#cause she asked to take off since she worked saturday

[ilkkawhat]

not doing a very good job at forgetting about work...especially when i'm getting texted about it on a sunday night and now having a mini panic attack about it

[covenofagatha]

Two professors and a student (Part 3)

Word count: 2700

Warnings: phone sex (kinda?), smut, masturbation, sex

It’s the first Monday of your winter break, and you’re back on campus. Rio had sent out an email to everyone in the course saying that if anyone wanted, she would be in her office all day so you could look at your graded exams. She hadn’t put the grades into your student portal yet, so your heart is pounding as you climb up the stairs to the science building. 

From nerves, yes, but also at the prospect of seeing Rio again. 

You hadn’t heard from her since the text Saturday morning, and yet, you had been able to think of little else. Thoughts of her and Agatha had plagued your mind all weekend and now you weren’t sure how to interact with Rio in an educational setting. 

Should you bring up the dinner tomorrow night? Or just pretend that you were her student and nothing more? 

What if there were other students from your class in her office right now? You sort of hope that’s the case and then you won’t have to stress about it. 

But of course, when you knock on her office door and then push it open, it’s only Rio. 

She’s sitting at her desk, looking expectantly at you, like she knew you would be coming. 

“Hey,” you say, voice sounding more shaky than you intended. 

“Y/n, to what do I owe the pleasure?” She asks, tone silky and suggestive. You gulp and take a few more steps in the office, not missing the way the door clicks shut behind you. 

“I wanted to see my exam?” It comes out as a question instead of a statement. God, it’s almost embarrassing how much this woman affects you, especially after the other night. 

“Of course you did,” Rio says smugly and stands up. She moves some papers around on her desk. Once she finds it, she holds it out to you so you’re forced to close the distance and take it from her. 

Inhaling deeply, you chance a peek at the top and are pleasantly surprised to find a 97% scribbled on the paper. You exhale slowly and you can almost feel the tension seeping out of your body. All the effort you had put in had paid off. 

You flip through the pages of the exam to see where you messed up. You’re so focused on reading her feedback that you don’t notice Rio has moved right behind you until you feel her hot breath on your neck. 

You stiffen and you can feel goosebumps creep up your body. 

“You did so well,” she says, practically whispering it into your ear. “Your attention to detail, the amount of care you put into your work, it’s impressive.” 

“Thank you,” you manage to squeak, hands wrinkling the paper from how tight you’re holding onto it. Her fingers come up to lightly play with your hair and you’re having trouble reading the words on the paper. All you can think about is Rio. 

“What do you think about going to Herb’s tomorrow night?” She murmurs. Herb’s is probably the fanciest steakhouse in town. You whirl around, startling when you realize just how close she actually is to you. Her lips (not that you’re looking) are probably three inches from yours. You can see the little specks of gold in her dark eyes. 

“I couldn’t, that’s too much,” you protest, but she puts a finger to your mouth. You freeze. 

“Agatha and I want to reward you for being such a good girl for us,” she says and a thrill runs through you. “That’s who you are, right?” 

You think you’ve forgotten how to breathe. You nod ever so slightly, afraid to move too much since her finger still hasn’t left your mouth. 

And then she grabs your chin with her hand, causing you to gasp at the sudden roughness, her thumb coming to stroke lightly at your bottom lip. You part your lips reflexively and she smirks, delighting in the obvious effect she has on you. 

“Say it,” she urges. 

“I’m your good girl,” you rasp, heat now flaring in your stomach. Her eyes are locked on yours and you can see desire clouding in them. You’re positive yours look the exact same. Her thumb swipes against your lip again, and this time, you flick your tongue out to brush against it. Her eyes flash and she opens her mouth to say something but there’s a knock on the door and you jump back from her. 

Rio chuckles sardonically, tongue pushing against her inner cheek, and calls out, “Come in!” 

A kid you’ve only seen once or twice in the entire semester pushes open the door and walks in. 

“Um, well, thanks for this,” you say, flustered more than you’ve ever been in your life, and hand the test back to Rio. 

“Professor Harkness is in her office, if you want to stop by and say hi,” she says casually and you don’t know how she is so composed. Is she telling you to go see her? Did Agatha ask to see you? 

You wouldn’t be surprised now if they were counting on you coming to see Rio to see your test. If this whole thing had been planned. 

But if anything, you feel like this is confirmation that they want you too. 

“Okay,” you say, still a little breathless. 

You take a moment to collect yourself once in the hallway again and then in almost a daze, walk to Agatha’s office. 

You had spent so much time there in the semester earlier that you could map it with your eyes closed. And even now, when you haven’t been there in months, it still looks the exact same when you finally arrive and go inside. 

Sitting at her desk, Agatha looks positively ecstatic that you’re there. 

“Rio said–” you begin, but trail off because you’re not sure how to explain what just happened. You’re not sure if Agatha will be jealous. You awkwardly walk over and sit on the couch where you spent so many afternoons. 

“How’d you do on her exam?” She asks, but from her grin, she clearly already knows. 

“Really good,” you say. “I think better than I did on your final.” 

Agatha pouts mockingly. “Trying harder to impress her more than me?” 

“No! I don’t – no – that’s not –” 

She laughs. “Sweetheart, I’m teasing.” She stands up and comes around to sit next to you on the couch. Her body is tilted towards you and her legs come up so her thigh is against yours. You bite back a gasp at the contact. “Did Rio talk to you about dinner tomorrow?” 

You nod and try to contain the blush that is surely spreading on your face, but the memory of Rio calling you a good girl and tasting her thumb on your tongue makes that impossible. “Herb’s?” 

“Have you been?” She perches her elbow on the side of the couch and rests her head in her hand, leaning in closer. 

“No. It’s too fancy for a broke college student like me,” you answer in a lame attempt at a joke. “You guys really don’t have to take me there.” 

Agatha’s other hand comes up to cup your cheek and rub her thumb against it. “Hon, you are so much more than that. And yes, we do. We want to. It’s been awhile since someone has caught our attention like this.” 

Your breath hitches. “Like what?” You dare to whisper. You find yourself also leaning in closer and can’t help from glancing down at her lips. 

She smirks. “Like this.” 

And then she closes the gap and your eyes close in anticipation. But her lips stop when they’re a breath away from yours, maybe just to make sure you want this too. You want this more than life at this point, so you’re the one who makes the first real move and you kiss her. It’s featherlight, just a ghost of a kiss lasting mere seconds, but when you pull back, her normally-blue eyes are dark and hooded. 

Her hand on your cheek tangles itself in your hair and she pulls you in to crash your mouths together in a bruising kiss. 

You moan into her open mouth when her tongue parts your lips and licks against yours. Her fingers move to scrapple at your hips and you figure out what she wants so you maneuver yourself into her lap without breaking the kiss. Her hands slide under your shirt and just rest against your skin, but you have to pull away to throw your head back and moan at the hot contact. Agatha doesn’t hesitate before kissing down the side of your face and then down your neck. She sucks a bite into the juncture of your neck and shoulder and your hips cant in her lap. 

“Fuck,” you gasp and her nails dig into your back. You drag her mouth back to yours, panting into the kiss. You can feel her losing composure as well when her teeth nip aggressively at your lower lip. It turns you on beyond words that you’re having this kind of effect on her. 

“Well, would you look at this?” A voice says from the doorway and you jerk back so hard that you topple off Agatha’s lap and onto the couch. Fear spikes through your body as you look and–

–it’s Rio. 

Part of you is relieved that it wasn’t anyone else, but then again, you were just caught making out with her girlfriend. Agatha doesn’t look worried at all, though. If anything, she looks proud of herself. 

“I didn’t realize when I told you to come here I was giving you permission to whore yourself out,” Rio says cooly as she walks over to the couch. 

“I’m sorry,” you whisper and you scramble off the couch, smoothing your shirt down from where it had ridden up. Agatha rolls her eyes amusedly. “I’ll, um, see you guys tomorrow night?” 

“Six pm, don’t be late,” Rio says, eyes burning into you as you scurry out of the office. 

Your plan is to get to your dorm as fast as possible so you can touch yourself to the memory of the kiss, desperately needing to relieve the ache that has built up in you.  

You haven’t even left the building though when your phone rings. You pull it out of your pocket and, much to your surprise, it’s Rio. Is she calling you to tell you to come back? To scold you?

You swipe to answer it and hesitantly lift your phone to your ear. “Hello?” 

At first, you don’t hear anything specific, just some muffled sounds. You say something again, but you don’t hear either of them. Did Rio butt-dial you?

You’re about to hang up when you finally hear Rio. But she’s not talking to you. 

“How was it?” She says. Her voice sounds far away. Is she asking about you?

“Fuck, Rio, it was so hot,” Agatha says. Your entire body tenses. They’re talking about you. 

Your head starts to spin and you frantically look around for somewhere you can go. 

“Yeah? It looked hot. She looked so good with her tongue in your mouth, Aggie.” 

There’s a bathroom a few yards away. You duck into it and lock yourself in a stall. You’re not sure you could hold the phone any closer to your ear. 

“I thought you were going to kiss her, too,” Agatha admits. “I wanted to watch.” Someone scoffs and you think it might be Rio. 

“I would’ve earlier if one of my idiot students hadn’t interrupted. You should’ve seen her, so desperate for it.” 

“Oh, I think I know what desperation looks like on her.” You can practically hear the smirk in Agatha’s voice and you blush. “And I know what it looks like on you, too.” 

Another huff. There’s silence for a moment and you strain your ears so you don’t miss anything. And then there’s the faintest of sounds, almost like a smacking noise. Your eyes widen. Are they kissing?

“Can you taste her on me?” You hear Agatha mutter between breaths and you think you’re about to combust on the spot. You can’t resist from sliding a hand down your shorts and you gasp at how wet you are. 

The sounds continue and you hear soft moaning, but you’re unable to distinguish who they’re coming from. 

And then: “Get on the desk,” Agatha orders roughly. “I never thanked you properly for Saturday morning.” Rio chuckles breathlessly and you can hear things being cleared off the space. 

You are completely overwhelmed now, by the knowledge that Rio had fucked her the morning after you had seen them (was the dinner invitation before or after?) and now Agatha’s about to return the favor. 

And you are listening. 

“Are you going to tell her about your dream?” Rio asks. You hear the sound of a belt buckle and a zipper. 

“Should I?” Agatha retorts. “Do you think she could handle knowing I had such a good dream about the three of us that you had to take care of me in my sleep?” 

You moan involuntarily and clamp a hand over your mouth. If they catch you listening there’s a chance they’ll hang up and you cannot take that risk. 

“I think she could,” Rio says, words turning into a groan at the end of the sentence. You wonder if Agatha is touching her now. “I saw how much she needed you just now. I think she’d be a good girl and let us do whatever we wanted to her.” 

You nod enthusiastically like they can see you. 

“Fuck, Agatha,” Rio gasps and you think if you listen closely enough, you can hear her wetness. You slide a finger into yourself and mirror what you’re imagining Agatha doing. 

“She is our good girl, isn’t she,” Agatha muses conversationally. You have to bite down your lip so you don’t make any other noises. “Can you picture her doing this to you? Making you feel good with her fingers?” 

Your ring finger joins your middle finger to thrust into you and your thumb rubs at your clit. You are embarrassingly close after making out with Agatha and now this. 

It seems like Rio is, too. “Yes, fuck, I want you both.” You can hear her breaths coming out short and fast and Agatha laughs. 

“You both are so desperate. What am I going to do with you? I have some ideas.” 

You almost beg to hear them. But Rio has that covered for you. 

“Oh yeah?” She whimpers. 

“I’m going to teach her how you like to be eaten out. How you like to be fucked. And then we’ll see if she’s as good of a learner in bed as she is in the classroom.” Rio’s moan is so loud it cuts out the next thing Agatha says. You can’t be mad though because her sounds are just as hot as Agatha’s words. “And then we’ll fuck her. She’ll look so pretty stretched around your fingers. With my tongue in her pussy.” 

You taste blood from how hard you bite your lip after she says that. Your hips stutter and you are so close. 

“Fuck, Agatha,” Rio swears. “I’m going to cum.” 

“Yeah? Cum for me, Rio. And you too, sweetheart.” You can’t stop the gasp that falls from your lips when you register that Agatha is talking to you and hearing her say that sends you over the edge. Rio as well, from the sounds of it. Your orgasm is explosive, even though you’re fucking yourself in a college bathroom stall. You pant and rest your head against the wall, thoroughly ruined. 

Your cheeks are flushed at being played like a fool. Of course they didn’t accidentally call you right before they just happened to have sex. 

There’s movement from Rio and Agatha’s side and then Agatha’s voice close to the speaker. “You okay, honey?” 

You cough to clear your throat. “Yeah,” you say weakly and they both chuckle. 

“We’ll see you tomorrow night,” Rio says. “Wear something pretty for us.” And the call disconnects. 

You laugh in disbelief. Fuck. 

[strangersteddierthings]

"What's wrong?" Robin asks, bumping her arm against his as she joins him leaning against the counter, staring out the front door of Family Video.

Steve doesn't bother to lie. Robin would know, she always does. "I'm not sure wrong is the right word, but it's, it's something."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Yeah," he says, taking a quick glance around. It's just after 11pm on Saturday. They've got another hour of work before they can officially close, but Hawkins closes down at 9. The store is empty currently, and since they're facing the door, they'll know if someone comes in. "I just don't know- I don't-"

"Gather your words. Speak when you're ready. I'm not going anywhere," Robin says, and it speaks volumes that she didn't call him dingus. Steve's never upset by the nickname, not really, but sometimes, when the conversation is heavy, he can't deal with nicknames. Especially not ones that are meant teasingly now but started as an insult.

"I feel- I feel ungrateful and, like, selfish, because I'm... I'm not happy with Eddie," Steve says, then immediately frowns because that's not right. It's not wrong, either, but it's. "I'm not unhappy with Eddie. I love him. I love him so much, Robin."

"I know you do. It's disgusting."

"And I got into this relationship knowing what Eddie's like. I love him 'cause of those things, not in spite of-"

"You don't have to convince me you love him."

"Right. Right. It's just. It's like, I thought, I don't know, that I wouldn't have to always be the guy?" Steve says, and it's followed by such a long pause that he looks over. It startles a laugh out of him at how much Robin looks like him right now. Confused, brow furrowed and mouth slightly open. That's his perplexed expression, and it's mirrored on Robin's face now.

Well. Not now because he laughed so she's glaring at him.

"Sorry. It was like looking into a mirror for a moment there."

She wrinkles her nose at him and says, "What do you mean 'always be the guy'?"

He lets out a sigh. "I just mean- Eddie's the first guy I've ever dated. And there was, like, unwritten rules when dating girls. Don't give me that face, I already know the rant about straights and their het-ro-norman-whatever-"

"Heteronormativity."

"Yes, that. I know it's bad, working on unlearning it, etcetera, etcetera. Can I just get through this using the words I do have?"

"Yes. Sorry."

He waves off her apology and continues, "So, the unwritten but absolute rules of straight dating. The guy asks. The guy plans the date. He pays, if it's something that requires money. He gets the door, offers his jacket if it's cold, gives the flowers and chocolates on Valentines Day and- sorry. The guy does all that. I do all that. And I just. I want to not, not have to?"

Robin's eyes soften and she gives a sad smile. "Eddie doesn't do those things?"

Steve frowns. "Not- he's done some of those things but it's not... It's never been romantic. Never felt... intentionally romantic. Which is why I feel so ungrateful and selfish. 'Cause Eddie's not a romantic. Not like I am. And I shouldn't expect him to be!"

She frowns. "But you don't expect him to be."

"I mean, yeah. I don't. Which just makes this worse, right? Because Eddie tries. In his own way. And I'm still..."

"What does Eddie do to try?"

"He loans me jackets when I'm cold. And it's- it's like a throwback to the upside down. He'll fold it all nice and then throw it at me full force. Like with the battle vest," Steve smiles at the memory, despite his sour mood.

"That doesn't sound very romantic. That sounds like an inside joke. He could do that same thing while not dating you and it wouldn't be weird."

"Can't an inside joke be romantic?"

Robin nods as she turns, back to the counter so she can hop up on it. "Can be. And I guess if you find get pelted in the face by jackets romantic, that's your kink."

"Why do I talk to you?" Steve groans, and Robin shrugs. "Anyway, I guess I just... I want to be the one taken care of, sometimes, but not just when- God, I'm so selfish, aren't I?" He paces away from the counter, running a hand through his hair.

Eddie's a good boyfriend. He listens when Steve rambles about sports and stats, asking questions and actually engages in conversation. He takes care of Steve when a migraine leaves him all but useless; gets him his meds and water and combs his fingers through Steve's hair softly until it lulls Steve to sleep. Eddie pays attention enough to know the little things about Steve that he doesn't say out loud.

"Not just when?" Robin prompts, and Steve realizes he quit talking.

"Not just when I'm hurt. I want doors held for me, and for him to plan a romantic night, either out or in! And I- I want him to give me his jacket by wrapping it around my shoulders like I do for him."

"I'm going to say something, and you aren't allowed to be upset by it."

Steve nods.

"You have to tell him. Eddie's not gonna know you want these things unless you say so."

He nods again, because he knows that. He does. It's just... "I got with him knowing he wasn't a romantic person. I don't want- I don't know how to say it without making it sound like I want him to change. Or make him feel like he's not enough, or that he's a bad boyfriend for not having done this and-"

"Steve! Jesus, now who's the mirror? It's Eddie. He loves you. He'll listen. Even as you fumble your way through an explanation. A conversation is not the make or break of this relationship."

Steve swallows even though it feels like there's stones piling up in his stomach. A single conversation broke his last relationship, but Eddie's not Nancy.

"Yeah. You're right. I think I'm just... I'm afraid of making Eddie feel that same way Nancy made me feel, when she called us bullshit. I was blinded-sided by it all and I don't, I can't do that to Eddie."

"You won't. 'Cause this situation is different. You love Eddie, and Eddie loves you, and that's real and true. I think it would hurt Eddie more to think there's this whole other category of shit he could be doing for you, but isn't, 'cause he doesn't even know you'd like it, much less want it."

Steve nods as she speaks. It's all true, and he feels less like there are stones in his stomach. "Thanks, Bobbin. I don't- I might give it a few days before I talk to Eddie about it, but I will."

"You better, dingus," she hopes off the counter and looks at the clock, groaning when she sees it's still not midnight. "Think Keith will kill us if we close early?"

"No way. He'd have to cover all our shifts until he can hire replacements. We're too valuable to him to die."

-

@i-less-than-three-you @nburkhardt @skepsiss @afewproblems

[httpsleclerc]

just the three of us

charles and his girlfriends eventful Saturday afternoon

Charles Leclerc x reader

warnings; pregnancy, doubt in a relationship ? 

w/c: 1.5k

based off this request

You smiled over at Charles, noticing the small but chubby baby girl babbling in his arms, your smile growing wider as you heard your boyfriend mimic her incoherent babbles. You had been with Charles for 3 years now, already engaged - no wedding plans yet, but you were working up to it - but you noticed that Charles had been avoiding the one very important talk with you; kids. The thing you wanted more than anything, but the very thing that he all but refused to talk to you about; you felt terrible for thinking it, but it made you feel like he didn't want them with you, especially as you watched him entertain the baby he held in his arms.

"Hey, are you okay?" Your friend asked you, noticing that your smile had disappeared from your face, almost longingly looking over at Charles. You shook your head of your negative thoughts, giving your friend the best reassuring smile you could muster in your heartbreak for the future that Charles may or may not see himself having with you. 

"Yeah, just distracted," You smiled, leaning forward to take a sip of the mocktail that your friend had made for you, you had made the suggestion to her since it was her gender reveal, it would have been fair for everyone else to be able to enjoy a drink while she couldn't. She smiled at you, leaning forward to rest her chin on your shoulder, following your gaze over to where Charles stood holding another one of your friends baby's.

"He's really good with her," She commented, looking at you with a grin. "Have you guys talked about kids yet? Cause that one is meant to be a girl dad, Y/N." She sounded so certain. You didn't know, though. Yeah, he was meant to be a girl dad, it was so blatantly evident in how he was with the now squealing baby he was tickling in his arm - His reluctancy to at least acknowledge your want for a child had you doubting that he was going to be one with you.

"He won't talk to me about it, (Name)," You told your best friend, frowning as you thought of him leaving you. "What if he doesn't want them?" Your voice was breaking as you spoke. (Name) had been your friend since you were both little girls, you had dreamed of having your babies be best friends like you were, assuming you would both be lucky enough to have girls on your first try. She sighed, wrapping her arms around you to hug you and try and comfort you.

"He'd be stupid, then, love," (Name) assured you, she knew how you were a bit of an over thinker at the best of times. "He wouldn't have asked you to marry him otherwise, yeah?" You sniffled as you nodded, quickly drying your eyes of tears before your mascara started to run and Charles would be able to tell that you were upset. "Charles loves you so much, Y/N. Maybe you should talk to him about it, he's a guy, he might be nervous to bring it up to you." She suggested, you knew that she was right, she always was and you knew that.

You knew that.

Maybe now you wouldn't trust your friend so much. 

You had excused yourself to the bathroom, and as you were walking past your lover and your friends, you had heard him tell another party goer that he wasn't sure if he wanted kids. 

Oh.

You swore as you heard every word leave his lips, that another piece of you crumbled. Thankfully for you, you could hide it well enough that you would be able to get home without Charles suspecting that you had heard him, that you would blame your puffy eyes on a poor nights sleep. You couldn't believe it - You weren't mad at Charles, no, you never could be, he was your boyfriend, soon to be husband; but clearly, never the father to be of your children.

"That's nice for your friend, a little girl," Charles beamed, his hand on your thigh as he drove the two of you home to your Monaco apartment. You hummed and nodded, unable to meet his eyes for fear that your resolve would crumble, and you would burst into tears. "Are you okay, mon Ange?" He asked you, concern lacing his voice as he took a moment to glance over at you, noticing your down mood.

