#he takes photos of things I’m running out of to buy later

[diimpledoll]

Colourful souls 🕺

[satorusdiary]

Older bf! Toji Fushiguro

Tojis a dilf in this one too, since you guys love my dilf toji fanfics sm :)

Older bf! Toji Fushiguro who scolds you for taking his clothes in his massive closet, but also demands you wear his clothes all the time just because of how cute you look in it.

Older bf! Toji Fushiguro who loves the sight of coming home after a long day at work, and sees you in one of his large hoodies waiting for him on the couch.

Older bf! Toji Fushiguro who pays for your college tuition, just because he got jealous when another older male came up to you and offered to pay for you tuition. Not only that, but he demands the best from your campus only for you.

Older bf! Toji Fushiguro who spoils you, buys you all the best things anyone could wish for, just because you take good care of him and his son. The best girlfriend, and step-mother for his child anyone could ask for. <3

Older bf! Toji Fushiguro who cuts your steak, or any big portions of food whenever you go into expensive restaurants.

Older bf! Toji Fushiguro who has many framed photos of you in his office, continuously rubbing his thumb over your face whenever he misses you.

Older bf! Toji Fushiguro who provides everything for you. He leaves his black card just so you could treat yourself, on your nightstand.

Older bf! Toji Fushiguro who gets upset when he notices you don’t use any money out of his black card. You’re his woman, and Toji Fushiguro’s woman deserves the absolute world. So why aren’t you taking it into your advantage?

———————————————————————————

Toji

Sweetheart, why aren’t you using my card? sent 1:09 pm

You

I don’t need it.. Toji i feel bad, i feel like i’m depending on you too much. :( seen 1:09 pm

Toji

Baby. Everything that’s mine is yours, go treat yourself please. You deserve it, i’ll come pick you up inna few n we’re gonna go shopping. seen 1:10 pm

You

I love you so so much, can Megumi come? seen 1:10 pm

Toji

Yes. Get him ready if it’s not a problem, i’ll take you both on a family dinner date at the new restaurant in the city. seen 1:11 pm

Toji

Also, i love you more.

———————————————————————————

Older bf! Toji Fushiguro who isn’t afraid to embarrass any of the college boys who won’t leave his little pretty girlfriend alone.

Older bf! Toji Fushiguro who has your name tattooed on his waist, and the date you both got together on his bicep.

Older bf! Toji Fushiguro who can’t help but smile whenever you run up to him, with the biggest grin on your lips. His arms opening up so you can jump into his grasp.

Older bf! Toji Fushiguro who cuddles you to sleep, he has a large hand around your head and another one around your waist. Somehow, whenever you wake up his hand always manages to be inside your pajamas and in between your thighs..

Later he would explain how he loves to keep his hands warm when he wakes up, which means cupping your heat whilst you sleep.

Older bf! Toji Fushiguro who has you on his lap, your face buried in his neck and him rubbing your back while you cry. You never forget the soft words he spills into your ears, trying to console you as you spill out your feelings after a stressful day.

Older bf! Toji Fushiguro who surprises you with many bags of luxurious, and expensive jewelry just before you wake up, just so it could cheer you up after crying.

Older bf! Toji Fushiguro who kisses your forehead, and makes his way down from your nose, to your lips.

Older bf! Toji Fushiguro who knows he found the one when he notices how much Megumi loves you more than him. The amount of times Megumi has came running into your arms without hesitation makes Toji question if his son loves your company more than his. But he isn’t complaining.

Older bf! Toji Fushiguro who carries you to take a bath with him. The feeling of his large hands cleaning you never fails to leave you flustered, especially when nude skin to skin contact is happening.

Older bf! Toji Fushiguro who always tells you he loves you, and that you will always be his little girl.

nsfw

Older bf! Toji Fushiguro who has you in mating press, his forehead against yours as you continue to cry and babble out random shit while his hips slap against yours.

Older bf! Toji Fushiguro whose large cock leaves a bulge. The stretch is overwhelming, but Toji’s always there to comb his hands in your hair to calm you down. Whilst leaving soft kisses on your forehead.

Older bf! Toji Fushiguro who loves cupping your breasts.

Older bf! Toji Fushiguro who loves when you submit to him. Your begging, and your cries only turns him on even more.

———————————————————————————

“Ohh fuck— Daddy’s fucking you real good hm baby?” The older man’s chain hovers over your face , the heat inside you building up as Toji’ cock continues to bully your cervix.

His hands are cupping your ass, giving big squeezes as it’s also pressing you down on your shared large bed. You felt embarrassed, belittled. Then again, the feeling was exciting.

Your silence only makes his grin get bigger. Now one of his hands are removed from your ass, to your cheek. Cupping it lovingly.

“C’mon, y/n sweetheart don’t be like that. Speak to me before i pull out and leave you here with none of my cum inside of you.” He groans, slowing his thrusts. Your eyes widen as you notice the loss of satisfaction beginning to happen as he slows down.

“N-No! Stop, ‘m sorry Toji.. please keep on going. I’ll be good!” Tears of frustration begin flowing into your pretty lil eyes.

Your boyfriend’s a cruel man. A cruel man who yet knows how to make love to you, and at the same time piss you off. But you can’t argue, who are you to argue with the one who manages to give you all the happiness in the world?

Toji buries his head into your neck, biting harshly as he leaves hickeys over the faded ones. You’re sure you felt his smirk from over your skin.

His thrusts begin getting rougher, rougher than before. Suddenly your hands begin wrapping around your boyfriends neck harshly just so your able to keep yourself steady.

“I gotcha’ sweets.” His cock twitches inside of you as your walls tighten around him.

“Fuck. Your so beautiful y/n. I love you ‘s fuckin much.” His hands intertwine with your smaller ones, his hips slapping even faster and rougher against yours.

———————————————————————————

Older bf! Toji Fushiguro who never forgets to fill you up with his load.

Older bf! Toji Fushiguro who has many poloroids of you naked, and messy with his cum.

Older bf! Toji Fushiguro who jerks off to photos and videos of you when he’s away from home, missing his little family.

Older bf! Toji Fushiguro who always praises you for making him feel good, for being his perfect girlfriend, for being the love of his life.

Older bf! Toji Fushiguro whose world only revolves around you.

———————————————————————————

Authors note: not proof read

Jujutsu Kaisen Masterlist

[dnsisnakah]

IDK IF UR TAKING REQS but its still okay if youre not (u can ignore if ur not) BUTTTTT!!!! quackity and reader doing a baking stream but it goes SO bad and they make the most diabolical things ever

I apologize if there is something written in this work that you would not like to see..

(that's a bit bigger begin than i thought... here like 2826 words.)

I'll hope you enjoy :]♡

your boyfriend is quite a popular person on the Internet. sometimes it gets in the way, but not too much to the point of shouting or being in any way indignant at his fans who intercepted you today before going to the store to take a photo with him and chat a little.

you, of course, were proud of your boy, admired how much he does for his audience and simply loved him. but you yourself were a little afraid to show up on his social networks, be it a stream, a video on YouTube or simple photos on Twitter or Instagram. after all, who knows how his community will react to the fact that he is with you, and not with someone as popular as himself. that’s why you stayed slightly away every time strangers ran up to him to take pictures or give him something. but at some important events for Quackity, you were still present as his quiet companion (unless, of course, you were busy on the dates of these events).

your jittery thoughts are driven away by a large hand on your shoulder, and you turn your head to see Alex sigh, smiling softly. a signal that he is all at your disposal again. a smile spontaneously creeps onto your lips, which makes your eyes wrinkle and you remove his hand from your shoulder, squeezing it while you lead him to the doors of the store.

today is the day when you again need to purchase various goods and food for home for the week ahead, so that later you don’t have to run back and forth several times a day for some little thing. you and Alex usually make lists of groceries and other stray items for the house together, so that later you can split up at the store and collect everything you need. but this time the list of necessities was... much longer than before.

you raise your eyebrows questioningly, running your eyes over the lines on your phone while your boyfriend takes the cart and “drives up” to you with a slight smile.

– Is something wrong, sweetheart?-

– no, everything is fine.- you nod, scrolling through the notes tab and bringing your mobile phone to your lover’s face. – you added this, right? are you planning something?-

his face is so easy to read. surprise and slight embarrassment for something. he chuckles and then nods, unsticking himself from the cart and moving closer to you.

– exactly, I completely forgot... tomorrow around lunchtime I’m planning to do a cooking stream, so I thought that I should buy everything today so that I don’t have to fuss tomorrow morning.- he shrugs casually and you giggle, nodding.

– okaay, then let's go.- you hum, grabbing the handles of the basket, and together you walk through the departments, talking about a variety of different things along the way. no matter how much time and attention you devote to communication, you never run out of topics to talk about. and that's great.

being in a relationship with this guy means that there will be a lot of laughter in your life and a lot of stomach pain from that same laughter. a lot of jokes and stupid faces or actions, like children, but the main thing is that you two feel good about it. at least you are not bored or hard in each other’s presence.

but even though your relationship is as serious as two teenagers in love just playing with each other, you can be calm and quietly be in each other’s company when someone needs it.

so you are now standing in one of the flour baking departments and choosing bread and something else. Alex rests his chin comfortably on your shoulder and his arms wrap around your waist, gently stroking your stomach through the fabric of your sweatshirt as you read the labels.

– you’d better go and grab some drinks and move on down the list instead of standing around me like a little child, Alex.-

– but it’s so comfortable here..- he whines, pulling you closer to him so that you almost drop the groceries from your hands.

– oh god..-

after about an hour or two.. not so important.. you leave the store premises with several rather large packages and head to the car, which is parked somewhere on the edge of the parking lot for safety. Quackity takes out the keys, unlocks the car and opens the rear passenger doors to throw groceries in there.

the road to the joint housing goes quite smoothly, the two of you either sang along to some songs from his playlist or talked about nothing, joked and laughed.

after you arrived home and together put all the groceries and other things in their places - you both went about your business in order to calmly spend the rest of the evening without much stress and finish some things in order to fall into bed with a calm soul in gentle hugs and kisses each other. Alex doesn't even close the door in his office, just sitting at his desk with the computer on and typing something into documents while you do the same, but in spreadsheets on your laptop while sitting in the kitchen. at about seven in the evening, when you look at the clock and think that it’s time to have a snack, or even cook a full dinner, because after all, you have another stomach that needs to be fed at least two or three times a day.

you put your hair in a ponytail and drum your fingers on the table, scrolling through a huge number of dish options in your head and choosing one of them to begin completing the task you have set for yourself.

the oil in the frying pan is sizzling, the clock is ticking and you quietly hum a random melody under your breath, resting your fist on your own thigh while you mix the ingredients in the dishes.

you're not bad at cooking, quite the opposite. you're good with a knife, and you can measure things by eye when you add them to a mixture. the timekeeping can be a bit lame, but that's what the phone is for! so it's not too bad. you're a good cook. that's why Quackity loves to eat things prepared by you, by your gentle hands. when you dine together at home he can often strike up a conversation about you being too good, and will make a joke about even being prepared to pay for such meals. for which he gets a slap on the forehead and your muttering.

you carefully place the portion on a plate, trying to keep it presentable, and make some hot tea, grabbing some bread and cutlery before heading down the corridor to his office. it was one of those times when he wasn't streaming, or talking to friends or colleagues on the phone, but just sitting silently in a chair reading or writing something. at this point, if you don't want to, you catch yourself asking "is he even home?" yes, he is. just very, very quiet.

you shuffle over to the ajar door and peek inside, checking the situation inside. he's sitting there, barely moving, apart from his fingers running over the keyboard. with a slight sigh, you call out to him quietly, making him turn his head in your direction.

– can I?-

– you can-

you carefully slip into his office, not even bothering to close or even close the door of his office behind you as you approach his desk because he didn't shut it down in the first place. a light kiss remains on his forehead, squeezing out a quiet chuckle from him at the sound of you setting down the dishes next to his keyboard. - bon appetit. - comes out of the lips as quietly as before. and you are already thinking about running back, because, oddly enough, you yourself want to replenish your energy with food and just enjoy the taste of the dish prepared by your hands, but you are stopped when you feel a weight on your wrist. Alex grabbed your hand and smiles stupidly, looking at you, but this grin fades into a calm and even serious expression on his face when your eyes meet.

– listen..- you calmly but still nod in surprise, allowing him to continue his thought while he fiddles with the sleeve of your sweater. – would you like to join me tomorrow on.. stream?..-

– you are sure?-

his eyes widen at such a sharp answer from you and a small smile tugs at the corners of his lips, causing him to nod vigorously at your question.

the thoughts in your head are spinning chaotically every second that you stand here in front of him, every second that he holds you next to him, but you don’t mind. you're just worried. this will probably be the first time you're not just a voiceover or a ghost in his house, which was the reason for the overturned bottle of water somewhere in the background of his screams and laughter. will you be there. everyone will see you. will be watching you. this is scary. but his hand soothes, his soft movements soothe. male fingers gently stroke your skin through the thick fabric of your sweatshirt in circular movements, which are repeated until he sees a smile on your bitten scarlet lips. he loves it when you smile. and you loves when he's happy.

– I'll try..-

from the very morning, as soon as the rays of the sun touched the floor of your apartment, you couldn’t stop being moved by how joyful he was. because who wouldn't be happy to have fun with their partner and at the same time provide content to their viewers?? Alex was almost jumping. he smiled and laughed while he fixed the installation on the kitchen unit, prepared food and arranged all the necessary utensils for preparing a variety of things. you just sit on the chair, resting your chin on your palm and looking at your boyfriend, who giggles every time your eyes meet. what a child he is. is yours.

the smile doesn't leave his lips at all until X moment, when his fingers dance across the keys and tweet about the live broadcast in half an hour or an hour. This is where it gets a little alarming. a small lump comes to his throat from various thoughts and simple excitement, and he sees it. reads like an open book.

Alex is always careful with you, so incredibly gentle that others would probably laugh at him when they see this, but he won’t care, he loves. love you. his hands gently wrap around your shoulders, squeezing and stroking them every now and then as he holds you close and rocks you both lightly, humming.

– everything will be fine. I’m nearby, and I won’t leave you alone with thousands of people on the other side of the screen.- his whisper sounds so close, so quiet, but you hear every word, feel it and try to take a stupid breath. right. he's always right when it comes to this.

– well, if you try to leave me, I’ll just throw something at you so that you don’t run even further away from me.- you casually shrug, joining his little dance in the form of swaying your hips from side to side and hear his laugh.

– well, you can try.-

the time for thinking is over when your lover starts the broadcast and the screen shows a picture of a TV set with "start soon" blinking on and off. the chat flies by, giving you no opportunity to read the individual messages that catch your attention. they appear and disappear in the same second, you grin. folding your hands behind your back you step outside the camera behind the apron and seem to hear your boyfriend start talking to the audience. with a questioning glance in his direction you make sure he's just talking, not yet putting the camera recording on the screens.

everything is going relatively well from the moment the stream starts, Alex is talking to the viewers, sometimes shrieking and laughing, telling the latest news from recent trips and events he's been to. and then he stops talking.

– by the way, chat, do you think I'm alone here?- he provokes. the messages are flying again and the answers of the viewers vary, someone says that yes, you are alone, someone says something nice, saying, "of course not, we are here with you", and someone is already launching theories about a possible person behind the scenes. pressing your lips you are waiting for his next words, actions.

– I'm not alone,- he stretches out with a smile, coming to the edge of the camera's grip and extending his hand to you. your heart pounds in your eardrums, drowning out the other noise as you squeeze his hand and step into the frame. - I've got this beautiful person here with me.

everything is going surprisingly calmly and well. maybe... just the calm before the storm. and if you thought so - you would be damn right.

at first everything was really good, you just stood slightly to the side, talking with the chat while Quackity cut food for something, and also asked you to serve him this or that, and of course you helped without refusal. sometimes they helped with words, sometimes they did everything themselves. jokes came out of your mouth as soon as you felt more comfortable, you laughed and joked back, jostled a little and smiled a lot, a lot.

but at what point did everything go... wrong? or was everything right, but from the point of view of having fun? who knows...

I guess... it all started when Alex jokingly threw a towel at you, and you threw it back. so there was running around the kitchen for five minutes until you were eventually squeezed into a corner.

– oh fuck..-

– gotcha.-

– mister, I won’t cook for you anymore if you do anything to me..-

– oh, you will, sorry carinõ.-

after that there were a lot of screams, squeaks and other noise, because this guy’s fingers are fast and nimble, and he knows your weak spots in order to make you squirm under him and laugh at the top of your lungs while he tickles your ribs. you squirm at this, try to dodge him and accidentally knock over the molds of raw dough onto the floor with a loud crash. you both died laughing.

next - a fight with flour. why? because.

Alex hastily pours some flour into his hand and clenches his fist so as not to give away his evil plan on you while you try to wipe the floor with a rag outside the camera area. he smiles and puts a finger to his lips, signaling to the audience to "be quiet" and chuckles quietly. When you ask what he’s doing, Quackity shrugs, pretending to be an innocent lamb until you get up and look at him. boom. flour on your face. you sigh dramatically, starting to cough as the guy jumps back laughing, expecting a retaliatory attack from you. and of course you do. grabbing a bag of flour, you go in his direction, and in the vastness of the kitchen you can hear cries for help from your lover when he runs out of the frame and quickly walks around the kitchen island to make it harder for you to get to him and sticks out his tongue, teasing.

with your hands sticky from dough and white from flour, you just run around the kitchen, trying to hide from this man at least behind something. be it a chair or a cupboard door. grabbing the back of the chair that Alex brought so that you could sit peacefully in the back - you block him and yourself with this little wall, trying to protect yourself from his touch.

