#curse my indecisive brain

[nin-twst]

ALSO i was thinking of doing something for halloween but im being indecisive as normal asldkfhaskdljfh

[gatorgrumbles]

Come at me scrublord I'm ripped -Frieza at some point probably

[chipsncookies]

Comic) Something i imagined would happen later in the series

I think it'd be interesting if Amethio came back and sided with Liko etc.

But he still act like he doesn't care, while getting revenge on Spinel 🤭 petty Amethio 💯

And bonus extra scrapped panel, this was cut because it doesn't flow with the rest of the story, but the aet turned out good imo

Maybe he's telling her to hold tight because his corviknight is not used to carrying two people 🐦‍⬛

[universalcarnival]

Hhh I keep forgetting to do things here

[maxdurden]

going to explode from so-full-of-thoughts-about-ocs-that-no-one-knows-or-gives-a-shit-about disease :/ life is so cruel

[raitonsfw]

𝓈𝓎𝓃𝑜𝓅𝓈𝒾𝓈: | 1 | Gojo wanted to make you a mommy more than anything in the world... and he was fucking determined. | 2 | You couldn't even begin to fathom the feeling of Gojo's blindfold shielding you from existence, his hand tracing up your spine and you knew he wasn't going to make this easy for you.

warnings: 18+ mdni, smut, fem!reader... | 1 | breeding kink, husband!gojo, positions (doggy style, missionary, over his shoulders), many creampies, dirty talk, praising, begging, slight fingering, body worship, p in v intercourse (obvi), rough sex, feral!gojo, talks of having his children, petnames (mama, babe) lord i have sinned cuz this downright filthy... | 2 | blindfolded reader, bondage, doggy style, fingering, p in v intercourse, dirty talk, teasing, cockdrunk!reader, rough sex, praising, pet names (baby, sweetheart, princess, good girl), mentions of riding and switching positions.

a/n: | 1 | i was posessed writing this one, i swear- wc: 600ish. | 2 | i think i'll make this thirst a staple, think we need to see more of reader wearing his blindfold... wc: 600ish. v-day list | m.list

thirst count: 2

divider credit: @hitobaby & @firefly-graphics

| 1 |

“So good for me… yeah that’s it, mama.” Gojo praised, patting the side of your leg with oomph as you whimpered out his name. He had your legs high in the air, over the mounds of his broad shoulders and you could barely see straight, the entirety of your brain mush as he drilled into you– his cock ramming up against your cervix every time he managed a deep thrust. 

Which was every time, mind you.

Gojo had you in so many positions already; doggy had by far been the best for you, your moans muffled by the sheets you were thrown against and you arched your back through every thrust. It was heaven sent, you felt as his hands groped at your thighs, your waist, your ass. But he was indecisive– that fucker, and he wanted to see your face as he shot his third load into you so he flipped you over. His other two had dripped out of you and he cursed under his breath when he noticed, his fingers trying to plug it back up into you. 

“Fuck…! –got my dick in a chokehold babe...” He groaned out, his voice breaking at the end of it and you tilted your head back into the feather of the pillows beneath you. He was being absolutely ruthless with you and you couldn’t help but clench around him every time he plunged into you roughly– it made him feral, his bright eyes wide with desire.

“Your body’s so fucking perfect–” He breathed out as your hips started to meet with his own, his eyes rolling back slightly and his love laced words slipped off his tongue with ease. Your breasts bounced prettily on your chest and your back had arched back up towards him, your tummy poking out slightly– which fed his urges. “Need you carrying my kid… Gotta see how sexy you’d look– how fucking gorgeous…”

Your mind short circuited, practically screaming out for him to breed you because, holy fuck that’s all you ever wanted in your lifetime– a kid, his kid. You wanted nothing more than to carry his child, a bond so strong no one would ever threaten to break it and you cried out in ecstasy as he glided his tongue against yours. He swallowed your pleads, rutting into you with pure purpose now and all you wanted him to do was fill you up– again and again and–

“God yes– you wanna have my children, hm…?” Gojo teased in between thrusts, your body trembling as your orgasm crept up your spine. “Can’t get it out of your head huh, with your pussy squeezing me like a vice– shit…! I’ll make you a mama if you ask nicely.”

“Please, Satoru..! Need it–” You babbled, too worked up to care about anything else– you needed his cum painting your cervix white, nothing could sway you out of this now as you yearned out his name over and over. 

“That’s right, beg for it.” 

And you did, with utmost obedience. Your vision became fuzzy, tiny bursts of color surrounding it as you felt your release harrowing through your body. Gojo’s thrusts faltered, stalled within you and a deep groan filled your ear as he pressed down onto you– trying to bury himself inside of you as he came. He held you against him with his moans panting out against your neck as he lazily rolled his hips into you, fucking his cum as deep as it could go. 

“T-Think I’ll stay inside you for a while..wouldn’t want this batch dripping out of you too.” He muttered into your skin as he caught his breath, planting kisses down towards your collarbone. A broad hand laid against your tummy as you reveled in his touch, relaxing into the feeling of being close and full– so full still it made you shiver with anticipation because…

“Think she’ll take after her momma?” 

| 2 |

You wished you had the dexterity of his six eyes; you couldn’t see shit through his blindfold as you zeroed in on the shifting behind you against the bed.

Gojo had you pinned, your wrists tied delicately together as your as tilted up against his pelvis. His hands ran down your thighs, spreading them apart with a simple motion and you could already feel the cold air against your exposed cunt. It wasn’t the best position for you– you wanted to see Gojo, you longed for his beauty inside and out. But at the same time, this thrilled you immensely. 

The thought of his blindfold holding you hostage and maybe one of his old ones tied against your wrist – you couldn’t tell – but it was intoxicating to say the least. That he’d go to the lengths of letting you wear it, letting you wear something so sacred to him, to the abundance of his entirety. At that moment, you felt his fingers swipe through your arousal and you whined out in frustration. 

“Patience, baby. Don’t gotta wait too long– I got you.” Gojo hummed, plunging two fingers in simultaneously and you keened into it. “Arch some more for me– let me see that pretty pussy, hm?”

And you did the best you could, fucking yourself back on his fingers in the process; you were pleased with yourself when you heard his breath hitch behind you. And the precious sound of his clothes shuffling around his knees. God, you were so drunk for his cock– your entire cunt was dripping for it, messing the sides of your thighs. 

You whined out again, not realizing how close he was to you. You jumped slightly at the sound of his voice against the shell of your ear. “You’re not very patient. Here, this feel better?” Gojo pressed the crown of his cock against your entrance and a sharp gasp fell from your lips, mixing with his own groan. “Ah– Of course it does... Ass up, sweetheart.”

His hands gripped the sides of your waist, positioning himself at just the right angle to fuck into you. Gojo didn’t give you a chance to breathe, to even slide yourself wider on the bed to take him– he just fucking sunk right in with no remorse and hoped you wouldn’t break underneath him. As he stretched you out, you couldn’t help but moan out his name and clench around him as he bottomed out. 

“That’s it, princess. Go on, take my cock.” He huffed out, thrusting into you roughly and you laxed from the pleasure that coursed through your pussy as his cock dragged deliciously against the warmth of your walls. He filled you up so nicely in this position and it took everything in him to not just manhandle you– to not just straight up hold you against him and rut into you. 

You could hear nothing but his harsh pants and the wet squelching of your cunt being abused and it fucking turned you on more than it should’ve– his blindfold brought so much more of your other senses that it nearly drove you wild each time his hips snapped into you. His hands roamed each and every crevice of your skin as he leaned over you, pressing his chest flush with your back. 

“Such a good girl… sucks you can’t see me, huh? Betcha reallly want to.” Gojo panted in your ear, kissing behind it with a quiet groan overtaking him when you inadvertently squeezed around him– his voice just caught you so off guard, your senses totally obscured and you couldn’t help it. 

“Next time, we can switch– you’ll ride me while I’m tied up, yeah? I’ll even close my eyes for you, level the playing field a bit…”

[takamimami]

100 followers! Well done! Could I request „I want to ruin you“ with jealous!kid? f!reader 😊💕

Hiya anon! Thank you for your request :3 jealous kidd makes my brain go fuzzy hehe. Hope you enjoy!! :3

Jealous!Kidd x F!Reader - NSFW - “I want to ruin you.” STORY UNDER THE CUT - MINORS/AGELESS BLOGS DNI 🔞 CW: SMUT; jealous kidd is its own trigger warning, rough sex, hand necklace, a kidd has a dirty mouth, begging, kidd calls you 'angel' --- word count 1.6k

Kidd was sitting on a barrel on the shore of Tokage port when you spotted him, his arms crossed over his chest while he barked orders to his crew as they loaded supplies onto the Victoria Punk. His eyes locked onto your frame as you approached, scoffing to himself as he saw Trafalgar Law on your heels. 

“How are you healing up?” you ask gingerly, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder - to which he grunts and brushes off.

“Fine,” he says curtly, eyes flicking between you and the Supernova behind you. Law only smirks as he steps into your line of sight, rolling his eyes at Kidd before turning his attention back to you. 

“My offer still stands, Y/N-ya,” he drawls, “We set sail first thing in the morning, I’ll be waiting for you on the ship.”

“You’re joining his crew!?” Kidd asks, his eyes flicking over to Law, “You just couldn’t resist begging her to come with you, could you?” 

Law crosses his arms, chuckling lightly while keeping his head low, “I did no such thing, if anything, she was the one begging for it.”

Kidd doesn’t miss the subtle wink Law offers you before striding off, not acknowledging the anger of his rival as he disappears towards the Polar Tang.

You watch him go, feeling the tension in the air thicken as Kidd’s eyes stare holes into the back of your head. You knew Law had only mentioned his ‘offer’ in front of Kidd to wrile him up, and as you look back over your shoulder at him you are positive that Law was successful in doing so.

“You asked him to join his crew?!”

You flinch at the volume of Kidd’s voice, head darting around to check and see if his outburst had drawn any unnecessary attention your way.

“I…. I didn’t ask him, but I told him I wanted to leave this island,” you answer honestly, noting the way your indecision causes Kidd’s face to drop into a scowl.

“So you’re considering it?”

You nod your head, trying your best not to notice the look of disappointment as Kidd crosses his arms again, shifting in his seat to call over his shoulder towards his crew.

“Hurry up, and get our girl loaded up! I want to be ready to set sail by first light!”

You hear one of the pirates aboard the ship yell back something about Kidd helping, to which he grumbles and curses under his breath before turning back to you.

He does his best to keep up his signature scowl, but his eyes soften ever so slightly when they meet yours again.

“Well, just know that the next time we meet, we’ll be enemies.”

His threat hangs heavy in the air, and you grimace at the idea of going head-to-head against Kidd’s crew if you did in fact join the Heart Pirates. 

What Kidd didn’t know, is that you hadn’t actually been considering Law’s offer - no, you actually were hoping that Law’s taunt would have made Kidd extend his own offer your way. But alas, the stubborn man before you insisted on keeping his pride intact, so you now had to figure out how to get him to let down those walls once again.

Peering around to ensure no one was within earshot, you walk over to Kidd, slinging a leg over his and taking a seat in his lap - his only reaction a low grunt as his brow cocked at you curiously.

“Is that what you want, Captain Kidd? You want to be my enemy?”

Kidd lets out a low laugh, a small chuckle that sends goosebumps up your arms as he wraps his flesh arm around your waist, pulling you closer to him as he drops his face to yours.

“No, angel, that’s not what I want, at all.”

You maintain his heated glare, your noses only centimeters apart as you match his grin.

“What do you want, then?”

You swore you saw Kidd’s eyes glaze over, almost as if his mind left him for a moment as he pondered your question. He remained staring at you, eyes unflinching as he peered into yours as if he could see past them and into your mind, trying his best to figure out what answer you wanted him to say.

He leans forward further, bringing his lips to your ear and speaking softly - a secret for you alone to hear.

“I want to ruin you.”

The words hung in the air, heavy with innuendo as you tried to pull back from him. You’re met with resistance as he holds you in place, his tongue flicking out and grazing over your ear lobe before he continues.

“I want to take you back to my cabin and make sure that you remember every inch of me - make sure you know that no man will ever be able to compare to me.”

You shamelessly feel your body press into him as he holds you, a damp heat pooling between your legs at the words falling from his lips.

“I want to own you; your body, your mind, your heart, all of it. I want to be the only thing that stays on your mind no matter how far apart we are. No matter who’s between your legs - I want you to only be able to think of me. 

Kidd stands with you in his arms, your legs instinctively wrapping around his waist as his long and purposeful strides carry the two of you up the gangway and down below the deck of his ship. Kidd remains quiet as he makes his way to his cabin, your heartbeat accelerating from the anticipation of what was awaiting you behind its door.

Every movement Kidd makes once he’s inside the room is rough, he slams the door shut behind him before tossing you onto the bed, your body immediately trapped under his hulking frame a split second later. 

His lips crash into yours in a bruising kiss, his teeth sinking into your bottom lip as he uses his knee to spread your legs open before him. You part your lips and he immediately slips in his tongue, claiming your mouth as he brings his hand up and wraps it around your neck. You moan into the kiss and Kidd grins, his metal arm reaching down to tug at your bottoms. You reciprocate the action and fumble with Kidd’s belt, both of you struggling to rid each other of your clothes due to how closely Kidd was pressed to you. 

You finally feel his hand roam over your skin, fingers tweaking a nipple between his thick fingers before drifting down lower. He hisses as he feels your arousal coat his fingers, and he slips a finger inside you hastily as your hips buck into his hand.

“Still thinking about joining Trafalgar’s lot, angel?”

Your eyes shoot open as he curls another finger inside of you, the stretch from his fingers pulling a throaty moan from your chest. You grab at his shoulders as he pulls his fingers from you and sinks his hips down to yours, running the tip of his cock through your folds tantalizingly as he awaits your reply. You whine in response, and Kidd kisses his teeth as he ducks his head into the side of your neck.

“Use your words,” he growls, and you feel your back arch as he presses the tip of himself inside you, unable to restrain himself anymore.

“I…. I d-don’t know,” you stutter, some sick part of you trying to provoke him even further as he snaps his hips into you harshly, bullying himself all the way inside of you.

“Wrong answer.”

His next few thrusts are rough, his grip on your hip surely leaving a mark as he holds you in place below him - the sound of skin slapping filling the air along with your moans.

You smile wickedly at the sensation, the look in your eyes only goading him on as he fucks into you mercilessly.

“You jealous?” you ask breathlessly, his eyes darkening as he brings his hand back up to lace around your neck again. He stills his hips, eyes racking over your body hungrily as he takes in the sight of you at his mercy.

