#half-truth half-lie i could muster

[echo-s-land]

Someone told me that he 'like hanging around with me' and he 'love my smile' today

[anantaru]

・✶ ｡ synopsis — fucking your enemy doesn't really sound like a good plan or wait, maybe it does! <3

warnings — enemies to lovers, fingering, playful childe, fem! reader

childe always approaches you with that damn smirk on his face, his gaze intense and unwavering, a sprinkle of confidence playing on his lips.

the harbinger had always been your enemy, the embodiment of danger and excitement, and despite the many battles the both of you had fought, you couldn't lie to yourself but admit that there was an undeniable pull between you— a connection you refused to acknowledge, even to yourself at times.

"ah, you fought well today," childe's was barely out of breath as he throws his hands up in the air to feign defeat, his voice low and husky, a dangerous edge to his tone, "but you're not as strong as you think you are, heh."

without batting your lashes, you glare back at him with your body tense of anger, every single nerve inside on edge, "—and you're still as arrogant as ever, childe."

fuck, how much he adored it whenever you showed him a little of your sweet temper, it's a little salty too but he doesn't mind that— in fact, it gets him going and arouses something deep below.

naturally his smirk widens the moment you say it, his eyes darkening with something far more primal that he'd originally let on, "me? arrogant? oh am i? or am i just confident?"

you roll your eyes and before you could even find a good enough response, he instantly closes the distance between you in a swift stride— without haste, folding your spirit in half with his presence becoming overwhelming.

in an attempt to turn around and leave his hand grabs towards your arm, gripping your wrist with a surprising gentleness that was never experienced before by you, yet with the strength you've known far too well, one that left no room for escape.

"you think you can hide it from me? i can see it in your eyes, you know," he murmurs underneath his heightened breathing, slanting towards your face closer and closer until you could feel his warm breath against your ear, "the way you look at me, you see? the way your body reacts when I'm near like that— ugh, you're so shy, but I know you've been dreaming about this, as have i, or haven’t you?"

your heart races at the absurdity in his sentence— or was there even a sprinkle of a lie inside of it? how long until you cannot run from the feelings you harbored for him anymore? or was it simply lust that kept the drive inside of yourself working.

a mixture of fear yet also excitement floods your senses— you really wanted to deny it, to push him away, but the truth was, his words struck a deep chord within you, you're doomed and yes, in fact, you had dreams about him— of feeling him inside you, feeling his cock twitch and thicken while he's grinding himself in you, fucking your tight cunt as the fantasies of surrendering to the raw, forbidden desire consumed you.

you knew he must be good in bed, amazing even, there was no chance in hell that he wasn't with that striking personality of his.

"cut the crap childe, i don't know what you're talking about," you stammer back, but my dear, don't you hear? your voice betrayed you just this second, right in front of his eyes as you began to tremble with the weight of your secret longing dying to be set free.

"oh? but i think you do," he whispers before saying your name so sensually that it felt like someone's set your body on fire.

the man continues as his lips brush against the sensitive skin of your neck;

"you've wanted this for so long, right? this—"

and before you could muster a response, his mouth claims yours in a searing kiss that made your brain rewire, the touch of his lips strong and ruthless as one hand slid up to cup the back of your head, holding you firmly in place.

you weren't surprised by how childe kissed you, in fact, you imagined how it felt like— granted, it was better than you originally fantasized.

the kiss was rough, as if he was looking for an answer, and it shattered the last bit of your very resistance as you kissed him back with equal fervor, your body igniting with a fire you had tried so hard to suppress— yet, was it actually bad that you went against your own beliefs? just this once?

of course, you both were on different sides, supporting different agendas but this— fuck, this, it felt so good, why was the darkness childe expelled so mesmerizing? like biting into a poised apple and still relishing in getting tainted?

the harbingers hands roamed over your body, exploring, claiming, as if he had every right to do this and his touch was electric, sending shivers down your spine before he pushed you against the cold stone wall, the contrast between the cool surface and his heated skin only heightening your needful senses.

although before going further, he abruptly stopped the kiss, at last lapping across your bottom lip and seeking your gaze, "tell me you want this, i need this," he growls against your lips, his hands gripping your hips with a bruising energy, "tell me you've dreamed of this moment too."

you close your eyes and take a deep breath, a shaky whimper escaping your lips as you felt the grip on you tighten. each one of his touch, his breath hitting your skin and his words played into your beating heart and you couldn't, you just weren't able to stop your body from liking this.

your back arches a little as to show him without words, without needing to admit it— right now, you weren't sure if you could ever say it out loud.

like snowfall, his touch was cold, but it felt oddly comforting.

but you let him move forward as one hand slips beneath your clothes, finding your wetness between your thighs, your folds messed up and puffy for him. "childe i— i... i want this too," you admit against your own volition, the words tumbling out before you could even stop them, "i’ve dreamed of you, childe, maybe..."

you got him now— or, does he have you wrapped around his finger instead? regardless, his eyes blaze with a glistening triumph hanging over his irises as he captures your lips again.

he begins slowly, his fingers working around your hole with expert precision, circling your entrance and collecting your slick with such precision which you originally only knew of his ways of fighting as he coaxes out every inch of your pleasure.

you're writhing and hiding your moans into his chest, the volume of your whimpers growing when he pokes one finger in.

with a growl, he rips your shirt aside to expose your breasts, the fabric tearing in his haste— and before you knew it, his own jacket followed as you helped discard them quickly.

"look at me," he commands, "feel how i touch you there," as his voice resembles a rough whisper.,"i want to see the look in your eyes when i touch and touch you,"

you obeyed, meeting his gaze, your breath hitching as he thrusts one finger into you with a single, powerful flick forward.

the sensation was immediately overwhelming, not due to the fact that he was beginning to stimulate your hole with fast thrusts of his digit fucking in and out of you but the sole thought of childe doing it was the final nail in the coffin.

your heart was beginning to hurt from riding his fingers, furiously rattling against your ribcage as you threw out the last amount of dignity you had inside your body, becoming one with the movements of his hand before starting to seek it.

his wet tongue drags from your neck towards your collar bones before reaching your nipples, immediately taking one in his mouth as the heel of his hand began to press into your clit painfully hard, the feeling only multiplying when you shoved yourself into it more, better and deeper, until your body flashes you with a heat you cannot escape.

one more finger, more, and each pump turned rougher and moredemanding with the pace of his hand being relentless, cruel as you almost climaxed by just looking at him— how his wet lips left a trail of saliva on your slicked chest and ugh, that delirious glimmer in his eyes. 

childe truly likes the feeling of you clenching around his knuckles, he might become addicted to it, and he believes he'd actually die a happy man if he'd be able to feel you squeeze around his thick cock like that.

but you have to do it just like that, with your pussy drooling over his desperately and touch depraved, so he could taste you right after, yeah? have you all around his tongue.

he's not sure if he can even fit inside, ah, how excited he gets when he imagines your eyes glow and turn all big and pretty when he lets you see him from below his clothes— he knows for a fact he will make it fit.

©2024 anantaru do not repost, copy, translate, modify

[forever-rogue]

Hey there favorite writer

Would you be able to write something about reader and Joel having a baby together and falling in love all out of order? They’re not in an established relationship but had a one time thing and reader got pregnant. She wants to keep the baby because she feels safe in Jackson and Joel agrees to help her raise it, cuz it takes two to tango LOL. He starts falling for her during her pregnancy and she falls for him when the baby is born and she sees what a good father he is to their baby.

I’m sorry if this is a weird request I just thought it would be cool LOL

AN | Oh, but this turned out to be soft 🥰 

Pairing | Joel Miller x Fem!Pregnant!Reader

Warnings | Language

Word Count | 3k

Masterlist | Joel, Main

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"I'm pregnant."

The words crashed around him like a ton of bricks. Joel thought he might pass out. You looked just as distraught as he felt. 

This couldn't be happening. Fuck. This was the absolute last thing he wanted to happen. It was supposed to be a one night, one time type of thing. 

And now it suddenly became a much bigger thing. A potentially forever thing.

"What?" was all he could think to ask, causing you to roll your eyes in frustration.

"I'm pregnant," you repeated sharply, causing him to recoil slightly. You ran a hand through your hair, angry tears welling up, "we have sex one time and I'm fucking pregnant. It feels like some kind of horrible joke."

“Are you-”

“Don’t even fucking bother to ask if it is yours,” you glowered at him and Joel immediately regretting his decision to even ask the question. He knew you wouldn’t lie to him, even if he wished you were, “you’re the only one I’ve slept with in a long time. So yes, it’s yours.”

“Okay,” he nodded, still attempting to process everything. His mind was both blank and filled with a million thoughts all at once, “okay.”

“Look,” you pinched the bridge of your nose and tried to keep the tears from welling up and spilling over, “I’m sorry. I didn’t…I never thought this would happen. I never wanted this. And I’m so fucking sorry. But this is…the unfortunate reality.”

“I know,” he wished he could find something more comforting to say. He wished he could hug and tell you that everything was going to be alright but the truth was that he didn’t know if it would be okay. He was scared, “what do you want to do?”

“I don’t know,” you admitted after a few moments of tense silence, “I don’t know. I wish I did…I thought this would be such an easy choice.”

“But it’s not,” he stated as you nodded slightly.

“It’s not,” you confirmed, “I don’t even…I just figured you deserved to know, I-I guess. I don’t know; I’m just confused right now.”

“You didn’t get into this situation by yourself,” he hesitantly reached over and gave your shoulder a squeeze, “whatever you want to do, I’ll - I’ll do my best to be there for you and support you.”

“Yeah?” the way you looked at him with those teary eyes made his heart constrict. He could see how utterly scared you were.

“Yes,” he promised as managed to muster up a small smile, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come.

“Thanks,” you took a step off his porch and turned away, letting out a quiet, shaky sigh, “I’ll see you around. I’ll let you know what I decide to do.”

“Okay,” his voice cracked as he watched you go and disappear into the softly falling snow. He was half tempted to call you back and have you come in and sit in front of the fire and figure it all out, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. 

Once you disappeared, he slowly closed the door and turned around, only to find Ellie on the stairs, her expression incredulous, “holy shit.”

“Holy shit,” he agreed. He had fucked up. Seriously, seriously fucked up.

─── �� ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

It was a couple of weeks before you saw Joel. Or rather before you allowed yourself to face him again. It wasn’t that you didn’t like Joel, it was easier to put the reality of the situation to the back of your mind when he wasn’t around. But you also were well aware of the fact that you couldn’t ignore the situation for much longer; you were going to have to make a decision sooner rather than later. 

And that’s how you finally managed to find your way back to him. He looked deep in thought when you found him coming back from patrol rounds with Tommy. His expression stiffened for a moment before he said something to his brother. The younger Miller held up his hand in a meek little wave and headed off; you cringed internally when you realized that he knew exactly what was going on. 

“Hey,” you offered him a tightlipped smile as he nodded in response, “do you have a few minutes to talk?”

“Of course,” he knew what was coming, had been expecting it now and was curious to know what you had decided. You couldn’t bring yourself to look at his eyes, and instead focused on the buildings behind him, “what’s up?”

“I’ve been thinking about all of this,” you gestured vaguely towards your stomach, “and I, I ugh, made a decision.”

“Oh?” he couldn’t help but feel nervous; he couldn’t even fathom what you were feeling. 

“I want to keep it - the baby,” you almost whispered it and nervously allowed yourself to glance at his face. His silence sent you in a dizzying spiral, “I just…I don’t know. I just think that… I don’t know if I’ve ever really thought about a kid, especially in this world, but if there’s any time or place in this world to do it, I think it would be here. And I just…I don’t want to get rid of it. I keep thinking about it, am I making the right decision but…I keep going back to yes.”

Joel took it in what you said and it sent him down his own path of worries and fears. He thought about Sarah, about how he’d never even thought about another child, about you. It was overwhelming all at once and he stood there, staring at you. You couldn’t help the nervous laugh that bubbled up, “Joel? Say something…please. Anything.”

“I’m sorry,” he caught himself and shook his head, trying to snap back into reality, “I told you, whatever decision you made, I would support you. It’s not just…your kid. So…whatever you need or want just let me know. Anything, okay?”

“Okay,” you swallowed the lump in your throat, “thank you, Joel. Listen…I, umm, I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for?’ he asked softly as you shrugged lightly, “you realize there’s nothing to be sorry for, right?”

“I guess it’s just everything,” you brushed at your cheeks, wiping away the few tears that had pearled up, “I know we’re not…anything. But I’m glad you’re…you. Not many people would be doing what you are. You’re a good guy, Joel and I appreciate that.”

“It’s only what’s right,” he cleared his throat, staring at his feet. It’d been a long time since someone had told him that, “you didn’t get…pregnant by yourself.”

It’d been the first time he’d said that word out loud. He still had this weird feeling that if he didn’t say that world out loud, somehow it wouldn’t happen. But no, no. This was happening; you were here and pregnant with his child. 

“Right,” you nodded shyly, “well, I guess I’ll let you get back to whatever you need to do. We still have time to figure all of this out. I’ll see you around?”

“See you around,” he whispered, watching you go with a heavy sigh escaping his lips. 

Well. All of this left him with a lot to think about too. He was going to be a father again; he had no idea how he’d do. Sure, he’d been a single dad when it came to Sarah, and now he had Ellie. But a baby? That was a totally different story. He just had to hope that it would come naturally again, and that you’d be willing to do this with him. Whatever happened he knew that it wasn’t going to be an easy road. 

But as he looked down the road and spotted Ellie laughing with Dina, he realized that the best things in life weren’t always easy. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The next few months went by faster than you’d liked. At the moment it seemed like every day took forever, but they rushed by so quickly. At first it hadn’t seemed so bad but as you grew bigger and rounder, reality continued to set in. You were having a baby. 

It was Joel that found you as you tended to one of the gardens. You were sitting on the ground, sprawled out as best as you could, soaking up the sunshine that had finally come after the long winter. His heart ached at the sight and he felt an odd sensation run through his body, a feeling he hadn’t experienced in a long time.

“Hey,” you looked up and smiled at the sound of his voice; it had been a while since he’d seen such a big and genuine smile on your face, “how’s it going?”

“Hi Joel,” you moved to stand up - a feat that was becoming harder and harder with each passing day - but he shook his head, “what’s up?”

He crouched down on his knees and started to help you without a moment of hesitation or being asked. It made your heart pitter-patter happily, “I’ve been thinking about…things.”

“Things,” you repeated as you fell into work next to him, “what kind of things?”

“All sorts of things,” you smiled to yourself when you heard his twang come out, “one thing was…that I thought maybe you could…umm, maybe move in with me and Ellie. It’s just, we have the space and that way you’d have your own space instead of sharing-”

“I have one roommate,” you answered softly, “with you, I’d have two. So, that’s not really much of a selling point.”

Joel huffed and you couldn’t help but smile; your friendship often consisted of this sort of banter, “I…well, it’s a bigger space away. And it might just be better if we were around each other, you know, in case anything happens. We’d have each other. And then…you know, once the - the baby comes it might be good to be in the same space. It’s just a thought…something to think about maybe.”

“What about Ellie?”

“She’d kick me out if it meant you moved in,” he chuckled fondly, “I think she might like you more than me. She’s…she’s excited to have a brother or sister.”

You bit the inside of your cheek to keep from making any sound; the fact that he and Ellie had such a good relationship gave you hope that somehow all of this would work out, “oh. Oh.”

“Like I said, it’s just a thought,” you stopped what you were doing and looking at him, overwhelmed with a rush of affection towards the man, “so, yeah.”

“It’s definitely something to think about,” you agreed, unable to stop yourself from imagining a life where you had him around you everyday. Where you had your own little family with Joel, and Ellie, and the baby. But you quickly caught yourself, “thank you, Joel. That’s very kind of you to offer.”

“Of course,” his hand brushed over yours, “and if you need anything, you’ll let me know?”

“I will,” you promised, and stopped suddenly when you felt a sharp jab in your ribs, “ouch.”

“What’s wrong?” Joel’s eyes widened as he looked you over to make sure you were okay, “is it…?”

“The baby’s moving,” you explained as his face grew into a combination of excitement and nerves, “kicking me and this is one feeling I’ll never get used to.”

“Painful?”

“In a way but it’s more weird than anything,” before thinking too much about it, you took his hand and put it on your belly, right where you had felt the kicks. There was a moment of stillness and you worried that he wouldn’t be able to feel it but then you felt it again. Joel sucked in his breath as he felt the small movements under his hand. It had been another lifetime ago since he’d gotten to feel that, “they like you, Joel. They only started moving once you showed up.”

“It’s…” he didn’t even know how to put all of this into words. You, his friend, the woman he’d had a one stand with to get some pent up frustration, was pregnant with his child. And he currently felt that child moving around. Life that he had helped to create. These days he was still wrestling with a lot of feelings and emotions he thought he’d buried or moved past, but as he sat there next to you with his hand on your belly, everything made so much sense, “it’s amazing.”

“It kind of is, isn’t it?” you laughed softly, amazed to be in his situation, “what do you think it’s going to be?”

You hadn’t really thought about it much and part of you wasn’t exactly sure that you should have asked him. He seemed to be in deep thought for a few moments before he looked at with a soft expression on his face, “a girl.”

“A girl,” he answered confidently, “it’s just a feeling.”

“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see,” you grinned, “you got a fifty-fifty chance of being right, so your odds aren’t terrible!”

“Not terrible,” he playfully scoffed, “I’m going to be right, you just wait and see.”

You were grinning at each other like fools, only interrupted with the sound of people approaching. That seemed to snap both of you out of your trance. 

“I should go,” he whispered as he stood back up and dusted himself off, “see you?”

“See you,” you promised, watching him walk away. As that old saying went, you hated to see him go but liked to see him leave. You weren’t quite sure where to place your feelings, but an odd, warm sensation had bubbled up in your chest. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

You wrestled with the decision of whether or not to move in with Ellie and Joel for a few days. Deep down, you knew that it really hadn’t been a question at all. Your answer had been yes from the moment he’d asked. But you, silly, silly you, still didn’t want to seem too eager. He’d gotten you pregnant, there really wasn’t any reason to be shy. 

