#he could punch me fr i’d thank him for it

[lovemkx]

Miles Kane training at Hustle, Norwich

(via)

[base0h]

Just went driving on a road it was scary ash. So anyway I was wondering how one piece characters would fair on the road. Ik for a fact that luffy is probably banned from every road imaginable. Have a good day slayer

a/n - ah yes I’m slayer 😂 (a demon slayer) jkjk thanks for your request anon and yes, Luffy is banned from driving forever. (Garp’s also banned but we don’t talk about that)

Warnings ⚠️ - modern au, g/n reader, crack, bro Luffy is so bad at driving it’s hilarious

- if you think you’re a bad driver no you’re not. Luffy’s 10x worse

- he eats when he drives and he steers the wheel with his toes 💀💀💀

- “You have to stop at the red lights Luffy.”

- “MFFMM got it!” *his mouth is full*

- bro speeds through red lights and somehow stays alive

- and this time he managed to fly through a literal building. A BUILDING.

- needless to say. You’re scared asf. (Who wouldn’t be-? I’d die the moment I step into the car 💀)

- “LUFFY STOP THE CAR AND PUT YOUR FEET ON THE BRAKES-!”

- “IM OUT OF FEET!” *feet on the steering wheel*

- “THEN USE YOUR FUCKING HANDS THATS WHAT THEYRE THERE FOR!”

- “IM EATING!”

- “SIDJEONRORNRKT STOP EATING OMFG-“ (you are about to murder your bf. i support that movement, do it)

- nothing can interrupt a meal 👍

- garp is just as bad except he gets more angry at dumb drivers. He’s also been banned by the city government from driving but he drives anyway

- Luffy is very close to being banned by the country government. That’s a whole new level of bad driving

- you have survived all the times and I commend you for that. If you didn’t worship god before you do now thanks to Luffy. You pray before every driving experience 🫶

- does zoro know how to drive? Yes

- is he good at it? Eh he’s ok

- does he use a gps? no.

- do you end up in Hawaii when you’re trying to go to Starbucks? Yes

- “HOW DID WE CROSS AN ENTIRE FUCKING OCEAN??” -you

- “I TOOK THE FREEWAY TF YOU MEAN?!” -zoro

- he’s a smooth driver don’t get me wrong, but he never ends up in the right place

- “zoro im gonna take a nap wake me up when we get there.”

- “k.”

- you’re on the right path, and it’s a straight way for a couple hours, nothing could go wrong! Right?

- when you woke up, you found yourself in the heat of a- battle?! WHERE TF WERE YOU?

- you saw stars all around you. NOT FIGURATIVELY. LITERALLY

- “Y/N PLS HELP.” (Zoro is dying rn)

- “WHERE TF ARE WE?!”

- “I DONT FUCKING KNOW?!”

- you’re in space. you’re in space.

- don’t ask me how you can breathe with no air it’s zoro’s fault

- you’re in the star wars verse btw 💀

- “IS THAT A ROBOT FLYING THAT SHIP?!” -you (this is a normal reaction)

“Oooo that guy’s sword is green! I gotta get one of those.” -zoro (this is not a normal reaction)

- “CAN YOU FOCUS??? DRIVE PLEASE!”

- you’re literally abt to get shot to death by lasers and zoro’s talking about lightsabers 💀

- afterwards.. yes. you drove while he took a nap instead. You’ve learned your lesson to never let this mossy bitch drive

- also yes. Zoro got a green lightsaber as a souvenir so don’t worry about him

- believe it or not he’s always drunk when he’s driving (omg it’s so hard to believe ikik)

- but fr he’s always driving while being illegally intoxicated 😭

- since he’s also missing an arm that makes it worse because he has to take his hand off the wheel to do anything else

- “Babe pls keep your eyes on the road.” -you

- “Yeah i got it don’t worry!”

- he doesn’t got it

- he’s swerving all over the place, getting honked at, getting flipped off, and most of all, getting angry death glares from other drivers

- “Hey babe I’m gonna take- a nap.” -shanks

- “Ok.” -you

- …

- “Wait what? SHANKS WTF-“

- bro fell asleep on the horn and made the car start swerving around all over the place. You couldn’t count how many poor trash cans the car ran over 💀

- you tried to take the wheel but his dumb ass was too heavy and big to move out of the way

- “SHANKS WAKE TF UP!”

- you ended up punching him in the nose, making it bleed, and he woke up in a daze. Bro stank ASS. HE SMELLED SO BAD

- bro was RANCID. Smelled like over fermented kombucha and that is not a good smell trust me

- “Oh hey babe what’s going on?” -shanks

- “PAY ATTENTION TO THE ROAD YOU IDIOT-!”

- idk how y’all didn’t crash but you didn’t so-

- you needed some therapy from Benn later but that’s ok 👍

a/n - i chose all bad drivers

[2deadkat]

i'd love to hear ur complaints abt modern geronimo! If u'd like to share that is

Thank you for asking anon, I’d love to share and you have inadvertently entered the dragon’s den/lh

But fr tho, it’s a lot. It’s mostly pertaining to the writing.

The reason why I hate modern Geronimo is in the biggest nutshell possible, they screwed up the original dynamic for the Stiltons, a majority of the books is just one big game of Geronimo torture porn between the other characters, and overall a lot of wasted potential for unique interactions between the wider cast and the rest of the Stiltons as its limited to just Geronimo himself. Hell a lot of the plots could have the input from the other Stiltons if they were brave enough. And there seems to be a new character every few books and there’s no rhyme or substance to it anymore. Since when did trap reproduce???

And you’re telling me von Volt has another relative???? Yk at some point you just stop reading the books. Oh and do not get me started on the Thea problem…

Let me start with the Stiltons real quick, somehow they got worse by watering down their personalities to a bunch of cheap jokes.

What made the classic (or early) books work was that the whole point of Geronimo’s character is that yes he’s a wimp, but that’s because he’s a tired boss who gets dragged into his family’s shenanigans, and by extension his friends and allies around him. Everyone has some eccentric personality that shocks or baffle him in some way, and that’s where the comedy comes from. He’s able to stand on his own because of his duties and eagerness to stay in his comfort zone is where the meat of the interactions come from.

His family especially Trap and Thea were meant to be respective foils to him. Trap consistently bullies him and Thea is meant to be the direct opposite of him, she’s the driving force in the group and has more pants to cover up what Gerry doesn’t have. She’s the one behind a lot of their adventures or scoops, hell she’s also the one who keeps finding them in the first place and drags her family and connections into them which makes sense because that’s her job and also where a lot of the plots start from. She fills out the spots that Gerry doesn’t have. Trap is just pure comic relief and is basically that outside force to the group. Hell the two even have a dynamic of their own where’d they just fight over the most trivial things and that makes us side with Geronimo more because of the ridiculousness of his family, that’s what made it click (to me). Highly recommend you read the early books, it shows the strongest character imo (#1-20).

Now Geronimo has all his autonomy stripped away and he’s been reduced to a nothing but a punching bag for everyone around him. I hope I’m not kidding here but try reading a classic book (let’s say #7 or #26) and compare it to the writing in a modern book (let’s say #46 or #74) it’s very jarring. They put more emphasis on different ways his day is ruined and give him no room to breathe or stand on his own. There’s just no charm to that anymore. There’s no fine line with his relationship with the other characters (Run for the Hills Geronimo is probably the worse one and represents everything I don’t like about the new dynamic)

Now over time that initial draw to action is also done by Trap, which I thought was cool because it still plays into the idea of Geronimo’s family dragging him into their shenanigans and the motives make sense to him specifically. It’s like he keeps getting calls from his relatives on schemes which is fun. But the more you keep reading the modern books the dynamic gets skewed over time and here’s the part I’ve been waiting for…Thea gets shelved completely. And now it’s somehow the GOD DAMN GINGER BROS SHOW?????

Now I think about it, Trap used to be a lot more clever in the classic books as well, he’s essentially a bumbling fool who keeps falling into the wrong situations to make a quick buck which slowly backfires on him. If you know me that well you know I’d call him a less scummier Grunkle Stan. The fact that there’s no Thea to balance it out or at least ground the dynamic to some level feels really annoying now.

You don’t really see much of her anymore as she’s either smiling at the back or doesn’t say more than five lines anymore, which is baffling because she’s the one who can pick up the pace the most. I really wished they showed more of her involvement again…They’re a trio, not a duo…and the books are suspiciously phasing her out to make room for the ginger bros fail routine and it ultimately feels very empty…there’s not much acknowledgement or involvement from her really like they could say she’s busy at mouseford or something but nope! Shelved completely without an explanation or a missed opportunity for a tie-in mention.

So far the only redemption I see is the Mayan Mystery one and the Soccer one where she had a more integral role which are way more recent but it still bothers me that they just shelved her for a majority of the modern run.

Listen if the modern books weren’t cowards she would SOLO all these people

she’d probably have an interesting dynamic knowing that she gets along with everyone well and is technically an adventurer. It’d be such a good parallel to her brother to play off of.

hell it’s even worse in the comics. Like there’s legit no acknowledgment of her at all, when trap is absent that gets an explanation but she’s just suspiciously…gone and the only time she does have a major role is when she’s used as a fake mask for a psyche-out to the villains (I’m sorry but if the comics are gonna pull that shit then I’m baited to believe that Thea and (cat lady) would have a homerotic switcheroo fight akin to Ms.Bellum and Sedusa. SHES THE TOUGHEST AND SMARTEST RODENT, USE HER GODDAMIT)

Idk man I tried reading some of the comics and it never worked out that much, again the dynamic feels suspiciously empty with zero acknowledgment. It’s not the Stiltons it’s just the fucking ginger bros for some reason. It doesn’t feel solid like it used to. I really can’t get into them which is a shame, and tbf why would I want to read a comic where Geronimo goes back in time and helps a colonist do his thing 💀

I’d be very happy if someone here can give me one good reason to get into them somehow, I want to like modern Geronimo, please/s

Look if there’s one character I don’t mind them putting in complete absence it’s probably the unaccompanied minors/s…Or Petunia which makes much more sense since she’s a family friend!

Look I actually like Ben and Bugsy as a duo, I think their whole concept is really wholesome, but the books don’t really push their parts that much, like there’s no meaningful interaction they have with the adults which is a lot of missed potential that or it’s just limited to Geronimo. Like listen I get that the whole point of the books was that it was from Geronimo’s perspective, but it’s not like everyone else was just “present”. They had more active roles and Gerry would just write all his observations down. You want a good example? The Mona Mousa Code.

Still…Benjamin had more charm and a bigger role in the classic books…that boy can hyper fixate and master niche skills in anything and was the emotional rock for Geronimo. But now he just goes along with his uncle being a punching bag routine :/ and I KNOW they could do a lot more for Bugsy here, especially since the paws are practically family friends.

—-

But you know…I’ll do give it credit here this era has one of my favorite art styles in the series and notably the one I grew up with the most (classic books illustrations still hold more charm imo) but the way action and expression is illustrated is just *chefs kiss* there’s a certain bounce to it that makes it so memorable.

And I’ll do admit all those geography facts (even if it’s just basic facts I mean it’s a kids book) and long detailed lists or charts about a characters detail is really cool and somehow makes it more immersive.

And it’s really nice to see the universe get expanded.

But overall, the writing is not the same anymore, the original dynamic is screwed up, and lots of missed opportunity to round up the cast together. It’s either empty or I’m just getting too old…Maybe I’m just nostalgia-biased in different areas who knows. But that’s pretty all my thoughts I can pull out.

[subskz]

NOW. LEE FUCKING MINHO….WHEN I GET YR FUCKEN ASS

ohhhhh this mf had me FUMING HSJSNS had 2 take several breaks before i punched a hole thru my monitor,,, when he made the “joke” about asking for forgiveness on yr knees i was ready to pummel him in his beautiful fucking face he got me FAWKED UP!!!!!! but it’s p sexy when him and y/n fight ngl like my petty scorpio ass gets it and it kinda hurts too bcuz he’s just tryna protect chan 🥹 missus rin out here creating complex layered characters ikdfr

y/n feeding chan when he’s sick,,, and their convo about the binary stars DAWG. that’s gotta b the most romantic shit i ever heard in my life stfu 🥲 CHAN CRYING WHILE EATING HER OUT GOT ME BY THE THROAT BTW SAWRY LIKE IT PROB ISN’T SUPPOSED TO BE HOT BUT IT WAS SCRUMPTIOUS 2 ME,,, then everything that came after,,, girl i ain’t even gonna pretend 2 b a bad bitch i fucking cried. idk how but you fr have this amazing talent for writing emotions beautifully but not like romanticized yanno?!?! it just feels so raw

the last line of this part hit like a truck btw 🫡 i’m literally in love wit you and this series thx for another banger chappie girlie queen i gotta feeling tht things are gonna get even crazier in the next one

LMFAOOO the way i just knew ur next ask would be abt a certain lee minho…i’m not saying i encourage you to bodyslam him but i will conveniently look away if you do 😽

i did definitely make lino nastier than he needed to be hehe despite how infuriating he is it’s admittedly pretty fun to write >:) the scene where he tries to stop the reader from checking on channie was actually the first snippet i ever wrote of bb! but i’m so glad that his intentions are coming across properly despite his terrible methods haha i had a few misgivings abt portraying minho that way so it’s a relief that his reasoning seems to be understood!

PLEASE that makes me so happy to hear 😸 the binary stars part was a bit of a guilty pleasure u know i just couldn’t resist some corny lovey dovey space talk…it is channie after all! and don’t worry abt that HAHA i understand you on a fundamental lvl…probably not the most appropriate time to be a dacryphiliac but smth abt that emotional openness in moments of intimacy is just so good <3

and what a high compliment thank you so much babe!! i’m so touched you think so, esp since evoking emotion is one of my biggest struggles when it comes to writing ㅠ i don’t really see it as my strong suit so it means the world to me that bb3 could stir those feelings in you! i’m also very sorry if it caused some tears i think this entire series has turned out a bit heavier than i’d intended…i hope the happier parts balance it out 😭 thank you so much for always being so enthusiastic in ur msgs, it’s such a joy to read what u have to say and you’ve encouraged me so much w ur kind words! i love u right back my dear ♡

[andvys]

hello andy!! i just tried to catch up and read prologue to chapter 3 of dancing with our hands tied 🩷🩷 how are you? :) honey anon

You put your hand over your heart, feigning pain. “Are you trying to get rid of me, Lego head?” 

GOODBYE 😭😭

“Hmm,” you scrunch your nose up as you pretend to think. “No thanks, I got enough Teen Wolf in front of me.” You gesture to his hair and the chest hair that peeks from his unbuttoned shirt. 

GIRL DLBSOSJS THIS IS SENDING ME

From the creepy old Creel house, to Max offering herself as the bait. 

NOO NOT MAX DONT REMIND ME

“Jason’s dead. He fell onto broken wood… that impaled him.”

oh... oh no... 🤭

“Healing. He broke one arm and one leg, but she is awake. Robin is with her, she’s been waiting for you to wake up.”

THANK GOD ANDY

“I can’t wait to meet him. I never held a baby before.”

omg me neither

“I am already an auntie,” you chuckle. “How could you forget little Luna? She was your first child.” 

SHE TOOK THE CAT?? THE BLACK ONE?? nevermind that's not my sister anymore“You think I’ll let you take the bus? I’ll drive you and then we’ll get burgers.” 

IVE BEEN CRAVING BURGERS TODAY

His hair is messy, a spit curl falling before his eyes. He is wearing his black sunglasses, green khaki pants, a gray tank top,– oh god. This is going to be a long day. 

oh... oh that's... ��

It’s only nearing the end of April, but it already feels like the beginning of summer. Steve’s skin is already sun kissed. You hide your eyes behind your sunglasses as you ogle him. Taking in the sight of his veiny hands, his arms that have just the perfect amount of muscle, his chest hair that you always tease him for, the silver chain around his neck. 

i wanna bite him

“Yeah, like your girlfriend,” you laugh, glancing at Lucas. “I wonder who will teach her how to drive properly.” 

MAX BEHIND THE WHEEL IS SO ME

“Her head! You hit her head, you stupid idiot!” She points at him with rage in her voice. 

omg steve bye not the domestic tray violence

“Hey Chica, do you wanna smoke this with me?” 

ARGYLE IS MF BACK!!!

“Stop being so fucking careless!” He snaps, pointing his finger at you now. “You’re getting on my goddamn nerves.” 

steve and y/n as the cat in the table with the woman shouting at pointing at him

“I thought you liked coke, Blondie.”

i really need a cold coke zero rn 😭

“Keep your pity to yourself, Blondie. I’d rather never see you again than see you when I don’t have to.”

okay fuck you then !

Steve looks away from you, feeling a rush of guilt. 

now you're sorry??? i hate men fr

“Right.” 

cursing him as we SPEAK

Yeah, you’re only pretty and cute when you keep your mouth shut. 

i need to punch him

“Oh, so you’re saying my yapping and whining is music to your ears?” You smirk. “Just say that you love hearing my voice.”

hehe that's right 🤭

“Do you ever shut up or do I have to make you!?” 

omg he's down that bad??

“Isn’t that what you said to Dustin when he asked you for girls advice?” He snorts, shaking his head once again, “‘the key with girls is acting like you don’t care’” Lucas mocks quietly, chuckling after that. 

oooh got him!!

“Right, that doesn’t mean anything.” Steve rolls his eyes before he looks back at you, only to see your face fall. 

i need him gone kind of

“You are so fucking horrible!” He snaps at you, not caring about anything, right this second. Everyone in the room disappears, Dustin, Max and Lucas are no longer there, and neither are Robin and Eddie, it’s just you and him now. “I hate the fucking day we ran into you at Skull Rock! You are the most despicable and cold hearted bitch I’ve ever met! I would be surprised if you ever loved somebody!” 

NOT THE B WORD if that was me i would never speak to this man ever again 😭

You look down as your bottom lip starts to tremble. 

SLAP HIM

“Everyone leave the room.” 

MAX GO GIRL

hiiii omg! i missed you!! i’m okay! i kinda had a busy weekend but i went to the mall with my sister yesterday so that was fun :) how are you? 🩷

BESTIE I HOPE YOURE LIKING THE NEW SERIES!

your reactions to Jason’s death had me giggling🤭

MAX BEHIND THE WHEEL IS ME TOO LMAO IM A BAD BAD DRIVER

Argyle is back!!!! And you will see more of him soon hehe

i’m sorry for the Steve angst 😭i promise he will be better in chapter 4! and this story is going into a much better direction soon 😌

ALSO it’s been like two years now since we started talking 🥹

[captainsophiestark]

Out on the Town

Damon Salvatore x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Fandom: The Vampire Diaries/The Originals

Prompt: "That's the best costume I've ever seen!" "Uh, dude, not a costume."