"Yeah I'm um," You scrambled to think of an excuse. "I'm just tired, is all, I promise, my love." You quickly assured Charles, hoping that he wouldn't push you any further. He hummed, remembering that youhad been up early that morning, but only because you claimed that you had a stomach bug, caught from one of the girls that you worked with.

"Oh, okay," He seemed content with that excuse. "We can go to bed and get cosy when we get home, yeah?" Your heart swelled at his offer - Charles career meant that he was often gone for extended periods of time, and you could sometimes go a whole month without seeing him, so the offer of having time with just him made you want to start crying.

It soon became clear that your emotions were getting the better of you, however. 

As Charles pulled into the garage of your apartment building, putting his Ferrari into park, you started wailing. Charles, concerned, reached over to hold your shoulders, an attempt to try and calm you down.

"Woah, it's okay, love, just breathe," Charles coaxed you, trying to calm you down enough so he could make some sort of sense about what had made you so obviously upset. "It's okay, my love, just breathe, I'm right here," He knew it was working when your wails quieted down to mere sniffles, and you rubbed at your eyes with the sleeve of your cardigan. "Can you tell me what made you so upset, mon ange?" Charles asked you, his eyes gleaming with concern for you.

"I-I just love you so much and I miss you a lot when you're gone," You cried out, sobs wracking your body. "A-and I heard you say to one of our friends that you're not sure if you want kids and it just made me really sad because th-there's nothing I want more than to have a baby with you because I really love you." It clicked for Charles why you were so upset for the remainder of your friends party after you had gone to the bathroom.

"No, no Mon Cherie, it's not like that at all," He explained to you, grabbing your hand and holding in his own. "I want a baby with you too, more than anything. I just wasn't sure if it would be fair on you since I would be gone so often. I didn't know how to bring it up to you without upsetting you, but please know that there is nothing I want more than a little me or you running around." You looked up at him as he held your face in his hands, he always found himself admiring the little things about you, his beautiful girl, the love of his life.

"Y-You're not just saying that?" Your bottom lip wobbled as you spoke, looking up at him with wide eyes. He shook his head and placed a small kiss on your lips, you knew that he was serious, Charles could be a lot of things sometimes, but he was never insincere. "Well um," You sniffled as you looked down, fiddling with the frayed end of your cardigan sleeve. "I did want to tell you in a more romantic and nicer way," Charles tilted his head. "I'm pregnant."

The two words hung heavy in the air, you and Charles staring deep into each others eyes, you noticed the tears bubbling in his own and yours followed his hand as it made its way from your cheek down to your stomach.

"We have a baby in there?" 

His voice was gentle, breaking as he felt the tiny, but their bump of your tummy. You tearfully nodded, a smile growing on your face as one made its way onto Charles' own. He let out a greatful sob as he leaned over, wrapping both of his arms around you, minding to be gentle, even if you had little to no bump, that was his baby.

"We're going to be parents, Charles," You cried, looking at your lover, who's eyes held nothing but love and adoration for you as he leaned forward, locking both of your lips into a passionate, and heated kiss.

Well, maybe your best friend was right.

-

notes: lowkey hate this but we'll move on from it x

[sweetestcaptainhughes]

some days are harder than others - Jack Hughes

Word Count - 1.8K

Summary - Today is the anniversary of losing your favorite family member suddenly. Your solution push everyone away and pretend that today doesn't excist.

Warnings - talks about the grieving process and mentions losing an aunt.

Author's Note - Today is actually the anniversary of my Aunt passing, she was one of my favorite humans and I think I wrote this to try and get some feelings out and processes my overall emotions about today. My heart goes out to anyone who can relate to this piece of writing because it sucks having to live life without your favorite human by your side anymore.

Masterlist

Today is a hard day, it’s the anniversary of when your favorite family member passed away. Waking up in bed you were grateful it was a Saturday and you didn’t have to take off work because there was no way you were going to leave your bed today. All you could do was try to wrap your brain around the fact that an entire year has passed - 365 days - since one of your favorite human beings left this earth.Wishing for nothing except to wallow in your own pity for the day, but you knew that your boyfriend Jack would be here soon since it was Saturday. Every single Saturday consistently coming over after he was done with the boys at the gym. But you didn’t want Jack to come over today, you wanted to be alone. Jack and you have only been dating for 6 months and although he has heard stories of your aunt he never met her. Today was meant to be a day for you to mourn the person you lost and the fact that she never got to meet the love of your life, or be at your wedding, or meet your future kids. Jack is a great guy, but you feared he wouldn’t understand why you were upset about the fact that your aunt never got to meet him. Finally looking at your phone since you woke up, your eyes barely focusing on the time 10:33 AM, before closing again out of pure exhaustion due to crying so much the night before, the warmth of your sheets helping the lure of sleep claim you once again. 

Opening your eyes again, waking up the banging of someone at your door. All you wanted to do was crawl further under your sheets and hide from the world, play pretend where your aunt was still alive even if your brain only believed it for a few seconds. But the banging continued, you knew Jack wouldn’t stop until you got up and came to the door or he got tired and used the emergency key you gave him last month. 

“Y/N! If you don’t come soon I will use my key!” he threatened. 

Shit I should have timed giving him that key until after today, you thought to yourself. Well since he plans on using it no point in me getting up. Pulling your comforter over your head, completely continuing your attempt to hide from the world around you. Taking a deep breath, as you heard Jack’s voice loud and clear along with his footsteps now. 

“Baby where are you?” he asks, his footsteps getting closer to your bedroom. It would be so simple to use your voice and tell him you were in your room but your voice felt raw with the tears streaming down your face thinking about what you were doing this time a year ago. 

Finally making his way to your bedroom, the door creaks as he opens it. “Y/N? Are you asleep, love.” he whispers, and it causes your voice to crack and a loud painful sob to be unleashed.Still hiding under the covers you feel the bed dip, meaning that Jack must have sat on the bed. The assumption you made, confirmed to be true when you felt his hand slide up and down your body trying to bring you comfort even though he didn’t know what was wrong. “Baby you’re scaring me, did I do something wrong?” his voice slightly creaking, suddenly your stomach dropped out of guilt for making Jack feel even slightly insecure. 

“Nnn - no.” you answer once you stop yourself from crying so hard. Your voice scratched as your throat burned from all of your tears. 

“What wrong babygirl?” he whispers scared if he raised his voice any louder you would start crying uncontrollably again. Slowly lifting the comforter off of you trying to catch a glimpse of your face. He swears his heart cracks a little, and his stomach drops when he sees how puffy and red your eyes are from crying, even though your hands are still covering most of your face. “Please tell me what I can do?” he begs. 

“Can we cuddle?” you ask weakly, Jack’s face grows a full toothy grin at your request. 

“Of course baby.” he gently says as he pulls the covers back to slide into the bed next to you. Jack laying on his back as you intangible your legs, half laying on top of him as your ear is pressed up against his chest, finding comfort in listening to his steady heartbeat. Jack lets you both lay there, he doesn’t speak, one hand playing with your hair, the other under your shirt lightly scratching your back. After a few moments, your body starts to relax for the first time that day. Closing your eyes allows yourself to be comforted by someone for the first time that day. 

Jack must have felt your body relax, sleep calling your name because the last thing you heard before you fell back asleep was him whispering in your ear. “It’s okay baby, I’m here, I’ll be here when you wake up.” Feeling a gentle kiss on the crown of your head as you felt your body fully drift asleep. 

Jack was true to his words, because the first thing you felt as you woke up was his grip on you and the first thing you heard was his little snores in your ears. Slightly moving to try and get a little more comfortable because your body felt glued to Jack’s, your arm was pinned under his back and it felt like pins and needles. Trying to get out of his grip must of been enough to stir Jack awake. He turned his body to the slide and slowly opened his eyes gently. 

“Hi baby.” he whispers, sleep still clear in his eyes. 

“Hi” you whisper back, finally getting your arm free and bringing it to lay between you and Jack. 

“Can we talk about why you were so upset earlier?” he asks gently, taking his arms pulling you a little closer to him. 

“It’s just what today is. That’s all ” you admit shyly. Jack’s eyebrows scrunch up in confusion as a slight frown gets put on his face. 

“And what’s today?” the curiosity and confusion laced in his deep voice still covered from his nap. 

Taking a deep breath through your nose and out your mouth preparing to speak out loud for the first time today, what got you so upset. “Remember how I told you about my aunt, the one who helped raise me, one of my favorite humans.” You pause waiting for Jack to acknowledge your words, once he needs you to continue. “ Well today is the one year anniversary of her death and I just -.” Your voice cracks as the tears start again. 

Jack pulls you even closer, your head finding its home in the crock of his neck. “Shh it’s okay baby you don’t have to say anything else. It’s okay to miss her, I know you loved her by the way you still talk about her, it’s alright baby.” His voice is soft and free of judgment. “Shh it’s alright” he coos to you. 

Staying in the crock of his neck, you move a little so you can speak. “It’s not just that Jacky. It’s that she was the most important person in my life for so long and such a big part of my life. I never thought there would be a day where she didn’t meet the love of my life or be at my wedding or be at the hospital for a child's birth. God how I wish she was still here” 

Jack held you while he heard you talk out all of your thoughts and feelings. “But even more I wish she would have met you before she left. The things I would do to have one last phone call with her, one last hug, one last time she tells me “I love you, be a good sweetie.” The tears now blur your vision as you close your eyes and hide in Jack’s neck again. He squeezes you until it’s hard for you to breathe but somehow that brings you comfort as you let yourself grief your best friend. 

“I am so sorry for my love.” he whispers. “And I’m so sorry I didn’t know what today was, I would have skipped the gym. And I know she meant so much to you. It’s normal for today to be hard. I wish I could have met her too but do you remember how we met?” he asks. 

Now it was your turn to be confused, removing yourself from his neck and wiping your tears off your cheeks. “Yeah of course I do.” you mumble extremely confused about what the anniversary of your aunts death has to do with how you met Jack. 

“Well I remember seeing this pretty girl at this little restaurant eating by herself.” Looking into your eyes as he starts to tell the story of how you two met. 

“Jack, I know how we met. What does that have to do with my aunt?” your annoyance is clear in your voice as he chuckles. 

“Well it was after your aunt had passed, you were at her favorite restaurant because you missed her and it was her birthday that day, her first heavenly birthday. And for some reason some restaurant that had been on my list to try since I moved to Hoboken I just happened to walk in that day.” he starts rambling and you really don’t understand where he’s going with his story. 

Sighing you ask “Jack, what’s your point?” 

A smile on his face, “my point is that for whatever reason I felt like the universe told me that day to go to the restaurant and you just happen to be there even though it was way out of your way on your drive home from work. And I know I never met your aunt in person, but maybe just maybe your aunt was watching over you that day and that’s why I felt the need to finally go to a restaurant that I had been meaning to try for 6 years.” 

A large smile comes across your face as you understand his words, “Are you saying my aunt sent you to me?” a giggle coming off your lips. 

“I’m not saying anything except that I know that somehow your aunt is still watching over you. There is no way that you can love someone the way you describe her love for you and not watch them and look after them in heaven baby.” Slowly coming down to kiss your forehead. 

“I love you.” you whisper. 

“I love you too, and you know grief isn't a simple baby, it’s okay that some days are harder than others.” 

“I know.” laying your head on his chest again. 

“What do you wanna do for the rest of the day baby?” he asks

“Can we just watch her favorite show and order takeout?” 

“Of course baby anything you want.” he whispers as he grabs the remote from the bedside table.

[joelalorian]

Fall Into Me - Chapter Four: Until I had met you there was no sun in my sky

dbf!Joel x f!reader

Summary: Joel is hanging on by a thread as a single father to a tenacious 10-year-old Sarah. Feeling like he's drowning, like the world is about to spit him out, he needs some help before he breaks in half. At your dad's insistence, you show up in his life and change everything.

Story is inspired by the song Fall Into Me by Forest Blakk. Chapter titles will be lyrics from the song.

Word Count: 3.5k

Chapter Warnings: Mature, under 18 take a hike. No outbreak AU. Lots of feelings, confusion, and self doubt. Two idiots falling and pining for each other, but there's a little bit of progress. Tommy is the hero in this chapter. Age gap of about 9 years (Reader 24/25, Joel 33/34). No use of y/n. Reader has a nickname used only by her dad. Emily is modeled after my sister and JB is based on my dad, who used to try setting me up with his younger work buddies when I was in my 20s :)

Dividers by the wonderful @saradika-graphics

Thank you for reading this little tale! I did not expect all the love - my heart is fit to burst over all the wonderful comments and reblogs!

Chapter Three | Main Masterlist

Sleep evaded Joel Saturday night, his mind unable to shut down and rest. He spent half the night searching for words to fit what he was experiencing. The right one didn’t occur to him until nearly five o’clock in the morning.

Turmoil.

That was the perfect word to describe the utter confusion and uncertainty boiling inside him.

His date went about as well as could be expected when one wasn’t particularly interested in the other person. There was conversation, but it mostly revolved around Annica and her interests. She asked a few polite questions about Joel but didn’t seem too interested in his responses. To be fair, they were short and rather ineloquent, but he barely had the chance to talk about Sarah before the woman changed the subject. She was also very much not his type.

She wasn’t you.

That’s the part which caused the most turmoil.

Joel didn’t realize how quickly he was falling for you until he was on a date with someone else. It somehow felt like a betrayal toward you, even though you and Joel weren’t together. Even though you didn’t even know that he liked you, more than liked you.

This entire thing was eating him up inside, all your interactions since Friday, but especially the way you bolted from him last night. He didn’t understand what happened until he checked out his face in the mirror, your parting comment finally making sense.

Annica had kissed him goodnight when he dropped her off. He knew she wanted more, at least a real kiss, but he offered nothing other than a loose hug and brief thanks for joining him. So, she pressed her painted lips to his cheek for several moments too long, subtly trying to turn his face toward hers, before he finally stepped back and walked away. He didn’t even wait for her to get into her house safely.

To his dismay, she left a clear and distinct reminder of her on his cheek that he was not aware of until you mentioned it. His face burned with the feeling of being marked like territory, and the worst part was you saw it. Who the fuck knew what you thought of him now.

Joel needed advice, someone to talk this all through with. If the situation didn’t involve you, he would have gone to you for advice. You were so easy to talk to and he opened up more easily with you than he had with anyone else in his entire life. But that was out of the question for… obvious reasons.

Your dad was equally as easy to talk to, a quality you must have inherited from him. But he couldn’t turn to JB about this for the same obvious reasons.

That left his brother. Tommy would give Joel a good ribbing about all this. Joel wasn’t ashamed to admit that his brother had more practical experience with dating and complicated relationships, especially recently, than he did. It was time to capitalize on all of Tommy’s shenanigans.

Dangerously under-caffeinated and bleary-eyed, Joel made bacon, eggs, and pancakes for the usual Sunday morning family breakfast. Tommy joined them a little after nine o’clock and helped himself to the spread. He knew better than to ask Joel about his date in front of Sarah, so the younger brother made quiet conversation with Sarah as Joel sipped at his coffee. She told him all about her adventure to the movies with you and how much she loved hanging out with you, how smart you were, and how pretty.

A stupid grin spread over Joel’s face as his daughter spoke about you. He could feel Tommy’s narrowed gaze burning into the side of his head, which he ignored until Sarah finished her food and ran off to play a video game in the living room.

“You gonna make me ask?” Tommy grinned at Joel as he cleared the table. Joel merely quirked a brow and focused on washing the dishes. “Fine, ya ol’ grumpy ass. How was the date?”

“Was alright. She talked, a lot,” Joel emphasized, “and mostly about herself. We don’t have much in common other than we like to eat. The movie she picked to see was God awful. I’d rather have seen the other movie with Sarah.”

“Really?” Tommy placed the last of the dirty flatware next to the sink, watching as Joel scrubbed each item before rinsing it off. “Annica texted me that she had a wonderful time and hoped there’d be a second date. Asked if I could put in a good word for her. Guess that’s not happenin’.”

“There’d be no point. She’s not who I’m interested in.” The words were out of his mouth before he realized what he was saying, and he cringed when Tommy latched right on them.

“Ohhhh, and who might you be interested in, dear brother?” The shit-eating grin on the younger brother’s face let Joel know that Tommy already had an idea on who piqued his interest. “Couldn’t be JB’s hot little daughter, could it? You going cradle robbin’ now?”

Punching his brother in the arm, hard, Joel growled. “I ain’t robbin’ any cradles, asshole. She’s only about nine years younger than me.”

“Oh, is that all?” Tommy teased, rubbing his arm to soothe the sting.

“Don’t get me started on how you almost got busted for statutory rape last year, dickhead.”

“Hey now, I’m just teasing. Don’t get your panties all in a bunch.” Tommy surrendered, adding a grumbled, “And you know damn well that wasn’t on purpose. That girl looked 25! She sure had me fooled.”

Joel nodded, heading out to the back patio with another cup of coffee. Tommy followed, stopping briefly to grab a can of soda from the fridge. The pair sat quietly listening to the sound of songbirds singing the songs of their people before Joel finally spoke.

“I feel like an idiot asking this, but how do you tell if a woman is into you?”

Tommy nearly spilled soda all down the front of himself, the question caught him so off-guard. “Whadda ya mean?” he spluttered, trying not to choke on the carbonated liquid.

Rolling his big brown eyes with a huff, Joel glared at his brother. “I mean just what I said. I’m so outta practice with this. I keep second guessin’ everything. I just don’t know…”

Taking pity on his older brother, Tommy refrained from razzing him further. He was intrigued by this version of his brother who lacked self-confidence, so different from the over-confident man Joel used to be, at least when it came to women.

“Just so I understand, do you want to know how to tell if any woman is into you or a specific woman?”

Brows pulling together, Joel stared at Tommy blankly for a moment. “Does it make a difference?”

Tommy’s lips spread into a wide grin, deep brown eyes sparkling mischievously. “It sure as hell does, brother. There are few key ways to tell with most women, but if it’s a specific woman you’re curious about, I may have some intel.”

The struggle to hide his overwhelming curiosity on the ‘intel’ his brother had was a losing game, and Joel relented, his cheeks growing hot as he uttered the words. “Fine. It’s JB’s daughter.”

The room stilled as the brothers stared at each other, the grin on Tommy’s face growing impossibly wider until nearly all his pearly whites were on display. “I knew it! You dirty dog.”

“Tommy,” Joel growled, drawing out the two syllables until his brother sat back in his chair with a satisfied smirk.

“Fine, no razzin’.” Tommy grumbled. He waited a few beats until Joel grew even more uncomfortable. “She’s into you, too.”

Joel perked up at that. “That’s your intel? How do you know?”

Looking around the backyard, Tommy thought of all the times he’d been around and caught you ogling his brother when you thought no one was watching, but none rivaled that time in the kitchen when you stared as Joel pulled his tee shirt off to put in on right side out. Tallying it all up in his mind, Tommy was certain that you had a thing for his brother. And now, it seemed he had a thing for you, too.

The question Tommy had now was, would either of you do anything about it?

With recent history as proof, he had his doubts.

Perhaps it was time to give you each a little nudge.

“It’s in the way she looks at you, all wide-eyed with wonder, like she’s imagining what it’d be like to be with you. I flirted with her for nearly an hour one day and she never looked at me like that once.” Tommy smirked at the glassy look that overcame his brother’s eyes. “Well, that and the drool dripping down her chin every time she sees you.”

“Yeah… wait, what?” It took a moment for Joel to catch on. “Fuckin’ asshole, I swear. She doesn’t drool when she looks at me.”

Laughter rumbled from deep within Tommy’s chest. “She might as well do with as into you as she is. I’m telling you, pay attention to how she is around you and you’ll see.”

The brothers fell silent again with Joel’s thoughts drowning in you. If what Tommy said was true, then you must be hurting over the fact that he went on a date with someone else, more so since you also saw him on that date. Already feeling like such a dick, worry over you weighed more heavily on him this morning. He had to fix this, but how?

Part of Joel wanted to rush over to JB’s and check on you, but the other part was terrified of how that would work out, especially if your dad was home and wanted to know why his best friend was frantic to see his daughter.

Shit. JB. Joel still needed to figure out how to navigate that part of this entire situation. The two of you could like each other all day long, but how would JB react?

Joel envisioned several scenarios that ended with him getting his nose bashed in by your old man. He wasn’t looking forward to that.

“What about JB?” Joel finally broke the silence, looking once again to his younger brother for guidance. “If I’m gonna do this, I want to do it right.”

Placing his empty bottle on the patio table between them, Tommy nodded. “Ok. Let’s think about this. Do you always check with a chick’s dad before askin’ her out?”

“’Course not, but this is different.”

“I get that but hear me out. What if you try before you buy?” Tommy asked.

Joel immediately stiffened. “I’m not gonna just fuck her before asking her on a date. Jesus, Tommy.” Not that he didn’t want to fuck you… he most certainly did, but Joel wanted to do this right. He wanted more than just sex. He wanted something meaningful, and he suspected you would as well.

“That’s not what I meant, asshole. Ya can quit clutchin’ your pearls like you ain’t banged a chick before the first date before.”

“Tommy,” Joel growled again. Little brothers were the worst no matter what age they were.

“Jeez, alright, fine. You’re really into her, I get it. I’m not sayin’ sleep with her first. I’m suggestin’ you ask her out and see where this is goin’ before you go to JB with your tail between your legs, is all.” Tommy explained, already getting fed up with how easily Joel got his feathers ruffled.

Considering the advice, and ignoring his brother’s snippy tone, Joel bobbed his head in a nod. “That’s not a bad idea, actually.”

“I’m full of good ideas, sometimes. I got another one, actually. Get your grumpy ass to the store and buy some new shirts. Everything you own is at least ten years old and worn down. You need to dress better if you’re gonna date a younger woman.”

Another point to Tommy. He sure was racking them up.

“Fine. I fuckin’ hate to admit it, but you’re right,” Joel grumbled, looking down at the tee shirt he was wearing. It used to be black and faded to a cloudy gray from years of wearing and washing. “You mind watchin’ Sarah for a while so I can run to the mall?”

“Not at all, brother. I was hoping to watch the game on your flat screen anyway.” Tommy led the way back inside the house.

Emily: Sounds like you need some retail therapy, asap.