– Alex! I'm wearing a new sweatshirt!-

– I'm wearing my favorite black shirt, but you didn't stop me from getting dough on it!-

– noooo!- you squeal like a little kid who's been scared out of his mind as he snatches the chair from you and catches you in his arms, running his dirty hands down your back as if on purpose. you whimper, hiding your defeat in his shoulder as a victorious smirk spreads across his lips and he laughs, pulling you closer and kissing you on the temple.

– awww but you know I love you, right?-

– yeah-yeah, clean up this mess first, then we can talk about you conquering the world for me like you said when you were drunk..-

– I thought you'd forgotten about that...-

– and you're supposed to wash my sweatshirt, asshole.-

– don't talk like your clothes are the only ones that got hurt!-

but the important thing is that you had a good time. right?

[rallamajoop]

Mia Winters and the Connections

There are a lot of bad takes on Mia Winters out there, a lot of really irritating shallow misconceptions. But for now, I’m just going to tackle one of the big ones that annoys me the most.

Mia Winters is not a scientist, and it's debatable whether she had any long-term association with the project that created Eveline. She may not have even met Eveline before being assigned to transport her to South America.

Mia’s not any kind of researcher. Her job when she worked at the Connections is laid out clearly in the first document you find within moments of starting the flashback ("Orders"): she’s a member of the Special Operations Division in the English version, or a 'special agent' in the Japanese (特殊工作員, tokushu kousaku-in). The English version also gives Mia the role of 'caretaker', implicitly of Eveline, but there's not much to suggest this is a role extending beyond the bounds of this particular mission (for comparison, the Japanese doesn't mention caretaking at all).

Mia's job is exactly what we see her doing in the game: transporting important assets under cover identities, and running around doing damage control with a machine gun if things go south. She echoes the same in her letter to the Bakers, stating she 'was assigned to transport some important cargo.' Even the 'imprinting protocol' she refers to seems to be mostly part of a transport protocol (going by the very little we ever learn about it), and may not even have been implemented until shortly before they left.

Even in the one photo of her standing with the research team, you might note that Mia and her partner Alan are the only people present not wearing lab coats (and believe me, with how much other photoshopping there is in this photo, Mia would have been wearing a lab coat if they'd wanted her in one). The photo itself is far more of an easter egg than a real plot point anyway, and probably isn't worth reading too much into ‒ I mean, Alan is apparently the director of the Special Operations division, so it makes no sense to assume he's part of this one science team. But if you really want a 'canonical' explanation for this photo, considering Mia and Alan are wearing the same clothes as in the ship flashback, you could reasonably assume it was taken right before Eveline was shipped off to America ‒ a kind of "Let's get one last snapshot of the team together with the transport crew before Eveline goes to South America" deal. It's completely plausible Mia may not even have met Eveline until the same day this was taken.

So where does this 'scientist' nonsense come from? The only source which does call Mia a 'researcher' is a timeline entry in this one RE7 strategy guide which has never been published in English – and it's a good example of why sources like this are usually better treated as pseudo-canon at best. You can find various translations of it online – but you can also buy the whole ebook (which I did), so here's the page where it originally comes up.

And yes, inasmuch as I’m qualified to translate, the line does state that Mia joined the company as a ‘researcher’ (研究員, kenkyuu-in) in 2010. But the same guidebook also refers to her as an operative (工作員) just a couple of pages later, so even the guidebook is hardly consistent.

Charitably, perhaps we could read that Mia was initially hired as some kind of generic, low-level research assistant before being transferred to the special operations division after showing aptitude in that area. But it's more likely that Mia was simply going to be a researcher at some point in the game’s development history, before Capcom changed their minds, and the timeline that made it into the guidebook is just very out of date ‒ it happens. Either way, one line in an inconsistent guide book hardly trumps what actually made it into the games.

I do realise that asking people to pay attention to what's actually in the games over what's repeated in some wiki somewhere (or a gazillion different fanfic) is a big ask for any fandom, but Mia was clearly never a scientist in the game we all played. She still knowingly worked for some really evil people – she doesn’t get to claim innocence here – but the idea she's personally responsible for every bad thing ever done to Eveline is absurd.

FWIW, other details from the guidebook also back up the idea that transporting assets was a major part of Mia’s job. Her bio (above) mentions that she was away from home a lot, something that strained the Winters’ marriage, and that she told people she worked for a ‘trading company’ – a solid cover for a job focused on travel and logistics.

A very little is said about Mia’s relationship with Eveline. The guidebook does mention that the reason Eveline’s so attached to Mia is because Eveline had known her since she was ‘confined to the “mysterious organisation” that created her’, which could be taken to imply she knew Mia well before their trip began, but it's not much to go on. Mia's own feelings on Eveline are described briefly in a caption: “Although Mia found Eveline creepy, she also felt compassion for her lonely situation,” which tracks with how Mia interacts with her in-game. It doesn't track so well with the idea Mia had any real authority over how Eveline was raised or treated, however, and would be perfectly consistent with the idea Mia might not have known her long at all.

The guidebook timeline also tells us that the E-series project begain in 2000, and that Eveline herself was created in "the early 2000s." This doesn't make a whole lot of sense for reasons I've talked about already, but does put Eveline's creation well before 2010, the year the same timeline gives us for when Mia started working at the Connections. Since the guidebook also tells us Mia was 32 in 2017, back in 2000, she would have been all of 15 years old. Whatever Mia's involvement, the project long predates her joining the company.

But the real issue with trying to given Mia any major responsibility for the E-series project is that the lab that created Eveline was located in Europe. Mia, meanwhile, has a driver's license telling us she's from Texas.

The European location for the lab is another detail that gets barely mentioned in the games, though it's mentioned repeatedly in the guidebook, and the Baker Incident Report even puts it specifically in Munich, Germany. Given all we learn in RE8, that location does make a lot of sense, when the mould was found in Eastern Europe, and that Miranda herself was part of the research team (she gets multiple photos and a lab coat, you may note). And even if the lab wasn’t right on Miranda’s doorstep, Munich is a heckuva commute from Texas, or anywhere else in the US. Even if Mia was often away from Ethan for long periods, as her bio implies, how involved could she realistically have been?

I don't want to overstress the idea that it "doesn't make sense" for a special agent from Texas to have been intimately involved in a European research project ‒ making sense has never held back RE lore before. But the idea that Mia was brought in only as a handler for Eveline when she was being moved to America still makes a lot more sense than to suggest the Connections were fine with their star asset’s primary handler going home to the US every other weekend.

There are possibilities between the two extremes, of course: Mia may have had sporadic contact with Eveline before the trip, either regularly or just once or twice. It's easy to assume the 'imprinting protocol' must mean that Mia's been Eveline's primary handler for some time, but heck, maybe it's better read as the opposite ‒ something that can be quickly applied to a new handler or caretaker in a hurry, to explain how Eveline got so attached to someone she'd only just met.

Given everything we actually see of her, you could even speculate that Mia was chosen as Eveline's 'caretaker' specifically because she was someone nice and motherly enough for Eveline to bond with. Eveline was pretty clearly fucked up long before Mia ever got involved, and not actually wanting to adopt a walking bioweapon whose idea of a happy family involves mould-powered mind control really does not reflect badly on Mia's character.

Whether Mia was already working for the Connections before she met Ethan also isn't clear. The guidebook tells us she began working for them in 2010, and married Ethan in May of 2011 (later confirmed by the date on Mia's ring in RE8) – though it doesn't specify when she and Ethan met. Even by Texas standards, marrying someone you’d known less than a year would be pretty unusual, so it’s likely Ethan knew her before she took the job. But even that 2010 statement comes along with the bit about Mia being hired as ‘a researcher’, so you can always take it with a grain of salt if you'd prefer.

And that's pretty much it for what the complete RE canon ever tells us about Mia and her former employers.

So here’s where I’m left with Mia’s role at the Connections. Even if she wasn’t aware of exactly what she was signing up for when she joined the company, and even if she considered all that lying to her husband about it to be a simple matter of confidentiality around sensitive research, she’s fully aware by the disaster in 2014, and plainly has a guilty conscience when she admits to lying to Ethan in her video message. However responsible she may or may not have been, she's still complicit. Her hands are hardly clean.

But they’re still a whole lot cleaner than, say, Luis’, considering that he was a key member of the science teams at both Umbrella Europe and in Saddler’s cult, and I don’t see him getting a fraction of the same hate as Mia. They both regret what they’ve done, and they’re both willing to give their own lives to make up for it. No, Luis never lied to a spouse about it (that we know of), but he's every bit as shifty and secretive. And frankly, most of the other shit that gets dumped on Mia’s doorstep is just as much bullshit (like, people do realise the “Mia” we see having “marital problems” with Ethan at the start of RE8 isn’t Mia, right?) But that’s material for other posts.

We don’t know how Mia got involved with the Connections, or how she felt about working for them, because the games never give us this information, and that’s a real shame. But in the capitalist hellscape we’re all living in, she’d hardly be the first to find herself stuck working for truly terrible people, one way or another.

Meanwhile, everything we see her doing during the outbreak on the tanker speaks to a basically good person, desperately trying to run damage control in a fucked-up situation. She tells Alan she’s not going to let him die, even though what’s going down is his fault. She tries so hard to talk Eveline down. After she’s rescued by the Bakers in the Daughter's DLC, she insists on staying in the trailer, meaning to leave at her first opportunity – pretty significant, considering she knows she’s infected already. She also leaves them a message warning them to stay away from Eveline, even sharing information on how to make a serum if they are infected. If you pick her over Zoe on the dock, the first thing she does is try to convince Zoe to come with them anyway. Even under Eveline's mind control, you'll catch her ranting about needing to contain the outbreak, blaming herself, and telling Ethan she loves him with her last breath.

And after being infected herself, the first thing on her mind is to try and protect Ethan, recording that message admitting she’s lied to him, and warning him to stay away (Ethan never gets that message, but you can’t say Mia didn’t try). Mia loves Ethan enough to die to save him – and she will, if you choose the Zoe path, and she’ll do it without a second thought.

Mia is fascinating to me as a character because she’s so full of contradictions: a woman who leaves syrupy video messages sending ‘tons of kisses’ to her husband, but who is completely comfortable running around with a machine gun killing mould-monsters, and who shrugs off an Eveline jump-scare with 'fucking hallucinations!' Someone who’s done bad things and knows it, and is trying so hard to make up for it, but whose background and motivations are left frustratingly undeveloped. But if you haven’t caught that Ethan and Rose mean more to her than anything, you really haven’t been paying attention.

Whatever you assume about Mia’s full story, she’s complicated in a way that makes her so much more interesting to me than most of the franchise’s more popular playable characters. I am very serious in saying I want RE9 to be just the full Mia-Winters-story, because to me that’s the only remotely satisfying justification for keeping her such a mystery for so long. I know that's not at all likely, but fuck it, I can dream.

Mia’s made her share of mistakes, but holding her responsible for everything the Connections has ever done is no kind of fair.

[lowkeychenle]

Try Me On [NJM] (feat. Chenle)

Description: FWB!Jaemin takes you to buy lingerie. You're surprised when he tells you to pick out one Chenle will like too, until you realize what his goal is. A few photos and a video call later, you know you're in for it the next time you see Chenle.

Genre: Smut

Word Count: 3,073

Content Warnings: So much goes on here lmfao sooo public sex (Jaemin), phone sex (Chenle), one lil instance of a hand necklace (thank you Jaemin), use of the term Princess, Chenle calls them brats yada yada oh and unprotected sex (plz don't do this part)...and use of mirrors.......and taking pics and videos there's a lot okay

Pairing: Zhong Chenle x Reader x Na Jaemin

Author's Note: This is the second installment...so you should read the first part of the AU first, but the poly portion of it is kind of ambiguous right now? They'll get there eventually but the smut needs to progress naturally to that point (bc boo more smut right?)

Opposites Attract [Poly!Jaemle Series Masterlist]

General Masterlist

Permanent Taglist: @haeigoo

“Isn’t the whole point of lingerie like, you being surprised?” You furrow your eyebrows at Jaemin. “Plus, what if someone sees you with me?”

“You know we’re still friends in real life, right?” Jaemin chuckles as he walks into the store behind you.

“Male friends don’t usually go with female friends to try on underwear, Jaem,” you remind him, eyes already snagging on a few pieces you like.

“I’m a man, and you need a man’s opinion. Sounds simple enough to me.”

You snort in response.

“It’s not complicated at all, Princess. Plus, I paid them to close the store for two hours so you could find whatever you’d like.” His tone is so nonchalant, you almost miss what he actually said.

“You paid them for what?” Your jaw drops. “Jaemin, what the hell? What if they know who you are?”

“Money solves all problems,” he says. “Stop worrying. The clock is ticking and if I don’t see you at least 90% naked, I’m gonna make you 100% naked in the middle of the store.”

Your cheeks suddenly burn like you’re on fire. There’s not an ounce of humor in his voice.

“While you’re at it,” he pauses briefly, almost like he has to come to terms with what he’s about to say next, “find something Chenle would like, too.”

No way in hell today is happening. It’s completely possible you’re dreaming right now, because Na Jaemin just told you to pick out lingerie sets to wear for him and your other fuck buddy. It’s only been a week since you took both of them at once. Things seemed fairly normal after that—as in, they went back to having completely separate relationships with you.

“Didn’t know you thought of me with Chenle a lot,” you mutter, looking anywhere but at Jaemin.

“At first it was a little bit of an ego shot.” Jaemin’s honesty almost knocks you off your feet. “But it feels normal now. And I’m not going to buy you lingerie to wear for me and not think of the way Chenle has bent you over every surface of your house.”

“Jaem—“

“I never realized how turned on I’d get at the idea of watching you get fucked by someone else. You were so overwhelmed, Princess. It was sexy.” He runs his fingers through his hair, chest rising. “Pick some out for him, too.”

You clear your throat, trying your best to pretend his simple words didn’t have heat swarming inside you. If the offer was on the table, you’d take them both again. The pleasure was unlike anything you’d ever felt before, and you swear you can still feel it tingling inside you at the mere thought of them.

Jaemin prefers lighter colors. Pinks, whites, baby blues. He likes feigned innocence and purity, fabric that left little to the imagination but still covered you enough to leave him some joy in unwrapping you.

And even though you hadn’t ever dressed in lingerie for Chenle, you have a feeling you know what he likes. Blacks, reds, deep, royal blue. For him, you couldn’t really convince yourself he’d like anything more than he likes seeing you naked.

You pick out four to try on. There’s only one that might spark something for Chenle, but you aren’t completely sure. Jaemin would help you decide.

You head over to the fitting rooms, giving Jaemin a wide-eyed glance when he tries to follow you. The worker stops him.

“Sorry, sir, I can’t let you go in there.” She holds up her hand.

“Ah.” With a sigh, he reaches into his pocket for his wallet. He opens it and grabs a wad of cash, holding it out to the woman. “I don’t even think I’m really here right now.”

Reluctantly, she takes it from him and disappears toward the front of the store. You should scold him for doing something like that, but you can’t help but like it much more than you should.

Jaemin leads you into the room by the small of your back, closing and locking the door behind you. You’re not sure what to expect from him. There’s plenty of space to move around, and he sits on the bench on the far side of the room. You stand between him and the mirror, the skimpy shreds of fabric clutched to your chest.

“You want me to just…”

“Yep.” He grins, raising his eyebrows. “I’ve seen it all, baby.”

“It’s different in this context. What if they look bad on me?” You frown at him.

He scoffs. “(Y/N), in no world are any of those gonna look bad. You’re so sexy, you make me hard no matter what you’re wearing.”

You won’t lie—he boosts your confidence way more than you should allow. If Na Jaemin is calling you sexy, you have to be, right?

“Try Chenle’s on first. We’ll send him a picture.” Jaemin pulls his phone out of his pocket and winks. “Think he’s busy?”

You pull your shirt over your head. “He said he was recording with Donghyuck and Renjun today.”

“Let’s make his day a little harder, huh?” He chuckles to himself, leaning back against the wall as he watches you strip.

His gaze drinks in every inch of your bare skin as you remove the rest of your clothing. You try to ignore the dark look in his eyes once you’re fully naked, really try, but everything he does makes you crave him beyond belief.

The royal blue fabric is intense, despite the lack of material. It’s completely sheer, displaying your already peaked nipples without even a smidge of coverage.

“Fuck,” Jaemin mumbles, shifting forward. “You look so fucking good.”

“I don’t know about that.” You let out a small laugh.

“C’mere. We’ll ask Chenle.” He spreads his legs, and you already know what he wants you to do.

“Jaem…”

“Baby,” he whines. “Come get on your knees and let me show him. You didn’t mind both of us at the same time last week.”

You do as he asks, kneeling in front of him and placing your palms on your knees. Gulping, you patiently wait as he positions his phone to take the photo.

“You look so good,” he says, wetting his lips. “Wanna do one more pose for him?”

Against your better judgment, you nod.

“Put your ass up.” It’s not a suggestion.

You listen, turning around and sliding your chest against the floor. The hardwood is cold on your skin, but Jaemin’s sharp inhale makes you undeniably warm. With a burst of confidence, you spread your legs a but further, knowing you’re giving him a clear view of your pussy.

Jaemin grips your ass while he takes the picture.

“Okay, baby. Get one of the other ones. Hurry, or I’ll have to fuck you in this one before Chenle does.”

Blushing, you get up and grab the pink one you picked out. You barely have time to get it all the way on when Jaemin’s phone buzzes once, twice, three times.

