#do you ever have your muse reply to something and know that 1) it's going to be a short thread or 2) he's going to get rigity wrecked son

[scoonsalicious]

8.2 Bucky

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Summary: Lily McIntyre, trainer for new SHIELD recruits at the Avengers Tower, has been in love with her best friend, Bucky Barnes, from the moment she met him. She's been content with her role of the #1 girl in Bucky's life, even if it means she has to sabotage a romantic relationship or two. It'll be worth it when he realizes that they're meant for each other, right? There's just one small problem: Lily McIntire never expected Bucky Barnes to fall for You.

Warnings: (For this part only; see Story Masterlist for general Warnings) Language, mentions of sexual situations, mostly this is just fluff.

Word Count: 2.7k

Previously On...: You had a nightmare/memory of your time in Afghanistan.

A/N: It's really nice out. I'm writing outside today, lol.

If you ever feel so inclined to support my work, hop on over to buy me a coffee; it's much appreciated! <3

NOTE! The tag list is a fickle bitch, so I'm not really going to be dealing with it anymore. If you want to be notified when new story parts drop, please follow @scoonsaliciousupdates

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

Bucky slowly came into consciousness to the sensation of small hands running up and down his chest. Blinking his eyes open, he grinned when he saw Major leaning over him, tracing her fingers along the planes of his muscles.

“Morning,” she said, smiling down at him, her long hair hanging around her face like curtains.

“Mornin’, doll,” he replied, voice rough with sleep. “You been up long?”

She hummed, running her fingers up along both sides of his collarbone and back down again. “No,” she said. “Maybe ten minutes?” She shrugged. “I was planning on letting you sleep for a while longer, but you looked so pretty, couldn’t stop myself from touching you.”

He gripped one of her wrists in his hand and brought it to his lips, kissing her pulse point. “Glad you didn’t, sugar,” he said, nuzzling her hand to his cheek. “Cause lookin’ at you’s better than any dream I coulda been havin’.”

Major playfully pinched his cheek as she rolled her eyes at him. “What did I tell you about your sweet talk, Sergeant?” she said. 

Bucky pretended to think about it for a moment. “Um…,” he mused, tapping his chin with a forefinger, “that there was nothing you could do to stop me from doin’ it? Even if I already did have you right where I wanted you?”

She laughed, and Bucky loved the way the morning light caught the natural highlights of her hair. 

“What should we do today?” he asked, sitting up so he was propped against his headboard and pulling her into his lap. He leaned down to kiss her shoulder where the collar of his too-big shirt had left it exposed. 

“Breakfast, at some point,” Major said, wrapping her arms around his neck. 

Bucky nodded, his hands tracing up and down her sides. “Obviously.”

“Maybe you could show me around this fancy compound of yours,” she suggested, playing with the short hairs at the nape of his neck.

“Mmm,” Bucky said, sliding a hand up under the hem of his shirt she wore to rest it on her hip. “Sounds like a plan. What else?”

“Take me for another ride on your motorcycle?” she offered.

“I’d like to take you for another ride on something, sugar,” he teased, playfully nipping at the delicate skin of her neck.

“Bucky,” Major chastised, pulling back to look him in the eyes with a smile. “If you wanted to just stay in bed and have sex all day, you could have just said so.”

“I want to stay in bed and have sex all day.,” he deadpanned, trying to fight his grin.

Major scoffed and rolled her eyes. “It’s like you only want me for one thing, Sergeant.”

Bucky felt his entire body stiffen at the accusation, and he sat up straighter. “Sugar– Major, no! Of course not! I–”

She started laughing and gently swatted his chest. “Relax, Bucky; I was kidding. I absolutely do not mind having all the sex with you. I don’t know if you’re aware of this or not, but you’re actually quite good at it.”

He let out a breath in relief, but something still didn’t sit right with him. Yes, since meeting Major just four days ago, they had fucked. A lot. But he wanted more from her than that. He wanted to give her more than that. 

“I think I’m about to say something really stupid,” Bucky said slowly, hoping he was making the right call.

Major raised an eyebrow. “Okay,” she said, dragging the word out. “I’m proud of you for being able to recognize that beforehand, I guess?”

Bucky’s lips puckered disapprovingly. “Smartass,” he said. Major just laughed and pressed her forehead into the crook of his shoulder, letting him continue. “I think we should stop having sex.”

She pulled back, the look on her face full of such shock and disappointment that it was Bucky’s turn to laugh at her. “You can’t be serious!” she exclaimed. 

“I’m not saying, you know, forever,” he said, running his hands up and down her arms to console her. “Or even long-term. Just for, like, a little while.” 

“But, why?” Major whined, sounding like a child who was told she couldn’t have ice cream after dinner. “I thought you liked it.”

“Oh, sugar,” Bucky said, pulling her close again, “I fucking love it. I just want us to be more than that, you know? I don’t ever want you to think that that’s all I want from you.”

“Bucky, I was just joking around. I know that’s not–”

“I want us to last, Major,” Bucky interrupted her to confess. “I want us to last a good, long time. And if we’re gonna do that, we have to have more than just fucking between us. I want to know everything about you. And I want you to know everything about me. Hell, I wanna be everything you need. I want this to be real, and strong, and to have all kinds of intimacy with you beyond just physical stuff. It’s not that I don’t fucking love fucking you–” he smiled when she snorted at his phrasing– “it’s just that I don’t want that to be the only thing I love about you.”

He hoped she understood what he was trying to say without him actually having to say it: He wanted to fall in love with her–  more than anything he had ever wanted in his entire existence. He was more than halfway there already, if he was being honest with himself, but he was suddenly afraid that if they didn’t slow things down between them, if they didn’t take the time to get to know more than just each other’s bodies, they were going to fizzle out before they could truly shine together. 

Major’s eyes were wide and glossy as she studied his face. Bucky held his breath as she took in what he had said, knowing in his heart that if she didn’t agree, if she only wanted him for sex and nothing else, he’d cave in a heartbeat, just to keep her close.

“Okay,” she said softly. “I want that, too, so, okay.”

Bucky let out the breath he wasn’t aware he was holding. “Thank fuck,” he said, bringing his lips to hers for a kiss. 

“Now, when you say ‘no sex,’” Major began, “are you talking ‘no penetration,’ or can we still–”

“Neither one of us gets to use any part of our bodies to get the other one off,” Bucky said resolutely.

Major frowned at his declaration, and the sight was so alluring that Bucky was instantly second guessing himself. “That just seems unnecessarily cruel, Sarge,” she pouted. 

Damn it, he thought, it did seem unnecessarily cruel. He was already caving, and it had barely been a few minutes! 

“I know, sugar, I know. But I think we’ll be better for it.” He really did. He just had to keep reminding himself of that.

Major’s pout deepened. “I know,” she said. “Logically, it makes sense.” She sighed. “How long?”

“In all honesty,” Bucky said with a chuckle, “I haven’t really thought that far ahead. A couple of weeks? At least until after I’ve taken you out on a few more proper dates. Treat you right, you know?”

She threw her head back overdramatically. “A couple weeks?!” she cried. “How am I supposed to function without that good dick, Bucky?”

“Well, now you’re just being theatrical, doll,” Bucky smiled. 

“Fun fact,” Major said, “I did theater all four years in high school. I even got to play Sarah in our production of Guys and Dolls my senior year.”

Bucky smiled. “Well, I don’t know what that is, doll, but see! That’s something I wouldn’t have learned about you if we were having sex right now!”

Major’s laugh was rich, and it made Bucky think of hot chocolate on a winter’s day. Of a kiss on a scraped knee. “Fair enough,” she told him. “But it’s a crime that you don’t know what Guys and Dolls is.”

“So, that’s what we’ll do today, then,” Bucky said. “Show me this Guys and Dolls, doll.” He chuckled, amused with himself.

Major rolled her eyes good naturedly. “I’m going to need some breakfast, first,” she told him, getting off his lap and the bed. She raised her arms over her head in an elongated stretch, and Bucky couldn’t help but admire the way his shirt crept up her thighs, showing more and more of her tantalizing skin until--

No, he had to remind himself. They were going to be putting a temporary moratorium on that kind of thinking. God, this was going to be so much harder than he thought it would be.

He and Major took a shower together, and while there was an excessive amount of touching, they managed to keep it relatively tame. Afterwards, Bucky offered Major another of his shirts to wear, but she paused as she was collecting the rest of her clothes from where they’d scattered them across his room the night before.

“So, Bucky,” she said, her voice sounding confused, “really weird question, but do you happen to have my panties in your possession, by any chance?”

Bucky paused in the middle of toweling off his hair and looked up at her. “What?” he asked, thinking he must have heard her incorrectly.

“My underwear,” Major clarified. “I can’t find my underwear.”

Bucky snorted a laugh. “They’ve gotta be here somewhere, sugar,” he said, walking over to where she stood to help her look. “It’s not like I have a lot of stuff for them to hide behind.”

For the next few minutes, they searched the room, but they came up empty again and again.

“You don’t remember where you might have tossed them when you took them off last night?” he asked her.

Major looked at him. “You took them off me last night,” she said. “When you took off my shorts, you pulled them off, too.”

Bucky thought back to the previous evening. They’d been in a rush to get each other’s clothes off, but he was fairly confident he’d only removed her shorts. “Did…” he paused, the question he was about to pose making him a little shy. “Did you forget to put them back on before we left the woods?”

Major’s hands flew to her mouth. “Oh my god,” she said, trying to suppress a giggle. “I honestly don’t know! It was dark and I don’t remember! Oh, shit! Bucky!” She was trying so hard now not to laugh. “Did I leave my soaked panties in a fucking public park?!”

“That’s pretty deviant of you, doll,” he laughed. Major playfully swatted his chest. 

“It’s your fault!” she exclaimed.

“My fault?” Bucky was faux-affronted. “How was it my fault you forgot your knickers?”

“You just had to make that comment about imagining me in only the dog tags,” she chastised. “You knew exactly where that would lead.”

Bucky couldn’t fault her logic there. “Fair enough, sugar,” he said, wrapping his arms around her. “I take full responsibility.”

“And now you’re going to have to live with the knowledge that I’m going to be walking around all day without any panties on, and there’s not a damned thing you can do about it, because you had to go and decide we shouldn’t have sex anymore.”

Bucky groaned. “Ugh, the me of an hour and a half ago was a moron. Remind me again why I thought that was a good idea?” he begged her. 

“Nope,” Major said. “That’s a hole you dug for yourself. Now you have to lie in it.”

“Lie in it with me?” he asked, putting his most charming smile on display for her.

She stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. “Only if you keep your hands to yourself.”

*

To Bucky’s surprise, the rest of their day together went by in a flash, and he had a great time with Major– even if they both had kept all of their clothes on. He’d taken her on his bike to get a late breakfast at Melinda’s, and while Major had excused herself to the restroom, Mya had approached him.

“I like this one for you, Bucky,” she’d said with a knowing grin. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile so wide before. 

After breakfast, they returned to the compound, and Bucky had given Major a tour, showing her all the amenities the facility had to offer, though he avoided the building where the new SHIELD recruits did their training. He brought her down to the shooting range, and the two spent a couple of entertaining hours together in the simulator, running practice combat drills. When Bucky watched Major hit every single one of her targets, it was all he could do to not throw his “no more sex” rule right out the window.

They had lunch with Sam and Steve, and Bucky thought he was going to die from embarrassment at all the things they were telling Major about him. When he said he had wanted her to know everything about him, he wasn’t thinking about that time in eighth grade when he’d asked Dolores Carmichael to be his girlfriend and she told the whole class he was a terrible kisser. But Steve, apparently, thought it was vital information.

“You’ve either improved tremendously since then,” Major had said with a laugh, “or old Dolores had impossible standards.”

When they’d finished exploring the compound, they went back to Bucky’s room and Major introduced him to the world of Guys and Dolls on Prime Video. The movie was nearly as old as he was– 1955, she’d said, and he appreciated it, though he found the entire thing ridiculous. But Major loved it, and he loved watching her love it, and that was good enough for him. 

Before he knew it, the afternoon was waning into early evening, and it was time for him to take Major back to Langston Park for her to get her truck and head home. He found himself driving his bike a lot slower to get there than he normally would have, savoring the feeling of her hands gripped around his waist. 

When they arrived at the parking lot, Major hopped off the bike and took off the extra helmet he’d given her. “Thank you for today,” she said, leaning in to kiss him. “I had a great time, even without having sex with you.”

Bucky laughed and pulled her close for a hug. “Speaking of,” he said, “you wanna run into the woods and go looking for your panties real quick?”

Major tossed her head back and groaned. “Ugh, no!” she said. “I’m too mortified! They belong to the forest now. They've probably gone wild.” 

Bucky chuckled, but soon his expression turned serious. “When can I see you again?” he asked. If it were up to him, she’d never be out of his sight.

“Whenever you want, Sergeant,” she told him, her voice an almost-purr. “You know where I live.”

“Dinner tomorrow?” he asked hopefully. 

“I’d like that,” she replied.

Bucky brought his lips to hers, and for a moment, they stayed there, kissing languidly. Eventually, though, Major pulled away. “Alright,” she said begrudgingly, “I better go now before I lose my resolve to leave at all.” Reaching over the bed of her truck, she tossed Bucky the shirt he had worn the night before and had left there to dry overnight.

Bucky watched as Major got into her truck and rolled down the window before backing up. “Let me know when you get home safe, yeah?” he asked.

“Yes, mom,” Major said, but he could tell from the glint in her eye that his concern touched her.

He watched as she drove away, sticking a hand out the window to wave a final farewell before rounding the corner and disappearing from sight. Just as Bucky was about to re-mount his bike to head back to the Compound, his phone pinged with a text. 

He smiled to himself. Was Major missing him that much already?

But, no– the text wasn’t from Major at all.

Lily: We need to have a conversation about you standing me up last night.

Bucky swallowed.

Well, shit.

<- Previous Part / Next Part ->

[hyuckmov]

haechan — gold-skinned, eager baby pt.2 read the first part here! 

haechan x fem reader wc: 11k genre: fluff, smut 18+ minors dni warnings: chest/boobs/nipples fixation, dirty talk, fingering, oral (f recieving), unprotected sex, choking, finger sucking, blowjobs, handjobs, mirror sex, overstimulation, a little bit of dacryphilia (crying), hair pulling, dom/sub dynamics (haechan doing both), tittyfucking, thigh riding, this list is making me feel embarrassed minors dni i am so serious, breeding kink, a bit of saliva play i guess, aftercare , haechan is a mastermind male manipulator (in a cute way), me using mark as a plot device or: in which haechan is competitive (read: eager to please), and determined to find out what about him makes you lose all control

a/n: where do i even begin. writing this was so exhausting but also so rewarding at times but also i feel like i'm going to take a break from writing smut after this, i've literally written almost everything i could think of for this fic. i think what we liked from part 1 was haechan being needy and subby so i did add in scenes for that dw <3 i know i describe a lot of what they are thinking in this fic so hopefully it doesn't bore you... if it does... please sugarcoat it for me in your review (just kidding but also like...please don't be mean) anywayy... do send me an ask/reply if you liked this, as per tradition, i hope this is at least a little bit hot :) happy valentine's day!

haechan would say that his standard of living had increased exponentially since your second anniversary. 

the two of you had become more open with each other, communicating your frustrations and needs more easily. there was also a faint buzz of something in the air, moments when you would look over at him and he would feel a blush spread across his cheeks, burn low in his stomach. it felt a little like he was falling in love with you for the first time — it had been a while since he had felt so vulnerable and loved by you. 

"what are you thinking about?"

but perhaps the most significant improvement made to his life was the way he could now reflect on your loving and healthy relationship with his face nuzzled against your boobs.  

"love you so much," he mumbles against your skin, placing a small kiss on your cleavage. "that's what i'm thinking about." 

he feels your hand come down to stroke his hair gently, and he closes his eyes at the feeling. sunday mornings with you in bed: you scrolling through your phone while he's given the freedom to love on his favorite parts of you, have become just another routine that started ever since your second anniversary. 

focusing on freckling kisses on your warm skin, he's then completely unprepared for when you card your fingers through a handful of his hair only to give it a light, but still significant, tug. 

the sensation sends a feeling shooting down his spine, a slight shudder to his body as he lets out a small gasp muffled against your chest. feeling something stirring in the pit of his stomach, his legs twitching on the bed, he nuzzles his face into your chest. 

"again, please," he mumbles. 

he feels the giggles you let out at that right from where his face is pressed up against your chest. kicking his feet, he whines lightly in protest.  

"what's so funny?" 

"found something else you like," he hears you muse. "you're so sensitive, baby."

frowning, he sits up. the visual is slightly amusing — his hair mussed up, his lips swollen. 

"it's not fair," he states. you reach out a consoling hand to him, and even as he continues to grumble, he still intertwines your fingers gently, a contrast between his unhappy tone and his tender actions. "you have too much power over me." 

"what are you talking about?" you laugh, and he scowls. 

"you know." he mumbles. "you can just flash your tits at me and i'd do anything you ask-" 

"i can?" 

"and now you know i like it when you pull at my hair," he whines, a permanent pout forming on his features. "it's like there's nothing i can do that makes you go crazy." 

"that's because i love all of you," you soothe. "all of you makes me feel crazy." 

"do you have any kinks you're keeping from me?" 

"you're my kink," you tease, but your smile drops when he scowls. "sorry." 

there's a pause. haechan looks at you, hard. scanning your face, his gaze doing a slow drag down and up your body, his expression darkening. something had shifted in the air, and suddenly you're a little scared to breathe too hard. 

"haechan?" 

"i'm going to find it," he breathes. 

"what?" 

"i'm going to find it, and then i'm going to make you beg for me to fuck your brains out." 

"what the fuck?" 

but haechan shakes his head, and when he next refocuses his eyes on you, his eyes have the familiar twinkle in them. moving over to you, he cups your face in his hands and plants a kiss on your cheek. 

"love all of you too," he beams. "i'm going to go make breakfast, okay?" 

and with that, he all but skips out of the room, leaving you sitting on the bed, feeling unsettled and also just a little bit excited. 

x

the first time he tries it, it's a complete disaster. 

it's not that haechan isn't good at observing you and what you like. when you go shopping together, he doubles back when you're not looking to take photos of items you've picked up to examine, making mental notes of their price and when he could get them for you. point something out to him, and haechan runs back to the store if you leave him alone for just a second, the bag hanging from his arm when he returns as he tries to hide how fast his heart is beating from sprinting. make an off-handed comment about how good a dish looks on instagram, and he's looking up the recipe before the video ends, and you can bet on the fact that you're having it for dinner the next day. 

it's just that when it comes to him, he has no clue how to begin. you had laid out the perfect plan for him because you knew exactly what he wanted — meanwhile, he was starting from scratch. 

so in the end his brain goes to the one thing you've told him you enjoyed. after all, considering how many times he's seen you fall apart on it, you must like his cock, right?  

"y/n?" 

"yeah?"

"why are you so far away…" he whines, exaggerating his tone a little. you're seated on the other end of the couch, head against the arm rest, your laptop perched on your lap as you work on something. at his words, you lower the screen a bit, peeking over the top of your knees with your eyebrows raised. 

"what's wrong?" you frown. "are you okay?" 

"come here and sit on my lap," he says quickly, before the embarrassment can get to him. "i missed you," he adds, patting his thighs for emphasis. 

that evening, he had chosen to put on a pair of gray sweatpants that usually left little to the imagination. he didn't wear them often for that exact reason, not wanting to make you feel uncomfortable in any way. however, that was kind of at the top of his agenda right now. 

shrugging, you make your way over to him, settling down in his lap with your back pressed against his chest. his chin rests on your shoulder as you open up your laptop again, typing in a few extra words on your document as mumble to yourself under your breath. 

and then nothing. 

haechan doesn't really know where to go from here. his plan had actually only involved one step: putting on the sweatpants. asking you to sit on his lap was already improvisation on his part, hoping that by getting you close he could hopefully get you to react. but here you were, sitting peacefully, happy in your boyfriend's warm touch. 

unsure what to do, he figures he might as well get comfortable, bringing his arms around to hold your waist. feeling like this was turning out to be a complete bust, haechan sighs and buries his face in your neck, huffing a little as he wonders if he should just give up and spend a nice evening cuddling with you. 

but then suddenly, haechan jolts. troubled by your slow progress at your work, you’ve started to absentmindedly fidget, wiggling your hips uneasily and even bouncing a little in his hold as you shift around some more. his arms reflexively tighten around you, his breath catching in his throat as he feels something stirring in his navel. 

"y/n…" 

"sorry." you whisper sheepishly, trying to keep still as you continue your work. but behind you, haechan is grinning as if christmas had come early. 

"don't be," he murmurs, voice dropping an octave. gripping your hips again, he begins to move you on his lap so that you're grinding down on him. "keep going, sweetheart." 

you bite your lip. you really wanted to pay attention to haechan, the sinful way he began to rut against you and the feeling of him slowly getting hard creating a soothing haze in your mind. "i can’t. my work…" you mumble. 

haechan freezes, thinking to himself. you weren't giving in yet. he wanted you to beg him, but so far he had initiated almost everything. "okay," he breathes, settling back down and removing his arms from your sides, even though he could feel himself getting hard. "okay, i'll stop. focus on your work, baby." 

confused, and a little worried — because when haechan wanted something he usually never stopped to get it, — you try to snap out of it. "maybe i'll go work in the bedroom…" you suggest reluctantly.

"sure," he replies, easily. crossing his fingers and hoping you didn't truly mean it. 

but before he knows it, you're standing up, the absence of your weight on him making him feel doubly empty as you begin to walk unsteadily back to your room. a slightly sad expression on your pretty features, the tension in the air making it difficult for you to look at him.

it's the look on your face that makes haechan forget all about his mission. 

"y/n wait-" his voice is high-pitched and breathy. he was more affected than he realized he was. 

at the sound of his voice, you turn around. immediately putting your laptop down on the dining table, you all but run back to your eager boyfriend, skidding slightly on the floor. clambering back into his lap, this time straddling his waist, you smile as he leans in to kiss you, frustration making his movements a little rougher than usual. 

punching him lightly on the shoulder, you glare at him for playing with your feelings. "did you really want me to go…?" nervously, you fiddle with the hairs on the nape of his neck.

"no," he says firmly, kissing you again and pressing you closer. "never."

you beam at him, happy you had such a sensitive and caring boyfriend. anyone else would have found your reaction laughable, but haechan just got you. it warmed your heart to no end. 

"y/n…" pulling you back to the current situation, haechan gently thrusts up, reminding you he was still hard. "can i…?"

"yes," you say, excitement making your reply come out rushed and flustered. "please."

smiling to himself, he pulls your sleep shorts to the side, pressing his fingers hesitantly to the seat of your panties before he falters. 

"you're so wet," he breathes, tugging your panties to the side too so he can stroke your folds with his long fingers. rubbing quick circles into your clit, he pulls you down by your shirt so he can kiss you heatedly. 

holding on to him, you feel your thighs start to tremble, unable to hold yourself up with the feeling of his hand between your legs. as he runs a finger along your slit, rough fingertips sending jolts of pleasure up your spine, you lean your weight almost entirely on him. "please, -" you gasp, not sure what you were asking for, but somehow he's even more desperate than you.  

a groan rumbles from his chest as he impatiently lifts you off his lap, maneuvering you so you take a seat on the couch. scrambling to kneel on the floor between your legs, he pulls you to the edge and pushes your legs upwards, practically folding your body. your feet planted on the couch, your breathing grows heavier and heavier as he tugs off your shorts and panties, leaving you completely exposed to him. the sight makes him moan out again, and he pauses.

"can i lick you?" breathlessly, and almost in a trance, he presses a kiss to your thigh, arms coming up to hook around your thighs and keep them open. "pussy's so pretty baby…" he murmurs, blowing air on your clit and making you tilt your hips towards his mouth. "i just know it'll taste sweet."

"don't tease," you plead. haechan's only ever done this a few times and on special occasions, usually more for you than for him. but when you look at the way his eyes are glazing over, his tongue peeking out to wet his lips hesitantly, you know he wants this just as much as you do. 

"wouldn't dream of it." and with that he dives in, his tongue flat and wide as he licks up your arousal. alternating between flicking at your clit and lapping at your entrance, his moans fall from his open mouth freely, muscles in his arms flexing as he presses you further in the couch and tries to keep your hips from bucking up into him. 

when you feel him dip his tongue into your tight entrance, your hands fly to his hair, curling on his strands around your fingers. the feeling going straight to his cock, he whimpers as he loosens a hand to ease a finger into you, his mouth suckling on your clit. 

"haechan-" 

"cum for me," his mouth detaches from you sloppily, and you swallow as you see his chin dripping with your juices, his lips wet with saliva. "wanna feel you cum on my fingers so bad…" dipping his head back down, he flicks at your clit harshly, his fingers pressing against your walls. you feel your back arch off the sofa as your thighs clamp down around his head, his tongue still working on you as you cum, hard. 

your hips buck against his face and his nose bumps against your clit as he kitten licks at your folds, lightly overstimulating you as you ride out your high. pushing his head away gently, you’re just beginning to put down your legs when you're startled by his hand, shooting out to prevent them from closing entirely. grasping your thigh. 

"please?" haechan's eyes are blown out and wide as he rises up on his knees, his hands trembling slightly as they move higher up your thighs. "i'm so hard…" you take in the way his hips absentmindedly move against the edge of the sofa seat. fully hard in those sweatpants, looking absolutely sinful the way he chases any form of friction. 

"of course," you breathe, lying back on the couch as he enthusiastically tugs down his sweatpants, his cock slapping up against his navel, the tip red and leaking precum. propping himself up with a hand, the other gripping onto your waist, he closes his eyes as he slides in, the two of you letting out moans as you shiver from the sensitivity. before you know it, he's fucking you into the couch, whines falling from his lips freely, rising in pitch as his eyes screw tightly shut. you close your eyes too, reaching out to grab onto his shoulders, the feeling of him stretching you out pushing you close to your climax again. 

haechan has completely lost all grip on reality. he feels your walls sucking him in, wrapping around him so tightly he can't even pull out properly. the rhythm of his thrusts jagged and needy, his hips rutting into you in a frenzy, he's only able to last a few more seconds before he's cumming, his hips stuttering as he feels you tighten around him again. his throat is hoarse, and he wonders if he was screaming instead of moaning. under him, you're also coming down from your high, smiling as you see how winded he is.

