#getting ready for the final who are we voting today?
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targarrus · 2 years ago
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my favorite entries from the second semi :)
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bones4thecats · 3 months ago
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Miko's Army! Sister; TFP! Bulkhead's S/O
Character: Bulkhead (Transformers Prime) Inspired By: The most random thoughts A/N: This may be a part two, don't know, y'all can vote after reading! ⚠️ Trigger Warnings for: Nothing ⚠️
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╚═════ Bulkhead ══════════════════════════════╝
💥 You were Miko's older sister, being 9 years older than the 15-year-old. She admired everything you did growing up. You were a very strong woman, participating in multiple strength-related sports as you aged, ranging from wrestling to volleyball
💥 When you turned 18, you moved into America and gained citizenship before joining their military, becoming one of their best members quickly. Once you returned from missions overseas, you got the news that your sister, Miko, had been getting ready to be an exchange student from your parents
💥 It definitely shook your life around, as you hadn't seen her since she was 9 and you were a new-adult. Miko was ecstatic to move in with her older sister once again, knowing you would be such an amazing caretaker for the meanwhile
💥 As the time passed, Miko gained a strong love for American pop-culture. She dyed part of her hair pink and grew into a thrill-seeking young teenager with a strong sense of bravery and loyalty, which she gained from your influence
💥 One morning, she had woke up after falling asleep on the couch in front of the TV with you reading a book in your chair. She was not wanting to go to school, but she knew that you wanted her to go and she couldn't make you angry, your anger scared everyone
💥 She lightly walked out into the living room, finding you there with your canine, Koro, sitting down with his vest wrapped around his body
"What are ya' doing?" She asked.
"Getting ready for work. I have a shift starting at 9:00, so you might wanna get ready 'cause you're getting dropped off early."
"Ugh..." She groaned as she walked away to get dressed and fix her hair.
"Don't worry, Miko. I should be off sooner rather than later tonight, my boss said that I could leave to get you and get back when you're home."
💥 Miko, after some bribery from you, got dressed and pulled her hair up into the two buns and single ponytail in the back. You smiled and handed her a lunchbox filled with her favorite foods before grabbing your own along with your keys, turning on your 2009 Ford F-150, and vesting up your dog before leaving
💥 As you drove Miko to school, you got a call. Picking it up, you answered formally to your boss before asking him what he needed you to do the rest of the day
"Well, Agent Nakadai, we are in need of your presence today. A plan is needing some finalization. Are you clear to come in?"
"Yes, sir. I'm about two minutes away from my sister's school, I'll drop her off and head over immediately."
"Alright. I shall see you soon, Agent."
"You as well, sir."
💥 Hanging up your phone, Miko asked who called, to which you said your boss before laying your phone in the cup holder and turned on some Slash Monkey, knowing it was Miko's favorite band to listen too
💥 She sang along to the music while playing an air guitar as you laughed and kept driving, only slowing down once entering the school-area. Miko looked at you and smiled, pulling her tank-top strap back up and slinging her bag over her shouldr before jumping out, saying her goodbyes, before running off to screw around like normal
💥 You smiled and drove off towards your work, hoping that this wouldn't cause anything to keep you for too long. You needed to hang around your sister more, work just- could get difficult...
»–•–«
💥 It did not go as planned.
💥 Once you saw the lock hit when Miko would get out, you groaned, grabbing your phone and calling your sister. She answered and you just said that she needed to tell you where she would be in around 2 to 3 hours, and she just said she'd be walking around Jasper
💥 You told her that you'd call when you got out and that when you did, she would need to go to K.O. Burger and wait for you there. She agreed and said she was gonna go have some fun now
"Okay, just-"
"Be careful, yeah, I know."
"Love you, Miko."
"You too, big sis!"
»–•–«
💥 Nodding as you spoke to your boss again, you heard both Arcee and Bumblebee returning from grabbing the two male humans that found them in the action against two Vehicons the day prior
"Are the two of them back?"
"Yes they are. I better go see the boys and make sure they don't pass out."
"That you should. Have a good rest of your day, Agent."
"You as well, Fowler."
💥 Closing the phone and stuffing it in your pocket, you turned around and began walking towards the main room where the others were. You were ready to meet the boys, but were not ready to meet the third human they got
"I'm Raf." You heard.
"I'm Miko! Who're you?"
"Bulkhead..."
"Are you a car? I bet you're a truck. A monster truck! Do you like heavy metal? How much do you weight? Ever use a wrecking-ball for a punching bag?"
💥 You quickened your walk to a run as you heard the ramblings. You prayed to every God of every religion that that was not the Miko you were related too
💥 WHY WERE YOU WRONG ALL THE TIME?!
"Miko Nakadai! What are you doing here?!"
💥 The female froze as everyone turned to look at you in confusion. Did you know the young girl?
"Hey! Funny seeing you here!"
"I told you to- why can't you listen for five minutes?" You mumbled as you ran down the stairs to your younger sister.
"Uhm, Y/N?" Bulkhead asked, causing you to turn around to look up at the green-mech.
"...Yes?"
"How do you know her?"
"Oh, don't tell me she's your sister." Ratchet said, a groan ready to come out.
"Well... yeah."
💥 The Autobots looked at you with shock, you guys looked similar, yet different. Her hair has a thick, pink stripe while yours had nothing. She had a very flamboyant fashion sense, while yours was far more dark and solid-appearing. Miko also had an outgoing personality while you were cold and calculating with your words
💥 Bulkhead looked at you and back at Miko nervously, wondering what his next words should be
"Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?!" Miko asked excitedly.
"It was classified." You glared at Bumblebee and Arcee, making them slightly shift, before continuing. "And none of your business."
"Y/N, if I may ask, how old is Miko?"
"I'm 15! Y/N's-"
"24. We're aware."
"I didn't know how old she was." Arcee said, making Bulkhead slightly tense and look away, his face-plate slightly tinted blue.
"Are you like my sister's boyfriend or something? She does rave about someone nicknamed 'Bulky'."
"MIKO! Enough!" You yelled, grabbing her arm and pulling her away to look at you, only to be interrupted by Optimus walking inside to speak to the humans.
"Y/N, I believe it is in all of our best interests to assist these... children, in gaining some consolation in what is happening in this base."
"Understood, Prime."
💥 Bulkhead saw you slightly back away, so he bent his hand down for you to jump on, which you did. He picked you fully up to perch on his shoulder and listen as Optimus spoke to your sister and the two other males
💥 You looked at Miko and sighed... this was going to be a more difficult time caring for her than you thought...
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jamjaemin · 11 months ago
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꒰ "Be brave, Angel" ꒱ 彡 ♡ ⋆。˚ (m.l and h.l)
summary:you want your first tattoo. but are you ready to deal with who will do this to you?
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Word count: 6k!
Pairing: tattooartist!mark × tattooartist!haechan × f!reader
Content: fuckboy!mark/haechan, slutty!reader, Praising, petnames(good girl, princess, ect), friends with benefits,teasing ,threesome, double penetration (pussy and ass), ass and pussy spanking, unprotected sex,creampie ,no mention of aftercare :( , lmk if i miss any.
A/n:This is based on the poll I posted before I know y’all voted the most for mark but some besties wants them both like I don't blame them bc I'm down bad for this two. I'm literally busy but yeah here it is I hope you like it, thanks for your time bestie, enjoy♡.
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the soft tinkling of bells rang out as you opened the studio door, but your nerves were so sensitive that you flinched as if the sound had been amplified by large speakers. The frigid air inside the studio ruffled the hairs on your arms and you pulled your cardigan tighter around you, immediately recognizing the soft music playing in the background.
If this was a visit like one of the other times you’ve been here with your friends, for company and support in getting their tattoos and piercings, then you would have been able to once again admire the modern decor and beautiful artwork hangs on the walls - all strategically placed to catch the attention and arouse the interest of clients.
But this was no ordinary visit. For once you weren’t here for your friends. You were here for yourself.
No one but you and Johnny knew of your intention to get your first tattoo and you didn’t want to change that, wanting to surprise your friends since they had been encouraging you to get it for years.
That was weeks ago, and frankly, you’d almost forgotten that you’d expressed that wish to Johnny. At least until you got a message from him, asking you to come down to the studio as soon as possible to see the finished artwork that he would use as a base to finally get your tattoo done. You weren’t nervous until that moment.
But when the possibility of getting a tattoo stopped being a ‘possibility’ and became a matter of 'when’, you started to regret your own decision.
It’s been three days since you received the message and only today did you pluck up the courage to come to the studio.
But judging by the way your hands were cold and clammy you didn’t think you had mustered enough courage.
Swallowing down the nerves you took a deep breath and looked towards the reception desk, but there was no one there.
Oh.
You are completely alone.
That means there’s still time to turn around and walk out the same door you just came through, right? Yes right. It would be the perfect excuse.
“Well, at least I tried.” You said softly, already turning towards the exit.
“Y/N?” The melodious sound of Haechan’s voice interrupted your hurried steps, and you squeaked through your teeth, knowing it would be very difficult to escape now. 
“Y/N! Wait, what are you doing here? Are you expecting one of your friends?” He asked already walking towards you, not noticing - or choosing to ignore - the tense expression on your face, choosing to hold his arms out to you in an invitation to hug.
“Hi, Hyuck. Uh, not really, not exactly…” You replied, accepting his warm hug. When he let go and looked at you questioningly, you sighed.
“I’m here because Johnny said he finished the artwork I asked him to create. I’ve been talking to him about getting a tattoo.” The last part you said in a whisper.
“Really?” He smiled brightly in response and added,“if that’s what you really want, you can bet it’ll all be worth it when the job is done.”You brightened up a bit, nodding slowly and offering him a gentle smile, silently grateful for his support.
The nervous knot in your stomach felt a little less dull thanks to hyuck's sweet words.“But I’m afraid unfortunately we can’t do that today, dear.” He said in an apologetic tone, looking disappointed in himself.
You furrowed your brows and cocked your head in confusion, waiting for his next words. 
“Johnny isn’t even here. Today he went to a family meeting, as we’re near to closing time for the studio, he’s already left.”
Closing time?You looked up at the clock on the wall, blushing and stuttering an embarrassed response when you saw that he was right, the hand almost reaching the closing time mark for the studio.
You squealed with your hands over your mouth.“Oh my God! I’m sorry. I didn’t even pay attention to the time. I should have checked the time before coming.”
Damn, it was just like you to be embarrassed like that.
“Hey, no need to apologize, if i know where's the artwork I would have done it myself. I’m sure Johnny wouldn’t mind staying after hours to see you, but he really can’t miss this meeting.”
“D-don’t worry about it, really. I’ll come back another day, it’s no problem to-”
“I’ll attend her.”
You both looked at the source of that voice, both of you surprised by the sudden appearance of someone else in the room.
There, casually leaning against the doorframe, taboo clutched between the long fingers of one hand, the other comfortably tucked into his pants pocket, was mark lee.
His body was covered in black clothes as usual. Combat boots and jeans, a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, exposing the numerous tattoos on his arms.
“Oh, mark, this is Y/N, she’s the client of-”
“I know who she is. I said I’ll attend her, the art is in my office along with the others.”
The abrupt cut left your cheeks red and you looked away at the man beside you, leaving them to stare at each other in the tense silence afterwards.
You were about to say that you didn’t need him to attend to you, but Haechan spoke first.
“That would be amazing”
You heard Mark breathe a little bit heavily, the sound piquing your curiosity until you looked up at him, seeing that his gaze had now fallen on you – disturbingly bored and somehow still so intense.
He keeps looking at you like he’s sizing you up with that sleepy look; like he’s trying to understand you just by the way you’re standing there next to his friend and your friend bc you talked with hyuck comfortably so many times but mark...you didn’t have the chance.
The man before you doesn’t seem the least bit concerned that you’ll find his obvious inspection impolite.
No, instead he just stares you down from head to toe completely, undisguised and not saying a word as he does it twice. By God, twice!You always felt like there was a suffocating tension surrounding the two of you, even though you haven’t exchanged a single word with each other in the months you’ve been in the studio with your girls.
You always told yourself that it was all in your head, but when he looked at you like that it was almost impossible to control your own thoughts.
With a shudder you break your gaze and fix your attention on Haechan again.
“No, don’t worry about it. I can come back another day, I really don’t want to disturb anything.” You said pulling away, but Haechan’s grip on your hand didn’t allow you to go very far.
“Wait. Mark is an amazing professional and I don’t think there could be anyone better than him to get your first tattoo, not even Johnny.”You fought back the urge to say that you had serious doubts about that, especially given the look of sheer boredom on the man’s face and all that awkwardness surrounding the two of you.
He didn’t seem like someone capable of offering emotional support and allaying your fears.
“Fine. Lock the door when you leave.” He set the tone for the end of the conversation before you could argue, but you heard hyuck whispering to mark before he turn and head back inside "leave? take care of her until i comeback" giving him a playful wink.
“you, follow me.” You watched his broad back disappear from view, then turned your eyes to Haechan, smirking at you like he knows you were scared to get your first tattoo. His joy was so intense that you didn’t have the heart to say the things you were thinking, instead offering a forced smile and a gentle hug before walking away to follow his friend.
“see you” You waved at him stepping into the hallway that led to the tattoo and piercing procedures.
"I'll join you soon baby" haechan whispered to himself.
You didn’t know how to react around him and you were afraid it was obvious from the almost robotic way you followed him.
Even on your other visits to the studio, you hadn’t spent more than a few minutes in the man’s presence. Always mysterious and elusive, you noticed over the course of visits that he preferred to work in the back, creating fine art for inspiration and serving specific clients by appointment directly with him. And the few times you saw him it was always the same awkwardness as usual, the same disturbingly intense stares and a total of zero verbal interaction.
He just slowly cooked you up in an excess of visual intensity and then was gone.And now he said he would get your tattoo.God, you didn’t think you could be more nervous than you are right now.
Mark doesn’t say anything to you as he places the book on top of a small table in the corner, heading over to the alcohol spray bottle and disposable wipes, using both to sanitize the black leather high recliner chair you’ll be sitting in for the next few hours. You just watch him, nudging the toe of your sneakers into the other as a distraction as you wrap the cardigan more tightly around your body.
When he’s finished sanitizing the chair you understand it’s your cue and, sucking in a deep breath, you push your legs to move to the padded chair, your body feeling like heavy lead as you just imagine the pain that will come from shoving a needle in your skin. You settle into the chair, hands clasped on your thighs and body taut as a bow, staring at mark’s work like a frightened hawk. If he had noticed how nervous you were - and you really think it would be hard for anyone not to - he said nothing about it, opting to continue his preparation silently.
His moves are practiced, probably memorized after so much time working at it, and he barely looks at you, completely focused on his little world. The only time he stopped what he was doing and gave you any attention was to hand you a clipboard.
“Before we get started I need you to read and sign this if you agree to the terms.”You nod and he immediately goes back to what he was doing, leaving you alone to read through paragraph after paragraph of the studio’s consent and disclaimer if the job doesn’t turn out exactly the way you wanted it to.
You found it really hard not to approve the final work, given what you already knew about the team and their perfect artwork. But you found such terms understandable and necessary, as working with the public could be challenging at times.
You’ve read the document almost through when a sound of packages opening catches your attention and you look away to the man in front of you. None of your friends had done any procedures with mark, despite their many efforts and attempts to make an appointment, but here you were, waiting for him to finish preparing the materials to get your tattoo done. You couldn’t believe it.
He was attractive in a way that would make a woman swoon. His eyebrows were full and his ears were decorated with a variety of piercings and when he turns to grab something from the top shelf you find yourself fighting an appreciative sigh as you get a clear view of his profile, everything about him was appealing.the sight causes the already visible blush on your face to deepen to an even more embarrassing degree.
The sound of a new song starting up snaps you out of your reverie and you stare awkwardly at the clipboard in your hands, deciding that you definitely assent to all the terms and quickly signing your name at the bottom - your handwriting not as graceful as usual, due to the way your hand is slightly shaking.You hand him the clipboard and he places it on the table next to other documents, turning his attention to the materials.
You see him sort out alcohol, wipes, packets of disposable needles, and a small container of ink, all neatly arranged in a straight line on a tray that he brings over to the leather chair you’re sitting in. He sets it down on the side table, along with the pistol and stencil he would use as a base for your art, pulling a stool on wheels next to your chair.
“The tattoo will be in the rib area, right? Under the breast.” He asked quietly, sitting down on the stool. You looked at him curiously through your lashes, surprised that he already knew the location of your tattoo.
“Y-yes, how do you know?”
“johnny told me.” That’s all he told you about it and, surprisingly, that’s all you needed to understand. “Alright. I need you to take your shirt off.”
He says without looking you in the eye, unflappable and confident, putting the pair of black gloves on his hands with a final snap that only served to make you even more agitated.
While you logically knew that you would need to go topless for this particular tattoo, there was an extra nervousness about doing it in front of him. And you knew it was because it was him, because that self-conscious nervousness wasn’t there at the time when you thought johnny would be doing the procedure.
But there was no choice, and besides, he wasn’t being anything but professional with you. Surely he’s seen a lot more exposed skin than that during procedures.
With a sigh of courage and decidedly rosy cheeks, you pulled the cardigan from your body, quickly doing the same with the light shirt you wore underneath, tucking both into your backpack.
You bite your lip and rub your hands on your thighs, focusing on feeling the material of your skirt against your skin in an attempt to calm yourself down. But your efforts go down the drain when he looks up at you, that disinterested, half-lidded look opening for the briefest of seconds as he looks down at your black push-up bra hugging your breasts. You nearly choke on your saliva because, by God, for two seconds you’re sure a purely appreciative look danced across that bored expression of his.
But then, as quickly as it appeared, it was gone.
“Lie down please so I can sanitize the area.” He grumbled letting the disposable mask rest on his chin, and amidst your mental daze you wonder if he only has black items to use.
You comply, lying back on the soft leather, looking up at the ceiling. You almost jump at the feel of the icy liquid on your skin, instantly shivering at the sensation. The smell of antiseptic hits your nose and you try to breathe more slowly, feeling the circular movements of cotton on your sensitive skin.
“I’ll paste the stencil now.”
As you watched, his fingers smoothed over the stencil, the dark outline showing against your skin. He slowly removes the paper and your gaze strays momentarily to his mouth, his lush lips catching your attention as he nibbles on his lower lip in concentration. You blush and look away quickly, afraid of being caught. It takes a moment for you to realize he’s talking when you turn your attention and notice his lips moving.
“See if you like the position and design. Don’t hesitate to say if you don’t like something, the time for changes is now.” He says it more seriously than any of the times he’s addressed you tonight (which hasn’t been many), voice low and direct, wanting you to understand the importance of this moment.
You swallow and accept the round mirror he hands you, positioning it so you can see the art. Your lips part immediately.
“Oh.”
The delicate butterflies and hearts stretches across your rib cage, just below your breast, rising just a little up the side. The way the design undulates naturally, as if a particular breeze is constantly on your skin, gently shaking your tattoo. You find yourself smiling at the beauty and elegance of the art. It wasn’t a large or very ornate tattoo; you were absolutely sure that mark had already done tattoos infinite times more complex than this one. But it was beautiful. Beautiful in an undeniable way, an art made obviously by gentle and skilled hands.
“It’s…it’s beautiful. I love it.” You say quietly, still turning the mirror to observe the design from all angles, a soft smile on your lips.
Mark didn’t respond immediately and you looked away from the mirror to see the cause of the silence. You felt your smile lessen at the way he was looking at you, specifically at your lips. That realization brought butterflies to your stomach, your cheeks flushing again. He didn’t speak up when he realized you’d caught his gaze, eyes rising to look at your flushed cheeks, then locking into your slightly widened eyes.
“Hmm, can we get started then?” He questioned quietly, still looking at you in that disturbing way, pulling the mask to cover the lower half of the face.
“Y-yes, please.” You said, handing the mirror back to him with trembling fingers. Even with the mask on you heard the amused snort and couldn’t help but feel even more embarrassed. The laugh itself was low and silent, just above a rumbling, guttural breath. It made you feel silly and childish.
Great, now he thought you were an idiot.
“This is a pretty sensitive area, so it might be uncomfortable. I need you to take a deep breath for me. I’ll start with a simple line and you tell me how your pain tolerance is, okay?”
You stiffen but nod, doing as he asks. He grunts a little, satisfied with your compliance, but you barely hear it over the now-screeching sound of the pistol.
“Here we go.”
You bite your bottom lip hard with the initial sting. It hurts. It’s not uncomfortable as he mentioned earlier. It’s painful, really painful. Your small hands curl into fists on the chair and you struggle to breathe slowly, trying to focus on that instead of the stinging pain in your skin. He goes on with the simplest strokes for a few minutes and you’re rigid as a rock during the whole process.
“Hey, you’re okay?”
He pulls the needle away from your skin for a few seconds and you take the opportunity to sigh in relief, refusing to open your eyes because you know they’re teary and you definitely don’t want him to think you’re a crybaby.
“Y-yes, fine, you can continue.” You respond, praying your statement sounds confident enough for him to believe it and continue.
But he doesn’t continue.
“Open your eyes.”
You shake your head slightly, feeling the tears welling up in your eyes.
“Y/N, open your eyes for me.” He orders harder, the fingers that are still flat on your stomach pressing your skin a little to get your attention.
Having him say your name that way makes you gasp softly, obeying what he says after a deep breath.
As you knew, the act of opening your eyes causes the accumulated tears to fall, streaming down the sides of your face. You sniff and blush harder, feeling the weight of his gaze on you - so intensely dark, like the sky in a quite night.
“It’s okay to cry. This is a pretty sensitive area and, after all, it’s your first tattoo.” Despite the look of boredom, his words are spoken in a reassuring, deep tone that immediately works to quell the worst of your nervousness.
You nod and wipe the tears with your fingers. He waits for you to calm down as he draws slow circles on the skin of your stomach, and despite the fact that you’re pretty sure this gesture isn’t entirely professional, you still feel better about his patience. You’re honestly surprised by this, as his overall expression suggested nothing but utter disinterest. But you accepts the kindness with open arms.
Suddenly the door opened slowly and it's hyuck, his gaze never leaving your face as he start clicking his tongue teasingly before he said “my little girl crying?”
“Can we try again?” mark said looking back at you.
This time you nod more confidently, a small smile on your tearful face and it’s convincing enough that he accepts with a satisfied grunt.
Hyuck gets closer to you and brush his hand softly on your cheek calming you down, neither his words or gestures seems just friendly but you didn't have time to focus on that when all you can feel is pain.
The pistol buzz returns and you make an effort to be more relaxed this time, humming softly to the music playing through the speakers.
“Do you like this song?” he asks casually and you jump an inch as you feel the needle again in your skin, the pain returning as before. But you try to focus on his question.
“Yes, very much.” You say with some difficulty, but glad you have something you can use as a distraction while he continues tracing the painful lines on your skin. The needle scratching your skin in a more sensitive part now, if that was possible, and you squeal a whimper. Mark looks up at you and you smile weakly, waving to say that everything was fine.
Haechan bite his lower lip softly at your words feeling his cock twitching from how hard he is seeing you like that but after some time he decided to complete tatting you to forget about it and that's how they exchanged roles.
He hums thoughtfully and then is silent, long enough for you to think he’s not going to say anything else. But then he speaks.
“Ready, princess?”
You blush at the nickname, but try not to imagine too much. "Yes I'm ready" you breathed.
“That’s my girl,” he turns to your ribs as you try your best not to feel dizzy - whether it was from the object currently stabbing your skin or the words that had just come out of hyuck’s mouth, you didn’t know.
He swallows thoughtfully, the movement making his Adam’s apple rise and fall, immediately drawing your attention to his neck.
You shyly bite your lip as you stare at the tattoos visible across his skin; the striking features of a butterfly right in the center of his throat, the lush wings spread out to either side. A single rose in the space just behind his studded ear. The top of a dragon’s head peeking through the collar of his black shirt, indicating a larger tattoo spread across his back and biceps.
You swallowed hard.
“Hm, do you like my tattoos that much?.” He asked after a while of silence, pulling back a little to look at your tattoo from a different angle, pulling you out of your thoughts. Long fingers gripping your ribcage area firmly, but gently massaging every now and then, making your mission to ignore the signals more difficult by the second.
And so you two go on for a little over one hour, the excruciatingly long time it takes for your tattoo to be done. You cry sometimes and wince at others, but haechan is patient and so as mark who was sitting across from him watching his work more likely watching you.
Of course, you try to remember that they are professionals and that they probably do this for his other clients. But it’s hard not to feel special when they're so nice.
Sometimes you feel hyuck's fingers caressing your skin in a way that you suspect is beyond what a professional needs to do, and yet you struggle to mask your emotions. It becomes particularly difficult when he asks you to pull up your lower bra line a bit so he can finish off the tattoo. Of course, you don’t lift the fabric completely or anything, but the bottom half of your breast is visible and that’s more than enough to make you hyper-aware. And it only gets worse when you feel his gentle touch on the side of your breast, a series of goosebumps erupt over the area, the length of your face down to your collarbone turning red with the embarrassing reaction. It’s absolutely mortifying and you try to cover your embarrassment with a strained laugh, saying the air conditioning was making you cold.
It sounds too ridiculous to be taken seriously, but haechan push it, his dark gaze is dancing with amusement and interest. "Oh i know you liked it, princess"
“i-...You finished?” You ask when he turns off the pistol buzz, placing the object on the tray, throwing the disposable items in the adjacent bin along with the gloves and mask. He stands with his hands up, stretching his muscles tired from being in the same position for so long. You try not to visibly drool at the sight of the muscles in his arms stretched out like that.
“Yes. Do you want help getting up?” he looked back at you, his smirk growing bigger just like what's between his legs.
Yes, you did. In fact, you wanted him to do more than just help you up. But of course you didn’t say that.
“No, that’s fine. I can do it, thanks.”
Despite this, you have trouble getting up. And the fact that he’s watching your every move like an eagle doesn’t help matters. Your tattoo area hurts like a bitch and your body looks like it took a beating, but now you couldn’t take back what you said, it was a matter of pride. Then with delicacy and patience you drag yourself across the chair, avoiding putting weight on the most painful areas. It takes longer than you’d like, but eventually you’re on your feet.
Mark has one eyebrow arched and a half smile on his lips, but mercifully doesn’t comment on what just happened.
“Here, want to take a look?” the younger one asks, nodding towards the full-length mirror on the wall.
“Yes yes!” You responded excitedly, looking forward to seeing the job done.
“Wow, it’s so…so beautiful!” You admire the artistry on your skin, now more vivid and expressive than before. Lips clamped between teeth, nearly jumping with glee at the result. The detailing is elegant and beautiful. It’s even better than the sketch they have drawn.
Your skin throbbed and burned, but you couldn’t be more pleased. The reflection in the mirror is just perfect. “Johnny is an amazing artist I swear, he’s amazing.” 
Haechan seems to think about what you say, but the way his brows are slightly furrowed tells you he’s still confused. Hearts fluttering in your eyes as you look away from the mirror at the silent man beside you. But mark on the other side is quiet, deathly quiet.
