#closers online lucy

[wendyius666]

My Favorite Closers

[fluentmoviequoter]

Bradford Has a Princess

I used one of the amazing Tim Bradford ideas posted by @nevereclipse for this!! I hope you like it and it's along the lines of what you were thinking!☺️

Pairing: Tim Bradford x younger(24-26y/o)!fem!reader

Summary: Tim Bradford is whipped for you, treats you with nothing but the best princess treatment, and when his fellow officers call him out on it, he realizes how he truly feels about you.

Warnings: fluff! princess treatment and Tim being a SOFTIE™

Word Count: 1.6k+ words

You blow your hair out of your face before you tug it painfully behind your ear.

“Easy,” your boyfriend mutters, reaching over carefully. He gathers your hair much gentler than you had, pulls it loosely behind your ears, and uses the hair tie he wears around his wrist to secure it. “Better?”

You hum before you say, “Thank you, Tim.”

His hand moves down your back, resting comfortably against the base of your spine. After you finish your project, you take a paper towel from the nearby roll and wipe your hands.

“Need anything else?” Tim asks.

You smile over your shoulder as you rest against Tim’s chest. He’s older than you, and though some people might frown upon your relationship, you love him, not only because of the selfless way he treats you. Tim places his arm around your shoulders, then uses his free hand to pull your hand closer to him. He traces his thumb over your knuckles, then looks at your nails as his calloused palm holds you like you are the most precious thing in his life, in the world.

“I can make you an appointment at the nail salon you like,” he offers. “Tuesday?”

Tim shifts his hands, running his fingertips up and down your palm as he smiles.

“I can wait,” you answer. “I actually saw a kit online that lets you make your own nail art. Maybe I should try that next time.”

“Send me the link.”

Tim kisses your temple, then twirls the ends of your hair around his fingers. He decides he could spend forever here and wouldn’t even care what his friends thought about it.

“Tim!” Angela calls. “We’re all going to Andre’s.”

“Actually,” he begins.

“No, you skipped out the last three times, you’re coming with.”

“No arguments,” Nyla adds. “We might even make you pay.”

Tim sighs, his shoulders dropping as he nods. He follows them out of the station and is unsurprised to see Lucy, Nolan, Aaron, and Wesley waiting in the parking lot.

“Tim, you’re coming too?” Wesley asks. “I thought you’d finally sworn off fraternization.”

“Ha ha,” Tim deadpans.

“Can I ride with you?” Aaron asks. “My car’s getting a new wrap and Wesley’s backseat is a little tight with the carseats.”

Tim doesn’t answer but doesn’t say no, so Lucy nods and encourages Aaron to go. Aaron climbs into Tim’s passenger seat and buckles his seatbelt without a word.

“Oh,” he exclaims as Tim backs out of the space. “Who’s the Dior lip gloss belong to?” He lifts the tube out of the floorboard and recognizes it as part of a set his mom has. “This is expensive, they must be missing it.”

“She knows it’s here,” Tim grumbles, extending his hand to take it.

“Your sister?” Aaron guesses as Tim places it in the center console. He sees several other items, like a scrunchie, a receipt, and powder.

“None of your business,” Tim snaps. “Why are you getting an expensive car wrapped, anyway?”

“Because I can.”

Tim and Aaron fall silent, Tim thinking about you as Aaron wonders if the others know about the woman taking up space in Tim Bradford’s truck and in his life.

During your next date night, Tim opens the door for you, then wraps his arm around your waist as you enter the restaurant. He moves to his left to stand slightly behind you as you wait to be seated, and you smile over your shoulder at him.

At your table, Tim pulls your chair out for you, but you stop before you sit when someone says his name. You turn, and Tim’s shoulders tense beneath his blazer.

“Angela,” he greets tightly. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m on a date,” she answers with a smile. She looks at you before she asks, “And you?”

You sense the tension and interrupt to introduce yourself. You provide your name and shake her hand, then look to Tim.

“My girlfriend,” he tells Angela. “We’re on a date, so…”

“I’ll ask more later then. I mean that Timothy, you have a lot to tell me.” She turns toward you again and says, “Nice to meet you.”

“You, too.”

Alone, you take Tim’s hand across the table and apologize for interrupting him and his friend. He promises that he wasn’t bothered by that and assures you that he wasn’t avoiding introducing you on purpose but was just surprised. You fall into easy conversation, as usual, and the date is over far too soon.

When the waiter leaves the check on the corner of the table, you ask, “Going Dutch?”

“Going insane if you think I’m letting you pay for a date,” Tim mumbles before speaking up to say, “My treat.”

Tim offers his blazer before you walk out into the windy Los Angeles night, and you wrap your hands around his arm as he leads you to his truck. You’ve never felt as loved and as cherished as you do with Tim Bradford.

As you enter Tim’s house, he uses your joined hands to pull you back toward him. He dips his chin, gesturing for you to sit on the couch, then lowers to the table before it. With a gentle touch, Tim runs his hands down your leg, from your knee to your ankle. After he hooks his finger under the strap of your heel, he pulls your foot up, resting your calf on his knee to unhook the small buckle against your ankle and remove your shoe. He repeats the process with the other shoe, then lays his hands on your knees and leans forward.

“Hi,” you whisper with a smile.

Tim smiles in the proximity, then runs his hands up your legs to rest on your thighs.

“I love you,” you add.

“I love you,” he replies before he moves beside you on the couch, cups the back of your neck in his hand, and pulls into a kiss that proves it.

Tim stops mid-step as he enters the roll call room the following morning. Angela and Aaron are perched atop the tables to watch him with matching looks.

“What?” Tim asks.

“You have a girlfriend,” Angela says.

“That I’m thinking you bought Dior for,” Aaron adds.

“Who are you and what did you do with Timothy Bradford?”

“Yes, I have a girlfriend, and I bought her some makeup,” Tim admits. “What’s the big deal?”

“The big deal?” Aaron repeats incredulously. “You, Tim Bradford, are whipped.”

“He took her to an expensive restaurant last night,” Angela tells Aaron without looking away from Tim. “I bet he footed the bill, too.”

“There is no reason to be discussing this at work,” Tim points out. “So, drop it.”

“Drop what?” Lucy asks from the doorway.

One word, Tim mouths to Aaron. Aaron nods, but Angela smiles. Tim knows he has no power over her, but when she changes the subject, he sighs and nods once. She’ll bring it up again when he least expects it, but for now, the ‘news’ of his ‘being whipped’ for you is contained. He isn’t ashamed of you, of course, but some things need to be private.

Immediately after walking into Tim’s house, he kisses you so hard that you can feel the sticky texture of your lip gloss as it smears from the corners of your lips and onto your chin. When he pulls back, holding you up as you blink at him, breathless, he uses his thumb to wipe away the shiny mess he made.

“I missed you too,” you say.

“I was told today that I’m whipped,” Tim replies.

You furrow your brows, and Tim taps his knuckle against your forehead and smiles as he shakes his head. You relax but hold his side as you wait for more information.

“Aaron and Angela know about you, and he told me I was whipped. I realized that he’s right.”

Terrified that Tim is about to break up with you after this realization, you pull your bottom lip between your teeth. He huffs and tugs it free.

“I am more in love with you than I ever dreamed of being capable of. So…”

Tim is clearly trying to find the right words, and you smile as you offer, “Incandescently happy?”

“Completely and incandescently happy,” he agrees. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Tim smiles, then notices he disturbed your outfit with his sudden affection. He tugs the ridden-up fabric down over your hips before dragging his fingertips along your upper arm to fix your top.

“Remember when you bought me the makeup wipes?” you ask.

Tim nods and inquires, “Do you need them?”

You try to contain your smile but fail. “No, you just proved you can take off lip gloss without them.”

Tim tugs you closer, hooks his arms under your hips, and lifts you up. You gasp in surprise before gripping his shoulders. After he carries you to the kitchen and sets you on the counter, he takes your shoes off and stands between your legs.

“Should I make dinner or are you going to keep distracting me?”

You tap your finger against your jaw and pretend to ponder the question. “That depends… will your friends still be okay with this relationship when they find out you’re a cradle robber?”

“Maybe I should give you back then.”

You pout, and Tim kisses your forehead before he turns away. He passes you a bouquet of red roses, then sets a glass of your favorite beverage beside you. It’s the response you hoped for, and after you gently place the flowers aside, you pull Tim closer by his collar and smile against his lips.

[alotofpockets]

Match commentary | Lucy Bronze x Arsenal!Reader

Where someone negatively comments on the match commentary you sent to your girlfriend every match

Woso masterlist | Words: 1.1k

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Y/n: That was such a good tackle!!

Y/n: Look at you working the flanks 

Y/n: You almost had her, just a step behind

Y/n: Nice safe, baby!!

Y/n: You get faster every time you play

Y/n: Haha cheeky little shirt grab there

Y/n: Pfft they should’ve gotten a yellow for taking you down like that!

“What are you doing?” Kyra asks as she sits down to you to roll out her muscles as well. You show her your split screen between the Barça game and your chat with Lucy. “I always text Lucy my match commentary when she plays.” 

Ever since the two of you went long distance with your relationship, when Lucy moved to Spain, you had watched her matches online. The only ones you missed were the ones that were at the same time as your own matches. Texting her throughout the match was something that had made you feel closer to your girlfriend. 

When she was still playing in the WSL you played for different teams as well, but you still got to go home to each other. Now, with Lucy in Barcelona and you in London with Arsenal, things were different, and this was how you dealt with the difference.

“That’s cute. Mind if I watch with you?” You propped your phone up so you could watch together, occasionally grabbing your phone to send Lucy a text. Always ending your commentary with:

Y/n: Well played, my love ❤️

A few matches and match commentaries later you were watching the Copa de la Reina final between Barça and Real Sociedad, with a few of your teammates. When you went to grab your phone for your first message to Lucy, Laia questioned you. “Are you going to text Lucy about the match?” You smile and show her the chat with Lucy already open on your phone. “Yeah, I always do. Why?” Laia hated to make you feel bad, but she felt like she had to share what she had heard her former teammates say about it. “Well, I just heard some of the Barça girls mention that Lucy’s phone is always full of messages from you after their matches, that she spends like 30 minutes going through them all in the dressing room.”

Your heart fell, were your messages annoying to your girlfriend? Why hadn’t she said anything to you if she did? “Oh, okay. Thank you for letting me know.”

Y/n: Good luck today! Give em hell out there ❤️

And with that message you put your phone back in your pocket and watch your girlfriend play without your usual commentary. Lucy and the rest of the team played amazingly, and managed to win with a final score of 8-0. When the match was finished you sent Lucy another text.

Y/n: Congrats on the win, you played amazing. So proud of you!

The first thing Lucy did when she entered the locker room with the rest of the girls, was grab her phone. Though her face fell when there were only two messages from you amongst her notifications. 

“What’s got you all frowny? We just won the Cup.” Frido noticed Lucy’s sudden mood change. “Oh, it’s nothing.” She raised her eyebrows, “Spill.” Lucy sighed, “You know how y/n usually sends me commentary on my matches?” With a nod of Frido’s head, Lucy continues. “Well she only sent me a good luck message when we started and a congrats message when we won, nothing in between.” 

“Maybe she was busy?” Lucy thinks for a moment. “Yeah, maybe, it’s just the first time she hasn’t done it besides her having a match of her own.” Frido puts her hand on Lucy’s shoulder. “I am sure that everything is fine. She still sent you those two messages, that has to mean something right? Just ask her later and come celebrate with us.”

Lucy decides to let herself believe Frido’s words and goes back on the pitch to receive the Cup and the medals with the team. 

When Lucy gets home that night she immediately facetimes you. Upon picking up, Lucy immediately starts talking. “Hi baby, busy day today?” You think for a second, had you told Lucy you were going to be having a busy day? You couldn’t have, right? Today’s schedule had never been filled, just a day off, and watching Lucy’s match. 

So, you shake your head, “Not really, I just had a nice relaxing day with some of the girls, and we watched your match. Speaking of your match, you played so well. Congratulations on another win this season, you all deserve it so much!” 

Hearing this is worrying Lucy more, maybe something was up after all. “Did I do something wrong?” Lucy questioned with a saddened look washed over her face. You furrow your brow, “No? Not that I know of at least.” You try to joke, hoping to lighten up the conversation. 

“Oh okay, that’s good I guess.” Lucy didn’t sound convinced so you questioned further. “Why, baby? What’s going on?”

“Well, usually you send me your match commentary when I play. When I didn’t get any today, I thought you might’ve been too busy to catch the match, but you just said you watched the match. Why didn’t you do them today? Did you not feel comfortable with the girls around? I thought you always did it with them around as well.”

You stop her rambling by starting to talk. “You missed the commentary?” Lucy nods instantly, “Yes, of course. Your commentary is the highlight of my post match ritual, I love reading the game through your eyes. Did you think I didn’t? Is that why you stopped?”

“Well, one of the girls overheard one of your teammates talk about you always getting a ton of messages and being on your phone so much after matches, so I thought maybe you didn’t like it and it was taking time away from being away from your teammates. Like maybe it was annoying for you, and since it was the final, I didn’t want to be an annoyance to you.”

Lucy is shaking her head, “No, baby, you never annoy me. Like I said, I love your commentary so much. I really missed it today.” You were glad that it was all just a misunderstanding, and that you now knew the true appreciation your girlfriend had for your messages.

“I can talk you through my thoughts right now, if you have the time?” Lucy smiles, “I would love that.” With that you start talking about the match, and end up talking the night away. 

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[goldenwilliamson]

more than friends | leah williamson

a/n: please send any recs you have my way! probably most comfortable writing for leah, lucy bronze, mapi leon, and some of the matildas. but feel free to send anything through and i'll see how i go x

pairing: leah williamson x reader

summary: reader and leah both play for arsenal and england. reader and leah get together after being friends for many years, but they decide to keep it a secret from their teammates. they don't do a very good job though.

word count: 1.2k

You and Leah had been teammates for several years now, playing together at Arsenal, and representing England together since you were just teenagers. It was a strictly platonic friendship as for most of this time you were both in relationships with other people. More recently though, since you were both single, you'd helped each other through your breakups, and had become closer than ever.

You didn't see it coming, but you started to feel yourself developing feelings for your old friend. At first you brushed it off, telling yourself that it was just platonic love. You loved hanging out with Leah, you always had. Upon some reflection though, you started to realise that your feelings were deeper than friendly affection. Every moment with Leah started to carry a new weight. You began to replay every conversation and every touch over and over in your head, dreaming that she would admit she was also harbouring hidden feelings for you.

One night while away on international duties you were rooming with Leah, as you had since you were in U17's together, and after a day of training and team dinner you had sat down on the end of Leah's bed. You decided it was time to tell her. With your heart in your throat, you tried to suppress your anxiety and mumbled your way through a romantic confession. She had laughed at first when you told her, then opened her arms.

"Come here," she told you.

As the two of you embraced she said, "You know, I've been meaning to tell you the same thing."

"Really?" You looked at her, not quite believing it.

"Yeah, but I was too bloody scared, I'm glad you're braver than I am," she said.

You two had spent the rest of the night talking about realising you had feelings for each other, and giggling about how you had both been so scared to act on it. The conversation was sealed with a kiss that made you both wonder what had taken you both so long to get to this point.

While you were ecstatic about having your feelings reciprocated, both of you were nervous to break the news to the girls that you played with. Within teams there is a very unique dynamic that everyone settles into, and you didn't want to do anything to disrupt that. Both of you were also very individual players, and you didn't want your relationship to become a defining part of your football. This was something you both agreed on, as you both felt your relationships with teammates in the past had influenced your play on the field more than you would have liked. Especially once people in the public knew about it.

So you and Leah decided that you would keep it between the two of you for the time being, until you were both 100% ready for it to become a public thing. However, the development in your relationship didn't fly under the radar in the way that you both had hoped it would.

There were whispers among your teammates, people noticing the lingering touches between you and Leah, and the way you looked at each other with such love and adoration every time one of you were speaking. You both were glowing, and the girls knew you too well. People online too had started speculating purely based on some brief interactions you guys had on the pitch.

It all came out one night when a handful of the Arsenal girls were around at Kim Little's house for some dinner and drinks. Leah found it hard to contain her loving touches, letting her hand rest on your leg when you guys were on the lounge, or rubbing circles into your back as you stood around the kitchen counter chatting.

Pizzas were spread out across the dining table for everyone to help themselves to. You grabbed two plates, making up one for yourself and one for Leah. She was speaking with Jen in the backyard when you carried it out to her.

"Here, Lee," you hand it to her and she took it from you with one hand, allowing her other hand to pull you into her side so she could kiss your forehead.

"Thanks baby," Leah said, your heart swelling at the unexpected display of affection.

Your eyes shoot to Jen's face, noting the smirk, and the realisation dawning upon her.

"Oh, are you two...?" Jen asked immediately, knowing what was going on.

You looked at Leah, shaking your head, knowing you couldn't keep it a secret any longer. She nods, and you nod, and you both look back at Jen.

"Yeah," You both say, affirming everyone's suspicions.

"God, Beth was trying to say that there was something going on, but I was saying nah nah, if there was they'd tell us," Jen said, scoffing.

"Bloody Beth, she knows us too well," you say a bit too loudly, alerting the girls inside the house to your conversation.

"You called?" Beth says.

"You knew about this," you says, motioning between you and Leah.

"Oh!" Beth says, seeming caught of guard, "So this is a thing then?"

