails and Amy had each time the speedster was injured. It upset him for the most part because he felt embarrassed to be treated like a child. In front of his rival nonetheless! But he kept quiet, blocking out whatever his brother and Amy were discussing, and glanced over to where Shadow and Rouge were checking up on Omega. It appeared the destruction-loving robot took a pretty nasty hit during the fight and had some damage done to his core battery.

But by the looks of it, nothing serious was done as Rouge patted her teammate on his bulky arm while Shadow rolled his eyes rather playfully. Not long after, the dark hedgehog headed for an overgrown bush, parting tree branches and thick leaves to reveal where he had hidden his bike this time around.

Sonic perked up at the sight of it, curiously watching how attentive Shadow was being as he made sure his motorcycle didn't get scratched. It was kind of cute, the hero thought. He'd never seen his rival take care of something so much to the point where it looked like the Dark Rider meant everything to him.

Maybe it did, Sonic smirked, guiding his gaze over the bike's comfy seat and the insignia's outline. The symbol's red color reminded him of his owner with ruby eyes and striking striped quills, and he couldn't help himself to a soft laugh at remembering how he proved to Shadow that he'd been wearing Sonic's signature color all these years.

Something about red looked perfect against black.

The thought made the hero's chest swell up with warmth, risking a chance to look at his dark rival. He saw him looking over his bike, passing his gloved hands over the handles and shiny surfaces—those same hands ran along Sonic's sides, pressing gently into blue hips—holy fuck, Sonic's eyes widened, feeling his breath taken away at realizing where his thoughts were going. Where the hell did that even come from?

Feeling even more embarrassed, the speedster shifted, readjusting his sitting position on the ground and making sure that neither Amy nor Tails were looking at him. Damn it, the last thing he needed was for his brother to point out his blushing face that sure enough he felt crawling down his neck too. Amy would surely give him hell about it, demanding to know what evoked this sort of reaction from him.

He knew the only way to calm down was to avert his eyes from Shadow and the motorcycle, but...the temptation was irresistible; just a small peek, he reasoned with himself.

Emerald eyes steadily retraced their way back to the hybrid standing by the Dark Rider, starting from familiar air shoes, going up the length of striped feet, stopping to momentarily admire the athletic muscles, and continuing up to a strongly built chest until...crimson eyes were staring back at him.

"Fuck," Sonic whispered, mortified at being caught and quickly, ripping his gaze away from Shadow.

He didn't dare to look back and see if Shadow's eyes were still on him, instead struggling to breathe properly; however, this caught his brother's attention to the blue hedgehog's dismay.

"Sonic, are you feeling okay?" The young fox knelt, scanning Sonic's face and pressing a hand to his forehead.

Tails frowned, "You're burning up and shaking..."

These observations devastatingly attracted everyone else's attention, too, making the hero squirm even more under curious eyes. Least of all, now Shadow standing within arm's distance and staring down at Sonic with a knowing smirk. Another flush of redness swarmed the hero's face as he made eye contact with his rival, and to his even greater displeasure, had Amy fret over his health, too.

"Oh! I think he has a fever! We need to take him back to the workshop before it gets worse!" The pink hedgehog crowded the hero's space and glanced over to Tails with an irked expression. "C'mon, Tails! We can't waste any more time!"

"If I take him, the height will just make it worse. He could end up feeling nauseous."

Amy glared at the fox, crossing her arms over her chest. "Then what are we going to do? He can't walk with his sprained ankle—"

"I'll take him."

All eyes landed on Shadow.

"Uh, n-no, that's okay—I'm sure we can figure something else out," Sonic stuttered, staring at anything but the agent.

"Yeah, we don't want to impose on you," Amy added, her jade eyes narrowing at seeing how the dark hedgehog was looking at Sonic. "Besides, carrying him back to the workshop is equally as dangerous as Tails taking him over."

Shadow's smirk remained, casting the pink hedgehog a mirthful look. "We can take my bike."

Rouge nodded, "He's a natural on that thing, so there are no chances of anything bad happening."

"But what about—" Amy started, finding another excuse but was cut off by the hybrid.

"We'll get there before any of you do unless..." Shadow was now blatantly challenging the pink hedgehog. "You want to wait here and come up with another solution while Sonic's condition gets worse."

Offended, Amy rose to her feet. "No! Of course not! I just—I just want to make sure Sonic's in good hands."

Having remained a silent spectator of the discussion, Sonic would have thanked Amy for her care, but all that his mind was feeding him was thoughts of Shadow's hands again - caressing his fawn chest and fingers running through his blue quills. Oh god, Sonic was doomed.

So, so doomed as Omega caught onto how his face continued to redden, almost matching the color of his shoes.

"THE BLUE HEDGEHOG'S SYSTEM IS SHOWING SIGNS OF THE QUICKENING OF HIS HEART RATE AND HIS UNFAVORABLE TEMPERATURE CONTINUING TO RISE."

"You heard the guy. Let's get Big Blue moving," Rouge snapped her fingers and nodded for Shadow to take the injured hero away.

That was all the striped hedgehog needed to crouch low on the ground, reaching out and wrapping his arms around Sonic. With their faces only being only a few inches apart, the hero was afraid to say anything to him, avoiding his rival's gaze. Although, it was difficult doing so when the very same thoughts he was having about Shadow's hands were nearing the possibility of happening in real life as he felt gloved hands slide delicately across his back and hook an arm under his knees.

This would haunt his dreams in the middle of the night if the feeling of being pressed up against the hybrid's sturdy chest wasn't already awakening even more confusing reactions from the blue hedgehog.

Sonic bit back the whimper that fought to free itself from his lips, roughly swallowing the thickness lodged in his throat.

"Okay, we'll meet you back at the workshop," Rouge walked after the dark hedgehog carrying his blue rival to the Dark Rider. She observed in delight as Shadow settled the hero carefully on the seat, deliberately touching his shoulders and waist while explaining to Sonic he wanted to make sure he was secured.

Shadow was then climbing onto the bike, too, and glancing at Sonic over his shoulder. "Hold onto me or you'll fall off."

"Wait, what?"

Huffing, the bat turned to Rose who was in earshot of hearing Shadow's advice as she walked up to them. "He was joking. Sonic's not gonna fall off, buuuut..." Rouge sauntered over to stand before Sonic, a mischievous smile making the hero nervous. "It won't hurt to make the ride a little safer."

Sonic blushed, hesitantly circling his hands around Shadow's waist. "Um, can we go now?"

"Get him outta here, Shadow before he grows any more impatient!" The bat winked at the cobalt speedster, backing off to let the hybrid start the engine. "You're in good hands with the Ultimate Lifeform, Big Blue—oh!"

She gestured for Shadow to wait for a second, her eyes still on the flustered hedgehog behind him. "Before I forget, you owe me."

Sonic frowned, confused. "Owe you? For what?"

Rouge rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't act stupid, Blue. You know what I mean, but in case you don't, Shadow will tell once you get home."

With that being said, Shadow took Rouge's wave as his cue to leave, grinning as he sped across the field with now a gasping Sonic the Hedgehog behind him. The hero hadn't expected the motorcycle to reach these kinds of speeds, seeming to almost match Shadow's and his natural pace when running. But as the shock gradually resided, exhilaration took over and made Sonic forget about his previous awkward state.

He had waited too long for this and it was everything he had hoped for.

Sonic let out a laugh, enjoying the whipping wind hitting his face as Shadow made a turn to head for the city's limits. "Whoa! Hey, aren't we going to the workshop?"

The dark hedgehog shot the hero a quick glance, grinning. "We are, but if we're going to beat them there, we might as well take a little detour."

Finding this playful side of his usually grumpy rival amusing, Sonic chuckled, relaxing into his place against Shadow's back. "Since when are you the fun type?"

The hero saw the agent shrug, guiding them into the first street at the road signs' speed which was a little slower than what Sonic liked but loved the rumbling vibration coming from the engine.

"Maybe you're rubbing off on me."

Sonic smirked, "So I guess my work is finally paying off."

"What?!" Shadow yelled out as he increased the speed, skillfully driving between the lanes and using any openings to push through the rest of the cars and building traffic.

They were approaching the heart of the city, but Sonic let out another cheerful laugh as Shadow dodged the incoming traffic, shocking the hero when he ran a red light.

"Did you just do what I think you did?!"

"Can't hear you! Speak up, hedgehog!"

Grunting, the speedster scooted closer, pressing his chest right against Shadow's back, and leaned over to let his mouth hover closely at the hybrid's left side of his face.

"I said you ran a red light—"

Sonic's words died on his tongue as Shadow quickly turned his face to press a soft kiss to unsuspecting lips, breaking away with a smile at seeing the hero's shocked face. Shadow chuckled, his ruby eyes twinkling now under the evening sun. It took the blue hedgehog a full sixty seconds to realize what just happened, staring at the agent with wide eyes, flushed cheeks, and mouth agape. It was only after Shadow saw the hero blink that he laughed, nudging Sonic's muzzle with his own to regain his focus.

"See, told you you're rubbing off on me," Shadow purred, shifting his attention back to the road sadly, but he felt Sonic finally react.

"You...you kissed me?" Sonic didn't know what to do. This was all so unexpected, but...he liked it. After all, surprises were his favorite thing. Still, he needed to make sure this was what he thought and not some funny joke Shadow decided to pull on him—"It's not April Fools' today is it?!"

Shadow snorted, shaking his head. "No, you idiot!"

"Then why did you kiss me?!" Sonic shouted over the bustling noise of other cars and honking.

"Because I can!"

"I'm serious!" Sonic rolled his eyes, squeezing Shadow's waist for emphasis.

"Fine! I'll tell you...after this!"

In a practiced maneuver, the agent was pushing the pace higher, switching lanes to the farthest left before making a graceful turn. He was leading them to the highway entrance ramp, not slowing down as his swift speed scared away other drivers and let him onto the highway. Without having to worry about any highway patrol at this hour, Shadow took advantage and really made Sonic's first ride worth all the time in the world.

Sonic felt the air being punched out of his lungs in the best way possible as he held on tighter to Shadow, not holding back his loud whooping as they broke every highway speed rule by worming their way between cars and angry drivers. Shadow joined him in his bout of joy, feeling the vibrations of the agent's laughter against his chest and grinning even wider when Shadow's shoulders shook with every laugh as well.

"Get ready!"

That was all the hero got before his rival was tilting the bike toward the right, gliding across the three lanes to get to the edge where a sign Sonic caught a fleeting glance of signaled that a bridge was coming up in a few miles. He was about to ask Shadow about it until he saw another three massive signs alerting drivers that the bridge was under reconstruction, leaving a shiver to run down Sonic's spine.

That was it; the tingling sensation he'd been dreaming about these past few months.

This was what Sonic craved ever since he felt the desire to ride this very motorcycle with his rival and run it for as long as it let them.

"Oh, this going to be so fucking cool!" Sonic's eyes widen as the bridge's ramp leading to the higher ground came into view.

"Ready?!"

The unfinished bridge was approaching quickly at the speed they were going, a wide space empty of any structure to lead to the other side; the hero's blood pumped faster under his skin, his emerald eyes lighting up with the dangerous glint a daredevil always wore in the face of something life-risking. Sure, they could easily miss the other ledge and fall to their potential deaths, but unlike all those times when Sonic was fighting Eggman or another huge badnik or a wrathful god, this time everything felt safe somehow. No matter how dangerous this was Sonic knew he was going to be safe.

As long as he had Shadow at his side, nothing bad would ever happen to the hero.

So, Sonic surprised the dark hedgehog with a share of his own kiss to a tan muzzle, leaning into Shadow's body as much as he could, and confidently gave his answer.

"More than I will ever be."

The two hedgehogs were then feeling the rush of air against their quills, taking in the view under them as the bike reached its highest speed and the first tire left the ground. Shadow grinned, feeling Sonic's grip around his waist tightening but hearing the hero let out an excited scream; it echoed in the air as they glided over the space between the bridge's ledges, immediately marking it as a memorable moment in Shadow's life.

As predicted, the striped hedgehog and his bike made their landing perfectly, bouncing once as the tires made contact with the ground again.

"Holy shit! That was so awesome!" Sonic giggled, bracing his forehead on an ebony shoulderblade as he fully embraced the euphoric high he just experienced.

His rival let him enjoy it in silence as he drove them to the workshop for real this time, slowing down as they exited the highway at the next ramp and turned onto a street that let out of the city. During the ride, Sonic's forehead gesture turned into full-on nuzzling, practically hugging the striped hedgehog and purring at feeling Shadow's warmth.

When they arrived at the workshop, they found themselves alone, the agent kicking out the stand to stabilize the motorcycle. He tapped Sonic's hands to let him know they were here, making the hero's eyes flutter open and the smile he'd been wearing falter. Reluctantly, the blue hedgehog dropped his arms from Shadow's waist, suddenly nervous again now that they were face-to-face again.

"Got you here first as promised," the hybrid teased, noticing his rival's avoidance of eye contact. "Is something wrong? Did I hurt you—"

"No! M'okay!" Sonic blurted out, meeting Shadow's worried gaze instantly.

It knocked the breath out of him, again. He was starting to like this feeling a little too much.

"Just..." the hero rubbed the back of his neck, nervous. "You said you were gonna tell me why you...kissed me."

Relieved to know it had nothing to do with his sprained ankle, the agent relaxed and smiled. "Is that all?"

"Is that all?" Sonic repeated, incredulously. "Uh. Hello, how are you so calm after—that?"

"The ride or the kiss? I can't tell when you seemed to have loved both," Shadow smirked, entertained by how easy it was to fluster his blue rival.

It seemed the roles were switched today.

The hero glared at the other hedgehog, growling. "If you aren't gonna take me seriously, I'm leavin'."

Swinging his leg over the seat, Sonic winced as he placed both his feet on the ground, prepared to walk away when in his first step, he was assaulted with a sharp pain shooting up his injured leg. He whimpered, forgetting the whole point of this ride was to have him take off weight from his sprained ankle. Unfortunately, Shadow was there to remind him as well, surprising the blue hedgehog again by grabbing out to him.

"Hey! What are you doing—?" Sonic gasped as he was swept off his feet, feeling up Shadow's comforting warmth again against his side that was pressed to the hybrid's chest. Annoyed and embarrassed, Sonic huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't need to be carried, Shadow."

"Are you always this stubborn?" The agent remarked, not letting go of the hero and taking him to the house attached to the workshop.

"So funny," Sonic grumbled, looking away from his rival and to the front porch instead.

The dark hedgehog climbed the steps and gently sat the speedster on the top one, being extra cautious of the injured ankle. He settled himself next to the hero after, leaving only an inch of space between them. Sonic would have scooted away, he would have but...the temptation was going at it again, stronger in its magnetic pull. So, he remained where he was and waited for the others to arrive with Shadow.

And for a long quiet minute, Sonic thought this was all there was to this day, unanswered questions and foolish emotions storming his mind.

But Shadow broke the silence, admitting to Sonic something quite shocking.

"I kissed you because I've been wanting to for a while now."

"Oh."

To say the least, the hero was stunned to hear this. It was kind of hard to tell this was what Shadow's been wanting to do when all their interactions ended with petty competitions over a round of racing or sparring.

"Since when?"

Shadow glanced at the blue hedgehog, answering confidently. "After the race car competition a few months back."

Sonic's jaw dropped, remembering that race as it was the beginning of his phase where all he paid attention to was the Dark Rider. Now that he recalled the memory, thoroughly going through each thing Sonic had studied with great curiosity and realizing his gaze somehow had gone from the bike to the rider.

"But you always pushed me away..." Sonic also didn't forget about everything that happened after that day. "You spent all your time with Blaze at Tails' birthday party, you wanted to beat me up when you brought in your bike, and you ignored me all day during the Grand Prix!"

With every new thing Sonic listed, the more confused he became, comparing Shadow's behavior in the past weeks to the present. "Hell, you even paraded Jet around Mazuri on your motorcycle afterward."

This caught the Ultimate Lifeform's attention, leaning forward with hooded eyes. "What? Did that make you jealous?"

"No!" The cobalt speedster scowled, feeling his cheeks burn hot under Shadow's pretty—stop it, you! "I just don't know why you waste your time with others when it's clear that I'm the best you got—I mean as a rival!"

The striped hedgehog chuckled, "You're so cute when you get mad."

"Shadow!"

"What? It's true!" The agent reached for Sonic's face, cradling his cheek sweetly. "And you're right, red's definitely your signature color."

Sonic groaned, glaring at the other. "I swear I'm gonna—"

The hero's vocal threat never came as Shadow pressed another kiss to his peach lips, savoring his time with this one. He brought his other hand to gently grasp the back of Sonic's upper neck, angling his neck to deepen the kiss. Shadow felt his rival shakingly plant his hands on his white chest fur, tangling his fingers in the soft strands. The hero rubbed at the hybrid's chest, pulling soothing purrs from there, too, and felt the vibrations along where they touched.

For the second time that day, Sonic the Hedgehog felt himself riding a delirious wave, up and up and up until he no longer could think straight; his head became empty of any thought except for the feel of Shadow's lips on his, moaning softly as the hybrid's tongue teased him with a dip and caress against Sonic's teeth and tongue, too.

The Dark Rider may have given a taste of adrenaline and excitement like no other adventure, but kissing Shadow...topped even the best moments in Sonic's life, new and amazing. It was fulfilling. It made his blood rush like rapid currents and burn hotter than molten lava. It made him feel like he was airborne, gliding over that same bridge's gap without the need of the Dark Rider. All he needed was a kiss to feel like he could fly far, far above till he reached the stars in the sky.

"Kissing you feels like making that jump over the bridge and still feeling that exciting rush under my skin," Shadow whispered, breaking away to look at Sonic's blissful face.

"You've read my mind."

The dark hedgehog chuckled, finding Sonic's dreamy sigh adorable.

"You were right, too."

Humming, the hero pressed another kiss to Shadow's lips, sighing in pleasure before asking what the hybrid meant.

"Right about what?"

"You're the best I got, and I want you to know that."

"You mean..." Sonic gazed at Shadow, his heartbeat stuttering as the dark hedgehog caressed his muzzle.

"Will you let me be the best you got, too?"

Sonic smiled, "You've always been, Shads."

With confessions made, the two hedgehogs embraced each other into another kiss, slower and tender. Even so, it didn't take away that beautiful and wonderful feeling they felt as they coasted the city's streets to glide over the bridge. Well, not quite. This - being together - felt a lot better; the best feeling actually.

They broke apart once they heard the familiar voices of their friends in the distance, and as they waved over to the two hedgehogs, Shadow glanced down at Sonic's sprained ankle, quickly cradling it in both hands. To the hero's surprise, the agent was able to heal it, seeing the hybrid smirking back at him.

"You healed it...with your emerald." Sonic discovered his rival's secret, "You had one all along. Why didn't you just do that from the beginning?"

Shadow gestured at the incoming group with his head. "How else was I supposed to get you all to myself?"

"I dunno, ask like a normal person," Sonic teased, tugging for the agent to sit back down with him on the porch steps.

Seeing the hero wiggle his now-healed foot, Shadow leaned over to whisper something into his ear just in time as the pink hedgehog reached them. Sonic laughed at whatever was said, making Amy frown as she stared at how close the two rivals were sitting next to each other.

"What's so funny?"

Sonic smiled at her, sneakily squeezing Shadow's hand closest to him. "Nothing, Ames, just finding out how good of a jokester Shadow is."

"I'm full of surprises, hedgehog."

Yes, he was, Sonic thought, the tingling sensation still lingering on his lips.

[lady-october]

Pairing : Oli Sykes x Female Assistant Genre : Romance, Smut (18+ Only) Previous Chapters : 1-8 on Archive of Our Own

Story Content : 18+, Smut, Drama, Choking, Power dynamics, Romance, Dom/Sub, Sadism/Masochism, Mentions of addiction & self harm, Degradation, Praise kink, Exhibitionism, Breath play, Dirty talk.

Summary :

“Don’t you see what a dangerous game you’re playing? Why did you have to look so fucking delicious tonight, I couldn’t stop undressing you in my mind, thinking of all the twisted things I want to do to you.” She had only worked on the touring team for three weeks, but her mind had been hijacked by dirty thoughts of a man she barely even talked to. Sure, he was very attractive, but were there other reasons she was so uncontrollably drawn to him? This is a filthy story of pain, self discovery, and love.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Chapter 9: Can you help the hopeless?

Chapter title is lyrics from "Can You Feel My Heart”

We're back to Oli's perspective for this one.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

She shouldn’t trust me.

I don’t even trust myself.

We were all in the taxi driving back to the hotel. I made sure she sat next to me, but all she’d done the past 20 minutes was stare out the window. 

