#hey could be a decent mix to anticipate for

[hairstevington]

flowers and ink (part 1)

Eddie Munson x Steve Harrington

Summary: Steve and Robin work at a flower shop together. One day, the pair decides to get matching tattoos at the place across the street. You can probably guess who their artist turns out to be. (requested by @thereindeerlady)

part two, part three, part four part five part six part seven part eight final part link to Ao3

Word Count: 2.6K

Warnings: This is just cute fluff, nothing too serious, modern day AU, Tattoo Artist!Eddie, platonic soulmates Steve and Robin, also I threw Bob Newby into the mix because I love him

A/N: I'm wrapping up the semester and am finally tackling my request list! Thank you for reading! :)

Robin applied to Flowers for All because a really pretty girl worked there and Robin needed a reason to go in and talk to her. 

She was hired, then the pretty girl promptly quit. Also, she was straight and engaged to a man. That was a huge bummer.

Still, the job stuck, and since they were down an employee…

“No,” Steve said when she brought it up.

“Please?” Robin begged. “Come on, you hate your job and it’s been forever since we worked together. It would be just like old times and -”

“Robin, we never used to get anything done when we worked together. We were terrible employees.”

That was true, but it did not deter Robin from her master plan. 

“Okay, well so far the only other applicant is the seventeen year old son of the owner who thinks the shop is actually a marijuana dispensary, and there’s no way I’m gonna work with that little twerp -”

“He didn’t take himself from the running when he found out you just sell literal flowers?” Steve asked, amused.

“I think he’s going to set up his own business in the back, honestly,” Robin sighed. “Please, I promise I’ll do everything and you can just hang out and -”

“Okay,” Steve said. 

“Wait, what?” 

Robin wasn’t anticipating he’d agree to it so quickly.

“I said okay. Sure. Fine. Where’s the application?” Steve took his phone from his pocket to find the Flowers for All website. He clicked on the “apply now” button and scrolled through the questions. 

There were basically no requirements. He just had to put in his name (Steve), education (high school), and any experience he’d had with flowers (none), and then boom, submitted. 

He got an email the next day to come in for an interview. Robin was assigned to be the interviewer.

He got the job. 

-

Eddie started as an apprentice for Ink About It when he was fresh out of high school. It was run by this dorky middle-aged man named Bob, who didn’t have any tattoos and initially seemed mismatched for the profession. Still, Bob was supportive and kind, and he let Eddie grow and thrive in the tattoo shop. He also happened to be amazing at working with clients and was a decent artist. Go figure. 

“Hey, Eds?” Bob asked as he tapped his knuckles on the door. Eddie was on his break, snacking on some chips while watching YouTube on his phone. 

“Yeah?”

“I was thinking of inviting Joyce’s son here sometime so he could see the place. He’s this great artist, and I think he’d love to meet you and see how we work here.”

“How old is he?” Eddie asked, his eyes still fixed to the screen. 

“He’s seventeen. Just about to graduate high school, can you believe it?”

Eddie didn’t really pay attention when Bob talked about his family. He probably should have listened more, but the man was just so dorky. 

“Okay,” Eddie agreed. He didn’t really want some kid in the shop snooping around, but it wasn’t really his decision. 

“Okay, great,” Bob replied with a smile. When he didn’t leave the room, Eddie knew he had more to say. He shut his phone off and turned to face his boss. “You see, uh. Will’s been having some trouble lately. Bullies and all that. He just came out, you know? And he’s a great kid. He’s so great, and some people at school are just - well, they’re bullies.”

Eddie didn’t really know where Bob was going with this. 

“That sucks,” Eddie acknowledged. “I remember when I came out, people said all kinds of shit - I mean, uh, stuff. Sorry.”

“That’s kinda why I’m telling you about it,” Bob said, shifting his weight on his feet nervously. “I think Will could really use someone on his side right now. Someone who really understands, you know?”

Ah. Eddie got it now. 

“Someone who’s gay,” he deduced. Bob knew that Eddie was gay, and he never cared or said anything about it, which was great. While he didn’t really want to be some motivational story about overcoming adversity in a hetero-normative society, he knew that Bob didn’t ask for much, and talking to a struggling kid seemed easy enough. “Okay, yeah. I’ll talk to him, if you want.”

“Great,” Bob said, breaking out into a smile. “You’re gonna love him. He’s a huge fan of that Dungeons and Dragons game, just like you.”

“Shit, really?” Eddie replied. “I mean - shoot. Sorry.”

“I never told you to stop cursing in front of me, Eddie,” Bob chuckled. “I know I may seem naïve and innocent, but I got into all kinds of trouble in my youth. You’re free to be whoever you want to be here, as long as you’re nice.”

He was just so wholesome it hurt. Eddie imagined the trouble Bob was referring to being something along the lines of sneaking a beer into a movie theater. It would probably break his heart to know some of the things Eddie had gotten into before he’d started working at this place. Maybe Wayne already told him, and he had just never said anything. Eddie certainly wasn’t gonna bring it up. 

“Hey Bob,” Eddie said. “Why did you start this job in the first place? Aren’t you this huge tech wizard?” Bob smiled warmly.

“Sure was. Bob the Brain, they used to call me. I still love a good puzzle, but life takes you to all kinds of places you don’t expect to go.”

“Yeah, but that seems like a pretty big career change,” Eddie continued. 

“Well, did you know this building used to be a RadioShack?” Bob asked. Eddie shook his head. “It was, and I used to work there. After it closed down, some artists tried to make it a tattoo parlor, but had no idea where to start. I stepped in as manager and they did the tattooing. I rebranded it, changed the name, and have been running it ever since. The rest of the story you’ve been around for.”

Bob was a great guy and a wonderful manager. He motivated Eddie to get his life together, and things had really leveled out for him just by having a stable job he enjoyed.

After their conversation, Eddie’s break was over, so he went back to work. He continued a design for a client who’d come in wanting a quarter sleeve, and then at 4pm he was scheduled to tattoo a bird on a guy’s shoulder blade. 

Overall, it was a normal day.

-

Robin knew every single plant and flower in the shop. She knew their names, their seasons, how to take care of them, and what they meant. 

She just happened to be really bad at keeping track of watering schedules, and tended to kill anything she touched. 

“Maybe I should work at a pet store,” Robin sighed, discouraged that the gardenias that had just come in had already wilted.

“What? Robin, why would you do that to the poor animals?” Steve replied, horrified. 

“Shut up, Harrington,” she snapped back. “Animals can tell me when they’re hungry.”

She looked sad, and Steve hated when she looked sad. 

“Aww, Robbie,” he said, jumping off the counter to put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay. I can help. If you tell me what to do, I can do it.”

“Are you sure about that?” she asked. 

“Nope,” he responded confidently. “But they’re already dying, so it’s worth a shot, right?”

Steve actually turned out to be a natural at taking care of plants. He tended to be very good at looking after people, so it shouldn’t have been that surprising, but what was most shocking was how much he enjoyed it. Robin caught him talking to the flowers quite a bit. It was adorable. 

Ink About It was right across the street from Flowers for All. Steve and Robin stared at it every single shift through the front window. Neither of them remember who started the bit where they’d come up with weird matching tattoos they’d get with each other, but it became a staple every time they worked together. 

“Salt and pepper,” Robin greeted him as he walked in one day. 

“You’re pepper?”

“Obviously,” she responded with a smirk. They continued working, but it was a slow day. The ideas got progressively unhinged as the hours went by. 

“What about…” Robin wondered, her chin resting on her hand as she sat at the register. “You get my face and I get yours.” Steve chuckled. 

“Or we both get Harry Styles’ face.”

“Yes!” Robin’s face lit up as she laughed. “What about something flower themed?”

“Like what? A flower and a pot?” Steve proposed.

“Sure, you can be the pot,” she remarked. 

“What? Why am I the pot?”

“Because you smoke pot and I don’t,” she explained. Steve shook his head and scoffed. 

“Weak reason, Buckley, but fine. You’re the flower.” She smirked, pleased with herself, but then Steve added - “The flower is dead, though. For obvious reasons.”

“Steve!” She yelled, laughing. “Harsh, but fair.”

Their shift ended, but instead of going home, they went to the bar next door. They continued the bit until they were tipsy, and ended up arguing over who would be Bert and who would be Ernie. It got kind of heated. 

“Whatever!” Robin huffed, throwing her arms up. “It doesn’t matter, because you know I hate puppets. We’re not getting Bert and Ernie tattoos.”

“You’re acting like we’re actually going to do this,” Steve said as he sipped his beer. 

“I mean, if we find something we like, why not?”

“Why not?” Steve echoed. At first, he was going to give her all the reasons he could think of why they shouldn’t get tattoos together, but then he realized he didn’t have any reasons. “Uh, I guess you’re right. Okay, so no Bert and Ernie. What about Frog and Toad?”

“Are you just going through all the queer-coded best friends in children’s media, Steve?”

“Basically, yeah,” he replied, smirking. “Fuck, I’m Toad aren’t I?”

“I’m glad you said it and not me,” Robin replied. They sat in silence for a moment, coming to the same conclusion. 

“Uhh, so maybe that’s - Like, maybe that’s not such a bad idea,” Steve said. “Am I just buzzed, or -”

“No, I’m right there with you,” Robin responded. Of course she was, she always was. 

Before they knew it, they were stumbling towards Ink About It.

-

Eddie had just wrapped up his final appointment and was quietly working on other designs. Bob had left for the day, and sometimes Eddie stayed late just because it was a quiet place to be. 

It became less of a quiet place to work when two tipsy idiots stumbled in. 

“Hello!” The man greeted Eddie. “We would like tattoos, please!”

“Okay?” Eddie replied, confused. 

“He wants Toad and I want Frog. You know, from Frog and Toad are Friends?” The woman said. “Can you do that?” Eddie eyed them both and did his best to refrain from rolling his eyes.

“I can do whatever, pretty much,” Eddie replied. “Except, uh - I mean, do either of you have tattoos?” The pair shook their heads. “Do you know where you want them?”

“We didn’t get that far,” the man responded, prompting both of them to giggle.

“Right, okay,” Eddie said. “So, since you’ve clearly been drinking and this is your first tattoo, I’m gonna say it’s a no-go. Think about it, and come back tomorrow if you’re still interested.”

This kind of thing happened every so often, so Eddie was used to it. People never came back. They always came to their senses once they sobered up, and Eddie would never see them again. He figured it would be the same for these two. 

It wasn’t. They showed up again the next day. 

-

“We’ve thought about it!” The woman said as she walked into the shop. She dug into her bag and pulled out a picture. “This is what we want. Inside of the ankle.”

“Wow,” Eddie said as he looked at what they’d chosen, impressed. “I really didn’t expect you’d wanna go through with this.”

“Why wouldn’t we?” the man argued. “It’s an amazing idea.”

“Yeah,” the woman agreed. “And work’s been slow, and we’re bored, and this is not even close to the wildest thing we’ve done together.”

Eddie didn’t find spontaneous tattoos to be that wild in the first place. He was covered in them, and most of them were on-the-fly. Once you have a few, it gets easier and easier to add more. 

“Right,” Eddie said, wondering what the other wild things they’d done together were. He wondered if it was some sort of innuendo, like they were the kind of couple that secretly went to BDSM clubs or something like that. “Well, lucky for you, it's slow here today, too. Shall we?"

Eddie had them fill out paperwork while he got the stencil ready. He had adjusted their reference picture a little bit just to add his own flair, and after they approved it they were basically ready to go. It turned out their names were Steve and Robin. 

Eddie thought that Steve was kind of a stupid name, and didn’t match the pretty boy associated with it whatsoever. 

They didn’t even seem that nervous, which was baffling. Eddie figured there must be more to them than he had originally assumed. They were also a lot less annoying when they were sober. 

“So, who’s first?” Eddie asked, gesturing to the chair. 

“I’ll go,” Steve answered, raising his hand. Eddie put the stencil on his ankle and got final approval before they got started. 

“You ready?” Eddie asked, holding the tattoo needle in his hand. He waited for Steve to back out, but he nodded instead. “Okay. It’s gonna sting a little.”

“I have a pretty high pain tolerance,” Steve replied. Eddie tried to hide the smirk on his face. He’d heard that line before, many times. 

Eddie put the needle to the skin, and Steve didn’t so much as blink. Huh. Well, okay then.

Tattooing someone naturally involves a lack of personal space. It never bothered Eddie, because he tended to not think about personal space at any given moment, but some clients were a bit more hesitant than others. Ankle tats were thankfully not as intense as a rib or hip placements, but it did mean Eddie had to have a stranger’s foot close to his face, which wasn’t amazing. 

He wasn’t a foot guy. The man attached to the foot, however…

Eddie couldn’t help it. Steve was gorgeous. He also was charismatic, which was a quality that Eddie always appreciated and was attracted to. Steve chatted with Eddie during the whole 45 minutes he was being tattooed, and even made Eddie laugh a couple times.

Robin started to show her anxiety the moment it was her turn. 

“You don’t have to do this, you know,” Steve reminded her. 

“Uh, of course I do!” she retorted. “This was my idea. You think I’m just going to let you have a loan toad on your ankle?” Steve and Eddie laughed. 

“I don’t mind. It came out pretty badass, thanks to Eddie.” Eddie smirked at the compliment. 

“If you can do it, I can do it. Come on, Eddie, let’s do this.”

She was shaking a little at first, so Steve pulled up a chair and held her hand. He asked her to start naming all the flowers they sold, and she did so rapidly. Eddie hadn’t heard of a lot of the plants she’d listed, and the list was unending. Ten minutes in, she eased into the process, and the rest went by without a hitch. 

Steve and Robin were really cute together. Eddie wasn't sure how long they'd been dating, but he wished them the best.

Steve left a sizable tip - like, an absurdly high tip - and then they were off. 

This time, Eddie was sure that would be the last he’d see of them. 

It wasn’t. 

(part 2)

__________________________

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[deathbyathousandroses]

We can't keep meeting like this.

ellie x fem!reader

content warnings ☆ cursing, alcohol and weed, vomit (brief and not described), smut (oral, overstimulation, fingering). Lemme know if there's any I missed.

College AU. ☆

Brief Summary ☆ To new beginnings! You were finally moving out of your home town to a bigger city. When you meet the hottest girl you've ever seen on your first day. You can't help but keep meeting in embarrassing situations. ☆

WC ☆ 6.3k

a/n ☆ Howdy Ellie fans, hope y'all enjoy this. I'm not the most magnificent write. But I had an idea so might as well. Feedback is appreciated!

The sound of your tapping foot muffled by the rattling of the car made it all more consuming to get to your destination. Whoever told you being in a small confined space with your chatty dad for five hours was a good idea. Needs to be told off. Anticipation surged through your body as you realized you would almost be there. This was instantly followed by apprehension…'What if my roommates a dick? No, what if they think I'm the dick?'

Scratch that, keep happy thoughts. And so you did - kinda. Soon enough you had arrived at the campus. Although you had done endless amounts of research on this school. No immense amount of websites or pictures could have prepared you for the overwhelming feeling of seeing the massive campus in person. Fuck, I mean do you get any financial compensation for the amount of walking you're gonna be doing?

"Hey kiddo, c'mon!" Your dad put his hand on your shoulder with a look between loss and rejoicement. Soon enough. you're struggling to balance bags and boxes onto a small rolling cart. Making your way into the lobby.

The environment immediately made you anxious. With a mix of student orientation leaders and staff member, that all didn't wear any identification. You're struggling to be assisted, until your lord and savior of a father found someone.

A tall lanky raven haired boy trotted his way over to your dad with a clipboard. As your dad mumbled his concerns to him, you squinted your eyes to read the minuscule font on the back of his clipboard. 'Resident Assistant(s)' Oh, well it looks like your old man did a good job at finding exactly what you needed.

Next thing, you were being led to your residence hall room and passed around to different people along the way to aid your confusion. Making your way through the crowd was terrifying. Though, it all worked out as you got to a door that room number matched your paper.

