#but then also you’ll slip and tell me you check for messages from me a lot through the day and want to get off your phone so much

[insanechayne]

~ ~ ~

[galaxy-stardust]

Simon Ghost Riley x you

Gift from Simon 🐾

Part 3

The days passed too quickly. It always felt like time slipped through your fingers whenever Simon was home. Before you knew it, he was standing in the hallway, his duffle bag slung over his shoulder, Shadow sitting obediently by your feet. She had grown surprisingly disciplined with Simon’s training, though you knew her progress was also thanks to the bond you’d been building with her.

Simon crouched down, scratching behind Shadow’s ears. “You take care of her, yeah?” he said to the puppy, who wagged her tail in response.

“She’s not the one you need to worry about,” you said softly, your arms crossed as you tried to keep your emotions in check.

Simon stood, his dark eyes locking onto yours. He reached out, his gloved hand brushing your cheek. “You’ll be fine, love. You’re stronger than you think.”

You swallowed hard, nodding. “I just wish you didn’t have to go.”

“I know,” he murmured, leaning down to press a kiss to your forehead. “But I’ll call when I can. And I’ll come back to you.”

With one last lingering look, he turned and walked out the door, leaving the apartment feeling colder and emptier than it had in weeks.

The first few days were the hardest. Shadow sensed your unease, staying close to you wherever you went. She’d curl up at your feet while you worked and nudge you with her nose when you seemed particularly down.

Late one night, as you sat on the couch scrolling through your phone, it buzzed with a new message.

Simon: Still awake, love?

Your heart leapt at the sight of his name. You quickly typed back.

You: Yeah. Couldn’t sleep. Are you okay?

There was a pause before his reply.

Simon: I’m fine. Long day, but I needed to hear from you.

You: I miss you.

Simon: I miss you too. Tell me about your day. How’s Shadow?

You smiled, glancing at the puppy snoozing beside you.

You: She’s doing great. She’s learned “stay” and “come” without treats now. But she keeps trying to steal my socks.

Simon: Smart girl. She’s keeping you on your toes.

You: She’s doing her best to fill the void you left.

The typing indicator blinked for a moment before his response came through.

Simon: I’m sorry I have to leave, love. You mean the world to me.

Your chest tightened, and you hesitated before typing back.

You: I know. Just come back to me in one piece, okay?

Simon: Always. Get some rest, yeah? I’ll call when I can.

Weeks passed, and Shadow grew more confident and skilled. You worked with her daily, reinforcing the commands Simon had taught her and adding new ones. She’d gone from a clumsy, playful puppy to a well-trained companion, though her mischievous streak still peeked through.

One evening, as you sat on the floor playing tug-of-war with Shadow, your phone buzzed with an incoming call. You scrambled to answer it, your heart racing when you saw Simon’s name.

“Hey,” you said, trying to keep your voice steady.

“Hey, love,” Simon’s deep voice rumbled through the phone. “How’re you holding up?”

“I’m okay. Just tired. Shadow’s been keeping me busy.”

“I’ll bet. She giving you trouble?”

“Only when she’s stealing my socks,” you said with a small laugh.

Simon chuckled. “She’s got good taste, then.”

There was a pause, the kind that felt heavy with unspoken words. Finally, you broke the silence. “How are you? Are you safe?”

“I’m fine,” he said, his voice softening. “Just tired like you. Long days, but thinking about you helps.”

Your cheeks flushed, and you bit your lip. “What do you think about?”

“You, in our bed. Curled up with Shadow. Or the way you look in the morning, hair all messy, wearing my shirt.” His voice dropped lower, sending a shiver down your spine. “I miss touching you, holding you. I miss your laugh, your smile… everything.”

Your breath hitched. “Simon…”

“I’ll be home soon,” he said, his tone filled with quiet promise. “And when I am, I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

You smiled through the tears that pricked your eyes. “I’ll hold you to that.”

The next few weeks flew by as you focused on work and Shadow’s training. She’d grown noticeably larger, her once floppy ears now standing tall. She was fiercely loyal, sticking to your side during walks and alerting you to any strange sounds in the apartment.

One evening, as you prepared dinner, Shadow suddenly perked up, her tail wagging furiously as she ran to the door. You frowned, wiping your hands on a towel before following her.

The knock on the door made your heart leap. You rushed to open it, and there he was—Simon, his duffle bag at his feet, Shadow practically vibrating with excitement as she jumped up to greet him.

“Hey, love,” he said, his voice warm and tired.

You threw your arms around him, burying your face in his chest. “You’re home.”

“I told you I’d come back,” he murmured, holding you tightly.

Shadow barked happily at your feet, and Simon chuckled. “Missed me too, did you, girl?”

You pulled back just enough to look at him, your hands still gripping his jacket. “You’re staying for a while this time, right?”

“For as long as I can,” he promised, his dark eyes soft as they met yours.

In that moment, with Simon back and Shadow by your side, the loneliness that had haunted you disappeared. For now, you were whole again.

[wwooyology]

Surprise Baby | S.JY

「pairing」 : bf!jake x fem!reader 「word count」 : 1.2k

「synopsis」 : jake was deadset on making your birthday special even if that meant making you hang out with your friend until he was finished setting up his last birthday surprise.

「genre」 : suggestive & fluff

「warnings」 : kissing, pet names (baby, my love...), choking (if you squint), usage of a blindfold, implied smut, romantic shit, lmk if I missed anything!

「notes」 : this is going to be part one, I got super distracted towards the end and didn't want it to be trash, so I will be writing the next part probably tomorrow or the day after! also, thank you to everyone who sent me birthday wishes. it means the world; I love you all, sm!!! <33

The day had been nothing short of perfect. It started with Jake waking you up by littering small kisses all over your face and neck. The sweet scent of vanilla and cherries filled the air around you, meaning he had lit your favorite candle. His voice was thick with sleep but still rolled off his tongue like honey, coating your skin in a warmth only he gave you.

After fooling around in the sheets for the better part of the morning, Jake’s lips never gave you the chance to breathe. He finally slipped out of bed, telling you to stay put before bringing you a tray full of your favorite treats and a warm cup of coffee, knowing that you’d need the extra caffeine to get through what he had planned for the day.

You had started to lose track of the places that Jake had dragged you, too distracted by the lingering touches his fingertips laid on your skin and the smile that pulled on his lips. There was also something that he wasn’t telling you, the gleam in his eyes telling on him.

“Jae…” You let his name trail on, stealing his attention from the jewelry display case that you were standing in front of. “As much as I love shopping with you, I want to go home and have some us time.” Your hand snaked around his arm as you pressed yourself against his side, hoping that he would get the idea.

He smiled down at you, but you knew he wasn’t going to give in, causing you to pout. Chuckling, he took your free hand in his, pressing a feather-light kiss on the back of your knuckles.

“I have one last thing planned, but I need to get it set up.” He started, his eyes flickering to something behind you, “That means that I’m going to need you to hang out with Yeji for a little bit.”

You bit back a sigh as you looked behind you, seeing your best friend standing a few feet away, waiting patiently with a smile on her lips. Jake watched your face in amusement as your bottom lip jutted out in that very adorable pout that he absolutely adores. 

The smile on his lips morphed into a smug smirk before he reached forward, grabbing your face, squeezing your cheeks causing you to look up at him with doe eyes.

“Be a good girl and listen. I promise you’ll love what I’ve got planned.” He whispered against your lips before placing a gentle kiss on the plump skin.

You nodded softly, leaning into his touch, hoping to fully connect your lips to his, but he pulled away all too soon, causing you to whine. The older male just chuckled before pressing a finger against your forehead, pushing you back softly.

“Go have fun, I’ll call you when everything is ready.” He smiled once more before watching your figure reluctantly retreat to Yeji’s side, who greeted you with a warm smile.

It felt like hours had passed since Jake left you at the shopping center to prepare things at home. At first, you had managed to distract yourself with idle conversation and window shopping (even if Jake had given you his card to use).

However, now you were finding yourself checking your phone every few minutes to see if there were any messages from your boyfriend, but much to your dismay there was nothing.

“You know, checking your phone all the time isn’t going to make it go any faster,” Yeji joked as she sipped on her coffee.

“I know,” you rolled your eyes before setting your phone down to drink a coffee of your own. I just wish he would hurry up. I hate surprises.”

“Well, give it a chance. I know you’re going to love this.” She giggles as you give her a deadpanned look.

“I just know you’re going to love this, meh, meh…” You mock the girl’s words, causing her to burst out laughing.

-

About an hour or so later, you finally got that text from Jake and were quick to bid Yeji goodbye and rushed out of the shop you two had been browsing through.

You were sure you had made it home in record time, surprised that you hadn’t been pulled over because you were sure you had been speeding down most, if not all, of the roads you took. However, it seemed that luck was on your side today because there was very little traffic, and you only hit maybe two red lights on your way.

Getting to the house, you didn’t even bother grabbing your purse or phone, too anxious to see what the quote-unquote surprise was that your lovely boyfriend had planned.

When you stepped inside, the apartment was eerily quiet. The lights were all turned off except for the hallway light that led to the kitchen. Your eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. You couldn’t remember a day that the apartment was this quiet with Jake inside.

Just as you were about to call out to the man, your eyes caught sight of the petals sprawled across the floor. Sealing your lips in a silly smile, you crept closer, realizing that they led to your shared bedroom.

“Jake,” you called out as you made your way to your bedroom door, which was slightly ajar, allowing you to see the soft glow of flickering lights. You were met with silence, though, the hairs on your neck and arms standing tall as you reached out to push the wooden door open.

You open your mouth to call for Jake once more when you don’t see him anywhere in the room, only to have your voice get caught in your throat when your vision goes black.

“There’s my birthday girl.” Jake’s thick accent filled your ears, causing a shiver to run down your spine. His warm breath against your neck told you just how close he was as if the feeling of his chest against your back wasn’t enough.

“Jake, what is all of this?” Your voice shook slightly, a sudden rush of excitement coursing through your veins. Your fingers wrapped around Jake’s wrist, pulling them from your eyes and allowing you to look back at him.

Jake didn’t give you a chance to fully turn your head as he pressed a kiss against the warm skin of your cheek, his hand wrapping around your neck softly. Your eyes fluttered closed as he continued to press hot kisses along your jaw before nipping at your earlobe.

“Do you trust me, baby?” His voice was husky, instantly making you drip in your panties, and all it took was a simple mumble of a ‘yes’ for your vision to go black once more. Your breath hitched in your throat when you realized that it was a blindfold, Jake’s slender fingers tying a knot in the fabric, not tight enough to hurt, but enough to keep it in place.

Having your sight cut seemed to heighten all of your other senses. You could feel all of the hairs on your body stand tall as Jake’s hand traveled along the length of your waist, tugging at the fabric of your dress until it pooled at your feet on the ground.

“Don’t worry, baby. I’ll take great care of you. Tonight is all about you, my love.” He whispered in your ear as his hand lay on the plush flesh of your stomach while the other moved to your jaw, tilting your head so he could press a searing kiss to your lips.

It was going to be a long night, but you couldn’t have asked for a better birthday gift.

@wwooyology | Do not steal, plagiarise, translate, or repost any of my work

𝖉𝖎𝖘𝖈𝖑𝖆𝖎𝖒𝖊𝖗 : ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪꜱ ɴᴏ ᴡᴀʏ ᴀ ᴛʀᴜᴇ ʀᴇᴘʀᴇꜱᴇɴᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏꜰ ᴀɴʏ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴇᴍʙᴇʀꜱ. ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪꜱ ᴘᴜʀᴇʟʏ ꜰɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ᴀɴᴅ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏᴍᴇɴᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ɴᴏᴛ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴛᴀᴋᴇɴ ꜱᴇʀɪᴏᴜꜱʟʏ.

[shanastoryteller]

tony gets kidnapped on his way to a business meeting or something and he goes with it because they’re in a pretty crowded area and he doesn’t want some innocent bystanders getting hurt in the scuffle. the team will notice eventually and his overprotective boyfriend captain american is going to 1. notice very quickly and 2. freak the fuck out, so he’s not really risking much here

also these kidnappers are sort of stupid and he’s not really worried about escaping later. except even though they’re stupid they mention things about the avengers and shield that they really shouldn’t know so tony decides to stick around to see if he can figure out if they lucked into hacking past his security (not likely) or if there’s some sort of mole

except the leader and the underlings get in an argument right in front of him because apparently they were supposed to capture captain america, not iron man, and the guy who grabbed him is like no, no, this is better! we have his boyfriend so we can lure him here instead!

meanwhile tony is just stating in disbelief that these idiots manage to string two thoughts together. there has to be mole. or someone else really in charge. or something.

and the leader is like fine whatever. he takes tony’s phone and opens the contacts and snorts, “this is what you have him saved us? pathetic”

tony looks at the contact labeled <3 <3 love of my life light in the dark wind beneath my wings <3 <3 and is sort of glad he’s gagged so he can’t say anything

he still doesn’t really know what’s going on and jarvis is still trying to hack their system an there’s no harm in sticking around a little longer since these people are. you know. idiots

except approximately fifteen minues later rhodey is busting down the wall and taking out all these guys in thirty seconds flat and tony slips out of the ropes that he’d undone about five minutes after being put into them (thanks nat) and pulls down the gag and says, “i thought you were on radio silence on a mission in ghana”

“i thought you could be trusted on your own, so it looks like we’re both wrong,” rhodey says. “what were you playing at?”

“i would have told you not to come if i’d known you’d get the message,” he protests. “i was working an angle here, okay, jarvis are you into their systems yet?”

“yes,” his trusty ai says from his phone from one of the kidnapper’s pockets. “tracing the origin of their financial backer now.”

“you really didn’t have to stay kidnapped for jarvis to do that,” rhodey points out, brushing him off and checking him for injuries.

tony shrugs. “i didn’t want to risk one of them getting away and tipping them off. take care of them i could. do it before they got a signal out without the suit? maybe not.”

this very reasonable discussion is interrupted by the rest of the avengers coming in swinging and then left blinking except for steve who feels the need to fuss over him while tony whines and complains and pretends he doesn’t love it

he says they were after steve anyway, he was just bait and steve frowns and is like well, why didn’t they try and contact me then? we knew something was wrong because of the stark industries security footage

and natasha, the sneak, has picked tony’s phone from the kidnapper’s pocket. he lunges for it but she skips back from him and says, “well it looks like they tried. they just messaged the wrong person”

steve takes the phone and sees the contact name and that the kidnappers sent the message we have your boyfriend and if you don’t do exactly what we say you’ll never see him again and is like. this is what rhodey is saved as in your phone?? what am i??

“look, the things is, it’s not like i actually use anyone’s contact, or look at it, i just tell jarvis who to call, so you really shouldn’t take this personally,” tony says.

steve types in his own number and stares in disbelief. “captain? i’m saved in your phone as CAPTAIN?”

“okay well when you gave me your number we weren’t dating and also you were being very mean to me at the time, so,” he says, resisting the urge to hide behind rhodey because he doesn’t think that will help

steve turns his gaze to rhodey. “what is tony saved as in your phone?”

“i really don’t think that’s relevant,” he answers, looking back at the hole in the wall like he’s considering flying out of it.

“jarvis, what’s tony saved as in rhodey’s contacts?” steve asks.

tony says, “j, don’t-“

“sir is saved in colonel rhodes’s contacts as baby,” jarvis answers.

clint is laughing so hard he’s going to break a rib. natasha raises an eyebrow, which is about the same thing

steve’s face is pure betrayal

“it’s because he’s an infant,” rhodey says, “and very needy and he throws up on me a lot.”

“hey!” tony scowls. “i haven’t done that in years!”

“and when you were texted about your boyfriend being kidnapped, you just knew it was tony?” steve asks.

rhodey shrugs. “well, who else would it be?”

even steve doesn’t have an answer to that

“it’s purely platonic,” tony says reassuringly, “carol would scratch my eyes out.”

steve scowls and sulks until tony changes his contact name

except now he’s in tony’s phone as captain handsome. he tells himself it’s an upgrade

[itadores]

note: hi friends <3 l&ds has me in a chokehold rn

pairing: zayne x gn!reader

word count: 1k

tags: gender neutral reader, alcohol / alcohol intoxication, reader can fit into zayne’s coat, reader isn't explicitly mc

You exit the nightclub with a stumble. Goosebumps erupt all over your exposed skin, but the cool air is a welcome reprieve from the stuffiness of the crowd of sweaty bodies that you've just escaped. You suck in a deep breath, closing your eyes for a moment, and bask in the sensation of the crisp air against your heated skin. As much as clubbing with your friends is a fun affair, it feels nice to be free from the lively environment. The chatter of your friends nearby prompts you to open your eyes once more.

"It's so cold out," one of your friends complains, louder than necessary due to the alcohol in her system. Her arms are tightly folded across her body as she shivers. She murmurs her thanks to one of your other friends as they take it upon themselves to rub their hands up and down her bare arms to create some warmth. Her attention then turns to you. "Is your boyfriend here yet?" she whines.

"Hold on, let me see where he is." You slip your phone out of your pocket, checking to see if you've received any new messages. It takes you a moment to register what the words swimming on the screen are saying as you read over the latest text you’ve gotten from your boyfriend. You send a quick and hopefully coherent reply back to him before you put your phone back in its place. "He should be here any minute now. Let's go wait by the curb, so he can see us."

Your friends follow you like ducklings as you weave your way through the groups of people standing around and conversing outside the nightclub, leading them towards the edge of the sidewalk by the road to wait. Your eyes scan the street, waiting for the sight of a familiar car to enter your view. When it inevitably does, you perk up immediately.

"He's here!"

Zayne pulls right up to the curb next to you, putting the car in park but leaving it running before he gets out to join you and your gaggle of friends on the sidewalk.

"Hi Zaynie."

A weight suddenly eases onto your shoulders.

“You’ll catch a cold wearing just that," Zayne says in lieu of a greeting.

"I'm not that cold," you protest, pouting, but you clumsily slip your arms through the sleeves of his coat anyways.

You truly aren’t that cold, the liquor in your system doing more than enough to keep you warm, but you know that Zayne won’t let you refuse him, especially if you were to provide him with that as your excuse. Besides, Zayne's coat is much too comfortable to turn down. You bring the collar up to your nose and inhale, the familiar scent of Zayne’s cologne washing over you.

Zayne exchanges brief pleasantries with your friends before opening the car door to the backseat, allowing them to clamor inside his vehicle. He gently closes the door once he's sure they're all safely inside and then moves to open the door to the passenger seat for you.

Zayne pauses when you place your hand over the back of his, which rests on the door handle of the car.

"Thanks for picking us up again, Zayne. I know you must be really tired after such a busy week at the hospital and I know they," you toss a sideways glance at your rowdy friends in the car, who can easily be heard from outside of the car despite the windows being all the way up, "can be a lot sometimes, especially when they're drunk."

You turn your attention back to Zayne.

"I'm also drunk," you say as if it's not so incredibly apparent. It feels necessary for you tell him.

"I know," Zayne says. A small smile rests on his lips. He takes his hand off the door handle and flips his palm over to press against yours, holding your hand loosely. "I would not have offered to pick you and your friends up if I was unwilling to do so." He squeezes your hand gently. "What's most important is that you all enjoyed yourselves."

You pull your clasped hands closer to you as you lean the upper half of your body against Zayne’s side. "I had fun, but I'm glad to be here with you," you say, resting your chin against his arm as you peer up at him, your eyelids heavy. “I missed you.”

“How honest of you,” Zayne dryly remarks, though the warmth of his gaze betrays his fondness. He leans down and presses a delicate kiss to your forehead. “I missed you as well,” he murmurs against your skin. You lean further into Zayne’s touch, eyes slipping closed in contentment.

However, that all shatters soon enough.

“Let’s go, lovebirds!” your friends shout, sticking their heads out of the now fully rolled down backseat window. They motion for you to get in the car.

You loudly groan, pressing your forehead into Zayne’s shoulder. “If we ignore them, you think they’ll go away?” you mumble.

“Hey, we heard that!”

Zayne gives your hand a gentle squeeze. “Let’s get your friends home safely and then we can go home ourselves. I picked up food earlier this evening from that place you like to frequent. I can reheat it for you when we get back.” Zayne lets go of your hand and opens the passenger door for you.

“I love you so much. You’re the best, thank you,” you say, giving Zayne a kiss on the cheek before you climb inside the car with his assistance.

“Of course.”

Zayne closes the door once he’s sure you’re completely inside the vehicle. He observes the way you immediately turn in your seat to face your friends in the back row, quietly chuckling to himself as you do your best to shut down their teasing about how lovesick you are for him.

Zayne walks around to the driver’s side of his car, placing his hand on the handle. If only your friends knew the truth. If they were aware of the depth of the love and care he feels towards you, they would surely be calling him lovesick as well. Perhaps, they already have an idea of the strength of his affections for you. After all, he’s not willing to play chauffeur for people around Linkon City at the request of just anybody.