Summary: Y/N and Damon are dating, having a fun night out on the town. Y/N, being a human, can't keep up with vampire energy without good hydration, so she leaves her boyfriend to go get a drink from the bar. Unfortunately for her, some guy decides that's the perfect time to try and hit on her. Unfortunately for the guy, Damon Salvatore is certainly not going to stand around and let that slide.

Word Count: 1,021

Category: Mostly fluff, Damon defends reader from a horrible guy

Warnings: There’s a shitty, shitty dude who approaches the reader at the bar and oversteps his boundaries. Nothing bad happens, but it might be triggering for some people, so I thought I’d give y’all a heads up.

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

"Alright, I'll be right back! I just need to get a quick drink!" I danced backwards and away from my boyfriend, Damon Salvatore, who was still going strong in the middle of the dance floor.

"What? Don't tell me you're tired already!" he called after me over the near-deafening noise of the music.

"Not all of us have super human stamina!" I called back. He booed, but I just rolled my eyes and waved him off as I stumbled to the bar, giggling like a maniac. I wasn't even particularly drunk! I was just having the time of my life being out on the town with Damon.

Somehow, every moment I spent with him just made me feel so alive.

"Hi!" I called out to the bartender with a big smile as soon as I got in range. "Can I just get a water, please?"

"Sure thing, coming right up."

I smiled and leaned back against the bar, scanning the crowd while I waited. I caught sight of Damon dancing it up in the middle of a big crowd, his shirt completely unbuttoned and hanging open as he commanded the attention of the room.

He really was something else. And I loved it.

"Hey there, honey," I heard a voice from way too close to my ear behind me. I took a giant step away and turned as I did, coming face to face with a man leering at me as he leaned against the bar. "You look amazing."

"Thanks," I said tightly. I glanced over to see how the bartender was doing with my water, but she'd gotten caught up dealing with a large group at the other end of the bar. I sighed.

"Don't tell me you're here by yourself? Pretty girl like you doesn't have a date?"

"Alright, get lost," I snapped. I started to turn to go back to Damon, but the guy caught my arm and pulled me back before I could.

"C'mon, don't walk away from me just like that."

I took a deep breath, ready to throw a scene and make every single person in this room aware of how horrible this man was, but my boyfriend beat me to it.

Damon sped in front of me in an instant. He yanked the stranger's arm away from me, and even though I was tucked safely behind his back, I could tell that he'd gone full vamp, fangs out and dark veins popping.

"Woah!" said the asshole, taking a half step back without looking very scared. "That's the best costume I've ever seen!"

"Uh, dude, not a costume," said Damon. The guy looked confused before Damon hissed and bared his teeth, then punched the guy square in the face. The guy's head snapped back, but Damon used his super strength and speed to keep the guy from falling over so no one in the bar noticed anything wrong.

The asshole swore loudly, and now he looked properly scared. Before he could so much as scream, however, Damon grabbed him by the hair and forced him to make eye contact.

"Alright, normally I'd just take you out back and kill you, but I'm here with my girlfriend, and I don't think she'd want me ruining the rest of our night over some piece of shit like you," he said. I'd known him long enough by now that I could tell he was compelling the guy. "So, instead, I'm gonna find another way to keep you from being a problem ever again.

"For the rest of your life, you will not talk to, look at, or touch another woman until she initiates something. And if she does initiate something but then realizes that you're a giant dick who's not worth her time, then you have to go right back to not talking, looking, or touching."

The guy nodded, clearly struck dumb from the compulsion, and Damon shoved him backwards as he let go of the guy's hair. He took a deep breath and shook out the tension in his shoulders as the guy stumbled around the bar, then turned to me.

"Are you okay?" he looked concerned, but also clearly pleased with himself. I grinned right back at him and wasted no time before wrapping my arms around his neck and giving him a big kiss.

"I'm fine," I said once we finally pulled apart. "Thanks to you. The big bad vampire, my hero."

Damon rolled his eyes and tried to brush me off, but I could tell he was secretly glowing at my words. His chest puffed up a little as he held his arm out to me, and of course, I took it.

"You get your water yet?" he asked.

"No, the poor bartender's insanely busy-"

Right on cue, the woman in question popped back into view and set my cup of water down on the bar with a smile. Damon grinned and grabbed it for me, then handed it over as we headed back towards the dancefloor.

"You think that water's gonna be enough for you to keep up with me for the rest of the night?" Damon taunted. I downed the whole cup in a few swallows, then left it on the nearest table as we reached the edge of the crowd again.

"Bring it, Salvatore. I'm about to dance circles around you all night long."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

Damon smiled as I flung my head back and got into the music, swaying my hips and forgetting the dude from earlier to just enjoy the night with my boyfriend. Damon was at my side in an instant, wrapping his arms around me as we swayed to the music. Even in the middle of a crowded dancefloor, the rest of the world seemed to fade away when I was with him.

[hakkais-hoe]

Hi! Can you do a part 2 of how they deal with breakup with Baji, Mitsuya, Mikey and Chifuyu? Thank you 💕

Hi!! Ofc 😊 I was about to do a part 2 for Kazutora anyway so I’ll stick him with these four 💞 n sorry about your wait hope you enjoy these hun 🥰

I’d apologise for the Baji one but I just can’t see him admitting that he’s in the wrong 🤷‍♀️

Characters: Kazutora, Mikey, Mitsuya, Chifuyu, Baji

Age warning: none

All characters are 18+

▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️

Baji

Tbh he’s probably a little toxic n mansplainy, is a dick about it ngl

Can and will commit several counts of arson just because he’s in a huff

Literally has a tantrum for a day or two before going back to normal and acting like you haven’t even broken up with him

You’ll have to throw him out of your place multiple times

Tells you to stop being “dramatic” before getting slapped

Talks pure shit to Chifuyu n Kazutora, who promptly tell him to suck it up or go beg you to take him back

Doesn’t even think it’s his fault you broke up, wholeheartedly believes you’re just trying to “play hard to get” or just doin it for attention

Honestly don’t think he’d come begging to get back together, he’d just show up one day and you wouldn’t be able to tell him to leave cos of his pretty long hair ig 💀

Also I think he’s probably used to his s/o getting mad at him for shit n just kicking him out for a bit n letting him back in so he just thinks that’s what ur doing

If none of this works he just acts like n injured dog, but that I mean he purposefully gets into fights n let’s them land a few good punches so that he can come back and be like “baby please can you patch me up” like the little shot he is

Doesn’t purposefully play on your emotions tho, mainly because he’s a moron, he just knows that you don’t like seeing him hurt

Does realise how much he missed being able to hold you after a while tho, having you back in his arms even if you’re just patching him up , is like a blessing to him now

Does this cute little soft smile when you’re not looking at him

Is literally like a feral raccoon that you found in a bin n brought in one day tbf, he’s not sure how he got here but he definitely doesn’t wanna leave luxury now

Kazutora

It’s all mikeys fault

But no fr he cries for a while man

Ends up spending a lot of time in the pet shop at night complaining to the kittens n puppies while he brushes them

or just simply talking to himself about where he went wrong while stocking the shelves

Cries at work a few times when Chifuyu or someone else mentions you

Is the definition of a simp when he’s in love so you can imagine just how much it would break him to be left

Thinks he’s being abandoned, complete opposite of Baji, blames himself for it

He tries to get you back by writing you little love letters, sending your favourite flowers or snack or plushies, sends you pictures of the animals at the shop.

Does NOT show up at your house uninvited!!

He respects that you don’t want to see him but he can’t help but cry when you don’t reply to him, or try visit him

Try’s not to talk to Chifuyu about the break up until Chifuyu confronts him n makes him talk

Cries a bit more for good measure ( prolly could do with some eye drops)

Almost certainly purposes at least twice if/when you get back together

Chifuyu

Definition of okay on the outside but dying within

100% will not show just how much it hurts him when you say those five words

Straight-faced “if that’s what you want” beige he leaves n sits in his car for a good hour with a blank face

Then proceeds to drive to the middle of no where, scream n shout till his voice is horsed, set his jacket on fire for the extra flare of drama and then drive home in silence

Hates the world for weeks, terrifies Kazutora to the point of him being too scared to even ask when the next shipment of some stock is coming in

Usually his female customers flirt with him but not they’re too scared of the menacing aura n deep set glare plastered to his face to even approach him

Gets absolutely shitfaced when him n Kazu meet up with Takemichi n spills everything

Cries a little bit before boldly proclaiming his love for you to an entire bar then falling face first off a table

Wakes up in your house with an ice pack strapped to his head n a blanket thrown over him

Very very embarrassed when he sees you come in with a pissed “I hope your explanation is good” look on your face

He has no idea how he got here, finds out from you that he rang you at 3 in the morning n had a mental breakdown over the phone before telling you that if you didn’t come get him he was going to eat an entire cake to himself and 4 (specifically) tubs of ice cream n cry his eyes out

Dies of embarrassment before yet again telling you he misses you and wants to talk

Tries to be sensible but clearly fails miserably

Mitsuya

King of staying calm n giving you space

That is until he realises that you’re actually serious

Then all hell breaks loose

Doesn’t shower, eat, sleep or all round take care of himself n instead goes in to an almost catatonic state of just drawing designs n making shit for you

Ends up making you a beautiful extravagant piece of clothing which gets sent before anyone can intervene

Takes Hakkai n some of the others showing up at his house to fetch him for him to actually snap out of it a bit

Will only talk to Hakkai about what happened

Stressed to the max

You were the thing that calmed him when he was spiralling but now you were gone n he had nothing to anchor him in place

Freaked out when he saw what he’d done to himself and his apartment

He reaches out with a “we should talk, meet me for coffee at our usual spot”

Apologises for the package as soon as he sees you

Promptly stares at you and wonders how could he have ever let you go so easily

Blurts out “you keep me alive” before he can stop himself, apologises again and goes to leave

Can’t quite bring himself to leave the cafe n turns around n strides back to your table before taking everything back and saying he meant every word

“You are my everting, without you I would be long gone by now and I don’t know if I mean physically or mentally but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that I’m so hopelessly in awe of everything that you do or say and I can’t live without you! Please don’t leave me too.”

Mr. Romantic strikes again pls love him he’s n angel n he’s pretty

Mikey

Little shit

The epitome of if I can’t have you no one can

But in the sense of he will not leave you alone n decides that he’s now going to buy the place you work just so he has an excuse to show up and take all your attention every day

Buys you dorayaki n leaves it in a bag for your lunch with your name on it in a heart

Can and will fire anyone who looks at you for too long

Has Sanzu stalk you when he can’t be there

Follows you to nightclubs n bars so that he can beat up anyone who hits on you

Still calls you his s/o n doesn’t see why he should stop “seen as you’ll be getting back together soon anyway”

Literally believes that it’s just a phase you can’t possibly leave him as well

Starts to dwell on it after and while n ends up taking his anger out on anyone around him (the poor bonten trio get the brunt of it)

Sends you gifts which usually comprise of snacks, clothing, accessories with his initials on and a new one which is self defence tools incase he can’t be there

You’d have to get used to the constant shadow tbf

When it becomes too much for him he’ll show up at your place in the rain, no umbrella ofc, n tell you how cold it is n how he’s conveniently stranded after his bike ran out of petrol n the rain got too much

Will still expect to be able to cuddle with you n leach your warmth (not like you’d be able to refuse his little pout anyway)

Whispers sweetly about how much he misses you nd needs you to take him back and let him love you again

He even says he doesn’t mind sleeping on the couch for a while, he just wants to be able to make sure you’re safe and be around you

▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️

It is nearly 3 in the morning n I rly should sleep but this caught my eye so sleep is a myth

Taglist: @honeybachira @roppongiperfume @haitink @bontensbabygirl @loonashadow @reiners-milkbiddies @sunahyejin @wakasagurl

[whumpofdory]

The Spoiled Prince, Part 14

The next morning, Alvard woke up to Evine quietly moving about the room dusting. He was dressed in new clothes for the first time since he’d been there: a cream shirt and loose grey pants, as well as soft black shoes. “Good morning, your Majesty.” He said with a smile. 

“Good morning Evine. From now on, ‘sir’ will do fine. How long have you been up?” The king sat up in bed, the soft covers falling from his bare shoulders to his waist. Evine didn’t look up from his dusting, instead moving directly to the closet. 

“Only a few minutes.” He lied. He’d been up since the wee hours of the morning, worrying about what he would be doing today. At least doing this he was in his element. “What would you like to wear today, sir?”

“Just whatever goes together.” When Evine came out of the closet carrying the clothes, Alvard was standing at the end of the bed facing away from him, using magic to make the bed. The magic is not what held Evine’s attention. 

Evine was staring at the king’s lean, muscled back; a latticework of pinkish white scars covered almost every area of skin there was to be seen. Some wrapped around to his ribs, others over his shoulders. Many of them looked like the whip marks he’d seen on castle slaves back in Thileweld. These were accompanied by a fewer number of what looked like burns of varying sizes. Alvard turned around to face him. 

The king’s front was almost as covered, most notably a large circular burn scar directly over his diaphragm. Evine didn’t meet the king’s gaze; his eyes were locked onto the scars. 

“Quite something, isn’t it? Don’t worry, all this happened a long time ago.” Alvard walked up to Evine and held out his hand for the clothes. Evine continued to stare and said nothing. Eventually Alvard gently took the clothes from Evine and began to put them on. 

“Wh-” Evine began but thought better of it, before changing his mind again. “What happened?” 

“A lot of things happen during war time. I got captured once. Didn’t go too well for me.” He said nonchalantly as he pulled on his boots. “Like I said, it was a while ago.”

“How did you get out?”

“They let me go.”

“Who-”

“I don’t want to talk any more about this, Evine.” He said sharply.  “Can you hand me those?” He added, more gently this time. He pointed to his rings on his side table and Evine obeyed. “Thank you. You will stay in my quarters and clean today while I’m out. Please just do your best, nothing has to be perfect.” Evine nodded.

***

Alvard walked down the hall and into Callum’s cell. He caused the same setup as the day before to appear before taking the box off Callum’s head. “Hello, pet.”

“Hello, Master.” There was no sarcasm in his voice this time. Good. Alvard thought. Progress. He looked hungrily at the bowl of food sitting next to Alvard. “May I please have some, Master?”

“Very good, very polite. You’re learning quite well.” Callum smiled with the praise. “However, I’d like an apology for yesterday before we continue today.” 

“Yes, Master. I’m sorry for talking back and refusing to eat yesterday. It will not happen again, I promise.” The reply was sincere, but robotic. Alvard sighed.

“That’s not what I want. It’s honest but there’s no submission.” He paused. “Do you understand what I mean?” Callum looked at him for a moment before tentatively shaking his head. 

Alvard thought for a moment, then with an inhuman quickness punched Callum in the nose. There was a sharp crack as his nose broke, and blood began running down from his nostrils. His eyes watered, and before he could say anything, Alvard grabbed the broken part of his nose. Callum screeched and tried to pull away. “Stop.” Alvard said calmly. “Moving will only make it hurt worse.” 

“Why?” Callum sobbed. “What… What do you… What do you want fr- from me? I did what you asked!” He was now trying to stay as still as possible. 

“The point of this exercise is to make sure you understand how you’re supposed to act, not just know what to say. If I do this for example,” Alvard twisted Callum’s nose and Callum could feel the broken pieces of bone grinding against each other. Callum screamed. “What would you do to make it stop?” 

“Anything, please Master! Pl-” He sobbed. “Please make it stop.”

“Now, I want to hear the apology again.” He squeezed the nose, causing more blood to spurt out.

“I’m sorry, please, I’m so sorry. It won’t happen again I swear!” He gasped with relief when the hand left his nose. Alvard waved a hand and the nose righted itself with a sickening crunch.

“Do you see now? Do you understand what I want? You have to remember: all good things come from me, but I can cause the bad too. Do not force me to punish you.”

Now, Callum did understand. He felt totally helpless when Master had hold of his broken nose. That’s what he was: helpless. No one was coming to save him from this. It is either obey or suffer. Master wanted him to always remember that suffering could follow any action he took. “I understand, Master. I think I understand.”

“Then tell me what I want. And remember what will happen if you get it wrong.” Callum glanced at the food, at the box’s cover, and then back to Master. 

“You want me to know that your m- mercy is the only thing between m- me and suffering.” His voice still cracked, but he was no longer sobbing. 

“Very good. Now-” Alvard picked up the food and began getting a spoonful ready. “I believe a reward is in order.” 

Callum had never tasted something so good.

[dimeadoesnt]

I am really curious so again 18 27 and 32 👀

OOOO THANK YOU!!! I love talking about TF2 so this is filling me with SO much joy fr

18: Favorite headcanon?

Hmm, hard one. I do love the H/C that medic is jewish, it definitely adds more to his character and gives him a bit of depth and provides a bit more diversity to the group! It also fits with his themes having Yiddish/Klezmer music, and (while I may be VERY wrong) I’ve heard he uses a Yiddish inflection when speaking! (Though that could also be very inaccurate since tf2 isn’t exactly known for its accents being spot on) Either way, it’s a headcanon I sincerely do love!

also a much sillier one but I think spy has a fondness for practicing slight-of-hand magic :)

27: Which character would you get along the best with?

ok listen. I would love to hang out with Engie. I would LOVE to... but I don’t think he’d be BEST. We could chill, sure, but in all honesty? Aside from the accent, a love of music, and roasting things on a fire, we haven’t got all that much in common. So I’m goin with Heavy. I think we’d get on well, oldest siblings tend to have compatible vibes, and we both have an appreciation for literature! I’d happily listen to him explain how Sasha works, and can for sure vibe in comfortable silences when words run out (also he can show me how to punch things REAL good)

32: Who was your favorite character when you first got into the fandom? Did it change? being fully honest I initially really liked scout! I still love the guy, don’t get me wrong, he’s the whole reason I got into the fan base so he’s always gonna have a special place in my heart, but then I started getting into the other characters. My interest skipped to sniper, since I read the comics before anything else and thought he was a cool, dangerous sort of dude (which he /is/ but he’s also a dork). Then I started looking at the characters that had less love and found out Engie is actually a really cool dude! I used to think he was kinda one-note, that note being ‘smart cowboy’, and while he’s still very much a smart cowboy I’ve found he’s got a lot more going on than meets the eye!

thank you for the ask again!!! I got a lil carried away with these answers, but I have SO many thoughts about these lil dudes

[violetsoju]

page 30彡★

kageyama tobio · fluff · 3.2k

a/n: came up w this idea based on a tiktok vid of this trend that randomly popped up on my feed (which i can't find anymore T_T) do let me know if you enjoyed it! ❤️

“Hey, Tobio.”

