#chapter 1 is completed and holy shit

[neko-naruto]

im gonna tear my fucking hair out

[blazingblorbos]

ohhhhh who is she,,,

[stellacendia]

Finally fully finished rewriting the first chapter of my one and only fanfic and I had a feeling it would end up being longer than the original version but I didn't think it would be longer by 1,400 words

[rieamena]

totally (not) beating the allegations

best friend!takuma ino headcanons

contains... best friends to lovers, mutual pining, casual confession of love, kisses (platonic), kisses (romantic), modern au, high school to university au, living together-ish, fem intended reader, pet names (baby, babe, love, sexy, handsome, beautiful, sweetie, the list goes on and on), lots of physical touch, nicknames (you call takuma, kuma.), reader has a mother and a father, y'all are basically dating just without the label...

word count: 2.3k (this wasn't supposed to be long. i told myself 0.8k maximum...)

riea's comments: all sixteen people living in takuma city RISE UP! i miss my husband of 35 years so much, come back to me loml :(( something to munch on while y'all wait for the next full throttle chapter. also not too much on me if this is a drabble and not hcs idk the difference :))

first off... i just wanna say that i KNOW I KNOW that ino is one of the funniest people in the jjk cast idc idc!!! if he had more screentime (and if the situation wasnt dire) my boy would be crackin some jokes!!!!

you've been friends with takuma for around 7 years, your first meeting happening in tenth grade, when your teacher paired you two up for an interview project. when time came to actually record the interviews, it was hard to edit out you two laughing uncontrollably every fifteen seconds or so

i mean, you two just had so much in common!!! same favorite color, same favorite franchise, same favorite tv show, same favorite video game; it was like yall were the same person. there was just one thing you both disagreed on: whether hex code #286061 was blue or green

your argument ended up being the last ten minutes of the final video you submitted...

without a doubt, after that, you two became inseparable. in school, people would take notice of your closeness. when one of you were absent, teachers would jokingly ask "where's the other one?"

there was not a single thing you didn't do together, homework, go to the gym, gossip, eavesdrop, etc etc. so of course, you ended up applying to the same universities and when it came time for college acceptance season...

takuma invited you over, forcing you to bring your mailed letters from the eight universities. sprawling out over his lap, you took in the all too familiar sight of his room. you've been in his room more times than you've been in your own (and vice versa!)

i mean ino's been over to your place so many times that he calls your parents mom and dad. and you've been over to his house so much that takuma's mom practically jumped for joy every time you burst through the front doors with a "guess who's home!!!" so it was completely normal that you guys knew the ins and outs of each other's rooms, right?

"kuma, baby," you started with a sigh, reveling in your best friend's repetitive motions. running his hand through your hair, ino looked down at you, eyes showing that he was listening. "i'm scared, what if we don't–"

"ah-ah-ah! no negativity here!" he cut you off, pushing you off his lap and grabbing the letters you left on his desk. "listen here beautiful," takuma says, bringing a hand to your cheek, his heart swelling when you subconsciously leaned into it, "we're gonna take each other's letters, and open them," he handed you a white envelope, the logo of both of yours dream university on it, "starting with, kyōmei."

taking a well needed deep breath, you nodded. "okay," you and ino began to open the envelopes at the same time, only looking at each other when you saw the status. "accepted or rejected in 3...2...1..."

"ACCEPTED"

"ACCEPTED"

cue the mandatory silence before the screaming. "holy shit. you got in." "you got in." "WE GOT IN!!! WE'RE GOING TO KYŌMEI!!!!" you two practically flew off the bed, jumping up and down in celebration. peppering his face in kisses, you nuzzled your face into takuma's neck. "i'm so proud of us! i mean, kyōmei," you pulled away from his neck, shaking his shoulders harshly, "the kyōmei?!!!"

anyways, soon enough, you both realized that you'd have to move away, resulting in a seven hour search for apartments near the university's campus. and just as takuma was about to give up, you found a listing for units 19A and 19B, right in the heart of the city and just a five minute walk from kyōmei

and with that, it was moving day, well, days is more like it considering that the whole process took like ten days... finding cute furniture is really hard! and moving all of it is even harder!! and don't even get me started on the appliances! although, you and takuma found a way around it

like what do both of you need a microwave for? and there isn't a reason to have two dishwashers, there wasn't even a reason to have one! y'all kept your fridges though... who was gonna be banging on the other's door in the middle of the night for some cold water??

with time, it came for the highly anticipated freshman formal, an welcome event hosted by kyōmei itself, and of course, you had to go. so here you were, staring at your figure in the mirror as your best friend's large hand rubbed your shoulder, the other zipping up your black dress. "all done!" he breathed, taking a step away so that you could see for yourself. "i look so cute~" you giggled, hearing the clack of your heels as you twirled. "you do!" he paused, looking you up and down, "when did you get that dress?"

"your mom gave it to me a couple days ago! where'd you get that tux? i don't think i've seen it before," you walked over and straightened takuma's suit, as he laughed in response, "your mom gave it to me..."

"this was planned."

"this was definitely planned."

"we should send a picture in the family group chat!"

"we should!!! but, hair first!"

notice how i said family group chat, singular, not plural. and that's because there's a gc for both of your families! it's name was a mix between "ino" and your last name, since, in all seriousness, your families were close

so here you were, sitting pretty on takuma's lap as you focused on straightening the front pieces of his hair, because that's what best friends do!

"okayyyy sexyyyy," you squealed, moving out of the way so that takuma could see himself in your vanity mirror, "damnn, i look hot!" he smiled as he checked himself out, his hand firmly on your waist (to make sure that you wouldn't fall, of course!). "i knew i was fine but, did i always look this fine?" he asked, looking up at you with his big dark brown eyes, a playful smirk evident on his face. "yes, takuma. you're the sexiest man ever. just a bit of eyeliner on you and we'll be on our way, okay?"

turning back to your station, you grabbed some brown and black pencils before starting to lightly draw over ino's outer eye corner, "do men as sexy as me really need eyeliner?" a look from you was all he needed to know to shut up and close his eyes

and oh, how he loved being so close to you. not just emotionally but physically as well. like, not every duo can say that they barge into the other's apartment to steal snacks! and speaking of snacks... let me just say, there's a whole cabinet in his kitchen reserved for your favorite foods and! he keeps your favorite ice cream flavor stocked in his freezer

you, on the other hand, have a little space where you hide takuma's favorite anything. chips, gummies, takeout menus, you name it, you have it. because your best friend is oh-so-optimistic, it can be harder for him when he's just not having the best of days. which is why when you go your (not so) separate ways at the end of the day, you pack up a basket for him. ribbons in his favorite color, his top 15 favorite snacks from that one time y'all bought one of everything in a nearby convenience store and ranked them, takeout on the way, horror flicks he's been wanting on dvd because he said "its cooler that way", and a handwritten letter from you, for my kuma, scribbled on the envelope

dropping off the basket at his door and retreating back to your place, you'd press your ear against the wall separating your units, physically feeling your heart break when you heard sniffles. that was all you needed to practically fly over to his, a few boxes of tissues in hand. because that's what best friends do!

and don't even get me started on how many belongings y'all have at the other's place... like that one time takuma walked into your apartment announcing his presence, only to be met with silence. let me set up the scene for you. you are taking a relaxing shower when you hear a knock on the door followed by four more and then three more. "come in!" you called out, unbeknownst to you, ino's voice was closer than you thought

"already in here..., anyways. is my shampoo in there?"

"the one with the purple cap?"

"yeah, thanks babe!"

"wait, can you get me my towel?"

or that time when you causally opened the door to his unit (because it was basically yours too) and greeted him with a simple pat on his head before skipping off to find those jeans you thrifted

slight cohabitation aside, the university life was definitely... something. it was clear and obvious that you two were close, a blind man could see it. but close is a really really really vague word, and it's surely not the word that describes the way the two of you act. in this friendship, terms of endearment drop like rain from clouds. every. other. sentence. contains a "babe" or "baby" or "sweetheart" or "darling" WE GET IT OKAY...

and it seems like if y'all go a single day without touching each other, a bomb will fall from the sky and earth would blow up. his hands are constantly on you, his favorite places (when in public) being your shoulders and arms, and when at home it was without a doubt your waist and thighs. just imagine how difficult it must be for people speak to you both on campus when his arm is slung around you and your hand is holding onto his side. the rumors practically created themselves....

and when i say people were shocked, i mean they were SHOCKED when y'all were like "haha, no, we're not dating!!! we're best friends!" everyone was thinking: yeah best friends who FUCK. best friends who are IN LOVE WITH EACH OTHER. y'all became the campus' it couple without being a couple. how does that happen??!??

however... there were a couple of people who were particularly excited to hear that you both were single. a few girls approached you one day while in the general area, asking if it was true that you and ino weren't dating. "we aren't... why?" one of the girls shifted on her feet, clearly nervous. "well... could you um... give this to him for me?!" she bowed, presenting a pretty pink envelope. you froze, staring at the item before giggling. "i see what this is about! don't worry! i'll make sure this gets to him safely!" long story short, that letter was never delivered

and on ino's side, he had some classmates pestering him about you. asking for your favorite show, candy, date style, everything under the sun. "guys, guys! she doesn't even want a boyfriend right now!" takuma shouted, even though two days prior you were complaining about how spending too much time with him was scaring all the hotties away

but let's get into the real stuff... the realization of love

for takuma, there wasn't a "wow, i'm in love with her" moment. what he does know though is that he started feeling something different for you a few months before college admission season. to him, the world was always bright with you by his side but now... it was so much brighter. it was like looking directly into the sun; it hurt but he couldn't look away, he doesn't want to look away. you're the best thing to ever happen to him, and the mere thought of ruining what you have just for some feeling—no matter how intense—isn't... right to him

and you figured it out after a dream you had one night back in high school. you dreamt of being in takuma's arms, the ones you snuck glances at when he wasn't paying attention to you. in not dream world, all you had to do was ask and he'd gladly envelop you but the vibes in this dream were different. there was tension. and it was thick. his beanie was off and thrown somewhere on the bed, your bed. looking back at him, your breath caught in your throat, "hey pretty," he slurred, drunk off tiredness. ino's called you beautiful more times than you can count; he made sure to do it at least once a week, so why... just why did this time make your stomach heat up and your heart race? you woke up with a flushed face, queasy feeling in your gut, and a deep understanding. it wasn't just platonic love anymore

"hey," you started, eyes trained on the movie in front of you, but your mind was focused on something else, "y'know how everyone thinks we're dating?" ino nodded as you reached over to grab the bowl of popcorn. "i've been thinking... maybe they're onto something..."

takuma's gulp could be heard from miles away, "wh-what are you trying to say?"

"what are we? seriously. because i can't sit here and pretend like i don't wish we were something more."

"something more like...?"

"now's not the time to be oblivious! don't you get it?! i'm—"

"i'm in love with you,"

it was like time stood still as you looked at your best friend. his face was lit by the tv screen a couple feet away, his hair was a mess, and slightly prominent dark circles were under his eyes, but... he's never looked more beautiful to you. "have been. for a long time. we've basically been dating for like four years already. four more and then we'll get married?" he flashed his signature smile

"oh, shut up," he brought your face millimeters away from his, whispering "make me." before kissing you deeply, not on your cheek, or your forehead, or your shoulders, but on your lips this time. and all the times after that too

because that's what best friends lovers do, right?

jjk taglist

@blendingcaramal @gzchaos @theamazingrain @woah-girlz @voloslobotomyservice

@kyozvy @obessionofagrl @bubybubsters @sugurusbaobei @raindropsonrwses

@c-moon20-12 @saltynanobeanie @theamazingrain @synthiiiiis @ghostlyluminarycloud

@poopyyy @supernatrualqueen @bxrbie-jadeee @laitifly @discipleofthem

@cheesecake95 @strawberry-cherrypie @makeshiftproject @magiamad0ka @ncitygreen

@stillnotherapy @oniondrip @cloudy-yyy @definitely-not-leena @kidd3ath

@atigerandabear @russianremy @ohnoitsamistakee18 @ivy-vivii @ourfinalisation

@1ndee @yourhornysister @ancientimes

[discountdyke]

turns out all the random rules i impose on myself actually make my life worse instead of better. who could have guessed!

[y3sterdaysproblem]

smoke and mirrors - chris sturniolo

chapter five

1 2 3 4

summary: your best friend Matt backs out of plans you had made together, so you replace him with his brother. the only problem is the two of you can’t stand each other.

{enemies to lovers, fake dating}

includes : explicit language, fluff, smut(penetration, oral, fingering, etc.), angst if you squint, lots of bickering, slow burn

wc: 3.2k

You decided to stay away from the triplets until the wedding, especially after the weird, sexual thoughts you had about Chris the last time you guys were together. You figured it was best to keep your distance and let your mind sort itself out before you saw him again, or any of them for that matter, fearing you might slip up and say something stupid and have them catch on to the terrifying things going on in your mind. Luckily, the thoughts had mostly subsided, except when you were alone late at night, your vibrator calling to you from your bedside table. You couldn’t help the fact that the original fantasy you had imagined after your date, Chris taking you on the bathroom floor, would infiltrate your mind just as you were about to hit your peak, being the one and only thing you had orgasmed to the thought of in the last week.

But now, you find yourself showing up to the triplets’ house in a pair of sweats and a crop top, your dress, makeup and hair products thrown in a bag as you had decided to get ready there, wanting their input and mostly just their company. “I’m here!” You call as you let yourself into their house, not hearing anyone respond to you so you just head up the stairs towards the living room, still not seeing anyone there.

You huff and place your things down on the table, heading towards Matt’s room, where you hear a bit of commotion going on. You push the door open and see him on his PC, headphones securely on his head as he played fortnite, seemingly with his brothers since nobody had answered you. You walk up to him and place both of your hands on his shoulders and he jumps, whipping his head around to look at you.

“Holy shit!” He yells, putting a hand over his heart. “You scared the fuck out of me!”

You giggle and wave down at him. “Just trying to see where everyone is,” you tell him. He pulls his headset off and leans in to give you a side hug from where he sat.

“Everyone’s in their room,” he tells you, pulling away. “Chris said you can get ready in his room because he already showered and Nick still has to after we get off.”

You nod and ruffle Matt’s hair, telling him ‘thanks’ and ‘good luck’ before you leave his room and grab your things, heading downstairs to Chris’s room where the door is already open. This time he sees you come in and just shoots you a glance before turning back to his game, and you’re grateful he pays you no mind, walking past him and into his bathroom.

He leaves you completely unbothered for the next hour and a half, even once they’re done playing games and Matt and Nick have come to check on you a couple times, Chris stays perched in his gaming chair, scrolling on his phone. You’re fine with this, only really wanting the company of his brothers anyway, but when you’re almost ready and all you have to do is get your dress on, you walk out to him and stand directly in front of his chair.

He drags his eyes up your body until he meets your face, his shocked expression taking over for a moment before he gets it under control, dropping his phone to his lap to see what you have to say. “Can you get dressed?” You ask him. “I want to leave in like ten to fifteen minutes.”

Chris sighs and pushes himself up off of his chair, walking over to his closet so he could grab his suit that hung up in there. He comes back and throws it on his bed then grabs the collar of his shirt and pulls it over his head.

Your eyes widen, not expecting him to start to change in front of you, and to avoid what you’ve coined as your ‘intrusive Chris thoughts’, you turn and head back into the bathroom, shutting the door to create a barrier between the two of you, especially since you figured now was a good time to change into your dress as well.

Once you’re changed you open the door again and see Chris just about done, buttoning up his pants. He looks up at you and pauses, taking in your full frame, dress on, hair and makeup done, legs probably shaved. You clear your throat to ease the tension, stepping out of the bathroom and towards him, turning around once you reach him and he understands that you’re in need of help once more. He reaches forward and grabs the zipper that rested low on your back, pulling it all the way up to the top. He then tucks his fingers in the straps and drags them forward, straightening out any twists in them.

You turn around and face him once more, muttering a small ‘thanks’, to which he nods slightly. Your hair was up in a neat bun, a few curls particularly placed andfalling out of it and also framing your face, your makeup a subtle, neutral look as to not be too attention seeking, and although both were simple in itself, the combination of that plus the dress that adorned your body had been no doubt the sexiest you’d looked in a long time, and even Chris couldn’t deny that. He refused to speak, afraid of what would slip past his lips if he parted them.

“Need help with your tie again?” You ask him and he just nods again, reaching towards the bed to grab it and hold it up towards you.

You grab the tie and reach around his neck, starting to tie it for him. You both remained silent throughout this interaction, feeling awkward at the tension that filled the room, yet you tried to ignore it and focus on the task at hand, fingers fumbling with the fabric but ultimately getting it done, running your hand over his chest when you’re done. “Good,” you tell him, taking a step back.

You guys look at each other for a couple more moments, and you’re about to speak, sucking in a deep breath, when you hear the door fly open and Nick walks through it.

“Woah!” He yells, looking at the two of you that now face him. “You guys look incredible!”

Matt saunters in behind him, jaw dropping at the sight of you both. “Holy shit, if I didn’t know any better I’d think you guys were actually a couple.” He laughs, walking closer to you.

You smile shyly and drop your shoulders, hoping the earth opens up and swallows you whole, hating the attention that was directed at you. “Hey,” Matt says, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear. “Stand up straight, you look beautiful.”