You whine as Kidd pulls out from you completely, rutting his hips against your soaking wet cunt harshly as you groan in protest. He slams himself back into you before pulling all the way out again, waiting a few seconds before bottoming out inside you again, the tip of his cock pressing against your cervix.

“Kidd p-please,” you whimper, and he laughs as you try bucking your hips back into him. “Please don’t stop.”

Kidd growls at your request, increasing his pace as he begins pistoning back into you again, the hand around your throat holding you in place as you feel the knot in your core tighten.

“Say it again.”

“Please don’t stop.” 

Your head presses back into the mattress as Kidd roars above you, throwing you over the edge into pure bliss as your orgasm rocks through your body. Each wave of pleasure has you clamping down around Kidd’s thick length, tipping over into his own release shortly after you. 

Labored breathing is the only thing you can hear as Kidd collapses into the bed next to you, pulling you into his chest with that same wicked grin still plastered on his face.

“I don’t get jealous,” he declares, a sheepish blush creeping onto his face as you glare at him.

“He may have made you ‘beg for it’, but I made you beg me not to stop. He’s got nothing on me.”

You giggle as Kidd eyes you intently, and you bring your hand up to tap at your chin mockingly. 

“I don’t know…” you muse, smiling as Kidd’s brow quirks, “I might need some more convincing of that.”

Kidd grunts at your challenge, wrapping a hand around your waist and flipping you onto your stomach, yanking your hips into the air as he crawls onto his knees behind you.

“Good, I wasn’t done with you yet anyway.”

Supernova Captains event is officially closed! Thank you for all the submissions, I'll try to crank a bunch out over the weekend :3

✨come say hai :3✨

[luxysims]

Vampires vs Witches Collection - Formal Outfit

Hi! This is the second part of the Vampires vs Witches Collection with @liyahsim 😈

As you already know, on this tumblr we are on the side of the light ✨, so this is your last call to join my coven and fight against the forces of evil 🧙‍♀

Last week, the leader of those pale bloodsuckers tried to seduce some poor indecisive souls with her sweet words to join her clan, so this is my chance to disprove all her bullshit and encourage you to stay in the right side: the witches! 🧹

For some reason, they are bragging that they can arrive at parties in bat form and dare to make fun of our brooms 😒. Can you imagine how ridiculous it is to become flying rats when we have an eco-friendly transportation? They could literally unleash a new global pandemic with those dirty fangs 🤮 I also don't understand what they have against our pointy hats, maybe the sun made them blind exclusively for fashion because they don't understand the difference between old and vintage 🤷‍♀️ Poor creatures! they laugh at our spells for being complicated. I wish they had a higher intellect, so they could appreciate art when it's in front of them. Perhaps the exclusive blood diet produces a nutrient deficiency in their brain... 🤭 And about eternal life... I don't even know how to answer that. I honestly think it's a curse to live so long, I almost feel sorry for them 🙈

Finally, thank you very much for reading until the end and joining me in this epic battle, I am sure we will win this style war! GO WITCHES!!! 💫

My part of the collection:

DOWNLOAD   [ EARLY ACCESS ] DOWNLOAD   [ FREE ACCESS ]  Public release october 26th

@liyahsim’s part of the collection:

DOWNLOAD   [ EARLY ACCESS ]   DOWNLOAD   [ FREE ACCESS ]  Public release october 26th

Be the light! ✨

@maxismatchccworld​  @sssvitlanz @coffee-cc-finds @sims4finds @lanaccfind @cchunters   @c12ccfinds  @mmoutfitters @mmfinds @emilyccfinds @redheadsims-cc @cccorner @wysidiacc @ccsimsfindss4 @cccorner @lotusplumbob @toastyccfinds @cookiesccfinds @strangecowplantfinds @shaenaeccfinds @eanyroseccfinds @kairasimsccfinds @anikasims @blueishccfinds @petiteluneccfind @alt-lanaccfinds ❣

[writersdrug]

Ghost x Reader x Konig: I Don't Need You (Ch. 10)

<- Previous - Next ->

Summary: Thankfully, things have been resolved between you and Konig. You start to settle in more with your team, and Roze shares a few thoughts with you over a smoke. The memories are still there, but just like the winter around you, they're cold and unwelcoming. You and Konig open up to each other a bit more, more than you had ever opened up to anyone.

WARNINGS: implications of masturbation, cursing, angst (if you squint?), plot building, graphic depictions of animal torture and death (PLEASE CONSIDER ALL WARNINGS BEFORE READING THIS, I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MEDIA YOU CONSUME thank you kindly)

Notes: Yes! Hello! I exist!! I've been in a slump, and I really do apologize for that. Many of you have been very patient with me and I love and appreciate you all for it! I had to intake as much CoD literature as I could in the past few weeks to get me motivated, which helped a LOT (not to mention I discovered no fewer than ten works that currently have a hold on my heart). But it's here! I forced myself to write over half of the following chapter so that it would be less daunting to finish up. I also plan to make a wip post for yall, just to share will everyone what goes on in my rat brain.

This was edited at 3 am (god it's 4 am now, i just saw that), so if there are any grammatical or spelling errors you have my full consent to call me out on it! Please enjoy!

(sidenote, I completely didn't research how old you need to be to become a navy SEAL, so reader's age is a bit inaccurate in regards to that. pls ignore lol)

(last sidenote then you can read, does anyone have tips for customizing the layout of their fics? I see so many cool ways to style the font and cute banners and errything but I have no idea how nor what to do)

- - - -

The sky hung low with a blanket of gray. It looked like it was about to snow, although the threat was soon dismissed when noon came around and there wasn’t a single flake. The air was cold and dry, forcing me to zip my jacket up all the way and tuck my nose into the collar. I blew steady, warm breaths into my jacket and tried to soak up the heat into my bones.

It was as if the incident had never happened.

Konig and I ended up driving to the liquor store, which was a blessing, since I had run out of Yeungling (and I didn’t understand enough Turkish to converse with the clerk, nor did I have any of the appropriate money – Konig was graced with both of those necessities). We talked like there had never been a week and a half of silence between us. He talked about how he had nearly forced Ridgeback to drag me out of my room and into the common area, “… but it would have been too early for that.” He commented. That, and I would have rather died.

So life went on as normal: dreary, aside from shooting people and getting shot at. Nonetheless, it was normal, and there was a peace to be found in that.

I leaned against the building to the training room, with Roze to my left. I had intended to come out and soak up whatever natural light I could – when I saw her standing there, possibly trying to do the same, I felt the instinct to play it off as if I was just leaving the building. But she cocked her head in a greeting, and a part of me took an interest in her worry-free aura. Out of everyone, she always seemed to be the least-stressed person in the room, even in the middle of a warzone. It was the balm to my anxious mind that I never knew I needed, but gratefully stood by.

We remained together in a comfortable silence (one I would most definitely would not have been comfortable with a while ago), staring ahead, watching the indecisiveness of the brooding clouds above. I wondered what the rest of the world was doing – if they might have been as calm and carefree as us, or if they were in some kind of peril, and the horrors of it were blocked out by the clouds.

I was drawn back to the present when I heard the click click click of Roze’s lighter. I turned my head and watched as she shielded the weak flame from the wind, lighting the cigarette that hung loosely from her lips.

“You smoke?” I asked.

“Sure do.” She replied nonchalantly. “Want one?” she extended her pack of cigarettes towards me.

I glanced at the box, feeling a sour taste in my mouth.

I lay on my stomach, my muscles still twitching and shaking as I tried to even out my breaths. Ghost had tossed a thin blanket over my lower half. I hadn’t even moved from the position he had ruthlessly fucked me in – my body ached too much to even try, and my mind was still recovering from the past hour.

I watch Ghost as he reclined next to me, pushing the bottom of his mask up to place a cigarette between his lips. It was the first time I had seen any part of his face all day. He grabbed his lighter from the pocket of his pants that were discarded on the floor, lighting the end of the cigarette and inhaling. He tossed the lighter back down to the floor as he tilted his head back, exhaling a long stream of smoke. I watched it swirl in the lamplight, settling in a cloud around us. He continued puffing, staring at the wall across from the bed as I lay beside him, although I felt worlds away from him.

He'd started off the night with a mountain of stress from a mission gone sideways. Instead of the usual slow build, where he would run his hands under my shirt and kiss my lips slowly and tenderly – he had walked in and immediately demanded I remove my clothes while he began stripping out of his. I had assumed tonight was going to be a passionate one, until he threw me onto my stomach and shoved my face into the pillows. It wasn’t the first time he’d been rough with me, but it wasn’t just rough – it felt dehumanizing. An hour of constant, merciless thrusts, and a hand around my neck that restricted both my blood flow and my oxygen, and I had fallen into a state of shock.

But, in the end, I was happy to be caged in by him again.

I was happy.

He turned his eyes towards me, seeming to sense that something was off. He exhaled another puff of smoke. “Everythin’ alright?” he asked, completely void of any genuine concern.

I met his eyes with my own. I felt like I shouldn’t have to answer the question, and it stirred up a bitterness in me. But I didn’t feel like arguing with him, and I certainly didn’t want him to leave – so I nodded my head, slowly blinking my eyes. “Just tired.”

He hummed and faced the wall again. He brought one of his knees up and rested his arm against it. “Want a smoke?” he asked, still looking away.

I shook my head as much as the pillow beneath me would allow. “No.” I replied.

He sighed disappointedly. Apparently, my lack of enthusiasm after being used like an old fucktoy was irking him.

To be fair, I never spoke up about how I felt.

He grunted and rose from his position, snuffing out his cigarette in the ashtray by my bed, and picking up his clothes and pulling them on. My heart ached slightly as I watched him slide his shirt over his torso. I felt the threat of tears sting in my eyes as I wished his hands were holding me instead, keeping me warm and grounded. He pulled his jeans on and fastened them, buckling his belt rather quickly; and all while he faced away from me.

“Well, I know you probably need some alone time.” He muttered, sliding the skull attachment over his mask. “So I’ll get going. I’ll see you around.”

He grabbed his tactical vest and jacket and slung them over his shoulder. He paused by the door. “Thanks for tonight.” He mumbled, before finally leaving the room and softly closing the door behind him.

My eyes lingered on the ashtray with the half-smoked cigarette. A thin trail of smoke plumed into the air – I wanted to throw the tray across the room and shatter it. But it was Ghost’s, so I couldn’t; I couldn’t regardless, because it was a piece of him that remained with me, even when he left.

That, and the smell of smoke.

“Nah, I’m good.” I replied, facing the cold, empty base ahead of me.

“Good.” She said, pinching the cigarette and blowing a stream of smoke. “Stay that way. Did you know these bastards give you cancer?”

I chuckled into the collar of my jacket. “Do they, now?”

She hummed affirmatively, sucking another breath in through the cancerous bastard. “Who would’ve thought…”

We fell back into silence. I continued watching the stillness of the base, trying to see if the sky would follow through with its promise to fall. Now that my free time wasn’t spent holed up in my room, it somehow felt like there were fewer ways to spend it. With another mission on the horizon – a simple recon, yet dauntingly close to a heavily-guarded compound – no one was out and about when they usually were. Finding Roze outside and seemingly not worried was usual, however, and a warm sight, compared to how the rest of the team was on edge. Even Askel seemed grumpier than most days.

I hadn’t been seeking out someone to spend time with, no… that I would never do (or admit). But talking to a familiar face provided a comfort I had grown to need over the past couple of months. And, frankly, I felt like Konig might be getting tired of how much I ran to him when I craved social interaction. Though he had never said anything about it, I felt like I needed to branch out to other team members than just my Colonel. One might think I was trying to kiss his ass (I knew the accusation had already crossed Juno’s mind, but the young soldier was good at holding his tongue – when Konig was around, at least).

“You ever think about how ‘little girl’ you would react to this?” Roze asked, and I turned to face her. She had her nose scrunched, and a tinge of pink dusted over her cold cheeks. “Guns, war, no playdates or days at the beach…”

I sighed. “Probably would have cried.” I replied, allowing my freezing nose to poke over the collar of my jacket. “Especially if I had known that being a princess now adays meant spending more time worrying about becoming a hostage than anything else.”

Roze chuckled. “It’s a good thing we didn’t know then.” Her face was mostly blank, but I thought I noticed a hint of bitterness in the way her gaze landed on the ground. I watched her flick her cigarette with a bit more aggression than usual. “I would’ve tried to convince my entire family to run away to Scotland, live in hiding and pretend the rest of the world was a dream.”

“Scotland?” I asked. Soap’s cocky grin and heavy Scottish accent stirred in my mind, but it felt like nothing more than a small cloud of dust.

“Yeah – heard it’s fucking gorgeous over there.” She waved her cigarette in no particular direction. “Now, I don’t know how peaceful it is in terms of politics and war, but it’s pretty spacious. Simple, too. I feel like if I talked about throwing all my shit away and becoming a fisherman for a living, I wouldn’t get people trying to talk me out of it like I would in the States.” She took another drag, and laughed out the smoke.

“Fisherman?”

“Yeah.” She chuckled, a hardened smile gracing her lips. “I don’t know why it sounds so appealing… it just does.”

I hummed and looked back out at the compound. I wondered about Roze’s past; she had never said or done anything to indicate that it was particularly rough, as it was for the majority of us (us – I still wasn’t used to including myself, but it was becoming more of a habit each time), but the weariness in her eyes when she spoke about her younger self made me question what that girl had been through. Maybe it was just nostalgia. A yen for simpler times. Roze seemed to appreciate the simple things in life.

“You know Askel goes ice fishing?” she said suddenly.

I smiled underneath my jacket. “Seems like something he would do.”

“Every winter.” She continued. She dropped her cigarette to the floor and crushed it into the gravel. “He takes about three weeks of leave, if we’re lucky enough to get it, and goes to Norway. Sits on a frozen lake for hours a day, just waiting for a fish.”

“You make it sound like he’s never caught one.” I point out, my eyes lingering on the cigarette.

She shrugged her shoulders. “So does he. Every time I ask him what he caught, he just laughs. Says he’s never expects to get a bite.”

I closed my eyes and hummed in response. It was easy to picture the scene – Askel, sitting on a thick layer of ice, nursing the hoppy beers that he and Konig loved so much and waiting for a fish to bite. I wondered if he even bothered to reel the line in when he did catch something. Or if he even went fishing at all. Maybe he just went out there to get a sense of peace, to pretend that war and death didn’t exist.

The motion of thick, heavy snowflakes falling from the sky caught my attention. They landed on the skin of my nose, resisting the warmth for a few moments, before they eventually melted into trickles of water. A sudden gust of wind blew a flurry of them towards us, making the both of us flinch.

Maybe fishing doesn’t sound too bad.