A relieved sigh escaped your mouth, followed by a loud groan from your father. You unlocked the dorm, taking in the foreign area. It was a decent size, you didn't hate it. Thankfully, considering this was gonna be your living situation for god knows how long.

"Hey, looks like your roommate beat us to it." Your fathers voice filled the room. "Ok, Mr. Captain Obvious." You snorted admiring the decorated half of the dorm. Posters and other items scattered the wall, and you noticed a theme of purple. Purple comforter, purple stationary, purple bags.

"I wonder if purples their favorite color, what do you think?" You quipped.

"I reckon it's yellow, no?" Earning a small chuckle out of you.

The two of you began getting to work unloading the boxes upon boxes. God, you should have never allowed him to organize these. Somehow, you were finding toiletries in your clothes box, and stationary in your technology box. Yes, it was a pain in the ass to keep guessing where everything was. But, it did give you more time with the old fucker. Admittedly, you were gonna miss him. Of course, you'd never tell him that to save your pride.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

The day was nearing an end, you'd gotten most everything heavy unpacked. The rest you were able to handle by yourself. A palpable sense of realization fell over you. You'd be having to say goodbye. By the looks of your fathers face, he was thinking the same thing.

"Why don't we have waffles for dinner, on me kiddo." He faintly smiled, ruffling up your hair. You did the smallest nod, but he understood. Then causing the sappiest scene to known to man kind to happen. He took you into a tight embrace kissing the top of your hair. You weren't listening to too much of what he was whispering. But you heard the quiet 'I'm so proud of you's.'

"Okay, okay. Enough of this dad. I'm starving!" You groaned. He reluctantly agreed. Not wanting this moment to end, and you both made your way out of the campus back to his car.

The ride to the restaurant was sat in a comfortable silence. Only the small hums of your dad listening to music. And the gusts of wind knocking on the windows. You loved these car rides, although sometimes it's a pain to hear him rant about cars and sports. Having to live with a new person you didn't know. Was ultimately gonna be worst. Especially not having these little moments everyday.

Once you both arrived, and were seated and ordered. You and your father talked about lists of things to do prior before classes. He was urging you to make some sort of itinerary to help you stayed organized. You, of course, had to reassure him multiple times that it was unneeded. You had everything you needed that your professors required. He still was worried.

The two of you carried on your conversation, just rambling about everything and anything. Until your food came. It was always a little tradition to get waffles with him after something big happened in your guys life. You always enjoyed this, and was glad he was carry on this tradition into adulthood.

The first bite was amazing, as always. Although, not as good as your the waffle place you both frequent back home. You watched your dad inhale his food. Only to realize how hungry you were, you both hadn't eaten all day. Besides the roadtrip snacks, you were starving.

It was here, the dreadful goodbye. You'd never think watching your dad pay for a check would make you tear up. But here you are trying to hide your emotions in a 24 hour diner.

"You gotta get back." He held his hand up pulling you out of the sunken in booth. You put your jacket on and followed him back to the car. He flipped in your favorite CD, and you both sang along to it. Relishing in this fleeting moment. Unfortunately, the car ride didn't feel long enough.

There you were, reluctantly pulling the car door open. While your dad raced to your side of the car.

A smile painted his lips, and he grabbed your hand. "Here, why don't you let your old man walk you to your room?" The silence gave him the answer he needed. And he put his arm around you walking into the lobby. Memories from this morning flooded back, but the lobby looked drastically different without the crowds.

The walk was nice, besides the rambling about being a good student and kid. Not getting into drugs, blah blah blah. The universal run down every parent feels like they have a duty to say.

Stopping at your dorm door. The same expression was plastered on his face from when you finished unpacking that afternoon.

"Bring it in kiddo." The embrace was tight again, you didn't want to let him go. If you did you'd have to face the reality of him leaving. It isn't like you weren't ready for this new start. You were just scared of being alone. You felt the top of your head getting smothered in kisses. If anyone walked by, you'd sure think they'd start tearing up.

He was the first to let go. You hadn't realized his face was also wet from tears. Until you finally tilted your head back up to him. This earned a chuckle from both of you.

"You know I'm gonna miss you." You mumbled, dragging on the first few letters.

"I know." His voice was only but a whisper. The next thing he did was kiss your forehead one last time "Don't do anything stupid, you understand?" Nodding your head in agreement, you went in for a last hug. This one was shorter, but still had the same impact as the rest.

You both said your goodbyes, and the sound of his footsteps grew fainter every second. When you couldn't hear him anymore, you finally began unlocking your door. Only to be greeted with a girl on the bed.

She lay there with earbuds in, a book. Her hair was braided in the back, and an earthy floral scent filled your nose. With the sudden sound of the door shutting. She took her earbuds out smiling wide.

"Oh! You're here!" She came up and hugged you. This was different you thought. You didn't say anything verbal in response, still too shocked by the big embrace she took you in prior. "Oh shit, right, my bad. I'm Dina."

"Y/N, nice decorations by the way." You responded.

The rest of the night was filled mostly by Dina talking and you listening. You didn't mind though, you thought she was interesting. Besides, it was better than having an asshole of a roommate.

"Okay, before we go to bed...What's your schedule for tomorrow?" Dina questioned.

"Oh, well I have my art class at 9am. Journalism at 11, then Calc in the afternoon."

"Journalism with Bardot?"

"Yup, that's the one." Earning a hum out of Dina.

"Okay, how about we meet up here before Journalism and we can walk to class together," Dina mentioned. You agreed. "Also! I'm going to a party tomorrow night, you're coming."

You were ready to argue but Dina didn't budge on the statement. I guess tomorrow would be filled with trying new things...

☆☆☆☆☆☆

Loud beeps awoke you. It was already morning? The clock read 7am, you had two options. Sleep in until 8:30 and have only 30 minutes to get ready and to your class. Or start getting ready now to look presentable, while also not having to rush across campus.

With a little more deciding, you once in your life picked the responsible decision...Slowly parting ways with the warmth of you bed was hell, but getting into a warm shower was great compensation.

Once you finished getting ready, it was almost time to leave. Checking you school bag, and tying your shoelaces. Thats when Dina woke up.

"Good morning Y/n." Her groggy voice rang. She sat up wrapping her body in her comforter and rubbed her eyes. "You headed to class?" She questioned.

"Yup, I actually need to leave," pulling out your phone to read 8:50, "right now-" Ur voice now laced with panic. You couldn't be late for your first class of the school year. How would your professor feel about this?

The adrenaline coursing through you, carried your legs faster than you could have ever. Checking quickly for the room number you needed you finally had. 8:58am. Took only eight minutes, nice job.

Lecture hall was abnormally quiet, even your feet taking steps felt too loud. A lot of seats were taken, so you chose a seat near the center. Wouldn't have been your first choice, but I guess that's what we get.

The class began shortly after, going over the basics of the art course. Just in detail of course expectations, professor policy etc. It was all dandy until a finger taps on your shoulder. You look back to be met with the most piercing green eyes. Your eyes wondered the mystery girls face. She had freckles scattered on her face like constellations, and short auburn hair that framed her face perfectly. Perfection is all you could describe her as.

"Can I sit here?" Her raspy voice broke your trance.

"Uh, yeah of course!" Mentally face palming yourself for saying that so energetically. She didn't speak much after that, carefully opening her notebook with doodles and following along to the professor talking. It wasn't like she was saying anything important right now, it was all just first day rundown. But you couldn't help but admire her tattooed wrist.

That short-lived admiration ended when the bell interrupted. Groaning, you gathered your things and began to head out when the freckled girl spoke.

"I'm Ellie by the way." Her voice rang through your head like a broken record. You did a slight smile to acknowledge her, but she still stood there waiting expectantly.

"Oh! Sorry, I'm Y/n." A deep red blush painted your face after speaking.

"Well, I hope to see you around. Y/n." She began walking away after. Did her voice get hotter every time she spoke? Oh how you'd pay to hear her say your name again, and again, and again.

☆☆☆☆☆☆

The first school day came to a close. Dina and you walked together to your dorm as she rambled on about her day and the upcoming party tonight. This was when you realized your first obstacle; finding the right outfit to wear to a college party.

Dina started getting ready right away, leaving you stranded and clueless on how to look presentable. Do I wear something nice? Something casual? The first you focused on was hair and makeup. It wasn't anything extravagant. But definitely something that was bolder than your everyday.

Once that was over with, you watched Dina slip on a cute sweater with a skirt. It was simple, but so cute.

"Dina?" You spoke, making her look up at you. Humming waiting for you to talk, "Can you help me pick an outfit?"

"I was waiting for this moment all day." She frantically got up wasting no time to rummage through your closet. You couldn't decipher what she was thinking. She took a long time to pick pieces of clothing, so you wondered if she thought your wardrobe was ugly.

"Ah-ha!" She triumphantly said, waving a tight white long sleeve in your face, paired with some simple dark-washed jeans. The outfit was basic and simple, but there was a reason that shirt was in the back of your closest. You never wear it.

It clung too much for comfort, and the backless detail didn't go unnoticed either. It wasn't an ugly top, it was gorgeous. You just didn't think you could pull it off.

"Go try it on dummy!" She practically pushed you into the bathroom.

When you came out, you studied Dina's expressions. Her once blank face, turned into one of aw. "You look hot, what the fuck?"

Her words made you feel so confident. If it wasn't for her you'd probably be wearing a random hoodie. This was it, this was your look. The last thing you both did before heading out was checking yourselves in the mirror, and you were out.

As you walked through the halls, Dina abruptly stopped. "Shit, I forgot something." Without any explanation she quickly ran the other way. Leaving you stranded by the vending machine room. Welp, might as well buy some water as you realized how dehydrated you were.

After receiving the water, you began chugging it with no hesitation. The water began dripping from your mouth onto your white shirt. Realizing the mishap, you cursed under your breath looking for paper towels to clean yourself up. With your luck, no paper towels, and the water was right on the tops of your chest. Exposing your lack of bra.

Mumbling more curses under your breath, you started to choke on it when you saw Ellie standing in the entrance way staring at you amused.

"You scared the shit out of me, how long were you standing there?" You questioned.

"Only the part where I watched you drown, but don't mind me. I like the view." Her eye adverting to your shirt.

"Oh my god, this is so embarrassing." You groaned putting your hands to cover yourself.

She chuckled, passing by you to get to the vending machine. Just in time for Dina to come back with whatever she needed.

Saying your rushed goodbyes to Ellie, the two of you went back on your path to the party. Mentally cheering at Dina not asking who Ellie was.

You realized shortly into your walk, that you hit the jackpot with Dina as your roommate. She was such a polar opposite from you, but a part of that made you two gravitate to each other. Within the day and a half you'd known her. It felt like you'd been friends for years. I mean, there was a dull moment with her. Something, you never had with anyone except your father.

The party wasn't a far walk. but you still regretted not bring a jacket due to the coldness. And still somewhat damp shirt, luckily the it wasn't sheer anymore.

"We have arrived m'lady." Dina used her fingers to play air trumpet. You both went hand by hand up the stairs knocking on the door. To be greeted by a towering man.

"Jesse, this is Y/n, Y/n this is Jesse." Dina introduced you both to each other. He open the door more to signal you both in, and greeted you. "I'm her boyfriend by the way." You nodded, as you watched them become affectionate. Giving you a cue to walk away.

The party started off tame, not too many people were there at first. But as the night went on, the music became louder. Lights became dimmer, and it reeked of booze and weed everywhere. Dina had introduced you to a couple of other people. With the help of alcohol in your system you were able to strike up conversations easily.

You tried your best to stick with Dina for the most part. When she wasn't present, you stuck with a couple of people she introduced you to.

☆☆☆☆☆☆

The scene somehow migrated into a random bedroom. You were now at limit of alcohol, cutting yourself off from anything else.

"Alright, form a circle guys." Jesse instructed the room. Everyone got into position, when a knock at the door made every turn. The last person you expected to enter, entered. It was fucking Ellie. She immediately had her eyes on you. Giving you a slight nod to acknowledge your presence.

"Well if it isn't Ellie fucking Williams!" A girl yelled over the music. Other people began greeting her, making it very apparent she had mutual friends her. You watched as she sat in-between two girls, you felt jealously rise in you. But you pushed it down.

"Ok simmer down everyone," Jesse interrupted everyones conversations, "Were gonna play seven minutes in heaven." He dramatically slammed down an empty beer bottle in the middle. He stood up and sat on a nearby beanbag. To show he wasn't going to participate.

As the game went on, you became more and more anxious as your turn was coming up. Seven minutes went by fast in each turn, but you couldn't help but realize how long that really was. You needed to do it, you couldn't pussy out now.

"Your turn Y/n." Dina tugged on your arm. You slowly reached for the bottle locking eyes with Ellie. As the bottle spun, you watched it intently. Picking at you fingernails from the anticipation. It felt like it was in slow-motion near the end. As it came to a stop, your eyes geared towards the torn up converse that the bottle tip pointed at.

The bottle landed on Ellie. Whatever you were feeling before was ramped up double, she was the first to stand up. Smirking the whole time. She led you to the closet, and opened it to let you walk through.

"So art class girl, how's it going?" She playfully whispered. You were about to speak when you felt an overwhelming response to barf. Your hand flew to your mouth and you ran out of the closet and the room. Straight to the bathroom, only to release the worth sickness you've felt in years. I guess mixing boxed wine and vodka wasn't your brightest idea.

The lack of material covering your back relieving the heat you were feeling. As it hit the cold wall. You sat in the bathroom for awhile recollecting yourself, you didn't know how to get back from that. How did that make Ellie feel? I mean it seemed like you were barfing at the idea of kissing her.

The rambling of your thoughts were interrupted by a knock.

"I'll be out soon, sorry!" You screamed over the blasting music.

"Uh, it's me. Ellie, can I come in?"

Fuck me, just my luck. You slowly got up from the floor and opened the door inviting her in. She stood there for a second looking at the scene in front of her. You were a mess. Makeup probably smudged and hair now wild.

"I'm taking you to your dorm, you're clearly too drunk." Her voice was demanding. It made a familiar sensation pool between your thighs at her assertiveness. "Yes m'am." You squeaked, burping from the alcohol.

She took your hand, and guided you out of the bathroom and the party. She didn't have any transportation like you, so you both walked back in silence. The cold night making you shiver under the breeze.

"Here take my jacket, you're shivering." Ellie pulled the thick clothing off of her body, and guiding it onto you. Leaving her in a thermal underneath.

"But aren't you cold?" You mentioned. Ellie shook her head 'no' and you kept walking until you reached the campus. The walk helped you sober up a little, but not enough to chase away the dizziness you felt. You couldn't decipher if it was the alcohol or Ellie's close proximity making you dizzy though.

"Ok, you're gonna have to give me directions to your dorm," She spoke closely to your ear sending shivers down your spine, "Can you do that for me, sweetheart?" The new nickname made you almost buckle at the knees.

You told her the room number, and she nodded understanding where it was. Then, she took your hand helping you up the stairs. The hand-to-hand contact made your stomach jump in circles. She fortunately kept holding your hands as she navigated the hallways searching for your room.

When you arrived, she let go of your hand. Leaving you feeling empty.

"You know, we gotta stop meeting like this." Ellie breathy chuckled. Her hands went into her pockets. You nodded not knowing what to say, but agree. Feeling her eyes on you as you struggling with the lock of your dorm.

You began to enter, before stopping to look at her. "Thanks for walking me, this means a lot you know. Considering I almost barfed on you." This made you pull your hands up to cover your face in embarrassment.

"You can make it up to me sooner or later." Ellie responded, "Before I forget, give me your arm."

You reluctantly did, as you watched her pull a sharpie from her pocket. She began writing something you couldn't make out. When she finished you looked to see her number.

"Just so you can thank me again when you're sober." She remarked. This was the last thing she said before you both said your goodnights to each other. Parting ways for the night.

Getting inside, you checked your reflection in the bathroom of your dorm. Realizing how fucking red your cheeks were. After much review of the night, you cleaned yourself up and went to bed. For your first college party, it wasn't too bad. Despite one mishap.

