#frank x beth

[sad-endings-suck]

There is a certain type of ship dynamic that simply cannot be created or replicated artificially and it’s called “this couple was never meant to be a canon ship but their chemistry is just so incredible we had to do it anyway” and I love it more than anything.

[below-average-fangirl]

Smoochy smoochy 😘

[forensic-b1tch-aiden]

Sirius as Frank-N-Furter and Evan as Rocky Horror

that’s it, that’s the post

[indelibletraces]

Can you watch a perfect video too often? I don’t think so. This truly captures who Frank and Kitty are as individuals and as a couple. Wish the show had just focused on them. 😊

[nearlydawn]

nights like this.

⋆ pairing: josh washington x fem!reader ⋆ genre: fluff ⋆ warnings: no y/n, just slight flirting, mutual pining, before prologue ⋆ wc: about 3.1k ⋆ note: not proofread, expect part two ⋆ requested: no

masterlist ⋆ about ⋆ ask

tuesday, 7:56 pm.

both you and josh had been planning this night for what felt like weeks—a movie night. to be frank, neither of you are very coordinated when planning hangouts, but when you stepped inside and saw nothing laid out—blankets, snacks, drinks—or even a recorded movie ready—you knew this was going to be a mess, a small frown tugging at the corners of your lips.

sometimes things are better done spur of the moment! josh sheepishly let you in, insisting he forgot, but you knew he didn't—he couldn't have. texts back and forth every day talking about how excited you were proved that—not to mention hannah and beth were trying to tidy things up in the living room, waving at you with smiles on their faces. "i'm sorry—really—i'll get popcorn going," he rushed out, shaking his head softly as he made his way into the kitchen. you could've sworn he was blushing. from embarrassment. obviously. you didn't mind in the long run. you were here, and now the party was really going to get started. "it's alright, josh."

-

you sat criss-cross on the washington’s couch, remote in hand as you scrolled absentmindedly through the channels. josh, on the other hand, was in the kitchen whipping up popcorn. you were supposed to be looking for movies… but nothing seemed to be on tonight. nothing interesting, at least. it bored you to the point you were lost in thought while clicking the down button. their house was one you'd been in many times, and honestly you treated it like your own—albeit a bit better since you wanted to make a good impression. every time you arrived you just felt an immense sense of comfort, like you were wrapped in a warm blanket the second your foot hit the hardwood floor. but i guess that's just the effect the washington's have. on everything, really. whenever you get texts from them you're unable to hide the smile from your face.

the subtle pops and snaps of the kernels filled your ears, as well as the overwhelming smell of butter. it was a nice contrast to the frustration you were feeling... just seeing the same shit as you switched channels—almost to the point where you just wanted to take that dumb, plastic remote and throw it at the screen. deep breaths, you said. just take a deep breath.

click after click, channel after channel, nothing. the only things coming up were reality tv, animal planet—hell, judge judy. honestly, you could've settled for something dumb like 'ridiculousness' or 'the impractical jokers', but you desperately wanted to find a horror movie. you know. that cliché movie scene where the girl clings to the guys arm helplessly as she pretends to be scared—nuzzling her face into his shoulder to 'hide' from the absolute terror on screen. and then the boy consoles her, telling her that there's nothing to be afraid of, but deep down the girl just wanted an excuse to be by him. -

“aye, ya find anything?” he walked up behind you, a dopey grin on his face. his hands rested just behind your head, leaning on the couch. his voice broke you out of your small fantasy... unfortunately. you glanced behind yourself, thumb still auto-pressing like a zombie. “nope. no luck,” you sigh, scrolling so far you reached static.

“mm, well, i'm pretty sure i have dvds lying around somewhere,” he shrugged, patting your shoulder gently as he stepped back.

“now that's more like it.” you smiled with relief, setting the remote down by your side as your hands came to rub your face. "any idea where they are?"

you stood up from the couch, circling it as you followed him back into the kitchen. josh hummed softly, trying to think whilst pouring the popcorn into a medium sized tin bowl.

“they’re either in my room or my sisters, i’d assume,” he concluded, shooting you a knowing look. “we’re all movie people.”

you nodded, walking over to the fridge as you grabbed two bottles of water. “i can go check with hannah and beth,” you smiled.

hannah and beth. they had left the living room in silence the second they were done organizing—no hello or hug like usual. it was a bit strange, but you chose not to question it. i mean, they were only helping him, you know.

your hand lingered on the fridge handle for a moment, closing it quietly as you walked back to the couch. the cold of the water bottles were beginning to burn your hand—a sensation you never enjoyed. quickly, you set them down on coasters on the coffee table, wiping the condensation on your pants.

“so you don’t want to come to my room with me?” he teased, following after you as he brought the popcorn out.

“ew, josh,” a slight scoff escaped your lips, faint blush dusting your cheeks. “i’d much rather talk to your sisters.”

you feigned annoyance, but the smile creeping up on your face clearly said otherwise. it was incredibly hard to hide the fact his little comment made your heart race and all of your blood rush to your face.

silence fell between the two of you—a tension filled silence. your heartbeat echoed in your ears, trying to steady your breathing. his eyes scanned over your face, and suddenly the world seemed to stop. the glow of the tv seemed to illuminate his face perfectly—accentuating all his features. it was like he was luring you in. a sort of magnetic pull that just had you absolutely captivated.

conflicting feelings arose in your mind. it was a known fact that you liked josh—but should you act on them? your heart wanted you to walk forward and close the distance, but your mind was unsure. you were good friends, sure, but it was far-fetched to say he felt the same. he was unobtainable in your book.

“suit yourself,” he grinned, shrugging nonchalantly.

the second time you were broken out of your thoughts.

his voice was smooth—the way he replied igniting a spark within yourself. he turned around almost as soon as he spoke, disappearing into the hallway that led to his room. as his footsteps slowly dissipated, you finally exhaled. honestly, you didn’t even know you were holding your breath.

but, did he always look at you like that?

- the walls of their home were decorated in a plethora of family photos, some of just them individually. there weren't many of josh, but the ones they did have up were cute, mostly him as a little boy with a goofy grin on his face. excited about his first day of kindergarten—catching his first fish—all his milestones. you couldn't help but look at all of them as you wandered around in attempt to find hannah or beth. you envied the washington's a bit—a well off family with a big house that just so happened to own an entire fucking mountain, not to mention the lodge and other buildings on that property. (dare i say nepo-children?). no matter how many times you were in that house, you only seemed to remember where hannah's room was, aside from the living room. your footsteps were quiet as you navigated, walking up the staircase with your left hand on the railing. as you reached the top of the steps, you b-lined it to hannah's room, knocking on her door gently. you could the muffled sounds of laughter, followed by soft steps as the door swung open—beth greeted you with a tight hug. hannah was sitting on the floor in front of a line-up of nail polishes. fun! "hey," she grinned as your name fell from her lips, "long time no see! i thought you and josh were supposed to be watching a movie?" she let her hands fall to your sides, holding your arms as she gently shook your body back and forth. "yeah, we were going to—" you smiled, laughing a bit as she took your hand and brought you into the room, "i came to ask if you guys had any dvds. he said they might be in here." the twins shared knowing glances, and they both nodded as they looked back at you—almost in sync. it was scary. were you first hand experiencing twin telepathy? they had a full-on conversation with their eyes alone. "they're in my room, i'll take you." beth took your hand in hers again, leading you out of hannah's room almost as soon as you arrived. you quickly waved to hannah, mouthing 'bye' as you were practically dragged through the endless hallway. a couple turns away and you were in front of her door. a small, mischievous smile tugged at the corner of her lips, glancing between you and the door as she opened it. "can i tell you something?" it came off as a question, but you knew she was going to say it anyway. beth walked straight to her bedside, picking up a stack of movie cases. you stood in the doorway, leaning on the doorframe with you arms crossed. a bit skeptical, you nodded, "of course." she almost seemed giddy at your reply, walking calmly over to you to hand you the tapes. there was an expression you couldn't quite read on her face. it was like she was excited—but also like she wanted to hide it at the same time. your arms opened to take the dvds, holding them to your chest as you read the titles from the top down, slipping the case to the bottom of the stack once you were done. "i'm pretty sure josh has a thing for you," beth started, tucking her bottom lip in between her teeth. she was trying to shut herself up, but honestly she couldn't keep it in any longer. your eyes flicked between the names of the movies and her face, your brows furrowing. she knew something you didn't. "what do you mean?" curiosity laced your voice but your eyes never met. you avoided her gaze. she leaned on the wall beside you, watching as you were suddenly so focused on reading all of the movie titles. "well, for starters, you are the only girl he's ever invited over to the house," beth nodded, sticking out a hand to count how many things she was listing off. she stuck her thumb out. "the only time he ever sees sam and the others are when we go to the lodge or hang out as a group." you hummed a small 'mhm', wanting her to continue. to say you were intrigued would be an understatement—you wanted to hear more, needed to hear more. just a half hour ago you were trying to convince yourself it was too good to be true, and now you weren't so sure. "and, he keeps asking han and i what kind of things you're into." she stuck out her pointer finger.

resting her head on the wall behind her as she looked up at the ceiling, she continued: "he's been listening to a lot of fleetwood mac ever since we mentioned it to him."

a small laugh managed to escape you as you listened to her, followed by a gentle nudge on her part. "i'm serious, i've never heard someone listen to gold dust woman so much!"

“maybe he’s just being a good friend—y’know, i always try to get into—“ beth placed her pointer finger to your lips, a quick and silly way to silence you.

“can you just trust me on this one?” her voice was desperate but playfull, her hand dropping to her hip.

a beat of silence fell between you two. it wasn’t awkward, just giving you time to think about it all. and then it dawned on you.

he’d been flirting with you the entire time.

stolen glances, the way his hand brushed against your own, little presents here and there—everything began to make sense. and you looked like a fool. blush instantly rushed to your cheeks, shaking your head as your eyes met beth’s.

“and you’ve known this for how long?”

“about 4 months. he begged us to not say anything—i swore on my life.”

another beat of silence.

“does josh know that i—“ you began, cut off by beth once more, this time by her words.

“nope, not to my knowledge. unless han said something, he is also oblivious.” she reassured, placing a hand on your shoulder.

“is it as painful as watching chris and ashley dance around the topic?” you questioned, tilting your head slightly with a bashful smile on your face.

“worse, actually, way worse. you guys are always so close to making a move, and then you chicken out.”

you shook your head once more, then glanced back down at the movies. they were all comedy except for one—‘the shining’. you’ve already seen it, quite a few times actually, but it wouldn’t hurt to play it. you politely handed the other movies back to beth, tucking the horror case underneath your arm.

her palm fell from your shoulder, taking the movies into her hands as she returned them to her bedside, then right back to the spot she was standing at.

“okay, but, that still doesn’t explain why he ‘forgot’,” you put air quotes up, “about our hangout today. is something up?”

“well,” she sighed, glancing to the floor before she met your eyes again. “i honestly don’t know. i think you just make him nervous, he was kind of just sitting around fidgeting all day.”

you nodded, butterflies swirling in your stomach. you made josh nervous? hell, he made you nervous. palms all sweaty any time you got too close—your body naturally heating up—not to mention how you always get red in the face when he stares at you for too long.

“promise you won’t say anything.”

“i won’t.”