You’re so nervous that you’ve offended them that you feel your body almost shaking where you’re standing. But then he slowly approaches, standing behind you in the mirror, staring intently at the overview of his work now permanently imprinted on your skin with a thoughtful hum.
“It looks really good on you, princess.” He says from behind you, close enough that you can smell the faint scent of cigarettes and mint gum, and something woody like sandalwood. A scent so intoxicatingly masculine it almost makes your head spin. He's literally behind you pressing on your ass and you’re still only in a bra and thigh-length pleated skirt.
Sweet hell.
You open your lips to say something, anything, but nothing comes out. The two of you just stand there, staring at each other in the mirror, neither of you knowing how to act.
God, he feels it too, right? That tension around the two of you?
It is haechan who breaks the silence, apparently more in tune with his feelings than you are.
“Okay, let me clean this up.“
You’re feeling shaky from your recent interaction, but you nod quickly, watching as he cleans your skin. The cold water soothing the tattoo burn.
You don’t know what you’re supposed to do, now that mark is standing close to you too saying nothing, just staring at you in that disturbing way.
For a solid minute, maybe two, he still doesn’t say anything. The look he pinned you with made breathing very difficult but then he finally parts his lips to say something, and you allow yourself to exhale expectantly.
"It wasn’t Johnny who made the art.”
Mark’s deep tone rang like molten gold, clearly knowing he was too close for things to be considered platonic at this point – though it didn’t seem like he minded too much. No, whatever is going on between the three of you is coming to a head right now. You can feel it in your bones.
“E-excuse me?” You blink rapidly, feeling your senses go dangerously numb at his approach, he lied to you.
“I said…” He says more slowly, tilting his head letting the attraction that now seemed mutual run through your veins. “That it wasn’t Johnny who designed your tattoo art, princess.”
He keeps looking at you like you’re the only thing that matters in the world. Disturbingly intense. You try and can’t remember the last time someone looked at you with such obvious desire. The sexual tension rapidly rising.
His long fingers glide along your jaw, tracing the shape, caressing your cheekbones. You don’t entertain the illusion that he can’t hear the rapidity of your breathing, perhaps even the rapid pulse under your flushed skin.
You looked to your right and realize that haechan already cleaned everything and he's staring down at you smirking before he whispered in your ear "Every time you visit the studio I wonder what it would be like if we are more close. What it would be like to have friends with benefits...with a pretty little thing like you"
You swallow the choking lump in your throat, lips parted on a shuddering sigh. It’s palpable that something big is coming and you don’t know if you can handle the rest of what he has to say. Still, you want to hear him say it. You wants him to tell you the things that make your stomach flutter and your toes curl. You want it so bad.
“I want to ruin your pussy, fuck you until your throat hurts from screaming. I want to make you cum with my cock, my mouth and my fingers. I want to lick every damn inch of you.”
For a few seconds the world stops turning. Nothing but what he said occupies your mind. You were going to die. Right there, in their tattoo studio.
"I….” You try, although the options are so many that you don’t know exactly what to ask for, your tongue feeling heavy inside your dry mouth, “…please.”
 “Please what, sweet girl?” Mark's head dips to your exposed neck, wet lips pressing against the skin there. His breath is hot and your eyelashes flutter at the contact, then his tongue slides out to drag slowly against your skin.
you sighed and can't reject this offer ofc, as if your words had been forcibly punched out of your body. Desperate. “Just touch me, please.” you breathed, halfway between crying and begging.
“…Where?” He pulls away to look you in the eyes. His pupil is swollen, almost completely black with lust. A smile plays on his lips.
“Everywhere. Everywhere, I just need to—” You can’t pronounce the rest. Instead, your breath is interrupted by a sudden pressure against your lips, and it takes you several moments to realize exactly what’s happening. Mark is kissing you.
Haechan take the chance and grabbed your waist his fingers tracing up to your back unclasping your bra like a pro. “Been dying to see these tits,” he said, giving the one on his side a squeeze the one you tatted just under it but You hadn’t bothered the pain when all you feel is pleasure.
Mark sucked and kissed all over your lips, while hyuck focused on your nipple. His tongue flicked the peak before taking it in his hot, wet mouth.
Right behind the three of you there was a big couch facing the mirror where you saw the final result of the tattoo.
The older one doesn’t wait for to long before taking a few steps back, until he lands comfortably in the couch that you only now realized was there. “Come here, princess.” He ordered.
But haechan grabbed you hard from your wrist and pushed you against mark making you sit on his lap, god he look so turned on, just an hour ago he was smiling brightly and welcoming you.
With a movement of muscles he is pulling the black shirt over his head - he's shirtless, tattooed chest and neck, his bun was slowly coming undone after all the moving. "hold her legs up" He growled while his friend spread your legs lifting them up in the air.
Haechan kneeled down face only few inches away from your panties, the way your pussy was pulsing now watching his tattooed fingers rubbing on your wet underwear, he damn near moaned. “She’s fucking soaked.” The way he spoke about you made your pussy ache even more.
He pushed them to the side and you tried to close your legs but mark grip was stronger, his fingers digging into your soft skin. “Don’t you dare try to hide this pretty pussy from me” hyuck said giving your cunt a good slap making you gasp.
Getting closer then slip between your legs. He kissed your throbbing clit before licking up your arousal, your head feel back on mark's chest with a moan while hyuck devouring you mumbling and degrading your pussy, his tongue flicking your clit faster and harder. Before you could draw another breath, you were tipping over the edge.
Looking at mark with those needy eyes and squirming all over his lap making him throb as well, "shh- I know baby, I know". Haechan licked at you until you finished, then looked up you grinning “So sweet, fuck.”
Mark start hooking his fingers into his pants and yanking them down along with his boxers, his big veiny cock was in a light needy shade of red. He tugs on your skirt as you risen slightly from his lap carefully avoiding your tattoo, For a few seconds you just look at him, asking - begging - for him to guide you in what to do next, and he doesn’t let you down.
One large hand holding both of your wrist behind your back and the other one grabbing his cock guiding his tip on your folds, “Come on princess, let me have you…” He practically pleads against your skin huskily, his larger body slightly trembling in need beneath yours.
You lick your lips and nod shyly looking back at hyuck who is fully naked now standing in front of you not only watching your pretty face but rubbing circles on your clit and choking you softly squeezing on your throat.
“Fuck, baby,” he whispered into your ear as he reach down and slowly rub your folds back and forth with the tip of his cock harder, spreading your slick across the entire length of him. “You have no idea what you are doing to me, princess…”
Your pussy burns as you stretch around his cock. You whimper softly when you felt him inside you, he encourages you the whole time, murmured compliments between his tense jaw.
You close your eyes and sink an inch deeper.
The burning stretch and you biting your bottom lip. When you squeeze a little, mark lets out a groan of pleasure. “That’s it,” he encouraged. “Just like this. Good girl. You’re going so well, princess,” he says through a pent-up groan as you lower until the plump tip of him is inside you, the praise coursing through your veins like liquid fire. “Come on, I know you can take my cock.”
“Does it feel good, baby?” Haechan asks hoarsely, pinching your nipple, as he smiled seeing you coming undone.
“S-so good! It’s so good!” You almost cry, He runs his tongue across your bottom lip and you let him in to explore your mouth, your tongues gliding over each other.
A loud moan is shared between you and mark as you sinking fully into his cock. You swear you can feel him in you chest as he opens you, pulsing and writhing wildly where you spasm along the length.
Bouncing on his cock while choking on another is how you ended up, both of them taking turns on fucking you.
“Gonna be a good girl and take us both, right?” hyuck asked. Your lip went between your teeth at the thought of having both of them inside you. You’d never done something like that, but fuck it sounded good. The second you nodded, haechan was lifting your hips and sinking you on to him. You let out a his as your soft walls opened for him. “Fuck she's so tight,” He groaned.
“mmh that ass is even tighter,” mark said from somewhere behind you giving it a spank. You instinctively rolled your hips, letting your body adjust to hyuck. He rocked his hips up slightly, admiring the moans it pulled from your lips. Mark tried to be as patient as he could so you could adjust to his friend, but his patience feared very thing watching his cock disappear inside you. He did not like feeling left out.
You felt mark press up behind you, He pushed you down so your chest was flush against hyuck’s, allowing himself to spread your ass cheeks rubbing your juices all over it. He used his thumb to spread it over your hole before lined himself up to you. His cock head pressed against you, slowly pushing through the ring of your ass.
“Aahh fuck mark!” you whined as he slowly filled you up. You gripped haechan’s shoulders, fingernails digging into his skin 
“You can take it, be brave, angel” mark insisted, continuing to press inside. He bottomed out with a deep satisfied sigh. “See? Taking two cocks like no problem, that's it baby.” 
They began to move inside you. It was such a strange, full sensation, but fuck you couldn’t deny it felt so good. They moved slowly at first, making sure you were enjoying it. With each moan that left your lips the moved more freely. 
Both men continued to thrust into you more faster. Hyuck’s moans were lighter, on the precipice of a whine, while mark’s were deeper and raspier. It was music to your ears. “Fuck gonna cum? Let it out princess,” mark moaned.
You nearly screamed as the pleasure in your lower stomach completely snapped. Your whole body shuddered as your orgasm flamed through you, your body shaking and twitching, tears falling down your cheeks as you collapsed on top of haechan.
Copyright 2024 © jamjaemin
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bagopucks · 9 months ago
Text
T. Zegras - Can He Sing?
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✄————————————
Trevor Zegras x Fem!reader
Requested✨
Word Count: 2.1k
Warning(s): None?
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“We’re ready when you are.”
“I’m good. Trev?”
“Uh yeah… I think so.”
“You’ll be fine.”
“Filming.”
“Hello! I’m Macy Grey and today we’re here with the singer-songwriter who brought you the famous album Silly Love Songs. And her lover Trevor Zegras from the Anaheim Ducks. On behalf of myself and the studio I want to thank you both for coming out today.”
“Of course! I love getting in touch with interviewers. Especially from locally known studios.”
“When I was informed you were in town for the All Stars, I wasn’t sure if you’d have the time, but I’m so happy you were able to fit us into your schedule.”
“Absolutely. I should be thanking you for letting Trevor come though. I know your forte isn’t exactly hockey players.”
Large studio interviews were a waste of time. It was something I always resented, and something that even morally never agreed with me. Large studios only wanted to get news first to make the most money. Smaller places offered a more personal environment and a more comfortable atmosphere. It was the only reason why I had invited Trevor along. I didn’t want him involved too much in the social half of my career, mostly because the industry and jealous fans could be cruel to artists’ lovers. But I reasoned with myself that one interview wouldn’t hurt. Especially with someone like Macy Grey. She was always so kind and open to friends, family, or significant others of musicians.
“To kick us off, I’d love to talk more on the exact reason why you’re in town. Everyone is aware of your successes, but let’s fill the crowd in on Trevor’s.”
“Where to start?” I glanced at Trevor, who let out that awkward wheezy laugh. He was uncharacteristically quiet, but this was a new thing for him. Usually hockey interviews happened when there were loads of other people around. These interviews were far more private. “He was voted in as one of the players this year to play in the All Stars, and he’s competing in a few skills competitions as well. He won a gold medal with Team USA one year before the NHL, he attended Boston University before being drafted.. what else?” I hoped to get him to join in, but Trevor looked fairly comfortable letting me do all the talking. I could fix that though.
“Trevor was voted most likely to cry in a haunted house this year for team superlatives.” I smirked as soon as I heard him gasp.
“Yeah, that’s enough of that,” Trevor cut in. “I’m not a baby, write that down.” He pointed toward Macy, as if the woman had some sort of notepad in her hands. “I’m just jumpy. It’s normal.” His blue eyes shifted toward me with a playful glare, Macy laughed softly at the exchange.
“Well, Trevor. It seems like you’re a pretty successful person yourself. Would you mind me asking how you two met?”
“Oh I love this story.”
“Me too,” Trevor chimed in, crossing his legs one over the other, and leaning forward like a kid during story time.
“So, I was in New York for a performance in MSG, and the Ducks were in town too for a game” I smiled, leaning back in my chair and trying to get comfortable. “My best friend had joined me for the eastern leg of the tour at the time, so we decided to go out for drinks downtown. My favorite bar in the city is 230 Fifth Rooftop Bar. So my best friend, Shelby and I, we just got two glasses of champagne and settled at a high table to watch the sunset. We’re minding our own business.. for the most part, but there’s this group of guys that are just carrying on. They’re loud and obnoxious and they look like your stereotypical frat guys. At one point Shelby had enough, and she got up to go yell at them.” I peeked at Trevor, his smile growing wider. He knew very well that this was the part where he came in. “So Shelby’s yelling at that group of guys, and I finally got up to go wrangle her. And just as I’m approaching.. I kinda stopped and asked myself if it was a good idea. Shelby doesn’t like to be told to stop much. Then I hear this voice right next to me. Scared the shit out of me. And the voice goes, “She yours?” I laughed softly, as did Macy.
“I apologized profusely for her behavior, and-“
“But I told her I wasn’t the one getting yelled at. So it didn’t bother me.” Trevor cut in with a toothy grin. “Then I bought her another glass of champagne and the rest is history.”
“Don’t forget about the part where you booked your hotel room for an extra night to see me perform.” I teased, “And bribed security into getting backstage to see me and ask for my number.”
“Those details don’t make me sound as cool though,” Trevor whined.
“That’s a really sweet story.” Macy chimed in.
“Thank you.”
“So he asked for your number, but who asked who out?”
“To simplify a long story, Trevor was beating around the bush too much for a little while, so one night be brought me flowers before an away game and I told him when he got back, we were going to go on our first date as an official couple.” Macy and I laughed in unison.
“And were there any arguments to that demand?”
“Not from me, no.” Trevor giggled. “I was more than happy to put a label on it.”
“And how long have you been together?”
“Two years. Three at the end of All Star Week.”
“How adorable! You guys must be a strong couple then.”
“Oh one hundred percent.” Trevor smiled as he spoke.
“Now, the question on everyone’s minds is.. can he sing?”
“Yes!”
“Absolutely not.” I corrected Trevor ruthlessly. “He thinks he can.. but he can’t.” I chuckled, glancing at the sandy blonde to see his look of pure betrayal.
“Does that mean we won’t be hearing any duets?”
“I wouldn’t say that,” I answered slyly, earning a surprised look from Macy. “Trev is featured on the album.. speaking. His features are mostly just backtracks.”
“I know this may be asking a lot but- is there any chance we could get a sneak peek at that?”
“For you Macy? I would love to.” I watched the girl’s eyes light up. I pulled my phone from my pocket and opened my files, scrolling through for a moment before I stood and dragged my chair closer to the woman’s.
“This song is called Spellbound. It was actually the first song I produced for this new album. I took some of my inspiration from the song Witchy Woman by the Eagles. The reason being, this was written during halloween, and that is just one of my favorite spooky songs. For this piece, I wanted it to feel supernaturally devoted to Trevor. Like.. kind of like.. like a love where one person idolizes the other, but not necessarily in an obsessive or toxic way. I think the lyrics and the tune teetering on the edge of insanity really adds to the supernatural edge and it also makes this song unique to Trevor. I can’t say I’ll ever produce another song like this, nor do I think anyone else will. Classic rock isn’t exactly my genre, nor do I plan for it to be. So this track really sticks out. Which is the main reason why I chose to give this song its own cover art. And I’ll be releasing it as the first single.” It was a lot of information to offer, but I was very passionate about the things I dedicated to Trevor. Especially this song.
Most of my music got old after constantly rerecording lyrics and harmonies, or sorting out instruments. But this song never did. I loved it through and through.
“This sounds amazing and so.. intricate. How long did it take in total from thinking of the idea to finalizing the song?”
“A full month maybe? I hadn’t been exactly itching to make a new album, so I knew if I was going to, my basis for it was going to have to be amazing. And I think I did a fairly good job.” I paused. “I hope so..”
“I’m sure it’s amazing. Let’s hear it!”
I wasted no time in playing the track, a steel guitar and stylized keyboard opening the musical scene. I was a person who loved using clips of recordings in my music, whether it was from everyday life, or a random video in my camera roll, or even if I took the recording of the sound specifically for a song. It was one of my many musical signatures, but the one I was most known for. Atop the smooth music, came the faded clinging of pans, and Trevor’s soft voice. “I can’t wait for you to be home.. Fuck I miss you so much.” It had been a voicemail, but my sound producers managed to give it a more authentic feel, as if someone was in the room with him recording instead of it being spoken into a phone mic. The music itself was fairly calm and collected. Certain instruments helped it sound taboo and old, but the lyrics were the driving factor that made it sound almost insane. A part of me worried my audience wouldn’t take to the song well, but Macy seemed enthralled from the start of the track.
I eyed her expressions carefully through every second, smiling to myself when she seemed particularly intrigued by a section. And I had to admit, it boosted my ego to hear Trevor not too far off in his own chair humming the song to himself. I could live with myself if everyone hated the song, as long as he loved it.
Near the bridge, Trevor’s voice returned, “I’m gonna keep you forever.” This section had been specifically recorded in the studio, and despite my endless attempts to get him to take it seriously, he had giggled at the end of every take. Eventually I settled on knowing I wouldn’t have it the exact way I wanted it, and we used the take with the least amount of amusement in his voice. At the end of the day when we put it all together, his laugh only ended up adding to the crazy feel of the song.
Near the end of the track, Macy finally spoke up.
“This is the weirdest and most mentally satisfying song I have ever heard.”
I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Really?”
“You’re so right, it sounds nothing like what you usually produce, but it still has your essence in it. You can tell it’s your songwriting. I think this song is going to be crazy successful. And I also think having Trevor on it is going to make people go nuts” I would be lying if I said I hadn’t thought of that. I knew my fans would love to see Trevor featured.
“Thank you so much. I’m so excited to release the song.” I admitted with a slight grin.
“I’m just excited that I’ll be able to listen to it without having to say “babe can you sing me that song” every time I wanna hear it.” Trevor teased, causing my cheeks to flush as our eyes met.
“You don’t like her singing to you?” Macy joked.
“God no. I love it when she sings. I just hate how much I get made fun of when I ask her to do it.” The three of us laughed.
“Sounds to me like you have a pretty devoted girlfriend.”
“She did write a weirdly obsessive song about me.” Trevor agreed pridefully. “The first of many, right babe?” His question made my brow rise in surprise.
“We’ll see, Ziggy.”
“That’s a good answer. Can’t give too much away just yet.” My eyes trailed back to Macy. Our time was drawing to a close. “I hate to cut us short but I think we’re reaching our limit. And I know you have your own tight schedule today.” She paused. “I really wanna thank you again for making enough time to come out. It means a lot.”
“Mace, I think I speak for the both of us when I say we had so much fun being here. You always conduct the best interviews.” The woman blushed.
“We can come back anytime.” Trevor added, catching me off guard.
“I’ll have to take you up on that offer the next time you’re in town.” Macy grinned. “I hope you both enjoy the All Stars, and rock the red carpet of course.”
“Thank you so much. We definitely hope to.”
“I’ll be watching on tv.”
✾❀✾❀✾❀✾❀✾❀✾❀✾❀✾
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Text
Closed Position: Week 1 (Introductions)
Closed Position Masterlist ||| Main Masterlist Dieter Bravo x OFC (Katarina)
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Series Summary: Dieter Bravo, now sober, was looking to change his bad boy image after hitting rock bottom. His team hoped that having him join the nationally televised family friendly dance competition would be a good first step, if they can keep him out of trouble. 
Katarina Stamos expected her last season as a professional dancer on Dancing with the Stars to go the same as it had for the past thirteen seasons. That all changed when she was partnered with the infamous Dieter Bravo. 
Dieter and Katarina are reluctantly thrown into their partnership and must learn to work together to succeed in the competition. In the process they form a deeper connection beyond the dance floor that neither anticipated.
Chapter Word Count: 7.1K
👉 Warnings: Themes dealing with intimate partner violence, past alcohol abuse, and past drug abuse. There will be fluff, tears, spicy language, and smut. This will be a slow burn. Read at your own risk. Dieter Bravo comes with his own warnings.
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Week 1 Quote: "Fuck. I might be in trouble."
Dieter’s POV
“Lenny, have you seen this fucking schedule? It’s seven days a week for twelve weeks. When do I get a break?” 
Lenny, my agent, sighed through the speaker phone, “D, I told you this was going to be a lot of work before you agreed to do it. You shouldn’t be surprised…and besides, that’s only if you make it to the finals.”
I scoffed, “Thanks for the vote of confidence…asshole.” Lenny chuckled on the other end of the line. We both went quiet for a moment as I continued to flip through the packet of paper that Lenny had sent over for review, “I don’t even get to have any say on the wardrobe or music. Such bullshit…sucking all the fun out of it. Did you at least drop a bug in their ear about who I’ll be partnered with? If I get stuck with someone I don’t want, I’m gonna be fucking miserable.” 
“I did, but the producers said they always do the partner matching themselves. They have a formula…or something. Maybe bring it up again at this morning's meeting and explain why. They may listen to you on it.” 
I huffed as my eyes continued skimming over the weekly schedule, “I have to get a fucking spray tan every week? You have GOT to be kidding me…Lenny, you know I don’t like using carcinogenic chemicals on my body.” 
“Uhhh, no comment on that…Look, I’ll put in a call and see if they can use something natural for that.” 
I relaxed some, “I would appreciate that. Thank you. Tell them I have an allergy or something…just make it happen.” 
I tossed the packet onto the table and picked up my phone, taking it off speaker and putting it to my ear - now pacing as I spoke, “Well, it looks like I’m gonna be pretty busy for a bit. That’ll be a nice distraction. It beats being locked inside the house at least.”  
Lenny hesitated, but still asked, “How are you doing with everything? Still managing ok?” 
I sighed, “Yeah, I mean I’m going to therapy and all the meetings still. I’ve been doing ok…just trying to keep the stress levels down. That’s what gets to me the most.” 
“How long has it been?”
I looked at the date on my watch, “Eight months today…actually. It’s the longest I’ve ever been clean, and I plan to stick to it this time. I’m feeling good and I want to keep it that way.” 
“Everyone is really proud of you, D. You know that, right? Keep at it and we'll have you back on top in no time.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, knowing that it was an uphill battle, “I appreciate that, but good luck getting people to change their opinion of me. I’m not sure if my reputation is salvageable at this point. Everyone seems to think my sobriety is some sort of joke. No one is taking it seriously.”
I could hear Lenny inhale deeply on the other end of the phone, “It’s just going to take time, D. Don’t give up yet.” 
I pursed my lips in thought, “Yeah, I guess. Anyway, I need to get ready for this meeting. We’ll talk later, yeah?”
“Yeah, definitely let me know how it goes.”  
Once I hung up the phone with Lenny, I took a quick shower, then spent longer than I should have staring at the clothes hanging in my closet - trying to pick something that says I have my shit together. My therapist kept reminding me that if I dressed like a slob, people were going to treat me like one. So, I was putting more effort into making myself presentable before I left the house these days. Since it was a work meeting, I went for a business casual look, figuring I couldn’t go wrong with that. After styling my hair and getting dressed, I grabbed my keys, phone, wallet, and sunglasses and headed out the front door.
As I approached my car, which was parked in the driveway, I noticed there was a dead bird on the hood. The fluffy gray, brown, and white stray cat that had been hanging around my house was sitting next to it, looking rather proud of himself. I sighed, “Come on dude, really?” And this is why I need to get the garage cleaned out. I hit the clicker to open the garage door so I could get a broom to knock the bird off the hood. As I waded through the mountain of empty boxes from my move six months ago, I cursed myself for taking my sweet time getting that stuff out of the house. Finally finding the broom, I quickly moved to get the dead bird off of the car and shooed the cat away. He didn’t look happy about it as he moved to sit on the pathway in front of the house, watching me until I was finally on my way to Television City Studios to meet with the producers of Dancing with the Stars. 
When I arrived at the studio, I was met by the two executive producers, Stacia and Joe and led into a conference room. I let them do their spiel about what’s expected and the schedule. Nodding along in all the right places, being as polite as possible even though I hated how little say I had over anything. Once they moved on to the topic of how they choose partners, I spoke up for the first time, “I would really like to have input on my partner.” They both moved to speak before I held up my hand to signal that I wasn’t finished talking. 
“Look, I know you all have your formula or whatever, but I have a legitimate reason for asking. As I’m sure you’re aware, I’ve been trying to clean up my image. I’ve been sober for eight months and I would really like to be placed with someone that doesn’t have a reputation for partying…someone who isn’t gonna be a negative influence on me. It’s actually really important to me because I’m actively avoiding being around anyone who is into that kind of lifestyle.” Which is why I spend most of my time alone.  
Stacia and Joe looked at each other, obviously surprised at my reasoning for the request. They were actually stunned into silence. Since neither of them said anything, I continued, “I had my team check into the dancers, and based on their recommendation…I’m requesting that Katarina Stamos be my partner. She has a good reputation and I’m also told she’s very professional and isn’t judgmental…because that’s been an issue here lately that I’d really like to not have to deal with.”
Stacia’s brow furrowed, “Are you looking to actually win? Because Kat hasn’t won a single season that she’s been with us.”
I narrowed my eyes on her. What an asshole thing to say about someone. “Well, maybe that’s because you keep giving her shitty partners.” 
I gave Stacia a sarcastic smile. She had the audacity to look offended by that statement. I had watched the show and seen the people Katarina was partnered with. It was always the older guys that could hardly move. Stacia’s attitude made me more determined to have Katarina as a partner just to prove a fucking point on her behalf. 
Joe interrupted the silent standoff that Stacia and I now seemed to be having, “Alright, let’s think about this…” He turned to Stacia, “Physically, they work together. Their height and proportions are a good match…and Kat is very patient. She would work well with him. Also, if he wishes to be with someone who isn’t into partying, Anika is not the person he needs to be with.”
Stacia looked frustrated and unwilling to give in as she glared at her counterpart. Joe smirked, “If you're worried about the change in narrative, it’s possible there may be other options we haven’t considered.” 
What the fuck does that mean? I leaned forward on my elbows, “What narrative?” 
They both turned to look at me, Stacia now had a sly smile on her face. It was Joe who answered, “We always consider the possible narratives that could come up between partners. How they’ll interact and get along personality wise. It’s an important factor for the show.”
I felt a crease form between my brows, “So basically, you try to manufacture drama for TV.”  
Joe shook his head, “Not exactly, I mean ultimately, yes. We just take personalities and such into account when we pair the dancers with their celebrities. I mean, we do want everyone to get along with their partner, obviously.”   
So, you’re fucking meddlers. Got it. I arched my brows, giving them a tight smile as I nodded, going along with what they were telling me. I now realized I would have to keep an eye on these two. I didn’t feel like they had my best interest in mind. Especially if they were initially planning to put me with the known party girl. 
I cleared my throat before speaking again, “So what does that mean…do I get to work with Katarina or not?” 
Stacia looked at me, now smiling, “I think that may actually be a good match now that I think about it. So yeah, we’ll let you work with Kat. Hopefully you’ll both make it through to finals.” 
