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#especially in a secluded part of the airport
sugarandice3 · 3 months
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Phew, just got off an exhausting 10 hour flight and now I gotta wait for my baggage. I'll just sit by this column to rest a little...
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Oh, okay then... I mean, I guess it makes sense. They don't want people clogging up the walkways. Well, I'll just tuck myself in an out-of-the-way corner to rest my feet a bit-
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ARE YOU KIDDING ME
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smileycarat · 10 months
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idol!wonwoo x idol!reader pt 2
in which wonwoo and reader have more cute moments together in public that send fans into a frenzy
a/n: thank you soooo much for the love the other wonwoo x idol!reader received, it meant the world <3 this could be seen as a part two but it can also be read as a standalone! lmk what you think and pls like and reblog <3
talk about a power couple
the first time that you both get spotted at the airport, there was a mass surge of people and paparazzi trying to capture the perfect shot of you
not only did you have bodyguards form a circle around you both to separate you from the crowds, but the airport security also had to step in and provide another barrier
there were still video footage of wonwoo holding your hand and leading you out at a brisk pace as he followed the bodyguards in front of him
fans couldn’t handle the fact that you both wore matching bucket hats to the airport
there is also footage of him waiting for you to get into the car and away from the paparazzi's eyes before stepping in after you
since his Instagram post that confirmed your relationship, people have been all the more eager to capture moments of you both together publically
there was one day when there were pictures leaked of you both at the park, seemingly towards the end of a picnic date
in defense of you both, you had been at a park that was slightly more secluded and you had been in a corner under a tree
and you had both been wearing masks, but that did not deter fans from being able to recognize you
however, in the pictures, you were both sitting above a picnic blanket, and wonwoo was leaning against the tree that was providing you both with shade
you had your head lying on his lap as you spoke animatedly with your hands, and his own hands were playing with the ends of your hair as he listened to your story
there was another picture of where he was tugging you up from under your arms until your upper body rested on his own and he was hugging you from behind
lastly, there was a short video of you both still in the same position, looking around quickly (yet missing the camera facing in your direction) before removing your masks for a quick selfie
fans begged and pleaded under your posts for you to upload the selfie, but for now, they will have to deal with the grainy footage of you and wonwoo
you were known to tease your fans, so the day you posted a picture of the picnic, it being of the blanket with all the cute food set up, inadvertently confirming you knew about the picnic fiasco, people lost their minds
wonwoo was right behind you posting an instagram story of the sky, covered by the greenery of a very familiar tree...
at award shows, the dynamic between you two is very much similar to how it was before you started dating
you still sit with your respective groups, however, cameras are very much so watching for any and all interactions
especially how the corner of his lips quirk up when you send a bright smile his way
or how he slightly bows his head when your group walks by to approach the stage
whenever your group wins an award, cameras be damned, this man stands to applaud you
(this also prompts the rest of svt to join)
(you have some very enthusiastic cheerleaders thanks to him)
don't worry, he also gets the same treatment from you when svt receives a reward
you are one of the first people on your feet with your hands cupped around your mouth as you cheer along with the rest of the audience
cameras capture your adorable reaction to the win, projecting it on the big screen, and how your group members also join you in cheering
svt members (soonyoung and seokmin) copy your cheering and jumping on stage while seungcheol is giving their acceptance speech
wonwoo has to nudge them to calm down but he has a small grin on his face as he slightly bows in your direction
when walking past each other, you both smile at each other, and the cameras absolutely go OFF when he quickly interlocks his pinky with yours before continuing in opposite directions
despite being a very private person, this man is extremely down bad
when you perform, his eyes do not leave the stage, even leaning forward slightly to catch a better look
is always the first to stand to applaud after your performance
fans always await a photo from the event (especially if you both), and you deliver with a simple picture of both of your dress shoes from the event
when both of your groups have a comeback around the same time, people are begging for a dance collab
especially when other svt members collab with other members form your group
almost all the comments are asking for wonwoo and you
the day that your dance collab drops is the day that your fans will keep replaying
it very quickly became your most watched and liked tiktok video on both of your pages
anytime one of your groups were mentioned, the dance collab was to be mentioned as well
pretty sure it changed the trajectory of some people's lives
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skijumpingf1 · 10 hours
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The End (D.Prevc X D.Tande)
This was my way of coping with Daniels retirement. So this oneshot is about the whole situation around the retirement (Domiel´s version). I was on a field trip from uni these past weeks so had to write this on my phone, and it is probably not as good because I hate to write on my phone. But I had like an urge to do this. So enjoy! This is set in my interconnected oneshot series (last part is here) and it is from Domens perspective just to let you know.
Wordcount: 3984
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I am a bit nervous as I stand in the arrival hall at the airport in Ljubljana. Daniel was just training over in Norway and seeing his family. Judging by his mood over the phone at least one of those didn’t go so well. He seemed a bit stressed, but he wouldn’t tell me why. Maybe he hasn’t figured it out yet. I hope it has nothing to do with the fact that he officially moved to Slovenia a few months ago. He seemed happy with it but maybe he got homesick.
After planica it was pretty clear that Daniel would move and not me. Still, I gave it a bit of thought and he spoke to his family. His mom was hesitant, but she loves us together (and me too) and she knew that we were ready for the next step. Our national teams were pretty open about it too. So, we went apartment hunting in the area of the airport. The commute from our home to the airport shouldn’t be high when he would fly that much. To be honest, the first few weeks were a bit like heaven and hell at the same time. Heaven in the way that we could finally spent as much time together as we want. Hell because we went public at the same time and we may have underestimated the attention we would get. Especially here.
We were recognized almost every time we went outside. That lead to us not going anywhere which wasn’t good for Daniels acclimatization here in Slovenia. Eventually the attention got less and less, and we could move on.
Now that Daniel lives with me, it is my regular duty to collect him at the airport. I still love seeing him again. But today I am not just thrilled that my boyfriend is back.
His flight has landed about fifteen minutes ago and customs and stuff is always quick here so he should be out any minute. The door between the secluded area and the world outside opens and a few people in suits step out. I peak behind them. Daniel is coming out next. Automatically I form a smile at him. I spot him first and I get a moment of just looking at him when he doesn’t feel seen. He looks worried. Or stressed. Maybe unsure even. I swallow hard. So, it wasn’t my imagination that something was up. Then he notices me and his face lights up. His steps are getting faster and then he is back with me. I open my arms and pull him into a tight hug. “I missed you so much.”, I greet him.
“I have been gone for just six days.” “Yes, and? I still missed you.” The apartment was painful quiet without him. I even went to my parent’s house for a night. Officially to hang out with my sisters but I was there because I couldn’t stand the emptiness.
“I missed you too.” He presses a small kiss to my lips and takes my hand. I grab his suitcase but not without him complaining that he could do it himself. On the drive back home, he updates me on his family who are planning on visiting in a few months. This makes me think that something on the ski jumping side is up. Which is kinda scary. His from isn’t the best right now but he never acted this down. Something must have happened. Did he fall again and not told me? Or the team? After last season the whole dynamic changed. It wouldn’t surprise me if there would be still tensions inside team Norway after that.
“What’s up?”, I ask when I put a glass of wine in front of his face. We reheated the Lasagne that I made this morning for us (Yes, I actually can do a proper lasagne.) Now he is already sitting down waiting for me to do the same. “Nothing is up. Should be something up?” I take a sip from my glass and sit down. “I don’t know. Tell me.” He frowns a bit. His beautiful face is making a grimace. “I hope it is nothing major, so I didn’t want to tell you. You know the rule. I don’t know if I am really serious yet.” I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Oh god. He is thinking about retirement. That’s out rule. No talk about retiring if you are not serious.
I know him. The way he acts, the way he talked. He really thinks about it. “But you are serious considering it, aren’t you?” “I mean, it crossed my mind a few times. Especially this past week.” He doesn’t look at me. Daniel studies the tablecloth. I reach over the table and take his hand. “It is okay, Daniel. If you are considering it, talk it through with me.”  He finally looks up and I can spot a few tears in his eyes. I squeeze his hand tighter. “I know how hard Peros retirement was for you. I don’t want to burden you with another potential hard hit.” “You know the worst part was that he didn’t spoke to me, right? So, talk to me. Why are you considering it?” I can’t believe we are actually having this conversation now. In a few years for sure but it is so soon. Obviously, I would respect his decision either way, but I would miss him greatly in world cup.
“After Planica I hoped that every time, I would jump the fear would be getting less overwhelming and at the beginning it was like that. I don’t know what changed but now it feels like the opposite. Every time I am at the gate the fear is getting stronger and stronger again. Maybe it has to do with my bad form and that I am not trusting myself a hundred percent. Maybe it is me getting older.” Gosh sometimes I hate him. Why doesn’t he tell me stuff like this? It must be overwhelming to fear the thing he loves. Conflicting and hurtful. I know how much he loves it. I have seen it first hand. It is a passion we share. I couldn’t even imagine how hard it is to start losing it.
Daniel takes a sip from his wine. The Lasagne is long forgotten. “Do you think it could change again when you get into shape?” He raises his shoulders and sighs. “That’s what I am trying to find out.” I run my hand through my hair. That is a lot to be honest. “Ok.  If you want to talk it through, let me know. And I mean it. If you can’t sleep because of it wake me up.” He raises an eyebrow and puts a hand on my cheek. “I will try but I know that topic is hard for you too.” “Obviously I want you to continue with ski jumping. It means that we can spent so much more time together. Especially since it would be the first season since we are out. But if you just torture yourself with it, let it be. I can understand it. Ultimately ski jumping should bring you more joy than fear.”
Ziga stares worriedly at me when lift my weights. There is really no reason for it. I am doing everything like I do usually. Same weight, same posture. “What?”, I ask my teammate as soon as I set the weights down. “You just look emotional. That is rare.” “Very rare.”, adds Lovro who just finished his rotation on the weights too. I sigh and let myself sit down at the bench. “A lot on my mind recently.”, is my vague answer to the unasked question. “Care to elaborate?” I actually would but it is not my thing to share. So, I couldn’t. Also, it wasn’t like Daniel made up his mind in the last two days. Even though I think I know in which direction he will decide. Subconsciously he knows he can’t continue. But he needs to figure it out himself.
“Nope. I don’t want to elaborate.” “Ah, it is Daniel. Do you want to propose? I mean I think you guys are endgame, but you just moved in together. Maybe wait at least half a year.”, Timi chimes in. My eyes widen. Proposing and marriage can wait a few more years. Until we are comfortable living together. “No, I am not proposing. It just complicated stuff. Stuff that I can’t really talk about now.”  My teammates look not sacrificed but that is not my problem. “Don’t you think Daniel would be okay with you talking about it with your friends? I mean he knows how teams work. He probably talks about you with his teammates as well.” Normally I would agree but this is a sensitive topic. Daniel isn’t sure yet. And I don’t want him to get pressure from the guys since he trains with us quite often. “Maybe I just don’t want to talk about it with you guys.” I wink at them and stand back up. Lovro rolls his eyes. “Idiot.”
When I come home a few hours later. Another car is parked in front of the house. A car that I am pretty familiar with. What is Peter doing here? Did I forget that we were supposed to babysat today? Normally Peter would remind me twice before he brings his kids to our home. Slowly I enter the airy apartment that always reminds me of Daniels flat in Oslo. “I know it is a hard decision, but I don’t think it is a decision anymore.”, I hear my brother speaking. Oh. Seems like Danny invited my brother to talk about his potential retirement. Judging by Peros last sentence he also thinks that Daniel already made up his mind.
“I am home.”, I call out loudly to make my presence know. It was only fair, and I don’t want to spy on boyfriend. I take off my jacket while I hear rumbling in the living room. Seconds later Daniel is standing in the small hallway. A half smile on his lips. He is wearing jeans. Probably because Peter is over. Normally he prefers sweats at home. Or just boxers, my favourite choice. He closes the distance between us and puts an arm around my torso to pull me in. “Hei.”, he whispers. We are so close that I can feel his breath on my lips. I lean in and kiss him softly. As soon as I wrap my arms around him, I can hear a mumbled noise. Peter. I almost forgot he is here too. Reluctant, I let go of my boyfriend.
“Hello Peter.” My brother is standing in the doorway and has a smile on his lips. He is always so weird about Danny and me. He still looks so ... proud, I guess. As if he still couldn’t believe it. “I don’t want to annoy you guys any longer. Daniel if you want to talk again, I am free most of the time.” Peter pats me on the shoulder when he passes us on the way to wardrobe. “Or you could stay for dinner. If Mina doesn’t mind of course. Daniel made Kjøttboller.” Both of them look at me in surprise. It was not typical for me at all to spend more time with Peter than I needed. Especially outside of our childhood home. Mum hosts a Dinner once a week since I moved out. Whenever we could, Tuesdays were spent there. Recently I used this to speak with Peter more. It is weird but I miss him around. Apart from the dinner I only see him at hand overs for babysitting.
“If it wouldn’t burden you, I would love to try whatever Daniel made.”, Peter replies. “Don’t expect too much. There just meatballs.”, says Daniel and than he presses as short kiss to my lips.
“Do you have time to fly to Norway soon?” We are both not sleeping that night. He didn’t tell me that he is going to retire yet. But I know he knows that I know. If that makes sense. Daniel probably hasn’t said it out loud yet. Not even to himself. Saying something makes something more official. It is like when you say I love you for the first time. It is a big step that can’t be taken back. Nevertheless, the unspoken words are hanging between us. Both too restless to sleep because of it.
“I am going to Wisla. But I could fly to Norway before or after that.”, I answer his question. His hand is running over my chest. It is dark so I can’t really see him, but I think he is sitting a bit up. “I need you there when I tell people. Without you I can’t do it.” “Of course. Tell me when to book flights and I will do the rest.” I swallow hard. Just don’t start to cry, Domen. Daniel is now living here. I will see him more often now since he doesn’t need to go back to Norway that often. And Danny will probably come to a few competitions at least. I close my eyes. “I am proud of you.”, I say and try to hide my trembling voice. “Don’t you think it is cowardly to just give up? To just retire?” There it is. Retire. Fully officially spoken. I turn to my side to face him. I trace his hand on my chest and take it into my hand. “I think it is brave that you know when to stop and to leave the world you have known forever.” It is quiet on the other side of the bed for a few moments. “Thanks, I needed to hear this.” “I love you, Daniel. Of course, I know what you need and now you need a big cuddle session.” As I speak, I wrap my arms around him and pull him into my side. “I love you too.”
The whole flight to Oslo, Daniel squeezed my hand so bad that I almost asked him if he changed his mind. But the look of relief on his face when he realized that he wouldn’t need to jump this time he was back in Norway, made me realize that he was just scared. Scared of what his family and team will say.
The first stop of our list is his family. Trude Tande breaks out in tears as soon as her son announces his retirement. Tears of relief, I should add. Daniel told me once that she always is nervous watching him jump but after Planica it got worse. After we left his family home, we get to his trainer. The only time Daniel said it makes more sense to be alone when he tells someone. So, I wait in the car. He is already in there for half an hour. I don’t know if it’s long or short for this kind off conversation. I never had one myself and I never occurred to me to ask my brothers about their talks with our coaches. I run my hand through my hair while I text Nika to ask how she has been doing. Our schedules didn’t really align the past couple of weeks, so I just saw her once. I would probably have to wait a few hours for a reply since she is in the gym right now.
I look at the watch in the car. Now it has been 40 minutes. At what point should I go in and storm into the office? An hour? Just as I open the car door, Daniel comes out of the building. His eyes puffy and cheeks red. I slam the car door behind me and take a step towards him. He wraps his arms immediately around me when I reach him and buries his face in my neck. “Everything will be alright.”, I say because I don’t know what else to say. Daniel is clinging onto me, and I brush lightly over his back. “It was just so hard seeing the petty look on his face.”