-

eventually, you had made your way back to the living room, this time ignoring the family photos and instead trying to figure out if you were going to say something to josh. each step you took matched your heart beat, nice and steady. that was until you spotted josh on the couch, eyes closed.

your heart fluttered a bit just seeing him. despite only being apart for a couple minutes, you couldn’t help but miss him. it was a familiar feeling, unfortunately, it came with the burden of having a crush on him.

as if he felt your presence (undoubtedly heard your steps), his eyes opened as he turned his head to look in your direction—immediately sitting up straight with a small smile.

“there she is,” he stood up, walking over to meet you in the middle, “i’m guessing they had the movies?”

“mhm,” you nod, handing him the case. “you’ve seen ‘the shining’ before, right?”

he shook his head, taking the dvd into his hand, examining it. his eyes glanced between you and the writing on the case. "horror?" he questioned, sauntering over to the tv—you followed after. "would you rather watch 'pretty woman' or 'ferris bueller's day off' again?" you teased, leaving him to put the movie in while you sat on the couch, sneaking a few pieces of popcorn. josh chuckled gingerly, popping the disc from the holder straight into the dvd player. you changed the hdmi until it displayed the previews for other movies, signifying that you were on the right one. he strolled back over to you, sitting on the other side of the couch. comfortable silence fell between you two as he skipped the previews, immediately turning the movie on. he seemed invested—which was good—but you were starting to get bored. it was a great movie, don't get me wrong, but having seen it a few times... it just wasn't something that sparked your interest. compared to the other movies, this was the best bet. "scared?" you turned your head to look at him, a small smirk on your face. "need someone to hold onto?" "yes, definitely," he retorted, a dramatic flare grazing his voice. josh almost immediately moved closer to you, your knees touching as his arm hung on the spine of the couch—behind your body, of course. "what would i do without you?" you rolled your eyes, graciously accepting the newfound warmth that spread through your body. yes, from the proximity, but also because your heart was racing once more. he seemed so eager to be beside you. which is a good thing. - minutes passed and you found yourself watching josh's face more than the movie. he was completely entranced—hyper-focused on the screen in front of him, oblivious to your fond eyes examining his every expression. and over that time, your positions had changed. his arm was now resting around your shoulders, pulling you (basically) as close as possible, with your legs touching, both of you glued to each other. you could feel each time he was startled—his body tensing—then relaxing. eventually you decided to watch the movie, your eyes returning to the bloody horror that was being displayed. your head rested on his chest, and you wrapped your arms around his abdomen—a lazy hug, but also because it was more comfortable this way. you swore you could feel his heart rate pick up. "scared?" he mocked, glancing down at you. you scoffed, shaking your head gently against his body. “if anyone’s scared it’s you,” you retorted, looking up at him through your eyelashes.

josh looked back down at you, this time holding the eye contact. both of your eyes simultaneously flicked between the others eyes and lips—the two of you thinking the same thing.

your lips parted almost instinctively, both of you leaning in—

“am i interrupting something?”

hannah’s voice cut through the tension like a knife—neither of you even heard her coming. you sat up quickly, blush evident on your cheeks.

“not at all,” josh replied, his arm still around hour shoulders—he seemed rather calm—but his body was tense against yours.

you didn’t want to admit it, but it was so excruciatingly obvious she interrupted something. with the way she was grinning, she had to have known it too.

a small smile fell on your lips, looking at her, that same mischievous smile that her sister wore was now on her face.

beth was right. you and josh dance around the topic too much—at this point, you need to come up with your own choreography for it. the fact you two almost kissed—faces so close—yet so far.

how long were you going to have to wait for it to happen again?

thank you all for being so patient while i took my time writing this. pretty sure i experienced writers block lmao? i got kind of lazy halfway through but hope you enjoyed!!! let me know what you think in the comments pretty plzz tried to hurry this shit out like 3 days ago and got bored but now i REALLY had to have it done by today so i could watch arcane s2 LMAOO also i'd like to say that i got my layout inspo from ruewrote, so thank you for having a blog (lol)

[alligator-tearzz]

R.I.P Van Der Linde Gang 💔 You would have loved:

(seen a few ppl do this,, if you started this definitely lmk and I’ll credit u !!)

updated to add Kieran and Sean

Dutch - Self help books, those podcasts where people give you terribly incorrect health information and claim that they’re doctors

Uncle - The massage chairs in malls, Frank Gallagher, insane reddit stories that definitely never happened, scamming disability cheques from the government

Abigail - iPhone’s share your location feature, the Parent Teacher Association, audiobooks

Arthur - Remote control racing cars (aarwh it’s a toy boat!), the catch and cook youtube videos, Cowboy Carter by Beyoncé, free healthcare mayhaps…..

John - Maury, The sassy man apocalypse on TikTok, Sitting and watching Bluey in a trance with Abigail after Jack has already gone to bed

Miss Grimshaw - Supernanny, Judge Judy, Spas, Massages, Bear Grylls probably, Bed Bath and Beyond

Sadie - Streetwear, absolutely bodying men on FPS games, Rage rooms

Charles - Axe throwing to get the frustration out, wildlife protection acts, David Attenborough, ATLA

Javier - The head massage you get when you get your hair washed at the salon, edibles, Guitar Hero, collecting vinyls

Hosea - Game shows like The Chase and Deal or No Deal, Dolly Parton probably, cruises, community libraries where you take a book and leave a book behind

Strauss - Cryptocurrency, whatsapp scams

Mary-Beth - Wattpad, Ao3, Booktok, you name it. Those fanfic movie adaptations like After, 50 shades of Grey etc, Cottagecore aesthetic, Taylor Swift, TikTok edits, Bridgerton

Tilly - Those ‘Day in the Life of’ Tiktoks, Jazz bars, Chloe x Halle, cruises as well

Karen - How To Get Away With Murder, Bottomless brunch, Reality shows with a bunch of drama like Love Island or Married at First Sight, Ru Paul’s Drag Race

Bill - Mardi Gras, Brokeback Mountain 😋, Home Depot, probably, those giant American cars that are on the verge of being trucks, Call of Duty

Pearson - Those late night infomercials that show random kitchen utensils like a garlic mincer or a nutribullet blender, Reddit, Spending money on E-Harmony, standing in the club and staring awkwardly at a woman, Dungeons and Dragons

Lenny - Online self paced university, Jordan Peele movies, Studio Ghibli movies, Noise cancelling headphones, The Last of Us

Kieran - Animal crossing, Saddle Club, the Wikihow “how to talk to girls” page, taking horrible advice from tik tok just because the person who posted it sounded trustworthy, astrology probably

Sean - Getting drunk at local football games and heckling the other team, claiming he’s not into Karen’s reality shows but then standing there watching the whole episode with his arms crossed while asking her about every single person and their drama, would most definitely be famous for yapping on Twitter, Derry Girls would be his fave show

[missmarveledsblog]

It's only pretend right? ( Bucky barnes x reader) part two

summary : the morning the two get to the ranch only to discover the stay is longer than intended , Bucky meets her family some great and some honestly pissed him off , as if the seeing her judgemental family her ex was also there but still in all that she ignored it ready to show bucky they things that made her love coming home shitty extended family or not

warning: majority of this is fluffy some shitty people but bucky is there to keep her smiling

(previous part )

“ wakey wakey kiddo” Clint's voice boomed throughout the room sending her startled form out the bed. “ we’re leaving in 20 minutes. I was also informed to tell you that  Bucky will have food and coffee  on the jet” he chuckled seeing her on the floor glaring up at the man.

 “ gotta ask laura if she would enjoy the widow life , ” she grumbled heading towards the bathroom .

 “ nah she loves me too much and so do you ,  just not like how you love  bucky” he teased .

 “ Everybody knows I like bucky?”she came out a minute later.

 “ everyone but bucky , enhanced sense my ass” he muttered. 

“ it’s 5 am even steve knows to not wake me up so early bird man what is your deal ” she whined looking at the phone. 

“ Get dressed, you can sleep on the jet” he called, pushing her back to the bathroom with the clothes the girls were so kind to pick out for her the night before.

“ when did you become so bossy?” she growled 

 “ Oh shut up , get dressed,” he chuckled . 

“ told you she doesn’t like to be woken up , she didn’t stab you either that good” nat assessed. 

“ she didn’t get a chance” he winked.

 “ Nat Your MALE best friend is going to be visiting the bermuda triangle so say bye bye” she walked out rubbing her  eyes and yawning before shooting the man with another glare.

 “ Nice knowing you barton , you grumpy sit down” she saluted the man before taking the hair brush in her hand. She sat as nat tackled the bird nest that was her bed head eyes dropping slightly  .

 “ Ten more minutes” she mumbled before Clint lifted her up, making her yelp before walking out the room and down the hallway , Nat following after.

 “Are you excited to see your family kid?… Y/n … is she .. she’s asleep” he turned to see nat standing trying to suppress her laughter as the woman on his shoulders let out soft snores .

 “ oh this little shit”he grumbled heading out to the jet . 

“ hey doll” bucky smirked seeing  clint carrying her onto the jet. 

“She’s still asleep” he grunted, placing her down on the chair as she stirred , waking up again. 

“ Here's some coffee doll,” the man smiled .

 “ hey thank you bucky , good morning” she beamed before taking a generous gulp. “ Where was my goodmorning “ Clint looked to her, arms crossed.

“ back in the room when you scared it out of me” she took the tupperware filled with food.

 “ Just friends my ass” he turned, seeing the two filled with adoration for each other . 

The trip wasn’t long enough when Clint landed the jet near her family's ranch before rushing them out .

 “ Enjoy , have fun  and I'll collect you guys in two weeks” he called a mischievous smirk as the two spun around.

 “ Did  he just say two weeks?” she asked.

 “ he did and apparently we weren’t told” he held up the phone to see the team texting them to enjoy the time off.

 “ I mean I have Stark's black card so the second week doesn’t have to be here” she held the black plastic up and a devious smirk on her face.

 “  I mean I could use a vacation” he chuckled, both turning to see her mother and father coming out smiles painted on their faces as they walked up the drive. 

“ Natasha just told me we have you both for two weeks isn’t that exciting,” her mother cooed.

 “ she is not getting that prada bag.. Hey mama , pops where is everyone” she smiled softly hugging them. 

“ Nice to see you sir , ma'am,” bucky smiled, shaking their hands.

 “ Son, call me frank” her father pulled him into a hug . 

“ and me beth , your aunt owes me fifty  for this” she giggled, hugging  her then him . “So good to see you both  but i must say seeing her smile this hour of the morning is strange, you must have the touch mr barnes” her father chuckled. 

“ Please call me Bucky or James, please both of you and I didn't wake her. It is my secret” he laughed.

 “ I aint that bad” she grumbled. 

“ doll loki is afraid to go near your room in the morning and i think Clint learned his lesson” he nudged her softly.

 “ he’s not wrong , i mean you nearly stabbed jack” her mother nodded.

 “ Well my dumbass brother shouldn’t have worn a mask” she rolled her eyes.  

“ Speaking of Jack , he  and Helen and Izzy and Maya are staying at a hotel along with the rest of the family.”  her mother smiled as she and her father cheered.

 “ oh give it up to you two , grandma is still staying here” her mother rolled her eyes. `` which one?” she whispered to her dad while Bucky smiled at the close bond the two seem to share. 

“ Her mother ,  so the evil one” her dad winced. 

“ Bucky ..baby you’re catholic right? '' she asked .  

“ I mean I was back in the 40s” He almost melted at the pet name. 