He - and a very eager Ellie - had helped you to move into the spare bedroom in their house. It really hadn’t taken much, but the community had already banded together to help you get just about everything you’d need for the baby. It wasn’t much longer until the baby was here and you were slowly growing more nervous everyday.

You were thankful to have Joel around; he made you feel safe and protected and you just…liked him. You’d always liked him, and now it felt like the more you got to know him, the more you liked him. At first you worried that it was only because of your funky hormones and the situation in general, but you knew that it really wasn’t that. It was because you genuinely liked him, enjoyed his company and…everything. 

It felt odd to be developing feelings for him since you’d already done the whole ‘sleeping together and getting knocked up’ thing. The attraction had always been there, it had always been mutual, but now it felt like things were developing on a deeper level, blossoming and blooming.

You were slowly becoming more and more sure of your feelings for him, and you thought, maybe foolishly, that he might just feel the same. 

But you never got the opportunity to ask him or try and read any further into it. 

The night you thought you might do so, you were in the kitchen and making dinner when your water broke. Ellie had been just as shocked as you, but it was Joel that kept a calm head. Maybe it was the practice or experience or just his nature, but he managed to keep you from completely panicking and falling apart. 

He’d gotten you to the hospital that had been built back up in Jackson and from then on, everything happened so fast. People really weren’t kidding when they said it all seemed to happen in the blink of an eye. 

Before you knew it, it was over and you had your baby in your arms. A girl, just like Joel had predicted. He couldn’t even hide the smile on his face if he tried. You hadn’t come up with any names and decided that Joel would name her. It didn’t take long for him to come with it - Violet. You thought it suited her perfectly…and he somehow then it was your favorite flower. You’d mentioned it once in passing, and had forgotten about it, but it had stuck with Joel. 

He was nervous at first - so, so nervous - about meeting her and holding her, but he quickly forgot all of that. From the moment he held her, he was in love with her and it was so clear to see. It made your heart warm and happy. Surely, this wasn’t an ideal situation and you’d really gone about things backwards, but you wouldn’t have changed a thing.

“I always wanted a family,” Ellie whispered to Joel as she held her new sister, thinking you were asleep. Joel made a small sound before he kissed the side of her head, “and now I’ve one.”

That’s when it hit you - you were a family.

Maybe not everything was figured out or said just yet, but you’d get there. All in your own time.

[obsessivestar]

'What If It's All A RomCom?' - A Ted Nivison x Reader (Lemon)

{{-Here we are folks. We've finally reached the first smut chapter, Chapter. I ain't gonna say much except definitely go and read Chapter 5 before this one cause it's somewhat necessary. All other chapters will be listed at the bottom. Enjoy 😊 pls don't ban me-}}

//General Warnings: 18+ Fic, Reader is implied to be afab and under 5'5

Chapter Warnings: PURE SMUT. IF YOU'RE UNDER 18 GO AWAY. Heavy kissing, fingering, Ted giving head, passionate shii, finishes inside, whole noin yawds\\

Word Count: 4.9k (y/w)

☆▪︎▪︎▪︎Taglist!▪︎▪︎▪︎☆

@k-k0129 & @callsign-scully

☆Thank y'all for bein' as nasty as me LMAO☆

Chapter 6: No Cameras

Ted is looking at me with this stupid half-smile on his face, knowing full well he had caught me red handed. I'm scrolling through my panicked mind to find some sort of excuse that'll make sense, but I don't think I can talk my way out of this one.

"You fuckin' did, didn't you?" Ted asks, his smile only getting bigger the longer I take to answer. He's keeping his eyes on mine, keeping his hands on his laptop's mousepad to keep the light from dimming. I break the eye contact by rolling my eyes and shake my head. "Keep dreaming.." I mutter, trying to play off my clear embarrassment with a scoff. "No no no no, I fucking know what I saw! I'm not letting you avoid it this time." Ted chuckles, setting his laptop aside to sit up more in my direction. I turn away to turn on the lamp beside me. I feel like I need to see his face at all times, like something bad will happen if I can't see him. Maybe I want something bad to happen.

"'This time'?" I repeat, furrowing my brows at him. "When have I ever--"

"This afternoon, when we were stuck in the truck?" Ted raised his brows at me, giving me this 'I gotcha' expression. "I let it slide when you checked me out the first time; chalked it up to you playin' with me, now I'm not so sure."

"Playing with you?" I repeated what he said again. Seems repeating back what he's saying to me is all I can muster up, he's reading me like a book and I don't want to give him any more pages.

"Like our back and forths? I thought it was still just that, but now? I mean, pshh, if I'm wrong, tell me and I'll leave ya alone."

"Leave me alone?" I raise a brow at Ted while trying to avoid eye contact.

"Yeah. If I'm--If I'm just fuckin' crazy, tell me and I'll leave. I won't bring it up again tomorrow and we can...keep things as they are, I guess." Ted explained, gesturing to me. "But I don't think I'm crazy."

Remember that timer I mentioned? Now I feel like it's counting down from 20. I can practically hear the ticking in my head as I lock eyes with Ted once more. I'm trying to read his expression. I'm looking for any signs of how he's feeling as well. He's been saying things like 'why I couldn't kiss you doesn't need to be said at this rate' and 'we should be louder', but I can't recall him ever making a move. Our chemistry can't be denied, and neither can my attraction to him, yet I'm still having doubts. If I lie, he leaves my room and never brings it up again, but I may never discover how he feels, and all of this tension will fizzle out into an unsatisfying nothing. But if I tell the truth and he doesn't feel the same, the next 2 and a half weeks are going to be incredibly awkward. He could even quit, or maybe I'd have to quit.

I'm terrified of having the wrong idea about all of this. I don't know when or if the playful flirting became real, I don't know when or if the sarcastic pet names became real, but we've been sitting together, teaming up, going out to run errands, kissing longer than we should. I can't pinpoint a single moment where either of our teasing may have blossomed into something more.

But...it can't just be my imagination. There has to be more.

"I....may have glanced.." I admit with an embarrassed smile, looking up at the ceiling and turning my head away from Ted. I didn't want to see his reaction, but he certainly made it known. "Oh my god.." Ted playfully gasps, I can hear him grinning ear to ear, it's making me anxious "You like me! Do you like me??"

"...I gotta fix the curtains.." I mutter to myself, finding an excuse to get out of bed. I turn off the lamp first, a quiet huff leaving me. I still couldn't tell how he was feeling, and it was bothering me. Was he making fun of me? My face felt so warm, I didn't want him to look at it at all. "Oh no fucking way. Stay there, we're talkin' about this." I hear Ted chuckle and move around a little. "I'm not going fucking anywhere until I get some answers."

I move to open the curtains, taking a quiet but deep breath as I struggle to pull them apart. I have to lean over a dresser just to get to the curtains so I'm initially too distracted to hear that Ted was getting out of bed, until it's too late. I watch his hand take my arm so I'm forced to look at him, realizing he's practically got me cornered. Behind me is the air conditioner, and behind that is a wall. The only other place I can move to now is the bed, unless Ted moves.

"You can't act like it's all a fuckin' joke now. I gotchu, (Y/N). I gotchu."

"'Got me' what?" I huff with an embarrassed smile, once again avoiding eye contact as I remove his hand from my arm. "It was a glance."

"Oh you're gonna try and fuckin' lie now, eh princess? Not gonna own it?"

"Own what?"

"That you like me! You've given me the fuckin' kissing tell twice today! Off camera! What, you don't wanna kiss me now?"

"I wanted to open the curtains."

"You don't wanna kiss me?"

"Ted, I can't move--"

"You don't wanna kiss me?"

"I wanna get out of this corner--"

"Look at me then."

"Ted, it's the fucking tell for our film, it doesn't mean--"

"If it doesn't mean anything, look at me."

I roll my eyes and turn my head to face him once more, seeing just how close he had really gotten to me. His body was merely inches away from mine, and man, was he towering over me. It was a little overwhelming, I felt like I couldn't breathe properly. He's looking at me with that same devilish half-smile from before. I can't hold back the urge to smile, a light giggle leaving me as I force myself to break away from his gaze. I'm almost glad he caught me. He's so handsome. When he gives me those eyes, I panic. I can't look him straight in the eyes for too long. I feel like I'm falling right into a trap, but maybe I wanted to be caught. And yet I still try to talk my way out of it.

"Y-You were talking! I was just--I was listening to you talk." I huffed, shrugging with my hands out somewhat. I knew I sounded defensive as fuck, I couldn't control my tone. I was so nervous. Even with my body facing Ted, I couldn't look him in the eye. "You were talking. You were talking a-and I'm not gonna stare at you the entire fucking time you're talking. That's weird. Like-like what am I, a fuckin' owl?? Just staring at you?? No, you have other places--I have other places I have to look when someone's speaking! Doesn't mean I want to-mmmh--"

My ramblings are interrupted by the feeling of Ted's lips pressing against mine gently, one of his hands moving to my waist with the other resting upon my cheek. For a moment, I'm frozen in time. He's kissing me. He's kissing me again. There's no camera's and he's kissing me. I can't think straight. I can't think...at all.

That moment when you kiss someone

and everything around you becomes hazy...

And the only thing in focus is you and this person.

I allow my body to relax and return the gentle kiss, closing my eyes to slip into this intimacy fully. Ted pulls me in closer to deepen the kiss, almost hungrily so, like he's been waiting just as long as I have to be together again. By the time I got comfortble enough to move one of my hands, Ted breaks the kiss, keeping his hands on me. I open my eyes to meet his affectionate gaze, my lips still slightly parted from the kiss. Any and all anxiety I had been feeling has just disappeared. I feel...assured.

"Is that what you wanted?.." He speaks to me quietly with a light nod, slowly caressing my cheek with his thumb. I tried. I really tried. I tried not to 'catch feelings', I told Joe I wasn't sleeping with him, but my god do I want his lips on mine. I want to kiss him. I want him close. I want him to be mine, even just for tonight. I don't want him to leave. "I don't know.." I admit with a quiet giggle, lightly biting my lower lip. "You...might have to do it again...or a couple more times...just to see."

"A couple more, eh?.." Ted smirks deviously, moving his hand to firmly grab my jaw, keeping me still so I can't turn away this time. "You sure you want that? With everyone here?"

"'Everyone'? Please..." I playfully scoff at him, glancing down at his blush toned lips once more before gazing into his earthy eyes. "There's no cameras in here, Ted.."

Ted's smile grows, shaking his head a little at me before leaning in to kiss me once more. A satisfied purr leaves him when I don't hesitate to kiss him back this time. I once again find myself on cloud nine, wrapping my arms around his neck to pull him into a deeper kiss. He moves his hand from my jaw so he can hold my waist with both hands, pulling me in closer to press his body against mine. He tilts his head more in the deep kiss, and I feel his tongue once again lightly glide along my lower lip. I slowly open my mouth to allow his tongue to move along mine, hearing him quietly snicker in the kiss in response. God, he's hot, and he knows it. He must know it.

When the kiss begins to pick up even more, I let a quiet moan escape me, bringing my hands down to cup his face. This makes him pull from the kiss briefly to look at me once again, his eyes lingering on my lips. My face once again feels like it's on fire and the butterflies certainly haven't left my stomach, but I know I want him. I know.

"That's so cute.." Ted purrs lowly and pulls me back into the passionate kiss, keeping up the pace from before. I felt his thumbs caressing my waist through the light fabric of my nightgown as I hungrily latch onto his blush toned lips, just like I desired to in his truck. He's mine. He's mine I say to myself as I pull him onto the bed with me. It's the only coherent thing running through my mind.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

We waste no time. Ted and I move up a bit in the bed, our lips staying locked together until my head finally hits the pillow. His glasses eventually fall off his face and gently lands on mine. "Fuck.." Ted mutters with a light chuckle, taking his glasses and placing them on my nightstand. I giggle as he returns to the arousing kiss, a muffled moan escaping him. My cheeks and hands feel warm and the only sounds between us are our heavy breathing and our longing kiss. My arms once again wrap around Ted's neck when I feel him press his body against me once more, lightly picking at the back of his blue shirt.

"Patience, princess.." Ted whispers against my lips, planting one last deep kiss on my lips before beginning to travel little kisses to my neck. I take in a sharp breath, stiffening up once I feel his lips on my sensitive neck. "I've been patient enough. Take it off.." I grunt at him, starting to pull his shirt up a little with my nails. He lets out a mocking chuckle and pulls away so he can remove his shirt, simply throwing it somewhere in the room before returning to me, picking apart the buttons of my nightgown. I notice the silver chain he has around his neck, running my hands along anywhere I can touch him. I don't have the energy to feel embarrassed about my body, I feel like I'm burning up anyways, everywhere feels so hot, and the only thing that can cool it down is his touch. His touch. His touch...

He gets my nightgown off of me and throws it somewhere before latching back onto my neck. A more audible moan leaves me, but I quickly cover my mouth, quietly reminding myself that we're not alone in this house. The reminder doesn't last when I feel his hand sneak its way into my pajama shorts, sliding a finger in between my sensitive folds. I gasp and instinctively grab his arm, and I feel him grin against me. He's moving through this so fast, yet I have no real desire to stop him. "E-Easy.." I moan quietly, my whole body stiffening up when his thumb finds my clit. A jolt of pleasure surges through my thighs, I can feel my bud and my entrance reacting to his touch, pulsing, wanting, urging for it. Somehow, somehow, he knows exactly where to touch me.

"You were aaalll talk..." Ted purrs against my skin, moving up from my neck to look me in the eyes once more. He slides his hand away from my core to tug my pajama shorts down enough to be able to touch me freely. His fingers once again move between my folds, watching my physical reactions with amusement. "God, I've wanted to shut you up. You talk too fuckin' much." As he purrs at me, two of his fingers find my entrance and slowly slide into me, a gasp releasing from me. I playfully glare at him and bring my hand up to grab the back of his head, tangling my fingers in his dark locks before pulling him into a deep, sloppy kiss. I hadn't felt how wet he had really made me until now, his fingers effortlessly pumping inside of me. Everything he did to me felt so good and the only thing I could do was let him. I managed to slide my free hand down to feel him from over his sweatpants, and was he good and hard for me. I feel him groan in the kiss, and I snicker at him. I couldn't wait to take him. I knew it'd be even harder to control my voice once he was inside me. I wanted it. I wanted it so bad.

Ted's fingers leave my entrance and I feel him leave my essence along my thighs so he can hold himself up with both arms, breaking the kiss to once again guide his lips down to my neck, only this time he keeps moving. I feel my face getting hotter, instinctively bringing a hand up to touch my cheek and run my fingers through my hair. I'm a hot mess, I feel Ted's lips move further and further down my body, lapping up my breasts like he's worshipping me. "You needed this as much as I did, eh?" I manage to speak up in a soft tone, smiling ear to ear when I feel him spread my legs.

"I don't need your fuckin' commentary.." Ted growls in between my breasts, making a quiet giggle escape me.

"You can't shut me up, Theo."

"Yeah? You think thats what I'm doin'?" Ted's kisses reach my lower stomach before he readjusts himself to lift my legs up to sort of sit around his shoulders, his head now perfectly between my legs. When his lips and his tongue meet my inner thighs I feel my belly flutter with nerves and excitement, bringing one hand up to lightly bite my knuckle while the other rests on my lower belly.

He nibbles at my inner thighs before finally moving further in, allowing his tongue to slide in between my sensitive folds, my budding clit immediately reacting when the tip of his warm tongue glides along it. I reel my head back and moan out as he takes full control of my body from my core, taking in all of my alluring essence in his mouth. I feel like my body is being sucked out of my soul, like he's secretly been an incubus all this time, a master of a woman's body. He's commanding me to feel bouts of pleasure I've never experienced with a man before and I can feel my core aching for more and more. My hand reaches down further to grip his tall dark hair, a pleasurable laugh escaping me as he laps me up like a desperate hound aching for scraps. I can hear him moaning between my legs, his hands gripping my thighs and pulling me into him more. Ted's tongue dances inside me, subtly slipping along my entrance to taste my every desire more and more. I can feel his pointy chin lower down, his stubble against my folds, his lips massaging at my own, he just doesn't stop. His tongue finds my now throbbing clit over and over and over, back and forth, back and forth. My body is left, wanting, begging, pleading, praying for release until it finally pours out.

"Ted! Ted!! Oh my fucking god--Yes, Yes! Yes like that! I--"

It starts at my clit and spreads all across my body, Ted having to hold my thighs to keep me balanced. I struggle to hold in the never-ending waterfall of moans pouring out of me, so I slap my hand over mouth and moan into it as much as my body will allow. I'm absolutely drunk with pleasure and it feels like it could last for infinity. I stretch out my ankles and my hands as my orgasm crashes over my entire body, the overwhelming pleasure surging up into my brain, making me roll my eyes back and close them. I remove my hand from my mouth when I start to come down from its peak, letting him hear my desperate whimpers as the high of my orgasm starts to fade, leaving my clit feeling warm and sore. I've been aching for this all week, and finally, finally, I'm feeling all of this tension start to come undone. That might've been the most intense orgasm I've ever been given, and yet, he wasn't done with me.

I hear Ted moan to himself, watching with tired eyes as he wipes his mouth with his free hand. I got a glimpse at how wet I truly was, but I didn't even need it, I could feel it, especially when he fully pulled away from my thighs and the light air hit them, my essence had spread nearly everywhere after how he ate me out, and I loved it. "I can't get enough of you.." Ted purred, coming face to face with me once more so he could pull me into a hungry kiss. Even despite such a strong surge of pleasure, I can feel my body pleading for more, my core aching for Ted to finish what he started. It was agonizing not having him inside me yet. I was ready now more than ever. I was so desperate, I'd do anything he wanted me to just to feel him. I felt like I was under a spell, but truthfully, it was just from good fucking head.

