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kalims · 1 year

Note

Can I please request any Twst character seeing their crush kiss their tsum?

⊹ kissing their tsum tsum

premise. maybe leaving their tsum somewhere to come back to wasn't such a good idea anymore when it's clearly taking the attention of the person they like.

parts. floyd (i somehow forgot him help)

content. gender neutral reader

characters. riddle, leona, jack, epel, sebek

cw. written by someone who hasn't played through the event and does not know shit lol

note. are they just plushies??? or do they have a consciousness of their own??? I am so confused but wow I wrote somehow

I just slapped whoever had cards on the event onto here 😭 caters part is my favorite ugh

riddle rosehearts

left his tsum in it's custom made velvet chair to grab another jar of sugar since riddle didn't know it ran out.

and yes, he had one made for it. smaller version of his own and stuff, it literally has better privileges than any other resident of the dorm.

^ he totally drinks tea with it and believes that even if it isn't actually alive it's him and if this tsum didn't drink tea at the exact time for a specific rule he still feels like he broke one.

he even pours a cup for it hekasbkqkas.

I mean the liquid doesn't get drank by anyone obviously but riddle still does it.

so as he's walking back, opening the chair to take a peek to see if it's enough cubes once he closes it, and looks up he almost just trips on air and drops the glass jar.

he fumbles with the object for a second, blinking rapidly at the sight of you snuggling into his tsum then giving it little kisses every now and then, did he hear you calling it cute—?

"wha...what in the world are you doing?!"

"it's so adorable.." you mumble, hearing the boy but it just goes in one ear and out the other.

good lord he doesn't know whether he'd like to melt into a puddle, combust from his red face, or be that tsum.

should he be jealous? no. but is he? yeah. even if he's denying it severely.

next session the tsum was left with no tea and was promptly caged in his room in hopes that you would not do all that to his tsum, and to his real self instead.

leona kingscholar

I honestly don't think he would really care for it??

I mean wow. it looks like him. cool. whatever. what's he supposed to do with it? it's just a plush no need to work up so much for it.

not that doing effort for it benefits him in anyone but he just keeps it on his bed since he didn't really wanna go anywhere else and his bed just happened to be near so...

*yoink*

no one tells him this, especially not ruggie but he actually sleeps with it. an arm over it sometimes and usually coddling it in his arms.

trust me ruggie has proof.

100 madol for 5 seconds fr

well as usual it's in his bed just there in it's habitat just like the real leona kingscholar.

even someone like him takes the time to actually go to the bathroom so while he's gone, and when he's on his way back he immediately knows you're there.

that's a scent he can recognize anywhere (well duh. bro spent so long tryna engrave it) and if he can smell you so close to his destination then obviously you're in his room.

also he left the door slightly closed and it's more open than before so that's that.

just like anyone else he completely stops before he could open his mouth and is actually flabbergasted and flustered?

why are you kissing his tsum?? "that's kinda creepy ain't it?" he drawls but his tucked ears says I wanna be it so bad.

"guess i'm creepy then."

you say simply and go back to coddling the damn thing. leona scowls at the relevation. there's no way a small, lame version of him is gonna win you like that!

move over so you can enjoy the real thing >:(

jack howl

mr. everyday is leg, arm, everything day guy.

I believe he's more of an outdoors dude, a very sweet outdoors dude.

the kind of sweet outdoors dude that would buy a miniature plushie version of weights for his tsum so it can get the eveyday is leg, arm, everything day too.

cute thing is jack is actually so proud of himself 😭 evident from the cute lil' wag of tail he does.

he's so pure!!

and him and his tsum totally 'work out' together.

well it's mainly him but he likes to think that his tsum is too. if he's doing an exercise that doesn't require a lot of moving his tsum is just there somewhere with it's weights facing him.

if he's running he has it on his shoulders awww..

sometimes he can get a little distracted though. from his intense focus he didn't even hear you approaching, let alone sitting down and basically hogging his tsum all to yourself!

at some point you just made the tsum copy whatever the real jack does. jack is doing push-ups? damnn.. tsum is doing is so easily.

you get the point.

it's only then when jack notices when he hears you and mistakes your comment for him.

"ahh, you did great cutie.. so strong, so cute." he hears you mumble and turns pink before turning back to look at you and the happy movement of his wolf traits pause.

oh that wasn't for him.

jack stares in envy. HE SWEARS THAT TSUM JUST SMIRKED AT HIM.. LITERALLY TRAITOR.

man just feels betrayed.

cater diamond

absolutely adores him tsum to bits!!

ever since he got it he practically drags it everywhere and his magicam page is full of it.

I reckon cater named it. maybe dia(mond) or something, if not then the classic cater 2.0 which is funny cause now he got 3 clones!!

^ the other two and now lil' cater 🎤

which makes me wonder. it'd totally be cute if he had like, two other tsums that are copies of the result of his unique magic. now it's actually cater 2.0 for real!

cater 2.0 is definitely more popular than some students so you could go up to one and say: you know who this is *picture of random student*

they'll be like: ehh... can't say I do, or seen them before

you holding up a picture of cater 2.0: what about this?

them: oh thats cater 2.0 obviously!

random student crying in the backround.

IMAGINEEE (laughs in pain)

ahem. he likes to have his tsums (tsums cause he actually got 3 to match himself) around everywhere so he can incorporate them into his selfies.

also he needs to feed everyone more cater 2.0's content. there's cater D, cater I, and cater A who all spell out dia :DD big brain

in the music room of his club where's he's peacefully testing out a riff behind him his tsums lay..

so obviously he didn't hear you shuffle into the room, let out the quietest gasp ever and just take the three into your arms and look like you're in heaven.

you stay like that for a while, smiling and hugging the tsums cause wow were they just adorable! and there's three of them!

you all spare the three a sweet kiss before realizing that the music has stopped and cater is pouting at you.

"aw that isn't fair!" he whined, and smiles cheekily. "these guys and I want some of that too!" he points to his two splits that has recently conjured.

now you got three miniature caters that got the kiss, and three real caters that want one yayy!

sebek zigvolt

said he was not going to care for.. something like that and if there was anything like.. that, the only thing he'd care of was one of malleus'.

then said that 'he wanted to educate the plush' even though it was a plush. he's already contradicting himself here, where's the hate??

legit just rambled to the plush for an hour straight preaching about the greatness and glory of his young master.

where silver actually woke up from! silver!! crazy, right?

it must have been a lot of even silver rose from it.

said he was not going to spend anything on it unlike the other people who had spent a hefty amount of madol for the comfort of their tsum and for them alone.

but he figured.. just getting a small painting of the young master so the tsum would look at it everyday isn't too much of a stretch.

that's what he said before and now he's on his way to get another smaller version merch of malleus.

god forbid if malleus ever came inside the room cause he's just gonna see a lot of stuff.. but don't worry cause sebek atleast has a separate corner for all that.

'I will not care for it' my ass.

of course he had completely forgotten that he had invited you over and was outside fetching his blade he forgot to bring inside.

as per dorm rules! don't want it flying away anywhere if a.. *coughs* storm suddenly appears.

lilia had already invited you in and insisted it was fine for you to enter sebek's room beforehand even with your doubts he just pushed you in and you weren't in a place to argue when he didn't even budge when you tried to stop.

once you just walked around out of curiosity it was only in due time where you would see the plush.

an idea pops in your head.

sebek did not expect to see you inside his room.

let alone on his bed, with his tsum in your arms and you dutifully committing yourself into showering it with love and affection.

he's just flabbergasted, shocked to silence, every synonym near to those. but there's an increasing amount of steam pouring out of his ears as his face twitches more by the minute.

"WHAT ARE YO—"

you kiss it so casually that sebek shuts up and almost faints out of embarrassment and fluster.

WHAT IS GOING ON?? he's so confused. WHO LET YOU IN??

bat chuckling somewhere

epel felmier

would very much like to dress up his tsum.

he knows because vil already saw the tsum looking like a monstrosity covered in dirt and leaves, only spared a disappointed look but stayed silent.

not in the way you'd think cause he feels like he can do whatever he'd like to this tsum and vil wouldn't really care like the man would to real epel.

a hallelujah for him honestly.

he doesn't really put much love to his tsum but it's pretty cute that's all. rook finds it way more appealing than him though which he isn't sure how to interpret.

epel doesn't leave it just anywhere when it's outside of pomefiore. cause students there are polite and definitely would not wreck a plushie that looks exactly like him.

if he did the tsum would probably disappear on campus and be found in a dumpster.

*chills* cause he somehow feels for the tsum.

when he's angry he just vents to it and vents whenever. including the times he's just having a crisis about you.

if that tsum was alive godddd epel would be so exposed.

he left the tsum somewhere outside, in the middle of the garden.

he was practicing his make-up there, as per vil's instructions and went out to go fetch a product he had forgotten to grab along with the others.

he figured he might as well take a cup of water as a drink to go.

epel is just gulping down the water when it's just coincidence that he lowers the cup, sees you, there's water still in his mouth, then you give his tsum a little cute kiss so he just spits it all out.

OH MY GOD WHAT WAS THAT. he thought completely out of it. he stares intensely at the tsum.

he's definitely regretting venting to the tsum about you cause epel somehow thinks it's somehow alive and is now rizzing you up, with the knowledge HE gave IT!

he's so mad help 😭

*epel trying to aggressively rizz you up too*

"you don't need that." *snatches and throws the tsum away*

IN JEALOUSY.

meanwhile you watch it fly with sad eyes. :(

mad epel.

note. jesus christ I wrote all of this RIGHT AFTER I posted that /srs ☹ AND I DID ALL THIS IN LIKE AN HOUR HELP ME WHERE DID THAT COME FROM

commision me!

#twst #twst x reader #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #twst fluff #twst imagines #twst scenarios #riddle rosehearts x reader #leona kingscholar x reader #cater diamond x reader #sebek zigvolt x reader #epel felmier x reader #riddle rosehearts #leona kingscholar #cater diamond #jack howl x reader #jack howl #twstnexus #ㅤ◜◡◝ . . signed !

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lovelyyandereaddictionpoint · 2 months

Text

Favorite Guest (2) | Yandere Twisted Wonderland

Part 1

Trey considered himself a peaceful man. Exalted in the company he worked at, a reliable watchman, and a highly trusted man in his personal life. This is probably why he was the only one who noticed the dissolving of his friend’s position and the praise for his miraculous results with one of the hardest hybrids they had in captivity.

With cameras and sensors all over the zoo, it was up to him to be the first to see everything. To warn the upper management and the scientists who were all too engrossed in their studies to be aware of the impending danger from their subjects of interest. It wasn’t his job to map out the tremors from ‘upper management’ but after being instructed to stop recording during certain officials visits, he accepted it as his duty.

Ring

“Yo Yo it’s Cater D, go ahead and leave me a message and follow me on my socials after the beep!”

Beep

Hearing the message from his friend when he wasn’t stuttering and sobbing uncontrollably didn’t help settle Trey’s suspicions. On paper, they never knew each other but in truth, they’d met in school and kept in contact even as they got into the same line of work. Confidentiality was a line they crossed long ago sharing the events of their work. Trey didn’t feel bad, he figured it was human to share secrets especially, against the monstrous image of the company they had, only interested in the height of the discovery of new life.

It was also why Trey debated with himself while he watched the loudest sensor go off. The blaring red alarm was loud but due to secrecy the soundproofing of his office let only Trey know about the impending doom.

The sensor was a valued company secret, the only technological link to the largest threat they’d entrapped. The green Naga that was hundreds of meters (and that was by guessing) the anomaly that turned themselves in and claimed to have convinced the other subjects to stop fighting on his command–was on the move. In an outdated attempt to track him and the other nagas, a plate was installed near the entrance of the cave they gravitated to. There were other cameras and recorders in there but all were dismantled, smashed, or broken before they could collect any data.

The plate was based on weight and depending on how much longer it was pressed down depended on who was coming out of the cave. 3 meters was the silver-tailed one. 6 meters was the blue one. But any reading over that was registered as the green one.

This would have been a time for him to unlock the shelf and flip the switch. Putting the entire base on a code dragon: an appropriate name for the Naga they weren’t even sure was one. Evidence suggested that properly shutting down the facility would be the goal….but Trey was hesitating.

This same facility of people had thrust a dear friend of his into the fire by making him the scapegoat to secure the Naga’s first demands. Clearing his existence from all walks of life when he exercised his morality. Risking his life to defy whatever demands those ‘higher-ups’ had led out.

Cater was now gone.

All that remained were the scientists who were responsible.

Without being scared it was clear that the ‘higher-ups’ were worried about an uprising. There was so much they didn’t know about the subjects they’d kept trapped. Always discovering new abilities with the massacres of many employees. It was bound to happen. And with the green Naga’s only confirmation of peace was that he was looking for something possibly being fulfilled with the poor guest from the zoo.

So the urge to call an early day off grew more as other sensors from separate exhibits began to ring.

“Yeah, I think it’s best if I take an early day off.”

____________________________________________________________

Hearing the distant sound of glass breaking from inside the cave was the signal you were waiting for. Letting Rollo pick you up, you watched from deeper than the entrance to watch the tip of Malleus’ tail finally disappear into the darkness..

“Wow, he is so long.”

Idia giggled as he finished his his contraption, “And girthy too. Hehehe.”

Rollo was likely sneering at him but you couldn’t tell. The blue-haired Naga didn’t look bothered in the slightest, instead, he was smiling widely as he handled the controller. The part of the plan that Malleus allowed involved all three of your participation—Operation Leftovers!

“Idia are you all set up to go?’

“Yup! Those batteries you had worked so much better than the ones I’ve got. And the little gadget in your bag was really–”

“Idia please just send the thing out. I’m ready to forgo the entire plan if you rant another moment longer.”

The Naga with the handmade drone pouted a little before clicking some buttons. The whirring of the drone charging up before flying off. With a phone he swiped as a monitor for his drone he looked intently at the screen. Moving closer to him you watched the fuzzy image become clear. It showed the jungle of the enclosure traversed through by something large. The trees and grass are lying irregularly, some things snapped as though the Naga had gone through breaking them mid-launch. The drone easily maneuvered through the remains to reveal the glass of the enclosure shattered and surrounding it the scientists downed.

Looking over your shoulder Idia mumbled to himself,” He really didn’t save any for the rest of us, did he?”

You heard it and while you weren’t fond of the scientists who’d brought you here, they were still human. It made your stomach turn as Rollo perked up with a smile as Idia loosely pointed out a few Malleus had missed. The silver Naga darted off from you two, eager to get his hands bloodied with the humans he’d been loathing for months.

“C’mon (Y/n), he might get too excited and leave us behind.”

Accepting Idia’s invitation you climb his back, rubbing your watering eyes into the vast expanse of his cerulean locks. Taking deep breaths you try to distract yourself with the smooth gliding of his tail and the occasional demented giggling he lets out while watching the drone screen. Mentally patting yourself on the back, you’re glad you declined Malleus’ offer to carry you while he cleared a path. When you warned him about the use of guns or explosives he laughed, informing you that ‘the pellets sent in the past were nothing for someone as familiar with fire’ as he. As much as you’d love to watch him deflect, you assured him you’d be more helpful in the rear. Promising you’d be able to guide the three of you out of the facility without putting any of you in too much danger—much to Rollo’s displeasure. The plan hinges on Malleus’ destructive capabilities and the other captive creatures also take advantage.

Idia slowed as he cautiously turned the corner to find Rollo throwing a formerly alive scientist into a nearby wall. Still controlling the drone it provided a cleared path to the entrance of the zoo and parking lot, save for the few guests running in fear.

“It seems like Malleus is already headed to your place.”

You sighed as you pictured the giant Naga scaring your neighbors. Unfortunately, when you tried to convince him of another rendezvous point he dismissed your worries—claiming that he’d love to enjoy himself in the quaint confines of your human nest. You just hoped he hadn’t destroyed your furniture while squeezing into the tight space. Rollo pulled you out of your

“Now how do we get to your ‘inconspicuous’ route?”

“We have to go to the car park.”

They both looked at each other before looking at you again.

“The place where we put the metal tools with wheels.”

“Oh!” “Why didn’t you just say that from the beginning.”

Mapping out the way with Idia’s drone you urged the duo to move quickly; ignoring their not-so-silent snickering about ‘how you were the slow one with your tiny single-jointed legs.’ The surreal relief of stepping over scientists’ bodies and opening the staff-only door you had been escorted through just hours before. The sun was setting now and you were grateful that it looked like the general zoo was closed now. It made the laughable scene of shoving two Nagas into your car less conspicuous. At this point the only battle was driving with those two bickering right in your ear.

“Don’t touch me!”

“I literally can’t right now! Maybe if you scooched a litte-”

“Me!? Scooch!? Are you blind?”

“Why are you being so pissy lately!?”

“ME!? PISSY?! YOU WANT ME TO SHOW YOU—”

After a short eternity of driving; finally, you could open the door to your destination, watching as they unfurled and wiggled away from each other. All that was left was for you to unlock–or rather just open the door seeing as it was already unlocked. What a promising sign.

“So this is my house, feel free to make yourselves at ho—”

The feeling of wind slapping your face and the disappearing silver tail past a corner was another shock. As if sensing your disbelief Idia curled around you unbearably close nuzzling into your neck while humming.

“He’s just worried Malleus took over all your smell.”

“Really? I thought he just wanted to find someplace far from us.”

“...Maybe that too…”

“I see.”

“You got any games?”

It took a while to get inside the actual door considering Idia was refusing to release you from his hold. Inching yourself into your home it was apparent Malleus had made himself at home, draped over your couch, the kitchen, and all hallways was his emerald shimmering tail. Standing firm–almost rocklike as you struggled to climb past with ease. You were able to shake Idia off you when you introduced him to your television, leaving him with instructions not to break anything you set out to find the Naga all spread throughout the house.

It was a battle trying to balance yourself on the steps that were being majorly taken by the muscular tail draped on the entirety of the stairs. But you made it, taking a breath before pushing the door to your room–-it was halfway closed on the rest of Malleus’ tail.

Taking up the entirety of the room was Malleus, leaning low on the side of your bed, imitating what would’ve been a person kneeling. The level he was in served its purpose as it seemed, he was whispering something in Rollo’s ear. The grumpy Naga was perfectly curled, fitting on your bed as he laid face down into your pillow. He was violently clutching the plush cotton but the seconds that you spied Malleus’ whispering it seemed to weaken.