We stand there for a while. I don’t know for how long exactly. At some point his cries get less and less. “Are you okay getting in the car?”, I ask him. He nods quietly and I let him go but without really letting him go. I still hold his hand until he is sitting in the passenger seat. Before I close the door, I give him a small kiss. I take a deep breath outside the car. It hurts so much seeing him like this. We both know it is the right decision, but ski jumping was such a big part in his life. Of course it hurts.
“Should I call the guys and cancel?”, I speak when we finally reached Daniels flat. He invited his teammates and a few old friends to his apartment in Oslo, which he kept until now. It is time to tell them about the retirement as well but after the conversation with his trainer I don’t know if it is the right thing to do today. Some of his teammates are on the way to Wisla as well and booked their flights over Oslo to be here. But I am sure they would understand if he would cancel. “No. I think I have to do this today and I want them to know.” While I nod, I wrap my arms around his torso. He is too restless to sit down, but I trap him near the couch where I sit. He puts his hands over mine and breaths in. Finally, the nervous energy leaves. “Do you want a shot maybe? Or a glass of wine? Beer?” My boyfriend turns inside my arms until he faces me. I open my legs for him and invite him to take a step closer to me. He runs a hand through my hair. “I have a better idea to get the energy out.”, he smirks. “You know the guys are coming in an hour, right? And we need to do the food.” I know logically that it isn’t a good idea, but I let my hand run down his spine until I reach his ass. “Strong words for someone who is practically forcing me onto his lap.” “Force of habit.”, I reply while I put more force in to get him on top of me. He chuckles. “We make it quick.”
 Daniel looks so much relaxed when the doorbell rings. While I put the last mini pizzas in the oven, he opens the door. Andres Fannemel is the first to arrive. He is already retired and not much around in the ski jumping community at the moment. I probably haven’t seen him in at least two years. But Daniel and him kept close contact. “If you want something to drink, Domen is in the kitchen and will get you something. I just put some music on.”, speaks Daniel and the hallway.
I can hear the steps of the Norwegian and swiftly put the last utensils in the cupboard. “Domen.”, nods Anders when he enters the kitchen. “Hey Anders. How is it going?” The retired ski jumper shrugs. I don’t think he is particularly fond of me. Maybe he thinks it was my fault that we took so long to make our relationship public or maybe he just doesn’t like me. But it has gotten better of the years. “Good actually. How are things with you?” “Still trying to figure my form out. Apart from that everything is relatively fine.” Apart from the fact that all my close people in world cup chose to retire. First Cene, then Mac (who just took a break but somehow hasn’t been back), of course Peter and now Daniel. “Are you coping without Peter in training?” “It has been harder than I thought but it is okay. I am a bit closer to my other teammates now.” I take a glass out and give it to Anders. He looks suspicious at it. “Behind you are the drinks.” “And how are you coping with this?” He pours himself a coke into the glass and leans against the table. “With what?”, I reply hesitantly. A smirk is building on Anders face. “It is kind of obvious. Never have I ever seen that Daniel hosts a team dinner and the way he spoke about ski jumping the last few weeks. You forgot that I am already retired. I know what leads to this decision. So, how are you coping with Daniels retirement?”  
Daniel pops into the kitchen. “Rob just texted that he and the others are almost there. The flight from Trondheim was delayed.” Just as he speaks the doorbell rings, and he is out of the door again. Anders still looks awaiting at me. “For him it is the best decision, and I am happy for him. Personally, I would want him to continue but not under those circumstances. Luckily, we live together now. Without that I would be way more stressed about this.”
Daniels flat is packed with ski jumpers and ex ski jumpers. I get a few surprised glances when Dannys teammates realize that I am also here. It is uncommon that I would join a team get together from team Norway. I mean I have done it from time to time but not regularly. But this one is a Daniels place, so I don’t think it is too strange. But it raises suspicions. Robert takes one look at Daniel when he arrives, and I know that he could tell like Anders. It is the way his gaze softens when he picks up on the energy of Daniel and me.
“So, Daniel, why are we here? What’s up?”, says Marius once everyone is settled in with drinks. My gaze shoots up my boyfriend who is already looking at me. I give him a warm smile and lean a bit against him. Again, I am sitting on the couch, and he is standing. This is our thing now apparently. He sets his hand on my shoulder and holds himself steady. Daniel looks up at his friends. I do the same. Some look worried, some look curios. Anders looks proud. “Ehm, I invited you guys over to officially tell you that I am retiring.” I can feel the way he tenses through his hand on my shoulder. I lay my hand on top his and wait on the reaction of his teammates. Robert is the first to speak. “Daniel it was a pleasure.”, he stands up and gives my boyfriend a hug. “I don’t know what to say. My god, Danny.”, Halvor follows. A few seconds later Daniel is surrounded by his teammates in a big group hug.
Next day is the day of the official public announcement. The team thought it would be fitting to shoot the video at the holmenkollen hill. I must agree that the location is perfect. It still is the last place where Daniel won. I am standing behind the camera and watch my boyfriend prepare. The whole night he was up to find words. “Okay Daniel. When ever you are ready.” And then he begins. He is more pulled together than I thought. A proud smile appears on my face. When our gazes meet, he nods barely visible. “I have given this decision a lot of thought. There is a mental barrier that remains after my fall in Planica, the fear has grown bigger than the joy of jumping.” I smirk when I hear a version of my words from when he told me.
When he is done, he takes a few steps in the direction of the hill. I follow him. Daniel looks up the hill with a smile laugh. “I can’t believe this is it. This is really the end.”
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ahmeddawn · 1 day
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Ao Nang: The Top Choice for Your Krabi Trip
Ao Nang: Your Gateway to Krabi's Best Attractions | Why Choose Ao Nang Over Krabi Town and Railay Beach
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typosandtea · 3 days
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hello tumblr user typosandtea, please take 🏡 for one or several of your oc for the muse asks! happy friday
("Home headcannons" from these oc asks)
Thankyou for the ask :D
Several you say? Hell yeah everybodyyyyyyyy is here!!
111mutant timeline
Murphy
Murphy's home post war is a secret little hideyhole in top of a multi story building with collapsed internal stairs. It's in the city not to far from both diamond city and the airport (since she is sort of bos aligned..). It's a bit bare since she is limited by what she can carry while flying to take up there, but fortunately there was already a couch, cooking station and table etc. since it was an apartment. She hung some dim string lights and patched most of the external holes so that she can sleep in the day. All in all very cozy with as many blankets as she can find since Boston is cold as hell compared to north Aus where she is from. The cooking stove doubles as a heater like one of the old style wood stoves. She thinks nobody can reach her up there but forgets about ladders, the fact that some people are really good at climbing and also jet packs ahaha.
Nathan
Postwar mutated Nathan doesn't really have a home since he isn't lucid most of the time and usually decides yeah this cave/mud hole /building is good enough. Always on the move, lost and wandering without conscious purpose. Prewar Nathan lived in sanctuary veterans estate with Murphy after they were both discharged for injury after anchorage. Nathan did most of the cooking since Murphy is a shockingly bad cook if it's not BBQ haha. He was a good cook, excellent pies of all kinds 👌. They shared the chores equally since Murphy was pregnant and then caring for Shaun and Nathan was learning to live with permanent injuries sustained in anchorage. Nathan liked to knit.
Tangos timeline
Tango
It's been a long time since Tango has settled anywhere, making friends for the first time in their life will do that to someone. They still visit Bobby and Darren occasionally but it's a long way from Boston so not recently. They occasionally hang around sanctuary and then later the castle while they sometimes help general Preston build up the minutemen (when they feel like it, Tango is very self-centered in the beginning). Is at the castle a lot more once they rescue curie and help her with her quest! Joined the bos in Cambridge thinking that Danse and co was the entirety of it, very rude shock when prydwen turned up. Worlds most difficult knight. They could be found at the airport sometimes. Has a habit of just disappearing on people including Danse (especially when they are rostered on for night patrol or cleaning) They do have a few small hidden garages dotted around so they can resupply, clean and preform maintenance on themselves in peace(they are a bit vain), very few people know about those though, Tango just up and disappears for a while to most people! The garages are well stocked with tools, power armor parts (that usually require mods to fit Tango) ammo and rifles in various states of repair.
Darren & Bobby
Since I've yet to speak about these idiots much: Darren and Bobby are the pair of robobrains responsible for turning the scavver into Tango! Partners that like to bicker and are disgustingly in love (in Tangos opinion). They are inside an old general atomics military facility which they have since turned into a home after overcoming most of their programming and being the remaining living residents, though there are some Mr.handies that they send on fetch quests for materials sometimes. Home for them is well hidden and secluded deep in the facility with only one partially collapsed tunnel left into the wing, they like it this way to keep others out! Very sciencey evil lair vibes with homely touches like and art and a cute little wine cabinet (robobrains and other biorobots like tango can drink as a little treat <3) Darren insists on coasters for all liquid containers even beakers and Bobby thinks they are pointless. Both like it very clean and it's spotless by wasteland standards.
Thorn
Thorn is this timelines 111 resident, though there is not a sole as such in the story, the quests are taken by a bunch of different people! Thorn takes the shortest most selfish route possible to get to fort Hagen with Nick. Once they get there she turns on and attempts to murder Nick and convinces Kellogg to take her straight to Shaun. From then on she and Kellogg live at the institute while she becomes a merciless director under fathers praise and an effective killer under Kellogg's tutelage (and eventual partnership). The world is a crueler place for her presence.
Libby
Libby is a ~100yo ghoul (she stopped counting) with a smart mouth and a knack for shotguns and explosives. She's also a recent minuteman recruit by Tango. After helping to take back the castle she is promoted to a squad leader, their shared quarters are often full of laughter and sarcastic jokes. The whole castle is bustling with life and activity usually, even the nighttime quite is a rhythm of watch changes and radio whispers.
Slick
Slick is a young ex gunner that was captured during a mission at gunners HQ well after the castle is established. He defected after he was treated better in minutemen custody than he was as an active low level gunner! Also lives at the castle now, is one of Libby's squad as they really hit it off as friends during his capture. He loves that the castle is always busy, full of people working together, he doesn't have to worry about getting disciplined for breathing wrong or minor mistakes like he did in the gunners and is so grateful for it.
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blackcarlivery · 5 months
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Glide to the Gate: Experience Airport Limo Services in Caledon
Stepping into a limousine isn’t just about travel; it’s a statement of elegance and comfort. In Caledon, hiring a limo service for airport transfers can transform a routine ride into a luxurious journey. Whether you’re heading out on a business trip or beginning a vacation, the right limo service ensures your trip starts and ends on a high note.
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Why Choose a Limo for Airport Transfers?
Stress-Free Experience: Forget about the hassles of navigating traffic or finding parking. With a limo, you just sit back and enjoy the ride.
Reliability: Limo services pride themselves on punctuality. You'll arrive at the airport with time to spare, ensuring a smooth start to your travels.
Comfort and Space: Stretch out with ample legroom and plush interiors. It’s the perfect space to relax or catch up on work before a flight.
Privacy: Conduct calls or handle last-minute details in complete privacy, thanks to the secluded passenger area in limousines.
The Benefits of Choosing Local Limo Services in Caledon:
Local Knowledge: Drivers from the area know the roads well, which can be invaluable when it comes to avoiding traffic snarls and taking the best routes.
Support Local Businesses: By choosing local services, you contribute to the local economy, supporting community businesses and jobs.
Personalized Service: Local limo services often go the extra mile to ensure your experience is exceptional, catering to local preferences and needs.
What to Look for in a Limo Service?
Licensed and insured: Safety first! Ensure that the limo service is fully licensed and insured.
Fleet Variety: A good service will offer a range of vehicles. Whether you need a classic stretch limo or a more understated luxury sedan, they should have you covered.
Transparent Pricing: Look for clear, upfront pricing without hidden fees. Your luxury ride shouldn’t come with a luxury price shock.
Customer Reviews: Check what others are saying. Positive feedback from previous customers is a strong indicator of quality service.
Preparing for Your Limo Ride”
Schedule in Advance: Book your limo well ahead of time to ensure availability, especially during peak travel seasons.
Communicate Your Needs: Whether you need extra luggage space or have a preferred route, communicate with your service provider in advance.
Confirm Details: A day before your trip, confirm the pickup time and location to avoid any last-minute confusion.
Enjoying the Ride:
As you glide towards the airport in the comfort of your limousine, take a moment to appreciate the serene environment. The hustle of packing and planning fades away, leaving room for anticipation of the journey ahead or some quiet reflection. This is the true luxury of a quality airport limo service in Caledon; it turns what is often a rushed and stressful part of traveling into an interlude of calm and comfort.
Choosing to hire an airport limo in Caledon is about more than just fancy cars; it’s about enhancing your travel experience. From the moment your professional chauffeur greets you until you arrive at your destination, every detail is handled with care. This isn't just a drive to the airport—it's a tailored experience to ensure your journey begins and ends in style and comfort. Whether for business or pleasure, a limo service can add that extra touch of luxury that makes your travel unforgettable.
Click here for more information about luxury limo service!
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ridepro · 11 months
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Unlocking Austin's Charm: How Car Services Enhance Your Visit
Austin, Texas, often referred to as the "Live Music Capital of the World," is a city that boasts a unique blend of rich culture, history, and a thriving contemporary scene. Home to music festivals, vibrant street art, and a burgeoning tech industry, Austin has become a sought-after destination for tourists and business travelers alike. While the city's public transportation system is decent, it can be limited in reaching some of the city's more tucked-away treasures. In this context, Car Services Austin, TX play a pivotal role in enhancing one's visit to Austin, offering convenience, flexibility, and a deeper connection with the city's charm.
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The Problem with Public Transportation
Austin's public transportation system, like many in the United States, primarily consists of buses and a limited metro rail system. While these modes of transport are sufficient for commuting and basic travel within the city, they have limitations when it comes to exploring Austin's more hidden gems. Public transportation routes often don't cover areas that are off the beaten path, such as the sprawling Hill Country, lesser-known hiking trails, or the numerous food trucks scattered around the city. These gems are part of what makes Austin unique and experiencing them often requires private transportation.
Car Services: A Solution for Exploring Austin's Charm
Car services have become an essential element for enhancing the Austin experience. Here are several ways in which they contribute to unlocking the city's charm:
1. Convenience
Car services provide a level of convenience that public transportation cannot match. They allow you to be picked up from your location, whether it's the airport, your hotel, or any other point in the city, and take you directly to your desired destination. This means no waiting for buses or figuring out complicated schedules. You have the freedom to set your own schedule and explore the city at your own pace.
2. Access to Hidden Gems
One of the remarkable things about Austin is its hidden gems – from secluded natural parks to undiscovered foodie havens. Car services provide access to these spots, enabling tourists to discover the authentic, less-traveled parts of the city. For instance, the Greenbelt, a series of hiking trails and swimming holes, is a well-known local secret. A car service can drop you off right at the trailhead, making it easier to experience the city's natural beauty.
3. Efficient Exploration
Exploring Austin often involves covering considerable distances. The city is known for its sprawling layout, which can make getting around a challenge, especially for those unfamiliar with the area. Car services ensure that you can move efficiently and comfortably, whether you're heading downtown, to the hipster East Austin district, or to the serene surroundings of the Hill Country.
4. Cultural Experiences
Austin's cultural scene is vibrant and diverse, with live music, art, and food at its core. Car services facilitate a deeper connection to these cultural experiences. For example, you can easily hop from one music venue to another, explore the street art in various neighborhoods, and sample local cuisines from different food trucks without the hassle of finding parking or worrying about drinking and driving.
