#enjoy the extra effort answer it's to make up for all the ''Yeah.'' of the past

[radiocmyk]

ok question: as a bird do you ever see something on the ground you want to look at more closely and by impulse feel the urge to grab it with your foot (talon) to lift it and inspect it more closely before remembering that you cant do that bc human feet (esp when shoed) are not that dextrous??? I get this impulse regularly enough that i notice it and it's making me wonder if there's a Bit of Bird In Here Somewhere or if it's something else.

Not that specifically, but I definitely do constantly want to grab things with my feet. Usually not while I'm wearing shoes because I mean, my bird brain can tell I've got shoes on lol. I don't ever really want to lift things closer to my face to look at them better, I'm more likely to like. You know.

Because not just bird going on in here. But I do pick things up with my feet when I feel like it. It doesn't bother me that I can't because I actually can usually lmao. After I got top surgery I was opening doors and turning the sink on and shit with my feet no problem so it's never been a dysphoria for me. It probably would be if I couldn't though if that helps you with the questioning. My dysphoria is less "can't use feet as hands" and more "why do I have hands AT ALL these appendages are fucked up"

[manikas-whims]

Skincare with the LADS Men

inspired by THIS recent text with Xavier where he said we left our pack of face masks in his fridge 🥺

SYLUS

🐦‍⬛ He maintains good skincare and overall hygiene. He's the type who's like “if i’m going out to commit some illegal deeds or kill an enemy, might as well look good doing it. His healing ability helps maintain a better skin as well.

🐦‍⬛ When you find out, you're kind of surprised that he's so well-maintained. And he takes offense that you'd have such low opinion of him just because of his profession. He scoffs. “Your assumptions wound me, kitten. Even the leader of Onichynus cares a little for his appearances.”

🐦‍⬛ Luke and Keiran later on giggle and reveal to you how their boss makes an extra effort to look better whenever you are coming to see him.

ZAYNE

❄️ There's a difference between hygiene and skincare. So just because he's a doctor, doesn't necessarily mean he's good at taking care of himself. Yeah he might take a bath and always put on clean suits but he doesn't really bother much with skincare itself.

❄️ It's not that he cannot do it but he simply doesn't have the time for it due to his packed schedule at the hospital. Almost twice or thrice when you surprise-visit him during his late night shifts, you've found him shaving his stubble at his office’s washroom lol. There are some faint cuts on his jaw and you fuss over them much to his delight.

❄️ His skin and body suffer mostly due to his eating habits. More often than not you've caught him sneaking way more macarons than good for his teeth. Not to mention, he doesn't eat proper meals due to his work.

❄️ “It’s not what it looks like. I'm a doctor. Obviously I know how to manage my health.” He laughs sheepishly because it's not often that he's on the receiving end of scolding, especially from you. You end up having to pay regular visits and watch over him for a while, bringing in full meals as is needed for him.

RAFAYEL

🌊 Thanks to him working at odd hours, eating at odd times, passing out on the couch every now and then that it's expected he'd be careless but he does in fact take proper care of his skin. And it's better than yours. (well ofc his Lemurian genes are partly to thank but he's a fish out of water so he does need to take care).

🌊 He knows his skin is amazing and he'll make a show of it in front of you. Not to make you jealous but because he wants you to praise him for it, call him pretty and handsome. “Come onnn!!” He drawls out. “Admit that I’m way prettier than those idols you're a fan of.”

🌊 Definitely enjoys doing skincare routines with you. Will indulge in manicures and pedicures if you ask, chatting with you all the while. Even recommends certain products that would benefit your skin. And offers to do your facial and massage.

XAVIER

⭐ Canonically isn't concerned with skincare. Even MC is shocked at the fact that his skin is doing so good despite any proper care. Probably the type who uses those “5 in 1” products 😭. Or grabs just any product without much care for the actual ingredients involved. How his skin and hair are doing alright? You have no idea..

⭐ You offer to do his skincare and he agrees because that just means he gets to spend more time with you. Enjoys the sensation of your hands on his face. Melts into a puddle if you wash his hair. You also try fixing some of his eating habits because alternating between cup noodles and meat ain't it. And though it takes a while, you figure out his skin type and help him get his own products.

⭐ You both develop a habit of putting on sheet masks while watching late night movies or playing video games. Sometimes you two just end up lazying around and talking about mundane stuff.

⭐ But even if you set up a whole routine for him, if he stays over at your place, then he's definitely using your shampoo. And if you ask him why, then he smiles innocently and answers, “Oh..it’s not that I am particularly biased to the product. It’s just that I like it when I smell like you.”

» MASTERLIST «

[irisintheafterglow]

if he's a ghost, then I can be a phantom

summary: the strawhats are summoned back to baratie so sanji can cook for a high-class diner. they can't figure out why zoro is so nervous. (opla!zoro x you)

wc: 2k

cw/tags: swearing, mentions of food and eating, established relationship, pet names (sweetheart, doll, lover, pretty), spoilers if you squint, sanji being himself and zoro having absolutely none of it

note: this was requested by an anon a few weeks ago and i finally got around to writing it!! every time i write for zoro, i have a new favorite fic i've made because he's just so fun to write for. hope you enjoy!!

likes, reblogs, and replies are always appreciated <3

“You know, they’re a lot hotter in person.”

“Shut your mouth, waiter, or I’ll skewer it closed,” he mutters with palpable distaste. Another swig of rum burns down his throat and, for the first time that the crew can remember, Zoro seemed nervous. It wasn’t obvious, but they’d sailed long enough to know that he never stopped surveying a room for threats, no matter how familiar he was with it. Today, though, the only thing that took his attention was the rim of his glass and he was subtly avoiding the eyes of the crew’s target. “This is the dumbest idea you’ve had in a long time.” 

“Thank you for your input, Zoro. I will, however, be belaying it,” his captain replies brightly, unfazed by the blank expression of his first mate. The uneasy faces of his crew only makes him beam more, giddily excited for the anticipated challenge. “C’mon, guys. We’ll be fine. They just need to see how awesome we are and they’ll totally give us a new sail!”

“Loud, loud, too loud,” Zoro warns in response to the increasing volume of Luffy’s voice. They were already causing enough of a scene, as is, and he damn sure didn’t want other guests looking in their direction. To make matters worse, the amount of alcohol in the table’s bottle was dwindling too quickly for comfort. 

“Hey, if we’re lucky,” Usopp offers, “we might just get a whole ship. You know, maybe one that Captain Usopp can command as the second ship in the Straw Hat fleet.”

“You think we’ll get a whole fleet?”

“Hell yeah. Maybe, we can all captain our own ships–”

“Alright, let’s get our heads out of the clouds,” Nami cuts in. “We still need to figure out how we’re going to get over there, in the first place. And just for the record, I’m with Zoro on this one.” 

“First time for everything,” he deadpans. She smartly elects to ignore his sarcasm and continues to argue why the plan is a bad idea. The call from Zeff came at an opportune time and during an unfortunate situation when the Merry sailed straight into a torrential thunderstorm that ripped the main sail clean down the middle. Despite their best efforts to patch it up, it was beyond repair; with the Marines constantly on their tail, having a working sail was a matter of survival. Zeff’s reluctant summons for Sanji to cook for a special guest provided a means to buy a new sail and have a little extra spending money. But, in his wildest dreams, Zoro could not have predicted that the special guest was you. The smug look on the chef’s face snaps him out of his thoughts. “Shouldn’t you be in the kitchen, waiter?”

“Shouldn’t you be downing the rest of this bottle, drunk?”

“I’ll smash this damn bottle on your head, I swear–”

“No, no. Zoro has a point,” Luffy agrees. Sanji gives him an odd look and he quickly realizes what his statement insinuated. “Not about smashing the bottle on your head. We need you to bring them your food so then I can go over and talk with them.”

“You don’t think I can charm them on my own?” 

“Don’t look so aghast, blondie,” Zoro answers and receives a knife-sharp glare in response. “This is not someone who will entertain your theatrics.”

“How would you know anything about them, hmm? I believe you’re a little too dead inside for their liking,” Sanji baits and Zoro’s on the verge of biting before Nami steps in again. 

“Sanji, get in the kitchen. Let’s just get the money and get out of here.” Zoro silently thanks her in his head for effectively ridding the chef of the table for the time being. His gratitude turns into a grimace when she turns to him expectantly. “You’re gonna hate me for asking–”

“Then don’t ask,” he finishes. She doesn’t relent. 

“How do you know them? It seems like you’re nervous about being here, but we’ve never met them before as a crew.” Hitting the damn nail on the head. “So, you must’ve met them when you were still hunting down pirates. Am I right?” He grumbles an unreadable response, but the slightly pink shade of his face tells the table everything they need to know. “You’re terrible at covering up secrets.”

“I don’t remember asking.”

“Ah, you’ve got him on the run, now. He’s deflecting,” Usopp chuckles, immediately shutting up when Zoro shoots him a deadly scowl. He hated that all of them were right and would never admit it to save his life. After all this time, seeing you still made his heart rate skyrocket and cause his hands to clam up with boyish nervousness. You were just as beautiful as the last time he saw you, instances that were too few and far between for his own liking. Your father would have a fit if he saw you in such an unregulated environment as Baratie, but he knew that you were safe. As long as you breathed the same oxygen, he vowed no harm would come to you. 

“I met them when I first started hunting,” he admits and the words felt wrong on his tongue. Every nerve in his body was telling him to stop revealing his relationship to you. It didn’t matter if he’d almost died surrounded by his crew; his connection to you was sacred and something he was going to take to his grave. It was mostly for your safety, the late-night sneaking out and stolen displays of affection. In another life, he wouldn’t have to hide you from other hunters that wanted to see him fall. “Their father is a captain in the Marines. When I first met them, they were training with Mihawk. Their father wanted them to be the most feared Marine in the seas.” The jaws of his friends fell to the table and he knew how wild it sounded, a legacy Marine trained by a pirate lord. “But, Mihawk taught them more tricks than just swordfighting and their father fired him on the spot.”

“He taught them sympathy for pirates,” Nami concludes and he nods. “Why are you so shifty around them?” He shrugs half-heartedly and tries to make it look like his face wasn’t on fire.

“Just haven’t seen them in a while,” he states, zeroing in on the blonde asshole waltzing to you with a plate. Your surrounding guards stiffen, hands flying to the weapons at their belts. You, however, roll your eyes and tell them to stand down. He knew you hated going out with security because they were always watching, watching, watching. “Eyes up. The waiter’s making a move.” 

A strange sense of nausea washes over him as he watches you smile politely at Sanji, laughing softly at his jokes and kindly nodding as he explains the dish to you. You trust them, Zoro keeps telling himself. That waiter doesn’t stand a fucking chance. All the reassurances don’t stop his gut from churning when Sanji does his signature lean-down-and-whisper-suggestively into your ear. To his surprise, however, you don’t immediately meet the chef’s eyes. Your attention flicks to Zoro, instead, with a look that he knows all too well. 

Please get me out of this. 

Despite the protests of the table, he’s standing in an instant and walking with his hands on his swords like your guards didn’t even exist. His sight becomes tunnel-vision on nothing but you and he bypasses your guards with ease. Your shoulders relax when he stations himself protectively behind you, much to the confusion of the chef in front of you. As subtle as he can, he rests his hand on the back of your chair, inching closer until he’s just barely touching your shoulder. It’s small, but speaks wonders for his presence. 

“Zoro,” you murmur without looking up, your fingertips brushing against his knuckles. Your touch on his skin after so much time away feels electric.

“Hey, sweetheart.” Sanji stiffens at the term of endearment so easily leaving Zoro’s mouth and you can sense the boost it does for his ego. “Whatcha got there?”

“My new friend was just telling me about the dish he made. He said he crafted it especially for me, with his own hands,” you inform him with a sly sparkle in your eye. His jaw clenches unconsciously. You knew exactly what was going on in Zoro’s mind and he knew it, too. “Apparently, he can work wonders with his hands,” you remark casually and you can hear the chair crack under the force of the swordsman’s hand gripping it. To your delight, Sanji’s face has also taken on a slightly darker shade of red at how crassly you echo his suggestion. And in front of his rival, no less.

“Was he, now?” His tone is lethal and it sends goosebumps up your arms. “Well, it best be time for him to get back in the kitchen, no?”

“Mmm, but he said he had a proposal for me–”

“I had one for you too, though I did ask you in a much finer establishment than this one.” You can’t help the smirk that spreads on your face and you have to look to the side to keep from laughing aloud. Zoro’s jealousy was rearing a very indignant head; you’d be lying if you said you didn’t find it a little hot. “Got that stone on your left hand to prove it.” Sanji’s eyes darted to the band wrapped around your finger, a ring that looked suspiciously like the one hanging from a chain around Zoro’s neck. “Give us some time alone, yeah?” His question becomes rhetorical as he pulls out a chair next to you and tugs your seat closer until you can cross your leg across his. His palm rests possessively over your thigh and the chef gapes for a few moments more before turning back to the kitchen. 

“That goes for all of you, please,” you order your guards without looking at them, absentmindedly tracing Zoro’s jawline with the back of your pointer finger. “Take my bag and buy however many drinks you want. I’m safe,” you state with absolute certainty. Once they’re gone, all you see, feel, and know is him.

“Hi,” he breathes.

“Hi,” you smile just as softly. “What’re you doing in a place like this?”

“I can ask you the same question, pretty.” His eyes shine with nothing but adoration. You forgot just how much you missed him.

“Took a detour to prolong my time at sea. I didn’t want to go home just yet.”

“Your old man’s being an ass again?”

“You know how he is,” you reply. “Why are you here?”

“Believe it or not, that blonde shithead is my crewmate. We’re here to get some extra Berry for a new sail.”

“Sail, hmm? I always knew you had a little pirate in you,” you tease and he sticks his tongue out immaturely. “Heard you fought my esteemed mentor. I don’t know what the hell you were thinking.”

“You don’t think I can beat him?”

“I don’t think I can fathom what will happen if you don’t,” you say quietly, swallowing a lump in your throat. “Don’t do any dumb shit, okay?”

“You’re acting as if I’m already leaving you again.” 

“Aren’t you?” Your smile is sad and it makes his chest ache. When he beat Mihawk and killed your bastard father, he was going to give you the life that you deserved. 

“Not yet,” he promises. “I don’t wanna go yet.”

“I don’t want you to go, either. How much do you need for that sail?” He gives you a number and you don’t even blink. You just nod and reach into your coin purse, fishing around and deciding to just give him the entire pouch. “Will that cover it?”

“Doll–”

“It’s a yes or no question, husband,” you say with lighthearted sternness. He shakes his head in exasperation but can’t hide the grin painting his features. 

“Yes, lover. It’s more than enough.” He presses a kiss to your forehead and you hum in contentment. “Thank you, sweetheart.”

“Of course. D’you mind introducing me to the rest of your crew besides the flirty waiter?”

if you enjoy my writing and would like to support me, you can buy me a coffee on my ko-fi! you can also check out my full masterlist here :)

[enemiestolovershoe]

New Beginnings Part 2

Matt Sturniolo x preg!reader

Summary: Matt and Reader welcome their Newborn

Word Count: 5,2k

Warnings: use of y/n, detailed birth, labor, crying, not proofread

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

25 Weeks

It had been a crazy few weeks for you and Matt. The baby was growing fast, and your belly had popped, making everything feel more real. You and Matt had been excited and nervous about everything that was coming your way, but now there was something even bigger on your minds: finding out the gender.

At the 25-week appointment, you were lying on the examination bed, your belly round and visible beneath the thin layer of gel that the ultrasound technician had just applied. You glanced at Matt, who was sitting beside you, holding your hand tightly as the ultrasound machine hummed to life.

"You guys ready for this?" The tech smiled, clearly enjoying the moment as she moved the wand across your belly. The screen lit up with the image of your baby and every time you saw it, your heart skipped a beat. The tiny human you and Matt had created together—it was beyond overwhelming.

"Honestly?" Matt chuckled nervously, squeezing your hand. "I don't know if I’m ever going to be ready for this."

You laughed softly, your eyes glued to the screen. "We’ll figure it out. We’ve got Nick and Chris for extra hands, right?"

"Extra hands?" Matt raised his eyebrows, smiling. "More like extra chaos. Especially Nick."

The tech chuckled at your exchange, her focus on the screen. "Well, it looks like your little one is doing great. Everything looks good...and I can definitely see the gender. Do you want to know?"

Your heart leaped into your throat. You and Matt had already decided to wait for a reveal, thanks to Nick's insistence on planning something big. Still, the temptation was real, especially when the tech said she could see it right there on the screen.

You met Matt's gaze. He gave you a small smile and a nod. "We’re sticking with the plan, right?"

"Yeah," you agreed, your voice shaking a little with excitement. "Can you write it down for us? Nick’s got this whole thing planned."

The tech smiled again. "Sure thing. I love a good reveal party."

As she printed off the image and scribbled the gender onto a piece of paper, you and Matt exchanged looks of pure excitement. It was hard to believe that the answer to this huge question was just a slip of paper away.

When the appointment wrapped up, the tech handed you the sealed envelope. The paper inside seemed to hold more weight than you expected, as though knowing the secret inside made it feel heavier.

"Good luck resisting the urge to peek," she joked.

Matt laughed, holding up his hands in surrender as he took the envelope from you. "I swear, no peeking. This is all for Nick now."

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

28 Weeks

Three weeks later, Nick had pulled off a full-blown event for the gender reveal. You weren't even surprised. If you were expecting anyone to go all out, it would be Nick Sturniolo. He had rented a picturesque little villa for the occasion, and you and Matt arrived to find it completely decked out in every shade of pink and blue you could imagine.

There were pastel balloons arching over the entrance, blue and pink ribbons tied around every chair, and even tables full of finger foods—mini sandwiches, cupcakes, and a gorgeous pasta buffet that had clearly been arranged with care.

"Nick," you breathed as you stepped out of the car, looking around in amazement. "This is insane."

Matt looked equally surprised, his eyes wide as he took in the scene. "He actually did it."

Before you could say more, Nick came running up, arms outstretched, a huge grin on his face. "You guys like it?!" he asked excitedly, giving both you and Matt huge hugs.

"Are you serious?" Matt said, laughing. "This looks incredible."

"Not to mention the food," you added, eyeing the table. You hadn’t even made it inside yet, but you could see how much effort Nick had put into the whole thing. "Nick, you outdid yourself."

Chris appeared beside him, balancing a plate of pasta in one hand, and garlic bread in the other. "Yeah, props to him. This is probably the best food I’ve had in a while."

Nick beamed with pride. "I told you it was going to be epic. Now, are you guys ready to find out what you’re having?!"

You and Matt exchanged a nervous glance. You had been counting down to this moment for weeks, but now that it was here, it felt surreal. It wasn’t just a hypothetical anymore—soon, you’d know whether you were having a little boy or a little girl.

"I’m ready," you said, nodding firmly, though the nerves were buzzing in your chest.

"Ready as I’ll ever be," Matt agreed, wrapping an arm around your shoulders.

As you walked into the villa, Nick led you toward the backyard, where a large crowd had gathered. Your families were there, along with all of the triplets' friends—people you recognized from their YouTube videos. There was even a large "Team Boy" vs. "Team Girl" station set up, where people could grab badges and make their guesses.

"I'm team girl all the way," Matt announced as he pinned a pink badge to his shirt.

Chris snorted. "Nah, it’s a boy. Gotta keep the Sturniolo boy streak alive."

“I‘m also team girl“ you chuckled.

Matt chuckled, shaking his head. "We’ll see. Either way, this little one is going to be spoiled."

A few minutes later, Nick called everyone’s attention to the backyard, where two large smoke canons were set up on either side of a huge arch of balloons. Pink and blue balloons filled the sky, drifting lazily in the warm breeze, adding to the excitement of the moment.

Nick grabbed a microphone, grinning from ear to ear. "Alright, everyone! It’s time for the big moment! We’ve got Matt and y/n here, ready to find out if they’re having a boy or a girl! Who’s ready?!"

The crowd erupted into cheers, and you could feel your heart pounding in your chest. Matt stood beside you, his arm wrapped around your waist, and you leaned into him for support. This was it.

Nick handed you and Matt each a smoke cannon, and you felt the cool metal in your hands, your fingers trembling slightly. The anticipation was almost too much.

"Okay, on the count of three, they’re gonna pull the triggers," Nick announced. "Everyone ready?"

You took a deep breath, your hands shaking with nerves and excitement. Matt squeezed your hand, his excitement clear in his eyes. "You got this," he whispered.

"Three…" Nick started, the crowd joining in. "Two… one!"

You and Matt pulled the triggers simultaneously, and for a moment, the world went quiet as pink smoke exploded into the air. You stared in shock as the cloud of pink engulfed the backyard.

"It’s a girl!" someone shouted.

Matt turned to you, his eyes wide, and a huge smile spread across his face. "It’s a girl. We’re having a girl!"

Your heart swelled as tears sprung to your eyes. "We’re having a girl," you repeated, your voice barely a whisper as you wrapped your arms around Matt’s neck.

He hugged you tightly, his hands gently cradling your back as you cried into his shoulder. You could feel his excitement and joy radiating through the embrace, and it made your heart feel like it could burst. You were going to have a daughter.

Before long, Chris and Nick rushed over, joining the hug. "Oh my God, I’m gonna have a niece!" Chris shouted, practically bouncing with excitement.

Nick grinned, pulling you into a bear hug. "This is going to be awesome!"

You laughed through the tears, overwhelmed by the love and happiness surrounding you. "I can’t believe it," you said, shaking your head as you wiped your eyes. "A little girl."