Malleus turned and smiled, “Happy your home, (Y/n)!”

Slithering away from Rollo he held you into his chest, lightly digging his nose into your head. No doubt, smelling you for the umpteenth time. You couldn’t tell if he was intentionally blocking your vision or genuinely interested in what he was asking.

“Do you have anything to eat, (Y/n)?”

“I can make something real fast, though I don’t know if it’ll be any good,” you glanced at his tail,” or enough.”

“That is fine, shall we go?”

He was already moving you with him as he headed to the door. You tried to look past him at Rollo but Malleus was intent on leading you out.

“What about Rollo isn’t he hungry?”

Malleus completely took you off the floor, carrying you down the stairs while nuzzling his head into your own. Figuring he was attempting to calm you, you stopped trying to look tucking your legs up higher as he reached the ground floor.

“He will be fine for now. Do not worry about him.”

__________________________________________________________

The sun had long since set and the kitchen was closed. The only human within the house was fast asleep under the covers, subconsciously fighting the blue-scaled Naga who was dutifully playing with a switch. His tail was curled between his human’s legs in a snug hold casually gaming while his human snored into the night.

The other two Naga were downstairs, sitting in the dark without the lights on. They didn’t need it. Their gray and green eyes can see each other perfectly clear. Rollo was on what (Y/n) called a couch coiling his tail repeatedly while he kneaded at the pillow he’d been squeezing for over six hours. Now and then dragging his nose along the cover while inhaling the scent of its original owner still lingering in the linen.

“I am still hungry.”

Malleus kept his distance leaning over the back of the couch and letting his head rest on his arms. His gaze worriedly flickering to his mate’s face and then to the permanent puncture marks into his pale unattended neck.

“Are you listening?”

Rollo was turned around now as if aware that his giant mate was distracted from listening to his woes whining. He was peeved for many reasons. The irritating scent of other inferior humans on both sides of his newest mate’s home. The occasional whiff of dominance his other mate was exuding and the inferiority that came with being near him. But most of all the lack of a filling meal was on his mind; especially when just hours before perfect morsels surrounded him.

“I am.”

The husky voice and the feeling of Malleus’ weight curling around his smaller tail was a constant reminder of his mate’s comforting superiority. This was evident for the same reason he hadn’t gorged himself while leaving the prison, he dreamed of eating his way out of. Just as he hated he loved Malleus knew this was what the problem was.

“You were not able to eat during your escape.”

It wasn’t a question, the plan never included him needing to attack others. Granted there were a few outliers, but it wasn’t enough to satiate him. Even worse there were quite a few opportunities to eat some humans-paralyzed with fear. But he refrained, for the their newest mate was too judgmental and it would be inconvenient if they tried to run now.

“Hardly, it wasn’t enough to keep any one full.”

Malleus purred as he ran his fingers up the spine of his mate, letting his tail lock around Rollo’s as he shivered.

“I am grateful you kept (Y/n)’s happiness in mind.”

Rollo huffed, “Was there ever a doubt I wouldn’t?”

Malleus answered with a kiss to his hips, unraveling himself as he made his way to a window that was already opened.

“How about we both ‘eat out?’ (Y/n) was certain there would be an influx of their law enforcement attempting to discover what was going on.”

Rollo smirked, “Sounds delicious. I say we go!”

Rollo didn’t need to be told twice dashing past Malleus and onto the darkened allies in the direction of the zoon. Before Malleus could follow he looked to stairs with a woeful pout.

“Don’t make that face, I’ve got (Y/n). We’ll be fine.”

Malleus tilted his head as if to ask, ‘Are you sure?’

Idia rolled his golden eyes, finally looking up from his game to capture the lips of the greedy dragon. After a minute of Idia attempting to accomplish his game while sucking the forked tongue down his throat, he was released with a loving nip to his neck.

“Have a nice meal you two.”

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lyneira · 2 years

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♡ falling asleep on their shoulder ♡

-> how they would react if you ended up falling asleep on their shoulder

lyneira's 1.2k milestone event

Will be a bit annoyed (at first)

Leona, Ace, Jack

They'd wanna wake you up, gently nudging you, "oi, my shoulder isn't for you to sleep on", but seeing how fast asleep you were and seeing how adorable your resting face was had them giving in.

I feel like Leona would be inclined to sleep as well, eyelids growing heavy and his head occasionally leaning on yours, but he would try to keep himself awake because he didn't want anyone to disturb you. If anyone walked in making a ruckus, he'd shoot them a glare and quietly tell them to shut up lol.

When you wake up, these dudes would definitely be like, "Finally awake, sleepyhead? Well you owe me one for drooling all over my shoulder". Apologize all you want, the only acceptable payment he'll take is your love and affection, particularly in the form of a kiss, hehe 😘

Wouldn't really know what to do

Idia, Deuce, Epel, Ruggie

They'd probably freeze up when they've realized you've just fallen asleep on their shoulder. Should they wake you up? Should they just let you rest on them? They wouldn't know what to do. While they don't want to disturb you, knowing how tired you must have been, the longer you leaned on them, the more they would observe your lovely, peaceful visage, note the warmth radiating from your body as you were clinging onto their arm, and just wouldn't be able to handle the adoration that they felt for you overwhelm them. They would feel their heart rate go up and feel their cheeks grow hotter as you held them closer in your sleep. He wasn't used to being in close contact with you for such long periods of time after all.

Sleeps along with you

Floyd, Cater, Kalim, Che'nya, Silver

He's going to lean his head on yours and fall asleep too. He doesn't plan on waking you up and would feel too bored just sitting there that he decides he might as well sleep. I think it would become a routine between you both. The moment he feels your head weigh down on his shoulder, he'll stop whatever he was doing and would grin, "I guess it's nap time for me too!!", and then sleep. Let's be real, he probably uses it as an excuse to slack off, yet, at the same time, he truly enjoyed moments like these where he could simply rest and be so close to you.

Before sleeping, I can totally see Cater taking a selfie of you sleeping with him waving a peace sign and captioning it, "Nap time~!"

Is as happy as can be

Rook, Malleus, Lilia, Neige

When he feels the weight of your head resting on his shoulder and sees you asleep, they are over the moon for you. They're just so happy to know that you're this comfortable and relaxed enough around them, that their hearts are all a flutter. He's so tempted to scoop you up in his arms and let you rest there, holding you close to their chest, but seeing how peaceful you already look right now, he chooses to keep still. Though, if you subconsciously nuzzle your face into his shoulder, he's gonna want to kiss you right then and there. You're just. Too. CUTE!!! 😤💘

And if you do end up waking up because of it, he'll apologize but will be thankful deep down because now, he'll take this chance to let you sleep in his arms instead, where he can keep you close, safe and protected in his warm embrace, kissing your forehead as you again fall asleep, "Rest well, my love. I'll be here for you when you wake up"

Will wake you up

Vil, Jamil, Rollo, Sebek

Yes, these guys will wake you up especially if they had things to do, but will do so politely (excluding Sebek, he'll be loud asf) and with good intentions. If you're this tired, then he suggests that you lay down and sleep in your bed. Y'know, so you can be more comfortable, and the last thing he wants is you getting a stiff neck from sleeping on his shoulder.

Yet, if you insist enough that you want to sleep with him near you, then he'll oblige by either letting you lay your head on his lap or by carrying you to your room and sleeping beside you. In the case that he sleeps beside you, when he sees you've finally succumbed to sleep, he'll try to slip out to continue his work. But once your hand instinctively reaches out to grab his sleeve and mutter his name, he stops, and resigns himself to laying beside you again, huffing, "oh boy, what am I gonna do with you..?" , while softly caressing your cheek with his thumb. He tries, but he simply can't resist you.

Won't be bothered at all

Azul, Riddle, Jade, Trey

If it was possible, he would simply continue what he was doing, albeit more subtle and quieter now. You sleeping on their shoulder wasn't bothersome to him. He found it quite endearing actually.

He liked the contact and for you to be vulnerable like this with him, he doesn't want to ruin the moment. You are now under his care. And he'll ensure that no one disturbs you and that you're able to lean on him comfortably. I think he'd feel free to show more affection towards you now that you were asleep. He'd kiss the top of your head, and probably keep his hand on your thigh or on top of yours, gently rubbing circles on your skin as he continues his task. If any strands of hair were covering your face, he'd promptly move it away so that he'd be able to thoroughly admire you, smiling because of how fortunate he feels to be with you.

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taro-bae · 1 month

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°☆| Blow Your Mind~○°☆

Summary: how they react to a dancer S/O

Characters: (TWST) Riddle, Kalim, Jamil, Vil, Cater

Reader gender not specified, could be yuu

Some scenarios have specified dance styles (e.g contemporary for Vil), no warnings

|Riddle Rosehearts

Riddle is sheltered, his mother definitely taught him that foolish hobbies are a waste of time. The only form of dance he knows about is ballet, a more elegant and traditional form of dance. So if he finds out you are a hip hop, jazz, contemporary or another style oriented dancer he will be suprised. He won't be able to take his eyes off you. However if you are a dancer in a more 'explicit' style, Riddle will be a flustered mess, blushing while trying to maintain a respectful composure but inside he is panicking.

Riddle enters the room wondering what the music is and decides to check so no students are breaking the rules. He stops in his tracks when he sees you moving to the music. He watches you silently, his heart beating rapidly against his ribcage. Once you finish the combo he speaks up-

"That's a rather...vulgar...song."

You are not suprised by his comment, he's always reserved, well-mannered and with a strict definition on what is classified as appropriate.

"But I have to admit, my dear, your dancing is quite...endearing."

He will be interested about your training and why you chose dance as a hobby. He wasn't allowed to have such hobbies so indulge him a bit.

|Kalim Al Asim

This angel of a boy is your number one supporter. Once he finds out you are a dancer he is going to be all over you, and he will ask you to dance with him at any party he hosts. Every single time. He will play music and expect you to join him in a dance, he loves it.

"Y/N! Baby, I did not know you could dance like that!" He exclaims with his signature grin his eyes wide taking in every move. He doesn't waste a second joining you. He doesn't care what music or style it is. He WILL join in. Get ready for a lot of questions. He wants to know how long you've been dancing for, what your favourite style is and so on so forth.

He can't keep his hands to himself. If he's dancing with you he will be all over you. No shame if you're in public, at a party or alone, his body will make contact with yours. How can he not, he loves you so much and he wants to share these moments with you. He has to show you off and tell everyone how good you are. The whole of NRC will know within a day.

At parties and events Kalim will hold onto your hand pulling you towards the dance floor with a excited "y/n, come dance with me! I want everyone to see how good you are!". He's so proud of you!

|Jamil Viper

He won't show it but you captivated his heart. Jamil has a passion for dance, he himself is a breakdance dancer mostly because Kalim would drag him into it. When he sees you dancing, weather it is at a party of Kalims or a dance room, he is analysing your technique, how your body moves, the articulation, the projection, everything to the smallest detail.

Jamil stands near the door frame arms crossed infront of his chest, remaining stoic as he watched. The more he watches you, a smirk grows on his lips. Once you finish or acknowledge his presense he approaches standing infront of you. He feels rather competitive and intrigued.

"Care to dance with me? Come on, show me what you've got." His intense gaze directed right at your eyes watching your every reaction, picking up how you're breathing and starting to blush. He snakes (no pun intended) his arm around your waist pulling closer to him.

"Indulge me a little". He breathes out his voice low and satisfied. He loves the fact that you are a dancer. He totally doesn't dream spending hours in a space, just you and him, coming up with choreographies together, your bodies pressed up against each other. Make his dream come true...

|Vil Schoenheit

Vil is an appreciator of the arts. Dance is a beautiful form of art and performance, not only with expressions but with the whole body in ways that are difficult and requires hours of work. So imagine if Vil comes across you doing a contemporary routine.

He walked into the Pomefiore dance studio seeing you performing your contemporary routine. He stands observing and judging, how you project through your body, your facial expressions, and flexibility when you execute a skill or floorwork sequence.

"Not bad. You move flawlessly, darling. You're full of suprises. We should have recruited you into the SDC group." He says impressed. He can't help himself but add some corrections or points that he noted on how you can improve your performance.

His heart is swelling with pride that his partner is a professional dancer, he is ready to support and promote you even if you say it's just a hobby. He won't let your abilities go to waste. He would occasionally ask you some questions on what you do for stretches or fitness activities to maintain your flexibility and strength. He will he be very invested in your hobbies helping you improve in any way he can.

|Cater Diamond

Oh, honey...get ready for a personal photo shoot. If cater catches you dancing he will whip out his phone faster than ever recording everything. He is not going to leave you alone after that, and yes he's posting it on Magicam with #mylittledancer in the caption. Now it is your responsibility to teach him how to do some popular dance trends , he'll be asking you to film some videos with him wanting to showcase your talent and skill to the entire wonderland!

So when he sees you dancing, especially if you were filming yourself for a post he will be ecstatic. He walks into your room seeing you practising a combo taking out his phone and cheering on you. Congratulations, you gained yourself a cheerleader!

"Oh my sevens! Get it, baby!" He cheers with an occasional 'woo'. "Can you show me another dance, honey? You looked totes adorable when you did that move~". If you offer to teach him a combo he will not say no.

"You're such a good dancer, baby. I'm so lucky to have snatched such a talented cutie for myself~♪"

He's posting photos and videos of you dancing or doing some cool skills the hashtags showing how much he's infatuated with you #mypartnerithebest #dancingqueen #mycutedancemachine

It's a little short but let me know if I should write anymore characters

xoxo ♡

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circeyoru · 26 days

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Collection of Overlords _ Part 13 = Requested

[Alastor x Soul Owner of All Overlords!Reader]

Part 1 — Part 1.5 — Part 2 — Part 3 — Part 4 — Part 5 — Part 6 — Part 7 — Part 8 — Part 9 — Part 10 — Part 11 — Part 12 — Part 13 (here)

The moment has come. Everything, from the moment you’ve return to now, has been for this very entertaining event. A legendary event where the biggest change in your collection will be announced to the entirety of Hell by the end of it, a show of the approved Overlords

Of course, your existent was never announced. The Sinners were all under the impression that to gain the title of ‘Overlord’ the previous Overlords that are still in power must approve of them, that was how the Overlords grow, decrease, or change from time to time. That was also the reason why during Carmilla’s Overlord gatherings, some self-proclaimed Overlords would show up to prove themselves

In the past, because such an event was announced to all of Hell, some daring souls made their way to the meeting to showcase their potential. The first few times it happened was amusing so you allowed it and let your Overlords have free rein over the consequences of such trespassers. Soon, it annoyed you how your Collection fell for bribes and selfish deal makers, so you put an end to it

The only few that survived your wipe out was Zestial, Carmilla, and Rosie. They were also the only ones of your current collection to have attended this meeting. You knew for a fact that Zeezi heard about it from them, as did Alastor hence why he had the guts and knowledge to ask you about it

You figured the next time this meeting would be held was for some interesting matters. You’ll be thoroughly entertained for sure. A name Zestial suggested for such an occasion stuck with you and you’ve come to call this ‘Feast of the Unwanted’

An idea click in your mind and a paper and quill formed beside you, your finger twirled as the quill moved along the blank sheet of paper, ink marking the page at your command and thoughts. A smile spread, yes, let’s make this day as entertaining and dramatic as possible

“My, my, looking rather dashing if I do say so myself.” Alastor grinned while his head tilted to the side, his eyes narrowed at the appearance of the winged cat demon before him. “Dressed to impress I see.”

“Well, I gotta.” Husk grinned back. The training and support from Alastor made him turn over his impression of his soul’s owner. A second chance granted to him with something he desired on the line for his success. While your presence wasn’t always there to guide him, Alastor was and did more than he expected. It wasn’t a bad thing, in fact, it was perfect for him to hone his skills once more and build his strength. Still, it was unnerving that Alastor was treat him like an equal. “Can’t put this chance to waste.”

Alastor’s form turned sinister as voodoo symbols appeared around him, “Disappoint My Liege under any circumstances and you will regret having wasted by time catering to you.”

“Understood.”

Alastor snapped back to his usual form, “Lovely.” He raised his card that glowed with an aura, his powers seeped into it and turned into an Aconite flower to which he placed in his chest pocket. It glowed and a vortex appeared before him. “See you on the otherside.”

Bells chimed, signaling the arrival of another participant. The seated individuals looked up from their refreshments to the direction where the entrance they appeared through were. Alastor paid his respect to you with a bow before greeting his fellow Overlords seated around you in their little booth that hovered over the ‘floor’

You gave Alastor a knowing smile and directed to his booth that was near to your throne. He took his time walking to his place, his shoes clicking the surface he walked over. The said surface was just a transparent floor that encased screaming and crying souls you have no time to care for and discarded them to endless limbo

The room seemed endless and confined at the same time. With the booths all designed to their seater’s theme, it all made a circle before you to see everyone. Within their little booth was their own chair and a table of refreshment that would refill everytime something was consumed

Noticably, there was one dull looking booth amongst the ten booths. Those that were present before knew of its meaning and those that are certaintly not dumb would also be able to guess its meaning. Yet, there were two familiar themes that some would expect to sit in the same booth but was now separated

And the one theme that no one expected would make a comeback

Another chime of the bells made everyone look to the entrance with interest and eagerness. Who was it? Who would be the last to make their appearance?

The vortex appeared and a figure stepped out of it. While Alastor’s grin grew, the rest gasped and their eyes widened. As surprised and shocked as they were none dared to open their mouths in question after they eyes landed on the flower peeking out of the coat pocket. A lotus flower. The first time in history, a discarded soul is returning to the collection

Husk approached your throne and kneeled before you, bowing his head low. You hummed in delight, Alastor has taught his alleycat well, it was as if this Husk was different from the one you’ve found. You dismissed the changed demon to his booth while everyone watched with piercing gaze

Now there was one demon missing from the grand play

Soon enough, the bell chimed its last ring. Everyone perked up as another vortex materialized before the star of the feast appeared. Everyone’s eyes honed in on the flower on their person. A singular Appleyard London

Zestial, Carmilla, and Rosie all shared glances behind their cup of beverage, knowing full well the meaning behind all the flowers you picked out for your invited souls. While Zeezi and Alastor could guess from their prior knowledge in the language of flowers. Velvette and Vox, however, felt like they both dodged a bullet when they instinctively eyed their flowers

Valentino gave you a bow as he stood in front of you, after being directed to his lonely booth, he turned his heel and made his way there. Not even hiding the anger and betrayal he felt when he saw Velvette next to Carmilla’s booth and Vox’s place next to Zestial. Valentino’s booth was right between Rosie and Zeezi

But there was another detail that didn’t escape even Valentino

“What?! What the flying f*** is this sh*th*le doing here!?” Valentino pointed an accused finger at Husk who merely took a sip from his glass.