Leah chuckles, unconsciously letting her arm snake around your waist, "Yeah mate."

"Oh my god," Beth exclaims, sheer joy spreading across her face, "My sweeties, I've been waiting for this."

"What have you been waiting for?" Steph asks, stepping into the conversation.

"Cats out of the bag then," you say, laughing.

"What are we talking about?" Kim calls from across the room.

"Okay, since everyone would like to know," Leah says, raising her voice to invite everyone into your conversation, "Y/N and I are together, we have been for a couple of months."

"Hey, I told you!" Steph says, turning back to point at Kim.

"You love birds were so obvious, why'd it take you so long to tell us?" Beth asks.

You and Leah both look at each other, suddenly unsure of how to answer that question. It all seems redundant now.

"We didn't want it to change anything," you explain.

"You worry worts, as if this would change a thing!" Beth tells you both.

"Thanks Bethany," Leah smiles.

"You guys are perfect for each other, we've all been saying it for ages," Steph says, making everyone laugh.

"It's true, you know," Kim adds in her two cents.

"Thanks guys, sorry we didn't tell you," you say.

"Don't be sorry, we're just happy for ya," Jen says, wrapping her arms around both you and Leah.

"Alright, alright, this is getting sappy. Why don't we sit down and eat," Leah suggests.

"Please," you agree, desperate to have the attention off of you.

The girls all agree too, and you move inside, finding seats on the lounge and on the floor as you dig into the pizza. As everyone is distracted by the food and the game on the telly, Leah leans into you.

"I'm glad we told them," she says.

"Me too," you say, and now that you can kiss Leah without any inhibitions, you do.

You can feel the room fall into silence as you do so before Jen says, "That'll take some getting used to."

"Better get used to it quick Jenny," Leah says, kissing you again, and then planting several kisses all over your face for good measure.

[jaegeraether]

Sunsets and footballers (Part 100)

Lucy Bronze x Reader (76) / Alexia Putellas x Character (52) & Jordan Nobbs x Leah Williamson (29)

Masterlist (other parts here)

Appreciate you all coming along on this 100 chapter journey with me!

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Follow the link below for the following:

LUMOS BY JAE - Join our little BRAND NEW online community on Discord! Come along to chat and hang out, make friends, and follow along with live games. (Updated link as the old one had an expiry!)

JaegerAether Tumblr link

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((5.6k))

YFN POV

“I need it to be perfect.” She said frustrated and a little disheartened. She read through her notes again, skimming along with her finger.

A strong hand took hers and gently lowered it. She willingly fell into the comfort of Lucy’s deep, green eyes. “Little one, it is perfect. You’ve made sure of that.”

“And the book-”

Lucy put her hand on the book to hold it down before she could pick it up and overanalyse every word. She paused to smile at the words on the front before she spoke. “The book too. Both are perfect.”

“I don’t know…”

“Don’t make me call Ridley.”

YFN crossed her arms at the threat. “Go on then.”

Lucy chuckled and shrugged, taking out her phone. She pressed call and put it on loud speaker, staring at YFN as if waiting to stop her. But she was stubborn, after all.

“Bronze. How’s doing?”

“I’m alright, just need your help with something. You busy?”

“I have a Spaniard between my legs, but go ahead.”

The sound of Alexia telling her off in the background was amusing. It sounded as if they were fighting over the phone before their faces popped up. They were clearly in the pool, Alexia lounging between Ridley’s legs and both very topless it seemed.

“We are swimming,” Alexia said in her cute Spanish accent. “Don’t listen to her.”

YFN chuckled. She always loved to see how happy they were. “I’m surprised to see you back already.”

“I missed home.” She said, exchanging a look with Alexia. “And I wasn’t lying but hey, we can Facetime you later on when it gets more sexual if you really want.”

“Riddlesss.” YFN warned to her cheeky grin.

“I’m jooooking. Christ. I’m a one woman type of girl. Voyeur elsewhere Bronze.”

“How the fuck did I get roped into this?!” Lucy defended.

The trio chuckled.

“What can I help you with?”

“YFN won’t stop trying to change the speech. She’s insisting it’s not perfect. I figured you’d have the right thing to say.”

Ridley shrugged nonchalantly. “Perfection is subjective.”

YFN’s mouth dropped open slightly. How had she not thought of that?

“And, before you start big-braining around whose perception of perfection is more important, just remember that you’re emotionally involved and biased having spoken to Mark and written both the book and your speech, so our perception is more pure. We are the audience, after all.” She got closer to the phone. “And baby… believe me when I say it’s perfect.”

She felt her lower lip tremble.

Ridley smiled at the look on her face. “That’s my girl. Now don’t you two have better things to be doing?”

“Speaking of perfect,” Lucy answered. “I do have the perfect day planned. First things first, I need you to put on this blindfold.”

“That is our time to leave.” Alexia said.

“Aw, sure we can't stay and watch?” Ridley asked.

“Goodbye you two.”

“See you tomorrow!” YFN said warmly.

The day was perfect, by any standard. Sex in the morning. A phone call with their friends. A surprise picnic in the park where they kicked around a football and then laid around, napping and reading their books. By the time the sun began to set, they packed their things back into the car and wandered hand in hand down towards the coast.

She’d been so distracted by their conversation and flirting that she hadn’t even realised where they were headed.

“So there’s the event and then the business afterparty, and then we can all catch up for food and drinks after while the footballers have a few days off..” she rambled, not knowing they’d stopped.

She looked up at Lucy who seemed to be smiling down at her, patiently listening and waiting for her to realise where they were. Turning, she saw the beach she’d met Jordan on. The exact same spot. The little alcove between the bushes, staring out over the sun setting.

“Oh, Luce…”

Lucy sat and pulled YFN down in between her legs, cradling her there. Taking in the moment, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath in and out. The sea breeze whipped a few strands of hair out of her messy bun, which Lucy tucked behind her ear. YFN opened her eyes to look at the last rays of daylight as the wind shifted. A storm was coming – she could feel it. She smiled and looked up at the darkening clouds. She loved the feeling of the darkness creeping in, and the storm. She was unsure whether it was the potential violence of it, or the uncertainty, but she still loved it nonetheless. She felt comfortable in that space. Leaning back, she felt the warm comfort of Lucy. How much things had changed..

She looked around the beach and saw nobody. Sparing a thought for Jordan then, and where she was now, made her smile. How good the country had been to her.

They stayed for an extended period, until the sun had fully set and the sky was overcast with dark, angry, yet comforting clouds.

“It’s getting cold, my girl.” Lucy murmured into her ear.

She nodded, having thought the same herself. “It’s time to go.”

They walked up the beach and ascended the stairs as the wind worsened. She turned to look one last time before they headed back towards their car. Halfway back it began raining suddenly. Large, heavy droplets of water soaked them in an instant, though they weren’t too concerned. Laughing, they ran to the closest shelter they could find.

Lucy grabbed her by the waist and backed her into the little alcove, her eyes darkening. Fuck, she looked good when she was wet.

Unable to resist, she reached up to tangle her fingers in her soaked hair and drag her head down to hers. It would never get old, kissing Lucy. She was talented in everything she did, including intimacy. She pressed her body up against her offering her no escape, something YFN obsessed over, and tilted her head to deepen the kiss. They tongues met and she moaned into the taller woman’s mouth. She tightened her grip on her jacket in response to Lucy’s thigh pressing up against her and Lucy moaned in return.

“F…fuck. Little one.” She gasped, pulling away slightly. “Not here, it’s too public.”

“You really want to stop?” She challenged, pressing herself harder against Lucy's thigh, rocking slightly into it as her mouth found the soft flesh under her chin and sucked.

Lucy groaned.

“Fuuuuck. More.”

YFN hummed at the power she had over her, rocking her hips and getting the pleasure she needed from the friction of rubbing against her.

“Arghhh.”

Her hand let go of her jacket and slipped down, taking Lucy’s and guiding it up under her own. Lucy didn’t need any guidance from there, her hand kneading her naked breast, thumb brushing over the peak.

“I need.. I..”

“Mmn, what do you need, Luce?”

“I need you.”

“Then take me home and have me.”

Lucy pulled back and seeing that look in her eyes, she knew just what the rest of their night held. “Mmn.” She looked around to make sure no one was looking, and realised the rain had eased off just slightly. “Let’s get home. I need you.”

Chuckling, the two disentangled and Lucy took a slight step back, waiting for YFN who was looking around with a sentimental expression.

“Luce?”

“Ready?”

“I… do you realise where we are?”

Lucy looked around confused and then it hit her. “Oh… it’s... where we met.” That first evening with Jordan, and the rain. “If only I’d known.”

“Known what, Luce?” She murmured with pure happiness at the significance of where they stood.

Lucy took her hand and raised it, kissing the gold band she was so proud of. “That I’d met my wife.”

JORDAN POV

Jordan was finishing the last of her stretches on the balcony outside their London apartment when Blu came bounding out from the kitchen to involve himself. He’d been running between the two of them, excitedly padding around with his short little legs, and was beginning to get tired.

Jordan felt his tongue lick her cheek and chuckled. She grabbed him and rolled into her back, raising him over her like he was Simba. He loved that. His little legs moved as if swimming and he shook with excitement.

Jordan sat up and cuddled him to her chest, giving him a kiss on the head and looked inside through the glass doors to where Leah was watching them with a smile and a spatula awkwardly in her hand. She wasn’t a cook by any means, though she was trying, and that’s all that mattered to Jordan.

The slightly older woman released him and he bounded back inside to his other mother. She was on cooking duties today, though Jordan was just about to go in and keep her company.

She rolled up her gym mat and stepped inside, putting it back in its place and wandering over to where the delicious smell was coming from.

“Need any help?” She asked.

Leah turned and gave that genuine smile of hers. “Want to keep my company?”

“Of course.”

Without a hesitation, Leah picked the smaller woman up and sat her down on the edge of the countertop. “You can just stay right there, then. I have this under control... I think.”

“It smells amazing.”

Leah stirred the pot and then stood with her back against Jordan’s chest. She didn’t hesitate to wrap her legs and arms around her, kissing her cheek a few times. “Those lessons have been coming in handy, it seems.”

“I still can’t believe you went and did that.”

Leah shrugged and turned to steal one of the cheek kisses with her lips. “It was for us. Of course I did.”

Jordan happily hummed and rested her chin against Leah’s slightly taller shoulder. “What is it?”

“Just this… us. It’s all very domestic.”

“Well I’d like to think so after we had to convert the third bedroom into our closet.”

Jordan chuckled. “Hey, my place isn’t much better. Lucky YFN is living in London full-time with Lucy now – her room has almost more clothes than this one! She barely has room when she stops in for a few nights.”

“God, I just want to live with you already.” Leah grumbled, turning and resting her forehead against her collarbone. Being the only person who Leah let comfort her was not lost on Jordan. “Why can’t we have that?”

“One more season..” Jordan reminded, reassuringly stroking her back. “And then I’ll move to London.”

“Just let me move there, Jord.” Leah almost pleaded. It wasn’t the first time.

“I’d never let you choose me over Arsenal. It’s one year.. what’s one more season?”

Leah groaned, ditching the spatula to wrap her arms around her. “One more season away from my wife.”

A shiver ran down her spine. She loved when she called her ‘wife.’ It was even better than seeing it around social media. Leah and Jordan Williamson-Nobbs. They’d decided to hyphenate rather than choose like their friends.

“I’ve already begun to do some work with YFN.. can you give me one more season?”

Leah pulled back to study her. “Of course. Of course. I don’t mean to pressure you at all, I’m just being needy.”

Jordan draped her hands over her shoulder. “I love it when you’re needy.”

“Yeah?” She whispered, kissing her softly. Just tasting…

“One more season with a Christmas holiday in amongst it... this time with your folks. And as for the neediness, I say we Facetime more and pay your therapist extra.”

“Poor girl.” Leah chuckled.

“Until then, let’s make the most of it...” Jordan mumbled, pulling her close. Leah grabbed at Jordan’s oversized clothes, tugging her to the edge of the bench and sliding her hands under to feel her. Their mouths connected and as they did so, Jordan smelled burning. Looking over Leah’s shoulder, she saw the pot begin to bubble over the edge.

This wasn’t exactly unusual, even when Leah was watching it.

Instead of telling her, she smiled into her mouth and let herself enjoy the taste and feel of her for a few more seconds, knowing their night would probably end like it usually did…. with takeaway.

ALEXIA POV

Alexia dodged left to avoid an incoming Mapi. She used her body to protect the ball from Ona before dodging right and kicking to Caroline on the far side. With the defenders' attention now away from her, she chased forward quickly, pushing her legs to outrun them as she pointed to the spot where she wanted it.

Alexia yelled for the ball. Caroline kicked. The ball came directly to where she’d pointed of course, unimpeded even by Ona sliding through. Alexia’s boot connected exactly where she’d wanted it to, left foot and straight into the top right corner. Cata leapt and missed by barely an inch.

Perfect.

Alexia felt the grin lighting up her face at that glorious sound of the ball hitting the back of the net. The final whistle blew just as it did so and before she could really react properly, her training team swarmed around, all trying to get a piece of her. She usually didn’t let her team celebrate her too hard, but this felt special.

Everything was good.

“Yes, Alexia!” Keira yelled from behind her as she grabbed her.

“LA REINAAAAA!” Patri yelled into her ear far too loudly.

She felt her body being shook from every direction and tried to let herself enjoy it for once.

“That’s it for today!” Pere called to the team. “Well done to Alexia’s team. Go enjoy your event and I’ll see you all on Monday.”

The girls gave their thanks in amongst the celebrations, as the rest of the team came over to congratulate them.

“You want to take my trophies away again, huh?” Aitana joked.

“God, you shot so quick,” Ona smiled, genuinely happy for her friend.

She heard a person whistling in celebration and rolled her eyes. “Okay okay, enough celebrating now.” Alexia said, yet unable to stop her grin.

“Oh, that wasn’t us,” Mapi teased, jerking her head towards the sidelines.

Alexia’s heart jumped as she looked over and spotted Ridley sitting on the fence. She was back, and looking as relaxed as ever with Alexia’s sunglasses on, her legs slightly spread and a proud looking smile on her face as she watched from afar patiently with Chiquito sitting by her side.

Alexia tried to ignore the teasing from her group. Chiquito looked up at Ridley and then back to Alexia in a sort of question.

“Chiquito!” Alexia called.

He didn’t need to be called twice. The little, fluffy grey cat abandoned his spot to trot over to where Alexia and the girls were standing. She bent down to pick him up, saying her hellos before he was kidnapped by the rest of team. He’d become somewhat of a team mascot, having been around them all so often.

Alexia smiled as she watched him share the love and attention of the girls around, though her attention was now elsewhere as her feet took her towards her Australian.

As she reached her, she parted her legs further with her hands, her palms sliding up the bare skin of Ridley’s thighs and wrapping around her back. She tried to withhold the urge to groan at the comfort of it. Of her.

Her warmth. Her smile. Her touch. Alexia’s home. Ridley held her softly, leaning her head against Alexia’s and presumably watching the girls play with Chiquito over her shoulder.

“Congratulations, my girl.” She murmured in Catalan. “Amazing, as always.”

Alexia hummed against her, happy that she’d seen it. She’d never been the type to be too publicly affectionate, though that had shifted slightly with her relationship with Ridley, especially after their headline-making event with Bashir. Now she wanted to be near her wherever she was. It was such a strange, lovely feeling to have her on the sidelines at games, sitting amongst her family, and at training, talking to her teammates.

“You’re back..” she murmured into her, happy that she didn’t have to wait until that night to see her.

“Mmn. I saw an opportunity to come home earlier and I took it.”

That sent a nice shiver up Alexia’s spine for multiple reasons. Not only the fact that she’d called her ‘home’ but that she’d left her military family who she was so close to, just to come home earlier to her.

Alexia squeezed a little harder before pulling back to see her face. Ridley moved her sunglasses to the top of her head and tucked the sweaty strands of Alexia’s now more brunette looking hair behind her ears. She looked at the scar the bullet had left her with, cutting from just above her eyebrow and disappearing into her hairline. It was now a faded pink colour and looking less aggressive every day. She reached up to stroke it with her thumb, forever grateful that it hadn’t been deeper.

Ridley let her play with it, closing her eyes as Alexia’s thumb moved down and across the one on her cheek. She caught her hand as it reached her jaw and turned her head to kiss the pad of her thumb, and then her thumb, palm, wrist.

“Ready to go home?”

Before she could answer, the girls came over. “What time are you picking us up tomorrow?” Keira asked, handing Chiquito back to Alexia.

“Will we be flying in the Barca plane you bought for us?” Patri interjected.

“First of all, the bus will pick you all up from here at 9am. Secondly… Alexia wouldn’t let me buy anything. Barca has a long-term lease on that plane from my company instead.”

She pouted as if she were unhappy, but she’d still managed to work her way around the problem, of course. Alexia’s stomach fluttered at the cocky look in her eyes.

“But no..” Ridley continued and then chuckled. “No, we’ll be in something much faster and less conspicuous. Management don’t exactly want unnecessary trips while Lucy and Mariona’s faces are still on the plane.”

“You’d think they would have planned ahead.”

“It’s not like I didn’t warn them..” she murmured cheekily. “But never mind that, I’m here to take this one off your hands.”

“At least let her shower first!” Ona exclaimed as a few more of the girls came over.

Alexia stayed quiet as usual and turned to Ridley who looked her up and down with a smirk. “I think I’ll shower her myself at home.”