- - - -

The shooting range was mostly silent, save for the occasional conversation between me and Konig. The lights were low, easily illuminating the gunpowder and dust swirling in the air. Konig and I stared at the paper target as we analyzed my shots. A few hit dead center, although most of them were clustered around the lower left of the bullseye. My lips were pursed into a scowl as I glared at my sub-par aim – it wasn’t typically so awful, but of course it was while Konig had been watching.

“Eh, are you sure you didn’t lie on your paperwork about being a sniper?” Konig asked as he stood behind my left shoulder, taking the target from my hands and looking at it closely. “You weren’t even ten yards from it. This is very poor marksmanship.”

I scowled in embarrassment, taking my pistol to the counter and pulling out the mag. “Rough day.” I answered bluntly as I started packing more bullets into the small compartment. It wasn’t a lie – I had barely gotten any sleep the night before. I was in the middle of a rather interesting dream involving me and Ghost, until my alarm woke me up before anything of importance happened.

“Very bad…” he mumbled to himself. I clicked my tongue in annoyance.

“Y’know…” I grumbled, loading the mag back into the gun and shoving it in my holster, “I don’t like stereotyping, but the boot really does fit you.” I walked past him and out into the hallway, not waiting for him to follow.

“Hmm?” he made an indignant noise, momentarily stuck in his spot, before he came jogging after me. “What does that mean? What stereotype?”

I chuckled. “Haven’t you ever how Germans are extremely blunt?” I asked.

“Austrian.” He retorted. “Do I need to brand that onto my face for you?”

“Wouldn’t do me much good, with the mask ‘n all.” I replied.

He laughed – rather snorted, as usual – “Ah, you’re right. Maybe I am blunt – just as much as you are defensive.”

I stopped at the end of the hall, right in front of the exit. “Defe-“ I turned on my heel to scowl at him. “I am not defensive! Where did you get that idea?!”

He stopped behind me, his eyes widening. He gestured an open palm in my direction. “This.”

I huffed, turning back around to punch the door open. The snow from earlier that day had ceased, blanketing the base in a thin layer of white. The moon seemed that much brighter against the crystalized ground, and the yellow lights scattered across the compound made parts of the snow look like sandy dunes. My nose tingled from the nip of the chilly air, and I pulled my jacket tighter around my body as the door fell shut behind me and Konig.

“Well, what am I supposed to say when you call me defensive?”

“You could agree.”

“But I don’t.”

“Which proves my point.”

I huffed in frustration, despite the smirk curling on the edges of my lips. “So, either I have to agree with you, whether I really do or don’t, or you’ve corralled me into a paradox.”

I can practically hear the gears turning in his head. “A what?”

“A paradox, like a – y’know, never mind. It’s too difficult to explain.” I let him fall in step next to me, although he was the one who needed to slow down to match my pace. “We can just agree to disagree, how’s that?”

“Agreed.” He nodded, and I chuckled. “It won’t change the fact that I’m right, you know.” He added.

I bit my lip and tried to keep my smile from growing ridiculously larger. I looked up at him and patted his shoulder – he looked down at me, and the corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled back. A stray, reddish-brown curl poked through the side of his balaclava, and I found the miniscule detail warming my heart through the cold air. He felt real, and in this moment, too human for this kind of life.

“Why did you choose the military?” I asked, turning back to look at the ground as we walked.

He hummed. “Isn’t that every boy’s dream?”

“Well, yes – but most of the time, it never becomes more than that.” I responded.

He shoved his hands into his pockets, mimicking my own position. “I’m not really sure what made me push so much for it. I almost didn’t make it, for obvious reasons.”

I chuckled. “Size does matter, huh?”

He looked down at me with a deadpan gaze, one that I refused to meet. “It almost did, in a bad way. And I almost backed out before they could be the ones to turn me away. But, of course, they knew they would find some use for my size – so they took me in.”

“And what did they do with you?” I asked, looking back at him.

“A ‘human battering ram,’ as my superiors had so nicely called it.” He framed the description with his hands in the air, as if it had been written on a plaque. I laughed and looked back down at my feet.

“Seriously?” I asked. “So they just had you breaking down doors, and then what?”

Konig laughed with me. “Well, I still had a gun, so I was able to shoot, thank goodness. And I had a bit more gear so I wouldn’t break my bones against the doors – I still dislocated my shoulder a few times, however…” he rolled his left shoulder, as if there was still a lingering pain from how often he had thrown himself at doors. “It was actually during a period of recovery when I proved that I could still be a sniper. My shoulder was still healing, so I had to give up being a battering ram for a while. I was sat with Horangi on the side of the mountain to give him cover. Of course, he was ambushed – he had to fight the Arschgiege right when we were given the order to shoot, so I had to take position behind the gun.” I noticed that his chest was puffed out a bit from pride. “That really knocked their pants off.”

I chuckled, choosing to ignore the inaccuracy of his phrase. “Did it now?”

“It did.” He replied, then looked at the ground. “For a moment. I got a good earful for overstepping boundaries that day, but it’s what ultimately landed me here – so I’m grateful for it.”

I nodded and hummed. “What was Horangi picked for?”

Konig shrugged, his hands now back in his pockets. “He never said what he and Commander had spoken about in his office. But, even if he wasn’t chosen – I like to think we come as a package. If I go, he goes, if he doesn’t, I don’t.”

I felt my heart warm at his words. The memory of how Juno had described Konig couldn’t be farther from my mind. It almost felt like I was talking to someone I briefly crossed paths with in my youth – not a war criminal, not the bloody and stiff soldier who had stepped onto the heli after our first mission. I envied his ability to separate his work stress from the time he had in between missions.

“Why did you decide to join?” He asked, catching me off guard.

It was only fair that I opened up to him, since he was so willing to do the same. Always the one to go first, too. But I had to be careful. I didn’t want this to turn into a pity party, and I didn’t want to dig anything up that I had worked so hard to bury deep beneath my subconscious.

“I was… a weird kid. Like you.” I said, making Konig scoff and roll his eyes. “Looking back now, I hate my younger self. I was so sensitive to what people thought about me, and I just wanted to be independent and strong. I wanted to be a ‘different girl.’” I gritted out the words that left a sour taste in my mouth. “I think I just wanted attention at first – of course, when I heard how everyone said they hated how annoying teenage girls were, and how gullible and weak they were, it just – it made me change. I wanted to prove everyone wrong, it wasn’t just about being different anymore. So, as soon as I turned old enough, I enlisted. Didn’t get to Navy SEAL right away, of course… but I joined every program I was allowed in until I could submit my application.”

I sighed, then chuckled. “Thought my family would say they were proud, that I was successful, that I was doing a good job… they were just angry. Said I was throwing my life away for business that didn’t involve our country.” I opened my mouth to say more, but I ended up scoffing and closing it once again. I felt like I had shared enough.

I looked at Konig, expecting him to acknowledge what I said. “That’s how the story goes…” he would say. But, when I met his gaze, I only saw concern. His brow was creased with what I imagined was pity, and my stomach churned. It was the exact opposite of the reaction I had hoped for. I only wanted to share stories with him, and now it was… this.

“I think you made the right choices.” He said, and I looked away.

“You don’t need to make me feel better, Konig. I appreciate it, but-“

“I’m not just trying to make you feel better.” He said, his accent slightly thicker from his exasperation. “You’re good at what you do. Your parents are just probably worried for you, and they don’t know how to show it.”

I bit down on my tongue, my eyes settling on the building in front of us with a hard expression. If only.

“Maybe that’s it.” I muttered, hoping he would drop the subject. He seemed to understand, and turned to look ahead with a disappointed sigh. My heart sank the tiniest bit at the sound, and I internally scolded myself. Still a people-pleaser, apparently.

We continued walking in silence, the buzz of the lights above us mimicking the static of a communication system that had been severed in a time where it was needed most. The edge of the barracks appeared into our view, just around the corner of the arsenal sheds that stood between us and our destination. I continued to stare at the ground, pretending to watch my steps and try to not slip on the snowy asphalt. My heart twisted with each second of silence that sat thickly between us. It wasn’t technically a fight, but somehow, it felt worse. It felt like the first time I had pissed him off, the first time we had spoken to each other – and god, did I already hate myself for the way I had acted towards him during those first few weeks. I didn’t want to drive another wedge between us, not after the ones that had already been worked back out.

I exhaled heavily through my nose. “Sorry.” I mumbled quietly, but loud enough that I knew it reached his ears. “Sensitive topics.”

He flitted his eyes in my direction, but didn’t bother to move his head. He sighed, and I nearly jolted when I felt his wide hand on my upper back. It rubbed back and forth, and it took me an embarrassingly long time to realize that he was comforting me. Or, trying to, at least.

“I know.” He said, and his hand rested on my shoulder. “I’m sorry for pushing you.”

I didn’t know how to respond. I was stuck on the feeling of the roughness of his palm, which I could gleam through the fabric of my jacket. How his fingers squeezed gently and released twice. There was no hidden meaning, no forced contact or any kind of attempt to put context into the touch. It was… natural. Warm, comforting, and it spoke a thousand words that I wouldn’t have been able to stomach if he had said them. It broke past my self-hatred and walls of ‘don’t be weak’ that I would have used as my defense if he had tried to verbally convey any sort of consolation. It was the first time I didn’t feel awkward about being so close to him, let alone when he was touching me. I wondered if he did this on purpose, or if he had no idea what he was doing at all.

I let myself stand nearer to him, almost tucked under his arm. I looked up and smiled as genuinely as I could – not that it was hard for me, but because I wanted to make sure that he really knew how much I appreciated the gesture. Although, if he knew that this simple act of comfort would pierce through my outer shell, was it really necessary?

“Thank you, Konig.” I said.

He looked down at me and smiled. That damn smile. I wondered how much more refreshing it would be when he wasn’t wearing his mask. It was already too much for my soul to bear when it was just the crinkling in his eyes that I could see.

“Anytime, Bonnie.” He replied, patting my shoulder before tucking his hand back into his pocket. I grieved minimally at the loss of the touch, but I was happy for what it was. “And I mean it. Anytime you need to talk – or not talk, and do that empty staring that you do – just come find me.”

I quirked an eyebrow in his direction. “Anytime?” I asked amusedly.

“Mhm!” Konig replied, his eyes on the ground as he watched his steps. Then, the realization hit him, and his eyes went wide with panic. “Oh- well, eh- I guess, not anytime-“

“You gonna tell me when?” I joked, and he laughed. “You need an open/closed sign on your door.” I jogged ahead, trying to reach the door to the barracks before he did.

“How about this?” he called out, and I could hear the grin behind his mask. “I’ll nail a chalkboard to my door, and if I’m busy, I’ll draw a stick guy jerking off in his bed!”

My cheeks burned after I heard him. “No!” I shrieked, laughing nervously. “You’ll traumatize Juno!” I quickly tried to pin this on someone other than me.

“Juno, hah?” Konig teased, and I had half a mind to run into the building and leave him on the quad. “I don’t care about him. Kid needs to be traumatized.”

I laughed and threw my head back, turning the corner around the arsenal shed. “That’s not very-“

Immediately, my heart leapt into my throat, and I gasped. Konig nearly ran into my back as he skidded to a halt.

Sick, sick, what the fuck, I feel sick-

“Stimmt etwas nicht?” he asked, concerned. “What- oh, scheisse-“

We both stared at the bird on the ground. A crow from the looks of it, though it was hard to even decipher that it was a bird in the first place, due to the state it was in. Its belly had been cut open, entrails and bloody bits pulled from the abdomen and strewn to either side of the bird. Its wings were stretched to their full capacity and most likely beyond it, crushed and missing a large number of feathers. Both of the legs appeared to have been ripped off and tossed to the left of the crow. Its beak was the worst of it all: pried open, the jaw probably broken from how wide it was spread. A haunting look of terror in the crow’s red, glossy eyes made a violent shiver run up my spine.

I exhaled shakily, my eyes still glued to the horror. “Holy shit – what the-“

Konig quickly walked around me and knelt in front of the crow. I shifted to look over his shoulder, still fearfully curious, but he held a hand out behind him, urging me to stay in place. With his other hand, he pulled at one of the bird’s wings, stiff and heavy. Whether it was frozen from the cold, or this was the effects from rigor mortis, I couldn’t tell.

“How – did a fucking fox do that?!” I asked. Are there even foxes in this area? How the hell did one get on base?

“Nein.” Konig replied, still looking at the corpse. His gaze fell upon it with a sense of… familiarity, maybe? “Not a fox, no.”

“Then what? It – whatever it was didn’t even eat-“

“I’ll take care of this.” Was all Konig said. He stood up and marched past me – I was barely able to catch a glimpse of his furious expression. His eyes were hard and narrow, and as he walked away, I noticed that his shoulders were tense and his hands were balled into fists. I didn’t dare say anything to him; he almost looked the same way he did after our first mission together, except this time, his anger seemed to be directed at something, instead of just a post-mission adrenaline high.

“I’ll see you later.” He said over his shoulder. There was an obvious fury to his words, and although I knew it wasn’t intended towards me, it still made me freeze where I stood – almost as if I might anger him more simply by taking a step after him.

Whatever it is… I thought, watching him disappear into the compound, he’s sorting it out. I can take care of myself. Although, with such an abrupt and tense departure, I was at a loss on what to do next. I looked back at the bird; its terrified eyes locked onto the sky above it, frozen in its last wish to fly away from whatever horror it endured.

A shiver ran up my spine, prompting me to look away.

- - - -

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[angellesword]

BAGGAGE | JJK (11)

Summary: Drowning in debt and blood, Jeon Jungkook knows he's better off alone, lest he brings people down with him.

But one drunken night changes everything.

In a blink of an eye, Jungkook found himself drowning not only in debt and blood, but also in dirty diapers and judgmental stares from you, a.k.a his long-lost love and the guardian of the son he didn't even know existed.

Genre and warnings: best friends to lovers, co-parenting, idiots in love, slow burn—really slow burn, mutual pining, angst, fluff, implied smut, kissing, minor character death, slight getting back together, cursing, blood, stabbing, loan sharks, OC cusses excessively so watch out.

Pairing: dad! Jungkook x adoptive mom!Reader

Word Count: 4.5k

← Previous Chapter (10) | Next Chapter (12) →

Baggage Chapter List

*****

Days passed like a blur, and as much as you wanted to ask your former best friend a question, you couldn't. For once, it wasn't because of Jungkook's indecisiveness or his lack of trust thereof.

Admittedly, Jungkook was trying. There had been many instances when he subtly implied that he was willing to reveal a part of himself to you. However, you learned to be vigilant, becoming suspicious about Jungkook's intention. You felt like Jungkook was only leading you into asking questions he wanted to answer, leaving the ugly truth at bay.

You wouldn't allow that. You would soon aim for questions that were hurtful to Jungkook and satisfying to you.