[onlymingyus]

a little attention

pairing; yoon jeonghan x gn reader

genre; fluff, slight angst

warnings; some tension in the relationship, talks of being sick or worse, dramatic af!jeonghan, mostly just two people in love and one of them is an attention hog

w/c; 1.4k and some change 

requested; no

a/n; i just had an idea of jeonghan and how he enjoys attention and the lengths he would go to in order to get it. also i wrote that first line and it made me fond of him. i hate it here.

Hannie: Be sure to take care of Jjongddol when I’m gone. 

It takes longer than you would like to check your phone but the moment you see the message from Jeonghan you can’t help but sigh. Your boyfriend has always been dramatic so it had become a bit like the boy who cried wolf when it came to know if he was actually needing you. Sighing you glance at your co-worker's desk noticing she isn’t paying you much attention before you put your phone to your ear letting it ring. 

“Baby…I could be dead by now. Laying in a ditch, is this how much I mean to you?” 

Another sigh slips from your lips causing your co-worker to look at you, prompting you to turn your chair from her direction so you can talk to Jeonghan with some bit of privacy. 

“Jeonghan, you are so…” You can almost picture his pout as you speak making you stop mid-sentence taking another direction in your conversation. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

Turning over on his side, Jeonghan whines into the phone as he pulls your blanket over his body on the couch. He loved the sound of your voice, even if you sounded a bit annoyed with him. He missed you so much and he didn’t feel his best. 

“I don’t feel good, come home. Something is wrong.”  

Furrowing your brows, you glance at the clock on your computer to see what it was. You had only been at work for a little under 4 hours, with another 4 to go so Jeonghan asking this of you was a big ask. Shaking your head, you look down at your lap feeling your heart tighten at the sound of his whine. He sounded pitiful. Maybe he actually was sick and needed you. 

“Jeonghan, I’m at work. I can’t just leave for no reason, as much as I’d like to–” 

“No reason? No…reason? I told you I don’t feel good. Y/N, I am wounded. My heart is breaking. It’s shattering into a million pieces on the floor as I speak.” 

You knew he was twisting the situation but all you could do was sigh in slight frustration. Your head leaning back against your chair, you close your eyes briefly listening to the whine in his voice only get stronger before you finally speak up again. 

“Fine! Oh my god…you are such a baby. If you aren’t literally on your death bed you will be Yoon Jeonghan.” 

A smile plays on Jeonghan’s lips at your words, he knew that was an empty threat. You loved him far too much, just as much as he loved you. Putting on his sweetest baby voice, Jeonghan shifts on the couch so he can look up at the ceiling, his fingers playing with the soft blanket that smells like you. 

“You’ll be home in an hour?” 

Furrowing your brows, you are already packing up your bag after typing up an email to your boss about an emergency at home when Jeonghan asks you that question. 

“Why does it matter? Do you need to plan something?” 

“No…of course not. I am just so happy you love me this much. I know I’ll start to feel a little better just seeing your pretty face.” 

Waving at your co-worker you can’t help but note her smirk as you start for the door, your eyes rolling at Jeonghan’s words. 

“Yeah, I’m sure. You want me to pick you up some soup?” 

Jeonghan juts out his bottom lip considering your offer before nodding to himself and making a cute affirming noise. 

“Please? And dumplings? I love you so much, angel.” 

The sound of your car starting makes Jeonghan grin, along with the sound of your more clearly annoyed breath when your phone connects to your car. 

“Yeah, I know. I love you too. Be home soon. Get some rest, babe.” 

“Mmm.” 

That’s the last sound you hear before Jeonghan hangs up the phone, leaving you to your task and to drive. Around an hour later you find yourself in front of your shared home with the man, your bag, and take out in your arms walking up to the door. Furrowing your brows you balance it all in order to manage to unlock the door and get inside. 

After a quick glance around, everything looked normal. You hadn’t expected anything different really but you couldn’t help the deep-down feeling of dread. What if something was really wrong with Jeonghan? What if he was sick enough that you needed to take him to the hospital? He had said something that had stuck with you the entire drive; ‘Something is wrong.’ 

What could be wrong? 

Setting your shoes and bag to the side, you keep the takeout in hand as you make your way into the living room seeing your blanket missing. That could only mean one thing, Jeonghan had taken it to the bedroom. Something he usually did when he wasn’t feeling well and wanted it with him in the bed. Now you were concerned. 

“Jeonghan, baby?” 

The sound of your voice, a small bit of panic laced within the warmth caused Jeonghan to lift his head from the pillows, hitting pause on the movie he had been watching. 

“I’m in here, Y/N.” 

It was good to hear his voice, you realize. You really had missed him even if you had seen him just that morning. Stepping into the room, you let your eyes move over him on the bed. The blanket draped over his body, his shoulder-length brown hair resting a bit messily against his pillow. Other than looking a bit paler than normal he looked fine. 

Furrowing your brows, you sit down the takeout on the nightstand before reaching out to touch his forehead to check for a fever repeating the process on his cheeks. Jeonghan smiles taking your wrist and pulling your hand to his lips to kiss your knuckles lovingly. 

“How are you feeling Jeonghan? You said something was wrong?” 

The man nods, his lips brushing over the top of your hand as he lifts his eyes to meet yours. 

“It was, you went to work and left me home alone. I was lonely.” 

Pulling your hand away, you sigh loudly when Jeonghan laughs playfully, falling back against his pillows at your burst of frustration at his actions. 

“You are such an ass. That’s half a day of work Jeonghan. It’s not funny…” 

His laugh fades as he sees your face, the crease between your brows. Reaching up he tries to take your hand once only to be pushed away before he tries again slower when you let him as he sits up pulling you closer to the bed. 

“I’m sorry baby. I know it was stupid. I just…wanted a little attention. I’ve been gone so much and then when I got back you work every day. Also, it wasn’t a complete lie, I really did have a headache, but it is feeling better now. But, it was selfish and stupid of me. I just really miss you. I was hoping you’d find it fun too. I wanted to lay in bed, eat the food, watch a movie, cuddle…see where the cuddling led us.” 

You were trying very hard to stay angry at Jeonghan as he explained himself but as he spoke it got harder and harder to keep your eyes cold. It got more difficult to stay tense as his hand slid over your hip to your lower back trying to pull you closer to him on the bed. 

“You could have just told me that. I hate when you lie to get me to do something. I was so scared that something was really wrong. Don’t ever do that to me again.” 

Jeonghan frowns sitting back to look up at you better, his hand sliding from yours so he can hold his hand up to pledge to you. 

“I promise I won’t, I’ll just tell you. I love you so much, angel.” 

Furrowing your brows, you whine softly at his voice feeling yourself going soft for him. Jeonghan could see you crumbling for him, a smile on his lips at the sound. 

“I love you too, you idiot.” 

“Your idiot.” 

You let yourself be pulled onto the bed and into Jeonghan’s arms then under the blanket. The warmth of his arms lulls you to relax into the mattress and his touch when his lips meet yours gently. 

“Mm, but do you still promise to take care of Jjongddol if something does happen to me?” 

Jeonghan laughs against your lips, a pained sound escaping against your lips when your hand connects with his shoulder at his joke. His lips meshed with yours once again, a smile spreading on your lips when you find yourself happy that he lured you away from work today. 

© onlymingyus - all rights reserved. Reposting/modifying of any fic, or pieces of original writings posted on this blog is not allowed. Translations not allowed.

[lunarsilver]

What awaits you in September?

It's been a while since I've done a PAC, but I felt like doing one today. I've used charms and intuition for this one. Pick the pile you're feeling drawn to and see what awaits you in the next September.

REMEMBER

I’m not a doctor, a psychiatrist, a therapist nor a psychologist. Divination will never replace meetings with them.

It’s a general reading, so not everything will resonate.

If you can’t choose between two piles, probably both of them have some messages for you. You can also not identify with any of them, and that’s okay, too.

Readings can help you make a decision, but they shouldn’t be the main reason of making it.

1 ~ 2 ~ 3

Group 1

As I was asking what awaits you in September while picking charms, a charm with words meaning “fingers crossed” (the message is written in my native language and literally means “holding thumbs” though, which looks like this 👍) fell to the ground. In that same moment I holded another charm, about to take it out of the bowl, saying “a selfie together?”. The way this first charm looks, it gives me a feeling someone (your spirit guides, maybe) is rooting for you to have enough courage to ask somebody to take a selfie together. Maybe you’ll make a “thumbs up” gesture while taking this photo. I asked for additional context of this selfie and the charms which I took out (all close together) were “smile”, “you’re cool” and “I like you just the way you are”. A friend? A crush? My mind keeps going to a scenario of a confident female friend (or at least femininely presenting), especially a new one, and I see done nails (especially hybrid nails, colorful, or with small diamonds on each one), and I think about Agnes from Despicable Me and Priya from Turning Red for some reason. Maybe this person has some similarities to them. I think about a “girl’s girl”, with a distinct style and someone who hypes you up. And probably someone you aren’t close with yet. I don’t know to what extent this scenario will resonate with all of you, but coming back to the more universal beginning, the charms are telling you to not overthink it, smile and take a selfie with someone if you feel like it.

 Group 2

The first charm coming out was “you called?”, then “now you can go crazy” (with this one I almost took out a charm with “shall we dance?”, but it slipped out back into the bowl) and lastly “that was a good evening”. With the way I was taking out one charm at the time, and didn’t feel like I have to mix charms for too long, you have a rather grounded vibe to me. Like, you do one thing at the time, and you are quite sure about what you want to do. Now, with the messages written on charms, it’s either you taking somebody out or someone taking out you - I feel like in most cases it’s gonna be the latter, with how grounded the vibe you gave me is, and the “now you can go crazy” message. You have an approval of doing something unusual for you for once lol (of course, always stay safe). Pretty straightforward, going out with somebody out in the evening (I see mostly a male friend with a kinda class clown energy, or a bigger group of friends). This “shall we dance?” charm slipping out makes me curious. Someone will like to ask another person to dance, but won’t say it in the end? Or maybe another person refuses? The first one feels more plausible though. I see mostly a city setting, like going for a walk when it’s dark and there are street light, and so few cars someone could think about dancing on the street for a moment (again, stay safe, I don’t really feel any bad vibes, but I’m telling you this just in case). For the whole reading I felt like shuffling a song for you, so here it goes: Ship in a Bottle by fin.

Group 3

With this pile I felt kind of unconcentrated, as if I couldn’t pick what to do. If you felt drawn to one of the previous piles, check them and then come back here. The charms from them were showing up for a moment, almost getting picked up. Your charms are “a coincidence…?” and “every occasion is good”, taken out together, which makes quite a lot of sense. Something unplanned is going to happen, but there’s no reason to not do what you had in mind for some time if an occasion shows up. As I asked for more, “that was a good evening” fell out. I kept mixing charms, but it felt like that’s all they have to tell you, I didn’t feel that I absolutely have to take out some other charm out of the bowl. However, it fell weirdly unsatisfactory, and my mind went to cards with song quotes I’ve made and use sometimes during divination. Low and behold, I didn’t fully finish the question and one card fell out: “Sometimes the worst of ‘em have the best disguises/He’ll go as far as it takes to stay in hiding/Uh, don’t you know, don’t you know/’Bout the devil, he’s a gentleman” from “The devil is a gentleman” by Merci Raines, and at the back of the deck is “I used to think that I was bold/I used to think love was for fun/Now all my stories have been told/Except for one” from “You will be okay” by Sam Haft, used in Helluva Boss as a lullaby a father sings to his daughter after her nightmare. So it feels like someone is up to no good, and for most of you that person is either a love interest, a paternal figure or a man in power (a priest and a teacher came to my mind, but it may be someone else). I don’t want to scare you, of course, it doesn’t have to be as serious as it could appear in your head. Just remember to stick to your guts and listen to your gut feelings. While the first pile feels excited and rather young, and the second a little older, logical and grounded, this one feels a little stuck and probably the oldest (either you’ve seen some things or are a working adult is what I’m getting). It looks like it’s about time to get rid of what’s not serving you and spend a nice evening. You may have some problems with confidence, but it doesn't mean you should put up with anyone's bullshit.

[fueledbysano]

𝐋𝐄𝐓 𝐇𝐈𝐌 𝐂𝐎𝐎𝐊! bachira, nagi, rin, chigiri

blue lock boys giving you the second button of their uniform— a way of boys in Japan to express or confess their love for the person they admire. *second button: representing one's love

♱ ft. bachira, nagi, rin, chigiri

♱ content/warnings: gn!reader, university au, fluff, romance, making out.

♱ a/n: my blue lock debut piece! I'd love to write for a lot more of them but since this is my first time writing for the fandom, I'm trying out my skills first with my favorite boys. I really loved writing this one, here's for more!

♡ tags; @tokyometronetwork @blueparadis

♡ bachira

Bachira is a sports scholar of the university, which means he prioritizes his duties in the soccer team over academics. And you were an irregular student, since you came from a different university to shift majors. You have been friends with Bachira since the beginning of the semester because of your shared “weird” schedule compared to the other students in your year. When he is in the field, you’re on the benches, waiting for him to finish to attend your special class together, or just simply killing time together at a fast food or park.  Bachira genuinely thought that he'd be a loner when he first stepped foot in the university, but you made sure he never was. Which he appreciated in so many ways, so he started returning the favor by tailing you at all times too.

You weren't sure if it was simply a kind gesture, or he was genuinely intrigued with getting close with you. The thing is.. You were catching feelings for the boy. And it will change the course of your relationship. But you were actually the first one to confess.

“Fine, I’ll do it.” You turn to Isagi, a mutual friend of you and Meguru. “Really?” He sounded amazed, finally proud that you acted on your feelings towards Bachira. You have been telling Isagi about how you wanted to “confess” to Bachira without having to stress on a cheesy message that high schoolers do, until Isagi gave you an idea of giving Bachira your name tag, a form of confession of girls to boys in Korea.

“[ Y / N ], this is for you!” Bachira yelled from the field as he dribbled, then kicked the ball straight to the goal. You smiled at him and stuck your thumbs out to cheer him on. “It’s all going to go well. I think he likes you too.” Isagi said as he stood up. “Who knows, maybe you’ll spend Valentine’s together!” He teased before jogging back to the field.

You didn’t exactly plan on how you will hand your tag to him. Should you do it like the ones on TV? Call him to a special place and then hand it to him? You tried to think of different places as you walked down the halls, running your thumb over the embroidered letters of your name on the patch.

At the corner of your eye, you spot the lockers outside the gym. You stopped your tracks when you realized that Bachira had one of those. Searching for his name, you slipped your name tag in between the thin gaps of the locker and hoped for the best. 

That night, you shut your phone off out of anxiety and decided to check it by tomorrow, when he’s probably seen your little gift to him. However, your body froze when his name still didn’t show up in your messages. Hasn’t he seen it yet? Or, maybe, he did… You waited all day for a message, heck, for him to even knock on your door but there was nothing. 

What if he just didn’t know what it meant? Maybe he’ll just return it when you see each other again which is… in two days. However, when you showed up in the field on Monday, bachira was nowhere to be found. Isagi also mentioned that the boy was barely texting over the weekend, which was the last straw in making you panic.

“I dropped the name tag in his locker! What if— what if he saw it and he’s avoiding me now?!” You held onto Isagi’s shoulders. “Wait, what?!” He exclaimed. “Okay, maybe I am a pussy for not giving it in person—” You rambled, until you noticed that Isagi’s eyes trailed behind you. “[ Y / N ], someone’s looking for you.” He spoke. You look at him in confusion before turning to your back. Bachira had just arrived and quietly looked at you, and then went back to Isagi. 

“[ Y / N ], can we talk?” He finally asks. “Yeah, sure.” You were obviously nervous. You’ve never felt this tense with Bachira before, especially when the both of you were dead silent as you headed to the campus gardens. 

“Well, First of all, I’m sorry—” For what simultaneously felt like a second and eternity, your mind jumped into the worst case scenario— a rejection. However, your mind quickly went back to reality when he continued talking. “There were lots of clothes in my locker and I believe this got buried at the bottom.” He held your name tag up with a sly smile. “I got sick over the weekend and didn’t see it until this morning, so… I’m sorry.” He chuckled.

“Oh… yeah, no worries.” You casually chuckled. “No, I definitely made you worried. My bad.” He insisted. You stood for a moment and looked into each other's eyes in silence before he reached for his shirt pocket, and handed you something.

Now that he knows for a fact that you reciprocate his feelings, he was confident. Before he went to you, Bachira called his mom and she gave her just the right push to show you just how much he adores you the same way you did.

You felt your body heat up when you realized it was the second button of his uniform shirt, sitting on the palm of your hand. Bachira had a shy smile as he watched you react to his response. “So… it’s Valentine’s day tomorrow and… I was wondering if you want to go out with me…” Bachira thought it was perfect timing and reason to ask you out, something he’d been on the fence for over a while now.

“Well, we always go out, but, I want to—” You reached your hands up to Bachira’s soft cheeks and offered him your lips before feeling him pull your chin towards him gently and eventually envelop his lips with yours. You kissed fiercely, smiling at each other's mouths.

“Of course, I do.” You whispered and hooked your finger into his belt loop and pulled him into a deeper kiss

♡ nagi 

Nagi was quick to realize his feelings for you, especially after Isagi teased him for blushing when you practically threw yourself into him for a hug when the team you were cheering for won the game. He wasn’t particularly fond of all the blushing when he unexpectedly meets you in the hallways or trying to speak to you without his heart racing. 

So he decided on confessing to you, but he wasn't quite sure how. Nagi is a simple man, he wanted it forward, but memorable. The fact that he wasn’t sure of your romantic preferences was what makes him nervous and taking quite long. 

The thoughts of his confession continued to haunt him, he would overthink about different scenarios during practice, and one time he even messed up a level in his game because he thought of you thinking he was too corny. Thankfully, the boys cut him some slack as they understand what he’s going through, at the same time, helping him think of ways to confess and ensuring he is cool enough to pull you.

On the other hand, you were clueless why Nagi started to suddenly choke on his words around you, but you think it was cute. One thing you liked doing for Nagi is watching his soccer matches. He is highly motivated in the field and took the game seriously. But when you walk up to him with a bottle of energy drink after every match, he’s back to being the shy boy, especially when his teammates not-so-secretly cheer and holler at your little interaction. 

“Hey, Nagi? Wanna get something to eat before going home?” You looked up at him hopefully. You lived close to him, but he lived further away from the university than you did. So you often walked each other home for convenience. With the exception of the one incident when Nagi started dozing off and you had to tow him along while he was seated on a skateboard.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Fried chicken?” You grinned at him. At this, Nagi smiled a little, but said nothing more. You two walked slowly out of the campus, and towards the place. The rest of the time, as you both ate, you spoke about somewhat common subjects like your weekend plans or any antics of his teammates. 

Nagi was contemplating how he could get the most out of this conversation, despite how much he wanted to hear you exclaim with excitement about your plans. Maybe after all, you were the final push he needed for his confession all along. Your heart felt like it was going to catch fire as Nagi appeared to mirror the sea of emotion that was in your eyes while he carefully listened to what you had to say.

You both finished your meals, Nagi insisted on paying the check, and you left the restaurant into the chilly evening air. “What’s the occasion?” You giggle when you put your coat on, and then meet Nagi’s serious expression. 

If he’s not scared, he’s not taking a chance.

And if he’s not taking a chance… then what the hell is he doing?

“[ Y / N ]...”

“Yeah?” Nagi now had everything planned out. The dinner was his treat, and tomorrow after class, he'll simply let the button of his uniform speak to you. “I’m going to confess to you tomorrow so wait for me after school, okay?” The anxiety was long gone but most certainly not the honesty. You were equally amazed and perplexed by his words. It was already a confession, wasn't it?

“Oi, why are you all smiley?” Nagi still doesn't realize his mistake of blurting out what was on his mind. “Because…. You already confessed to me.” You chuckled, looking up at him with a thin smile. “Eh—” Nagi recalled the words in his mind and had an internal panic attack. “F-forget what I said—”

“No, I refuse to forget that.” You took a step closer towards Nagi before slowly taking his right hand that redeemed all the terror in his system. “Tell me…” You spoke softly, toying with the collar of his coat. And so with an exhale, Nagi pulled on the second button of his school uniform before taking it to your hand that was intertwined with his, “one’s most beloved person.” He decreed.

You felt Nagi's hands raise your chin up, and before you could say anything, you felt his lips on yours. As you moved your lips against his, he waited patiently for your consent before proceeding. At first, Nagi’s eyes were a tangle of turmoil and both of yours were wide with optimism. You move forward towards him and put your hands up around his neck as you close your eyes in happiness.

