#give me the hard drive of all the footage

[pippin-katz]

Don’t mind me, just mourning over the deleted scenes we still have not gotten for Red, White & Royal Blue; I’m totally fine 🫥

[echantedtoon]

A Lovers' Circle (Poly Haishira x Reader) Ch12 The Heart's Not Just A Muscle P2

(Hearts conquered so far: Mitsuri, Kanae, Sanemi, Gyomei,Giyuu, and now Shinobu is getting her time to shine.

Warnings for Shinobu/Y/n getting soda thrown at them.)

Taglist: @shadyd3ar @jcrml

@tengensangel @miniverse-zen @mysteri0uz @jjamsbangtan

@the-unknown-fandom

@lavenderdropp @mimisweetz. @purplesoulsapphire

@kksmush @denkpanda18 @whomisi @lessthanimperfect @silver-rin

Remember if you want to be added to the taglist lemme know

The next morning was better. He felt less tired and more energized than last night and was able to get some house chores done. At the moment he was enjoying the peace and quiet of the calm morning. Sipping on some coffee she gave him and just all around enjoying not having to do anything else right now.

That was until the doorbell rang.

DING DONG!!

The sound of it had both look up from the kitchen table and towards the door that was clearly visible from the kitchen.After a second he sighed and slowly made himself stand up. He eventually got up to get it as she was busy compiling the footage of their work so far and labeling the dates with the right videos. She was more tech savvy than him so she'd be better at doing it anyways. So she went back to transferring most of the video files to a series of hard drives with dates and time stamps edited into the video. She'd hand over the hard drives to the professor when they turned in their project at the end of November. For now she'd get what files they already had organized along with their notes.

Giyuu's footsteps echoed in the apartment before he opened the door. From where the kitchen was and where she was sat, she could clearly see who stood in the doorway if she looked up from the screen 

"Hi, Giyuu!" The familiar voice made her pause before looking up from the screen and raising a brow at the woman bundled up smiling in the doorway. "Chilly today isn't it?"

Y/n? What was she doing here this early?..And why was she holding a giant paper bag?

He stared at her with his back to his girlfriend. "Yes." Eventually he answered slowly. "I thought we weren't going to meet until later."

"We weren't but I have something for you." She blinked as a giant paper bag was heaved up and into his arms. The paper crinkling with the shift of ownership.

"..What is this?"

"Some new food you can try. You mentioned getting a bit tired with your usual food so I made you some new dishes to try out for a few days." Her hand gestured to the large bag "You got some saba no shioyaki, tonkatsu, a container of onigiri in there somewhere, katsudon, oyakodon, a salad, and some homemade taiyaki. Oh. I also made you some salmon Daikin and there's one container of ginger tsukudani for Shinobu. They might not be very good because it's my first time making them."

"Why?"

"Your sister mentioned that it's your favorite food, and Kanae told me when I asked about-"

"No. Just..." His face slowly slipped down to the bag again. Just staring at it. "Why?"

"Oh... It's because sometimes we all just need someone to reach out and help." Purple eyes slowly widened from behind the screen. "I've noticed that you've been stressed lately and it's fine that you don't want to talk to me about it, but if you'd ever like to I'd be happy to listen to you."

And then there was a tense silence between the two of them before the wind blew making her shiver again.

"You go ahead and take today off. I'll just do the project myself today and email Shinobu the video when I'm done walking around. Relax and get better soon. Ok? If you need to call me just ask Mei or Shinobu for my number. They both have it. And don't worry about my tupperware. You can give it back to me when you're all finished. No rush."

He continued to stare but flinched as a warm hand patted one of his still holding onto the bag before she turned and began walking away from the door until she couldn't see Y/n anymore. Giyuu stood there for a while before slowly turning around back to Shinobu's still wide eyes, allowing her to see his red face. Slowly the door was closed using a leg with a click and his footfalls sounded out as he walked himself back into the kitchen.  Paper crinkled as the bag was slowly placed the bag on the table between the two.

And then they stared in silence some more. Before they exchanged looks with each other. And then slowly Giyuu reached out slowly and opened up the large bag, pulling the edge back enough to peek inside. Dark Blue eyes blinked before a hand reached inside and a second later a medium sized Tupperware container was pulled out.

Giyuu weighed it in his hands with a hum despite the pink to his face. "Still warm."

"Open it."

He did so and immediately the smell of pork and cabbage filled the air. "Tonkatsu." He looked at her.

"Well don't just sit there. You haven't had anything to eat all morning." She nodded to him. "Eat it."

Giyuu took his time turning to go dig out chopsticks from a kitchen drawer before sitting himself back down at the kitchen table in front of the warm meal. Dark Blue eyes just staring at it for a long moment before he reached inside and pulled out a small piece of the breaded pork cutlets. It smelled so good even to her just sitting there. He slowly placed it into his mouth.

Blue eyes WIDENED. Going as wide as plates as he slowly chewed on the food. Before his chewing increased as he immediately dipped back down into the container. A moment later he so sweetly held up a piece to her wanting to try it obviously. She did accepting his offer and immediately the sweet taste of pork and spices filled her mouth with the punch of a firecracker. 

Shinobu hummed. "That is actually very good."

 She watched as he just continued to eat his fill. A twinge of pleasant color rising to his cheeks. Contentment as he sighed through his nose and let a satisfied him leave him as she silently watched. How long has it been since she's seen him so happy about food? Usually neither one of them has time to really cook so it was usually leftovers, take out, or instant meals like frozen TV dinners or instant ramen. He offered something again to her but she held up a hand to stop him.

"Oh no. Those she made for you. Eat something and feel better."

"But she did make you something." He again shoved a arm into the bag and pulled out a small Tupperware container before pushing it out towards her.

She did huh? Taking it and opening it let the scents of ginger and soy sauce fill the air. Ginger tsukutani. That was her favorite food. Hm. It smelt good and it was still warm too. The pleasantly kind of warm, not too hot but not cold at all. ..It must've taken her all night to make them all of this, and she insisted on not worrying them about their project. Her hum echoed in the kitchen as Giyuu continued to eat in content. His happy stomach welcoming the rare addition of homemade goods. 

"Interesting. This might require a little more consideration."

She decided to look into it a bit more starting the following few hours. As promised, Y/n had sent her an email and with it was attached a video file of her doing a series of jumping jacks, jogging in place, and then ending in her doing yoga the rest of the hour. Gyomei's voice was heard in the background asking what-

"Honey, what take out do you want to order tonight? I can make something instead so you don't have to worry about cooking tonight."

His caring nature had her smiling. Gyomei was always so considerate of everyone around him, and since starting a relationship with Y/n he's only gotten much more happier. She was genuinely happy for him. Y/n was genuinely a very happy kind woman and Gyomei couldn't ask for a better girlfriend.  However what she wasn't expecting was for some of her own partners and even her own sister to also fall for her. 

She supposed Mitsuri was predicable and Kanae was understandable if surprising. But Sanemi? Giyuu?

Perhaps it was the curiosity that prompted her to email her back-

'Shinobu:

                  Hey. Thanks for the file! Sorry we couldn't join you today. Giyuu won't be able to join us for most of this week, so are you alright with working with me on it this week?'

It took her only a few minutes to respond back.

'Y/n:

           Hi, Shinobu! Yeah that's fine. Did you guys like the food? I have to be quick because Mei n I are watching a movie Mitsuri leant us. Yeah that works. Do you want to meet tomorrow after classes and work?'

'Shinobu:

                  I can't. I'm working late. But I'm free Tuesday afternoon. You free then?'

'Y/n: 

              Sure! I can meet you after work by the park. See u then!'

Well that certainly sounded like a good time. Alright then. Tuesday. That was when she was going to be getting a few answers to her curiosity.

******************

"Shinobu! Hi!"

She happily waved over the purple eyes woman with a big smile and a thick turtleneck sweater draped over her top. It was a bit nippy today just going into November, however she was surprised when she saw a bouncing pink haired woman next to her not so subtly giving Y/n a loving expression. 

"Hello," she greeted them both and with a curious tilt looked at Mitsuri. "I'm surprised to see you here. I don't think you're doing the project with us."

She shook her head braids swaying. "Nope! Obi's going meditating with Mei and my dance classes were cancelled after the teacher sprained her ankle." She gushed looking at them both. "So I had nothing to do but Y/n invited me to come along with you guys!!"

"I hope that's ok." Y/n tilted her head. "I'd really like to get to know Mei's family better, and I genuinely like hanging out with you guys. I figured Mitsuri could film while you take notes again so we're not trying to juggle everything ourselves."

Ah right. Sunday and Monday Y/n had to both do the project herself because Giyuu and herself were busy, and she had to finish compiling everything into thumb drives IN order with labels and dates along with her notes. Honestly she was surprised when she got a second email Monday night with another email but you were doing the project with them so it made sense.

"No problem at all. I think the extra hand will be very useful!"

"Oh that reminds me. I made you both copies of class notes from today and yesterday!" She gestured to the backpack slung over her shoulders. "Figured you'd be needing them too."

"I appreciate that. So what exactly are we doing today?"

"I figured we'd just walk around the park again. It's easy enough and we could go for some food afterwards. My treat!" She happily smiled at Mitsuri who lit up. "MacDougal's sounds like a good place to get burgers. Five burgers for ten dollars is a good deal and I can get you ten for only twenty dollars!"

"Oh you don't have to do that for me!"

"I want to! You're always letting me use your employee discount at the cafe so it's only fair! You're a kind person!" Mitsuri squealed out in delight clutching her cheeks. "And you deserve it!" She squealed out more excitedly bouncing on her heels. A sight that even made Shinobu smile wider. "Of course I'd get something for you too Shinobu."

She held up a hand to her. "Oh no. I couldn't ask you to buy me anything."

"Not even one of their famous cappuccinos?"

"...Ok. A coffee then." 

That only pulled out a few giggles from the both of them before they actually got to work. Shinobu taking notes as Mitsuri bounced beside her as she wrote happily filming as Y/n walked. The crisp cold air chilling them the closer to December. 

"Hey, Shinobu. How's Kanao doing?" The sudden name drop of her baby sister was something that had gotten said woman to snap up in question. 

After a moment she looked back down. "She's doing fine."

"I hope she likes her dress! I bet she'll look beautiful in it!"

Ah yes. Her dress. The one for almost three months Kanao had been eyeing every time she passed it on her way to home and school. It was rather pretty but expensive so that's why it took their parents so long to save up for it. Only problem was that the old crab in charge of running the store had refused to sell it to them once she found out that a teenager was planning on using it for a dance. Even denied Kanae when she offered to buy it instead. She thinks that she hated children but whatever the circumstances were..

Had Y/n not gone in to get her the dress, Kanao would have come back rather more disappointed. Instead she got to experience putting on the dress at home and smiling as their mother INSISTED on taking pictures for her scrapbook. Imagine her surprise when Kanae relayed the tale to her much later...Which begged the question-

"If you'd like, I'll reimburse you for the dress. It's not a problem."

"Oh no. It's perfectly alright." She smiled wider. "It wasn't fair she couldn't get it in the first place. I'm just glad she's happy now."

"You didn't have to help her."

"I know. I didn't do it because I had to, but because I wanted to. I'm just sorry Kanae had to deal with Jake after all that."

"How noble of you!," Mitsuri gushed nearly fumbling with the phone.

Shinobu only hummed again as she continued her work. Although she didn't miss the way f/c orbs seemed to linger on her a little bit longer than normal. She brushed it off as her waiting to continue the conversation with her.

"Did you like the food I made you?"

"Yes. The ginger tzukutani was delicious," she said bring honest because..well it WAS delicious. "Thank you. How did you ever find out?"

"Sanemi was talking to me about my ohagi recipe and Kanae mentioned some of your favorite foods. I hope you don't mind."

Ah. Kanae. Of course she'd mention it. 

"Not at all. Like I said it's delicious."

"What about the other things?"

"Giyuu let me have a piece of his tonkatsu. I think you might've used a bit too much breading but otherwise it was good."

"His? I made those for both of you because you were hungry."

Shinobu paused immediately. Feet stopping in motion and purple eyes snapping up. Mitsuri and Y/n had also stopped in their tracks to look at her. Silence resumed other than the distant ambience of others in the park around them. For a long moment no one spoke before Shinobu blinked.

"... Hungry?"

"I don't mean you're starving," Y/n explained calmly, "But Giyuu mentioned that  he can get worn out from the repeated pattern in foods he eats, but I've been noticing that the same happens to you. All you ever seen to consume is caffeine and I've noticed that you seem to skip meals... That's not exactly very good for you."

Purple eyes widened at her. Stunned by the observation but stunned still as she pointed at her. 

"Even now I can tell you're hungry. You haven't eaten anything yet today or barely anything at all. I know the look from my job. You gotta be alert and on look out for things with kids all the time. So after this, I'm getting you something to eat. And make sure you eat some of what I gave you guys later. You shouldn't be skipping meals."

'You shouldn't be skipping meals.'

Now where had she heard that before? Oh right. From nearly every one of her partners and sister. Mostly from Hinatsuru, Kanae, and Rengoku however. No one could've really known that she was doing that unless they were a close family or friend or very observant. The latter stunning her by surprise for a moment.

"...If that's what you want."

"Good! Because as long as we're doing the project together, I'm not going to let you two eat anything bland! I already got some recipes for o-taro sashimi and homemade mochi I want you both to try too!" Y/n smiled before reaching out to pat Shinobu's shoulder. 

"Hhhhhaaahh!! Do you know how to make okonomiyaki?!"

Y/n giggled at Mitsuri's nearly drooling expression. "I made it for Mei yesterday for lunch. If you'd like, I can make you some tonight and you can pick it up tomorrow at the daycare."

"KYAA!! YOU'RE SO KIND Y/N-CHAN!!  I COULD HUG YOU RIGHT NOW-!!"

"Let's finish up the project for today first. We're a few minutes behind now so we'll have to walk a little bit longer to make up for lost time."

Things thankfully got back on track and even if they were a little behind. She'd have to edit the footage later before adding it to the database.  Although purple eyes kept stealing glances at f/c eyes as she politely listened to Mitsuri babble on about her dance classes and favorite positions of ballet. But soon the hour was done, project for the day was finished, and appetites were heavy. It was near the end of the day now and it was only a little bit until the sun went down. So it would be a good time to get dinner. 

The local MacDougal's burger place was only a twelve minute walk away from the park and the smell of grilled burgers was enough to entice all three of them towards the fast food joint. The little bell above the door rang and as the three of them walked into the establishment. No one was in there except for a middle aged woman frowning and sitting by herself eating what looked like chicken tenders, and the cashier who was boredly spraying the front counter before wiping it down with a cloth. 

Although he looked up when he heard chiming from the bell. Dark blue eyes widened at the three familiar figures walking inside.

"HI, GIYUU!!," Mitsuri greeted loudly waving a full arm as the two women filed in behind her. "OH MY GOSH YOU'RE STILL HERE?!"

Said black haired man wore an orange and yellow uniform shirt with the letters MD stitched into a breast pocket and a visor was on his head. He watched as his partner, his girlfriend, and Y/n walked in. Three beautiful women smiling and waving at him making his cheeks go a light pink before making eye contact with Shinobu and slowly smiling a little. 

"Hi, Giyuu." Y/n greeted him next stopping in front of the register. "You look like about ready to close. Is this a bad time?"

He cleared his throat to not come off as flustered before speaking. "Not really. My shift ends in another hour and a half. I'm cleaning up before the night shift comes by. It's been a slow day so I'm almost done. I already swept and mopped everywhere."

"Are you alone?"

"No. The cook is cleaning up one of the grills. Did you three want to order?"

"Yes please! You still taking orders right?" He nodded before putting down said objects and standing in front of the register looking at her expectantly. "Can I get a two large strawberry milkshakes with two of those five burgers for ten dollars deals? With two double bacon burgers cola, and a cappuccino?"

"Would you like fries with all of those burgers?"

"Yes!"

"Your total is fifty two ninety seven," he stated after pressing a few buttons on the register as Y/n was already holding up her card. "I'll get the cook to work on it right away."

"Thanks, Giyuu! Did you like the food I left you?'

Again a deeper pink flushed over him as he nodded. "Yes. I had the taiyaki for my lunch today...T-Thank you."

"No problem. Let me know when you're done and I'll make you and Shinobu more!"

Giyuu again stared at her pink as Mitsuri giggled and Shinobu rose a brow but soon the food was paid for and being a fast food joint, the food was fastly brought out to them. Mitsuri wasted no time laying way through the two milkshakes and ten pairs of burgers and fries brought out just for her! Honestly Shinobu thought she'd jump across the table just to kiss Y/n for getting her such a big meal. Herself? Well Y/n had given her a look until she began eating the admittedly delicious food making her smile and only then did she start eating herself. About halfway through her burger she slid Mitsuri her own fries as she had already finished with her large order. Happily accepting them before also wolfing them down. 

"I'll go throw away the trash."

And so it was offered by Y/n as they all got up to leave. Well they were leaving, Shinobu was going to wait for Giyuu's shift to end before walking back to their shared apartment. But that was when IT struck. 

"Excuse me. There was something wrong with my food!" 

A rude sounding lady's voice cut through the air as they turned. Y/n being the closest to the voice dumping the wrappers into a trashcan sat between their table and the register. Standing at the register was a the woman from before. Standing before the counter arms crossed holding a cup of whatever she had been drinking, feet tapping, and scowl on her face. Glaring at Giyuu who blinked.

"...Oh. What's wrong?"

"I ordered a ten piece chicken tender meal!," she practically screeched into Giyuu's ever somber face. "There was only nine pieces! And they weren't cooked all the way!"

"Oh. Well if you return the meal I can see what's wrong and maybe we can get you a new one?," he offered.

"Just give me a refund on it!", she demanded.

"I can't do that unless I have proof of the food being incomplete and you show me a receipt."

"THAT'S OUTRAGEOUS!!" She wailed throwing her arms to her side fists balled up. "I WAS FORCED TO EAT A MEDIOCRE MEAL NOT EVEN FINISHED AND YOU WON'T EVEN FUCKING GIVE ME MY MONEY BACK?!"

"Wait.." His brow rose. "So the meal was bad..but you still ate it? And you have no receipt but you still want a refund?...I can't do that."

"WHAT?!"

"I don't make the rules, I just work here."

"I WANT THE MANAGER!!"

A tired sigh escaped Giyuu's mouth. "He's not here today. If you want, I can give you corporates phone number and you can file a complaint with them."

A Vien popped in her forehead as she growled. "HOW DARE YOU?! I SPEND HUNDREDS OF MY OWN MONEY HERE YOU'RE LUCKY TO BE GETTING MY BUSINESS!!"

Giyuu tired deadpanned face didn't change as she fired insults and curses at him. However he did notice when a smaller hand tapped her on the shoulder. The Karen snapped around so fast they were all expecting her neck to make a cracking sound as she whirled around to Shinobu who still smiled at her.

"I think it's really too unladylike to be having a child like tantrum.~"

"Who the hell are you?! Mind your own dam business!"