☆☆☆☆☆☆

Like expect, you woke up with a raging headache. Never again you scolded yourself, before taking some aspirin. Dina was still fast asleep under a pile of blankets. Luckily, your earliest class was at 12 today, meaning you had an ample amount of time to pull yourself together.

Still, your thoughts lingered on last night. Of what could have happened in that closet. You didn't necessarily want your first kiss with Ellie to be in a closet. But apart of you didn't thin you'd get a chance else where. Of course, you blew it.

You began turning on a hot shower when you noticed the small black marker written on your arm. Remembering Ellie wrote it outside your dorm before she left. Before getting into the shower you quickly saved the number to your contact.

☆☆☆☆☆☆

The day went on as normal, just the same lectures about course expectations you got on the second. You couldn't help but think back to Ellie, and how you practically had her at ur fingertips in your phone. No prevail, maybe it was too soon to text her? Or maybe you waited too long?

After getting out of your last class, you made it back to your dorm and bit the bullet. Sending a short, 'Heyy, it's Y/n from art. Just wanted to thank you again. :)'

It wasn't anything special. but it did take you ten minutes to come up with. Your mind was running at all the possible replies she could give. And you became more anxious by the minute at the lack of them. Until you heard a ding.

'Hey Y/n, no worries. Although, I do think you owe me a lunch.'

You had to have read that tezt a million times by now. Lunch was practically the only word you could think of. Now for the hard part replying back. Don't sound too desperate Y/n, you got this.

'That I do.' That was the best you could come up with. But was it too short?

'Perfect, meet me at the campus cafe in ten. It's a date.'

Fuck fuck fuck. Did she really just fucking say that? After all, you thought you blew it after last night. You only changed out of your sweatpants into jeans. And fixed your hair before heading out. The walk to the cafe wasn't far, but you didn't wanna risk being late.

When you arrived at the cafe, your eyes scanned the busy area looking for the familiar face. You sat at an empty table of two. She was probably running late, it was only five minutes after the fact.

While you kept overthinking, the girl in question stalked over sitting down in the chair in front of you.

"Sorry I'm late." Her voice was quieter than usual. Was she just a nervous as you? You quickly dismissed it, reassuring it wasn't a big deal. The two of your got situated.

"So, I wanna know more about you." Ellie's voice was so low you almost has to lean forward to hear her. You watched her eyes study her fingers as they fidgeted. Only for them to come back to meet yours waiting for an answer.

"Well, what do you wanna know?" You replied, still studying her face. You couldn't exactly read her. Which was killing you. Before she could reply, a server came over asking what you both would like.

This prompted you both to skimp through the menu. After a minute, you order just a coffee. While you listened too Ellie ordering a tea with a pastry.

After the server left, you continued your conversation where it left off.

"So, what do you like? Is maybe what I should start off with." She laughed, it was such a contagious one. That you mimicked it unintentionally.

"Well, I don't know I like art I guess. My dad was always a huge painter, so I guess thats where the love came from. I also like space, specifically astronomy. You know, like constellations and what not." You promptly cut yourself off when you realized you were rambling.

"I love space too, I've loved it from a young age." She was smiling so much, you couldn't help but replicate it. The conversation was starting to get more comfortable after that new found shared interest.

It seemed like you two talked about everything, from what you were like back home. How you applied to this university. Ellie was not what you thought she be. Not that you had any bad impression of her. You just didn't expect her to be a huge nerd. But you were too.

"Yea, well my dad loves embarrassing me. " Ellie spoke through laughs. You were somewhat surprised that she was also raised primarily by her dad. You don't thin you've met anyone with that experience. It made you feel all more safe talking to Ellie.

"Uh, fuck. It's late. How long have we been here?" She questioned now acknowledging the lack of people in the cafe, from when you both were first here. You were about the speak when she spoke again, "Maybe you'd like to come back to my dorm?"

The question made your eyes widen in disbelief. The silence wasn't intentional, but you obviously weren't gonna turn down this offer.

"Or not, shit sorry did I make this awkward?" Ellie nervously watched you.

"What? No-YES! I mean sure- I would love to come." Your stuttering made you wanna crawl into a hole.

You both got up gathering your things and stretching from the lack of movement you both done in the past couple hours. You couldn't believe it had been that long, it felt like was only thirty minutes.

The walk to her dorm was different than last nights. Instead of silence, it wad filled with you and Ellie laughing and chatting the whole time. As you walked up flights of stairs, you couldn't help but gradually move closer to her. Now having your hands briefly rub past each other whilst you walk. You took this opportunity to be bold and tangle your hands together.

She looked at you for a brief second stopping mid sentence. You both held hands the rest of the way. You couldn't help but wanna scream.

"This is it." She stopped at a door that looked identical to yours. "I have a single, so no roommates." She reassured you.

Upon opening, a faint smell of weed hit your face. You studied her room noticing space posters and other things on her walls that she previously told you she liked. Your eyes went to the bong on her windowsill. You think she noticed, because she immediately went to put it away.

"Sorry about that, I don't wanna make you uncomfortable or anything."

"No don't worry, I don't mind." You reassured her.

She sighed in relief, "Wanna try?"

"Why not." You responded. She grabbed the bong, previous water already occupying it. "Come, sit." She patted the spot next to her on her bed. As you did, she began packing the bowl. You intently watched her fingers as they worked away. Fuck- they were so long.

"Ok, you know how to do this?" Ellie questioned. You told her you've never used a bong to smoke weed. She nodded.

"Ok." She then took your hands placing the bong in them. "Put your mouth over the here. And start to inhale, okay? But don't do it til I finish lighting" She instructed. You did as she told you, and she brought the light up to the bowl and lit it. When she finished you inhaled watching the smoke rise up into your mouth. You brought the bong away and inhaled as much as you could before you started coughing.

Ellie patted your back to subside the coughing fit. When you collected yourself, you watched as Ellie expertly did everything with ease. She inhaled with no problems, passing it back to you. You both went back and forth until you were comfortably high.

The two of you lay there talking about stupid things, the high amplifying the amount of laughs you both let out.

☆☆☆☆☆☆

It seemed by now the two of you ran out of things to talk about. Now just enjoying each others company in silence. It was getting late and you knew this, but you didn't wanna leave. Still, feeling you overstayed you shift upwards looking at Ellie. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion by the sudden movement.

"I think it's time I head out, Dina might be worried." You finally spoke. She nodded biting her lip like she wanted to say something but couldn't. As you finally planted your feet on the ground she put her hand on your shoulder.

"Before you leave, can I ask you something?" Her voice now quieter than before.

"Go for it." You pressed on not knowing what she'd say.

"Did you want to kiss me last night in the closet?" She didn't make eye contact with you the whole time. Your heartbeat began fluttering faster than ever. Of course you wanted to kiss her. You've wanted to jump her bones since art class.

"Ellie..." You began. But she interrupted, "No don't answer that. I'm sorry shit-"

"I wanted to kiss you before that Ellie." It was not your turn to interrupt. You waited for an answer, but watched as her jaw unclenched and turned into a smile. She then finally looked at you for the first time since the question.

You watched as she leaned closer to you, "What's stopping you now?" Her voice now more raspy than ever. Your eyes fluttered shut as you leaned forward pressing your lips to Ellie's. They were so warm and soft, it felt like a dream really.

She deepened the kiss by grabbing your face, using her left hand to tug at your hair causing a moan to slip out of your mouth. She used this opportunity to slip her tongue in. Making you react once again. This went on for awhile, her teasing you to see what reaction she can get out of you.

When you both pulled away, you stared at her lustful eyes and now redden lips.

"Fuck you're so beautiful Y/N." Ellie put her hands on your hips guiding you to straddle her lap. She kissed you once again, bringing her knee in contact of you heat. You moaned louder, this time causing a chuckle to come out of Ellie.

"Ellie stop teasing!" You whined. She kissed down your neck earning another small whimper out of you. "Someones needy..." She finally answered. Her fingers worked at the bottom of your shirt, looking at you to take off your shirt. You nodded frantically helping her life it over your arms and neck.

She stopped her movements to admire your shirtless figure. Reaching out the touch your breast, her cold thumbs ran over your nipples. Making you shudder against her, and involuntarily grind your hips on her thigh. That didn't go unnoticed by her, "Keep fucking yourself on my thigh baby." Her voice was addictive now, laced with nothing but lust.

You obliged, becoming a moaning mess from the stimulation. Ellie leaned down putting you breast into her mouth swirling her tongue over your nipple. A yelped escaped, as she nipped at your skin before pulling away.

She got up off the bed, leaving you in a huff. She mocked your neediness, and quickly pulled her hoodie off leaving her in a white tank top. The buckle of her belt took you out of your trance as she was in nothing but her underwear and tank top. She was now urging you to take your pants off.

Climbing on top of you and pulling you into another heated kiss. "I can't believe I get to do this." She whispered. Her hands traveled further down your body stopping at your clothed heat. She used her finger tips to rub up and down your underwear. Laughing at the wet spot that leaked through. "Who got you this wet?" She looked at you for an answer, "Hm? Answer me." Her voice got louder, pinching your thigh.

"You Els, s'only you." You practically moaned it. She hummed in contentment, snapping your underwear waistband against your skin. You lift your hips to easily slide them off, her fingers traced down your slit causing you to buck your hips up.

"Lemme take care of you." She kissed your neck and trailed kisses down your body stopped at you lower abdomen, looking up at you for reassurance. "You want this?" Her voice now filled with real concern. You nodded frantically. "I need a verbal respond sweetheart."

"I want this-I want you. Please Ellie fuck me!" You whined, getting impatient at the lack of friction down there. Ellie obliged licking a long strip on your wetness. Making a moan erupt from you. She continued to do this, latching her lips around your clit; sucking.

The feeling was unlike anything else. And you didn't know if you could go back to using a vibrator after her. She was practically a god right now. Her name fell from your lips like a chant. You couldn't stop, it felt too good.

As she kept kitten licking your clit, she slowly inserted one finger watching your face contort. As she fucked you with one, she inserted another. They curled up hitting your g-spot. The double stimulation was getting all too overwhelming. She could feel you were close.

She sped up her fingers, and harshly sucked your clit more getting more moans out of you. When you breath started to catching, and you legs starts clenching around her head. She knew what was to come. "Fucking cum Y/n." Her demands rang through your head as you moans. Tears spilled out of your eyes from the amount of pleasure you felt.

She did one last suck, and you were done for. Your legs started shaking as the coil in your stomach snapped. You came screaming her name like it was a mission. She continued to fuck you through your orgasm, but didn't stop when you finished.

"E-els! I can't take it anymore, please-" You croaked out, trying to push her head from your heat. She still didn't listen and kept sucking on your clit.

"C'mon one more princess, you can do it." She mumbled into you. Your moans became louder again, feeling another orgasm rise. The intensity building up due to your sensitivity.

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck!" You moaned cumming again, this time squirming your legs and crying out from the overstimulation. She finally parted from between your legs. Chin covered in your juices.

"You taste so good, couldn't let you go." She explained herself, coming up to kiss you again. You tasted yourself on her lips, and she deepened the kiss again playing with strands of your hair.

"Ellie, what about you?" You questioned. She softened her gaze looking at you. "Another time, don't worry about me." Her voice now softer than when she was eating you like her last dinner.

You both laid there for awhile taking in each others presence. As you dozed off you couldn't help but feel so happy. You didn't know you were capable of even becoming friends with Ellie. Let alone do this.

☆☆☆☆☆☆

A/n: ANYWAYYY, I got a little carried away. I hope you guys enjoyed that! Feel free to leave requests for me to write. And leave feedback x

[banannabethchase]

I'm Sure I Can Pretend to Be a Gentleman - also on AO3

~

Matt decides he wants to try the roleplay thing, and Adam's willing to give it a shot.

~

Title from Inside of You by Hoobastank. Note: The roleplay concept in this fic is that they are two wrestlers trying to get the same new position in the company. Everything is consensual and there are no power dynamics at play.

~

“I think it’s time for the role play idea,” Matt says, putting the dishes away. They’re in the wrong place, but Adam will let that slide because he’s got a decent view of Matt’s butt like this.

“What role play?” Adam asks. He hangs up the mop. “Also, I like how putting away dishes is what reminds you of that. Are you ever not thinking of sex?”

“Occasionally,” Matt says. He slides the mixing bowl into the shelf on his tiptoes, and, truly, it’s an even better view. “But we have that Dynamite coming up in a new venue, and I think we’ll have to find an empty, unused conference room.” He turns around an blows hair out of his eyes. “What?”

“You’re out of your mind,” Adam sighs. “Get over here. I love you so much.”

Matt grins into the kiss, wrapping his arms around Adam’s waist. “But,” he pulls back, like they haven’t stopped talking, “the idea is, basically, we’re two wrestlers who both want the job and we’re waiting in the conference room to get the interview.” He wiggles his eyebrows. “We’re competition. We’re not supposed to like each other, but we do.”

“Isn’t that just how, like, half of how wrestling relationships start?”

Matt shrugs. “Maybe. Hey, can you help me with that box of plates?” He nods over to the living room, which is still doubling as storage for an obscene amount of kitchenware shipped from Matt’s. The new couch looks nice in the living room, but Matt’s been antsy about the extra clutter. “Maybe bend over a little and wiggle your butt while you do it?”

“You,” Adam says, sure to yank his shirt up a little before leaning over and making a show of it, “are fucking shameless.”

“Sorry,” Matt calls, “can’t hear you over the sound of your butt looking great in those jeans.”

~

“Thank you again for going early to the venue.” Adam can hear Tony on the phone from where he’s pulling on his street clothes. It’s still sunrise orange outside as they get ready, hours before they usually dress to go to the venue, but the anticipation is better than caffeine. “All you have to do is scope it out, guide the staff to set up the locker rooms. Maybe mingle with some of the venue-specific crew to see if there’s anything we can do to make things go more smoothly, since it’s a new place.”

“Of course, Tony,” Matt says, his annoying professional voice turned up to eleven, “you can always count on us to make good use of our extra time at the venue.” He winks at Adam, and Adam thinks there has never been anyone less subtle.

“You’re lucky that was a call and not a FaceTime,” Adam says once Matt’s hung up. He slings his gym bag over his shoulder, heavier than usual. “You were so obvious.”

“Was not!” Matt says. “I was professional. A dedicated EVP, you could say.”

“Dedicated to getting railed, maybe.”

Matt rolls his eyes and leans in to kiss Adam, his hair still damp. “Let’s get coffee and then head over. They’ll let us in when we get there, if we ask for Maritza, and then we have the whole place to ourselves.”

“And we have to make sure we do what Tony asked us to do,” Adam says. He adjusts his bag on his shoulder. Hopefully the suit doesn’t get to wrinkled in there.

Matt rolls his eyes. “Yeah, well, we have plenty of time to do everything we want to do.” He looks Adam up and down. “It’s so annoying you look that good with a mustache.”

“I could say the same about your dumb goatee,” Adam says. “And yet here I am, still planning to fuck you stupid.” Sighing, he wraps an arm around Matt’s waist and hauls him in to kiss him, blazing and fierce.

The venue is unique, smaller than others but a maze of rooms to navigate. Maritza is a delightful woman with the personality of a lightning bolt, speaking at speeds Adam can hardly keep up with. Matt’s firing back with equal pace though as they sip their identical coffees, and Adam wonders if they’ll stop talking long enough for Adam and Matt to pull off the reason they’re actually here.

He’s mid yawn, halfway through his coffee, when Maritza sighs. “Well, I’ll have to be at the box office the rest of the morning.” She claps her hands together and sends her electric smile to both of them. “You two call me if you need anything.”

“We will,” Matt says, and he’s so sugar-sweet it’s ridiculous. “Thank you so much for the opportunity to come in early, Maritza. We really appreciate it.”

She beams. “We appreciate the help.” She waves as she walks away, and Matt’s excitement is hard to place.

“Are you all pink because you’re excited to do corporate stuff, or because of our plan?”