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

35 Weeks

As the weeks went by and your belly grew even bigger, the time had finally come to work on the nursery. You and Matt had been planning it for weeks—scouring Pinterest boards, bookmarking every cute piece of furniture and decor that caught your eye. Now, at 35 weeks, you were ready to put it all together.

Well, almost ready. The triplets had insisted on helping, so you had a feeling you’d be doing more supervising than actual decorating.

Chris and Nick arrived early that Saturday, armed with coffee and donuts. You were already in the nursery, sitting in the rocking chair you’d picked out, rubbing your belly absentmindedly. You were definitely feeling the weight of pregnancy now—your back ached, your feet were swollen, and even sitting for too long made you feel uncomfortable. But the excitement of seeing the nursery come together kept you going.

Matt was already unpacking the last of the furniture boxes when Chris and Nick strolled in.

"Alright, what’s the game plan?" Nick asked, setting the donuts down on the floor before taking a look around. "You guys got a vision?"

"Yeah, we do," Matt said, holding up his phone. "She’s been saving Pinterest ideas for weeks."

You laughed, leaning back in the chair. "I’d do it myself, but…" You motioned to your belly, which was now large and very much in the way of most things. "I’m not exactly mobile these days."

Chris grinned. "Don’t worry. We’ve got this."

And with that, the triplets got to work. Matt and Chris assembled the crib while Nick hung up the shelves and artwork you’d picked out. You watched from your rocking chair, smiling as the room slowly came together. It was everything you’d imagined—soft pinks, creams, and gold accents, with delicate floral prints and stuffed animals in every corner.

"You guys are seriously amazing," you said, your heart swelling with gratitude.

Matt turned to you, wiping sweat from his brow. "We’d do anything for you—and for her."

Nick smirked as he finished hanging the last shelf. "This little girl is going to be the most spoiled baby in the world."

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

41 Weeks

Now at 41 weeks, you were officially past your due date, and to say you were getting impatient would be an understatement. Your baby girl was stubborn, just like her dad, and no matter what you tried, labor just wasn’t starting.

One evening, you were sitting in the living room with Matt, Chris, and Nick, discussing all the things you’d tried to get things moving. Spicy food, walking, bouncing on a yoga ball—you’d done it all.

"I even tried that whole pineapple thing," you sighed, leaning back against the couch cushions. "Nothing."

”Maybe you should try sex”, Nick blankly said.

”Nick, when I said we tried everything, I mean everything”, you‘re getting frustrated.

Chris chuckled. "Well, at least the cookies are a good backup plan. I mean, if labor doesn’t start, at least we’ll have snacks."

Nick laughed, giving you a wink. "I read somewhere that cookies actually have magic powers. Maybe these will do the trick."

You rolled your eyes, standing up and waddling toward the kitchen. "I’ll believe it when I see it."

As you reached for the ingredients, you felt a sudden, sharp cramp in your abdomen. You paused, frowning, and then—

Your water broke.

You stared down in shock as the liquid pooled around your feet. For a moment, you couldn’t speak, couldn’t move, couldn’t even breathe. Then, finally, you managed to say the words that would change everything.

"Uh, guys? My water just broke."

The room went silent.

And then all hell broke loose.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

Labor

All four of you stood frozen, staring at the small puddle on the floor.

Nick, naturally the first to speak, broke the silence. "Are you sure you didn’t just piss yourself?" His voice was light, but the shock was clear on his face.

You shot him a look, shaking your head. "No, Nick. I’m pretty sure this is happening."

Matt’s eyes widened as the realization hit him. "Okay. Okay. Oh my god, it's happening! Chris, grab the hospital bag!" His voice was shaky, panic starting to take over. "Nick, call the hospital, tell them we’re on our way!"

Chris, already ahead of the game, was moving before Matt even finished the sentence. "On it!" He darted to the hallway, where the hospital bag had been packed and sitting for weeks. "Got it!" he shouted, slinging it over his shoulder and heading for the door.

Nick pulled out his phone, already dialing. "Okay, okay! I’m calling!" he said, pacing a little. "Man, this is really happening. Holy crap."

Matt turned to you, immediately switching to his softer, more concerned tone. "Come on, babe. Let’s get you changed real quick," he said, leading you carefully toward the bedroom, his hand supporting your back. "We don’t want you showing up at the hospital soaked."

You nodded, feeling the rush of emotions hit you—excitement, nervousness, fear. "Yeah, not exactly how I want to make an entrance," you joked, though your voice trembled.

Once in the bedroom, Matt gently helped you out of your wet clothes, his hands shaky but careful as he eased you into some fresh leggings and one of his hoodies. "How are you feeling?" he asked softly, his eyes full of concern, trying his best to stay calm for your sake.

You took a deep breath, focusing on staying composed. "A little scared. But I’m ready." You placed a hand on your belly, feeling the baby’s movements. "I can’t believe we’re actually about to meet her."

Matt kissed your forehead, his hand resting on your belly alongside yours. "You’re incredible, you know that? We’re gonna be okay. I’m right here."

Back in the living room, Nick was still pacing, phone pressed to his ear. "Yeah, we’re heading there now... yep, water broke... we’ll be there soon," he said, hanging up. He turned to you and Matt, wide-eyed but grinning. "Alright, hospital’s ready. Let’s go!"

Chris stood by the door, holding the hospital bag like he was guarding something precious. "Got the bag. Car’s ready. Let’s do this!"

You walked carefully back into the living room, Matt’s arm around your waist. Another contraction hit, sharper this time, and you gripped Matt’s arm, exhaling slowly through the pain. "Okay, okay... these are definitely getting stronger."

Nick, naturally, had his phone out again, recording the moment. "Alright, this is it, guys! We’re officially on baby watch. Y/N’s contractions are coming in hot, and Matt’s holding it together... kinda."

Matt shot him a glare, though there was a small smile tugging at his lips. "Nick, do you have to film everything?"

"Yes," Nick replied, unbothered. "The people need to see this."

You laughed, despite the pain. "It’s fine, Matt. Let him film. At least it’ll give him something to do instead of making stupid jokes."

"See? Y/N’s cool with it," Nick said triumphantly, zooming the camera in on Matt’s stressed face.

Chris opened the door, gesturing for everyone to hurry. "Alright, let’s move, people. Baby’s not gonna wait forever."

Matt guided you toward the car, his grip on your arm steady but his face full of barely-contained panic. He helped you into the passenger seat as carefully as possible, glancing nervously at you the whole time. "You good?"

You nodded, smiling up at him. "I’m fine, Matt. Let’s just get to the hospital."

Once Matt was in the driver’s seat, he started the car a little too aggressively, the engine roaring to life as he sped out of the driveway.

"Matt, slow down!" you exclaimed, gripping the door handle as he took a turn a little too fast.

"Sorry!" Matt said, clearly frazzled. "I just... I don’t know! I want to get you there as fast as possible."

Nick, sitting in the backseat with Chris, was still filming. "And here we go, folks. Matt’s driving like he’s in a Fast & Furious movie, but don’t worry—I’ve got the whole thing on camera." He panned the phone toward you. "Y/N, any last words before this baby arrives?"

You shot him an amused look. "My only thought is, if Matt doesn’t calm down, we might not make it to the hospital."

Matt groaned, though he slowed the car slightly. "I’m calm, I’m calm," he muttered, gripping the steering wheel a little too tightly.

Chris leaned forward, resting his chin on the seat in front of him. "Matt, man, we’ve got time. No need to speed. Also, anyone want to place bets on how long the labor’s gonna be?"

"Chris," Matt snapped, his voice tight, "now is not the time."

As Matt turned onto the main road, the streetlights whizzed by in a blur, their dim glow casting flickers of light over your face. You were gripping the door handle tightly, your other hand still squeezing Matt’s. The contractions had picked up, each one more intense than the last, and you could feel the pressure building with every passing moment.

Nick, in the backseat, still had his phone out, filming despite the tense atmosphere. "Alright, Y/N’s in full-on labor now," he narrated softly, trying to keep the tone light but clearly nervous himself. "Matt’s driving like his life depends on it. Chris, how you feelin'?"

Chris, sitting next to him, shot Nick a glance. "Me? Why are you asking me? I’m not the one about to have a baby."

Nick shrugged. "Just trying to document the vibe, man."

You groaned as another contraction hit, sharper this time. Your breathing quickened as you leaned forward in the seat, trying to brace yourself against the pain. "Matt..." you whimpered, squeezing his hand hard.

Matt glanced over at you, his face pale and full of worry. "I know, babe, I know. We’re almost there, I swear." His voice was shaky, and you could see how hard he was trying to keep it together for you.

"Keep breathing, Y/N," Chris chimed in from the back, his usual laid-back tone gone. "In and out, just like the birthing classes."

You managed a nod, following his advice, focusing on your breath. But when the next wave of pain hit, it was stronger, and you couldn’t help but let out a sharp cry.

Matt panicked, his grip tightening on the steering wheel. "Oh my God, are you okay? Should I go faster? I don’t know what to do!"

"Don’t speed," Chris said quickly, leaning forward to look at the road. "We don’t need a car accident on top of everything."

Nick, still filming, chuckled nervously. "Yeah, maybe keep it at a reasonable pace, bro."

You managed to laugh through the pain, though it was shaky. "I’m fine... just get me there."

As Matt pulled into the hospital parking lot, he practically skidded to a stop, parking crookedly in his rush to get out of the car. He ran around to your side, opening the door for you, his hands shaking as he helped you out.

"You’re doing so good," Matt said, his voice softer now, more grounded as he wrapped his arm around your waist, helping you walk. "We’re almost there, I promise."

Nick kept the camera rolling, filming as the nurses rushed over with a wheelchair the moment you entered the lobby. "Alright, we’re officially at the hospital," Nick narrated into the camera. "It’s happening. The baby is coming."

Chris grabbed the hospital bag as Matt helped you into the wheelchair, the pain making it harder to focus on anything but getting to the delivery room. The nurses were quick, guiding you down the hall while Matt walked beside you, holding your hand the entire time.

Nick and Chris stayed back in the waiting area, Nick lowering his camera for a moment as they both sat down. "Well, I guess this is where we wait," Chris said, leaning back in his chair.

Nick nodded, glancing at the doors you had just disappeared behind. "I can’t believe it’s actually happening. We‘re gonna be uncles."

Chris grinned. "Uncle Chris has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?"

Nick picked up his camera again, aiming it at Chris. "Guess we’ll just have to sit tight and wait for the good news."

Inside the delivery room, the atmosphere was tense, but it had a sense of anticipation. The bright lights shone down on you as the nurses helped you get situated on the bed, Matt standing right beside you, gripping your hand like his life depended on it.

The nurse, adjusting her gloves, smiled down at you with a calm and experienced expression. "Alright, Y/N, you’re doing great. We’re at 9 centimeters now, so we’re almost there. It’s going to be intense, but you’re strong, and we’re right here."

You squeezed Matt’s hand tightly as another contraction hit, the pain spreading through your body like fire. It was overwhelming, and all you could do was close your eyes, trying to breathe through it. "Oh my God... Matt..." you whimpered, your voice strained.

"I’m here, babe," Matt said, his voice full of panic but also so much love. His thumb stroked the back of your hand, though his hand was shaking. "You’re doing amazing. Just keep breathing, okay? You’ve got this."

The contraction passed, leaving you breathless, and you took a moment to relax before the next wave came. "I don’t know if I can do this," you whispered, the pain and exhaustion taking over. "It hurts so much."

Matt knelt beside you, his forehead touching yours, his eyes filled with nothing but admiration and concern. "You’re the strongest person I know, Y/N. I swear, you’re doing incredible. She’s almost here, just a little more. I’m right here with you."

The doctor entered the room, checking your progress, and nodded. "Alright, Y/N, it’s time. You’re fully dilated, and we’re going to need you to push with the next contraction."

Your heart raced as you nodded, trying to prepare yourself mentally for what was coming. You had read about this, learned about it in birthing classes, but nothing could prepare you for the actual moment.

Another contraction hit, this one even more intense, and the doctor’s voice cut through the pain. "Alright, Y/N, big push, let’s go!"

You gritted your teeth, grabbing onto Matt’s hand like it was a lifeline, and pushed with everything you had. The pressure was unbearable, and you let out a scream, your body trembling with the effort.

"You’re doing so good, babe!" Matt’s voice was shaky, his eyes wide as he watched. "Just keep going, you’re so close."

The nurse beside you smiled, her voice encouraging. "That’s it, Y/N! You’re doing great. Keep pushing."

You gasped for air as the contraction faded, your body collapsing back against the bed for a brief moment of relief. But before you could catch your breath, another contraction surged through you, and the doctor was right there again.

"Alright, Y/N, here comes another one! Big push again, you’re almost there!"

The pain was all-encompassing, but you pushed through it, literally, gripping Matt’s hand and bearing down with everything you had. "I can’t..." you cried out, feeling like you were at your limit.

"You can!" Matt said quickly, his voice almost desperate. "You’ve come this far, just one more, baby. Please, you’ve got this."

"One more push, Y/N," the doctor echoed, her voice steady and reassuring. "You’re almost there, I can see the head!"

That gave you the final bit of strength you needed. You let out a deep breath and bore down one last time, pushing through the pain and exhaustion, feeling the pressure change as your baby started to emerge.

And then... it happened. A sharp cry filled the room.

You collapsed back against the bed, tears streaming down your face as you heard her — your baby girl — crying for the first time. The doctor held her up, and Matt’s breath hitched in his throat, his eyes wide and filled with tears. "She’s... she’s here," he whispered, his voice breaking.

The doctor gently laid her on your chest, and the world seemed to stop. She was perfect. Tiny, red-faced, still crying, her little body covered in vernix, but she was perfect. You wrapped your arms around her, feeling her warmth against you, and the tears flowed freely down your cheeks. "Hi, baby," you whispered, your voice trembling with emotion. "Hi, Mavis."

Matt leaned down beside you, his hand trembling as he touched her tiny head. "She’s... she’s so beautiful," he breathed, his eyes glistening with tears. "You did it, Y/N. You brought her here."

The nurse smiled warmly, giving you both a moment to bond with her before gently speaking up. "Matt, would you like to cut the umbilical cord?"

Matt’s eyes widened, but he nodded quickly, standing up a little too fast in his nervous excitement. "Yeah, yes! Of course." He took the small pair of scissors the nurse handed him and, with shaking hands, cut the cord, his face filled with awe as he completed the task. "Wow," he whispered, as if the weight of the moment had just fully hit him.

You smiled up at him through your tears. "You’re officially a dad now."

Matt laughed, wiping his face quickly before leaning down to kiss you softly on the forehead. "And you’re officially a mom. You’re amazing, Y/N."

As you both looked down at Mavis, she was still nestled against you, her little body calming as she snuggled into your skin. The room was filled with a peaceful quiet now, the chaos of the birth replaced by the soft coos of your newborn daughter.

In the Waiting Room

Out in the waiting area, Nick was pacing nervously, his camera trained on Chris, who sat bouncing his leg anxiously. "Alright, it’s been like... hours, and we haven’t heard anything yet," Nick narrated into the camera. "This is intense."

Chris nodded, leaning back in his chair.

After what felt like forever, Matt finally came out, his face tired but beaming with the biggest smile they’d ever seen. He didn’t say a word at first, just motioned them over with his hands.

Nick immediately started filming, the camera shaky as he rushed over to Matt. "Well? Well?"

Matt grinned, his eyes red with tears. "Mavis Rose is here."

Chris let out a whoop, pulling Matt into a tight hug. "Congrats, bro! You did it!"

Nick lowered the camera for a second, wiping his eyes before raising it back up. "I’m not crying, you’re crying," he muttered, his voice thick with emotion.

"Do you want to meet her?" Matt asked, smiling so wide it looked like his face might split in two.

"Uh, duh!" Chris said, standing up quickly. "We’ve been waiting for hours!"

Inside the room, you were still holding Mavis, her tiny body curled against you as she slept peacefully. Matt led Chris and Nick inside, and the moment they saw her, both of them froze.

Nick was the first to break the silence, his camera still rolling. "Oh my God," he whispered, zooming in on Mavis’s tiny face. "She’s... so tiny."

Chris leaned over to get a closer look, his face softening in a way you hadn’t seen before. "I’m Uncle Chris now," he said, grinning proudly. "Damn, she’s beautiful."

You laughed softly, still exhausted but full of happiness. "Yeah, she really is."

Nick lowered the camera just enough to lean in and gently touch her tiny hand. "Uncle Nick’s here baby girl," he said softly, his voice full of emotion. "Welcome to the world."

Matt sat beside you on the bed, wrapping an arm around you as you both looked down at Mavis, surrounded by family. You knew in that moment that everything was perfect

Matt, who had been quietly watching, grinned at Nick and Chris, the pride in his eyes evident. "Want to hold her?" Matt asked softly, glancing between the two of them.

Chris’s eyes widened, and he took a small step back. "Wait, me? Are you sure? I don’t want to drop her or something. I’ve never held a newborn before."

You smiled and gestured for him to come closer. "You’ll be fine, Chris. Just be careful with her head."

"Alright, alright, but if she starts crying, you’re taking her back immediately," Chris said, moving in slowly like he was handling fragile glass. Nick held his camera steady, capturing every moment. Matt gently helped Chris cradle Mavis into his arms, adjusting her head in the crook of Chris's elbow.

Chris looked down at her, his face unreadable for a second, until a soft smile spread across it. "Holy crap... she’s even tinier up close," he murmured. "She’s... she’s perfect."

Nick smirked from behind the camera. "Who would've thought Chris would turn into a softy."

"Shut up, Nick," Chris muttered, but he didn't take his eyes off Mavis, completely mesmerized.

Nick grinned. "Alright, my turn. Pass her over, big guy."

Carefully, Chris handed Mavis to Nick, who adjusted her gently in his arms. The change in Nick was immediate — the goofy, sarcastic vibe was gone, and for a moment, he was completely quiet. "Whoa," he whispered, his eyes wide. "She’s so light... and warm." He glanced up at you and Matt. "I can't believe you guys made her. Like... she's real."

You and Matt exchanged a look, both of you smiling through your tears. "Yeah, she's real," you said softly, brushing a hand over Mavis's tiny head. "And she’s going to be so spoiled by all of you."

Nick laughed quietly, glancing down at Mavis with a fond smile. "Oh, you better believe it. I’m gonna be the coolest uncle."

Matt chuckled. "We might have to fight Chris on that one."

Chris crossed his arms, pretending to look offended. "I’m definitely the favorite already. Just wait."

Nick raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, well, I’ve already got some outfits in mind for her. Pink Vans. A little leather jacket. She’s going to be the most stylish baby out there."

Matt grinned, leaning against the bed, his arm still wrapped around you. "That actually sounds pretty cool. As long as she’s comfy."

You laughed softly, the exhaustion from the labor hitting you in waves but the love surrounding you making it all worth it. "You’re all going to spoil her rotten."

Nick handed Mavis back to you carefully, and you cradled her close, feeling her tiny body settle against yours. Her little breaths were soft, her tiny fist gripping onto your shirt like she never wanted to let go.

Matt leaned over and kissed your forehead, his voice soft and filled with awe. "You did it, Y/N. She’s finally here. Our little girl."

Chris and Nick, still hovering nearby, shared a look. "We should give them a little time alone," Chris said, nudging Nick with his elbow.

Nick nodded, though his eyes lingered on Mavis for a moment longer. "Yeah, you’re right. We’ll be in the waiting room if you need us. Just... let us know when you’re ready for some more uncle time."

You smiled at them as they quietly left the room, leaving you and Matt alone with your daughter.

As you looked down at Mavis, tears welled in your eyes once more. It was overwhelming — the love you felt for this tiny human, the warmth of Matt beside you, and the family you had both created.

Your little girl was finally here.

[fashionteahouse]

Can I get a she fell first he fell harder where reader always had a crush on embry all throughout high school and always asked him out but he always rejected her nicely until she gave up then they meet again but she’s over him so he has to work extra hard to get her attention smut included???

ofc you can ! XD hope you enjoy :)

coming back - embry x reader

Barely being able to maintain eye contact, the floor and his shirt covered chest was more interesting. You felt fluttery and a fiery blush stained your cheeks.

“You dropped this.” he tells you. He held out a mitten that you dropped and you take it back.

“Thanks.” you say to him with a smile. He was so kind and warm. That’s why it was so addicting to be in his presence. You watch starry eyed as he walked away.

With his body now out of your view, your eyes then flicker to a paper hung up on the hallway wall.

You weren’t going to go. But, you had a newfound form of hope.

The next morning, you woke up earlier than your usual wake up time.

You made sure to make sure you looked extra nice.

You found him at his locker, he was alone. He was taking his jacket off to put it in there. You tap his shoulder as you walked up behind him.

He turns around and says hi, remembering the interaction from yesterday. He displayed a kind smile. Your heart skips a beat as you see that what he’s wearing looks great on him.

“I just um… wanted to know if you were going to Homecoming?” you say, you tried to hide the fact that you were nervous.

“Mm…I don’t think so. Are you?” he asks after thinking of the idea of going to a school dance.

“Yeah. I mean..I don’t know..But, um we could like..Go together?” you offer. There, you threw it out there.

A soft smile, “Oh. I think I’m going to sit this one out. But, thanks for asking though.” he says and off he goes to where his friends were at.

You sigh in defeat.

You didn’t go as well. You didn’t want to see people at your school dressed up for a dance and Embry wasn’t there. You still had hope.

You still made sure to speak to him when you did see him. He kept it brief.

One day in science class, it was a lab day. The teacher wanted the students to do a gravity experiment with dropping small balls and calculate how long it took for the small ball to drop to the ground.

The thing was, she wanted everyone to do it in the hallway since there was a balcony that showed the first floor of the school.