The mop of raven hair doesn’t look up to you, eyes fixated on the jiggly onsen tamago on top of the curry tonkatsu.

“There’s this new trend going on.”

He hums in response, fingers gripping onto a pair of wooden chopsticks, manoeuvring the fragile soft lump towards the spoon. Just a few more steps till being cradled snugly in the deep end of the cool ceramic spoon.

“And we’re gonna learn the moves and film it right here after this.”

His fingers twitch. One of the long pointy chopsticks loses its cool and stabs the tamago right in the core, streaks of yellow bleeding across the crisp golden brown tonkatsu. Its counterpart desperately tries to put pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding, but too much yolk has been lost, and more jabs were made in the frantic rescue mission. Not even the string of ‘shit’ muttered could save the day. So long, dear onsen tamago.

You’re finally met with piercing blue eyes glaring at you.

“No. And look at what you did to my onsen tamago.”

“You should’ve scooped it up with your spoon instead of pushing it with your chopsticks. Common sense much?” You thank the waitress for the hot steaming tempura udon. “Plus, you’re supposed to break the yolk and coat the luscious essence over your rice, unless you’re a freak and eat it in one go.”

Kageyama’s scowl softens when a piece of fried tempura lands in his bowl in exchange for a piece of tonkatsu. A glint of delight gleams in the two pair of eyes at the first bite of delicious food, taste buds tingling in satisfaction.

It’s a rainy Wednesday night. And rainy nights call for warm comfort food to make up for the gloomy wet weather brought by the pitter patter parade of fat rain droplets. So after a spontaneous text message, here you are, with an old close friend of yours, inside a small cosy shop hidden in an alleyway without any prior arrangements.

“And let me repeat myself. I’m not going to do any dumb dance trends with you again.” Kageyama restates his point firmly.

“Come on, you had so much fun the last time! Even Tsukki sent a good job sticker in the group chat.” You reason.

“You mean he enjoyed seeing me almost tripping over my feet.”

“That was the highlight, to be honest.”

He smacks your chopsticks away with his at your attempt to snag another piece of tonkatsu, not giving in into your pout.

“Anyway, I was just kidding. You’re in luck this time because it’s not a dance trend.”

Kageyama raises an eyebrow at you suspiciously, tilting his head to ask you to continue on.

“This time it’s a trend where you grab your nearest book, turn to page 30, and the first sentence will describe your love life. Interesting, isn’t it?”

“Just when I thought you’ve outgrown these ridiculous nonsenses.”

“Says the one who still insists on drinking a box of strawberry milk before matches.” You jab your chopsticks towards his direction accusingly.

“That’s different because it actually works. And it’s good.” He counterattacks by returning your gesture.

“I hate to say this but, point taken.”

He triumphantly snickers as you sigh in defeat.

“Aren’t you curious on how my love life is described?” You question, blowing off the steam from your spoon full of udon.

Kageyama chomps on another piece of pork cutlet, unamused at your question. “If you’re generous enough to share, I’d be honoured.”

“‘He smiles’”

“What?”

“That’s the first sentence on my page 30. ‘He smiles’.” You reply matter-of-factly, taking a sip of your hot green tea.

“What’s that even supposed to mean?” His brows knit in confusion, hands momentarily forgetting the spoonful of curry rice in hand.

“Use your imagination, Tobio. Awaken your romantic cells.” You gesture with your hands dramatically, earning a deadpan look from the boy seated across you.

“Does it mean whoever’s smiling is the love of your life? Or someone who’s always smiling?” Kageyama rests his cheek against his left knuckle, trying to connect the dots together.

“Well-“

“Wait a minute! Don’t tell me it’s Suga-san. Because if it is, I won’t allow it because Suga-san is way too good for you.”

He yelps as you not-so-accidentally dip your chopsticks stained with broth into his green tea.

“Shush, we both know how much Suga-san adores me. And everyone else.” You smugly take another bite of your fried tempura as he frowns in disgust after drinking the now broth infused green tea.

“I guess it’s feeling of love at the sight of his smile? Like feeling all warm and fuzzy seeing him smile.”

“Is there someone who makes you feel that way with their smile?”

You swirl the udon with your chopsticks mindlessly for a moment. “Maybe there is.”

You look up to the pair of blue eyes staring back at you, holding the intense gaze firmly, neither side backing down to break the tension.

“Do I know him?” Kageyama falters, a hint of anxiousness cracks in his voice.

“Since when were you so interested in my love life?” You laugh awkwardly, hoping to conceal your nervousness.

Despite the surrounding bustling chatter, the world suddenly falls painstakingly silent, with the irregular beats of two young hearts thumping deafeningly and out of rhythm.

The raven-haired boy succumbs first, looking back down to his half empty bowl. You continue swirling your bowl of udon, mentally slapping yourself at your answer and cracking your head to come up with something to save the mood.

“Well, I could help to scan him for you, if you want. Boys know boys better after all,”

You snap back up to look at the boy seated across you, eyes not meeting yours. This is a surprise.

“Plus, you can save the tears and snot to yourself because I might not be free to attend to your midnight crying sessions. If it really happens.”

A surge of warmth radiates throughout your body at his words. Definitely not from the hot bowl of udon.

Kageyama still has his eyes on the bowl before him, looking anywhere else but you. He tries to keep himself busy by scooping more rice, groaning as he further destroys the onsen tamago, unaware of the faint blush painting his cheeks. Definitely not from the hot bowl of curry, too.

“Don’t worry, he isn’t a jerk. I’m sure you’ll like him too.” You chuckle, adjusting your chopsticks to pick up more udon.

Oh, Kageyama Tobio, what exactly should I do with you.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽.* :☆ﾟ. ───

Scroll. Refresh. Switch apps. Repeat. Sigh.

You’ve been stuck in this constant loop for the past hour. Instead of getting much needed sleep for the next day, you subject yourself to the chains of the device held in your hand, despite the drooping eyelids and strained arm muscles.

What’s so fascinating about social media anyway? If it’s not friends or random acquaintances posting sinful food pics of ootds, it’d be someone ranting about either their work or love life, or memes you’ve already seen before. Sometimes you wonder if you’ve been casted a spell by social media.

Crying out a yelp as the gadget lands right in your face at the slip of your hands, you massage your nose bridge and forehead from the impact, grimacing in pain. It’s not easy being a slave to social media, huh.

Tossing your phone to the side, you roll over to lie flat on your back, sprawled like a star fish on your bed. A long sigh escapes your lips, eyes staring blankly at the bare celling above. Maybe you should really call it a day.

A beep from your phone tells you otherwise.

Tobio [23:17]

I did it. You owe me one box of strawberry milk.

[23:18]

IMG_20210402_961222

You immediately plop yourself up to sit cross-legged on your bed, tapping on the notification to open the message. As expected of Kageyama Tobio, it was a full-page picture of a book, with a small number 30 on the top left-hand corner. But unexpectedly of Kageyama Tobio too, the page wasn’t from those volleyball books or magazines stacked in the corner of his room. Looks like the mini ramble session you gave him on the way to the metro station worked.

“I know volleyball is the love of your life too, but we’re talking about your actual love life here! So no volleyball books or magazines, go rummage Miwa-san’s book shelf for one random romance novel. Just one. She’ll thank me for taking care of your love life.”

Sliding both your thumbs outwards on the screen to zoom in, your lips press together to form an ‘o’, brows arching in fascination at the first sentence.

She knows.

Interesting.

Your fingers dance across the screen swiftly.

me [23:20]

Ohhh interesting. See, it’s exciting, isn’t it?

Tobio [23:21]

I guess so

me [23:22]

Do you think it describes your love life well?

To actually imagine Kageyama Tobio having something that he loves as much as volleyball is, an odd and foreign feeling.

Tobio [23:24]

I’m not sure tbh

me [23:25]

Well spill the tea so I can help you analyse it

Tobio [23:25]

No

You swear you would throw punches at him if he was beside you now.

me [23:26]

Tsk tsk, so who’s the girl you’ve been hiding from me

Tobio [23:27]

Since when were you interested in my love life?

The use of your own words against you has you clicking your tongue in amusement.

You were contemplating between a civil or sarcastic remark when a new message bubble pops up.

Tobio [23:29]

But do you think she knows?

me [23:30]

About what?

Tobio [23:31]

Nvm, forget what I said

Seriously? This conversation is by no means, ending like this. You tap on the video icon on the right-hand corner of the screen hastily.

It takes a few rings for the familiar face to appear on screen, face a little too close to the camera, brows furrowed, lips pursed.

“What the heck, do you know what time it is?” Kageyama huffs in annoyance, running his fingers through his dishevelled black hair.

“Says the one who sent me such juicy information at this hour.” You bend your legs up, resting your hand on your knees for a better angle.

He throws his head back exasperatedly, muttering something inaudible along the static noise from the speakers, resting his head on a wooden frame you recognise. He still hasn’t changed his bed that he has long outgrown, complaining about soreness in his legs and arms that dangle off the edge every night.

“How do you expect me to go to bed with you hanging me like this? You have the worst timing ever.” You raise your hands in protest.

Kageyama buries half of his face in his palm. “I shouldn’t have listened to you.”

“But you get a box of strawberry milk from this! It’s worth it.” You gesture a finger gun to him knowingly.

He moves two fingers away from his face, peeking to see you through the screen like a child. Heaving a long, heavy sigh, he shifts his weight to sit up properly, half of his face still cradled in his palm.

“So, ‘she knows’, huh. Back to your question. What do you think she knows?” A tinge of excitement and fear bubble up your throat.

Kageyama avoids your gaze, looking to the side. “Well, I mean, about my, er- my feelings, I guess?”

“You mean your heart.”

The sentence has his eyes back on you, vivid blue eyes clouded by the shadows of dimly lit room.

“Yeah, uhm, well, I guess.” His voice trails off.

“Well, have you told her before?” You keep your voice steady.

“No, of course.” His words come out like a whisper.

“Then how is she going to know without any words or actions?” It comes out like a blunt statement, but somewhere deep down, a wave of relief washes over you.

“But I’m always there for her. Whenever she needs me, wherever she is, I try my best to be there for her,” Passionate flames ignite across the vast blue ocean. “I know something is on her mind when she bites the insides of her cheeks, when she flicks the tip of her thumb with her index finger constantly, or when she plays with the piercings on her ears. I’m not one with words, but I stay by her side when she needs me to, listening to her rambles or vents, or wiping away tears that stain her cheeks soft like mochi.

“I set notifications the night before to give her morning calls during her exams or important days because she tends to snooze the alarm on days like these. I always have extra band-aids ready on hand because she always somehow cuts and hurts herself, which hurts my heart too. Heck, I even learn ridiculous things that would be the death of me just for her, because nothing compares to the sparkle in her eyes when she flashes her precious smile, brighter than the sun that takes my breath away every time. I-”

Kageyama stops midway, face painted with horror as if he just let out a million-dollar secret. Panic flares in his eyes, mouth agape in incredulity as his body rigids, dumbstruck with terror by what rolled off his tongue so smoothly. You wonder if the line got disconnected because he turned into a static image, with a full-blown flustered look on his face.

You wave at the screen. “Tobio, you still there?”

It takes a few seconds for the raven-haired boy to snap back to his senses and regain his composure, coughing awkwardly in attempt to calm himself down. Small patches of blush blooming furiously on his cheeks peek out from his hands covering his mouth.

He looks cute.

No, he’s cute.

He’s always been cute.

“I- Er- Ye- Yeah, I’m still here.” Kageyama struggles to find words from his tad-larger-than-average vocabulary vault that has seem to disappear into thin air.

“Gosh, breathe Tobio, breathe. Come on, take a deep breath with me. One, two, three.”

He exhales deeply at the count of three with eyes shut close, hoping that all his jitters have been expelled away in the air.

“There you go. Feel better now?” Your lips tug up gently as the boy on the screen visibly relaxes, shoulders loosening from the tension, face free of creased lines.

He opens his eyes slowly, blinking a few times to adjust his vision before returning a soft smile to you. “Yeah, I do. Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

A tranquil silence blankets over the both of you. This time, the steady beats of two young hearts thump in tune like a metronome. Two young souls gaze at each other, basking in the calmness and comfort of the sincere warm smiles that felt so much like home; but too proud to admit they were like lovesick fools, brushing off the feelings that were screaming loudly to be heard, feelings that they were afraid to face.

“Do you think she knows?” It’s a genuine question, one that takes a mountain high of courage to come up with.

“I’m sure she does.” It’s a genuine answer, one that takes a of couple hundred meters of might to emerge from the deep ends of the sea to come up with.

And you both hope that you’re on the same wavelength.

“So back to square one. Who’s the girl?”

“None of your business.”

“Another piece of crap from you and I’ll leave without you at the metro station tomorrow.”

“Sorry.”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽.* :☆ﾟ. ───

When you reach the designated exit of the metro station the next day, a pair of eyes as blue as the day immediately catches your attention among the crowd, feet shuffling on its own accord towards them. As if there was a detector sensing your presence within him, the owner of the beautiful pair of orbs turns to you, raising a hand in greeting.

Kageyama gives you a smile, a smile that says, ‘I hope my smile makes you feel warm and fuzzy’.

You smile back at him, with a smile that says, ‘I hope you know that I know your heart’.

It’s hard to shake off the pride to be damned, but the two lovesick fools find themselves discarding it slowly, bit by bit with each step taken, together.

【☾】

Kageyama is a creature of routine. He always has his day planned out in detail and hates it when it doesn’t go according to plan, or when something pops out of the blue. But there are a few which he can make exceptions for. So when he receives your text asking for dinner after his training session, he agrees in a heartbeat.

He felt his heart sink deeply in his guts when you said there was, indeed, someone who made you feel warm and fuzzy with their smile. But who was he to have his say when his status was merely just a close friend?

Miwa thought he had lost it when he barged into her room without notice that night, scanning her bookshelf for novels, specifically of the romance genre. It was more nerve-wrecking than retaking exams back in high school with Hinata while flipping through the pages, and it didn’t help much when he finally found the particular page, with the first line inked in black staring back at him in doubt.

He doesn’t know why he sent the picture of the page to you. What exactly was he expecting?

Worse, he doesn’t even know why he started blabbing about how he was always there for you, how much he cares for you, and how much you mean to him. It all just came out so naturally that he could actually score an A+ for impromptu speaking.

But when your eyes were filled with concern while calming him down instead of making fun of him or pestering him for more, something flutters in his mind. Maybe it was from the rush of adrenaline from before, or maybe it was his heart that had leaped out from his chest taking over. He brings up the question once again, with more confidence this time.

He knows you’re not one to lie with your eyes. And he sees the kindness and honesty in them.

A ray of hope flickers in him.

So today, Kageyama musters up every ounce of courage he has, and tells himself it’s now or never: to close the gap he has longed for so long between two hands that swayed side by side. Instead of retreating his hands away when they brush against yours, he curls the tip of his fingers with yours delicately, as if your fingers would melt at his touch.

He hopes that he made the right decision.

And when your fingers curl back, intertwined with his, he knows he has made the right decision, and that his question has been answered.

She knows.

And the fact that he’s the one behind the smile that makes you go all warm and fuzzy, he swears it feels like he could run for miles and miles without running out of breath, soaring even higher than the clouds in the skies. None of the perfect sets he has set in his lifetime could compare to the satisfaction and bliss he was feeling right now.

Because you had set his life ablaze the moment fate brought the both of you together, and you’re his end game.

[i-ate-the-whole-entire-pie]

Call Me Mother, Chapter One

I languidly drained the last breath from my cigarette, the drag filling my lungs. My garter straps hung down lazily, tickling my thighs, as they awaited their purpose. Music thumped rapidly, and whoops of delight resounded through the hall. The dressing room door swung open; a small, but curvaceous woman behind it.

Her eyebrows were tweezed to perfection, eyes deeply shadowed, eyelashes false and curled into large feathery swoops; her mouth was like a plump strawberry. I’d always harbored a mild curiosity about how it tasted.

“Mary, you’re up in 10 minutes. I want you at the curtain in five," Cristella said, her hispanic accent thick.

“Is that a new corset?” I asked. Cristella turned me around, and yanked the laces of my corset together. Thank god I haven’t needed to breathe for the last 150 years, I thought. I floated a small influence her way. Gentler, please. She complied, unwittingly. They always do.

I don’t normally use my influence on people I like, but I’m far too hungry to risk her pinching me with this corset. I couldn’t forgive myself if I lost control. She was far too kind to die a death that violent.

“It is. This papí chulo I’ve been seeing said he wanted me to wear it for him. Maybe he’ll tip better," she said, carefully pulling the slack out of the lower half of my corset. I placed my hands over my belly, holding everything in place.

“What’s the crowd looking like?” I tucked the ties away. She jutted a hip out, and began counting off on her impeccably manicured fingers.

“The usual crowd. Old Man Carraway, that one divorcee who drinks like a fish. College kids. Oh, there’s also these dudes in silver masks. Low-key kind of demonic. And some weird guy in like, face paint? He’s painted up like a calavera. I figured they came from that concert that was in town. You know, the one that church was protesting? Say they like worship Satan or something?”

“Sounds about right." I bent down to attach my straps to the garters of my stockings.

“They’re probably here for a private room, so I figured I’d put you on now. You’re good at handling the weirdos." Cristella giggled, watching me struggle to get the backs of my stockings attached. She and I broke into fits of giggles, as she chased me in circles, trying to help me attach my stockings.

“Let me get that. Hurry up and get on stage!” she said, giving me a playful smack on the ass. I pranced out of the room, trying to avoid her grasping mitts.

“Hey! No bruising the merchandise!” I giggled, linking arms with her as we strutted backstage, perfectly in step with one another. She grabbed the microphone from Mike the Mic Guy, gave me a wink, and stepped through the curtain.

“Aaaaand we’re back! Now, this next lady I’ve got lined up for you is quite a treat. She’s as pale as cream, thicker than a bowl of oatmeal, and will definitely step on you. Well, she might if you tip well. For legal reasons, we can’t call her “Elvira,” so I guess we’ll settle for… MOTHER! MARY!” That was my cue. I sauntered through the curtain, my hips moving like a figure eight. I moved across the stage, “Lullaby” by the Cure playing. I always chose various genres of rock for my acts. Not that I have anything against the other girls’ music choices… but there’s only so much female rap you can play in one night. As I began to dance, I noticed the group that Cristella had mentioned earlier. They were sitting front and center, near the edge of the stage.