Forgive and Forget, my ass. You sneered. You were momentarily blinded by your pity for the shitty bastard, but it didn't mean bygone would be bygones. Your promise to Jisoo was to introduce Soobin to Jungkook, which you did. Meanwhile, Jang Min suggested co-parenting your kid—something you were skeptical about but had already dived in.

"Egg!" Soobin puffed out his slightly red cheeks as he peeled the shell of a boiled egg. He was slumped on your living room floor while Jungkook lazily sat on the couch, his gaze switching between watching over Soobin and reading a book.

Your eyes narrowed as you observed the two boys. You stood close to them, but Soobin and Jungkook couldn't see you. You were working upstairs and only went downstairs to get a glass of cold water and briefly check up on your son. These days, Jungkook was the one babysitting Soobin. There were no issues involved, and Soobin seemed to like hanging out with his biological father.

"You know I am a natural when it comes to kids." Jungkook grinned when he said this. You clicked your tongue and called him a cocky bastard.

It was scary how easily you two fell back into your old bickering habits despite the betrayal and years of not seeing each other. If you were to be completely honest, this was also why you didn't dare ask Jungkook a question. He only let down his guard when you were not discussing his past. You were afraid Jungkook would bolt once things became intense. This wasn't an ideal setup, as you felt you were back to contradicting yourself again. Back then, you said you wanted your sister to leave you alone, yet your heart skipped a beat and was filled with grief every time you thought Jisoo stopped breathing.

The hideous cycle had returned. You felt like you were on a precipice again; a part of your brain screamed to jump while the other part coaxed you to step back. You couldn't decide, so you remained rooted in your spot—just like how you let Jungkook invade your space, acting as if you were a careful host who humbly offered tea and biscuits to your guests.

"You done, buddy?" Jungkook casually flipped the page of his book, eyes glued on the printed words.

Soobin shook his head and focused on peeling the egg. The kid's way more patient than you could ever be. You’d probably throw a fuss or give up on eating the egg. You never learned to tolerate things like this, though seeing Soobin remain calm proved that you raised your kid right. 

It didn't mean you’d let Soobin starve, though. You sauntered toward the living room. Jungkook's languid gaze fell on you at once. He even had the decency to straighten his back and smile at you.

"Really," you snorted and ignored Jungkook's beaming face. "Why are you giving the poor kid a hard time peeling an egg?"

It wasn't Jungkook's intention to terrorize Soobin, so he stopped you from helping the 'poor' kid. He explained, "No, don't. Let him be. It's good for his motor skills."

"Motor skills," you repeated, scrutinizing how truthful the bastard was being. But Jungkook's reason didn't matter. He was right. Peeling an eggshell was good for Soobin's development. The only downside was that Soobin was so focused on the activity that he didn't bother to cling to you. All he cared about was the egg. You were a little unused to this.

You sighed, "I think he's hungry."

"Oh, please," Jungkook begged to differ. He went back to reading as he snorted. "I just fed him string cheese, chocolate pancakes, fries, and dumplings." 

That much food?  You frowned.

Soobin was not a picky eater and would devour anything. Unfortunately, he'd been indulging in food a little too much. You turned your disappointment to Jungkook, though.

"Don't keep feeding him unhealthy food."

Jungkook's response was a noncommittal hum. You two had always been liked this before. You would rant to Jungkook, and then he simply played it cool. Old habits were hard to break because you started going off on how to live a healthier life. On the other hand, Jungkook kept his mouth closed as he was busy reading his damn book.

"Jeon." You scowled when you noticed that he wasn't looking at you. "Are you listening?"

Everything happened fast. You went near your ex-best friend and snatched his book. What had gotten this bastard so hooked that he shamelessly ignored you?

"Hey, rude." Jungkook's lips protruded to hide his embarrassment from being caught. He was playing it cool, but you busted him:

You believed Jungkook was reading a nonsensical book, but you thought wrong.

"A guide to eating healthy French food," you murmured the book title.

Jungkook didn't answer and simply cast his gaze to Soobin, finally helping his kid peel off the eggshell—this was better than looking you in the eyes. He didn't know what to say, alright? Jungkook only wanted to make things simple for you. He knew he was freeloading here and didn't want to keep it that way.

That said, Jungkook thought it would be better to ease your workload by helping you in any way possible. Jungkook noticed you had been busy with work and didn't have time to cook. Fortunately, Jungkook had experience cooking, so this should be easy for him to handle. The only issue was he didn't know how to prepare a hearty French meal. It was different from what he had when he was in—

"Ratatouille." You cut off Jungkook's musing and immediately went to your point. "It's one of Soobin's favorite foods, second only to spring crab rolls."

"Mm." Jungkook hummed. He had forgotten his initial thought as he was engaged in your explanations.

"There is always fresh produce in the kitchen. If you want to cook, that's fine. We'll have no problem if you incorporate vegetables into whatever you want to cook. The pudding, though..."

You sighed when Soobin and Jungkook whipped their heads at you at the mention of pudding. "Once a day is enough. I only bought strawberry-flavored this time. Don't look at me like that! It's not an excuse to finish them in one go. I am warning you both."

Soobin lost interest at once. He pouted his lips and started eating his boiled egg. 

Meanwhile, Jungkook smiled innocently at you. "Yes, Mam~!"

Yes, Mam. He said, his noodle arm going into a salute. It was silly, really. However, you felt your cheeks heating up. It was the way Jungkook said it, okay!? His voice was naturally sultry. It didn't help that he said those words with a hint of teasing—making you think that you were best friends from the past. Nostalgia was not something you were fond of, though. You groaned at Jungkook. "Don't tease me, or I'll smash your sorry face. My students are giving me a hard time already."

Getting a glass of water was an excuse just so you could have a break from being a professor. You were on leave for days, but you couldn't forever escape your fired-up students, even when your classes were held online.

One would think that Kyouka, a quiet student of yours, would keep her mouth shut during lectures, but no. She had a lot of questions that made you think you needed to study more. Your other student, Junichiro, was well-behaved in class, but you could hear his sister constantly yapping or appearing beside him.

Sometimes, you don't know why you chose to be a professor. If it weren't for your love for the academic world and seeing your students succeed, you would never dream of discussing business-related topics with these people. The pay wasn't that good, so you had other sidelines, too—you were a financial adviser, a management consultant, and a business owner. You delegated jobs to other people as much as you could. In all honesty, being a professor took the majority of your time.

"You're teaching college students. No need to spoon-feed them." Said Jungkook as if he wasn't taking his sweet time gently feeding Soobin the boiled egg. Jungkook originally wanted to let the kid eat on his own, but Soobin was like a vacuum that would devour a whole egg in two seconds. Jungkook didn't want you to worry more.

"Just give them a difficult business case to crack and then have them present in front of the class. You don't even have to listen to the report. Just pick a random student to grade their classmate's work. Easy."

Your mouth fell open by how easy Jungkook's solution was. You had almost forgotten how much of a genius and lazy this bastard was. Sadly, you couldn't deflect Jungkook's suggestion, as he was absolutely right. You spent the better half of this semester indulging your students to the point that they all fell apart when you filed for leave. It's time that they move on their own.

"Fine." You conceded. "I'll do that."

Jungkook beamed. "I solved your problem. What about my reward?"

"There's no reward, Jeon."

Jungkook had the audacity to whine. "Don't be unfair."

I'm being unfair!? You were tempted to hit Jungkook in the head, though you surprised yourself when you snorted spuriously.

"What do you want?" It's bad. This is bad. You cannot give into Jungkook—

"Soobin really wants more pudding. Will you allow him to eat one more cup?"

Oh.

You blinked. Your parted lips turned into a purse. Jungkook's eyes shrunk, totally getting your reaction wrong. He tried to remedy the situation, "I mean, half a cup of pudding works too. But if he can't, then it's okay. Right, kid?"

Jungkook turned to Soobin. The small child nodded at him and opened his mouth to ask for more eggs.

Silence lapsed between the three of you.

"Half a cup." You compromised. Jungkook's ears perked up. He turned to you with a smile on his face.

"Thank you! Kid, come on." Jungkook’s body had healed, but he still couldn't exert much effort to carry Soobin. He offered his hand to his son, though—a compromise. Soobin gladly took his father's hand, bits of yolk stuck to the side of his mouth.

For some reason, your heart warmed. You said nothing and watched the father-son duo happily skip to the kitchen.

******

The beginning of better days passed by smoothly. Soobin was spending quite a lot of time with Jungkook as you wrapped up the semester and dealt with your business clients.

At this point, one could say that Jungkook had unknowingly become Soobin's babysitter. Weirdly enough, you didn't mind.

"That's normal, you know."  Jang Min's lazy drawl from the other line echoed in your ears.

You two had been video chatting for hours now. This was the only time you had a proper conversation in weeks. You dealt with your work while Jang Min busied himself with business affairs. Until now, Jang Min had no idea when he could fly back to Korea.

You missed him. You spent the better half of your video call telling your boyfriend about your life now that you were living with your former best friend. You didn't want to leave out any details, even the unnecessary ones, as you did not want Jang Min to feel like you were hiding something.

Jang Min wasn't the jealous type. But it didn't mean you would cross his boundaries. You used to be head over heels with Jungkook and Jang Min being unbothered by it, but it wasn't an excuse to leave some details out.

But really, there was nothing worthwhile. You just felt bad that you didn’t mind allowing Jungkook to spend time with your son almost 24/7. You were wondering if you were being too lenient with the shitty bastard. The part of you that was betrayed howled for acting like nothing wrong happened before—like Jungkook didn't hurt you, and he wasn't prone to bolting.

Jang Min reassured you.

"It's normal to want to let Soobin be with his biological father. You deserve a break, too, Cолнышко мо." Jang Min's eyes dropped. He was in bed, looking all cozy. You almost melted by how comforting your boyfriend's tone was, but it faded when Jang Min spoke again.

"The kid's been burdening you for years. It's time Jungkook-ssi handles his son."

"What do you mean by that." Your mood dampened. You furrowed your brow in annoyance. "Soobin is not bothering me."

'Bothering' was putting it off lightly. Only dense people would not understand the connotation of your words. But Jang Min was never one to canoodle anyone when he thought he was right.

"Of course he is." Jang Min's gaze was patronizing. "I'm not saying it's a bad thing. It's just impractical. You're a young woman—"

"I'm a mother." You cut him off sharply.

Jang Min tilted his head as if he were studying your mood. "Hmm." He hummed thoughtfully. "You are. You will be. But Soobin is Jungkook's responsibility. I mean, isn't that the reason why you agreed to co-parent with him? It's a trial run to see if he is fit to solely take care of Soobin in the future."

This was not a conversation you should be having over the phone. In fact, this was not a conversation you two should be having at all.

You felt the veins in your head pulsating. Heat crawled to your face, utterly shocked by how absurd this whole thing was.

First, Jang Min unknowingly called Soobin a fucking burden. He said everything was a trial run as if Soobin were a guinea pig. It's all so—

"I'm hanging up." You refused to believe what you heard from Jang Min. You thought hanging up on him would lessen the fury rapidly firing in your heart.

No one was allowed to disrespect your relationship with Soobin. The kid was your child. Your sister, although fucked up, gifted you a loving boy. Soobin would never be reduced to anything other than being your son.

Jang Min uttered your name when he noticed the frost in your eyes. "I'm just trying to—"

"Stop." You were not going to allow disrespect. Not anymore. "I'm trying hard to control my anger here, Jang Min-ssi. We both know how I am when I'm mad, so for the sake of our relationship, I am hanging up."

Calling him Jang Min-ssi was a warning. Luckily, the Russian dude finally got it.

"You know I love you, right?"

"I know," you said through gritted teeth. "And I feel the same way with you; this is why I'm hanging up. I'll call you when I've cooled down, but the next time we talk, I expect you to leave your opinion about my relationship with Soobin. It's not going to change. Ever."

Jang Min seemed to want to say something but ultimately decided against it. The silence was palpable, and you couldn't take it any longer. You didn't want to keep looking at your boyfriend's face either.

"Talk soon. Bye." So you cut the line. It took you a while to realize your heart was beating loudly against your chest. You were about to sleep but didn't think you could anymore.

You were too upset.

Against your better judgment, you got out of bed, grabbed a bottle of your expensive wine, and sauntered toward the veranda of your home. You were used to solitude at times like this, so you were taken aback when you spotted Jungkook slouching on the veranda's chair.

"Oh, hey." Jungkook was as surprised as you, though he quickly recovered and teased you. "Why are you here? Are you stalking me~?"

"This is my house, asshole." You didn't miss the chance to bite. 

Jungkook shrugged casually and made some room for you beside him. The wordless action didn't go unnoticed by you. You sat down next to your former best friend, unscrewing the cap of your bottled wine, and, without any preamble, gulped the expensive liquor.

"Want some?" You offered carelessly, even though your heart was going wild.

Please say no.

"No." Jungkook obliged. No No thanks, just straight out no. He was firm with his choice. "I told you before. I don't drink anymore."

Why. You were tempted to ask, yet all you did was stare at Jungkook as you chugged more wine. You wiped your lips after, eyes still burning holes at your traitor of a best friend.

Jungkook was thinner compared to years ago. He looked older, too—as if time had been cruel to him. There was a hint of danger and exhaustion in his chestnut eyes. He improved these past few weeks, though. Spending time with an innocent child really clipped one's ragged edge.

Jungkook had been eating well, although it wasn't enough to replenish his damaged body. He could only hide in the expensive clothes you bought for him.

"Is there something on my face, dearest friend?" Jungkook was getting bold with the way he addressed you—as if he knew when to call you that without any repercussions. He was right. You were busy staring at him.

Jungkook looked much better than the first time you two met, but...

You sighed. But you weren’t sure if looking better meant he could take care of Soobin.

It wasn't an option, but Jang Min's harsh opinion got into your head. You would never give Soobin up, but you couldn't help but think if Jungkook was fit to care for a precious child.

"Do you always wear that clown costume to work?" There was no warning when you asked this. It was your first question to Jungkook, after all. He expected things to escalate soon since you and him had been in a truce these past weeks. Nothing good lasted forever.

Jungkook had predicted that this day (and question) would come, though it didn't make admitting the answer easier.

Still, he did it. He wasn't lying when he said he wanted to come clean to you—it might not be all at once, but one truth would not hurt.

Right?

"Not always, only on special occasions." Jungkook licked his lower lip and avoided looking at the wine. Tempting. It was a good thing you two didn't have a similar taste to alcohol. Jungkook preferred whiskey (neat) and soju.

"I man up the cash register. But it doesn't make much difference." Jungkook's face was unreadable—like he was merely speaking of a story he got to know from other people. "Kids throw ice cream at me when I wear the clown costume. Older people threw fries or coins at me when I was at the counter."