You were partnered up and you ran down the steps to retrieve the ball from the first floor. Your partner wrote down the time as they paused the stop watch.

Scooping the ball into your hand, you look over and see Embry walking.

“Hey.” you say with a smile.

“Hi.” he says back. He kept walking. You were a bit sad that he wasn’t curious about what you were doing, or showing interest that he wanted to talk more.

You did your best. Wearing what looked good, putting effort into your appearance. You stared at him as he would walk past. One time, he did look, but he just kept walking.

You heard his friends, wishing him a happy birthday. You smile as you look at the date, you made sure to keep note of the day’s date.

When he was in line at lunch, luckily his friends didn’t join him yet.

“Hey, birthday boy.” you say, he turns to see you and he chuckles lightly.

“Hey.”

“Have any plans?”

“Uh..Not really. Most of my friends have work. We’re going to celebrate it on the weekend.” he answers.

“Well..I could take you out. My treat.” you say.

He takes a look, you’re glad that you look nice today, the smile you gave him showed a lot of interest and you watched his eyes as he made a decision.

“That’s okay. I will just chill at home. Thanks for asking though.” he says with a polite smile and carries his tray away.

Your shoulder slump forward due to defeat. Even though luck was not on your side, you still had an ounce of hope.

You however, found yourself getting a tad bit jealous when he would laugh or talk to a girl that wasn’t you.

You wanted to know how it felt to have all of his attention.

You still cling onto your hopes when it’s time for prom. Your friends actually had dates and you wanted to go for the last bit of experience.

Hearing the prom date over the intercom during morning announcements, an idea pops into your head.

Smoothly walking to where he was, he took a quick drink out of the water fountain.

He smiled a bit when he seen you, your heart leaped with hope and joy. You smile back and ask him how his day is going, you were going to try the smooth approach.

“It’s going okay. How’s yours?” he asks. You seeped into the conversation, “Eh, it’s alright.” He’s walking leisurely and you’re walking side by side with him.

“Are you going to prom?” he asks you. You almost felt like you were dreaming, you nod with enthusiasm.

“Are you?” you ask. You watch as he thinks for a bit.

“Yeah. Are you going with someone?” he asks you.

You shake your head.

“Are you?” you ask and start to smile. He nods a bit, “Yeah. I got asked.” he laughs a bit.

“Oh…” you say and your entire expression is crestfallen.

“We’re going as friends but, still. Hey, at least I will see you there.” he says and before you realized it, you were outside of his classroom.

“Yeah. See you there.” you say sadly and watch him walk in the classroom and greet a friend of his.

You had to walk the walk of shame to your own classroom.

At prom, you tried to have a good time. Your friends even abandoned their own dates for a moment to include you. Your eyes kept looking over the girl that won Embry’s yes.

She danced with him, she laughed with him, and she even complimented your dress when you got something to drink. You couldn’t even dislike her even if you wanted to.

Life after high school had been easy on you. Studying for a career path that you have been passionate about, made you have passion for life for the future.

Coming back home for the holidays, you were happy to see your old friends on Christmas break.

The day before Christmas Eve, you stopped at a store to buy some gift wrapping paper. That’s when you saw him. You didn’t get the same fluttery feelings you had and to be honest, he crossed your mind but not in a romantic way. You would laugh lightly to yourself how intense you felt about the hopeful teenage romance. You were glad that he had a kind nature.

He was the one that spoke to you first.

“You’re back.” he says with a smile. He was in front of you in line and he turned around.

“Yeah. How are you?” you say politely.

“I’m good. And you?”

“Great.” you say.

“How long are you here for?” he asks you.

“Just until after New Years.” you just say and plan to leave it at that.

“Cool. We get to see each other often until you leave, then.” he says.

You give him a tight lipped smile and nod a bit.

He noticed your reservedness and another cashier opened their register and says she can take the next person in line in her line.

“See ya.” you just say and walk to the new cashier.

Embry was going to say something before you were out of your sight but you moved too fast, making his words get caught in your throat.

On Christmas Eve, you all exchanged gifts, each of you having a secret Santa.

It was nice and warm and you all talked about the good old days of high school.

Your friends knew you weren’t Embry-crazy anymore, you barely brought him up.

On a spur of the moment, you all go to the favorite coffee shop that you all loved. You got the hot chocolate and it tasted better than you imagined it would.

“I so miss this.” you say as you chew on the hot and semi-melted marshmallows.

Hums of agreement follows as they drink their own drinks.

You hear a bell and you look up and see that it’s Embry. You didn’t know he enjoyed this place too. You shrug and continue to drink your drink and fall into the table’s conversation.

“Y/N. Crazy we run into each other again.” he says with a smile. You lick the top of your lip a bit as the speck of whipped cream was resting there and you nod.

“I know right.” you say and continue your sip. Silence was met for a moment before your friend says that they’re done and if you guys were joining them in going back to the car. You all agree and you rise up and put your coat back on.

As your friends are deep in their chatter, he comes close to you and says to you in a hushed tone, “You have any plans for tomorrow?”

“Um..” you think for a moment, you were going to stop past your family’s home, but other than that, you were going to go back to your friend’s to spend the remainder of the day with them.

“Just celebrating with them and my family but, it was nice seeing you, though. I’ll see you around.” you say and walk out of the door with your friends.

He didn’t know how he could have messed it up. You weren’t the awkward teenager that he would see around school. The conversation was different.

You even looked different. You’ve grown into the woman that looked comfortable in their skin.

“Guys we should see the Christmas lights in the city!” your friend says as you all walk to the car.

“In the cold? No way.” you say, your teeth chattering at the light snow that started to fall.

“Come on. We don’t have to stay long.” they plead. You agree. They’re excited.

Christmas morning, you seen your family. Exchanged gifts, ate a bit of the dinner that was cooked and went on your way.

Walking through the city, your hands was trying to loosen the mittens so you can stick your hands in them. It wasn’t snowing when you left out, but it was starting to fall more gradually.

Dropping the mitten, you sigh a bit and lean down to get it, but someone was faster than you. Looking up to thank the person, you seen that it’s Embry.

“You following me or something?” you ask but you were teasing him.

His face turned into a look of horror, “N-No. Not at all!” he says.

Laughing a bit at his panicked state, “I was kidding.” you just say and you take the mitten from him, “Oh, and thanks.” you say and you walk to catch up with your friends.

“Wait.” you hear him say. You slow down your pace, he walks beside you.

“Yeah?” you ask as the mittens were now on your hands and you were stuffing your hands in your coat pocket.

“You’re seeing the lights right?” he asks.

“Yeah. Are you?”

“Maybe.”

“Oh.” you just say and continue to walk.

“I wouldn’t mind seeing them with you.” he says.

“Oh. Cool.” you say, your face grimaced a bit from the cold wind that blew in your face.

He walked with you, you all saw the Christmas lights. You and your friends took pictures. You only commented back when he would comment about the sight.

Leaving, he touched your coat covered arm, “You’re leaving already?”

“Yeah. See ya.” you say with a polite smile and wave and go about your way.

Embry’s face was crestfallen, but you didn’t see it. Your back was facing him and you and your friends talked about the lights you all saw.

You offer to go to the liquor store to grab drinks for the upcoming New Year’s eve party.

You placed the heavy bottle in your basket and seen Embry come in. This time, with a friend of his. They nod to each other as you both go in different directions.

You go to wait in line.

You felt a tap. You turn around.

“Hey.” he says. You just nod in greeting. You turn back around.

“What kind of drinks did you get?” he asked.

You show him the labels of each bottle.

“You have plans for New Years?” he asks.

“Sorta. I’m going to a party.”

“Who’s party?”

“You don’t know them.” you say. It was true.

“That’s funny. I’m having a party.”

“Oh yeah? Well, have fun.” you say as you place the bottles on the checkout belt. You were up next and the person in front of you were already handing the cashier their money.

“You should come.” he says.

“And ditch my friends?”

“Bring your friends.”

“Mm. I’ll pass. But thanks anyway.” you say.

“Please?” he asks. You actually give it some thought. “Oh what the hell.” you thought.

You fully turn to face him.

“I don’t know your friends. I barely know you, I just know you from the small interactions we had in school.”

“Get to know me then.” he says.

“Embry’s party?” your friend asks again. You nod.

“Uh oh. Here we go.” they laugh as they tease you.

“It’s not like that. I’m just going to show my face and we can leave.” you say and finish straightening out your outfit.

“Sure.” they say with a smirk and you nudge them to get them to be quiet. They just laugh instead.

You enter his home, it was a full house. The music vibrated the floor and you cross your arms as you scope the scenery.

A friend of yours scope out a guy they can talk to. You groan at the fact that they leave you to make their move.

You hear someone call your name.

“Hey.” you say.

“You made it!” he says with a smile.

“Uh huh.” you say as you take a look around. If it was his place, it wasn’t bad. People dancing and having fun with each other.

“Wanna dance?” he asks.

“Uh..Nah.” you say politely and move around him. He’s following you.

“Why not?” he asks, not in a pushy way, but in genuine curiosity. You shrug.

“I can’t dance.”

“Everyone can dance.” he says.

“Not true.” you say.

“Want me to show you?” he asks.

“Nah.” you say and ask, “What do you have to drink?”

“Anything you want.” he says. You chuckle.

“Seriously.”

“I am serious.” he says.

You walk away, while chuckling and shaking your head a bit in a friendly manner.

You had a drink in your hand as your friend was wrapped around a guy, them two explaining something that they had in common. It was evident they’ve been drinking, the loud passionate talking made you zone out a bit.

“You wouldn’t be bored if you danced with me.” he says and stands next to you on the wall.

“One dance. That’s it. You’re not making a fool of me.” you say in humorous fashion.

“Never.” he says.

You didn’t think you could be totally wrong. This moment, was true evidence that you had gotten a whiplash of emotions.

Everything that you felt like had been away, came slowly swimming.

An old blush came on your cheeks as Embry’s hands eventually pulled you close and moved your body with his to the music.

You didn’t want the song to be over. But, you already knew better. Stepping back with a small smile, you say, “I’m going to find my friends.”

You walk away before he could speak out, the transition of the next song was being blasted.

They were dancing with people they had gotten to know. Sighing a bit, you tried to socialize, seeing who else you could buddy up with.

They all just wanted to drink or take a shot. You didn’t want to get shit faced.

“Who are you going to kiss on the countdown?” he asks you as he stood close to you. Clearly feeling comfortable with the close distance since you two have danced.

“A drink.”

“That’s a waste.”

“What’s a waste?” you question and you fully face him and he’s wearing a handsome smile. You didn’t even realize how hard your heart was thumping until the silence fell into the air as he stared at your lips with hooded eyes.

You shake your head a bit as you felt like you were in a daze.

Sweaty bodies moved past you and you were back to the ugly reality.

“Are you leaving tomorrow?” he asks with a hint of sadness.

You shake your head, “The day after tomorrow.” He nods and keep note in his head.

“I want to see you before you leave.” he says.

“Why?” you whisper.

“I feel like I missed out on so much.” he whispers back.

Before you could respond, some shouts out, “Oh my god! Turn down the music!” The music is staring to turn down and Embry grabs your hand before you could process it.

He pulls you as the countdown from 20 seconds started to ring out.

Embry turns and counts down, “10…”

You catch on finally on, “5…”

By 3, you both are smiling and yelling with the rest of the room and shout, “Happy New Years!”

Cheering emerged and everyone held each other’s faces as they were pressed into each other. Laughing a bit, you see your friends occupied and you felt your chin being moved over and you were watching Embry’s face that was now in your view.

Inches turned into centimeters and before you both knew it, you shared your lips with Embry. You let him taste yours because he let you taste his.

The burning of your cheeks didn’t cool down when you guided some of your drunk friends in the car. You gave him your number and he did call.

He asks to see you. You go. After telling you his address, you knock on the hard wooden front door.

He opens it and looks happy to see you.

Your hands held up the wrapped covered gift.

You look to him as you both sat on his sofa.

“Open it.” he says.

You tear open the paper, your fingers slightly shaking.

You gasp a bit as you slightly smile.

It was a nicely sized stuffed animal that held a heart. It was wrapped good to where you wouldn’t have guessed. You lean over and give him a hug. He gladly returns it.

“I’m sorry, if I would’ve known you gotten me something, I would’ve got you something too.” you say as you look at the stuffed animal in your lap with appreciation.

“It’s alright.” he says and puts one arm behind you on the edge on the couch, “I have my gift here already.”

You look at him in confusion.

“Can we kiss again?” he asks. You look away and down at the gift he had gave you.

You shake your head a bit as you think and say, “If you would’ve asked me like two years ago, I would’ve hounded you.” you admit.

“I didn’t truly see what was in front of me.” he says.

“What changed? Why now and not then?” you ask.

He shifts to face you more on the couch, “I didn’t know what I want then. I know what I want now and it’s you.”

You just look at him. There was no hint of jokes, no hint of regret and most of all, no hint of shame.

“I wanted to let you know before you leave again.” he says. You nod in understanding.

“I don’t know.” you say. You felt confused.

“I’m sorry.” he says.

“It’s fine.” you say while smiling, “Where’d you get this?”

He tells you. He also told you how you were trapped in his mind as he was getting it.

“I wish we spent Christmas together.” he admits.

“That would’ve been nice..I suppose.” you say and look to him.

You lean and press a kiss of his cheek, you linger your lips there for a bit before pulling back.

He does the same, you huff out a nervous chuckle. He’s still close, he does it smoothly, placing his lips to yours as you watch him. You slowly close your eyes as you relish the feeling.

That what you two did. You both caught up with each other. Letting your lips show how much you both missed each other.

Your hand accidentally slipped under his shirt and you sighed before pulling back.

A sensual snack sounded off and he slowly opened his eyes and blinked at you.

“Im sorry.” you whisper.

“Do it again.” he says lowly and leans forward again. You let him take a hold of your mouth again, occupying your tongue with his.

He helped placed your hands back to his chest, under his shirt. You jumped slightly, from shock, when his lips leave open mouth kisses on your neck.

You small breathy noise escape from your slightly parted lips as your eyes closed at the tingling feeling that was now traveling to your collarbone.

His hands graced the bare skin that came from your slightly risen shirt. He graced a quick swipe of his thumb across your cheek as he then slowly rises your shirt.

Shirtless, you still felt warm. You sat in his lap as he cups your breasts as your back was pressed to his chest.

Your hips was grinding on the bulge that sat stiffly in between your legs.

“I want you.” he whispers. A kiss is heard as you felt the wet kiss on your neck. His hand snakes in front of you and circled his fingers on the sensitive covered nub. You wish he would take your panties off but he instead had you crying out. Crying out at what his fingers were doing. They were feeling how wet you were from just his fingers.

His fingers moved a part of your pantries to the side and rubbed his bare skin with yours. You arched your back and lean against him, your hips moving to make sure you feel every inch of his veiny flesh. Your center was making his flesh glossy as he stuck his tip in you, just a little at a time.

You wince. You squirm to get yourself comfortable as he holds himself to enter you.

You both move into his bedroom.

You both had gotten to know each other’s bodies well. You clutch to his back as his hips movements are rocking you painfully slow. You roll your eyes in ecstasy as you whine for him. He grunts in response and also keeps telling you, “I want you.”

[longlivedelusion]

Hii, I saw you were doing requests for Marauders era things... Would you be keen to do a jegulus fic? would love to see them with a neurodivergent reader or something 💞 thank you !!! Ok if not comfortable

Thank you for your patience anon, if you're still around! Inspiration finally struck as I'm currently working through my own processes with my neurodivergent & mental health things. So I felt like what better time than now to write some fic therapy? Hope you enjoy! 🤍

The Art of Trying

Warnings: some angst and miscommunication. Good ending tho. My own personal portrayal of how neurodivergency shows up for me 🤍 but I know it's a spectrum for everyone. I'm no expert, just a human existing and trying.

James knew your routine well. He'd even adjusted some of his own so it could match up with yours well, which luckily didn't take too much effort given you were both early risers. Regulus, however, was the night owl of the three of you. He only woke up well after James and you had finished your morning tasks, and would work around the house quietly at night. But despite this, you'd all found a peaceful compromise in your daily lives so that this relationship could be at its absolute best. Thriving, he would say.

That was until Regulus got a new job that required him to be out by 8am. Which meant, a change in how you all lived and did things.

For James, the change was easy. He thrived with more people around, and waking up at the same time as his other partner felt like heaven. But for you... He knew this was a lot harder on you than you were admitting.

It started off fine, you also enjoyed the extra kisses and cuddles the first day, the second even. But James could tell that as you settled down after the excitement, the reality must have set in because you stopped making eye contact with them on the third day. Avoided their touches on the fourth.

By the end of the week, your voice turned cold.

"Can I please have some room." You mumbled out with a bit of an edge. Your body sliding carefully by Regulus's but not touching him. Reggie was making breakfast, some sort of omelette situation, but that meant there was cutting boards and cheeses and utensils all around and no space.

James was sitting at the breakfast nook with his coffee, reading over the Daily Prophet when he perked up at the tone.

"Of course darling," Regulus said, wand out immediately as he tidied up. "Apologies for that. Would you like an omelette?"

You grabbed your usual bowl, your yogurt, not even looking up to answer. "No thanks." You grabbed your things, saying a quick have a good day before you left for the bedroom and closed the door shut.

Now Regulus had been aware you were having a hard time adjusting, they'd anticipated it even. So he tried his best to accommodate your needs, but at the same time he had his routines as well. And he struggled the same, if not differently from too many changed to his own routine. James could tell the cold and distant attitude was affecting Reggie now as well, despite how patient he tried to be.

"Reggie y'alright?"

"No, James. I am not alright." Reggie sighed. "I feel like as if walking on glass, and by the time I get to work my day feels ruined. They barely look at me, barely talk. Anything I do I feel as if it's wrong and I cannot- I don't want to shut them out. I don't want to shut down." He took a shaky breath in.

James was up in a moment, wrapping Regulus up in his arms. "I know, I know." He paused, focusing on easing his partner while he thought. "Maybe it's time we talk about it again, yeah? I know we discussed the change before, but it's obviously affecting them and you both more than you expected."

Regulus sighed as he rested his head on James' chest. "I suppose your right. I miss them, James."

James' heart cracked, "I know baby, but we can fix it yeah? This is fixable."

James felt Reggie nod on his chest. "Yeah," he mumbled.

He pulled Regulus back by his arms, "Would you rather talk to them now or after work?"

Reggie paused before letting out a breath. "Now, please."

He nodded and took Reggie's hand into his own, making their way to your bedroom as James knocked on the door. "Lovely?"

"Yeah?" He heard you mumble from within.

"Can Reggie and I come in for a moment?"

There was a long pause, an obvious tell on your end that you were aware that there would be a conversation happening. He gave you space to mentally prepare, waiting until eventually you let out a soft "Sure."

As James opened the door, they found you with your bowl empty and your tea forgotten, instead your back sat straight against your bed while you twisted your fingers in the top sheet.

"We just wanted to check in for a bit. Mind if we sit?" James said.

"What's up?" You said in a forced, nonchalant tone. He noticed as your gaze focused on their interlocked hands.

"Darling, we've noticed you've been shutting down more lately, and we've just wanted to see how you're feeling if that's alright." James started.

You nodded and he boys moved to the space across from you, an awkward silence filling the air. Your hands kept twisting at the sheets nervously until you'd notice and stop. Then just started up again.

Your faced dropped into a mix of guilt and sadness. "I'm... adjusting."

"We know these things take time, of course." James placated, noticing Reggie's own guilt and frustration rising in his expression. He squeezed his hand. "But you haven't really talked to us much since the change in schedules, and it feels a bit like you're shutting us out is all. We're worried."

You chewed your lip, eyes glancing about as you thought. Not once landing on them.

"I just- I'm having uh... Hard time with. The difference." You managed out.

James nodded. "How so?"

"The sounds, the space, it's... just different. And I feel myself getting frustrated, and I don't wanna get mad at you guys because it's my brain, not you. You're not doing anything wrong. So I stay as long as I can, but it's just getting harder and I-" You choked out as you crashed your head onto our palms. "I just don't wanna take it out on you, I'm sorry. I don't know how to deal with this yet."

Reggie spoke up then, his voice calmer as his hand reached out to touch the fabric in front of you. "Darling, look at me please."

You looked up warily as Regulus scooted closer, leaving James' side. "May I?" He asked, raising his palm up.

You placed your hand in his.

"It's not easy, when it feels as if our brains are working against us." Reggie started. "It's as if we are not cut out for the world and the world was not made for us. We may not be able to control how our brain interprets or how our body reacts, but we can choose and train ourselves to do the best we can. To try."

Regulus reached up slowly to touch your face, giving you time to pull away if you so chose. "I want to try. I don't want my own inside rules to stop me from loving you the way that I want. The way you deserve." He paused, taking a deep breath in and out. "But I also need you to trust me. To talk to me. This morning, yesterday, I-"

You nodded, but kept your gaze down. "I'm sorry, I know this is a lot and I genuinely wish I knew how to deal with this better. Communicate better. I'm not... I'm not gonna be perfect at it. It may come out wrong."

Regulus seemed to struggle with his words, so James gladly chimed in, putting a hand on his shoulder, "We just want to support you as best as we can, but we also need to make sure we're all good too. And the only way to do that is if we talk about it. Are you okay with that lovely?"

Regulus tilted your now tear stained face up. "It doesn't need to be perfect. Just try, okay? And I will too. I most definitely do not say the right things always, nor do I express myself very well. Yet you've always been patient and non-judgmental of it. Can you trust me to be the same?"

You held his gaze, doubt blooming behind your eyes. "I trust you, I just-"

"Have been hurt by plebians before who couldn't deal with honest communication," Regulus finished.