Seven of the masked figures sat around the Painted Man, as I had labeled him. Two of the masked figures seemed effeminate, and the other five seemed more masculine. They all ranged in different shapes and sizes. Maybe the masks are a fetish thing? Cristella did say that they came from a concert… Something about them seemed off. I did a swing around the pole, dropping into a fireman, trying to catch a scent. It was a whirlwind of scents, none of them too out of the ordinary. Except the beefy one. He smelled like midnight. I don’t know how to explain it. What really caught my interest though was the Painted Man. Specifically, his eyes. One of them was grey, the iris almost black. The other eye had a pale, white iris. It suited him, and it was beautiful, in an eerie way. Those eyes looked at me, as I danced around the stage, and they knew me. If I had a working heart still, it would be racing.

As Robert Smith crooned, I descended the stairs of the stage as sensually as one could in Pleaser heels, making my way to the Painted Man. If I wanted to know what these people were, I’d have to get a closer look. The Painted Man patted one of his legs with a gloved hand, and cocked his head to the side. I took the invitation, but not before I teased him. I crouched between his legs, running my hands up his thighs. As I rose, I walked my hands up his thighs, bringing my face closer to his. His breath graced my skin, smelling faintly of licorice. As he leaned in, for what I could only assume was a kiss, I rose again, strutting over to one of the masked beings. It was the smaller of the male ones. I sat in his lap, letting him run his hands over me as I began to grind on his lap. His growing erection told me I was going to have a busy night.

“Your boss is a little too eager," I whispered, getting a good whiff of him. He smelled faintly of smoke. I put my hands on his chest, trying to keep my balance. No heartbeat.

“What makes you think he’s my boss?” The being asked petulantly. He grabbed onto my waist, as he began to grind with me. I moved his hand to the small of my back, and leaned back in a dip. The being ran his other hand over my belly, in between my breasts, and up to my throat, bringing me back up to his masked face.

“You’re the one wearing a uniform." I darted my tongue out to lick my lips. What is he? My mind raced as I tried to run through every supernatural creature I’d ever known. But then I heard it. I barely even understood it. All I picked up was price and one night. It was Ghoulish. The taller female ghoul was asking about what I can only assume was my hourly rate. Most strip clubs in this part of Vegas were just fronts for brothels. However, it’s hard to sell the idea of prostitution to Mid-Western vanilla tourists. So most of my income was made from stripping. I usually had one or two clients I went to bed with a night. It wasn’t very stable, but then again, I had less expenses than the average stripper, considering my “condition."

“Tell your friend my basic hourly rate is $500. My Ghoulish isn’t any good." I stood up, and made my way to the female ghoul’s lap.

“How do you know Ghoulish?” she asked, a bit of surprise in her tone. I bent over in front of her, shaking my ass for her. She put a couple of bills in the waistband of my panties, punching my previous ghoul in the arm. He forked over some cash as well.

“I’m not human. I’ll leave it at that," I said, stuffing the cash into the top of my corset. Dear lord… All hundreds… The female ghoul rubbed my thighs, turning me back around slowly, so as to admire my ass.

“Could we get a room after your number? I think a private dance is in order," she said, in broken Ghoulish. I nodded, and as if on cue, the lights and music began to fade out. As I began to walk back up the stairs to the stage past the Painted Man, his hand darted forward to smack my ass. God, it really is not the night for this shit. My more animalistic nature took over, and before I could stop it, a hiss left my lips. As if of their own accord, my fangs sprung painfully through my gums. I heard a snap, and looked over to see the largest ghoul stand up. He shook his head. Thank god the lights were low. Embarrassed, I covered my mouth, and made my way across the stage.

“What the fuck was that all about?” Mike the Mic Guy asked, handing a mic to Cristella. I still had my hand over my mouth. Cristella looked worried.

“Are you okay Mary? I can get you some tea if you’re keyed up." I shook my head.

“Please get a room ready. The Freak Parade wants a private dance," I said as I walked away, silently cursing myself. Once back in the dressing room, I threw open the mini-fridge I normally kept padlocked. I looked to the last bottle I had left in my stash. Hopefully it hasn’t clotted, I thought, throwing the bottle back. This wouldn’t end my thirst, but it would certainly quell the burning in my throat. You nearly lost it. You need to bag one of these stupid fucks tonight, or else. I hadn’t had a bad case of blood lust in decades, but the combination of winter holidays, my strict schedule, and FOSTA-SESTA had really cut off my food supply.

The door opened, and Cristella came in with a cup of tea. She looked at the flask in her hand and cocked a brow.

“And you didn’t offer to share. What is that? Cuervo? Henny?” she said, reaching for the flask. I shook my head, and put it back in the fridge, closing the padlock.

“It’s cough syrup. I keep it under lock and key because of that bitch Ronnie. She’s not fooling anybody. You ever see how much her hands shake? Too much caffeine? Yeah, right. We all know what the DTs look like." I began changing into a burgundy velvet bra and panty set, pairing it with some burgundy gloves and stockings. Finally, I found a pair of sparkly Loboutins Lydia had left me. My mind rolled back through the streets of Paris to 1991, when Louboutin opened its first salon. Lydia smiled, as I kissed her shin, helping her into the heel. She looked down at me, her eyes full of love, and the corner of her mouth hiding a kiss just for me.

“Yeah, she is pretty suspish. What happened with those weirdos out there?” Cristella interrupted my memory. I shook my head. Are you just imagining your heartache?

“Oh the big guy was just mad because I didn’t get around to him. That’s why I wanted you to get the room. Plus, I might be able to secure a nice check from these guys. They all seemed absolutely randy," I said. Cristella shook her head, giggling. The gloss in my hand made a popping noise, as I pulled the wand from the bottle. It was my favorite flavor, watermelon.

“I can ask one of the boys to sit in, to keep them from getting too handsy," Cristella said. I shook my head. It would only keep me from getting too handsy, I thought to myself. Bless her heart. I could never make a kill here. I loved the crew here far too much. Plus, I didn’t have a coven. No one to protect me when I fucked up. They kicked me out long ago. It’s the main reason I ended up in Vegas, avoiding the sun when I could, doing my best to keep a legal and convenient profession. Where else could get a job with only night shifts, and a never-ending supply of useless assholes no one cared about?

“I’ll be okay Crissy. Even if they do try something, we have a panic button in there. Don’t worry." I gave her a slimy, glossy kiss on the cheek, earning a shriek from her strawberry mouth. She batted at me, narrowly missing me as I bounded out of the room.

As I approached the bigger of our three private rooms, I noticed two of the larger male ghouls standing outside the door. All of the ghouls dressed similarly, including the female ghouls. But I now noticed the alchemical symbols dangling from their belt chains. The shorter one had a quintessence symbol, the other larger one, an earth symbol. The earth one opened the door, and the quintessence one escorted me in.

“Thank you, Aether. Back to the door with you. Come, have a seat. Dewdrop says there is more to you than meets the eye. Let me pour you a glass of wine, cara," a thick, Italian accent beckoned to me. I walked to the ottoman in the middle of the room, where I usually found myself during private dances.

“I don’t drink during work hours, love. Now, what should I call you?” I looked into the mismatched eyes of the Painted Man.

“You can call me Papa. I’m Papa Emeritus, the fourth. My close friends call me Copia, but I suppose we are not quite there yet, sí?” he said, leaning forward to take my chin in his hand. I nodded.

“While I would love to marvel at your undoubtedly exquisite body, There is some business we should take care of first, piccolina. Do you like Type O Negative?” Cue the record scratching. The dreamy look I normally adopt when with my clients evaporated.

“Excuse me?” I whispered. Papa laughed.

“The band, cara. I was going to have you dance for me later. However, you must have a preference."

“I really don’t understand what you mean," I whispered. Papa laughed again, a big booming laugh.

“I know your secret cara. The ghouls told me. One of my predecessors, Papa Nihil, told me if I were to ever come across your kind, I should try to win your allegiance. Your kind have interesting abilities, specifically the power of influence." Of course that’s what he’s after.

“I don’t do that," I said, looking down to avoid his gaze. Papa tsked.

“I think you will. The ghouls say you smell lonely. Where is your famiglia?” He asked. I shook my head. Lydia’s pained screams echoed in my ears, our last moment together wrenching my heart out of my chest decades later.

“We split because of artistic differences," I said softly. Dewdrop and his companions giggled behind me.

“Forcing people to allow you to exsanguinate them for sport is not ‘artistic differences,’” Dewdrop hissed. The other ghouls laughed. Papa shook his head, and raised a hand to silence them.

“Now now, Dewdrop. It is hard to control one’s basic nature. Sí, tesoro? Tell me, how long has it been since your last drink?” He looked at me with concern. I couldn’t meet his eyes. I knew what he saw. Weak, pathetic, useless… The words were like a disgusting mantra, swirling through my mind, angry and acidic.

“Weeks… It’s been weeks," I whispered. He tsked again. I heard the ghouls chatter amongst themselves. Their pity made me feel disgusting, like a child with sweaty, clammy hands, and odorous armpits.

“What if I told you I could offer you a job and a home? A home where you wouldn’t have to hide your nature. A home where you’d never go hungry again?” I looked up at him.

“What kind of job?” I asked. The ghouls laughed again. Papa shot them a glare.

“I would make use of your gifts occasionally. Nobody would get hurt. You would warm my bed whenever I asked. Maybe pick up a trade or two once back with the Clergy. And in turn, you would get protection, and all the blood you could ever need," he said. I finally mustered the courage to look him in the eyes. What do you have to lose? Besides, you’ve done infinitely worse things.

“You swear on your life, nobody will get hurt? Not a single person?” I asked. Papa nodded.

“I’ll do it. I’ll also require a salary as well," I said, extending my hand. Papa nodded, taking my hand in both of his.

“Anything you need, cara. But first, I think you need a drink. And then we will get the night I paid for," he said. He waved his hand towards the door, which the shorter female ghoul scurried to open. I noticed she sported a pocket chain with an air symbol.

“Bring in one of the more rosy siblings, Cumulus. I suspect our new friend will need the sustenance before we get too far into our plans for the night," Cumulus nodded, and shut the door behind her. Papa stood up, and began removing his suit jacket and gloves; rolling up his sleeves. I could see his blue veins pulsating, causing me to become aroused in a way I cannot quite explain. Involuntarily, my pussy throbbed, and my mouth watered.

“Now now, little one. Be patient. Your drink will be here soon enough. But for now, you will seal our little deal with a kiss, so to speak. On your knees," Papa ordered, gesturing to the floor. I slipped from the ottoman to the floor, crawling on all fours to him. His breath hitched as I slid my hands up his thighs. I didn’t break eye contact as I unbuckled his trousers, nor when I reached into his pants to pull out his sizeable cock.

The door opened, and I heard mumbles, as well as a struggle, and a thud. Of course, both my hands and mouth were preoccupied. I watched Papa intently as I sucked him off. His eyes were rolled back, his mouth slack, and his hands threaded into his hair, as he let out an ungodly moan. I kitten licked his frenulum, stroking his shaft, earning another moan. He bucked his hips into my throat. Sit still, I whispered in the back of my mind. Papa grabbed my hair, and pulled me off his cock.

“Never again, my little bat. Continue," he said, grabbing either side of my face as he began to fuck my throat rigourously. Someone behind me cleared their throat. I wasn’t able to look up, due to my current predicament.

“Can’t you see I’m busy, Cirrus? What is it?” Papa let out a grunt, as his cock twitched in my mouth. I began to fellate him with my hands, wrenching more breathy sighs and groans from him. Within seconds, his warm seed was flooding my throat. I heard Dewdrop cheer, and then a slap, which I assumed was a high five. Papa rolled his eyes and smiled, as I dabbed away the bit of cum that had spilled over my bottom lip.

“Just in time. I needed something to wash down all that salt," I stood, and walked over to the person Cumulus and Cirrus stood in front of. It looked like a plumper woman. She was wearing what looked like a nun’s habit, her red ringlets spilling out from under her wimple.

“All for you cara. Come find me when you have finished your meal," Papa walked out, which left me with the ghouls and my prey. Dewdrop, and the other male ghoul, who sported a water symbol, helped the little nun onto the couch.

“You’re going to let me fuck that tight ass later, right? Nearly busted watching you and Copia earlier," Dewdrop said to me, softly enough for just me to hear. I giggled and nodded, batting him away after he began nibbling on my neck. He patted my ass, and began to pull the wimple from the nun’s head.

“I’ve got this. Why don’t you and the rest of the ghouls get started? I’ll be done pretty quickly." Dewdrop nodded.

“C’mon, Rainy. Come play with my cock, while we watch Mary drink," The water ghoul nodded, grabbing Dewdrop’s hand. I turned my attention back to the nun. She began to stir. I pushed back her hair.

“This is going to hurt a little bit. But I will make this quick and painless. You deserve an easy death." The nun, barely awake, nodded, and turned her head. I cradled her head, and brought her throat to my mouth. With a final kiss to her soft, peachy flesh, I sank my teeth into her throat, not letting a single drop of her blood go to waste.

It felt like drinking water after being stuck in a desert for a week. Her blood was sweet, clean, and thick, and it quenched my thirst quickly. Her body began to go limp in my arms, and her skin turned cold. It’s still not enough. I had to force myself to stop. Never drink the last drop. It might just be the last thing you do, my old mentor’s voice reminded me. I let the little nun drop back to the couch, and turned to face the ghouls. Cirrus sat with Cumulus, each with a hand in the other’s pants. Rain was bobbing his head up and down slowly, as Dewdrop played with his hair. Dewdrop looked up at me.

“Hot," he said. Cirrus nodded, and refocused her attention on Cumulus. Rain moaned, causing Dewdrop to hiss. I looked at them all, lust clouding my gaze.

“Make room. It’s my turn," I said. Dewdrop pulled my mouth to his, not fazed one bit by the blood coating my lips. Cirrus began to explore the space between my thighs with her long, gorgeous fingers. Rain held my hair, kissing and nipping at my neck. A girl really could get used to this...

Hours later, after all of the ghouls had had their turn, even the two from the door, I was back in the dressing room. I opened the envelope the earth ghoul, Mountain, had handed me on the way out. My eyes grew like saucers as I counted the money inside. I had only expected eight grand; two hours, eight clients, multiplied by $500. But as I counted, I realized I had 15 grand in my hands. The door opened, breaking my wealth-induced trance. It was Papa.

“If you would really like the job, come to this address in two weeks. Bring only what you must. Put everything else in storage," he said, handing me a card. I was confused.

“Why two weeks?” I asked. Papa smiled.

“Because it’s polite, cara. Don’t forget your letter of resignation."

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

This is the first thing I've wrote in years! I hope you all enjoy it! A special thanks to @gasolineghuleh for all of their help!

[sergeantsporks]

Do You Want the Knife You Left in My Back, or Can I Keep It?

Rating: Teen and up, Gen

An injured Hunter wanders into Hexside. What was Luz supposed to do, just let him bleed out on the floor?

Ch 5/6

Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4

Ao3

Luz turned the cursed knife over and over in her hands. Viney had given it to her, joking about how her teachers were getting a little bit worried about why she had it. It was so small, but it had caused so much damage and pain.

“Hey, Luz, what do you have?” Eda asked, peering over her shoulder.

Luz felt the tiniest of grins creep over her face. “A KNIFE!” she yelled.

“NO!” King yelled back from the other room.

Eda plucked the knife out of her hands. “No weapons for you until you stop corrupting King with your human realm culture.” She squinted at the knife, peering at the runes on the hilt. “Oh, that’s a nasty one. Is this…”

“The one Kikimora used,” Luz said softly, “Yeah. I’m… not sure exactly what to do with it.”

“Give it to the golden nerd,” Eda joked, “Let him stab Kikimora back.”

Luz snatched the knife back. “Yeeeeaah, I don’t think that’s the greatest idea, Eda. Do you mind if I keep it with the other weapons?”

“Knock yourself out, kid.”

Luz set the knife carefully on top of a cabinet. What a nightmare. Who was even in the business of making weapons like that? She heard a groan from the other room, and she darted out into the living room. Hunter was awake, and had apparently just discovered that he couldn’t move.

“Hey! You’re up! And not fever-ish! How are you feeling?”

He buried his face in the couch again. “Ow.”

“Yeah, Viney said you’d be really sore. But hey, you’re not dying anymore, and you’re finally pretty conscious. So…” Luz pulled him up, shaking him. “WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!”

“Ow. Ow. Owowowowow, Luz! I can’t—”

“Move, I know, which is why we’re having this conversation now! Before you can wriggle out of it! Why would you leave the house?! Were you trying to run away? Kikimora was out there! You were barely even conscious when I left! She almost killed you!”

“I know. I knew she was out there, I knew she was setting up a trap, I just…”

“You just WHAT?! What could she have POSSIBLY said or done that made you stumble out of here, half-dead?!”

Hunter’s ears burned red, and he mumbled something she couldn’t quite hear.

“What?”

“She said she’d kill you,” he said louder, “She said she’d kill you, and I staggered out of here like a great big idiot in shining armor. I don’t know why I bothered.”

Luz’s mouth opened and shut a few times as she struggled to find words. She let Hunter’s shirt-front go, and he sank back onto the couch, wincing. “Oh,” she said finally, “Were you… going to trade yourself for me?”

He snorted. “Fat chance.”

“Hey!”

“What?! Trade my freedom for your life?! That’s the dumbest trap in the book, she’d just kill both of us! Who would fall for that?”

Luz felt her own face flush. “It’s not THAT stupid! Sometimes you don’t have much of a choice!” She flopped down to the floor. “What exactly was the plan, then?

“Easy,” he said simply, “I was going to rescue you.”

It was Luz’s turn to snort. “Wow, I never could have predicted that going wrong.”

His ears turned red again. “Hey! I can take Kikimora—I’ve done it before!”

“Yeah, when she was punch-drunk on sleeping nettles and you had a staff! Not when you were half-dead from being stabbed and feverish!”

“If you must know,” he sniffed, “I was planning on sneaking past her, not confronting her directly!”

“Awwww, well, I’m very flattered. Even if I was never actually captured. Thank you very much.”

He looked away. “Whatever. I just figured I probably should help. Since you saved my life and everything.”

Luz kicked the couch. “Admit it. You were worried about me.”

“No, I wasn’t. I was worried you’d annoy Kikimora to death.”

“You weeeeereeeee. You were totally worried. We’re friends now.”

“You’re not my friend. Shut up.”

“I am. I am worming my way into your heart.”

“Yeah, a bile leech can do that, too, you’re not special.”

“A what?! Ewwww, never mind, don’t tell me.” Luz kicked the couch again. “Whatever. Keep being a grump, I’m not giving up on you.”

Xxx

Hunter watched Luz race up the stairs. His palisman fluttered down onto his shoulder, chirruping reassuringly.