The risk was worth it.

♡ rin

Three weeks had already passed since you were left hanging by a potential love figure; Rin Itoshi. And up to this day, you still feel like being swallowed to the ground every time you recall the memory. It all started when you happened to share drinks with him at an afterparty, in celebration of the win of their team in the national tournaments.

And with the help of alcohol, you had his number by the end of the night and started talking to him since then. Rin isn’t too much of a dry texter like anyone would assume, but definitely isn’t talkative either. Your usual greetings and ranting about your professors grew into telling how each other’s days went, sending pictures of something cool you saw, and even an unexpected shirtless mirror selfie of him in the locker room after a game.

It was like winning the lottery, really. Knowing that other people at campus died to even get his attention. 

Just when things seemed to go smoothly with Rin, you finally agreed to go on a date together in a simple cafe just around the town.  However, when you arrived at the hour you agreed on, he was nowhere to be found. He never arrived that night, nor did you message him ever again; you were too embarrassed and angry to bitch out on him, knowing well that having hard feelings with Rin never ends well. 

So you ignored him on campus as best as you can. You were doing good with your mission, until the day of your senior trip arrived. You were unfortunately sat next to him on the bus.  Rin didn’t show it, but he was floored. He didn’t dare to spare a glance towards your way, and neither did you. He was the one who stood you up, why is he the one acting smug? Rin remained unbothered and had his eyes peered on the cars and trees passing by, oblivious of the dagger stares you were now throwing at him.

“Do you wanna watch a movie?” He spoke up and offered you an ear bud, still not making sure contact. “Oh, so we’re talking again?” You blurt, audibly upset with him. “I’m being nice.” Rin sighed. “I don’t wanna watch your stupid movie.” You spat and turned your back to him. “Have fun getting bored for the next four hours.” He spoke smugly. “Dick.” You mumbled and threw your hoodie over your head.

Rin knows what you were doing. You had every right to act the way you do towards him, just as he anticipated. He knows that there was nothing he could do about it, so he didn’t bother to even plan out a conversation with you. However, He wished that he would have dealt with things differently. You did not deserve to be stood up on that date and it is unfair of him to act like nothing happened. For the first time in his life— Itoshi Rin was conflicted and unsure.

You slowly fell into slumber as the bus’ movement rocked you like a baby. However, you shifted halfway through your sleep and fell right onto Rin’s shoulder. He wasn’t oblivious of this, but let you get comfortable in his touch anyways. Rin felt tense, startled, even. And you weren’t even awake. He was debating whether to rest his head on yours too, but before he could act, the bus was already pulling over at the beach resort you were heading to.

You woke up feeling suspiciously comfortable, realizing where you have been sleeping for the last hour. “Thought I had to drag you out of here.” Rin already had your bags in his hand. You threw him a quick thanks before heading straight to your respective room, loathing how you let yourself fall asleep on Rin’s shoulder for god knows how long. He probably thinks that you’re still chasing after him.

Shortly, you were now dipped in the pool with your friends and classmates. You knew you had to emerge when your fingers started to prune. You were surprised that Rin didn’t come along, considering that his friends, Aryu and Tokimitsu, were around. You were ready to call it a night until some guys in your year invited you to their room for drinks. Everyone seemed to be headed there right now, but you weren’t particularly in the mood for partying.

“I’m gonna have to pass tonight. I hope there's one tomorrow?” You awkwardly smiled at the visibly drunk guys. “Come on, we’ll make sure you have fun alright.” One of them spoke and took you by the wrist. “H-hey, I said I’m fine.” You tried to turn but the other guys were already blocking your way. “Scram. Junichi, Keisuke.” A voice coming from the staircase startled the brothers.

“[ Y / N ]’s coming with me. Leave us.” Rin’s first instinct was to cover your soaked swimwear and skin with his varsity jacket. “I totally had that.” You scoffed. “Come on, not even a ‘thank you’?” He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I’m really upset with you, you know?” You blurt with a sigh. “You’ve made that very obvious.” Rin flatly spoke, before breathing out, “You’re the only one in this university to genuinely get my interest.” “I didn’t show up because… I wanted to be sure.”He added.  “Sure of what?”

He was forward, but you liked how he also conformed into the button-giving confession style. You weren’t sure if Rin had picked up on you being a hopeless romantic, but it worked. “Be mine.” Rin said with a heartstopping smirk that showed just enough of his smile, the button to his uniform pinched in between his index and middle finger. You had no words at Rin’s sudden confession. 

You felt your cheeks heat up as he leaned closer to you, slowly backing you against the wall. “Rin—” You whimpered at his touch, but his eyes glistened with adoration and lust, for none other than you. Rin leaned down slowly, his eyes only focused on your lips as he pressed his own softly to yours.

♡ chigiri

The most hesitant. He didn't really feel the need to tell you since he believed that his feelings for you were simply a passing infatuation, nothing more than a silly memory he would laugh about as you grow up. This just gave him the courage to openly express his feelings for you, which seemed to have succeeded given the energy you reciprocated.

However, when his accident happened, it was no secret that it took a toll on his career and relationship, including yours. Yet, it also truly astounded him and made him understand that you weren't simply just a silly crush.

You assisted him with his physical therapy when his family was unable to do so, you didn't get angry when he demanded space, you never missed an opportunity to distract him from his injury even just for the slightest second, and most importantly— you treated him in the same manner as before rather than looking at him with pity like other people might have.

You are the calm in the middle of the storm; and something about it just served to deepen his feelings for you. Chigiri believes that you made him better when he was back in the field in no time. However, bittersweet news came when he was offered an opportunity in Blue Lock.

You were often inside his mind during his entire stay in the project; wondering how you fared on your own, and also hoping that no one’s replaced his place in your life. 

So when he finished his goals at the project, he wasted no time in coming back home to his family, and you. However, a long time has passed and you have gone off to college in a different city. Chigiri's mother strongly encouraged him to follow suit and get a sports scholarship, considering that the term just started as well.

You missed Chigiri dearly, but proud of all his accomplishments in the Blue Lock project. So when you mother informed you that he had returned and is attending your university, you pulled every string you could to find out which program he took and where the hell he was; bringing you here to room 505 of the boys’ dormitory. “Damnit, it’s real.” The words barely came out of your mouth. Chigiri changed since the last time you saw him; the hair framing his face grew significantly longer, his body grew a more lean frame, and grew some height.

“[ Y / N ]!” Chigiri is floored, to say the least; finding you at his doorstep. He didn’t show it, but his heart was racing as you studied each other’s faces. He had been meaning to look for you but getting settled in took much of his time, but here you were now. “Mom told me that you went here and I never really saw you around—”

“It’s okay.” Chigiri held you in a big embrace and let you giggle over his shoulder before uttering a quick “Hi.” “So, I heard that you just got in?” You asked “Yeah.” “I never knew you were coming home.” You admitted. “Well, we have time before the next cup.” Chigiri explained, rubbing soft circles on your back.

“I’m so proud of you.” You smiled before pulling away. “How about we get some karinto and I’ll show you around?” You offered. “They serve karinto here?!” He exclaimed, mouth almost watering at the thought of his favorite dish that he hasn't had in so long. “Why else do you think I chose this school?” You remarked. “I’ll get my coat!”

You didn't seem to run out of things to tell the boy as you walked around the campus while he stuffed his mouth with the sweets. and neither did he; telling you about the friends and enemies he's made inside the project. “Everyone pretty much minds their own business here so you’re free to sleep or cry.” You were at the final stop on your tour and were pointing out the library to Chigiri through the window.

“Speaking from experience?” He teased. “Yes. Simultaneously.” You shamelessly admit, earning a laugh from him. “So, that’s about it.” You concluded before tossing the dessert packaging in the bin. “That was way better than the campus tour the president gave me.” Chigiri mumbled. “You already had a tour?!” You scolded. “Of course. I’m a celebrity now.” He winked. “Besides, I wanted a reason to spend time with you.” Chigiri laughed. “You’re so corny.” You hit a playful punch on his arm. “Let me tell you about the time when an opponent asked me what shampoo I use right before a match…”

After making another round trip around the campus, you returned to Chigiri's dormitory just as his story came to an end. “So, this is you.” You smiled as you stopped at his doorstep. “Yup. Right where you picked me up.” Chigiri remarked, wishing he could come up with something to stay with you longer. “It was really good to see you again.” You sighed and embraced him once again.

You almost melted in his presence when he returned the embrace while you felt his muscles hug you delicately. “I missed you.” He chuckled at the sudden affection. “I missed you too.” Your warmth made it impossible to leave. “Good night, Chigiri.”

Chigiri couldn’t get himself to open his door without you by his side. All the “what if’s” haunted him all at once as he watched you walk away slowly. He knows that you have some time together, but he wouldn’t let another chance slip again.

So with a deep sigh and a strong pull on his uniform button, Chigiri called for your name.“[ Y / N ]!”

“Oh, thank god.” You mumbled to yourself before practically sprinting to the man.  “I couldn’t stop thinking about you.” Chigiri professed, taking your face in his hands. “I’m scared… I’m scared as hell to want you, but I’m here wanting you anyway. And the fear means I have something to lose, right? I don’t want to lose you.” He stammered and pressed his forehead against yours in a delicate embrace.

“And I’ve always liked you.” He opened his eyes and put his button in your own hand. “I like you too,” You gladly accepted his confession before finally closing the gap in between your lips. For a brief moment, he felt relief in his embrace before the kiss turned fierce. Chigiri blindly reached for the door knob before the door gave way and within a second, he already had you pinned on the other side of it.

[watchandread02]

For the " Holidays with the Winchesters: A very Destiel Advent Calendar" by @archervale and @wormstacheangel

Day Nineteen: List

Ao3

(This is kind of a continuation of the fic I wrote for Day 11, but I think you can still read this, if you didn't read the other one. The only thing you really need to know is that Dean is Santa and Cas is an Elf and they got together in the first part. Link to first part.)

“He’s making a list, he’s checking it twice.” Cas sings as he walks into Dean’s workshop. Dean is hunched over his desk, not even looking up when Cas walks into the room, singing all the while.

Not one to be ignored, Cas walks up behind Dean and leans in close. He wraps his arms around Dean from behind and rests his head on top of Dean’s. Dean pauses his writing for a moment to squeeze Cas’ hands where they are resting on his chest.

“How about you take a break?” Cas whispers into Dean’s ear.

“I will in a bit, honey. I just want to get through the L’s today. Even if it’s still a few months away, I wanna get a head start on this, you know how it gets towards the end of the year.” Dean explains, still scribbling away in the paper, though he does lean into Cas’ embrace.

“Well what I do know is that it’s someone's birthday and that someone would like to spend some time with his boyfriend.” Cas pouts.

Dean goes still under Cas’ hands.

“Wait, what time is it?” Dean asks, finally looking up from his paper.

“It’s almost eight.” Cas answers, which has Dean finally turning around in his seat.

“Cas I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize it had gotten that late already.”

Dean’s head thumps against Cas stomach, so Cas starts to gently card his fingers through Dean’s hair, making Dean relax against Cas.

“I’m such a bad boyfriend. How could I forget your birthday?” Dean mumbles against Cas’ stomach.

Cas gently lifts Dean’s face from where it’s buried in his stomach, “hey, no don’t say that about yourself. You’re just a very important man, with a very important job. Without you a lot of kids would be very disappointed come Christmas morning.”

“Yeah, well I also have an obligation to you. You’re my boyfriend and I love you, so I should be able to male time for you. I shouldn’t have even started on this today and just focused on you.” Dean says as he pulls Cas onto his lap.

Cas starts carding his hands back through Dean’s hair, who immediately relaxes into the gentle touch. He’ll have to make sure to get Dean out of the workshop for at least a little bit at some point. Surely Sam can take care of everything for one day.

“Don’t worry about it too much. I understand that the closer it comes to the end of the year, the more stressful your life will become. And I did work today as well. So you couldn’t have spent today with me anyway.” Cas tells Dean softly.

He moves his hands down a bit to start messaging at Dean’s neck. The tense muscle shifts under Cas’ fingers, but Dean lets out a small moan, so Cas continues his ministrations. Dean’s head is now fully leaned back and his eyes have slipped closed in.

“And now I’m here to make sure you actually take a break and join me and our friends to celebrate my birthday for the next few hours. You’ll just have to make it up to me later, when we’re alone.” Cas whispers that last part into Dean’s ear, who shivers against him.

Dean slowly opens his eyes and stares Cas down for a few seconds, “I do like that plan.” Dean hauls Cas into a short but intense kiss, before picking Cas up, standing up from the chair with Cas still in his arms and then putting him back on his feet.

“Come on. Let’s go and celebrate you.” Dean takes Cas’ hand and tugs him out of the room.

They join their family and closests friends, where they had already set up dinner. Cas hald already celebrated with all the other elves this morning, but this moment was just a small affair. Cas much preferred it like this. They spend a few hours eating dinner and cake, Cas opens his presents and then they just talk for a bit.

It’s almost an hour before midnight when Dean pulls him aside.

“I wanted to give you my present in private. Will you come with me?” Dean asks as he holds out his hand for Cas to take.

“Always,” Cas replies as he takes Dean’s hand.

Dean pulls Cas out of the room by his hand. What Cas doesn’t see is the reassuring smiles and thumbs up the others send Dean, as they leave the room, since he is way too focused on Dean. They get to the sleigh take off point to find the reindeer harnessed and the sleigh all ready to go.

Cas stops in his tracks, which makes Dean come to a stop as well, as Cas’ sudden halt makes their still connected hands tug on Dean’s arm.

“Dean, what are we doing here? And why are the reindeer all strapped in and ready to go this late at night?” Cas asks confused.

Dean turns around to face him with a grin on his face, “well I wanted to recreate a bit of the night that we got together. Are you up for that?”

“Of course. This is so thoughtful Dean. You can be a real sap if you want to be, you know that?”

Dean helps Cas into the sleigh as he answers, “yeah well I’m only a sap for you.”

Cas finds a picnic basket already in the sleigh and he turns to Dean, who is hauling himself into the sleigh at the moment.

“What’s the basket for?” Cas asks.

“Open it and find out.” Dean replies as he gets settled into the seat and makes sure everything is ready for take off.

So Cas just as Dean told him to. Inside he finds a blanket and a thermos.

“I made sure we wouldn’t get stuck out there again without something to warm us up. There’s some hot chocolate in the thermos, which we can drink when we get there. We’ll be able to spend some time out there, just the two of us, without freezing our balls off this time,” Dean explains as he catches Cas’ confused frown.

With a gentle snap of the reins, they are off into the night. Dean lifts his arm up and Cas cuddles in close. He even pulls out the blanket and drapes it over them. He enjoys looking out at the stars and the warmth coming off Dean’s body.

About an hour into their journey Dean makes the reindeer descend towards the snow covered ground. They land with a soft thud and Dean releases the reindeer for a bit. They don’t stray too far, but enough to make it feel like that night they got together.

“So what exactly do you have planned?” Cas asks as he turns to get the thermos of hot chocolate that Dean had packed.

“Why don't you turn around and find out?”

“What do you m- oh.” Cas lets out softly as he watches Dean get down on one knee. Which is actually a quite impressive feat, considering the small cramped space.

Dean holds out a box in front of him. Dean opens it to reveal a gorgeous set of rings, encased in the soft velvet. Both are rimmed with black with a green and blue core respectively.

“I know that we haven't been together long. Only 269 days to be exact. But those days have been the greatest days of my life. We have known each other for such a long time that the transition from friends to lovers hardly mattered. Of course, we started doing couple stuff together, but you have been and always will be my best friend. So I don't care about how long we’ve officially been together. I already know that I want to be with you forever. Will you marry me, Castiel?” Dean asks.

“Of course I will!” Cas answers, overjoyed. Tears are already making their way down his face and Dean doesn’t seem to be faring any better.

Dean takes the ring with the green core out of the box and slides it onto Cas’ finger.

“Will you let me put the other ring on you?” Cas asks.

“Of course, sweetheart,” Dean holds out his hand, but before Cas can actually place the ring on his finger, Dean stops him, “wait. Read the inscription first.”

Cas does just that, “Forever yours. Dean ♾ Cas.”

“I love it so much. I love you so much.” Cas says as he finally puts the ring onto Dean’s finger as well.

“I love you, too.” Dean utters, as he closes the gap between them and kisses Cas. Cas leans into the kis and they stay like that for a while, just intertwined in each other.

At some point they move onto the seats again. Dean pulls Cas into his lap, just like the day they had gotten together. They spent a while drinking the hot chocolate and just admiring their rings. Cas snuggles in close to Dean and just basks in the love he’s feeling right now.

“Let’s get back so the others can congratulate us. And I’m pretty sure that I promised you that I would make it up to you for almost missing your birthday party.” Dean says as he gets the reindeer to come back to the sleigh.

Cas snuggles back into Dean as he says, “well we can not only celebrate my birthday, which I’m pretty sure is officially over by now. But we can also celebrate our engagement.”

[jamiesfootball]

Augusnippets Day 15

Alternate Prompt: whipping

cw: brief moment of implied violence, but actually zero violence and 100% nonsense

Summary:

Roy receives a text from Jamie that's either very concerning or very stupid.

Here on AO3

[Prick]: Hey coach, I’m not gonna make it to training this morning

[Prick]: My arm is completely dead. Can’t barely move it from the shoulder down to the wrist. My back got it bad too

[Prick]: I’d push thru but last time I did that you yelled a lot, so technically if you yell at me now you’re a hippocrit

[Prick]: and yes I already sent a message to the physios. I’ll check in later this morning

[Roy]: You’ll check in with me right now

[Roy]: Was it the weights?

[Prick]: what weights?

[Prick]: oh

[Prick]: no

[Prick]: It’s nothin

[Prick]: It’s nothin bad

[Prick]: I fucked up

[Roy]: Fucked up how?

[Prick]: didn’t think it looked that bad when I cleaned up last night, but this morning the bruising came in

[Roy]: Bruising from what?

[Prick]: Relax, grandad. I’m not like injured-injured

[Prick]: It was just a bit of whipping

Typing…

Typing…

Typing…

[Roy]: Don’t fucking move. I’ll be there in ten

Half of Roy’s mind knew this was probably a misunderstanding. Not only because the annoying little prick had cartwheels and roundoffs where normal people had straight-line logical thinking, but also because Roy was dead certain if there was something wrong with Jamie – something actionably, seriously wrong – Jamie would never just come out and tell Roy what it was.

He’d come to him, maybe. But he’d never say it.

Half of Roy knew this.

The other half had him driving too fast through stop signs on the way to Jamie’s house, his mind turned grimly towards what-ifs and contingency plans and late night wake up calls to his sister if there was a need for off-the-record medical attention. The other half was hardly awake, roused by the chime of his phone before his 3:30 alarm had a chance to sputter, the same way he’d been dreading for months. And if the other half demanded that he get eyes on Jamie and assess for himself that the idiot was in one piece, that that was his own fucking business.

He didn’t trust this rehab bullshit, he didn’t understand how Jamie’s father had wormed his way back into his son's life, and he was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. There was always another shoe.

Of course then he arrived at Jamie’s house, and aside from dark raccoon circles under his eyes and an ice pack pressed to his shoulder, the muppet was fine.

The unneeded Roy-half packed up its contingency plans and took its leave. This left room for pure, incandescent annoyance – annoyance that was not relieved when Jamie showed him the reason for his injury.

“It’s a cake!” Jamie claimed, gesturing at the lopsided blob on his kitchen counter. It sure didn’t look like a cake. It looked furry – or rather like it’d started out furry before getting caught in the rain. The ‘whipped’ cream was practically liquid, dripping down the sides in streaks. It looked like someone had snuck into Jamie’s house in the night and left a sopping wet Yorkshire Terrier in a baking tray as a prank. Or an Ugg boot; it sort of looked like a Ugg boot. A flattened, sopping wet Ugg boot.

Jamie, who come to think of it was a bit like a Yorkie, continued yapping away in defence of his flat Ugg boot cake.

“I followed the recipe exactly like Simon said!” Jamie waved his iPad in Roy’s face. His finger slipped on the screen, and the screenshotted recipe swiped to photo of Isaac kissing a puppy. “I got through the cake part easy, but then the instructions said I needed whipped cream, and ‘e told me I couldn’t use the pre-whipped stuff from the store ‘cause that’d be cheating.”

Jamie snorted; as if asking for extra effort for a fucking gift was the height of unreasonable expectations. “Easy for him to say. Simon’s got one of those fancy stand mixers. Don’t see how that’s not cheating.”

Privately Roy agreed, but Jamie didn’t deserve words of affirmation for this level of stupidity.

“So you whisked it by hand?” Roy asked, side-eyeing the travesty. How had his life had come to this: rotating his star player’s arm to assess the blotched bruising bursting along the jointline because he’d attempted baking unsupervised.