"you okay?" tapping him gently on the cheek, you give him a small kiss on his cheek as he blinks dazedly at you. "haechan?" you give him another kiss. 

"yeah-" he mumbles. "fuck." he realises he's still pressed on you, so he gets up, giving you more space to sit up and breathe. as he collapses on the other side of the couch, he takes your hand in his and presses a kiss to his knuckles, lips still sticky. "was i too rough?" he murmurs, worriedly. "i'm sorry, i just really lost control at the end-" 

"it was perfect," you assure him, crawling over so you can hold him. "i liked it," you smile. 

his expression clears, and his eyes crinkle into a smile that mirrors yours as he kisses you sweetly on the tip of your nose. "you were perfect," his eyes sappy with love, he feels sleepiness overcome his body. "i'll run a bath and we can relax after, okay?" 

it's only after the bath, and after the impromptu supper he makes for you, when the two of you are in bed, when he realizes that he's completely lost the plot. today's attempt had told him nothing, except maybe he was going to get addicted to the feeling of eating you out. 

looking at your sleeping form in bed, a light smile ghosting on your lips and the glow of being taken care of by your boyfriend shining on your face, he shakes his head and decides that for now it doesn't matter. he'll figure it out eventually, he knew he would.

x

the second time haechan tries it, he starts out slow. 

"your fingers are so pretty." 

you're out running errands with him, and as the two of you stroll back to the car, his fingers brush yours and he takes your palm in his. now, holding up your clasped hands to examine his fingers, you smile sweetly at him. "i think you have really pretty finger joints." 

"yeah?" it's a small compliment, but haechan always liked being praised, even for the smallest things. "thank you, baby." 

he doesn't want to build any expectations for himself, or expect any reaction from you immediately. he's sure that that's what went wrong with the first attempt. did he really expect you to fall to his feet when you saw him in those sweatpants? it was silly. it was childish. haechan could do better than that. 

he starts out by not taking off his rings when he's around the house, hoping that the sight of them on his pretty finger joints could stir something in you. so far, nothing. (although you did ask him if you could get another set of couple rings together. he said yes.)

he starts picking up activities which show off his fingers more. asking you if you wanted to watch him play the piano, or the guitar. still mostly nothing, although the activities did bring you closer together, his cheeks burning as you praised him for his talent. 

happy that your boyfriend was sharing his interests with you, you asked him to help you with your baking, wanting to reciprocate with your own creative date-night ideas. he was nothing but sweet to you when you brought up the idea, accompanying you to the store for ingredients and helping you set up the kitchen. sure, he seemed to want to hold your hand throughout almost the whole thing, following you around the kitchen like a lost puppy, but once you assigned him to the task of melting the chocolate the two of you fell into a nice rhythm, his soft humming filling the kitchen as he busies himself with the hot water. 

"is the chocolate ready?" 

"yeah," he mumbles, lips pouting with concentration. he looks up to see you smiling at him, tilting your head in curiosity as you watch him stir the melted chocolate a few times. 

and suddenly, he knows exactly what to do. 

dipping two fingers in the chocolate, he holds it up to your lips. "wanna taste?" he asks, as casually as he can.

flustered, you swat his hand away gently. "i can do that myself," you try, shyly. 

"come on," he urges you. his eyes, which have been zeroed in on your lips, flicker up to your eyes and you can see them glint. "just a taste," he says, softly. 

inside, his heart is beating hard against his chest. although it was only the two of you in the kitchen, he could tell from the way you looked at his fingers that you were flustered, hesitating over the idea of sucking on his fingers so boldly. if he could just get you to do this…

he watches with bated breath as you swallow, inching forwards. grabbing his wrist to keep his hand steady, you stick out your tongue to lick at his fingers cautiously. you're just able to taste a hint of the chocolate, when haechan pushes forward and his fingers are enveloped in the warmth of your mouth. 

"now come on," he breathes, a thrill running down his spine as he sees your eyes widen. gently but firmly, he continues to hold your gaze. "suck." 

this was it. a smile spreads across his face as you begin to suck on his fingers obediently, looking up at him through your lashes. he'd won. except…he wasn't really sure anymore, what with the way your tongue was now swirling around his fingers as you continued to lick them clean. the feeling of it foreign yet familiar, making his breath catch in his throat as he’s reminded of the fact that it had been a while since you’ve sucked him off.

but while he was still struggling to figure out who had the upper hand, you already released his fingers with a pop, looking at him knowingly as you went back to measuring ingredients. 

a pause. 

shaking his head a few times to steady himself, he tried to stay confident, putting on his cockiest smile as he sidled up to you. 

"y/n?"

"hmm?"

"did you like that?" 

"like what?" 

"you know what," he wraps a hand around your wrist to halt your movements, pushing your measuring scale and various other bowls to the side so you focus on him. "did you like sucking on my fingers?" 

"haechan…" 

"i felt what you were doing with your tongue, baby." he relishes the way you can't look him in the eyes. "i know you liked my fingers, but i didn't know you liked them that much…" he muses, voice low. a heavy hand snakes up to rub your waist. "wonder if you would like my hands somewhere else…" a flicker of need courses through his body as the words leave his mouth, his hands wandering up to your chest to palm your boobs. "or…" he trails off, biting his lip to try to keep his thoughts to himself.

confused as to why he had gone silent, you finally look up at him, feeling your eyes widen in surprise to see that haechan's demeanor had done a total shift entirely on his own. rather than the usual hard stare and stony expression that accompanies his low tones and rough touches, his lashes flutter with need, teeth tugging mindlessly on his lip as he is completely and wholly distracted by the soft feeling of your chest in his palm. 

"haechan?" you prompt him. 

"fuck, sorry-" he blurts out, unsure of what he was apologizing for. "it's just…", breathily, he scrabbles at your bra, tugging it down so he can touch your nipples. "they fit perfectly in my palms…" and there it is: the familiar pitch of his voice that tells you he's going to start whining soon. 

you can't help but laugh at him, amused as much as you are in awe of him. "did you really just dirty talk yourself into this state?" 

"yes. wait, i mean, no-" troubled, he furrows his brow as you begin to take off your shirt. "uh…"

"we can discuss this later," you soothe, leading him out of the kitchen, the idea of baking long forgotten.

x

1.12 am, haechan: don't get distracted by boobs.  1.12am, haechan: don’t look at boobs.  1.13am, haechan: don't touch boobs.  1.13am, mark: what the fuck ?????

x

“you taste good,” you murmur, touching his cheeks lightly as you lean in to kiss him again in the darkness.

eagerly, haechan sits up. you’re startled by the sudden movement, blinking at him blearily, but soon you’re being tugged up and into his lap, him rearranging your legs haphazardly so you’re straddling him as he leans against the headboard.

“what-?”

but haechan kisses you before you can finish your sentence, his remarkably soft and pillowy lips moving against yours with a soft fervor. 

“feel good?” he asks, expectantly.

“yeah…” you mumble, a little dazed. 

“used a lip scrub,” he states, proudly, kissing you again to punctuate the point. “and i’ve been using a lip sleeping mask for the past 2 days.”

“you taste like strawberry,” you point out, weakly.

“lip balm,” he breathes, almost buzzing with excitement. “you like?”

“yes,” you smile at him, endeared by how happy he was. you lean in, kissing him again, sucking gently on his bottom lip and making him sigh into your mouth. pulling away, you fail to notice the way his eyes light up in anticipation, only to flicker with confusion as you dip your head to snuggle into his hold. burying your face in his chest, you give him a gentle pat as you close your eyes, ready to return to the peaceful state of dozing off you were at when he had first kissed you goodnight. “sleep well, baby.”  

his puffy lips, his puffy sweet strawberry-scented smooth lips, pucker slightly into a pout. “y/n?”

“hm?” 

“you don’t wanna kiss me more?” he whispers, the words a little pathetic in the silence of the room.

“tomorrow, baby.” you assure him, stifling a yawn as you feel yourself drop off. “sweet dreams.”

sighing, he pats you gently on the back as if you were a baby, lulling you to sleep. this really wasn’t as easy as he thought it was going to be. 

sweet dreams he thinks bitterly to himself, closing his eyes too.

x

all the thinking was taking a toll on haechan's brain. 

he was good at games, he was good at strategy. but the thing was, this felt less like a game and more like an experiment: the observation required, the long-term planning, introducing new variables, and analyzing your reactions to see if his actions had the desired outcome. 

he tried revisiting the hand thing. 

"look at how pretty my fingers look around your neck." 

he slides his fingers out from between your legs slowly, smearing your arousal on your thighs before coming up to steer your chin back towards the mirror. the image is so lewd that you want to look away again — you, wearing only his shirt. haechan's chest pressed up against your back, you sitting between his spread legs, your thighs propped apart by his own. one of his hands squeezes lightly on your throat as the other trails back down, two fingers stretching you out as much as he can. 

choked moans fall from your lips as you shake in his hold when you cum, his rings digging into your throat. he releases you almost at once, letting you come down from your high as air floods back into your lungs, murmuring praises into your hair as he cleans you up, while you were too tired and hoarse to speak.

but that was that. you never brought it up with him or requested he do it again, although he knows that if he asked you wouldn't deny him. so he filed it away for next time. 

he tried thinking of things he loved about you. he loved to kiss your neck — so he tried wearing necklaces, tilting his head back more to showcase his jawline, encouraging you to kiss him there. but the most you'd done was ask him if his neck felt sore. 

it was a friday, and haechan decided to leave work early, to see if he could get a headstart on a new lead he had. you had stared a lot at his legs the other night when he had taken you out for dinner, saying they looked pretty in the skinny jeans he was wearing. if that wasn't a directive, he didn't know what was. 

and so he made a short detour on his way home, stopping by the mall to pick out a pair of ripped skinny jeans. he liked the way they hugged his thighs, the slivers of soft skin that showed underneath. 

that's how you find him, when you arrive home. standing in front of the bedroom mirror, scrutinizing his appearance in the mirror. 

"i'm home…" you call out, before stopping. in the mirror, haechan can see your eyes widen and his heartbeat quickens with excitement. you're clearly distracted, unable to tear your eyes away from his legs. was this it? 

meanwhile, you can't stop staring at your boyfriend. usually in sweatpants or baggy jeans, you haven't seen him dressed like this in a while. there are so many rips in the jeans he practically didn't have to wear them, and yet somehow they're positioned in a way that made you want to suck bruises onto his smooth skin. 

your eyes flicker up to his, narrowing slightly when you see the expression of pure unadulterated glee that takes over his features. the corner of his lips quirked up smugly, his eyebrows raised in a challenge. 

and it just flips a switch in you. 

"did you dress like this for me?" you ask, softly. walking over to him, you tug him closer by the belt loops of his jeans, leaning in so your lips brush his. "did you want my attention that badly?" 

haechan falters. this was not how it was supposed to go. 

"can't think of an answer?" you mock. trailing your fingers down to his thighs, you scrape at the exposed skin there with your fingernails, making him jolt. "you were so confident just now, baby…" you pinch him, and he sucks in a breath. "what happened?" 

"i…" at the sight of you tugging your shirt off, his splutters out in alarm. "wait! don't-" feeling stupid, but panic overtaking his brain, he squeezes his eyes shut. "don't take off your shirt." 

you burst out into genuine laughter. getting more and more flustered by the second, he slowly opens his eyes, peeping a few times to make sure your shirt remains on. "don't make fun of me," he mumbles. "it's just that, i get really distracted if i see them, and-"

"oh i know," you assure him, kissing his cheek. "i mean, i was going to let you fuck them, but i'll just suck you off instead." 

"what?" 

he protests the entire time as you push him to take a seat on the edge of the bed, babbling on and on about how this was supposed to be about you. however, the moment you take your position, kneeling between his legs as you reach out to palm him through his jeans, he falls silent. 

"these are new…" he mumbles, weakly. he can't help the way his hips begin to squirm under your touch. 

"aww…"  you squeeze him tighter over the denim and he whimpers. "bought them just for me?" 

"yeah…" he admits, swallowing hard. "y/n…can you…" 

you finish his thought by undoing the buttons on his jeans, tugging down the zipper as he lifts his hips obediently, tugging the material down to free his hard on. when he starts to remove his jeans entirely, you place a hand on his to stop him. grinning at him, you place a light kiss on his thigh. 

"i really like these jeans," you explain. 

you can feel haechan's eyes on you as if he were in a trance. looking up at him, you coo at the sight: his mouth hanging slightly open, drool spilling around his mouth from how he's been licking and tugging at his bottom lip from just the feeling of you touching him over his jeans. reaching a hand up, you wipe his saliva off with your fingers as if he were a baby, his tongue darting out to lick at your fingers. indulging him, you push them into his mouth: full, heart-shaped lips, wrapping around your knuckles as he sucks obediently. 

extracting your fingers from his mouth, you comfort him with a pat on the cheek as slowly, and with a light touch, you start to rub at the pink tip of his cock with your wet fingers. the stimulation makes his legs jump, and he lets out a cry, hands scrabbling and twisting at the sheets. neediness seeping out from all the pores in his body, your hand becoming slick with his precum as you pick up the pace, giving him longer strokes along his shaft. 

you look up at him, and his face is contorted with pleasure, eyebrows furrowed and eyes squeezed shut. his head thrown back, you can see his adam's apple bobbing as he gasps for air. 

"do you like your reward, baby?" you tease, taking your hands off his cock to dig your nails into his thigh instead. the feeling makes him wail, eyes opening to focus on you, blinking away the spots in his vision. 

he nods, still gasping for breath. "don't stop," he manages. "please, don't stop." 

"i'll take care of you, baby, i promise" you ease, hands going back to stroke him, although at a much gentler pace. "keep your eyes on me, okay? i want you to think of this every time you see these jeans…" you take his tip into your mouth, pressing your tongue into his slit. and without any warning, his hips buck into your face and he's cumming messily, all over your mouth and chin. 

"sorry," he moans, unable to control himself. "fuck, i'm sorry,-" his words are twisted into a loud cry at the sudden feeling of both of your hands on him. cum makes the slide easier as you twist your wrists in opposite directions, watching as haechan's whole body spasms — his movements jerky, grabbing at your arms to push you away while his hips continue to thrust forward into the pleasure. you feel a sense of excitement rush through you too as you survey how his thighs shake, muscles in his legs spasming. 

"thought you told me not to stop," you bite your lip, putting on a confused expression. "i promised i'd take care of you." 

haechan is too far gone to respond. tears begin to run down his cheeks as he cums again, globs of cum oozing from his slit. finally stopping your movements for good, you climb up onto the bed next to him, letting him reach for you and pull you close. his tears stain the shirt on your shoulder, and you run your hands through his hair to soothe him. 

finally, his breathing evens out and he plants a soft kiss on your shoulder. 

feeling a little guilty, you brush the hair out of his eyes as you try to read his expression. "are you okay?" you ask, softly. 

he gives you a dopey smile. "yeah," he kisses you again, letting the feeling of your lips moving against his ground him. his hands ghost over your thighs, and he starts to pull you into his lap. "you want me to return the favor…?" 

"no, it's okay." smiling at him, you cup his face in your hands before you realize that your palms are still filthy with drool and cum. "we should probably get cleaned up…" you murmur. 

"i'm never wearing any other pair of jeans," he sighs, contentedly, letting you guide him towards the bathroom.

x

later that night, haechan is lying in bed, reflecting on what just happened. sure, he hadn't gotten you needy and desperate, and in fact he'd done all of the begging, but this was definitely a step in the right direction. it was the biggest reaction he'd gotten from you yet, one that was entirely initiated by you, his cheeks warming at the memory. 

"haechan?" 

"yes?" 

"can we talk?" 

"of course, baby." clearing his head of his thoughts, he pulls you in closer to him, heart warming at the feeling of you snuggling up to him. "is everything okay?" 

"yeah," you say in a small voice. "but i wanted to ask you if you're okay." 

hearing the soft concern in your voice, he tries to remember if he said anything to you about feeling upset, or unhappy, but nothing comes to mind. 

"yeah i'm fine," he frowns. you look up at him with skeptical eyes, and he lifts a hand from where it's wrapped around you to stroke your hair, hoping to comfort you. "what's wrong?" 

"it's just this whole…" you sigh. "you trying to find ways to make me feel good." 

"is it too much?" panic starts to seep into his brain as he runs through the things he's done with you, and to you, these past few weeks. he's sure he made sure you were comfortable with everything, but there was always the possibility that you were appeasing him. maybe he'd gone a little too far with the choking. "i can stop if you want, i didn't think-" 

"no, that's not it-" you interrupt, placing a hand on his chest. "i'm okay, everything's okay." moving up a little bit on the bed, you press a soft, close-lipped kiss against his lips. it takes a few seconds, his body still frozen with uncertainty, before he relaxes and kisses you back, deepening the kiss and holding on to you tightly. 

"i just hope you know that i love you, so much," you say when he pulls away. "and, you don't have to do anything special to make me feel crazy about you." 

"y/n…" 

"i meant what i said that day," you insist. "i know i've mostly been in control recently, and you think i have so much control over you now…but i want you to know that even before our second anniversary i've been just as obsessed with you." 

shyly, haechan bites his lip in thought, your words making him feel more flustered than he would have expected. 

"see?" you continue. "i think you look so pretty when you bite your lip. and i love your hands…" you reach for his palms and place a soft kiss to his knuckles. "love your fingers, no matter what you're doing with them. love your legs, love your moles…" 

"okay, okay." he buries his face into his pillow, a warm glow spreading through his body at your praise. "you can stop now," he murmurs. 

"love all of you." you finish, burying your face in his chest again. "love everything you do, so don't worry, okay?" you mumble, sleep slowly taking over your body as a weight is lifted off your chest. watching haechan observe your reactions extra carefully has been endearing, and being on the receiving end of his constant affection has you dizzy in more ways than you show.  you just hoped that his relentless attempts to please you and read your mind didn't mean he felt unconfident about how much you loved him. 

but haechan doesn't respond. a sense of disappointment blooms in his chest, and he can't for the life of him figure out why he felt so forlorn. it had seemed so simple: he wanted to find out how he could have you needy and eager for him, just as he was with you. just like you had tested out his obsession with your boobs — and at the thought, his hand guiltily strays downwards to palm you over your shirt, needing at least some form of comfort on this confusing night, — he had tested you. and while you responded eagerly to whatever he did, there was no denying that you didn't usually initiate it, and he doesn't know if he would classify your behavior as needy in the way he wanted you to be.

maybe he just needed to tease you a little more. or maybe he needed to deny you pleasure just as you were about to cum. maybe, if he initiated it, and then suddenly left to do something else-

"you're thinking so loud, baby," he snaps out of it with a jolt, feeling you shift in his hold, your eyes opening groggily and a pretty pout settling on your lips. "go to sleep, please," you groan.

haechan lets out a groan of his own. "i'm confused…" he mumbles.

"about?" 

but he shakes his head. you've already reassured him, and honestly he thinks he'll go crazy if he hears you profess your love to him again. 

drumming your fingers on his chest, you hum lightly, thinking to yourself. "will you feel better if i let you fuck my tits?" 

"yes please," haechan sighs, sitting up and shaking the sleepiness from his body before clambering over to straddle you, practiced hands pushing your shirt up. 

and as he lets out a soft wail — feeling you licking at his tip when he thrusts all the way up your cleavage, his hands scrabbling for purchase on your soft breasts, — he almost believes he's okay with giving up this game he set for himself. 

almost. 

x

haechan spins the controller in his hand and waits for his next game to load. 

he had let the whole thing fall from his mind. he'd gotten some pretty good sex out of it, and he felt closer to you than ever before, and that was all that really mattered in the end. now, he could actually focus on his favorite past-times without wondering what you were doing, could wake up each day and not stress over what he should wear. he was sure he would get over the disappointment, pushing the uneasiness from his mind completely as he slumps further down in his gaming chair and starts to think about how to get past his opponent instead. 

faintly, he can hear the door push open behind him. you must have entered the room. "hey," he calls out. "i just started another round but i can come spend time with you after i'm done, okay?" 

no response. weird, but maybe you were distracted with your phone. 

"i was thinking," he continues. "do you want me to cook dinner or should we order in? i've been craving pasta but i need to know if you prefer mine or-" but he cuts himself off when he notices you hovering next to his computer, a large oversized shirt hanging from your frame. it's the look on your face that makes him forget everything about dinner or pasta or cooking. 

"y/n?" he blinks. "what's wrong?" 

"i need you," your soft voice whiny. 

"um…" surprised, he's taken aback as you sit yourself down on his lap, straddling one of his thighs. he drops his controller clumsily, arms coming around to hold you as the game goes on ignored behind your back. "are you hurt? or is it…do you-" he sucks in a sharp breath when he feels your wet core moving on his bare thigh. you're not wearing anything except for the shirt. 

you start moving, rolling your hips onto his firm muscle as if it were second nature, your eyes locking with his and he gulps at the desperation in them, pleading with your expression for him to help you. 

"fuck, baby, what's gotten into you?" what should he do? panicked, he sits up in his seat, the movement making his thigh muscle tense and you let out a whine, your swollen clit extra sensitive at the feeling. "baby, not here," he coaxes, alarm in his tone as he wonders if you're going to cum right then and there. his hands going to your waist, he feels you press down harder on him, your moans increasing in pitch as you ride his thigh without a care in the world, egged on by the feeling of his skin on yours. 

"baby, wait, get off for a moment, let's get on the bed," he tries to move again and it jostles you, and you roll your hips even faster. 

"don't care," you whine. "need you now. wanna cum now…" tears prickle at the corner of your eyes. you're so frustrated that it hurts, you needed him so badly but it's like he'd forgotten how to touch you entirely. "haechan," you groan. "i need your fingers, anything…" the hot friction on your clit making you fall forwards, burying your face in his neck. 

still flustered, haechan tries his best to help you out, wracking his brain of what to do. tensing his thigh muscles, he bounces you gently on his leg, one hand steadying you and the other scraping lightly across your nipples, just the way you like it. gasping at the sudden stimulation, you whimper in his ear to let him know you were close, your arms grabbing haechan's hands and guiding him to move your hips for you. 

you cum just like that, a high whine and your body shuddering, haechan continuing to bounce you on his thigh to help you ride it out. as you recover, he realizes that he's winded and breathless too, the reality of what just happened sweeping over him. 

but what exactly just happened? 

"if you don't mind me asking…" he panted. 

you nodded, still in your head. "yeah?"

blinking up at you politely, he licks his lips nervously before asking, "what did i do? and, how do i do it again?" 

shaking your head you hug him before clambering off his lap. "like i said," you reassure him with a kiss on his cheek before you stumble off to clean yourself up. "i love all of you." 

x

"you guys need to leave me out of your sex life," mark grumbles, the moment the call connects. "i want the best for you, dude, but i'm not that invested in your personal happiness, okay?" 

haechan scoffs at that. "firstly, it's not like i'm not privy to your sex life. been a good boy for mommy recently?" 

"i was just-!" 

"and secondly," continues haechan, ignoring mark's splutters and protests, "you owe me." 

"i owe you?" 

"haechan's fucking obsessed with your tits…" he mocks in a clumsy voice, scowling at the memory. "you gave her an unfair advantage-" 

"i don't sound like that-" 

"so you owe me. now help me figure this out." before mark can think of some other way of protesting, haechan begins to ramble on and on about his feelings for you, and the dynamic in the relationship as of late. he analyses your reactions to him, the varied success in his attempts to get you riled up, your conversation together when you convinced him to drop the matter.

"but then, this morning i swear i'm just doing nothing-" he cuts himself off, feeling his breath hitch as the vivid memory hits him with full force. remembering how it sounded when you begged for him. the feeling of you moving on his thigh, of you guiding his hand to your core. 

everything he ever wanted, and he had no idea how he got it in the first place. 

mark is staring at him blankly. "this morning…?" he prompts. 

"nothing," haechan shakes his head quickly. "basically, she kind of jumped me, and i'm still trying to figure out why." 

"jumped you like in a bad way…or-" 

"in a really good way," haechan mumbles, suddenly feeling a little shy. not wanting to describe exactly how it felt for you to use his body like that, when he wasn't even trying. 

"okay, uh, cool." mark nods a few times, frowning slightly to himself. "you sure you were doing nothing?" 

"i was playing a game in my room." 

"could've been the gaming?" mark suggests, half-heartedly. 

"but i do that all the time," haechan sighed. "she doesn't do that with me every time." if only it were that easy, he would have you figured out in 3 seconds flat. 

"what were you wearing?" 

"just some shorts and a shirt." 

"could've been your thighs…?" mark tries. "she told me she loved your thighs." 

"could be…" distracted, haechan blinks. "wait. my thighs?" 

"yep," mark winces. "i won't quote exactly what she said, because i don't want to hear myself saying that to you, but just take my word for it." 

haechan thinks about it, hard. but then he shakes his head. "fuck, i think i did it wrong. i mean i tried legs and it didn't work, and i thought thighs were included in legs for obvious reasons, but-" 

"or maybe it just had nothing to do with you," mark shrugs, reaching for his drink to take a sip. "maybe she's just ovulating or something."

"she's just what?" haechan balks. 

"um…ovulating." mark freezes, immediately wishing he hadn't brought it up. to hell with haechan's sex life. "it affects the hormones and it might results in a higher sex drive for her or-" he cuts himself off when he notices that haechan is staring at him, stock-still in his seat. "um…it's part of her menstrual cycle…?" mark tries.

haechan looks at him blankly. 

"basically, it's like when her ovaries-" mark winces. "dude, i'm not about to explain your girlfriend's ovaries to you." 

"but i can't ask her," haechan finally speaks up. 

flustered, mark runs his hand through his hair a couple of times before deciding to just rip the band-aid off. haechan could be very persistent if he wanted to be, and he didn't want his phone blowing up with texts about this. 

"basically, in the days leading up to her…um…her period, her hormones levels are messed up because her body's preparingforababy," mark rushes through the sentence, hoping to god his girlfriend wasn't currently standing outside his room, listening to him poorly explain what a woman's menstrual cycle was. 

thankfully, haechan gets it on the first listen. "so she might be extra…" 

"yeah," mark cuts in, feeling his face burn. somehow, haechan seems to be taking in this information extremely calmly, as if he were sitting in a life sciences class. "um, so, can i go now?" 