You listen, straightening up to appear more confident. “Thanks,” you respond. “I feel really pretty.”

Matt beams back at you. “You should. Take lots of pictures today, I wanna see what you guys get up to.”

“Alright, lovebirds, let’s chill out yeah?” Chris moans. “We leaving or what?”

You roll your eyes at his comment, not understanding why he always had an issue with yours and Matt’s relationship, always feeling the need to say something out of pocket like that. It wasn’t just recently, it’s been always, and despite the two of you being close, it was always platonic. The cuddling, the pet names, you knew for a fact you guys didn’t have feelings for each other, but Chris seemed to think otherwise.

“Yeah, we can leave,” you reply, heading to his door and walking up the stairs. You had left your shoes off, not wanting to put them on until you get to the actual wedding since you had a longer drive ahead of you, so you pick those up off of the floor and grab your purse off of the table, sliding it over your shoulder. Chris follows you up the stairs and into the living room where he puts his shoes on, both of you finally fully ready to leave.

Matt and Nick walk you guys to the door and you and Chris exit the home, heading towards your car. “Can I play music again?” Chris asks once you guys are settled and you nod. “Of course, just don’t mess with my directions, I have no idea where I’m going.”

Chris chuckles a bit at you and grabs your phone, starting to queue music for the ride. You’re about ten minutes into the ride, listening to the music Chris had decided to play, when you reach forward and lower the volume, clearing your throat. “Okay, so. You remember the story of how we started dating?”

He sighs over-dramatically, turning his head towards you. “We met in high school, we’ve been friends for the last seven years, we decided six months ago that we were just so in love and couldn’t hide it anymore, I took you on a date and the rest is history. Easy enough.”

You smile and nod. “Yep! Everything else I feel like we can just make up on the spot. Oh, and don’t forget to call me babe instead of my name, gotta make sure we’re convincing.”

Chris grimaces. “Babe…” he says under his breath. “Kinda cringe, no?”

“What, would you rather call me baby? Sweetie? Honey? Cutie pie?” You retort with a scoff. “I think babe is the most mundane of them all.”

“I guess,” he responds. “How long are we staying?”

“I have no idea, Chris, as long as I feel like it. Just have a few drinks and chill the fuck out, it’ll go by fast.” You tell him.

It wasn’t like you wanted to spend your whole night with someone who would rather be anywhere but near you, but it needed to be done for the sake of your sanity. You couldn’t go another moment listening to people ask you why you didn’t have a boyfriend. Your family has always been the invasive type, asking personal and borderline intimate questions that didn’t involve them at all, so dealing with Chris for one night was worth the peace and quiet you know you’d get from them, apart from all of the questions about your relationship.

After the nearly forty-five minute car ride, you park your car in the lot outside the church, sighing in relief. “I gotta put my heels on then I’m ready to go in,” you tell him, and he nods, not looking up from his phone.

As you’re putting your shoes on, still sitting in the car, Chris speaks up. “How lovey are we going? Like.. from honeymoon phase to established couple, how much should I be touching you?”

You finish buckling the straps on your heels, then sit up and push some hair out of your face, looking over at Chris. “We might have to go full honeymoon phase, unfortunately. If they think for even a second that this isn’t real, I’ll never hear the end of it.”

Chris groans, letting himself out of the car and around to your door, opening it for you and holding a hand out for you to grab. “Alright, let’s do this then.”

You grab his hand and let yourself out of the car, locking it and dropping your keys into your purse. “Wow, you’re such a gentleman when you want to be, huh?”

“I’m actually a very good boyfriend, contrary to whatever you think about me.” Chris leans in as you walk side by side, lips inches away from your ear. “I’m also a very attentive lover,” he whispers.

You whip your head around and slap his chest with the hand that isn’t entwined in his. “Gross! Not something I need to know. Why have you gone so sexual on me lately?”

“What are you talking about?” Chris questions, opening the door to the church for you, letting you walk in before him.

You walk in and turn to watch him come in behind you, lowering your voice. “Telling me you’re an attentive lover, talking about fucking me on the bathroom floor, telling me how hot I am, bending me over your bed.”

Chris rolls his eyes, leading you towards the sanctuary where the ceremony was being held. “I’m not saying I want to fuck you, I’m saying you want to fuck me. And sorry for trying to make you feel better when you’re crying over your body that you definitely shouldn’t be crying about.”

You guys take your seat near the back, settling in nice and close to each other. “I don’t want to fuck you,” you tell him quietly. “Sorry if I got your hopes up.”

“Oh my god, shut up,” he responds, reaching down to place his hand on your thigh, squeezing gently.

You look down at where his hand is placed, the unfamiliar feeling sending shivers down your spine. “See?” Chris whispers, leaning in close to you. “You want me so bad.”

You whip your head up, your faces only inches apart. “Don’t want you at all,” you grumble. “God, I can’t wait to start drinking, you’re way too much to handle.”

“Or am I just clouding your thoughts and you need to drown it out with alcohol?” Chris retorts, smirk evident in his voice.

You reach for his waist and pinch him, hard, glaring at him. “What the fuck has gotten into you? Seriously?” Your tone is aggressive but you’re speaking lowly in a whisper. “Why do you think I want you so bad? Why do you want me to want you so bad? Is there something you need to tell me?”

Chris rolls his eyes, pushing your hand away from him and rubbing the spot where you pinched him. “Don’t need to tell you anything, I just like getting you riled up. Angry you is kinda hot.”

Your eyes widen like saucers, unable to believe that he’s still going, despite you practically yelling at him. “Chris, shut the fuck up before I smack the shit out of you.”

Chris leans back into you, lips grazing over your ear as he starts to speak. You know you should pull away and create distance between the two of you, but something inside of you is keeping you put, staying completely still. “Can you pull my hair too?”

You take a deep breath, the so called intrusive Chris thoughts starting to trickle back into your mind, infiltrating your sanity. It was only the start of the day for fuck’s sake and he had already gotten under your skin, how were you supposed to deal with him the entire rest of the night?

You turn your head away from him, now facing the altar with a stoic expression. “Enough,” you tell him, voice laced with finality.

Chris turns his body as well, staring straight ahead, though his hand still rested on your thigh, too high up for comfort, and you’re grateful that you’re at a wedding and wearing a long dress and not at a family barbecue in shorts, knowing you wouldn’t be able to handle the feeling of skin on skin right now.

The ceremony starts, and as beautiful as it is, it barely serves as a distraction to the terror in your head. You had never thought about Chris like this, and sure he was attractive but that doesn’t mean he made you nervous or made you overthink every interaction. You hadn’t even thought about Matt like this and you guys were super close, always touching, cuddling and calling each other cute names, so why was Chris making you feel this way?

You chalk it up to just being desperate for man’s touch after so long, telling yourself there was no way you were actually craving Chris’s touch in particular, you were just needy and insanely horny.

After the ceremony is over, you stay seated for a few minutes, letting people filter out of the sanctuary before you decide to leave. You’re hoping you can make it to the reception before you have to start introducing Chris to people, but that wish is crushed when your mom and sister walk over to you guys, beaming from ear to ear.

“Hi!” Your mom gushed, leaning down to hug you tightly, rubbing your back as she did so. “Oh my god, you look so beautiful!”

You smile at her and accept the compliment, standing up from your seat to hug your sister as well. Chris stands up next to you but stays silent.

Your mom locks eyes with you and wiggles her eyebrows. “And who is this?” She asks, giddy.

“This is Chris,” you introduce both parties to each other, and Chris reaches forward, shaking hands with both your mom and sister.

“Nice to meet you guys,” he says. “I hear a lot about you.” Lie.

Your mom puts a hand over her chest, pouting slightly. “Oh how precious. You guys look so cute together.”

“Thanks,” he laughs. “All credit goes to her. She picked out my tie and I think she’s definitely pulling her weight in making us look like a good couple. I mean, she looks stunning.”

You turn your head to Chris and he turns and smiles at you, sending a discreet wink your way. He’s turned it on, and it almost scares you how good he is at this. He’s already got your mom wrapped around his finger.

“I would have to agree,” your mom boasts, still smiling as hard as she can. “Hey listen, we gotta get going but we’ll see you over there, yeah?” You nod and hug them both one more time before they leave and you and Chris both feel a weight lifted off your shoulders.

“You’re way too good at that,” you tell Chris, shaking your head.

Chris laughs and gestures for you to exit the row you’re sitting in, ready to get out of her and back in the car. “Told you I’m a good boyfriend.”

You scoff. “Yeah, if only you were a good friend, too.”

Chris furrows his eyebrows as he follows behind you, processing the words you just said to him. “Ouch,” is all he replies.

You guys leave the church and get back in your car, both of you letting out a sigh of relief from being out of the church, even though the only person you had to see so far was your mom.

“How much you gonna drink today?” You ask Chris, mostly as a joke.

Thankfully, Chris laughs. “A lot.”

You giggle, grabbing your phone to find directions to wherever the reception was. “Me too,” you respond.

“There’s a fine line, though. Gotta make sure I drink enough to survive being your boyfriend, but not drink so much that I actually want to be your boyfriend.” Chris jokes, at least you hope he’s joking.

“Drunk words are sober thoughts, Christopher. Better not try to kiss me or something.”

Chris groans. “Yeah, right. I’ll probably kiss your mom before I kiss you. She’s hot.”

You squeal, smacking his chest. “Ew! Don’t talk about my mom like that.”

“Dude, have you seen her? She’s a fucking rocket.” Chris whistles to drive the point home, laughing at your disgusted expression.

“You’re finding your own way home tonight.”

Chris just smirks. “I know exactly who I’m going home with tonight.”

“Enough!”

-

a/n: feel like i’m edging you guys a little TOOOO much. maybe we’ll switch it up soon. also im sorry I told yall this chapter was gonna be boring 😔

taglist

@liiixsturniolos @madelinesturn @st6niolo @mattslolita @ifwdominicfike @sophand4n4 @chris-hallelujah @sophsturns @ariana2saucyy @045696 @scorpioosworld @byhrxb @vickytaa @taelovesmattsturniolo @secret-sturniolo @theboredknightcat-blog @slvtf0rchr1s @flouqissss @gabri3la-sturns @delilahsturniolo @starstrucktyrantinfluencer @vanillsstuff @sturnlsstuff @imjusthereforthesturniolosmut @mattsbrat @mattsfavoritestar @dominicfikeenthusiast @certified-sturniolo @chrisslollipop @noplaceissafeanymore @sofiaaguilaxx @idrk2292 @dylansfavwife @pvssychicken @sturnl0ve @sturnioloangelxoxo @afilmbykay @sofia-is-a-sturniolo-triplet-fan @r0s3luvr @milasturniolo @mattsdillion @birkinbratsworld @sturnburbs @aria003 @poppingmypussy4chris @victoryouactuallydidthis @seluky10 @annsx03 @ouchywow @sluttybitchformattsturniolo

[gunpowder-gemini]

GFSASDGJJHFDSGHGDSFHJGD

I HAVE WRITTEN. A THING.

[simpee9000]

Not Just Friends - 2 -

Prologue : Chapter 1 : Not edited : 3.4k words : M.List

Childhood best friends turned into something more, at least with the label. Katsuki Bakugo, a fast-rising hero and fast-learning guy who is ever so slow in getting attached to and loving someone. Even three long years into a relationship, and your friends even forget you're even dating. Nothing happening, spare a few kisses.. like 3 kisses, during high school. Graduated and living together, and you guys have done absolutely nothing to further the relationship. Are you sure you're not just friends? CW: Smut, brief domestic violence discussion, virginity loss, aggressive flirting from creeps, gore with pro hero stuff (lmk if i missed any) Applies to all chapters regardless of it is in said chapter.

---

-suit colors -can shut my quirk completely off -isn't a piece of shit -password. -others cant turn my shit off either      -katsuki

The note Katsuki left was majority scribbles, clearly written the second he left. You found it right when you were leaving, the crumpled sticky note being placed next to your keys.

Getting the watch set up and made for him would be difficult. Mainly making sure others can't tamper with his quirk. Everything else would be easy. Two weeks tops. Simply needed to take the same material used for his gloves and gauntlets and use it for his watch. The password and personal quirk disabled features would also be easy, just using the same techniques that normal quirk handcuffs use.

When you got to your office you immediately got to work. Drawing up the design and adding in the small details you wanted to add. You went through your email as well, getting the details Izuku sent you about what he wants. Unluckily for him, you would have to order the stuff he needs, everything Katsuki needed was already in the building. His case was personally yours so you saved up any left over materials from his suit. The quirk removing feature would take more time to set up though.

---

"Hey!" someone shouted, tacking your name to the end.

You just entered Katsuki's hero agency for lunch, talking with the sweet old receptionist. Ignoring the shout, you thanked the lady for buzzing you up. Walking over to the elevators and pushing the button to go up.

"Don't ignore me!" The voice whined. You rolled your eyes stepping into the elevator and frantically clicking the button to close the doors.

The doors almost shut completely, a hand stopping it a second to late and getting crushed.

"Fuckin' christ!" You opened the door as quick as you could, trying to make sure they weren't injured. They were doubled over, holding their hand to their chest. "Are you okay?" You asked, grabbing their shoulder to lift them away, attempting to see the injury.

They started shaking and panic ran through you, before you could yell to the receptionist to call paramedics they started laughing. Standing up straight and smiling, placing their 'injured hand' on your shoulder to support their laughter.

"Oh go fuck yourself," you brushed them off. Pressing the elevator open again.

"I'm sorry it was too easy!" He smiled. Moving to stand next to you again.

You ignored him once again. Stepping into the elevator that he unfortunately joined. Looking at the door that previously crushed his hand. "You broke the door," you pointed out, crossing your arms.

"Holy shit, Bakugo is going to kill me," he paled.

"That's what you get for activating your quirk between metal, Kirishima," you commented.

"Ouch, last name?" he feigned pain, clutching a hand to his heart, "Come on, how was I supposed to know?"

You glanced at him briefly, "You nickname your quirk unbreakable, what did you expect?" You deadpanned.

"Not that!"

"Be serious, I know you're not that dumb," you said, stepping out of the elevator at Katsuki's floor. Beginning the path to his office.

"I just wanted to talk to you," he complained, "but you ignored me completely."

"I wonder why."

"Come on," he pleaded, "I said I was sorry."

"Don't care," you knocked on Katsuki's office.

"Please," he begged.

"No."

Just as Kirishima opened his mouth to beg more, Katsuki opened his door. "The fuck are you two bitching about?" Katsuki looked at you for an answer. Which you shrugged and made your way inside. Sitting in his desk chair and sorting through the food he ordered for you two.

Katsuki turned his head to Kirishima, wanting an answer. "She won't talk to me," he pointed at you like a child.

Katsuki turned to you, raising an eyebrow, "Really?"

Before he could start getting to you about acting like a child you pointed back at Kirishima, "He broke your elevator."

He glared at the red head.

"I was just trying to talk to her!"

"And you needed to break my elevator to do that?"

Kirishima paused his comeback, knowing anything he wanted to say would be flawed. You choked back a laugh, cause Katsuki to turn to you.

"Don't act like you're innocent," he pointed, "All ya had to do was to talk him and my door wouldn't be broken."

"Nah, he broke my shit," you shrugged.

"I said I was sorry!"

"Yet now you just broke his shit too," you backed.

"What else did he break?" Katsuki asked.

You pointed towards Kirishima, and his hero outfit, "He broke his shoulder guards, again. I've fixed them five times this month because of the stupid shit he is doing."

"Whatever, out," Katsuki motioned for Kirishima to leave. Which he did, with a pout on his face. Katsuki shut the door and walked over. "Why do you insist on stealing my chair everytime?"

"The other ones aren't comfortable," you answered, handing him his food and opening yours to start eating. "Oh!" You perked up, "I finished the design for your watch, just need everything ordered and I'll start on it."

He took a break from his food, looking up at you, "How long?"

"Shipment should get here in two days, they just had a huge order and have a ton of left overs, so I'm using the stuff they have extras of. Wanna see the design?" You smiled, pulling up a picture on your phone when he nodded.

He looked over the notes you wrote down, zooming in on the smaller details, "looks good."

"Good!" You smiled.

His office door opened, "I forgot, we're having a little get together at Denki's place Saturday," Kirishima smiled before shutting the door again.

"No."

"Come on Kats," you begged, trying to meet his eyes.

"Nuh uh," he took a bite of his food, looking up briefly and meeting your eyes.

"Please! We haven't hung out with them in forever!" You pointed out.

"We hung out last night."

"Yeah, with Z', not with your friends."

"No."

He glared at you until he felt your hand rest on the top of his, "Please?"

"Fuckin' fine," he brushed off your hand and continued eating.

---

"This is lot more then a little get together," Katsuki grumbled right after pushing the door open. Disregarding a knock all together and walking straight in, taking a pause in his step.

You took a glance over his shoulder, since he took up the majority of the small hallway that started off the apartment, seeing the solid twenty or more people that crowded Denki's and Sero's apartment. "It's fine, it's not like we are forced to stay long," you pushed his back lightly, getting him to walk in entirely.

"Kacchan! Surprised you came!" Denki smiled once he saw Katsuki leave the hallway, you stepping out from behind him. "Thanks for dragging him here," Denki came up to you, giving you a one armed hug since his other hand was holding a beer.