Jamie grimaced in pain as Roy thumbed what he thought was a bruise; it was cocoa powder. “What? No, I used a spoon.”

“You-,” Roy cut himself off, pinching the bridge of his nose. He could feel cocoa and flour rubbing off on his skin. “Why didn’t you just use a whisk? Big fancy pre-loaded fucking kitchen, and you’re telling me it didn’t come staged with a whisk?”

Jamie’s mouth opened, then closed. He had that guilty, prey animal look in his eyes that meant Roy was about to hear something truly, godforsakenly stupid.

“Um. You know.” Jamie mimed stirring something with his hand. “It’s upstairs.”

“What?”

“You know.” Jamie made that cursed stirring motion with his hand again. “Upstairs.”

“Stop that,” Roy pleaded. Jamie stopped that. He didn’t want to know, but like a train travelling at two hundred kilometres per hour towards five innocent nuns on the tracks, or however that maths problem went, his mouth ran on ahead of him and refused to pull the lever that would put the other person out of his misery. “What the fuck do you need a whisk upstairs for?”

“You know,” said Jamie. “For my bath bombs.”

“Your bath bombs,” repeated Roy.

Jamie nodded excitedly.

“You….whisk your bath bombs.”

“Um, yeah, obviously,” Jamie snorted condescendingly. “What do you do? Whisk them in by hand?”

The reality of the situation settled in. Roy was standing in Jamie’s kitchen, a little after four in the morning, still in his fucking house slippers because he hadn’t bothered to put shoes on when he was racing out of his house, fear in his heart and images of vengeance in his head because he thought that he was racing headfirst into learning yet another reason why James Tartt Sr was a living shitstain of the earth who didn’t so much as deserve to breathe oxygen, let alone be a part of his son’s life, court-mandated rehab be damned.

And instead he’d arrived to find out that the only danger to Jamie was the lad’s barely existent reading comprehension and his knack for innovating parts of the human experience that were better left untouched.

A whisk for a bath bomb. Jesus fucking Christ.

With more Schadenfreude in his heart than Ted would ever approve of, Roy watched Jamie try and fail to fill the kettle without moving his limp, deadened arm. A cup of tea was the least he could do

“Do you think I should buy a second whisk?”

“No,” answered Roy.

“But if I only had another whisk–”

“If you only had a fucking brain. No.”

Jamie sulked. He traded his tea for his ice pack, hissing as he pressed it against his shoulder. “What do you think I should do with the cake then? I was gonna give it to Sam as a taste test-”

“Don’t kill Sam.”

“-but it’s all-,” Jamie wrinkled his nose, “-Goopy. I don’t want to give Sam a goopy cake for his birthday. That’d be illegal or sommet.”

It was goopy. That would be illegal. He didn’t want Sam to die.

Roy sighed. “Give me a fork.”

That wattage on Jamie’s face should be illegal at 4am. Most things should. But maybe it was worth it. The training and the false alarms and the misuse of cooking utensils when normal people were asleep – maybe there were worse things to suffer for.

Jamie turned around with the plates and-

“Is that a carving knife?”

“This?” Jamie held up what was, in fact, a carving knife. “No? I’m pretty sure it’s for bread.”

Then again, maybe there weren’t. Didn’t matter.

Roy would have his boot-shoe cake and eat it too. For Sam.

As far as disasters went, it didn’t taste too bad.

[fangirlingfromdownunder]

A Sweet Mishap - Chapter 11

Pairing - Jensen Ackles x Reader 

A/N: I just want to start by thanking everyone for all the love on this story so far. Here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy. Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist.

A Sweet Mishap Masterlist | Main Masterlist

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

As has become a habit of recent, the first thing I do when I open my eyes – despite the headache pounding behind them – is check my phone. I smile at the sweet good night text that must have come through mere seconds after I’d fallen asleep and then text back.

Mornin’ Remind me to stay away from eggnog…Or at least not mix it with wine…

I sit up slowly and take a sip out of the water bottle that I’d somehow had the presence of mind to prepare in advance and reach into my bag for some pain killers. I take a couple of pills before laying back down. After a few minutes my phone buzzes.

Awe, Darlin’ That sounds like a lethal mix You ok?

Yeah, my head hurts

I bet You’re gonna hate what I have to say but... Water, pills, breakfast, exercise also helps

Check, Check, I don’t even want to think about food and not a chance

Fair enough Go back to sleep then I’ll be here when you wake up

I gotta get up Work later

Today?

People need their coffee…I’m closing

Please at least eat something first then Even if you don’t want to

I won’t be allowed to leave here without eating first So don’t worry

Good

This is the only thing I miss about London You know they get the day off after Christmas It’s called Boxing Day Though they mainly watch soccer But it’s a nationwide holiday

First you tell me you’re from Texas and now you’re saying you lived in London? Another long story, I’m guessing?

Yeah…I lived there for almost a year with my boyfriend after high school

Wow I thought my move to LA was ambitious and scary You actually went overseas

Yep…At the time I thought I was in love Anyway, you know the rest of that tragic story I really do have to get up now I’ll talk to you after work

Alright Darlin Hope your head feels better

I smile at his sweet message as I shut off my phone, get up, change into fresh jeans and a hoodie and pack all my things back into my bag. I leave the box from Jensen separate. Without all the extras from the cafe, I could easily manage my bag and the box, but I also know that Nick didn’t drink nearly as much as Stella or I, always wanting to be the responsible one and ready to look after her. So, I know he’ll insist on driving me home. With everything organised, I go to the bathroom to freshen up and then downstairs to indulge in whatever my stomach can handle.

In the kitchen, Nick takes one look at me and sighs. “You girls and your wine…”

“What about your eggnog?”

“I was deliberately light on the alcohol, if it wasn’t for the wine, you’d both be fine. How many times do I have to tell you both how much worse wine-hangover are?”

“Maybe a few hundred more. It’s fun at the time…”

“Yeah, and now you’re both a mess.” He hands me a plate with one of Stewie’s croissants heated up. “You’re gonna have to eat on the run. Stella has to go into the office, I’ll drop you off at the same time. Now, if you’ll excuse me I have to make sure she’s getting ready.” 

I sit at the island bench and pick at the croissant while I wait for Nick and Stella to come back downstairs.

“Some manager you are…” I playfully tease Stella from the backseat as she uses the tiny mirror to fix up her make-up, attempting to make herself look more alive and less hungover.

She meets my eyes in the mirror, “Like you’re any better?”

I shrug, “At least my customers will be just as hungover as me.”

Nick cuts us both off as he parks in front of her office building, “You’re both as bad as each other. I really wish you would stop doing this.” He leans over to peck Stella’s cheek, “I love you, go kick some ass.”

“I love you too, both of you,” she says with a glance over the backseat at me before slipping out of the car. 

Nick waits until she disappears into the large, tinted glass doors before driving off. He sighs as he glances in the rearview mirror to meet my eyes briefly. “None of this funny business at the wedding, remember?” I nod. “You know she’s so close to another massive promotion, she’s in the middle of the pitch of her career. I get that you’re her best friend and that your life's a mess and you’re lonely but please don’t bring her down with you. The wedding is enough of a distraction. She wants this so bad, she won’t tell you because she loves you, but she can’t afford anymore distractions right now.”

My jaw drops. He’s never been this candid or harsh with me before. I’m lost for words. Shocked and hurt, all I can do is bite my cheek to hold back my emotions and nod. The rest of the drive to my apartment passes in uncomfortable, tense silence. The second the car stops I swing the door open and jump out. I quietly thank Nick for driving me and then slip into my apartment building. 

I dump my stuff in the corner of the room and go shower. Feeling sick, hurt, sad, and like a woeful disappointment I scrub every inch of my body as I stand under the scalding water. I wash my hair, shave my legs and thoroughly exfoliate in an attempt to wash away all my feelings and make myself feel at least a little better about myself. By the time I shut off the water and step out of the cubicle I’ve made a list of resolutions that I’m not going to wait until New Years to enact. 

Only contact Stella for wedding related matters

Be the best Maid-of-Honor ever

Get my life back on track - Stop chasing pipe dreams

Get a good-paying, stable 9-5 job

Be realistic about Jensen

I get dressed in the same jeans and a clean long sleeve shirt and then as the first step of my new resolutions, I tape up the box and write ‘return to sender’ on the top. I tie up my hair in a messy bun, put on comfy work shoes, grab my designated work backpack and the box, but as I check the time I realise I won’t make the post office before my shift so I leave it by the door and make a mental note to take it first thing in the morning.

My shift passes by in a blur. I hand out order after order with practiced speed and a forced smile. After flicking the sign to ‘closed’ I scrub every surface until it shines and then lock up. As I walk home I briefly check my phone, I see a text from Jensen but don’t let myself read it. I stuff my phone back in my pocket and quicken my pace to get out of the miserable, cold December air. For a second I’m transported back to my time in London.

I walked down a quiet lane back towards my shared apartment. The bleak weather matched my emotions. The light drizzle matching the tears still falling down my cheeks. I had been sitting alone in a park all day avoiding the place and person I had called home for so long. I only got up once I knew he’d be at work, likely serving fancy cocktails to the pale, model-like brunette he brought back to our apartment. I’d only been gone one night, for an acting class in Paris. But when I got home, excited to surprise him, knowing he’d still be sleeping from working until 2am, I found he wasn’t alone; there was another naked woman laying on my pillow.  A chorus of car horns startles me out of the unpleasant memory and I finally slip back into my building. I have another scalding shower to wash away the sweat and unpleasant smell of mixed foods and beverages clinging to my clothes, skin and hair. When I sit down to eat a bland frozen lasagne. I flick through the channels. Supernatural is on again but I force myself to flick past it before Jensen’s face appears. Settling on an animal documentary I open my laptop and search for jobs as I eat. My phone buzzes on the coffee table but I silence it. I feel a little guilty for ignoring him since Jensen has been nothing but nice to me, but then Nick’s words ring back through my head, “I get that you’re her best friend and that your life is a mess and you’re lonely but please don’t bring her down with you.”. And I know he’s right, my life is a mess and I am lonely, but until I sort it out, I’ll just bring anyone around me down with me.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Taglist: @stoneyggirl2 @hobby27, @n-o-p-e-never, @deansimpalababy

[projectionistwrites]

EQUIFINALITY | WINTER

PART ONE, sequel to GESTALT

Joel Miller x afab!reader (7.3k+)

RATING: EXPLICIT (18+, mdni) WARNINGS: angst, grief, mentions of death and injury, age gap (not mentioned), reader is kinda harsh, no smut in this part DISCLAIMER: although this is a continuation of my series titled GESTALT, it could potentially be read as a standalone. however, i strongly suggest reading the first series to provide context for the reunion and background on the relationships between the characters. ALSO, before any joel apologists come after my head, i LOVE mister joel miller but this chapter does kind of call him out on his bullshit. try to contextualize everything with the events of the first series and remember where the reader is coming from before getting mad at me. :) NOTES: this part takes place during episode six of the last of us tv series, titled “kin.” the next installments will occur after the finale episode, when ellie and joel return to jackson.

next part →

43.4799° N, 110.7624° W.

Good luck, cowboy.

Joel’s fingers fiddled with the softening, worn edges of the cockled scrap of paper in his jacket pocket. Ellie was packing up her things further back in the cave, the crackling of the fire between them settling into a pile of smoldering embers and cinders as the sun began to rise. He didn’t need to take the note out again to know what it said—he had the entire thing committed to memory by now. He’d been mulling the numbers and letters over in his head for months, nagging at the back of his brain and gnawing an ulcer of uncertainty into his stomach.

They’d reach the coordinates within the next day. They were close. Just across the bridge over the River of Death, or whatever Ellie had taken to calling it. He wasn’t sure what they’d find—maybe Tommy and a small group, alive and well; or maybe Tommy, cold and alone; or worse, Tommy in an unmarked grave, six feet under the frigid tundra soil.

But cowboy.

The nickname felt like a punch straight to the gut, and shotgun shell straight through his chest. The message had come in three weeks after Tommy had stopped responding to his transmissions—Joel had already been planning on packing up and heading West from Boston to search for him, but he figured he’d stop to check once more with Abe. Maybe Tommy had finally responded, maybe he was alright.

But when he’d marched through the line of people in the cramped hallway and slipped the parcel of cigarettes across the table to the man in question, he was actually surprised to hear that he had, in fact, received a response.

It just wasn’t from Tommy.

“Listen, Joel, this is good news, isn’t it?”

Abe had asked, watching Joel over his thick-rimmed glasses as his eyes swept over the note in this hands.

“How d’you know it wasn’t Tommy?”

Joel breathed lowly, his chest feeling tight. The scrawled letters on the paper in his fingers were all jumbling together in his mind, eyes losing focus.

“Because I do. Came in late the other night. No signoff, no updates, no name. What you have in front of you is all I got.”

Joel’s head was swimming. Was this some sick fucking game? Would Tommy really stoop so low, to manipulate him into a false sense of hope by using that nickname, just so he’d follow in his footsteps?

“Look, Joel.”

Abe sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He leaned forward conspiratorially, taking a drag from his smoke.

“Those coordinates—I did some digging.”

He gestured for Joel to retrieve his map, and he obliged, laying it out flat on the desk in front of him. Abe picked up a dull pencil and prepared to mark.

“It ain’t too far off from where Cody Tower is—where the messages have been comin’ in from your brother.”

He made a small dot on the paper, somewhere in the middle of Wyoming.

“—and those coordinates, over here.”

He swiped another pencil stroke a short distance away, across the river on the map. He looked up at Joel.

“All open country, out there. No telling what you’ll find, and we don’t even know who it’s from—”

“Thanks.”

Joel had muttered, and it was the closest thing to gratitude Abe had ever received from the man as he stormed back out the door, the note clutched tightly in his right hand.

And now he was here. Cody Tower had been a ghost town. All these miles, all these months—he’d lost Tess, and Bill and Frank, and Henry and Sam. There was a lingering doubt in his throat—he’s come all this way. What if he didn’t find what he was looking for? What if—what if this had all been for nothing?

This wasn’t just about Tommy anymore. But then again—it never really had been, had it?

“So... who’s Y/N?”

Joel’s blood ran cold. His grip on the sniper tightened as his neck snapped around. Ellie was staring at him expectantly, fingers wrapped around the straps of her canvas backpack. His lips pressed into a line.

“The hell did you hear that name?”

A shadow crossed over his face, but Ellie knew better than to be intimidated. Still, she could tell she’d struck a nerve. She trekked forward, bumping into him playfully as she passed.

“You still mumble in your sleep. Say it a lot.”

Joel slung his backpack over his shoulder, tucking his leather jacket into the strap as he and Ellie trudged onward through the snow.

“…was she someone special?”

The insinuation in her tone was hard to miss. Joel swallowed. Months ago, he would’ve shut her down completely, probably chided the girl and iced her out, but now, after everything, he just sighed.

“Just someone I used to know.”

She knew better than to press any further. If the tick of his jaw was any indication, she had to tread lightly on the subject. They continued in silence of awhile, snow packing beneath the weight of their heavy boots, before Joel spoke again.

“S’was my neighbor. Lived next door, back home.”

“In Boston?”

Joel blew out something reminiscent of a chuckle, scratching his head.

“No. No, in—in Texas. Before—all this.”

“Hard to believe there was ever a before.”

Ellie muttered, and Joel hummed in agreement.

“Yeah. Was a long time ago. Doesn’t matter anymore.”

The girl's eyes narrowed as she watched him in her periphery.

“Seems like it still matters to me.”

Joel gave her a hard look, but she smiled innocently up at him, widening her gait just a bit to put some distance between them. He let out a long sigh, running a tired hand down his face. It didn’t matter—it shouldn’t matter. But he still tasted your name on his lips; still heard your laughter in the back of his mind, mingling with the innocent giggles of his late daughter; could still see the tears flooding your eyes and spilling down your cheeks as you fell to your knees before him, sobbing for him to stay, Joel, please, I am begging you, don’t do this, I love you, please—

They’d reached the bridge. Towering steel columns lined the path ahead of them, cold and unforgiving. To Ellie, cold and unforgiving seemed awfully familiar.

“The River of Death.”

She announced in a menacing voice, eyes wide for dramatic effect, and Joel shook his head, trying hard to fight the tinge of a smile that was making its way onto his face.

“What do you think is over there?”

Joel shrugged, cautiously taking his first step onto the platform before gesturing for Ellie to follow.

“Guess we’ll have to see if it lives up to the name.”

Joel could feel the familiar tightness in his chest as he clumsily swatted at the tears below his eyes, purposefully avoiding his brother’s sympathetic gaze.

The smell of sawdust once would’ve soothed his frazzled nerves, but the workshop in Jackson reminded him too much of home—a place he could never go back to.

And now Tommy had a home. And a wife. And a kid on the way—Joel had traveled hundreds and hundreds of miles to save his brother from some inevitable doom, but he was perfectly fine without him. No, it was worse—Tommy was better off without him.

I’m failin’ in my sleep.

The whole reason he’d agreed to take Ellie was because he was already planning on heading West himself—and now he was here, and it was just another dead fucking end. Another failure. All the people he’d lost, all the pain he’d suffered—it’d all been for nothing. He wasn’t rescuing his brother from something—he didn’t get to play hero. He should’ve fucking stayed in Boston. Then he’d still have Tess, and Ellie would’ve been better off with Marlene anyhow—and Y/N. Of course you weren’t here, of course Tommy had sent that radio transmission, of course Joel had been kidding himself all along—

“Come with me.”

Tommy’s voice pierced the silence that hung in the air, and Joel flinched at the sound. When his glassy eyes finally turned to his brother, he gestured with a nod of his head to follow him out of the woodworking shed and into the chill of the evening.

Joel grunted as he forced himself into the new boots Tommy had given him—they were snug, and warm, and way nicer than the weathered pair he'd been sporting up until this point. He stared down at them once he’d laced them up, wondering when in God’s name a new pair of boots had become such a fucking luxury.

“Joel.”

Tommy urged, and the man finally stood, following his brother outside and into the town square. As they walked beneath threaded strands of yellow lights, past decorated Christmas trees and families making their ways home, Joel was disgusted to feel a pang of resentment fleet briefly through his mind. Tommy had actually managed to find—create—some semblance of normalcy, of comfort, and Joel was jealous. It wasn’t fair—how could life still go on when so much had been lost?

Tommy spared him a look as he paused in front of a large wooden door, and Joel’s eyes flitted upwards to read the carved sign hanging above the entrance—MEDICAL. The building was right on the edge of the square, a decently sized structure with harshly tinted windows and a tiny handwritten card plastered beside the door—in black letters, with a tiny reversable placard beneath it.

THE DOCTOR IS: IN.

A bell chimed when Tommy shouldered the door open, holding it so Joel could step in beside him. The waiting room was cozy, filled with a mismatched collection of armchairs and recliners, a coffee table in the center with coloring pages and crayons strewn about. In the far left corner was a repurposed dining table that obviously served as a makeshift reception desk, although the chair behind it was vacant. There was only one door in the place, seemingly leading back into the examination room, and from just beyond, Joel could barely make out the sound of a child’s laughter.

Tommy lifted a hand to gesture for Joel to remain where he was before walking towards the door and slowly lifting his fist to knock. Joel felt anticipation well inside of his stomach, a swirling pool of uncertainty beginning to settle in. Tommy’s knuckles rapped against the wood.

“Hey, doc?”

He called softly, and Joel heard a woman’s voice over the sound of giggling.

“Yeah, just a sec, boss-man.”

Joel’s brows furrowed as Tommy came to stand back beside him, watching his expression shift carefully. He cleared his throat just as the door in front of them popped open and a little boy came bursting out.

Joel felt the breath get caught in his throat as two women followed the young child from the room, chitchatting animatedly with each other. One of the women was young, seemingly the child’s mother, but the other—

It was you. He watched as you threw your head back to laugh at something the woman across from you had said, you hand flying out to pat her good-naturedly on the bicep. The woman thanked you quickly before she chased after her child, the bell chiming as the pair exited—but Joel couldn’t hear it as your eyes met his.

You looked—the same. Or at least, more so than he had imagined. Your hair was shorter, and darker, not sun-bleached from long summer days spent out in the Texas heat. Your figure had filled out; even beneath the pair of pale pink scrubs you were wearing he could see that your soft curves had toned into a sturdy layer of muscle. Your eyes were lined with crow’s feet—wrinkles indicating that even after all this time, you’d never stopped smiling, never stopped laughing, and as your gaze met his, it was just...you. The same gleam in your eyes as the last time he’d seen you. The only notable change was the long, thin jagged pink line running down from your forehead and cutting into your right brow—a fully healed scar, indicative of some sort of injury from long ago.