"I'm sorry but I'm afraid I can't do that. You see you are now they say acting like a bitch right now."

"HOW DARE YOU?! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!"

"Yes, yes. How dare you? Who's your manager? Do you know who I am? I'm calling the police. The usual Karen threats and questions." The woman trembled more with rage. "My you're entitled and extremely rude. I may not know who you are but I can make an educated guess.~" She smiled pointing at her. "You're an old bitch who thinks the world revolves around her so much that your gravitational pull sucks up everyone's time and energy.~" Her friendly tone and face still did waver other than closing her eyes. "You know this can be classified as harassment which as you know is against the law." F/c orbs widened as the arm holding the Karen's cup was pulled back. "So why don't you leave before someone actually calls the police on yo-"

S P L A S H!!

Dark liquid and ice went flying through the air. Sticky and syrupy no doubt some kind of too sweet soda from the fast food place. It all went flying through the air and splattered against the warmth of both wool fabric and soft skin with a splash sound. Mitsuri gasped loudly covering her mouth. Giyuu went wide eyed in surprise. The cook popped their head from the back hearing the noises. And Shinobu blinked at what happened.

Y/n spat out the too sweetened taste of cold root beer with a disgusted face. "PFFT!! UGH!!" With a sleeve she reached up in an attempt to get the sticky liquid off her face. "Man that's cold!"

Giyuu turned to the other worker. "Call the police! My girlfriends were assaulted!"

That's when the woman attempted to run, but was quickly snatched up by Mitsuri wrapping her arms around her middle squeezing hard enough to pin her arms to her sides before with a shrill shriek leaned back to lift the woman helplessly kicking her feet out in the air.

"YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE YOU BRUTE!!," she shouted back with a frown. "YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR HURTING Y/N-CHAN!!"

"GUYS!! I'm not hurt! It's just some soda."

"That she assaulted you with!," Giyuu shouted over the incoherent screaming of the woman. Already reaching for the phone. "If it had been hot coffee you could've gotten incredibly hurt! I'm not going to sit back and let another selfish person get away with hurting you."

"YEAH! ME NEITHER! CITIZENS ARREST!!"

"It's really not that big of a deal. I've gotten stuff spilt on me me before. Tell them, Shinobu.....Shinobu?"

Y/n turned to the silently stunned woman in question however Shinobu just stared at her processing what exactly had been done.

Y/n...had gotten between her and the crazy Karen.

Her nice turtleneck was now all set down the front with cold root beer that had been meant for her. A sleeve was still wiping at her face which was also splashed by the unexpected attack from the crazy woman. That...That was going to be her. That was supposed to be her. But she had stepped out between the two to take the brunt of the attack. What if that HAD been hot coffee?! She would've been severely burnt or worse!! What if had been something else just as worrisome?! Or what if it had been a punch?! Y/n continued to stare at the stunned face of Shinobu wiping at her face and neck.

"Shinobu? Hey, Shinobu!" She waved a hand in front of her face making her jolt. "Are you ok?! You're not hurt are you?" She shook her head no and Y/n sighed. "That's a relief. Thank goodness no one was seriously hurt."

"I called the police. They're on their way. Press charges when they get here."

Her head turned to Giyuu. "You seriously called them?"

It was all really a blur of voices and screams. Long story short the police did come back and made Mitsuri drop the Karen who immediately demanded that they arrest every single person in the place and threatened to sue them then sue the MacDougal's company and then she the police for not immediately 'doing their job' and had yadda yadda. Typical Karen shrieking. They explained their side and luckily there was security cameras for them to look at. Another long story short, she was taken away cussing and shrieking in handcuffs and Giyuu had to go get a mop to clean up the soda spilt all over the floor.

"Are you ok, Y/n?," Mitsuri asked concerned as Shinobu wiped her face down with some wet napkins.

"For the hundredth time yes. It's just soda. I'll just change and take a shower when I get home. Nothing some water and soap can't fix."

They still fussed over her face. "You shouldn't have done that. I could've handled it myself. And what if it had been something like hot coffee?"

"I couldn't just stand by and not do anything. You're like a friend to me." Shinobu blinked with a hum as she smiled. "And as I said I do want to get to know you guys better. So don't worry about it. Everyone's alright and that's all that matters. I'm just happy YOU'RE ok, Shinobu."

Shinobu once again blinked before turning to Mitsuri who again giggled much to Y/N's confusion. "What did I tell you guys?~"

"Tell them..what?"

"Oh nevermind. Let's get you home so you can properly clean up."

[overtake]

I got another nice ask about the hockey au and immediately decided I have no choice but to post another snippet. The context here is just Max and Daniel hanging out in one of their hotel rooms on the road.

“Drive to Survive is dramatic and a disservice to the sport,” Max frowns. He looks like a disgruntled kitten.

“I think it’s fun and we need hockey reality TV.”

Max shivers. “No thank you.”

“I think I’d be good TV,” Daniel muses. “Like, imagine me on Survivor. I’d be great.”

“You are scared of everything and allergic to everything,” Max deadpans. “You would not last a day.”

Daniel boos him. “You’re just jealous because you’d be terrible on reality TV.”

Max wrinkles his nose. “I’d rather become a goalie than have to do something like that.”

“Didn’t Amazon do some documentary thing on the team a few years ago?”

Max rolls his eyes. “It was very stupid. The team wouldn’t let my manager veto all the footage of me and all they recorded was us losing again instead of a big playoff journey. Very exciting stuff.”

“So you watched it,” Daniel grins, poking at Max’s ribcage. He can see a hint of a smile breaking through, but Max controls the expression.

“The team watched the first episode together. They did a whole segment about Antonio getting a haircut. It was terrible TV.”

“We’re watching it together now,” Daniel decides, reaching over Max to grab the remote. Max lets out a protest, grabbing Daniel’s wrists and stopping them in their tracks, then belly flops over the remote.

“Absolutely not,” he says.

“You think you can stop me?” Daniel asks, waggling his eyebrows. “I watch UFC. You’re going down.”

“My left pinky is sturdier than you,” Max taunts. “Try me, mate.”

Daniel plunges his hands under Max’s stomach with no warning, brushing past warm skin until he feels the hard plastic of the remote. Max shoves his body against the force of Daniel’s arms, easily shifting him away without much effort at all.

They scrap and scramble, but Max overpowers him easily, pressing Daniel facedown into the mattress with his thick thighs on either side of Daniel’s back and Daniel’s wrists pinned firmly into the bed.

“We’ll watch something action,” Max decides, as if Daniel can even remember what they were fighting about when the weight of Max’s body is heavy against his back. He can feel Max’s fingers permanently imprinting their shape on his bones, his body memorizing how it feels to be overpowered and held down by Max Verstappen so it can relive the memories even after Max rolls off him and turns on the first shitty movie he can find.

“Are you alive over there?” he asks when Daniel still hasn’t moved, a little afraid to adjust and find that his shorts have tightened around his crotch.

“All good,” Daniel manages, doing a weird tuck and roll to scramble under the covers as quickly as possible and discreetly ensure he’s not half-hard.

“Good idea,” Max says. Before Daniel can panic that he means the dick check, Max crawls under the doona with him, arms pressed tight against each other. Daniel is wearing a jumper to combat the intense hotel AC, but he can feel Max’s warmth through the material.

Max gives him a small smile, dropping his head to Daniel’s shoulder for half a second, then turns his attention to the CGI explosion on the screen.

Daniel isn’t sure he manages to take his eyes off Max for the rest of the night.

[scoonsalicious]

Unwanted: Chapter 15, Undermined - Pt. 3

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Fem!Reader

Summary: When your FWB relationship with your best friend Bucky Barnes turns into something more, you couldn’t be happier. That is, however, until a new Avenger sets her sights on your super soldier and he inadvertently breaks your heart. You take on a mission you might not be prepared for to put some distance between the two of you and open yourself up to past traumas. Too bad the only one who can help you heal is the one person you can no longer trust.

Warnings: (For this part only; see Story Masterlist for general Warnings) Language, Jade Carthage (she's a warning), delusions.

Word Count: 661

Previously On...: You confronted Sam to question him about Bucky's claim that he happens to get hard when he fights. Fortunately, it seems like he was telling you the truth... about that, at least.

A/N: Ah, tis my final day of Spring Break. Back to regular life tomorrow, and no further breaks until the end of the school year :( Well, we have Memorial Day and now Juneteenth, so that's something, but it's still gonna be a loooong 11 weeks :/ But I gladly welcome the better weather. Did anyone watch the eclipse? I'm in the path of totality, but I slept through it, I think lol. It was cloudy here, anyway, so I didn't even notice.

Banner By: The absolutely amazing @mrsbuckybarnes1917!

Thank you to all those who have been reading; if you like what you've read, likes, comments, and reblogs give me life, and I truly appreciate them, and you!

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True to his word (almost as though he were actually trying to make it a habit), Bucky kept his distance from Carthage. Several times, FRIDAY had alerted you that Bucky and Jade had crossed paths somewhere within the Tower, and you would review the footage with bated breath, always expecting to see the worst, as if they would strip off their clothes and start fucking in the common room. But you were relieved to see that he continued ignoring her, acting as though she truly did not exist, and it seemed to be driving her mad with vexation. 

She was so perturbed by it that she eventually came to you looking for a way to get to him.

“I need to talk to Jamie,” she said, interrupting you mid-conversation with one of the scientists in your lab. 

“Okay,” you said, dismissing the scientist. No reason multiple people should have to suffer through this. “Then talk to him. It’s a free country.”

“He isn’t speaking to me,” she pouted. “He’s acting like I don’t exist!”

“That sounds like a ‘you’ problem,” you told her, trying to keep the smile from your face. “I’m not sure what you want me to do about it. Or that I’d actually want to do anything about it, even if I could, if I’m being completely honest.”

“I just don’t know what I did wrong!” she whined. You sneered at that. How could she be so completely lacking in self-awareness? Especially to come to you, of all people, after the things she’d texted to Bucky, after trying to destroy your relationship.

“Would you like the list alphabetically, or in chronological order?” you asked. 

She rolled her eyes at you. “You know, you should have just stayed away from him. Everything would have gone according to plan if he wasn’t so fucking obsessed with you.”

“According to plan?” you asked her, eyebrows shooting to the top of your forehead. “What the fuck do you mean by that?”

Jade seemed to stumble for words. “I– he– you knew I liked him when I first interviewed. And just to get back at me because I was maybe a little bit rude to you, you went and stole him for yourself!”

You sighed and pinched the bridge of your nose. You wondered if you should ask Tony for a raise, because while you were paid extraordinarily well, you sure as shit weren’t paid enough to deal with this. “Listen, Carthage,” you began, “because I’m just going to tell you this once: My relationship with Bucky started long before either one of us ever even knew of your existence.” Technically not a lie, just a small fudge on the truth. Friendship was a type of relationship, after all. “And it’s going to keep going long after both of us have forgotten your name.”

“You don’t understand what you’re putting me through!” she cried, tears forming at the waterline of her eyes. 

You stared at her for a moment, unblinking. “What I’ve put you through?!” you asked her, clenching your fists to keep from punching her in that annoyingly pretty face– you knew that would lead to a fist fight you had no chance of winning. “You have been nothing but a thorn in my side since the moment you first walked into this Tower. Before you showed up, I was the happiest I’d ever been, but you had to come along and try to sink your claws into the man I love. You ruined my relationship; fuck, you ruined my life.”

You didn’t know what effect you expected your words to have on Jade, but you weren’t prepared for her insidious smile as you finished speaking. “Maybe you should be asking yourself, if Jamie loved you as much as you love him, why your relationship was so easy to ruin.”

With a flip of her hair over her shoulder, she was gone, leaving you alone, speechless and freshly betrayed all over again.

<- Previous Part / Next Part ->

[bisnes-socks]

alright welcome to my ted talk about the drums on šbj

like when the song first starts and the guitars come in playing the main riff, an experienced listener would expect the drums to make space for the guitars. for the guitars to be the lead in that section and drums to kinda blend in to let the guitar riff shine. so you'd expect a relatively simple beat with a lil closed hi-hat action on the offbeats to make it groove. 

but seriously like i'm no expert, i'm not a drummer, so maybe someone who actually knows drumming very well or understands music theory etc could word this all better, my music education is all from early childhood and/or absorbed from being the child of a musician lmao. but really i'm just a lifetime enthusiastic listener of all music and spent all of covid years watching music analysis videos lmao, okay so like yeah i'm just rambling BUT the choices jure has made on this song are just so unexpected and cool.

but NO!! he plays over the guitars (but the guitars still lead! they still shine!) and the hi-hat is open (could be a different cymbal..? but sounds like an open hi-hat to me, i'll have to find live footage to check how he plays it) so it crashes quite loud and on the beat and then a quick lil pattern on the hi-hat more closed and then bam, open one more time, like it's just super unexpected in a section like that? 

and like. in rock music, hi-hats on the beat are usually on the 1 and the 3. well, if i counted right, he plays it on the 1 and the 3 on the first bar, but the second bar the quick lil pattern syncopates the bar and the second louder open hi-hat is on the 4, a beat later than you'd expect! and then it comes back for the next bar on the 1 and the 3, but then on the last bar of the cycle, it's on the 1, 3 AND 4. which works VERY well with the whine on the guitar. just brilliant composition.

and the hi-hat being open and ringing out the way it does makes the section quite heavy, like it's... stomping. (i think i saw someone else say the song makes them want to kick things and that's probably one of the reasons why. bc it stomps. severely.) while also being very groovy. and that's super cool and odd and amazing. oh and the minor key of the song also emphasises the sort of.. downward feeling of the stomp? but at the same time the whole thing is just.. dancable. that's amazing, that's skill.

and then in the chorus (?) bit (a ja samo čekam...) he's like switching between a more on the beat focused basic type rhythm, but with a very hard rock or even metal inspired naaasty snare drum sound, and then a more groovy beat, the exact one you'd expect in the beginning, where the hi-hat is grooving on the offbeat. like stoooop showing off (never stop).

and then towards the end, when the whole different instrumental section kicks in, i swear that part as a whole gives me like queens of the stone age, them crooked vultures etc. vibes, but the drums in particular, like it's giving dave grohl type energy, like he's going ooooffff. just very purposeful, massive drive, but suuuper tight.

like i've always liked his drumming bc you can tell he can very confidently just sort of ride any beat, easy, decorate it as he pleases, or he can go off with a lot of purpose and drive. and like. he just does all of the above in this one song. amazing.

and like don't get me wrong i could give a ted talk on every instrument on this song (nace i fucking see you i hear you) but jure is my star of the song <3

[bullet-prooflove]

The Missing Piece: Part Four - Just Me (Luke Alvez x Reader)

Tagging: @celilice1 @kabloswrld @xoxabs88xox @crazy4chickennuggets @anime-weeb-4-life @rosaliedepp @storiesofsvu @desert-fern @99-reasons-to-live @legit9thlunaticwarrior @niya12 @yehhdh @cupids-lover @teti-menchon0604 @telepathay @julieelliewrites @proceduralpassion @laylasbunbunny @est1887 @genius2050 @mortal--soul @spookyboogyuniverse @winterrosies-blog @kylieramey @oureternalbond @samanthaofanarchy @@bexstime1 @hey-dw @avillagesperson @irishavengersassemble @@daydreamgoddess @st4rgirliesstuff @xoxabs88xox

The Missing Piece Series:

Part One: The Missing Piece

Part Two: Cabin in the Woods

Part Three: - Whatever You Need

Your hands were finally clean, it felt like it had taken an age to scrub the blood from them. You looked into the mirror in Luke’s bathroom and saw the ragged wound at your temple, you winced as you prodded it with your fingers. It was a vivid reminder of the past few days, as were the red welts indented into your wrists. You cast a glance over your shoulder at the bathroom door. You had made sure it was ajar before you’d taken the shower. You wanted to hear Luke moving around his apartment, you needed to know he was close.

The urge to be near him was overwhelming, the truth was you were too terrified to be alone right now. Your privacy, your life had been violated. You couldn’t go back to your apartment, not knowing that the past two years of your life had been recorded for someone else’s pleasure.

You were struggling with that knowledge, your most personal moments part of a voyeur’s fantasy. All of your intimate moments captured on someone’s hard drive, not just yours, Luke’s as well.

Your life had fallen apart when you had been abducted by Noah Billingham and no matter how many times you had tried to slot the pieces of yourself back together you weren’t able to make them fit the same way they had before.

You glanced up at your own gaunt, sallow features. You looked nothing like the woman you had been before. You barely recognised yourself. You exhaled deeply, staring into the depths of your reflection. You had to get through this. It was stealing your ability to live, draining away every inch of your sanity.

You stole another glance at the door before swallowing hard. You thought Luke had guessed that you were trying to get yourself together, that he was trying to give you the space he felt you needed. His empathy had been what had attracted you to him in the first place. That and his smile. Despite everything he had endured, he still had his humour and his wit.

Take a deep breath and face him. You told yourself. It’s not your fault.

It was doubts like that that trapped you, it made it impossible to put one foot in front of the other and take that leap. It wasn’t just your life that had been penetrated, Luke’s had too.

You found yourself stepping tentatively into the bedroom. Luke was already in bed, the navy-blue sheets pulled up to his waist covering his lower body. He was wearing a forest green T-shirt  that hugged his muscular chest, his gaze meeting yours.

You looked so timid standing there in front of him. He wasn’t used to seeing this version of you. You were always so confident and strong, it was a quiet strength, one that he always admired.

"I can take the couch.” He offered, already drawing back the bedsheets with the intention of climbing out.

"No." You said abruptly causing Luke’s head to tilt up towards you.

He studied you for a moment before he lowered himself back onto the mattress. You took a small step forward, your hands rubbing together as you approached the bed. Luke drew back the sheets on your side before he altered the pillows to the way you liked them.

You climbed in beside him before meticulously tucking the sheets around your exhausted body. He had left the lamp on his nightstand on so that if you fell asleep you wouldn't wake up in complete darkness. Somehow, he knew that would frighten you. He’d seen the footage of Noah standing at the foot of your bed watching you sleep. He knew Noah had told you about it himself, acted like it was some great romantic thing. He knew that you were going to have nightmares. They were unavoidable.

"I love you." Luke whispered into the chasm.

"I'm having trouble accepting that." You admitted as you stared up at the ceiling. "I want everything to go back to normal again, but I don't understand how it can."

Luke turned onto his side so that he could see the profile of your features, your skin glowing in the soft lamp light. The familiar scent of your shampoo flooded his nostrils as he inhaled deeply, breathing you in. You followed his lead, twisting to face him.  You wanted to look into his eyes and see everything, you wanted him to reassure you that you still meant the world to him.

"Let me show you, beautiful girl." Luke murmured as his warm fingers wrapped around your hand before he clasped your palm to the centre of his chest.

His heart was beating that steady, rhythmic thrum underneath your fingertips. His love shrouded you in adoration, filling in the cracks as it smoothed over you like warm soapy water. He was perfect, you had always thought so.

