#find the holy pizza slice

[eveebeemusic]

Ziggy the Trash Panda, is a game where you play as a raccoon that hunts for food and has to battle enemies like corgis and make friends with vegetable creatures. Find the holy pizza slice.

This was the concept and vibe. I would totally play this game if it was a thing. Guilty af for spending hours making this cute little retro pixel cover art <3

[rebelliousmuse]

Flirt Zone - M.S.

Warnings: masturbation (male), unprotected p in v (always use condoms).

-------------------------------------------------------------

Nick fumbled through his overflowing closet, muttering under his breath. Doja Cat acting as the soundtrack. This first visit to his house, though, took an unexpected turn.

The door swung open, revealing a guy who could've been a model for a cologne ad. Messy, dark hair tumbled across his forehead, partially obscuring the tattoos peeking out from his rolled-up sleeve. A smile played on his lips, showcasing a row of perfectly white teeth. He smelled like heaven. For a moment, you forgot you were looking for Nick. This was Matt, and he was breathtaking.

“Hey, you must be y/n,” he said. “Nick's running a fashion show apparently. Come on in.” He ushered you inside, followed by another guy with similar features, who introduced himself as Chris. The house mirrored Nick's personality – slightly chaotic but undeniably welcoming.

You reached Nick's room, the door swinging shut behind you as Matt and Chris disappeared down the hall. You sank onto the bed, letting out a breathless, “Holy shit.” Your cheeks felt like they were on fire, and you bit your lip hard to try and suppress a goofy grin.

Nick whipped around, a mock look of disgust contorting his features. “Seriously, y/n?” he asked. “Which one stole your heart this time?”

“Matt, definitely,” You confessed, unable to hold back a giggle. “He smells amazing, that smile and those tattoos…” Your voice trailed off as you recalled his image.

Nick snorted. “Great, just what I need, my best friend developing a crush on my brother.”

“Hey, it's not my fault he looks like a rockstar who just stepped out of a cologne commercial!” You defended yourself, playfully nudging him. “Besides, more visits mean more opportunities for me to help you find the perfect outfit, right?”

Nick rolled his eyes dramatically. “Whatever, just don't drool all over my clothes while you're at it, okay?” He said, already rummaging through his t-shirts.

---

Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and Nick's house became a second home. You'd sprawl on the living room floor, controllers clutched in hands, battling it out in the latest game. Sometimes, Matt and Chris would join in, their competitive streaks making things even more intense.

One afternoon, while Matt and you were arguing (playfully, of course) about who deserved the last slice of pizza, Nick blurted out, “Don't worry, y/n won't mind sharing with you, Matt. After all, she practically worships the ground you walk on!”

Your cheeks burned like you'd swallowed a fireball. “Nick!” You sputtered, mortified. But seeing the laughter sparkling in Matt's eyes, you took a deep breath. “Well,” You said, trying to sound casual, “You already know now, there's no point in hiding it.”

From then on, flirting became your game. You'd compliment his taste in music, playfully nudge him during movie nights, or tease him about his messy hair (which, secretly, you found incredibly endearing). Matt would mostly respond with a playful eye roll and a chuckle, but sometimes a blush would creep up his neck, and he'd resort to burying his face in his phone to avoid eye contact.

One afternoon, you brought the guys over to meet your other friends. “These are my two best friends,” you said, gesturing towards Nick and Chris, “Nick and Chris. And this one,” You added, turning to Matt, “is Matt.” You bit your lip, trying to suppress a smile as you met his gaze. “Let's just say I’m… working on something here.”

The statement hung in the air, open to interpretation. My friends exchanged curious glances, while Matt's cheeks flushed a faint pink. He mumbled a greeting, his gaze flickering away from yours.

Every outing became a performance. Introductions were meticulously crafted. Nick and Chris received a casual wave and a quick name toss. But Matt, well, Matt was different. His introduction lingered, a hint of possessiveness lacing the words. It was a message not just for him, but for the girls who inevitably wandered into their orbit. A subtle marking of territory, a playful yet firm declaration: Matt, in your eyes, was something special, someone off-limits, especially to your closest circle. He was, quite simply, too good to share.

---

Today was sleepover night with Nick, a monthly tradition you cherished. You were putting the finishing touches on yourself, a breezy sundress swirling around your legs as you reached for your favourite bottle of Chanel perfume. A soft chime from your phone announced a text – Matt's message confirming they were outside. Grabbing your purse and a backpack overflowing with sleepover essentials, you dashed out the door, a hurried goodbye to your two barking dogs echoing behind you.

The familiar car idled in the driveway. Sliding into the backseat, you offered a bright "Hi!" that was met with a chorus of greetings from the three brothers. Nick, occupying the seat next to you turned with a grin. "Ready to raid the mall? We need to stock up on serious movie snacks for tonight." You couldn't help but smile back, nodding your head.

The rearview mirror offered a glimpse of Matt as you chatted with Nick. You caught his gaze flickering back in your direction a few times. Feeling a playful nudge of courage, you leaned forward. "Like the view?" you teased, "I know I do."

Your playful jab elicited chuckles from Chris in the front seat, while Nick snorted out a sarcastic, "Gross." But Matt's reaction was different. He rolled his eyes, in annoyance. "Did I ask?" he muttered.

Undeterred, you met his gaze with a smirk. "Damn, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today," you countered. "Feeling a bit bratty, are we?" He shot you a mock-irritated look, his jaw clenching slightly. But before he could retort, you leaned in closer.

In a flirty whisper that tickled his ear, you murmured, "I like it." You accentuated the point by biting your lower lip. A blush crept up Matt's neck, his cheeks turning a faint pink. His gaze darted away momentarily, flustered by your bold move.

The mall bustled with activity as you navigated the aisles, gathering movie snacks and groceries for the triplets' house. You kept up a steady stream of chatter with Nick and Chris. However, you couldn't shake the feeling of Matt's gaze burning into you. Every now and then, you'd steal a glance in his direction, only to find him staring intently.

Finally, bags overflowing, you piled back into the car. Matt, focused on the road as he navigated the traffic.

Reaching the triplets' house, you helped Nick unload the snacks. As the boys ordered takeout for the evening, you retreated to a bathroom, taking a moment to prepare for a night of movies. Slipping into a comfy nightgown, you brushed your hair and applied a touch of lip gloss, a subconscious effort to feel put-together even for just a sleepover.

Nick soon appeared at the doorway, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Ready for some movies?" he announced, gesturing for you to follow him. Settling onto Nick's bed, you grabbed a handful of popcorn as the movie started.

The movie was nearing its climax, you were thoroughly engrossed, practically glued to the screen alongside Nick. Then, that familiar pressure built in your bladder. Stifling a groan, you glanced around the room. Nick's bathroom door was ajar. Apparently, a recent "science experiment" for a video involving a rogue Mentos geyser had rendered it temporarily out of commission.

With a resigned sigh, you stood up, the sudden movement momentarily pulling Nick's attention away from the movie. "Bathroom break," you said apologetically, already heading for the hallway. There was a single bathroom close to Nick's bedroom. Reaching for the knob, going in to use the toilet. As you got out, passing outside Matt’s door, you heard a low, guttural groan sent a jolt through you. Concern washed over you, was Matt alright? Had he tripped and hurt himself? Before you could second-guess yourself, you threw open the door.

Your worried frown melted into stunned silence as your gaze fell upon Matt. He was sat with his back to you, his torso was bare. A gasp caught in your throat.

But it wasn't the sight of his bare chest that left you frozen. It was the expression on his face, a look of pure, transcendent pleasure etched across his features; his pants and boxers were down to his ankles as he ran his hand through his big dick. His eyes were squeezed shut, his brow furrowed in concentration, and the low, guttural groans you'd heard earlier escaped his lips involuntarily with each rhythmic movement. He was completely lost in the moment, oblivious to the world around him – oblivious to you standing there, speechless and wide-eyed in the doorway. You bit your lower lip hard, feeling yourself getting soaked at the view of Matt jerking off.

A low involuntary moan escaped your lips before you could even register it. The unexpected sight sent a jolt of arousal through you. Matt's eyes snapped open at the sound, his face contorting in surprise. The rhythmic movement he'd been engaged in ceased abruptly, replaced by a frantic scramble to cover himself with the nearby towel.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry!" you stammered, cheeks burning with a mixture of embarrassment and lingering heat. "I thought… I heard a noise and thought you were hurt."

"Don't you knock?" he finally managed.

Guilt gnawed at you. You hadn't meant to intrude on such a private moment. Yet, even as you mumbled another apology, your gaze couldn't help but linger on the outline of his hard cock beneath the towel, and the glimpse of toned abs and strong arms fuelled the fire simmering in your core.

"Do you need help?" you blurted out. Matt's jaw clenched, his eyes widening in further surprise. You took a step forward, only to realize he was frozen in place, speechless under the weight of your unexpected advances.

As you closed the distance, reaching out, you tentatively brushed a hand against the rough fabric of the towel taking it off him, sending a tremor through Matt's body as you began massaging his length.

Lifting yourself onto his lap, you straddled him. Hesitantly, his hands reached out, hovering at your waist before finding purchase on the soft skin of your ass.

A wave of heat flooded your senses. Leaning in, you trailed a line of kisses down his neck. He responded with a muffled groan, a low sound that vibrated against your lips. Emboldened, you captured his mouth in a hungry kiss, starting to make out with him as you grinded against him.

Pulling away, breathless, you nipped at his lower lip. With a boldness you never knew you possessed, you reached for your panties, putting them to the side. Maintaining eye contact, your hand grabbed his dick, pumping it a few times before placing it on your entrance and slowly lowering yourself to him, making both of you gasp. He was larger and thicker than you anticipated, a realization that momentarily stole your breath.

He cupped your waist, his fingers digging in as he began to make you move your hips. You followed his lead, moving in a slow way, adjusting little by little to his size. A moan escaped your lips as his tip brushed your g-spot deliciously, making you start to move faster, bouncing on his dick, as he responded with a deep grunt and breathless moans “That’s good, keep doing that” he ordered.

He began thrusting up, his hips meeting yours with a satisfying force that sent shivers down your spine. "So damn tight," he growled in your ear. You responded by digging your nails into his back, leaving a red trail on his bare skin. The sharp sensation seemed to ignite him further, and he abruptly shifted positions, taking control.

He was on top now, he moved impossibly fast and deep into you. The room filled with the sound of skin meeting skin. You cried out with a mixture of pleasure and surprise, the intensity pushing you closer to the edge.

"Quiet, baby," he rasped. "The others will hear." Shame washed over you momentarily, replaced by a desperate need to silence the sounds escaping your lips.

"S-sorry, Ma-tt," you stammered, your breath hitching in your throat. He responded with a brief, urgent kiss.

You felt yourself teetering on the precipice, a knot of anticipation tightening in your stomach. The sounds you made grew louder, involuntary expressions of the pleasure coursing through you. He noticed with a teasing smirk playing on his lips.

"Your legs are shaking like crazy," he murmured in your ear. A desperate plea formed on your lips.

"Matt, I… I can't… please," you stammered with a mixture of need and vulnerability in your voice. He understood. A low growl escaped his throat, "Come on then, cum for me" he rasped. And then, in a glorious rush, it happened. The tension shattered, replaced by a wave of pure pleasure that washed over you both as you came all over his dick and you felt him paint your insides with his cum at the same time. You clung to each other, breaths mingling in the aftermath, hearts pounding in a shared rhythm.

He leaned in, peppering your cheeks and neck with soft, lingering kisses. You couldn't help but giggle, and Matt chuckled too. He leaned back, meeting your gaze once more. This time, the kiss he offered was different. It was slow and deliberate.

The afterglow was sweet, but reality beckoned. Nick must be wondering where you'd disappeared to. With a sigh, Matt reluctantly untangled himself from you. He offered a hand to help you sit up. He watched as you reached for your scattered panties.

Before you could leave, he surprised you by grabbing your waist and pulling you into a quick kiss. Finally, with a lingering look that spoke a thousand unspoken words, he released you. Stepping aside, he gestured towards the door. "Go," he said smiling at you.

A nervous giggle escaped your lips as you tried to tame your hair. Reaching for the doorknob, you braced yourself for the trek back to Nick's room. What on earth would you say? How long had it been? Opening the door a little bit, you peeked inside, expecting to find Nick glued to the movie, completely oblivious.

Instead, the sight that greeted you was far worse. Nick was sprawled across his bed, a mischievous grin plastered on his face. The movie had been paused. Before you could stammer out an apology, he spoke.

"Don't even try to make up an excuse for taking so long," Nick cut in. “Let's just say the walls in this house aren't exactly soundproof." He punctuated his statement with a theatrical gag.

Heat flooded your cheeks. "You heard everything?" you mumbled. Nick burst out laughing, "Oh, come on y/n, it sounded like a jungle safari!" he teased making you blush profusely.

[theologyy]

Review: “My Investing Journey and Learning” by Carmen Mundt

Qualifications: I’m a journalist reporting on business, economics, and defense who’s been in the industry for 7 years — the last 3 have been at, debatably, the #1 business publication in the world.

Rating: 2/5 stars

Thoughts: I cannot believe I spent 39 euros on this.

This 39 page ebook provides incredibly basic information that can all be found in this article.

First: while the ebook is about 40 pages, it probably has about 10 pages of actual information in it, interspersed with inspirational quotes from Sheryl Sandberg and Warren Buffet, with some pictures of Carmen in Monaco.

There’s about 1 page of “introduction” from Carmen that talks about her upbringing and journey to university in London. I won’t comment too much on her personal story, but an important thing to note is that she says she came from a “traditional Spanish household” where her father was the breadwinner and her mother had no access to family finances. After the 2008 crash, her family couldn’t afford to send her to college. She moved to London, applied for a student loan, and began studying finance at a university while working part time.

Carmen very, very briefly mentioned her regrets as to her mother’s inability to access higher education, work, and family financial planning; she says she’d never want to be in that position. While literally only one sentence, I think it makes it clear who the audience for this ebook is: someone who has absolutely, positively, no idea about money.

(She also very, very briefly mentions “big changes in her personal life” that made a full-time job in finance “not sustainable,” leading to her move to Monaco. This is her only reference to George.)

The rest of the book very simply explains how to make a budget, set financial goals, invest in the stock market, and mitigate risk. The information was kinda factually correct, and was written in a coherent manner. I think that’s the highest praise I can give it.

Here’s the thing: like other reviewers have called out, I am pretty certain that Carmen didn’t write anything besides the introduction. Whole sections (and indeed the entire format of the ebook) were clearly ripped from the Female Invest introductory courses. (I spent 3 hours clicking through each course so I could find direct wording comparisons to make this claim. I really wouldn’t recommend it.) I do think she edited these sections, and she interjected a few personal sentences; but I believe that’s where her involvement ended.