The pair of you spent the past hour texting about Joel’s date the night before. Emily’s emoji reactions were priceless as you recounted seeing them together at the movie theater and she was pissed on your behalf when you told her about the lipstick mark on his cheek. The conversation came full circle before Emily suggested the retail therapy.

You: Omg do I ever. Mall?

Emily: I can’t ☹ Ed wants my help with the garden. Again. I swear, I hate this fucking garden.

You: Booo. How dare you pick your husband over me

Emily: I gotta go with the one who has the bigger dick. Ur girl has needs u know that 😉

You: Yeah yeah. Chat later?

Emily: You bet. Have fun. Buy lots!

An hour later, you walked through Barton Creek Square, window shopping with a chocolate smoothie clutched in your hand. Not sure exactly what you were in the mood for, you started with clothing. This mall was a bit upscale for your budget, but you always enjoyed perusing the department store discount racks. Tossing your empty cup into the garbage can, you entered the large store.

Somehow, you found yourself searching through flannel shirts in the men’s department. Stopping for a moment once you realized what you were doing, you sighed. There was no escaping thoughts of Joel Miller, even subconsciously, it seemed. Huffing in frustration, you turned to walk back to the women’s section where you’d find things you actually needed when you heard your name.

Joel stood on the other side of the rack, eyes wide with surprise at the sight of you. His cheek was clean, no lipstick mark in sight, you noted. Just the normal, totally endearing patchy scruff. “Hey darlin’, what are you doing here?”

“Shopping,” you stated the obvious with a shrug, delighted at the pink tinge creeping up his cheeks.

“Me, too. Obviously.” Joel nodded, rolling his eyes – at you or himself, you weren’t sure. “I could use your help, actually.”

You weren’t expecting that. He looked at you with such open hope in his eyes, you couldn’t deny him. “Ok, shoot.” Your heart nearly exploded at the smile that spread across his face, putting his dimple on full display.

“I can’t decide which of these to go with,” Joel replied, holding up several flannels. After a moment, he put those across the top of the discount rack and held up a pile of tee shirts. “Or these.”

Eyes taking in the details of each selection – he had good taste; you could picture each option on him – you hummed. “Have you tried any of them on?” Joel shook his head, the mop of curls swaying deliciously with the movement. “Ok. Go try them on. That’s usually how I decide.”

Turning toward the fitting room with a nod, Joel paused and turned back around. “Come with me? I need your honest opinion on each one.”

Brow furrowed, you followed behind him wordlessly, eyes straying to his backside of their own accord. He wore the same dark, fitted jeans as last night and you swore beneath your breath at yet another reminder of his date. No amount of staring at his nice ass could pull that jealous feeling from your gut. He went on a date with someone and for all you knew, it could have been the best damn date of his entire damn life.

Leaning back against the wall opposite the fitting room Joel chose, you crossed your arms in front of your chest and wondered what the hell you were doing. You came to the mall for a distraction, to treat yourself and get your mind off the man on the other side of the fitting room door. Now you were… what? His wardrobe consultant?

Helping Joel pick out new clothes seemed like the job of a girlfriend, not his daughter’s babysitter. Let’s face it, you thought, that’s all you were to him. Mood growing sourer by the second, you startled as the door ripped open in front of you.

“What do you think?”

The universe was a fickle bitch. It wasn’t fair that Joel stood there looking like the man of your dreams and you didn’t get to call him yours.

The first shirt Joel tried on fit like a glove, like the factory made it with his frame as the model in mind. The material had just the right amount of stretch across the breadth of his chest and shoulders, while hanging on for dear life around his biceps.

After ogling him for far too long, your eyes finally met Joel’s. “Looks good,” you said, the cadence of your voice not giving away the riotous flutter of desire flaring to life deep in your lower belly. “Let’s see the next one.”

Chocolate eyes sparkled with delight at your response as Joel slipped back into the fitting room. What you wouldn’t give to follow him in there. Already picturing it in your mind, you would slip to your knees in front of him, fingers undoing his belt and the button of his jeans before slowly sliding the zipper down. You’d wind one hand inside his pants to trace the curve of his cock through his boxer briefs before slipping the length of him out of the little secret pocket. Joel would be trying on his shirts as your lips—

“How about this one?”

“Jesus fucking nutcracker!” you exclaimed, Joel’s voice jolting you right out of that wonderful little daydream. So deep into the fantasy, you hadn’t heard the fitting room door open.

Concerned, Joel reached out a hand, his calloused fingertips and palm running over the bare skin of your forearm as you steadied yourself. “Do, uh… do you have Tourette’s or something?”

Bemused, you blinked up at him, head thumping back against the wall. “What? No, no. I was just lost in thought, and you startled me.”

“Not that there’s anything wrong with having Tourette’s, you know.” Joel tripped over himself to make sure you didn’t think he was making fun of the disorder.

You waved him off. “Of course not.” Clearing your throat, eyes closing to recenter yourself, you counted to ten. The heat of Joel’s gaze like a burn on your skin, you opened your eyes and assessed his shirt. It was nice, a deep burgundy color, but the fit differed from the last one. You hated it. “I like the way the other one fit you better.”

The pattern continued until Joel tried on every shirt in his pile. You managed to keep your mind from straying again by making conversation.

“How did your date go last night?” You dreaded the answer but needed to know.

“It was… I’ve had better dates. She talked a lot,” he said through the fitting room door. “I couldn’t wait for it to be over, honestly. I just wanted to be home.”

“So, no second date then?” you confirmed, butterflies beginning to take flight in your belly.

“Hell no.”

A wave of relief washed over you at the conviction in Joel’s voice, but you tried not to let it show on your face or in your voice as he stepped through the door. “That’s too bad. You deserve to find someone great, Joel.”

He looked at you for a long time, his eyes penetrating like he was trying to tell you something without using words. You just had no idea what. You were about to bid him farewell as he paid for the shirts you chose – the bluish gray tee shirt that fit him so well and a flannel with similar hues, and two more just like them – when he stopped you.

“Uh, would you have lunch with me?” he asked shyly, eyes brimming with such eager hopefulness you nearly melted.

Part of you wanted to turn him down over hurt feelings he wasn’t even aware of, but you couldn’t. Not after what he just told you about his date. The other part of you screamed not to read too much into it, that he wasn’t asking you on a date. It would just be lunch with your boss. But the final part of you, the hopeless romantic who wore her heart on her sleeve and just helped the man pick out clothes like a girlfriend would, screamed that this could be your chance to get closer, that it could be a date if you made it one.

Fearing you stayed silent too long arguing with yourself, you rushed out a quick, “Sure.” Joel’s face lit up like you’d never seen before. He didn’t look anywhere near this happy when he left for his dinner date the night before.

tbc

Taglist: @mellymbee @untamedheart81 @anoverwhelmingdin @runningmom94 @leilanixx @pedropascalfan221 @lovelyjess69 @sarahhxx03 @sofiparallel @tammythr @lulawantmula @islacharlotte @allyourfavesinoneblog @lover-of-books-and-tea @pedropascalsbbg @ashleyfilm @brittmb115 @lilmizmoz @loveisacowboyyy @shotgun-shelby @deninoe

[becauseicantthinkwritings]

Teeth

Part 20!

Masterlist

Warnings: Angst (god, I'm so sorry), discussions of stalking, mentions of nightmares, kissing, sex dreams, more angst, Billy's sad childhood.

In the early hours of Saturday morning, Dinah knocks on his front door.

He knows it's her, he can almost smell her impatience. 

You haven’t woken up yet, and Billy really wants to let you sleep. You’d had another nightmare- he’d heard the moment you woken with a sharp gasp last night. He’d waited, waited patiently to see if you’d come to him, if you’d ask to crawl into bed beside him. He’d listened to your footsteps as you’d made a cup of jasmine tea.

He’d wanted to go to you, but he didn’t want to make it seem as if he was… monitoring you.

Lying on his side, he’d listened to you sigh, making sure you were okay, using his keen sense of hearing to listen to your racing heart.

He wasn’t too sure what to do. How did he reassure you that he wanted to be with you, that your entire relationship was built on something stronger than pity?

Perhaps, he could encourage you to seek out therapy, help you through your erroneous thoughts and make you see reason.

He shuddered at the reminder of therapists, and his failed relationship with a certain one in particular.

He’d listened to you have your tea and go back to bed, then he’d listened to you toss and turn and make little sounds of irritation that made the beast inside of him alert, tugging at him to go to you, to lie beside you, soothe you into sleep.

He thought about how you’d feel in his arms, the way he’d bury his nose in your hair and wrap his body around yours, a smile pulling onto his face the more he thought about it.

Then, he’d remembered what you’d said, that you might just take his actions as pity, and not the movements of a man utterly and hopelessly obsessed.

In a way, he sort of understood the insanity that being deprived of you could cause, shaking his head as he fell asleep, knowing exactly how unhinged his thoughts sounded.

Billy pulls open the door, wearing only the grey sweats he’d fallen asleep in, rubbing at one eye with the base of his palm.

“Madani.” He greets grumpily, the first peek of sunlight just starting to light up the street behind her.

She looks unbothered by his prickly greeting, in her red shirt and sensible work pants, a coat thrown over the ensemble to shelter her from the chill of the oncoming winter season. Billy steps to the side to let her in, the glint of her badge on her hip when she moves.

“You got coffee?” Dinah asks, eyes scanning the area, most likely looking for changes in his home. It had been years since she’d set foot in his place.

“Upstairs.” He answers, and she nods, pulling her gloves and coat off, hanging it on the little hanger near the door.

He leaves her in the kitchen for a moment so that he can grab a shirt, not wanting to be exposed to her for longer than necessary.

She’s sifting through his collection of coffees when he finds her again.

“So, how is she?” Dinah asks, not looking up. He watches her open a bag, take a small whiff and shakes her head. Billy studies her for a moment, gathering his thoughts, making sure to keep himself calm, stoic. He’d already had an idea of where this conversation was headed, and he didn’t want Dinah prying too much.

He clears his throat.

“She’s alright- yeah- shaken, which is understandable, but she’s a fighter.”

“I know, I saw her background. Hell of a girl.” Dinah says, raising her head with a light smile that suggested she knew something that he didn’t.

“What are you implying?” 

Dinah makes a sound of amusement, selecting another bag of coffee, this one,  harvested from the mountains of Peru.

“I read her file, Billy. Her statements, her firsthand account of that night. I saw the autopsy report for those two muggers. I know.”

He keeps his emotions in check, wrapped tightly with a rubber band and shoved deep down inside of him. His head is full of static, denial in his veins.

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.” He says measuredly.

Dinah has the audacity to laugh, full blown, head tossed back, he’d roll his eyes if he was a little bit more comfortable with the direction of the conversation.

 “I forgot how easy it is for you to lie to yourself. Don’t worry, Russo I won’t tell a soul.”

“There’s nothing to tell, Dinah.” He says, inching closer to her, desperate to make the were-cheetah understand his words. “There is nothing to read into, nothing to know. She means nothing to me.”

Dinah’s eyes slide from his face to something behind him, he turns his head, stomach twisting as he spots you, having just come upon the conversation.

God fucking dammit, Billy swears internally.

.

“Good morning Agent Madani.” You greet evenly, pretending that you didn’t hear what you definitely just heard, “Is everything going well with the investigation?”

She says your name in greeting.

“Are you doing alright?” She asks, grabbing a bag of coffee from Billy’s selection.

“Peachy.” You respond sarcastically, with a smile, entering the kitchen, unable to look him in the eye at all.

You watch her set up his coffee machine, as you slide onto one of the stools at his kitchen counter, unlocking your phone to look through your notifications.

The place is silent, save for the hum of the coffee machine, you can feel Billy’s eyes on you, but you refuse to acknowledge him in any way, shape or form.

I’ll show you nothing.

“So,” You say, clearing your throat, “any news?”

Dinah turns, looking at you both, before stepping over to an unmarked cupboard, opening it to grab a mug.

You blink, tilting your head in acknowledgement that she so easily knew where to find things. Maybe they were in a relationship before.

“We have a… working theory that maybe you’re not the target.”

You raise your eyebrows in surprise, waiting for her elaboration.

“When we assembled the timeline of events, and analysed the photos properly, we noticed that Billy hadn’t been around at any point that the stalker was there. Every time something happened, he was nowhere around.”

“Are you implying that he’s the stalker?” You say dryly in disbelief, looking down, not wanting to meet his eyes.

“No, more that the intended target of this harassment isn’t you… but rather… Billy.”

At that, you finally look up.

“How does that make any sense?” You prod at Dinah.

“Thing is, Billy is a security expert, catching him off guard would be really difficult. But, threatening a close friend of his, forcing him to watch your fear… we think that was the goal the entire time.”

You blink, looking down.

This wasn’t about you at all?

“That’s why taking several photos of you being mugged was so important,” Dinah continues, “Your fear, they’re using it against him.”

“Which reminds me,” She mutters, turning to Billy, “Can you send me a list of any enemies you have? We’ll start big and work our way down.

“You kidding?” Billy asks, raising a hand to wipe at his brow, “That list would be ten pages long. I’m not in security to make friends.”

“We have to start somewhere.” You hear her mutter to him.

“So… this is good right?” You say interrupting their little conversation, with freshly sprouting thoughts, “This means that I'm- I'm not being obsessed over, yeah? So I'm not in as much danger as I thought? No one is learning everything about me because they like me?”

There's a stagnant silence between the both of them that makes you think that you weren’t very correct in your assumptions.

“Not exactly.” Billy says, glancing at Dinah who looks back at him and makes you think to yourself that they really made a cute couple. The thought makes you press your teeth together angrily.

For a moment, it feels like someone's taken a hammer to your chest again, more and more you realise that maybe Billy had never really desired you.

“If this person isn't actively interested in pursuing you, and just trying to hurt Billy, then they have nothing to really gain from keeping you alive in the long term.” Dinah explains.

It just makes your heart sink more.

“Well it makes sense that my death would be worth much more than my life.” You grumble, crossing your arms.

In your peripherals, Billy turns away, when your eyes follow his movement, you catch him shaking his head.

Great, now you’d disappointed him.

“What if I left the city? Got as far away as I could and never came back?”

You watch his shoulders stiffen.

“You’d probably be safe but there’s a chance the person doing this could go after your friends to make a point, or maybe they follow you, we’re not entirely sure about anything, all we have right now is just a working theory.” Dinah answers.

“Oh.” You mumble, “So you could be wrong, and I could still be the main target.”

She’s silent for a while.

“We’re still exploring every option, but based on analysis, Billy does seem like the real target.”

Great. 

You turn away with a nod of your head, trying to figure out how to excuse yourself from the conversation and retreat into hiding.

“Wait a minute,” You say, turning back, “Why me? I’m sure there are a lot of people they could target that mean more to him than me.”

His head drops, and Dinah glances at him with a wry smile on her face.

“I think you might be his only friend that isn’t ex-military.”

Are we even friends? You want to jab.

“Actually, the harassment might have even been orchestrated to get you both closer together, knowing that Billy might have taken you in if he knew you were being stalked.”

You think you were going to be sick.

The idea that you were just being used as a pawn in someone else’s game this entire time, like a mouse in a maze, with doors shutting all around you, forcing you to go in one direction, made you want to sink into the nearest abyss and never be seen again.

You wanted to claw at the walls, you wanted to scream.

You take a deep breath, holding it, closing your eyes and pressing your face into your hands. You let it hurt, you let your lungs beg for air, you feel your body begin to sag under the weight of itself. When you can’t keep it in anymore, you let the breath out in a rush, feeling your mind calm down, too busy focusing on the mild oxygen deprivation to keep panicking.

“Alright well, it was a pleasure seeing you, Agent Madani, I look forward to speaking with you again.” You say diplomatically, sliding off the stool and stepping purposefully back to your room. You don’t stop until you’ve collapsed onto your bed face down, your face buried into a pillow, hoping that you could close your eyes and have all of this go away.

.

A while later, there’s a soft knock on your door.

You raise your head, sitting up and facing the door.

“Yeah?” You answer.

The doorknob turns, and you feel your throat tighten as you meet his eyes.

“Are you alright?”

“Great.” Is your clipped answer, “Things have never been better.”

He says your name on a sigh, opening your door wider to step into your room.

You look away, down at the spot on the floor where the glass of water had been smashed to pieces a few nights ago. You wonder if you would still find any remnants of splinters there.

“You and Dinah look nice together.” You comment softly.

“I suppose we might have,” He accedes, coming to sit beside you on your bed, “A  long time ago.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Don’t be. I’m not.”

You give him a tight-lipped smile.

“She's really pretty, I almost want to congratulate you on being with her.”

“She's alright.”

You make a sound of disbelief, raising your eyebrows in surprise.

He tilts his head in curiosity.

“What?”

“Well if you think she's alright, it's no wonder that I mean nothing to you.”

The silence is stiff, like the air is made of honey, trapping you both in place.

“I'm sorry you had to hear that, but it wasn't true.”

You shake your head.

“Look- It's alright- you don't have to say anything to make me feel better I get it-” You stand, fighting the thick feeling of the air around you both, “-I'm probably not pretty compared to all the other women you've dated, and maybe you've just realized that-”

Your voice cuts off when he stands too, your body freezing up once more as you catch the stern expression on his face.

He's like a predator, the way he moves forward, corralling you until you're pressed against the bedroom wall.

You try to appear calm, though you can feel each time blood pulses into your brain.

His eyes are so dark, you can barely see his pupil, you have to tilt your head up to keep eye contact the closer he gets.

He gets close enough that you can feel the soft brush of his breath on your cheek, his arms pressed to either side of you to cage you in.

“Dinah and I were only together for a few months. I wouldn’t open up to her, and she wouldn’t open up to me. She once told me that I was incapable of making a real connection with someone, and maybe I carried that into my next relationship, but you… are the first real connection I’ve made in a really long time.”

You blink, your insides responding positively to his words.

“I said those things to her because what you really mean to me, is absolutely none of her business.”

“And what do I mean to you?” You ask softly, a depth of challenge in your voice, a silent plea to mean more to him than you think you do.

The corners of his mouth just barely tilt upwards, one of his hands move to cup your cheek.

“So much more than you know. It hurts me to hear you talk down on yourself, it pains to hear you suggest leaving.”

He leans in further, his face beside yours so that he can whisper in your ear.

“I want you, more than I can even understand and I've been thinking about you from the moment we first met.”

You gulp, raising a hand to touch his shoulder, smoothing down the length of his arm.

He takes your wrist in his hand, pressing it against the wall beside your head.

You gasp, turning to look at him in surprise at the meaningful way he moved.

His nose brushes yours, and you can't help tilting your face up in hopes that he kisses you.

“It's not easy to find words for,” he thinks for a moment before smiling, “If I liked you less, maybe I would talk about it more.”

“That's Jane Austen.” You whisper.

The corner of his lip twitches.

“Yeah, maybe she's on to something.” 

You feel his thumb swipe gently over the fluttering pulse at your wrist.

His head moves, his nose trailing a path over your cheek, to your ear. You stay perfectly still, heart hammering, but unwilling to break him from whatever thoughts he seemed to be in.

He drops his head till his face is pressed to the base of your neck, you feel and hear him take a deep breath.

“You smell good.” His voice is a low grovel.

“Thank you.” You whisper in response, feeling him take another slow breath, your body growing aroused at your positions.

He lets out a soft hum of appreciation, you stand there a little surprised at his actions. Was he just breathing you in?

His lips brush your neck and you feel a jolt of heat spear into your stomach. 

Your skin tingles, all you can feel besides his mouth on your skin and his breathing in your hair is your body begging him for more.

You wanted him to touch you, to trail his hands over your skin. You ached to just be felt, and not even in a sexual way. You wanted him to learn you, explore the feel of you so you would know what that felt like.

Do people even do that? Do they explore each other simply for the pleasure of it? You're not sure, but more and more you want to know everything about him.

You feel his grip tighten on your wrist, feeling him lean more against you as if he can't bear the thought of being apart. He stiffens, raising his head from its place, buried in your neck. His eyes are…

strange, there's something a little odd about them, but you don’t get the chance to investigate further.

“Excuse me.” He grunts out  before he's drawing away, and stepping out of your room with meaningful steps.

This time, your stomach fills with warmth and affection to watch him go. Almost intuitively knowing that his departure is based on a heavy desire for you, one that he was worried about losing control over, and not dislike, as you might have previously thought.

He really likes me, is what you think to yourself as the door closes.

.

You swear you're not trying to torment him on purpose, but it's funny how things work out like that.

You tap your pen against your lips, raising your eyebrows curiously when you glance over at him and find him already looking at you.

He looks so calm, except you know him a little bit better now, you watch his eyes drift to your lips, the same dark red you'd worn before.

Somewhere at the front of the room, there's a presentation happening, some routine safety briefings being spoken about.

You smile, looking down, and when you glance back at him, he's still got his eyes on you.

You could feel it in your bones, in that spot behind your navel- it was only a matter of time before you gave in to the tension between you.

The image of it just pops into your head with no warning, the way he might tug at your clothes frantically, breathless kisses, low groans as he gets you naked. His firm press of your body against his desk, or the first flat surface. The reminder of the way his hands feel on your skin, his mouth- you blink, swallowing, looking down at the pen in your hands as you let the memories of him overwhelm you.

You wanted him in so many ways, over and over, you almost felt insane with need. All you could feel is the ache inside of you, a space craving to be filled.

Your body responds eagerly to your thoughts, you swallow, shifting uncomfortably in your seat as arousal dampens your underwear.

You try to avoid looking at him as you let the debauched thoughts consume you. The imagery of him naked, all those delicious scars on display for your mouth to explore, the way you wanted to taste the path from his cock up to the base of his navel. You press your thighs together, aching for his touch. 

He'd probably touch you too, if you asked nicely enough. Maybe he would give you just what you needed.

You fight the groan of desire that builds in your chest, blinking and looking up to reorient your mind in the room. The HR rep is on his closing speech and you're thankful that this is almost over. Your eyes drift to where Billy is sitting, and your breath halts suddenly when you find his eyes on you.