“I was invited. Just like you.” Husk answered with a grin. “Say, are you lonely without your buddies?”

“You definitely sneaked in here…” Valentino growled, he smirked as he pulled out his smoke pipe, inhaling a puff of smoke, “Let me deal with you.”

Before the exhaled gas could even do its damage, Husk’s wings expanded as he got up from his seat, his wings made a powerful flap that diffused the coloured gas within seconds. “Gotta do better than that. Loser.”

Valentino growled, “You piece of—”

Clapping sounds halted the little spat. You continued to clap your hands together slowly while everyone’s attention turned to you, and they immediately noticed the smile on your face. “Not even a word from me to signal the start of today’s gathering and there’s already an immature argument happening.” Your head tilted toward Husk, “I’ll forgive you since it’s been a while, but…” Your face turned in Valentino’s direction, your tone dropped to a chilling danger, “Have you learned nothing from the last time?”

“Mmm!” Valentino was pressed into the ground like the insect he was, his wings spread open while his entire body was forced down. He choked out as best he could, “I’m s- I mean… My deepest… Apologies…!”

Husk bowed with his wings lowered around him, “I apologise for lowering to Valentino’s level.”

With the wave of your hand, they were wordlessly made to return to where they were assigned. When everything finally calmed down, you clapped your hand just once. All refreshments disappeared and luxurious silverware replaced them, everyone was sitting on the longer side of a long table in their custom chairs

Your line of knight puppets appeared, all holding onto a dish with a mouthwatering aroma. The knights’ clanking armours were the only thing making any form of noise, they stopped between everyone’s seats and placed their respective dishes in the empty space on the table. Your doll puppets appeared next and placed an assortment of drinks on the table by the dishes

You held up your glass and proposed a toast, everyone hastily following suit. You officially started the “Feast of Desire”, ommiting the name of the gathering and just calling it a feast. Then you welcomed everyone to partake in the dishes before them

You made sure to have everyone’s prefernce on the table, including Rosie’s cannibal meals and Alastor’s deer dishes. As time went on, more dishes were placed on the table and the cleaned plates were removed to make more space

The former participants of your feast started making conversation, showing the new members what was allowed and what wasn’t. Soon, small talk was all around. You’ve inputted your thoughts and responses here and there, but it was mostly your Overlords that did the talking

This session used to be put to the end when all your matters were resolved and there was a number for this particular gathering. But you thought it would be more amusing to watch who was included in conversation and what was excluded. There was a reason why you’ve placed Husk, Velvette, and Vox in the middle and next to one of the more favoured souls, while Valentino was casted off to the far end

It was obvious that Valentino tried to join in or be involved, but it was all for not since none of your wise souls were falling for the obvious pity route that could put them in a bad position

This gathering was more than a meeting, chat, and meal together, it was a gathering where the biggest change is set. Those with a poor position is at risk of a fall out, but it doesn’t mean those of favour can stay indefinitely. Since this is where your judgement is passed without delay or mercy

Once the meal was done, all hell breaks lose

You hummed with a cruel smile. At the llight ring from the contact your spoon made to the glass, all whispers and conversations were put to a halt, and all attention was on you while your puppets cleared the table. “Now, let this little… Judgement Day begin.”

Flower Meanings: Aconite flowers are highly toxic and have been historically associated with death and danger, symbolizing the pain of toxicity or harm The Lotus flower is immensely spiritual and can represent rebirth and resurrection. It can subsequently be used to celebrate a range of new chapters and journeys Their colour may chiefly be associated with sunny optimism, but in the language of flowers, yellow carnations represent disdain, disappointment and rejection. The striped variety signifies refusal

Note: The meeting's underway!! This series is reaching its end cause there's not much left now. I think it'll end at 15/16, plus an Epilogue. Then idk about the continuation after Hazbin Hotel's second season cause this series' ending changed a lot of stuff. Anyways, what you think of this one?

Part 14 is done, but I'll give this part some time to become more known before I update again.

Circe Y.

My Works: MASTERLIST

Taglist: (those that don't specify to being in all the works' taglist will automatically be assumed to be in whichever series they comment on)

@aconfusedwonderland @crowleysthings @donustellaron @mistpurpl3 @lucifers-silhouette @fluffy-koalala @snowy-violet @charlottesskiss @plutobots @ray-rook @thealienartist @serenity-songbird @galaxydreamer468 @raynerrold @wen01203 @hikari-michiko @colecreo @myromanempiree @xsamkuro @yourdoorisunlocked @clavelina @jono723 @cursedcattalastor @an-idyllic-novelist @flamiohotman2024 @rea-grace @myromanempiree @veroneverleft @lousypotatoes @crazysuityouth @jellyedkazoo @wat4r @kiraisastay @thealienartist @chefysawesomeideas @wtvbabes @patronizingbitch @koshi-kazu @craftyperfectiontragedy @scr4luv @chrollobb @mysterypotatoink @callmefe @dokukg69 @ratchetprime211 @freejayde @prettyprincess-ily @cgmajor @mook14 @ace-spades-1 @yuuandtheghost @abbiesxox @martinys-world @kiraisastay @umbreon-worshipper @crimsonflameproxy @the-gay-trash-gremlin @ratchetprime211 @soggyb0nes @newkatzkafe2023

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joeys-babe · 4 months

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Joey B Imagines: Mary Jane’s Last Dance

Summary: You and Joe attend the golf event pre-party, main event, and after-party. You had no idea what would unfold, though.

Warnings: Angst, cut-off smut, uncharacteristic ITM.

Pairing: Joe Burrow x reader

Imagine Universe: Into The Mystic

May 30, 2024 - Golf event pre-party

“Honey.” - Joe

Hearing a pet name only one person calls me, I paused my conversation with one of the Jeff Ruby’s caterers to look over my shoulder and see Joe standing being me.

“Mhm?” - you

“Your parents are here with the boys.” - Joe

I said goodbye to the sweet caterer and walked off, Joe lacing his fingers with mine as he guided me toward the entrance of the venue.

“I didn't think they'd be here till later.” - you

“They won't be.” - Joe grinned

Looking up at him, Joe was already looking down at me with a smile on his face.

“They aren't here?” - you

“Nope. I just wanted to get you alone.” - Joe

We heard voices walking near us, so Joe hurried to rush us both into a nearby storage closet.

Joe and I had our hands over each other's mouths as we kept from laughing, his arms around my waist as tightly as they could be to accommodate my bump.

We continued to be quiet till the voices drifted off, and Joe left my arms to find a light.

“Why’d you want to get me alone?” - you smile

Joe flicked the light on and locked the door, his smirk telling me exactly what he wanted before he could say himself.

“Joey… we can't be gone too long. Your mom is going to come looking for you in about ten minutes.” - you laughed

The smirk never left Joe’s face as he walked up to me teasingly slowly, his tongue-in-cheek expression oddly convincing.

“Ten minutes is plenty of time for us, baby.” - Joe

Joe was now right in front of me. My eyes met with his chest before I looked up at his downturned face.

“Please. You look fuckin’ gorgeous tonight. I need you.” - Joe

His voice carried that whininess it always gains when he's needy, and it was nothing but hot to me.

“Fine-” - you

Joe cut me off when he leaned down and smashed his lips onto mine, his hands slowly reaching for my waist before they slid back to my lower back.

“Jump- wait fuck, never mind.” - Joe

I laughed at his remembrance that I was eight months pregnant and completely not able to jump, Joe’s lips still rough on mine.

Sadly, Joe pulled his lips away from mine with an audible pop, and I watched him look around the room. I grinned at the sight of Joe’s lips, which were slightly puffy, red, and glistening with our joint saliva.

It amazed me that Joe still wanted me like this even though I was pregnant, swollen, and moody.

“What’s wrong?” - you

“Nothin’, Mama. Just trynna find something that I can set you down on. I don't want you standing while I finger you.” - Joe winked

Fucking hell, this man.

Just as Joe looked like he had a lightbulb moment and wrapped an arm around my back to lead me somewhere, his phone started wringing in his pocket.

“God, damn it.” - Joe grumbled

I watched him pull his phone out, and Joe showed me the caller ID with an annoyed look on his face. When I made eye contact with him, he blinked fast and repeatedly to drive home the point that he was annoyed.

“Just answer, babe.” - you chuckled

It was Robin, his mom, probably looking around the entire venue for him.

As soon as he lets out a deep sigh and answers, putting the phone on speaker and mumbling a greeting, Robin starts yelling.

“Where in God’s name are you?! It is your name on the foundation, and you are nowhere in sight! Did you kidnap poor y/n and leave?!” - Robin

I had to try to stifle a giggle when Joe’s face turned into a replica of the grimacing emoji.

Joe’s eyes were playfully wide as he looked at me, lying and telling his mom that he had to grab something from the car.

“Yeah, uh, y/n was getting a headache and asked me to go with her to the car to grab some Tylenol.” - Joe lied

I looked at him and rolled my eyes, Joe only winking at me in return.

They continued their conversation, and I started drifting off, my eyes wandering around the room and over Joe till they landed on the major tent in his pants. He’s wearing his grey skinny jeans and a white cream sweater, and I know those pants have to be uncomfortable right now.

Almost as if Joe could sense my gaze on his crotch, he dropped a hand down to his manhood in an attempt to rearrange his erection into a more comfortable place.

I cocked my head to the side as I caught him giving himself a little squeeze before pulling his hand away, trying to aid the pressure just a little bit.

A minute later, Robin yelled at Joe one last time to make his rounds before getting off the phone.

“You in trouble?” - you smiled

“Def grounded.” - Joe

I chuckled before walking closer to him, wrapping my arms around his waist to hug him. Joe used a hand to push my head onto his chest before wrapping his arms around my shoulders. We swayed back and forth slowly, Joe laying his head down against mine as he sighed in contentment.

“I love you.” - you

“I love you too. I'm so thankful to have you, y/n. I couldn't do any of this without you.” - Joe

Pulling my head away from his chest, I looked up at Joe and smiled at him before pressing a sloppy kiss to his cheek.

“No one else’s side I’d rather have glued to mine.” - you grinned

Joe doesn't say anything in return, just smiles before opening the locked closet door.

“Wait. Joe. You can kinda see your…” - you trailed off

He looked at me with pure confusion on his face before it clicked. Joe’s eyes went wide before he shut and locked the door back.

“We’re finishing this later, by the way.” - Joe

I playfully rolled my eyes, and Joe turned his back to me before I heard the sound of his pants being unzipped.

A moment later, Joe zipped his pants back up and turned around.

“Boner check.” - Joe

I couldn't help but laugh to myself as I looked down at his crotch, Joe doing the same.

“Looks fine, I guess?” - you chuckled

“Good because it is wildly uncomfortable. My dick is like bent in half.” - Joe laughed

“What?! I still want to be able to use it after this!” - you

We were both laughing as Joe opened the door, one of his hands holding mine as we walked out of the closet.

Joe was playfully swinging our arms but stopped dead in his tracks when we rounded the corner and were face-to-face with his mother.

“Your car isn't in that direction, Joseph Lee. It’s in the back parking lot, not the front.” - Robin

At the same time, I looked up at Joe, and Joe looked down at me.

Robin sensed that the two of us might have been trying to fool around based on our frantic expressions, and her face faltered to one of slight disgust.

She wasn't disgusted with the fact that we were getting active, though. It was because she had caught us sneaking around.

“Oh. Uhm, never mind. Just… go mingle, Joe. I'll leave you two alone.” - Robin

I giggled to myself when Robin speed-walked away from the awkward interaction.

“That was awkward.” - you

Joe chuckled beside me and rested his hand on the small of my bag, rubbing it softly as he leaned down to kiss my temple.

“Could be worse. Imagine she was standing there when we walked out the first time. Before I fixed myself.” - Joe

I playfully slapped Joe’s chest, not finding his words as funny as he did.

“I’m honestly surprised she or my dad haven't walked in on us. We've been having mind-blowing sex for years.” - Joe

“Joseph Lee!” - you

Joe laughed as I shoved him. He naturally came right back up to me to help guide me, and before I knew it, we were back at the main area of the venue.

Soon, Joe was deep in conversation with someone, and I stood to the side of him shifting my weight from one swollen foot to the other.

I was due in July, and at that stage where I was majorly uncomfortable.

Joe looked over at me, still listening to the guy he was talking to but sensing my restlessness.

“You okay?” - Joe mouthed

Nodding, Joe turned back to the man and apologized before asking him to pause for a moment.

Joe looped his arm with mine and pulled me over to the couch his parents were sitting on.

“Sit down, baby. You don't have to walk around with me if you're feet are hurting.” - Joe

“I’m fine, Joe. I promise…” - you

My words trailed off when Joe raised an eyebrow at me and cocked his head to the side.

“Okay. Fine, my feet hurt.” - you

“See was that hard to admit? You should've just stayed home like I initially suggested.” - Joe

I rolled my eyes at his words. This was a conversation that had occurred multiple times during both my pregnancies. Joe always turned into a helicopter husband, and though it's sweet sometimes, he can go a little overboard, just like he was now.

Joe saw a standing oscillating fan across the room and walked away to grab it. Robin bumped my elbow with hers, and I just angled my head toward her and shook it side to side at Joe. My mother-in-law only laughed, knowing Joe would go overboard when I gave him the smallest hint that I was dealing with discomfort.

Sure enough, Joe unplugged the huge fan and easily carried it over to me with one arm. He looked around for a plug-in before positioning the fan toward me and turning it on.

It was initially on its highest setting and sent my hair flying, along with a few cups on the coffee table at my feet.

“Shit!” - Joe

Both Robin and I yelled his full government name in sync, causing us both to laugh as Joe figured out how to turn the intensity down.

Once Joe got it set to the low setting, he looked over at the couch with a sheepish, closed-lip look on his face. Robin and I were glaring at him, and Jimmy was looking at the ground, shaking his head.

“Oopsies.” - Joe

“Oopsies indeed. Now clean this up, and I wouldn't mind if you got me one of those little appetizers.” - you

Joe nodded his head before bending down to pick up the plastic cups and napkins littered across the floor.

“Yes ma'am.” - Joe

“You’ve trained him well.” - Robin laughed

I laughed along with her for a few seconds, watching Joe walk up to one of the caterers and retrieve one of the small dishes.

“It didn't happen overnight, Robin. This is the product of subtle critiques since we started dating in 2014.” - you chuckled

Joe walked back over to me and leaned down, handing me the snack before pressing a kiss to my cheek. I giggled at the way his bangs brushed against my forehead when he pulled back to make eye contact.

“You need anything else? A drink?” - Joe

“I’m good, thank you, sweetheart.” - you

I grinned when Joe stood up to his full height with blushed cheeks. I only ever called him sweetheart in private and during our softest moments, like when he was lying on my chest and I was rubbing his back.

“Imma go find Sam. Text if you need me.” - Joe

“Okay!” - you smiled

Joe backed away slowly, almost as if he wanted me to ask him to stop and come back, and he furrowed his brows when he was six feet away, and I hadn't said anything yet. In the end, Joe turned around and walked off.

“I don't think you understand how much you mean to him, y/n.” - Robin

Her sweet words came out of nowhere, catching me off guard, so I looked over at her with a questioning look on my face.

“There’s so many people here, and even though he's bubbling with anxiety, you’re making him smile and laugh without a care in the world. Only you are capable of that, sweetie. I hope you know that. I’m also glad he’s coming out of his shell more about affection in public.” - Robin

“I feel like we’ve had variations of this conversation a hundred times, but I’ll never get tired of it. He’s the best thing to ever happen to me, and I'm glad I get to be that safe person for him. I, too, am happy about him getting over his PDA shyness. I remember when I was pregnant with the twins, and I got a little annoyed with him because he wouldn't hold my hand.” - you

Robin nods, letting me know that she’s listening, and I forge ahead.

I recalled the funny memory, one that Joe and I looked back on and laughed over. I was huge and pregnant and angered with him. Getting so annoyed to the point that I yelled:

“You won't hold my hand, but my baby bump is comparable to a neon flashing light sign that says I had sex with Joe Burrow!!”

The look on Joe’s face after I yelled that at him was one I will never forget. He was in awe, jaw-dropped that I’d say that to him, but the next time we were in public, he made sure to initiate some hand-holding.

Robin and even Jimmy were laughing at the story, finding it funny that I eventually worked up the courage to tell of their hermit crab of a son when I was pregnant with his twins.

“With all you do for him, you deserve some PDA, girl!” - Robin

“He knows that now.” - you laughed

“That he does. Every time I walk past him talking to someone, he's been talking about the baby, you, or the twins. Everyone in this venue probably knows how many weeks you are.” - Robin

Before I had the chance to answer, my phone started vibrating in the pocket of the loose sundress I had on. I pulled my phone out and smiled at the sight of the contact banner that came up. It was Joe.

“Hello?” - you answered

“Hey. Your parents are here with the boys.” - Joe

“Oh, yay! That could have been a text, though, right?” - you

“I’m not passing up on a chance to hear your voice.” - Joe

I could hear his grin through the phone, and Joe hung up just a few seconds later.

Robin and I’s conversation started back up till I heard the easily recognizable squeals of my boys.

I looked over at the source of the sound, and my heart fluttered because all of my favorite people were walking up to me.

Joe had Ty on his shoulders, supporting him with one hand holding his arm while Joe used the other arm to hold Miles on his hip.

“Joseph!” - you

“I got ‘em!” - Joe

My parents were trailing behind Joe, laughing at the entire scene in front of them. Once Joe was at the seating area, he helped Miles slide down his hip till his feet were on the floor. Then he reached up and grabbed Tyson under his armpits and lifted him over his head to put him down.

“Momma!!” - Miles

“There’s my boy!” - you grinned

Miles ran straight up to me on the couch, and Robin leaned down to pick him up since I obviously couldn't bend down and get him with my belly in the way.

