#clearly sat night is a terrible time to post things

[vivwritesfics]

Romanced

Reader is best friends with Lando. That was how she met Oscar. Lovely, wonderful Oscar. When he makes it clear he wants to take things further, she doesn't, and she's scared to tell him

Or

Reader is asexual/doesn't like sex. The thought of it is terrifying and she's afraid of telling Oscar that.

This one is really fucking personal to me you guys so I hope you like it 🫶🫶🫶 (short but I'm writing this in the five minutes I have before class)

Warnings: mentions if being forced into sex

"How was the date with Oscar last night?"

Of course Lando was going to ask, he was her best friend. It was his way of looking out for her. But she would have been surprised if he didn't already try to pry all of the tea from Oscars hands.

Not that Oscar would spill, he was respectful like that.

"Lando," she said as she sat down opposite. "Out of all of your teammates, I think he's my favourite."

Lando laughed at that. He smiled with his tongue poking between his teeth. "You got some last night, didn't you?" He asked and she immediately froze up. Of course, Lando didn't read this as anything other than her being bashful about it. So, he continued, "You've got that post nut glow."

"Never ever say that again," she said immediately as she shivered. But then she really thought on his words. If Lando had expected her to sleep with Oscar, what did Oscar think? Was he expecting to be invited back to her bed when he walked her home after dinner?

Lando looked at her, watched the way her demeaner changed. "Either you fucked and it was terrible or you didn't fuck but you wish you did," he said and Y/N smacked his arm. It was a playful smack, but still a smack.

He held up his hands defensively. "I get it, I get it. A lady doesn't kiss and tell."

Kissing. She'd liked kissing Oscar. That was all they did when he came back to her apartment. Maybe him pulling her into his lap was a sign. A sign that he wanted more. Wanted something she couldn't give him.

This was always the aftermath of a date for her. Over thinking everything until she convinced herself she was unlovable, that nobody would ever want her because of her incapabilities.

But she liked Oscar. She really liked him. This couldn't be goodbye, could it?

All of these thoughts and she hadn't even spoken to Oscar yet.

Oscar. He wasn't like her, he wasn't worrying about how the date went because they didn't sleep together. It would have been nice, sure, but it wasn't a necessity.

He had a lovely time with a lovely girl that he couldn't wait to get to know better. He already had their fourth date planned out.

This was the one where he was going to ask her to be his. It was going to happen over the Australian grand prix weekend. He was going to pack a picnic basket and a blanket and take her to a nice secluded area. It would be an afternoon of laying in the sun, enjoying each other.

When he walked into the garage, she was already there with Lando. He let a wide smile takeover his face as he looked at her. God, she really was something. Oscar was kicking himself that he hadn't asked her out the year prior. But he was just a rookie then, he had bigger things to worry about.

She smiled back, but it didn't reach her eyes. Quickly her attention turned away from him, turning to Lando.

That was odd, Oscar thought. But he didn't go over there and challenge her on it. She was probably just tired, they'd stayed up pretty late the night before.

When he got a chance to catch her alone, Oscar grabbed her by her elbow and dragged her into an empty corridor. She didn't protest, she was used to this by now. It was rather endearing.

"Hey," he said, standing over her. He wore that same smile from the morning.

"Hey," she replied, in the same smile that didn't reach her eyes.

Oscar was fiddling with his fingers, clearly nervous. "So," he said as though he was stalling himself. "Date number four." He sucked in a breath, his cheeks pink. "I've got something pretty big planned."

Her anxiety kicked into overdrive. No, no, no. They hadn't had sex on the third date so Oscar was going out of his way to make it happen on the fourth. She couldn't do this. She really couldn't do this.

"Look, Oscar," she interrupted before he could say anything else. "I really like you. I really really like you, but it's not going to work." End it now before he decides he doesn't like what you're all about.

"Oh," Oscar said, the expression dropping from his face. He looked like a kicked puppy that had been left out in the rain. It was heartbreaking.

So, she did what she thought best. She turned around and took off.

***

Lando called her an idiot. Several times over he called her an idiot. Even once she'd explained, he'd called her an idiot.

"You never know, he might have been really understanding," he said as he gripped his hair out of frustration. That was where he was at with her.

"Understanding like the last guy?" She challenged. Lando frowned. He never quite knew what went on between her and her ex, just that he was an asshole. "Lan, I tried explaining it to him, and he made me feel like a freak. Even after all that he still force me into it," she said through a broken sob.

Lando opened his arms and she collapsed into them. "It's okay," he said. "I've got you." His finger was tracing soothing circles up and down her back. "Oscars not like that, I promise," he said, "you at least owe him an explanation."

That she could agree to. She stayed with Lando for just a few more minutes before pushing away from him. He gave her a reassuring, encouraging smile as she left.

Oscars room wasn't very far away from Landos. She knocked on his door and waited patiently for him to answer.

When Oscar opened the door, surprise was painted across his face. "Oh," he said. "For some reason I didn't expect to see you." But that didn't come as a surprise to her.

"Can I come in?" She asked somewhat timidly, and Oscar stepped aside.

His hotel room was a lot tidier than Lando's, who threw his clothes around the moment he took them off. Oscar sat on the bed and patted the space beside him.

Kicking off her shoes she sat and tucked her legs beneath him. "I was speaking to Lando and I realised I owe you an explanation," she said, staring straight forward. "Because, I would have loved to have gone on that fourth date with you, but I was scared," she confessed.

Oscar wanted to ask her, but he sat there, let her speak.

"So, the third date is normally where sex happens, right? At least in all of the movies it's where sex happens. With my ex I don't think we even made it to the third date." She shook her head, dismissing that train of thought. "We didn't have sex on our third date and I was scared that you'd had it planned for the fourth."

She was quiet, waiting for Oscar to say something. "So, you don't want to sleep with me?"

"God, no," she said a little too quickly, not quite realising what she was saying. "I mean, I don't want to sleep with anybody. The thought of it terrifies me and I didn't know how to tell you because I was scared you'd no longer... want... me."

It sounded so stupid once she'd said it, she realised. How could he want her now? After she'd just said that.

But she didn't give him a chance to answer. She was going to say it all first. "But I like being romanced by you," she said. "I like romancing you. I like it when you hold my hand, when we kiss, when you hold my face and everything. I liked it when you pulled me into your lap, but I don't think I could take it further."

She was quiet after that, giving Oscar time to process the information. He took a good minute, trying to sort through it. She had spoken awfully quick.

"So," he finally said after too much silence. "If I told you our fourth date was going to be a picnic in Australia, would you be okay with that?" He asked, his words slow.

The way her eyes lit up, he'd never forget it. "Yes, Oscar, yes!" She cried, throwing her arms around him.

Oscar kissed her head. "I think I'm okay with just romancing you," he said and she could t stop the grin from covering her face. A grin he could look at forever, if he got the chance.

[whumper-whimsy]

Back Home P4

A shorter part, but i need to post lmao

Captivity, beatings, conditioning, pet whump, domestic whump, noncon

Caretaker paced in their bedroom, fists clenched at their sides. Two days. Two fucking days.

Whumpee had been with Whumper for two days, not counting the night they were taken back. They were gone, and Caretaker had done jack shit to get them back.

They had to do something, and they needed to do it fast. God knows what Whumpee was already going through under that monster's care, and Caretaker was doing nothing.

But what could they do? Legally, Whumper owned Whumpee, and the contract between Caretaker and Whumper stated clearly that if Caretaker did not make their payments, Whumper could take them back.

Whumpee wasn't an animal— why couldn't the law see that? Caretaker had called the cops until their phone died, begging them for any shred of help— only to be told that Whumper was in the right. Whumper, the one who kidnapped their partner, who hurt them so terribly? Whumper was in the right?

Caretaker yelled and spun, driving his fist through the drywall. He pulled his hand back, panting, and stared at the crumbling wall. Whumpee would fret over it when they came back, they were sure.

♧♣︎♧♣︎♧♣︎♧♣︎♧

Whumpee sat obediently between Whumper's legs, letting themself be pet as Whumper spoke to someone else on the phone. It was nice, basking in the comforting warmth of the fireplace after their long, exhausting day. Whumper pet Whumpee absently, their fingers gently scratching at their scalp.

Whumpee closed their eyes, cheek pressed to their thigh. They could fall asleep like this, especially with the day they'd had.

Whumper was insistent on retraining Whumpee as fast as possible so they could get right into the 'fun part.' This meant two days in a row of re-learning everything. Whumpee's back stung with any movement, the result of a fairly harsh whipping. They did their best to stay still, content to drift off right there and then.

♧♣︎♧♣︎♧♣︎♧♣︎♧

Whumper smirked down at Whumpee, who'd passed out so peacefully on their lap. They tutted softly, letting out a little chuckle. Whumper resumed their conversation on the phone cheerfully, "Oh, the sweet thing fell asleep on me. Gods, I wish you could see Whumpee right about now."

Their colleague's smile carried in their voice as they spoke, "truly, you must bring them over some night! They sound absolutely darling."

Whumper smirked, looking down at their sleeping pet. "Perhaps I should. Maybe yours can leave an impression on them, lead by example. Mine was temporarily rehomed, and the stupid thing forgot nearly everything I taught it." Whumper rolled their eyes, scratching the back of the sleeping pet's neck. "Luckily, it seemed to click for them, for the most part. They're quite an eager thing once they get used to it."

Whumper's friend hummed and was quiet for a moment, then clicked their tongue. "Two days from now, I'm hosting a party. If Whumpee can behave and properly socialize, you can bring them. I'm inviting all my buddies! You have a plus-one, not including your pet. I'll send an invite your way, alright? And— oh, hey! Knock that off, you stupid— ugh, I gotta go. These things just cannot behave, can they? Talk to you another time!"

"See you," Whumper responded, hanging up. With a hum, he patted Whumpee's cheek. "Up, baby."

♧♣︎♧♣︎♧♣︎♧♣︎♧

"Up, baby."

Whumpee opened their eyes, shaking their head to wake themself. Whumper was off the phone and was staring at Whumpee with mischief in their eyes. Whumpee sat up, clearing their throat. "Sorry, sorry. I- I'm just tired, and—"

"Quiet. You know you're meant to sleep in your kennel."

"Yes, sir, I just—"

"Quiet."

Whumpee flinched, pullling away from Whumper and nodding. They watched as Whumper rose, grabbing their end of the leash and pulling Whumpee away from the cozy little nook.

The past few days had been weird. Whumper had eased up on Whumpee for the most part, as long as they behaved. They were still gropey and touchy, but now it came with words of praise instead of humiliation. Maybe it was because Whumpee was behaving.

Why was Whumpee behaving? They honestly couldn't find a simple answer to that. Maybe it was for rewards? Or to avoid punishment? Did Whumpee like the rewards? Well, they did, but should they?

What would Caretaker think?

That question rattled around Whumpee's head for a while as they headed for the bedroom.

Even if things were getting better, the worst part was still... well, this.

Whumpee was lifted into Whumper's bed and placed on their back. Whumper's hands ran up their stomach, their palms pressing down against Whumpee's warm skin. Whumper's voice was like a purr as they spoke. "There you go, just stay still for me."

Whumpee closed their eyes as that familiar sickness stirred in their gut. They tried to move away, shaking their head. "No, no, not now... please... Whumper, I'm so tired, just let me go to- mmph—" they were muffled by Whumper's hand.

"Hush, dear. Just sit back and— no, no, stop kicking. Come on, this is the easiest part... it feels good, doesn't it?"

Whumpee continued to protest behind Whumper's hand, thrashing and kicking their legs. Whumper got more frustrated, getting up on the bed to hold Whumpee's legs down. "Seriously, baby, it's not that hard. You've cum for me before, haven't you? You know how good it feels. If you could just–"

Whumpee clamped down on Whumper's hand, their teeth locking on to the flesh. Whumper roared in pain, swinging their dominant hand around to punch Whumpee in the face.

"You goddamned little— Christ, what's so hard for you to get?!" Whumper shouted, gripping Whumpee by the hair. "Everything else, you're obedient as a dog, but you can't take ONE single task properly?! It was easy! You just had to lay down and let me do what I needed to!" Whumper dragged Whumpee by the hair to the ground, dropping them. "Do I need to beat you harder? Can't you get it through your stupid little brain?!" Whumper shouted.

Whumpee cowered, tears running down their cheeks. They were struggling to speak through their sobs. "Im sorry, I—"

"Yeah? You sure are one sorry pet, you know that? No, I'm not letting you fucking babble your way out of this. You're gonna lay the fuck down, you're gonna shut the fuck up, and you're gonna take what you deserve. Exactly what you fucking deserve."

Whumpee hiccuped and cringed away, feeling heat press in on them as Whumper forced them back onto the cold floor.

Taglist:

@defire

[clangenrising]

Month 13 - Newleaf

Mystique returned home late at night, tired and sore. Razor had every cat who wasn’t already training the Chaff or doing some other kind of errand for him searching the city for the escaped wild cat. She and London had spent the entire day scouring the more remote edges of town for signs of the old gal and her paws were worn nearly raw from it. She couldn’t help but respect the old she-cat, honestly. Somehow she had managed to avoid anyone catching sight of her for days - no easy feat.

Sighing, she jumped over the fence into her yard, comforted by the familiar rattle of wood. Home sweet home, she thought, time to get some well deserved rest. If she was lucky, the Folk might not have put away the wet food yet. Just as she reached her flap the fence rattled again and she wilted, turning to face the visitor. 

“Ugh, what now?” she groaned, tilting her head towards the sky. She dropped the weary complaining when she saw Gingersnap’s face. Her neighbor was striding quickly across the grass, an intensely furrowed brow and pursed lips betraying her anxiety. 

The fence rattled again and a tortoiseshell with a notched ear followed after her. “Your Grace, wait-” 

“I told you,” Gingersnap said tightly, “I’m just coming to talk to Mystique. You can return to your post.” 

“But-” the Chaff cat winced. 

“It’s alright,” Mystique said, “I’ll keep eyes on her. Go back to your post.” 

That seemed to set the cat at ease and she nodded, returning back the way she came. Gingersnap sighed in relief as well but the tension underneath her smile remained. Mystique frowned. Something was wrong. 

“Thank you,” Gingersnap said, stepping up close, “I wanted to have a word with you in private.” 

“Sure thing,” Mystique said, shifting her posture to be more attentive. “What’s up?” 

Gingersnap hesitated. It seemed to Mystique that she was considering turning back with a ‘nevermind’ and that only made her curiosity burn stronger. What was bothering Gingersnap so strongly? 

Eventually, the smaller cat swallowed and said, “Mystique, I need to ask for your help and it’s very important.” 

“Of course,” Mystique said, leaning in, “Whatever you need, I’ll help you.” 

Gingersnap searched her face nervously. “I need you to take me to the frontier. Now.” 

“Now?” Mystique sat up taller in confusion. “What for?” 

“I-” Gingersnap’s words caught in her throat and she shifted her weight like there were fleas in her fur. She grimaced then blurted, “I need to get away from here. I can’t keep going like this, I- I need you to take me to the frontier and we can’t let anyone know where I went. Please, Mystique, I'm begging you.” She curled her tail underneath herself submissively, eyes wide and pitiful. Mystique could tell she was putting on a show but the desperation seemed genuine and that frightened her. 

“I mean…” she wasn’t sure where to start. “Okay, sure, but I don’t- I thought you liked it here?” 

Gingersnap scoffed wetly, tears starting to gather in her eyes. “Please! This place is a nightmare. Surely you’re smart enough to see that!” 

“I thought you and Razor-”

“Mystique, Razor is the reason it’s a nightmare! He’s terrible, he-” she choked on the words, looking away. “I don’t want to talk about everything he’s done to me.” Mystique was baffled by the sudden emotion on display. She had known that her brother and Gingersnap had their differences, that things had clearly been strained after her return, but this was different. 

“So you’ve just been lying to everyone?” Mystique asked. 

“Yes!” Gingersnap stepped closer, bringing the conversation into a more intimate whisper. “Please, you have to understand! If I wasn’t perfect Razor would destroy me. He’s a monster, can’t you see that?” 

Mystique squirmed uncomfortably. “He’s a dick, sure, but he’s always been good to me…” That was a bit of a stretch. He’d definitely done her wrong in the past but that was just what older brothers did, wasn’t it? They gave you shit, they pushed you around, but they loved you anyway. Razor wasn’t perfect but a monster? That was a line she wasn’t sure she wanted to cross. 

“He killed a defenseless old woman the other day!” Gingersnap said desperately. “She came to make peace and he killed her!” 

Mystique shook her head. “No, that’s not what happened. The wild cats came to demand surrender.” Sure, Razor had perhaps gotten carried away in killing the wild cat but given the brutal murder of his close friend, Sycamore, she could understand how that kind of thing would have upset him so intensely. 