Will she spend the night with me, or did she get everything she wanted from me already?

The street lights filtered through the car, highlighting how tired everyone was as they passed over them. Matt was asleep on the other side of me, and kept slumping onto my shoulder, which would have been fine if he wasn’t a drooler. I saw his mouth fall open again – my queue to push him off of me before my shoulder got wet.

I wanted her to spend the night with me and not run away this time; as if that somehow would prove she wasn’t using me. 

Would that really be enough? 

I wanted to say yes, but I wasn’t sure at this point. In fact I don’t know what it would take.

The lights kept hitting her eyes. She looked drunk, but happy. Satisfied even.

Satisfied because of me – the twisted things I did to her?

But I was torn. That gnawing, itchy spot deep inside me – that craved her as much as she seemed to crave me – no longer needed to be scratched. Which was an absolutely incredible feeling, not really comparable to anything else.

Yet I also felt filthy. Like I had betrayed some integral part of me. 

This isn’t how I wanted this to play out.

The problem is, the things I want from her I have no right to expect. I wish we weren’t on tour. I want to get to know her, help her get to know herself. Show her all the different sides of me; I wanted her to not run away in fear when she sees how fucking messed up I am.

The pain I felt when she ran away the first time – leaving me in the arena storage closet – flickered in my chest. Mingling with her words from last night, that had been playing on loop in my mind all day; ‘I’m terrified of having something worth losing.’ 

I had never related to a sentiment more, yet the way we handled this fear was completely polar opposite; and I honestly didn’t know whose approach was worse.

Am I being delusional? Would this ever work? Is this all we’ll ever be? 

…When the tour ends, do I just never see her again?

Tonight was the last night at this hotel, then it was back to the tour bus with no privacy except a few fleeting moments. If only she didn’t want to keep things private, at least that way it would make sense for us to want alone time. But I knew that wasn’t what she wanted.

Every time the street lights washed over her face my heart would tug.

Is it just a crush? Do I just need to wait it out?

I don’t like who I became tonight because of her. The type of person who talks to someone he can’t stand for hours, just to make their crush jealous. What fucking twat does that?

Oh yeah – me, apparently.

But I don’t know how to stop. The more I try to play it cool, the fucking crazier I seem to get. The more I try to not think about her, the more I do. It’s exhausting. 

Is it even a crush, or an obsession? 

I don’t know how to tell them apart at this point.

I hate how my feelings always have to be so large. Life would be so much easier if I could feel things in normal amounts, like normal people do. Others can kill spiders just fine without drowning in guilt. Meanwhile this world has too many sharp edges for someone like me, as if I’m a completely different breed of human that doesn’t seem to fit anywhere without going fucking mad. 

Without turning to drugs.

I feel like a loser. Imposter syndrome no matter how successful the band has gotten.

Her hands were in her lap. If I was just a bit more drunk, I’d take one of them into mine right now, pull her closer to me. 

But I knew better than that. I had pushed my luck so far tonight I wasn’t sure there was any coming back.

Am I just self sabotaging?

When we went back downstairs to join the others at the party, she had spent the rest of our time there desperately hiding the marks I left on her. Making sure her hair was covering them, or she’d keep her hand there. Somehow that hurt me, as if I didn’t already know she wanted to keep things private. Just like it hurt me when she didn’t react sooner to me chatting with that bird. 

Or when I woke up this morning, and the space next to me was cold and vacant.

I watched her drink more and more as the hours went on, her speech getting more slurred, her eyes looking further into the distance. I couldn’t tell if she was drinking to have fun, or to run away from everything I was putting her through. She was sitting with Mat and Lee, all three of them in hysterics over something I hadn’t quite overheard, when Liam had tapped on my shoulder.

“Can we have a quick chat?”

I looked at him suspiciously, “Sure, mate.” 

We got off the sofa and he led me outside to sit on a bench looking out over the city view, “This seems quite serious, should I be nervous?” I said with a laugh.

He was drunk but clearly not as drunk as I thought, cause he appeared dead sober when he turned towards me to ask, “You like Alice, yeah?”

I inhaled deeply. We hadn’t talked about Alice since the night I asked about her weeks ago. And while I knew he was aware we hooked up, I guess he must have known more than I realised. A large part of me was happy he knew, and was happy I could talk to someone about it. So I answered honestly, “Yeah.”

“Then what the fuck was all that about with Sasha?”

He must have been referring to the bird I’d been chatting with for hours when we got here, “Was that her name?”

He laughed, “Right. Of course you didn’t even know her name.” He leaned deeper into the seat, “What happened to being kind to Alice? You know she’s going through shit.” He sounded worried, maybe even a bit upset.

I scratched my head, knowing how badly I fucked up tonight, “It seems I do really stupid shit when I’m scared.”

He must have had some type of understanding, cause he didn’t say anything for a long while as we just stared out at the view.

“You wanna know why I’m always in tank tops?” He asked out of nowhere.

I frowned, “Yeah, actually I really do. Nothing wrong with it mate, but when it’s fucking freezing out it makes me wonder. Especially since we’ve given you mountains worth of tour merch and you just cut off every sleeve in sight.”

“Alright, no need to make me feel weird about it.” He said with a frown.

“Shit sorry. I mean, yes please – enlighten me.” I said, gesturing with my hand to proceed.

A smile slowly bloomed on his face, “I’m a real skinny guy. I never liked to lift weights, always had a problem putting on weight. The amount of hook-ups I’ve had where the guys were in deep disgust when they saw these noodles.” He waved his arms about to highlight how bony they are. “I hated myself. Started wearing anything that covered me up. I stopped dating, just accepted my loneliness.” He looked down, “Quite sad really…” 

I opened my mouth to console him, but he continued before I got a chance, “But then my mate got injured, and as part of his rehab he needed to go swimming. Despite how much I hated being topless I wanted to be a good friend and support him. The swim instructor was an absolute god of a man, deep blue, ocean eyes.” His expression turned dreamy as he described the man, “After the third session he came up to me, told me I was the most beautiful man he had ever seen, took me out that night and he’s been my boyfriend since. He doesn’t stop gushing over my hair and my build. He told me he always wished more skinny men would show off their arms.”

“That’s beautiful, I love that.” I said sincerely.

His smile got bigger, “Since then I’ve worn all my ‘flaws’ on my metaphorical sleeves, and while many people don’t like me – or disagree with how blunt I am,” He gave me a knowing look, “I’ve gotten so much closer to some people, and gained myself some absolutely fantastic friends… And of course a job I couldn’t be happier with.” He said, nudging my arm.

I laughed, “Glad we don’t drive you mad.”

After another silent beat, he asked, “You scared she won’t like something about you?”

I knew that’s where he was going with his story. Liam had seen me through some of my worst times after the breakup. While we hadn’t talked about it, I know it was pretty obvious how fucked up I’ve been the past year.

“I showed her a glimpse of it a couple days ago, and she ran off.” I answered solemnly. Vague but true.

He studied my face, “Didn’t you guys just hook up?”

I smiled at him. “That obvious, huh? Who else knows?”

“To be honest with you Oli, I’m not sure the other lads would notice if you made out in front of them at this rate. They’re fucking clueless when it comes to most things.” We both laughed at that, before he continued, “But I just guessed, considering how fast you ran after Alice when she stormed off – and the state of you both when you came back.” He finished with a grin.

I sucked my teeth for a second, wanting to tell him more, not knowing what would be too much information. “I’m not sure what our hookups mean to Alice. I have a bad feeling it’s not the same as me.”

He nodded, “I don’t know, maybe it’s not meant to be. But there’s only one way to find out, really.”

His point was valid, but I was terrified. Knowing my odds were low – probably even lower after the kind of shit I pulled tonight. Yet looking at her now, staring out the window, it seemed worth the risk. 

The way she makes me feel…

It’s not like with my ex; her intensity matched my own, both of us desperate for something larger than life – an all consuming love neither of us was scared of, and embraced with open hearts and minds. I was gonna marry her, spend the rest of my life with her, I knew that early on. 

Then she tore me apart and left me in a state I’m not sure I’ll ever fully recover from.

But it’s very different with Alice.

She’s not open. Sure, I can see the intensity simmer under the surface, but I don’t think it’s the same flavour as my own. And I can’t tell if that’s my perfect counterpart – my ying to my yang. Or if I’m water and she’s oil, and we’re doomed to never mix.

It doesn’t help that she lied tonight.

I knew I pushed her too far, I knew I shouldn’t have choked her that long. I just want her to see that she’s playing with fire, yet she refuses to admit it. For some daft reason it just makes me want to push her further.

When we pulled up to the hotel I quickly nudged Matt awake so he’d get out first.

“Not the bloody penguins!” He yelled as he jerked awake violently. 

All of us broke out in laughter, even the driver, “Fucking hell mate, you’re alright. You’re at the hotel, not Antarctica.” I said, amused.

Matt wiped at his mouth, “Thank fuck for that. Remind me to never invest in igloos.”

I shook my head, “Well shit, guess our next business venture’s off then.”

When Matt got out of the car I turned my attention back to Alice. I wasn’t expecting her to be smiling lazily at me, clearly drunk. I couldn’t tell if she was just amused from Matt’s dream, or if she was silently reaching out to me, letting me know she wants to spend tonight with me.

I was waiting to see if she was getting out on her side of the taxi, or staying behind to let the others get a head start. But she didn’t move. She just kept smiling at me, and I felt hope build in my chest.

When everyone else had evacuated, I slipped out of the car, offering her a helping hand. I’m happy I did as she more than likely would have fallen face first onto the pavement if I hadn’t been there to catch her.

She was a lot more intoxicated than I had originally thought. Sadness crept back into my heart at the realisation, knowing she wouldn’t be able to make a conscious decision on whether to stay with me tonight or not; knowing her choice might not carry too much weight.

I watched the others disappear into the hotel as I braced her against my arm to slowly lead her towards the entrance. She welcomed my help, leaning into me, warming something inside me.

“You alright, love?” I asked gently, testing to see how slurred her speech would come in response.

“Yeah, just really tired now.” She said, sounding perfectly sober.

I frowned, confused, not sure what to make of her state.

I watched through the clear glass of the hotel doors as the elevator door closed with everyone behind them. I smiled, knowing we’d get a moment of privacy to slip into the same room if we wanted to. But instead of walking through the entrance, I side stepped and leaned her up against the brickwork next to the door. She smiled up at me, glassy eyes meeting mine.

“Wait, why aren’t we going inside?” She asked.

I felt the nerves hit me as I responded with my own question, “Well, what room are we going to?”

“I don’t know.” She said, sounding more distant now. She placed her hands on my chest and began trailing upwards, sending a shiver up my spine. Was she not done with me afterall?

“Do you want more, love?” I asked, letting my hands slip around her waist, stepping closer to her.

“No, I’m exhausted.” She said, sounding more inebriated again. 

My confusion doubled. I didn’t have any more answers than before all my questions, so I decided to gently continue my prodding, “So what do you want to do?”

She searched my face wordlessly, her features turning sadder by the moment, causing my heart to sink.

This was it – this is the moment she’ll turn me down for good. Either out of fear of where this could lead, or she’d gotten everything she needed from me, and I simply wasn’t worth the trouble anymore after tonight.

I couldn’t blame her.

Rejection hit me like a ton of bricks before she even got a chance to say a single word.

Mine and Liam’s conversation was running through my head. Do I push through the fear and lay my heart out to her? This might be my only chance. Not knowing how drunk she was meant a couple of things; her reaction could mean very little, as she may feel very differently tomorrow. Or she simply wouldn’t remember any of it.

But I was drowning, and I could fight it with everything I had – hoping the waves would take mercy on me. Or just relax into it and sink to the bottom.

I decided to go out kicking and screaming.

Then my mouth opened to speak, knowing that it might be the worst mistake I’ll ever make. 

Somewhere in the back of my mind I found myself hoping she wouldn’t remember any of this, but the words had already begun escaping my mouth.

“You wanna know why I almost relapsed the first night we had sex?”

Shock flickered in her eyes, before she clumsily – drunkenly – nodded.

Okay, here we go.

My gaze fell to the ground and I took a deep, shaky breath, placing a hand on the brick next to her head to steady myself, before letting my eyes meet hers again. “I don’t think this world is made for people like me. I feel too much, too fast. And there’s no room for that anywhere, is there?” I could feel my heart racing as I let myself stare at her for a moment, trying to memorise her features – knowing this could be the last time I was this close to her.

My other hand seemed to have a mind of its own, as I found myself caressing her cheek. She leaned into it and warmth spread inside me, despite knowing it might just be the alcohol causing her to react like that.

“I think some part of me knew I was in trouble the first time I saw you.” I sounded so distant, making me question whether I’d spoken the words out loud or simply thought them.

I took another ragged breath as I let myself become more vulnerable, “I’m terrified of you. I’m terrified of how much I think about you. How much I feel for you.”

She was just staring at me, bewilderment on her face, making it impossible to tell what she was thinking, or feeling. But I knew exactly what I was feeling…

“I think I’m falling for you, Alice.”

It was as if I’d jumped off of a cliff as the words came out of my mouth.

Her mouth fell open, and I was expecting her to run off again any moment now, so I placed a hand on her arm before I continued. I wanted – no, I needed –  her to hear everything I had to say before she slipped away from me one last time, “And I know, I have a weird way of showing that with all my nonsense tonight.” One more deep breath before jumping off yet another cliff, “I wanted to get high that night to stay away from you, to save myself from whatever obsession I have with you, to save you from me – from stupid shit like tonight, when I know you’re in pain too. No one should have to put up with how fucking broken I am.” I laughed a bitter laugh, looking away, not ready to face what was in her eyes, “I’m intense, and I knew I’d smother you. So naturally, here I am, smothering you…” My words trailed off, sounding as defeated as I felt. Shaking my head, I let go of her arm, ready for her to make a run for it. Instead I felt her hands on my chest dig into my shirt. And when I dared to meet her eyes again there was so much emotion in them it was my turn to be shocked. I still couldn’t tell what she was feeling, and to prevent her from speaking one last time I blurted out the question I wanted answered most of all right now, “Anyway, you wanna come back to my room tonight?” Clumsy, forward question. But I had to know. 

My heart was pounding so fast I was getting light headed, as her mouth opened and shut a couple of times. I heard my nails dig into the bricks from how tense I was growing by each passing second.

“No,” The pause between her words were mere milliseconds, but it was enough to make me feel like my world was crashing down around me, before she quickly continued, “let’s go to my room. All my stuff is there.”

My whole body relaxed, and I couldn’t help but smile. I knew her response didn’t necessarily mean anything, but at least she hadn’t run away.

At least I would get to hold her as I slept again.

“Alright, your room it is.” I said and tucked her under my arm. She leaned into me, holding onto me eagerly as I led her inside.

We fought against the lock of her room for a while, but as soon as we got inside she instantly began ripping her clothes off. With every item she removed she nearly fell over, and the shoes she tore off hit the wall, missing the mounted TV by inches. I huffed out a laugh. It amazed me how she had similar grace – and luck – no matter if she was drunk or sober. 

When she was done she unceremoniously collapsed on the bed.

She was stunning naked. Her soft, ivory skin, only marked by me. So very different from my own skin, which was more marked than not.

I undressed and climbed in next to her, pulling her into my embrace. To my surprise, she didn’t just relax into it, but entangled us further, soothing every wound inside me.

I can’t remember the last time I slept as good as last night, with her in my arms; finally, rest without nightmares. With any luck tonight would be just as peaceful.

I felt her twitch, already fast asleep. Not surprising with how exhausted she was. I fought against my own sleep for as long as I could, wanting desperately to enjoy the moment, but I could feel myself slip away.

And before I knew it I was drifting…

The crimson river flows far and wide.

Her lifeless eyes stare down at me; I could fall into them, swim in them, drown in them.

She is starving.

She takes a bite; do I taste sweet enough?

Sharp teeth tearing into warm flesh.

She’s painted red; blood runs down her chin, down her breasts, down to where our bodies connect.

Once again her claws reach into me; my ribcage an open book for her to read.

She takes what she wants, what she needs – what she craves.

Meticulously picking me apart, leaving the unwanted behind.

Discarded, like peas on a child's dinner plate.

My remains are left to rot.

... Subscribe to the story on Ao3 for future updates

[thewritingbeforesunrise]

BALLERINA - Chapter Six.

A Jake Kiszka AU

Physiotherapist!Jake x Original Female Character

Previous Chapter.

A/N: You have been waiting for this one. Here it is, finally. 🔥🔥

In the text, you will find a little link with an ambience sound that I thought was fitting for this chapter. I hope you like it.

Please, let me know what you think about this!

If you are interested, you can join my taglist here.

Word count: 4.9K

Warnings for this chapter: 18+ MINORS ABSOLUTELY DNI - kissing, oral (f!receiving), talking of physical rehabilitation and medical stuff (I am not an expert, I apologise for any inaccuracies), poor mental health, soft!Jake.

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It was mid March when Iris was dismissed from the hospital.

Now it was a hot afternoon in the beginning of June and she was walking to therehabilitation studio.

She had made huge progress with Jake's help and now she could walk and even run a little on her own, without any help.

The only signs of the injury on her leg were the two big pale scars on it. She still had to get used to them, but she were recovering well.

Jake was helping her in the first steps towards maybe being able to dance again, and she was very grateful for it.

If on the physical side she had come a very long way, on the emotional side she was a wreck, and it was entirely because of him.

Every time she saw him, which meant three times a week now, he was more beautiful than the day prior. The feelings that his hands elicited were stronger every day to the point that she didn't know how much she would be able to resist the urge to push him right against the wall and ravage him.

He affected her to the point that every time she went home after a rehabilitation session, she had to go straight to the shower, discarding her soaked and ruined panties in the laundry and touch herself until she came undone thinking about him.

His name threatened to spill from her lips every time.

Today the weather was awful.

Big black clouds were approaching, causing the temperature to be even more suffocating. The five minute walk to his studio felt like thirty minutes under the scorching hot sun and once Iris arrived there she was glad the air conditioning wasn't set too high.

Unlike the other times the waiting room was packed.

The secretary told Iris that there would be some delay in the appointments because the doctor had an emergency at the hospital and he had to leave his studio for three hours.

She didn't mind waiting to see him, she always had a book with her so she took a seat near the balcony and started reading.

Every now and then she could hear the rumble of thunder approaching and from the window she could see the grey clouds. They were swirling fast and becoming even darker, the lightning spreading on and inside of them like cracks in porcelain.

The hours passed and now she was the only one left in the studio.

It was almost 7 pm.

He must be exhausted, she thought.

Once she saw the last person that was inside with him leave, she put away her book and waited for the secretary to call her.

After a while, she told Iris to go inside and she pushed the door open.

There he was.

She could see how tired he was, but she couldn't help but find him even more beautiful. His hair was again tied in a low ponytail and he was wearing a simple white tshirt and grey joggers.

She took off her shoes and approached him. Even though he was tired, he was gleaming when he smiled at her, his perfect teeth showing and she couldn't help but blush, again.

He was used to it by now, she told herself.

"Hi, Iris I am so sorry to have kept you waiting for so long, but I had an emergency in the hospital this morning and I had to help in an emergency surgery." He told her with a sigh.

He looked really exhausted.

"It's ok, don't worry, I know you are very busy." She quickly answered.

"Not many of my patients seem to remember it. I don't want to argue with them but there was a man this morning, right after I came back from surgery, that I really wanted to punch in the face because he expected me to see him without appointment. I just had time for a quick shower and then I headed here. I didn't even have time to eat." He said rapidly.

Then he buried his face in his hands saying "Oh my God, sorry. I didn't mean to vent about my problems with you. I am so sorry," he told her sheepishly.

Iris honestly didn't mind.

"You can do that, we are friends aren't we? So friends help each other." She retorted, smiling at him.

He was always so sweet and she wanted to help him.

At that moment, they were interrupted by a loud booming thunder that made the windows shake.

"And to make matters worse, it looks like the end of the world is coming." He said looking out of the window.

There was a knock on the door and the secretary entered.

"Dr Kiszka, I am sorry to interrupt your appointment but I wanted to ask you if I can try to head home before the storm begins," the woman said.

"Yes, of course Alice, sorry to have kept you here after the end of your shift. I'll close the studio, see you on Monday. Have a nice weekend." He said and waved her goodbye.

While he talked to her, Iris had time to take out of her bag something she had brought for him.

Once his attention was back on her, she spoke sheepishly

"You said you didn't have time to eat and I brought something that could help you," Iris said, embarrassed, "you can't work for so long on an empty stomach." She gave him a bag of the same chocolate bars he chose that day back in the hospital.

She remembered that taste all too well.

"This is absolutely my favourite, you remembered," he said surprised.