He looks at the screen and chuckles. “Chenle’s mad at me. He said he wants to, and I quote, rip that flimsy fabric off of her and fuck her stupid.”

You’re so weak when it comes to them. Jaemin glances up at you, a dark look in his brown eyes.

“My God, look at you.” He clicks his tongue. “Should we keep playing with him? I think so.”

“We can’t stay here all day,” you warn him. “We’ve already been here for an hour.”

“Okay, I’ll give you the choice then.” He sighs. “You can suck my cock or you can get fucked while I send videos of us to Chenle.”

“This isn’t real.” You laugh, smacking your palm to your forehead. “Jaemin, we’re in public!”

“This is a closed room,” he replies.

His gaze rakes over your body.

“We’ll buy that one, too. Put the white one on and pick an option.”

Your logic doesn’t work when you’re around Jaemin. He offers to fuck you and you melt into a puddle immediately no matter where you are or what you’re doing. Your body knows he doesn’t stop until you’ve finished, and now you crave release.

“We gotta be fast, babe.” He unbuttons his pants as you put the white set on. “Please, please pick getting fucked. I’ve been so hard this whole time.”

If you’re going to commit to this, you’ll act the part, too. You put on the best seductive face you can, moving slowly over to him until you’re standing between his legs.

“I’m buying you all of these,” he mutters, shaking his head. “Too fucking sexy.” He turns you around so you’re facing the mirror, his fingers trailing up your bare sides and sneaking under the white lace.

You gasp when he yanks you down onto his lap, hands resting on your hips. He chuckles lowly, kissing from your shoulder to your jawline.

“What are you doing?” you ask breathlessly, eyes nearly rolling when his touch ghosts along your inner thighs.

“Just making sure you’re ready for me.” He squeezes your leg.

“I’m ready.” You grind down the best you can, living for the way he hums in response.

He releases you, allowing you to stand up while he pushes his jeans down. Reaching into his boxers, he pulls himself out of his boxers, stroking a couple times before he beckons for you to join him. You climb over him and make sure to face the mirror while you straddle him. The uncomfortable plastic of the bench digs into your knees, but as Jaemin slides the thin fabric covering your heat aside, you don’t even think of it.

“God,” he groans when he slides a finger along your entrance. “You must fucking love the thought of both of us, don’t you?”

“You might like it a little more than me,” you tease him.

You barely get the sentence out before he’s guiding his throbbing cock into you. Once he’s fully inside, every word you considered saying next has disappeared, and all that’s left is how good he feels. The stretch is a little harder to take without foreplay, but he allows you time to adjust.

“Princess,” he mutters against your ear. “You brought him into this. I’m being good and sharing, is that not what you want? Because I can just as easily keep you for myself.”

You lift yourself up with his guidance, moaning when he thrusts up to meet you on the way back down. He inhales sharply, grabbing his phone.

“Keep going,” he commands.

It’s hard to move in this position, so you’re not able to ride him the way you usually would, but the lack of mobility sends more wetness to your core. You’re desperate to take all of him. Focusing on his pleasure, you ignore the ache forming in your thighs.

His hand travels over the expanse of your stomach, and from the way you see him holding his phone in the mirror, you know he’s recording. You try your best to move faster, wanting to give the recipient of the video that much more material. He finds your clit rubbing it just enough to have you moan loudly and jolt your hips before he stops.

He drops his head against the wall, ending the recording and sending it to Chenle.

“How does it feel, Princess?” he asks, touch dancing along your collarbone. The soft fabric of his sweatshirt presses into your back, and you wish more than anything you could feel his bare skin against yours. He gives your throat a quick squeeze. “You’re stuffed full of my cock, and Chenle’s watching that video wishing he was me.”

You let out a weak laugh. “Jaem, are you getting jealous?”

He fully wraps his hand around your neck and tugs you back until he’s talking in your ear. “Careful, baby,” he warns you. “Don’t give me a reason to be.”

His phone vibrates with an incoming call against the bench, and you stop moving. You settle onto his lap even though your entire body begs you to continue. Jaemin answers, but he doesn’t have time to say anything before Chenle starts scolding him.

“What part of I’m recording with Renjun and Donghyuck did you two not fucking understand?” His voice sounds strained. “You fucking brats.”

“Keep going, Princess.” Jaemin pats your leg before returning his attention to Chenle. “She looks sexy in white, doesn’t she?”

You resume your motions, trying to set a steady pace while Jaemin rubs your thigh.

“Fuck you, Jaemin,” Chenle groans, the sound sending a shiver down your spine. “I don’t have a lot of time, and I’m hard as hell. Can’t believe I’m stuck recording while you’re fucking our girl.”

Our girl. You whimper at the words, and you’re not sure if the twitch of Jaemin’s cock buried deep inside you is from you or Chenle.

Your legs burn at this point, but when the signature FaceTime sound starts, you don’t dare slow down your pace. Jaemin feels heavenly inside you, and the thought of Chenle watching has you dripping down your thighs. You forget you’re in public for a moment, moans falling from your lips as Jaemin positions the phone in front of you. He uses his knees to spread you apart further, and he sinks a little further inside you.

Chenle has the perfect view of you riding Jaemin.

“You’ve always been too easy on her,” Chenle growls. “Play with her tits.”

You’re surprised Jaemin listens to the other’s command. He immediately slides his hand beneath the white fabric and tweaks your nipple. Your hips jerk and you’re so close to begging him to make you cum. You feel the high approaching, but you need more. His length is heavenly inside you, but it’s not enough to push you over the edge, and both he and Chenle know that. Your clit throbs, screaming at you to give it attention.

“She doesn’t get to finish,” Chenle says. “Fuck her until you’re done, but she doesn’t deserve it yet.”

You cry out in protest.

“She’s so pretty when she cums, though.” Jaemin pouts, moving down until his fingers tease your lower stomach.

“My God, please.” You move faster. “Please, I need it so bad.”

“Don’t you hear her?” Jaemin hums. “I always make my princess cum. What are you gonna do about it?”

His fingers connect with your clit, and you let out a much too-loud moan as your hips jerk. You move faster on top of him, wanting nothing more than to fall apart. Right before the high washes over you, he stops.

“Fuck,” you hiss, trying to get that feeling back.

Chenle’s breath hitches, and the sounds coming from his end of the phone tells you he’s fisting his cock right now.

“I’ll punish both of you.”

Jaemin’s length twitches inside you, and this time, you know it’s from Chenle. Warmth floods your legs as all sorts of images flash across your mind. You don’t want to be punished, but you desperately want to cum. Your body aches, and there’s an intense pressure building in your abdomen that makes your skin sticky with sweat and your core flutter around Jaemin.

Smirking, he finds your clit again. Almost like he knows what’s going to happen, he drops his phone and covers your mouth with his hand, muffling your scream of pleasure as your walls clamp down on him. Your vision turns white, and you barely notice what happens next between your delirious state and the way Chenle’s moans filter through the phone.

Jaemin pulls you off him and turns you around so he can look at you. You’re back on his lap within seconds, and he tugs you down until you’re filled with him all over again. He seems to have forgotten about the other man. He thrusts upward, nails digging into your hips to pull you down every time.

Another few seconds later, and his head is falling back against the wall with a thud as his warm cum fills you. He gives himself a moment to calm down, and then he grabs his phone. With your head buried in his neck, you shy away from the camera.

“Both of you better be at my fucking house in the next half an hour, understood?” Chenle’s voice is low and a bit scratchy. “I’m getting out of here, and by the time I get home, both of you better be waiting.”

“One more thing,” Jaemin says. He wraps his arm around you and lays you back against the bench. As he slides his cock out of you, he positions his phone so Chenle has a clear view of Jaemin’s cum leaking out of your pussy and gathering on the ruined lingerie.

“Don’t piss me off even more.” Chenle huffs. “Half an hour, Jaemin. I’m not playing with you.”

“We’ll see.” Jaemin grins widely, winking at his phone before hanging up. He tosses it to the side, returning his attention to you. “Are you okay, Princess? That wasn’t too much, was it?”

“I’m good.” You nod, closing your eyes. “We definitely have to buy this one now.”

He chuckles, helping you sit up. “I already paid for all of them. Did you really think I’d fuck you in it and then pay for it? I’m not a monster.”

You stand on your shaky legs, and he helps you remove the ruined fabric and grabs your clothes. Once both of you are fully dressed, he goes out to the cashier to get a bag. You put all four sets into it. When you see yourself in the mirror, you cringe at how messy you look. There’s no way that woman out there won’t know what happened in here—if she hadn’t heard you first.

You don’t look at her as you follow Jaemin out of the store. He flashes his dazzling smile at you, and you’re not sure why that sends a flutter to your heart.

“Guess we’d better go to Chenle’s, huh?” He raises his eyebrows. “He’s not very happy with us.”

“I didn’t even do anything.” You pout but nod anyway.

He laughs and throws his arm over your shoulder. “You were literally fucking yourself on my cock, babe. I think that counts as something.”

Even with your legs shaking as you walk to Jaemin’s car, everything inside you tingles with excitement at the thought of Chenle punishing you.

[cariantha]

Favors

Book: Open Heart, Book 1 Pairing: Dr. Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Dr. Sawyer Brooks) Rating: General Category: Angsty Fluff, Christmas Word count: 2.5K Summary: Sawyer is worried that her crush is getting the wrong impression and is later hurt when she thinks he has taken advantage of a situation. A/N: This takes place during intern year (pre-Miami) shortly before the events in Merry Christmas, Rookie.

Events/Prompts: • Photo prompt from @jerzwriter • Participating in CFWC Holidays 2023 • Participating in Choices Flashfics Holiday Prompts 🎄12: “The tree isn’t the only thing getting lit this year.” 🎅21: “It looks like Santa threw up in here.” 🎁67: “What’s wrong? Do you not like your gift?” • Participating in Choices Flashfics Week #64 Prompts 👨🏻‍⚕️2: “I’m not in the mood for a lecture.” • Participating in Choices Holidays Winter 2023

While waiting in the lunch rush lines in the cafeteria, Sienna reminded her roommates of their party assignments. “...I’ve got the treats covered, Elijah is handling the music, Jackie is making jingle juice-”

“Hell yeah!” Elijah exclaimed, giving Jackie a high-five. 

“The tree isn’t the only thing getting lit this year,” she said coolly.

“Oh, and don’t forget your white elephant gifts!” Sienna also reminded them.

“Shit, I forgot about that. What are the rules again?” Jackie asked.

“The only rule is you can’t buy anything,” Sienna answered. 

“I’ll go shop the lost and found when we’re done here.”

“Or, I saw some pharma reps in the atrium earlier. You could try to hit them up for some swag,” Sawyer chimed in. 

When the group reached the front of the line, a heavy arm slipped around Sawyer’s shoulders. “Thanks for saving my spot, Brooks,” Bryce winked, cutting in line.

“Do you meatheads have to cut into everything?” Jackie barked.

Bryce chomped into the apple he hadn’t yet paid for. “Yep,” he nodded with a big toothy grin. “I’m just trying to get on the naughty list. If you all want to join me, we could save Santa a trip this year,” he joked.

“You’re already looking at Santa’s favorite ho,” Jackie quipped.

“Brooksie, I actually am in a hurry. I need to scrub in for a lymphadenectomy. Do you mind?” he asked seriously.

Sawyer tilted her head to the register, gesturing for him to go ahead.

“Thanks.” When the cashier asked if they were together, Bryce said yes.

“Bryce, you don’t have to-”

He placed a hand on the small of her back. "I've got you, Ipo. I'll see you later," he promised before hurrying away.

“Girl, what are you holding out for? He's hot and he's totally into you,” Sienna teased, once Bryce was out of earshot. 

Sawyer lifted her tray and turned to her friend. She opened her mouth to say something, but froze when she spotted a six-foot-four-inch, blue-eyed attending at the adjacent register. Not knowing how much he saw or heard, a blush of embarrassment colored her cheeks. Feeling like a shy teenager at a school dance, Sawyer hoped the interaction with Bryce hadn’t given her crush the wrong impression. 

As Ethan raised his eyes to her, he gave no indication. Pocketing his wallet, he stoically turned and exited the cafeteria. 

As their shift ended, Sawyer approached her roommates who were walking in the opposite direction down the hall.

“Locker room is that way, Brooks,” Jackie pointed. 

“I know, I just need to run and check on one more patient before I clock out.”

“Do you want us to wait for you?” Sienna asked.

“No, don’t wait up. I’ll be right behind you.” 

After making sure the coast was clear, Sawyer slipped behind the plastic curtain that sealed off the construction wing. Naveen spiked a fever earlier in the day, and she wanted to check on him before going home. She found him fast asleep, and after checking his monitors and medications, she quietly tidied the room. When she finished, she softly closed the door behind her, whispering, “Goodnight, Dr. B.”

On her way to dispose of some trash, Sawyer’s phone buzzed in her pocket.

Bryce knocked and let himself in, making a beeline to the kitchen to find Sienna. “Help?” he asked, lifting a roll of wrapping paper and tape.

She looked at him puzzled. “Where’s your gift?”

“You're looking at it.” He beckoned her to the living room, where he laid down on the floor. 

“You’re ridiculous, you know that?” she laughed, kneeling next to him.

A few minutes later, Sienna placed the last piece of tape, securing the wrapping around Bryce’s torso. Using all of her body weight, she rolled him to his back and slid him under the Christmas tree. 

“Si?” he called, his voice muffled. “Do me a favor and start the game sooner than later. I already have to pee.”

In the locker room, Sawyer traded her white coat for her winter one. As she gathered her things, her phone buzzed with an incoming call.

“Hi,” she answered.

“Hi. By any chance, are you still at the hospital?” Ethan asked.

“I am.”

“Could I ask you for a favor? I’ve had something come up at the last minute. Would you be able to stay with Naveen for a few hours?”

By now, Sawyer had come to know Ethan Ramsey well enough to know that he would not ask for help unless he was desperate. “Sure. Is everything okay?”

“Yes. I’m pressed for time right now, but I’ll explain later. I’ll relieve you as soon as I can.”

“No problem.”

“Thanks, Rookie.”

Sawyer was about to text Sienna when Danny entered the room.  

“Hey, Sawyer,” he waved. “I thought you’d be at home getting ready for the party. I’m heading there now if you want a ride.”

“Danny, I’m so glad you’re here! Could you take something to Sienna for me? I’m not going to make it home for a while.”

“How come?” 

She made sure they were alone and lowered her voice. “Dr. Ramsey got tied up with something and asked if I would look after Patient X for a few hours.”

“You should go and have fun with your roommates, Sawyer. I can stay,” he insisted, having been recruited by Ethan shortly after Naveen agreed to be treated.

“That’s really sweet of you, Danny, but I know you traded shifts so you could be off tonight. Besides, Sienna baked a batch of peppermint chocolate chip cookies just for you.”

“She did?” he smiled.

“Yeah. Go. Have fun. I’ll be there as soon as Dr. R gets here.”

After Danny left with what appeared to be a wrapped bedpan, she updated her roommate.

Later, Sawyer was in Naveen’s room, scrolling through Pictagram when her phone vibrated with a new text notification.

Several hours had passed when Sawyer felt a hand on her shoulder. 

“Rookie?” 

“Hiiiii,” she managed through a yawn. 

“I’m so sorry,” Ethan apologized.

“Huh? What time is it?” Sawyer reached for her phone, noticing several missed calls from Sienna and Bryce. 

“It’s almost four in the morning. I would have been here sooner, but I accidentally dozed off,” he explained, helping her to her feet.

“It’s okay. There's no doubt you probably needed it. And it’s been quiet here. His fever finally broke a little while ago.” 

“Good. Go home and get some sleep,” he instructed, “I’ll tell Ines that you’ll be in this afternoon.” 

“Okay.” Sawyer shouldered her bag and headed for the door. “Good night."

“Sawyer?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Thank you.”

With a shake of the snow from her coat, Sawyer entered her apartment and found Landry eating breakfast at the kitchen table. “Oh boy. It looks like Santa threw up in here.”

“Smells like it too,” he grumbled. 

“I’m surprised you’re still going in early after…,” she circled her hand in the air, “all of this.”

“Yeah, well, not all of us are lucky enough to get preferential treatment from Dr. Ramsey.” 

“Excuse me?” 

“What? This is the second time he’s personally assigned you a case. To my knowledge, he hasn’t assigned cases to any of the other interns in the competition.”

“Wow. Well, maybe if you ever crack the top five, he will.” She let him chew on that as she hung her coat and walked to her room.

Bryce turned from the surgical board and spotted Sawyer approaching. “Finally coming to collect your prize, Brooksie?”

Sawyer rolled her eyes.

“What’s wrong? Do you not like your gift?”

“You’re ridiculous,” she shook her head with an amused smile.

“So I’ve been told. By the way, this gift comes with a night on the town.” 

Unbeknownst to her, Dr. Ramsey inconveniently emerged from a nearby patient’s room, catching the tail end of their conversation.

“Bryce-” 

But before she could protest, he backed his way down the hall. “I’ve gotta run. Check your schedule and let me know when to pick you up. And you should know, I have a strict ‘no rejections’ policy.”

She sighed deeply once his back was to her, then turned to find Ethan standing a couple feet away, his eyes focused on the tablet in his hand.

“Dr. Ramsey,” she acknowledged sheepishly.

Ethan glanced at her with a side eye. “Brooks.”

“Rrrrr! Of course he is here right now!” As they moved on to their next tasks, Sawyer told herself it was time for a heart to heart with Bryce.   

"Excuse me, would you please page Dr. Ramsey?"