Gingersnap’s eyes narrowed sharply. “I was there,” she hissed, “I saw what happened! I- I knew her.”

“You knew her?” That didn’t make any sense. 

Gingersnap swallowed and looked over her shoulder briefly, then down at the grass. “Yes. Her name was Smokyrose.” Her anger faded to something tender and sorrowful. “She was a peacemaker and a mother. She was painfully kind and stupidly naive and she thought she could convince Razor to stop the fighting and he killed her just to spite Ghost.” The anger came back again, this time a low simmering fire of loathing. If Gingersnap was lying right now, she was giving a masterful performance and Mystique knew first hand she wasn’t quite this good. The knowledge weighed her stomach down like a cold and heavy stone. 

“That’s…” Mystique swallowed. “That can’t be true.” 

“You know it is,” said Gingersnap, meeting her eyes again. “In your gut, you know I’m right.” 

Mystique stared. Words failed her, scattered and lost by the dreadful truth looming over her. 

“This is why I need your help,” Gingersnap continued. “All those months I was away, I was living with the wild cats. I need you to take me back there. I’ve tried getting Ghost to take me and it hasn’t worked but if we go tonight I think we can make it. Please, Mystique. I can’t take another day here, I can’t.” She swallowed and closed her mouth, seeming to hold her breath as she waited for a response. 

The world was spinning around Mystique. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess, like she was trying to pick up a toy and someone had poured a whole basket of identical ones on top of her. She wanted to shut this all out and go back to the way things had been, but that would mean shutting out Gingersnap. She took another look at her friend, at the tear stains on her cheeks and the fear in her eyes. 

“Okay,” she said. “Okay, yeah.” 

“Really?” Gingersnap smiled disbelievingly. 

“Yeah,” said Mystique, committing to the idea however scary it was. “I promised my brother I would look out for you and I meant it, even if… even if he’s the one you need protection from. I wanna be there for you, Gingersnap.” 

“Please, call me Scorch,” said Scorch. 

“Okay. You got it,” said Mystique. Scorch smiled and nearly rose up to headbut her affectionately but seemed to think better of it halfway through the movement and pulled back.

“Right,” she said, clearing her throat awkwardly. “Lead the way.” 

And so she did. It was strange. They’d walked together like this many times before but never before had Mystique felt like she was doing something wrong like she did now. She found her spine prickling with nerves as they got closer and closer to the edge of town. A few cats saw them pass and she nodded to them like nothing was wrong but she started to worry about how she was going to explain this when she came back. 

“It’s alright,” Scorch said softly, her smile in place, “just pretend you’re allowed to be doing what you’re doing and no one will care.” 

“I am allowed to be doing what I’m doing,” Mystique frowned.

“Even better,” Scorch purred. 

Still, Mystique decided to take the long way out to avoid walking past the training barn. Her stomach was starting to rumble as they ventured out into the tall, field grass. Twilight hung around them and winter’s chill clung to the night air like a stubborn tick. Mystique was grateful for her thick pelt and the lack of wind. She’d never been out to the frontier and she hoped that it wouldn’t be too much farther until Scorch got where she needed to go. They crossed the road, careful and quiet, and shortly came across a strong line of scent markers. 

Scorch brightened. “Perfect! I should be able to make it from here.” She turned to smile at Mystique and said, “thank you.” 

“Of course,” said Mystique, “but I’m not just gonna leave you here. There could be all sorts of dangerous stuff waiting for you.”

Scorch laughed. “I can assure you I will be just fine, but it’s sweet of you to care.” 

“Seriously,” Mystique said, “I’m not leaving until I’m sure you’re safe and happy, okay?” 

“Alright,” Scorch raised her brows skeptically and she smirked. “You’ll have to talk to some of the savage wild cats though. Are you sure you’re up for that?” Her tail flicked teasingly and Mystique blushed. Was Scorch flirting with her? Her stomach squirmed with intense discomfort. 

“Uh, sure,” she said, looking away. Scorch laughed again. Shaking off her disgust, Mystique started off through the grass. 

It wasn’t long after that when a rustling of grass, like a creature moving quickly in her direction, turned Mystique’s head. She rounded towards the thing, puffing up to twice her size and baring her teeth with a furious hiss. Whatever was coming their way definitely had bad intentions and she stepped in front of Scorch to shield her from the threat.

“Wait-!” Scorch started.

A large ginger shape slammed into Mystique, hissing in kind. Claws swiped near her face and she ducked out of the worst of it, barely getting her nose nicked. Her collar jingled as she struck back, paw swatting down with force in an attempt to daze her opponent. She wasn’t the best fighter in the city but she knew how to handle herself and she managed to drive him back with a few heavy blows to the skull. The tom hissed and reared up to headbut her in the chin, causing her teeth to clack painfully together. Luckily, her tongue didn’t get caught between them. 

“Stop it!” Scorch cried indignantly, rushing forward. 

Mystique fell back to block her from harm, saying, “Stay back!” 

A second cat had emerged from the grass, a young brown speckled tom, who cried, “Russetfrond, wait!” The big ginger tabby in front of them glanced over his shoulder at him, then squinted past Mystique to glare at Scorch. Recognition flashed across his face. 

“Scorchplume?” he asked aggressively. Despite her confusion, Mystique bristled and stood her ground just in case he tried to lunge again. 

“Yes,” Scorch huffed, side stepping her protector. “It’s alright, Mystique is with me.” 

“What do you have around your neck?” the younger tom laughed, as if it were a live squirrel or something equally ridiculous. 

“A collar,” Scorch sighed dismissively. “One I’m quite eager to have off.” 

“What are you doing here?” The ginger tom said warily and the glance at Mystique conveyed the ‘what are you doing with her’ that he didn’t say. 

“She helped me escape from the city,” Scorch said. “It’s a very long story that I’d only like to tell once. Can we go find Goldenstar so we can discuss it?” The younger cat looked eagerly at the ginger tom who stared Mystique down with a steely glare. She shot one of her own right back at him.  

“What about her?” he asked. 

“I’m going where she goes,” Mystique said firmly. “I’m here to make sure she gets where she’s going safely.” 

“Uh-huh,” the tom said skeptically. 

“She’s fine,” Scorch rolled her eyes. “Look, we’re both very hungry and tired. Can we please just go back to camp?” 

The tom growled for a moment then huffed and turned away. “Fine.” 

“Thank you,” Scorch cried in exaggerated relief. She started forward confidently and Mystique followed closely beside her, eyes still fixed on the big ginger tabby. He stared ahead, almost like he was refusing to look at her. What a weirdo, she thought. 

The younger tom stepped up beside her as they walked and said, “I’m Sparrowpaw, by the way. This is my mentor Russetfrond.” The ginger tom twitched an ear but stayed quiet. 

“Mystique,” she said carefully. 

Sparrowpaw smiled disarmingly and said, “It’s good to meet you. Thanks for helping Scorchplume.” 

“Scorchplume?” she asked, raising one brow to look at her companion. 

Scorch waved her tail dismissively. “My Clan name. They all come in two parts like that.” 

“Huh,” Mystique said. Interesting. 

“What?” Russetfrond glared at her again. 

“I just said 'huh',” she pushed back, returning his glare. 

“Okay,” he rolled his eyes. 

“You got a problem?” she asked. 

“Yeah, I do, kittypet,” Russetfrond said, squaring his shoulders. 

“Kittypet?” Mystique laughed. “Is that supposed to upset me?” 

“Ugh, will you mind your manners?” Scorch rolled her eyes to the heavens. “Mystique is my guest, Russetfrond, can you stop trying to pick a fight with her?” 

“Maybe,” Russetfrond said. 

“Try me, wild cat,” Mystique smirked. He curled his lip in response and she laughed. His face was more pouty than threatening which was especially comical given his ridiculously exaggerated jowls. 

Scorch sighed. “It’s going to be a long night, isn’t it?”

UPDATES: - Scorchplume has returned!

[double-vandammage]

Title: Rude Awakening

Word count: 2,573

Rating: 18+

Ship: Bret Hart x Shawn Michaels

Tags/Warnings: Enemies to lovers, Bret POV, Handjob, Blowjob, Alcohol

Also posted to my a03: aa_beatrix

Here is my first fanfic in probably 6 years. I'm so nervous about it, but I hope you Hartbreak shippers like it. I'm fairly new to this ship so please be gentle. 🥹 Thank you to the encouragement of my sis @taydaq, @imabillyami, @crxssjae, and @superkickme 😘

Let me know if anyone wants to be tagged in future fics, I do plan on writing more. 🫣

Bret sat silently by his motel window, watching the rain gently glide down the glass. What a shit day he had, it was only fitting the weather was also terrible. The promo he had just cut with Shawn weighed heavily on his mind. He was so tired of the little prick. Night after night he had to observe Shawn flamboyantly parade around the stage. Not only did he have to watch the annoying spectacle, but also endure the man occasionally shake his bare ass at the crowd. The fans ate it up and he couldn’t fathom why. They were close once, it seemed a lifetime away. Thunder cracked, startling him from his thoughts. The universe was telling him to relinquish any thoughts of Shawn for the rest of the evening. He didn’t want Shawn in his head more than was required, especially while he was alone in his motel room. Bret made his way to the bed, climbing under the covers and slowly he drifted to sleep.  

Abruptly there was an aggressive and continuous rap at his door. Bret was barely able to open his eyes as he dazedly glanced at the bedside clock. The time read 2:00AM. “Who the fuck-?” he grunted as the knocking became louder. He whipped the blanket from his body while quickly swinging his legs over the mattress. “I’m coming dammit.” he spat, stumbling to the door in his sleepy stupor. He put his eye to the peephole. “Jesus Christ…” none other than a Heartbreak Kid disruption. “Hey! Big daddy cool! Open up big sexy!” Shawn half yelled, half giggled. Bret opened the door, “wrong room shithead. Some of us are trying to sleep.” Shawn was drenched. He had clearly spent some time in the rain. “Whoa.” Shawn raised both hands up in defense. “This isn’t Kevin’s room?” Bret made a show of moving his hands up and down his own frame, “clearly it isn’t you asshole, what are you drunk?” Shawn put his index finger and thumb together, “Mmmm…maybe just a pinch.” 

Rolling his eyes, Bret took in Shawn’s appearance. He was soaked, so much so he had created a pool of moisture on the motel floor. He was a mess. “Do you know which room Kevin is in?” he asked, not wanting Shawn to be his problem this early in the morning. “Hmmm…well I thought this was his room…so I guess…no.” he said with his signature smile, chuckling to himself. “You wouldn’t mind if I bunked here tonight, eh Hitman?” Shawn asked while running a hand through his wet hair. Bret thought this must be some cruel joke the universe was playing on him. The last thing he wanted in his room was a drunk wet dog named Shawn Michaels, but he couldn’t let him wander aimlessly up and down the halls, slamming on random doors, and calling for big sexy. 

Bret crossed his arms, “shit. Fine. Do not drip on anything.” Shawn grinned, “Thanks Hitman, you’re the best there is and ever will be.” he said, pushing Bret to the side and slapping him on the arm. Bret closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. “The bathroom is to the left, I can get you something to change into.” He closed the door and turned to find Shawn already on the bed. “Are you fucking kidding me Michaels? You’re super fucking soaked. Get off the bed, now.” Shawn rose, propping himself on his elbows. “Oh man…I am?” he asked, real concern in his voice. “Uh, yeah. Get up.” Bret demanded. Shawn moved almost intentionally slow, the blankets getting more and more saturated. 

“Dammit Shawn. Get your ass to the bathroom.” he said, grabbing Shawn’s arm, shoving him towards the open doorway. “Alright, alright. Ya don’t gotta be so touchy.” Shawn almost immediately began stripping off his flashy costume. He shook off his vest and began removing those hideous chaps he insisted on wearing. He kicked off his boots next and in doing so Shawn had noticed Bret leaning against the door frame observing. Bret in an instant knew exactly what he was about to do. Shawn turned, his back facing him and commenced shimmying his tights down to wiggle his ass at him. “Like what ya see Hitman?” he taunted. Bret kept his face stoic, but could feel his cheeks beginning to flush. “Stop that shit and just get cleaned up would you?” he urged moving away. Shawn smirked, pulling his tights completely off. “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”  

Bret began pulling the blankets and sheets off the bed, discarding them onto the floor. He could hear the water start to run and eventually steam wafted outside the door. He pulled out a plain white t-shirt and gray sweats from his suitcase for Shawn to wear. Bret climbed back into the bed to try and get some more sleep before they had to be on the road again. The shower stopped and after a few minutes, he felt the empty side of the mattress shift. “Absolutely not boytoy.” he murmured. “Oh come on Bret, there’s not even a couch in here.” Shawn whined. “Not my problem. This is already obnoxious without having dry blankets, you are not sleeping up here.” Shawn in a child-like tantrum, huffed off the bed and onto the floor with one of the pillows. Within minutes he was fast asleep.

Outside rain still poured and thunder intermittently boomed, a particularly loud burst was enough to rattle Bret awake again. The clock registered at 5:00AM. He could hear Shawn’s slow and steady breathing, surprised Shawn didn’t also wake. Rolling to the opposite side of the bed, Bret peered over. Shawn was lying on his side facing him. Long blonde hair fell down around his shoulder and pillow. His bangs draped over his eyes. Shawn was beautiful, anyone could see that. Bret found his eyes had lingered, observing the white t-shirt he let the man borrow had slightly uplifted, revealing a small glimpse of Shawn’s tanned stomach. Quickly he averted his gaze and rolled back over. Squeezing his eyes shut, focusing on the sounds outside in an attempt to stifle an unresolved hunger he had no business feeling towards the Heartbreak Kid.

Unable to rest, he again got out of bed to reside by the window in the lone chair. He needed air. He opened the window just enough to feel the cool misting of rain against his face. Minutes later he heard Shawn stirring, a small groan escaping from him as he stretched. Shawn sat upright, dreamily looking at Bret. “Can’t sleep Hitman?” he mumbled. Bret ignored him, keeping his view to the window. “I gotta take a leak.” Shawn yawned as he shuffled towards the bathroom. Bret listened as Shawn fumbled around in the dark, hearing the toilet flush and sink run. He came out in the middle of another yawn, “Fuck me, I’m gonna be sore. You think people will believe me when I say I’m sore after spending the night in the Hitman’s room?” he laughed. “Don’t even joke about that shit Shawn.” Bret spat. “I’ll kick you out right now, don’t test me.”

Shawn cautiously made his way to stand in front of him. “Come on, would it be so terrible? Maybe this is exactly what you and I need.” Shawn said, reaching out a hand to brush the inky strands of hair from Bret’s face. Bret caught his wrist, stopping him. “Don’t.” Shawn only invaded his space more, moving his leg to part Bret’s thighs. His free hand tilted Bret’s chin upward so he could meet his stare. “I know you look at me. Just like I knew you were looking at me over there.” he said, nodding his head in the direction of the bed. Bret jerked his head away irritated, but Shawn hadn’t released his grip. Shawn lowered himself, his mouth inches from his ear, “I like it when you look at me…”.

Bret felt many things for Shawn Michaels. Desire he could always snuff out, now he wasn’t so sure. Shawn closed the space between them, placing his lips to Bret’s temple. Bret involuntarily let go of Shawn’s wrist, finding he was nuzzling into Shawn as he continued to trail light kisses around the side of his face. “Touch me Bret…” Shawn sighed into him. Bret moved his hands to Shawn’s waist, tugging him forward so the younger man was situated between his thighs. Shawn moved his hands to cradle his face, lifting him slightly from the chair into an eager kiss. Bret let his own hands find their way under his t-shirt, running his fingers up Shawn’s back. “Come here.” Bret breathed against Shawn’s lips, guiding him to straddle his lap. 

Shawn smiled into their kiss, feeling Bret’s growing excitement beneath him. Shawn slid his hand down, teasing at Bret’s erection. “I knew you always had a hart on for me.” he joked. “Do you ever just shut the fuck up Michaels?” Bret gasped in between Shawn’s stroking. Their mouths fought for the upperhand, Bret captured Shawn’s bottom lip and bit down roughly. Shawn withdrew, taken aback, “Damn hitman.” he snickered, testing his lip for blood. He hated Shawn and this was probably a huge mistake, but all he wanted to do was make Shawn shut up. Swiftly he grabbed Shawn by the thighs, hoisting him up, and threw him to the bed. Shawn bounced onto the mattress, promptly grabbing at Bret’s shirt to yank him forward. Bret landed a quick peck to Shawn’s mouth before moving to devour his neck. Strategically he removed the pesky white t-shirt from Shawn, creating a makeshift tie to bind Shawn’s wrists.   