What is this woman’s deal? Geez Louise. I eyed them both suspiciously for a moment, “Ok, good. Now I’m finally a little excited about this.”   
They went over a few more details about the schedule before taking me out to meet with a production assistant, who was tasked with giving me a tour of the building and showing me where my dressing room would be. This part of my day couldn’t end soon enough… 
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Katarina’s POV
As I was pulling into the Television City Studios parking lot for the first day of my last season on Dancing with the Stars, my phone pinged with a text from Alec, my fiancée.
Alec: I finished up my meeting with production. Are you here? Have you had yours yet?
I leaned my head back against the seat. What the hell has he been doing? I know his meeting was over an hour ago.
Me: Just parked, I have mine in 10 minutes. I’m on my way in…Meet you in the lobby. 
A few minutes later, I found Alec in the lobby. He seemed more excited than he normally was on the first day as he greeted me with a quick kiss on the cheek. 
I leaned away from him, “What’s got you so smiley this morning?” I could tell he was trying to temper it down and have a more neutral expression on his face as he shrugged, “I didn’t realize I was. Guess I’m just excited to see you.” 
He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. What are you hiding now you asshole. He didn’t know how well I could read him at this point. 
I arched a brow instead of returning his smile, “So, I assume you found out who your partner is gonna be?”
He continued his attempts at a neutral expression, “Yeah, Lana Thompson…she’s an actress, I think. There was apparently a last minute change to the lineup this morning. You know her?” 
I gave him a tight smile, “Yeah…I know her. She has a bit of a reputation…”  
He feigned ignorance, “Oh? I don’t know anything about her. I’m sure she’ll turn out to be one of those stuck up, bitchy types like the rest of ‘em. Ya know, you’re lucky it’s your last season so you don’t have to deal with these people anymore.” 
And there it is. He doth protest too much. He was excited to be paired with her, I could tell. He saw it as an opportunity. As far as I knew, he hadn’t strayed to another woman in some time, but that didn’t mean he had changed. He still hadn’t earned my trust back and his current excitement only made me more suspicious of his commitment. 
Alec could sense the tension taking hold of my body as he rubbed at my lower back, “Everything ok, baby?”
I gave him a half-hearted smile, “Yeah, just peachy. I’ve gotta go or I’m gonna be late. I’ll catch up with you after.” 
As I was walking down the hallway toward the conference room, I saw Lana Thompson exiting the bathroom. I suspected Alec had already met his partner and liked her more than he let on. Which probably explains why it took him as long as it did to text me. 
When I entered the conference room, Stacia and Joe sat huddled together. They seemed to be engrossed in whatever they were whispering about, but abruptly stopped talking once they realized I was lingering in the entryway. They both smiled, almost over enthusiastically as they welcomed me and motioned for me to have a seat. They studied me for a moment before Stacia finally spoke, “How are things going with you?” 
That’s an odd question and an odd tone. I wasn’t sure what kind of answer she was looking for, “It’s going good, why?” 
She gave me a small smile, “I know it’s your last season because you have things going on…but do you think you’re feeling up to the possibility of making it to finals?” 
I gave her a confused look, “What is that supposed to mean?” 
Joe leaned forward, “What Stacia is trying to say is…the person we have you partnered with this time is going to be a little more physically able than your usual partners. So, you may be in it for the full twelve weeks…if you can pull it off. Are you physically able to handle it?” 
Should I be offended by that? It’s not like I can’t function. It was just painful some days, especially when there were a lot of rehearsals. My joints couldn’t handle the Latin dances like they used to - the jerky movements exacerbating the inflammation and discomfort. That didn’t mean they had to treat me like a fragile porcelain doll though. 
I narrowed my eyes at them, “Of course I can handle it. I could handle it this entire time…which is why I’ve been asking for more capable partners.” 
Joe smiled, “Well, good. Maybe you can go out with a bang this season.” 
What the fuck was this about? I dug my teeth into my bottom lip as I tried to figure out their angle. There was always an angle with them, “Why do I feel like you’re trying to sell this to me?” 
Joe grimaced slightly. “We’re not trying to sell it, but we do worry you won’t be happy about it.” 
I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back into the seat, “Who is it?” 
Stacia smirked, “It’s Dieter Bravo.”
I looked between the two of them, “You’re joking?” 
They shook their heads in unison. This didn’t make sense. Wouldn’t he be better suited with one of the girls that enjoyed a lifestyle similar to his? 
“What makes you think he and I will work well together? I know I have a lot of patience, but it does have its limits.” 
Joe chuckled, “His people requested you specifically. He’s actually eight months sober and they want him with someone who isn’t going to get him into trouble. He’s trying to clean up his image.” 
I scoffed, “I thought you didn’t let the celebrities have any say in who they’re partnered with?”
Joe leaned forward onto the table, “We don’t normally, but given his request and the reasons for it, we felt we should make an exception. We were thinking of putting him with you anyway.”
I shook my head, “You are aware of his reputation, right? Alec is gonna lose his shit over this.” 
Stacia smiled, “It’s not your or Alec’s choice. We run the show.”
It dawned on me then. Alec had said there was a last minute lineup change this morning and that’s why he was put with Lana. I had somehow managed to fly under the radar when it came to the producers' manufactured bullshit, but now I was right in the middle of it. They were making moves to create an underlying narrative for the show. 
“Who was he partnered with originally? I know it wasn’t me.” 
Stacia looked surprised by my question, “He was never partnered with anyone else before you.”
Stacia was lying. She couldn’t look at me directly when she answered my question - it was her tell. I knew how their minds worked. Dieter Bravo had a reputation for causing trouble and they were looking to exploit it. I’m sure his request caused a hiccup in their plans, so now they were making adjustments to cause drama surrounding him any way they could. 
My eyes shifted between the two of them, “I don’t know what your endgame is here, but I have no intention of playing, just so you know.”
Stacia and Joe sat expressionless, not giving anything away. I assumed they expected this sort of response from me. My tendency to push back at their plans was one of the reasons I wasn’t a favorite of theirs and most likely part of the reason they always worked to get me off the show as soon as possible, every season. Which sucked for my bank account. To add to their reasoning, I wasn’t interesting enough since I never had issues with my partners or whirlwind romances that made for good TV. However, this season they were taking a chance, throwing two bombs in the form of Lana and Dieter into my already tumultuous relationship with Alec. Hoping for an exciting outcome that would play out behind the scenes to stir up tabloid fodder and result in free promotion for the show.  
Joe sighed, finally speaking to break the tension in the room, “For what it’s worth, we met with Dieter earlier this morning…he was actually very pleasant and agreeable. I don’t think he’ll be an issue for you, so long as he continues to stay sober.”
My brows furrowed, “It sounds like you have a lot of faith in him. Good to know.” I moved to stand, “Well, if there isn’t anything else you need from me…”
Joe smiled weakly in my direction, “No, I think that’s it for now…just make sure you review the schedule and let us know if you have questions.” 
I gave them a sarcastic smile before moving to leave the conference room. As I rounded the corner in the hallway, looking down at the floor lost in my thoughts and frustration, I ran into someone. I started mumbling my apologies as I looked up at the stranger. I was met with a mess of curls, piercing dark eyes, and a dimpled lop-sided grin. It was Dieter fucking Bravo looking like he just stepped out of a GQ magazine. 
“Hey there, sweetheart,” he said through a chuckle with his hands on my shoulders to catch me from running head first into him. We stared at each other in silence for a moment. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me, he can’t call me that.  
He had a slight smirk on his face now, “Katarina, right? Looks like we’re gonna be dance partners.” 
I shook my head, my lips set in a tight line, “Don’t call me that.” 
His brow furrowed, “What? Katarina?” 
I scoffed, “No, sweetheart. I don’t want anyone getting the wrong idea. It’s inappropriate. You can call me Kat like everyone else.” 
He was obviously taken off guard by my cold demeanor as he gave me a confused look, “I didn’t…mean anything by it, I-I call everyone sweetheart.” 
I nodded, “Well, you're not gonna call me that.”
He chewed on the inside of his cheek for a beat, “I guess I’ve earned that. Sorry, I won’t do it again.” 
I inhaled deeply, biting my bottom lip as I did so. It didn’t go unnoticed that his eyes shifted down to my mouth. “Look, this is my last season and I just wanna get through it without any drama, ok?”
A crease formed between his brows as his jaw ticked to the side, “What makes you think I’m gonna cause drama?”
I shook my head, now realizing how big of a jerk I was being, “Umm…I…”
He continued to stare at me with a burning intensity, “Just so you know, I’m sober…have been for eight months. Drama is not my thing these days…”
I gave him a tight smile, “Good…hopefully you can stick to it.”  Fuck. That did not come out how I meant for it to.
I could see his jaw muscles flex before he let out a small laugh. His eyes finally shifted downward. He almost looked hurt by that comment. 
I sighed, “I’m sorry…I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.” 
His brows arched as he peered at me through his lashes, “You know, I requested to be partnered with you because I was told that you're professional and wouldn’t be judgmental about my past…I guess I heard wrong. I suppose I should just expect it at this point, right? Maybe I shouldn’t have such high expectations of others.” 
My mouth fell open as I shook my head. I’m such a fucking asshole. He didn’t give me a chance to say anything before he spoke again, “I guess I’ll see you at rehearsals tomorrow. Have a good afternoon.” He gave me a sad smile as he brushed past me. I stood there with my mouth hanging open like an idiot watching him as he walked toward the exit. That was a great first impression. Good job, Kat. 
“Who was that?” Alec asked from behind me. 
I turned, running my fingers through the top of my hair out of frustration, “That was my new dance partner.” 
Alec squinted toward the figure standing near the exit, now stopping to look at his phone, “Is that Dieter Bravo?” 
I could feel my jaw tighten as I took in Alec’s expression, “Yes, it is.” Alec’s head snapped toward me, “I don’t want you working with him.” 
I smiled sarcastically, “Really? And you think I have a choice in that? They made it clear, there is no other option. I asked.”
Alec shook his head, “You could just not do this season. You're quitting anyway. Why not go ahead and drop out?” 
My eyes widened at his suggestion, “Because I need the fucking money, you know that.” 
He chuckled, “Right, for the dance studio.” 
I scoffed, “Yeah, for the dance studio. I don’t understand why you can’t support me on that.” 
Alec didn’t acknowledge my question, “This guy is a known womanizer. I’m not comfortable with this.” 
My head tilted to the side, “So you don’t trust me. That’s rich coming from you. You know…I’m not excited about your partner either, but I didn’t tell you to drop out. If anyone has a right to be concerned, it’s me.” 
Alec moved in closer, causing me to back up against the wall as he got in my face. His eyes were blazing with anger, “You’re never gonna let that shit go, are you? That was ten months ago, and I have been loyal to you ever since. Yet here you are…still throwing it in my fucking face.” 
I had a sudden defiant streak hit me, “You’re the one who brought it up by insinuating that you couldn’t trust me. I’m just reminding you who the problem is in this relationship.” 
Alec moved to put his hand on the wall next to my head as he leaned in further - his nose nearly touching mine as I turned my stoney face away from him, “Don’t you ever talk to me like that again,” he spat out.   
I could feel his eyes drift over my face for a moment before he pulled away and walked off. 
I huffed out a quiet “Fuck” as I exhaled a shaky breath and watched him walk toward the dressing rooms. When I glanced back toward the exit, Dieter was still standing there, frozen in place with his phone halfway to his ear. Once he realized I was looking his way, his head dropped downward, and he slowly turned to exit the building.   
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 Dieter’s POV 
As I walked out into the scorching afternoon sun, I ended the call to check my voicemail, deciding I wasn’t in the mood to hear it. I was frustrated by my first interaction with Katarina. It didn’t go how I expected, and honestly, she had hurt my feelings. Based on everything I had heard about her, I didn’t think she would throw my past up in my face like that. At least not immediately, if at all. She did seem a little flustered, maybe she was just having a bad day? 
What followed after our exchange was even more bizarre. It looked like she was having a tense conversation with the man that I assumed was the one she was dating. Lenny had mentioned she was engaged to one of the other dancers. When the man first leaned in, I initially thought they were just having a private moment, but then I noticed the look on Kat’s face as she turned away from him. Something about it was unsettling and for a brief moment, I considered interrupting them. Luckily, I didn’t have to. However, I was left feeling that I had witnessed something I wasn’t supposed to.
Even though our conversation didn’t go as well as I hoped, I was still struck with how beautiful Katarina was in person. Pictures and TV didn’t do her justice. It was probably a good thing she was seeing someone, otherwise I would be in danger of making a fool of myself. Then again, I probably would anyway. My sober self didn’t seem to know how to act around a pretty lady. My confidence and self-assurance definitely weren’t on the same level these days. 
When I got home, I spent more time than I would like to admit staring at my reflection in the mirror - trying to remind myself that I was no longer the piece of shit that everyone still saw me as. It was still hard for me to accept that the old me and the new me were two very different people. Some days it really did seem like it was easier being the old Dieter Bravo, because he didn’t care about how he was perceived by others. I often longed for him to come back, just to quiet the thoughts of self-hate and inadequacy. Those thoughts really could be suffocating and hard to overcome. It was near impossible living with myself on those days.
The anticipation of how our first rehearsal would go was starting to get to me. So, I decided to spend the rest of the evening trying to relax and take my mind off things. With classical music blaring from the sound system, I moved through the house to check in on my plants - watering, misting leaves, and pruning. It was a new hobby I had picked up since rehab. It started with one succulent plant that had seen better days. My neighbor had left it sitting next to the trash bin on garbage collection day. For some reason, I had an urge to attempt to save the shriveled mass. After a few weeks, it was showing new life as the deep purple hues started to form on the leaves. My plant obsession bloomed from there. Now I wasn’t even sure how many I had. I was fairly certain my housekeeper was going to quit if I brought any more home. 
After I was finished with the plants, I spent some time painting until I couldn’t hold my eyes open any longer. It was nearing midnight by the time I had showered and crawled into bed. Even though I was completely exhausted, I couldn’t shut my mind off. The anxiety was now building to problematic levels. It was always at this point that I thought about using the most. By now, the old Dieter would be a couple lines in and a few drinks deep to block out the thoughts. The new Dieter suffers through it as he lay in bed alone, staring into the darkness. I drug both hands down my face and huffed loudly before moving to switch on the lamp beside the bed. I reached for my latest self-help book and began reading.  
I was startled awake by my 7 AM alarm. I groaned as I felt around next to me on the bed for the shrilling phone to shut it off. I sat up, still half out of it, causing the book that had been lying on my chest to fall to the floor with a loud thump. I got up from bed, wiping the sleep from my eyes as I walked toward the bathroom to splash some water on my face. I stood staring at my reflection again, “You look like shit, Bravo.” It was clear I hadn’t gotten much sleep from my dark circles and puffy eyelids. I threw a warm rag over my eyes for a few minutes in hopes that would help.
Standing in my closet staring at the pile of gym clothes my stylist had picked up, I selected a random pair of shorts and a t-shirt, then pulled the tags off. We weren’t allowed to wear anything with brands or logos on filming days, so I had to break down and buy more clothes. It was probably for the best, my old gym clothes were looking a little ratty anyway.    
Once I was dressed, I grabbed my backpack that had a few essentials in it and headed toward the front door. As I stepped out onto the porch and pulled the door shut behind me, I was greeted by my furry squatter who had left another gift near the steps - a dead mouse. I sighed, “Well, at least it’s not on top of the car this time…” The fluffy menace meowed at me as he rubbed against my legs, as if to say, “Look what I did!” 
I was determined to not give in to the furry intruder, so I disregarded his attempts for pets. “Don’t you have a family somewhere to annoy?” I muttered to him as I continued toward the car. He followed me halfway down the pathway before sitting down and flicking his tail around as he watched me get into the driver's side and shut the door. He didn’t look happy about being ignored. 
I gave myself a quick glance in the rearview mirror, reaching to comb down my hair with my fingers. I hadn’t bothered to fix it, knowing it was going to turn into a mess no matter what I did to it. Then, I started the car and drove in silence to the dance studio, not even really sure how I got there as I pulled into the parking lot. I found myself wondering if I had run any redlights as I walked through the main entrance. I felt like I was in a haze as the camera team talked to me in the lobby to fill me in on the plans for filming. 
They wanted to do a brief interview with me before I went into the studio with Katarina. They wanted me to give the whole spiel about how excited I was to be here and working with my dance partner. Truth is, I wasn’t excited. I was nervous as hell, and I was supposed to act like this was the first time I was meeting her. I was unsure of how to act toward her, so when the time came for me to walk through the door to greet her and act excited, I turned on the Dieter Bravo charm the best I could and pretended like yesterday’s conversation never happened.
I was surprised to find how well Katarina did the same thing as she came over to greet me with a smile and a hug and gushed about how excited she was to work with me. However, we were both avoiding looking at the other directly. Clearly there was still some lingering awkwardness between us. After they filmed the introduction, they wanted to get some quick shots of us rehearsing. 
These first few days of rehearsal were meant for learning the basics. We were not actually getting into the first routine yet. We started with some simple stretches and moved into learning the proper frame, the different types of positions, and spacing for the different types of dances. It was all very high level and fast, but Katarina had promised that we would go over it in more detail once the film crew left for the day. The quick pace was mostly for the benefit of the film crew so they could get what they needed and move on to the next couple. 
Once filming was done for the day, we took a seat on the floor for a water break as the crew gathered up all of their gear to leave. We mostly sat in awkward silence until we were finally alone. I could feel Katarina’s eyes on me as I stared at the water bottle in my hand. She spoke first. 
“I feel like I should apologize about yesterday…I was having a shit day and kind of took it out on you. I’m sorry. I honestly didn’t mean what I said.” 
I pursed my lips and shrugged, “It’s fine. I’m used to it at this point.” 
She reached out and grasped my wrist with her left hand, the heat of her touch raced through me as I looked at the glittering ring on that finger for a moment before meeting her eyes, “It doesn’t mean that it should keep happening though. It’s not right and it’s not fair to you. Everyone deserves a second chance.” 
I huffed out a small laugh, “Yeah, except I’m on like my tenth chance. I understand why no one takes me seriously. Really, it’s not that big of a deal.” 
Her face softened as she stared at me for a beat, like she was trying to decide what she wanted to say next. Then she shifted her body to face me as she crossed her legs, “It is a big deal. It’s a big deal to me because I know better. You know…” 
She paused, appearing to gather her thoughts. I moved to lean back on my hand and face her more fully with my legs stretched out to the side. My teeth bit into my bottom lip as I watched her face shift to a somewhat pained expression. It was brief, but I still caught it before she gained her composure. 
“My uhh…my dad was sober for about 14 years before he passed. I know how hard it was for him in the beginning…with everyone doubting him and not giving him a chance. It’s one of the reasons he relapsed the first few times. It can be hard when you don’t have any support from the people around you. I know that…and I don’t wanna be one of those people. You haven’t given me any reason to doubt you, so I wanna make sure I’m giving you a fair shot and support you as long as you’re actively trying to better yourself. I know first-hand that people do change.”
Is she fucking serious? I couldn’t move or speak. She had stunned me again for the second day in a row. I never would have guessed she would share something so personal, especially on our first day together. She seemed sincere in her apology.   
I finally managed a curt nod before I reached to rub at the crease between my brows, “Thanks…I uhh…I appreciate that.”  I let out a small laugh, “I appreciate it more than you probably realize, actually.” 
She gave me a tentative smile, “Does that mean I’m forgiven for being an asshole then?” 
I chuckled, “Of course…and I didn’t think you were an asshole. Not really. I had a feeling you were having a bad day.”
“Whew…ok. Good. I was worried I had already fucked this whole thing up before it started.” 
Ok, it’s kind of hot when she says fuck. I smirked, “Does this mean I get to call you sweetheart now?” 
She narrowed her eyes on me and shook her head, “No. No sweetheart.” She laughed quietly, “But, I might consider a different nickname if you come up with a good one.” 
My lips spread into a cheeky smile, “I think I can come up with something.” She laughed into the top of her water bottle as she took a sip with a slight flush creeping up her neck. Am I flirting right now? I don’t even know what I’m doing. Geez. I looked away in an attempt to reign myself in. I can’t be doing that.  
We were soon back at it, now with a more relaxed atmosphere. We again started with getting my frame right. I stood in place as she moved my arms to the proper position, pushing in between my shoulder blades to straighten my posture. After several minutes in the position, I couldn’t help the groan that slipped out, “This is gonna do a number on my back muscles, isn’t it?” 
She snickered, “You will definitely have better posture by the time I’m done with you. Now, elbows up, you should have a horizontal line from elbow to elbow…and hold it there.” 
She then stood in front of me, taking in my form for a moment before manipulating my hands into the proper position. 
Smiling, she nodded in satisfaction as she stepped closer, “Ok, now let’s go over the hold. The hold is important because it’s how we connect…how our bodies communicate movement to lead and follow.” 
As she spoke, she moved closer, placing her arm along the top of my right one and clasping my left hand in hers. She was very matter of fact with her words as her eyes bore into mine. It was almost distracting. 
“I need you to make sure there’s no space between our arms…here, so keep your elbow flush against mine.” She bounced her arm against the top of my right one to emphasize what she meant. “This is an important connection point because I can feel the pressure from your arm, which will tell me how to follow. As for your left hand, keep it at my eye level. We apply pressure here as well for another connection point.”    
All I could do was nod along with her words, completely mesmerized by her intensity. Once she felt we had the hold down, she began to explain the differences in spacing for standard ballroom versus Latin dances. 
“So…in Latin style dances, we’ll have more space between us…like we are now. It gives us more room to move. We’re gonna be slightly offset from each other while maintaining this closed position. Got it?”
I nodded again as I chewed on the inside of my cheek. I wanted to look at her directly, but I couldn’t. Between her eyes burning into me and the tingling from her touch, I felt like my skin was on fire. I didn’t know what to make of it and it was sort of fucking with my head.
Then she stepped even closer, the front of our bodies nearly flush as she slightly adjusted the position of our arms. I swallowed hard over her proximity and the tangy citrus scent that was now invading my senses. Fuck. I might be in trouble. 
“For standard dances, like the Waltz and Foxtrot, we’re gonna be closer…like this. Our frame will be a little wider and our arms will be positioned slightly lower. We’ll both be looking off to our left instead of directly at each other.”   
I cleared my throat, stepping back slightly, “Sooo…umm…do we look off to the left for Latin dances?” 
Her brows arched as her eyes widened, “Good question. I should have mentioned that. There’s typically more direct eye contact in the Latin dances. It’s actually another form of connection…another way for us to communicate without words.”
She moved back into the Latin dance hold, now making direct eye contact with me. I couldn’t help how my eyes roamed over her face, taking in the minor changes in her expression as she spoke. I wasn’t sure if the close proximity of the standard hold or direct eye contact with the Latin hold was worse. They were both a little overwhelming. 
“Alright, let’s try some steps. We can start with the Rumba.” 
She broke away for a moment to show me the foot movement, then had me give it a try. After a successful attempt, she positioned us back into the Latin hold and we began moving together. Once it seemed we had the footwork down, she backed away with a smirk on her face. 
“You’re actually really good at this, you know. We do need to work on eye contact though.”
I smiled nervously as I looked down at my feet and rubbed the back of my neck, “I’m sorry…I know. Direct eye contact is a little weird for me.” I glanced up at her through my lashes, slightly embarrassed by the admission. 
She smiled and arched a brow in my direction, “Really? I never would have guessed that based on your love scenes.”
My eyes widened. I do not need to think about her watching me dick someone down on screen. Focus, Bravo. I chuckled nervously, “Yeah, I’m not usually looking directly into their eyes during those. I tend to stare between their eyebrows.” 
She gave me a sly smile now, snickering, “Oh, is that why you usually look cross eyed then?” 
My brow furrowed as I gave her a mock look of offense, “I don’t look cross eyed. That’s rude.”
She cackled over my response, “I’m joking. I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen one of your love scenes to know how your face looks.” 
I scrunched up my nose, “Ouch, ok…so you don’t watch my movies. Got it.” 
Her laugh had simmered to a quiet chuckle now as she lightly smacked my shoulder, “I’ve seen some…just not any with a love scene. So don’t be so offended. I’ve seen those TikTok videos though…they gave me a good idea of what I’m working with.”
I rolled my eyes, “Ugh…those fucking TikTok videos. They’re so bad.”  
I had to admit, it was nice to be joking around with her after all the tension that had built up from yesterday. I took it as a good sign that this might actually go ok. What I didn’t expect was the attraction that I was starting to feel as our day went on. However, the obnoxiously sized engagement ring she wore on her finger helped keep that in check every time I saw it sparkling in the light when she moved. As long as that shiny reminder was there, I would be ok... 
Right?
Next: Week 2
✨FUN FACTS: All cast members on Dancing with the Stars are in fact required to get a weekly spray tan. They also do not get to choose their partners, costumes, music, or themes. They can make recommendations obviously, but the producers do not have to honor the requests. When it comes to pairing partners, the producers do have a "formula".
A/N: I wanted to take a quick minute to welcome all of my new and old readers! So happy to have you all with me for my next adventure with Dieter Bravo. For the new folks, I'm a sucker for predictions and theories. If you have them, drop them in the comments so we can discuss. Now on to my normal nonsense...how are you guys feeling about the first chapter? How do you feel about Dieter and Kat's first couple of interactions? What about all the characters that were introduced? I'm curious to know who you want to throat punch more, Alec or Stacia? I'm already in love with these two and I can't wait to share more of them. This Dieter is...something else. I love sharing things from his point of view. He is going to be a good time, as expected. Kat is...kind of a mess, but also not? It's been interesting being in her head. How do you see things progressing with these two? Lastly, a quick thank you to @maggiemayhemnj for giving this first chapter a quick read through to make sure all these plot points were introduced in a way that made sense...because seriously, there is a lot going on here. She also found the perfect disco ball looking dividers for this...and I fucking love them. 😘 👉 I did a fun post about Dieter's plant hobby and his furry visitor. Check it out HERE. 👉 In case you missed it, I also did a character introduction post, which you can find HERE. Until next time, 💜 Mysty
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Taglist: @secretelephanttattoo @titlee78 @maggiemayhemnj @legendary-pink-dot @linzels-blog @morallyinept @survivingandenduring  @wannab-urs @harriedandharassed @hisandsnakes @misstokyo7love @readingiskeepingmegoing @runningmom94 @sin-djarin @cakipy-blog @missladym1981 @guelyury @weho2kcmo @alokaerza @girlofchaos @trulybetty @rhoorl @bitchwitch1981 @madnessofadaydreamer @darkheartgatita @jazzloveslatte @timpletance @musings-of-a-rose @samiamproductions @myloveistoolittle @for-a-longlongtime  @copperhalfcent @auteurdelabre @drewharrisonwriter @burntheedges @stevie75 @pedrostories
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Credits: Support/MDNI Dividers: @cafekitsune Disco Divider: @deadbranch
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jonquilyst · 4 months ago
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Day 19 - Elimination Ceremony
Are you ready to say goodbye to another contestant? The hardest part about the merge is that only one person gets invincibility, rather than an entire team, so there's no more rejoicing among teammates. It's now fingers crossed hoping you're not taking the lame-o-sine out of the game.