The man was frozen, and suddenly all too conscious of his own lackluster appearance—he wondered how different he seemed to you, if behind his graying hair and deteriorating body you could still see any trace of the man you knew all those years ago. He wondered if he bared his sins through the lines on his face—if you could somehow see every horrible thing he’d done just by sparing him a glance.

But if you could, you didn’t show it. Instead, your lips flickered up at the corners, just barely, but enough that there was the notion of a grin on your still perfect pink lips.

“Joel.”

You acknowledged, although you didn’t make any move further to greet him. He was shocked at your ability to remain so collected—he was flustered, speechless, his mouth opening and closely dumbly like a fish out of water. He didn’t know what to say—didn’t know what to do. He wanted to pull you into his arms, wanted to apologize for everything he’d ever done to harm you, wanted to fall to his knees and thank a God he didn’t even believe in that somehow you’d made it.

But instead, he snapped his jaw shut and cleared his throat, shuffling his weight a bit awkwardly on his feet. Tommy glanced at his brother in his periphery—saw the tension that hovered over him and rendered him practically incapacitated. With a sigh, he decided to throw him a bone, and turned to you.

“Just thought—Just thought you two might like to, uh, catch up.”

Tommy offered sheepishly, shrugging his shoulders to display his discomfort. You leaned against the doorframe.

“Does Maria know about this?”

Joel watched as you quirked a suspicious brow at his brother, a small smirk on your face. Tommy’s eyes widened in panic.

“Well—no, but I just figured—look, please don’t tell her, I know—”

“Relax, boss-man, I’m just teasin’ you. She brought in the girl to see me earlier today.”

Joel was startled to learn that.

“You—You met Ellie?”

Your eyes snapped back over to him, as if surprised he was actually able to speak. You regarded him softly.

“Yeah, I met Ellie. She’s a fuckin’ pistol. Only fourteen?”

You clarified, and Joel nodded. You whistled lowly, smiling mischeiviously.

“Jesus, cowboy—two decades ago, you thought 22 was too young.”

Tommy’s hand flew to his mouth in an attempt to cover up the bark of a laugh that spilt out. It took Joel a few seconds to register your comment, but when he did, his entire body stiffened, eyes widening in blatant offense and, frankly, incredulity.

“The hell is wrong with you? She’s just—”

“Oh, chill out, cowboy, I was just joking.”

You rolled your eyes, crossing your arms over your chest. Joel narrowed his eyes, and just like that, the tension between you was back, but Tommy was not oblivious to it, this time. He cautiously made a move towards the door.

“Well, I’ll just leave you two to—”

“No!”

You exclaimed, sounding borderline insulted.

“You’re just gonna leave? The fuck do you want me to do with him?”

Joel scoffed at the way you were referring to him, your hand gesturing to him as if he were a child you were being forced to babysit. Tommy threw his hands up in defense.

“Easy, doc. I gotta go see the missus—we’re puttin’ him up in 38, right across the street from us. Just—I don’t know, Y/N, just do your doctor thing and then walk him over there. You’re fine.”

“And whose idea was it to put him in 38?”

You glowered threateningly, the scar on your face contorting with the expression, and Tommy swallowed at your clear disdain.

“Actually, that was Maria’s.”

“Fuckin’ classic.”

You murmured angrily, and when Tommy turned to leave once more, you waved a dismissive hand towards him, scoffing in distaste. The door banged shut behind him, and just like that, you and Joel were alone.

His eyes flitted from the door and back to you, finding your eyes already on him. He could see the maturity in them—you seemed older, wiser, your gaze more calculating and scrutinizing. Even with the new scar that you adorned, you were just as beautiful as the day he last saw you. Your shoulders sagged in defeat before you jerked your head to the side.

“Come on, then, cowboy. Time for your appointment.”

Joel silently walked towards you, shuffling past you and into the examination room. He felt the heat of your body as he brushed past you, and fuck, you still smelled like—like you, all these years later. Clean, like freshly folded linens or laundry straight out of the dryer, with just a dash of citrus.

He paused in the threshold, taking in the room. It was fairly spacious, with a steel examination table pushed up against one wall and your desk on the other. The wall straight across from him was lined with shelving that contained more medical equipment than he thought existed—jars of various medications, bandages, gauze, pads and tampons, antiseptic and antibiotic ointments, and other various supplies that he didn’t even know the name of.

“Well, up you get.”

You nudged his back with the knuckles of your right hand, gesturing towards the steel examination table. He shot you a silent glare, but you masked your satisfied smirk as he hoisted himself up onto the surface, leaning back against the wall to face you.

You sat in your threadbare office chair, rolling it away from your desk so you could face him. He watched as you reached into a jar full of tiny white pills on the corner of your desk, grabbing a few and tossing them back into your mouth with ease. His jaw slackened.

“Ain’t that against your bylaws, or somethin’?”

He managed to jab, quirking his brow, and you rolled your eyes at him, chewing the tablets in your mouth.

“They’re sugar pills, dumbass. I give ’em to the kids when they get hurt—placebo effect. You want one?”

You picked up the glass jar and tilted it towards him, but he just shook his head, never taking his eyes off of your face. You rolled your eyes at him, stealing one more from the jar before tightening the lid back on and sliding it back onto the shelf.

You spun your chair back around to face him again, folding your hands in your lap as you watched him. He just stared right back, jaw set stiffly, arms crossed over his chest, mask impenetrable. You pursed your lips, stubborn enough to not want to break the silence that befell you. Joel finally cracked.

“You’re a long ways from California.”

His voice was gruff and husky, but even beneath the rough edge, you could make out a hint of familiar softness. You blinked at him.

“You’re kiddin’, right?”

You started, and the man’s brows furrowed more, indicating his confusion. You laughed incredulously.

“Twenty years, you’ve had to come up with a conversation starter, and that’s what you settle on? Jesus, Joel.”

You huffed, leaning back into your chair and reclining slightly. Joel’s jaw rippled at your mockery.

“Well, hell, forgive me for not meeting your expectations, darlin’.”

He expected you to fire back at him, to humor him with the witty back-and-forth banter that he’d missed so much, but you just sighed, sinking further back into your chair and shaking your head softly to yourself.

“Took you long enough to get here. I was startin’ to think you hadn’t gotten my message.”

Joel felt his heart skip a beat, and his guarded expression briefly exposed a look of realization.

“So it was you.”

You let out a humorless laugh, avoiding his gaze.

“Yeah, Joel, it was me. But I hope to God you kept that to yourself—Maria would kill me if she knew I’d contacted you.”

“Get the sense that she’s not my biggest fan.”

Joel grumbled, leaning his head back against the wall behind him. He was surprised to see your hardened eyes soften a bit, full of something resembling pity.

“She’s just—she’s protective. Tryin’ to keep me and Tommy safe.”

He tried not to read into your words too much, but he felt himself grow defensive.

“Safe. From me.”

You tilted your head back, squeezing your eyes shut and drawing in a sigh in an attempt to maintain your composure.

“Well, you’ve certainly earned yourself quite the reputation, Mister Miller.”

You scoffed, and Joel felt his face fall slightly, his mouth turning into a frown.

“So you’ve heard about me, then?”

You still avoided his eyes, your own arms crossing over your chest.

“I mean, just things from Tommy, but I doubt he told me everything. Still, Maria—Maria doesn’t think you were the best role model for your brother.”

“And what do you think?”

Joel leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, and you swallowed, opening your mouth to reply just as the door to the clinic abruptly slammed open, the bell nearly flying off the hinge from the sudden rattling. You and Joel immediately burst into action, and you raced out of the exam room to investigate the intrusion.

Joel paused behind you when you slowed, taking in a relieved deep breath when you realized there wasn’t an immediate threat. The young boy from earlier had barged in, tears trailing down his round, rosy cheeks as he stared up at you with a look of almost betrayal. His mom was attempting to catch her breath, standing in the doorway hunched over, and young girl was standing to her right, presumably her daughter, who looked to be barely older than ten.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N,”

The mother began to explain, her hand pressed against her chest to try to regulate her breathing.

“We were heading back to the mess hall for movie night but Jenny made a comment to Ben about his splinter, and—”

“Why don’t you wan’ me to get better?”

Ben interrupted, more tears falling from his wide eyes as he pouted, holding up the index finger of his left hand to showcase the bandage that you had put there earlier.

You startled backwards.

“What are you talkin’ about, Ben? Of course I want you to get better, that’s my job.”

“Then why didn’t you use your powers on me?”

He stamped his foot in frustration, and Joel stood back, watching the scene unfold before him with furrowed brows. Your eyes snapped over to his older sister, Jenny, who was trying to hide her amused smile behind her hand. Finally, you knelt down in front of the young boy, who sniffled and avoided your eyes.

“You’re right, Ben, I totally forgot. I’m so sorry. Can I fix it now?”

You asked carefully, holding your hand out for him. He contemplated for a minute before nodding carefully, offering you his left finger extended in front of him. Joel felt a weight settle onto his chest as you carefully pressed your lips to the pad of his injured finger, making an exaggerated smooching sound as you pulled away. The young boy’s face immediately brightened, and you smiled at him.

“There! Did the magic kiss make it feel all better?”

You leaned down to look into his eyes, and he nodded at you happily before quickly turning back towards the door and running into his mother, clinging to her legs.

The woman smiled at you, both apologetically and gratefully.

“Thank you, Y/N, and again, I’m so sorry—”

You waved a dismissive hand.

“No worries, Beth. Seriously, it was my fault, I should’ve remembered. Thanks for the reminder, Jenny.”

You winked at the older girl teasingly, and she hid her face further behind her hand, biting her lip to hold in her laughter. As the family turned to leave, you shouted a reminder to them.

“Be careful on the benches in the mess hall! They haven’t been sanded well and I don’t want him to get any more splinters!”

The door shut behind them and Joel watched your shoulders immediately sag when they left, your lungs exhaling a long, exhausted sigh. When you turned around to go back into the office, you jolted slightly, as if you’d forgotten that Joel was there. He studied you carefully, analyzing you, and you hastily pushed past him and back into the exam room.

“Sorry about that. You know how toddlers are.”

You settled back into your office chair, but as the door clicked shut behind Joel, he remained standing, leaning back against the wood with his arms crossed. You were looking at some paperwork on your desk before your eyes lifted to glance at him. He remained stoic, silent, and you sighed.

“Ellie’s a cute kid. Reminds me of someone.”

You gauged his reaction, watching his muscles tense and his jaw clench at your admission, his eyes casting down to his feet. He didn’t respond—you decided not to push it.

“How’d you get stuck haulin’ the walking cure across the states?”

That caught his attention. He stood abruptly upright, his eyes widening as he stared at you, a brief look of panic rising in him.

“How—she told you?”

You made a motion for him to calm down.

“Relax, it’s fine, seriously. I saw her bite marks. Pretty fuckin’ wild, though.”

“Why’d she tell you?”

Joel seemed unsatisfied with your answer, taking an intimidating step towards you, his voice low and threatening. He seemed to be forgetting the fact that his fear tactics wouldn’t work on you.

You rolled your eyes.

“I’m easy to talk to. Good at makin’ people feel comfortable. Besides, she said she’d heard my name before. Apparently you talk in your sleep?”

Joel’s arms fell to his sides, his jaw clenching rhythmically and hands balling into fists. His eyes dropped to the floor, but you let out a short, bright laugh.

“Don’t worry, I don’t mind. That’s actually one of the first things Tommy told me when we met back up.”

Joel threw his head back with a frustrated groan, particularly annoyed when he heard you cackling from your seated position in front of him, obviously deriving great pleasure from his discomfort. When you’d finished laughing, however, the mood quickly soured once again, his dark eyes fixing you within them carefully.

“You can’t say a word to anyone about it.”

“What, about you dreamin’ about me?”

“Y/N. You know damn well what I’m talkin’ about.”

He was practically growling at you, his eyes narrowed as he took another menacing step closer. You were getting fed up with his attempts at intimidation.

“I’m not gonna say anything, okay?”

“Swear to me.”

To your surprise, Joel leaned down and grabbed the arms of your office chair, spinning it so you were facing him completely. He leaned down in front of you, eyes level with yours, only a foot away as he challenged you silently with his gaze. Up close, he could see the jagged edges of the healed cut through your forehead, marring your perfect complexion.

“Swear to me, you won’t tell Maria, or anybody.”

You scoffed, surprising Joel by leaning closer towards him instead of away, not breaking eye contact as you fixed him with your own intense stare.

“I promise. Besides, you already know that I’m great at keepin’ secrets.”

He pulled away from you harshly, abruptly, your chair sliding back a few inches at his sudden release of its arms. You smirked to yourself, somewhat satisfied with your ability to still get under his skin, even after all this time.

“Now, go sit back down, and tell me everything. From the beginning.”

Joel opened his mouth the protest, but you pinned him down with a glare.

“Don’t. This is my town, Joel—you’re the outsider here, not me. Which means I get my answers first.”

He pursed his lips, trying to come up with some way to contradict you, but he knew deep down that you were right—you had the upper hand in this situation. Begrudgingly, Joel pushed himself back onto the table across from you, grunting with the effort as he settled back against the wall. You rolled your chair a bit closer to him, leaning back and watching him intently.

“Alright, then. Tell me the story about how the cowboy and the little firefly managed to survive their journey out West, searchin’ for a brother and a cure.”

Joel regarded you carefully, fighting the urge to correct you.

And searching for you.

Instead, he opened his mouth and began to speak.

Joel’s brows furrowed as you rejoined him on the gravel street from the house you had stopped by. Your arms were holding a variety of clothing items, pressed tightly to your chest as you nodded for him to follow you.

“What was that about?”

He asked, maintaining several feet of distance between the two of you as you lead him further away from the town square.

“Stopped by to see Mary-Ann. Her husband is about your size, and I figured you wouldn’t object to a new set ’a clothes.”

You jokingly looked him up and down, scrunching up your nose in disapproval at his current attire. Even with your teasing, Joel felt gratitude sneak up on him as he watched you.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

He spoke lowly, and your quick pace faltered slightly at the tenderness that breached the surface of his words. Your smile wavered.

“Yeah, I know. S’really not a big deal.”

You shrugged it off, refusing to expose any vulnerability to the man. You were bound and determined to keep your head up in the face of his sudden reappearance in your life—the last thing you needed was for Joel to think he still had power over you.

“What’d you trade for it? I’m sure there’s somethin’ I can—”

“Joel, s’fine.”

You snapped, harsher than you had intended. You sighed.

“I’m the town doctor, and I treat everyone and don’t expect anything in return, so when the time comes that I actually need somethin’, people are more often than not willing to help me out.”

He didn’t respond, and you continued your trek through the snow in silence. After a few more tense minutes, you reached house number 38, pausing when you saw light peeking through the curtains in a room upstairs, the window cracked to let cool air into the stale home.

“So, this is you. Ellie’s already upstairs, m’sure.”

You paused in front of the door, turning to face the man head-on. The familiarity of looking up at him like this, his brown eyes regarding you with undivided attention, filled you with a deep sense of melancholy. The proximity was dizzying. You refused to acknowledge the sensation.

You offered him the clothes in your arms—a fleece-lined burgundy flannel, a pair of jeans, boxers, socks, and an undershirt—and he accepted them gratefully.

“Tommy and Maria are right across the way, and... I’m, uh, right next door if you need anything.”

You tried to hide the resentment that soured your lips as you told him where your own home was located, and although he didn’t say it out loud, you saw the flicker of recognition in his eyes that you were, once again, neighbors. How serendipitous.

You hesitated, staring at the ground in between the gap of yours and Joel’s boots, contemplating. Finally, you figured you’d extend an olive branch.

“Listen—after you get cleaned up, if you wanted—I mean, I have to talk to Maria quick, but ’m probably gonna stay up for awhile, so if—you know, if you’re not too tired, I wouldn’t mind—”

“Thanks.”

Joel interrupted your senseless rambling, indicating that he understood your winded invitation for his company. You blew out a breath, a blush creeping up your cheeks as you met his eyes once more before stepping around him and closing the short distance to the house across the street. Joel watched as you walked away.

He was fuming, but his flaming hot anger was quickly tempered by a lingering sadness that threatened to consume him. Ellie had some fucking nerve—bringing up Sarah, trying to manipulate him into taking her the rest of the way. He felt nauseous, his jaw clenched tight as he sat on the edge of the bed in his own bedroom, his eyes flickering up to stare out the window that shrouded him in moonlight.

There was a cool breeze filtering in through the crack in the window, but when he looked out, he saw you. You were staring up at Ellie’s window, your hands buried in the pockets of your winter coat and your face painted with discomfort. It was only then that Joel realized Ellie’s window had been open, as well—how long had you been standing there? Had you heard everything?

Joel found himself rising, walking to stand up against the window. The movement caught your attention, your gaze briefly shifting as you made eye contact with him. The silvery-pink skin of your scar seemed translucent beneath the streetlights. You stared up at him, wordlessly confirming that yes, you’d heard every goddamned word before you turned and stomped over towards your own home, downtrodden and damaged.

He wasn’t consciously in control of his body as he swiped his jacket from the end of the mattress and descended the stairs, exiting the front door just in time to see yours slam shut. He swallowed, letting his exhale cloud out in front of him in the frigid air before he followed your snowy footsteps, pausing on your front porch and staring at the closed door.

You wouldn’t want him to join you anymore, surely—not after you’d been subjected to his aggression towards Ellie. Your silence signaled your disinterest, or so he told himself. Still, he hesitated. His calloused fingers brushed against the doorknob, twisting sharply, and to his surprise, the door swung open easily.

An olive branch.

The hallway before him was dark, but there was a soft yellow light emanating from deeper in your home, and he could hear the clanking of dishware and cutlery as he stepped into the threshold and closed the door behind him.

His heavy footsteps echoed loudly against the creaky wooden floor as he followed the sounds, the hallway opening up to a small kitchen where you were facing away from him, the smell of coffee filling Joel’s lungs as he breathed in deep. Real coffee. Even better than goddamn liquor.

He watched as you poured two mugs of the dark, steaming beverage, setting the pot back on the counter before picking up the mugs and turning to face him. You still didn’t speak, didn’t even look at him as you squeezed past him and set one mug on the end of the round wooden table before sitting down on the opposite side. Joel took the hint, the legs of the chair scraping the hardwood as he pulled it out and cautiously seated himself, his hands instinctually coming to cradle the warmth of the mug in front of him.

“You heard all that?”

He croaked.

You took a small sip, your head turned to stare out the back window and into the darkness of the trees outside. He waited, silently, for you to set the tone of the meeting. He watched your jaw clench as you finally opened your mouth the speak.

“Just—”

Your voice cracked, and you cleared your throat. There was grimace on your face, words wobbly and cautious.

“Just when I think you can’t possibly let me down even more, you somehow find a way.”

He scowled, but felt his beating heart sink, an anchor weighing him down at your confession. He didn’t say anything—just kept watching your face. Your features always betrayed you; you wore your heart on your sleeve. He could read every expression with practiced precision, and now, he studied you diligently.

You finally turned to look at him, eyes glossy and sad. He swallowed.

“You know, I—I stuck my neck out for you. To Maria. Even after all the shit I heard from Tommy, even after everything, I still thought—still thought there might be at least some trace of the man I knew all those years ago.”

“That was your first mistake.”

His gruff voice interjected, posture stiff.

“I ain’t the same person I was. And neither are you.”

“You’re wrong.”

You shook your head with such conviction that Joel faltered.

“I haven’t let the world harden me, Joel. I’ve grown, and I’ve learned, but I’m still the same person I’ve always been."

“You’re lucky to be alive, then. Naive to think that you can still care about people in a world that doesn’t care about you.”

You studied him, cold and calculated, before nodding sharply, a look of disapproval in your eyes. The scar that ran through your brow curled as you scowled.

“You just feel so fuckin’ sorry for yourself, don’t you?”

Joel was utterly taken aback, blinking once, then twice, before his eyes narrowed.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. You think—you think you can use your grief, your pain, to justify your actions, like it can excuse the person you’ve become. We don’t have control over anything that happens to us, Joel. Shit happens, and the world still spins. The only thing we do have control over is the way we react to it—how we choose to let it affect us.”

You were glaring daggers through him, resentment contorting your attractive features into a snarl, your scar pinched inward with the furrow of your brow.

“Ellie was right. You’re not the only person to lose someone. Your grief does not justify your actions. I’ve heard about the things you’ve done, Joel. The horrible things. You don’t get to say that the world forced you to become what you are—you made that choice. You let your grief consume you, you let it control your life, you let it turn you cold and callous and spiteful and cruel. That’s not the world, Joel—that was you."

He felt his chest grow tight, stunned by your words. There was anger growing in him, blazing hotter.

“Don’t—”

“No.”

You snapped, and Joel could see his own rage reflected in your eyes.

“No, Joel, you’re gonna shut the fuck up and listen to me, for once. I’ve waited too damn long to say it, and you at least owe me this.”