He stood up in Robin’s lap and fell onto my chest, his arms spread in a hug-like manner.

“I missed you.” - you

My hand rested on his back as I slowly swayed side to side with him. Miles was a momma’s boy through and through, while Ty was Joe’s mini shadow, though they were both Joe’s carbon copy.

Joe was walking off when I finally opened my eyes, and I didn't even know I had closed them at one point. A smile formed on my lips as Tyson ran after him. Joe was just getting a fresh bottle of water, and when he felt little hands on his calves, a grin spread on his lips as he looked down through his Cartiers. Bliss spread through my body at the comforting weight of Miles on my chest and the adorable sight of Joe scooping Tyson up.

Sam walked over to Joe and was now talking to Tyson who was in his favorite spot, which was in his daddy’s arms.

My parents were deep in conversation with Robin and Jimmy, and I closed my eyes, sighing in contentment.

Moments later, unbeknownst to me, Joe walked back over and sat down on a chair caddy-cornered from me. His gaze was fixed on my face. He was amazed at how tensionless it was, and a flutter happened in his chest when he saw the small smile on my lips.

Joe didn't want to break the blissful spell, but he reached out and rubbed my knee gently.

“You good, babe?” - Joe

I nodded without opening my eyes, reaching down to gently rub shapes in the back of Joe’s hand. Joe gently grabbed my hand and squeezed it three times. In return, I squeezed back four times.

——

May 31, 2024 - Main golf event

Today was the main golf event held by Joe’s Foundation. It was the second annual outing, and Joe was less nervous than last year now that he had experience, but he was still dreading the outing itself.

I was currently getting ready alone in our master bathroom after taking a solo shower, which rarely happens nowadays. Joe had left the house earlier this morning, and a smile formed on my lips as I thought back to when his alarm went off this morning.

Joe’s alarm went off, and I buried my head deeper into his bare chest, trying to cut the sound off to my ear. He rolled over and turned it off before wrapping his arms around me and holding me as close as possible.

“G’morning, baby.” - Joe

His deep, raspy morning voice never failed to give me butterflies, and right now, the warmth of his big body wasn't helping.

Joe’s hand left my back and drifted down to my bump, grinning when the baby kicked in response to him pressing his palm into my belly.

“How’d my favorite girls sleep?” - Joe

Lately, baby girl has been getting restless at night, basically using my bladder as a trampoline, and Joe was aware of how it kept me from sleeping.

“Good, actually. No trapeze moves on my bladder last night.” - you

Joe felt me smile against his pec, and he pressed a kiss to my forehead.

“That’s amazing. Can you believe she’s almost here? Because I can’t. Like, I know she's almost here, but I don’t think I’ve realized that she’s almost here.” - Joe

“I was thinking about that last night when you were rubbing lotion on my belly. I can’t wait till our girl is here, and I can’t wait to see you with her. I'm getting a little nervous about how Ty and Miles will react to her being here, though.” - you

Butterflies flew in my stomach when I fully paid attention to Joe’s current movements. He was gently rubbing his cheek against my head, stroking my baby bump with one hand, and slowly running the fingers of his other hand through my hair.

“I think they'll be okay. It’ll be hard for them to adjust in the beginning, maybe, but I think they'll love her. Remember how sweet they were when they met Evan and Gracie’s baby?” - Joe

“That is true. I’m just worried about how they'll react to having to share us with her. She will be our first priority for a bit, you know? They aren't used to not being our main focuses.” - you

“Don’t worry about it, y/n. We’ll adjust and adapt. Everything is going to be fine, I promise.” - Joe

We laid in bed for a little while longer till Joe got up and got ready. Joe told me to go back to sleep and that I didn't need to come to the event till a little bit later.

“Just relax awhile longer. You need it, Mama. You were on your feet a lot yesterday.” - Joe

“Okay.” - you nod

Joe smiled at the fact that I didn't argue back at him for once, and he leaned down to kiss my lips before grabbing his shades and exiting the bedroom.

“Bye, I love you.” - Joe

“I love you more. See ya later.” - you

I received one last grin before Joe gently shut the door behind him. Scooting over to lay on his pillow, I immediately breathed in his scent as I listened to his car start up and the garage door close.

My daydreaming spell was broken when Tyson ran into the bathroom with his mini-football.

“Hi, Momma.” - Tyson

I closed my blush palate and reached down to run my fingers through his blonde hair, smiling when he pressed his face into my leg.

“Hi, Tyson Lee.” - you smiled

“Where’s Daddy?” - Tyson

“He’s workin’.” - you

Tyson’s sad eyes looked down at the little football in his hands, and I swear my heart broke a little.

“He can pass with you tomorrow, okay? Daddy will be home all day tomorrow.” - you

“Okay…” - Tyson

My eyes grew misty as I watched him turn around and slowly walk away. The moment was sad by itself, and my raging hormones were not helping.

Thirty minutes passed, and I was fully ready. My hair was curled, my makeup was on, and so was my outfit. I had my black romper on paired with one of Joe’s old button-up shirts open and shrugged off my shoulders.

I hadn't worn the romper yet, but I knew Joe was going to love it.

My parents stayed the night yesterday in one of the open bedrooms since they'd have to watch the boys again today, so Joe and I didn't get to continue what got interrupted in the storage closet yesterday. Joe passed out right after our joint shower anyway, and I remember giggling at how his eyes kept fluttering closed when he was rubbing lotion on my bump.

After spraying some perfume and grabbing my belt bag, I went downstairs to find my parents drinking coffee in the kitchen.

“Morning!” - you grinned

“Good morning, honey. You look beautiful.” - your mom

“Thanks, Mom. How long have you guys been up?” - you

Miles ran over to me from the living room, asking me for a snack, so I walked off into the pantry to get him some gummies.

I mumbled, “There you go, buddy.” And my dad answered my previous question as I was walking back into the kitchen.

“We were awake just before Joe left. He was in a rush but made us some coffee before heading out.” - your dad

A blush formed on my cheeks at Joe’s sweet gesture, and I tried to hide it by opening the fridge to grab the smoothie I made for Joe last night.

“That’s sweet.” - you

“Mhm. He’s always been a gentleman.” - your mom

My face heated up even more, and I knew my face was probably beat red. Time to rush out of here.

“Well, I’ll see you guys later! Bye, babies.” - you

Miles and Tyson ran to hug me, and I pressed a kiss to each of their cheeks before walking out of the front door.

Joe called me as soon as I got into the car, his deep voice ringing out through the car speakers since my Bluetooth was connected.

“Hey, baby.” - Joe

“Hey, what's up?” - you

“Are you coming soon?” - Joe

I focused on backing out of the driveway before answering.

“Yup. Just pulled out of the driveway. Is everything okay? You sound a little disoriented, baby.” - you

“I’m fine, just getting bored and anxious without you here.” - Joe

“I’ll be there in just a little bit, Joey. Do I need to park where we did yesterday?” - you

“Yup. I'm at a Guinness stand right next to the parking lot too.” - Joe

Joe and I ended up going back and forth my entire drive there, though I quickly realized that was probably his plan from the beginning.

We hung up when I was pulling into the parking lot of the event venue, and I immediately spotted a tall blonde man as I walked through the back path.

Joe was pouring the contents of a can into a glass when I walked behind the counter and up to him.

“Hey, hot stuff.” - you grinned

His head shot up at the sound of my voice, and a grin spread across his lips.

“Hey, lovey.” - Joe smiled

I rolled my eyes playfully at the nickname. Back when we were in high school, we were discussing pet names for each other, and Joe jokingly suggested lovey. I initially hated it, but it became an inside joke, and over time, I grew to love it. Lately, Joe had picked up on the fact I didn't hate it as much as I made it seem like I did, and now he called me it all the time.

“I made you this.” - you

Handing him the smoothie, I watched Joe’s face light up, and I giggled when he leaned down to kiss me.

When he pulled away, Joe opened the cap and took a drink, my eyes lingering on how his adam’s apple bobbed with very swallow.

“Shit. That’s good.” - Joe

“You think? I tasted it and gagged, but I was hoping you would like it.” - you

Joe laughed and took another chug before closing the cap and setting the bottle down.

I furrowed my brows at him when he took a step back and flicked his glasses down onto his nose, his hot gaze looking me up and down a couple of times before he met my eyes and smiled.

“What?” - you laughed

Joe walked towards me and pulled me into him, squeezing me gently before nestling his mouth against my ear.

“You look fuckin’ gorgeous.” - Joe

He leaned back and winked at me before asking a question.

“Is this a new fit?” - Joe

“Kinda. This is your shirt, but the romper is new, yes.” - you

“Oh shit, that shirt’s mine? But anyway, you need to buy that romper in every color.” - Joe

Joe’s words were the more PG version of his thoughts, which were running wild.

God, her bump is so sexy, and her tits look amazing.

Someone called Joe’s name from the parking lot and I turned around to see who it was, completely unaware of the fact I was driving Joe insane. The person calling Joe ended up being Coach Taylor who waved over at us before walking off to get registered.

Holy shit, her ass- damn it, I'm getting hard.

“Hey, I forgot my sunnies at home. Do you have an extra?” - you

Joe reached into his pocket, and that's when I realized he changed his outfit since he left the house.

“What the hell? When did you change?” - you

He chuckled as he pulled out the other pair of sunnies from his pocket and pulled off the ones he had on.

I picked the ones he already had on, and he handed them to me before putting his backup pair on his face.

“I changed when I got here. It’s too hot right now for the outfit I picked out originally. I'm surprised it took you that long to realize.” - Joe laughed

“I’ve got pregnancy brain, JB.” - you

“True. Hey, Imma go find some of the guys, but I don't want you to be by yourself, so I’ll walk you to my parents first.” - Joe

I nodded and looked around at the decorations under the tent a few yards away, completely oblivious to the fact that Joe had just looked down at his crotch and groaned out of annoyance with the fact that you could tell he was semi-hard.

It wasn't until he moved forward to be covered by the counter when he dropped his hand down the front of his shorts that I realized what he was doing.

“Joseph Lee, what the fuck are you doing?!” - you

“Adjusting.” - Joe deadpanned

I rolled my eyes but couldn't stop the cocky smirk on my lips. Knowing I could always turn Joe on was such a confidence boost when I didn't feel very attractive.

Just a few moments later, Joe escorted me over to Robin before meeting up with a couple of the guys on the course to take a picture.

I was sitting a little bored, and a picture that Joe was tagged in came up on my Instagram feed. It was a BTS picture that someone took of Joe taking a picture with some of the guys. I internally giggled when I saw the slight bulge in Joe’s shorts from minutes before he walked off.

That man will always keep me on my toes.

It was later in the day, and I was currently fetching Joe his clothes from his Porche.

Joe was in the single-stall men’s bathroom, and I looked around before knocking on the door.

“It’s y/n.” - you

A few seconds of silence went by before Joe spoke up.

“Tell me something only y/n would know.” - Joe

I, in return, whispered the baby’s name into the crack of the door since only Joe and I knew it, and seconds later, I heard an unlock sound. I opened the door and closed it right behind me. Joe was standing against the sink in just his boxers and socks. After handing him his jeans and Nike shirt, Joe thanked me before slipping them both on.

“Do I look fine?” - Joe

Joe smoothed his hands down his chest, attempting to get some wrinkles out of his shirt because he knew his mom would comment on them.

“Fine as hell.” - you grinned

He leaned down and gave me a quick kiss, my hands reaching up to play with the baby curls on the back of his neck.

“I love this hair.” - you

“I know you do. It’s getting a little too long for my liking, though.” - Joe

“What? You don't like how it looks?” - you

Joe sensed that I was on the verge of jumping into a huge rant about how good his hair looked, so he immediately reassured me that that wasn't the case.

“No, I like it longer, and I know you do too. I just don't like the maintenance.” - Joe

“I’ll fix it every day if you want. I can fix it when I do the boy’s hair.” - you

“Baby. I’m not gonna make you fix my hair. That’s crazy.” - Joe

“But I love it, and if you're thinking about cutting it because you don't like fixing it, I’ll start fixing it!” - you

Joe just laughed at me before pulling me into his arms. One of his big hands rubbed my back as he laid his cheek against my forehead.

“You need to calm down a little bit, lovey. I'm getting it cut tomorrow morning, and I've had it scheduled for a while as a routine trim.” - Joe

“Nooooooo.” - you

I felt him chuckle, and I rolled my eyes. Joe knew this was just a product of my extreme emotions from pregnancy.

“It’ll be okay. But we should go before my mom comes looking for us.” - Joe

“Hey, can you sit with her while I'm up there giving my speech? She won't go up there with me.” - Joe

After refusing to stand up on the stage with him, Joe had just directed me to sit down at a table at the back of the tent where he'd be on stage delivering his speech and walked over to Sam after.

I didn't know Joe had asked him to sit with me, so I smiled when Sam sat down next to me. I’d known Sam for years, as long as Joe had known him, so I'd say I knew Sam the best out of all of Joe’s teammates.

“Hey, Mrs. B.” - Sam smiled

“Hey, Sam. Have you had fun today?” - you

“For sure. Joe asked me to sit with you while he was up there delivering his speech. Are you not feeling well or something?” - Sam

Of course, he did.

“I’m fine. Your bestie is just a helicopter husband and gives me a babysitter when he's not with me. I thought it was sweet at first, but now it's a little annoying.” - you

“He’s just looking after his girl, I guess. But Joe’s always been super protective of you, so I can't imagine how worse it gets when you're pregnant.” - Sam

“Lately, he tries to follow me into the bathroom when I say I have to use it.” - you

I laughed at Sam’s grimace but stopped when Robin started talking into the mic. My attention shifted to Joe when I noticed him biting the insides of his cheeks, something he does when he's nervous. His hands were hidden behind his back, but I knew he was probably picking at his fingernails. I probably should've gone up there with him, and at that moment, I regretted telling him no.

After Robin’s adorable introduction of her son, Joe took the mic and jokingly thanked his mom. Butterflies swarmed my stomach at the sound of Joe’s deep voice through the many speakers. He went on to thank everyone for coming, specifically naming his teammates and the Bengals personnel. But his next part caught me off guard.

“And I've gotta thank someone specifically, which is my best friend who made it apparent to be here to support me and the foundation.” - Joe

Sam and I looked at each other, not exactly sure who Joe was giving a shout-out to because Ja’Marr wasn't there. Maybe it was Sam.

“She’s the First Lady of the foundation, you might say, and that is y/n. The beautiful and amazing woman that I'm proud to call myself the husband of.” - Joe

My heart dropped, and almost everyone turned around and looked at me. My cheeks immediately turned red, and Sam nudged me with his elbow.

“She’s here today, though she’s eight months pregnant with our third, and she’s been nothing short of perfect. You've probably seen her running around making sure everything was in order and also babysitting me and making sure I was where I needed to be. I just wanted to say that I'm extremely grateful for you, and thank you everyone for coming.” - Joe

Joe handed the mic back to his dad, and I struggled to try to hide the fact that my eyes were getting misty, so I discreetly wiped my eyes as I stood up. As they were leaving the stage, Joe and I made eye contact through the crowd, and he started making a B-line for me.

Just as I was meeting Joe in the middle of the floor, he was swept away by a couple of people on the Bengals staff, so I went to talk to Robin instead.

In the ten-minute conversation I had with Robin, she told me that the part of Joe’s speech where he mentioned/thanked me wasn't planned. He'd told her what he was going to say before they went up on stage, and I wasn't a part of it. Robin said he must've decided to say something in the moment, and to me, that made it sweeter.

After a few moments, I decided to go find Joe to tease him about his mention of me, and when I found him talking to a group of guys with his back to me. I tapped his shoulder, and he shrugged me off, continuing his sentence about how practice was going. I tapped him again, and he stopped his sentence with a sigh.

“I’m busy.” - Joe

Since he didn't turn around, I tapped him again. Sam was standing across from Joe, so he could see that it was me.

“Joe you should…” - Sam

“I’m talking!” - Joe

Joe had finally turned around, but the glare of the sun and his dark sunglasses prevented him from seeing who it was that had been previously tapping his shoulder. You didn't know that, though. He was frustrated, but I was taken aback when he yelled at me. In our almost ten years of dating, Joe had never fully yelled at me. He’d raised his voice slightly or carried an annoyed tone a couple of times before but never yelled.

I turned around in shock and sped off, speedwalking out of the tent and towards the parking lot. Maybe I was being dramatic, but I couldn't stop the tears from pricking in my eyes.

When Joe finally started his conversation back up, all of the guys were looking at him like he was crazy, and he didn't know why.

“What?” - Joe

“Did you see who that was?” - Sam

Joe shook his head no and explained that his vision was blocked by the glare of the sun, and all of the guys groaned, Sam even facepalming as Joe stood confused.

“That was y/n, Joe!” - Sam

All of the colors left Joe’s face when he realized he'd just yelled at me, and he immediately turned around to see where I went. He saw me walking down the end of the sidewalk, and just as Joe was about to run off sprinting, Sam grabbed his arm.

“Wait a little bit. Let her stew over what happened for a few moments before you go apologize your ass off.” - Sam

“I can't wait. I gotta tell her. Fuck.” - Joe

Sam let go of Joe’s arm, and he immediately ran after me. I had already made it inside the car, so he couldn't see me anymore, but Joe knew where I went.

I was sitting in the passenger seat of my car when I saw Joe through the window. He was probably coming to apologize, but I was kinda mad at him, so I opted to give him the silent treatment before he even started talking.

Joe tried to peak into the window, but the tint was too dark for him to see me, and I rolled my eyes when he opened the door and slipped into the passenger seat.

“Baby, maybe you should lock the door next time.” - Joe

I looked away from my steering wheel and narrowed my eyes at Joe’s soft smile before looking straight ahead through the windshield

“Okay, listen. I'm sorry. I didn't know that it was you tapping me, and when I finally turned around, there was a glare from the sun preventing me from seeing that it was you. If I had known it was you, I wouldn't have raised my voice. I'm so sorry, y/n.” - Joe

When I didn't answer, Joe started getting nervous. Were you actually mad at him? Joe thought.

“Baby?” - Joe

Once again, I ignored him, and Joe began to panic.