"sure," haechan says, absentmindedly. "thanks mark-" but the call ends before he can finish the words. 

slowly shutting the screen of the laptop, haechan stares at the empty wall before him and just thinks. could it really be that your neediness this morning wasn't a result of his doing at all? he tries to think back to previous months, because if mark was correct, this wouldn't be the first time this has happened: but for some reason, he can't recall a thing. he's always too lost in the feeling of you to ever notice things like what day it was happening on or whether it mirrored your behavior from previous months. scheming and plotting was truly not his style. 

what exactly was he trying to do with this experiment? was he really trying to find a way to get to you just as you had to him? but he did have you just the way he wanted. this morning had proven that. 

so what if he couldn't figure out if it was his hands or his thighs? you had promised all of you to him. said you loved all of him just the same. 

so maybe it was time to make good on that promise. 

x

haechan has been on his phone the whole day. 

normally, you wouldn't really mind. he was so loving and attentive all of the time, that a little bit of absent-mindedness didn't bother you. it's just that today, you wish he were paying a bit more attention to you, especially because you can't seem to get him out of your mind - what with it being your peak day of ovulation.

the thing is, haechan was always somehow so attuned to you that he never left you feeling restless and needy. you rarely had to ask him for anything, because he would always deliver of his own accord — wanting you as much as you wanted him. it had been fun, in the weeks leading up to your second anniversary, seeing how riled up you could get him, and exactly how far he would go. even while he claimed to be doing the same to you, he was still the one to initiate everything, leaving you more than satiated afterwards, each time. and although his efforts had unsettled you, you'd eventually told him, hoping that it wasn't some underlying miscommunication or problem in your relationship causing the sudden eagerness to take you anywhere and everywhere. 

and ever since, nothing. chaste kisses on cheeks, arms around your waist while you cuddled. somehow, subtly, control had shifted back to him as you waited on his next move, waited for the next time he would approach you to try something. you suspected he didn't even know that he had control, skipping around the apartment, unaware that you were practically begging for him to make a move.

this morning, you couldn't take it anymore. your dreams the previous night punctuated by visuals of haechan eating you out, of him letting you ride his thighs, of him playing with your chest. the moment you heard him in the next room, raspy voice ordering his teammates around, and the moment you caught sight of him in his shorts, you had decided to indulge in your own needs, to hell with waiting for your boyfriend to take care of you. 

but almost an entire afternoon had passed since then, and you could feel the space between your legs getting wet again, your brain flitting back to the scenes from your dream. shuffling into your bedroom, you see haechan lounging on the bed, disappointment flickering at the back of your mind when you release he had put on some sweatpants instead. still on his phone, he barely looked up at you when you approached him. 

"haechan?" 

raising his head to look at you, he raises his eyebrows. you falter as you see his closed off expression. 

"yes?" he responds, softly. 

swallowing, you press on, sitting down opposite him. "can you…can you please…" you take a deep breath, fiddling with the edge of your shirt before you realize that yes, that was the perfect way to get him to notice you. removing your shirt quickly, you see him look up from his phone, his eyes flickering down to look at your bare chest, lingering slightly before moving back up to your face. 

"can i please…?" he repeats, face devoid of expression. 

you balk. haechan never acted like this with you. embarrassment, and a little bit of indignance, rises up in you, and you have to stop yourself from whining. "you know," you bite your lip, imploring him to understand. 

he sighs. "speak in full sentences, baby." going back to his phone, he clicks on a new tab. "i can't read your mind." 

"i need you," you blurt out, feeling delight rush through your body as he looks up at you. finally. 

but he makes no effort to move. "why?"

confused, you make an impatient sound. "what do you mean, why?" 

"why are you suddenly so needy?" he asks, voice steady and calm. his eyes stare at you, gaze unwavering. "was it something i did? or did something happen to you?" 

"i don't know what you mean…" you hesitate, but your answer doesn't mean anything because he's not really listening. setting his phone down, he pushes you onto your back with a slight roughness, crawling over to you.

"thought i was doing it for you, baby-" he confesses, quietly. "trying to figure out if you liked my fingers, or my thighs…seeing if you liked it when i use you…" towering over you, he takes in the tension in your body, your shaky breaths as his fingers trail up your stomach, leaving goosebumps in their wake. 

"but i was wrong," he muses. you hang onto his every word, mind attuned to the syllables falling from his lips, body sparking at his slightest touch. 

"haechan…"

"was doing it for me," he breathes. "i wanted to see you this fucked out before i even touch you." his hand caresses your upper thigh, tutting lowly under his breath. "messy baby, dripping all over the sheets…" 

unable to take it anymore, you try to sit up and move towards him, pushing your body up on your elbows, but haechan's hand whips out and he shoves you back down onto your back with a firm palm.

"don't move." he soothes, but there's a warning in his tone. slowly, he eases your legs apart to settle down in between them, and you whimper slightly from how he manages to make you feel so exposed.

"when was the last time you'd been good for me, hm?" his thumb traces soft circles on your soft skin. "i give you a little bit of power and it goes to your head…doesn't it, pretty?" his face leans closer, his lips almost brushing yours as he speaks. 

"it doesn't-" your voice trembles, as his palms press down firmly on your thighs, spreading you open wider. 

"have me touching your tits, stroking you all the time," he breathes. "does it feel that good?" 

"i-"

"thought you were letting me use you, but all this time you were using me," he ignores you. "all i wanted was for you to sit on my lap and beg for me…" suddenly, his hand moves, and you feel a sharp sting as he flicks at your clit with his thumb and forefinger over your panties. a loud whimper leaves your mouth as you feel your thighs jerk, and embarrassingly more of your arousal seeps out onto the sheets. your hand reaches out, trying to hold on to his wrist so he stops teasing you, but gently, and almost lazily, his other hand manages to grasp both your wrists in his hand. 

"but no matter what i tried…" he continues, and you can tell he's saying it for himself more than you. his hand moving as if on instinct, his fingers beginning to stroke your folds over the fabric, paying no attention to the way you trembled and squirmed at his touch. "you would still sit there on the couch, waiting for me to come take you…" 

"i'm sorry-" you sob, your throat closing up.

"you're so spoiled." and for the first time this evening, he kisses you lightly on the corner of your lips. you tilt your head, trying to catch his lips with yours, mouth open and ready, but already he's pulling away, smiling to himself. "spoiled." he repeats.

"haechan please-" you try to free your hands so you can do something — touch him, or even touch yourself. "i need-" 

"you need me to fuck you?" he tilts his head, the harshness of his words contrasting with the gentle, and almost mocking way he says it. "is that what you want to say?" 

shame burns low in your stomach, and you nod imperceptibly. mirroring you, haechan nods too, his eyebrows raised.

"say it," he insists. "say you need me to fuck you."

"i…" 

at your hesitation, he backs away slowly, the warmth of his body leaving yours as he starts to slacken his hold on your wrists. immediately, your hands shoot free and you pull at the hem of his shirt pathetically, trying to keep him close to you.

"i need you to fuck me," you whine, trying to hold your gaze with him even as his eyes go dark. "please, don't go-" 

"how long were you going to make me wait?" he seethes, flicking at your clit again, fingers roughly pulling at your panties and making them snap against your skin. 

you can't think of anything to say. you whine his name, and he scoffs at how wrecked you sound. 

"why didn't you tell me your body wanted a baby, hm?" 

you freeze. what? "you m-mean…" you stutter, as haechan begins to tug your panties down your legs. 

"needy baby fucks herself on my thigh because she wants a baby in her, is that right?" his voice thick. 

"yes," you hear yourself say. there was no point in denying it, you needed him so badly. and the idea of him putting a baby in you, of fucking you so full of him until you were swollen and full… 

"then prove it." sitting back up against the headboard, you follow him eagerly, no longer caring about how you acted around him, your skin burning hot from the way he was speaking to you. he let you strip him of his sweatpants, your mouth going dry at how hard he was. maybe you could suck him off first, and in return he could finger you-

a rough hand shoots out to grab your chin, forcing you to look up at him. "focus," he demands. "i want you to ride me." 

hurriedly, you start to straddle him, lining his cock up to your entrance before you hesitate. he hadn't really prepped you yet, and although you wanted it so badly…

you cry out as he shoves two fingers into you, sighing at the way you fall forward into his chest at the feeling. curling his fingers in you, finding your soft spot effortlessly, he murmurs close to your ear. "tell me if i'm being too rough, okay?" if possible, his words make you even more needy, and you nod, hips chasing his hand. "don't wanna hurt you," he mumbles, before stilling his fingers and pushing you back. 

"why am i doing the work here?" he muses, condescendingly. "i thought you wanted this." 

nodding vigorously, you begin to grind on his fingers, whimpering when your clit bumps the heel of his hand. a hand on his chest to steady yourself, you move the other downward and try to shove a third finger into you, wiggling your hips as he relents and starts curling three of his fingers against your walls. 

"cumming," you gasp, feeling something tighten in your core. his thumb comes up to stroke your clit, and you're about to tumble over the edge, when suddenly he yanks his hand away, leaving you throbbing and empty. a sob rips out from your chest, the built up pressure of having him act differently around you, of needing him for the whole day, washing over you like a tidal wave. 

"crybaby," he coos, wiping your tears away with the hand still slick with your arousal. 

"please," you choke out. "cum, i wanna…let me…" pawing at his chest, you try to lift his hand back up and guide it in between your legs, but he grabs onto your wrist instead, forcing you to stay still.

"just want you to cum on my cock, that's all," he soothes. "don't you want me to fill you up?" 

gulping, your breathing slows as the words seem to calm you. "yes," you mumble. 

"good girl." grabbing your hips, he eases you down onto his cock, groaning as your walls spasm around him, your entrance fluttering uncontrollably. "fuck," he muses. "did you just cum?" 

feeling humiliated, you nod reluctantly. "was sensitive…" you mumble. he laughs, stroking your cheek as you take all of him. he gives you time to recover, stroking your back tenderly as you get used to the feeling of him in you. 

"ready?" he urges, thrusting his hips gently. 

you nod, placing your hands on his shoulders as you begin to bounce in his lap, your thighs still shaking from your previous climax but the feeling of him too good to ignore. trying to pick up the pace, you stare at where your bodies are connected, the wet sounds of you sliding on him embarrassingly loud in the room. you only realise you've been letting out a steady series of moans when he brings a hand up to squeeze your throat. 

"tired?" he pouts at you. you nod, begging him with your eyes to take over. "thought you said you wanted my baby," he mocks. your hips continue to circle even as you lose the strength to lift yourself up and down. feeling his tip brush against a spot inside you, you wail as you feel yourself clench hard around his thick length. 

"please help me," you gasp. "wanna feel you cum inside me, want you to fill me up-" and haechan, tired of waiting, finally gives in. 

he pushes you back onto the bed again, his arms pushing your legs up so they brush his shoulders, hips tilted towards him as he rams himself back into you. letting out a low moan, he begins to thrust hard into you, snapping his hips such that the blunt head of his cock repeatedly brushes your g-spot. 

"you gonna cum?" he mocks, sarcastically. "or do i have to do that for you too?" 

your hands find your clit, rubbing circles on it frantically as it immediately brings you to your high.

the feeling of you cumming around his cock, your warm and tight walls milking him, pushes him closer and closer to his own climax. 

"where should i come?" he breathes unsteadily. 

you don't respond, still too lost in your own pleasure. a hand comes down to pinch at your nipple, and you whine incoherently. 

"where should i come?" he demands again. 

he can see you struggle to piece together the words in your head. he hadn't asked you this in a long time — ever since your first anniversary, when you went on birth control and he celebrated by finishing inside you, the feeling of you raw making him come undone faster than he would have liked. 

"w-where?" you make a sound of confusion. 

"should i come on your tits," he pinches your nipple again, 

"on your face," a light slap across your cheek,

"or inside?" 

"inside," you moan, beginning to thrust your hips upwards to meet his movements, desperate for him to finish. 

"good girl," he breathes, and with a final stroke he's cumming, pushing deep inside you as you feel his warmth fill you up inside, seeping out where your bodies connected. 

the two of you stay like that for a while, him stroking your hair and peppering kisses on your face. you holding on to him for comfort, whimpering whenever he made an attempt to leave, burying your face in his chest. it's after you've mostly recovered when you finally let him go get something to clean you up with, and after you drank the glass of water he insisted you have, when you finally get a hold on what just happened. and a question comes flitting into your mind. 

"haechan?" 

"yes, baby?"  you open your eyes, and squint at the angelic expression on his face. "tell me…mark didn't have anything to do with this, did he?"

tags: @91qowngus, @joonpantheress, @sundhaelatte, @jaemboi64, @sassy-author, @krazy-kpoppy, @9900z, @kosmoreads, @matchahyuck, @donghyeok-okie, @bbh-kji, @isearchedtheyooniverse, @bettyschwallocksyee, @babyjenono, @prdshobi

[zepskies]

Strong as Blood - Part 2

Pairing: Soldier Boy/Ben x F. Reader

Summary: After you accidentally break through a solid wood table, you know there’s something wrong with you. You begin to have your suspicions, but can you keep it from Ben long enough to find out? 

(In other words: This is the story of how you and Ben discover that you’re pregnant.)

AN: Did you like Part 1? Well, here's Part 2! This two-part fic can be read as stand-alone, but it’s really a bonus sequel to Break Me Down!

(Also, for those of you in the medical field…try to suspend your disbelief on this one. 😅)

Word Count: 6,200

Tags/Warnings: Angst, hurt/comfort, fluff overload.

To find the chronological reading order for the series, check out the series masterlist. ⤵️

💚 Break Me Down

Part 2: “One Year, Forty, and a Hundred”

About a week later, you and Ben told your family the good news.

Your mom, Marie, took Ben’s face in her hands and pressed a delighted motherly kiss on his cheek, and then his forehead.

He very narrowly tolerated it with his usual gruffness, but you knew better. You saw the fond glint well hidden in his eyes, even after Marie released him.

It hadn’t taken her long after meeting Ben to start treating him like a son; always asking about his missions with Supe Affairs, praising a job well done when he had a successful report, and offering a supportive word even when they didn’t quite go his way.

Ben maintained his usual stoic bravado, but you knew he secretly ate up the praise, along with Marie’s genuine, nurturing nature.

Every time you saw your mother, she would give you baked goods in tupperware—for both of you, she claimed. But you noticed they were most often his favorites. You had a feeling she’d won him over early on with her macadamia nut brownies. (She still couldn’t cook worth a damn either, but she’d been taking a baking class.)

So Ben continued to help her do the dishes, even though she insisted he was a guest in her home. He claimed he was doing it so you wouldn’t jump in yourself.

And now we’re family, you had pointed out. Then Ben gifted you with one of those smiles, subtle and pleased, just for you.

You felt somewhat lazy, just sitting at the kitchen table with your sister Luisa. She sat close to you with her arm looped around yours, and she rubbed your lower back, which you now realized had been aching more often. For God’s sake, you hadn’t even realized you were late on your period.

I need to take some time off work, even before this kid gets here, you mused.

Realistically though, you should’ve expected this might happen. You hadn’t ever gotten around to replacing your IUD after you’d gotten it removed a few months ago. And God knew, Ben didn’t know how to pull out. (And he certainly didn’t buy condoms.)

“What’re you hoping for, a boy or a girl?” Louisa asked you and Ben, disrupting the path of your thoughts. You turned to your sister thoughtfully.

She still had her reservations about him, but she seemed to be warming up to your boyfriend a bit more after you told her the news. Especially after Ben had explained one of his plans over dinner.

His first thought was to hire Frank and Loco back as your personal security throughout your pregnancy, and likely even afterwards.

It was a rare time when you didn’t argue with him; the idea made sense, especially if you were going to continue working in Surveillance at Supe Affairs until you went on maternity leave. And, it would just be great to see them again. Frank had already agreed to start on Monday, after giving his polite congratulations.

(You and Ben each got a package in the mail yesterday: a box of bonafide Cuban cigars for him, a maternity body pillow for you, and a hand-crafted toy box for the baby. Inside had been a white noise sound machine to help the baby sleep.)

But now, Ben brightened at Louisa’s question. He crossed his arms and leaned against the kitchen counter.

“A son,” he replied. How brow rose, as if the answer was obvious. “I’ll be able to bring him up right. Strong. Not like these beanie-wearing pussies running the fucking Starbucks.”

“Ben,” you warned. He crossed his arms at you, quite literally standing firm on his stance. But your mother just smiled and pat his arm.

“It’s okay, honey,” she said. “I understand what you mean.”

You raised an incredulous brow.

Oh sure, you thought. She didn’t mind salty language when it was Ben, but God forbid you or Luisa bang a toe in your mother’s presence. Nor did it surprise you that she was agreeing with him.

But then Marie turned to him more earnestly.

“The way you take care of my daughter, I have no doubt you’ll make an excellent father,” she told him.

Ben treated her with a charming smile that showed touches of warmth.

Damn, you thought, as you felt the telltale burn of tears in your eyes. But it wasn’t just about what Marie had said. You had hoped for this one day, but it seemed he was finally making room for your family in his heart too.

“Football. A man’s game,” Ben continued. “I’ll teach him, take him fishing. Everything my old man didn’t bother with, I’ll do it all. Bring him up right…”

As your boyfriend chatted away with your mom, you hid a tendril of worry. You wondered what would happen if the baby turned out to be a girl.

With a glance at your sister, her subtle, raised brows told you she was thinking along the same lines. You sighed and got up; once again, it was time to pee.

Louisa followed you into the hall and laid a hand on your back.

“Hey,” she said. “You know how much I care about you, right?”

“And where’s this going?” you quipped. But you turned around and gave your little sister a half-smile. You knew what she was about to say.

“So what are you going to do about that?” she asked, gesturing to your man in the kitchen. “Mr. Macho wants his prized stud. What happens if he doesn’t get him?”

You sighed. “Ben’s wanted this for a long time. He’s got an idea in his head of what it’s going to be like, and…we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

Louisa’s lips pursed, like she wasn’t quite satisfied with that answer.

“And what about you?” she asked. “How do you feel about this?”

You blinked back at her in slight surprise, but then your expression melted into a soft smile.

“I’m happy, Lou,” you said. Tears welled up in your eyes, yet again. “I’m really happy.” 

Louisa relented then, squeezing your hand. “Good…then good. I’m happy for you too.”

And that was really all you wanted.

“What? You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me,” Ben said, peering harder at the ultrasound. The kind OBGYN faltered, though she again tried to point out that what he was looking at was actually a small foot.

“Congratulations,” she told you both. “She’s the right size for twelve weeks of development. And look there, you can even see the umbilical cord—”

“You sure this thing isn’t on the fritz?” Ben asked, bumping the ultrasound monitor with his hand.

“Ben.” You looked over at him with a glare. “Are you serious right now?”

He looked back over at you, and you saw his stubbornness in his frown and knitted brows.

“I’m just saying—” he started, but you didn’t let him get that far.

“You heard the freakin’ doctor. We’re having a girl,” you snapped. “I’m the one who has the transvaginal probe shoved up inside me, so shut the fuck up!”

Ben’s jaw worked as he barely held himself from barking back at you. It wouldn’t be the first time you levied your smart mouth at him, but it wasn’t often that you disrespected him.

“Excuse me?” he still groused.

His anger got waylaid though. He watched you heave a sigh and blink quickly, so you wouldn’t release the well of frustrated tears building behind your eyes.

The doctor looked between you both warily. You turned to her with watery eyes, and you sniffed to keep your emotions at bay.

“Continue, please.”

When the appointment with the OBGYN was done, you didn’t let Ben help you down from the examining table. Nor did you let him touch you, all the way to the car.

An hour later, you both made it back to the apartment you shared in Scarsdale. You stomped up the stairs ahead of him and beelined into the bedroom. You had half a mind to slam the door in his face, but you didn’t have the energy to be that petty.

Frankly, you were exhausted with a tinge of nausea. But you didn’t know if that was pregnancy sickness, or if you were just that anxious.

You sat down on your side of the bed, and you sighed when you heard Ben’s heavy footsteps enter in behind you.

“All right, that could’ve gone better,” he said. “But look at it from my point of view—”

That nearly unhinged you. Your stomach roiled, but you got to your feet and turned around to face him where he stood by the foot of the bed, arms crossed.

“It’s not all about you,” you shot back. “In case you’ve forgotten, I’m the one carrying this baby. I’m not just a human incubator.”

“I fucking know that,” he retorted, but you raised a hand to silence him.

“And you’re not the only one who’s wanted this,” you said. Against your will, your eyes once again burned with tears as you held yourself. “You know very well what I’ve…that I didn’t have a normal family growing up.”

Ben quieted. His irritation softened around the edges, especially as your voice trembled.

“Don’t you know what it’s going to mean to me to give our child what I didn’t have?” you asked. “Stability, support, and…and love, from both parents?”

Tears slipped down your cheeks. And when he didn’t seem to have anything to say to you, you shook your head and walked away.

Ben let out a heavy breath. He followed you and stopped you in the living room. “Listen—”

“No, you listen,” you snapped, whirling around on him. “I would’ve been content no matter if it was a boy or a girl, and you ruined that today. You really did.”

His gaze briefly fell to the floor, before it met yours again.

“But even with that, I’m still happy,” you said, as your vision became blurry and wet. “I’m so damn happy…and so scared.”

When you finally broke down crying, Ben got a full picture of just how badly he’d fucked this up. He collected you in his arms and guided you to sit with him on the couch. There he held you as you clung to him and wept into his neck.

The longer it went on, the more he felt like an asshole—with the kind of uncomfortable, gut-churning remorse that only you tended to draw from him.

Ben hesitated, but he knew you deserved to hear him say it. (And you probably wouldn’t let this go until he did.)

“Okay, sweetheart, calm down,” he rumbled in your ear. Along with, "…I’m sorry."

The weight of that fell between you for a moment. You nodded, with a sniff, and he slowly rubbed your back.

“You don’t need to be scared,” he said. “My blood’s making you nice and strong.”

Well, technically it was the baby’s blood, and the super genes they held. You shook your head against his neck.

“That’s not it,” you said. “I mean, that’s part of it, I guess. Dr. Baker didn’t do a great job of reassuring me, but she did say that if the strength lasts throughout the birth, she didn’t expect serious complications.”

Fuck. Ben’s hand tightened in your hair. That...was a thought he hadn't considered. It now made his stomach clench, though he remained silent.

He wished you would’ve taken him with you to see Dr. Baker, but he guessed he couldn’t begrudge you for your worries. He knew he'd be having his own talk with the good doctor soon enough.

“I love my mom. She did her best, you know? But I…I’ve had to take care of myself for most of my life,” you explained, with a hand fisted tight in his shirt. “What the hell do I know about being a mom?”

Ben considered that with a frown. He pulled back enough to see your face, tucking his curled fingers beneath your chin so you’d look at him.

“You looked after your sister, didn’t you?” he reminded. “Made sure she was safe, and grew up right. Now you take care of me, like I take care of you… And you got no problem calling me out on my bullshit.”

That got a slight smile out of you. He brushed away another one of your tears with his thumb.

“You’re gonna be great, sweetheart. I never had any doubts about that,” he said, “The truth is, I couldn’t wait to fuck you raw to make this happen.”

You spluttered a laugh then, even though you were still weeping.

“Yeah, I know,” you said with a wry smile, stroking his bearded cheek. You leaned up and kissed the other cheek. He turned his head and went for your lips. The kiss was slow and tender while he held you where you always felt safe.

Ben grasped the hand on his cheek…and an idea flickered through his mind.

He parted from you, only to say, “Wait here.”

Your brows furrowed, and you blinked through wet lashes. “What?”

“Just stay put for me,” he said.

But he didn’t tell you what he was up to as he left you on the couch to duck into the bedroom. You took the time to wipe at your eyes and take some deep, calming breaths.

Ben came back soon after, seemingly empty-handed as he sat down next to you. You gave him a curious look.

He slipped a hand into his pocket. “Just for the record, I’ve had this for a while.”

And he pulled a black velvet box out of his pocket. You let out a shaky breath of surprise. The ring he pulled out wasn’t a flashy, gaudy thing like you half-expected. It actually looked delicate, and vintage, pale gold with filigree around the hexagonal stone. It glittered, even in the dim lamplight. 

“Where’d you find that?” you asked. But somehow, looking into his eyes, you knew what this was. 

“Besides those old pictures, the only thing I’ve got left of my mother is right here,” he said, holding up the ring for you. More burgeoning tears fell down your cheeks as your heart constricted. 

“Marry me,” he said, rubbing his thumb across the back of your hand. 

Despite yourself, a smile raised the corner of your mouth. “Hmm, I don’t know. Is that a question?”

Ben released a breath. Reluctantly, he smirked.

“Fucking figures that you’d make this difficult,” he said.

“You’re the one who fumbled at the goal line, Romeo,” you replied cheekily.

You then gestured at the ground in front of you. He raised a brow.

But, he obliged your demands, making a show of sliding from the couch, down to the ground. He parted your jean-clad knees so he could move in between them. He knelt one knee on the hard wood, and once again took your hand.

Ben somehow hesitated on the question, even though you both were hanging on his words. With your free hand, you smoothed his hair away from his eyes, subtly encouraging him. 

“If I had to go back, do it all over again,” he said, “I wouldn’t have done a damn thing different.”

You frowned at him. “Really?”

“That’s right,” he said. “Because I’m right where I want to be.”

You teared up all over again when you realized what he was really saying. You laid a hand on his chest, where his fiercest power resided. He squeezed the hand he held. 

“So what’s it gonna be, sweetheart. Will you marry me?” Ben asked. His smirk was almost boyish, despite his age. And yet, it was so very him.

You reached out with your free hand and slid your fingers through his hair, resting it at the back of his neck.  

“Yeah,” you agreed, with a beaming smile. “Let’s do it.”

He slipped the ring on your finger, where it fit well. And it was now the most beautiful thing you owned, not only for its shining beauty.

You pulled him in for a kiss. His hands burned up your thighs, squeezing your hips. But again, he hesitated. His lips pulled away from yours as his hand moved to brush your belly. It was already brimming with life. He’d seen the images, heard the heartbeat.  