A few minutes later, Ethan met an attractive woman at the nurses’ station and led her away from the busybodies seated at the circular desk. As they walked down the hall, she handed him a small box. “Thank you, Jen. I really appreciate this. I’ll send you the outcome report as soon as the trial period ends.”

Stepping in front of him, Jen pulled him to the side until their shoulders hugged the wall. "It was great to see you again." She paused as a couple nurses walked past. "We had a good time last night, didn’t we?"

“It was nice to catch up.”

She didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but when Sawyer heard the familiar voice, she wondered if her ears were deceiving her. 

“Listen, I would love to see you again tonight,” Jen continued, reaching for the end of his tie and running it through her fingers. “I’m staying at The Langham. Come have drinks with me and…,” she shrugged, "we can see where things go from there.” 

“I-”

Stepping out from the vending machine alcove, Sawyer turned her head in their direction. 

Ethan’s surprised eyes met hers, finding only hurt. He moved Jen’s hand back to her side as Sawyer spun and walked briskly in the opposite direction. 

“Jen, you’ll have to excuse me. I need to go,” he apologized, watching the woman he longed for retreat and disappear from sight. “I appreciate your assistance. I will speak with you later.” 

“Later tonight?”

“I’ll text you,” he said as he sidestepped her.

Ethan’s long strides carried him down the hall quickly. He nearly collided with a visitor as he rounded the corner. “I’m sorry. Excuse me.”

In the far corner of the cafeteria, Sawyer watched the snow fall in the empty courtyard. The sound of metal chair legs scraping against the tiled floor jarred her from her thoughts.

“I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“Why? Need another favor?” she said, words laced with disdain.

“Rookie, that-”

“Dr. Ramsey, I haven’t been helping you to win favor or get a leg up in the competition. If you want an intern to run errands and cover for your ass, then let me suggest Dr. Olsen. He'd be more than happy to fill that role.”

She lowered her voice, hurt replacing anger. “I canceled plans with my roommates last night, because I believed that if you were asking for help, it must have been important. If I had known I was only covering so that you could go on a date and get…” She let the rest of the sentence die on her tongue. “Sorry. I know it’s none of my business how you spend your free time, but I won’t let you take advantage of mine.” 

Visibly disappointed, she avoided eye contact. Ethan keenly observed that her disappointment went beyond merely thinking he would take advantage of her kindness. If he was reading the situation correctly, it was the same disappointment he had felt seeing her with the surgical intern.

“Sawyer, let me explain. Jen works for Phlaum Pharmaceuticals. They are currently conducting a trial on a new antibiotic for sepsis. I reached out to her when I heard about it. Her team is in the area promoting a new product this week. You may have noticed her reps in the lobby. She made herself available to meet with me last night. And after some convincing, she agreed to pull some strings to get Naveen into the trial. She was here this afternoon to drop off the treatment.” Ethan pulled a small vial from his pocket and placed it on the table.

“It sounded like you convinced her all right,” she muttered.

“Rookie. I know we haven’t known each other long, but do you honestly believe I’m the type of person who would trade sexual favors? I agreed to a testimonial and a couple expo appearances. That’s all.”

“What? Can you blame me for going there? She said she had a ‘good time,’ and you told me you were late because you ‘accidentally dozed off,’ then she asked you to meet her again tonight…At. A. Hotel.”

He shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose at her teasing dramatization, failing to hide the crack of a smile.

“So, how’d you get out of it?” she wondered.

“I told her I would text her later.”

“You don’t text.”

“Exactly.” His knee touched hers, but neither one attempted to move away. “I need to get back upstairs. Can you meet me later to review the trial protocols?”

“I have a few patients to check on. I’ll page you after?” she answered.

Ethan scooted back in his chair, but before standing, he covered Sawyer’s hand with his own. 

“Sawyer, your contributions and the sacrifice of your time have not gone unnoticed. And as far as I’m concerned, you are my partner on this case. I should have filled you in on the drug trial. I just didn’t want either of us to get our hopes up.” 

“Thank you, Dr. Ramsey.” When he moved to stand, she followed. “I’m finished here. I’ll head back up with you.”

The elevator doors were halfway closed when a fellow intern squeezed his way through. 

“Hi, Brad,” Sawyer greeted.

“Sooo, who’s the lucky guy?” he quizzed, embarrassingly indiscreet.

“Pardon?”

“Come on, girl. Why else would you ditch us last night? Your roommates say you’re never home. You rarely come out for drinks anymore. And, you’ve parked Bryce in the friend zone.” Brad nudged her shoulder with his. “Spill the tea.”

“Sorry to disappoint, TMZ, but I’m not dating anyone. I got stuck here with a last minute case.” She made her eyes big and subtly tipped her head toward Dr. Ramsey as a warning. Luckily, Brad picked up on the cue, sparing her from having to tell any more white lies. 

Ethan hid a smile, pretending not to notice the act.

“Any chance you guys will host again for New Years? You’re the only ones with an apartment big enough,” Brad asked as they exited the elevator together. 

“Talk to Elijah. He’s the party planner of the group.” 

Once Brad was on his way, Ethan reached for Sawyer's elbow drawing her back. “You skipped your own party?” 

She shrugged. “You needed my help, and our patient wasn’t in any condition to be left alone.”

“You should have told me. I would have figured something else out…” He looked into her eyes with a sense of wonder. “Thank you. I owe you one.”

She smiled up at him. “You’re welcome.”  

“So, what excuse did you give your roommates?” he asked as they walked side by side down the hall.

“About that…” she said with a tense grin, “I’m gonna need you to assign some of your cases to the other interns in the top five.”

“Come again?”

Tag List: @choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics @peonierose @potionsprefect @trappedinfanfiction @jerzwriter @queencarb @coffeeheartaddict2 @quixoticdreamer16 @jamespotterthefirst @liaromancewriter @zealouscanonindeer @tveitertotwrites @tessa-liam @youlookappropriate @kyra75 @socalwriterbee @txemrn @choicesflashfics

[assortedseaglass]

The Seamstress & The Sailor - Chapter Ten

Tom Bennett x OFC

[Masterlist]

Warnings: Swearing (v strong), suggestive language, ableist language, World on Fire spoilers.

Word Count: 7.4K

Note: Surprise! New chapter a day earlier than planned. I took down the poll as most people were voting for one longer chapter, so here it is!

January 1940

The new decade began blissfully for Bess Vaughn. True to his word, Tom indeed popped round the morning of New Year’s Day, on the pretense of spending time with Albie. When Cora told him that Albie was still in bed, having “over-exerted” himself the night before, Tom said he’d wait and was contented to listening to the sisters’ chatter while running his finger along Bess’ thigh under the table.

When Albie came down, washed but bedraggled, all but Bess and Tom had left for work. Not a minute after Bess had seen them off did Tom run back in.

“Told your brother I forgot something.”

“And did y-” Tom silenced her with a kiss. Then another. And another.

“Albie...will be wondering…where you are-” Bess said between kisses.

“Let him wait,” And with his hands cupping Bess’ neck, Tom rolled his tongue over hers and melted at the contented sigh it produced from her. “Still on for later?” He asked when he pulled back to look at her.

“Still haven’t found another girl that wants to go with you?”

“No need when I’ve got the best girl in Manchester.”

“Only Manchester?”

“Well, you didn’t see some of the girls in Port Stanley.” Bess slapped his shoulder. Tom winked and darted into the street to meet Albie.

“I’m off to see the girls,” Bess announced that evening once her family had demolished their dinner.

“Give Roberta and Hattie my love,” Fergal said from his armchair. “Back by eleven,” he waggled his finger jovially.

“Yes, dadda.” Bess kissed his cheek and left by the back gate. The first thing she saw when she stepped into the ginnel were those blue eyes gleaming at her. A cigarette hung jauntily from his lips. Bess raised her eyes at his attire; navy slacks and jumper underneath his blue jacket.

“Got to get a few perks from being in the navy,” he said with a smirk.

Bess tutted and took the cigarette from his lips, puffing smoke seductively into his face when she was finished. Every now and then, Tom made a gesture so unexpectedly romantic Bess’ heart skip a beat, and just that happened when he took Bess’ hand in his, kissed it and led her on their way. “Belle Vue, here we come.”

Tom was right. Wearing a uniform did bring its perks. Free entry to Belle Vue, a free round at the bar, free entry to rides and numerous handshakes.

“Do you always take girls on such cheap dates?” Bess teased. Tom answered by buying her candyfloss, and winning prizes for her at the coconut shy and hoopla. When Bess said she’d rather the coconut than the prize, Tom laughed.

“What? I’ve never had one before.”

“Good luck fitting that in your purse.” Once more, he was right, and Bess carried the coconut around for the rest of the night, the only exception when she left it at the carousel operator’s booth. Bess begged and begged Tom to join her, and he agreed on the condition he didn’t have to sit on a horse. Owing to the restriction of her skirt and bulk of her coat, Bess sat side saddle, with Tom stood at the neck of the painted horse. When the carousel sprang into life, the jaunty tune rattling around Belle Vue, Bess squealed. Tom never thought stoic Bess Vaughn capable of such a noise, and he watched her glee with awe. Bess caught him staring her.

“Mam loved the carousel. She used to bring us down when we were little and it was all we wanted to go on.” Tom, too, used to come down with Lois and his mother. Somewhere was a photo of the three of them stood by the carousel, taken by Douglas. Behind them the carousel was a blur, spinning out of reach of the camera’s capabilities.  

On the horse behind Bess and Tom, a little girl was being held by her older brother. She couldn’t care less about the carousel. Her eyes were watching Bess’ hair, the greens and pinks of the bulbs giving the copper a hazy halo. Bess tipped her head back in enjoyment, and the little girl’s eyes lit up. Tom watched the little girl watching Bess and smiled. He should have done this sooner.

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“How was it last night?”

“Eh?” Tom looked from the cigarette dwindling between his fingers to his father.

“Last night? How was it?”

Tom nodded. “Fine, yeah.”

“Lads all ok?”

“Yeah, they’re good.”

“Walter Watson’s in a bit of a state. Saw him this morning at the corner shop.”

“Probably deserved it,”

Douglas hummed. Pacifist or not, after Walter terrorised Bess as a girl, Douglas had considered giving him a thump from time to time. The pair fell silent and an unspoken conversation hung in the air. They both knew it was coming, but who would be first over the breach? A minute passed.

“I thought I was finally doing something for the right reasons. Something good.” Tom didn’t look his dad in the eye. His voice was firm, quiet. “But when I came up for air, and I saw our lads lying dead, something of them looking more like meat than bloke to be honest dad,” Douglas flinched, heartbroken his son now had the same memories as he. “I knew the German lads had the same.” Tom paused, waiting for his dad to speak. When he didn’t, Tom continued.

“I was right to be bad all along. So, where’s the sense of risking my life?” he caught Douglas’ eye. “You know? I’m-I’m done.”

“I think you should go back.” Douglas said without hesitation. Tom’s eyes fluttered with confusion and his anger roared into life.

“You want me to go back? To war? That you hate?”

“No, don’t want you to go back,” Douglas pinched the bridge of his nose. If Etta was here, she’d know what to say. “I just think that you should.”

Tom felt like he’d been kicked. “Because it’s me?”

“And because it’s me.” Douglas said quickly, making sure Tom didn’t misunderstand. “They’ll use you, to get at me. And they won’t register you in a million years”.

“You don’t know that dad,” Tom whispered, though he already sounded defeated.

“If the peace movement accept any lad who goes AWOL, then it’ll make us look like we’re encouraging deserters, no genuine conscientious objectors-” Douglas spoke with more passion than his son had heard in a long time, and wished his father would speak about him that way.

“And I’m not genuine? You don’t think I’m genuine?” Were it not for the sadness creeping into his bones, he would have screamed at his dad. Douglas watched him momentarily.

“Are you, son?” Father and son watched each other.

“I can be.” Tom whispered, sincere. “If you coach me.”

Douglas ignored this statement, Tom at once confirming the intentions of his plan to desert and admitting his fear. “And what if you get court-martialled for going AWOL? You could be hanged for desertion,” Tom’s eyes flickered to his cigarette and the thought of Bess. “Or getting beat up to a pulp in prison every day, eh?”

Tom nodded with a finality that made Douglas’ heart sink. “You know what? Yeah, you’re right.” He finished his cigarette. “Daft idea.” The chair scrapped against the kitchen floor as he stood and made his way to the stairs.

“No,” Douglas tried to keep his son close. “I just think you should think it through,”

“Yep. Not my strong suit dad.” Upstairs, the door to Tom and Lois’ room slammed.

Lois arrived home that night to find Douglas reading by the fire.

“Tom out?” She asked, hanging her coat and putting the kettle on the stove.

“He’s upstairs.” Douglas said without looking up.

“Nice evening?” This time her father didn’t reply. “House full of bloody cheer.” Lois roughly placed a cup of tea in front of her father, still angry at him for telling Robina Chase she was expecting Harry’s baby, and made her way upstairs.

“Tea for you.” Tom was lying against his pillow in his undershirt, smoking a cigarette and sulking. He didn’t reply, not even a word of thanks. She knew of her brother’s plan to desert and had spent the last few days waiting for her father to tell Tom he should go back. Deep down, although she selfishly wanted him to stay, she knew her father was right. “Do you want me to talk to dad?”

“He's a pacificist, but he wants me to go back and start killing people. Why don’t you ask him to explain that?” Tom gesticulated with his cigarette, his face a mixture of confusion, hurt and disgust.

“Maybe he thinks you aren’t a very good shot,” Lois ginned over her cup of tea.

“Ha-ha,” Tom said sarcastically. “That one of your ENSA jokes?” Lois’ smile faded when she saw the sadness in her brother’s eyes. “You know, for a moment, I thought he might be pleased. Just for a moment-”

“Go back down there and fight him then! Don’t just give up!”

“Why does it matter to you either way?” Tom was trying to keep his anger at the situation in check. It would be a damn sight easier if people trusted in him enough to speak their mind rather than this cryptic nonsense.  

“I need you to stay here. I need my brother.”

“What, you? You’ve never needed anything off me, all my life.” Lois looked away from him when he asked this and sipped her tea. “Fine.” Tom rolled over on his bed, not bothering to get under the covers. After a few minutes, he heard Lois put her cup on the table and switch off the light. Through the thin curtains, Tom could see the faint glow of the house across the street, and he thought of Bess. She’d be sat by the fire now, reading or playing the piano. Imagining the warmth of her soft lips and dark gaze of her eyes, Tom drifted into a sleep not plagued by nightmares, but filled with warmth and copper hair and ragtime.

✼　 　✼　 　✼　 　✼　 　✼　 　✼

“What did you tell them?” Bess panted, tucking a stray curl behind her ear as she approached Tom. The long coat she wore over her jumper and slacks was undone, and she looked unusually agitated.

“That I’m ill, what about you?” He said with a smile, watching as she tried to regain her composure.

“That I had a meeting with Robina Chase about her spring wardrobe. Dot wanted to stay behind and chat about it. Almost had to force her out the door, didn’t want to miss the showing.”

Gone with the Wind was still on at the picture house, and Tom had bought the two of them tickets. Quite honestly, he couldn’t care less about a three hour melodrama, but spending those hours with Bess in a darkened room certainly enticed him. By the time the afternoon showing had finished, Bess was glad for the winter. Four o’clock and the sun was just setting, perfectly hiding the mess of her hair and lipstick. Tom, rebellious by reputation, looked devilishly dishevelled and no one batted an eyelid at his swollen lips and tousled hair. In case Douglas was home from work, or Lois back from visiting friends, Bess led Tom down the ginnel behind the Vaughns’.

“The girls and dadda won’t be back from their shifts for at least another hour, and Albie’s paying Frank a visit.”

Tom took a step closer to Bess and held the lapels of her coat. “Miss Vaughn, are you inviting me inside?” He looked down his nose at her, chin turned up so she couldn’t reach his lips. Tom pulled her coat so she stumbled into his chest.

“I’m prepared to ruin my reputation for you, Mr Bennett.” At the suggestiveness in her voice, Tom’s eyebrows raised and he fought with every fibre not to lift her over his shoulder and carry her inside. She unlatched the gate and unlocked the yard door. No sooner had he stepped inside was her hand in his, leading him silently up the stairs. This wasn’t the first time Tom had been in the Vaughn girls’ bedroom, but it was the first time he had been in through the door. And during the day.

Bess made her way to the wardrobe by the vanity and hung up her coat. Tom looked at around; it was so different to the room he shared with Lois. There were dried flowers in a vase, make up scattered across the vanity and a makeshift washing line strung up with hosiery. The blankets, clearly heirlooms or made by Bess and her sisters, were in warm, faded colours. A picture of their mother hung on the wall next to a crucifix, and as Bess turned on the lamps, a homely glow doused the room. The only things that were the same as his own room were the two beds to accommodate them all, the peeling wallpaper and the cold of the rattling windows.

“Dadda’s not hiding under the bed, you can sit down.” Bess smiled as she drew a folding partition across the corner of the room.

“Wouldn’t put it past your ‘dadda’,” Tom said as he kicked off his shoes and lay on his side.

“I know you wanted to wait, but can we tell them soon? Please-”

“I just think they’d find it odd, us having grown up together.” Tom stretched on the bed.

“I’m fed up of all this sneaking around, Tom. You’ve just got your dad and Lois, but there’s five of us here at the moment. I can’t keep it up much longer,”

“I know, I know,”

“Before you go back? Please?”

Tom nodded noncommittally. “Before I go back.” He watched as she stepped behind the screen and seized the change of subject. “Don’t you girls get undressed in front of each other? All hanging around in your underwear-”

“I can hear the smirk on your face, Tom Bennett.”