"Please. Please.." I beg to him in the kiss, cupping his face with a needy moan escaping me when he breaks from the kiss to work at removing his sweatpants. "See? Couldn't shut you up even if I wanted to.." Ted grins devishly at me, leaning down to kiss and nibble at my jaw. A satisfied smile spreads along my face, leaning my head back and closing my eyes to continue enjoying his intimate touch.

"You're the one doing all the talking.." I moan softly

"You're the one makin' all the fuckin' noise." Ted grunts when he finally gets his sweatpants off, pulling back for a moment to toss them aside before returning to my body. "As much as I like hearing you flap your fuckin' lips all day..." Ted pulls me in closer by my legs, a surprised but excited gasp leaving me, causing me to briefly look down. My god, his size is perfect for me. All of that is going to fit so good inside me, I shudder out a breath and lock eyes with Ted once more. "...I like making you squirm even more." Ted towers his body over mine, holding himself up with one arm while holding my hips with the other.

I feel my entrance aching for him to fill it, a blushing mess when I feel him glide his shaft along my soaking wet folds, the tip brushing along my already sensitive bud from earlier. I moan out in surprise, closing my eyes for a moment and giggling. "Yeah? I bet.." I purr, opening my eyes to gaze at Ted once more, gliding my tongue along my upper lips. "You better not be all--" I close my eyes and moan suddenly when I feel his length push into my entrance, feeling every curve and edge shape around my tight walls like his cock was made for me; actually made for me.

When I feel he's completely in, there's a moment where neither of us move or say anything. I open my eyes and see him looking at me, face to face once more. I lock eyes with his earthy orbs, the only noise between us being the sounds of our desperate panting. It's the first and only moment of the night where we slip past our passionate embrace to truly process what's about to change between us. We certainly can't go back now. That timer hit zero nearly a good hour ago. This is what we are now.

Ted gives me a tired smile to reassure me that he wants this, a quiet chuckle leaving me in response before I feel him start to move his hips. His pace is gentle at first, not too slow, really taking in how wet I've become because of him. Every moment our gazes would lock, every moment I could feel his breath on me, every flirtatious insult, every comment, every glance; it all felt like it was leading up to this. Every thrust felt like the pleasurable unwrapping of all of this tension I've been burdened with. My core was sending pleasing signals up my body and down my legs every time his hips rubbed against mine, thanking me for finally letting this man take me. My god, have I been waiting for him to take me, aching for it. It's all I can think about now. The pleasure, the pleasure.

I hear my name in a whisper from Ted's gravely tone, feeling Ted adjust his body to be sitting up more, one of his hands nearly gripping my shoulder with the other on my hip, pulling me into his increasingly rougher thrusts. My breasts jolt and bounce with every rock of the bed, hearing it lightly squeak beneath us as his length pumps inside me. I can feel my thighs shivering with excitement, my lower belly tingling for more. My judgement is beginning to be clouded by just how nicely he's fucking me, having a troubling time keeping my voice down with every pulse of satisfaction through me.

"Ohh, Theo.." I let out a girlish moan, bending my legs up a little more to adjust the angle to my liking, feeling him pick up his pace in response. He moved both hands to my hips so he can really work himself into me, grinding his hips against mine out of desperation. The veins of his throbbing shaft are massaging me so nicely, I know my essence is practically drenching it. My arousal is spreading further and further through my veins, a particular curved thrust from Ted causing my body to jolt with pleasure.

"Oh my god--Ted, Yes! Ted! Yes! Yes! Whatever you just did, I--I need that, I need it, I need it.." All of my thoughts and feelings have been taken over by Ted's body, begs and pleads beginning to pour out of me at such an alarming rate, yet I can't stop myself. I can't shut myself up. Ted is taking every last coherent thought with every deep thrust, and I just have to take it. He gets to use me for as long as he wants, and I have to take it. I want to take it.

Ted forces my legs upwards more until my knees are nearly touching my breasts, his own sighs and groans of pleasure mixing in with my own. He hides his face in my neck and really begins to put his all into me, the sound of his hips smacking into mine getting louder with every swift pump of his cock. I wrap my arms and legs around his body the best I can, finally able to work my fingers through his dark hair as I cry out for him. I can't control myself. All I feel is his length pumping inside me, his cold chain against my chest, his stubble scratching my cheek, his voice purring and moaning in my ear like a desperate animal in heat, finally satisfying his carnal desires. My walls tighten around him, my sensitive bud throbs for him, my thighs are shivering, my body is aching, all for him. It's all for him.

"Theo! Theo! Right there, right there, right there right there!" Is nearly all I can whimper out for him, practically crying out when I feel my body ready itself for release. I'm gripping and pulling at his hair with one hand and gripping his bare back with the other, both of my legs locked around him, trapping his cock inside me. His hips slam against mine over and over and over, I can't comprehend anything except the pleasure. Ted. Ted. Teddy...

Eventually it's all too much for my mind to comprehend. I don't even have the energy to let him know I'm cumming, I just cry out for him to not stop fucking me. He pulls away from my neck to connect our foreheads when I pull at his hair roughly. I don't care if anyone hears us. Let them hear. All that's in focus is the second and finale orgasm Ted allows my body to reach for the night, elevated when I feel his warm seed flow into me. My whole body shudders and I'm able to let out a few shaky moans, his last desperate thrusts to empty himself deep inside me causing my eyes to once again roll back briefly, fully and completely satisfied by him.

I don't feel Ted pull out right away. With my eyes closed, I feel the bed stop moving first All of my senses start slowly returning. I feel our warm, sticky bodies pressed against one another, I feel our hot breathes mixing as we try to steady our heavy panting, I feel a cold wetness spread along my folds and up my inner thighs, but most of all, I just feel...relieved.

I open my eyes to see Ted's tired gaze, watching as he comes down from the same high. That's when he finally decided to pull out, a quiet moan leaving us both. My sense of awareness and judgement are the last thing to return to me and I briefly wonder just how loud we both may have been, but any worries melt away when Ted's lips meet mine once again. He kisses me with passion and care, letting out a pleased hum in the kiss before pulling away to move off of me.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I unwrap my arms and legs from his body so he can lay down beside me, both of us just staring up at the ceiling while continuing to try and catch our breath. If this were some passionate seen in a TV show or movie, this is where the next scene would cut to: the aftermath. I'm a mess, he's a mess, and yet we're both too tired to care. I had nothing to worry about in regards to how Ted finished, I was already on birth control, he knew this. I turn my head to look at him and blush to myself, turning my body a little in his direction. He looks at me and gives me a weak but reassuring smile, not hesitating to pull me into his arms. I was glad that he was willing to stay and hold me, partially because my side of the bed was now drenched and damp, but also because I wanted him here. I wanted him to stay. He manages to get the light comforter over our bodies to keep them warm, wrapping his arms around me for the night.

Not a word was spoken, nothing more needed to be said.

We both quietly agreed to fall asleep together and discuss everything the morning.

__________________________________

|| Chapter 1 || Chapter 2 || Chapter 3 || Chapter 4 || Chapter 5 || Chapter 7 || Chapter 8 || Chapter 9 || Chapter 10 (smut) || Chapter 11 || Chapter 12 || Chapter 13 || Chapter 14 (smut) ||

[jtl-fics]

Fluent Freshman - Part 17

PREVIOUS

1. You do not talk about the Speakeasy in the basement 2. You DO NOT TALK about the Speakeasy in the basement

Those are two of the three cardinal rules of Eden’s Twilight both as a VIP customer and as an employee. The rest are more suggestions or requests that are fairly malleable depending on the night and the patron.

Andrew himself had broken the latter half of ‘Don’t be a dick or try anything with your dick on the club premises’ multiple times with Roland and then he’d broken it even further and with more vigor with Neil.

Roland had tried to bill them for the furniture in the break room and Andrew had been more than happy to use some of the blackmail he’d been holding onto to make it go away despite Neil’s repeated attempts to try and pay for it. “It’s my fault Andrew, I asked you to lay me there.” And “Allison didn’t warn me that it could stain fabric, she said it transferred really easily onto skin.” Had been waved away as Roland was happy to have those particular bits of blackmail out of play.

That being said Roland had come in despite the clear ‘occupied’ signs on the door and interrupted some of Andrew’s finest work a few weeks ago (His from? Excellent. His pacing? Excellent. His angle? Excellent. The noises Neil had been making? Perfection.)

Roland still couldn’t look at Neil without his eyes wandering where they shouldn’t so Andrew had a guest pass for the speakeasy waiting for him at the bar to make up for that wandering eye.

Which meant that he could take FF down to the speakeasy tonight. He was sure that FF would pass muster and be able to come without a pass after the night, he was just the kind of guy that they liked to have down there.

It would all be so simple if it weren’t for the third cardinal rule of Eden’s Twilight.

3. Nicky Hemmick is not allowed to know about the Speakeasy.

When Nicky had worked at Eden’s he’d been popular but he’d also talked about all sorts of secrets. He spilled tea like Aaron had spilled drinks.

So the club had done what it had to do in order to protect the incredibly select and private feature of their club:

They lied about what was down there and then they committed to that lie.

So the day came and Nicky was looking at the door with a guard next to it, “Where does that go?” He asked.

“It’s an exclusive club for straight swingers to meet and swap.” The lie rolls off of Roland’s tongue like the truth.

Nicky made a disgusted face. “Straight people.” He said shaking his head and then Roland swiftly made some purchases to sell his lie and offered the guard Frank an additional $5 an hour if he was willing to change his uniform.

Nicky Hemmick has never gone near the door since then and it is considered a success for the record books by all of the staff and VIPs in the know.

Which is why Andrew had needed a plan to pry Nicky off of FF for the night.

Nicky and FF had spent the entire time at Sweeties elbowing one another and laughing (well Nicky laughed and FF tolerated all of Nicky’s jokes and implications stoically), Nicky had been sticking with FF like he was one of the various flecks of glitter that stuck to FF after the freshman had slept in Nicky’s bed.

Before he’d gotten FF dressed up Nicky had made a solemn oath, “You and me Smithy, we’ll dance the night away!” Nicky had exclaimed.

“I’m good thanks.” FF said, “You know what will happen if I dance.” He says and Nicky grimaces as if remembering something painful. He wonders if FF just isn’t a good dancer or if the consequences of someone bumping into him were as painful as they were when someone bumped into Andrew on the dance floor.

“Well, then you and me will just have to spend the entire night chatting in the booth Smithy!” Nicky had smiled as if he wasn’t fucking up Andrew’s plans to take FF down to the speakeasy where they could sit without the headache inducing music that Nicky, Aaron, and even Kevin (he claims Stockholm syndrome) claim to love.

So, Andrew had needed to find a way to get Nicky to a state where he would be compelled to dance and leave FF alone for the night.

There are exactly three sure-fire ways to get Nicky Hemmick to become a slave to the dance floor.

1. You have to play his favorite music and Andrew doesn’t know if there’s enough blackmail in the world to get Roland to force a DJ to play nothing but Nicki Minaj’s Super Bass, Gasoline by Daddy Yankee, or Usher’s DJ’s Got Us Fallin’ In Love (his three current obsessions) on a loop for the entire night. (Bust)

2. You are Erik Klose and you want to dance. This option was unlikely due to Erik currently (as far as Andrew knew) being in Germany. (Bust)

3. Nicky has taken some party drugs. (Feasible)

So, Andrew may have been the one that had reminded both his brother and Nicky about Cracker Dust on their way to the car. Neil shoots him a look he ignores because Andrew hasn’t really pushed or mentioned Cracker Dust in almost a year.

It was something that they had all gotten off of for various reasons the year prior.

Neil had never started, Andrew had his deal with Neil, Kevin wanted to cut back on the substances he was abusing and he was not going to be giving up alcohol anytime soon, Aaron had needed a squeaky clean image for the trial, and Nicky had given it up in solidarity.

Aaron had been bemoaning that he had forgotten to get any the last four times they had gone to Eden’s so, really, Andrew was just being a thoughtful brother when he’d reminded his cousin.

So when they park the Maserati and head into the club it is no shock that after the first round of drinks (Neil & FF both had bottled waters) Nicky whips out the sandwich baggy he had gotten from FF and hands Aaron his share.

In a turn of good luck a bass heavy remix of Flo Rida’s Club Can’t Handle Me started playing and the only thing Nicky did was squeal, kiss FF’s cheek, and drag Aaron out onto the dance floor.

And then there were three.

***

FF had NOT been able to figure out where the hell the bathrooms were.

It might be due to the fact that his stomach is trying to stage a revolt against him but he’s pretty sure he’s forgotten how to read English. There are no other languages around  for him to see if this illiteracy has spread to other languages.

He wonders it he brought out his katakana flashcards if the lines would blur or if his brain would be so filled with the unrelenting desire to go to the bathroom that his Professor would wonder how he ever got full marks on his midterm.

Maybe clubs didn’t have signs that pointed to the bathroom? Was he supposed to go up and ask that bartender that Andrew kept going to? Was it like a gas station where he had to ask for keys?

Oh god Captain Neil just asked him something.

When the hell did Nicky lea-

Oh Dj’s Got Us Falling In Love is playing. Nicky is definitely on the dance floor. FF has yet to escape Nicky grinding on him whenever this song happens to come on the radio he is sure that someone right now out on the dance floor is suffering the same fate that he has 3-4 times a week.

He wonders if Nicky will call Erik like he usually does when it comes on outside of the club.

At least it’s super hard to hear in this club if Nicky takes a seat next to him and starts gushing to Erik in German.

Oh god Captain Neil just asked him something and he just remembered that this would be the second time Captain Neil has asked him something.

If there was one weakness in FF’s foreign language arsenal it is that he has a hard time processing language when surrounded by loud sounds. If he knows what language they’re talking in he can sometimes get by on reading lips (does that count as another language? Probably not) but Captain Neil speaks like four languages fluently and his Spanish is getting better and better every-

Oh god Captain Neil and Andrew just asked him something and he still hasn’t answered the other two times.

“I can’t hear you!” He calls out and hopes they can at least understand HIM.

Andrew rolls his eyes and bumps Captain Neil’s shoulder with his own. He sees Andrew whisper something to Captain Neil before pointing somewhere in the distance.

OH

They had noticed his obvious plight and were going to show him to the bathroom!

That was nice.

Maybe Nicky had asked them before his songs came on.

Andrew and Captain Neil are out of the booth and Andrew juts his chin off in a certain direction. FF does NOT need to be told twice, he’s more than happy to follow Andrew to the bathroom like some pre-schooler following their mom. These are desperate times.

So Andrew and Captain Neil guide him across the dance floor and…sure enough Nicky is grinding on some other guy who looks like he’s in heaven and he thinks he can see Aaron’s pale arms flying uncoordinatedly all over the place somewhere in the middle distance.

FF finds himself with Captain Neil and Andrew in a hallway. There’s a guard in front of the door with a bizarre pineapple shirt (why are they all upside down?) on but FF hadn’t even dressed himself tonight so he really shouldn’t judge.

“Minyard, Josten, and one guest.” He can hear Andrew say now that they’re away from the loud thrum of the music.

How fancy is this bathroom?

The man looks at Andrew, Captain Neil, and then FF. There is a visible head-to-toe inspection when he hits FF and whatever the man sees must past muster.

“Acceptable. You know the rules.”

Rules?

Wash your hands?

Don’t piss on the floor?

Let staff know if the urinal is low on ice?

FF hoped the rules would be posted in easy to understand pictures because his ability to read the English language was still heavily hampered at the moment.

Why is the handle to the door an upside pineapple too? Did someone install it wrong? Also Eden’s does not give off a very tropical vibe so why would they pick that?

The door opens and-

Oh.

Those are stairs.

Oh.

Andrew’s taking him to the basement.

MASTERPOST FOR ALL PARTS OF FLUENT FRESHMAN AU

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@absurdthirst's Kinktober 2023 Prompts

day 22: True Monsters, Spiritual Possession, Sexual Exhaustion

𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐞

| PAIRING(s): monster!Joel Miller x soulmate!f!reader | RATING: explicit material | 18+ | WORD COUNT: 2.2k | CONTENT: it's Joel Miller as a humanoid monster beast creature with a massive cock idk what you want me to say, creative liberties with anatomy and bodily fluids, they're soulmates because I wrote this so of course they are, monster!Joel can talk a little but it wouldn't kill him to watch a few episodes of Reading Rainbow or do some alphabet flash cards tbh, one curious use of an aquifer as a metaphor | SYNOPSIS: You encounter a frightening beast in the forest after getting separated from your group. Instead of killing you, he spares your life - the first of many surprises from this mysterious creature.

The prick of his maw grazed your collarbone, breaths coming so frantic it was hard to keep from ballooning into the death trap of his jaw altogether. Perhaps it would just be easier to give in. Let yourself be ravaged by this man beast and succumb to the darkness it offered. You lie caged in his form, waiting as he evaluated his prey. Looking for the weakest point of flesh to rend with his incisor. Watching with delight at the flickering pulse he was soon to take from you.

But seconds ticked by and turned into minutes, and still nothing. Just the rancid humidity of his breath flowering over your trembling face and body.

“Just do it already,” you whisper, hoarse and resigned and too tired to fight anymore.

A horrid, strained sound crawled from his throat. It dawned on you he was attempting to speak. “Want. Close. To you.”

You blink a few times, frozen in shock. “Y-You want…to be close with me?”

The man beast grunted something like an affirmation, and it was then you noticed the beady insistence of his eyes. There was something almost human there. Almost.

“What do you want from me?” you shudder.

The man beast made an aggravated noise. I just told you what I wanted.

“But w-what does that mean? Close?”

He seemed calmer now, more understanding. As if it was everyday you found yourself conversing with a humanoid creature large and powerful enough to rip you clean in half. “You say. You tell what close. I go with you.”

You shake your head against the rough rubble beneath your head where he has you pinned against the ground. Had he tackled you to keep you from running further? Had he not wanted to catch you to kill you like you’d assumed when you were running as fast as your feet would carry you? Was this all some strange misunderstanding?