“Thank you,” Ben said. His voice was deep and gruff.

You smiled. With a nod, you held him to you, laying a sweet path of kisses from his cheek, down to his neck.

“I love you,” you said.

He just nodded in response. His throat was tight at the moment. But you wouldn’t let him get off that easy.

“Say it,” you jostled him in your arms. “I’m only growing a super melon for you.” 

It earned you an amused look from him. 

“I love you too,” he said. His voice was a bit coarse, and laden with rare emotion. You pulled him into a stronger hug, which soon became him dragging you into his lap when he raised himself up onto to the couch. You took his face in your hands. 

“See? We made it here,” you teased. You knew he remembered the conversation you two had a few months ago, about waiting a little while to take this next step in your relationship. To have a family.  

“Soon. Not someday,” he’d told you. And you’d agreed.

You reminded him of it now while you stroked his face. “I promised you, didn’t I?”

He snorted at that. “You sure took your fucking time with that one, huh?”

“Excuse me?” you retorted.

Ben pulled you into a kiss before you could truly get going. Arguing with him was one of the things you did best.

But what you two ended up doing on the couch was second to none.  

A few months later…

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Ben said. His tone was edged, his brows crunching. “What kind of development?”

You curled a hand around his wrist, shooting him a calming look before you returned your attention to Dr. Baker.

“What do you mean, Tonya?” you asked. Your other hand continued to rest over your belly.

At the seven-month mark of your pregnancy, you felt like you were beginning to resemble a parade float as you sat on the medical examining table in the doctor’s office. But you were grateful for Ben’s warm hand spanning the small of your back. It gave you stability as a coil of anxiety began to bloom in your chest.

Dr. Baker reviewed her charts once more. You didn’t like that gleam of scientific interest in her eye while she perused the data, then looked up at you and Ben from her narrow-framed glasses.

“Not with the baby. She’s doing very well,” she said.

That gave you a measure of immense relief.

“The development concerns you,” she clarified, meeting your gaze. “As you know, we’ve been monitoring you very closely.”

You nodded. The weekly checkups and monthly blood panels served to both soothe and increase your anxiety, but you knew that it made Ben feel better, that you were being taken care of in this aspect of your pregnancy.

To government knowledge, no one other than Becca Butcher had ever gone through a pregnancy of this nature. And Homelander had been created in a lab. This was breaking somewhat new ground (which was only in the top five of “things that made you nervous.”)

“I found something…interesting in your bloodwork,” said Dr. Baker. She pulled out two charts from her files and clipped them onto her whiteboard for you and Ben to see. They looked virtually the same, with one graph’s red bars slightly lower than the first.

“What’s that?” Ben asked.

“It’s your wife’s cell regeneration levels,” the doctor replied, pointing to the second graph. “Hers have become almost as high as yours.”

She pointed to the first graph for comparison. You leaned in closer to see as your eyes widened. With the weight of your belly making you off balance, you nearly slid off the examining table. Ben noticed and caught you quick. His arms came around you, though as the news donned on him, his face slid into shock.

“What?” he uttered.

“That’s got to be because of the baby,” you reasoned. “Is it…just temporary? Like the super strength.”

Even that was somewhat intermittent. Some days, you felt your aches and pains and experienced morning sickness and food aversions, like any other pregnant woman. On others, you were able to lift one side of the couch one-handed and vacuum up the dust bunnies underneath it.

“I believe that blood transfusion, as well as your pregnancy greatly accelerated the effects, but no, this isn’t an isolated incident.” Dr. Baker shook her head. “Your DNA has mutated.”

“Are you serious?” you nearly choked out. She nodded. Dr. Baker never joked.

“By my calculations, this process started before you conceived. Over the course of the past year, or more,” she explained. “Do you understand what this means?”

“Y-Yes, I think so,” you said. Your hand squeezed over Ben’s; it was the hand that carried the weight of your gold wedding bands. A lump of emotion rose in your throat. “It means…I’m going to heal from injuries quicker than normal. And…I’m not going to age like a normal person.”

“That’s likely correct,” she replied.  

That news fell in the room like a stone. You shared a wide-eyed look with Ben. Neither of you knew quite what to think just yet. Even though he was trying to maintain an even-keel expression, you could see his eyes were beginning to brighten with hope. Yours were too…though you were still confused.

“How the hell is this possible?” you asked. “I mean, Ben gave me his blood for a transfusion. But like you said, that was one time, two years ago now. And you said the pregnancy accelerated this, but that’s not how it started…”

Dr. Baker actually smiled. You didn’t like the wry turn of her lips. She crossed her legs where she sat at her desk and tapped her clipboard with her pen.

“How often would you say you two have sex?” she asked.

That was certainly not where you thought this conversation was going. You couldn’t help but blush.

“How is that even remotely relevant?” you asked.

You glanced at your husband, who merely gave you one of his smug smirks, while his thumb stroked your side. Fucking typical. 

“Once a week?” the doctor prompted.

Your face heated up further, and you had to cover your mouth with a hand. Your sex life wasn’t quite as…vivacious as it had been since before you’d gotten pregnant, but it was still a good one, even with your growing size. Ben was nothing if not creative.  

And you were still newlyweds, after all.

“Assume we’re doing a healthy amount of fucking, doc,” Ben remarked.

You gasped and hit his thigh, and finally covered your whole face in thorough embarrassment. He just smirked and took your hand so you couldn’t hide. It amused him that you still got like this.

He then pressed a kiss to the back of your fingers.

You sighed and held his hand back. I chose this man. Remember that.

“Again, what does that have to with this?” you asked, your voice a bit higher.

Dr. Baker’s lips flickered at another one of those smiles. “Well, how often did you use condoms over the past two years?”

You and Ben both snorted in response.

“He’s morally opposed to them, doctor,” you said dryly.

She nodded. “I assumed as much.”

Once again, Ben smirked, but Dr. Baker plowed ahead.

“Let me explain it this way,” she said. “Think of how HIV spreads sexually. The infected DNA is transmitted, and it eventually hits the partner’s bloodstream, affecting the entire body. What we have here is a similar case…if for the fact that this was a gradual effect, over the course of several months.”

Ben blinked, and a frown also tugged down his brows.

“Are you saying that I gave her my superpowers…like an STD?” he asked.

Your eyes became as wide as saucers.

Holy shit! you thought, and another one occurred to you. If this all started from the first time you and Ben ever had sex…then that was over two years of being dosed with literal super sperm.

“Not quite,” Dr. Baker said to him. “Just the essence of what sets your DNA apart, even from other supes.”

“Right. Because how the hell hasn’t this happened to anyone else who’s normal?” you asked. “What makes Ben different?”

Dr. Baker finally set down her pen. She folded her hands in her lap to address you with a patience that you didn’t often see from her.

“Remember, the serum he received was still a prototype,” she said. “Vought continued to refine the recipe after the ‘Soldier Boy’ project was successful. For example, the way his cells regenerate is one of those factors that needed to be weeded out, if Compound V was to be a successful product in the long-term.”

You nodded slowly, as that made sense to you. If every supe suddenly lived over a hundred years, it would make it pretty hard to secretly inject that shit into newborns. They had to package it in a more insidious way.

“This is an unpredictable outcome of your exposure to his unique genetic makeup,” Dr. Baker continued, “and there may very well be more to come in the future.”

You weren’t sure how to take that potentially foreboding news, but on the other hand…

“Oh my God! I’m going to live to be a hundred,” you said, holding tighter onto Ben as shock began to make you tremble. His grip was firm and steadying in response. And yet, his face betrayed how he was trying to process this as well.

“Likely much longer than that,” Dr. Baker said, shocking you even further. And she reminded, “Your cells aren’t regenerating at quite the same rate as his…but it is close.”

Again, holy fucking shit.

You let out a halting breath, and you looked up at Ben, a smile growing across your face. You reached up a hand for his bearded cheek. He looked down on you with his usual stoicism, but it was merely a front. You saw through to the true emotions shining in his eyes.

“Well, looks like you’re stuck with me, baby,” you said, even as your own eyes stung with tears. Your heart felt full to the brim, and even overflowing. If this was what it took to be with your husband, then altering your genetics was a price you were willing to pay…at least in this way.

Though you gave him a more teasing smile. “You’re not gonna be able to welch out of that ‘til death do us part thing. So cancel the caravan of blow and strippers.”

Ben chuckled deeply. He held your hand and stroked the inside of your wrist. For a moment, he just looked down at your face. It had become a bit more rounded with your pregnancy—thighs and arms (and ass) thicker too. And to him, you were still perfectly his.  

“Fine by me. You’ve got something they don’t, anyway,” he said. He remembered the same words he’d said to you just a year ago, in the bed he still shared with you.

Your eyes gleamed with amusement, and so much more. You played along.

“Oh yeah? What’s that?” you asked.

He smirked. “You’ve got a supe STD.”

Your eyes widened at his audacity, but you burst out laughing and hit his shoulder.

“Yeah, from you,” you quipped back. “I should’ve known you were carrying something.”

The two of you didn’t know it, but that was when Dr. Baker smiled to herself. She decided then to leave the room, giving you some privacy as Ben laughed and framed your face with his hands.

His thumbs brushed against your cheeks, catching stray tears as they fell. You bit your lip as your glassy eyes met his once more. Ben became more serious as he let out a sigh.

“It’s not gonna be easy,” he reminded you. “Your family, your friends…they’re going to change, and you’re going to stay the same.”

Your excitement dimmed as that realization hit you. Your hands clenched in his shirt, over his chest. You thought about your mom, your sister, Yvette and Devon, Annie and Hughie and the rest of the team (even Butcher, you would miss).

“Yeah…that part’s not gonna be fun,” you said with a heavy, tremulous sigh. Your heart clenched at the very thought of them growing old, leaving you behind.

But your gaze eventually drew back up to him. You wondered then, not for the first time, how it must’ve been for him. For his parents to grow old and pass on long before him. For childhood friends, old lovers…

“Do you know what I worried about when we got married?” you asked.

Ben’s hands traveled down from your face, down your arms, to finally rest at your waist and thigh. He stared back at you expectantly.

“When you first told me you loved me, you said you were holding back the truth. Because you thought that one day, you’d be alone again,” you said, stroking his chest. “That honestly broke my heart. And it made me wonder if I was selfish to be with you anyway.”

Ben frowned, but you shook your head before he could respond.

“I told myself that after the baby was born, I’d go to Dr. Baker and ask her to find a way to make this happen,” you said. Another smile grew across your face. “But guess what? We figured it out all on our own, super stud.”

Ben smiled then, huffing in amusement as he thumbed at your cheek. You couldn’t really understand the full force of his relief. It might’ve threatened to buckle him into a seat, if he had been standing.

But now, he struggled with the warmth in his chest that for once, had nothing to do with his powers. He moved in to tug you into his arms, and he let out a long breath through his nose.

You couldn’t see how his eyes closed, but you felt his lips press against your forehead. You held him close. Or as closely as you could with your belly getting in between.

You rubbed his back and rested against his chest, hearing the calming, steady sound of his heart beating under your ear.  

“And at this rate, I might even live longer than you,” you teased. “After all, you got a head start. Compared to you, I’m still a hot young thing.”

Ben snorted and shook his head. “All right. Now you’re pushing it.”

You smirked into his chest.

“I’ll have to figure out where you rent those caravans.”

“For fuck’s sake,” he muttered. At the sound of your giggle, he couldn’t help but smile.

He still swatted you on the ass though.

A couple more months later…

He smelled like cigar smoke. For which you had no doubt, Ben had been puffing away with Frank and M.M. outside the hospital. 

The team of doctors (led by Dr. Baker) had finally left you alone with your husband, allowing you to take your first relaxed breath of the day.

“Your mom and your sister are waiting. Blondie and the others are out there too,” he said quietly, pressing a kiss to your forehead. “My girl’s got a whole possy of bitches.” 

You assumed he meant Annie and the rest of the team.

You shot him a look, but you were careful not to disturb the sleeping newborn resting on your chest, in the crook of your arm.  

“They’re my friends, babe,” you whispered. “And they’re your friends now too, you just don’t want to admit it.”

Ben didn’t acknowledge that, but he laid a hand on your shoulder as he sat down on the edge of your hospital bed.

“How’re you doin’, sweetheart?” he asked. “Got everything you need?”

He’d become even more protective, but also very sweet to you in these past several months. More so than you’d thought him capable of, but it warmed you every time, when you considered how rough, how stoic, and how damn-near emotionally repressed he was not so very long ago.

It seemed that fatherhood was beginning to soften him, even before he began. You quirked a smile at the thought, and at his question.

“Imagine pushing a super melon out of your dick. That’s how I’m doing,” you said, tired but still cheeky as ever.

He snorted a bit loudly at that, and you shushed him, as if it wasn’t your fault he was laughing. He expected nothing less from you.

“But I’m okay,” you answered his second question. “All I need right now is you.”

Ben considered you for a moment, a slightly softer smile curving his lips, and he nodded.

“All right,” he said.

Your daughter woke and began to squirm in your arms, prompting Ben to look down at the bundle wrapped in a soft pink blanket. Gently as possible, he brushed the tuft of downy brown hair on her head. His hand shook ever so slightly, touching her small cheek. 

How can this little thing be mine? he wondered. His lips pressed into a firm line.

There was a thought, deep and thrumming inside him, that he didn’t deserve this. That just a couple of years ago, he had nothing to lose.

And now, his entire world was in this room. He’d never admit it, but it was a terrifying thought, for a man who’d had everything and nothing.

You unknowingly stopped the path of his thoughts when you raised a warm hand to his cheek. It earned his attention, and he grabbed your hand to keep it there.

You smiled up at Ben with weariness in your eyes. The super strength had drained out of you a few moments after the umbilical cord was cut, which had made for a less painful labor than you anticipated. But it had also been a long and uncomfortable eighteen hours.

“Wanna hold her for a while?” you asked.

The offer caught him off guard. His brows drew together, but he very carefully took his daughter from you, into his arms. Despite your temporary abilities throughout your pregnancy, he didn’t know if she already had his strength, or if it was something she’d grow into. Ben didn’t want to take any chances.

As he looked down at a small face that already had some of his features, he inhaled a faltering breath.

It was the first time you ever saw true tears in his eyes, as one managed to draw a path down his cheek. You smiled, and the pair of rings on your left hand caught the lamplight as you rested your hand on your chest.   

Ben held the bundle close in the crook of his arm. One of the baby’s hands was free, and he tickled his finger in her palm. She grasped it on reflex, opening her mouth on a yawn. Despite his red and shining eyes, he smiled, especially when she reached up for a strand of his hair with small, grabby fingers.

He let her get a hold of it, smirking when she gave it a little tug. Just hours old, and his girl was already demanding his attention. He didn’t know if newborns were able to do that this early, or if it was her blood that made her special.

Either way, he knew then that she was going to be a handful. Just like you. 

Ben glanced over and found you watching him with soft amusement. He looked back down at his daughter and told her the obvious.

“You know, you’re blessed to have my genes, baby girl,” he said. It elicited a knowing scoff out of you. However, his smirk softened. “But you’re also lucky as hell to have your mom.”

Ben looked back at you, and there was the predictable well of tears forming in your eyes.

“She’s the best damn woman you’re ever gonna meet,” he said.

He knew then that what he said to you before was right. If he had to go back to 1984, or even 1944, he’d do it all exactly the same.

It all worked out pretty damn well, from where he was standing.

AN: I’m not crying, you’re crying. 🥹😭

I sincerely hope you enjoyed Strong as Blood. Let me know what you think! And then you can...

Keep Reading in the BMD-verse:

Coming up next, get ready for some parenting fluff:

Summary: A quiet moment between you, Ben, and your newborn daughter.

▶️ Next Story: Until Morning

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[tip-top-cloud-surfer]

Never Have I Ever (Part 3) - Hangman

Pairing: Hangman / Civilian Contractor! Reader (Callsign: Dove)

Length: 3.9k

This work, all my works, and my entire blog are 18+ Only

Warnings: Female Reader with a Callsign and Family, but no Physical Description or Name; Not Necessarily Healthy Decisions/Coping Mechanisms; Slow Burn; Coworkers to Friends to Lovers; Oblivious Idiots; Excessive Pining

Summary: Dove and Jake learn more about each other as they work through Dove's challenge.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 4

Master List

# 30 - Gone Sailing

Dove and Jake got out of his truck and walked through the marina parking lot. When Jake found out that Amelia and Penny had been trying to convince Dove to come sailing with them for months, he accepted their invitation on her behalf. 

“I still can’t believe that you never went sailing with them before,” Jake stated, pulling on a pair of his sunglasses. Turning to Dove with a teasing smile, he asked, “You’re not going to tell me that you’re afraid of the water, right? Or that you can’t swim?” 

“No,” Dove scoffed, shooting him a look. “I can swim. And I’m not afraid of the ocean.” 

“They have life jackets. You’ll be fine. And if anything does happen, I’ll be here to rescue you. Passed swim training with flying colors.” 

“Phoenix said that she saw you cry after swim training.”

“Does she have proof?”

“Don’t worry, your big tough guy persona is safe with me,” Dove joked, poking him in the side. 

Dove and Jake walked down the dock to Penny’s boat. Theo was trotting around on the deck while Amelia and Penny got ready to set sail. Amelia spotted them first and waved to Dove excitedly, causing Penny to turn around. 

“Well, it only took you six months to accept our invitation,” Penny mused, resting her hands on her hips.

“Better late than never,” Dove replied, looking a bit nervous. 

She walked on board and was quickly greeted by Amelia, who was very excited that her tutor finally decided to come out for something fun. Jake watched as Dove talked with Amelia and relaxed a bit more. Leaning over to grab a life jacket, Jake felt Penny’s eyes on him. She simply offered him a knowing smile before walking onboard.

They set sail shortly afterwards and the seabreeze quickly cut through any sort of southern California warmth that Dove had when she got on board. Jake sat beside her, both of them staying out of the way of Amelia and Penny as they operated the boat. 

“Jesus, it’s cold,” Dove cursed, curling in on herself. 

Jake sat calmly, a little cold, but running warm. Holding onto the railing right behind Dove, he stared ahead as the boat rode over the waves. Dove slid back as the boat went over another wave and tucked herself into Jake’s side to keep warm. Jake stared down at her as she shivered, subconsciously curling his body around her more. 

“You okay?” he asked, his voice barely loud enough to hear over the wind. 

“It’s fucking cold!” 

~~~~~~

# 31 - Seen Dolphins in the Wild

Settled in calmer waters and warmer air, Amelia and Dove sat near the bow, chatting and looking down at the water. Jake sat farther back with Penny, asking her questions about how the ship operated. Amelia glanced back at Jake before turning back to Dove.

“Why’s Hangman following you around these days?”

“He’s just helping me with something,” Dove dismissed with a shrug. 

“Like as a friend? Or a boyfriend?” 

“Life is not a cheesy Netflix movie. He’s just bored.” Dove turned back to Amelia and offered her a smirk. “How’s What’s-His-Face? The surfer kid?” 

“Shh!” Amelia stressed, glancing back at her mom before turning back to Dove. “My mom says that she’s ‘fine’ with me hanging out with boys but she’s not.” 

“A lot of parents are like that,” Dove told Amelia, nodding along. “It’s usually because they’re worried that you’ll make the same mistakes they did when they were your age.” Dove and Amelia shared a look, quietly doing the math in their heads. “How old was your mom when she met Maverick again?” 

Amelia laughed before she caught movement in the water out of the corner of her eye. Grabbing Dove’s arm and shaking it lightly, Amelia pointed at the pod of dolphins that were swimming by. Dove followed her finger and quickly sat up. 

“Holy crap,” Dove laughed, watching the dolphins swim with awe. Turning to where Penny and Jake were talking, Dove called out to them. “Jake! Penny! Dolphins!”

Jake walked over to where Dove and Amelia were staring out at the pod of dolphins. He silently marveled at the sight as he stood just a step to Dove’s right. 

“Have you ever seen them like this before?” Jake asked her, referring to the dolphins. 

“No,” Dove admitted, turning to look at Jake. “Have you?”

“No.” 

“Hmm,” Dove mused, smiling as Jake met her gaze. “Maybe you need a list of your own.” 

“Maybe one day,” he agreed softly before they turned back to the dolphins.

~~~~~

# 32 - Gone Rollerblading

After returning to shore, Jake and Dove started walking down the adjacent boardwalk. And when Dove saw a rental place for rollerblades, she had her next idea. 

“Are you sure that you’re up for this?” Jake asked, handing her a helmet. 

“I only rented them for twenty minutes,” Dove pointed out, tying up the rollerblades. Taking the helmet from Jake, she pulled it on. “I need to stop being scared. I mean, if I stayed scared of going on the boat with Penny and Amelia, I never would have seen the dolphins. I need to try new things.”  

“Alright,” Jake agreed, standing in front of her. “Just take it slow.”

He offered Dove his hands and helped her to stand up with her skates on. When Dove nearly slipped to the ground, Jake quickly wrapped his arms around her waist. Dove gripped his biceps as she got her bearings, growing a bit warm in her cheeks. 

“I’ll be fine,” she insisted, releasing him. 

~~~~~

# 33 - Been to the Beach First Aid Stand

“If I hear the phrase ‘I told you so’ come out of your mouth,” Dove warned Jake as he helped her along the boardwalk. 

“Come on. There’s a first aid station up ahead.” 

Dove was a little worse for wear. No bones were broken and she wasn’t in any kind of excruciating pain, but her knees were certainly banged up. Jake held Dove up with one arm, not trusting her on her own, and knocked on the door to the lifeguard stand. 

~~~~~

# 34 - Had Pistachio Ice Cream

“Ice cream makes everything better,” Jake suggested as they left the first aid stand. 

“Unless you’re lactose intolerant,” Dove pointed out, causing Jake to turn to her. 

“You’re lactose intolerant?” 

“No, I’m not,” Dove stated, frowning a little bit. “You saw me eat a pint of Ben & Jerry’s with Bob two weeks ago.” 

“Good. Then pick a flavor that you’ve never tried before,” Jake stated, pointing at the list posted at the front of the stand. 

Dove looked over the list of flavors, mentally checking off the ones that she had and picking from the rest of the flavors. 

“I guess I’ll try pistachio.” 

Jake ordered two ice creams, a pistachio for Dove and a chocolate one for him, before walking over to the table that Dove picked. Placing the cup of pistachio ice cream down in front of her, he took his seat and offered her a smile. 

“For your troubles. And your injury.” 

“Thanks,” Dove replied quietly, still embarrassed. 

She took a spoonful of pistachio ice cream in her spoon and slowly brought it to her mouth, taking a tentative lick. Dove took a moment, testing the flavor, before nodding.

“Not bad,” she stated, turning back to Jake. 

“See? Maybe things can surprise you.” 

~~~~~

# 35 - Gone to a Boardwalk Fair

Dove and Jake continued on their way after they finished their ice cream. Jake was listening to Dove talk about some more ideas that she had for her list when he spotted an ad posted on a light stand. He took a step over, drawing Dove’s attention, and read the details.

“What about this?” Jake suggested, pointing at the posters.

Dove stepped up beside him and looked over the ad for a boardwalk fair a few towns over. Turning back to Jake, she nodded and smiled softly. 

“Yeah, I’m sure that we can find things there that I haven’t done before.” 

~~~~~

# 36 - Eaten a Corndog

“You brought me all the way out here to eat a corndog?” Dove asked Hangman as he held one out to her. 

“Stop stalling and take a bite.” 

Dove sighed and took the corndog from him. She glanced down at the corndog with distaste before taking a small bite off the tip. Chewing it, she studied the corndog again as Jake waited for her reaction. 

“Weird texture, but not too bad. You can finish it though.” 

~~~~~

# 37 - Eaten a Bug

Dove cupped a few crispy grasshoppers in her hand and held them out to Jake. Though he looked concerned himself, Jake reached out and grabbed one. Dove grinned and held up a cricket of her own. She jokingly clinked their crickets together, like they were clinking drinks after work, before bringing the cricket to her mouth. 

“Cheers,” she exclaimed before popping it into her mouth. 

Jake stared down at the cricket for a moment before slowly putting it into his mouth and chewing tentatively. Dove grinned as she watched Jake try to hide his grimace. Finishing her cricket quickly, Dove poked Jake in the side. 

“Don’t forget, spitters are quitters.” 

Completely unprepared for that phrase to come out of Dove’s mouth, Jake started to cough and choke. Dove’s teasing smile dropped as Jake hit his chest with his fist. 

“Are you alright?” she asked him worriedly, resting a hand on his shoulder.

“Fine,” Jake wheezed, coughing again.

~~~~~

# 38 - Gotten Your Fortune Read

“Now this might actually be the dumbest thing you’ve thought of so far,” Dove complained as Jake dragged her over to the tent. “You know that it’s all crackpot nonsense.”

“That’s not the point. We’re exposing you to new experiences,” Jake drawled, gesturing for Dove to sit down.

Rolling her eyes, Dove sat down and waited for the fortune teller. Jake stepped out of the room to give them ‘spiritual space’ and the woman stepped out from behind the curtain a few moments later. She greeted Dove before sitting behind her crystal ball. The fortune teller gave Dove and overview of what to expect before she began. 

“I see . . .”

“A glass ball?” Dove muttered quietly to herself. 

“I see some struggle in your future,” the fortune teller replied, causing Dove to raise an eyebrow. “You have some great trials before you.” 

“Don’t we all?” 

“Your life could be in danger.” 

“Oh, dear,” Dove feigned concern. 

“I see some balloons.” 

“What color are these balloons?” 

“Multicolored, dear. And I see a lion.”

“A lion?”

“Yes, and then a screw. It seems to have fallen, putting you at risk,” the fortune teller continued, pausing as she closed her eyes. “But you’ll survive, my dear. And a man will be right there to hold your hand and comfort you through it.” 

“Well, I hope he’s handsome,” Dove replied sarcastically, offering a forced smile. “Or rich.” 