He ran his tongue down to Shawn’s shoulder; tasting sweat, motel body wash, and a hint of rain water. Not an ideal flavor, but damn did it taste good on Shawn. Bret flipped Shawn effortlessly onto his stomach, keeping hold of his bound wrists. He swept Shawn’s hair to the side, kissing the nape of his neck. Shawn arched into him, craning his neck to meet Bret’s lips. His fingers felt for the waistband of Shawn’s sweatpants, sliding his hand under the fabric, not surprised to find he wasn’t wearing underwear and grasping his cock. Letting go of his wrists, he tapped the side of Shawn’s hips, signaling Shawn to prop himself on his knees. Shawn read him easily as if inside the ring and elevated his backside, pushing against Bret’s groin, breaking their kiss and keeping his face down to the mattress.

“Holy shit, Hitman…I want you.” Shawn sputtered as Bret began to steadily pump Shawn’s dick. “Fuck, I’ve always wanted you, Bret.” he mumbled into the bed. How long had Shawn wanted him? Was it nearly as long as he wanted Shawn? Over the years he had indulged himself in the occasional sexy boy fantasy and every time he loathed himself for it. He was a complete hypocrite with each jab at Shawn for shooting that girly mag. Now he had Shawn under him, unapologetically jerking him off. He brought his free hand to clasp Shawn’s throat, easing him upward so he could relax against his chest. Bret continued his deliberate rhythm, relishing the low moans and the way Shawn began to thrust into Bret’s hand. “Jesus. Don’t stop.” Shawn whimpered, burying his face into Bret’s neck. He could tell Shawn was getting close, his panting becoming more rapid.

The feeling of Shawn nestled into his body was intoxicating. Sure, they had their physical history in the ring which was intimate in itself but maybe Shawn was right after all. Maybe this was exactly what they needed. What they couldn’t settle on the mat, they could settle behind closed doors. Bret pressed his lips to Shawn’s forehead, “You know I still hate you?” he said, his words muffled against Shawn’s skin and damp hair. “This doesn’t change anything between us.” The hold he had on Shawn’s neck became a little tighter. “Even with my…dick in your hand, you still…manage to be all business.” Shawn choked out as Bret’s pace began to quicken. Bret covered Shawn’s mouth, muting the wail expelling from him as he erupted into Bret’s hand. Shawn clawed at his hold with his own constrained wrists, his hips rutting wildly into Bret’s palm as he rode out his orgasm.       

Bret released Shawn, letting him drop to the mattress. He lay there exhausted, chest heaving and glistening with sweat. Shawn twisted his wrists from the tied up shirt, easily exiting his confines. “Bret baby…” Shawn with eyes still glazed over, rolled to face him. “Please, let me make you feel good too.” he begged, crawling between Bret’s legs to play with the drawstrings of his sweats. He lifted Bret’s shirt, kissing gently at his stomach. The touch of Shawn’s lips pressing at his skin made him shiver and the thought alone of the blonde going down on him was damn near enough to make him come. Against his better judgment, he leaned back and let Shawn take control. 

Shawn slid his sweats and underwear down, revealing his throbbing erection. Without much pause, Shawn took him into his mouth. He let his eyes flutter shut, Shawn clearly had done this a time or two. His mouth felt so warm, so good, his tongue hitting all the right places. He clutched at Shawn’s hair, allowing his fingers to entangle themselves. “God damn Michaels…” he managed to groan as Shawn licked up the length of his cock. He wasn’t going to last much longer. Shawn was unrelenting as he held tightly to Bret’s thighs, keeping him in place as his hips bucked desperately into the heat of Shawn’s mouth. He couldn’t help the mangled cry Shawn managed to pry out of him as he came. “Holy shit.” he breathed, unable to form anything else articulate. 

The rain seemed to intensify outside the window, brisk air filtering in and caressing their moist bodies. Shawn had positioned himself on top of Bret’s stomach, his chin resting on crossed arms. “I bet you didn’t hate me just now.” he purred. “Fuck you.” Bret smirked, propping a hand behind his neck. His dark eyes met Shawn’s baby blues. “What now?” Shawn asked. Bret’s other hand traveled down to brush the hair from Shawn’s face, tucking a rogue lock behind his ear. “I don’t know. We have to get up soon.” Shawn emitted a breathy sigh, “Let’s stay like this a bit longer.” he insisted. The Heartbreak Kid’s eyes closed as he leaned into the way Bret lazily threaded his fingers through his golden hair. 

Internally Bret felt the need to run, this dangerously bordered on affection. He should shove the younger man away, tell him to get lost, and figure out what to do before their next show. However, his needs and wants were very different. He had said nothing would change, but deep down he knew neither of them believed that. Would they fall back into their rivalry or back into bed? What was to follow after, they couldn’t know now and they didn’t have to address it just yet. This sweet silence was preferred to all the bullshit they put each other through. Even if they had got it wrong, they could figure out the details later. Before the other knew it, the sound of the rain mixed with their slow breathing lulled them to sleep. 

This quiet moment was theirs to keep.

[kidge-planet]

"When green leaves meet red ones": kidge fall event.

Day Two; Pumpkin

characters: Keith and Pidge.

Pairings: Keith and Pidge/ Kidge

Post season 8, Dating Kidge

It was the beginning of October, and the crisp autumn air was starting to settle in. After a casual conversation with her boyfriend, Pidge was shocked to discover something unthinkable—Keith had never picked out and decorated a pumpkin in his entire life. To her, this was absolutely unacceptable!

"Wait, you've never decorated a pumpkin? Ever?" she asked, her voice rising in disbelief.

Keith shrugged, clearly unfazed by the revelation. "Nope. Never really saw the point."

Pidge's eyes widened. "We’re fixing that right now!"

Without wasting any time, they put on cozy sweaters and headed to one of those picturesque pumpkin patches where rows of orange pumpkins stretched out endlessly. The fields were dotted with families and couples, all picking out their pumpkins for the season. Pidge couldn’t help but feel a bit of excitement as they wandered through the field, hand in hand, searching for the perfect pumpkins. The autumn sun was low in the sky, casting a golden light over everything. Leaves crunched under their boots as they walked and pointing out odd-shaped pumpkins along the way.

After a while, they each found the one that spoke to them—Pidge chose a perfectly round pumpkin, while Keith went for a more rugged, slightly uneven one. They carried them back to a little wooden bench by the field and got to work.

For hours, they sat there, side by side, carving away in comfortable silence. Pidge used a simple knife, carefully etching out the lines of her design, while Keith worked with his blade.

Finally, with a grin, Pidge lifted her pumpkin and proudly declared, "Tadaaa!"

Keith glanced over, setting down his blade. "Can I see?" he asked, his voice soft.

She turned her pumpkin toward him, revealing a cute little ghost, its round eyes and crooked smile more charming than frightening. It was clear she had tried to make it look spooky, but the result was more adorable than scary.

Keith chuckled. "Nice! Mine looks terrible next to yours…"

Pidge shook her head, smiling brightly. "Come on, I’m sure it’s great! Let me see?"

With a small and shy smile, Keith slowly turned his pumpkin around to show her. Pidge’s heart melted as she saw what he had carved—it was a surprisingly detailed image of her face. It was rough around the edges but undeniably recognizable, a sweet tribute.

Her eyes softened as she looked at him. "Keith, that’s adorable…"

He rubbed the back of his neck, clearly embarrassed. "Yeah, well, it’s supposed to be you. I kinda messed it up, though. You look way prettier in real life."

Pidge giggled. She scooted closer to him on the bench, leaning her head against his shoulder. "Keith, it’s perfect. And... it's the cutest thing you've ever done."

Keith glanced down at her, the corners of his mouth lifting into a soft smile. He slid his arm around her, pulling her in a little closer, and they sat there for a moment in the quiet evening, the pumpkins glowing in the fading light.

"Maybe I should decorate pumpkins more often," He joked, but meant it, as long as it was with her...

Pidge grinned proudly. "Told you it was fun."

They stayed there until the sun dipped below the horizon, the pumpkins now displaying their creations—a cute ghost and a portrait of her—side by side, just like them.

On that same night, they cooked the inside of the pumpkins and ate them together under covers, snuggled on the couch... And by the window, their pumpkins -that were lightened by candels- were watching at the falling leaves, together...

A/N

Hey guys, not very satisfied by this fic but I still hope you enjoy it!

If you want to participate to the event, don't forget the #kidge fall event 2024

Have a nice day/night! ❤️💚

[sizzleissues]

Bedtime story (i read a post with this idea, @asukiess I believe.) Thank you (:

Marinette was aware her partners had had unusual childhoods. Adrien’s ‘who can stay the quietest’ competitions where he competed against himself was one tip-off. They’d been hanging out, bored during the summer when he’d suggested it. Safe to say the perception of his childhood had been altered. (His record was five days. Five days he’d stayed completely silent and according to him, his père hadn’t noticed. He said that and laughed.) 

It wasn’t any better for Kagami. While at least Adrien had good memories with his mère (beach days and cozying up to watch old movies), Kagami had no good years to pull on. Laying awake one night, she admitted that her life only really started when she met them. She recounted one day about the ‘totally normal’ childhood experience of training from sun up to sun down from the age of five. It ‘toughened her’ and ‘was exactly what growing girls needed’. Marinette let her sleep in now, lying when she said her alarm must have malfunctioned.

Knowing that all, she still found it in her to be surprised when her girlfriend and boyfriend gazed at her with confused expressions.

“They would ‘r-e-a-d’ to you?” Adrien asked, still struggling to get a grip on the concept.

“Every night from age 1 to 8. After that I could read myself.”

“Were they history books, or science books? For extra learning,” Kagami asked. Marinette glanced down at her where she lay across her stomach. Adrien sat directly across from her on her bed, legs slotted between her’s. 

“No. They were story books I guess. When I was younger they read picture books, like the Little Prince. When I got older they read anything really, usually with princesses and princes.”

“But what’s the point? Were you unable to read?” Kagami continued, with genuine curiosity in her voice. 

“I was able to read. I guess we just liked spending that time together. My papa can do the silliest voices, he still teases me with some of the older nursery rhymes I used to love.”

“Oh,” They both said. Marinette wanted to hug the pair of them. How terrible must their childhoods have been to not even know what a bedtime story was? She would have to fix this immediately.

“Wait one second.” She carefully slid out from under Kagami and climbed past Adrien, descending the ladder. She just needed a few things. 

Marinette found a book first, deciding against something childish, knowing it would only insult their intelligence. The pair of them were smarter than half of France combined, only Adrien liked to be modest (Kagami didn’t have any qualms against fraglently showing off her wit). She went with a sci-fi novel that had enough fancy words in the blurb that her intelligent partners would just love.

Next she instructed them to get into her bed before running downstairs for the last part of her plan. She just barely caught Adrien whispering ‘she’s going Ladybug mode, this must be serious’ as she exited her room. She chuckled to herself. It was all for a good cause though. 

She returned moments later with a tray carrying warm milk and cookies, setting it down on her desk.

“Are you in bed?” She called from below. She heard a little shifting around and then a tiny ‘yes’ came from Adrien.

“Good. I’m coming up now.” She placed the book on the tray and carried it up to them, setting it down on her bedside table. The pair eyed it suspiciously, still clearly both confused by what was happening. Marinette waited to explain, fluffing up the pillows behind their heads and tucking them in. She laid a kiss on their foreheads and then sat on the side of the bed.

“What are you doing?” Adrien asked. Marinette shook her head, shushing her boyfriend.

“It's bedtime, no talking. Drink your milk.” She handed them their milk and Adrien gingerly sipped it. His eyes lit up and he took a larger drink. Marinette had half thought to hand it to him in a pan, he was Chat Noir after all and watching him lick things was endlessly adorable but he also tended to spill things. A cup was safer. Kagami behaved a little more cautiously. She dipped the cookie in the milk and nibbled at it as Marinette picked up and opened the book. 

“Since you guys have never had a bedtime story. I thought I’d read you one. Feel free to fall asleep, that's the point.”

“Aw, Mari,” Adrien chimed.

“This is nice. Thank you Marinette,” Kagami said.

Marinette smiled, cheeks heated from her own glass of milk (definitely not because of her boyfriend and girlfriend looking adorable all tucked in). She flicked to the start and began reading, keeping her voice light and evenly paced. At the dialogue she took a swing at a silly voice which caused Kagami to snort milk out her nose. She avoided her ‘pirate with a chest infection’ impression from there on.

By the third chapter her voice wavered but it didn’t matter as she watched them drift asleep. Adrien leaned his head on Kagami’s shoulder, trying desperately to keep his eyes open but losing. With one last blink she knew he was gone. 

Kagami held on another chapter before she too drifted off. Marinette finished out the chapter, yawning every second word. She climbed in beside Kagami and snuggled close. Kagami turned toward her in her sleep, face perfectly serene. 

She closed her eyes and smiled.

HAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I AM OKAY. This was a quick write. Why can I write better in short bursts, idk. Mariadrigami be together and very in love (My dad still chases me around singing ‘rub and dub dub, all the animals in the tub’ because apparently that was my favourite book as a kid so he’s memorised it.)

[desertfangs]

Through the Garden Gate [AO3] Lestat/Daniel - Explicit - 4,459

Not long after Tale of the Body Thief, Lestat and Daniel talk about Lestat's body swap and how Daniel worries his relationship with Armand is falling apart.

I wrote this in kind of a flash of inspiration but I figured I might as well post it now, since I'll be posting a lot of stuff in February for fandom events and don't know when I'll get around to it otherwise.

I really just love Lestat and Daniel having deep conversations and I think Daniel tends to ask the best questions. They are my BROTP with benefits and I know some of y'all love them as much as I do, so I hope you like this!

Brief excerpt:

“Is it true that you swapped bodies with a mortal?” Daniel had been burning to ask about it since Lestat first jumped him in Pirate Alley, and the question tumbled out almost immediately after they sat at the small bar table. 

A storm of emotion passed over Lestat’s face. “I did.” 

Daniel leaned closer, across the small bar table between them. “What was it like?” 

“What do you think? Incredible. Messy. Uncomfortable. Amazing.” Lestat shook his head. “Impossibly strange. But it had been hundreds of years since I’d known mortal urges, mortal discomfort.”

“Sucks, doesn’t it?” Daniel laughed slightly. Mortal discomfort—aches and pains and hangovers and head colds—had been the bane of his existence during his last mortal years. He’d been in his early thirties and yet already his body had changed so much. Sleeping at the wrong angle could ruin him for days. 

“Not entirely. There were good things.” Lestat smiled, but it didn’t reach his blue gray eyes, which were trained on his martini glass full of blue curaçao and vodka. “The taste of wine. The sun.” 

Daniel reached across the table and touched Lestat’s hand, which was a rich, tan color, like the rest of his skin. “And how did this happen?” 

Lestat sighed. “I had a moment of weakness and went into the Gobi desert. It’s not important now.” 

Daniel snorted. “Yeah, clearly. Are you okay?” 

Lestat waved a hand and then his magnificent, winning smile returned. “How did you hear about my last misadventure anyway? I’m still working on the book.” 

Daniel sat back against the booth and tapped his fingers on the table, keenly aware of the pack of cigarettes in his pocket. “Louis wrote a very concerned letter about the whole affair.” 

Lestat frowned. “To you?” 

Daniel flushed. “To Armand. Sent to Night Island. I stopped by to check on the house and I opened the mail.” He hadn’t thought much of it at the time—he and Armand often treated each other’s things as if they were their own, which was perhaps a bad habit, but it had always worked for them. Once he’d read it, he’d felt a bit like he’d overstepped, and he’d tucked the letter away to give to Armand next time he saw him.

“And where is that impish maker of yours, hm?” Lestat asked. “Where are you two living these days?” 

“Barcelona, for now,” Daniel said. “Assuming he’s still there when I get back.” 

Lestat smirked. “Trouble in paradise?” 

“You could say that.” Daniel thought of Armand’s hardened expression, his cold kiss against Daniel’s cheek as he’d left. The icy atmosphere of the flat they shared. Daniel fiddled with the plastic sword that held an olive and onion in his cocktail, stirring it around the drink. “He’s gotten so damn volatile. The smallest thing sets off these terrible fights. Or worse, he gets quiet and sullen and avoids me. To be honest, I prefer the fighting.” 

Armand had barely said a word when he’d left. Daniel had been pushed past all reason and needed a break, so he’d offered to go check on The Night Island, an errand they did from time to time as they traveled around in hopes that some new location might fix all their problems. 

In truth, he’d hoped Armand would come with him. Maybe being home again for a few days would rekindle something, give them some perspective. But Armand had simply wished him bon voyage, without so much as a suggestion he didn’t want him to go, and now Daniel was procrastinating going back.

“He and Louis could teach a masterclass in administering the silent treatment,” Lestat said morosely. He stabbed the cherry in his drink with his own plastic sword, a little green one, and then let it drop, blue liquid splashing out of the glass.