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But of course, strong friendships can help ease the anxiety. Despite not winning this time, Drew is feeling pretty calm knowing Flo is on her side. Enzo simply feels relieved he's guaranteed another couple days at the film lot. A mix of feelings from our crew today!
Let's see who's getting the boot tonight. The following contestants are safe:
Drew, Enzo (immune), Liana, and Paulina
We have a 3-way tie! Coffee, Flo, and Takashi all tied in the votes, and so the random number generator was deployed to determine which of these 3 will be taking the L. The final result is below the cut:
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The contestant eliminated from Total Drama Sims is...
COFFEE BEAN
@riverofjazzsims @akitasimblr @bloomingkyras @stargazer-sims @witheringscreations
@cowplant-ate-my-sim @seyvia
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muddyorbsblr · 2 years ago
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man of the month part 11: december
Series Masterlist @mochie85's Series Masterlist See my full list of works here!
Summary: Loki's shoot. That is all.
Pairing: Loki x Reader (FINALLY!!!)
Word Count: 9k [y'all better have chilled some wine or prepped some snacks. strap in]
Warnings: 18+ | language (not even pretending to be sorry, Rogers); slight angst hours in the beginning; smut (minors & pearl clutchers exit stage left i haven't the time for you); p in v; fingering; stripping Loki; near-threesome play [if i missed anything let me know!]
Things to be aware of: Scopes being a bit of an idiot in the first half
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To say that you felt disoriented when you woke up was an understatement. To start with, you distinctly remembered falling asleep on the floor of your studio, surrounded by pages of the mockup calendar and readying the lettering for 'December' for the shoot, regardless of who it would turn out to be.
Next, you were tucked in to bed, which was something that hadn't happened since you were a kid. Someone, most likely one of your friends, had actually put in the effort to bring you up here from your studio and tuck the sheets under you.
You only hoped that you didn't make any of your friends uncomfortable because you could have sworn that throughout the night you were having some shamelessly filthy dreams about Loki. Any other time you wouldn't have felt the apprehension that you did, but knowing that you were most likely moaning and whining in someone else's presence made you want to find them and apologize to them immediately.
Before you had any more time to think about how exactly you got here from your studio, or lose yourself in that particularly vivid dream from last night that involved the god you were hopelessly in love with whispering promises of sharing his bed in your ear and pressing heated kisses to your skin, your bedroom door flew open with a blast of red. Both Wanda and Nat were at your door, smiles on their faces as they practically skipped toward you.
"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty, today's the day you get your prince," Nat announced as she plopped down to your bed, making the mattress bounce. Wanda walked over to your closet and began to peruse through your clothes.
"Precious babies," you groaned. "There will be no getting of princes today, for fuck's sake you two need to tone down on Princess Days with Morgan. You know what, after tomorrow I'll have more free days, so lemme get some of those off your plates—"
"You mean after today, Babes?" Wanda quipped, her mouth upturned in a teasing smirk. "After today you won't have any free time for the next few weeks. We'll be lucky to even see you, you know, considering that you'll be spending all your free time with a certain god…clothing optional…"
"Wanda I say this with all the love I have in my cold and blackened heart. You're losing your goddamn mind if you think that there's even gonna be a shoot today, let alone a shoot with a happy ending." The sorceress rolled her eyes at you and resumed to go through your closet, immediately disregarding the shirts and hoodies and going straight for the small collection of dresses that hung there.
"Those are pretty," Nat commented, pointing her chin towards the small table by the window. "Either Strange decided he's not going to go down without a fight, or maybe Steve finally took his brain out of his ass and this is his attempt at a proper apology."
You turned your gaze to see what she was talking about, your jaw dropping as you caught sight of the little gold boxed bouquet sitting prettily on the little side table you kept by your window. You quickly hopped off your bed and walked over to the new addition to your room, inspecting the box as well as the table itself for anything to clue you in on its sender.
"So who's it from?" you heard Wanda's question slightly muffled by how deep into your closet she was. "And if it's from Rogers, I vote we toss it in the kitchen. You know I heard that he didn't even bother consoling his best friend when Bucky walked in to the training room and said that it wasn't him. He was just a smug little shit about it."
"I mean I told you all before I didn't buy his whole Boy Scout 'How do you do' attitude," you grumbled, your brows knitting together as you read the unsigned card tucked into the side of the box. "Okay that's weird. It's not signed but there is a card…"
Nat walked over to you and took the card from your fingers. "Cute."
"What's it say?"
"It just says 'To my love. Have a good morning.' Well, at least we know it's not from Steve," Nat hollered toward your closet.
"That's cute! Maybe it's from—Ooh, I found something!! Y/N, are you emotionally attached to any of the dresses in here? I want to make some alterations but only if you're cool with it."
"Go nuts, Wan."
She emerged from your wardrobe brandishing a deep green button down sundress that fell to your knees. "Tada!" You looked at her pointedly, shaking your head with a fond smile on your face as she grinned brilliantly in your and Nat's direction. "And that's not all, I found some flats for you to wear, too!" she announced as she revealed a pair of gold ballet flats in her other hand.
"Puny god's colors. Great job, Wanda," Nat said as she looked at you with a smirk. "Go get dressed. We can go get breakfast before your date--I mean your shoot."
You knew better than to argue with them, so you went along with what Wanda picked out, silently thankful that at least you didn't have to spend a good half hour in there today -- possibly even longer -- wracking your brain on what you would wear as you waited for nothing.
"Ah there she is! Pick your poison, Tweety, 'cause Vision here's making breakfast." You looked down from the stairs as Shaun looked up at you from the kitchen island, a wide smile stretched across his face. "You ready for today? Final shoot of the calendar." He shifted his eyes from side to side, the gesture moving you to look around him to see that all eleven previous models were seated and waiting. You could vaguely feel Wanda's magic emanating from her as she grumbled next to you, no doubt from seeing that Steve was among the men in the common area.
The absence of Loki among the waiting crowd caused a pit to form in your stomach. He probably already figured out that it's him and ran on out. Of this realm, you thought bitterly. Well shit. At least rip the bandaid with the rest of them.
"So I'm pretty sure that by now, Strange has told you all that it's not him. Doesn't take half a brain cell to fill in the blanks, and since you're all here now I figure I'll just tell you. It's--" The words caught in your mouth in an ugly choking sound. As if you couldn't even bring yourself to say the words. "It's Loki."
A resounding clap echoed around the floor, followed by Steve's smug voice. "I KNEW IT!"
"Shut up, Rogers,"  Bucky and Strange both said in near unison. When you looked their way they both gave you a look teeming with melancholia, a small contrived smile on both their faces as they both gave you a single nod.
"Thanks." You looked toward the rest of the team. "Shaun's known, Scott's known, Thor's known. Ever since each of their shoots. Apparently Sam's known since forever--"
"Damn straight," Wilson commented, raising his coffee mug up in a semblance of a salute. "Cute of you to think I wouldn't notice, Tweety. I knew you two would get with each other the second you met."
"Anyways…" You looked at Sam pointedly. "Now the rest of you know, too." You shifted your eyes to look at Tony, addressing him now. "So I'm gonna get to kick your ass tonight. Name a place, and I absolutely insist on using whatever Mark you've got that's ready for production."
"Bold of you to think--"
"No take backs, Stark," you cut him off, raising your hand to point a finger in his direction. "You told me when the shoots started that if this doesn't turn out the way that you thought it would, that if the man I have feelings for doesn't return the sentiment, that I have full permission to put on one of your suits and beat the shit out of you. So I will see you tonight."
Once you'd finished your near outburst, you were face to face with the genius billionaire, glaring at him as your pointed finger poked at his chest.
All he did in response was chuckle and push your hand away. "I wasn't about to take it back, Tweety. I was just about to say that you were bold to think that this wasn't going to end well. There's still one shoot left. I could still be right."
You scoffed at his words, walking past him and towards Vision who was currently toiling away at the stove. "Chocolate chip pancakes? With a side of bacon?" He simply gave you a small smile and a nod to acknowledge he'd heard your request. "Oh, and be sure you're free tomorrow morning for your shoot. 'Kay?"
"I will be available if I am needed, Agent Y/L/N. Though I do believe that my assistance in this project of Mister Stark's will not be required. My observations all point to the conclusion that Mister Laufeyson will show up today."
"Is that--optimism, Vision?" You did your best to sound teasing, trying your damnedest to keep your mood light and even joking, despite wanting to scream at everyone for getting your hopes up over the last few weeks. For their words of encouragement making you think that the remote possibility of Loki returning your feelings was even a semblance of a blip on the radar of reality.
"I am simply stating an educated guess based on observations," he answered you. "But since I do believe that this would be a positive outcome, then I suppose you could classify this as 'optimism', if you wish."
"Lady Y/N, why would you need Vision to have an appointment with you tomorrow?" Thor's voice boomed across the kitchen, the hesitation in his words as he voiced his concern. "You already have your twelve."
You sighed, the weight on your heart heavy as you began to explain. "Thunder, has Jane ever told you what a Baker's Dozen is?" He shook his head at you, his brows furrowed as you only gave him a sad smile. "It's a concept…of always having an extra of anything on hand in case your plan doesn't go the way you want."
"Scopes--"
"So let's say that I'm a baker and I need twelve loaves of bread. Because I'm running under the assumption that one of my twelve will turn out ruined, I make thirteen." The only word that came to mind when you saw the look in Thor's eyes was pity. "Vision here's number 13."
"My si--my friend," he wavered. "My brother will be there. Please, he told me himself that he will be here by 4. If I am mistaken then you may add my name to the list of people you will pummel in one of Stark's suits of armor. I will not even bother with defending myself."
You were defenseless against the towering god with his childlike eyes that were near tears as he practically pleaded for you to wait. He wanted so badly to be right, that much was obvious, making you let out a tired huff. "Fine, Thunder. For you. Because you're my friend. I'll wait for him until 5." You turned your gaze toward Tony again. "Then I'm gonna kick your ass at 6. Thor's, too. Gimme an hour to at least bawl my eyes out and fix my face, and then let's move forward with this sh—"
Your words were silenced by the shock of the blond Asgardian pulling you into a tight embrace. "Thank you, my friend. He will be here. I swear to you."
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It was just after noon when the kids walked in to your studio, little Morgan Stark bounding over to you like a tightly wound up ball of energy. "Hi, Auntie Scopes!" she squealed as she ran into your arms where you were seated on the leather couch of the library set. She handed you a little jewelry box. "This is for you."
Peter walked in a few moments later, carrying a tray of food. "This is also for you, Miss Y/N." He lifted the dish cover to reveal a smoked salmon and cream cheese panini with a side of sour cream and onion chips. On the side was your Heckers & Salutations travel mug. "Iced americano. No sugar," he proclaimed with a proud grin. "Oh, and we were also told not to leave until you open the box."
You did as the teenager told and opened the small jewelry box to reveal a pair of emerald drop earrings with its hardware set in a brilliant gold. "Who--?"
"It's a secret!" Morgan stage whispered. She wrapped her little arms around your neck and pulled you close so she could kiss your cheek. "We have to go now, Auntie Y/N. Daddy said I can't be here because there could be naked men walking in any second."
Her words brought out a choked laugh from you. "That sounds like your father, alright. Bye, baby." She hugged you one last time before hopping off the couch and walking out of your studio. You looked toward the teenaged spiderling. "I don't suppose you could tell me who put the two of you up to this?"
"Sorry, Miss Y/N. Classified. All I'm allowed to tell you is that he also put the flowers in your bedroom. Well technically I did, but he told me to. And if I tell you more than that he'll cut my head off."
"Gotcha. Thanks, Parker. You're a good bean." He gave you a small smile as he walked out of the studio as well, catching up to Morgan and putting the little girl on his shoulders.
You ate lunch while working on finalizing all the previous pages of the calendar, testing the mocks you made to see how they'd look as a full on wall calendar as well as a desk calendar, ultimately making the design choice to turn this into a desk calendar, each sheet its own month, split into two panes evenly down the center. When that was over and truly the only thing left to do was to insert a picture into the halfway-done December page, all that was left to do was twiddle your thumbs, waiting for 5pm so you could walk on out of the studio and pick out one of Tony's suits.
The minutes ticked by all too slowly as you watched the second hand move on the digital clock on your computer. The time had read 3:30pm when you heard your studio door open, making  you slump even further, your chin practically resting on your desk.
"I don't think I'm gonna need any assistance today, Ten Rings. There's nothing to set up. Maybe tomorrow," you called out, not even bothering to check on who had walked in. Who else could it be, after all?
"Why would you need assistance tomorrow, darling?"
That voice. That voice had you immediately straightening your posture in your seat, leaning to your side to look at who had actually walked through your door. It took all your strength not to smile like a complete fool when you caught sight of Loki standing there in a navy suit, the crisp white shirt underneath already having a button undone. If you didn't know any better, you'd think he was out for your sanity today.
Or your heart.
"You're here…" you croaked out. You felt like your heart had lodged itself in your throat as he looked right at you, his eyes shining with an expression you couldn't decipher to save your life, a wide smile stretching across his face, the kind that reached his eyes and tugged even harder at your heartstrings.
"I'm here." His words were spoken so softly, it felt as if they'd wrapped around you in a gentle embrace.
"A-Alright then." You took a steadying breath, willing your hands to remain steady as you took your camera from its dock and stood up to walk towards the library set, tinkering away at the settings to find the preset you'd configured for this particular set.
You practically froze when you felt his fingers lightly touch the inside of your elbow. "Why are you in this set up, Y/N?" He was standing so close to you that you could feel his body heat washing over you, his lips so close to your ear that you could feel his breath ruffling the baby hairs at the side of your head.
"I-I uhm…" You could feel your heart going a mile a minute as you felt his fingers lightly wrap around your elbow, his thumb lightly stroking the skin on the back of your arm. "W-With how you're dressed I f-figured you were gonna go for the library so--"
"I was thinking somewhere along the lines of the set in the back."
Your breath caught in your throat. "W-With the bed?" you wavered, goosebumps erupting at your arm as he continued stroking your skin. You felt more than heard his breathy Yes, the exhalation tickling the skin of your ear and sending shivers throughout your body. "A-Alright then. I'll just prep the camera, y-you can go position yourself however you like."
He gave your arm a light squeeze, his fingers ghosting across your skin as he stepped away from you and you heard him walking towards the bedroom set. You took the opportunity to let out a slow exhale to attempt alleviating the tightness in your chest, the tears threatening to prickle at the back of your eyes.
Why was he even here? You were sure that among the ones that hadn't known as of Strange's shoot, he would have been the first to figure out that he unwittingly held your heart in his absurdly sensual hands. He already held that knowledge now, as he readied himself for the shoot. You fully expected that he wasn't even going to bother showing up today, to at least release you from the mortification of him seeking to confirm who it had been all along. And you evading the question until that devilish smirk graced his impossibly perfect face.
Unless that was his intention all along today. He had no plans of granting you the mercy of his silent rejection. He would lure you in, tease you, make you believe he may even return a semblance of your feelings for him. And just when you were convinced that everything was about to go right, he'd pull the rug out from under your feet. Tell you that this was nothing more than a bit of fun for him, and now that he'd had you, everything was to be as it was. And it wouldn't be his problem if you'd be incapable of dealing with how he handled you afterward.
Loki was here to toy with you. Torture you. Crush you.
The sound of his voice calling your name brought you out of your spiraling thoughts. "Darling, are you alright?"
You turned to look at him, your pulse thumping loudly in your ears as you saw him perched on the little leather seat by the bed, shoes already discarded, looking poised to stand and walk over to you. "I'm fine," you choked out, raising the camera in front of you as if it were armor. Protecting yourself from his charm. From what ever scheme he concocted in his mind. As if you even had a hope of defending yourself against anything he had up his sleeve. "Let's start."
Once you'd made your way to the bedroom set, you positioned yourself about three feet away from where he sat, crouching slightly until the camera was level with his face. He'd leaned forward,  resting his elbow on one knee, and draping his forearm on his other leg, maintaining his posture as if he were to stand and make his way over to you at any second.
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You snapped a handful of shots of him in that position, only stopping when a smile began to stretch across his face again, looking as if he was amused by something. "What?" you wondered aloud, your words still getting caught in the back of your throat, especially with how he'd been staring at you, into the camera, as if he could see right through you and into your soul.
"It's nothing, darling, just…" he trailed off, making you knit your brows together and silently willing him to finish the thought. "You're so beautiful," he whispered, the words causing your heart to pound against your chest and rendering you unable to do much of anything except swallow hard in an attempt to stamp down your nerves.
"Hmm?"
"It's criminal that you do not get told that enough, sweet Y/N," he spoke as he began to shrug off his suit jacket, nearly causing you to hyperventilate at the sight. "I shall make an effort to remedy that."
He proceeded to undo the buttons on his shirt, all the while keeping his gaze trained on you. "W-What're you doing?"
"You did state when this project started that we can be as naked as we are comfortable with, correct, darling?" You nodded, stunned to absolute dumb silence. "Well then, to answer your question…I am simply getting comfortable."
Fuck. Me. Sideways. "O-Okay I uhh…can look away until you're--"
"No, no, darling." The low timbre of his voice was doing ungodly things to you. If you didn't know any better, it was like he was on a mission to have you dripping and aching for him by the time this shoot was over. As if you weren't already. "Keep taking your pictures, truly, I do not mind." All you could give as an intelligible response was a mute nod once again. "Feel free to instruct me in any way you see fit."
Before the filter in your brain could kick in, you let out a chuckle and muttered, "Be careful I might just take advantage of that. It's not every day I have a god at my mercy." Your breath caught in your throat in a hideous sound once you realized what you said. "I-I mean--"
"Darling you need not explain," he cut you off with a low chuckle, the sound sending a thrill straight down your spine and settling at the apex of your thighs. "I quite enjoy the idea." Of being at my mercy? He finished unbuttoning his shirt, the garment falling open and hanging down the sides of his sculpted torso. He rested his forearm across the top of his abdomen, bringing his other hand up to his mouth as he tried to control his chuckles by biting on the tip of his thumb.
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"Stop," you called out to him, surprised that your voice could even come out intelligibly despite the sight in front of you. "Look at me I-I mean--Look at the camera."
He muttered something under his breath before he looked straight into your eyes, making you nearly miss the shutter of your camera completely as you snapped another handful of shots with him like this. Once you took your finger off the shutter, his eyes visibly softened once again as he looked at you crouched in front of him. "May I keep going?"
Fucking hell, he wasn't done? You silently pleaded with whichever deity would be listening to you that you could keep your dignity intact by the time this shoot was over. You nodded once more, standing as he did, keeping in mind to snap pictures as he discarded his shirt, placing it on the bed next to his suit jacket. Your eyes flew to the ceiling once you saw his hands move toward his dress pants.
"Darling?"
"J-Just let me know when you're ready," you blurted out, keeping your eyes shut to refrain from giving in to the temptation of sneaking a peek.
"Look at me, Sweetheart." The gentle yet slightly domineering tone of his voice nearly had you abandoning all your self-respect and risking it all with him. And the urge to walk over to him and jump his bones grew even stronger when you did as he told, looking over to him and seeing him standing just a few strides away from you, his godly physique only clad in a pair of white boxers.
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You quickly hid behind the viewfinder of your camera, clicking away at the shutter as he kept his gaze on you, his eyes smoldering with an intensity that you couldn't rationalize as anything other than just Loki in his natural state. With these last shots, you were almost completely sure that you had what you needed in order to finish December.
It was just a damn stray thought that was giving you pause.
"What is it, Y/N?"
"Hmm?"
"You have that furrow between your brows. Is everything alright?"
"Erm—it's just a thought. F-For a shot." He gave you a single nod, prompting you to continue. You lowered your camera from your face, fighting back the blush as you struggled to find the words to articulate your idea. "Feel free to fling me to the nearest wall if you think the idea out of hand but…" You flickered your eyes to the bed beside him, hoping he understood what you were trying to tell him.
"That isn't out of hand in the least, darling." He chuckled as you looked at him, your unease even more visible despite not even voicing the words. He stepped close to the edge of the bed. "How do you want me?"
That's a loaded question, you thought to yourself, biting the inside of your cheek as your mind began to conjure up a vivid image of how exactly you wanted him. With me. I want you with me. In your bed. My bed. Anywhere and everywhere you'd have me.
"Uhh…k-kind of like you're erm…calling your girlfriend to join you?"
The side of his mouth twitched in a playful smirk as he positioned himself on the bed, propped up on one elbow as he faced you, his legs splayed open in an unspoken invitation for one to place themself between them. A desirous trap set by the equally erotic god. "Like this?"
How your core was currently weeping and clenching around nothing at just the rasp of his voice as he said those words was embarrassing. "Yeah…" you breathed out, your trigger finger nearly trembling as it clicked on the shutter, snapping what you decided would be the final shots for this session. You had what you needed with this last batch, you were sure of it. "I think after this erm--we should be done."
"Are you certain?" You gave him a contrived smile as you nodded, finding yourself unable to form words, fearing that he'd bring up the big screaming elephant in the room. "Because we could keep going I truly don't mind--"
"No, no no no no…" you cut him off, the chuckles escaping you despite your efforts to maintain a formal tone to hopefully conclude the session and you could ready yourself for your appointment with Stark and Thor. "Believe me if we keep going the printing company might not put this into production." As you motioned toward him, your eyes flickered defiantly to his boxers, a lump forming in your throat as you undoubtedly agreed with those comments that you saw when you were canvassing the potential market of your teammates' fanbase. Damn bulge really did look like a mango.
"If you're sure, darling." The ache in your heart worsened at how tender his tone sounded, as if he was taking great care on how to handle you. As if he wanted you to believe that he really cared.
"I'm sure," you answered him, tight-lipped as you took great care yourself to build whatever defenses you could around your heart before he went on to shatter it. "Thanks, Loki."
You turned around to make your way back to your computer to plug in the memory card and have him take his pick from the shots when he called out to you again. "May I see them?"
"Sure," you answered, turning back to his direction and nearly tripping over yourself at the sight of him, once again looking as if he was poised to stride over to you looking exactly as he did right this moment. "Just lemme pull it up on the screen and--"
"No, darling." Your heart began to pound even harder in your chest as he relaxed his posture, stretching out one arm toward you and making a motion for you to come to him. Your legs took on a mind of their own as each step shortened the distance between you until you were standing beside him, leaning just enough that you could show him the screen of your camera while still maintaining as much distance as you could between your bodies.
He seemed to have other plans, though, placing his hands on either side of your waist and gently guiding you to take a few steps further until you stood between his legs and then proceeding to situate you on his defined, muscular thigh. You let out a shaky breath as he put a hand on your shoulder, coaxing you to relax until your back was resting against his chest, his free arm wrapping around your midsection and pulling you close.
Before you could pull up the first picture on your camera, it disappeared from your hands in a flash of green, reappearing atop your desk several meters away from where you and Loki were seated. "What--"
"I'm sorry, darling. I cannot keep feigning interest in these photographs. Not when I finally have you in my arms," he cooed into your ear as he swept your hair over your shoulder, baring your neck to him. Your mouth fell slack in a silent gasp as you felt him press his lips to your cheek. He whispered your name against your skin as he moved his lips from your cheek down to your neck, pressing a kiss to the juncture between your neck and shoulder that had you letting out a high-pitched moan and craning your neck to grant him more access.
Words couldn't form in your mind, let alone your lips, as you felt yourself relenting to the inevitability of where this would lead. You knew in your more rational brain that this could only end in tears for you, that he would have his fill of you and then leave you physically sated and emotionally aching. He would destroy you, ruin you for everyone in this and every other universe.
And still you leaned in to his touch, enough to give him the opportunity to maneuver you from sitting atop his thigh to laying with your back flat against the mattress, the god hovering over you with not a single trace of his signature smarm or mischief in his eyes as he looked at you laying helpless beneath him. "My beautiful darling girl," he breathed out. "I can finally deliver on my promise to you."
"What promise?" Your voice came out almost inaudibly, barely even a whisper, as you shuddered under his gaze.
He leaned down, bringing your faces closer together until his lips were ghosting over yours. "My promise to make you mine today." He pressed the lightest of kisses to your upper lip. "If you knew how desperately I ached to wake you last night--"
"That was you?" Your chest was heaving as you struggled to process what he was telling you.
"Yes, Sweetheart." He pressed another light kiss to your bottom lip this time. "Do you remember the rest?" He worked each of his knees between your legs until he now kneeled on the mattress between your splayed thighs, one arm moving underneath you to pull your hips flush against his, your drenched folds coming into contact with his erection through the flimsy layers of your clothing and his boxers, eliciting a sinful groan from him.
You'd found yourself unable to form sounds once again, rendered mute by the jolts of pleasure that were quickly spreading all throughout your body, causing you to arch into him as you shook your head in your best attempt to answer him. That you barely remembered anything other than the Loki from your dreams telling you about how he intended for you to share his bed.
"Tonight I intend to claim you, dear heart." He rolled his hips into yours, setting a pace that had you letting out fragments of moans that mingled with his own sounds from the constant teasing pressure against your clit. "I have no intentions to ever let you go once I finally know the ecstasy of having you." You felt yourself unable to move or breathe once you felt his tongue dart out and trace the line between your slightly parted lips before he rasped, "Mine."
Before you even had the chance to process his words, let alone come up with a response, he slanted his mouth over yours, your gasp from his actions giving him the perfect opportunity to slip his tongue past your lips and glide against your own. It felt like you were drowning in him as you both moaned into each other's mouths, his lips molding against yours perfectly as he kissed you like it was the only thing that he lived for in that moment.
You could feel yourself giving in to the impending heartbreak, almost convincing yourself that it would be worth it. Part of you even desperately held on to the hope that maybe his words were sincere, that he wasn't doing this all just to utterly decimate you in the end. That was the part that had you reaching up and weaving your fingers through his hair, his groans sending a sinful vibration through your body that had you aching for more.
Maybe if the kiss doesn't stop, then the pain never comes, you stubbornly thought to yourself, pressing harder against him and meeting every movement with a borderline pathetic desperation that you were sure he was about to pull away and mock you any second now. Except that never came. Instead he had you pressing yourself even harder against him as his free hand roamed your body, a sharp moan erupting from your mouth when you felt his hand cup your breast over your dress, your nipples aching as they hardened and pressed against the cups of your bra.
You'd survive it. The heartbreak. You were nearly sure of it. For the fleeting bliss of being his, you would survive it.
If only you hadn't completely frozen over the second you felt his fingers pressing along your slit above your panties.
"Wait," you gasped out, trying to break away from the kiss, moving your hand to his shoulder and feebly pushing against him. "I can't. Please, stop--"
He pulled away once you said those words, pressing his forehead against yours as the concern was evident in his eyes. "My dear Y/N, what's wrong?"
"I can't," you said quietly, trying to hold back the sobs that were threatening to break out of you as you felt him softly press his lips along your temple and cheek, as if he was trying to comfort you. To calm you. The action only made your heart ache even worse than it already was. "I can't do this with you."