You feel warmth flush in your face, his eyes are heated, the expression on his face is calm but- but the look in his eye promises pleasure beyond comprehension.

It’s like he knows exactly what you’re thinking, and for a moment you wonder if he can hear your thoughts.

The sound of a binder closing breaks you from your daze. You blink, breathing in a slow breath, looking around. You meet some of your coworker’s eyes, smiling at them, hoping that they hadn’t witnessed you and Billy basically eye-fucking each other into next week.

You spare a glance at him, wondering if you should take the time to say something, or just leave. You’re unsure of how to navigate here, knowing that no one else knows how close you really are to each other.

You decide against causing any drama- or give anyone a reason to chat about you. You suck in a slow breath, gathering your items before rising to a stand, to walk out of the conference room.

You feel his eyes on your back all the way out.

You keep your breathing even as you walk, there’s a pounding in your ears, the thump of your footsteps on the ground.

When there’s a sudden grip on your arm, you gasp, head swivelling in shock and mild fear to see Billy right beside you.

“Where do you think you’re going?” He hums, pressing you somewhere. Your legs move where he guides, trying to stay upright with his firm steer on your body.

It doesn’t really register that he’s pushed you into a dark supply closet until you hear the door locked behind him.

“Is- everything okay?” You stutter out, heart hammering in anticipation.

“No it’s not.” He grunts out, taking the little items from your hands and placing them onto the shelf above your head in a meaningful motion.

You open your mouth to ask him what he was doing but you don’t get the chance. His fingers grip the back of your head, pulling your body against his, Your hands reaching up to steady yourself on his shoulders.

His forehead pressed to yours, you feel his breath on your lips as he exhales.

“Can I kiss you?” He asks, voice almost hoarse, “please say yes.”

You’re shocked at the desperate way he sounds, as if there’s no sanity left in him.

“Please please please, let me kiss you.”

Fuck. Did you really have him this way?

“Yes.” You rush out, before lifting your chin to seal your mouth to his.

Absolute sparks, tingles where your lips meet his. You share a groan, before drawing back so that you can kiss him again. His other hand raises, both gripping your neck with such tender attention that you get lost in it so quickly.

It's not enough, none of it is, you rise onto the tips of your toes, a smile on your lips as you press your body to his. A shared breath between you, remarkably slow for two desperate people.

His mouth leaves your lips, a kiss to your cheek, another right below your ear.

“I'd get down on my knees right now if you asked. Workplace etiquette be damned. Just say the word and my tongue is yours.”

You groan.

Holy fuck was he real? You tilt your head back as his mouth peppers kisses over the column of your neck, you're not sure who moves, if it's you looking for purchase, or him guiding you, but your back presses to the door, nowhere to go. 

Your hand dips into his hair, pulling him close, he hums, one firm hand drifting down your body to grip your hip. 

You're about to give in, tell him that you need him so badly that you can't wrap your head around it. However, at the same time, you stiffen when you hear several footfalls outside, and laughter as clear as if there was no door between you.

If you could hear that, then it's no question whether you'd be heard, maybe discovered before anything really good happened.

Billy pauses, raising his head having felt you go stiff in his arms, you study his dark eyes for a few moments, longing to live within the few seconds you'd gotten with him.

“We shouldn't.” You whisper, hands smoothing over his broad shoulders.

He nods, accepting, a hand raising to push an errant strand of hair out of your eyes.

“You're… really beautiful.” He responds next, and it feels like a cord’s been looped around your intestines, tangled in your heart, tugging gently in any direction it can.

You can only give him a shy smile, before looking away.

“And you,” you reply, lifting your head to return a compliment, eyes catching on his mouth and you notice something is off. You smile, raising a hand to the corner of his bottom lip, “-have lipstick on your mouth.”

He grins, teeth on display for you as you work carefully to rid him of any lipstick remnants.

“I'd wear it with pride if I could.” He confesses, studying you intently.

All you can do is smile in response, feeling so light in his presence.

.

He's lying in the forest, thinking about your cunt.

He feels at peace here, body lying in the dirt with the trees all around him, the sound of rushing water somewhere in the distance and he sighs, thinking about your wet little cunt.

It's like you hear him, your slow footsteps approaching, the crunch of grass beneath your bare feet.

Another dream, he realises, when he lifts his head to look up at you and he finds you naked, realising that he's naked as well.

He watches you approach, and when you're beside him, he extends a hand to help you remain balanced as you seat your body on his, that delicate cunt of yours pressed to his adonis belt.

Your fingers trace his skin, he can feel his cock swelling at the sensation.

Your hand drifts up, cupping his face your thumb pressing against his lips.

He feels like yours, wholly, lying in his most peaceful spot, ready to give himself over to any whim, any desire, parting his lips so that you can press your thumb into his mouth.

He feels a connection building in the back of his head, swears he can almost feel you there, and he wishes with every fiber of his being that it could be possible.

He reaches to grip your hips firmly, no words need to be said as he guides your body upwards, your thumb slipping from his mouth as he settles your thighs around his face.

He takes a deep breath, basks in the scent of your desire, of a cunt just as desperate for him as he is.

His eyes roll back in his head as his tongue darts out to taste you. A sweet sigh from your mouth that only encourages him. He starts slow, he wants to savour this, he wants to wring every drop of pleasure from your flushed body.

You whine his name. He grips your hips to press your cunt more firmly to his tongue.

So good, so good, is the only thing his brain can formulate, licking your clit repeatedly, getting high on your moans and the tart taste of your cunt.

He feels you rock your hips against his face. He simmers with the delight, loves his precious mate using him for her pleasure, taking what she needs.

He is yours, after all.

Hands tighten in his hair, you must have gripped it at some point, your grinding growing sharper, desperate. He keeps his tongue out for you to rub against.

Gripping your ass tightly in anticipation, knowing you're right on that edge and he'd do anything, anything to taste your orgasm.

He's alone when he wakes up. Upset and unhinged, he angrily climbs out of bed and is out of his bedroom in seconds. 

He wants you, he wants to barge into your room and drop to his knees so he can bury his face between your thighs.

He needs this- he needs- he feels his body shudder at the desire that spreads through him. The panther awakens fully, growling in his head, reminding him of every detail of his dream.

The smell of strawberries fills his nose as he gets your door open quietly.

There you are, asleep in your bed, he tilts his head at the peaceful way you look.

It's what makes him pause, blink in realisation of what he was about to do. He backs away in shock, the predator surging forward angrily, urging him to go to you.

He takes another step back at the way he feels himself losing control. Something was wrong with him. 

He blinks, sudden awareness of what day it was, or rather, what phase of the moon was almost above head.

Billy backs away from your door, cock swollen and aching, needing a cold shower more than anything.

.

The full moon was close. 

He'd verified it after an icy shower, the panther demanding he give in to his base urges, clawing at him to feed, to fight, and most importantly, to fuck.

He squeezes his eyes shut, shakes his head, he couldn't give into it now, who knows how rough he might be, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to go softer if you asked, and that was the most sobering thought of them all. The first time he'd been with you, he'd bruised your wrist, and that hadn't even been near a full moon.

It was safer to wait this out, keep you at arm's length until he had his full sanity back.

But of course, the universe is seldom kind, especially to him, and he watches as you step into his line of sight from his spot in the kitchen, wearing nothing but a towel.

He watches you evenly, fingers tightening on the mug of coffee in his hand, his sensitive hearing warns that the cup might shatter if he squeezes any tighter.

“Going for a swim. You can come if you like?” 

He keeps his expression calm, tries not to think of how you look naked, fights the panther for the braincells necessary to respond.

“You go ahead, sweetheart, I've got some work emails to glance at really quickly.”

You smile at him, and he feels like the air has thickened, slowing time in his head so that he can look at you for a few moments more.

“Okay.” You say happily, turning to make your way down his staircase, the smell of your skin lingering in the air.

The panther isn't kind to him this time, pushing images of you, lying in your front below him, face pressed into the bed while he fucks into you from behind.

Billy stifles a groan, thinking about the sweet sounds you make, about how tight your delicious cunt is.

He was in so much trouble.

.

He's a little distant, you notice.

Not unbelievably so, but it's definitely there.

He can't seem to spend time in a room with you, always finding an excuse to leave, or maybe work really had gotten stressful for him.

He was a CEO after all, maybe he was just busy.

You sit in his sunroom, looking out with a sigh, you'd been feeling antsy lately, stuck between his house and your work and the occasional visit to Amy’s. Other than that, you'd felt really stagnant.

For a moment, you find yourself wishing you were in the woods camping again. Exploring with your friends, photographing any amazing thing you'd find. You frown when you remember the way your lungs felt while running away. 

Maybe you could do something for him that would help you take your mind off of feeling this way. It couldn't hurt to show him how appreciative you were of his protection and it would hopefully help him feel better too. 

To lift your phone to your face, smiling as you begin planning.

.

He's been sitting in his office, listening to your heartbeat for the last two hours.

As a precaution, he'd shoved his desk against the door, to slow the panther down if he somehow managed to take control of him. 

His nails are embedded in his palm, the pain keeping him locked into his body and all he can hear is the thumpthumpthumpthump of your heart.

His office is the one place your scent is weakest, he can't even go into his own bed without scenting you in the sheets. You're everywhere, like his home is yours and though on a normal day he'd relish the thought, today it's torture.

Would things be different if you were actually together? Maybe. He wouldn't have been so frustrated in the first place.

Billy tilts head back, sucks in a deep breath. He can't see this desire for you fading. He worries that he'll always be this unhinged around you on a full moon.

He squeezes his eyes shut, giving the panther the right moment to push more thoughts into his head.

He'd stalk you through your home, enjoying the scent of your arousal in the air. He'd tear your clothes to shreds, bury his face between your soft thighs and listen to you cry with need. 

He'd hover above you, ask you for permission, make you beg to be fucked as hard as he wants to fuck you. 

The sounds you'd make, as his hips met yours furiously, he'd feel you clench around him, he'd lick the sweat off your skin.

Your eyes, full of tears as he gives and gives, ridding you of any doubt of who you belonged to.

He doesn't realize where he is until his nose is pressed to the column of your neck.

You make a small sound of surprise, turning to look up at him, he's somehow found himself in the kitchen, an arm wrapped around you as he stands behind.

You smile up at him, unaware that his control is crumbling, you tilt your head up, a silent ask for a kiss.

The panther purrs in his head when your lips meet, he feels you sigh into the kiss, your body relaxing.

His hand grips your jaw when he tries to move away, keeping your head tilted up for him, so that he can kiss you for just a little longer.

“Sorry.” He says- can't believe that's the sound of his voice, “Got a little carried away.”

You turn in his arms, smiling up at him.

“That's okay.” You hum, your hands wrapping around his shoulders as best as possible.

The smell of raw meat catches his attention.

“What are you making?” He asks

“Steak for you, chicken for me. Just something to say thank you for all your help.”

The panther purrs louder in his head.

“You're- cooking for me?”

“Mhmm, we can't go out much, so I could use a distraction, and you've been so caught up working. I just thought I'd make you something.”

“Thank you.” He hums, still in disbelief.

He's not sure why he's surprised, you've cooked many meals together, but usually he's there to help. The idea that you'd feel comfortable enough to use his kitchen without him, only reinforces how comfortable you are in his space.

You smile, turning back to what you were doing, and before he can make a second thought, the panther shoves the image of his cum dripping from your cunt into his mind.

He backs away, retreating into his office quickly before you even notice that he's gone.

.

Something’s so weird about him right now. 

For the first time you can see anxiety written into his movements, unsure and hesitant when he reaches for his glass of water.

You’d worked hard, maybe turned the steak just a little bit past rare. Placed beside some creamy asparagus and some crispy fries that were amazingly delicious and it was safe to say you were proud of the final product.

You’d taken the food up to the sunroof, lit candles all around the table and the space heater running,  hoping to warm up the space with winter almost upon the city.  

You’d knocked shyly on his office door, letting him know to come up, and you’d grabbed some drinks on the way back.

He’d given you such a happy smile, one that had looked so gorgeous on his face, made you want to kiss him right then and there. 

It had made it worth it, and then his further delight at tasting the food made your insides flutter all over again.

He stops looking so unsure of himself the minute he starts eating, you can tell he’s focused on the meal for the time being, and you get to relax and enjoy each other’s company.

“So, you told me you liked cats- are they your favourite?” You ask, giving him a smile as he looks up.

It’s light, you know that, you don’t want to pry into any deep personal questions right now, you just want to hear the sound of his voice as he sits across from you.

“I think so. I can’t think of another animal I like more.”

“Interesting.” You say, leaning forward to grab your glass of wine, “I don’t know a lot of men that like cats.”

He nods in understanding.

“It’s the consent. It’s hard for some people to wrap their heads around the idea that animals need their boundaries respected too.”

“You’re not a real person.”

It’s such an absurd thing to say that it makes him laugh, which in turn puts a smile on your face.

“Did you have any pets growing up?” You ask.

Your heart sinks when he stops smiling almost instantly.

You can see the memory of it cross his face, the heartbreak of it all. You can tell whatever it was is ingrained into his psyche so deep that it’ll never leave him.

He swallows, looking down.

What do you say? Tell me more? It’s okay if you don’t want to? What would be the right words?

You stand, his eyes flit up to observe you as you thump across to his side of the table, before dropping into the space beside him and pulling him into a fierce hug.

He takes a deep breath of surprise, one hand moving cautiously around you, before he goes all in, pulling you into him, pressing his face into your neck.

“It can’t hurt you now. I promise.” You mutter against him, and his hold tightens in response.

“Her name was Della. She was a- a little kitten searching the dumpsters for scraps just like I was. Her fur was soft, so soft that I can never forget the feeling of it.”

Tears spring to your eyes, being soaked up by his shirt almost as fast as they come.

“The group home didn’t allow pets, I snuck her in anyway. I’d feed her before I would eat. Every potential foster that came by, I’d ask them how they felt about cats. If they were against them, I’d act out. Until I finally found a family that would take me and her.”

He’s quiet, shaking his head.

“When they found out they were expecting, they put me right back in the group home, but they kept her. After a few months, they moved away, and I never saw Della again.”

“It was probably for the best. I could barely take care of me, I would never be able to help her if she got sick but…”

“But you loved her.” You finish for him.

“I did. I do. I don’t say that much, but she was everything to me when I had absolutely nothing.”

You bury a hand in his hair, holding onto him tightly, wanting him to feel some semblance of the adoration he’d had back then.

Even more, you want to take that pain away from him, you wished you could soak it up, all of his hurt and his endless supply of trauma and replace it with something good.

After a long while of you holding each other, you finally find the willpower to pull away. There’s an understanding between you now, a line that’s been crossed. 

You smile up at him, and you turn, reaching across the table to grab your plate of food, settling against him as you continue your meal.

“You’re a good man, Billy.” You say after a while, deep in contemplation.

“Maybe the best man I’ve ever met.”

You can almost feel his fond smile.

.

You finish dinner peacefully, using small talk to avoid deep conversations. You spend the evening enjoying his presence, laughing with him, leaning against him.

Kissing him.

You can tell there’s something there, beneath his cool exterior, something that urges him to press his mouth to yours harsher than he usually does, his fingers so easily gripping the back of your neck, demanding your submission.

He manages to keep himself in check though, despite the fire in his eyes, he doesn’t do more than kiss you.

Yet, you find yourself yearning for it more and more.

You bump his shoulder as you wipe a dish dry, staring at the distorted kitchen sink through the wine glass.

He makes a sound of amusement, gently bumping you in return.

“I’ve been thinking…” You start, and struggle to find the right words to finish your sentence.

He passes you another dish when you find the right spot for the wine glass.

You hesitate for too long, deep in your own thoughts, fear and the worry of rejection holding your mouth hostage.

He bumps against you playfully, and you almost drop the dish, cupping it securely after a moment.

A quick laugh of surprise and you glance at him to see that playful look on his face.

“What is it?” He asks, reminding you of what you had just been about to say.

“Oh god, nevermind.” You groan, feeling embarrassed.

“Tell me.” He pries in a light tone of voice.

You shake your head.

“I was only going to say- that I think I might be ready? Well, I know I am, I just said ‘think’ because I didn't wanna come on too strong but uh I've never really had to say this out loud so forgive my awkwardness about it and I just wanted you to know- I mean- we don't have to do anything now and maybe you might not even want to but I just wanted you to know with no doubts in case it gets lost somewhere-”

The sound of your name on his lips interrupts your mindless rambles, and you give him an apologetic look. He takes the very dry dish from your hand and puts it in its proper place calmly before turning back to you.

His hands on your cheeks, cold and raisined from having his hands in the water, but you smile up at him softly.

He studies you, eyes tracing across your face like you're a book he wants so badly to read.

“What do you mean by ready?” He asks.

“For… us.” You confirm hoping you get your point across. 

“Us?”

“You and me.”

“Us.”

“Yeah.”

He stands still, studying you, as you can feel your beating heart, squeezing in your chest, pounding in anticipation of what he's going to say.

“I- would really like to be an ‘us.’” 

It makes your heart beat that much faster.

He closes his eyes, a look of regret briefly crossing his face that makes your stomach twist.

He presses his forehead to yours, and you're forced to look down or get a headache from trying to focus on him.

“I can't stay. I have to go.”

You blink in surprise, drawing back so that you can look him in the eye for an explanation.

“For work,” he elaborates, “we were having such a good time I didn't want to mess it up before I really had to.”

You feel sadness overcome you.

You take a deep breath in, slowly let it out.

“Oh.” It's the most you can voice.

He has to leave for work, in the middle of you asking to be with him?

“I'm sorry, please believe me when I say I'm not running, I want to stay. I want to be with you. I won't be gone long, just three nights. I'll ask Dinah to increase patrol outside, and you can go anywhere you want in my house, treat it like it's yours.”

Agony twists inside of you at the idea of being away from him, paired with the shock of having this dropped on you so quickly.

Your head spins, you're not sure what to say, all you know is that you'll regret it if you let him leave on an upset note.

You reach out to take his hand, smiling up at his beautiful face.

“I get it. You manage a lot of people's safety, not just mine. I'll be fine, and we can talk about it later.”

He lets out a shaky breath.

You reach for each other at the same time, his hand on your cheek, yours to his.

The kiss is soft and earnest, open and vulnerable, a parting gift between you.

“I'll see you in three days, yeah?” You whisper lightly, trying to squash the undeniable despair threatening to choke you.

.

.

.

[sugdenlovesdingle]

Happy Christmas @strandnreyes !! Here is your very late gift from your secret santa!

I had a plan, it was going well, and then I wrote myself into a corner and couldn't figure out how to fix it... and went with plan B at around 6PM yesterday. But I'm pretty happy with the result and I hope you are too!

written for @tarlos-santa for the prompt: roommate’s best friend AU

---

Strickland holiday special (AO3)

“December 24th, 7pm, dinner at my place. Bring yourself and your holiday spirit.” Paul announced when he sat down at Carlos’ table in the bar they’d agreed to meet for a catch up after work.

Carlos was thrown off guard for a second but then shook his head.

“Can’t. Nochebuena with the family. My mom will kill me if I miss that.”

“And you don’t want to spend the holidays with your best friend?” Paul asked, fake hurt, and took a sip from the beer Carlos had ordered for him.

“You’ve met my mother... and she likes you now… but if you keep me from coming to mass with her and the rest of the family, she’s going to put you on her naughty list for next year.” Carlos replied, only half joking. He wasn’t especially excited to spend the holidays with his entire extended family, but it usually was nice to catch up with cousins he only ever saw at birthdays and family gatherings.

Only this year he also had to avoid his sister and her interest in his love life ever since she set him up with a friend of a friend a few months ago.

“Ah but if I promise to feed her boy, even Andrea Reyes will forgive me.” Paul told him and Carlos had to admit to himself he was probably right. “Come on man, it’s just dinner with some friends. Some people from work, and you’ll get to meet Asha for real.”

“I’ve already met her!”

“Outside McDonald’s in the middle of Saturday afternoon shoppers doesn’t count.” Paul argued. “Come on, you know you want to say yes. I’ll make my famous chilli.”

“Well in that case I’m definitely not coming, you chilli heathen.” Carlos joked and Paul good naturedly rolled his eyes.

“If I allow you to assist me in the kitchen, will you come? I’ll even let you disgrace my chilli with your nachos.”

Carlos laughed.

“Ok, fine, you can be my sous chef. Maybe I’ll even let you stir something.”

“You keep telling yourself that, Reyes.” Paul replied and clinked his beer bottle against Carlos’. “Oh and my roommate can help us out too.”

“Roommate? Since when do you have a roommate?”

Paul shrugged.

“A few weeks. The new guy at work I told you about.”

Carlos frowned, trying to remember any new guy Paul had mentioned.

“Tyler. From New York. He’s not going home for the holidays and he doesn’t really know anyone in Austin yet.” Paul clarified.

“Right. And you take in strays now?”

“He was living in some shitty backpackers hostel! I couldn’t let him stay there. The place is a health hazard. And I have a spare room anyway.” He shrugged. “It’s just until he’s found a place of his own. He’s a nice guy. Cleans up after himself. A lot of wrong opinions about pizza though. Come to think about it, you two would probably get on great. You can be wrong about food together!”

“Are you trying to set me up with your new roomie?”

“No, but you might like the guy. You both could do with some new friends.”

“I have friends!” Carlos protested and pointed his bottle at Paul. “I have you.”

“And if you and Tyler hit it off you could have two friends!”

Carlos shook his head and took a sip of his drink.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Oh no. No, I know what ‘I’ll think about it’ means in Carlos Reyes speak. It means ‘no but I don’t want to say it to your face.’”

“No, it means I’ll think about it. I might have plans… with Marco.”

“Oh the boyfriend?”

“He’s not my boyfriend.” Carlos insisted. “We’ve only been out a few times… I barely know him. Luisa set me up with him.”

Paul nodded.

“I remember. And you like him?”

Carlos pulled a face like the thought of admitting anything of the sort to Paul was causing him physical pain.

“I don’t know… He’s alright… He keeps asking about my job.”

“That’s what people do when they’re getting to know each other don’t they?”

“Well… yeah… but it’s all he talks about. I don’t even know what he does for a living.”