"What else am I good for," you joked, "Didn't you say this was a small get together?"

"I was just trying to increase the odds of #2 pro hero coming in," he shrugged, Katsuki shooting him a glare and you a look, saying he wished he never came. "Now make yourselves at home, I gotta make sure Mina doesn't eat all the jello shots."

You watched Denki skip to the kitchen, instantly yelling at a stuffed faced Mina. Looking around the room you saw Sero sitting in a chair with two open spots next to it, turning back to Katsuki, he already knew your look, "Go, I'll get you a drink."

Sero saw you heading his way and gave you a wave. He was sitting in a recliner and had a loveseat spaced next to it. You took the loveseat and leaned on the armrest close to him, kicking your feet unto the other half of the couch to prevent someone stealing Kats spot.

"How's work?" Sero asked once you gave him your attention.

"Good, busy as always. But I've been ahead of the game lately, I think I can start branching out more on my own soon," you smiled.

"Exciting," he smiled, " I see you got the grump outside for once," he nodded to Katsuki, who was being badgered by some of Denki's sidekicks/partners.

You laughed, "Yeah, you're not the first to tell me that tonight, but I'm not surpised. He went out with me last night to Z' as well."

"Did you drug him? I won't snitch."

"No, I think his mom yelled at him or something," you pretended to expose. Hiding the truth behind Katsuki's behavior, which was likely the civilian death he had to deal with recently. "But how's your work?"

"Meh, it's hero work," he drank from his cup, "Recently had to deal with a spider villain so it was weird. It was like fighting myself if I had eight legs and eyes."

The two of you continue to talk about work or recent things between friends. Briefly discussing Kirishima and Mina's budding relationship that's been going on for years. Just before Sero could question your own relationship, Katsuki came back.

"Fuckin' nerds wouldn't leave me alone," he grumbled picking up your legs and sitting on the couch with you, handing you a drink.

"You love the attention," you bumped him with your knee, "and careful, might summon them again."

Casual conversation formed once again, banter between you and Katsuki, and annoyance from him to Sero. On the heated topic of old heroes. With Sero caring less, and just wanting to rile him up.

You smiled along with their conversation, more focus on Katsuki. He's rested into the chair despite being annoyed at the conversation. Having a hand rested on your knee and the other rested on the armrest, holding a low carb beer. Which he took a sip of every once in a while before he had to tell Sero he was wrong again. You admired every move of his, from his sharp jaw, to defined cheekbones, and his bright red eyes. Only stopping when Sero called you out.

"Stop eye fucking in front of me," Sero gagged.

"The fuck?" Katsuki question, not ever aware of what you were doing, "We're not."

"You might not be," Sero smirked.

"Oh fuck you, Sero," you rolled your eyes. Ignoring the blush you felt heating your face.

"Don't push your feelings onto me," Sero teased.

"Oh my god," you groaned, " I give up." Sero crackled as he laughed at you. "Shouldn't you be talking about your dumbass celebrity crush in America?"

"Who's that?" Katsuki questioned, willing to change the topic of conversation again.

"He has a crush on an actor, Ryan Reynolds. The one that reenacts the old anti-hero Deadpool," you informed.

"It's normal in America! Every guy loves him, even the straightest!" Sero defends.

"You do know the murders that Deadpool committed right?" Katsuki questioned, wanting to get on the topic of heroes, a topic he knew everything about.

The debate between whether Deadpool committed crimes for good or not was easily started. Giving yourself another chance to look at Katsuki. Not wanting to be caught you looked at the hand rested on your knee. Reaching out your own hand to trace over his. Soft and smooth from his sweat but rough from the work day. He let his hand lose the soft grip on your knee, letting you hold his entire hand freely. You traced over the rough pads of his fingers that you knew would turn soft again in the morning. Rubbing your thumb over his knuckles and the veins that lined the top of his hand. Remembering how a few years ago he would freak out if you tried to do this exact thing. Only this year has he started to let you hold his hand for longer than five minutes.

Yet he still wasn't perfect. Eventually he pulled his hand from your grip and wiped his hands off on his pants. It seemed like he didn't want your touch on him, it stung. You knew that was unlikely, but the thought couldn't leave your mind. you folded up. Crossing your arms slowly and turning your attention back onto Sero. Which caused his eyes to flicker between you and Katsuki, clearly reading your face. Before he could ask anything, he gave him a slight shake of your head.

Eventually Kirishima dragged Katsuki away from the conversation, wanting him as a partner for cup flipping.

"How come you aren't flirting with girls, Sero?" you asked, used to him normally parading the party rooms for someone to flirt with.

"Denki called dibs on everyone here basically," Sero shrugged. He sat up from his slouched sitting, " Now, what the fuck was that?" Sero motioned from you to where Katsuki was now playing games with Kirishima.

Play dumb.

"Whatcha mean?" you took a sip of your drink.

"Don't play that shit with me, He pulled away from you completely," he pointed out.

"I know, he always does that," you pointed out, wanting to stress that this wasn't a big deal.

"Always? You're kidding"

"Nope," you took a sip, "He's actually improved."

"You're saying it used to be worse," His jaw basically dropped.

"It's Katsuki you're talking about right now," you deadplanned, "Speaking of which, we never talked about this. He doesn't know it bugs me and he doesn't need to."

"Yes he does," Sero stressed.

"No he doesn't," you hissed, " I don't want him knowing. It's fine."

"Come on-"

"Sero, stop."

Before he could push forward someone entered your peripheral, standing in front of Katsuki's spot. Turning your head towards him you gave a guarded smile.

"This seat takin?" he somewhat slurred.

"Yeah it-"

"Kidding! I know it's not. No one has sat here for a good 10 minutes from what I've seen," The guy plopped down on the couch, giving you barely enough time to kick your feet off the couch and scoot over the crowd the armrest into order to not touch the guy. You and Sero shared a look. "So, what's a girl like you doing here alone," The guy smiled, slapping a hand down on your thigh to gain your attention back from Sero.

"I'm not alone?" you peeled his hand from your thigh, dropping it back onto his lap, "I was actually just talk to my friend here abo-"

He put his hand back on your thigh, "I was asking why you had no boyfriend here, you're so pretty."

"I do have one-" you tried to cut in.

"I'll be your boyfriend, names Mason," he smiled weirdly.

Once again, you peeled his hand off your leg, "No thanks."

"Is it cause the name? I'm from America, I'm not lying about my name to sound cool," he hurried out, replacing his hand on your thigh.

"Trust me, I know you're not trying to sound cool," you spoke out disgust, "Now could you please not?" Sero and you shared another look, his asking if he should step in, but you shook your head. You could handle this just fine.

He pondered for a moment, "It's cause you don't know me right? Well, I'm from America. Here to learn about the Japanese heroes-"

"Dude," you cut him off, "I could give less of a fuck, please leave me alone."

"Don't play hard to get," he grabbed onto your leg harder.

Just before Sero jumped in-

"I leave for five fucking minutes," Katsuki spits out.

The guy looked over the back of the couch, "Sorry, did you plan to make a move? I swung first sorry dude, better luck next time."

"No, I fuckin' plan to swing first on the dude that's holding onto my fuckin' girlfriend."

You took the opportunity of the guy being distracted to get his hands off you, and to leave the couch.

"Hey, babe don't leave yet, the guys just being an ass, he'll leave soon," the creep called out to you.

Everyone's attention was on the guy now. Staring at him baffled that he called #2 pro hero an ass right in front of him and his girlfriend. You stepped closer to Sero, prepared for what was about to happen.

"That's it," Katsuki grabbed the hair on the back of the guys head and yanked him down. Couch flipping over with the guy. A quick stomp on the dude stomach had him rolling over in enough pain.

"My couch!" Denki yelped.

"Fuck your couch and fuck your party," Katsuki walked up to you, grabbed your hand and pulled you to leave.

"Gimme a second, I want to say bye," you tugged on his hold when he got to the hallway that lead to the front entrance.

He looked at you baffled, "You just got felt up, they could care less if you said bye right now."

"Kats, I'm fine. I would of handled it if you didn't."

"Fine, say bye," he waved you off, crossing his arms and guarding the exit.

You walked up to where Kirishima, Sero, and Denki were standing watching drunk Mina lecture the creep.

"Hey, I'm heading out," you spoke from behind them, getting their attention.

"That's fine girl, Imma kick his ass more for you," Mina slurred as she jumped to hug you, almost knocking you off your feet. She pulled back from the hug and held onto your shoulders, "You okay?"

"Yeah," you nodded, getting her out of your hold and pushing her into Kirishima, "Make sure she doesn't do something stupid."

"I will, I'll deal with the guy too. What he did was fucking gross," you flinched, it was rare to hear Kirishima curse.

"I bet you will," laughed off. Hugging Sero and thanking Denki for inviting you, all of them double checking if you were okay. It warmed your heart that they were heroes, it was truly the right career. So after confirming that you were fine, you walked back to Katsuki.

"Done?"

"Yep," you put your shoes back on and left the apartment together.

Once in his car, Katsuki turned to you. "You sure you're okay? I'll go put the guy in fucking jail."

You laughed, "I'm fine, Kirishima has it handled."

"You sure?"

"It's not the worst thing a guy has said to me," you shrugged, "Can we get some fast food?"

"The fuck else has a guy said to you?"

"Nothing important Kats, can we drop it? I'm fine."

He eyed you warily, trying to find the correct way to go about this. He sighed and gave in, "What fast food?"

"I don't know, I want a shake."

---

The two of you got the food and cozied on your couch, digging in once you had a random Netflix movie playing. With half of your attention on the movie, and half on the situation, you decided to bring it up. "Is it weird that what the guy did doesn't bug me much?"

Katsuki glance your way, "No? Everyone has different reactions to everything."

"The main thing that bugs me is that people can't tell we are dating, like ever," you said honestly. "Like the dude didn't buy I had a boyfriend in general."

He hummed in reply.

"Our own friends forget half the time, like I wish they knew we were together, and took my word for it," you sighed.

"I know how you feel," Katsuki looked down at his hands, that held his half eaten burger.

"Even you feel that way?" you grabbed a couple fries to eat.

He looked at you, "The other night with that Nana girl, just wished it was more obvious."

"We can't blame them though, it's not like we act like a traditional couple," you shrugged and took a sip of your shake.

"Sorry," shame filled his voice.

You turned to him with you're full attention, "Why are you sorry? You haven't done anything?

"That's the issue," he crossed his arms," I don't do anything, I fucking brush you off me," he dropped his arms again. resting them on his knees and putting his face in his hands.

"Hey," you reached for his shoulder. Stopping when he flinched away from you, "Sorry," you mumbled. Forgetting he hates being sneaked up on or touched when he isn't paying attention.

"This is exactly what I'm talking about, I don't do anything but pull away from you. And you're honestly telling me you're fucking happy in this relationship?" Katsuki looked at you. Getting up to pace when you just stared at him, confused by his outburst.

"Are you not?" you asked, watching him pace the room.

He paused, "Why wouldn't I be? You give me everything I need. I don't even fucking acknowledge your primary love language while you hit every goal of mine."

"Kats, what I said to the girls the other night is the truth, I'm okay with it. The things you need are just as important, and if that's to not touch, that's fine."

"Fucking bullshit-"

"Katsuki," you said his name sharply, "I mean it."

"I don't know how-"

"That doesn't matter, you're worried I'm unhappy and I'm telling you that I am happy. Because I am, now can we please not get into this right now? Tonight already hasn't gone well."

"Fuck, you're right, I'm sorry," he rubbed his hands over his face and went back to his spot of the couch. leaving his food half touched. He opened his arms, "You can lay on me if you want."

"Katsuki, I told you, no physical touch is-"

"That's not what I'm getting at, c'mere," he motioned towards himself. And who were you to refuse, quickly curling up into his side and watching a movie to wash the bad day off you're mind.

-Next Part-

In them m.list of this fic comment if you want to be added into a tag list <3

I'll no longer add people to the taglist if they haven't commented there. It's too much to keep up with all the new part. Hope you understand <3

[just-a-creep-babe]

What Makes You Tick - Chapter 1

(Ticci Toby x Reader)

Waah idk why I'm so nervous to post this part T~T 🖤🖤 I really hope you enjoy! And it would make me super happy if you lmk what you think!! 🖤🖤

Commissions are open!

Check out my ko-fi if you'd like to support me!

Masterlist: x

Divider by @plum98

The scream is loud.

It’s shrill and abrasive, and it ends as quickly as it began—like the person’s breath was abruptly interrupted.

You bolt up. The sound awakens a deep, primal urge within you, and in a matter of seconds, you’re on high alert.

The fact that you’re home alone really only makes the whole situation that much worse.

You count the seconds ever so slowly ticking by. You don’t dare to move an inch. You just hold your breath, waiting, listening to the sound of your own heartbeat in your eardrums.

When you reach 100 and there isn’t another piercing scream, only then does your body recover from the freeze instinct. You move to the windows, try to see something—anything outside.

When nothing seems to be out of the ordinary, you nervously chew at your lip. Did you just imagine it? You don’t see anyone outside; no worried onlookers trying to find the source of the noise, no frantic person wandering the streets for help, nothing.

What are the chances only you would’ve heard it?

The scream replays itself in your head. It sounded like it could’ve come from your downstairs neighbor.

You’re probably the closest person in the vicinity, you realize. If they need help, you might be the only person who could assist them.

You grab your phone and rush out the door. Down the steps, you reach your neighbor’s door and offer three quick knocks against the wood.

You wait, nervously, anxiously, every second ticking by feeling much too long for comfort. When there’s no answer, you knock again. The memory of the scream rings in your ears again, and you feel your hands get sweaty with stress.

No one answers the door. You check your phone, calculate that at least seven minutes have gone by. Would it be appropriate to call the cops?

You open the phone app, then hesitate. Would they even take you seriously? You never once called the police in your life, and just thinking about it has you conjuring up a whole slew of ways it could go wrong.

You linger around the door for a few more minutes, then eventually give up and return up to your apartment. Your plan is to call your parents or roommate or maybe even your friend—anyone who might be able to advise you on what to do. But as soon as you reach your door, you get an eerie chill up your spine. Something isn’t right.

Your door is open.

It’s just a crack; barely even noticeable, and though you did leave in a rush, you’re fairly certain you didn’t leave the door open. It’s not something you would do.

You clutch your phone between tense fingers. Calling for help—even though it should be—is no longer on your mind. All you’re thinking about is who the fuck is in your home right now—and why.

It’s, again, like a fight, flight or freeze instinct kicking in. Except this time, your usual sense of self-preservation is overridden and you’re fully ready to fight.

You open the door, half expecting to see someone in the middle of your living room, but there’s no one there. Relief nearly washes over you, until you glance down and notice a trail of dirt leading deeper into your house.

Seeing it suddenly makes it all the more real.

There’s really someone here. There’s a stranger in your house.

As quietly as humanly possible, you follow along the trail. You’re so focused that your surroundings almost seem to melt away. When you see it; the silhouette of a person you don’t recognize, who doesn’t belong here, in your house, you act without second thought.

One hard hit to the back of the head is all it takes. The person crumples to the floor on impact. You gasp, the sound completely involuntary because holy shit—did that just happen?

Suddenly remembering your phone, you yank it up and dial 911.

The person seems to be knocked out cold, and as the line is ringing, you realize your hand hurts from hitting them so hard. A wave of fear tightens in your chest. Surely, you didn’t severely injure them, right? Surely, they’re just knocked out for a little while, and then they’ll wake up, and they’ll be fine, and you won’t get into any trouble, right?

It all counts as self-defense anyways, right?

Having never called the cops before, you don’t think much of the wait time. Your mind is so preoccupied with what you’ve done, with what’s happened in such a short amount of time, that you don’t even realize how long you’re waiting for.

But then you start to get nervous that the intruder will wake up. Or, worse, that they won’t wake up. The line is still ringing, and when you bring your phone down to check how long it’s been, you find that over five minutes have passed.

What the fuck is going on?

You can only stand to wait a few more minutes before you realize no one’s going to answer.

Maybe something’s down with the lines, or some other big emergency happened elsewhere and they don’t have the staff required to answer. Whatever it is, you’re on your own right now.

You hang up, tell yourself you’ll call back in a few minutes, and then you’re left staring at the knocked-out body of the intruder.

Judging by the shape and size of the figure, they seem to be male. They’re relatively tall and lean, with a square kind of build that tapers down at their hips. You can’t see their face, but they have thick, curly brown hair that reaches below their ears.

You should flip them over, you think. You should flip them over and take a picture of their face so that you have some kind of proof.

You kneel down, wrap your fingers around their form, and, as gently as you can so as to not wake them, you turn them over.

Your stomach drops at the sight. You can’t see their face since it’s hidden beneath orange-tilted goggles and some kind of mouthguard. But it’s what you see on their clothes that has you feeling light-headed.

Blood.

They’re covered in it.

It’s splattered along the front of their hoody, staining the fabric in a dark crimson color. You can’t tell if it’s theirs or someone else’s, and though all logic points to the former, you don’t even want to piece everything together.

You notice as well, now that they’re turned over, that they have a belt tied around their hips. And two blood-soaked axes are hanging from it.