From an expert perspective, a lot of the information is so simplistic as to be almost incorrect. This isn’t a “first day of Econ 101” ebook — this is a “freshman year of high school home ec class” ebook. (Did anyone else’s home ec classes teach budgeting, or just me?)

Here’s an example. In a section on stocks, Carmen/Female Invest writes: “Investing in stocks allows you to support companies and causes you care about while still making a profit.”

On a basic level, this is correct. Purchasing a stock technically means you’re buying a little bit of a company, and I guess therefore supporting it. But unless a company is IPOing, you’re buying those stocks from another investor — which means your purchase has no effect on the company. So it’s a little disingenuous to claim you’re somehow helping the company. The ebook is rife with this kind of thing.

Carmen pushed in her advertising posts that the Female Invest courses were a key supplement to her book. So obviously, I had to do those too. And holy shit, they were so much worse than the ebook. Some parts were blatantly incorrect on basic information (they claim markets are open 24/7, when most are only open 9am-4:30pm on weekdays) and have some of the most patronizing metaphors I have ever read. (One of the most egregious was comparing your investment portfolio to a pizza because “stocks, bonds, and ETFs” make up different “sizes of slices to make a whole pie”. This isn’t even an accurate equivalent — maybe a calzone, pasta, and pizza make up a whole meal? I don’t even know.)

I would not recommend buying this ebook unless you, too, were barred from even thinking about a stock by your traditional father. Even then, consider free sources.

A Disclaimer on disclosures: So, after @ohblimeygeorge sent me a reddit post also reviewing Carmen’s book that mentioned ad disclosures, I decided to dive into the regulations. In the U.S., influential advertising is regulated by the FTC — in the EU, it’s regulated by the EU Commission, which I believe Carmen would qualify under since she is a Spanish citizen who lives in Monaco. First, I looked at this legal brief on content monetization business models, and concluded that that the ebook likely falls under “affiliate marketing” as Carmen likely receives a percentage of each ebook sold through her link.

(An additional disclaimer: obviously, I don’t know the details of the deal Carmen has with Female Invest, but I’d think it unlikely that she isn’t getting paid for their collaboration. She mentioned in an Instagram story under her Female Invest highlight that she “tried purchasing equity but they were already too big for what I could afford” but “did buy a bit of their crowdfunding.” Since she doesn’t have equity, i.e. doesn’t own a piece of the company, it’d be weird if she was doing this for free.)

Back on topic. I next looked at this legal brief on advertising disclosures. It states that affiliate marketing must be disclosed: “you need to make sure your audiences understand that it’s advertising.” Disclosures can include hashtags and “mentioning” advertising in the caption. Carmen has not disclosed advertising in any of her Female Invest posts, and appears to be violating this regulation. (Interestingly, her only posts that follow disclosure requirements are her Tommy posts.)

It’s apparently not uncommon. An EU Commission study showed 80% of influencers in the EU do not properly disclose ads.

So, there’s that too.

[winterzxsoldierz]

Well You Know Me...

Avenger!Bucky Barnes X Goofy!Villain!Reader

Warnings: Reader being an idiot and a flirt, no mentions of Y/N, Reader is a Female and a demigoddess who loves to cause chaos.

Bucky's feet echo along the darkened hall, it's quiet, too quiet for his liking but he keeps moving, he doesn't know why he agreed to come here, to find you, you weren't really a problem per say but you are still on SHIELDS watch list as a threat and after that Loki issue Bucky wasn't taking no chances with you. Bucky gets to a door, it's large and steel, it's nothing out of the ordinary but he's still not lowering his guard knowing you're around, who knows what you'll do. He pushes open the steel double doors and walks in, it's dark, the only light is coming from a purple light in the desk on the corner, he's tense and looking around, he walks in further and feels around for a switch and turns on the lights when he finds it. He has to give it to you, you really have this little evil lair of yours going, with the purple and black furniture, the over dramatic gargoyle statue over the fireplace. He only stares at it blankly.

"Oh what's this? New meat for me to play with?" Bucky jumps out of his skin and turns around quickly, his gun trained on you, he didn't hear you, at all, you just appeared behind him. You smirk and tilt your head, while nothing but mischief gleams in your eyes. "You must be James?" You step closer. "I would give you my name...but that takes the fun out of my game." Bucky just stares not saying a word, his gun still pointed at you and his guard is still up, he was expecting a fight but you just stared at him like a child with a new toy to torment, you had a plate of pizza in your hand and a soda pop in the other.

"What are you doing?" Bucky asks, his eyes narrowed and weary. You laugh and shake your head "I'm on break duh, Evil people need food to." You bite a slice of pizza and grin at him. "Want some?" You say, outstretching your arm to hand him the plate with a raised brow. "No. i don't want your pizza." He scoffs, a grumpy frown forming on his face. "Okay first off rude, i'm not black death, secondly can you please put your gun away, i'm not gonna bite you....Yet."

Bucky's eyes roll, this was gonna be a long night, a very long night....

Two weeks later... "Hey James!" Again you catch Bucky off guard when he walks into your lair, this time though he has you in a headlock and of course you're grinning like an idiot, "Save these tricks for the bedroom James, you haven't even bought me flowers yet." he scowls and let's go of you "Shut up brat, the only flowers you'll get from me is at your funeral is when i kill you." your jaw goes slack and for a minute it's quiet, before a large grin appears on your lips, "Holy shit, that was hot, i knew you could flirt." Bucky blinks, and he pinches the bridge of his nose, he's only known you for a week and you're already driving him up a wall. "Shut up." Bucky grumbles and pushes past you into your lair. "Where is it?" Bucky asks. "Where's what?" You ask innocently. "The gun, with the green squiggly things, that shoots fire, that gun?"

Bucky demands, and stares at you. "Ohhh...that gun, his name is Blaze, and i don't have it."

You lie, Bucky is unamused, and waits for you to tell him. "You won't intimidate me." Your arms cross over your chest and you smirk, i can't give you Blaze, he's the best thing ever created since ultron" You smirk mischievously and chuckle at the look on Bucky's face, until you cave. "Fine, if i give it, will you protect him? it took me forever to birth him." "I'm not promising anything" Bucky grumbles and holds out his hand as you place the gun in his hand. "I'm going now." Bucky turns on his heels and begins to leave but you call out to him. "You know, you could at least leave your phone number since you're taking my son."

you knew he heard as he left and you can't help but laugh. you knew these encounters wouldn't end anytime soon.

i will post part two soon. let me know if this is good🖤

Part two here<-

[suhkusa]

EGOIST 16.

PAIRING. Atsumu Miya x f!Reader

CW. fluff, slight feelings

A/N. cute or naw

-> MASTERLIST.

There’s one month left to prepare for the Championships, yet here you were snoozing on, pro-volleyball player, Atsumu Miya’s floor.

“Y/N,” he calls, “Wake up,”

It’s bright, when you wake up, the sun is already shining high in the sky.

“Holy shit, what time is it?”

He looks behind him then back down at you, “2:36,”

This causes you to jump up, “And you didn’t wake me up?”

“No,” he says, “I ordered food, hurry up before it gets cold,”

Your face scrunches up at his reply, “No Atsumu, I need to go home,” your body aches as you make your way onto your feet.

Atsumu looks back at you with a dead serious look before saying, “You owe me a date,” before stalking off back into the living room.

Fuck.

———

After locating the extra toothbrushes in Atsumu’s bathroom, you follow the smell of the food into his living room. You couldn’t really see it last night since it was so dark, but his house is nice. But that’s to be expected from someone who’s a pro-volleyball player.

“I just order pizza and wings, if that’s alright?”

You make a noise in confirmation before finding a seat next to him on the couch, you reach out to grab a slice of pizza.

“This is your idea of a date?” you ask, taking a bite of the pizza.

“Mm, well, yeah,” he finishes the bite in his mouth before continuing, “The other ones will be fancier and more planned out though, so don’t worry,”

“Other ones?” your eyebrow raises at his choice of words.

You can tell even Atsumu caught himself off guard, hesitating before attempting to correct himself, “I mean like, if we were to hangout again with the guys,”

Shaking your head, you let out a breathy laugh before continuing to finish the slice.

Atsumu grabs his remotes and throws on the latest Rom-Com that had come out. 

“Ew, you’re a sap,”

“I have feelings, too, you know?”

Yep.

“So, do you plan on renewing your contract with Jackals after this season?” you attempt to start another conversation.

“Work talk? Really? While you’re with me?”

“Yes, because there’s nothing else to talk about,”

“Let’s just watch the movie,” he turns his attention back to the TV, “but yes, I am,”

You nod your head at that before also turning your head to the TV. 

You never considered yourself much of a romantic, which makes a lot of sense since you couldn’t help but fall asleep through the movie. You felt a little bad though, especially when Atsumu shook you awake every now and then to see if you were paying attention. 

It was surprisingly not too bad to be around him. Especially when he wasn’t throwing insults or profanity at you. This was a side to Atsumu Miya you never expected to see. 

“You’re not, like, plotting against me, right?” you say through sleepy eyes.

“What, no? What do you even mean?” his eyes tear off the TV for a brief second.

“Like, you’re not treating me all good, claiming you like me, as some sick joke?”

You see his ears turn red, he probably forgot that he confessed while drunk.

“No,” he hesitated before keeping a straight face, “I like you, for real,”

“And I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I’ll always be sorry to you for what I put you through,”

His words reach the younger you that’s deep inside of you. The words that she never heard finally being spoken, and it’s somewhat healing.

“You never deserved that,” he looks forlorn as he stares at you, “And if I could take it all back, I would,”

“I-” you’re at a loss of words. 

Maybe it was time to forgive him. If what he was saying was true and genuine, then he really meant every word that came out of his mouth.

“It’s fine, Atsumu. We can just put it behind us. I appreciate your words,” 

It was a burden to carry this baggage all throughout your life. It finally felt like it was right to let it all go now. 

“Thank you,” you smiled up at him. 

Forgive but never forget.

———

During the next month leading up to Championships, Atsumu took every chance he would get to sweep you off your feet. 

It might’ve been working. 

He’d come over after practices (even uninvited) to help you organize and take your notes, or sometimes you’d go to his (against your will) to watch movies or play card games. Good morning and good night texts being sent daily. 

It’d never escalate. Never. If something was going to happen, it was going to take time and more inner healing. 

You hate to admit it, but there was a chance you were falling for Atsumu. You hated it so badly. You know you in the past would murder present you for even considering him. But you now feels like it’s not so bad being in his presence.

It’s sad though. Ever since you began talking to Atsumu, it felt like the distance between you and Kiyoomi increased. You still try to text him as much as you possibly can, but it’d take days before he would get back to you.

You suppose it happens.

Atsumu is relentless with his advances, though. Sometimes annoyingly so. Every time he shows up at your door with flowers, popping the question will you be my girlfriend? You’re quick to shut him down with a hard no.

If Atsumu Miya wants you he’s going to have to be patient. It’s the least he could do.

“I don’t know why you say no, we’ve known each other for so long, since high school,” he pouts, looking up at you as he relaxes his head in your lap.

“Did you forget you bullied me for half of that time?” you smile down at him.

His silence is a response in itself. “Thought so,”

———

“Alright guys,” Coach Foster starts, “tomorrow is the big day,”

“I just want to say you guys have been working hard all season, and I’m so proud to have seen all of you grow,”

Some of the guys fake aw at the coach’s words.

“We’ll leave at 6AM tomorrow for the big stage, be there or fend for yourselves,” with a clap of his hands, “Practice dismissed,”

Atsumu is quick to run over to you, using a strong arm to wrap around you and pull you close.

“You ready for tomorrow?”

“Agh, let me go Atsumu!”

He laughs before letting you go, watching as you pat yourself down.

You blow your hair out of your face before finally responding, “I think the real question is are you ready?” you smirk.

“Duh, when am I not?”

“Hah,” you pull your bag onto your shoulder, “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow,”

“Let me walk you out,” he runs to grab his stuff before catching back up to you. 

“So what do you say we hangout tonight?”

“I say no,” you grin, “I have to wake up early tomorrow and so do you,”

“No fun, Y/N,” he whines. 

“Whatever you can miss the bus on your own,” you say as you unlock your car.

He scoots you over to open your car door for you.  

“You’re disgusting,” you laugh, “thanks, though,”

“Of course, get home safely,”

“Mhm, goodnight, Atsumu,” 

He watches as you buckle your seatbelt, giving him a small wave before you switch the gear and pull away.

Atsumu was in deep.

© all writings belongs to suhkusa 2024. do not repost or change.

[starsandgutters]

30!

Hello! Apologies for the delay, I have been unexpectedly busy this week.

30. - Only One Bed

“If this is supposed to be my trip, how come I don’t get my pick of the rooms?”

“We gave you the nicest room, Kevin. Stop being a bitch,” Allison says.

“I’ll take one of the other rooms then. Why wouldn’t one of the couples take this room?”

“We already have our rooms,” Dan says, leaning against Matt’s side. “And since we didn’t know Erik was coming when we booked it, Aaron’s the spare.”

“Can we stop arguing and go to said rooms? I’d love to set all these bags down,” Matt says.

“I can carry my own.”

“Oh no, baby. I got it. I’d just also like to set ‘em down.”

“Shall we at least go look at the room?” Aaron’s gone flush from having so much attention on him. “Maybe there’s a couch or something I can sleep on.”

Kevin turns his frown on Aaron. He doesn’t really want to shun Aaron away to sleep on the couch. That’s the problem, after all. It’s not that he doesn’t want to share a bed with Aaron Minyard; it’s that he’s actually rather partial to the idea. Which means this can only end disastrously, because Aaron definitely does not want to share a bed with him. 

“Sure.” Kevin sighs. His tantrum hasn’t been getting him anywhere anyway, he might as well. Andrew has fixed him with a look of murderous rage, but honestly, Andrew looks like that a fair deal of the time so Kevin really pays him little mind.

“Alright Foxes.” Dan claps her hands. “Shall we say half an hour to check the rooms and get settled, and then we regroup back here for a quick lunch before hitting the slopes?”

“Is it wise to eat before that kind of exertion?” Kevin asks. 

“Need energy for exercise,” Neil says.

“And besides, you won’t be exerting yourself that much on the baby slopes,” Allison says with a laugh. “You’ll be taking it easy until you graduate from pizza and fries.”

“What does that mean?” Kevin gets no answer as the Foxes break off, all talking excitedly about skiing. He looks at Aaron, who is lingering like a silent storm cloud at his side. “Do you know what that means?”

“It’s the shape of the skis.” Aaron holds his two pointer fingers up. “Fries is when they’re parallel. Pizza is a triangle.” 

He tilts his fingers in so the tips touch together, forming a triangle. It makes sense now that someone has taken the time to explain. Kevin supposes it’s probably obvious, but he hadn’t considered the shape of a pizza slice. He tends to think circle when it comes to pizza. Aaron doesn’t look irritated by his ignorance. Well, no more than the base level of annoyed Aaron always looks. Kevin appreciates this. Appreciates that he is patient enough to explain when Kevin doesn’t get things, even if they feel like they should be obvious.