“So ask him.” Paul said simply and Carlos gave a huff in reply.

They spent the rest of the night talking about Paul’s party plans, and carefully avoiding the topic of Carlos’ love life. Which he was more than grateful for.

By the time the 24th came around, Carlos had struck a deal with his mother. He’d promised her he’d go to midnight mass with her and the rest of the family, and then spend the entire Christmas at the ranch with them, so he’d be able to go to Paul’s dinner party and help him cook in the afternoon.

They’d decided on a menu together, agreeing to stay away from any controversial dishes and just focusing on putting a nice meal together for their friends.

Carlos had managed to wrangle the guest list out of Paul, and he knew most people that would attend. All but one. The mysterious Tyler.

Paul had mentioned he’d be helping them prep and Carlos was curious about the guy. Apparently he’d moved to Texas after a break up, but Paul either didn’t know the details or didn’t feel like it was his place to share and hadn’t told him anything more.

Not even a last name, which meant Carlos couldn’t even casually run him through the system.

He parked his car outside of Paul’s building and grabbed the supplies he’d picked up from the backseat before making his way to the front door. He tried to shift the bags in his arms so he could ring the doorbell without dropping anything when someone jogged up to him.

“Wait, wait, wait! Let me get that for you.” The person said and reached around him to open the door with a key.

“Thanks…” Carlos mumbled and walked into the building, up to the elevator. The person followed him and pushed the button for him.

“What floor are you headed?” the guy asked when they stepped into the elevator.

“Uh four.”

“Me too. Do you need a hand with those bags? I can carry one for you.” The person offered. “I promise I won’t run off with them.”

Carlos chuckled and shifted one of the bags so the person could take it from him. He hadn’t been able to get a good look at them yet, just a flash of a silver grey jacket and brown hair, but when he moved the bag out of the way, he came face to face with easily the most beautiful man he’d ever seen.

“Thanks.” Carlos managed to say and the beautiful man smiled at him, making him even more beautiful.

“No problem. Do you live in this building too? I only moved in a couple of weeks ago, I don’t really know the neighbours yet.”

“Oh uh no… I’m just… visiting my friend.” Carlos stammered, mentally kicking himself for not being able to keep his cool around a cute guy. “He lives at number 425.”

“No way.”

“Uh…”

“You’re Carlos!” It was a statement, not a question.

“Uh…”

“I’m TK.” The beautiful man said as the elevator doors opened and they walked onto Paul’s floor. “Paul mentioned you would be coming over to help prepare for tonight.”

“I… oh… you… you work with Paul…” Carlos stammered.

“Yeah, and he lets me crash in his spare room until I’ve found my own place. You don’t happen to know of any apartments for rent that don’t cost a small fortune, do you?”

“No… sorry.”

“That’s too bad.” The beautiful man stopped outside of Paul’s door and put his key in the lock. “Hey, look who I ran into downstairs.” He called out to Paul when he walked into the apartment.

“Oh, great, you’ve already met. Saves me the introductions. Now let’s get to work, this meal won’t cook itself.” Paul said, clapping his hands to spur his friends on.

Carlos was put on chopping duties and did his best to focus on the task at hand. The three of them chatted a little while they worked, with mainly Paul and TK swapping work stories.

“Chicago FD could take NYFD.” Paul insisted and Carlos had no clue what they were talking about. “Hell they could take NYFD and AFD.”

TK laughed.

“Sure, sure.” He popped an olive into his mouth and Carlos was absolutely mesmerised by him. The way his eyes sparkled with mischief, the smile that never seemed to leave his face, the curve of his lips… the way they would feel against his own… the –

“Ow! Shit, shit, shit, damn it!” Carlos swore and sucked his finger into his mouth. “The knife slipped.”

TK wiped his hands on a dish towel and carefully pulled Carlos’ hand away from his mouth.

“I’m a paramedic.” He told him. “Let me see.”

“I’ll go get the first aid kit from the bathroom.” Paul announced but neither man even so much as acknowledged him.

“It’s nothing.” Carlos insisted.

“I’ll be the judge of that.” TK told him and guided him over to the sink to run his hand under the tap. “I don’t think it’s very deep.” He said after taking a closer look at the cut.” “I think a simple bandage will do.”

“Right… ok.”

“One first aid kit!” Paul said a little too loudly, dropping the box onto the kitchen table. “It cost me a small fortune so it better have everything you need.”   

TK nodded and grabbed a paper towel, pressing it to the cut in Carlos’ hand.

“Keep pressure on that while I get some gauze to wrap it up.”

“You really don’t have to go through all this trouble for me… it’s just a small cut. It’ll be fine.”

“Reyes will you just let the medic treat that damn hand instead of bleeding all over my kitchen?” Paul sighed. “Your boyfriend won’t be happy if we let you bleed out on the onions.”

Carlos winced and he saw TK freeze up for a few seconds.

Damn it.

“You have a boyfriend?” TK asked, trying to sound casual, not looking at him but digging through the med kit instead.

“No!” Carlos said, a little louder than strictly necessary.

“Oh no, we’re not allowed to use the B word.” Paul said, exasperated. “They’ve just been going on dates for like three months. That’s not boyfriend behaviour at all.”

“We broke up.” Carlos blurted out, almost desperate to see TK’s reaction.

“Oh, I’m sorry man.” Paul replied, giving him a sympathetic look.

“It’s fine. He… I… we uhm… it just wasn’t working. We wanted different things.” Carlos told them. He didn’t want to go into detail, but at the same time needed TK to know he did not have a boyfriend.

“Well at least you found out now and not during a romantic dinner with an engagement ring in your pocket.” TK said, removing the paper towel from Carlos’ hand and carefully putting a gauze pad on it.

“Y-yeah.” Carlos agreed, sensing there was a story behind TK’s comment but not wanting to pry.

TK wrapped up Carlos’ hand with the care and precision of someone treating an arterial bleed, when they both knew a simple band aid would have done the trick.

“How’s that?” he asked when he put the last piece of tape on the bandage. “Not too tight?”

“It’s perfect.”

They managed to get through the rest of the afternoon without any more injuries, and Carlos had managed to compose himself and function more or less like a normal person by the time the other guests started to arrive.

He knew most of them through work and in Nancy’s case from high school math and science. He enjoyed catching up with them but still his eyes were constantly drawn to TK.

And maybe he was imagining things, but it looked like TK was looking at him too.

“Hellooo, earth to Carlos.” Nancy waved a hand in front of his face. “I asked you a question.”

“What? Sorry… I kind of zoned out for a minute there.”

“Uhuh, I noticed. I was talking about the red vs blue baseball game.”

“What about it?”

“Are you playing? Who is on the APD team? I’m trying to scope out the competition.”

“I don’t know. It’s months away.”

“She’s got a whole file with stats on everyone on the FD team on her computer.” Marjan cut in. “And she’s trying to find out who’s playing for PD so she can put together the same kind of file for them.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being prepared! I just want to win next time.” Nancy argued. “TK, do you play baseball?”

“I was in little league. I was pretty good.” TK replied. “Well according to my mom and my step dad anyway.” He laughed a little and took a sip of his drink.

“Good enough for me. We’ll have to get you to the batting cages in the new year so I can see you play.” Nancy decided.

“Who died and made you coach of the FD team?” Paul asked and the two of them got into an argument that snowballed into a debate where somehow Paul’s girlfriend Asha ended up as some kind of referee.

Carlos however could only focus on TK. He was sitting on the other side of the table, leaning back in his chair, drink in hand and an amused look on his face. He’d gotten changed before dinner and he was wearing a dark sweater with stripes across the chest and a diamond stud in his ear.

Carlos’ mouth had gone dry at the sight of him and he’d felt severely under dressed in his simple button down shirt and jeans.

“Who wants dessert?” Asha asked the group, trying to steer the conversations to a safer topic.

“I’ll get it.” Carlos said quickly, happy to be able to escape the madness for a few minutes and get his head together.

“I’ll help.” TK said, getting up from the table too and following him to the kitchen. “How’s your hand?” he asked as Carlos started pulling bowls from the kitchen cupboard.

“Oh, it’s fine.” He flexed a few times. “I barely feel it.” He smiled. “You’re a great doctor.”

“Paramedic.” TK corrected him. “It’s not the same. But thank you.”

Carlos desperately wanted to keep talking to him but didn’t know what to say. He tried to scoop some ice cream into one of the bowls but barely managed to get anything out of the container and only ended up bending the spoon.

“I guess we should have remembered to take it out of the freezer earlier.”

“Yeah… I guess so.” TK agreed. “If you run the hot water and hold the spoon under it, it’ll be easier to scoop with.” He suggested. “Or… we could just wait.”

He stepped closer to Carlos in the tiny kitchen and his eyes flicked between the other man’s eyes and lips.

There was laughter coming from the living room and someone, probably Paul, had put on some music.

“Yeah, we could… do that. I don’t think they’re really desperate for that ice cream.”

TK smiled.

“I don’t think so either…”

The two of them stared at each other for what seemed like hours until they suddenly moved at the same time.

TK grabbed a fistful of Carlos’ shirt, while Carlos’ hands were on TK’s neck, pulling him into a desperate kiss.

He felt TK’s tongue running along his lips and Carlos happily opened his mouth for him.

They kissed, and kissed, and kissed and neither of them wanted to stop.

Carlos’ hands were firmly in TK’s hair, and TK had managed to undo some of the buttons on Carlos’ shirt. They were both breathless by the time they had to come up for air.

“I’ve wanted to do that all day.” TK admitted. “I was gutted when Paul said you had a boyfriend.”

“Don’t have one of those.” Carlos insisted. “I’m very single.”

“Yeah?”

“Absolutely.”

“How would you like to change that?”

[the-broken-truth]

JJK: The Body-Snatcher's Daughter [PLATONIC YANDERE] [FEMALE READER] [PART 1]

Summary: [Name] [Surname] had always been aware of her power, but she never acted upon it or embraced it. She lived her life as a typical teenage girl, going to school, hanging out with friends, and even looking for a part-time job to earn extra money. However, for the past few weeks, she had been feeling as though someone was watching her, and she had caught sight of a familiar face in the crowd. What will happen when she encounters that face during a lunch outing on a Saturday afternoon?

Broken: I don't know everything about Jujutsu Kaisen, so please bear with me.

[Tokyo - Kawasaki City: The [Surname] Estate]

"Here is your allowance." [Name's] Father called out to his daughter before she headed out the door, holding some bills out to her. She looked at the bills before looking into her father's eyes.

"Dad, I have a part-time job and I already got paid yesterday. I don't need an allowance anymore." [Name] explained to her father as she adjusted her satchel around her shoulder.

"I know you have a part-time job, but, I think it would be best if you had a little bit of extra spending money for your outings. After all, you never know if you might see something you want or run into your friends & you decide to treat them to lunch or shopping." Her father smiled at her, causing [Name] to exhale before taking the money, pulling her wallet out of her satchel, placing the additional money inside, and returning it to her satchel before looking at her father's face; he knew what he was doing when he smiled like that, he knew that she couldn't resist his requests when he smiled like that.

"You can be very manipulative when you want to be, Dad." [Name] exhaled, causing her father to chuckle at his daughter's words.

"Only for the best reasons, My Black Pearl." [Name's] Father smiled before his face turned serious before peering into his daughter's black eyes from behind his glasses, "Can you feel anything nearby?"

"No, sir. I'm not picking up on any strange auras today. There are some weaker ones in the city, but none of them are hostile at the moment. I think it will be safe for me to head out." [Name] explained with a serious glare.

"Are you currently repressing your aura?" Her Father asked her, causing his daughter to nod.

"Yes. I've been keeping it repressed for about 3 Days; my aura is constantly getting stronger but I have been able to hide the signature it radiates. No one is going to attack me... Again." [Name] said while looking at the ground before exhaling and turning back to face her father, "Did you hear from Mom, yet?"

"Your Mother is going to be returning in a week; you know how serious she is with her work, but she did swear that she was going to be back in time for your birthday." Her Father smiled.

"She really works too hard... I wish she would take a break sometimes." [Name] exhaled but her father waved her off with a smile on his face, dismissing her concern.

"I've been trying to convince her since we got married...so that's not gonna happen anytime soon." Her Father smiled.

"True..." [Name] turned on her heel and walked towards the door, "See you later, Dad. I have my phone and power bank on me. Call me if you need anything.".

"Have fun, Dear." He called out as she opened the door, stepped outside, and closed it behind her before going to complete his own work.

As [Name] knew that her father had returned to his office to finish his work, she pulled out the key from her pocket and locked the door. Her family lived in the forest, about 5 miles away from the city. The wall surrounding her family's estate and the tall trees of the forest that surrounded her childhood home, greeted her as she turned around. To reach the city, [Name] had to take the bus. Fortunately, there was a bus stop right outside the path that led to the main road.

[Name] placed her hands in her pockets before walking out of the estate, through the forest via the stone path, and to the bus stop before sitting down on the stone bench as before pulled her phone out of her pocket, and scrolled through it mindlessly as she waited for the bus to arrive.

That's when a familiar ping went through her mind, causing her to look up from her phone and start looking around her; she could feel that someone was watching her, but all she could see was the forest, bushes, and road. A frown came to her face as her keen ears picked up on the sound of the bus coming. She looked around one more time before reaching into her jacket pocket to retrieve her bus card just as the massive form of transportation stopped in front of her, and opened its doors to allow her on. She entered the bus, paid for her trip, and sat in the first free seat she could find; unable to shake the feeling that someone was watching her.

[Location Change: Kawasaki City]

The sound of multiple shoes hitting the concrete sidewalks combined with the rolling tires on the main road filled [Name's] ears as she walked down the sidewalk with her black eyes forward and her hands secured in the pockets of her jacket; it was a rather chilly afternoon, regardless of the high-noon sun.

Thanks to her mindless scrolling, she learned that the nearby Tech Shop was making a bundle deal with some of their more desired parts with a 50% discount with the purchase of 30,845 Yen ($200 - If my math is correct) or more; she has been meaning to update her drawing tablet and computer for a while now, no time like the present.

[Name] headed to the Tech Shop and flagged down an employee to aid her; she was looking for new equipment and the bundle mentioned. She ended up spending over 77,113 Yen ($500 - Once again, if my math is correct) as she picked her new tablet in her satchel; making sure to purchase a 3-Year Protection Plan on all her parts. She walked out of the shop and pulled out her wallet, she noticed she had 3084.53 Yen ($20) to spend on lunch and decided to get something quick. She noticed her favorite burger place was across the street and used the crosswalk to cross the street, but that feeling had returned: Someone was watching her. She pretended not to notice and started scanning the crowd for anyone who seemed out of place to her when her eyes landed on something...familiar.

A man was standing on the other side of the street, dressed in a black suit with a high collar. His hair was long and black with a high bun in the back; the only thing that seemed out of place to him was the scar going across his forehead, it reminded her of stitching for some reason.

What's more: This man was looking at her and she confirmed this when the smirk on his face grew the moment their eyes met; he wanted her to know that he was watching her. She narrowed her eyes at him before turning her gaze to look ahead as she made it to the other end of the street and turn away from him to head into the burger place.

[Name] placed her order and paid the cashier for a simple large cheeseburger meal with a [Favorite Drink] with 3 cookies on the side. The cashier gave her a receipt and she stood off to the side until her number was called. She took her food and walked to a nearby booth with 2 seats that were out of the way since everywhere else was taken; it was lunch hour after all. She unwrapped her burger and was about to take about bite when a voice called out to her from directly in front of her.

"That looks delicious."

[Name's] Black Eyes looked away from her burger and locked eyes with him - the man who was watching her earlier and it was that same feeling; she had been feeling it for a week.

"Can I help you with something?" [Name] asked in a calm but clearly annoyed voice.

"Yes. You can stop suppressing your power from me; it's getting rather hard to find you since you are getting so good at concealing your Cursed Energy from me." The man said, his head resting on the fist he had against his cheek while that arm's elbow was resting on the table.

"Cursed Energy? What the hell are you talking about?" [Name] asked with a raised eyebrow but the man chuckled at her words.

"I'm sure you don't know what it's called, but I know that you are aware of your power; you have so much of it and you've become adapted to concealing it to prevent people like me from finding you. However, I know you can feel it; you know who I am... Don't you, [Name]?" He asked with a smile on his face and a 'tender' look in his eyes.

"You're the one who has been following me for weeks." [Name] answered and, once again, he smiled at her with a chuckle.

"Able to detect my Cursed Energy from everyone else's already? You're more advanced than I thought you would be at this age. Then again... I shouldn't expect anything less from my own daughter." He said, making [Name's] eyes get wide.

"What did you say?" [Name] hissed out.

"You heard me. How else would I know your name and this is the first time we talked?" He questioned with a head tilt before stating, "I'm the one who named you."

"Just... Just who the hell are you?" [Name] questioned, trying to keep her calm and not draw attention to herself.

"I am the JuJitsu Sorcerer, Kenjaku. In your case, I am your 3rd Parent. You can call me 'Father' if you want." He smiled at her, expecting her to freak out and ask him questions.

She was silent for a moment before she spoke, "Are you on drugs or something?"

"Pardon?" Kenjaku asked with wide eyes, surprised at what she just said," I don't think that's how you should speak to your own father, [Name]." Kenjaku said.

"Yeah. You're on drugs." With that, [Name] rewrapped her burger and walked over to the counter, got a takeout bag, and placed her food inside before taking her drink and leaving the burger place; leaving a very shocked JuJitsu Sorcerer sitting at the table.

"Kids these days... No respect for their elders." Kenjaku said before standing up and leaving as well, but he couldn't find [Name] anywhere, "She's fast."

[END]

[goodbuckcharlie]

Captain’s keeper | Nico Hischier

Summary: Nico surprises his girlfriend at her work much to her and her students’ excitement.

Warnings : I didn’t proof read this and I wrote it fast. Also no use of Y/N instead I use the name Baylee.

Notes : I don’t know how Nico or the devils act irl but this is how I imagine him. Also I know the devils didn’t play tonight ,but let’s say they did.

February 29th, the day that only happens every four years. It also just so happened to be the birthday of Nico Hischier’s lover. Baylee was turning 24 ,well technically 6, but that’s all a technicality. Unfortunately, she still had to teach, and Nico had a game, so the two couldn’t spend a lot of the day together. Nico tried to convince her to take the day off , but she insisted she had to be there for her speech and debate team who had a competition coming up. So, this forced Nico to get a little creative.

The morning started pretty early as normal, with Nico getting ready for practice, and Baylee doing her morning grading, since she refuses to spend her nights grading ,cause that time was reserved for Nico. But this morning, instead of Baylee waking up while Nico was in the shower, she was surprisingly woken up with her handsome boyfriend making breakfast.

“Good morning schatz.” Baylee hugs her boyfriend from behind. She is obviously much shorter than he is, so she has to wiggle her head under his arm to see what he was making. The girl can’t help , but smile like the Cheshire Cat when she sees that Nico had made two instagram worthy, smoothie bowls. Baylee was never a fan of traditional breakfast food like eggs, pancakes, or waffles ,so to see her lover put the extra time and effort into to her breakfast melts her heart. “Happy birthday my love.”

“Awe Neeks, it’s perfect.” Their eyes meet for the first time this morning, and they share a smile, before sharing a quick kiss. Baylee lets go of her hold on Nico, so the two can enjoy their breakfast.

“So, birthday girl, what do you have planned for today?” Nico asks with genuine curiosity.

“Well the first 5 periods are my ap Euro classes , so I was just planning on giving them a free day to catch up on work, and study for the ap exams.” It was only her second year teaching, and the school had already trusted her to teach an ap (advanced placement) class. This was mainly because the past teacher had retired, and she was the only person who was willing to take on this responsibility. “And then a few of the other teachers had planned a mini birthday party during 6th period cause that’s my lunch time. Nothing big. Then of course 7th period, I have to work with the debaters to add the finishing touches to their debates. They are so close to getting it, but they just barely miss the mark.”

“Well, good thing for them. They have the best coach money can buy.” Baylee rolls her eyes and chuckles. It was only her first year as the debate team coach, but the team had already won a few awards at local tournaments. But, in Baylee’s opinion she had nothing to do with the team’s success. It was purely her team’s natural talent.

“Neeks, I love the support, but I am few years out from being the best.”

The two continue to have a conversation as they eat their breakfast as a normal couple does. But sadly they both have to get ready for their day and go to work. Normally they carpool to work, with Nico dropping her off and picking her up, but on game days and during roadies, Nico gets a ride with Jack. They both adore their morning rides together, soft music playing and the loving embrace of the lover before dealing with the reality of work. Sadly, today was not one of those days.

Baylee leaves before Jack gets there (much to Jack’s disapproval) so she can work on some class prep for next week. This way she has more time to spend with Nico on Saturday.

During the school day, Baylee’s students and staff had showered her with love and gifts. They all tried to make this day very special for her. Baylee was over the moon to spend her birthday with her students, she just wishes Nico could be here too.

“Okay students settle down. Nicole please sit down. You can talk to your friends in one moment, if you give me just three minutes of your time.” Luckily, the teenager doesn’t give Baylee any hassle ,and she goes straight to her seat. The best part about being an ap teacher is that the students are more well behaved than normal teenagers. Don’t get me wrong they have their day too, they are still teenagers, but not nearly as bad as normal classes. “For my birthday I decided to give you guys a present, for today and tomorrow, you guys get to have a free day. I do encourage you to study for test next week, I am allowing you guys to do what you like. As long as it’s safe ,not too loud, and you don’t leave the classroom. One last thing, all late penalties have been suspended for the next two days, this means you guys can turn in any late work without a late penalty until the end of the day tomorrow.”

The classroom fills with excitement, which Baylee has to gesture for every one to settle down. This was her last class of the day before her break period and then it was time for debate. Luckily, Baylee only had a few more lesson plans and then she would have a whole weekend of free time to spend with Nico.

Little did she know, Nico was able to convince the team to end practice early and so he could surprise Baylee at work. Not only was he able to end practice early, he also was able to drag along a few of the guys to help surprise his girl.