“Don’t you start,” Hunter grumbled, “I can’t be friends with her! She’s the enemy!”

Another low chirp.

“Yeah, I KNOW technically you’re the enemy, too, but you’re an EXCEPTION to wild magic being dangerous. She’s like. Public enemy number one.”

“Wild magic isn’t dangerous,” Eda commented as she came through. She stopped, looking down at him. “I… heard what you said. About wanting to save Luz. Kid, why didn’t you come to me? You could have died out there! You nearly did!”

Hunter felt his ears start to burn again. “You wouldn’t get it.”

“Oh, wouldn’t I? I had a sister in the coven, and I saw how she turned out, so let me take a guess; you thought it was something you had to do on your own. You thought that if you accepted help, that made you weak. You thought that you’d made a horrible mess of everything, and you were scared that if you didn’t clean it up before the person in charge—me—found out, you’d be in trouble. Am I close?”

“No. I’m not scared of you.”

“Why you little—” Eda took a deep breath. “Shut up and listen, I’m trying to talk you through your trauma.”

“I don’t have any trauma.”

Eda found that incredibly hilarious for some reason, nearly bent double from laughing. “Oh… yeah, okay, kid. Sure. Alright, you’re not scared of me.” She looked him dead in the eye. “But are you scared of Belos?”

“No,” Hunter said automatically, “I’m loyal to Belos—there’s no reason to be scared of him.” Titan, he hated how his voice wavered. He wasn’t scared of Uncle Belos—he wasn’t. He just… didn’t want to disappoint him. As long as he did what he was asked, everything was fine.

Eda sighed, sitting down next to him and looking up at the ceiling. “Yeah, that’s what I thought you’d say. Look. Kid. If. You ever feel like you’re not safe in the keep. Or. I don’t know. You just finally figure out that Belos is not a good guy. If you don’t want to stay there anymore. I—guess—hrk—okay—Hngh—I guuuuuuess I wouldn’t mind. Too much. If you… came here?”

“What?!” Hunter yelped

Eda jumped up. “What?! I didn’t say anything, did you say something? Whatever, bye!” She summoned her staff and flew out the door before he could respond.

The palisman still nestling on his head warbled at him reproachfully.

“What? I can’t stay here! And I’m not going to leave the palace! So it doesn’t matter if she’d let me stay here or not!” He tried to get up, but his muscles were too stiff, and he gave up, instead flopping backwards onto the couch cushions, his palisman forced to flutter off of his shoulder and land on his head instead. “Ow. I just… want to go back home. Where it’s not confusing. Where I know what people want me to do—where I know how they want me to act.”

Still.

It was nice that she’d offered.

Xxx

“Ow!”

Luz dabbed at the stitched-up cut with the disinfectant Viney had left behind. “Quit being such a baby! You want to get another raging fever?”

“It would probably hurt less!”

“Scream into the pillows,” Hooty advised, sticking his face right in Hunter’s, “It’ll help!”

Hunter let out a strangled yelp.

“Hooooty!” Luz protested.

Hooty flopped down in front of the couch. “Lulu was in the emperor’s coven, and we’re the beeeeeeest of friends. I think the emperor’s coven is actually full of people who just want friends!”

“Hunter,” Luz said, wrinkling her nose at him, “Doesn’t want to be friends.”

“He can be my friend!”

Hunter screamed into the couch cushions.

Luz poked him in the ribs. “Hey, that was just rude.”

“If I could move, I’d tie your bird-worm into a bow,” he growled.

“But you caaaaaaan’t,” Hooty sing-songed.

Luz pushed at Hooty’s face. “Alright, alright, get out of here, give him some space.” She finished cleaning the stab wound and taped a fresh bandage to it. Hunter didn’t react, not even to complain about the sting, and she knelt down next to him, nudging his shoulder. “Hey. You okay?”

“Everything is so… complicated here.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I don’t know what anyone wants me to do!”

“Hunter, we don’t want you to do anything. I didn’t bring you here because I want something from you, I brought you here because it was the right thing to do.”

He groaned. “You don’t get it, of course you want something from me, everyone wants something from everyone, but I can’t figure out what it is you want me to do here! You keep saying I don’t have to do anything, and that this isn’t business, but—”

“Hunter. Hunter. Look at me. Look at my face.”

He turned his head with a wince, and she helped him sit up, squishing his cheeks between her hands and forcing him to look her in the eye. “I don’t want anything from you. Not one single thing. Neither does Eda, neither does Hooty. Got it?”

“But—”

Luz squished his face harder, cutting off his words. “No buts! Nothing! No ulterior motives! We are not Belos, we are not Kikimora. You don’t have to give us anything. I want to be your friend, Hunter, a real friend. Gus and Willow and Amity drop everything to help me, and they never expect me to do anything back. I’d do the same for them. And I’m trying to do the same for you.” She let go of his face. “Okay?”

He bit his lip, looking just about the most lost she’d ever seen him. “Mmmmmmmmmm…”

Luz sighed. “Right. Can’t change an entire life philosophy in a day, I guess. Okay, uhhhh...” she spotted King eyeing Hunter with narrowed eyes that she knew meant he was about to pounce. “…King wants to use your lap as a nap spot. You can’t really move around anyway, so…?”

Hunter almost immediately brightened. “I can do that.”

King almost immediately catapulted onto Hunter’s lap, curling up. “Ha. You tried to lock me in a cage. Now I am the ruler! I hold the power, here, and you are in a cage of my making!”

Hunter glanced down at demon in his lap. “He… doesn’t have worms, does he?”

“Hey! King is worm-free, thanks very much!” Luz leaned in closer. “But between you and me, you might want to watch out for fleas,” she murmured.

“That—that was a joke, right?”

Luz straightened up, running for the door. “Okay, have fun, you two, I’m off to school!”

“Luz! Tell me it was a joke!”

Ch 6

[anika-ann]

A Cup of Truth (S.R)

Type: One-shot, a bit of coffee shop AU

Pairing: Steve Rogers x fem!reader    Word Count: 3000

Summary: Your favourite pretty blond comes in every day to get a cup of good ol’ joe. You flirt on occasion; mostly you, because your suit of armour – which people boringly call an apron – and his smiles give you confidence.

When the band of dumb goons picks your damn workplace to attack, your confidence flies out of the window. Well. Good thing that the resident Avenger heroes save the day including the one in his all-American star-spangled glory.

Prompt: “You can’t mask that ass. I’d know it anywhere.” (Bold in the text)

Warnings: hostage situation, violence, non-consensual drug use/injected, hospitals, slightly crack-ish humour (?) and some fluff

A/N: For marvelcapsicle’s challenge. Thank you for letting me participate, darling, may you gain more and more sweet followers in the future ♥

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Here’s a thing: Steve Rogers had a lot of fight in him. Before or after injected with the serum, no matter his shirt size, no matter if he could swing his fists effectively or not, he would punch bullies in their face.

When it came to people close to his heart, that rule amplified tenfold. No one touched the people he cared for. And while he would not necessarily call all of them friends, he would go rabid should any harm come their way.

To be fair, the list of ‘his people’ who were still alive wasn’t long; he could almost count them on the fingers of one hand. Tony. Natasha. Clint. Thor. Bruce. Probably Fury. Really, his circle was a bit monotonous, people who could protect themselves just fine at most times, but simultaneously with high-risk job of being the first defence line for the world’s greatest threats.

And then there was you.

You, with your inviting smile whenever he appeared at your counter at the café he had discovered during his endless walks.

You, handing him a drink different to his usual ‘boring’ cup of joe once a week, because that was the deal you had offered and Steve, caught in his curiosity about today’s world and your adorable challenging expression, agreed.

You, with your pretty eyes, irises twinkling at his attempts at flirting, no matter how awkward and out-of-time they sounded, graciously returning the favour… if he was reading the situation right.

You, always grinning wide when discovering a doodle he had left on his napkin, taking it with you back to the counter.

You, blissfully unaware of his double life, genuine in your demeanour, dealing with plain old Steve Rogers, and perfectly safe; at least as safe as one could be on Manhattan.

You in a headlock, as five rogue SHIELD agents decided to crash into the café you worked at of all the damn places, choosing it with deadly precision and nearly driving the poor Captain America into a cardiac arrest.

Not that you had any idea your life mattered to the proclaimed Star-Spangled Man more than anyone else’s. You were the exception to the rule; you were the precious outsider Steve caught feelings for, the one that was not supposed to learn about his other persona for at least a while longer and sure as hell was not supposed to get herself in a mess like this one.

Steve stood frozen as Natasha had two men at gunpoint, Clint fighting another, the last one having been already knocked down by Steve himself. The only injured people were the few customers, scarce at the hour, and the employees; some bruises and insignificant bleeding wounds between all of them.

The worst problem still remained; Perez had his arm around your neck, visibly squeezing your windpipe at least partly if the colour of your face – one stained in tears and Steve could kill at the moment, kill with no remorse – was anything to go by.

He gripped his shield tighter, staring the man down with his jaw clenched and his heart beating its way out of his chest, the syringe at your carotid scaring him more than the reduced airflow to your lungs.

“It’s over, Perez! Let her- let the woman go,” Steve howled, knees slightly bend in posture allowing him to spring forward at any second, to throw his weapon, to punch the living daylight of the bastard that not only betrayed SHIELD, but put his hands on you.

Big, big mistake. He really shouldn’t have done that.

“I like her exactly where she is, Cap,” Perez snarled, a wicked smile on his bloody lips, only his eyes giving away a fraction of his fear. “Move and she gets a ticket straight to hell.”

Perez was outnumbered and he knew it; even if he managed to escape, they would find him easily with Tony Stark’s system of surveillance. Yet, he tightened his grip and with you involuntarily acting like a human shield for him, he started backing away, gaze flickering between the three present Avengers.

Natasha’s right arm twitched as if she wanted to shoot him on spot – but she didn’t want to risk leaving the other two without the threat of immediate death for even a second.

And then several things happened at once; Clint knocked his opponent down with the construction of his bow; Perez who saw it lost his nerve and swiftly slammed the needle into your neck, piercing your skin easily, as easily as Steve’s panicked shout ripped from his throat.

The next second, an arrow was sticking from Perez’ shoulder as he jerked back with a cry of pain and Clint put another arrow through his hand, adding one to his thigh for a good measure. Two gunshots sounded in the background, Natasha’s aim as unmistakable as ever.

Perez fell to the ground with a scream, not even reaching for the gun in his holster before Steve was there to knock him out with a brutal hit straight to his face with his vibranium shield. The crack sounding at the impact was like music to Steve’s ears, the blood spurting from Perez’ nose a pleasant visual.

Yet, it didn’t feel half as satisfactory as Steve hoped as you had stumbled and toppled over your own feet. He barely managed to slow down your fall, gloved palm shooting up under the spot between your shoulder blades, his other hand holding your shoulder. He supported your enfeebled weight as you practically lied over the unconscious man.

Steve didn’t bother paying attention to his surroundings, knowing that the noise around him was Romanoff and Barton apprehending the remaining thugs. Instead, his gaze scanned you head to toe, focusing on your face and neck when he couldn’t find any other injury.

You were pale, eyes misted, unfocused, skin worryingly cold to his touch.

“Hey-- hey! Can you hear me?” Steve demanded urgently, lightly patting your cheek.

At that, your pupils zeroed on him, wide with disbelief, and to his immense shock, a lazy smile spread on your lips.

“Steve?” you breathed out his name and blood crystalized in his veins, his heart, already panicking, speeding up. How did you know his name? Perhaps the drug, the whatever liquid in the syringe was taking effect and you were turning delirious? Shit, they needed a doctor-- “You’re the pretty blond. Steve. My flirty Steve… my hero. Everyone’s hero.”

Steve’s horror escalated with each word. Good news: you were still breathing and apparently quite lucid, even if your speech was more of a mumble. Bad news: his secret identity just blew up.

Luckily, he considered the good news much more important; and lucid he would like to keep you, so he shot Natasha and Clint a meaningful glare, wordlessly asking them to call help. He wasn’t sure whether it registered because both of the spies were staring at him wide-eyed as the woman in his arms just outed him like the café’s regular… one that flirted with her, no less.

Steve cleared his throat, focusing on his mission – to keep you talking. There was no much point in denying it, was it?

“Eh... yeah, it’s me. How-how did you know? I wear a mask-“

“Muscly… real muscly… and that ass,” you muttered and Steve nearly choked on his spit, certain that he just turned red all over, including the area you pointed out.

Wait, did that mean that you had been checking him out?

So not important right now.

“Oh, uhm- how are you feeling? We have to-“

“You can’t mask that ass. I’d know it anywhere,” you continued babbling as if you hadn’t heard him and Steve gulped, feeling his teammates, who still hadn’t called a doctor, what the actual hell- watching you with interest. ”…could bounce a penny off it… no, that ain’t right, a quarter off of it, that’s it… Dream of it sometimes… biting-“

Clint coughed loudly to cover his laughter, finally springing into action after that uncomfortable remark that gave Steve quite a visual he wasn’t sure how he felt about just yet.

“Alright, as amusing as this is, we should get her some medical attention…”

Steve only took his eyes off of you for a moment, shooting Barton a look that screamed ‘You think?!’

“I want to touch it… please lemme touch it—just once,” you pleaded quietly, swaying even in your practically horizontal position, straining your neck to catch a glimpse of the object of your interest. “The best I’ve even seen-“

“I think it’s ethanol she got injected with…” Natasha announced, sniffing the syringe with disgust in her voice. “High concentration.”

And Steve felt like he just got hit by Thor’s hammer… in his head. Seriously?

“…alcohol?” he asked, dumbstruck and utterly relieved, the heavy weight in his stomach lifting a bit. “You think she’s merely… drunk?”

“Well, alcohol straight to the bloodstream is seriously nasty on its own, S-“

“Alcohol nasty, yesss. And this really hurts,” your voice interrupted Natasha and Steve’s heart clenched uncomfortably when the surprised grimace appeared on your face, your eyes indeed clouding in pain, looking up at him, doe-eyed, so vulnerable and trusting.

“Hey, no sad Steeb! Your eyes pretty too. Little pictures you draw… so suuuper cute. I like your hair. You came in the day, wind blew, so messy-- like bed hair, wanna try top that-- I betcha I can do better-“

“Sounds drunk enough to you?” Natasha hummed casually and Steve didn’t even have to look at her to know she was smirking, while he was both fretting over your state and blushing to the roots of his hair because of your blunt compliments and unfiltered fantasies.

You turned your head slowly to Nat as she spoke, a crooked grin curling up your lips. “Hey, you’re pretty too-“

Much to Steve’s annoyance, the Russian spy had the audacity to chuckle and wink at you.

“Why thank you-“

“But prefer blonds,” you babbled again, lowering your voice conspiratorially. “He’s real nice. His biceps are like… huge. Bigger than my head-- ow, my head… spi-spinning- I think-? Whoa— oh… “

Steve called out your name in panic as you went limp in his arms, your body pliant, folding like a house of cards.

“I like her,” Clint noted as he jogged to Steve’s side, kneeling to take your pulse on the unharmed carotid with a furrow to his brows. “The medics are on their way, she’ll hold on until then.”

Steve sighed in relief when Clint nodded in affirmation again, feeling your heart still beating.

Steve’s grip on your tightened, hand sliding behind your head to cradle it gently rather than letting it dangle in such unnatural angle. He manoeuvred it so your cheek rested against his chest, his newly free hand sneaking under your knees so he could lift you with ease as he stood up.

“Nice, Rogers. Keep going like this, squads with weights, and you’ll keep that exceptional ass of yours in shape,” Natasha teased him, but when he turned to glare at her, she gave him a soft smile and beckoned towards your nearly motionless body. “She’ll be okay. Let’s go get her some help.”

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Your head was pounding. The right side of your neck was itchy as hell and felt extremely stiff. The beeping sounding in your ears was a thing from nightmares, echoing in your aching skull.

You felt like shit and honestly, you could cry when you tried to open your eyes and the sharp light hit them, making you swiftly close them again.

A realization slowly crept at you that there was a presence of an intrusive smell too, making you want to puke— or was that just the brutal hangover? Because you felt unbelievably hungover on top of everything. The world seemed to be spinning even behind your closed eyelids and you couldn’t but groan, deciding to only curse the universe mentally since your throat resembled a Sahara Desert.

“Oh, hey gorgeous,” a female voice greeted you from your left and you snapped your eyes open with a startle, staring with shock at the beautiful redhead sitting by your bedside.

For few long seconds, you wondered if you died and went to heaven, because there was a non-descript angelic-like creature watching over you.  You quickly brushed that thought aside, because there was no way Heaven looked like a hospital room and provided you with such shitty sensations attacking your poor body.

So you asked the only logical question, ignoring the dryness of your mouth which soon cause you to cough.

“…who are you?”

A plastic cup with a heavenly cold liquid landed in front of you, the straw sticking from it directed to your lips as the stunning woman frowned discontentedly.

“Oh, you don’t remember?” she asked, seemingly hurt. “My heart is breaking! You told me I was pretty.”

You blinked slowly, finally adjusting to the light, finally able to talk without pain (that much pain, that was) and your head started pounding some more, embarrassment filling every fibre of your being.

What the- oh god, you had really got drunk, hadn’t you, and now you had a total blackout on what you had been up to in your questionable state.

“Eeeer… I did? I mean, you are… but-“

“But you prefer blonds, yeah, I know,” the mysterious woman finished your sentence to her liking and your eyes went wide. How did she- and who was she again, sitting in your hospital room like that? Had you really got so smashed that you didn’t remember her when you should have? When had you met? Shit, your mind was so foggy… “And you think Steve’s a bit prettier. And his ass is the best you’ve ever seen, so I get it…”

“The hell?!” you squealed in utter horror, sitting up straight as the words registered, a flash of blue, red and white flickering in the back of your mind, followed by a sharp stung in your temples. A nauseatingly strong pain resembling an intense cramp – only like ten times worse – shot up your neck as you moved so quickly, ripping a startled yelp from your throat.

A hazy image of the café you worked at blended into a picture Steve’s beautiful eyes – did this woman know your regular, your handsome flirty blond regular? –, sensation of gentle hands cradling your jaw, a sting in your neck—

“You need to be careful with how much you move. Your neck took quite a hit, they had to perform a surgery on you, you got a transfusion. They worried about your brain too. They’ve been monitoring you for four days now and this is the first time you’re awake,” your stranger explained patiently, voice full of compassion.

Your hand involuntarily rose to massage the incriminated place, still unsure of what the woman was talking about, the images in your brain confusing the hell out of you. You still had no idea who she was, but her face was starting to feel a bit familiar – you assumed that whatever had happened, she had been there too, possibly helping you.