“You want me to decide? What close means? How close I want to get?”

Again, that strangled noise of communication, this time an affirmation – or at least you think so. In all honesty, you wanted as much space between you and this hulking man creature as possible. His body was a rippled mass of musculature and strength that spoke to the devastation he could cause if he wanted to. And yet, something in his eyes, in his softened movements as jittery as they were, called to the deepest parts of you to tend to him.

“Can you– I want to get up,” you say with a great deal of mustered courage.

“You run again.” His vocalizations were becoming smoother, more sure. Maybe it had just been a long time since he’d spoken to someone else? You wonder who he’d learned from and where they were now, what had become of prior human companions.

“I won’t,” you promise. “Besides, you’d just run me down again. You’re faster than me.”

This point seems to clear away any misgivings he had about retreating from crowding you against the ground. “Don’t want you to run.” Somehow he sounded sad beneath the gravel of his timbre.

“I ran because you scared me.” You prop yourself up enough to scoot back against the wall of the alcove he’d dragged you into.

His eyes lock onto yours and burn something truthful. “Don’t want to scare.”

It was this tentative olive branch between you that led to the next few days of one another’s company. If your group hadn’t found you yet, there was little hope that they would at all. So, you spent quiet nights together, eating whatever the man beast hunted and brought back for you. The weak fires you were able to light paled in comparison to the warmth of curling against him.

He’d stayed true to his word of not wanting to frighten you. As the weeks went by, you could sense in his movements that he was attempting to display an understanding of your hesitancies to get close to him. You could feel his form practically melt into yours when you finally gave into the magnetic pull each night and meshed your bodies together.

The first time you were intimate was entirely your doing. Watching the pacified creature sleep next to you, moonlight illuminating the breadth of him, you reached a hand to explore. He was so warm and firm and solid. You used the opportunity to unabashedly stare and ogle. So much of him was beastly creature, but so much of him conveyed man. 

You weren’t sure if he’d once been human and had somehow managed to cling onto sparse remnants of it all this time or if this is just how he'd always been. His speech had improved greatly over the past week in particular, but there was still a limit to what could be communicated.

Your hand drifted lower, cheeks tingling with heat as you skimmed between his hindlegs. You’d seen it, of course. He wasn’t clothed, never had been. But he much preferred walking about on all fours than upright most of the time, and you weren’t afforded many direct, uninterrupted views. Thankfully not the case now.

Much like the rest of him, it was impressive and a bit daunting. Thick, veined, and imposing, it rested gently against his thigh. He made a small sound in his sleep when you tried to take it into your hand. You couldn’t wrap around the whole of it, and it sent something hot and electric down your spine, a liquid flame of arousal that had you more awake than you’d been since he first caught you. He stirred at your motions, grunting and trembling breaths as he watched you curiously with half-lidded eyes.

“Feels good,” he slurs through sleep thickened vocal cords. “You make me feel so good.” The way he says it implies he means more than just in this moment – you always make me feel good.

Something otherworldly seems to take hold of you at this admission. Like something had finally shifted and locked into place. It feels right to give him that blanket of repose. It feels right to be here with him now like this, the furnace of his body listing closer to yours as if drawn by some invisible force.

“What if we…..?” You trail off, distracted by that almost human stirring in his eyes as he holds your gaze with an intensity that neither challenges nor frightens you. “What if we wanted to make each other feel good?”

He considers you quietly for a moment and slowly reaches a clawed pad of a hand to your face, advancing with a touch of eagerness when you don’t shy away. “It’s all I want to do.”

You lack the substantial breadth and heat of his indomitable form, but your skin feels alight all the same. You nod, an encouragement for him to proceed. The grit of his touch summons a wave of goosebumps over your body, a low gasp catching in your throat. It’s this sound that plumes into the surrounding air and wrenches it over you both like a weighted shroud. The world feels smaller, nonexistent except for the space you share.

“It’s all I want you to do,” you choke out.

The moonlight flashes against the ivories of his lethal jaw when his lip pulls back in a heated snarl. The tongue that had refined his speech over these past few weeks now wields itself into a binary slip against the column of your neck. There may as well be branding marks left in its wake, and you shiver at the combined sensation of being immersed in flame and frost all at once.

You pull at the wrap enclosure of your attire, mere scraps of what had once clothed you from the elements in what felt like a lifetime ago, and let it fall open to the wayside. An almost pained keening sound of appreciation vibrates through his chest, and his eyes cloud into that void of black, betraying any notion that this was merely man and not entirely beast.

The forked appendage slithers in separate directions, curling to meet in a spiral around your peaked nipple. You grab at his forearms and tug at the tussock of hair that first meets your grasp – anything to keep you from springing heavenward at the staggering and blinding paroxysmal bliss. His mouth drips with a viscous want onto your skin as he flicks and squeezes his tongue across your chest.

“Please,” you exhale. You gently push his head further down, and he growls at your anxious need for him to give you more.

“Pretty,” he grunts. “Pretty for me like this.”

“You’re so beautiful,” you whisper, almost sounding on the verge of weeping at the sentiment and significance of whatever has been growing between you and now blossoms in the fertile soil of an infinite springtime.

You clench around nothing when you see the swell of blood that has fattened his cock while he was exploring you. It would be an unnerving consideration if you weren’t sure this was a predetermination of meeting, two souls binding into one. The silent communication and understanding passing between the two of you makes you wonder if you too will lose your speech over time – the practice of words lost to the redundancy of vocalizing to a being who has come to comprehend every thought and feeling you possess.

But for now you aren’t mute, a cry of pleasure spilling out as he sweeps his tongue inside your drenched hole. The tendrils of muscle dance on the ridged, spongey shape inside you. The spot begins to warm under his motions, a heat siphoning from his tongue as a rock awash in sunlight. A surreptitious and soft febrility that coaxes a release from you without any sort of warning. You erupt a cascade of fluid, an aquifer skillfully unearthed by his articulations.

He slurps and suckles at it with a voracious grizzle that rumbles from the recess of his barrel chest, whining when every last bead of it has been lapped up. He crouches above you, his imposing girth slapping against your mound. The entirety of it seeps a syrupy dribble, the warmed honey sensation dripping between your folds. He positions himself at your core and trembles at the anticipation of finally becoming fused to you.

You reach a hand between your legs and guide his bulky tip to the lip of your entrance.The balmy salve of his secretion draws a sigh from your mouth, and he whimpers as he licks into it. You clutch the span of his neck and shoulders as he eases inside of you.

The besoothing purl was not so great that it eased all the sting and pinch of accommodating him. Your breath catches when he slips far enough to nudge the mouth of your womb. You let out a sharp hiss when he pushes further, filling as much of you as he can. He groans when he reaches the terminal of your core. “Filled with me.” He says it in a heaving breath like he’s staked his claim.

“E-everywhere,” you blubber. “I feel you everywhere.”

“Feel you everywhere,” he echoes in a shared sentiment.

“I need you,” you choke out, wriggling your hips just enough to further the blissfully punishing effort of taking him. You whine at the involuntary spasm of your cunt swallowing and obliging the heft of him.

He groans at your deference, at the gentle surrender of yourself to him. “Mine,” he growls and rocks into you for the first time in earnest. It punches the air from your lungs, and you hold onto him tighter.

“I’m yours, I’m yours,” you repeat as he ruts into you. His cadence stutters and becomes haphazard in its drive to mark you as his his his. You can feel each pulse of blood through his veiny cock as it rubs the velvet confines of your core. Your skin glistens with the strain of seating the bulk of it. Every curve and dip and slope of him dragged against your walls. Each drive pushed you closer and closer to another freefall. With one harsh drive of his cockhead against your cervix, your eyes flash wide open in a jolt.

The choking clench of your climax suspends his thrusts, walls locking down and ensnaring his length where it cleaves you in two. A euphoric sob escapes you as tears cloud your vision and you ride out your high. His own release comes quickly after yours with a cacophonous baying wail tearing through the still night.

The flood of him inside you curls and crests until it is met with no other place to go but out of your sticky, drooling hole. It rushes in a stream onto the ground, puddling around you with the missed droplets of your earlier outpouring. He cages you under his body like a precious gift to hide from the world and snivels in your ear.

You wrap an arm around him where you can and gently stroke the coarse scruff of his nape. “Ssshhh, I’m right here,” you soothe. You can sense his desperation, the need to maintain the intimacy of the moment. “We’ll stay just like this for a while, okay?”

He sighs and curls you into him, for comfort or safekeeping or maybe both. “Stay together. Mine.”

“Yes. I’m yours.”

He licks mindlessly at your neck to lull himself, and his chest slowly falls into a peaceful rhythm. You drift off long before he fully softens inside you.

This is my first True Monster smut fic imo, and I just have to say I think I get it guys lmao. I get to make him have magical dick juice? I'M IN. ~*~~*~WORLD BUILDING IS SO ENRICHING AND REWARDING FOR THE CREATIVE MIND~*~~*~*.

For other monster fucking fics, please check out @wannab-urs awesome compilation here. I also wanna specifically rec Oh, Honey by @lincolndjarin bc it is delicious.

catch ya later, ♥Puddles♥

[punks-never-die205]

Passing Fascination

Fem Reader x Yandere!Eustass Kid

CW: kidnapping, yandere Eustass Kid, violence, dubious consent, imprisonment, abuse, swearing, sex, group sex, dark content kids I am not messing around with this ♥

Tag list: @keiva1000

Chapter 5: Consent

Kid backs off, going over and grabbing a chair before seating himself nearly in the middle of the room. You stay almost pressed against the bookshelf as he moves, watching him with a mix of curiosity and fear.

“It’s your idea, so do the work.” He says. A grin splits across his lips, but you can see his earlier irritation in his eyes. “Strip yourself.”

Your mind shorts for a second before a confused, half-mumbled what falls from your lips.

“Strip yourself, little mouse. You think this will fix it all, so fine. Let’s do it. But I’m not gonna hear any fucking shit about forcing you, so you’re gonna do it.” He clarifies, and you can feel a cold knot in the pit of your stomach.

“If… if I don’t?” You question nervously, stepping away from the books a bit.

“… Then nothing changes.” He answers, crossing an ankle over his knee and leaning back. “You’re gonna keep expecting it. And maybe I give you less space, or more. Maybe we see what the rest of the crew will do to you if they think I won’t find out.”

You feel your body heat at the implication. “They’re… they’re too loyal to-.”

“Oh they’re loyal alright,” Kid interrupts. “Won’t lie if I ask ‘em, but if you ain’t mine, little mouse, then who the fuck are you on this ship?”

Your legs nearly buckle at the statement. It was a truth you were certainly aware of before now, but hearing it so clearly made your blood run cold. You needed to keep yourself together - as healthy and as capable as possible.

The chance to escape would present itself. What was important was to not break or be broken before then. He wouldn’t break you if you loved him, wouldn’t break you if he loved you. Deception left a sour taste on the tip of your tongue, but it would be a savory flavor indeed, if you could win your freedom with it.

Right now there’s no need to hide your hesitation, the deceit will have to come in slowly. You take a moment, breathing in slowly and letting it out slower, trying to get your roiling stomach to calm down.

Taking a few more  steps away from the bookcase you stand before him, and start to take your clothes off. There’s no little show, no shy smile you can muster, your fingers shake as you pull your shirt off, and the air seems uncomfortably cold.

You can feel his eyes on you, but you can’t bring yourself to look at him as you pull your pants off. You weren’t fully dressed today, since you’d intended to stay in and read, so you were only taking off the pajamas you’d had on. Enough clothing to eat breakfast and vanish.

Kid shifts, putting his hands behind his head. “Now me.”

You flinch, looking up at him in surprise and a little confusion.

“You want it?” He repeats, spreading his legs open. “Come get it.” He slouches a little in the chair. “Don’t have to strip me bare, little mouse, just gotta free up whatcha need.”

Part of you wants to protest. Most of you wants to protest. You don’t want this, not in the truest sense, but things need to change. Something has to give, and you’re not going to gain any trust or leeway if you’re skittering away from him and everyone else.

If you want to escape, you have to give in. Play along. Obey.

You walk over to him, eyes on the floor for the most part, until you’re standing between his legs. You shift your gaze to his crotch and start to undo his belts. There’s no sound but the soft clink of the belts coming undone.

You can feel his eyes on you, but it’s hard to say if he’s disappointed or amused without looking up at him.

You’re surprised to see he’s not fully erect when you get the pants out of the way. You really expected this loud brash bastard was an always on kind of guy.

Maybe he really - you shake the thought away. The guilt was going to break you. No sense in worrying about the feelings of the guy who kidnapped you. Best to just focus on the task at hand.

You reach down and grab his cock, pulling it free and stroking it with your hands. Both hands. Gods and demons this thing is massive and he’s not even fully hard.

Bending at the waist you leaned down and tentatively licked the tip. Clean, a little salty, he smelled a little of oil and metal, but that could be from his arm. All that mattered to you right now was that he didn’t stink, and he didn’t expect you to ride a filthy dick.

You did what you could, licking the tip, sucking on it as your hands worked his shaft, running your tongue down his length to lubricate your hands. You weren’t being strictly clinical, but you weren’t trying to feign enjoyment.

Just something a little more like neutrality. Acceptance, even if there wasn’t much emotion in it.

“You’re so small I wonder if you can even fit me in your mouth.” Kid muses, moving your hair aside enough to watch you for a moment.

“I’m not sure I can fit you anywhere.” You admit, words mumbled against his cock. You can feel it twitch against your lips before he has you step back.

“Only one way to find out.” He pats his leg. “Put your leg up here and get yourself wet before you climb up.”

You do as he says, putting a hand in his offered hand to help keep yourself balanced as you put your other hand to work. The way he watches, without saying anything, has an effect on you whether you want to admit it or not.

You could almost imagine his lips against your neck, hands on your breasts, helping you as you prepared to take that monster twitching in anticipation between his thighs. His desire for you rolled off him without apology, but despite the situation it wasn’t oily or slimy. It didn’t disgust you and that truth was worrisome.

Once you were wet, he helped you come up onto his lap. One hand on his chest to steady yourself, the other wrapped around his shaft, lining him up with your entrance. Shifting your hips the tip of his slips away, instead of slipping in. You flinch from the sensation and try again, holding him in place longer until you can feel an uncomfortable sting.

You’re not sure how you’re going to ride this beast, when you can barely handle the tip. Once it’s in a little you keep a hold of him, trying to slowly shift yourself down further. If you can get half of him in you can hopefully get him off and get this torment over with.

The stretching sensation stings so much that you don’t know if you’ll be able to even do that much.

“That’s not gonna cut it, little mouse.” Kid grumbles, lifting your hips up and ending your struggle to get him in. “Guess your fingers just aren’t enough.”

His rough finger slips over your clit, before pushing into you easily. You can’t stifle the gasp as you grab onto his shoulders and lean against him as his finger goes deeper than yours could.

“Cute,” he huffs, pumping the single finger for a moment before pushing in a second one. The stretch makes your fingers clench and you suck in a breath, letting out a hot shuddering gasp against his chest.

You’d had sex before but his two fingers were making you feel like this was your first time. It didn’t hurt, the stretch was sweet and the dull ache made you needy. Your hips moved to help him without your meaning to, and the sharp sting from earlier was already fading.

You could feel the chuckle in Kid’s chest just before he started scissoring his fingers inside you. The sloppy wet sound was embarrassing enough, but you had to bite your lip to keep the moan from escaping you.

“Aww, don’t hold back like that.” He pouts. His metal hand grabs your hair, pulling you back and holding you in place. His thumb slips between your labia, and begins teasing your clit as his fingers curl inside you.

Your hands clamp over your mouth as your eyes go wide and you nearly cry out into your fingers. The rush of pleasure is almost painful. It's so sudden, but just before you think you’re going to lose yourself in the euphoria he lets you go, pulling his hand out and away from you.

“Now you can try again.” He says, eager grin on his lips.

You can feel his hot breath against your neck as you line him up again and begin to sink down once more. The discomfort from before wasn’t nearly as sharp, and you could feel a dull ache as his tip sinks into you, stretching you a little more than his fingers had. You’re a lot wetter now too, and manage to work more of him in much faster.

“Fuck mouse,” he husks, hands gripping the sides of the chair. “You’re - shit - tight.”

“You’re the brute with the dragon dick,” you grouch, finally glancing at him as his thick cock slides in a little deeper. You grab onto his shirt as you spread your legs open wider, taking in more of him.

You’re trying to sink down slow enough to stop when he inevitably bottoms you out. You’ve heard the brothel ladies complain about how it hurts. Despite your fears, you only feel a strange sensation as he fills more of you. It doesn’t seem possible for you to be able to fit something that’s almost the size of your own arm inside your pussy, but as you can’t go any lower, you realize the truth of it.

“I knew it.” Kid murmurs, tipping your face up with a finger under your chin, forcing you to look at him. Your eyes are watering a little, you’ve never felt so full, and it feels so good you don’t even want to move. “Don’t just sit there, little mouse.” He admonishes, a truly delighted grin on his face.

“I… I can’t.” You’re nearly panting, caught between the sweet pleasure and frustrated that it is both sweet and pleasurable. “I feel like… like I’m gonna cum if I -.”

“Then cum.” He interjects, grabbing your wrists and holding your hands away from your face. “Cum against my cock. I’m not gonna punish you for it.” He leans forward, lips by your ear. “But I want to hear you.”

The shiver that ran through you caused you to clench against him, making embarrassment run through you hotly. You couldn’t keep looking at him, and shifted your gaze away as you began to move.

Using the leverage provided by Kid, with your hands in his, you leaned toward him just a little, grinding your clit against his pubes as you rode him. It didn’t take long for the combined stimulation to cause your breath to come out heavy. You knew his eyes were all over you, but you kept looking at his stomach, focusing on chasing your own high.

You sped up a little as you got closer, breath falling from your lips. Soft moans escaped you as his dick sent jolts through you, hitting places deep inside no one had ever reached. You couldn’t predict it, and decided not to fight it. Right now it was best to lose yourself a little to the pleasure.