Most were rude to people taking their orders. Jungkook had learned to live with it. He should return to working at that fast food restaurant soon (if the manager takes him back). Jungkook had been absent without proper notice. He tried not to think about his future, indulging in how good things were to him.

But it's time to wake up from this little fantasy and face reality.

You were living in denial, though. Your eyes flicked at Jungkook, refusing to believe that the scars near his eyes were because of rude customers.

Still, you found the courage to ask.

"Is that why you have scars near your eyes? Because the customers were rude to you?"

Please say no.

"No." Jungkook shook his head. You were relieved. Fate was listening to you —it was the second time now. "I got them from somewhere else."

Jungkook used to cover his right eye with a bandage to hide his scars, but it was futile, and he didn't have enough money to buy bandages.

"From those men?" You tried to keep your voice steady, wishing Jungkook was kind enough to answer another question despite promising only one.

"Violent men, yes." Jungkook didn't disappoint, but he was vague about his response. You didn't push any further, fearing what you’d find out.

You chugged your wine, the warm liquid grazing your throat. It felt good but didn't last long as your heart bled while asking another question.

"Will..." You gulped. "Will those men come back?" You two had avoided this topic for so long. You had a panic attack regarding Jungkook's safety before, thinking he was unconcerned by the whole ordeal. Truthfully, Jungkook seemed nonchalant about it even now.

"You shouldn't worry." Jungkook's hands were in his pockets. He looked defensive—secretive. You couldn't help but clench your fist, tone scathing when you mocked the bastard:

"Who said I'm worried about you? I only care about Soobin."

The implication was clear. You were suspicious Jungkook would bring misfortune to you and Soobin.

Jungkook puffed out a breath, hands shaking. He forced down the lump in his throat and tried to look at you as genuinely as he could.

"I won't let them hurt you and Soobin." He wanted to hold your hands, but he knew he couldn't. He lost that privilege a long time ago. Jungkook could only settle with verbal words. "I promise you that."

"Your promise means nothing to me, Jungkook." But even his promise lost its value. Jungkook could see it in your eyes. You did not trust him.

Jungkook felt a piece of what you had gone through for the first time because of his betrayal.

Distrust. Pain. Horrible pain.

But unlike you, Jungkook didn't have the right to get mad about your lack of trust. This was heavily justified.

"I know." Jungkook stuttered a breath. "I'm sorry."

Fuck you. You wanted to scream. Instead, you chugged your wine until your face was hot. This was all new for you. You spent years making yourself believe that Jungkook was not worthy and was incapable of saying sorry.

I slept with your sister. He said before, face devoid of any emotion. Jungkook did not bother to tell you he was having trouble with the authorities and even called you pathetic for looking after him.

And now this? It gave you a whiplash at how fast things were changing. This was not the Jungkook you knew, making you panic. You desperately held on to believing that your former best friend was the villain.

"You said you're sorry, right?" You flicked a complicated gaze at him. Jungkook mirrored your action, but his chocolate eyes were languid. He nodded at you.

"Then prove it to me." Your lips twisted into a menacing grin as you offered the bottle of wine to Jungkook. "I'll bury the hatchet if you drink this wine."

Jungkook's expression changed at once; his shoulders sagged. "I told you before. I don't drink anymore."

Liar. You seethed quietly. He was drunk the first time you met him after many years. You didn't care if it was a moment of weakness for this asshole.

"You can't make an exception now? Come on, bastard. It's just wine."

You chugged on the bottle again before clumsily pushing it to his chest. Jungkook was like a rock, though. He didn't move, allowing you to push the bottle close to his thumping heart.

Your insistence was to no avail. Ultimately, you grew frustrated and ended up drinking the whole bottle yourself.

"Ugh," your head throbbed as you felt your body temperature heating up. Jungkook knew you were drunk. He inevitably grabbed the bottle and placed it on the floor. You didn't protest, merely burying your flushed face to his chest.

Jungkook called your name helplessly—as if he was a poor kitsune who lost his wits and tricks after falling into the hands of a Goddess.

"I hate you." You were as fierce as ever. You tried to scratch Jungkook, but your hands were shaky.

Jungkook heaved shallow breaths,  posture rigid—a poor attempt to mask his pain. One would think he was desensitized by all kinds of hurt. However, everything that left your mouth also left a dent in his heart.

"I know." But Jungkook couldn't even refute you. You have every right to hate me. He muttered to himself as he helped you get to your feet and inside the house.

You were an annoying drunk, slurring swear and unintelligible words. Jungkook didn't mind, though. You had lowered your defenses, and this was something Jungkook had longed to see. However, he refused to take advantage of your drunkenness, so even when he wanted to bring you to your room, he didn't.

It was a courtesy. Jungkook has already invaded your space by shamelessly living in your home. He couldn't possibly thread into your bedroom. It was too much—too personal. He couldn't take or peak at something that belonged to you alone. And so Jungkook settled you into the couch. Youwere still murmuring words, eyes glazed over. Jungkook left you for a while to retrieve a blanket. You liked curling yourself into a ball while sleeping. You couldn't get comfortable without a blanket covering your feet.

Jungkook wasn't the same. He slept in worse places before. He could survive a night without a blanket. Besides, Jungkook didn't think he could sleep—for he was busy indulging himself in looking at your sleeping figure. He didn't dare do more, though. He had the urge to cup your cheeks and kiss the seam of your lips.

But he didn’t.

You weren't his—Jungkook knew this, yet it didn't make it hurt any less.

It was his fault.

"Kyouka...." You mumbled in your sleep. "Resht. It'sh jus' an exam. Don' push yourshelf too hard."

Jungkook smiled lightly at that. You were still thinking about your beloved students even when you were drunk. It was amazing, really. He knew you had a lot on your plate right now (you wouldn't get drunk without a reason, no matter how much you liked expensive wines.) Still, you thought of other people's answers and were willing to set aside your worries for others. You were just so...

Softhearted. Jungkook thought, feeling his heart throbbed. You were so good—to him, Soobin, and your students. It made Jungkook realize something:

Jungkook couldn't drink, and his pathetic life meant so little. However, he was willing to offer his life for you. Because really, this poor world would feel colorless without you orbiting it.

*******

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A/N: What do we think about this chapter? :) Tag suggestions are encouraged!

[thewritersaddictions]

Request- (RE8) Karl Heisenberg: Needy Little Girl

Pairing: Karl Heisenberg x Fem!Reader

Pov: Reader

Summary: Hiding your crush on your English teacher seems to fail when he makes you stay after class.

Warnings: Smut, Consensual, needy behavior, sluty behavior, BJs, PinV, a little cursing. Fluffy smut, fluff.

A/N: This is for anon; I know you sent this request a while ago. I promise it was worth the wait. Thank you for the request; remember, the inbox is always open!

WC: 1.9k

Requests Master List // Resident Evil Master List // House Heisenberg Master List

You wish you could start the day the way you ended it. The college class fills quickly, but you’re always early. You’re always waiting for him to come stalking through the doorway, smelling cigar smoke and burnt wood. 

Your professor is a massive hunk of man. Large arms that make the white collared shirts he wears bulge and give way with every movement he makes. Long legs that are framed in jeans, hugging his ass and showing off everything else in the process. 

That booming voice has you squeezing your thighs together, but the reality is you leave that class every single day with a ruined pair of panties, and when you get back to your dorm, there are only thoughts of him when you slip your hand down the front of your tight jeans. 

You should focus on the lecture, but you can’t get your mind or your eyes to focus on the computer screen before you. All you see is your professor pacing back and forth in front of the chalkboard. The loud booming voice that soothes you into a sweet lul mutters about something to do with your new essay project. “Please remember that we may make fun of Shakespeare and his many stories, but they all have a great deal of meaning and foreshadowing. I want you to write something that…” His words stop momentarily, and his eyes gaze over the lecture hall. Your ankles are crossed, and you sit a little higher when his graze hits you. Feeling hot all over, you don’t back down, “Write something that can grasp the reader’s attention in just that way. Write the trauma that is the indecision.” He finally finishes, drops his gaze from me, and returns his attention to the chalkboard. 

You wonder momentarily if anyone else feels the heat and tension you always feel when he’s looking at you. Eventually, you have to return your attention to your blank Google Doc. The bright screen hurts your eyes, and nothing comes into your brain except explicit thoughts of your professor—your much older, hotter professor. 

An hour later, when the class has come to an end, every single other person has picked their shit up and packed it away into their bags. You’re stuck writing because you eventually did get the words to form in your head. A cough draws you from your thoughts and the screen before you. When you look up, he’s standing there staring at you. 

“Miss, L/n? Class is over.” He says. You nod and start to pack your things. Closing your laptop, but yet again, you’re met with his eyes staring into you. Making your skin burn, “Miss, L/n, I need to talk with you.” Your professor says, even though you’re so close to the damn door you have to turn around and go right back to the man that makes your legs wobble, and your heart beat faster. “Yes Professor Heisenberg.” You say as you hold the remaining books tightly against your chest. “I need to talk to you about something private, and this lecture hall needs to be used in the next ten minutes, so follow me to my private office so we can talk there.” You nod, and wait for your professor to grab his own bag and laptop. You follow next to him, the sound of sneakers squeaks, and little kittens heels fill the air in the hallway. Walking with him has your cheeks warm, and knowing that you’re going to be in his private office. 

Alone. 

Alone with a hot, older professor that has you ruining panties, and squeezing your thighs so tightly that you hope the dull ache goes away. Your professor stops making you bump into him. If your fantasy didn’t already have you thinking he was a strong, beefy man then bumping into him surely made all your fantasy come true. The key jingles against the lock letting you in first. You sit down, and wait until you see Professor Heisenberg move around the desk and sit in the chair on the other side. 

The air is thick and unspoken tension, so you’re the one to break it. “Um… sir, why did we need to talk?” You ask your books now resting on your lap, your legs crossed, and you back pressed up against the back of the chair. “I wanted to talk to you about… um” his words die in his throat and for the first time your professor seems completely amiss. A loss for words is something you’ve never seen on the man before. 

“Did I do something wrong?” You ask worry etching into your soft features. “No you haven’t. God no, I just.. you..” He’s a mumbling mess in front of you. “Professor, maybe I should come back some other time.” That’s what you say, not that that is what you’re thinking. 

Being in his lecture hall is enough, watching him pace is enough, but now you’re here in his private office. The word private keeps blinking in your mind, his private office that smells more of cigars and burnt coffee. Where his degree hangs on the wall and the papers scatter the hardwood top of his desk. He rolls his lips together, and then looks towards you. 

There’s something behind those eyes. Like a cat got his tongue, then all the sudden the words fall from his very kissable mouth. “You Y/n are an absolute distraction for me.” Your brows shot up with a little bit of hurt mixed in, “Oh no not like that darlin’ I’m saying that having you in my class makes everything ten times harder to focus on, because all I can see out of the corner of my eye is you. Clenching those thighs together as you try to focus on your screen, but I catch you staring at me all the time. Those beautiful eyes lost in la-la land. What are you thinking about huh?” Your shoulders drop, and embarrassment courses through your body. You’ve been caught, but it seems that your day dreams, and fantasies were not one sided. You place your bag on the floor, and let your books fall as you get up from across the desk. “I’m thinking of you Professor Heisenberg. About what these large hands do to my body. How your touch would feel. I think about you all the damn time. I’m so needy for you.” You mutter the last part. Holding his hands feeling the weight of them in your own much smaller ones. 

You can feel the ruined panites, soaking through your jeans. Heisenberg's eyes glaze over, and something shifts in the room, from tension to desire. He’s quick to meet you halfway around the desk. He stands so much taller than you, then the way he man-handles you to sit on the side of the desk has you wish you could strip off all your pieces of clothing right then and there. 

“”I’m so fucked…” He whispers before taking your lips with his. There’s a fight, but you both know that you’ll be giving yourself over to your professor in a matter of minutes. Your arms wrap around his wide shoulders balancing on your tiptoes to deepen the kiss further. He seems to notice, and takes a second of your precious time together and picks you up plopping you onto the desk. In the same motion his hands are digging into your jeans and yours are trying to get his belt undone. “By the way, buttercup call me Karl, not professor or heisenberg. I wanna hear you moan my name when you cum. His words make you fumble with his belt, but he seems to be able to do two things at once because your jeans are already unbuttoned and his hand is reaching into cup your pussy. 

“Fuckin’ hell wet are the damn river. Is this what you go through every day, hmm such a poor baby.” He teases, but that's all the teasing he does. He’s far to desperate for forplay and your thankful because the next set of words that were gonna come out of your mouth were gonna be ‘if you don’t fuck me right now I think I might explode.’ Karl helps you the rest of the way with your shirt, bra and then he helps himself to ripping himself out of the slacks, and his button up. 

Leaning back you hit a few objects on the way down. “Um… Karl can we move some of this stuff?” You ask your voice shy and timid. “Of course.” With one big sweep of his arm the objects fly to the floor, the name plague landing with a thund, and the stapler clicking to the floor. “Thank you.” He hums, and returns his attention to your body. 

Nipples hard waiting to be played with. Pussy soaked and yearning to be touched, he kisses you first. You can feel the weight of his cockd sitting against your thigh, and when you look down you aren’t surprised to get the feeling that it might not fit. Karl can sense your unease. “Don’t worry buttercup, we’ll make it fit won’t we.” He says as he taps the tip of his cock to your sensitive clit. All your worry fades away as your body heats up like flame in an oven. It’s not until the tip of his cock notches at your entrance do you look back up at him. There’s a devilish smirk written all over his face, and you can’t help but drag him down to meet your lips, wrapping your legs around his hips, and pulling him fully in. 

There’s no waiting, no making sure he fits, or going easy. The pain only fuels the urge for him to almost pull all the way out and push right back in. The lamp that didn’t land on the floor from the desk shakes, and your moans start to fill the small office. He doesn’t even put a hand over your mouth to cover your screams of ecstasy. A large thumbs sitting over your clit, pulling tight circles over it pushing you over the edge, and as you go Karl thrust becomes harder and faster. He’s pushing himself to catch up with you. 

If he was a gentleman he would have prepped you, taken you out to dinner before fucking you like an absolute animal but a part of him thinks that how you like it. Being taken, whisked away and fucked for all to hear. Hell someone could knock or just burst in at any moment. Your tits bounce with every erratic thrust, your nails dragging against the back of his neck. “Oh fuck I’m gonna cum again.” You scream and it’s Karls undoing. Tight, wet, warm walls squeeze him tightly, barely letting him leave to thrust back into your warm heat. “Fuck me Karl, just like that!” 