Read the Rest on AO3

[redfoxwritesstuff]

Sunflower: Book 1, Chapter 14

Tom Hiddleston x OFC Series rated: M Chapter warnings: A bit high PG13 in our flashback and some anxiety. AN: Dude, I'm still fucking sick. Also, I edited and posted this while working because I'm sick and it's Friday and fuck these doctors, they don't get to dump dictation on me at the end of the week and be like "It's urgent." No, fuck you and the horse you rode in on, it's not Urgent if you didn't do it till now.

~~~~~<3

Mia slept like a rock but was up right on time. Of course, on time wasn’t late enough. She rarely got enough sleep when she worked nights but she would make up for that later, she always did.

Peeking in on Sally, she found the little one still asleep. It was seven in the morning, she would be waking soon. Generally, she wasn’t one to sleep in. 

Mia took the chance to make breakfast in her new kitchen. The task wasn’t terribly difficult, even though she hadn’t even had a chance to unpack thanks to each box being labeled so clearly with the contents. Having a packing and moving crew was surely worth every penny Tom had paid for them. 

~~~~~<3

Sally sat at their little dining table, too small for the space- something Mia never thought would be a problem in her life as pancakes were set in front of her. They had a busy morning ahead of them. 

Ikea opened at ten and Mia had every intention of being there at opening. She intended to find a nice enough couch that was also affordable. Tom had probably intended for them to get a nicer couch than an Ikea special but he wasn’t here to stop her. She was unsupervised with his credit card.

The ping of her phone drew her attention. It was a text message form Ashley with a link. “Your man was on The Late Show.” 

Sally was coping well with Tom’s absence so far. Mia didn’t want to risk ruining that when she had such a busy day ahead of them by reminding her that Tom had left so rather than just following the link, she spent time digging out her headphones from her purse. 

“Momma,” Sally called, “Can I get something pretty for my new room?” 

“Yeah, sure. We’ll see what we can find.” Mia was paying more attention to jabbing an earbud in her ear. “Finish eating while I get dressed, alright?”

~~~~~<3

Mia wasn’t one to watch late night TV. She was either sleeping or she was working. Plus the famous person or politician or whoever chatting with a host about movies wasn’t really her thing. 

She set her phone down on her dresser as she traded out her pj pants for a pair of jeans. The screen loaded onto a man already talking to Tom. It must have been a clip from the show, not the whole segment. As she got dressed, she couldn’t help but be absorbed in the short video.

~~~~~<3

“You were just in Vegas, right?” The man said, leaning forward in his chair. His dark hair was cut short yet somehow still just a little wild. He had large eyes and the infectious smile of a late night comedian. 

“I was, yes.” Tom smiled.

“It was an eventful few days I hear. You got up to some stuff.”

Tom chuckled. “Eventful yes, you could say that.” 

“And you left with some bling.” Tom’s fingers twitched ever so slightly as the ring was pointed out. He wasn’t sure where this was going but he knew he needed to tread carefully. “There’s pictures!” The man said, “Bring on the pictures.”

The screen switched to Tom and Mia running down the hall, her white dress flowing and sparkly high heels glittering in the too bright lights of a hotel hallway. her face was obscured by Tom’s shoulder but his face was clearly visible.

His cheeks were bright red though if they didn’t know he was out of his mind wasted, they could believe it was from the private moment being intruded on. 

The picture switched to them kissing in the bar some time earlier. Dim lights gave them a warm glow and they had drinks in front of them. Tom’s hand was on her neck and hers was resting on his thigh as she leaned forward. Her face was obscured by his as she leaned into the kiss. 

“You’ve kept a romance under warps, Mr. Hiddleston.” The host teased. Color flushed Tom’s cheeks.

“I do like to keep my private life to myself.”

“And how long have you too been together?”

“That’s private.” Tom dodged. “But all anyone needs to know is I care for her deeply otherwise I wouldn’t have married her.” 

“So it’s not a ‘what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas’ situation?” The host pressed. 

“I’m as married today as I was Friday night.” Tom reiterated. 

“Tell us about her!” The host propped his head up in his hands. If it was possible, he would have had hearts in his eyes. It was clear that the host and Tom had a report and were familiar with each other in a friendly way. 

“She’s not a public figure.” Tom started, picking his words carefully. “Her privacy is important and I want to respect that. She’s not married to Actor Tom, she’s married to me and that’s a beautiful thing. Her name is Mia and-”

“Mia!” The host cried, popping up in his seat. “What a lovely name.” 

“She’s lovely.” Tom agreed and on the other side of the country, in a different time and place Mia’s face got hot. “She’s absolutely wonderful and we’re looking forward to our future.” 

The host continued to lightheartedly press for details but Tom stood firm. They showed a few more pictures from that night neither could remember but not a single image showed her face with the exception of the picture of them going into the restaurant over the weekend. 

Had no one gotten a clear shot of her? That didn’t seem likely. Had Tom known ahead of time and asked for her face to be hidden? Was her makeup smeared and her face being hidden to protect their dignity? 

~~~~~<3

“I’m done!” Sally yelled from the dining table, throwing Mia back into reality. Perhaps not reality, in a strange way what was happening on the screen was very much a part of her reality. No, her daughter’s voice had served throw her back into the present more than anything. 

“Go get washed up.” Mia called, slipping a shirt over her head and quickly finishing getting herself dressed. 

~~~~~<3

Ikea was overwhelming, as it always was. There were too many people, too much stuff and in general, far too much stimulation. But she would get through it and in the end she would be rewarded with Swedish meatballs. That was just how trips to Ikea went. You survived and then indulged in cafeteria food. She didn’t make the rules. 

They sat on couch after couch as she picked which one would be best for the space. None of them really felt big enough but she was not going to go somewhere with more expensive sofas. That wasn’t an option. She would just have a lot of empty space in her living room. More room for Sally to play. 

The one they picked was one of the largest. Under the cushions were storage compartments. It was a few hundred dollars and would likely break down after a few short years at best, needing to be replaced but she didn’t care. 

While she hadn’t planned on it, she went ahead and got herself a pair of matching end tables and lamps to set on them. While the apartment had plenty of overhead lamps, there was a warmth that came from table lamps that she loved. 

Sally picked out a soft rug to put on the floor. All in all, Mia didn’t feel too bad about the spending. It was less than a couch would have been if she went to Ashley’s Furniture or somewhere similar like Tom had probably intended. 

The lamps were on clearance and that helped keep the cost low. The tables were the cheapest they had. Hopefully Tom wouldn’t mind. 

~~~~~<3

Mia was anxious as she stood in line waiting. She had paid for their lunches with her own debit card but this was going to go on Tom’s card. She had no plan B for if it didn’t go through. 

It was a international card, wasn’t it? Would it go through okay? What would she do if it didn't? What if they asked for her ID? 

It was irrational, she knew that. Tom was traveling and had been spending money without issue on this card for as long as he was there from what she had seen. Places rarely asked for ID for credit card transactions anymore. There was so much fraud protection that it had just fallen to the wayside. 

All the stress was for nothing. The card went through perfectly fine. No one asked her who she was to use it. No one questioned her. No one said “stop!”. It went perfectly, painlessly fine. As part of her knew it would.

The furniture would be delivered the next day. It was surreal to spend so much money at any one time. But it was done and she survived the flood of panic that came with spending his money. In the moment though, as she swiped his card, she thought she was going to revisit her Swedish meatballs. 

Would it get easier over time? Mia decided she’s really rather not find out. If she had her way, she wasn’t going to be doing anymore major spending on his card, at all. It was better she didn’t get used to this. Tom wouldn’t always be there to financially save her. He wouldn’t always be there to replace her couch. This was temporary. 

Sitting in the car before leaving IKEA, she shot a text to Tom letting him know she had spent his money as he had requested and how much the total was. 

She hadn’t heard from him all day. In the morning she had assumed he was still sleeping after working the late night appearances but now it was quickly becoming afternoon without a word. 

What did it mean? Why wasn’t he texting her? 

It drove her insane the rest of the day. She checked her phone repeatedly for a hello or even so much as an acknowledgment of the purchases.

 Nothing came however, leaving her to wrestle with the thousands of ‘what if’s that quickly took up residence in her mind. Time after time she started text messages only to delete them instead of sending. 

It was fine if he didn’t text her, right? It was okay if they didn’t talk, right? They were just strangers, really, at the end of the day. This was fine. 

~~~~~<3

The elevator walls were not mirrored but the polished stone may as well have been. Dark copies of the bride and groom surrounded them. They were alone and yet not, in this magical space. 

Tom advanced on her slowly. She matched every step he took forward with one of her own backwards. There wasn’t enough air in the elevator car as it moved up and up. 

Her heart was on cloud nine and the evaluator was taking the rest of her there. 

She couldn’t breathe. It felt like she was gasping for air in all the best ways before her back hit the polished stone wall. There was no where else to go. She couldn’t take any more steps backward. 

Her future didn’t stop just because her back hit the wall. Was this a sign of what her life would be like? Was this what her future with him would be like? Advancing faster than she could keep up? 

Her future put his hands against the stone on either side if her head, palms flat and fingers splayed. His elbows buckled and then he was supporting his weight with his forearms, oh so much closer than he had been.

His face hovered just inches from hers. His breath smelled strongly of whiskey but the air around him smelled of his cologne. The mix of the two together was intoxicating.

Leaning forward, she closed the distance. The soft velvet of his lips felt amazing against hers. There was a light stubble to his face, hardly visible but as he pushed into her, she could feel it. 

She wrapped her arms around his neck as his hands roamed around her waist and pulled her closer to him. Pinned between him and the wall, she didn’t have anywhere to go. There wasn’t anywhere she wanted to go. 

His hands groped her ass through the layers and layers of fabric that made up the skirt of her dress. Pulling up and forward, he had her off her feet. Wrapping her legs around him, only possible due to the many folds of the skirts, she embraced her future closer, trying to wrap herself around the very concept.

His lips left hers and made their way down her neck, leaving a path of damp butterfly kisses down to her collar bone. Nipping and sucking at the soft flesh had her squirming in his arms. 

The elevator wasn’t moving fast enough. There wasn’t a way she could get enough of him in here. At least, there was no legal way. There were cameras in the elevators and the halls. Again and again she told herself that.

His hand was large and warm. The warmth soaked into her breast. She arched into his touch. His touch was firm and strong. Muscles twitched and moved under her hands as she slipped them into his jacket after struggling with the buttons. 

She hadn’t felt like this in years. It was more intoxicating than all the wine they had shared. She felt powerful. Desirable. Wanted. 