Matt shrugs and glances up and down the hallway, then pulls Adam in for the kind of kiss that makes him understand poetry a little better. When Matt leans back, Adam’s brain has flown south for the winter along with all the blood in his body.

“I’m good to start,” Adam says. “If, uh, you still want to.”

Matt scoffs. “If. Sure. Like there’s ever anything but a yes in that.” He raises an eyebrow. “But, also, because, like, that whole thing where you get to –”

“Focus on one new thing at a time, baby,” Adam murmurs. He pulls Matt in and kisses his forehead. “Looks like the rest of the place is empty. We start now, we got, like, hours before anybody else gets here.”

Matt nods, burying his face in Adam’s chest. “Okay,” he mumbles. “I start in the room.”

Adam nods. “But first we have to get all dressed up.”

He’d gotten a brand new suit for this whole thing, dark grey and bespoke, and he can feel Matt’s eyes on him the whole time.

“You like it?” Adam asks, spinning. “Got it new and tailored for this.”

Matt nods, looking delectable in his own navy suit. “I – okay. Go wait outside and count to four.”

“To four?”

“Ten. Five. Whatever. My brain isn’t working right now.” Matt shakes his head and Adam wants to do nothing more but pull him in and screw the roleplay, but he knows Matt really wants it.

He steps out the door and counts to four, then to ten, then to five, and knocks. “This where we go to wait for the interviews?” he asks. He nods to Matt. “I think I know you. You’re Matt Jackson, right?”

Matt nods. “And you are?”

Adam grins. “Adam Page.” He sticks out his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Matt shakes his hand. “Likewise.” His eyes flicker down to Adam’s mouth, and what happens next cannot be considered Adam’s fault. He pulls Matt in by the hand and kisses him, slow and soft, hands on his hips. Matt sighs into it, hands on Adam’s lapel, before he pushes back rather suddenly.

Adam smiles at him, feeling kind of dopey. “Hi.”

“No, no,” Matt says, shaking his head furiously. “No being cute. Get out. We’re starting over. You can’t kiss me at the beginning of the whole thing. You’re supposed to wait until I say I’m unfamiliar with your talent, and then you say you’ll show me your talent.”

“That’s still the cheesiest line,” Adam says, letting Matt shove him out the door. “You know that, right?”

“It doesn’t have to be poetry, Adam,” Matt says, and Adam’s honestly impressed with how snippy he looks. “It’s a means to an end.”

“It’s a means to get into your end,” Adam quips.

“Watch it or I won’t let you eff me,” Matt says, deadpan. And he slams the door in Adam’s face.

With a glance up and down the hallway, still kind of expecting somebody to walk into this wing and make this incredibly awkward, Adam adjusts.

“Okay,” he mutters. “I can do this. Acting. I’m trying to get the job and Matt’s the competition for the position.” He bounces a little, like right before he gets in the ring.

And he knocks.

The door pulls open, and Matt’s back in character. “Hi. Are you here for the job opening too?”

"Mr. Jackson,” Adam says, trying to get back into the character. He can start over. He can do this. “Fancy meeting you here.”

Matt adjusts his jacket and, fuck, that mustache really is unforgivable. “Mr. Page, is it?”

Adam fights his grin as Matt steps aside to let him into the room. “Yeah man,” he confirms. “Seen your work before. Heard you’re going for the opening in the company.”

He can see the second Matt snaps out of the persona. “Opening?” Matt giggles. “You’re making a sex joke during this?”

“You are completely ruining the moment,” Adam says. “I’m trying to be the hot young upstart trying to throw you off your game for your interview, and you're talking about openings!”

“You’re the one who made the sex joke!” Matt says. His pout looks even more ridiculous with the mustache. “You’re terrible at roleplay.”

“I am not!” Adam says. “You can’t hold it together when you make a sex joke in your head. That’s not my fault.”

Matt grins at him. “It sort of is,” he says. “You’re the one who made the sex joke.”

“I did not make a sex joke!”

“Get in here,” Matt says, wrapping one hand around Adam’s tie and the other around his collar.

“Okay, Mr. Jackson,” Adam murmurs. “How do you know you’d be better for the position than I would be?”

“Oh, now you get it,” Matt grumbles, but he still lets Adam shove the jacket off his shoulders.

“Maybe from now on leave the experiments to me,” Adam suggests. He bites at Matt’s neck, earning a sweet little mewl.

“You – oh – you seem to have liked my other experiments.” Matt bares his throat a little more, letting Adam work a bruise or two into his skin. When Adam pulls away, Matt hops up on the conference table. It’s the exact right height. Adam’s brain short circuits for a second before snapping back into it. “You didn’t complain when you and Mox were fucking me at the same time.”

“Fuck, baby,” Adam murmurs. He gets his hands on Matt’s belt, one of the fancy ones Nick had gotten him for Christmas a few years back, and yanks it out. He grins as he tosses it across the room, Matt’s eyes wide. “I didn’t complain. And I sure as hell won’t complain now.” He cups Matt’s hard dick through the dress pants. “You gonna complain?”

Matt shakes his head rapidly. “No,” he says, breathy. “No, I – please?”

“Please what?” Adam asks. Matt’s eyes follow every movement of his fingers, and Adam decides to tease a little. He doesn’t go for his own belt, instead slides his hands into his pockets. “I’m sure you got everything you could want.”

Matt’s eyes go dark. “Not everything,” he breathes.

“You gotta tell me.” He gets it now. This part of the roleplay is kind of fun. “I’m new to this, you know. I need help getting the lay of the land.” He winks at lay. 

Matt’s breathing is shaky. “You need – you’re acting like you did when we first met.” He presses his lips together and looks at Adam with blown-black eyes. “Back when you were all shy and scruffy and were scared around me.”

“Yeah,” Adam chuckles, “because I thought all y’all were hot and I got nervous about it.”

Matt nods, licking his lips. “Remember when we first got together.”

“I do,” Adam says. He steps closer, in between Matt’s legs. His hands go to the waistband of Matt’s pants, slowly tapping toward the zipper. “Couldn’t help but embarrass myself, could I? Curse of being in my mid-twenties.”

“Curse?” Matt laughs. “You had the biggest dick on the roster and none of us knew because you’d always change by yourself!”

“Yeah, because I was, like, constantly horny around you.” Adam slides his hands up Matt’s shirt, starts unbuttoning slowly. “That one night, after the pay per view – I can’t remember which one.”

Matt’s cheeks are pink as his shirt flutters open. “Neither can I,” he murmurs. He links his legs around the small of Adam’s back and yanks him in closer. “All I remember is walking into the showers and seeing – seeing you with…” Matt trails off as he watches Adam shove his pants down his hips. Adam wraps his hand around his dick. “Well, seeing you like that.”

“You remember what I said?” Adam asks. He couldn’t forget. It was the beginning of the best part of his life: being with Matt.

Matt nods, eyes locked. “You said,” he says, breathy, “You asked, ‘You trying to get in on this, baby?’ with this voice…” He trails off. “Okay, you need to get inside me. I’m done. Screw the roleplay, it’s hotter to remember how long we’ve been together.”

“Yeah?” Adam pauses before he grabs the lube. “You thinking about us when we were younger?” He grabs Matt’s legs and hauls him close, grinning at his yelp. “Remembering how we used to pull off quickies in the shitty bathrooms.” He leans down, kissing the life out of Matt for just long enough to get him whimpering. “How you used to beg me to fuck you when both of us knew we didn’t have the time or the privacy?”

“Now you’re doing it on purpose.��� Matt flops back on the conference table. “The whole point of this is for you to rail me in a suit. This is purely for my own benefit and you’re making me think.”

“You made me come up with a whole character!” Adam yanks down Matt’s dress pants and throws them somewhere in the room. Adam pulls Matt’s legs around his waist so he’s at the right angle to dribble lube down from the tip of his dick, down his balls, down into his crease. Matt shivers so hard the table wobbles.

“Okay,” Matt says. “I – don’t care. Just like when we were younger. I’m begging now.”

“Except,” Adam says, and he leans down to kiss Matt slowly, languidly, unrelentingly. Matt squirms against his face. “Except this time, we have plenty of time for me to wreck you.”

Matt whines. “I really – Adam, I hate that mustache.”

“Sucks for you,” Adam murmurs. "Also, I think you're lying."

Adam opens Matt up as quickly as he can, with how whimpery and insistent he is.

“I love you,” Matt says. “I – I don’t think I like role plays. I like you. I want you. But I like it when you call me Mr. Jackson, if that makes any sense.”

“I don’t think anything we do makes sense, but if it gets you going I'm about it,” Adam says, and with the way Matt is gripping at the edge of the conference table, it tells Adam he’s ready. “You good?”

Matt nods, eyes screwed shut. “I just really want to get laid on a conference room table.”

“You are so weird,” Adam sighs, and he gets himself situated. “I ever tell you I’m madly in love with you?”

Matt props himself up on his elbows so he can watch Adam, eyes dark. “You do,” he whispers. He pulls his eyes up to meet Adam’s. “Have I ever told you?”

“Always,” Adam says. “God, I – are you ready? Is it –”

“Yes,” Matt hisses. “Please. I want – please.”

Adam guides his dick into Matt, carefully as he can. The wood on Matt’s lower back can’t be comfortable, so he adjusts so Matt is laying down, hair fanned out. “Jesus,” he whispers.

It’s slower than usual. Adam is gentle, and careful, and soft. Part of him worries that the wooden table won't hold, that it'll be too stiff for Matt's bad back, that he'll get overenthusiastic and slam his hips into the edge of the table. Matt’s eyes are locked in on him, a little smile on his face, as he rolls to meet Adam’s thrusts. It feels perfect. It feels like Adam doesn’t deserve to have this forever. He takes a shaky breath.

“Hey,” Matt says. “Come back. I don’t know where you went, but come back here.”

Adam shakes his head and snaps back into the moment. “Sorry, baby,” he murmurs. “Got a little stuck in my head.”

“I know,” Matt says, and he digs his heels into the small of Adam’s back to draw him in. His soft smile and warm eyes anchor him to the present and Adam feels so goddamned lucky to be here he almost falls over. He leans in and kisses Matt, trying to say with his lips what he can’t with words. Matt kisses him back and slides a hand between the two of them to touch himself. It's the best thing Adam's ever seen. Adam adjusts his grip on Matt’s thighs and his angle so Matt is making high pitched, desperate little noises.

“I know,” Adam murmurs, “I know, baby, you’re close. Come whenever you want, okay?” He pulls back to kiss Matt’s forehead. “We fucked up this role play thing so hard, didn’t we.”

Matt laughs, music. “We did, but I’m okay with it. I – please don’t stop.”

“I won’t,” Adam promises. “I won’t. Never.”

The world dissolves until it’s just the two of them, pretense and worry and reality gone, until Adam’s whispering Matt’s name and they come just about at the same time. Adam feels changed with it, shifted, and he wonders how many times he can fuck Matt before it stops rearranging his atoms.

“Matty,” Adam murmurs, peppering kisses across his face. “I don’t think I like roleplay. I think – I think I only like it when it’s you.”

Matt sighs and smiles up at Adam. “I think I know that now.” He tucks a curl behind Adam’s ear. “I always knew you were a big softie."

Adam laughs. “Yeah, fair.” He pulls out of Matt gently and grabs a towel from the bag they’d dropped in the corner. “You okay?”

“It’s weird you ask me that every time you get all gooey and romantic about me,” Matt says. He takes the towel and cleans himself. “What, like you expect me to be stressed or freaked out because you’re in love with me and get all sappy?” He shoots Adam a grin. “I’m always feeling great after.”

Adam shrugs. “I like to check.”

“We didn’t even do anything that merits checking,” Matt says. He wrinkles his nose as he wraps the towel up tightly and shoves it in a plastic bag.

Adam resists the urge to tell Matt, once again, anything could merit checking which is why he does it. “Still gonna do it.” Adam leans in and kisses Matt’s forehead. “Let’s go find the EVP locker room and showers. My boxers are all sticky.”

“Oh, your boxers,” Matt says, rolling his eyes with a smile. “What a shame for you.”

Adam licks his lips. “What,” he says, “you want me to mention you’re gonna feel my come leaking out of you all night?”

Matt flames red. “Effing – oh my god, Adam.” He pulls the jacket on. “You can’t just say things like that without warning.”

“Sure I can,” Adam says. He grabs the pack of Clorox wipes they’d picked up at Target and wipes down the conference table as best he can. “I can say it all night, if you want me to.”

“Now you’re understanding the whole any-time-you-want-me thing,” Matt says. “I like it.” He leans in and kisses Adam on the cheek. “Let’s go get the place ready for everybody else so maybe we get extra time and I can blow you behind the commentary table.”

“Yeah, if nobody gets thrown on it tonight.” Adam tosses Matt his bag. “Would hate for, like, Joe to chuck Trent or somebody on top of the desk and have you squished underneath it.”

“Okay, fair. That would suck.”

They check each other’s hair and clothes to make sure nothing is out of place and make their way out of the conference room. They run into a kind looking woman frowning at signs.

“Oh, hello!” she says, smile bright. “You must be Mr. Jackson and Mr. Page.”

It takes everything in Adam’s body to keep from laughing.

~

Mini Playlist: Ms. Jackson - Panic! at the Disco Inside of You - Hoobastank Whatever You Like - Anya Marina Numbers - The Cab

[newpathwrites]

Series Masterlist Main Masterlist

Chapter 1 - The Vows

"Just open your eyes... please... The anticipation might kill me before we even accomplish the task at hand," he murmured with a small hint of humor mixed with a healthy dose of desperation.

"Okay, okay...", you whispered resolutely and opened your eyes - which promptly filled with wonder as you looked upon your beloved partner's face for the first time.

Summary: You and Din have problems, and a marriage of convenience could solve them all.

Notes: This first chapter sets the stage for the nature of the relationship Din and Cyar’ika (unnamed original female character) already have after working together for several years and explains why they’ve decided to marry in the first place.

Warnings: Vague sexual references.

Read on AO3

———————————————————————

"So what's got you so riled up?  You looked like you wanted to murder those trees you were using for target practice," Fennec asked, taking another swig of spotchka.

  "Just letting off some steam.  I got a holo yesterday from my sister's lawyer saying that she'll be keeping my share of our mother's inheritance.  Apparently the will specified I had to be married to receive any money.  Those credits would have helped us out significantly.  The ship is need of a few expensive repairs."

  "So you intended to share the money with Mando, then?" Fennec teased.

  "Of course.  We're business partners, and a broken ship is bad for business."

 ———————————————————————

  You and Din had been partners going on five years.  You met not long after he'd given up his foundling to the Jedi, him shipless and you running low enough on credits in the absence of legitimate guild work that you had started skimping on essentials... like food and water.  While you both nursed your wounds in a seedy cantina in Tattooine, you hatched a temporary business plan.  You could take bigger jobs working together and split the rewards.  You'd let him stay in your ship, and he would get you back on your feet credit-wise in the meantime, having pocketed a decent share of the reward on Moff Gideon.

  While you'd been nervous to go into such a partnership with a man you barely knew, especially given your single bunk situation, Din proved to be an excellent roommate.  Always respectful, never overstepping.

  In turn, you had made him feel at home, allowing full run of the ship, never treating him like a tenant but as a partner.  And further, you fully respected his creed, always mindful to give him privacy, even making a habit of facing away from him in the bunk so that he could remove his helmet to sleep if he wanted.  And eventually, he trusted you enough to do so.

  You found that you greatly enjoyed each others' company, and respect eventually transformed into friendship and true affection over shared jobs and shared dinner conversations, always through the cockpit door, of course.  And just like that, your temporary business arrangement became a partnership going on five standard years.  As far as you both were concerned, this was now a permanent arrangement, and neither of you had any inclination to part ways.

———————————————————————

  Din eventually joined you and Fennec at the table.  "Hey, I was just talking to Karga's legal contact.  Unfortunately, it sounds like you're stuck. Very little can be done with the marriage clause written into the will like that.  I'm sorry."