She rolled her eyes, having expected her to say something similar. “Do you mind waiting? It’s been a really hot day and I want to get these sweaty clothes off me as soon as I can.”

Ridley looked her up and down, seeming to enjoy the enjoying the ‘sweaty clothes’ and gave her a calm but hungry look. Like she hadn’t seen her in a week. Which was about accurate. “I’d wait forever for you.”

Alexia tried to hide her smirk and ignore the teasing noises from her teammates as she took a step back. She was eager to get showered and back home with her. As she’d expected, Ridley moved to follow, sliding off the fence and entering her personal space again. She was slightly taller which meant Alexia had to look up to see that smirk of hers.

A week was the longest they’d been apart since before the island. She could barely keep her hands off her now let along the thought of when they finally got home.

The group made their way into the changing rooms for their showers. Alexia forced herself to go slowly, knowing how frustrating it would be for Ridley, and even though she was annoyingly good at hiding it, Alexia was slowly getting to know her little tells of frustration and impatience. The shifting of her weight onto one foot, the clasped or pocketed hands as if to hold them back from reaching, her head tilt to overcompensate and remind herself to slow down.

Alexia checked herself in the steamed mirror one more time and dropped the towel in the basket as she left the showers. She walked into the changing rooms to see an array of her half-naked teammates all in different stages of dressing and talking. Her eyes found her locker and below it was Ridley sitting calmly, her eyes on Chiquito alone as he sat on the table in the middle of the room with multiple people patting him. The small smile on her face showed how proud she was of him.

Alexia’s first step into the room was met with was Ridley’s eyes flicking to her. Her head tilted as she looked her up and down. Regardless of how turned on she was, she knew the one thing they both wanted more than anything. A hug. She guessed her need to touch and show love was that Spanish side of her, but for Ridley it was different. She wasn’t necessarily a touchy person, unless it was with Alexia. It seemed to be growing on her as a comfort, and so it was never a thing that the Spaniard shoved aside or refused.

Alexia walked right up to the Australian, her knees in between her own and leant over her completely as she put her clothes away. She felt Ridley chuckling into her chest as she did so, gently grasping the backs of her thighs as if to hold her there.

“Ready to go home?” Alexia mimicked from earlier, looking down at her.

Ridley held up Alexia’s car key. “I’ll drive.”

“9am sharp!” Ridley called out to the girls as she drove off.

Alexia reached out to play with her hair as Ridley pet Chiquito who was curled up in her lap.

“He missed you..” she murmured.

“I missed you both.”

“Will you need to go back soon?”

“The team will handle the clean up, Lex. There’s no talk of needing me back anytime soon.”

Alexia hummed happily at that until she spotted a gash with dried blood behind Ridley’s ear. She inspected it with her fingertips. Before she could speak, Ridley did.

“I wasn’t on the front line, Lex, I promise. Wombat got a little too carried away with the working out.” She said calmly, making Alexia chuckle at the image. Since the incident with Bashir, she’d promised to not go front line again unless it was absolutely necessary for her team, or others. “Besides, you already know this. I know you and Duce talk behind my back. What a rat.”

“I like her.”

“She’s just trying to stay in your good books. They’re still getting used to knowing a bit of my personal side.”

“A bit?”

She rolled her eyes. “The biggest part of my personal side.”

“I’m very likeable, you know.”

“Jesus, I’m back for thirty minutes and I’m already copping it.”

“Of course. Someone needs to remind you that not everything is about you.”

Ridley’s mouth dropped open slightly which amused Alexia to no end. She loved every time she surprised her. It was rare.

Before she could get her composure, Alexia reached over and closed her mouth for her.

Ridley’s jaw twitched in amusement and she shook her head. “You’re a pain, you are.”

“You wouldn’t like me so much if I were easy.” She shrugged. “And besides, I’m your pain.”

She hummed in agreement. “That you are. And just to be clear, I’m not surprised you two like each other.”

“It doesn’t bother you at all..?”

“Honestly? The opposite.” She pulled up in front of Ridley’s house which they now shared, and turned to her. Alexia fell into those dark eyes of hers gladly and tightened the hold she had on her thigh. “It doesn’t bother you that I talk to your family often?”

Although she’d been hesitant at first, Ridley had eventually slipped into the fold of the family. It was a bit impossible not to with them, especially after they’d bombarded her at Christmas. “The opposite.”

After they’d made up for a week apart, the pair had spent the rest of their day snacking by the pool. It had been incredible to have a longer pool for the rehab and recovery of her knee back to a solid form. Ever since, she’d made it a habit to do pool workouts a few times a week. Ridley usually watched, sitting and reading a book or playing with a guitar as she did so. She’d been interested and invested in her rehabilitation and everything that went into it.

Ridley was also getting used to being in a relationship. Allowing herself to love and be loved. The island had been a start, but Alexia had known that. She’d never complained, though. They’d always communicated their needs and fears, no matter how difficulty, and were growing together.

It meant a lot less independence, and more teamwork. Less decision and more compromise. This included Ridley adjusting to become more physical. Able to touch, instead of look respectfully from afar. This meant pushing aside that military side of her which needed her hands free. Learning to be the one to initiate contact. To get used to sleeping with that warmth and skin to skin contact.

It also meant that as Alexia sat at the shallow end of the pool, Ridley could come up behind her, dipping her legs into the cool water either side of the Spaniard and cradle her arms around her, stroking her arms with her fingertips, her neck with her mouth.

Both of them had been rather hesitant with it – the worry of falling too deep – though they’d both had a realisation on the night that Bashir had died as to just how far they were in it already. There was no safety net now. They were all in, together.

“It’s almost 4pm,” Ridley murmured in Catalan as her lips explored along her cheek.

Alexia didn’t answer, because she was more than happy right there instead. She kept her eyes closed, head tilted back as she enjoyed the feel of Ridley everywhere. She could feel herself getting wet, even in the water, and her nipples hardening almost to the point of pain.

“Alexia,” she said again, this time in a more warning tone. Her movements stopped and she covered her cold nipples with her palms. The warmth was glorious. “Your interview.. and I don’t like how cold you’re getting.”

She opened her eyes and realised that the sun had set so low that they were fully covered in shade.

Alexia finished with her interview after an hour and wandered through their large house, in search of Ridley. Although it was very comparable to the way it was when she’d first moved in, due to their similar tastes, it now held pieces of herself also. Jerseys and trophies and sentimental pieces here and there. It felt more like them together, rather than just one of them.

She checked by the pool, the office, her art studio, the library, their bedroom. She checked her bedside table for the passport she’d need the next day and found it exactly where she’d left it, with Ridley’s note tucked into it. Smiling, she put it back and turned to see Chiquito at the door. He must have been spending time with her, as he’d missed her the past week.

“Take me to her…”

Ever the intelligent cat, he turned and led Alexia to the last place she could be if she was still in the house.

There by herself in the darkened studio, was Ridley. Her headphones were around her neck, her hand resting on a keyboard and eyes closed as she listened to the track back, presumably checking a note or lyric. It sounded perfect to Alexia. Something she hadn’t heard before. If she had to describe it, it would be… obsession, and adoration.

Although it was dark, she could still see the silhouette of her face, the emotions written across it as it slightly changed with each part of the song.

Just before it ended, Ridley opened her eyes as if she knew she was there. Her lips tilted up at the confirmation and watched Alexia as she listened to the end of the song with her. From the look on her face, she didn’t even need to ask what the song was about.

It was hers.

YFN POV

YFN shook with nerves as her Lumos team introduced her to the stage. She looked at the clicker in her left hand and the notes in her other, pausing as she decided to leave the latter behind. She knew what she wanted to say.

She walked onto the stage accepting the applause as it rang through the crowd.

“Really good job up there.” She praised her team as they passed each other. They gave her proud smiles and “good lucks” as she took centre stage and stopped to take a breath.

She pressed the clicker and turned to see the new company logo once again adorning the screen.

“We here at Lumos began with so much drive and passion that we forgot to introduce ourselves. Tonight, we remedy that. Good evening, my name is YFN, and it’s my honour to be the first to introduce you to Lumos – the first women’s sports media titan.” She took another breath to steady her heart. “When we started twelve months ago, we had one goal: to change the narrative, to give women’s sports the recognition, respect and platform it deserves and tonight, I’m proud to say we’ve taken our first bold steps and accomplished what no one has before. Lumos is now the primary media outlet for women’s football, covering all the top leagues across the globe with plans to expand into all women’s sports in the future. This is just the beginning, but what a beginning it has been!”

She paused to hear that warm, encouraging applause filling the room. Her gaze briefly met Lucy’s proud look in the crowd which steadied her, as well as Alexia and Ridley’s. Ridley being proud of her meant more than she realised and she felt so supported, surrounded by the people she loved most.

“Tonight, we want to share our story with you – not just where we’ve been, but where we’re going. You’ll see the heart of Lumos – our culture, aspirations, and our commitment to innovation and inclusion. You’ll see our platforms, culture, charity and philanthropic initiatives. But for now, more than anything, you’ll see the power of collaboration. This moment, and everything leading up to it, would not have been possible without the extraordinary women who live and breathe the game. Female footballers, and their fans from around the world have trusted us with their stories, their triumphs, their challenges. Their voices have shaped what we are unveiling tonight, and their courage continues to inspire everything we do.”

She paused to look at Mark, his cheek twitching as he realised who she was referring to. She softened her tone as she continued at that heart of her message.

“Lumos is more than a media company. It’s a mission. And at the core of that mission is a promise to shine a light on every untold story, to give a platform to the overlooked, and to honour the dreams and passions of those who came before us. At the heart of Lumos stands a charity dedicated to the legacy of a young girl who shared the same passions and dreams as we do. Her legacy is our promise: to stand for hope, inclusion and possibility.”

She let the weight of her words linger as the room fell into a deeper silence. Then, with quiet strength, she began her conclusion.

“And to begin our journey, comes the launch of our book… a prequel of our life so far, if you will. It is a reflection of the journey we’ve all taken together. From the friendships, to the love stories, football, the headline-making incidents, footballers, and to the charity at the heart of us. This book is about believing in the power of possibility, about working for something greater than ourselves. We’re here because we believe women’s sports can inspire and unite the world because women too, deserve the spotlight.”

She pressed the clicker in her hand and saw the screen behind her reflecting on the crowd and it were as if the world slowed as they stood to cheer. She took as much of it in as she could, appreciating the moment and all of the hard work she’d put into making the moment what it was. Her eyes flickered over the people in the crowd from Lumos who had made it possible, over Kate and a still unsuspecting William as he clapped for a company he had no idea his wife had created. She looked over the footballers, Katie, Caitlin, Kyra, footballers from Arsenal, Barcelona, and such. Alexia and Ridley were sat at the front with proud smiles alongside Lucy who was clapping loudest of all. She chuckled lightly at that and tried to hold back her tears.

After she took it all in, she smiled and turned to the giant screen behind her which was illuminated with a simple title: Sunsets and Footballers by YFN Bronze.

[daichiduskdrop]

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚⋆·˚ ༘ *𝙎𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙡 ⋆·˚ ༘ *ੈ✩‧₊˚

Chapter 05

Pairing: BTS Ot7 X fem! reader

Genre: A/B/O AU, Fluff, Angst, Strangers to lovers

Warnings: mentions of self worth

Taglist: @thelilbutifulthings @ilovemoneymorethenmen @singukieee @cherrysainttt @felicityroth @mageprincess7 @lucis-noctiana @danielle143 @osakis-gf @girl-nahh @vintageoldfashion @neverthefirstchoice @juju-227592

Words: 3537

Previous:

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Being in a bit too much of a shock to answer immediately, it took you a bit before you replied. You felt your heart flutter lightly, and since you were too nervous to answer fully, you just nodded.

Stepping back, you pulled the large, crisp white curtain against the other doorframe and looked around the room. It was much bigger than any of the changing rooms you've ever been in. It seemed more like a middle-sized bathroom in size, being roomy and clean. There was soft classical music playing in the background. To be truthful, you weren't used to going to many changing rooms; it was always way too uncomfortable to do so.

Usually you shopped online or visited thrift stores from time to time, but if you did go to a store in a mall, you pretty much never tried anything on. It always felt too uncomfortable to do so for you.

Reaching for the first outfit hung up, you changed into the clean clothes. The fabric felt thick and maybe even a little bit rough to touch. Sliding on the skirt and a loose jacket that you left it open.

Both of the clothing items were made out of the same dark green and blue gingham pattern. The jacket was in a shacket style, going down to the middle of your thighs. It could be zipped up but also buttoned up and tightened at the bottom to crop it lightly, but you kept it how it was. It felt more comfortable.

Zipping up the knee-high boots, you felt a lot taller with the added height. There was a mirror in the room, so you took a short look at yourself. You hadn't worn a skirt in a long time, so it felt a bit different from what you would usually go for, but still, it didn't look too terrible. So with the t-shirt you wore earlier tucked in well, you stepped out of the room, taking short steps.

It didn't take even two seconds before you had the pack cooing and praising how you looked.

„Look at you, so pretty. The skirt looks so nice on you; it fits you great! Here, cub, come closer; let me take a better look.” Jin said he must have come here earlier while you were changing. He too had store assistants standing near him, and the clothes they held soon transferred to the room you just stood in.

Hearing a deep purr, your eyes shot towards Namjoon, his eyes glued to yours. „It's very nice pup.” Was the only thing he said, but his gaze spoke a lot louder.

Taking a few steps closer to them, you felt Taehyung's warm hands softly turning you around, showing them the whole look. Jin was taking a lot of photos before he started typing quickly on his phone. You couldn't pay too much attention to how many compliments you were suddenly getting.

„This makes your blush stand out even more! Ah, so cute! You are just perfect, babycheeks. Here, quick, go try on some of the other clothes I chose for you. Alphas want to see you in everything.”

You only took a small step back, but somehow you couldn't bring yourself to go back right away. Hesitantly, you looked towards Jimin, who didn't say anything so far apart from the shutter sounds of his phone camera coming from his device.

Once he felt your gaze on himself, he was quick to look up from the screen, smiling widely. His eyes formed a crescent shape. Cooing loudly at you, he did speak towards you with a warm voice. „You look stunning, princess. The jacket is adorable on you. Here, Yoongi has already replied. Come look, pup.”

So you once again came towards the men, bending a little to look at the phone screen Jimin was showing you.

Feeling your cheeks warm up once again, you smiled lightly. „Tell Yoongi I say hi.” Was the only thing you could think of before you rushed back to the changing room to try on more clothes Tae and Jin chose for you.

The next thing was a soft, pink-coloured fur bolero-style jacket that only had two white buttons. It reminded you of the original hoodie you wore, but this was much softer. You weren't sure if you really were a big fan of the fur clothing style, but for the sake of them, you just rolled with it for now.

A maxi skirt you pulled on was white and blue, with different pictures that reminded you of porcelain art on it. It was made with thick cotton, and with the heaviness, it stayed quite stiff once again.

Pulling the curtain away, you again stepped out, this time with just your socks on. Jin was the first one to speak, loudly cooing at you. Rushing towards you, he was quick to softly hug you.

„Pink is so nice on you, cub; you'll make me cry with how cute you look.” His scent felt light and airy, reminding you of warm summer days.

„She won't be warm enough in this, though. That's unacceptable, pup. Go try on a heavier coat.” Rumbled Namjoon's deep voice. Looking over at him, he seemed a bit dissatisfied.

While he felt like whatever you had on looked just gorgeous on you, mostly because you really were, there was this nagging feeling inside of him. Since he was an alpha, and a pack alpha at that, he always felt the need to protect you from anything.

Tummy aches were preventable, loud noises were solvable, and so was sickness. So with that in mind, he didn't want you to get cold at all. The winter was going to grow only colder, and he realised that.

While the pink bolero shrug looked so cute on you, it was suitable for the early spring or autumn, not the harsh winters that were in Seoul.

„Joon-ah let it go, she can wear it some other time. Just look at her! She's so adorable, aren't you, cub? You look so soft; is it comfortable?” Jin's eyes were warm once again, just as they always were when he looked at you. You could never complain; it warmed you up from inside.

„Yea, it's very soft; I don't know how I feel about it being fur though..?” You mumbled, carving the sleeve between your fingers.

„Oh, no, babycheeks, it's fake fur, don't worry. I wouldn't let you put that on; the smell could be bad for you. The inside is silk-lined, though; do you like it? It's one of the older styles.” The fashionista answered quickly, motioning for you to come closer to him with a small hand gesture.

He too went over the soft fabric, holding your hands when you went to squeeze your fingers again in discomfort. You knew they meant no harm, but with how many eyes were on you at the moment, it felt a bit anxious. Nodding lightly, you liked the jacket. You didn't have the time to look at the price tag, and you didn't even dare to. While it was comfortable, it was definitely way too much for a reasonable purchase.

„The skirt is nice too." You mumbled. Soon after I showed them the clothes from different angles and had photos taken of you, they were quick to send you off again.

You liked a lot of the clothes they took out for you; the repeating pattern of pink you could only blame on Jin was very satisfying for you. There were a few things you really liked, like a knee length coat, lined at the collar and sleeve cuffs with the fur the bolero was made with. 

It was a soft dusty pink, lined with silk once again, and thick in fabric, so it held its shape and didn't feel flimsy. It had a tie-like belt on the waist and two large pockets on the front sides. You weren't the only one who liked it; the alphas were visibly pleased with the jacket.