“Have you been skiing before?”

“Oh yeah, my mom used to take me all the time.”

“Really?” Kevin’s brow furrows. That doesn’t sound like the idea of the twins’ mother that he has.

“Yeah. Every summer, when we holidayed at our villa in the alps.”

“Oh.” Kevin realises Aaron is being sarcastic. “Ha ha.”

Aaron heaves a sigh and hoists his bag up, trailing towards the elevators. The rest of the Foxes have already piled on, but Matt holds the door for them. They stop at a few different floors, filtering off to their rooms, until it is just Aaron and Kevin left. Once they get off on their floor, they have to follow the corridor right down to the end. Aaron slides his keycard through the door and shoulders it open, pausing in the doorway.

“Holy shit.” He drops his bag by the door and jogs across the room. Kevin steps in after him, to find Aaron looking out the massive window dominating one wall, overlooking a view of the slopes. It’s a stunning view, a door in the centre of it opening onto a balcony. Kevin leaves his own bag and crosses the room. He stands beside Aaron. The sunlight reflecting off the snow makes everything brilliantly bright. Kevin has seen a lot of outdoor spaces by now, but this, this is so starkly different from the Nest. There’s a sense of irony in them using a place like this as the excuse for his hand.

Aaron tires of the view first, turning away from the window. He pads across the room and then Kevin hears the noise of his body thumping down on the bed.

“I think we’re safe,” Aaron says. “You could fit us in this three times over.”

It says a lot for how taken they were with the view that they missed the bed at first glance, because it really is quite sizable. 

“Do you have a side preference?” Aaron sits up, moving to the edge of the bed. Kevin shakes his head. Aaron indicates the right side, the side furthest from the window. “Can I have this one?”

“Sure.”

“Or I could probably sleep over there.” There’s not a couch in the room, but there’s a sunken seating area around a faux fireplace heater that is layered with cushions. “We could just ask for another blanket.”

“It’s fine. Like you said, the bed is massive. No big deal, right?”

“Sure.” 

If Kevin’s entirely honest, he’s actually glad things have worked out the way that they have. He did a fair display of bitching for show, but he didn’t love the idea of being alone in a room by himself. He probably would have spent very little time in the room; going to bother Andrew or Neil, or Aaron and Nicky if Andrew and Neil were busy. Which would have been a waste when Allison has clearly splashed out to get him such a nice room. He should probably get her something in return. Neither of them are very good at expressing care with words, but they both know money talks.

Aaron has collected his bag from by the door and is unpacking it. He hangs some of his clothes up, folds others in the drawer. Kevin doesn’t really think about unpacking on vacation. It’s like travelling for away games. It’s just easier to live out of his suitcase. Though he’s not usually in hotels for as long as they’re going to be here. A whole week.

“Do you wanna hang your stuff up too? There’s plenty of hangers left.”

“Sure,” Kevin says with a sigh. “Might as well.”

*

Kevin’s surprisingly achy when he gets back from their first ski lesson. He knows he’s more than fairly fit, but he’s spent the day using his muscles in a way he’s not used to. On top of that, despite the sun blazing down on them, it’s still cold. His hand is aching a bit from it, but not enough to impact its use. Meanwhile Aaron seems chilled to the bone. They all wore ugly puffy snowsuits, but Aaron layered clothes beneath his, wore a beanie under his hood. When they stopped in the lounge for hot chocolates afterwards, Aaron sat so close to the big fireplace Kevin was concerned his snowsuit might catch fire. He clutched his mug to his chest, leaning his face over the steam, trembling. 

Even now, he’s still shaking every so often. Kevin lets him have first shower. Aaron spends a long time in the bathroom, and when he comes out he’s flushed red. Kevin finds the room full of steam from the sheer heat Aaron must have been showering at. When he finishes his own shower, Aaron is wearing a sweater over his pyjamas and sitting close to the faux fireplace. Kevin doesn’t understand. To him the heat in the room feels comfortable. He pulls on a pair of shorts and a shirt more from consideration than any real need for them. 

It’s not long before they start to crash out from their long day. They spend the better part of an hour doing their own things: Aaron playing his games sitting as close to the fireplace as he can, Kevin reading a book in bed until his eyes get bleary. When he switches off his lamp, Aaron also moves to get into bed, removing his sweater. The bed is so big that though Kevin feels the vibration of the blanket moving on Aaron’s side, the lift of it doesn’t even disturb his side. Aaron slips in and curls into a ball. He tugs his side of the blanket right up to his chin, tucking it in around his face. After a moment, Kevin hears the swishing noise of his feet moving beneath the blanket, rubbing against each other. He closes his eyes, tiredness weighing down on him. He’s close to the precipice when he feels Aaron shiver, a slight tremble running through the mattress from the movement.

“How are you cold?” Kevin mumbles. He’s got the blanket at his waist, the heat of the room enough for him.

“I just am.”

“It’s basically stuffy in here.”

“We’re not all human furnaces.”

“Mmph.” Kevin rolls over to face Aaron. He can’t see him in the dark, but he knows the vague space he takes up. “Come here.”

“What?”

“Isn’t body heat like the quickest way to warm up?”

“Fuck off. I’m not going to cuddle with you. I’m fine.”

“Whatever.” Kevin tucks one of his arms under his pillow, burrowing his face into it. The pillows are fat, plush, incredibly soft. The bed is perhaps the most comfortable one he’s ever laid in. He closes his eyes. He has almost fallen asleep again when he swears he can hear Aaron’s teeth chatter this time. “Aaron.”

“What?” Aaron’s voice is sharp, vicious. Defensive. 

“Just fucking come here if you’re cold. We don’t even have to touch, but surely being closer will let the heat build up faster.”

“I said I’m fine.”

“Well I can’t sleep with all the shivering.”

“Bullshit. You could sleep through a volcanic eruption.”

Kevin thinks that is probably hyperbole, but he has been known to sleep through quite a lot. If he fell asleep, he probably would sleep through all of Aaron’s shivering and teeth chattering, but it’s hard to fully relax when he can tell Aaron is so cold beside him. 

“A volcanic eruption would be less annoying.”

He feels the blanket shift and hears the sound of movement beneath it. Aaron huffs. 

“Did you just try to kick me but your little legs can’t make it across the bed?”

“Fuck you.”

Kevin laughs. Aaron gets out of the bed, throwing the blanket back dramatically. Kevin hears his footsteps move through the room, the soft curse as he stubs his toe on something. 

“What are you doing?”

“Going to sleep in the stupid cushion pit thing so you can’t blame me for keeping you awake.”

“You’ll be more cold. You don’t even have a blanket. Come back.” Kevin waits. Aaron doesn’t answer him. “Aaron, get back in the bed.”

He hears a soft huff from across the room. Kevin takes a long inhale, raising his eyes to the ceiling. Aaron is so fucking stubborn. Kevin wonders what would get him to come to bed. He considers just going to sleep and letting him sulk in the cold, but apparently skiing has unveiled a sympathetic conscience in him. Or maybe that’s reserved solely for Aaron. 

“Do you want me to go ask at the desk if they have a hot water bottle or something?”

“No.”

“It’s a fancy hotel. They might have electric blankets.”

“No. We don’t need to make a fuss.”

“Then stop making a fuss and come back to bed.”

There’s a drawn out sigh across the room, then the slow patter of feet back towards the bed. Aaron’s pretence of stoicism shatters when he dives for the bed, burrowing under the blankets again. Kevin lies back down, shifting further across the bed.

“Stay on your own side,” Aaron says sternly. Kevin exhales loudly, but obediently flops back to his side. He gives up. Let Aaron freeze for all he cares, Kevin is too tired to keep arguing in circles with him. He looks off towards the wall of windows. The curtains are drawn, but there’s a dark blue glow from around them. Kevin’s heavy eyes close on him. He intends to reopen them, but they simply refuse to cooperate.

*

Kevin is not usually the first to wake in the morning. Even when he’s supposed to be up, it often takes him a long time to drag himself from sleep. He thinks it’s the stifling heat that has him groggily tripping into consciousness this morning. His body is sticky with sweat, his shirt clinging to his back. Helplessly, Kevin kicks the blanket down from the left side of his body. There’s a warm presence on his right side, and when he forces his sticky eyes open, he realises it’s Aaron. He’s shifted closer during the night. He is still curled into himself, his forehead near Kevin’s bicep, but he’s sleeping a lot more peacefully than last night. No shivering in sight. In fact, there’s a pleasant looking flush across his cheeks. 

Kevin turns his head. He watches Aaron with sleepy contentment for a few moments. It is strange to see him so relaxed; all the harsh lines of his expression softened out in sleep. His lips are just barely parted, his eyelashes fluttering every so often. He makes a soft sound in his sleep and shifts further forward, his forehead actually pressing to Kevin’s skin. Kevin feels his heart stutter over a beat. Aaron makes another soft sound and Kevin quickly closes his eyes, pretends to be asleep before he is caught staring. 

He doesn’t know if Aaron does wake up, because he very quickly actually does fall asleep again, and next time he stirs, Aaron is already up and dressed for the day.

*

Kevin is starting to think skiing is perhaps not for him. There’s just. So much to consider. In ways he does not usually have to consider moving his body. He is determined to at least be passable at it though, and so he stubbornly sticks at it, even if he has yet to qualify from the bunny slopes. Irritatingly Neil seems to be taking to it with a natural grace Kevin does not possess. Aaron is much more fearless in his efforts, but he’s started to express an interest in snowboarding instead, chatting at length with the instructor.

“Well, I don’t usually mix snowboarding with the ski lessons, but if you wanna hang around for a bit afterwards, I’ll give you a go on my board.”

“Yeah?” Aaron grins. Kevin imagines a very small and purposefully targeted avalanche taking out their ski instructor. This thought brings him some joy and comfort until he ends up having a fall. Neil laughs as he whizzes past. Aaron stops to help haul Kevin up out of the snow.  “Okay?”

“Sure. It’s just snow.”

Aaron gives Kevin a flat look in response to his tone. His face is incredibly pink. Nose and cheeks raw. He looks cherubic. Kevin wants to push him over into the snow. 

“Whatever.” Aaron pushes off and skids down the slope after Neil. Kevin glances back at the ski instructor, sending him a glare for good measure, before he follows the others. Andrew is watching from the lounge window. Neil managed to talk him into trying the slopes yesterday, but he enjoys the cold even less than Aaron. Instead he’s drinking his weight in hot chocolate. Kevin would complain about it if he thought it would do any good, but he knows Andrew simply won’t listen to him.

*

They have dinner together. Aaron asks the server if they can have a table near a fire or a radiator, and then presses his chair right up against said radiator when they do sit. He rubs his hands together beneath the table. Kevin has a wild impulse to reach over and take them in his. He keeps his hands to himself.

“How did your snowboarding go?” Kevin tries to keep his voice even, not looking at Aaron.

“It was great. Cam’s lending me a board to try on the slopes tomorrow. I think it’s easier, not having to focus on two skis and poles.”

“That’s nice of him,” Kevin says, in a tone that suggests Cam has committed war crimes. 

“I mean, I guess he just has access to the lodge equipment. I don’t think it’s his board or anything.”

“Hm.” Kevin pops the menu up in front of his face so Aaron can’t see his unimpressed scowl.

*

They gather in the hot tub that night for drinks. Kevin’s not drinking, but he tags along since he doesn’t want to be in the room by himself, and the hot water is pleasant on his aching muscles. Andrew and Neil set up camp on a couch nearby, under a shared blanket. Andrew is still drinking hot chocolate, though it could be spiked, but since neither Neil or Renee are drinking, Kevin feels less left out. Renee has even ordered them matching mocktails. Kevin had some concerns about the sugar levels in the drink, but since she took the effort to consider him, he keeps his mouth shut for once.

Aaron submerges right down in the water, just leaving his nose up to breathe. He glares at Allison when she makes a joke about his height, but doesn’t argue. Kevin knows it’s probably more to do with the cold that he hasn’t seemed to be able to shake from his bones since they got here. He sits beside Aaron as everyone else is coupled up, tries to ignore the way their arms and thighs are brushing together as Aaron’s endeavour to not touch Matt sitting on his other side drives him into Kevin’s space. Kevin tries not to think about the fact Aaron doesn’t seem to mind touching him. He steals carefully timed glances at the freckles on Aaron’s strong shoulders, doesn’t let himself look for more than a handful of seconds. 

Aaron’s actually one of the first to retreat, once Andrew and Neil wander off together. Kevin can see him building himself up for the transition from warm water to frigid night air. He swings out of the hot tub and immediately wraps himself in a big towel. There’s some protest from Nicky about Aaron being a spoilsport, but Kevin is glad that he can also use that as an excuse to go back to their room. Aaron has another hot blast in the shower before getting dressed for bed. He keeps a hoodie on over his pyjamas and climbs right into bed, cycling his legs beneath the duvet as Kevin goes to the bathroom to carry out his own bedtime routine. 

“Insisting on staying all the way over there again?”

“Yes,” Aaron says, and clicks off the light. Kevin huffs in irritation, turning on his lamp so he can read a chapter before bed. 

Aaron is asleep by the time he sets his book down, curled tight into a ball, the odd shiver still running through him. Kevin puts his hand to his back, featherlight, barely touching him for fear of waking him. He feels the next tremor to course through Aaron’s body. Kevin sighs and moves closer. He pulls the duvet up, tucking it in tight around Aaron, then lies with his back facing him, only a couple of inches between them, in the hopes it will help build some heat up.

*

Kevin may not be a pro skier anytime soon, but he thinks he’s finally getting the hang of staying upright. He’s even been set loose from the bunny slopes. He and Aaron ride the ski elevator up to one of the bigger slopes. Kevin looks to the sky because looking at the distance between his feet and the ground is making him anxious. Aaron is constant movement, looking over the side, around them, leaning forward to look down between their legs. Kevin curls his hands into fists around his poles to resist the urge to grip Aaron’s ski suit in case he falls.

“We have to be ready to go once we get up here,” Aaron says. 

“I know.”

“Go, Kevin.”

“I am,” Kevin snaps, while he is actually definitely not doing that.

“Go.”

“Give me a second.”

“No time. Let’s go.” Aaron pushes him off as Kevin’s air catches in his lungs. He stumbles, but Aaron steadies him as he plops down beside him, wobbling on the snowboard Cam lent him. 

“I was getting there!”

“You can’t hesitate like that,” Aaron says, and starts to slide away from Kevin. He reaches up to fix his ski goggles over his eyes, flips Kevin off, and then starts to speed down the slope. Kevin is much slower, but he follows. 