As if I could forget, you tasted exactly like this when you kissed me that night, she thought.

Iris felt so stupid because she couldn't stop herself from buying those chocolate bars, on the exact same day after she had come home from the hospital, but she couldn't bring herself to eat them. That memory was too painful.

So she gave them to her mother, instead.

But today she wanted to bring him something, so she bought them again and hoped they didn't melt during her walk to the studio.

"Ok I am going to eat this only if you'll have one yourself, Iris," he told her and she nodded.

She grabbed one from the bag he had just opened and unwrapped it with him. She watched him as he chewed slowly. Even the flexing of his jawline was sexy for her.

She almost choked when he noticed a bit of melted chocolate on his pointer finger and brought it to his mouth, sucking on it lightly to clean it. She had to avert her eyes from his mouth forcefully.

To distract herself, she took a bite of her chocolate, but it clouded her senses.

It reminded her of the softness of his lips on hers. She could recall their taste by heart.

Another thunder distracted her from her feelings.

The storm was approaching slowly but relentlessly.

"Thank you for this Iris. I am already feeling better now, this was exactly what I needed on this awful day." She smiled at him and told him "You are welcome Jake."

"Let's start with rehabilitation." He said, clapping his hands once.

They were working on balance exercises because the muscles of her thigh were out of training and hurt a little the more she exerted it.

Jake always told her to take things slowly, but she was growing impatient to go back to dancing and she wasn't listening to him.

After another try of keeping the position he had asked her, for more than ten seconds, a cramp stopped her efforts and she almost collapsed to the floor clutching her right thigh.

He was faster and caught her by her waist before she could crumble on the floor and helped her sit down on the couch he used to visit patients on.

Thunders were growing louder by now and she could see flashes of lightning bounce rapidly around the room.

The sky was so dark that Jake had to turn on the lights to see well. Big drops of rain were starting to fall, hitting the windows loudly.

The cramp wasn't stopping and Iris was almost on the verge of tears clutching her leg with her hands.

He guided her to lie down on the couch and started to massage the muscle of her thigh with his warm hands.

He was touching her carefully, he didn't want to hurt her more than she was already.

He kept rubbing slow circles on her skin, with different levels of pressure.

Iris was wearing shorts because of the hot temperatures so his hands were stroking her bare skin.

She couldn't deny that the touch of his hands was affecting her and she couldn't stop a little whimper from leaving her mouth when his fingertips dug deeper into her skin.

He mistook it for pain and quickly apologized.

At that moment, there was a very loud and cracking sound closeby and the light went out, abruptly.

Black out.

A lightning must have hit somewhere near the studio.

"Fantastic, this was just what we needed," she heard him mutter in an ironic tone.

The two of them were surrounded by darkness and the only source of feeble light was the very dark sky and the occasional white flash of lightning.

Her eyes started to adjust to it, quickly.

When the lightning hit, Iris had jolted up so now she was sitting on the couch and Jake was right in front of her, hands still on her thigh.

"Are you ok?" He asked kindly

"Yes," she answered, even though it was a damn big lie.

Iris wasn't OK, he was so close that she could feel his breathing fan on her cheeks and the problem was that she needed him closer.

He was staring at her now, his eyes kept flickering from her eyes to her mouth for an indefinite amount of time.

A loud thunder seemed to spur him on.

"Fuck it, I can't take this anymore," he whispered, then grabbed her face with both of his hands and unexpectedly kissed her on her lips.

Iris was so shocked that she didn't respond to the kiss right away, but, when he tried to pull away, she put a hand behind his neck, stopping him from parting from her lips.

He tasted just like the other time and she was already intoxicated.

Her other hand went into his hair, untying it delicately and stroking it, her nails slowly sinking into his scalp.

She felt him huff a little breathy sigh from his onto her cheek and she tried to bring him even closer so that their proximity was almost painful.

The kiss deepened every second more.

What started soft and simple turned heated, hot and labored.

It was a mess of fighting tongues, bumping noses, clattering teeth and biting of lips.

After a while, Iris pulled away to catch her breath.

His forehead was pressed to hers, his breathing fast and his eyes closed.

"You can't even imagine for how long I wanted to do this. You have no idea. Since that night in the hospital, I haven't been able to think about anything else." He bent his head to whisper into her ear.

She whimpered at his words, biting her lips painfully.

His eyes were boring holes into hers and she felt the urge to confess to him all of her sins.

His thumb pressed on her bottom lip, untucking it from her teeth and stayed there until she spoke.

"I have been doing the same from the moment you entered my hospital room. I can't deny it anymore. You don't know how difficult it was to have your hands on me for this long and try to restrain myself." she confessed, breathless.

He stopped her ramblings with another searing kiss but, this time, his hands wandered to her waist squeezing her flesh.

With trembling fingers, she touched his cheekbones, his nose, his neck and dragged down his lean chest only to land on his hips.

Just as her hands gripped his hips, his hands slid down her thighs making goosebumps raise on her skin.

"Oh darling, you don't even know. Right after that night, every time I came to visit you, I was afraid of not being able to control myself. I wanted to take you right there against the wall. It felt so wrong because you looked so innocent but I couldn't help myself. You got me so fucking hard that I was afraid you could notice." He whispered right on her lips.

She couldn't believe his words.

Her already wet panties were now soaked thanks to them. She had to bite her lips again so as not to moan.

Her hands lifted his tshirt lightly and came in contact with the soft and hot bare skin of his back, exploring it tentatively. With shaking fingers she traced his spine, his shoulder blades and then went back to his plush hips.

His lips trailed down her neck and when he started to suck on her pulse point, occasionally biting it then soothing it with his warm tongue, she dug her nails in his strong hips, making him groan into her neck.

His muscles twitched under her touch and before he kissed her again, another lightning illuminated his fierce features.

His mouth was agape, his chest heaving and his eyes burning.

It was almost enough to make Iris come.

His hands on her thighs trailed upwards again and he gave a good squeeze of her ass that had her biting his bottom lip mid kiss and then went under her tshirt.

"Can I take this off?" He broke the kiss and asked her.

"Please, yes," she answered out of breath and with a little smirk he did.

When, thanks to another lightning, he saw that underneath she was wearing a simple powder blue cotton bra he groaned and dropped his head to her shoulder.

"This fucking color again, you can't even imagine what this does to me." He said with a strained voice

In reality, she could.

She could feel him very well since he was pressed very close to her.

His mouth started a trail of open mouthed kisses down her shoulder and just above her breasts.

Her hands tugging lightly at his hair had him whimpering lightly.

She gripped the fabric of his tshirt and between labored breaths asked him the same question he had for her.

"Can I take this off?" She asked.

Before she could finish the sentence he had already tugged it past his head and discarded it on the floor.

She took a minute to admire him.

He was stunning.

His chest was toned but not too much, his skin was lightly tanned and so soft.

He was perfect.

The moment her lips made contact with his collarbone, the loudest thunder so far rattled the windows making her jump lightly.

She bit at his clavicle and felt his hands in her hair bringing her closer to him.

He leant his head backwards giving her access to his neck.

Iris wanted to bite him everywhere. She wanted to mark every inch of his skin.

His fingers grazed the band of her shorts and she tugged them off from her body, leaving her in just her bra and mismatching pastel green panties in front of him.

He had to close his eyes the moment he saw her like that.

"I think you are trying to kill me. Only you can make a simple pair of cotton panties look so sexy." His lips were once again at her ear.

He dragged his pointer finger on the elastic band and she couldn't help but bite her lips and dig her nails in her palms to control herself and not take his hand and push it forcefully between her legs.

Iris kissed him again and her hands started to wander on his lean chest. She grazed her fingertips on the barely there trail of hair on his soft tummy and she heard him take a sharp intake of breath when her fingertips started toying with the string of his sweatpants.

She untied it and then looked him in the eyes.

Another thunder rattled the windows.

He looked otherwordly with his hair cascading over his shoulders, golden eyes and lips slightly agape.

She wanted him to absolutely unravel her. And she was ready to beg him for it.

His hands grabbed hers and put them on his hips, signaling to her that she could take off his joggers.

Iris didn't need to be told twice and she did it, slowly.

When she accidentally brushed the elastic of his joggers on his clothed crotch, she felt him gasp and his grip on her hips tightened.

She hoped he left bruises there.

She quickly apologised, letting go of the fabric that pooled at his ankles.

Now he was standing in front of her in just his black boxers, that were growing too tight for him every passing second.

He discarded his joggers quickly and then grabbed her jaw making her stare land forcefully in his eyes.

Iris didn't expect it.

It was such a dominant gesture that she was sure wetness was starting to leak from her panties, ruining the couch underneath.

"You don't remember, do you?" He whispered practically on her lips.

"I told you that I didn't want to hear those words," he growled.

She felt bold and held eye contact with him, defying him.

"Or else? What are you going to do about it?" Iris whispered back in a sultry tone.

His grip tightened, his thumb started stroking her bottom lip and he chuckled.

"I really didn't think you could be a little devil like this. What a surprise. Fuck, you are making me even harder." He whispered and bit her neck sharply.

In that moment, she grabbed his wrist and pushed his thumb, that was resting on her bottom lip, right inside the warmth of her mouth.

A lightning illuminated her actions and his features.

He seemed on the verge of bending her over his desk and fuck her until she couldn't remember her name.

She bit down on the pad of his thumb and he growled.

"You should stop this right now if you don't want me to turn you around and absolutely rail you on this very couch until we have to start with rehabilitation all over again." He threatened, but she couldn't shut her mouth so she answered him, brushing her lips on his neck and biting his lobe.

"What if that's exactly what I want?" She answered him with a mischievous edge in her voice.

"Fuck, Iris, where have you been all this time?" He groaned.

His actions were sweet again.

He grabbed her face tenderly and kissed her slowly.

The rain outside was pouring like a flood, making them feel completely isolated in that room.

"I want you to answer me truthfully, do you really want this?" He watched her intensely in the eyes.

She almost sobbed at his words. She had been dreaming about this moment since the day she met him and she didn't think she could survive a second more without him.

"I really want this Jake. I have been dreaming about it for so long. I lost count of how many times I had to touch myself thinking about you and your hands on me, trying to ease the tension I was experiencing. It was just too much." She added embarrassed.

"You don't know what you do to me" he said chuckling, leaning his forehead against hers.

"That night after we kissed, I couldn't even get home. I had to pull over the driveway half way through the journey home. You got me so hard in that hospital room that I had to sit in my car stroking my cock like a pervert because I couldn't focus on my driving. The pain was unbearable and I had to find some release. It was too much. I didn't even make it to my house because of you." He confessed, his face heating.

The image that was playing in her mind of him stroking his hard cock in his car, fogged windows and everything, would be burned forever in her brain.

"Can I?" He asked her without breath, fingers grazing on the clasp of her bra.

"Yes, please" she told him and he moved forward between her parted legs, grinding his still clothed crotch onto hers and making her gasp at the sensation, while biting her shoulder.

The bra abandoned Iris in a second, exposing her already hardened nipples to him.

He paid diligent attention to them, bringing them into his mouth and making her squirm under his touch.

God it was the best torture ever.

Her hands went into his hair and stayed there, tugging it and making him groan onto her skin.

His hips kept grinding onto hers until it was too much for the both of them.

He stopped and spoke.

"I can't take this any longer I just need to feel you." He said into the skin of her neck.

"I need you. Please, Jake. Let me have you" she begged him, sounding on the verge of tears.

She kissed him again and bit his bottom lip lightly, making him groan.

The reality of what was going to happen downed onto her and she tensed.

He noticed.

He grabbed her shoulders gently and asked her about it.

"Hey there, Iris. What's wrong?"

When she couldn't meet his gaze, he lifted her chin softly, to look into her eyes.

"It's just…" she trailed off and blushed.

"I- I have…" she tried to formulate a sentence but her words kept tangling into her brain.

She started stuttering a little because she didn't know how to tell him.

"Calm down, no need to be nervous around me" he said stroking her cheek with a sweet smile.

Iris took a deep breath and spoke.

"It's been a lot since I last was with anyone like this," she gestured with her trembling hands between the two of them, her eyes not meeting his.

"And I always had terrible experiences, for that matter. All I ever felt was pain." She confessed, hiding her face behind her hands, with a groan.

Just the thought of it brought back bad memories and a little lonely tear started its journey down her cheek.

He gently lifted her face to look into her eyes.

He was studying her face with a pained expression.

He brushed away that lonely tear and kissed her.

He was so sweet he almost didn't feel real.

He broke away from her and spoke, looking her in the eyes.

"I am really sorry to hear this, Iris. I firmly believe that some people should never be allowed near a woman's body." He said, stroking her cheek.

"If you still want this I can promise you that I am going to be gentle, but please don't feel like you have to do it, ok? I don't want to push you and make you do something you don't want," He told her, sweetly, cradling her face with his warm hands.

Iris kissed him again.

"I really want this, Jake. Make me forget about those awful experiences, please," she whispered onto his lips.

He smirked at her words

"It'll be a real pleasure, darling." He purred into her ear, making goosebumps raise on her skin.

The storm was raging outside, the wind was howling and the rain was hitting the windows in full force.

With that sentence, he started kissing her breasts again, lightly nibbling at her skin and eliciting soft mewls from her.

Then, his lips trailed lower, making the air catch in her throat.

He knelt in front of her, grabbed the ankle of her non-injured leg and placed her foot on the side of the couch exposing her to him.

He growled a low "Fuck, Iris" seeing how wet she was. She knew it showed through her panties, she could feel it, too.

He stroked his thumb on the wet fabric and bit the underside of her thigh at the same time.

It was too much teasing for her.

She was about to explode.

In a second, he was again eye level with her still stroking her lightly through her panties.

"What do you need? Show me." He almost moaned in her mouth.

Iris grabbed his wrist and unceremoniously pushed his hand inside her panties.

She didn't care if she looked desperate.

They gasped at the same time and she had to lean her forehead onto his shoulder not to fall from the couch.

"Oh God, Jake." she moaned breathlessly.

His fingers dragged her panties down her legs, slowly discarding them on the floor and he started touching her delicately.

His hot fingers stroked lightly on her slit and she were panting already.

"So wet for me." He whispered and she whimpered.

His thumb rubbed on her clit and she kissed him again to stop her moans. He continued his torture by biting and sucking on her breasts, making her hands fly to his hair, gripping him hard to keep him close to her.

His fingers kept a steady pace between her legs and she mentally thanked the storm for muffling the unholy drenched sounds of his fingers.

Suddenly, he stopped.

She whined at the loss of contact but he silenced her quickly with his mouth on hers.

"Have you ever tasted yourself?" He whispered into her ear and her jaw almost dropped to the floor.

She told him a sheepish no and he smirked.

"Not even when you are all alone touching yourself?" He asked further.

She shook her head no, embarrassed.

"Do you want to?" He asked smugly.

This time she simply nodded, unable to utter a single sound.

His hand came in contact with her core once again and he collected some of her arousal then brought his fingers to her lips and spread it across them like it was a lip gloss.

"Open up for me," he commanded and she obliged.

He pushed his fingers in her mouth delicately and she started sucking on them before he even told her to do it.

Iris moaned his name around them and saw something snap in him, the muscle of his jaw clenching.

He pulled them out and kissed her breathlessly, tasting her in the process and humming.

He didn't waste time, he dropped to his knees right in front of her drenched pussy.

"Are you ok with this, Iris?" He asked in a strained tone.

It was taking all he had to restrain himself from delving right in.

"Please, Jake." She told him through clenched teeth.

He winked at her from down there, wetting his lips slowly for her to see. Then he grabbed her ass, dragging her to the edge of the couch to have better access. He placed her left foot on his shoulder, brought both of his hands to her, spreading her lower lips open with his thumbs and delivered a broad slow lick of his hot tongue flat on her.

She screamed, pushing her head backwards at the same time of a booming thunder and immediately clamped her left hand on her mouth.

The right one was holding her up from behind her for dear life.

He stopped and grabbed her left arm, making her drop the hand from her mouth.

Holding a devilish eye contact, he put her hand on his head and she immediately started stroking his soft hair.

"Please, let me hear you, I don't want you to hold back. Your hand needs to stay here, ok? You can pull my hair as much as you want but, please, don't put this hand on your mouth." He begged her and she shivered.

She nodded, unable to speak and he dived back in, this time pointing his tongue and attacking her clit with rapid strokes.

When he sucked on it, Iris was done.

She pushed her hand to the back of his neck keeping him there and, between labored breaths, she whispered his name over and over again, while he kept licking at her skin through it. Her body bent forward and he steadied her with hands on her hips.

When she started squirming away from his mouth, he moved his mouth from her center and sucked a mark on the skin of her inner thigh, letting her catch her breath.

After a while, she was still panting and her legs were still shaking, but she looked down and she was ready to start it all over again.

He looked absolutely indecent with disheveled hair sticking onto his forehead, his nose, mouth and chin shining because of her with every bolt of lightning and a proud smirk on his plush lips.

Iris knew what was coming even before he started speaking.

"Ready for round two?" He asked, licking his lips, voice hoarse and eyes burning.

This man is going to kill me.

Before she could gather the courage to answer, he delivered a sharp suck on her clit, making her hiss.

She whimpered a light "yes" and his mouth was on her, again.

Both of her hands were behind her, steading her, granting him full control.

Her eyes were trained on him and she saw his hand sneak into his boxers, making him hiss sharply against her.

She noticed how his arm started a low steady rhythm on himself.

He was touching himself, while eating her out.

It was undeniably sexy and so dirty.

And then, abruptly, everything stopped.

_______________________________________

Next chapter

Taglist:

@why-ami-on-here @hellowgoodbye @sammyslappers @spark-my-nature @jessicafg03 @highladyofasgard @sparrowofthedawnsworld @doodle417

[jamesbetch]

The Return Of Time

Chapter 7

Sofia walks into the library wanting to find books to help her with her research on Mcgonagall’s project. It has been a few days since she’s assigned the project and Sofia has yet to talk to Sirius.

She figured he didn’t want to be seen with her or wanted her to do all the work so he could get an easy grade without stressing - something she didn’t mind. She much preferred to do everything by herself, and do it perfectly, than have someone else do it incorrectly.

She grabs a few books off the shelves before rounding the corner and bumping into someone.

“Sorry, I wasn’t looking-“ She starts while bending down to pick up the books she dropped.

“I-I-I-It’s alright. I drop books all the time, no worries.”

She looks up only to make eye contact with the blonde Ravenclaw girl she met last week, her group of friends standing behind her.

“Right…. Thanks.” Sofia murmurs.

She flashes them an awkward smile before beginning to turn around when Michelle speaks up.

“We do actually want you in our group, you know. We weren’t fucking around or anything.”

“It’s true, we do.” Clare adds as they all nod.

“If you want we can kick James out so you can join.” Michelle says.

“Hey!”

“Aye, you are a much lovelier english fella than he is.” Orla says while licking her lollipop.

“Orla, I thought you liked me!”

“I’m sorry, James, I just like her more.” She replies before grabbing Sofia’s hair. “And her hair is a great plus.”

“Aye, she does have lovely hair.”

“Yeah, she does. Do you think I could have extensions done like hers?”

Clare and Michelle state as all three girls begin playing with her hair - Michelle even going as far as putting Sofia’s hair as close to hers as possible to see whether it would look good on her or not.

In that moment, Sofia contemplated running away - like last time - but remembered Lucerys’ words. She figured there wasn’t any harm in taking the chance in befriending them. She didn’t have any friends apart from Lucerys and if it did end up being a joke they were pulling on her - well, how much worse can her life really get?

She pulls away from them before pushing her hair behind her back. “You don’t have to kick him out of your group.”

“D-D-Does that mean you’ll join us?” Clare asks with wide eyes.

“It depends.”

“On?” Michelle asks desperately.

“Is there enough room for another Gryffindor?”

——————

It has been two weeks since Sofia and Lucerys joined their friend group. Five of them were currently in the back of the library discussing what the first task could possibly be, considering none of the champions had received any hints or tips to help them.

“Maybe you’ll be tasked with preparing a potion.” Orla said in her usual slow and dragged speech.

“Why the fuck would they task them with preparing a potion?”

“Because they can use that potion for the second task?”

Before Michelle can begin bickering about why that would probably be the last thing they would do for the first task, Clare speaks up.

“Where is Luke?”

“I’m not sure.” Sofia replies with a shrug.

“He told me he was going to be in the library with his friends.” James chimes in.

“What friends? We’re his only friends.”

“He has more friends.” Sofia defends him at Michelle’s comment. “They’re his dorm mates. Also known as the Marauders.”

“What kind of losers go by the name Marauders?” She cackles.

“James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew.”