You nearly scream, but the bile threatening to rise up your throat has you holding it all in. And you’re thankful for it, because god knows you don’t want them to wake up now.

If you weren’t high on adrenaline, you’re certain you’d be panicking—more so than you are now, at least. But it’s like your senses are heightened, and your thoughts are much clearer than they otherwise would be, and something inside you is forcing you to stay as calm as possible.

Secure them.

You need to find something to secure them before they wake up.

The best thing you can find on such short notice is a long-sleeved shirt you’d haphazardly left in the living room. You’d meant to put it away, but you hadn’t gotten to it yet—and you’ve never been so thankful for your laziness.

Your hands are shaking as you wrap the sleeves around the stranger’s wrists. You try to make it as tight as possible, and then you knot it over and over again until you’ve no more fabric left to tighten.

You’re grabbing your phone and dialing 911 again as soon as you can. But when you bring it up to your ear, the line doesn’t ring. You wait—fifteen seconds, thirty, a minute—expecting the ringing to start at any moment, but it doesn’t.

On the other end of the line, there’s just silence. Eerie, cold, dead silence. The ends of your hair stand at attention from the goosebumps rising on your skin. Something’s definitely not right.

Just as you’re about to hang up—static blares from your phone. It’s loud and unbearable and completely overpowering, like the sound is ringing inside your own head. It's impossible to think straight.

You scream, throwing your phone to stop the noise. But even with the phone away from your ears, it’s like the noise keeps echoing in your mind. All you can do is press your hands to your ears and squeeze your eyes shut and scream in agony.

It’s dizzying. It’s nauseating. You have no space to think, no space to do anything but clutch your ears and pray the noise will stop. It’s maddening.

You feel like you’re on the verge of passing out from the sheer pain and intensity of it all when, in an instant, it stops.

You don’t pull your hands away from your ears for a good few seconds afterward. Your heart is pumping loudly in your chest. Your jaw hurts from grinding your teeth. Every muscle in your body feels sore from overexertion.

What just happened—are you losing your mind?

Slowly, you hesitantly let go of your head and open your eyes.

He’s awake.

You don’t know if it was your screaming that woke him up—all you know is that he’s conscious, and he's sitting upright and looking at you.

A mix of emotions wash over you at once. You’re relieved he’s alive, confused as to what the hell just happened—and most of all—you’re fucking nauseous with fear.

Fear regarding the source of that noise, but also regarding the fact that there’s a stranger in your house, covered in blood, and the cops aren’t answering. There’s something wrong with your phone, you're home alone, and your neighbor might be bleeding out beneath the floor under your feet. And there's a stranger restrained in your house and you have no idea what the fuck to do.

The worst part is that the person—that man—looks like he's completely calm and at ease. Like he's in total control of the situation.

The nausea worsens, butterflies making you utterly sick to your stomach. It almost feels like you're the one restrained, not him. You’re trapped with him.

You don’t know what to do with yourself.

You stare at him, and he stares back. Or, at least, you think he does; it’s hard to tell beneath his colored lenses.

Your gaze flickers to the hatchets, still secured around his waist. You kick yourself for not taking them off of him. And then you look at your phone, which you threw halfway between you and him, and you swallow back the lump in your throat.

When you look back at him, you notice that he’d followed your gaze to also look at your phone. He looks back at you, tilts his head, and your stomach twists in knots.

Why isn’t he saying anything?

You feel like you’ve accidentally trapped some kind of predatory animal in your apartment. It feels like, at any moment, if you make the wrong move, he’ll lunge at you and rip your throat out.

Never once breaking eye contact, as if he might free himself the second you look away, you slowly creep forward to reach your phone.

He doesn’t say a single word as you move, which makes it all the worse. He merely watches you, curiously, like you're one of the most fascinating things he's ever seen.

When you finally reach your phone, you pick it up, open it, and dial 911 again.

You’re hesitant to press it to your ears. You don’t know what kind of malfunction happened earlier, but you’re not too keen on repeating the experience. You hold it at somewhat of a distance, just in case.

It doesn’t ring.

Just like earlier, all that comes through the line is dead silence. You wait maybe a minute before, out of fear of the static interrupting again, you close the line.

You try not to let your panic show through, because you can feel the stranger eyeing your every move. You dial your roommate’s number, but it’s the same problem.

With unsteady hands, you text your parents that you need help contacting 911. Although they don’t live close to you anymore, they’re usually the fastest to answer your texts. And you need help fast.

When they don’t answer, you text your roommate and friends the same thing. Surely, at least one of them is bound to see the text and help you—right?

“You can—you can try all you want. You won’t be able t-to reach anyone, a-anyways.”

Your blood freezes.

It takes you a second to register his words, and another to react.

“What… what do you mean?” you ask, though the words make your tongue go numb, as if your body’s warning you that just talking to him is a bad idea.

“He’s watching.”

In the culmination of your entire lifetime, you don’t recall having ever felt such pure, tangible fear.

The feeling is similar to that sensation you get when you’re at the peak of a nightmare—when you’re just about to come face-to-face with the monster, or when you’re about to reach the ground after falling from a great height—when you’re just about to die and it all feels so real.

But this moment feels surreal.

“Who’s watching?”

There’s more conviction in your voice than you feel in your entire nervous system. You don’t know how you manage to sound so calm, so self-assured and in control of the situation, but it’s certainly not how you feel on the inside.

“He is. The one who’s—“ he cracks his neck abruptly to the side, interrupting his own sentence before finishing, “always watching.”

Another chill up your spine, though you manage to mask it fairly well, all things considered.

“Don’t—don’t worry. The police will be here—here—they’ll be here soon. Maybe 15, 20 minutes?”

You don’t know whether you should be relieved or unnerved by his reassurance.

“How… do you know that?” you ask hesitantly.

He shrugs, the movement entirely too comfortable, entirely too nonchalant.

“S-s’almost always the same.”

You want out. You want out of this conversation, out of this whole situation. You want him out of your house.

“What do you mean?” you ask, “How many times have you done this?”

You don’t know if you want the answer to your own question. In all honesty, you don’t even want to consider what the “this” in your question even refers to.

But it’s out of your mouth before you can even stop yourself.

He tilts his head, like he’s considering it. And then, after a few seconds, he shrugs again.

“Lost count.”

You don’t like his answer.

15-20 minutes, you think. There’s a chance he's lying, a chance he just said that to put you at ease and prevent you from trying to call again.

But there’s a chance he’s right.

There’s a chance some of your neighbors heard, or your friends and family saw your text and have managed to call for help. Either way, you realize that you have time to burn. You need to stay calm, focused.

He doesn’t seem agitated, which you take to be a good thing. He doesn’t seem frustrated or angry or unstable. If anything, it’s like he’s open to talking.

What more could you ask for?

You rack your brain for the best course of action. But you’re at a loss. You’re panicking on the inside.

You realize that one of the best things you could probably do is keep him preoccupied, keep him distracted.

“…How old are you?”

You don’t know why that, of all things, is the first question to come to mind. But it seems like a safe enough bet; it’s not too personal so as to upset him, and yet it might help narrow his identity or motivations down.

If only you’d had the chance to remove his mask and snap a pic of his face before he woke up.

You don’t expect him to take as long to answer as he does. He tilts his head again, looks up like he’s trying to calculate something in his head.

And then his answer sends another wave of unease through your system.

“Lost count,” he admits.

You don’t know what his answer means, what it might entail, but part of you doesn’t even want to know that either, at this point.

You rack your brain for another neutral question, when he suddenly jerks his shoulder and pops it in a motion that doesn’t look entirely voluntary.

You pause.

Is he on drugs or something?

That would explain a few things, though not everything.

He seems to be coherent enough to hold somewhat of a conversation, but it’s not like he’s making the most sense. At the very least, having something to blame some of the strangeness on makes the situation somewhat more tolerable.

To test out your theory, you ask him outright, “Why are you here? Do you know where you are?”

He looks around, like he’s only now noticing he’s in your apartment.

“This the—this the—the upstairs unit? Your place?”

You nod, slowly, but even as you do, you’re not entirely sure you want him to know that. And then you also don’t really want to know the answer to the next question, but you need to ask.

“What happened?”

Nothing could’ve prepared you for his answer. The way he states it too—so simply, so obviously, like it was as normal of a thing as going out for groceries—makes you completely sick to your stomach.

It’s like the magnitude of the situation fully crashes down on you when he answers.

“I killed her.”

[frostfangalphabitch]

In AC6, at the end of Chapter 1, "Attack the Watchpoint", you're caught in a coral explosion, and afterwards Ayre tells you that it "completely vaporized northwestern Belius's bay area". Then they show you this map.

The Watchpoint itself is entirely over water, so I assumed it'd just been built in the middle of the crater. Doesn't help that they don't show you a map of the area in any briefing before this one.

Except... They do, technically. The mission is only accessible in NG++, but it shows a map of Western Belius before the explosion. If we look at these side by side, well...

(Colored squares included to highlight landmarks, credit to my cousin for making this for my artistically impaired ass)

Without the map of the area pre-explosion, it's hard to really grasp just how

FUCKING GARGANTUAN

the explosion really was.

You know Grid 086? The gigantic jungle of rusted steel we traverse through in order to get to the Cargo Launcher?

Yeah, that's contained within that little square, which barely registers on the bigger map up there (and isn't included in the other map for some reason). The explosion destroyed an area of land AT LEAST 50x bigger than that. I don't have numbers, but that is significantly bigger than the biggest bomb we have access to right now in real life. Ayre wasn't kidding. It vaporized that entire area. And as she says, that's only a spark compared to the Fires of Ibis.

The fact that both you and the Watchpoint itself survived is seriously a miracle.

Holy fucking shit.

[littleredwing89]

FAMOUS [PART THREE]

Bodyguard!Jason Todd x Singer!Reader

Summary: There was something about the way the dim light softened his features, made his usual tough-guy exterior seem more approachable.

Warnings: None really. Building tension between you & Jason.

A/N: So here is a very-very-VERY long overdue part 3 - Wooo!! 💛💛 if it makes you all feel better - I have completely written this story (40k words approx) so I’ll just post 1 or 2 chapters a week for you. I’m sorry this took so long my loves 😘😘 - sending all my love & please enjoy the next chapter - I really hope it was worth the wait.

Elle xoxo ❤️❤️❤️

———

HARDER THAN NECESSARY

———

***

The apartment was eerily quiet, the soft hum of the city beyond the window the only sound filling the space. You tiptoed across the hardwood floors, your oversized college sweater hanging loosely on your frame, hoping to make it to the door without disturbing the brick wall of a man currently asleep down the hall.

Just as your fingers brushed the doorknob, a loud click echoed through the room.

“Freeze,” Jason’s deep, gravelly voice commanded, his gun trained on you in an instant. His eyes were sharp, scanning you for a threat before recognition dawned on his face.

“Holy shit,” you gasped, raising your hands slowly. “Slow down, cowboy.”

Jason cursed under his breath, quickly holstering the gun. “Shit. Why are you sneaking around your own house?”

“Because!” you snapped, not wanting to admit why you were really sneaking out. The idea of telling him you were trying to repay him for the burger and chips he got you last week was… embarrassing, to say the least. “I am… I just…”

Jason rolled his eyes. “Why are you dressed sketchy?”

“It’s comfy, sue me,” you huffed, tugging at the hem of the oversized sweater.

“Don’t tempt me,” Jason muttered, crossing his arms and planting himself between you and the door like the human wall he was.

“Look, just go back to bed,” you sighed, trying to push past him. “I’m sorry I woke you.”

But Jason didn’t budge. “You’re not going out.”

“Yes, I am,” you shot back, frustration bubbling up. “Alone.”

Jason’s expression darkened, his body language shifting from casual to protective in an instant. “No—I’m going with you. Let me just get a jacket.” He reached for his brown leather jacket draped over the kitchen barstool.

“No!!” you blurted, panic rising in your chest. You hadn’t planned for him to come along. “I’ll be fine! I do this all the time on my own! I really don’t need an escort.”

Jason’s eyes narrowed as he grumbled, “This is why Mr. Sionis hired me. You can’t do this shit alone anymore—it isn’t safe.”

“Roman’s an overprotective idiot,” you muttered, arms crossed over your chest. “He doesn’t know the half of what I do.”

Jason sighed, clearly losing patience. “We either go together, or you don’t go at all.”

You looked down at the floor, knowing you were defeated. All you wanted was to repay Jason’s kindness from before, but now it felt like the universe was against you. Keeping your emotions in check, you let out a long breath. “I’m not used to this…” you muttered.

Jason softened just a little, sensing your frustration. “Let me go with you. I’ll pay. If we pretend it’s a date, people are less likely to even recognise you.”

Your face flushed pink at his suggestion. “What?!”

Jason fumbled, his own face heating up. “Just—just pretend! Look, I’m here to stay, okay? Mr. Sionis wants you safe, so we should probably get to know each other better. I mean, I am living in your box room down the hall.”

You shot him a look. “It’s not a box room—I gave you a room with a nice view of Gotham.”

Jason smirked, clearly amused. “You’re deflecting.”

With a dramatic sigh, you threw your hands up. “Fine. But I’m driving.”

Jason tossed you his keys, surprising you. “Don’t scratch it. I just got it fixed up.”

You smirked, twirling the keys in your hand. “Don’t worry, I won’t hurt your baby.”

Jason’s face flushed slightly as he looked away. “You better not, or you’ll be paying for her next paint job.”

You grinned mischievously. “Her? Does she have a name, tough guy?”.

Jason ignored your teasing, shrugging on his jacket. “Come on—I thought you were hungry.”

Stifling a laugh, you headed out the door, calling back over your shoulder, “Yes, sir.”

Jason bit back the smile threatening to spread across his face, trying to ignore the way that “sir” made his stomach twist in a way it definitely shouldn’t.

——

The diner was quiet, the low hum of neon lights flickering above as you and Jason sat across from each other in one of the old booths. When the food arrived, Jason reached for his wallet, but before he could pull it out, you quickly slipped your card over the machine with a smug smile.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Jason grumbled, clearly caught off guard.

“I know,” you replied, giving him a teasing smile. “But it’s nice to repay the favor, y’know?”

Jason gave you a rare, small smile. “Thanks.”

You nodded, a little flutter of satisfaction warming your chest. “However, if I’d known that, I would’ve ordered more,” Jason teased, leaning back in his seat.

You rolled your eyes, playfully scoffing. “Jerk.”

“Eh, sue me.”

You tried to focus on your food, but your eyes kept drifting back to Jason as he casually leaned back in his leather jacket, looking more relaxed than you’d ever seen him. There was something about the way the dim light softened his features, made his usual tough-guy exterior seem more approachable.

Jason noticed you staring and raised an eyebrow. “What? Is there something on my face?” He wiped at his chin, checking for stray ketchup.

Flushing red, you shook your head quickly. “No! No… sorry, I just zoned out. I was thinking about a new song I’m working on.”

Jason smiled, the edges of his lips tugging upward. “Yeah, I heard some of it last night. Or, well, early this morning.”

Your eyes widened. “Oh shit, sorry—I didn’t realise the noise carried that far down the hall.”

Jason shrugged, his smile still lingering. “It’s not a complaint. It sounded great.”

You were about to say something in return, something sweet and appreciative, but Jason—being Jason—slurped his drink loudly through the straw, completely killing the mood. You furrowed your brow, muttering, “Mood kill.”

Jason looked at you, confused. “What?”

“Nothing,” you said with a sigh, glancing at the clock. “We should probably head back.”

——

The drive back to the apartment was quieter than usual, but not uncomfortable. Jason had his elbow resting on the car door, his other hand draped casually on his thigh, looking out at the city lights. You glanced at him every now and then, trying to shake the lingering thoughts of how natural it felt having him beside you.

As you stopped at a red light, you couldn’t help but ask, “So, you really heard me working on the song last night?”

Jason nodded, glancing over at you. “Yeah. You’re good. Like… really good. You’re not just some pretty face in a band.”

You felt your face heat up. “Thanks, but you don’t have to say that just because you’re protecting me.”

“I’m not,” he said, his tone more serious than you expected. “I mean it. You’ve got talent. Don’t let Roman’s overprotectiveness make you forget that.”

The compliment caught you off guard. Jason wasn’t the type to throw praise around carelessly, and hearing it from him made it feel different. More genuine. You smiled, turning back to the road as the light turned green. “That means a lot coming from you.”

Jason shifted slightly, as if uncomfortable with the sentimentality. “Yeah, well… don’t get used to it. I’ve got a tough reputation to keep.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at that, the sound filling the car. “Sure, big guy. I’ll keep your secret.”

The rest of the drive passed quickly, and soon enough, you were pulling into the underground parking lot of your building. You killed the engine and sat there for a moment, neither of you moving to get out.

Jason was the first to break the silence, clearing his throat. “You really didn’t need to sneak out earlier, y’know. I get that you like your independence, but… I’m here to help. You don’t have to do everything on your own.”

Your hand hesitated on the car door handle, his words sinking in. He wasn’t just talking about tonight. He was talking about more than that—about your habit of handling things solo, even when it wasn’t safe. You bit your lip, looking down at your hands. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate the help… It’s just hard to adjust to having someone around all the time. I’m used to taking care of myself.”

Jason watched you carefully, his voice softer than before. “I get it. But you don’t have to anymore. Not with me.”