5. Safety
Safety is paramount, especially when exploring a new city. Car services offer a secure and reliable mode of transportation. They are often more dependable than ride-sharing apps, with professionally trained drivers and well-maintained vehicles. This reassurance is particularly important for those traveling with families or for business purposes.
The Environmental Aspect
While car services undoubtedly offer numerous advantages for exploring Austin, it's essential to consider the environmental impact. Austin has a reputation for being eco-conscious, and the city's local government and transportation providers have been making efforts to reduce emissions and traffic congestion. Some car service providers are also embracing electric or hybrid vehicles to mitigate their environmental footprint.
Nevertheless, it's crucial to strike a balance between convenience and sustainability. Visitors to Austin can make responsible choices by opting for car services only when necessary and using public transportation, walking, or biking for shorter trips or when visiting locations accessible by those means. In this way, you can both unlock the city's charm and minimize your carbon footprint.
Conclusion
Austin's charm lies not only in its world-renowned live music scene but also in its hidden treasures, diverse culture, and sprawling landscapes. While public transportation is a viable option for basic city travel, it falls short when it comes to fully experiencing everything Austin has to offer. Car services, on the other hand, play a pivotal role in enhancing your visit. They provide unmatched convenience, access to hidden gems, efficient exploration, and a deeper connection to the city's culture.
By using car services, you can create a personalized itinerary that takes you to the heart of Austin's charm. From the cultural hubs of downtown to the serene beauty of the Hill Country, these services offer a seamless and comfortable way to explore the city. However, it's essential to be mindful of the environmental impact and make responsible choices, opting for car services when necessary and considering more sustainable transportation options for shorter trips.
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sws2023 · 1 year
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Vasco: Exploring Goa's Hidden Gem with Sea Water Sports
When most people think of Goa, they envision pristine beaches, vibrant nightlife, and bustling markets. However, there's a lesser-known side to this coastal paradise that's equally enchanting – Vasco da Gama. This port city, named after the famous Portuguese explorer, offers a unique blend of history, culture, and natural beauty. In this blog, we'll take you on a virtual journey to discover Vasco and introduce you to Sea Water Sports, a company that can make your visit truly memorable.
The Allure of Vasco da Gama
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Vasco da Gama, often referred to simply as Vasco, is a hidden gem tucked away in the southern part of Goa. Named after the legendary Portuguese explorer who first landed on Indian soil in 1498, Vasco is a city steeped in history and culture.
Dabolim Airport
One of Vasco's most prominent features is the Dabolim Airport, Goa's only international airport. Many travellers pass through Vasco on their way to other parts of Goa, but this city has much more to offer than just a transportation hub.
Historical Landmarks
Vasco is home to several historical landmarks that offer a glimpse into Goa's colonial past. The St. Andrew's Church, built in the 16th century, is a beautiful example of Portuguese architecture and is known for its intricate woodwork and religious artefacts. The city also houses the Naval Aviation Museum, which showcases the rich maritime history of the region.
Vibrant Culture
Despite its historical significance, Vasco has managed to retain its vibrant Goan culture. You can experience the local way of life by exploring the bustling markets, savouring Goan delicacies at street-side stalls, and interacting with the warm and friendly locals.
Sea Water Sports: Your Adventure Companion
While Vasco is known for its history and culture, it also offers opportunities for adventure and relaxation, thanks to Sea Water Sports. This renowned company not only specializes in water sports along Goa's coastline but also offers exciting tours and activities in and around Vasco.
Water Adventures
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Sea Water Sports provides a range of water sports and activities in Vasco, including jet skiing, parasailing, and banana boat rides. These thrilling adventures allow you to experience the beauty of the Arabian Sea while getting your adrenaline pumping.
Backwater Cruises
For a more serene and tranquil experience, Sea Water Sports offers backwater cruises in the Vasco region. These cruises take you through the lush mangrove forests and pristine waterways, allowing you to witness the rich biodiversity of the area. It's a peaceful escape from the hustle and bustle of city life.
Island Hopping
Vasco's proximity to various islands in the Arabian Sea makes it an excellent base for island hopping adventures. Sea Water Sports can arrange trips to nearby islands, where you can explore their unique landscapes, relax on secluded beaches, and snorkel in crystal-clear waters.
Practical Tips for Your Visit
When planning your visit to Vasco with Sea Water Sports, it's advisable to check the weather conditions and make reservations in advance, especially for water sports and island tours. Don't forget to pack essentials like sunscreen, comfortable clothing, and swimwear if you plan to participate in water activities.
In Conclusion
Vasco da Gama is a hidden treasure trove in the heart of Goa, offering a blend of history, culture, and adventure. With Sea Water Sports as your guide, you can dive into the wonders of this charming city and create memories that will last a lifetime. So, pack your sense of adventure, explore Vasco, and let the Arabian Sea and Sea Water Sports unveil the hidden treasures of this unique corner of Goa.
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luxuryridesnola · 1 year
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The Art of Luxury Travel: Premium Transportation Services in New Orleans
Luxury travel has evolved into a captivating and sought-after experience, transcending mere transportation to become an integral part of the journey itself. In the vibrant city of New Orleans, premium transportation services have redefined the art of luxury travel, offering travelers an exclusive and indulgent way to explore the city's rich culture and history. This article delves into the essence of luxury travel, highlighting the key features and benefits of premium transportation services in New Orleans that elevate the travel experience to unprecedented heights.
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The Essence of Luxury Travel
Luxury travel is more than just reaching a destination; it's about immersing oneself in opulence, comfort, and unparalleled service. It's an art that combines seamless logistics, attention to detail, and the creation of memorable moments that linger long after the journey ends. New Orleans, with its unique blend of history, music, and cuisine, provides an ideal backdrop for such a travel experience.
Key Features of Premium Transportation Services
Elegance and Comfort: Premium transportation services in New Orleans offer a fleet of meticulously maintained luxury vehicles that embody elegance and comfort. From sleek sedans to spacious SUVs, these vehicles are designed to provide travelers with a cocoon of relaxation while traversing the city's vibrant streets.
Professional Chauffeurs: The heart of luxury transportation lies in the professionalism and expertise of the chauffeurs. These experienced drivers not only navigate the intricate streets of New Orleans with finesse but also offer a level of service that goes beyond the ordinary. Their local knowledge and warm hospitality enhance the travel experience by providing insights into the city's hidden gems.
Personalized Itineraries: Premium transportation services often go the extra mile by offering personalized itineraries that cater to individual preferences. Whether it's a curated tour of historical landmarks, an exploration of renowned culinary destinations, or an evening of jazz and entertainment, these services tailor the journey to suit the traveler's desires.
Convenience and Punctuality: The luxury experience begins the moment travelers touch down in New Orleans. Premium transportation services offer seamless airport transfers, ensuring a smooth transition from the airport to the hotel or any other destination. Punctuality is paramount, guaranteeing that travelers' schedules are respected and adhered to.
Privacy and Exclusivity: Privacy is a hallmark of luxury travel, and premium transportation services provide a secluded space for travelers to unwind and reflect. Whether it's conducting business on the go or simply enjoying the city's sights without distraction, these services offer an exclusive haven.
Attention to Detail: The true art of luxury lies in the small details that make a journey truly exceptional. From chilled bottled water and refreshments to Wi-Fi connectivity and climate control, premium transportation services leave no stone unturned in providing a refined and pampering experience.
Benefits of Luxury Transportation in New Orleans
Immersive Exploration: Luxury transportation services enable travelers to explore New Orleans in a way that transcends the ordinary. With chauffeurs who act as local guides, travelers gain access to the city's hidden treasures and lesser-known stories, creating a deeper connection to the destination.
Time Optimization: Time is a precious commodity, especially when traveling. Luxury transportation ensures that travelers make the most of their visit by optimizing travel routes and avoiding unnecessary delays. This allows for a more relaxed and enjoyable experience.
Memorable Experiences: Luxury travel is synonymous with creating memories that last a lifetime. Premium transportation services contribute to these memories by facilitating extraordinary experiences, whether it's a romantic evening cruise along the Mississippi River or a private tour of historic plantations.
Stress Reduction: The meticulous planning and attention to detail provided by luxury transportation services alleviate the stress of navigating an unfamiliar city. Travelers can focus on savoring each moment rather than worrying about logistical challenges.
Curated Luxury: Luxury travel is a bespoke experience, and premium transportation services exemplify this principle. Every aspect of the journey is carefully curated to ensure a seamless blend of comfort, convenience, and indulgence.
Conclusion
Luxury travel is an art form that combines comfort, sophistication, and personalization to create an unforgettable journey. In New Orleans, the heart of culture and creativity, premium transportation services redefine the concept of luxury travel. With features like elegant vehicles, professional chauffeurs, personalized itineraries, and a keen focus on detail, these services elevate the travel experience to new heights. The benefits extend beyond convenience, delving into immersive exploration, time optimization, memorable experiences, and stress reduction. By indulging in premium transportation services, travelers can savor the essence of luxury as they explore the enchanting streets of New Orleans, making their journey as remarkable as their destination.
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saunachelyabinskru · 2 years
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The Best Bathing Establishments in Chelyabinsk
Whether you're looking for a Turkish hammam or a Russian bath, Chelyabinsk has plenty of options. With so many different bathing establishments in the city, it can be hard to know where to start.
Most baths are open all year round, but soaking in steaming-hot water can help revive you especially during the colder months. It's also a great way to meet locals, as the Budapest baths are packed during weekends. Additional info found at сауна колизей челябинск.
Catalog of saunas and baths in Chelyabinsk
In Chelyabinsk, there are several saunas and baths to choose from. These are a great way to relax and rejuvenate your body. The temperature in a sauna can reach 140 degrees Celsius, and the humidity is low.
There are also Japanese and Greek spa baths, which are similar to saunas in that they have a heated pool of water that heats up to 50 degrees, but the humidity is lower. There are some saunas that offer "Aufguss", where a Saunameister pours water on the hot stones to increase the level of humidity, but this is not something that you should do yourself.
The best bathing establishments in Chelyabinsk are usually located near the city center, but there are also a few secluded places that have very good prices and atmospheres. Some are very cosy, while others offer music and dance clubs.
The spa hotel Meliot is a 2-minute walk from the Ice Arena, and has a spa-club with saunas and hot tubs, free to use for guests. The hotel also features King Gustav restaurant and coffee house, a shared lounge area and a gym. It is also close to the railway station and the airport. Guests can find more information on its website. It is the best place to stay in Chelyabinsk for a sauna holiday, and offers a lot of amenities at a reasonable price.
Find Turkish hammam or a Russian bath
If you’re looking for an exciting experience that’s both culturally meaningful and relaxing, a visit to a Turkish hammam or a Russian bath is a must. In Turkey and Morocco, these bathing establishments have been a part of culture for centuries, and today they’re popular with tourists seeking to detox and relax.
Turkish baths are known for their cleansing, purifying and restorative effects on the body. They’re also important as a cultural ritual, with special traditions like Hospitality bathing, brides bathing and infants washing on their fortieth day.
Traditionally, a hammam consists of three chambers: a hot marble steam room to soak in the sweltering heat; a warmer room for scrubbing and a cooler room for relaxing after a session in the steam rooms. In Istanbul, you can find beautifully designed Ottoman hammams with multiple chambers and stunning architectural elements such as glass elephant eyes, leaded domes and marble seating.
You’ll need a few supplies to get the most out of your time in the hammam, including a peshtemal (wrapping towel) for men and a pestemal (wrapping towel) for women. These towels are usually wrapped around the waist or chest to protect the groin area, and they’re usually free to use in the hammam.
Once you’re ready, your attendant will take you to the warm section of the hammam where you can wrap yourself in the pestemal and soak up the warm, scrubbing water from the kurna, a small marble basin. After you’ve finished soaking, the attendant will wash you down with soap and exfoliate your skin with an exfoliating paste.
Saunas and baths by category
In Chelyabinsk, you will find a variety of bathing establishments. They differ in capacity, equipment and cost.
If you are looking for an upscale and luxurious bathing experience, then you should visit the Spa Hotel Meliot, which is located just off Gagarin Park in the city center. Its rooms feature a flat-screen TV and free WiFi. A gym and a beauty salon are also available.
Another good option is the Aquacity health centers network. They offer a number of different types of saunas and baths, including Finnish, aroma, Turkish, Russian and ice-slide.
For those interested in a more traditional banya, the institution “Endaweni Water” (Chelyabinsk) offers courses from beginner to master level. It is a small and cozy establishment, with two steam rooms: a hamam and a Finnish sauna.
Besides saunas and baths, the facility features an indoor pool, hookah and karaoke. Guests can also order food from the restaurant. The spa is a popular destination for couples, as it offers a romantic getaway in an unusual setting.
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rashidadotbd · 2 years
Text
The Best Bathing Establishments in Chelyabinsk
Whether you're looking for a Turkish hammam or a Russian bath, Chelyabinsk has plenty of options. With so many different bathing establishments in the city, it can be hard to know where to start.
Most baths are open all year round, but soaking in steaming-hot water can help revive you especially during the colder months. It's also a great way to meet locals, as the Budapest baths are packed during weekends. Additional info found at сауна колизей челябинск.
Catalog of saunas and baths in Chelyabinsk
In Chelyabinsk, there are several saunas and baths to choose from. These are a great way to relax and rejuvenate your body. The temperature in a sauna can reach 140 degrees Celsius, and the humidity is low.
There are also Japanese and Greek spa baths, which are similar to saunas in that they have a heated pool of water that heats up to 50 degrees, but the humidity is lower. There are some saunas that offer "Aufguss", where a Saunameister pours water on the hot stones to increase the level of humidity, but this is not something that you should do yourself.
The best bathing establishments in Chelyabinsk are usually located near the city center, but there are also a few secluded places that have very good prices and atmospheres. Some are very cosy, while others offer music and dance clubs.
The spa hotel Meliot is a 2-minute walk from the Ice Arena, and has a spa-club with saunas and hot tubs, free to use for guests. The hotel also features King Gustav restaurant and coffee house, a shared lounge area and a gym. It is also close to the railway station and the airport. Guests can find more information on its website. It is the best place to stay in Chelyabinsk for a sauna holiday, and offers a lot of amenities at a reasonable price.
Find Turkish hammam or a Russian bath
If you’re looking for an exciting experience that’s both culturally meaningful and relaxing, a visit to a Turkish hammam or a Russian bath is a must. In Turkey and Morocco, these bathing establishments have been a part of culture for centuries, and today they’re popular with tourists seeking to detox and relax.
Turkish baths are known for their cleansing, purifying and restorative effects on the body. They’re also important as a cultural ritual, with special traditions like Hospitality bathing, brides bathing and infants washing on their fortieth day.
Traditionally, a hammam consists of three chambers: a hot marble steam room to soak in the sweltering heat; a warmer room for scrubbing and a cooler room for relaxing after a session in the steam rooms. In Istanbul, you can find beautifully designed Ottoman hammams with multiple chambers and stunning architectural elements such as glass elephant eyes, leaded domes and marble seating.
You’ll need a few supplies to get the most out of your time in the hammam, including a peshtemal (wrapping towel) for men and a pestemal (wrapping towel) for women. These towels are usually wrapped around the waist or chest to protect the groin area, and they’re usually free to use in the hammam.
Once you’re ready, your attendant will take you to the warm section of the hammam where you can wrap yourself in the pestemal and soak up the warm, scrubbing water from the kurna, a small marble basin. After you’ve finished soaking, the attendant will wash you down with soap and exfoliate your skin with an exfoliating paste.