Nico along with Jack, Luke, Jasper, and Dawson, got into the school with the help of Baylee’s coworkers. The boys had brought a raspberry cheesecake from her favorite cafe, which Luke almost dropped walking up the stairs.

Meanwhile, Baylee was talking to one of her speech and debate students the just so happened to also be in her 5th period class.

“You see that line you wrote right there? I really like how you wrote it down, but your delivery sounds fake,” She was currently coaching over the speech the student had wrote for the next tournament, “You can say the most ridiculous thing in the world with a mountain of confidence, and you would sound more believable than if you said something intelligent with 0 confidence.”

“Thanks Miss. Buck that helps a lot.” The student grabs her things with a smile and head back to her seat. Suddenly there is a knock at the door.

“Micheal can you grab that bud?” The student closest to the door, stands up and opens the door. Just as luck has it, Micheal was on the school’s varsity hockey team and was a huge devils fan. So imagine the boy’s surprise when he sees not one, not two, but five players from his favorite team.

Baylee’s heart drops when she hears Micheal shout “Oh my god, no way.”

With fear and curiosity for her student, she rushes to the door ready to protect the child, but what she was greeted with was no threat. It was her loving boyfriend and his teammates. This also makes Micheal’s reaction make more sense.

“Neeks what are you doing here?!” She pulls her boyfriend into a hug, but not without hearing Luke’s audible scoff.

“What are we? Chopped liver?” Baylee laughs off his sassiness and gives each one of the guys their own hugs. She invites the guys to come into her classroom, which of course causes chaos to consume the teens. Teenage girls giggling about how hot the hockey players were, and other students who were starstruck by the players.

Luke places the cheesecake on her desk where he sees a picture of Baylee and Nico after a game with Jack and him photo bombing in the back.

“I can’t believe you are here!” Baylee pulls Nico into another hug , just to make sure he was really there, and not a figure of her imagination.

“Of course, I have to make sure my girl is having an amazing birthday.”

“You mean our girl.” Jack says while peaking his head out from behind Nico.

“Yeah our girl.” Dawson adds with a teasing smirk.

“Next time you two wait in the car.”

“Miss Buck?” Baylee’s attention is moved to her student. “I hate to interrupt ,but can you help me direct me to the pages in the text book where we will be going over for next week’s test.”

She quickly excuses herself before helping her students quickly before going back to the hockey players. During the 10 minutes she was gone, some of the students had the players hockey related questions.

Nico watches Baylee and basically gawks at her as she teachers with such care and devotion. Of course this doesn’t go unnoticed by the guys, but they decide to chirp their captain later rather than doing it around a bunch of teens.

Suddenly, three students come up to Nico with very serious expressions.

“So Mr Hischier, what are your intentions with our teacher?” Nico is taken back by the teens’ abrupt tone. But his teammates all start laughing to themselves. “Miss. Buck is one of the realest of Jersey and yet you haven’t put a ring on that finger? Ain’t no way.”

“Damn cap, even the kids are wondering.” The team has always chirped Nico for waiting so long to propose to Baylee.

“Miss Baylee deserves, the biggest most beautiful wedding in the world and yet here she is weddingless.” The teenage girl at the end of the group points at Baylee who is distracted helping another student. “Tell me that she wouldn’t absolutely slay in a white wedding dress..”

Despite not fully understanding the students “hip lingo” ,Nico looks at Baylee and all he sees is her in a floor length dress, nothing too fancy since Baylee wasn’t a flashy girl, with her hair all done and her looking absolutely breathtaking. (An image he has thought of way too often) And he can’t help, but fall in love again.

“Jessie, Tony, and Angela leave Nico alone. You look like you broke the poor boy.” Baylee’s voice broke him from his gaze.

“We’re just standing on business Miss B.” The three kids take their seats.

“Don’t mind them babe, those are some of my debate students, I told them I wanted them to be more intimidating in their speech and clearly that worked too well.” Baylee guides the five men back out to the hallway , so they can have more privacy. “Thank you guys so much.”

“Anything for our captain’s keeper.” Nico groans in annoyance at his teammates nickname for Baylee. The other four guys bid their goodbyes to Baylee before leaving the lovers alone for a second.

“I know it wasn’t much Schatz, but given the circumstances, I hope you enjoyed your surprise.”

“Oh I definitely enjoyed it.” Baylee gives Nico a small kiss while still staying work appropriate since anyone can see her in the hallway. “I mean not as much as Micheal did, you guys totally made his day.”

The two laugh share a laugh for a second. When their laughter died down, their eyes locked again.

“I’ll see you after the game tonight okay Schatz?”

“Of course captain, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” The two share one more kiss before she sends Nico away knowing that the bells is about the ring and that will cause the hallways to fill with students.

When she renters her classroom, her students all look at her blushing face. The students can’t help, but feel happy seeing the teacher that brings them so much joy, be so happy.

End note: so this was just a small little blurb I wrote real quickly just to test the waters on here and see how I feel about posting on here. This is the first ever post I am making on tumblr so feel free to let me know what you think. Constructive criticism only please :) and also let me know if you guys would be interested in reading more about Baylee and Nico in more detailed stories that I put more effort into.

[anticomedygarden]

"Would you quit looking at everyone like that?" Will said exasperatedly. "You're scaring people."

Nico didn't even try to control his scowl as he studied each of Will's classmates. It could be any one of them, really, since Will had stuck a bi pride pin on his backpack for anyone to see. (Not that he had a problem with the flag, obviously, but when half the room was clearly leering at his boyfriend...maybe he had a problem with it.) "If you just told me which one-"

"No," Will interrupted, fiddling with something on the chair. The two were at a blood drive in the cafeteria of Will's school, and Will, being a med student, had to work it along with several kids in the same program, giving Nico a perfect chance keep Will company. "I'm not telling you who was hitting on me."

"Why?" Nico thought it was a fair question, him being the boyfriend and all.

"'Cause I prefer my classmates unmurdered, thanks."

"I wouldn't murder anyone," he grumbled.

"Tell that to your face."

Somehow, he resisted the urge to give Will the finger.

Around them, doctor's office chairs were occupied by generous people hooked up to machines taking their blood. Will's was the only empty chair.

So maybe it was Nico's fault.

He worked on unclenching his jaw, and within a few minutes, someone approached them.

Will smiled and pulled out a clipboard. "Hi! Are you here to give blood?"

The blonde woman smiled. "Yes."

"Awesome! Go ahead and sit down. I have a few questions to ask you."

She maneuvered herself into the chair awkwardly, glancing at Nico a couple times. "Is this confidential?"

Will nodded. "Of course."

She looked at Nico again. "What about him?"

Nico waved a hand. "I'm gonna go get a drink."

Without waiting, he walked through the cafeteria and out into the hallway to wander around for a bit. There were very few people in the hall, even for a Saturday, so he was able to explore unhindered. He passed a lot of classrooms (obviously), several with anatomical models, a couple with actual full skeletons, and one with the distinct smell of formaldehyde wafting from it, a smell he probably shouldn't be able to identify so easily. For how much everybody considered him and Will to be opposites, their domains really weren't all that different, honestly.

In one hallway, there was a big floor-to-ceiling window through which he saw some pigeons absolutely going at it, the city skyline a simple background to the showdown of the century as the birds flapped their wings menacingly and pecked and jabbed at each other. Just when the fight was getting good and Nico thought they could be monsters in disguise, they just flew off, disappearing into the cloudy expanse above.

Well. They couldn't all be epic Greek demigods.

At some point, he found a vending machine and bought himself some chips and a bag of Doritos to take back to Will, and, checking the time, started making his way back to the cafeteria.

When he got there, Will brightened considerably across the room, which made Nico pretty happy. Take that, mystery person.

There was nobody in the chair, so Nico walked right up to him. "Hey, Sunshine."

"Hey." Will grabbed his wrist in a latexed hand. "Are those Doritos?"

Nico laughed. "Yeah, but you can't have them until you wash your hands. Germs." He wiggled his fingers.

Will wrinkled his nose. "Fine. Hey, as long as you're here, why don't I take your blood?"

Nico looked at him oddly but got in the chair. "I thought you couldn't use our blood because of the ichor?"

"That's not what I need it for."

Incredibly confused, Nico narrowed his eyes, wondering if this was some kind of modern thing he didn't know about. "What?"

Will continued getting him ready for the blood draw. "Do you know how much blood your reckless ass loses weekly? It's good to have it on hand."

Nico blinked at him, then offered his arm. "Um. Alright."

Which was how, ten minutes later, Nico ended up shoving two bags of his own blood into his inner jacket pocket, hoping nobody was watching.

"I better not get arrested for this," Nico muttered, because even in this completely ridiculous, stupid-as-shit situation, he never even considered not covering for Will.

"You'll be fine," Will said as packed up his station. Apparently, it was time to go. "That's what the mist is for." Even so, he glanced around, checking for eyes among the other med students getting ready to leave for the day. Then, satisfied, he stood and offered Nico his hand. "Ready to go?"

Nico took it, lacing their fingers together. "Yep."

Together, they walked out the doors into the sweet free air.

[cher-rei]

afterglow pt- 14 [ T.A.A ]

pairings: trent alexander arnold x fem!reader

summary: young and aspiring marketing and business major jamie carter (you) is privileged with working alongside the liverpool marketing and public relations team while also getting entangled with their star player and right back, trent alexander arnold.

genre(s): friends to lovers, workplace romance, fluff, slowish burn

[wc: 4.8k] masterlist

notes: time to meet the in-laws heheeh

previous next

the sound of his parents chatting in the kitchen caught trent's attention. he didn't expect them to still be at home seeing as it was a saturday. they were often out together, shopping or just taking a drive to a museum just to get some fresh air.

and judging by their expressions when they saw their son come downstairs fully dressed as if he had somewhere to be, they thought the same. diane set down her coffee on the table and nudged her husband as well.

trent stood frozen for a moment, unsure of the reason for their looks of shock. "what's wrong?" he asked, checking himself to see if it was an issue with his outfit.

michael, his father, stifled a laugh and turned his attention back to his breakfast which left the stare off to diane who had the faintest idea of what the occasion was. it's been like this for weeks now, the same routine of trent coming home late or leaving early in the morning.

sure he was a grown man, but diane knew her son and it was out of character. "do you mind me asking where you're off to?"

trent shrugged his shoulders, shoving his phone back into his pocket. "jamie has some errands to run today, so I'm tagging along."

the familiar name made diane smile. she craned her neck to get a better look at trent who had just blatantly lied to her. he could of just said that you were going on a date, there was really no reason to hide it and he knew that.

it's just that you weren't official yet so he didn't know whether to properly call it a date, or mention to his family that you were possibly the best thing that's ever happened to him. during supper he always had to refrain from gushing over something that you said, or making it obvious that he had feelings for you.

he was merely being careful and didn't want to give himself and his family false hope. was it eating him up on the inside? definitely. but he kept it up, and tried to mellow his emotions until you were ready.

"you know what's funny?" diane said, causing trent to shake his head. "I keep on hearing about jamie but--" she looked around the kitchen and made a gesture to the empty space. "--I never see her."

trent couldn't hold back his groan, his frustration mixing with the sound of his father's amused laughter. "mum, there's no reason for you to see her." he said honestly, a hint of apprehension slipping through his tone.

diane pulled a face. "since when am I not allowed to see your girlfriend?"

trent's heart dropped, his immediate reaction being to cover his face in embarrassment. "she's not my girlfriend, how many times--"

"oh wow." she threw her hands into the air with an exasperated laugh. "it's dua lipa all over again."

the mention of the pop star sent trent into a spiral, his words lodged into the back of his throat while his mother complained to her husband who was trying his best to stay neutral.

"remember dua lipa, michael?" she hit his arm. "we had to find out about her through an article."

"we've been over this, I've never even met dua lipa." he leant against one of the cabinets and rubbed his temples to calm himself down.

it was a few years ago when the rumour began to spread out of nowhere. a few of them said that he was dating the singer, but the vast majority were convinced that he rejected her. where they got that information from? he had no idea.

"so is she better than dua lipa?" michael spoke up, a ghost of a smile hiding behind his coffee mug. he loved to tease his son like this, usually he was the neutral party but not today.

a few muttered words left trent's mouth, incoherent as he tried to figure out what to say. his frustration was on the brink of boiling over and it was evident in the blush on his cheeks. he felt cornered, trapped even though he could just leave. but he didn't.

maybe this is what he needed. enough pressure to finally make the girl he'd been head over heels to light. "I mean she's..." he awkwardly scratched the nape of his neck. "she's nice."

diane's eyebrow quirked. "nice? that's something you say about a dessert, not your girlfriend."

this prompted trent to roll his eyes, not being able to find the words that were resting on the tip of his tongue. "she's a lot of things, okay? a lot of good things."

"oh," it was his fathers turn to lean closer. "so she is your girlfriend?"

"what? no I--"

"yes, you did."

"why don't you invite her over for lunch tomorrow?"

so many things. so many things were being at the same time and it felt as if his head was about to explode. here he was— a grown man being interrogated about his love life. it was all too much and be was beginning to feel overwhelmed.

bring you over for lunch?? with his entire family being here?? INCLUDING HIS BROTHERS?? what were they thinking?

the last thing that he wanted to do was make you feel uncomfortable or rushed and as much as a small part of his softened at the thought of you meeting his family, his logic knew what was right.

so before he burst into tears in front of his parents he covered his ears and darted out the front door straight to his car. he was sure that they were still calling out for him but he needed to be gone. away from all that apprehension.

"are you sure that it's okay for us to be going out in public like this?"

that question had been sitting at the back of your mind ever since he picked you up, and now that you were nearly at the café it only worsened. ever since the efl final, you've felt a little more cautious about your presence— not just with trent but with the team in general.

your question made trent frown. "I mean it's bound to happen eventually." he watched from the corner of your eye and you fiddled with the clip of your hand bag, a soft "uh huh" leaving your lips.

"are you okay?" his hands caught yours for a gentle squeeze which only managed to supply half of the reassurance you needed. "you've been awfully quiet lately."

your pulse quickened at his observation and managed to bring a small but noticeable smile to your lips. "yeah it's just--" you let out a heavy sigh. "--you know how people are and I don't want this to cause a scene."

almost as if it were planned, trent parked the car not too far from the café, and immediately unbuckled his seatbelt to face you properly. he searched your uneasy expression for answers while you shuffled in your seat, your cheeks growing warm.

"jamie," he said softly, gaining your attention. "is this about the interview last week?"

your expression depicted an ease you didn't necessarily feel, uncomfortable with his ability to figure you out so well. you could have lied and said no, but trent's gaze was intense in a way that you couldn't bring yourself to hide anything.

your composure was under attack, so you simply nodded. trent's expression grew still and serious, not having thought that the post match interview a week ago would've gotten to you, and neither did you.

you were headstrong, the type to not let the words of others cut deep enough to fracture your demeanor but this gnawed at your confidence.

it happened for the past few days, where you'd find your thoughts trialling back to that evening as you stood in the press room not too far from the back as jurgen and virgil were interviewed respectively. it was going as per normal until your name slipped from jurgen's mouth.

you weren't paying much attention until then.

"she was rather rowdy today from the bench," the reporter prompted and your shoulders tensed, not catching the way that jurgen's brows drew together in an angry frown but the reporter continued. "this happens often. what is it like having her around during matches? she's not a part of the team so does it cause any issues?"

issues? was there a line that you crossed?

jurgen was quick with his answer but the hint of anger in his tone was clear despite his chuckle. "jamie likes to be part of the action, she's always standing on the touchline with me and asking questions. she's very passionate about the sport and it's nice to see that she cares."

the reporter opened his mouth again to further his question but jurgen cut him off, his gaze intense which contraindicated the smile he adorned. "If I had the choice I'd say she should take after me when I resign."

that wasn't even the worst, the entire press conference you felt targeted as if everyone was watching you with more criticism than usual. you were used to the attention but this was suffocating— and it had gotten to you unfortunately.

trent's gaze softened, cupping your chin. "you did nothing wrong. they were just prying for something and didn't get what they wanted."

"they said I'm too intense." you stiffened with a heavy sigh mimicking the weight on your chest. "I think that I need to take a few steps back, trent."

"well you're thinking wrong," he said, his voice raising a bit at your absurd idea. "we love you when you're screaming on the touchline, we love you when you're dragging us to do stupid tiktoks for the supporters, and we sure as hell love you when you give us the energy we need."

you bit your lip to stifle a grin, letting trent's lecture settle in the air for a moment. "you think my tiktoks are stupid?"

an easy smile played at the corners of his mouth and he leant forward, his lips grazing yours as he spoke. "very."

the feeling of trent's lips gently melting into yours lifted an immense weight from your shoulders. the sensation sent your thoughts spinning, any doubts vanishing almost immediately until you pulled away, breathless.

when the two of you finally entered the café— the whole reason for this entire trip, you were pleasantly surprised to see that there were fewer people than you expected. trent casually took the liberty of ordering, happy to know that you trusted him enough to know what you liked.

you picked out a spot at the back of the café, a few tables away from the window so you weren't spotted too easily. just in case. as you settled, trent couldn't help but notice the way that the soft light from the window and how it danced on your features.

he smiled. feeling grateful for the moment of peace despite what happened in the car. he knew better than anyone than this being a dangerous idea, that no matter how well known that you were, it was only bound to ruin your image if certain people saw you together.

trent has had his fair share of crazy or delusional fans that took it a step too far on more than one occasion, and it was one of the main reasons that he kept his social life as private as possible. but not with you. it was impossible in every way.

but that didn't mean that he was going to back off.

his attention was drawn back to you began uncontrollably giggling from the seat opposite him.

"what's so funny?" he asked, trying to peak over at your screen.

you teasingly held the phone out of his reach, a playful smile etched on your lips with the twinkle in your eyes. "just sofía. pablo walked in on her changing."

trent raised an eyebrow. "they're still living together? I thought that they would've killed each other by now," he joked and you nodded your head.

"alex says that they're bound to crack under pressure any day now."

your comment had trent fighting back his laughter, mostly agreeing with the statement seeing as their personalities classed and complimented each other's in the best way possible. he didn't know much about them, but with the stories that you've told him, they needed to get a room.

when your desserts arrived your eyes lit up immediately and almost instinctively your hand reached for your phone and opened the camera. trent was just about to taint his cake when you slapped his hand away.

his eyes widened at the harsh act, looking to you with his lips parted. "what did I do?"

you rolled your eyes and continued to take pictures of the food, making sure to get every angle possible. "it's like you've never had a girlfriend before," you muttered in slight irritation.

trent on the other hand couldn't let the comment slip by, his lips tugging up into a smile. "oh? so you're my girlfriend now?"

your body tensed immediately, unable to look him in the eye as he held your flustered state under his playful gaze. the heat rushed to your cheeks quicker than you expected and to save yourself the embarrassment you remained silent to prevent stuttering.

it hadn't even been a month yet but you were definitely ready to jump into whatever he wanted. you couldn't bring yourself to say it though and decided to wait until he brought it up. which was now apparently.

after a bit of forced laughter, you scoffed. "nobody said that I wanted to cancel my trial. yet. you haven't done anything to chase me away yet either, so at least there's hope."

he rolled his eyes at your quip and watched as you continued to eat your cake, your mouth moving as you talked to him but nothing registered. instead his mother's voice sounded through his mind.

it was now or never.

"would meeting my parents be enough to chase you away?"

spamjam._.

liked by trentarnold66, sophiaamelia and 3 292 125 others

spamjam._. girlfriend core ☕️💍

view all comments

user my girlfriend core

→ user watch sofía spawn out of nowhere just to tell you stay in your lane 😭

→ fía.messi stay in your lane.

→ user I'm howling 🤣😭🤣😭🤣😭

trentarnold66 free trial coming to an end core 💍

→ spamjam._. stfu 😃

sophiaamelia if gorgeous was a person 🎀

→ spamjam._. have you seen yourself??

saffiekhan we were supposed to go to that café together!! you absolute traitor 😃

→ spamjam._. well I'm sorry that you had a date with your BOYFRIEND

→ saffiekhan this isn't about him!

→ curtisjr I don't even know why I try at this point tbh 👎🏼

"no way you got my mum flowers," trent said in awe when you got into the car, the vibrant colours of the assorted bouquet set on your lap.

you buckled your seatbelt and gave him a knowing look at the absurd remark. "of course I did. what do you take me for? an animal?"

the footballer didn't bother responding to the question and scoffed, leaning forward to kiss your cheek before heading back to his house, where his family were gathered for sunday lunch as usual.

at the café yesterday, he wasn't sure what overcame him when he asked you to join them as his mother suggested, but something swelled in his heart when you happily agreed. there was a glint of excitement and disbelief in your eyes that he couldn't help but reprocicate.

and even if you were anxious (which you definitely were) you hid it well enough for trent to feel at ease too. the two of you shared one last look of reassurance before getting out of the car and leaping head-first into something that would either be a mistake or just what you both needed.

you felt his hand slip into yours and give it a light squeeze to ease your nerves, finally opening his front door. you were familiar with his house, just not when there were other people besides the two of you inside.

a wave of nausea washed over you when you stepped into the foyer, trent's hand not letting go of yours even when his mother caught you both before you could walk any further.

the woman adorned a gleaming smile at the sight of you st her son's side, even better that he was holding onto you for dear life. "hello, jamie sweetheart," she greeted with her arms out for a hug. "it's so good to see you again."

you let go of trent's hand and gave into her embrace with an even bigger smile knowing that she was actually happy to see you. "hi, diane. it's good to see you too."

from a few steps back, trent watched with lovestruck eyes and his heart pounding in his chest at the exchange between the two of you. the look on his mother's face was so familiar— the same glint of comfort and adoration she had for him and the rest of his family.

he watched as you handed her the bouquet with diane nearly bursting into tears at the kind gesture. trent couldn't tell if he was overwhelmed or simply in love, ready to get down on knee right then and there. but it was only when the two of you walked further into the house and he was left behind in the foyer that his mother's greeting registered in his mind.

it's so good to see you again.

he didn't have time to ponder on it however and made a beeline for the living room where the rest of his family were. tyler and marcel were standing in front of the television, playfully arguing about something that didn't matter. his father was sitting on the sofa beside tyler's girlfriend olivia who had her daughter resting on her lap.

it was nothing out of the ordinary but trent couldn't find the words lodged in his throat, only managing to watch you greet the rest of his family members who were more than delighted to meet you.

you were familiar with tyler and marcel after having run into them a few times at matches, but this was your first time meeting olivia. the happily handed her daughter over to her father-in-law to stand up and properly greet you with a hug, complimenting your outfit before you could compliment hers.