  "It's all right.  Thanks for looking into it, Din."  You pat his shoulder as you stood and walked off to the restrooms.

  "So, Mando," Fennec cut in, "I see you still have that darksaber clipped to your belt.  Bo-Katan still hasn't come for you?"

  "Oh, she came for me all right..." he deadpanned, "with a marriage proposal."

  Fennec nearly choked on her drink, "What???"

  "Yup.  Since I won't fight, she wants me to marry her so that she can rightfully rule Mandalore as my spouse."

  "You're not going to take her up on it, are you?"

  "No, of course not.  I'm not that stupid.  She'll get me close and kill me so that she can wield the darksaber herself.  Besides, I'm not eager to marry someone I dislike as much I do her.  And I have no desire to leave my partner.  The problem is she just won't take no for an answer."  He added, hilariously mocking Bo-Katan, "Unless you're already married, Mando, I don't see how this is a problem."

  As you rejoined the table, Fennec looked between the two of you with a knowing smirk.  "The solution to both of your problems is pretty obvious, isn't it?" she said with a chuckle.  "You live and work together, enjoy each others' company, and have no intention of parting ways.  You already share a bunk, so it would be believable... kriff, the entire palace already thinks you're a couple. Why don't you two just get married?  Nothing would change except a piece of paper that would solve all of your problems."

  "Like a marriage of convenience?" You looked at Fennec who nodded and then turned to face your partner. "Din, that could actually work.  I don't really care so much about the inheritance, but you can't do what Bo-Katan is asking of you - you'd be miserable and probably wind up dead; and you know she won't ever let it go.  This way we can stay together at least."

  "No," he replied gruffly and got up and walked out the door without even a glance in your direction.

———————————————————————

  You found him later in the cockpit, just where you expected him to be, sitting in the pilot's seat double and triple checking the mech's calculations.  While you blew off steam with a blaster, Din preferred... math...

  You approached slowly, but with heavy footsteps to announce your arrival, and placed a hand gently on his shoulder.

  "Din..." you started, nudging his shoulder to encourage him to look at you.  "I'm sorry.  I shouldn't have presumed that you'd want to marry me just to avoid marrying Bo-Katan.  It was an overstep, and I apologize.  Please forgive me."

  He finally turned to face you fully and gestured for you to sit across from him.  "No, it's not that.  I never imagined I'd marry at all, but if there's anyone I wouldn't mind being chained to for life, it's definitely you.  I plan to spend the rest of my life on this ship with you, anyway, if you'll let me.  But what about you?  I couldn't live with myself knowing you might miss out on someone who could make you happy because you were already tied to me.  You deserve so much better than that."

  Taking both of his hands in yours, you reassured him gently.  "Din, I am happy, and I have no plans to ever kick you out of our ship.  Besides, I'm in my 40s.  Don't you think I'd have married the 'love of my life' by now if I was meant to find such a person? I'd much rather marry you if it will keep you here with me."

  His posture shifted, and it seemed you may have managed to convince him.  "And nothing would change?  A platonic marriage?  You're really okay with that?  I need to know you're really sure."

  You nodded.  "I'm sure," you said with resolve.

  He let out a long breath, "Okay... thank you, cyar'ika."

———————————————————————

  "So what does marriage entail for your people?" he asked.

  "A short set of vows, a single kiss to seal the union, and that's it.  Quick and easy."

  "Sounds simple enough.  Mandalorian bonding ceremonies are usually private.  We each recite the vows, and then... uhhh..." he faltered as if he'd just remembered something important and looked to the floor.  You waited patiently for him to continue and lifted his chin with your finger when he didn't, giving him a small nod to finish his statement.  "And then... and then I remove my helmet."

  "Oh," you gasped, audibly. "Din, are you really sure about this?"

  "If you are - yes, I'm sure."  He sounded confident in that statement, at least.

  But then a thought hit you unbidden that instilled ice in your veins.  You looked away from his gaze and awkwardly asked the question that had suddenly found you frozen in fear.

  "Do Mandalorian marriages..." you started a bit shakily, "require a consummation?"  He didn't say anything for several moments, and you felt like your heart might beat straight out of your chest.

  "... No consummation required...  And in your culture?" he asked.

  Your words wouldn't come to you, so you simply shook your head from side to side before releasing your breath and centering yourself once again, safe in the knowledge that this would not be expected.

  "Okay, then... ready???"

———————————————————————

  You each recited the marriage vows outlined in your respective cultures, hands clasped together, another symbol of union among your people.  You had never imagined being married at all, and doing so in such an untraditional manner was surreal, though, you thought with amusement, oddly fitting. You were both silent a moment afterward, recognizing the gravity of the words you'd spoken to each other, when you noticed Din was subtly shaking.

  At first you thought he might be laughing, which seemed odd given the situation, and were alarmed to realize he was actually trembling from head to toe.  Oh, Din... You brought your forehead to rest against his own in a gesture of comfort.  "You don't have to do this if you don't want to..."

  "No, I do... I'm just nervous.  I don't know why - I trust you more than anyone else."

  "Nobody would ever know if we didn't complete the ritual..."

  "No, we would know, and it wouldn't be honorable to shirk our customs.  I'll be fine once we get past this part."

  His beskar-covered forehead moved away from yours as he untangled your hands to lift his own up to each side of his helmet.  He paused only a moment before he began lifting it from his head, hands visibly shaking.

  First, a stubbled chin.  Then, a mouth.  This was what you already knew of his face, having seen him occasionally lift the helmet to eat or drink when no privacy was available.   As his cheeks and nose began to appear, though, you squeezed your eyes shut.  Seeing more felt wrong somehow.  And that's how he found you once the helmet was lifted fully from his head.

  He let out a slightly annoyed huff, "Why are your eyes closed? Seeing me is the whole point."

  "I'm sorry - it's just that the helmet has been your face to me for so long that it's hard to imagine anything else.  I'm afraid that you'll feel like a stranger."  You paused a moment in thought.  "Tell me a little about what you look like?"

  A familiar but tremulous sigh filled your ears, "Uhhh....  well, my hair is brown, maybe a bit more gray than yours.  My eyes are brown, too."  He paused.  "Does that help?"

  "May I touch your face?  Having something tangible to anchor in my mind might make the whole thing a bit less... shocking... for lack of a better word.  I'm sorry that I'm making this so difficult - I know this is stressful enough for you already," you added quietly.

  He slowly lifted your hands, which had been sitting on his chestplate, up to his neck and allowed them to rest there.

  "Go ahead..."

  A mental image began to form as your hands trailed softly over his face and into his hair.  This was definitely helping, and you hoped the gentle touch might also serve to relax his nerves, but the trembling only worsened.

  "Just open your eyes... please... The anticipation might kill me before we even accomplish the task at hand," he murmured with a small hint of humor mixed with a healthy dose of desperation.

  "Okay, okay...", you whispered resolutely and opened your eyes - which promptly filled with wonder as you looked upon your beloved partner's face for the first time. He was so handsome, and to your relief, still felt like your Din and not some stranger who'd taken his place.

  "Say something...". His brow furrowed with anxiety.

  You cupped his cheek and said, smiling, "Hey, partner... I don't know if anyone has ever told you, but you are quite good-looking."

  He let out the breath he'd been holding with an amused huff, his shaking limbs finally calming. "No, I can honestly say that nobody has ever said that to me before." And then the corners of his mouth turned upward, and a gorgeous smile graced his features, evidence that your chronically grumpy mandalorian was not unhappy with this whole situation.

  But then as quickly as it appeared, that smile transformed into a grimace as his face flushed, "This is embarrassing... I've never actually... kissed anyone before - you know, because of the helmet... You'll have to take the lead on this because I have no idea what to do."

  The poor man had already suffered enough while you took your sweet time adjusting to the idea of seeing his face.  The least you could do was make this last part quick and painless for him.  So you took advantage of his downward gaze, swiftly grabbing both sides of his head and pressing your lips to his, taking him completely by surprise.  He froze, eyes wide as you pulled away, and you had to suppress a chuckle at his expense.

  "There, now it's done.  And you didn't die of anticipation."  At last, his shoulders finally moved away from his ears, though the aftershock remained clearly written on his face.  "Sorry for doing that without any warning, but I figured it would be best for your nerves to 'rip off the bandage' so to speak.  Are you all right?"

  He let out a long puff of air and finally relaxed fully.  "Yeah, I'm okay... this was just a lot at once.  So, I guess we're married now, huh?"  His face changed again, a new look filled with emotion that you hadn't yet seen on him, and he took both your hands in his.  "Thank you for doing this for me.  I don't know how to adequately express my gratitude."

  "No need for gratitude.  You're helping me, too, and there's nobody I'd rather chain myself to for life than you," you added with humor, repeating his own words.  "Thank you, Din."  You squeezed his hands to emphasize your point and let them go.  "Why don't I make us some dinner - and for once we can really share a meal together... I mean, if you want to.  I don't expect you to keep the helmet off around me if that's not what you want..." you added, wincing at your own words.  You hoped he would, but you had no expectations.  His creed was very much a part of him, and you would never ask him to sacrifice it for you, technically married or not.

  "No, it's okay.  I'm looking forward to sharing a meal with you properly.  I'll go set a course to Nevarro and come back down so we can eat together.  I was thinking Karga might be able to help us with the paperwork to make everything official.  You'll probably need documentation for that lawyer."

  You nodded in agreement, relieved that he was acting like himself again.  "Okay, good idea.  I'll yell up when the food is ready."  As you rattled about the small kitchen area making dinner, you couldn't help the anxiety that began to bubble up in your stomach.  You had agreed to a platonic union, a marriage of convenience, and neither culture demanded consummation.  But what if he still expected it?  What would happen when you both settled into the bunk you shared tonight?  He was still a man after all, albeit one who had never made a single advance in the five years you'd been working and living together.  You trusted him completely not to proceed with anything without your full and enthusiastic consent, but the awkwardness of a failed pairing in your shared bed would be unbearable.

Luckily, your nerves calmed considerably as you ate together, sharing your typical, amicable conversation, no hint of proposition, and you settled comfortably again into your usual routine as if nothing had changed between you besides the knowledge of his face.

———————————————————————

  But as you both settled into the bunk that night, he suddenly turned his body to face you, lifting himself up on one arm and positioning himself at your side.  Oh, no!  Your mind clouded with dread.  He didn't seem to notice in the darkened room as he leaned over to rest his forehead against yours, noses touching and one hand cupping the side of your face. But then he whispered, emotion clear in his voice, "Thank you, cyar'ika. I know you said no gratitude was necessary, but I don't ever want to lose what we have together if I can help it, especially not for her sake. I'd choose you a thousand times over."  You felt warm lips press lightly to your cheek, and then he moved away, settling into his usual position facing the wall, an ingrained habit meant to prevent you from seeing his face if you accidentally turned in the night.

  The dread that had taken hold of your heart instantly melted away.  You understood clearly now that your anxiety about this hypothetical situation had simply been a defense mechanism borne of your prior experiences.  You loved and trusted this man with all of your heart and knew he felt the same.  Of course, he would never impose himself on you.  Your breathing evened out, and you settled comfortably into slumber next to your partner, your family, your closest friend.  You had nothing to fear with him.  You reached over to squeeze his shoulder as you whispered, "You're welcome, Din.  I don't want to lose you, either."

———————————————————————

Thanks for reading!

Chapter 2

[switch]

I know you’ve probably already talked about this, but what exactly do you love about Vlad and Moriarty? Feel free to write as much or as little as you please, I’ll read it all anyway.

ehehe i kinda have before but i can try to elaborate a bit better this time…

it really is everything, lol. as much as fictional characters reasonably can be, they've been a relatively important part of my life for ~5 years now, and i'd never maintained interest in any characters this consistently or this much before. i think the both of them hit pretty much a perfect balance for me in terms of content and characterization, and not to mention they inspired my art to improve a lot (thank you raita) (thank you maeda hirotaka)

vlad was basically my exact specific type (tall, older guy, long hair, goth-adjacent, facial hair <- important, etc) when i was 17, so when i saw some fanart of him back when apoc was still just a LN he instantly became my new favorite fate character. and then i actually ended up finding his writing and lore super compelling (even if underutilized sigh) on top of that. i love what a unique adaptation of vlad/dracula he is, his whole character concept is something that could really only come from and represents fate to me in a lot of ways, while still being recognizable.

if it was just apoc i might have moved on after a while but fgo was what made my brain really latch onto him. his my room dialogue, his sewing hobby, his valentine return gift, his voicelines, holy shit. he was the perfect combination of smug and scary and mean and cool and cute and tsundere and a little sad and weird and hey this guy is wearing a skirt. i loved him so much i just ended up loving everything about his design and character because it’s vlad and that’s why my list of his charm points are a mile long

same with moriarty kinda just being my type at first and seeing fanart of him, although i wasn't initially all that interested in moriarty? for some reason? like i appreciated that he was the only other dilf in the game besides shakespeare but i wasn't following JP then and it didn't really click for several months until uh

my prophetic curse kicked in once again.

but anyway, similarly to vlad, i really think moriarty is one of the best adaptations of his character out there and another one of the best adaptations in fate in terms of mixing originality and faithfulness. i love just how much is going on with his character writing a lot of the time without feeling contrived. he's funny, he's evil (i like villain...), he's cool, he's weird, he's hot, it's insane how much takaya hashi's voice acting adds to him. i associate moriarty with a high point in FGO in general, with how impressive his NP animation was at the time and overall great shinjuku was (once i actually read the translation), and the anticipation of just dying for him to come to NA and then dying for his gray collar event to come to NA after that.

i'm so eternally grateful they gave him to RAITA, man. he's such a well-thought out design, and i still can't believe we didn't end up with "generically sexless older anime man" or "aged down twink" (wait wait wait WAIT WAIT) or "a girl," and that they were actually willing to take what they felt was a risk with his design. RAITA knew exactly what he was doing lol.

i gotta be honest it was extremely nice being a fan of an actually decently popular (and well-loved by his artist) character for once. i felt like i was having goddamn heart attack when they announced moriarty's CBC event, i was so excited and surprised. his stuff kept me entertained when vlad content would go MIA for like a year at a time.

oh and yeah, wanting to pull off as many difficult fights with vlad and moriarty as i could and make them stronger units (especially since they were both almost infamously bad units back then, and i wanted to show what they could do in spite of that) was what triggered me getting into esports, and oh boy do i love esports.

[kinetic-elaboration]

June 20: Retreat

I survived the retreat aka longest staff meeting of all time. It wasn’t the worst; I would say better than last year’s. But the thing is I’m still useless in these types of scenarios because I truly don’t care and I’m bad at pretending to care. I would much rather do the thing than spend hours contemplating how we’re going to do the thing. And my mind goes kind of blank when I try to think of things like ‘assessments’ which definitely isn’t good for me, but it’s true. I really feel like my role in the workplace ecosystem is something like ‘clown’ mixed with ‘hater.’ Sometimes you need someone to point out the flaws in plans and it’s a delicate thing to do that without being too much of a downer and/or making too many enemies.

This physical retreat space is literally the worst and I hope to never set foot within it again. Several of us whose work days start before 9 went to the library first, then drove over—it’s a stupid distance too, like short enough where driving feels wasteful but far enough where walking feels torturous—then got stuck outside the building because sure. The bench was chained to the ground, which really just encapsulates the whole Ambience of this town’s “communities.” Peak HOA. s. decided to dress as if it were a day off, which was as always disconcerting, but I did like his Library of Congress shirt; I got to listen to him snipe about how the school uses funds, which is also one of my favorite angry topics.