“I didn't know it was you! I would never yell at you. I swear. Are you- are you mad at me?” - Joe

Joe stared at me, completely taken aback because he was expecting me to forgive him once he explained and apologized. I’d never been mad at Joe before. There have been times when I've been super annoyed or slightly disappointed but never mad, and that's why Joe was internally freaking out. He knew my hormones were causing my emotions to constantly be x100, and Joe was worrying the worst.

“Answer me, please. You're scaring me.” - Joe

Nothing.

Joe sighed and got out of the car, slamming the door behind him in frustration. My gaze left the tree in front of me, and I watched Joe walk away as tears streamed down my face. I immediately regretted handling it the way I did, but I was afraid that Joe was mad at me now. My crying got harder when I thought of the possibility that Joe could be upset with me, and I ended up crying till I fell asleep.

I woke up to the feeling of my phone vibrating on my thigh, and I immediately furrowed my brows when I saw that the call was from Sam.

“Hello?” - you

“Hey… uhm. Joe’s walking around the golf course, and he's super messed up.” - Sam

“What do you mean?” - you

“He’s drunk and high as hell, y/n. He keeps babbling about how you're mad and won't talk to him.” - Sam

I hung up the phone right after Sam said that. Shouting profanity to myself as I opened my car door and stepped out.

After making my way to the crowd of Bengals players watching Joe stumble around while mumbling incoherently, I angrily yelled at all of them to fuck off if they weren't going to do anything but laugh and video. The looks on their faces as they walked away told me I was going to be the talk of the locker room next practice. I couldn't care less to be known as Burrow’s crazy wife, though.

Walking up to Joe, he stumbled a bit before standing up straight and putting his hands on my shoulders for stability. He smelled like alcohol, and his red eyes told me all I needed to know. He's insanely crossfaded.

“Joe. Hey, it’s me. It’s y/n.” - you

“You’re mad- mad at me.” - Joe

I wanted to kick myself for thinking about how adorable his slurred speech was because I was pissed at him right now.

“Joe, this isn't college anymore. We have kids, and you can't just get fucked up on a random Friday. I wasn't that mad before, but I'm mad now.” - you

Joe held his head down and wouldn't look at me. I couldn't tell if he was embarrassed and upset with himself or was annoyed that I was mad at him.

“I’m gonna call my parents and tell them that the boys will have to spend the night at their house tonight. You’re in no shape to be a father right now, and there's no way I can handle both of them and you, all while eight months pregnant.” - you

“I- I’m sorry… I just was scared that you wouldn't talk to me, and…” - Joe

“Just save it. I don't want to hear any excuses from you right now. Go find a corner to stand in or something before you do or say something stupid.” - you

After an embarrassing phone call with my parents, having to explain that my husband was both majorly drunk and high, I loaded Joe up into the passenger seat of my car and took him home. He’d pick his Porche up tomorrow when he was in better shape.

We had waited to leave until the event was officially over, and everyone was gone. Joe had done as I said and sat in a corner by himself, his eyes never once leaving me. His anxiety was raging now that he had heard me say in words that I was mad at him.

The car ride was silent the entire way home. Joe looked out the passenger window as I drove. I was fuming but decided not to take it out on him yet.

Once we were home, Joe tried his hardest to walk perfectly fine up the stairs. The last thing he wanted was for me to have to help him.

“You should go shower. I'll shower in the baby’s bathroom.” - you

“I’ll use hers. All your products are here.” - Joe

I could tell his head was somewhat clearing up, so I nodded, and Joe grabbed his stuff before exiting the bathroom.

My thoughts ran wild as I showered. It had been a while since I'd showered by myself, and my heart hurt a bit when I reached for my shampoo and had to wash my hair - something Joe usually does when we shower together.

It didn't take me long to finish up, so I slipped into a pair of panties and one of Joe’s old LSU shirts before crawling into bed.

Ten minutes later, there was no sign of Joe. He was usually quicker in the shower than me, so I was starting to get worried.

Before I could overthink too much, Joe walked into the bedroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, droplets of water running down his muscular body. My eyes fixed on the many muscles in his back flexing when he turned around and got a pair of boxers from his clean clothes pile on the couch. He slipped them on under the towel before dropping it and putting it in the hamper.

Joe then walked over to the bed and grabbed his pillow, to my confusion. After watching Joe grab a throw blanket from the foot of the bed, I realized what he was doing. I let him walk to the doorframe before stopping him.

“Where are you going?” - you

“Living room, maybe my office. I'm probably not sleeping tonight so I’ll watch old game film or the TV.” - Joe

Joe was standing there awkwardly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other and waiting for me to say something.

“Come here.” - you

I caught Joe breaking a smile for a millisecond before he walked back over to the bed. Joe put his pillow back down and tossed the blanket to the side before sliding under the sheets.

Rolling onto my side, my body flushed when I saw Joe’s red eyes. You’re fucking kidding.

“What the hell, Joe?! Are you high again?” - you

Joe’s body stiffens up with embarrassment when he realizes what he has to admit.

“No, I’m not high.” - Joe

My mouth, which was open from disgust and shock, dropped closed when I realized why his eyes were red and why he'd been in the shower so long - Joe had been crying.

Joe’s eyes searched my face when he noticed that I realized his eyes were red from crying, and he started biting the skin off of his lip as a stress reaction.

“Oh.” - you

“I’m so sorry for everything. I don't know what I was thinking- I was scared, and I was already too in my head about football.” - Joe

He went on for a few minutes, babbling as his voice continued to break. I’d never seen him so worked up before, and I slowly realized this wasn't just about today. Joe took a break to sniffle, the dam of tears threatening to break. I pulled him into my arms, and Joe buried his head in my neck. My arms naturally went around him, and I cradled the back of his head to me.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. Take a breath for me.” - you

It took him a while to calm down, but I rubbed his back and laid my cheek on his head the whole time. Once I felt Joe’s breathing get back to normal.

“You okay?” - you

I felt Joe nod his head in my neck, and I ran my fingers through the back of his wet hair.

“You wanna talk about it? I know this isn't just about today, Joe.” - Joe

I feel him sigh, and his hand wanders around till he finds the hand of mine that isn't occupied by playing with his hair to intertwine his fingers with mine.

“Football has been a lot, and I feel like there is a huge weight constantly on my shoulders. This season, I have to make a major comeback, and I'm scared it’s not gonna happen. Being at an event like that, where people are constantly asking questions about football, I'm reminded of it over and over. You’re my escape from it all, and to upset you is killing me. I didn't know it was you, and if I did, I wouldn't have yelled. I wasn't thinking, and after you ignored me when I was trying to apologize, I got super nervous. With football not going my way and my only major outlet not talking to me, I was freaking out. My only thought was to get wasted, so that's what I did. I took a couple of gummies and chugged a few vodka seltzers. I was hoping that it would take my mind off things, but it only made everything worse. I'm so fucking sorry, baby. I hope you'll forgive me, but I understand if you don't. I feel awful, and I was such a shitty everything today, a shitty friend, son, husband, and dad. I can't believe you had to send the kids away for a night because of me. I'm so mad at myself, and again, I'm so sorry.” - Joe

It took me a minute to process everything, but when I did, I couldn't stop tears from forming in my eyes. Seeing the love of your life hurting is awful, especially knowing you were one of the reasons for them hurting.

“First of all, you're doing amazing in football right now, and I trust you'll be just fine. You're the same man who came back from an awful knee injury and took your team to the Super Bowl. Secondly, I shouldn't have given you the silent treatment like I did. I believe you completely when you say you didn't know it was me, and I know you'd never yell at me like that. You're not a shitty everything, either. Just because you handled a situation badly doesn't define you as shitty. I think it’s good that the boys will be at my parents tonight, though. I think you need some one-on-one time with me, okay? Just talk to me, and I’ll listen. Don't bottle up anything, baby. Also, I can't believe you thought I’d want you to sleep on the couch. In your words, 90% of my heat at night comes from your body.” - you

Joe laughed a little at the last part of my response before cuddling closer to me. He threw a big arm over my bump and gently rubbed my belly with his hand. I heard him mumble something into my neck, but I couldn't quite understand anything he had said. After asking him to repeat himself, he pulled away from my neck and did just as I had asked.

“Do you accept my apology?” - Joe

“Of course, goofball.” - you

Joe’s body immediately relaxed, and it felt like he was melting into me. At the same time, he let out a breath that neither of us knew he was holding in. That's when it became apparent to me just how much Joe was scared I was mad at him.

“Jeez, Joey.” - you

“Sorry. I was kinda nervous you would say no if you couldn't tell, but I feel better now.” - Joe

“I’m sorry, too. I hope you know that no matter what, you will always be my person. Forbid that we ever have another argument, don't get so scared that you have to lean on alcohol and marijuana. Nothing could ever make me mad enough for you to react like that. I love you forever, Joe Lee.” - you

Joe pressed a few baby kisses on my neck before leaning up and hovering over me. We both leaned in and kissed each other for a few moments, knowing we hadn't kissed in a couple of hours.

“Thank you, lovey. The same goes for you, ya know - I love you forever, and you will always be my person.” - Joe

We just sat smiling at each other for a few moments until Joe rolled over onto his back and pulled me into his chest. My belly was leaning on top of his, and Joe reached over to spread a big hand out on it.

“I feel like I'm crushing you.” - you mumbled

“Girl, please. Do you know what the fuck I bench press?” - Joe

I laughed into his peck, getting lost in the feeling of him rubbing my back as we settled down. I was glad that Joe and I were ending the night on a good note. A few minutes later, the sounds of little snores filled the room, and Joe’s chest began rhythmically rising and falling. A smile formed on my lips as I gently rubbed my cheek against him, knowing that his current peaceful state would be interrupted when he woke up with a massive hangover.

At least I won't be the only grumpy and in pain one.

Authors note: This one got out of hand! 😂

#joe burrow #bengals #joe burrow imagine #joe burrow x reader #joey b #cincinnati bengals #joe burrow fan fic

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krirebr · 10 months

Text

More Than This 2

Pairing: Ransom Drysdale x f!reader, Steve Rogers & f!reader

Word Count: ~6.1k

Summary: Arranged marriages have always been used to solidify business deals among the ultra-wealthy. Your stepfather wants to be in business with Harlan Thrombey, so now it's your turn.

Warnings: Heavy angst, age difference, adult themes, institutional sexism, no noncon but some fear of it, excessive alcohol use, explicit language, the slooowest burn - Warnings will be added as needed for subsequent parts. All of my work is 18+ - Minors DNI

Dividers by @saradika-graphics

Series Masterlist

Masterlist

A/N: Another part already??? This one has just been flowing right out of me. It occurs to me that I should probably explicitly state that this will have a happy ending! Possibly very far in the future, but it will happen!! 😂😭

Huge thanks again to @paperweight91 for reading so much of this and letting me know when I was on the right track.

Visual references for the ring and dress can be found here.

Any comment, reblog, or ask to let me know what you think will be greatly appreciated. Even if it's just screeching at me. As always, thank you so much for reading! 💜

Despite your best efforts, the next three weeks went by in a blink.

The engagement ring arrived the day after your disastrous dinner with Ransom. It was beautiful—a round diamond with a smaller sapphire on each side, set in swirling filigree. You wondered who picked it. Certainly not Ransom. Probably someone’s assistant. It felt like fire around your finger.

You’d packed up the small apartment you loved so much. Sorting everything into what you would bring and what would be put into storage – the latter category was much bigger. You sat in your living room, surrounded by boxes, and cried, with Steve beside you and Lola nervously shaking in your lap.

Your mother took you to pick your dress. She sat on the plush couch in the appointment-only boutique and sipped champagne while you tried on dress after dress that the attendants brought you. Her favorite was an ivory satin ballgown with off-the-shoulder short sleeves, a bow at the bottom of the back, and a very wide skirt. She cried when you put it on. You told her it was your favorite too, because you just didn’t have it in you to have an opinion.

The Thrombey clan came into town the week before the wedding. Their time was mostly spent in meetings with Joseph and his team. Meeting the new extended family was to be left for the wedding festivities.

You hadn’t heard a word from Ransom. You’d thought of texting him a few times but couldn’t see the point in it. He’d made his feelings on you and your upcoming marriage clear. Any added effort would just be torturing yourself.

Then, suddenly, the rehearsal dinner was passing without incident. It was a catered affair, held at your parents’ house. Despite being one of the two nominal guests of honor, aside from the initial introductions, you were mostly ignored, as business remained the topic at the forefront of everyone’s minds. Ransom was there, of course, seated next to you, even, but he did his best to avoid you. You were torn between intense relief for the moment and absolute terror for what it meant for your future. When you noticed him quietly ducking out, you took the opportunity to leave as well, hoping most people would think you’d absconded together. The thought made you laugh bitterly.

You spent your last night of freedom snuggled up with Lola in Steve’s guest room. You barely slept.

Now, you sat in a plush robe in front of the vanity in the large hotel suite that sat several floors above the event hall you’d be getting married in in just over one hour. Steve sat sentinel in an armchair near you, already in his tux. People had been coming in and out all day – manicurists, aestheticians, makeup artists, hairstylists, your mother until she’d gotten called away for the pictures they didn't need you for. The female members of Ransom’s family too. His aunt, Joni, had only been in briefly, saying that the energy of the room was all wrong and she’d had to leave. Her daughter Meg had sat with you for a while, but she just kept complaining about how awful Ransom was and Steve eventually kicked her out, probably trying to spare you a panic attack. And then there was Ransom’s mother, Linda. She had been in a few times ‘to check on the progress.’ You’d tried very hard not to get stressed out by her, but she was very… severe, and you felt about a foot tall every time she looked at you. And now here she was, again.

“Darling,” she said, and you tried not to balk at the fact that you’d know this woman for less than 24 hours and she was already using endearments, “you’ll be needed for pictures soon and you aren’t dressed yet?”

You gestured to the two people at the rolling clothing rack who were carefully removing your dress from the garment bag. “We’re about to start putting it on. I’ll be ready soon.”

“Fantastic. Maybe it’s time for Steve to go then,” she cut a glance to your stepbrother.

“Not fucking likely,” he muttered. He’d been stuck to you like glue all day.

Linda’s eyebrows crawled up to her hairline. “I just think that some people might find it inappropriate for you to be in here while your sister gets dressed.”

He stood up and took a step toward her. “I’ll turn around,” he growled.

“Steve,” you sighed. “It’s fine. I’ll be fine.” It wasn’t. You wouldn’t be, but none of that could be helped.

He looked at you carefully, his eyes flitting over your face. Finally, he nodded, “OK. I’ll see you out there then.” With a quick, reassuring touch to your arm, he left.

Linda watched him leave and once he was out the door, she turned to you and said, “You and your stepbrother are very close, aren’t you?”

Something about her tone made you incredibly wary. “Yes,” you said cautiously, “he’s my best friend.”

“Isn’t that lovely?” she said with a thin-lipped smile that made it clear she thought anything but.

You noted her reaction as you returned her smile and removed your robe. You let the attendants help you step into the dress where they’d pooled it on the floor. They pulled it up around you and you stood still as they fastened and arranged the dress on you. All under Linda’s watchful eye, her arms crossed over her chest. When it was all done and you’d stepped into your heels, you turned to her so that she could give the approval you could feel she was dying to give.

“Well, aren’t you just a dream,” she said. Just as you were about to thank her, she added, “Although, I suppose it would be hard not to be, with all these people working on you, huh?” Her tone was warm and friendly, but you took it as the cut down you knew she meant it to be.

Still, you smiled. “Well, we should probably get down there, shouldn’t we?”

Everyone oohed and aahed appropriately when you arrived at the courtyard space reserved for photographs. Your mother was crying again. Joseph smiled at you, possibly the warmest smile he’d ever given you, and said “Beautiful,” but it was less like a compliment and more confirmation that everything was the way he needed it to be, like he was commenting on furniture. You smiled anyway and thanked him, then moved where the photographers directed you.

This round of pre-ceremony pictures was reserved for the families. Ransom had already done his and then been dismissed, to ‘preserve the big reveal’ you were told. You’d been asked earlier if you wanted to do first-look photos and declined. That had been interpreted as you wanting to have the big moment when you walked down the aisle to him. Instead, you just knew that he wouldn’t give them the reaction they were looking for. You’d rather spare yourself that embarrassment.

The thing about these arrangements was that while they were all about business and everyone knew it, people still wanted the trappings of romance. The big wedding at a fancy venue, awe on the groom’s face when he saw the bride in her dress for the first time, a joyful reception with speeches about true love. It had made you roll your eyes when you’d gone to friends’ weddings, but now that it was your own, it all made you want to scream.

You posed with Linda and Ransom’s father, Richard, a benign smile on your face. And then it was Harlan’s turn. “You look absolutely lovely,” he said to you, kindly. “You’re going to be so good for my grandson.” You responded with that same placid smile. You wondered if anyone had told Ransom that he was going to be good for you. You doubted it. That part didn’t seem to matter.

Next, it was time for your own family. Your mother and Joseph, together and then separately, and then Steve joined you for the full family. Once that was done, the photographers started to dismiss you, but you stopped them. “I want a few with just me and Steve.”

They looked at you and then Joseph and Linda, “That’s not on the list of required shots.”

“I don’t care,” you said, “I want them.”

“Darling,” Linda started, and you wanted to growl, “I’m not sure there’s time.”

“I don’t care,” you said again, “everyone can wait the five minutes this is going to take. I’m the bride, I doubt they’ll start without me. Isn’t today my day?”

Linda took a step back and nodded to the photographers but you could feel her watching you as Steve stepped up to you. “And people think I’m the troll,” he said, low enough for only you to hear.

You smiled, possibly your first genuine smile all day. “You are the troll,” you said. “I’m the sweet one who does what she’s told without complaint.”

He snorted, “Sure,” and turned his head as the photographers directed.

When it was all done, you took a deep breath and tried to prepare yourself as everyone but you and Steve began to make their way back inside.

“You ready?” he asked, concern all over his face.

You shook your head. “Not even remotely.”

He looked over your shoulder. “I know–” he began but stopped for a moment before he started again. “I know that if she had lived, we never would have met, but I still think, sometimes, about how much my mom would have loved you. Just as much as I do.”

“Steve,” you gasped.

He grabbed both of your hands. “You are the strongest, bravest person I know and you can do this.”

Your eyes welled up as you squeezed his hands, feeling like you’d completely fall apart if you let go. “I don’t know if I can,” you whispered.