And there was something in her green eyes, cautious yet somewhat calming, making it easy to trust her for some inexplicable reason.

“Steve’s gonna be pissed at me for missing it,” she added and grinned. “I made him leave to take care of himself before he could actually start taking roots in here. He’s been worried too. A lot.”

The amount of question marks in your head just doubled, but at the same time, your heart fluttered. Steve had visited you? Often, apparently? That was really, really sweet of him. The thought of him guarding you – and didn’t he have a physique of a bodyguard, once mentioning he was in private security when asked –, brought a dreamy smile to your face.

Perhaps it wasn’t only about flirting for him either…?

“Keep looking so lovestruck and I might forgive him that he hasn’t mention you before. Though I guess I can’t blame him, wanting to keep— anyway. I’m Natasha. Nice to meet you,” she extended her hand towards you at last and you automatically accepted it, telling her your name in return.

Even though that was probably beside the point seeing as she had been found at your bedside in a hospital.

“Hi, Natasha. Nice to meet you too… I think.”

The redhead burst out into a quiet laughter at your hesitance. “Fair enough. After Steve comes back and explains what exactly happened – because it’s not quite my place to tell you –, call me back for the good details. It’s fun to make him blush.”

Despite just only having met this woman, you decided that you kinda liked her and nodded in acceptance of her offer. Steve might be sweet – perhaps even sweet on you it seemed – but some harmless teasing could never hurt. Not when it apparently had something to do with his glorious ass.

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Here’s a thing: Steve Rogers had a lot of fight in him. Before injected with the serum or after, no matter his shirt size, no matter if he could swing his fists effectively or not, he would fight for what mattered.

His teammates and friends certainly fell into the category. The somewhat relationship he had been trying to build with you was right there with them, definitely worth fighting for.

So, after revealing his identity – an action which become inevitable at that point, really – he had a delicate confession to make and a bold question to ask in an almost shy voice. He still asked it, because he would be damned if he gave up on you.

You said yes, your confession about certain harboured feelings matching his.

You said yes, you would like to go out with him very much, because you liked him too.

And no, it wasn’t just because he owned the best backside you had ever seen. Steve Rogers was, according to you, quite memorable and worth fighting for in general too.

(Steve, over time, might have developed a bit of a love-hate relationship with the fact you were getting along with Natasha so well. It was good news and bad news at the same time, seeing as it often resulted in the two of you teaming up against him. Once again, the good news won him over… because he simply loved how easily you fit into his world and how surprisingly well he fit into yours.)

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S.R. masterlist

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Thank you for reading :-*

It’s once a again a bit different from my usual writing; it’s short (like wtf me? short?) and it’s with a quote that is hard to do justice to... so I hope you liked it at leats a bit. Feedback always appreciated :-*

[zackcollins]

i do (cherish you) || nolan patrick

masterlist

Author’s Note: Surprise, bitches! I’m back with another Player/Reader fic! It’s been a hot minute since I’ve had the inspiration to write one, so I’m really happy that I’ve finally been able to write one. Sorry for being gone for so long in terms of my writing. I still have one request that I need to get to, and, to the person that sent it, I’ll start working on that soon, I promise!! I’m just trying to find the right way to go about writing it. I have all the time in the world to think about it now because my province went back into complete lockdown as of this morning. So, uh... yeah. Expect another fic within maybe a week. GIF credit to intermissionpenguins!!

Warnings: I don’t even know if this is considered warnable but: the reader uses an insulin pump. So... yeah. I’ll just tell you about that just to be safe. There’s also a few brief mentions of alcohol. So, if you need to avoid that, feel free to just skip over the mention of it because it isn’t important at all, if I’m honest.

Word Count: 1.5k+

Title: I Do (Cherish You): Mark Wills

Additional: The reader is masculine this time!! He is described as having a beard and being a hockey player on the Flyers, so I hope that’s okay with you guys!! I made the reader masculine this time because someone sent me an ask this morning and told me they appreciated that I wrote masculine imagines and asked me if I would consider writing more. So, uh. Whoever you are, this is technically for you. I hope you and everyone else enjoy!

Stretching your arms above your head, you grunted when you felt your shoulder joints pop back into place. Nolan looked over from where he was sitting, smirking around his beer bottle as he took a drink.

"Woulda figured you'd be more accustomed to sitting in the same spot for a while," Nolan said, taking the opportunity to dig at the fact that you were a fourth-line player on the team.

You flipped Nolan off before drinking the last of your beer. You rubbed some sweat and condensation off your beard before you untucked your shirt and brought your hands down to your stomach.

"Fuck off, man," you mumbled half-heartedly, more focused on punching the correct numbers into your insulin pump.

"You kn--"

Nolan started speaking but anything he wanted to say was cut off by a succession of beeps coming from your stomach. Nolan quickly polished off his beer before standing from his chair and grabbing your empty beer bottle.

"Guess that means we need to go back." Nolan motioned his head down the dock in the direction of his cottage. "The refills are inside."

You frowned, standing from your chair and tucking your shirt back into your shorts in the process.

"We don't have to. I can just run inside, put one of them in, and come right back out."

Grabbing his phone, Nolan looked at the screen. He hummed before looking back at you as he slid the phone into his back pocket.

"True. But I'm hungry and it's close enough to dinner time."

Sighing, you scratched at your beard with one of your hands before holding them both up in surrender.

"Alright, alright. We can go to have dinner. I think there's still some fish left from what we caught yesterday."

Humming in appreciation, Nolan started making his way down the dock. You rolled your eyes, smirking and shaking your head before you followed after him.

About halfway up the walkway to the cottage, you saw that Nolan had stopped and was holding his hands up defensively. You approached carefully, placing a hand on Nolan's shoulder. Nolan jumped what you could've sworn was thirty-five feet out of his skin before he glared at you.

"Careful," Nolan hissed, slightly motioning his head in the direction of the cottage's outdoor garbage bin.

When you followed the motion, you froze and felt panic blooming throughout your body. A bear was rummaging around in the garbage. A rather substantially sized bear.

"Why is Chara in our garbage," you mumbled, grabbing Nolan's hand for comfort.

Nolan made no comment on the fact that you had grabbed onto his hand but he did glare at you, cracking a small smile. 

"Now isn't the time for jokes, idiot." However, he bumped shoulders with you to show that he appreciated it. "And, to answer your question, they're probably hungry."

You swallowed around a thick lump that had formed in your throat and, against your better judgement, dropped your head against Nolan’s shoulder. Nolan sighed and placed a soft kiss on the top of your head. You swallowed around another thick lump, this one having nothing to do with the bear, as you breathed heavily out of your nose.

“That’s all well and good,” you said, pausing to swallow again, “they deserve to eat and all that. But I need more insulin if you want me to be functional.”

"Do you want me to…?" Nolan trailed off but you understood what he was trying to say.

You looked up at Nolan, furrowing your eyebrows and face twisting into a scowl.

"I'd rather you didn't," you said, plainly. "If you get mauled, what am I gonna do if I need help later?"

Nolan huffed, knocking shoulders with you again.

"I'm your best friend, (Y/N). Not your caregiver. While I would still gladly help if you asked because I care about you, you don't give yourself enough credit." 

You felt yourself short-circuit because Nolan had just said he cared about you. The rational part of your brain knew that he meant it in a friendly way. But the part of your brain that was winning this argument, the part you were listening to, was telling you that he meant it in a romantic way, the way you had wanted for what felt like an eternity.

"If your on-ice antics say anything, you know how to take care of yourself just fine."

Nolan continuing to speak drew you out of your fantasyland, forcing you to formulate an articulate sentence that didn’t involve you spilling your feelings for your best friend to said best friend.

"Defending my honour and staying alive are two very different things, sweetheart," you said.

As soon as the words were out of your mouth, you realized what you had said. Your entire face felt hot, your beard suddenly feeling itchy from the newfound heat, and you felt embarrassed beyond belief. Not wanting to look at Nolan, you dropped your head against his chest to hide from his gaze.

"Yes, true. But you've managed to stay alive this long, haven't you?"

There was a long pause, the only noise coming from the bear that was still rummaging around in the garbage. You were worried that Nolan would think that you were starting to get sleepy from lack of insulin (which was actually true if he were to ask), so you mumbled softly against his chest, hoping he would hear you.

“Yeah…” Your voice sounding somewhat defeated. “I love you, sweetheart. Thank you for caring about me.”

Nolan lifted your head up and pressed a kiss to your forehead. Relief washed over you as you smiled, feeling tears in your eyes. After carefully placing the beer bottles on the ground, Nolan wrapped you in a hug. You sighed and got comfortable in Nolan’s embrace, figuring you’d be there for a while. 

You weren’t sure how long had passed when Nolan started carding his fingers through your hair and then your beard, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead before pulling you back from his embrace. You blinked owlishly at Nolan, feeling somewhat bleary from the lack of insulin. Nolan squeezed your cheeks, tapping them a couple of times. You grunted, swatting at his shoulder with a playful smile on your face.

“Just wanted to make sure you were still with me,” Nolan said. You thought you detected some uncharacteristic concern in his voice but you were too out of it to process if that was true or not.

Nolan motioned his head toward the garbage bin. Your eyes slowly drifted over there, lighting up when you saw that the bear was gone..

“Yay! Chara is gone,” you said, voice somewhat quieter than normal. 

You yawned harshly, feeling your head start to swim. Looking up at Nolan, you patted him on the cheek.

"Let’s get inside before I pass out.”

Nodding, Nolan held your hand as you walked into the cottage. He sat you onto the couch and rushed into your bedroom to grab you a refill for your insulin pump. When he returned, he handed you the refill and sat down beside you.

It took a few tries to figure out because your hands were clumsy from being so tired but you managed to place the refill into the pump without any help from Nolan. Nolan ruffled your hair, placing a soft kiss on your cheek as you punched in the correct numbers to get the rest of the insulin you needed from earlier. It took a few minutes but you started to feel better, feel more awake. You flexed your hands, pleased that they didn’t feel like gelatin anymore. You blinked a few times, getting your eyes readjusted to being at full strength.

When you looked at Nolan, he looked up at you with a nervous smile. Instead of speaking, he moved closer to you and grabbed your hand, interlacing your fingers and placing your hands on his knee. You glanced down at his knee and then up at him, seeing the tentative look in his eye. You nodded because you were fairly certain you knew what he wanted. Your theory was proven right when Nolan leaned forward and connected your lips, cupping your jaw with his free hand. Smiling into the kiss, you brought your free hand up and grabbed the collar of Nolan’s shirt, tugging him in closer. Nolan grunted, mouth falling open as he continued to kiss you. You took that opportunity to experimentally slide your tongue into Nolan’s mouth. Nolan groaned, pulling back from the kiss. You swallowed thickly when you saw the beard burn your kiss had left behind. 

Nolan twisted on the couch, dropping his head against your shoulder. You slung your arm around his back, pulling him in as close as you could. Nolan hummed, bringing his arm around your shoulders.

“About what you said earlier…” Nolan looked up at you, eyes unreadable.

“Look, I…” You squeezed your eyes shut, hoping that the couch would swallow you whole. “I was starting to go loopy from lack of insulin. It doesn’t mean anything. It never does when I get like that.”

Nolan looked up at you with a sideways glance, furrowing his eyebrows. 

“You and I both know that that’s bullshit. You say some of the most truthful shit on the rare chance that you get like that.”

Slouching your shoulders, you sighed.

“Yeah, yeah. I know. Worth a shot, I guess.”

“There’s no need to get down on yourself or feel bad,” Nolan said, looking at you softly. “I love you too, sweetheart.”

[shachihata]

rating bsd characters on whether i could beat them in hand-to-hand combat

atsushi: probably not. i think i could take him if he didn’t shift but like. The man is literally a weretiger if he was using his ability i’d be gone. What else do i have to say

ranpo: i think so but just because he'd lose interest really quickly like if i put something sweet in the general vicinity of our fight he'd go for it immediately and i could just tackle him and go from there

kunikida: i think the sheer force of his belief in his ideals would knock me the fuck over even if he didn't have his little poetry diary. i think i could get like a hit or two in on him though. it'd be a fair loss

dazai: deceptively strong. also like, a former mafia member. i think the only way i'd win is if he was letting me win but also i'd place pretty good bets on him letting me win

kenji: r u srs

tanizaki: i could if he wasn't using his abilities but i wouldn't because naomi exists

naomi: see above. tanizaki would beat my ass if i touched her

kyouka: i care about her too much to try to beat her up but also she's a trained assassin and she'd win without breaking a sweat

yosano: i think i have less chance of beating her than kunikida just because unlike kunikida i don't think she'd hold back. yosano would for real like kill me and i'd let her because how dare my hubris actually let me think i have a chance of beating yosano

fukuzawa: he's old but on god have you watched that man fight? i would be on the ground. Amen to this gilf

katai: the man is literally a shut-in redditor. say no more

mori: i would just because i hate him so bad. i think elise would be on my side as well. literally sheer force of will would carry me through this fight

chuuya: on god bro chuuya could do it single-handed and blindfolded i respect chuuya too much to even challenge him. Not a fight i'm willing to take

kouyou: like chuuya, i Do respect this milf, but not enough not to challenge her. i think i could beat her but only if i took her by surprise like if we were in a fair match i think she'd win but i'd put up a good fight

ace: god this guy is fr a stickbug like hello? he is so fucking bougie i would snap him in half without his stupid little gem collars he has Nothing

karma: yeah this is just a normal guy and a normal fight i’d give us equal chances at success

akutagawa: this is contingent on whether i beat dazai earlier or not. if dazai had let me win akutagawa would be too catatonic to even enter the ring. if dazai had beat me akutagawa would also put me in the grave just to prove a point

higuchi: yeah i think so. this would be a fair fight for sure higuchi doesn't seem like the type to bend the rules. if she saw akutagawa on the floor she might try harder to defend his honor but i think it'd still be at least a good 50/50

hirotsu: like fukuzawa, this is a deceptively strong old man. like he leads the black lizards. i don't have a chance

gin: would give me a fighting chance out of mutual respect but i wouldn't beat her. she's too capable for that

tachihara: hmm this one's tough. maybe? like he's a trained hunting dog but also he's holding a LOT back yknow. i think i could win if i played dirty and started waxing philosophical about "who's your real family" before tackling him

kaiji: ok you saw him in the fight with yosano, without his bombs he is Nothing. also though he looks like he would literally launch himself at me like a feral animal. i'd give myself like a 60% chance on this one

yumeno: This Is A Child. not to mention that their ability is scary as fuck. yumeno would be the one challenging Me to the fight and i would let them win without asking any questions

sakunosuke: i wouldn't fight this dilf literally on moral grounds. he would tell me to step up and i would just forfeit the match. sakunosuke come back to me i miss you pspspspsps

ango: corrupt government agent desk worker? sign me up. i think he'd definitely get a few good hits on me but i'd knock him out just on principle alone

fitzgerald: i would win. he might be a capitalist who literally gets his superpowers from spending his money but i have a special ability called "i am communist" and with it i would knock fitzgerald off of that fucking whale a second goddamn time

alcott: once again i would win but morally? imagine the cost.

poe: man maybe the guild just isn't a physically strong team yknow. poe looks like he would fall over in a stiff breeze. Poe looks like i could punch him in the arm as a joke and they would feel it for a month

hawthorne: hawthorne looks like he'd call me a slur and if he wasn't using his ability i would pummel this fuddy duddy bitch to kingdom come

mitchell: same vibes as hawthorne ngl i'm pretty sure i could take her. she's a milf though so i'd give her a fighting chance

steinbeck: i think this would be a fair fight. also though i would let him win because he hasn't been in the manga since chapter fucking 44 and i miss him so fucking bad steinbeck PLEASE come back and beat fitzgerald's ass for me

lovecraft: tentative yes? like he doesn't look very PHYSICALLY strong, it's mostly just his "eldritch being" thing that makes him a threat, right? if i played it dirty and like, distracted him enough so he's comfortable and not in a state where he'd want to activate his powers then i think i could get at least a few good hits in on him

lucy: yeah easy as long as we're not in her room with anne. if she wasn't using her ability i could take her down easy but if she was and i had to deal with anne too? no thanks

melville: this is an old man but i don’t think this is a Deceptively Strong old man like fukuzawa and hirotsu. i would feel bad fighting him because he does seem like he’s just chilling but i’d do it

twain: he’s a sniper. hand-to-hand i’d knock him out. look at the way that fruit wears his shirt i’m winning this one

dostoevsky: fuck this guy i could and would choke him like the kermit meme. anemic rat bastard would die in one hit. i just have to get him started talking about god or humanity or some shit and then i would go in for the kill

pushkin: he’s a coward i just have to look intimidating and i already have a leg up on him i could take him out and i would enjoy it. he ADMITS that he’s not that physically strong. he’s gone

goncharov: simply based on dedication alone i don’t think i could win like... the minute he thinks about dostoevsky he powers up like a super saiyan. i would take great pleasure in fighting him though

mushitaro: yeah he'd be no problem. what is he, a writer?? he looks like he lives at his desk in shrimp posture for like 16 hrs a day i could knock him out

fukuchi: this old man would fucking murder me without blinking and also at this point in the manga i'm pretty sure he's functionally immortal because of "plot" "armor." if i fought him there would be a dramatic scene where i think i'm going to win before he pulls some bullshit like he has a multidimensional punch or something that killed me the day i was born and retconned the whole fight out of existence

gogol: i would win but only on the condition that i convinced him beforehand that "winning" is a social construct that he is falling prey to and his "want" to "win" is really a loss of free choice. this is more of a verbal battle, not a physical one

stoker: he is a head impaled on a sword. next question

sigma: augh. i wouldn't fight sigma they've gone through enough. if i HAD TO i would win but only if there was absolutely nothing on the line like this is just a friendly spar between friends because the minute sigma gets desperate they go bark bark bark feral and that'd lower my chances significantly

teruko: trained soldier. i would lose and she would enjoy sucking every last ounce of youth out of my shriveled body. freak

jouno: he might be blind but his ability would let him sense me from like a mile away and he's obviously pretty capable in an actual fight. i think i could give him a black eye before i went down though

tetchou: physical embodiment of no thoughts, head empty. in a fair fight? no. if i took him by surprise, then proceeded to distract him by talking about his weird habits and gossiping about the latest hunting dog drama while slowly wearing him down? maybe. 8 times out of 10 though he'd beat my ass i think

shibusawa: funniest man on the fucking planet he is NOTHING without his stupid little feminine-trait crystals i would break his nose hands down and everybody will clap

[something-tofightfor]

Ransom - four

Pairing: Logan Delos x Reader (Ink AU)

Word Count: 8315

Rating: NSFW (language, aftermath of physical abuse of a female)

Author’s Note: Thanks to everyone that’s read this one. This part of the story may be over, but there’s a lot more to come for these two. 