“Close?” He hums and you nod. “Gonna need help?”

You shake your head at first, body and breath shivering with the flooding pleasure. Your head shake turns into a nod as the orgasm starts to crest and you can already feel your limbs beginning to betray you.

Kid grips your ass, helping you keep your pace. His metal hand isn’t cold like you expect, but there’s a rush of pleasure from his hands on your body that rushes the orgasm. Broken and hissed swears tumble down your chest as he helps you through the orgasm.

The pleasure rattles your senses, spots dance in your vision, and you can feel sweat slick your skin as your muscles tense from your toes to your shoulders. Kid doesn’t relent until you’re collapsed against his chest, legs dangling on either side of his thighs. Your breathing is hot, panting against him. Every twitch you can’t control shivers against the rock-hard cock buried in you, and each sensation from that seems determined to push you over the edge again.

Everything’s still for a moment, and then Kid starts to move your hips again. You suck in a breath, grabbing onto his collar. You can’t hook your feet against his legs for any sort of leverage, every time he shifts you deep the sensation jolts down your legs.

“Wa-Wait!” You cry, words clipped off in a hiss as your sensitive clit grinds against him. “Please! Please, it’s too- too much!”

“I haven’t cum yet, little mouse.” He hums, and you look up at him as pleasure jolts up your back. “That’s the whole reason you wanted to do this, right?”

You open and close your mouth a few times, too addled and hazy to think clearly. Kid grins and everything in your world stops.

“Don’t tell me you thought teasing me would make things better?” He questions and you nearly sob.

Caught between riding the edge of a second orgasm or leaving Eustass Kid of all people frustrated. After you walked yourself into this mess there wasn’t much else you could do. If you were worried he’d just randomly grab you and bend you over where ever he wanted to before now, it would certainly be worse if you left him hanging like this.

“… Please… continue.” You insist, shifting your hips as much as you can, body shivering with every ungodly jolt his cock sent through you, damnable thing seeming to hit every spot at once.

Kid’s hands moved your hips easily, and his pace was almost gentle as he moved you in long steady strokes. All you could do was hold onto his shirt, panting into his chest, nearly growling the second time he brought you to orgasm.

After that he laid you out on the bed, holding onto your ankles as he continued to take you. You kept expecting him to just pound you practically through the bed, but he didn’t seem inclined to do so. He was huge, so a certain level of rough was unavoidable, but it was… tender.

You put an arm over your eyes, the intensity of his gaze was too much and, in this position, you couldn’t hide your face in his chest. Your other hand clutched the covers as your body shivered and twitched with every thrust. There was no escaping the pleasure, and he seemed intent on making sure it was all that you felt.

The third orgasm brought tears to your eyes, and you sobbed swears as your body tensed and jerked, almost immovable in his hands. Your hair was plastered to your neck and face, sweat practically pooling at your throat and stomach. Your ankles were rubbing raw, as the sweat on you both was causing you to chafe in Kid’s hand.

Exhaustion soaked your limbs, and you couldn’t hope to move any of them when Kid pulled out, and let go of your legs. The feeling of being empty was almost overwhelming for a moment, but you rolled onto your side, expecting him to move you into another position.

Instead, he lifts you into his arms, cradling you as he walks toward the bathroom. As worn out and hazy as you are, you’re almost certain he hasn’t cum so far. Just you.

“Kid, I can-.” You start, as he shifts you enough to open the door to the bathroom.

“Can it, little mouse,” he interrupts, setting you down before he starts to fill the bath. “Let me clean you up and you can grab some rest before dinner.”

“But I-.” You can feel panic rising up inside you, this wasn’t the outcome you were hoping for.

“Mouse.” He nearly snaps the word, looking over his shoulder and glaring at you for a second before turning back to his work. “You’re not some toy for me to break.”

The two of you were silent after that. Kid cleaned you up, washed your hair even, and dried you off. By then you’d effectively rested enough to put on your clothes on your own, and you laid down for a nap you admittedly needed.

His frustration was evident. Caged, controlled, and not being laid at your feet, but evident. You weren’t sure what the issue was, what you needed to do different next time, but the concern was keeping you from dozing off completely.

“-- I won’t force my way into your pants.” He gives you a toothy grin. “It’s no good if you’re not begging me for it.”

“Tch,” he grumbles, going back to his work. “I don’t want you broken. If all I wanted was a fuck toy I’da cut your legs off before you woke up and you’d be covered in cum and spit right now.”

Understanding hits you like a cold lead weight in the pit of your stomach. You didn’t look at him, unless you had to. You didn’t say his name. Didn’t beg, or plead, or say anything to him directly. You didn’t even tell him how good he was making you feel.

Even if he had finished, the tense ending would’ve been unchanged.

[mingkist]

[8:45PM] Wooyoung is a liar. So is Mingi. So is San, Yeosang, and Yunho apparently. To sum it all up your friends were all filthy liars who likes to make your life a little more 'exciting' as they say it.

"For the last time," you say sternly. "I am not going to propose to someone just for us to get free dinner." And then, frustratingly, you remind them what they'd told you earlier this afternoon. "You five said it'll be on you this time."

"Well that was before we remembered that we're all 'engaged'," Wooyoung says. "I literally got 'engaged' to San last week, they won't believe us."

"And you think that me going up to a stranger, then asking for their hand in marriage will magically pay for our dinner?" You retorted.

"I mean it worked before," Mingi mumbles, "I got engaged to Tzuyu, and they even gave us a balloon."

You blink at him. "Who's Tzuyu?"

"This girl I proposed to for free dinner," he shrugs. "Girls will always say yes when you're as handsome as I am."

"Or Tzuyu is just a really nice person who likes to help people scam restaurants," you snickered under your breath. "I'm still not going to go up to a total stranger and propose to them, that's just stupid. Why can't I propose to Yeosang or Yunho?"

"Because we're engaged," Yunho answered with a bright grin, he lifts his left hand up and scrunched his nose. "I accidentally ate our ring."

By ring, Yunho means ring pop, of course.

At the look on your face, San smiles reassuringly. "You’ll be fine,” he mumbles first, reaching into his pocket. “That guy looks our age." He then adds, handing over a velvet box that contained your ‘engagement’ ring. "Go ask him."

And with a final shove, you got up onto your feet, taking in a deep breath as you approached a table where three men around you and your friend's age were sat.

"Hi," you say first, smiling —albeit awkwardly. You lowered your voice once the three gave you their full undivided attention. "Would you mind doing me a super quick favour?"

"What is it?" A man with tiny hands and split dyed hair sets his utensils down.

"This restaurant does this thing where if you get engaged you'll get dinner on the house," you explain. "And I was wondering if one of you could get 'engaged' to me?"

The man brow's furrows, his attention turning to his friend with platinum blond hair and the other who looked more than just amused. "What do you think, Hwa?"

Before 'hwa' could answer, the other man chirps in. "What's in it for us?"

"You could also get free dinner?" That was a lie, or a half truth, you didn't know. There was a chance they could also get free dinner but you weren't sure. "I think?"

"You think?" The man chortles, and the man with the tiny hands warns him off with a stern 'Jongho, behave.' He then turns to Hwa, watching him as Hwa observes you. "How about you propose to Seonghwa and in return he gets your number?"

Your eyes narrows at Jongho, was he being for real?

But . . . It’s just a small price to pay, for free dinner you guessed. "So—" You turn to 'Seonghwa' (at least he was cute). "— my number for a little white lie?"

Seonghwa nods, and stands up. For a split second the two of you looked at each other without so much as a word, unsure of what the other is doing. And when his eyes shifts to your hand, and the tiny velvet box in it, he reaches for it. He gestures towards his seat. "Sit."

And when you're doing what Hwa’s told you to, the man with the tiny hand asks you for your name —full name. You tell him yours and he tells you his in return. "Nice to meet you, Hongjoong."

"You too."

In front of you, Seonghwa gets down on one knees, eyes sparkling as he looks up at you. From the side of your eyes, you spot your friends —Wooyoung to be specific, holding his phone up as he lets out a loud cackle at the scene before him.

Seonghwa says your full name with as much affection he could muster. "Within the last five years (minutes, he means) I've known you, I've felt nothing but love for you." He pauses dramatically, opening up the box and you play into your role by gasping, a hand delicately placed on your chest in surprise. "Will you do me the honor in letting me be your husband?"

You choke out a fake sob. "Yes!"

Seonghwa returns the hug when you quite literally throw yourself into his arms. You then made quick work in thanking the three once more, adding your number into Seonghwa's contacts before leaving with another thank you.

Once you were finally out of ear shot, Hongjoong turns to Seonghwa with a mischievous look. "So when’s the wedding?"

Seonghwa turns to the side sheepishly, his cheek turning the slightest tinge of pink. "Shut up."

half way through writing this i decided that i hated it, but oh welllllll

p. ateez: @italiekim @realjonko @aestheticsluut @rielleluvs @youngestdelacour @alanniys @dogsongy @mingiholic @sankatchu @stopeatread @miriamxsworld @ka-ni-ma @sstarrysshit @nvmbheart @lazypostfandomer @side-effectss

[mist-see]

I don’t wish you well. 3

Yandere reader x Neytiri x Jake sully

Italics= English

Summary: you explain your actions to moat and Neytiri, but the great tsahik sees right though you.

⚠️Warning⚠️:mention of killing jake, cursing, obsessive reader

Inspiration from darling I don’t wish you well, by Brent:

Neytiri hisses, turning her body fully towards you, her lips coming above her teeth. “Excuse me?!” Immediately you come off defensive, nose flaring as you release a harsh breath, getting hit with the slight possessiveness towards the man. You just couldn’t see what she saw! “Um- what’s happening-“ “shut up!” The both of you yelled to the man. “Yes-yes ma’am’s, uhm.”

He clears his throat, pressing his lips together as he watches, moat brow bone raising from the increase of volume. “I don’t trust him. At. All.” This time it was you who bared your teeth, one of your four fingers shooting up to shamelessly, harshly point at the demon that stood far from you.

Your friend was quick to slap your hand down with a huff. She didn’t understand why you were so harsh with him, why you couldn’t stand being around him nor the sight of him as he was already here for 2 and a half months. She understood it at first, him being an outsider, someone she was forced to teach their ways, she understood your frustration. But she was over it. She has moved forward so why can’t you?

“You will explain yourself y/n!” She spoke to you as if she was the oldest, but you couldn’t bring yourself to be upset. Clenching your jaw, you harshly inhaled and released your breath, attempting to calm yourself before speaking.

“He came from nowhere, he smelt like the bottom of a Palulukan pool where their shit and piss float down to the bottom, he was dressed in those disgusting clothing, and he was obviously with someone, or else why would he be there!” Your voice started as calm as you could muster, but by the end, all of your anger and possession came right back.

Why was he here? Rang in Neytiris's head. Well obviously because he wanted to become like them, to become one of the people.

No, but why was he here?

The younger girl shoots a look over at the dream walker, the male already looking at her with a lost look on his face. Why were he and his people here? What are their motives?

Maybe you had a point.

You didn’t know it but you were close to her, pupils no longer large in awe, but small like you were hunting. Jake took a cautious step, he knows you’d never hurt your friend, but he didn’t know you. Moat just watched you two argue, knowing that this was the best way to let it out, knowing that this would be the best way to understand each other, to finally communicate.

This was the time to let the truth speak.

You were there for a reason, to kill him. Now you're here and all of that adrenaline was coming back. Neytiri was at a loss for words, her never seeing you so angry, to the point you raised your voice at her. You were always so patient with her, so quiet, and gentle. Never like this. Never this… overly protective, almost possessive.

Before the younger girl could utter another word, you spoke again, but this time your voice was normal, smooth, and gentle like it was earlier that day. “I was going to kill him, yes. But you cannot blame me for not trusting him around you. I was only going to do it if he tried something.” It was like a switch, as if you didn’t show her another side of you. You were back to you.

A lie, or at least not the full truth. Moat squints her eyes at you, that unnerving feeling in her stomach coming again as she watches you lie so easily to her daughter. But her daughter just released a defeated sigh, her eyes never leaving yours as she began to believe your words. It made the Tsahik wonder how long you’ve been manipulating her daughter like this.

“You are very capable of handling yourself if something happens. But Neytiri when I’m here you wouldn’t even have to.” You almost forgot about the male in the room until he awkwardly clears his throat.

“Fine… explain your reasoning faster next time.” Neytiris's voice was softer, but her eyes were still hard on you, as of she was telling you she’ll never forget.

“Okay, enough.” The Tsahik calls out, making the two of you break your eye contact, and swirl your head to the older lady. “get out”

“Wait what?”

“Mother.”

“I will not repeat myself.”

Her daughter and Jake looks at Moat, confusion not only on their face but also yours. Neytiri didn’t let her mother repeat herself, knowing how hard her pinches were and rushed to Jake to pull him down the stairs, you try to follow, not wanting him alone with her for too long, but you get a warning hiss from the elder, making you stop.

“Did I tell you to leave?”

Well, she didn’t. Breathing in deeply, you turn on the heels of your feet and face the woman before you. “Tsahik?” You asked. What could she want with you, alone?

“I will ignore the manipulation and obsession you have with my daughter. Because I know you mean well. And I can use that to my advantage. I and my husband will use that to our advantage, to protect our daughter.” Her voice was strict as she spoke as if she was your mother warning you about your actions, but settling it with a slap on the wrist.

Call you immature, a sociopath who didn’t care what people thought of you, who didn’t care what anyone else’s thought unless they were Neytiri herself. but you truly didn’t care what people saw you as when it came to Neytiri. A protector, a big sister, her best friend, or someone who is unconditionally and irrevocably in love with her.

So when you look up to Moat with those big dead eyes, no light in them but the reflection of the fire, you knew you were caught. You knew your protective older sister facade was no longer needed when it came down to moat truly seeing what you were, who you are.

She saw you for you.

Someone willing to harm for the only daughter she had. And she couldn’t do much about it, no, you wouldn’t allow it. Even if she were to kick you out of the clan. What offense did you really make? After all, you didn’t exactly go through with your plan. And Who would protect Neytiri the way that you did? Who would keep her from being a danger to herself? No one but you. You were her protector, she was forced to deal with you.

She couldn’t lose another daughter, no she wouldn’t let that happen.

But there had to be rules, ground rules to keep her daughter from hurting.

“Rule one, you will not kill our clan members for your selfish reasoning.” Your ears twitched at this, lips coming up to a scowl. “That thing out there is not a part of our clan. He is an outsider who doesn’t belong. And you know this, so what do you truly wish to say.” You had to be bold to talk to the one who interprets Eywa like this, a true dummy who had no respect for elders, no, one of the two leaders of your clan.

But the elder saw your attitude coming, your words not even making her blink as she walks up to you, slowly with a straight spine. “You are right.” She could not lie, after all the people never did. “We do not know him. But he is trying y/n. He is trying to become one of us. And you killing that young man, you killing him will hurt my daughter, and that is where I draw the line. So I will repeat myself… you will not kill anyone in this clan because of your obsessive thoughts. Understood?”

And that’s when you remembered, that time, A day after Sylwanins funeral had passed, when you knew you had to protect Neytiri from the dangers of the colonizers, you promised her one thing.

“I will protect you, I will always be there when you need me Neytiri.” The both of you stared at each other with glassy eyes, you crying from watching her cry. “Don’t promise something you cannot keep…” her voice was so weak, it cracked only after a few words. You wished that there was a way that you could convince her, but you were only a child, grief feeling like a protective blanket from showing her how serious you were.

But you could only promise.

“Neytiri you have no idea how much you mean to me… I promise on my life-“ “ do not say such a thing!-“ she cuts you off, only for you to cut her off with a hug that could crush her. “Neytiri I swear to the great goddess above us, that I will protect you, to be there for you, to never hurt you, unless I absolutely have to, to protect you.” She didn’t know what you meant back then, but you kept your promise, and you plan to keep doing so until your last breath.

“Yes, Tsahik… I understand.”

“Good. Rule two, You will not speak of the conversations that will be held between me and you until the time is right, understood?”

“Yes Tsahik, I understand.”

“Sit.” She pointed to the cushions that sat around the fire pit, eyes moving away from you to take her seat the opposite of you. With a breath releasing from your nose, you follow her directions, taking a seat on the other side of the fire.

“And last but not least… you will not question the way of Eywa ever again. Do you understand me, child?”You come into her home and question the ways of keeping the young man alive, you should be punished for such behavior. But you will not. It was a warning. She took your words as an insult to her ways. After all her ways are Eywa's ways. “If I say he lives, he lives.” As simple as that.

Her voice was no longer a mother who was softly scolding her child, no, this was a threat, she was dead serious. You felt yourself almost smirk at this, Moat being the scariest woman in the clan, threatening you was an honor.

“Of course Tsahik. Never again.” You place your bow beside your crossed legs, back slouching just slightly as you never took your eyes off her.

“Yes, of course.” She narrows her eyes at you as she mocks your words. The way you were so nonchalant almost made her crack, it was truly annoying.

“What you, my daughter, and Jake sully saw today was something that hasn’t happened in nearly a century.” You nodded along. “I have a hunch on what it might mean… but only the great one truly knows what she’s doing. With that being said, I will figure this out for you.” You raised your invisible brow, confusion taking over your features. “Can you not tell me what you know so far?”

“Not until I know the truth, the whole truth. For now, I want you to find Jake Sully and my daughter, and apologize to the man you were meant to kill.” You froze in your spot, your nonchalant attitude pausing as your yellow eyes widened. “Why would I apologize to that 5 fingered freak?” Oh, how you didn’t know how much those words meant in the future.

“Your attitude, apologies for your attitude. You don’t know how long he should be staying, you don’t want to be on bad terms when he finds out you were going to kill him, do we?” Your jaw clenches, the condescending tone coming from the wiser woman not making you better. “Fine.”

“And you better do it, because I always know if someone doesn’t keep their promises.”