"Sweetheart tell me what's wrong, please. What can I do to help--"
"I can't do this with you because I know it would mean nothing to you," you blurted out, tears blurring your vision as he pulled away to look at you properly. "And if I do this I know that it won't mean nothing to me, so please Loki--"
He silenced you with a searing kiss, confusing you as you felt a desperation in him that nearly matched your own. "How could you think this would mean nothing to me? That finally having you in my arms, kissing you, knowing the feel of your precious form against mine, would be something insignificant to me?" He proceeded to softly kiss you along the side of your face, down to your neck and shoulder, before going back up and repeating the process, each kiss feeling more fevered as he went along. "Darling this would mean everything  to me."
His words took the wind right out of you, and coupled with the way he proceeded to move his kisses to the base of your throat and down your chest, lightly sucking on the skin above your heart, you were finding it near impossible to breathe. All you could really do was let out choked whimpers of his name as he continued on his onslaught of attention with his lips and his tongue.
"You hold my heart, my precious mortal," he spoke against your skin, pressing one final tender kiss before pulling away, his gaze once again meeting yours with soft eyes that shone with such a longing you couldn't comprehend. He took your hand in his, placing it on his chest so that you could feel the frantic, thundering pace of his heart. "I had such plans on how this day would play out. I'd intended to only tell you once we had made it to my chambers, and I would be holding you in my arms, sated and catching our breaths. And from the sheer euphoria of the moment I would tell you."
"Loki--"
"But I suppose not everything will go as I plan," he kept going. "I had been so caught up in my distress that my affections for you were unreturned that I was lost in the rapture of finally knowing that they were not. It never once occurred to me that perhaps you were of the same belief. That perhaps from where you stood you'd also believed that your sentiments were one-sided."
"What are you--"
"I love you," he breathed out, a brilliant smile stretching across his face as he did so. "I have kept those words to myself for so long." Your breath caught in your throat in a squeak as he pressed his lips to yours in a fleeting kiss. "To finally say it…that at long last you know how I feel for you…it's a liberation I cannot even begin to describe." He proceeded to press his lips along your face once more, whispering his declarations of love into your skin as he did so, feeling as if the words were etching themselves into your soul every time he said them.
He loved you, too.
The moans began to escape you again when you felt his hand working its way back between your legs. "It's your turn now, my love," he rasped into your ear, fingers lightly running along your folds over the soaked fabric of your panties, eliciting a sinful moan from the god.
"My t-turn?" you gasped, finally letting yourself surrender completely to the pleasure he was giving you.
"I will not go further until you say the words," he teased, bringing his fingers up to trace tight circles above your clit. "End this torturous side project. Tell me who owns your heart." He pressed harder against the bundle of nerves, making you arch into his touch, the only sound you were capable of producing a strangled moan of his name and broken pleas. The god only chuckled darkly by your ear, pressing open mouthed kisses to the skin below it, making your moans even louder as he flicked his tongue against the sensitive skin and lightly capturing your earlobe between his teeth.
"Please--"
"Oh my love, it is far too early for you to be begging. But just because I love you does not mean that I am above teasing you through the night until I hear you say the words." He began to move his fingers torturously slower, making you whine in response. "Say them, my darling."
"It's you," you cried out repeatedly. "It's you. I'm in love with you." He pulled away once more, his face hovering over yours as a soft smile began to grace his perfect features. And you broke through the hesitation you always had around him, the one that always had you holding back the smile that threatened to take over your face whenever your eyes met. "I love you, Loki."
Your heart began to race at the sight of his smile quickly turning into a devilish grin as he moved aside the rendered useless fabric of your underwear and slipped his fingers inside of you, twisting and scissoring, warming you up right as he leaned in to kiss you, his tongue gliding against yours at the same pace his fingers were moving. It felt as if you were drowning in his attentions, like he was on a mission to overwhelm you with his love.
When he brought his fingers back together and curled them upward, stroking the spot inside of you that had you completely beside yourself, you arched into his touch once more, hooking your arm over his shoulders as leverage so that your hips could match his movements. "Let go, darling," he mumbled against your lips, increasing his pace relentlessly as his thumb began to move against the nub above your entrance, and you finally felt your walls clenching and fluttering around his digits as he slowed his pace, letting you gradually come down from your high.
He withdrew his fingers from you as he rose from the bed, making you feel a sudden wave of arousal once again when you saw the bulge of his erection straining against his boxers coupled with the unabashed way he brought his fingers up to his mouth and groaning as he sucked his digits clean of your release, holding out his free hand toward you to take.
"Shall we take this to my chambers, my love?" He pulled you to your feet, giving you a few moments to straighten your clothes before wrapping his arm around you and lifting you effortlessly, prompting you to wrap your legs around him. All you could do was nod your answer before he captured your lips into a tender kiss as he began to walk to the door of your studio.
"Wait what're you doing?" you squealed, giggling into his kiss as he continued walking toward the exit. Surely he wasn't��?
"My appointment with you is over," he answered you simply. "As tradition based from majority of the previous sessions dictates, I must tell the others." He chuckled as he noted how your eyes widened at his words, placing a kiss on your cheek.
"Looking like this??"
"Seems a waste of time and effort to redress just for a short walk back to my chambers." You let out a playful scoff, refusing to believe the words you were hearing. That he really intended to make his reveal as brazen and dramatic as he possibly could. "Just one thing, my darling."
"What is it?"
He lowered your body slightly so that your hips were flush with his, making you bury your face in the crook of his neck as you let out a moan. "I may be shameless, precious mortal, but I am not vulgar. We need not give them a show that would belong to the place that Wilson refers to as The Hub."
His words had you breaking out into a fit of laughter that quickly turned into more obscene moans as the shaking of your body created a sinful friction from his crotch pressed against yours. "Just make it quick, please," you mumbled quietly as you wrapped your arms around his shoulders, hiding as much of your face as you could manage as he took a few more strides and threw the door open with a quick wave of his hand.
"So do we finally have a winner??" you heard Sam holler from the kitchen.
You held on to Loki tighter as he stepped out of your studio, both of you greeted with the sound of applause and wolf whistles from your friends, along with the bellowing cheers of Thor and squeals from both Nat and Wanda. There was also a stray "I believe the term for this moment would be 'I told you so'" from Vision.
Once you'd made it to the stairs, you thought you could make it the rest of the way without having to look any of your teammates in the eye. If only Tony hadn't opened his damn mouth.
"So I'm gonna cancel that 6 o'clock ass whooping then, Tweety? Seeing as you're gonna be too busy getting Asgardian pipe?"
Yup. That did it. That took all the mortification of this moment right out of your system. Your head snapped up from the crook of Loki's neck as you found your voice again. "Oh my fucking god." You gave Tony a glare that could have brought lesser men to their knees.
"Yes, darling?" You shifted your gaze to the god that held you in his arms, the annoyance you had quickly fading into playfulness as you saw the smirk on his face. "What ever it is you're scheming in that brilliant mind of yours, I wholeheartedly support you, my love."
You broke out into a devious grin of your own, leaning in to give him a quick kiss before tilting your head upward. "FRIDAY?"
"Yes, Agent Y/L/N?"
"Do me a solid and revert commit hash ff0486. And then lock all incoming commits until my say so."
"Authorization?"
"Y/L/N."
"Denied. Authorization?"
You groaned. "Tweety!"
"Granted. Commit reverted."
"Y/N what did you do?!" Tony shouted from his seat in the kitchen, the panic in his tone betraying him. "I have meetings with top ranking military officials tomorrow, Tweety! They still think I'm a kinky shit that makes FRIDAY call me--"
"Yes, Daddy?" the AI responded.
The team erupted into a fit of laughter and you quickly looked to Loki again. "Get us out of here, Mischief." He quickly strode toward his apartment, closing the door with a wave of his hand, walking straight into his bedroom and positioning you both so that he was sitting on the bed with you straddling his hips.
He looked at you, his eyes shining with what you now recognized was love, one hand reaching up to weave his fingers through your hair and pull you close, the other lightly running down the side of your body before pulling your hips against his, guiding you to grind against each other in a slow, torturous pace.
Movement from the corner of your eye had you near freezing in place. You distinctly remembered walking into an empty room. But then a smile grew on your face once you saw that the new figure had been a duplicate of Loki, holding a camera in his hands.
"I thought it would be nice if we could have some pictures of our own."  You looked at the Loki that was holding you, the hesitation visible in his eyes as he said the words. "If you're alright with that, darling." His fingers hovered over the buttons of your dress as he waited for your answer. You could only nod your head as you smiled at him, leading him to press his lips to your collarbone as he proceeded to undo the buttons in front of your dress.
You lost yourself to the feel of him pressing his lips to every sliver of newly exposed skin, wanton moans escaping you whenever you realized that his attentions would definitely leave a mark. You were so caught up in the moment that you didn't even hear the shutter going off from the direction of Photographer Loki, let alone the sound of the camera being set down somewhere.
What made your eyes snap open was the moment a new set of hands began to help in taking off your bra, and your lips were captured in a tender kiss despite Loki's lips still pressing a kiss onto your bared stomach.
"I refuse to stand by and simply watch, my darling," Photographer Loki murmured against your lips. "Not when you look so exquisite being at my mercy." He cupped the side of your face once he'd discarded of your bra, his thumb stroking along your cheek with a tenderness that left you stunned silent. "I love you."
"I love you, t--" Before you could finish your sentiment, the Loki under you tucked his fingers under your chin, turning your head to face him so that he could capture your lips in a kiss you could only describe as possessive, his tongue easily invading your mouth as he moved his hand from your chin to your hair. You let out a lustful moan when you felt the other Loki's lips at the juncture between your neck and shoulder, along with another hand moving up to cup your breast, teasing your hardened nipple between deft fingers.
"Bid him farewell, darling," he murmured against your lips. "Tonight will be the first time I have you. I will not share you with anyone. Even myself."
You pulled away and reached your hand back to weave your fingers through Photographer Loki's hair, turning your head toward him and pressing your lips to his. "Perhaps another night in the future," he said softly before pressing his lips to your forehead and disappearing in a flash of green.
Before you could turn back to face Loki, he made quick work to move you off his lap and lay you flat on his bed, your back landing on the mattress with a soft thud. "You quite enjoyed that, didn't you, filthy wanton little mortal?" he teased, pressing a kiss to the inside of your knee before proceeding to rid you of your panties. "The notion of being worshipped by two mouths."
He trailed his lips up until he captured the stiffened peak of your nipple between his lips, arching into him, silently begging for more. Right as you did, he hooked an arm under you, another obscene moan escaping your lips as you felt the tip of his cock lining up at your entrance.
"Two sets of hands to caress every delectable inch of your delicate, sinful form."
Your moans caught in the back of your throat in a squeak as he began to inch his way inside of you, your chest arching against his as he worked his lips toward your ear, pressing kisses along its shell.
You felt yourself growing impossibly wetter at his next words, unlocking a desire you didn't even realize you had in you. "Two cocks to pleasure you." He eased into you much quicker, both of you letting out a loud moan that echoed around his room as he bottomed out inside you. "Norns, you're perfection, min elskede."
All you could muster in response were incoherent screams. You couldn't even utter his name as he began to increase his pace, driving into you with staggering thrusts as he switched between utterances of Norwegian and English. All you could capture was stuttered mutterings of how tightly you were gripping him and Jeg elsker deg.
When you could feel the knot in your stomach begging to be let loose he began to drive into you harder, setting an unforgiving pace as he pushed you over the edge of your release, your entire body awash with a satedness that you'd never known. A smile finding its way to your face as he reached his climax within you,  his voice taking on a low, guttural tone as he grunted, "Mine."
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You didn't know how long you slept that night; all you could register when you woke up were your sore limbs and the contradicting feeling of feeling completely content and rested.
A smile stretched across your face as Loki's arm tightened around you, pulling you closer to him when you tried to stretch and move away from the bed. "It's far too early, darling."
Fuck me, how is it even possible that his sleepy morning voice is even hotter than normal?
You held him closer to you, your arm tightening its hold around his abdomen, your leg hooked around his, and your face nuzzled into his chest. "I'm gonna work on finishing your page," you mumbled, your mind ready to work despite your arms and legs deliciously aching if you so much as breathed too deeply.
"No," he grumbled, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. "You will not rip me of this bliss for that date keeper." He wrapped his free arm around you, trapping you in his embrace. "Mine."
"It's just for a few hours," you giggled as his hand proceeded to stroke across your back. "I'll just finish your page, put the mock together, and send it to the printing company. And then I'm all yours." You tilted your head to look at his sleepy face, placing a lazy kiss on his chin, making him place his hand behind your head as his other arm hoisted you further up his body so he could kiss your lips. "For how ever long you want me."
"I have a better proposition, my love." He quickly licked into your mouth and slid his tongue against yours before flipping you over on your back. "You go back to sleep. Or…" He proceeded to suck a bruise into your neck, quickly rendering you into wanton moaning mess. "I tire you out until you do."
The side of your mouth twitched upward in a smirk as images of how exactly he would tire you out entered your mind. "Well I don't think I'll be able to fall back asleep yet so…" You clicked your tongue as you did a shrugging motion, looking up at him with the widest doe eyes you could muster. "I guess I'll have to go for Option 2."
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A/N: And just like that, the story's over. Well actually…not yet. There's still an epilogue…and potentially a little outtake drabble of a moment between Loki & Scopes while cuddling in bed 🥹
Everything taglist: @lokisgoodgirl @lokischambermaid @imalovernotahater @mygfloki @lucylaufeyson3 @thomase1 @fictive-sl0th @mochie85 @laliceee @xorpsbane @gigglingtigger @silverfire475 @cabingrlandrandomcrap @vickie5446 @salempoe @lokixryss @sinsandguilt @lokidbadguy @alexakeyloveloki @glitterylokislut @cakesandtom @girl-of-multi-fandoms @mischief2sarawr @thedistractedagglomeration @five-miles-over @goblingirlsarah @peaches1958 @huntress-artemiss @lilibet261 @iobsessoverfictionalmen @holymultiplefandomsbatman @lovingchoices14 @devilsadvocactus @lokiprompts @sititran @imherefortomhiddleston @ladyjames78 @kikster606 @evelyn-kingsley @kats72 @ronnieissupermegafoxyawesomehot @creationsbyme @coldnique
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rose-pearls · 2 years ago
Text
That's the kind of heartbreak time could never mend - Final Part
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Previous Part
Everything is dark, memories appearing before disappearing and you can only float between them.
“It’s done. Snow is going to be executed. We won.”, you hear someone whisper, the voice resonating in the dark.
“We won and yet it feels like we lost, because you aren’t there.”, the voice sounds pained, and you can’t help but want to reassure the person talking. 
“Coin is holding a meeting with all the victors, she doesn’t want to wait for you to wake up no matter what we tell her.”, there is a long silence after that before a loud shuddering sigh can be heard.
“I don’t – I don’t know if I can do this, starting everything new when you aren’t by my side. I thought we needed a break, but it was the dumbest thing I could have told you.”, the voice breaks slightly, and you feel pained at the words.
“I don’t think you ever understood the effect you had on me; you make me a better man. My heart aches for you when you aren’t there and I just wanted to protect you from everything, but I couldn’t.”, a second voice says the person’s name and you hear some rustling before the voice comes again.
“Please come back to me.”, it’s whispered so softly you aren’t sure you have heard it but just as you try to figure out what you heard the voice leaves, and you are back in the dark.
--
“She wants to do a Hunger Games with the children of the Capitol. Says it’s to do a final game but I don’t believe her. I understand what you meant when you said you didn’t trust her.”, it’s a different voice this time but still a male one.
“Snow’s execution is today, I wish you could be there to see it.”, the voice says softly, and you try to think of who Snow is, when memories flash before your eyes. 
“I have to go, apparently it takes three hours to get ready for an execution. Or so Effie says. Don’t worry I’ll be back to see how you are doing after. We are both stuck here until the doctor tells us we can go, or in your case wake up.”, the voice seems hesitant before the voice from yesterday appears.
“Peeta, they are asking for you.”, the two whisper and you try to listen but ultimately fail as one of them leaves.
“I guess Peeta gave you the update. I voted no, of course.”, the voice whispers.
“I should get ready, but I wanted to talk to you first. The doctor said it would help to tell a story, that you can maybe hear it. Here goes nothing.”, the voice seems hesitant but after a moment he starts talking.
“During your first year as a mentor, you were scared out of your mind. You were the new Capitol’s favorite and was paraded around, everyone thought you had it together, even me. One day I went to the training center and there you were, sitting in front of some sort of punching bag. At first I thought you were training, and you were just exhausted but then your shoulders were shaking. The first thing I did was come to you and take you into my arms, you didn’t even flinch when I took you into my arms, you just wrapped your arms around me like you had done it a million times before.”, the voice wavers for a moment and you try to listen more, afraid of missing something.
“We had already talked during your tour but that night we stayed there all night long talking about whatever came to mind. Effie came to get you into the early hours of the morning, completely hysteric. You left with a soft smile and told me that you had enjoyed the time together and at that moment I never felt safer. Everyone tells you about butterflies in the stomach but when I was with you it was like, I had known you my whole life, like a puzzle piece fitting perfectly. I fell in love with you at that moment and never stopped.,” you can’t hear the voice anymore, not because he doesn’t talk anymore but because memories come back, slowly putting themselves together like a puzzle.
--
“Thank you.”, Finnick turns around to see you, looking at him with a small awkward smile.
“What for?”, he can’t help but ask, feeling nervous for the first time, not knowing what to do.
“For yesterday.”, you sit down next to him and Finnick smiles at you softly.
“Anytime, we help each other between victors.”, you nod slowly before looking at him shily. 
“It felt good to have someone to talk to that didn’t treat me like a broken bird, so thank you for treating me like a normal human being.”, he can’t help but feel breathless at her words, her eyes full of honesty.
“Well, you aren’t a broken bird, quite the opposite I think, more of a lioness.”, she laughs in response and Finnick can’t help but smile.
“So, tell me what your favorite thing from your victory tour was?”, he asks her dramatically, hoping to change her mind and she lets out a dramatic sigh before thinking.
“I would have to say district four, it’s so beautiful and the food is incredible. The crab cakes!”, she exclaims and Finnick can’t help but laugh at her dreamy eyes at the thought of them.
“Well then you are in luck, I know how to make them.”, she looks at him with wide, hopeful eyes and Finnick smiles in answer.
“You better not be lying to me Odair!”, Finnick laughs in answer and shakes his head in answer, but she looks at him dubiously, a small smile on her lips.
“I promise I’m not! Come by the apartment tonight and we’ll make them.”, he doesn’t even think before offering her to come and he hopes that it doesn’t scare her away but after a moment a blush appears, and she nods slowly.
“It’s a plan.”, she says shily and Finnick can’t help but smile at her before Johanna tells them to join them.
-
The crab cakes are more difficult than she thought they would be, but Finnick takes his time to teach her how to make them.
“You know I thought it would be easier.”, she mumbles under her breath and Finnick laughs before coming behind her as she pouts.
“Here, let me help.”, she doesn’t have time to wonder what he means before she feels his large hands on hers and his back against hers. She feels his breath against her neck as he whispers how she should do it.
“And there you go, a crab cake.”, she shakes herself out of the daze she is in and looks at the crab cake in her hand, looking perfect.
“I did it! Well, we did it!”, she says, smiling brightly and turning her head around and coming face to face with Finnick. 
His sea green eyes are looking into hers and she can’t stop looking into them, she can smell his cologne and he is so close that she can see all of his whimpers.
“You are so beautiful.”, he whispers under his breath, and she can’t stop the blush from appearing on her cheeks.
“Only beautiful?”, she teases him slightly, feeling breathless.
“So much more then that.”, he whispers before his eyes look down at her lips and look back up into her eyes, asking her permission. She manages to nod slowly before feeling Finnick’s soft lips against hers.
His hands leave hers to bring her closer by the waist and she lets go of the crab cake to wrap her arms against his neck and bring him closer. The kiss probably lasts a few seconds, but it feels like hours, feeling his soft touch against her skin and his heartbeat against her body.
The two of you look at each other slightly breathless as Finnick smiles at you lovingly.
“I think I put crab cake in your hair.”, you whisper shily and Finnick let’s out a laugh.
“Why don’t I go take a shower and you finish the crab cakes? Then we can continue this.”, there is a small suggestive smile, and you peck his lips softly before whispering that you will see him after his shower.
--
“Welcome back.”, the voice of May Everdeen tells you as you open your eyes, the memories still turning in your memory. She is smiling at you softly and you look at her with a sleepy smile.
“So, May, what did I miss?”, you ask her slowly and she lets out a wet laugh.
“A lot but I’m glad you are back with us.”, you nod in answer, and she looks at you determined.
“I do think there is something you need to do if you feel up to it?”, the somber expression that appears on her face tells you that this is nothing good, so you nod quickly.
“Anything, I just need some painkillers and I’ll be right there.”, May nods quickly before giving you the pain killers and leaving the room.
“Oh, my sweetheart!”, a loud voice yells and you turn just in time to see Effie coming in.
“Hi Effie.”, she stops for a moment, and you look at her with a small smile.
“Long time no see, huh.”, she freezes for a moment before letting out what sounds like a wet chuckle and taking you into her arms.
“Thank god you are back. I missed you.”, she tells you before bringing you into her arms and holding you tight.
“Now, we need to get you ready. So that we can shock everyone.”, she says while wiping away her tears and you nod seriously. She brings out a dark cloak and tells you to put on the rest of the outfit before applying a little bit of make-up.
May wishes you good luck and after that Effie and you leave towards the place of the execution, she fills you up on everything that has happened while walking there. A guard stops you, but Effie looks him up and down before looking at him unimpressed.
“Do you know who she is? She is with the rest of the victors.”, the man looks unsure for a moment before you smile at him awkwardly and he lets you get in. 
There are people filling up the stands, people are everywhere, trying to find a place and in the distance, you see the rest of the victors except for Katniss.
“Katniss will be there in a moment, so we are just in time to get you into position.”, you look around to see Coin upstairs, she looks down just in time to see you and she seems in shock to see you. You smirk at her, hoping that seeing you gives her hell.
Effie brings you closer to the others and before you can properly arrive Johanna turns around.
“Holy shit.”, she yells, and you can’t help but laugh un response as she looks at you gob smacked. 
The rest turns around to see what is happening and Finnick looks in shock for a moment before you arrive in front of him.
“Hi, Fin.”, you whisper softly, and he looks at you, blinking his eyes multiple times like he is making sure you are actually there.
“It’s really you? It’s not a dream, right?”, his voice breaks at the words and you feel your heart break, you take his hand in yours and squeeze it softly.
“It’s me, and I’m real. Back from the place I was, my mind back too.”, you tell him and Finnick takes a step back at the words in shock, but he holds onto your hand.
“Everything?”, he asks unsure, and you smile reassuringly.
“Everything. From the talk on the beach to our talk in the training room to the crab cakes.”, you tell him and Finnick lets out a sigh of relief before bringing you into a crushing hug. A sob leaves his lips, and you hold him as tight as you are able to. 
“I’m sorry you had to go through this, but I’m here know.”, he lets out a chuckle at the words before letting go of you and looking at you with wide eyes.
“It’s really you.”, he whispers before cupping your cheeks and looking into your eyes.
“It’s me.”, you whisper back and Finnick lets out a soft sigh before bringing your forehead against his.
“Thank god.”, you chuckle at the words before cupping his cheek softly and looking into his sea green eyes. Finnick smiles lovingly and you return the smile before bringing him into a short kiss.
“Not that I’m not glad to see the two of you reuniting but the show is about to start.”, Johanna says, but a grin is on her lips as she looks at the two of you and you smile back at her.
Haymitch and Peeta quickly take you into a hug and promise to talk after the ceremony and you have just the time to get into place as Katniss arrives.
She looks surprised to see you, but you only nod in response. You knew that she was going to make the right choice and as she shoots Coin dead you can’t help but smirk. Peeta manages to get to her before she takes some sort of pill and Finnick pushes you to the side to avoid the group of angry people going towards Snow.
--
“Well, there is going to be a trial for the girl.”, Haymitch says, and everyone scoffs around the room in response.
“I don’t see why, Coin was crazy, and she definitely had it coming.”, Johanna says, and you hum in agreement.
“I think we all agree but it’s part of the new system so I’m staying here until we know what is going to happen. But the rest of you are free to go, we finally did it.”, Haymitch says it while looking at all of us, his eyes a bit misty and you can’t help but smile in response.
“Don’t get emotional on us know Haymitch.”, you can’t help but tease him and everyone chuckles, but everyone looks emotional as they look around the table.
“I’m going back to seven.”, Johanna says after a moment, and you look at her with a reassuring smile.
“If you ever tell anyone I just told you this I will kill you, but I’ll miss you idiots. You were kind off my family for the last years.”, the group chuckles at her words and her eyes turn misty and you take her hand in yours.
“Don’t worry you’re not getting rid of us so easily.”, you tell her, and she chuckles in response.
“We’ll try to get together sometimes.”, Beetee says and you all nod in response, looking at each other with smiles.
Everyone starts saying where they are going until it comes to you and you feel Finnick slightly tense up next to you, not knowing what you were going to say.
“I guess that we are going back to four?”, you turn to ask Finnick, and he looks at you surprised for a moment before a large smile appears.
“Yeah, I guess we are.”, he says, not looking away from you.
“Well, I already know when we will all see each other again, at their wedding.”, everyone starts to laugh and Haymitch scolds Johanna, but she just shrugs her shoulders while Finnick and you blush bright red. 
--
“Mags, sweetheart slowly.”, you try to tell your two years old, but she has a mind of her own just like her father and runs towards the ocean.
“Dad!”, she yells as she sees her father setting up the picknick.
“There is my little princess.”, he says before taking her into his arms and tickling her making her laugh loudly. 
“And there is the most beautiful woman in the world.”, he says with a loving smile, and you can’t help but smile in response.
“Only beautiful.”, Finnick smiles brightly at your question.
“So much more than that.”, he whispers teasingly before bringing you in a loving kiss.
“Be careful mister Odair, it’s with those types of kisses that this one came.”, you tell him teasingly as you watch your daughter happily running round in the sand.
“You don’t hear me complaining.”, he says cheekily, and you laugh softly.
“Well, you will have to wait until this one gets born.”, you say and Finnick looks at you surprised before looking down at your stomach.
“Wait – you are?”, you nod quickly and Finnick smiles brightly before taking you into his arms and spinning you around making you shriek and laugh.
“Put me down!”, Finnick laughs in answer before setting you back on the sand and smiling brightly at you.
“I’m so happy.”, he whispers against your lips before bringing you into a heated kiss.
“Dad! Mum! Look!”, the sun starts setting and your daughter quickly drags you to see it closer. And as Finnick brings you closer to him, your daughter between the two of you, you can’t help but think it worked out better then you ever thought it would.
Well this is it! Thank you for all the support and hopefully you liked the story!!