Your chest rises and falls as you both try to catch your breath, sweaty, and sticky from sex. The room smells like it too, but that alright especially when Karl reaches over your body still deep inside you to grab a few tissues to clean you up the best he can. “By the way” You say in a huff. “You can call me Y/n.” You say sarcastically, as if the moment here will ever happen again. “I will darlin’.” He says with a wink.

Completed on: 03/29/24

Posted on: 04/05/24

HH Tags-

[trensu]

Have a snippet from that one holy warrior au. thanks to @ent-is-indecisive for helping me come up with a title for this fic. i'll be tagging it as stasis in darkness for easy tracking. this is part of a rough draft so it probably will be modified by the time i finish the damn thing and make it ao3 ready. but my brain's kind of stuck and needs a kickstart to get it going again, so i thought i'd share it and hopefully get motivated again

It happened again.

–

The fourth night:

“Isn't it true the King of Darkness–”

“Lord of Night.”

“Yeah, him. He controls all the monsters in the dark and sets them on innocent people for fun. Don’t see why you’d want to throw your lot in with a god like that.”

“Because he doesn’t. He takes care of nighttime animals. Bats, coyotes, owls…”

“The scary ones, you mean.”

“No! Besides, he takes care of cats, too. Cats aren’t scary. They’re, you know, cute.”

“Hmm. If you say so.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? You got something against cats?”

“Of course not!" The man said, sounding mildly offended. Steve opened his mouth to go on about the Lord of Night's chosen creatures but the man interrupted with, "Well, look at the time! Later, gator.”

The man ran off with a grin not sparing him a second glance. Steve stared after him, baffled.

“What the fuck’s a gator?”

–

The fifth night:

“Don't you know your King, excuse me, Lord of Darkness–”

“Night. Lord of Night.”

“Same thing. He helps criminals evade justice. Pretty sure that one’s true.” The man lounged lazily on a nearby boulder as he asked. Kind of like a cat, Steve noticed with a trace of amusement that was easily smothered by annoyance at the man's…everything else.

“He helps people who travel by night. Most of the time they’re just night workers or people with nowhere to go. The ones that are shunned for being different or the ones too poor to afford safe shelter.”

“Huh. Alright, explain the horse thief thing, then, if he’s so good and noble.”

“...fine, he’s got a soft spot for horse thieves but thievery isn’t that bad of a crime in the grand scheme of things.”

“Ha! Sure,” the man conceded. “But! You can’t deny that this Lord of Night cursed people with terrible nightmares that left them sleepless and suffering for days. To the brink of lunacy, some say.”

The man said it with triumph, as if with this he’d finally break Steve’s faith. Steve shrugged. 

“All gods get angry.”

“And that’s okay? You’re fine with him inflicting mind torture on some poor mortal just because he threw a tantrum?”

“First off, he wouldn’t just throw a tantrum," Steve said with exasperation. He might end up throwing a tantrum if this guy persisted. "I don’t think he’s the kind to get angry easily. And second, the people he cursed before always deserved it. Besides, he helps with good dreams, too. It’s not all bad.”

“Uh-huh, I totally believe you," the man said, heavy with mockery.

“Look man, if you’re so against the Lord of Night, why are you still here? Why do you keep coming back and bothering me?”

“...curiosity?”

“Well, be curious quietly. I need to pray.”

“...he probably doesn’t even have prayers.”

“I said shut up, man. I need to concentrate.”

The man leaves without any more fuss. 

–

The sixth night:

“You have a lot of faith in a god who lost his own name. Does he even have any holy texts left?”

“Dustin could only find one, but that was enough.”

“Really? Other gods have entire libraries of stories and whole tomes of holy words. They have temples and monasteries all across the land of mortals.” The man motioned derisively at the crumbling statue. "This thing here is barely a shrine!"

“Hey, I'm working on that, alright? It's going to look great when I'm done with it," Steve protested. "And so what if he doesn't have more? Robin says quantity’s got nothing to do with quality.”

“Yeah, but the other gods are remembered for a reason. That counts for something,” the man's voice lost some of that smug edge. He fiddled with the hem of his fraying shirt as he spoke. 

Steve refused to rise to the bait. He responded calmly, but firmly.

“I don’t need libraries to know I want to carry his symbol. From what Robin and Dustin found, he represents all the things my friends taught me were important.” Steve pauses. "I’m not a good reader anyway so less books are better for me.” 

"Oh, so that's why you picked him! Very convenient," The man sounded very amused. Steve ignored him until he heard the man wander away for the night. He sighed in relief.

With a surge of restless energy leftover from being very good and calm about that nuisance of a man, Steve approached the statue elevated on its crumbling plinth. He reached up towards its open hand held at its side, barely within reach, and brushed his fingers along the worn knuckles. 

"That guy's wrong about you, I know he is,” Steve whispered, fervently. “You deserve a temple. A hundred of them, all for your own."

Steve thought, for a moment, he heard a sharp intake of breath, but when he looked there was no one but him around. 

“I’ll make sure you get a great temple."

He waited, strained his ears for even a single word from his god. He tried not to be disappointed when he heard nothing. Again.

–

ps: i do not do those reader tag list things. if you’d like to keep up with my stuff, follow my writing tag: trensu tells stories

[ughthatimagineblog]

yawn and reach

this was such a fun request it literally occupied my brain for the last 72 hours. tytyty anon!!!! summary: 'video game joel in jackson would be so awkward w reader. imagine they go see a movie for the first time in years and he does that thing w reader where he itches his nose to smoothly put it over reader’s shoulder' - requested by anon rating: 18+ warnings: lightly implied smut but no real smut at the end, cursing, age difference (reader is about 30-32 and joel is 54-56), tried to be as neutral as possible but i did write this with a feminine reader in mind. word count: 6.07k

Being in Jackson meant having clean water, a warm bed, guaranteed food, but best of all; electricity. The dam in town, monitored and worke on by the gracious townsfolk who took you in, keeps the water your bathe in warm and lights on all around the city at night. You’d forgotten the luxury of seeing so much in the dark.

Having been a young age when the outbreak began, the memories of what life before infected were blurred. Muddy water. Clear only in brief moments of light, smells, feelings and fleeting just as fast. Your mother, who also survived- or rather helped you survive- helped fill in the gaps on occasion and you were grateful for the life you clung to, even if it meant wandering in the dark for months at a time, unsure of where your next meal would come from. From youth to now, you and your mom watched out for each other. Now, you were part of a community that would take care of both of you. You both return the favor.

Being in a QZ meant enforced curfews and the military breathing down your back. Not allowed out, barely anyone allowed in. Escaping was easy enough. Surviving your way all the way to Jackson was not. Now, you and your mother roam freely at night and almost any other time if you aren’t on patrol. Music from bars pour out into the string lit streets. During the day, children play and learn. Hundreds of people found refuge here, and you now joined their numbers. You’d even met a few people you’ve become close enough with to say you’re friends.

Sometimes you get put on patrol with Dina, Jesse or Ellie, and while they’re both several years your junior, they entertain you, they respect your authority, and they also remind you of being that age, so you don’t mind. You spend some free time at the bar or help out in some of the kitchens from time to time and have grown close with a few others, all in varying ages. Joel, who you met through Ellie, being one of them.

Joel. Always brief with his words. Always to the point. Ellie would complain about him on patrol from time to time, but she would balance it out with credit to the man in the same breath.

“He’s always trying so hard. I just don’t know how to make it work now…” She trailed off on a ride home from the nearby abandoned town. It was your last stop and it was beginning to get dark. You’d given her a small nod of understanding in response. She huffed out a sigh. “I know he cares and stuff, but sometimes I need my space. I mean-” She paused to look at you, reasoning with her own conflictions. “I just would like one night out of the house. Or the garage, I guess. He’s done a lot for me… and I want him to know that I see that.”

You thought for a moment. “Maybe spend some intentional time with him. That way, when you want that night away, it will be earned and he won’t put so much pressure on it.” You suggested. She made a face off indecision but nodded anyway. “I think you’re right.” Was all she’d said on the matter the rest of the ride back.

Secretly, you admired the man. He was maybe ten years older, but you got along like you’d known each other for ages. You liked the energy the kids like Ellie brought to your days, but if they were your spark, Joel was your peace. You didn’t feel pressured to have to entertain, or keep him on the right path, or make sure he was being observant. Joel was a seasoned veteran when it came to survival and you felt an ease with him you couldn’t with anyone else. Because no one else could protect you like Joel could. No one other than the mother who helped a child survive the outbreak. And even that was highly lucky.

You were put on patrol just twice with Joel. Both times were eventful in wildly different ways. The first was in a positive way, you both found a new stash of medical supplies- an urgent care facility that’d gone unnoticed due to the decay of the lettering outside of the building signaling any kind of benefit to looting. Half of it was also caved in so you and Joel both worked to sort through the rubble that’d gone ignored for so many years. You’d both decided to check it out on a whim, and were very grateful you did.

The second time went a little differently. It was summer and the sun was beating down on the both of you like you’d never experienced before. Dehydrated and exhausted, Joel suggested stopping by the creek bed where you were to cool off in the water. Not a moment after relief began to set in, you were caught off guard when a small group of infected decided to jump both of you. In the calamity of racing back to your things, you’d slipped on a rock and fell so hard on your head you got a concussion. It rendered you unconscious and the only reason you were still breathing the next day is because of Joel.

You remembered the cold feeling of air rushing over your head wound, blood slowing, but still pouring out. Eyesight fading in and out, and when it was in, it was blurry. Unclear images of Joel fighting off the infected while keeping your body strictly behind him flash in and out of your memory. He’d patched up your head as best as possible and hoisted you onto his horse with him, tying your horse’s reins to his saddle horn to ride with the both of you back to safety.

He’d been muttering to himself the whole ride, all the way until you were passed off to the medical staff. Very faint sounds, from what you could remember, but you also knew to attribute that to the concussion. It was a fade out from being handed off, to waking up being carried further from Joel, the last image being of him staring after you as he grew smaller and smaller.

From that day forward, you two have been close. I guess saving someone’s life really does bring two people together. Your mother was fond of him as well. And not just because he saved your life- although you did figure that played a large part- but because of his manners, his honor. She’d mentioned how polite he was to you one day and, it wasn’t that you hadn’t noticed, but you hadn’t seen how deliberate it was. Holding doors open for you, fully listening when you spoke, considering your likes and dislikes. If he was behaving this way specifically for you, you couldn’t tell, but you did take note. 

When you’d complimented him on such things, he- in his own Joel way- laughed in your face. Really, it was more of a scoff, but nonetheless it was just as dismissive. “‘M not polite, darlin’, I just treat people how I wanna be treated.” He answered plainly, but there was a hint of knowing in his eyes.

You began to keep an eye on these things he does that he brushes off and you found that, while yes, he does open doors for others and he is an excellent listener, he doesn’t listen to anyone else the way he listens to you. Undivided attention. When you speak, you’re all he sees. He’s holding onto every word of yours like if he doesn’t he’ll fall down. Even when you’re talking about nothing. When he holds doors for others, he looks relaxed and at ease, but guarded. With you, his shoulders soften and he’s often watching your every move as you walk by. He’s more awkward with you. Part of it is his own ambiguity in navigating getting close with others, but part of it is something else, and to assume it’s you would be highly narcissistic. Or so you tell yourself. 

Meanwhile, Joel can barely contain himself. His time in Jackson had been peaceful, and had allowed him to grow comfortable. With Ellie safe and enjoying life, he’d forgotten what it meant to have room to care about anyone else. She’d been his priority for so long. Now that he met you… Just thinking about you made his stomach turn with butterflies. He felt juvenile.

It took him a week to discover your existence. Three months to patrol with you for the first time, and another three for the second time. Every patrol in between was filled with thoughts of you. Hope that you’d be paired with him again. After the second time with you, he was enamored. Your intelligence captivated him. You’d researched so much. Both about this new life and the life before the infected. You had stories on stories to tell of you and your mom, some of which were his favorite to hear. Joel knew better to pry whenever you’d get to a particularly hard memory in your stories. He’d often ask a question about a different part to get your mind off of whatever had you troubled, and even though you knew what he was doing every time, you let him. It was nice. Sweet. Two words most would not use to describe Joel. You would. And you’d said so.

That almost knocked Joel on his feet. When you told him you thought he was polite, and sweet. It made his heart nearly leap out of his chest. Feeling slightly guilty for laughing in pure shock at a fairly innocent compliment-turned-question, he’d given a finite and brief answer. You hadn’t complimented him since. Worried about rejection, you’d avoided doing so.

Finding himself thinking about why you hadn’t done so tipped Joel off to his growing, deeper, feelings for you. It bothered him, and under any other circumstance- anyone else- he wouldn’t care. Wouldn’t have crossed his mind. Much like many other interactions with others in the town. They weren’t on his mind like you were. But he also worried he was too old for you. He thought about what you’d think of Ellie who was essentially his own kid. His past was a heavy burden to carry, as well. He’d killed so many, watched so many die, and the thoughts of those deaths weighed on him heavily. 

The last thing he wanted was for you to shoulder any of it. Joel knew that the first time he saw you laugh. He wouldn’t do a thing to compromise your happiness if he could help it.

Weeks later, you both were busy on your respective duties that would be ending sooner rather than later. It was the first Friday of the month, and the first Friday meant movie night. The electricity in Jackson was powerful and a few months prior, Dina and Jesse returned with a projector, VHS tape player and some VHS copies of several different movies. The town would not stop talking about it for a month afterwards. Aside from new medicine, food or healthy helping hands, this was the best news they’d received all year.

Movie nights became a regular, monthly tradition. Those not on shifts for the night would gather and watch different movies. There would be a vote beforehand on what would be played and the announcement would go out a week in advance so people could plan to be there. If you couldn’t make it due to a shift, you were sure to be scheduled in time to make it the next month and so on. It was a huge morale boost for everyone. Dina and Jesse have not stopped bragging about it being their find because of it.

Hanging up your apron, you made your way to the washrooms where you cleaned up after working every shift here. Your neighbor, a girl of similar age who got put on the same duty as you today, met you by the sink. “Are you coming tonight?” They inquired. You smiled and nodded. “Movie day. Never missing that.” You assured, scrubbing the smell of garlic off your fingers. No amount of soap would be enough.

“I bet Joel will be happy to hear that.” They wiggled your eyebrows at you. You rolled your eyes. “I’m sure he will. He’s my friend.” You assured. “Uh-huh.” They responded in an unconvincing tone. “Hey, all I know is, he’s bringing Ellie, but we all know where she wants to be. Maybe you can get some one-on-one time with him?” They suggested. You paused at this before reaching for one of the towels to dry your now-clean hands.