Luke's nose trailed along yours. He allowed himself this moment of bliss as he felt you begin to concede, his hand cupping the side of your face, his thumb trailing over the blush of your cheek as your lips lingered inches apart. He longed to close that space between you, he could feel the vibrant chemistry in the air around you as your breathing hitched just a little.

"Don't be afraid." his voice husky as he spoke against your parted lips. "It's just me."

Those words seemed to make all the difference and instead of pulling away, you kissed him.

It was like falling in love all over again and Luke found himself delving deeper into the hot confines of your mouth as he gathered you up into the comfort of his body. You had never belonged to one person before, you had never felt as cherished or as wanted as this. You nestled deeper into his chest, finding shelter in his arms. Luke was the only person who could steal away your fears, who could give you back the very piece of yourself that you had lost in the time you had spent with Noah.

The two of you broke apart reluctantly, Luke’s fingers were threading through your hair as he guided your head into the crook of his neck. He could sense your weariness as his lips brushed your hairline. He was fiercely proud of you for holding on the way you had, for staying alive and rescuing yourself and he hoped you felt that as he cuddled you close.

That night you fell asleep knowing that Luke would chase away any of the monsters that tried to hide away in the dark.

Love Luke? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Want more Luke? Check out his Masterlist here!

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[crabbunch]

ETHUBS SLAY THE PRINCESS AU CHAPTER TWO ROUTES:

The Witch: This timeline's this au's version of Hermitcraft season 5 (the one with the NHO and the jungle). There's lots of plants. Etho is distrustful of Bdubs. There's frog and scorpion metaphors. But also if Bdubs is careful he can give Etho his knife and let her stab him. Which is basically the same thing as the jungle eating Etho, slowly driving Bdubs insane, and then also eating Bdubs. Or was that the convex. Whatever it doesn't matter. You get the vibes.

The Damsel: This one's based off of secret life. In stp, the damsel's whole deal is that your perceptions of her warp and twist her into something that is no longer a person. I kind of had a hard time thinking of something that fit but I eventually settled on secret life just because those tasks sure did weird things lmao am i right???? anyways this Etho seemingly says all the things she never said directly to Bdubs face and means none of them. Because she is only wish fulfillment. It's not satisfying to see the horse course leap up from the ground, no contribution from Bdubs necessary, anyways. He doesn't like this Etho.

The Stranger: This timeline's based off of Etho's single-player world. More specifically, it's based on episode 404. Bdubs isn't supposed to be here. There's lots of Ethos. It's a sort of warped version of the true multitudes that Etho and Bdubs hold. They don't ever know each other. Bdubs isn't supposed to be on Etho's single-player world. His voice is familiar, but he's not supposed to be here.

The Adversary: This timeline is based off of various UHCs. Etho is good at fighting, and violent, and very very hot. Most importantly, she's not really mad at Bdubs. She's just kind of bored and lonely, and when he shows up, she's READY to fight to the death with him. For like, fun. If Bdbus plays his cards right, he and Etho can fight to the death as many times as they want, respawning just to pummel each other into a bloody pulp again and again and again. Peak romance <3. His other options involve running away, not getting in the right mindset and killing Etho "permanently" or dying permanently." Grian is incredibly unimpressed by the fact that Bdubs has a crush on the VERY MURDEROUS AND BLOODTHIRSTY PRINCESS. as if he doesn't have worse taste.

The Spectre: This one's based off of double life. Etho's kind of petty and passive aggressive but doesn't really outright make any moves against Bdubs. Bdubs acts like nothing's going on between them and like everything's the same as ever. They team up in the end, but it doesn't have time to go anywhere because they die right after that. And by die I mean Etho is swallowed up into the greater consciousnesses of Etho goddess edition and Bdubs into his own god.

The Beast: this timeline is based off of Survival of the Fittest. Mostly because it's super duper dark down in the basement, and I think that it's a funny dig at Bdubs' terrible footage where you can see absolutely nothing. However if you think about it getting eaten by a creature so that both of she can escape the cabin only to get taken away by your greater self before you can really taste the fresh air is sort of like killing a guy's teammates and then handcuffing him to you so that you have to team. and then loosing.

The Prisoner: This one's last life. Etho chops off her own head and trusts Bdubs to take it outside the cabin? Trusts Bdubs to believe in her? That's only one route. They can beat each other to death. They can get locked in the basement together and watch the eons pass. Idk how to explain it but this is just so last life to me. There's a fragile trust between them. It's all fun and games. They're both deadly serious. Grian is there. Head in hands.

The Nightmare: This one's based off of Mindcrack- specifically the Death Games and a few other pranks that Etho plays on Bdubs. I think that psychological damage via seeing every single timeline ever is sort of the same thing as the obsidian coffin. Also I think that needing a guy in the back of your head to recite "heart, lung, liver, nerves" in order to stop your organs from shutting down is very early videos Bdubs.

The Razor: This one is Hermitcraft season 8. Bdubs dies over and over and over again. Nothing he does stops it. Etho is silly and goofy and doesn't really realize the weight of the situation. "I'm going to kill you now ^_^" most etho core thing ever.

[xplrvibes]

Have you seen the crazy person on Twitter claiming that Colby's using Sam and that Sam is carrying the channel and Colby's not doing his job because he's not posting on instagram.

The guy is fucking editing, leave the man alone, go touch grass.

Need you and Golbrocklovely to state how hard Colby works again so bitches can understand the man works soooooooooooo fucking hard to the point he actually needs to take a break!

I've heard a bit about that. I also saw quite a few problematic shenanigans happening on tiktok and instagram recently, so I know this isn't a problem singular to one crazy person on twitter.

Before I say anything else, let me say that shit like this really drives home the point @golbrocklovely and I have been saying for years: people afford Sam a general sense of respect that they simply do not afford Colby. Colby is their little punching bag, rage room, therapist, fantasy boyfriend and Sim character...but he certainly isn't a human being who they feel deserves privacy, common respect, happiness, etc.

So, thanks for proving us right. We love that lol.

Back to the main point: let me take this opportunity to point out the obvious, here. When Colby was posting on instagram, people were pissed cause he was posting his girlfriend instead of working or sitting around like an unplugged toy waiting for Sam to have use for him or whatever it was people wanted (cause I guess only Sam can have a life and hobbies outside of the snc collective). Now he's stopped posting, and they are *checks notes* pissed because he's NOT posting, so therefore he NOW he ISN'T working?

Pick a lane, I am begging.

As far as the editing goes, they literally just spoke about this in the Quackity stream last week. Colby takes all of the raw footage - HOURS upon HOURS of raw footage- and cuts it down and arranges it into a story, after which it is handed over to Sam and the other editors to gussy up and make presentable.

In Colby's own words (starring at 1:15:40 in the Quackity stream vod on YouTube, for those who would like to experience it for themselves): "We have our own roles...so I cut everything, so I like assemble it and make the story, and then [Sam] does everything else," and my favorite part:

"We have an editor right now that helps out with Sam's job; but I can't give up the assembly, the cutting part."

So, please understand what that means. This man spends HOURS per day meticulously cutting up raw footage and turning it into a 1 hour story. And he does it BY HIMSELF.

You are lucky you see and hear from him at all, quite honestly.

And I mean that. This shit with Colby has been going on for YEARS. He said it himself once: he gets judged for everything he does. Every move he makes (or even doesn't make) is dissected to high heaven and used against him. He gets death threats for growing a mustache. He gets canceled for wishing women a Happy Women's Day. He spends 8+ hours a day editing, only to be accused of not working...while Sam can go off and post about riding in private jets and getting haircuts and training for a marathon and golfing and STILL SOMEHOW, Sam is carrying the channel and Colby is apparently spending his days doing nothing but fucking his, what was she being called again? Plastic Chucky doll of a girlfriend, was it?

I'm telling you this right now - Colby has one foot in the grave when it comes to interacting fans and it's because of this bullshit. Who would want to deal with this? Especially when all around you, your friends are being celebrated for being in openly cheesy relationships and having free time to explore hobbies?

He isn't a perfect human, nobody is. But holy shit is the shit that gets shoveled at him not warranted.

Also, because I have seen this going around tiktok and I have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to this: anyone who thinks wishing a cancer survivor would get cancer again or makes degrading and offensive comments about said cancer survivor's body or health all because he's got a girlfriend and you can't handle that - put all of your money into therapy. Seriously. You need the most professional help money can buy, and then some.

Anyway, I think that about covers the situation.

(And since I know, I KNOW, the only problem people will see with this is that I singled out poor Sam, the patron saint of dealing with lazy partners: I'm not saying Sam can't have hobbies. I'm saying it's ridiculous to compare the content both are posting on social media and come up with the idea that only Sam works. I'm also saying it's ridiculous to act like Colby can't have hobbies or days off while praising Sam for...having hobbies and days off).

[simpingforsimjake]

The Guilty Defence - Chapter One

"A 42 year old man has been arrested for a suspicion of a hit-and-run murder case this morning at 8:30am near Hangang Bridge. It is alleged that he is innocent and is currently taken into custody and interrogation by the Korean National Police. All other details will be disclosed but we urge anyone who think they might have witnessed, or have any suspicious details linked to the crime to urgently contact-"

Y/n sighs after turning off the TV, throwing the remote back onto the table and frustratingly running her fingers through her hair before seeing the door open and sees her colleague, Jake, enter the room.

"Hey Y/N , did you see the news on the hit-and-run case?" he asks, walking over to her table and places a bottled coffee down followed by a stack of documents before getting a nod from her. “The interrogation is starting in 15 minutes; you need to read these documents and question the suspect…” Jake replies while going over to his desk before hearing her sigh.

“Do I have to do it? I already have so many cases…” she mumbles before sitting up and starts to read while sipping on her coffee. “And what do you have to do?”

“Yes you have to, Jay’s order. And I have to upload and register all the evidence we have gathered from the crime scene based on what we have. I’ll be watching you from the recording room though.”

“Okay…”

________________

“Mr Kim, could you explain to me what happened during the hit-and-run between the hours of 8:10am and 8:30am?” Y/N asked the man while turning the laptop to watch the CCTV footage.

He watches silently while cowering in his seat anxiously.

“I-it wasn’t me… I was dropping my son off at college before going to work and-”

“Really? But the car registration number clearly matches with your name on the system.” She replied with a suspicious look. “Also, medical records have shown that you have once been convicted for drunk driving two years ago?”

“That was unintentional! I didn’t know I was drunk driving!” He shouts in frustration while slamming his fists onto the table.

Y/N just stares at him expressionless before placing some pictures of him holding a stack of money from someone who looked of high status.

“Then…could you explain this?”

Mr Kim stared at the picture before slumping down on his seat and groans in annoyance.

“What’s that to do with the hit-and-run? It’s not my fault I needed money! He said he would help me with the money if I did it!” He yelled again, not realising what he said.

“He? Who is this ‘he’ you’re talking about Mr Kim? Is he one of your acquaintances?”

Upon hearing this, he widened his eyes before staying silent and stares at the ground wanting to punch himself for the slip up of words.

Sighing, Y/N started gathering all the documents before standing up.

“End of questioning. I’ll see you in court for your first trial Mr Kim…” she said before walking out of the room.

________________

Jake sighs heavily while running his fingers through his hair before saving the recording onto the USB and quickly rushes out of the room.

“Hey, Y/N! That was intense…wanna grab some dinner after work? It will be on me for how hard you did with that interrogation.” he says while walking beside her back to their shared office.

“That’s really kind of you Jake, but I’m really busy and-” she replies before getting interrupted.

"Come on~ you're always busy and never hang out with me or any other colleague during lunch. Please~” he said while playfully nudging her with that attractive smile of his.

"Give me a good reason as to why I should." she says with a playful grin.

"Hmm... It’s your birthday in a few hours. So why not go out for an early birthday treat?" he says back before entering the room and slouches on the sofa.

"Fine... that would be nice." Y/N says while putting the files into a folder and sighs.

"I hope there won't be another murder case for the next few days." Jake says before turning on his phone and started to answer calls and messages.

"I hope so too."

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

Hey guys, Cassie here.

This is chapter one of my story, everything is fictional and to my imagination.

This book is also on my wattpad with the same username on here.

Comments will be very much appreciated.

Thank you for reading.

[seat-safety-switch]

You could say we like to have fun in my neighbourhood. As a community, we encourage our young people to develop new skills and work on their interpersonal relationships in a place of relative safety. When they grow up, they'll need to fight for themselves, but it's our solemn duty as old people to make sure that they have inside them what they need to succeed.

Or at least that's what I thought until those little shits started ding-dong-ditching my place. To be fair, they might have been doing this for months or years coming up to the event. I had only recently gotten electrical service hooked up to my house, due to the power company guy leaving his (unsmelly, low-mileage, soulless) van unlocked and a work order sitting on his dashboard. Not even an hour after it was done, I started hearing a strange sound from the walls. A sort of ding followed by a kind of, if you will, dong. Now what could that be?

When I checked the front door, there was nobody there. Nobody, that is, except for a pair of kids hunched behind a Chrysler 8-3/4" complete axle lying in my driveway, giggling but trying not to be heard by me. I rolled my eyes, and went back inside. Then it came again. My mother didn't raise a fool. If there's one talent I had in the world, it was stubbornness. I knew this game. I would simply stay inside my house until they slunk away, defeated.

Unfortunately, this sort of passive-aggressive technique does not work on little kids, who have nowhere better to be, and definitely do not have project cars. I settled in for what I thought would be a few minutes of ignoring children. It turns out that should be more like hours of these little cads ringing the doorbell, snickering, and then hiding, only to repeat again a few minutes later, when I refused to give them the satisfaction of my presence. Eventually, I could take it no longer.

I stepped outside, wearing my best aw-shucks smile. I grinned at the sun, and gave the kids what they were looking for: a grade-A, bona-fide, angry-old-person tantrum. I swore (but not too harshly.) I threw things (but nothing hard.) And I jumped up and down while yelling in my smoking jacket. The kids bolted for cover, and I watched them run all the way down the block and jump into their respective homes, protected by their parents.

Here's the thing that these kids don't know. Their modern, renovated homes are equipped with fancy-dan, wireless doorbells, capable of automatically uploading hours of footage of potential criminals to the police. They also have a grotesque lack of information-security protection, and someone sufficiently motivated could, say, develop an elaborate short-range jamming weapon that makes them constantly play It's A Small World. Now when I drive by their homes, the hissing, water-cooled gigawatt transmitter loosely ratchet-strapped onto my trunk, I am the one who is smiling and giggling. And, I expect, they have learned a lesson about fucking with peoples' doorbells from their fussy old neighbourhood asshole.

[foone]

The Four Candles

I got kicked out of the SCP foundation after wasting over 80 million dollars to contain an artifact that I genuinely thought was incredibly dangerous. It was a set of candles in a gold frame, which never burnt down and could not be extinguished. Just weird, right?

(reposting of a formerly-twitter thread where I made up an SCP fanfic joke, under the readmore)

That's what we all thought and it was simply kept in a safety glass box in one of the many warehouses of weird things, until The First Event. January, 1981, it's being moved as part of a cleanup and someone notices its changed: one of the candles is out.

We'd previously tried sticking this thing in a vacuum, under water, smothering it in CO2 or in a pile of asbestos… Nothing. You can't snuff out these candles. And one just went off while no one is looking? That can't be good.

So obviously we have to upgrade this thing in severity. Out of the warehouse, into a separate containment area, and we do endless tests. Nope, we can't relight it. We tried.

But now we've got 24/7 redundant monitoring, cameras and guards, we've got water and fire and everything else on hand in case another event happens and we need to try to douse or relight it in a hurry.

And we wait. Endless beta tapes (and later, hard drives) are filled up with footage of these candles burning unchangingly. Guards get assigned to watch it and then retire a decade later, having never seen it change.

But 20 years into observation, a second candle just goes out, without any fuss. We hit every panic button we can find.

Endless studies are done. This thing was found in a ruin in North West England? Send every researcher we can spare there. Are there any legends or folklore or stories or ANYTHING about this?

Because it took 20 years to go from 3 to 2. We can do math. If this thing is counting down at a steady pace, we have only 40 years to get ready for the last candle to go out.

And we don't know what happens then.

Maybe nothing.

Or maybe there will be nothing left.

We work backwards; we only found the candles in the 70s, but if it goes down by a candle every two decades, then maybe it was created in the early 60s? We search for any clues about what might have happened in the 1960s in Manchester and Liverpool.

I'm on the ground with another field researcher when I get a message that we're all being recalled, immediately. No explanation.

I get back to the foundation site and all my researchers are being reassigned. My boss wants to talk to me. I check the candle monitoring site on my phone: we're still on two. I'm confused.

I enter my boss's office. It's uncharacteristically dark. She slides me a printout, on fan fold paper still with the little dot matrix tractor holes along the sides. It's an email.

Another researcher had a random hunch, and looked into the monitoring records, specifically as to when the second candle went out. November 29th, 2001. And the previous one was unknown, but happened sometime between December 1st, 1980 and mid-January 1981.

My boss asks if these dates look familiar to me, and if I listen to much music.

I think I may know. She tells me they were able to confirm the second event happened within 5 minutes of the time of death.

The candles are going back in the warehouse, and only a simple webcam will be used to monitor for the next event, just in case it proves us wrong.

And she gives me a lecture about how the purpose of the SCP Foundation is to secure, contain, and protect... From dangerous anomalous artifacts and people and places. Things that break all our scientific theories and could cause untold devastation if they get loose...

NOT A MAGIC CANDLE THAT TELLS YOU HOW MANY LIVING BEATLES THERE ARE IN THE WORLD AT THE MOMENT.

[sadnesslaughs]

The worst thing about dying is talking to HR the next morning.

(A response to a writing prompt)

“With all due respect. I didn’t intentionally miss the meeting. I died yesterday. It was on the news and everything. I even texted our boss after it happened, so he knew I wouldn’t be able to make it into the office.” Garth pleaded, not wanting to lose his comfy office job. It was hard for immortals to find work, mainly because most companies either closed or got suspicious of their employee that had been working there for over a hundred years.

That’s why Amiza was perfect. A large distributor of candy and snacks, the sort of company where the bosses only see you as a statistic on an excel sheet. No one cared if he stayed here for six hundred years, as long as he showed up on time. He also had great job security, knowing that both candy and snacks were goods that would never go out of fashion. It was practically an unsinkable business, and yet he hit a roadblock in his employment. Dying yesterday on his way to work.

“Ah, yes. The ‘death certificate’.” The HR manager, Tom, resisted the urge to use air quotes, instead doing the verbal equivalent of it, giving a snarky rise in his voice as he went over the word. “You would have us believe you died and came back to life? It’s not even Easter and Christ has risen. Splendid.”

“Ah, I’m not a god or anything.” Garth said, a little embarrassed by the comparison. He had gone through a cult stage in the early 1000s, something that most immortals did while they were young. After that weirdness, he never wanted to be referred to as a deity again.

“I was being sarcastic, Mr. Backlor. How do you expect us to believe any of this? People don’t come back to life.”

“What about during open heart surgery?”