*

After dinner that night, they gather for drinks again. This time just in the lodge bar, seated close to the fire. There’s too many of them for the size of the couches. Aaron ends up crammed between Kevin and the arm of the couch. At first any contact seems to be solely due to the lack of space, but after Aaron has a few drinks, Kevin feels like he’s leaning into him more. He wonders if he’s just projecting his thoughts onto the situation as he nurses one drink. 

Despite the handful of drinks Aaron has, and the multiple rounds of shots he partakes in with Nicky and Matt, he’s steady on his feet as they make their way back to the room. Though it does take him two attempts to get the keycard to open the door. Kevin had hoped at least the alcohol might warm him, but tonight the shivering is worse than ever once they’re settled in bed. Rather than the occasional burst of it, it's constant, accompanied by Aaron’s shaky breathing. He’s fully burrowed under the blanket tonight too, only a tuft of blonde hair visible before Kevin hits off the lamp.

“Aaron,” he says, after listening to this for what feels like a small eternity.

“What?”

“Your stubbornness is getting ridiculous. Come here.”

“Fine.”

Kevin expects Aaron to simply shuffle across to the centre of the bed, so they can share the same cavern beneath the blanket, rather than being in their own separate caves. He’s therefore surprised when Aaron slides across and collides with his chest. Rather than back up, Aaron burrows closer. He tucks his hands to his chest between them instead of draping them around Kevin, but they’re still definitely verging on an embrace. Kevin is still for a moment, scarcely daring to breathe. Aaron shivers. Kevin automatically wraps his arms around him. He hugs Aaron to his chest, rubbing a hand up and down his back. Aaron is tense in his hold for several long seconds before he relaxes with a sigh. He tucks his socked feet between Kevin’s calves, and slowly the trembling of his body subsides. 

Kevin waits until Aaron is breathing softly. He noses at the front of his hair, pushing it back until he can rest his lips against Aaron’s forehead. It’s not a kiss. He does not purse his lips. His mouth just lingers against Aaron’s forehead. Kevin breathes in the scent of his hair. It’s the musky scent of the lodge’s shampoo, not the sharp smell of mint and tea tree oil Aaron's usual shampoo smells like. Part of Kevin is disappointed. That when he has this chance he’s not getting to breathe the authentic Aaron Minyard smell. Mostly he’s just enjoying the weight of Aaron in his arms before he falls asleep. 

*

“Get off me. Kevin!” 

Kevin wakes to Aaron shoving at his shoulder. They’ve shifted during the night. Aaron has ended up on his back, with Kevin splayed across his chest, face burrowed into the side of Aaron’s neck. He grumbles, scarcely awake. Aaron is warm, and Kevin likes Aaron. He does not like being awake right now. He does not want to be awake. He wants to be sleeping on his Aaron pillow. He tries to nuzzle closer to him.

“Kevin. I told you I wasn’t going to fuckin’ cuddle you.”

“You’re the one that started it,” Kevin mumbles, words slurring into a yawn. Aaron goes very still, probably pouring back over the memory of last night. Good. He remembers then. He can stop blaming Kevin. “Didn’t you sleep better?”

“That’s not the point.”

“How is it not?”

“This is weird. We don’t do this.”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“It is! It’s… we don’t do this.”

“How’s it weird?”

“It’s weird because we do not do this, Kevin. Get off me.” Aaron pushes at him until Kevin does shift off him with a grumble. Aaron immediately pushes himself to the far side of the bed. Kevin thinks he’s being needlessly dramatic, but it’s also too early for Kevin to be having many thoughts on anything, so he only rolls over and settles down to go back to sleep.

*

Aaron is already at breakfast when Kevin gets down. He’s sitting at a table with Cam, talking animatedly about something, smiling and laughing. Kevin very much does not like that. It is so rare for Aaron to openly express his emotions like that. Kevin sees it, every so often, but it took a long time before Aaron let his guards down around him like that, and it’s not always a common occurrence. Kevin hates that this random ski instructor gets to see this side of Aaron within only a few days. He hasn’t put in the hours!

Kevin could sit with Andrew and Neil. He sees them come through the door as he’s carrying his plate down. Neil talking away to a sleep ruffled Andrew who looks barely more awake than Kevin feels. Kevin does not sit with them. He pretends not to see them, walking down to Aaron’s table and setting his plate down firm enough that it bangs against the table. Aaron starts, even though he saw Kevin walking over. Right. He doesn’t react well to sudden loud noises. Shit. Kevin forgot about that in his irritation. Aaron glares at him. He was not glaring at Cam. Kevin suddenly feels a lot less apologetic about the plate slam.

“Heya Kevin, how are the bigger slopes treatin’ ya?” Cam looks at Kevin with a toothy grin. Kevin looks back at him with hollow eyes and hopes he chokes on the bacon that is definitely not an ideal breakfast for someone working an active job.

“Fine.”

“When he can get off the ski lift,” Aaron says, huffing in amusement. Kevin sends him a dark side glance. 

“Ah yeah, it can be intimidating getting off the lifts at the start.”

“I’m not intimidated,” Kevin grits out. Cam gives him a consoling smile as he stands, lifting his plate.

“I’ll leave the board out for you again Aaron.”

“Great, thanks.” Aaron grins up at Cam. Big enough to show off his dimple.

Kevin stabs his eggs with more force than necessary.

*

That night Aaron sleeps curled stubbornly on his side of the bed.

“Bet you’d cuddle with Cam,” Kevin mutters bitterly.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

*

Aaron is by the faux fireplace in the morning. He’s wearing a hoodie over his sweater, and is so close to the heater he’s almost touching it. Kevin groggily makes his way over, collapsing into the pile of cushions. His muscles are loud about their discomfort today and there is a twinge of pain in his left hand. He thinks he might skip the slopes.

“How are you so cold all the time?”

“Bad circulation.” Aaron shrugs. “It’s like once the cold gets into me it’s hard to get it out again. It’s okay when I’m moving around, generating heat, but once I stop I feel it.”

“It’s not usually this bad.”

“I’m not usually spending all day out in the snow.”

“Fair.” Kevin catches his left hand in his right, rubbing his thumb over it.

“Does your hand hurt?”

“It’s fine.”

“Is it really fine or is it Neil Josten fine?”

“I’ll manage.”

“Josten fine then. Did you bring your brace?”

“No.”

“Right. Why would you bring your brace?”

“I didn’t know I would need it.”

“Because it’s not like your hand hurts every year when the temperature drops” 

“I’ll survive, but I think I’ll skip the slopes today.”

“There’s a town not far from here. We could go check it out.”

Kevin blinks, surprised. He hadn’t expected Aaron to stick with him if he passed up on skiing. Aaron seems to be enjoying being out in the snow far more than him. 

“Uh. Sure,” Kevin says, and Aaron may be struggling to build heat, but Kevin’s face feels plenty warm.

*

Everyone decides they’ll go into town today when Kevin mentions their plans. He’s a touch annoyed. He kind of wanted it to be just him and Aaron, but they scatter into different groups once they get into the town anyway, breaking off to explore the shops. Kevin spends the morning wandering around the tourist shops full of homemade trinkets or mass produced fridge magnets with Aaron, but he loses track of him after lunch.

“Here,” Aaron says when he reappears, handing Kevin a support bandage. “Put that on.”

“Where did you get this?” 

“I had to look for the local pharmacy. It’s way on the other side of town. I fucking hiked to get you that, so you had better wear it.”

Kevin hates wearing a support. Hates admitting he needs it. Hates the reminder of his injury.

He puts it on with no fuss.

*

As the sun sinks towards the horizon and they get ready to head back to the lodge, Kevin shrugs off his coat and puts it over Aaron.

“You’ll get cold.”

“I’m fine. I’m actually sweating, but you’re shivering already.”

Aaron glances warily at the others, but the allure of Kevin’s lingering body heat in the coat must be too much to resist. He pulls it on over his own coat and zips it right up to his chin. Andrew is staring at them. Kevin pretends not to see.

*

Aaron is sitting in the cushion pit. A lot of the others have gone to the hot tub again, but Aaron passed up, so Kevin did too.

“It’s nice until you have to get out of it,” Aaron had said. Kevin doesn’t really care about that, but he was tired and had already spent all day with the group. He wanted the quiet peace of their room.

He drags the duvet off the bed and brings it over to the cushion pit, spreading it over them. Aaron glances up from playing his Switch. Kevin settles down beside him with his book. Aaron readjusts the blanket, a small smile on his face. Kevin lifts his book higher to hide his own smile.

*

When Kevin wakes up it takes him a moment to realise where he is. He and Aaron must have fallen asleep by the faux fireplace. Aaron is curled against his side. Kevin stretches out his back with a whine. He wants to just wrap himself around Aaron and go back to sleep, but now that he’s woken up, the lamp being on is annoying him, and he’s aware of how stiff his back feels. Forcing himself up, Kevin moves his book and Aaron’s Switch aside. He turns off the faux fireplace. He moves the duvet back to the bed.

Aaron’s brow is furrowed when Kevin comes back to him. Kevin wonders if he’s missing his sources of heat. He crouches down and carefully slides his arms under Aaron’s neck and legs, then hoists him up. He pauses once he’s got Aaron in his arms, scarcely daring to breathe. Aaron sleeps a lot lighter than him. Kevin’s not sure how he’ll respond if he wakes up to this. Thankfully, Aaron just turns his face to Kevin’s shoulder with a soft sound. 

Kevin carries him carefully across to bed and lays him down on his side. He pulls the blanket up over Aaron, goes to brush his teeth, then crawls into the other side of the bed. Aaron makes a whiny sound of protest in his sleep as the bed shifts. He rolls towards Kevin, hand reaching across the distance between them. When it catches the material of Kevin’s shirt, Aaron tugs weakly. Kevin is weaker than Aaron’s sleepy grip, immediately moving across towards him. 

“Mm.” Aaron nuzzles his face against Kevin’s shoulder. Kevin once again holds his breath until he’s sure Aaron is asleep.

*

He wakes in the morning to Aaron rubbing his thumbs over Kevin’s hand. Kevin’s left arm is draped over Aaron’s waist, and Aaron has his hand between his, massaging around the scar. Kevin goes still for a moment as he processes what’s happening, then melts against Aaron’s back, pretending to be asleep. Aaron felt the tension in him though. He goes still in response, dropping Kevin’s hand. Kevin whines, tightening his arm around Aaron’s chest.

“Kevin?” Aaron whispers. He sounds mortified. 

“Mm?” Kevin noses at the back of Aaron’s head, his hair tickling his face. When Aaron tries to wriggle away, Kevin holds him in place.

“Stop.”

“Why?”

“It’s weird.”

“Why?”

“We don’t-”

“What if we did?”

“What?” Aaron stops squirming, going completely still again.

“What if we did? Feels nice. You sleep better when you’re warm. No one can see us.”

“So what, I’m your dirty little secret?”

“What? No. You’re the one being weird about it.”

“Because it is weird.”

“Mmm not.” Kevin presses his face against Aaron’s hair. He didn’t wash it last night. It's sweaty from being under his beanie yesterday, a human scent that Kevin enjoys. His hand rests on Aaron’s stomach, feeling it shift with each of his breaths. 

“I don’t cuddle with people I’m not-” Aaron tries to roll towards Kevin, but they both freeze when his hip brushes against Kevin’s half hard morning wood. This time it is Kevin who recoils across the bed.

“Sorry. It’s not- That’s not-” Embarrassment makes him angry and defensive. “I can’t help it!”

“I know,” Aaron says, his expression warring between amused and appalled. 

“You know?”

“Yeah, obviously I know.”

“Oh.” Kevin swallows hard. “Is that why it’s weird?”

“What?”

“The… this. The bed. The cuddling. It’s weird because I like you?”

“You what?” Aaron sits up abruptly, the duvet falling around his waist.

“You just said you knew!”

“I know you can’t control your morning erection! It’s a testosterone surge. I didn’t mean- You don’t like me.”

“Yeah, I do.”

“You can’t.”

“Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do!”

“Why? Why would you-? Why?”

“Because!”

“Wow. Clarifying. Thank you so much, Kevin Day.”

“I wasn’t going to tell you. You tricked me.”

“How did I trick you?”

“You said you knew.”

“How would I know that?”

“I don’t know! You know things. You just do. You’re smart and observant like that. You knew where the pharmacy was.”

“I used Google!”

“Ugh. Whatever. Pretend this conversation never happened.” This time it is Kevin who pulls the duvet over his head. Maybe he can suffocate himself with it. After a pause that seems to last five years, the blanket moves. Kevin expects Aaron to get out of bed, but instead he joins him under the blanket, their breath shared in the space between them.

“What if I don’t want to?”

“What?”

“Pretend this conversation never happened.”

“What?”

Aaron huffs. He reaches out and touches Kevin’s cheek. He looks at him in a way Kevin can just tell means this okay? Kevin does his best to return a look that says yeah yep cool awesome not really sure what’s happening but keep touching my face. Aaron must interpret some positive reinforcement from that expression, because he leans in across the space and kisses Kevin firmly on the mouth. Aaron draws back slowly, but Kevin is already addicted. He surges after him, pushes Aaron onto his back, uses his body as an additional layer of heat as he leans over Aaron and determines to find out what his tongue piercing feels like against Kevin’s tongue.

*

“That’s Ursa Major,” Aaron says, pointing up. They’re on the love seat on the balcony. It’s the first time they’ve actually come out to it. Aaron is wearing Kevin’s hoodie over his own. He’s sitting sideways on the seat, legs over Kevin’s thighs. Kevin has wrapped the blanket around them as they look up at the stars together, breath fogging on the air.

“Isn’t that the Big Dipper?”

“The Big Dipper is part of Ursa Major. It’s the back of the torso, and that long bit is the tail. Though it’s longer than bears’ tails generally are.” 

“Oh wait, I know the myth about that. In Greek mythology it is the constellation of Callisto. She had a shit time.”

“Most women in mythology do.”

“She was a devoted follower of Artemis. One of the myths says Zeus disguised himself as Artemis to seduce her.”

“Swell guy, Zeus.”

“She became pregnant. Lost her place in Artemis’ hunters. As with all of Zeus’ affairs, Hera was furious. Turned Callisto into a bear. When her son Arcas grew up, he almost killed her while out hunting. To save her, Zeus threw her into the sky by her tail. That’s why it's stretched out.”

“Obviously,” Aaron says. After a moment, he adds:  “One of Jupiter’s moons is called Callisto.”

“Jupiter was the Roman name for Zeus.”

“It all comes full circle.”

“What are the others called?”

“Jupiter has 95 moons.”

“Yes. That sounds like Zeus.” Kevin smiles when Aaron huffs at his joke.

“There’s four main ones. The other three are Io, Europa, and Ganymede.”

“All named for his lovers.”

“It’s cool how much impact mythology still has on our world.”