“How do you even know who they are?”

“Everyone knows who they are.”

“I don’t.”

“Me neither.” Clare, Orla and James say in unison.

“They’re the ones that are always pulling pranks on everyone.”

“Not a fucking clue.” Michelle replies as they all shake their heads. “Are they new or something?”

“No… They’ve been attending Hogwarts since their first year. They’re all fifth years now.”

“Oh, well, that’s besides the point. Why don’t we tell Luke to join us, maybe we’ll have more luck then.” Clare says.

“I can go look for him.” Sofia offers.

“Grand because I am way too fucking tired from thinking to go looking for him.”

“The library isn’t that big, Michelle.”

“Fuck off, James.”

That’s the last thing Sofia hears as she walks away. She almost reaches the front of the library before she spots him sitting down at a table with Potter, Black, Lupin and Pettigrew. As she gets near, she can hear them whispering as they are all huddled up together - though she can’t make out the words.

“Luke.” She freezes as they all jump away, staring at her with wide and shocked eyes. “Sorry. I’m sorry. I just- I was looking for Luke.”

They all continue to look at her with shocked faces, not moving from their frozen state. Though she did notice how James Potter and Peter Pettigrew had nudged Sirius Black; for what, she wasn’t sure.

“If you’re busy, I can-“

“Uh no, no. Sorry.” Lucerys says as he begins to stand up. “Why were you looking for me?”

“The girls and I were discussing what the first task could be. We’re trying to come up with a plan.”

“What do you have so far?”

“Nothing.” Sofia winces.

They were about to walk away as Luke had already finished collecting his things but stop at the sound of the boy’s voice. Both were unaware of how his friends kept hitting and kicking him during their conversation - trying to force him to talk to her.

“Sofia?”

She turns around only to be met with the same grey eyes that she has started to grow familiar with. “Yes?”

“I… I wanted to… ask you about the project.” Sirius hesitantly says.

She misses the looks Lucerys shares with the other three boys.

“Oh, I’m almost done with it.”

“What?!” Potter yells, gobsmacked. “But that was assigned two weeks ago!”

“Three.”

“What?”

“It was assigned three weeks ago.”

“That’s besides the point. How is it that you’re almost done with it? We still have a month to finish it.”

“I just began working on it when it was assigned.” She shrugs while glancing back at Lucerys.

“You started working on it the day Mcgonagall assigned it?” asks Sirius.

“Yes?” Sofia plays with her fingers nervously. “Was I not supposed to?”

“No, I just thought we were going to work on it together. You know, because it’s a group project.” Sirius continues.

“Oh. I thought you just wanted me to do it.” She shrugs again. “I mean, I’m still going to put your name on it and I won’t snitch to Mcgonagall.”

Sirius stays quiet not knowing what to say, before Remus stomps on his foot underneath the table. “I- I can do the rest of the project.”

“No, it’s fine, you don’t have to. I don’t mind finishing it.” She shakes her head. “Besides I already have all of the information, I just need to write it down and then I’m done.”

Sofia was telling the truth, she already had all the information written down messily in her notes, she just needed to write it down on the huge parchment they were given.

She knew that he could take over that job to contribute in doing the project but if she was being honest, she didn’t want him to. Sofia knew how things needed to look and how they needed to be written, and it had to be done perfectly - something she only trusted herself with doing.

She held no grudges against him, if anything she was quite glad that he didn’t try to contribute in anything. That way she could do it all by herself and know that it was done the way she wanted it to be done.

If it was up to her, she would partner with him in everything for the rest of her school years.

“Ok.” Sirius nods hesitantly. “Um- Thanks.”

Before Sofia can reply, James cuts into the conversation yet again. “Luke, could you do our project all by yourself?” He asks with a bright smile.

“No.”

He ignores James’ complaints as he spins around and walks away with Sofia following him close behind, though not before she waved at them with a kind smile.

“You know, I can help you with the project so you and Potter don’t have to work on it together. Or you can copy from what I have.”

“Thanks but James is just lazy. He has to do his part of the project.” Lucerys replies causing her to snicker.

“I found him.” Sofia says as they near the group of girls.

“Oh thank fuck. I didn’t know how much longer I could put up with James.” Michelle sighs in relief.

“I wasn’t even talking.” James argued.

“But you were breathing.” Michelle retorts. “An absolute fucking racket you were making.”

“It’s normal. It’s normal, average breathing!”

“It’s English breathing, James.”

“Aye. It sounds almost like when you let the air out of a bouncy castle.” Orla chimes in as they nod in agreement.

“Fine, then I’ll just quit breathing.” James sarcastically replies.

“That’d be grand.”

Sofia clears her throat. “Not that James’ breathing isn’t important, but I do believe we were trying to come up with a plan so that I don’t die.”

“Ah, yes, we were.” Clare nods.

She stares at them expectantly. “So… Have any of you come up with anything?”

All four of them share looks with one another, hoping that one of them will speak up but none of them do.

“I haven’t come up with a plan,” Lucerys speaks up before Sofia can begin panicking. “But I do know what you will face in the first task.”

“What is it?” Clare asks nervously.

“I think it might be better if I show you.”

——————

“Where the fuck are we even going?” Michelle spits out.

All six teenagers were making their way through the forbidden forest, closely following Lucerys who was leading the way.

“Shhh, we’re here.” Lucerys replies as he crouched down near a bush. “Get down!”

The five teenagers immediately crouched down to the floor before looking through the bush.

There was a clearing with four cages that each contained a different beast. They shook every few seconds at the strength of the aggressive beasts. Aurors and Magizoologist’s surrounded the area - the Magizoologist’s tried to calm the beasts as the weary Aurors stood around the clearing in case of an emergency.

“S-S-She’s going to fight them?” Clare stutters.

“One of them.” Lucerys replies with a wince.

“Ooh, this is so cracker!” Orla exclaims.

“Sweet suffering Jesus.” Clare whispers while looking like she is seconds away from fainting.

“Yeah, you are so fucking dead.” Michelle breaths out.

Sofia struggles to swallow as bile forms in her throat; her stomach twisting and turning in fear. Her ears close and begin to ring as she terrifyingly stares at each vicious beast.

“Sofia, are you ok?” James worryingly asks.

They are met with silence as Sofia focuses on controlling her fear and anxiety. Not only was she terrified of what she will be forced to face but she couldn’t help feeling a pit in her stomach because of the tournament.

A feeling she will grow to understand in time. How a simple tournament caused so much pain, destruction, and death.

[l4ndojpg]

Whumptober 2023, Day 15: "I'm fine."

fandom: criminal minds | characters: spencer reid, elle greenaway | ship: spencer reid/elle greenaway | trigger warnings: drinking | content: spencer is anxious, elle doesn't know how to help, autistic spencer | word count: 824.

It’s nearing three am when there’s finally a soft knock on Elle’s hotel room door. She gets up stiffly from where she’s been lying on top of the covers of the bed, doodling on a spare piece of paper absentmindedly. She peeks into the hole in the door to make sure she’s not about to open the door awkwardly to Hotch or Gideon, but it’s exactly who she expects it to be. She opens the door and Spencer’s standing there, still in his work clothes, glasses slightly crooked and looking disheveled. He stares at her for a second - she remembers, after a moment, that she’s only in a shirt and underwear - then he gives her a tired smile and pushes past into her room. 

She shuts the door behind them and turns to face him where he perches on the end of her bed somewhat awkwardly, eyebrows raised. “Midnight stroll?” she asks coldly. 

He shrugs. “I told Hotch I was gonna walk back from the station.” 

“Yeah, Morgan said,” she says, leaning against the wall with her arms folded. “But last time I checked, that was four hours ago.” 

“I - sorry,” he says, looking down at his hands. “I probably should have told somebody. I just got distracted.” He starts twisting his fingers into knots, and she notices for the first time how tensley he’s holding himself. Her chilly demeanor melts away and she moves to sit next to him on the bed. 

“What’s up?” she asks. 

“I - don’t really know,” Spencer laughs a little nervously. He tenses up again, and his fingers start to anxiously tap out their own private rhythm. 

“You know the deal,” she says, watching him carefully. “You don’t have to justify yourself to me.” 

The deal is this: Elle drinks, Spencer says nothing. Spencer drops his mask, Elle says nothing. They talk, sometimes about what’s bothering them, usually about anything but. Sometimes they fuck. Whatever they end up doing, they don’t talk about it outside of the walls it occurs in. The next day, everything goes back to normal. 

It’s a good deal. Elle likes it. Spencer likes it. They survive together. 

Tonight though - the last few days, really - Spencer doesn’t seem like he’s in any position to do anything but fend off whatever panic attack that looks like it’s about to descend onto him. He rubs a tired hand across his face and finally turns to look at her. 

“Sorry, I - I don’t really know why I’m here,” he says, voice pitched a little higher than normal. 

“It’s cool,” she says. “Company is good, I get it. Drink?” 

“No,” he says, “thanks. Your body can only process one standard drink an hour, by the time we have to get up-,” 

“I was offering you water, genius,” she says smirking, standing up and heading to the mini fridge. 

“Oh. Yes please.” 

She pulls out a bottle of water for Spencer and a beer for herself. She opens them both, then hands Spencer his water. He grabs the bottle from her and takes a gulp. Even the way he’s drinking signals how tightly wound he is. She lies down on her stomach, making herself comfortable with her drink. They’re silent for a moment, and Spence exhales heavily. He spins around, crossing toeing off his shoes then facing her on the bed, crossing his legs. 

“Do you wanna talk about it?” she asks after a moment. 

He shrugs again. “Nothing to talk about. It all just feels a little…difficult.” 

“It happens. I get it.” 

“Mhm,” he says, looking down at the bottle in his hands, crinkling it slightly. He lets out a heavy breath again, and she wishes there was something more comforting she could say or do. She’s useless at this stuff. She knows how to talk Spencer through meltdowns, the same way he knows how to stay silent vigil with her while she pieces herself back together after a rough day. But this in between time - where neither of them are sure how they’re feeling, except that it’s shit - she has no idea what to do or say. She feels frozen. 

“I - I should go,” he says after a moment, standing up suddenly. 

“You don’t have to,” she says a little helplessly, sitting up and watching him put the water bottle on the table and grabbing his shoes. “You can stay.” 

“No, I - I’m sorry,” he says anxiously, not looking at her as he pulls his battered converse on and doesn’t do up the laces. “I shouldn’t have come in the first place.” He moves towards the door quickly, but pauses once he’s opened it. 

He looks back at her where she’s kneeling on the bed, eyes pleading with him to stay and talk to her, but unsure of how to say it. He gives her a weak smile, one that doesn’t reach his eyes. 

“Really Elle,” he says quietly, unconvincingly, “I’m fine.” 

He shuts the door behind him.

[auroragehenna]

No matter how much you squirm you won‘t get out ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AI-less Whumptober

Day 13 (Words carved into skin)

TW/CW: Deranged whumper vision, creepy whumper, pet whump, defiant whumpee-trying at least, scared whumpee, sadistic whumper, intimate whumper, carving, owning, cconditioned pet whumpees, magical whump, electrocution, lady whump Word count: 2'031

When Harmonia woke up, she did not expect to see Electra wait for her. Sitting on an armchair next to her at the fireplace. Where the fuck did that Ash bather get that chair now?! She quickly sat up, wings flapping a bit. "What are you doing here? So early.”, she asked.

Electra raised an eyebrow.

“I mean-good morning, Ma’am. ", Harmonia quickly corrected her mistake.

Electra smiled. "Well, I am here to sweeten up your morning and I have some good news for you."

"What are they, Ma'am?" Did I finally make it?!

“You're allowed to eat in the cafeteria with the other dolls. For good behaviour!" she replied, still smiling.

“Really? Thank you, Ma'am!" Stupid idiot.

Electra got up and waited for her angel to prepare herself and follow her outside. She led her through the labyrinth of hallways in the mansion until they arrived at a big double door. Two guards were placed on either side. “Now, go inside. Eat. And then wait for me afterwards. Don’t cause me any trouble. Have I made myself clear?”

“Yes, Ma’am. Thank you.”

Electra nodded contently and walked away while the guards opened the door.

Harmonia walked a few steps into the gigantic room until her brain could finally process what her eyes were seeing. Her legs gave in under her and she fell to her knees. There were rows and rows of creatures. Tables filled with them. Barely any empty seats. She couldn’t even clearly see the end of the hall. I never knew there were so many… But before more despair could sink in she was pushed hard into the small of her back by a guard. She had to keep moving. As if in trance she got up, went to get her food-and it looked way better than what she had eaten so far-and searched for an empty seat. Finally she found one towards the end of the hall. Harmonia sat down on the wooden seat and was glad that her legs carried her this far. She felt sick but she knew she needed to eat. Otherwise she would only regret it later.

Next to her was a boy that looked like he was a fae. With short, fluffy hair and elegant clothes. Opposite of her were a centaur laying on a special furniture and a girl that looked like she was a cupid. Or had been a cupid. But definitely an angel.

Harmonia gulped. She scanned the girl’s red hair and her pink dress uniform. Her white wings were smaller than Harmonia’s but way fluffier. She eventually noticed something was off, looked up and met her gaze. She looked terrified and instantly ripped her gaze away.

“You should really eat.”, the fae boy said. “There’s not so much time and you’re already late.”

That’s not wrong, she thought. “Thanks. You’re right.”

The three were loosely holding conversation while Harmonia was eating. They were talking about what they would do today. The fae boy wanted to go outside. Cupid wanted to talk to the others if she could. Specifically to one in particular and the centaur just wanted to lay near the fire, their once broken legs were aching badly today. But they all said the same thing. As long as Electra didn’t need them.

“Aren’t you tired of this?! How can you just accept that that’s all there is? She’s a monster! How can you be okay with that?!”, Harmonia interrupted them with silent urgency.

“Be okay with it? We love her. And she loves us. She’s given us everything. You’ll see.”, Cupid said.

“But you can’t say things like that!”, the centaur said.

“It’s rude. And mean.”, Fae-boy added.

Harmonia was just sitting there in shock but she didn’t want to give up yet. “She tortured you!! Kidnapped you from your old lives and imprisoned you! When was the last time any of you-“

“Quiet!”, Cupid now said sternly. “You’re talking non-sense. And I don’t want to get into trouble only because you’re in denial! The world outside has hurt you but trust me she can make it better. She will make you right.”

Harmonia just sat there, staring at her emptied plate, and trying not to throw up. Then a loud bell sounded and instantly all the creatures around her got up and walked orderly out of the hall. Harmonia followed, again as if in trance until she was held back by the guards.

“You wait here.”

Harmonia rolled her eyes, but she didn’t have to wait very long.

«So? How did it go?" asked the demoness's cold voice from behind Harmonia. She quickly spun around, bowing her head. "It was a very interesting experience, Ma'am, thank you. Electra raised her eyebrows. "So, you had no trouble whatsoever?" she asked again. "I mean the food was something I have never eaten before, and probably something you wouldn't find in Paradisio.-But it was tasty!" Electra took a fast step forward and slapped Harmonia hard across the face. Harmonia's head flew to the side and as the sound echoed in the hallway. She felt the painful sting of the slap paired with a faint needles and pins of electricity. "You're lying to me, doll.", she warned coldly.

"N-No." Harmonia tried.

"Oh please, don't try to make yourself sadder than you are."

Harmonia sent her a hateful glare through the fear that had settled deep in her bones by now.

"Did you really think I didn't know that you would try to turn my dolls against me? Did you really think I trusted you enough to let you out? No, you haven't yet seen the right way, and this was a test to prove it to me and to yourself. Now come along. I am gracious enough to still help you. And we will also have to punish your disobedience, am I right?"

"Bullshit!", Harmonia cussed out.

"You can either come willingly or I can make you, your choice."

"Okay, okay.. ..I'm coming…"

Electra led her through the labyrinth of hallways until they somehow arrived at a familiar wide staircase. Honestly how was her orientation in this mansion so bad?! Yes, she hadn't been let outside of her room much but still. This couldn't be right. Carefully, afraid of overstepping a boundary she reached out and let her white skin grace over the marble of the railing. It felt so familiar. An ache flared up in her heart and she had to hold back tears. "Fuck, I wanna go home.", she whispered to herself.

Electra's gaze quickly shot back to where Harmonia was walking. She had heard the girl's comment and as much as it angered her, she could make use of this yet.

After a few minutes the two arrived before a dark wooden door. It wasn't Electra's bedroom that's for sure. That door looked different. The door now opened after Electra had laid her hand on it. She stepped to the side and made a gesture for her to walk first.

"After you, my doll."

Harmonia suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and walked into the dim room. It had no windows, but a large number of spotlights illuminated the room. Now she could see that the walls were over and over covered with portraits. There must be pictures of thousands of creatures, she guessed by the length of this gallery. There were little plackets with text under each picture. Harmonia read one under the picture of what looked like a night elf or something. There was the date when she was kidnapped and how, the date in which she became...obedient and date of death.

Electra kept silent, just watching her doll. She could see the horror on her face. It was beautiful and she was excited at the thought of getting to see more of it very soon. Her angel looked down the hall and her wings twitched nervously. Then she looked up. Electra guessed that she was trying to calculate the number of slaves she owns and had owned. Then her doll slowly turned around, wings spreading out threateningly. "Yes? Speak your mind.", she encouraged her.

“You’re a monster. How can you do this? What is wrong with you?!”

Electra just chuckled humourlessly. “I thought I made clear that you shouldn’t call me that last time, my doll. Did I not?”

Harmonia shivered but she didn’t let go. “These are all people! They have their own lives! You-You’re-They don’t love you! They’re just scared!”

“Yes. Criminals”, she drawled the word out. “They were all on a misguided path. Unhappy says the fucking criminal herself, hypocritical bitch I took them in and gave them a better life. And all I ask for in return for saving them is a bit of devotion and obedience. That is not too much to ask for. Soon enough you will see it too.”. She stepped forward to Harmonia, from the flick of her finger a fine line of electricity shot towards her angels left wing. She instantly pulled them in in pain and her demeanour significantly lost fire. Electra gently but firmly grabbed her shoulders and led her forward to the end of the gallery. There were some newer looking portraits and Electra guided her angel to one particular portrait.

Harmonia’s breath caught as she recognized who was on the picture. It was her! It was a picture from when she was still with her family. Filled with dread she forced her gaze lower, onto the metal plaquette. There was the date of her capture-her failed mission. There was no date of death yet. And at the date of obedience-Harmonia froze, dread settling itself in her so overwhelmingly powerful that she couldn’t sense anything else.

Date of obedience: Soon…

“So? Have you seen enough?”, Electra murmured next to her doll’s ear, nuzzling her head into her fluffy hair. I really hate to do this to you but I need to make sure my message settles in. I can’t stand seeing you suffer for so long. She pulled a blade out of the folds of her clothing and with ease let it magically pass though the layers of clothing. As soon as she felt the tip of the knife touch skin she heard Harmonia whimper. A silent, barely audible, beautiful sound. She began to carve, line for line, using her magic to cauterize the wounds instantly. With another flick of her hand she projected a mirrored image in front of Harmonia’s face, so she could see what she was working on. But her angel struggled and nearly made her mess up. “Stop!-Moving so much! I might hurt you.”, she warned and was pleased to feel her doll’s resistance die. She finished the circle around her work and felt the old-known feeling confirm that she did everything right. “This.”, she said slowly, simultaneously craving the word on the line of her spine upwards, between her wings. “Is.”, another whimper from Harmonia, “Home.”, she finished and stepped back to admire her work. Her sigil and three words lining herself up over her back. Electra heard a broken sob coming from Harmonia. She gently turned her angel around, cupping her doll’s cheek, wiping away a tear. “Hey, I’m sorry my dear, I don’t want to hurt you, I’m only trying to help. So you don’t plague yourself. As soon as you understand that you will be happy. Truly happy. Come here.”, she said and hugged her angel, careful not to touch the wounds on her back.

Harmonia started sobbing in the demoness’ arms, she didn’t want to but there was no stopping it. She barely realized that they were leaving the room, walking with her head buried in Electra’s clothing and the demoness’ arm wrapped around her. She only faintly realized that they sat on a bed and her hands were pulled up and chained to a bed post. She felt Electra’s arms wrap around her again and the softness of the bed and allowed herself to just cry.

Electra held her angel tightly and the last thing her maids saw of her before they closed the door was the triumphant sadistic grin laying on her face.

Taglist: @yourlocalgaefae33, @princessofhe11, @greatkittencloud, @bisexuawolfsalt, @ailesswhumptober Series introductory post

[xshatteredreflectionsx]

“I think I might be as old as you now. Maybe even older.”