 “ She's going bingo Thursday  so Izzy will propose to Maya then  it will be just us as a family rest will be out ” her mother sadly smiled.

 “ Why do we have to entertain these assholes?” Y/N asked.

 “ Because they are still family, '' her mother shot back . 

“ Well they don’t treat us like that,” she shook her head.

 “ it's not even for the full week we can do it kitty” her dad wrapped his arm around her as they approached the house. “ your mama set your room up for both of you so bring your bags up and join us for breakfast” he smiled as she froze turning to her friend.

 “ Sorry I didn’t think we’d have to share a room for a week, nevermind two” she winced. 

“ it’s ok we bunked together on a mission and sleepover in the compound” he brushed it off pretending his prayers weren’t just answered and frankly he thought his acting skills were Oscar worthy at that moment .

 “ ok we can do this” she nodded before taking his hand in hers . 

“ Show me the way, little cowgirl” he winked, making her burst into laughter.

Thankfully the rest of the morning was quiet once they finished breakfast ,she helped her mom with preparing lunch while Bucky offered to help her father with some of the chores on the ranch. 

“ My , my a  little kitty has gotten into the kitchen” she heard the voice before she felt him lift her up swinging her in a bruising hug.

 “ Jack in the box” she laughed excitedly. 

“ Where is this fella who thinks he’s good enough for my little sister?” he puffed his chest and stood a little taller.

 “Behind you” her father chuckled as the two walked into the kitchen .

 “ holy shit that’s sergeant james barnes' ' her brother's tough guy act fell instantly.

 “ aww shit i owe mama 50” her sister izzy pushed past the men before hugging her sister tightly. 

“  Who else owes you money?” She turned to her mother. 

“ A couple of your uncles and aunts,” she shrugged, heading back to the food. 

“ So where are my future sister in laws?” she asked quietly. 

“ how good at you with controlling that little gift of yours” jack stood back shooting izzy a worried glance. 

“ Why are you asking?” she crossed her arms as the man gulped. 

“They’re outside with Eli. '' Izzy called  hiding  behind jack.

 '' as in the cheating ,  dick of an ex left me alone in a big city alone , that eli '' she felt the heat on her finger tips til a sudden coldness snapped her back to reality  .

 “ I got you, '' Bucky whispered in that voice, instantly melting the annoyance.

 “ fuck please never leave” izzy patted the man on the back 

.” yeah took us forever to grow out our  eyebrows last time  , he’s my best friend and helen's brother” he smiled sadly to his sister . 

“ KITTY” her head whipped to see the two women pulling her to their arms. 

 “ good to see you Y/N” his voice had the hair on her body standing like bucky could sense it pulling her to him and wrapping his arm around her waist tightly.

 “ See my sister the avenger pulled sergeant james barnes” Jack smiled brightly.

 “ Please, it’s bucky” he waved to them .

 “I'm a big fan, Bucky,” Eli smiled.

 “ Mr. Barnes to you son” he turned, ignoring the outstretched hand pulling the knife out of his back pocket . " i forget i had this , hey beth why do i help you with lunch my knife skills are almost criminal " he smirked seeing the man pale .  

“ I like this one,” her father beamed.  

“ Me too” Helen chuckled before shooting her own brother a glare. 

.................

“ So how did y’all meet?” Eli asked, taking his seat across , most of the family arriving. 

“ work dummy” Helen rolled her eyes. 

“ oh yeah your mom told us you took to being an avenger , what are you the secretary? '' her uncle joked.

 “ No, she is part of the team , she beast on a mission.. But always safe, super cautious "Bucky spoke up ,then he added seeing the worry on her parents' faces . 

“ I mean she's always been a spitfire,” Jack chuckled.

 “ yeah she beat up those boys that picked on you when we were kids” izzy high fived her little sister.

 “ You allow her to do that,” another uncle scoffed. 

“ I don't own her so she’s free to do what she wants ma’am” bucky laughed thinking it was a joke but from her expression , he wondered what else she hid from the team when it came to her own family.

 “ We thought it was made up, “ her aunt laughed as her shoulder tense. 

“ Is  your son  out of rehab yet oh sorry i wasn’t supposed to say that was i? is he out of that college for drugs ” her father asked as she and her sibling hide the giggles. 

“Hey bucky wanna see my horse? '' she asked, feeling the man's jaw clench and tension build throughout the table .

 “ Sure doll” he smiled softly when his eyes set on her . Almost pulling him out the door as they all watched judging like always . she barely got out the door before he pulled her to a halt .

 “ ok what the hell was that” he asked with an almost sad tone in his voice. 

“ I may be the black sheep of a judgmental as hell family. I know I should've warned you,” she let out a sigh, wringing her hands.

 " Is this why you don’t visit home much?” he asked softly.

 “ You cracked that code huh?, i mean even if she can be bitchy i still write to my grandma and my folks visit and i ring siblings regularly but the rest i avoid because i’m never good enough and I thought maybe with a boyfriend and great job would help nope” she sighed. 

“ How long are they staying for?” he asked, wrapping his arms around as she melted in his embrace. 

“ They leave in a couple of days which is too long” her father's voice rang out. “ you ok kitty?” he asked softly.

 “ I'm fine papa , we're going to bring bucky on my trail ” she smiled sadly. 

“ What is this kitty I keep hearing?” Bucky asked, smiling as her cheeks heated. 

“ oh she ain’t told you that one yet , ” her father chuckled . “ After the madness i’ll tell you “ he added before walking into the house.

 “ Let's go see these horses” she rushed off before he could ask her more.

 “ Oh no back here doll face ” he chuckled, chasing after her as her father watched from the front door with a smile so wide he couldn’t remember the last time he saw it so free on her face not a force one as she took the battering of their words  . 

“ he's a bit old for her, no? '' her fathers eyes rolled walking in they barely waited til she was out the door before the nit picking started . 

 '' yeah isn’t he like a hundred or something” eli added.

 “ he was frozen doesn’t count” her brother shook his head 

“ he makes her smile i don’t care if he is a thousand years old” her father almost snapped at the guest at the table. 

“ That job is so unsafe, people are gonna know she one of those thing ” her aunt shook her head. 

“Well ain't we lucky you ain’t doing it , she could be a lunch lady and you’d find a problem in it and ain't nothing wrong with her ” he looked at the woman .

 “What is your problem with Y/N? least she not a junkie or a dim witted whore like your kids '' izzy asked hating how it was alway y/n they would attack or show disgust at . 

'' You know what our problem is? She’s not even … ''. 

“ everybody stop yelling and eat your food” the elderly woman yelled, instantly shutting them up, eyeing the sneaking touches from her eldest granddaughter before the two went to eat their food. “ Sorry mama” and “ grandmama” were uttered around the table as the woman looked out the window  at her granddaughter running around smiling . “ she is very happy” she murmured as the rest ignored her words, bragging about their fake lives .

 

“ Here bucky bear is star , she is the best horse in the state nah in the whole of the US although i might be biased”she winked as she patted the mare’s side. 

“ she is a pretty one, star nice name ,it's cute ” he mused but  a black mane caught his eyes . “ Who's this?” he asked, walking toward the one across. 

“ Oh moon,  he's the new one , my pops rescued him , the previous owner said he ain’t nothing good but my dad sees the best in everything i think i get that from him” she smiled . 

“ he seems ok to me” he patted the horse .

 “ he’s misunderstood like someone i know” she mused only for the horse to kick the stall . “ You must be fed up there huh buddy” she mused.“ What do you say bucket wanna  see my childhood being little cowgirl and all that ” she walked towards the saddles.

 “ Lead the way doll” he smiled as she handed it to him but the minute the stall opened the jet black stallion made its way toward the almost stark white mare's head rubbing hers.

 “ oh you dirty dog come kicking a fuss for the ladies huh ? ” she chuckled pulling them apart as she led star out both getting them ready before she hopped up with ease.  

“ you make that too easy” he chuckled before not so gracefully getting on the stallion before she took head.  Bought passing the window as her father and brother almost fell over each other seeing bucky easily walk by . 

“ catch me if you can” she giggled before taking off down the trail as his horse followed  after .

  “ Hey, this guy is doing the work” he called.

 “ That's because I think he is  in love” she giggled, enjoying the feeling of the wind in her hair , taking full advantage given she didn’t get to do stuff like this back in the compound. 

“ he’s not the only one” he sighed following after her. Watching her so free and smiling wider wondering if he could get tony to get something like this on the compound just to see her look like that more often .

part three

[mysticpenguincreation]

Dramione, Spuffy, Bellarke, Bethyl, Kastle

perfect new meme template just dropped

[tonyspank]

LOST IN THE FIRE

black!singer!reader x jenna ortega (they/them pronouns, but there’s mentions of them having a pp, lol)

warnings: fluff and a tiny bit of angst i guess, my poor attempts at humor again, social media w a bit of irl

a/n: i’ve always wanted to do a social media book. so this is just something fun i came up with, i hope you enjoy :) it’s also a way i can put u guys onto my fav songs 🤭

faceclaim: khalil beth

Is Percy Hynes White Dating Jenna Ortega?

Jenna and Percy have yet to confirm or deny dating rumors, but they have posted many cute cast photos of one another on Instagram. On top of that, Jenna took Percy as her plus one date for the 2023 Golden Globes — and they're set to star in a movie together!

━━━━ iMESSAGE

3 talented artists + jack lani - kehlani jackie - jack tae - matteo

lani Y/N sweetie..

jackie 🙁

tae what'd i miss??

jackie Y/N's fav ex is dating an ugly man 🥺

tae JENNA? NAHH

tae let's hope she leave him too 🤞

tae she'll miss the bbc 🥲

lani omg wdf 😭😭

you ...

jackie now the dots was a lil dramatic

lani JACK 😭😭

you jack stfu before i shave ur beard

tae got his ass

lani LMFAOO

jackie 🤐

tae ok ok but Y/N how are u rn?

lani frr like talk to us

you wdym?

you we broke up why would i be bothered

jackie

🤨

tae 💀💀

lani i've never met anyone who still likes their exes posts

you it's called being mature

you i am able to support her regardless of what happened

tae it's called being delusional

jackie laughed at "it's called being delusional"

jackie i have an idea

jackie

tae fam what is ur camera roll? 💀

lani what's ur idea jack

jackie i'm gonna ask demi for an invite to the scream 6 premiere

jackie then me and Y/N gon jump percy in front of jenna right

lani

side-eye…

jackie and then jenna gon be like

jackie oh my god not my mans getting his ass beat by my ex & their bsf tf

you please stfu 🙏

jackie bro

jackie i'm tryna help you save ur gf from a guy who looks like the definition of pervert

tae laughed at "i'm tryna help you safe ur gf from a guy who looks like the definition of pervert"

lani 😭😭😭😭

lani i can't breathe

you it's literally just a rumor that they're dating tho

you & i'm not going to the premiere

jackie mhm

━━━━

y/nhart posted on Instagram.

Liked by jackharlow, devyn_nekoda, and 7,891,103 others

y/nhart what's your favorite scary movie? 🔪 #ScreamVI @screammovies

View all 12,793 comments

screammovies You, of course. 🔪🩸 > y/nhart can we kiss?

jackharlow what did you say in the group chat? > y/nhart that jack harlow is a flop 🤫

user15 bro doing everything but dropping an album 💀 > user1 ong. right my wrongs ep was amazing but it's been 8 months 😭

mrmatteo where was my invite? > y/nhart drop a song then let's talk > user3 what a hypocrite 💀

user8 bite me

kehlani you could never be ghostface > screammovies Its always someone you know. 👻🔪🩸

user11 GO TO THE STUDIO

user992 i have $1,000 frank will drop before this mf

user90 MORE JENNA AND Y/N CONTENT??? > user78 i missed them :')

━━━━

            Your eyes were starting to water due to the number of flashes from the cameras that were going off around you. The bright lights made it difficult to keep your eyes open, but you knew that this was just part of being in the spotlight.