He smiled and took out his cigarettes. “Mind if I smoke?” Bess hummed by way of a reply and Tom struck a match. The light of the room flickered. Through the thin fabric of the changing screen, Tom could see Bess as she moved around in front of the lamp. Saw as she pulled her jumper over her head, then her blouse, and tossed them at the chair in the corner. Saw as she bent over to remove her slacks. Suddenly, there were her legs. There was the dip in her waist after the curve of her hip. She stretched, oh so slowly, lazily bringing her hands to her hair. Next thing, Tom watched as shadowy tendrils of hair fell around her shoulders. He'd seen a naked woman before. Didn’t really think much of it, a body was a body, a means to an end. But the suggestion of Bess awoke in him a different beast entirely. He shifted on the bed and adjusted his trousers, tantalised by this unexpected striptease. Bess disappeared from the lamplight’s reach for a moment to root around the wardrobe. When she returned and bent over to step into a skirt, Tom flung his head back against the pillow and supressed a groan. What he wouldn’t give to collapse that bloody partition and watch her shimmy back out of the skirt. A fresh jumper, no blouse, was next and she folded the screen away.

“Are you alright?” Bess asked, for Tom was lying back on the bed she shared with Dot, his hand across his eyes, cigarette forgotten between his fingers.

“Mmm,” Bess smiled at the feeble response. She never lit the lamp when she was changing, but knowing Tom was on the other side to see, it was too tempting to tease him. She laughed warmly and Tom opened his eyes. Her hair was loose, like she had just woken up, the jumper she wore too large and slumping of her shoulder a little. The skirt she had tucked it into met halfway down her calves and was cut loosely. No hosiery. Tom bit his lip and watched Bess blush as he looked her over. He continued to stare, revelling in the effect it had. Enjoying how flustered he could make the famously unflappable Bess Vaughn. Bess clearly didn’t and picked up Dot’s pillow. She flung it at Tom’s head, only to miss when he ducked with a shout and the hit her bedside table instead. A book fell to the floor.

“Bloody aggressive,” Tom muttered jokily as he leant to pick up the book. “Well, hello. Keep me on your bedside table, do you?” Between his fingers he held his photograph, which had fluttered out of the book’s pages. Bess sat beside him and took the picture, running her finger across his sepia face. She looked from the photo to the real thing beside her. One brow was cocked, mouth curved in a lopsided smirk.

“I was scared you wouldn’t come back. It was like, if I kept you where I could always see you, you wouldn’t get hurt.”

Tom shook his head, self-belief still rattled after his conversation with his father. “But why me?”

“Why not?” Bess said simply, at her quiet and secretive best. “I have something for you.” She leant across Tom’s lap and from the drawer of the bedside table, pulled out a piece of card wrapped in tissue paper and handed it to him.

The paper fell away, and the dark eyes of Bess gazed softly up at him from a photograph.

“Now I won’t have to use my imagination,”

“God, Tom,” Bess kissed him suddenly. With one hand, Tom placed the picture on the table and then brought it to fist in Bess’ loose hair. He pulled firmly and exposed her neck to him, placing lazy, hot, open-mouthed kisses to her neck. The moan that left Bess was sinful. Tom pushed her back roughly against the bed, and she had barely gasped when his mouth was on her again. Sidling up to the side of her body, Tom ran one large hand along the side of her hip, her ribcage, grazed her breast and then tangled it in her hair once again.

“Fuck,” he hissed. One of Bess’ legs had hooked around his own and brought it between her thighs. Bess pulled her face away from his and place a hand on his cheek. She studied him and tears began forming in her eyes.

“I don’t want you to go back,” she whispered.

Tom kissed the side of her head as a tear fell into her hair, brushing some of the copper away from her face. He searched her amber eyes and took a deep breath. “I don’t want to go back either.”

Bess frantically kissed the corners of his mouth, his neck, the flash of collarbone exposed by his shirt. “Stay,” she whispered, continuing to pepper him with kisses until she found his mouth.

“I’m trying-” Tom said against her lips. Bess stopped.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m trying-” He huffed and sat up, leaving Bess bereft at no longer having his body against hers. “I’m trying to get dad to sign me up. As a conchie.”

“But you don’t believe in it,”

“I don’t know if I believe in killing people either.” he replied hotly. Bess didn’t say anything, just continued to look at him curiously. Tom looked at his hands, stood to pace around the room, sat at the vanity, then stood again and moved to the window. All the while Bess watched him, and waited.

“It’s just-” he turned to face her, perched at the end of the bed. For a split second, those dark eyes diverted his attention. He looked to the door instead and spoke quickly. “It’s just I fucking hated life here. Always making a nuisance of myself, disappointing dad and Lois, and with absolutely no direction. I thought that by going, I’d avoid jail, see the world and if I died then so what? Everyone would either think I was a hero or be better off without me.” Bess gasped. Her shock was not derived from his words, but from the tone with which he spoke them. He was neither angry nor sad; Tom seemed to have accepted long ago that this was other people’s opinion of him. That this was his opinion of himself. She hurried to the window and took his hands as he continued speaking.

“Out there,” he looked at their entwined fingers. “You’re just another body. Another tiny cog in the machine. And it’s exactly the same for the Germans as it is for us. We’re just pawns in some big man’s game. And watching your mates get blown to pieces-” The tips of his ears were turning pink with repressed anger. When he looked back at Bess his eyes were wild with fury. “I’m not going back to shoot at people like me. What’s the point of it all? It doesn’t stop anything. Look at our dads! ‘The war to end all wars’ they called it! What a load of fucking bollocks.” He spat and turned away. “And now…now I’ve finally got something worth staying for. Someone who doesn’t think I’m no good.”   

Slowly, Bess moved herself between Tom and the window. She placed her chin on his chest so that he was forced to look at her. “You are good, Tom. You’ve always been good.” His solemn eyes took her in. Bess let him look at her, willed him to see the honesty in her eyes. Tom was terrified of the feelings she stirred in him, but in some sick way, he loved it. He couldn’t get enough of how scared she made him of himself.  Brushing it way, his mouth twisted into a grin, and he touched a finger to his lips. Bess rolled her eyes as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Palms flat against her back, he rubbed her nose with his and kissed those delicious, rosebud lips of hers.

On the street below, Cora was walking home from work with Dot and their father, the two chattering arm in arm. Albie pushed his bike alongside them, the ticking of the wheels and clack of the girls’ shoes the only sound as the sun set.

“-and then dadda, listen to this! Then, she had the cheek to tell me that it was Henry Fonda, not Humphrey Boggart.”

“And what did you tell her, my girl?” Fergal smiled as he patted the hand of his youngest child.

“Well-” Cora smiled as Dot launched into a tirade about the factory gossip and Albie laughed at her. They were almost home, the light from the house already warming Cora after the cold walk home. She looked up. The light came not from the kitchen, which was utterly dark, but the bedroom window. The bedroom window where their sister was in a passionate embrace with Tom Bennett.

“We need to go round the back.”

“What, why?” Albie stopped pushing his bike.

“I forgot, the door jammed this morning when we left for work.” Cora was already making her way back down the street. “Remember, Dot?”

“No?” she replied, confused.

“I’ll just give it a shove-”

“Don’t be stupid, dadda!” Cora all but shouted. “We don’t need you taking it off the hinges. It’ll be easier from the inside. Hurry up, I’m freezing!”

When the door to the yard opened and the raucous voices of her family filled the small house, Bess swore and near shoved Tom out of the window.

“Steady on!” He laughed.

“They’re home,” She pushed open the sash. “Hurry up!”

“My shoes! And my coat!” Tom was halfway out of the window.

“I’ll throw them.”

“Give us a kiss,”

“Tom!”

“I won’t go without a ki-” Bess silenced him with her lips. He winked when she pulled away, and disappeared down the drainpipe. Once he was safely on the street, Bess tossed down his jacket, then one shoe-

“’What light through yonder window breaks?’” He held one hand to his chest, the other extended to the open window. Bess lobbed the second shoe at him.

“Ssh!” The door opened behind her and Bess spun round. Cora stood in the doorway.

“Bit cold to have the window open.” She eyed her sister suspiciously.

“Thought I heard something in the street, must have been you lot coming home.”

“Mmm,” Cora murmured through pursed lips and left, shutting the door behind her. When Bess looked back to the street, Tom was gone.

✼　 　✼　 　✼　 　✼　 　✼　 　✼

Next day, and Bess was stood watching the blacksmith finishing cutting the metal for her work at the factory. Hand on her hip, the other touching her mouth, she kept replaying the moment Tom pressed his body to hers on the bed. How hungry he looked for her. She shivered.

“Better come back down to earth before you get up there,” the blacksmith said, gesturing to the Lancaster plane behind her. Queenie was already at work with some of the other girls, drilling enormous rivets into the wings of the mammoth war machine as their legs dangled over the edge. Below them, Roberta was unloading equipment from a truck.

“Cheers,” Bess took the metal parts and made her way to the ladder leant against the body of the beast. Between the screeches of the drill where the screeches of Queenie’s giggles. Bess took a deep breath through her nose, determined not to let anything ruin her day. Tomorrow, Tom would either register as a conscientious objector, or go back to war. Tonight, he was taking her dancing at the Palais. Bess told the foreman she had to leave early to see her doctor. Really, she was going to walk through Alexandra Park with Tom.

The metal was hoisted up to Bess once she found her place on the wing, opposite the giggling girl, and she got to work. Queenie was harmless. Irritating, yes, but harmless. The hum of the drill drowned out Queenie’s gossip for an hour or two, but as the women polished the wing free of scratches from their work, it became impossible.

“What did you think of Hattie’s new fella, Roberta? She could do better than a farmer, but I suppose beggars can’t be choosers-”

“Did you see that Gone with the Wind? I fell asleep-”

“I could never leave the house without makeup. I’d be mortified if a fella saw me without my lippy and at least some curls in my hair-” Bess held her head a little higher at this statement.

“Have you seen Walter Watson? Got beaten up on New Year’s Eve but won’t say who-”

“That battle off the coast of Argentina sounded awful. You, know, the one that Tom Bennett was in?” Bess stopped polishing when Queenie said this. It was the most sensible thing she had said all day. The moment didn’t last long. “He lost one of his little friends, Vic I think he was called. And another fella, Henry, lost an arm. Awful. But at least they have more fun than the army,”

“You think a battle where you fear being blown up or drowned is fun?” Bess put her rag down and rested one arm on her knee. She faced Queenie in challenge. The other woman didn’t seem to notice.

“Oh don’t be like that, Bess.” Queenie said, as though she were talking to a misbehaving child. “But at least they get shore leave from time to time. The army never get a break. And from what Tom said about his time in Port Stanley, they certainly have a lot of fun.”

Bess felt her cheeks redden.

“It’ll be straight to the pub for rum and beer, before hitting the town. All hands on deck there, if you see what I mean.” Bess could see Tom’s scratched writing in her mind.

“Not that they had as much fun as they’d planned, that bulldog of an able seamen Henry-” Queenie cut herself off. “I shouldn’t speak ill of a cripple. Anyway, he was breathing down their necks the whole time. Still, Tom managed to buy a little canary in Port Stanley and they placed bets on the ship for when the dear thing would lay an egg. Don’t think they could do that in the army.”

Bess’ blood ran cold. She had been with Tom almost every day since he had returned home. Nearly two weeks. When had he found the time to tell Queenie all this? Certainly not the one dance they shared on New Year’s Eve.

“How do you know all this, Queenie?”

Queenie lowered her eyes and giggled. A few of the other girls looked up or leaned in. “Well,” she said suggestively with a smile. “From Tom’s letters.”

The bell rang. Bess was first to the ladder, leaving the excited whispers above her as she landed on the factory floor. From somewhere nearby, she heard Roberta ask if she was ok. She couldn’t respond. As fast as her feet would carry her, she hurried to the changing room, removed her boiler suit and bolted to the factory gates. Shame, long buried, welled up from somewhere deep within her and fat tears threatened to spill from her eyes. Creep, ugly, Paddy, witch. A memory stirred and the stench of stale milk filled her nostrils. The image of Tom saving her from childhood taunts turned sour when she remembered his words.

“I’m not jealous of a bloke who can’t kick his way out of a wet paper bag, is shorter than your dad’s temper and dances with the only girl who doesn’t say no because she doesn’t say anything at all.”

Bess’ breath became ragged as she hurried away from Queenie fucking Warren.

“You didn’t see some of the girls in Port Stanley.”

He was just teasing, her.

“I just think they’d find it odd, us.”

He wanted to hide her.

“This is all you’re good for, Bess Vaughn.”

Walter’s voice rattled around her mind. She’d never be able to escape him, not as a girl, not as a woman. Anger rose up the hackles of her spine and, mixed with her shame, made a potent concoction.

“Perhaps you could make yourself a dress next time.”

“Teach her about dressing and acting like a woman.”

The voices of Tom, Walter, Dennis Warley and even her father hounded her, and with a gasp the first hot tear fell from Bess’ cheek. The January day stung her face, which was red with rage, and she took great lung-fulls of the crisp air as she stepped into the street. She smacked into broad shoulders and was knocked backwards. The kind, concerned face of Douglas Bennett was looking down at her. That fucking peace paper, she thought.

“Everything alright, love?” He asked, holding onto her shoulders as he tried to look at her.

“You’re an odd lass.” She thought they were friends. Wrenching herself from his grip, Bess ran down the cobbled road towards home. By the time she made it to their street, Bess’s rage had turned into full-blooded fury. Marching along the cobbles, intent on banging down the Bennett’s door, she stopped suddenly. A beautiful, burgundy Rolls Royce was parked outside her house. Matching her car, and wearing the immaculate suit that Bess had made her, was Robina Chase. However, she didn’t seem to be waiting for Bess. She seemed to be talking to someone across the road. Bess’ heart sank as she approached and overheard the conversation.

“But if you’re not a mate of his then what do you want with him? Hm?” It was Tom. Bess watched Mrs Chase’s stunned face and for the first time, she pitied her. Apparently, Tom wasn’t just a twat towards her and men that looked at him the wrong way. He was a cunt to everyone. “Did he give you the wrong change on the last bus home?” He laughed mockingly at the woman and shut the door on her.

Bess could feel her blood boiling over. “Mrs Chase!” She hurried forwards.

“Miss Vaughn?” Robina seemed stunned by Bess’ grubby attire and even more so by her dishevelled face. Bess tried to ignore her stare, and push the memory of the last time she saw Mrs Chase from her mind. Before she could say anything further, the door to the Bennett house opened.

“Hang on, missus.” Tom leant nonchalantly on the door. He needed a slapping. “I was only pulling your leg. If my dad’s got a fancy woman on the go that’s his business.”

Robina floundered. People were staring and she’d never encountered a young man like this before.

“He’s at the Tait and Somers factory. I’ve just seen him there.” Bess said quietly, and for the first time, Tom noticed her. Noticed her red cheeks and puffy eyes. Noticed the fast rise and fall of her chest. His heartbeat quickened.

“Thank you, Bess.” Robina said, jolting awkwardly. Bess thought she’d received an electric shock, but when she noticed Mrs Chase’s hand lower to her side, she realised Robina had been tempted to show her some affection. Hastily, the older woman got into her car and drove away.

“What’s happened?” Tom was at Bess’ side in an instant. “Was it Walter?”

“Get away from me.” Bess whispered lowly.

“I’ll kill him,” Tom muttered, reaching out to touch Bess. The moment his fingers made contact with her arm she pushed him away.

“I said, get away from me.” She didn’t shout, but her teeth were bared, her brows a singular straight line.

“What the fuck, Bess?” He hissed. “Tell me what’s happened-” Bess watched Tom’s own anger flare behind his eyes and she wanted to laugh. It was nothing, nothing, compared to what she was about to unleash.

“Queenie. Fucking. Warren.”  

“Eh?”

“Now I know why you told me to leave her alone.”

“What?”

“In your letter,” Bess took a sudden step forward so she was an inch from Tom’s chin. “’Lay off Queenie Warren. I know she’s annoying but she means well.”She quoted.

“Right,” he said slowly. “I still don’t understand what I’m meant to have done,”

“Then think.” Bess spat quickly.

“Bess, people are staring.”

“You normally love the attention.”

Tom stared down his long nose at her. His nostrils flared, and his mouth twitched as though he wanted to speak. There was a beat of silence, then he grabbed her arm and dragged her towards his house. “Get off me!” Bess tried to keep her feet firmly on the ground but Tom was too strong. He flung her over the threshold and slammed the door. Bess span around as Tom advanced on her.

“Someone’s put money in the metre,” he growled at her. Bess pushed him away again.

“Don’t you start on me-”

“You’re the one shouting at me like a fucking banshee!”

Bess stared at him. His brow was set into a hard line, the blue eyes shadowed beneath them were cold. The broad shoulders he’d inherited from his father were squared and pushed back, and the jaw that Bess always admired was pushed forward. He continued to look down at her. This wasn’t a defensive stance. It was a challenge. Somehow, it proved to Bess that he knew. Knew what she was about to say. The shame returned and, defeated, she spoke quietly.

“When did you start writing to Queenie?”

There was that familiar pout, just quickly, and the scrunch of his nose that he always did when he got caught. Bess took a deep, shuddering breath and Tom snapped.

“So I’m not allowed to write to other girls, am I?”

“Of course you are,” Bess drooped sadly. “It’s just-”

“Jealousy doesn’t suit you.”