Tom sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “In that case, they may sometimes come back. Though, I doubt any medical profession is deeming them dead during the surgery. I also assume they wouldn’t turn up to work a day after being declared dead. I want to believe you, Garth, I really do.” Tom lied, already having the termination email template on his screen. “But, you have to give me more to work with. Why shouldn’t we fire you?”

“Because I’m a great employee.” Garth thought that would be obvious. What other answer was he going to give in this situation?

“You’re a good employee. Not great. Great is reserved for people like myself.” Tom smirked, always happy to fluff his own feathers. The man’s arms crossing against his chest as he leaned into his chair, demonstrating the proper authority that comes with a position like his own.

Garth thought about that. “Didn’t you come to work late last Tuesday?”

That smirk shattered as Tom shifted forward, scowling. “I wasn’t aware I was being monitored by you. For your information, I had a terrible emergency that morning.” Tom wouldn’t say what that emergency was, not wanting to admit he got stuck waiting for fresh hash browns in a drive through.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to offend you. I was just thinking that we’re kind of similar. Everyone makes mistakes.”

Similar? Tom fumed at the comparison, tapping away at his keyboard, writing Garth’s name into the empty boxes on his template. “Now that I think about it. Dying would void your employment contract. You wouldn’t even be able to sue us.”

“You can’t do that! I’m telling you, I died. I was even in the work parking lot when it happened. You can check the footage. Some idiot was speeding through the parking lot and they ran me over.”

Tom stopped typing, pausing. “Our car park?” Now he was nervous. A death at their workplace? One that had gotten news coverage? He sweated, wiping his forehead. “We… have signs around the parking lot telling people to slow down. We also have numerous safe crossing areas. You only have yourself to blame.”

Garth thought about the accident. He didn’t remember seeing any signs or crossings. He didn’t remember seeing much of anything except the hood of a car. “I don’t think there were any. I was in the old bit. The one that leads to the underground elevator.”

“Ah, one moment.” Tom hurriedly emailed Jenny, who organized their safety and upkeep, asking her to let him know if they had placed any signage or crossings on the underground parking level. When Jenny said they were doing that next week, Tom panicked. “Ah, why are we even having this discussion? Of course you’re not fired. We couldn’t fire a person for dying.”

Garth didn’t expect the sudden attitude shift, but was happy to hear he wasn’t on the chopping block. “You mean it? That’s great news. I thought I was a goner.” Garth offered his hand to Tom, who quickly shook it. “Yes. Actually, I think a promotion might be in order. To compensate you for your troubles. A great employee should be rewarded.”

“I thought you said I was only a good employee?”

“I didn’t want to ruin the surprise promotion.”

“That makes sense. I think?” Garth wasn’t born yesterday, so he knew what was going on. Even if he hadn’t intended to sue them, the thought of being sued was enough to deter them from firing him. After all, he didn’t want anyone looking too deeply into this either. It was hard enough trying to convince doctors you magically came back from the dead. You didn’t want lawyers also looking into your strange medical records.

“A ton of sense. Now, why don’t you get back to work? I’ll send the paperwork through for your promotion.”

“That sounds great.” Before Garth left, Tom reached over the desk, tapping his shoulder. “Yes?”

“I also might need you to make an address to whatever news company reported on the accident. Let them know it wasn’t as bad as initially reported. Just so we can sweep this whole mess under the rug,” Tom said, begging him to agree. The sooner they covered this up, the better it would be for them all.

“Sure. Bye Tom.”

“Bye Mr. Backlor.” Tom said, slouching in his chair as the man left. Glad he got that ticking lawsuit bomb out of his office. He just hoped he had diffused it, not wanting his own job to get caught in the blast if it went off.

[dyinglikenarcissus]

Chapter 4. Plans Change, People…

14k words

Warnings: 18+ only. This chapter in when the spice starts! Fingering, oral both male and female receiving

Like and reblog if you enjoy ☺️

You sit curled up on your couch. Jethro’s tucked next to your hip, while you edit some wedding dress shopping footage. You’d yet to fall in love with one but it was hard to fall when you didn’t know what to dress for. You and Steve have yet to set a date or a venue. More like you and Sam have yet to set a date or a venue. But you did decide on spring. Not too hot, not too cold. You just didn’t know where. Steve was ‘happy as long as I’m with you, little movie star’ and Sam and Bucky were absolutely no help at getting intel out of their best friend.

You scroll through yet another list of wedding venues in New York City when your hear a pulsing vibration.

“A ghost?” You ask Jethro but he just ignores you until you get up to investigate. He lets out an irritated chirp before curling up on the cushion you vacated.

You enter your bedroom and see Steve’s phone about to fall off the nightstand as it continues to buzz.

“Natasha?” You question seeing the red head pop up on the screen.

“Hello?” You answer slowly.

Theres a pause on the other end of the line. “Where’s Steve?” A women’s voice asks.

“Um, he doesn’t have his phone right now,” you explain. No one’s ever called him while you were babysitting it. It made you wonder if the only people with the number were you, Bucky, and Sam. “You should call his work phone if you need to talk to him.”

There’s another pause. “You’re the girl?”

“The-“

“Hold on, I want to see you.” The FaceTime alert makes the phone start vibrating again. You answer not really knowing what to do.

“Hello?” You repeat as Natasha appears on the screen. She’s just as gorgeous as she is in the photos.

“Hey,” she smiles. A little part of you melts. You think you’re in love. “I’ve been meaning to track you down.”

“Track me…?”

“I’m Natasha. Steve’s friend. Nice to finally meet you.”

“He told you about me?” You ask, a little taken aback.

“He doesn't shut up about you. I think the entire east coast knows America’s most eligible bachelor found his new best girl.” You smile at the knowledge and glance away from the screen. “Tell me about yourself.”

“Um, I’m a social media influencer. I have 2 million followers-“

“You live in Anaheim, 1801 East Katella Ave, apartment 270. You drive a Lincoln Corsair, born in Silicon Valley to a tech mogul mother and an absentee father, graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in psychology. You applied to a med school but they didn’t think you were well rounded enough. So you started an Instagram, then a TiktTok, moved to LA and now we’re here. I know all that. Tell me something Rogers doesn’t know.”

You blink at the woman. You instantly understand why Steve keeps her at a distance.

“I-I don’t know. I drool when I sleep? I’m prone to yeast infections? I have a weird leg to body ratio? What doesn’t he know?”

She gives you a smug little smile. “You don’t have much of a relationship history outside of your friend group so you don’t date much. He seems to be doing whatever he can to keep you happy. And you seem happy…you’re falling for him?”

You cringe back from your phone then remember she can see you. “Aw, you are! Cute! Anyway, you seem fun. We should do coffee. Are you still getting Panera at 7:45 tonight? Maybe I’ll meet you there.” Oh my God. She even knew about your Panera runs!

“Who are you?” You breathe.

“Yeah, we’re gonna be good friends,” she grins. “I’ll talk to you later.” She waves to the camera and you drop the phone on your bed.

“Steve,” you whisper. You grab your own phone and send him a text message as fast as your thumbs will type.

He’s taking far too long to respond for how your heart is racing.

Then your phone vibrates with a call. “Steve! Natasha-called-and-she-knew-all-this-stuff-about-me-and-she’s-going-to-meet-me-at-Panera! I’m so scared!”

“Star,” Steve chuckles. “Relax. That’s just Nat being Nat. She’s in Venezuela. She’s not going to ambush you at Panera.”

“Why does she know so much about me?” You whine.

“She deals in intel. After the whole Sausalito thing, I needed some solid information on you.”

“You did a background check on me?” You accuse.

“I got far more than background. I know Natasha is…a lot but she’s good people. Don’t let her get in your head.”

“And I thought she was so pretty,” you whimper.

Steve just laughs at your statement and makes a comment on the other side of the phone that you don’t catch.

“I have to go, little star. I’ll text you tonight?”

“Okay,” you sigh trying to calm yourself down.

“Be good for me?”

“Okay,” you can’t help but smile at his request. “I miss you.”

“Miss you, too. Bye, little star.”

“Bye.”

You release a deep sigh and try to relax your shoulders. You were in a whole new world now. Steve’s world. You were beginning to realize you had a lot to learn here.

You get a text message from Natasha later that night saying that Steve said she can’t play with you anymore. You laugh at how disappointed she seemed.

I hope we can meet for that coffee someday you message back.

I’ll be at the wedding she assures you.

You sigh and go back to your voice over for an archery session with Kate. You notice a lot of comments asking about wedding updates and Steve. Blah! “Guess I have to drop some kind of couples content,” you mutter to Jethro. You are over wedding dress shopping and you were sick of this one sided venue fight.

Hmm…maybe…

You know everything about everyone. Where would Steve get married?

A read notification pops up immediately but Natasha doesn’t respond. Maybe she doesn’t feel like talking…

Your phone pings about an hour later.

There’s this old cathedral in his childhood neighborhood in Brooklyn

She sends the link to it on Google. Oh? Oh!

This is gorgeous! Why didn’t he mention it? It’s like a slice of Europe in New York! You can already imagine a cathedral train and the sun hitting the stained glass windows painting the church in beautiful colors. It’s perfect!

I love it! Thank you! You quickly reply

Don’t mention it

And to think you were terrified of her this afternoon.

You quickly forward the suggestion to Steve as your renewed interest has you thinking back to the dresses you tried on and what most fit the space.

How did you find out about this place? Steve responds a few minutes later.

Natasha

I guess she is good for something

You giggle at his comment

One thing down, a million more to go

I’m sorry I’m not much help with all of this. It’s a little hard to think about doing it all again

Oh? You frown slightly at his statement. Getting married again, even if it is all for show, must be so triggering. You didn’t even consider his side of things.

You’re a terrible fake fiancée.

I’ll handle it you assure him. It’ll be perfect

I trust you

The next day, the venue is booked, you choose colors and flowers. Kamala helped you choose cake flavors and Kahhori chose the bridesmaids dresses and a suit for Kate.

“You really don’t mind if the colors are burgundy and navy?” You ask Steve while you scroll through wedding bouquets that match the theme on Pinterest. “It’s not too…ugh?”

“What does that mean, star?” Steve chuckles. He voice sounds so deep and groggy, you just want to hear him talk more.

“Like, I don’t know, clashing?”

“It’ll be dark,” he yawns.

“Well, if it’s, like, mixed with greenery and white flowers. And I’ll be in white. Have you decided what color you’re wearing yet?”

“Have you decided what dress you’re getting yet?” He counters.

“Touché, Mr. Rogers. The groom is supposed to be surprised.”

“Don’t like surprises,” he mumbles.

“Are you falling asleep on me, old man?”

He hums softly and you hear the sheets rustling. “Maybe,” he grunts.

“Alright. Go to sleep.”

“I wish you were here.” His words make you smile and makes something stir in the pit of your stomach. You feel so loved when his says things like that. You shouldn’t but it sounds so right.

“I wish I was there, too. I miss your kisses.”

“My kisses?” He chuckles.

“Yeah, you always kiss my head and it makes me feel so warm and comfy.”

“Stop being so fucking cute.” You hear the smile in his voice before he yawns again.

“Go to sleep,” you repeat.

“Yes ma’am.”

“Goodnight.”

“‘Night, little star.”

You sigh softly and drop your phone on the bed. When did you fall so in love with him?

Natasha even knew it but she seems to know everything so that doesn’t really count.

Did he love you, too? He seems to like you, at least. The way he slept cocooning you, and the way he’d always makes sure you and Jethro were comfortable, and the the way he’d call you his ‘little star’. All of it said he was in love with you. He didn’t say it though. Probably because of this ridiculous situation that set you two up. He probably doesn’t want you to feel trapped. You certainly did before but you don’t anymore.

You want to be with him.

You feel like you’ve gotten closer to him in these couple of months you’ve been apart than in the entire time you were together. Every morning he’d wish you a good morning and he asks about your day every night. You really like that. He sends you flowers every Friday. You love that. After you decided on wedding colors, he sent a bouquet of burgundy roses and navy irises. Then he did something you absolutely did not expect. Jethro’s birthday was kind of a personal holiday for you. All of your friends knew and you normally had a whole weekend long party. You watched all of his favorite movies and he got all his favorite treats and tuna. You made him home made dole whips, got balloon bouquets. And the finale was a trip to the cat playground. It was in LA so it was an hour drive and he hates being in the car that long but it’s so worth it to watch him have the time of his life with the other cats. It was just a little local place and you brought treats for the other cats and little party hats for the ones that will wear them. But when you walked in, the facility was completely decorated from top to bottom with balloons, banners, streamers. There were gourmet cat treats adorning a table. There were even party favors full of toys and treats for all the other cats coming to the party.

“Did I miss something?” You ask the owner. You’d been coming here for years and you got to know the woman pretty well.

“A Steve Rogers sent a party planner to set all this up,” she smiles. “He said it’s for the Jethro’s birthday.”

“He did all of this?” You whisper. It almost brings you to tears as you watch the other cat parents filter in and ask what the occasion is just for you hand them a party favor and thank them for coming to Jethro’s party. It was the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for you.

God, you really love this man.

He does so much for you, you just wish you could repay him.

“I have the best fiancé in the world! As you all know, it was baby Jethro’s birthday this week! I have a five year old, y'all! We went to Kitty Land in LA for his usual kitty play time and look at what Steve did! Handmade cat treats, party favors, and look at this balloon arch! It’s been so hard doing the long distance thing but he makes it easier with such sweet gestures like this. Look at these little guys! And Jethro made a new friend!”

You sigh as you scroll through the pictures of the party after you finished posting the TikTok.

You wish you could’ve shared the moment with Steve.

“You ready for dinner, little man?” You ask Jethro as he slinks out of your room, stretching along the way. He lets out a positive meow and you scratch his head.

“Dinner time, it’s dinner time,” you sing softly.

The door bell rings just as you stand up sending your cat scattering.

Friday evening around 6? Must be flowers.

You skip over to the door and open it without looking through the peep hole.

Once the door is open though, you quickly slam it back shut at the sight.

Those are not flowers.

A shoe catches in the frame stopping you from locking your unwanted visitors out.

“Ma’am, we’re with the federal bureau of investigations. We just have a couple of questions for you.” The man sounds very nice but you know better than to listen to anything they say. You’ve seen enough movies.

You pull the door back but only slightly, barely wider than the man’s foot.

“Can we come in?” There’s two of them: one woman in a black suit and the man asking the questions.

You quickly shake your head no.

“Then we’ll talk out here. Do you know Steve Rogers?”

“He’s my fiancé.”

“How about Brock Rumlow?”

You search you mind for the name but you’ve never heard it before. You shake your head again.

“Were you in New York August 18th?”

“What’s this about?” You ask.

“We’re investigating a murder, ma’am. Just answer the question.”

You swallow loudly. “I-I don’t feel comfortable with this. I want a lawyer or something.”

“You’re not detained. We’re not forcing you to say anything,” the woman sighs.

“I was in New York, but I don’t know that name. I’m sorry.”

“Alright, if you can think of anything, here’s my card.” The man passes you a white card with an official looking seal on it.

“We’ll be in touch,” the woman sighs.

You just nod and take the card before securely locking the door. You take a deep breath and lean back against the door.

What just happened? Who were those people? You turn the card over in your hand

Agent Phil Coulson.

Your breaths start to shake as you attempt to think.

“Steve,” you whisper.

You run to your phone left abandoned on the couch and quickly dial his number.

“Little star,” he greets far too cheerfully for the situation. “What-“

“Steve! The FBI just came to my house and they asked me if I knew you and-“

“Stop.” There’s that harsh voice that you hadn’t heard since you first met him. Your jaw clicks shut at the word. You almost shrink back at his tone but he keeps talking. “Pack your stuff. I’m sending the plane. Don’t talk to anyone. Don’t answer the door unless I tell you to.”

“Steve,” you whimper. “What’s-“

“Stop talking. Pack your stuff.”

“Okay,” you whisper.

“I’ll see you soon.”

You nod then remember he can’t see you. “Okay.” The phone call ends abruptly with you still holding the phone up to your ear.

“Okay,” you whisper. Jethro chirps at you from under the couch before rubbing against your leg.

“Okay,” you repeat once move. “Dinner. Then packing, okay?”

Thirty minutes later Steve sends you an ETA for the plane. You had about five hours to pack up yourself and your cat and maybe take a little nap but honestly, you were far too wired to rest. So you busy yourself with packing and once you’re done with that, you busy yourself with cleaning. You’ve finished sweeping and you at least cleaned the bathrooms before your phone starts vibrating.

Sam’s outside Steve messages.

You stand on an upside down trash can and look through the peep hole, learning your lesson. There he is, waiting outside for you.

You quickly unlock the door.

“Come here, girl,” he bids and you quickly fall into his arms. “It’s okay. We’re gonna get you home,” Sam promises. Home. Steve’s home. “You ready?” You nod and a driver comes in to collect your luggage. You tote Jethro and your computer bag and follow Sam downstairs.

Once you’re on the plane, the two of you sit in palatable silence. You try to distract yourself by keeping Jethro entertained but it’s his bed time and he’s not having anything to do with you. He just wants to sleep but he can’t relax in the strange environment.

You turn to Sam and a book rests on his lap as he’s fallen asleep, too.

You should try to sleep too but the day reels back in your mind over and over. Ugh!

You let out a soft groan and fall over in the seat next to you. Just a couple more hours of this.

Bucky meets you at the airport and he’s just as quiet as Sam.

Something told you Steve told them not to talk to you. You sit in the back seat and stare at the backs of Sam and Bucky’s heads.

“Can we talk at all?” You finally ask as the city comes into view outside of your window.

“I’m sorry, princess. Steve wants you fresh when you get to him,” Sam states sadly.

“Fresh?”

“It means he doesn’t want any outside influences. We can’t talk to you,” Bucky sighs.

“Not even you two?”

“Not even us,” Sam reiterates. You sigh and slump down in you seat. “We’re almost there.”

The world finally becomes familiar as you pull up to the building with Steve’s penthouse. But you don’t go down to the garage. Instead, Steve steps out of the building, his long trench coat billowing in the wind as steps up to the car. You can’t help but greet him happily, falling into his arms.

“Steve, I don’t kno-“ but he just shushes you gently. He holds you against him and runs his hand down your head to tangle his fingers in your locs.

“Not now. We’re going to go somewhere we can talk.” You just nod. You feel a bit more relaxed in Steve’s arms but everything is reaching a boiling point. Steve’s hand runs up and down your shoulders as he presses kisses to your temple.

Sam takes Jethro upstairs and returns relatively quickly before you all continue on through the city.

Bucky stops the car in front of a bumping club. Men and women stream in and out in skimpy dresses and fitted dress shirts.

“We’re going to talk here?” You question skeptically.

“It’s quiet,” Steve smirks down at you and you can’t help but give him a disbelieving laugh. You were dressed for anything but the club. Maybe for a Target run or the gym in your leggings and cropped sweater. You were also mentally prepared for anything but the club. Maybe an anxiety attack or a therapy session. “Come on, little star,” Steve bids and opens the door on his side. A bouncer exits the building and wordlessly escorts your group through a side door. Steve’s hand finds your lower back as he leads you through the dark halls. You don’t pay much attention to your surroundings. You can just hear a thumping beat and multiple sets of footsteps.