  Jack places a hand on your arm, slightly shoving you towards the exit. You ignore the yells of your name and continue to make your way off the carpet.

Your bodyguard, who had been standing nearby, steps in to create a path through the crowd, shielding you and Jack from the relentless paparazzi.

  "Did you talk to Jenna?" Jack asks, leaning close enough for his voice to be heard.

You send the bearded man a glare, shaking your head. "No. I don't even think she's walked the carpet yet."

Jack raises an eyebrow before turning his head to the carpet, which is still filled with celebrities and flashing cameras.

He scans the area, searching for any sign of Jenna among the chaos. He then turns back to you with a smirk on his lips. "I think you're just ducking her."

You roll your eyes at Jack's teasing remark.

"Please, like I have time to play hide and seek with Jenna. I'm just trying to avoid the relentless paparazzi."

You gesture towards the swarm of photographers jostling for the perfect shot.

Jack hums, his smile widening. A thought clicks into his head, causing his smile to drop.

"Oh, yeah! I talked to Melissa, and she is fine as fuck."

You thin out your lips. Jack probably didn't know she was married.

"I'll tell her husband you said that."

"You know what they say. Don't let your husband distract you from finding the love of your life."

You chuckle at his joke.

━━━━

"May I say you look amazing tonight?" The interviewer states, smiling as they admire your appearance.

You smile, bringing your hands together to calm yourself before responding.

"Thank you so much."

"Are you a big fan of the Scream franchise?" The interviewer asks, moving their microphone closer.

You nod, your eyes lighting up with excitement.

"Absolutely! Ghostface is such an iconic character, and I love the twists that they put in the movie. It just always keeps you on your toes."

The interviewer chuckles, sharing your enthusiasm. "I completely agree! The Scream franchise has definitely left a lasting impact on the horror genre with its clever storytelling and memorable characters. Speaking of memorable characters, whose is your favorite?"

You pause for a moment, looking up at the sky as you bite down on your lip.

"Uhh... It's hard to choose just one, but if I had to pick, I would say Roman Bridger. I didn't suspect him at all, and his reveal as the mastermind behind everything in Scream 3 was a total shock. Plus, Scott Foley's performance was absolutely chilling."

The interviewer nods, appreciating your choice. "I couldn't agree more. He's surely one to remember."

You nod again, smiling. "For sure. I've always wanted to play Ghostface. Taking off the mask and revealing your plan must be so fun."

The interviewer laughs and says, "I'm sure you'd do great."

Before you could respond with a thank you, the interviewer speaks up.

"Jenna! It's so nice to see you." You turn to see Jenna, your heart dropping at the sight of her.

You force a tight-lipped smile at the brunette. "Hey Jenna, long time no see," you say, trying to sound casual.

Deep down, you can't help but wonder if she still thinks about you.

Jenna returns the smile. "Yeah, it's been a while," she replies softly.

Memories of your past together flood your mind, and you can't help but wonder if there's still a chance for reconciliation.

"You guys are so stunning, I can't even!" The interviewer gushes, snapping you out of your thoughts.

Jenna chuckles, her eyes meeting yours briefly before she turns her attention back to the interviewer.

"Jenna, I've gotta ask. Are you a fan of Y/N's music?" Jenna nods her head, glancing at you again before answering.

"I am. They're very talented musically, and I'm waiting for another album."

You try to fight back a smile, but it fails miserably. The interviewer notices your failed attempt to hide your smile and chuckles.

"Seems like there's mutual admiration here," they remark, noticing the subtle connection between you and Jenna.

You tilt your head, shrugging a bit. "I guess you could say that. Jenna's very talented herself, both musically and in acting."

Jenna feels the butterflies in her stomach erupt as you compliment her.

She's missed you, and she wants nothing more than to reconnect with you. She blushes slightly and responds, "Thank you."

━━━━

You walk over to Jenna, interrupting her conversation with Percy. "Jenna."

Jenna turns towards you, a surprised expression on her face as she pauses mid-sentence.

"Come home with me?"

Jenna's eyes widen as she processes your unexpected request, leaving her momentarily speechless.

After a brief moment of hesitation, she nods slowly, her curiosity piqued. "Sure, why not? Let's go."

Percy furrows his eyebrows, watching you and Jenna walk off together.

When you arrive home, you take off your jacket and help Jenna with hers.

Jenna mumbles a thank you before making herself comfortable on the couch.

She looks around the unfamiliar surroundings, seeing as you've changed a few things since the last time she was there.

Jenna's eyes linger on a Polaroid of you and her, capturing a happy memory from months ago. Of course, Jenna still loved you, but was she ready to take the risk of getting hurt again?

She couldn't bear the fact that things might not work out between you two, causing more heartbreak.

Fame had always been a double-edged sword for Jenna. While it had brought her success and recognition, it also came with constant scrutiny and pressure.

It's what ruined you two. Jenna being constantly busy due to acting and you constantly being busy due to singing made it difficult for you both to find quality time together.

Despite the love that still existed between you, the demands of your respective careers created a growing distance that neither of you knew how to bridge.

You walk into the living room, two glasses of wine in your hand. "Actually," Jenna speaks up, and you raise your eyebrows in anticipation.

She continues, "Could we sit on your balcony?"

You nod, a smile tugging at the corners of your lips. "Of course," you say, leading the way to the balcony.

As you settle into the comfortable chairs, the city lights twinkling below, Jenna takes a deep breath and says, "I miss moments like this, just being together without any distractions."

You take a sip of your wine, pausing to savor the flavor before responding. "Me too," you say, gazing out at the night sky.

"I missed you."

Jenna's eyes soften, and she reaches over to gently touch your lap. "I missed you too," she whispers.

"I hope you know that I'm not dating Percy."

"I know," you reply, a small smile forming on your lips. "I knew you wouldn't downgrade like that."

Jenna chuckles softly, her dimples beginning to show. "That's hilarious."

A silence falls over the two of you.

"I couldn't imagine being with anyone other than you," you snap your head towards her, your heart swelling with love at words.

She always knew the right thing to say.

"You're the only one who truly understands me, Y/N." Jenna's eyes meet yours, her brown pupils glistening in the moonlight.

"I can't find myself being vulnerable or trusting with anyone else." She finishes off, breaking away from your gaze.

You don't say anything, you just place your hand over top of hers, which was resting on your lap.

━━━━

y/nhart posted on Instagram.

Liked by jennaortega, jackharlow, kehlani, bnyx, and 13,829,100 others

y/nhart 12...??...23...lost in the fire...earned it...all mine...confident...all mine...oui...greece...get me...kiss land...for free

➕➕➕.

meltdown...i'd do anything to make you smile...boyfriend,girlfriend...rambo...let em'know

@chancetherapper @djkhaled @kehlani @travisscott @jackharlow @feliciathegoat @theweeknd @bnyx

View all 46,829 comments

user12 OMFG BRUH

user99 AOTY

jackharlow deluxe 🔜

bnyx 👨‍🍳🔥🎶

theweeknd 🫡

user77 couldve had better feats tbh > user880 STFU

djkhaled 🔥🔥🔥 WE'LL NEVER STOP 🛑!!! 

>user14 TELL EM BRING OUT THE ALBUM ALREADY

user67 i'm about to cry.

━━━━

y/nsrealwife posted on Instagram.

18,782 likes

y/nsrealwife i stand by what i said

View all 138 comments

user11 unknown? it's jenna😭 > y/nrealwife me when i'm delusional

user45 there's no misses on the album + they ate down in the deluxe > user89 came in my pants when they came on the track w that "t-time, t-time, t-time.."

user66 can we talk abt for free? bro had like 10 viagra pills before pulling up to the studio > user77 💀💀💀

jackharlowsbeard kehlani & jack on the album made me so happy.

━━━━

y/nhart posted on Instagram.

Liked by jennaortega, jackharlow, mrmatteo, kehlani, arianagrande, and 17,839,138 others

y/nhart mega christmas dump 🎄@jennaortega @jackharlow @mrmatteo @kehlani

Comments have been limited.

tonyspank had to put it in a collage due to the 10 photo limit 🙁

—

jennaortega has posted a story.

[below-average-fangirl]

Kitty and Frank's arc in season 2 of Mr Selfridge is my favorite.

How it starts with him under appreciating her, and the slow realization dawning on his face when she leaves their date that he might have just thrown away something special. Kitty sets down her marker early, that while she likes him, she knows her value and the scene where he comes to apologize and she has him purchase the expensive lotion is fun. Then later when she visits him at his work and takes the upper hand by kissing him, leaving him speechless, and the whole whiskers scene is playful and flirty. The fallout after the article where Frank is now clearly besotted with Kitty and wants to make amends. All of it is perfect and I wish we'd had more of them.

[graceyappsalot]

“Whoops?”

~best friend to lovers troupe 😍, no set gender 🫶🏻, Percy Jackson x reader, mentions of blood and an accident cut, swearing and two stupid idiots who obviously like each other.~. !!!NOT PROOF READ!!!

“Come on, Y/N, you have to actually try.” Percy spat out. “I am trying, this is just so boring and I don’t see a point in this.” You said while lunging forward at Percy with your sword in hand. “One day you could be in serious trouble, and… I don’t know if I’ll always be here to save you.” Percy mumbled out that last part but you still heard. Understanding why he now had been begging you to practice swordsmanship with him. “Oh..Well you can’t get rid of me so easily.” You exclaimed trying to lighten up the mood. Percy didn’t quite like that and sent a little sassy side eye your way. You laughed at your sassy best friend.

You look away for a split second but still going towards Percy as you two continue to fight with your swords. You watch as Grover falls off a boat into the lake. “OMG Percy look at- shit!” While you were distracted with laughing your ass of at Grover being stupid, Percy hadn’t taken notice of how distracted you were and accidentally caused you to fall over a boulder/rock. “Omg shit Y/N, are you okay?” He giggled out. “Are you seriously laughing right now.” Percy went over and helped you up looking for any clear injuries. “ you can’t blame me the way you fell is hilarious.” His eyes went wide. “What..why are you look at me like- Woah okay yup that’s a problem.” You say as you take notice of the sword embedded into your leg.”

“Hey guys! Uh hey Y/N you know you have a sword in your leg right?” Anna Beth stated walking into the mess you two created. “Oh my gosh, no I had no clue thanks annabeth.” You said with obvious sarcasm. The pain was finally starting to set in as you saw the blood fall from your leg. “Hey guys I’m feeling a little dizzy maybe I should go to the infirmary.” You tried taking a step forward and then……..It all went black

You wake up in the infirmary with Percy next to you sitting and Annabeth spewing questions at him “How did this even happen? You know what actually I don’t wanna know.” Percy laughed “Well actually this stupid ass wasn’t looking, well I mean technically it was my fault but like..?” You cough trying to make your presence known in the room “ I got a little distracted but, it’s technically groovers fault because he made me get distracted by falling into the lake.” Everybody started laughing. Luke walks in. “How did you even manage to get a sword stuck in your leg. You two idiots got me in trouble because I’m supposed to be in charge of keeping everyone safe.” Luke spat out obviously upset with you and Percy. “Whoops..?” You and Percy said simultaneously.