“Oh shut up, you fucking hypocrite! A more jealous man never drew breath.” Bess’ anger returned as she shrieked at him. “Going around beating up anyone who so much as looks at me.”

“I apologised about that dickhead. And I don’t see you defending me when he’s the one that got me arrested!”

“You beat him to a pulp!”

“And if he hadn’t squealed like a fucking pig, I wouldn’t have nearly been blown up!” Tom roared in her face.

“There have been other times-”

“Did you want me to leave you and Walter to it then?” Tom laughed cruelly. “Enjoying it were you?”

SMACK

Bess struck Tom across the face. The force of it caused him to stagger, strands of his perfectly set hair coming loose. He looked back at her, stunned. A red handprint was blooming on his cheek.

“Bess, I’m sor-”

“BE QUIET!” They watched each other, though Bess’ eyes were unseeing. Instead, she watched flickers of memory speed before her eyes. Everything was piecing together in her mind. There was a knock at the door. Tom pinched the bridge of his nose then opened it.

“Mrs Mason.”

“Is everything alright? I heard shouting,”

“Everything’s fine.”. Tom shut the door and turned to Bess. His rudeness made her laugh, sadly. The anger had waned once again, and her eyes were brimming with tears. He waited for her to speak.

“Of course, you’re allowed to write to other girls. And yes, I’m jealous. But when you left we didn’t have an understanding. I wasn’t your girl. I wonder if I even am now.” Tom took a step towards Bess but she held up a hand and continued. “You’re allowed to write to other girls, but what breaks my heart-what breaks my heart-” She started to cry. “What breaks my heart is that you didn’t ask Queenie to keep it a secret.”

“Bess, I-”

“Nothing’s changed, has it? It’s why you always snuck in at night, it’s why you asked me not to tell Douglas and Lois about our letters, it’s why you don’t want to go back to war, and it’s why you’ve made me sneak around like your dirty little secret. You’ve never committed to anything or anyone. It’s not because you’re a womaniser, or because you don’t believe in the war. It’s because you’re a coward.”

The anguish eating away at Tom was bulldozed by defence. “I’m a coward for not wanting to die!?”

“You’re a coward because you won’t admit it. It’s because you ‘don’t believe in war’, it’s because you ‘don’t want to go to jail’, it’s because ‘you’re a conscientious objector’. Why can’t you just admit that you’re scared? Why can’t you just admit that you’re ashamed to be seen with me?” Bess broke down before him and Tom had no idea what to do. What to say. His silence confirmed Bess’ fears. Tom Bennett was embarrassed to be seen with Bess Vaughn.

With nothing left to say, she made to leave. She tried pushing past Tom in the narrow hallway when a hand came to her waist. She stopped, waiting. Breath fluttered against her face, and all Bess wanted to do was look at him. Look at those beautiful eyes. But she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Instead, she watched the pulse accelerate in his neck, and the way it hollowed as he inhaled. His hand fell from her waist. The words didn’t come, and he let her go.

Mrs Mason, Mrs O’Connell and Mrs Flaherty startled as the Bennett door opened. They watched Bess stride into her own home, and scurried away when shouts and crashes emitted from the house she had just left.

 ✼　 　✼　 　✼　 　✼　 　✼　 　✼

When Tom came downstairs the next morning, kit bag sling over his shoulder and naval uniform already itching, he scoffed at the sight of Vera on the table in her cage. He dropped the bag and Douglas looked up from his newspaper.

“I bet the fucking canary doesn’t have to go, does she?”

Douglas sighed. “Tom, I wish you’d understand, we can’t register any lad who comes back from war and says he’s a conchie-”

“It’s not any lad, is it? It’s me.” Look at me dad, look at me.

“I know, I know, and as I keep saying, that’s part of the problem – you’re my son. They’d crucify you.”

“The problem is for you- the problem is that I am your son. And you can’t see anything of me in yourself,”

“Oh, no. I can see a lot of your mother though. That bloody-minded streak of hers,”

“Nice try, dad,” Tom said bitterly, looking at the floor. “Still doesn’t taste good.”

“No.” Douglas didn’t know what to say. He never knew what to say, it seemed. He tried to find the right words but stopped when Tom’s hand appeared before his face.

“I refused to shake this lad’s hand on the Exeter. I never got a chance to put it right. It’s the only think I learned from the whole shitty thing.” Douglas’ warm hand slipped into his son’s, and overwhelmingly, Douglas didn’t want to let go. Tom nodded to himself and slipped his fingers from his father’s grasp. He shouldered his kit bag.

“Look after yourself. Keep ducking.” Lois muttered into his shoulder as he hugged her. With one last look at his father, Tom left for the station. He had thirty-five minutes until the train departed and reasoned with himself to visit the house across the road. He knocked twice and hoped the door would open. When it did, his heart sank.

“Tom! Oh, are you heading off?” Cora stepped onto the front step and wrapped her arms around him. She pulled back with a quick kiss of his cheek. “Keep yourself safe for us.”

“Thanks, Cora. Look, I haven’t got long. Bess isn’t in, is she?”

“I’m sorry, Tom. She left to deliver some clothes about twenty minutes ago. Can I give her a message?”

Tom thought for a moment. “No. No, it’s ok. Bye, Cora. Give Roger a handshake from me.” Cora chuckled and watched him walk down the road. Closing the door, she turned to the person hovering in the kitchen doorway.

“Bess-”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Bess,” Cora pleaded patiently. “You might never see him again.” Her sister turned away and trudged back to their bedroom. Five minutes later, the back door slammed, and Cora saw Bess hurrying down the yard.

She took the tram into central and sprinted to Manchester London Road station. Past soldiers, crying families, past Royal Infirmary and help needed posters. She hurried through the ticket barrier and yelled at the porter to tell her which platform was departing to Portsmouth. Steam billowed left, right and centre. Platform four. Uttering apologies and excuse me’s, Bess pushed through the crowd.

“Tom?” She was calling out to him. “Tom?” A sailor, tall and blond, was up ahead with his back to her. Bess ran forward and gripped his shoulders, but when he turned his face was brutish and rugged. Not her Tom. The doors of the train began slamming shut and she was struck by the urge to leap into a carriage.

“Tom!” Her voice was frantic now and, as the whistle blew, a sob tore from her throat. The coupling rods began turning the wheels, and the train pulled away from the platform. From a walk to a run, Bess’ feet carried her along the platform as she looked through the windows of the carriages. Maybe he didn’t go after all. Defied Douglas and registered as a CO. She saw him. His eyes, it was always his eyes, watched her sadly through the glass as she ran to keep up with the train. He stood from his seat, pulled down the window and watched as she struggled to run alongside. She was crying, and no sooner had she called his name, was she disappearing behind the steam from the engine. When the air cleared, the platform was empty.

Bess stood on the platform for an hour, buffeted by passersby, watching the spot where she last saw Tom. He was gone.

Note: I’m sorry. See you soon!  

Tags: @aemonds-wifey @multiple-fandoms-girl @jessssica1234 @babyblue711 @anditsmywholeheart @allthefandomtherapy @valerie977 @bookwyrmsblog @phantomontheinternet @chainsawsangel @greenowlfactif @thelittleswanao3 @yentroucnagol @beiigegalx @skikikikiikhhjuuh @just-emmaaaa @mefools @aquakaris @its-actually-minicika @whoknows333 @arcielee @honeymaltgelato @girlwith-thepearlearring

[paigehughes28]

Luke Hughes~Fate pt4

Part 4 of the series🫶🏼

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ENews Luke Hughes spotted leaving the Prudential Center last night after the Devils game with a girl?? Could it be Y/n Di Angelo?

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I sat in the kitchen dressed for the day and eating cereal while reading the article. Someone had taken a photo of Luke and I leaving the arena last night without us even knowing. I didn’t know how to feel. Angry at them being so rude for this? Scared for how to deal with this? I should probably text Luke about it.

yn_diangelo: Did you see the article?

lhughes_06: yeah I did. You good?

yn_diangelo: tbh I’m kind of angry at whoever took the picture. It was an invasion of our privacy

lhughes_06: I know it was. But, are you going to Washington DC anytime soon?

yn_diangelo: yeah actually! We’re going there to see the monuments and stuff. Leaving in two days. Why?

lhughes_06: do you guys want to come to another game? I’ll get everyone’s tickets.

yn_diangelo: sure! are you sure you want to get our tickets though? We can buy them perfectly fine.

lhughes_06: ill buy them:) we can go on another date the day of the game in the afternoon if you want to.

yn_diangelo: I’d love to go on another date with you Lukey. Here’s my number so you can text that instead of here on instagram xxx-xxx-xxxx

lhughes_06: will do. I have to go for practice now but I’ll talk later. Bye!

yn_diangelo: bye!

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“Hangout day?” I asked the triplets after finishing my conversation with Luke. “You know it. To the mall?” Nick said and I nodded with a grin. “I call driving!” I said going to the door and grabbing the car keys. “Shot gun!” Chris yelled running full speed to the door opening it and running to the car. I laughed at the boy while walking out with Matt and Nick following laughing too. We all got to the car getting in a buckling. I put the key in turning on the car and started driving to the mall. We got there soon and I parked then we all got out. When we got to the entrance the boys stopped me saying my shoe lace was untied. I groaned going to tie it but Chris beat me to it. Chris was tying my shoe and I smiled taking a quick picture of it. He was done and got back up I thanked him. “Anytime.” He said and hugged me so I hugged back. Chris was like this, a very affectionate person to his friends and family. After the hug we walked into the mall walking around and shopping. I walked into bath and body works looking around. I found a few things and bought them meeting back up with the triplets so we could eat lunch since it was about noon now so Luke should be getting out of morning skate if not already. While waiting on our food in the food court Nick sent me a photo. It was of when Chris and I hugged earlier. I saved it and went on instagram.

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Liked by christophersturniolo, matthew.sturniolo, nicolassturniolo, and 674,843 others

yn_diangelo: mall trip with Chris(including my other two favorite bozos)

Tagged: christophersturniolo

user2 Luke hasn’t liked this…

user10 I wonder how Luke feels about you being so close with them

nicohischier Luke has seen this and I don’t think he’s too happy

| yn_diangelo tell him I’ll be there after I eat lunch

| nicohischier on it

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I put my phone down and started eating my food once we got it. “I’m going to the arena after eating so take the car and I’ll get an Uber.” I told the triplets after swallowing a piece of my food. They all asked why. “Luke. Jealous of the instagram post I’m assuming from what Nico said.” I told them quickly and they all nodded. After eating I said goodbye to them and got an Uber to the arena. Once I got there I thanked the Uber driving tipping them and walking inside quickly. Once I walked in I was met with the face of Nico Hischier. Who I had yet to actually meet but I assumed he was waiting for me to take me to Luke. “Y/n right? Luke saw the instagram post and he tends to easily get jealous so he’s fuming.” He told me quickly. “Just take me to him, please, Nico.” I said worried about Luke’s reaction. I didn’t exactly blame him. He didn’t know exactly how close the triplets and I were although he knew we were best friends. But we weren’t dating so he didn’t exactly have that much of a right to get jealous. Nico led me to Luke who was in the locker room. It was just Luke who hadn’t noticed us yet so Nico walked away leaving the two of us. I fully walked into the room closing the door behind him which got him to look up from where he was sitting. He was fully out of his gear in a compression shirt, sweatpants, and converses. “Luke?” I asked walking to him. “What?” He said with anger mixed with jealousy in his voice. I knelt down in front of him grabbing his hands gently. He looked at me in the eyes mad and I sighed. “Nico told me about you seeing the post. It’s nothing to get jealous of. Me and the triplets have been best friends we were two and Chris is affectionate like that with all of his friends and family.” I told him and his eyes softened. “But what I don’t get is why you get jealous when we’re not dating.” I whispered to him and sat next to him still holding his hands instead of kneeling on the ground. “I just wanna be yours.” He muttered leaning his forehead against. “I know it’s quick but I can’t stop thinking about you and I really like you a lot y/n.” He said and I smiled. I kissed him softly and he kissed back then we pulled apart. “Be my girlfriend?” He whispered with a hopeful smile. “Yes.” I said smiling. Suddenly he picked me up and spun me around giving me a kiss when he finally stopped. “Let’s go out to the park, yeah?” I asked and he nodded. We walked out the locker room then out the arena walking to the park since it was right around the corner. As we were walking I got Luke to look over and took a picture of him. He then did the same thing and I did a finger gun. We finally got to the park sitting on the bench and I leaned my head on his shoulder while he wrapped his arm around me. “Can I post that picture of you?” He asked and I smiled nodding. “As long as I can post the one of you though.” I added on and he said I could.

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Liked by yn_diangelo, _quinnhughes, jackhughes, sturniolo.triplets, and 456,782 others

lhughes.06: Darling, can I be your favorite?

Tagged: yn_diangelo

yn_diangelo 🫶🏼🫶🏼

user15 hard launch?!

| lhughes.06 it is

_quinnhughes good job little bro

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Liked by lhughes_06, sturniolo.triplets, tarayummyy, and 652,718 others

yn_diangelo: I’ll be your girl, let you taste it;)

Tagged: lhughes_06

lhughes_06 🫶🏼🫶🏼

tarayummyy tell me EVERYTHING

| yn_diangelo will do when I get home and tell the triplets!

user1 IT FINALLY HAPPENED

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I smiled at all the comments under our posts leaning somehow further into Luke’s touch. He gave me a small kiss on the lips which I returned then we just sat watching the sunset together. I was happy with this the exact way it was.

A/n: this is the last part guys! I will be writing other imagines as I have a Trevor Zegras one in the works right now🫶🏼

[agathasangel]

in the middle (jen barkley x claire debella x fem!reader NSFW)

warnings: smut, angst, cheating, sexting/dirty picture sharing, mutual masturbation, semi-public sex acts, threesome, legal age gap (reader is 24-25, jen is late 30s and claire is around 40).

I literally thought of this whole plot last night and somehow wrote 2k words of it in one day. Yay brainrot. also this takes place pre-glass onion while claire is running for governor and fairly soon after jen was bobby newport’s campaign manager.

summary: jen is your girlfriend, and you are trying to repair your relationship after her struggle to stay loyal to you. but when jen’s away and her new candidate, claire debella, sees a photo of you and has to have you, they make a plan to share.

“I’ll be honest, (y/n), I’m not exactly a “committed relationship” kind of gal. But I really like you. I want to keep seeing you, just… don’t expect me to be the perfect girlfriend at first. I don’t know if that’s something I’m capable of.”

That was what Jen said to you at the end of your internship on the campaign she was working on at the time. While her political career required her to lie her ass off on a daily basis, she was brutally honest when it came to her personal life. That was something you appreciated about her.

But she was more right than either of you could have imagined. While you were living in the same city, things were fine. But her work often required her to leave, and Jen had a hard time resisting temptation. Your most recent fight happened after she got back from Indiana from a job and she admitted to you that she had cheated on you- yet again- this time with a man who worked for her opponent.

“But it meant nothing! I have no feelings for Chris, you’re the one I actually care about! He- he was just there.”

Of course, she managed to win you back, like she always did. Despite her flaws, you loved her, and you knew she loved you. She worked so hard, courting you, buying you flowers and gifts, helping you study for grad school, and just making you feel special.

But then, of course, she had to leave again.

“Babe, I got another job offer! Claire Debella is running for governor of Connecticut, and she’s being backed by some tech billionaire. I can’t refuse this, I’m gonna make a killing!”

“Does that mean you’ll have to go to Connecticut?”

“It does but- hey, I promise it won’t be like last time, alright? We’ll talk every day, you can visit-“

“Jen, I have school…”

“You can visit on weekends, or breaks. I can pay for your flights. We’ll make this work, okay?”

You agreed, although you didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. You dropped her off at the airport a week later, and she made you another promise.

“Keep your phone on, babe. When I get to the hotel, I’ll send you something extra special.”

And she did. That night you got a photo message captioned “wish you were here ;)”. You opened the photo and it was her, sprawled on her hotel bed, completely naked. God, she was perfect.

You texted her back “I’ll miss that so much”, to which she immediately replied, “send me something back to enjoy tonight! I’m missing u already”

This was not something you and Jen had ever thought to do before, but you complied. You stripped and found a lingerie set Jen had bought you a while back to change into, and started taking photos for her. This became a nightly ritual between the two of you that you kept sacred. You sent her photos of yourself in the various lingerie pieces she kept ordering for you.

“you look even better in that than I thought you would, baby. Let me see from the back”

You sent her another photo of you from the back, bending over and sticking your ass out slightly.

“that’s it, baby. god i wish i was there so i could take you in that position.”

Sometimes Jen would send you audio clips of her moaning as she touched herself to your photos, and you would replay those at night as you imagined you were together, and that she was fucking you.

Jen thought that this would be enough to keep her from giving into her temptations, and truth be told, it was. At least for a while. But that didn’t mean the temptation wasn’t present. This time it was the woman she was working for, Claire Debella herself. It was rare that Jen actually liked one of her candidates, but Claire was smart, had some great ideas, and was gorgeous to boot. The two women would meet daily for coffee in the morning, or drinks at night, and were starting to become actual friends.

The two of them would always start by talking business, campaign strategy, the usual. But they started to venture into talking about their personal lives.

“You dated an intern? And it actually worked out?”

“It did. She was- is- pretty great, and it wasn’t what you’re probably thinking. (Y/n) was the only one there who wasn’t some dumb legacy kid. I had a lot of respect for her, we bonded, one thing led to another and we were sneaking off to the supply closet every day for the rest of the campaign.”

Claire laughed, “I gotta say, Jen, I kinda wish I had a story like that.”