You looked down at that and nodded slightly.

"We don't want you to be perfect," James supplied. "We just want you. As you are, as you've always been. That's all we want."

You met his gaze and reached across to James. It's like his body could finally relax, touching you. "I'm sorry I didn't talk to you guys about it. That I just shut you out."

"S'alright lovely. We get it." James said. "Maybe this is something to talk about with your therapist, yeah?"

You nodded, "Yeah, I haven't seen her in a while. Probably should."

James couldn't help but smile at you, at how much he knew that phrase alone took you ages to get even comfortable saying. Going to a therapist and finding one you trusted. He felt himself fill with pride.

Regulus's voice was the one to break the comfortable silence. "Well I also get it, but it wasn't alright. I've had to deal with work and life all without your cuddles and I've been quite remiss to be honest." James could of sworn a sort of pout apparated on Regulus's face as he spoke and then disappeared just as quickly.

Regulus nodded before you leaned in for a quick kiss. Then turned to place one on James as well.

Slight amusement traced your lips, but you surprised them when you spoke with a deep sincerity instead. "I'm sorry Reggie. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"Well! I don't know about you, but that just gave me all the energy I needed today," James said with the biggest smile on his face.

You laughed, a beautiful laugh, at the same time Reggie scoffed but didn't disagree. He even went to kiss you again.

James knew that things might come up again, that it's wasn't all solved. But you loved each other, trusted each other. And that was enough.

[runningfrom2am]

cold nights // part thirty

summary: you were back in the capitol, and you would be damned if you didn't try your hardest to make it worthwhile.

pairing: coriolanus snow x fem!reader

wc: 3.4k

masterlists / nav / requests

tags/warnings: tribute!reader and mentor!coriolanus, r is very sweet (too kind for this world. literally.), sunshine x grumpy trope kinda, he falls first, violence typical for the source material, depictions of mental illness, also she's is very smart (as she should), district twelve!reader.

a/n: guys i've been listening to this playlist again and it actually still tears me apart every time i think ab them. anyway lol enjoy!!

my asks are also open to talk about this series! (i do have emoji anons open now too!)

send me any and all of your thoughts! here!

series masterlist // playlist

Coryo hadn't seen you in a while, he thought you would be back after going to get water but you never returned. He could only bear Livia and Festus for so long before he couldn't take it anymore, leaving to go look for you.

He's scanning the room for your white dress and your angel wings, the telltale tones of your hair, or any other sign of you when Sejanus walks up, standing next to him. "Looking for your girlfriend?" He asks, leaning close to him to make sure he could be heard in the loud room.

"Do you know where she is?" Coryo asks, not giving him another look.

"Yep." Sejanus nods, lips pressed together in a thin line. "She's in my bedroom bawling her eyes out."

Coryo's head swivels to look at him, eyes wide. "What? What happened?" He frowns, not waiting for Sejanus to answer before he begins striding toward the stairs. "Did someone say something to her?"

"Yeah, you did, actually." Sejanus replies as he follows after him, the bitterness in his tone suddenly obvious to his friend as he stops in his tracks.

"What? No, I-" Coryo stammers, looking down at your friend as he steps in front of him to block his path. "What... what did I do? Did she tell you?"

"Lyssie came and found me, and I went to talk to her. The gist of it is that she's suddenly realizing how you're embarrassed of her."

"What?" Coryo asks again, his anger and confusion shifting into sadness as his eyes soften.

Sejanus shrugs a bit. "That's just what I was told."

"No," Coryo insists. "That's not... That's not what it is, not at all."

"Isn't it?" Your friend asks, raising an eyebrow at him. "That you won't tell anyone, that you're keeping her a secret? That you told people she's nothing more than your tribute? After all this time? I can't think of another reason you would treat her like this."

"Of course you can't!" Coryo spits, anger suddenly returning. "You're so caught up in your rebellious bullshit that you can't think ahead, can you? Sejanus- if anyone finds out they'll crucify her! They'll do the same to me! Our lives will be ruined if that gets out at the wrong time!"

Sejanus rolls his eyes. "Her life, or yours?" He asks. "She'll be sent home. Everyone loves her too much to kill her. The worst case scenario for her is that she gets sent home to live her life as normal- with her family and friends. Happy, back in Twelve. The worst for you is that you'd have to decide whether or not you love her enough to go with her."

Coryo opens his mouth to speak, but quickly closes it when he finds he doesn't have an adequate response.

"You're taking every extra effort to turn her into everything you are. Forcing her to become me- a District kid who had to leave their life behind for nothing more than the money just so you can have her without people looking at you funny, but have you ever asked her what she actually wants? I didn't have a choice, but Y/N does. You just won't give it to her."

He has never seen Sejanus this angry before.

"You know she had to leave. She didn't have a choice." Coryo says through gritted teeth.

Sejanus shakes his head, laughing dryly. "It's not about that, Coriolanus. That didn't mean she had to pack up her life and never return- she never needed to change who she was, but look at her! She's doing everything she can to fit in with you and your life!"

"I did what we had to do because you never can! You only ever think of yourself! The world doesn't work the way you want it to, and you can't stand it. I get that, but we want the same thing. I just know how to get it. She needs people to listen to her- so we can actually stop the games, do you think they'll listen to her if she doesn't play pretend for a while?"

Sejanus huffs in frustration. "If you're not going to listen to me, fine, but don't do this to her." He shakes his head. "At the very least you could have explained why you were lying to her."

"I've never lied to her!" Her answers impulsively- he's sure he has, but not with the intention to hurt you. Never to hurt you. "Look at what happened when she found out, huh?" Coryo gestures vaguely up the hall. "I'm just trying to protect her. That's all I care about! That's it!"

"If you had just told her that from the beginning she wouldn't be hurting like this. You know that, Coryo."

"Okay, and I'm going to explain right now. So leave me alone." He grumbles, moving to push past Sejanus, who quickly stops him, giving him a knowing look.

"Sejanus, get out of my way."

"No," Sejanus states. "Because you're not the only one who cares about her, and right now, I'm the one protecting her."

Coryo grits his teeth together, breathing heavily as he looks at your friend in the quiet hall, music echoing from seemingly everywhere else in the house. He hates considering that Sejanus could be right.

There's a warm breeze that's serving to keep you cool while you walk through the market, dripping wet from head to toe. Your hair is clinging to the skin of your neck and back, allowing you some freedom from the heat as you hold onto Coryo's hand.

With your clothes soaked and stuck to your skin, you could at least convince yourself that was why people were staring.

"So, how often do you do this?" Coryo asks, unable to help but to laugh as he looks down at you.

"Only during a heat wave." You shrug, already scanning the street for the shops you needed to stop at. You had offered to pick up groceries for your Ma, considering the heat and the walk would have made it difficult. At least you could make it fun, and you would have some company.

"Makes sense." He chuckles. He had to admit, the dampness of his clothes was helpful in keeping him cool. It almost made up for the lack of air conditioning in the District.

"The goal is to get home before we dry off." You explain. "Lennox and I play this game sometimes."

Before he can reply, you're dropping his hand and walking over to one of the stalls.

"Y/N, it's been a while." The woman working states, smiling at you somewhat nervously.

"Yes, well, I'm back to business as usual now." You smile, pulling the empty glass bottle from the bag at your side and holding it out to her. "Or at least tryin' my very best."

"I can see that." She chuckles, shaking her head as she takes the bottle. "No Lennox today?" She asks, preparing to fill it up with milk.

"No ma'am." You smile, shaking your head and digging in your pocket for the change you brought and placing it in front of her on the table. "He's off getting into some kind of trouble, I'm sure."

"Take good care of him, will ya? He's a good kid." She hands the now full bottle back to you with a sealed cap.

"Yes, ma'am." You nod, tucking it back into your bag. "Thank you."

She nods at you and you're on your way down again, Coryo allowing you to pull him along as you grab his hand.

You go stall to stall, picking up everything your mother asked for as your shoulder bag steadily fills and Coryo takes it from you to carry instead. He was much stronger now than he was when you first met him- the Plinth Prize had fed him well in every sense of the word.

You look up as you near the end of the street, surrounded by locals who are talking and shouting all the same. The market on a Saturday always was busy, and today was no exception.

"What is it?" Coryo asks, looking at you as you freeze in the street and a smile steadily grows on your face.

"Listen." You tell him, tuning in on the steady clapping coming from the end of the street. When he puts in a little bit of focus, he can just make out the music.

By the time he does, you're grabbing his hand again and pulling him toward the source of the familiar sounds.

The crowd parts around you when you get close enough, and by now Coryo recognizes the band playing as the Covey. There are people dancing in the street despite the heat, sweating and laughing and having fun. It takes a moment for him to notice you being pulled away by little Maude Ivory, who had set down her hip drum to come dance with you.

The smile on your face was simply unmatched, lighting up the shadows cast by the buildings where the sun couldn't quite reach. You hardly even seem to notice when the people dancing around you cleared away, and it was now just you and the little girl who Coryo speculates didn't even know where you had disappeared to for most of July.

You come to a slow stop as you look around, your smile fading as the music continues.

"Thinkin' you're so fine, thinkin' you could have mine..."

Coryo couldn't just watch this. He was far from a dancer himself, but he'd be damned if he let a bunch of idiots dampen your mood because of something you couldn't control.

"Thinkin' you're in control, thinkin' you'll change me, maybe rearrange me,"

You hardly hear your favourite part of the song you loved as you're focussed on Coryo taking the spot of Maude Ivory who's carrying your bag of shopping and placing it down next to their instrument cases and picking her drum back up.

"Think again if that's your goal!"

The extent of Coryo's dance experience was limited to ballroom, and that showed as he quickly raised your hand to spin you. The sunshine smile that finds its way back onto your face while you twirl around under his hand makes his fears of being a bad dancer disappear in an instant, and others must be feeling the same way as the crowd begins to clap and cheer for the two of you.

It was only another beat before others were dancing again, and someone had taken the liberty of breaking a nearby fire hydrant to spray everyone on the street. Now, your clothes were freshly wet and you didn't stand out so much anymore as Coriolanus took a hold of your waist and dipped you just as the music came to a halt.

He smiled as he looked down at you, frozen in the moment with your wet hair hanging down toward the street and your chest rising and falling quickly. Your eyes were closed, cheeks rosy and flushed, and Coriolanus Snow felt like he was on top of the world.

You wake up in Sejanus's bed in the morning, the satin dress that was part of your costume clinging uncomfortably to your skin under his blankets to accompany the horrible plague of sadness that didn't even give you a moment to breathe. Staring at the ceiling and processing your consciousness, you were disappointed with the memory that presented itself as a dream.

Disappointed in yourself for thinking you could have him, really have him, and foolish for thinking he was actually looking past where you were from. But you had made him a promise that was haunting you.

"Deny thy father and refuse thy name. Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love; and I'll no longer be a Capulet."

He would not give up who he was, but he claimed to love you. His stance was clear, and now it was your turn. Give up the District, or give up him.

When the buzzer rings signifying there is someone at the door in the afternoon, Coryo is flying to the receiver and praying it's you. "Hello?"

He's extremely disappointed when it's Sejanus Plinth's voice that he hears instead. "I'm here for the cat."

Coryo sighs, knocking the side of his fist against the wall as a quiet way to vent his frustration. "No."

"What do you mean, 'no'?" Sejanus spits, voice crackling through the speaker. "He's Y/N's cat-"

"I mean, no. I'm not giving you her cat. He lives here. She lives here. She'll come back." Coriolanus interrupts him, and he's met by deafening silence.

"Coryo-" He sighs, and the pity traveling with his tone up through the walls onto the twelfth floor is what sets him off.

"If she wants her damn cat she can come get him herself." The cat in question is purring and brushing up against his leg as he practically shouts into the wall, letting go of the button before scooping Tybalt up and walking back to his room.

He wasn't angry at you, he knew that much. He was angry at the world for forcing him to make the decisions he did- he was angry at Sejanus for not letting him speak to you last night, and more than anything, he was angry at himself.

Coriolanus Snow was never one to admit when he was feeling afraid. He had never been very good with feelings outside of the basics. He knew he loved Tigris, and now you, and he knew anger and frustration like the back of his hand, but fear- fear was a whole new beast. When it came to recognizing and acknowledging it, anyway.

When it came to you, you were everything to him. Since the moment Coryo first laid his eyes on you, you occupied every ounce of his thoughts. You and your astonishing mind, your body, your everything was like a chronic illness that he never wanted to be cured of, an illness that shamelessly followed him around- gnawing at any other area of his brain that wasn't you until you fully dominated his thoughts altogether. He had never craved anything more, no amount of power could ever make him as satisfied as he is when looking at you.

And that is what terrified him. That losing you meant so much more than losing his path to the presidency. As he places Tybalt on his bed and crawls back under the covers with your cat to rot in his own regrets, he realizes he doesn't give the slightest fuck about his future. Not if it doesn't include you.

So why had he done this at all?

You couldn't call home. You wanted to, you were supposed to, but you couldn't talk to your parents. Put on a smile and tell them everything is fine even when you were calling from the Plinth mansion and you hadn't been back at the Snow's in a day. God forbid this is the day Lennox decides to speak to you again- you couldn't lie to him, and he wouldn't be pleased.

When Sejanus comes back to the large homey mansion empty-handed, you couldn't say you were surprised.

"I'm sorry, Y/N. He's holding Tybs hostage." He tells you, attempting a lighthearted joke while he watches you clean up cups and decorations.

"That's alright." You reply quietly. "He's happy there, they're good friends."

"No, he's being childish. He can't leverage your cat against you."

"Well, it doesn't matter much. I will go back tonight." Sej's eyes go wide at your statement.

"You're kidding." Is all he can offer in response as you casually continue to take down decorations, piling them on the coffee table to dispose of all at once.

You shake your head, turning to look at him fully with a reassuring smile. "Yes, it is totally fine. I'll just help clean up before I go."

"No!" Your friend protests. "Are you not angry? He's been lying to you- he's embarrassed of us, is what it seems like to me. That's not fair to you. Not one bit, Y/N."

He had seen your pain last night. Felt it, even, and he knows that even a good night's sleep could not have solved that- but he also knew that you were a preacher of forgiveness and clung to it like a vice. You would forgive Coriolanus whether you really should or not.

"Never anger made good guard for itself."

"Y/N... Please." Sejanus replies, shaking his head at your saddened smile. "Stay here. Just for a couple of days. I am begging you to think about yourself and what you need for once."

You sigh, giving him a slight nod. If you were being totally honest, you did not want to go back yet. You just needed time.

It was such a relief to be able to finally relax, even if it was just for a few days. You lounged around in Sej's spare pyjamas, curled up in his Ma's library while she and her husband were back in District Two on some alleged business that your friend did not care to know much about. It was very much not your concern anyway.

The point of your couple days off was to not care about others, not care about the problems of the world and the mistakes you have made but instead to just enjoy the company of the books stacked high on shelves in the Plinth's mansion.

So far, a dusty book in surprisingly incredible condition had been keeping you company for the better part of the morning. Little Women. It was captivating- far from the love stories that typically drew your attention, but you couldn't tear your nose from between the pages.

You had to, eventually, when you heard your name being shouted by your best friend from downstairs. You tuck an envelope from the table next to you in between the pages and make your way down the long hall, already excited to tell him about what may very well be your new favourite book.

"Sej?" You call out, having lost track of where the voice had come from as you head for the front hall. You were aware he was leaving only to go pick up something for breakfast at a bakery he said was his favourite, one you had never been to, but that had been quite some time ago. As you walk toward the foyer assuming that's where you would find him, you guess there must have been a long lineup. "Sej, I have to tell you about the book I found!"

You couldn't keep your raving in as you round the corner, already flipping once more through the pages in preparation for citing to him some of your favourite parts while you ate breakfast.

You look up when you sense the shadow of more than one person at the door, expecting to see his parents, having returned early from their trip. Instead, your heart stops in your chest. It's Lennox. Rigid, nothing but a backpack slung over his shoulder as he stares at you. You hadn't heard from him in months, despite all your best efforts.

The book in your hand clatters to the floor and before you know it your arms are around your brother's neck, holding onto him for dear life. You hear his bag drop to the ground beside you before his arms are around your waist, firm as he pulls you as close as he possibly can.

"When I am from thee every place is distant..." You say into his shirt, gripping the back of it in your hands.

"I missed you too." Lennox mumbles.

"I'm sorry... I am so sorry." You tell him quietly and you feel him shake his head before he pulls back just to look at you.

"Don't you apologize to me." He says strictly. "Don't you dare." The tears pooling on his lash line make yours spill over again. "I'm sorry. I should be sorry."

You hug him again, and now it is your turn to shake your head. "Let's just agree to forgive each other so we can just be happy we're together..."

"Deal." He sniffs, patting your back before letting you go again to pick his bag up off the floor.

"What... what are you doing here?" You ask with a slight laugh, wiping your eyes quickly. "Howdid you get here?"

Your brother nods toward Sejanus, who you now realize was just forced to watch the whole exchange. "Sejanus called the house the other night." He explains. "Said you were havin' a real rough time, so I hopped on the freight car of the peacekeeper's train first thing in the morning."

Which means he would be here for the month- and immediately you couldn't be more relieved or excited.

"Thank you." You nod at him, turning now to give your best friend a hug. "Thank you for doing that..." You whisper and he nods, gently rubbing your back.

"Of course, Y/N/N."

taglist: @soulessjourney , @that-veela-girl ,  @dreamyysouls, @rockstarbfs, @maysileeewrites , @baybieruth , @kitscutie,  @fratboyharrysgf0201 , @totallynotkaibiased , @stelleduarte , @secretsicanthideanymore , @bejeweledreverie , @drewsandsebastianswife , @niicole-87 , @queenofshinigamis , @innercreationflower , @nallasstuff , @iovemoonyy , @thatmarvelchick19 , @wearemadeofstardust0 , @regulusblackcore , @puredreamagination , @fantasticchaosthing , @becauseseaotters , @secretsicanthideanymore , @cascadingbliss

okay suddenly tumblr isn't letting me tag more people than this so i just made some cuts unfortunately :') i just left the max amount of people i could whose users i recognized and see in my notifs all the time :) if you're not on here and you should be i'm so sorry!

also this taglist is closed now!! if you’d like to get a notification when i update, turn on my post notifications!! i promise i won’t spam y'all :,)

[movingmusically]

Caught Feeling: A Table for Two - One Shot

Author’s Note:

I’m not sure if I’m totally happy with this one, but here you go.

Word Count: 3,706

Masterlist

The restaurant was one of those cosy, tucked-away spots that felt like a secret only a few people knew about. The lights were dim, the air filled with the aroma of rich food, and the low hum of quiet conversations created an intimate atmosphere that wrapped around us as soon as we walked in.

I couldn’t stop sneaking glances at Hank as we settled into the booth, the soft leather curving around us, forcing us to sit close. Tonight, he looked different—a bit more polished than usual, his typical laid-back style replaced with a fitted button-down shirt that hugged his shoulders just right, the sleeves rolled halfway up his forearms, showing off that casual confidence he wore so well. He looked incredible, and judging by the glances we were getting from a few nearby tables, I wasn’t the only one who noticed.

“Alright, who are you and what have you done with my Hank?” I teased, leaning forward on my elbows and giving him a playful look.

He rolled his eyes, though I could see a faint blush creeping up his neck. “Thought I’d make an effort for you tonight,” he replied, giving me a slow, appreciative look in return. “You don’t look so bad yourself, by the way.”

I smiled, feeling the warmth of his gaze as it lingered on me. I’d chosen a black dress that fit in all the right places, the fabric soft and silky against my skin, and I knew it was a step up from my usual casual style. I’d even added a bit of extra makeup, just enough to make my eyes pop, and from the way Hank’s gaze kept drifting over me, it seemed he approved.

“So, what’s the occasion?” I asked, trying to keep my tone light even as I felt a shiver of anticipation run down my spine.

He shrugged, giving me that lopsided grin I loved so much. “No occasion. Just wanted to treat you. Figured we could do with a night out that’s a little… different.”

“Different how?” I tilted my head, curious and already excited.

He leaned forward, lowering his voice. “Different in the sense that I get to spoil you tonight. Relax, enjoy a nice dinner… and maybe see where the night takes us after that.”

The promise in his tone made my pulse quicken, and I found myself biting my lip to hide a smile. He was clearly setting the tone for a romantic night, but I had other plans. If he thought we were just here for a quiet dinner, he was in for a surprise.

As we looked over the menu, I let my hand rest on his forearm, tracing gentle circles with my fingers. “You really do clean up nicely,” I murmured, leaning in closer, my shoulder pressing against his.

“Yeah?” His gaze met mine, a flicker of curiosity mixed with amusement. “Glad you approve.”

“Oh, I more than approve,” I whispered, letting my fingers drift down from his forearm to his wrist, barely brushing his skin. “It’s almost… distracting.”

He raised an eyebrow, a slight smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Is that so?”

I didn’t answer, just gave him a slow, knowing smile as my hand shifted to rest on his thigh, just above his knee. It was innocent enough at first, just a light touch as if for balance, but I saw the slight shift in his expression, the flicker of awareness in his eyes.

“Looking forward to the food?” I asked, my fingers tracing small circles just above his knee, barely brushing the fabric of his trousers.

He cleared his throat, giving me a sidelong glance as he tried to keep his voice steady. “Yeah, I—uh, heard good things about this place.”

“Me too,” I replied, letting my hand inch a little higher, my fingers moving with slow, deliberate intent. “But I think I might be in the mood for something a little more… exciting.”

His gaze flicked down to my hand, then back up to meet my eyes. “Oh yeah?” he murmured, trying to sound casual, but I could see the tension building in his jaw.