Morgan’s “voice” echoed in Yvonne’s ears, giving her momentary pause as she continued to oversee the construction of the colony.  They were still too tired to Front, hovering groggily near the surface. “Not literally, ‘cause of timeloops and all that. But emotionally. Soulfully? One of those two.”

Yvonne hummed and flicked through another report that had been sent to her datapad. She had gotten quite accustomed to the technology of this era, if she did say so herself. At the very least she didn’t “peck at the screen like a granny”. An outsider looking in probably wouldn’t notice unless they really examined Yvonne’s body language; the way she squinted at the screen sometimes, or how her hand would hover awkwardly over buttons and touchpads while she tried to remember what did what. She walked on eggshells around the terminal on the ship, but could anyone blame her? In the wormhole, it ignited if someone looked at it wrong.  

“Maybe.” Yvonne replied after a moment. Neither of them knew how old Morgan had been when they died in the timelines where they lived on those parallel colonies; anywhere between fifty to ninty. In at least one timeline, they had been kept alive for centuries due to the machinations of a tyrannical lunatic.  Yvonne couldn’t help the icy sting of pity piercing her gut as the realization settled in.  One hundred and twenty-four years as of their last birthday had felt too long to her. But it was far too late for her to pass on. The tangled, gnarled mess she had made of her’s and Morgan’s souls when she had still been bitter and angry and half-mad had seen to that.  Her rest would probably not come until Actor -wherever he was skulking about- finally got tired of this façade.  “Why bring it up?”

“Cause I need to tell someone. If I told any of the crew: ‘hey, I’m actually old as fuck because of timey-whimey bullshit’, they’ll think I’ve gone crazy. I don’t know how much they remember, and honestly I hope they don’t remember everything.” Their voice lowered, heavy with remorse and lifetimes of grief. “It’s better for everyone if I’m the only one who does.” 

“You do not wear martyrdom well,” Yvonne said. She could almost feel Morgan recoil, retreating that much deeper into their inner world. “In any case, it is not as though you are the only one to blame. I know you are fond of him, but your Head Engineer made just as many mistakes as we did. Perhaps even more egregiously- and before you say it: No. I am not just saying that because he has more than a passing resemblance to the Mark I knew.” Yvonne let out a breath through her nose and ran a hand over her hair, attempting to coax a few loose curls back into place. It didn’t stay for very long, and fell back against her forehead as if to spite her. 

Morgan was silent for a long period of time- so long Yvonne speculated that they had fully withdrawn into their inner world, wrapping themself in the bliss of “slumber” like a blanket on a cold night.  Yvonne went back to work. If the Head Engineer noticed her being particularly curt with him, he did well to mask it (a flicker of remorse and guilt. A flash of genuine hurt before he swallowed it down and replaced with with a porcelain mask of professionalism. Yvonne knew her bias would never allow her to speak to him; that was for Morgan to do.) 

“You said ‘we’ earlier.” Morgan piped up after a few hours of silence. By this point the work day had been completed. Yvonne snapped the uniform jacket crisply on the clothes hanger.  

“I do not know. In time, mayhaps. When we can start learning how to forgive ourselves.” 

“...What do you think I did when I was Fronting? I made my fair share of bad decisions. Choices that antagonized your friends, made things harder for us and got people killed. I will carry that weight with me forever.” 

“Will it ever go away?”

Morgan was silent again, contemplative. Yvonne settled into bed, pushing aside two of the three overstuffed pillows. She turned to look outside the small window in Morgan’s quarters. This world two moons looking over it, sharing a space in the sky and glowing gently against an expanse of a thousand, thousand glittering stars. It was poetic in a way she could not quite put her finger on, but it felt significant somehow.  Ruminations for another day, mayhaps. 

[starocean]

not to be an asshole or a whiner but i have been stressed and need to rant a little to let it out so please feel free to ignore, it’s just work related stuff

(technically they’re all my coworkers, but i don’t wanna use names so i just refer to them like this)

so, coworker got into an accident and she’ll be out for the next four days. no big deal, i can push my vacation back even if i am the tiniest bit sad i can’t take it rn. i won’t even lie about that. but i’m not at mad at her at all. 

but i am upset that my manager didn’t even offer to let me take next weekend off. she just told me we’d talk about me taking vacation time. and that kind of set me off and i spent like a whole hour crying because i’m just. so tired. i work six days a week. in the last three to four months, i have worked multiple 9 to 13 day “weeks” without a single day off. i rarely ever ask for time off, and what time off i do get is usually interrupted by work for some reason or other, even during vacation. i have an autoimmune disorder that makes me physically weaker than i used to be. just a few days ago, i had to stop doing stock because my shoulders were causing me so much pain i was almost nauseated and fighting back tears.

i’m not like the asm, who bitches and bitches and bitches and bitches when she can’t take time off (who, by the way, spent most of last year trying to get out of work and almost got let go for being a liability bc she kept getting injured at work and filing for worker’s comp. which seems unfair but these injuries were all extremely minor, so minor that a doctor wouldn’t even give her more than a day off work bc it wasn’t necessary, and all happened in less than six months. and when you’re the only one getting injured but your coworkers aren’t and none of the customers are reporting anything hazardous, HR starts getting suspicious. they told her they were going to start investigating her if she reported another injury too soon, and guess what? she stops getting hurt. amazing. she only wanted the worker’s comp bc it would get her more time off work while giving her a paycheck, but that’s not the point. 

and she also had the fuckin’ audacity to lie about my performance to the sm, and yes i am still upset about that bc i’ve actually done way more than the asm has and the sm’s even said so herself, like fuck the asm for real i cannot stand her) 

she’s gotten mad at me before for requesting vacation time before she puts her request in, and even angry at me for getting the rare satuday off bc she thinks she’s the only one who deserves a saturday off, apparently. i don’t get weekend days off much. like 99% of my off-days are during the week. she also acts like she’s the only one to work 9 to 13 days in a row without time off, and she hates being contracted on all of the above. i’ve had to show her our schedules before and go back month by month showing her what days she worked and had off compared to what i did. as you can guess, she was not happy about the physical proof being put in front of her lmao.

(and let me get this off my chest real quick because this one really fuckin pissed me off. this fuckin cunt tried to get me to come in on a day off that i specifically requested and was granted to be able to take care of my mother after her surgery. one of the newbies quit, and she sends me a text saying, “so-and-so quit, i need you come in and work tonight.” and of course i told her sorry ass no, that i had to be there for my mother. not sorry at all, my family and their health takes priority over work, especially since that was scheduled time off approved by the sm. the fucking disregard you have to demand i come in despite knowing i’m watching over my mother’s health. cover the damn shift yourself, asshole.)

the only time i have ever spoken up about not having certain days off is when i’d been given a saturday off and the sm tried to take it from me without even attempting to communicate with me about it. and then she tried to guilt trip me for that by saying she would have to pull a double, and i had to hold myself back from saying something snarky about how it’s literally her job, as per corporate policy, to fill in for an employee who cannot make their scheduled shift if no other employee can cover it. i was also miffed she didn’t even bother asking if i was okay with that. like, she didn’t say shit to me about it. no text message, no phone call, nothing from any other employee. nada. she got the next day off anyways, so idk why she was bitching. maaayybee she should have had the courtesy to, oh i dunno, ask me if i could cover? but she didn’t, so no i don’t feel bad about her pulling that double shift. ANYWAYS, not the point. i mean, sort of.

anyways, kind of tying back into the first part: coworker got hurt, and i volunteered to coworker directly that if she needed me to give up my vacation to cover her shifts, i would. we don’t always get along, but we definitely get along better than the asm and I do. maybe this is petty, atp i don’t really care, but the asm thanked me for volunteering. and i had to fight not to tell her to fuck off, that i wasn’t doing it for her, i was doing it for my coworker. it was the right thing to do, and if coworker had wanted to, she could’ve called it a favor for switching days with me once when i’d gotten too sick to attend work a few months ago. and i knew damn well that the asm wouldn’t give up any of her time off to fill in, bc she’d outright rejected mine and other coworkers’ requests for us to switch shifts when we’d been too sick or hurt to come in, and has often refused to cover shifts for employees who quit. obvious pattern of behavior there.

basically i’m just, like. bummed out. and burned out. i have dedicated so much time to this job with nothing to show. a shitty wage that i can’t even get a raise on bc i’ve apparently “hit the cap” for my position (bunch of fucking bullshit honestly), and my physical and mental health deteriorating by the minute. (which, i know that seems stupid to say after having a possible opportunity to get a different job, but all the research i put into that one (which i should’ve done first. hindsight is 20/20) showed it wouldn’t be much better than my current job. who knows. if i get desperate enough, i may just try my shot with them again.) and little time off. 

i just want decent time off. to just sit at home and relax, and not be bothered by something work related unless it’s an emergency. 

i’ll delete this later

[whatdoyougetwhenyou]

What do you get when....

What do you get when you move one Army soldier, his Wife, two kids, and three dogs onto Army base housing?  One Army soldier, who is never home even on his days off, because he has to do something for the company or something.  One mom who is tired all the time, because she now has the job of making sure the house is clean at all times, the kids are fed and the oldest one is getting homework done and doing good in school, school drop off line and the pick up line, all the things you have to have ready to go at any moment for not only the two kids but for the husband as well. Oh, but let's not forget the dogs.  Yes, the two huskies and the one great pyrenees puppy.  Seems like they have to pee or poop every time you turn around.  

   This is the start of the What do you get when... 

     Let's start this off with more of a get to knowing this crazy thing of chaos known as my day to day life. I am a stay at home mom and wife of an active duty soldier and two wonderful kids.  One headed for his terrible twos at only 15 months old and one who is lucky if she makes it to see her teen years with the way her preteen attitude has been of late.  Then comes the dogs,  I love these 3 big lovable lugs.  We have my baby boy as a 77 lb male Husky and boy is he a momma's boy.  He waits for the very sec for my husband to stand up and is no longer on the bed at all before springing up from his own 80 dollar bed to lay in his daddies spot.  He even goes so far as to make sure my husband has no chance of coming back to the spot where he was once laying.  Lets not forget he is a husky so the back talk is strong in this one.  Have you ever heard of a husky fit?  Well this boy knows how to throw a proper one.  When the water or food bowls are empty, he lets it be known but takes his massive paw and flips them over and then waits. If you do not jump right up and answer his demand for service, he requests to see a manager.  This bullhead man is also one that questions why we have baby gates.  He has figured out that if he pushes just hard enough he can pop the lock on the gate and walk right through, all the while giving you a look like "What?".   

 Then we have our female husky, we ain't quite sure what is wrong with her, but pretty sure its drugs at this point.  She sleeps in only two positions and that is curled up in a ball and making herself as small as possible or on her back with all four legs and paw in the air.  All of this of course is after she has had the husky zoom zoomies for the past 3 hours.  She can leap the baby gates like they are nothing, making me question why we even have them (more on that later). She is the one out of the three that we like to call crackhead. 

  Last but by all means not the least we have the male great pyrenees,  he was mislabeled as a husky by the shelter so my wonderful husband thought "Great we will be a husky household!".  Sure, Honey let's be the household that owns the most vocal and back talking breed there is. That sounds like such a great idea. Well... the tall pure white beast that is walking my husband through the front door is not the white husky the shelter or my husband thought, but instead a great pyrenees PUPPY.  Yes, you heard that right, He is a puppy.  He even still has the puppy bark and puppy energy to match. He and the female get along great.  They both crack head moment out and then crash and sleep but not before pissing my male husky off to no end because well they can and do. 

 Now, moving back to the kids.  The ones without fur and tails.  The young boy is pushing his luck with his daddy.  He will be two this year and oh boy is he letting it be known.  He eats me out of house and home. He does the back talk to offer his opinion, even though no one in the house understands him.  He then gives you the look like "Really, come on people."  He wakes everyone in the house with the cry outs, you walk into his room to find him standing with, you guessed it NOTHING on.  I'm talking all bare ass.  As my husband said, "He did half the job of getting up and ready for ya."  My husband is so funny, NOT.  

 What is there to say about our ten year old?  Well let's start with the sass that pours from this little one's mouth is the reason her future is not promised.  Now, before you all finish that call to CPS or DFS (whatever they are called where you're at) she is in no way in real harm's way.  It is something that is said.  I don't know one parent that hasn't said things like "Keep it up and you wont see tomorrow".  Moving on,  she is in this preteen stage of not cleaning her room or just doing whatever she wants because well she is she and that's good enough.  

  Now for the active duty Soldier.  He can be funny and he can be sweet.  He can be an asshole and a down right jerk.  He is overworked, over stressed and very much underpaid. He puts up with so much that once he is home he doesn't want to do much.  His body hurts and his mind is mush.  He does have moments when he is the little grumpy ass that needs to go down for a nap.  Do any of us really get out of that stage? He is always being called in on his days off to come in for something that could have taken a phone call or a text to handle.  Nope needs to be in person, yet the command seems to use the group text all the other times. 

So I ask again: What do you get when you  move one Army soldier, his Wife, two kids, and three dogs onto an Army base housing?

 CHAOS

[lilyevanstan1325]

✨ Astral Lovers ✨

Chapter 17

Lily POV

"Honey, I really have to go now"

I snort and sulk at Steve's words.

He smiles amused as he sits up, his muscular back facing me.

It is almost 8:00 in the morning and Steve and I have been awake for a few hours, the sunlight comes overwhelmingly through the window announcing that it is day now and that it is time to leave our sweet and warm alcove.

I watch him turn his back to me sitting on the edge of the bed.

I see him grabbing his phone from above the night stand and typing a message and after finishing levering his arms he gives a push to get up but before he can do it I throw myself on his shoulders surrounding his neck with my arms trying to pull him back down but obviously he's much stronger than me.

He laughs again turning his head back.

"Lily, I have to leave in 20 minutes.I can't waste any more time"

He grabs my wrists and wriggles out of my grip.

"But I want you!Don't you want me?" I ask him with sweet eyes.

"Honey, I always want you and I think I've already proved it to you this morning...four times.You should be tired at this point"

Steve laughs amused but I sulk again crossing my arms over my chest.

"For God's sake, Lily!What did I turn you into?Until a few weeks ago you weren't so...passionate!I almost feel guilty for stealing your innocence"

He laughs and gets out of bed.

I watch the muscles of his abdomen contract when he lowers to take his boxers off the floor, I bite my lower lip thinking how until a few minutes ago my tongue followed the contours and then went to wrap itself around his fat cock.

He is completely naked and my eyes, like always, are glued to his body.

He turns his back to me and I lose myself looking at his big and powerful back, the defined muscles of his legs.

I sigh sadly thinking that today he will leave me to leave for London with Natasha and Sharon.

His magnificent, granite ass.

Captain America has the best ass.

Sharon Carter.

Her neighbor who hates me.

They will be gone for three days.

When he told me I literally went out of my mind.

It's not that I don't trust Steve, the real problem is Sharon because she has no respect for me and I know she won't think twice about throwing herself into my boyfriend's arms.

I only calmed down when Nat told me she would be on this mission too.

So now I watch him get ready to leave.

I pick up the blanket and use it to cover my body.

I stay still and watch him as he finishes dressing and adds the last few things into his duffel bag.

"You'll miss me?" I ask him in a petulant voice.

Steve laughs again.

"Every single moment" he replies as he puts on his shoes and then he grabs his leather jacket and puts it on.

"Will you think of me even though Sharon will be there with you to hit on you without restraint?"

If possible Steve laughs even harder, his head tilts back as his left hand rests on his chest.

"Are you jealous, honey?"

"A question is not answered with another question.It's rude"

Steve stops what he's doing and stops laughing he puts his hands on his hips, looking at me seriously.

Our eyes are chained.

Maybe I pissed him off?

Am I exaggerating with my paranoia?

Am I exasperating him?

I watch him closely as he takes off his jacket and approaches the bed.

"Honey, my one and only great love...do you really think I could be interested in any other woman when I have you by my side?"

I know perfectly well that his is a rhetorical question, but I can't help but look down on my hands that at this moment are convulsively crushing the edges of the blanket.

Steve loves me and he has shown it to me in many ways but inside me there is always that little insecure part that feels inferior to him.

That little part that always thinks that Steve will leave me sooner or later.

I'm always scared that I'm not good enough.

With a sharp blow he tears the blanket off me and grabbing me by the ankles he drags me to the edge of the bed.

"Steve!" I laugh amused by his impetuousness.

But he still doesn't speak, he kneels on the floor and after spreading my thighs he buries his face between them.

"Steve" I repeat but this time there is no trace of hilarity in my voice.

There is only desire.

Craving.

Lust.

He kisses my inner thigh, sucking my tender flesh.

I'm sure I'll have the mark of a hickey but I don't care.

By now I have so many of those bruises on me that I don't notice them anymore.

Let's say that Steve is a very passionate lover...

Even the others have stopped asking questions about it now, the redness of my face to their questions was a more than eloquent answer.

I moan.

I grab the blanket under me between my fingers when his tongue goes up from my thigh to reach my fold reaching up to the clit where it wraps gently.

A thrill of pleasure hits me and my back arches.

I squeeze his head between my thighs.

And in a moment all my fears, my insecurities vanish.

Now it's just me and Steve.

Just Steve and his love for me.

A high moan escapes my lips as I begin to move my hips against his mouth.

Steve licks and sucks my clit giving me blasts of pure ecstasy as his hand works its way up to my pussy.

He just teases me with two fingers and then slowly slides them inside me.

He pushes them all the way touching that magic point that only he knows.

My heart is beating frantically and my breath becomes short, I moan his name.

More than a moan it is almost a scream.

My hands tighten around his golden locks pushing his head deeper and deeper.

As if to seek more, as to want more.

"Please Steve, fuck me!Fuck me one more time" I plead pathetically.

In response, I hear him roar on my skin as he continues to suck and drink my sweet nectar.

His fingers move inside me without any delicacy until I cum.

I continue to ride his face for a few moments following the wave of pleasure just exploded inside me but I don't even have time to recover that Steve goes up with his mouth along my body, leaving a trail of fire made of kisses and bites.

"You are the only one, Lily.The only one" he whispers on my skin covered with sweat and chills.

He lowers on my lips kissing them greedily, I can feel my taste on his tongue and taken by another rush of passion I kiss him even more passionately tying my arms tightly around his neck.

I hold him close to me as if we could merge.

I feel him moan in my mouth.

I caress his chest through his shirt and with my hands I go down in search of the zip of his pants.

Once I find it I pull it down and pushing his trouser down just enough to release his throbbing erection.

Steve inhales violently, the air in his lungs hisses as my hand closes around his dick and I guide it inside me.

"You will be the only one forever.Until the day I die" he whispers on my lips.

Steve gasps as he slips easily into my body and begins to push at a steady pace.

Our fingers intertwine, squeezing with possession.

I spread my legs as wide as I can placing my ankles on his ass.

I feel his breath on my neck and his trembling voice whispering sinful words in my ear.

The rhythm of his thrusts increases like that of my breathing and his arms move to the sides of my head aiming at the bed to give more vigor to his thrusts.

"Oh, shit babe...don't stop.Don't stop" I cry out clouded with pleasure.

I feel the waves of another orgasm breaking inside me.

Steve stiffens his shoulders and with a last push we cum together overwhelmed by a sea of emotions.

He collapses on me out of breath, kissing me right above my heart.

I caress his hair, breathing in his intoxicating scent, I already know that I will miss his naked body close to mine and the scent of his skin.

I will miss everything about him.

Steve lifts his gaze to plant it in mine, looking at me with such intense love that it closes my stomach in a vise.

Even if I lived a thousand other lives, I am sure that I could never admire more beautiful and intense eyes than his.

"Now I'm late" he smiles at me.

He kisses my lips softly and then he gets up.

He arranges his pants adjusting his shirt inside them, with a firm step he approaches the mirror and tries to fix his hair.

They look like a nest for all the times I ran my hands through them pulling and squeezing.

I laugh amused.

"What?" he asks me amused.

"Oh nothing...nice hair by the way"

He chuckles.

I watch him as he puts on his jacket again and picking up the bag from the floor he puts it on his shoulder.

"Now I really have to go, honey" he sighs.

I get out of bed quickly grabbing and putting on some panties and a sweater of him.

I approach him and standing up on tiptoe I wrap my arms around his neck.

"I'll miss you.Please be careful" I whisper.

Steve wraps his arms around me and kisses my head.

"Don't worry it's just a diplomatic visit, nothing will happen" he breaks away from my embrace and bringing his hands to my face he kisses me, his thumbs caress my cheeks.

It's a sweet, delicate kiss.

Full of love.

"I'll miss you too, Lily.Be careful.I'll be back before you notice my absence"

I feel my heart tighten.

Since we got together we have never been apart for all this time.