It was a good point. You recalled your conversation with Ellie from a few days prior. How she really was looking for an excuse to be out of Joel’s earshot for one night. You weighed your options. It wasn’t like you to blatantly ask someone to hang out, especially not Joel, and especially not under the current circumstances. It also wasn’t likely to get him to let Ellie go anywhere he wasn’t familiar. Maybe you could get Joel away from Ellie?

It was clear you liked Joel. You loved him, really. It was quite easy once you got to know him. If you asked him to see the movie with you, and you specifically, you weren’t sure how he’d react. You were confident he’d say yes, but to what degree?

Realizing you were overthinking something that was probably just all in your head anyways, you snapped back to reality to find your neighbor staring at your zoned-out expression, smirking. “You’re thinking about it, aren’t you?” They asked, mouth agape in joyful surprise. You felt heat in your face and quickly dismissed them, pushing past the doorway.

“I’m thinking about going to see the movie later and nothing else!” You shouted over your shoulder, leaving your colleague and emerging to the main cafeteria. Turning on your heel, you were about to reach for your keys and bag that had been strewn on one of the tables when your face instantly collided with leather.

Stumbling back, and almost on your ass, you began to curse, “What the fu-” You began to say, but the feeling of two strong arms steadying you and the familiar face in front of you cut all sound in your throat short. Joel stood before you, the smell of pine filling your nose as he stood there looking as patient and understanding as ever in light of your fumble. “Didn’t mean to startle you.” He sheepishly apologized as you quickly regained your bearings. His accent was deep, thick. It made your heart flutter. The adrenaline of being caught off guard had not yet worn off. “No, oh my gosh,” You breathily laughed out. “You’re fine. I was just about to leave is all.” You smiled up at him, brushing some hair that had fallen into your eyes out of your face.

“Going to the movie tonight, I hear?” He asked, eyes darting to the hallway you just came from. If your neighbor was still here, they did not make it apparent. You silently thanked whatever was out there that they left. You didn’t need them making fun of your attraction to him to his face but behind your back. Your eyes darted from Joel nervously, remembering the conversation between your neighbor. Surely if they noticed your attraction, he would too.

“Uh, yeah, weirdly enough, I was on my way to you with a similar question, but you’re back from patrol early.” You grabbed your things off the table you went for earlier and turned back to see Joel’s look of amusement and curiosity. His eyebrows raised, a slight smirk on his lips that silently mouthed ‘Oh?’. Those lips. You forced yourself to look at his forehead.

Your heart was beating in your chest so hard you worried he could hear it in the pause. “Would you like to go with me?” You blurted out. It felt silly coming out. Like you were in high school, asking someone to the prom. But under different context. A non-romantic context. Because that’s what Joel would want, right? He doesn’t have the time or energy to deal with some romantic drama, you reasoned.

Joel’s face became unreadable. His mouth slightly opened as if he were going to say something, but closed again as he decided on something else. “Together?” He clarified. You ignored the way your heart sank. “If you don’t want to, that’s okay. I have some wine at my place, I thought maybe we could have a glass before we go. But if you have other plans…”

“I don’t.”

His response was quick. Joel saw the way your face fell at his initial response, and he quickly realized why. You thought he was uninterested in going with you personally. Something that couldn’t be further from the truth. Joel wanted nothing more than to go with you. Jesus, he had the opportunity to take a girl on a movie date. He couldn’t remember the last time that happened. 20 Years was probably something like it. More.

His reaction was purely shock. Not distaste. He was shocked you wanted to go together. That you wanted to go with him. Be seen in association with him on purpose and not in a group setting. It was more intimate than he’d been with anyone recently. 

“I’d love to go with you.” He clarified, realizing he’d only been staring at you since his response to having other plans. “Ellie can have the house to herself for a bit.” You reasoned with a smile meant to hide your giddy emotions and while Joel gave a short reaction at the idea of his kid-now adult- being home alone, he let it go just as easily, too distracted with thoughts of his movie date with you.

Deciding both of you needed a shower before the movie, you split up and went to your respective houses to shower and get ready. It was merely an hour and a half before the knock came at your door.

Swinging it open to reveal Joel, groomed and standing off to the side of your doorway. In one of his hands was a bouquet. Your eyes shot open and you pretended not to notice he got groomed and brought flowers to go somewhere with you. “Where did you find these?” You excitedly reached through the doorway to take them from him, immediately pressing your nose to the petals. It was a well done bouquet of wildflowers. You’d seen them growing several times on some of the patrol routes and found them beautiful everytime. Joel just happened to notice.

“I pulled a few strings.” He laughed, watching your face as you examined them carefully. He could stare at you for hours. You didn’t have to know the exact townsperson Joel bribed to get him those flowers ASAP and you certainly didn’t have to know the extra rations it took for him to keep quiet about it. Joel making an emergency request for flowers? Unheard of. And it will stay that way too.

“I don’t know what to say.” You said, breathless from inhaling the scents in front of you. “Maybe a ‘Thank you’, ‘Please come in’, ‘I have wine’.” Joel teased. You rolled your eyes and cleared the path for him to enter.

He was quick to follow you to your kitchen where you grabbed two glasses and filled them just under halfway. You both silently toast to each other and take a sip. The wine is sweet, but has a slightly bitter taste that lingers. And then, there was that silence. It slipped over both of you like a comforting fog. Both of you comforted each other just by being near one another. You were in sync in these moments and it felt like having a dance partner. Someone to anticipate your moves and flow with them. Being around Joel was as easy as breathing. He didn’t complicate things. In the silence his eyes were like weights on you and with every sip of your wine you felt his gaze follow your lips.

“Why did you ask me to come with you?” Joel asked, cutting through your beloved easy silence like an arrow slicing the air. You froze, not quite sure yourself. That wasn’t true, though. You were sure why you wanted him to come, but terrified of what that would mean. You scrambled for any other logical reason. A favor for Ellie? Personal interest?

“And it’s not to get me away from Ellie for a little while. She knows how to do that on her own…” He commented and you felt the heaviness at the end of his sentence. Crap. He knew you. That wasn’t his point right now. “You can bullshit everyone else, but not me, darlin’.” His southern drawl was accentuated in that nickname and it was enough to cover the nervousness in his voice. The nickname that flooded your mind constantly. The nickname that made you melt.

Finding any alternative to telling Joel your true feelings, you lied. “I didn’t want to be alone. Going alone to the movies alone is kinda lame anyways and my mom wasn’t feeling up to it.”

Joel made an ‘ah’ expression and looked away in thought. He wasn’t buying it, but it was something you clearly didn’t want to be addressed, so he dropped it for you. That doesn’t mean the real reason wasn’t swimming around his mind. Occasionally, he saw the way you looked at him. He knew you respected him and thought fondly of him. Just how fondly, he was unsure. While he hoped there was more, he couldn’t help but worry what you’d think of him. What you’d think of what he’d done to get there. What he’d done, he thought, in a way, to get to you.

“We’d better get going soon if we want to make it across town in time for it to start.” Joel commented with a clearing of his throat, taking a final swig of the wine, now long gone in both your glasses. Nodding, you quickly finished your glass and rushed to put the flowers in a spot you wouldn't forget about, meeting Joel by the door when you were done. 

Twisting the key in the lock of your front door, you went to step down but felt a hand gently touch your back. Turning to Joel you saw his arm stretched out, but bent slightly. You looked at him in confusion.

“Oh c’mon…” He said, gesturing to his arm. “You know what to do.” He urged. Your blank expression answered his assumption with a resounding negative. Feeling a little ridiculous, not because of your confusion but because his own effort in sending signals were going unnoticed. He came up to you, grabbed your hand and looped it through his already-positioned arm. You smiled and said “Oh!” out loud, finally realizing what he’d been trying to do.

“Well aren’t you a gentleman.” You commented as you walked arm in arm to the gathering area the town held movie nights at, trying to ignore the way you were touching him. It wasn’t like you hadn’t before, but you’d repressed the way it made you feel before. It was beginning to be hard to hide it. Joel smiled slightly and shook his head. “Im telling you, I-”

“I know, I know, you just treat people how they want to be treated.” You finished for him. He stopped mid sentence and laughed to himself. “So you do listen.” His voice was gravelly but soft. Music to your ears. “Only when it’s you talking.”

Your response came out flirtier than you intended, the feeling overcoming both of you instantly. Despite ducking your head, avoiding his gaze, Joel felt his heart soar. “I’m a lucky man then.” It was your heart’s turn to flutter. Joel, once again plans to save the moment of being inquired upon further, noting your embarrassment. “How’s that?” You reply, desperate for every word. “I was able to get the most stubborn and independent person to actually listen. I don’t think any man has done so in history before.” Joel joked, a dramatic air to his tone, soaking every word.

You laughed at his jab and shoved his arm in response. “Yeah if you’re lucky for anything it’s because I tolerate your ass giving me a hard time.” He chuckled in response. “Now that is true.” His voice got quiet as you both approached the viewing area together. Finding a small section of grass that wasn't occupied, you and Joel grabbed one of the many chairs set out for people to use and you both sat together.

They were playing Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. A classic. Made before even Joel was born, but highly enjoyed in his childhood. He was looking forward to this movie when he heard it was the choice for the month. He was more excited about watching it with you, now. Your eyes fixated on the screen and as the movie began, everyone’s hushed voices and children's laughter all simmered to a pure silent crowd.

The movie played on like normal, maybe a glitch in the picture here and there but nothing too bad to break the feeling that comes with watching a movie. The ‘illusion’, some people call it. You’re laughing at a quip from Han to Leia when Joel subtly looks over to you. You’re too busy watching the movie to notice, but he can’t help but stare. Your eyes as they take in every moment possible, not wanting to miss out on a minute. Your lips are curved into a smile as you watch and Joel allows himself to wonder how they’d feel on him.

He notices a piece of your hair has fallen into your face and just before the thought of moving it converts to an action, you move to look up at him. Feeling panicked, he moves to scratch his nose and yawn. He stretches slowly and you look forward once more, unalarmed at first of his fidgeting. He was an older man after all. He was probably already getting stiff sitting still.

Joel’s stretch turns into an awkward hand on the back of your chair. This gets your attention. You can see his knuckles peeking over your shoulder and you wonder if the proximity was intentional. Inside, Joel is burning and tense. How could he be so stupid? The yawn and reach? Really? Did someone give him an ‘Oldest Tricks in the Book’ book?

Through his peripheral vision, he looks down to you, searching for any reason to give you any wanted space. He finds none. You’re content and still watching the movie. For the most part. In reality, your mind is reeling just as much as his.

Deciding to be a little more brave, Joel goes to rest his hand against your shoulder. Touching. He was touching you in a comforting way. Between this and walking arm in arm, just the slight contact makes him light headed. It’s been so long since he’s ‘made moves’ on anyone. He’s wracked with nerves and mostly stressed he’s lost his touch. That to you, he’s some cringe-y, single dad.

You feel his thumb starts to move against your shoulder in soft, slow, circles. Despite the motion’s intention to relax, you notice how tense he is. Looking down, his other hand is a fist, fidgeting with the hem of his flannel and you can see he’s watching the movie but every so often his eyes are darting around and down to you. It dawns on you just then that he is trying to make a move.

A mischievous smile spreads on your lips. If Joel was going to be subtle and innocent about his advancements towards you, you were ready to make this as easy on him as possible. After all, the man has been through hell and does deserve a win. Your mind ran a million miles an hour just picturing what might come next. Your attraction to him was at least somewhat reciprocated. It made thinking straight hard, but you knew you had to find some way to show him that he is more than welcome to be more comfortable with you.

You grin to yourself, knowing your plan is in place and you’re too excited to think of previous insecurities of his attraction to you. His sweaty palms and arm on your shoulder proved enough. Sighing lightly, you also feign fatigue, and carefully rest your head on Joel's shoulder.

You feel his upper torso tense and then relax as he processes what you’ve done. Feeling yourself move a bit to get more comfortable, he takes the opportunity to relax his own muscles, recognizing just how stiff they were beginning to get, and he moves his arm to fully drape over you and pull you in. His muscles loosening underneath you is your sign to move an arm over to rest on his leg.

His muscles were taught underneath his jeans. You felt the sweat on his palms, but it didn’t bother you. It actually made you smile. Joel Miller. A tough Texan who rarely let others in was a nervous wreck trying to get close to you. You stifled a giggle and adjusted yourself to be slightly more pressed into his body, almost crossing your leg with his.

Joel could hardly breathe. You were playing into it. It crossed his mind that maybe you’re being nice and don’t want to reject him. But he also noticed your hand on his thigh and how you sometimes would trace shapes or squeeze it lovingly there. It made him feel like a teenager, and he was basking in every second he got to feel his hand on your waist.

The only reason you both noticed the movie ended was when others began to stand up, grab their seats and the floodlights that lit the area came on. It made both of you jump a bit but no one rushed to untangle themselves from the other. He looked over to you, who began to slowly get up from where you were, cool air running over what had once been covered in warmth on his side. He tried to ignore the emptiness he felt without you being next to him so close, having grown accustomed to it for a couple hours.

“So…” You trailed off, not really sure what to say. Your anxiety was through the roof. Both of you weren’t sure if you should address what just happened, or go back to business as usual. Joel spoke before you could. “Let me walk you home.” He quickly insisted, standing and holding a hand to you. You smiled and took it, feeling a bit nervous. You knew if you didn’t address it immediately, it would definitely happen later. You hoped when he got to your door.

The walk home was quiet for the most part. A few comments on the movie, Joel told you a part he’s loved since he was young. You noted how nice it is to be able to do this despite the world’s circumstances. He agreed.

You’d just turned onto your street when Joel spoke again. “Can we talk?” He stopped mid step. It was a rare moment of bravery from him you wrote off as uncharacteristic. Startled by the abruptness, you stopped as well, disconnecting from his hand but not wanting to.

He watched as your arm fell back to your side. With a strong huff of air, he covered his mouth in stress. “I don’t know how to say this.” He said, honestly. You dreaded the worst. He’s going to tell you he doesn’t want this- or anything more. This wasn’t going to happen. He wasn’t going to go home with you.

“Start with the first word.” You suggested, hoping you’d spark anything to get him to spit out what he was trying to say faster. Like a bandaid, you wanted the end of this to be quick and easy.

“You.” Joel said, clearly having more but working through how to put it. You gave him pause to gather his thoughts. “Y’know, you’re always on my mind but we don’t talk and then today you ask me to see the movies, but it’s just because you don’t want to go alone…” He begins to ramble. “Which I know is bullshit because you don’t mind going places by yourself.” Your breath hitches in your throat. He’s seen you this whole time. Why has he not said anything? Done anything?