“Hey,” he said, oh so gently, “all you have to do right now is get through the ceremony. That’s it. You don’t need to think about what comes after. Focus on what’s directly in front of you. Nothing else. Just walk down the aisle and say I do when it’s your turn. That’s it. You can do that. I know you can do that. I wish you didn’t have to, but you can.”

You took a deep breath. And another. And then you nodded. “I can.”

He smiled, big and genuine and still more than a little sad. He pulled you in for a hug, exceedingly careful to not mess anything up, and said again, “You can. I know you can.”

Someone stepped out of the big French doors leading into the vestibule your party was gathering in and waved frantically at you. Another deep breath. “OK,” you said.

He just nodded and guided you back inside.

Joseph walked you down the aisle. It wasn’t your choice, but this day had always been more about him than it ever was about you, so of course he would be the one to walk you. You would have chosen Steve. But you also would have chosen not to do this at all.

The walk was both agonizingly long and much, much too short. Ransom waited for you at the end of it, dressed in a designer tux and devastatingly handsome. You searched his face for anything, but he remained completely stoic, his eyes hard. You had to look away.

There were so many people gathered to watch your life change forever. As you gazed over the faces of the people seated on your side, you weren’t sure you recognized even half of them. You realized with a jolt that this was the most alone you’d ever felt, in this hall surrounded by hundreds of people, all eyes on you.

So much sooner than you were ready for, you’d arrived at the front, Joseph placing you in front of Ransom and joining your hands together. Ransom’s hands were soft and his grasp wasn’t nearly as harsh as you’d expected. You took a deep breath—every other thought since you’d stepped into the hall was to remind yourself to keep breathing—and met his gaze. It was still hard, but, maybe, maybe there wasn’t hate there.

Maybe you just didn’t know him well enough yet to be able to tell.

The ceremony went quickly. You struggled to focus on the officiant’s words. It was like you were in a sort of fugue state. But you repeated after him when you were supposed to. You said ‘I do’ when you were prompted. You played your part.

Ransom did too. You’d half expected him to just not show up at all, or walk out part-way through, or something but he was under the same familial pressures as you, you reasoned. At the end of the day, you all just did what you were told.

Before you knew it, it was done. There was a ring on your finger and one on his. You barely remembered placing it there. You registered the officiant saying “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride,” and stared at Ransom. You expected him to swoop in and take what was his, but he paused. There was a clear question in his eyes. Shocked, you realized he was asking permission. As subtly as you could, you nodded. He gave a barely perceptible nod back and then he was kissing you. It wasn’t chaste, exactly, but it certainly wasn’t passionate either. Open-mouthed, but no tongue, and done quickly, the faintest taste of whiskey on his lips. Everyone applauded.

The processional music started and you began to move without even realizing it, Ransom right beside you. And in that moment, when you had nothing else to focus on, no other immediate job to do, everything hit you. Holy fuck, you were married. This man beside you was your husband. One of your knees buckled and your steady leg caught the edge of your dress and just as you were sure you were about to go down, someone grabbed your hand and you felt another hand on your opposite hip, holding you up. “Wait to collapse in private, if you can,” Ransom murmured to you, dryly, then basically carried you the rest of the way down the aisle.

You were both ushered into a small sitting room off the main hall for a moment of privacy as your guests were moved into the ballroom where the reception would take place and before you would take pictures with your new husband. Once the two of you were alone, you tried to steady your breathing and shove down the panic clawing its way up your throat. You were married. It had actually happened. It was real. You steadied yourself on the bookshelf beside you and tried to think about what Steve had said. Focus on what was directly in front of you. You’d gotten through the ceremony by doing that, so now it was just pictures and the reception. That was all you had to worry about. You could do that. You could.

“You good?” Ransom’s voice cut through your internal monologue and you turned back around to face him where he was standing on the other side of the small room, pasting that fucking smile on your face.

“Yes, I’m fine. Today is just a lot. But I’m fine. Thank you for helping me, before.”

“Well,” he smirked, “I couldn’t have my new wife embarrass me thirty seconds in, could I?”

Your smile went brittle and a small voice in your head chanted fifty years of this but you tamped it down. Pictures and the reception. Pictures and the reception. That was all you had to get through right now.

There was a light knock and then the door opened. One of the photographers peeked in, a camera in their hand. “Sorry to interrupt,” they said. “Just wanted to get some intimate, candid shots, before we go outside for the formal pictures.” Their eyes moved between you and Ransom and you knew they were measuring the space between you.

You shook your head and tried to keep your tone friendly. “No need, just the formal ones are fine.” You didn’t need any more documentation of this day than was absolutely necessary.

“Oh,” they said, surprised, “well, Mrs. Drysdale wanted–”

“Linda can fuck right off,” Ransom interrupted. “We’ll come outside now.” He shouldered his way past them and out the door. You just smiled and followed him, the photographer chasing after you both.

The pictures went quickly, you both seeming to want them over with as fast as possible. He didn’t say much to you, aside from the occasional exclamation like, “Jesus Christ, is this skirt big enough?” when he tried to move around you or pose behind you. The photographers kept trying to get you to look at each other, but when you did, it clearly didn’t give them the result they wanted, so they moved on quickly.

Afterward, you were escorted into the ballroom, where your entrance was met with applause. Your face was beginning to hurt from all the placid smiling you’d done all day.

You blanched when you realized that you and Ransom were the only ones seated at the head table. You wouldn’t have anyone to talk to.

There was still some time before dinner would be served. You could already see people beginning to make their way toward you to offer their congratulations to fill the time. A server appeared at your table and you asked for a glass of champagne. Ransom requested his usual scotch then added, “There’s an extra hundred in it for you if you make sure I’m never holding an empty glass tonight.”

You could see the disaster waiting to happen, so you tried a quiet “Ransom,” as the server left, not really thinking before you said something.

He let out a hollow chuckle. “If that’s the kind of wife you’re going to be, let me tell you right now, this marriage isn’t going to work. I don’t respond well to nagging.”

You took a breath, “I wasn’t trying to nag,” you said, “I just–”

“Ransom!” a loud voice interrupted you. You looked over to see Ransom’s uncle, Walt, approaching your table. You’d been introduced to him very briefly the night before. “Congratulations on finally growing up and settling down,” he said, once he stood in front of his nephew. You felt Ransom stiffen next to you, but his face just had an obnoxious smirk on it. Walt’s eyes briefly cut to you but then returned to Ransom. “Although, she’s pretty young, isn’t she?”

Ransom rolled his eyes, still smirking. “Well, it’s not like I picked her, is it Walt? You got a problem with it, go tell Mom or Grandad.”

You bit your lip at being spoken about like you weren’t sitting right there. But you knew better than to cause a scene, so you quietly said, “Excuse me,” and left the table. Neither of them seemed to notice, locked in a hostile stare-down.

You’d only made it a few feet when someone you didn’t recognize was pulling you aside to offer their congratulations. You smiled and politely nodded through it and when it was done you were grabbed by someone else and then someone else. You crossed paths with Steve briefly before you were both pulled in other directions. You only got a break when they started serving dinner. You got back to your seat to find Ransom sitting alone, sipping his scotch as full plates of food were placed before you. You didn’t have much of an appetite.

You picked at your food and mostly moved it around the plate, while Ransom ate hungrily beside you. Neither of you said anything. After the second course was served, the speeches started. Joseph mostly spoke about the two families coming together and all the opportunities that represented. You wanted to stage whisper to him that it was customary to at least mention the couple at some point, but then he sprinkled Ransom’s name in. A brief mention of how proud he was to be gaining a son like him. You wanted to laugh. They barely knew each other. As if Joseph cared at all about what kind of man he was giving you to. You were finally mentioned at the very end as he toasted his “beautiful stepdaughter and her new husband. To a long and fruitful marriage!” You wanted to break something.

Harlan, for his part, was much more focused. He, of course, referenced all the new opportunities this would bring, it was why you were all here, after all. But he mostly talked about his grandson, how much he loved him, all the potential Ransom had, and once again, how good you were going to be for him. You wondered if you just started screaming right there, what people would do.

As for Ransom, judging by his body language, he seemed to enjoy both speeches just as much as you had. You wondered if the rest of the guests could feel how miserable you both were and just chose to ignore it. Probably.

When the speeches were done and the tables were cleared, it was time for your first dance. Ransom made it clear by the way he stood up that this was the last thing he wanted to be doing. You tried not to let it bother you, it wasn’t like you were especially excited about this either, and kept your head held high as you came around the table to join him. He took your hand to lead you onto the dance floor and you were once again surprised by the way he held it gently when you’d half-expected him to drag you out there.

You hadn’t chosen whatever song you were about to dance to. You could’ve, probably, but you’d begged off of most of the decision-making for the day, unable to drum up an opinion on any of it. So you had no right to complain as the opening strains of “At Last” filled the ballroom, but you had to stifle an eye-roll anyway. Of course, they went for something that romantic, that cliche. They were all lucky you didn’t burst out laughing.

Ransom pulled you in close with a hand on your lower back, as you put one of yours on his shoulder and he took your other hand in his. It all felt strangely respectful, the way his hand didn’t wander from the small of your back and he held you close but not too close, with plenty of breathing room between you. You weren’t sure how to wrap your head around it, what it all meant.

He was a good dancer, most likely the product of formal dance lessons as a teenager, just like you’d had. It made it easy to keep your polite smile in place as all eyes in the room were on you.

“You’re good at that,” Ransom said.

You shrugged. “A variety of dance classes since I was seven.”

He chuckled. “No, I meant the smiling thing.” When you just looked at him, confused, he continued. “Unless you’re much dumber than I think, you hate this just as much as I do. But look at you, that smile hasn’t dropped all fucking day. You’re having such a nice time, aren’t you? Being the good girl they all expect you to be. Can’t ever let them know you’re upset. Oh no, that just isn’t done.”

You nearly tripped, but you had the good grace to keep going. You kept your face pleasant to everyone watching as you gritted out “And what am I supposed to do instead, huh? Glower and glare because I didn’t get what I wanted? Be an asshole to everyone? And where exactly would that get me? We’re both here, Ransom, stuck in this. At least my way of dealing with it doesn’t make anyone else’s life more difficult.”

He chuckled again. “No one’s but mine,” he said, but instead of just irritation, there was a glimmer in his eye, too, that you couldn’t begin to interpret. It was almost like part of him was having fun.

The song ended, fading into the next, and more couples joined you on the dance floor. Keeping your hand in his, Ransom led you back to the table, depositing you there and grabbing his drink, before disappearing amongst the tables.

Ransom didn’t come back. You'd stayed at the table for a bit, for want of anything else to do. When you got bored of that, you wandered through the crowd, accepting congratulations and trying to find familiar faces. You knew there were a few of your own friends in attendance, but you were afraid to face them, knowing you’d see pity on the faces of the luckily single and recognition on those who were already married. You wouldn’t see much of them anymore anyway, with you leaving for Boston the next day. You couldn’t think about that yet. Focus on what’s in front of you.

You were periodically offered champagne from a passing server and you accepted every time, leading to you now feeling pleasantly floaty. It was a nice break from just how very much you’d been feeling the rest of the day.

You arrived back at your seat, without really intending to, to find Steve waiting for you. He was staring into the corner of the room with a disgruntled expression. “I could fucking kill him,” he mumbled.

You followed his gaze and found Ransom with a group of Harvard-looking bros doing shots by the bar. You shrugged. “He’s getting drunk over there and I’m getting drunk over here,” you said as you downed your champagne and began looking around for a server.

Steve sighed your name. “Come on, let’s sit down.”

He guided you to a chair and then sat down beside you. “Where’d you get off to?” you asked.

Steve rolled his eyes and groaned. “Dad,” was all he said. You nodded. For all that he wasn’t in your situation, as his father’s heir, he had many heavy responsibilities and obligations weighing on him. You were both caged in by this family.

“Does that mean you’re speaking to him again?” you asked, your voice free of judgment.

Even so, he grimaced. “Only when I have to.” He sighed and looked at you. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, Steve,” you said, sincerely.

He shook his head. “It’s not.” He paused, then, “I wish there’d been a way for me to stop this.”

“Steve,” you sighed. It wasn’t worth talking about again.

Over by the bar, Ransom let out a loud, hearty laugh that carried over to where you were sitting. Steve glared. “You don’t deserve this,”

You shrugged. “It’s what I have, I guess.” Then before he could continue the conversation, you added, “Can we please talk about anything else?”

He looked at you carefully and then nodded. “Sure,” he said, the sympathy in his eyes almost too much for you to bear, and then launched into a twenty-minute explanation of the painting he was working on. You didn’t think you’d ever been more grateful for him. And you hadn’t even thought to ask a server for more champagne.

The conversation only ended when your mother appeared in front of you. Steve stood up to greet her, smiling warmly, and then excused himself, squeezing your hand as he went.

“Honey, we’re going to go. I just wanted to make sure I said goodbye to you first.”

You stood up and hugged her. “You’ll be there to send us off tomorrow, right?”

“Oh, honey, no. Joseph had something come up and you know how hard it is for me to get around by myself.”

You felt the bottom drop out of everything. “You’re not going to say goodbye?”

“Of course, I am, darling. That’s what I’m doing right now.”

Suddenly, only focusing on what was directly in front of you was impossible. You were married to a stranger who couldn’t stand you. Tomorrow, you would be leaving everything you knew to go to a new home where you didn’t have anything or anyone. And your mom wouldn’t even be there to say goodbye.

“Steve would come to get you, you know he would,” you tried desperately.

“Honey, no, I can’t,” she said firmly and it took everything in you not to burst into tears. “Now, come on,” she drew you into another hug. “I’m going to miss you so much.”

“Mom,” you whispered, your voice so thick. “I don’t think I can do this.”

“Of course, you can,” she pulled back and looked you in the eye. “I know it seems hard, now, but it’ll be easier than you think to keep him happy.” She gently touched your cheek. “All you have to do is listen, and not argue too much. You’re going to be such a good wife and mother. I just know it.”

She leaned forward to hug you again and you went stiff in her arms. Everything she’d gone through – two marriages that weren’t her choice, a husband that was so cold to her and her daughter, a lonely life. And here she was, offering you up for the same fate. You didn’t know how you were supposed to bear this.

“Have a safe flight,” she whispered in your ear and then she was gone. You didn’t watch her go. You just sank back into your chair, ready for the night to end.

A while later, you heard someone call your name. You turned around to see Richard. “I think it’s time for Ransom to call it a night.” You followed Richard’s gaze to see Ransom slumped over in a chair. You almost asked him why he was telling you. Then you remembered that Ransom was your husband now. Your problem, your responsibility. You nodded to Richard and thanked him, smiling at him, of fucking course.

When you got to Ransom, he looked up at you and laughed. “Well, if it isn’t the wife!” he slurred. “We were just talking about you.” You looked over at the men on either side of him, equally drunk, and tried not to feel too humiliated.

The crowd was thinning, but there were still people around and you could feel their eyes on you, so you did your best to keep your tone and face calm. “Ransom, it’s time to go up to our room.”

One of his companions snickered and you were suddenly struck by what might await you in that room. You’d been so focused on just getting through the next thing that you’d protected yourself from thinking about what he might want, what he might demand, once you were alone. But looking at him now, as he struggled to stand up or get any control over his body at all, you hoped that you might be safe for this night, at least.

Steve appeared at your elbow. “Fucking ridiculous,” he mumbled, low enough that it didn’t seem to be for you. Then louder he asked, “You need help getting him up to the room?”

You turned to him to answer, but then you saw Linda over his shoulder, watching you both carefully. You shook your head. “No, you can’t. I’ll be fine. I’ll–” Ransom took that moment to fall loudly back into his chair. He was way too big for you to handle on your own. You sighed and looked around for anyone who might help. “I’ll get Richard to help me.”

Steve looked at you confused. “I can do it.”

“I know,” you said, “but I just can’t let you. It– The way it would look,” you shook your head again.

You could tell he still didn’t get it, but he let it drop. “Ok. I’ll see you tomorrow. And if you need anything between now and then,” he sent a scathing look to Ransom, “you call me.”

You nodded, knowing you wouldn’t, as he squeezed your wrist and left and you went to track down Richard.

After much struggle, you finally got Ransom into the honeymoon suite, Richard retreating as soon as his son was safely dumped into an armchair next to the bed. And then you were alone with him. You just stared at him for a moment, then asked, “Can you get yourself undressed?”

“ ‘fcourse,” he mumbled, then thrashed around in his tux jacket. You put a hand on his shoulder, trying to still his wild movements, then tugged off the jacket. You carefully began unbuttoning his shirt, trying to touch him no more than absolutely necessary, but he still smirked at you. “That desperate to get me naked?” he asked. You rolled your eyes and tried to keep going, but a hand on your wrist stopped you. “Hey,” he said, very seriously. He tried to lock eyes with you, but his kept drooping, as he continued. “We don’t have to do anything t’night. Not if you don’t want.”

You scoffed. “Yeah?” you asked. “Is that you or your whiskey dick talking?” You regretted it immediately, you were so tired. You waited for the insult to land, to see how he’d react, but he’d stopped paying attention, his head lolling against the back of the chair. You finished with the buttons and kneeled in front of him to take off his shoes. When that was done, you stood back up. “Please tell me you can get your own pants.”

He nodded, shrugging off his unbuttoned shirt, and stood up. He struggled with his belt for a few minutes, but eventually got it off, then pawed at his fly until he was able to undo that as well. As he moved to the bed, his pants slowly slid down his legs. You tried not to look at him, but you couldn’t help yourself. Under any other circumstances, you would find him so beautiful. It wasn’t fair. How dare he look like that and treat you like this. Just another aspect of this whole fucking mess that made you want to cry.

He stumbled to the edge of the bed and then threw himself forward, collapsing onto it face down, lying across it diagonally. Almost immediately, he started snoring. You just stood there a moment, watching him take up the entire bed. Fuck. It was fine. It’s not like you were going to sleep much anyway. You tugged his pants the rest of the way off his legs and threw them onto the pile of the rest of his clothes.

You turned your attention back to yourself and stopped, suddenly gripped by panic. You tried to reach behind yourself and begin unfastening your dress, but the line of delicate hook and eye fastenings was too difficult to get without being able to see them. And you couldn’t reach all of them anyway. Oh god, you were going to be stuck in your dress all night.