Everybody but Percy had left your room. “I’m sorry for laughing, I was actually super worried for you.” He said while avoiding eye contact. “It’s okay, I would have laughed at me too.” You grab his hand in hopes of him making eye contact. “I’m okay. I promise.” Percy looks up finally gazing into your eyes. You can tell how worried he had been. “Annabeth told me I should tell you this secret I’ve been keeping but, I don’t know how you will react.” You sit up yearning to know this so called secret “Tell me, you can trust me Percy, you’re my best friend.” That last sentence didn’t seem to make Percy so happy. “That’s the problem Y/N. I don’t wanna be your best friend anymore.” Taken back you removed your hand from his.

“Oh..” Percy shot up with worried eyes. “No, no, no that’s not what I meant.” “ what I meant was, I really like you, in a not friend way. I have for awhile..” you lunge at him and wrap your arms around him. “You stupid idiot. I’ve liked you since you first got here at camp.” You say.

Okay I don’t know how to end this so 😭😭😭 yeah that’s it. I tried to make this as good as possible but I’ll eventually make it better 🫶🏻🫶🏻

[mrsalwayswrite]

All I Long For - Chapter 1 (Billy Russo x fem!reader)

So I recently joined The Punisher fandom and oops, now I'm obsessed with Billy. The idea for this series wouldn't leave me alone so here we are. A huge shout-out to @e-dubbc11 for their fantastic Billy fics and the encouragement to write my own!

One thing to note- in this fic, Billy never worked for Rawlings and Frank's family is alive.

Summary: You were there for the job only, just make it through the weekend and get paid. But it's never that easy or simple when Billy Russo shows up. When seeing him uncovers feelings you thought long buried, tainted by heartache. You just had to keep your head down and survive the weekend, then things could return to normal. Unless Billy had his way…

Words: 2400

Series Masterlist // Next Chapter

Staring up at the vast, brick mansion, you wondered what you had gotten yourself into. 

This job had come highly recommended from your new neighbors, a lovely middle-aged couple who were kind enough to put in a good word for you with the business owner. Someone they apparently knew. Not long after, you found yourself working for a catering company after hastily moving to New York City. It was not the job you wanted but it paid the bills. 

And it was those suffocating bills which were the only reason you were going to set foot into that mansion. 

Not that you hated the job, per se. It certainly was not what you wanted to do with your life, nor what you got a college degree in; but your boss was fair and most of your coworkers were fine, so you refrained from complaining too much. The hours were detrimental for a social life but that was not why you moved to NYC. Most of the events you worked at were weddings or charity functions for fancy, rich people. Somewhere it was easy enough to blend into the background, to just be another faceless person. A fact you were content with. 

Now you found yourself staring at a massive mansion just on the outskirts of NYC for a four-day weekend. 

Two weeks ago, your boss called asking if you would be willing to work for a long weekend at an estate outside of the city. Some rich guy had rented out the place for him and his friends for a weekend away and he had hired the catering company to provide food. Of course, your boss mentioned that because of the extended hours, you could be getting far more than your regular rate. Apparently, the rich guy was very generous with his money for these sorts of events. 

With those bills glaring at you, mocking you, how could you refuse? 

So with trepidation tickling your spine and determination a helmet over your mind, you grabbed your suitcase from the back of the van you and some of your coworkers had piled into. Holding your head high, you walked into the estate, hoping the weekend would pass uneventfully.  

If only you had known….

*****

“Holy shit, I can't believe we're actually here!” Beth squealed, standing by your side. 

Currently, the small catering crew waited in the kitchen for the head chef to return, all while snooping around the space they would be spending the majority of their time over the long weekend. 

The arrival of the rich man and his friends hung over everyone with barely concealed anticipation. The guests would arrive in several hours, due mid-afternoon on Friday, stay over the weekend and leave on Monday mid-morning. Which meant the catering crew arrived Friday late morning to settle in, get a layout for the estate and begin prep work. 

The estate's manager was kind enough to give a tour, showing where the catering crew would be sleeping. Which turned out to be in the basement in several rooms set up like dorms to the disdain of particular persons. The special guests would be staying in the luxurious rooms on the upper floors. In addition, the estate boasted several rooms for the guests to wile away their time in. In a separate part of the basement was a large in-house movie theater, with an additional room set up with the latest gaming console and large TV, specifically ordered for this weekend. On the main floor was an indoor heated pool, hot tub and sauna. There was a massage room for the guests to book appointments, if desired. Near the lavish dining room was a space with a pool table, short bar set-up and tables with various card and board games. 

Outdoors held a large terrace off the back, leading down to the greens of a golf course. On either side of the course were thick woods that went for acres to allow guests privacy from neighbors or paparazzi. 

“It's beautiful.” You admitted, leaning back on the metal countertop. “I can't imagine how much this place costs to rent.”

Lana scoffed from down the line, adjusting her ponytail. “I bet this didn't even put a dent in his wealth. The man could burn money for fun.”

“He doesn't have to burn money to get his rocks off,” Ashley winked, then gave her shoulders a little shimmy, “he just needs to take me on a date. I'll show him such a good time, he'll beg to have me again.”

Lana laughed. “He never goes on a second date. Everyone knows that.”

“I never said nothin’ about a second date. He'll beg me to be in his bed every night!” 

Beth smiled over at the two across the large island. “Play your cards right and you might get the chance this weekend. I know he didn't hire any kind of female entertainment so...”

“God, I hope so!” Lana groaned. “He's so hot it's unfair. I swear all he'd have to do is flash that big smile of his at me and my underwear will be soaked.”

Ashley hummed in agreement, running a finger absent-mindedly along her lower lip. “Mmmm…I'd get on my knees in a heartbeat for him. Hell, I bet he even tastes good.”

“Think he's a tits or ass man?”

Donovan walked past the four women carrying a crate of fruit. “Maybe I'll try and flirt my way into his bed.”

“What would your boyfriend say?!” Ashley chuckled.  

He shrugged, setting the crate down along the counter. “Oh, we've already talked. Billy Russo would be a hall pass, for damn sure.”

At the name, static filled your ears. Any further conversation around you was muted by the buzzing in your mind. Fingers gripped the countertop painfully. Your heart raced, pounded within your chest as realization hit you like a sledgehammer. 

“Beth…”

She glanced over at your near whisper. “Yeah? Hey, you okay there?”

“Who–” you licked your lips, forcing the words to come out of your suddenly parched throat, past the lump and turmoil building within you, “who hired us? Who's the rich guy coming?”

“Oh, didn't you hear? It's Mr Billy Russo. He's the CEO of Anvil…”

And there was that static again, threatening to drown your senses but you forced yourself to listen. 

“...yeah, I guess he rented out the place for himself and some of his military buddies to come have a boys’ weekend or something like that.”

“Oh…okay. I–I'm gonna step outside for a minute. Excuse me.” Without waiting for a response, you hurried away, moving through the lower passages that were clearly meant for ‘the help’ and away from the main house. 

It was not until you stepped outside, the warm, summer air filling your lungs that you felt like you could take a deep breath. Panic fogged up your mind, filling you with equal parts dread and curiosity. It had been years since you last saw Billy Russo in person. Selfishly, you wondered what he would think seeing you again. Just imagining seeing him had your heart fluttering, desperate to fulfill that childish wish. Yet accompanying that longing was the shards of pain and hurt always attached to his name now for you. 

The conflicting emotions tore at you, eating away what contentment you held for the busy weekend. A rigidness zapped your muscles, making you tense as if ready to flee, to claim something had to come up and you needed to get back to the city. You knew Peter would understand, your boss was considerate, especially if you lied and said something happened with one of your grandparents. You could do it…

“Hey…you okay there?”

You looked over your shoulder at Beth, clearly having followed you out. “Yeah, yeah. Just…fine.”

“Yeah, I can smell the bullshit all over that.” She lazily walked over to stand next to you. You both stared out over the manicured lawn for a long moment before she spoke again. “Is it something about Russo? You seemed to panic when you heard his name.”

You shifted uncomfortably, the duality of hurt and hope creating a painful symphony in your chest. “I just– I didn't realize it was for him, you know? I don't know. It's stupid.”

“What? That he's walking sex on legs?”

You choked, not wanting that imagine in your head…even if you would never admit out loud how you knew already.

She laughed at your reaction, before nudging your elbow with hers. “What's it then?”

“Um, I just… I don't know. I guess I thought the party was gonna be a bunch of rich frat boys or something. Not…not Anvil and you know, military guys.”

“Will that be a problem? Do you need to leave?”

“No. It's fine.” You tried to say confidently but even to your own ears, your voice sounded strained. “I promise I'm okay. I was just caught off guard.” 

She stared at you as if unsure whether to believe you or not before finally shrugging. “Okay, well say something if you need to leave. Shit, I thought you were about to pass out.”

“I will, thanks.”

“Ready to go back in? Peter is about to start passing out assignments.”

“Yeah.” 

After taking a deep breath, allowing the summer air to swirl in your lungs once more, you followed Beth back to the large kitchen. Standing around and listening to the head chef, Peter, explain what everyone's role was for the weekend and how they had better not fuck it up, you tried to focus on the task at hand. 

Your insecurities, your fears, crept along the edges of your mind, taunting you, but you dutifully ignored them. 

The rational side of your mind repeated repetitively how you had a job here, tasks to do. You would barely have time to rest, let alone lounge around for Billy to notice you. Plus, it had been so long you doubted he would even recognize you. He would be spending time with his friends…not paying attention to you. 

You knew how to be a wallflower, you knew how to blend into the background. This weekend, you hoped that was all you would be.  

*****

It was hours later when you finally saw Billy. 

You attempted to remain in the kitchen, picking up extra tasks to help out and finding every excuse not to leave, especially once Billy and his rowdy friends arrived. There were about twelve men total in their group and you knew feeding twelve ex-military men would mean a lot of food. 

Unfortunately, your plan was thwarted when they needed help bringing plates out to the dining room and its several tables. 

Girding your loins and silently praying for divine intervention, you kept your face down as you helped carry out a large tray lauded down with full plates. For the first night, Billy requested plated dinners instead of the typical buffet. 

Smiling and flirting, Ashley passed out the plates on your tray, you just had to hold the tray steady. For a split second, you were immensely grateful for her more enthusiastic, outgoing personality, masking your poor attempts at subterfuge. 

The atmosphere in the dining room was jovial with the men looking forward to the weekend. Riotous laughter and teasing conversations filled the air. A smile graced your lips as you listened to these battle-hardened men who currently sounded like boys off at summer camp, talking about what they wanted to do and making competitive bets. 

It was then you happened to glance across the table as you readjusted the tray in your hands, only to freeze as a pair of dark onyx eyes stared straight at you. 

Your mind blanked as you met his gaze, unable to read the emotion behind his eyes as they stared at you. You used to be able to know, you used to be able to read him with just a look…but that was years ago when you were both younger and different people. 

Since the rise of Anvil and Billy‘s influence, you could not escape seeing pictures of him in tabloids or online of people lusting over him. Yet those pictures epically failed compared to him in the flesh. That jawline that begged to be traced with lips. Those dark eyes that pierced and entranced. Plush lips that were meant to be tasted and bitten. A lithe body that radiated raw power. There was something about Billy, a seductive magnetism that drew people around him, like he was the sun and people fell into his orbit and were unable or unwilling to escape. 