“It is cool!” Kevin sits up so excitedly he almost knocks Aaron off his lap. He grabs him in time, and Aaron in turn grabs the blanket when Kevin’s movement almost flings it off them. “On the way we understand the world, on the structures of storytelling we employ, even in the language we still use today! Like, so much of our etymology is inspired by the Hellenes-”

Aaron gently shifts Kevin’s gesticulating arms enough that he can rest his head against his shoulder. He doesn’t interrupt him, just nestles himself closer, making encouraging humming sounds as Kevin continues to ramble about different words that can be traced back to Greek myths. It is only when Aaron starts to shiver against him that Kevin stops. He bundles Aaron up in the blanket and carries him inside, spilling him out on their bed, where they’ve spent the last couple of nights of their vacation tangled up in each other. Kevin’s going to miss it after tonight, but one benefit of the dorm beds is that they are so small Aaron will have no choice but to cuddle up with Kevin when they share one.

[angelxd-3303]

Listen. If you're procrastinating on some adulting you need to do, hear me out:

Play the FNAF movie opening theme on loop.

Idk what it is about that song, but I put that sucker on and boom! Resume written. Phone plan switched to a new card. Holy pizza slices. I even remembered dates better.

Just try it, trust me. Science has proven that certain songs or even just frequencies can affect us psychologically, they can make us fall asleep, wake up, or boost productivity. It's why many of us stand around scrolling through our playlists before finding the perfect song to clean or cook to.

We also tend to associate certain songs or sounds to actions we take while listening to them. For example, the tune I use for my alarm makes me jump when I hear it, because I'm used to getting up immediately after hearing it. The music they play for cake decorating videos puts me to sleep almost immediately because I watch them to fall asleep.

And apparently the Fnaf movie theme makes me want to be productive...

[anavatazes]

Learn to be a Texas Southern, From Austin.

Ok. First of all, I love you all. I truly do. I adore my fan fic writers, especially if you write my Joel crack... um, stories. *cough* The man keeps me in a bear hug and refuses to let go. Not that I am complaining ;).

BUT, for the LOVE of all that is holy and good and Joel, STOP using any American TV show or movie for reference to how things are in Texas as far as the food, the way they talk, the way the weather is, how and what a BBQ is, and I swear if I see another one with snow...

Like I said, I love you all. Yes, fan fiction is fantasy. You can write what you want. How you want. That's what is so great and wonderful about it. Get creative, get wild. Go crazy! But don't sit there and act like you do your research and are an accurate little miss that can do no wrong. Nuh-uh. I will find a slew of little old ladies that will Bless Your Hearts from here to Oblivion if you call Ribs with BBQ sauce proper BBQ in Texas. Believe you me. Every State in the Union has their own form of BBQ, and in the Southern States, it's a fucking religion akin to College Football and Jesus.

American TV and movies are pretty generic when it comes to the accuracy of our own culture and will take great liberties when trying to pass off one area for another. This includes accents, ways people speak, and how the areas they are in truly are. I touched on this briefly when I went over the whole Bless Your Heart phrase and how it does not mean what you think it means and it can get pretty offensive quick. American TV likes to go for the shock value, and the drama more than it likes to go for the accuracy and really doesn't care who it offends in the process. And older shows, like Dallas, Southerners don't talk like that anymore. Except maybe a few left in Kentucky... Maybe. Watch play-throughs of the games if you want a feel for how Joel speaks. Especially the first one. Stay away from the second one if you are trying to avoid season 2 spoilers for the show.

No Outbreak!/Pre-Outbreak!Joel will spend Saturday mornings with Sarah hiking. And there are next to no hills (unless man-made) in Austin. It's all flatland. No mountains. A few rivers, and Lake Travis isn't far away. A lot of trails all around Austin from 1999 to 2013, depending on when you wanted to have Outbreak Day if you wanted it at all. They'd probably go to one of a trillion restaurants in Austin for lunch, depending on their taste. It is canon that Joel can't cook. Tommy, Ellie, AND Sarah all bring it up in Pt. 1 and Pt. 2, if you know where to look. I would say one of their favorite places would be Home Slice for some great pizza. Or maybe even Torchies for a wide variety of tasty Tex-Mex food. Maybe even pick up some Brisket (Texas BBQ) to take home to get ready for an afternoon spent watching the University of Texas football game on the TV, if we're in August to January. Honestly, May through the beginning of October, they probably aren't doing too much hiking. The temperature of 100° plus (in Fahrenheit) is all the rage at this time. And you might have high humidity one day, with non-stop thunderstorms that might seem like a hurricane, and can spawn a tornado, but really isn't a hurricane. Then the next day, be the dryest heat that you've ever experienced in your life. Though, from what I've heard, the latter rarely happens now. More humid days are common now.

Texas BBQ.

If you are ever in the Southern United States, do yourself a favor, and just do not call anything related to the grill BBQ, ok. You will be better off and have a nicer visit, and life overall. If you like to live dangerously, go ahead and call the grill a BBQ. Call a cookout a BBQ. Go ahead. I'll wait. I'll have the tissues ready and waiting for the passive-aggressive politeness from the ladies and the open hostility from the not-so-gentlemen. You have a Cookout, or you Grill out. A BBQ is a way of life and means something different in each state (and will start a war in North Carolina because they are so special, they have two kinds of BBQ). Most everyone in (at least the South) can agree that BBQ food is some sort of slow cooked meat. In Texas, almost 99% of the population agrees it's Brisket, and the rest are wrong. (That's another Southern thing, they are right, and everyone else is just wrong. Drives me nuts when they use it in an argument). Now, they will have different ways of preparing it, and they will have fights over it (have witnessed several), but they all agree on Brisket.

Being close to the Mexican border and Texas' history as a part of Mexico once upon a time means that there is a heavy Mexican influence in Austin. As much as Texas likes to claim to be white bread, it really isn't. From the food to the people to the names of streets, cities, etc, there is a heavy Mexican influence. The idea that, somewhere, that Joel and Tommy have Latino blood is not far-fetched. Especially on the show. At the very least they would have a basic understanding of Spanish. That is being from Austin, regardless if they share any Mexican heritage or not.

Politeness and the True Southern Gentlemen.

I hate to break it to you, but there is no such thing as the great Southern Politeness and Hospitality. In fact, if a guy comes up to me and says he's a True Southern Gentleman, I'm running the other way. That "Gentleman" is 9/10 times a walking sexual assault case. This is not to say there are no nic+e and polite people in the South, but it is no different from any other place in the US. But, I will tell you, from the upper middle class on up, they can be some of the most passive-aggressive mother fuckers you will ever meet. From the Mid-Middle Class on down, the more hospitable they will be, and they fit the stereotype the upper class has somehow gotten. It's a mess.

Religion

Not everyone in the South is Christian, or devout, but will say a phrase that will make you think they are. I touched on this in my Bless Your Heart post. As God as my Witness, Good Lord Willin', Christ Almighty, and others are common phrases you will hear in the South. It DOES NOT mean the speaker is religious by any means. Trust me.

That's all I have for now. I could go on, as there is more. And please remember, fan fiction is fantasy, it's creative. Write what you want. This is just to help out those who are looking for more accuracy. And as it has been a while since Austin for me, and you are from Texas, and more specifically Austin, and you wish to add more info, and/or correct anything, feel free, please. There are a lot of differences among the Southern States, and it can be a pain to keep it all straight. So I have no problem in receiving help to keep in all in line :).

[duckapus]

A Slice of Orange Regret

Some of the crew is hanging out in the castle foyer as usual, when Meggy trudges in, a haunted look in her eyes and some sort of poster in her hands. Tari's the first to notice her.

"Hey, Meggy! Are you...okay?"

Meggy doesn't answer at first, which draws the attention of the rest of the room, "...I messed up. I messed up real bad."

"What do you mean?"

"You know how Mario's been trying to recreate that orange spaghetti Domain and I made?"

There's a scattering of gestures and noises of general acknowledgement, a few of them a bit annoyed. It had been a bit hard to miss, given how obsessed and desperate he'd been getting, and more than a few of them had gotten caught in the crossfire of his more chaotic attempts, especially recently. And with Mario being who he is, it isn't likely that he'll be stopping his crusade for the perfect spaghetti any time soon, no matter how much some may have wanted him to.

"Well, the other day I was grabbing lunch with Desti and we ended up talking about it, and-and I wasn't thinking about where we were or who would overhear even though I really should have, and now..." she trails off and stares down at the floor, holding out the poster for someone to take.

Bob's the one to grab it, and when he sees what's on it his eyes bulge out in shock, "Sweet holy tits, you're completely fucked."

She lets out a pained whimper, and the rest of the crew crowds in to see what it says for themselves. There's several shocked gasps, a nervous 'mama-mia' from Luigi, and Saiko even clasps at her chest and says some things under her breath that go untranslated.

Finally, the poster is revealed in full...as an advertisement for a new Orange Pizza at Peppino's Pizza.

Anyone who knows both men is aware that, despite their friendship when off-the-clock, when it comes to food Mario "Jumpman" Mario and Peppino Spaghetti are bitter rivals, always seeking to one-up one another and claim the Mushroom Kingdom as their pizza restaurant's turf and theirs alone. Of course this would be how the eternally anxious pizza chef reacted to hearing about Mario's struggles with his signature food. And this was Peppino, so there was no way he'd ever be willing to tell anyone, especially Mario, how exactly he pulled it off.

Finding out that his culinary arch-enemy had accomplished what he could not no matter how hard he tried would be bad enough, but finding out that his closest friend was partially to blame for it?

SMG4 is the first to recover, shuddering at the possibilities before grinning nervously, "N-now let's not be too hasty guys. Maybe it's not exactly the right orange. I mean, restaurants make their food look better on ads and menus all the time!"

Meggy shakes her head, eyes still vacant, "Already tried it. It was just as good and orange as the spaghetti." She sighs the sigh of the damned before finally looking up again, "I have to tell him."

"Are you nuts!?" 3 grabs her by the shoulders, "Do you have any idea just how pissed he's gonna be!?"

"Well, it'll be worse if I try to hide it and he finds out himself! And that will happen, you know as well as I do there's no way to keep this from him forever." She brushes him off and starts pacing, "Look, I already texted him to come over so we could talk, he'll be here any minute, I just needed to tell you guys first to psyche myself up."

They all look around at each other nervously, then Saiko gets up, "I'll start planning the funeral."

Meggy deadpans at her, "thanks for the vote of confidence."

It's at this point that Mario bursts in, his usual stupid grin on his face, "WADDUP, PARTY PEOPLE!"

There's some scattered greetings which sound a bit nervous rather than annoyed like usual, but he doesn't notice the difference. He also doesn't notice Meggy snatching the ad back from Bob.

He hops over to Meggy, "So, you needed to talk to Mario?"

She very decidedly does not gulp in terror, thank you, "Y-yeah, uh, 4? Could we use the game room for this."

"Sure thing." As they head that way, he frantically mouths 'soundproof' to Emulator. She gets what he means and does so, reinforcing the room with Invisible Walls as well for good measure.

They enter the room, the door left slightly open for now to gauge what might be happening, and after a minute or so Lily speaks up, "maybe he's taking it well?"

This, of course, is when Mario shouts "YOU DID WHAT!?", voice rapidly taking on an eldritch echoey quality as an eerie red glow appears through the doorway-

Tari, being the closest, quickly shuts the door the rest of the way so Emmy's protections can actually...well, protect them, "That's a no, I think."

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Everyone else had gone back to what they'd been doing before, albeit now with a tense atmosphere and the occasional nervous glance at the game room.

A few hours in, Lil Coding's the first to address it, "Do you think they're done yet?"

"Let me check," Tari gets up and opens the door a bit to-

"-THEN REDIRECT PIPE 43-B TO THE WELL OF DAMNED SOULS AND FLUSH THE SYSTEM-"

-she slams it shut again just as the air starts to ripple around her, "Nope."

"Were those some kind of demonic plumbing instructions?"

Luigi shrugged, "Yeah, we've actually been studying to finally renew our plumbing licenses now that our lives and his sanity are somewhat stable again."

"And that involves damned souls?"

"Have you seen what the sewers are like in the Mushroom Kingdom? Plumbing around here isn't just clogged toilets and leaky faucets."

"Fair enough."

Boopkins lets out a nervous whine, "This is kind of overboard even for Mario, isn't it? I mean, Meggy just made a mistake."

3 juts his thumb towards the door, "hey, you wanna go in there and try telling him that, be my guest."

"-IF THE BLOOD OF THE INNOCENT OR DRAIN-O AREN'T AVAILABLE, MARINARA SAUCE WILL SUFFICE-"

Everyone looks over at Tari.

"Sorry! I figured it would be a good idea to check in every few minutes in case anything changes."

They all settle into the nerve-wracking, now slightly painful for their mortal minds routine for another 30 minutes or so, until finally...

"-AND STRANGLE THEM WITH A PAPAIA!"

The eldritch shouting and reality warping and red glow die down, and after a long few seconds Mario stomps out of the room in his Baked color scheme, each footstep leaving a glowing red boot-print that quickly dims to a scorch mark.

"I need to cool off. Do not follow me." His voice, while no longer as loud, is still just as intense, and everyone gives him a wide berth as he leaves.

Meggy's the next to come out, clearly exhausted and emotionally wrung-out but unharmed and un-"The-Abyss-Stared-Into-Me-And-Found-Me-Wanting." Tari pulls her into a side hug in case she loses her footing.

Her voice is small and shaky when she finally says something, "Well, he took that better than I expected."

[queenofthekings]

all because I liked a boy.

Summary: After Nancy and Steve breakup, you help Steve through his emotions. Although, the rumour mill around school seems to do nothing but make the situation worse.

Authors Note: This story was inspired by the Sabrina Carpenter song "All Because I Liked a Boy". I have an obsession with Gamer!Steve and this obsession won't go away, originally it was just gonna be Gamer!Reader but @corroded-hellfire wrote that Gamer!Steve fic for me, I couldn't not make Steve a gamer too. Plus, the idea of having a gamer squad made up of Eddie, Robin, Steve and Reader is all I need.

CW: Slutshaming, drinking, swearing, reader plays Call of Duty, Steve is an ABBA stan, fluff.

Word count: 3.2k

Any hate will not be tolerated, constructive criticism is welcomed.

A typical Friday night for you would be spent doing your homework for the week and playing video games, or the better way to phrase it would be answering one maths question when you felt like it in between endless rounds on Call of Duty Zombies and slices of pizza.

Over the sounds of the game and the music blaring in your room, you barely heard the ding of your phone. You lean back in your chair to see who’d texted you, but the screen went dark once you were in the right position to do so, shrugging, you returned to gaming and pizza.

You ignored several more pings, focusing more on the game until your phone began ringing loudly. The obnoxious shriek of “holy fuckin shit that’s my best friend” emitted from your phone causing you to roll your eyes as you knew who was calling.

Leaning back again, you grabbed the phone and answered it, expertly still able to kill zombies simultaneously. “Roadkill Cafe, you kill it, we grill it. This is Y/N, how can I help you?”