Saunas and baths by category
In Chelyabinsk, you will find a variety of bathing establishments. They differ in capacity, equipment and cost.
If you are looking for an upscale and luxurious bathing experience, then you should visit the Spa Hotel Meliot, which is located just off Gagarin Park in the city center. Its rooms feature a flat-screen TV and free WiFi. A gym and a beauty salon are also available.
Another good option is the Aquacity health centers network. They offer a number of different types of saunas and baths, including Finnish, aroma, Turkish, Russian and ice-slide.
For those interested in a more traditional banya, the institution “Endaweni Water” (Chelyabinsk) offers courses from beginner to master level. It is a small and cozy establishment, with two steam rooms: a hamam and a Finnish sauna.
Besides saunas and baths, the facility features an indoor pool, hookah and karaoke. Guests can also order food from the restaurant. The spa is a popular destination for couples, as it offers a romantic getaway in an unusual setting.
1 note · View note
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Life Without Colour (PART FIVE)
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Soulmate AU: Your vision is in black and white until you meet your soulmate. You and your boyfriend, Steve Rogers, aren’t each others soulmates but you love each other. He introduces you to his friends, the Avengers, and a very odd thing happens.
Characters: Steve Rogers x Plus Size Female Reader, Bucky Barnes x Plus Size Female Reader
Note: ignore that i don’t even question bucky being able to get through security at the airport, i couldn’t think of how he would be able to get through the airport security bc of his metal arm so i’ve skipped that detail completely. i hope it doesn’t detract from the story! 
this is nearly 6000 words!
Taglist:  @domainoflostsouls​  forgetthisbull  handon-h-art  yourspecialcrush  giulsgotmusic  mrsbarnes-rogers  luosymekawa  linzeyzarcone  forgetthisbull   calamityreads  talgra   marina-darling  btsforlif  lamoursansfin  classic1985  lovesicksofi  fandomsfallnomore  thebivirgin  classygladiatorcupcake
PART ONE
PART TWO
PART THREE
PART FOUR
PART FIVE
PART SIX
Seconds turned to minutes and minutes turned to hours. You had long since stopped trying to figure out what state you were in and where you were headed. Bucky had been driving non-stop aside from two bathroom breaks at a small gas station in the middle of nowhere. You had stopped crying a long time ago, too drained and too tired to continue. You felt horrendous. You hated this, you absolutely hated this but you had no choice in the matter. The car had been silent for the whole way aside from the quiet chatter on the radio. Bucky hadn’t wanted to speak in fear of upsetting you further. He had been driving you out of state to go to an airport that would be a little harder to find. It had been Fury’s idea, to go to an airport that Hydra wouldn’t look for straight away. It gave you a little more time to get away without being watched.
You took a break from watching the blur of trees and roads to glance at the clock on the dashboard; 13:42. You hadn’t eaten yet, barely had anything to drink either and you knew that you weren’t far away from a dehydration migraine. As if on cue, your stomach rumbled loudly. Bucky, without speaking, reached behind his car seat and produced a rucksack and dumped it on your lap with a, “Here. There’s water and some snacks in there. We’ll get a proper meal when we’re at the airport.”
You dug through the bag, producing two bottles of water. You opened one and offered it to Bucky, he accepted with a nod, draining half before handing it back to you. You offered him a muffin but he shook his head. You dropped the bag to between your feet and began to have your water and muffin. It helped curb the hunger, at least for a while, and you felt a lot better once you had something in your stomach. After a while, you sank back into your seat with a yawn.
Bucky glanced over at you, “We’ve still got a few hours to drive, you can sleep if you want.” You looked at him and he gave you a small smile, “It’s okay. I’ll wake you up when we’re there.”
You thanked him quietly before closing your eyes. It didn’t take long before you fell asleep and your soft snores filled the car. Bucky looked at you for a couple of seconds, smiling to himself. Man, it’s gonna be a long few weeks.
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It only felt like you’d closed your eyes for a few minutes when Bucky was saying your name, gently shaking your shoulder. Groggily, you opened your eyes to meet his blue eyes and it almost gave you a fright seeing them. Sometimes it still surprised you to see colour and especially when Bucky was around... colour seemed to be brighter and those deeper blue eyes seemed so bright in person.
“We’re here,” he said, pulling back quickly, not wanting to upset you by being too close. Bucky was very careful of boundaries, he always had been but especially after the Winter Soldier incidents. He knew what it felt like to not want to be touched or have your personal space invaded so he was always careful to not overstep.
“You’ve got the fake passports and stuff, don’t you?” You asked him, yawning and stretching in your seat.
He nodded and told you that they’re in his bag. In order to help the process of becoming anonymous, Fury had fake IDs and fake passports made for the two of you. They’d even gone so far as to create two new backstories for the pair of you just in case anyone ever questioned the pair of you. You and Bucky got out of the car, your legs ached from having sat in the car for hours upon hours. It was dark outside now, you didn’t know the time. Bucky grabbed the bags out of the car and handed you the two passports to hold. As you walked into the airport, you flicked to it. Miss Jane Smith and Mr John Smith. Two very common and obvious fake names but you hoped that it wouldn’t be picked up.
The check in process was much easier than you anticipated, the passports passed the ID checks and soon, the two of you were through security and heading for the food outlet. Bucky had told you to keep your head down for most of the time and to avoid direct eye contact with cameras. The airport was relatively quiet which was good in the sense you didn’t have to worry about people around you noticing Bucky. Bucky led you to a small café which was quiet and the two of you sat at the back. Everything was kind of passing in a blur and it only seemed like a few seconds until Bucky was back with your food.
You began to eat in silence and it was then you realised where you were going, “Estonia?” You asked quietly, making sure to not be overhead.
Bucky nodded as he took a bite of his burger, “Managed to find a secluded house, already furnished. The owner agreed to let us stay for a discounted price as well.”
“I’ve never been,” you shrugged, taking a bite of your food, “Where are we right now?”
“Pittsburg,” he said, glancing around the café to make sure no one was taking notice of the pair of you, “Steve thought it would be a good idea to leave from an airport a few hours away from New York. Hydra and Rumlow would check New York airports first once they realise you’re out of town.”
You smiled sadly as you looked down to your food. Leave it to Steve to think of everything. Bucky told you that the flight would be leaving in an hour and it would be a long ass flight but it was okay because you were exhausted and you could absolutely sleep for a good portion of the flight anyway.  
You sighed, “When can I take this stupid disguise off? I’m so uncomfortable!”
Bucky studied you carefully, “When we’re in the safe house.”
“Do I look stupid? I feel stupid.”
“You look... different. Not bad just different,” he paused before speaking again, “I prefer you as you are though, without the wig, contacts and flashy clothes. I think you look much better when you’re being yourself.”
You didn’t know how to respond to that with anything other than a nod. It felt foreign and wrong to receive a compliment from him, even though it was a genuine, friendly compliment, it felt wrong. The two of you didn’t say much after that.
After eating, you and Bucky went to get some plane snacks. You grabbed some water and some treats, you also wandered to the book section and picked up a book. As you were walking to the books, you saw a little boy and girl pass wearing matching Captain America t-shirts. Your breath caught in your throat as you watched them pass. It seemed to hit you in that moment that this was real and this was truly happening.
“(y/n)?” Bucky asked appearing behind you.
You turned to him, “Sorry... I just can’t believe this is happening.” 
Bucky nodded before gesturing to the check out, “Let’s get this all checked out and then hopefully we’ll be able to go to our departure gate.” He didn’t really know how to help you without overstepping or potentially upsetting you. He didn’t want you to get upset in public so he thought that he could keep you distracted and that would help ease your worries. It helped, having him there to guide you and distract you from possible sad thoughts helped a lot actually.
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You found your airplane seats quick, the two of you were bang smack in the middle and you were both in a two seater section. Bucky let you go in first, saying that he preferred not to look out of the window when taking a flight. You sunk into it, keeping your head down and wrapping your arms around yourself to get warmer. As Bucky sat beside you, tapping his foot and his hand on the armrest impatiently, you looked at him curiously, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Bucky said, “Just... not a big fan of flying.”
You pulled out the magazines which were in the pocket of the chair in front of you and handed him them, “I find that reading the safety procedures always helps. Also reading the magazine where you can just check out the meal deals and the perfume deals help a bit.”
Bucky took them off of you and began to flick through them. In the meantime, you closed your eyes. As the plane began to move, Bucky tensed beside you and you opened your eyes to look at him, his hands were clenched around the arms of the chair, jaw clenched too.
“Hey, show me that,” you said, sitting up straighter and pointing to the magazine. He looked at you and then handed it to you. Bucky had been helping you out by distracting you from being sad, the least you could do is distract him from being anxious. You leaned over, probably a little closer than you would’ve felt comfortable with in normal circumstances. Bucky stiffened as he smelled your perfume when you came closer. You took no notice of the closeness.
“Look at that!” You said, pointing to the menu that they were offering that night on the flight, “What would you have?” Bucky shrugged and you rolled your eyes, “C’mon. I’d have the chicken curry and the cheese and ham panini and then I would absolutely have the tiramisu afterwards. What about you?” You held it closer to him for him to study.
“Uh... I mean, I suppose the lasagne sounds nice. The breaded mushrooms too, I like those. Never had tiramisu but it sounds nice enough so I’d give that a go too.”
“No way,” you said shaking your head, “I would order the tiramisu and you would order the chocolate and raspberry mousse and we’d share them both.”
Bucky snorted slightly, “Sure thing, whatever you want.”
You flicked through more of the pages, “Ooooh,” you said noticing the deals on the perfumes, “I love airplane and airport deals. I only ever buy my perfume from duty free, honestly. No point in buying it full price anywhere else.”
“I still find it crazy that there’s a shop on an airplane.”
You nodded, “I mean, it’s pretty weird but I’m not complaining about the deals. Some of the stuff you can buy is so bizarre though. I was on this flight once, going on holiday with my family when I was younger, and they were selling t-shirts with a picture of the airplane we were in on them saying ‘I rode in this plane and all I got was this lousy t-shirt’.”
“That sounds like it’s a total dad shirt,” Bucky laughed slightly. He looked a lot younger when he smiled. He was always so stony and serious but when he smiled or laughed, it knocked years off him. He was already a handsome man but when he smiled, he was just... wow.
You burst out laughing as he said it, “My dad did buy it and he wore it so proudly!”
Bucky laughed with you, finding his nerves easing up as he spoke to you. He hadn’t had a chance to talk to you about anything other than the fact you were soulmates so it felt rather nice to talk to you on another level. It was still prettty strange but it was nice. Steve always told him that you were easy to get along with so he wasn’t too surprised. As you continued to chat, you gasped audibly when you came to the ‘collectibles and merchandise’ page, “There it is!” 
“No way!” Bucky grinned as he looked down at the picture of the t-shirt exactly like the one you described, “Oh, god, it’s hideous.” The two of you lapsed into laughter again, talking and looking at it before Bucky happened to glance out of the window, “We’re in the air?”
You looked out, “Yeah, we took off about fifteen minutes ago actually.” Bucky breathed out an impressed laughter, “My distraction technique always works. Keep the mind occupied on something else like the ugliest t-shirts in the world.”
Bucky smiled, “Thank you and thanks to the ugliest t-shirt ever-” it was then that a man wearing the exact t-shirt you had been slating got up from the seat in front of you and shot you a dirty look as he walked past, “Oh, shit.” It was hard to keep your laughter in but somehow you both managed it.
As you calmed down, Bucky sighed, “No, really, thank you for that.”
You smiled as you handed him the magazines back and sunk back into your seat, “And now, I sleep.”
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When you woke up a few hours later, you found yourself to be sitting alone with no Bucky Barnes in sight. You looked up to see a flight attendant coming down the aisle, “Excuse me,” you said with a smile, “do you know where the man sitting next to me went?”
She smiled, the same warm smile that every flight attendant has, “Yes, your husband is in the queue for the toilet, he should be back in a few minutes.”
You nodded, she went to leave when you caught her again, “Sorry, can you do me a favour?”
When Bucky came back, he was pleasantly surprised to see you sitting awake, smiling at him, “Good sleep?” You nodded,  “Don’t worry, you didn’t snore... too loud.” 
Your cheeks burned as he teased you, “Shove it, Barnes,” you scoffed, “I bought us a present.”
He frowned, “A present?”
You grinned as you held up two t-shirts, the exact same one that you both said was the ugliest shirt in the world, “No way!” He laughed, clapping his gloved hands together, “Oh my god, they’re worse in person.”
You laughed as you handed him his, “You’re so welcome. I will make us wear these at some point by the way, don’t think you’re getting out of it.” You’d never seen Bucky smile so wide with pure joy radiating from him. It was nice to see; it made you feel a lot better about the situation that was happening. You and Bucky hadn’t broached the subject of being the other’s soulmates, you actually really didn’t want to have that conversation anytime soon, but it was nice to know that at least you got on a little bit.
The fact that the pair of you were laughing so soon felt wrong. It felt like you were betraying Steve for merely getting along but it was nice. You were scared of what was going to happen and Bucky had been anxious about flying so the pair of you had nothing to do but talk to each other. Sure, it wasn’t a particularly interesting conversation but it was something. It was still a little awkward and a little weird at times but you could look past that for a few minutes to just appreciate the fact that Bucky was doing this.
Soon, you were curled back into your plane seat, your own jacket draped across you, “Thanks,” you said quietly as sleep began to take over,  “for doing this for Steve. I know that it’s not ideal and I know you probably don’t want to be stuck with me for weeks. I appreciate it, Bucky.”
Bucky nodded and didn’t say anything. I’m not doing it for only Steve, I’m doing it for you too. He watched you for a moment longer before closing his own eyes and resting into his own seat.
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The rest of the flight went by in a blur, you slept some more, read your book and ate some food. It wasn’t long before it was time to land and Bucky could not have been more happy than in the moment the wheels of the plane landed on the runway. The airport was a relatively quiet which meant that security and getting your bags was a lot faster than anticipated.
Soon, you were waiting with Bucky in line to get a rental car. To your surprise, when it was your turn to speak to the receptionist, Bucky slid a wad of cash over the counter, “I want a car to keep and I want it off book.”
The receptionist, who was a middle aged man with salt and pepper hair, eyed Bucky with narrow eyes and Bucky stared right back at him. You glanced between the two men wondering who would give up the staring contest first. After a pregnant pause, the receptionist shrugged and dug around in the drawer next to him before pulling out a car key, “Grey sedan in Lot C, registration plate ends with RUS. It’s old and a little worse for wear but for this price, best I can do.” He glanced from left to right before sliding the keys across the table. Apparently he seemed to accept the bribe. You raised your eyebrows, looking between the man and Bucky.
Bucky thanked him with a nod before taking the keys and picked up his and one of your bags before walking away with you in tow, “Wait,” you said quietly, rushing to keep up with him, “You just bought a car?!”
Bucky nodded, “We needed a car. This one will do for a while, keeps us off of the radar for a while.”
Finding the car was easy, the hard part was trying to keep up with Bucky. He took long, quick strides that were hard to keep up with. The car was parked alone in Lot C. It was a little old, with some dents and scratches in the doors from previous bumps and accidents and some of the paint had chipped but aside from that, it seemed to be fine. Bucky loaded the bags in the trunk before getting into the driver’s seat. You settled into your seat and Bucky said that it would be a forty minute drive but could do it in half the time if the road’s were quiet. Then, you both set off.
You couldn’t stop staring out of the window, looking at every single detail of Estonia. It seemed like a dream that you’d be waking up from any second now. Your hands fidgeted with your jacket sleeves as you stared out to the vast unknown. What would become of you and your relationship, you had no idea. You didn’t know what was going to happen and you had absolutely no clue where you would be going. A wave of uneasiness crashed over you as you tried to swallow down the nausea. 