He maintained keeping your gaze captive, unwilling to release you from the visual bondage. All the while, your mind was infuriatingly blank. Then after a long moment, you watched his eyes crinkle, those plush lips turn upward, that million dollar smile people swooned over…

…and your breath caught in your throat, chest tightening, as you easily read the joy in his beguiling eyes. 

“Hey, can you grab the other tray, please?”

Ashley's question jolted you back to reality, like a bucket of ice water tossed over your head. A flush warmed your cheeks and you stuttered out some form of acceptable agreement before darting back towards the kitchen without looking back. Mentally, you scolded yourself for practically standing there ogling Billy in front of his friends. You wanted to die at the vivid reminder of how you lost all sense of poise in front of him, degraded to a simpering idiot. But mostly, you hated how seeing him only proved how even with a glance and a smile, he still made you yearn…

Thankfully, you were able to foist the job onto Donavan, who was happy to ogle handsome men. You fell back into step with the order and needs of the kitchen, trying to ignore the memory of those dark eyes watching you, of his breathtaking smile…

You shook the thoughts from your head. You just had to make it through the weekend, keep your head down and stay in the kitchen. He was here for his friends, not you. You just had to make it the four days without doing anything stupid. Then…then everything would return to normal. Then you would go back to NYC and to your new life. Once you were no longer in his line of sight, he would forget about you. 

Again. 

Thanks for reading!

[narabea06]

Creepypasta Ethnicities Headcanons!!

Jeff the Killer - American + Austrian

Homicidal Liu - American + Austrian

Jane the Killer - American

Nina the Killer - Mexican

Mary Vaughn - American (Southern)

Randy Torres - Latin American (Guatemalan)

Keith Spikes - Welsh + American

Troy Maverick - African American (on mom's side) + Polish (on dad's side)

Eyeless Jack - Caribbean

Lulu - Vietnamese

Bloody Painter - Korean

Judge Angels - English

Nurse Ann - Columbian + Filipina

Dollmaker - Russian

Killing Kate - Venezuelan

Kate the Chaser - Korean (on Tom's side) + Puerto Rican (on Beth's side)

Toby Rogers - American + German

CR - Chilean (on dad's side) + Taiwanese (on mom's side)

Lauren - Swedish

Rogue - American (Southern)

Wilson the Basher - Peruvian

Chris the Revenant - American + Cuban

X-Virus - African American (on mom's side) + German (on Frank's side)

Lazari Swan - Slavic + English

Sally Williams - American (on mom's side) + Danish (on dad's side)

BEN Drowned - American + Italian

Sam Williams - Danish

Iris Hung Girl - Vietnamese

Lost Silver - Japanese

Legless Eliza - Puerto Rican

Stripes - Russian

Clockwork - American (Southern) + French

Kagekao - Japanese

Puppeteer - American + Italian

Suicide Sadie - English

Vailly Evans - Korean (on mom's side) + Columbian (on dad's side) + American

Roadwalker - Canadian + Inuit

Zero - African American

The Ballerina - African American + Costa Rican

Zachary the Proxy - American + Mexican

Rosemary Young - American

Lyra Rogers - American + German

[itzpookiepooh]

25 Days of the Washingtons : Dance with Me?

As you, Hannah, and Beth cleaned from today’s festivities, music played lowly in the background. It was a soothing melody that matched the winded down energy that was casted over the lodge. You look over to the twins seeing how sluggish they were. You laugh softly, placing the trash bag on the floor and walking over to them.

“How about you guys call it, huh?” You place both hands on each of their shoulders.

They look at you with clearly tired eyes before shaking their heads no. You grab the bags from them and put them down. You turn them towards the stairs and push them up the stairs. They were obviously tired and weren’t going to let you do this alone but you’d rather do it alone than have them overly exhausted. You really thought everyone should’ve cleaned up before they decided to spread out for the night but this friend group doesn’t listen to a thing anyone says.

“Are you sure you don’t need help?” Hannah asks groggily.

“Yeah we can at least clean the counters.” Beth added her eyes drooping making you roll your eyes.

“Go to bed, I’ll be fine.” You encouraged them. They told you good night and went off to bed.

You continued cleaning as you hummed lowly to the song. The front door opened making you perk up and stop what you were doing. You slowly walked toward the doorway to close it until Josh walked in with a bag. You shriek grabbing your chest in fear.

“I didn’t mean to scare you.” He snorts making you hit his arm.

“That wasn’t funny!” You whisper with an annoyed expression on your face.

“Sorry.” He catches his breath from laughing before stomping the snow off.

Josh looks around as he strips off his outside winter attire. He walks inside behind you as you continue cleaning. He hums to Frank Sinatra slowly starting to dance to the music. He walks over to the record player and turns it up.

“Josh come on everyone’s sleeping or tryna sleep.” You whine as he shakes his head.

“So? It’s not loud.” He argues back basically gliding towards you.

He holds his hand out in front of you, you raise an eyebrow at him. What was he up to? You stand up straight just staring at his hand.

“Dance with me?” He ask softly as he grabs your hand.

“What if I said no?” You tested closing in the space between you.

He chuckles, placing a hand on your waist. You both move side to side to the music. He shrugs before answering you.

“You can’t say no to a face like this.” He jokes making you laugh.

You both rock side to side to the soft sound of Christmas music. The night was silent and serene. There was no one else but you two and the sound of music.

This was originally gonna be Sam x Josh but I wanted to give you guys a gift 💋

Divider: @estrelinha-s

Day 7

[riordanness]

cruel summer — [emercy] — 🫧 ᯾ 👙 ❀ 🌊 ✞ 🐚 ☘︎︎ 🫶🏻 ༄

— 🫧 ᯾ 👙 ❀ 🌊 ✞ 🐚 ☘︎︎ 🫶🏻 ༄

an emercy [perseus jackson x emma rebekah] social media au fic (part one) featuring,, percy, emma, leo, piper, jason, hazel, annabeth, and frank

— 🫧 ᯾ 👙 ❀ 🌊 ✞ 🐚 ☘︎︎ 🫶🏻 ༄

liked by abethchase, lxvepipes, and 46 others

erebekah, fyi, don’t take percy anywhere he acts like a literal toddler

sassyjackson: ok so says you

-> erebekah: me?? a toddler?? be so fr rn

lxvepipes: this is why you should take me out instead

-> erebekah: yes good let’s ditch boys together 💋

-> sassyjackson: i see how it is

abethchase: miss you idiots (sort of)

-> erebekah: BETH I HOPE TRAVELLING IS GOING SOSO WELL I MISS YOU

hzllevesque: my favourite pair of besties 💜

-> valdezinator: “besties” my ass

-> jgrace: right?? i sense a ship here i’m ngl

-> frankzhang: hazel aren’t we your favourite pair?

-> hzllevesque: ofc we are 💜 ily

liked by erebekah, jgrace, and 53 others

sassyjackson, someone tell this moron to stop blasting taylor swift in my car all the time

erebekah: someone tell this moron i can play whatever i want if i’m passenger princess actually

-> sassyjackson: emma i’m sick of cruel summer

-> erebekah: how dare you i hate you

-> sassyjackson: wait do you actual? no stop i’m sorry play taylor all you want

-> valdezinator: someone tell both of these morons they’re in love already

jgrace: where’d you guys go?

-> sassyjackson: she wanted to “go on a roadtrip” but we’re both broke so we just went to walmart

valdezinator: 🚨🚨

-> erebekah: we didn’t even speed??

-> valdezinator: no that’s the ambulance, i called them bc y’all are clearly blind if you still think you’re just friends

liked by erebekah, hzllevesque and 279 others

lxvepipes, the best day with my girl 💖 (finally stole her away from percy)

tagged, @erebekah

erebekah: I LOVE YOU

-> lxvepipes: ILYSM 💘

erebekah: hey siri play today was a fairytale by taylor swift

-> lxvepipes: no play something gayer

-> jgrace: guys 😭

sassyjackson: so this is why she won’t answer my texts

-> lxvepipes: gods jackson she isn’t yours 🙄 she was my girl first

-> valdezinator: he wishes she was his tho

-> sassyjackson: she’s literally my best friend tho??

-> valdezinator: dude. not what i meant

liked by jgrace, lxvepipes and 103 others

valdezinator, i’m sick of this weirdos

tagged, @sassyjackson @erebekah

erebekah: hey dumbass we aren’t weirdos

-> sassyjackson: yes we are

erebekah: also help how often do we fall asleep on each other 😭

-> lxvepipes: a lot babe

-> jgrace: lots

-> abethchase: if you’re the same dumb duo you were before i left, then a ridiculous amount of times

-> hzllevesque: like constantly

-> frankzhang: every single movie night

-> valdezinator: literally so much, emma

jgrace: this is for REAL a ship now i’m the captain

-> valdezinator: this is literally my post bro i’m the captain

liked by hzllevesque, sassyjackson and 107 others

erebekah, beach day with my fav beach boy 🩵

tagged, @sassyjackson

valdezinator: hey, em, you spelt ‘date’ wrong!

-> jgrace: aww beach date, how adorable

-> lxvepipes: you boys are menaces, i’m joining

sassyjackson: you’re my fav beach girl

-> frankzhang: AW

sassyjackson: 🩷

-> valdezinator: leaving her heart emojis now are we jackson

-> jgrace: what are we calling this ship they need a name

-> lxvepipes: hm something like emercy? yk, emma and percy

liked by erebekah, jgrace, and 95 others

sassyjackson, 🌊

jgrace: someone check up on emma after that shirtless pic

-> erebekah: what is that supposed to mean

-> valdezinator: 😈

-> erebekah: you boys are weirdos

hzllevesque: percy come back emma misses you

-> frankzhang: um yeah she’s kind of annoying everyone bc she doesn’t have you to annoy

-> erebekah: hey i’m not annoying

-> valdezinator: yes you are, percy just thinks it’s hot so he never says anything

erebekah: 🥵 (deleted)

lxvepipes: dang i’m ten minutes late to the post and sm drama happens in the comments already

-> sassyjackson: tempted to turn my comments off fr

-> erebekah: don’t you dare do that

liked by sassyjackson, lxvepipes, and 30 others

erebekah, 👙

sassyjackson: em

sassyjackson: emma

sassyjackson: emma rebekah i swear-

-> erebekah: 😁😁

valdezinator: oi rebekah i think you broke jackson

-> erebekah: 💥

lxvepipes: do y’all reckon this is revenge for the shirtless pic percy posted yesterday

-> jgrace: oh yea fs

-> hzllevesque: i’m jumping on this emercy train too now

-> valdezinator: the more the merrier

[mariamariquinha]

glory box (Matt Graver x f!reader)

Again, another unofficial sequel to another story of mine - this time, Rooms on Fire. You don't need to read the first one tho, even if there is a few references to things that happened before.

Summary: At the end of the day, you would always be back to track one.

Word count: 4.749

Warnings: Description of violent acts, bad language, mention of a major death (not of any person from the main group), discussions of manipulation and abuse of authority, alcohol consumption, brief mention of real political events, protected sex, mention of anal sex, and insinuation of subjectively pedophilic behavior. Men being assholes. I don't think Matt is a "good guy" here. +18 work.

Set after Sicario 2. Mention of a major event of the movie.