Was this what love felt like? Was this what it felt like to be loved? It was the best feeling in the world. 

~~~~~<3

Tag List: @winterisakiller @alexakeyloveloki, @jennyggggrrr, @dangertoozmanykids101 @tilltheendwilliwrite @tinchentitri @wizardcherryblossom @buttercupcookies-blog @violethaze @kats72 @soulpiercing

[fortheloveofwonderland]

A War of the Heart - Chapter Four | Luke Alvez x Fem! Reader

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Chapter Summary - tension mounts between you and Luke and Spencer is pushed over the edge.

Category - heavy angst | smut | eventual happy ending.

Content Warnings - very brief mention of losing a father (Luke), slight threatening behaviour, swearing, build up to the prison arc, break ups, drinking, sad Spencer, mentions of funerals and IED’s, war talk, brief mention of oral sex (f receiving), use of “good girl” possessive behaviour, slight dominant Luke, penetrative sex.

WC - 5.4k

Chapter Four

Present - Quantico, Virginia

You didn’t sleep much that night, too many things swirling around your head. Between Spencer and Luke, how were you expected to get any rest? Every time you drifted off you would be awoken by thoughts of one of them. You’d had several cups of coffee before you left for work but by the time you made it to the office you were still completely exhausted.

You were earlier than the rest of the team after you’d given up on sleep and decided to come in and get a leg up on your paperwork. But you were clearly not the only one with this thought, as not half an hour after you sat down at your desk, you heard the bullpen door open. 

You turned in your chair to face him. Even in war time you weren’t sure Luke had ever looked so terrible. His usually neatly swept back hair was all over the place, he had heavy bags under his eyes and his shirt was creased beyond belief. He made a beeline for your desk and you stood up as he reached you. 

“Uh look what happened last night…” he stuffed his hands in his pockets as if it was the only way he could physically stop himself from touching you. 

“Will never happen again. Trust me.” You were quick to add. 

“Good. Good.” He nodded, one hand slipping back out of his pocket with something in it. “I wanted to give you this.” 

You looked down at what was in his hand and your stomach coiled into thick knots. You quickly snatched the Polaroid out of his hand and stuffed it in your own pocket. 

“Why do you still have that?” You spat a little. 

“Why would I have thrown it away?” He shrugged. “Lisa found it. She knows about us, just so you know. She won’t tell Spencer so you don’t need to worry.” 

Why did it fill you with joy to imagine Lisa finding that photograph of you, wearing nothing but her boyfriend's army jacket? If it was you, you would have dumped his ass on the spot. Clearly noticing the small hint of a smile on your lips, Luke shook his head. 

“She didn’t break up with me.” A smirk twitched at his own lip. “She understood. Just like Spencer would if you weren’t so goddamn stubborn to tell him. Do you think I enjoy lying to him everyday? I like Reid, he’s a good guy. I hate lying to him.” 

“Well that’s not your decision to make.” You growled. 

“Why not? I could quite easily tell him everything. Including how you kissed me last night.” His smirk grew, challenging you. You clenched your jaw tightly. 

“You wouldn’t dare.” 

“Wouldn’t I?” He folded his arms across his chest, straightening his back as if to try and intimidate you. 

Sure, Sergeant Luke Alvez had been intimidating at times. He was strong and broad and had the kind of eyes that could send you to hell with one glance. But he was forgetting that you’d seen him at his most vulnerable. Post-coital when his walls were down and he would snuggle against you and pepper kisses against your skin. He’d cried into your arms when he found out his father passed away. He wasn’t as intimidating as he wanted to be. 

“No, you wouldn’t.” You took a step closer to him. “You think Spencer would thank you for telling him? You think I’m the only one that information would make him hate? You lied to him too, and I seem to remember you were pretty complicit in the kiss. If you try to take me down, Alvez, I promise you, I’m taking you down with me. I’m not your lowly private anymore. You don’t control me. I will not back down. If you want to try and fuck up my life, be my guest. But I will not go down without a fight.” 

Luke had a signature tell you’d seen more times than you could count in Iraq. It wasn’t as though he had an anger problem, but he was known for having an extremely short fuse. The littlest thing could set him off, take him from zero to a hundred. Soldiers often walked on eggshells around him, scared to set him off. And the one tell-tale sign he was about to lose his shit completely was when he started poking his tongue against the inside of his cheek like he was doing right now. 

You’d seen Luke at his angriest many times, on occasion it had been directed towards you and you were fully prepared for him to do it now. The vein in the side of his head was pulsing a little and you were ready for him to go full throttle and let you have it. And he probably would have done too, if it weren’t for the fact the doors opened and Emily and Tara strolled into the bullpen, chatting away over their morning coffees.

“Morning Y/L/N, Alvez.” Emily called over as she headed up towards her office.

“Morning guys,” Tara added, coming to a stop at her desk. 

You both offered them a small wave in reply before Luke turned back to you, anger still ruminating behind his eyes. He went to walk past you to his own desk but as he did, he growled one final thing in your ear, making sure to speak quietly enough that Tara wouldn’t hear. 

“I can’t believe I ever thought I loved you.” He spat and continued to his desk. 

And for some reason, hearing that was worse than anything else he could have said to you. 

***

You’d been so wrapped up in Luke’s reappearance in your life and trying to ignore all the unresolved feelings that went with it, that you didn’t realise Spencer was struggling with his own issues until it was too late. 

Of course he’d mentioned his trips to Houston and the subsequent moving of his mother into his apartment when he thought he could handle everything on his own. But then after the night at the bar he stopped talking to you, he was away from the BAU more and more and you barely saw him. 

In that time Luke hadn’t spoken to you either, unless it directly pertained to work. You often wanted to seek him out, maybe even apologise and try to salvage a friendship in this wreckage but you were far too stubborn. You knew him and Lisa were still going strong as you caught the occasional phone call he had with her. But you knew to leave well alone. It would take time but maybe one day the two of you could be civil with one another. 

It was almost three weeks later, after arriving back from a case in Palm Springs that Spencer finally reached out. 

You’d be home for about a half hour, indulging in the world's largest glass of wine, when there was a knock at your door. You frowned to yourself, not expecting company, putting the glass down on the coffee table and forcing yourself to your feet. 

To say Spencer looked haggard would have been an understatement, he wore his emotions all over his face. He looked like he was fighting some kind of internal battle just by being here. You didn’t speak, simply leant on the door jamb while you waited for him to say something. 

He just watched you for a few long minutes, as if he had no words left. He looked so painfully tired like he may collapse at any moment. Eventually he sighed deeply, running his fingers through his tangled hair. 

“We should talk.” His voice was distant, shattered. 

“Ok.” You nodded, stepping aside to let him inside your apartment. He shuffled his way in, closing the door behind him. “Do you want a drink or something?”

“No.” He was quick to shake his head. “Y/N, tell me one last time. Tell me you aren’t lying when you say you and Luke were just friends.” 

“Spence,” you swallowed, half considering actually telling him the truth. But it had gone on too long now, you’d lied too many times. There was no going back. “Luke and I were just friends.” 

Spencer looked away from you, his brow furrowing and shaking his head. He drummed his fingers against the side of his satchel before reaching one hand inside of it. 

“You see I’d convinced myself I was being paranoid, believed that you wouldn’t lie to me.” He retrieved something from inside the bag and pulled it out. “But then I found this.” 

He held the Polaroid loosely between his fingers, proffering it towards you. When you didn’t take it, he let his gaze fall onto it and you saw the hurt in his eyes. 

You’d left it in a book on your desk at work, maybe even a case file you couldn’t quite remember. You’d meant to take it home and destroy it but kept forgetting to do so. And now Spencer had it. 

“It’s funny really because you could have just been wearing anyone’s army jacket, right?” He sighed. “You can barely see the word Alvez stitched onto the breast. Barely. But you can still see it.” He let go of the photograph and let it fall to the floor, glancing back up at you, unshed tears now behind his eyes. “So tell me again how you were just friends.” 

“I’m sorry.” It was weak, pathetic even. You owed him more than that. 

“You’re sorry?” Spencer frowned. “You lied to me for months. I asked you god knows how many times and you consistently lied to me. Over and over again. Do you really think I’m so fragile I couldn’t have handled the truth?”

“Could you have?” 

“If you’d told me right away, yeah! Sure I would have been a little jealous but I mean, look at him! But I like to think I’m secure enough in myself that I would have handled it. It’s the lies Y/N I can’t cope with. People only lie when they have something to hide, so I can only assume you lied to me because you still have feelings for him.” 

“No.” You shook your head. “No, that’s not true.” 

“I don’t believe anything you say anymore, Y/N. I have enough going on with my mom right now, this is the last thing I need.” His voice shook.

“I’m sorry.”

“Stop saying that!” He raised his voice. “You’re not sorry you lied, you’re sorry you got caught. Did you cheat on me?”

“No.” 

Spencer chuckled darkly, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. 

“Stop lying to me!” He sounded exasperated. “I saw the two of you coming out of the men’s bathroom together at the bar weeks ago. When you came back, you smelt like him, did you know that?” 

You did not know that.

“We kissed.” You admitted, pouting your bottom lip.

“So the answer to the question: did you cheat on me, was yes.” 

“Yes.” You croaked, looking at the floor. 

“Do you have any idea what you meant to me?” He suddenly softened, his first tear escaping his eye. “Because I feel like if you did, you couldn’t have done this to me.” 

You felt your heart constrict in your chest seeing him so sad. You hadn’t stopped to think how much this would hurt him when this all inevitably came out and now your heart was breaking because of the pain you’d caused him. 

“I know we joke that I was persistent and kept asking you out over and over again until you finally gave me a shot, but did you ever consider why I was so tenacious? Y/N, I was in love with you long before you agreed to go on a date with me. I was so insistent because I just wanted you to give me a chance, or maybe give yourself a chance, to love me too.” A few more tears rolled down his cheeks and he quickly batted them away in annoyance. 

You had no idea. Spencer had never told you he loved you before, maybe because he was scared you wouldn’t say it back. Before Luke showed up you might have, but you wouldn’t have meant it the way you should. 

“I’m so sorry.” You felt your own tears break free even though you knew you had no right to cry. “Luke was…he was my first love, Spence. My feelings for him were so intense, so all consuming and it just ended in the blink of an eye. I never let myself grieve the end of that relationship, I never let myself get over him. I don’t want to feel this way about him still, I really don’t. If I could just shut these feelings off I would. 

But the truth is, I’m probably never going to get over him. He has this hold over my heart and no matter what I do I can’t shake him. I knew that if I told you about us, you’d see in my eyes what he meant to me and we’d be over. But I needed us not to be over. Because I am crazy about you Spencer, my feelings for Luke don’t change that.” 

“But I would have always been your second choice.” His tears continued to fall and he tried to ignore them. 

“Don’t say that, that’s not-“

“No. Don’t tell me that isn’t true.” He cut you off. “Be honest with me Y/N, and I mean honest. If Luke were to walk through that door right now and tell you he loved you and wanted to be with you, and you had me standing here telling you the same, which one of us would you choose?” 

You wiped your eyes, looking away from him toward the far wall. You wrapped your arms tightly around your body as if it might help protect you. 

“Don’t make me answer that.” You snivelled. 

Spencer exhaled loudly and you heard him stepping backwards. He wiped his eyes on his sleeve. 

“You kinda just did.” He sighed. “I can’t do this anymore. I can’t be in love with someone who’s in love with someone else.”

You looked back at him, wanting to stand there and argue with him, beg him not to leave but you knew that wouldn’t be fair. You could see how much this was breaking his heart and the kindest thing for you to do was set him free. 

“I understand.” You croaked out. “I really am sorry, Spence.” 

“Me too.” He nodded, stepping back towards the door. “I’m taking a little more time off to try and sort things with my mom and I’d appreciate it if you don’t try and call or anything. I need this to just be over so I can try and focus on everything else in my life that’s falling apart.” 

“Ok.” You agreed. 

He reached behind him for the door handle, edging the door open. 

“I really want you to be happy, Y/N.” He stepped out of it into the hall. “I think you and Luke owe it to yourselves to have a conversation. You need to decide to be together, or let each other go.” 

You watched him go, hating yourself for putting him through this. The last thing you’d wanted to do was hurt him. You wanted to, at the very least, take his advice, but you knew you wouldn’t. Talking to Luke was not an option and the only alternative was that you finally forced yourself to get over him. 

Unfortunately that was much easier said than done.

***

2015 - Brooklyn, New York

It didn’t matter that it had been some five years since your days in Iraq, soldiers always had a way of finding out when they lost one of their own. 

Charlie Reynolds hadn’t just been your neighbour for over nine months, he’d been your friend too. You’d spent many nights talking through that burlap wall, sharing all your stories and secrets with one another. You were the same age, he’d chosen to join the military to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. He was kind, sweet and personable. And he was one of the only people that knew of you and Luke’s relationship and you trusted him with your life. 

When the news of his death reached you, you were crushed despite not having seen him since your reassignment to Afghanistan. The kid wasn’t even thirty, but that was unfortunately how it often ended in the military. 

You’d heard the story through some old army buddies. After the US troops withdrew from Iraq in late two thousand and eleven, Reynolds was redeployed to Afghanistan although miles away from where you yourself were based so you’d never crossed paths. He was sweeping a road one day when an IED exploded, killing him instantly.

You’d been on inactive duty back in the states between tours, due to head back out to Afghanistan in the next few weeks when you’d heard the news. You’d been granted two days of leave to fly out to New York, Reynolds hometown, to attend the funeral. 

It hadn’t even crossed your mind that he’d be here. You spotted him across the church hall where Reynolds' service was being held, on the other side of the aisle and a row in front of you. You only saw the back of his head but it was all you needed to see. You’d long ago memorised every inch of that man, and just because it had been five years, those memories had never diminished. 

You told yourself you’d stay for the service and then dip out before the wake, head back to your hotel and drink yourself into a stupor. Coming face to face with Sergeant Luke Alvez again was not a good idea. Yet, once the service was over, you followed the procession to the bar in downtown Brooklyn that Reynolds parents had hired out for the occasion. 

You felt the moment he noticed you. You were in the middle of a conversation with some old faces when the hairs on the back of your neck stood to attention. You slowly looked up, glancing across the bar to see those intense eyes staring back at you over the top of a whiskey tumbler. And you should have ignored it, excused yourself and just left. 

But you didn’t. 

Your hands were shaking as you crossed the room towards the bar where he was knocking back his drink. You watched him order another, heard him utter the words and make it a double, as you approached. You reached him just as he was handed his fresh drink. 

“I should have known you’d be here.” He sipped the whiskey, turning to look at you. 

“He was my friend.” You shrugged. “It’s good to see you, Sarg.” 

“Is it?” He frowned at you, a look of disdain you’d never seen from him before. 

It had been five years but he looked so much the same as you remembered him, like he was stuck in time the way he was in your memories. And you couldn’t even begin to consider how good he looked in that all black suit or you would spiral down a rabbit hole with no way out. 

You couldn’t say you were entirely surprised by his attitude towards you, you’d expected it to be perfectly honest. 

For a time after you left Iraq the two of you had stayed in touch but it wasn’t easy given both of your demanding schedules. The calls became fewer and fewer and after a while you started to ignore Luke’s calls. Eventually, while back in the states on leave some time ago, you’d gotten a new phone and new number to go with it. 

It wasn’t as though you hadn’t missed him, it was because you’d missed him that you’d had to cut ties. It grew too hard for you to only be able to talk to him on the phone, it seemed easier this way. You’d never realised quite how much you’d missed him until he was standing right in front of you. 

“Yes.” You nodded.

With another sip of his whiskey, Luke seemed to soften slightly as he let out a sigh. 

“It isn’t Sarg anymore, by the way. I’m a civilian now.” He offered you a wry smile. “After we withdrew from Iraq my service was technically up. I considered extending my contract, maybe even deploying to Afghanistan. But I decided against it. I hear you're the one I should be calling Sarg now?” 

“Keeping tabs on me?” 

“Would you believe me if I said no?” 

“Not a chance.” You smiled at him and to your surprise he smiled back. 

“Congratulations. You seem to be doing pretty well for yourself.” 

“Thanks, Sarg.” You couldn’t help yourself. 

Luke downed his whiskey, hissing a little as the liquid burnt his throat and placed the glass back on the bar. 

“You uh…you wanna get out of here? Go for a walk?” He seemed so unsure of himself, a side of him you’d never seen before. 

“Sure.” You found yourself nodding even though you knew it was a bad idea. 

Luke motioned you towards the door, following you outside onto the street. Instinctively you started walking in the direction of your hotel, which was conveniently only a few blocks away. 

“So, you living back in New York now?” You glanced at him as you walked side by side. 

“Yeah, I got a little apartment in The Bronx near my mom.” He nodded with a small hint of a smile. 

“What are you doing with yourself these days?”

Luke chuckled, shaking his head at how oddly normal talking to you like this felt after so long. 

“Would you believe I joined the FBI?” He glanced over at you, his smile bright and the passing streetlamps reflected in his eyes. 

“What? No way.” You scoffed. 

“Yeah, Fugitive Task Force. It’s not actually that much different from being in the army when you think about it.” 

“Wow. So I guess I should be calling you Agent then?” 

“Or you could just try calling me Luke.” He raised an eyebrow at you but you were already shaking your head. 

“No, no I don’t think so.” You chuckled. 

Luke pulled a face that said he surrendered with a shrug of his shoulders, before he grew suddenly serious. 

“Can I ask you something?” 

“Shoot.” You agreed, steering you both down a left turn. 

“I mean I probably already know the answer, but just humour me.”

“Ok…” you goaded him. 

“Why did you suddenly decide to cut me out of your life?” He spat it out fast, like ripping off a bandaid. 

The question had taken up permanent residence in his head for five long years. He often found himself trying to recall the last conversation you’d had, the last thing he’d said to you but he could never recollect it. 

“Honestly? I couldn’t keep letting you drag me into the past.” You smiled a little sadly at him. “I had a real shot of progressing my career in Afghanistan but every time your name popped up on my phone I thought about giving it all up. The marriage, the house in the suburbs, the kids you talked about. But I can’t give it up, you know? I’m a soldier first, a soldier above all else. So I had to cut you out of my life otherwise I would have done something dumb like…like…”

“Like marry me?” He offered you an equally sad smile. 

“Yeah.” You continued walking for a minute or so before you came to a stop outside your hotel. You looked up at it before looking back at Luke. “This is me.” 

He was staring at you in a longing way, a way in which you’d seen so many times before. It meant he had something to say, something on the tip of his tongue that he wasn’t quite vocalising. 