“There’s a party at Amy’s tonight, do you wanna go with me?”

You took a small bite of your pizza before answering. “I’ve got homework.”

“You’re literally on round 34 on Zetsubou No Shima and have just pack-a-punched your ray gun.”

You went quiet for a moment, sitting up in your chair and pausing the game. “How did you know that?”

“I can literally see you through your window; so, stop camping in the corner and go to this party with me.”

You turned to your window, Steve waving at you when you noticed him. You gave him a forced smile, throwing up your middle finger and hanging up on him. Pulling down your blinds, you stared between your wardrobe and the TV – as much as you’d far prefer to stay home and finish your pizza and play more rounds of Call of Duty, you know Steve would never let you hear the end of it.

Sighing, you kicked your gaming chair out the way and made your way to the wardrobe to pull the doors open. After pondering about what to wear for a few minutes, you grabbed a grey crop top and some black denim shorts.

After dressing, you frantically brushed the untidy mess that was your hair and placed it into space buns before starting on your makeup. You decided on a more neutral look, knowing it would all be gone in a few hours.

Satisfied with your outfit, you grabbed your purse and converse and made your way downstairs. You sat on the stairs to put your shoes on and tie your laces, calling out to your mom that you were going out with Steve and would either be home late or would stay over at his.

Your mom made a slight grunt in response, turning up the TV as she watched some mindless gameshow. Ever since your dad left, she was either there and waiting for him to come back or burring herself in work. You couldn’t find it in your heart to tell her that dad wasn’t going to come back, not this time.

Shaking your head to ignore that thought, you stood up and left your house, finding Steve parked right in front of your front door, with him leaning against the car. You smiled at him as you walked down the path towards him. “Harrington, this party better change my entire existence or I’m blocking you.”

Steve laughed as he opened the passenger side door before walking around the back of the car to get in on his side. “You’d miss me too much after just half an hour, don’t you lie to me.”

You shook your head as you climbed in, barely able to strap yourself in before Steve drove off. Driving to the party in his car was how usually car rides are with you and Steve; chaotic. The pair of you had ABBA blaring through the car speakers, with both of you screaming the lyrics like a pair of coyotes.

Arriving at the party, Steve parked a couple of houses down – mostly because there was no space in Amy’s driveway but also to potentially make sure nobody would drunkenly damage the car. Unfortunately for Steve, that had happened one too many times and since you didn’t have a car, the pair of you couldn’t alternate whose car you took to parties. He’d nagged you for months to get a car but that was before your dad left and the nagging stopped after that.

The pair of you gave a quick smile to each other before heading inside, almost instantly losing each other in the crowd. Steve had gone to see his own friends while you had politely pushed through the crowd to find a drink, making a mental note to get one for Steve as well.

You poured yourself a shot of vodka into a cup before filling the rest of it with a coke, you didn’t want to get too drunk, but you knew that pacing yourself with the alcohol was the best way forward. Parties weren’t entirely your kind of scene, although you enjoyed them occasionally.

Steve was always the life of every party he attended, everyone would gravitate towards him while all you could do was move out of the way and tell him good luck with the horde.

You poured a vodka and coke for Steve too before vacating the table, trying to find him. By the time you did find him in the living room, he’d already had a couple of beers in him – how, you had no idea. Laughing at his happy and buzzed self, you handed him the vodka and coke and watched him down it in several seconds.

Taking a sip of your drink, you leaned over to him. “Steve, you gotta take it easy, I’m not driving your drunk ass home.”

Steve shrugged you off. “I’m not even that drunk, baby!”

You raised an eyebrow at him, laughing. “You only call me that when you’re drunk, I’ll be outside if you need me.” You patted his arm before walking outside to the patio, drink still in hand.

Arriving outside, you gave a nod towards the host before finding a quieter spot. Before everything that had happened, you would always be the one drinking everyone under the table and getting blackout drunk but now you always felt out of place at parties.

You couldn’t tell if that was because of your dad or since Nancy and Steve broke up; the three of you would always go to parties together. When they did break up, it hit Steve pretty hard and you could tell it was still hurting him. He didn’t have many people to go to, either. They’d decided to keep their breakup very private, only telling a select few people because in their eyes, it was nobody else’s business but theirs.

The only downside to not telling everyone they were broken up is that people would ask both of them how the relationship was going and why they weren’t sitting together at lunch. You could tell anytime someone asked Steve, a small piece of him died inside and you’d always step in with some nonsense excuse and have to console him before classes started up.

By the time Steve joined you, he very much was closer to being wasted than sober, happily stumbling through the backyard with a bottle of vodka in his hand that somehow never broke, no matter how many times he almost fell. He joined you on the trampoline you were sat on and joined you in staring up at the stars, nudging your shoulder to offer you the bottle.

You happily accepted, taking a long swig of the bitter drink before handing it back. The pair of you didn’t say anything as you sat and drank in silence, just enjoying each other’s presence.

“Am I bullshit?” Steve asked after a long silence, you looked over at him. He didn’t look back, just kept staring up at the stars and just from only seeing the side of his face, you could tell he was almost in tears.

“What do you mean?” You took the bottle from him, assuming he’d just had too much to drink and had a case of not having a filter and would say anything that came to his head. Although there was that sinking feeling in your stomach that told you he meant the question wholeheartedly, alcohol or not.

“It’s what Nancy said before she,” his words caught in his throat, and you could really tell he was really struggling not to cry. “Before she broke up with me. And I guess it’s just been replaying in my head ever since, so much that I believe it.”

Your heart broke in that moment to see your best friend, the one person who’s had your back since the day you were born be reduced to a broken shell of their former self over a girl who broke up with him two weeks beforehand. You shook your head, placing the lid back onto the bottle and hugged him tightly. “You’re not bullshit, Steve. You could never be bullshit to me, okay? And I’ll keep telling you that every damn day until that voice in your head stops talking.”

You felt him nod against your shoulder before breaking the hug, sniffing a little. He stared at your face for a few moments, his hazel eyes locked with yours before he leaned into you and his lips connected with yours. You froze for a moment before finally kissing him back.

As much as you kept it hidden; you did have a crush on Steve but surely everyone did, right? You weren’t going to do anything about the crush anyway since he was your best friend and you knew how messy breakups between friends can be.

But yet, here you were, kissing your best friend and you were loving every second of it. You moved your hand to wrap around the back of his neck, while his hand moved to cup your cheek. There was nothing lustful or desperate about the kiss, it seemed to be as innocent as the first snowfall of the year.

All too soon the kiss is over when Steve loses his balance and almost falls off the trampoline, causing you to grab him and snap out of your trance. Both of you burst into laughter, instantly going back into bed friend mode.

“Alright, Monkey-Brain, I think you need to go home and take a nice long sleep,” you gently patted his arm. Steve tried to protest but you shushed him and both of you staggered back inside. As dangerous as you knew it was to drink and drive, you knew you couldn’t just leave Steve to sleep in the car, you more or less had no choice.

“Getting a DUI better be worth it for your ass,” you muttered as you shoved him into the back of his car, grabbing his keys from his jacket pocket and beginning the drive back to his house. While you weren’t drunk, you certainly weren’t sober enough to be able to drive safely.

Thankfully, you were able to get both you and Steve home safely without much trouble. You left Steve in his own bed, barely able to take anymore of his clothes off after his jeans, shoes and jacket before the sexual jokes came in. “If you wanted me naked that badly, you should’ve just asked.”

You raised an eyebrow up at him, starting to walk towards his door to leave. “Steve, I’m being nice. Now I’m going home, I’ll talk to you in the morning or whenever you wake up.”

Once he noticed you were being serious, he sat up and instantly looked like he was going to cry. “Please don’t go, I’m sorry.”

You sighed, coming back to his bed to hold his hand. “I’m only a phone call away if you need me in the night, okay? I’m sorry for snapping. I love you, now get some sleep.”

He nodded, squeezing your hand twice before mumbling out an “I love you too” and passing out. You smiled at him before making your way home and collapsing into your own bed.

By the time you woke up at sometime that afternoon, your phone was blowing up with texts and notifications on every social media you had. Downing most of your bottled water and a headache pill, you finally opened your phone to see what had happened only to be greeted with photos of you and Steve from last night – mostly kissing on the trampoline. There was no denying it was you and him, your clothes and his hair gave it away instantly.

You felt your heard drop as you read through what people were saying – almost every single message was abusive. Calling you a whore, a slut, a homewrecker and sometimes worse than that. After reading a few of them, you threw your phone down and sobbed into your pillow.

As much as you didn’t blame Steve nor Nancy for what happened, you wished they’d just been open about their breakup. At least then she wouldn’t get blamed for it or Steve would be seen as a cheater.

You called Steve through your tears, hoping he would be awake. He picked up after the third ring. “I guess you’ve seen the pictures,” was all he could manage to say.

“Yeah,” your voice wobbled as you tried to make it sound like you weren’t crying. “I know it’s stupid to cry over but this shit isn’t okay.”

“It is. I’m so sorry you have to deal with this, I’m trying to get them to back off but nobody’s listening to me.”

You sighed, shaking your head. “If you hadn’t kissed me, this shit wouldn’t have happened.”

Steve went quiet for a moment. “I know and I’m sorry. I’ve just wanted to kiss you for so long and I didn’t know it would bite us in the ass.”

You hesitated. “How long have you wanted to kiss me?”

“I mean, I’ve liked you for years but you were my best friend and I respect you too much to ruin our friendship,” he admitted. “But no matter what, I’ll stick by you through this. And probably by tomorrow, they would’ve moved onto something else.”

Only by Monday, the harassment now was everywhere you went. Your locker was completely destroyed with some kind of black ink covering everything inside, completely ruining your books and belongings, you were getting shouted at in the halls and at lunch you had milk poured over your head.

Tuesday was the same.

And so was Wednesday.

By Thursday, you took the day off school, unable to face the harassment in person but it wouldn’t stop it online. After school was over, you and Steve got into a party on PlayStation. “How’re you doing?”

“I just wanna cry and play video games,” you almost sobbed out, your tears coming back after not being around for a while.

Steve chuckled almost bitterly, scrolling through his gaming library for a game. “I can fire up Zombies if you want, unless you’re in the mood for Dead By Daylight or your favourite; Dead Island.”

“If you make me play Dead Island one more time, I’m coming over there and personally pissing on your PlayStation.”

Steve was almost howling with laughter, causing you to laugh too, even through your tears. Once he stopped laughing, he spoke up. “I know, I’ll get Robin and Eddie in to play Zombies to take your mind off things.”

“Sure,” you said quietly, wiping away your tears and relaxing back into your gaming chair.

After a couple of hours, you, Eddie, Robin, and Steve were thoroughly enjoying your game of Zombies, all four of you laughing and throwing around joking insults the entire time. Until your phone pinged. Once. Twice. Three times. And it didn’t stop for a few seconds, everyone noticing you going quiet.

Your bottom lip trembled as tears swelled up in your eyes before you turned off your phone and took a few seconds to compose yourself. “Eddie, I need you to cover me while I pack-a-punch.”

“Sure thing, I’m close to being able to as well,” he replied, switching back into gamer mode along with you.

The four of you gamed for a few more hours until the late hours and it was just you and Steve left. “You okay?” He asked, leaning in his chair to look through your window.

You shrugged, keeping your back to him. “Eh, I’m alright. Gaming with you and the guys helped a lot.”

“You gonna go back to school tomorrow?” he sounded almost hopeful in his voice, even if he already knew the answer.

“Not tomorrow, no. I’m coming back on Friday though,” you almost grimaced through the phone, regretting telling anyone your plans because you knew there was no going back on your word now.

He almost felt his heart sink a little. All he wanted to do was protect you but he knew the only real way he could was to reveal that he and Nancy had been broken up for closer to a month and the kiss between him and you had nothing to do with it.

But most of all, honestly, he wanted to start dating you and if anyone had a problem with it, they could keep it to themselves.

Both you and Steve stayed home from school the next day, playing games all day and doing your best to make each other laugh as much as possible. You’d confided in him how nervous you were to go back to school the next day and Steve only reminded you that he’d protect you as best as he could.

The pair of you fell asleep still on a phone call together, both of your phones running out of battery before you’d woken up. Which was part of Steve’s plan; he didn’t want you to wake up and read any of the hateful messages so not having any phone battery for the whole day ensured that.

Although you got up late that morning, Steve was still able to take you in, his hand holding onto yours the whole way there. He stopped right outside the school and turned to you. “I’m just gonna go to park and I’ll see you inside, okay?”

You hesitantly nodded before getting out, watching Steve drive off for a few seconds before you took a deep breath and opening the doors and stepping inside. You walked through the busy halls, desperately trying not to be noticed. Everyone’s voices almost becoming deafening to you as you tried to not have a panic attack; you saw a few people stare at you and that only seemed to make things worse.

You almost jumped out of your skin as you felt someone’s hand hold yours, turning towards them, you felt your heart swell when you saw Steve. “Hi,” you barely choked out, tears welling up in your eyes and threatening to fall down your cheeks.

“Hi,” he smiled back, leading you through the halls, never once letting go of your hand.

[opheliasnotdead]

I have not found much peace

clutched between gilded basilica walls

And ceilings strained heavenwards,

Overseen

by biblical paternity.

But on stained steps,

out of holy spirit’s

Sight and

Mind,

I have slept

cradled

by smoke stained fingers

atop spread winter jackets,

Brought uneven slices

Of grease-soaked pizza

To curling lips,

A momentarily well-fed observer

Of penitent ants

Scurrying to offer their overworked prayers

To the sleepy confessional

at our backs.

Perhaps

There is more room

on the weedy edge

of God’s presence

for us to bloom,

Stubborn dandelions

curving hungry bodies

around rusted

chain link,

Forcing ourselves

to find sensuality

and joy

in the tetanus sting

of forbidden

affection.

Or perhaps

We are just two

selfish cowards,

Afraid

a step too far

into His good graces

would mean a holy

End

to our favorite

Sin

[enriquemzn262]

Re: taxes, we don't include tax in the pricetag because there are certain times when sales tax can be reduced.

Re: tipping, you'll find most Americans agree with you on that one, especially when restaurants have been getting greedier and greedier with asking for them. 20% tip for pulling a ready made slice of pizza out of a heated box is insane.

It really is, holy shit.

[jealousraisin]

Ch.2 - His place

Previous chapter - Next chapter - Masterlist

Delivery of that pizza couldn’t have come any sooner, the walk to his place amplified your cravings. It didn’t help that he was listing off all the food and snacks they could be having, he was having fun mentally torturing you with images of obscenely over the top sundaes, hot pockets and milkshakes, describing them in a way that was borderline pornographic to your starved mind and stomach. One thing you learnt about him on the walk over is that he’s a bit of a little shit and he loves it.