“Oh trust me, I’m good with promises. something tells me that our… guest, is very forgiving.” your tone was very bitter at the end.

“Go now, child. Complete your duty.” As she waves you off, she stands up to get her herbs, readying herself for her communication with Eywa. You slowly stood from the tree trunk, bow gripped in your hand.

As you were about to leave, you come to a realization. “And if I were right… if he does betray us, what then?”

“Then my child, then you have my consent to kill him.”

____________

Comment to be added to the tag list 💞 (I keep forgetting to tag ppl I’m so sorry lmao)

@hoodiepandaninja16 @daenerysluvrr @deranged-andcute @eichenhouseproperty @vivangothic

Part two<<<<<<

Part four>>>>>>

[corrodedbisexual]

One Year

AO3 link

It's March 27th, 1987. And it's been one year. One year since Steve carried Eddie out of the Upside Down. Steddie | T | light angst + tooth-rotting fluff My two cents into the whole Death Day trend because… nope. Canon? I don't know her.

Eddie finds Steve in the kitchen that morning, staring at the calendar on the wall. He seems lost in thought, doesn't hear Eddie come in, even jumps a little when Eddie approaches and wraps his arms around his waist, but immediately relaxes the next moment, melting back against his chest. 

"Morning, sweetheart," Eddie murmurs in his boyfriend's ear, presses a soft kiss to the side of his neck, the spot he knows is just sensitive enough for Steve to let out a quiet chuckle, but not so much as to squirm away. "Penny for your thoughts?" He asks, leaning over Steve's shoulder so he can meet his eyes when Steve turns his head towards him. There's something unreadable in his gaze, a heaviness Eddie hasn't seen in a while. 

"You know what today is?" Steve asks, and Eddie follows his gaze when he looks back at the calendar.

"Oh." Of course, he recognizes the date. How could he not. "Shit."

"Yeah." Steve rests his own arms over Eddie's around his waist, squeezes gently with his fingers, rubs a thumb against his skin. He's quiet for a long moment, before adding, his voice strained, "You almost died. A year ago today."

"Hey. Hey, no no no, fuck that, Stevie." Eddie tugs on Steve's elbow to turn him around in his arms, presses into him so close there's not a hair of space between them. Drops his head to Steve's shoulder and just breathes for a moment, breathes in the scent that's become comfort and love and home to him. Tries to compose himself, because one of them has to, because there's no way they are both breaking down over this and end up crying together on the kitchen floor. 

Been there, done that. Not today.

So when he lifts his head again to look at Steve, it's with the biggest grin he could muster, and maybe Steve can tell he's faking it, but that's not the point. 

"Fuck that ”, he repeats, more forcefully. “You know what today really is? Practically, my second birthday. I got a second chance at life." He captures Steve's lips in a soft, brief kiss, and maybe his grin isn't so fake anymore when he pulls back to add, "A better one, too."

"Better? You can't be serious." Steve frowns, eyes darting downwards. Eddie feels his fingers running along his side. Tracing the exact shape of that biggest, angriest scar through the T-shirt. He knows its shape by heart, Eddie realizes. Fuck, he loves this man.

"Oh, absolutely." He tilts his head back so he can see Steve's face properly without going cross-eyed. "If that means I got the love of my life for all my troubles? I wouldn't have done anything different, if given the chance."

Steve glances away, biting his lip, cheeks tinted pink, and Eddie absolutely revels in it, amazed at how he can keep telling Steve he loves him every damn day, and still sometimes get the same reaction out of it as the first time he confessed. 

"You know you didn't actually have to get nearly eaten by demobats to get a chance with me, right?" Steve lifts a hand to push a strand of hair back behind Eddie's ear, cups his jaw gently. Right over another scar, usually covered by his hair. "I was half gone on you anyway, you damn flirt." 

"You don't know that." Eddie shakes his head, more serious now, because he needs Steve to understand. "What if the bats got Dustin instead? Can you seriously tell me you, not the you right now, but the you from a year ago, wouldn't have resented me for not protecting him back then?"

Steve falls silent for a long moment, then sighs. "You're right. I don't know," he admits. 

Eddie nods. "Exactly." He's glad that Steve doesn't try to lie about this. With all the jokes about them co-parenting the kid, Eddie knows how even actual, lifelong marriages fall apart after the death of a child. The bitter truth is, if something happened to Dustin that night, any chance at what him and Steve didn't themselves even know was blooming between them back then would have been gone in an instant. A fact Eddie needed Steve to acknowledge; but he doesn't want to dwell on this any longer.

"Actually." He smiles, lifting Steve's chin with his fingers to meet his eyes again. "Considering today is when we first kissed, maybe we should make it our unofficial anniversary."

Steve rolls his eyes. "I didn't kiss you, I gave you CPR, dumbass."

Eddie gasps dramatically. "How is that less romantic? You literally breathed life back into me, baby." 

"You're an idiot," Steve shakes his head, but he's finally smiling, full and bright, eyes shining, and that eggs Eddie on.

"You could almost say... I took your breath away?"

“Oh my god,” Steve drops his head briefly, and Eddie can see his shoulders shake with silent laughter. “Stop.” He halfheartedly pokes Eddie in the ribs. 

“And you made my heart beat faster.”

“Like, from actually zero to barely normal?!” Steve squawks, poking him harder, repeatedly, forcing Eddie to finally wriggle away, giggling.

But he lingers close, and the next moment Steve is in his space again, big, warm hands bracketing his head, pulling him in and kissing him, hard, pushing forward so intently Eddie has to back up against the kitchen counter. Eddie just lets him take, and bite, and suck on his lips until the sudden desperation slowly eases into his usual gentleness, one hand sliding down to rest at Eddie’s hip, thumb slipping under his shirt to rub tiny circles into his skin. 

Steve can laugh at him all he wants; in the end, every kiss of his is a little bit like CPR, because Eddie never feels more alive than when Steve’s lips are on his. He wonders if there’ll ever be a time when Steve’s mouth won’t make his knees wobble within mere minutes, his skin tingle and his brain turn into mush. Forget stomach butterflies; his whole body is a swarm of buzzing bees. 

They finally part to breathe, but Steve doesn’t pull away immediately; he never does, and it’s almost Eddie’s favorite part every single time, the way Steve seems to struggle with ending the kiss, instead placing soft pecks onto Eddie’s lips between shared breaths, rubbing their noses together with a lazy, sated grin, eventually resting their foreheads together for a few moments. 

“What was that for?” Eddie asks, when the power to speak, and think somewhat coherently, finally returns to him. 

Steve smiles at him. “I love you.” Another soft kiss against his chin. “I’m glad you’re alive.” Another, to the scar on his jaw. Then, the smile widens as he meets Eddie’s eyes. “Happy second birthday? Sorry I didn’t get you a cake.”

Eddie laughs, happiness bubbling inside him with every word.

“That’s cool. I didn’t get you anything for our unofficial anniversary, either.” He tilts his head, thinking. “But I do want that cake now, actually. Grocery run?”

Steve chuckles and shrugs. “Yeah, why the hell not. Should I radio Dustin?”

"Duh," Eddie snorts. "If the brat finds out we had cake without him? We might have survived demobats, but that will be the end of us both."

"Agreed," Steve says. "Let me just finish my coffee and we’ll go."

Eddie whoops with joy, smacks a loud, wet kiss on Steve's cheek that he knows Steve's not gonna wipe away, and skips towards the stairs to get changed. It can't be denied that this day, a year ago, was probably the worst day of his life. But he’s alive. All his friends are alive. He has an actual boyfriend who loves him, what the fuck. And there’s no guarantee tonight one of them won’t wake up in cold sweat from another nightmare, but for now? Today is going to be awesome.

[justahopelessssromantic]

A/N: Just a small idea I had while the power was out this morning and thought I would try to write a little something. Please let me know what you think and thank you so much for reading it you do

Warnings: Regardless of content 18+ only please! Angst

After the shooting of Sheriff Peterkin Rafe goes to the one person who has always been there for him.

It was just after two in the morning when she looked at her clock after the first raps were heard on her door. Groggily she stepped one foot after the other as she got out of bed trudging down the small hallway to the front door, the knocking getting more frantic as she neared.

“Baby, open up, it's me,” she heard the muffled voice of Rafe on the other side.

His voice alone was enough to snap her awake. Her fingers worked quickly on all the locks having done the same thing dozens of times now.

As soon as the door swung open he was in her arms clutching on to her as if she was the only thing keeping him alive. She didn't know it at the time but she was. Maybe if she had known things would have played out differently.

“Hey, what's wrong?” Her voice was soft, sweet as honey.

He held on to her tighter, his face nuzzled into her chest muffling his soft sobs. She ran her hands up and down his back soothing the pain just enough. She waited patiently for him, allowing him to take whatever comfort he needed from her now. She was always so patient with him.

After about ten minutes he finally found the strength to pull away but not look at her, he couldn't look at her. Her soft eyes would only give him false hope that everything would be okay and he knew nothing would after that day.

She grabbed his hand not minding at all how tightly he held on to her and led him to her bedroom. “It's okay,” she promised, “you don't have to tell me now. We'll sleep on it and you'll feel better in the morning.”

He nodded, following her lead as she slipped under the covers making sure to pull them over the two of them as they settled in. She could smell the alcohol on him mixed with the weed and didn't want to think what else he had consumed before coming over as he pulled her close to his chest tucking his chin on her shoulder.

He waited until she fell asleep, her chest rising and falling at a peaceful pace. “I did something bad,” he whispered out into the darkness. “Something really really bad.” Half of him hoped she heard him while the other half prayed she didn't.

“Hmm?” She woke slightly, her eyelids heavy as she looked at him. “Did you say something?”

He swallowed the bile creeping up in his throat and gave her a small smile, enough to ease any worry she may have. “No, it's just the wind. Go back to sleep now.” It pained him to bury the truth deep within him and muster up that lie.

As much as he wanted to, Rafe couldn't tell her anything. And fuck did he desperately want to tell her. He was as selfish as they come, wanting to pour his heart out right then and there knowing she would comfort him, take care of him, and help him in any way she could because somehow she saw some glimmer of light in his darkness, some good where no one else could see it.

However instead he used the sliver of good to fight his demons. He wouldn't let them win. Not this time, not with her. She was far too good to get drug under the current with him.

So he laid there a few more hours holding her as she slept, taking in his last moments with her. The woman he loved more than anything in the world who for some reason loved his sorry ass back. Then he carefully slipped out of bed and out the door leaving nothing but a note with a simple it's over, vowing to himself to never see her again.

[roxyteal]

No Sprite.

For a moment, Billy's mind failed him, as he attempted to process this universal truth dropped on him just now.

No Sprite. No Sprite in this Coca-Cola Freestyle machine that Viktor insisted on integrating into this movie theatre roughly half a year ago. Was that Tarwill pranking him? What'd he done recently to deserve such an injustice, served upon him with the cold, emotionless finality of... Something, Billy realized he couldn't even figure out the end of that metaphor.

No Sprite. Not even Diet Sprite, the clearly inferior version of Sprite. Which, the well-made robot had to admit, he would've settled for if it came down to the wire.

But no. There was nothing.

"Hey, uh... Ya good over there?" At last, Billy heard Denied from nearby. His refreshments of choice happened to be a bucket of popcorn chicken (and that in of itself took some time to prepare), and a medium water (and would probably be a crime if that was out). Neither of the food items were currently selected, but he remembered the order.

When Billy didn't respond, the merman looked over. He snorted into a laugh. "Oh my God dude. Do not be dramatic about this. Look, just-..."

He gestured. "Just. Try this one. It has it."

Billy followed his gaze to where Denied was waving. What was previously just out of immediate view, revealed a second machine. Out of three, apparently, now that they were visible. True to his word, this one's screen was different - Sprite (and Diet) were lit up.

Oh thank God.

The well-made robot moved on to it, proceeding with unprecedented ease - at least compared to just moments ago, where he was probably looking foolish.

With the most level-headed tone he could muster, Billy retorted, "I was not going to be dramatic. Give me a little credit."

He watched the promised soda fill his (also medium) cup, grinning at the soothing visage of bubbles and sounds of fizz, lifting the ice to the top. Meanwhile, Denied stated, rather bluntly, "Ya can't lie for shit, Billy."

His brother was right, but, Billy wasn't about to admit that. Never!

[aphroditesmoon]

tinderbox of a heart

osferth x reader

summary: the warrior monk attempts to comfort you after your father's death.

warnings; vague mentions of prostitution, child neglect.

°°°

Beocca was not your real father. No, your real father had sold you off to a brothel when you were 13. When you were 15, you had manage to escape one night to a place you knew would show more mercy to you than a whore house

A church.

When he found you, his brain told him to send you off to a nunnery as soon as possible. But as his heart grew fonder of you, he decided make a plea to the king to legalize you as his daughter.

The familiar faces in your life then gree each day. The most you knew of was Osferth, being a monk who was often associating with Beocca.

You could not say you two were close, as he was very shy, but when he did talk to you, he was always kind.

After Uhtred returns with the news of his death, he took it on himself to take care of you.

The plan originally was to have you stay with either Hilde in Aethelflaed's estate, but you assume he has a change in heart as you now find yourself with young Uhtred and his other men.

You wonder what the warrior got himself into as you all found yourself on the run from the king's guard with the princess Aelfwynn.

You feel young Uhtred's eyes in you as you sit alone in the corner by the waterfall. It was no news that you've seem to isolate yourself more since the death of your father.

The man who'd given you life was gone, so now you take what the world gives you, but it doesn't feel much like living anymore.

Hearing footsteps approach, you look up half expecting the worried young Uhtred's face. But instead you were met with the familiar face of the old friend who's also a stranger to you.

He stared at you in silence before you raised a brow at him. His trance broke and he shook his head slightly.

"Are you alright?" The question constantly brought your way by everyone.

You answer with the practiced lie you've always prepared yourself with. "Yes."

When he nods and purses his lips, you turn to look back at the running water in front of you.

You feel him move down to sit next to you and flinches as his arm nudges you.

When you turn to him, he has drinking water in his hand pointed at you. You accept his offer and tip the water in your mouth.

You manage to muster a thankful smile at him as you pass it back, and he reciprocates it with a gentle one.

Falling back into silence, he is once again the first to break it. "He was a good man." Your eyes meets his and you knew who he was talking about. "A good priest." He finished.

Your face turns into a frown. "He was more than just a priest. He was my father." You notice how his own expression turns remorseful as your voice breaks.

His arms were quick to pull you into his chest before you could argue. And in truth, you were too tired to argue. So you let yourself cry in his arms, a safe haven for the moment.

"He was." His voice low. "He was your father."

That night he laid next to you as you sheltered yourselves in the forest. No one dared crack a joke about it as they slept soundly through the night.

Despite the warm fire and soundless state, you could not close your eyes. The moon was staring right down at you, so you stared back.

You slowly tried sitting up without making a sound. Somehow failing as the baby monk beside you startled awake, eyes wide and quick to search for you.

He lets out a relieved sigh at your safe and sleepy state.

"[name]-" He breathed out. "Why're you still awake? Your eyes looks like they're about to fall off." He asks, sitting up next to you.

You offer a small smile and shook your head. "My eyes are sleepy, but my brain does not rest." You whisper.

He nods understandingly before eyes widening and reaching for his small bag.

"I forgot- I um, kept this," He states, voice slightly shaky as his hand reaches out to you, holding a small box.

You look at him confused. "What is it?."

"A tinderbox" He reply shortly.

You let out a sudden snort laugh and immediately slaps a hand on your mouth as he does with his own to stop himself from bursting out.

You shake your head still stifling a giggle. His laugh has receded as his hand moves to remove yours from your face.

His eyes brighten at your smile and you fight the urge to look away.

You blinked and look down at the box.

"What um- what i meant was, I know it's a tinderbox, but what's in it?" You explain.

He shrugs and motion at you to open it.

You comply, feeling your smile slowly fading as you take in the cross necklace in the box.

A cross you recognized so well.

You feel a lump on your throat and your heart turns heavy.

It was Beocca's. You hold back yout tears and brave yourself to face him. "Thank you, Osferth. This means a lot to me." You spoke softly.

He smiles and nods at you.

"How'd you get it anyway?" You inquired.

"Uhtred, manage to take it from him, before we ran. He wanted to bury it at first but I told him you deserved to keep it, he made me fight a bear for it."

You snorted like a pig and shook your head grinning. "No he didn't."

His smiles widens as he beams at you. "No, he didn't."

"You know," You started as you pull the necklace around your neck. "-I was never really that religious, I just tolerated all the bible studies for Beocca."

He lets out a small laugh at that. "Yeah, I know. You used to lie to him about your prayers as I recall."

You scrunch your nose as the memories comes flooding in. "Oh, I did, didn't I?"

Reveling in the past, your wife grin turns small as your fingers trace the necklace against your chest.

"Yet here I am, feeling sentimental over a cross."

"It's not the cross, it's who it belonged to." He speaks gently, reading your unspoken words.

You lift yourself by your knees and lean towards his face, placing a kiss on his cheek

"For your kindness to me." You jest.

His eyes widen adorably accompanied by a. harmless smirk. "Then I shall always be good to you, my lady."

[rubberduckrobin]

Section 2: To fall for someone - Shane x M! Reader

Section 1 link (tumblr)

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/50214880

Part 4: A part of me wants a part of you.

Stacking shelves at Joja Mart. As usual. 

Watching the clock over my shoulder, ticking for worthless time. As usual.

What’s not usual is the new guy. And what’s even more unusual is that ever since I told him to go away…he has.

Not even occasional side glances. Not one breath in my direction. I told him my wish and he respected it.

I kind of regret it.

I regret it.

It’s weird. He’s being weird and I don’t like it. 

I could fix things, sure, but how? And why should i? Only because of guilt? Or is there something more to it that I haven’t noticed yet…

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“I thought you hated me! I thought…you found me weird. And hated me like everyone else.”

Back at the saloon and as drinks are spilled, truths are too. 

Things are getting heated.