Taglist: @nobody7102, @universal-s1ut, @wannapizzamymindposts, @ladyfiction, @readingb, @capswife, @bela-nov, @zendayabelova, @iwanttoleavekudos, @afraidofshrimp, @simpinformunson, @callsign-haze, @agent-grey-fics, @wolfiealina, @slytherpuffh0e, @certifiedsimp14, @sherlockstrangewolf, @dreaminglandsworld, @purple7theparty, @avoxrising
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libertineangel · 4 months ago
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A history & overview of communist groups in Britain
I've done so much reading into all the different splinter groups here, trying and failing to find one worth joining, that I might as well make all this accrued knowledge useful in case anyone wants to know what the situation is like (spoiler alert, it's a shitshow). I'll put it under a cut 'cause it'll probably get fairly long, and I'll tackle the Marxist-Leninist and Trotskyist sides separately 'cause they split in about 1932 and have barely had any crossover since.
I will not be unduly neutral or polite in my assessments, because Mao would call that liberalism and also it's no fun, so get ready to roll your eyes a lot and understand exactly what made Monty Python do the People's Front of Judea bit.
The (ostensibly) Marxist-Leninist side
In 1920, several smaller Marxist groups merged to form the Communist Party of Great Britain, the official British section of the Third International, and immediately set to work arguing with itself about the viability of parliamentarism, eventually adopting Lenin's position on the temporary utility of reformist unions & parties, which led them to spend several years trying - and even succeeding in a couple of seats - a strategy of entryism into the Labour Party, which is a phrase we will all get tired of by the end of this post; when Labour then lost the general election in 1924 it blamed the Communists and banned all their members, which sounds awfully familiar.
The CPGB did gain a fair bit of support & swelled its membership during the general strike of 1926 though, albeit in a handful of specific areas and industries, and then lost most of them again during the Comintern's Third Period because the workers didn't want to abandon their existing trade unions in favour of revolutionary ones. Did a couple of decent things in the 30s, fought at Cable Street and raised a small battalion for the International Brigades; they went back & forth on their stance on WW2 in line with the Comintern, supported strikes, actually reached their peak membership (~60,000, still tiny compared to their European comrades) during the war because they were the loudest anti-racist, anti-colonial voice around who did do a fair bit to raise public awareness of Britain's horrific treatment of India.
In 1951 they issued a new programme, The British Road to Socialism, which is pathetic reformist bollocks that insists peaceful transition to socialism is possible and sensible, and five years later the Soviet suppression of the '56 uprisings caused a massive split that saw a good 30% or so leave the party, causing them to return to the good old tactic of trying to push Labour and the unions leftward.
Nothing material really came of that and the Party declined further with the Sino-Soviet split, after which a minority of pro-China members left to form the Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist), which has since turned Hoxhaist (also surprisingly anti-immigration, and I'm fairly sure they're transphobic). Throughout the 70s they got increasingly Eurocommunist until even more revolutionaries got sick of them, and in 1977 another split saw the formation of the New Communist Party of Britain, which claims to still be anti-revisionist while also having spent the last 24 years insisting everyone vote for Labour (also from what I've heard they don't even email potential recruits back, so I doubt they'll survive beyond their current old membership, not that they'll be much loss because I don't believe they've ever actually done anything). Tensions between the Eurocommunist leadership and the Party membership continued to rise through the 80s until a final split in '88 produced the Communist Party of Britain, which is still extant today and still uses that silly electoral reformist programme from the 50s, and as an indicator of how that's going they earned 10,915 votes in the London Assembly elections this year, the third fewest of any candidate, less than half even of the fucking Christian People's Alliance (also their youth wing the YCL has marched alongside TERFs up in Scotland, they're the party that one author endorsed over Labour).
The CPGB finally folded in '91 and its leaders founded a series of steadily softer left think tanks, while other self-declared Leninists went on to form the Communist Party of Britain (Provisional Central Committee), which is so small and insignificant I can't even figure out when they actually started; nowadays they are, to quote someone off Reddit, "a small and almost entirely male group of Kautsky enthusiasts and leftist trainspotters with a knack for the fine art of unintentional self-parody, who regularly publish articles defending Marxism against the feminist menace."
Entirely separate from all that shit, in 1972 a group of students inspired by Hardial Baines formed the Hoxhaist Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist), and honestly I don't really know much about them because nobody online seems to have any idea if they do anything and looking at their website burned my fucking eyes. There's also the Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist-Leninist) (yeah a different one), formed in 2004 when a bunch of people got expelled from infamous union leader Arthur Scargill's party; they are so rabidly transphobic it makes the CPB look welcoming.
Finally, there's the Revolutionary Communist Group, which surprisingly formed out of the Trotskyist International Socialists (which became the SWP, we'll get to that soon); they're not a formal Party because they don't think the revolutionary situation here is developed enough for one, but they are fairly active in protests and pickets. Unfortunately, back in 2017 they dragged their heels investigating a member's sexual assault and then let the perpetrator back in after a two-month suspension and apology letter.
The Trotskyist side, if you can stomach it after all that bollocks
Modern British Trotskyism descends entirely from the Revolutionary Communist Party of 1944, formed by the merger of two smaller groups at the request of the Fourth International. They split after three years over the viability of entryism into the Labour Party, with the majority correctly seeing it as bollocks. Unfortunately, the majority RCP did fuck all afterward and grew disillusioned enough with the leadership to throw their lot in with the minority breakaway known as The Club, who kicked them all out again and proceeded to never do anything of note whatsoever (they eventually changed their name to the Workers' Revolutionary Party and imploded in about nine different - equally irrelevant - directions in the 80s when founder Gerry Healy was expelled for having serially abused women in the party for decades).
Followers of notable RCP member Tony Cliff (formerly the 4I's leader in Palestine) joined him in his new Socialist Review Group, devoted to Trotskyism but breaking from orthodoxy in favour of Cliff's theory of state capitalism that's silly even by Trotskyist standards that I don't think even the party itself really adheres to anymore. They changed their name to International Socialists in 1962, tried to appeal for left unity and got roundly ignored by everyone except a small Trotskyist group called Workers' Fight, which joined the IS, swelled their own ranks, tried to challenge the leadership and got thrown out again; they still cling onto existence as the Alliance for Workers' Liberty, whose existence I had completely forgotten until I saw a poster of theirs down my road and remembered I was in fact at the London Young Labour conference which banned them for refusing to properly investigate the repeated abuse of a teenage boy in their youth faction. The IS still tried to grow, but expelled what would become the aforementioned RCG in '72, expelled the faction that's now Workers Power in '74 (whom I have never heard of, which at least means I don't know of any awful shit they've done), tore themselves in half in '75 when Tony Cliff decided older workers were reformist and recruitment should focus on the youth, and in 1977 they renamed themselves the Socialist Workers Party. The SWP did do a few decent things, like form the Anti-Nazi League and organise Rock Against Racism, but to be honest those had a much bigger impact on the British punk scene than actual politics. Using charities and campaign groups to jump on bandwagons for shameless self-promotion is mostly what they're known for these days, along with making placards for any protest anywhere no matter how irrelevant they are to the party's platform; their membership and image among the left took a tremendous blow in 2014 after the Comrade Delta scandal, in which they were found to have covered up the National Secretary's repeated sexual abuse for years.
Followers of other notable RCP member Ted Grant joined him (after their expulsion from The Club) in his Revolutionary Socialist League, which believed in entryism into the Labour Party, and in 1965 it split with the 4I (because the 4I thought they were shit) to become Militant. They actually managed to take control of Labour's youth wing and successfully pushed the Party to commit to nationalising the country's major monopolies, but when Labour - on a platform of spending cuts and reformist liberal appeasement - lost the election to Thatcher in '79 they blamed it on the Communists and in December '82 they got blacklisted (which sounds awfully familiar). Took a while for that to sink in though, and Militant-affiliated members actually managed to take over Liverpool City Council through the mid-80s - they planned a massive amount of public works building, cancelling redundancies and other such things that sounded good but they really couldn't pay for, and tried to play bankruptcy chicken against Margaret Thatcher, which went as badly as you'd imagine and embarrassed them on the national stage (even if the people of Liverpool still supported them). Their last act was to help instigate the Poll Tax Riots in 1990, but that was one good deed to many for a Trotskyist group and they finally split in '91 - a majority decided they should finally sever ties with Labour and strike out on their own, while the minority insisted that entryism into the Labour Party really could net real national success if we just keep trying come on guys let's stay on the sinking ship history has taught us nothing!!!
The majority formed the Socialist Party, who have done nothing of note ever, and in 2013 they failed to adequately respond to sexual harassment within their ranks. In 2018 their international, the Committee for a Workers' International, experienced a split which it looks to me was over the old established leadership not getting with the times when it comes to women and LGBT+ people, and the majority went off to form the International Socialist Alternative, with the Socialist Alternative being its British branch; just last April the Irish section disaffiliated with the ISA because of its poor handling of abuse allegations against a leading member.
The minority stayed in Labour under the name Socialist Appeal, under the leadership of Ted Grant & Alan Woods, never really doing anything, and in 2021 Keir Starmer's left purge finally banned them, which was totally unrelated to their decision to finally strike out on their own this year as the Revolutionary Communist Party (yeah a different one). They're a money-grabbing newspaper-obsessed cult who've harboured abusers in five different countries, and to be honest I don't even see why they still exist now that they're no longer devoted to entryism considering that was the entire reason they split from the rest of Militant in the first place, they might as well reunify with the CWI or the ISA but far be it from me to expect insular Trotskyist control freaks to make sensible, practical political moves or to ever get the fuck over a split.
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amberbeach · 4 months ago
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'TRAINING RED'
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It wasn't uncommon for you to be outside training in the middle of the night. The training course was a perfect way to clear your head, and burn off leftover adrenaline after an exciting day.
After the team voted him unfit to be Red Ranger, Cruger stripped him of his Red Ranger status, and Jack realized that he had become power-hungry, using cadets to get him food and do his laundry. When the team fought without him, unable to form a Megazord, Jack knew he had to become the leader they needed and was relieved when Cruger gave him a second chance.
He asked around the base and knew where to find you - the best person to help him become the Ranger he needed to be. You were known for being one of the greatest cadets to ever come from the academy. You could recite every rule and every law word for word and hold the record times for simulation training and completing the obstacle course.
If there was anyone who could help him, it was you.
"Uh, hi."
You turned, surprised to see Jack scratching the back of his neck. "Hi."
"The word around here is that you are the best."
You sent him a small smile, "I heard what happened today. Congratulations."
"Thanks. It was a team effort. I'm just grateful that they let me back on the team. I don't know if you heard, but I got a little power crazy."
"I heard."
"I was hoping I could train with you. Or maybe give me a few pointers. I want to be worthy of being the Red Ranger."
You smiled, nodding, "Sure."
"Thanks." He smiled, following you to the beginning of the obstacle course. "Do you often train this late?"
You turned, "We can wait until morning."
Jack shook his head, "No, I was just wondering why you're out here."
"Oh, I train to keep my mind off things. It gives me some distance to see things more clearly. Plus, it isn't as crowded."
That night, he asked you dozens of questions about Space Patrol Delta, and you told him things you had learned during cadet training. You learned about his past with Z before they became Rangers while you both stretched and warmed up.
Jack held his ribs as he lay on his back, looking over at you with a smile when he heard your laughter for the first time. You placed your hands on your hips as he sat up, resting his arms on his bended knees.
"Thanks for doing this."
"Well, it's not everyday that the Red Ranger asks for my help."
Jack chuckled.
"Ready to tackle the course?"
"Let's do it."
His enthusiasm wore off during his third attempt around the course, and when he slipped into the mud, you tried to help, falling beside him. Jack lost a few minutes due to laughing at the sight of you covered in mud from head to toe as he was.
Jack offered you his hand as you climbed out of the mud, and when he pulled you free, you collided with his chest. He placed his hands on your arms to steady you, planting his feet to avoid falling over. As he looked down at you, he felt something shift between you and not for the first time that night. Even when caked in mud, you looked beautiful.
"Thank you." You smiled bashfully, glancing at his dirty red S.P.D shirt before meeting his gaze.
Jack blinked out of his daze, "No problem."
"Although it was kind of your fault."
"Hey!" He chuckled as you stepped away, slowly removing his hands from your arms.
You cleaned your stopwatch with your finger and grinned when it was still working. "Okay, this was worse than your first attempt."
"Back to the beginning?"
"Let's do it." You mimicked his earlier enthusiasm, making him chuckle.
On the fourth lap of the course, the sun was starting to rise, and you saw a great improvement and how quickly he learned from his previous mistakes. You watched as Jack climbed the final log staircase and stopped the timer. He shook the dirt off his hands and turned to find you grinning.
"New record!"
Jack grinned, catching you both by surprise when he picked you up and spun you around. You met his gaze as your feet touched the ground and placed your hands on his arms, congratulating him with a smile.
"Thank you. I couldn't have done it without you."
You opened your mouth to argue that he could, but Jack shook his head.
"Seriously. I would've given up after the first lap."
After spending nearly five hours outside training with you, one of the first things he noticed about you was that you were quick to dismiss any compliments with a bashful smile.
"For someone who didn't go through the academy, you'll make a fine Red Ranger."
It was his turn to be bashful. "You think so?"
"I know so." You sent him a warm smile.
Jack mirrored it, wetting his lips as he glanced away briefly. "Mind if we make this a regular thing?"
You shook your head, "Same time tonight?"
"I'll be here."
You smiled softly as you walked away together and gasped when he took off running.
"The last one there has to do a hundred push-ups!" He called over his shoulder. You shook your head, a giggle leaving your lips as you chased after him.
You caught up to the Red Ranger, and he chuckled when you overtook him, calling over your shoulder, "Sorry, Red!"
Jack caught up to you by the doors, and you smiled as you headed inside, navigating the hallways to the dorm rooms. Your room was on the opposite hall from his, and despite the pain in his muscles, Jack was looking forward to doing it all over again tonight.
"Goodnight, Red."
"Night."
You sent him one last smile before walking away, and Jack watched you go for a moment before putting his hands in the pockets of his black sweatpants, and turning around to go in the opposite direction to his room.
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theladybarnes · 2 years ago
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CHERRY BOMB: CHAPTER ONE
“One summer can change everything.”
▸ summary: summer’s here and it’s time to have some fun ▸ characters: steve harrington, jonathan byers, nancy wheeler & billy hargrove ▸ word count: 7.8k         ▸ warnings: SMUT (18+MINORS DNI) p&v smut, oral sex (f receiving), unprotected sex, angst, and fluff ▸ series masterlist
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“All right Henderson. I can sneak you in..just as long as you remember to vote for me once you get inside. I am looking to win tonight.”
 “Tina, we may have had a few bumps in the road this year, but I promise you, you’ll get that crown.”
 The sound of your friend’s giggling tickled your ear through the receiver. Luck was truly on your side today. Not only were you able to make it to the shops before they closed, thus picking out the perfect outfit, but you managed to get into contact with Tina before she left her house. 
 “Perfect! I’ll be at the south entrance of the gym at eight sharp. They’ll read the votes about ten minutes after that.”
 “I’ll be there. Thanks again for helping me.”
 “Of course, what are friends for?”
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  FRIDAY NIGHT, MAY 31st 1985
 The majority of the day was spent holed up in the Byers house. Getting ready away from the curious eyes of your cousin who might slip up and reveal the surprise you had planned. Ironically, it wasn’t the only surprise you’d end up giving when Joyce and Will caught you coming out of Jonathan's room in full makeup and gown. But after an impromptu prom style photoshoot with shy Will, and a quick check over with Joyce, you were off to the school.
 “You sure you’ll be okay for me to take off?”
 “Cinderella never had her fairy godmother stick around at her ball, Creep.” you teased, unbuckling your seatbelt. “Besides,” reaching for your small clutch you pull out a twenty, leaning over to stuff it into Jonathan’s hands. “It’s Friday night and you still have a few hours to take our sweet Nancy out for ice cream.”
 A blush spread over Jonathan’s cheeks and he attempted to give back the money, making you slap at his hand. “Cool it with the pride, Byers.” you argued, “It’s the money for the gas you spent driving me around today.”
 He looked like he wanted to argue about that, but one sharp look at him had him stuffing the money back in his pocket. “Wait,” he snorted, “when did Nancy become our Nancy?”
 “It became that when we finally got around to being friends.” you shrugged, checking the time on the dashboard clock. “If it makes you feel any better, to Nancy and I, you're our Jonathan.” You glanced back at your friend, noting the small smile that he was fighting to stop from coming out. “Okay, Creep. How do I look?”
 He shifted in his seat, giving you a look over before a small genuine smile took over. “I think you look beautiful. And, if Steve doesn’t appreciate all this then he’s an idiot.”
 Now it’s your turn to stop the smile from coming over your face. “Good, I’ll be sure to let him know that if he says otherwise.” Leaning over, you wrapped your arms around Jonathan, murmuring another thank you before you exited the car. 
 The south entrance of the gym was thankfully empty, and you quickly adjusted the strap of your dress as you waited for the door to open up. Just when you thought you were going to be screwed over, the loud press of the latch alerted you quickly, making you step closer. 
 Tina, who decided to change her dark locks into sunny blonde, poked her head out. 
 “I’m here!” she grinned, opening the door fully. Her bright blue dress shined against the moonlight and you had to acknowledge that while she most likely bought it from one of the outlet malls here, she did pull it off well. 
 “You look amazing!” you commented. “Definitely a winner in my eyes.” She twirled in spot, swishing her dress around before she waved at you to come over.
 “That’s good, but only if we hurry up can I get that win!” she urged. Not wanting to waste time, you followed her in. The music began to perk up louder in your ears as you followed Tina’s direction. The hue of red lights slowly came into vision and you softly gasped at the sight of the gym. It was actually a pretty cool looking prom. Something you’d always wonder about back home. With funding in your old school, most proms were held in hotels or banquet halls. But here in Hawkins, it still held onto that small town money and held theirs in the school’s gym.
 “Okay, so here’s your ballot.” Tina sang, reaching over for a piece of cardstock on the table. “The ballot box is down there and after that, you should probably head towards the stage. He’ll be asked to be near there as we wait for announcements. All the nominees are.” she winked before dashing off to join her date. 
 It gave the nerves you had been pushing down, a chance to come back. Shaking your head, you quickly reached for one of the pens on the table, checking off Tina’s name. The familiar name of the boy you were here for was noticeably at the section under ‘King’. 
 As stated, ten minutes after you voted, the lights dimmed to the stage and the music quickly faded out as man stepped away from the small booth connected to the speakers. “How is everyone doing tonight?!” called out the DJ, lowering the music down to clear sound for the announcement. “Class of eighty-five, are you guys ready to find out who your King and Queen are?!”
 The students around the gym erupted into a polite applause. Some even whistled. Your eyes scanned over the gym, looking for the familiar head of hair that usually called out to you like a beacon. 
 Down the line you spot him. He’s near the stage, far off enough that he could lean against the wall, looking over at the stage mournfully. The sight of him in a tux tugged at your heart and you’re worried others might notice the goofy look on your face as you stared over at him. He looked handsome, even in just the plain black suit with a black bow around his neck.
 “We’re pleased to announce that the voting is done and the results are in!” Continued the DJ after a few minutes. 
 “Let’s start out with ladies first, eh? For Prom Queen of nineteen eighty-five, we have..Tina Cline!” 
 Your friend let out a squeal as she quickly dashed over to the stage, going up the small platform’s stairs so that she could run over to her crown. You can’t help but smile, noting how happy it seemed to make her and joined in on the clapping.
 Her date, David McCorkle, was whooping for his partner as she gracefully bowed for the DJ to place the crown on her head. Others hushed down as the man pressed his lips to the mic again. “And as for you prom King we have..Steve Harrington!”
 To your surprise, everyone continued into another round of applause, making you and Steve shocked as he made his way to the stage. From the way things were for him last year, neither one of you would have figured he’d be the popular vote. Especially with Billy and his campaign against him. 
 Steve stepped onto the platform, looking a little shy in front of the people he once saw as fans almost. The DJ placed the crown on top of his head, turning him to face the crowd. Honestly, you’d hate to admit it, but he looked really good with a crown on his head. Even if it was just cheap plastic. Tina quickly rushed over and leaned close to Steve, posing for the photo with a bright smile. 
 “Now that we have our royal court, how about we open the floor up for their first dance?” 
 In typical fashion, Tina and Steve set off in different directions. Tina went to grab her date while Steve left, coming off the stage slowly. Looking towards the crowd nervously as he approached the small circle that had formed around the floor. That’s when you sucked in your breath and stepped forward. 
 Some students began to murmur as you weaved your way through the front. The sound of your name coming out a couple of times before you finally made it to the other side. Steve’s eyes found yours quickly and for the first time tonight, he grinned. 
 You took a few hesitant steps towards Steve when you spoke up. “So, your highness. Is this the part where I bow?” You said teasing.
 He chuckled at that, taking long strides to close the distance between the two of you. The tips of his fingers brushed against your arms before he wrapped his hands at your waist, pulling you close. 
 The sounds of Joan Jett’s Crimson and Clover began to play as the lights turned down into a small spot light towards the two couples. Moving your hands up his chest, you wrapped your hands around his neck. 
 The beat of your heart quickened when you noticed just how close your face is with Steve’s. Every freckle on his face was in clear view and the scent of his cologne only made him more distracting. Despite having done much more than dancing. The lingering feelings you had for him were coming in strong. Especially under the light red hue of the room that cast a warm shadow over his features. 
 “Tell me why,” Steve started, breaking the silence. “Not two hours ago, I showed up to your house, looking to give you this.” He reached into the pocket of his suit to pull out a single prom ticket. “Only for Dustin to come out and tell me you had been gone all day to hang out with Byers.”
 You can’t help but giggle at that. Finding it so amusing that you two were thinking the same thing today.
 “Well, he wasn’t wrong. I was with Jonathan. Running across town to find a dress here I’d like. Then I had to call Tina to help sneak me in so I could see that big goofy grin on your face.” You replied, hearing him hum as you plucked the ticket from his hand to stuff back in his coat for him. 
 “Just to surprise me?” He asked, slightly in disbelief moving his hand back to down your back. He began to rub soothingly as you two continued to sway slowly. 
 “Well, yeah” you chuckled. “I’m always willing to make dramatic entrances. Especially for friends.” 
 Steve turned silent for a moment, only smiling down at you before he leaned to place a kiss on your cheek. “That entrance was pretty cool. Especially considering how nice you look tonight.”
 “Careful, Harrington. You keep complimenting me and I might do something stupid.” 
 He raised a brow, leaning his head down far enough that you could feel his breath fan against your face. “Like what?”
 “Kiss you.”
 That has him reeling back a bit, blush spreading over his cheeks. He looked away from you, averting his eyes to the room before he burst out in a small laugh. “You kill me, trouble.”
 “I like to think I keep things interesting.” you smirked, leaning forward to rest your head against his chest. He hummed in agreement, continuing to lead the two of you in the dance. The song picks up a bit, and you barely peek out to notice other students have joined in the crowd now. Dancing to the upbeat tempo. All except you and Steve. In fact, it seemed like everything slowed down for you guys. 
 My, my, such a sweet thing (Ba-da, da-da, da-da)
 I wanna do everything (Ba-da, da-da, da-da)
 What a beautiful feelin' (Ba-da, da-da, da-da)
 Crimson and clover (Ba-da, da-da, da-da)
 “I love this song.” you admitted softly.
 When Steve stayed silent, you pulled your head back to look at him. Noticing the way he was looking down at you. Almost serious, but with a warmth behind his eyes. Desire. You thought. Just when you’re about to ask what’s wrong, he leaned in suddenly. Pressing his lips against yours. 
 He brought a hand up to cup the side of your cheek, keeping the kiss strong but gentle. The feeling of his plump lips against yours was something you had been missing for a while now and you waste no time in kissing back. There’s a small taste of Steve’s cherry chapstick. How it suddenly tasted so addicting was beyond you.
 It’s not until the song slowly started to slow down again that the two of you pulled away. Steve still kept his hand on your cheek, using the pad of his thumb to rub gently against the line of your lips. It has your chest beating like crazy and you’re praying you don’t look as flushed as you feel.
 “I guess I’m the one who wanted to do something stupid.” he smirked, looking down at your lips. You can’t can’t help but press a gentle kiss to his thumb, causing his eyes to widen in surprise. “Really, really stupid.” 
 You meet him in the middle this time, slanting your lips against his. There’s a moment where the kiss turned from hot and heavy to sweet. Letting you smile when you noticed how shy it made Steve when he pulled back for air again. 
 The song finally came to its end and you both took a step back to clap along with the other students as the DJ approached the mic again. 
 “You guys have been amazing tonight! The best school I’ve played for!” That got the students really riled up. Giving another round of clapping. “I’m gonna take my break now, but the prom committee has a special surprise just for you guys.” 
 From the right side of the stage, the students slowly welcomed a soft blonde up onto the stage. Her outfit looked a lot like the ones you’d see in an ad for the gap, but bedazzled to shine up on the stage. It isn’t until she stood in the direct spotlight that you realized who it was.
 “Is that Tammy Thompson from homeroom?”
 Steve looked over at the stage, face twisting in confusion before he looked back to you. “I have no idea who that is.” You couldn’t help but laugh a bit, looking up at your friend incredulously. “What?” he laughed, still confused.
 “Steve! Tammy was in our homeroom all last year! I thought you two knew each other from the way you’d greet her.” you gaped, covering up your mouth to hold in the laughter that wanted to come out.
 “Was she?” he mused, taking a second glance at her. “What the hell is she doing on stage?”
 The answer came quickly when the lights began to dimmer again, bringing back that warmth in the room as the music picked up again. The sounds of an electric piano began to play and Tammy smiled confidently to the audience before she stepped up to the mic, composing herself quickly. 
 ���Is she..?” you said softly looking back at Steve. He shared a similar look of shock before nodding his head.
 “I think she is.”
 “(Turn around)
 Every now and then I get a little bit lonely
 And you're never coming 'round
 (Turn around)”
 The two of you can only look at each other in shock. Tammy had always sung around everyone, whether under her breath in class, or occasionally in the bathroom, or even at lunch to her group of friends. But never would you have ever expected her to be out in the middle of prom, singing for the Senior class. 
 “Every now and then I get a little bit tired
 Of listening to the sound of my tears
 (Turn around)
 Every now and then I get a little bit nervous
 That the best of all the years have gone by
 (Turn around)
 Every now and then I get a little bit terrified
 And then I see the look in your eyes!”
 “Oh my God.” you both said at the same time. Not only was Tammy out of tune, but confidently so. Pushing your face into Steve’s chest, you cover up the sounds of your laughter against his jacket. Hoping it’ll muffle out any noise you make.
 “You can’t laugh!” Steve hissed in your ear. “If you laugh it’s gonna make me laugh!” 
 Biting down on your lip, you pull yourself back to face Steve again. Noting how hard he looks at keeping down his own amusement. But staring at each other only makes it worse and you two burst out in a fit of hysterics. Thankfully it’s drowned out by the very loud chorus of the song.
 “Oh God, I feel like I must look crazy right now.” you huffed, biting down on your lip to stop the grin on your lip. Steve’s laughter died down slowly when he looked down at your face. Using his thumb, he gently tugged your bottom lip from your teeth. Caressing the skin gently with the pad from his finger. 