"The bed will be too big without you...I'll feel so alone" I sniffles as a wave of sadness overwhelms me.

His sweet baby blue eyes look at me with extreme sweetness.

"It's only three days, they'll go by quickly I promise you.See you soon, my love" he whispers on my lips before leaving me with one last sweet kiss.

"I love you, Lily"

"I love you too"

I watch him walk out the door and walk away from me.

I try not to think about the time we will spend away from each other and without even realizing it, my thoughts go to the man I once believed my father.

It's been three weeks since that psycho McTavish broke into the Tower.

I tried hard not to let Steve know how shaken I still feel about what happened.

How I live in terror fearing a reappearance of him.

Obviously, as soon as my father found out about what happened, he freaked out and insisted he wanted to talk to Tony.

I have no idea what they said to each other but I'm assuming nothing good because when they came out of Tony's lab Strange was angrier than when he arrived.

Steve went out of his mind in all of this because he felt left out.

I admit that Strange and Steve are exaggerating a bit but there is nothing I can do.

So...even that small possibility that the two of them can get along is totally vanished.

When I tried to talk to my dad he literally told me that if I wanted to stay with him I should avoid mentioning Steve.

According to him he should have protected me better.

He should have foreseen such a thing.

And that if I had been to the Sanctuary with him McTavish would never have gotten this close to me.

So on the following Fridays in which I spent my days with him, we never went back to that topic.

Resigned I sigh.

God how much I hate this situation.

A knock on the door brings me back to the present.

"Come in" I scream while sitting cross-legged on the bed.

The door opens and Bucky's head appears.

"Hey, doll!What are you doing?"

He walks in and closes the door behind him.

He walks over to the bed and sits down next to me.

"Nothing.I thought"

"From your face I would say they were unpleasant thoughts" my friend replies.

I sigh.

Even Bucky now knows me so well that he knows when something is wrong.

"Do you think they will ever get along?" I ask with a broken heart.

"Do you mean Strange and Steve?"

I just nod.

"I don't know"

I throw my back on the bed and put my arm to cover my eyes.

"Oh my God!I feel so helpless...this whole situation is frustrating" I admit for the first time.

I have never vented on this story.

I love both of them too much to openly side with one of them, so I just swallowed my displeasure.

I exchanged just a few opinions with Natasha but I never felt like talking about it openly.

"I love them both and I just want them to understand that they have no reason to fight.They don't have to win my love because they both already have it.Why do they behave like this?"

Bucky studies me carefully, he opens his mouth as if he wants to say something but immediately shuts up.

I lift myself up on my elbows looking at him intently.

"What?" I ask.

He looks around avoiding my gaze.

"Nothing" he replies pretending a certainty he doesn't have.

"Spit the toad, Barnes" I threaten him sitting up and pointing a finger at his chest.

"Okay but promise me you won't get mad"

I raise an eyebrow at his request.

"Just promise it" he insists.

I roll my eyes.

"Yeah, I promise"

His cobalt blue eyes stare into mine and with all the seriousness he has he replies "Your father is a dick"

I am incredulous at his words.

I have no idea how to react to his words.

I would like to punch him for offending Strange but I would also like to laugh.

At the end I stammer a simple "What?!?!?"

Bucky shrugs indifferently.

"I know that you love him and that he is your father but he has set himself in an irritating way from the beginning without Steve ever doing anything to deserve it"

I throw myself back on the bed, snorting.

"My dad just wants to protect me"

"Steve just wants you to be safe too" Bucky replies immediately.

I snort loudly.

"They're both two fucking dickhead" I mutter angrily.

Bucky laughs.

After a few moments he gets out of bed holding out his hand to me.

"Hey, do you want to have lunch together?I am hungry and two blocks from here they have opened a new chinese restaurant, would you like to try it with me?"

I know Steve promised me that he would never limit my freedom but I'm just as sure he asked Bucky and everyone else to keep an eye on me.

I sigh and, continuing to look at the ceiling, I answer him "I know what you are doing.There is no need.You don't have to babysit me if you don't want"

"Lily, I'm just inviting you to lunch.If you don't want to come, that's okay" he withdraws the hand he had offered me and walks towards the door.

Shit.

I didn't mean to offend him.

His smile widens.

"Bucky, wait!" I call him before he can leave, "I'm hungry too.Give me ten minutes and I'll see you downstairs, okay?"

"Ok, doll.I'll wait for you downstairs" so he says he leaves my room.

It is useless to remain closed here, this will not make Steve come back sooner and above all it will not make my problems disappear.

I wear a pair of jeans and a hoodie, after putting on a pair of Converse and having tied my hair in a ponytail I run downstairs.

I call the elevator and in the meantime Tony joins me.

"Hey little Strange, where are you going?" he asks me kindly giving me one of his most beautiful smiles.

"At lunch.With Bucky.Will you join us?" I kindly ask.

I wouldn't mind spending a little more time with Tony.

In the meantime, the elevator doors open and Tony gives me the step like a true gentleman so I enter first followed immediately after by him.

"I'd like to but I have work to do and Bruce is waiting for me"

"Don't worry!Let's do it for next time, ok?"

"Sure" Tony replies with a crooked smile.

The elevator goes down and I feel a question press against my lips to be released.

"Tony?"

He looks up from the papers he holds in his hand.

"What's up?" he replies by looking at me over his glasses.

"Do you think there is the remote possibility that you will tell me what my father told you?"

In response he laughs.

"Why would you want to know?"

I don't know how to answer him so I look back in front of me while remaining silent.

Why would I want to know?

I don't know either.

Curiosity?

Maybe.

But mostly I think it's because I'm tired of being kept in the dark about things that concern me personally.

The elevator doors open, I have arrived at my destination.

As I am about to exit the lift doors, Tony grabs me by the wrist and presses a button to lock the lift.

"He asked me to persuade you to move in with him.According to him you would be safer there.You know your dad is a conceited bastard.No offense"

I'm speechless.

Did my father really ask Stark this?

"And what have you answered?" I ask, my voice sounds full of anxiety in the empty corridor.

Honestly, I'm not so sure I want to know the answer to my question.

"That I wouldn't have done it.That you are safe here and that if you want to leave it must be your choice.Not his nor mine"

Tony remains silent and looks at me intently trying to understand my reaction to his words.

"But if I can give you some advice" he continues "I would tell you to go"

I had no idea that Tony did not want me here, maybe my presence has caused too many problems.

Too many threats.

Getting rid of me would make their life easier.

I lower my head keeping my eyes down, I feel mortified.

Tony's hand rests on my shoulder, squeezing it slightly.

"Lily, don't misunderstand my words.I am glad that you live here.You are a sunny and nice girl and you always put a lot of good mood.And Steve is really happy to always have you in the middle of his feet but Strange is your father and it's fair that you spend time with him too.I'm telling you because if I could go back I would spend a lot more time with my old man"

I sigh.

I know he is right but I feel there is something holding me back.

"What if Steve hates me for this choice?" I ask frightened.

Tony laughs heartily.

"Who, Steve?Captain Good Manners?Oh c'mon!That man is crazy about you, he couldn't ever hate you"

We are silent for a few seconds then Tony speaks again.

"Listen to me, it doesn't have to do with what Strange wants or what Rogers wants.Here the only thing that matters is what you want.What does your heart want?"

I grab his hand and squeeze it tightly.

"Thanks, Tony"

"You're welcome, kid" he walks away from me and goes back into the elevator.

I smile at him as the doors close bringing him down to his lab.

I haven't talked to Steve about my future Guardian training anymore, and my dad isn't even aware of my choice.

Maybe tomorrow I could talk to him about it and take advantage of it to talk about to move to the Sanctuary.

Because of this I am sure, my stay at the Sanctuary would be temporary.

I want to live with Steve.

My place is next to him.

I reach the lobby and right in front of the large glass door that leads to the outside is Bucky.

But he is not alone.

With him is Sam.

And it looks like they are arguing.

I approach them, the rubber of my shoes creaking on the polished marble floor.

"Hey, guys" I greet them raising my hand and stopping between them.

Sam puts his arm around me.

"Hi, Lily" he greets me with a smile and then he turns to Bucky.

"We ask her directly" Sam tells him with a raised eyebrow.

Bucky rolls his eyes in response.

"What do you have to ask me?" I ask curious.

"Is it a problem for you if I join you for lunch?"

"Of course it's not a problem Sam.I like you"

Sam puffs up his chest with pride, reserving a victorious look at his friend.

"She likes me, understand?"

"Ok ok!I got it!C'mon, I'm hungry" Bucky replies, passing us without deigning a glance.

"Come on, dude!Are you jealous?" Sam yells at him laughing, I join in his laugh and Bucky's pace picks up.

But he doesn't turn around.

"Don't be like that James!" I scream amused, "You know I like you too"

In response he shows us his shiny Vibranium middle finger.

After less than half an hour we are seated at the table surrounded by an indefinite number of exquisite delicacies.

The place is really nice.

Small and welcoming.

On each table there is a vase full of colorful flowers and dozens of lights hang from the ceiling that give an almost magical aura to the place.

I would love to come back here with Steve.

I grab a sweet and sour sauce prawn and put it in my mouth and then chew it in ecstasy.

Sam looks at me between amused and disgusted.

"What?I am hungry!" I answer with my mouth full.

Sam laughs.

"A real princess" he laughs.

I grab a napkin and throw it on his face.

"Oh shut the fuck up"

"All she needs is the crown" replies Bucky laughing almost with tears in his eyes.

"I hate you" I reply continuing to eat regardless of the laughter of my friends.

We continue to eat until there is nothing left on the plates.

We leave the restaurant and decide to take a walk to try to digest a little.

"Oh my God, I think my stomach is about to explode" I exclaim, unbuttoning the button of my jeans, "I can't breath" I chuckle followed by the boys who witnessed the scene.

We walk the streets of New York looking at the shop windows as they prepare for the upcoming holiday.

The Valentine's Day.

And my thoughts fly to Steve.

Our first Valentine's Day together and even if it may seem childish, I can't wait to see what surprises my Captain has in store for me.

We've been walking around for about 30 minutes, chatting happily, when Bucky's phone rings interrupting us.

He grabs the phone from his trouser pocket and immediately after checking the display his gaze turns to my figure.

I touch my pockets anxiously.

"Shit.Is Steve, right?"

Bucky smiles and answers the phone.

"Hey dude, what's up?"

A moment of silence then "Yeah.She is with me" so saying Bucky hands me his phone.

I curse myself mentally for my carelessness.

I put the phone to my ear and get ready for one of his outbursts.

"I'm sorry, Steve.I forgot my phone in our room"

"I'd like to tell you it's okay but I was dying of worry.Please try to be more careful"

Steve's voice is serious but calm but something in his paternal tone annoys me.

I roll my eyes.

"Even if I don't see the problem in leaving my phone at home" I reply sarcastically.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Stevie.You got me babysitters.You just needed to call them to know what I'm doing, right?"

I hear him sigh on the other side of the phone.

"Can you blame me?" he asks softly.

Now I'm the one sighing.

How can I be angry with him just for loving me so much?

In the end I don't mind the company of Bucky and Sam so I can agree to all of that.

"You're lucky that I love you Steve" I reply with a fake bored tone.

His laughter vibrates in my ear.

He knows perfectly well that I'm forgiving him for ignoring my request to let me take care of myself.

"I'm just worried.Knowing you far away makes me anxious"

Now it's me laughing.

"Does Captain America suffer from anxiety?"

"Only since he met a stubborn and cheeky little girl"

If I close my eyes I can imagine his dejected frown.

"Whatever...so Sharon has already tried to kiss you?"

Sam and Bucky laugh behind my back.

"Come on, don't be prevented.We are friends and I'm sure she will respect our relationship.Sharon is an intelligent adult woman she knows when she has to be in her place"

I feel a fire explode in my head.

"Are you defending her?Seriously?"

"Honey, don't do that.Don't start.I don't want to argue with you and above all I don't want to do it over the phone.I love you and you have to trust me"

"Steve I trust you, the problem is that blonde goose"

Sam bursts into a coarse laugh.

"Don't be mean, Lily"

"And you don't be naive, Steve.You're over 100 years, you should be smarter than that"

"Ok!I got it!We'll talk later when you'll be calmer, okay?"

Steve's words only make me more nervous, it's like he's throwing fuel on the fire.

"I'm calm" I hiss.

Yeah!

Of course!

Very calm.

I return the phone to Bucky without even saying goodbye to Steve.

He looks at me like an idiot, his eyes move back and forth between his phone and my eyes, then in a moment of clarity he grabs it and puts it close to his ear.

"Don't worry, pal.I'll handle that.Would you pass me Nat?"

Bucky takes a few steps away to talk to his girlfriend.

"I'm not a child, Sam" I mutter as a pink sugar wad melts on my tongue.

Sam joins me and without saying anything he grabs me by the hand and drags me a few meters further on to where there is a cart that sells cotton candy.

"You are not a child but you have not rejected it.And you are also eating it.So..."

I roll my eyes at Bucky's words.

"Ok!Thank you guys!I feel much better now" I admit as a smile appears on my face.

James wraps his arm around my shoulders and kisses my forehead.

"Once you have recovered your phone call Steve, okay?" Sam spurs me as he reaches out his hand to steal some cotton candy.

"Okay" I sigh while with two fingers I bring more cotton candy to my lips.

When we get to the tower Sam and Bucky head to the gym, they say they want to work out a little.

I greet them and head thoughtfully to my room.

My thoughts go back to the shop windows I saw on the street, decorated with hearts, flowers and stuffed animals.

In a month it will be Valentine's Day and since I don't have a job or a dollar saved up, I won't have any chance to buy a gift for Steve.

At the moment it's Steve and Tony who provide for me and that makes me feel guilty.

How is it possible that I have nothing?

Didn't my mother have any savings?

Some sort of trust-fund?

Where did they go?

I turn around and turn to Friday I ask "Hey Friday, where can I find Tony?"

The voice of Friday immediately fills my ears.

"Mr. Stark is down in the garage"

"Thanks, Friday"

I quickly head to Tony's garage.

When I arrive he doesn't immediately notice my presence so I clear my throat to get his attention.

He immediately raises his gaze on me interrupting what he was doing.

"Do I disturb you, Tony?" I ask timidly.

"No, don't worry kid.Come in"

I approach him who in the meantime wipes his hands on a rag which he then rests on the table next to him.

"What were you doing?"

"I was taking a look at the engine of my Audi.I was thinking of some changes" he replies.

I smile amused.

"Does Stark want to make his debut in the car industry?"

Tony laughs with me.

His big dark eyes scan me intently.

"More or less.I am designing a totally ecological engine.Or at least I'll try" he replies, passing me by to get a bottle of water, "But tell me, what brings you here?I don't think you're really interested in cars" he asks me while taking a few sips of water.

"I need your help.I need money"

"Ok.How much you need?"

"No Tony, I don't want your money.I want you to help me find my money.I think my mother left me something but I have no idea where to start looking"

"I got it.Give me a couple of days and then I'll let you know.In the meantime, if you need to..."

I cut him off immediately.

"Tony, you already do enough for me.You and Steve basically provide everything I need"

I feel really embarrassed because only at this moment am I realizing how much these two men are providing for my every need.

Whether it's food, lodging or clothes Steve and Tony are doing all of this for me.

Tony notices my embarrassment and smiles at me.

"I do it with pleasure.You know, right?"

"I know Tony and I will never be able to pay you back for everything"

I feel really grateful to this man.

Without knowing me he welcomed me into his house allowing me to live in a more than dignified way.

"No need to, little Strange"

At the sound of my father's last name, another idea comes to mind.

"Can I ask you another favor?" I ask Tony as he sits on the floor leaning his back against the door of his Audi.

I imitate his gestures sitting next to him.

"Sure"

This request of mine is a little more complicated, I have no idea how to explain it to him.

Tony notices my hesitation but he waits patiently for me to find the right words.

"I don't know who I am, Tony" I say eagerly.

The millionaire looks at me with a look full of confusion.

"I mean...Philiph Ross doesn't exist.And I...Elisabeth Ross is not real.I have lived most of my life in the belief that I was Lily Ross...so I wondered if with the help of a lawyer I could change my last name"

While I speak I keep my eyes fixed on my fingers that are torturing the edges of my hoodie.

I risk a glance in Tony's direction and find him staring at me with a mischievous smile on his lips.

"What?" I ask obviously confused by his reaction to my request.

I blush violently and Tony bursts out laughing.

"Nothing" he replies amused, "I thought you would have waited to change your last name by acquiring that of your handsome Captain.Maybe with a nice wedding"

"Lily Rogers.It sounds good" he teases me.

I give him a playful shoulder.

"Oh shut up, Stark"

But despite my embarrassment I join his laugh.

"I'm serious, Tony.I had thought of acquiring my mother's last name but...but I don't know" I stammer.

Tony speaks for me.

"But you don't know whether to ask Strange if he wants to legally recognize you?"

I nod, biting my lower lip.

"I think" Tony continues, "you should talk to him.This is a very important question.But I'm sure he would be more than happy"

"Do you think?"

And here my insecure part shows itself.

"C'mon, Lily!I have never seen that man smile or care about anything other than his role as Guardian of the Time Stone.You are his greatest love and I am convinced that he would be honored if you asked him to formalize his paternity"

Tony's words fill me with hope and enthusiasm.

I watch him as he stands up and after swiping his palms on his jeans he offers me a hand.

Hand that I gladly accept.

He helps me to get up and once on my feet I hug him instinctively.

His arms immediately close around my body, my head sinks into his chest and his scent fills my nostrils.

"Thanks, Tony.For everything"

Dissolving his embrace, the man in front of me places a hand on my shoulder smiling sweetly at me.

"Ok now I'll let you work.See you later" I greet him.

As I'm about to turn my back on him, Tony gets my attention.

"Wait, Lily!I almost forgot!Next week your mother will be moved from the Brookville cemetery to New York"

I look at him in shock and my eyes immediately fill with tears.

Tony approaches me.

"Steve asked for my help.All it took was a couple of phone calls.I've already organized everything.She will be moved to Green-Wood Cemetery, it is in the Brooklyn area.Rogers thought you wanted to have her close so he chose the area in his old neighborhood" he tells me.

I feel a flood of emotions stirring inside me.

The thought of having my mother so close warms my heart and I'm sure my father will be happy too.

Finally we will be able to be close to her, certainly not the way our hearts would have wanted but it is still something.

Tony looks at me with a sly smile.

"You know, I have the impression that Steve wants to take you to live in Brooklyn after marrying you"

I laugh heartily.

"You are a little obsessed with this marriage"

"Oh kid, I give you two years, three at the most.Rogers won't last longer to put a ring on your finger"

I roll my eyes at his assertion.

"Don't hold your breath waiting for it, Stark"

Tony laughs throwing his head back.

I observe the man in front of me and I know that I will never be able to repay him for all he is doing for me, for his kindness and his infinite availability.

"Thanks again, Tony"

Tony strokes my head.

"It's a pleasure, ma'am" so saying we say goodbye.

I take a firm step up the stairs, I don't want to take the elevator and walking will help my mind to clear up.

Tomorrow will be Friday and I will spend the day with my father and I think it will be the right time to talk to him about the path I want to take as a Guardian.

And maybe I could even find the courage to talk to him about my choice to change my last name.

I honestly have no idea how he will react.

I sigh as I enter the room.

Suddenly Steve's scent fills my nostrils.

God, how much I miss him...and how stupid I was to get mad at him.

I approach the desk and grabbing my phone I immediately call Steve.

Who answer to me is his voicemail.

I try another time but nothing.

He turned off the phone.

I try not to panic and to find a logical answer.

Maybe he's just angry and doesn't want to talk to me.

Or maybe he is working, he is always so busy, he may have decided to turn it off so as not to be disturbed.

And as soon as my mind forms this thought images of Steve and Sharon haunt my head.

Or he is just busy with Sharon my unconscious suggests to me.

Steve kissing her.

Steve holding her.

Steve and Sharon having sex.

A feeling of nausea takes hold of me, also making it difficult for me to breathe.

I sit on the floor putting my head between my knees, with deep breaths I try to regain control of myself.

With a shaking hand I grab the phone again and call Nat.

After two rings her melodious voice fills my ears.

"Hi, Lily"

"Hey, Nat"

Then silence.

I can't speak but the thing that surprises me is Natasha's silence.

What is it that she can't or she doesn't want to tell me?

"Nat, where is Steve?"

I hear her sigh from the other end of the phone.

My skin is covered with chills, the hand holding the phone is barely shaking.

The nausea returns.

"Don't freak out, ok?"

"Nat, if you tell me so I automatically freak out"

Nat chuckles.

My jaw is so clenched that I'm afraid my teeth might break.