“I..don’t. That’s why…” I stumble and hitch on my breath, heart pounding from the weight of tonight's drinks. 

Before I can say anymore, a sudden exhaustion holds me hostage against the table in front of me. 

Muffled disruption rings in my ears as I feel my dead weight being hauled upwards. A heaving sickness swells in my stomach as I’m carried away.

My mind once again, alone, I fall into a daze. A murky, empty daze.

Am I dying?

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“He’ll be alright. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Are you certain, Miss Marnie? I can stay and help out for a bit.”

“Well…since he’s been out for a while and looks like he isn’t gonna recover for quite some time…sorry to ask you this, but can you help out on the farm? If you have time, that is.”

“Of course. I am a farmer, after all.” I can practically hear the smile in his voice, despite only hearing half of what they are saying. 

I have one ear open, the other concealed by my duvet. 

It smells fresh. It smells new. 

Moonlight is now sunlight. My clothes are warm. 

I’m not dead. I don’t know how I feel, but I'm not dead.

My door creaks open. I can’t muster the strength to tell whoever it is to get out, so I pretend to sleep. 

I don’t care who it is. 

I don’t care…

“Shane…”

Marnie?

“I’ve brought you some fresh eggs for breakfast…”

I can’t lie, not even to myself; I'm hungry and my stomach is desperate for energy.

I turn slowly. 

Behind Marnie, is the figure of someone I’ve come to recognise all too well. 

(R/N.)

I know him, despite not knowing much about him. I know he’s considerate, I know he carried me here, and I know he plans to stay to do my farm work for me. 

I want to know more. 

“Here you go. Fresh eggs.” 

Marnie leaves after placing them on the bedside table, but (R/N) stays. 

He stays. He doesn’t know me well but he stays. I wouldn’t, if i saw someone as pathetic as me-

“Hey. You doin’ alright there?”

“Mm…”

“Alright, alright. I just came to say…I’m sorry. I’m really sorry,”

I turn to face the wall, to hide my shame, and also the tears forming in the ducts of my eyes. Despite not knowing the difference between not crying and crying, I can still tell when it’s going to refresh my old tears. 

“Why are you sorry? You did nothing. It’s my fault.”

“I’m sorry because I shouted at you. I ranted and took it out on you, when you clearly were having a tough time too.”

“Whatever.”

“You are the one who has nothing to be sorry for, remember that… If you need anything, I’ll be helping out on your and Marnie’s farm. See ya.” He turns “Oh. And…I really do hope you feel better soon.”

And he’s gone.

 But with him, he tugs my heartstrings.

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Part 5: I’m beginning to realise how serious this thing is: love. 

A few hours that feel like years, and a few breaths in, I’m now awake. 

Not sleeping, not fine. But awake and not sick.

I need to see how (R/N) is doing.

A steady walk to the farm, it’s not too far from the barnhouse I stay in. 

Didn’t R/N mention he was a farmer…? I don’t remember there being a new farmer in Pelican Bay…

Then I see him. A silhouette of a farmer's glory. A lengthy shovel in one hand, the other wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead.

For some reason, my heart beats a little bit more than usual. 

I trudge over the fields and  make my way over to him.

“Oh! Hey Shane…”

Ouch. Awkward.

“Hey. I…wanted to…thank you.” I start.

“Huh? For what?”

“For helping me…you know. When I fainted? And…for taking my job on the farm.”

As though by instinct, I take the shovel from him and distract myself by completing my work, which he was doing for me. I shovel as he speaks 

“Just helping out a friend.”

I pause.

“…You see me as a friend?”

“Oh shit. You don’t?”

“…”

I’m too bewildered to speak.

“Sorry. I misunderstood.”

“No… It’s fine... You carried me home. I appreciate that. We can be friends…I guess.”

“Really?”

“Don’t make me take it back.”

“Oh, shit.”

There it is. The warmth. He laughs and the spring chill no longer taints my skin.

“Shane…”

“What.”

“…Is it just me or do I get the feeling there is something…more…to this sudden ‘friendship’.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Nevermind. Don’t mind me.”

He takes the shovel from me and starts doing my work again. In a sudden snatch, I steal it back, planting it firmly into the dirt.

“What?”

“No. I misunderstood something, that’s all. I’ve just been getting this feeling…well, maybe it's just me. It’s fine. Whatever. Let’s leave it at that.”

“No. Go on.”

“Let me get to know you properly first, like i've been trying to do for ages, and then maybe I'll tell you.”

What a tease.

“Fine.”

“We shouldn’t go to the saloon again tonight. Even though it's the weekend, it doesn't mean you can get away with more beer and make your new friend worry again, now can you?”

“Shut up.”

“How’s my house?”

Shit. 

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Shit indeed. 

I’ve been invited to his house. Tonight. It seems like something that would be a date? But that's weird. We only just became ‘friends’. I only agreed because I didn’t want to run anymore. And a part of me knew he was helping with my other…issues too. If he can do it in a day, imagine his influence in more.

I have nothing to wear, not even a smile. Not even a fake smile. 

I knocked once. In my scruffy attire, I knock. 

Sweat runs down the nape of my neck. 

Do I smell bad? 

“Come in! It’s open.”

It's small, but homely. A spread of welcoming food is laid on a small table in the kitchen. Thank goodness there wasn’t the cliché of wine glasses and dimmed lights like you would have on a date…wait, what am I thinking. This isn’t a date. Probably never will be. Probably. 

“Hey Shane! New buddy. New pal. New friend.”

I cringe. I can also sense some tension, and I don’t just think it's me. 

“Sit, sit. I have food. Plenty for a lengthy ‘getting to know each other discussion’”

Why am I even here? I don’t even have an interesting life to share. To be honest, I’m here out of curiosity. 

“So…Mr Handsome Hangover, how’s life?”

“That nickname…”

I practically scowl. It brings back memories of the day after the night we met. Not that it’s a bad memory, but it reminds me of how sick I was. And how sick I still feel. 

“Fine. So. Tell me about yourself, and I shall return the favour.”

“…there’s nothing interesting about me.”

“Yes there is. I find it interesting that you always chose to stack the same shelves everyday. What is it that you like so much about canned beans?”

I think at this point he knows me better than I know myself,

I sigh.

“It’s just a habit since my first day, I guess. Maybe it’s because it's closest to the clock.”

“Ah yes, the clock. So you know when it’s time to get off work…I see. Well, tell me about what you like then? Apart from beer, eggs and possibly beans.”

“I don’t remember.”

“Oh. I see. Um…well, I'll tell you what I like at the moment then.”

“Tormenting and teasing me?”

“Close! I like this sweet little town I just moved into, and I like meeting new people. That’s where you come in.”

“I remember now. I like being left alone.”

“Ouch. Touché. Ever since I saw you on that gloomy day, I knew you were not one for conversation.”

“Yet you kept trying. Until you thought I hated you. Why?”

“…why not? Someone staring at the sky is bound to pique your interest, is it not?”

“Touché.” He makes a good point, I guess. I still don’t get it, but I’ll move on. “What made you want to move here and pick up farming?”

“The classic protagonist backstory of course…my grandpa died.”

“Oh. I’m…sorry.”

“It’s fine. I now take care of his old farm.”

“Wow. All by yourself?”

“Yep!” He adds in a wink: “Hopefully not for long.”

Gosh darn it, why does my heart choose the most inconvenient times to beat? I feel more like I'm dying now, than I did yesterday with my whole dizzy fainting moment.

“And what do you mean by that?”

“I don’t know. A farmer partner would be pretty cool. Moving on,” Wow, this guy knows how to keep the ball rolling in the right court, “Shane, what was your first impression of me?”

I realise just now that the food on the table has gone untouched, I signal with my eyes and we both simultaneously dig in, still engaged in conversation. 

Oh my goodness, this food is the best I've eaten and I don’t know whether it's because I haven’t eaten since morning, or because of something else but dear gosh…

“I don’t know. Persistent. Annoying…” and in a last mumble, as though reassuring my thoughts, “interesting…” 

I feel a blush creep up my cheeks. What’s wrong with me?

“I heard that! You have an interest in me, eh?”

“No, don’t get on your high horse just yet. I said I thought you were interesting. Not…that.” 

“Oh. Right. Yeah.”

Suddenly, the person I thought was so good at keeping conversation, has become quiet.

“(R/N) Do you have a family elsewhere?”

“My parents are in the big city.”

“I see.”

“Why’d you ask?”

“Just wondering.”

“Wondering, you say. Huh. Okay. Well, I’m just wondering…what do you think of my food?”

My heart skips a beat.

“You…made this?”

“Who else? You work at Joja Mart, you know the food there’s as shit as the management.”

“True. So…you like to cook?”

“Of course. A farmer has their own stuff so why not put it to use.”

“This food is great.”

“Why, thank you!”

“I didn’t say it was any more than that, don’t act as though you just won an award or something.”

“I never did such a thing.” smirking comes naturally for him. 

“…what was that thing you said earlier?”

“What thing? Oh that? It’s nothing. I was just being stupid. Getting my hopes up.” 

“Your hopes up? About what?”

“I’m somewhat…mildly…a little bit…attracted to you. And…you sorta gave me the vibe that you felt the same. You know, with all the staring. And the ‘go aways’ and blushing.”

“…I…”

“It’s fine. Forget about it. I understand.”

He’s done with his plate so he casually picks it up as he stands, seemingly to put it away in the sink.

“Are you done with your food?”

“Yeah, thanks.” I say. I can’t look at him. My heart hurts. 

“Seconds?”

“No.” 

“All right.”

With his back turned, my heart beat comes faster. I'm now left alone with my thoughts as he is no longer paying attention to me. 

What did he mean by…attracted to me?

“(R/N.)”

“Hmm?”

A nervous hum tickles in his throat.

“What did you mean?”

“Oh, just my unrequited feelings for you. Nothing big. Let’s just drop it.”

“I think I feel it too.”

“What?”

“But we only just met.”

“What?”

He turns to me, gently dropping the dishes he was mid way through scrubbing.

“So…I’d like to get to know you better.” 

“What?”

“I’d like to get to know you better.”

“What?“

“For pete’s sake, just give me seconds and tell me more about you!”

“So you did want seconds.”

My stomach gurgles.

Maybe just a little.

“I just washed the plates.”

“Ugh.”

“Fine. I have another. Bear with.”

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“Here we are again. The ‘talking phase’. So…how about you tell me what on earth is going on and the fact you just said ‘I think I feel it too’ when I was telling you about my feelings?!”

“…”

“…What? Cat got your tongue?”

“More like a (R/N.)”

“Smooth. But tell me, really, do you really, truly, ‘feel’ something for me?”

Do i? I do. I’m almost certain. A flutter in my guts, a warmth, a heartbeat faster than normal.

It's definitely something, if not indigestion, and it's something I haven't felt in a while. Especially not for another guy. 

“Yes.”

“Cause’ if you don’t then I- wait…really?”

“Don’t make me say it again.”

I can feel a different type of heat rise to my cheeks now, and I hide it beneath the palm of my hand.

“I kind of wanna make you say it again.”

“Well I won’t.”

“Fine. Well, why did you wanna learn more about me?”

“Because we met two days ago, and we were both intoxicated.”

“So? We’re here now and we feel the same as we did that night. I think our meeting was fated. Like Romeo and Juliet.”

“They both die at the end.” 

“So?“

“That's exactly the point. Listen..I'm not who you think I am. I’m a loser. I drink beer everyday to drown in my sorrow of a depressing repetition of the days, and everyone pities me to the point of isolation. You don’t wanna get mixed up with me. Leaving will hurt less than staying.”

“I don’t mind a bit of pain. I’m quite the drama king, after all. You can’t be that bad.”

“Well I am. This is why things won’t work.”

“It will, if we just try-“

“I better go.”

“Will I see you tomorrow?“

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Part 5: Where songbirds sing, hawks circle elsewhere.

Stacking shelves at Joja Mart. As usual. 

Watching the clock over my shoulder, ticking for worthless time. As usual.

(R/N isn’t here). I’m glad but regretful.

Why do I mess up everything?

The door to the shop opens with a satisfied ring, but I keep my focus on stocking the shelves. Whoever enters that door, it doesn’t matter. Just like I don’t matter. 

“Shane.”

Marnie?

“Shane.”

What’s she doing here?

“Shane!”

I jolt out of bed, in a heavy sweat. 

What’s going on?

Marnie's concerned face towers over me.

“Gosh! You’re sweating buckets. Don’t worry. Hold still.” 

She wipes my head with a wet cloth and the relief is almost instant. There's still a tang of heat on my body. 

I’m sick on the floor in front of her. How humiliating.

“For explanation, (R/N) found you on the cliffside with a bit too many drinks, and you’d got sick from the downpour last night. He took you in, dear.”

(R/N)? See, he’s too kind. I don’t deserve this. I should just-

“Marnie? The herbal tea’s ready.”

I can hear him. He’s close. I need to run.

“Woah, Shane. Stay in bed.”

From hands in the hallway, she takes a tray with tea and hands it to me.

“For the hangover.”

I grunt in a thankful return and sip the tea. 

But my mind wanders off, not to the bitter-sweet taste of the tea, but to the thought of (R/N) being so close. Yet so far. 

“Can you get R/N, Marnie.”

“Of course, dear.”

And here he is. In my room. Again. Helping me,again. 

I don’t deserve this. I don’t deserve this. I don’t-

“Shane. You're heating up.”

The cold touch of his hand to my forehead shocks me.

The colder the hands, the warmer the heart, they say. 

“I’m fine…”

“No you’re not. Rest for a little. We can chat later, if that’s what you want. Okay?”

“I want to talk. Now.”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea-“

“Before I met you. Everyday felt like a nightmare. A constant one. A never ending one… But then when I saw you looking at the sky, something clicked. I wanted change. And I think you're just perfect for that.”

“What are you on about? You sound like you’re delivering a main character monologue. I thought I was the protagonist here, not you…You're too feverish for a normal conversation-“

“I want to try. Being with you.” 

“You're too sick to think…”

“I was thinking last night.”

“You were too drunk last night to think.”

“I was thinking in my dreams.”

“Wel, I can’t argue against that, but now that just sounds stupid, doesn’t it.”

“What I'm saying is that…you changed my life. Within three days. And without you, things got worse. I realised that last night. But…”

“But…?”

Before I can finish, the heat absorbs me, and I fall asleep once more.

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Part 6: A longing heart, a missing grave of stone. 

Maybe it’s okay to trust my instincts. I should tell him today. 

“(R/N). I have feelings for you.”

“Pfft. You think I didn’t know that? We’ve been on like 6 dates this month.” 

“No. I’ve never properly told you,”

“We’ve literally-“

“Ugh. Just please say it back before I go back to my old ways.”

Part of it was a joke, but deep down, I know, without (R/N), I really would have. 

“Are you seriously giving me a bouquet while threatening me with your past indulgences?”

“What? No…maybe. So, what do you think? Too traditional, handing you a bouquet?”

“No. It’s perfect. As long as it's not a mermaid pendant…”

He laughs and that warmth from the first day we met is still there. 

I’m so glad I met him.

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Author's note: Thank you for reading! Feel free to leave comments/requests :)

[highwaytothedangerzone502]

Ghost Story - Chapter 26

Pairing: Rooster x Female OC

Word Count: 2725

Warnings: Cancer, mention of death/dying

Summary: No one will miss a ghost. It'd been a running joke for as long as anyone could remember, something Ghost herself started, and she always said it with a smile on her face or with mirth in her voice. The untouchable stealth pilot in every sense of the word, no one could've predicted the depth of her turmoil over recent events, nor the extremes she would go to in order to protect the man she loved, not even those closest to her. Now, all that was left of the young aviator for Maverick, Hangman, and Rooster were the memories of the past, which would slowly fade with time. She'd come into their lives and made an unforgettable impression, and then, like a ghost, she was gone... Then again, ghosts can't die a second time.

Notes: The chapters/large parts in italics are flashbacks.

Chapter Songs: Top Gun Anthem (From Trailer) United Death Bed

****

Ghost

Hospitals had never freaked the female aviator out until now when her own flesh and blood resided in one, hooked up to multiple machines with a steady, monotonous beep. Charlotte 'Charlie' Winchester lay in a bed, gaunt and barely alive, but she mustered a warm smile upon seeing her shell-shocked daughter.

"Hi, sweetie," Charlie croaked out. She attempted to reach out for her daughter's hand, but her strength failed her. Ghost moved to her mom's bedside in a trance-like state, unable and unwilling to believe her superwoman of a mom could be dying. "I'm sorry to have torn you away from your friends."

Ghost pulled up a chair and sat down, gripping her mom's weak hand. Sniffling, she replied, "No apologies. Wh-what happened?"

"I was diagnosed with a brain tumor about a year ago. They said it was operable, and so I had it removed." Charlie struggled to speak, coughing out some of the words, but headstrong and stubborn as ever, she continued on. "You had just deployed, and I figured when you came back, I'd be good as new, and you'd simply think I'd gotten a new haircut. But I found out a few months ago it returned, and that it's terminal. It caused me to have a stroke, which is how I ended up here."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ghost whispered, barely able to speak with the knot in her throat.

"I didn't want you to worry. You've already lost your dad and sister, and I didn't want you to have to imagine losing me too. You can't be distracted when up in the air. If you think, you're dead."

"If you die, I'm going to be all alone," Ghost said, her voice hitching at the end. Tears rolled down her cheeks at the idea of being the only remaining Winchester, of finally being truly, frighteningly alone in the world. 

"No, you won't. You have Rooster, Hangman, your d-"

"I don't have them. Not anymore."

"What happened?"

"It doesn't matter. All that matters is making sure you get better, so I have you around for a little while longer, okay?"

"You can help by distracting me from the pain and telling me what happened between you and the boys," Charlie insisted, squeezing her daughter's hand.