I really hate this physical space so much because I do think that there is a use for extremely bland and inoffensive rooms—like, waiting rooms in doctors’ offices I suppose—but that this particular bland and inoffensive and disgustingly neutral space exists really grates. What is this building? It’s not for working because it only has one little table you couldn’t fit half of us around at once. It’s not for chilling, because the furniture is uncomfortable and also boring. It has a kitchen. Okay. Lots of places have kitchens. What is the point? Who is enjoying this milieu? The furniture situation in particular offends me; people who brought laptops could barely use them because they ran out of power and/or got too hot and/or were too unwieldy. But then not having a laptop makes you less useful for a work event. Also, while I was there, I moved somehow and pulled or did something to a muscle in my calf, and it froze up or something, and it was just terrible pain. Really quite bad. And even after it faded, it didn’t quite go away, I still feel it a little. Maybe this is a hey-you’re-not-20-anymore thing but I’m going to blame the furniture. Something wrong with it.

And it was hot. A couple different people started passive-aggressively changing the thermostat and then the person who lives in this neighborhood got annoyed, like oh no we can’t do that! Well then why are we here? Why is this considered a good working space? Again, why is this considered a good anything space? L seems to think we can use this as an excuse to never go there again but my thought is… if the lack of tables was acceptable why do you think the lack of usable AC is not? Where does your belief in dealbreakers come from?

The first session was actually pretty decent. I was neither helpful nor invested but the conversation as a whole actually produced ideas that made the concept of all of us meeting together seem worth it, and it wasn’t as much the Reference Show as last year or as I had been anticipating. I can at least acknowledge that the ABA is a real thing and ABA accreditation matters. Second section on socks-socks was okay but demoralizing. First, I’m very off-put by the idea that the accrediting and the analyzing and the evaluating never ends, which is what this sounds like. Surely at some point there are diminishing returns? Surely at some point you just do your job instead of thinking about how to do your job or analyzing how you do it? Second, I need to live in a world of illusion where we do NOT waste time on busy work. I cannot be told point blank that reports will go in a drawer to live with other reports and never be read or acknowledged in any real way. Because it’s too depressing.

Talking about strategic planning was the worst. Discussions in their extremely-initial stages can be emails. Just putting that out there; they can. If the main point of a conversation is to end it with ‘okay let’s all just think more and come back’ then I didn’t need to sit in a hot room in an uncomfortable chair about it. This was also the session with the Tea but it was all irritating tea. I know I can’t let admin bullshit bother me because eventually I’ll die and I won’t want to have wasted time on it. But—it came up pretty early that we have a reputation among a small number of loud people as being ‘not team players,’ and though I think one person’s beef with us on this is about the donor portrait Situation, when asked about the evidence presented, the director’s first answer was that we were perceived as being too… bitter in bringing up old issues at the time of BL’s memorial in January. Which makes me so livid I can’t even see. The completely inappropriate and mind-bogglingly tone-deaf concept of someone talking about that in the context of inter-departmental scrapping. Oh, I’m sorry, was my grief awkward for you? Was the way that people mourned hurting your feelings? Can you really sit there with a straight face and make this about personnel issues or administrative disagreements, when she was a human being and my friend? Respectfully, fuck off.

She wouldn’t like my language about it, but she would be incensed. I see her shaking her head about it, giving me that look.

Anyway, I don’t really know what else is desired from me or my immediate co-workers other than like smile more, sunshine, I guess. But I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m fine about it.

Got back past 2 and then literally talked shit for 2 hours, more like 2.5. Functionally speaking I’ve lost 3 days of work. Which is also fine.

[themovieblogonline]

The Show Must Go On: McGregor Steps Up After SXSW Road House Premiere!

SXSW kicked off with a bang, and right in the middle of the action was the highly anticipated premiere of the new "Road House" flick. The movie itself might have gotten mixed reviews (more on that later), but one thing's for sure: things got interesting after the credits rolled. The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Conor McGregor, Post Malone and more. After the premiere lights dimmed and the applause died down, things took a dramatic turn. One attendee, maybe a little too hyped or maybe just overheated in the Texas sun, ended up dehydrated and passed out right there in the historic Paramount Theatre. The Excitement At The Paramount But here's where things get real. One of the movie's star, none other than MMA legend Conor McGregor, stepped right up to the plate. Forget the afterparty – McGregor stayed behind to help get the person who fainted back on their feet. We're talking grabbing water, holding a towel, and generally being a decent human. Props to McGregor for showing some real concern! Apparently, things got a little heated before medical help arrived. McGregor, maybe still pumped from the movie's action scenes (or maybe just not a fan of seeing someone down), yelled at some folks around him to understand the seriousness of the situation.  Thankfully, with Conor McGregor and his help and some quick action, the person who fainted got the medical attention they needed and was soon back on their feet (with the EMTs already gone, crisis averted!). Now that's the kind of teamwork we can all appreciate. Of course, the show must go on, even at SXSW. Festival peeps hustled everyone out of the Paramount Theatre so they could get things prepped for the next movie. Bummer for those who wanted to linger and chat about "Road House," but hey, gotta keep the festival rolling! Now, about the movie itself. Reviews are mixed. Deadline's Valerie Complex wasn't exactly blown away, calling it "more fizzle than sizzle." Ouch! But hey, that's the beauty of movies – everyone has an opinion. Maybe you'll love the new "Road House," maybe you won't. The only way to find out is to grab your popcorn and see for yourself. Conor McGregor Leaves an Impression But one thing's for sure: the SXSW premiere of "Road House" will definitely be remembered, not just for the movie itself, but for the real-life drama that unfolded afterwards. And hey, who knows, maybe McGregor will channel his inner-Dalton (the movie's main character, a legendary bouncer) in some future project. Stranger things have happened in Hollywood! So, what do you think? Will you be checking out the new "Road House"? Let us know in the comments below! Source: Deadline

[nicocoisanerd]

It may be June, but I went ahead and created a cyperpunk-ish mix anyway... at least that’s what I aimed for. There’s a lot of city and rain sounds mixed into the music (not recorded by yours truly btw), with some futuristic-ish sounding music. All this dumb description aside, I do think this might be one of my personal favorites of the mixes I’ve done for the show thus far. Check it out here, exclusively on Frisky Radio. Tracklist:

Fennesz - In My Room

Atomine Elektrine - The Eyes of Nebula

Kyle Bobby Dunn - Foothills Medical Clinic

Sigur Rós - Falinn

Ryuichi Sakamoto - Meditation App

Cliff Martinez - Larry Was a Family Man

Astrid Sonne / PJS - In / Cloudy

Dahlia's Tear - Drifting Into the Void Grasping at Fading Starlight

Tyler Bates & Joel J. Richard - The Glass House

Tim Hecker - Is But a Simulated Blur

Ian William Craig - Red Gate Drifting

Innesti - The Architecture of Clouds

David Lynch & Alan Splet - Side 2 (Excerpt)

Alva Noto - Xerrox Monophaser 2

Internazionale - They Taught Us to Count

Stijn Hüwels - Tomodachi (Yves)

Akira Ito - Praying for Mother / Earth (Part 1)

Flying Lotus - Hot Oct.

[bestiesenpai]

Spoiled Rotten - Toji Fushiguro

Half baked gangster/shady business dealer toji fushiguro idea...hope ya like it lol. Femme reader, 3k words

Content warningsss: a lot a lot of the word daddy lol, drinking, biting, drug usage(cocaine to be specific)

“There’s my little minx.” It’s his deep, smoky voice that you hear first when you open your door one late Friday night, dripping in an expensive borderline too short silk dress. A cropped white fur coat is your only protection against the crisp night air, the rest of your body - bare legs, open chest and feet clad in high heels - is exposed.

“Hey daddy.” You purr, sliding into his waiting arms. The scent of Toji’s cologne engulfs you, the warmth from his own thick fur coat surrounding you as he kisses the top of your head.

“See you got the purse I sent.” He pulls away slightly, thumbing the chain of the purse he had sent over this morning.

“Mhmm, I love it. Exactly my style.” Beaming up at him, you giggled as he slid an arm low around your waist.

“Daddy knows his girl well.” His hand dips down to squeeze your ass and then he’s closing your door, nudging you to the chauffeured blacked out SUV waiting on the street. “Now let's get going.”

As soon as you’re in the car, you’re seated in Toji’s lap, his thick legs spread out to support you. He keeps a hand on your back to keep you steady as the car rocks, and the other hand is high on your thigh, thumbing the hem of the dress just barely covering you.

“You look so fucking sexy.” Gripping your thigh, Toji lets out a low groan. “Gonna be the prettiest girl in that whole place.”

“Thank you daddy.” You press a few kisses to his jaw, lightly staining his skin with your lipstick.

“I got you a gift, I want you to wear it tonight.” Leaning over, he flips a compartment open in the center console and pulls out a velvet box. Curiously, you take it and unwrap it quickly.

“Oh wow!” Inside the box is a drop pearl necklace, delicate gold chain weighed down by a single pearl and then a slightly smaller one above it.

“Lemme put it on for you.” Shrugging your jacket down your shoulders, you sit as still as possible as Toji places the necklace on you. The pearl dips down your chest, nestling right at the curve of your breasts. “What a fucking treasure.” His fingers skim along the edges of the necklace, leaving goosebumps in their wake.

You kiss him as a thank you, the scar on the edge of his lip a familiar sensation. He smiles into the kiss, hand coming up to grab your chin softly and open your mouth. Sliding his tongue past your teeth, you let out a squeak as the car comes to a full stop.

“We’re here, sir.” The chauffeur announces, knowing better than to say anything else or to look at Toji without permission.

“Let’s go doll.” Sliding you off his lap, Toji opens the door and helps you out. There’s a gust of wind that whips as you step out, almost making you jump back into the car. Pulling you closer to him, Toji doesn’t let you escape that easily.

“This the new club you opened?” Fixing your gaze on the bright, warm flashing light bulbs in front of you, you do your best to ignore the cold. It looks like something straight out of a movie: overly buff doormen, a long line of people dressed to the nines hoping to get in before the club closes. There’s VIP guests mingling outside, some smoking cigarettes while some are clearly high.

“Boss.” One of the bouncers nods and lets the two of you in without question. Immediately you’re thrust into the hustling club, scantily clad waitresses passing by with trays of drinks for wealthy clients sitting at semi-circular tables along the wall. Red velvet lines every seat and gold accents drip from the ceilings.

There’s a dance floor in the middle of the club, crowded with people trying to have a good time. Toji always knew how to throw a party, a star DJ headlining the opening night. All it takes is a nod to a member of his security team and you’ve got a strongly mixed drink in your hand, the fruity pink color doing nothing to hide the hard bite of alcohol.

“Whaddya think?” Toji asks over the music, taking your jacket off your shoulders and handing it to someone along with his own coat. With the garment now off you can see his physique more clearly in a crisp fitted black button up and slacks, the tight shirt highlighting his muscles perfectly.

“It’s great!”

“There’s more floors, follow me.” To the side of the room is a stairway tucked away he leads you to, a few people mingling along the steps. The sound of the pumping bass fades away and the atmosphere shifts.

Coming upon the second floor, you’re greeted by a room full of card games. Poker, blackjack and roulette tables were full of people playing, mountains of chips just waiting to be bet.

“I thought you weren’t allowed to open a casino?” His proposition to open this part of the club had been rejected last you’d heard.

“Yeah well the mayor owes me a few favors.” Patting your shoulder, Toij flicks his chin out to the room. “Wanna play a game, baby?”

“Okay!” Flitting away to a blackjack table, you could feel the eyes following you, sizing you up first and then landing Toji. There were several people here that would love to take you home, you could feel it in the way they eyed your legs and bare shoulders and it made a satisfied smirk worm its way onto your face, putting a bit more obvious sway in your hips as you walked.

“Putting on a show I see.” Toji chuckled as he sat down at an open table, immediately pulling you onto his lap. Waving his hand, a stack of chips are brought to the table and put in front of him, and another drink is brought for you.

You played the game of blackjack marginally well, not particularly caring if you won or lost. It was all Toji’s money after all, he would win it back and then some by the end of the night. There was no need to worry about playing smart, all you had to do was have fun.

“Shit, lost again.” You huffed, seeing the last of your chips taken away.

“Let’s play some poker, some friends of mine just walked in.” Getting up and moving tables, you greeted the friends Toji was talking about. They were people you’d seen before, and you could make decent conversation with them, but when you were seated at the poker table there wasn’t space to talk.

Toji kept you snuggly in his lap, one hand cupping just under your ass every time you moved and kissing the top of your head as you snuggled into his shoulder. Following along with the cards, you helped him play, earning back a few chips and slightly redeeming yourself from blackjack.

“Daddy, I wanna go dance.” You whispered in Toji’s ear forty-five minutes later, getting antsy and bored.

“Go have fun baby, I’ll catch up in a few.” Sliding you off his lap, Toji kissed your hand and sent you on your way. There was a security guard trailing you, one he’d hired to be with you whenever the two of you went out.

“Can you get me a drink? Just the same one I’ve been having will do!” Patting the burly man on the shoulder, you grinned widely as he nodded and left to the bar. You didn’t have to wait long for him to come back, handing you the drink silently.

Downing it quickly, you hopped onto the packed dance floor. The bass vibrated strongly from the floor up your legs, making your feet go numb the longer you danced. You tried to keep an eye out for Toji, see when he came downstairs so you could drag him onto the floor, but he took far too long to keep your interest.

Dancing with multiple different people, you paid no mind to the hands that glided along the small of your back or across your arms. It all added to the experience of the club, the music drowning out any attempts at conversation.

The ache in your feet couldn’t be ignored any longer now. A good number of songs had passed and you were tired. Not bothering to look for Toji, you sauntered over to the bar, the security guard snagging you an empty seat with ease.

Downing a glass of water and ordering another drink, you spun around in the bar stool and scanned the club. It was packed with even more people and as the front doors swung open you could see the line to get in was still as packed as ever.

“Hey, how’s it going?” A voice cut into the little bubble you’d made for yourself, a flash of white streaking across the corner of your vision.

“Hm?” Turning to face whoever had just sat down, you were face to face with a lanky man with wild white hair, black sunglasses low on his nose to reveal sharp blue eyes.

“I saw you dancing earlier, you looked really sexy.”

“Thanks.” You were unimpressed and he could tell by your tone. Crossing your legs, you turned fully back to the bar and swirled your drink, the scent of alcohol wafting up to your nose as you took a sip. The stranger’s eyes roamed all over you, drinking in the expanse of slightly sweaty skin before him.

“I’m Gojo.” He stuck a hand out, flashing you a grin as he waited for you to shake it.

“(Y/N).” Grabbing his hand with your thumb and forefinger, you shook it. You weren’t really interested in the man, but after taking another look over your shoulder and not seeing Toji, you shrugged slightly. No harm in entertaining yourself for a bit.

“Such a pretty name for a pretty girl.”

“Thanks.” The cheesy line made you snort, a smile spreading on your cheeks despite yourself.

“Even prettier when you smile.”

“You really are a charmer, huh?” Leaning your head on your fist, you sized him up. He wasn’t particularly well dressed, just good enough to get in.

“Depends, is it working?”

“Depends. Buy me a drink?”

You end up making conversation with Gojo far longer than anticipated, somehow getting wrapped up in a story he’s telling that sounds too good to be true. He’d bought you two more drinks and you were certainly feeling the effects.

You were leaning far too close to him, nearly sliding off your own stool as your legs tangled with his. Your chest had dipped forward, the necklace dangling off your neck and the neckline of your dress plunging lower. A hand was now resting on his forearm, gripping it tighter as you laughed at something stupid he said.

“You’re so stupid!” You’re laughing far too loudly but you’re too tipsy to care. Toji’s prolonged absence had irked you enough that you didn’t care who saw you cozying up to this new guy; you wished someone had the nerve to say something to you, or better yet go right to him and tell him that his little minx had her eyes on a new prize.

“I’m tellin’ ya it’s the truth!” Gojo laughs right back, stretching out his long arms and putting one around the side of your seat, caging you in even more. Giggling at the absurdity of what he just said, your gaze snakes out across the club, out past the intimate little space you’re in.

Toji is sitting right at a VIP table a few feet away, his jaw cocked to the side and a pissed off look in his eyes. When you make eye contact, you giggle again and blow him a kiss, turning back to Gojo and putting a hand high on his shoulder, nearly wrapping it around his neck as you laugh extra loud in spite.