“Nothing you can say right now can ruin the love affair i am about to have with this pizza” You proudly state as you grab the greasiest, largest slice your eyes land on. Luke leans on the kitchen counter, head leaning lazily on his palm, smiling.

“oh no of course your majesty, i, a mere peasant in your presence would dare not to” He jokes with ease. “Though i can offer, my world famous milkshake to compliment your current lover” Luke slides over a milkshake he prepared moments before the pizza arrived, you quickly finish up your slice and try it.

“holy shit” you speak after taking a sip.

Luke’s smile spreads into an all knowing shit eating grin “holy shit indeed, i did say they were world famous, i didn’t lie. I have made this for many people while i’m travelling and they all agree, it rocks”

He leads you out to his backyard, eager to enjoy the summer night air. You both each sit down on a pool chair. The night sky looks a bit clearer closer to the ocean, you relish in the sight. Comfortable silence blankets over you two for a minute.

“so you travel a lot?” you ask, making conversation.

“Oh yeah, i have a bit of a habit of just getting on a plane and going, my sister is sick to death of texting me and finding out i’m in some random country. Not like i’ll stop though, so long as i have my passport i’m good to go”

You find that mentality a little bit insane, but you have to respect the man for being so brave. You have to google ahead the menu of your local Mexican restaurant that you’ve been going to ever since you moved here, meanwhile this guy is going somewhere where he doesn’t even know the language aside from basic greetings.

“So is being spontaneous your thing? Or is it just the wanderlust?”

“oh, no i’m impulsive as shit” He chuckles

“Really?” you challenge

In the blink of an eye, he’s up. Luke gets a running start and jumps straight into the pool, making a big splash. He comes back up the surface pushing his hair back and out of his face.

“Really.” he grins up at you. You scoff in disbelief, a smile adorns your face.

Luke swims over to the pool ladder and hoists himself out of the water. Standing tall, the moonlight illuminates his towering figure, you get a chance to get a good look at him. His once dry outfit now soaking wet, his shirt is clinging to his body tightly. You can confirm your suspicions that he does indeed work out. So you were ogling the man, is that a crime? You quickly cough and look to the side as he goes to pull off his soaked shirt and starts to unbutton his pants.

“relax, i’m not totally naked see?” he coaxes, you focus your eyes back on him to find he is still in his boxer shorts.

“i knew that….”

Luke lets out a laugh, he’s grabbing your hand and pulling you up with the same practised ease as when he helped you up at the party.

“now I don’t know about you but i don’t think it’s fair i’m the only one who’s drenched right now

“huh? what do you mean? you were the one who-WHOAH” before you can finish your sentence you feel yourself falling down.

SPLASH

A hand still holding yours pulls you up to the surface. In your confused state you turn to look at the culprit of your current situation, you give him an incredulous look.

He shrugs at you with that smug smile.

You two swim around for a while, splashing each other and playing some games, the warm night making it easy to stay in the water. After a bit you get out, both of you having had your fill of swimming. As you are wringing out your now drenched shirt Luke, unbeknownst to you, is now looking at you as you did him.

“Come on, you can shower inside. i’ll give you some clothes to change into, and i’ll wash those” He points to your chlorine saturated outfit. You give him a grateful smile.

The warm water hitting your body was nothing short of a blessing, and you were absolutely going to use all his soaps, shampoos and creams he has in this bathroom. Alone, you start to think about the situation you’re in, it’s not like you to meet a random stranger at a party and then be fine with going to their place. Maybe it’s the fact your friend left you to handle that party alone or the drinks you had but you were feeling relaxed and a little brave tonight it seems. You go to shampoo your hair and think about what to tell your friend tomorrow about your disappearing act.

“Hey i’m just going to leave the clothes out here, i’ll be downstairs preparing some snacks” Luke’s muffled voice rings out on the other side of the bathroom door. As you’re changing it’s not missed on you that what you’ve been given to wear is a men’s size red hoodie. Despite him having a sister around your age.

You tread down the stairs, towelling at your hair. You find Luke preparing some small sectioned plates with various snacks and treats. He looks up when he hears you coming down.

“better after the shower? hope you knew it was fine to use whatever was in there” He says as he puts the finishing touches on his whipped cream strawberry tower.

“I did, thank you. You have an impressive collection of stuff up there, good skincare. I’m almost jealous”

“Hey, a guy has to take care of himself. Did you think this dewy complexion was the work of god?”

You look off to the side and mumble “no but that face of yours is…”

He rounds the kitchen island and hands you one of the two plates he’s prepared along with another drink.

“I gave you some of my clothes because my sister would kill me if i went into her room without asking again, last time i did that she almost killed me with her laser beam stare of hate” he laughs

“besides,” he pauses, giving you a quick once over “you look good in my clothes”

You find yourself in his room, settled in a beanbag watching the hangover movies, he insists are so worth watching. The snack plate he constructed was amazing, fulfilling your cravings. He’s lazily spread on his bed on the side nearest to where you’re seated, occasionally taking treats from your plate for himself. You had to agree the movies did have some funny moments, couldn’t say you were bored with the company either. At some point in the night you migrate to sit on the bed with him, directly offering your plate of snacks after seeing he has finished his and was constantly picking off of yours. Finally the drinks, walking, swimming and socialising catch up with you, you doze off halfway through the third movie.

Buzz….BUZZ. You jolt up, vaguely remembering what happened the night before. Your phone is going off, your alarm and a barrage of texts hit you all at once. Ignoring the device for a moment you look to your side and find the ‘stranger’ from last night peacefully asleep, only just now starting to stir. Taking a moment you first and foremost freak out you fell asleep in a strangers’ bed, but secondly you take in his features in the warm morning sunlight. What was once obscured by moonlight is now revealed in daylight. You return your attention to your phone, which has been put on charge by someone. Texts from your friend fill up your notification drawer.

‘You WHAT?’

‘Turn on your location right now’

‘who is it?? do i know them?’

‘who are you and what have you done with my friend? you? going off with someone you barely know?’

‘message me back nowwwwwww’

Your friend’s concern makes you chuckle lightly. You start to text back, reassuring that you are in fact, not dead.

“man, when did we fall asleep? i don’t think i caught the end of the third movie” Luke pouts as he sits up behind you.

You turn back and acknowledge him “good morning, sorry i fell asleep in your bed i was exhausted”

He shrugs lazily “s’fine i was exhausted too” He stretches his arms, his shirt riding up a little, you catch a glimpse of a belly piercing. Luke reaches over to his nightstand and puts on some glasses he wasn’t wearing last night, they suit him.

“How about some breakfast?”

Your stomach growls at the mention of food, you nod in embarrassment as he laughs.

Both of you head back downstairs, you set yourself down on the stool of the kitchen island. Luke with practised ease goes around the kitchen collecting the ingredients and tools for pancakes.

The sweet smell fills the house, you’re just about ready to eat your plate when a decent stack lands on it.

“enjoy” he winks.

You do just that. Early morning conversation filling the quiet room as you and him devour the pancakes.

You glance at your phone. SHIT IS THAT THAT THE TIME? You barely had any time to get ready and leave here to make it back to your apartment so that you could head off to work.

“oh my god i’m so sorry i have to rush actually! i have work soon oh my god i forgot!!” You start to scramble a little, forgetting that you don’t know where your clothes from last night are. Luke calmly steps into a door next to the kitchen that you now realise is the laundry room. He comes back out, your clothes in a neat, folded pile. You thank him with a grateful look, heading into the bathroom to change and tame your hair enough to be presentable to your friend who was staying the night at your apartment. Folding up the clothes you borrowed, you decide to throw the hoodie back on as you feel the morning chill bite at you in the outfit you wore to the party last night. Composing yourself in the mirror You come out, a little less frazzled than 5 minutes ago.

You find Luke is also already dressed and at the door, keys in hand.

“I’ll drop you home, the least I can do” he offers. A small smile is on your face as you nod a small thank you to the offer.

He leads you to the garage where his car is, a red Lancer Evo stares back at you. Now you were by no means a car person but even you could tell this thing had some love put into it as evidenced by the stickers, decals and body mods added to it.

“This is ‘girl’, She will be our trusty steed that will get you home safely” he pats the hood of the car, unlocking it and opening the door for you before getting in the car himself. You look around the spotless interior.

He starts the car “I don’t think this is the use-case for my motorbike haha i think tilting and shaking you around on this particular morning would be a recipe for disaster after all the drinks and food we had in the past 12 hours”

“i have to agree with you on that one” Taking the phone he was handing over, you put in your address to the maps app he had open.

“Alright let’s take you home” Luke pulls out of the garage

Your apartment comes into view after a short calm drive. You gather your things, making sure you didn’t forget something in this well cared for car. Luke is parallel parking up to the curb with practised ease as you take off your seatbelt and turn to thank him and make a move to get out of the car. Luke’s hand reaches out to yours before you can get out a ‘thank you’ for the ride.

“Before you go, can i get your number?” his phone is once again outstretched to you.

“oh! of course” you put in your number and call yourself, letting it ring. “there we go”

You step out and round the car, coming to the driver’s side window. Luke rolls down the window as you lean down to make eye contact.

“Thanks for last night, i appreciate it” You smile at him

“Of course, i’m glad i got to meet you” he leans his arm out of the window “Now i’d love to stay and chat but I think you have things to do don’t you?” Luke reminds you of your previous rush to get ready and go home, your eyes widen remembering that you did NOT have time to exchange pleasantries right now. Turning towards your apartment you throw back a hurried wave as you step into your building. In the elevator, you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror, you’re still wearing his hoodie.

Shit.

[livythewriter]

Law School (Elsbeth x Fem!Reader)

Word count: 2689

Warnings: Mentions of bullying, extreme fluff, idiots in love who don't realize they're in love.

Summary: Elsbeth and the reader stay up late to study for a huge test the next day.

4am… 4am and I wasn’t even halfway done with my studying. Me and Elsbeth were studying for a huge test for Law School tomorrow. But we were going strong! Well, strong until around 3:30am. We were never people to stay up late partying, our latest bedtimes being around 12am, so this was an unusual change of pace for us.

On my seventh yawn in ten minutes, Elsbeth snapped her book shut, shooting upright into a standing position. “Alright, we’re both incredibly tired, what do you say we get something to pick us up?”

“LIke coffee?” I asked, rubbing my half lidded eyes.

“Or an energy drink! And definitely something to eat, drinking caffeine on an empty stomach is never a good idea…”

“We don’t have energy drinks though.” I deadpanned.

“That’s why we’re going to the gas station!” She clapped her hands together, a large smile on her face.

I groaned loudly, “I dunno… it’s so far away…”

“Aw come on, it’s less than a mile. And besides, maybe getting some fresh air will help recharge us a bit! It’ll be peaceful!”

“Alright, fine… but if we get mugged that’s on you.” I got up, my bones almost creaking as I did.

“Yay! It’s a good thing we didn’t change into our bedclothes, huh?” She nudged me.

“Yeah…” We got our shoes on and went outside.

“Sooo… Do you think we’re gonna pass?” She asked.

“You definitely will, Elsbeth. Don’t know about me, though.” Elsbeth was definitely right, the cool air was starting to wake me up as I looked up at the stars and took in the quiet nighttime environment.

“Aww, what makes you say that?”

“I don’t understand shit in that book I’m reading.” I sighed.

“Well, if you want I could help you out!” Elsbeth offered.

“Don’t you have to study yourself for the test?” I asked.

“Well… I’m almost done.” She shrugged.

“Holy shit, are you a superhero or something? How did you manage to get all that done so fast??” I asked incredulously.

Elsbeth thought for a moment, “I don't know how to explain it, but, when I’m trying to figure something out, a bunch of images that are loosely connected pop into my head, until I just have the answer. I don’t usually tell anyone this because well…” She lowered her voice, “Do you also feel like other people act weird around me? Like they think I’m weird?”

“Screw what others think. If they can’t see your awesomeness, that’s on them.” I nudged her shoulder playfully.

“You’re so sweet… If I could date a woman it would be you.” She giggled.

We entered the gas station, and bought energy drinks and a few slices of pizza. It wasn’t exactly healthy, but it was energy for studying.

We went back home and went back to studying while we ate our food.

“Gas station pizza isn’t as good as Pizza Hut, but I’d be wrong to say it’s not dang delicious!” Elsbeth remarked.

“Yeah! It is pretty good.” I opened my energy drink and began to take sips. It had that sharp, artificial sweetness that you just couldn’t find in sodas, and that made me wish I could find caffeine free energy drinks so I could drink them without feeling jittery.

After a few minutes, Elsbeth spoke up, “Hey, I finished my studying. Do you need any help with yours?”

“Yes, actually. None of this makes sense. But that could just be because of brain fog…” I said sheepishly.

“Awww, maybe you should get some sleep…” She put a hand on my shoulder.

“I’ll fail my test! I haven’t even gotten halfway through this…” I groaned.

“Well.. let me help. What are you struggling with?” She scooted closer to me, looking at my notes.

“I’m having trouble understanding International Law. Like, I know what it is, but I can’t take in the words, it’s like they’re just going into my head and then falling out of it, y’know?” I pinched the bridge of my nose, sighing in frustration.

“I can explain them to you if you’d like! I’m pretty good at explaining things.”

“I’d like that, thank you.”

Elsbeth began to explain the different terms and definitions to me, and the way she worded her explanations just made so much sense to me for some reason. Soon enough, I found myself on the next part of the studying, which she once again explained with perfect wording.

“Wow, you really are good at this…” I took another sip of my energy drink.

“Thanks! You’re good at this too, y’know? You’re better at it than you think.” She winked at me.

I sighed, “Are you sure? I just had to have you explain pretty much everything to me.”

“Of course I am. Your brain’s just a little different, but it still works so well, and there’s nothing wrong with that!” Her expression just looked so sure of the words she was saying, and it made me almost want to believe them. I smiled at her, and we continued my studies.

The studies were going well, but despite me chugging down a whole energy drink, I was still pretty tired. I felt myself begin to nod off in the middle of our study, and felt a poke on my shoulder when I was falling into slumber.

“Hey, you’re really tired. You should probably go to sleep.” I heard Elsbeth’s gentle voice tell me.

“No… I’m not finished yet. I need to finish my…” I got interrupted by a yawn, “studying.”

“We barely have anything left to do, I’m sure you’ll do fine. Just, go to bed, alright?”

I nodded, reluctantly giving in, “Okay…”

“Here, let me just…” Elsbeth got up, and then wrapped an arm around my shoulder, hoisting me up and guiding me to my bed. She sat me down and I laid down, getting under my covers. I looked at Elsbeth, who was now sitting on my bedside, with half-lidded eyes. Her hand reached out to brush hair out of my face, and she looked at me with a gentle smile, “Go to sleep now, sweetheart.” She used a nickname on me that caused a slight explosion of butterflies in my stomach for some reason, and the last thing I felt before dozing off into slumber was a pair of lips on my forehead.