You glanced over at him, meeting his steady gaze. The sincerity in his eyes made your heart skip a beat. It was as if he wasn’t just saying it because it was his job—he meant it, and that scared you a little.

“Thanks, Jason,” you said quietly, feeling the weight of his words.

He gave a small nod, reaching for the door handle. “Come on, let’s get inside before Roman tracks us down.”

As you both stepped out of the car and made your way toward the elevator, you couldn’t shake the feeling that something had shifted between you. It wasn’t just the professional relationship anymore. It was different…in a good way.

When you reached your apartment, you turned to face Jason before unlocking the door. “Hey,” you said, your voice barely above a whisper. “Thanks for tonight… and for everything.”

Jason gave you a half-smile, his eyes softening just slightly. “Anytime, princess.”

***

[justastraymoa]

Unwilling Alpha

Chapter 8

The reveal pt 1

Warnings ⚠️ swears, abo dynamics, mentions of slave trade, mentions of rape, mentions of abuse, mentions of death, fear, manipulation.

Nothing within reflects anyone or anything irl. Pics off pinterest.

🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱

~

I took a few minutes to get ready.  Make my hair presentable, double check the sweater sat right, perfectly framing the soul marks I was meant to show off.

Then I sat my camera up, facing the blank wall I was going to use as a backdrop in leu of actually having my usual backdrops.  I adjusted the lighting using the bedside lamps to give my skin a soft warm sunset glow in the pictures.  Giving the whole picture a soft vibe.

I had a remote clicker for my camera that I mainly used when dealing with children, but it worked with this too.  I sat cross legged facing the wall, trying to envision good poses I would usually instruct my subjects into if I were just taking photos at the studio.

Even though the sweater was high necked in the front and long sleeved, I still felt exposed with it being backless.  My face flamed red every time I shifted into a slightly different pose.  I couldn’t actually see how the poses were working without moving to look after every photo, so instead I opted to try a bunch of poses.  This also meant that each Omega could choose their own favorite pose and photo, and they would all be matchy matchy with their posts.

Ten minutes and 27 photos later I was done.  Hopefully I got at least 8 good photos in there somewhere.  There was no way I was going to do this again if there wasn’t.  This would be a moment I look back on and still get embarrassed after 5 years.

I threw on a sweatshirt and grabbed the stuff to edit the photos on the TV again.  The boys seemed to enjoy watching me edit the photos last time, and they could choose their photo at the same time.  Plus, the big screen made the editing so much easier.

When I opened the door, I nearly jumped out of my skin.  All 8 Omegas were standing in the simply lit hall outside my door.  “What in the actual fuck are you doing?”  I gasped holding my chest.  My heart was racing out of my chest.

“You were taking a long time.”  Hyunjin explained completely unapologetic to taking years off my lifespan.

“So, you decided giving me a heart attack was the best thing to get me to hurry?”

There was a series of shrugs from them, and I rolled my eyes so hard it actually hurt.  “Get in the living room!”  I snapped waving my hand at them.

“I made you some chicken.  You can eat it while we look at your pictures.”  Lee Know said, handing me a bowl as we settled back in the living room.

“Thank you, Lee Know.”  I smiled at him gratefully.  I sat back and ate a piece.  It was melt in your mouth good-as usual.  The food is another thing I had missed, though not nearly as much.  It was so different here than at home – or my previous home I should say.

“Holy shit!  Y/n!  What the fuck?”  Seungmin exclaimed when the first picture loaded.

Chan whistled.  “This is borderline indecent!”

“Well, I needed to show the marks!  They go down most of my spine!”  I defended myself feeling self-conscious.

The picture in question wasn’t even close to indecent.  I had one arm across my body and softly placed over my ribs and my head was slightly tilted back and turned toward the camera, but not enough so that you could see my face.  Surprisingly, I kind of liked it.  Turned out better than I expected.

“You’re sure you’re not a model?”  Changbin asked.

I felt my cheeks start to warm.  “Shuddup guys!  I just know how to pose people.  It was part of my job!”

“Y/N, I don’t say this lightly, but you are a natural model.  You make it look effortless.”  Hyunjin praised as they flipped through more photos.

“Thank you.”  I responded blushing deeper and clearing my throat.

The next several hours were spent choosing photos and then editing them.  They each captioned the photo ‘Stray Kids found their Alpha!’ and posted their photos at the same time.

I again made sure to like each one.

Then we sat back and watched STAY and netizens go absolutely berserk.  It was kind of entertaining to watch how unhinged they all got.  And STAY was pretty much throwing a worldwide party to celebrate the news.

STAYs jealousy and dislike for change was overshadowed by the fact that Stray Kids was not being forced to disband – for now.  Some even claimed that waiting until the eleventh hour was very on brand for Stray Kids, but I didn’t see it.

The rumor mill started working overtime almost immediately.  There was a rather large faction that believed their Alpha was another idol and that’s why it took so long to bond.  They had to negotiate and adjust all the contracts accordingly.

Another rumor with a lot of believers was that they found their Alpha in the slave and sex trade ring.  They concluded that it took so long because they had to find a way to free the Alpha.  Some said they bought them, some said they snuck them out and helped them escape.  The most generous one was that they worked with the authorities to bring the ring down.  A handful of fanfictions were inspired by that last one.

Their attacks and hate on me wouldn’t start until the euphoria of Stray Kids staying wore off.  Maybe, if I was lucky, a couple weeks.  At the very least until I was revealed.  And then I could only hope their disappointment over the true story being revealed wouldn’t start a revolt.  Netizens could be very cruel.

“Well, we only have until tomorrow until we announce our mini tour.  So, enjoy the last of your relaxation.”  Chan announced with a sigh.

I perked up.  “A mini tour?”  I had never even been to a concert.  Too broke to go to a location they were at.  Too broke for a ticket at all, actually.

“It’s a surprise for STAY.  A kind of celebration that we are back.”  Han explained.

“But you didn’t know if you’d be back.”  Did they somehow know I would come back?  How?  I didn’t even know.

“We planned the tour when we first went on hiatus, under the assumption that we would be back.”  Chan shrugged.

“The power of positive thinking?”

“Hey, it worked.”

I snorted but couldn’t deny it.  I have always believed in positive thinking, this just felt more like a miracle.

“So, lots of practice then.”  Lee Know said in confirmation sounding a little relieved.

“Finally!”  Hyunjin cheered.

I smiled.  It was good to see them so excited about getting back to work.  They were all so passionate about what they do – their craft, if you will.  They truly loved what they did.  And put their everything into what they created and put out into the world.

“Cool.  Then while you are practicing, I’m going to go home a-!”  I was interrupted when Seungmin tackled me suddenly.  He maneuvered so he took the brunt of the hit when we landed on the floor.

Several voices cried out our names at once and I blinked up into Seungmins terrified eyes before they disappeared.  He hugged me tightly, fingers clutching at the hoodie I was wearing.

There was some chaos as the others alternated between yelling at Seungmin and fussing over me.  However, I clearly heard Seungmin when he spoke in my ear.  “You can’t leave us again.”

Realizing what happened I wrapped my arms around him and ran my hands up and down his spine once before gripping the back of his neck, right over his mark.  His body immediately relaxed on top of me, but he still didn’t let go.

“Shh, my Omega.  I’m not leaving forever.  I need to pack up my things and wrap up my old life.  Then I’ll be back.”  I promised lowly, keeping my hand on his mark.  “A week tops.”

He shook his head.  “Too long.”

“The sooner I get there, the sooner I can get back.”

The others managed to get us into a sort of sitting position, but Seungmin refused to let go.  “You can’t leave!  You can’t leave again!”

Giving up, Chan sat next to us.  “We can hire people to pack up your things and whatever.”

“There, see.  Now I don’t have to go.”  I whispered to Seungmin giving his neck a gently squeeze.

Slowly, in small increments, Seungmin eased his grip and released me, looking embarrassed and slightly glassy eyed.  “It’s okay, Seungmin.”  I soothed reaching out to smooth his hair from his face.

“He could have been gentler.”  Lee Know pointed out, annoyed.  He stood nearby; arms crossed.

“He protected me from the fall.  And I should have gone about announcing that differently since everything is still so fresh.”

“It’s just…letting you out of our sight is going to be hard for a while.”  Chan explained.

“Try impossible.  She leaves the room and I get anxious!”  Changbin added.  Han nodded beside him.

“It’s not possible to always be in the same room, but I’ll try to let you know where I am.  And not be gone long.”  I said looking to each of them.

They looked unhappy but resigned.  They knew just as well as I did that, I couldn’t be with them all the time.  There would come a time when they separate themselves for their own things and I can’t be multiple places at once.  We would have to decide who I will go with and when.

“Now, Seungmin, come with me please.”  I stood and held a hand out to him.  “We are heading to the bathroom.  I am going to give you a shampoo massage.”

“OOO!  Can I get one?”  Felix asked.  “That sounds so good!”

Seungmin took my hand and stood as I answered.  “After Minnie.”

I set Seungmin up, so he comfortably lay with his head over my tub.  Using my detachable showerhead, I soaked his hair before lathering it generously with shampoo.  While the shampoo worked its magic, I fished one of my face masks from my toiletry bag and smoothed it over his face.

He caught my hand as I moved away.  “I’m sorry.  The last time you were here, I – I’m sorry for how I acted.”

I smiled at him softly.  “I understand your actions.  I was never upset with you.”  I assured him, rubbing my thumb along the back of his hand.  “We can start fresh now that I’m here to stay.”

Seungmin nodded.  “Okay.  Thank you.”

“No need for thanks.  Now, relax and enjoy.”

I got back to work, humming softly.  I could hear the others behind me in the guest room, unable to stay far away for long, but giving us some one-on-one time anyways.  As much as they were able to.  They stayed quiet so they didn’t disturb us.  It was a nice, warm moment filled with love and care all around.

Seungmin seemed to be enjoying himself, so I took my time, alternating between massaging and gently scratching his soapy scalp, then moving down to massage his neck and shoulders as well.  Then repeated the process with conditioner, adding in an ear massage.

“Mmm.  You’re very good at this.”  Seungmin hummed as I rinsed.

I smiled.  “Thank you.  I’m out of practice.  I used to do this for my mother when she got a migraine.”

“Where is your mother?  You never mentioned your parents before.”

I paused before patting his hair with a towel.  “She passed when I was 14.  Brain aneurysm.  Dad never recovered.  He had a heart attack 5 years later.”

“I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have pried.”  Seungmin sat up, turning to me.

Smiling brightly, I waved his words off.  “Don’t worry, Minnie.  I’m happy they are together again.”  I wasn’t lying.  I had long since come to terms with losing them.

“Now,” I draped the damp towel over his head.  “Send Felix in.”

Felix was almost as still as Sungmin had been.  I had no idea he could be so still and quiet.  He was always bubbling over with life, with movement.  To witness him so still and silent was unnerving.

“So, I don’t know how any of this works.  What can I expect over the next few weeks?

“We will need to link you to our calendars, so you have our schedules.”  Felix started.  “But the next few days are going to be filled with set list planning, dance practices, and making sure we still remember the lyrics and perfecting the singing.”

“So, I just…follow you around?”

“For now, I guess.”  He shrugged.

It honestly sounded boring.  Just sitting around while they practiced and worked.  I would just be in the way most likely.  And there was no way they would let me stay here.  I couldn’t even leave the room at this point.

Whatever.  It is what it is for now.  I’m new to this, learning everything as I go.  I would eventually find my spot in this part of their lives.  Where I could help and not be a burden.  Hopefully.

“What about when I’m revealed?”

Chan joined us, sitting on the floor next to the tub.  He must have been listening in to the conversation.

“We have a group live planned already for tomorrow, when our hiatus officially ends.  We can reveal you then and figure things out after that.”  He answered.

I dried Felixs hair with a dry towel while I let that sink in.  In just a day a secret I spent most of my life hiding will be revealed.  It almost didn’t feel real.  Like this was actually someone else’s life and I was just watching it from the sidelines.

“Is there any way, at all, that I can not be revealed?”  I asked with no real hope.  They always had a camera on them, and they always wanted me with them.  Therefore, I would always have a camera on me.

More than that, the law states I must go with them.  Stupid outdated law.

“We will be right there with you.”  He said not even bothering to answer my question.  We both already knew the answer anyways.

“It will be okay, Y/n.”  Felix assured, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear and giving me a smile.

“I swear to god, if you guys break your promise and leave me, I’m running away!”  I threatened with every bit of seriousness I could muster.

They both chuckled.  “Yeah, you’re going to be fine.”  Chan reaffirmed.

Back in the guest room the Omegas had set up the makeshift beds again.  “Sleepover?”  At our ages?”  I joked.

“You are never too old for a sleepover.  Especially if it’s with you.”  I.N declared from his nest of blankets.

I rolled my eyes.  “If any of you snore, I’m kicking you out on your ass.”

Even though I slept most of the day, I was still ready to crawl under the blankets.  Since I didn’t sleep on the plane and exhausted myself bonding, my body didn’t know which way was up right now.  Though this may help get my sleep schedule on this time zone just a bit faster.

“No playing around.  We have an early day tomorrow.  Get to sleep.”  Chan ordered.  The room bustled into activity as the Omegas got ready for bed.  I changed into my makeshift pjs.  Turns out I didn’t pack any actual pjs, but I found something that worked so its whatever.

I crawled into the bed and faceplanted into the pillow, sighing loudly into it.  It smelled strongly of Seungmin.  So much so that I didn’t think he let anyone else sleep here since I left.

~

Unwilling Alpha Taglist: @xxeiraxx @hanniemylovelyquokka @breadedloafs @songleepark @f1ln4dr3cl16mv33 @hyunjinhoexxx @kayleefriedchicken @vietjeb @hityoulikebahng @juju-227592 @ionlyeverwantedtobeyourequal @royal-shinigami @bangchansfavoritenoona @straykidslvr @bookswillfindyouaway @h0rnyp0t @Svmmerstime @jennibahng @kpopandmusicpassion @jasmin-loves-k-pop @cookey-lock @possum-playground @demigoddreamon-blog @rei-reia @dreamerwasfound @jasmin-loves-k-pop @ms-flowergirl

[ladykailitha]

The Caged Bird Still Sings Part 10

Hey guys! Welcome back!! This story did better last week, so yay!!!

This chapter is a lot of happy moments for Steve, after Hopper gives a tiny heart attack. Just a tiny one though. Just Steve being helped by three older men have a much better day than yesterday (or last week for us! ;))

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

~

Steve hurried out to the parking lot of the hotel. He skidded to a stop in front of the valet station looking around frantically.

There leaning against his car was the Chief of Police, hands clasping his wrists, and legs crossed at the ankle. When he spotted Steve, he raised one hand to wave.

Steve looked around and then hurried over. “Holy fuck. I thought my dad had found me, Hop!”

Hopper grimaced as he stood up. “Yeah, I probably should have put in a hint who I was. I didn’t mean to put you on the defensive straight away.”

Steve froze as the implication hit him. “What happened?”

Hopper held up his hand placatingly. “I want to first let you know that they’re okay, just a little shaken up.”

“Who, Hop?” he bit out, his fist clenching at his sides.

“Your daddy and Hank Tippets showed up at the Henderson’s about a half hour ago,” Hopper explained. “Dustin radioed me and before either man could do something stupid, I managed to scare them off. And if hair on their heads so much is disturbed they’re going to jail. Clint isn’t going to risk that. Especially with me breathing down his neck.”

“Shit.” Steve was suddenly very sick. How did they find the Hendersons? Were they really all right?

“Whoa, son,” Hopper said, reaching out for him as he began to sway. “They followed your car. But I’ve got a plan for that. We’re going to drive down to the police impound lot and cover it with a tarp. No one will think to look for it there. Then you’re gonna lay low here for about a week. Give this time blow over. During that time, I’ll see about getting you another vehicle for you to drive.”

Steve looked up at him with wide-eyed amazement. “Oh that is a good idea.”

“Thanks,” he replied dryly. “You follow me to station, I’ll tell people you’re filing a complaint against Hank Tippets for the incident at the arcade yesterday and then I’ll impound your car.” He cocked his head to the side with a grin. “And then lose the paperwork.”

Steve huffed out a weak laugh, but did as he was told. He pulled into the police station and Hopper took down all his information.

Suddenly Hopper was cursing and yelling up a storm. The desk sergeant came running up to him and they both struggled with the shredder. But alas, whatever it was had been completely obliterated.

“One of these days that damn thing is going to eat someone!” Hopper growled. “Put in an order for a new one, Sgt. Rogers so that we don’t have further tragedies.”

The sergeant nodded and Hopper winked at Steve. Steve fought to keep the smile off his face. His car was never here. He finished up the rest of the complaint and let Hopper drive him home.

Steve hunched down into the seat and crossed his arms in front of his chest with a pout. “What’s point of having money if I can’t treat the people I love?”

Hopper gave him the side eye. “You want to tell me what’s really goin’ on? Because your daddy is a lying snake and there is something people aren’t saying.”

“You have to promise not to overreact,” Steve huffed. When Hopper laughed, he bit out, “I mean it, Hop.”

“Yeah, yeah, kid,” Hopper said shaking his head. “I’ll be cool and calm.”

So Steve told him about his last week. From Tommy all the way to Hank Tippets.