I could give you a story… Jen thought. But she knew better. You were all she wanted, all she needed. She just had to keep reminding herself.

That night you sent her a video of you riding your favorite strap, which Jen of course left at home for your use. For the first time, you weren’t wearing lingerie, you weren’t wearing anything. Jen reveled in the sight of your bare breasts moving up and down. She imagined she was wearing the strap like she usually did, that you were bouncing up and down on her cock, moaning.

“Yes, baby, just like that. You look so pretty riding me baby, just a little more, yes…fuck, good girl… cum for me baby, good girl…”

The next day at work, Jen was conflicted. She couldn’t stop thinking about your video, but she also couldn’t stop thinking about Claire. She wanted you both so much it hurt. She never felt this way before. Jen was used to hooking up no-strings-attached, mostly with men. But you and Claire were different. She walked to her office distracted and in a daze, not having gotten much sleep last night thanks to that video you sent her. Jen felt herself bump into someone, and felt hot coffee spill on her shirt.

Shit. It was Claire. Of course it was Claire.

“I’m so sorry!”

“Are you okay, Jen?”

“Yeah, I just- I didn’t get much sleep last night, that’s all. “

“Okay. Don’t worry about it, I have an extra shirt in my office, I’ll let you borrow it.” Claire led Jen up to her office and took off her coffee-stained blazer that covered her otherwise clean dress. The dress hugged all her curves beautifully and showed off her strong, lean arms.

“Here you go.” Claire, for whatever reason, helped Jen take her shirt off, her gaze lingering for a bit before their eyes met. Jen felt vulnerable, exposed. And what’s more, she was enjoying it. She put the shirt on and quickly made a beeline to her own office, shut the door and turned the lights off. She then unbuttoned her dress pants and put your video on, trying to get the image of Claire’s eyes and body out of her head. And it worked.

That is, until she realized she forgot to lock the door. She heard a voice behind her.

“Jen? Jen?”

“Claire! Um, how much did you see?”

“Just a couple seconds. I was going to ask about my speech, but first, I have to ask, that girl you were watching. Is she your girlfriend?”

“Yeah.”

“God, you’re lucky.” Her eyes darkened as she reached over Jen’s shoulder and pressed play. “Wow, look at her go…”

“You’re not mad?”

“Please. This is nothing. Besides, I can enjoy it myself. If you’ll let me, of course.” Jen breathed a sigh of relief, excited at the possibility that was just presented to her.

“Pull up a chair. Wait until you see all the pretty photos she’s taken for me.” Claire did so, making sure to lock the door behind her so no one could disturb the two of them as they enjoyed you.

“Stunning,” Said Claire, slipping a hand under her dress. “Imagining the two of you together, it’s getting me fucking soaked. You touching her, your girl riding your pretty face-“

“We can make her our girl, Claire. She’ll be into it.”

“Oh, I bet she will be. Such a little slut for us.”

Jen told Claire the plan she came up with to introduce them. Your spring break was coming up, and Jen would buy you a plane ticket to come and visit. The day came, but not as quickly as either of them would like.

Jen picked you up from the airport, just as you had planned. She looked beautiful and put together as always, and you ran into her arms.

“I missed you! I missed you so much Jen!”

“Oh baby, you have no idea. Let’s get back to the hotel and get you all cleaned up, and then I made a dinner reservation. You, me, and Claire Debella.”

“Claire’s coming? I know you two have gotten close during the campaign and I hate to be the jealous girlfriend but should I be worried?”

“Oh, honey, no. She just wants to meet you, that’s all. I think the two of you will really hit it off.”

So you showed up at the restaurant, by Jen’s side, wearing the impossibly short black dress she picked out for you. Claire was already sitting down, and the host led you right to her.

“She’s even prettier in person, Jen. Hi, you must be the famous (y/n). Jen talks about you all the time. I’m Claire Debella, it’s so nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too.”

The woman was definitely your type. Powerful, charming, older. And the three of you did hit it off. You talked about the campaign, your classes, and your worried about Claire and Jen were gone. Claire was incredibly friendly to you. A couple cocktails in and you started thinking about how pretty Claire was, about all the things you, her and Jen could do together…

So you cut yourself off. You couldn’t think about that, not when you’ve spent the past few months chastising your own girlfriend, terrified of her cheating on you. You nervously excused yourself to the bathroom, not noticing Jen motioning for Claire to follow you.

“I’ve been waiting to get you alone.” Said Claire as you left the bathroom stall.

“I’m sorry?”

Claire grabbed you and turned around, pinning you against the sink, slightly bent over so that your short little dress slid up.

“Look at you. I wish you could see yourself when you’re like this. Ever since Jen showed me you, I knew I had to have you.”

“Claire, what if someone comes in?”

“I bet you’d like that, wouldn’t you?” She teased, pulling your skirt up further.

“What cute panties you have on. And what an even cuter little wet spot right there. Just from me bending you over like this, where just anyone can walk in and see.” She ran her fingers between your clothed folds, and you stopped yourself from moaning. It felt so good, but you couldn’t betray your girlfriend.

“Claire, this isn’t right. Jen is my girlfriend, I can’t do that to her-“

You were interrupted by a stall door opening behind you.

“It’s so sweet how loyal you are to me baby,” you heard Jen’s voice say from behind, “but right now I want you to let Claire fuck you. She’s wanted to from the moment I showed you to her. I told you this trip would be different, and it sure was. Don’t you wanna let us make you feel good?” At that moment, Claire slipped her hand into your panties, brushing your clit and you let out a moan.

“Good girl,” Claire praised as she teased your pussy some more, slipping a finger inside you as Jen watched eagerly. But Claire quickly pulled out when she heard footsteps coming towards the door. As much as the idea of getting caught turned her on, she was running for office and couldn’t risk it. You whined a bit at the loss but stood up and pulled your skirt down, locking eyes with your girlfriend, smiling at you proudly.

“Why don’t we get the check and get out of here?”

[loudlooks]

Day 15 - Freshly baked bread

30 day challenge notes: quantity over quality, limited editing, stand-alone/unrelated stories unless specifically stated otherwise, not always tiva, chronologically randomly set in whatever pre-s11 season seems to fit

A/N: Ziva shows up at Tony's thinking he's sick, friendship, set in the earlier seasons

actual representation of my brain while writing this:

Tag for blocking/following: 30 days of spring

Prompt: Freshly baked bread

Word count: 615

-

The knock on the door woke him at an ungodly hour. Blindly he grasped for his phone to check the time: 10 AM. He rolled onto his back and rubbed his eyes. Technically not ungodly, but it was a Saturday, there should be laws against this.

Another knock, followed by the unlocking of his front door a few seconds later. He sat up and listened closely, only one person he knew had this modus operandi. At the sound of Ziva’s barely perceptible footsteps, he threw on a shirt and padded out of his bedroom. He found her placing an overflowing wicker basket on his kitchen table.

Ziva didn’t bother to look up at him, as she removed a few jars from the basket. “You weren’t feeling well yesterday, I thought I would bring you something to eat.”

“I’m fine.” He yawned, and stretched his arms above his head.

Ziva frowned, and looked at him closely. “I overheard you cancel your date at work.”

“I didn’t feel like going on a date.”

“You showed us her photo in the morning, bragging about how gorgeous she was.” She raised her eyebrows, and handed him a cup of tea. “Should I call Ducky?”

“There’s nothing wrong with me.” He swatted her hand away before she could touch his forehead. “Why are you here, it’s 10 AM?”

“I’m Jewish, we show people we care about them with food.”

“Oh, Italians do that too.”

“Really, you must not like any of us, then,” Ziva deadpanned, shuffling the small jars around.

“What? I buy you guys takeout all the time.”

“Buying takeout is not the same as a home cooked meal.”

“If I cooked for you, you’d arrest me for attempted murder.”

“If you’re going to be like this, I can take my freshly baked bread to someone who appreciates it.”

“Hey, you just woke me up, I’m still processing the fact that it’s a new day, I need a few more minutes.”

“You just woke up? It’s 10 AM.”

“I was trying to sleep in, like a normal person.”

“I slept in,” Ziva said defensively.

“Ziva, postponing your 5 AM run to 6 AM is hardly sleeping in.”

She turned to leave. “I have better things to do.”

“Wait,” Tony said and grabbed her arm, turning her around. “Can’t you stay and have breakfast with me?” He put on his most charming smile. “You did go to all the trouble of baking this bread, it wouldn’t be right if you didn’t get to enjoy it.”

She contemplated his offer, and gave in when he waved the loaf of bread under her nose with a goofy look on his face. With a reluctant smile, she sat down as he went to get plates and cutlery.

“So what did you have planned that’s better than sharing breakfast with a friend?” Tony asked as he set the table.

Ziva opened and closed her mouth, then shrugged and took a piece of bread. “Things.”

Tony sat down, and looked at her expectantly, knowing she had nothing important planned.

Her gaze flicked upwards, and with a forced smile, she admitted, “Chores.”

“Good, seeing as I’m now up at the crack of dawn, we have the whole day ahead of us for better things than chores.”

“The crack of dawn was five hours ago, Tony.”

“It’s dawn somewhere on the planet, now eat your breakfast while I plan our day.”

Ziva frowned. “Wouldn’t you rather make plans with the blonde you cancelled on yesterday?”

“No,” he bit into a piece of buttered bread, and briefly closed his eyes as the flavors and textures hit just right. “She would’ve never woken me up with freshly baked bread.”

[brights-place]

A/N: I made this in 2am Im so tired and anyways here’s An special Halloween Headcannons of welcome home! Let’s enjoy these Headcannons even though this is a very early Halloween post :DD

Halloween Headcannons with “Welcome Home” Characters

You and sally like to go to Julie’s house so you three can show each-other your costumes.

When you want to add some finishing touches to your costume you ask Julie and sally for help.

Wally tried to convince you to match with him with an Angel and Devil costume like a “Matching Couple” costume you thought it was cute but wanted to do your own costume Wally was sad but understood.

You visited Howdy’s to buy some candy and noticed his Ghost costume beside him was Poppy who was buying things you ran to poppy and continued to tell her how her Pumpkin costume is so cute “Well Later Once im finished making Pumpkin pie you can come over if you would like?” You nearly cried at Poppy due to her motherly figure and howdy laughed at how you looked at Poppy “Poppy Look She/He/Their Close to crying for how sweet you are” poppy started getting worried hut you assured her nothing was wrong and said ‘You are a gift’ poppy heart was aching

You bought the stuff you needed and started chatting with howdy about your plans for halloween.

Howdy enjoyed how you were bursting with joy about Halloween (If you don’t like Halloween ignore this one!)

You planned on buying food and watching horror movies and pranking kids if they decided to poof into the town.

Returning to Julie’s house you waved hello to Eddie and frank who waved back with a smile on there face.

Heading inside Julie’s you noticed the two surrounding a bowl of candies “What are you? OH DANG THOSE ARE (Favourite Candy/Sweet) LET ME JOIN THIS CULT” you joined the two.

Eddie knocked on the With frank but heard nothing frank sighed taking out a spare key Julie had given him he clicked the door open and walked inside the dark house.

Flicking on the lights he and Eddie jumped seeing the three of you dancing around a bowl of (Favourite Candy/sweet)

Frank gave the weirdest look while eddie laughed.

Eddie motioned you guys to leave julie’s house “Wally is hosting the Halloween party this year come on” you guys walked over to Wally’s and. You smiled greeting house only reciving a *Creak* and a *Squeak* in return.

Heading inside everybody separated you in the living room talking with howdy before noticing Eddie and Frank in the corner of the room.

Both do them blushing and smiling at each other you couldn’t help but squeal silently hearing Eddie compliment frank is costume and frank doing the same.

Howdy noticed this as-well and glanced at you when You slowly raised up a Polaroid camera and took photos of the two and ran away once frank noticed you and the camera

“SHOW MERCY FRANK” you screeched running to Julie while frank chased after you while Eddie laughed at the scene seeing you and him run around in circles.

Barnaby walked out of the kitchen with Wally both chatting and noticed the commotion.

Now Standing beside Eddie Wally tilted his head confused but chuckled “LET ME GOOOOO” you yelled wiggling in franks grasp as he held you upside down while you flapped your arms “No” Frank said.

Julie entered with sally inside the room after they went outside to give poppy a hand with food both of them were even more confused seeing you upside down.

the two laughed along with the others as you begged for mercy seeing frank eat some of your candy as revenge making you wail.

Wally walked towards you and smiled wearing his lil devil costume and helped you up Barnaby by his side.

You grinned “Nice Vampire and Devil costume guys” Barnaby smiled “Not bad costume either! I like the (Insert costume) I like it very much” Barnaby said crossing his arms nodding.

Wally smiled “I like it too” you grinned at him and turned your attention to Eddie “Eddie here I took the photos just for you” You said handing the Polaroids do him and frank you took moments ago “I’m keeping one for my Memory Book” Eddie grinned “Thanks Y/N”

Wally smiled calling out to everybody to get ready for a group photo.

Rushing over the group huddled together smiling at the camera “Say happy Halloween!” Wally said grinning everybody shouting out “Happy Halloween” at the camera with smiling faces.

[genericpuff]

I just wanna to quick add something about the hole Tori and Persephone situation, I feel Persephone’s arc was meant to be stop being a push over and to fight in order to get respect from others, even if you have to be mean to get set respect.

But…it fails when it comes to the Tori’s reunion scene, as he only spoke for what Hades did to Alex, and it was mostly Hades’ fault she got mistreated by her classmates, despite not minding the photo as it really didn’t even affected her to begin with.

If she was rude as revenge for what people like Minthe, Thethis or Thanatos did to her, it made sense considering what happened in Tower 4 and with Demeter in the trial, but Tori?…. She knew why he was afraid of her, she understood his point of view (yes bad talking someone is wrong and in some cases it can leave to trauma) but she didn’t gave him a chance to apologize after Alex got his eye back or to talk to him once she became the Queen of the Underworld and make peace with her.

I mean, if this was how the pilot people treated her in her school then the story would be different, there her bullying was implied to be nastier than what we got on Webtoon, in the woman’s bathroom it was written "Persephone goddess of the sluts”.

Even compared to everything she experienced in the past, considering the Village incident it just weird why she doesn’t choice to move on with Tori, and say to herself, yes he was a jackass to me but I see where he was coming from, Hades fuck off that time and it’s fine I’m now Queen he can thing whatever the hell he wants, it won’t affect me anymore.

That's an interesting take, I've also seen people claim that it was due to her still being "shook" from seeing the Apollo poster.

But neither of those are ever an excuse to abuse people.

I'd be fine if this was meant to be some point of character development for Persephone, like if maybe Daphne called her out on it like "hey, pal, are you okay? You kinda went overboard there" or something. Or if maybe it went the other way and Persephone was meant to be the villain in her own story.

But we don't get that.

Instead, we get a scene that obviously implies Persephone is now rich due to the account Hades has opened for her, so she's essentially been rewarded for doing absolutely nothing - compared to Tori, who's been indirectly affected by Persephone's actions (through Alex) and now works in an industry that's RUN by Hades (the banks) and is being harassed by his 'future wife'. She didn't 'fight back' here, she deliberately punched down on someone who's now in a lower position of power than her and she knows it.

She's hypocritically emulating the exact same behavior she chastised Hades for back in S1.

So to break it all down, instead of getting an empowering 'revenge' scene like in Pretty Woman where a woman of lower social status fights back against the system that rejected her, we get Persephone, in a much higher position of power than Tori, using her influence to be a dick towards him, and then pretty much gets rewarded for it in the scene afterwards where she gets a shitload of money, buys an apartment, and eats Chinese takeout with Hades. What a picture perfect happy ending we have here 😒

I agree also when it comes to the pilot content, there was SO MUCH MORE done to show how Persephone's life was being affected by the tabloid.

But in the Originals version, a couple people gossip/refuse to be friends with her (for GOOD REASON BECAUSE ONE OF THEM HAS ALREADY BEEN SERIOUSLY HARMED BY THE KING OF THE UNDERWORLD ON HER BEHALF) and that's about it. She also waves it off super casually in front of Hades.

So why is she still so fucking salty about it 10 years later? ESPECIALLY after all that she's been through, this is the hill she chooses to die on?

Honestly, I agree with Hades here.

Where is her sense of wrath? Why does RS keep flip flopping between Persephone being a 'soft' valley girl with limitless patience and empathy vs. Persephone being a wrathful goddess who's willing to throw hands with anyone? And why is it her dumbass beef with Tori that brings out the latter? There's just a complete lack of consistency in her character or commitment to her being one or the other, so it means when we do see Persephone acting 'wrathful', it 1.) comes out of nowhere, and 2.) is being used for shit that isn't even worth being a dick over, like harassing a bank worker. Persephone isn't being 'wrathful', she's acting petty and childish.

And it's so obvious that if this was intended to be a moment of weakness for Persephone, it HASN'T come across that way at ALL to the main readerbase. I seriously can't even go into the comment sections on those episodes because all I see are people rooting for Persephone, saying how Tori "deserved" what he got, how Persephone is such a "boss" for doing what she did. While I do blame the readers for being so horrible in this regard, I also blame Rachel for clearly not defining her intentions with that scene - which leads me to believe that that WAS the intention, to make Persephone look like a 'badass' through abusing an employee that she went to school with for a couple weeks once ten years ago. Rachel hasn't done any work to show the contrary, so that's what we've been left with.

The good news is, we don't even have to speculate on that much. RS answered that question herself outside of the comic in the official FastPass FB group.

There you have it. In which Rachel displays the fullest extent of her empathy and emotional maturity - absolute cringe.