The drive seemed to simultaneously be the longest and shortest drive ever. Seconds felt like years and minutes felt like nanoseconds. You just wanted things to go back to how they were two months ago when things were easy and simple and life was without colour. You glanced over at Bucky, wishing that it had been anyone besides him that was your soulmate. Bucky was a decent enough guy from the short time you’d been with him, I mean, he was willing to take you to a safe house for god knows how long after meeting each other less than three times so obviously he was a good guy but... even if you and Bucky ended up friends, ended up falling in love... nothing could ever happen. You just couldn’t do that to Steve. 
Oh, Steve. 
You wondered what he would be doing just now. He would probably be in the gym with Sam, boxing his feelings and emotions about the whole situation out. That’s what he usually did when things were tense or when he was stressed, he would go to the gym and work out for hours. Sam would usually go with him, being his comic relief to make things less stressful for him. You had never been so thankful for Sam Wilson than in that moment of realisation. You had been so focused on what this meant for you and how this would affect you that you’d practically overlooked your boyfriend’s feelings.
Steve would be blaming your kidnapping on himself, even though it wasn’t his fault that Hydra were dickheads. He would be devastated that he’d had to send you off with your soulmate, knowing fine well that you could easily come back home in love with Bucky. It had been so hard for Steve to make that decision but it had to be done. He wished that he could’ve came with you but it was his mess to clean up and he couldn’t just let his friends do it. He wasn’t that selfish even though he wished he could have been. Steve would rely on Sam pretty heavily over the coming weeks. Sam had been such a good friend to Steve in the few years they’d known each other. Sam understood Steve, they shared the same values and same morals and that was something you liked about Sam. Sam wasn’t afraid to stand up and fight for what was right. You knew that Steve would be in good hands with Sam at his side.
Little did you know, Bucky was thinking of Steve Rogers too as he drove. It was surreal that he was driving with you, through Estonia, to a safe house where you’d be for weeks, potentially months. It scared Bucky, honestly. He liked you, not in a romantic way (yet), but he had heard all about you from Steve. All of those months that Bucky was in Wakanda, Steve called every week to check on him. Every week, Steve would talk about you. He remembered the things he would say about you. ‘She’s great, Buck. She’s got this smile, this really wide smile that I’ve only seen a handful of people have in my life. You know the one I mean. That genuinely happy, makes you smile when you see it smile.’, ‘You gotta meet her, Bucky. She’s everything I’ve been looking for and even though we’re not soulmates, we are.’, ‘It’s crazy. After Peggy, I never thought I’d fall in love again but (y/n) came into my life when I needed her most. Every day, I wake up thankful for her. My god, you have to meet her. You two will get on so well. She keeps my on my toes and is hilarious.’
Bucky glanced at you, a familiar pang of guilt shooting through him. You were his best friend’s girl and he could never do anything to pursue you because he cared about Steve too much. Steve was the one person who had given him a chance and had stuck by him through everything. Steve deserved you, Bucky didn’t.
It wasn’t long before Bucky pulled into a driveway. You looked around, realising that you were deep in the woods. It was an off road cabin that seemed to be pretty far from civilisation, “This is it.” Bucky cut the engine before getting out of the car. You stayed put, staring at the cabin in front of you. From the outside, it looked a little run down but very liveable. It was made with a dark oak wood which blended in well with the trees. Passers by would have to do a double take at first because of how well it blended in.
You got out of the car, grabbing the rucksack that had been by your feet. Bucky appeared beside you, carrying all of his and your bags, “Ready?”
You didn’t look at him, eyes stuck on the cabin in front of you. This was it. This was your future. You were unusually terrified as you stared at it. As soon as you stepped into that cabin, your future would change forever. Everything would change. Life as you knew it with Steve would completely change as soon as you walked into that cabin. With your heart beating fast, you took a breath and nodded, following him up the stony path and to the front door. He unlocked it and swung the door open before disappearing inside. You hesitated at the front door, staring at the line on the floor to mark the cabin’s entrance.
“I love you, Steve,” you whispered before stepping into the cabin and closing the door behind you.
The cabin had an old musty smell to it, the smell of emptiness. Clearly, no one had lived here for a long time. The décor was simple and pretty outdated but it was nice. Bucky had flicked the lights on throughout the cabin and was checking each room just to double check. You wandered through each room. The living room was simple with a couple of recliners and a small couch with a small TV on an old coffee table. You’d be surprised if the TV still worked with a thick layer of dust coating it. There was a large fireplace in the middle of the side wall which would be nice on a cold night. The kitchen was nice with everything that the pair of you would need to get started in the wooden cupboards and on shelves. It had a small table in the corner of the room, looking out of the window. Bucky told you that tomorrow, he would go get some shopping and food supplies until then you had the water and a few more snacks.
Next, you ventured into the bedrooms. Yours and Bucky’s separate bedrooms were adjacent to each other. Bucky had dropped his bags in the slightly smaller room. You went to object but the look on his face told you not to even bother. Bucky’s room was smaller yet still spacious enough for a double bed and a wardrobe. Your room was pretty much the same though as well as a wardrobe you had the chest of drawers as well. The shared bathroom was beside your room and it was... well, it was just an outdated bathroom. And that was it.
The cabin wasn’t particularly big or luxurious but it was much than you had expected. You seriously were expecting to sleep on the floor on a bug infested hotel but Bucky had done pretty good. You’d long since abandoned your disguise, feeling much better when looking like yourself. As you wandered around again, checking cupboards, finding extra duvets and pillows in the wardrobe in your room, you remembered something important. You dug around in your bags until you found it; a picture frame. Bucky knocked on your bedroom door. You turned to him, “You don’t need to knock,” you said.
“Come so I can show you something.”
You followed him into the living room as you held the picture frame in your hands. He stopped in front of a painting on the wall moving the painting to reveal a safe, “Oh, wow,” you said surprised.
“I got this safe installed and I’m putting this gun inside it, okay?” He told you, taking a gun from his back pocket. You jumped slightly, not expecting him to wield a weapon in front of you, “This is for emergencies, got it? I’ll teach you how to use it but for now, I’m locking it up in here, okay?”
“I don’t want to use a gun-”
“Neither do I,” Bucky said, cutting over you, “but I have to at least show you how to use it just in case, okay? The code is 0407-”
“Steve’s birthday.”
Bucky faltered before nodding and continuing, “Yeah, Steve’s birthday. Type that in,” he typed it in, “and it’ll unlock.” He dropped the gun inside of it before closing it over, “Re-type the code and it locks. Got it?”
You nodded.
“I always have at least one weapon on me at all times, okay? I have my gun and I have my knife. I’m only putting this here and showing you just in case, okay? We’ll probably never have to use it but it’s just in case something happens, just so I know that if I can’t get to you, you can have some way to protect yourself.”
Again, you nodded. Bucky eyed you carefully, making sure that you were okay with this. You didn’t really know how to feel about it. You weren’t surprised that he had weapons but it scared you the thought of you having to use them. Hopefully it would never come to that though. He could see the toll this was taking on you and you’d barely been gone a day. He was about to ask what you had in your hands when you wandered over to the fireplace and put the photo atop. It was a photo that you had once upon a time hated. It was you and Steve laughing as you posed for a picture in front of your Christmas tree. Nat had taken it on Christmas Eve. You wore a dress that hugged your curves a little too tightly for your liking but Steve had loved to see you in that dress. He always said the colour complimented your complexion so well and now that you could actually see colour, you could see where he was coming from. You loved that picture now, you remembered the night fondly where he twirled you around, telling you how beautiful you were every other minute. So yeah, you could see your protruding stomach and your bigger arms but you loved it. You smiled as you looked at Steve’s smile, heart soaring as you looked at him. Steve could make you feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. With him, you truly believed it. Your weight never defined your worth, you defined it.
Almost instantly, Bucky lunged for it, grabbing it and almost tumbling into you,  “What the fuck?!” You hissed, leaping backwards. You hadn’t expected the dark haired super soldier to lunge from across the room, almost knocking you off of your feet to grab the picture frame down.
Bucky released a sharp breath, “The window,” he said gruffly. He pulled the curtains shut quickly, “We can’t put any photos up.”
“Why the fuck not?!”
He rolled his eyes, Steve had warned him that you could be stubborn, “In case we’re being watched. If someone’s tailing us, they might look through the window and have our identities confirmed if we put photos up.”
You rolled your eyes, “If someone’s tailing us then I’m pretty sure that they know our identities already. Give me it back.”
“Fine but you’re not putting it there,” Bucky said.
You glared at him as a bubble of anger boiled in your stomach, “My god, how am I meant to stay here with you for weeks if you’re such an arse over a photo?!”
“Yeah?” Bucky scoffed, “I didn’t have to come here, (y/n). I came because Steve asked. I came for you.”
You were breathing heavy as you glared at each other, “Yeah well maybe I don’t want you here.”
“Maybe I don’t want to be here!”
“Keep the stupid picture.” You turned on your heel and stormed into your bedroom, slamming the door shut behind you. You knew that you weren’t angry at Bucky, you knew that the two of you were tired and hungry. You knew that you were a flurry of emotions from having your life flipped upside down. You knew that Bucky was looking out for your safety but you were pissed and he was the only person near you so he would have to deal with it. 
Bucky sighed heavily as he fell onto the couch, pursing his lips and pinching the bridge of his nose. Yeah, Steve, she’s fucking brilliant. 
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It was hours later when you rolled over with a huff. Sleep wasn’t coming easily. You were still too pissed off and because you were still so pissed off, you were only getting more annoyed. You knew that if the anger faded, you’d probably end up crying and you didn’t know which was worse so you just stayed angry. You wished that Bucky would’ve just been able to talk to you normally instead of treating you like a child. You would’ve absolutely understood the picture fiasco had he not leapt over the table and yanked it like a dog stealing someone’s dinner from the table. 
You sat up in bed. Usually, if you couldn’t sleep you’d watch TV or go on your phone but you didn’t feel up for watching the tiny TV in the living room and you obviously didn’t have a phone so you couldn’t do much than think. You’d need to see if there was a cheap CD player and CDs in town so that you could at least have some background noise. The cabin was eerily quiet at night. It was a different surrounding in a different country and everything just felt a little uneasy. You were used to New York where the hustle and bustle was part of every day life but the woods was so quiet aside from the rustling trees... it would take some getting used to.
With a huff, you grabbed your dressing gown from the bag on the floor and made your way into the kitchen. You grabbed a glass and filled it with water before taking a long drink. You didn’t know why you wandered into the living room but you found yourself venturing in and it was then you noticed, in the dim light from the moon, you saw a note and the picture of you and Steve that sat on the coffee table in front of the TV. You picked up the note.
I’m sorry about freaking out over the picture, it’s been a long day. Steve warned me you were stubborn but I wasn’t prepared, I guess. Let’s not put it on the fire place until we’re absolutely sure that no one’s tracking us. Until then, it can go here where it’s not facing a window. Hope that’s okay. It is a lovely picture of you and Steve... Again, sorry. - Bucky
You smiled slightly as you read it before slipping the note into your dressing gown pocket and going back to bed. So Bucky Barnes was decent after all.
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sorryjustafangirl · 3 years
Text
it’s a love story
a/n:  this is my submission for the @doubleminor​’s #hockeychallengemusic ! im so so super late but i finally had the time to write this. the toronto six of the nwhl have this as their winning song and i loved watching them celebrate this season. and apparently all i can write is matty tkachuk but i felt he really fit this idea
Pairing: Matthew Tkachuk x reader
Work count: 2.2k+
warnings: mentions of the pandemic and one swear but other than that just fluff :)
disclaimer: this is a work of fiction and real person fiction if you don’t like that, please don’t read! also the gif isn’t mine! all credit to the fantastic gif-maker!
prompt: choose an official team/player goal song and make something using that goal song // found here 
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He had wanted the proposal to be perfect. The moment he knew you were the one he wanted to marry, he asked your best friend for everything you had ever mentioned about a proposal. You were only going to get proposed to once, and he wanted to make sure it was perfect. 
Secluded, yet meaningful, place? Check. 
Get it on camera? Check. 
Cute outfit with nails done? Check. 
But a global pandemic was not in his plan. Not even close. 
When the season had got put on pause, his parents suggested he come back to St. Louis to spend time with them, since Brady was coming back too. He was hesitant to go considering you were still going into the office for an essential project, but you assured him that he should go spend time with his family. He didn't get to see them a lot, and you knew he missed them. When he packed, he made sure to take the little velvet box and shove it between his socks. He didn't want to risk you finding it while he was away. 
A couple weeks later, after many FaceTimes and virtual date nights, you finished your project and work gave you the all clear to work from home. A two week quarantine and one plane ride later, you had joined him in St. Louis. You were still working, but working from the Tkachuk's home and with your boyfriend was much better than working alone in your shared apartment. 
Since you had joined the family, Taryn had noticed her oldest brother was a little jumpier than usual. Before, he was more carefree, aside from the occasional moping, and he definitely wasn't making sure his bedroom door was closed whenever he went in there alone. But now? It seemed odd. He wasn't moping, but he had those moments when he seemed too sad for it just to be about the season.  
So after Matthew's third sigh and retreat to his room while you were working, she decided it was time for an intervention. She quietly followed him to his room, where he methodically closed it and made sure it clicked. 
***
It was the second time today Matthew had looked at the box today. He knew he was torturing himself, opening the box to look at the ring he had picked out. It wasn't too flashy, something just your style. He remembered the way his heart jumped when he saw it in the store. It instantly reminded him of you and he just knew it was the one. It was like he couldn't help himself, looking at the box another time.
You could’ve already been engaged by now. The two of you could’ve been looking at venues and dates and even if he said he never really cared about that stuff… he couldn’t help but long for those things, because it would mean it was real. The two of you would be getting married, and he’d get to be your husband. 
But instead of being engaged, he’d just have to stare at the ring and wish he could make this all go away so he could give you the proposal you’ve always wanted. He relived the time he knew you were the one, anything to remind him that you wouldn’t mind waiting until this pandemic was over to get engaged. 
It was a home game against the Senators. Nothing speculator, just a regular game that they unfortunately lost in OT. Because it was against the Sens, and because he scored the only goal of the game, Matt knew he’d be chosen for press. He was tired, and there was nothing he wanted more than to see his family who had made the trek out to Calgary to see the boys play. He left the dressing room with his tie a little crumpled from the rush to meet them. 
He turned the corner to see Taryn sitting on a bench, with Brady standing with his parents, probably cracking a joke based on the way his mom was playfully glaring at Brady while his dad laughed loudly. His mood picked up a little after the interview and the loss.
As he got closer, he realized that Taryn wasn’t sitting alone. You were sitting there, your head resting against her shoulder, your eyes slightly closed. He stopped in his tracks when he saw your work bag sitting in your lap and your suitcase beside you. Your flight was supposed to get in around 8 and he had insisted that you just meet him at home after the game. This work trip had been horrible, your co-worker throwing you under the bus in a meeting with executives on a project he didn’t work on. You deserved to be relaxing with a glass of wine in the sanctity of your shared apartment. But you were here, at his game, straight from the airport, laughing with his family despite your drooping eyes. He had never felt more loved than he did right there. 
A knock startled him from his thoughts. 
“Uhh... just a second!” He snapped the ring box shut and quickly stood up from the bed to shove it in his drawer. Taryn popped her head in to see him very suspiciously standing in front of his dresser.
“It’s just me, dork. What are you doing?” She entered his room, making herself comfy on his bed. He scoffed, and closed the door behind his sister. 