You also really liked a wide, loose-fitting pair of dark denim jeans that had lighter stitching so the hems were visible. They fit you great, but with them being pretty much just a bit nicer pair of jeans than what was the most common, you once again felt like the purchase would be unjustified.

With the things you liked, of course, there were things you didn't enjoy so much, like a layered brown mini skirt that had a few rips on it already, something you didn't understand too well. It didn't give you a nice silhouette with how heavy and circle shaped it was so after the pack also didn't approve you were quick to slid it off and try something else. 

After the last dress Tae chose was tried on, you changed back into your old clothes, noticing how the fabric felt a bit rougher suddenly. Walking from the oversized try-on room, the alphas stood up after seeing you in your normal clothes again.

„All done, pup? What a good girl, tried on clothes for us so well.” The pack alpha said this, bending to look at your face closer. He smiled; his dimples showed up once again, and he lightly pushed you forward by your shoulder, leading you back downstairs.

Walking towards the entrance, Jimin and Tae were nowhere in sight, but soon you saw them. To the right of the entrance, they were standing with the store clerks, who were folding clothes up and placing them into large, white bags.

Suddenly, you felt a cold sweat wash over you. Pulling at Namjoon's hand, your unsettled scent was noticed by him quickly. After walking the last two steps, once you arrived at the tiled floor, he was quick to take a hold of your arms and pull you close.

„Pup? What is it? Tell Alpha right now, what's wrong, baby?” He was bowed fully, so his eyes searched for yours. You couldn't bring yourself to pay much attention to him, though. Turning your head to stare at the alphas by the check-out, your mouth fell lightly open and your eyes filled with disbelief.

„What's going on? Cub, what is it? Oh-..” With the eldest coming down the stairs two at a time after he smelled your distress, he noticed the issue just as quickly.

„Why are they buying the stuff? I don't need it; it's really expensive too." You didn't get to finish before hands turned your face. Forced to look into the pack alpha's eyes, even through the sunglasses he wore, his gaze was calm. How was he not worried? They were about to spend literal millions ₩ on this; it wasn't at all reasonable!

„Y/N. Baby. If they want to buy you anything, trust me, they will do it, and you can't do anything about it. We all will pup. If you really want to be a part of the pack, don't think we will miss out on the chance to court you. This is the proper way to do it; do you understand my baby?”

„No, Joon, they can't spend so much money on this; it's really—" Once again, you were interrupted by a calm voice. This time it was Jin who was speaking, cleverly standing in the direction of the two men. You weren't able to look at them directly this way; once again, it came back to the basics of their second gender. Out of sight, out of mind

„Sweetheart, it's okay. We have more than enough; don't worry about the money. You understand what courting is, right? We want to show how we are able to provide for you, cub. Buying you new clothes, foods, books, blankets, or anything else you can think of is the right way to do it, okay? If you don't want us to buy stuff for you, then let us spend money on ourselves. This is really calming us down, yea, baby?”

„But the clothes are for me; I don't deserve this; it's really expensive, Jin."

„Pup, you deserve the world. We are not going to be discussing that topic at all. Let's get back to that some other time, yes?” Namjoon kept his beliefs up, not about to back down. They never wanted to hear you talk about your self-worth like that, whether seriously or as a joke. This was not something they considered funny at all. You looked down, meekly mumbling a yes. 

Taking a hold of your hand once again, Joon led you towards the exit with Jin on your other side. He too soon took a hold of your palm, rubbing it softly between his hands, warming the skin up with friction. The pack alpha didn't get really serious that often, but anything regarding your health and security was a very strong border he would never allow anyone to joke about. And that included your mental health and strength too.

You could smell the slight aggravation coming from the man to your left, so you just softly pattered after him. Waiting outside of the luxury store, you kicked the snow under your feet while the two alphas stood close to you. Naturally, when the harsher, colder wind blew, their bodies covered the worst blow, keeping you just a little warmer.

With the doors sliding open, the two men walked out with about four bags on them. Immediately they could sense something was off with how Namjoon was watching over everyone on the street, agitated and on guard even when the strangers brought no danger.

„What's up? Why are you all angsty, Hyung?" The older man chuckled, smiling brightly. He felt happy with the purchases he and his younger packmate made for you. It felt really nice to buy you things. He knew already that you would be so spoiled soon, but he also knew that he was not about to stop that from happening.

„It's nothing; he is just being protective.” Answered the eldest before Joon even had time to take a breath. With his cheeks warming up, the leader was glad he was covered by the face mask.

„Let's just go get lunch now.” He said this, his voice still stronger than it normally is.

„But Hyung, you promised we would go to Gucci next! I want to take babycheeks." Tae only received a lighthearted glare in return for his complaint.

„I think pup already had more than enough shopping done for today. She is definitely hungry too; it's past noon already.”

Sighing, Taehyung didn't put up a fight. He knew he could take you to any store he wanted at some other time and was also pleased with some of the purchases he made for you. Keeping you well fed was also one of the basic pack rules, and they were all keen on following it.

So your small group once again made its way to the van. You also tried to sit by the window once more, but before you could even buckle yourself up, a strong hand took a hold of your arm, sliding you in the middle once again. You didn't stop yourself from protesting so much now, so a loud whine left you, showing how annoyed and unsettled you still were.

All the men turned to you, but you only met the pack alpha's gaze. His gaze felt hard, and so with only a light growl leaving his throat, you didn't push it once more. Even when he didn't say anything, you understood him well enough to know what he meant. Waiting for you to buckle up, he tried tugging on the seatbelt once again, but when it didn't budge, he too climbed back in his seat.

With the engine softly rumbling and Jimin driving out of the parking lot, you guys were on your way to the mall. The pack alpha once again turned on the radio, but instead of letting it play the generic stations, he turned on the Spotify app on the touchpad instead. Opening the search bar, he turned to look at you.

”What do you want to listen to, babypup? What should we play, hm?” You didn't answer immediately; instead, you watched out of the window and turned to your side.

Softly petting your hair, Tae was quick to help his Alpha, understanding why you might still be a bit upset.

„Don't be sad, babycheeks. It's really for your safety, okay? What is it about the window that you like so much? Will you tell me?” He looked at you, eventually meeting your gaze. Softly huffing, you squeezed at his hand, only resulting in a light coo leaving him.

„It's better to sleep there. It's colder too.” You murmured, looking away. A chuckle left the man before you.

„Are you sleepy? It's okay, come here, my baby.” Loosening up the seatbelt just a little bit, he let you move closer to his side. Lightly pushing your head on his shoulder, his other arm went around your shoulders, carresing them in light motions.

With Jin also petting your knee here and there, you were soon lulled to a soft slumber, forgetting Namjoon's request completely. And so, with them fully reassured that you were asleep by how slow your breathing got, they went on to talk. Their calming scent, which they pushed out for you to rest sooner rather than later, suddenly held a worried undertone.

Jimin was the first one to speak; his eyes were fully aware of the road before him, and he paid close attention to driving. With his princess in the back and sleeping, he felt the need to be extremely cautious, even more than usual.

„What happened while we were paying?” His voice was just above a whisper, not wanting to disturb you.

„She said she doesn't deserve us buying stuff for her.” The pack alpha went straight to the point, not hiding anything from them. For a second, it was quiet, but if anyone from outside suddenly appeared in the car and smelled their scents, they would probably be quick to get out immediately.

Even when no one spoke, the harsh smell from Tae grew, his dissatisfaction smelling like rotting grass and wild fire.

„Taehyung, calm down. You will wake cub up like this.” Jin whispered. He too was on edge with the realisation of how easy it was for you to speak poorly of yourself. But still, he needed to be calm about this; when they went to approach the topic again with you, they had to have a clear mind. Watching out of the window with his hand holding yours, he rubbed his thumb over your knuckles. Your hands were a lot smaller compared to his, satisfying him greatly.

„We will talk to her about this later, okay? Let's just not worry about this for now. There might be a bunch of stuff we have to fix for her, but I'm sure it will all be okay soon.” Namjoon spoke, lightly trying to calm his younger packmate down. Tae didn't say anything, only pulling out his phone to instead scroll through his Instagram feed.

After a few more minutes of being stuck in traffic, Jimin received a call on the touchscreen. Looking over for a moment, he took the call.

„Hey, Jimin-ah.” Yoongi's voice was heavy and seemed a bit tired.

„Hyung. What's up? Why are you calling?”

„Kook and I are already finished, and Hobi only has to go over a few more documents with Sejin Hyung before he is done too. Where are you right now? Maybe we can join you.”

„Oh, we are on our way to the mall, the one on Time Square. We are going to get lunch; you guys can join if you want."

„You didn't have lunch yet? Kitty must be hungry; is she okay?”

„It's alright; she didn't say anything yet, so I think it should still be fine, Hyung. She is sleeping right now.”

„She is sleeping in the car? Poor baby, that must be really uncomfortable. Okay, we will be there in about.. twenty minutes.” 

„Alright, we will message where we are later. We have to talk about some stuff when we are at home too.” With that, Jimin soon ended the conversation, lightly hinting at a more serious topic they still had to discuss.

And with that, they parked the car in the underground parking lot, pulling on their face masks again. Taehyung pocketed his phone before he lightly patted your hair again.

„Babycheeks? Wake up, let's get lunch now." He too felt a bit tired, so he didn't put too much energy into waking you up, resulting in you still being asleep.

With the door opening, Namjoon unbuckled your seatbelt before he took a hold of your underarms and pulled you up to his chest, carrying you out of the doors.

Your eyes opened slightly, but you still felt a bit too tired to really react; instead, you chose to cling to his shirt, hiding your face in the crook of his neck, where the nice smell came from.

„It's okay, pup. I'll carry you for a bit if you are still too tired. Alpha will do it, don't you worry your little head about it. I got you.”

⋆·˚ ༘ *ੈ✩‧₊˚˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚˚ ✩‧₊˚⋆·˚ ༘ *

Next:

[dizzyduck44]

Content creators are cutting off their noses to spite their face

Tonight as I lie in bed, I’m reading. (Lucy Worsley’s “Jane Austen at Home” if you must know). For the last few years bed time has normally been YouTube videos or instagram scrolling. More often than not F1 related.

As a Lewis and Lando fan I accepted long ago finding Lewis friendly content was hard, but there was at least lots of Lando content out there.

During the “Dando” years of McLaren there was good content if you could ignore the Daniel crazies (fans who’s god like bias goes beyond reason or reality). However now, with his second Aussie teammate on the bounce (this one people really want to believe is the driver he will be in 5 years, now), the Max fans trying to process their disbelief, the Lewis fans looking for anyone to retaliate at (because apparently it’s an eye for an eye), George fans who mock Lando because George does it (they skip the point they are actually friends and Lando gives as good as he gets) and recently Ferrari fans (I can only assume overtaking Charles and being closer to a title that he is 🤷‍♀️), Lando hating seems to have become a global sport.

And content creators, some who fall into one of the above categories (P1, Tommo), some jumping on the bandwagon (WTF1, CameronF1, FormulaBone). Some who apparently have beef with Lando for god knows what reason (Aldas) are playing up to this.

Literally there is one F1 content channel I would go out of my way to watch, Josh Revell and even he has had a pop (albeit half his content is comically admitting how wrong he was, Sir Lancelot aside).

Even The Race who, whilst their news report are generally unbiased, their race reviews have become hyperbolic personal opinions based on who they dislike.

I know I won’t be alone with this, Sergio, Logan and Carlos have been getting it all season. But I’ve actually found myself unsubscribing and ignoring people’s content because of their sudden Lando pile on. If I don’t engage, they won’t make money off me.

And if others are doing the same, I can’t help but feel they are willingly pissing off one of the largest fan bases in F1 and hitting themselves in the bank balance for it. I struggle to see the logic.

Because here is the thing. This will pass. And those casual viewers will drift away. What are they going to do from December to February with no F1 and subs down? They will find a new punching bag but the Lando fans won’t be coming back.

There really are the big 5 in F1, the drivers who bring the fanbases, sell the merch, inspire the crazies; Lewis, Max, Lando, Charles and I would say Checo. (I think Lando took Daniel’s spot 😬). If you have pissed off the fans of 4 of those drivers already I really hope you have a back up career available.

I’d rather read than tolerate or support most of the BS being put out recently. Because if your issue is someone grew up and at the first chance at a championship they refuse to be an arse, I can safely say I wouldn’t make time for you in real life. I sure as hell don’t have to online.

[bloodcanbehot]

I Wish You Would

(gotta keep that Taylor Swift theme)

Anthony Lockwood x f!reader

Content: Angst? Fluff? Touched starved Lockwood

Warnings: Mention of blood and wounds, also some curse words (I think)

Characters: Anthony Lockwood and (y/n) Kipps. (Lucy Carlyle and Quill Kipps also appear)

Word count: 1.083

A/N: Exactly two people told me to post it, and that was enough (I'm literally about to enter to an online class while typing this). Chronology speaking, this goes BEFORE their first kiss but I'm a dumbass and forgot to post this one first, hope you like it

(I'll attach their first kiss here)

“Where were you?” Quill asked, seeing both Lockwood and (y/n) walk in with dirt on their faces and hair. As soon as he spoke, his sister’s face told him to not speak, unless he wanted to die.

“We’re fine!” (y/n) said, grabbing Lockwood by the arm and walking to the kitchen.

“You guys don’t look-” Lucy started, but the slamming of the door cut her off.

“Sit”

“I’m not your dog”

“And I don’t care” (y/n) said, pointing at the kitchen chair “sit down”

Lockwood did as she said, even though he didn’t want to. (y/n) started taking out items from the first aid kit, slamming them on the table as she cursed.

“I cannot fucking believe you” she said “seriously, why is it so hard for you to take care of yourself while we’re out on a case?” (y/n) asked, soaking a small piece of cotton with disinfectant. She grabbed Lockwood’s arm, forcefully moving the sleeve of his dress shirt up to see his cut better.

“(y/n) I-” Lockwood started, hissing when the cotton made contact with the cut on his arm.

“This might hurt” (y/n) said, after hearing him hissing, a smirk on her face.

“Okay” Lockwood said “I deserved that”

“You deserve more” (y/n) said “actually, you don’t even deserve me doing this for you, should I just tell my brother to do it, so you suffer a bit more?” she questioned, sarcasm all over her voice.

“(y/n)-”

“You know, when Luce told me you were reckless, I thought 'well, he's certainly not stupid' guess I was wrong!” she grabbed one of the big band aids and covered his cut.

“(y/n) I’m sorry, okay?” he said “this wasn’t reckless, I had a plan, it just didn’t work”

“Wow, what a surprise”

“I didn’t know the golden blade was gonna be there!”

“The what?” (y/n) stood up, forgetting about his other cuts.

��Last year we encountered him” Lockwood explained “we think he somehow works for Penelope Fittes-”

“My boss?”

“Yes” Lockwood nodded “he tried to steal the bone glass from Lucy and I” he explained “he’s also the one who shot me” he grabbed her hand “you have to believe me”

(y/n) looked at his eyes, processing what he had said in silence, enough to make Lockwood panic, the hold on her hand tightening.

“I… I believe you” she said, sitting back down. She wasn’t gonna lie, she always felt a weird vibe from the woman, or the entire agency for that matter. And she didn’t think Lockwood would lie to her.

He sighed in relief “Thank you (y/n)-”

“What I also believe” she started, letting go of his hand and grabbing a new cotton piece “is that your other cuts need to be taken care of” she said “specially this one” she tapped slightly the cut on his forehead, making him hiss again “I thought you were good at fencing?”

“I am” Lockwood shot back “I was just… surprised”

“Your blood says otherwise” (y/n) replied “now, lean closer so I can help”

Lockwood only nodded and whispered a small ‘yes’, letting her do the work and leaning closer as she instructed. As she leaned in, she quickly realized how her back was going to kill her if she did that, so she grabbed her chair and dragged it a bit closer to his, eventually ending up with her thigh in the middle of his thighs.

Lockwood chuckled “you might as well sit on my lap if you-”

“Shut up or I’ll do it” she cut him off with a smile.

He smirked “be my guest”

She ignored him, grabbing the back of his head to steady it as she disinfected the cut across his forehead. She was focused, focused on cleaning the blood and figuring out which bandage to use, but Lockwood’s wandering hands on her knee were distracting her.

It started with his fingers, slowly tapping her knee, barely noticeable, and she wouldn’t have known if he hadn’t kept going at it. His fingers slid across her knee and (y/n) made her best to ignore it, but as she stood up to change the cotton piece, he pushed her leg open, causing her to fall on his lap.

“That’s better” he said, smirk on his lips again.

“Lockwood-”

“Please” he said, voice so quiet she barely heard him.

She looked at his eyes, and for one moment she saw his mask crack. His dark circles and clenched jaw showed her how tired and stressed he was. She couldn’t even imagine how much his muscles ached after the fight, let alone the throbbing of the multiple cuts on his skin.

“Fine” she whispered, not trusting her own voice with the feeling of his hands on her waist.

She kept doing her thing in silence and he just watched her, tracing small circles on her sides with his thumbs. (y/n) just wanted to close her eyes and enjoy it, enjoy his touch on her skin and wish she could feel it for longer, to forget about the case, the fight, everything. She wanted to focus on him and him only.

“There” she said, breaking whatever spell was between them. She grabbed his chin, angling his face to admire the, now taken care of, cut “you’ll live”

He chuckled, smiling truthfully for the first time that night, or since (y/n) knew him, she didn’t care. She liked the small glow on his face.