“Spit it out.” You sighed. 

“What?”

“I can always tell when you want to say something but are holding back. So just spit it out.” 

“Ok.” He took a step closer to you. “But you’re not gonna want to hear it.”

“Try me.” You narrowed your eyes on him, causing him to laugh. 

“Fine.” He stepped even closer. “I’m still in love with you.” 

You closed your eyes as his words washed over you, knocking all of the air from your lungs. You probably should have known he was going to say that. It shouldn’t have taken you back the way it did. 

“Luke,” you opened your eyes again, surprising you both with the use of his name. “I’m going back to base camp tomorrow and I start my next tour in a few weeks.” 

“You don’t still feel the same way, I get it, I do. It’s been five years. But don’t give me excuses ok? Just tell me straight that you don’t love me anymore. Please? I think I need to hear you say it.”

A long stretch of silence followed. You had two options here. One: you could tell him what he needed to hear, that you didn’t still love him and let him walk away hurt, but still intact. Or you could tell him the truth, that you still loved him and probably always would and inevitably set you both up for a greater fall. But you never could lie to Luke. 

“The problem with that is, I don’t want to lie to you. And if I told you I didn’t still love you, well that would be a lie.” 

“Huh.” He chewed on his bottom lip. “So uh…what are we gonna do about that then?”

“I’m still leaving, Luke. It doesn’t change anything. Tomorrow I am still-“

“I’m not asking about tomorrow.” He cut you off, stepping closer still until he was right in front of you. “I’m asking about tonight. I’m asking about right now. Fuck tomorrow, I don’t give a shit about tomorrow. What I want to know is what are we going to do about this right now?”

If you were stronger you would have walked away, you told yourself that anyway. If you weren’t still so unfathomably in love with this man you would have turned on your heels and fled to your hotel room.

But that’s not what you did. 

Instead, you better judgement flying out of the window, you closed the space between you and crushed your lips together with a bruising force. 

Luke’s arms immediately wrapped around you, scared you might change your mind. He kissed you back with a deep passion, one that was five years in the making. There on the sidewalk you surrendered to him completely, giving over your control as you so often had to him. It wasn’t long at all before the kiss grew far too heated for the public setting and he tore himself away from your lips.

He didn’t go far, resting his forehead against yours and stroking back your hair in a frightfully loving way. 

“Well, are you going to invite me to your room, private?” 

You couldn’t speak, once again Luke Alvez had rendered you dumb so instead you simply nodded. He placed his hand on your lower back, guiding you inside the hotel. 

The moment you stepped into your room and you had the door closed behind you, Luke advanced on you, kissing you again while pushing you back towards the bed. You let him do whatever he wanted to you, like always. You let him undress you while you laid there basking in his glow. You simply watched as he undressed himself before joining you on the bed. 

He made you come with his tongue in a matter of minutes, screaming his army nickname at the top of your lungs and not caring who heard. He smirked at you, the mess he’d turned you into, while kneeling over you and stroking his hard length. 

“Who do you belong to, Y/L/N?” He asked as he parted your legs and knelt between them.

“You.” You had tears pricking at the corners of your eyes, your sheer desperation to have him again. “I’ve always belonged to you, Sarg.”

“Good girl.” He muttered, lining himself up. “Such a good girl for me.” 

With that he harshly thrust inside of you, causing your tears to overflow and your eyes roll back into your head. It felt like no time had passed. It felt like coming up for air after drowning.

It felt like home. 

Luke made you come again as he fucked you but he wasn’t far behind, filling you with his load. He stayed inside of you, staring down at you for some time before he finally pulled out and rolled down next to you. 

“Do you want me to go or can I stay?” He whispered, reaching out to stroke the side of your face. 

Stay. Stay forever. Convince me not to go. Tell me you’ll marry me and we’ll be together for all of time. Never leave me again. Please? 

You ignored the thoughts swimming around in your brain and shrugged lightly. 

“That’s up to you.” 

“If it’s ok with you, I’d like to stay.” 

“Ok.” 

He wrapped you in his arms, draping the sheets over you both. You rolled onto your side and Luke held you from behind, pressing the most delicate kisses to your neck. Eventually you would fall asleep but for some time you let the tears silently roll down your cheeks while the love of your life held you, knowing you’ll never be able to be together. 

***

You woke in much of a similar position, Luke’s erection pressing against your back. You didn’t exchange any words, you allowed him to part your legs and slide inside of you. You let him fuck you again, using the pillow to muffle your moans and your sobs. Afterwards he turned you over so you were facing him. 

“This was a bad idea, wasn’t it?” His heart shattered in his chest seeing your red rimmed, puffy eyes. 

“Probably one of the worst.” You tried to force a smile. “I already miss you and you’re right in front of me.” 

He nodded, sniffing back his own tears. 

“If you ever change your mind,” he placed a soft kiss to your lips, forcing himself up and out of the bed. “If you ever decide you want to give up that life and settle down, I’m only a phone call away.” 

You watched him dress before he retrieved his card from his wallet and left it on the nightstand. He crouched down next to the bed and you shuffled closer so he could cup your face.

“I mean it, Y/N,” he whispered. “All you need to do is say the word and I’ll marry you in a heartbeat.” 

Your bottom lip quivered, tears still rolling down your cheeks. Marrying Luke Alvez would have been the utmost privilege. But you had other commitments you needed to see through. 

“You should go.” You forced yourself to say, taking him by the hand and removing it from your face. 

Luke nodded, standing back up and smoothing down yesterday's rumpled shirt. 

“I’ll never stop loving you, ok?” He shot you one last look before he turned away, physically unable to look at you anymore as it hurt too badly. 

You didn’t reply. You didn’t have any words to say that weren’t don’t go or please don’t leave me. You watched him slump to the door and open it, taking one last deep breath before he crossed back over the threshold into the corridor and closed the door on you. 

You were still crying when you forced yourself to sit up and picked up his FBI business card he’d left. With a heavy heart you got up, marched across the room with as much conviction as you could muster, and tossed the card in the trash. Holding onto another memory of Luke Alvez was pointless. 

You’d spent five years trying to get over him and in just a single night you were back to square one. Maybe one day you’d be able to tell yourself you no longer loved him, but today certainly wasn’t that day. Tomorrow didn’t look so good either. 

Taglist

@carolinesbookworld @wooya1224 @littlebeanwrites @randomrambling @telepathay

[hazelroses1]

Nurse Ochako Isn’t Taking Surgeon Katsuki’s Shit

Dr. Bakugou is an orthopedic surgeon none of the nurses want to deal with because he's such an asshole. Yelling at them for things that are out of their control and cursing at them when they call him about concerns for his patients.  Ochako is a night shift nurse who has one of his post-operation patients. The poor guy is writhing in pain, with clear signs that their pain management regimen is not working.

She knows she's going to have to call Dr. Bakugou for additional pain medications, and she's dreading it, but she has to do what's best for her patient. So, Ochako takes a deep breath, looks at the clock to see it's 2 A.M., and dials his number.

Dr. Bakugou answers on the fourth ring. 

 "What?" 

 Ochako blinks. "Um, this is Ochako, a nurse at U.A Regional. Is this Dr. Bakugou?" 

 "Did you not look at the number when you called?" he snaps. "What do you want?" 

 Ochako frowns.

"Your post-op patient, Mr. Kishimura, is still in a nine out of ten pain. I've given him—" 

 "Give him the meds I ordered," he interrupts. "That's what they're there for."

 Ochako feels her irritation rising. "I did give him those medications if you would have let me finish. I gave him both narcotics and his scheduled acetaminophen, the last dose being an hour ago, and he's still sobbing and clearly uncomfortable. I need something else."

 "What do you suggest he have then?" Dr. Bakugou responds in the most condescending tone she'd ever heard.

Ochako gives her charge nurse, Mina, who's standing over her shoulder to hear the conversation, a bewildered look. She looks just as shocked. If he wants to play this game, Ochako will play it. Her end goal is to ensure her patient's comfort, and she won't let this jerk ruin that. 

 "How about tramadol?" Ochako suggests. "The patient said with his previous surgeries that medication controlled his pain better."

"Tch, the patient is fucking allergic to that medication. Are you a fucking idiot? Did you even read his chart?!" 

 Ochako's adrenaline rushes through her body. She has pulled up the patient's chart, and tramadol is not listed on his allergies. She's even reviewed his previous surgical visits for his knee and shoulder surgery and saw that tramadol was prescribed both times. 

 "Dr. Bakugou," Ochako begins, struggling to keep her voice from rising. "The patient doesn't have tramadol listed on their allergies, and he got it for his last two surgeries. Prescribe it, please." 

 "I'm the fucking surgeon!" he yells, making Ochako hold the phone out. "Give him the meds I ordered, and don't call me again!" 

Then the line goes dead. Ochako, Mina, and the rest of the staff who has been at the nurse's station sat there in awe. She's never been spoken to that way by a doctor and refuses to let that kind of behavior fly.  Ochako writes a memorandum of their encounter and gives it to the house supervisor, puts in a patient safety report, and stays after her shift to speak to the chief of surgical services. Dr. Aizawa, a doctor known not to let other doctors act terribly toward staff, gives her a solemn look and says he'll handle it. Ochako had no doubt he will; she just wishes she'd be there to see it. 

 A week passes, and Ochako is on day shift. It's a busy day; she's drowning, and of course, she's handed a new same-day surgery patient. Ochako sighs when she sees the surgeon is Dr. Bakugou. Fuck this guy entirely, but she prepares for her patient and gets report from the post-anesthesia unit. She finds an issue with the orders and pages him, dreading the callback. Instead of a call, as she's exiting her patient's room, she sees Dr. Bakugou walking down the hall. He moves with purpose and pride, a scrub cap with grenades on it visible from a distance. It's ironic that someone with an explosive personality wears that cap. Ochako squares her shoulders and steps in his path. His piercing crimson eyes stare her down, but she won't look frightened. 

 "You nurse Ochako?" he asks. 

 "That's correct," she answers. "I paged you."

"Let's talk for a minute." 

 Ochako swallows and crosses her arms over her chest. "Are you just going to scream at me again because you can do that here."

Dr. Bakugou's cheeks flush. She would say it makes him more handsome, but she's not going to because he's Satan incarnate. 

 "I'm not gonna yell at you, alright?" he says. "Where's somewhere private?"

Ochako walks them past the nurse's station and tells the charge what she's doing. Izuku's gaze flickers over Dr. Bakugou before turning his attention back to her. 

"Let me know if you need anything," he says, and Ochako understands that he'll gladly go to bat for her.

She notices Dr. Bakugou stiffen, but he says nothing, and Ochako leads him to an empty room. She closes the door with a resounding click, turning to him, ready to argue. 

 "I yelled at you when you called me about one of my patients," he begins. "Aizawa reamed my ass for it.  That was unprofessional and uncalled for, and you were right about his allergies. I wanna apologize." 

 Ochako places her hands on her hips. 

"You were an absolute asshole, and it's not the first time with other nurses you've belittled them and questioned their intelligence. You need to get it through your surgeon brain that we are on the same team. I hear your apology and appreciate it, but what would mean the most is a change in behavior." 

 Dr. Bakugou's blond eyebrows shoot up, eyes wide. Maybe his bafflement comes from no one who he deems a lesser position talking to him with such authority. Good. Ochako is happy to be the first. The silence ticks on for a few moments before he does something surprising. He grins, and Ochako's heart flutters because, wow, he is gorgeous when he smiles. 

 "Won't happen again, Ochako. Fucking promise." 

 Ochako nods and reaches out to pat his shoulder. Lightning flutters through her chest when he places his hand over hers, holding it there longer than necessary. Ochako freezes as he drops his hand and turns to exit the room. 

 "Lemme see whatever order you were paging me about," he says over his shoulder.

Ochako tucks that encounter in her mind to scream at Mina about later before following him out of the room. From then on, Dr. Bakugou's attitude does a 180. No more name-calling and yelling. He's got sarcastic humor that Ochako likes, and instead of dreading caring for his patients, she looks forward to it. Dr. Bakugou buys food for her unit once a month, different types, from typical pizza to Thai and Indian. He times it whenever Ochako is working. Today, they eat together in the break room, and because of him, Ochako finds she loves Indian food. 

 "Why have I never eaten this before?!" she whines, taking another bite of chicken tikka masala and savoring the rich flavors. "It's so good!"

"Maybe you should slow down and enjoy it instead of inhaling it," Dr. Bakugou teases in between bites of tandoori fish. 

 "It's hard!" Ochako laughs. "Dr. Bakugou, who knew you were a food connoisseur?" 

"Call me Katsuki." 

Ochako pauses, her heart fluttering. Okay, so she may have developed a crush on U.A. Regional's former resident jerk, and she hates herself for it, but their encounters have left thoughts of him in her head longer than she wants to admit. His asking her to call him by his first name is putting scenarios in her head. Scenarios of going on dates to unique restaurants and watching medical dramas to point out all the inaccuracies in them. 

“Sure, Katsuki," she replies, unable to hide her beaming smile.

Dr. Bakugou, now Katsuki, puts his elbows on the table, studying her. "Ever had Jamaican food?" 

"I haven't," Ochako admits, waiting for his next words. 

"You off Friday?" 

"Yep." 

"Let me cook for you," he says, redness creeping up his neck. "You need to be more cultured to other types of food. There's so much good shit out there."

 Ochako wants to float off into the stratosphere. She pinches her arm to bring her back to Earth and stop the internal screaming rattling her brain. 

 "I'll think about it." 

 [END]

[microwave-core]

Roxie Posting

Sorry that I've been sitting on these for awhile. I haven't had a ton of motivation to write recently, but I really enjoyed writing these once I finally sat down to finish them up!

First thing that comes to mind, Roxie is a night owl and has an absolutely terrible sleep schedule. She spends most of the night at the Virbank Gym, and other venues around the region when she’s traveling, so she ends up tucking in during the early morning hours, typically sleeping in until noon, if not later. She goes to sleep at more reasonable hours sometimes, but she won’t be happy about it.

She isn’t against cuddling, but it usually doesn’t end up happening, likely because your sleep schedules don’t line up all that well (or maybe they do, I don’t know). If you settle into bed with each other, she’s actually a bit clingy, wanting to be held close, but she tends to sprawl out once she’s asleep, and also shifts around quite a bit. At the very least, it’s easy to get out of bed once you wake up.

Roxie’s style in outfits isn’t particularly set in stone, but her hairstyle is. Letting her hair down doesn’t happen often, much less in public. She usually only lets it down at home, typically when sleeping or showering. Even then, though, it’s not too uncommon for her to fall asleep with the ponytail holder still in. Her hair itself is pretty flat and a bit thin, and doesn’t tangle easily. Surprisingly smooth, nice to brush and card fingers through. 

Music is obviously her passion, and she loves inviting you out to spend a wild night at the club, letting you watch her shred and sing her heart out, taking pride in you watching her work. At some point during the night, she’ll stop in between songs, pointing to you in the crowd, claiming that the next song is dedicated to you. Although, all of the songs are when you’re there to hear them.

She’s not on stage all night, taking a break or two to just relax her voice and fingers and bask in the night’s glow. She loves the club’s fiery aura, but she also loves the cool air of the night. A bouncing joint gets hot, temperature wise, quickly, after all. She’ll seek you out in the crowd and pull you out to sit in a nearby alleyway to unwind, chatting and laughing, before stepping back in. 

If you manage to stay the whole night without heading home early, she’ll gladly walk back home with you, obviously tired, yet satisfied. Always complains about the sun coming over the horizon. The sunlight, though faint in the early morning, is too much for her dark-adjusted eyes. 

When she goes traveling for league business, she asks you to join, obviously. Traveling with a partner is way more enjoyable than flying solo. League work is just work, but once she’s off the hook, she’s walking into the nearest club or bar. Whether she plays a few songs or just vibes in the crowd depends on where she goes and on how drained she is from the aforementioned work (although the prospect of music seems to give her a second wind). She drags you along to the place, and you’ll have to drag her back to wherever you’re staying at a reasonable time.

Roxie owns tons of different guitars. Her iconic black and purple, Scolipede-inspired bass is her favorite, but she has many others. Some of them are relatively normal, but she has other pokemon-inspired one’s, including some other Venipede line inspired ones that came before her current. Loves bold colors, flashy patterns, and unique shapes. Has commissioned Burgh at least a few times to sketch up designs for her. She also plays and owns a few different instruments, but bass is her one true love.

Would absolutely love it if you played an instrument or sang. While she’s clearly very rock and punk in her style, she’s more than willing to indulge in other genres if it means jamming with you. Loves all types of music, whether she admits it or not. To her, the perfect date is just the two of you lounging at home, donned in comfy clothes, while mindlessly prattling out beats together. The compliments on your skill will be endless. Would love to teach you guitar if you didn’t play it already, making for a surprisingly good teacher.

Greatly encourages you to follow your dreams or pursue your hobbies, but also advises you to not just up and leave everything else. Especially if you have an important job that would greatly disturb the life of others if you just suddenly stopped, like her old man did once.

Speaking of her old man, she complains about him from time to time, but she does care about him a whole lot. Holds the whole “suddenly abandoning being a ship captain to star in movies” thing over his head, if that wasn’t already obvious. While she does find him embarrassing, she does introduce you to him once you’ve been together for a while.

She writes all of her own songs, and is usually pretty good at it. When she’s facing artist’s block (or writer’s block? I think both technically apply in this context), she gets incredibly frustrated. She’ll pace around her home, pencil in hand, room covered in crumpled up and torn pieces of paper, until inspiration eventually strikes her. You might have to step in and force her to take care of herself if it goes on for too long, although it might be easier to help her find the inspirational spark she’s in need of first. She can be damn stubborn at times.

The lyrics of her songs do tend to be pretty simple. The intricacies of her work stem from the notes. Loves to inject solos, guitar riffs, and heavy basslines into all of work. She doesn’t stay in the spotlight all of the time, though, giving her bandmates the time in the limelight with their own solos. They’re just as important to their performance as she is, and so she wants them to be recognized for all of their hard work and skill.

Roxie doesn’t just take pride in her music, she takes pride in her strength when it comes to battles, too. Her beloved, toxic babies put everything they have into each and every battle. Whether win or lose, she’s proud of them. Her confidence isn’t arrogance, however, as she’s more than willing to acknowledge another’s strength if they beat her. She likes a challenge, and throws herself into any battle, even if the odds are stacked against her.

Along with inviting you to her gym when it’s a bumping club, she also invites you to listen in to the band’s practice before the night hits. Not only does she take comfort in your presence and value your feedback, it also gives you the chance to watch her face off against any challengers that stumble in. What can she say, she likes to show off in front of you.