Author’s Note: The structure of this material is directly related to a 'routine day', that is, 'what would the personal and work relationship with a certain character be like under certain circumstances'. In this sense, I also relied on a very important discussion (which I unfortunately couldn't find anymore, but I give credit to whoever pointed this out) about how the first film also exposes the obvious fact that Kate is a woman in an environment that is purely masculine in essence, and how it affects her.

Julian Barker, the additional character I brought here, can be 'illustrated' as someone halfway between Frank Grillo and Jon Hamm, but you don't necessarily have to stick to that, so leave it open to interpretation.

I also want to emphasize that I do not try to bring any biased content to influence people to make any kind of political decision, mainly because I bring, even if very superficially, a mention of something that really happened. Despite my opinions on the current political system, whether in my country or others, if you consider that my content is not very 'democratic' for diverse opinions, it is because it may not be, so I prefer that you just do not engage.

Oh, yes, and before I forget: thanks @queennymeria for sharing some love and passion for these characters. You've been a nice surprise for me this year, so I hope you like it too!

****

References, inspo and links that might interest you:

Glory Box - Portishead

'Glory Box' is an Australian term for a piece of furniture, where women store clothes and other items ahead of marriage. The song had been misinterpreted as a call for the partner to take charge in the relationship, and reverting to traditional gender roles. Beth Gibbons (a.k.a., the lead singer of Portishead) was annoyed by this, telling the Independent: "Half the reason you write them is that you're feeling misunderstood and frustrated with life in general.”

"Then it's sort of successful and you think you've communicated with people, but then you realize you haven't communicated with them at all – you've turned the whole thing into a product, so then you're even more lonely than when you started."

‘Operation Uphold Democracy’: How the U.S. Military Intervention Still Shapes Life in Haiti

****

“Can I buy you a drink?”

You had already taken off your heels, undone a bit of your more articulate posture, your shoulders finally slumping with the tiredness you were feeling. The voice was familiar and, in a way, expected, but you didn't think he would be so immediate, or at least not so pragmatic in finding you at the bar almost next to the building where that meeting took place.

You could say he knew better than to offer that – that you didn’t drink alcohol, that you two were well aware of that. But, again, you were tired. You would have an early morning the next day, things to attend to, places and stuff to check. 

He sat down before you could answer, raised a hand to get the attention of the waiter. Martini: classic. He always wanted to feel like James Bond. He said that the name already allowed him to make an anagram of the first letters.

James Bond. Julian Barker. Almost there. If anyone tried hard enough, they could potentially confuse MI6 with the CIA, or whatever it was he was doing after all these years.

Julian still had that pair of very dark brown eyes, bordering on black (but they weren't black, you had already seen them up close), and his hair was well cut, his beard always well trimmed – no beard at all, in fact, polished. Always too clean cut to you, but fun. Attractive. Charming. There were a few strands of gray hair starting to adorn his head, but the fucker still managed to age like George Clooney, from the hair dye boxes for middle-aged men.

Put together. Great in bed. 

“Where have you been?” You asked when his drink came, watching him shrug as he adjusted himself on his seat, as if bracing for an answer. 

“All these years or recently?” He asked back. “Because if we’re talking about since we last saw each other, we would have to use the whole night to unpack everything.”

“Wouldn’t you like that.”

“Of course I would. You still look just as great as ever.”

You shook your head in amusement, averting your gaze to the bar window as you lifted that glass of soda to your mouth. An expensive glass, by the way, since they made a Pepsi look like a flaming drink from some Las Vegas casino.

His feet brushed your shin under the table – probably unconsciously, certainly on purpose. 

“Tanzania.”

“Neat,” You raised your eyebrows, glancing at him. “I heard you became a private analyst.”

“Yeah, it fits more with my current lifestyle,” Julian sipped on his drink, eyes darting towards your fingers tapping against the wood. 

“Right. And your Armani shoes wouldn’t be suitable for heavy work anyway.”

“I thought you always liked my shoes.”

“I don't have an opinion about them.”

“And what about me?”

You certainly had some, like the fact that he was in the position he was in at that moment, or you noticing that Dallas' eyes filled with interest as he listened to him give suggestions and ideas for the next job. As probably anyone in that room would open their pockets, their mind and their legs with the confident way he carried himself or spoke, with a fitted body, a guy who took care of himself.

Your phone buzzed beside your hand – a small, single text, one you’d been waiting, or, again, expecting. 

leaving at 5? 

Julian scanned the text, smiled a little, but said nothing. You turned your screen down on the table, because you didn’t want him to know a thing about that, or about anything on the matter of your work so far. It would be impossible, of course: Dallas basically gave you up to him for the sake of that specific work, which meant answering to his orders alone. 

You wanted to keep your cards close to your chest when it came to Julian Barker, but you knew he would push them until it was all splayed out in front of him. 

“Dallas told me what happened.”

The change of the subject came after a long beat of silence, and you almost spitted out a ‘don’t work yourself too hard about it’, but you knew you would find only a stern face, without a single glimpse of condescension. 

You nodded a little, pressing your lips in a thin line. 

“Did you go see her?”

“Mm-hm. This weekend.” 

“Good,” He was the one nodding then, probably thinking of an advice that you just dared him to say out loud. He didn’t, fortunately. “If you need-”

“I’m fine.”

“I’m just saying.”

“Then don’t. You’re malleable, not nice.”

Julian sent you a tight smile, then lowered his eyes to his drink, fingers brushing the condensation of the glass. “You say that like I was never nice to you.” 

And he made it sound like it was unfair, but you knew that tone and knew exactly what he was doing. God, Julian couldn't care less about whatever shit happened to you, and you could laugh at how predictable he sounded at that moment.

“Do the older ones still look down on you?” 

He tsked. “Or is it just me continuing to look for something they don't have.”

****

You were very young at the time; immature. It was kind of ridiculous, but it was around the time you lost your father, even though you knew it was inevitably going to happen, whether he was dead or not.

Julian taught you how to improve your ability to become more relaxed before taking a good shot.

Julian taught you how to stop wounds more efficiently.

Julian taught you to keep your back straight when a superior spoke to you.

Well, then he taught you how to bend it so he could hit it better. 

It bordered on fetish, you knew, because he had a vast availability of more mature and centered women, but it still hovered near you like a weight on your shoulders, making you bend, shrink, stretch and open, always with that little cloud of manipulation guiding your every step.

Until he got sick of it. Until your skin got too thick, and you stopped being very obedient.

Look, everything was fine for you. It was problematic, it was better that everything ended the way it did, when it did. 

Perhaps, of all people, Julian had been the first and only person you had ever truly, sort of, fallen in love with, and that particular kind of pain left you with a sour face, a bitter taste, and a huge sense of indifference to any similar feelings that might come after.

You were smart, though; you never needed more than one lesson to learn.

****

“Listen, erm… I know you’ll probably be travelling by the time you hear this but… I just… I wanted to say that it was nice to see you again. We could, I don’t know, get a drink one of these days? Whatever you get back to… you know, just call me. Take care.”

You stared at your phone screen after hearing the message. 

Mild weather expected for the next few days.

A confirmation of the landing location from Dallas.

leaving at 5? read, not answered. 

You slid your sunglasses back on your eyes, pressed the side button hard enough, and watched the device turn off. From a distance, you saw Julian arriving at his own car, then the pilot leaving the jet to greet him; with a dry swallow, you stuffed your phone into your backpack, fished your two suitcases off the ground, and walked towards them.

****

Matt wouldn’t ask you about your lack of response to that text, but you knew there were a handful of questions he’d ask about you and Julian. There was a palpable tension; positive or negative, the pace between you seemed reasonable, like old times, and you could tell he hadn’t changed much, just improved his tactics.

You weren't stupid enough to think he hadn't put not just his fingers, but both hands on who exactly would do some of the work; he probably frowned when he heard about Julian, certainly raised curious eyebrows at the mention of military service as your superior. When you two landed, he had that mischievous glint in his face, swiping his eyes between you and him as if he wanted to make you squirm, but was specifically waiting to scratch that itch at the right time. 

Now and then he would side eye you from his spot in the front of the car; with Steve driving and Julian beside you, his seat gave him the perfect view of your silence, then your clenched jaw – you braced yourself as soon as he cleared his throat, as soon as he said Julian’s name. 

“As I said, it’s smooth an’ easy as it goes.”

“As long as it's not like Haiti.”

That got your attention, and you probably should be better at disguising that, because fuck if Julian didn’t love to run his mouth around stuff he would notice someone didn’t know. And, yeah, you would like to be at least aware of the fact that ‘Haiti’, whatever the hell that meant, had something to do with him and Matt. 

“We both worked together once before,” He said, and you watched the way Graver kept his eyes trained on you. “Was it… 96?”

“94.”

“Yeah, 94… Helluva job, I'll give you that much.” 

“The first time he experienced taking orders from a real man,” Matt grinned, which sounded like something really fun between them, like an internal joke you were clearly being put out. 

“You were always a rake, Graver, the worst of us. Learned a thing or two from you, though,” Julian elbowed you lightly, but that didn’t make your frown go away, or put even a small grin on your face. “I definitely missed some of that for her.”

“Maybe that's why it works so well between us, right?” 

You glanced at Matt, then shook your head before turning your gaze back to the window. “I haven't shot your ass yet, you didn’t shoot mine. That’s probably a win.” 

Matt smiled – really smiled. A smile compared to the ones he would give you after a night in, when you would say something petty or throw a small offense at him, as if he knew that your words meant nothing if you were already adjusting yourself to straddle his lap or open your legs to tuck him in. It made you wonder if your words were losing their value, if you were perhaps becoming soft, if they were starting to look down on you like they used to, doubting you all the time.

They were talking about having to break something on you, but it sounded like you would have to break something on them.

Just to, you know, remind them. 

****

Matt was looking at you with a mixed expression of confusion and surprise, his rifle still raised as you pulled the radio from your ear and let out your labored breath as calmly as you could. Your heart was racing; your hands were firmly on your gun, without any tremor or hesitation; your back was straight as you gave him a stern look.

“It has to be cartel style, right?” You arched an eyebrow. “Clear bags on some of them, hang the others who were shot in the chest.” 

“You've done some damage, we'll be lucky to find one that isn't already falling apart,” He lowered his gun then, brows furrowed as you swiped your eyes over the scene below your feet. 

“You can handle it, can't you? I'm sure Julian can hold your balls in his mouth while you do this, master.”

Matt scoffed, a comment you knew was on the tip of his tongue but which he didn’t say out of a level of caution you would later come to admire. You stared at him for a moment longer before walking away, head buzzing, jaw clenching, and you felt like you were going to punch someone to death when you heard Julian halfway through your radio, a distant murmur.

“All teeth and claws, huh? That’s my baby girl.”

****

You purred like a cat, back arching as your naked chest brushed against the mattress. His movements were deliberate, sultry, wavy – where you expected the harsh touches, he came up with a firm grip on your hip, pulling you against him with each stroke, ever so slowly hitting you just right. 

Sex was almost always like this, tired, persuasive, discreet. Over time, you began to realize that Matt wasn't really a show off in that aspect, even if sometimes he worried about acting like an asshole, but never when he was inside you; no, inside you, Matt got into the moment head on, in the murmurs and moans he let out, in the curses that came out of his mouth, depending on how the day had been.

Your body shivered as he brought a palm to one of your buttocks, spreading you open as he placed a thumb on your asshole. 