Hopper drove in silence for a moment ingesting everything Steve told him.

“No one but Monty and now you knows who Eddie is,” Steve warned him. “And I’d like to keep it that way.”

“Agreed,” Hopper said. “Nice to see that there are still decent folk left in the world, Eddie always did take more after his uncle Wayne, then he did his daddy. Nice to see fame didn’t change that.”

Steve straightened up; hands, a white knuckle grip on the sides of the front seat. “You’re first adult I’ve ever heard say anything good about him in all my years growing up in Hawkins.”

Hopped snorted. “Oh, he was trouble, there was no doubt about that. But he always had a soft spot for the weak, the abused, and the downtrodden. The outcasts. He probably saw in you hat he saw in those kids he picked up all the time for that game of his.”

“He had a game?” Steve asked, leaning away from Hopper skeptically. “Really?”

“That table top role-playing game that got all the newspapers up in a tizzy a couple years back.”

“D&D?” Steve asked in shock. “He played D&D?”

Hopper snapped his fingers. “That’s one. All of Ellie’s friends play it. It’s a harmless little fun. It’s just make-believe with paper and dice.”

Steve nodded.

They pulled up to the hotel and Steve opened the door to jump out.

“You take care of yourself, okay?” Hopper said. “I’m trusting Eddie to keep you safe, so you better let him, you hear?”

“Loud and clear!” Steve said with a jaunty wave.

“Go on and get out of here, you menace,” Hopper groused.

Steve closed the door behind him and went up to his room. He could see the message light was blinking, so he went over to listen to it.

“Hey, Stevie, it’s Eddie. I see you’re out. I hope everything is okay. Give me a call when you get this. BEEEEEPPPP!!”

Steve immediately dialed Eddie’s number.

“Hey, little Canary,” Eddie cooed. “You okay?”

Steve let out a small whimper and long drawn out, “No.”

“Oh, baby,” Eddie murmured. “Tell me everything.”

So he did. From the arcade to sneaking out early, to what happened at the Hendersons according to Hopper. The complaint against Hank Tippets and the loss of his car.

“I never did like ole man Tippets,” Eddie said darkly, “always throwing his weight around just because he was the mayor’s campaign advisor once.”

“And that was from before I was born.”

Eddie chuckled. “I’m glad you have the Chief in your corner. I didn’t realize he had adopted a little girl, though.”

“Yeah,” Steve said. “She was found wandering the streets, with no memory of who she was or how she got there. She was in specialized care for a couple of years and during that time Hop was there every day and they just bonded. Once she was cleared for going home, he adopted her. They’ve been together ever since.”

“That’s cute,” Eddie murmured. “I am sorry about the loss of your car, little Canary. That really sucks. Are you going to be okay?”

Steve let out a shuddering breath. “I mean, not really. I knew my dad was going to go after the kids, I just thought I had all my bases covered when I took them to the arcade.”

“You did a really good job,” Eddie soothed. “You didn’t know there would be somewhere there who jumped to the absolute wrong conclusion.”

“Yeah,” he muttered, “I guess you’re right. But I’m going to be a good boy and stick to the hotel until my dad gets the fuck out of town. And hopefully for this to blow over.”

“You do that, baby,” Eddie purred. “What are your plans for today?”

“I should go for a swim but I think I’m going to hide out in the suite, order pizza and watch trashy porn.”

Eddie laughed. “All porn is trashy, honey. The only difference is budget.”

They talked for a bit longer before Eddie had to go and they hung up. Steve was feeling sorry for himself when he realized there was something he could do.

He hopped into the shower and then got dressed in some of his nicer attire. Once his hair was flawless he grabbed his room key and trotted down the front desk. He cheered to himself when he saw the person at the desk was Bob. He was a cheerful, round man with sparkling eyes and a kind smile. The other person who manned the front desk during the day was horrible.

When Steve had asked about getting the combination for his safe in his room, the woman was very condescending to him and told him the hotel safe was good enough for a “young thing” like him.

He slid her his chip to get the money out of the safe and when she came back she was absolutely stark white and literally falling over herself to get Steve whatever he wanted.

“Bob!” he greeted warmly.

“Mr. Munson,” he replied cheerfully. He had been told the room was under Eddie Munson and that Steve was a cousin that needed a place to stay while Eddie was on tour. He also knew it was a fucking lie, but as Clint Harrington could burn in the deepest, darkest circle of hell, so Mr. Munson it was.

“I have a couple of favors to ask you,” Steve said, leaning on the counter, chewing on his bottom lip.

“Your cousin has stated that whatever you want as long as it was in our power,” Bob said, “to grant it.”

Steve grinned. He figured that was the case. “I was wondering if I could get a second phone for the desk. I like having the one by the bed, but I need one by the desk, too. I saw there was a jack for it.”

Bob smiled. “Of course, I’ll have one of the porters sent up later with one. Was there anything else you needed?”

Steve bit his lip and grimaced. “This might be a little...unethical. So if it is, tell me to buzz off.” Bob nodded. “Right, so when I went to the gym a couple of days ago there was this bitchy Over the Hill Barbie who made it really uncomfortable to use the gym and I was wondering if you could tell me if she was still at the hotel? You don’t have to tell me her name or anything, just a heads up if she’s using the gym or something?”

Bob smirked. Over the Hill Barbie was a very good description for Mrs. Molly Holland. Her husband was in town to look into buying up farm land to turn them into high raise condos. Something this town really, really didn’t need. “Her and her husband are only in town until tomorrow, but she only uses the gym first thing in the morning, then she spends the rest of the afternoon getting wasted at the hotel bar.”

Steve grinned and tapped the counter. “You are a god among men, thank you!” He made kisses and blew them at him with his hands as he backed away from the counter. As he turned away he could hear Bob chuckle at him.

His plans had just changed. He could mope in his room and cry the loss of his car, but this was a much better outlet. Running.

He quickly changed into his workout gear and grabbed a water bottle of the room’s mini fridge. There were others in the gym downstairs if he needed more water. He should really just get his own water bottle to refill as needed, but this would work just fine.

He peaked into the gym to be on the safe side, but it seemed as though Bob’s information was good. No Over the Hill Barbie!

Steve hopped on the nearest free treadmill and slipped his water into the cup holder. He worked out to his heart content, stopping when he wanted to and not because of some biddy with a grudge.

He went back up to his room where he showered again. He was just coming out of the bathroom, fully dressed when there was a knock on his door.

He frowned and made his way to open the door. He was little surprised to find the porter with a small black box and the phone he requested. He looked at his watch, it wasn’t even one o’clock yet. He opened the door further to let the porter in.

“This came for you while you were in the gym,” the porter explained about the box, setting it on the side table next to the sofa as he setup the phone on the desk.

Steve wandered over to the desk and opened the box. Inside was a set of two keys on a single key fob with a red and silver arrowhead with a star in the middle.

Oh shit.

He waited until the porter was done before he followed him out with the keys and his hotel key in hand. He knew it was going to have a huge bow on it, so it would be easy to find.

Sure enough, there in the valet parking was a yellow two door Pontiac Sunbird coupe. It was the most gorgeous thing he had ever seen. His dad would never see this beauty coming. Not in a million years. Steve put the keys into the door and the soft THUNK of the tumbler turning into place was magical.

The valet rushed over to remove the even brighter yellow ribbon as Steve slid into the front seat. The interior was a light grey and was so soft to the touch. It wasn’t leather like his Bimmer but it was beautiful.

He gripped the steering wheel and flexed his wrists to get a feel for it. The seat didn’t need to be put back too much further, which meant whoever drove it here was probably about his height.

Steve looked up at the valet. “Hey, can you go to my room and get my wallet? There’s an extra tip in it for you if you do it fast.”

Steve handed him his room key and the valet rushed off. It was barely a couple of minutes before the valet had returned, wallet and key in hand. Steve opened the wallet and gave him a ten dollar bill. The valet grinned and saluted him.

Steve put the key in the ignition and revved the engine.

God, the way it purred.

He put his wallet on the dashboard and pulled out of the parking lot. He wanted to show it off to everyone, but his common sense won out.

Well common sense and a selfish desire to really test it before he let anyone see it. He opened the glove compartment and laughed. It was full of Corroded Coffin tapes. He pulled one out and stuck into the tape deck.

He turned it up as he pulled into traffic. Maybe a good way to test out this beauty would to take a trip to the record shop.

So with a grin on his face, Steve went to go do just that.

~

Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14

Tag List: CLOSED

1- @rozzieroos @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @zerokrox-blog @beelze-the-bubkiss

2- @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @messrs-weasley @cryptid-system

3- @maya-custodios-dionach @goodolefashionedloverboi @val-from-lawrence @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog

4- @justforthedead89 @irregular-child @bookbinderbitch @bookworm0690 @forgottenkanji

5- @anne-bennett-cosplayer @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1 @littlewildflowerkitten @genderless-spoon

6- @dragonmama76 @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt @useless-nb-bisexual @disrespectedgoatman

7- @counting-dollars-counting-stars @tinyplanet95 @ravenfrog @swimmingbirdrunningrock @lingeringmirth

8- @gutterflower77 @a-lovely-craziness @just-a-tiny-void @w1ll0wtr33 @sticknpokelightningbolt

9- @scoops-aboy86 @kurofuckingshi16 @watermelonmite @eyehartart @dreamercec

10- @little-birch-boy @yearningagain @micheledawn1975 @blondie1006 @sadisticaltarts

[bigassmoonchild]

Thirteen

Pairing: Simon 'Ghost' Riley x Reader

Word Count: 1.5k

Summary: As much as Simon wanted to talk to you, he still had a job to do. You were hurting beyond belief, and he wanted to right his wrongs. He doesn't know what's happening back at base, though, with Soap and eventually yourself.

Content Tags: Angst, Hurt/Some Comfort, Injured Price, Nearly Dead Soap, Medical Inaccuracies, Mentions of Pregnancy, Possible Death, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha! Ghost, No use of Y/N

A/N: Shorter chapter, I'm sorry, but it's almost a filler chapter I guess? Anyways. Holy shit. 10 parts already?? I never would've expected this, but here we are! I know I keep saying it, but there may not be many more chapters after this (depending on how it evolves). Thank you all for the support and here is chapter 10! (content beneath the cut and my asks are open <3)

P.S: All asks are going to be completed tomorrow, it's getting late and I still need to eat <3 but still much love!!

Part 1 | Previous, Next | Headcannons, Masterlist

Simon never made it to you. He wasn't able to talk to you, because it seemed like you had disappeared. He asked around, people didn't know entirely where you were but they had seen you disappear into an operating room and watched Soap follow soon after. From then, you hadn't been seen.

It had been thirteen hours. Thirteen hours of being unsure of how his packmate was, unsure of what his mate was thinking. He had no clue what was happening. Price had been there, still being stitched up and hobbling around on crutches (you'd pushed for him using a wheelchair, but his pride got in the way).

"There's not much you can do, mate," Price said, grasping at Simons shoulder to not only try and comfort him, but regain his balance. "You're needed in the conference room as well," Price whispered, ducking his head down.

Whipping his head around, Simon looks at him, brows furrowed. "Price, I need to be here, for Soap, for..." his eyes drifted away, thinking about you. "I need to be here," he whispered, shaking his head slowly.

Price gave a little grimace. "I understand, but-

"No!" Simons voice raised, moving to shove Prices hand off of him before realizing the crutches were sliding from under him. "No, you don't understand," Price looked away, jaw clenching. Shaking his head, Simon looked away. "I'll go, but I need to be able to talk to her," he whispered.

"I'll figure out a way, during the mission," Price told him. With a moment to allow Price to regain his balance, Simon took off. He'd need to talk to you, as soon as he could, but first? His job.

It took thirteen and a half hours to get Soap stabilized. Thirteen and a half hours before you could get back out of the OR, before you could get back to your nest. The second you stepped out of the OR, walking to make sure Soaps nurse would know exactly what to do, you ran into Price.

"You should be resting," you told him, glancing at the way he wobbled on the crutches. "Or in a wheelchair,"

"You know my opinion on a wheelchair," he said. Looking around, making sure the two of you were the only people around, he looked straight into your eyes. "He's on a mission," he whispered. "Was just sent off a few minutes ago, he got briefed half an hour ago," you looked away.

There was no thinking, you couldn't even process the fact that he was gone. Without talking to you. Gone.

"So I was thirteen hours too late?" You whispered, feeling your throat burning with the telltale sign of a good cry coming up. "How dangerous is it?"

Price shrugged, shaking his head. You gave a huff, moving to walk ahead but slow enough Price could keep up. There was nothing you wanted more than to just run away, stay in your actual home, in the nice and large nest you'd built there.

With a deep sigh, you began speaking with the nurse you found. Telling her how often to change the bandages, who to call in case something happened overnight, what to do if something went wrong. She listened closely, still just barely getting through the beginnings of her career.

Walking away, you glanced over at Price. "Did he say anything? About what... happened?" Price shrugged again and you groaned, dropping your head back. "Is that all you can do, now? Shrug?" He barked a laugh, dropping his head before groaning. You moved towards him, going to grab at where you knew the sutures were before he put his hand up.

"Just sore, really. Moved the wrong way," he told you and you nodded. As you kept walking, just a bit slower now. The two of you walked, nearly aimlessly, throughout the compound. You said nothing, he said nothing and you just existed. For a few moments, you were finally able to just exist in the peace that the compound gave you.

There wasn't much peace, though. Your thoughts were winding in circles, mostly around you and Simon. Your mate.

You could feel the hurt there, you could feel the absolute pain that took you over when you thought about how he acted or treated you sometimes. But there were those other times that helped numb the pain.

How he held you, so delicately. How he loved you, so carefully. His careful moves of making sure that you were comfortable, how sweet he was when courting you. Eating lunch and dinner together, giggling about all of the people around you. Gossiping.

Price allowed you to leave, explaining he needed time to call his own Omega and make sure the pups were behaving and you'd giggled with that. You missed the time between becoming okay with pups and right before everything happened after his rut.

In your nest, you sat there, grieving what you had and what you could have had. With him, you hadn't felt so loved in those few moments. You hadn't realized how loved you'd been. But you knew how hurt you became, and you weren't entirely sure how much longer you could stand it. How much longer you could sit there and allow him to hurt you.

The next week and a half flew by. You'd been busy ensuring that Soap was okay, making sure that Price was kept updated on everything, making sure he took the necessary amount of rest he needed. Filling out paperwork, training your squad and having little to no time of your own.

At this point, you were sick. Your stomach was in knots all the time, you had thrown up a few times throughout the week but you didn't think much of it. You were working yourself to what felt like the bone, so it made sense to you why you were sick. You barely had the time to slow down, barely ate and barely slept.

You were sick. That's what you kept on telling yourself, because any other explanation would hurt you even worse. And the nesting, you figured, was because you were already so stressed out from Simon being gone. You were eating more because you were hungry.

So damned hungry.

Amanda was the one who pushed you to take the day off, to figure out what you were coming down with. Your head wasn't stuffy, so you weren't affected by a cold or anything of that sort. You were feeling nauseous and sick, you spent some time bent over the toilet trying to hold your breakfast or dinner down.

Sick.

That's what you were, even if the two pink little lines were telling you something different. You didn't have to pay attention to that, because these little things were oftentimes wrong. You were sick, because you were throwing up and nauseous and dizzy sometimes. You were nesting because you were sick and missing your Alpha, you were eating more because you hadn't been eating well.

There was nothing about the blood test that gave a reason for those two little lines to appear, even if you could see it clear as day. You weren't pregnant, because Alpha wasn't here and may never come home. You weren't pregnant, because Alpha wasn't sure if he wanted it, and the best you could do was hide.

The knocking on your door came violently and unexpected. You had been hunched over the toilet bowl when it came and, with a quick drink of water, you answered it to see Price there, holding a radio.

"Take this, you have ten minutes," he whispered. Looking down at it, you could hear faint gunshots echoing, shouts coming through. "Get him home,"

"Simon?" You whispered, feeling almost as fragile as the being inside of you was. You could hear a grunt, the whooshing of helicopter blades nearly overpowering everything. "Simon?" You said, louder this time.

When his voice came through, you felt you could almost cry. "Yes, lovie?" He whispered, a gunshot coming from far too close to be anything but his own. "I'm here," he added.

You nearly sobbed into the radio, pulling the radio closer to yourself. "Oh god, Simon, please," you whispered. "Please come home, make it here," he gave a sharp laugh.

"Thought you didn't want to talk to me until I apologized," he said, grunting as he did something. You had no idea what, but you just knew his voice was here. "I'm in a bit of a pickle," he said, growing quiet for a few minutes. Neither of you spoke, and you could feel your heart hammering.

Swallowing thickly, you leaned closer to the radio. "'m sorry," you whispered into it. "I'm so, so sorry," you could feel gasping hiccups coming from your body. He hushed into the radio, giving you little comments here and there to calm you.

You could nearly see his head shake. "You shouldn't be apologizing," shouts came from around him. "I'm so sorry, love," he whispered. The radio cut out, static screeching through the speaker. You stared down at the radio, blinking tears from your eyes.

"No," you whispered, trying to get the radio to cut back in. "No!" You shouted, dropping to your knees and sobbing. "Please," you whispered, sobs bursting through you chest. You could barely hear the door open, barely felt arms circling around you as you sobbed.