[iamthedukeofurl]

As much as I love “Irene Adler, Supergenius” I feel like the original story gets so much funnier the more normal she is. Like, to recap, the plot of “A Scandal in Bohemia” is that Holmes is hired by the King of Bohemia to recover some scandalous photographs from his time with Irene Adler. He tried to send men to steal the photograph, and later tried to buy it off Adler, and now she’s threatening to send it to his fiancee’s family.  The King doesn’t explicitly call it out, but IIRC it becomes clear that the threat is a response to the attempts to rob and bribe her. Her Very Powerful Ex is clearly threatened by the existence of their past relationship, and she says “Knock it off or I WILL send the photos to somebody”. Holmes gets involved, some shenanigans ensue, Holmes witnesses Adler marry a lawyer she loves, he tricks her into revealing the location of the photo, and then he, the King, and Watson show up the next day to, it’s implied, basically rob her? Like, he asks to speak with her, implying that they’re not planning to sneak in and steal it. I guess the plan was to gloat at her while they take the photo? I don’t know. We never learn Holmes’s plan, because Adler’s already fled with her new husband. In the old hiding place is a new photo of Adler in a dress and a letter where she says “Oh well done Mister Holmes! But after I realized that I’d just revealed the hiding place to a stranger I suspected that my ex had hired the Great Sherlock Holmes, so I put on a disguise and followed you home to confirm my suspicions. You didn’t see through my disguise as A Random Guy On The Street, Neener Neener. I’ve run off to live with my hot lawyer husband now. Tell my loser ex that he sucks but I’m not going to blackmail him if he leaves me alone.” So, Adler didn’t really “Outsmart” Holmes per say, his trick WORKED. She just realized shortly afterwards that this might be a trick, put on a disguise, and confirmed it. She was able to put on a disguise Holmes didn’t see through, but she was just some random guy on the street who called out to Holmes. It’s not like they had a lengthy interaction for him to fail to see through her impossibly cunning disguise. Nothing she did really requires a Holmes-style intellect, she just puts some things together after a series of improbable incidents and did a bit of basic legwork in disguise. She’s not DUMB or anything, but portrayals of Adler as capable of holmes-style seemingly impossible deductions based on stride length and tobacco ash don’t really have any evidence in the original story. She’s just got to be clever enough to think “Hrmm, something might be up with this priest who got himself invited into my home just in time for a random fire to get me to check where I’ve hidden the photograph I’m using to keep me safe from my shitty ex” And YET, and this is key, Holmes STILL develops a sort of complex about her. Not in a Romantic way, but it infuriates him that tried to Do A Crime (And let’s be real, that’s precisely what he was going to do. Holmes is very much not the Good Guy in this story) and she thwarted him. And the more Adler is portrayed as a woman of regular intelligence and cleverness, the funnier that is! Holmes is fuming mad that his game of 12th dimensional mind-chess failed to overcome her bullshit detector.  “But I was dressed as a Priest! Priests are inherently trustworthy! HOW DID SHE SUSPECT ANYTHING?!” while Dr. James “Capable of being normal” Watson is over here like “Your plan was for me to throw a smokebomb and shout “Fire”, then say ‘Oops, false alarm'. That’s pretty suspicious. ” 

[vibraniumarm06-bucket]

Slay

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

“Uh what does slay mean?” Steve’s voice floats through the living room as he enters eyes attached to his phone. “It’s like in every second comment,” He says as he looks up from the screen to see you and Peter chilling on the couch. 

Peter’s bursting with glee as he tries to contain his laughter and so are you. If only Sam were here to witness this too. But he was currently on a mission with Natasha somewhere in Europe maybe, who knows because you definitely were not listening during the meeting. 

“Geez Grandpa, you trying to get hip?” Clint snarks from the kitchen as he’s pouring a cup of coffee, at this point, you don’t even know if he drinks coffee or poison from how strong he always brews it. 

“In uh what context is it used in?” Peter manages to get out through a fit of giggles which is quite infectious due to his chest moving up and down rapidly causing you to begin to giggle too, even harder when you see the photo that Steve has posted on his social media. He’s wearing his combat gear and is half-turned so the photo is centred on his ass. 

“Tony posted it, something about keeping us relevant or something?” Steve mumbles “Just tell me what the lingo means?” He says as he leans over the couch. 

“What will you give us in return?” You ask with a slight smirk on your face “Ya know Captain, advice doesn’t come free nowadays”. 

“Hmm, I’ll buy you takeout for the next two weeks whenever you both want?”. You look over at Peter and squint your eyes as if you both have to think about this as one of the biggest decisions you would make. You both nod your head and say “Deal” at the same time. 

“What are you idiots agreeing to?” Bucky’s voice fills the room and your heart beats a little faster. You glance over at Clint in the kitchen who has a smug face because he knows of your little crush on the ex-assassin. You roll your eyes and poke your tongue out at Clint. 

“Grandpa Steve wants to know what ‘slay’ means because it’s being commented on his social media post,” Peter says

Bucky’s gaze falls on you laying on top of Peter and for a moment you think you see hurt in his eyes but it’s gone when you take a closer look. 

“It means ‘to do something well’ or ‘you look fresh/on point” Bucky mentions and both you and Peter’s jaws widen in shock. 

“How do you know that?!” You both shriek 

Bucky gives the both of you a pointed look before saying “I spend quite a bit of time with Sam and you Peter”. 

“Thanks, jerk,” Steve says slapping Bucky’s shoulder as he heads out of the common area “See you guys later! Are you coming, Clint? We’re still going to test that thing out for Bruce right?” 

“Yeah, I’m coming,” Clint says reluctantly as he heads out after Steve. 

“Welp there goes our free takeaway,” You say with a soft pout as you look at Bucky. 

“About the social media posts, I do need help with mine because Tony obviously will not help me. I was wondering if you would help me Doll?”. A soft shiver runs through your spine and your stomach flutters at the nickname. You bite your lip lightly “Of course Bucket! I definitely can help you with that!” 

You hold your hand out for his phone and feel Peter begin to move you as Bucky glares at him while you are focused on his phone. Peter slides out from under you on the couch and Bucky takes a seat beside you. 

“Right I’ll see you later Y/N/N! I just remembered I have homework that I need to complete” Peter shouts as he runs out of the common area. You hum after him as you’re looking through Bucky’s photos, of which there are barely any. 

“Uh Buck, how am I supposed to post a photo when there’s barely anything here for me to work with?” You ask turning your head to look at him. He’s already looking at you intensely, his cheeks beginning to turn pink, he rubs the back of his neck nervously. 

“Oh,” You say “I know taking photos can be hard,” You say placing your hand on his left one and squeezing softly with a smile. “How about we take a selfie and we can post that one?” You suggest to which he nods his head. 

“Okay smile!” You say as you hold the phone high enough for both of your faces to fit within the screen. He leans in and pulls you closer to fit the screen better. Your heart beats fasters and you can’t help the smile that spreads across your face. You lean into him a little and you notice the smile forming across his face through the screen. 

You capture the picture and smile “Perfect!” You say. “Just like you” Bucky mumbles under his breath. “What shall we caption it?” You ask as your fingers hover over the keyboard. 

Bucky takes the phone from your hands and begins to type something but won’t let you look at it. Your phone buzzes and the screen pops up with a notification saying that you’ve been tagged in a post. You click on it and come to Bucky’s post. You smile at the photo and look at the caption 

‘Nothing better than spending time with my Doll’

You feel your cheeks begin to heat up as you shyly look at Bucky. You fiddle with your fingers as Bucky looks at you intensely, he leans closer and your heart jumps. He chuckles softly, his laugh ignites a sense of happiness within you and you just want to hear that sound again. 

“I like you too Doll,” He says softly glancing down at your lips before looking back into your eyes. You open your mouth but before you can say anything he interrupts “Your heart kinda gives it away with all the beating it does when I’m around” he says.

He cups your cheek and brings your face closer to his. “Can I?” he asks softly and you nod your head fast nearly giving yourself whiplash. “I need words darling,” He says licking his lip and the shiver that runs through you is intense. 

“Yes Bucket, please” You beg softly and he wastes no time in closing the gap between you. His lips feel so soft against yours. His scent overwhelms you in a good way. He pulls away a little too early for your liking and he can tell. 

“I want to do this right, so will you go on a date with me beautiful?” You grip his shirt tightly hoping that this is not just in your imagination. “100 times yes Bucket” You reply. 

His phone buzzes with multiple notifications. One comment was that Steve had commented. 

‘You both slay together’. To which you both crack up laughing. 

A/N: Let me know if you guys have any requests! :)

[because-she-goes]

summer girl

warnings: tooth achingly sweet fluff, domestic!matty, them being heckin adorable. Enjoy!

“Matty, put down the camera for two seconds and look around you! We are in the most beautiful city in the world with some of the best art in the world. The land of Pablo Picasso, Antoni Tapies, Manolo Valdes and Joan Miro!” Nora, clearly, was elated to be on their honeymoon. Matty and her had thrown around ideas for the trip for a full 3 months before making a decision: Rome, Paris, Greece, Australia, Japan, Amalfi Coast, Ireland, Miami… until they landed on Spain. It then took another two weeks to narrow that down to Barcelona and come up with an itinerary and to-do list. La Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, The Picasso Museum, La Boqueria all being Nora’s picks. Matty decided on a sunset walk on La Rambla, the aforementioned Fundacio Joan Miro, Parc de la Ciutadella, and going to see a FC Barcelona game at Camp Nou. At every art museum, Matty would make the comment that Nora’s art was leagues better while she wandered around in awe - it never failed to make her giggle and blush.

The pair had been running around for a week or so now, Matty taking every opportunity to photograph Nora at their various stops and compliment her outfits and hype her up a bit. His favorite of these photos was taken at a secluded quiet beach they had found one afternoon, and it was like something out of Baywatch. Nora, in all her bikini-clad glory coming out of the crystal blue water. He thought his heart stopped at that moment and almost dialed for an ambulance. How was he this lucky? Not even in his dreams did he imagine this perfect of a wife, of a vacation, of a life. He was brought back to reality by her waving a hand in front of his face and giggling at him. “Like the bathing suit, Handsome?”

“O-oh god yes, Honey. You look positively drool-worthy in it.” He stuttered.

They took another dip in the water, dried off and changed into their walking clothes. She had gotten the most beautiful white sundress for the trip, lacey and delicate. Matty was in his summer uniform of a tee shirt, some sort of dress pants or jeans and sneakers. He currently was wearing Nora’s favorite of his to steal: it was a white shirt that had “I’m a little devil from Niagara Falls, Canada” written across the chest with a little cartoon. It had been put through the wash so many times now that the collar was starting to get loose and holes dotted the hems. The comforting shirt also allowed for his arm tattoos to be out on display, Nora was going a bit insane ogling them as they walked holding hands. Deciding they both needed to cool down a bit after being in the blazing spanish sun all day, they stopped for some shaved ice and coconut water.

That night for dinner, they went to a tapas bar and drank red wine like it was water. They sat in a quiet corner of the restaurant and giggled away as they recalled the early days of the relationship and their trips to London and New York to visit each other - always greeting the other with a ridiculous sign and flowers at the arrivals gate. The band in the bar was playing some Pete Rodriguez and basa nova as the two spent what felt like an eternity talking.

“You know, I have that Mets hat framed somewhere in storage from your first trip to London… kept it all these years later.” He confesses bashfully, half drunk.

“Well, good thing I still buy that candle from the time you came to New York for my birthday.” She reciprocates. The idea of the other keeping mementos of each other and their early love is enough to make them cry.

“Okay, before we get too emotional here, wanna go back to the hotel, Handsome?”

“I’d love nothing more, Honey.”

When they stumble back into their room, Nora runs for the closet where she was keeping his surprise wedding present. Matty was fixing them both glasses of kalimochos - red wine and coke from when they met, still being their drink of choice.

She grabs the guitar case and walks back to the small suite’s living room. “My love, come here for a minute… got something for you!” Nora’s voice rings as she calls him over.

“One second, Darling… just gotta grab something as well.” A devious giggle follows. He walks to their bedroom and grabs a neatly folded printed receipt from the side table.

“Alright, buttercup… let’s see what you’ve got.” She unsuccessfully hides the guitar case behind her back and giggles when she pulls it from him as he makes a reach for it. “C’mon don’t tease, baby. Lemme see what you’ve got in that… I wonder what it could be.” His eyes glimmer in the light and a smirk falls on his stupidly perfect lips.

“Here you go, baby… Had the hotel people drop it off while we were at the beach earlier.” She holds out the case and he gives her a wink as he grabs it. Opening it quickly, his face drops. Within it is a beautiful black Spanish guitar with cowboys sitting around a fire carved into it and “Singin’ Cowboys” engraved and covered with red paint. Matty’s heart stops and his eyes mist over. It is the most stunning, well-crafted instrument he’s ever held in his own hands. He takes it out and begins to play the start of “Iris” by The Goo Goo Dolls and his stomach sinks - it sounds even prettier than he could’ve imagined.

“My love… this is the greatest gift anyones ever gotten me. I love it so much, gonna treasure it for the rest of my life. I love you, baby… so so much.” He tells her as he looks up at the angel before him. How could she possibly be real? He wipes some tears from his eyes and kisses her with such tenderness and warmth that it takes her back a bit and knocks the wind out of her. When they disconnect for air, she holds his face for a moment before kissing his forehead. “My sweet boy.” She whispers.

“My sweet girl.” He kisses her nose and taps it quickly. “Now, beloved, here is yours. I couldn’t physically get it here because it’s being shipped to New York currently, but I made sure to print out the order and a copy of it to give to you while we were here.” He nervously twists his rings around his finger… a habit he’s picked up since their New York wedding months ago.

“Oh, please Matty you didn’t have - oh holy shit… is- is this real?” She quickly asks, reading the paper over and over again to verify its real. An authentic Antoni Tàpies, one she’s always dreamt of since she learned about Spanish art in high school. She must’ve told Matty a hundred times about the art in Barcelona and all her favorite artists in Spain.

“Very real, baby… Hopefully you like that specific piece. I thought it had a cool energy to it and matched some of your work. What with the the hands and semi-heart above them.. Plus it’s from the 60s which I remember you always saying was one of your favorite decades in art!” He scratches the back of his neck as he rambles and tries to remember what she’s told him over the years and the information the seller gave him.

“Matty… Les Mains is one of my favorite pieces of art like ever… You’re insane oh my god! I love you and thank you thank you thank you, Handsome!!” She runs into his arms, still clutching the piece of paper in her hand. She knocks him back at first from the force of the hug, but quickly his arms wrap around her waist and he kisses her head.

“Love you too, baby. Can’t believe I am lucky enough to spoil you for the rest of my life and have you forever.”

“Me neither, Handsome.. and for the record, having you as my husband is the greatest gift I will ever receive.”

“Couldn’t agree more, Wife.” He kisses her again and in that moment it feels like time and the world ceases to exist. Just him and Nora in Barcelona… husband and wife.

[kingkatsuki]

hello miss jo! i wanted to share my new fic obsession with you, which is reading fics about hero cons! but mostly can only find character x characters ones..

are you a convention person? like, i'm imagining so many fun things with this setting. tagging along as dynamight's plus one, are the two of you out to the public or are you being confused as a staff member?

OR attending the con to meet dynamight, getting in line for an autograph and katsuki has to shift awkwardly when you come up in your cute little cosplay because he's chubbing up at the sight of you in his costume

even better, katsuki walking around the con early incognito because he's a fanboy as much as he is a hero. catches his name in a couple conversations, your voice sticking out the most when you talk about riding his face and having him bend you over the nearest merch table. man nearly chokes as he heads to his panel he's already a couple minutes late for because he couldn't tear himself away from eavesdropping. and you swear later when your sitting among the audience he keeps shooting smirks right at you, but why the hell would he? it's not like dynamight's ever seen you before this!

I’ve definitely got some little drabbles about this!! I can try and find them tomorrow, although I vividly remember one in particular is sleazy Red Riot taking advantage of his cute fans (and Dynamight fans) and there was one about someone being mean about your Dynamight trivia at a con and Dynamight steps in and says you’re right and they’re wrong ahhhh.

I love cons! I don’t go to them as much anymore, but I’m obsessed with the idea of being able to meet Dynamight at a con and you’re doing everything you can to secure the photo pass and the signature so you get to meet him twice.

I love no one knowing who you are, so they think you’re staff and they try to boss you around and Bakugou is like excuse me??? That is my wife. (You’re not even married but you get the idea). Or you’re just bored sitting at his table all day, because to the world this is Dynamight but to you it’s your boyfriend so you end up going shopping or going to check out the other guests that are there. Maybe you have a teeny tiny crush on Pro-Hero Hawks so you go to his Q&A and Bakugou is jealous, but he still sets up a private photo op for you— “You know you could just go to his agency any day of the week.” “Yeah but then I wouldn’t be wearing this cute outfit, Kats🥺”

But I also love the idea of being a staff member, and maybe you’re not from Japan you’re just a member of the event team so you don’t really know who any of these Pro-Heroes are; and you accidentally run into Red Riot? And you both end up talking over lunch or something and then you go and watch him on stage later doing the Q&A and you have no idea what he’s saying but you just think he’s super cute.

But omg your last idea, of him being incognito? Like just wandering around and buying merch and action figures or whatever— because he’s an All Might collector himself. And then he sees a pretty thing dressed up as him and he can’t help but listen to you go on about the sinful things you’d do to him, and he prays later that you have a photo pass. But now he’s gotta spend his entire Q&A panel with a raging hard on because of you, and of course he spots you in the crowd.