I got woken up by my alarm, one that I set to a song I didn’t particularly care for, because I knew that if I used a song I did like, that it would ruin the song for me. I was surprised to feel something splayed across my midsection, and looked down to see an arm. I looked to my left and saw Elsbeth laying next to me, starting to wake up from the alarm. For some reason, I felt something strange. I felt light and airy, and a little nervous. My heart couldn’t stop pounding in my chest. I wondered if it was just pre-test nerves.

“Hey there… I don’t want to get up.” Elsbeth said in a tired voice, “I could lay here forever… So cozy.”

I gulped nervously, “We uhhh- we have to get up, though. The test, remember?”

“Oh crap! Sorry for my language, it’s just I completely forgot about that.” She quickly got up, and started getting ready, styling her hair, brushing her teeth, putting on a bit of makeup, all that. I just laid in bed, waiting to wake up fully.

Suddenly Elsbeth was next to me, shaking my shoulder gently, “Come on… gotta get up now.” I groaned loudly, covering my eyes with my arm. Out of nowhere, the covers were ripped off of me, and I glared up at Elsbeth. She just shrugged, giving me a guilty smile.

“Fine…” I got up, and got ready for school myself.

“Are you excited for the test?” She asked, a large grin on her face.

“Honestly, I’m very nervous.”

“You’re gonna do great.” Elsbeth put a hand on my shoulder, squeezing it.

“Thanks.” I gave her a grateful smile, and finished getting ready. We drove together to school. We typically carpooled because Elsbeth couldn’t afford her own car, and neither could I but I used my parents’ old car that they lent to me.

We went to our respective classes, and then finally came time for the class we had together. The one with the big test happening today. I gulped nervously as I entered the room, seeing a couple of people, including Elsbeth, sitting down. I sat at the back of the class, right next to Elsbeth.

I looked over at Elsbeth, and she gave me a reassuring smile, and I returned it with a nervous one of my own.

The teacher came in and explained the basics of the test, and then started handing them out to us. When he came around to me, he smiled at me. “You must have been studying hard, huh?” I nodded, slightly embarrassed that my tiredness from studying was that obvious.

He gave me my test, and I began to fill out the first set of answers. It was pretty easy so far. During the test, I found myself wanting to look over at Elsbeth, but I didn’t want to be suspected of cheating, so I kept my gaze on my test. It was starting to get a bit harder, and I was getting worried, but then before I knew it, I was done without anything too hard.

I, along with Elsbeth, were among the first to turn in our tests, me nodding a hello to her as I passed her by.

I waited for everyone else to finish their tests, and then finally class was over, and I left. It was my final class, so I just walked to my car with Elsbeth, driving back to our dorm.

“So, how do you think you did?” Elsbeth asked once we were back in the dorm.

“Honestly? I think I did pretty good. Questions weren’t too hard, and I knew pretty much all of them. You?”

“I’m sure I did alright… I usually do okay on these things, you know?”

“Just okay? Elsbeth, you get straight A+’s. That’s more than just okay.” I said, laughing.

“Oh, stop it…” Elsbeth waved her hand dismissively, a large grin on his now red face, “I do what I need to do, that’s all!”

“You’re so humble it hurts!” I fell back dramatically onto the bed, my hand on my head like I was fainting.

“Well, in a world where you gotta tear yourself down before anyone else can, humility is kind of expected, you know?” Elsbeth said sheepishly.

“Yeah honestly, I get it. People suck.”

“Some people are pretty great! Also, if people underestimate me, I can surprise them when I show them what I’m good at! Does that make sense?” She asked.

“Yeah, I’d say that’s a pretty good tactic honestly.” I got back up.

“People have never taken me seriously really, so I figured, why not use it to my advantage, y’know?” The words honestly made me sad, but she said that with a grin on her face. 

I nodded sympathetically, “Well, I’ll take you seriously. If you ever need to talk to someone, I’m here alright?”

“Oh, thank you, but it’s really okay. Elementary school years were the worst, but we’re past that, and now people say mean things behind my back instead of saying them to my face, so yay!” She chuckled as if she didn’t just say the saddest thing I’d ever heard.

“Jeez, I’m gonna go back in time and beat the shit out of everyone who said those things to you.” I groaned.

“It’s no big deal. Sticks and stones, you know?”

“You’re a lot stronger than I am, I couldn’t handle that. Back in the day I’d just cry when people were mean to me.” I said.

“Awww thank you. But you’re strong too. Hey, you’re still here, right? Stronger than ever. That’s something!” She nudged my side playfully, and I giggled. “You wanna watch some television?” She asked.

“Yeah sure!” I turned on the TV, and we huddled close together while watching. Eventually, nighttime fell, and we went to our respective beds, but for some reason a part of me wanted to sleep in Elsbeth’s bed. But I shook off the thought as me being tired, and tried to fall asleep.

The next day, I woke up early as usual, and got ready for school. Elsbeth was awake too, but she was invested in her usual routine of listening to music while getting ready for school.

When we went to school, we went our separate ways to go to classes. All I could think about was my test. I didn’t know why, but I was feeling nervous today. Like maybe I didn’t really do good on that test. Like I failed, and was just overconfident. But finally the time for our class came, and we entered, me giving Elsbeth a nervous look when she waved at me. She tilted her head in confusion, but gave me a reassuring smile.

The teacher came in, and told us that it was now time for us to get our test results, and that we could have a free day today since we had such a big test yesterday. I waited with bated breath as he passed around the tests, and eventually got to me. I took the test, afraid to unfold it and look at it. But I got up the courage. This was the big moment, the moment where I’d see how I did on the test. I unfolded the paper, and took a look at the results while my heart pounded in my chest.

A. I got an A. I released a breath I didn’t know I was holding, trying to hold back from breathing a loud sigh of relief.

I looked over at Elsbeth, who had a large grin on her face and was shaking with excitement. I couldn’t stop my smile as the thought crossed my mind of how cute she looked. I wondered where such a thought came from, but didn’t mind it particularly.

“Hey.” I whispered, getting her attention. She looked over at me, nodding to ask me to continue.

“Look at this!” I showed her my graded test, and if it was even possible, her grin got a little bit bigger and she gave me a thumbs up.

“Knew you could do it!” She whisper shouted back. She showed me her test and I gasped. She got an A+. Why was I even surprised? I gave her a smile and a thumbs up, telling her how proud I was of her.

We went home, and the rest of the day went by like a breeze, with us chattering and laughing. Whenever she laughed though, I felt my heart flutter. She’s so pretty, I thought, her laugh is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard.

When it was time for bed, the feeling of wanting to sleep next to her came back, and I decided I didn’t want to just say nothing about it. “Hey, um, Elsbeth?”

“Yes?” She asked.

“Do you think you’d like to sleep in my bed again tonight? I really liked it when we did that the other night.” I found myself avoiding her gaze, a little nervous to look directly at her.

“I liked that too, actually… So sure!” She said, a hint of hesitation in her voice. Was she feeling the same way I was feeling?

“Alright, awesome.” I got ready for bed, and laid down next to her. I wondered what I was going to do now, but then she poked my shoulder, and I looked over, “Yes?”

“Can I uh.. Wrap my arms around you? Like I did before…” She asked.

“Yes, of course!” That may have come out a little too eager, but oh well. Her arms wrapped tightly around me, and she nuzzled her face against my shoulder.

“Goodnight, ___.” She said drowsily.

“Goodnight.” I closed my eyes, relishing in the feeling of her warmth as I fell asleep.

[blueberryinko]

Permaberry Rose x Reader

Kinks

Rose meets the reader after her fate at the tour.

She took the fateful gum as a willing tester for Wonka, her competitive and protective streak not allowing Violet to take it, she was pregnant with quadruplets at the time and now Rose is overdue with them when she meets the reader.

Reader dotes on Rose, and helps her when the quadruplets are born. They start dating after Violet manages to babysit for the night, and they discuss their kinks.

Rose turns out to have a major breeding kink, but now she’s a permaberry has to hold herself back because she’s extra fertile.

Reader has a pregnancy kink, and the thought of Rose swelling with even more babies drives them wild.

Reader and Rose met on a dating app, with their first date at Rose’s house. She was pregnant with her surrogate octuplets at the time, her newest record.

Her boobs stretched out a blue blouse that had basically just become a makeshift bra, ruined with juice lactating from her nipples.

Her tracksuit bottoms were stretched out and pulled taut by her swollen ass, even as she kept growing.

While she had Reader over, she made sure Violet was out of the house.

“Gotta say, I love your style!” She complimented. Her belly was fully out, nearly spherical in the way it jutted from her hips. “Very smart-casual, buster. You just might get lucky tonight.” She’s slowly filling up, you note, and you find yourself attracted to it.

She’s so fucking gravid you can barely think, rubbing her belly constantly, the kicks from the babies making her tummy wobble incessantly, and all you can think is *holy fuck* she’s huge. You tell her as such and she giggles. “Well I AM a preggoberry after all!”

You get onto the topic of movies. Turns out Rose is a major cinephile, and so you pick whichever movie she’s interested in. You offer to help her turn it on, but she says she’s fine, waddling to the remote. The way she bends down to pick it up, her bulbous, juicy ass flashes you right in the face. She knows what she’s doing as she arches her back, pulling back up.

Throughout the movie, she swells and bloats with juice. The couch creaks under her weight, and despite being sat on your lap she seems to just roll straight off. She was heavy, not that you’d say that to her face. Her blouse buttons burst like bullets with a BANG, BANG, BANG, pinging and ricocheting off the walls, disappearing into the nooks and crannies of her various shelves.

Reader can’t keep their hands to themselves during the movie, and with Rose half-naked and rapidly tearing through her slacks, it’s all they can do not to go down on the poor, fattening permaberry mom right there and then. They console themselves with groping and feeling up Rose’s gargantuan bump.

By halfway through the movie, she’s nearly spherical, forced to stand as her bloated limbs thicken further. The pizza arrives, and you’re more than happy to stuff her silly. It’s stupid to even pretend either of you are watching the movie at this point, entirely focused on her growth.

She gets pizza down her front, but neither of you care. Her limbs are swallowed by the frankly abominable globe her body has become, her swollen, blueberry milk filled boobs sloshing and swaying as she attempts to waddle on the spot.

Rose’s tracksuit pants tear to shreds moments after you’ve stuffed her last pizza slice down her gullet, and she hiccups cutely.

It’s adorable, and you boop her nose. Slowly, the both of you lean in, and before you know it you’re making out, her plump, violet lips meeting yours.

It’s hot and steamy, and all she can do is let you play with her crammed circumference.

You roll her onto her back, and begin playing with her swollen womanhood, leaking copious amounts of juice.

She pants and she moans as you rock her from side to side, letting her belly slosh and the babies kick. You massage her feet as you drink from her, before rolling her back up, and over onto her belly.

Both you and Rose have incredible stamina, and you suckle from her breasts for as long as you could, taking in the motherly nourishment.

You’re determined to breed her, make her as taut and pregnant with your babies as you can, even if she’s already pregnant. You climb onto her belly and you start fucking her vigorously, taking as much time to care for her as you can.

She regrets that you’re doing all the work, and you let her trail kisses down your abs and down your private zones, and she tries her best to service you as you’d been so generously doing to her.

You’re both so close to climax, and as you both come in a cacophony of loving wails, you hear the door opening. Time to get back to a normal life.

[xxx-inhibitionless-xxx]

Chapter 48 : Day Three ( Matt & Alex part 2 )

 As they pulled in Matt’s driveway, Alex told Matt, hurry up and I’ll give you a ride to work too.

 Thanks man, Matt replied, that’ll be awesome. Aaron usually does, but obviously that’s not going to happen. Okay, hang tight, I’ll be right back, Matt said as he raced in the house to get cleaned up and change as fast as he could. He felt the need to rush, worried that Alex might think less of him if he took too long.

 Even though they had all known each other for a short amount of time, just a few days as a matter of fact, Matt still felt a similar kind of bond with Alex as he did with his closest friends Aaron and Brian. A bond he felt he did not want to test the limits of right off the bat by making Alex have to wait for him.

  To Matt’s relief Alex was still in the car waiting and talking on the phone when Matt emerged from his house. Holy shit, Alex exclaimed interrupting his own conversation, are you secretly the flash or something. It’s been like ten minutes, how the hell did you get ready so fast ? What did you do, speed wank ?

 More like twenty minutes, Matt explained as he got in the car blushing at Alex’s reference to and apparent awareness of the fact that Matt did indeed take care of business as he got ready. I didn’t want you to have to wait too long.

 No problem buddy, you didn’t have to rush, Alex assured Matt as he returned to his call, hey, let me let you go, I need to drop a friend off at work and then I’ll be in. Okay, Alex continued talking on the phone, be there in a bit. I have no idea who would ask for me specifically, Alex addressed Matt noticing that he looked like he didn’t have a clue what Alex was referring too as he started to explain, apparently the whole reason I got called in is that someone called in a catering order and asked for me specifically for delivery.

  You won’t be late because of me will you, Matt asked, worried that he would be the cause of Alex getting in trouble with this job. No, it’s not until a little later anyway, we’ve got plenty of time, Alex replied trying to ease Matt’s concern. What about you, what time did you have to be to work ?

 Just when I get there I guess, Matt answered. When I talked to my mom this morning, she just said that Diana had called and asked if I could work today. When I work Saturday’s it’s usually at 1:30 so I’m guessing then.

 Oh, well then, Alex interjected, we’ve got some time if you want to grab some food.

 That would be great, Matt exclaimed, I’m starving. Matt’s stomach rumbled at just that moment, indicating that it  noticed the mention of food and wanted attention. I don’t think I’ve eaten since before yesterday, Matt responded in amazement as the sudden realization occurred to him.

 Well, if you’re up for pizza, Alex elaborated, we can kill two birds with one stone. We can swing by Bruno’s, referring to the pizza joint he delivered for, so I can go get more details on what this gig is all about I got called in for and get you some grub at the same time. Then it’s just a straight shot to get you to work then I’ll drop back by and get ready myself.

 Sounds good to me, Matt indicated with a thumbs up gesture, besides, you guys have the best pizza ever.

 Once they got to Bruno’s, Alex hooked Matt up with a whole pizza loaded with his favorite toppings as he talked with his boss about the delivery gig he got called in for. His boss told him he didn’t have many details right now so Alex joined Matt for a slice of pizza before they headed out to drop Matt off at work.

 As they drove, Alex filled Matt in on what little information he did find out. Apparently, Alex detailed, it’s a couple jobs all in one. It’s like a series of deliveries to a few different places but all the same order. I don’t know, but it’s certainly not the most bizarre delivery I’ve ever had.

 Which was what, Matt inquired, come on, you brought it up, now you have to tell me.

 Okay, okay, Alex relented, but you have to promise not to tell the others, they don’t know, I’ve never told them.