The bouncer opens a red velvet padded door which leads to a private room. A waitress quickly follows after him and takes the men’s orders. You request some water. You don’t feel like partying or being here in general. You just want to go home.

Steve’s home.

You take a sip of your water that’s placed in your hands to try to calm your nerves. It doesn’t help.

Once the waitress leaves, Steve’s pulls you into his lap on one of the plush couches that surrounds the room.

“Alright. Talk.” You take a deep breath to finally spill out everything that’s been on your mind. “Slowly,” Steve adds knowing you’ll spit it all out in one breath if you can.

You smile at his words and go over the entire incident in as much detail as you can remember. You hand Steve the card the agent left you. He looks it over. “That’s everything?” You nod. Steve hands the card to Bucky. “Don’t kill anyone. Just make sure they stay away from her,” he instructs the brunet as he leaves the room.

“Wha-“ you breathe at Steve’s command.

“Sammy, go with him. Make sure he doesn’t get out of control.”

“Out of con-“

“Little star,” Steve sighs, gipping your chin to make you face him.

“We came all the way here just for this two minute conversation?” You question before he can say anything else. “We could have talked at home.”

He sighs, looking outwardly frustrated by your outburst. He just holds your chin a little tighter, impeding any further speech from you. “Listen.” His voice takes on that dangerous growl that makes you want to shy away from him. “You don’t say another word about this. Not to me. Not to Sam. Not to Bucky. Not even to yourself. No one. Understand?” His hold on you loosens enough for you to nod.

The moment he releases you you ask, “Why did they come to my house?”

“What about ‘don’t talk about it ever again’ didn’t you understand?” Steve asks with a small smirk.

“But I have so many questions,” you whine.

“I understand. But I don’t want you any deeper in this than you already are.”

“You said that before and I still don’t understand! What are you hiding from me?”

The second the words leave your mouth, the padded door to the private room opens.

“They told me you had a reservation but I didn’t believe it until my security told me you were actually here. What do I owe the pleasure of having the Star Spangled Man grace my humble club?”

Your eyes widened impossibly at the man who steps through the door. This can’t be happening.

“We came for some quiet. Apparently that’s hard to find here, too,” Steve sighs. His grip on your waist tightens as you almost start to buzz with excitement. His hold on you seems to be the only thing holding you down.

“A little rendezvous with your new pet? You can’t do that at home, Rogers?”

“Quiet is a scarce commodity these days,” Steve counters. You start to practically vibrate in his lap before Steve finally spares you a glance. “Let me introduce you to my fiancée.” Steve taps your ass so you’ll stand up. He opens his mouth to introduce you but you’re already on your feet shaking the man’s hand erratically.

“You’re Loki Laufyson! Oh my gosh! I’m such a huge fan! I loved you in Ragnarok and The Dark World and I’ve seen all of your plays! Can you sign my phone? Can you sign my face? Can you tell me to kneel?”

Loki smirks at your words. “I think we can arrange-“

“No,” Steve grips you forearm and pulls you back to his chest. “You will not be kneeling for anyone.” That rough tone comes out in Steve that has you submitting against him. “One picture.”

“Do I get to choose the pose?” Loki asks. So much suggestion leaks into his voice that you nod excitedly until you see Steve’s face. Those daggers are back in full force. You quickly start shanking your head. “Fine. Something innocent that the future hubby approves of,” Loki sighs and holds open his arms for a selfie. You quickly snap a few photos. You didn’t expect him to be so tall in real life.

“If you ever want to be a little naughty, you know where to find me,” Loki adds quietly just before releasing you. You practically bounce on your toes back to Steve, giggles falling from your lips the entire way.

“If you’re done harassing my fiancée, I have a quick question for you. You had a run in with the feds. Do you know an Agent Coulson?”

“Nasty little bugger,” Loki grimaces. “Why? Is he on the hit list? It would really help me out if he was.”

“Afraid not,” Steve states shutting down the man. “He’s got a female partner. You know her?”

“How badly do you want to know, Mr. America?”

Steve crosses his arms over his broad chest as he thinks. “I got some new stuff from Venezuela. Just sourced it a few weeks ago.” Venezuela? A few weeks ago? “Really hard shit. We’re calling it tesseract.”

“Tesseract? Such a fucking pretentious name,” Loki chuckles.

“Yeah, well, fentanyl was taken.”

“Is it any good?”

“Got people dropping like flies left and right. I’ll send you a sample.”

“I don’t have much for a sample,” Loki goads.

“I don’t have much for junkie has beens either.”

Loki scowls at the blond. “Maria.”

“Maria what?”

“Like I said, I don’t have much for a sample.”

Your eyes ping pong back and forth between the two men as they negotiate.

“This is fucking powerful stuff. You don’t even know if you like it yet,” Steve counters with a small smirk.

“If I don’t, I know my brother will.”

“Fine. Tesseract and two dose of the serum.”

“Now we’re talking, Mr. Rogers,” Loki smirks. “Her last name is Hill.”

“Maria Hill?” Steve repeats earning a nod from the actor. Steve types something into his phone before focusing back on the man. “Pleasure doing business with you, Loki.”

“Leaving so soon?” Loki frowns.

Steve just grabs your coat and places it over your shoulders before picking up his own. “I’m a busy man. I’ll have your end dropped off tonight. Don’t use in all in one place.”

Loki scoffs as Steve leads you through the door and back out to his waiting car. He holds the the front passenger door for you before he drives away.

“I didn’t think he used hard drugs,” you whisper more to yourself than to Steve.

“Little star, you’d be surprised,” Steve sighs.

“He just seems so genuine in his movies and in interviews.”

“They say don’t meet your heroes.” Sound advice apparently.

“What about his brother?”

“Those two were my best customers when I was selling. Now they have to beg me for shit.” This is the most Steve has ever revealed about his seedy past.

“I met Thor a few years ago. He was so sweet,” you muse.

“Probably high as a kite,” Steve chuckles. “All you have to do is meet their sister and you’ll have the whole set.”

“They have a sister?”

“She’s their manager. They don’t talk about her much. She’s a bit of a tyrant.”

“They probably need that to stay in line.”

Steve smirks. “Probably. Are you hungry at all. Do you want me to stop and get you something?” You shake your head feeling more tired than hungry. Having all of that off your chest and on Steve’s strong shoulders felt like you lost 15 pounds. You finally feel like you can breathe. You open your mouth once more to ask him about it but his hand on your thigh reminds you not to.

Instead, you slip your hand under his so your fingers are interlocked. He brings the back of your hand to his lips to press a kiss there.

“We’re going to have to move the wedding up,” Steve mutters. “As soon as possible.”

“What? But-“ He grips your hand uncomfortably tight, making your voice die on your lips. “Okay,” you whisper simply. There’s no fighting this. Just go with it. “To when?”

“Next week.”

“Next week? There’s no time to get anything done in a week!”

“We’ll still have your big dream wedding but I need it to say you’re my wife on paper.”

You intake a sharp breath. Time to start thinking with your rational head. That’s what he’s doing. He’s trying to keep the two of you out of some kind of trouble…

“We can just elope. Make the big wedding a vow renewal in a couple of years. We’re just so in love, we can’t wait?”

“You’re the influencer. Is that what’s in now?”

“Big elaborate weddings are definitely out to save money for houses and trips,” you shrug. It wasn’t like that was an issue for Steve. But it will make you look much more relatable.

You’re drooping by the time you reach home. Steve can barely keep you awake long enough for the elevator ride.

You let out a yawn and break away from him to go to your room. You barely have enough energy to flop onto the bed.

Steve follows behind you to watch the whole thing play out as Jethro scrambles away just in time to miss your leg.

“That tired?” He chuckles. He picks you up and arranges the bed so you can be under the blankets. “Get some sleep, little star,” he bids and presses a kiss to your forehead.

You gasp awake. It’s far too hot and you need to pee and your arm is numb and you just fell from a 40 story building…

Ok, maybe that last one was just part of a dream.

You stumble out of bed anyway, trying to avoid your cat who has managed to make a bed between your scissored legs.

He gives you a questioning chirp despite your best efforts to avoid him.

“It’s okay. Go back to sleep,” you whisper and scratch the kitten’s head before rushing off to the bathroom. You barely managed to notice the sky outside is still pitch black. You wonder what time it is as you wash your hands and ponder returning to bed. You kind of want to take a shower…

6am on a Saturday? Blah! You need to go back to sleep on principle.

You opt for a quick shower but as you slide back into the enormous bed Steve got you and stare out the floor to ceiling windows as the sky slowly gets brighter.

Maybe you should go see what Steve was up to…

He’s probably asleep. You should leave him alone, you think as you tiptoe down the hall. His door is cracked open so you don’t even need to knock. You peak through and see his sleeping form still curled in his bed.

Of course he’s still asleep…

…

He wouldn’t mind if you joined him, would he?

You’d slept together before but that was after he invited you to his bed. So that was a forever invitation, right?

Before you finish rationalizing, your feet are already carrying you to his bed.

Your mind was back to reeling about everything that was going on. You just didn’t want to be alone.

You perch on the edge of the bed and watch for any signs of distress but he just keeps sleeping soundly. Snoring lightly as his arms curl over one of his pillows. He looks amazingly peaceful. You wish he could look like this while he’s awake.

You shouldn’t bother him…

You stand up and walk over to the other side of the bed. You notice a pair of glasses on his nightstand in the pale sunlight. You didn’t know he wore glasses. You pull back the blankets behind him and slide into the bed. God, he’s warm! The whole bed is a nice and cozy temperature so unlike your own where you move a fraction and you’re suddenly freezing.

You inch closer to him waiting for his breathing to sputter and for him to wake up. But he doesn’t. You finally reach his warm body and snuggle against him.

Mmmmm. Perfect. Your arms wrap around his torso and you fall asleep almost instantly.

You blink awake to the sound of running water and a clean smell. You let out a soft moan. You aren’t ready to get up. You turn over and snuggle back into the pillows.

Steve must be up and he already discovered you so why bother going now?

Well, maybe you should give him some space to get ready…

But you’re so comfy!

You pull the plush blankets up to your chin and start to doze off again. You vaguely hear the water turn off and resolve to waking up. You prop yourself up on one arm and rub your eyes with the other.

You let out a soft moan and yawn and stretch. When you open your eyes, you blearily see a figure. A very tall, muscular, and very naked figure.

Steve stares back at you for a moment with a towel in his wet hair.

There’s a pregnant silence between you as you watch each other. Your eyes can’t help but wonder down his naked body before snapping back up to his face.

The action seems to break whatever spell is over the two of you.

“Shit,” Steve hisses and drops his towel to his waist.

“Sorry!” You squeak at the same time and avert your gaze to the bed under you.

“No, no! I should’ve known you’d be awake.”

“No, I invaded your space without permission,” you quickly counter.

There’s a brief silence after your statement. “You don’t need permission to sleep with me.”

“I don’t?” You whisper and hazard a glance up at him.

He secures his towel around his waist and looks back up at you. “Never, little star.”

You watch each other for a moment now that he’s covered. Well, relatively covered. “I guess we’re even now,” you smile.

“I guess so,” Steve smirks and approaches the bed. “Is everything okay? Why are you in here anyway?”

“Um,” you sigh as he sits on the bed. “I guess, I just, I didn’t want to be alone,” you mutter.

“I get that.” Steve cups your face and directs your gaze back up at him. “Whatever I can do to help.” You nod. “It was nice to wake up next to someone,” Steve smiles.

“I really did miss you while I was home,” you admit.

“I missed you too.” He leans over and presses a kiss to your forehead. Then your cheek. Then your lips. Something flutters deep inside you and you smile against him.

“What are you so happy about?” Steve hums.

You just shake your head and grin. “You’re not going to tell me?”

“Nope,” you giggle and press another kiss to his lips.

“I think I know a way to get it out of you,” he grins and presses you down against the bed for an onslaught of kisses. You moan against his mouth as he finds his way on top of you, his elbows framing your face and his knees finding their way between your spread legs.

His kisses start to let up slightly as you chase his lips.

“Will you tell me now?” He mutters just breaths away from your lips. Your hands bend up against your chest, not really knowing what to do with them. He seems to notice and grips your hand to press a kiss to your palm.

“Maybe,” you smile.

“Maybe?” He repeats. “What do you want, my beautiful star? Cars? Houses? Power? You can have whatever you want.”

“I don’t want any of that,” you whisper.

“What do you want?”

“Just you,” you smile.

“You have me, star.” He presses one last kiss to your lips before flipping over on his back, taking you with him. You let out a silent gasp as you’re suddenly flipped over. Your hands land on his toned bare chest. Your skin flushes and you suddenly feel unbearably hot. “Now tell me what you think is is funny.”

“I-it doesn’t seem all that funny anymore,” you whisper.

“Oh no. You’re not getting away with it that easily.” His hands run down to your hips, holding you in place. Pinning you there under his ocean gaze.

“I just-it’s just you seem to enjoy my company more than Sam and Bucky’s.”

“Oh, I definitely do,” Steve grins. “I can’t do this with them,” he laughs.

“I mean, you could,” you giggle. “I don’t know how much they’d like it, though.”

“If I try, I need you there to back me up.” His laugh is so nice. It feels like it’s been far too long since you heard it.

You bend down and press another kiss to his lips. His hands travel further down over the curve of your ass. He squeezes you making squirm against him but he just spanks you in response. You smile against him and your kisses focus on sucking his bottom lip before trailing to his jaw.

“Hmm someone’s getting bold,” Steve groans as you nip just under his ear. “Where’d a virgin learn that?”

“You’ve seen my porn history,” you remind him.

“Fuck,” he moans and his body arches against yours and you feel exactly what you’re doing to him.

Your lips travel to the center of his throat just before you hear someone clear their throat.

“Sorry if we’re interrupting.” You hear the smile in Sam’s voice without even looking at him. Your face heats impossibly and you bury yourself in Steve’s chest.

Steve just groans tossing his head back into the pillows “You two are the absolute worst!”

“It’s not like you were going to fuck her,” Bucky laughs, leaning against one of the bed posts. “We figured you’d want to know we handled the little princess’s stalker problem.”

“Good. You did your fucking jobs. You want an award or something?” Steve mutters, exasperated. His tone makes you giggle as you peek out at the two men.

“Thank you, guys,” you offer in Steve’s lack of appreciation.

“You’re very welcome,” Sam grins.

“Don’t encourage them,” Steve warns softly. “We’re moving the wedding to next week.”

“Oh, because you two are so in love?” Bucky mocks before making a gagging face.

“That’s exactly it, actually.” You notice the blush on Steve’s face as he says the words. “At least that’s what we’re telling people.”

“Wait! Are you pregnant?” Sam asks, concern suddenly overcoming his features.

“No!” Both you and Steve cry at the same time. Why do people keep asking that?

“Up,” Steve sighs and taps your ass. You attempt to roll off of him as gracefully as possible.

“Shit, Stevie. If she wasn’t pregnant, you were ready to pump a baby into her,” Bucky laughs at Steve’s very evident hard on as he rolls out of bed and walks into the closet.

“Shut up!” Steve barks as he disappears through the double doors.

“We are really sorry for interrupting,” Bucky smirks but his words sound sincere.

“It’s fine. We probably needed to stop anyway,” you whisper.

“What are you two up to today besides not making me an uncle?” Sam asks sliding into one of the chairs surrounding the bedroom’s fire place.

“We just woke up. We haven’t really discussed anything. Maybe I’ll go try to find a dress or something for the ceremony…”

Bucky frowns at your statement. “You two should enjoy your weekend. Go see a movie or something.”

“Loki’s starring in a broadway show right now. I know how much you love him,” Sam suggests. You smile but shake your head. You’re a little conflicted about your love for him right now.

They do have a point though. You two hadn’t been on a proper date in over a month.

“Where are some good date spots?”

“You can do an escape room?” Sam shrugs.

“Stevie will end up breaking something,” Bucky laughs. “He likes to go dancing.” You quickly shake your head at that. You don’t like clubs or bars or anywhere dancing would normally be.

“Maybe a movie would be fun,” you smile.

“What do you like? Action? Horror? Romance?” Bucky asks with a lifted brow as he scrolls through his phone.

“What scary movies are playing?”

“Scarlet Witch: what will a mother do to get back her children?” Bucky quotes. “They’re saying it’s pretty scary. Maybe you can get Steve to hold your hand,” He goads. “7:30? 8:45?”

“Why are you two still here?” Steve asks walking out of the closet in much more clothes. A pair of grey slacks and a black polo cover up his perfect body.

“We’re planning you a date,” Sam grins.

“I can’t today. I have a couple of meetings,” Steve sighs.

“Bullshit,” Sam frowns. “I know all your meetings.”

“I can do things without you two,” Steve mutters.

“No need to be hostile,” Bucky sighs. “We’re just trying to make sure your girl doesn’t feel neglected.”

Steve looks down at you, still wrapped up in his sheets but you can just stare at a loose thread of Egyptian cotton.

“We’ll do something tonight,” Steve sighs.

You grin up at him. “7:30?”

“7:30.” He leans over in the bed and presses a kiss to your head. “If you go somewhere, take one of them with you.” You nod.

“Take care of her,” he instructs his friends.

You watch him as he leaves the bedroom and hear the front door close behind him.

“Where the fuck is he going?” Bucky barks at Sam.

“He’s got a lot going on,” Sam sighs. “Give him some space.”

“He’s so fucking dramatic.” You nod in agreement to Bucky’s statement. “What could he possibly be doing without us?”

You watch the two men for a moment before opening your mouth. “Probably jacking off.”

Bucky gives you a pointed look before bursting into laughter.

“That was a good one,” Sam agrees with a light chuckle. You think you’ve hung out with them enough for them to accept you into their fold. You feel pride at actually making them laugh.

“Since he’s gone, do you want to go shopping with me?” You smile up at the two.

A couple hours later, the three of you stop by Starbucks for breakfast than it’s off to Bergdorf for last minute dress shopping. You figured you can just get something off the rack for this last minute wedding. The judge won’t care if you’re not wearing a one of a kind designer gown. As long as you look good in it.

You found a dress you like but it’s just okay. You’re not really in love with it. And you refuse to compromise on this. You’ve made enough compromises…

And there’s plenty more shops to go!

“I’m tired of this,” Bucky grumbles as you peruse the racks of Bloomingdale’s.

“You can go sit,” you suggest.

“I’m tired of sitting!”

“This is only the second store,” you argue.

“How many stores are we supposed to go to?”

“Steve said one of you has to stay with me so suck it up,” you counter before sticking your tongue out at him.

“How about this one?” Sam asks, holding up a floor length silk gown.

“Too bedroom,” you frown.

“Don’t they have people to do this for you?” Bucky sighs, crossing his arms.

“They do, but shopping is therapeutic.”

“For who?” He barks.

You let out a defeated sigh as you finish looking through the evening gown section.

“Saks?” You ask Sam. He’s all in on this shopping trip and you love it. Maybe you should’ve left Bucky at home.