He silently seethed, fists clenching beneath the table as his leg began to bounce with anxiety.

“Look around you. All of these people—me, too—have suffered, have been put through so much, but we’re still here. We’re trying. We’re fighting. We found hope where there wasn’t any, in spite of everything, we’re choosin’ to move forward. So you can’t say that the only way to survive is to become as hateful as the world around you—there’s still good left.”

He stayed quiet, head silently shaking at your words. HIs jaw was rippling as it clenched. You grew silent for a moment, before hesitantly speaking up. Your tone was much softer, now.

“You’re not the only person to lose her, Joel. You’re not the only person who lost Sarah.”

His eyes snapped to you, his expression turning stony at the mention of his daughter. He despised the look of pity in your eyes—the look of sympathy.

“I’m sorry, Joel. I’m so sorry about Sarah, I can’t even begin to understand how hard it must’ve been for you to go through that, but—but you don’t get to own that. That grief doesn’t belong to you.”

You swallowed. There were tears welling in your eyes, threatening to fall.

“Do you really think this is what she would’ve wanted you to become? What she—”

He stood abruptly, anger bubbling over and spewing from him as he shouted at you.

“You have no fucking right—”

“I loved her, too, Joel!”

You screamed, standing to meet him, and the man recoiled, flinching as tears began to track down your cheeks. You fumed.

“I loved Sarah, and I loved you, and I spent every single day missing you and hoping that by some godforsaken miracle, you—my family, was okay.”

My family. His gaze dropped to his shoes as he swallowed thickly.

“And when I heard from Tommy what had happened, I just—my heart broke for you, Joel, of course it did, but that little girl—I know she wasn’t mine, but I loved her, too. And don’t tell me I have no right to talk about her, because I did know her. I spent every day for five years with her, watchin’ her grow up, and—and I know it’s not the same, but you can’t take that from me. As hard as you try—as hard as you tried—to erase me, to push me away... I’ve never stopped loving you. Either of you.”

You turned away from him, trying to mask the pain that was erupting from deep within you—years and years of repressed anguish spilling from every pore.

Your back was to him, your shoulders rising and falling with shaky breaths, your sobs subdued by your willpower alone. As much as he tried to fight it, Joel felt guilt nesting within his soul.

“I know your world ended that night, I know you lost everything—but my world ended the night before.”

His lungs felt like they were shrinking.

“Y/N—”

“I’m gonna ask you something, Joel, and I already know the answer, but—but I need to hear you say it.”

You turned to face him once again, your sadness briefly replaced with cool calculation as you scrutinized him. He gave a barely perceptible nod.

“Did Sarah die that night, thinkin’ I just up and left without saying goodbye? Without knowing the truth?”

He felt the blood drain from his face, his mouth dry and tongue like sandpaper. He didn’t respond—he didn’t need to. You saw it in his eyes, the silent resignation, the shadow of shame that crested his features, the way his jaw rippled. You nodded slowly, the last of your tears drying up as you sniffed, and Joel could see the resentment slowly taking control.

“Darlin’, I—”

“When I saw you with Ellie, I thought maybe I was wrong. Maybe there was still a part of you in there that could love, that could care, that could be a father. Ellie is someone’s daughter, Joel. What if it was Sarah? You can’t—don’t turn your back on her. Please. Don’t—don’t break my heart again.”

He swallowed thickly, unable to meet your gaze. You shook your head again, an uncharacteristic calmness suddenly possessing you.

“I’ll pack you a bag and put it on my porch for you to take tomorrow morning. Some rations and clothes and everything you’ll need."

You started walking towards the door, as if ready to lead him out, and he shook his head frustratedly.

“I can't take her, Y/N, I’m not—”

“Yes, you are.”

You clipped, a glare piercing through him as you opened up the front door for him.

“Because if you don’t, m’gonna have to listen to you bitch about how much you regret it for the rest ’a your sorry life, and I’m not willing to put up with that.”

True to your word, there was a new backpack sitting on your front step early the next morning. Joel knocked twice on your door, but if you were home, you ignored him. He rifled through the contents quickly—you’d even included a makeshift first-aid kit, a thermos of coffee and some grounds.

As he shouldered the bag, a piece of paper fluttered to the ground. It was a note, messily scrawled in your familiar handwriting. He felt his heart skip a beat as he reread it, over and over, his lips parted in shock.

Cowboy—

I kept my eyes closed, but five minutes is starting to feel more like twenty years—but I'm still waiting. I'll always be waiting for you, Joel.

Good luck. Maybe when you get back, you can hold up your end of the bargain. I've learned to be patient.

Your perpetual neighbor, Y/N

P.S. I'm sorry. And I forgive you.

You remembered.

TAGLIST: @spiidergirlsworld @canpillowscry @str84pedro @daddy-din @pedropascal-whore @pppmitt @thirdoffive @elliescumsl0t @kagajgajaguwbeidheubqk (please comment to be added/removed)

[dreamingofep]

Smile, baby

Pairing: Austin Butler × Reader

Word Count: 6.7K

Summary: You're the photographer for the Vman photoshoot with Austin and you can't seem to ignore all his charm.

Warning(s): SMUT, the usual p in v action, dom! austin, slow burn, teasing, fingering, oral.

A/n: Hi everyone! Hope you enjoy this little Austin fic! Please feel free to comment and message me your thoughts I'd love the feedback! Sorry for any spelling mistakes or goofs.

You finish packing your camera bag and double check you have everything you need for this next shoot. You had been in the photography business professionally for the last four years and have enjoyed it. It was your lifelong dream to be a full-time photographer and it finally came true.

This next shoot was for the magazine Vman featuring actor Austin Butler. You had seen some of his stuff and really liked him in The Carrie Diaries. He had that boyish cute look in that show and at the time, but you hadn’t paid much attention recently to him. There was so much you had to focus on like editing a million pictures after each shoot you do or planning trips for the next big gig. You didn’t necessarily have time to inspect every single aspect of whatever actor’s life you were meeting on set. Quite frankly you didn’t care because these people were just human and were really nice to work with and that’s all that mattered.

You slip on some black leggings and a tank top and put on some lip gloss as you head out the door.

You get to the studio before anyone else and start to set up your equipment and check out the space. It was a rather simple warehouse with some couches, a bed, and some tables that could be used for the shoot if need be. You hear the door from across the way get opened and in comes a rolling cart full of clothes and the wardrobe designer behind it.

“Hey, I’m y/n, I’ll be the photographer for the shoot. Thanks for coming early,” you say as she goes in for a hug to greet you.

“No problem! It’s nice to meet you I’m Angie. What do you think of the looks? Is it something that fits the vision?”

You had already talked to the magazine about what they were looking to get out of this shoot. They wanted the title of the issue “Hollywood's New Burning Love,” since the new Elvis movie would be coming out very soon and it was already getting rave reviews. The concept was to be bold, edgy, and free. Really capture that side of Austin but make sure the audience can also feel the human connection through these pictures. When they say pictures are worth a thousand words, they’re right. That’s why you loved your job so much. It was the best way to tell a story in just one single frame.

You sift through the rack and feel the smoothness of the black leather pieces hanging on the hangers and the jaggedness of the studs that were on another jacket. The mesh floral shirt caught your eye right away and thought it was really interesting but would see how it would look on Austin to see if you would use it for a shot. You were going to be mainly taking most of the pictures outside so you were hoping the weather would stay nice.

After a few minutes of looking through the wardrobe options, the doors open once again and you see Austin along with his team behind him.

You’re taken aback because your previous memory of how he looked and not at all what he looked like now. He was stunning in person, so gorgeous you can swear you felt your heart skip a beat.

Oh, fuck what’s happening.

He makes eye contact with you first and the way those blue eyes bore into yours, it’s electrifying and sends a shiver throughout your body. He then makes that boyish cute smile he’s always had at you and you can’t help but blush. You look up again and see he’s still looking at you only a few feet away.

“Hey, I’m Austin. I assume you’ll be the one taking pictures of me today?” He asks as he gestures to your camera strap around your chest. His eyes linger there at your chest for a brief moment before meeting your eyes again. You bite the inside of your cheek to stop yourself from giggling like an idiot.

You nod, “yep that’s me, as long as you don’t mind me being all close to your face,” you wince at the words that just freely came out of your mouth. Jesus Christ, what had gotten into you? Just seconds into this interaction you’re a babbling mess.

He chuckles and puts out his hand to shake it, “yea I think I can handle that dear. Let me go change. What did you want to see on me first?” He asks so innocently. But your brain is moving a million miles an hour and you continue to turn another shade of red.

I want to be on you…

“Uh…umm… how about that mesh floral shirt…I umm think that might be a nice start.” You start to pinch your hand trying to regain any control you have left of the situation. He nods his head and grabs the outfit off the rack and heads to the makeshift dressing room.

You quickly double check your camera is working properly and your battery is fully charged. What the hell has gotten into you? No one gets you this flustered, especially at work!

Austin comes out from the changing area and has the mesh top on and black dress pants. You try not to stare too much but he looks good and you feel your face flush.

“Where would you like me, darling,” he asked as Angie handed him a cowboy hat.

You giggle a little as he puts it on goofily and starts walking out with you. “Let’s go outside and see how the lighting looks and go from there okay cowboy?”

“Mmm, yes ma’am, he says in a Southern accent and tips the end of his hat down and you both laugh.

He’s so unbelievably charming to you I can’t believe the way your heart races around him.

He’s a natural in front of the camera. Charm is just pouring out of him and you find yourself smiling at every little thing he’s doing.

You have him lean against the building in the sheer shirt and lean back. The way he looks up is so attractive it makes you needy.

You both lock eyes and they burn into you causing your cheeks to feel like fire. He doesn’t look away and if you’re not mistaken, you think he likes the way you’re getting all flustered for him. You take a slow breath and watch as his eyes linger all over your body. He lets out a soft, “mmm,” from his lips and you do everything to try to regain focus.

“Okay umm… how about an outfit change. Maybe just changing the top in the tank top and leather jacket look.” You say as direct as possible to try to shift the mood of your photoshoot and have his eyes quit fucking yours.

You change your camera battery inside as he’s changing into the next look. He comes out from behind the dressing room and comes out shirtless with the leather jacket flung over his shoulder, being held on by just two of his fingers. His shirtless body looked divine, some Roman sculptures would be jealous of how good he looked without a shirt. The silver-adorned belt around his waist caught your eye and stared once again at how good he looked in those pants. The pronounced bulge in his pants made your mouth water and you bite your lip to try to stop yourself from staring when he was walking toward you.

He clears his throat to catch your attention, you shoot your eyes back up at him as he has a sly grin across his face as he sees where your eyes are drawn to.

“I was thinking no shirt, just felt right,” he pauses and you nod. He walks closer to you, slowly, like a leopard stalking his prey, and whispers, “hmm, I thought you might like that honey. Anything to keep your eyes on me longer…” he trails off and brushes your hair behind your ear.

You feel the wetness begin to pool in your panties. The tension between you two is electric and you have to do everything in your power to stay professional and maintain to stay calm.

You look up at him and those icy blue eyes bore into you with lust. Your heart races as you don’t know what to say next. Nerves fill your body as you start to enjoy the closeness of his body to yours.

“Oh, umm, let’s go outside again. The lighting should be perfect,” you stumble out. You and the rest of the team go back outside and you really don’t have a clue what the next shot will be but then it hits you.

You have all the power in this situation. He needs to listen to your direction.

If he wants to play this game and make you all flustered, you can do it too.

“Austin, why don’t you stand by that blue wall, it’ll bring out your eyes,” You tease and give him a wink. He lets out this airy laugh and shakes his head. He starts to put on the leather jacket and you stop him. You rush to him, away from the rest of the team so they can’t hear you.

“Ah, wait Austin, I was thinking nothing on for this part… since you like to have so many people’s eyes on you, this would be a for sure way to do that,” You tease and brush his hair back on the sides as he did to you.

“Nothing on hm?” He emphasizes, “I think that’s a special shoot we’d need to have just you and I. And as far as having other eyes on me, I’d much more prefer it to be yours only,” Your breathing hitches and you bite your lip.

“What are you trying to do here? Do you flirt this hard with every photographer you encounter hmm?” You say firmly.

“No baby, just with you. Somethin’ aboutcha is driving me crazy, and I know you can feel it too.” He teases, his voice raspy and deep, as his face inches dangerously closer to yours. He has this slight southern inflection in his voice. Something he must have still from shooting the Elvis movie but dear god it’s so fucking sexy. Between the raspiness and the southern inflection he has on some words, you’re falling apart at the seams.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you whisper sheepishly.

“Yes, you do. You’ve turned eight different shades of red since I walked in here. Do you normally get so flustered over every client you photograph?” He rebuts back at you.

You press your lips together as he’s got you pressed in the corner.

“Only the ones who eye fuck me throughout the entire photoshoot,” you say.

“Hmm, well I’ll try to make it more, bearable for you dear,” he chuckles and places his hand on his lower lip. You step back and realize you have a perfect shot.

He keeps his hand to his mouth and the other hand on his hip as he watched you closely back up and raises the camera to your eye. You squat down in front of him and the biggest smile forms across his face. Another burst of embarrassment embarks upon you as you realize he can see your cleavage perfectly at this view. You stand up quickly and snap a few more shots knowing that the first one you took was the perfect shot.

“Alright, I think we can move along. How about you put the leather pants and vest on for this shot and sit on that bench over there?” You point across the way and you start to walk over.

He leaves without saying a word and comes back a few minutes later down and sits down on the bench, giving you this devilish look. He crosses his legs as the makeup person fixes his hair a bit. An assistant hands you a different lens for the shot and you accidentally drop the lens cap. The cap rolls directly at his feet and he looks down at it, then back up to you. The insolent man doesn’t make any attempt to pick it up for you and you see what he wants you to do.

Bend down in front of him again like a submissive whore.

You purse your lips together and take a deep breath and walk over to him.

“I got the cap Austin don’t worry,” you scoff and pick it up and blow the dust off of it.

“I knew you’d get it. I just like you kneeling in front of me,” he says as he brushes his hair through his fingers and leans back.

Your blood boils. No client has ever talked to you this way. But no client has turned you on this way either. You’re at a crossroads. You can either tell him to get his head out of his ass or make it worse for him and have him continue to be at your mercy.

Option two sounds like a plan.

You scoot back a little, still bending down, and place the camera up to your eye.

“Open your legs Austin, you need to look more relaxed…” you say quietly but just loud enough for him to hear. His eye grows wide and he wipes his palms on his thighs. He shifts his body a bit uncomfortably, exactly how you wanted him to get. After adjusting so, he stretches out his long legs out, making it so you’re right in between them.

“Like this?” He asks innocently as he looks down at you.

“Mhmm, just like that.” You say as he looks off into the distance. You feel how soaked your panties have gotten in this position and they only are getting worse by kneeling in front of him.

“Smile, baby. Look right at me,” you coo softly and the expression on his face is a shock. It felt great to be so in control of him and have him do every last thing you wanted. He does as he’s told and looks directly down the lens. He bites his lip slightly and another sly grin forms across that beautiful face.

You get up and take shots from a higher angle and know you’ve gotten some amazing pictures.

The sun was setting and know the shades and lighting would start screwing up the pictures so you thought that would be a wrap.

“Thanks, everyone! I think that wraps it up. You all were wonderful!” You clap and start to hug everyone as you make your way inside.

You start tidying up your things and the crew starts to say goodbye as the sun begins to set lower.

You finally begin to calm down as the tension throughout the day was a massive cloud over you and your thoughts.

He was right, do you get flustered over every client you photograph? The answer was obviously no but today, Austin really got the best of you and this indescribable need to be close to him took over all sense and logic you had left in your body. The last few crew members leave the studio and you waved goodbye.

You watch as Austin emerges from his dressing room and he brushes his hair back and his eyes meet yours again.

“Thanks for a great day y/n. You sure made it fun,” he chuckles as he bites his lower lip. He looks you up and down yet again but this time, it looks like he wants to ruin you.

“Oh, it was my pleasure. Do you have a few minutes? I’d love to show you some of the shots I got today,”

“Yeah, I can stay for you,” he quips.

You walk over to your laptop on the desk and take a seat on the stool. Austin follows closely behind you and scooches the seat next to yours even closer. Your shoulders touch and when they do, it’s like fire seeping through your clothes. Sitting there almost not breathing, you start nervously tapping your fingers on the keyboard of your computer. You search around your files and open all the pictures from today.

You click on the first picture and once again have to press your lips together so he won’t see the grin wanting to take over your face. God, he just looked so good. The way his back arched in some of these. The way he sat with his legs spread wide open, just beckoning you to come and sit right there in his lap. You were flipping through the photos rather quickly but when you saw that picture of him in the leather jacket, sitting there with sexual charisma dripping off of him, you can’t help but pause and look further. The way he looked perfect to you in this shot had you start to become wet again.

He notices your prolonged stare and a cunning little smirk emerges on his face.

“Is there something wrong with this one? You’re looking at this one awfully long.”

His voice snaps you back to reality and your look at him with those pleading blue eyes.

“Mmm, you probably don’t want to hear what I have to say about this one,” you say teasingly as you go to click on the next picture.

The next one is only worse. Instead of his looking away from the camera, this one is him looking directly into the lens and making you quiver.

His eyes look over you again and this time , his hand is placed on your thigh causing you to put your full attention on him. you don’t break eye contact.

“Oh no trust me, honey, I wanna know what you think of this one.”

“I don’t that’s necessary,” you stutter hoping he might just drop it.

“Do you like how I look here? Do you like it when I look at you, and only you, like that.”

You nod your head, “mhmm, I love it actually.”

“Why do you love it so much?” His hand tightens around your thigh and fixes your hair sending a wave of pleasure from his just making contact with your skin.

“Austin, please, you’ve been killing me all day, I can’t do this,”

“What was I doing baby, I was just listening to you’ll day. I think it would only be fair if you listened to me now and answer my question. Why do you like this picture so much hmm?”

“B-b-because, umm, because you look so sexy sitting like that. Looking at me like you’re just begging to be fucked,” you moan out.

A big smile on his face emerges and he turns your stool to face him. He spreads your legs apart and places both hands on your upper thighs.

“Well, that’s funny you say that because,” he pauses as he looks at your legs spread for him, his hands trail up your legs dangerously slow, the friction it's causing is driving you mad. “That’s exactly what I wanted. I wanted you to get on me and slow fuck me until you came apart,” he groans out and squeezes your thighs tighter. His thumbs were getting closer to your core by the second and you felt the throbbing begin to worsen and your wetness begins to pool.

“Austin… I can’t do this…. I don’t screw around with my clients, I have a reputation I have to keep,” you say breathlessly and you continue to feel the wetness seep through your panties.

He nods his head slowly, “I understand, I don’t want to do anything you don’t want to do. I just thought you were thinking the same thing I was thinking. And maybe, just maybe, I could be the one to make you feel good instead of you going home by yourself and touching yourself all night wishing it was me…” he says sheepishly and his thumb grazed your core. His eyebrow raises as he feels the amount of heat coming off of you and the subtle wetness seeping through your leggings. This brings a smile to his face and looks up at you to see you in agony. You’re desperate for more of him and can’t help it that you push your hips onto the spot where his thumb is.

“Mmm, so needy I see. Let me help you with that honey. I just want you to feel good. You’ve been killing me all day with how beautiful you look,” he coos as his hand grazes your face and you lean in to kiss him.

Your lips crash together like the ocean meets the sand and it feels perfect. The kisses are so intense and passionate that there’s hardly any time to breathe. You place one hand on his face and the other on his thigh. You so desperately want to be taken out of here and have him ruin you all night long. Your kisses deepen and his tongue explores yours, licking your bottom lip at first then pushing it in further and moaning when he does this. You start to move your hand up his thigh and smile when you find his large bulge hardening and making his pants even tighter.

You can’t help but break the kiss and look down and what your hand is tracing over. You feel your core throb, wanting him to take care of this undeniable need you have for him to please you in any way he can come up with. You place more pressure on the outline of his hardened dick and hear his breathing hitch and he places his hand on top of yours, slowly rubbing it with you.

“See, you’re killing me. Let’s get out of here,” he pleads and you solemnly nod your head.

Your heart races as this are one of the most scandalous things you would ever do! You always kept it professional but something about Austin had you dying for his attention. Fear strikes you when you realize it might raise some eyebrows if you show up at his hotel. You swallow that fear and get into his car and drive off to the hotel which is only a short drive away from the studio. He parks out front and gives the keys to the valet and you realize you both are staying at the same hotel.