 “You’re beautiful..” he said softly.
 Your chest swells with the compliment again. His soft confession nearly takes your breath away. Sticking to your word, you lean your head up to his and press a kiss against his lips. Making him wrap his arms around you again. 
 “God, we just can’t stop being stupid tonight.” you breathed trying to pull away from his lips but he chased after you. Grazing his tongue at the opening of your mouth before you parted your lips to kiss him again, feeling his tongue slip inside. 
 Kissing Steve was definitely not on your plans for tonight. But you sure are glad to have happened. Still, you couldn’t help but worry about what might be happening to the two of you. Were friends really supposed to be kissing? How would the two of you feel later on when you were out of the foggy haze of romantic lighting and dancing?
 You quickly pulled back from Steve, going as far to take a step back from him as you shook away the thoughts from your head. He slowly reached out to place a hand on your arm, calling out your name to look over at him again.
 “Hey, are you okay?” he asked, looking at you with concern. 
 “Yeah,” you coughed, trying to sound as calm as you could. “I just..felt lightheaded.” It wasn’t a complete lie but enough that you didn’t feel bad about your answer. But that didn’t matter anyway, Steve was already pulling you back, cupping the side of your cheek to make you look directly in his line of sight. 
 “We’re not really good at this friend thing, huh?” 
 “No,” you admitted, rubbing your hands over his shoulders before wrapping them around his neck again. “And it’s kinda..making me worried.”
 “You shouldn’t worry..” He frowned, “We’re still friends..who are also..having fun.”
 “Oh, so that’s what friends do for fun?” you asked, trying to sound calm about it. Steve blushed a bit, shrugging his shoulders as he nodded. 
 “Maybe that’s something we can do..if you’re into it.” he suggested. 
 What Steve was suggesting felt too much like a double edge sword. Friends with benefits seemed so juvenile for you two. Had you not both felt too much for each other these past few months? What if casual sex messed all that up and you both ended up not even being friends.
 “I’m sorry.” he said, breaking into your thoughts. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. Nothing has to change between us.”
 “No!” you quickly said. “You didn’t..” Licking your lips you can’t help but think it over again. Steve was a friend now and sex with someone you trust wasn’t always a bad thing.. “I’d like to try.. But I just..don’t want us to end up not being friends if feelings change.”
 “They wouldn’t.” he quickly answered. “I’d never stop being your friend. Even if you hate me, I’ll always want to be your friend.”
 His reassurance has you smiling a little. “You promise?” He brushes a hand over your cheek, pulling you close again to wrap you in a hug.
 “I promise, trouble..I’ll never stop.”
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 SATURDAY, JUNE 8TH 1985
 “Oh God, Steve. Don’t stop!” you gasped, reaching down to tug on the top of his hair. The words only made Steve stop his tongue and its assault on your clit. Pulling his head up a bit so that he could look up at you from the floor. 
 “You’re so bossy.” Steve pouted, placing a single kiss against the lips of your pussy. “Thought this day was about me?”
 The loud bass sound of Soft Cell’s Tainted Love beat through the walls of the upstairs bathroom at Anna Jacobi’s house. Muffling out the sounds you were currently making in the room with Steve. That is, until Steve decided to switch things up by teasing. 
 Growling a bit, you looked down at Steve, still kneeling in the same position in front of you as you leaned against the counter. One leg hooked over his shoulders. “I thought we were doing what you wanted?” you smirked, “I can always just go find someone else who wants to have some fu– OH.” 
 Steve quickly dived back into your pussy, lapping his tongue against your folds before he circled around the bundle that caused you to shake. Reaching back for his hair again, you pushed him harder against you, earning you a groan from Steve. He reached one of his hands up to slide up the leg that was hanging over him, letting his fingertip trace gently against the opening of your core before he gently pushed it in.
 You cried out softly, arching your back a bit from the sink mirror. He took that as a sign to pump his finger faster, quickly inserting another as he wrapped his mouth around your clit, creating a sucking motion that has your eyes rolling to the back of your head. 
 “Shit, Steve!” you cried out, holding onto his hair with one hand and the counter with the other. He continued his work faster, making your breathing cut short and body tighten up before he finally sucked just hard enough to have you seeing white. The wave of your orgasm rips all over you so strongly that you let go of Steve’s hair in fear of accidentally tearing it out.
 Steve continued to pump inside you slowly, letting his hands help ride out the rest of the orgasm while he placed kisses on your inner thighs. “Fuck,” he cursed. “You sound so hot.” Slowly, he pulled his hand out, looking at you carefully as he brought it up to his mouth.
 You watch in awe as he silently sucked on the tip of his fingers. His eyes are dark with lust and he’s holding back a smile as he popped each finger out. “You always taste so good too.” he mused, making you feel the heat on your face again.
 It has your desire coming back and you reach forward to grab the belt against his waist. Pulling at the strap quickly as you work to undo the ties. 
 “Whoa, baby, slow down.” Steve chuckled, moving to place his hands at your hips. “We don’t have to do anything..I just wanted to make you-” His words cut off when you used your other hand to tug him down by the neck. Pressing your lips quickly against his to shut him up. 
 He moaned against you, gripping tightly now as he allowed you to undo the button on his pants. You’re quick to get his pants down enough to slip your hand inside, going past his boxers to grab hold of his cock.
 Steve pulled back from the kiss to let out a hiss. Jaw slacked as he stared down at your hands. Using your thumb to wipe at the precum dribbling out of his tip, you squeeze gently around his cock, creating a stroking motion that has him having to bite down on his lip from crying out. 
 “Aww,” you cooed, looking up at him. “Don’t I get to hear your pretty noises?” 
 A deep red blush spread over Steve’s cheeks and you knew it wasn’t from his own body reacting to the heat of the bathroom. But instead of giving in to your teasing, he reached out to pull you closer by your hips. Lining the two of you up perfectly. 
 Helping him out, you pushed down his pants further, and stroked once more before you lined up his cock to your core. He helped wrap your legs around his waist, stepping forward to brush the tip of his cock to the entrance. You reached a hand up to brush his ever growing hair away from his face so that he could look down at you. 
 Smiling. Steve leaned in and pressed his lips gently against yours. Kissing you sweetly as a distraction while he pushed the head of his cock inside.
 It takes a minute to adjust to his size, having his fingers just inside barely helped prep you. But Steve already knows to go slow. Giving your body a minute to adjust before he pushed the rest of himself in. 
 Feeling full again had you whimpering against Steve’s lips. Moving your hands up, you wrapped them around his neck, deepening the kiss. Steve took that as a sign to slowly thrust forward, keeping one hand at your hip and the other at your back to prevent you from moving out of place. 
 There’s a pounding at the door that you and Steve ignore. Each other’s tongues slipped past lips to swirl against each other while Steve’s thrusts got harder. It’s not until you need air that you drop your head back, letting out another cry. Feeling the head of his cock reach the right angle. Steve let go of your hip to bring his thumb to your lips. 
 “Suck it.” He demanded. You wrap your lips around the digit and do as he says. He groaned a bit at that before he pulled it out of your mouth and down to your clit. Using the overstimulation to his advantage to get you closer to your next orgasm.
 “You’re squeezing me so tight, baby.” he gritted, thrusts turning a little sloppy as he got closer to his edge. “Gonna make me cum so hard tonight.” Rubbing faster circles, Steve leaned forward to place his lips against the nape of your neck. Sucking harshly against the sensitive skin. 
 “I’m so close.” you gasped, tugging at the ends of Steve’s hair. The harsh tug caused him to gasp against your neck before he bit down to mark you. 
 “Come for me, pretty girl.” he said, thrusting faster. “Just for me.”
 His words coax you almost embarrassingly easily and you feel your body tighten again as you hit your second orgasm. The walls of your pussy tightened around his cock and it wasn’t long until Steve was groaning your name. The ropes of his hot cum shot inside soon after. 
 The two of you were still panting when he reached down to pull himself out. You angled your neck down to watch him rub the mushroom head against your swollen sensitive lips before he took a step back. “God, if we weren’t at this party, I might just go to town at that sight.” he muttered, giving your cheek a quick kiss before tucked himself in.
 “Keep talking like that and I just might let you.” you chuckled, still frozen in place. Steve took that as his chance to reach for one of the hand towels on the counter, running it under the water on the sink before he gently helped clean you up.
 “Thank you.” you said softly, letting him finish up before he helped you off of the counter. He only gave a shy smile before chucking the towel into the trash can near the sink. “And I’ll just be taking these back.” You said, carefully reaching into Steve’s pocket to dig for the pair of panties he tried stealing from you earlier. 
 “Aw, but I thought that was my present.” he said, faking a pout.
 “Your graduation present is over at my house. I told you.” you laughed, stepping inside of the clothing before slipping it on. Thankfully you were wearing a summer dress and didn’t have to bother fixing up your outfit too much. 
 “Who forgets to bring a present to a graduation party?” Steve asked, running his hands through the water at the sink. He carefully ran the wet fingers through his hair, smoothing out some of the frayed strands that you tugged on. “I look insane.”
 “I invited you earlier for lunch to give it to you then but you totally ditched me.” You frowned, looking at the mirror to fix your own appearance. The bite mark Steve made would surely become visible in the next couple of hours. But there wasn’t much you could do. Throwing a glance at Steve, you smirk to yourself at how crazy you managed to turn his styled locks into. 
 “I think I managed to make it look better.” you shrugged, readjusting your bobby pin to keep your hair in place.
 He ignored your other comment and tousled his hair again. Trying to get it to look right. “I told you, after the ceremony my parents wanted to get lunch. I wanted to invite you but you got all pouty and left with Dustin.”
 You scrunch your nose at that answer. The very idea of lunch with Steve’s parents sounded too dreadful. Especially when the only time you met them was when you and Steve had left to go to the movies. 
 “Well, I’m glad I passed on that.” 
 Steve walked over to the door, peeking out into the hall to see if it was empty. “Why do you say that?” He asked, glancing back. 
 “Because..it would have been awkward. Meeting officially and all that.” You shrugged. 
 He chuckled a little, cocking his head to the side. “You have nothing to be worried about. Besides,” he tugged you close. The warmth of his palm engulfed your cheek and he looked down at you with a small smile. “It’s not like we’re dating anyway.”
 The words hit you in the face like ice water on a cold day. There was no malice in his tone and you knew better than to think Steve would intentionally use those words to hurt you. But that doesn’t stop your face from frowning. 
 “Right,” you gaped. Trying to reboot yourself back to normal. “Fix your zipper.” You muttered, rolling your eyes. 
 Pushing him a bit, you tear the door open and step out into the hall. Momentarily forgetting about checking for anyone as you rush down the hall and ignore the sounds of Steve calling your name. 
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  “I’m officially cutting you two off.” 
 Nancy and you both snapped your heads up from your lounge chairs to see a disgruntled Jonathan with his hands on his hips. You steal a glance to the girl on your right and notice just how red her face had gotten in the thirty minutes you had joined her side.
 “I think we’re in trouble.” you giggled, trying to bite down on your lip. 
 Nancy frowned at Jonathan, a notable sign that she truly was out of it considering most of the time she was more pleased to see him. She reached for your hand and pulled you back into the conversation, ignoring her boyfriend.
 “So, I come into the office, eager to work. I greet Mr. Holloway and introduce myself.”
 “Sounds right.” you nodded, trying to follow along.
 “I literally say my name and not one second after this asshole, Bruce Lowe, yelled at me from across the office. ‘NANCY DREW.’”
 “No way! He stole my nickname!” 
 Nancy held out her hands, looking upset about it. “Exactly! It made me look so..young!” She hiccuped a bit, holding her fingers to her lips before she waved it off. “A-and then, he asks me for coffee.” She slapped at your arm, frowning. “Goddamn coffee!”
 You rubbed at the red skin, nodding your head sympathetically. “What an asshole! Why would they even let you come in as an intern if they wanted like..an assistant or something?” Nancy clapped her hands, looking exasperated. 
 “That’s what I’ve been saying!”
 Jonathan eventually noticed that you two weren’t going to acknowledge him and sat down beside Nancy. Rubbing his hands together as he listened in on the conversation. 
 “I should go there!” you said suddenly. “I should go there and yell at him. Maybe make him cry.” The couple looked at you quizzically but you continued on. “I’ve made a grown man cry before.” 
 “Was that man Steve by any chance?” Jonathan asked, looking slightly uncomfortable. 
 You frown at the mention of his name. It’s been almost an hour since you left him in the bathroom and while you know that you should probably play the whole interaction as nothing. You couldn’t help but feel a remaining sting from his words. 
 “Why are you bringing him up?”
 “Because he’s been staring over here for ten minutes like someone kicked his dog.” He said pointing behind you. All three of you turn to look over your shoulder. Across the large yard was Steve,hanging around the back door of the house. And just like Jonathan said, he indeed looked sad. 
 All you could do is raise a brow at him. What the hell was he upset about?
 “Steve doesn’t have a dog.” Nancy giggled, leaning her head onto Jonathan’s shoulders. 
 You’re somewhat glad to have the girl intervene, joining in on her giggles. “She’s right! I didn’t kick any dog!” 
 “That’s not what I mea—“
 Jonathan was cut off when you leaned forward to shush him with your finger. He swatted at your hand. Trying to get it away from his face. “He’s just probably moody because we’re over here having fun and he’s boring.”
 “Geez, Henderson. Tell ‘em what you really think of me.”
 You wince instantly. Face scrunching up at the voice behind you. Leaning back you crank your head up to see Steve standing behind you, a slightly worried look on his face. 
 “Steve! You’re here!”
 Rolling his eyes, Steve moved over to your lounge chair. Lifting up your legs so that he could sit beside you. “I’ve been here for a while now.” he muttered, placing your legs down over his lap. His brown eyes shifted between you guys before coming back to you. “Been looking for you actually.” 
 “Well, you found me!” you clapped. “Cancel the search party.”
 Steve frowned at your reaction, casting a glance to Jonathan. “Is she drunk?” Your friend sighed at Steve. Nodding his head while Nancy sleepily slumped against him. 
 “They’re both pretty buzzed.” 
 “He’s lying.” you interjected quickly, pointing a finger at your friend. “I am not buzzed..”
 You caught eyes with Nancy and watched as she tried to hold back a smirk. “I’m wasted.” you said, making the two of you burst out laughing. The two boys sighed, and you couldn’t help but frown. It was a party and you were allowed to let loose. 
 “Okay, trouble. How about, we all head out of here and maybe get some coffee in you two.” Steve said, trying to reach out for your hand. The tip of his fingers barely grazed your hand you already felt the familiar heat. Pulling it back, you gave him a dirty look before you climbed off from the chair.
 “That’s so boring, Steve. I’m having fun.” 
 “Yeah,” Nancy added, picking herself up from Jonathan’s shoulder. “Fun!” She tried to get up from her seat but stumbled a bit before she gave up. “Oh that was too fast.” she muttered softly. Jonathan reached out to hold her hand, urging her to sit a bit before he glanced up at you.
 “Don’t you think you’ve had enough fun? I think Steve’s right, we could get coffee and that cake you like from the diner.”
 Jonathan and Steve teaming up was definitely something you didn’t think would happen this summer. Especially when it was against you. Crossing your arms, you look down at the three, feeling betrayed, annoyed, and thirsty..
 “You guys can all go get coffee and cake. I’m gonna go get another drink and find someone to hang out with!” 
 Quickly turning on your heel, you ignore the others trying to get to you and dash towards the house. Other students and some graduates are all around the Jacobi yard. There were some already far more gone than you, and others who were chilling out together. That left you to find a happy middle.
 Entering inside the kitchen, you push past a couple making out with each other in the door way to get to the fridge. Inside were freshly chilled cans of beer. Grabbing one for yourself, you crack open the top and bring the cold can to your lips.
 “Figured you’d learn your lesson from the last time, babydoll.”
 Instantly the beer turned bitter in your mouth. Turning around, you come face to face with Billy. His red blouse was barely buttoned towards the end of the shirt, leaving his bare chest exposed for the world to see. 
 “Booo!” you called out, trying to shoo him away. “Not tonight.”
 Billy laughed a bit, watching as you continued to drink from the can before he brushed past you to grab a can for himself. He stayed close, bringing his own drink to his mouth. “For someone who’s been freshly fucked tonight, you’re still so wound up.” he cooed, taking a long sip. You’re about to open your mouth when you notice where his line of sight was. 
 Instantly your hand jumped to your neck, feeling the spot where Steve had marked you earlier. You’d hurt his dumb beautiful mouth later.
 “..Whatever.” you huffed.
 The beer was not giving you any liquid courage, and you’re finding it harder to focus on a way to get rid of Billy. Even without the mark, you knew he’d be able to tell what you had done tonight from past experience, but it pissed you off that he managed to point it out before you could attempt to hide it.
 “You know,” he started, setting the can on the counter. “If Harrington didn’t do a good job..I’m always here to fix it.” His hand reached out for yours, gently tugging you closer to him. “I’ve got a lot of making up to you..”
 He brushed the tips of his fingers over your arm, trailing upwards towards the scar that remained on your arm from last year. Despite the effects of the beer inside you, that was enough to give you a moment of clarity.
 “Fuck you.” you hissed, staggering back. 
 Billy pursed his lips, settling for gripping onto your arm now to pull you back in. “I think you might wanna change your tune.” he gritted. 
 “I think you might wanna let her go.” said a voice from the doorway. You don’t have to turn to know who it was. But you did let out a breath you had been holding in. “She’s not interested, Hargrove.” 
 Billy chortled a bit, looking over at you before he let go. Holding his hands up as he took a step back. “Back for seconds, Stevie boy?” he smirked. “Didn’t fuck her right the first time, guess you get to have a re–” 
 You’re pouring your beer above Billy’s head before you can truly think it over. The sounds of the liquid hitting over the ground as it rolled off his head and onto the kitchen floor were oddly loud enough to compete with the music currently blasting.
 “I said. Fuck you.”
 Billy wiped his hand over his face, looking at you with red in his eyes. You glanced down to notice that his hands were balled up. And before anyone in the room could react, the sound of a door slamming open caused you three to stop.
 “THE COPS ARE COMING!”
 Simultaneously, everyone dropped whatever they were holding and made a dash towards any available exit. 
 Steve reached out for your hand, pulling you with him towards the backyard. Pushing past everyone so that he could get you back to your friends. The sudden panic and rush had you feeling suddenly sick and you wished you had worn better shoes than wedges you had slipped on. 
 “We gotta bail.” Jonathan said, holding tightly to Nancy’s hand. The girl looked more sober than you last saw her and you wondered if she threw up from the way her hair was pulled back from her face. “Do you think you can take her home?”
 “No!” you cried out, reaching out for Nancy. “We’re supposed to sleep in the basement!”
 Both boys looked at you curiously before Nancy chimed, nodding her head. “She’s spending the night!”
 “Great,” Steve scoffed. The sounds of yelling could be heard from inside the house and more kids pushed their way out the back door. “All right, here’s what we’re gonna do. I’ll take Trouble here to mine. My parents are out anyway.”
 “Shit, okay.” Jonathan said warily.  He glanced at you worried before he pointed over at Steve. “Take care of her, okay? Tell her to call my house in the morning.” His words sounded more like a warning and you can’t help but get emotional over your friend. “Nancy and I will be waiting.”
 “Creep! You’re so sweet!” you pouted, wrapping your arms around Jonathan. Nancy chuckled a bit, joining in on the hug. Missing out on the way her boyfriend blushed from the attention you guys were giving him.
 “Okay, honey. You love the guy, but we gotta go.” Steve urged, reaching gently to pry you off Jonathan. 
 There’s no more room for goodbyes as the familiar sound of Officer Callahan’s aggravating yelling came through the backdoor. Steve wasted no time, grabbing your hand and yelling at the couple to follow him as he ran in the direction towards the back gate. Officially ending your night of partying.
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 It’s a blur after you guys left the party. After parting ways with your two friends, you made it to Steve’s car just in time for the adrenaline to make you sleepy. It wasn’t long for you to black out after that.
 You’re not sure what time it is when you wake up, all you know is that you’re warm and there’s lights hitting your face now and then. Blinking slowly, you took in your surroundings, noting just where you were
 The low hum of the house’s air conditioning gave the room white noise, going perfectly with the bouncing reflection that came from the pool through the window. A dead giveaway of where you were actually.
 “Go to sleep.” mumbled a tired voice behind you. 
 You peeked over to see Steve facing towards you. His eyes were closed and from the deep gravel in his voice, you knew he had been asleep. You make an attempt to turn around and face him when you feel the weight of his arm over your waist. 
 “Get your arm off.” you huffed, trying to turn over. 
 Steve did so, waiting until you were able to turn your body to face him before he set his arm down again. Pulling you closer to his chest now. The soft smell of the laundry detergent was enough to make you bury your face into his chest. Feeling the cotton of his shirt rub against your cheek.
 “Why am I here?” you murmured into his shirt, not seeming to worry about what time it was.
 “You were drunk.” he answered, nuzzling his face into your hair a bit. “Couldn’t leave you and Nancy together.”
 “I’m still a little drunk.” you note, feeling the buzz still in your body. 
 “I know, you tried to make out with me three times before I convinced you to sleep.”
 You snap your head back a bit, glancing up at Steve’s face. Even in the dark and low light from the window, you could see him smirking a bit. 
 “I did not.”
 “Did too.”
 Frowning, you put your face back at his chest. The weight of his hand lifted up a bit as he soothingly rubbed at your back. He’s trying to coax you back to sleep, but you feel like your mind sobering up might stop that. How was he still so nice to you when you ignored him for half the night? Why would Steve always end up being so kind to your curtness? 
 “I can hear you thinking..”
 “I’m not, go back to sleep.”
 He sighed softly, shuffling under the blanket. The tip of his toe tickled at your shin. “Only if you sleep.”
 “I can’t, I’m wide awake now.”
 Steve pressed his lips to your forehead. The tips of his hair tickled your forehead in the process. “I think I know of a way I can tire you out.” he joked, making you pinch lightly at his pecs. “Ow!”
 “You’re not funny.”
 “I’m a little funny.”
 He shuffled the two of you, putting himself on his back before he pulled you to rest partially on top of his chest. The sound of his heartbeat was loud against your ears and you smiled at how calming it sounded. 
 “I’m sorry,” you said suddenly. “I was mean tonight.”
 “You weren’t mean.” he said quickly, hand wrapped around your shoulder to press you tighter.
 “I’m always mean and you act so nice to me. Even if I push you away.”
 He stayed quiet for a second before you felt him move his shoulders. Possibly shrugging. “You gave me mind blowing sex and went off to enjoy the party. I don’t see that as being mean.” 
 You want to point out that you ditched him afterwards, suddenly hurt by his words, but you couldn’t bring yourself to point that out. Not when there could be a question as to why. “So you’re not mad at me?” 
 “Nope.” He pressed his lips to your head, reaching down to pull the blanket over you two with his hand. “I was worried you were mad at me..”
 “I’m not.” you half lied. “I’m glad to have hung out with you..even if it was to fool around for a bit.”
 He didn’t say anything for a second and you were worried he had gone back to sleep before he cleared his throat a bit. “Let me take you out for breakfast tomorrow. Make up for skipping out on that lunch?”
 Nodding your head, you drape a leg over his, letting yourself get more comfortable against his body. “Okay, I’d like that.” It was the first honest answer you could give him today and you’re glad it’s enough to relieve the slight ache in your chest.
 “Now as much as I like hearing your voice, I’m exhausted.” he chuckled, sounding slightly relieved by your reply. “Unless you still wanna get tired out..” 
 Pinching him again, you chuckle a bit against him before closing your eyes feeling the feeling of sleep creeping up on you again. “Goodnight, Steve.”
 “Sweet dreams, Trouble.” 
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a/n: We’re back again! Looks a bit rough since it’s longer but I really wanted to show moments with Steve that we didn’t get on the show and thought it’d be fun to start off the angst early! 
236 notes · View notes
wildfloweronwheels · 20 days ago
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Well. This is not the post I hoped I’d be writing tonight at all. I’m sure I will have more eloquent and involved thoughts in the coming days, but for now, just know like so many of you, I’m devastated by the decision it seems America has made today. A decision that will have echoes in every country across the world. Green lights for the worst of humanity to bulldoze on ahead and leave decency behind. We can talk about what that dystopian reality will look like when we know more details but for now, I think we can all agree even the tamest version of this situation is pretty fucking awful.
I’ve shed more than a few tears today for women and girls. People of colour. Palestinians. Trans people. The LGBTQIA+ community as a whole. My disabled brothers and sisters. Immigrants. Basically everyone who isn’t a white straight ablebodied cisgender hetereosexual man or boy. But to be honest, I’ve shed tears for them too. Because somehow we’ve gotten here. To this place. Where toxicity and hate have been collectively chosen and agreed upon in the privacy of the voting booth, even when every indicator painted a different picture. Again.
My stomach’s been churning with rage and grief and confusion and a bone-deep sense of dread. Not just at this result but also because I have a movie coming out tomorrow and now it feels wrong to celebrate that. It feels tone deaf or otherwise dismissive to be excited when so many are afraid and in mourning.
I keep telling myself he doesn’t get to steal my joy over finally being able to share Audrey with you, especially when the storm is half a world away. But as an empathetic person whose work and life has so far been committed to fighting for a better world in its many forms, it’s a hard feeling to shake.
I guess I’m hoping that even though Audrey is an absurd and pitch black comedy, that it can be there for anyone who might need an escape or a laugh in the coming days. Isn’t that why we make art?
I’m not sure what the next moves are or what we do about where we’ve landed. But I do know that as always - humanity, joy, connectedness and community are our tools of rebellion. Going to see a movie isn’t changing the world but finding light however small is defiant. And right now, no matter where we are, we need all the defiance we can get.
Maybe that starts with going to see a movie, I don’t know. I guess what I’m trying to say is, I refuse to let him steal the well-deserved moment for all of the people who poured their blood, sweat and tears into this film. We’re all extremely proud of it and we hope it means something to you too. The time and place for more nuanced conversation and action will come. Right now, we all need a minute to feel our feelings and escape in whatever ways keep us safe. If Audrey helped you do that I’d be honoured. And then whenever we’re ready, we take a breath and keep trying. Can we have a group hug now please?