“Let’s do it,” he grins.

“Ugh!” Bucky groans.

You pass by the lingerie section on your way out of the store. A thought can’t help but come to mind.

“Hey,” you brooch the two men as you file into the town car waiting outside. “So, um, you guys know Steve better than anyone.”

“I guess,” Bucky sighs.

“I don’t think he’s told you this but I’m a virgin.”

“You’re a what?” Sam chokes on his coffee. Bucky’s eyes just widen at you and you start talking before either of them can say anything else.

“I know! You said something today and I realized he didn’t tell you which was really sweet of him to keep my personal business to himself but I need your help with something.” The words fumble out of your mouth in quick succession. You’re trying to do better so you make sure to pause between each word so they can understand you.

“You want us to break you in before the wedding night?” Bucky jokes earning a punch in the arm from Sam.

“How can we help, princess?”

“Um, I-I want to get something to wear for the wedding night,” you whisper as two sets of eyes watch you intently. “But I don’t really know what he’ll like…”

“I’m suddenly not tired anymore,” Bucky smirks.

“Cool it,” Sam scolds. “You’re sure you want us with you? Isn’t this kind of a friend thing?”

“My friends haven’t even met Steve. They won’t be much help. Like, what if I pick out a bunch of lacy frilly things and he’s more of a leather and chains guy?”

Bucky inhales sharply at your words and gives you a once over and that tells you he wants to say something wildly inappropriate but Sam rescues you.

“Honestly, you could wear a paper bag and he’d love it but of course we’ll help.”

You step into the nearest lingerie store and suddenly feel completely overwhelmed. There’s a lot of colors and textures and exposed skin to process.

“Hi! Welcome in!” An associate greets. “Let me know if you need anything.” You’re grateful that they seem to leave you up to your own devices while Bucky and Sam spilt up across the store.

You see something frilly and pink and immediately walk up to it. Cute. But definitely not sexy. Maybe Steve likes cute…

You think back to how he had you pinned under him and was about to make you his in every way. No, he probably doesn’t like cute…

You pick it up anyway. No harm in trying it on.

You’ve only found the one outfit when the sales lady steps up to you.

“Shopping for a special occasion?”

“Um, my wedding night,” you whisper.

“Oh! That is special! Which one’s the lucky guy?” She asks gesturing to the two men that followed you in.

“Neither. They’re my fiancé’s best friends.”

“Oh?” The looks of utter confusion on her face makes you laugh. “I know. We’re a little unconventional. I mean, we aren’t swingers or anything! I just figured I’d get a male perspective.”

She just hums and looks down at the set you’re holding. “What do you like?”

“Well, I’ve never really shopped for anything like this,” you admit.

“But I’m sure you’ve thought about it? You have to be comfortable, first and foremost.”

You nod. “Well, I like rainbows and hearts and pink. Maybe pastel purple. Girly stuff,” you shrug.

“I’ll take that and start a fitting room for you. And we’ll walk over to our softer things.” You nod and follow the woman to the corner of the store Sam and Bucky completely avoided.

“I like this section,” you smile.

“Have fun,” the associate bids and goes to help your companions.

Twenty minutes later you’re standing in the fitting area with your assigned associate, Jen. She lets out a deep sigh. “Alright, these are James’s picks,” she points at a cluster of dark leather and straps that intimidates you to no end. “These are Sam’s.” This group is just as dark but much more tame and full of lace. “And these are yours,” you couple of picks are the brightest part of the room right now. “Should we narrow it down before trying on.” You nod adamantly.

By the time you’re done, there’s about eight sets left. You’ve already decided you’ll probably get one from each pile. Now it was just a matter of picking which ones.

“I’ll go put these back. Let me know if you need any help.”

Then you’re left alone. You can hear Sam and Bucky chatting about nothing in particular in the sitting area outside of the dressing rooms. Maybe this is the part where you need some female guidance.

There was always FaceTime.

You try on the first few colorful ones you chose just to warm yourself up.

Maybe yellow looked really good on you. You turn and try to see your back side. You like it! One for the yes pile!

You like the first pink one you found too!

Okay. Maybe this would be easier than you thought.

Maybe not.

You hold up one of Bucky’s choices and Jen explained it to you very thoroughly before she left but you keep getting your leg tangled in the strap meant for the arm? Or maybe it goes around the back? This thing should really come with instructions…

“Hey, guys! Can you get Jen?”

“You need help?” Sam asks.

“Yes! But not from you two!”

“Oh, come on! We can help!” Bucky jokes.

“I’ll get her,” Sam sighs, ignoring his friend.

“Hey,” the woman knocks and you open the door.

“I know you told me how to do this but I think I’m stuck,” you laugh opening the door.

She giggles at your predicament. “Alright. We got this,” she assures you.

Once it’s on, you’re kind of shocked at how much you like it.

“Okay. I need, like, written instructions on how to put this on,” you insist as you turn in the mirror to get all of the angles.

“You like it?” Jen asked happily.

“I do! I think I found my freaky side,” you giggle.

“Oh, you already had a freaky side, princess,” Sam calls. You can’t help but laugh remembering he’s probably seen your porn history too.

You leave the store with two large shopping.

“Thank you, guys! This was fun!” You smile as you wait for the car.

Bucky just shrugs and sighs. “Steve better give me a detailed play by play when you wear that stuff for him.” You laugh at his statement and glance around the area. You’re near the fabric district here and there’s a fabric store across the street but that isn’t what catches your attention.

“That’s it,” you breathe.

You step out into the street just to get stopped by Sam before the car pulls up.

“Hey! Are you trying to kill yourself?” You don’t bother responding. You just point at the shop. “Okay. But we’re using the crosswalk,” Sam laughs tugging you along.

“It’s perfect!” You smile at the dress in the window. It’s looked like it was made of silk or satin but it was structured yet flowy, with a full skirt and train that looked just informal enough for a elopement but formal enough to know that it’s for a special occasion.

“It’s a dress,” Bucky grunts.

“Buck, we’ve been to three stores and she hated everything. I think this is important,” Sam rationalizes but you’re already half way in the building, phone out to capture whatever is about to happen because it’s bound to make good content.

You walk straight up to the counter to a brunette woman. “Hi, um, weird question, is that dress in the window for sale?”

“I’m sorry-“ she starts but the giant brunet behind you interrupts her.

“Name your price,” Bucky requests. “Ten grand? Fifteen? Rent around here must be crazy,” he goads.

The woman looks up at him then back at you.

“I’m sorry but that dress is just a display. It’s not finished.”

“Oh,” you frown. “Who designed it? Do they work here?”

“Actually,” she smiles, “he does. I’ll go get him.”

She disappears from the counter and into a back room.

She returns with a teenager stumbling behind her. He can’t be older than 16.

His gaze jumps between you and the two men behind you in confusion. “H-hi! Did you guys need help with something?”

“Did you design that dress?” You ask pointing at the window.

“Uh, yeah. It was just a project. Something to put out for fall…”

“Can you make me one?”

“Wha-“

“I’m getting married next week and I’ve looked all over LA and New York and this is the first dress I’ve fallen in love with,” you blurt out.

“We’ll pay whatever you want,” Sam states.

“Um, let me, uh, just consult with my aunt real quick.”

“Do it, Peter,” she smiles the second the words leave his lips.

“Alright. Let’s do it,” he grins.

“Is it okay if I film this?” You smile.

You’re measured and draped and pinned and hemmed and a mock up is made right there on the spot.

The shop keeper collects a bundle of white fabrics for you to choose from and you pick a bright white silk taffeta that looks amazing contrasting against your dark skin. You’re so in love already.

“Give me a couple of days and we’ll do the first fitting. Then it will just take me a day to make corrections.” You nod happily at your designer’s words. Sam give his aunt the down payment and you file back out into the street.

You let out the most content sigh you can muster since this whole ordeal started months ago.

-

“Guys it’s getting really real,” you sigh to your camera while doing your makeup. “Something came up and we decided to elope. We’re getting married sometime next week.” You already called Kate, Kamala, and Kahhori and told them the news. They complained for a moment about bridesmaids things and bridal showers but you explained to just wear something nice within the color range and Steve will pay for their last minute flights and lodging.

“We’re going to have a small ceremony, probably at the courthouse, with close friends. I finally found the dress today! You’ll have to wait for the wedding to see it but it’s perfect. Steve suggested doing a big thing in couple of years for our vow renewal but I think I like the idea of something small. We’re just ready to be one. And no, I’m not pregnant!” You laugh. “Anyway it’s probably our last date night as boyfriend and girlfriend. See you all at the alter,” you grin and end the video just as you hear the front door open.

His footsteps approach your room first and you look up happily.

“There’s my little movie star,” Steve smiles. He leans against the bathroom door and watches you go back to your makeup.

“How did your meetings go?”

He lets out a world weary sigh. “I’d rather not think about that.” You nod wanting to be his peace. “What are we wearing tonight?”

“I put some options out on your bed,” you instruct but he doesn’t leave. He just steps further into the room. He stoops over your seated form and wraps his long arms around your shoulders.

“Do I have time for a nap?”

“We have to leave in about an hour so I think so.” You smile at his reflection in your vanity mirror before picking up his hand and placing a kiss to the back of it. You notice his knuckles are bruised and raw.

“Steve, you want me to wrap this up for you?”

You’re already attempting to stand up but you realize you don’t even know where the bandages are.

“Oh?” He opens his eyes and examines his hand. “I guess I didn’t realize how messed up I got,” he chuckles.

You smile back at him and let him lead you to the first aid kit in his bathroom. You’re surprised you don’t ask him what happened. You wonder but you know the answer. He can’t tell you, he doesn’t want to get you involved, it’s best if you don’t know, blah blah blah. Why bother asking anymore?

The two of you settle on his bed while you assess the wound.

“Does it hurt?” You question while applying alcohol to the split skin.

“Not when you do it,” he grins making you giggle.

“There. All better.” You kiss both of his freshly bandaged hands.

“You’re the best,” Steve smiles.

“Get some rest. I don’t want you snoring during the movie.” You press a kiss to his forehead and move to get up but he grabs your hand.

He pulls you down into one of his breath stealing kisses making you smile.

You pull away slowly, glancing into his blue eyes.

“Stay?” He asks softly.

“I have to finish getting ready.”

“Please.”

You can’t say no to that. You curl around his large body and press another kiss to his lips. His hands run across your back, holding you close as he falls back into his bed. You smother your face into his neck and chest as he tangles his fingers in your locs. His breathing calms pretty quickly and it starts to lull you into a sense of comfort as well. You close your eyes.

Just for a few minutes…

You wake up and blink into the darkness. Steve’s weight rests partially on top of you. That groggy feeling that comes on when you fall asleep with the sun out and wake up and it’s pitch black starts to settle over you. You were supposed to wake up for something…

Oh shit! The movie! You tense up to sit up but find yourself hopelessly pinned under you fiancé. You probably missed it anyway.

You settle back down. Even Jethro is curled into your other side. You aren’t going anywhere.

You turn your head wondering if Steve has a clock in his room. You’re within arms reach of his nightstand and you remember he put his phone there before you sat down.

Your hand slaps across the wood searching for the little rectangle.

11:43? Ugh!

You guys need to find some food before everything closes.

“Steve,” you call and shake his shoulder. “Steve, are you hungry?”

He groans and holds you a little tighter, dragging you further under him.

“Steve,” you giggle. “You’re crushing me.”

“Good. It’ll keep you in my bed,” he mumbles. You laugh again and try to wiggle out from under him. “You’re too hot,” you whine.

He yawns and rolls off of you. “You’re pretty sexy yourself,” he mutters. You roll over and crawl up his chest. “Did we miss the movie?” You nod and give an affirmative hum. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize how tired I was.”

“It’s okay. I was pretty beat, too. But we should probably get some food.”

“Ugh,” he groans again and drops his arm back over you. “What do you want? What time is it?”

“Almost midnight.”

“Shit! We slept all evening!”

“Yeah, we did,” you laugh.

“I’m sorry, little star! I owe you a date.”

“I just wanted to spend time with you.”

“You’re spending all kind of time with me.” His fingers strum across your back making you smile.

“It’s just like adults to spend their time together sleeping.”

“What are we supposed to do? Go to Coney Island?”

“Well, we went to Disneyland.”

Steve chuckles and finally sits up dragging you along with him.

“What’s open this late?” He muses and grabs his phone. “IHOP? Dennys? Taco Bell?”

“My stomach can’t handle Taco Bell,” you laugh.

“You’re getting old,” Steve jokes in the light of his phone.

“Let’s go to IHOP!”

You change and jump into one of Steve’s cars for a short drive down the street. You opt for a booth in the corner hoping for some quiet but group of teenagers is sat a couple tables away from you dashing that dream.

Steve rolls his eyes as they talk loudly about the Aston Martin in the parking lot.

“Do you get that a lot when leave the house?” You ask quietly.

“How often do people see luxury cars at ihop?”

You just smile and point at the sugary pancake options. “Do you want to share one?”

“The Cinnamon Toast Crunch one!”

“Anything you want, star.” The waitress takes your orders before disappearing again.

“I was thinking we can do the wedding at my house in the Hamptons. Friday? Saturday?”

“You have a house in the Hamptons? Where don’t you have a house? Is the weather that close to the water nice right now? Who’s officiating?”

“All these fucking questions,” Steve chuckles. “You know I don’t know shit about these houses. It’ll be a little chilly but not coat weather. Sweater weather I guess.”

“I love that song,” you interrupt.

“Never heard of it. Natasha said she’s ordained and she’ll do it.”

“That’s nice of her. At least it won’t be a stranger. Probably Saturday. We can do, like, an early afternoon ceremony then brunch.”

“I’ll let the planner know.”

“You didn’t tell me there’s a planner,” you blanch.

“You didn’t tell me what you did with Sam and Bucky all day,” he counters playfully.

“Oh? I found the dress! It’ll be ready hopefully by Wednesday.”

“Good,” Steve smiles. “What else did you do?” He asks pointedly and you know one of them talked.

“Um, we went to a lingerie store to…get something for the wedding night,” you whisper.

Steve smirks at your words and leans back in his seat, crossing his arms. “You don’t have to get all dolled up for me. I like what I see.”

You giggle and glance away. “I just want it to be special.”

“You’re going to let me have you?”

“You’re going to be my husband,” you rationalize.

He regards you for a moment before slipping from his side of the booth to join you on yours.

He curls over you and presses a kiss to your lips.

“It would be an honor.” You lift yourself up to kiss him back.

“I don’t just pass my virginity out to anyone. You better know what you’re doing.”

He smirks at that then asks you a question that feels completely out of left field. “Do you want kids?”

“I-wha-?”

“I know you’re not on birth control. But I had a vasectomy almost 20 years ago and I have no intention on reversing it for no reason. So, do you want kids?” His brow lifts. In that quiet booth, the two of you start to plan your future.

“Do you want kids?” You counter, looking up at him through your lashes.

“I do. I’d love it if you’d make me some. But not yet. I think we need to practice this marriage thing for a bit.”

You nod in agreement. The two of you are silent for a moment before you look back up at him. “Who told you?”

“Oh, you know it was Buck,” Steve chuckles. “He’s pissed off I didn’t tell him you were a virgin.”

“It’s such a big deal to him. I still masturbate. It’s not like I’m untainted,” you laugh.

Steve takes a sharp inhale and clears his throat before answering. “Guys are just into that sort of thing, star. They think they can mold you into what they want. But you know what you like, huh?” He mutters so close to you ear a shiver goes down your spine.

“D-do you like that? That I’m a virgin?”

He hums in thought as his hand around your waist grips your side before dropping down to your hip. “I don’t like that I’ll have to be gentle with you,” he frowns. “I’m a little rough in the bedroom. But,” he sighs, “I’ve never been with a virgin. It will be fun to learn with you.”

“Y-you can be rough,” you whisper.

“No. I want you to enjoy your first time. It’s gotta be good or you’ll hate sex. I don’t want you telling me you have a headache or you’re on your period five weeks in a row because you don’t like how it feels. We have to figure each other out.”

He stops talking as your food is brought out. Steve starts cutting up his omelette but you just stare at your French toast.

“Should we start?”

“Start what?” Steve asks around around a mouthful.

“Start ‘figuring each other out’? So it won’t be so…awkward?”

“I’ve been fucking trying but every time I do my dumbass friends walk in.” You burst into laughter at his statement and how true it is.

“You managed to find some of the most fantastic cockblocks,” you manage between giggles.

“Some of the best in the business,” Steve agrees with a chuckle.

“Were they like that with Peggy?”

“Oh, they were the fucking worst! I don’t know how they knew every time we were trying to have sex. They’d call. They’d knock. Buck always just let himself in. He didn’t even feel bad about it.” You smile at him reminiscing about his late wife. It’s sweet. “And when Nat was in town, forget about it. We just went to bed fully clothed every night because she may just be doing laundry or cooking in our house the next morning. It was like they had a tracker on me.”

“They just love you.”

“My wife loved me, too!” He argues making you giggle.

“Okay, they just have keys to the house, right? Do they have keys to the bedrooms? We’ll lock the bedroom door.”

“Then they’ll just bang on the door.”

“Loud music! Or we can wear headphones with noise cancellation!”

“This is so much work to have sex,” Steve groans a little too loudly garnering the attention of the teenagers.

“Oh my God,” you laugh and hide your face in his cable knit.

“You kids got a problem?” He barks at them only making you laugh harder.

“Stop!” You cry, tugging lightly on his sweater. He just chuckles at your embarrassment.

“Eat your food so I can take you home and fuck your brains out,” Steve adds just as loudly to make sure the kids overhear it.

“I’m going to kill you!” You laugh as tears start to fill your eyes.

“Good luck with that, star.”

Steve drapes his arms over your shoulders as you step back into the house. He bends down to press a kiss to your temple and holds his nose there, nuzzling against you.

“You wanna take a shower with me?”

You almost whip out of his hold you turn so fast.

His expression quickly turns to amusement. “Too soon?”

You nod immediately as your face heats with a blush.

“Alright. Go get ready for bed and I’ll come find you.” He pulls you in for another forehead kiss before branching off to his bedroom.

You watch him as he walks away. This man is about to be your husband. He’s gorgeous. He’s kind. He’s surprisingly gentle. And you can’t even bring yourself to shower with him?

“Wait!” You call grabbing his hand. He hums, turning back around to face you. “Just showering, right? Like we aren’t going to do that until Saturday?”

Steve smiles and nods. “Just showering.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay, I’ll shower with you,” you spell out with a light laugh at how ridiculous you feel like you sound.

He just smirks at you an pulls you into him to hold your hand properly.

He surprises you and takes you to your room. Well, you guess it makes sense. All of your toiletries are in there.

He turns on you once you reach the end of your bed.

“I’m going to take your clothes off,” he tells and sits on the end of your bed.

“Oh! N-no! I can take them off myself.”

He shakes his head and pulls you between his legs. “I’m taking off your clothes.”

“Are you sure? We can just meet in the shower…”

He shakes his head again and plays with the hem of your sweater. “I want to take off your clothes.”