“How’s the liquor treating you, baby?” Gojo asks, rubbing a hand up and down your arm. The sound of his voice calling you that name doesn’t hit the same as with Toji, but you let it slide.

“Just fine.” You croon, fixing Gojo with your best smile and making his already pink cheeks flush a little deeper. Out of the corner of your eye you can see Toji sit up a little straighter and his sleeves have been pushed up to his elbows, baring his flexed forearms.

Looking directly at Toji, your fingers slid up the back of Gojos neck, finding the hair at his nape and twirling it between your fingers. Scraping your nails lightly against his neck, you’re not listening at all to what he’s saying now. An excited ripple runs through you, settling in your stomach as Toji stands up.

“Alright, funs over.” He huffs, yanking your hand off Gojo and pushing him away from you.

“What the fuck!” Gojo shouts, clearly startled by the sudden intrusion.

“Look who decided to show up.” You quip, pulling your hand from his grasp and waving over the bartender. “I’ll have another, thanks.”

“Get lost pal.” Gojo attempts to push Toji away but the man doesn’t budge. He tries to grab your wrist again but Gojo stops him, grabbing onto his arm tightly. “Hey, don’t touch-”

“Shut the fuck up.” Toji grunts, glaring harshly at Gojo. “Don’t get involved with shit you don’t know about.” You have to bite back a giggle behind your drink as Gojos mouth hangs open slightly. Grabbing your shoulder, Toji gets you to turn halfway to him. “You’ve had your fun, lets go.”

“Mmmm…” Tapping your chin, you pretend to think it over. “No thanks.” You can practically see his blood boiling, even more so when you put a hand on Gojo’s knee.

“You really want to play this game, baby?” Cocking his head to the side, Toji fixes you with an intense look. He’s pissed at how flirtatious you’ve been, but you know he loves it - otherwise there wouldn’t be the slight uptick to his mouth.

You get to take one sip from your drink before it’s taken out of your hand and you’re pulled from the bar stool. Toji has a tight grip on your wrist, almost enough to hurt as he drags you away from the bar.

Pulling you back up the stairs, he takes you to a side hallway and into a room tucked away, quickly locking the door behind him.

“Just can’t fucking help yourself, huh?” Toji barks when the door closes, pushing you into the room. It’s a decent sized office with two small plush couches facing each other, an opulent circular coffee table in the middle.

“I was bored, you took too long.” Pouting on one of the couches, you cross your arms under your breasts and push them up, looking away dramatically as Toji sits down next to you with his legs spread wide.

“S’not my fault, baby. Daddy had to take care of some business.” Throwing an arm over the back of the couch, he tugged you closer. “I’m all yours now.”

“Hm.” Still not done with your act, you kept your body turned away from him.

“You really gonna act like a brat right now?” He hums, curling his fingers around your upper arm. “I’d hate to smear that pretty makeup when I start spanking you.” As he speaks, he hauls you over his body, seating your ass right in his lap and giving your thigh a harsh spank. “But maybe you’d like that, huh?”

“Daddy!” Throwing your head back against his shoulder, you whine loudly, rubbing your ass into him. “You promised not to do that anymore!”

“Yeah and you promised to be a good girl.” Tilting his head to the side, Toji smirked at you. “Seems you didn’t hold up your end of the bargain.”

“Shut up.” You mumble, quickly moving to straddle his lap. Spreading your legs wide, your dress rides up, revealing the special thong you’d worn to go with this dress. Wrapping your arms around his shoulders, you give Toji a quick peck.

He chuckles against your lips, hands sliding down your back to grab your ass firmly, holding you tightly against him. His fingers dig into your flesh, grazing the fabric of the thong and hooking it under his fingers.

“You know I love it when you wear this.” Toji hums, toying with the fabric. You giggle coyly, kissing his jaw and wiggling your hips in his hands. A low growl comes from his chest as Toji descends onto you, latching his lips onto your neck and kissing you roughly.

“Daddy!” Your fingers tug at his hair as his teeth sink into your neck. You moan loudly, tugging his hair again when he smacks your ass.

“Fucking brat.” He snarls, licking the teeth marks he’d left in you and smacking you again. “Love to get me all riled up huh?” Grinding you on his lap, Toji trails kisses up your neck and behind your ear.

Moaning in his ear, you nod drunkenly. Your fingers fumble to grab the collar of his shirt and unbutton it, eager to feel his skin underneath. Just as you get one button undone, Toji snatches your hands away.

“Who said you get to touch me?”

“Please, daddy.” You pout, trying in vain to get your hands free. “Wanna feel you so bad.”

“What about that chump at the bar? You seemed pretty happy touching him.”

“No, I don’t want him, I want you!” Bouncing on his lap, the alcohol was clouding your senses, making you way more desperate way faster than normal. “Just wanted you to pay attention to me.”

“You’re insatiable, you know that?” Toji chuckles, letting your hands go and helping you unbutton his shirt. Pushing his shirt off his shoulders, your hands greedily felt up his body, diving down to give a few kisses to his neck and chest.

“Love you daddy.” Your words are slurred, fingers already dipping down to his lower stomach.

“Fuck yeah you do.” He shivered, pushing you away slightly and digging in his pocket. “Bet you’ll love me even more with this.” In his fingers is a small baggie of white powder that you’re all too familiar with. Dipping his finger into it, Toji holds it under your nose and you sniff it up obediently.

“Thank you daddy.” As the drug begins to take effect, you smile stupid at Toji, dragging your nail across the edge of his lip and along his scar.

“Don’t ever say your daddy ain’t spoiling you rotten.” Taking a hit for himself, Toji throws his head and back and grunts, rocking you in his lap. “Completely fucking rotten.”

[3rensgf]

rent a gf - two eren yeager x reader

word count: 2.9k

warnings: mentions of sex, talks about "getting bitches", eren is an idiot, fuckboy!eren implied, tatbilb mention, uhh fluff idk theres not much to warn abt in here, not beta read

notes: chapter two is out! i'm really glad a lot of people are enjoying rent a gf. it really means a lot! i see some people commented on the previous chapter, and i would love to reply to them, but i'm not familiar with tumblrs commenting system D: if you wanna leave a comment for me to just read, that's fine you can still keep commenting here on tumblr. but if you would like me to reply to it, you can comment on ao3, and i will reply! happy reading :) p.s, waffles w whipped cream r so much better

[ read on ao3 ]

previous ✩ series masterlist ✩ next

In the early hours of Saturday morning, you felt a hand shaking your shoulder to wake you. Groaning and mumbling, you sleepily swatted the hand away and pulled the covers over your head. No one should be forced to wake up early on the weekends. It was Saturday, for fucks sake. Not to mention your hangover due to last nights mistakes was making your head throb.

The hand rested on your shoulder once more, shaking you gently. “(Y/N),” Mikasa said softly. “Your alarm has been going off for the past 10 minutes. Wake up. I have water and Advil.”

“Nooooo,” you moaned, snuggling deeper into your bed. “Don’ wanna.”

Mikasa stopped bothering you for a moment, and you let your guard down. Finally you could sleep. When it was time to wake up, you’d wake up.

Right as you were about to pass out again, your blanket was roughly tugged off of you. “Mikasaaa!” you whined, covering your face with your hands. “What was that for? I was trying to sleep.”

“Get up. You have to shower and get ready for lunch with Eren today. Breakfast is almost finished,” she explained, setting down the pills and water on your bedside table. “Go brush your teeth and wash your face so you can eat. Now,” she instructed sternly, moving to your window to open the curtains. The bright sunlight hit your still half-asleep face, making you hiss quietly.

She left the room moments after, probably to check up on breakfast. Honestly, you didn’t know how she could function this early in the morning despite having partied all night last night. Curse her and her inability to get hungover.

Grumbling to yourself, you adjusted your sleep clothes that had gotten disheveled overnight to make sure you looked decent. Your sleepy gaze wandered over to your nightstand to see two Advils on a napkin beside a glass of cold water. Thanking every higher power for sending Mikasa to you, you downed both pills and the glass of water. Even though you might bitch and moan to her constantly, you really weren’t lying when you said you’d die without Mikasa.

After sitting down at the edge of your bed for a few moments, you eventually shuffled into the bathroom to brush your teeth and do your morning routine. It took longer than usual thanks to your sluggish and tired movements, but you got done nevertheless.

A wonderful aroma came from the kitchen when you left, stomach grumbling in anticipation for the wonderful food you were about to scarf down. Mikasa was in the process of setting down both your breakfasts on the island, sitting down on the stools when you walked in. “Morning, Sleeping Beauty,” she greeted, resting her chin on her hands.

“Morning, sweet angel,” you replied, sitting at the stool beside her. In front of you was a plate of Funfetti pancakes with whipped cream instead of maple syrup (syrup was for pancakes only). There were a couple of cut up fruits beside them, too. “Where did you get these?” you asked, picking up your fork to take a bite of your breakfast.

Mikasa dug into her own breakfast of oatmeal as soon as you started eating. “Went grocery shopping and saw the mix in the baking aisle. I thought you’d like it,” she explained, taking a bite of her food. “Good?”

Your response was a moan, tilting your head back as you chewed. “Insanely,” you said, cutting up another bite. You stabbed the piece with your fork and guided it to Mikasa, keeping your hand under it to catch anything if it dropped.

She finished her bite and leaned in to take the bite, humming in satisfaction at the taste. “Good,” she nodded.

“They put like crack ‘n this shit,” you said through a full mouth, shoveling forkful after forkful into your mouth.

You could feel Mikasa's judging gaze for eating like a pig, but you didn’t care. All you cared about was eating these crack laced waffles as greedily as possible. “What time are you supposed to meet Eren today?” she asked to make conversation.

You remember drunkenly slurring to her that Eren was supposed to take you out for lunch today while she was trying to put you to bed. All she did was nod and dodge your flailing limbs while she tried to change you into your night clothes.

“Uhhh,” you trailed off, “I dunno actually. I think he’s gonna text me when.” The familiar notification from your phone indicated you had a text from Eren. “Right now.”

ren ᕙ(`▿´)ᕗ - 9:04 AM picking u up at 12 dont be late

you - 9:04 AM k

ren ᕙ(`▿´)ᕗ - 9:05 AM dont use k with me that makes me sad :(

you - 9:05 AM k

“He says 12,” you told Mikasa, setting your phone back down on the table. You went to go take another bite of your waffles, only to be met with stray bits of whipped cream and waffle crumbs. How disappointing.

“You have time to get ready then,” she said, finishing up the last bit of her own breakfast. Holding her plate, she got up to go put it in the sink, taking your plate for you as well. Literally an angel.

Suddenly, she leaned in to sniff you like the weird English professor you had your freshman year and cringed. “You’re gonna need all the time you can get. You stink.”

Never mind, not an angel.

Grumbling and cursing under your breath, you got off the stool to go take a shower. “And here I was about to offer to get you something for lunch while I was out.”

“A burger from the joint I like would be nice. So would a Coke and side of onion rings.”

“Size?”

“Medium for both.”

You would’ve caved in and bought her something, anyways. Might as well know what she wanted in the first place.

Showering took longer than expected. Most of your time got wasted by you standing under the shower stream and soaking in all the warmth. It wasn’t until Mikasa knocked on the door asking you not to use up all the hot water that made you actually start going through your routine.

The clock read 10:09 when you got out. You still had more time to kill until Eren came, so you elected to sit on your bed in your towel to scroll through social media. At 10:45, you started to get ready for real now.

Your makeup was just enough to cover any imperfections on your face, and your outfit cute enough for a lunch outing with your friend-fuckbuddy.

At 11:50, you stepped out into the living room with your belongings in hand to lounge around while you waited for Eren. You would’ve gone to bug Mikasa, but she had just stepped into the shower minutes prior.

12 on the dot, a rhythmic knocking was rapped on your door, meaning Eren was finally here. Skipping over to the door, you opened it to reveal him while slipping on your shoes.

“Hey,” he grinned when the door opened. He leaned in to give you a kiss on the lips after you’d straightened up from putting on your shoes.

A grin found its way on your lips during the kiss. It only lasted a couple of seconds, ending with you pulling away with a quiet smack. “Hi,” you greeted back.

“Ready to go?” he asked, one hand leaving his jacket pocket to jut his thumb down the hallway towards the elevators.

“Yup, ready,” you said. Over your shoulder, you yelled into the apartment to say goodbye to Mikasa and locking the door once you closed. “Okay, ready for real now.”

There was a new hot pot restaurant near campus, Eren told you, that he so desperately wanted to try. He overheard some people talking about the place in his Stats class, and he’s been wanting to go ever since.

“So, about what I told you last night,” he said, leaning on the table close to you after giving your orders to the waitress. “You said you would help me get Mina.”

“I said it was a bad idea,” you countered, taking a sip of your drink.

“But you said you would help me. For a price.”

“That I… did say,” you sighed. “What’s your plan?”

Smiling, he opened up his jacket and dug into the inner pockets, getting out a small notepad and a pen. Your eyebrows raised at the sight of them. “Okay,” he started, flipping through his notepad. “So I was thinking about it this morning, and this is what I have down so far.”

Sliding it towards you, he waited impatiently for you to read what he had.

Your lips pursed to prevent giggled from leaving your lips. Well, it was a plan, alright. Written in Eren’s chicken scratch of handwriting were a few very simple steps.

eren yaegers fool proof plan to get bitches get mina aka operation rent a gf by eren yaeger 1. talk to mina to get her interested in you ✓ 2. get hot girl ((Y/N)) to pretend to be your gf and show you can be a good bf 3. get mina jealous so she wants you even more and not poopy thomas wanker 4. “break up” with (Y/N) and pretend to be sad 5. get mina to comfort you 6. get bitches make mina your gf 7. pay (Y/N) for her services 8. ta-da!

When you looked up from the notepad, you saw Eren waiting for your answer. “Well? What do you think? Is it any good?” he asked.

“Were you high when you wrote this?” was the first thing you asked him. Eren shook his head innocently. “You’re 100% serious?” He nodded.

You bit your lip, deep in thought about Eren’s supposedly fool proof plan. “What makes you think it’s gonna work?”

“I know girls and how they act. If Paradis University let me major in women -- don’t get smart with me I don’t mean Women Studies -- I would be passing all my classes with flying colors. I know it’ll work, trust me,” he said cockily, leaning back in his chair.

“No you don’t.”

“Yes I do. I know you. I know everything about you, (Y/N). I even know how to make you scream my name in--”

“Okay!” you cut him off, not wanting the strangers around you to know the intimate details of your sex life with Eren. “Okay.”

“I knew you were gonna do that. See, I do know women.”

A moment or two passed, both of you staring at each other. You with a deadpan expression, and him with a proud one. You were the first one to break the silence with a heavy sigh. “Okay, say I agree to this. What do I get in return?”

“Anything you want,” he said. “Within reason, of course. Please don’t ask me to like, hide a body or something.”

Ignoring his last comment, you continued speaking, “You’re not allowed to back out of whatever I ask you to, right? If this plan fails or succeeds, you still owe me whatever you promised.”

Eren nodded. “Of course. I swear on it.” He shifted a little so his elbow was on the table, holding out a pinky. Instinctively, you held out your pinky as well and intertwined the both of them. Pinky promises were something you and Eren had been doing for years now. It meant that the other was dead serious on their promise.

The waitress came back with your broth and dipping ingredients, setting them on the table for you right when your pinkes left each other. Thanking the waitress, the two of you talked some more while you waited for the broth to heat up.

“We should make it official. With a contract and set of rules,” he said. “Like that one movie you forced me to watch with you. The Boys I Loved or some shit like that.”

“To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before,” you corrected.

“Yeah, that. They’re kinda doing something like us, yeah?”

“Guess so,” you shrugged, picking up your chopsticks and a sice of pork belly when the broth started to boil. “After we eat though.”

Idle chatter was shared between the two of you as you ate. Even though you saw each other nearly every day, you never ran out of things to talk to. You could be talking about complete nonsense or how quantum physics made no sense, and you would still have the best time of your life.