“Think you should get it here,” He slurred, hips getting more intense strokes that made your toes curl and a long moan left your lips. “Get you outta your head, milk all the way inside you.” 

He just pressed – a little, a touch, just to make you grip the sheets and bite your bottom lip, eyes tightly closed as he played with you. Matt then spit in the area, and whatever reaction he saw in there, he used as an excuse to intensify his movements, the sound of skin slapping against skin filling the room, making your mind do flips since you finally got what you really wanted. 

****

“What is it with the baby girl?” 

You should’ve been asleep, just as Matt should’ve been away, working, doing anything else but lounging on your bed. Still, you didn’t say anything when he wasn’t in a rush to get totally dressed, and given the question, you could see why he did so. 

Well, he was scratching. 

“What do you think it is?” You bit back, your focus on the ammo you were checking, everything splayed out on the desk you could arrange for your room. 

“That you two fucked.”

Yeah, right. For five seconds you forgot you were talking to Matt, after all. You didn’t need to answer, so when he snorted and made a point of getting out of the bed, you knew he was ready to push, so you braced yourself for it. 

“How did your metrics change so much?”

“What do you mean? You two seem to get along so well, I could even say you’re… bros?” 

“He has nothing to do with me.”

“Because he uses Armani?”

“Look at me.”

Matt was invading your space, shirtless and with his pants unbuttoned, arms crossed. You resisted the urge to look him over, annoyed by the proximity and the tone, so you glared back at him with a sigh, throwing a rifle cartridge on the desk.

“You’re off the track,” He stated as a fact. “Is it interfering with your rhythm?”

“It’s not like you’re gonna do something about it.”

“But I can tell you to get your shit together. We’re always having that conversation and you seem to-”

“My mother died.”

The way you blurted it out came so out of nowhere, as if you would explode if you didn’t just spilled it out, and for a few seconds you really managed to shut him up. It felt like you’d been carrying an elephant on your back ever since you’d boarded that jet, or ever since you’d left that conference room in Washington, and it had to come out somehow. You knew it was irrelevant; you knew that somehow Matt would look away as soon as something more interesting came up, which it would, so you said it with a neutral expression, as if you were just letting him know.

You waited for him to say he didn’t know you had a mother – that he didn’t care. Somehow that was what he seemed to want to do. 

“And I think that's why Dallas spared me the crucial details of that job, like how Julian was involved in it, or how the two of you traded back taps while you were working in Central America.” 

“You could’ve turned it down.”

“Have I done anything that has hurt my performance since I arrived?” 

Which could mean anything to him, because he scoffed in dry amusement before shaking his head in disbelief. “You’re a bitch, do you know that?”

“You’re the one asking personal stuff here,” You raised your eyebrows nonchalantly, body turning back to the desk. “Whether or not I had sex with him, whether or not I was at a funeral when I got the job, that's none of your business.”

“Did you get the job at the funeral?”

“I would have if I had gone on one.”

You were just bothered, really. Bothered that it affected you, bothered that Julian and Dallas knew about it, bothered that you were somehow making it clear that there were things that were making you feel uncomfortable. You never gave in, or at least you never could. In that job, people had to remember that you were a person, and not necessarily a woman, because then you would blend in; then you could just get on with it without any problems. It worked. Especially after Julian, everything had changed.

But then Matt happened. Well, that burrito happened, then you getting shot happened, and then you falling on his bed happened. 

One lesson – you just needed one lesson. 

“That doesn't change anything,” You added. 

“Maybe it does since you are acting so weird.”

“Maybe, maybe… Why use that word, huh? You always say what you fucking mean, and now you’re all with that maybe bullshit!” You snapped, eyes back again on his face. “Fuck, Matt, I don’t need you to check on me just because you feel like I’m off the track. I’m not! I’m very capable of doing whatever the fuck you want me to and you know that!” 

“You’re the one affected by personal stuff!”

“Because I am a human being, goddammit! You have been making stupid decisions for the sake of your personal choices and not once someone held you accountable for that!”

“The fuck are you talking about?!”

“Where's Alejandro?”

You knew it was unfair; fuck, you knew you shouldn’t bring that up. To be honest, you shouldn’t know about the whole thing, but Dallas was around when that shit went South – when Cintia went on a full rant about what happened. And it wasn’t something related to you, something of your business, which you could regret in the future, but that was the whole fucking thing, right? To piss each other off, to hit a nerve, to go personal if you needed to. 

The whole room was filled with a thick, heavy silence. You were sure that if you weren’t you, he would have punched you in the face right at that moment, and you were so ready to punch him back if that was the case. You were fucking ready to a whole fight, fist to fist, to make your knuckles bloody. 

“... You’re right,” He nodded sarcastically. “Been making some really fucked up decisions for the wrong reasons.”

“If you're talking about me, I agree.”

“I’ve been talking about you since day one,” Matt took a single step closer, a finger pointed right in front of your face. “Since day one, butting heads with everyone because of your fucking attitude, making the job way harder, being a pain in the ass, and now seemingly not being able to keep your legs closed for any other man who-”

“You’ll need more than slut shaming me, Matt, don’t be pathetic,” You snarked. “Try to embarrass me by fucking you, for example, because that’s a thing I fucking regret.”

“It's a shame, because that was the best thing you've done since we started working together.” 

“For you.”

You’d never been able to get Matt out of your sight so quickly; you’d never been able to genuinely get him dressed and out the door as quickly as a man should, as if he were in a hurry, as if his wife and kids were on the other side of the door. Maybe they were: when it was Julian, they were.

And despite you needing just one lesson to learn, when you threw that damn cartridge against the closed door, you wished you had more – an act, a force, a perception. Something to not only make you learn, but also exterminate.

****

You were only half listening, but you were still paying attention to the tunnel map, the way Julian and Matt's hands were gesturing, and how everyone in the room seemed to be listening carefully. 

Steve was the first to send you a glance when the question came – arms crossed, face contorted in a certain way, as if he was waiting for something to come. Then, some of the others shared the same look to you, a mix of amusement and curiosity hovering in them, and when you turned back to the front of the room, Julian was absently rummaging through some papers, while Matt was staring back at you. 

“Okay,” You said, and you were almost sure you’d heard a snort coming from somewhere, but all you focused on was on the way Matt’s eyebrows raised. 

“Yeah, okay,” Julian answered absently, almost unimpressed, because you never quite bit back with him as much as you did with the other one. 

And that clearly didn’t sit well on him. “Okay?”

“... Should I say something different?” You were being petty, from your tone to your gaze, which made Julian raise his eyes to watch the scene. 

“You usually don't know when to shut your mouth.” 

“Don't tell me you set up this whole plan expecting me to fix it.”

He smiled. “Why don’t you go fuck yourself?”

“Okay, let’s hold our horses here,” Julian intervened as you laughed at that, hands raised as he seemed so openly confused by the banter happening right in front of him. “The plan is made and it will be followed as we have decided. Anyone who has any contrary opinion can get the fuck out.”

Everyone stayed quiet – you just shrugged, leaning back on your seat as, again, they all waited for you to say something. 

“Fine. Now let’s roll.”

The audience dispersed and you did the same, unpretentiously sharing a glance with Matt before leaving the room.

Asshole. 

****

It's not that it went wrong: it just wasn't perfect. And, really, it didn't need to be, as long as it was done, and as long as it had the necessary effects.

What seemed to bother Matt, and you found out later, was that Julian had almost last minute put you on the front lines with a recon team, not an extraction team, which would make sense if Steve hadn’t been lined up to do that in the initial agreement. Matt didn’t argue, at least not to your face; you could see him shaking his head as you went over the instructions with your team, though.

A reconnaissance campaign meant tracking enemy movement in a specific area, measuring possibilities, facilitating the process. The main idea was that Matt and Julian would just go in, take out a couple of key cartel members, and then just make sure the message got through.

“They can still be consistent in containment,” You explained, the plan of the complex stretched out on the hood of the car. “It's possible to estimate about 50 or 60 inside, but the east and northeast tunnels are easily accessible for entry and exit areas.”

“We can close these entrances,” Julian considered. 

“But you need to make sure they don't get out. Plus, the structure is not very sturdy, so it would be risky to think about explosives or anything else that could cause damage.” 

“Barricades?”

“Little time,” You dared a small look at Matt, then you turned back to the plan. “We can take a more extensive approach. Teams of three or four, split the action… If we do it right, they won't have much time to retaliate or group up. You and Julian can go in with a small team into the main area, corner whoever needs to be cornered.” 

The two of them looked at each other for a while, as if they were sharing some kind of idea, and there was a small discussion about air reinforcement.

“I'll stay in the tunnels, you go with Matt,” Julian announced after some thought, fingers brushing his chin. “You'll cover him, it'll be easier to guide him through the complex if someone with more advantage over the blind spots does it.”

“... Fine.”

“Easy, fast, agile. Just like the old days, baby girl.” 

****

Just like the old days. You knew it would get back to bite your ass. 

****

“What were you like in the old days?”

The car was still there at that moment. From afar, still at night and still dark, you stared at the end of the road, watching Steve going from one side to the other while waiting for instructions.

Matt was eyeing you in a demanding way, elbows on his knees as he tipped his boot with yours. You lowered your head to the touch, then to him, then back to the road. 

“Obedient.”

“Is that why you left?”

“I left because Julian convinced me that I would do triple the amount and with far fewer rules,” You rolled your head to the side, catching the way he narrowed his eyes. 

“So that's why you accepted the plan so easily? Because his word is a promise?”

“Do you want to talk about it now?”

“I can't think of a better time.”

“Right,” You smiled bitterly, doing as much as nodding in sarcasm. “But no, that wasn't why. It was just a solid plan.” 

“You know that the merit is also mine, don't you?”

“Just because you're an idiot doesn't mean you're a bad professional. Not always, at least.”

“Good.”

“Mm.”

“But I wouldn't call a soldier a baby girl just because she's obedient.”

He would, and you both knew that, but it was weird that Matt seemed so… consistent in pushing that topic back on track. You couldn’t help but giggle at that, touched by his curiosity. 

“Julian calls me that because he's a sick jerk who said he liked me because I still smelled like breast milk,” You arched an eyebrow in defiance. “I was 19, 20 years old, and he was already in his forties.”

Matt’s expression flicked just a touch, just enough for you to notice. 

“Consensual?”

“You know me.”

“I wouldn’t say you’re a baby girl in any kind, but he does, so something must’ve changed.”

You two stared at each other for a moment, a stretched beat of silence where you just analyzed whatever was in the cards for you. 

Fuck, you hated Matt – by instance, you hated Julian too. You tolerated Steve. Could get going with Dallas. You could also be honest in admitting that after you saw your sister (after your mother died), you came to the realization that the only solid thing you ever had in your life was that job, with those people, giving your energy and your life to purposes you were indifferent to, for people you never knew. You would never say these things to him; you wouldn't tell him that when you saw your sister, you felt terrible for not being able to hug her or say anything; that you didn't cry when you both went to the grave because her new family wouldn't let you go to the wake; that you recognized that, in a way, she liked you, and wanted you closer, but that you had lost any moral essence of family closeness with her.

You also wouldn't say that Julian scared you, then gave you attention, which you always reciprocated with subservience, but that suddenly he was back and right at that moment, so you were facing a lot of pasts that you thought you had already overcome or forgotten.

“That was the nicest thing you've ever said to me,” You teased, to which he just smiled while patting your tight. 

“The second nicest thing,” He said. “I'm sure the first one had to do with your tits.”