"Steve is not at the hotel with me at the moment.He stopped for dinner at the restaurant but he should be back by now" my best friend explains to me.

"He's with Sharon, right?"

"Yeah...but don't freak out, remember?"

I sniff.

"Oh Lily, don't cry.It doesn't mean anything.You know very well that Steve would never cheat on you!"

"I know, Nat.I don't trust that bitch!" I exclaim furiously as silent tears stream down my face.

I hate being so pathetic.

I wish I was stronger and more confident like Natasha...or like Sharon.

Damnit.

"But you trust me, right?"

"Of course I trust you, Nat"

"So trust me when I tell you that Sharon won't even touch Steve with a finger.She has already been warned"

I laugh at her words.

"Did you really do it?" I ask amused.

"You can count on it.I specifically told her that if she got to close to Steve I would break both of her arms"

We laugh together, then silence falls.

"Why did he turns off his phone?" I ask her.

Maybe she has the answer.

"Technically he didn't turn it off"

"What does that mean?" I ask quite confused.

"After you discussed Steve threw the phone against the wall.He pulled it so hard that it fell apart"

I shake my head disconsolately.

Natasha starts talking again.

"Listen Lily, Steve will be back soon and he will surely come over to complain about how stubborn you are"

We giggle together.

"Then he'll feel like an idiot and he'll ask me to borrow my phone so he can call you.So don't worry, ok?" the former Russian spy tells me.

"Ok.Thanks, Nat!I miss you too, you know?"

"Bucky isn't s good company?If so when I come back I'll kick his ass"

"Nah...today he was so nice to me, together with Sam they took me to eat sushi and then they even bought me cotton candy"

Now she's the one who bursts in a heartfelt laugh.

"Oh my God I can see the scene!The beautiful couple for a walk with their little daughter"

We laugh for at least five minutes.

After having exchanged a little more chat, we say goodbye wishing each other goodnight.

I put the phone on the bed and head to the bathroom to take a shower.

Ten minutes later I'm back on the bed wearing Steve's sweater, smelling his scent on my skin gives me a sense of peace.

His sheets have the smell of him and I crouch in them clutching his pillow in my arms.

While I'm lost in my thoughts, I hear my phone ringing.

I sit up abruptly, my back straight like a spindle and my heart beating madly.

Natasha's name flashes on the display.

It's Steve.

I accept the call.

"Hi, honey"

"Hi" I reply in a whisper.

I'm sorry we say at the same time after a few moments of silence.

We both burst out laughing.

"Ok, what do you say if I apologize first?" Steve asks me.

"You don't have to apologize for anything Steve.It's my fault, this time I exaggerated"

"Instead I have to apologize for not believing you.You were right.You were right about Sharon"

I feel my blood run cold in my veins at his words.

Steve continues, taking advantage of my silence.

"When we got back to the hotel she asked me if I wanted to spend the night with her"

In a moment my head goes up in flames.

I knew it.

I knew she would try.

Bitch!

"Honey, are you still here?" Steve asks me worried about my long silence.

"Yeah" I reply with just a breath of voice.

I am too angry to be able to articulate a few more complex sentences.

"Obviously I immediately refused.Do you believe me?"

"Of course I believe you, babe"

We both remain silent.

"I love you.Only you"

"I know Steve"

"So why do I get the impression that you are furious?" he asks me in a tone between amused and frightened.

"Oh, but that's not your impression.I am furious but not with you.I'm holding back myself from running to the airport and catching the next available flight to London to come and slap that bitch in the face" I hiss between my teeth.

Steve laughs in response.

"There is no need, Lily.I have already spoken to her.She didn't take it well but I honestly don't care.She disrespected me and you"

Steve's voice is harsh but also bitter.

He truly believed that Sharon was a friend with him and her gesture hurt him more than he admits.

He is a man too sensitive.

And too naive.

I try to direct the discussion to something else, I don't want to go back to this story anymore.

"I miss you"

"I miss you too, my sweet Lily.I can't wait to be able to hug you again"

"Just hugging, Cap?" I tease him with a hoarse voice.

"Don't tease me" he says back in a low tone of voice that makes every fiber of my being vibrate.

I go on undeterred.

"Otherwise?What are you doing?Will you spank me when you return?"

"Maybe...do you like the idea?"

"Maybe...do you like the idea?" I reply using his own answer.

"Are you getting excited honey?"

"Yes, Captain"

I hear Steve inhale violently.

"So why don't you bring some relief?Touch yourself and talk to me"

My cheeks are on fire and the roar of my heart rings overwhelmingly in my ears.

I put a hand between my legs and as soon as I touch myself a small moan escapes from my lips.

"Tell me what you are doing, babygirl.Tell your daddy how you are dressed"

I startled surprise.

Steve has never addressed himself with this term.

Is that what he wants to be called?

Why hasn't he ever told me about it before?

I smile amused and intrigued by this new situation.

"I'm lying on our bed and I'm wearing your sweater.The white one.I wore it when you fucked me on New Year's Eve, remember?After midnight, after partying with everyone else, we left but never got to the room.You dragged me into that dark closet, remember?"

I hear Steve sigh heavily on the other end of the phone.

"I remember it.Go headed"

I hear indistinct noises, like rustling, and then Steve groans loudly.

"You mercilessly fucked me against the wall, you grabbed me from behind and you had to shut my mouth to quiet my screams" I murmur as my fingers continue to massage my clit, "I like it when you shut my mouth" I add and immediately moan.

"Are you touching yourself too, my handsome Captain?" I ask with shortness of breath.

The thought that he too is getting excited by thinking of me increases the pace of my fingers.

"Yes honey, I'm doing it but it's not as good as when you do it"

For a few seconds we are silent, only our moans filling our ears.

"I know daddy, I understand you.When you touch me it is so much more beautiful"

Steve growl in my ear.

"Say it again" he orders me.

I know perfectly well what he wants to hear.

"Daddy" I gasp in a high-pitched voice.

I feel that my orgasm is coming.

"Cum for me, my babygirl"

And I do, I stick two fingers inside me and after a few moments I cum.

Steve's breathing also increases and when a strangled moan escapes his lips I understand that he has cum too.

"I love you, I love you so much"

"I love you too, honey.I miss you"

"I miss you too, Steve"

We remain silent for a moment trying to catch our breath.

"Tony told me about my mother.Thank you" I tell him with all the gratitude I have.

"You don't have to thank me"

"Yes I do.You try so hard to give me everything I want...it's all so absurd and I'm a very lucky woman"

"Oh no, the lucky one is me believe me" he replies, then he sighs.

"Now I have to go.I have to get the phone back to Nat, he has to call Bucky and I don't want to steal any more time"

"Sure, don't worry.Will you call me in the morning?Because then I'll be with my father all day and I won't be able to call you"

"Sure honey, I'll call you tomorrow morning as soon as I wake up"

Even if I can't see them, I know that his eyes are full of sadness right now.

"Steve?"

"Tell me?"

"Sooner or later everything will work out.My father will accept you.Just give him some time,ok?" I ask him.

"It's okay honey, don't worry.We will talk tomorrow.Goodnight"

"Goodnight, Steve.I love you"

"I love you too" and so saying he hung up.

I sigh.

I know how much Steve suffers from this situation and one way or another I will make Strange change his mind.

Tomorrow he will have to listen to me and if he really loves me as much as he says he will not be able to ignore my will.

I wrap myself in the blankets and lulled by the scent of Steve I fall asleep hopefully in a more peaceful future.

Please comment, share and rate ❤️

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@deansapplepie

[candyskiez]

Fuck it, I function purely on spite. Let's do this.

Sunny and Mari are two siblings who were practicing for their recital. They're in a friend group of six people, the others being Basil, Kel, Hero, and Aubrey. Mari is a massive perfectionist and was holding Sunny and herself to unreasonable standards and causing Sunny a lot of stress and self loathing, crushing both of their mental healths and straining their relationship. On the morning of the recital, Sunny snaps and throws his violin down the stairs. Mari sees and they get into a massive fight, and in a panic Sunny shoves Mari away and she falls down the stairs. His best friend basil sees and panics. Basil convinces himself that Sunny didn't do it, because Sunny is way too good of a person, so it must be something Else. Basil and Sunny make Maris death look like a suicide. Sunny locks himself in his room because he can't cope with the guilt, and the friend group begins to fall apart. This all happened when Sunny, Basil, Kel, and Aubrey were 12 and Mari and Hero were 16.

Sunny creates a dreamworld when he sleeps, where Mari is still alive and nothing is wrong. He stays like this for four years. He names his alternate self Omori. In this time, the friendgroup has shattered. Also Kel and Hero are brothers, whoops. Aubrey has become violent and a bully, Basils mental state has heavily declined, and Hero and Kel are in I am So Okay mode (they are not) and Heros off at college. All of this leads up to when Sunny is going to move away in three days.

In headspace, Basil finds a picture of the accident and is shoved into the back of Sunnys mind so he doesn't have to face his problems. When he wakes up, Kel is knocking on his door. He wants to spend time with him like old times. In the good route, Sunny opens the door. Kel and Sunny hang out for a while and then find Basil again, who's been being yelled at by Aubrey. You learn that Aubrey stole basils photo album, which has photos of everyone before Mari died. He asks if you can get it back. You go and find Aubrey. You barge into the church during sermon and she is pissed at you, and she reveals that Mari is dead. Did I mention Sunny repressed the memory of Mari being dead. You fight and she has a really awful time, so bad in fact that she throws the album in the trash. Kel grabs it and you give it back to Basil, who gives it to you. It's speculated that this is because Basil was planning on killing himself and wanted to see the album one last time before giving it to Sunny, but we don't know for sure. Kel tells Basil Sunnys going to move away, and Basil has a mental breakdown. Sunny runs away from him.

Stuff happens in headspace but they don't find Basil.

If you go outside again you're locked into the good route. You and Kel are preparing for Hero to come back from college when you hear Basil scream for help. You find him panicking without actually being attacked at the lake by Aubrey and her new friends. You fight aubrey again. The gang leaves but Aubrey stays and finally breaks down yelling about how nobody was there when Mari died and how everyone betrayed her, especially Basil. Basil tries to say something to her, and she pushes him into the lake. Sunny jumps in after him and has a horror sequence about it, but Hero appears! And saves them both. You bring Basil back to his house and Hero and Kel stay over at your house.

In headspace, everyone has disappeared and you find Mari by thr water. She heavily hints at the Mari you talk with not being real and says that she misses Sunny and she hopes he's still in there. She then disappears. You will find Mari on a picnic blanket again like nothing happened. Everyone has been tricked into signing job contracts. Actually I'm tired of summarizing now I don't know how to be short goodbye forever/lh

Will never understand jokes about omori being hard to summarize. What are you talking about. I'm horrible at summarizing and I could probably do it.

[fandomgirlz01]

Lightsabers and Guitars Pt. 2

Charlie Gillespie x Reader

Imagine on my fandom instagram?: No

Prompt?: No

Request?: No

Requested prompt?: No

Edited: Yes

Word count: 5,445

Ko-fi

Masterlist

Warnings Here

You can listen to the story be read out loud here.

Post Date: August 8th 2022

Post Time: 12: 32 pm

Summary: When the reader gets tired of being around her friends she tries to leave and ends up finding herself in a fight with one of those friends. Reader then stomps off and finds a quiet place {she believes nobody else will be there} where she can practice swinging her lightsabers. What happens when she and Charlie stumble upon one another? Will they become friends? Or maybe something more? 

PSA: I am still learning Guitar so I’ll write it as best as I can for you guys. I just looked up the chords and wrote those, but I am unaware if they are the official chords so bare with me here. If you guys know that any of them are wrong please please please consider letting me know and I will fix it as soon as I can.

Y/n’s Pov:

“Knock knock. Is y/n in there?” Siana asks as she taps on my forehead, effectively snapping me out of my mind. 

“Yeah. Sorry. I just have a lot on my mind,” I answer as I shake my head and yawn, then start to pour myself some juice. 

“I’m sure you do. It’s been about a month you’ve been seeing this Charlie now,” she taunts as she smirks, wiggling her eyebrows at me. 

“That’s not what it was at all,” I verbalize as I feel my cheeks heat up. 

“Oh, you're so blushing right now! So that’s a total yes! You were thinking of him!” she shouts as she pokes my cheek with her pointer finger. 

“No, I wasn’t-” I start to reply, but my phone stops me mid conversation as my text tone goes off. 

“Is that Charles as your text tone…” she continues to tease and I roll my eyes. 

“Yes… he insisted on it so I’d know it was him…” I explain as I lift it and it lights up. 

“That’s actually so, so cute,” she coos and I roll my eyes.

“We’re just friends…” I reply as I smile while replying to his text and she shrugs. 

“Don’t listen to me… but honey, he most definitely likes you… I bet today is the day he makes a move. Hell, he’ll probably do that whole arm around you to show you the chords thing…” she remarks as she does some weird hand gesture, making me quirk an eyebrow at her. 

“Ok… what the hell was that hand motion?” I ask her with a giggle. 

“What! Isn’t that how you play a guitar!” she shouts and I giggle, shaking my head. 

“No. That is definitely not how you do it. Charlie would cringe so hard at whatever you just did,” I explain as I wave at her and she shrugs. 

“Well, whatever. I’m not the roommate who’s into that stuff, that’s you,” she waves her hand in dismissal and I laugh, shaking my head. 

“Yeah. Yeah. Imma go shower now…” I gesticulate over my shoulder and she rolls her eyes. 

“You're showering to go to the beach? Oh! Wait, it's for Charlie isn’t it?!” she questions, but then quickly changes to a declaration and I roll my eyes. 

“It’s so for Charlie, isn’t it! So you do like him! I was right!” she says as she happily claps before starting to push me to my room. 

“Go! Go shower and pick the cute red bikini. The one that brings out your eyes…” she declares and I guffaw at her. 

“I can’t pick that one!” I exclaim and she gives me a look of confusion. 

“Why can’t you?” she asks almost like she’s offended. 

“That one’s far too sexy for me!” I exclaim and she guffaws at me. 

“Honey, sexy is what you want in this situation,” she explains as she goes into my closet before returning with the red number. 

“Are you sure? Cause I really like him…” I finally admit as I play with my fingers and she claps. 

“Sweetheart, listen to me! I’m the one who gets most of the guys,” she explains pointingly as she sits down next to me. 

“I know… it’s just this is the first real guy I’ve been around after my whole swearing them off thing…” I nervously explain and she nods. 

“I know. Your last relationship wasn’t the best. But hey! Maybe you waited three years for Charlie. Maybe he’ll be better then stupid Greg,” she remarks before giving me a grossed out look. 

“Oh, he’s definitely better than Greg,” I agree and she smiles. 

“See! So isn’t it worth it to see where this thing will go?” she asks me and I sigh before nodding in agreement with her. 

“Yeah. I guess it is…” I agree with my own smile. 

“Well, go get in the shower then!” she declares as she again pushes me towards the bathroom. 

“And wear the red piece!” she yells from the hallway and I giggle, shaking my head. 

~ Time Skip ~

I pull up at the beach and turn my car off. After taking a moment to look over myself one last time, I start to get out of the car. Once I’m out, I pop my trunk before going around to get the practice sabers out along with my backpack and old guitar. 

I close my trunk and look around once before locking my car. I then walk to our spot where we meet up every week. I set my bag down by the wall before looking around for Charlie. 

After looking around, I don’t see him so I just sit against the wall and take my phone out. I text with Anna for a bit before a dog comes running up to me and starts to lick my face. I start laughing as I pet Koa and Charlie comes up behind him and pulls him away from me. 

“I am so sorry. He must be really excited to see you today,” Charlie explains as Koa runs off to the water. 

“It’s ok. Really. I’m glad to see him too,” I reply with a light giggle. 

“So, which are we practicing first today?“ Charlie asks as he now sets his stuff down by mine. 

“I was thinking we could practice the guitar, then sabers. That way we can go for a swim after getting all sweaty from the sabers,” I explain and he nods before opening up his guitar case. 

“Ok. So did you practice the chords that I taught you last week?” he asks as I bite my lip and nod lightly. 

“I did practice, but I’m still having a little trouble with them,” I inform him and he nods his understanding. 

“Ok, then we’ll start there,” he decides out loud and I nod before pulling my guitar onto my lap. 

“Ok. So put your fingers on your chords and I’ll help you fix what’s off,” he explains and I nod before starting to try and place my fingers right. 

“You almost have it. Just this finger goes here and this one goes here. It’ll feel a little foreign at first, but I promise the more you practice this song it’ll just start to feel natural,” he explains as he moves my two fingers into place. 

“Now try playing the chords,” he orders and I nod before sticking my tongue out and trying to play the chords right. 

I play the first two right, but then both me and Charlie cringe as one sounds completely off. I take a break with a huff as Koa runs up to his daddy and licks his hand. Charlie chuckles before petting his baby’s head and after a few minutes, Koa seems satisfied when he runs off again. 

“Ok. Play it again, let me hear it and see what’s up,” Charlie tells me as he watches and observes as I place my hands back onto the chords. 

Again I play the first two right, but as I play the next one it sounds off again. I giggle when I see Koa cringe.

“I take it even Koa doesn’t like how that chord sounded,” I state and Charlie chuckles before looking over my guitar. 

“I think your guitar may be out of tune again. Good time to practice tuning it then,” he notes and I nod as I pull out the little tuner I bought at the beginning of last month. 

I put it on the end of my guitar before starting to try and tune it like he taught me to. Once I think I have it, look up at him. 

“You think you have it?” he asks and I nod. 

“Ok. Let me see,” he comments before I hand him the guitar. 

He plays a few chords before fixing one or two of the pegs. Once he’s done, he looks up with a smile as he hands me back my guitar. 

“You did good. I just made a few small tweaks,” he explains and I nod with a smile. 

“Ok. Let’s try the chords again. You got this,” he tells me with another smile. 

“Ok Luke…” I joke with a roll of my eyes and he smiles. 

“So you watch Julie and The Phantoms then?” he asks with a grin and I nod. 

“Oh, I most definitely did. I also watched Speed Kills and Love You Anyway,” I tell him and he blushes lightly. 

“Well, what’d you think?” he asks and I give him a serious look. 

“I thought they were bad…” I deadpan as seriously as I can.

“Oh…” he falters and I giggle as I shove his shoulder. 

“I’m joking. I loved them. Especially Speed Kills. I got to see teenage Charles. What’s better than teen Charles?” I jokingly ask and he gasps with his eyes widening in surprise. 

“That was so mean! Umm, maybe 23 year old Charles!” he exclaims, rolling his eyes as he crosses his arm like a child would and I giggle again. 

“Mean is my middle name. Didn’t anyone tell you? And… I guess 23 year old Charles isn’t so bad…” I tease, bouncing my eyebrows at him and he shakes his head. 

“What will I do with you, huh?” he asks and I grin before winking at him. 

“I don’t know, love me maybe…” I trail off with a giggle and he shrugs. 

“What’d you really think of them though?” he asks seriously now and I smile. 

“They were great Char, but I definitely like Speed Kills more than Love You Anyways,” I explain and he nods as I smile when I see a light blush come over his face. 

“Why’d you like Speed Kills better?”

“Ok. Each has its own qualities, but I like more action. Love You Anyways was a little slower. And don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love romantic movies, but action is just so much more thrilling,” I explain. “Especially when you're single and a hopeless romantic that nobody really has eyes for.”

“Hey. That’s not true… I’m positive there’s some guy out there for you,” Charlie declares and I smile as he blushes lightly. 

Why is he blushing?! Omg…! 

“Well, thank you. If you're confident about it, guess I can be too,” I agree with a shrug and he grins. 

“Also John Travolta is in it, duh. If John Travolta is in it, it’s an amazing movie hands down,” I continue and he chuckles. 

“John Travolta is THE sexy Danny Zuko. Who wouldn’t like a movie with the man in it,” I express and he chuckles, shaking his head again. 

“Well I won’t say you're wrong. That man is a legend,” he agrees with me and I grin. 

“Right?!” I beam as I look over at him and he smiles. 

“What was he like to work with?” I ask and Charlie chuckles. 

“He was great. He literally took me under his wing while on set,” he tells me and I smile. 

“That’s so cool. Danny Zuko showed you the ropes,” I beam with a smile and he chuckles. 

“What’s your favorite of my works then?” he asks and I smile. 

“Actually, it’s Julie and The Phantoms. A good second is Runt, even if you're only in it for like, point fifteen seconds,” I joke and he chuckles with a smile. 

“Yeah, I had fun on both. In Julie and The Phantoms I made so many friends that became like family. I’m sure you’ll get to meet them soon,” he explains and I grin as his passion shines through him. 