Shushes and hums came from Price as he rocked the two of you, holding you close to him.

"Please tell me he's not dead," you whispered into his chest and Price just shushed you. "I was thirteen hours late, Price," you sobbed.

Next

Taglist:

@sae1kie @shinebright2000 @zechie-spams @itsmadamehydra @smiley-roos @enrapturedbythemoon @stargatenovus @cowboydisaster @404lunar @josieguts

[scoonsalicious]

Unwanted: Chapter 18, Unread - Pt. 1

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Fem!Reader

Summary: When your FWB relationship with your best friend Bucky Barnes turns into something more, you couldn’t be happier. That is, however, until a new Avenger sets her sights on your super soldier and he inadvertently breaks your heart. You take on a mission you might not be prepared for to put some distance between the two of you and open yourself up to past traumas. Too bad the only one who can help you heal is the one person you can no longer trust.

Warnings: (For this part only; see Story Masterlist for general Warnings) Language, Explicit Sexual Content Minors: GTFO; I don’t serve your kind here. (hand stuff), mentions of sex.

Word Count: 1.1k

Previously On...: Bucky came home from his mission and woke you up in the most pleasant way possible.

A/N: Why can't I say no to you people? SUPRISE DROP

NOTE! The tag list is a fickle bitch, so I'm not really going to be dealing with it anymore. If you want to be notified when I update, please enable notifications from my Blog page!

Banner By: The absolutely amazing @mrsbuckybarnes1917!

Thank you to all those who have been reading; if you like what you've read, likes, comments, and reblogs give me life, and I truly appreciate them, and you!

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You woke up the next morning with a pleasantly familiar ache between your legs. True to his word, you had, after the fifth or sixth time, had to beg him to stop. You’d lost count of how many orgasms he’d managed to coax out of you, but you’d been too sensitive to continue any further, and the sky was already lightening with the promise of dawn when you’d both finally succumbed to sleep.

“Mornin’” Bucky whispered into your hair, planting a kiss to your head.

“Morning, Buck,” you greeted back, snuggling closer to his chest. “Can we just stay in bed all day and play last night on repeat?”

Bucky chuckled. “As much as I’d love to, doll,” he said, “I’ve gotta do a mission debrief with Steve and Tony at some point today.” At the sight of your pout, he added “But we can make them wait a little while longer.”

You kissed lazily for awhile, welcoming the familiar sensation of being next to one another once more, physically and emotionally, but soon your hands drifted lower, and before you knew it, you had one hand wrapped around his dick while he had one of his buried in your cunt, your thigh draped over his.

Neither one of you spoke or broke eye contact as you brought each other to completion yet again, and though you technically weren’t having actual sex, it felt like the single most erotic experience the two of you had ever shared. 

“Holy shit,” panted Bucky as he pressed his forehead to yours. “That was so fucking hot.”

Your chest heaved with your own heavy breaths. “We should do that all the time,” you agreed. 

“I love you,” he kissed you again.

“I love you,” you whispered back to him when the kiss broke.

Bucky cleared his throat, brushing a strand of hair away from your face. “I was thinking.”

“Well, that sounds unfortunate,” you joked, but his face remained serious.

“We should leave here,” he said, not quite meeting your gaze.

Your face turned puzzled. “What do you mean? Like, actually take that vacation we talked about?”

“Well, yeah, but no.” Bucky huffed. “I mean, we should leave the Tower. Get a place, just the two of us. Really start over proper, without everyone else always around.”

“Bucky Barnes,” you grinned at him, “are you asking me to move in with you?”

“Would it be so bad?” he asked back. “Think about it– a place of our own, that we could make into a home. Where we could create brand new memories. Maybe think about starting a family.”

That took you by surprise. “You mean, like, have kids?” 

“Only if you wanted to!” Bucky said hastily. “I’d never force you into anything you didn’t want to do. I know we never talked about it but, if I was gonna do it, I’d only ever wanna do it with you.”

You sat up. This was now too serious a conversation to be had lying down. And naked, probably, but you didn’t make a move to get dressed. “I… I honestly never really thought about it, Buck. About having kids.”

“You don’t have to decide anything right now, sweetheart,” Bucky sat up to join you. “I’m not tryin’ pressure you into anything. And I wouldn’t want kids until after we were married for a little bit, anyway. It’s just… somethin’ I’ve been thinkin’ about.”

“Married?” you asked him, eyebrows raised.

Bucky’s cheeks colored. “Well, I’m not sayin’ tomorrow, or the day after, but come on, doll! You gotta know you’re it for me. Ya think I haven’t been dreamin’ ‘bout callin’ you Mrs. Barnes since the day I met you?”

You nudged him playfully with your shoulder. “You dirty liar.”

Bucky’s body immediately tensed at your words. “Why do you think I’m lyin’?”

“The day you met me? Come on, Barnes.”

“Oh,” Bucky let out a shaky exhale, “it was definitely that day. I remember thinkin’ to myself ‘Always did want a wife who made awful jokes.’”

You had no idea if he was being serious or not, but it was sweet all the same. “You sure you didn’t always want a wife who did all the housework and had a pot roast waiting for you every day when you got home from the office?”

“Pfft,” Bucky waved away the thought. “Obedient, submissive women are overrated. Gimme a sassy girl with a dirty mouth and a heart of gold anyday.”

You laughed at that and then bit your lip, considering. “Yeah, okay,” you said after a moment.

Bucky’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. “Really, doll? You’ll marry me?”

You barked out a laugh. “Whoa, slow down, Casanova! I’m agreeing to getting our own place! You wanna marry me, you’re gonna have to go through the trouble of putting together a real proposal. Our engagement story is not going to be ‘well, we lying were in bed after jacking each other off, and then he said ‘we could get married, if you want.’’ I am far too classy for that.”

It was Bucky’s turn, now, to laugh. “Yeah, alright, sweets. You deserve something special, anyway. You deserve the world.” He kissed your shoulder. “I’ll think of something that’s gonna knock your socks off.”

“Looking forward to it, Barnes,” you said, your heart feeling both fuller and simultaneously lighter than it ever had before.

The two of you went back to kissing (and maybe fucking once or twice) when, eventually, Bucky’s phone buzzed. He stole a quick glance at the screen (thankfully, this time, he did not currently have his dick inside of you). 

“It’s Steve,” he said, picking it up to read the message. “He wants to debrief in twenty.” Putting the phone back down, Bucky reached for you again, but you gently pushed him away. “What?” he whined, looking pitifully rejected.

“Buck, you reek of sex,” you warned him. “If I can smell it on you, you know Steve will, too. Go take a shower so you don’t traumatize your best friend!”

“But I thought you liked it when I smelled like sex, baby,” Bucky rubbed his body playfully against yours. 

“I do,” you agreed, “but that doesn’t mean that everyone else will!” With a grumble, Bucky turned and dragged himself out of bed, but you managed to smack him on the ass before he got very far. “Hey,” you said, getting his attention once again, “if you hurry up and get back quick from your meeting, I’ll make sure you reek of sex all over again in no time.”

Bucky saluted you. “Ma’am, yes ma’am,” he said with a grin before heading to the shower. It took all of your willpower not to get up and join him, but you knew that, if you did, there’s no way in hell he’d be able to make his meeting in time.

<- Previous Chapter / Next Part ->

[kamiversee]

The F*ck List (semi-official) Breakdown.

The following was submitted by my lovely ☃️anon, & I needed to make this it’s own post given how long it is, my replies & clarifications are written in between this breakdown & theory (Ex: A/N > Etc.). 

Here, you’ll find majority of details you may have missed & maybe even more to think about. Enjoy :)

(wc; 5.7k) (content; spoilers ofc)

holy shit Kami. i literally had to take the entire day to process everything. before anything else, i need you to know that you've created an absolute masterpiece. TFL was the first fic i ever cared to keep up with and it has set the bar impossibly high for any other writer out there. please take your time with TFL 2, i'm so excited to read your other work!! also a break sounds like it would be so good for your mind considering how long you've dedicated yourself to this story 😭😭😭 you're seriously impressive. heads up, i didn't proofread this at all bc i finished typing this at 4 am LMFAO so forgive me if it's all scrambled and makes no sense.

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A/N > Thank you for taking the time to write this breakdown, I seriously appreciate it so I wanted to take my time in responding to it & engaging with you :)

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now, on to the yap. i deadass cracked my knuckles before typing all this out.

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A/N > You’re so real for tht ngl

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i reread the entirety of TFL from chapter 1 and my brain is so melted from analyzing that i'll prob find more details tomorrow after i sleep on some theories 😭 BUT HOLY FUCK YOU REALLY WEREN'T KIDDING WHEN YOU SAID YOU WERE HINTING AT GOJO'S OBSESSION SINCE LITERALLY THE FIRST CHAPTER??? the fucking hint being that "Gojo's desire for you is so strong it's almost frightening." GIRLLLLLL 🫵🫵🫵🫵🫵🫵

your foreshadowing and referencing is insane. idk if you intended a lot of it, but a lot of it caught my eye.

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A/N> I TOLD YOU GUYS IVE BEEN DOIN IT SINCE THE FIRST CHAPTER !! Okay not exactly but like there was a vibe I had from the first chapter & when I later came up with the twist & went back and saw that everything would connect perfectly ^.^

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chapter 7; the reader and Gojo have lighthearted banter about how the reader "started this" situation.

"I made a mistake." [reader] 

"A good one." 

"Bad one." You correct.

this was regarding a completely different situation but it baffled me how much it connects to the plot itself; the reader making the "mistake" of leaving her door open, and how it lead to months full of trauma and love. probably completely unintentional, but such a good detail.

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A/N > Very intentional btw, it’s supposed to be known that, in a sense, Gojo x reader is forbidden :)

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Choso's still staring at you intently, "What version of you would someone not like?" 

The way he words his question only furthers that little feeling in your chest. It's almost as though he were implying that any and all versions of you would be acceptable in his eyes. - Chapter 16

THE WAY WE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT CHOSO WOULD STICK BY US REGARDLESSSSSSSS AAAAAA WE'RE SO BLIND!!! i just hope this stays true to the sequel :')

"No, I wish you didn't have to hate me." He says, shutting his eyes again and sucking in a deep breath, "B-But... it's uh, It's okay. I can live with you hating me." - Chapter 21

AAAA WE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN!!!! WE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THIS WAS FORESHADOWING OUR FUTURE WITHOUT GOJO 😭😭😭 how he can live with the idea of the reader hating him so long as she's happy with Choso, especially considering his later revelations of how twisted his actions were and how if you stuck with him, he'd view you differently. fuck.

You despise the fact that he loves you. To you, it's almost entitled for him to feel like he has that right. How dare he hold such a strong emotion for you? If he felt this way, why is he forcing you to sleep with people for him? It makes no sense. 

Why would someone claim to love you and put you through so much? 

If he's been in love with you all this time, why start the list in the first place? Why couldn't he have just tried to win your heart from the beginning? Why the list? Why the blackmail? You don't understand him. - Chapter 23

i'm crushed. we didn't understand because we didn't know that Sukuna was involved. that could mean a million other things. i have some far-fetched theories about this but hear me out later!!!

the entirety of chapter 23 had me fucking floored while i was rereading. THE FORESHADOWING WAS EVERYWHERE!!! EVERY FUCKING WHERE

"No sweetheart, Sukuna's an asshole but..." His expression flickers and his smile fades away. He swallows and then clears his throat, "I'm pretty sure he'll satisfy you just fine." 

...

You narrow your eyes at him, "Are you sure?" 

...

 "Fuckin' positive," Gojo suddenly sounds pissed and you grow concerned. The arm around you gets a little tighter while he walks you through some crowds and you keep looking at the man confused. 

There's a vein popping out along his jawline because of how hard he's gritting his teeth.

of course he's aggravated because he knows that Sukuna is the one behind the list in the first place 😭😭😭 I'M SORRY WE DOUBTED YOU SATORU, FUCKKKK

——FIFTEEN MINUTES. That was the exact amount of time it took you to seduce Sukuna. The act was way too easy. Actually, it was suspiciously easy.

BECAUSE HE FUCKING KNEW 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

"What all did you plan on doing tonight aside from getting harassed by strangers?" Sukuna suddenly questions against your skin. 

You ignore how close he is and the way his lips make you tense, turning your head to face forward. Chuckling at his last comment, "Same thing as everyone else here." You reply, slightly confused by his question. 

"Bullshit," He utters, "Nobody dresses like this without the intent of gaining my attention," Sukuna claims while his hands slide back down along your body.

this 100% could be just him being cocky and Sukuna, but the recent reveal just makes this feel like an extra demeaning interaction. but of course, it's Sukuna.

chapter 24 is so fucking shady too with everything we know. i know you addressed some of these points already bc i brought them up in previous anon messages, but these things still had me paranoid;

the way Sukuna leaves us and tells the reader to go to his room after a certain amount of time (i know he could have just been tidying up real quick but everything about this man has me on edge)

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A/N> A lot of people are on edge about this but I’ll be honest, there’s nothing crazy that happens in between this time period. Not saying nothing happens but nothing crazy— it’ll be addressed later (in the next fic most likely)

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the way he's been consistently on the phone since the reader entered the room, which is shortly after she messaged Gojo saying that she'll be able to cross Sukuna off of this list by tonight which he wasn't happy with at all.

no seriously, he kept diverting his attention to something in the bathroom and then came out, still on his phone. maybe he's talking to literally anyone else but STILL I'M PARANOID

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A/N> This is to show the fact that Sukuna is a very socially active individual, & hints to the theory (I think you later state) that he has connections.

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this happens in chapter 25 but the way he keeps smiling while the reader kisses him is just so smug of him especially considering the original reason as to why the reader's even interacting with him

then the spicy chapters with Sukuna…

the foreshadowing that the lack of knowledge of Sukuna's reputation will come back to bite her in the ass; first with the knowledge that he is abusive, and then her finding out that he is the curator of the list, knowing the full details of her blackmail and even threatening her again.

WHO DID HE FUCKING FIGHT HELPPPPP MY MIND IS BOGGLING there's no way it's Gojo, right? they're both too unscathed in these next few chapters for there to have been a fight between the two of them.

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A/N > It’s not Gojo. 🙏

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THE FUCKING MOMENT WHERE HE CONTEMPLATED SOMETHING WITH THE PHONE IN HIS HAND??? I FUCKING KNEW IT. I FUCKING CALLED IT WAS SOMETHING SHADY AS HELL.

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A/N> The other Sukuna hint I was talking about is right before this moment btw, you’re welcome ;)

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then he has the audacity to hold his tongue right afterwards?? it's such a big hint towards the fact that he knew about the list from the beginning UGHHHHHHHH.

the way he tried to humor the reader about her "job" even though he was in on the whole thing. UGH. SUKUNA WHEN I GET YOU SUKUNA?? 👊👊👊👊 especially with that "whore" joke right afterwards. i can't stand him. i know that it's implied that he has a twisted view on women from having abusive women in his life (his mom and his ex who he punched) BUT STILL. he's so lucky he's fictional and hot.

the fact that we're able to pick up on the fact that it's a "crazy coincidence" that he continues the whore jokes UGHHHHH HE HAS BEEN PLAYING US FROM THE STAAAAAARTT

Gojo got upset at something from Sukuna's party, he didn't want you to call yourself a whore all of a sudden, Sukuna seems to have believed that was your actual job, and you remember how pissed Gojo seemed as he thought about you sleeping with Sukuna- 

Holy fuck. Are the two connected somehow? Is something going on? What does Gojo owe Sukuna? Does Sukuna know you only slept with him as payment to clear Gojo's debt? Is-

GIRL YOU WERE ALMOST THERE!!!! YOU ALMOST HAD IT!!!

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A/N > I love teasing in my narration by nearly spoiling things 😹

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seriously though, these chapters killed me. the official end obliterated my heart. it's so fucking bittersweet i want to scream at the top of a high building. the reader ends up happy and with someone she loves, which is fantastic for her. she deserves that after everything she went through. Choso treats her so, so well.

but Gojo. with the theories i have, i feel horrible. i was so harsh towards him as a die hard Choso girly but these endings changed me. i just hope i'm right.

the fact that his healing journey is harsher than ours makes this ending sting so much. he's healed, and you can see it with his demeanor from the call and the way he interacted with the reader.

we were always made aware of the way he looked at us such deep attachment. the initial gleam shows that he's happy to see us, but that he's not reliant on us for his happiness anymore. he's finding that on his own, and it's a grueling process for him. i wished the reader gave him a hug, but that would probably make me feel even worse.

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A/N> He gave her a lil side hug (with his arm over her shoulder) & was resting his head on hers at the end if that makes you feel any better 😅

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"Through my blackmailing, I fell for you but I also did it because I loved you from the start." i'm gonna throw up bro i'm so sad. i'm proud of his growth. his obsession was so, so strong but he always prioritized the reader's happiness over himself. i know that being self-sacrificial is so core to his personality but it doesn't make it suck any less. i'm devastated. i started blasting mitski in the car on my way to work after reading this.

i thought i was ready for the journal burning. i was so ready for this tie to be severed, for them to finally move on. but i failed to realize that it could ultimately mean a life without each other. it makes sense as to why, but it still sucks.

kami i need that poly ending before i cry my eyes out at 4 am rn. you know i can't handle angst, but bittersweet endings lowkey hurt me even more. i need all my babies to be happy. i desperately need it.

but that alt ending... fuck. in a horrible, sick, and twisted way, i'm relieved. i'm a Choso girly from the bottom of my heart but i can't let this Gojo go omfg. even if he shows up for one more chapter, i think i'll be alright. BUT IT BETTER NOT BE FOR DEATH KAMI!!!! I HAVE A FEW EXCERPTS THAT SUGGEST DEATH FLAGS BUT I AM SIMPLY NOT LOOKING AT THEM. DON'T DO THIS TO ME KAMIIIIIII. i need this boy to be frolicking in a field of flowers or something. my heart can't take this.