I nodded, biting my lip as I gave his thigh a gentle squeeze before letting my hand drift higher.

He let out a shaky breath, his hand coming to rest over mine, trying to still my movements. But I could feel his pulse quicken beneath my touch, his fingers tightening over mine. “Y/N…” he warned softly, his voice low and full of tension.

“Yes?” I blinked up at him, feigning innocence.

He opened his mouth to reply, but just then, the waiter arrived with our drinks, forcing Hank to sit back and try to compose himself. He released my hand reluctantly, giving me a look that promised consequences later.

Just as my fingers inched a little further up his thigh, I could see Hank’s breathing deepen, his hand subtly tightening around his drink. Sensing his growing tension, I pulled my hand back, giving him a sweet, innocent smile that had him raising an eyebrow in barely veiled suspicion.

We quickly shifted our focus to the menu, exchanging glances and comments as we made our choices. We ordered, and as soon as the waiter left Hank relaxed back into his seat, looking at me with a mix of amusement and something darker in his gaze. “You’re enjoying yourself a little too much, aren’t you?”

I shrugged, leaning in close enough that he’d feel the heat of my breath. “What can I say? You did tell me to relax and enjoy the night,” I murmured, my lips brushing the edge of his ear.

He gave me a long, considering look, as if trying to decide just how much trouble I intended to be tonight. But before he could say anything more, the clinking of plates interrupted, and our waiter arrived with the starters, momentarily pulling our attention back to the table.

As we started eating, I picked up a bite-sized piece from my plate and held it up to his lips. “Here,” I said, my voice soft as I guided it towards him.

Hank raised an eyebrow but opened his mouth, letting me feed him. As I pulled my hand away, I let my fingers linger just a little, brushing against his lips. His eyes held mine, and for a moment, the air between us thickened, charged with something unspoken.

“Behave,” he whispered, his voice a mix of amusement and warning, though the smile on his lips told me he was enjoying every second. But I wasn’t going to make it that easy for him tonight. Where was the fun in that?

I leaned back, reaching for my wine glass with a little smirk. “I don’t know what you mean,” I replied innocently, letting my fingers drift under the table until they found his knee.

He shot me a knowing look but said nothing, focusing on his food as if he weren’t completely aware of the way my fingers were now tracing slow, lazy circles on his knee. I took my time, letting the conversation flow naturally, laughing and chatting as though I wasn’t slowly inching my hand a little higher every now and then.

“You keep that up, and we might not make it through dessert,” he whispered, a hint of a smirk tugging at his lips.

I tilted my head, feigning innocence even as my fingers dared to edge closer. “Is that a threat or a promise?”

He chuckled softly, shaking his head as if to regain control, but I could see the tension in his jaw, the way his eyes darkened with each subtle movement of my hand. The waiter returned with our main courses, and as the plates were placed in front of us, I pulled my hand back, giving Hank a sweet, innocent smile that earned me an arched eyebrow and a look of barely contained amusement.

As soon as we were left alone again, we dug into our meals, exchanging glances and casual conversation. But I didn’t wait long before letting my hand drift back under the table, settling once more on his thigh. This time, Hank placed his hand over mine, as if to keep it in place—but his grip was loose, giving me just enough freedom to continue my gentle exploration.

As I edged higher, my fingertips grazed over the firmness building beneath the fabric of his trousers, and I felt him twitch beneath my touch. His breath hitched ever so slightly, but he quickly masked it, taking a sip of his drink, his grip tightening around the glass as though it could anchor him.

“Careful,” he murmured, his voice low and rough, a hint of warning beneath the amusement. But his hand didn’t stop me; if anything, it seemed to press mine down just a little more firmly against him, almost like he was encouraging me.

I let my fingers roam a bit further, tracing along the outline of his growing cock, feeling it harden under my touch. He shifted in his seat, clearing his throat as though trying to keep his cool, but the slight twitch under my hand betrayed him. It was intoxicating, knowing I was getting to him even in this public setting, pushing him to the edge while we sat mere feet away from other diners.

“Still enjoying dinner?” I whispered, my fingers pressing just a bit more firmly against his bulge, eliciting a barely audible groan from him.

He shot me a look, his eyes blazing with a mix of frustration and barely-contained desire. “You’re playing a dangerous game,” he replied, his voice low, each word measured as though he was struggling to keep it steady. But I could tell from the way his cock twitched beneath my hand that he was right on the brink.

I leaned in close, letting my lips brush his ear as I whispered, “I know exactly what I’m doing.”

For a moment, he seemed to grapple with himself, torn between the need to stay composed and the growing desire that was making him shift restlessly in his seat. I gave him one last, teasing press against his hardness, feeling him pulse beneath my touch, before I finally withdrew my hand, taking a sip of my wine as though nothing had happened.

Hank’s gaze lingered on me, dark and intense, and I could see the promise in his eyes—a promise that whatever restraint he’d shown tonight wouldn’t last much longer. And the thought made me bite back a smile, my own anticipation growing for what was sure to come once we had a bit more privacy.

As soon as our main courses were done, I let my hand drift back to Hank’s thigh, resuming those slow, maddening circles I knew were driving him crazy. His whole body tensed, and he shot me a look, one part warning, the other pure, dark hunger.

He swallowed, shifting slightly in his seat as if that would somehow help him regain control. “Y/N…” he began, his voice low and strained. But there was no real conviction behind it, and I knew he was close to breaking.

“Hmm?” I murmured, keeping my face perfectly innocent as my hand moved with deliberate, teasing slowness over his thigh, edging higher until I was more than just brushing against his now rock-hard cock. My fingers pressed firmly, tracing his length in a way that left no room for subtlety. I could feel the heat radiating through his trousers, the hard, undeniable evidence of just how much he wanted me.

“Something wrong?” I asked, my tone light, almost playful, as my hand lingered, pressing slightly, feeling him throb under my touch.

A muscle in his jaw ticked, and his hand shot to mine, gripping it tightly, but instead of stopping me, his fingers seemed to hold me in place, as if torn between restraint and surrender. His eyes blazed with a mix of frustration and barely controlled desire, flicking down to my hand and then back to my face, his breaths shallow. He was right on the edge, his control fraying, and the thrill of knowing I could unravel him this way sent a shiver through me.

Finally, with a shaky exhale, he dropped his napkin onto the table. “That’s it,” he muttered, his voice so low only I could hear, and in one smooth movement, he got up, pulling me with him. His hand wrapped firmly around mine as he led us out, leaving the table without a glance back.

“Hank,” I whispered, a laugh escaping as I tried to keep up with his pace. “The bill—”

“Taken care of,” he replied through gritted teeth, not slowing down as we made our way to the exit. “But you… we’re not done.”

Once outside, he wasted no time flagging down a cab, barely containing himself as he held the door open for me. The tension between us was electric, thickening the air around us as he slid into the cab, his hand resting possessively on my thigh, his grip firm as if he couldn’t bear even the smallest distance.

As we settled in the back seat, he kept himself composed, but his hand stayed on my leg, his thumb brushing slow, torturous circles that only heightened the anticipation humming between us. Every so often, he’d shoot me a look—a mix of impatience and something darker, a promise of what was to come once we were finally alone.

The cab ride felt endless, the city lights blurring past as he kept his hand on my thigh, fingers tightening every time I shifted closer, teasing him just a little more. By the time we pulled up outside my place, his restraint was practically hanging by a thread. He handed the driver cash without a word, his gaze locked on me, smouldering with barely veiled intent as we hurried up to my door.

I unlocked the door, stepping into the centre of the room, turning to face him as he closed the door with a quiet click, the finality of it sending a thrill through me. I didn’t have to wait long; he was on me in an instant, striding over and closing the distance with a dark, hungry look in his eyes.

Without a word, he reached for me, fingers sliding into my hair and giving it a firm, grounding tug that tilted my head back, exposing my neck to him. His mouth was there in an instant, pressing hot, open-mouthed kisses along my skin, each one leaving a trail of heat.

His free hand slipped up, wrapping gently around my throat, thumb resting just beneath my jaw, keeping my gaze locked with his. The weight of his touch sent a rush of heat through me, his fingers firm but careful, a perfect blend of dominance and restraint. His other hand stayed buried in my hair, holding me close as his lips crashed against mine in a kiss that was raw, intense, and completely consuming.

I gasped against his mouth, the sensation overwhelming, and he took advantage, deepening the kiss, leaving me breathless. My fingers found the waistband of his trousers, fumbling slightly in my eagerness as I reached for the zip, tugging it down. I slipped my hand inside, through the fly, and felt him shudder as I closed my fingers around him, his cock hard and hot in my hand. The quiet groan that escaped him only spurred me on, my thumb brushing along his length as I felt him pulse against my touch.

A low growl escaped his throat, and he pulled back just enough to look at me, eyes dark with a mixture of frustration and need. His hand moved from my neck to the buttons on my dress, his fingers curling around the fabric. In one swift, determined motion, he yanked, popping the buttons open, the sound of each one tearing free echoing in the silence of the room.

The fabric parted, falling open from my chest down to my waist, exposing the bare curves beneath, my skin flushed under his heated gaze. His eyes dropped, and his breathing grew heavier as he took in the sight of me, a fierce hunger etched across his face, his restraint unraveling moment by moment.

“Beautiful,” he muttered, his voice rough with want, his thumb grazing the base of my throat, feeling the rapid beat of my pulse beneath his touch. His eyes flicked back up to mine, and then he was on me again, kissing me with a fervour that was almost bruising, his hand sliding up to cup my jaw, holding me steady as if to keep me exactly where he wanted.

With a low growl, he deepened the kiss, his mouth claiming mine in a way that left no space between us, his hand moving down from my jaw to slide over my collarbone, fingers pressing firmly as he traced the edge of the open dress. I felt his other hand slip around to my waist, gripping me tightly, pulling me flush against him as his body pressed me backwards, forcing me to stumble slightly in my heels until I felt the cool edge of the countertop behind me.

I gasped, breaking the kiss for a moment, but his lips found my neck instantly, biting and sucking in a way that sent sparks straight down my spine. His hands roamed over my bare skin, fingers digging into my hips, guiding me until I was perched on the edge of the countertop, the cool surface a sharp contrast against the heat between us.

He didn’t waste a second, his hand sliding up my thigh, rough and insistent, moving higher until his fingers found the fabric of my underwear. His breath was ragged against my skin, and his hand paused only for a moment before he yanked them aside, his touch sending a shockwave through me as he explored my dripping cunt with rough precision, leaving me gasping.

“You have no idea what you do to me,” he muttered against my neck, his voice rough with need, his words heavy with a raw, possessive edge that sent a shiver down my spine. He didn’t wait for a response, just pulled back enough to meet my gaze, his eyes dark and intense, filled with an unrestrained hunger. His thumb brushed over my clit, slow and deliberate, teasing, relentless.

I gasped as he slid his other hand lower, guiding his cock to press against me, the heat and hardness of him leaving no space between us. His mouth claimed mine again, swallowing my moan as he thrust forward, filling me completely in a single, powerful motion that stole my breath. My hands flew to his shoulders, fingers digging in as he set a hard, unrelenting rhythm, each thrust deep and rough, fuelled by a barely contained intensity.

Every movement sent a wave of heat spiralling through me, the pace building faster as he held me tight, his grip firm and unyielding. His mouth never left mine, the kiss as desperate and hungry as his movements, his breath hot against my lips. The taste of him, the feel of him moving inside me, was dizzying, overwhelming, as he pushed us both closer to the edge, the raw urgency between us leaving no room for restraint.

The intensity between us escalated, his pace quickening as I clung to him, both of us lost in the overwhelming need that had been building all night. Every movement drove us closer, each sensation heightened, until finally, I felt him tense, a low groan escaping his lips. He pulled back slightly, his breathing ragged as he held me tight, his eyes meeting mine with a mix of raw desire and hesitation.

“Sweetheart…” he murmured, his voice thick with urgency. “Can I… come on you?”

The request sent a thrill through me, and I met his gaze, nodding. “Yes,” I whispered, a smile tugging at my lips. He pulled out, barely keeping control as I took over, wrapping my hand around him with purpose.

I kept my strokes steady, watching his jaw clench, his breath hitching with every movement. His eyes stayed locked on mine, dark and full of anticipation as I quickened my pace, guiding him right to the edge.

With a groan, he finally let go, his release spilling over my stomach in warm, rhythmic pulses. He shuddered, his breathing ragged, eyes softening as he looked at me, satisfaction mingling with a deeper warmth in the shared moment.

After a beat, he pulled away slightly, reaching for a nearby dish towel, his movements gentle as he carefully wiped me clean, his touch lingering just a moment longer than necessary.

“Sorry about the mess,” he murmured, a playful glint in his eyes as he leaned down, pressing a soft, lingering kiss to my lips.

I smiled, my fingers tracing light patterns along his back. “Nothing to apologise for,” I whispered, still catching my breath, feeling the pleasant ache of the intensity we’d shared.

He stayed close, brushing his thumb gently over my cheek, his gaze lingering on me with a warmth that felt almost tender in the aftermath of everything we’d shared. The silence between us was comfortable, a quiet moment filled with unspoken words and lingering glances, our breaths slowly steadying as the world around us softened.

Eventually, he straightened, a hint of that familiar grin returning to his face as he reached out, tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “You know,” he murmured, his voice low, “I think I owe you a proper dessert after that.”

I laughed softly, rolling my eyes. “Oh, is that so?”

He smirked, his fingers tracing a line down my arm before intertwining with mine. “Absolutely. But first…” He gave my hand a squeeze, a playful spark in his eyes. “Maybe we should start with round two.”

I felt my cheeks heat up as he leaned in, brushing his lips over mine in a kiss that was somehow softer, yet just as filled with promise. And as he pulled me closer, I couldn’t help but smile, already lost in the anticipation of what the night still held.

[trexdrabbles]

I would absolutely die for a little Gambit drabble with #5 from that prompt list!

I have been absolutely dying to do one of these so thank you! (Fem reader since nothing was specified!)

NSFT under the cut!

#5 - "Let me take care of you, yeah? I'll do the work."

It had been a long day. Long day, long week, long month. Work had been getting just uncomfortably busy as of late, and you just had to keep reminding yourself that every evening spent away from home and every weekend tacked on too was only adding to your bank account and the reserve of compensatory time off you had been saving up. A few more weeks of this and you'd finally be done with the worst of it all and swore you were going to take a whole month off, and sleep straight through the first week of it. Even with the finish line in sight though, you needed a break, and badly at that.

And you weren't the only one who seemed to think so.

Remy had been a little busier on his end of things too, but not enough so as to not notice how you practically dragged yourself through the door each day, or sounded absolutely dead when you were on call with him. Today had seemed particularly rough, coming home late on a Saturday evening, short pumps in your hand that you had taken off before even driving home and had just carried up the driveway with you. But with all that misery was the littlest glimmer of hope in the fact that you had the next day off. A lovely little blip in your hellish schedule and god did you intent to make the most of it.

Cuddling with your boyfriend had definitely been prominent on your mind as a good place to start and had honestly kept you going through the final half of your work day. Opening the door to confirm that he was actually, in fact, there had been quite the blessing too. Realistically you knew he wouldn't take off without at least a text shot your way at the bare minimum, but seeing him there with your own two eyes just cemented the knowledge that you were going to finally have a damn good day off.

"Lookin' good, but ain't lookin' too hot," he commented, glancing up from whatever he had been doing on his phone, looking you over with something close to sympathy that only grew closer when you answered him with an exceptionally eloquent groan that perfectly conveyed 'I almost wish I had just been hit by a car on the way home so I wouldn't have to deal with this anymore'.

"I feel like death," you announced, dropping your poor shoes unceremoniously right beside the door and then kicking them a little further away from the entry for good measure.

"Already got dinner goin'. Be done soon."

That was enough to lift a little extra weight off of your shoulders as well and you sighed for it.

"That's why I love you," you murmured, drawing close to press a small smattering of kisses to his lips and cheek before figuring you'd go and change before sitting down to eat.

"Love me for plenty a' reasons," Remy retorted between kisses, smile permanently affixed to his lips throughout.

"Mmm, no, just that one," you teased, laughing slightly when he caught you around the waist to keep you from wandering too far off.

"Just gotta remind you a' the rest, don't I?" You knew exactly where he was going with that and admittedly it sounded pretty damn good, but you were already struggling with wanting to stay awake as it was.

You leaned in to give him one more kiss before moving to step back again. "You can remind me tomorrow."

Your efforts to go and change clothes were once again thwarted by his grip tightening a touch more and when you glanced back at him, his smile had lost its teasing edge.

"C'mon chère; let Remy take care a' you, yeah? Been runnin' yourself down, let me do the work tonight."

Fuck, if that didn't get you.

Somehow dinner was enjoyed at a relatively normal pace before he was dragging you off to your room, dishes to be ignored until tomorrow. Remy kept up with his words too, hardly letting you lift a finger as he grabbed a change of sleep clothes for you and helped you out of your work clothes. You had thought just immediately crashing with your entire body tangled around him would be a perfect end for the night, and that was entirely off from what was happening now. Though admittedly, being stretched out on your bed, thighs locked around his head and fingers curled into his hair as his tongue pressed expertly into you, lapping up everything you had to give and then some was an even better option.

[iwillneverforgiveyousunghanbin]

lesson (still not) learned

part one: lesson (not) learned *** read note below wc: 2k reader: afab (i don't think i used any pronouns so i don't think its femme? just warning you just in case!!) warnings: EXPLICIT SMUT MINORS DNI!!! (detailed warnings below cut) summary: hao convinces poly!reader to help him tie up dom!hanbin when he least expects it SO. this is PART TWO to lesson (not) learned. *** it got c*mm*n*ty l*b*led (lmao i don't want them to find this one) so PLEASE if you wanna go read that one just turn off/enable your l*b*ls on your account to read it. you can always change them back lol. i might repost a version with warnings under the cut since i was stupid and forgot to. oh well. also does this need a part 3 where hao and hanbin get their revenge?? lemme know. anyway i love this one ENJOY!!

SMUT UNDER CUT MINORS DNI!! you have been warned 🚨

warnings: established poly relationship, oral m!receiving, brief mxm (oral), handjob, pussyjob, p in v intercourse— riding, orgasm denial, hanbin and hao’s wrists are tied to the bed, brattysubbyswitch!hao that attempts to dom, switch!reader that doms towards the end, dom-leaningswitch!hanbin that “subs” for most, pet names (baby, angel, honey), they talk in the third person a lot bc they’re all horny messes, obviously swearing, this is not dubcon-- hanbin loves it he just has to keep up his dom persona… also unprotected sex (be smart, stay safe or whatever). i think that should cover it?

~

“i’d double-knot that if i were you, angel,” hanbin suggests; a broad, cocky smile now gracing his lips. you reluctantly obey— knowing he’s right. how hao had talked you into tricking hanbin, you had no idea.

sure, the idea of tying up hanbin and using him however you liked was incredibly intriguing, but you knew the punishment for it would be more intense than you’d yet to experienced it was both terrifying and thrilling. 

plus hao promised to do your laundry for a month if you helped him. so now, here you are— the element of surprise the only way you managed to secure both of hanbin’s wrists to slats in the headboard of the bed with two silk ties. you tuck the extra one you’d brought in case of an emergency under hanbin’s pillow, safely out of his reach.

“no talking,” hao barks, starting to unbutton hanbin’s jeans and pull down the zipper. you can tell that hao is doing his best to imitate how hanbin usually talks to the both if you. it’s cuter than he intended and, from the chuckle that escapes hanbin, you can tell he thinks the same.

“and no laughing,” you add, crawling over to help hao tug hanbin’s jeans down past his hips. “if binnie makes a sound, he’ll have to be punished.”

“yeah? and what will be binnie’s punishment?” hanbin asks curiously; smiling softly at you. 

“he’ll find out soon,” hao answers, shimmying hanbin’s jeans and underwear down his legs and discarding them carelessly on the floor, “since he just earned one.”

“ooooh,” hanbin mocks, eyebrows raised in a challenge. though he’s pretending to be annoyed by this stunt, his cock is already hard. “i’m very scared, hyungie.”

“and another,” hao replies before spitting in his hands and wrapping them around the base of hanbin’s length— starting to gently wring them as he takes the tip into his mouth.

hanbin doesn’t react at first, but the farther hao shoves his cock down his throat, the harder it is for him to continue maintaining his composure. once hao starts sucking, the older boy taps hanbin’s hips quickly to signal you to come help him hold them down. 

“don’t play with him though,” hao warns as he comes up for air. “binnie’s mine right now.”

you roll your eyes as you crawl back over, placing a hand over hanbin’s lower abdomen to keep him still for hao. the younger boy’s face is screwed up in pleasure— a rogue moan escaping him every now and then despite his best efforts to keep quiet. 

it’s not long before the sight has you rubbing your thighs together— the need for friction getting the better of you. hanbin eyes you tentatively, gazing at your core as you feel yourself starting to grind into the sheets.

it’s only another minute before hanbin is cursing— warning hao that he’s about to cum. “g’nna cum, don’t stop! g’nna— NO, NO FUCK!”

hanbin lets out a frustrated cry as hao removes his length from his mouth. hao kisses each of hanbin’s thighs, laughing meanly, “should’ve kept your mouth shut, huh, binnie?”

a particular grind of your pussy against the mattress causes you to moan and hao’s eyes dart to you. his attention falls to your core— practically sticking to the mattress from all of the juice pouring out of it. 

“did you like that, baby?” hao asks, lips parting as he continues to stare at your heat. “grinding your little pussy watching us?”

you bite your lip, nodding shyly as hanbin continues to seethe.