She’s… not the most romantic person in the world, but she is passionate. Don’t expect her to come up with elaborate date ideas, nor a wide diversity in the one’s she does propose. She’s fine with going out to restaurants or to see movies if you want, but she’s unlikely to suggest those ideas herself. Most of her date ideas boil down to clubbing, concerts, and walks in the moonlight. 

Middling with affection. She’s not averse to it, but she doesn’t always actively seek it out from you, unless you’ve been apart for a long time. Kiss her on the forehead, and she’ll melt into your arms.

She’s most certainly a little spoon.

Her love language is definitely words of affirmation. She’s not writing sappy love songs or anything, but she’s good with her words, and knows how to string them along to fully articulate how she feels in the moment. 

Now, if you’re in a relationship for long enough, then she will actually write a, if not multiple, love songs for and about you. They aren’t overly sappy, like said above, but they are a bit cliche, as they detail everything she loves about you, and how proud she is of you, and everything she’d do for you. These tracks are for private performances only, though, made for your eyes and ears alone.

In general, she’s a pretty good punk girlfriend. As long as you aren’t looking for the overly romantic type, have a love for music, and don’t mind wrangling her in now and then, you’ll get yourself a loyal partner who will, quite literally, sing her praises for you.

[gildedxink]

Violent Repercussions

When: Two weeks after the Anti-Summer Party Where: Max's apartment above the Gilded Letters Studio Who: Self-Para

The sound rang in their ears.

Fifteen minutes ago, things were fine. Max's life was shaping up to be the best it had been in some time. They were starting to actually participate in the community again, they had made stronger connections. For the first time in a very long time they were even with someone, had a partner and they couldn't help how happy they were.

And that of course is when the world crashes down the hardest.

Sarah had stopped by, one of the other covenless witches that Max had kept in touch with. Someone that would have made a good match for Eli's coven with her technological magic. Normally, they were chipper when they came to see Max. Some new cybertech tattoo that they wanted to do with some added work that only Max could do. Sarah was good about scheduling appointments and texting ahead if they were dropping by. Tonight was different, there was an air around her that was terribly foreboding and made Max's heart skip a beat. "Hey, what's up Sarah? Are you okay?"

"Max.. I have to show you something... can I come in?" She pushed her dreads back out of her face. Where usually her headphones would keep them pushed back were no where to be found. The massive backpack filled with her stuff was gone, all she had was her tablet in had. Her other hand was shaking seemingly cause she was nervous.

"Yeah. Um come in would you like a drink?" Max asked, stepping out to doorway as Sarah stepped through opening the tablet and shaking her head. She stepped to the sitting room and loaded up a video. Sitting down and then looking over to Max concern written all over her face.

"No. Thank you, but I...." She took a breath, "I was doing my usual shutting down Artemis stuff when I can. While I was clearing videos I found one.. I am pretty sure.. I'm pretty sure its your parents." Sarah worried her lower lip, she clearly was upset and Max had no reason to doubt her. Sarah had gone to school with Max and had met their parents more than a few times. In their heart they hoped that Sarah was wrong, but Sarah hardly ever was.

Max took the seat beside them, and hit play.

The video was grainy, definitely some kind of found footage type deal. The image was shakey as they ran through this old building. She didn't recognize that at least, but when the camera person caught up to who ever they were chasing Max gasped. The older couple running for their lives were their parents. Max's hand covered their mouth, shaking as the video continued through what was one of the worst things they had ever seen. Sarah spoke first, "You don't have to watch the who..." Max's hand pushed hers out of the way.

Ten minutes of pure fucking horror.

Sarah sat their silently as the video finished. Seemingly unsure of what to do, Max was still sitting there in stunned silence. "I did what I could to wipe the video. It seems they posted this after the whole anti-summer thing. I was gonna call Remington's coven see if there was more they can scrub that I cant.... I'm so sorry.."

Max swallowed hard and too a deep breath, "Thank you, Sarah.... I need to be alone, please." She nodded picking up the tablet, giving their shoulder a soft squeeze. She walked through the door and was gone in a flash. The clear night sky over inner city Vievecor was suddenly filled with clouds.

The first of their tears started the down pour. There wasn't a single sound that left them as they slumped to floor. Their hands burying in their hair hiding their face, the sound of the pounding rain on roof was the only sound in the apartment. Max could hear and see the contents of the video over and over again. Their body shook and shudders, its thirty minutes before any noise comes out. They pulled out the phone in their pocket as they started to send a text. The flurry of cancellation texts and a post to the social account was done.

They crawled back up on the couch pulling the nearest blanket on them before the crying started again...

[rentenesen]

Woven - Chapter 2

Gale x Astarion BG3 fanfiction

This is one my first times dabbling in fanfiction and my first time posting anything like this. Was inspired by the Profession Dekarios comics posted by @ssalballoon

Summary: Set in alternate universe, modern day, exploring a world where fae exist (non-dnd). Gale, once a very special child with the ability to see fae, is now a regular almost middle aged man, working as a professor. Unsatisfied with his life, and contemplating his reasons to keep going, a strange pale man appears at his house one night, asking to be let inside.

Word Count: 1.3k ______________________________________________________________

Gale sighed pulling into his driveway that evening, it had been a long day, or it least it felt like it had been. He turned off the car and just.. sat there for a while. In reality it had gone by rather quickly. he only had two classes to teach and his TAs had been there to help out students during office hours.

Still every day felt like it was taking more from him. He felt drained lately. He lifted the collar of his sweater to peer inside at the mark, stretching up from his chest. Was this the cause? Siphoning away his life, minute by minute. Usually his old friend and roommate Tara would help him find sources of magick to keep the thing fed but she had been away, dealing with her own life, and Gale had lacked the energy, the motivation to feed it himself. And now here it was, eating him, instead from the inside out.

He wondered how long it would take to kill him if he simply left it. Would he outlive his father? A pang of guilt shuttered through him. What a terrible son he was.

No. He had to figure out a way to gather some magick and satiate the hungry force in his chest. For his mother's sake at least. Tara probably wouldn't be too happy with him either if he tried to pull something like that on her.

He smiled to himself imagining her scolding him 'Mr. Dakarios, do you think just because I'm not here breathing down your neck you can just let yourself go like that?'

He had papers to grade but he would have to find some time tonight to figure this out. He stepped out of the car wondering if maybe he could ask his mistress for help. He relished the thought of going to her and begging to get himself out of this situation once again. How disappointed would she be in him? Surely not more than she already was and he was getting desperate after all. And if he was being honest, he would not mind the excuse to see her again, to hear her voice, even if it was admonishing him for his foolishness. His mind wandered to her face, her perfect lips, so close to his…

Gale was so lost in thought, walking back towards the his lawn he almost didn't notice the man, crouched at the side of his house, peering in his window. When he did he jumped, letting out a small, high pitched yelp, and dropped his briefcase on the lawn, his students papers spilling out into the grass.

The man also seemed surprised, crouching back and staring at him wide eyed. He had on worn clothing, looked a little disheveled, and like he might make make a run for it.

"What are you doing?" Gale called out trying to make sense of the situation. Was this a burglar? Had he caught someone casing the place? He fumbled around trying to figure out which pocket he put his phone in so he could call the police.

The man's expression turned to confusion for a split moment, like he was trying to read something on Gale's face, then slowly morphed into realization, and finally a relaxed, easy smile.

Gale was taken aback, unable to locate his phone he realized it must be in his briefcase. Having a second to look over the man, however, he realized the police would be no help her. The man was seelie. He was tall with a slight build, with light hair. Gale couldn't see him too clearly with the little light the streetlights provided, but something about his proportions were slightly too long.

"Terribly sorry to frighten you" the man called back to him "I didn't mean to cause a stir, I seem to be a little lost" the man stepped forward, around the house, closer to the front door and Gale. The sensor for the porch light picked up the movement and flicked on illuminating the man's features. He was pale, his hair fully white, with slightly gaunt, slightly worn face. and Gale wasn't sure if he should run or stand his ground. This was not the first time Gale had run into a creature like this in a strange situation but he was unsure what this one's intentions were.

"I'm Astarion" the man said smiling and cocking his head in a friendly gesture.

Against his better judgement Gale forced himself to breathe and relax, deciding to engage with the man. He knew his real name must not be Astarion, no seelie would give theirs up without force. For fae, much of their power was tied to their name, but Gale indulged him nonetheless "Nice to meet you Astarion, I'm Gale. This is my house you've been prowling around"

Astarion laughed, light and free, and if the situation hadn't been so strange Gale would have found it comforting "No prowling, I assure you. You see I have some friends the live around here, darling, but I've gotten quite turned around and it's gotten so late. I was hoping to find someone home to lend me a hand. Now that you're here… might you have a phone I could come inside to use."

His voice was almost lyrical, this Astarion had a silver tongue, Gale would give him that. His lies were so confident anyone else might just buy them outright, but Gale could see him for what he really was, since he could remember Gale could see right through the glamour fae, like this one, would normally don to hide themselves.

Still, why would he lie? What reason would he need to get inside of Gale's home. Then suddenly it clicked. He must have been sent by her. It's the only thing that made sense. Did she have a message for him? Why not send Elminster as she normally would. At least he had the sense to not creep around his yard in the middle of the night.

Gale gave Astarion one last look up and down. If it turned out he wasn't sent by Gale's mistress then Astarion had no idea who he was messing with. Gale was sure he could make quick work of this one if he had to. He looked dirty and malnourished, most likely not used to be around mundane folk. Though, to be fair, he was a rather beautiful man. Most fae were, but there was an allure about him Gale couldn't quite pin down. High check bones, delicate sharp features, long, agile fingers. The the dread thought crept into his mind 'Could he be one of her lovers?' Gale shuddered and shook the thought away, knowing the question would haunt him when he tried to fall asleep that night.

Unable to turn away a possible messenger from his mistress Gale sighed, "Yes, I suppose I do, come on in Astarion, I'll show you where it is." Gale reluctantly turned to gather the papers off the ground and stuff them back into his briefcase before pulling out his keys and opening the door. He gestured for Astarion to come inside, and the man did so without hesitation. This was going to be a long night, Gale thought.

Gale stepped inside himself, flicking on the light. It was when he turned back to close the door behind him that he knew he had made a mistake. Suddenly, and expertly his body was turned and slammed into the door, shutting it with a loud bang. Before Gale had time to react Astarion had the cold blade of a carved knife resting on his throat. The mans expression, so inviting before, had sharpened as he pressed his body into Gale, holding him in place. "How can you see me" the creature hissed, his face, impossibly close to Gale's own. Gale could feel his heartbeat reverberating through his whole body, he was shaking. Even though he had just decided earlier that night not to die, it seemed like fate might have other plans for him. Typical. Looking at Astarion now, not that he could look anywhere else, Gale truly took in his eyes for the first time that night. They fierce, though, Gale though, maybe fearful, and a deep, menacing red.

[cmbdragon98]

Please tell us more about how your wife tricked you into dating her

So, setup, details all under cut, cuz it's a bit lengthy. Fun story though!

Tumblr circa 2015. Junior year of high school. I've convinced myself that dating is NOT for me, and that I should just wait until college to fuck around and find out. Just gone through a nasty little emotional breakup where in the near future, I'll wish that thar 2nd ever relationship was simply, entirely expunged from my life.

Paige, known as benedict-cutiebatch here, makes a post about being bored and wanting asks sent her way. Send your best pickup line. This was back when people sent eachother asks willy-nilly. I think, "Oh, sure, I've seen this person around, she seems alright. I'll send something funny and stupid, maybe make her laugh."

Send the "hot leg, hot hot leg" poem thing. She is so amused by it, she asks for my hand in marriage. Yaddayaddayadda, back and forth of just playing around pretend times. I have a lot of lighthearted fun. Cue the interaction ending, and us doing our separate things again. A week or so passes, and I've been specifically checking her blog. I don't do that with anybody else. This is a new habit I've picked up, because I loved the silly fake marriage tee hee haha joke.

Send an ask saying as such. She expresses similar sorta thing on her end. And we start talking again. Talking waaaayyy mooorree.

We talk fully through the night. No sleep. We talk fully through that next day. Eventually we exchange Skypes, because that's what everyone did in 2015. Flirting through the roof. Terribly blatant. Oml. But we're not dating, we're just. Completely all up in eachother. And I'm perfectly convinced that this girl probably just wants to enjoy the fun of somebody being bluntly into her, but not actually follow through further then that, and we'd just remain terribly forward friends with eachother, and that's how life goes sometimes.

Until I recieve an anon ask, that basically asks if me and her are dating and how c u t e we both seem to be, and I Assume that this is an unrelated third party, because, again. It was just waaay more common to recieve asks like that, back when I was a teenager. I respond to it all...

"L o l, naaahh.... b u t... It's not a Bad Idea.... 👀"

Anon sends another ask all... You should! You should try asking!

I think nothing of it, I take it as quite genuine advice that I do frankly agree with. And so. That's what my ass did. Asked Paige out in the most goofy, awkward way, after sending her screenshots of the anons, all "Haha, omgg, isn't this just sOoOoOo CrazyYyYy?? How Silly, hahaha.......... Unless.....?"

Fast forward like 2 years later into us being together, she's visiting me while I'm at college, we've Been seeing eachother, we've been having fun! So much fun!

She's sat on my lap while we're waiting on a ride back to my home, outside at a table and chairs; my ass fucking commuted. It's winter, and terribly cold in NY. I'm holding her close, and she starts saying something like... "Hey, you wanna hear something kinda fucked up...?"

I'm intrigued, of course, I'm like. Shoot, okay! I'm all ears.

Tells me that She was the one who sent those anons, and that she had a feeling I wouldn't Just Ask without being prompted. She, as she put it herself, lied to and tricked me. And she's clearly all broken up over it a bit, because she's sounding so hesitant as she tells me it.

I just sigh, hug her tighter, and I'm honest. Recalling best I can, I think it was something along the lines of...

"Thank goodness you did that, because you were totally right. I was too nervous otherwise, to just do that myself. And I would've kept on thinking you only wanted somebody to flirt with. I liked you too much. I didn't want to accidentally ruin anything between us."

Poor thing starts crying. So I just keep holding her, and telling her I love her, and that I'm r e a l l y not upset, after she says she was so worried that I would be, that I'd hate her, or think our relationship was built on a lie. I just see it as a perfectly reasonable thing to do, when someone too stuck in not doing the wrong thing, is too afraid to just ask for what she wants.

So yeah, basically, I got led into a relationship with a carrot and then a box slammed down around me, and I was completely chill with it the entire time. I truly was just having a blast.

[brimarie0512]

Stray kids fanfic ot8 series part ten

Slow burn

WC: 3.6k (3,672)

There are pov switches, female reader, use of y/n, nicknames

Warnings: Mentions of food

Summery: After your date night with Han you find yourself going out with I.N.

(I am so sorry this is late but I might have to slow down posts because finals are coming up and they are taking up a lot of my time. However when the semester ends I have about a month off and I can work hard on this series during that time, I hope you guys can understand ❤️)

Chapter Ten “The Fair”

Y/n’s pov

I woke up in Han’s bed. I didn't have any terrible cramps so that was a relief. Han was sitting up next to me in bed watching some sort of aime on the T.V.

“Good morning Jagiya, how did you sleep?” He asked, looking over at me as I sat up.

“Good morning Hannie, I slept well, how about you?”

“I slept amazingly, your chest is an amazing pillow.” He said laughing. “How are you feeling?” He then asked.

“Honestly I am feeling good, no cramps so that's amazing.” I said smiling.

“That's good to hear, and how is your throat?” He asked, grinning slyly.

“It feels fine Hannie, thank you.” I said chuckling.

“Good I'm glad, and hey, thank you again for last night, you didn't have to do that.”

“I know but like I said I wanted to and I am glad that I did.”

He leaned over cupping my face and gave me a tender kiss. When he broke away he rested his forehead against mine.

“Ah you truly are amazing, do you know that?” He said.

“Well because of you guys I actually have heard that a lot. All of you are amazing too. Especially my little Hannie.” I said, pecking his lips.

“Mmm so i’m yours now, I like the sound of that.” He hummed. “I don't want to but I should get up and get ready.” He said, giving me a pouting look.

“And why is that?” I questioned.

“Well I have to go to the studio to help record some examples of our new songs for the guys to listen to when they have to record, Chan and Changbin are already there. I told them I would meet them once you were awake.”

“That's really cool, you should get ready then. Even if I wish you could stay.”

“Ahhh jagiya don't say things like that then I won't leave.” He said, still pouting.

“I don't want you to but you have to, come on get up.” I said standing taking his hands to pull him up with me.

He stood up and wrapped his arms around my waist. He leaned in and gave me another kiss.

“Okay, I should really go shower now.” He said clearly not wanting to actually leave.

“Okay, go shower Hannie, I will see you later, and thank you again for the amazing night.”

“See you later jagiya, I loved spending time with you.”

With that I left Han’s room and made my way to the kitchen. I had a bowl of cereal before going to sit in the living room to think about what I was going to do with my day. Soon I.N. and Seungmin went into the kitchen having their own conversation that I could hear from where I was.

“You promised you would come to the fair with me, Minnie.” I.N. said kind of whining.

“I know but Chan asked if I could help in the studio today and you know I can't say no, our comeback is soon. Can't we just go another night?” Seungmin said back.

“I know, but I already bought the tickets.” I.N. said frowning now.

“I am sorry but I have to go, why don't you take someone else with you?” Seungmin responded.

“Who? Han, Chan, Changbin, and now you are going to be at the studio, Hyunjin and Felix have their own date and Lee Know is at his mothers house to see his cats.” I.N, said now clearly frustrated.

With that Seungmin looked over at me. I noticed this out of the corner of my eye but kept scrolling on my phone so they would not realize I was listening to their argument.

“Y/n sweetie?” Seungmin called from across the room.

“Yeah?” I said looking over at him.

“There has been a mix up and Innie here has an extra ticket to the fair tonight, would you like to go with him?”

“Yeah that sounds like fun, as long as I.N. is okay with it.” I said, giving them a warm smile.

“Actually yeah that sounds really nice, thank you y/n I really wanted to go to this with someone.” He said with a wide smile on his face now.