“I’m not doing anything. What are you doing?” He went back to standing by the dresser and Taryn rolled her eyes.
“That’s exactly it, you’re doing nothing. Normally, when we’re all home you’re like bouncing off the walls. Like I know this time it’s different but Y/n came too so I thought… I don’t know, you just seem off but Brady didn’t think so and I didn’t want to worry Mom… so like, what’s going on? Is everything okay? Are you and Y/n fighting?” 
His eyes bugged out and Taryn would have laughed if she wasn’t so serious. “What no! We’re fine! We’re fine, why-why would you say that?” 
“You’ve been quiet Matt. You’re never quiet, especially when Brady’s home with us.” He rolled his eyes and she huffed at her older brother. “You know it’s true! So... what’s going on?” He sighed and turned to find the box from the drawer. He looked down at the velvet in his hands as he sat on the edge of the bed. Taryn moved to be sitting beside him and gasped quietly. 
“Is that...?” 
“Yeah. I was going to...you know, before the world went to shit. I had it all planned out too. The weather was getting warmer and there’s this hiking trail we like in Banff, it’s only like an hour drive. There’s this perfect spot where I could prop my phone up so I could get it on camera, just like they wanted. But now... I don’t know what I’m going to do.” 
“Do you still want to, you know, propose?” 
“’Course I do. Honestly, I want nothing more. But, they deserve it to be perfect, you know? And like, I don’t know how I could surprise them here, because we’ve been chilling in the same sweatpants for the past week! Asking them to get dressed up would seem suspicious and I want it to be a surprise,”
“Could… could I help you? I might have an idea…” She grinned towards her brother, his eyes brightening at the idea of marrying you. 
***
“Y/N, do you want to do a TikTok with me?” She called to you from across the Tkachuk’s backyard. Taryn must’ve been feeling the quarantine because yesterday the two of you did your nails together, which prompted you to, for once, put on a pair of pants that weren’t Matty’s sweatpants and do your hair, so you had no problem setting down your book and hopping up from your seat to join her. She squealed and you laughed as you joined her. 
“It’s so easy! I promise! So, it’s to a remix of Taylor Swift’s ‘Love Story’ and the only set in stone parts are that you actually kneel when she says ‘knelt to the ground’ and then the camera will start to pull away and then you just freestyle! We can do a couple practice ones before we film it for real, if you want?” 
“Yes, please, you have severely overestimated my dancing skills,” you laughed. Right at that moment, Matthew came out of the house with a Bud Light in his hand. He placed it on the edge of the firepit before walking over to you.
“What’s got you all cracked up?” He pressed a kiss to your cheek.
“Taryn thinks I’m a good enough dancer to film this TikTok on my first try,” He grinned at you. 
“A TikTok you say? Can I do it too? If you can do it surely it’s easy enough for me,” You gave him a playful eye roll and laughed. 
“How bored are you to want to film a TikTok?” 
“I want to spend time with my girlfriend, is that a crime?” He smirked and you cracked a smile.  
Taryn spoke up. “Hey no, this would be perfect! I need to move the camera away from you when you’re dancing anyways, and this way you won’t be alone. And you’ll get Matt’s dancing on camera for future blackmail!” You laughed at her comment and slugged him lightly in the arm. 
“Game on, we’ll see who's the better dancer after this,” He just laughed and then told you to tell what the heck he was doing for this dance. After a while, the two of you were ready to film. 
Taryn got behind her phone and started the music. You got into position and bumped Matthew’s hip before facing the camera. 
Is this in my head, I don’t know what to think. He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring and said
You knelt down and pretended to open a ring box, while Matthew pulled out the box he’d been hiding for six months. 
Marry me Juliet, you’ll never have to be alone
You started to dance as Taryn pulled the camera away from the both of you. Lost in the music, you didn’t seem to notice that Matthew was still on one knee, an adoring smile on his face. 
“Y/n,” 
I love you and that’s all I really know
You stopped dancing and glanced to your side. “Oh my god,” Your hands flew to cover your mouth as you saw Matt still on one knee, but with a black box in his hands. “Are you joking?”
“Not joking, baby, I promise.” He opened the box to reveal the most beautiful ring you had ever seen. It was classy, with just enough bling to catch your eye and go with the rest of your jewelry. Your eyes filled with tears as he started to speak. 
“Y/n, you are the best person I have ever met. I never thought someone would be willing to put up with me, not with my job and the media and how I play my game, but then I met you, and it’s like the whole world shifted. I have fallen more in love with you every day, even the past few days when we do the same thing every day. I love you so much, babe, and all I want is to keep being your person. I know my job means I’ll have to leave sometimes, but with me, with this, I promise you’ll never be alone. I want to be your husband and I want us to have little mini-us’s running around, well really mini-you’s but with my hair, because let’s face it, they aren’t escaping the curls,” You let out a teary laugh, and you could see his shoulder visibly relax a little. “When I look to my future, all I see is you. You are my future. And I know this isn’t perfect or even ideal but..”
“No, no, Matty, it’s perfect.” You whispered, your eyes full of tears. “It’s perfect because it’s with you.”
His grin widened if that was possible, and he looked down at the box in his hands before up to you. “If that’s the case, then Y/n, will you make me the happiest man on Earth and marry me?” 
“Yes! Yes, yes, of course,” You bent down to kiss him, leaving your tears on his cheek when you pulled away. He slipped the ring onto your finger and swept you into a bear hug. “Oh my gosh, we’re going to get married!”
“It’s you and me, baby, for the rest of our lives.” He tried to smirk, but it didn’t last long, a smile covering it as the euphoria overcame him. 
“Okay, okay, show me the ring!! Matthew didn’t tell me he was proposing!” Chantel came out in the backyard with a bright grin on her face. You couldn’t contain the smile on your face and the two of you admired the ring together. 
“I didn’t tell Dad either, don’t get offended,” Matthew said, coming over to meet the both of you. 
“Oh, you liar! You totally called me and asked me for advice.” Keith chimed in with a laugh. “Granted, you never told me you were going to do it today… but I’m happy for you kids.”
“I didn’t think he’d ever get the guts to propose, sorry for the wait Y/n,” Brady chirped, earning a whack from his mother. 
“I don’t mind, he’s worth the wait.” You looked to your fiancé, only to find him already looking at you, his blue eyes gleaming full of warmth. “So worth the wait.”
let me know what you think! thanks for reading!
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sweet-evie · 3 years
Note
what’s your headcanons about the duo? recently i’ve rewatched the resurrection movies and cant help build various scenario in my head.
here’s mine though. Sorry it’ll be super long
• Lelouch found that CC’s hand was always cold so he likes to hold it all the time.
• During their early journey, they’ve decided to bought a trailer. But lelouch cant drive, so CC teach him one.
• CC’s were sensitive to cold but too proud to said it. One night, Lelouch realizes that she’s shaking in their tent and silently takes her in his arm
• He hates when CC talks about the mindless state he was. Not because how useless he is, but because it reminds him of how much a pain she suffers for him. It breaks his heart.
• Lelouch found a woman in desperate need of labor at the forest one day. CC’s expertly help her and deliver the baby successfully. That night, he told her that when CC names that baby girl, he felt like wanted to pick her up and told the entire world of how proud he is for having CC in his side.
• He’s blushed like a pig whenever CC’s mention the word ‘bath’ for he knows she’s seen it all.
• Lelouch good at singing, and CC’s could play ukulele. One day, nunnally visits them in their hideout and found the immortal duo lovingly sang a song together while holding each other close.
• They dont says ‘I love you’ to each other, instead lelouch once declared “If i had to choose one to spent eternity with, I’ll choose you. Not because your loyalty but because i knew life wouldnt be so bored with you”
• Lelouch takes various jobs over the years. He started as a writer for many good years to sponsor their endeavors. Then he learns from Jeremiah to farm. A teacher, doctor, programmer.
• Lelouch found it hard to express his affection towards her so he always opted to talk about their fragment endeavors.
• Until they settle down in a secluded house and found himself the pleasure of sex.
• CC secretly dying for lelouch to kiss her. Not like that she cant, she just want him to be the one who initiate it.
• At one point in their life, CC’s longs for a child they could never have. one day, there’s an orphan baby borns in the hospital he works for and he told her they could adopt him.
• Lelouch would never said it but he could start another rebellion for CC.
• Sometimes during the next movie timeline, CC’s were captured and tortured. She doesnt wakes up for several weeks due to they tamper with her code. When she wakes up, CC found Lelouch kills hundred of them to avenge her.
This is a fanfic all on its own. 🤩 You're tempting me to write things or start stuff I shouldn't because there are other stories that need writing. 🤣 Reading and imagining this made me want to cry because I can totally picture everything in my head.
As a fact, most of yours parallel with mine, mainly these:
He hates when CC talks about the mindless state he was. Not because how useless he is, but because it reminds him of how much a pain she suffers for him. It breaks his heart.
Lelouch takes various jobs over the years. He started as a writer for many good years to sponsor their endeavors. Then he learns from Jeremiah to farm. A teacher, doctor, programmer.
CC secretly dying for lelouch to kiss her. Not like that she cant, she just want him to be the one who initiate it.
Post Re;surrection, here's my headcanons 😉
C.C. is the one making the living during the early days of their Geass hunt, mostly because Lelouch needs to stay hidden.
C.C. is the one who reminds Lelouch to call Shirley or at least see her...
They travel mainly by sea or land. No airfares here, considering the nature of airport security.
As well connected to shady people as I think C.C. is, I doubt she has top-level clearance to even sneak into an airport undetected... They could, but it's too much work for their current circumstance and is more trouble than it's worth. One day, they will. But in the beginning of their search, nah.
Lelouch will make sure to procure fake passports, IDs, and everything else.
Wait... On second thought, Lelouch has a Geass. I almost forgot... 🤣 FUCK! I guess they can travel by plane. (I still think it's impractical). But they can only do it if they successfully tie up loose ends along the way.
Lelouch picks up online ghost writing or proofreading as a career once they settle in Switzerland.
All the online money he earns goes to C.C.'s bank account, because he hasn't established a fake one yet.
It bothers him that C.C. is in-charge of their funding.
Lelouch does a financial audit every month. He used to do it bi-weekly, but C.C. told him that over-obsessing about budget is never a good thing.
On a more serious note, I think C.C. cuts back on her pizza eating for the first few years.
C.C. has a subdued personality for the first few months or the first year together with L.L...
Lelouch spends discreet time trying to coax C.C.'s mischievousness out again. He kind'a misses it.
He asks C.C. about his mindless state once in a while, when it's necessary. But he avoids it because he hates how useless he was, and he hates being reminded that he burdened her so.
It takes a while before they end up actually kissing.
They're open to talking about their deep thoughts, but are still a teeny bit hesitant to cross the line to romance. (Even if they're practically married at this point).
They have matching rings. (Not engagement or wedding rings or promise rings. Just matching jewelry -- according to them anyway).
They're fucking married.
Lelouch caught C.C. singing lullabies to him once, because she thought he was falling asleep.
C.C.'s multi-lingual skills will shine.
Lelouch is beginning to think world history on the internet is unreliable. Mostly because of C.C. (That girl is a walking encyclopedia, literally).
C.C. loves surprising Lelouch with random facts about her involvement in some events during history. She does it at the most random times, but mostly when they're on a Geass hunt.
They mouth "I love you" once in a while. They don't say it out loud. Just mouth it... 😍🥰
Hugging... Lots of hugging.
Lelouch eventually replaces Cheese-kun. 👏 It's his greatest achievement yet.
Lelouch and C.C. will cease to exist one day. Especially when all those spare body parts from C's World run out, because Lelouch broke that place. (CG creators, please explain the lore behind the Code and the Geass).
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bump1nthen1ght · 4 years
Text
Deep Blue Sea (Shark Merman x Reader). Prologue
Pairing: Gender Neutral! Reader/Shark Merman
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Soulmate AU
Warnings: None
Word Count: 1206 words
Summary: The compass on your wrist points in the direction of your soulmate. Your other half, the person you will spend the rest of your life with. But why has yours never moved?
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
A/N: Alternate Title - Shape of Water 2: Electric Boogaloo
Cross-posted to Ao3!
You’ve known soulmates were bullshit since you were 14.
You’ve known since you first got a pitying look, a peppy quip to “look at the bright side of things.” Since people began deciding things about you before they even knew you.
-------
When you were seven, a year after your soulmate mark appeared, you and your family went to visit your aunt in Michigan. It’s a short flight from Virginia and you talk your mom’s ear off about jet-skies, lake monsters, and swimsuits. You’re so wrapped up in the excitement of travel that it's only when your cousin points it out do you notice.
The compass on your wrist hasn’t moved, not even a millimeter, away from the W point. Same as it had been on the east coast. You overhear your uncle joking about it one night, right before the kids are put to bed.
“Looks like ____’s got a long way to go, huh?”
Your mom gives a dramatic sigh, slapping her hands against her cheeks, slightly red from wine.
“I suppose so. I would’ve preferred someone closer to  home, just so I could check up on them, but it’s just not in the cards.”
You don’t know what she means, but your little kid brain registers any tone of disappointment as genuine. While laying in your cousin's bunk bed, you flick your wrist several times, trying to move that compass point.
Unsurprisingly, it stays still.
But it doesn't move when you visit family in Texas either.
You’re 12 at this point, your family taking a long Christmas in Bueda. You spend the flight with your nose stuck in a fantasy book. Most of family time as well, still too young to hang with the teens but too old to play with the little kids. It’s a good disguise for eavesdropping, especially when you hear the adult table bring up your compass.
“Dang, and I had my heart set on a cowboy son-in-law.” That dad-joke gets a laugh, but you feel the tips of your ears get red and force yourself to focus on the page in front of you.
By high school, you have a bone to pick with your soulmate.
You like where you live. You like the ocean, you like your friends, you like the picturesque four seasons.
Yet your whole life people expect you to get gone the minute you turn 18. The counselor puts emphasis on west-coast colleges (“They may not be Ivy’s technically but the UC’s are very good schools!”) and it becomes an accepted rumor that you’ll disappear the night of graduation, a note left and a suitcase packed to begin your cross-country soulmate search.
Spiteful as you are, you apply to University of Virginia and get a full-ride scholarship. The school is too good for anyone to make any comments, but you internally rejoice one-upping the system, as small as it was.
Those four years of pride feel less-sweet when you apply to UC Santa Cruz, one of the top Ocean Sciences schools, and have to move across the country to California. Your mother had grown out of soulmate jokes and a part of you knows she never really meant them, but you can’t help the stubborn 14 year old brewing in your mind.
------------
When you're outside of the airport, hailing a cab to your new apartment, you fight the urge to take off your watch. Even the beautiful ocean view fails to completely distract you, your head forcefully locked into looking out the cab window instead of at your wrist.
While unpacking, you nonchalantly check, the compass catching your eye as you prop open one of your boxes.
The arrow points west.
------------
For the first week of grad-school, you wear a scrunchie around your wrist. The unmoving point irks you, more so than you like. You are not sure if you could take any more questions.
That Sunday you walk down by the boardwalk to destress. You’ve made plans to visit the more touristy areas with some classmates next weekend, but today, you just want some time on the beach.
The sounds of the waves crashing reminds you of home, although the foam that tickles your feet is far warmer than the east coast. It’s probably an hour before sunset, a photographic time to be lost in thought. The sight of an endless horizon calms your mind.
“Hmm, maybe their Hawaiian? Or are there islands closer than that? Oh shit, maybe their Japanese, or maybe-” You shake your head, having unconsciously waded up to your ankles. “I wouldn’t even know what to do. I just started school, I have enough on my plate.” You pull up your pant legs a little more, letting the tide push against your calf.