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spacedlexi · 9 months ago
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A little while ago you said that you have nuanced feelings on Clem x Louis, and I think that’s how I’d describe my opinion on the ship as well. I was just wondering, what makes you feel that way? Personally, I think they’re romance scenes are cute and sweet, but the whole situation with Marlon makes me unable to see them as anything other than friends. I think they both mean a lot to each other, but the idea that they’d want to date so soon after that whole ordeal’s a bit of a stretch to me.
putting this under a read more so if anyone even Thinks they might get upset about mild louis opinions they can move on and stay happy. seriously people take this stuff too seriously sometimes and i dont want to stir anyone up but also im allowed to have my own opinions OKAY. none of this means i dont like him or them OKAY??
okay
thats pretty much where my opinions are too
the stuff with marlon and the vote is Definitely the biggest thing that influences my opinion about their romance. i always forget just how Cruel he is in EP2 😭 like im on your side dude what aj did was wrong can we just talk about this 😭 but he votes to kick them out. like his reaction about marlon doesnt bother me, its his insistence on kicking them out that does 😔 my clem will always forgive him for it, i believe him when he says he regrets it, but its gonna take some time for trust to build again. for both of them
having only one scene between his apology and the lock in was just not gonna happen for my clem. she was mad at him for it. aj almost died because of it. she might be doing better now but she still has trust issues and her trust was broken just as much as his was. he was fine with never seeing her again, sending her and aj out to their deaths because he struggled to accept his confused feelings about marlon. that pissed my clem off shdfksd she is barely keeping this child alive let alone herself. her face when ajs kicking the wall bro she was like "its so fucking over" 😭 cmon bro look at her shes dead inside have some compassion. and he still hits her with the "i dont know [if i want you to stay]" even after aj gets shot like cmon man...... Cmon.........
and while shes waiting for louis to finally be ready to talk about what happened with marlon (which my clem apologizes for in the dorm, she does genuinely feel bad about it), her and violet are only growing closer, focusing on preparing the school together for the bigger problem. clem knowing vi has her back is a huge source of relief in everything thats going on, and that means a Lot for my clem, who appreciates the idea of having a partner she can rely on. my clem is already sure of her feelings for vi by the time louis apologizes. but she appreciates his apology, and is looking forward to being friends again, because she did genuinely appreciate his friendship at the beginning. but her heart was really truly Broken about everything with marlon and the vote and i think thats gonna take more time to heal. depending on player choice some clems might not even forgive him (some others might say he was right and that clem didnt stop it but... i do not agree with that.. like how could she have... aasim calls mitch a hypocrite for saying the same thing)
the other less important thing is just his general blasé attitude. my clem takes things seriously, but that doesnt mean she doesnt know how to have fun. she Wants to. she just Cant. she has a child to take care of first, and she cares about the survival of the group. its why my clem is looking for someone she knows she can rely on. she never wanted any of this, and she just wants a little support, someone to help take the weight off so she CAN relax. shes so tired 😭. playing with louis while aasim hunts by himself made me feel Dirty 💀 (i literally couldnt do it the first time i felt so bad AASIM WAIT UP). and while i can understand and appreciate his "there might not be a tomorrow so enjoy today" outlook, it cant come at the expense of the group. louis i feel eventually learns this, finding a balance between the two, and Becomes someone clem can rely on. but his change doesnt begin until like.. after the raiders take everyone (because we have to get through the marlon stuff first). and if you save vi, you dont get to see any of it 😔
the thing about these two problems is that, if you were to take them out of this setting and throw them in like, a modern au, suddenly these are not issues anymore. no more life or death. the stakes are a lot lower. so i can see them dating in that scenario and having fun together. they do have cute moments!! but also due to less stakes, theres less to motivate louis to change. and i think they would fundamentally just not click on their worldviews. clem while she can have fun, ultimately takes things seriously, and louis doesnt. that doesnt mean they dont care about each other, and clem definitely appreciates his energy, but its why i see them still ending up as friends instead of romantic partners (esp if vi is around IM SORRY 😭 they just Click too well for me 😔 this is why my messy au exists 💀)
i also understand this is mostly personal preference and some people might like them for these reasons 😭 but the dynamic that they have i prefer as friends personally. theyre supportive of each other and deeply care about each other, just not romantically imo. especially not after the stuff with marlon. and thats ok!!!! i see it a lot like louis' relationship with vi. not romantic. but they Love each other regardless. honestly the reason why i like clem vi and louis as a trio so much is that clem slots between them really well. louis who doesnt take anything seriously, and vi who takes things Too seriously. clem exists between them. knowing having fun is important but also understanding the weight of responsibility. she helps louis become more responsible, and she helps vi chill the fuck out. she brings balance :)
i will say tho louis' "nothing wrong with short and sweet, right?" line was cute he got me there
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rotiaftermath · 4 months ago
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can i request jo & brick? their rivalry is so fun
That post was mostly to gauge interest however. This does answer my question and you’re right it is fun so here we go
The day’s challenge was over, so Jo did the same thing she always did after a challenge: go for an afternoon run. It was one of her favorite parts of the day, actually, but today she sped away more agitated than usual. The challenge sucked, some stupid fashion bullshit followed by some rescue mission that, admittedly, was more her style.
Until stupid Mike (Chester? She didn’t keep track of his dumb characters. Except Svetlana. She actually kind of liked that one) gave her that god awful makeup job. Jokes on her for wanting to feel pretty, she guessed. She clenched her fists and ran faster, eager to get her mind off of it. But that wasn’t the only reason for her distress.
“Good afternoon, Jo!” Brick gave her a salute as she slowed down to meet him.
“At ease, corporal pants wetter,” Jo replied, smirking when he complied, “ready for me to beat you again?”
Brick grinned, “I think you’ll be surprised, ma’am. I’ve been closing the gap between us lately.”
Jo rolled her eyes, playfully, “I’d like to see you try.”
Brick raised a brow — or half his unibrow, rather, “Isn’t that why we’re having a race?”
“Ha! Fair enough!” Jo guffawed, getting into a starting position, “But get ready to eat my dust!”
Brick followed suit, smirking, “Not if you eat mine, first.” He glanced at her, “Ready?”
Jo took off without another word, Brick right behind her. They ran around the camp, through the trees and back again, making laps around the area without going too far into the mutant filled forest. Jo had gotten a good start on Brick, creating and widening the gap between them for the first lap, but with each subsequent lap Brick was managing to catch up, slowly but steadily closing it as they continued to race. They were neck and neck as they rounded the last curve, Jo gritting her teeth and Brick furrowing his brow in determination as they did one final kick to the finish. In the end the one who made it back first was…
Jo cackled as she stepped back into camp just a second before Brick did. “I win!” She said, between pants, “you’re still… a hundred years… too early… to beat me.”
Brick put his hands on his knees as he entered after her, “You sure… did… but I… got close.” He stood up as he finished catching his breath, holding his hand out, “It was a good race, Jo.”
Jo rolled her eyes, but shook his hand, anyway. It could be the last time, after all. “Yeah, yeah. Nice racing you one last time.”
Brick frowned, “What do you mean?”
Jo frowned, “Aren’t you scared of getting voted out?”
Brick chuckled, “Actually, I think I’m safe. Scott and Lightning were talking about voting for Sam, and I agreed.”
Jo blinked, “Oh. Huh.” Apparently she completely misread that situation. But she couldn’t deny feeling relieved that Brick would still be in the game. Not that she’d admit it out loud.
Brick nodded, “Sam performed admirably during the challenge, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough. It was also his advice that caused the Sasquatchanawka to kidnap Lindsay to begin with.” He rubbed his chin in thought, “Although I was the one who ultimately chose the clothing, so I can’t deny there’s still a possibility of me going out.”
Jo frowned, “Just stick to the plan. They’d have to be idiots to vote you out.”
Brick frowned, “I guess. Wait...” He looked at Jo, unable to stop himself from smiling, “Were you… worried about me?”
Jo scoffed, “No. I just didn’t want to lose a rival. Who else would I compete against? Lightning?”
Brick smiled at her, “Well, you don’t need to worry about that. I’m not going anywhere until I beat you.”
Jo smirked, “Then I guess you’re staying for a long time.”
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linagram · 6 months ago
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[ 𝙷𝚊𝚗𝚊𝚜𝚊𝚔𝚒 𝙰𝚒𝚖𝚒'𝚜 𝚃𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝟹 𝚅𝙳] 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙴𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝙰𝚕𝚕 𝙵𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙𝚜
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AIMI TIME!! honestly, i really can't say what kind of verdict would be better for her. i have no idea how her trial will go this time..
Warnings for Aimi's VD: mentions of toxic family dynamics and bullying, Aimi's murder method is discussed and implied to be very brutal, but the description is not detailed.
Warnings for Aimi's MV: themes of bullying and toxic relationships between Aimi and her accomplice and also her classmates. One of the characters gets their head cut off.
(sounds of footsteps)
Hinode: Sorry for dozing off like that, Miki-san.. I just got so tired all of a sudden..
Miki: It's kinda weird to hear that from someone who.. you know, said all of that to Miyagawa-san.
Hinode: Hm? What do you mean?
Miki: Well, I really didn't expect you to be so.. harsh, maybe?
Hinode: *laughs* Harsh? Please, Miki-san, I was just trying to learn more about his crime, that's all.
Miki: B-but it sounded like you had everything figured out already-
Hinode: Are you ready to interrogate the second prisoner? I promise, I'll try my best not to fall asleep this time.
Miki: .. Okay.
(the door opens)
Miki: Hello-
Miki: H-huh?!
(sounds of someone running up to her and pulling her in a hug)
Aimi: Hehe.. Hello, Miki-chan~
Aimi: It's so nice to finally see you.. I've missed you so much..
Aimi: Don't you know it's bad to just leave your best friend like that?
Miki: .. P-please let go of me.
Hinode: W-why do I feel like a third wheel in this situation?..
Aimi: Hmph..
(sounds of Aimi letting Miki go and sitting down)
Aimi: So, a third trial..
Aimi: Well, I have nothing to worry about, right, Miki-chan?
Miki: .. Y-you're really.. talkative today.
Hinode: Which is surprising, considering you don't talk to other prisoners that much anymore.
Aimi: Ah, about that..
Aimi: I just don't really understand why I should continue trying to become friends with them.
Aimi: Let's be honest here, all of them are sick in the head.
Miki: ?
Miki: But didn't you say that you like all of them and want to be friends with them-
Aimi: I really did like them.
Aimi: But.. Then I looked at them, saw how they act after being voted guilty or even after being voted innocent and..
Aimi: And I was like, "Damn, they really are murderers, aren't they?" *laughs*
Miki: .. You sound weird, Hanasaki-san. It doesn't sound like you at all-
Aimi: Aimi-chan.
Miki: Wh-
Aimi: Call me "Aimi-chan". Like a good friend would. 
Aimi: No, no, like a best friend would!
Hinode: I-I think we should start the interrogation-
Aimi: I'm sorry, was I speaking to you? 
Miki: .. Aimi-chan, what's going on?
Miki: You've changed. You're like a completely different person now.
Miki: Maybe that's just Milgram's influence-
Aimi: Um.. Here's the thing, Miki-chan. 
Aimi: I'll tell you a little secret, because you really are my best friend. You've forgiven me like two times already, surely you will forgive me this time too, right?
Aimi: Again, like a good friend.
Aimi: (to Hinode) .. Close your ears.
Hinode: Huh?
Aimi: You're not in my friend list. So close your ears.
Hinode: Um.. O-okay?
Aimi: So, Miki-chan.. I don't know how I should tell you this, especially because I don't know what you've seen in my videos and what you haven't..
Aimi: But.. Honestly, I always was like this.
Aimi: I don't know if there's something wrong with my behavior. I don't know if it's weird or if I'm being rude.
Aimi: You probably just see me as a cute and shy girl who went through something terrible and who deserves pity.
Aimi: You see me as a victim. A perfect and fragile victim.
Aimi: And.. You're kinda right, actually. 
Aimi: I.. I did not deserve to be treated like that. It took me quite a lot of time to realize that, but.. I really did not deserve to be bullied.
Aimi: So who am I? I'm a victim, right? And being a victim means it wasn't my fault, right?
Miki: Actually, about that..
Miki: Something about your story doesn't add up, Aimi-chan.
Aimi: Oh? W-what exactly?
Miki: .. So you admit that you were bullied, right?
Aimi: *nods* Yes. My classmates never were my friends, even though I wanted to believe that they were.
Miki: But.. why were you bullied?
Miki: Obviously, sometimes it just happens without any reason. Sometimes people can just.. be really cruel. 
Miki: But I just don't understand why someone would want to-
Aimi: Does that matter to you, Miki-chan?
Aimi: Hey.. If it turned out that my classmates had a reason to bully me..
Aimi: Would you stop being friends with me?
Aimi: Would you leave me? Would you betray me? Would you stab me in the back and leave me to die and choke on my own blood? 
Aimi: You wouldn't do that, right? 'Cause you're a good friend, Miki-chan.
Miki: .. You're asking me if I would vote you guilty, right?
Aimi: *stands up* I DON'T CARE ABOUT VERDICTS, TRIALS AND ALL THAT SHIT!
Aimi: I JUST WANT A FRIEND! I JUST WANT SOMEONE TO TALK TO, TO HANG OUT WITH, TO HAVE FUN WITH!
Aimi: .. So tell me, Miki-chan, would you stop being friends with me if it turned out that my classmates had a reason to bully me?
Miki: ...
Hinode: I'm so sorry, but I really want to ask you one question-
Aimi: Again, I don't remember being friends with-
Hinode: But Aimi-san, why do you think that you are friends with Miki-san?
Aimi: .. Huh?
Hinode: Miki-san, do you see Aimi-san as a friend?
Miki: ...
Miki: .. A-Aimi-chan is a really kind and sweet person.
Hinode: .. But do you see her as a friend?
Miki: ...
Aimi: .. Miki-chan?
Miki: .. Hinode-san, why exactly are you asking me this?
Hinode: Well, you see, of course we can form relationships with the prisoners.
Hinode: We become attached to them, we become friends with them, maybe even develop feelings for them.
Hinode: But.. I honestly don't think that you two really are friends.
Hinode: Aimi-san, again, why do you think Miki-san is your friend?
Aimi: .. S-she has forgiven me like two times already.
Aimi: I-I'm innocent in her eyes. So that means she loves me, right?
Aimi: That means you will never betray me, right, Miki-san?
Aimi: We're friends! Best friends even!
Aimi: So please.. Say that we're friends. Call me your friend.
Miki: ...
Aimi: Miki-chan, please-
Miki: S-so about your crime.
(sounds of Aimi trying hard not to cry)
Aimi: .. Whatever. Ask me whatever you want. I don't care anymore.
Miki: ".. I don't know what I want to ask her anymore."
Miki: "Maybe I should start with what she said last time?"
Miki: You said that your accomplice is dead, right?
Aimi: .. Yep. Sure is.
Miki: .. You killed him, didn't you?
Aimi: Did you see that in my video?
Miki: .. Yes.
Aimi: .. Yeah, I killed him. 
Aimi: But I guess you could say I killed my classmates too.
Aimi: I mean.. He came up with it, but I played along.
Aimi: I never tried to stop him. I was scared, I was really scared, but I couldn't say no to him.
Aimi: He always made me so uncomfortable, but I just couldn't stop him.
Aimi: He wanted to protect me. In his own insane way, yes, but he really did want to protect me.
Miki: .. And that was almost like having a friend, right?
Miki: A friend that wants to protect you so bad that he's ready to kill someone for you.
Aimi: .. *starts crying*
Aimi: I.. I killed him because I got scared..
Aimi: I saw their corpses and- 
Aimi: H-he tried to hug me right after that. I hugged him back, but-
Aimi: I-it was all just too much.
Miki: .. It was your brother, right?
Aimi: *nods* Y-yeah. I'm tired of saying that he's just very overprotective because..
Aimi: He.. He was worse than that.
Aimi: He was.. very controlling. He knew literally everything about me and my schedule. He knew everything about the people I talk to. If I said hi to a random stray cat on the way home, he somehow still managed to know about that.
Hinode: .. He sounds like a nightmare.
Aimi: That's because he was one.
Aimi: I could go into detail, but like.. You get it. I have no idea what was wrong with him, but he really was like that.
Miki: .. How did your classmates die?
Aimi: .. S-so I've told you that my family owns a theme park, right? I-I invited my classmates there.
Aimi: Y-you know, like I went "Hey, my family is so cool and rich, wanna go to this park we own?" And of course, they agreed. 
Aimi: Heh, they even forgot about how much they hate me..
Aimi: A-and, um.. Some of the rides actually weren't working properly a few days before that.
Aimi: Our parents knew about it, but they kept the park opened because.. You know, money, all that stuff.
Aimi: A-and my brother also made sure to bribe the people who were working there so that they won't try to fix them.
Miki: .. Are you telling me that your classmates went on those rides?
Aimi: *nods* I've told them that those rides were the most fun ones.
Miki: ...
Miki: .. T-they couldn't just all die from that, right?
Hinode: Miki-san, remember the second video? 
Hinode: There.. was a lot of blood.
Aimi: When I say "they weren't working properly", I mean "somebody could literally fall from those rides and end up breaking all their bones or just turn into a bloody mess".
Miki: ...
Miki: S-so all those kids-
(bell rings, machinery sounds)
Aimi: All of them died. Probably. At least most of them did.
Miki: T-that's.. A-and you killed your brother right after that too?
Aimi: Yes. And I just left right after that.
Hinode: Miki-san, you look pale. Do you need some water?
Miki: .. Aimi-chan. Just tell me one thing.
Miki: Do you regret your murder? Or murders, whatever.
Aimi: .. I think I just found my classmates' corpses scary. And the fact that I helped my brother kill them as well.
Aimi: As for my brother's murder..
Aimi: I'm just glad he's dead.
Miki: .. I see.
Aimi: Miki-chan-
Aimi: Ah.. No, that's not right.
Aimi: Guard 002-san, I will be forgiven again this time, right?
Miki: It all depends on your video-
Aimi: I was about to say that if you vote me guilty, I will just kill all of the other prisoners and then myself, but like, you've already betrayed me, so it doesn't matter anymore.
Aimi: I'm doing it anyway.
Miki: .. What?
Miki: What do you mean by that, Aimi-chan?
Aimi: Please don't call me Aimi-chan ever again and extract the video.
Hinode: Miki-san, we really don't have that much time left.
Hinode: I'm sure the third prisoner is already waiting for us.
Miki: But how do you even plan to kill the prisoners?!
Aimi: EXTRACT THE FUCKING VIDEO!
Miki: .. Prisoner 002, Aimi, please sing your sins. 
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[ Aimi's Trial 3 MV: Blooming Connection ]
The video starts with showing us a dark garden full of nothing but dead plants. Aimi is standing in the middle of it alone and her eyes are completely empty. Suddenly, someone walks up to her and gives her a flower seed. She looks at it more closely and her eyes start to look much brighter and her expression is more hopeful.
"Ah, nothing is working out, making friends shouldn't be this hard
My high school life was supposed to be all fun and smiles
Maybe they're shy? Maybe they're not interested? Oh well
I'll leave them no choice but to become friends with me!"
The scene changes and now it's a classroom. Aimi walks in and watches her classmates talk to each other, laugh and have fun. She starts handing every single classmate a flower and most of them appreciate the gesture and find the flowers beautiful. Aimi smiles at them and walks to another classmate and gives her a flower as well. However, this time the classmate politely rejects it.
"Buying their friendship isn't a big deal
That's how you do it in the adults' world
I guess you could say it's my love language
So come on, say that you love me, everybody!"
Aimi.. doesn't take it well and stands there, refusing to believe that someone could've said no to her. Her expression starts to become more and more scary and suddenly, she jumps at her and makes the girl fall on the floor. 
"Come on, accept my gift, tell me you're grateful, tell me how thoughtful I am
Did I do great? Am I a good friend? I know I am, I know I am
"This flower reminds me of you" I'm the sweetest person you've ever met, right?
"Sorry, but I gotta go" Hey, what do you think you're doing?"
Aimi keeps pulling her hair, beating her and yelling at her and other classmates are struggling to make her let the girl go. When they finally manage to do so, they look terrified and don't want to look Aimi in the eyes. Aimi's hair is messed up, she's breathing heavily and she doesn't seem to regret what she did.
We're in the garden again and it looks like the flowers are starting to grow. Aimi doesn't seem that happy about it though and we can see someone putting their hand on her shoulder in attempt to comfort her. She can only sigh and continue looking at the flower, almost like she's expecting something from it.
"I can still become friends with them, right? I can still eat lunch with them, right?
They will smile at me, right? Say that I'm a good friend, right?
'Cause I'm a good friend, 'cause I'm a good friend
'Cause I'm a good friend, 'cause I'm INNOCENT"
The school setting again. Aimi is arguing with another classmate. Aimi is crying and pointing her finger at her, but the other girl is trying to prove to others that she's innocent and she didn't do anything. The others believe her and walk away with her, leaving Aimi alone. Then we can see a classmate yelling at Aimi and the pink-haired girl looking scared, but other classmates don't try to support or protect her at all and they nod and agree with everything that classmate is saying. We can see another flower lying on the floor next to Aimi. 
"So ungrateful, so damn ungrateful
So many gifts and all for nothing
I guess there really is no connection between us
I hate them so much, but I still need friends to survive"
Back in the garden, more and more flowers appear and Aimi still looks worried about something. Someone is standing next to her, but we can only see their silhouette and it actually feels like Aimi is trying her best to forget that person, since all the angles that we can see them from don't let us see any details of their design. Aimi turns to that person and nods, meaning that she's ready to finally do something.
"Maybe revenge is fine, maybe revenge is the right option
I want them to feel the pain they made me go through
I guess I'll try to buy their friendship one last time"
The door opens and Aimi walks into the classroom again. Her hair is a mess and she has dark circles under her eyes and she has a lot of bandaids on her body, just like in the first season. She walks to her classmates and shows them a beautiful bouquet of flowers from her garden. The classmates actually like it a lot and take the bouquet from her. She has nothing else to do but to watch them have fun, but if you look closer, you can see that their hands are bleeding while they're holding the bouquet. 
Aimi does look worried at first, but then she shakes her head and closes her eyes. When she opens them, she's in her garden again and her garden is even more colorful than before. Aimi also looks completely different: she has a crown on her head, she's wearing a beautiful princess-like dress, she has flowers in her hair and she has a sword in her hand as well. When she looks down, she sees a young man with dark pink hair and eyes that look similar to hers, but also have darker colors, getting down on one knee before her. It's like she's about to make him her knight. 
"Thank you for protecting me, thank you for staying by my side
Our connection is strong, the flowers of our friendship are blooming
Let's stay together forever, 'cause you're such a good friend"
Surprisingly, she smiles, but when the man opens his eyes, he suddenly goes pale and looks shocked. We can still see Aimi smiling, but now there is blood on her sword. 
"And such a terrible brother"
The man's head falls on the floor and she turns to her flowers and she notices some weird movement there. It's like someone is.. trying to come up from under the ground? 
A hand. And another hand. And another one. There's someone's head too- Oh, it's actually the classmate from the beginning of the video, the one who refused to take her flower.
"Finally, my true friends are here
They've grown from the seeds of my despair and sorrow
Finally, I can say that I love them
And they will never reject me"
More and more classmates are starting to appear and they look a lot like zombies. A lot of them are covered in injuries and those injuries look terrifying and you can tell that whatever killed them wasn't kind to them at all. Also, it looks like Aimi used their dead bodies as fertilizer. They're starting to surround Aimi, but she doesn't look worried at all. She actually looks happy. 
"I'm the sweetest person you've ever met, right?
I'm the best friend you've ever had, right?
Come on, give me a hug and say that you forgive me"
For the first time in this video, she turns to her classmates and gives them a sincere smile, but then, everything suddenly goes dark. We can only hear a sound of something being torn apart and falling on the ground. The video ends.
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changingplumbob · 3 months ago
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Knightstone Household: Chapter 9, Part 5
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As the snow fell the aliens arrived! They had all chosen their human form today in an attempt to get in the spirit of the season. After making sure her kids were inside Yolanda gave Suzanna a big hug.
Suzanna: Happy Winterfest
Yolanda: Happy Winterfest! Or is it Merry Winterfest
Marianna: I’m pretty sure I’ve heard humans say both
Yolanda: Then why don’t they say Merry Birthday
Suzanna: Pass
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Tyree: Looking full of glee there Silas
Silas: I thought you were going to dress up to
Tyree: I wanted to but dad voted no. Attempted Winterfest cardigan it is
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Ruth: You both look stupid
Silas: Oh come on Ruth, we’re kids, Winterfest is meant for us!
Ruth: My Mother says Father Winter is a horrible old man who keeps toys from toddlers
Tyree: But... we’re not toddlers, are we?
Silas: Did you get coal in your stocking Ruth
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Pollock: Sydney! Sydney big like Pol
Sydney: Pol! Hi
The other toddler squeezed Pollock tightly to say hello making him laugh.
Pollock: You get gift
Sydney: Yes. Mama got me sun glass
Pollock: Sun glass?
Sydney :*points to sunglasses* They pro ect my eyes
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Suzanna: You’re kidding! Why
Marianna: He was cute for a human and I felt like treating myself
Yolanda: I’ve just never understood the attraction to humans myself. Like they’re so... colour limited
Marianna: Colour limited, what does that even mean
Yolanda: They’re all white or brown or black. But aliens... We’re blue and purple and green and pink. So much more attractive
Suzanna: Wait are you saying you and Katherine have never had woohoo in human form
Yolanda: Oh watcher no, strictly alien form in the bedroom
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Ethelyn: Oh I don’t feel good
Suzanna: Were you outside?
Ethelyn: I think I have a stomach bug, I needed the cool air for a moment
Yolanda: *turning to Suzanna* Mod?
Suzanna: Mod
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Nihel: So it’s a traditional Winterfest thing
Adam: It is. Ham with all the sides
Nihel: I could have sworn it was turkey
Skinner: No they have turkey at Harvestfest
Adam: Sometimes they’ll even put one type of bird inside another to cook
Nihel: Ew! Humans can be so disgusting
Adam: No argument from me, but I will say-
Nihel and Skinner: *in unison* UFO Sixam aliens are worse
Adam: Well they are
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Suzanna: Come here Moondust, it’ll be a little while until the grand meal is ready so I think you should have some cereal to tide you overnight
After lifting Pollock into the high chair Suzanna makes up some cereal for him.
Suzanna: Try not to spill too much, we want our guests to be comfy
Pollock: Okay Mummy
*ten minutes later*
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Suzanna: What? Two food piles? How?
Pollock: *giggles*
Suzanna: Just stay there while Mummy cleans it up
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Adam: LUNCH EVERYONE
Ruth: Finally, I’m starving
Yolanda: Ruth! Manners
Suzanna: Dear watcher, thank you for the feast before us. Thank you for the crisp snow and the friends we share. Jingle bells
Everyone: JINGLE BELLS
They all tuck in to the meal, Adam and his helpers did an excellent job with the food.
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When the meal is over Adam and Suzanna say goodbye to their friends and Silas gets a headstart on the dishes so he can get stuck into his game again. With most aliens gone Suzanna ushers Pollock through the nursery so he can have a bath and dry off with plenty of time before bed. He’s a little confused as to why he’s not in the bath seat now but seems happy with the new freedom of motion. Especially how it lets him splash!
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Pollock: Mummy help Pol potty?
Suzanna: Of course I can. But remember if you’re talking about Pollock you say ME
Pollock: Mummy help... me potty?
Suzanna: You got it
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Pollock tries his best but again a puddle forms outside the potty and he stands sadly.
Pollock: Mummy me made mess
Suzanna: Well don’t stand in it or you’ll feel worse. Come here
She snuggles him close and helps dry his tears.
Suzanna: You know what I think? I think it’s time for more gifts!
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