There was no one to help you. Ransom was out like a light and would be too drunk and clumsy even if he were conscious. Your mom had gone home. You couldn’t call Steve. He would come help at the drop of a hat, but if anyone saw him coming into your room… No. You were completely alone.

Every feeling you’d tried to push down and ignore this whole awful day came bubbling to the surface. You finally cried, your body wracked with sobs. You couldn’t control it. As you did, you still tried to wrestle with your dress, but your panic and sorrow made getting out of it impossible. So you sank down to the ground and just let the tears come.

When you were finally all cried out, you stood up and moved to the bathroom. You took off your makeup and took down your hair, redoing it in the way you always slept in. You brushed your teeth and finished up with your skincare routine. Then you went back into the bedroom and grabbed a blanket off the bed. You moved into the adjoining living room and sank down onto the couch, arranging your giant dress around you. You turned on the TV and settled on a marathon of some procedural crime show you were pretty sure you’d seen before. You couldn’t decide whether or not you wanted the night to go quickly.

Tag list is open

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#ransom drysdale x you #ransom drysdale x reader #ransom drysdale #ransom drysdale x female reader #chris evans fanfiction #fanfic #knives out #steve rogers #steve rogers & reader #captain america #reader insert #arranged marriage au #ce characters #kris wrote something #more than this

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hirayaaraw · 6 months

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Still In This Holy Ground

Tags: Friends to lovers to exes to lovers; idol!Seungcheol x reader

Note: Seungcheol is the ex that makes you wonder if you will love and be loved again in the same way when you were with him.

Songs to listen:

Holy Ground - Taylor Swift BBC Live Lounge

Death by Thousand Cuts - Taylor Swift

His Car Isn't Yours - WENDY

They say that healing journey does not have a definite timeline. One day after you and Seungcheol broke up, the mug he used still on your dining table. You didn't know that would be the last coffee you will make for him.

One week after the break up, you went home happily with your favorite chinese take out only to cry on the floor of your apartment. You realized that you will be spending all weekends alone. Seungcheol will not be joining you anymore to watch the latest episode of transit love. You took the chinese take out and gave it to the guard. You swear to never buying from that chinese restaurant even if they have the best orange chicken.

One month after the break up, your friends are urging you to go out and have fun. You never showed them that you are suffering but they know you still cry yourself to sleep. You cry even more when you realize his smell on your pillowcase already faded. They say it takes 21 days to form a habit but you think you will never be used to waking up without his good morning message.

"There are plenty of men out there."

You just nod and smile whenever they say it. Plenty of men but they are not Seungcheol. No one bring warmth just like him. He holds your hand when you look anxious or nervous. He never forgets to buy your favorite tea when you are running low and too busy to buy grocery. Despite being busy, he makes sure to meet you every weekend. If he comes to your apartment late and you are already sleeping, he will sleep besides you and waits for you to wake up before leaving.

Dating Seungcheol is the best decision you made. Friends and family doubted your relationship due to his profession. Your younger sister's boyfriend is always present at family function. This was not an issue for you but relatives make rumors about his absence. How he might be ashamed of you or he might be dating someone industry and you are just a side piece. You will just smile at them and brush away the rumors. It is not because his schedule can't cater the family events. You just don't want him to enter the chaos. It is already enough that he listens to your laments.

You met him during college. You sat in the front row while he sat near the door at the back. Seungcheol has a perfect attendance for the whole semester despite having music shows and practice. However, on the next semester their world tour started, he misses some class. When he attends the class, Seungcheol is obviously sleepy.

You never interacted with him nor made a fuss about having an idol classmate. One day, Seungcheol approached you if he can copy your notes for the two lectures he missed. You didn't hesitate and gave your notebook so he can take picture of it. However, Seungcheol sheepishly asked if he can take it to library to photocopy. He rambled that he does not like his notes on his phone. Seungcheol claimed that he likes it hard copy. You just nodded at him and told him to give it back within the day. Seungcheol gave you his first of his thousands smile to you and returned your notebook later that day with a cup of coffee.

"Thanks for the notes." He said handing your notebook and a cup of iced americano. "Coffee for you."

"Thanks for giving back my notebook." You said and gave him a small smile. You don't drink the coffee but you take it as courtesy. Something about his eyes and the way he smiles that make saying no to him hard.

You thought that would be the first and last interaction but he added you on facebook. Since then Seungcheol will ask you about notes, announcements, or anything he missed when he is out and being an idol. Facebook messages turn into Seungcheol tagging along with you when you rot yourself in the library. One time, he answered his phone beside you and told someone that he is in library with a friend.

"Since when did we become a friend?" You raised your eyebrow that made him flustered.

"Since when you lend your notes, Ma'am." He smiled and leaned on the table.

"You just want my notes. I figured it out." You rolled your eyes to tease him.

"And the owner of the notes." Seungcheol said that made you hold your breath. You smiled and went back to reading your notes. If you did not look away, you are sure that you will be taken away by this man.

Facebook messaged became phonecalls. It started when you missed 3 school days in a row. You got admitted to a hospital for viral infection and bronchitis. A simple cough and sore throat became worse over the weekend. Your mom travelled to the city when you cried over the phone and took you to the hospital.

It was on the 3rd day when your phone rang. You picked up your phone without looking on it.

"Where are you? Are you okay?" You need to look at your phone just to make sure it is Seungcheol. His voice is full of worry.

"Hey. I'm in the hospital. You can ask Christine for her note--"

"Which hospital?" He did not let you finish your sentence. His voice have a sense of urgency. You blurted out the name of the hospital. He said something you did not understand before saying bye.

30 minutes later someone is knocking in your hospital room then you are now introducing Seungcheol to your mom. He brought lecture notes and share to you then peeled oranges for you. Seungcheol visits you everyday until you were discharged.

Whenever he is near, it feels hard for you to breathe. You thought this was an aftereffect of your hospitalization. But you realized that it only happens whenever Seungcheol is near. Everytime Seungcheol is around, he makes your heart beats faster. You thought this only happens in 90s romcom movies. You hate how Seungcheol is now a focal focus of your everyday life. You wait for his messages and anticipated his arrival at university.

It is a futile move to hope for something so throughout college you love him silently. Everyday you remind yourself that you are just a college girl Seungcheol made friends with because he needs someone in university. You remind yourself that you are just a fraction of his grand life. This is how you broke your own heart for thw first time while Seungcheol is slowly trying to make you feel how his whole world is revolving around you.

You enjoyed every moment with him because you knew that once graduation came, it will be a goodbye. On the graduation day, you congratulated him. In return, he hugged you tight. You wanted to cry as you melt in his arms.

"Thank you for letting me annoy you for the past 4 years." You laughed in his ears.

"No worries, Seungcheol. Anytime." You said before pulling away and saying bye. You started walking away but you stopped and turned around. Seungcheol still standing and watching you. It's now or never. Just like at the ending of a 90s romcom, you run back towards him.

Everything is just a background noise and time slowed down for you and him. You have nothing to lose. Seungcheol is smiling widely at you. This is the first time you did not act guarded. When you are standing in front of him, you exhaled loudly.

"Choi Seungcheol" Seungcheol frowned and pouted. He told you before that he hates how people call him in his full name. You smiled at his reaction. "We might never meet again. I just need to let this out or I will be miserable for keeping this secret for the longest time. So here goes nothing. I like you."

Seungcheol eyes widened when you said those words. You laughed at his reaction. You did not wait for his response and run away towards the parking lot where your parents are waiting for you.

Your dad started driving to the restaurant he reserved to celebrate your graduation when your phone rang. It was Seungcheol. You bit your lips and shake your head before answering his call.

"Where are you? I'm at the parking lot. Your dad still drives a red hyundai, right?"

"We already left, Seungcheol." You heard him sigh.

"You can't just say you like me and leave like that."

"I just did." You pointed out that made him sigh again. You can see him sulking. "I need to hang up. See you when I see you."

Which you know it will be hard.

"Which restaurant are you going?" You humor him by telling the name of the place. There is no way he will go to your graduation dinner. He has an appearance to a local radio show in the evening. He ended the call which made you frown. You keep your phone in your bag as you enter the restaurant.

You were enjoying the dinner when a familiar face entered. To your horror, it was Seungcheol waving at you. You looked around the restaurant before standing and dragging him in the corner.

"Who says we will never meet again?" Seungcheol said grinning at you. He held your hand that made you look around and you pull your hand away. Afraid someone might see you and him.

"What are you doing?"

"I should have said this instead of keeping this for the longest time." He sighed looking at your hand then to you. "I am running late to my appointment but I need to tell you this. I like you. No. I love you for the longest time. I look forward going to classes because of you. You gave me another reason to push through."

You found yourself clutching to your necklace. You did not expect hearing those words from him. Love is a big word and he said it so naturally for you. You saw someone entered the restaurant and waved at Seungcheol. He needs to go.

Later that night, Seungcheol called you to talk about the two of you. Once his schedule is cleared, he visited you at your hometown. That's how you went from having him as your classmate, your friend, to your boyfriend.

Falling in love is easy. Staying in love is hard. Breaking up is an easy way out. Adulting made the difference between your world and his world clearer. You have bills to pay. The eldest daughter who is slowly taking the breadwinner role as your parents heading to retirement. Pressuring you to do all things so your whole family climb the social ladder. You are in your mid 20s but your fire is already dying.

Seungcheol is nothing short of a great boyfriend. But life made it hard for you to love. You decided to take further studies for greater chances of promotion and taking side job. Seventeen started to pursue the western side of the world. You see him on the tv more than you see him in person.

It didn't take more time for you see him as stranger. It is like when you were back in your college days before he asks for your notes. He is back into being an idol you casually know. You can't see where the relationship is going anymore. You started feeling alone in life. To you, it is obvious where this is heading.

They said never decide when you are tired, hungry, or sleep deprived because you are prone to make bad deicison. A bad day at work, a screaming session with you mom, and rescheduled date. You can only endure so much. Seungcheol found you crying on your sofa. He went immediately to you after the extended practice.

You are tired of everyone and everything. You are crumbling gradually. No one can fix you. The mess that you have and you made. Not even Seungcheol's hug can mend you. You held his hand tightly as you cry. You don't know how to tell this to him. This is harder than confessing your love for him.

"Cheol, I think...we should stop." You wipe your tears. Seungcheol nodded as if he is expecting this and trying to understand you.

"I've been a bad boyfriend these past few months." You shook your head in protest. You wanted to say something but all you can do is cry. He took you in his arms and let you rest on his chest. "I'm sorry for hurting you...for not being with you."

He calmed you down and tucked you to your bed. Seungcheol hummed a song while watching you fall asleep. You woke up the next day with his mug on your bed side table. No text or whatsoever. He is scared to hurt you further. And that is how 4 years of friendship and 3 years of relationship went down the drain.

Three months after the break up, you unfriended him on facebook, unfollowed him on instagram, and put Seventeen and his name on muted words on twitter. But you still can't escape him. His face is on billboards and television program. It is like the universe telling you what you lost.

Your life got better. You were promoted. You made your parents happy but your heart? It never got better. You are just functioning and not living.

Fourth month without Seungcheol in your life, you started to put away his things and anything that reminds you of him. You smiled when you see a polaroid of him. You are still aching but you are thankful that a relationship with him happened. One of the best years of your life.

Fifth month after the break up, your lease contract ended. You decided to move out and search for an apartment nearer to your work. Just when you thought it did not hurt anymore, you cried while you are packing. It is like finally saying goodbye to the last piece that reminds you of him. This one bed room apartment witnessed all the sleepover, date nights, and lazy mornings. You will never dance in the middle of this tiny apartment with him. It's the end of an era.

Sixth month since you decided to end it with Seungcheol, you agreed to go on a blind date set up by your friend. John is a nice guy. He always reply. He shows up on time. But something felt amiss. You don't want to be unfair to him. On the third date, you decided to tell that you want him as friend and nothing more. That night you went to bed wondering if you will fall in love again the way you fell for Seungcheol.

It was the end of the month. The rain is pouring hard. You run towards your new apartment drench in the rain. Ten steps away from your door when you saw someone at your front door. You thought you are a hallucinating.

"What the hell?" You said it a bit too loud. Seungcheol turned his head to you. You walked faster and unlocked your door to let him in.

"Your mom gave me your address." He said following you inside. Of course, your mom gave it to him. You went to your bathroom to get some towels for the both of you.

"Are you here for your things?" You gave the towel to him then went to the kitchen to prepare coffee for him. You observe him from your periphery. He bulked up a bit. His wet black shirt is hugging his body. His hair a bit longer and black. It suits him. He took the break up better you thought. "I already pack it a month ago. I just need to find where I put the box."

Seungcheol is just looking at you. When you serve the coffee, you went to your room without looking at him. Meeting your worst enemy is better than seeing the ex you yearn for. You can't believe Seungcheol is in your new apartment. It is like your past and present colliding. The present that doesn't have him in it. You don't want to look affectes but when you found the box at the bottom of your cabinet. You smiled painfully. The last piece that reminds him of you.

You went out of your room. Seungcheol is sitting at your kitchen counter. His back facing. You wanted to hug him but you know he is not yours anymore. You watch him drink the coffee you made. You are not sure if you still got the taste he wanted right. Few days ago, you bought coffee beans on your grocery run. When you are sorting the items, you laugh upon seeing the coffee beans because you only buy it because Seungcheol like coffee.

You approach him and place the box at the kitchen counter.

"Let me know if there is something missing. I will try to find it." You said. Still not looking at him. Afraid that you might fell apart. Months of healing and trying to forget him all went down the drain. You already know that you will be crying your sleep once he leave.

When you heard Seungcheol open the box, you steal glances of him. You saw how he carefully touch the fabric of his sweater you always wear. There is a small smile forming on his lips. His signature dimple is showing.

"You got a nice apartment. It's great that you find a walking distance place near your work." Seungcheol knew your struggle travelling to your work specially when you work over time.

"The timing aligned. I was planning to renew the contract on my previous place but this apartment popped up on the listing." You looked straight at his eyes briefly. He nodded while listening to you. Seungcheol is still attentive as ever. It has been months since you have someone to listen to you and look at you like you are the only person in the room.

You smiled in an attempt to keep your tears at bay. You don't know how long he will be around. He doesn't have any reason to stay longer. In the end, you hurted both of you. But you needed that break up to breathe from everything.

"Congratulations for the successful tour and new album." Despite putting every word on mute, unfollowing the boys, and unfriending him, news about them still reach you. Every news about them breaking a record makes your heart swell in pride. You used to pre-order every album release and stream their songs while working. You were Seungcheol's number 1 fan and believer. You were and will always be his fan.

"Thank you." Seungcheol smiled to you. Your heart ached. The whole room is filled with unspoken words. "I heard from your mom you got promoted. Congratulations! I told you...you will get the promotion."

"Yeah...I guess you are right." You chuckled with your eyes getting visibly shining in tears. You got what you wanted but at what cost. You bit your lips thinking that will stop the tears from falling. Seungcheol saw the first tear fell. "I'm sorry."

That's all you said and turned around but Seungcheol did what he wanted to do since the first time he saw you again. He pulled you into his arms where you belong.

"Last time I saw you, you were crying." Seungcheol said each words with a shaky voice. "And now you are still crying. Did I hurt you that much? I'm sorry."

You shook your head. Seungcheol caress your hair and you grip on his clothes like it is your lifeline. "Seungcheol, I am sorry. I hurted you. I got lost. I can't understand myself. I feel like drowning and the only way out I know is to break away from you."

"I understand." Seungcheol said that made you pull away and look at him. He wiped your tears.

"How can you be so kind? I hurted you. Be angry at me. I broke up with you in a snap."

"I can't." Seungcheol shook his head. Tears falling on his face. "I am angry at myself because I let you take everything and lose yourself. I am angry that I made you feel alone in this relationship. I am angry that I made life get in between us."

"I don't want this anymore." You took his hand and rest your head on his chest. The fort you held on these past few months came crumbling down. "Six months. Six months of hell, Cheol. I don't want any of this. I don't want to go on this life without you."

"You have no idea how much I miss you and want you back. I just don't know if you still want me."

"I still want you."

"Good to hear that because I am not here to get my things back." You raised your eyebrows while he smirk at you. "I'm here to take you back."

"You are such a sly man."

You both laughed. Eyes still red because of crying but lips are smiling wide. Some say that sometimes people break up or part ways to find themselves and eventually find their way back to each other. An ample amount of time to heal and be better person for each other. Once you found each other again, never let go. Not everyone will be given a second chance.

#kpop scenarios #seventeen scenarios #seventeen angst #seventeen fluff #seventeen imagines #seventeen fic #choi seungcheol #seventeen seungcheol #seungcheol angst #seungcheol fluff #scoups #seungcheol x oc #seungcheol x reader

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catlazzat · 1 year

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Innovative Trends in the Catering Industry: What Sets the Best Companies Apart

In this article, we will look at some of the cutting-edge trends that are reshaping the catering industry and how these trends help the best catering company stand out.

#event caterers near you #best catering company

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 5 months

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fairest city food culture

This is a supplementary post to continue off of this larger TWST food culture compilation post (as that one is getting super long as is). Here, I'll cover all the new food-related lore dropped about the Shaftlands and specifically about Fairest City, which features in the Tapis Rouge event.

Shaftlands

Macarons are one of the Shaftlands' signature sweets. Cream and raspberry, as well as lychee, are the popular flavors at the moment.

Macarons can be frozen so recipients can eat them fresh.

There are people who collect the stylish boxes that macarons come in.

According to Vil, mixing flavored syrups with carbonated liquids is common in the Shaftlands.

Stewed foods are the Shaftlands' specialty. This is because there are many stories about the Fairest Queen preparing many foods in a pot.

Apples are the most popular fruit in the Shaftlands. They are used for drinks, desserts, jams, and even savory meal items.

Fairest City

There are few food stands in Fairest City. This is because eating on the streets is seen as bad manners.

There is a strong cafe culture.

Fairest City is famous for its cuisine and sweets. Their sweets in particular are well developed due to the city's cafe culture.

Sweets with a pleasant appearance are popular. The most famous of patisseries make sweets which are like pieces of art.

Some sweets featured in famous patisseries include tarts, chocolate, mousse, macarons, brioche, roll cakes, financiers, mille-feuilles, and cakes shaped like apples with apple sauce inside, caramel apples, etc.