“Or both,” the fortune teller added, causing Dove to nod. “That’ll be ten dollars, dear.” 

~~~~~

# 39 - Won a Prize at the Fair

“You’ve never played a fair game?” Jake admonished Dove, who scoffed.

“I played one when I was a kid, but they’re all scams! Like that fortune teller.” 

“Did you win anything?” he asked, causing Dove to shake her head. “Then let’s go.” 

“Jake, it’s pointless. And a waste of money.”

“Well, I don’t lose.”

Hangman scanned the games in the area before selecting the darts booth. The attendant, who seemed to have given up on caring, handed Jake some darts and gestured to the moving multicolored balloons behind him. Dove stood to the side as Jake lined up his shots. Tossing the darts and popping the balloons, Jake turned to the attendant. 

“Pick any from that wall,” the attendant sighed, gesturing to a whole bunch of stuffed animals. 

“I’ll take the lion,” Jake decided, causing Dove to pick her head up.

“What?” she breathed out.

The attendant handed Jake the stuffed lion and Jake immediately handed it over to Dove, who stared up at him with wide eyes. Staring down at the lion like she was honestly waiting for it to bite her, Dove just let Jake steer her along with him.

~~~~~

# 40 - Ridden a Fair Ferris Wheel

“I’m not convinced that this would pass a safety inspection,” Dove remarked as the ferris wheel started to ascend.

“You’ll be fine. It’ll take like five minutes and then we’ll move on.” 

“What idea do you have next?” Dove asked Jake curiously.

“I had a couple different ones. Are you hungry or did you want to actually go do something?” 

“Maybe something—” 

Dove gripped the safety bar with a tense grip as the ferris wheel came to a screeching halt. And then she swore that she heard a screw or nail or something clink against the metal frame of the ride. Turning to Jake with wide eyes, Dove tried to not panic.

“Don’t worry. They’re probably just letting more people on,” Jake assured Dove calmly. 

~~~~~

# 41 - Gotten Stuck on a Ferris Wheel

Ten Minutes Later . . . 

“Sorry, folks, but it seems that the ride is having some technical difficulties. We’re working on resolving it as quickly as we can.” 

“You were saying?” Dove hissed to Jake, still with a tight grip on the safety bar. 

“I’m sure that it’ll just be a little bit longer,” Jake replied, though he didn’t look convinced by his own words anymore. He looked over the side and tilted the cart a little bit, causing Dove to tense up. 

“Stop moving! You’re going to tip it!” 

“It’s not that—” 

“—Please, just don’t tip it,” Dove pleaded softly, closing her eyes.

“Are you afraid of heights?” Jake asked quietly, staring at Dove with concern. 

“I’m not afraid of heights. I’m afraid of falling from heights. And that stupid fortune teller said that my life could be in danger and she already got too many other things right and now I’m afraid that I’m going to fucking die falling from this piece of shit ride.” 

“Why didn’t you say something earlier?” 

“Because I thought she was a crackpot and I thought this ride was going to last three minutes.” 

“Have you always been afraid of heights?” 

“Have you always been this bad at knowing basic facts about other people?” Dove snapped back, still with her eyes screwed shut. 

“Maybe,” Jake returned, studying her posture. “Just breathe.” 

“I am breathing.” 

“You know what I mean.” 

“Jake,” Dove warned him.

“Then just keep talking to me. If you’re talking to me, you’re not focused on that.” 

“What the hell am I supposed to talk about?” 

“Anything. I don’t know.” Jake glanced down before turning back to Dove. “I’m starting to realize that we don’t actually know that much about each other.” 

“I know plenty about you,” Dove replied quietly. 

“Like what?” 

“You were born in Austin, Texas. Because you can’t stop fucking talking about Texas. Honestly, I’ve never met someone from Texas who didn’t announce that they were from Texas within fifteen minutes of me meeting them. What the hell is that all about?” 

“Alright, what else do you know?”

“You’re the youngest of four. You have three older sisters. Julia, Jordan, and Jenna. You’re the baby of your family and the only boy. And I didn’t need anything beyond a fifteen second interaction with you to know that, actually.” 

“Harsh,” Jake mumbled. 

“Your mom’s name is Mary and your dad’s name is also Jacob. Your dad runs his own small business and your mom works down at the local school. You have five or six nieces and nephews and you’re the only one that’s not married yet.” 

“How the hell do you know all this stuff?” Jake asked, causing Dove to hiss.

“Because! I! Listen! That thing where people close their mouths and let other people talk!” Gripping the safety bar a little less, Dove added in a softer tone, “You talk about your family all the time. They send you care packages. Of course, I know about them.” 

“Do you know this stuff about everyone on the team?” 

“Are you going to quiz me?” 

“Would that make you feel better?”

“Would that make you feel better?” 

“Alright, fine,” Jake sighed, throwing in the towel with that one. Turning back to Dove and studying her for a moment, he asked softly, “What about you?”

“What about me?” 

“Tell me your story then. You seem to know mine, so it’s only fair.”

“What do you want to know?” 

“Everything.” 

“Everything?” 

“Just something to pass the time and get your mind off of things. I’ll work on my listening skills. You can quiz me afterwards, if it’ll make you feel better.” 

Dove sighed, clearly thinking that this was a stupid idea. But between the fact that she was still stuck in the air and Jake was definitely not going to let it go, she caved. Taking a deep breath, she tried to figure out where to start. 

“I’m the oldest of six.” 

“Six?” 

“Technically, all of my siblings are my half-siblings. Mom’s side. My dad never had any kids after he and my mom got divorced. My mom remarried a month after the papers were signed.” 

“How old were you when they got divorced?” 

“Four when they separated. And six when it was finalized.” After a moment, she added, “And if you even think about using the phrase ‘I’m sorry,’ I will push you off of this ride.” 

“Noted.” 

“I lived with my mom most of my childhood. My dad worked a lot and after my mom got remarried, she was stay-at-home, so it just made sense. But I’m closer with my dad than my mom because my mom . . . she doesn’t do well with people that she doesn’t understand. She doesn’t argue, she just tells you over and over again that she’s right. It wears on you after a while. And we’re just very different people.”

Jake nodded slowly as Dove thought through her next words carefully. 

“I was too shy, too timid to be the daughter that she really wanted. That was my sister Michelle.” 

“Are you close with your siblings?”

“Some of them. Michelle and I don’t get along. She’s my mom’s favorite and everyone, especially her, knows it. I’m the closest with my sister Phoebe. We’re fairly similar. And Brendan, my only brother, insists that I know the latest memes so that I don’t embarrass him. But I’m not too close with my youngest sisters, Nikki and Tillie. They’re twins.” 

Dove opened her eyes and turned back to Jake, her grip noticeably lighter on the safety bar. If Jake noticed that, he didn’t mention it. 

“So, you’re closer with your dad then?”

“Yeah. He’s the chief of his fire station and he’s going to work until he literally cannot physically get out of bed anymore. I tell him to slow down, but he doesn’t listen. And I know that he wouldn’t hesitate to pick up my call and come help me.” Smiling softly, Dove added, “He drove eight hours through the night to be there for my dissertation presentation.” 

“He must be very proud of you,” Jake commented softly, causing Dove to nod.

“Yeah, but he’s always worried about me. He didn’t want me to go into this industry.” 

“Why?” Jake asked, confused. 

“Well, physics isn’t exactly the most welcoming industry for women. And then I started working as a civilian contractor for the Navy and he almost had a heart attack over it.” Dove paused before turning to Jake. “I think that he was also annoyed that I was working with the Navy and not the Air Force.” 

“Your dad was in the Chair Force?” 

“Don’t call it that,” Dove sighed, giving Jake a light nudge. “And yes, he was. It was part of the whole reason why he and my mom got married and had me. Well, technically, he knocked my mom up first and then he married her, but still.” Pointing a threatening finger at Jake, Dove added, “And if you even think about calling me an oopsie baby—” 

“—You’ll push me off the side?” Jake surmised, causing Dove to grin.

“What do you know? You can listen.” 

Two Hours Later . . . 

The sun had set and most of the fair had cleared out. And even though it was southern California, the ocean chill had pushed Dove away from the safety bar and into Jake’s side to keep warm. He rested his arm around her waist to keep her safe and relaxed.

“Favorite . . . non-dairy milk?” Dove suggested, pulling at absolute straws. 

“I only drink real milk,” Jake sighed, staring down at the mechanics working on the ride. 

“But what if you become lactose intolerant?” 

“That doesn’t happen.” 

“It does happen. All the time actually.” 

“What’s yours then?” 

“Oat,” Dove mumbled tiredly, her head resting against his shoulder. 

“I’ll go with oat milk then, I guess.” 

“Have you ever tried it?” 

“No, but I trust your judgment.” 

“Your turn,” Dove reminded him, poking him in the side. 

“Favorite . . . type of french fry?”

“Thin and crispy with a little bit of salt. In-and-Out fries,” Dove stated, just as her stomach started to growl. “If we ever get down from here, I’m going to need a big bucket of french fries. And a drink.” 

“Why stop at one?” Jake mused, causing Dove to smile to herself. 

The ride suddenly jolted and Jake and Dove quickly grabbed onto each other as a reflex. Dove fisted Jake’s shirt and Jake tightened his hold on her waist, pulling her even closer to him. They held their breath and after a moment, the ride started to move again. 

“Holy shit, we’re free,” Dove breathed out, releasing Jake’s shirt. But Jake was a lot slower to release his arm around her waist.

~~~~~

# 42 - Tried Whiskey

After being freed from their mid-air prison, Dove and Jake went out to dinner together at a pub just down the street. And Dove was very content to find that the fries that the pub offered were thin, light, and crispy. And Jake was relieved that they had whiskey. 

“You don’t normally order whiskey,” Dove noted as the waiter walked off with their menus. 

“I only order it if I have a long day,” Jake admitted, taking a sip. Placing the glass down, Jake slid it towards Dove. “You want to try it?” 

“I’ve never had whiskey before.”

“Well, now you definitely should try it.” 

Dove reached out for the glass and took a tentative sip. Jake laughed as she wrinkled her nose and slowly placed it back down, looking like she regretted her decision. 