“well are you gonna keep it all to yourself or are you gonna share with the rest of us?” hao asks, prompting you to take your index and middle finger and swipe at your slick— starting to hold it out to hanbin.

“ah-ah,” hao shakes his head. “i taste first today, remember?”

you blink back at him, bringing your fingers up to hao’s lips. he takes them in his mouth; sucking them as he lets out a throaty moan. when he releases them, he licks his lips— praising, “taste so good, baby. now give hanbinnie a bite.”

you bring your fingers back to your core, coating them again and extending them to a slightly calmer hanbin. he doesn’t take them in his mouth, but he does lick them clean. “thank you, angel,” he says softly, clearly trying to get on your good side.

“my turn now?” you ask, turning to hao.

“i guess,” the older boy huffs reluctantly as you switch positions; throwing a leg around hanbin’s lap to straddle him. “gonna ride binnie?”

“i don’t think my angel is ready to take m—,” hanbin starts to tease when you hold his cock to your entrance, but as you sink down onto him, his sentence is cut short. “oh, fuuuck.”

letting yourself adjust to his size, you slowly start to bounce up and down— finding a good rhythm as hanbin’s eyes roll back at the feeling of your tight walls around him. hao strokes his cock as he watches the scene— tough guy act thrown out the window within minutes as you continue to ride hanbin.

“perfect,” hanbin pants, a light glisten of sweat starting to form on his skin. he’s getting close again as he’s already riled up from his first orgasm denial and you moan at his praise. “pussy s'perfect.”

“fuck, i wanna see binnie cum,” hao whines from beside you; his pumping of his cock getting sloppier. you shake your head at his infuriating need for constant attention. “baby, please— wanna watch binnie cum inside you.”

“are you kidding me!? this was all your idea,” you yell back at him. hanbin laughs under you and you squeeze your walls tightly to shut him up. he throws his head back in a strangled moan— tugging a little harder on his wrist constraints as his desire to get his hands on you grows even stronger.

“i know, but,” hao replies and a quick glance at him tells you he’s just as desperate as hanbin is for release. you should’ve figured hao would cave under the pressure. “binnie wants to cum so bad.”

you turn back to hanbin. he’s whimpering now; biting his lip hard to keep from coming undone. as his hips lazily trying to fuck up into you, you realize that hanbin must be enjoying this much more than he’s been letting on. 

“is it good, binnie?” you ask, running your hands up his chest. hanbin nods wildly; tugging against his restraints again. “does binnie wanna cum?”

hanbin nods again— pressing his lips together to keep from answering. you remember now that hao’s rule for hanbin had been not to talk. but now that you had obviously been handed the reins by your irritatingly needy partner in crime, you were suddenly excited to switch things up and play the game your own way.

you lean forward, pressing a messy kiss to hanbin’s lips. he accepts greedily; thrusting his hips harder as your tongues fight hungrily for dominance. before anyone can win, you pull back slightly. “you can trust me, binnie. i’ll let binnie cum if he tells me he wants to cum.”

hanbin searches your eyes; so overcome with desperation that he doesn’t care whether you’re telling the truth or not. “oh my god, yes— wanna cum inside you, angel.”

his cock twitches inside you and you whimper in response. reaching your left hand out now to cup hao’s jaw beside you, you run your thumb across his cheek soothingly. “does hao wanna cum, too?”

with wide eyes, hao nods— nuzzling his cheek into your touch. “please, baby!”

“come here, then,” you instruct as hao eagerly crawls towards you— positioning himself on his knees to bring his cock more level with your mouth. you wrap your hand around the shaft and bring the tip to your lips; lapping at the head as hao’s right hand caresses your cheek carefully. taking his full length in your mouth, hao gasps when he hits the back of your throat.

the sound makes you clench around hanbin, which causes the younger boy to inadvertently buck his hips up into you. you gag a bit as hanbin cries out pitifully— his abdomen shaking a bit from the pleasurable sensation. removing hao’s cock from your mouth, you continue to pump him.

“look at binnie, honey,” you say, watching as hao directs his attention to hanbin. “this is what you wanted, hmm? to see binnie all squirming and helpless like this?”

as hao reaches his hand towards hanbin’s face, hanbin quickly understands what the older boy is asking for— taking his middle and ring fingers into his mouth. a fresh flood of desire warms your core as hanbin swirls his tongue around hao’s fingers— sucking on them until hao’s jaw drops at the sight.

“mm, binnie’s so pretty sucking my fingers while you fuck him,” hao whimpers as you pick up the pace of your hand; continuing to fuck yourself on hanbin’s cock. the two boys in front of you are starting to get messy in their need to cum. “baby’s so nice to let binnie cum. w-wanna cum, too!”

“lie down, honey,” you suggest as you watch hao’s thighs start to shake— unable to stay propped on his knees as he gets closer to his high. with a mischievous look in your eyes, you continue, “hao can cum, too.”

“hyungie, i wouldn’t do that if i were— oh fuuuuck,” hanbin starts to warn, but you cut him off by milking his dick with your walls again; an absolutely pathetic moan escaping his throat. “do whatever you want, hyung— oh my god.”

hao must not hear any of what hanbin says over the throbbing of his cock, because he collapses on his back next to the younger boy almost immediately— nearly out of his mind as he looks up at you through dark, lust-filled eyes. 

“our hao doesn’t know what’s good for him, huh, angel?” hanbin whispers, smirking at you as if he thinks he’s on your team now. 

he’s not.

a hard smack to the side of his ass sends him reeling; crying out at the pain that’s followed quickly by pleasure. hanbin looks up at you; bottom lip tucked between his teeth as he mewls. smiling at him innocently, you reply, “neither does binnie.”

“touch hao’s cock!!” the older boy huffs; starting to throw a tantrum at the lack of attention on him. “been so good, just wanna cum.”

hanbin starts to laugh again, but his laugh turns to a yelp at the loss of contact as you lift up off of his length. “no, no, no, nooooo,” he whines, thrusting his hips up to try to find your entrance again but you’re already climbing off him and hooking a leg around the older boy to straddle him. 

“didn’t binnie hear? hao wants to cum,” you say to hanbin, nearly giggling at how angry and wet you’ve left his cock. you’re surprised when you see hanbin’s eyes water in frustration. he had apparently been holding it together on the outside this whole time far better than he was on the inside. “and hao’s been so good.”

hao hums; biting his lip in a sweet smile as you lower yourself down towards his crotch. grinding your warm, slick folds on hao’s shaft— both hanbin and hao moan at the contact. “s'amazing, baby. love it s’much, thank you."

taking each of hao’s hands in one of yours, you gently pin them above his head— holding both of his wrists in your left hand as you stealthily reach for the extra silk tie under the pillow that hanbin is resting on. 

“could you cum like this, honey?” you ask hao, trying your best to keep your poker face as the veins running up his shaft tease your clit while you grind against him. 

hao nods; his eyes closing from the pleasure. “please keep going, baby,” he begs as you wrap the tie around his wrists— taking advantage of his state of blissed-out state of distraction. “g’nna cum if you keep going.”

securing hao’s wrists to a slat in the headboard; you tie the second knot on the far side so its out of reach of his fingers. sitting back up straight, you continue to grind on hao’s cock; reaching over and taking hanbin’s in your hand as well.

hanbin sighs in relief, meeting your gaze. “my angel’s so smart, huh?”

you nod as your hand works the same rhythm as your core. hao hasn’t noticed the constraint on his wrists as his moaning grows even more uncontrollable. the twitching of hanbin’s cock against your palm alerts you that he, too, is dangerously close.

“fuck, g’nna cum, baby,” hao cries, only now attempting to move his arms. his brow furrows confusedly amidst the pleasure as he tugs at the silk tie holding his hands to the headboard. “what the—... mm, when did—… NO, PLEASE! BABY, PLEASE!”

just as hao is about to cum, you pull off of him and crawl back over to hanbin. he immediately begins to cry; babbling absolute nonsense in a hopeless plea to make you come back and finish him off. hanbin is concerningly silent, lips pressed together and brows knitted-- seemingly praying that he’s been nice enough to you tonight to avoid meeting the same fate as hao.

you continue to pump hanbin’s cock; speeding up the pace as he stifles his moaning.

“THIS ISN’T FUCKING FAIR!” hao wails next to hanbin—hiccupping through his tears. “this was my idea!”

“shouldn’t have pussied out so early then,” you reply with a glare, sticking your tongue out at him childishly. brushing hanbin’s bangs out of his face, you tell him sweetly, “don’t worry. binnie gets to cum.”

the younger boy’s face lights up at your words as he melts into your touch like the prettiest puppy— hao still throwing a fit to your left.

“but not yet,” you say with a wicked smile; removing your hand from around hanbin’s cock and quickly hopping off of the bed.

hanbin yelps angrily; thrashing at his wrist restraints— definitely wishing now that he hadn’t reminded you to tie a double-knot. menacingly, he growls, “get your ass back here right now.”

from the doorway, you giggle. “it’s okay— i’ll be back in a little bit! and then whoever can last the longest inside of me can go free.”

running out of the room before the boys can protest further, hanbin and hao are left lying next to each other on the bed— wrists tied up behind them to the headboard.

“you’re a fucking idiot,” hanbin huffs, kicking hao’s shin with his foot.

the older boy pouts, mumbling as the tip of his cock leaks sorrily onto his stomach: 

“takes one to know one.”

[aesethewitch]

Spirit Work: The Power of Hanging Out

Elaborate rituals, intense meditations, and huge gestures have their places in spirit work. There's value in putting a massive effort into something for the spirits you venerate or work with. And sometimes, you need to do these big things for a particular outcome or as part of your tradition.

I have a bias against big, elaborate rituals for this purpose, though. In my practice, it's just unnecessary. All of the relationships I have and maintain with spirits are, at their cores, friendships. They're not working relationships, they're not worshiper-worshiped relationships, they're not transactional relationships. My spirits are my friends.

So I approach working with them like friendship. I'll light a candle and set a cup of coffee or tea on their altar in the same way I'd offer a friend a cup of tea when they visit. If I'm working on something, I'm accustomed to body doubling as someone with ADHD, and I like to invite my friends to work alongside me. In the same way, I'll invite my spirit friends to participate or just hang around while I work.

Heck, they hang out while I write these posts sometimes!

Not everything in spirit work has to be intense and serious. Yes, you should be respectful -- in the same way that you should be respectful to your neighbors and your friends. And yeah, not all spirits can or should be treated this way.

But I would like to posit the humble power of Hanging Out.

What I Mean By That

Literally. Hanging out.

Whatever you normally do to "call" your spirit(s), do that. My method is lighting a candle of some sort. Sometimes, I'll choose a scented candle if I'm trying to lure a particular spirit to the area, but an unscented taper candle will do just fine.

And then, you hang out. That's it.

If you're watching YouTube, invite the spirit to watch with you. Ask their opinions on what to watch, if you have an easy way to communicate with them. (One of my spirits loves Ghost Hunting TV Shows. He thinks it's hilarious.)

If you're playing a video game, leave space on the couch for the spirit to settle next to you to watch.

Make dinner, chat about your days. Set aside a little plate for them if you want. Eat together.

The Value in Hanging Out

The idea here is that time is valuable​. Time spent with someone else is valuable on its own, even if that time is spent doing little to nothing "productive."

Think about your friends and the people you enjoy spending time with. It isn't always clubs, parties, exploring, hiking, running, traveling, or whatever else you do. Even if that's how you met or your main activity together, there are always casual moments. Easy breakfasts, simple conversations, sleepovers in your PJs, watching movies.

Quality time is powerful. Choosing to spend your time with someone sends a clear message: "I value your presence."

Not everything has to be an elaborate party. Sometimes, all you want is to sit down and hang out.

Why can't it be the same with spirits? The answer is that it can. In my practice, I rarely do anything that elaborate. I'll put extra effort in for special occasions like holidays, but usually, it's a simple act of lighting a candle, saying hello, and then sitting down with the spirit to just hang out.

Not every relationship requires constant, intense focus. Especially if you're looking to befriend​ your spirits, rather than just work with them, the Power of Hanging Out is a valuable asset to keep in mind.

It doesn't have to be every day, either. I have a sort of open, standing invitation for whichever spirits to hang out whenever they like. They're welcome to chill anytime, unless I ask to be left alone. Because of our relationship, they respect that. (Usually -- the only time they don't is if something urgent has come up or they need something.)

I developed the theory of Hanging Out years ago. Spirit work was where I started, and it's always been Home to me. But it's intense sometimes, and a lot of what I was doing was burning me out very, very fast. So I adapted on the fly, as one does, and it ended up working really well.

Now, Hanging Out is my primary method of doing spirit work. Even with spirits I don't know or in new locations, there's value in projecting an aura of "I'm just here to chill. Feel free to talk to me, or don't. It's cool." Spirits, shockingly, respond to that. I end up with a lot of interesting, casual conversations, light taps on the shoulder to let me know I've been acknowledged by something that doesn't want to talk, and various visual anomalies from shy critters in the shadows.

Think of it like slow blinking at a cat or offering the back of your hand to a dog. Approaching respectfully and calmly in a very casual way attracts things that otherwise wouldn't show themselves. The Power of Hanging Out is alluring to even the shyest spirits.

Again, obviously, this won't work for all spirits. Do what works for what you work with. I've found Hanging Out works best with ancestors, house spirits, land spirits, and assorted ghosties over the years. It's not so good with, say, the Good Neighbors. But hey, maybe your experience will differ.

Extra Benefits of Hanging Out

Aside from the relationship benefits of casually sitting and hanging out, there are even more practical benefits. As a side-effect of adapting spirit work in this way to work for me, my senses for spiritual energy shot through the roof.

I've always been pretty sensitive. I'm that weird kid at the next table over in the restaurant who clocked the spirit of your recently-deceased aunt who left you her necklace which you're wearing under your shirt and which I couldn't have possibly seen. But when I started Hanging Out and just existing in a space with spirits, everything sort of... exploded.

It's like recognizing your family's footsteps coming down the hallway. When I stopped trying to force myself to understand and recognize every scrap of energy, it all washed over me instead. And in the Energy Soup, I started to recognize more signs and signals without effort.

This is, in my opinion, the greatest benefit of Hanging Out, even for people who don't do spirit work at all. There's no meditative aspect to it, really (though you can certainly meditate to enhance it, if that's something you do). It's just sitting and being receptive.

I don't think this method will work for everyone. People who have zero sensitivity to spirits may not see any results. But I think it has value even for those people.

At its core, Hanging Out is a mindfulness exercise. If you can't be with spirits, be with yourself. Put the call out to whoever or whatever you work with, venerate, sense -- or things you'd like to get to know better. See what answers.

​Light a candle.

Say, "If you want to come sit with me and watch TV, feel free. I have popcorn."

Hang Out.

If you like my work, consider tossing a tip in my Ko-Fi tip jar! Supporters get extra, early, and exclusive content every week. You can also view this post on Ko-Fi here!

Also, consider throwing a response at my Divination Theory Survey! This is an ongoing research project that needs all the help it can get. Thanks!

[a-simple-imagine]

That Warm Christmas Feeling

Synopsis: Your spending the holidays with Jordan but you wake up feeling hot…

Pairing: Jordan Li x fem!reader

Words: 1k+

A/N - Happy holidays my lovelies. I woke up feeling absolutely awful which sucks but here’s a little gift. It's short and messy but enjoy.

WARNINGS - swearing

a blanket of white snow paved the way for joyful celebration and family festivities. the festive season had been deep in your bones since late November. the cheesy Christmas movies. the bright flashing lights. and jolly old men in beards. you never cared much for the festive season by any means, it almost seemed like too much but you were making a conscious effort to try and enjoy it. you want the first holiday season together to feel even just a little special. you had been dragging them along to all kinds of festive events. you had been ice skating and drank hot chocolate. Christmas shopping around the markets. it was all just fun and games. the main event was to take place at their home. your first time meeting their parents. it seemed like such a big step for a rather new relationship but you weren’t against the idea. it would be fun.

a loud groan forces its way past your lips as you roll onto your back. a dull ache settles deep in your bones. a thick fog invades your head as your brain throbs. a blocked, tickly nose. great. you’re sick. on Christmas day of all days. you pull the covers up over your head to escape the sun peaking through the windows. couldn’t have picked a worse day. “good morning,” whispered in your ear. there’s an edge of excitement to their voice. their hand comes up to remove the duvet and reveal your less-than-pleased expression. You move away from them, burying your fave deeper into the pillow. “You good? I thought you'd be more excited. My parents have a full day planned, you're gonna love it.”

A pit of guilt or nausea grows in your stomach. You really wanna get up and enjoy the day but you also just wanna go back to sleep. “Please don't be mad,” you mumble against the fabric of the pillow.

“Why would I be mad?”

“I feel like shit,” you admit. “I think I'm sick.”

“Oh,” there's a pause that almost allows you to drift off again. “That's shit.”

“I’m sorry,”

“no no don’t be,” they reassure you. “You should stay in bed if you're not feeling up to it.”

“is that okay?” you ask quietly.

“Sure, they’ll understand. go back to sleep and I’ll check on you in a little bit, okay?” your only answer is a slow nod that pushes the fabric of the pillow roughly across your cheek. The door clicks shut and you drift off into sweet, sweet unconsciousness.

The time is a mystery when your eyes flicker open next. The world doesn't feel real as your head hammers with an uncertain pain. You sniffle as you fall onto your back. That's when you spot Jordan approaching with a steaming hot beverage in their hand. “How you feeling?” you just groan extra loudly emphasising just how awful you felt about the entire situation. “so good then yeah,” the bed dips beside you and he reaches over with a free hand to check your head. you don’t feel particularly hot so it probably wasn’t a fever. “Mom made you some tea, said it’d fix you right up but don’t feel like you have to.”

pushing up into a seated position, Jordan hands over a mug decorated with little Christmas trees and snowflakes. a heavy sigh leaves your lips. it really did feel like more effort than it was worth just sitting up straight. you take a cautious sip and warmth spills through your veins. “I feel like I ruined today,” you mumble into your cup. staring down at the swirling liquid. “I should have mentioned earlier.”

“you didn’t ruin anything,” Jordan expresses, a calming hand placed on your leg over the covers. “it’s not your fault you got sick.”

“I haven’t really felt great the last couple days but I thought it’d just go away.” you shrug, taking a much larger sip. “I really wanted to do Christmasy things with you. your parents probably think I’m awful.”

“They don’t think that,” they chuckle softly. “just focus on getting better and we can do Christmasy things tomorrow. they won’t mind.”

“thank you for the tea,” you reply handing back the drink.

“and besides,” he takes the drink back. “you’re giving me an excuse to get away from them. I need a break every now and then.“are you hungry?” you shake your head slowly. falling back down against the bed.

“tired.”

they just chuckle. “I’m gonna sit here a moment longer before I brace my parents again. just ignore me.”

the room is shrouded in darkness when Jordan enters once more. a crack of light filtering through the door. you don’t bother acknowledging them; just pull the thick duvet closer to your chest. a heavy sigh fills the air but it doesn’t come from you. the bed dips beside you. “are you awake?” they ask but you don’t bother answering. a silence a silence falls over the room as they shuffle about doing god only knows what. “I’m sorry you got sick,” Jordan speaks aloud. “I wish you could have spent the day with us. my parents can be a lot but they do go all out for Christmas… and I was looking forward to giving you your present,” their voice is quiet and you’re not sure if you should admit to being awake now. “my parents would have loved it. they’re already obsessed with you and they’re so happy I finally brought someone home. and I was gonna tell you I love you” After a moment you know they’re climbing into bed with you. an arm around your waist. you roll over to face them. “maybe tomorrow.”

“you’re gonna get sick,” mumbled out.

“I don’t mind,”

“Are you sure?”

“mhmm,” hummed softly and you don’t bother arguing. you just snuggle closer to his chest. they feel safe and comforting. a welcomed addition to your cosy domain. “I’m glad you’re here,”

“I’m glad you’re here,” you repeat against their chest. “and for what it’s worth. I… love you too.”

“you heard all that,” you don’t respond just shuffle further into his embrace. falling asleep to the sound of their heartbeat as a gentle kiss is pressed against your head.

[burnthoneydrops]

Luckiest Man on the Planet (g.d. x fem!reader)

pairing: graham dunne x fem!reader

word count: 2.9k (whoops, had fun with this one haha)

warnings: talk of having children, use of "she/her" pronouns, Billy (if he counts as his own warning)

a/n: I miss when djats was popular on here so I decided to hopefully help the revival by adding the to the graham fic collection! hope everyone enjoys, this one's just cute. also REQUESTS ARE OPEN

You wanted-no needed- this moment to be perfect. You were not going to be happy if the money you had spent on plane tickets was going towards a ruined surprise, so you absolutely needed this to be perfect. It felt weird complaining about your long distance relationship when it wasn’t long distance all of the time and you knew other couples had it worse, but you’d be damned if your heart didn’t sink a little every time you thought about how far away Graham was, and would continue to be, for the next few months. That distance wouldn’t last forever though, thank the universe, as the people at the gate’s front desk were announcing that your flight to New York would start boarding shortly. 

“Ok, they’re about to start boarding, but I’ll call you when I land ok?” You hugged the phone to your ear, peering over your shoulder to make sure you weren’t missing anything and twisting the spiral cord with your finger. 

“Yeah, sounds good. I told Rod that we’d need an extra car to be sent to the airport so you won’t need a cab or anything,” Eddie replied through the phone. 

“Oh, you didn’t need to do that,” you laughed, flattered by the effort. 

“Oh yes I did. I-We’re not having you come all the way out here just to get stuck in New York traffic”. 

“Anything that gets me to Graham faster. And you guys of course,” you quickly added before saying your goodbyes, noticing the boarding line was getting smaller. 