Well, at least no one will be asking questions about why we’re showing up here together…

You both round the corner of the lobby to the hallway where the elevators are. You keep a comfortable distance from each other, keeping it professional in the public eye. The up arrow flashes and Austin has you step in the elevator first and he follows behind. He presses the fifteen button and waits for the doors to close. As soon as they shut, he pushes you against the wall and kisses your lips with fire. He pushes his hips into you causing a groan to slip out of you and his hands roam your body freely. You want so much more contact with him, your body is aching for it and you claw at his back, causing him to let out a low guttural growl.

One hand grabs your ass and he squeezes it in his large hand. He starts to trail his kisses down along your cheek and down to your neck where he pauses there and sucks on the sensitive flesh. His free hand travels across your breasts, down your torso where he finally stops when his fingers find your throbbing core. You’ve only gotten wetter since you both left the studio so the wetness has soaked through your panties and your leggings, causing a big wet spot to form in between your legs. He places two of his finger on your clit and rubs in slow, agonizing circles. You gasp at the sensation as you have been so on edge since first meeting him.

“Seems like you’ve soaked through your leggings, you need it that bad hmm?” His voice was low and in control. You look at those endless blue oceanic eyes and nod your head yes as a small whine escapes your lips.

“I can take care of that honey,” he coos into your ear and pulls his body away from yours as you feel the elevator cart come to an abrupt stop.

He leads you out of the elevator and down the hall to where his room is. He taps the key card on the lock and the little light on the door turns green and he opens the door for you. He finds the light switch and you cautiously make your way through the room. It isn’t large by any means but the king-sized bed that is in the middle of the room seems massive. You feel him come from behind you and start to kiss your neck again. His hands grope your breasts and you feel his cock getting hard again pushing into your ass.

You moan at the feelings he is giving you and how desperate you are to take off his clothes. It’s almost as if he reads your mind as he picks you up and places you on the edge of the bed and lifts your shirt off your body. He unhooks your bra and places wet, sloppy kisses all over your breasts sucking hard on your nipples. You’re breathless and your head continues to spin. He gets on his knees in front of you and places kiss up and down your torso before hooking his fingers around the waistband of your leggings. In one quick motion, he drags them off your legs, also taking your panties off with them. You see the wetness that has smeared on your inner thighs and your cheeks get red at the sight. This only creates a smirk on Austin’s face and he runs his fingers on it. He spreads your legs wider so he can see how wet you truly are. He bites his lower lips at the sight before him.

“God, you look so perfect. So wet for me,” he teases as he runs his index finger through your folds causing you to hiss. You can’t help that your hips roll onto his finger wanting more than just a light touch. You start to unbutton his shirt and yank it off of his beautiful frame. His tan skin glowed in this light. You want to lick every square inch of this man.

He slowly puts his finger in your dripping pussy and you moan his name. He slowly pumps it in and out of you, feeling every inch of your walls and how taught you are around his long finger. He looks at your every reaction and slips in his middle finger inside you, causing you to arch your back and roll your hips onto him. He picks up the pace watching intently how so much wetness is spilling out of you and how good you look getting fucked by his fingers.

“Austin, fuck, I-I-I… I want you inside me,” you pant as you grab his forearm. A stark grin forms on his face, “I already am inside of you, what more could you possibly want,” he teases and curls his fingers inside you. Your eyes roll back in your head and you feel the coil in your belly tighten. His fingers are reaching places you never knew existed and you want nothing more than for him to make you cum.

He pulls his finger out of you and licks the wetness off of them before starting to unbutton his jeans. Your breathing quickens and you’re so on edge you almost feel the room spinning.

“Are you ready for me?” He stands up as he is unzipping his jeans and his cock is at eye level to you. He glides them down his leg and kicks them to the side. He’s left in his boxer briefs and they make his hard cock look delicious laying down on his leg. He slowly slides them down springing his cock free and your eyes grow wide.

“Oh fuck,” you moan and bite your lip as you continue to gaze at his impressive length. Everything about him looked good while he was naked. His toned body down to his hard cock. He was longer than you expected and your mouth watered at the sight before you. The veins protruding on his shaft made him look so good and the red tip of his head was leaking with precum. His balls were hanging tight closer to his body but nevertheless were ample in size. He takes his right hand as you are staring at him and starts to jerk himself off. The way his hand enveloped his shaft and a small sigh slipped from his lips as his thumb smeared the sticky wetness from his tip along some of his shaft. You couldn’t stop looking at how big he really was and how hot it was watching him jerk himself off in front of you.

“You sure you’re ready for me baby girl? Do you think you could take all of this cock inside you?” He teases and you feel your core throb at his words.

“Please, Austin, fuck me,” you beg and he pushes your body down with your arms above your head. Austin examines your body laid out before him and starts to run the head of his cock through your sopping wet folds. You moan, unable to take anymore teasing from this man. After he gets some of your wetness on his shaft, he lines himself up to your entrance and carefully starts to put inch by inch inside of you.

You’ve never experienced sex with anyone so big so the feelings you were having were unlike anything you’ve ever felt. He was slow and gentle, making sure you were adjusting to his length and not causing it to become painful. The way he was stretching you with each slow thrust was driving you wild. The sound of his soft grunts every time he put more of his cock inside of you was the hottest thing you’ve ever heard. He had one hand around your wrists that were above your head and the other rubbing your swollen sensitive bud.

You arch into his hand, letting out a whine needing so much more than what he’s giving you. You claw at the sheets beneath you and your breathing quickens and whining moans escape you. You look up at those blue eyes full of lust that could consume you if you let them. Without saying a word, you plead for him to give you more. He kisses you deeply and pushes in the rest of his cock inside you, bottoming out and he groans loudly.

Your mouth opens when you feel how much he’s filling you and are so overwhelmed by the way he’s stretching you out. He starts to move his hips faster causing you to scream. Every thrust was hitting your cervix and the mix of pain and pleasure was driving you crazy. You shut your eyes closed as you let Austin take you any way he wants. His fingers pick up the pace on your clit causing you to feel the coil in your belly tighten.

“Fuck, you’re taking this cock so well baby. Feeling so good,” he moans into your ear.

The way he moves his hips should be a crime. I guess he kept some of Elvis’ moves…

His hips continue to swivel and pound into you effortlessly. His pace is slow and controlled but you know you can’t last very long like this. He’s hitting all the right places and your walls are hugging his length tightly.

“I’m gonna cum,” you cry out. He sucks on your neck, marking you as his, and slowly starts to pull himself out of you.

You whine at the feeling of being so empty and watch him as he gets off of you and proceeds to sit on the bed with the pillows behind his back. He stretches his long legs out and sits there with his hard cock glistening full of your juices.

“It’s your turn baby. I want you to do just as I said before. Slow fuck me until you cum apart on this cock,” he commands as he looks at your body hungrily.

You crawl over to him and straddle his narrow hips. Grabbing a fist full of his hair, you pull his head back, nibbling and sucking on his gorgeous neck, leaving little red marks going down it. He moans out in frustration and you feel his cock twitch against your tummy. His hands find your nipples and start to roll them in between his fingers, sending shocks of pleasure straight to your leaking cunt.

You let go of his hair and line him up to your entrance. You slowly sink down on his head and your eyes roll back as you feel him stretch your weeping pussy. You look back at him and his mouth is open, watching as your pussy consumes his cock inch by inch.

You take more of him and moan the more he fills you. You’re moving so slow, just like he said, but he gets restless and bucks his hips up into you and makes you take all of his length deep inside you.

You squeeze and claw at his biceps and moan out his name. He holds your hips still as you adjust to him. Rocking your hips back and forth, you feel how insanely good he’s filling you never wanting this to end.

He starts to move in and out of you, helping you ride him.

“Such a good girl, keep riding me baby,” he says breathlessly and you squeeze his length at the sound of his words. You try to keep the same rhythm he's setting but you want nothing more than buck wildly on him.

You lean back and reach out your hands to place them on his calves. You rock your hips at this new angle and you see how his eyes become drunk on watching you take his cock like this. He starts moaning louder and muttering expletives under his breath. He throws his head back and squeezed his eyes shut after a while, knowing he’s close to coming apart.

This angle is hitting the most sensitive spot inside you and you feel the coil inside you about to snap. Your walls start to flutter around his girth and he watches as your mouth opens in ecstasy. Both of your moans and grunts fill the otherwise silent room and you start to move faster on him. He pulls you up so you two are chest to chest. He sucks and bites on your neck as he fucks you harder, needing every last ounce of you.

“Cum baby girl, I feel you’re so close,” he groans in your ear. He grabs your hair and pulls it back a little, never leaving eye contact with you. You wrap your arms around his shoulders and fuck him harder as you start to clench around his cock. Your vision starts to see spots and you squeeze your eyes shut as you ride out your orgasm.

“Ohh, fuck baby,” you moan out loudly and leave scratch marks down his chest. No one has ever made you orgasm this much and your body feels euphoric. As your orgasm slows, you start to open your eyes again. His face looks so fucked out, with his eyebrows furrowed together.

“It’s your turn, baby. I know you want to cum,” you pant and you pull his hair as he lets out a groan. He bucks his hips into a few more times into you before lifting you up off of him and leaving you sitting on your knees. He gets off the bed and entices you to come to him with just the motion of his index finger. His eyes look like they’re on fire as he watches you crawl to him on the edge of the bed to him. You stare as he jerks his cock off in front of you. His head was red and your juices covered his entire length.

“Open that dirty mouth baby. Need to fill it with everything I can give you.” He groans as he moves his hand faster.

You open your mouth for him and feel hot spurts of his cum coat your tongue and the back of your mouth. You can’t help but moan at this obscene act and how much you’re getting off to it. You feel your wetness drip down the side of your thigh as he fills your mouth with his hot cum. You watch his face as he cums and it’s the hottest thing you’ve ever encountered. The way his lip curls and how the veins in his neck pop out as he’s finishing.

He carefully puts the tip of his cock on your tongue and gasps at the feeling. You look up slyly and suck on his head. The last way you can tease him and get away with all that you’ve done. He hisses at the sensation as he is overstimulated at this point. You gently suck his tip one last time and release it with a pop of your mouth. He grabs your face with his large hand and looks down at you.

“You better swallow that like a good girl,” he commands breathlessly.

You swallow his warm, thick seed, and a grin forms across his face. He wipes your bottom lip and goes in to kiss you. His tongue swirls in your mouth and he places a hand on your cheek as you both relish in the kiss.

He breaks the kiss to look at you and he pulls you into his arms.

“Was that okay for you?” He asks innocently, his boyish features shining out as he genuinely feels the need to know you were taken care of.

In your mind, you want to scream that was the best sex you’ve ever had. But you remain composed and try to hide your face in his chest.

“Mhmm, it was beyond okay… I don’t know what else to say .” You giggle slightly.

“Well, it was amazing for me too. Let me get a towel for you. You just can’t help but make a mess everywhere you go huh?” He laughs as he squeezes your wet, sticky thigh.

You roll your eyes and laugh at him. You hug your knees to your chest and relive the events of today in your head.

If today proved anything, you really loved your job and will never forget a second of it.

Austin comes from the bathroom with a towel in his hand and one around his waist.

How could he look any more attractive…

He gently wipes your thighs and pats the wetness from your swollen folds. You tense up a bit and he rubs your back soothingly.

“I got you, honey, just relax,” he says and places a kiss on your cheek.

There’s a comfortable silence between you both and you’re not sure what to say next.

He’s rubbing circles on your back and starts humming a tune as he lays back and pulls you in his arms.

“So, um, I have a question for you honey,” he says shyly.

“Mhmm, what is it…” you say sleepily.

“Well, I could escort you back to your room so you can enjoy the rest of your night alone, or…” he trails off and your body freezes in anticipation. The sound of his low, raspy voice can make you fall apart again right here. He grabs your hip and squeezes the soft flesh there.

“I can make you stay here all night and fuck you until the sun comes up.”

Your heart flutters and starts ringing in your ears. Your hand trails down his body til it finds his semi-hard cock.

“Mmm… you’re gonna have to make me stay,” you say squeezing your hand over him.

“It’s gonna be a long night for you,” he teases.

Tagging💕

@powerofelvis @burninlovebutler @plasticfantasticl0ver @cryingabtab @ab4eva @marriedtopresley @mooodyblue @returntoelvis @areacodefan @notstefaniepresley @succsessions @lindszeppelin @peaceloveelvis @kendralavon7 @katelswan @star-shard @heartbrake-hotel @loving-elvis @missmaywemeetagain @eliseinmemphis @generoustreemystic

[em03z25]

TMI

Chapter 4, Living Room. (Masterlist)

Next?

Slipping on an oversized tee with a new pair of sleep shorts, you reach for your phone and check the time. It was only 11:45; you had made good time in the shower despite still being a little drowsy. Now you’re sitting on the edge of the tub, with the hair dryer in one hand and a leave-in conditioner in the other. You generously spray the conditioner and massage it in, then reach for the hairbrush on your lap while simultaneously turning on the hair dryer. You think to yourself as you maneuver it around your head until it’s dry enough to brush through without resistance. Would it really be all that bad to try with another guy this year? 

Three pings on your phone pulled you back to reality. Looking over, the preview from your lockscreen shows messages from an unsaved number. Unlocking the phone and opening the new messages, you read them with an eyebrow raised. 

‘032-508-0143’

Hi, is this Y/N? I’m your uninvited guest downstairs. 

I’m sorry for forcing myself into your home.

I don’t handle my alcohol well apparently. 

Thankfully, he’s texting completely in English. You debate telling him he can just leave so you can avoid any awkward conversations that might occur if you talk face-to-face. However, Jisung’s words repeat themselves in your head: “Don’t be such a pussy.” In a way, he was correct; you are a pussy when it comes to interacting with complete strangers. But there’s no way Minho or Jisung would send someone your way if they thought he was a threat. Yeah, even if nothing romantic comes of this, you’ll have a new friend to hang out with when Jeongyeon and Felix aren’t able to. Nodding to yourself in reassurance, you start texting him back. 

‘Y/N’

Yeah, this is her.

I’ll be down in a minute.

After slipping on a pair of fuzzy socks, you head downstairs. Peaking around the corner into the living room, you spot Chan sipping on the water bottle you had prepared for him last night. He was scrolling on his phone, paying no attention to his surroundings. He looks less disheveled than he did after his fall, his curls still a little messy but lacking the tiny leaves that had been stuck inside. He is very handsome; you can’t deny that Minho has a thing for having friends who are just as good-looking as him. Perhaps Chan is even better in your eyes; it has to be the curls, you think. A notification buzzes on your phone, again bringing you back to Earth. This time it’s a number you recognize: your lovely best friend, Jeongyeon.

‘Jeongyeon’ 

Jihyo just sent me a video of a man climbing your fence… 

Are you alive?

‘Y/N’

Yeah, I’m fine. 

Just a drunk friend of Minho’s lol.

After quickly typing your response, you nod to yourself again and put away your phone. You walk into the living room, clearing your throat to announce your arrival. Making eye contact with the man on your couch, he smiles and stands up with a hand reaching out. 

“Hi, I’m Chan. I’m really sorry for intruding on your space like this.” You grab his hand and lightly shake it while nodding. His hands aren’t too much bigger than yours, but they’re so warm. Before you can even open your mouth to respond to him, he starts again. “I didn’t plan on this being how we first met”, he says as he retreats his hand to scratch the back of his neck with a shy smile on his lips.

This is also on ao3 by me, snowballing97, so please do not copy my work or post it elsewhere. -em :)

[bandedbulbussnarfblat]

Quartet-chapter 9

here or read it below

By Tuesday night, Lestat has Nicki back in his own apartment.  He’s home alone in Queens, enjoying a bubble bath  and a stiff drink in his clawfoot tub.  He has his whiskey in one hand and his phone in the other as he calls Daniel.  

Daniel had surprised Lestat, coming to help with Nicki.  The way he had swooped in and taken care of things had been…sexy.  He isn’t ashamed to admit it to himself.  Daniel had been authoritative, but also gentle and kind.  Almost parental.  Dead sexy.

It’s too bad he’s hung up on Armand; Lestat wouldn’t mind taking him for a test drive.  

“Yeah?”  Daniel answers.  

“When is your date with Armand?” Lestat asks.

“It’s not a date,” Daniel protests.  “But it’s Thursday night.”

That soon?  He’ll have to act fast.  “I’m taking you shopping.  Your taste in clothes is appalling.”

“I don’t need-”

“But Daniel, you do,” Lestat cuts in.  He wants to help Daniel, and not just for his own goals.  Oddly enough, he finds he likes Daniel.  But a Daniel who is distracting Armand is the best Daniel.  And a Daniel who is endeared to him is a Daniel who will put in a good word with Louis.  “I’ll be there to pick you up at six.”

Daniel sighs.  “You’re going to show up whether I like it or not, aren’t you?”

“Consider it me paying you back for helping with Nicki,” Lestat says.  “With my help, Armand will be peeling your clothes off by the end of the night.”

/

Lestat takes him to some French boutique with clothes that cost enough it should be criminal.  Daniel doesn’t know how to tell him he can’t afford anything here.  The last time he went somewhere this nice, Armand took him.

Armand had bought his loads of clothes, even picked out what he should wear when they were together.  Daniel had never minded.  He liked it, even.  There was something satisfying about knowing the way he looked pleased Armand.  And later, Armand would peel those clothes off and fuck him into incoherence.  

The thought that he’s going to see him tomorrow has his stomach in knots.

Shopping with Lestat is much like shopping with Armand, in that Daniel doesn’t actually pick anything.  He just chooses from what Lestat offers.  He ends up trying on five different pairs of pants and shirts before he comes out with fitted black slacks and a dark purple button up that he’s left open enough to have some chest peeking.  

Honestly, he’d only done it so he could just slip the shirt back off without undoing all the buttons.  But Lestat, who has been sitting outside the dressing room and rejecting or approving items, goes still when he sees him.  His eyes slide over him from foot to head and his tongue darts out to wet his lips.  

“That’s the one,” he says and Daniel realizes with surprise that Lestat is checking him out. 

“You think Armand will like it?”  Daniel asks.  Armand would probably prefer if he showed up wearing the clothes Armand had bought him.  But that feels a little like trying too hard.  

“Of course,” Lestat says, “Now, let’s find you some better shoes.”

/

Lestat has a ritual.  

It’s a stupid ritual, but he does it a few nights a week.  It was the only thing that got him through some of those days dealing with his brother and the family business.  This little moment he allows himself at night.

His ritual is this; before bed he texts Louis goodnight, and tells him something he wishes he could say out loud.  Tonight, he texts “Goodnight Louis.  You’re still it for me.  You’ll always be it for me.  I’ll love you till the day I die.”

What Lestat doesn’t expect is for the message to go through.  But it does, and his phone marks it as Read.  

Louis unblocked him.  Louis wants to talk to him.  Louis still cares.

Lestat immediately sends another message “Can we talk?”

And he waits for Louis to respond.

/

Louis stares at his phone in complete disbelief.

He’s on the couch in the living room with Armand, each on either end with their legs tangled in the middle.  Both are reading, Louis rereading Jane Eyre, and Armand the instruction manual to whatever the latest smart device he bought.  Armand feels him go stiff and glances up at him.  “Everything alright?”

Louis swallows thickly and looks down at his phone.  He should tell Armand the truth.  But then he’d have to admit he unblocked him, and what reason could he give for that?

Not that he needed Armand’s permission to do something; he could do whatever he wanted.  But he liked to keep Armand happy.  It had been a dark time, after he broke up with Daniel.  Louis never wants to see Armand like that again.

“It’s Lily,” he says and looks back down at his phone.  He can feel Armand’s gaze on him as he types a reply.  “I’m with Armand now.”

He doesn’t know if he means right now or just in general.  “She had a fight with Bricktop,” he continues, and he knows Armand knows he’s lying.  “I should go call her.  She’s upset.”

Armand says nothing, just looks at him silently.  Louis waits for him to call him out.  Wants him to.  Armand says nothing, just goes back to reading his manual.  

Louis moves to the balcony attached to his and Armand’s bedroom and slides the glass door closed behind him.  He doesn’t know he’s going to call Lestat until he does.

“Hey, Les,” Louis says, and he’s finding that old anger harder to muster than usual.

“Louis, mon cher, it’s good to hear your voice.”  Lestat sounds strange, like he’s completely in awe at just hearing Louis’ voice.  

Louis gets it.  Hearing Lestat again after so long is like being sucker punched.  He doesn’t know why he called.  He doesn’t know what he wants.  “I shouldn’t have called.”

“Don’t hang up;” Lestat says, “tell me how you are. Does he…does Armand make you happy?”

“Yeah, he does,” Louis says, then adds, “How’s Antoinette?”

“I’ve had nothing to do with her since you left me.”  Lestat had mentioned that, in those weeks before he signed the papers.  Promised it to Louis, as if it made some sort of difference.  As if the damage wasn’t already done.  