The ocean looks infinite, beautiful in its possibilities and unanswered questions. You chose the right career to pursue.
“Yeah, I can wait a bit.”
The moment feels nice, the ocean water smoothes away the edges of your anxieties. For some dramatic finality, you pull up your watch and take a peek at your wrist.
The arrow points North.
------------
“Sorry, excuse me!”
Damn, I really should’ve put my shoes back on.
The pinch of slightly missed splinters and small pebbles dig into the soles of your feet, shoulders bumping into multiple tourists as you keep up your gaze low and locked on your wrist.
The needle is fidgeting, beginning to point more West as you dart across the boardwalk. You mutter a curse as you take a swift turn, just narrowly avoiding rolling your ankle as you hit sand again. The added weight makes your calves burn, but you keep running. The arrow shifts more North.
You run for enough time to break a sweat and for the sounds of civilization to fade away. A jolt runs through you as your toes hit cold water and stone. You’ve reached a tidepool, small and secluded.
The needle is still, pointed out towards the open ocean. West.
Catching your breath, you feel your spirits drop as you stare at barnacles and stray bits of seaweed.
God, what am I doing?
A large sturdy rock juts out with just enough room for you to sit and lament on. You take a seat, racked by the feeling that you’ve somehow lost. To whom, you don’t know.
A large crab scuffles at the end of the tidepool. You look up and smile forlornly as it comes closer to you.
“ I guess you're my soulmate, little guy?” The crab clicks its claws. It looks as if it’s moving to snip at your toes.
But before you can slide your feet away, a large, grey, webbed hand slams down on top of the crab.
A line of electricity rolls down your spine and you jerk back.
“Gotcha!”
The clawed hand is attached to a grey arm, which leads to a muscular shoulder and a very large body, which stretches the length of a tidepool and ends with a tail. He has a big smile full of far too many sharp teeth.
He looks up when he sees the tip of your toes wiggle. His eyes are an abyssal black from corner to corner.
On his wrist there’s a tattooed nautical arrow, pointed directly at you.
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garbagevanfleet · 4 years
Text
Sun King (smut)
Pairing: Josh & female!Reader Warnings:  18+ ONLY! Alcohol is mentioned, unprotected sex, unprotected sun exposure *gasp* Word Count: 6654 Summary: Josh has been your best friend since middle school. Maybe a vacation to paradise could change that.  Notes: @lantern-inthenight​ and @myownparadise96​ both helped immensely with the ideas in this fic, so this one is dedicated to my resident Josh girls, Shelby and Kaja. <3
Thank you to the amazing Mimi ( @satingrass-maidensfair​ ) for betaing for me! You’re a peach. 
Enjoy my first ever Josh fic, extra hot and wet
MASTERPOST
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You had spent the entire day at the beach for four days in a row. It wasn’t often that you got to go on a vacation, so when you did, you really liked to forget the monotony of your everyday life. There really wasn’t any extra room in your head to think about your summer job or college applications with the ocean waves lapping at your feet.  
Your parents had been promising you this trip the entire year so as long as your grades stayed up before graduation, and it had been a struggle, but you had succeeded - the real hardest part was waiting from the end of school until the actual trip came, which didn’t roll around until December.  
Josh had been your friend since middle school, and an unlikely friend at that - or at least at first. See you’ve always had a really feminine lunar energy, a darker, deeper aura, but him?
Josh was the sun personified.
He had the most sunflower-petal-yellow personality you could imagine; his whole persona was a rainbow tie-dyed bed sheet drying on a clothesline.
But opposites attract, or they must anyway, because one fateful day in sixth grade, he had knocked directly into you. The force of it had thrown your tray down to the lunchroom floor, smearing mashed potatoes all over your new school shoes. You had opened your mouth to snap at him, but. Well, how could you? There was never any option but to forgive him when he flashed that big, blinding smile. Especially when he was looking at you like an apologetic puppy.
He had latched onto you after that.
Josh had attended every single birthday party since then and escorted you - as a friend, you assured your parents - to a couple of spring formals. He had been by your side when you tried summer camp and hated it, and you couldn’t remember the last time you’d been to a movie theater without him.
Your parents had been understandably suspicious at first, but after years of seeing his face at least three-quarters of every month, they had been given no reason to suspect there was anything romantic between you two.
So, that’s how he had ended up here in paradise with you. It was just a given that if you were going on vacation, so was Josh. Your parents hadn’t even asked; they’d just naturally bought an extra ticket for him.
He looked undeniably more well placed here in the tropical climate than you did, and you tried not to be envious about it.
You had spent a bit of time exploring the foreign shops and busy streets, but more than anything, you laid with him in the sand, staring out over the water and trying to get as much of the sun as you could, considering you wouldn’t be seeing it for at least another four months after you got back to the Midwest.
Luckily for you, your parents had not hovered at all. They had given you nothing but free time while they spent almost the entirety of the vacation at the hotel pool up to that point. Their distracted state had allowed you plenty of opportunities to find light beers and sneakily drink them with him. You had never really liked the taste of beer, but it was more for the novelty than anything else.
“Hey,” Josh said, gently pressing his fingertips into your side to get your attention.
You turned your head toward him and tipped your sunglasses down. They were the ones with the orange lenses that you had been absolutely intent on buying before the trip because they matched your suit. You decidedly did not regret your decision.
You hummed lazily in response. He was laying next to you on a teal blue beach towel under possibly the world’s largest umbrella, one tanned ankle crossed over the other. He returned his hand to where he had it folded behind his head, supporting most of its weight as he dozed in and out of consciousness.
His skin was kissed golden by the sun - almost from the minute you’d gotten off the plane- making him look a bit shiny the second he started sweating.
“What time is it?” he asked, voice a shade too concerned for your liking; although, in your lazy state, almost any level of concern was too much.
You glanced down at your phone which was positioned in between you, playing a very long playlist you had collaborated on for the whole car ride to the airport.
“Almost five.”
“Woah, really?” He looked around the beach, which was completely empty, saved for a couple of other stragglers that were staying well away from you.
You had five days worth of practice under your belt, and that had allowed you to find the perfect little slice of beach - secluded, but well kept. You hadn’t had to talk to another soul for the whole trip that you didn’t actively seek out, which was really what you had always wanted from a vacation.
“We should probably get back. Your parents said we were having dinner around six, right?” He nudged into your side, letting you know that he intended to move you whether you liked it or not, even if you had given him a lazy sounding groan for it.
There was no point fighting him (the boy was persistent if nothing else), so you slowly stretched out and prepared to be mobile again after barely using a muscle for days. He was right anyway - your parents weren’t strict in any sense of the word, but they were notoriously a bit picky about punctuality.  
He helped you pack everything into your oversized beach bag and then tugged you up into a standing position. He looked just as stiff as you were as he walked by your side, neither of you concerned with keeping a straight line.
You both instinctively headed toward the shower area, all of your beach-going gear in tow, and when you got there, you each wordlessly headed to your respective shower stalls.
All the other showers you’d used the whole trip had been different, but here there were only two cubicles with just a couple feet in between them. You let your heavy bag drop to the pavement in the middle of the two stalls with a thud, and he did the same, propping the long umbrella up against the brick of the building.
You had wrapped your hair up earlier this morning to prevent it from getting salty in the ocean, but you could feel sand gritting against your scalp as you pulled the scrunchie out, so you picked the bottle of shampoo you’d packed away as you turned the shower on.
It wasn’t particularly warm, but the spray was nice and refreshing on your sun-touched skin.
You had just tipped your head back under the water when the curtain on your stall opened, causing you to jump and cover yourself, despite still being completely covered in your suit.
“Hey, I can’t get the water to work in mine - can I jump in with you?” Josh asked and when you gave him a scolding frown, he offered you a toothy smile back.
“Have you tried turning the knob?” you asked flatly, but you couldn’t help but laugh as he rolled his eyes.
“Wow, I didn’t fucking think of that,” he retorted. “Scoot over.”
There wasn’t a whole lot of room in these little shower stalls - they were definitely only meant for one person at a time, so you couldn’t clear much space for him, but you did your best. Once he was in, he had to stand within inches of you to prevent from spilling back out. You squinted accusingly at him, entirely unconvinced that either of you could get very clean this way.
“This could have been such a nice, relaxing shower,” you complained, popping the cap on the shampoo and squirting some out in your palm.
“It still can be!” he assured with a cheeky grin. “Just pretend I’m not here.”
Just for good measure, he mimicked zipping his mouth shut and tossing the key to the floor. You huffed a laugh at him, working the soap through your hair with your fingertips.
When you tipped your head back and let the water wash your locks clean, you let your eyes slip shut. You could tell that your cheeks were a little sunburnt because the water felt nearly ice-cold as it trickled across them, making you shiver.
Your eyes popped open again to find him watching your face. You huffed a breathy laugh at him.
“Hard to pretend you’re not here when you’re staring at me like that.”
“I’m not staring!” he scoffed, but his face turned charmingly pink despite his defense. “Where else am I supposed to look?”
You didn’t respond but instead decided to shake your head with a smirk. You handed him the shampoo bottle, but when you started to step aside to let him closer to the spout, he crowded closer to you. As he leaned in to wet his curls, your back hit the cold tile wall, making you gasp.
“Jesus, do you want me to just get out?” you complained half-heartedly, pressing a hand against his chest.
It wasn’t until he let out a wet sounding laugh that you realized he was jesting you.
“I’m sorry, am I in your way?” he asked coyly, ignoring your faux-annoyed groans as he leaned over you to steal the majority of the spray.
He was so close then that your nose hit his neck, his chest pressed flush against yours. The atmosphere in the tiny cubicle shifted dramatically for you at that moment, your breath catching in your chest.  
“Josh,” you breathed.  
You shivered again at the contact and, through your suit, you could feel your nipples perk up as your skin tightened into goosebumps. You could tell the exact second that he realized what he’d done to you because his whole body tensed and he took a step back.
“Fuck, I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to be weird or anything,” he said, just loud enough to be audible over the white noise of the shower. His cheeks were flushed from embarrassment - even more so than before, keeping his eyes plastered firmly to the ceiling. Or, at least he was trying. Every couple of seconds, his gaze flicked down, almost comically across your body.
You couldn’t repress the breathless laugh as you watched him work to not look. Your heart was racing, making you feel jittery. “It’s okay, don’t worry about it.”
Biting your lip anxiously, you could feel the heat rising to your cheeks too. His eyes flicked down to yours and he gave you a look like he was trying to tell if you were being genuine - if it was really okay.
You reached up to pat his cheek, meant to be a reassurance, but you couldn’t prevent your fingers from lingering against his warmed skin. Touching him like this was nothing new - you were what one could call “platonically intimate”. You shared beds and clothes, and every now and then he’d ask you to brush out his hair, just because he liked the feeling. But this time - like everything else about this moment - felt different. He leaned into your touch a fraction, nuzzling into your palm like a house cat.
Despite your closeness - metaphorically and physically - in all the years you’d known him, you had never once tried to kiss. You had thought about it once or twice, but only because you had gone through a boy crazy faze at the start of puberty and it made you question whether every platonic male in your life could be your soulmate.
But for a second you stared at his plush lips and thought about what it would be like. If it was anything like you expected, then it would be toothache-sweet, because that’s what he was like. Like cotton candy.
You pursed your lips tightly, suddenly overcome with a feeling that you weren’t used to. It felt dreamy like the color rose quartz. Like butterflies were beating their dusty wings against your stomach lining.
He was giving you a questioning look - brows tipped up at the center of his face in a look of concern. You could only imagine what your face must look like to him. You certainly hadn’t been regulating it.
As he parted his lips to inquire, you brushed your fingertips across them, feeling his breathing go uneven.
“Josh,” you whisper, gingerly placing your other hand on the back of his neck. He was so close that you didn’t have to move much to do so. “Will you kiss me?”
  He didn’t react for a second, just stood there blinking like the words hadn’t caught up yet. Then his mouth opened and closed a couple of times as he tried to think of a response.
“Of course,” he finally breathed, and the inflection in his voice - like you’re stupid to even ask - made you blush.
His face was already just a foot away from yours, so when he exhaled, the hot air hit your cheek.
The first brush of his lips against yours was experimental - just the ghost of a touch. You could tell that he wanted to, but couldn’t seem to bring himself to commit to it.
You scratched your nails gently against the back of his neck, urging him on.
He snaked his hand around your waist and pulled you in a fraction closer, hesitantly pressing your lips together, tighter this time. As you kissed him back, you could sense his apprehensions starting to melt away. He was gaining confidence by the second, letting his fingers play against the small of your back.  
Giddy with excitement, you let him press you back against the tile again until he was standing slightly over you, your fingers wrapped in his wet curls. The water hitting the back of his head was dripping onto your face, and it reminded you of those movies where the romantic interest kisses the girl passionately in the rain before the credits rolled. You had never been very into lovey-dovey movies, but he had always been a sucker for big romantic gestures, so you ended up watching rom-coms quite often.
You parted your lips for him, and this time he kissed you in complete earnest. The rush of feeling behind it knocked the breath from your lungs.
His hand was carefully sliding up your back until your skin met the tile of the shower, and he was forced to snake it up your rib cage instead. You knew what he was going to do, even though you were sure he didn’t - that his fingers were dancing along your skin at their own accord. So when his thumb brushed over your nipple through the fabric of your suit it didn’t shock you, but the feeling forced a hum from you that he swallowed down instantly.
He rubbed over it lightly, and every touch made your whole body tingle.
“Fuck,” he breathed against your lips, sounding painfully shocked at the way this day was going.
You couldn’t say you blamed him.
The angle was starting to make your neck ache, but you could only move slightly due to the cramped space. As you shifted, you felt his hardened cock slide against your thigh and you sucked in a sharp gasp.
His whole body tensed like he wasn’t sure if he’d crossed a line, but he continued when you tugged on his hair - maybe a little too rough if you were being honest. He didn’t seem to mind at all; as a matter of fact, if you didn’t know any better, you’d say he liked it - if the suspiciously hoarse whimper he placed into your mouth was anything to go by.
The fingers of his other hand trailed down your other side, thumb rubbing against your hip bone and tugging you closer until your pelvis was pressed against his. The sensation was too delicious; you couldn’t help but grind against him, eliciting a moan from each of you.
When his lips moved to your neck, his teeth grazed the skin. You could feel him starting to bite in, and as good as it felt, you had to object.
“No, wait,” you breathed. “You can’t leave any marks.”
“Who said I was going to leave a mark?” he asked, sounding a little smug. You huffed a laugh at him, rolling your eyes.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were an expert at this.” The sarcasm dripping from your voice made him laugh into your damp skin. You opened your mouth to say something equally quippy, but the words got choked back as his fingers brushed against your core.
Your exhale hitched in your lungs, and when you were able to finally breathe again, it was in the sound of his name.
He added just a fraction more pressure, forcing you to bite your lip. He was about to go for it, you could tell, because he was slowly pushing your suit aside, and you were heavily anticipating his fingers touching your bare skin when-
Your phone rang, almost ear-splittingly loud as the tone echoed off of the tile. It caused you to yelp, and he pulled away instantly, face beet red.
Shakily, you bent down and reached past the curtain, pulling it out of your bag and answering it without looking at the ID.
He flipped the water off just as you said, “Hello?”
You silently prayed that your voice wasn’t as shaky as you thought it sounded.
“Hey, just reminding you that we’re having dinner around six,” your father said from the other end. It was quiet enough in the stall that he could easily be heard by Josh as well from where he was leaning back against the shower wall, breathing heavily and staring at the floor.