They locked eyes, the blanket of silence settling on them again. (y/n)’s fingers slid across his chin towards his jaw, making him close his eyes and just enjoy her touch. His hands started moving up her waist, slowly, also making her want to close her eyes and enjoy, but she still leaned forward, closer and closer to him.

He felt it, the weight shift on his lap, some of her curly locks tickling his shoulders.

She could feel their lips almost touching.

The door opened, making her open her eyes wide and snap her neck so hard she wondered if this is how she was going to die. That would be better than the image she saw.

Both Lucy and her brother were standing at the doorstep. (y/n) stumbled off Lockwood’s lap, feeling his hands fly away from her and almost fell. Chair and all.

She gripped the thinking cloth “I was tending his cut” she stupidly said.

She could feel how Quill resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose as she looked at him.

“You sure were”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A/N: I feel like this scene and the other one are pretty similar, so if I do write the fanfic I'll change it, but let me know what you think! (Again, be nice)

[graysoncritic]

A (Negative) Review of Tom Taylor's Nightwing Run - What Went Wrong? Bludhaven (PART 2)

Introduction Who is Dick Grayson? What Went Wrong? Dick's Characterization What Went Wrong? Barbara Gordon What Went Wrong? Bludhaven (Part 1, Part 2) What Went Wrong? Melinda Lin Grayson What Went Wrong? Bea Bennett What Went Wrong? Villains Conclusion Bibliography

Instead, Taylor readily abandons the statue just as soon as it is introduced. We don’t return to it, we don’t even use it as a set piece that can ground Bludhaven and make it feel like an actual place. It doesn’t make an appearance in any covers, nor in establishing shots. In fact, even its thematic symbolism is forgotten when Alfred’s statue is built. Such a decision is especially infuriating when one considers the fact that not only would Alfred hate having a statue in his honor, but that Alfred means absolutely nothing to the people of Bludhaven. He means something to the reader, but not the citizens of the city that Dick is meant to protect. In this, we see how once more Taylor’s online mindset interferes with his storytelling, replacing a set piece that was tied to the in-universe history of the city he was writing with fanservice.

By contrast, Humphrie’s Bludhaven is filled with specific locations that are unique to, well, Bludhaven. We have the different casinos

(Humphries, Sam. Ruthless, writer. Janson, Klaus; Campbell, Jamal, illustrator. Nightwing: Rebirth no. 37, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2018. pp. 22)

The Tiki District

(Humphries, Sam, writer. Chang, Bernard, illustrator. The Untouchable: Chapter Two: Relentless. Nightwing: Rebirth no. 36, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2018. pp. 13)

Which greatly contrasts the darkness of the docks…

(Humphries, Sam, writer. Chang, Bernard, illustrator. The Untouchable: Chapter One: Hunter. Nightwing: Rebirth no. 35, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2018. pp. 17)

And the melancholy of the sunken city

(Humphries, Sam, writer. Jimenez, Phil; Campbell, Jamal, illustrator. The Untouchable: Chapter Five:Face Off. Nightwing: Rebirth no. 39, e-book  ed. DC Comics, 2018 pp. 05)

All of it is so specific that it makes Bludhaven feel alive. It gives Bludhaven an identity rather than keeping it a generic location.

Let’s take a closer look at the establishing shot of the sunken city and see how the page is laid out to emphasize the storytelling going on in the dialogue and enrich Bludhaven. There's something so visually poetic about that last panel. The intimacy between the Judge and Nightwing, the opulent throne atop a simple boat in a sunken, destroyed home. 

It feels a bit like a visual metaphor for Bludhaven and corruption. Bludhaven is thriving because of the casinos, but they are also corrupt. And yet, despite their rich aesthetic, they are built on top of a tragedy, of a city that was lost and had to rebuild itself, taking advantage of a corrupt system that devastates its citizens while also being the only thing keeping them from drowning. 

The lighting of the page is also so beautiful. Light coming in from above, appearing almost heavenly, and yet it makes the scene so still and lonely

During Dixon and Grayson’s runs, and during Taylor’s run, Bldhaven does not have an identity outside of Gotham and Nightwing. It is difficult to describe it without relying on those two factors. It is not impossible, of course, but those descriptions would be rather bare, relying on what one wishes Bludhaven could be rather than what is actually on the page.

In The Untouchable, however, Bludhaven can be described independent of Gotham and Nightwing. Yes, those elements are still crucial to its depiction, but rather than being all that there is to it, they serve to enhance what is already there. Dick’s interactions with people from Bludhaven further fleshes out the city while also demonstrating that they have their own lives outside of their meetings with Dick or Nightwing. Guppy, Svoboda, Lucy, Dick's clients at his gym... All of them are clear products of Bludhaven, they are affected by what happens in Bludhaven, and they interact with different parts of Bludhaven. Because they are characters with their own interiority, the reader really is able to feel the consequences of the Judge's actions. 

Yet, Taylor and Redondo both refuse to pay Bludhaven any of the attention it deserves. They do not even give it the respect of making it into Gotham-light. Instead, they opt for the generic, lazy, and morally simplistic depiction that is yet more proof of just how little thought they give to anything remotely related to Dick Grayson.

Bludhaven, as it exists in The Untouchable, was built on top of a corrupt foundation, and its systems are so intertwined with the rot that you can't neatly separate them. There's no easy answer to this, no solution without a victim. It adds some nice stakes to the story, creates constraints which Dick must creatively work around, and demonstrates how Nightwing’s fight is far larger than just The Judge. It illustrates how even if Dick catches this one guy, he still has so much more to do, creating a perfect comic status-quo where the hero can progress and make a difference without eliminating conflict sources for future stories.

Through the Judge, we also get to see Bludhaven’s history, and through this evolution, we also get to see just how much Humphrey cares about Bludhaven. I have yet to encounter another writer who has devoted so much care to Dick’s city. I have yet to encounter a writer who put so much effort into making this city feel alive. Gotham is beloved by many writers and fans alike, and The Untouchable showed that Bludhaven has the potential to be just as great if only it was given to a writer who cares enough to develop it. 

Needless to say, Taylor is not that writer.

(Taylor, Tom, writer. Redondo, Bruno, illustrator. Leaping into the Light Part 4. Nightwing: Rebirth. 81, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2021. pp 13)

While this may be wholesome, the truth is that by giving such a triumphant moment early on in the story, Taylor robbed his characters of any opportunity to change, and any opportunity for a well-earned pay off later. In turn, this robbed the story of its ability to engage with its themes by creating a very simple morality. Evil can be manifested in different ways and anyone is capable of it. Perhaps not all of us will be uppercase Evil, but we're all capable of the smallest acts of lowercase evil by letting our anger blind us to what is right, not helping others because we tell ourselves we have to survive, upholding unfair systems because they benefit us.

The city of Gotham does something similar. We have the evil of the rogues, but we also have the crime families, a myriad of corrupt institutions -- from the police department to the justice system to the politicians who are in the pockets of those on the top – and the ordinary citizens who have been disillusioned by the hardship they face. We have greed on a massive scale but also a small and personal one that is far more relatable, we have chaos of the Joker and we have more relatable pettiness, selfishness, apathy, and cruelty. 

Some of these play a larger role than others, their influence has a wider reach, but it is the different layers that makes Gotham feel so difficult to tackle. There’s a reason why Batman's origin story works best when it's just about a mugging gone wrong, and when Joe Chill is just a simple man who fired two shots in a dark alley because he wanted a pearl necklace. There's a reason why Bruce stays in Gotham rather than trying to save the entire world all the time. Batman, after all, is not about fighting the just grander Evil, but about bringing justice to everyone, even in what may be perceived to be a small scale. 

While I do not believe Batman: The Knight was perfect (and, indeed, I have a lot of problems with it and dislike Zdarsky’s current Batman run nearly as much as I dislike Taylor’s Nightwing), I do think that Zdarsky did a good job when having Ra’s Al Ghul confront Bruce on this matter. 

In #09, Ra’s challenges Bruce to work on a macro scale, and Bruce explores that idea before deciding he needs to work on a more personal level.

(Zdarsky, Chip, writer. Di Giandomenico, Carmine. The Knight Part 9. Batman: The Knight. 09, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2022. pp 13)

Bruce’s world did not fall apart because of a war or an alien invasion, but that did not mean his pain is invalid. There might be far more important things than catching a mob boss who orchestrated the murder of two circus acrobats, but that doesn’t mean that their lives did not matter or that their son does not deserve to see justice. One of the beautiful things about the detective stories of Batman and of Nightwing is that they treat everyone’s trauma with equal respect. Batman and Nightwing aren’t just about catching the bad guy, they are about giving the victim a chance to heal by offering them closure. 

You can also observe the dichotomy of these two evils in The Untouchable. The entire plot of The Untouchable is about the Judge using people’s desires to corrupt them, luring them into committing evil deeds. At the same time, the story does not condemn those who fell prey to the Judge’s promises. Instead, it portrays them as complex individuals, and this reaffirms the themes of corruption through desire and the necessity for forgiveness.

Lucy, for example, is not vilified for betraying Dick. She did the Judge’s bidding, but she is not a bad person. She is still Dick’s friend and cares deeply for him. And yet, her choices are not portrayed as excusable. The comic perfectly balanced having Lucy not be a bad guy for what she did while also making it clear that she was still in the wrong for accepting the Judge’s offer. She is not Evil but she made an evil choice and she needs to be held accountable for that. 

This plays into the idea that to Dick, people are not naturally Good nor naturally Evil. They just are who they are, they have the potential for both, and it's their choices that dictate their nature. 

(Humphries, Sam, writer. Chang, Bernard, illustrator. The Untouchable: Chapter Six: Deep Dive. Nightwing: Rebirth no. 40, e-book  ed. DC Comics, 2018. pp. 18)

And as mentioned previously, Grayson also played with such ideas when she introduced the character of Sophia into the story. 

Taylor flirts with similar ideas without ever committing to them. His Bludhaven supposedly has corrupt institutions, big men on top who oppress others in order to stay rich, but to lay every wrong and every sin in the city at Blockbuster’s feet is morally simplistic. It's flattening. Immature. It's, frankly, boring. It just doesn't work on a narrative level. Most importantly, it makes Nightwing's presence superfluous.

Once more, I must emphasize that I do not believe that one must incorporate a social commentary in the themes of one’s story. However, as Taylor's narrative seems to signal he wants to discuss these matters, I think it is only fair to point out how his actual writing is uninterested in examining the complications inherited in these subjects. Taylor wants those big, meaningful moments that claim to say something thematically important, yet he creates easy-to-take down strawman villains who can take the blame for everything while wrapping them in the trappings of social commentary. 

Nothing in Taylor's supporting characters, conflicts, villains, or city were created to challenge Dick in any way. Part of the reason why you can feel Bruce's genuine love for Gotham is that that city is always challenging him, always giving him a reason to give up, but Bruce never does. Again and again, Gotham shows itself as a place that perhaps should not be saved, that is too rotten, literally cursed to bring out the worst of humanity. It would be easier to burn the whole thing down and start new. 

But Bruce doesn’t do that. He still sees something in Gotham worth saving. No matter what he uncovers, Bruce won’t give up, and that makes us, the readers, root for Batman and root for Gotham.

Bludhaven should challenge Dick in a similar way. But in this run, it doesn't. Dick's assertion that the citizens of Bludhaven are good and there are only a few bad apples ruining it for everyone is never challenged. Dick is never asked to question his beliefs. When he decided that the solution to one of Bludhaven's biggest problems (homelessness) was just to create a shelter, Dick is never challenged for his savior mentality, he never faces push back from those above him or below, is never paralyzed by bureaucracy, never has to deal setbacks that force him to re-strategize. He's just... Proved right. And everything goes on smoothly. 

Taylor’s approach gives Dick no room to grow and no room to stand his ground. I can’t help but think how much more powerful Dick’s own belief in Bludhaven and its people would have been if, during that earlier scene when the tent city was in flames, no one came to help. Nightwing and Robin would have had to save everyone on their own, and Dick would be faced with the difficult to swallow possibility that maybe he’s wrong. Maybe the people of Bludhaven are too disillusioned to do good. Maybe Babs and Tim, both characters who are known for being pragmatic, would even tell him so. But he refuses to accept that. As he looks upon the octopus statue, Dick affirms  the resilience of the city and how it does not need to come at the cost of kindness. Bludhaven is worth saving, its people are worth saving, and Dick will continue to believe in them, even though he was just given a reason not to. 

Again, I must emphasize that it is fine if a person is not interested in writing a story about this. Not every superhero story needs to explore these real-world, complex themes. One of my personal favorite Batman stories (and one I believe should be required reading for any Batman fan) is Murderer/Fugitive. While there are certainly themes of forging of identity, the story is far more concerned with what the forging of one’s identity means in the specific context of Batman rather than that of the real world. That is not to say you couldn't do an analysis on identity about Murderer/Fugitive, but the work as a whole serves more as a commentary on Batman, and it is in conversation with the popular idea that "Bruce Wayne is the mask that Batman wears." 

And just because one wishes to engage with themes of class and economic inequality, it does mean one needs to tackle it directly. Again I must bring up the modern masterpiece that is Scott Snyder’s Court of Owls. That story beautifully uses the fantastical and noire elements of the Court and the creation of the Talons to engage with themes of wealth inequality and to explore Bruce’s complex relationship with Gotham. The secret cult, of superhuman assassins, and the murder mystery element provide enough distance between the real world issues and the story itself that Snyder has the creative freedom to play with his characters and narrative while the specificity allows him to dig deeper than he ever could should he have decided on going for a broad approach.

Taylor tries to ground his themes by using real-world issues, but he refuses to engage with what those real-world issues look like in, well, the real-world. He deals with them in the context of his morally simplified, perfect little society. As Braxis perfectly pointed out “When Dick starts a charity to help the homeless he never actually explains how that will be done, what causes homelessness, or what the homeless are asking for support.” (Braxi, Steve, “On Superman, Shootings, and the Reality of Superheroes” Comics Bookcase, September 2021)

Taylor’s Bludhaven demonstrates a frustratingly simplistic view on morality that prevents the story from engaging with these issues with the care they deserve. By not fleshing out the city, by denying Dick’s interactions with other characters, Taylor creates a world of simple morals. This means that rather than engaging with the progressive ideology he claims to care about he is simply creating the appearance  of social commentary and rich themes. This demonstrates that he’s not actually interested in the work required to make that work, only the prestige that comes from it.

[baileys-3]

Trust & Betrayal - New Chapter online

Lucy has her first day in North Hollywood and meets Mini Casanova. Chicken soup plays a role, as does Lord Huron. Check it out!

Sneak Peak:

"Hey, Lucy Chen. I'm Kilian, and it looks like we're going to be spending a lot of time together." Wait, what? Normally, she'd throw out a sharp yet polite comment to let him know she doesn't appreciate workplace flirting. But she's not really herself here. Well, she is, but she's in 'I want to meet and get to know everyone' mode. So, she extends her hand to Officer Perkins—she got his name from his badge, not him—and says, "Just Lucy. Sorry. Define spending a lot of time together?" Perkins grins, takes her hand, runs his thumb over the back—which she finds totally inappropriate—and pulls her slightly closer—which is just downright wrong. "You and I gonna ride together. And I have to say, I'm looking forward to it. I've heard so much about the famous Chen that I can't wait to see you in action. Only nobody mentioned that you are not only good at what are you doing but also fucking hot."