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A/N> I know I reference death a lot but that’s just to add a sense of how dramatic the characters are 🫶

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okay, time for my mind-fucky theory. pls bare with me. if it wasn't obvious by my last post, i'm 100% on board with the theory that Sukuna's blackmailing Gojo, which started this whole thing. but the thing that is getting me is how this all connects. i have some assumptions that could make sense, but there are a handful of gaps. here's my thought process;

Sukuna's blackmailing Gojo by using his obsession/love against him.

we are already familiar with the fact that Gojo has liked the reader for years. there was a chapter where Gojo mentioned that it started off as a "crush" but he was so oblivious to his own obsession up until the reader mentioned it to him. it's to the point that he didn't understand what was wrong with the idea of hurting people for the reader. who's to say that Sukuna didn't catch him in some sort of heinous act regarding the reader like stalking?

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A/N > You’re cooking with this one and I almost, almost had to go get the fire extinguisher :D

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Gojo didn't understand the difference between love and obsession until later on in the story. this would be consistent with the implication that Gojo just loved her so deeply that his morals were askew as we have yet to find out how far his love goes.

what if Sukuna caught him in the act of doing god knows what, and brought up the fact that if the reader found out about this, that she'd get super freaked out and would do everything she can to get away from him (considering probably barely knew each other, if at all, at this point). but why would Sukuna devise such a plan over a money bribe? well, Sukuna's already revealed to be wealthy, and maybe he was bored. the same line that Gojo kept repeating to the reader whenever she questioned him as to why he did it. what if Gojo asked Sukuna why he's blackmailing him, and he said the exact same thing; "I was bored." we see how much Sukuna mirrors Gojo's speech by calling the reader "sweetheart" often, what if Gojo did the same thing? 

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A/N > Gojo & Sukuna do have a few parallels in this story & they will be addressed more in the sequel.

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we wondered in chapter 23 how Gojo reaches out to these men to ensure their debt is "paid," but considering how oblivious everyone else on the list is to Gojo owing them anything, it would make sense that he only reports to Sukuna as he is ordered to do so. but two things stumped me on this theory overall.

the reader said that she used to party a lot and get involved with boys before Gojo. if he was stalking her for so long, why did he wait so long to approach her?

what specifically would be the blackmail that Sukuna has on Gojo?

regarding the first point, it's been mentioned that Gojo has been "scared of women" and was shy when it came to approaching the reader. he knew of her for so long, but was able to constantly slip under her radar. considering how much of a pervert he is, it wouldn't have been surprising for him to sneak around and watch in on the reader hooking up with other guys. after all, these guys were probably complete strangers to him and all he cared about was you. remember how Gojo was basically able to tune out his own best friend, Suguru, when the reader was hooking up with him in their living room? it wouldn't be wild to assume that he was able to do the same for your other hookups as he spied on you.

to connect this with second point, what if Sukuna caught Gojo being a peeping tom on the reader during a party hook-up? while being so distracted in the act of spying, Sukuna spots him. the reader wouldn't be alright with the fact that someone who's barely an acquaintance (if that, depending on the time this occurred) to her has been perving around and watching her have sex without her consent. she would do anything to get away from Gojo, and of course that would crush him. Gojo tried to buy Sukuna's silence by any means necessary. so, Sukuna generated a list of people that he and Gojo mutually knew for the reader to fuck. the reasoning for it would be the fact that Gojo has to sit through the process of having the girl he likes fuck a bunch of guys besides him, and the fact that Gojo knew all these men would make it sting more. plus, he has a reputation for hookups. (chapter 8)

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A/N > You’re like RIGHT there with it and yet not there at the same time omg 😟

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but why would Gojo agree to this deal with Sukuna, and why would he also go with the method of blackmailing the reader? it's basically a guarantee that the reader would be scared away regardless. but again, we could recall that Shoko mentioned that he was too "scared of women" to approach the reader at first. this was his chance to finally approach her. plus, "once that video is gone, there is no excuse he'll have to be around you." (chapter 8)

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but the more i thought of this reasoning for the two points, the more bizarre it felt. so what if instead of Gojo being a peeping tom, it was Sukuna. we get so many hints that Sukuna has eyes and intel everywhere. we get an indirect implication of this when he called us out for rolling our eyes during our phone call with him. yes, it could be completely by chance, but it's still a great hint that he "sees everything" and "knows everything." we get an even bigger hint towards this in the alt ending when he directly references The F*ck List.

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A/N > Others have taken note of how Sukuna knew she rolled her eyes but trust me, that’s just to show that Sukuna knows the reader’s body language more than he’s let on & paid attention to her a lot during the time they were together. 

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it wouldn't be too far fetched to assume that he has some shady videos taken of people without his consent, some possibly acquired through other people (like how Gojo was revealed to have sent Sukuna the video of the reader from the first chapter). what if Gojo caught Sukuna with the video, threatened him to delete it, and Sukuna counterthreatened to have it be sent and posted everywhere. it would be highly ironic, but consistent with the way that Gojo and Sukuna practically mirror each other at times. the reasoning for the list choices would still be the same for this theory, too.

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my citations for these theories ☝️🤓

“You once asked me if I love you because I blackmailed you or if I blackmailed you because I love you and my answer is both,” Gojo confesses as he turns to meet your gaze, “Through my blackmailing, I fell for you but I also did it because I loved you from the start.” - Chapter 56

loved you from the start; his obsession has been consistent from the start (supports Gojo being a peeping tom theory) or he has always had a deep concern for you (supports him wanting to stop Sukuna from spreading blackmail of you instead).

“I’ve sacrificed everything for you, y’know.” 

“How? What’s everything that you’ve sacrificed, hm?” 

“You. I sacrificed the woman I love to make her happy.” Gojo admits, and of all he’s said thus far, that feels like the truest statement. 

“I could’ve been happy with you.” You remind him. 

He laughs, “Yeah well, I’m an idiot.” 

You scoff, “That’s all you have to say?” 

“Yup.” - Chapter 56

is he an idiot for being a peeping pervert instead of just approaching you normally? maybe. how does this make her happy? she ends up finding love through Choso, through the list, through the blackmail.

But deleting the video means ... he has no more leverage over you and can't force you to help him with the hole he's dug for himself. -  Chapter 8

the hole being the blackmail set against him by Sukuna.

Gojo's behind you cursing at himself for being unable to tell you the truth. 

He's so scared that you'll never help him without the blackmail and, well, he has every right to be because you're pretty sure that if it weren't for those videos he has over your head, you wouldn't be doing any of this. - Chapter 9

the videos he's referencing is the original video from chapter 1 and the fake video he lied about with Suguru, but he can't tell the reader the truth because it's too twisted and risky (supports Gojo peeping tom theory).

He silences himself in thought. There are so many ways he could go about answering such a question but the possibilities of how you may react are endless. Plus, you're drunk and if he's going to admit or explain anything to you, it'll be while you're sober. 

"Because..." Gojo's voice gets so quiet that you almost don't catch what he says, "...I don't have any other choice." - Chapter 21

if he didn't go through with his list, Sukuna would have went through with Gojo's blackmail, thus resulting in either you getting as far away from Gojo as soon as possible or Sukuna's video being sent around.

He let something slip abruptly, "W-Wish I c-could tell you everything, sweets..." 

Your brows furrow at that. 

Are you missing something here? - Chapter 22

YES GIRL!!!! SUKUNA'S BEHIND THE WHOLE LIST, HE'S BEHIND THE BLACKMAIL GIRLYPOP

"Anything," Gojo says, meeting your gaze. He's so serious that it's almost dark the way he looks at you, "I'd do anything for you." - Chapter 29

"I meant it when I said I'd do anything for you." 

You follow his motions and then end up right back in his arms, "Right..." 

"I'd sacrifice the very thing I love just to see you happy." Gojo claims proudly. 

You scoff, "Thought' I was the thing you loved?" 

"You are." 

His words bewilder you, "Then that makes no sense." 

"It won't." Gojo shrugs. - Chapter 29

🧍‍♀️

anything. even if it means putting your body, heart, mind, and career on the line. directly supports the theory that Sukuna initially had blackmail on the reader.

"We're the same, y'know..." He suddenly says, his voice breaking again, "We both want someone so terribly bad but our situations prohibit us from getting that person." 

"You could've prevented all this though..." 

Gojo sniffles and you feel a drop of wetness slide down his cheek and slip against your palm. The man was crying? Why? - Chapter 30

this whole time we've been told that Gojo and the reader share more similarities than the reader realizes. what Gojo is to the reader, the reader is to Choso. while Choso now knows of the men that the reader slept with, he doesn't know why. he doesn't know about you being blackmailed. you know that you had to sleep with these men. you don't know why. you didn't know it was because of Gojo being blackmailed.

"For loving me, Satoru. It's not a crime," You say, mocking a comment he made to you earlier, "You're allowed to love me. So, for that, and that only, I forgive you." 

Those words healed so many more wounds in his heart than you realized. It was like that was all he ever needed to hear. If Gojo's mistake was loving you and that's what caused this, then you forgive him. 

If in some twisted way, his feelings started the list, you forgive him.

COME ON NOW.

There’s so much going unspoken but the two of you knew what either was saying, you understood each other more than either of you realized. - Chapter 35

“Well,” Gojo sighs heavily and then draws your hands off his face, leaning down to you a bit, “Sometimes, sacrifices need to be made in exchange for one’s happiness.” 

“Are you telling me that all this was for the greater good?” You quiz as you raise a curious brow. 

“Something like that, yeah,” He shrugs. - Chapter 45

You tell him, “If I had one wish, it’d be that you did that from the beginning.” 

Gojo opens his mouth to say something but then he swallows his words down. He nearly fucked up. 

“All you had to do was talk to me,” Your shoulders raise into a shrug as you move a hand to the doorknob, “Things could’ve been different if you did.” 

“Even if I’ve been obsessed with you since the beginning?” He questions and he’s stepping closer to you again. He can’t possibly wrap his head around that possibility- 

You laugh a bit, “Especially if you were obsessed from the beginning,” You didn’t know it but that statement right there made the man feel as though his world was falling apart, loads of regret tumbling over him as he stares at you with wide eyes, “Satoru I think you forgot but, before all this started, aside from Shoko… I was lonely.” 

Gojo’s throat goes dry and he fails to form a response to that, “I…” 

“If you had just talked to me one time, and more than a hey or how are you,” The way your eyes soften, a slim sheer gloss of tears coating your gaze as you speak to him, “I would’ve fallen for you.” 

He grits his teeth, “Don’t tell me that.” 

“But it’s true.” You say. 

And just like that, Gojo was crumbling all over again. If only you knew how much he regretted everything after hearing you say that. - Chapter 46

if he had just spoke to the reader before all of this, maybe she wouldn't have gone to those parties, hooked up with those people, and caused whatever kind of blackmail Sukuna had on Gojo (or on her).

He wishes he could take it all back, his feelings for you included. If only he could go back and stop himself from ever being curious about you. That’s what started it after all. Because, at the end of the day, Gojo knew who you were before you knew who he was— hell, even before Shoko knew who you were. - Chapter 53

then what is the timeline of his obsession starting? has it been before Gojo? could his blackmail have taken place even before Shoko introduced you two, adding to the weight of the threat that Sukuna held over Gojo's head (regarding the peeping tom theory).

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A/N > The timeline on Gojo’s interest, not obsession just yet, on the reader will be addressed in the sequel so this’ll be answered there <3

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but there were certain parts that stumped me and my theories so i have some weird reasonings around them;

It's selfish of him and seriously fucked up but, he's said it before and he'll say it over and over again-- you're all he has. He made promises to everyone on that list, promises of delivering a woman to them at some point, and of course, he couldn't convince anyone he knew to do such a thing. 

So again, the situation with you just happened to be a coincidence. 

The problem is that Gojo hates that it's you. He hates that you're the one he ended up doing this to. - Chapter 8

Gojo's known to be a silly guy so it could make sense that he actually did promise these guys hookups for reasons unrelated to his blackmail. after all, he does have a reputation for getting people hookups. the coincidence is that Sukuna now has dirt on Gojo and wants to toy with him. by making the reader sleep with them the guys he coincidentally owes hookups to, he fulfills his role/reputation and relieves his debt at the same time. two birds, one stone.

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A/N > As we later learn that some of the “debt” Satoru claimed to have isn’t real, we can also infer that his reputation & the promises he’s made to these men were done out of coincidence. Take Toji for example; tell me you can’t see an interaction between him & Gojo where Gojo gets a bad grade and wants to get it up so he taunts his professor with the idea of getting him a hookup & Toji would laugh it off considering Gojo’s reputation ;)

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another thing that stumped me is why Gojo got so worked up with the reader referring herself as a whore, and the connection to Sukuna. my delulu reasoning is that once Sukuna threatened Gojo with blackmail by either of the two theories/methods i mentioned, Sukuna casually referred to the reader as a whore. that caused a major fight between the two, possibly even getting physical (which can refer back to the implication that Gojo has hurt people for the reader).

the fight could have increased the tension and severity of the situation, so Sukuna decides to add Choso to the list knowing how easily attached Choso gets. in chapter 5, the reader and Gojo were discussing the list and Choso specifically. Gojo was even noted to be relieved when the reader had mentioned that they'll just have to hope that Choso doesn't get attached, as he obviously holds deep feelings for the reader. Sukuna knows that by going through with the blackmail with Choso involved, Gojo most likely will not end up with the reader if Choso get attached and the reader reciprocates those feelings.

also, the counterargument that Sukuna and Gojo are actually friends/allies in this situation just doesn't sit well with me. it would make for a crazy twist but it just feels too out of character for Gojo. but then again, how would Sukuna specifically know about The F*ck List? but idk, it just feels so wrong to me. maybe i have too much faith in Gojo lmfao. after all, he has consistently shown a great dislike towards the guy since chapter 23. but maybe it's my denial speaking. i really don't want to think of Satoru going through this whole arc only for it to reveal that he truly is a piece of shit. pls don't do this to my pookie my heart cannot handle it </3

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A/N > Remember, Gojo is a good actor & you go a long period of time in the book not realizing he’s not as much of a villain as he pretends to be 😉 

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there's that moment after the reader fucked Sukuna that still messes with my brain. with my theories, my brain's thinking that he contemplated on collecting even more blackmail on the reader. for what reason? idk, to be an ass? to torment Gojo further and add more to his blackmail? but maybe he decided not to because he already has plenty of blackmail on the reader (if the theory of Sukuna having a video of her from way back then is true) and fucking her knowingly made Gojo pissed considering all the dirt Sukuna has.

so why can't Gojo tell her the truth now? why does he want to wait years in advance? maybe he's hoping that by that time, not only will you forget and not care about the situation overall, but maybe Sukuna will forget all about it as well. the chances of Sukuna holding on to the reader's blackmail for that long is slim and the reader would most likely be in a situation where she is completely separated from Sukuna depending on her job and living situation with Choso. the stakes are lower than if he were to reveal everything to you now, at a moment where your life is still so uncertain. it would go against his wish for you to end up happy.

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A/N > Maybe Gojo doesn’t tell her the truth because he can’t, just as he said 🌚 Perhaps he’s not allowed to yet. After all, why would Sukuna even tell the reader he made the list in the end? ^.^ Just some food for thought!

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regarding the future of TFL... fuck, bro. i have no fucking idea. i'm too caught up in the (presumed) past. i'm mourning fr. i love this fic sooooo fucking much. whenever you decide to pick up on the sequel, i will be there. if you choose to publish anything else in the meantime, i will be there. thanks for such a fun and memorable read, Kami. i'm excited to bookbind this soon 🤍🤍🤍 now, i need to watch blue lock to shove these feelings down.

yap fin (for now)

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A/N > I love you sosoosooooo much for this. These theories are like reading an entirely new fanfic sometimes except, I know all the answers & what’s going to happen next, which only makes me more excited ^.^ Thank you for taking the time to make this, thank you for reading, thank you for supporting, just, THANK YOU.

This right here is exactly what I write for; people like you :)

To the others reading this breakdown & theory, thank ☃️anon because she’s a damn godsend & ilhsm ^.^ (definitely showing favoritism rn, sorry not sorry, ily all I swear)

Edit; Since you’re watching Blue Lock, I can’t wait to bring my Shidou fanfic here because a lot of the drama in TFL has inspo from that fic, which I wrote first ^.^ & I could totally see you enjoying it because not only is it a childhood friends to lovers than enemies & back to lovers troupe BUT it also includes Itoshi Sae x reader which ofc, adds hella drama :))

P.S. It’s two am as I finally post this and omg sorry it took me a while, I wanted to answer other anons first before unpacking this badboy, again, tysm!!