“I’ll just stick with what I know.” 

~~~~~

# 43 - Made a Toast

“Speech,” Jake joked, causing Dove to smile and reach for her drink. 

“I’d like to make a toast to never going on fair rides ever again and to the fact that I’m very thankful that all of the planes that we work in and around actually have real safety standards,” Dove toasted, lifting up her drink. 

“To safety standards,” Jake agreed, clinking their drinks together. As he set his glass back down, Jake asked, “You want to knock some more ones off the list tomorrow? We came up with plenty of ideas.” 

“Actually, Nat said that she’s taking me out,” Dove stated, picking up some of her french fries. “But I’ll add whatever we do to the list.” 

“Just be careful.” 

Dove snorted. “It’s Nat. I’ll be fine.”

Part 1 Part 2 Part 4

[daydreamgoddess14]

The Ties that Bind - Chapter 7 - The End

Time to say goodbye to this story. I've had the most fun writing it, I've loved Seren 🥰. I really, truly hope you've liked it too - hugest thank yous to everyone who's read it 😘. Always feel free to comment or message me or drop me an ask - literally I need no excuse whatsoever to go feral over Jack Lowden!

I am terrified about how emotionally traumatic Episode 5 is going to be so I distracted myself by finishing this off.

CH 1 | CH 2 | CH 3 | CH 4 | CH 5 | CH 6

Masterlist

Tagging: @cillmequick & @thomasshelbyswife

Chapter 7

“Hi.” Seren said quietly, a small smile on her lips. River nodded, his mouth pinched in a tight line. He turned and went straight back into the kitchen. David gave her a push of encouragement towards the door and she followed him. His hands held the edge of the countertop with a white knuckle grip, she could see his back was tense and feared the worst. Confused, she spoke quickly. “You… you don’t want me here.” She concluded. “And I stupidly assumed you knew about this, I’m sorry.” She shook her head and held up her hands. “I’ll go and he can explain to you, we can figure out a rota or something.”

“He gets forgiven and I don't?” He asked quietly. She stopped in her tracks. 

“I haven't seen or spoken to you? Let's not forget who left me in the middle of the night and no word since?” 

“You didn't want me there.”

“Yeah, at first. I'm pretty sure that changed when-” she lowered her voice to a whisper, “when I let you into my bed! Or did you get what you wanted and that's that?” She hissed. His face fell. 

“Seren, you know that's not it. I left because I didn't want you to think that you had to forgive me. I wanted you to want to.” Seren took a deep breath and rubbed her temples.

“Look this is… I don't know how we've gone wrong here, I'm pretty sure we're agreeing but,” she shrugged, “this has all got fucked up somewhere.”

“Why would you think I don't want you here?”

“I dunno, this is your world, this MI5 bullshit and now I'm here and involved… what if that's what messes everything up?” She asked. 

“No, no, it's not.” He assured her. She could see the hurt in his eyes. She stepped towards him and covered his hand with her own, matching finger to finger. 

“No more cast?” 

“All healed. Well, I need to be careful but, y'know.”

“You're back to throwing fake punches, then?”

“Ahh, no. I gave up on that.” She traced his fingers with her own. 

“Oh?”

“I do spin class now instead.”

“The one on the bike?” She nodded in reply as he turned his hand around so they were palm to palm, and interlocked their fingers. He pulled a face. “Sounds grim.” 

“I needed the distraction.” She mused. “I know you were doing your job.” 

“Yeah.”

“And that job comes with a level of secrecy.”

“Yeah.” She squeezed his hand lightly and let go.

“Ok.”

“Ok?” He looked confused. 

“Ok. I get it.”

“... And?” She smiled at the hopeful look in his eyes, rolling her own in exasperation. 

“Do I need to spell it out?” He shrugged, a smile pulling at his mouth. “You're forgiven.” She told him solemnly. He smiled widely until she held up a hand and it faltered. “But-”

“But?”

“But I have let the entire secret service into my life - they have looked into everything I've ever done. They found out about when I got three speeding tickets in the space of a week fifteen years ago. They know every job I've ever had - including the Anne Summers Saturday job I had when I was seventeen. They know I broke my ankle when I was twenty one, they know how much Netflix I watch. They know more about my life than I can even remember, River. That's… a lot.”

“It is a lot, Seren dear, and I'm eternally grateful to you.” David ambled through, not paying any attention to their proximity. “It's rather a big commitment to make to two men who've mostly pissed you off. What was it you told me before?” He wondered, “Ah yes, we sounded desperate.” 

“You did.” She remembered with a smile. “You still do - I should fill up this fridge. Poor bugger, you've been living on microwave meals.” 

“He brought that on himself.” River pointed out, purposely nudging her. 

“How ever did the Cartwright men survive?” She wondered. 

“We didn't. That's why you're here.” David declared. 

“Hmmm, yes, and I expect you both to grovel for as long as I say so,” she called after him as he went back to the sitting room. She felt River behind her, his warm breath by her ear. 

“On my knees. Every day. If that's what it takes.” He murmured, placing a large palm on her stomach and pulling her body flush with his. She trembled against him as he leaned in to bite her earlobe, unable to stifle the low moan. She quickly clamped her hand over her mouth.

“Seren? Put the kettle on, would you?” David called. River gently pulled her hand from her mouth. 

“Better answer him. He might come looking for you.” 

“You knob,” she scowled. “It's on David, I'll come and get the pot in a minute.”

“Righto,” he said cheerfully, she vaguely heard the rustle of the newspaper over the pounding of her heart. The hand River had on her stomach had slipped under her t-shirt and drew loose patterns on her skin. The front of her thighs pressed against the table and she had visions of being bent over it, lifting her hips to meet his while her fingers gripped the varnished wood and he pounded into her. The thought had her keening against him as his hand moved up to cup her breast over her bra. 

“Something you need?” He asked, his voice low in her ear. She didn't trust herself to speak, instead she arched her back and pushed herself back against his hard cock. He growled against her neck, “I could just bend you over this table?” She whimpered in agreement. “But not now.” Seren twisted in his arms and moved her legs to let him rest between them. She moaned into his mouth as his tongue slid against hers. 

“River-” She whispered as he bit along her jawline. 

“Not here. I want to hear you next time.” He looked at her intently, his eyes bright blue and dancing with mischief. Seren whined in frustration. “I want to see how many times I can get you to make that sound,” he kissed her again. “I want to hear you every time you say my name, and,” he kissed the tip of her nose, “I want to not wake up to an empty bed this time.”

“You and me both,” she breathed. 

“Are we OK?”

“I mean, aside from this still probably completely inappropriate -”

“At least I'm not the one paying you anymore.”

“Fair point, yes, we're OK.” He leaned in to kiss her again, “but-” Seren held up a finger to his lips which he promptly drew into his mouth, making her whimper. “We really should figure out what this is, because I don't want to make my working here awkward or confusing for David.” He released her finger and nodded. 

“You're the boss.” He said with a smirk.

“Not you anymore, is it?” She teased, “no more calling you ‘sir’.”

“Makes sense, I'm the one supposed to be grovelling.” 

“On your knees wasn't it?” She asked curiously, looping her arms around his neck. 

“You got it.”

“My place later?” 

“Fuck yes.” 

“Seren?” David called from the living room. Her head dropped to River's shoulder.

“Later.” He promised. 

“On my way,” she called back to David, pushing River back so she could stand up away from the table. She went to collect the teapot and check what he needed while River put the kettle on. 

*

Seren left the Cartwright’s late afternoon, saying goodbye to both of them. Only a couple of hours later, River knocked on her door. She let him in and had barely closed the door behind her before River had her backed up against it. 

“All day,” he muttered against her collarbone, “been thinking about this all fucking day.” 

“Oh god, River-” She panted as he grasped the soft flesh of her thighs. “Wait, wait, wait, I’ve just come from the gym, I’m disgusting.” She pointed out. He leaned back to look at her, hair piled into a bun on the top of her head wearing a crop top and lycra leggings.

“Don’t care,” he muttered, licking a path down her neck.

“Fuck me,” she gasped as he bit her bare shoulder.

“Yep, that’s what I -” he broke off, listening, “what’s that noise?”

“The shower. I told you, I’ve just got back from the gym.” He took her hand and led her to the bathroom where steam billowed out from the still running shower. He reached out to unzip the front of her crop top and threw it in the vague direction of her washing basket, he pulled off his own t-shirt and added it to the pile. “What are you up to?” She wondered aloud, taking off the rest of her gym kit and stepping into the hot shower. He stepped in behind her and poured vanilla scented body wash into his hands until it frothed. He stood closely behind her so she could lean against him, and rubbed the soapy water from her hands, up to her shoulders and across the other side. He held her against him as he gently washed her stomach, over her breasts and the rest of her body. She sighed contentedly.

“This ok?” He asked, his hands running over and between her thighs. She nodded and reached up to pull the hair tie from her bun. River guided them further under the water stream, his height over her giving him a direct line of sight down her body. Seren took the shampoo from the shelf and he took it from her, gently washing her hair. He took his time, she relaxed against him, his eyes were drawn to the path the droplets of water took over her skin, like memories of where his mouth had been.

“Why’re you doing this?” She questioned as his fingers kneaded through her hair. She moaned at the slight pull, he kissed her neck, acknowledging that he’d heard her response.

“You look after everyone.” He explained simply. He replaced the shampoo and picked up the conditioner, repeating the same process until Seren was dizzy with her need for him. 

They lay nose to nose in Seren’s bed, close to sleep.

“We should be careful, David put himself out there by demanding Taverner employed me. I don’t want to break his trust.”

“I know. This doesn’t have to be complicated, maybe we should just enjoy the distraction. Keep it simple.” He rolled onto his back and pulled her with him. He felt her nod in agreement.

“Yeah. Keep it simple.”

“I want you to be able to walk away from this one day. You don’t want MI5 in your life forever.” He reasoned, half asleep. Seren stayed quiet. His breathing evened out and the hand that brushed up and down her bare back fell still.

“What if I do?” She whispered to the darkness.

*

Seren was on her way to David's when the phone rang through the car. 

“Ms Harrison?” Her stomach dropped to her feet, it didn't sound like Taverner fortunately, so her mind immediately went to the next worst case scenario - Mags in the care home. 

“Yes, that's me?”

“I'm calling from Medway hospital, we have David Cartwright here - you're listed as one of his emergency contacts?”

“David? Oh, god. Yes, yes I'm his home help, I'm on my way there now, what's happened?” She came to a set of lights and did a u-turn.

“You're not live in?”

“No, we didn't think he needed that just yet.”

“It's not too serious, he's had a fall and managed to get to his panic button. The ambulance brought him in about half an hour ago.”

“Ok, have you called his other emergency contact?”

“Not yet -”

“I will. I'll do it. I'll be there in five minutes.” Seren hung up and flicked her eyes to her dash display to select River's name.

“I was just thinking about you,” he answered before she could get a word in. 

“He's had a fall. I'm on my way to the hospital,” she interrupted quickly. 

“Shit, ok, I'm on my way.”

“They said it wasn't serious but-” her voice cracked. 

“It’s going to be fine, I'll be there as soon as I can.”

“I'll call you when I know more.” He hung up first, she could hear muttered swearing as the handset moved from his ear so he could end the call. After hastily abandoning her car in the first space she saw, she raced to the reception desk. “David Cartwright, please? Came in an ambulance, I was just speaking with someone?” The computer keyboard clicked as the receptionist tapped her manicured fingers on the keys.

“Ahh yes, he's on the Acute Medical unit, Lister Ward, follow signs for Red 3. You're going behind me, turn left and up the stairs.”

“Thanks!” Seren ran toward the stairs to the next reception desk where she repeated who she was. A nurse led her down the brightly lit corridor to a small ward of 4 beds. In the far corner by the window was David. She rushed for the bed, managing to stop and slow down as she reached the end of the bed. “David,” she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. She went to his bedside and took his hand carefully, taking note of the cannula in the back. She followed the tubes up to an IV bag. His hand felt small and weightless in hers, the skin paper thin and cool to touch. 

“You've cold hands, dear girl.” He said hoarsely. She closed her eyes in relief at the sound of his voice. 

“Cold hands, warm heart.” She told him, reaching her other hand out to brush his hair from his eyes. “What have you been up to? Silly man.”

“Thought I'd get the kettle on for us, came a cropper on the stairs.” She tsked him lightly with click of her tongue. 

“Shit, I need to tell River you're OK, he's bombing down the motorway,” she picked up her phone and found his number. “He's OK, awake and talking to me. I just need to find a nurse for an update. Lister ward, Red zone 3.” She told him quietly. River arrived as the nurse did. They all listened patiently as she explained that aside from some bruises from the fall, he was perfectly fine but they did want to keep him in for a few days as a precaution. Once the nurse had left, River was able to reach to embrace David. He could only watch Seren but he could see she was itching to be closer to him. 

“You allowed a coffee old man?”

“I bloody better be, I shall discharge myself if not.” He declared. 

“Seren?”

“Yeah, I'll pop to the bathroom and help you bring them back. Won't be long, no causing trouble,” she warned David. In the safety of the corridor, away from the doorway to the ward, River pulled Seren into his arms. 

“You ok?”

“Silly bugger scared the shit out of me, I think I got flashed I got here so fast.” She grumbled, taking a deep inhale of the soap from her bathroom mixed with his own scent. He kissed the top of her head and then lifted her chin to kiss her properly, more intimately than she'd expected in public. The nurse who'd spoken to them blushed as she manned the reception desk. 

“C'mon, let's get his coffee, I only got you out here so I could kiss you.” He reluctantly let her go and went to push coins into the machine.

“You don't have to stick around here all day, you know?” David told her, “someone else is babysitting, go and enjoy yourself.” Seren looked torn. 

“I mean it. And you, shouldn't you be back in London? I certainly don't need both of you here.” He turned his attention to River. 

“I could go and visit Maggie,” Seren wondered aloud.

“Go,” David smiled. “Do go, dear girl. I'm fine, really.” River watched the guilt gnawing at her, that she hadn't been there early enough in the morning to have prevented the fall. Despite what the nurse had said, the worry was still etched in her face. 

“You should go, I'll stay here.”

“No you won't, I already told you, back to work.” River grimaced. “Go on, off you go.”

“Ok, if you insist?” Seren stood up and helped him get more comfortable in the bed, smoothing out the blanket, pouring more water for him and getting the newspaper from her bag along with a pen. “I'll be back later this evening, call me if you want me to bring anything else?” River watched, awed by their bond, the shorthand in their conversation and Seren's clear love for his grandfather. She kissed his forehead and gave him a winning smile, disguising the worry. “Be good for the nurses.” 

“I'll walk out with you, if you're sure grandad?”

“I am indeed, leave me in peace with my crossword.” River gave his hand a squeeze and gestured for Seren to go ahead of him. She turned at the door to wave at David. 

“So… going to work?” She asked once they were in the corridor. 

“No way, I'm going wherever you're going.”

“Oh you are, are you? To visit Maggie then?”

“Lead the way. We can drop your car off at the house and I'll drive?”

“Something wrong with my car?”

“Apart from the music choices?” She arched an eyebrow, 

“Tread carefully, Cartwright.”

“3 speeding tickets in one week, you got flashed this morning, it sounds like the wheels are about to drop off… anything else? Is your engine light on this week?” She scowled. 

“Not this week, no. I did do a probably illegal u-turn this morning though.” 

“Probably illegal?” He teased, slinging an arm around her as they left the hospital. 

*

“Seren, darling!” Mags called across the sunroom of the care home the second she came into view. Seren let the older woman pull her into a bear hug deceptively strong for someone in their eighties. 

“Hello Mags. God, I've missed you.” Seren squeezed tighter until Maggie clocked River standing further back. 

“Oh! You've brought your handsome man with you!”

“My friend, Mags. River is my friend.” 

“Well friendship suits you dearie, you certainly never looked this happy when you were my friend.” Maggie said slyly. 

“What's all this ‘was’ your friend, I am your friend you daft old bat.” 

“Cheeky, I can have you kicked out. Leave the man behind though.”

“No chance. How've you been?”

“Sit, sit, both of you. Are the girls getting some tea? I'm not too bad,” she flapped. “Service could be better,” she grumbled, looking around for a member of staff. 

“I'm fine, really good. You look well?” River sat down next to Seren but held back as the women talked, only being drawn when Maggie insisted. Seren's relationship with Maggie was similar to the one she had with David, she loved them and cared for them as if they were her own grandparents. He found himself lost in a near future where David wasn't around any longer. Found himself wondering and then what? It hadn't occurred to him that one day, his only relationship with someone outside of work would no longer be there. He would essentially be alone. He missed what Seren said as she stood up and brushed his shoulder as she left the room, but Maggie soon dragged him back into the conversation. 

“You're very quiet darling. I'm sure he'll be just fine.” River frowned. “Your grandfather? Seren said you've both come from the hospital this morning?”

“Sorry, yes. Yeah I'm sure he'll be OK.”

“But you're not?” She mused. “Out with it, before she gets back?”

“He's all I've got. It just occurred to me that he's all I've got apart from a few colleagues I'm not sure I'd call friends.” His brow furrowed again. 

“You've got her,” she nodded over at Seren who was laughing with one of the staff members. Her smile was radiant. He shook his head. 

“We decided to keep it simple, nothing serious.” Maggie's chuckle turned into a cough. 

“If you say so, love.” Seren came back over and Maggie fell silent.

“Apparently they're about to take you through for afternoon tea, so we'll head out.”

“Wonderful to see you. Bring cake next time, theirs is shite.” 

“Love you, Mags. Be good.” Seren gave her a hug and once she was released, Maggie ordered River over. 

“Don't be a fool, young man,” she muttered quietly. “Lovely to see you both, off you pop now.” As they left the room with Maggie watching, Seren slipped her hand into his and squeezed. 

“Everything alright?” She asked, her voice laced with concern. He nodded. 

“Yeah, yeah fine.” She didn't look entirely convinced, but let it go. “I, uhh, I'm going to head back to London if you don't mind?” Seren shook her head slowly.

“Sure, ok. I'll get my car and go back to the hospital for an hour.” They drove back to David's in near silence with Seren trying to understand what had happened over the previous couple of hours to have caused River to retreat into himself so much. “I'll call you later?” She asked, confused and a little hurt.

“Yeah, let me know if he needs anything. Otherwise I'll be back in a couple of days when he's ready to be discharged.” Seren nodded, her smile tight. She got straight into her car and decided to head straight to the hospital, not wanting to be alone. 

River made it one junction up the motorway back to London before turning around and going to Seren's house. She arrived home to find him sitting on the doorstep. She stopped suddenly, almost falling over him. 

“Oh shit!” She yelped, “you scared me half to death. What are you doing here, I thought you were going home?” He got to his feet and moved aside so she could unlock the door. She pushed it open and let him through first. “River? I thought you were going home?”

“I did. I am.” He said softly. Seren frowned a little, unsure of his meaning. 

“Ok,” she said gently, “ok. Let's get some food, you must be freezing.” He followed her to the kitchen where he sat at the table while she pottered around cooking. “David's doing fine, I think they'll probably let him out tomorrow. There's no reason to keep him in and they need the bed space.” She chatted to him, filling the silence. “I know you must be worried, but he's honestly alright. I'm sure the nurses are sick of him already. He was struggling to remember who I was, but I think it's the unfamiliar surroundings. I spent two hours with him telling me about his wonderful grandson, and then as I was getting ready to leave, he recognised me.” He moved to stand behind her, his chin on her shoulder and arms looped around her waist. She turned a little to offer him a spoonful of the rich tomato sauce she'd made. He nodded his approval and kissed her lightly, feeling her relax in his arms. His silence had made her tense, he realised. “You know you can talk to me about anything?” She hesitated, not wanting to overstep. 

“Yeah.” She didn't push any further but handed him a plate of pasta. “I always thought he was invincible.” He admitted sadly. She held her breath, waiting for him to go on. “Having you here, he was doing so much better. I thought he'd be here forever.”

“He's still here,” she reminded him, taking his hand. 

“And when he's not? Then what?” She shook her head.

“I don't know,” she confessed. She pushed the food around her plate, her appetite gone. “He talks about you constantly,” she started. “All the bloody time, even when he's lost in the past. He loves you so much, River.” 

“I can count on one hand the number of times he’s said it.” He mumbled, trying to recall the last time he heard it from anyone. His grandmother, Rose, before she'd died most likely. When he looked up from the table to see Seren watching him, he expected to see pity in her eyes, but there was none. 

“Earlier,” she took a deep breath, “when I said I thought you were going home? You said you are.” She paused, halfway between wanting and not wanting an answer to the question hanging in the air. “What did you mean?” 

“I love you.” He said softly, realising that he hadn't said the words since his grandmother had died, let alone heard them. “I've spent all day wondering what will happen when he's gone, when I'm alone, where home is. But I shouldn't have, because I'm not alone.” She shook her head, the movement spilling tears down her cheeks.

“No, you're not.” She moved from her seat at the table and onto his lap, holding his face in her hands. “You're not alone, I love you.” She kissed him, her hands leaving his face to run through his hair. “God, you're such a fucking moron.” He laughed into her neck. 

“When I saw how much you care for him, and for Maggie… She told me. She said I'd got you too. I know I said we should just be able to walk away, no hard feelings, but I don't want that.”

“You've always had me, I'm not going anywhere.” She sighed, heavy with relief and finally relaxing into him. “We do need to work out what to tell him though?” He kissed her shoulder. 

“Mmm. Give me tonight, that's tomorrow's problem.”

*

“Watch your step,” Seren warned, holding David's elbow as he lifted himself out of River’s car. River came round from the driver’s side to take his other arm but was swiftly batted away. Seren bit her lip to disguise the smile.

“Watch my bloody step,” he grumbled. “You watch out, I can still tell Taverner I’ve had enough of you too.”

“Ahh but then she’ll send back Pete who can’t play chess.” River told him.

“Is he the one who drank IPA? Disgusting stuff. I couldn’t even get him to fetch me a decent bottle of scotch. Over my dead body will he be back.” David complained.

“I’m sure he wasn’t that bad.” Seren reasoned as River went ahead of them to unlock the door.

“He was.” They stepped over the threshold together, “and he couldn’t make coffee and walnut cake.” David beamed at the sight of the cake in the centre of the table.

“God, what a crime. Looks like you did the right thing getting me back.” Seren guided him to the sitting room. “Are you feeling ok?”

“I’m not breakable, dear. I’m fine. They let me out didn’t they?”

“Yeah cos they were sick of you.” River muttered under his breath so only Seren could hear, disguising her laugh with a cough.

“I heard that young man. Seren, would you cut that cake please?”

“No problem, tea?”

“Excellent.” He settled back in his armchair, making himself comfortable. In the kitchen, Seren set a tray with cake plates and mugs. She drifted towards River as he came in.

“S’good to have him back here.” She smiled. He took her hand and pulled her away from the tray and into his arms. 

“Yeah it is. Means I shouldn’t be kissing you in the kitchen anymore though,” he grumbled. She leaned up on tiptoes and grazed her lips against his.

“As if that stopped you before.” She challenged. 

“Put her down River, goodness me I may as well look after myself if you’re going to distract her constantly.” David chided from the doorway. Seren sprung from River’s arms, blushing furiously.

“Shit, David, I’m so sorry. I-”

“No need to be sorry, dear. Did you really think I didn’t know? I may be losing my mind but I’m certain my eyesight is perfectly fine. I did tell you, he was bound to have his head turned by a pretty girl. I’m just glad it’s you.” Seren’s mouth formed a perfect O shape. “Just getting a pen for the crossword, I’ll leave you both to it.” He wandered back to the sitting room. “Wouldn’t say no to that cake, though?” He shouted.

FIN

[blorbosdotcom]

roleplay request?

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮

I know I've been advertising my RP server for Sam & Max quite a bit, but I'm also open for 1x1 roleplaying! I'll be putting my information under the cut, so feel free to message me AFTER reading it over if you'd be interested in RP!

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.. Basic Information ..

STATUS: 

Open (1/3.)

Disclaimers/notices:

As I am 18+, I do not roleplay with minors. I am just not comfortable with it whatsoever especially since the genres I tend to write.

I try to keep my portrayals close to canon, though I do tend to add my own personal flare to them as well. If you do something similar/have headcanons about the canon you're portraying, please reach out! I think adding to characters just makes things more fun. 

In all honesty, I mainly just rolelplay Freelance Husbands. Nothing much with OCs or focus on characters outside of the pair. Well, aside from when I do JURGEN focused stuff, usually shipping him with Superball.

If you don't reply to me without notice after a week or so, I will close our DM. If you need a break/want to end RP, just tell me. I know how it is. But ghosting is just not cool.

I roleplay over discord, exclusively.

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Formatting.

I write in a third person, semi to literate format. I typically write three paragraphs as a minimum and expect partners to match my length. Often I write more like 3-5+ paragraphs, it just depends on my muse and what's going on in the roleplay. In order to be my RP partner, I do require an example of your writing. I can send one back as well.  This is simply a measure to ensure we both vibe with each other’s styles before getting into roleplay! 

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Timezones and availability.

I will not always be available as I am an adult with a significant other, work and other responsibilities. Please respect that and don't spam me for replies. If I have an event coming up I will try to keep you informed + hope you'd do the same. I live in Central Time.

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Limits.

Non-con, ageplay, p3dophilia and that other nasty stuff. I don't mind writing heavier topics, but going into graphic details with things such as Eating Disorders and Self-H@rm is too much. No other specific triggers come to my mind, but I will be sure to tell you if something makes me uncomfortable. 

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Types of roleplay.

Admittedly my primary interest in roleplaying is shipping. I tend to get bored with platonic roleplays. I am a sucker for a good hurt/comfort! Some genres I enjoy are angst, thriller and AUs of all kinds. I do not roleplay unless there is a plot, either. I do love brainstorming them together+hearing your ideas, and I also have some ideas already. I will add I tend to go hardcore into angst at times so if that isn't for you, I may not be the best fit for roleplaying. That being said, a good fluff or other genre can be just as fun. It really depends. I do ERP as well, but only if there's a plot involved. I can't get invested otherwise. DM me for more ERP specifics.

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Muses.

Max the Lagomorph.

You know him, you love him - the rabbity thing ever.

Jurgen the Vampire.

The guy ever.

I can do other characters as side characters, as well!

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Ships.

Freelance Husbands (obviously)

Jurgen x Superball (my guilty pleasure)

Jurgen x Papierwaite (I saw the light)

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Extra.

If you've made it this far, congratulations. Feel free to message me with any other questions I haven't answered in post, and of course - if you're looking to roleplay. Cheers!

╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

[dragonydreams]

Cake is a Love Language - BuckTommy, HenRen

Title: Cake is a Love Language Fandom: 9-1-1 Rating: General Audience Pairings/Characters: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Tommy Kinnard, Hen Wilson/Karen Wilson, Denny Wilson, Mara Driskell Additional Tags: Double Date, Cake is Love Summary: Tommy thanks Hen for introducing him to Buck, so Hen invites them over for dinner. Timeline: post 7x06 Word Count: 2,494 Disclaimer: I claim no ownership over these characters. I am merely borrowing them from Reamworks, Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision, Ryan Murphy Television, and 20th Television. Betas: Thank you to @medieshanachie for looking this over for me.

Read on AO3

The doorbell rang as Hen and Karen were getting the kids ready for school the Monday after Chimney and Maddie's wedding. Hen was a little harried as she opened the door to see a man standing there wearing a shirt with the logo for her favorite bakery.

"Andy, what are you doing here? I already picked up my order," she said, thinking of the single cupcake in the fridge decorated in the bisexual flag colors she planned on taking in for Buck.

"Hey, Hen. This isn't an order you placed, but something that was ordered to give to you," Andy said, holding out a box and envelope. 

"Who's it from?" she asked, accepting the package. 

"Can't say, but they knew what you like," Andy said, turning to go.

"Hang on, let me grab my wallet for a tip," Hen said, quickly.

"Already covered," Andy said and waved as he headed back to his car.

Hen closed the door, more curious than ever, as she carried the box and envelope to the kitchen. 

"Who was that?" Karen asked.

"Delivery," Hen said. She opened the box after setting it on the table where Denny and Mara were eating cereal. Inside were four cupcakes.

"Cupcakes!" Denny exclaimed. "Can I have one now?"

"No, finish your cereal," Hen said. "We'll have them for dessert tonight."

"Who are they from?" Karen asked, obviously sharing the same thought as her son.

Hen closed the box and put the cupcakes in the refrigerator and then opened the card. Her eyebrows rose as she held the card out for Karen to see. 

Thank you for convincing me to fly into a hurricane. - Tommy

Karen laughed as Denny asked what the card said. 

"It's from an old co-worker, Tommy," Hen said. 

"You think that's about Buck?" Karen asked, quietly.

"Oh, definitely," Hen said. "We should have them over for dinner. Soon."

"Tell Buck to let us know when Tommy's next free night is," Karen said. 

"I will," Hen said. She pulled out her phone and scrolled to find Tommy's contact info. 

You're welcome. And thank you for the cupcakes. I'm going to ask Buck, too, but Karen and I would like you to come for dinner the next time we all have a night off.

Tommy replied immediately. 

We'd love that. I'll have Evan coordinate our schedules.

"Evan, huh," Hen muttered. 

"What's that?" Karen asked.

"I texted Tommy to thank him and invite them to dinner and he said Evan would coordinate our schedules," Hen relayed. 

"Who's Evan?" Karen asked, confused.

"Buck," Hen said. "That's his real name."

"I don't think I've ever heard anyone call him that," Karen said.

"They don't. He introduced himself that way when he first started but said to call him Buck, so we do. Maddie's the only one who ever calls him Evan anymore, aside from his parents."

"Interesting," Karen mused.

"Very," Hen agreed.

~~*~~

Buck was already upstairs by the time Hen arrived at the station. She quickly changed into her uniform before heading up. She found him sitting at the table, grinning at his phone.

"I suppose this isn't much of a surprise, but I still wanted to give this to you," she said, placing the boxed cupcake in front of Buck. "Welcome to the family."

Buck's face lit up. "Maybe not, but it is very much appreciated." Then his face scrunched up in confusion. "I thought we were already family."

Hen nodded to the decoration on the cupcake. "That family."

"Oh, right," Buck said, blushing. "Um, yeah, thanks."

"I got the flag right, didn't I? I know we haven't talked about it yet. And there's no rush to label yourself," Hen rushed on, suddenly realizing she may have been presumptuous. 

"Hen, it's perfect," Buck assured her, taking her hand in his. "It's the right flag. I'm definitely bi. I still love women, but have recently come to realize that I also really like men."

"You know, I always thought you might be, but since you never talked about wanting to date men, I didn't want to make you confront something you weren't ready for," Hen admitted. 

"I probably wouldn't have believed you," Buck agreed. "I had no idea that what I was feeling for Tommy was attraction until he kissed me. I just knew I wanted to spend time with him."

"If you were confused, you could have talked to me," Hen said, a little hurt that he hadn't.

"That's just it, I wasn't confused," Buck said. "It was like everything suddenly made sense. Like that thing that I've been searching for so desperately was suddenly right there. I wasn't confused, I was at peace."

"That's beautiful," Hen said. "I'm so happy for you."

"I'm happy, too," Buck said. 

"Karen and I want to hear all about how you and Tommy got together over dinner the next time our shifts all give us a free evening. I already told Tommy when I thanked him for the cupcakes."

"He followed through with that?" Buck asked.

"He did. I assume you told him which is my favorite bakery?"

"Yeah. When he told me he wanted to send you something to thank you for introducing us I told him that cake is your love language and gave him the number to call," Buck said.