[fairytalefm]

❀ you’re not from around here, are you? i figured because you totally just missed PARK JIEUN walking by. don’t tell me you don’t know who SHE is? she kind of looks like GO MIN-SI and i could be wrong but i think that she might be TWENTY FIVE years old right now. she's been living in palmview for the last SIX MONTHS. and i don’t know if anyone has ever told her this before but she kind of reminds me of HANA SONG from OVERWATCH. if you stick around the town long enough you might catch her in action working as a VIDEO GAME STREAMER. you see this town isn’t really that big of a place, some folks like to call her THE GAMER of palmview! she took a liking to the name too after a while, go figure. oh crap, she must have heard me yapping. she's coming this way. i got to warn you though, rumor has it she can pretty SARCASTIC at times. i wouldn’t take it too seriously though, from the times i’ve spoken to her she seemed pretty CONFIDENT to me. we see each other all the time since she lives in that NUMBER 1A apartment beside me over in CORAL COVE. i better leave you to it. it was nice meeting you!

basics

name: park jieun.

alias(es): known online as jellycreature, it's not uncommon for jieun to answer to jelly, whether in her twitch chat or in person. then, it's commonly known by her fans that she has an english name, lucy, that she used for her time in the military, but it is extremely unlikely that jieun will answer to it.

age: twenty five.

career: former bomb squad officer for the us military, currently a video game variety streamer.

birthday: january 4th, 1999.

gender / pronouns: cis female, she / her.

sexuality: bisexual.

biography ( tw: death, war, bombs, trauma / ptsd )

jieun was born and raised in seattle, the only child of a military officer and his wife. it would be kind to say she was simply spoiled, when in reality all she had to do was imply she wanted something and it was hers. a daddy's girl through and through, her dad was her hero, and almost all the things she would come to love started out as hobbies of her dad's.

from an early age, jieun loved playing video games with her dad. it started out as a hobby he picked up after work, where jieun would sit beside him and watch, but by the time she was six years old, she was either joining him or playing on her own while he watched. it became their thing, each night they'd spend a few hours playing video games before dinner.

it was when jieun was twelve that her dad was sent overseas, and the first year after his deployment was fairly normal for jieun and her mom. the two grew closer than they had been before, with the missing piece of their family bringing them together. but around eighteen months after his deployment, they received the news that her father had been killed in action. the loss hit them both extremely hard, but between having her mom and her grandmother, as well as therapy, jieun was able to heal enough that the loss didn't affect her as bad as it originally had.

when she was fifteen, jieun began streaming minecraft, but as she continued, she started playing different games and started growing as a streamer. her mom's only rule for it was that she continue to do good in school, and she managed to keep her grades up enough for her mom to be happy with them.

by the time jieun was eighteen, she knew that she wanted to follow in her dad's footsteps and join the army. due to what happened to her dad, her mom was very much against the idea, but she was stubborn and set on it. so when she graduated from high school, she enlisted in the army just as her dad had.

despite being the standard gamer girl, jieun found that she was surprisingly capable when it came to the physicality of being in the army, and she made it through her basic training with ease. she was more competitive than anyone she'd ever met, and didn't take not being the best easily. so she aspired to become the best, in whatever area the army put her in. after she finished basic training, she was interested in learning how to defuse bombs, and it was something she felt was a good fit for her. despite the ego, the cockiness, she had genuinely just wanted to help people, to save people, and this was a way for her to do that.

her unit's deployment came three years into her military career. as much as she was nervous about going, she had a duty, and she wasn't going to let her unit down. things went fairly normal for a while, it was exactly how those in her unit who had been deployed before had told her it would be. until one day, about six months into their deployment, there was a threat of a bomb targeted at civilians. jieun was a member of the squad that was sent to defuse it, and she ended up being the one to begin working on it as the others stood guard. it wasn't the first time she had been the one taking apart a bomb, as they'd been on bomb squad missions fairly regularly during her time overseas, so it was going just as she had expected it to. except, whoever had built this one, they had done it differently, and when jieun cut the wire she had been accustomed to being the right wire, the bomb went off instead.

there wasn't much that jieun remembered about the initial moments after gaining her consciousness back. there was a lot of pain, and a lot of muffled shouting, but she couldn't really hear anything over the ringing in her ears. but when she saw the body of one of her squadmates, when she saw that he was gone, she couldn't begin to describe the guilt that began festering inside her. and when she found out another squadmate hadn't made it either, that guilt only increased tenfold.

the protective gear she had on had been jieun's saving grace, but it hadn't saved her completely. the ringing in her ears had only been the beginning, and eventually she discovered she'd lost most of her hearing in her left ear. a hearing aid would help her tremendously once she got back home, but there was nothing they could do about her broken leg except cast it up and keep her on bedrest until she was able to be sent home. by the time she was on a plane home, she was given an honorary discharge, instead of going to her apartment, she ended up staying with her mom once again until she was able to walk without crutches again, and even after then, she still needed her mom, so she stayed with her, and she began therapy to try and help her with the feeling of guilt that ate away at her still.

therapy only helped her so much, so it was no surprise to anyone who was close to her when she started streaming once again, now more popular than ever. between having something to once again put her time and energy into, and then the regular therapy sessions, she began go improve a little bit at a time.

it wasn't until jieun was twenty five that she felt ready to leave home once again, and that was how she ended up moving to palmview. some online friends had recommended the area to her, and with the money she made by streaming, it wasn't out of her budget, so she decided to make the move to florida. she still doesn't talk about what happened while she was overseas often, and it's kept her from getting close to people ever since. you wouldn't know that though, with how outgoing and friendly she can be.

[annalu86]

Lucy’s birthday

Now Tim couldn’t claim to have been planning the day for months, but he certainly had put more effort into organising Lucy’s upcoming birthday than he had put into anyone else’s for a very long time.

Firstly, months before the day itself, he had cashed in a couple of favours to ensure that both he and Lucy had the day off together. He’d also been sure to confirm that neither of them would be put on the early shift the following day, Tim’s eye for details ensuring no one had to be in bed before 8pm. Unless they wanted to.

Secondly, he’d thought about Lucy’s ideal day. Not a fancy, extravagant day, the kind of day that leaves you smiling and content as you drift off to sleep. Of course that meant starting the day off with a long hike with Kujo. He searched online for the best routes and hikes with incredible views. Closer to the day he’d put in an order at one of Lucy’s favourite bakeries. All they would have to do is swing past on their way out and pick up a box of all of Lucy’s favourite treats for the walk.

He had considered booking a table somewhere fancy for a late lunch, after their hike. But the thought of them getting back to his, showering and then sprawling out on the sofa, listening to true crime podcasts, picking at whatever there was in the fridge. Maybe she’d lay her head on his chest, he would play with her hair, maybe they’d nap. Probably Lucy would excitedly jab at him when she was sure they case was heading in the wrong direction, probably Lucy’s rants would drown out the narrator and they’d have to go back and listen to sections over and over, probably he’d love it either way.

Thirdly, he text Tamara. There was no way Lucy’s relaxing dream day wouldn’t include her best friend/roommate/daughter. The only person, besides him, that he could guarantee Lucy would actually want to spend time with on her birthday. He tasked Tamara with the final portion of the day, which restaurant would Lucy most like to visit for dinner.

He knew there was no point him asking. They ate out a lot, often after a long shift the last thing either of them wanted to do was cook. They had their favourites, their regular spots but he wanted to know what strange or exotic trend had emerged that Lucy just had to try.

He knew if he asked her where she wanted to try, Lucy would temper her answer to his less, adventurous tastes. Also with just over a month to her birthday, it would be a sure give away. But for Tamara, who had no chance of being able to afford a fancy restaurant, it was simply a conversation about a hypothetical meal. Tamara, of course came up trumps. One evening, when he was staying over at Lucy’s Tim knocked on Tamara’s door whilst Lucy was out picking up some sushi. Tamara was surprised to find an eager faced Tim when she opened the door. He excitedly informed her he had secured a table at Lucy’s preferred restaurant for 7:30pm. Did that work for her? Tamara had blinked at Tim, he asked again. Did she want picking up on their way through or would she meet them their? Did she think it would be better to bring Lucy back here at say 6 to get ready, so the two women could get ready together. Tamara had never been that much of a hugger, though she had definitely got more comfortable with it living with Lucy, but the urge to hug Tim was strong. She kept it in check, it would ultimately have made them both feel so uncomfortable! Tim could see in Tamara’s eyes just how much the gesture of including her had meant. They were a family now, with Lucy firmly at the centre.

With the day planned Tim turned to the gift. He’d bought her a necklace for Valentine’s Day, given their jobs he didn’t see much point giving her lots of jewellery she couldn’t wear most of the day. He loved her style, but his favourite thing was the range of fabrics and textures Lucy wore. Lucy was soft and fluffy, or smooth and silky, flowing and effortless. He unapologetically used her clothes as an excuse to touch her. To run his hand across the small of her back feeling the delicate wool beneath his fingers, or letting those fingers trail along her thigh feeling the silk of her skirt glide effortlessly underneath them. No, clothing he would leave for her to pick.

When he thought about what Lucy really wanted, he let his mind move in an even more selfish direction. Somehow, miraculously, against all odds, his gruffness and sharp edges, she wanted him. Time with him. Just being together, undisturbed by bomb threats, car chases, hostage situations and rogue helicopters. So he researches weekend trips and settles on a cabin in sequoia national park. No date yet in mind, he’ll consult Lucy herself on that one as he knows it’ll be harder to arrange. Tim thinks of the car ride, one hand on her knee as he drives, the windows down, fresh air peace and quiet. And each other.

Finally, Tim smiles to himself as he writes in her birthday card.

To Lucy

Happy Birthday

With all my love

Tim

[sugdenlovesdingle]

Here it FINALLY is, even though it's well and truly the 15th here, my @tarlos-secret-cupid valentines gift for @carlos-in-glasses

As usual time and my tendency to procrastinate aren't friends and it's way too damn late (or early) and I really needed to go to bed about... 5 hours ago... but I hope you like it!

It's a combination of one of the tropes you said you liked - Alternate first meeting and a pre-valentines date/first valentines day together.

Luisa gets her hands on Carlos' phone and decides to take matters into her own hands to fix her brother's love life.

Love online (AO3)

It wasn’t like Carlos hated spending time with his family, or even really minded. He liked most of his relatives just fine, especially his nieces and nephews and younger cousins. The problem was that all of them in one place at the same time was usually chaos and downright exhausting.

The kids always wanted him to play with them, while his mother and tías made it their mission to find out everything they could about his life.

Even his non-existent love life.

Still, he was nothing if not a good son, and he didn’t want to upset his mother by cancelling on her for Sunday dinner with the family, and definitely not one that doubled as her birthday party.

So he turned off his car’s engine and made himself get out and walk to the door.

He rang the doorbell and mentally braced himself for the usual madness that ensued whenever the family was together for any kind of occasion.

“There you finally are. Why are you dressed like that?” Luisa stepped aside after opening the door. “Are you moonlighting as a stripper?”

“Funny.” Carlos rolled his eyes at her and walked into the house. “I came straight from work. I didn’t want to drive home and then all the way back here.” He took off his jacket. “Where is mom?”

“In the kitchen, gossiping with tía Lucy and tía Carmen. And the rest of the family is…” she waved a hand around and Carlos nodded.

“I’ll go say hello to mom and then get changed.” He told her. “By the way, do you have a charger? My battery is almost gone and my charger is at home.”

“I think I have one in the car. I’ll get it and plug your phone in.” She held out her hand and Carlos reluctantly handed it over. “Don’t read my messages.” He warned her.

“Why? Got a secret boyfriend we’re not allowed to know about?”

“Yeah, right.” Carlos mumbled. “Just don’t go through my phone, ok? It’s called privacy. You might have heard of it.”

“Like you when you used to read my diary, you mean?”

“That was one time! I was seven!”

“One time I know about.”

“You used to read Ana’s diary all the time.”

“You have no proof of that.” Luisa said and slipped past him, out the door to her car.

Carlos sighed and went to greet his mother and tías.

“Hola mama. Happy birthday.” He said and leaned over to give her a hug and kiss her cheek. “Did you get my flowers?”

“Yes, they were delivered this morning, they’re beautiful mijo, thank you.” She noticed his uniform. “Did you come here from work? You work too hard cariño.”

“It’s fine mom, it was a slow day. And I’ll have a few days off from Tuesday.”

“Maybe you should talk to your father, let him talk to your captain to not make you work so hard.”

“I’m fine mom, I promise. Nobody needs to talk to anyone.” He insisted and let her fuss over him for a few minutes before making his way up to his childhood bedroom to change into his regular clothes.

By the time he made it back downstairs, his mom was distracted so he quickly grabbed himself something to eat and went in search of his sister, and more importantly, his phone.

He found her in the living room in her favourite armchair, scrolling through her phone.

Only when he took a closer look, he realised it wasn’t her own phone in her hand, but his.

“Hey, what are you doing? Give me my phone!” Carlos tried to grab his phone from his sister's hands but she quickly moved out of his reach.

“I will, when I'm done with it.” Luisa replied. “Don't you have any sexy pictures of yourself on this thing?”

“Why would I? And why do you care?”

“Nobody is going to be interested when you look like any random guy in the street.”

“Interested? What? What are you doing?”

“Wait, I think I have some cute pictures of you from tía Lucy's birthday party last summer.”

“Cute pictures? What do you need cute - oh no. No you’re not.” He tried to grab his phone again but she stuffed it in her bra and turned her attention to her own phone.

“Ana come here and look at this. What do you think of this one? Does this say boyfriend material?”

Ana came over and looked at her sister's phone screen.

“Are you trying to find him a boyfriend?” She turned to Carlos. “You can't find your own dates now?”

“I can but she stole my phone.”

“He needs to get laid.” Luisa explained. “He's way too wound up and stressed lately. A hot guy in his bed would take care of that.”

“And you're going to find him one?”

“I'm going to give him a push in the right direction. Come on, help me out, it's for a good cause.”

“To get Carlos a boyfriend?”

“Yes! If mom finds out he's seeing someone, she'll obsess over that and stop fussing over us. She'd stop making digs at your parenting style.”

Ana considered her sister's words for a second and then pulled out her own phone.

“I still have pictures from when we went to the waterpark with the kids. If we crop them out those pictures are definitely going to get him a guy.”

Carlos ran a hand through his hair and sat back on the sofa, wondering how this was his life.

“Oh that one is nice!” Luisa said, looking at Ana’s phone. “If you crop it like this, the guys will be fighting to get in his bed.”

“Have either of you considered that I might actually be seeing someone already?”

The two women paused what they were doing.

“Are you?” Ana asked.

“No he’s not. I ran into Iris a few days ago. He’s single. She told me.”

“Iris doesn’t know everything about me.” Carlos argued, wishing once again his sister didn’t know his best friend that well.

“Ok which one should I put as profile picture? The waterpark one?” Luisa asked Ana. “Or maybe one in uniform? Is that allowed?” She briefly turned to Carlos but didn’t wait for a reply.

“This one is nice. He’s actually smiling in it.” Ana said and sat down next to her sister. “We need to do something about that profile too. Just Carlos, 28, Austin, cop isn’t going to make anyone take an interest.”

The two of them spent the next half hour working their magic on Carlos’ profile until they were satisfied.

“Ok, so, what kind of guy are you looking for?” Ana asked. “Does he have to be Latino?”

Carlos shrugged.

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

Luisa frowned.

“What kind of answer is that?”

“I don’t know, Lu, I don’t really think about that. If I like a guy, I like him, but not because he is or isn’t Latino.”

“Fine.” She sighed and turned her attention back to Carlos’ phone. “Oh ok this guy is cute! Originally from DC but lives in Austin now. What do you think?” she showed him a picture of a fairly attractive guy who looked like he’d just stepped out of a tanning salon.

“He’s ok.” Carlos replied with a shrug even though he could tell neither of his sisters were actually listening to him.

“Oh he wants an open relationship. Are you ok with that?”

“Does it matter? You'll decide for me anyway.”

Luisa rolled her eyes at her brother and went back to swiping through the app.

“Oh look at this one!” she quickly flashed him the phone screen again. “He's cute! And he has a dog! You like dogs.”

“Hmm.”

“Oh he's from NYC. Wow. And he's a firefighter and paramedic.”

“Good for him.”

“Wait, do I swipe left or right for yes? Never mind, I found it. Ooh he's swiped on you too! He likes you hermanito!”

“Let me see.” Ana told her. “Oh he is cute. Nice eyes and kind to animals. What more do you want?”

“To actually get a say in anything to do with my own love life?”

“Is that his name? TK?” Ana asked.

“Yeah. Looks like it. Probably a nickname.” Luisa replied.

“Who goes by a nickname on a dating app?”

“Someone with something to hide. He’s probably married with three kids and a golden retriever.” Carlos commented.

“You don’t have to marry the guy, Carlitos. Just hook up with him once. Or twice if he’s good in bed.” Luisa said with a wink. “Oh he’s messaging you! He’s keen!”

“He’s messaging you more like.”

“Should I reply?”

“No, no you need to reply yourself.” Ana said to Carlos.

“I said hey back.” Luisa said, getting up and dropping Carlos’ phone in his lap. “Thank me in your wedding speech. Or name your first born after me.”

“I thought I didn’t have to marry him?”

“You don’t. But this guy is your type and I know you.”

“What does that even mean?”

“That you should probably talk to the guy.” Ana said, pointing at the phone in his lap, before getting up and following her sister into the kitchen.

Carlos reluctantly picked up the phone and unlocked it. He looked through the guy’s profile and had to admit he was cute. He had a nice smile and there was a hint of mischief in his bright green eyes.

And he’d be lying if the picture with the big fluffy Bernese Mountain dog wasn’t one of the cutest things he’d seen in a long time.

Suddenly he remembered Luisa had started a chat with him and he tapped out of the pictures and back to the conversation.

So you’re a cop?

Carlos read the line over and over, not sure how to reply. He wasn’t interested in satisfying the guy’s uniform kink, or get a lecture on why all cops are assholes.

 - Yeah. Is that a problem?

Not to me. I do have one question though.

- Have I ever shot anyone?

No. Do they let you take the handcuffs home with you? 😉😇

Carlos laughed and decided to keep talking to this TK guy. He told him about himself a little, and TK told him he’d only moved to Austin a few months ago and could do with someone to show him the best places to go in the city.

And I don’t just mean your bed. Though judging by your pictures, I wouldn’t hate that.

Carlos blushed a little but found he wouldn’t hate that either. In the end they decided to meet up for a drink that Wednesday on Carlos’ day off.

Which he was definitely not telling his sisters about.

He spent most of his Wednesday cleaning his house and his bedroom, and put clean sheets on the bed, even though he’d only changed them a few days ago. He didn’t want to assume, but it was in his nature to be prepared for anything.

Especially if that anything would turn out to involve TK in between his new clean sheets.

His phone buzzed in his pocket and when he checked the notification, he saw a new message from TK.

A picture of himself in front of a mirror in a bedroom with the caption What do you think?

He was wearing a black button down shirt with some kind of print on it and dark jeans. He looked great, yet all Carlos’ brain managed to come up with were three fire emojis.

Careful with those fires officer. You don’t want them getting out of control.

- It’s ok, I have a date with a fireman tonight. I’m sure he’ll keep me safe.

Carlos shook his head as he reread his last reply.