"It's mostly my fault. I said things I shouldn't have, did things I shouldn't have... but if you really want to know, here's everything that happened." Ghost took a shuddering breath and started from the very beginning when she reconnected with Rooster at the Hard Deck. Ghost told her mom that they'd slept together the night before he had a date with one of her friends and how that friend turned out to be Bryn. She told Charlie of the lie she told Bryn about her history with Rooster, then how she and Rooster had an argument brought on by their mutual admission of their feelings for one another, and how Bryn discovered the lie Ghost told her, their falling out, their reconciliation, and her fleeting makeup with Rooster. Ghost ended it by telling her mom about the truth Hangman told her only an hour and a half ago, that he'd planned on marrying her. "I would've said yes if he had... but he didn't. Now we're here, and he doesn't want to be around me."

"Honey, whatever you and Jake go through, I know you can work through it. You two have been friends since you were quite literally born. He's family, whether it's by marriage or not. As for Rooster, I'd say it's the same thing, but whereas you love Jake, you're not in love with him the way you are with Bradley, and I can assure you, whatever was said between you two last night is not the end of your relationship. When you're ready, talk to him again. Tell him you're going to make it back from the mission."

"How do you know that?" Ghost asked, wiping tears off her cheeks.

"Because-" Charlie squeezed her daughter's hand and offered a small but genuinely proud smile- "you're the best of the best, and if Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell says you could give him a run for his money, you know you've succeeded in your aspiration to be like him. I've been hard on you all these years, and I recognize I have intervened in your life when I shouldn't have after Nathan died, but it's not because I believed you couldn't do it. I was terrified to lose you, and I'd rather you hate me than see you die."

"Mom, I could never hate you. I hated what you did but not you. Never you," Ghost promised, wincing when her mom fell into a nasty coughing fit. "You should get some rest."

"No, no, I'm fine. Besides, there's something I need to tell you. Your da-"

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it can wait. Save your strength to help you pull through this, okay? I'll be right here when you wake up."

With no fight left in her, Charlie nodded and closed her eyes. Ghost sat at her mom's bedside, unmoving. She stared at their interlocked hands, having no idea how much time had passed until she woke up to her phone ringing. Without checking who it was, she answered groggily, "This is Ghost."

"Lieutenant Winchester, where are you? You should be here by now for the final training session," came Cyclone's stern, irritated voice. Ghost yanked her phone back from her face to check the time, mortified that it was well past eight-thirty. She'd been asleep for almost twelve hours! Still, she couldn't leave her mom, not in this state. Not when she only had hours left.

"Sir, I, uh, I need to forfeit my position. My mom is in the hospital, and I don't think she's going to make it through the night..." Ghost's heart broke when she voiced the truth she feared. No matter how much she and her mom argued, it was still her mom, the last family member she had left.

"I'm sorry, Annalise. I wish-"

"Don't you dare forfeit your position," Charlie croaked, staring her daughter down with hard eyes. Ghost jumped, surprised at the strength in her mother's voice. "You have not come this far only to quit now. Tell Cyclone you'll be there immediately."

"But mom-"

"I will still be here when you return. Go show everyone what my daughter is made of. That's an order. Don't make me call Cyclone myself."

Ghost hesitated, unwilling to leave her mom, but she saw the fire in Charlie's eyes, and she wouldn't want to go against her mom's wishes on her deathbed. "Sir, at the orders of Charlotte Winchester, I'm being told not to forfeit my position. If you can wait for me to get there, I'd like to still complete the tournament."

"We can make something up to give you extra time, but hurry. High Command wants an answer as soon as possible today."

"Thank you, sir. I'll be there in fifteen." Ghost hung up and stood, squeezing her mom's hand. "I'll be back as soon as I'm finished. I love you, Mom."

"I love you, too, Annalise. You've got this, sweetheart. No matter what I've said to you in the past, you've got this," Charlie insisted, smiling weakly yet proudly. "Go get them."

Reluctantly, Ghost released her mom's hand and left the hospital, sprinting to her motorcycle, silently repeating a mantra to herself: Focus on the mission. Don't think. Just do.

Arriving at the base, she dashed to the changing room and hastily switched into her flight suit, tossing her belongings haphazardly into the locker. As she left to go to her plane, Hollywood jogged up beside her.

"How's your mom?" he asked softly.

Ghost assumed Wolfman told her friend the news, considering they still stayed in touch. "Holding on; still has some fight left in her. Used it to order me to finish this tournament. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here."

"I can try and cash in a few favors, see if we can push this to tomorrow."

"Thank you, but I think it's too late for that," she said, shooting him a grateful smile. They stopped next to his plane, and Ghost bit her lip, wary of voicing her question. Then again, she had nothing to lose if she did. "Don't take this the wrong way when I ask, but why are you still in the tournament? Why are you doing this?"

Hollywood cocked his head, evidently confused. "Because I was selected, and it's my job."

"No, I get that, but you and I both know this is a suicide mission. If I was able to figure that out, then I know you have. What I'm asking is: why continue participating in it when we know we're most likely not going to make it back?"

"Like I said, it's my job."

"What about your wife and daughters?"

"They understand that I may not come home every time I go up in the air. Why are you asking me this?"

"I'm not trying to wage psychological warfare on you like I did the others if that's what you're wondering. I respect you too much for that. I'm asking because I genuinely want you to consider the consequences. Just because your wife and daughters understand you may not come home doesn't mean they're not hoping you will come home. Having that hope shattered causes a pain unlike any other. You have a family, Hollywood. You-"

"You do, too," he interrupted sharply.

"My mom isn't going to make it through the night," Ghost said sadly. "Once she's gone, I'll have no family left."

"You have your friends, and having a family does not make my life more valuable than yours. Don't ever think that."

"Doesn't it, though? I don't have people relying on me to bring in income or relying on my benefits. And as a girl who lost her dad too young, I know what I'm saying when I tell you: no matter how old your daughters get, they will always need their dad. I don't want them to lose you prematurely like I lost mine. Please, Hollywood, think about that if you beat me up there, okay? Good luck."

Heart heavy, Ghost strode off and put on her helmet. Taking deep, calming breaths, she swallowed down any and all emotion and set her sights on the goal at hand.

****

Rooster

Something was wrong. The only times Ghost had ever been late in her life was when an emergency happened, like getting hit by a car before the Christmas dinner or when her sister passed away unexpectedly before their flight class. So what had happened this time? Rooster glanced over at Hangman. The two men locked eyes, equally concerned about their friend's tardiness.

The Daggers had come to the base as a surprise for Ghost, to support her in the final fight and course run in the tournament. None doubted she would win, but they were beginning to wonder what was taking so long for the whole hop to begin. 

"This is Hollywood. I'm airborne," Captain Rick Neven announced, his plane showing on the screen. "Setting time for two minutes and thirty seconds. Starting the course run in three... two... one... now!"

His plane shot off through the imaginary canyon. He flew at just the right speed to keep ahead of the timer but without overextending himself or his jet and crashing into the canyon walls. He popped up and dropped down, nailing the target on the first try, and then he pulled up into Coffin Corner. Rooster swore he heard the man huffing out a few swears on the way. When he cleared it, Maverick was suddenly on him as the 'enemy.' The dogfight lasted longer than any of the Daggers had with Maverick but not by much. Despite the circumstances, the men laughed at the end, and Hollywood remarked, "I see you haven't lost your edge, Maverick. You've still got it."

"Of course I do. Did well, though, Hollywood. Good to see you can hold your own."

"I don't think I'm the one you should've been worried about."

"Don't worry, you weren't. Ghost, you read me?"

"Loud and clear, Captain," Ghost responded stoically, her usually chipper mood while in the air nowhere to be heard. "Setting the timer for two minutes and thirty seconds."

Rooster saw her plane appear on screen, flying at a breakneck speed. Coyote remarked, "She's flying too fast. She won't be able to make the turns."

"No, that's how fast Maverick flew when he did it. She's not trying to be the timer," Hangman said while Rooster scooted to the edge of his seat in anticipation. "She's trying to beat his time."

"Think she can?"

"Ghost modeled her flying style after Mav," Rooster added, fiddling with his class ring. "If anyone could pull it off, it's her."

The Daggers watched her zip through the course, coming dangerously close to the canyon walls but never crashing into them. By the time she popped up, the timer was hitting the thirty-second mark. If she didn't beat Maverick's time, she'd come close. Ghost flipped herself upside down to head into the valley. She lined up her shot, took it, then zipped up into Coffin Corner. The bombs hit the target at two-fourteen-forty-four. 

Identical to Maverick's time.

"Holy shit!" Fanboy exclaimed, jumping out of his seat along with almost everyone else. Rooster and Hangman remained sitting, but the latter remarked with a smile on his face, "Damn."

They continued watching Ghost's performance. Instead of shooting into the sky out of Coffin Corner, she flipped the F-18 over the mountainside and dove toward the ground. She pulled up right before she hit the hard deck, and while Maverick scanned for her plane below, Ghost took advantage of pulling up behind him, the sun directly behind her. If Maverick glanced over his shoulder, he wouldn't be able to see her upside down and coming in hot after him. However, he must've predicted this, or maybe he saw her on the radar because, in the blink of an eye, he pulled his infamous Cobra maneuver. All pilots that Rooster knew would've ended up in front of Maverick. It's what always happened.

But not with Ghost. Being upside down, the second Maverick started going above her, she pushed her jet down, looping back up and around onto Maverick's tail. She nailed him in an instant and said, "That's a kill."

"What the-" Maverick's confused voice responded. 

"H-how did she just do that?" Bob asked, the only one able to speak amongst the stunned pilots.

"This is Ghost. Admiral Simpson, requesting permission to land immediately."

"Permission granted. Captain Mitchell, Captain Neven, please land as well. We will announce the tournament results later today," Cyclone informed.

"Uh, sir, unless I beat Ghost in something I don't know about, I think we all know who won this," Hollywood said. 

"Come on, guys, let's go congratulate her!" Fanboy insisted, jumping up from his seat. The rest of the Daggers followed him to the atrium, where Ghost would most likely pass through to get to her motorcycle. Rooster and Hangman lagged behind, and while Bradley didn't know what happened between the exes last night, he felt Ghost wanted to see Hangman as much as she did Rooster, which was not at all.

The Daggers waited for Ghost for almost half an hour before someone appeared, and it wasn't the star of the hour. Instead, it was Maverick and Hollywood. 

"Hey, where's Ghost?" Payback inquired, peering over the two men as if he'd be able to see the female aviator behind them, despite her being the same height as Maverick. 

"She already left. Why?" Maverick replied, scanning the group. "What are you all doing here?"

"We came to congratulate her on winning the tournament. Maybe she already headed to the Hard Deck?"

"Let's go check, and if she's not, we'll invite her," Coyote decided. The Daggers agreed, then filed out of the room. Rooster followed unwillingly, wanting to stay behind with Maverick and Hollywood to see if they had insight into why Ghost sounded so off today. He knew well enough it had nothing to do with him and Hangman. No, instinct told him it was something else. 

If only he could figure out what...

****

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[tae-ffxiv]

CW: barely-mentions of sex?

This was supposed to be a simple conversation

---

“... Do you ever think about sex?” Dayir speaks the question into the comfortable silence that often settles over them before they fall asleep. It’s taken him weeks to get it out. 

There’s a brief delay before the reply comes. “How do you mean?”

Dayir rolls his head in Amba’s direction. He’s laying on his back, eyes directed at the ceiling, but his face is angled ever-so-slightly in Dayir’s direction.

How do you think? 

It’s the first response that pops into Dayir’s head, but he purses his lips to avoid speaking it, unhelpful as it would be. 

“I mean, is there any part of you that wants to have sex with me?”

Another pause. Amba rolls onto his side to look him in the eye, brow creased with a frown. “Is that… something that you want?”

“Yes. It is.”

“I see.” 

There’s a finality to the statement, and Dayir wonders if he ought to push the subject. But before he can, Ambaghai sits up. He expects him to leave, but he doesn’t - instead only crossing his legs and leaning forward to rest his elbows on them. His brow is furrowed, lips pursed, clearly searching for words. Dayir watches him, and waits.

“I don’t -” Amba starts, leaning forward a touch more, “I mean - I just -” The words are punctuated by a frustrated growl.

Dayir feels a forced smile twitch onto his lips without even thinking about it. He drags himself up into a sitting position next to Amba.

“It’s okay. You can say no. I won’t be upset.” The words strike a dissonant chord with the sinking feeling in his stomach. Hurt. Disappointment.

Amba shakes his head, a muscle twitching in his jaw. He keeps his face angled away. “That’s not - I mean, it isn’t - I don’t - I just, I -” another shake of the head, and a frustrated huff of breath.

Dayir rests a hand on his forearm, and he sees Amba’s eyes shift over to it. “Take a breath. I can wait.”

The barest of nods from Amba, and he takes a long breath, eyes fixed on Dayir’s hand. 

A silence falls over them. Amba barely moves as he tries to organize his thoughts. Minutes pass slowly. The tension doesn’t disappear from Amba’s shoulders, but some degree of clarity does seem to make its way onto his face. 

Eventually he speaks into the silence, words low and hesitant. 

“I just… sometimes feel that you don’t… want me.” The words send a shock of guilt through him. Dayir tries not to react - to just listen - but he can’t help that his fingers tighten on Amba’s forearm as he continues.

“Or that you don’t want me to love you. Or touch you. Or even care about you any more.”

Any response he could muster is frozen in his throat as Amba crumples in on himself, pressing the heels of his hands to his forehead. 

He shakes his head. “Nevermind. I should just -”

And now he does make to leave, twisting his body to slide off the bed. Dayir slides forward at the same time, wrapping his arms about his middle and dragging him back down to the mattress. He presses his forehead into his back, head habitually angled so he won’t stab him with his horns.

Amba’s hand drops to one of Dayir’s wrists, tugging at it as though to pry him off, though the attempt is half-hearted at best. 

Dayir has no words - what is he supposed to say to that? No words to deny or to erase the pain that he had caused. But silence will only hurt more.

He fights the tightness in his throat to force something out. Anything.

“Please.” That’s all he gets out, at first.

What the fuck was that? Inadequate. 

“I’m sorry.” He continues. “I just - I have some shit…”

Amba’s other hand rests over his. He doesn’t make to get away this time.

“Am I wrong?” Ambaghai asks.

Dayir can only respond with silence. Not willing to speak the lie, not willing to confirm the truth. 

It’s nearly a minute before Ambaghai shifts, and Dayir loosens his grip. No point forcing him to stay. But Amba doesn’t leave. He turns to sit sideways on the edge of the bed, his gaze flicking over Dayir’s face briefly before averting it. There’s a pained twist to his brow that he seems determined to ignore.

“I have thought about it. A bit.” He states.

Dayir blinks. “What?”

It takes him a moment to remember the initial topic of the conversation. What he’d intended to be a simple question. And now he searches Ambaghai’s face as he waits for the answer.

One of Amba’s brows twitches. He purses his lips, angling his jaw in thought, as though trying to decide whether to say what’s in his brain.

Dayir waits.

Eventually Ambaghai lets out a reluctant sigh. 

“I -” he shakes his head. “Half the time I kiss you more than a few seconds, you pull away and look…” he shrugs, the gesture extending to his hands, lifting them slightly from his lap to join in the motion before he drops them back to his lap. “I don’t know. Like you regret it?” He shakes his head again. “I don’t know what to do with that.”

Dayir’s mouth twitches into the shadow of a wry smile. “Yeah. I could stand to work on that.” he says on a huff of breath. Then reprimands himself internally. He can’t play this off with humor. He nods in understanding. “You know it’s nothing to do with you, right?”

“That doesn’t change it.”

Dayir bows his head, staring at his hands and he fidgets with the fabric of the covers. “Yeah.”

There’s a long silence, and Ambaghai shifts to prop his back against the headboard. He stares at the far wall while Dayir is lost in thought.

I just… sometimes feel that you don’t… want me.

The words replay in Dayir’s head, along with the strain in Amba’s voice as he’d said it.

“I do want you.” he whispers into the silence.

But who is he to have what he wants? Dayir screws his eyes shut, bowing his head down to bury his face in his palms and hide the tears that abruptly escape him.

And who is he to hurt his own husband because of what he thinks he’s deserving of? Amba, at least, deserves better.

He takes a shuddered breath. 

A warm hand rests on his shoulder. Then another on his waist, tugging at him. He’s hit by the urge to pull away. To deny any comfort - to sit alone in his guilt and remorse. But he can’t do that. Not without disregarding the entire conversation.

He freezes, then forces himself into motion against what he seems to instinctively want to do. He wipes at his eyes and looks up at Amba. 

“Amba, I think I’m truly fucked.” He lets out an uneven, shuddered laugh as he allows Amba to pull him in close.

“You are.” Amba confirms as Dayir settles in against him, head resting on his shoulder.

There’s a stretch of silence, punctuated by the odd sniffle from Dayir.

He almost misses the barely-spoken statement from Ambaghai.

“Not the way you want to be.”

Dayir chokes on a breath. He straightens to look at Amba.

“Did you just…?” 

Make a sex joke?

Amba keeps his gaze on the far wall, stone-faced. Almost. His mouth gives a slight humorous twitch.

Dayir gives him an incredulous look, and feels a smile start to twist his expression away from the more complicated emotions. Laughter begins to bubble up from his chest, sounding almost manic as it mixes in with continued sobs.

“You can’t just -” his words are cut off as they’re drowned in sobbed laughter.

Ambaghai shifts. “I didn’t - are you -”

Dayir looks up at Ambaghai, and the sheer panic in his face only makes Dayir dissolve further into laughter.

“I’m fine, I’m - fine. I - I promise.” He manages to force out.

It takes him a few long seconds, but the manic laughter subsides as he manages to get control over it. He gives Ambaghai a long look.

Ambaghai returns the look. “It wasn’t that funny.” He says.

Dayir offers a much smaller, much more controlled laugh as he wipes at his eyes. “No, but you caught me at a weird time.”

Amba’s eyes slide off to one side, then the other.

“Is that something I need to apologize for?”

“No.” Dayir settles back into his earlier position against Amba. “You don’t have to apologize at all.”