"and this angel must be aura," you cooed and bent down slightly to tickle her stomach earning a slight giggle from the infant. "there's not a second that goes by where your uncle isn't talking about you and I can see why."

you look up at olivia with a smile. "I love her name. it's gorgeous."

she waved her hand in front of her face at the compliment again. "thank you. it's been in my notes app since I was in year 10."

your lips parted at the familiar answer and you immediately reached for your phone. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours..."

"shut up, deal. tyler watch aura, jamie and I are heading to the kitchen to help with lunch," olivia said hurriedly took you by the hand and led you to the kitchen without further discussion.

you didn't even spare trent a final look before you were swept away, the comfort finally setting in around the family. trent was still stood silent in the archway of the living room, watching as your figure disappeared further into the house as your laughter rung through the air along with olivia's.

"ew, he's in love," tyler commented with a face of disgust, completely disregarding the fact that he had a girlfriend and a daughter.

the afternoon progressed smoothly with you and olivia helping diane in the kitchen (you spent a good 40 minutes talking about absolute nonsense). it got to the point where you forgot that trent was somewhere in the living room.

"you've never been?"

olivia shook her head at your question and sighed. "I haven't had the time. aura is literally all I see 24/7."

a small frown took place on your lips. "leave her with tyler for a few hours. I'll tell you when I'm free and we can try it out. I'll make it my mission that you see the light of day again."

the rest of the afternoon was filled with laughter and getting to know each other. your main fear was that you were going to be interrogated about every single part of your life, but it was nothing like that. instead, the questions were out of genuine intrigue.

"have you always wanted to venture into sports marketing?" michael asked, from one end of the dinner table and you eagerly nodded.

"I wanted to work in the industry one way or another," you said with a genuine smile. "I wasn't too keen on journalism, so when I started gaining a following online I thought that I might as well put it to good use."

michael hummed in acknowledgement and looked at trent with a smile from beside you. "well if you hadn't then I'm sure you wouldn't be sitting here right now."

diane laughed at her husband's comment, taking notice of the blush on her son's face as his brothers teased him. the entire afternoon she couldn't help but watch in awe at how he acted around you.

it made her heart ease knowing that he acted comfortably around you, how he could joke and tease you with you doing it back with just as much playfulness. even at the dinner table, when you spoke he couldn't keep his eyes off you and listened attentively.

a blush rose to your cheeks at marcel's question about when you started to develop feelings for his brother. trent shot him a glare from across the table but you waved him off, giving him a moment to think even though you knew exactly when it was.

you leant back in your seat casually and nudged trent's arm. "he kicked me with a ball during training. it hit my arm and there was this huge bruise for two weeks."

"trent john alexander-arnold!" diane gawked in shock, turning to him with a disappointed look, causing him to raise his hands in defence. "how could you do that??"

"it wasn't on purpose!" he defended and looked at you beside him, the smile etched on your phase because you knew exactly what you were doing. "jamie, you said it didn't even hurt."

you shrugged your shoulders. "I didn't want to make you feel bad. you were already bummed over the injury."

tyler laughed at the memory of his brother's hamstrings injury last year. "I remember that. he was so depressed, ugh take me back. life was so good back then."

"tyler don't say that, you know how upset it makes him," olivia scolded her boyfriend, slapping him on the arm but he had no regrets and let the comment stand.

trent sent her a grateful look, but you couldn't help but laugh. "you think that was bad?" a laugh escaped your lips. "you should've seen how he waddled down the stairs at the training center."

the rest of the dinner table burst into laughter, except for trent of course who was covering his face in embarrassment. not sure of who's side you were on in this case. and it only got worse when you showed them the video of you and dominik shutting the elevator door before be could make it in.

the cheeky laughter of both you and his best friend brought back the memory, the video perfectly showing just how pathetic he was when trying to catch up, but obvious didn't make it.

it was a bit before 5 p.m and aura had just woken up from her nap when you all gathered in the living room. the saudi arabian grand prix played as a form of entertainment as you sat with trent's head resting on your shoulder while aura sat on your lap, occupying herself with the rings on your fingers.

"oh, come on these mercedes drivers are going to be the death of me," michael said in frustration, gradually bringing the conversation around to the mechanics of the car and how the season hadn't been too good so far.

you were fairly quiet for bit, watching the rave with immense concentration until you were pleasantly surprised. "oh my gosh!" your excitement made both aura and trent jump up, but you were too busy taking pictures of alex on the screen to bother.

"sorry, you know how I get when I see alex show up at races," you apologised and trwnt shook his head, resting it back onto your shoulder.

"you talk to her every waking moment of the day, you're insane," he said, still not understanding how you could get so giddy just by seeing her on screen.

olivia looked at you with her eyes widened. "you know her?"

you nodded with a proud smile. "she's one of my best friends. just haven't seen her in a while."

"oh, so you're famous famous," marcel added. "how did trent even manage to catch your eye??"

after the race, you found yourself helping diane with the dishes. well that was until trent decided to interrupt the moment to which his mother happily leave you two be, a fond smile on her face as she left the kitchen.

the two of you didn't exchange any words for a few minutes and instead packed away the dishes in silence, your bodies moving in a familiar motion that happened quite often at your own home when he helped you with cleaning.

you took a moment to breathe, leaning back on the counter as trent finished up the last of the utensils. a fond smile formed on your face for some reason but you didn't fight it and kept your attention on him even when be caught on.

he quirked a brow in confusion. "why are you looking at me like that?" he took a few steps towards you.

"looking at you like what?" you teased and he eventually stopped in front of you, casually draping his hands around your waist as if there was any sort of privacy.

you didn't fight it though.

the footballer rolled his eyes jokingly, unable to believe that you still had the energy to joke with him after outing him multiple times today. he was sure that at some point his face was unable to remain any other colour besides red with the way that he was blushing.

"you know what?"

your question raised even more confusion but he nodded slightly, allowing you to carry on with whatever you wanted to say.

"I think it's time to clear up the fog," you said and took a deep breath. "I like the way that we work."

trent's lips parted and he went immobile for nearly a minute. the words that came from his lips made no sense, to the point where you had to pinch him. suddenly he let go of you and walked to the other end of the room, purpose in his stride as he shut the kitchen door and locked it.

oh, shit.

he was frantic with his movements and you were struggling to keep up until he took your hands into his and gave you a look. "are you sure?"

"100%." you retorted with so much confidence, making trent's smile widen in excitement, the twinkle in his eyes nearly losing you.

"jamie," he started softly, gaining your attention. "would you like to--"

he didn't even get to finish his sentence before your lips were on his, ever so thankful that he locked the door so that you could cherish the moment properly.

your body melted under his touch, the feeling of his lips tugging into a smile having your heart pounding harder than it ever had before. all those months of uncertainty led up to this moment— late-night drives, weeks without talking to each other, advice from your friends. everything led up to this feeling of bliss and relief.

when you pulled away you were both breathless, with childlike smiles and laughter sounding through the room that you felt your tension drip away in.

spamjam._.

liked by landonorris, fía.messi and 2 224 937 others

spamjam._. spot my girlfriend 🤭

view all comments

landonorris help. HELP ME (you look good but please answer my messages)

→ spamjam._. security!!!

trentarnold66 spot my girlfriend

→ fía.messi bro stfu that's my line. get a life or something! [liked by spamjam._.]

user @trentarnold66 UHM WHAT DID HE SAY??? HE'S KIDDING RIG&/??

→ user I THREW UP

→ trentarnold66 I was talking about the car 😭

→ user oh... OH

→ user he's just a man fr 😔

alexandrasaintmleux I was smiling at the camera because I knew you were watching ml xx [liked by spamjam._.]

→ spamjam._. I love you ❤️

charles_leclerc please stop stealing my girlfriend 🙏🏻 [liked by spamjam._.]

[satforsatoru]

𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫

➪ 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐢 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐭. 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐮

ive been an academic victim on the weekdays and a party girl on the weekends but im back hopefully

The obnoxious ringing of a phone alarm cut through the layers of sleep, forcing you to wake. Without opening your eyes, you already knew something was off. It was a Saturday, so you didn’t have an alarm set, meaning that it was something else. 

The sinister thought caused you to bolt upright, searching for the source of the annoying noise. You didn’t find a phone, but something far more startling greeted your eyes. 

Splayed out on the other side of the bed, was none other than your co-worker and friend, Geto Suguru. He laid on his stomach, face hiding in his elbow and hair spread out around him. If you weren’t so horrified and confused about everything about this, you would’ve taken a moment to appreciate such a pretty sight. 

You slowly backed out of your bed, trying to piece together the moments before this, but all you could pull from the depths of your memory was going to a bar with Shoko and Utahime. A chill went up your spine and you hurried to check your state of dress. 

Completely clothed, you thought in relief, but you noticed that they certainly weren’t the ones you’d gone out in. What had happened last night? And most importantly, why wasn’t Suguru getting up when it was his phone that was blaring so loudly? 

“Suguru!” You hissed, pushing at his shoulder, a raging headache beginning to take hold of you. Between the hangover that was making itself known, the continuous alarm, and your current situation, you were expecting an awful morning. 

A low groan left him and you paused at the sound. Had his voice always been that deep? Shaking yourself as if to physically rid yourself of your thought process, you pushed at him again. “Wake up, Suguru, your alarm is ridiculous,” You grumbled.

The ravenette didn’t move and, for a moment, you feared that he still wouldn’t wake up until you saw his head move to the side and his eyes peek out from under his hair. “‘Mornin’,” He rasped, lips curving into a smile. 

You had to take a pause, struck by not only his soft smile and morning voice, but the way he was hugging one of your pillows like he belonged there, comfortable in your bed. “Your alarm…” You deflected, covering your face to orient yourself. 

You heard a soft chuckle, some rustling, and then the screaming phone was finally shut off. “What do you remember from last night?” Suguru spoke, sitting up. You shook your head and crossed your arms, still awkward, even in your room. 

“Nothing besides initially going out,” You sighed, still racking your brain. “You’re not going to ask what I’m doing here?” He grinned, running a hand through his hair. You shifted on your feet and shot him a look. 

“I assumed that would go without saying…” Suguru’s grin widened at your words and he cocked his head as if questioning you. “Really? You don’t remember calling me and practically demanding that I come to help you out since apparently your getting black-out drunk was my fault?” 

You could only blink owlishly at him, already mortified because you knew exactly what he was getting at. During work, one of your coworkers had been all over Suguru, although there was obviously something between you two, even if that something was unlabeled. 

When he hadn’t fended her off, but instead indulged in it, you felt jealousy burn hotly in your system, before that gave way to defeat. Shoko had reasoned that the only way to get rid of it was to go out and find your own ‘distraction’. Utahime had largely been against the idea, but she didn’t want to pass up on a fun night, so she opted for being designated driver.  But, clearly, if you ended up with Surguru in your bed with you unable to remember how it had happened, something had gone very wrong. 

You shifted your weight from foot to foot, not at all knowing how to respond to him and his piercing gaze. “At first, I assumed it was drunken ramblings… but it was hard to ignore when you told me that I should only ever flirt with you…” He continued, a teasing lilt to his voice. 

“I didn’t mean to wake you and make you come all the way over here, but-”

“But you were jealous?” Suguru finished, running a hand through his hair, not even trying to bite back his smirk. 

And just like that, the butterflies fluttering in your stomach turned to a lead weight that made you uncomfortable. At first it seemed like Suguru was teasing you, but now it felt as though he was just here to mock you and your feelings. 

“As I was saying,” You muttered, looking away, “I’m sorry you came all the way here, but I’m fine now and you don’t have to stay,” You finished, making your way to your bedroom door to open it. 

“Hey, wait, you’re trying to get rid of me already?” The ravenette called out, catching your wrist in his hand. You just avoided his gaze, not knowing exactly what he was getting at. “You don’t think I’d do this for just anyone do you?” He murmured, stepping closer to you.

“I’m just confused,” You sighed, risking a glance at him. A small smile pulled at his lips and his hand moved from your wrist to your hand. “I should’ve made it clearer, the way I feel about you,” He started, pressing his lips to the palm of your hand.

Your face burned, but you didn’t turn away from his gaze. “Well, how do you feel…?” You asked quietly. His smile widened and he drew you impossibly closer to him. “Knowing that I’ll see you every day, makes waking up in the morning so much easier for me. We’ve been dancing around each other for a while now, but… I want to define what we have. I want you to be mine,” He asserted, his hands snaking around your waist.

The flutters in your chest were back with a vengeance, but before you could let embarrassment take hold, you were grabbing Suguru by his collar. 

His sound of surprise was almost immediately muffled by your lips as you pulled him closer. Words weren’t your strong suit, but you knew there was no way for him to misinterpret your actions. With hardly any hesitation, the ravenette was sinking into the kiss and taking control of it, his arms tightening around you. 

All too soon, however, it was over and you were met with his fond smile. “Can we go back to bed? I think we both deserve it,” He grinned pulling you closer to him. 

And who were you to turn down being held by your new lover?

requests are open and reblogs are appreciated!

[underqualified-human]

2012! Donnie: Secret relationship revealed

→ Request: Hi! I love your tmnt posts and was wondering if you could write a one shot (no 1st pov pls) of 2012!donnie x (fem) reader in a secret relationship but getting caught kissing/(or making out) XD I think the gangs reaction would be priceless!!!!

→ A/N: It’s been quite a while since I last watched the show, so some of it may be a little bit OOC

→ Warnings: Super indulgent because I was super sick and I hated it, no beta, nothing else I believe

→ Fandom: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

→ Genre: Oneshot

→ Word Count: 473

→ Pronouns: She/ Her [though most of my 2nd person writing pieces tend to lean more ]

You tapped your pencil against the blank answer sheet, subconsciously rubbing your runny nose on your sleeve. 

Your headache wasn't intense enough to call 'splitting' but it was bad enough to be a distraction. While you were out sick the maths teacher had covered new material while you were out, and you understood none of it.

You sniffed and reached for your glass of water, your throat was dry and itchy but almost nothing you drank helped in the long run. You rubbed your eyes and tried to turn your attention back to your work, but it was a lost cause.

You laid your head down on your desk, using your arms as a pillow.

The window opened while you were cradling your aching head. You sniffed again, which instantly caught Donnie’s attention. “What’s wrong? Did someone say something to you? Are you hurt?”

You cut off his concerned questioning with a sneeze, which made him calm down the smallest bit.

“You look terrible,” he noted. You shot him a half-hearted glare while taking a large gulp of water. “Not like that. I just- I mean you look really sick.” You would have laughed if it didn’t mean feeling nails scratching the inside of your throat. 

He was always like this, shy and a little jittery, even though you’ve been together for a few months. It’s endearing, in Donnie’s own way,

He glanced at the clock in your room, and then back at your tired figure. “Shouldn’t you already be sleeping?” 

You let out a small groan, “I guess…”

“How long have you been working?” He asked, stepping closer to your desk.

“Not that long-” you slurred and took another sip of water “-since seven I think.”

Judging by Donnie’s face, it was quite a bit past seven already. 

“You really need some sleep-”

“I know.” You snapped, then let out a sigh, noticing his hurt expression. "I know,” you repeated, softer this time, “It’s just - this homework needs to be finished for tomorrow and-"

"Tomorrow's Saturday."

"...Oh." You both let out a small chuckle and you immediately reached for your water.

Laying down on your bed, you stared up at the ceiling and let out a sigh. “I’m sorry we couldn’t do anything tonight, D.”

“It’s fine,” he responds quickly, “It’s not like you chose to get sick.” 

“See you next week?”

He gave you a quick nod before jumping out of your window and onto the roof, only to be met with all three of his brothers waiting for him.

Leo stood front and centre, his arms crossed over his plastron. “Care to explain?”

“Um, well you see, the thing is- smoke bomb!” The egg landed at their feet, exploding into a cloud of black and purple fog.

“Donnie!”

“So not cool, dude.”

“He is getting pummeled when we get home.”

Tagging: @urfavarab[requester]

[httpknjoon]

what a week! | the a-listers finale

plot | Get ready. This is the busiest, craziest, and most intriguing week ever in your fandom with you coming back to the Hollywood scene with a bang, causing more tweets, more memes, and maybe drama about you and Jin.

words | 4.8k (oh my god)

genres | humor/crack, fluff, angst, actors!au

pairing | actor!jin x famous!reader

note | usernames used in the fic are all fictional. (more note at the end) have fun reading!

main masterlist | drabble series

Hollywood Superstar YN to Make Comeback on Her Saturday Night Live Hosting Debut This December 2

‘From The Other Side’ actress and producer, YN will host NBC’s Emmy-winning live comedy show, Saturday Night Live for the first time this Saturday after her hiatus last year.

It was announced through social media today that the Oscar-nominated actress will make her hosting debut on the show this coming Saturday.

Along with YN, Indonesian singer-songwriter NIKI will also be having her SNL debut as the musical guest of the night.

It is worth mentioning that this will be YN's comeback in front of the cameras after taking an unexpected break in April 2022. She pulled out from projects with other big personalities from Hollywood such as Chris Evans and director, Wes Anderson. 

Fans were instantly delighted by the news and expressed their joy over Twitter, with YN’s name being listed on worldwide trends almost immediately after the announcement. 

@/YNUpdates: YN is set to make an appearance on The Tonight Show this coming Wednesday.

Not even an hour after the announcement of your appearance on the live television show, your appearance on Jimmy Fallon’s show was also reported. You also acknowledge your SNL gig by sharing the post on your Instagram Stories. To say your fans were excited was an understatement.

@/uronurownkid: OH YM GOD SHE’S BACK LIKE REALLY BACK

@/l0verynjin: and this is a live show!! We’ll be seeing her on skits again!

@/ynflowerkid: with NIKI as the musical guest???? my two worlds are coming together

Everyone– the fans and the press– truly hyped up the upcoming show, prompting even the general audience to be aware. Some critics shared that you might be able to bring high ratings for the show because of your large and active fanbase. Success was already expected for you and the show.

“Everyone, please welcome, YN!”

You enter through the big blue curtains, wearing a classy Gianni Versace Couture black long bell-sleeve dress from the 90s. You were looking like complete royalty with the matching diamond necklace and earrings you wore as you had your hair in a sleek low bun. The audience welcomed you with cheers and you cannot help but be surprised by everyone’s reaction.

“Oh, wow…” you mumbled, Turning your eyes from the audience to the host.

“Wow, right? That’s a lot of love.” Jimmy said, which you nodded at.

“Yeah, this is a little overwhelming… in a good way,” you said which made everyone laugh. Before you turned and waved to the viewers again, “Hi, everyone!”

They began cheering in response. You giggled with their enthusiasm. 

“This is what you get for suddenly taking a break last year!” Jimmy said, using a stern, sarcastic tone.

You chuckled with that, “This is actually great! Maybe I should take unexpected hiatus every once in a while–”

“No, no, no.” Jimmy cut you off, more worried, holding your hand that rests on his table. You two instantly laughed. “We missed you a lot!”

“So… you’ll be hosting Saturday Night Live for this week…” he began.

“Yes. Yes, I am.” you nod as you shifted in your seat.

“How was it? How does it feel?”

“Oh, it feels really awesome! I’ve been wanting to host for a long time now since I loved the show ever since I was little. And I was really nervous at first when I showed up there. But everyone has been pretty nice and so talented. Everyone works so fast.” you shared, making the viewers laugh. “I’m not kidding! I was with the cast and Lorne Michaels in his office. Then, they asked me if I have any sketch ideas. After I shared mine, everyone just started to pitch like a hundred sketches and I was just sitting there, watching everyone collaborate. It’s amazing to see.”

“Yeah, that’s how it goes in the show.” Jimmy agreed. “It’s the best crew up there. The writers, the cast, the makeup and hair crew.”

“They are all wonderful,” you added.

“Yes. And you are going to be fantastic this weekend. Knock ‘em dead in Studio 8H. We’ll be watching.” he clapped and the audience cheered. Your lips form into a smile as you felt relief growing in your chest. 

Jimmy continued as the applause lies low, “The last time you were here, we were talking about your then-upcoming film, From The Other Side. And now, you got nominations for it and even won a BAFTA’s Best Actress last February! Congratulation on that. You deserve it.”

Everyone clapped while you smiled, “Thank you.”

“And your director, Emerald Fennell, read your speech for you. In which you state that she made you make that speech hours before the ceremony?!”

“Ah, yes.” you chortled. “I wasn’t expecting to win that night. I mean, the lineup of other nominees for that category that night was really incredible. So I didn’t bother to write anything. But Em really pushed me to send something. She always believed in me and knew that I have a chance in winning that award. So I just texted her anything I could think of and said I love Brandon Fraser.”

The conclusion at the end made Jimmy and the audience laugh.

“I mean, who doesn’t?” the host backed you up. “Then, Academy Awards came by March and everyone was expecting you’ll show up. But during the red carpet event, you posted this…”

Jimmy showed a snapshot of you playing the piano. You grinned, “I did. I’ve been learning to play the piano since last year and I know my supporters are waiting for me. So I just showed them I’m at home so they won’t wait up.”

“That’s nice and you were really good with the piano.” Jimmy compliments. “But can we talk about your hiatus?”

You pause and nod. Now, this is the part Hailey gave you a heads-up on. You were aware that your unanticipated break will be talked about tonight. Your manager gave you a guide on how the show and host will discuss everything in order. 

Jimmy, on the flip side, was told earlier by his producers that he can ask about it. Admittedly, he was confused and worried if you knew that you were going to be interviewed about your break since everyone knows you have been private for the past couple of years. He doesn’t want to cause any discomfort to his guests. When he confirmed that you agreed with the topic of tonight’s interview, he agreed to discuss it with guide questions from his writers.