“Congratulations, that’s the worst reply anyone ever sent.” He mumbled to himself.

Though TK didn’t seem to mind. He sent him a laughing emoji and a firefighter one.

Firefighter. It sounds more badass.

- You run into fires for a living, you don’t need a word to make you more badass.

TK didn’t reply and Carlos decided to look through his own wardrobe to find something to wear. He’d just decided on a green t-shirt that was maybe a little too tight across the chest, when his phone buzzed again.

This time TK had sent him a short video of himself standing in front of the same mirror in the same bedroom, but undoing the buttons on his shirt with his free hand.

“One button? Or two? Or three? Or more?” the TK in the video asked and all Carlos could do was stare at the exposed skin.

 - Two is probably the limit. Or else we’ll never make it to the bar.

And that would be a bad thing?

- We’ve never even met. I could be an axe murderer!

Good thing I know how to handle an axe.

TK sent him another winking emoji and told him he’d see him in a few hours.

Carlos got to the bar early, and found a table close enough to the door so he’d see TK when he walked in, but hidden from view enough that he wouldn’t get stuck talking to someone from work if they’d happen to come in.

When TK arrived a little while later, Carlos’ mouth went dry at the sight of him. He’d looked good in the pictures and the video, but he was even better looking in person.

He looked like a model and Carlos felt severely underdressed.

“Hey, Carlos right?” TK walked up to him with a smile on his face and Carlos got up to greet him, letting TK pull him into a hug.

“Actually, I’m Raul, Carlos is my evil twin.” He joked and immediately scrunched up his face and shook his head. “Sorry.  I don’t know why I said that. That was my attempt at a joke. I’m not usually this much of an idiot.”

TK laughed and sat down at the table.

“It’s ok. You’re pretty cute, you’re forgiven.”

They talked for a while, sharing stories about their lives, jobs, families and friends, but the conversation soon turned flirty when TK noticed the mechanical bull on the other side of the bar.

“Have you ever ridden one of those?” he nodded at the bull.

“Once or twice. But I grew up on a ranch, I could ride a horse before I could ride a bike.”

“Really? So you’re a cowboy?”

“Yeah I suppose.” Carlos leaned over the table so TK would hear him without having to shout over the music. “I could teach you how it’s done.”

TK looked at him and the mischievous spark Carlos had seen in his profile pictures was back.

“Lead the way cowboy.”

Carlos managed to convince the guy operating the bull to forget about their one person at a time policy and let them ride together.

TK climbed on first and held out his hand for Carlos who wanted to climb on behind him, but the other man stopped him.

“I won’t know what to do if you sit behind me, will I?” TK said innocently. “You better sit on the other side.”

Carlos hesitated for a second but quickly climbed onto the bull when the next person in line yelled at him to get a move on.

And instead of facing the bull’s head, he sat facing TK.

“Hello cowboy.” TK grinned. Putting the hand that wasn’t holding onto the saddle on Carlos’ thigh.

“Hey.” Carlos replied, slipping an arm around TK’s waist, not bothering to hold onto the saddle.

“Ok, ready? 1… 2… 3…” the guy operating the bull said and pushed a button so it started moving.

Slowly at first, spinning around and bucking only a little.

“This isn’t so bad.” TK commented and Carlos laughed.

“It’s only just getting started.” He said and an unexpected movement from the bull pushed TK forward and had him grabbing Carlos’ hips with both hands for support. “Just go with the flow.” Carlos told him.

“Easy for you to say!” He protested but didn’t seem to mind when Carlos held him a little tighter.

“It’s all in the thighs. Just squeeze and let the rest of your body move with the bull.”

The bull started moving faster and bucking wilder, making TK all but move into Carlos’ lap, which neither of them minded in the slightest.

Only trying to hold onto both TK and make both of them stay on the bull proved to be too much for Carlos’ cowboy skills, and soon they were thrown off and ended up in a pile of limbs on the mats surrounding it.

The spinning bull had made them dizzy and they laughed as they tried to get up.

Carlos managed to get to his feet first, but when he held out a hand to pull TK up, the other man stumbled and ended up pulling them both down on the mat again.

TK had somehow ended up half on top of Carlos, but instead of trying to get up, he put his hands on Carlos’ face and kissed him.

Someone yelled at them to get a room but Carlos couldn’t even begin to care when TK was kissing him like that.

“I’ve been wanting to do that all night.” TK admitted when they broke the kiss.

“Me too.” Carlos replied, the dopey smile on his face matching the one on TK’s.

“Alright fellas, move along please. You aren’t the only ones wanting to have a go at taming this beast.” The bull operator said and looked like he was about three seconds away from dragging the both of them off the mats.

They got up and Carlos wanted to go back to their table but TK pulled him into a dark corner, pushed him against the wall, and kissed him again.

Kissed him in a way that wasn’t entirely suitable for a packed bar.

Especially not when his hands slipped under Carlos’ t-shirt and Carlos��� own hands had somehow undone two more of the buttons on TK’s shirt.

“Wait, wait, wait.” Carlos managed to clear his mind enough to speak when he felt TK’s hands on his belt.

“Don’t you want to?”

“I do… I really, really do… but… not in public.”

TK suddenly seemed to remember where they were and took a step back as he looked around.

“Right… sorry.” He looked embarrassed and Carlos swore his cheeks were turning red.

“My place is close.” He said and kissed TK again, hoping he understood everything Carlos was trying to tell him.

It turned out TK was really good at reading him and within half an hour, Carlos discovered that TK without any clothes and in his bed was by far his favourite version of him.

And he was actually really good at riding.

* 4 years later *

“Are you happy?” TK asked softly, wrapping his arms around his new husband’s waist and resting his chin on his shoulder.

Carlos smiled and turned his head slightly for a kiss.

“I’ve never been this happy in my life.”

TK moved to stand beside him.

“Me too. I never thought I’d meet the love of my life when I ended up here.”

“Hmm.” Carlos agreed, resting his head against TK’s. “I’m glad you ended up here and didn’t stay in New York.”

They watched their guests dance and laugh. TK’s dad was dancing with Ana, while Carlos’ mom was talking to TK’s mother and entertaining Jonah, and his dad in the middle of a serious conversation with Mateo.

Though Carlos had heard him laugh and call him chico a few times throughout the night.

“We should say a few words so we can get out of here and start our honeymoon.” TK said. “I’ll go drop Lou off with my dad.”

Carlos looked down at his husband’s hands and only then noticed the bearded dragon they’d bought a while ago, and TK had insisted be their ring bearer, looking more content that ever before.

“Wait, he’s part of the family, he should be here when we thank our guests.” Carlos said, grabbing his glass off the table and tapping it with a fork. “Can I have everyone’s attention please?”

“You can all go back to enjoying the free bar in a minute.” TK joked and some people laughed.

“My husband and I just want to thank you all for coming.” Carlos started and smiled at TK when a few of their friends jokingly booed him for being too cheesy. They hadn’t stopped referring to each other as husband ever since they’d said “I do” earlier that day.

“Really guys, it means a lot to us to be able to share our day with all of you. But we also want to get out of here and start fully enjoying the honeymoon suite.” TK said and laughed. “So shut up and listen.”

Carlos laughed.

“I second everything my husband just said. But I also want to give a special shout out to Luisa, since none of this would be happening if it wasn’t for my dear sister’s utter disregard for privacy.” Carlos said and paused for laughs. “She stole my phone and told me to thank her in my wedding speech or name my firstborn after her…” He paused and looked at TK holding Lou. “An actual child might be a while away… but our lizard child is proud to share a name with you, Lu. Only since he’s a boy, we decided to call him Louis instead.” He grinned and stroked Lou’s back with one finger. He wasn’t entirely comfortable around the animal, but TK adored him so he’d learn to love him too.

And he’d be damned if he was going to let a little phobia get in the way of getting one over on his sister.

“Wait… you named your lizard after me?!”

[tigerf00d]

Only a Whisper (Part I)

George Karim x Reader

Tags: no use of y/n, gender neutral reader, before Lucy! Pre-slash? 

Word Count: 1k 

Summary: Reader runs away from home after a lifetime of awful treatment to meet up with her friends George and Lockwood… more to come! 

A/N: My first request! I took some liberties, mostly because I have no concept of American life. As always, you can also find me on Ao3. Also, if anyone is interested on being put on a notify list (for this fic or others) let me know!

PART I <PART II> <PART III>

You checked your boarding pass for the umpteenth time. 

Only 20 minutes now, and you would be on your way to London. Free of your stupid boss and free of the stresses at home. 

When you were small, you’d been to England once, which was how you knew you had Talent, hearing the whispers outside the house you were staying at only to be told there wasn’t anyone outside. 

Not anyone who was living, anyway. 

And now, you’d be returning. You’d gotten certifications 1 through 4 online and managed to practice your rapier skills regularly. That wasn’t your strength, though; your strength was in communicating and, more specifically, in interpreting. It wasn’t a widespread Talent classification yet, and you were a listener on paper. 

It had been a long time since you’d communicated with any sort of Visitor, the first time being a Type One, the flickering image of a grubby boy who’d been around your age and was more confused than anything. 

His power wasn’t strong, so it’d taken longer to understand him and for him to understand you, but once you’d both gotten on each other’s page, you’d learnt his name, Lionel, that no, he hadn’t died very recently (about a century before the Problem was even a notion, you’d guess) and that he was bored. You’d told him about the agents, what they could do and how maybe if he helped you, you could help him pass on. That excited him. Being stuck for so long was lonely, and he was sick of it. 

The next night, Lionel had led you into the backyard and mimed digging next to the largest tree on the property, and when you had finally dug it up, whatever it was, you realised he’d figured out his source. 

In your hands were the remnants of a treehouse or some sort of cubby, the old wooden sign held tenderly in your hands as you read “Lionel’s Castle.” When you’d shown it to him, Lionel flickered, looking sad for a moment until you reminded him that now you had this, he was free. 

Ten minutes now until you were like Lionel. 

Ten minutes until you finally, finally were closer than ever to seeing George and Lockwood in person. And even though you were only going to assist them on cases and were more like a glorified receptionist, you couldn’t find it in yourself to care.

You had met George online two years ago, browsing forums on the Problem, how it may have started and why it hadn’t spread globally (yet, you mentally corrected). Then, he’d begrudgingly introduced you to Lockwood, and you’d all been thick as thieves ever since, as the head agent liked to put it, tactfully ignoring George’s murmured, “Certainly thick on your end.” 

You couldn’t wait. 

✧☽────•⋆°˖⋅✹⋅˖°⋆

The plane ride itself was boring a little nerve-wracking, but uneventful (and mercifully on time) nonetheless. That was fine. You weren’t excited because of the plane, but rather what happened after landing. George had promised he wouldn’t let Lockwood get too carried away, but even now, you weren’t sure how much he’d been able to persuade him.  

He wasn’t right at your gate, which was fine because you hadn’t forked over the stupid amount of money for in-flight wifi to tell him which gate it was. But you wanted to find them before finding your bag, so you decided to familiarise yourself with the airport. 

There were cafes littered about the place, and the ride had been long… it couldn’t hurt.

Never mind, that croissant was Far Too Much. Ok, time to focus then. 

You turned and walked towards the front of the airport, passing baggage claim and noting where it was for later. Maybe the boys were at the entrance? 

Lo and behold, adjacent to the service desk was a tall, pale boy and his scruffy compatriot that you’d come to care for deeply. As if on queue, Lockwood spotted you, lighting up and holding up a large sign. Walking towards them still, you were able to read the words through the mess of glitter glue more easily. 

“Does that say ‘Welcome home agent’?” 

“Well… yeah. I tried to talk him out of it. I mean, we should still have interviewed you firs–” 

“Ah, George, ever the optimist. Ignore him. He’s pretending he hasn’t been talking my ear off about you for the past week.” Lockwood smiled, and George’s expression shifted to something awkward and slightly unreadable before you pulled the both of them into a hug. 

“Thanks you two, seriously.” You regretfully pulled apart, gaze lingering on George’s face. Had he always been that cute? It was hard to tell through pixelly video calls that dropped out far too frequently. You dismissed the thought quickly, hoping you hadn’t watched him for too long, and clapped your hands, rubbing them against each other as a distraction. 

“Right, well, shall we go get my bags? I’m afraid the trip over has made me more tired than I realised,” You paused, feeling a cheeky smile growing. “And I need two strong men to help me carry them.” 

George rolled his eyes as Lockwood puffed up his chest, pretending to show off his muscles. You began walking to the baggage claim, and they took their time following you. 

“Come on, slowpokes! I’m pretty sure it was this way, and I was hoping someone would carry them.”

“Yes, I was hoping if we took long enough that someone would be you,” George added, a small smile revealing his humour, and you gasped in mock outrage. 

“And here I thought I was moving in with two gentlemen…” 

Lockwood looked horrified, playing along. “Whatever gave you the idea that there were two gentlemen?” 

George paused before his smile grew wider, “Yes, why on Earth would you think Lockwood was a gentleman?” 

You couldn’t stop the pleased laugh from bubbling up and out of you, having to stop walking to let it wash over you properly. Anthony’s expression shifted from horrified to speechless, and George’s private fondness was evident in his eyes. 

After a moment, you took a breath and nodded towards your bags, spinning around, waiting for you to collect them. “Come on then, let’s go home.” 

[juurensha]

2024 Fic Recap

Alright, it's New Year's Eve, so it's time for my fic recap for the year! According to Ao3, I have written 166,127 words this year. This obviously does not include the WIPs that I have written and not posted yet, but close enough, I suppose! (...so it may be closer to 200k this time I think)

Most popular fics by kudos this year: I’d love to take a nibble of love (or devour it whole), Lords of Zaun, what if i couldn't betray you (because you forced my hand), New Year, New (non-murderous) You, and it’s not a monsterfucker novel (or is it?)

New fandoms written for this year: Dungeon Meshi, Yu-Gi-Oh (...only on Ao3 because technically, I got my start with terrible self-insert YGO fic long ago), Arcane

(no fandom tags created this year)

Total new fics written: 12

Favorite fic written this year: So it's still on-going and going to drag into the next year, but given how much it has completely taken over my mind, Lords of Zaun. It's brutal and so, so, so long, but I get to take characters who have suffered so much and try to get them to a brighter place together, while along the way, building a criminal empire and creating an independent nation of Zaun :DDD Also I love writing exes getting back together; it's messy, it's complicated, but also, it's loving and warm sometimes. It's everything I wanted for Silco and Vander and the rest of their family, so yeah, this is going to be my favorite for the year.

Hardest fic to write: It's going to be you don’t want my Dark Gift (but you own my heart), mostly because I was sitting there being like, but how CAN Mihawk and Shanks have a happy ending if Mihawk is immortal while Shanks is not, so it was a lot of working through what that meant and why Shanks didn't want to be turned into a vampire in the first place. I have to say, watching Interview With a Vampire s2 helped a lot there.

Most self-indulgent fic written this year: Lords of Zaun is pretty self-indulgent, not going to lie, but the most self-indulgent is definitely it’s not a monsterfucker novel (or is it?) because I got to poke fun at all the monsterfucker novel tropes since I read A LOT OF THEM this year (sort of for this fic, sort of for fun. Some are terrible, some are great).

Most underrated fic this year: That's going to be you may not believe in the Heart of the Cards (but i believe in you). It was my multi-chapter fic for the year (before you know, Lords of Zaun just completely took over my brain), and I know the rivalshipping fandom is small, but I think I did a good job with this one! I really enjoyed getting to explore Yugi and Kaiba's relationship and how they could bring out the best in each other--while of course being totally ridiculous about their rivalry, and yes, Yugi's friends horrified at him dating Kaiba.

Original Work published this year: So not really an original work, but I am now the official translator for Guide On How to Fail at Online Dating by Jiang Zi Bei, and volume 1 of that from Haitang will be coming out next year!

Fic Plans for Next Year: I see reading my 2023 plans, that the only thing I accomplished was the YGO fic... But you know, that was a 51k labor of love, so I'm glad it got done! For next year, I'm definitely going to finish off Lords Of Zaun (whether there's a spinoff featuring a grown up Vi/Sevika....we shall have to see), and then there's my Fallout Lucy/The Ghoul fic that I already have 2 chapters ready to post (it was meant to be my multichapter for 2025, but obviously, Lords of Zaun got in the way). I also have a Marius/Eric fic for Long Live Evil with 10k written that I need to wrap up and post before the second book comes out. After all that.... I kind of want to write some Zeff/Garp from One Piece for TRUE old man yaoi? And spinning off that, there are still so many WIPs that I could keep writing. (Eventually too, I kind of want to do a modern AU with yoga instructor!Hawks/Dabi)

[daichiduskdrop]

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚⋆·˚ ༘ *𝙎𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙡 ⋆·˚ ༘ *ੈ✩‧₊˚

Chapter 23

Pairing: BTS Ot7 X fem! reader

Genre: A/B/O AU, Fluff, Angst, Strangers to lovers,

Warnings: slight implications of past abuse but it's truly minor

Words: 3804

Taglist:@thelilbutifulthings @ilovemoneymorethenmen @singukieee @cherrysainttt @felicityroth @mageprincess7 @lucis-noctiana @danielle143 @osakis-gf @girl-nahh @vintageoldfashion @neverthefirstchoice @juju-227592 @silentreadersthings @i-have-no-life-charlie @everyonehatesshani @iamkookiesforyou @dragons-flare @fangirl125reader @roseidol @frieschan @popcatx0 @liz67900 @exfolitae

Previous:

⋆·˚ ༘ *ੈ✩‧₊˚˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚˚ ✩‧₊˚⋆·˚ ༘ *

The pack members let you two sleep for quite some time. You both looked peaceful and content, with a few of the men lingering in occasionally to snap a photo or two of you.