“…want to?” You question, letting your hands fall to his shoulders.

“I want to,” he repeats pulling you into a soft kiss.

“Okay,” you whisper after pulling away.

“Okay.”

He lifts the hem of your shirt that he’s been toying with up and over your head.

He inhales sharply once you’re left in your bra and leggings. “Shit,” he breathes. “I forgot how gorgeous you were under all of these clothes.” You giggle and move your arms to cover your chest. “Aht!” He scolds, pulling your arms away. “Don’t you dare hide yourself from me.” You smile and place your hands back on his shoulders. He presses your leggings down your hips and he helps you step out of them. “Fucking perfect,” he sighs.

He pulls you closer to him. “Can I touch you here?” He ask, tucking his finger in the little strap between the cups of your bra and pulling you even closer. His face is breaths from your cleavage. You bite your lip and nod. “Can I hear you say it?”

“Yes,” you whisper.

“Yes…?” He asks pointedly with a lifted brow.

“Yes, you can touch my boobs?”

“Good girl.” A soft whine escapes your lips at his praise. He hums positively. “New kink unlocked?” He smirks and presses a kiss to one of your breast. You take a sharp intake. “Has anyone ever touched you here?” You shake your head. He presses another open mouth kiss to your breast. “Didn’t I tell you I want to hear that sweet little voice?”

“No, no one’s ever touched me there.”

You don’t even notice his hands moving until your bra falls away. You move your hands to catch it but his hands stop you once again. “You want to be my good girl, don’t you?” He asks.

You start to nod before thinking better of it. “I want to be your good girl.”

“Good.” His teeth graze the skin just below your nipple and you let out a shuttering breath. His hands slide down your body and tuck into your thong.

Oh?

He slides the piece of cloths down your legs and releases them to fall to the floor. Then his hands grip your ass. You gasp at his tight grip and then his lips wrap around one of you nipples.

Oh God!

“Little star?” He asks making your brain come back to him, back to your bedroom, back to earth. Your eyes flutter open and you meet his blue gaze. His hand presses against your lower stomach while he looks up at you. “Can I touch you here?”

“Yes, please. You can touch my pussy. You can touch me everywhere,” you whimper.

He chuckles softly and lets his hand slide down to your slit.

“How do you masturbate, little star? Do you play with your clit?” He presses into the bundle of nerves that makes your knees so weak that you fall into his hold. He catches you so easily that you wonder if he did it on purpose. “Or do you like something a little deeper?” His fingers slide further into your body making you whine. They brush against the front of your insides with the precession of an expert. You’ve never explored that deep. It was a place for tampons and menstrual cups. A place you didn’t explore unless you had to. It was a little scary to you but he wasn’t scared at all. He almost seemed excited for some reason. It felt strange which is why you stayed away from sex. You were about to let him know that you preferred your clit to be played with-

“Oh god!” You choke.

“There it is,” Steve chuckles. He lifts you up so easily and lays you across the bed. He lays next to you just massaging that spot making your writhe against him. You want him to stop but your mouth begs for more. You’ve never felt more out of control of your own body. You grip his arm trying to push him away but your hips lift closer to him. You pant for air as your body arches against the bed.

“Nggh,” you whine, and attempt to smother your face in the bedding.

“Let it out, little star. Use your words.”

“Too much!” You gasp.

“Nah. You can take it.”

“Ste-please!”

“It’s okay. It’s just me. You can do it,” he encourages.

He’s doing something to you your vibrator could never. It’s never felt like this. You’ve never felt like this.

Then he presses against your clit.

“Ah! Ahh!” You gasp as your core contracts in a powerful orgasm.

But he doesn’t stop.

And your body doesn’t stop.

“Aaaa! Fuuuuu!” You cry as you feel yourself cum, a stream of liquid pouring out of you. You attempt to quickly get up to clean up the mess but Steve holds you down, pressing against your clit and that spot inside of you. “Buhuhu-“ you gesture to your core.

“The maid will deal with it,” Steve reasons. “Relax. Breathe.” You let out a heavy breath and let the orgasm continue to wash over you. “There you go. Good girl.” You whine and wiggle your hips against his hold. “My good girl. My little star.” You whimper and try to relax your tense body as the after shocks pulse through you. You take a few deep breaths and Steve finally releases you. He pulls you into a kiss, pressing himself over you.

You let out a heavy moan when he pulls away.

Steve chuckles and kisses you again. “Was that good?”

You take a deep breath and sigh it out. “Yeah. That was really good,” you smile before covering your face with your hands. “Fuck. That was amazing,” you laugh.

“Amazing, huh?” Steve laughs.

“Yeah,” you giggle.

He presses another kiss to your lips before his hand runs down your body to land on your stomach.

“I think I’ve gotten you nice and dirty. Time for a shower?” You nod and let out yawn and stretch. “Did I wear you out?”

You giggle and roll into a seated position just to give him a goofy, little grin. “I can do that all day.” He chuckles and lifts you into his arms to walk you both to the bathroom.

He places you on the counter. “Brush your teeth and do all that shit girls do.” He kisses your forehead and leaves the room. You imagine he went to brush his own teeth.

You quickly set about your nightly routine, chiefly aware of just how naked you are. Sure, you go naked all the time in your own home. But this was not your home. This was a space where far too many people had access to.

Maybe you just need to discuss that with Steve and have him set some boundaries. Yeah, boundaries are good.

You finish washing your face when your fiancé returns.

Very naked.

“Oh!” You squeak and look away.

Steve just laughs and wraps his arms around you, pulling him back against his very naked body.

“Get used to it, star,” he chuckles. He presses another kiss to your temple and steps away to turn on the shower. This was all so bizarre. It was out of the norm enough to live with him but now you were getting used to seeing him naked.

You just watch him for a moment, trying to get over the strangeness of it all.

“You’re beautiful,” you finally mutter when he meets your gaze.

He lifts an amused brow at you. “You think so?”

You nod. “Like, I can tell you really take care of yourself.” He hums in response before holding his hand out for you. You press yourself away from the counter and finally approach him. He steps into the open shower area.

“Hot enough?” You hold out your hand before turning up the heat. “I forgot what it was like showering with a woman. You guys like to boil.” You giggle but can’t help but agree with him. You wrap up your locs to the top of your head and tuck them into a shower cap before finally joining him.

He’s hard.

Not like porn star hard but you’ve seen him not hard and this was not it. Half mast, maybe.

He tucks his fingers under your chin and pulls you into a gentle kiss.

“Are you like that because of me?” You ask glancing at his member.

“What do you think?” He smirks. “All that moaning and whining coming from that pretty little mouth while having that gorgeous body pinned under me. What man wouldn’t get hard?”

You smile sheepishly, feeling guilty for his state.

But you’re supposed to be figuring each other out, right?

“Can I help?”

“There’s a lot of ways you can help. How do you want to help?”

“I mean, I’ve seen stuff,” you whisper as the water hits your body. “What do you like?”

“What do you want to try?”

“Um…” you squirm under his scrutiny. “Can I just, um, start with my hand? Is that, like, a beginner level?” You laugh nervously at your own question.

“We can start however you want.” He takes your hand and pulls you closer to him so you’re almost chest to chest. “Firm grip, okay? It’s not going to feel like anything if you’re just limp wristing it.” You giggle at his words and finally wrap your hand around his penis. Steve bites back a soft groan at your touch.

“This is the first one I’ve ever touched,” you admit softly.

“That might be a good thing. I can teach you exactly how I like to be touched.” Steve’s hand wraps around yours and he grips your fingers a little tighter around him. “Nice tight grip,” he mutters. You watch his hand intently for his instructions but your eyes can’t help but wander to dick that you’re holding. It’s pretty thick. Your fingers don’t surround the entire thing.

He moves your hand up and down the shaft just a little faster than what you would’ve done on your own.

“That’s it. Just like that,” Steve groans and falls back against the tiled wall. He releases your hand to pull you closer so your body presses against his once more, skin against skin as your chest meets his. His hands run up your ass before settling low on your hips.

You follow his instructions carefully before trying something you’ve seen and read about so many times. Your thumb swipes over his swollen head and he let out a shuddering breath making you light up.

“Is it sensitive there?” You ask innocently. You genuinely want to know as you go back to squeezing.

“A little,” he grunts.

“Am I doing a good job?”

“You’re a fucking pro, star,” he chuckles softly, finally meeting your gaze.

“I have a good teacher,” you smile and stand on your toes to kiss him.

He groans loudly after you pull away and halts your hand.

“Do you want to try something else?”

“Like what?” You whisper. Your curiosity must be plastered all over your face.

He smirks down at you and nods his head slightly to the stone shower bench. “Sit.” You glance at the ledge that up until now you’ve just used for shaving. You know what he’s going to ask. You’ve seen it. Your eyes look back at him wide with disbelief.

“It won’t fit,” you state simply like that will stop him.

“It doesn’t have to fit. That’s what those cute little hands are for.”

You follow his instructions and sit back on the shower seat and he stands between your legs.

“Start slow. Just use your tongue. Like its candy.”

You nod and grip him again at this new angle. You lean closer and open your mouth to give him a kitten lick. A salty tang hits your tongue that’s unlike anything you’ve ever tasted. It’s not exactly bad. You lick again before finally filling your mouth with his tip.

“Don’t forget the rest,” Steve coaches. You remember your hands as you squeeze along his shaft, stroking him as you suck experimentally. “That’s perfect,” Steve sigh. His hand finds your jaw and coaches you to take on a little more. His hand massages your throat and you try to appease him. Before you know it, your lips are halfway down his shaft and his cock is touching the back of your mouth.

“Good girl. My good little star. So fucking perfect for me,” Steve moans. Part of you glows with pride at his praise and you just want to please him. You feel him jump in your hands and he swells slightly.

“Fuck,” he groans and grips your throat a little tighter. “Gonna cum.” You hold on to him, not letting up with either your mouth or your hands. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuuuuu,” he sighs and spills into your waiting mouth. You gasp in surprise and pull away just for more to spirt out over your face and chest.

You get that taste of him again. It’s not really bad. It’s different. You swipe what lingers on your chest with your fingers and suck it off.

You kind of like it.

You glance up to see Steve watching you like a predator as you suck his essence off of your fingers.

“I’m sorry. Did you not like it?”

“I fucking loved it, star,” he growls making you want to cower away but you can’t help but lean in closer. “We have to wait until the wedding?” You nod and lick at his tip again as a little bead of cum bubbles out while he watches you. “Shit,” he curses and pulls you up so you’re standing against him. “Let’s get you cleaned up. I don’t know how much longer I can be good.” You giggle at his words and finally take a shower.

Once you’re clean, dried, and lotioned, you cuddle against Steve in your bed. Jethro curls up next to you as usual while the two of you talk quietly.

“You’re sure we can’t wear clothes?” You question, making sure the sheets covered your chest.

Steve hums positively while he covers his face with his arm and lets out a loud yawn.

“You need get used to this,” he explains simply. “We’re being intimate.” You curl over him, wrapping your leg over his hips. He holds it in place with the hand that was over his face and massages your thigh.

You finally let your hands explore his body as well. “You have really big pecs,” you smile touching the skin there. He chuckles softly and tickles behind your knee making you giggle and press his arm away.

“That was a weird compliment.”

“I don’t know if it’s a compliment. You have bigger boobs than mine.”

“Let me see.” He pulls you up so you’re sitting straddled on his stomach. All of the blankets fall away but you don’t have time to feel exposed as Steve cups your breasts in his palms. He scrutinizes them for a moment. “You’re definitely bigger,” he finally decides.

“Barely. I’ve always thought they were too small. I kind of want a boob job,” you admit.

He glances from your chest to your face. “I think they’re perfect. But if you want your boobs done, you just have to ask.”

You smile at his offer. “You like them?”

He takes a deep breath and bends his knees so you can lean back against them. “I love them. I think if they were bigger, they wouldn’t fit your body.”

“It’s just something I’ve thought about since I was younger,” you sigh. “What about you? Any changes you want?”

“Well, you said I was beautiful. I guess I’m good,” Steve laughs making you giggle.

“You don’t have any insecurities?”

“Of course I do. I’m still human. I’m not perfect.”

“You seem perfect. Like a Ken doll.”

“Is that what you think?” You nod. “I used to weigh less than you,”

“No way!”

He nods and pulls at your hands so you’re lying against his chest.

He’s held you like this before but with no clothes, it no longer seemed so innocent…

“I still have all kind of health issues. Asthma, a heart murmur, I can barely fucking see without my contacts. Remind me to take them out before I fall asleep. I thought if I made the outside better, it would fix the inside. The inside still sucks.”

You hold him a little tighter at the new information.

“Do they have scoliosis Ken?” He asks and you smile.

“Tell me something else,” you request.

He takes a deep breath and you notice just how out of sync his heartbeat is as you press your ear to his chest. “This is really shitty,” he warns.

“Lay it on me.”

“Um, okay.” He’s never sounded so unsure of himself like that. “This is something no one knows. Not even Buck.” You perk up at his words. “I’ve only been with one other woman since Peggy died. It was technically her niece. She’s my age! Maybe your age. Whatever! She’s an adult,” he quickly disclaims before you can call the cops. He takes another deep breath. “And…I met her at Peggy’s funeral.”

“What the fuck?” You bark at the man, shooting up quickly.

“I know. It was so shitty. That’s why I’ve never told anyone that. Ever,” Steve confides.

“And you never should!” You cry and smack his chest lightly. “Shit! I’m sorry,” you immediately recoil at hitting him knowing how fragile he is under all that muscle.

“It’s okay,” he laughs. “I deserve it. I just want you to know I’m not perfect.”

“Well, you keep ruining that image with each word,” you pout, and lay back down against his chest.

“Your turn,” Steve sighs, running his fingers through your locs.

You think back through your life for a moment. “Um, I’ve only been in one relationship. It was while I was in college. It was my first serious relationship but he just got out of a relationship with a girl that cheated on him.” Steve hums in understanding as his grip on you tightens. “He kept, like, projecting her onto me, suspecting me of cheating, questioning everything I did. I didn’t really want to do anything with him after a few dates but he couldn’t catch a hint. Then he slept over once and he tried to-“ Steve's grip on you becomes deafening.

“Steve, I can’t breathe,” you wheeze.

“Oh, shit! I’m sorry, star,” he releases you quickly but you don’t want to be released while you recount this moment. You want to be held down. You want to be tethered.

“Wait, don’t let go,” you whisper.

“If the next words out of your mouth are that he forced himself on you, I can’t guarantee what I’ll do with my hands,” he admits.

“I mean, I stopped it before anything happened but it kind of turned me off of dating. I just put my head down. Focused on school and my friends.”

“I just need a name, star. It’ll be like he never existed.”

“He was young and dumb. We both were.”

“That’s not an excuse,” Steve says flatly.

You just hum. You haven’t shared that with anyone either. “Can I tell you something?” You say after a moment and sit up again on his chest. “You were so gentle and patient with me that you restored my trust. And you didn’t even know any of my past. So, thank you.”

“I hope you’re not giving yourself to me because I was the first guy to be nice to you,” he smirks, reaching up to cup your face with his hand.

“No, of course not,” you smile. “I know this isn’t an ideal situation for either of us, but I want you to come home and be happy to see me. To confide in me. Unwind with me. Be like a normal couple.”

He pulls you down into a soft kiss. “I’m already happy to come home to you.” You giggle softly. “The rest of it will come with time.” He lets out a heavy yawn.

Time. It’s always time with him.

“You need to go take out your contacts,” you remind him and roll off of his chest.

He hums in agreement and slides out of the bed. “Don’t go anywhere,” he warns and yawns again. You can’t help but watch his butt as he walks off.

He’s got a cute butt.

You snuggle into your bed, taking up the spot he warmed up to stave off the cold. You start to doze off when you feel the bed dip and Steve wrap his arms around you. You drape your arm over his shoulder and snuggle into his chest.

“Goodnight, Steve,” you mutter.

“‘Night, my little star.”

Chapter 3 | Master List | Chapter 5

[ranchthoughts]

Moments of ephemerality/permanence/YOLO/photography/voyeurism/control/hypocrisy/accountability etc. in Only Friends ep. 9

last week in meta

Permanence vs ephemerality

As usual, a quick little recap on moments that to me spoke of the ephemeral and the permanent:

Nick says "Why can't I forget about Boston despite the fact that he did lots of shit to me?" -> Nick wishes Boston, his love for Boston, and his memories of Boston are more ephemeral than they are

Nick calls Ray Sand's "haunting spirit," Sand says Ray won't find where he is and join them because Sand isn't that important to him (not worth the time and effort to drive 2 hours into the mountains) -> Sand thinks his relationship with Ray is ephemeral, that what they have (and the interest Ray has for him) is not lasting or permanent

Sand had imaginary (spectral) friends as a kid because he had no real friends as a child

Sand and Nick try hooking up but it doesn't do anything for them -> friendship is the lasting relationship between them, anything romantic/sexual is just a passing fancy, the awkwardness of the moment is also fleeting and they quickly go back to normal

Ray's shirt says "YOLO" while he and Sand sit in the water and talk

Ray again tells Sand "Don't think too hard about it," like he did in his car that one time -> live in the moment, go with the flow, YOLO

All the talk about death at the camper van between Ray and Sand (Ray talking about his life flashing before his eyes, Ray asking if people would cry if he died, Ray requesting a funeral song from Sand, while Sand says "I have dreams. I don't want to die just yet.", Ray asks if he can follow Sand and Sand's dream around "now that I live") -> life is fleeting

Ray and Mew break off their relationship -> this arrangement, pretending to be romantically involved, was fleeting; their platonic friendship is more lasting (like Mew said a few episodes ago about being friends forever)

Cheum says she thought of Mew's changes as him being possessed by an evil spirit (ephemeral, something outside of Mew's control) but Mew says he was just lost and trying to become stronger by becoming someone else for a bit

Despite breaking things off with Ray and understanding that his party-going behaviour was a way of coping with everything that went on, Mew is still dressing like Ray at the end of the episode (are these changes in behaviour, or at least in dress, more permanent than they may have initially seemed?)

Atom wanted a more lasting relationship with Boston, despite the pretense for them hooking up was as one-time experiment to see if Atom was in fact interested in men; once again Boston is saddled with a man who wants something more lasting and committed than he was prepared to give (or was agreed on)

Recording and digital media

Of course, a core example of permanence in this show has been recordings, either in audio or visual form. We saw more of that this episode.

Top records Ray and Sand making out in the music room, though he doesn't show the footage to Mew (...reminiscent of Mew obtaining the footage of Boston and Gap but not showing it to his dad/posting it online... though making Boston very aware of what he *could* have done and what a good person he is for *not* doing that)

Atom says he wants a photo to keep (the idea of photos being a permanent keepsake), Boston took photos of Atom after their hookup

There's something here as well about consensually being recorded vs. not... Atom asking to be photographed by Boston vs Top recording Ray and Sand, like how Boston recorded Ray and Mew or Gap recorded Boston and others (which itself can be contrasted by Mew expressing interest and excitement at being recorded by Gap when he was on his reconnaissance mission).