“Yeah, sure.”

The tension was rising in the room at the moment you replied. It was dead silent. But what made it lighter was when the production crew chose to play things off by setting the spotlight just on you two, making it seem like an interrogation scene. It made everyone laugh, even you and Jimmy.

“So… people were saying you took a break last year because of a lot of things.” the host spoke, emphasizing the word.

“Oh, yeah. I heard about it.” you raised an eyebrow. “How about let’s play a game of true or false with those headline rumors?”

The audience cheered with excitement. This is a rare time a big celebrity would debunk or confirm news about them personally.

“Okay, okay. Let's start with this one…” Jimmy reads, “True or false. YN, are you planning to retire from acting really soon?”

“False, Jimmy! I’m hosting SNL this week for goodness’ sake,” you answered dramatically. The host laughed.

“She’s hosting SNL this week, people!” he repeated, looking at the camera. “How about this one? YN, true or false, did you move away from the country and lived in South Korea for a year?”

You grinned, “Partially true.”

“Explain yourself, YN.”

“Okay, the only thing that was right in that rumor is that I did move.” you teased everyone. “And no, I am not telling where.”

“Understood. Okay, let’s move to another one… oooh, this is the most controversial yet.” Jimmy laughed as he looked at you. “True or false, you took an unexpected hiatus because you got into a bad heartbreak.”

The audience’s reaction was all ‘ooh’ in a curious and a little worried way. Like they just saw someone sprinkling salt on someone’s wound. You took your time before answering,

“False,” you replied, shaking your head. “Definitely untrue. I think everyone just knows it when I’m in a relationship.”

“No, I don’t think we do, YN.” Jimmy rebutted, making the viewers laugh as they relate too. With years of everyone romantically connecting you and Jin, they just cannot tell if you two are romantically together or not. The host continued, “But are you not really dating anyone right now?”

“Oh, I’m not. I’m not dating anyone right now…” your voice trailed off as you make a side eye at the audience. They showed their disapproval with that by playfully booing, and you giggled.

He copied your tone and action as he asked, “But is there anyone you’ve been seeing currently or…”

“I don’t know, Jimmy…” you sighed, shaking your head. You acted disappointed in a very obvious way.  “It’s really hard to find someone to date when you’re married. I mean, I think it’s a crime to go out with someone while–”

Big gasps. Everyone in the room– excluding you– gasped at the same time that it was audible. Their eyes were wide, a few have their hands on their chests, and someone screeched in surprise at what you said.

“Wait, what?” Jimmy asked as soon as he picked up what you just said.

“What?” you looked around the room, acting like you didn’t just say something of a big deal. “Oh, yeah. I’m married, you guys!”

Breaking the silence, the band played the drums as you showed off the wedding ring on your finger, hiding below the bell sleeve of your dress. Not just a wedding band, but a blinding engagement ring also sat on top of it. 

“Oh my god! Congratulations!” Jimmy stood up from his swivel chair and walked up to you. You stood up and you shared a hug. He whispered, “Congratulations!”

“This is wonderful!” he added, as he holds both of your arms.

You laughed as you nodded, “I know!”

Everyone laughed while applauding at the fact you are now married. Jimmy hugged you again before walking back to his spot. You can feel your cheeks hurt from how long you have been smiling throughout the interview. But you love it. You love that you finally shared the news with the public.

“When did you get married?” the host asked.

“Two years ago! It was in 2021, Jimmy!” you replied happily and you heard another series of reactions in surprise.

“What?!” Jimmy’s lips gaped. “You were already married when you went here last time?”

You nodded with chuckles, “Yes. My husband and I chose to be pretty private about the whole process. We value enjoying the first couple of years of our marriage without the whole attention of everyone. But now, we decided to share it with you, guys finally!”

“This is really great, YN. Thank you so much for coming to the show.” Jimmy smiled and you can feel that he was genuine. Jimmy turned to the camera again, “YN. Ladies and gentlemen! We’ll be right back.”

The camera still caught you waving to everyone before it cuts to the commercial. With this kind of news, it was expected how everyone will react. Showbiz websites and accounts began writing their articles. Your fans were expressing their emotions and surprise.

@/ynisthatgirl: the fuck you’re telling me yn been married since 2021

@/YNUpdates: Congratulations to our main girl and the lucky guy! 🥰🥰🥰

@/MIDNIGHTPAIN_: BIGGEST PLOT TWIST IN THE YN FANDOM

@/YNJINUpdates: 🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️

Replying to @/YNJINUpdates

- @/versaceisyn: what’s with the candles

– @/walkingonsunshine: i think we all know what’re the candles for

@/frannycatfood: but who is the husband though 👀

@/ynilysm: i just woke up…

Linked with you revealing your marital status is the identity of your husband. Everyone began taking their bets on who is your mystery spouse. Of course, topping the list is your three-time co-star and always rumored lover, JIN. One of the most memorable stories in the YNJIN fandom is when you two flew to South Korea with friends back in 2021.

@/outtahere: ur telling me ynjin prolly got married in seoul two years ago?

Then, the theory about you having a secret partner was brought up. Ever since the lockdowns, some people have believed that you are possibly dating someone who is not in Hollywood. They claimed that someone is a successful, private, and young entrepreneur.

It’s no secret that there are people and solo fans who think that you and Jin are only doing the whole ‘dating or not dating’ bit for attention and to keep your names floating on social media and articles. It helped you two become household names in Hollywood, other than your works. You two were everywhere online with your fans making edits, sharing their thoughts, and posting every picture of you. Although accidentally, the general public was always aware of what was going on with you.

And what’s going on with your always rumored lover, you might be wondering. 

Jin is still inactive on social media. His last online update was promoting the final episode of his limited series on HBO, which was a couple of months ago. But he had public appearances since the premiere. Two appearances to be specific.

Friday, almost two days after you announced your marriage and fans made their theories about your husband’s identity. Of course, the number of people who believed that Jin is your spouse was high. They were hoping to see Jin around New York since you will be doing SNL there for the weekend and they will take it as confirmation. But in lieu, he was seen walking out of a coffee shop in LA, where he was kinda hoarded by the press during the morning. He was alone as he tried to make his way to his car.

One of the camera guys cannot help but ask, “Did you know YN is married?”

“I did. She is one of my friends in the industry. Of course, I knew.” he answered simply, not bothering to look at the cameras. He just focused his eyes on the pathway to make sure he won’t stumble because of the press crowding around him.

“Any thoughts about it?” another one asked.

“I’m happy for her. She deserves happiness above all.”

His lips can be seen forming into a small smile as he replied. He finally got to the driver’s seat of his car. Before he hopped in, he answered one last question.

“Any hints about her husband?”

“Nice guy. A little childish sometimes but he makes good jokes.” he chuckled before driving away.

The video was uploaded by the paparazzi on the same day. Jin trended worldwide as fans expressed their thoughts about it.

@/1800JIN: i cannot believe how fast things are going rn this is crazy

@/badnonnie: NOW WHY WOULD HE SAY THAT ABOUT YN’S HUSBAND 💀

@/YNJINUpdates: the first stage of grief is denial. so no, i don’t believe anything that is happening.

@/puhleaseynjin: idk what to feel rn but great to know that jin knows about her marriage after all

Replying to @/puhleaseynjin

- @/livelaughyn: yeah it means they really do trust each other 🙁

And Saturday came. Since you were all over the news the whole week, your name was mentioned during the cold open. Hearing the people’s excitement as you prepare backstage made you breathe a little better. The intro began and the band began playing.

“Thirty seconds left, hon.” one of the staff members, who waits with you behind the door, whispered. “Good luck.”

You smiled at her, “Thank you. Donna.”

And as soon as you send that, you heard the announcer saying:

“Ladies and gentlemen, tonight’s host, YN!”

That’s your cue. Someone opened the door for you, you walked out and everyone sees you in a black blazer mini dress and strappy pumps. Standing in the middle of the stage, you cannot really see the audience properly because of the light pointed at you. Still, you put on a smile and tried to shake off the twisting feeling in your stomach. You jived to the melody and paused when it stopped. The audience was clapping the whole time.

“Thank you! Thank you very much. I am so happy to be finally here on the SNL stage for the very first time!” you began and they cheered once again. “And it’s great to be here, in front of everyone again, after ghosting y’all for almost two years!” waves of laughter erupt. “ Now, some of you may be heard of me from my first movie when I was 9, Little Miss Sunshine–” people cheered.  “Or my most recent film, From The Other Side. Or maybe you just heard a piece of certain news about me…” you winked.

“So in case you’re living under a rock, three days ago, I surprised everyone by announcing that I got married–” the audience erupted with claps and cheers. “–last 2021 to an actual person that nobody knows about.” you rolled your eyes, making everyone laugh.

“And every cast member here has been asking me this past few days: how did you got married? Where did you get married? Who’s the lucky guy? And you know what, let me just go give him a call–”

The audience screamed in excitement. You tapped on your dress’s pockets, searching for your phone. SNL cast member Kenan Thompson got on stage, handing you your phone.

“Hey, YN. You left your phone in the makeup chair.”

“Oh, thanks, Kenan.”

“And since I was the one who found it… can you please tell me who is your husband?” he said it in an excited kid way that made everyone cackle.

You tsked before shaking your head, “Oh, Keenan–”

A series of knocks were heard. A familiar tune from your past suspense movie played in the background. The audience laughed as you and Keenan looked at each other with wide eyes. You slipped your phone into your pocket and began acting alert like a spy.

“Does someone really knocks on that door?” you asked in the serious tone of your old character.

He shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know. You were the last one who went from there.” 

The audience laughed and another knock was heard.

“Lemme go check on that.” Kenan was about to walk to the door but you stopped him.

“What if it’s The Creator?” you asked, referencing the antagonist.

“Who the hell is that? The only creator here is Lorne Michaels.” Kenan quipped, receiving laughs from everyone, before walking to the door.

You waited on the stage and the camera focused on Kenan, who peeked through the door instead of opening it directly. He was teasing. Then, he looked back to you, to the camera, and back to whoever was on the other side of the door. He was grinning. Everyone was wondering what was going on. It was just pure silence. And as he walked down the small set of steps, he spoke:

“Oh, YN! Someone is looking for you!”

You raised an eyebrow, “Who is it–”

Then suddenly the door just opens, showing a man in a dark casual suit and a bouquet of white tulips in his hands. He uttered,

“Hi, I’m actually looking for my wife–” 

Jin was cut off by screams from the audience. He bit his inner cheek to stop himself from smiling. But everyone can notice the corner of his lips forming into a smile. In live shows like this, the actor would usually wait for the intense audience response to die down for a few seconds. But the reactions are not getting smaller, so Jin resumed.

 

“She told me she’s going here tonight.”

“Oh, I’m here! I’m here! I’m the wife!”

You raised your hand with a proud grin on your face and Jin had to walk down with a bouquet in his hand. The audience laughed as the band plays a wedding march. Your husband laughs too. When you two stood next to each other in the middle of the stage, Keenan introduced you two:

“Everyone, please welcome, for the first time ever as a married couple, YN and Jin!”

The audience clapped, cheered, and somebody even whistled. He softly placed his hand on the small of your back before you turned to him. Your hand caresses his cheek as you two lean closer to each other. For the first time ever, you and Jin shared a kiss in front of the public. Everyone cheered louder. Pulling away, you two smiled slowly as you gazed into each other’s eyes. You noticed the slight tint of red growing on his cheeks and ears. It reminded you of so many moments in your relationship. It was like you got lost in the moment for a second before you turn to the camera.

“We got a great show tonight! Stick around. NIKI is here! We’ll be right back!”

The camera pans away as you wrapped your arms around Jin’s neck, pulling him in for a kiss again, while he holds your waist. 

You did a total of eight skits, two of which were pretaped. Your husband made another appearance during the show. He played a character with Michael Che, Colin Jost, and Mikey Day during the Weekend Update segment, playing as paparazzi who never did their job right. Jin had a line that was so ironic, it made the audience laugh and react from their seats.

“Yeah, last week, I heard that very beautiful actress got married…”

Michael asked, in character, amidst the giggles, “Who? What’s her name?”

“I think he’s talking about Scarlett Johansson.” Mikey chimed in, making Colin Jost smile, who replies, “No, I don’t think he’s not.”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot she already married that comedy guy three years ago.” Mikey replied, making Jost shake his head as he blush.

Jin finally answered, “It’s YN! You know, the one who posts cat pics all over the internet, won the BAFTA Best Actress this year, has been doing movies since she was nine, wrote songs with–”

“Okay, okay, Frank. I think everyone already knows who YN is.” Mikey cuts him off, making everyone laugh. “Why are you bringing her up by the way? Do you got any snaps from her wedding?”

“Ah, yes. I do!” Jin replied almost immediately as he acts clicking on his camera. The audience squealed, elated to catch a glimpse of whatever he was going to share. The TV screens in the studio glitched, causing confusion to the viewers. “Oh, I think my camera’s broken.”

“Let me see.” Mikey, in character, acted desperate as he reached for the camera. He checked and clicked on it before turning to Jin, “The memory card is not here, man!”

The bit ended with them arguing. NIKI performed two songs for the night. For the closing of the show, you had a graphic shirt on with pants. 

“Thank you so much to NIKI!” you began, turning to the singer beside you. You clapped along with the audience.  “To Lorne, to the amazing cast and studio crew…. And to my lovely husband,” everyone, including the cast members, cooed. You looked back at him who was standing in line with the cast members. He smiled as he saw your eyes sparkling with joy. You looked back to the front.

“Thank you so much, everyone!”

After the show, you and Jin were photographed together, walking hand in hand, as you enter the afterparty venue. As usual, you were wearing something Versace. You stun everyone with a light-reflecting metallic sparkly mini dress. It literally reflects with the flashes of the cameras pointed at you and your husband. You matched it with silver strappy heels and a small metallic Prada tote bag.

“Congrats, YN!”

You stopped in your tracks and turned your head when you heard that voice. Turning around, you spotted Greg in line with other paparazzi.

“Thanks, Greg!” you winked and Jin also waves at him.

You also posted a photo a day after.

YN and JIN are married *Apparently For Almost Two Years Now*

It’s been a busy week for the whole YNJIN fandom this week! 

Just last week’s Saturday, it was announced that YN will be hosting the second show for SNL’s season 49. More than a year after her last public appearance and hiatus.  It was later followed by the actress-songwriter appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, in which she talked about her BAFTA win and cleverly announced her marriage. Although she didn’t disclose who’s the lucky guy, happiness was evident on her face as she replied to Jimmy’s questions. The fans were taken in surprise by the news, showering her with lovely congratulatory messages.

And just tonight, during her monologue as the show’s host, YN finally revealed who it was. Surprise, surprise! Joining her on the SNL stage is her longtime rumored lover, JIN. The ‘Still Alive’ actor showed up on stage unexpectedly, causing a loud reaction from the live viewers. SNL cast member Kenan Thompson, who was also in the bit for YN’s monologue, officially introduced the two as husband and wife. The couple shared a liplock to seal the news.

According to the shared statement of the A-lister couple’s publicists, YN and JIN were wed in an intimate ceremony two years ago, last November 2021, in their shared residence in Massachusetts. 

It was unclear where or when YN and JIN got engaged or began dating. But all we know was the two initially met for the production of their first movie, Cornelia Street, back in 2016. It was a hit, mainly due to the lead actors’ powerful chemistry, and birthed many supporters for the duo. But the rumors about their relationship began in 2018 when the two were seen hanging out often. 

The two never confirmed anything and trolled everyone about it. Even reaching the point where they became Instagram official. YNJIN even made a joke about buzzes about them breaking up when they posted a clip about it before. The two got crazier rumors over the years: living together, cheating (and breaking up again), and the actress writing love songs based on her relationship with JIN.

YN, 28, has previously dated other known names in the industry such as Jordan Fisher, Kim Taehyung, and Niall Horan. Meanwhile, JIN, 31,  was more private with his past relationships. But he was formerly linked to model Lee Sung Kyung and briefly to Selena Gomez. The wedded A-listers have worked together in a total of three films: Cornelia Street, Maybe Yes Maybe No, and Lonely People.

We are probably late but… Best wishes to Hollywood’s favorite couple!

It was a big event in both social media and celebrity newsrooms. People shared their reactions online and even talked about you two in their real-life conversations. A lot of people made memes about the whole thing. The reveal of your husband was called iconic in one of the articles written. The number of edits, pictures, and just any type of content flooding all commonly used social media sites is crazy.

@/YNJINUpdates: YNJIN officially confirms marriage during SNL appearance 💚

@/thisislove: IM CRYING THEY LOOK SO GOOD TOGETHER

@/IMMANEEDSP4CE: ynjin hard launching their relationship on snl is not in my 2023 bingo card

@/KellyDelaCruz: I just lost fifty dollars to my sister because of this whole thing!

@/bellisimayn: the whole fandom right now:

@/tanginuhynjin4ever: we never got any dating confirmation but it’s all worth it!! 💗💗

Replying to @/tanginuhynjin4ever

- @/0283ynjinfan: TOTALLY WORTH IT

Two days, after you publicized your marriage, it was Jin’s birthday. As to keep up with the tradition, you posted a simple greeting on Instagram. You literally just greeted them but you added some photos.

The first pic was taken during your trip together months before the reveal.

The second image is your hand, showing off the engagement ring, while Jin can be seen in the background grinning.

Then, on the third slide, a polaroid picture of you and Jin. It was taken through a selfie. You were grinning as Jin plants a smooch on your cheek. Unbeknownst to everyone, it was taken during your first wedding back in November 2021, in your then-newly bought home in Massachusetts.

And for the fourth one, Jin was seen carrying two babies, both heads turned away from the camera, on each arm. He was sat on a familiar couch with Francheskat resting beside him.

In the last slide, a screenshot of your conversation from a year ago. You did not put any context so the fans are left to think about it.

author's note | that's it, folks! that's the end. oh my god, I didn't expect the love this series got. writing this series always brought me joy and it honestly brought me back here in tumblr. thank you so much for all the love you sent out for the a-listers. i truly appreciate everything. as always, my asks are open for questions about the whole series. also, if you have questions for the a-listers, feel free to send 'em. I'll be responding in a few days. also, just want to let y'all know, i'm planning for a spinoff. thank you so much, loves. 💕✨

taglist rules

THE A-LISTERS TAGLIST

@jub-jub @yoontaethings @kissme-ornot @sleepy-daydreams @veronawrites @cuteipat @ratherbefangirling @babystarcandy-gcf @akirawhore @alpacaparkaseok @rjsmochii @lovesickbangtan @rapmonie2047 @btsiguess-kpop @angelarin @walkinganxiety0 @bloopkook @yoooonie @amara-mars @firesighgirl @zwiehe @hiii-priestess @lojocas @juju-227592 @singukieee @eshtravagent @canarystwin @petalsofink

PERMANENT TAGLIST

@dunixxd​ @cixrosie​ @jksjx​ @embrace-themagic​ @buttvi​ @starbtslove​ @missseoulite @vanntaesworld @kenqki @pixybear @miyukihoshi @stopeatread @seolaquotes @greyrain23 @chimchimmarie

[peachnewt]

Spilling Guts Extra

Hi ya'll!

I've been hacking away at the latest Spilling Guts chapter (cause I want something to post on my bday tomorrow) and realized that there was a scene planned out for Megan and Teegan that never made it in for pacing reasons. Whenever I get to printing Spilling Guts, it will be in two books and this scene will be back in the first book.

This takes place at the end of Spilling Guts - Part 35 on dA. Or Spilling Guts - Part 62, Monday Plans on wattpad.

Enjoy!

Friday evening, George skipped onto the school stage in his soft, well shaped carrot costume and rattled off nutritional info and his favorite carrot recipe. Megan's family had snagged seats closer to the stage thanks to her crutches, and they took high quality video of George's performance. Her husband had made a booklet of carrot recipes to hand out to the other parents. Richard was an utter nerd. But he was Megan's nerd.

Because of him, Megan could still have a "normal" life outside of work. She squeezed his hand between the performance of the eggplant and broccoli and Richard brought it up to lips.

"Cara mia," Richard whispered.

Gracen pointedly ignored them.

Between costumes and funerals, Megan had been looking up fishbowls, and interesting things to keep Gracen happy too. He was looking up articles on beta fish, making a list of pros and cons for what pet would be best for the family; and not a shark like George wanted.

"What about alpha fish?" asked Gracen on Saturday, as Megan and Richard shucked peas from the farmer's market. Ever since the Vegetable Recital, George had declared peas his favorite veggie. That his best friend had been dressed as a pea pod during the recital probably had a hand in his decision.

"Hm? Alpha fish?" asked Megan.

"Yeah.  Says here something about alphas, betas, and omegas?" 

Richard's eyes went wide, and he deftly changed the subject while "borrowing" Gracen's tablet to change the parental settings. 

"You want to tell me what that was about?" whispered Megan as they rinsed the peas at the sink.

"Later," said Richard.

"How much later?" 

"Bedtime later." 

"Oh my." 

***

Tia's hands fluttered from one word to the next, matching her grin. "Hearing aid now has office hours!"

Teegan paused in rolling out the dough for her cinnamon rolls. She had wanted to try homemade for once, and a free Saturday allowed her to experiment. Teegan signed back, flour drifting from her hands like fairy dust. "Office hours?"

Tia had spent the last hour on a video call with her supervisor at the VA negotiating for time to take her hearing aids out. The increase of sound at the office had been giving her headaches that impacted her quality of work. Rather than cut out the hearing aids entirely, she had compromised to having them in for only five hours during the day. The rest of the time, she could work with lip reading, writing, and signing.

It would show my clients that they could push for accommodations, Tia had said. And that sometimes, the world should change for them, not the other way around.

"And less headaches," said Teegan.

"Yes!"

"Congratulations!" signed Teegan as she went in for a hug.

"I'm wearing black!" signed Tia as she stepped back from Teegan's floured hands.

Teegan pouted.

Tia roller her eyes and motioned for the hug.

Teegan squeezed Tia, airy and pleased like rising yeast. Small victories amongst hard days at work. She would take every one and be thankful.