A specialty of Fairest City is "cream puff rings", which are cream puffs in ring shapes. They are meant to resemble wheels on rail cars, since Fairest City is located near mines. It is said that the cream puff rings (which is filled with a thick, high-calorie cream) were originally given to hard-working miners to restore their energy.

Luxury stores may offer amenities in addition to providing their services or helping customers shop. For example, staff may offer VIP clients drinks or chocolates.

Fairest City’s hotels have swanky restaurants built into them for guests to dine in. The fanciest of eating establishments are five star restaurants that have full sets of cutlery and napkins which you unfold and place in your lap.

Fancy dining establishments offer food à la carte (ordered by the plate) and prix fixe style (picking your courses from a predetermined selection).

There is a drink called “Diabolo Menthe” served in Fairest City. It is a spearmint flavored syrup mixed with a slightly carbonated liquid. Very refreshing! (This is most likely a reference to the potion that the Evil Queen drinks to transform into an old woman.)

Eric Venue, Vil’s famous movie star father, uses a five-star restaurant to cater buffets for his movie shoots for every 6 hours of work. They also have snacks and drinks on demand (“craft services”), which includes coffee, milk, tea, juice, chocolate, fruits, and pancakes and waffles. Lots of light foods!

Many dishes at high-class eateries are French. For example, hors d’oeuvres might include escargot (snails), foie gras de canard (duck foie gras), and terrine a la campagne (country-style terrine). Courses are also named in French (viande and poisson courses, etc.).

Some dishes served include boeuf bourguignon (a beef and red wine stew) filet mignon de porc aux pruneaux (a pork filet with dried plum; it is made with pig heart, bouillon, and sauce), and flounder poêlé (flounder with an herb sauce). The beef bourguignon is a favorite dish in the five-star hotel restaurant that caters for Eric Venue.

Pork, especially the heart, is prized meat in Fairest City. Many of its dishes are pork-based. There is a story about how the Fairest Queen needed a heart for one of her potions and had her huntsman hunt as a tribute to her; the filet mignon de porc aux pruneaux dish was born from this legend.

The restaurant that caters for Eric Venue has a specialty dessert called tart fine pomme. It is a thin tart with slices apples. The restaurant uses the highest quality of apples (from Harveston), which are grown in a special soil, for their dishes and drinks.

#twst #twisted wonderland #disney twisted wonderland #disney twst #twst resource #twisted wonderland resource #notes from the writing raven #tapis rouge in the shaftlands spoilers

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sabrgirl · 7 months

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ramadan 30 day challenge

introducing the ramadan 30 day challenge!

I made this challenge in the hopes of catering to as many people as I can - so, regardless of anyone's home situation, health, money, whether or not you live near a mosque or a community etc, I think it is somewhat do-able or adaptable for all! you can access anything you need for this (verses/surahs from the Qur'an for eg) online. I also know that for some people (depending on countries etc), ramadan is either 29 or 30 days, so it's fine to finish on the 29th day if necessary.

if you miss a couple days as well (or end up seeing this post halfway through ramadan), just pick up from whatever day of ramadan it is!

it starts off easy and gets harder as you go along! i'm also going to be doing this ramadan challenge and posting my own updates on here, Insha’Allah! if you do this too, please do tag me because I would love to see how people are getting on! ♡ here it is:

recite surah ikhlas 3 times

recite durood sharif 3 times

read Qur'an after asr

recite the 3 Quls (last 3 surahs of the Qur'an) in the evening/before sleeping today

listen to an islamic podcast

write down 5 things you are grateful to Allah for on paper or phone notes app

istighfar 100 times

read all of surah mulk before bed

wake up for tahajjud and pray (at least) 2 rakaats

learn 5 names/attributes of Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ

do something nice for somebody else - can even be very small and will still be rewarded for it

wear your favourite abaya/thobe/modest clothing for every salah today. look your best for Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ in your prayer like you would to go to a special event

give some (charity) sadaqah (create a sadaqah jar/box!)

read the last 2 verses of surah baqarah before sleeping

make a du'a for your friends and family - name them and pray for something specific for each of them

read all of surah Ya Sin after fajr

pray 2 nafl rakaats (voluntary prayer) today after the 2 sunnah rakaats of zuhr

no backbiting/gossiping about anyone at all and 2 nafl rakaats (voluntary prayer) if you do

pick a surah from the Qur'an and read the commentary for each verse

memorise the dua to recite on laylatul qadr اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنِّي Allahumma innaka 'Afuwwun, tuhibbul 'afwa, fa'fu 'anni "O Allah, You are indeed Forgiving and love to forgive, so forgive me."

donate to a charity (for palestine!!). even the smallest amount will be beneficial + rewarded by Allah

recite ayatul kursi after each 5 fard (obligatory) salah

pray all the 12 sunnah today: 2 rakaats before Fajr; 4 rakaats before zuhr and two rakaats after; 2 rakaats after Maghrib; and 2 rakaats after Ishaa

pray (at least) 2 rakaats of taraweeh (either at the mosque or at home by yourself/with family!)

pray 2 rakaats of duha (optional) prayer - it is between 15 minutes after sunrise until zuhr time. (not after zuhr!!)

recite subhanallahi wabihamdi, subhanallahil adheem 100 times - (Glory be to Allah and all praise is due to Him, glory be to Allah, the Great)

be extra modest today (tailored to you. wear hijab outside if you don't, or wear your loosest outfit or lower your gaze completely (including lowering it on social media) today etc. whatever being extra modest is for you, do that today).

pray on time, no procrastination or delays. check what local time each prayer is for you and pray then (unless you're praying at the mosque!)

istighfar x1000 times

pray some of the nawafil ON TOP OF all the sunnah prayers that accompany the 5 obligatory prayers: - 2 rakaats of duha prayer - 2 rakaats after the 2 sunnah rakaats of zuhr - 4 rakaats before asr - 2 rakaats after the 2 sunnah rakaats of maghrib - 2 rakaats after the 2 sunnah rakaats of ishaa (extra challenge: wake up for tahajjud too)

level extreme: if you want an extra extra challenge, you can continue doing each one every day as you go along. so day 1 would be recite surah ikhlas 3 times and day 2 would be recite surah ikhlas and durood sharif 3 times, day 3 would be recite surah ikhlas and durood sharif 3 times and read Qur'an after asr... and you get the gist. if you do this, good luck on day 30 when you have 30 things to do lol

note: giving sadaqah (charity) can be adapted if donating money is a struggle - for eg, doing dhikr on behalf of somebody else can count as sadaqah. click here for more info on this.

may Allah make this challenge easy for whoever intends to participate and let the deeds indeed be multiplied by 100 this ramadan and forgive us for our shortcomings, Ameen ♡

#ramadan challenge #ramadan #islam #muslim #ramadan series #religion #allah #sabrgirl #quran #prayers #islamic #muslims #sunnah #ramadan tips #ramadan mubarak

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cameronspecial · 6 months

Text

A New Kind Of Normal (Prologue)

Pairing: Dad!Rafe Cameron x Reader

Warnings: SMUT.

Pronouns: She/Her

Word Count: 2.7K

Summary: A night at work leads Y/N to the bed of the Prince of Kooks and it results in a small miracle.

Masterlist

Working at a catering company is not exactly Y/N’s life dream, but it helps her pay for tuition so she deals with it. The black cocktail dress she is forced to wear for this event is driving her insane. It is itchy and so short that she worries every few minutes her underwear will show. She is struggling with the heels, fearing she’ll trip with no way of catching her fall. The tray in her hand holds lemon buttercups that make her mouth salivate like a dog. She navigates around the wealthy partygoers and offers anyone who looks interested a sweet treat. Most people barely look in her direction, let alone thank her; the wealthy really need to learn some manners. At least she only has three more hours of this.

For once, Rafe didn’t get high as soon as he got off of work. He knew he had to accompany his dad to this networking event and he wasn’t about to make the same mistake of going to a work event high again. Not after last time. His regret for being sober is starting to grow, but the smell of vanilla makes him glad he can think clearly. Her bright smile is the second thing he notices after her vanilla perfume. It amazes him how she can still be so happy, knowing she’s been working since the start of the night. He wants to go get a lemon buttercup just to have an excuse to talk to her; however, the button on his suit jacket has another idea. It falls off of its string and starts rolling away from him. They watch as the button gets farther away and both go after it. Their eyes are focused on the button, which causes them to run into each other.

Buttercups go flying everywhere and Y/N falls flat on her bum. Rafe tries to stop his fall, but all he really does is change the direction he falls in and he tumbles on top of her. His chest presses against hers. She feels his breath fight against hers and she tries her hardest to keep the attraction out of her eyes. Her mind snaps back to reality. She quickly pushes him off of her and she stands back up.

Her hands search for the tray so she can go back to the kitchen to replace the soiled treats. He wants to go after her, but his dad stops him in his tracks under the pretense of talking to a client. The rest of the night is spent looking for the vanilla-scented waitress. He finally sets eyes on the one person he wants to see near the end of the night. Her body sits in a nook hidden away from everyone. She has her knees folded close to her chest and he can see she is reading something placed on her lap. The cold night air breezes through her hair, getting into her face but it doesn’t seem to bother her. The dress she is wearing absolutely drives him crazy. It hugs her curves perfectly and with the way she is sitting, he catches a glimpse at her underwear, which he has to pull himself to look away from her. “I’m glad I found you again, Buttercup. We didn’t get the chance to talk last time.”

She looks up from whatever she is reading, giving him a small smile that doesn’t compare to the one before. He vows to make her give him that smile again. She can’t help but admit that she thinks he is funny and handsome. She thought that everyone at the event would be a high society person, who would look down at her. But whoever this guy is, he talks to her like she is human. Joking around with her and flashing her a charming smirk. His blazer is thrown across his forearm and she finds it attractive how the sleeves of his button-up are folded up his arms. It takes everything inside of her not to smile like an idiot when he speaks to her. “And it’s Button. Did you manage to get your button back?” she asks. He walks over, sitting on the wall across from her, “Yes, thanks for trying to help. Sorry, I knocked you off of your feet. What are you reading?” “It’s okay. It was my fault too for not looking. And I’m reading a script. I have an audition tomorrow for a student film,” she explains, flashing him the script she is reading. He gently snatches it out of her hand, “So you’re an actress, interesting. I could see that. Anything I would have seen you in?”

“No, just a bunch of student films for university. That’s it. But one day, I’m going to move out to New York or maybe LA and then get my big break. For now, I’m okay with just going to university and acting in student films.”

“Well I’ve never seen you act, but I know you’ll make it big. I mean with a smile better than Julia Roberts’, how could you not?”

“Aww, thanks! Aren’t you going back to the party? Or are you hiding out too? You seemed to be a hit with the other business dudes.”

He looks at her with a grin, playfully knocking her foot with his, “You’ve been watching me. I’m hiding out from my father. He says I’m useless and can’t be trusted, yet he seems to want to parade me around at events like these. I just don’t understand him.” His hands play at buttoning his watch on and off. She looks at him with sad eyes, feeling bad about his parental pressures. He hates that he is the one to make her sad and all he wants to do is to give her the world to cheer her up. “I’m sorry your dad is such a jerk. The only useless thing I see here is your suit button,” she jokes to lighten up the mood. This is when she flashes him her award-winning smile and he wants to melt, “Thanks. I’m used to it by now.” Silence falls over them before Rafe feels the need to tell her more about his dad. She has eyes that tell him she can be trusted and if she is as sweet as her perfume, she must be hella sweet. “He doesn’t understand that I’m protecting him and the company. That’s me. Not Sarah. Me, Rafe. I’m the one.” His tears start to fall as his fingers press against his thumb to point toward him to punctuate his point.

She isn’t sure what to say to him; she never had any problems with her dad. She moves to sit beside him, bringing his head onto her shoulder. He revels in her touching and lets himself feel comfort in her neck. After a few seconds, he looks up at her. Their eyes lock for a second. His lips near hers and she takes the chance by smacking their lips together. Their mouths move in tandem, his tongue moving against her bottom lip to ask for entrance. She lets him in and they fight for dominance. Eventually, she gives him full control. His hands move to the neckline of her dress, moving it out of the way so he can kiss her collarbone.

Before things get too heated in public, she moves his head away from her skin. She places her forehead against his and quietly pants, “I really do want to continue this, but maybe not in a place we’d get arrested.” He loves the way she says it taking her hand into his to drag her to his truck.

——

Rafe spins her around so her back slams against his door. His teeth gently tug her bottom lips and let it go to give her a kiss. His hand finds the back of her thigh, so he can hike it up to his waist. He separates for a second and brings his mouth to her ear, “My name is Rafe by the way. You’ll need to know it for when you are screaming my name later on.” She feels shivers run down her spine. His lips begin to descend the column of her neck and drops down to his knees. His head ducks under the skirt of her dress, using his teeth to pull her underwear down her legs. Once he has clear access to her pussy, he dives in to make her feel good. He starts his assault with her clitoris, swirling his tongue around the bud. Her head swings back in pleasure and her leg wraps around his shoulder. “God, I love the sounds you are making. You are doing so good, Buttercup. Do you want more?” he praises, looking up at her.

“Yes, please. More,” she cries out and brings his mouth back onto her. He gives a low chuckle at her words, moving his fingers to his mouth to get them prepared for her. His fingers move from his mouth to her vagina. It penetrates her hole and she is begging for him to give her more. Her hips start to buck to meet his movement. He adds another finger and the sound she lets out is music to his ears. Her walls start to tighten around his fingers. She lets out a loud gasp as she climaxes. He pulls his fingers out of her and cleans them off in his mouth.

Standing at full height, he towers over her now. She gives him a wicked smile and stands on his tiptoes to whisper in his ear. “As much as I love the nickname Buttercup, I want you to be yelling Y/N for what I’m about to do.” It's her turn to kneel on her knees and pull down his clothes. He can cum in his pants just at the sight of her like this. She begins by pumping his cock in her hand, bringing the tip close to her lips. She gives it a little kitten lick and then continues to jerk him off. “Y/N, Y/N. Please, take me in your mouth. I need to feel you,” he moans out, lacing his fingers through her hair to push her head closer to where he needs her. She happily envelopes him in her mouth, using a hand to bring pleasure to what isn’t in her mouth. She continues to bob her head and swirls her tongue around his dick.

She feels him twitch in her mouth, but he brings her up to full height before she can help him climax. “I want to come in you,” he begs, heading over to his bedside table to get a condom. She strips as he goes to get it, “Will you hurry up and get that thing on you? I need to feel you inside of me.” He quickly rips the condom wrapper with his teeth and rolls it onto himself after giving it a few pumps. The sight of her naked makes him want to drool; he knows she probably feels self-conscious being the only naked person in the room, so he rids himself of his clothes.

Her perky breasts are calling his name; therefore, he brings his head to suck on one of her nipples. The swirling of his tongue around her bud and her head jerks forward to rest on his head. “Enough foreplay, Rafe. Get your dick back in me before I take matters into my own hands,” she orders, moving his head from her boobs by his hair. He groans at her words, “Y/N if you do that, I’m going to have to punish you.” But he obeys her demands anyway. His fingers find their way back to her core to make sure she is wet enough for him. Finally, he brings the tip of his cock and pushes into her at a rough pace. He brings her leg back up to his waist and presses his chest against hers so she has better support with her back pressed against the door. With each thrust, her back rubs against the wall in a slight discomfort, but the pleasure he is giving her makes it worth it. “You are doing so good. Look how well you are taking me,” he breathly praises him.

“What can I say? You’re pretty good at stretching me out,” she teases, wrapping her arms around his neck. He gives her a dark look, “I must not be doing a good enough job if it’s only pretty good. I have to kick it up a notch then.” As promised, his pace quickens and gets rougher as her moans increase in volume. He feels like he is in heaven and he knows he is going to come soon. His hand goes down between them, rubbing her clit to help her get close with him. His thrusts mixed with his rubbing fingers help bring her to her orgasm. “Keep going, I’m almost there. You feel amazing,” she admires as she feels herself clench around him. His orgasm washes over him too and he lets out a loud moan with his head thrown to her neck as his thrusts begin to slow down. He rides out both of their highs before pulling out of her with a peck to the lips.

She slouches against the wall a little tired from their activities and he brings her other leg up to his waist so he can carry her to the bathroom. Her legs tighten around him; her head buries into his neck. He feels the faint brush of her lips against the skin of his neck. He places her on the toilet, turning away so she can go in privacy. With her bladder now empty, he returns to her with a damp towel to help clean off her sticky cum. The condom he is wearing comes off and is discarded in the garbage. Her legs wobble a little as she tries to make her way to the sink. Rafe lets out a small chuckle at her Bambi-like walking and helps her to the sink so she can wash her hands.

After they finish getting ready for bed in the bathroom, he carries her back to his room and gently lays her down. He gets in on his side of the bed, bringing her head against his chest. She thinks of saying something to break the silence, but sleep finds her before she can.

——

It has been a month since that fateful night with Rafe. She left the next morning without waiting for him to wake up. Yes, they had an amazing night, but she didn’t think he was the relationship type so she wasn’t going to put him through the awkwardness of asking her to leave. Ever since that night, she’s been experiencing sore breasts, nausea, and mood swings; however, she just attributed those symptoms to her period coming soon. The trigger that brings her to where she is now is her missed period. Her period turned regular when she was sixteen so she shouldn’t skip a month. She stares at the wall of tests in front of her, trying to figure out the best one. She feels like everyone in the store is staring at her and just decides on whichever one she can grab first.

The drive home is filled with anxious silence as she looks over at the bag on her passenger seat at every red light. She gets home and follows the instructions on the box. Waiting for five minutes has never felt this long before. Y/N paces the bathroom with the fingernail of her thumb in her mouth and runs towards the pregnancy test when the timer goes off. She looks in the little window on the test. Her panic seeps through her as she sees the words ‘pregnant’. Her first thought is to find Rafe and tell him, but then she remembers all the stories she’s heard about him after they slept together.

He does drugs. He has anger issues and hurts people. It is all completely different from the person she spent the night with, yet everyone has said the same thing. And that is not the type of father she wants for her baby. She doesn’t know if she is going to keep the baby, but she knows that whatever she decides, Rafe cannot be involved.

Taglist: @loves0phelia @thelomlisrafecameron @wickedlovely121 @thepatriarchykeychain @drewsmusee @starkowswife @maybankslover @forstarkey @loving-and-dreaming @drewstarkeyswifehoe @kisstaya

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