Summary: Your healing begins, and you and Logan have a lot of things to talk about...but are you wanting to talk about the same things? 

There was a knock on your door before it opened, and you watched as Logan stepped inside, a small container in one hand. You felt relief when you saw him, and though he walked slowly over to you, you saw the look in his eyes bordered between fear and hope. What’s he waiting for? You hurt - the truth was that you ached all over, even with the medication, and the doctor told you that that would likely be the case for at least a few weeks, along with the pain that you felt from your sunburn, which wouldn’t last for more than a few days. But it wasn’t the pain from your ordeal that was making your chest hurt - it was the way Logan was looking at you, and what you didn’t see in his eyes. What happened?  “Did you bring me a -” He reached into his pocket, pulling out a single spoon that was wrapped in plastic, and you smiled, at least as much as you could. Of course you did. “Thanks.” You reached out with the hand that wasn’t in the sling and he pulled the top off of the container before he handed it to you, unwrapping the spoon and sticking it into the ice cream. Shit, this is going to be complicated. Logan sat, watching your movements, but didn’t offer to help - and you were grateful for it.

 You could move the arm in the brace, but it was painful, and so you transferred the container to that hand, using the other one to dig the spoon in, bringing it to your lips and then swallowing. That’s the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted. You ate a few bites and then motioned for Logan to take it from you. “Done?” You nodded, not wanting to make yourself sick, and he took it from you. “I’ll find a fr-”

 “No, Logan. Eat it.” You used your legs to shift upward, sitting straight up on the bed and pulling your shoulders away from the blankets behind you as he ate. Time to tell him. “I’m leaving tonight.” He froze with the spoon halfway to his mouth, furrowing his brow. 

 “What?” You licked your lips, sighing. Don’t be difficult about this, Logan.

 “I’m leaving this room tonight, I don’t want to be here anymore.” Logan shook his head but you continued. “I talked to the doctor while you were gone, and you can too, but they…” Shrugging your shoulders, you watched as he put the container down, leaning in. “He asked if I wanted to stay or go, and said as long as I let them do one more fluid infusion and talked to the police, I can leave. It’s been two days, and aside from the sunburn, it’s all…” You shrugged. “It is what it -”

 “Don’t do that.” Logan shook his head, an angry edge to his voice. “Don’t trivialize this, he could have… you almost…”

 “Yes, Logan. I almost died. Your brother in law had me abducted, dragged me across Westworld, abused me for two days and then stabbed me on the beach.” You gave him a thin lipped smile. “I could have died.” His lips parted, confusion overtaking the wariness in his eyes. “But I didn’t.” You reached toward him, your fingertips finding his chest. “Because you came for me.” Because you… Logan was quiet for a long time, and you almost wanted to laugh. You’d rarely seen him speechless, never seen him unable to respond to something he was presented with. There’s a first time for everything. “They’ve got him, right? Somewhere here, in a cell?” Logan nodded - only once. “And you told them what he did? What you…” 

 “Yes. They can check the logs of the Hosts that I interacted with, the logs of the ones you were with, too. They’ll see… what he did to you, and if they aren’t able to see it, they can hear it. He’s not going to get away with it, especially if you can… coherently tell them what he did to you.” You closed your eyes and thought back to the previous few days, the heat from the sun, the way the blood felt oozing from your skin, the way he’d pulled you off of the horse and put his hands on you. I can do that. But I don’t want to think about it now.

 “The doctor’s coming back later with some sort of… medicated lotion? I don’t know exactly, but he said it would help the sunburn, decrease the chance of scarring from the blisters.” You swallowed. “My shoulders and nose are… not good, but he said…”

 “How are you so calm?” Logan reached up, pulling your hand away from his chest and settling it back on your lap, his fingers running over your wrist. “How are you…”

 “What good is being hysterical going to do? I can’t change what happened. I can’t change what he did. I can’t… take back any of it, or ignore it, or pretend that I…” You closed your eyes. “I just want to be in a real bed, Logan, with real sheets, with…” You stopped yourself, still thinking of the look in his eyes. With you. “I want to deal with this in a place that isn’t filled with people, and if Juliet’s here with the jet, I’m sure you’ll go back with her when -”

 “You think I’m leaving you here?” He finally sounded like Logan again and you opened your eyes and looked up, finding that he was staring at you in disbelief. “I know you probably don’t want anything to do with me anymore, but you’re flying home on that jet, and when we get back to Los Angeles, you’ve got the Delos legal team waiting, and…”

 “What?” It felt like another punch to the gut - except it hurt more than the one William had landed, and you moved without thinking about how much it would hurt, swinging your legs over the edge of the bed and trying to get closer to Logan. “Nothing to do with you? What are you -” He stuck both hands out but stopped short of touching you and then he groaned in frustration, curling his fingers into his palms. 

 “Lay down, you’re going to -” 

 “No, Logan.” Upset, you sighed, wishing that you could use the braced arm to push yourself forward. This recovery is going to be a nightmare. “Why wouldn’t I want anything to do with you?” 

 “He did this to you because of me. You’re in this bed because of me, and…” He reached up, swiping a hand through his hair and then met your eyes. “I wanted to be sure that I had what I needed to get him out of Delos, but I knew that he was capable of…”

 “And that makes this your fault?” Jesus, Logan, he did the same thing to you, you know that you can’t… “There was no way to stop this, Logan, no way to… he did what he did to you because of something you did to him, why would he hurt me? You had no reason to think I was in…”

 “If I’d worked faster, he would already be -” 

 “Stop.” You shook your head. “I’m not having this conversation with you in a hospital room, Logan.” Your hands were still joined on your lap, you saw as you looked down. “Can we just…” You lifted the arm in the sling as best as you could, pressing your palm to your face and gritting your teeth at the pain. “I have to talk to the security team and the police before I go, but until we can leave… I want to be back in our room, Logan. With you.” He needs to hear it. “Please.” He didn’t answer you right away, but when he did, Logan didn’t speak, instead using the hand that wasn’t holding yours to tilt your chin up, his face close. “L-”

 “I don’t ever want to let you out of my sight again.” His words sure, Logan shook his head, not breaking eye contact. “I…” He stopped himself, nose twitching slightly and then leaned in, lips landing against yours gently. What is he… 

 “Logan I haven’t brushed my teeth in -”

 “I don’t care.” He kissed you again and then pulled back, thumb rubbing against your lips. “At all.”

 --- 

 A few hours later, you’d walked out of the hospital room with him, slightly unsteady on your feet, but Logan’s arm wound gently around your back, careful not to move your shoulder too much or put pressure on your ribs. You’d refused his help with getting dressed, but Logan stayed in your room as you changed from the hospital gown into some of the clothing you’d brought with you to the Mesa with the help of a nurse, biting down on the inside of his cheek as you shrugged out of the thin material. Your stomach and sides were covered in bruises, the bandage that covered the staples small and tidily affixed to your skin, but it was your shoulders that were the worst, also completely covered in bandages, despite the application of the gel that you’d told him about. He hadn’t seen anything but your face up close, but he knew that things were bad. How could anyone do that to another person? He stayed put as the nurse helped you into the bathroom, and when you came out a few minutes later, your hair was brushed and loosely braided, your chapped lips covered in a pale balm. She looks better. 

 But Logan knew all too well what William was capable of, knew that you’d been lucky, at least in that he’d never left you alone, never stripped you and sent you off to roast in the sun for days. You were still somewhat coherent when you’d been found, but that meant that you’d felt everything, had known exactly what was happening to you. I didn’t. I didn’t even know who I was, but she… 

 No one said anything to you as the two of you made your way down the hallway and toward the lobby - and then the elevators - but Logan knew it was likely because he was with you. Good. You leaned against him in the elevator, but neither of you spoke until you were safely behind the closed door of your suite, the temperature set to be almost as cool as possible, courtesy of an app on his phone. “Did you…” He watched as you made your way through the room, slightly steadier on your feet. “It’s so cold.” 

 “When I got back to Los Angeles after…” He followed you, staying a few steps behind. “Even after I was released from the hospital, all I wanted was cold, I just thought…”

 “No, it’s… it feels good, Logan, my face still feels like it’s on fire, I…” You stopped in front of the mirror for the first time and he watched your eyes widen and then fill with tears. “Logan, I look… Jesus, I look…” You reached up, fingers prodding at the bruises and Logan could do nothing but watch, heart pounding. “People must think…”

 “They don’t think shit, and if they do, it doesn’t matter.” He stepped behind you, watching you in the mirror. “You’re not a Host, they can’t just…”

 “They can’t rebuild me.” You leaned forward, shoulders hunched. “That’s what he said to me, too, that after what he was going to do to me, they couldn’t rebuild me.” That sick fuck, I can’t… “He … how did he hide it, Logan? How did…” You were crying again, the tears rolling down your cheeks. “I shouldn’t have been so excited to play the stupid narrative, I would have seen it sooner, I would have…” 

 “Look, I know…” Logan tentatively put his hands on your hips from behind, stepping closer and tilting his face down to press his lips against the side of your head. “You’re going to blame yourself, you’re going to wonder what you could have done differently.” He closed his eyes, inhaling, and felt you lean back into him, weight settling against his chest. “I did the same thing, tried to put it all together, tried to rationalize it, but there’s no… there’s no way to explain why he did it, except that he’s…” Determined to get back at me because of what he thinks I did to him. “Unhinged.” Logan opened his eyes, meeting yours in the mirror. “But he won’t hurt you again.” 

 “He won’t hurt anyone again, Logan. Not you, not me, not Juliet, not even the Hosts.” You turned, looking up at him. “He told me what he’s done to them, what he does to her when she doesn’t remember him, and it’s…” You shook your head. “But you remember, Logan. And so do I.” You reached up, settling your forearm against his shoulder, fingers moving against his beard. “And they didn’t believe you then, but they will now.” What? 

 “This isn’t about me, it’s not… you just, you need to…” She’s right, though, but it took… 

 “It’s all about you, Logan.” You shook your head. “Don’t you get it? I heard him tell you that it would have been easier if you’d died. But you didn’t. And all he talked about was how you ruined his life, you turned him into…” You stopped, swallowing. “He took me… hurt me because he thought it would hurt you worse than…” The room was silent, except for the sound of the air conditioner, but Logan could hear his heart pounding as much as he could feel it. This isn’t how I wanted to… 

 “It did.” Logan carefully cupped your uninjured cheek in his palm, wetting his lips. “What he did to me, what it… what happened to me after?” He shook his head. “None of it was… I was so scared when I realized you were gone, and then when I knew William had you?” Here we go. “I was fucking terrified. All I could think about was… I needed to get you back, needed to know you were OK.” He lowered his head, the hand on your hip unconsciously tightening. “I told you I’d find you, and I…” Logan’s fingers tucked hair behind your ear as he looked back up, and he took in every detail of your face - the light in your eyes, the curve of your lips; the way, even though the bridge of your nose and forehead were sunburned, the skin of your cheek and temple bruised black and blue, you were still stunning to him. “It’s because I love you.” 

 He felt his chest expand as soon as the words were out, and Logan knew - without a doubt - that he meant them. “You what?” Your voice was quiet, eyes going wide. “You lov… what?” He watched your reaction, watched as you began to collapse, your legs giving out. Shit. He caught you as gently as he could, lowering you to the ground and sinking down to his knees with you as you hissed in pain. “Logan, you…”

 “I do. And…” He held you against his body, one hand gripping your thigh and the other holding you beneath your injured shoulder, his chest supporting you as much as he could. “And for a couple days, I thought I wouldn’t get the chance to tell you.” You were quiet, and Logan drew in a deep breath, shaking his head. “And that hurt worse than anything he could ever physically do to me.” It was true, and though Logan didn’t know what he’d expected your response to be to his declaration, he hadn’t expected total silence. At least I told her. 

 “I know you do.” Surprised, he looked down at you, feeling as you shifted against him, sitting up straighter with a wince. What? “I know you love me, Logan Delos.” He saw a hint of a smile on your lips and a faint spark of light in your eyes, and he furrowed his brow, waiting. “I heard you say it on the beach, when you were…” You shook your head. “I heard you but I didn’t know if I was imagining it…” Ruined that too, I guess. “Don’t say it just because you feel guilty about…” You gestured to yourself. “This.” 

 “When’s the last time I said something because I felt guilty?” You paused, but Logan didn’t give you a chance to speak. “Especially something like that, hmm?” You opened your mouth but he cut you off again. “I’ll tell you. Never.” Logan took a deep breath. “Might not matter anymore, because how could you feel…” He shook his head. “Look, I’m taking care of your medical bills, and your legal fees are covered, too. You need treatment, therapy, whatever you want, it’s done. This happened because of me, and you don’t need to see m-”

 “I love you too, Logan.” There was no hesitation in your words, no doubt - but they still sounded out of place to him after what you’d just assumed of him. “And I’ll take the support, but I’d much rather have you.” That’s a little better, but... “What happened to me wasn’t your fault, and it wasn’t mine, either.” You leaned in and Logan felt your nose brush against his cheek. “It was his, Logan. Now. Then. It always will be, and -” He turned his head and kissed you, trying to be mindful of the pain you were in, but Logan couldn’t help lifting the hand from your leg and tangling his fingers in your hair, holding you to him. She loves me? But as you gently dragged your tongue along his lips and Logan parted them for you in response, he realized that you were right. It’s not our fault. And they’ll believe me now, because they’ll believe her. He felt your fingers closing against the material of his shirt over his stomach - not as forcefully as they usually did, your other arm up and over his shoulder, and he pressed his palm against your lower back, happy that his touch there hadn’t caused you to react with pain. At least I can touch her somewhere. 

 “Let’s get you off the floor.” Logan murmured the words against your lips and you nodded, but before you could attempt to move away from him, he pulled the hand from your hair and slid it beneath your knees, picking you up as he stood. “I can carry you if -”

 “No, let me walk.” Alright. He leaned down, letting your legs slowly lower back to the ground and giving you a chance to balance before he released you from his hold. He waited to see what you’d do, but instead of turning and heading back to the bed, you watched him, eyes on his face. “Logan, I…” You swallowed, stepping closer and turning your head to press your cheek against his chest, the arm in the brace rising to lay against his back. “Please, I need to…” What does she… “I don’t care how much it hurts, I …” He lifted a hand to cradle the back of your head and you nodded, whispering his name again. She wants me to…? Logan carefully circled his arm around your waist, guiding you closer to him so that you were pressed against his body, no space left between you. 

 He felt your fingers against his back, tightening against his skin and then you were crying again, body shaking as he held you. He knew the feeling well. After his own ordeal, when he’d left the hospital, he’d spent a solid two weeks at home by himself, trying to deal with the pain of recovery and the sting of no one believing him, he’d cried often, something that he wouldn’t admit to anyone but you. Logan took a deep breath and laid his cheek against the crown of your head, closing his eyes. You’d be out of work for weeks at least, and although your arm would be able to be out of the sling for your shoulder in a few days, your elbow would take longer to heal. And her ribs, she’s… “Stay with me.” He spoke without lifting his head, talking loudly enough that you heard him over your tears. “When we get back, I mean.” You froze, but didn’t move, and so Logan continued. If there was ever a time to press my luck, it’s now. “You shouldn’t be alone, not while you’re…” You stepped back and Logan let you go, straightening up. “You can’t lift your arm yet, can’t bend the other one, your ribs are going to hurt like a bitch for weeks, and…” He swallowed. Honesty. “I’ll lay awake at night thinking about something happening to those staples in your stomach.” 

 “You were alone.” He reached up, again wiping beneath your eyes and nodding. “And no one -”

 “That doesn’t mean you have to be.” The pad of his thumb slid over your bruised cheek, but you leaned into his touch instead of away from it. “I can work from home, and -”

 “What am I going to do, Logan?” Your eyes widened suddenly. “My job, I need to -” He shook his head back and forth. You don’t need to worry about this now, you don’t… “I have to work, and I don’t know…”

 “Stop.” Not unkindly, he interjected, hand still on your cheek. “When you’re ready to go back, you have a job.” You opened your mouth but Logan pressed two fingers to your lips, staring at you. “You do. If you want it.” He watched the look in your eyes change as you reacted to his words. You might not want to go back, and we’ll deal with that, too. “Let me take care of you.” The weight of his words hung in the air between you, and you closed your eyes, Logan’s hand moving to the side of your neck, where he noticed faint bruising. What the fuck, how did I miss that? 

 “I can’t do anything for you, Logan.” You stared up at him again, and for long moments, he didn’t understand what you meant. Do anything? “I can barely move, there’s no way I can -” She means… 

 “Are you kidding me right now?” The words came out with an edge and he watched you wince. Shit. “I’m sorry, but…” Logan’s hand skimmed up your back and to your shoulder, fingers resting against the side of your body that wasn’t in the sling. “That’s the last thing on my mind, you need to…” He swore, putting slight pressure on the bandages atop your skin before realizing what he was doing. “That’s not what this is about. I just want to see you get better, everything else comes later.” 

 “Careful. That doesn’t sound very much like the Logan Delos -” He laughed, finally feeling the mood in the room change as you made a legitimate joke, and Logan pulled you back to him, holding you as tightly as he dared. “I’ll stay with you, Logan, if that’s what you really want, I …”

“Yes. That’s what I want.” He glanced past you, seeing that the sun was setting over the desert, and Logan sighed. “Are you hungry, I know they gave you…” 

 “I could eat.” You pulled yourself out of Logan’s arms before you walked to the bed and he was happy to see that you were steadier on your feet than you had been previously. Watching you sit down slowly, Logan actually grinned. She’s going to be alright. “But I really want a shower, Logan, I feel like I’m still covered in…” Yeah, I know that feeling all too well. “I should have asked before I left the hospital, they could have…”

 “I’ll help you.” He followed you to the bed, sitting next to you after he reached into the side table and pulled out the room service menu. “Order what you want, and then after we eat, we’ll take a shower.” 