“See all fixed Innie, thank you y/n.”

“It's my pleasure Innie, what time should I be ready by?” I asked.

“I would say be ready by 6 and we will be there by 6:30, if that's okay with you?”

“Okay perfect I can't wait.”

Han entered the kitchen and then left with seungmin. I.N. came over and sat next to me on the couch.

“Hey um, thank you again for agreeing to come with me”

“It's no problem Innie, I'm actually pretty excited.”

“Y/n I know you heard Seungmin and arguing about it. I am sorry I listed off the members and didn't think to include you, I am just not used to having another person in the dorm. Don't get me wrong I love having you here it just didn't register in my brain at the moment”

“I.N. it is okay I am not upset or anything. I am new here and you all have made me feel welcomed. You were also upset and just letting it out. It makes sense that you didn't include me, you were in the heat of the moment.”

“Thank you for understanding, and I am really happy you're coming with me tonight. We are going to have so much fun. “

“Of course Innie, I am sure we will”. I said, kissing him on the cheek before standing up. “I am going to go to the gym. You can join if you want”

“Thank you, but no thank you. I am soaking in these last few days of our break.”

“That makes sense. Well I will see you later.”

I went into Chan’s room and texted the driver to come pick me up after they were done dropping off Han and Seungmin. It feels weird to have a driver but this is why Chan gave me their number. I changed my clothes putting on a pair of leggings and a sweatshirt. I threw my hair up into a ponytail. When I was done I looked at my phone and the driver was here and waiting until I was ready. I walked out of Chan’s room not seeing I.N. in the living room anymore. I walked out of the dorm building and got into the car telling the driver I wanted to go to the gym. The drivers never really talk so I just sat there listening to the radio. Once I arrived I told them to please pick me up in two hours and that I would want to stop to get food and then go to my apartment before going back to the dorms. I enter the gym, put my headphones on and start working on my simple routine making sure to take breaks and drink water. When I was done I walked outside and saw the car so I climbed in. I asked them to take me to a nearby grocery store. I walked in and made a loaded salad with chicken. I wanted to feel fulfilled but I wanted to keep it light since I had just worked out and I knew I wanted to feel hungry later so I could eat food at the fair. I took my salad to the car and the driver took me to my apartment. I told the driver I would be there a little while because I had some stuff to do. They said to just text them later. I got out of the car and walked up to my door unlocking it.

As I entered I got hit with a sense of actually being at home. I love the dorm but I still feel slightly out of place. It's nothing to do with the guys, it just wasn't my home. I had minimal things there yet that is where I spend most of my time. I placed my keys down and sat on my couch turning on the T.V. while I ate. When I finished my food I threw out my garbage and decided to take a shower. I washed my body and enjoyed taking my time. I washed my hair next and then my face. When I hot out I dried my hair and added a slight curl to it. I went into my room taking in my whole closet, not just the drawer in Chan’s room. I want to look good tonight but also appropriate. I picked out a pair of black ripped jeans, a red long sleeve shirt with a v-neck. I paired this with a black varsity jacket and a pair of combat boots. I sprayed some of my signature perfume on and texted the driver to pick me up soon. I did some small tidying of my apartment and sat on my couch waiting for the driver. At this moment I realized how alone I really was. I got so used to being around the guys and being in a house full of eight men and now it was just quiet and I missed them. Suddenly the sound of my phone going off pulled me out of my thoughts. The driver had arrived so I walked out to the car and got in. The drive back to the dorm was quiet once again. I walked through the door of the dorm and saw I.N, on the couch. It was 5:30 so he was already dressed and ready to go. He was wearing these green sweatpants and a gray and blue crewneck sweater and a pair of white and black vans as well as his glasses. Seeing him sent some relief through my system. I went and sat next to him on the couch.

“Hey angel, you look really good.” He said, looking at me.

“Thank you I.N. you look good as well” I said, giving him a sweet smile.

“How was the rest of your day so far?” He asked.

“It was good.” I said, keeping it vague. “How was your day?”

“That's good then.” He said smiling. “It was okay, it was just really chill.”

“Well that's what you wanted right?” I said lightheartedly

“Yeah, I am just not used to the members not being around. I travel sometimes by myself but that's different. It felt weird that the dorm was empty.”

“That makes sense, I am sorry Innie.” I said, holding his hand and lightly squeezing it.

“No reason to be sorry. Plus we are going to have an amazing night.”

“Okay, and yeah it is going to be so much fun.”

“Are you ready to go?” He questioned

“Yup, come on.” I said standing.

We held hands while walking to the car and we sat next to each other while on the ride just chatting. When we arrived at the fair the driver took us to a parking lot in a field. Before getting out I.N. stopped me.

“Hey um, would you mind wearing this” I.N. asked while handing me a mask. “We always wear them when we go out in public, I figured since we are here together you should wear it too.” He said nervously.

“Of course Innie, I understand that it's for safety and privacy reasons” I said, giving him a big smile before putting on the mask.

I.N. put his own mask on before exiting the car and giving me his hand while I got out. He held my hand as we started walking to the main entrance. It was somewhat busy but not like some other fairs I have seen. Probably because it is a Thursday night. We walked up to the ticket booth hand in hand and I.N. pulled up his digital tickets for the attendant to scan. Once we were good to go I.N. led me through the gates and we started wandering around.

“What do you want to do first?” He asked, looking at me.

“Do you want to play a game?” I asked back at him.

“Of course”

While still holding my hand he led me to ring toss. He insisted on paying for me to play with him. We became competitive but he ended up beating me but neither of us won. We played a few different games and walked around more. While we were walking I saw a game that I really wanted to play because it had a lot of stuffed animals as prizes. I pulled I.N. over to the game with me. It was a basketball game so I tried my best but I didn't win. I.N. then tried and he won. He picked out a fox plushie.

“Here you go angel.” He said handing me the big fox.

“You won it though.”

“Yeah but I won it for you, I want you to have it to remember our dat and its a fox just my skzoo.” He said as he handed it to me

I took it and hugged it in my arms. “Thank you Innie, I love it. But what is a skzoo?”

“They are animals that we are given in the group and mine is a fox.”

“That actually makes a lot of sense, Thank you again” I said as I took his hand once more.

“Do you want to go eat something?” He asked

“Yeah, I'm actually pretty hungry.”

I.N. got fried dough and I got loaded french fries. I.N. grabbed my hand and pulled me down an alleyway with a set of stairs between two of the food trucks.

“I figured we can eat here.. Ya know since we have to take our masks off.” He said sitting on one of the steps.

“Yeah that makes perfect sense.” I said before sitting down next to him.

I.N. took his mask off and I did the same. We shared our food with each other with him sometimes reaching over to feed me. When we finished eating he reached over to wipe the corner of my mouth with his thumb.

“Oh um sorry, I am just used to doing that with the guys.” I.N. said laughing dryly looking towards the ground.

“Innie it's okay, it was cute.”

“Really, well thank you.” He said looking back up at me with a smile on his face.

He started putting his mask back on so I did the same. He took the trash in one hand and held my hand in the other. We walked back out into the crowd of people, he threw out the trash and then asked if I wanted to do any rides. I nodded my head eagerly and gave him a big smile behind my mask but he could still see my bright eyes. We did a spinning alien ride first and we stumbled out of it together. We did a few small rides that seemed safe enough before the night started to die down and come to an end.

“Can we do the ferris wheel as our last ride?” I asked eagerly

“Of course, I would love to.” He said, taking my hand as he ran towards the ride.

I.N. handed our tickets to the operator before we got on. We sat opposite of eachother but I.N. held both of my hands in his across the middle.

“I love the ferris wheel.” He stated as the ride started.

“Me too, I hate heights though so I do not like when it stops at the top but it's still amazing overall.” I said.

We both took in the view of the fair around us as we went round and around. The ride started to slow down as we approached the top and I did not like that so I started holding onto I.N.’s hands tighter. Of course we stopped right at the top. I squeezed my eyes shut to try not to freak out and I had a death grip on I.N. now. I felt him let go of one of my hands but I refused to open my eyes to see why. Suddenly his hand was back in mine.

“Hey angel, open your eyes and look at me.” He said in a sweet voice

I was reluctant but I slowly opened my eyes to see I.N. with his mask pulled down. He let go of one of my hands again before reaching across to lower my mask as well. As he did that the ride moved and I screamed and I.N. grabbed my hand again but we stopped still too close to the top for my liking. I started freaking out a little.Sure I love this ride but it never gets easier.

“Hey breath ok, you're okay.” He said now rubbing small circles on the back of my hands with his thumbs. This didn't help much and suddenly I.N. was leaning across and kissing me. I melted into the kiss and he broke away after a moment. The ride started to move again but closer to the ground so I.N. pulled his mask back up before doing the same to me. We were going to be the next ones off so I felt better now.

“Sorry, that's a trick I learned because Lee Know hyung hates heights. It helps though so I figured I should try it.” He said looking nervous.

“No need to be sorry, thank you it helped and it felt nice.” I haid giving him another warm smile.

The cart moved one last time and then we were off. We were both tired so we headed back to the car hand and hand once again. As we climbed in I.N. took his mask off and I did the same. Before we buckled I leaned over placing one hand on the side of his face before kissing him. He moves one hand to my waist and the other to the back of my neck keeping me close. We broke away but we kept our noses touching.

“Thank you.” I whispered to him.

He nodded before we separated ourselves and got buckled. We placed my new stuffed animal between I was holding it mostly in my arms and I.N. had his arm around me with his head on my shoulder. As we started driving I was looking out of the window and that is when I heard a little snore next to me. I.N. had fallen asleep on my shoulder and the boy looked adorable. As we arrived outside the dorm I started whispering to I.N..

“Innie…. Wake up baby, we are back.”

And with that he started stirring awake.

“Oh, I am sorry for falling asleep.” He said sheepishly.

“It's okay. You look really cute when you're sleeping.” I said as I pecked his cheek.

He started getting out of the car and offered me his hand which I took happily. We walked into the dorm together still holding hands. The dorm seemed dead besides Seungmin on the couch.

“Oh hey guys. Did you have fun?” He asked as he got up and came over to us.

“Yeah it was so much fun.” I.N. said happily as I nodded my head.

“Look at what he won me.” I said as I held out the fox plushie with one hand.

“Cute.” Seungmin said smiling. “Thank you again for going with him.”

“Of course, it was my pleasure.” I said smiling “However I am tired so I am going to lay down. Good night, and thank you for an amazing night Innie.”

“Of course angel, and thank you.” He said pulling me into his side for one more sweet but quick kiss.

I started to break away and walk towards Chan’s room but someone pulled on my hand bringing me back. It was Seungmin. He pulled me to his side and gave me a kiss on the chek.

“Good night sweetie, sleep well.” Seungmin said as he let me go.

“Thanks, you too.”

With that I walked to Chan’s room and walked in. He was already in bed and his eyes lit up when he saw me.

“Ahhh finally, I missed you.” He said getting out of bed.

“I missed you too Channie.”

“Ooh what's that?” He asked, pointing towards the fox stuffed animal.

“Oh I.N. won it for me. Isn't it so cute? I need to find a place for it.” I said placing it in Chan’s desk chair for now.

With that Chan came over to me and pulled me into a hug since my hands were free now. He gave me a kiss on my forehead before speaking.

“Do you want to get changed and then we can lay down?” He asked.

“Yes please.” I said tiredness setting in.

I changed into a tank top and a pair of sweatpants. I went into the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. Once I entered the room again Chan and I climbed under the covers of his bed as we cuddled facing each other.

“I really missed you today doll.” He said leaving a peck on the tip of my nose.

“I missed you too. And the guys. I went home for a little earlier today and it just felt so empty I felt lonely. I got used to being with you guys here.” I said sulking a little.

“Doll I am so sorry.”

“No no there's no need. I just got used to being with you or someone so it felt weird but I will be okay.”

“Okay doll, I love you. Why don't you try to sleep, you're not alone now and I will make sure it stays that way.”

“Thank you Channie, I love you too. Good night.”

“Good night doll.”

I rolled over snuggling into Chan's embrace before falling asleep.

Taglist: @strawberry31

[miras-ash]

It's fanfiction time!

Disclaimer before you read! This story is probably super unrealistic especially the characters of Mira and Ash. Overall it's a dramatic mess. So reading on ur own risk. Have fun💜🧡

Chapter 1 of "Just as the stars love the night"

Mira's pov

"Everyone on alert! There has been an incident. Security code red is being initiated, I repeat security code red." Hibana's voice came through my com.

I looked up from my laptop and saw a few colleagues jump up and immediately drop everything to go to their designated posts. I shut down everything in the lab and then quickly made my way to our briefing room. Whatever had caused Code Red had lousy timing. I was just getting ready for the upcoming onboarding of a new operator for Viperstrike.

Once in the room, I sat down in the last empty seat between Jackal and Dokaebi.

"Hey, do you guys know what's going on? Why Code Red and where is Yumiko? Shouldn't she be here first to brief us? Even Harry isn't here."

The two of them seemed as clueless as me and the rest of the troupe.

After a while some of us got restless and started speculating, whatever was going on here was not normal.

Half an eternity and many speculations later the door opened and Hibana came in, silently she walked past us to her place at the top of the table but she did not sit down. Her eyes were red and glassy and something about her look scared me to death. There weren't many reasons to upset her, unless it was something really serious.

The conversations in the room abruptly stopped and all eyes were on our squad leader.

Her voice was loud and clear, yet you could hear the shaky undertone.

"Team, as you know I have ordered Code Red for us here and that includes Wolfguard, Ghosteyes and Redhammer. They are being informed on current events at the same time as you right now. Something terrible has happened. Our esteemed friend and leader of Team Rainbow Harishva "Harry" Pandey was recently found dead in his home and the circumstantial evidence points 100% to murder."

Shocked looks and exclamations went around the room but immediately died down as Hibana raised her hand and pointed to the screen behind her.

"Bodycam footage was found on him from our active squad that was on duty at the time of the crime to interdict the Nighthaven arms trade. Among them: Thermite, Ash, Sledge, Zofia and Caveira."

She started the recording and dropped exhausted into her chair.

Spellbound and by now nervous, I stared at the screen. Why should we watch the footage, what did it all have to do with Harry?

A horrible thought formed in my head and I tried to push it away and concentrate on the video.

At first nothing too exciting happened, just an ordinary mission from Jordan's point of view. They worked precisely and exemplarily as a unit under Thermite's leadership.

They took out the guards, entered the warehouse and made their way through enemy territory until they got all the gun runners. Through Jordan's bodycam, I could suddenly spot them. Ash; Eliza. My rival, friend and wonderful wife.

She reached out her hand to Thermite to pull him to his feet as his gaze, and with it the image, turned to something else. Only briefly could the timer be seen on whose display a clock was still counting down a few seconds. Jordan shouted to Eliza and the others to run. The image was blurred by the movements, then a loud bang and that was it. The connection was lost.

Still in shock I looked out into the crowd, had they seen the same thing or had I just imagined it. I had so many questions but couldn't get a word out, but I didn't have to. Doka next to me said what we were all wondering.

"And what about the squad now? Do we have any information, where are they now, are they okay?"

It was only now that I noticed that Hibana was facing the screen the entire time and when she turned around it was clear why.

Even though she was really trying to control herself you could clearly see the traces of fresh tears and when she started to speak her voice sounded rough and broken.

"We had a brief radio communication with Thermite earlier, he was able to make an emergency call. He's fine under the circumstances, probably took a beating but he'll survive. Sledge is worse, he is being flown here to Herford Hospital and will have emergency surgery. Cav and Zofia barely got hit, they probably managed to escape through an upper window into a blind spot of the explosion and... and Ash... "

Hibana slapped her hands over her mouth to suppress a defiantly audible sob before continuing.

"Ash... she was thrown against something by the force of the explosion and buried under collapsing rubble. That was the last Jordan saw of her. After he regained consciousness, he and Zofia tried to get back into the burning building and get her, but it was too late. Everything was on fire and half the roof had already fallen down, they couldn't save her..."

No, no that couldn't be, that just couldn't be true. Eliza was still alive, I just knew that, she wouldn't just leave me like that. We had talked on the phone this morning, she had told me we would meet again in a few days when the Nighthaven thing was off the table.

"Are you sure?" What's the latest? "

Breathing heavily, I stood up and slowly walked forward while most eyes were on me.

Hibana's information was surely outdated again at this point and they had long since found her, she was surely on her way to the hospital as well, on her way to me.

"Mira, I know how hard this is for you, for me as well. She is, was my best friend but that doesn't change anything anymore."

I didn't want to hear all of that, she was wrong, she had to be wrong.

By now I was standing in front of her.

"Yumiko come on, you know Eliza. She knows how to take care of herself and gets out of any situation. Maybe she wasn't hit by debris at all and just got out the other side of the building, or maybe she's just trapped and is being freed right now."

I tried to talk myself out of it all and imagined the wildest fantasies of how to make it out of such a situation, a big part of me even believed it, anything was better than the opposite.

"Elena, no. They found her, she's dead."

"You're lying, why are you doing this?"

I grew louder with each word and two hands grabbed me by the shoulders, probably to hold me back in the trap. Had everyone gone crazy now, was I the crazy one?

"Then show it to me, I want to see it with my own eyes!

Hibana shook her head and sank back into her chair.

"No you don't, you want to remember her as she really was, otherwise you'll never get rid of that image when you think of her."

"Please, I need to see it. How else could I believe that she really isn't here anymore."

By now tears were streaming down my face and my hands were shaking when she finally handed me her tablet with the recording of Zofia's bodycam.

She carefully walked through the smoldering and still partly burning debris of the old factory building, they had obviously had to wait until the fire had died down. Beside her a strongly taken Thermite called constantly for Eliza and that chased me a shiver by the whole body. The two searched for a while until Thermite called Zofia to him from a little further away.

"Zofia you have to help me, I think I found her!"

Together the two stood in front of a pile of heavy beams that lay on top of each other and only with effort they managed to push them away one after the other. With each piece they moved, the stone in my chest grew heavier and heavier.

With a dull sound they heaved the last beam away and Jordan was right, they had found her.

I sank to my knees, still holding the tablet with the last image. She was right, I would never forget this image, but it was the only way I could really know.

Eliza was dead.