The plane was incredibly boring, and the baby two rows behind you did not shut up the entire time, but you realised you managed to make that about Graham too, wondering how you two would handle it differently if it was your child screaming in a crowded plane. Luckily you had brought a book with you to zone in on, but nothing holds more power than the lungs of an upset child. You couldn’t stop your knee from bouncing, meaning you accidentally bumped too hard and kicked the seat of the person in front of you, earning some not so polite stares from the elderly man who sat there. Relief flooded over you when you heard the pilot announce that you would soon be landing, so much so that you kicked the seat once again, gaining another dirty look. 

As you stood up to exit your row, you looked across the plane, making eye contact with the previously screaming child. The little girl stopped wriggling around in her mother’s arms, staring at nothing but you as you gave her a little wave with the hand not holding your carry on. You smiled before the man behind you got impatient and cleared his throat as an indication that he wanted to move forward, so you only widened your smile with one last wave before hearing the baby laugh as you left the area. You and Graham hadn’t even had the talk about whether you wanted kids, not to mention how you would raise them or what kind of life they would lead. You had no doubt he would be a great father, but with the band already raising Julia, you figured you could push that thought out of your head for a little longer. 

When you were able to escape the gaggle of people who were standing in the boarding area you had just entered, you visually located the nearest phone, putting your backpack and suitcase aside to call Eddie. You glanced at the hotel’s phone number you had scribbled on the back of your boarding pass when you called from L.A., and started tapping your foot once again as the phone rang aggressively in your ear. 

“Hey, you made it,” you sighed in relief when Eddie answered the phone. 

“The most boring cross country flight of my life, but yes I made it,” you chuckled. 

“The only cross country flight of your life if I’m not mistaken. You rode in the van with us from Pittsburg, remember?” 

“How could I forget the bumpy roads and almost running out of gas in the middle of nowhere Missouri?” 

“But it was more enjoyable than what you just went through?” 

“Well yeah. Anytime with you is more enjoyable than by myself,” you glanced out the window at the line of planes waiting to take off as there’s an awkward pause on the line. “I mean, the band makes everything more fun,” you continued, hoping the conversation hadn’t died. 

“Right, yeah for sure,” Eddie came back to life, informing you soon after that there’d be a taxi driver waiting for you. He shouldn’t be hard to spot, you had been promised, and with how much you just wanted to run into Graham’s arms right now, you hoped for everyone’s sake that that was true. The taxi driver was easy enough to spot, holding a white sign with your name scribbled on it and an uncomfortable look on his face in the crowded area. He reached out his arm to you, which made you chuckle in response before shaking his hand, trying to keep your backpack atop your shoulder. 

“Your bag, miss,” he gestured to the suitcase you currently were wheeling behind you, and you realised that he really didn’t want to shake your hand and now his sweaty palm was awkwardly entangled in yours. You quickly let go before clearing your throat in embarrassment and handing him your bag, after which he quickly made his way to the exit doors so you two could finish this journey as quickly as possible. You used the time in the taxi to take in all the sites of New York. You had been as a kid, but it felt different now, like there was something new in the air. The hotel crept into view as the traffic was touch and go, but soon enough you were informing the lady working the front desk that you had a reservation and picked up a spare key to Graham’s room. You and Eddie agreed that you could use the time the band would be soundchecking at the venue to settle into Graham’s room for after the surprise, and you had thanked him again profusely when you heard Billy yelling down the hallway that they were all going to be late. Billy’s yelling was not something you missed while they were on tour, but if it came as a side effect of being in Graham’s arms again, you would listen to it again and again. 

The buzz in the venue was palpable when you walked in through the side entrance, trying to keep yourself hidden as much as possible given your mission. The bar at the back of the venue seemed like a great place to hide, and you kept yourself occupied by browsing the alcohol choices and chatting with the bartender until you heard three familiar voices making their way over. Warren, Eddie and Graham had decided to come up to the bar and you quickly ducked down under the bar, hoping the bartender wouldn’t expose you while they were there. You kept your back against the main island, facing the wall of bottles and mirrors, just being able to see the top of the familiar head of curls from your angle. The thin bottles distorted him a little bit, but your heart swelled at the sight of Graham just as it did every other time. 

“Tonight’s gonna be great man,” Warren commented, the bartender sliding a glass over to him. 

“Yeah, the fans aren’t even outside yet and the energy is killer,” Eddie replied, and you thought of the line of people you had passed out front on your way around the building. Thankfully no one had recognized you, and it only filled you with pride to see everyone who was there to support them. 

“Yeah,” Graham nodded, sounding more sullen than usual. 

“Come on man, lighten up. You’ve been acting weird since we got in the van this morning,” Warren nudged him, and you heard a leg kick the supporting wall of the island. 

“He’s just upset that his usual good luck call didn’t go through,” Eddie added. 

Graham got in the habit of calling you before every show as a nervous tendency, as the sound of your voice usually calmed him down better than whatever cheesy peptalk Billy wanted to give. 

Warren whistled when Graham didn’t reply, and you figured he made a face of some kind, exposing that Eddie was right. “Man, she has got you hooked, lined and sinkered”. 

“And what if she does? She always answers, so I feel out of sorts I guess. When you guys find people to love, you’ll understand,” Graham replied, trying to keep it light hearted at the end. 

“Hey, that was personal”. 

“Woah dude, what was that for?” He had set the boys in a defensive spiral. 

“We get it, you think she’s the one or whatever,” Warren teased. 

Your cheeks heated up, and it took all of you to stay in your crouched position, hoping nothing was going to squeak or hiss and give you away. The boys finally decided to walk away when Karen called them, saying they had to clear out before they opened the doors. You let out a loud sigh of relief when the bartender gave you a thumbs up to say they were gone, as being able to move your legs from their cramped position was a god send. 

“That kid seems to really love you,” the bartender commented as he gave you his hand to help you up. 

“Yeah well, I really love him too,” you said, not looking at him but at the stage where your boyfriend and his band would soon be standing. 

As the crowd shuffled in, you tried to stay relatively in the middle, hoping that whatever part of the stage Graham stood on he would be able to see you eventually. There was a hushed sensation in the crowd as people chatted and got drinks, but as the lights dimmed, the excitement grew, and a few people started whooping and cheering prematurely. Pretty soon the band was running on stage to an enormous eruption of applause, and the smile on each of their faces made you smile even bigger. From Chuck’s garage in Pittsburg to selling out venues across the country, you could not be more proud of the people in front of you, and you hoped all your efforts today proved that. 

“Well hello there everybody,” the familiar redhead greeted the audience, gaining even more shouts and cheers of joy from the people in front of her. “We’ve got a very special performance for you tonight, so we hope you’re ready to rock just as much as we are. How’s everybody feeling tonight?!” She yelled into the microphone as people clapped and hollered back. “Alright well, let’s see what you’ve got!” She smiled as Warren counted everybody off from his spot on the back of the stage and it was like the gates were opened at the Kentucky Derby. The energy radiating off of the band members and the audience was infectious, but you had your sights set on one person. Graham always did look his happiest on stage, getting to do what he loved with people he loved, and you were always excited when you got to witness that pure, unbridled joy on his face. 

A few songs in, you noticed Karen scanning the crowd, and as she landed on your section, you gave her a small wave. Your hopes that she noticed you were answered as a large smile broke out on her face, glancing back at the keyboard in shock before looking back to make sure it was really you. You laughed and gave her a big thumbs up in confirmation, and she was quick to call Billy’s name, nodding her head in your direction. The second band member to notice you, Billy’s eyebrows went up in shock when he spotted you, a smirk and an eye roll being his secondary reaction before he turned back to the microphone. After you had confirmation that at least half of the stage knew you were there, you kept your attention on the other half, staring at Graham as he shredded the guitar. A light sheen of sweat had gathered on his forehead, and as he wiped his curls back with his sleeve, Billy took a few steps back to get his attention. You saw him whisper something in Graham’s ear before his eyes went manic, scanning the audience with intense feverency.

Once his eyes landed on yours, everything stopped. The people around you seemed to be dancing in slow motion, and the music sounded like blurred-together lines of nothing as you saw the biggest smile form on your boyfriend’s face. Everything might have stopped a little too abruptly, as you saw Daisy look back at him in confusion when there was suddenly no guitar part being played. He shook his head and started playing again, quickly making eye contact with you again; a state he would remain in the entire show. 

When the show was over, security scurried over to you as people filed out, informing you that you were to be taken backstage. You got a few odd looks from a couple of girls who had been standing around you during this invitation, but all you cared about was that the moment you had been waiting for was finally here. You followed behind them until you could see the group of familiar people chatting and packing up their equipment. Graham had his back turned to the door, but Eddie had spotted you first, shoving Graham’s shoulder and pointing to the door. It was then that you couldn’t contain your excitement anymore and you brushed past the security guards, breaking into a full sprint as Graham waited with open arms. He wrapped his arms around your waist as you jumped to wrap your legs around his, his grip tightening with every second as if you’d disappear when he’d let go. He laughed as he leaned his forehead on yours, the shock from your appearance having not quite worn off yet. 

“Oh my god I can’t believe you’re here,” he mutters, leaning his neck further back to actually see your whole face. 

“You didn’t think I’d miss seeing my favourite guitarist did you?” 

“I thought that was me?” Eddie teased from his spot against the wall, which earned him a slap on the bicep from Karen and a strict instruction to shut up. 

“How did you even? What? How are you-?” 

“Eddie and I arranged it all. I missed you too much to be stuck in L.A. all by myself”. 

“Oh my god, I’m so in love with you it’s not even funny,” Graham let out a breathy laugh and your heart almost stopped. Even though you two had been dating for a while, you had said that you wanted to take things slow, given that your last relationship didn’t end so well. This meant that even though you and Graham were both in agreement that you loved each other, this agreement had been almost exclusively nonverbal. Neither of you had said anything yet, partially in fear that you’d take things too quickly and someone would feel pressure (at least that’s what you felt when your ex wanted to take things at what felt like a million miles an hour). So, in an effort to keep things calm and relaxed, neither of you had said anything close to the L word, and this moment took you by surprise. 

Silence fell between the two of you, as Graham was waiting for you to say something and you were frozen. As if just realising what he said, Graham’s face fell into one of panic as he gingerly placed you down on the ground. “Oh no, I didn’t mean-. Please don’t take that to mean you have to say anything back I just-” 

“Graham?” You stopped him rambling as you saw Karen and Daisy corralling the boys out of the room. 

“Yeah?” 

“I love you,” you said without looking at him, mostly because you were scared he would bolt the other direction and you would fly back to L.A. in tears. 

You felt two fingers gently grab your chin, and Graham tilted your head up to look at him. “You sure? Cause I don’t want you to say it just because I said something”. 

You nodded, “I’m sure”. 

He smiled and let out another airy chuckle as he leaned down, grabbing both sides of your face before capturing your lips with his. The electricity between you started buzzing as it always did in moments like these, and he was quick to tap his fingers on your lower back, signalling you to jump up and wrap around him like you had previously. The two of you laughed in between kisses until you heard a gagging sound from down the hall. 

“Get a room!” Eddie yelled. 

“Where do you think we’re going?” Graham yelled back, causing you to laugh in embarrassment and bury your head in his shoulder. 

“I love you Graham,” you commented, though muffled from his shirt fabric. 

“What was that?” He teased. You knew damn well he heard you the first time. 

“I love you,” you said a bit louder, still in his shirt. 

“I’m sorry, one more time. I couldn’t hear you”. 

“God damn it Graham, I love you,” you finally lifted your head and said it while looking directly in his eyes. 

“I love you too, I just wanted to hear you say it again,” he laughed. “I’m the luckiest man on the planet!” He yelled for everyone to hear, gaining groans and yells of embarrassment and annoyance from his bandmates. Not that he cared though, he was just telling the truth.

[ciaossu-imagines]

How do you think the Nekoma boys would deal with their manager suffering from period cramps and being more emotional because of their period?

This was an interesting one and, in a funny coincidence, I’m answering it on the day I started my own hellish monthly cycle! Honestly, I’m just super happy for the chance to write for this fandom, since it’s taken over my brain a little bit recently! Thank you for sending this in, my dear, and I hope you’ll enjoy these headcanons, though I feel they got super repetitive, sorry!

Nekomata is an old guy. He’s been around long enough that things like periods don’t faze him at all. I personally headcanon him as someone who has daughters, so I think he’s actually really used to menstruation, able to just casually accept it for what it is – something that happens to a percentage of the population every month. He’s also pretty quick to realize the signs that are common for people on their periods and he kind of picks up on the fact that the team’s manager is on their period. He does absolutely nothing to call any attention to this, though, because he’d really hate to embarrass the poor kid. Most people are going to feel embarrassed about this huge team of boys all knowing they’re on their period. However, he does everything he can to take it a bit easier on the manager. He encourages them to do just what they can at the moment, tries to pick up the harder jobs from them, However, because he’s so soft as to be like ‘yeah, just take a couple days off’, he is still going to expect them to show up and perform their duties. Because he notices how emotional they’re getting throughout their period, he does try to make a point of giving them more compliments than he normally would though.

Naoi’s not quite as used to periods as his other coach is. In fact, he’s a little uncomfortable around the whole topic. He’s not quick to catch onto what’s going on with their manager, other than they’re acting a bit off. He’ll only realize that the manager is on their period if someone else tells him that’s what is going on. When he realizes that, he blushes and stammers out an apology, because he really has been just kind of encouraging them to give all their effort to their duties this whole time. Of course, if their manager completely breaks down emotionally, or seems really sick, he does let them know that he’ll pick up any extra slack if they need to go home, but he does it mostly because he assumes that they’re sick.

Kuroo is rather observant and he notices when the team’s manager starts acting weird. Their expression is one of pain sometimes, even if they quickly try to hide it. They’re more tired than normal. They were tearing up at a video-game cutscene compilation earlier for a game Kuroo and them play together. He’s pretty quick to put two and two together. He’s got an older sister who, while not super open about her body, also doesn’t hide the fact that she gets a period. His sister’s periods tend to make her super emotional though, mostly angry, but Kuroo is pretty quick to understand that that is likely what is happening. Knowing that there’s really nothing he can do to help their manager, he mostly just focuses on keeping their spirits up. Of course, this being Kuroo, he does it by teasing them more than normal. Normally, they’ll joke around, tease him back, banter back and forth with him, but this time, they just end up tearing up. He sees the first tear roll down their face and he knows he done fucked up, but also at the same time, it kind of pisses him off a little. He’s feeling like garbage because he made them cry, but why should he? It was just a harmless joke, something he’s teased them about before and had them laugh about. Why should he feel like a bad guy? I think for at least the rest of that week, Kuroo is walking on eggshells around the team’s manager and the two of them really have to have one of those awkward moments where they both apologize to each other because they were both kind of crappy and then they’re friends again. Moving forward, Kuroo’s pretty good about seeing those warning signs and just cutting back on the week of his friend’s period.

Nobuyuki is someone who is pretty able to roll with just about anything. Like most of the rest of the boys, if his manager is honestly acting really off, not just having subtle little moments, he’s obviously going to notice it. He won’t call their manager out or anything, but he’s going to be quietly supportive. He’ll help out with some of their duties if he can, he’s being extra-encouraging towards them because they’re obviously having a rough time. He is one of the ones who will likely bring snacks or their favourite drink to surprise them with. When they have really bad mood swings, he steps in to help them calm down – he’s a pretty calming presence and is one of the best at calming them down.

Yaku tries to be supportive when he realizes that their manager is acting weird. He tells them that he’s there for them if they want to talk or need anything. He makes jokes to lighten up their mood if they’re upset or sad. He really tries, especially after he finds out it’s their period. However, he only puts up with so much of their behaviour. If they start getting snappy and cranky with the team, he’s shutting that shit down real quick. Their period is not an excuse to be rude to any of the team (except for maybe Lev, who Yaku yells at when Lev ends up embarrassing their manager) and he won’t tolerate too much of their mood swings. Hormones are a real thing, yeah, but he expects their manager to be able to control themselves. If they do, Yaku remains a very supportive friend during that time period, one who will cheer them up with good conversations and encouragement, who will take them out for food or will carry pain relief pills for them. If not…well, those around him don’t call him ‘scary’ for no reason.

Taketora is really not good with periods. Yeah, he knows they happen. Yeah, he knows they’re natural and something that people deal with, but he doesn’t really get them and they kind of make him uncomfortable. As a man, he doesn’t really have to deal with them and he doesn’t really understand the struggles people can face while on their periods – moods that are all over the place, cramps or body pains, fatigue, period poops, etc. He’s going to be a little angry over the whole topic, honestly. He’s not angry at all with the manager, he just doesn’t want to confront this topic, and honestly, he’s not entirely sure why they can’t just suck it up and behave like they normally do. This ends up happening every month, after all, shouldn’t they be used to it? It can’t be that bad, can it?

Kenma is incredibly observant, especially when it regards the people he cares about. And he does care about their manager, whose always so kind to him and genuinely makes efforts to befriend him. He’s really quick to notice their changes in behaviour, even when the changes are really small – he’s probably noticing on the days leading up to their period that they seem off, even before they suffer any noticeable mood swings or pain. He’s worried about them but he doesn’t really know what he should do. He doesn’t know if he should ask them about it. After all, if there really is something going on with them and he’s not just imagining it, wouldn’t they talk to him about it? That’s what friends do, right? He kind of just lets things continue on as they are, though when things start to get more noticeable, as he becomes more sure that something is going on, he’s making subtle little conversational starters, trying to let them know he’s safe to confide in. As an only child, whose mother is really conservative about her period, Kenma’s a little flustered when he finds out that’s the reason his friend is acting so weird. He doesn’t really know how to handle it but he does do some research and combines it with his knowledge of them. By the time their next period comes, he has Midol, their favourite snack, and an extra tampon that he carries in his bag, in a little black pouch that doesn’t look like anything someone would snoop through, in his backpack. He also sends them a lot of funny memes and challenges them to video games he knows they enjoy while they’re on their period, hoping to give them more fun things to focus on instead of just what’s going on with their body.

Fukunaga is pretty chill about the whole thing. Sure, he’s concerned when their manager appears off, but he figures if they wanted him to know what’s going on with them, they’d tell him. He won’t pry into what’s going on with them…he’s just not that kind of guy, plus he really is more on the quiet side. It’s not so much that he’s shy, it’s just that he doesn’t really see the point of needless chatter. However, jokes don’t seem like needless chatter, especially when their mood seems to be down and he takes the extra effort to tell them more jokes than he normally would, trying to brighten their day up.

Inuoka tries so hard to be a good friend when he notices that their manager is struggling. They seem more tired than normal, they get expressions on their face that make it look like they’re in pain, they teared up once when Kuroo was teasing them. They’re just not acting like themselves and he’s worried about them. Add to this the fact that Inuoka comes across, to me, like someone who would develop a crush on the team’s manager, especially if the manager is someone who kind of takes care of all the boys or dotes on them a little, and the boy is stressed, wondering what’s wrong. The second he saw them tear up at Kuroo’s teasing, he was rushing to their defense, yelling at Kuroo and scolding him. The situation de-escalated quickly enough but still happened. When he sees those expressions of pain on the manager’s face, he’s right there, asking them if they’re okay, are they sure? They look like they’re in pain. Is it an ouchy kind of pain or more an AUGH type of pain? Boy’s just trying so hard to be helpful and protective of his friend/crush. When either the manager or one of the other team members just kind of pulls him aside and lets him in on the fact that they’re just on their period, no need to get so worked up about it, Inuoka’s face just kind of goes blank, goes red, then screws itself up into one hell of an expression of ‘wait…what?’ He kind of breaks for a second…he doesn’t really think about periods ever and now he’s sitting and contemplating them and oh god, their manager is really bleeding…wait, they bleed for days on end? DAYS!?! That can’t be healthy…oh my god, what are you even supposed to do for someone on their period. He’s not sure, but he’s going to learn for the next time this happens.

Teshiro is among the first to realize that the team’s manager is acting oddly. They seem more on edge, things that wouldn’t normally bother them seem to make them angry or bring them to the verge of tears, even if they try so hard to hide it. They wince when they move certain ways. He’s not really sure what’s going on, and he’s a little shy about it, but he lets them know that if something is wrong, if something is bothering them or they’re sick, that he and the other guys are there to help them out, whatever they need. When he eventually finds out it’s because of their period, he really is fazed and there’s the briefest of moments, there’s this weird expression on his face that just screams that he doesn’t know what to say or do, but he adapts pretty quickly. While he’s caught off guard and absolutely has no clue what to do, he tries really hard to be cool about it all.

Lev is actually the one who would be most likely, other than Kuroo, to guess that their manager is on their period, though he’s likely to use slang terms to describe it. They’re exhibiting a lot of the same behaviours and such that his sister does when she’s got her time of the month. He’s not someone shy or at all flustered about things like periods. It’s like…they happen, he can’t do anything about it, the person with the period can’t do anything about it. That doesn’t keep him from being a little obnoxious about it though because he will definitely call out the fact that they’re on their period in front of others. Whether or not that would embarrass them isn’t really something he thinks about at all. His sister never seemed too embarrassed about hers, after all. He’s kind of sweet about it though, which makes it easier to forgive him, because he’ll show up with chocolate or suggest a great heating pad his sister uses or just bring a bottle of Midol with him that he stole from his sister’s stuff. That’s typically when he says that he’s doing so because he figures it will make their period easier for them, loud enough that the whole team hears because Lev has volume issues, but his heart is in the right place.