Taehyung has already set the selfie you two took as his wallpaper. The picture is sweet, you were both smiling widely in the photo, with the alpha's cheek placed over your head, holding you close.

It was a sweet moment the alpha wanted to keep treasured, and so it was like a nice reminder, and he was already sure he would feel better just looking at the phone screen when he would have a hard time.

The alpha went to sleep quite early, already in bed at around 21 after rubbing his hands over your back for a few times, telling you quiet goodnights.

Jimin was watching a movie in his room, and Yoongi was helping Hobi download a new patch for the music programme they would usually use.

Jin and Namjoon were sitting at the kitchen table with a laptop in front of them. The two men have been looking up the different options for online classes and programmes you could take part in, reading through all the different ones.

They wanted you to have the option to travel with them. Sure, you wouldn't have to go if you weren't  interested, but even without a proper discussion, the pack could tell they were mostly on the same page.

Keeping you close and safe was a big priority for them, and while they loved their fans with all of their hearts, you were now a bit more important.

They would have to bring you to Hybe soon, as the NDA's you would have to sign are pretty much ready.

The management would have to discuss quite a few things with you too, and while they asked to see you on their own, the harsh no they received from Namjoon and Yoongi especially changed the plans for sure.

The pack loved their management and staff a lot, they were always so helpful and nice, but they could also be a bit of a pain from time to time.

The pack understood that you would probably have to go through a series of questions regarding your past and present, and they also understood that that would be a very sensitive topic for you.

They didn't want you to cry because someone dumb enough would go around asking about what your family-pack relationships were like or how many pups you would like to have with them.

They only meant well, but the alphas were worried about the harm some of the sensitive questions might do.

And so, after a few minutes of going back and forth on it, they all agreed that at least one of them would be present.

It was a little after 21 when Jungkook stirred from his sleep. The warmth and comfort around him were soft and sweet. He felt well rested but still pulled you closer to his body, wanting to cherish the moment for a little while longer.

You kept on going with your slumber, your breathing soft against the cotton t-shirt the alpha was wearing. Bending his neck a little, he smiled widely at you, laughing quietly while smooching you against himself more.

His hands gently ran over your hair, caressing your upper back occasionally. You both laid there like this for some time, your breathing slow and steady while the youngest packmember looked over you, gently comforting you to sleep well.

After about half an hour, Jin was the one to come to both of you. Noticing that Jungkook was in fact awake, he chuckled softly at your sleeping state.

„Come on, Koo, she can't skip dinner." He whispered gently, taking a seat next to you, his hand rubbing soft circles over your shoulder.

The youngest only hummed gently, wanting to keep you close like this for longer. Seokjin understood the need he felt and laughed loudly.

„You can sleep with her tonight, but you both need to eat first.” He said, the alpha's eyes set on your sleeping form. Jungkook smiled wider.

You didn't seem to mind him taking a nap with you at all, and with how quickly you rested against him, you might even let him rest with you tonight.

He would have to ask you first, but even then, the alpha felt excited for the upcoming night. „Honey bun, wake up." He whispered, the alpha's voice still heavy with sleep.

He ran his knuckles over your cheek, only having you stir a little. „Cub, come on, come eat your dinner, baby.” Jin whispered softly, his palm running up and down over your side.

You blinked your eyes open a little, still drowsy. The older alpha laughed softly at you, uncovering you from the blanket before he sneaked his hands under your arms.

Pulling you up, he sat you up gently, laughing even louder at your face. You were for sure ready to go back to bed right away. Cooing softly at you, Jungkook also sat up, his back resting against the couch.

„Bunny, baby, let's go eat now." He whispered, the bed hair you both sported thrown in both of your faces. His fingers gently tucked a lock behind your ear.

Yawning loudly, you let yourself be pulled up, the eldest gently leading you to the table already prepared for the two of you. The packalpha sat in his usual seat, typing in his notebook.

He looked up, smiling softly at the two of you, his arms outstretching to invite you closer. You hurried over to the alpha, squeezing yourself between his legs. He pulled you up on his lap, seating you sideways.

„Hm? Are you still tired, pup? You can go back to sleep soon; don't worry.” He whispered gently in your ear, his palms running over your arms in a soft caress.

You nodded a little. Your cheek rested up against his collarbone, the scent gland comfortingly close to your nose. Namjoon chuckled gently, his fingers combing through your hair, adjusting it a little so it wouldn't get in your way.

Patting your thigh, he ushered you to go eat now, his chin soft against your hair while he scented you before letting you go.

„Go eat now, baby, okay? We can cuddle later.” You whined gently but complied, slowly making your way to your chair. Jungkook sat next to you tonight. With a bowl of soft tofu stew before you both, it didn't take too long before you started to eat.

The packalpha got back to typing soon enough, responding to a few emails. Jin prepared the dishwasher before he got a phone call, going away to pick it up.

Neither Jungkook nor you spoke a lot; both of you were still sleep-ridden, and your tired eyes that seemed to close every five seconds only proved that.

You didn't finish a lot. While the flavours were intricate and tasty, the meal warmed up your tummy too, you never liked going straight to bed with a full stomach. The bellyache you would sometimes get was uncomfortable.

After you pushed the plate away from yourself, drinking from the tall glass of water, Namjoon looked up.

„Pup, baby, please eat a little bit more.” He said gently, and Jungkook was also looking up to see that not even half was eaten. And the portions the pack has been serving you are already much smaller than theirs. You whined softly, just wanting to go back to sleep.

„None of that kitten. Be a good girl now and listen to your alphas.” Yoongi murmured, his fingers combing through your hair gently while he moved the plate back closer to you.

You didn't even realise that he came in, seemingly only getting a cup of water himself. The alpha tutted softly at the whine that left you, ruffling your hair before walking away after seeing you take another bite.

It didn't take too long before you were fully done; there was only a little left. That satisfied both of them well enough, proud and happy with you. „Such a good girl, bunny." Jungkook whispered, his lips brushing over your temple while he went to take the plates away.

Turning back to you after turning on the dishwasher, the man smiled at how cute you looked. Sitting on the chair with your eyes closing and opening slowly, he felt you tug at his heart strings once again.

„Do you want to sleep in my bed tonight, baby?" He asked, his voice not louder than a whisper. You looked up, seemingly thinking over it for a few seconds, before you nodded a little bit. You didn't mind.

With how well and deeply you slept during the longer nap, you would definitely not mind doing so again. The alpha smiled widely, his teeth visible.

„Sleep tight, my pup. Come to alpha if you need anything, okay? Tomorrow we will have to go to Hybe, but don't worry, baby, we will be there the whole time, hm?” The packalpha said, his hands rubbing over your arms gently.

You didn't truly process much of his words, yawning instead as you took a hold of Jungkook's hand, the man leading you upstairs to his own room.

Namjoon smiled softly, going back to the article he was reading while you both got out of his sight.

Jungkook's room was to the very right of the hall. He opened the doors for you, entering first while your hand still grasped his closely. You didn't really get to look too much around the room; you were too tired to really notice any of the details.

His sheets were a comforting charcoal colour, just like the ones he had lent you first. He had only a few blankets lying around, and the whole room was painted dark.

With a few game characters and action figures standing neatly on a few shelves next to his giant set-up, the room looked quite nice. The curtains were drawn close, ensuring no light entry. 

Rubbing your eye a little bit, you took a seat on the mattress, the alpha running his fingers through your hair while he stood next to you.

„Baby I already told you not to do that. It's not healthy." You hummed in response, blinking up at the man. You didn't do much until a few seconds, choosing to wrap your arms around his waist, hugging him close.

Jungkook chuckled softly, surprised by the display of pure affection so suddenly, but his own hands soon wrapped around your back, holding you close to himself.

„Thank you, Oppa... for ta-taking care of me." You whispered, your cheek resting against his stomach. The alpha smiled softly to himself, caressing your back.

„Bunny, you don't have to thank me for that, okay? You're okay. Do you want to shower now or in the morning?” He gently asked, kneeling back down to look at you.

The small tears that sprung up in your eyes made him coo loudly. You realised how nice they all have been to you the whole time—not taking advantage of you during either of your omega drops, feeding you, keeping you warm, buying you new things, and spoiling you with hugs and kisses-

It all dropped on you. You didn't feel so good in a long while, and the sudden change in your life still felt a little surreal. But good nonetheless. You were happy.

And you weren't happy for a long time.

Your eyes watered, and the youngest panicked a little. Pulling you close to his chest right away, your face was soon tucked away under his chin.

„Honey, don't cry, no... It's okay, you're okay. Alpha got you, hm? I'm here now, baby; you'll be okay.” He whispered near your ear, his palms rubbing over your back and hair, gently soothing you.

You didn't start fully sobbing or crying. You only felt sorry for yourself, for the past you held and went through, and for how little affection and love you ever received.

Pulling away a little to check on you, he cooed loudly, his chin rubbing over the top of your head to calm you down. You wiped your eyes clumsily, sniffing a little.

Jungkook watched you with soft eyes, carefully looking over you as if you would break at any sudden movements.

„M-Morning please...” You whispered, really just ready to go to sleep. You had a long day. He nodded right away, softly pecking your temple again.

„Okay babybun. Do you want to change in the bathroom? So you can brush your teeth right away?” His knuckles went over your cheek again, gentle with his voice, even when he himself was ready to go back to bed.

You nodded a little, the alpha pulling you back up. Shuffling over to the bathroom doors, you opened them—only to realise you had your new pyjamas in your room.

The young man was already a step ahead, standing in the middle of his own walk-in closet. Picking up a simple dark blue hoodie with a Nike logo on it, he also grabbed a white t-shirt, carrying them out.

„Here baby. You can wear alphas clothes for sleeping, hm?” He whispered, the small smirk barely visible with how wide his smile was. Jungkook noticed how your cheeks flared up a little, making you smile even bigger.

You thanked him softly, placing the clothes on the counter. After giving you a new toothbrush, the alpha now deemed it yours for whenever you would go to his room, you closed the doors.

Not wasting much time, you changed into the much more comfortable clothes provided for you, the t-shirt and hoodie reaching the middle thigh.

You brushed your teeth, making sure to not look too much into the mirror—you for sure looked completely wrecked up, and so you skimmed over it, soon going back to the room.

The alpha was on his phone in the meantime, but looked up after he heard the doors open. Chuckling softly, he couldn't help but coo at you. Your hands were completely hidden by the sleeves, and you looked adorable.

„Aigoo! Bunny, you are adorable. Come here, baby.” He smiled widely, his hands resting against your waist, pulling you close. You chewed a little on the sleeve, your cheeks heated up again.

After a few seconds of just keeping you close to himself, Jungkook stood up again, helping you climb into the bed. Tucking you in closely, he smiled gently at how quickly your eyes started to close.

His nightstand lamp casted a soft, warm glow on the room as he wrapped the few blankets close to you. After he deemed it toasty enough, the alpha quickly walked to the bathroom himself.

They were all mostly used to sleeping pretty much only in their underwear, but with you around, they have been making sure you wouldn't get startled if you went to their room during the night for whatever reason, and so they have all been dressing more fully.

After brushing his teeth himself, he came from the bright bathroom with a pair of loose sweats and a thin t-shirt on. Seeing how curled up you were already, he couldn't help but softly coo at you again.

The alpha made a quick round around the room, checking the walk-in closet and closing all the doors, making sure nothing was left open. After he looked from the window for a good ten seconds and didn't notice anything abnormal, the man turned on the heater and closed the curtains.

Climbing in the bed carefully, Jungkook made sure to not wake you up; your sleepy state was taking over. Pulling you to his chest once again, he turned off all the lights, letting you rest against his chest.

Sighing out gently, he felt content with having you in his arms. After kissing your head sweetly, he too closed his eyes, breathing calmly and letting sleep take over.

The night was calm; nothing happened, so the whole pack rested well tonight.

Jin was the first to wake up; his normal alarm set at 6:30, having him get up early as usual. He didn't take too long to get ready, instead choosing to start the breakfast for all of you.

Before he went to do so, he quietly walked into the youngest's room, wanting to check up on you before going downstairs.

The room was filled with warmth, and the air was toasty and soft. In the middle of the bed was a giant lump you two were hiding under, the covers almost fully going over your head.

Jin didn't walk in, mostly because he was worried about Jungkook waking up abruptly after smelling someone else in the room. He didn't want to startle you especially with how sweet you both looked—your head resting against the alpha's chest, the heartbeat calming you in your sleep.

And so he only smiled softly, choosing to make the yummiest breakfast he could ever do, realising that you would probably have a hard time waking up.

He wasn't sure what your all-time favourite food was to have for breakfast, but since they hadn't had pancakes in quite a while, he decided that sweet food can never go wrong for you.

Plus, if Namjoon or Yoongi wanted to eat something more filling, there was still a bit of leftovers from their last meals.

And so the alpha started cooking, preparing the batter quickly. He didn't get to make a lot of western cousine on many occasions.

When the pack went to The States quite some time ago, the eldest deemed the fluffy pancakes much tastier over the more flatter type, reminding him more of a crèpe.

While he was frying the simple meal, he made sure to keep in mind the many different options possible to have. Hobi, who got up soon after the packalpha, helped him fry up some bacon.

With Namjoon drinking his own coffee while reading a book he still didn't get to finish at the dining table, more and more of the packmembers started to come back down—and surprisingly, even you and Jungkook.

After smelling the soft aroma you brought, the packmembers all looked up, seeing you get gently carried by the youngest alpha downstairs. Placing you in your usual chair, the alphas could only coo at your state.

You looked like you could sleep for another whole day, soft and drowsy still. Jin also recognised the clothes you were wearing, the laundry he would sometimes have to do for a few of his packmembers coming in handy.

And even if he wouldn't, considering how well-scented you were by the youngest, it wouldn't be hard to guess to whom the clothes belonged.

„Babycheeks, you okay?” Taehyung asked, looking over your face for a few seconds. He was smiling widely, content and happy with how well you slept, but still, with how long you rested yesterday and today again, he felt light worry creeping up on him.

To be truthful, he wasn't the only one a little bit startled and worried about how long you had been sleeping, wanting to make sure you weren't sick.

You nodded tiredly, thanking Jimin when he slid a plate of a few stacked-up pancakes to you.

Crouching next to your chair, the alpha's hand rested on your knee, rubbing a few gentle circles. Tender with his affection, the sweet man smiled gently at you.

„What toppings do you want to have, my princess?” You looked over the table, the chocolate syrup catching your eye. You reached for it, and the man gently took it for you.

„What a great choice, precious,” he whispered, his fingers combing over your hair as he drizzled a bunch over the top. You smiled yourself, your head resting against his forearm for a few seconds before you pulled away.

You were the first to get the breakfast, the eldest alpha was quick to swat anyone's hands away if they tried to reach for the stacked-up, freshly finished food. Shooing them away with the simple words: It's for the cub; wait for the next ones. 

You went to eat, reaching for the utensils, only to be unable to. The hoodie sleeves got in the way, and the blue fabric floated over your fingers.

Before you had the time to ruffle it up at your wrist, long fingers had already started doing it for you. Folding the fleece over itself so it wouldn't be uncomfortable and go undone, Yoongi made quick work of helping you.

„There you go, Kitty. Eat up now, okay?” The alpha let his lips linger on your temple for a second or two, breathing in your soft scent.

And so, after you dug in, the alphas watched over you for a few seconds, making sure everything was okay. Soon after, everyone had their own plate ready, and you all got to enjoy your breakfast together, filled with comfort and contentment.

„Did you sleep well, pup?” Namjoon broke the silence soon after, waiting until you finished your bite for you to answer. His eyes fell gently and warmly on your form, like a soft caress.

You already had them wrapped up around your little finger.

„Mhm, it was nice." You mumbled, smiling softly. Jungkook could only preene at the moment, so glad you enjoyed your time with him.

Puffing his chest out slightly, he seemed to light up with how bright and happy the alpha looked. He was very proud of himself.

„Thats good. I was worried that you would wake up, but I'm glad you slept well with Kookie, princess.” Jimin said, drinking his sweetened coffee.

You felt your cheeks warm up a little, but tried to brush it off, avoiding their eyes and busying yourself with your plate instead.

It didn't take you long to finish, thanking the alphas for the meal as you placed the plate away. Namjoon also finished his breakfast not too long ago, standing up.

Taking your hand in his, he slowly led you to the couch, taking a seat first. You went to sit next to him, but before you could, the packalpha had already pulled you onto his lap.

Gently manoeuvring you so your legs wrapped up around his waist and hips, the alpha tucked you closely against his chest.

Holding you tight, the man's chin ran over the top of your head a few times, his nose occasionally touching the soft crook of your neck.

Your own face was buried right against his scent gland too, the naturally heavy and comforting scent having you go completely lax against the alpha.

„That's right, babypup. Alpha got you. Alpha will keep you safe, sweetheart; don't you worry that cute little head about a thing. Alpha will take care of everything, sweet pup.”

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A/N: Hi everyone! I just wanted to drop in to say a giant thank you. This story has been getting a lot of support and I'm so glad that it comforts so many of you. Thank you for being yourself, lots of love ♥️❄️🪽

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