"That was very thoughtful, thank you," Hen said. "Tommy already said yes to dinner, so once you have his schedule, he said you'd coordinate on his behalf."

"I look forward to that," Buck said. 

The bell went off then, so Buck stashed his cupcake in the fridge before they both ran for the engine.

~~*~~

It took about a week for everyone's schedules to align, but soon Buck and Tommy were ringing Hen's doorbell.

Denny was hovering behind her as Hen opened the door. He and Mara had eaten earlier, but he wanted to say hello. 

"Come on in," she greeted them. "Tommy, it's so good to see you again."

"Thanks for having us," Tommy said as he followed Buck into the house.

"Hey, Buck," Denny said, coming over to give Buck a hug.

"Hey, Denny, loving the new hair," Buck said. "How'd it get so long so fast?"

"It doesn't feel like it was fast. I just haven't seen you for a while," Denny said. 

"I guess we haven't," Buck agreed.

"Who are you?" Denny asked Tommy.

"Denny, this is Tommy, he's Buck's… date?" she said, unsure of what label they might be using. "Tommy, this is my son, Denny. Tommy used to work with me at the 118, before Buck joined us. He’s the one who sent the cupcakes.”

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Denny," Tommy said, holding out his hand to shake.

Denny shook it and said, "You, too. Those cupcakes were so good."

Tommy laughed. “I’m glad you liked them.”

Hen looked over to see Mara hovering in the doorway, clutching her blanket. "That's Mara over there. She's a little shy." Raising her voice she asked, "Mara, would you like to come meet some of my friends?"

Mara shook her head and retreated from the room completely. 

"We’re going to play video games while you have your dinner," Denny said. 

"You're not joining us?" Buck asked.

"Nah, we already ate," Denny said. "I'll see you later."

They all watched him go after Mara. "Mara's our foster daughter. She's had a tough time settling in but she's been opening up to Denny. He's being the best big brother," Hen explained.

"You're very lucky," Tommy said. 

"We are," Karen said, joining them. "Sorry, I had to get dinner out of the oven before it burned."

"Tommy, you remember my wife, Karen," Hen said. 

"It's a pleasure seeing you again," Tommy said. 

"You too," Karen said. "Dinner's ready, so let's move this to the dining room."

Karen looped her arm through Buck's and led him to the table with Hen and Tommy following close behind them. 

Once the couples were seated on either side of the table, Buck said, "Ladies, you have outdone yourselves."

"Flattery will get you nowhere," Hen teased.

"Except perhaps another dinner invitation," Karen added.

"That's all I'm after," Buck said. 

"Is he always such a shameless flirt?" Tommy asked, amused.

"Always," Hen answered at the same time that Buck said, "Hardly ever!"

They all laughed and began to serve themselves. 

After they'd all had a few bites, Hen said, "Thank you again for the cupcakes. Although I don't feel like I deserved them. Chimney's the one who brought Buck and Eddie to Harbor, not me."

"Don't worry, I got Howie a nicer wedding present than was necessary in thanks. I'd never hear the end of it if I hadn't. Besides, he may have been the one to physically bring Evan into my life, but he wouldn't have been there if he hadn't anticipated you calling in air support to go after Captain Nash and Sargent Grant. We all know better than to ignore your hunches."

"You know, I had a hunch about you," Hen admitted, leaning back in her chair as she looked at Tommy.

Tommy blinked. "How? I was completely in the closet when I was at the 118."

"After Gerrard left, you stopped talking about girlfriends. If you mentioned dating at all you used gender neutral pronouns."

"I didn't think anyone noticed," Tommy admitted. 

"I'm sure most of them didn't, but I'm well familiar with that game," Hen said. 

"Anyone in our community would recognize those signs," Karen added. 

"I probably wouldn't have, but I also got caught out by trying to keep neutral pronouns," Buck said. "That's how Maddie found out about Tommy. I slipped up. Granted, it was the first conversation I'd had after our first date."

"You also came out to the team pretty quickly," Tommy pointed out.

"And what a way to come out," Karen said. "You've gotta tell me, was that planned?"

Buck and Tommy shared a look and grinned.

"Not exactly," Tommy said.

"I mean, Tommy was always going to be my date for the wedding," Buck added.

"But I hadn't exactly planned on coming straight from a fire covered in soot," Tommy continued.

"And I couldn't resist kissing him when I saw him," Buck said, blushing. 

"You didn't tell him his face was covered in your soot?" Hen asked.

Tommy laughed. "Oh, I did."

Buck was grinning. "It saved me the trouble of making some big announcement."

"True that," Hen said. She raised her wine glass. "To nonverbal announcements."

They all clinked glasses. 

"So that's how you came out, but how did you get together?" Karen pressed, leaning forward in her seat, eagerly. 

"Yeah, so do you remember when Eddie had to stay behind on light duty because he'd sprained his ankle during a basketball game?"

"You mean when you pushed him during a basketball game?" Hen clarified.

"Chim?" Buck asked, guessing that Chimney would have given his partner the play by play.

"Chim," Hen confirmed.

"After I took Eddie to urgent care and then got him settled with pain meds at home I went to talk to Evan. Eddie and I had been hanging out a lot since the rescue and I didn't want Evan to think I was trying to come between their friendship," Tommy said.

"I was kinda jealous," Buck admitted, bashfully. "But not just because Tommy was spending so much time with Eddie, but because Eddie was spending so much time with Tommy." 

"I get that," Karen said. 

"Luckily, so did Tommy," Buck said. "He understood better than I did because I didn't realize it was because I was attracted to him until he kissed me."

"Damn, Kinard," Hen said. "Way to just go for it."

"I've gotten pretty good at reading signals," Tommy admitted. "And if it didn't go the way I'd hoped, it's not like I can't take a punch."

"Eddie's the hitter, not me," Buck said.

"No, you're the pusher," Hen drawled.

"Ooh, ouch," Buck said, hand to his heart, everyone laughing.

Tommy brought a hand up to rest against the nape of Buck's neck. "Luckily, Evan didn't pull away and he agreed to a date that Saturday."

"Which I totally ruined by being an ass when Eddie and Marisol showed up at the same restaurant," Buck said, leaning into the touch.

"He did not," Karen gasped.

"Oh, he did," Tommy said, taking a sip of wine. "Their appearance sent Evan running for that closet."

"I was caught off guard," Buck said, "and I reacted badly. Very badly. After dinner, Tommy ended the date early and left me at the restaurant."

"Can't say that I blame you," Hen said, earning a slap on the arm from Karen.

"I didn't actually blame him. I understood why he'd behaved the way he had, but also I knew that Evan needed to really think about whether or not he wanted to date me," Tommy said.

"Which I did," Buck rushed to say. "Eddie talked sense into me after I told him that he'd interrupted a date and not just a dinner between friends and he convinced me to call Tommy. We met up for coffee the next day and I invited him to the wedding."

"After buying me truly disgusting coffee," Tommy said.

"I guessed at his coffee order," Buck admitted.

"Why didn't you just order him a black coffee with a handful of creamers and sugars?" Karen asked. 

"Because if I'd gotten it right he would have been impressed," Buck said.

"Do you still take it–?"

"Yes," Tommy rushed to say. "I take it the same way, which Evan hasn't figured out yet."

Hen tapped her nose and pointed at Tommy. "Gotcha."

"How many cups of bad coffee have you had to drink by not telling him?" Karen asked.

"Way too many, but I'm not giving in now," Tommy said. 

Buck turned hopeful puppy dog eyes on Hen. 

"No," she said. "You won't get it out of me. Unlike some people on our team, I can keep a secret."

"So you're going to make Tommy suffer through my guesses rather than allowing me to bring him the perfect cup of coffee?" Buck wheedled. 

Hen glanced at Tommy who shook his head. "Yep."

Buck gave an exaggerated pout and Tommy used the hand that was still on Buck's neck to pull him closer until he could kiss the pout away.

Hen saw the way that Buck melted into the kiss. She looked over to Karen who had the same soft look on her face that she knew was on her own.

Hen leaned over to whisper in her wife's ear, "I don't think I've ever seen him so relaxed and happy in a relationship before."

"He really is happy," Karen agreed. "They both are."

"Stop talking about us," Buck teased. "We're right here."

"You were a little busy," Karen pointed out.

"Our ears still work," Buck countered. 

"And yes, we are happy," Tommy said. 

Lifting her glass again, Hen made another toast. "To happiness."

The End

[yeetmeoutthewindowdaddy]

Tsundere Rolan (Part 2)

Part 2 of a (one-sided) enemies-to-lovers fic about Rolan x himbo bard/ marital class Tav.

(Decided to make Tav part minotaur because Rolan needs to be dicked down by a huge peen I can.)

● Tsundere Rolan master list

Part 2 (this part) takes place a few days after Part 1.

Content: Sibling teasing, meddling siblings, manipulating your brother and his crush in the name of love, awkward situations, mild smut, reader is blue balled.

TW: None that I can think of.

I color-coded the dialogue for Rolan, Lia, Cal, and Tav.

______________________________________________________________

Rolan was having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad tenday.

For the past four days his siblings had been whispering and conspiring against him— to what end he did not know, nonetheless Rolan was wary of the ornery glint in their eyes.

And as if dealing with whatever shenanigans his impudent siblings were planning wasn't enough, for the past three days he's also had to contend with Tav visiting the store.

Rolan couldn't fathom why the large dolt kept coming into Sorcerous Sundries— the bard didn't possess enough intellectual acuity to effectively utilize any of the wares the store carried.

As if to rub salt in his wound, Tav refused to speak with anyone other than Rolan. He wouldn't speak with Cal, nor Lia, nor his simulacrum— he'd only talk to Rolan himself. To make matters worse he'd ask some of the most inane questions that Rolan had ever heard, and when he'd deign to answer Tav's queries the man's eyes would glaze over, vacuously staring at Rolan as he wasted his time.

Rolan had decided that no matter how annoying Tav was, he wouldn't be speaking with him today. Which is why he was hiding in the storage room taking inventory.

Gods, Rolan lovedathed Tav. He hated how Tav would adorably cock his head to the side when he made an inquiry. He hated how Tav's hunky large frame was practically the only thing he could see when the other man stood before him. Rolan hated how the deep timbre of Tav's voice went straight to his cock made him stupidly horny feel even smaller than he already is when standing next to Tav.

He hated how being the sole focus of the bard's attention gave him butterflies nauseated him. Rolan hated how Tav's muscles deliciously flexed when he moved. He hated how he would get lost in Tav's beautiful green stupid eyes. Rolan hated how he actually enjoyed didn't mind being around Tav. But most of all Rolan hated how much he wanted to suck Tav's d-

Rolan's musings were suddenly cut short as he was jolted out of his daydreaming.

"Toril to Rolan? Hellloooooo." Lia said as she waved her hand in front of his face.

"What?" He asked Lia, rapidly blinking as he reacclimated to reality.

"Do we have anymore Vitriol of Weavemoss in stock?" Lia asked, concern etched on her face as she repeated the question to Rolan for the fourth time.

"Oh." Rolan dumbly replied.

"...Well?" Lia prompted.

"Well, what?" Rolan asked.

"Okay, what's going on with you Rolan? You've been acting weird all day." She asked, her voice ladened with concern.

Rolan shook his head to help clear his mind as he replied, "Apologies, I've been lost in thought."

Lia's brows shot up her forehead, "You're apologizing, unprompted?" she asked, astonished at Rolan's strange behavior.

"Okay, now I know something is wrong." She said as she crossed her arms and gave Rolan a no-nonsense look.

"Nothing is wrong, but thank you for your concern." Rolan quickly tried to assuage her worries— he didn't want to tell her that he was thinking indecent thoughts about Tav.

She eyed him suspiciously, "'Thank you for your concern?' Do I look like a nosy customer to you? You're not a shape-changer who replaced my brother, are you?"

"No. I'm not a shape-changer Lia. You know that we have arcane wards, which I personally installed myself, to prevent them from entering the shop in disguise." Rolan tersely replied.

"Well, your definitely my brother! No matter how practiced a shape-changer is they'd never be able to perfectly duplicate your angry nose scrunch." Lia teased while emphatically nodding.

"So what was on your mind?" She asked.

"Nothing." Rolan curtly replied.

"Nothing? You weren't thinking about anything?" Lia asked dubiously.

"I wasn't thinking about anyone!" Rolan hastily retorted.

He realized he slipped-up when Lia's expression shifted from suspicion to sadistic glee.

With her tail swishing in amusement Lia inquired "OoOoo, who were you thinking about Rolan?"

"I wasn't thinking about anyone, Lia." Rolan hissed.

"I bet I know who you were thinking about." Lia teased in a sing-song voice.

"Who's ugrh Rolan thinkin' 'bout?" Cal breathlessly asked while he struggled to carry a large, heavy-looking box into the storage room.

"NO ONE!" "TAV!" Rolan and Lia replied at the same time.

Cal put the heavy crate down with a small "Oof."

"H-hells that was heavy... Tav? Yeah... hah... that tracks." Cal panted, leaning against the crate he had just sat down.

Rolan's tail lashed in annoyance, "I WASN'T THINKING OF TAV!" he refuted.

Lia suddenly pointed at Rolan with excitement, "You're blushing!" She exclaimed.

"I am not blushing." Rolan said while blushing.

"You are!" Lia argued.

"I AM NOT!" Rolan denied as he blushed harder.

"You're blushing." Cal interjected before his siblings could devolve into a childish "am not, are too." argument (again).

"HA!" Lia boasted.

"I am flushed from anger, I am not blushing." Rolan ground out, glaring at Cal and Lia.

Rolan's objections only served to send his siblings into further hysterics.

"What're y'all laughing about?" Tav asked as he entered the (entirely too small for him) storage room.

Rolan b flushed harder upon seeing Tav.

"Hey Tav! How've you been?" Cal cheerfully greeted, easily distracting the bard.

"Hi Cal!" Tav responded, before eagerly telling Cal about his day.

Rolan warily glanced over at Lia, who had been suspiciously quiet the entire time that Tav had been present.

A smug look adorned her face.

Rolan's glowered and gently shook his head 'no'— he didn't know what she was planning, but he knew that he didn't like it.

"Tav," Lia began, obstinately staring Rolan in the eyes.

"would you mind helping Rolan back here while Cal and I go man the store?" She continued, changing the look on her face to one of innocence as she turned to face Tav.

"Sure! No problem!" Tav readily agreed.

"I don't need any help!" Rolan countered.

Everyone ignored him; his siblings because they wanted him to get together with Tav, and Tav because he thought that Rolan was just being his usual tsundere self.

All too soon Rolan found himself locked in the too-small storage room, alone with Tav.

"I think they locked the door." Tav stated the obvious.

Rolan crossed his arms as he glowered at Tav.

"I don't need any help." He reiterated.

The part-minotaur's face lit up when Rolan addressed him.

"I know you don't need any help Rolan. Even so— I'd like to help you." Tav placatingly assured.

The mage pursed his lips as he thought over his options. He could use the keys he carried on him, or the knock spell, to unlock the door.

…But Rolan did actually need to take inventory, and for as lacking as Tav is in his mental prowess— he is usefully tall. And if Rolan saves his spells instead of expending them on levitating himself then he can use them to get back at Lia, and Cal, later.

What a convenient excuse to stay in a cramped room with his crush perfectly reasonable line of thinking, good job Rolan!

"...Fine, you can stay and help." Rolan acquiesced.

Tav's smile was blinding.

"B-but I have a few rules!" Rolan quickly added.

Tav adorably stupidly tilted his head.

"Firstly, no inane questions. Secondly, no unnecessary chatter. Thirdly, you aren't to touch anything unless I explicitly instruct you to." Rolan firmly laid out his rules.

"Am I clear?" He asked.

"Shut up and don't touch anything that you don't tell me to, I got it!" Tav replied with two thumbs up, completely unperturbed by Rolan's abrasiveness.

"Good, then lets begin." Rolan said.

---

They worked in surprisingly comfortable silence for a good while.

"Put this Vitriol of Oleander on the shelf up there." Rolan absently instructed Tav, pointing to a shelf behind himself but not moving out of the way.

"'Kay." Tav responded, shrugging when the tiefling didn't move— Tav was tall enough that he could lean over Rolan and still reach the shelf.

Which is how Rolan abruptly found himself with his back pushed against the shelves, boxed in by Tav's arms.

Rolan's heart started pounding.

Tav was so much bigger than him, all muscles and sinew. Rolan hadn't realized that the bard had unlaced his shit until his face was practically buried in the valley between Tav's pecs.

Rolan took in a sharp breath, which made everything better worse.

Tav smelled good.

The thick hair on the minotaur's chest trapped heat and sweat, creating a musk that was unique to Tav. Rolan should have found it revolting, and if it were anyone else he would have been disgusted instead of aroused.

Rolan must have made some kind of sound, because the other man curiously peered down at him.

"You alright Rolan?" He inquired.

"You look really flushed, you should prob-" Tav began to say that Rolan should take a break, until he saw how blown out the mage's pupils were.

Rolan was looking up at Tav through his lashes, making the quintessential bedroom eyes at him.

They stayed frozen in place, Tav internally panicking/celebrating and Rolan not thinking beyond 'horny'. The air around them felt electrically charged. Rolan boldly grabbed the collars of Tav's shit and dragged him closer.

They drew nearer to each other, Tav bent down to reach Rolan's lips.

"SHIT! SORRY!" Cal exclaimed.

"Come on man, learn to knock." Tav said, frustrated.

"I did knock! Neither I nor Lia had seen you two leave the room, we assumed that Rolan had teleported out hours ago! I needed to get something from back here, and I knocked just in case you two were in here snogging— but I don't think you heard me!" Cal frantically explained, his face aflame.

Rolan finally snapped out of his (initially horny, then mortified) daze.

"We were NOT s-snogging!" Rolan's voice cracked part way through his denial. He began to push against Tav's chest.

"G-gods damn it Tav, don't reach over me to p-put something away!" Rolan made a poor show of his supposed displeasure.

Tav backed up to give him space, which was when Rolan realized that he had a very obvious erection.

Based on the proud look on Tav's face, and the horrified look on Cal's, they also noticed his very obvious erection.

Rolan teleported himself away.

Both Cal and Tav were left in awkward silence.

"Welp." Tav stated, still not facing Cal in a bid to hide his erection.

"Yup." Cal responded, at a loss for words.

Tav let out a long sigh before saying, "It's going to be impossible to get him to talk to me for a while."

"Yeah." Cal cringed, knowing Rolan would be in a horrid mood for the foreseeable future.

Then an idea struck the tiefling.

"He won't be able to bring himself to talk to you, unless talking to you is less awkward than the alternative!" Cal excitedly told Tav.

"Like what?" Tav inquired.

"Like me promising not to tell Lia about this fiasco if he invites you over for a private dinner to 'clear the air' between you two." Cal giddily explained.

Tav incredulously laughed, "You act sooo innocent, but you're just as bad as Lia is— maybe even worse!"

Cal "innocently" blinked at Tav.

"Thanks, but I'd rather not be knowingly complicit in manipulating your brother." Tav seriously told Cal.

"...But if you didn't know?" Cal slyly inquired.

"But I do know." Tav flatly stated.

After a moment of contemplation Cal spoke,

"I can work with that!" He merrily said before turning tail and sprinting away.

Tav sighed again and thunked his head against the shelf. He finally understood why Rolan complained about his siblings so much.

[bearratic]

Get to know the mun ! repost, don’t reblog.

——— BASICS.

NICK[NAME] : Benjamin. [Benji/Bear.]

PRONOUNS : He/Him.

ZODIAC SIGN : Aquarius - Feb 7th.

TAKEN OR SINGLE : Single.

ANYTHING ELSE? : Real fuckn dutch. Made of stroopwafels.

——— THREE SERIOUS FACTS.

Writing gives me the time and space to gather my thoughts. I use it as a practice in conveying emotion, which makes it easier to do so and thoroughly explain reasoning. I use writing as a base for learning human psyche, soul, mind and spirit which interests me deeply. I try digging deeper into feelings and actions - reasons why some are done and linking them together.

I pick muses based on some hint of personality trait I see of myself in them. I find myself often asking what I want so having muses that at least correlate to my thoughts are a better fit for me than just a choice at random. It can be big as the way they think or it can be as small as sharing a favorite drink. Exploring their interests based on their world and adding on to it makes it way more enjoyable for me to write, story and world building is important to me.

I fucking love everyone I have ever written and will ever write with. This has been nothing but a warm and loving experience for me.

——— THREE RANDOM FACTS.

My nickname is thanks to my father, who even though he named me one thing, found it often too long and switched it to another lol.

I go to at least 3 concerts every month. Mostly rock in genre if I get to chose but I never say no when friends ask. I will always be your +1 to any event.

If I had to pick a country to move to it would be Scotland, sorry but I have a light obsession with that place.

——— EXPERIENCE.

Zero dude. Literally none. I just picked it up as a hobby and passed my blogs one year birthday last august. I have been truly active in the writing community for only half a year in total.

I go with the flow, I enjoy coming up with things on the spot. Diseccting my muses and throwing them into any type of situation just to write myself out of it. Or-... make it worse for them. Keep it interesting you know?

I write through and together with music, I let it guide me often. This is kind of the reason I am a slow replier, I have to really feel what I want to put down and then I can stick to it. Besides that, English is not my first language so I have to switch back and forth in my brain real often. It can be a bit tiring but I gladly do it for my writing partners. Much love.

——— MUSE PREFERENCE.

Give me anything with a background we can explore and me and my muses are in. I thoroughly enjoy talking to you about your muses and mine, from their favorite pairs of socks to their family drama, idc I want to know.

I need a lot of building together, plotting and anything to truly write my muse closer to yours if you want anything deeper. I build through writing together. From something silly to movie scripts. Let them get to know each other to their deepest point.

——— FLUFF / ANGST / SMUT.

FLUFF : Yeah definitely, I’m a sappy dude. I like to daydream.

ANGST : Also yeah! I enjoy making problems for my muses, it makes me understand them more. Dread is and can be intense so be sure to be in the right headspace and let me know.

SMUT : Sure, though with my lack of writing experience bear with me on this one. I really have to know how you write and your muse for this to work, I do not wish to overstep boundaries either yours, your muses or my own. Which I am unable to know if we do not at least have a talk about it.

——— PLOT / MEMES : Thanks to you I know how much I enjoy plotting. I know I'm rather slow with DM replies but please don't take it personally I am just truly busy and can only do one thing atta time. Memes! Starters! Send me them all day everyday, I might not get to them immediately but I will and I will love it.

TAGGED BY : @sanctissimx I adore. Thank Yououou.

TAGGING : Cool ppl but no pressure. @cherriedrage @penandswords @patronsxints @carminewill @heterochromatica @ofcursedenergy @modeinthemiddle @huntershowl & You.

[uniquevoidflowers]

Linked Arena-Part 1

(From the perspective of Masks or the Hero of Time)

Thud. Thud. Thud.

“Coming!” 

Link rushed to the door of the ranch and swung it open to see a cloaked figure there. Rain poured outside, pattering on their hood and soaking everything. “What do you need?” Link asked, leaning slightly against the door.

“I have something for you.” The cloaked figure told him quietly.

Link’s eyes narrowed. “For me? From who?”

“It’s a message. You’ll know who it’s from when you read it.” The cloaked figure insisted and pulled out an envelope.

Link took the envelope, curiosity getting the better of him. The symbol of the Triforce was stamped onto the envelope. 

Interesting. 

“So this is from the royal family? Who are-“ When Link looked up the cloaked figure was gone.

“Fairy boy?” Malon called and hurried over. “Who was that?”

“I don’t know.” Link replied and shoved the envelope down into his pocket before Malon could see it.

“Was it another solicitor? There have been so many of them coming to the ranch.” Malon huffed, scowling.

“…Yeah.” Link answered uneasily.

His wife sighed and grabbed a sign. “I’m going to put this up now. Hopefully they get the message.” 

Link watched as Malon left, sign in her hands.  He pulled out the envelope and teared the top off. He had never really been patient with these small things. 

Hero of Time

You bested the evil man Ganondorf, and the ugly creature Majora. 

You defied time and fate with the intent to save others. 

You have proven how strong you are…Yet…

Many heroes have risen up to defeat evil, whether it be before your time, or after your time. 

They are also incredibly strong…All of their hearts are pure. Just like yours.

Where am I going with this? You’re probably asking…

All of you heroes must fight each other in an arena I have prepared. 

The winner will be gifted the Triforce. 

More details will be explained at the right time, but train as hard as you can Hero of Time.

Your opponents are no pushovers. 

The letter wasn’t signed. The piece of paper slipped out of his shaky hands and fell slowly to the ground. “A f***ing arena?!”

Malon peeked back inside, looking concerned. “Link? What are you talking about?” 

Link grabbed the letter and ripped it into pieces and then stormed off. “Wait! Link!” Malon called rushing to him and grabbing his arm. “Tell me what’s happening.”

“She wants me to go fight in an arena against other heroes. The prize is the Triforce.” Link growled.

Malon’s eyes went wide. She certainly wasn’t expecting that. “You don’t have to go, right?”

“I hope so.” He murmured his anger fading a little.

Malon picked up the shredded pieces of paper and threw them away. Link sat down at the table, fists clenched. “You know…maybe there is some good to this arena fight.” Malon mused.

“What?”

“Hear me out! You’d be able to make sure that Ganondorf doesn’t come back. Ever. You could make sure that Hyrule stays a kingdom of peace.” Malon explained, hope shining in her eyes. 

Link wanted to immediately reject the idea but she had a point. “Of course if you don’t want to, don’t. I just…want you to feel at peace instead of going away every month to fight something and coming back with various injuries.” Malon admitted.

“I’ll do it.” He decided, deadpanning.

“You sure you want to do this?” Malon asked, only care and love in her features.

Link nodded and hugged her. “I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

“You better be.” She replied and let him pull away. 

Malon kissed his cheek and walked away. Link sighed and grabbed his bag and a sword, and then he walked outside. He looked up at the sky, eyes blazing with determination. “I’m ready, Hylia.” 

Right in front of him reality crumbled and stretched so there was a hole in the air. He walked through and saw a dungeon-like room. Other Hylians, kids and adults sat there, keeping to themselves. None of them even spared a glance at Link. Link sat down in a similarly manner, since he wasn’t going to be the one to break the silence. A light filled the dim dungeon and a woman walked through. She had white long hair and golden eyes, her dress was more like a robe, a white robe with golden details on it. “Heroes.” She thundered.

Everyone looked at her. “Welcome to my arena. You have chosen to come here and fight and I commend you for that.” She smiled. “After this there is no going back. Nothing you say or do will take you back to your home. I will give you one finally opportunity to leave.” Her voice irritated him. It was like she was taunting them.

No one moved. “Very well. Here is how this will work.” She turned around and revealed an arena.

It was bare but lights illuminated the ground and seats surrounded the battleground. A barrier separated the seats from the battleground. “There will be rounds. You will not die at first…only if you are not the last one standing at the end of these rounds. You will fight each other, in duos. The winning duo will gain a point. The duo that has the most points at the end will face off against each other. Whoever wins that will get the Triforce. Make sense?” She finished.

“I have to work with one of my opponents?” The one with the blonde and pink hair scowled.

“Yes. This will truly test your physical and mental abilities. Now, I will give you a few days to train and rest before the battles begin. There should be rooms with your names on them. You will share a room with your teammate.” She demanded.

After that the heroes split up and Link searched through the hallways for his name. He found his room. The sign read:

Hero of Time, Hero of Legend

Link walked inside to see the room split into two sides. One had Link’s belongings and was decorated to his own preference. The other side had tons of bags spread out across the bed. There seemed to be a theme of bunnies. Suddenly the door burst open and the blonde and pink haired hero walked in. He sat down on his bed and sighed.

Should Link say something? Introduce himself? 

“So, we’re a team, huh?” The blonde and pink haired hero spoke, surprising Link.

“It seems so. I take it you’re the Hero of Legend?” Link replied.

“Don’t like being called that but yeah.” He responded something bitter in his tone.

“So what do I call you?” Link asked.

“I’m Link.” The Hero of Legend answered.

“…Funny thing is that my name is Link as well.” Link told him dryly.

The Hero of Legend merely huffed, not surprised. “I guess we need nicknames then.”

“Hmm.” Link responded, thinking.

“I think you could be nicknamed Mask or Masks or something like that. You seem like the mysterious type.” The Hero of Legend shrugged. 

That was…fitting. “Sure. Call me Masks.” Masks decided.

Masks took a look at the Hero of Legend and his side of the room. “Reverie.” Masks said out loud.

“What?” A shadow crossed over the Hero of Legend’s face.

“I think you could be called Reverie…maybe Rev for short?” Masks suggested.

The Hero of Legend thought for a moment before nodding. “That works. Call me Rev.” 

“This is going to be long. I can already tell something’s off.” Masks sighed. “But no matter. We should discuss strategies for the upcoming battles.” 

“It’s important to get rest before you strategize or fight. We’ll rest first then discuss.” Rev retorted.

Masks purses his lips but nodded. “Fine then.”

Rev curled up into his bed and closed his eyes, Masks following in suit. Suddenly a scream filled the air and Masks eyes flew open. “What was that?” He asked no one in particular.

“I’m going to check it out. There’s no telling what happens in this place.” Rev ran off and Masks followed, both curious and concerned. 

“Why would you do that?!” Someone screeched.

[canirove]

I don’t like you, Mason Mount | Chapter 1

Summary: Have you ever heard of Mason Mount? He is a football player, and one who people (and himself) believe to be among the best out there. That, and that he is handsome, funny, charming, super nice with the fans... But he doesn't fool me. He is overrated. Very, overrated. Or that's what I thought until Christmas, when my niece Lola dragged me to an event where I got to meet him in person.  

Author’s note: This story is inspired on an imagine I posted over Christmas, so some of you may have already read this first chapter. But if you ever wondered what happened to them after meeting, here you'll have the answer! Also, thank you very much for all the love on that imagine! I was going to keep writing their story because the muse came to visit me, but seeing that so many of you liked it motivated me a lot more to keep writing 😊 Starting with this story today also is special, because last year for Valentine’s Day I posted the first chapter of my first story ever, and it also was with Mason. Anyway, hope you like it, and thank you for reading! 💜

Next chapter

Masterlist

"Thank you so much for taking Lola to this thing. You know I would do it myself if I wasn’t feeling like shit."

"It's ok, don't worry."

"I know you don't like anything that has to do with football or him."

"I'll survive."

"I promise I'll get you something good for Christmas as a thank you."

"You still haven't bought my present? Monica, Christmas is in two days!" 

"That's enough time" she shrugs.

"Auntie!" my niece Lola says, running towards me.

"Hello, gorgeous. Are you ready?" I say, hugging her.

"I am!" she replies, doing a twirl so I can see that she's wearing Chelsea from head to toe. And, of course, she's wearing her Mount shirt.

She's been in love with him since last year, when he visited her school and defended her against some kids who didn't let her play football with them because she was a girl. After that, she took football even more seriously, and now she's playing for a girls team and has made half our family Chelsea fans. 

Not me, though. I don't like football, and I can't stand Mason Mount and everything around him. He isn't that handsome, or funny, charming, such a good player... He is overrated. Very, overrated.

"Enjoy, darling" her mum says, giving her a quick hug. "And you, sis, be nice. Who knows, maybe you'll meet him in person and fall in love with him."

"Ha ha" I say, rolling my eyes.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"I'm so nervous, auntie!" Lola says. We've been waiting for an hour, Mason talking and taking photos with other kids who, like her, have been selected to meet him through their football academies. And from time to time, I catch him looking at us, always smiling at me. Keep trying, Mount. 

"Hello and Merry Christmas!" he says when it finally is our turn.

"Merry Christmas" Lola says.  

"Have we met before? That red hair of yours looks so familiar..." 

"We have! You went to my school and defended me against some boys who didn't let me play football with them."

"Oh, yes. You had a Spanish name, right?"

"Yes, Lola!" she says, a big smile on her face. I guess that if my idol remembered me, I would also smile like that. 

"And who is this?" he asks her, looking at me. 

"That's my auntie. She doesn't like you, that's why she looks angry."

"Let me guess... Arsenal fan?" 

"I'm an I don't like football fan" I say. 

"But I am going to change her mind" Lola says.

"I'll help you" Mason winks. "So, should we take some photos? Your auntie is invited."

"I think I'll pass" I say with a fake smile. 

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"And this is where we get changed" Mason says when we walk into the changing room. After the introductions and taking some photos, he's now being our Cobham's tour guide. 

"What do you guys think?" he asks Lola and I while the others take some photos.