You swallowed the lump in your throat first before speaking again. “Yeah, we’re just getting changed. Probably be there in ten to fifteen minutes is all.”
Your dad quickly agreed, sounding none-the-wiser to your sins, and after you hung up, you tucked your phone deep inside the bag, like that would help keep everything a secret.
Josh’s eyes flicked up and met yours, his eyebrows raised. You were biting your lip, rubbing nervously at the back of your neck.
“Well, fuck,” he chanced, making you release a shaky laugh.
“Fuck indeed,” you replied, giving him a small smile. “We should get moving.”
He nodded in agreement, and after a second of staring at you, he stepped out, leaving you to change.
Neither of you said a word on the walk back to the hotel, but it wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable - just new. Uncharted territory.
Dinner was the same. The air felt heavy, but you did your best to not let your parents feel it, and you could tell he was doing the same.
He easily answered their questions about the day’s goings-on, easily navigating around the part where he almost slipped a finger into you in the shower.  
Try as you might, there was no way you could prevent yourself from thinking about it. You caught yourself staring at his lips while he ate, and thinking about the way he tasted.
The light was catching on his tan cheekbones, making his jawline look razor-sharp, and all you could do was think about biting it. It was a big difference between just yesterday when he’d sneezed on you and then laughed about it.
You think that was what was most alarming - You’d never thought of him sexually in your life, aside from the time a friend of yours decided to date him and then attempted to tell you what he was like in bed. As you stared at him from across the table, your biggest regret was cutting her off before she could say anything actually worth knowing.  
He stared at you over the rim of his water glass as your mom talked about the hotel bar margaritas, and for the first time in your life, you wanted to know what he felt like on top of you.
The closer dinner got to being finished, the more heavily your heart started to thud. By the time you were all standing and removing your napkins from your lap, you were sure everyone could hear it’s eclectic rhythm bouncing around in your ribcage.
You had never been more thankful in your life that your parents had insisted your rooms be in separate wings on the hotel - though you didn’t really want to think of the implications of that in and of itself.
Josh let himself into your room, asking your parents to excuse him. When your mother inquired about what you guys were going to get up to for the rest of the night, you shrugged and told her you were thinking about renting a movie and falling asleep to it - insuring her that you were beyond tired from all the fresh air and sun. She happily told you to charge it to the room and told you to text her if you guys needed anything, but after being here for five days, you thought you had it covered.  
They hugged you goodnight and then retreated down the hall, and you waited until you were positive they were gone before you opened the door. He had left it cracked for you - no need for you to fumble with a keycard, for which you were grateful.
He was at the other end of the room, facing away from you. He had changed into his favorite pair of grey sweatpants and nothing else, and you took a second to rake your eyes up the muscles of his back.
When you shut the door, you leaned back against it, your heart fluttering. You were so nervous that your fingers felt numb, but it was the best kind of nerves you’d ever experienced in your life. You hadn’t ever felt like this about a guy before.
This certainly would not be your first time - by any means. But. Somehow it was.
When he turned around, he looked at you like he was viewing an art installation. It took a second before he could snap out of it, tugging a soft t-shirt over his head and smoothing it out.
You couldn’t stop yourself from following his hand down his chest with your eyes, a warmth rising on your cheeks away when you looked back up and he was wearing a tiny smirk.
“Do you want to go back down to the beach?” he asked, voice quiet, but audible in the - otherwise silent - room.
You weren’t expecting that, and you could tell by the way he smiles at you that he knew he’d take you by surprise.
“Sure,” you agree, nodding. You were honestly a little afraid for a second that he was going to just pretend like nothing had happened. Your chest was tight with hurt for a brief second until he reached for the blanket off the bed, tugging it off the bed and rolling it into a ball under his arm.
No one else on earth could tell that he was nervous, you thought, but he was infinitely more transparent to you.
Just the fact that he wasn’t talking a mile a minute in the elevator was a tell-tale sign. He kept dragging his teeth over his bottom lip; something that would be just a normal, mindless tick for anyone else.
He let you step out first and then held the door from the lobby open for you, which was nothing new, but the way he placed a hand on your lower back as you brushed past him was. The touch made your skin feel hot, even though it was over the fabric of the dress you’d put on for dinner.
You realized about halfway through the walk that he was leading you back to the same slice of beach you’d been lazing on earlier that day, and for some reason that gave you goosebumps.
It felt complete. Full circle.  
Nearing nine pm then, the moon was high, and the only source of light as it threw white light across the waves. The wet sand on the shoreline shimmered with it like liquid metal as the water lapped over it.
There wasn’t a soul around. You two were well away from any kind of civilization, and that notion itself was comforting to you. Still, your fingers were vibrating as he laid the blanket out and sat, toeing his sandals off and dusting his feet of any sand before relaxing back.
You followed suit, smoothing out the skirt of your sundress over your knees as you knelt next to him.  
You cleared your throat, looking up at him through your lashes.
“We don’t have to do anything,” he said, without a single hint of reproach. His voice was soft and caring, the way it usually was when he was assuring you of anything, except even deeper in its sincerity this time.
He continued. “If you’re having second thoughts or anything, then just tell me and we’ll move past this, no questions asked.”
You breathed a disbelieving laugh, suddenly feeling too big for your body. You weren’t sure why it took you off guard - he’d only ever been a perfect gentleman to you, and any girl he’d ever known, really.
“I want this,” you stated with a small nod. A smile that read something along the lines of relief spread over his lips, and he let out a held breath.
In the tenderest way you could imagine, he swept a lock of your hair out of your face and tucked it behind your ear. A light touch, he wrapped his hand around the nape of your neck then, pulling you in just a fraction at a time until you were face to face for the second time that day.
When your lips touched the first time, it was soft and sweet - clearly trying to ease each other back into it. But you were already there.
You pressed into him, slipping your tongue in his mouth, and he met it with his.
As he leaned into him, his fingers danced along your bare shoulder, slipping under the thin strap of your dress and letting it slide down your arm.
It was nearly a hundred degrees hotter there than back in the still-frozen midwest, but you found yourself shivering as you pulled away from him and shrugged out of the other strap, letting the top of your dress fall from your bare chest.
His lips fell open, and you waited a second for him to do or say something - anything, but when he didn’t, you huffed a laugh.
“Are you going to pass out on me?” you teased, cupping one of your breasts in your own hand and giving it a squeeze just to watch him swallow hard.
“Shit,” he breathed, licking his lips. He grinned at you, showing teeth and all as he ducked in and kissed down the side of your neck.
You let his hand replace yours, his rough fingers brushing over the plush skin.
He didn’t linger his kisses in any one place for too long, no doubt being mindful of your warning about love bites before. That is until he pulled away and placed both hands firmly around your waist, helping you off your knees until you were straddling his lap. When he got you into the position he liked, his mouth found its way to your breastbone, pressing a trail of kisses down.
Your face felt fire-hot, so you buried it into the curls on the crown of his head. His hair smelled like the coconut shampoo you told him to start using years ago. The scent had become a bit of a comfort blanket for you - always put you at ease because it meant he was close.
You had never stopped to think of the implications of that until right now.
A gasp escaped you as he sucked one of your nipples into his mouth, tugging it between his lips. His teeth scraped around it lightly, making you whine, high-pitched and beyond lewd.
“Oh my god,” you whispered, pulling his face closer until you were afraid you were going to suffocate him, but knowing that if you did, he’d probably die happy.
He pulled away a fraction, just to flick his tongue against the other one, making your stomach tighten. You could feel yourself getting wetter, and couldn’t help but squirm against him, begging for some kind of reprieve.
You rocked your hips far enough forward that you caught his hard cock against your core, eliciting a choked moan from him. The tingly pleasure spread down your legs, to your toes and made them curl out of reflex.
His fingers dug into your sides as he pushed your hips back and then pulled them forward again, pressing you down harder into him this time. If you had any sense of reality, you’d know to be embarrassed about how wet you were after five seconds of grinding, but you were absolutely gone by then.
Slower this time, so you could really enjoy the fire, you rocked forward again. His fingers found their way to your thighs, sliding up the hem of your dress until his hands were cupping your ass.
Deciding that there were at least one too many layers between you, you pulled yourself up, untying the string on his pants and letting him wriggle to get them pulled down as far as he could in this position.
It was okay though, you had what you needed.
His head tipped back as his cock slipped against you again, this time only your collective underwear in the way. With his throat exposed like that, you bent to drag your teeth against it, not being as gentle as he had been with you.
“No marks,” he reminded, voice gruff, but his fingers painted a different picture - one even let go of your ass to tangle in your hair, spurring you on as your tongue lapped against his skin.
The collar of his shirt in the way of your path only served to annoy you, so you tugged it over his head with haste and let it fall to the blanket.
As soon as his chest was bare, your fingers were mapping it out, tracing along his collarbones and down his breastbone. Even in the dim glow, you could tell how sun-kissed his shining skin was.
The moon was illuminating his curls like a silvery halo, a sight so pretty that it knocked the breath from your lungs momentarily.
You were both breathing hard, not from exertion, but from sheer excitement, and you watched his chest rise and fall for a second before your fingers raked over his stomach and then across the outline of his cock through his briefs.
His hips tried to buck up into the touch in their constricted state, but even the minuscule movement made you blush. Knowing that you could have this kind of effect on him was absolutely surreal. Before today, you’d never even had the privilege of being able to dream about this moment, because it had never even been an option to you. But as you circled your fingertip over the head of it through the fabric, the possibilities seemed endless. When you looked up at his face, he was watching the movements of your hand with half-lidded eyes, seeming like he felt very similarly.
You leaned in and pressed your lips to his again, his mouth hot and sticky against yours. As you dipped your fingers under the hem of his briefs, you could feel him hold his breath. Your fingers wrapped around his cock, giving it a couple of painfully slow strokes and licking into his mouth as he opened it for you.
Neither of you really needed any more warming up, so you caught his eyes and lifted yourself up enough that he could pull your panties to the side.
When you slid down onto it, you had to bite your lip to keep yourself from crying out. You hadn’t realized how wet you were actually getting until you felt how easily it slipped into you. You didn’t allow him a whole lot of time to collect his thoughts before you were moving again, starting to pick up a rhythm as you worked yourself onto his cock.
Your fingernails were dug into his skin, using his shoulders as leverage, and surely they would leave marks, but you couldn’t force yourself to care. He’d think of an excuse if and when anyone ever asked.
“Fuck,” you breathed, voice an octave higher than it usually was. “Oh my god.”
He nuzzled his nose into your cheek, letting his hot, humid breath hit your skin.
Your thighs started to burn from relying on muscles you never use, but the second he started to feel you falter, his hands cupped under them, happy to share the work.
It wasn’t until he starting thrusting his hips up to meet yours that you really knew what fucking him could be like. The simple movement set your nerves on fire.
“Josh,” you squeaked, wrapping your arms around his neck as your fingers shook.  
“I know,” he hummed. “I know, baby.”
The pet name made your stomach flip. You’d never wanted someone’s affection as much as you did in this moment.
He pulled his hands from your thighs and held you firmly around the waist. With your arms around his neck, you were already perfectly set up for his next move. He tipped you back until your shoulders were pressed against the blanket, laying you out with him between your hips.
Your muscles were grateful for the reprieve, but the new angle had him driving into you differently, making your eyes roll back.
It had felt great before, but suddenly you could sense yourself working toward something more - a higher peak. Your body felt hot as you wrapped your legs around his hips, tugging him by the hair into a kiss.
He eagerly kissed you back, biting down on your bottom lip, but not quite hard enough to break the skin.
With him over you like that, hair framing his face, everything felt like a dream. It was dark, but you could see the light of the moon catching on a sheen of sweat on his face, making his features even more intense.
Every single thrust sent you closer and closer to a pleasure you hadn’t been acquainted with yet until it got so intense that you had to squeeze your eyes shut tight and just hang on.
You came first, trying and failing to stifle a cry on your own, so he pressed his mouth against yours, swallowing it down. The feeling engulfed you like a wave, your fingers digging at his bicep.
He held you close to him, but it wasn’t until you were coming down that you realized he was whispering encouragement against the side of your mouth, sounding a little fucked out himself.
When he came, he let out a few choppy, raspy breaths against your face, his fingers wound tightly in the fabric of your dress.
You watched him come back to earth, and you weren’t sure if it was a post-orgasm haze or a real emotional response, but you were convinced in that moment that he was the most beautiful human you’d ever seen. For a brief second, you hated yourself for not appreciating it for all the years you’d known him. You couldn’t make any promises to yourself in your heightened emotional state, but you wanted to tell him.
But what the hell would you say?
He pulled out, helping you sit up. Your whole body felt weak, so you both just sat there for a minute, staring at each other.
The silence was entirely comfortable for you, but you wondered for a second if it wasn’t for him. If you knew him like you thought you did, he was probably reading the silence as a sign of regret and the thought broke your heart in a way you hadn’t expected.
You leaned in and hugged him tight, pressing a kiss against his cheek and feeling him melt into it.
There was no stopping yourself from wondering if he was feeling the way you did. You wanted to ask, but suddenly you were faced with the possibility that he didn’t.
Heart racing as you pulled away, you nervously bit your lip.
“What now?” you chanced, voice so quiet it was almost swallowed up by the sound of the waves.
He gave you a sugar-sweet smile and dragged his knuckle down your jawline. “You tell me.”
After you both redressed and got yourselves looking somewhat presentable, he walked you back up to the room.
A shower sounded nice, but after a moment of consideration, you decided that you’d used all of the energy you were willing to give for the day.
So you changed into a pair of loose shorts and a t-shirt in the bathroom, and when you came back out, he was already snuggled into his bed, smiling at you sleepily.
You huffed a laugh at him, but when you pulled back the blankets to your own bed, his smile fell.
“You don’t wanna come over here?” he asked, sounding like a kicked puppy.
You looked over at him through your lashes. At least a quarter of the nights you’d known him had been spent sleeping within a foot or two of him, but this was different.
“Of course, I do,” you assured with a sheepish smile.
You weren’t sure if you had been expecting to feel differently once you weren’t actively having sex with him, but as you crawled into his bed, you realized that you didn’t.
Nothing felt different, and yet everything had changed.
You laid face to face with him, taking it all in.
Once he figured out that you weren’t going to make any moves, he reached past you and flicked off the light. He gave you one, chaste little kiss before pulling you close.
+++
Your flight home didn’t start boarding until 11 pm, but you’d never been good about sleeping on planes, so you settled in with a book and a can of cola.
The seats were set up in rows of three, so it ended up being you and Josh sitting together with a stranger and your parents in the row ahead.
He was sleepy - you could tell because he kept rubbing at his eyes like he was trying to keep them open.
“Get some sleep,” you instructed with a giggle as he leaned his head against the window.
“Wanna wait at least until we take off.”
The stranger on your other side, however, already had her head leaned back on a neck pillow, big headphones covering her ears.
Through the cracks in the seats, you could see your parents settling in for the night, getting ready to sleep through the nearly eight-hour flight.
Josh was just barely still awake by the time you were sure your parents were asleep, and you were comfortable enough to chance turning to him. You grabbed his chin with your fingers and kissed him slowly, feeling your heartbeat pick up.
You wanted him to know that you hoped this was the new normal - that back home, you wanted to stay this close.
He looked a little stunned when you pulled away, just sitting there blinking at you, but after his tired mind caught up with itself, he grinned at you, showing his teeth.
He pulled your head down to his shoulder and nuzzled his cheek against it, lacing your fingers together and letting them rest on his lap.
Maybe you were going to be able to sleep after all.
Note: thanks again to anyone that leaves any kind of note for me. I fucking love them and they keep me going. <3
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