 --- 

 You wanted nothing more than to order everything on the menu, but you also knew that your stomach wouldn’t tolerate it, so you stuck to breakfast, even though it was getting dark out. While waiting for it to arrive, you laid back on the sheets, closing your eyes and turning your head to the side to bury your face against the pillow’s cool surface Though you’d slept for the majority of your stay in the medical wing, you were exhausted - and finally comfortable. Dozing off without realizing it, you woke to Logan saying your name and the smell of food. Oh. He helped you sit, but rather than moving you to the table, Logan wheeled the tray in front of you, swinging it over the bed so that you had easier access to it. “I know,” he said, biting down on his lower lip. “That you won’t ask me for help, but if you need it, I -”

 “Thank you.” You swallowed, reaching for the fork with one hand and using it to cut into your food, concentrating on bringing it to your mouth. One bite at a time. When it was apparent that you’d be able to feed yourself, Logan started eating, too, sitting next to you on the bed. That burger smells amazing. As you ate, you thought about a lot of things, but the one that stood out in your mind was Logan telling you that he loved you - and you repeating it back to him. Of all the ways you’d imagined admitting how you felt to him, the scenario you found yourself in hadn’t even registered in your mind. But it’s out there now, and we both… 

 You loved him probably more than you’d ever be able to tell him, but the words still hadn’t come out easily, and the guilt you’d accused him of having didn’t sit well with you, because you knew it wasn’t true. But why would he love me? You chewed through a piece of toast, eyes on the tray in front of you. Being with Logan and believing that he loved you were two separate things; or at least they had been. Not anymore. You’d never given up hope that he’d get to you - not even as William had yanked you off the back of your horse the final time, wrenching your shoulder out of its socket as you’d fallen to the ground, your wrist still held between his fingers. Your throat was sore from him throttling you, and as Tanner had taken over, dragging you across the sand to the water’s edge, you’d still hoped that some way, somehow Logan would find you, coming in at the last second and figuring out how to fix things. But we waited for hours. 

 William hadn’t spoken to you aside from telling you that he’d wait as long as it took, and as your body became more and more exhausted, the sound of the waves taunting you as you reached the two and a half days without water mark, you’d slipped in and out of awareness, Tanner taking pity on you as he held you up, otherwise frozen in place by William’s quiet command. But he came. He saved me. Realizing that Logan was right in front of you had changed everything, giving you the will to try and fight, to push away from William, and though you wouldn’t ever tell him, Logan’s shove had been what caused you to fall on the knife, driving it deeper into your stomach. Even though you’d only been vaguely aware of what was happening, you remembered pulling it from your skin before falling face down on the sand, your only thought that Logan would still find a way to get you somewhere safe. He did. At some point, you’d ask Logan how he’d managed to rescue you, but there was no rush, especially if you’d be living with him. Living with him? Who would have thought? “You done?” 

 Looking up, you saw that Logan was watching you, concern in his eyes. “Yeah, I can’t eat anything else.” You’d finished more than half of your food, but the thought of the clean water was even more appealing to you. “You don’t have to help me, Logan, I can -”

 “Don’t.” He was already standing, pulling the tray away and when you got to your feet, he put his hand against your back again - not to offer support, but to tell you that he was there. “Don’t pretend you don’t need me.” Fine. 

 A few minutes later, he’d started the water, closing the bathroom door behind you to contain the warmth in the room, and was patiently watching as you undressed. Removing your pants had been no issue, but you were having a problem with your shirt, even though it had seemed simple when the nurse did it, guiding your arms through the sleeves of the thin hoodie. Fuck this. “Logan, can you help me?” He nodded, stepping forward. “I just need -”

 “I’ve got you, OK?” He tilted your chin up, looking into your eyes. “It’s just us. No pretending. I’m right here.” Nodding and then averting your eyes, you waited while he removed the sling from your arm, using one hand to stabilize your shoulder after unbending it slowly, easing the sleeve of your hoodie down over it. He removed the strap of your tank top, too, before replacing the sling and settling your arm back in, moving to the other side. With that one, he wasn’t as careful, removing the top layer in one motion, following it by sliding the strap down, too, but leaving your chest covered. “You doin’ alright?” You nodded, still not meeting his eyes, and Logan leaned in to kiss you, his lips catching the corner of your mouth. No, this is embarrassing. “Just gotta get this off, and we can get in.” He made quick work of your tank top and underwear, and then met your eyes again. “Gotta pull these bandages off your shoulders, doc said…” Yeah, I know. He carefully peeled the gauze away, and then you were totally bare, standing naked in front of him, something that you’d done countless times before - yet this time, you were anxious. 

 “Don’t look at me, Logan, it’s…” He took his clothes off quickly, leaving his underwear on, and then led you into the walk-in shower, pulling the glass door closed behind you, but didn’t say anything. The spray of the water hitting your skin felt incredible, and without telling him to, he’d adjusted the water to the warm side of room temperature. I would have turned it up as hot as it gets, and that would have been… Closing your eyes, you let the water run down your body, breathing as deeply as was possible without pain, but before you could even reach for the soap, Logan’s hands were on you, gently using a hand towel to clean your back. 

 “I’m gonna start here.” He spoke quietly and you nodded, even though you kept your eyes closed. “Tell me if it hurts.” It all hurts, Logan. He took his time on you, long fingers and low tone coaxing you to adjust your stance every few minutes as he moved to a new area. Everywhere he touched you, you felt Logan working to undo the pain William had inflicted on your body over the previous days. While you knew he cared, knew that he loved you, you’d never felt Logan’s touch so gentle before, and it left you off balance in the best way possible. There was nothing sexual about the way he was touching you, but you felt it all the same; the way he worked carefully on the parts of you that were hurt the worst - replacing the towel he’d used on your back and sides with his hands as he got to your shoulders, leaning down to kiss the sides of your neck where William’s thumbs had left their mark. I never thought… “Sit down.”

 Opening your eyes, you watched him nod, the small smile on his lips betrayed by the pained look in his eyes, but you sat nonetheless, leaning back and allowing the wall to support your upper body’s weight. “Logan, what -” He knelt in front of you, picking the towel up again and went to work on your legs, eyes focused on the skin in front of him and nothing else. This has to be… The water rained down on you, even as you sat on the small ledge, and you watched as it soaked Logan, the drops running down the planes of his tanned face. “Hey.” He glanced up and you held his gaze, biting on your lower lip. “Thank you. I wouldn’t have been able to do this myself.” You watched as Logan swallowed, one hand beneath your injured knee, the other one holding the towel and poised against the top of your thigh. “You don’t -”

 “You don’t need to thank me.” He licked his lips, taking a deep breath. “The burns on my body were... not worse than yours, but they were all over, and I had to learn…” He lowered his head and then raised it back up, squaring his shoulders. “This isn’t just a sunburn from the pool, and it’s not pity either. I know what it’s like, and I want to do this for you.” You don’t need to explain. His lips twitched as he tried to smile and then he looked down again, finishing with your first leg before he moved to the other, less gentle with that one but still careful. “Can you stand again? I need to get your…” You reached out to him with the arm that was in the brace and Logan pulled you to your feet after gripping your bicep gently. “Chest and stomach and then I’ll wash your hair, alright?” He’s going to wash my… With a single nod, he started soaping your chest up, foregoing the towel again to use his hands, carefully working from the top down, not lingering in any one place. It felt right to have his hands back on you, and you realized, as he reached your breasts, that Logan needed the contact as much as you did - simply because he needed the reassurance that you were right there in front of him, alive and breathing, though injured. His hands moved lower and you looked down to watch him, but were unprepared for the quiet sob you heard as his fingertips moved over your bruised and bandaged abdomen. “I’m going to fucking kill him.” 

 --- 

 He’d held it together until you turned to face him, allowing him to work on the front of your body. Though your shoulders and upper back had been badly burned, any bruising there had been hidden by the ink that covered your skin, the familiar lines soothing him as he cleaned you. Even your legs hadn’t been that bad; they weren’t burned, and while you had the bandage on one knee and some blisters on your feet, it wasn’t until you stood again that he got the full impact of the worst of your injuries. The bandage on your stomach had been changed to a clear, waterproof one, and Logan could see the wound through it - raised, red and still angry looking, especially with the staples glinting against your skin. That fucker. “Hey.” You finally spoke, drawing his attention. “It’s done, Logan, you can’t change it, it… it’ll heal.” You were smiling at him, the expression small but genuine. “”They told me that the staples don’t need to be removed, that Delos developed a special…”

 “Yeah.” He swallowed hard, nodding. “All our medical stuff is really advanced, they probably could have given you an injection to heal everything faster, but you couldn’t consent to it, so they stuck to the regular treatment. The staples are …” He moved his fingers in slow circles, careful not to press hard against your ribs. “They were a compromise, because it’s all they use.” And they’re the best option. “As soon as the recovery team got to us, I knew you were going to be…”

 “No.” You reached out to him, fingers finding his arm, right above the elbow. “As soon as you got there, Logan, I knew it was going to be alright.” What? But I… “You said you were gonna save me, and you did.” Logan had done a lot of things in his life, but he’d never felt the way he did about doing something like he did when it came to finding and getting to you - and hearing you say it. “I’m going to be OK, Logan.” You tightened your hold on his arm. “And it’s because of you.” No it’s not. 

 “But it’s my -”

 “We’re not doing this, Delos.” You stepped closer, and Logan stopped washing your skin, instead resting his hands on your hips. No, she can’t get closer, this isn’t… I can’t let… “It’s not your fault, and I won’t let you think it is.” You rose onto your toes to kiss him on the mouth, but you didn’t linger. “Now.” You trailed your fingers up his arm, stopping at his elbow. “You said you were going to wash my hair.” She isn’t going to let me get lost in this. He laughed but nodded, and Logan motioned for you to turn away again, urging you forward and more directly underneath the spray of the showerhead, reaching for he bottle of shampoo that you’d used the night you’d first arrived. He took the rubber band from the end of your braid, running his fingers through your hair to loosen it and let the water do its job, soaking it through and then squeezed a healthy amount of the fragrant gel onto his hands. Taking a deep breath, Logan began working it into your hair, starting with your scalp. Carefully, because he knew that that was likely sunburned too, Logan massaged your head, each quiet sigh of pleasure hitting him right in the chest. Those sounds. I can’t believe… 

 “Turn around.” You did, facing him again and Logan stepped closer, exhaling as you leaned forward, placing your forehead on his chest as he used his hands to help rinse the shampoo from your hair. You kissed his chest, lips moving over his wet skin in thanks, and Logan wrapped one arm around your waist, the other hand flattening against the back of your head and holding it against him. I don’t know who needs this more. “One more thing and then we can get out.” He kissed the top of your head, reluctant to let you go, but knowing that you likely needed to sit, and reached for the second bottle. 

 You turned away from him for a second time, and by the time Logan had finished with you hair, he saw that you were slightly unsteady on your feet again. “I’m gonna sit, Logan, I -” Sit? We’re done. He tilted his head in confusion but you actually winked at him, gesturing with the hand in the sling at his toiletries. “You’ve gotta shower too, Delos.” You glanced down. “And that means taking those off.” 

 “No, I can’t, we -” You laughed and though it was more subdued than usual, he was glad to hear the sound. 

 “Logan, I’m dehydrated and injured, not blind.” It was his turn to laugh but Logan complied with your direction, waiting until you’d re-seated yourself on the bench to slide his soaked underwear down his legs, kicking them off to the side. She’s right. He felt you watching him as he grabbed the loofah and soaped up his body, using one hand to balance himself against the wall as he worked on each leg. He glanced at you as he moved, and Logan was happy to see that even though you still looked tired, you were still looking at him with desire written all over your face. She still… “Don’t forget your hair.” You leaned back, raising an eyebrow and Logan raised his arms, scrubbing at his scalp with long fingers and closing his eyes as the water ran down his chest. 

 He felt better as he shut the water off, reaching for the door and pushing it open. “Let me get a towel for you, and…” He stepped out and grabbed one of the folded towels from the counter, wrapping it around his waist and running his hands through his hair before picking up a second and turning back to you. “What -” You’d pushed to your feet and stepped toward him, a determined look on your face. “Be careful, you…”

 “I need to do this, Logan.” Meeting his eyes, you stopped as you exited the glass enclosure, head shaking back and forth. “I’m happy to have you help me, but I can’t let you do everything.” You lifted your elbow slightly, sighing. “Help me dry off, and then I want to take this sling off for a while, I don’t need it if I’m just sitting. He worked quickly, using the towel to dry your skin and then carefully squeezed your hair out the way he’d seen you do it countless times before. “Let it air dry, Logan. No one’s going to see me until we leave, whenever that is, and… it doesn’t matter.” He heard defeat creeping into your voice again and was determined to stop it from worsening. 

 “Let me go get you another pair of pants, I’ll be right back.” He stepped out of the small room and hurried to your suitcase, digging through it and finding nothing suitable for sleep. Why the fuck do we only sleep naked? He looked around and then remembered that he’d changed into a fresh pair of sweats earlier in the medical wing. Those will work. He grabbed the robe that was hanging on the outside of the bathroom door and stepped back in, your name on the tip of his tongue, but stopped speaking immediately. Oh no. 

 You were standing in front of the mirror in the bright lights of the bathroom, still totally nude, and you were staring at your reflection, your head turned to the side. “I didn’t …” You swallowed, leaning in and bringing your fingertips up slowly to touch your cheek. “I didn’t know it was this bad, the bathroom downstairs wasn’t…” He stepped closer to you, unsure of what to say, and Logan knew, in that moment, that he’d do whatever it took to make sure that William never forgot what he’d done to you, paying for it every day for the rest of his life. He doesn’t get to make her feel this way. “They took pictures, didn’t they.” You met his eyes in the mirror and Logan nodded, wincing. “And people will see them during the…”

 “Yes.” He took his place next to you, looking down as you continued to stare at yourself in the glass. “They’re evidence, and your lawyers will need them to prove that…” Logan closed his eyes. “That he did what he did.” You nodded, and Logan saw the tears gathering in your eyes again, but also noticed the way you seemed to be determined not to let them fall. She doesn’t need to hold back. “And it’s bad, yes.” Logan leaned down, kissing the top of your shoulder and feeling the heat of your skin against his lips. “But it’s so much better than it was when I found you.” He moved his lips, glancing at the mirror and seeing that you were watching him instead of yourself. Good. “Blisters are going down, and there are…” He sighed, fingers trailing down over the back of your shoulder, mouth pressed gently against your collarbone. “There are already places where I can see the skin peeling, which means it’s healing.” 

 Your shocked gasp was a welcome surprise and Logan took the opportunity to put his hands on your hips, turning you to face him. “Are you serious?” He nodded, standing up straight, and circled his thumbs over your skin, waiting. “But it’s only been…”

 “Couple days, yeah.” Logan felt himself smiling. “That gel? The bandages? More Delos. We can do a lot superficially. I was shocked too.” He swallowed, raising one hand to your cheek. “Not about you, but with me… and even though I was much more out of it when they found me, and when I woke up?” Logan paused, thinking. “It was like magic, and we’ve learned so much since then.” He kissed his way across your chest and over to the injured shoulder, wrinkling his nose as he laid his lips there, too. I wish I could fix this. “So it’s bad, yeah.” He straightened up, looking straight into your eyes. “But it’s getting better. And so will you.” And I’ll be right there with you. Logan watched as you contemplated his words for long moments, and then, just when he was about to speak again, you smiled, letting out a long, slow exhale. 

 “I will.” Logan let out his breath too, pressing his forehead against yours. “I need to take those pills they gave me, Logan, and I want to lay down, I’m exhausted.” Of course you do. 

 “Yeah, so.” He cleared his throat. “You um, don’t have anything to sleep in.” Your eyes widened and you bit back a laugh as he continued. “So you’re gonna wear my sweats, and we’re not gonna worry about a shirt, ok?” He pulled away, bending down and helping you into the pants, feeling your hand on his shoulder for balance as he pulled them up, settling them low on your waist. “I grabbed you a robe if you want to… since it’s cold in the room.” You allowed him to help you into the robe one arm at a time, starting with the arm he carefully removed from the sling, and before too long, you’d brushed your teeth and climbed into bed next to him, Logan wearing only another pair of underwear and you with a bare strip of skin visible between the two sides of the untied robe. Without speaking, you shifted, moving closer to him and waiting, and before he could talk himself out of it, Logan reached out to you, drawing you closer to his body. As close as possible. 

 Finally settled a minute later, he was leaning against the headboard and you were leaning against him, Logan’s arms around you from behind and his hands resting lightly over the bandage on your stomach, one thumb swiping gently above it. This is perfect. “This can’t be comfortable for you, Logan, I’m sorry, I -” 

 “Look.” He clenched his jaw as he thought about what he wanted to say, and finally settled on the truth - in as few words possible. “I’ll sleep like this with you every single night until you’re better if you let me. I need to feel you here, with me, against me, because it’s a reminder that you…” Logan swore. “Tell me you’re uncomfortable and we’ll… but I’m right where I want to be.” The room went quiet, and then you pulled yourself out of Logan’s arms - and he felt his heart sink. Where is she going? But you didn’t go far, turning and kneeling over his lap and leaning in, raising your arm to touch his face. “What are you doing, that’s your-”

 “I don’t care.” Your voice quiet, you kissed him, Logan fighting to keep his hands off of you. I’ll hurt her, I can’t, I… “Logan.” It was only one word, but he heard everything in it - gratitude, relief, desire, reverence - and he acted, sliding one hand around to your back beneath the robe, the other tangling in your still damp hair. “I need this as much as you do,” you breathed, lips moving against his. “Need you.” He nodded quickly, tilting his head to the side and took over, kissing you like he’d wanted to for the previous few days - deep and slow, feeling your body melt toward his, though he knew it likely caused you pain. You sighed without breaking the kiss, and Logan felt your nails against his cheek, hand moving back toward his hair. No, she can’t, she can’t raise her arm that high. He pulled away suddenly, breathing hard, and you whined out his name. “Where are you going, I -”

 “Can’t get too carried away, you’re…” Fuck. “As much as I want to keep this up, unless we stop now, I’ll hurt you.” He tugged your hair gently, drawing your attention. “And I won’t do that. Ever.” You contemplated his words for long moments, Logan watching closely as you straightened your shoulders before looking back at him, the look in your eyes one of certainty. 

 “I love you, Logan.” It was only the second time he’d heard you say it to him, and he realized that he’d been waiting to hear it again, wanting to see what it sounded like when you weren’t reacting, when it came from you. “So much, and…” You pulled your hand back, and Logan continued to cradle the back of your head, waiting. “I’m sorry I thought you were just feeling guilt or pity or… shit.” You sniffed, chewing on your lip. “You don’t do that, I was just…giving you an out, and -”

 “Don’t need one.” He kissed you again. “Don’t want one.” Logan’s teeth closed gently on your lower lip and he heard you whimper quietly, but it wasn’t in pain, and he groaned as he reluctantly pulled away. Not the time, Delos. “And when you’re feeling better and we’re back home?” Logan eased you off of his lap and pulled you back against his chest, feeling you relax against him. “I’ll prove it to you.” 

 “Can’t wait.”  Home? Did he mean LA, or…  You kissed his chest, palm of your hand flat against his abdomen. “Goodnight, Logan.”

--- 

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