“You got someone else now?”  Louis asks, aiming for casual.  He doesn’t care, really.  It’s just the idea of Lestat ending up alone is poetic justice, that’s all.  

“I haven’t dated since you.”

Louis bets he still does a lot of fucking around.  Lestat was like an unspayed cat, constantly horny and trying to fuck everything.  “You should; I’m a married man.”

“And you love your new husband?”

“We’ve been married longer than I was married to you,” Louis says.  It’s unnecessary, Lestat no doubt knows.  “But yes, I love my husband.”

“Then why did you call me?”

Louis’s heart hammers and his stomach gives a sick lurch.  Why did he call Lestat?  It doesn’t matter.  “It’s a mistake I won’t be making again.”

Louis hangs up and blocks Lestat again.

He doesn’t go back out to the living room.  He just crawls straight into bed and tries not to feel guilty.  It was just a stupid impulse, calling Lestat.  He can explain that to Armand, and Armand will forgive him.  

A few minutes later, Armand comes and joins him on his side of the bed.  Louis moves closer to him automatically.  He always falls asleep with his head resting on Armand’s chest or shoulder.  Except tonight; Armand turns to his side and shows Louis his back.  

Louis considers reaching for him, but doesn’t want to be denied.  Armand is allowed his anger.  Louis did lie to him, and Armand is smart enough to put together why.  So Louis turns onto his own side and faces away from him, leaving a gap wide enough to fit another body.

The distance between them has never seemed so great.

[sluttywonwoo]

bad enough || lc x f!reader

summary: lee chan isn't the type of guy you usually go for... but you don't know that (based on the song bad enough for you by all time low)

warnings: swearing, angst, smut 18+ (oral f. receiving, kitchen sex, protected sex, degradation, slight dacryphilia)

word count: 3.7k

masterlist + ko-fi

Chan hasn’t texted you in two days, at the advice of his roommate, but he’s starting to think Soonyoung is full of shit. The thing is, you run in Soonyoung’s circle. He knows you way better than Chan does, and according to him this is the way to your heart. If Chan had it his way, he’d be texting you every thought that crosses his mind, answering you immediately instead of leaving you on read for hours... but since he doesn’t, he’s forced to sit around waiting for you to be the one to initiate. 

“She likes guys that treat her like shit,” Soonyoung had explained when Chan first expressed interest in you. 

“What? I don’t know if that’s tr-”

“No, trust me,” he insisted. “Every guy she’s brought around has been a fucking asshole. We hate all of her exes, and I mean all of them. We have a separate group chat just to talk shit about them.”

“They can’t be that bad,” Chan tried.

“The last one stood her up in the pouring rain and she still gave him another chance. I know you like her, Chan, but you’re too much of a nice guy. She’d never go for you.”

It’s supposed to be a compliment but it still hurt to hear that he basically had no chance with you. Especially since he’d had a crush on you for the longest time. 

“I can be a jerk.”

Soonyoung raised an eyebrow. “Are you for real?”

Chan nodded, resolute. “If that’s the kind of guy she likes, that’s the kind of guy I’ll be.”

“Is it really worth all that effort to act like someone you’re not just for some pussy?”

“It’s not just for- I actually like her, Soonyoung. I’m not just trying to get into her pants.”

“And that’s exactly why you’ll never be able to pull this ‘bad boy’ thing off.”

Chan shook his head. “You’re wrong. You’ll see.”

That conversation had brought Chan here, checking his phone every few minutes to see if you had messaged him. It was pathetic and he knew it but he wasn’t sure what else he could do. After bickering back and forth with his roommate, he had to turn around and practically beg him to help coach him on how to win you over. 

So far, Soonyoung’s intel and advice has worked, much to Chan’s surprise. You’ve hung out twice now. It hasn’t escalated to anything more than a kiss goodbye but that’s mostly because Chan’s a coward. You’ve made it clear you want him but he’s been too afraid to act on it. You’ve sexted exactly once when you were a little tipsy and wanted him to come over, but Chan was out that night and Soonyoung forbade him from leaving so that he wouldn’t come across as ‘desperate’. He was forced to tell you all of the things he wanted to do to you while trying not to get hard out in public to help you get off. He was happy to do it, of course, he just wished he could’ve been there with you like you wanted, or at the very least at home in bed so he could jerk off with you. Instead, he blueballed himself all night until he got home and could finally scroll back through your messages and cum all over his hand in the privacy of his own room. 

As much as Chan does want to sleep with you, he also wants to do all of the other things couples do together with you. He wants to take you out on dates, show you his favorite movies, meet your friends, and maybe also bury his head between your thighs and eat you out for hours. Mostly he just misses you. 

Just when he’s about to cave and text you first his phone lights up with a notification from you. It’s a text inviting him over, just what he’s been waiting for. He replies instantly, already knowing Soonyoung would be shaking his head in disappointment if he knew just how whipped Chan was acting. It’s only one deviation, though. One little slip up won’t tip you off that this whole thing’s all an act, right?

It’s too late to worry about that now because he’s already told you he’s coming over. Chan throws on a clean pair of sweats and a black t-shirt, dabbing a little cologne behind his ears for good measure. 

Soonyoung stops him on his way out of the apartment with a suspicious expression. 

“Where are you going at this hour?” he asks.

Mingyu’s over tonight too, just Chan’s luck. From the looks of it, he and Soonyoung are already a couple of beers in, likely debating about something stupid. Both men stare at Chan expectantly and he knows he won’t be able to lie to them so he comes clean. 

Mingyu whistles while Soonyoung just smirks. 

“You’re not taking an overnight bag just in case?” his roommate presses. 

“Uh, all she said was that she wants to hang out. I don’t know if it’s that kind of night.”

“Knowing her, it is,” Mingyu mused. 

It bothers Chan that Mingyu seems to know that about you but it’s really none of his business what kinds of things you talk about with your friends so all he can do is chuckle awkwardly and bid the two good night. 

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Soonyoung calls after him. “And remember to be a dick!”

Your apartment isn’t that far from Chan and Soonyoung’s but it still takes Chan twenty minutes to get there with how slow he’s driving. 

Don’t be too eager, don’t be too eager, he repeats to himself as he slows to a stop at each yellow light instead of blowing through them like he normally would. He doesn’t want to make it seem like he was waiting around for your call (which he was) and dropped everything to go see you (which he did) because he knows that will turn you off and that’s the opposite of what he’s trying to achieve. He needs to make it seem like he’s only coming over because he had nothing else going on even though that’s not the case. 

You open your door on the third knock and immediately usher Chan in, beaming at him, which nearly makes him melt right there on the spot. He kicks off his shoes and leaves them by the rug before following you into the kitchen.

“I’m so glad you could make it!” you exclaim in a hushed whisper. “Sorry it was short-notice, but I’ve just missed hanging out with you.”

Chan tries not to show how happy that makes him and simply shrugs. “Glad to be here.”

“I’ve been thinking about the other night,” you continue before trailing off. 

“The other night?” he asks. 

“Yeah, when we... you know.”

Oh. That other night. The night that you sexted. The night that Chan came more than once to the thought of you getting off to his messages. 

He tries to play it cool, leaning back against your counter and crossing his arms. “Oh yeah? What had you thinking about that?” 

“I was sad that you were tied up and couldn’t come over,” you hum. “I thought maybe you could make it up to me tonight.”

Chan chuckles. “So that’s what this is all about? Just feeling needy?”

He takes a step forward and you take one back in turn. “I-I no, that’s-”

“It’s okay, baby. I’m happy to help.”

He closes the gap between you and wraps his arms around your waist, pulling you close so that he can kiss you. Your lips are just as soft and warm as he remembers and you moan as soon as his tongue swipes across the seam of your mouth. 

There’s not much talking as Chan leads you backwards, helping you jump onto the island once your back meets the cold marble. His hands travel down to the waistband of your pants and he’s tugging at the elastic as a means to ask permission to take them off mere moments later. 

“Wait,” you stop him with a hand to his chest. Panic washes over Chan like he’s just been doused with ice water. Had he done something wrong? Was he moving too fast? You’re quick to assure him that everything’s alright with a squeeze of your hand but you go on to explain, “not here. My roommates are just down the hall asleep. We might wake them up.”

He cocks his head to the side, taking your words as a challenge. “You can’t be quiet?”

Your thighs tighten around Chan’s hips as you whimper and it takes everything in him not to grind forward into you. He maintains his composure, although just barely, and begins to kiss your neck. 

“I can be,” you assure him. 

“Are you sure?” You nod. “Make a sound and I’ll stop, okay?”

You pout but agree to his terms. “Okay.”

And then he’s kneeling on your kitchen floor, helping you out of your pajama pants. He places a hand on each of your thighs and spreads them apart, cursing when he sees the little wet patch on the front of your panties. He presses his finger to it, letting your arousal seep through the material even more. 

You flinch when he touches you.

“Sensitive already?” Chan asks with a smirk. 

You don’t answer. Instead, you push your hips into his hand, silently asking for more. He’s happy to give it to you, rubbing his thumb where he approximates your clit to be. He knows he’s found it when you gasp quietly above him. 

He touches you like that for a while, teasing you until you’re trembling. He doesn’t move on until he’s satisfied with how wet you are which doesn’t take long. You’ve been turned on since you first texted Chan to come over so he barely has to do anything to work you up. 

“Please, Chan,” you whine. 

“Please what?”

You groan in frustration. “Need more. Anything, please.”

“Anything, huh?” he repeats.

You nod, giving him the green light to continue. Rather than taking your panties off, he simply pushes them to the side and leans in close enough to dip his tongue in between your folds.

One of your hands flies to Chan’s hair, the other to your mouth as you bite down on your knuckles to muffle a moan. 

Chan begins to leisurely make out with your cunt, taking his time to savor the way you taste. You’re even sweeter than he anticipated, something he didn’t think possible, and the way you’re reacting to his actions is driving him absolutely crazy. He’s been hard from the second you suggested you wanted to fuck him and having his head buried between your thighs isn’t doing anything to help. He’s half-worried that he’ll cum way too early and embarrass himself, but he can’t focus on that now. Not when you’re grinding your pussy into his face like your life depends on it. 

The closer you get, the tighter your thighs squeeze around Chan’s head. He works his tongue inside of you, nose nudging your clit as he hums against you. 

“C-can I cum?” you ask suddenly, jolting Chan out of his thoughts. 

His eyes widen when they meet yours. You’re asking his permission to cum? He wasn’t expecting that. How did you want him to respond? Was he supposed to be mean? Did you want to be edged? 

Apparently he doesn’t make a decision quickly enough because you’re asking again with even more urgency before he gets the chance to answer. “Fuck, please? I can’t hold it-”

“Go ahead,” Chan mumbles into your cunt, hoping you can understand him.

You must, because you cum immediately after he says it, pushing his head even further into you as you ride it out. Chan happily laps up all of your arousal and then finally pulls away. He could eat you out all night but he has a feeling there’s something more you want from him. 

“How was th-”

You’re kissing him before he can finish his question, having pulled him in by the waistband of his sweats. Chan isn’t complaining in the slightest but he certainly hadn’t been expecting it. It’s a little clumsy at first until he finds his rhythm again, tongue slipping into your mouth so that you can taste yourself.

He’s a little relieved when you push him away to catch your breath because he’s so fucking hard it’s bordering on painful and he could definitely use a break as well. 

“Do you want to keep going?” you ask. There’s a look in your eye he can’t place. 

“Only if you do,” he answers.

“I thought it was obvious.” 

“I didn’t want to assume.”

“Hm, that’s nice,” you say thoughtfully. 

Fuck. That’s the opposite of what Chan wants you to think about him. You don’t seem put off by this, though, and he’s relieved by that. 

You jump down from off the counter and attempt to trade places with him. 

“Let me return the favor,” you offer, kneeling in front of him. 

“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” Chan assures you. 

“Are you sure?”’

“Positive.”

You’re quiet as he helps you back onto the counter. He wants to ask you what’s on your mind but you beat him to it. “I didn’t take you for that sort of guy.”

“What sort of guy?”

You shrug noncommittally. “I don’t know. Guys like you, they don’t usually take the time to go down on a girl before having sex with her. And they definitely don’t turn down a blowjob.”

Damn, you were right. Even subconsciously Chan was acting too nice. In his mind, he was doing the bare fucking minimum but apparently even that was too much. 

“Hooking up with someone isn’t fun if they’re not into it,” he points out. “Men who skip foreplay are only screwing themselves over. And as good as I’m sure your mouth feels, I came over with something else in mind.”

It’s the cheesiest goddamn line he’s ever used on a woman but he hopes you buy the fuckboy act anyway. He’s almost positive that you can see right through him, see that the only reason he turned down a blowjob was because he was scared he’d cum too soon and ruin the moment. He’s smirking but it probably doesn’t reach his eyes, and oh god he’s such an idiot-

“Oh yeah? What’s that?”

Chan almost breathes a sigh of relief but catches himself just before he does. Instead he smiles wider, and brings one of his hands down to squeeze your ass. “Why don’t you let me show you?”

-

Chan finds a condom exactly where you told him he’d find one, in the drawer by the wine bottles. You share the stash with your roommates, you tell him, so there’s plenty of variety for him to choose from. He tears the foil package open with his teeth and rolls the condom on without much fuss before returning to where you’re perched on the counter waiting for him.

“Can I take your shirt off?” he asks you.

“Only if I can take yours off too.”

“I think that sounds like a fair deal.”

You go first, fingers ghosting along the sides of Chan’s body before catching on the hem of his t-shirt. You pull it upwards over his head and place it behind you on the island. Chan does the same to you, taking an extra moment to run his hands along the smooth skin of your breasts. 

“Can’t believe you’ve got me completely naked in my kitchen,” you murmur, leaning in for a kiss. “So dirty. You want me to be caught by my roommates or what?”

“You won’t get caught if you’re quiet,” he reminds you. 

“In theory,” you muse, “they might just wake up for no reason, come out here for some water or something, you know.”

“Well, I’m banking on that not happening,” Chan says as he runs the head of his cock through your folds. You’re still so wet that his dick is easily lubricated but he spits in his hand and pumps it a few times for extra measure. 

You’re teasing him now. “I don’t know, kind of seems like you want to be caught.”

In truth, Chan doesn’t want anyone to see you naked but him. But he can’t let you know that. Having sex in a place you aren’t supposed to is exciting, as is the risk, but that’s as far as the appeal goes for him. 

“If I suddenly develop an exhibition kink, you’ll be the first to know,” he grunts. “Would it make you more comfortable to move to your bedroom?”

“No, here’s fine. I was just giving you a hard time. I’ll fuck you wherever.”

Your words go straight to Chan’s dick and all he can do to keep from saying something he’ll regret is push himself inside of you so that he’s thoroughly distracted. 

“Fuck, you’re big,” you gasp. 

It does wonders for his ego. His knee-jerk reaction is to say something nice back to you but that’s not what an asshole would do so he doesn’t. 

“Thanks,” is what he decides to go with. Stupid. 

You feel perfect, so tight and warm, and Chan wishes he could tell you that. He’s not sure if that’s what you like to hear during sex, though, so he keeps his mouth shut. What do the guys you usually like say? He wishes he knew. He just wants you to enjoy yourself. 

If Soonyoung knew how in his head Chan was at the mere taste of your pussy he’d be so disappointed. All of his advice gone to waste. God, he shouldn’t be thinking about his roommate while he’s balls deep inside of you. It isn’t helping at all. 

“You can move,” you whisper. It’s so quiet he almost doesn’t hear it but the desperate little whimpers that follow grab his attention instantly. 

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, please move,” you repeat.

“Okay. Remember, you make a sound and I stop. Got it?”

“Yes, yes, I know. Please just... fuck me already! Been wanting it all night.”

Chan tsks and lifts your chin with a finger. “So fucking needy, I knew it.”

He doesn’t make you wait any longer, pulling almost all the way out before thrusting forward again. It’s slow but it feels so fucking good. Chan doesn’t know how he’s going to last. You wrap your legs around his waist to keep him close and he buries his head in the crook of your shoulder, nipping at the juncture of your neck softly. 

“God, Chan,” you moan lowly. 

“Baby,” he warns. 

He doesn’t think he’ll be able to stop if you do start to get loud so all he can do is scold you and pretend like he’ll make good on his word and hope that does the trick. God forbid you call his bluff. 

“I know, it’s just... you feel so good. It’s so deep.”

“Shit,” he hisses, hips stuttering forward on their own accord. 

“You can go faster,” you say in his ear. 

So he does. He didn’t account for how loud the sex itself would be. The sound of skin on skin, made worse by just how wet you are... the noise echoes off the cabinets but Chan can’t find it within himself to care. He hopes your roommates are heavy sleepers. 

You sniffle suddenly and Chan’s about to reprimand you for being noisy but then he sees the tears.

“Crying already?” he asks, voice dripping with faux sympathy. 

He doesn’t know where the confidence came from. If any other partner started crying in the middle of sex he’d immediately panic, stop, and ask what’s wrong. But it’s you. 

“C-can’t help it,” you choke out. “Just so good.”

“Yeah? You get a lil cockdrunk and all you can do is cry? So fucked out already?”

You pull your bottom lip between your teeth and nod pathetically. “‘M cl-close, Chan.”

It’s simultaneously a relief and a surprise to hear this. It’s a relief because Chan’s on the edge himself and it’s taking everything not to cum right this instant. It’s a surprise because he hasn’t even been fucking you for that long and you’re already on the brink of an orgasm. Chan knows he isn’t bad in bed, but he also never considered himself to be excellent or anything of the sort. You must like him a lot. 

The realization makes Chan’s heart do a somersault in his chest and he has to bite back a smile as he continues slamming into you.

“Gonna cum?” he coos. You nod again. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Panic washes over your features as your body begins to tense with anticipation. “Can I? Please can I cum?”

“Do you think you deserve it?” he whispers. 

“Mhm, I’ve been good! I’ve been so good- please, baby...”

Your begging is what does it for him. Chan groans out a raspy “cum with me, angel,” as he tips over the edge himself, hands gripping your thighs so hard that he’s sure he’ll leave marks behind. 

You’re still weakly fucking yourself through your orgasm when Chan comes down from his. His cock is already feeling sensitive but he’ll be damned if he doesn’t help you ride out your high. He might be playing the part of an asshole but he can’t bring himself to be that mean, especially when you look so pretty when you cum. 

He doesn’t help you get dressed even though he wants to and he doesn’t offer to help you shower off either. He just... picks up his things and leaves, feeling like absolute shit when he does. 

You stop him right as he reaches the door, looking shy for the first time all night. 

“I had a good time,” you say quietly. 

Chan isn’t about to lie to you so he agrees. “Yeah, me too.”

“We should... do it again sometime.”

He pretends to think about it, arguing internally with himself. Shouldn’t he just be honest? Come clean? He hated playing your game. But Soonyoung had been very insistent that he do exactly that. His roommate’s words ring through his head as he stands there in the doorway. 

“Every decent guy that’s ever shown interest in her has been shot down. They usually don’t even score a date with her. It’s not like you have to be a bad person, at least not entirely. You just have to be bad enough. She won’t give you the time of day otherwise.”

Chan sighs, sticking his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants. “Sure, yeah. Maybe. I’ll probably be around.”

lmk what you think i always appreciate feedback!!

add yourself to my taglist(s) here!!

forever tags: @haven-cove @tantofaz123-blog @lee-hjyjn @ateez-star @baesgyus @likexaxdaydream @sunniesoobin @thefairwhitelight @pretty-thoughts @yutayoongi @redamancygnf @hoe4wonwoo @yeostars @i-might-be-in-love-with-hao @camrenrodrigoswift @nichobins @bfwonu @arikimtanapon @ammcg0119 @redspider267 @fwess @horangipowerr @soobzao @kuleo26 @k00kiemonster99 @poutypoutybin @jeonghanspinkhair @jadiekinzz @yo0nspoon @djj6112 @drama-1998-girl @kjdlashes @5xiang @yeritheloml @slut4seokjin @nc-teen @jungkookswife24069 @tannieflix @romromthedeer @urvashi435 @aurumness @noraehey @sunghoonth @y00nzin0 @ksy-horanghae @/enhacolor @haogyuslut @crushonwoo @rinshabitat @ivivz @cixrosie @princessofallthatsweird @friseealamode @candidupped @joshuahongnumbers @bxby-bloom @guavagyu @zhangyixingxing1 @foxdaisy @emotionalwreckkk @imonanotherlebel @vern0nsworld @cyjsfairy @jihoonliker @freakyfriedrice @yeosayang @myaerii @lenireads

lee chan tags: @yeombin @kyukyuhunnie @uhmkatt @blizzardfluffykpop @i-got7-penta-seo @hoshhoshh @soffrine @wonchansbrooklynn @learnthisfeeling @nonuwhore @nikkixpenguin @odetoyeonjun @baldi-2 @uncappeddesires