Shibayama has zero experience with periods either. He’s easily embarrassed by the topic, blushing and stuttering. It’s just not something that’s meant to be talked about, in his mind. So, when someone mentions that the manager is on their period, and it’s why they’re acting so weird, Shibayama can’t really handle that. I think that, though he’s really worried about the manager, because he genuinely likes them and doesn’t like to see them in pain or emotionally worked up like they have been, he avoids them as much as possible for about a good week.

[heresthestorymorningglory]

Together Bound In Madness - Part 7

Summary: There.....was...someone else…

A/N: This particular piece of work wasn’t meant to see the light of day and live its life in my WIP folder…it was supposed to….

Then I mentioned to @ken-dom that I might share and well…here we are…what can I say y'all? She’s mad encouraging and I love her dearly for it. Without her none of these would exist.

Y'all are getting an update because my internet Mama is the worst (read: best)

As always, this NSFW 18+ and has a few extra warnings attached; a kidnapping trigger warning being the biggest one, and approach this one with some caution….it’s consensual so it’s not technically rape, but the situation could make some uncomfortable.

The title comes from the Marianas Trench song The Killing Kind

Inspiration for this particular bit came from my recent rewatch of "You" on Netflix (Season 1 Episode 10 to be precise) See here (The first 2 mins or so) (Spoilers obvi)

Y'all should know by now I rarely post one shots…..so yeah, this will be multiple parts….I’m just not sure on the final tally yet. You can find previous parts here.

Enjoy my loves! <3 

He sat at an empty barstool, finding this idiot was easier than even he thought it would be. Day drinking like the real winner he was. 

He didn't even need to try, your male suitor, who had been so enamored with your lips. His lips. You were his. 

He spent no less than twenty minutes next to this man before he started talking about you. It became very clear very quickly you were nothing but a piece of ass, a conquest. 

The moment this waste of skin stood from the barstool, he saw red. Immediately pulling himself up from his own stool, following him out into the street. 

***

You jumped hearing his keys outside the door as he opened it, stepping over the threshold. 

You gasped, for the second time in as many days, his typically white jacket was stained dark red. 

“God…please no” you whispered softly, dropping your gaze as he came to stand in front of you. 

His shoes were blood spattered, you looked up slowly, your eyes taking in his blood streaked jeans, his stained shirt, his soaked jacket. 

“What did you do?” You whispered, finally meeting his eyes. “Tell me you didn't”

He stood in front of you, his face emotionless and unreadable before he spoke with a small shake of his head. He reached behind you, snapping the zip ties apart; you winced, moving your arms in front of you, stiff from being held back for so long. “I can't”

You gasped, feeling like all the air had been sucked out of your lungs as you broke down sobbing. 

He reached a bloody gloved hand to cup your cheek and you flinched away as fresh tears streamed down your cheeks. 

He sank to his knees in front of you. His gloved hands resting on your thighs. “I did this for you,” he spoke softly “He wasn't good for you,” he reasoned, “You should have heard the things he said…”

“You killed someone!” You sobbed, your voice braking with emotion as you pushed his hands off your thighs and you got to your feet, desperate to put space between you. 

Your breath caught in your throat when his bloodied hand closed around your equally bloodied wrist. You ripped it free from his grasp and took a few more steps backward as he got to his feet. 

“You, are insane,” you cried trying to inconspicuously make your way towards the door. “The thing I need protection from is you!”

His shoulders dropped and he looked visibly hurt by your words. It almost made you laugh out loud. 

“What?!” Your anger getting the better of you “You wanted me to be grateful that you kidnapped me?!” You screamed, not giving him a chance to answer before you continued. “That you've been holding me captive here for God knows how long?!” 

When he still didn't speak you continued. “What did you want to hear?! That I love you?!” Your voice cracked again with effort as you strained your vocal chords. “You're sick,” you swallowed hard, taking a breath. “You need help” your voice had dropped to a shaky whisper. “I hate you”

That had been like a knife to the gut. Everything he had done had been for you. To protect you and keep you safe from people like that Facebook guy. And you had just lumped him in with the likes of them. 

His blood boiled at the thought; how dare you accuse him of being anything like that.

He stalked forward, quickly closing the distance you had tried to put between you, but still kept his distance. 

You glared at him, standing your ground; your heart still pounding in your ears. You parted your lips, taking  a slow deep breath. 

“You’ll never be like him,” you spoke; surprised your voice was coming out even and steady. A single tear slipped down your cheek. “You’re not half the man he was” 

“You don’t mean that” he shook his head slowly, continuing to close the distance. 

You grit your teeth, your eyes laser focused on his movement “Like hell I don’t” 

In a flash, his hands grabbed both your wrists, slamming you against the door, knocking the wind from your lungs, pinning your arms over your head, your knuckles rapping against  the wood. Again, you fought to keep your voice even; you were certain your heart pounding in your chest was going to give you away regardless. He leaned closer, his bloody body pressed against yours; his breath hot next to your ear. 

You winced in pain as his hands squeezed your wrists, but kept quiet. 

His nose pressed against your cheek. “Did you let him touch you?”

You took a sharp breath in through your nose. “N-no” 

He let go of your wrists, his open palm slapping against the door. Making you jump, squeezing your eyes shut. 

“You're lying” his voice was harsh, but only loud given its proximity to your ear. 

“So what if I am,” you snapped 

He slapped you hard across the face and before you could think twice about your actions, you struck him back. 

He gripped both your aching wrists in one of his hands; the other shoving between your legs as his knee forced your thighs apart.   

Your cheek burned and his was bright red. His fingers work the soft fabric of the pyjama pants against your naked clit. 

You bit your lips together and immediately released them; both were swollen and sore. 

“Does he tongue fuck you well enough for you to brag to your friends about it?” 

“Better,” you grit your teeth, fighting back the moan that threatened to spill from between your lips “He didn't need me to tell them’

You slammed your head back against the door with a loud thud as his bare hand slid inside the loose fitting pants around your waist. You hadn't even realized he had taken his gloves off. 

Without so much as a breath of warning, his fingers plunged inside you, making your knees buckle, your hand instinctively grabbing his shoulder for support with a gasp. 

You tried to squeeze your thighs together to no avail. 

“Did he tell you how beautiful you look when you're fighting not to come unraveled?” He whispered, leaning forward to scrape his teeth along the line of your jaw 

You squeezed your eyes shut, bucking your hips into his hand. “You’re fucking pathetic"

“And you're dripping down my hand” he whispered “I bet he never saw you like this”

Your eyes locked on his and he raised an eyebrow and you whimpered loud, going limp in his arms as he curled his fingers deep inside you. 

Your hands wedged between your bodies, yanking the button on his jeans open, shoving them off his hips. A guttural moan as his cock sprang free, his fingers never stopped moving. 

Your hand streaked with the sticky, drying blood on the waistband of his jeans, the open zipper biting into your own raw bleeding skin of your wrist, palming his pulsing length. 

You whimpered, breathing hard, crying out against his mouth as he bit down hard enough on your bottom lip to draw blood. 

You gasped as he pulled his hand from the confines of your pants before pulling them off. His short fingernails biting into the back of your thigh as he wrapped your leg around his waist. Before he pulled your hand from inside his jeans, slamming your wrists against the door; his fingers lacing together with yours. 

He thrust forward, making the door rattle in its frame, again your head banging against it as you threw your head back, screaming towards the ceiling.  He caught you before you could fall to the floor, both your legs now wrapped firmly around his middle. 

He pulled away from the door, his arms wrapping around your back as your arms dropped around his shoulders. Your hips thrusting, desperate to feel the friction between you. 

His weight came down on top of you as you landed on the bed, your legs came free from his hips, your heels digging into the mattress as you thrust your hips up into his, moaning shamelessly as you braced one hand against the headboard. The entire bed shifted as he thrust harder. 

You screamed as he bit down hard into your neck. He moaned against your skin, his cock twitching inside you. 

The hand not braced against the headboard, fisted in his hair, pulling hard before he moved to look down at you underneath him.  

“You're a sick fuck” you breathed hard. 

“And you're not going to have to finish yourself on the bathroom floor” he smirked. 

The hand pushing against the headboard flew to slap him hard across the face. 

He had hardly flinched, his blue eyes flared; a deep growl in the back of his throat sent a shiver through your body. Your shrill scream filled the room as his teeth sank into the other side of your neck. Arousal jolting through your entire body. 

“You’re mine” he growled against your ear. “No one else's”

His hips snapped against yours as your hand dropped from his hair, only for him to immediately lace your fingers together, pinning your hand to the mattress. 

You didn't answer, just whimpered and writhed underneath him. Your hand squeezing his; you gasped as his lips smashed against yours, your tongue twisting together with his as you moaned against his mouth. 

He peeled his lips from yours and you gasped for air. “Say it” 

You shook your head and his hand reached to  squeeze your throat firmly.  

“Now”

You glared at him as his hand squeezed, easing only enough so you could speak. 

“No”  His weight was heavy on top of you as he shifted. That hadn't been the answer he expected, or wanted. 

He tipped his head with a frown

His entire body felt like you had set him ablaze. 

His hand landed heavy on your cheek and you winced before letting out a heavy breath running your tongue between your swollen lips with a raised eyebrow. 

You grit your teeth, squeezing your eyes shut as your body jerked with the force of his efforts; his cock still buried inside you. 

You were fighting everything inside you to keep your orgasm at bay, purely out of spite. You weren't in the best position to make him angry, but fuck. The jealousy practically seeping from his pores over an old high school boyfriend who lived firmly in senior year where he'd peaked was stirring something in your gut, wanting to see just how far you could push. 

He pinned your arms over your head, using your own body as his leverage, his full weight on your wrists making your arms ache down through your elbows. The sting of your wounds familiar at this point, simply adding to your arousal. 

You hated him, this complete fucking stranger. 

The hot neighbour

He had kidnapped you and ripped you from your life. 

But this is your fantasy….isn't it? You’ve watched him for months.

Not like this; you had just observed him when the opportunity presented itself; he had stalked you. Kidnapped you. 

And yet….

You whimpered as he growled next to your ear, his teeth biting hard enough to pierce skin. The sharp sting quickly soothed by his warm tongue, making you shiver. 

He was absolutely fucked in the head. This wasn't normal. 

Normal is overrated

He had murdered someone. Probably more than once…

You don't know for sure….

There was no denying it. He was covered from head to toe in someone else's blood. 

And now so are you…and he's SO good at-

A shudder rocked your entire frame as you fought the urge. It was getting harder and harder. 

You gasped, fingernails biting into the palms of your own hands as you felt yourself being filled with his hot, thick release; his tongue filling your mouth as he rode out his orgasm and you broke, nearly biting through his lip as a strangled, muffled moan came from you. 

“Tell me” he whispered, his lips moving against yours.

Still you shook your head, your lips moving against his. “No”

You cried out as his fingernails purposefully dug into your raw flesh before he pulled from inside you, forcing your legs apart before putting himself between them. You barely had time to recover, your breath catching in your throat as he thrust two of his fingers inside your throbbing core. 

Immediately pumping in and out, making you twist in the sheets, trying to escape the onslaught. Both your hands reached between your legs, fighting to pull his hand away. His free hand closes around both of your wrists with ease, keeping them still as his fingers thrust harder. 

You threw your head back against the pillow letting out a desperate cry. “G-god p-p-please”

Your bottom lip trembled as you fought against your primal instincts trying not to come unraveled again. But then he-

“Finish” he snapped, the two fingers buried inside you as far as he could get them, curled with a precision that made your orgasm jolt through your body, your hands flying to fist the sheets underneath you as you arched off the bed; a loud, desperate “FUCK” cracking from your throat. 

And still he kept going. 

He lowered himself between your thighs, looking up as you tried in vain to push him back. Your last orgasm had barely subsided as he pushed your weak legs apart. 

He leaned forward, his warm breath on your over sensitive core making you jump before he locked eyes with you. 

“Say it” he commanded

You opted for silence; much to his delight. 

He licked a hot stripe up your centre, making you cry with pleasure. If his weight hadn't had them pinned, your legs would have snapped around his head. 

You panted desperately as his warm skilled tongue lapped between your folds; his fingers bruising your thigh as he kept your legs spread wide. Your hands fisted his blond hair, your nails intentionally finding purchase in his scalp as you pulled hard on the fine strands between your fingers. 

He moaned loud, it echoing between your thighs, vibrating against your overstimulated core, making you whine, thrusting against him. He liked it; of course he did, he was a fucking masochist. 

You pulled harder on his hair, simply to elicit that delicious hum that made your legs feel like jello. Still though, you refused to give him what he had wanted; you whimpered, and gasped, and hummed, but those two words…

Again, you thrust your hips, shameless noises spilling from your lips. Your breath hitched in your throat as his tongue circled over that bundle of nerves. You moaned in the back of your throat, as you felt your bottom lip split open, trapped between your teeth. The coppery tang of your blood pricking your tongue as he fucked you with his. 

He licked and sucked like you were the most delectable thing to ever touch his taste buds. He came up for air, giving you the briefest second of relief. His lips were wet and bright red, his chin glistening with your slick. You shivered, your body recovering only slightly before he started again, making you grit your teeth as you jerked forward; a knee-jerk response, but you wanted more, you needed more. Your abs clenched as he looked up, fixing his eyes on you as his tongue continued its assault. Another shiver quaking through your body, your next orgasm threateningly close. He was like a starved man eating his last meal. You squeezed your eyes shut, as your core clenched; like it was straining to reach your peak and it was just out of reach. You filled your lungs with oxygen, not realizing you’d been holding your breath. Your whole body instinctively relaxed and all at once, your orgasm shot from your core like an explosion right through to your fingertips. His hair in your hands subjected to the onslaught of your pleasure as you gasped out sobs; a mixture of pleasure and of sheer relief as tears streamed down your cheeks and he feasted on everything you gave him. 

You collapsed on the mattress, desperate to take a full breath but your lungs refused; your body simply shaking uncontrollably with the aftermath as you released his hair from between your fingers. 

You had never been absolutely ravished or worshiped like that ever. The thought made your cheeks burn hot as you still fought to catch your breath. He had been peppering your entire body with kisses; like something in him had flipped like a switch. 

He braced himself over you as you shuddered, swallowing hard. The intensity of his gaze making you avert yours. His strong hand gripping your jaw firmly, forcing it back before he leaned forward, his tongue gliding slowly over the split in your lip before claiming your mouth in a possessive kiss…and you let him; melting into the sheets underneath you as his weight came down heavy on top of you; your arms to weak to push him off, your body too weak to protest…not that you would have. 

You’d be lying if you said his undivided attention didn’t stir something inside you. He made you feel wanted. He made you feel desired. The thought alone made your aching core throb with a seemingly insatiable need. 

When he had finally climbed from on top of you, you swallowed hard, your body finally able to relax. Forcing your eyes to stay open felt like the hardest task, but you had managed long enough to take notice that you were streaked with blood. Your t-shirt, your thighs, your hands; especially the one you'd had down the front of his jeans. Your eyes slipped closed as you succumbed to your exhaustion, trying hard not to think about what you'd just done…or worse, that you had maybe enjoyed it. 

[babytarttdoodoo]

Can you write one of Jamie showing up to training sick and the team has to convince him to go home? Then someone takes him home (I want it to be Roy even though Roy probably shouldn't leave training when he's in charge for Roy/Jamie shipping reasons, but all the lads wanting to care of him would also be nice)

Who needs realism when we can have fluff? I went a bit off script but I hope you still enjoy it.

Thank you for the prompt!

(Prompt Fill Masterpost)

—

Isaac was generally the first player to arrive for training at Nelson Road. He tried to set a good example, being captain and all that.

Jamie, despite living closer to the grounds than most, usually strolled in with less than 10 minutes left to get changed and out on the field.

It used to annoy members of the team, Isaac included. These days, he knew that Jamie and Roy had extra early workout sessions together and that Jamie was just genuinely awful at managing his time in the mornings. It was fine - he never held anyone else up.

But it was therefore extremely surprising to find him in the locker room a full hour before training was due to start, dressed to play and slumped halfway into his cubby.

“Alright, bruv?” Isaac gave him a cautious nod and dropped his stuff at his section of the bench. “What are you doing here?”

Jamie was slow to answer, blinking bleary eyes at Isaac and apparently needing a minute to take in the question.

He sniffed. “... training, innit?”

“Yeah…” Isaac affirmed, frowning at his rough voice and general dishevelled state. “Don’t normally see you this early, though.”

Jamie hummed and nodded like that was a fair observation.

“Couldn’t sleep.”

Well, that probably went some way to explaining the state of him. There were dark smudges under Jamie’s eyes and his hair, rather than carefully styled in the swept-back quiff he’d taken to lately, hung limp and unkempt over his forehead.

He looked kind of terrible, actually.

Roy wouldn’t have let him come in if there was anything seriously wrong, though. That much, Isaac was sure of.

He hadn’t been overly surprised when the pair had told the team they were together. There had always been a weird level of intensity between the two and more than one person over the years had quietly speculated that at least some of it was down to sexual tension.

Any worries about how it would affect team dynamics had simmered down quick enough, too. If anything, they both seemed to overcompensate at work to make sure they couldn’t be accused of dropping the ball, so to speak.

But they did obviously spend their mornings together, training or otherwise, even if they arrived on different schedules. And though Roy was still hard on Jamie as a coach, he was also exceedingly protective as a boyfriend.

If something more than a bad night’s sleep were at play, he would have insisted Jamie stayed home.

Still, Isaac kept a careful eye and ear out while he went through his routine of getting ready. It probably wouldn’t be the worst thing for Jamie to fall asleep where he sat and get a quick nap in, but it was best to be ready to catch him if he toppled off the bench in the process.

Dani was the next to arrive, far too perky for the early hour and seemingly not phased by Jamie’s presence. His smile did dim at the lack of response to his bright greeting but Isaac caught his eye and gestured for him to keep it down a bit.

The message was received and passed on through silent glances and elaborate head tilts as more players filtered in, a collective effort to let Jamie close his eyes and snooze overriding the usual rambunctious atmosphere. Isaac was very proud.

Nate was the first of the coaching staff to arrive. He looked confused at the lack of rabble in the room and his gaze followed everyone else’s to see Jamie snoring softly. They all shushed him frantically when he opened his mouth to clearly try and rouse him.

Isaac, Sam and Colin beckoned him over to the other side of the room.

“What’s up with Jamie?” he asked quietly, looking between them.

“Just said he didn’t sleep well.” Isaac shrugged. “He was in before me. Seemed kind of out of it.”

“He doesn’t look alright.” Colin put in, frowning over at their pale and sleeping teammate.

“Have you heard from Roy today?” Sam asked Nate, worry pinching the corners of his eyes. “He must know if something is wrong.”

“I haven’t.” Nate checked his phone but shook his head. “No, nothing. They don’t always come in together, though.”

“But they train in the mornings.” Dani whisper-shouted from his end of the bench, clearly listening in and echoing Isaac’s own thought processes from earlier.

“It could be that Jamie did not sleep because they had a fight…?” Richard ventured reluctantly, holding up his hands in defence when the room hissed at him in disgust. “Just a suggestion!”

“If Jamie were angry or upset, he would be running laps or sulking, not sleeping.” Sam pointed out.

“And they wouldn’t bring that shit into work.” Isaac stated with surety.

Nate looked back at Jamie and checked the time on his watch.

“We’ll need to wake him up soon and make sure he’s okay. He can’t just sleep in here all day.” He peered over into the coaches’ office and looked relieved to see movement. “I think Beard’s arrived - I’ll go see if he’s got any ideas.”

The air of respectful quiet had shifted to uncertain worry as everyone started to question, internally or amongst themselves, exactly why Jamie was so exhausted. He didn’t have the best track record with open communication when something was wrong.

Could there be something up between him and Roy?

As if on cue, their manager stalked into the locker room and was immediately taken aback by the subdued environment. He stopped dead in the doorway and scowled.

“What the fuck’s up with you lot?”

“Roy?” Jamie stirred and opened his eyes to a squint in search of the familiar voice. Roy’s head immediately snapped to the side and took in Jamie’s half-reclined form.

“You look like shit.” Only years of experience let Isaac pick up on the surprise and concern in Roy’s voice. Vague worries about trouble in paradise dissipated immediately.

Jamie - predictably - pouted up at him. “‘S not nice.”

The slurred speech sent Roy’s eyebrows flying up in alarm and his emotions suddenly became a lot more visible to the untrained eye. He quickly pressed the back of his hand against Jamie’s forehead, cursing quietly at whatever he felt there.

“Fucking hell, Jamie. You could have called me.”

“Were you not together?” Sam asked, now also clearly edging back towards distress. Nate and Beard emerged from the office at the new wave of commotion.

Roy shook his head. “No. Phoebe’s been staying at mine while she’s off school with the flu. Told this idiot to go home last night and get some proper sleep.”

He sighed and, despite his harsh words, gently smoothed back Jamie’s hair.

“You’re supposed to tell someone when you catch the plague, you muppet.”

Jamie just whined pitifully and leaned into the contact so hard he almost slumped right off the bench. Half the team jolted in place with aborted attempts to catch him.

Roy was right there, though, and easily tipped him back to a safe sitting position, grip steady.

“Alright, prima donna. Let’s get you home.” He looked over to Nate and Beard. “You two good to get things started? I can be back in an hour or two.”

“Take your time.” Beard gave him a firm nod and Nate mumbled his agreement, brow furrowed at the scene. “We got this.”

Declan swept in to help pack up Jamie’s things as Roy cajoled him to his feet and slid an arm around his waist to keep him upright. He accepted the duffle bag with a grateful grunt and started shuffling his boyfriend towards the exit.

“Let us know if you need anything, yeah?” Isaac demanded when they were finally underway.

Roy looked back over his shoulder and half-smiled at the room of worried eyes staring back at him. “Will do, captain. Keep an eye on the rest of them for me.”