“On Runt, we all just acted crazy when the tougher scenes were done. Cam was always the head of the crazy-ness, but he was also the calmest on set,” he explains as his face changes to one of pure sadness. 

“I’m sorry he passed. I did hear about it. It must have been gut wenching,” I sympathize as I set the guitar to my side before scooting a little closer and laying a hand on his. 

“It was. His heart was always so open. I remember being like ‘bro, I watched this kid on TV…’ He was so nice to everyone he was around. It was crazy… I really wish you could meet him. He’d like you,” he tells me while getting choked up and I smile as I rub his back now. 

“I’m sure I would have loved to meet him,” I quietly agree with him and he smiles a watery smile. 

It’s quiet for a while as we both just watch Koa play in the water. He sniffles for a few minutes and I lay my head on his shoulder as I continue to rub his back. Koa comes running back over to us and he plops down in front of Charlie. 

I let out a light giggle when Koa’s head tilts to the side as he looks over his dad. He walks over and nudges Charlie’s hand. Charlie lets out a light chortle before petting his dog on the head. 

Koa nuzzles his head into it with a little face of contentment. Koa then rolls over and closes his eyes as Charlie pets his stomach now. I find myself suddenly perking up, pushing my head off his shoulder as I think of a way to make him smile. 

“I will say the fans of Julie and The Phantoms got a real treat in Episode 2. 4 minutes and 44 seconds in, but who’s counting…” I try to flirt with him, but fail miserably when he turns his head and looks at me. 

I still count it as a win though when he slowly grins and I try to push my blush down as I clear my throat. I turn away for a small moment to hide my blush as I pick the guitar back up and lay it across my lap. 

It’s like when I actually try while looking at him, I fail it every time… ugggh dumb idiot… at least it made him smile. 

Koa lets out a whimper as Charlie stops rubbing his stomach. Unsatisfied with him, Koa lets out a loud huff as he shakes his head. He gets up, making me and Charlie laugh as he runs back over to the water. 

“So you have the time I take my shirt off memorized then?” he playfully jokes as he bounces his eyebrows at me and I feel the blush rush quicker up my neck again. 

“Correction, Siana does. She has a thing for abs… a thing that’s way over the top if you ask me,” I admit with a shrug of my shoulders, but he just gives me a coy grin. 

“So you don’t like my abs?” he coyly asks and I groan, rubbing my face. 

“No, you have very nice abs… I’m just saying she’s the one that paused it… I’m going to shut up now…” I try to explain, but my tongue only starts to do what it always does as I spiral and stick my foot in my mouth. 

“Well I’m going to take the compliment. Thank you very much,” he jokes with a chuckle and I groan again. 

“You enjoy making fun of me, don’t you?” I whine out, only making him chuckle again. 

“Sorry sweetheart, but it’s so very fun,” he responds and my stomach flips at the nickname. 

“So unfair!!!” I cry out and he laughs like full belly laughs at me. 

“Oh, hi baby!” I exclaim, putting the guitar down as Koa comes up to me now and I pick him up. 

I cradle him like a small baby and he nuzzles into my stomach as I lightly rub his stomach like his dad did just moments ago. I hear a chuckle, making me look up to see Charlie watching the scene practically with heart eyes. 

“What?” I ask him and he scoffs playfully. 

“You treat him like a real baby,” he points out and I grin. 

“He is a baby!!! A sweetheart of a baby,” I point out right back and he chuckles, shaking his head. 

“He loves you more than me at this point and he’s my dog,” he exclaims and I giggle as I continue to rub Koa's belly. 

“Daddy’s just jealous, isn’t he?” I ask Koa who now has his tongue stuck out. 

Koa lets out a bark and Charlie scoffs, rolling his eyes. I look back up at Charlie as I set Koa down on all fours and he runs off again. 

“I am not jealous…” Charlie denies as he crosses his arms and I giggle. 

“You so are. Let’s get back to the guitar now? Yeah?” I ask as I once again pick it up and he nods. 

“Ok. I’m going to try those chords again,” I tell him as I place my fingers back to where they are supposed to be. 

I start to try the chords and again I play the first two right, but the next one comes out sounding off again. I huff again before quickly putting the guitar down to the side. I bring my knees up and wrap my arms around them before leaning my forehead against them. 

“This is no use. Maybe we should change the song. I don’t think I’ll be getting it anytime soon…” I muse as I put my chin onto my knee while I watch Koa. 

“We don’t have to change the song. You’ll get it. It’s ok to mess up a whole bunch of times,” he explains as he puts his hand on my back and starts to rub it. 

“How?! Huh, Char?! We’ve been working on it for a month and I’ve been stuck on this same chord practically the whole time,” I bark out in anger at myself and Charlie just nods. 

I look at his face and he seems upset. I sigh as my anger disparates and I slowly start to feel guilty. 

“I’m sorry Char. It’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. It’s me who can’t get it,” I quietly mummer and he quickly shakes his head. 

“No, no. It's ok. I’m not mad, I promise. It’s not your fault. It’s ok to be a little upset. Learning something new can be hard sometimes,” he is quick to reassure me and it works. 

“I don’t know why I can’t get it…” I whisper out as I turn back to watch Koa. 

It goes quiet for a moment, but Charlie still rubs my back. Tears come to my eyes, burning them but I refuse to let them fall. 

“Here. Let’s try something else,” Charlie cuts into the quiet as he reaches behind me to get the guitar. 

“What?” I ask, but he doesn’t reply.

He just pushes lightly on my back and I give him a confused look. He motions for me to move forward away from the wall and I confusedly do. He slowly sits down behind me before pulling me back into his chest and my eyes widen. 

He brings his one arm up and over as he pulls the guitar over my head. He rests the guitar in my lap and I relax into him. 

“This ok?” he asks me and all I can bring myself to do is nod. 

“Ok. Put your hands on the guitar…” he tells me before trailing off. 

I do as he tells me and shakily bring my hands up before putting them onto the guitar. He then moves his hands and puts them over mine. He positions both of our hands over the chords before he starts to help me pluck them. 

I smile as I finally reach the third chord and pass them each better than I’ve been doing. We continue on like that until we finish the song. 

“Oh my gosh. Charlie, I did it!” I beam as I turn back to look at him and he grins. 

“See, you got it. I’ll keep helping you and lessen up a little every time. Don’t worry, you’ll get it. Here, I’ll also name the chords as we go so you’ll remember them for other songs,” he explains and I nod as I turn back around. 

He lessens his hold just a bit before we start to play again. He squeezes my finger lightly to signal the first chord to me and I pluck it before letting it ring out light. 

“This one is A Dm then you switch to a Bb which is a B flat like I taught you at the beginning of last month,” he explains the first two chords that I have no problem with. 

“The next one is an F chord and that one becomes a C chord,” he explains again as I play the chords with a grin. 

“Then switch back to your Dm and B flat,” he tells me as he guides me back to the first two chords. 

“Then back to F and C,” he states as he still guides my hands. 

It’s only then that I recognize the song that he’s teaching me. I stop him from playing and he stops before I’m pushing his arms up. I crawl out from underneath his arms and sit up onto my knees as I excitedly grin at him. 

“I know the song now!” I exclaim and he smiles. 

“Ok. What is it?” he asks me and I jump excitedly. 

“It’s Perfect Harmony, the song Luke will never know about…” I start off happily before my face falls. 

“Poor Luke will never know, Char,” I burst out as tears come to my eyes and he chuckles. 

“You really ship Juke that hard?” he asks and I quickly nod. 

“Ok… ok. Don’t nod so hard. Your head might fall off,” he jokes and I groan. 

“Boys don’t get it…” I huff as I turn back around and plop back on the ground with my arms crossed. 

“Oh! Come on, I was joking. Yes it’s sad, Luke will never know about Perfect Harmony,” he agrees with a playful roll of his eyes. 

“Really though, that scene had me crying so hard…” I admit and he grins again. 

“I’m glad you liked it,” he adds and I smile before scooting back to be right next to him. 

“Can you teach me that dance too?” I ask and he chuckles. 

“I mean, I guess. I don’t know if I remember all of Julie’s parts though. I know I remember Luke’s after doing it like twenty times with Mads, but I’m not too sure about Julie’s,” he explains as he shrugs. 

“Couldn’t you just ask Madison herself?” I ask and he chuckles. 

“I guess I could. I didn't even think about that,” he admits and I giggle. 

“I’ll talk to her about it later,” he promises before smiling. 

“Wanna continue working on the chords now, though?” he asks and I nod eagerly, making him chuckle as I move back over between his legs. 

He grabs the guitar again before setting it into my lap. I put my hands on the neck and body first then he puts his back over mine. 

“Ok. Do you wanna start off where we left off?” he asks and I nod. 

“Ok well, we left off on the third Dm and B flat. This is the one you’ve been having so much trouble with. I think you just get all switched up in your head,” he explains as he moves both his and my fingers back to the chords. 

“Then comes the C and F except before it was C, F so they just switch places,” he continues to explain as his hands still lightly guide mine. 

“Now from there you just do that all a second time,” he tells me before just plucking the chord in the same order. 

“And there you have the first verse,” he informs me as his hands come away from mine for a moment. 

“Really, that’s all it is?” I ask and he nods. 

“Do you wanna try it on your own now?” he asks with a light grin. 

“Yeah. I know you're here if I need you,” I agree and his grin widens. 

“Ok. Let’s see it then,” he agrees before pointing at the guitar that’s still in my lap. 

I wonder for a moment if I should move or if he will, but when he stays I decide to just stay too. I then position my hands into the first chord before plucking the chords by myself this time. 

Same as the last two times, I get the first Dm and B flat and the F and C out perfectly, but when it comes up to the third Dm and B flat, I have to concentrate a little harder. I finally get it and I smile as I stop and excitedly look at Charlie. 

“I got it!” I exclaim as I grin and Charlie nods with a proud smile of his own. 

“See, I told you ya would. Now there’s nothing to it, you have the whole first verse down,” he points out with the smile still on his face. 

“Ok! Let’s keep going!” I excitedly sit back down and he chuckles. 

“Ok. The chords are mostly all the same, just played a little differently, ok?” he asks me and I eagerly nod, making him chuckle again. 

“Do you want my hands or just you?” he asks and I smile brightly at him. 

“Yours for the first time, please. Then I’ll try it on my own,” I ask and he nods as he brings his back up to be over mine. 

“Ok, the first part of the chorus is the F. Then you’ll give a B flat,” he explains as he again shows me the chords and I focus on trying to memorize them, but his chuckle pulls me out of my focused state. 

“What?” I ask and I feel him shrug from behind me. 

“You're just super cute when you focus,” he admits and for the millionth time today, I feel the heat run up my neck as I blush. 

“What’s so cute about me when I’m focused? If anything, I think I look dumb,” I note and he chuckles again. 

“Nope, it's definitely cute. You stick your tongue out and kinda space out,” he explains, making me throw my head back against his shoulder and groan. 

“How is that cute?!” I proclaim and again he chuckles as he shrugs. 

“I don’t know, but it is. And it’s 100% you,” he responds and I lift my head to shake it. 

“Sometimes I don’t get you, Charles,” I joke and he just smiles charmingly. 

“That’s my charm,” he jokes back and I playfully scoff. 

“Charm, my ass,” I mutter and he gasps. 

“You don’t think I’m charming?” he asks and I giggle as he playfully pouts. 

“Oh, stop the pouting. Your lip will fall off…” I state with a laugh when his mouth falls open. 

“Ha! Got you at your own game!” I shout as I poke his thigh. 

“That’s not nice,” he grumbles and I giggle. 

“Oh calm down, of course you're charming,” I affirm with a fake roll of my eyes as I pretend he’s being dramatic. 

“Thank you for admitting the truth,” he playfully jokes and I again roll my eyes. 

“Drama queen,” I mutter and he gasps again. 

“Take that back,” he shouts as he pinches my side, making me squirm. 

“Nope! Not happening,” I joke back and he grins. 

“Oh, you wanna play that way, huh?” he asks and my eyes widen. 

“Koa! Dogpile!” Charlie shouts as he effortlessly moves so now I’m laying on my stomach with him on top of me. 

“Koa. Baby, don’t…” I warn the sweet baby of a dog, but he doesn’t listen to me and hops up onto his dad's back. 

“Koa! You betrayed me!!” I shout out with a giggle and Koa just tilts his head to the side. 

After a moment of looking at me, Koa jumps off Charlie and comes around to me. He licks at my face and I giggle as Charlie pushes him away after almost ten licks or more. 

“Ok. Koa, I know you're sorry,” I coo at the dog as he sits before me. 

“I’d pet you, but I’ve got a lump on top of me right now,” I tell the dog and Charlie gasps again. 

“You did NOT just call me a lump,” he retorts and I giggle. 

“Oh, I 100% did. What ya gonna do about it, huh?” I admit as I finally get myself turned around. 

“This…” he remarks and before I know it his lips are on mine. 

I let out a small gasp as it was a surprise to be kissed by him. I really wasn’t expecting it, but that being said I wasted no time in returning it. His hands rest on my hips as my own arms wrap themselves around his neck. 

My hand treads into the hair at his nape and I massage his neck with my other thumb. He deepens the kiss and it isn't how I expected the kiss to be; no fireworks or sparks or anything that ignited something within me, but there is something else... something indescribable, a sort of happiness that flows through me like a warm buzz. Yes, definitely better than the fireworks.

It lasted for a while, us kissing, wrapped up in our own world before it was rudely interrupted by a bark that made us pull apart from one another. We both laugh as Koa squeezes in between us to lick both of our faces. Koa then runs back over to the water and Charlie smiles lightly as he sits up and pulls me with him.

“So. I was wondering if maybe you’d like to go out with me?” He asks as he pushes some of my hair back and plays with it. 

“Depends. Where, you taking me?” I ask jokingly and he grins. 

“So that’s a yes?” He asks and I playfully roll my eyes. 

“No. I’m just asking where you're taking me for the fun of it. Of course it’s a yes Char,” I joke and he chuckles, shaking his head. 

His thumb rubs my cheek as he continues to grin at me. I smile as I lean into his hand as I reach up with mine and grab onto it. I close my eyes for a moment before opening them back up to see him looking at me with a gleam in his eyes. 

“Can I kiss you again?” He asks me and I giggle. 

“Ever so polite Charlie…” I joke as I look into his eyes. 

“You don’t even need to ask bubs. Just kiss me,” I whisper out and he nods. 

His other hand comes up to my cheek as his lips land on mine and I smile as he tenderly holds me. Our lips mold together as I hold onto his wrists. All to soon though he slowly pulls back before putting his forehead to mine. 

“Wanna skip the lightsaber work today and just go for a swim then maybe cuddle while we watch the sunset?” He asks as I turn and sit back against the wall. 

“Sure. We can dedicate next week to sabers. Can we finish the song before swimming though?” I ask and he grins as he puts his arm around my shoulder. 

“I’d say that sounds reasonable. As long as I can steal a few of these from you,” he replies before leaving a peck on my lips making me smile and cuddle into his side. 

“Works for me. Steal as many as you’d like,” I agree and he smiles as he rubs the top of my shoulder. 

We sit cuddled up for a little while longer before finishing off practicing the song. Then we go for a swim and Koa plays around where we are. Once our swim is up we both get out and grab our towels before drying off a bit. 

Charlie walks over by our stuff and lays his towel out before turning around to look at me. He motions down to the towel as he gives a light bow making me giggle. 

“After you Angel,” he offers and I once again grin. 

“Don’t mind if I do,” I remark with a giggle as I walk past him before taking a seat on the towel. 

He sits down next to me and again puts his arm around my shoulder. I lay my head on his as he pulls me slightly closer and together we watch the sun go down behind the horizon letting our night end on a very positive note. 

To Be Continued…

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[erodasfishtacos]

would you ever be up to doing a mlbrry helps pregnant yn shave like the ceorry one? i’d like to see how he’d react to that!!

“H, will you come shower with me?” YN asks softly, running her hands over her heavy, baby-filled belly that is starting to get big enough to hurt her back.

“Like y’even ever have to ask,” He replies with a laugh, the three boys were already asleep and he had been lounging on the living room couch.

When they get in there, YN is quieter than she usually is, face tucked into her husband’s neck as the water pounds down on her back.

“Y’belly hurt, mama?” Harry asks, moving down to lift her belly and hold the weight - making her mewl in relief.

“I have a question…” She mumbles, lips dancing against his skin as he feels his baby move a bit in their home.

He just teases his teeth against her lobe, humming to encourage her to keep speaking as he explores her body - even though he knows it like the back of his hand.

“Will you shave me?” YN asks finally, it shouldn’t be embarrassing- especially with Harry. It was more vulnerability that she could shave herself - she’d been able to with the last pregnancy but this bump was by far the biggest.

“No,” Harry replies but it has a whiny edge to it as he glares at her in almost…betrayal?

“You won’t shave me?” YN is a bit confused because Harry was normally willing to do anything for his wife - especially things like this.

“I like tha’ bush, don’t get rid of it, darling,” Harry pouts like a little boy, one of his hands moving past her stomach to slip to pet at the curls on her folds.

YN puffs out a breathy laugh, “Really, H?”

His bottom lip is jutted out as he thumbs over the coarse hair, “Why do y’wanna do that?”

“It’s starting to get itchy and just uncomfortable,” She tells him, leaning forward to kiss that puffy lip as he considers his options.

“Can we make a deal?” Harry proposes, tugging a bit at the hair to make her groan in a mixture of pleasure and pain.

“You want to make a deal about my pubes?” She laments, unamused at his tactics as he gets distracted by where his fingers are.

“Mmm, I’ll shave you if first let m’eat you and rub m’cock on you before it’s gone,” He coerces boyishly as his thick fingers dip inbetween her lips.

Easy compromise.

“As long as you let me sit,” YN agrees, allowing Harry to guide her over to the shower bench and he’s wasting no time getting on his knees in front of her.

“I don’t get it,” YN laughs as he groans at the sight in front of him, like it’s the first time he’s seen her in this way.

“Get wha’?” He replies perplexed.

“How y’are obsessed with everything about me, even my hair,” She laughs, it’s pleased and she feels a happy warmth inside.

He jolts up to kiss her hard on the lips, “Everything about y’gets me going, sweet thing. S’a miracle I’m not hard every second of the day around you.”

Her husband had to duck underneath the bump but his teeth find the short hairs and nips at them to give her that bit of pain she always loves.

But he can only tease her (himself) so long before he’s nestling his tongue inbetween her damp folds and lapping hungrily at her clit - basking in the prickly hair that’s rubbing against his lips.

“Ooo-Harry, yes baby,” YN moans, she goes to weave her hands in his hair but can’t reach so instead she has to test them on her belly.

He doesn’t stop until she’s quaking and coming down from her high, it really shouldn’t be that sexy that he has a bit of friction burn on his upper lip.

Then Harry’s mandhandling her until he’s balanced over her, her legs spread as much as she can at this point, and with her arousal as his lubricant he starts rutting himself against her mound.

“S’so fuckin’ hot, gonna make you grow it out again,” Harry growls, buttoning their lips together as his sensitive tip pushes through the downy prickles of hair.

When he’s close, he pulls back, jerking himself until he spills onto her folds and he just makes a mess out of her.

“Fuckin’ hell, mama,” He pants, curiously rubbing it into the skin and wiry curls, “Y’so god damn hot.”

YN, who’s now sex-hazy and tired, complains at him to clean her off (after he darts out of the shower to grab his phone and snap a picture).

He does, kneeling again and lathering her up in a shave cream, snatching the razor of the shelf, “S’like a funeral, I’m mournin’.”

“I promise after the baby is born that I will grow it out especially for you,” She laughs, hiding and palming her belly when there a light kick.

“Is m’baby awake?” He wonder, palming at her tight skin and feels a flutter, “There’s m’bubby.”

“Hurry up, I’m getting pruny!”

“Can I shave a shape into it? Like a baseball or summat?” Harry asks hopefully but huffs in defeat when she glares at him.

After she’s bare, skin smooth and free of prickly hair, Harry presses a few damp kisses to her mound and then up her belly to her mouth.

“Wipe that pout off your face,” YN giggles, pinching at his bottom lip, “You legitimately have had me hairy, prickly, shaved, waxed..”

“And the bush had grown on me!” Harry defends, “But y’pussy is pretty however y’given it to me, mama.”

“Thanks, baby daddy,” She replies with a pat to his cheek and doesn’t miss the soft smile he gives her before helping her stand up.

“Mmm, yeah. I am y’baby daddy,” He agrees with a happy rumble, hands coming to rub the sides of her extended stomach, “C’mon, gotta get m’wife and baby t’bed.”

—

😋😋😋😋😋😋😋