"It's just a changing room" I shrug. "Though I was expecting to see some of your clothes, confirm if they are as ugly on person as on photos."

"Auntie!" Lola says, he eyes going wide.

"I'm sorry to disappoint, but today I came here dressed like this" he says, pointing at his Chelsea tracksuit. "You don't like it?"

"It's better than the one with sequins, so it's something."

"They weren't sequins" he says, trying to sound offended.

"If you say so... Where to next?"

"The gym" he says. "C'mon guys, time to keep moving."

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"That was a really nice shot."

"Thank you" I say, picking up at the ball and shooting again. Once at the gym and after explaining what all the machines do to a very annoying man, I decided to move to the little basketball area they have while the kids play with the machine goalkeepers have to train their reflexes.

"Is basketball your favourite sport, then?" Mason asks me.

"Nope. I played when I was in high school and I kind of enjoy it, but I don't watch it or anything."

"No football, no basketball... Tennis? Rugby? Cricket?"

"No, no and no" I say, shooting again.

"Then what sport do you like?" he asks again, picking the ball.

"Formula 1."

"Uh, fancy" he says, shooting and missing.

"That was so bad" I laugh.

"I'm good with a ball on my feet. With my hands I'm good at other things" he says with a mischievous smile.

"Of course you are" I say, rolling my eyes.

"Let me guess who is your favourite driver. Lando? I'm friends with him."

"I'm not interested on kids."

"He isn't a kid, he is my age."

"Exactly" I say with a big smile.

"Ok, so if you like them older... Hamilton?"

"Nope."

"Ummm... Vettel?"

"Not him."

"Then I give up."

"So easily, Mount?" I ask, arching an eyebrow.

"I can't think of any other drivers who are older" he shrugs.

"Ricciardo."

"He is the one you like?"

"He is."

"Interesting... You may have a type, because we have something in common, you know?"

"Yeah, sure" I snort. 

"We do" he says, touching his nose before leaving to join the others. 

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"Welcome to the cantine!" Mason says when we walk in. "We usually only have super duper healthy food, but since it's Christmas and we have guests, we've chosen a very special menu. Follow me."

Like he said, instead of fruit, pasta and all those things football players eat, they have different Christmas meals, and at the end of the buffet, there is a table full of chocolates and all kinds of sweets for the kids. And for those who aren't kids too, I hope.

"Auntie, let's seat next to the window" Lola says after we've picked our food. 

"May I join you?" Mason says behind us.

"Of course!" she replies with a big smile.

"Shouldn't you be sitting with the others? Like spending some time with each kid or something?" I ask.

"I'll do that later. Besides, there are no empty seats left."

"Don't be so rude, auntie. It's Christmas!"

"It's Christmas" he repeats with a big smile, making me roll my eyes. Again.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"Ok, everyone, listen up" Mason says once we all have finished eating. "To end the day, we are going to play Secret Santa. You'll pick a name from this bag, and then make a gift for the person you've been assigned. There are lots of Chelsea merch over there, you can pick as many things as you want. I will also be playing, which means that you'll have to get me a present, and I will get you one: the shirt I wore on my last game. It's been washed, don't worry" he says, making everyone laugh. Everyone but me. "Ok, let's start the game!"

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"I wonder who is getting his shirt" Lola says.

"I don't know. But we know that the boy over there is the one gifting him. His little scream gave it away" I chuckle.

"Who wants to start?" Mason asks.

"I will!" the boy I just mentioned says, moving to the table where all the presents are. "Oh..." he says, opening his box and finding a scarf and a teddy bear. 

"Sorry I wasn't Mason" a woman says.

"It's ok" the boy replies, looking very disappointed.

There only are two presents left when it finally is my turn, and one of them is the shirt.

"You got it, auntie. I can feel it!" Lola whispers next to me.

"I hope you're wrong" I say to myself, walking towards the table.

"Merry Christmas" Mason says, giving me the present with my name on it.

"Thank you" I reply. And when I open it... "Damn it" I say under my breath. 

"We have a lucky winner!" he grins, everyone around me cheering and clapping.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"You can wear it on Boxing Day."

"What?"

"My shirt" Mason says. 

"Why would I do that?"

"Because you are coming to my game."

"No, I am not" I chuckle.

"Yes, you are. Lola?" he calls. "Lola, why don't you tell your auntie about my secret present?"

"Oh, yes!" she says, joining us. "He has got us tickets for Chelsea's Boxing Day game! Like, for the whole family!"

"And the whole family includes you" he says with that stupid smile of his, the one that shows a dimple on his cheek. Why have I noticed something like that? 

"I don't like football."

"But it is a special day, auntie" Lola pouts.

"C'mon, don't be a Grinch" he says, also pouting.

"I hate you. Both of you" I say.

"Is that a yes?" Lola asks.

"It's a maybe."

"Great!" she says, hugging me.

"May I join you?" Mason asks.

"Yes, group hug!"

"What? No!" I say. But before I can escape, he also is hugging me, his face very close to mine.

"Merry Christmas, auntie" he says, smiling once again.

"Fuck you" I whisper, making him laugh. 

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"That wasn't that bad, was it?" my sister Monica asks after the game. 

"I loved every second of it!" Lola says. "And Mason scored! I think he dedicated it to us. Or to you, auntie."

"Mount fancies you?" my dad asks.

"No! Of course not!" I say.

"Then why are you blushing?"

"Because you all are very annoying. Him included. Can we please go home now?"

"We can't" Monica says. "We are supposed to meet him and thank him for the tickets."

"What? Since when?"

"The tickets came with a note that said that" she shrugs.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"That game was amazing, boy" my dad says, patting Mason on the back. "And the goal? Wow."

"Thank you, sir" he says with a shy smile. "What did you think?"

"I don't know, I was looking at my phone" I say.

"Of course you were."

"Lola, dad, why don't we go get ourselves a drink, uh?" my sister says.

"And leave him alone with her?" my dad says.

"She'll behave. Won't you, sis?"

"I'll try."

"They are really nice" Mason says once they have left.

"Unlike me?"

"You also are nice. On your own weird way" he chuckles. "So... I was wondering... Would you... Would you like to go grab a drink or go out for dinner one day?"

"Who? Me? With you?"

"Yes, you and I. Why so surprised?"

"I don't like you, Mason."

"Yet" he says with a smile. That smile.

"You are a stubborn one, aren't you?"

"Look who is talking" he laughs. "But yes, I am. And I won't stop until I convince you to go out on a date with me."

"Why?"

"I don't know. There is something about you that I like" he shrugs.

"Well, there is nothing about you that I like."

"You are such a bad liar..." 

"Whatever" I say, crossing my arms over my chest. Because maybe he's right. Maybe I do like something about him. Like his smile. Or how cute he was with all the kids the other day, definitely not behaving like a diva.

"This is my number" he says, giving me a card. "Text me when you are free. I'll be looking forward to it."

"It's not going to happen, you know?" I say, taking the card.

"We shall see. Merry Christmas... auntie" he says, catching me by surprise and kissing my cheek.

"Merry Christmas, Mount" I reply, surprising myself when I feel my face burning, and trying not to smile. Because maybe, huge maybe here... He isn't that bad after all. 

[goldenthreadstories]

Rules & Muse List!!!

{ HELLO! Welcome to my blog, I'm Seras or Klemmie. Nice to meet ya! Below is my muse list and my rules for mobile navigations! } [ most up to date update!! ]

RULES

1.) Hey everyone, my name is Seras but I do go by Klemmie! I am nonbinary & my pronouns are they/them or she/her, I prefer they/them though! I am of age at 29 years old and have been RPing since about 2010, over a whole decade! Due to my age there might be NSFW on this blog at times but it will always be under a read more and tagged. On this subject, most muses are of age or have a verse where they are, please be aware of this and all main verse ages for my muses are on their bios on the character page.

2.) I am working a job which I usually only have a couple days off in the week and most evenings free. However activity and replies may be slow or low due to the nature of this being a multi-muse blog and my energy levels on any day. I will do my best to pop in at least once or twice a week with the intentions of queuing up any replies that I owe and once in a blue moon do I reply quickly and without queuing. I am also going to be selective on who I RP with at times so this blog is semi-selective, but if I am following you I am interested in writing with you!

3.) I am good with a mix of jumping into things without a plot; such as memes, open starters, random things are good. But sometimes I prefer plotting, even if only a little bit, especially when it comes to a pre-established relationship that isn’t the canon between two characters; this includes children of muses. I am okay with writing with said muses but I would like to have a bit of plotting to this as my version of the muse or muses as parents in question is not the one canon to yours as such, I need to make sure I know whats going on or all your gonna get from my muse is either ’ I have no kids ’ or i dont believe you, so i tend to avoid that if no prior communication has happened before hand! I do also like screaming about plots that both parties might want to do and discuss between us to work out a possible thread idea?

4.) This blog is multi-fandom, verse and ship. Meaning all threads even if tagged as in the same verse for a muse are their own story and thread between our muses, this includes for relationships, unless its a story that has been discussed and plotted between all involved. We are also Crossover-friendly here! I love mashing up fandoms and seeing what happens!

5.) As stated in my first ruling, NSFW themes and topics may be present, if I feel that the topic, even if it’s gore and not sexual nsfw, is too heavy or unsafe to just have out on display I will always put it under a read more and tagged the triggers like; tw;______

6.) Continuing with the point above, I will not tolerate certain things like underage sexual content or abuse or any nsfw content with minors - this goes for muns & muses and hanging, if you are ever unsure of anything please ask me. This is also a if I ever forget or don’t tag something that is a trigger for you please just message me and I will tag them accordingly.

7.) Unless your muse has some supernatural abilities or in my muse’s canon knows things about them, please don’t use information that is like their weaknesses and things like that in our threads until my muse reveals them or it is revealed in a thread, I class this as meta rping/writing/gaming?? and it’s no fun???

8.) I’m okay with multiple writing styles, I don’t have the need for anyone to match my length in replies, I know I can get lengthy at times, but as long as it’s more than one sentence or is appropriate for the type of thread we are writing together, because sometimes even I just want to do shorter threads, though I do prefer more written and longer ones.

9.) I’m more into story driven threads, ones that develop my muses and yours hopefully, ones that develop a chemistry and relationship between them. These are the kinds of threads I prefer.

10.) I’m open to all plots and relationships, just come hit me up and let’s see what we can come up with!!!

11.) For shipping I am a shipper of chemistry, I am here for the development. But if you feel like our muses are beginning to develop something, please message me and we can talk. I am always up for shippy things and all relationships, I prefer them to be developed and chemistry based. I will not force anything onto anyone if they feel like something isn’t there.

12.) I’m no biggie on spelling, grammar is also not too much of an issue, but a clear grammar is preferred. As long as I can read and understand it for a reply we are good. If I am having trouble I will ask you to clarify.

13.) When sending in an ask, please specify a muse, one thing on my anxiety is when I get an ask without some specifying, sometimes I will throw someone randomly if I can but if not I get anxious about it, so unless you state one or that its for any muse I will not answer it, unless I know you & muse or muses well enough to know who it’s from or I have come and asked you to clear up who it was for.

14.) OOC =/= IC. I will not tone down my muses for anyone, but I don’t agree with their morals and choices all the time. OOC is not the same as IC.

15.) I have a habit of forgetting to reply to threads, if it’s been more than a week since I have replied, give me a poke. I may have forgotten or lost muse, this doesn’t mean we can start more threads and get back to it.

16.) Cool with anon asks & M!As. That’s all folks! Hope that we can write something together soon!

MUSE LIST

Sora Ryuu // the weaver of stories // fandomless oc // bio

Orion // demi-demon travelling trickster // fandomless oc // bio

Torin Nayru // triforce of wisdom // loz oc // bio

Emery Din // triforce of power // loz oc // bio

Leon Farore // triforce of courage // loz oc // bio

Elliot Snow || Hades // fashionly god of the underworld // headcannon based // bio 

Beetlejuice // ghost with the most // canon-divergent // bio

Dean Winchester // hunter and older brother // canon-divergent // bio 

Merlin // worlds most powerful warlock yet big dummy // canon-divergent // bio 

Link // dutiful knight and silent hero // canon & slightly divergent // bio

Zelda // princess of wise knowledge // canon & slightly divergent // bio 

Revali // prideful heart of the rito // canon-divergent // bio

Roxas // a heart of a nobody // canon-divergent // bio

Mark // grumpy end of the world survivor // resident enis markiplier // bio 

Edward Elric // shortfused alchemist // canon divergent // bio

Alphonse Elric // fullmetal heart // canon divergent // bio

Thirteenth Doctor // tinkering protector of earth // canon divergent // bio

Fizzarolli // lil clown imp guy // canon divergent // bio

Yusuke Kitagawa // flourishing artist of the phantom thieves // canon divergent // bio

Wheatley // Charismatic idiot android core // canon divergent // bio

[norbezjones]

Inktober & OC-tober: October 2nd, 2024 (Romance The Backrooms)

Hey everyone!

So, this year, I have decided to participate in Inktober’s, well, Inktober event, and OC-tober, the latter specifically with @icannotreadcursive / @thepromptfoundry ‘s prompt list.  Basically, how it works is that I will do a drawing & a story adhering to the prompts.

For the first half of the month, I will be doing these for the characters of my story Romance The Backrooms, a liminal space otome with 5 main love interests.  For the second half of the month, I will be doing them for the characters of my IF Comp game Yancy At The End Of The World!, mainly to promote Yancy!’s Kickstarter, which launches at the beginning of November.

Today’s Prompts: Going out on the town & Discover

Characters: Carla

Other Info: This is Part 2 of what will be a series of stories dealing with Carla trying to come to terms with her grandmother’s death.  Please know that this is primarily what the story is about and treat accordingly.

Part 1: Tumblr link, Pillowfort link

_________

The town was a ten-minute walk away from the cottage.  Even though Carla knew that from her walk in the other day, it was still somewhat surprising to experience it.  One moment, she was isolated and surrounded by woods, and the next, she was back in civilization.

Or at least, if not civilization, a tiny town in the middle of nowhere.  Once she reached it, Carla was able to get data on her phone, and she looked up where food could be found nearby.  In the end, she settled on a diner called “Earl’s Eatery”.

“Hey there!  I haven’t seen you before.  Did you rent the cottage?” was how her waitress greeted her.

“Um, yeah,” Carla replied shyly.

The people who rent the cottage, they’re always creative types, looking for their muse in the woods.” the waitress told her, giving her a menu.  “You searching for your muse too, hun?”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Carla said, an awkward laugh escaping her mouth.  She opened the menu, glancing at its contents.

“Ooo, intriguing!” the waitress said with a grin.  “What brings you here, then?”

Not wanting to make the mood awkward by sharing why she was truly at the cottage, Carla simply laughed and said, “It’s a secret, sorry!”

The waitress chuckled.  “I like you, hun.  You got a good spark in you.  Anyway, you want something to drink?”

“Yeah.  And I think I know what I want to eat, too” Carla told her.

And so, Carla soon had a large “Ultra Cheeze X-treme” omelet in front of her (she was pretty curious to try it once she saw it on the menu, and had to discover its flavor for herself), along with a side of hash browns and the smallest slices of buttered toast she had ever seen.  “Enjoy!  Let me know if you need anything,” the waitress said as she placed the plate on the table.  Then, she was gone.

Carla dug into her meal.  No longer distracted, her mind went back to her quest, the real reason she was here: figuring out her grief.

Would that even be possible within the timeframe she had?  Was two weeks enough to process such a terrible loss?  Just thinking about trying to take on that pain made Carla’s heart feel heavy, and she sniffled, wiping a tear from her eye.

I wish Grandma was here; she’d know what to say, Carla thought as she dug into her food.  But she’s not, and she never will be. . .

But what if she was here? her mind insisted.  What would she say?

Carla thought for a minute, chewing her food thoughtfully.  She’d say that even though she’s gone, she lived a good life, and gave what she could to the people she cared about, Carla realized.  And in a way, the things you give to others helps you live on.

Fuck that.  I’d trade that all way just to be with her again, her mind retorted.  Even for a minute.

Carla held in her tears and finished her food.  She paid the check, left a hefty tip, and left the diner.

[charlotterhea]

"Self-rec time! What are your favorite five fics that you've written and why? After replying to this ask, feel free to pass it on to five other writers to spread the love. 💗"

Thank you for the rec, @cissykenway! I love babbling about my fics and now I can even do it by invitation. 😁 (Although, ngl, choosing five stories will be hard! I've just written too much...)

1. "About Magic" The story isn't translated yet but it's the last long fic I completed and it's just so different from everything else I've written. It's detailed, new, and reads more like an actual novel than my other stories. There are so many OCs in this one that grew on me and although some readers were disappointed by the second half, I love this story to bits. It's peak slow burn, like ... you have to be really patient here! *lol* But I love it for the immense plot and the way I managed to keep it completely canon-compliant - yes, including the epilogue. 😏 I'm looking forward to translating it one day.

2. "Medicus"-Series Another not yet translated story but at least this will be my next translation project so stay tuned if you're interested! It's easily one of, if not the hardest story I've ever written, especially Part III. I've written that one coming out of a mentally very challenging time and I needed a place to put everything I've seen, learned, and experienced during the preceding years of my life. So this story ended up being full of trauma, a lot of it about things I never experienced myself, making me extremely nervous about whether I depicted it halfway decently. But ever since I posted the story, so many readers told me that it really hit home for them and that it was healing to read the story so I think I did enough things right. 😅 Anyway, this story is not just full of trauma, it's also a story full of love and there is a lot of healing happening as well although it takes some time to get there. But the end of this series is the end I'm most proud of all my stories. It's just perfect in my eyes, even today.

3. "Our Souls at Full Moon" This story was a pain in the ass! But only because I made it so. 😅 I couldn't get this plot out of my mind but didn't have the time to write such a long project either so I decided to make it a drabble story. And when I was finished with that, I spontaneously decided to try something new with my writing style, so I revised, almost rewrote the whole thing. 🙈 Don't get me wrong, I'm proud of what became of the story, but looking back it might have taken me a similar amount of time to write the long version. ^^ Still, I love it. It has some sentences in it that are unusually poetic for me, is reduced to the bare minimum, and yet brimming with emotions. I made myself cry writing this story and although I'm not entirely sure if I succeeded in translating it adequately, this has earned a place on this list.

4. "Red Passion and Pavlov's Dogs" This is my most successful one-shot, both in German and in English, so of course, this has to be on the list. 😂 Tbh, I didn't expect this story to receive so much love. I wrote it in one sitting, in a tense I wasn't used to and kept agonising over for several days until I decided to just let it go, and half of the ideas aren't mine - but the vibe, the emotions, the rawness... A lot of readers asked for a second part but I'm sure I'd only ruin it. The magic of this story is in its open end and I would never dare touch it again. I couldn't replicate this kind of vibe for a second part anyway. So this plot became the Schroedinger's Cat of my nightly musings as well. Do they get a happy end or will they screw it up? Nobody knows, least of all me, and I won't open that damn box to find out. It's perfect as it is. ^^

5. "Otherside" There are other stories of mine that are more in character, more elaborate, more profound than this for sure - but oh boy, did I have fun writing this! 😂 Putting two Severus ... Severi ... Severussi ...? Well, two of them into one story was just peak-comedy for my brain and I don't care a bit that the younger one is probably more a 21-year-old version than the 39-year-old version he's supposed to be. I had an absolute field day writing them and their banter was worth the action part I whined my way through. I'm actually rather proud of said action part; I normally avoid writing action, it's just not for me, but I'm happy with how I managed this. It was nice to see that I can write action if I have to, even if I don't particularly enjoy it. So this deserved to be on this list as well. ^^

Softly tagging @frenchpresswriter, @dragoon811, @naomijameston, @janacariad and @echoofawind. 💚

[booksofadventures-archived]

Rules & Current Muse List!

{ Gonna have this pinned here and just leave this for my mobile user peeps! }

RULES

1.) Hey everyone, my name is Klemmie! I am nonbinary & my pronouns are they/them or she/her, I prefer they/them though! I am of age at 29 years old and have been RPing since about 2010, over a whole decade! Due to my age there might be NSFW on this blog at times but it will always be under a read more and tagged. On this subject, most muses are of age or have a verse where they are, please be aware of this and all main verse ages for my muses are on their bios on the character page.

2.) I am working a job which I usually only have a couple days off in the week and most evenings free. However activity and replies may be slow or low due to the nature of this being a multi-muse blog and my energy levels on any day. I will do my best to pop in at least once or twice a week with the intentions of queuing up any replies that I owe and once in a blue moon do I reply quickly and without queuing. But just to make everyone aware that this is how this blog operates!

3.) I am good with a mix of jumping into things without a plot; such as memes, open starters, random things are good. But sometimes I prefer plotting, even if only a little bit, especially when it comes to a pre-established relationship that isn’t the canon between two characters; this includes children of muses. I am okay with writing with said muses but I would like to have a bit of plotting to this as my version of the muse or muses as parents in question is not the one canon to yours as such, I need to make sure I know whats going on or all your gonna get from my muse is either ’ I have no kids ’ or i dont believe you, so i tend to avoid that if no prior communication has happened before hand! I do also like screaming about plots that both parties might want to do and discuss between us to work out a possible thread idea?

4.) This blog is multi-fandom, verse and ship. Meaning all threads even if tagged as in the same verse for a muse are their own story and thread between our muses, this includes for relationships, unless its a story that has been discussed and plotted between all involved.

We are also Crossover-friendly here! I love mashing up fandoms and seeing what happens!

5.) As stated in my first ruling, NSFW themes and topics may be present, if I feel that the topic, even if it’s gore and not sexual nsfw, is too heavy or unsafe to just have out on display I will always put it under a read more and tagged the triggers like; tw;__

6.) Continuing with the point above, I will not tolerate certain things like underage sexual content or abuse or any nsfw content with minors - this goes for muns & muses and hanging, if you are ever unsure of anything please ask me. This is also a if I ever forget or don’t tag something that is a trigger for you please just message me and I will tag them accordingly.

7.) Unless your muse has some supernatural abilities or in my muse’s canon knows things about them, please don’t use information that is like their weaknesses and things like that in our threads until my muse reveals them or it is revealed in a thread, I class this as meta rping/writing/gaming?? and it’s no fun???

8.) I’m okay with multiple writing styles, I don’t have the need for anyone to match my length in replies, I know I can get lengthy at times, but as long as it’s more than one sentence or is appropriate for the type of thread we are writing together, because sometimes even I just want to do shorter threads, though I do prefer more written and longer ones.

9.) I’m more into story driven threads, ones that develop my muses and yours hopefully, ones that develop a chemistry and relationship between them. These are the kinds of threads I prefer.

10.) I’m open to all plots and relationships, just come hit me up and let’s see what we can come up with!!!

11.) For shipping I am a shipper of chemistry, I am here for the development. But if you feel like our muses are beginning to develop something, please message me and we can talk. I am always up for shippy things and all relationships, I prefer them to be developed and chemistry based. I will not force anything onto anyone if they feel like something isn’t there.

12.) I’m no biggie on spelling, grammar is also not too much of an issue, but a clear grammar is preferred. As long as I can read and understand it for a reply we are good. If I am having trouble I will ask you to clarify.

13.) When sending in an ask, please specify a muse, one thing on my anxiety is when I get an ask without some specifying, sometimes I will throw someone randomly if I can but if not I get anxious about it, so unless you state one or that its for any muse I will not answer it, unless I know you & muse or muses well enough to know who it’s from or I have come and asked you to clear up who it was for.

14.) OOC =/= IC. I will not tone down my muses for anyone, but I don’t agree with their morals and choices all the time. OOC is not the same as IC.

15.) I have a habit of forgetting to reply to threads, if it’s been more than a week since I have replied, give me a poke. I may have forgotten or lost muse, this doesn’t mean we can start more threads and get back to it.

16.) Cool with anon asks & M!As.

That’s all folks! Hope that we can write something together soon!

CURRENT MUSES

Sora Ryuu - fandomless oc

Beetlejuice - au and canon

Rias mizuhana - au borderlands [ genderbend of rhys strongfork ]

Emery din - oldest triforce bro / legend of zelda oc

Torin nayru - middle triforce bro / legend of zelda oc

Leon farore - youngest triforce bro / legend of zelda oc

Hades - mix of sources / headcanon based

13th doctor - mixed of au and canon

Percy parker - spiderman oc { currently being rewritten }

Roxas - kingdom hearts

Riku - kingdom hearts

Spyro the dragon

Judai yuki - yugioh gx

Revali - legend of zelda

Link - legend of zelda

Zelda - legend of zelda

Edward Elric - Fullmetal Alchemist

Dean Winchester - Supernatural

Fizzaroli - Helluva Boss

Merlin - bbc merlin

Alphonse elric - fullmetal alchemist

Bill cipher - gravity falls

Eleventh doctor - doctor who

{ Muses may get added or removed at any time, but I will post when I've changed anything! }

GUEST MUSES!

Yukio Okumura - Blue Exorcist

[goroaix]

Heavenly rains submerge: the heart wilts

Lee Hoseok x Fem Reader x Lee Ten

Superhero/abilities AU. Angst and slowburn with a happy ending

Explicit gore and depictions of violence; dementia mention; self endangerment

23k as of chapter 1/3

『 One might argue that there is little difference between a hero and a civilian: bravery, hubris, perhaps loyalty. Could a Ren breathe in this foul odour, tolerate how his words - once prophetic - were now nothing more than heresay? Could a civilian listen to inaudible whispers, feel the sting of his teeth breaking skin? Did it really matter when it all bled into one? 』

A two for one deal on broccoli, or another pack of prime rib?

This was the decision currently plaguing Hoseok’s mind as he stood in the middle of the fresh meat aisle, eyes glossing over the red cuts of beef that lay on the shelf in neat patterns - the dates and times letting him know that they had been stocked less than an hour ago.

Ugh.

If he bought the broccoli, he’d be getting his vitamins in, as well as his five a day. Yet his gaze wandered back to the pristine cuts. They were lean, the fat cap minimal and it was the perfect size to last a few dinners.

Pick me, it called.

Choose me, it begged.

Love m-

“Are you okay?”

Hoseok turned his head, ears quickly becoming warm as he cleared his throat into his fist. He couldn’t help but feel embarrassed at his own mundane musings. “I’m fine. You?”

“You’re staring at the beef,” his friend said, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly as she regarded him. “In a way that’s not normal.” She added.

“Is there a normal way to stare at beef?” Came Hoseok’s quick rebuttal but, of course, he was no match for her.

“Yes, and you’re not doing that. It seems like lust.”

He couldn’t help but roll his eyes. It’s like she purposely found the most outrageous thing to say even in the most normal of situations. How could someone look at beef with lust of all things?

The scoff that escaped him came from deep within his chest, punctuated by his arms crossing over his chest. “Should you be saying these things to a customer?”

“Depends,” she replied, tapping her name tag out of habit and he read it despite himself - counting out each syllable in his head, “does the customer want discounted sirloin?”

Now she was talking, and it wasn’t nonsense for once. “You have some? I was looking earlier and I couldn’t find anything.”

Her smile was coy, not quite at its full potential but he knew exactly what she was thinking. “Not in plain sight. You know that Seojun guy?”

“The one who drank your peach tea?” Hoseok asked, vaguely recalling this name and character from one of her abundant stories about her coworkers.

“Yeah. Him”-she looked around for a moment- “he hid some to take to his family when his shift was over. But fuck those kids, you know? They don’t need three sirloins, especially not when their daddy is a thief.”

“...Right.” No matter how hard he tried to school his expression into something serious, he just couldn’t. “How much is it?

“You’re not going to tell me how immoral that is?”

“He was immoral first. Two sirloins is enough to feed the family.”

Her smile widened and held up her finger, motioning him to wait before she disappeare around a corner that was definitely not in the meat aisle. Had Seojun hidden it in another freezer section? What a cheeky man! He thought.

For a few minutes, he was left to stand there with one hand on the shopping trolley and the other on his hip. This store was one he visited frequently because of how close it was to his place, and also that he could weasel his way into various discounts using his friend’s employee status. It was also big enough that he never needed to go anywhere else after. He was all too familiar with the plain white walls and different aisles.

Then, she came back with a deliciously large slab of meat and a pretty yellow sticker that said exactly what he needed it to: reduced.

“Here you go.”

It was handed over, cradled in Hoseok’s arms before he set it down tenderly into the trolley with her watching his every move. “Thank you. I was stuck between broccoli or more meat.”

“No problem, but, um, why not just get both? The broccoli has a deal on.”

“I want to stay on budget,” he replied, shrugging and she suddenly laughed, confusing him. “What’s funny?”

“The budget fits two cuts of beef but not broccoli?”

The red on his ears returned tenfold. “I have vegetables at home.”

“Mm. That's what they all say.”

“Don’t you have a job to do?” Hoseok asked, tempted to push his trolley towards her and see if he could run it over her croc's covered feet. He decided against it. “One that doesn’t involve judging my shopping?”

“No, actually. This is customer service.” She moved to the shelves, picking up an item that was in the wrong place and moving it over. “Come here, it makes it look like I’m helping you with something.”

Hoseok obliged - but not without an eyeroll.

“How much protein do you have in a day?”

“Around 200-300g depending on the day, why? You interested in building muscle?"

“Kind of. I think my days of eating pudding for breakfast are over,” she mused, looking at the gravy sachet in her hand before putting it away.

The constant background noise of the freezers filled the air, humming quietly behind them as an elderly woman shuffled past them in the aisles. For a moment, she peered at both of them before turning away to examine the poultry. “Hey, there’s nothing wrong with a little sweet treat in the morning. You look pretty healthy as you are, anyway.”

“Maybe right now, but I don’t think my arteries will thank me for it in the future.”

“Yeah,” he chuckled, “you’re right. If you need any help with a meal plan, just let me know and I’ll help you out.”

At this, she smiled, a hand moving to the end of the trolly with her fingers wrapping around the metal hatching. “I’d ask for your workout routine, but I think I’d collapse from heart failure.”

“You’re so dramatic.”

“Your bicep is the size of a newborn. But, yeah, if it’s not too much trouble?”

Even if it was a little bit of trouble, Hoseok would have readily and willingly drafted out a fitness plan for her - if she asked, of course.

She let go of the trolley. “Okay, I need to go now. I can feel my manager getting pissed at me for taking too long. I’ll talk to you later?”

He nodded. “We’ll talk later. When do you finish?”

“In 5 hours. I started an hour ago.”

“They reduced your hours again?”

This time, her expression was more like a grimace than anything humorous, her nod stilted and rather annoyed. Don’t ask me about it right now, it said, and Hoseok was wise enough to heed that warning.

“Okay, bye.” He nodded his head, reversing out of the aisle with his tolley.

“Bye bye.”

And, just as he left the aisle, he saw someone approaching her, their head of shaggy black hair glistening under the phospholorescent lights and their voices falling just short of his ears.

Hoseok turned away, ready to pay for his items and get out of there.

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