I was playing around with the idea of surveillance the other week, with Gap running a channel full of sex tapes (that may or may not have been recorded with consent) and Boston using Instagram to find his friends. This week:

Ray figures out where Sand and Nick are based on Nick's Instagram story -> just like how Boston figured out his friends were at the hostel based on Cheum's Instagram story. Again, the characters don't think about what their social media presence is revealing to others

Mew's moms saying they recognize Top from Mew's Instagram

Social media, especially Instagram, has had a recurring role in this series. It makes sense, given the age of the characters, but it also brings up ideas of the appearances we put up/narratives we tell ourselves and others, surveillance, permanent records of things vs. the ephemerality of digital content, etc...

And of course, we these tie into the theme of voyeurism too: Top records Sand and Ray making out in the music room, Nick listening to Boston and his hookup kiss in the bathroom stall for a moment (before interrupting to give a heartfelt apology and goodbye).

Control and Boundaries

Last week I thought some thoughts about control and boundaries, and especially cases where characters said "it's none of your business what I do". We had lots more examples of this this week too:

Sand asks Ray to get out of his way multiple times in the music room and Ray doesn't

Ray tells Sand "Now that I have you in my life I won't let you walk away"

Top steps in to say Mew has a boyfriend when Mew is chatting to the random bar stranger, then grabs Mew by the arm and trying to pull him

Mew tells Top to stay out of his life

Ray demands sex from Mew and Mew shuts him down, Ray asks why Mew slept with Top but not him, Ray giving reasons why he is "owed" sex ("I've been nothing but good to you for the last four years")

Ray phones Sand many times and when Sand picks up, Ray gets mad it took him so long to answer

Sand tells Ray not to come to him, Ray finds out where Sand is and goes to him anyways

Sand tells Ray "I'm not just stuff you have in your possession. I have feelings."

Atom shows up at Boston's house to ask why Boston isn't answering his messages

Boston and Atom have a one night stand so Atom can experiment and figure himself out but Atom is mad it was only one night

Top invites himself along on Mew's shopping trip with his moms even though Mew repeatedly tries to get him to leave

Sand says whether or not he and Nick are hooking up is none of Ray's business

Sand says that if Ray doesn't sort himself out and someone without conditions comes by he will not wait for Ray, though he says he doesn't want this to be pressure on Ray

Mew talks about Sand to Ray in the context of ownership ("If he loves you too, do your best to keep him")

Again we see the idea of ownership - who gets to dictate or have opinions on your life - and boundary crossing, especially as it pertains to leaving people alone (I've lost count in this series so far, but there's been so many cases of people saying "don't find me" or not answering texts but being tracked down regardless).

I would also like to point out how interesting it is to have Nick promise not to see Boston any more in a show where everyone has been categorically incapable of leaving people alone/tracking them down.

Friendship

We had more this episode on friendship, and what friendship entails (I was batting this idea around the other week as well).

Sand and Nick kiss then admit it did nothing for them and agree they are better off as platonic friends (though platonic friends can cuddle). Mew says it is lucky he and Ray didn't hook up because otherwise they wouldn't be able to look at each other in the eye. Again, we see friendship as something defined by the lack of sex, that sex changes a relationship (and that sex is generally something not possible/desirable in a platonic relationship).

Previously, Mew has told us friends are not people you fuck in a car, and Sand has said friends don't struggle to stop kissing one another. Only Ray has provided an alternate definition, that friendships can start from sex, though the audience may debate whether he has been successful in creating friendships or rather other types of relationships.

Change

A couple of weeks ago, and the week before that, I was tracking what characters had to say about change (did they think it was possible? under what conditions? etc.):

Nick in the past has tried to change himself (go to the gym, dress differently, etc.) to appeal to Boston. This week, Nick tells Boston he doesn't have to change, that his friends like him for who is, that people (including Nick) will love Boston for who he is.

Mew in the past has said people can change though it will take time, and he was skeptical of Top being able to change and repent. This week, Mew says he wants to give Top a second chance because he can see Top's efforts (Top is capable of change, it just takes time and effort), and Mew talks about how he himself changed (in behaviour, dress, interests, etc.) as a way to recover from his experiences and find strength ("I want you to understand that what happened to me affected my self-confidence so much. I just thought if I became someone else, I would be stronger"). Mew also tells Ray "Reduce your ego. Not everyone can put up with everything you do" (implying that Ray should change himself so Sand will stick around).

Ray in the past has hinted that change is possible, as he made comments about getting over Mew. This episode we had more of the same, with Ray saying he is working on getting over Mew though it is hard, and also showing a change in the way he interacts with Mew (more self-aware, less idealizing or all encompassing in his feelings for Mew).

Cheum in the past did not think Mew's change (in behaviour, wardrobe, interests, etc.) was good or healthy. This episode she said Mew changing is like he was possessed by an evil spirit, and she says she will come back and work on the hostel project if they all promise to stop with the mess (if they change their behaviour).

We've also been talking about how often characters in Only Friends have had a vested interest in preventing others from changing, like Cheum and Top teaming up last episode over "concern" for Mew (1, 2), and how that relates to themes of control, hypocrisy, and the permanency of labels.

Honesty (and accountability)

There was QUITE a lot of honesty this episode:

Sand and Nick trying to hookup but then admitting it isn't doing anything for them and they are better off as friends

Sand pointing out the parallels between him and Ray hooking up while Ray is seeing Mew, and Top and Boston hooking up (which Mew points out later in the episode as well)

Sand saying he likes Ray a lot and he is jealous of Ray and Mew, but he knows that isn't his place to be upset about; Ray admitting he likes Sand too but Mew is special to him and it is not easy for him to get over Mew (implying that the end goal is to get over Mew)

Ray and Sand talking about Ray's crash and how that made them feel (Ray talks about flashing back through his life when he crashed, Sand says he would have never forgiven himself, etc.), Ray asking if anyone would cry if he died

Mew and Ray's conversation on the bench where Mew says he knows Ray went to see Sand and Ray doesn't deny it, Mew says he is glad Ray picked Sand and admits "You can clearly see I dated you just to hurt Top," Ray admits that he knew that ("I kind of got the hint. But I was trying to fool myself") and says it is nice Mew loves Top; they then share the most honest and sincere "I love yous" with each other this series

Nick giving a heartfelt speech to Boston about his feelings for him, apologizing for what happened, and promising not to see him anymore

Mew admitting to Cheum he is still in love with Top and explaining the reasons why he changed as he did (he felt vulnerable and insecure)

I'd like to point out that not only are the characters being honest with each other to an extent we have not seen before, but they are also being honest with themselves. Sand admits he really likes Ray, Ray admits that he was trying to convince himself Mew actually loved him romantically, Mew admits that he changed because he was insecure and wanted to be strong and that he was just dating Ray to make Top jealous... and so on.

There's been some talk about how maturely Ray and Mew, for example, handled their break-up, and the amount of honesty in that conversation played a big role in that maturity. If the characters do not own up with themselves (and others, of course) about their behaviour, their motivations, and their impacts, how can they show true accountability and learn and grow from their actions and choices?

Hypocrisy and moral superiority

After episode 6 I threw around some ideas about Top and Mew and their dynamic. Top has a habit of casually trying to sway Mew's opinions, especially against Ray (insinuating that Ray doesn't work hard on the hostel project, insinuating that Ray will never stop having feelings for Mew, etc.). I noticed a few things this episode that reminded me of this:

Mew tells Top to stay out of his life, that his choices are none of Top's business, and Top says he knows that he has no right to make comments about Mew's life and choices (after coming in and making comments about Mew's life and choices...) and then says "I bet you know what you are doing" (trying to smooth it over and convey absolute belief in Mew)

Top doesn't show Mew the video of Ray and Sand ("I don't want to play another dirty trick to get you back") but does make it pretty clear that Ray is doing something -> he's a "good guy" because he didn't share anything that isn't his business, but he hinted at it enough he may as well have shared it. He gets to keep his veneer of "good guy" while also getting his desired outcome (getting Mew's wheels turning re: Ray) - see @thatgirl4815's post here. This is also very similar to what Mew does with Boston and the sex tape: holding all the cards, threatening with them, but not actually deploying them, which allows them to claim moral superiority (and, in Top's case, claim that he is leaving Mew alone to make his own decisions).

Top says if this "Mew the party-goer" is who he wants to be, he will support him, BUT he also says he would love to have the old Mew back -> again, Top gives himself a veneer of "good guy" (he will be there to support Mew whatever his choices are! He respects Mew's autonomy!) BUT while doing so he manages to convey his preference (Mew to return to "normal") and still give an opinion on what Mew should do. It reminds me of what Top said about Lasik - laying it out as an option and suggesting it casually, before belatedly tacking on a comment about how he like Mew in glasses. Top made his preference clear then backtracked, claiming to respect whatever Mew chooses, much in the way he frames his comments about Ray (just simple, casual observations).

This dynamic is really interesting to me given all the talks about control and hypocrisy we've been having over the course of the series, and Mew's much explored superiority complex (especially with regards to morality and sex). Top demonstrates a similar superiority complex, and given he's trying to win Mew back, it's interesting to wonder how many of these affectations have been adopted to appeal to Mew's love of the moral high ground and appease Mew's repeated protestations that his decisions are none of Top's business.

@waitmyturtles and @twig-tea were also talking last week about how this moral superiority works hand in hand with ignoring other peoples' agency and a lack of reflection on how one's actions impact others. Accountability - these young people coming to terms with how their decisions have consequences and setting aside their YOLO ways a bit to think of others - is not possible without (self-)honesty, without giving up control, without taking a step off the high horse of moral superiority and comparison.

Random thoughts

Ray and Mew talk about a sleepover they had (with at least Cheum as well) in second year and talk about being in each other's lives for 4 years... we are getting a slightly better understanding of when this group came together.

On assumptions, which I was thinking about a couple of weeks ago: this episode Ray sees Nick and Sand in bed together and assumes they were hooking up. Once again, we have a character interpreting things through their own lens and one that perhaps reveals more about that character than about what is going on.

On "should have" and the narratives we tell ourselves: once again we had Mew (and Ray) talking about their relationship in terms of what "should" be, for example Mew telling Yo he should be in love with Ray because Ray has been by his side forever.

On comparisons, since this friend squad is constantly comparing themselves to one another: Sand and Mew compare what Sand and Ray have been doing to what Top and Boston did, Ray compares his physical relationship with Mew to Top's (and isn't pleased), Sand says that compared to Boston Ray is a saint (see @lurkingshan's post on that here).

On addiction, which we've seen a lot of talk on/mention of in the show so far (but I haven't been collecting mentions of, regrettably): Mew tells his moms he is not addicted to cigarettes, Mew tells Ray to consult with a therapist about quitting drinking.

hello ephemerality squad: @chickenstrangers, @clara-maybe-ontheroad, @colourme-feral, @distant-screaming, @lurkingshan, @neuroticbookworm, @rocketturtle4, @slayerkitty, @thatgirl4815, @twig-tea, @waitmyturtles, @wen-kexing-apologist

[anamoon63]

Rather Long Sims 4 Rant

Before I continue with my The Sims 4 stories, it is with sadness that I inform you that the Wilsons recently lost the beautiful celebrity home they had just moved into. I don’t know exactly what happened, what I know is that it happened right after the For Rent EP update (which I didn’t buy or install, but yes, I did update). From that day on, my sims, who were on vacation in Sulani at the time, were unable to get back in the house. Every time they tried to return, the game would get stuck eternally at the loading screen. I tried everything, even evicting them and returning them to the house. Nothing, just the screen kept loading forever.

I also tried to demolish the lot to re-install the house, but every time I did this, (and I tried a lot of times), the game either crashed or kept loading infinitely. After many attempts of a lot of things like repairing the game, resetting it to factory settings, removing my mods folder, restoring saves, and all the solutions I know (I am die hard when it comes to troubleshooting The Sims), I finally decided to leave it alone and accept that my sims would never recover their beloved house and that they had to move.

Now they’re happily living again in Brindleton Bay, in one of the bigger houses there; they are comfortable, and going on with their lives, though I still really miss and long for the other house, which is still sitting there, since I have not been able to demolish it to put a new one. It’s still stuck there, which annoys me to no end cause I like my cities clean and functional, and just knowing that there is an abandoned and inactive house there really upsets me.

I know I could start a new save and install the house in a clean Del Sol Valley, but that would mean Allan and his family would lose all their current social and work relationships, which at this point for me is unthinkable, with all the networking they have established, co-workers, school friends, romances, etc. Plus, what about all the makeovers I did to everyone they knew? I mean, I saved every townie I made over in my library, but would I have to reinstall them one by one? Maybe, but how? I still don’t know much about this game; I know that in The Sims 3 it wouldn’t be a problem for me.

Anyway, the Wilson’s story wasn’t over, it wasn’t difficult to move them, the only thing that hurt me were Allan and Zoe’s awards, trapped in their lost home. But in one of the rare and fortunate times that I was able to enter the bugged house in build mode, I saved the room where the awards were in my library, and then installed it in the Wilson’s new house. That’s how I rescued the awards that now lie on a shelf in Allan and Zoe’s new bedroom. I continued to play and got a lot more photo footage of them, in addition to what I had before the update disaster. By the way, this is the first time I’ve had problems with an update, of any kind. I pride myself in being an expert at troubleshooting The Sims, but I guess I still have a lot to learn regarding The Sims 4, which is a relatively new game for me.

Anyway, I plan to uninstall the entire game soon and reinstall it on my other hard drive cause I’m running out of space and will need more since I plan to get a few other game packs in the future. Once my game is reinstalled, I’d love to be able to demolish the ruined house in Del Sol Valley and, if possible, reinstall it on the cleaned-up lot to give the Wilsons back the home they lost. So, if by any chance someone read this very long post to the end, and has gone through something similar to this, (i.e. not being able to enter a house but also not being able to demolish it in order to reinstall it), please let me know if you were able to solve it and how. Any new ideas, other than everything I already mentioned and all those obvious solutions around on EA’s Q&A, would be welcome.

Sorry for the rant, and thanks for reading this far. 🩷

Note: The house is Famous Mansion, in the Sims 4 Gallery, by emma4101, original by JL_Sims 4. Never had issues with it before.

[laxmiree]

[CN] MLQC Lucien’s 2023 Birthday Prologue translation

⚠️ SPOILER ALERT!! ⚠️

This post contains a detailed spoiler for a story that has not been released in EN yet! Feel free to notify me if there are any mistakes in the translation~

Lucien’s 2023 CN Birthday Event (The New World)✧ Birthday Story | Birthday Prologue (You're here!) | Birthday Date | ASMR | Birthday Party

MC: The last shot for the empty frame, everything else is fine. Xiaojia, please go back and provide me with a rough cut of today's footage.

MC: It's a wrap! Great job, everyone!

After confirming tomorrow's shooting schedule with the production team, the last ray of sunlight has already set. I yawn as I return to my room, take a shower, and dial Lucien's phone number.

Lucien: Today's phone call seems to be coming in a bit earlier than yesterday, it looks like everything is going smoothly.

MC: Yes, indeed. And we managed to make up for the progress affected by the rain earlier today. I have a feeling it's a good sign for finishing ahead of schedule.

MC: However, Lucien...

I lean in closer to the phone screen, squinting my eyes.

MC: Why are you still in the lab at this hour?

On the other end of the screen, Lucien is wearing a white lab coat, with the cold light reflecting off the corners of his eyes and onto the frames of his glasses resting on his nose.

Lucien: Some of the data is running a bit slowly, so I'm waiting for them.

MC: Pfft, is it a very important experiment?

Lucien: Not really. I just wanted to wrap things up today.

Lucien: After all, my little lady has been working so hard for the upcoming vacation, and if I don't keep up with her, I wouldn't be a good boyfriend.

With Lucien not having to go on business trips this year and after confirming his other work arrangements, I decided to pre-allocate two days for him. The plan is to rest a bit after celebrating his birthday.

To ensure that this short break won't be disrupted by any unexpected events, I scheduled and completed important work tasks for the upcoming month in advance by working overtime.

MC: So, is there hope that these slow-running data will reach the finish line today?

Lucien: Well, it depends on how you define the concept of "today".

Lucien: If we calculate it in a 24-hour format, it might not be possible. But if we look at it according to my sleep schedule, it seems there's hope.

His serious tone makes me can't help but laugh, although I'm helpless in such a situation, I still pretend to be serious and poke his cheek through the screen.

MC: You can't stay up all night, even if you have to spend the night in the lab, you should take a short nap.

Lucien: Do you still have work to deal with?

MC: Yes, there are some details to confirm... What's the matter?

Lucien didn't respond to this sudden topic. He simply gets up from the screen, and when he reappears, he's holding a soft pillow in his hand.

Lucien: Then, sleep with me for a while.

Perhaps it's because he's lying down, his voice sounds a bit lazy, and as a result, my heart involuntarily softens a bit.

MC: Let's sleep then, goodnight.

It's not until I hear the steady sound of breathing from the other end of the screen that I shift my gaze back, attempting to refocus my attention on work.

But my gaze keeps involuntarily shifting towards him, wanting to know if he's sleeping soundly, wanting to know what's in his dreams.

Almost as if on a whim, I clicked on the several B&B I had saved in the past few days and began comparing them.

Considering the short drive, the suitability of the venue for setup, and the surroundings...

I keep flipping through options until I finally lock onto the small wooden cabin that has been capturing my attention from the start.

Perhaps it's because of the arched circular bay window that overlooks a vast expanse of grass, or perhaps it's because it resembles an egg, always giving the impression of having a special meaning.

MC: ...15, 16, and factoring in the time for setup...

I'm double-checking the calendar, booking the room for the 14th to the 16th on the website, and then sending a confirmation request to the B&B manager.

Just as I'm about to purchase the birthday decorations as well, Lucien happens to wake up.

MC: You're awake. Did you sleep well?

Lucien: Mm, maybe because I dreamt of you.

MC: (smiles softly) Then why did you wake up so quickly?

I hear Lucien speak.

Lucien: Because I know that by waking up, I can see you.

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

MC: ...Let's place the canvas to the side, so that the hanging ribbon can fall right here.

I mutter to myself while gesturing, tirelessly adjusting the positions of the balloons, gift boxes, and fairy lights.

Then I walk back and forth in the room, simulating where his gaze would first land when he enters.

MC: Lucien's perspective should have a wider view... so these balloons here should be hung a bit higher.

After tidying up the mess of packaging bags and changing the water in the vase, I rub my sore shoulders and nod in satisfaction.

The warm yellow light spills through the arched circular bay window, enveloping everything in a cozy warmth.

I slump onto the small sofa and gaze out through the glass window.

The abundance of greenery makes one involuntarily slow down their breath, as if by doing so, they could catch the pleasant scent of fresh grass.

MC: (smiles) I hope Lucien will like it here.

My phone suddenly vibrates twice.

B&B Administrator: Miss MC, the groceries you ordered are already placed at the front door. There are frozen items, so please collect them promptly.

MC: They arrived so quickly... Alright, the customized birthday feast is officially underway!