“And then you spend half the damn movie basically in my lap and darlin’”- That nickname. “I am trying to be as respectful as possible but you just look so beautiful all the damn time and after tonight I don’t know if you feel the same, but I-I need to know. So I know what I can and can’t say to you. Say the word and I promise I’ll never touch you in that way.”

Dumbfounded, you just looked at him, mouth slightly open. It was the most Joel had ever said at one time to you, ever. He never vented. He spoke but in small bits and it was straightforward. He knew what to say. He always knew what to say. But around you he didn’t.

That one small fact had you lightheaded. And then his words dawned on you. Say the word and I promise I’ll never touch you in that way.

“No!” You blurted out. “I mean, I want you to touch me.” You cringed at how awkward it came out. “I mean…” A laugh from yourself blurted out at how hard this really was to put into words. “What do you want to say to me?” Settling on that, you looked into his eyes and found them pouring into yours. He’d smiled and chuckled in relief at your nervousness, giving him enough of an answer. Stepping forward, he traced the side of your face with a calloused finger, stopping after moving hair behind your ear. It gave you chills.

“I want to say,” He paused, looping a hand around your waist. “That I’ve been waiting to get you in my arms since we first met.” His words were enough to make the coldest person alive melt. “And you’re the only one who has got me wrapped around their finger like you.” His low voice rumbled in your chest as he closed some of the distance between you. He paused. Searching your eyes for any kind of resistance, hesitation… regret. He found none.

“I was going to say the same thing.” You grinned, closing any space between the both of you. His lips were rough on yours, his beard prickling the edges of your cheeks. Your fingers found their way into his hair and you sank into his grasp.

Joel felt like this was who he was supposed to be kissing. Who’s skin he was meant to be touching. His heart was thundering in his chest. He’d been falling for you for so long, he forgot the possibility that you’d possibly feel the same and settled on the idea you were better off without him. He knew now, under your grip which was soft but commanding all at once, you were just as deep in pining after him in return.

In reality, you kissed like that under the low street lighting for three minutes. It felt like an hour. Pulling away felt like diving underwater, far away from oxygen. Barely a foot apart and yet it felt so far.

“Do you want to come inside when we get back?” You asked, breathless. He chuckled, lips curving into a smile to match your own. “I want nothing more, sweetheart.” Joel’s gravelly tone lulled. It was rich with care and lust. Damn that voice. The voice that would drift you to sleep that night, whispering sweet praises under sheets you’d only slept in alone prior. It felt nice to have his breath on your neck, his bare legs tangled with yours, his soft skin on yours until morning. Ellie got the privacy she needed, and Joel got the night he deserved.

You’d worry about what to tell your mother some other time.

thank you guys for reading! hope you enjoyed. this has been my first official fully finished fic since returning to tumblr! i appreciate everyone's support :))

[maleficentmrsofallevil]

A plea: how do you organize your stuff?

Another plea to Craftblr, Sewblr, and Dollblr. (I am needy.)

Craftorama room is ready for me to move in: an empty room full of possibilities, which is both a blessing and a curse for ADHSquirrel brain. I am paralyzed by indecision.

I have crafting tools, sewing notions. paints, pastels, sculpting tools, all the glues, beads, fabrics, Xacto knives, scissors, etc. and no idea where to put them.

How do you organize your sewing notions so that they are readily accessible for sewing project time?

How do you organize all those little sewing spools?

Where do you store your fabric batting?

What do you do with those tiny needle packages?

I did a couple things: I got one of those wire wall thingies for my iron and ironing board. Very proud of that.

Currently, I have a large desk where my sewing machine and self-healing cutting mat sits. It looks a little lonely, but I don't want to pile up a bunch of tools around it. There's a bookshelf in there for sewing/knitting/crafting books and patterns.

[mazeinthemiroh]

Headcanon how skz would confess to their crush?

how stray kids would confess to their crush

genre: headcanons; fluff

word count: 1.7k

warnings: cursing, i got emotionally invested in hyunjin's and jeongin's so ignore me

pls like and reblog if you enjoy <3

bangchan

there's not a lot helping this man honestly

he spends days racking his brain for a good way to tell you that he is completely and utterly in love with you

should he make a grand gesture?

should he be smooth and nonchalant with it?

he's a libra so his indecisiveness is sort of a given lmao same bro

he even consults stays on his weekly channie's room live, only to be spammed with various ultra cheesy pick-up lines

if you were a transformer, you'd be Optimus fine

he ends up trying to do it on a whim

which is unlike him. he tends to plan everything to a T

but he feels that with feelings like love, there's not much to plan. he forces himself to be impulsive

and it works!

he makes it a casual affair: just two friends hanging out in a familiar setting (chan needed the familiarity to calm his nerves a bit)

and he just came out with it

"listen, i know we've been friends for a while. but i can't help the romantic feelings i now have."

he'd give a little shy smile, his eyes trying to look into yours but he can't hold your gaze for long enough.

"so, i was thinking maybe we could... go out? i'd think we'd be really good together."

lee know

my gosh

it takes so freaking long for minho to confess to you it's actually frustrating

infuriating, even

you guys are practically dating anyway with the way you flirt and feel comfortable with each other

people see you guys together in public and assume that you're already dating

so YOU MIGHT AS WELL BE

but nothing was confirmed

no words solidified a definite bond

so things felt a bit uncertain, even with the definite mutual liking between you both

minho takes his sweet time that's for sure

he just wants to be certain that you like him the way he does too. sometimes he has a hard time differentiating between people who are being friendly compared with people who are actively taking a romantic interest

he wants to make sure his feelings are being reciprocated in a genuine way

it's hard to read people sometimes

once he's certain that you like him the way he does, he will just come out and say it

"hey, you wanna go out with me?"

he would say it with a little, shy side grin. i mean how can you say no to that??

changbin

changbin is not-so-subtle about his feelings for you

it's written all over his face from as soon as you walk in the room

he's wrapped around your finger

and he's confident in himself too

so there's nothing really stopping him from just going up and asking you out

but he needs to know where your heads at before he makes THE move

considering he hangs out with you a whole lot anyway, this comes quite easily to him

"are you interested in someone at the moment?"

he'd ask. and you'd answer, "yes actually." and his plan goes downhill from there.

does that mean you're interested in someone else or... or maybe it means you're interested in him??

"oh? who's that then?" he'd ask, a jealous tone not well-hidden

"oh i can't say," you'd shake your head playfully.

he's suddenly quiet when he figures out what you're trying to insinuate. he'd thought this'll be easier.

you'd give him some help at this point

"but he's got an outgoing personality. big muscles. and a handsome face, too." you'd smile at him knowingly, hoping he'd take the hint.

he almost laughs at himself for not realising before. that's all the reassurance he needs.

"well, from what i hear, he likes you too. a lot."

hyunjin

oh, my precious hyunne

this man would only ever fall for someone who is really close to him

i'm talking best friends, joint at the hip, couldn't live without the type of closeness you share

you're his no. 1

and you know it

spending a lot of time with hyunjin on a regular basis and you know that, just by the way you catch him looking at you, there is something much more than friendship taking place

one time you were sitting on the living room floor with him, laughing your heads off

it was late and night and obviously, the perfect time for hyunjin to do your makeup

because why the heck not

he's making you look like a clown. why did he choose that shade of eyeshadow? and why is lipstick on your cheeks

"you look so much better like this" hyunjin teased in between hysterical laughs

"shut uppp hwang hyunjin!" you tried to push him away and prevent him from doing any more. "just you wait until i do your makeup."

after the laughter settled down he looked at you with a loving gaze. that was when you both realised how close you were together. there was such an immense fondness in his eyes that told you everything you need to know

and soon, his lips were connected to yours

his confession.

han

being close to han is your gateway to his mind

it's hard to imagine that someone like han, who can be quite hesitant and awkward with getting too close to people despite being loud and usually the first one to break the ice

that he could be so naturally himself with you

even as a friend, he's quite touchy. usually reaching out to hold your hand or pulling you in for a cuddle on the sofa

that's how you know that he likes you before he even confesses

he's not like this with anyone

it'd be when you are cuddling up together, pizza all eaten and anime playing on the tv

this was perfect.

han would let out a big, content sigh and nuzzle into you

the absent-minded phrase of "i love you" would slip out in this peaceful moment

and suddenly you both forget how to breathe. you raised your head off his shoulder.

"huh?"

"huh?"

...

the silence was unbearable

"i mean uh... i love this anime. yeah. it's my favourite. i've actually watched the whole thing so i don't know why i'm watching it again. anyways *fake yawns* it's getting late, i might go to bed."

you just chuckled at him, feeling so relieved of his feelings for you.

very smooth, han. very smooth.

felix

i'm so on the fence about him

like i can totally see him being hella romantic and thinking the whole thing through

he'll end up buying you flowers and a box of chocolates, you know, the cliche things that a cute af

and he will knock on your door and present you with these things with a beaming smile and some sweet words to serenade you off to the land of romance

OR

he will confess to you all at once

no warning, no coherent reasoning, no thought behind those eyes

just felix's enfp brain going absolutely haywire, we love to see it

i usually go with the latter for him. because, while he is super duper romantic and wants his feelings to come out in a perfectly curated way, the likelihood is that his intense feelings for you will get the better of him

he can't hold himself back before he even thinks about it

"you're so gorgeous"

he'd say as he looked at you from across the kitchen. the both of you had just finished making brownies together and felix couldn't help but find you the most attractive you have ever been right now

"oh?" you'd say, taken aback by his forwardness

felix's heart dropped for a second. but that feeling was momentary. he soon felt light and happy, and a smile breezed over his face

"yeah" he'd reply, warmly, "so gorgeous, i might even give you a little kiss"

seungmin

seungmin is so precious CAN WE TAKE A MOMENT TO APPRECIATE THAT

he is just so ;-;

anyways he thinks long and hard about confessing to you

which, in other words, means he puts off confessing to you for like so many stupid-ass reasons

what's putting you off seungmin? the candles? the moonlight? the fact that your venus isn't in retrograde???

like JUST DO IT

he builds up to it though, bless him

it's just in his nature. he wants to pace himself STREAM MY PACE BTW

he might warm up to it. perhaps becoming more bolder with his compliments for you

"that colour really suits you"

"you should style your hair like that more often"

"i find it so easy to talk to you, which is a rare feeling for me, honestly"

and soon he's buying you cute little gifts

"i saw this and thought of you"

i mean that's code for 'i love you' anyways but whatever

he finally gives you a very personal gift for you, with a note attached to it: "to the person i love most. you deserve it"

why you gotta make us cry like that seungmin, gosh??

jeongin

jeongin found it harder talking to you in person

he can be a shy bean at times

an absolute cutie-pie

but he didn't want you to just know him for his shyer side. he didn't want his social hesitance to push you away from getting to know the real him

luckily, you had each other's numbers

and the texting was constant

staying up all night just talking to each other. you both got zero sleep but the rush, the joy, the familiarity of these texts were more tempting than any type of sleep was

you got to see his witty, intelligent personality. his sense of humour. you got used to the way he teased you, and boy did you like it

these interactions made it ten times easier to talk to each other in person

but one night, jeongin confessed to you

"i fucking love you btw"

he wasn't drunk. he supposed he was sort of... caught up in the moment. it came out of nowhere.

waiting for your response was torture

he waited, and waited

and waited some more

nothing.

until the next time you met face to face. he was dreading this interaction until you grabbed him swiftly. your lips connected in passionate bliss until you both pulled away

"i fucking love you too"

[starvrse]

VICSID

| pairing : idol!noh yunah x fem!reader

| summary : idk 😭 yall arguing bc of yunah

| warnings : toxic, cursing, lowercase, not proofread

“why you gotta be so clingy?” yunah says, putting her phone down, and rolling her eyes. “like seriously, you can’t leave me alone for 10 minutes??” the look she gives you, as if you were one of her obsessive fans.

you look back at her, confused and dumbfounded. “what? i can’t want my girlfriend’s attention now?” you try to defend yourself, “this is the first time i see you in like, what? 4 weeks? so my bad if i miss you.”

it’s true, she has been gone for 4 weeks. but, you should’ve prepared yourself to be alone sometimes, after all, you knew what you were getting yourself into when you got in a relationship with an idol.

that statement is what ran through yunah’s brain at the very moment.

“fuck yn! you’re right. this is my first time off in weeks.” you start calming down, thinking she was about to agree with you. “so my bad if i want some time to myself” your heartbeat picks back up. “i don’t need a clingy bitch in my ear while i’m trying to relax.” she yells, going back to sit in the gaming chair.

you take a deep breath, in attempt to calm yourself back down. “get out.” you say with gritted teeth and glossy eyes. i mean, if you were such a “clingy bitch” why was she in your room, at your house?

yunah immediately snaps her head toward your direction, looking at you with both confusion and anger in her eyes. “what?” she said, adding a cocky smile and laugh to it.

“get out.” you repeat with a cracky voice, and a few tears rolling down your cheeks.

you see her smile falter, a loud sigh leaving her lips. “yn, you can’t be serious” she grips the arm of the chair, “you claim you missed me, and now you’re trying to kick me out? shit, now you’re clingy and indecisive? damn bitch, pick a struggle.” she says as she once again, gets out the chair and starts walking toward your figure.

you tried to clear your voice to sound more intimidating and serious, but god knows it didn’t work. “yunah i’m being so deadass. get the fuck out.” you manage to say while looking up at her.

she looks down at you, pure anger in her eyes. “don’t fucking cuss at me yn.” her eyes darkening with every word. “you think you’re so fucking big and bad, huh? you think you can tell me what to do right?”

no answer.

“fucking right yn!?” she pushes you on the bed. “you wanted my attention, right? well i’m giving it to you now. so fucking answer me.” she says with gritted teeth.

you push her back, and stand up “if you wanted to be alone why come to my house? if you wanted to be alone oh, so badly, why not lock yourself up in your bedroom at your dorm?” you say. “honestly yunah, i’m so fucking tired of you” you poke her chest with every word. “everytime i see you—which is rarely, we argue.” your tears are long gone by now, your voice is filled with pure anger. “so just get the fuck out and leave. me. alone.” you release the breath you didn’t know you were holding.

yunah’s eyes widen, taken aback by your words, she quickly tries to change your mind, saying things like “please baby, i’m sorry.” and “you know i didn’t mean that, i was just stressed.”

once she realized you weren’t changing your mind anytime soon a switch went off in her mind. “okay then yn, fuck you.” she picks up her phone and her bag that she had a few clothes in. “don’t text me or call me unless it’s to apologize.” she says walking to the front door.

“wasn’t thinking about it anyways.” you reply. once she leaves you lock the door and sigh.

(btw i have no idea what vicsid means)

ermmm my first story 🤓 reminder that i am nawt a professional 😭 so mb if this is straight ass (maybe i’ll do a part 2 if ppl care enough 😈)