By now, the broth had been drunk up and the table had been cleared out to be replaced with banana milk and ice cream. Eren brought out his notepad again to write down the set of rules for your fake relationship while enjoying your desserts.

Good progress had been written so far on the notepad. Both of you had given input and criticism on each rule made. In the end, you finally had a good set of rules written down.

(Y/N) and erens contract and rules for eren yaegers fool proof plan to get mina aka operation rent a gf by eren yaeger 1. act normally. eren and (Y/N) act like a couple already. just double the pda a little more 2. don’t tell anyone about the deal. the more people who believe in the relationship, the more likely it is for the plan to work 3. post each other on ig a lot. maybe add names and a date to bios to make it more believable 4. date night every saturday (go out or just hang out) 5. go to parties together 6. walk each other to class if you can 7. call each other cute pet names 8. after breaking up, the couple act has to stop including the sex 9. DON’T SLIP UP

payment for (Y/N):

Eren tapped a beat on the notepad, reading “payment” over and over again. Eventually he looked up at you, deep in thought. “Have you thought of anything so far?” he asked, clicking the pen to write what you wanted.

This was a tough decision. Eren was ready to give you anything to help him get Mina. You had to be wise and pick something big to take advantage of him. Something you were sure you wouldn’t ever regret getting.

“How about,” you started, trailing off, “you do my laundry for the rest of our time at ParadisU, buy me lunch every Wednesday even after we break up, recommend that godsend of a tutor you keep gatekeeping to help me too, and…”

“And?” Eren asked, looking up from his writing, waiting for your next words.

“All the orgasms I want during our relationship,” you finished, satisfied with what you chose.

“Is that all?” he asked, writing down the last of your words. “That’s a lot.”

“How about I let you know if I wanna add more,” you said. Eren nodded in response. His head hung to look at the notepad again, writing something down. Once he was done, he plaed the pen on the pad and slid it to you.

“Sign it so it’s official,” he instructed.

There were two lines beside each other, one already with Eren’s signature. Without hesitation, you signed your name neatly on the paper, giving the items back to Eren once you were done.

(Y/N) and erens contract and rules for eren yaegers fool proof plan to get mina aka operation rent a gf by eren yaeger 1. act normally. eren and (Y/N) act like a couple already. just double the pda a little more 2. don’t tell anyone about the deal. the more people who believe in the relationship, the more likely it is for the plan to work 3. post each other on ig a lot. maybe add names and a date to bios to make it more believable 4. date night every saturday (go out or just hang out) 5. go to parties together 6. walk each other to class if you can 7. call each other cute pet names 8. after breaking up, the couple act has to stop including the sex 9. DON’T SLIP UP

payment for (Y/N): eren has to do the (Y/N)’s laundry for the rest of university, buy her lunch ever wednesday, get tutor to help her and give her as many orgasms as she wants during the course of the relationship

signed x eren yaeger x (y/n) (l/n)

The two of you shook hands when Eren put away his things, to seal the deal again. The waitress came by again to give you the bill and collect your dirty dishes. Eren set down the cash needed to pay along with a tip in the check presenter before the two of you left.

You walked hand in hand back to Erens car before you realized you missed something. “Wait. What do we tell people when they ask how we got together?” you asked, pausing in your tracks.

Eren stopped with you, turning to look at you. “Um, you can say I confessed after lunch, and that this is technically our first date,” he suggested, tugging your hand to walk back to the car.

“Huh. Okay. That works,” you nodded.

The two of you got into the car a little bit past 2:30 in the afternoon, ready to go home. “Wait,” you said again, making Eren pause. “Mikasa wanted a burger from that one joint near our apartment. Could you take me there first?”

Eren smiled and nodded, starting the car. “Of course. Burger with medium Coke and onion rings?”

“How did you know?”

“She always gets that when we go there.”

“Huh… I guess you’re right.”

“When am I not?”

"Always."

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italic names, it wouldn't let me tag you!

3rensgf © 2021 ; do not repost or translate my work.

[the-superior-stark]

Neighbor!Steve Rogers x Reader

Neighbor!Steve Rogers x Reader

Warnings: AU, Neighbor!Steve Rogers, Married (Y/N), Cheating, Smut, Breeding Kink, Marking, Oral (f receiving), Edging. Fingering, Choking

You can request HERE!

Prompt list can be found HERE and HERE!

****

As I pulled into my driveway in the pouring rain I noticed my new neighbor struggling to get his front door opened. I rolled my window down and yelled, “Hey Steve, do you need any help?” He looked up from the frustrating door lock to my car, “I think Sam has my set of keys and I have his,” he offered in explanation.

I knew of Sam seeing as how he occasionally popped by to Steve’s house and I had a few encounters with him. Steve and him had just been out together this morning, probably when the mix up happened.

“You can come in to my house for a little while and wait for Sam to bring you your house key,” I offered, with little hesitance. Steve looked unsure but willing to get out of the relentless rain. 

“If it’s no problem to you, ma’am. I would greatly appreciate it.” The soaking wet man said with a gentle smile. “No problem at all, just let me get a few things from my car.” 

Steve walked over to my car and offered to grab my few bags from the grocery store. I wanted to protest but my cheeks were growing hot and my eyes were glued to his chest and the water droplets falling off of his blonde hair in waves. 

Me and him walked up to my front door and he stood back as I unlocked the door. I could feel his presence behind me and it was slightly intimidating but nice nonetheless.

I opened the front door and said, “Excuse the mess, I haven’t exactly had time for a deep clean with work and all and my husband sure as hell doesn't clean.” He gave me a questioning glance and I felt the need to explain myself with a short, “Late work at the office and all.”

He give a curt nod and followed me as I shuffled into the kitchen. “Can I just place these on the counter.” He asked. “Yeah, sure that’s fine.” I agreed and gave him a soft smile.

I had always thought about having this man in my house but now my fantasies just made me feel awkward. I had always had some type a thought about him that I shouldn’t. I mean who wouldn't? He is literally a perfectly created science experiment. Everything about him screams perfect.

“I’ll go and fetch you some of my husband’s lounge clothes and a towel. You’ve got to be cold in those clothes.” 

I heard him thank me as I walked briskly to the bedroom I shared with my husband. I almost felt like I needed a break from the handsome man sitting in my living room. It felt as though looking at him made me feel intoxicated. Every little thing he did made my breath hitch in the back of my throat. 

I grabbed a thin white t-shirt and a pair of joggers. Both were probably too small for Steve but they were the best I could offer him at the time. My husband definitely had a smaller stature than Steve so we had no clothes around the house to accommodate a man his size.

After I grabbed his clothes out of the drawers, I crossed the hall into the bathroom and quickly grabbed a towel and made my way back into my kitchen. I found Steve standing in the same place I left him, looking mostly nervous. I assumed it was because he was in a house of a girl he barely knew.

I handed him the clothes and towel I had grabbed. “Thank you for these, (Y/N). Can you point me to your bathroom so I can change?” I nodded and pointed down the hall and said, “First door on your left. If you need an extra towel there are some under the right side of the sink. Just holler if you need anything.” He nodded and made his way to the bathroom.

The house was decently sized but still small enough that I could hear every cluttered sound coming from the bathroom. Every little noise Steve made. It almost felt comforting to have someone in the house after all this time. When I was home my husband wasn't and when he was home I was at work. Hearing somebody making noise brought me a great sense of happiness as I made busy work by putting away the few groceries.

I heard the bathroom door open and Steve come out. He walked into the kitchen with his wet clothes. I could see every muscle ripple and felt like if he took a big enough breath the shirt would rip into. There was a greek god standing in my kitchen and I looked like a deer in the headlights as I drank in his appearance.

I grabbed his previous clothes from him and dropped them into one of my plastic grocery bags and placed it on the counter. 

Any nervousness of his seemingly disappeared as he let out a sigh and said “Like what you see, doll.” I gulped and turned back around to what I was doing. “Guess that was a yes.” Steve chuckled out.

“It wasn’t a yes or a no, Steve.” I said, slight grimace in my tone as I wanted to say yes, but knew it wouldn't be right due to circumstances. “(Y/N), I know it’s a yes. You act like I can’t see the way you gawk at me when I do yard work or check the mail or leave for work. I see the way you look at me. Don’t try and hide that from me, doll.”

As he said what he had wanted to say, he had gotten increasingly closer to me. It felt like he was cornering me and the only thing I could do was stammer out incoherent words. Stumbling over everything I wanted to say.

“You look so pretty, all nervous over my words. You’re beautiful, doll.” Any regard I had over keeping my composure flew out of the window the moment I heard those words. I wanted him. A part of me had always wanted him since we moved into this neighborhood. 

I always had my eyes on him any chance I got. He was like a drug to me. I needed him, in anyway he would possibly give me.

“Okay, maybe I do find you extremely attractive but I have a husband.” I said trying to remind myself more so than him. “Baby, I see that relationship of yours. You spend no time together. If you’re home, he's not, and vice versa. Just let it happen. He has a girlfriend anyways.”

I went slack jawed at the mention of my husbands so called ‘girlfriend’. I mean I knew, it was just the fact that even Steve knew. I’m sure everyone knew the marriage was a sham if even he could see it. 

“Don’t worry, darling. I don’t think everyone knows. I just happen to be quite observant of you and your little life.” Suddenly relief washed over me but that didn’t last long. 

Steve had snaked his hand up to my face to wipe away a stray tear I didn't even know was running down my face. I guess it’s the sheer anticipation and stress this situation was giving me.

On one hand, I had once loved my husband and he loved me. Now the marriage was more viewed as a partnership. I cooked and bought groceries and he kept the bills paid with occasional help from me. We both spent our own money and rarely slept in the same house together, more or less the same bed. 

On the other hand, it had been so long since I had any attention. Physically or emotionally. My husband gave me nothing but a home to keep my things in. There was no love, passion, or connection. I longed for something like that. Something like that from one person only. That person being, Steve.

“What’s going on in that pretty little head?” Steve questioned. “I want to know everything and more about you. But first I want to explore you.”

When he got no response from me, he took matters into his own hands, stating “If you want me to stop, say the word. I leave you alone and we can never talk about it again, but something tells me you don't want that.”

My brain had finally caught up with the situation. I was very excited for what Steve had in store for me and I believed that he would take care of my every need.

Steve backed me up against the counter and traced a finger down the side of my face gently whispering about how pretty I was. “I wanna do so many things to you, doll. You gonna let me?”

I gave him a slight whimper and nod in return, begging silently in my head for him to do something. Steve took my nod into consideration and apparently he needed more. “I need some words, baby doll. Need to hear you say it. Need you to beg me. Or I walk out that door right now.”

A part of me knew he wasn’t walking out of that door anytime soon, seeing as how it was still pouring rain and Sam had yet to even respond about bringing him his keys. All rational had left my mind though. My thoughts were swimming in my head and my arousal was making me spin. 

“Please, Steve. I’ll be so good. I’ll do anything you want. Just touch me. Have your way with me.” The blonde man towering over me seemed satisfied with my answer and began an assault on my lips.

“I’ve wanted to do this for so long.” I whispered against Steve’s lips. Almost scared that if I said it too loud it would all stop. “I know, darling. Me too. For so long. Since I saw you waltz up your driveway in that black sundress for the first time. You were so perfect. Perfect for me to ruin.” 

I whimpered into Steve’s mouth and he took his opportunity to slip his tongue between my parted lips. He picked me up and placed me on the counter and began to trace his lips down my neck leaving slight love bites in his wake. “I want you to wake up and see just what I’ve done to you. I want you to remember me when you look in the mirror.”

He stood back and admired his work and began to run his hands over my soft thighs. His hands seemed to be dangerously close to where I needed him most. I tried to squirm but his strong hand kept me in place. “Where are you going, (Y/N). I need you to stay still so I can do what I want. Isn’t that what you want?” 

I nodded at his question and he continued to run his hands over my thighs. admiring me. His hand ghosted over where I needed him most and I let out a sigh. “You’re so eager for me. Tell me what you want me to do.” Steve said. “I want you to touch me.”

He complied easily with my request and dipped his fingers under the waistband of my leggings. He rubbed his fingers over the material of my underwear, slightly teasing me. My breathing sped up rapidly as I waited for him to pull my panties to the side. 

He pulled them to the side and ran a finger through my folds. “You’re so wet already? Does he not touch you like this?” He questioned. I shook my head no in response. “You’re the only one who has touched me like this in a long time.” Steve smirked and said, “Good, keep it that way.”

He sunk a finger into my core with little resistance and used his thumb to rub soft circles over my clit. “I can take more.” I said. “You’ll take what I give you.” Steve responded. I nodded my head and let him continue his work.

He pushed a second finger in and curled them in an upwards motion. I let out a soft moan. As he continued curling his fingers, I felt myself teetering on the edge. “I’m close.” The moment those words left my lips, Steve retracted his fingers and pulled his hand out of my leggings briskly.

I let out a soft whine. “Don’t be disappointed, I’ll give you what you want soon. But I want you to cum on my face. I want to taste you.”

I took no time in shimmying out of my leggings and panties and dropped them somewhere on my kitchen floor. Steve picked me up and carried me towards the hallway. “It’s the second door on your right, if you’re looking for my bedroom.” Steve nodded and continued his path. 

When he reached my bedroom, he placed me on the bed. He pulled his shirt off and hovered over me. “I took mine off, so I feel as if it’s only fair if you do the same.” I pulled my shirt off and began to unclasp my bra. “Leave the bra, I want to take it off of you when I’m ready.”

Steve began nipping his way down my chest and stopped at my bra to tug my nipple through his teeth over my bra. I let out a soft moan and raised my hips to meet his, needing more from him. “Be patient.” 

He continued nipping and kissing his way down my body and reached right below my belly button. I thought he would tease me but instead he delved right in-between my folds. He licked up my pussy skillfully and looked up at me through his eyelashes. He raised his head and said, “You taste so sweet. Wish I could stay here all day.” He then continued by drawing light circles over my clit with his tongue. 

I was a mess underneath him and raised my hand to curl into his blonde hair. He looked up briefly and I could see my juices gleaming in his scruff. I let out the softest groan at how his face looked covered in my wetness. I wish I could see him like this every day. 

His tongue dipped into my entrance and then he quickly replaced his tongue with two fingers. Working them inside of me. My legs were starting to shake and I was getting closer to my release. “I want you to let go for me. Cum for me.” That was all it took for me to let go. It had been so long since I had an orgasm ripped from me and I was still sensitive from being edged earlier.

“You look so pretty when you cum. Love that I can make you feel so good.” Steve said as he adjusted his position to give me a kiss. He grinned his hips down into mine as the kiss got more heated and let out a soft moan at the feeling of my heat pressing against his cock.

“Can I fuck you? I wanna feel you wrapped around my cock. So tight, just for me.” Steve said and I nodded and palmed him through the pair of joggers. “I’m gonna fuck you raw. Fill you up and make you mine. Mark your walls with my cum. Nobody will ever touch you like this again. Only me.”

I felt dizzy at the idea of that and quickly tugged at his joggers. I had only just now realized that I had not given him any boxers earlier and felt the heat rise to my cheeks. I pulled his joggers down and watched as he springed out of his confines. 

He pulled his joggers off the rest of the way and hovered over me with one hand near the side of my head and the other pumping his cock. He placed himself at my entrance and I nodded at him, signaling that he could begin easing in. 

He slipped past my entrance with ease and pushed the rest of the way in. Pain twisted over my features, as it had been a while since I had fucked anybody. Especially somebody of his size. He gave me a moment to adjust and soon the pain turned into an overwhelming sense of pleasure.

I nodded and he thrusted in and out of me at an agonizingly slow pace. “Faster please, Stevie.” I said letting the nickname slip and begging for more. He complied and brought a hand around my neck and slammed into me at a quick and harsh place.

I felt him brush against my sweet spot and let out a loud moan. Steve noticed and angled himself where he brushed against it every time. “You’re so fucking tight. Squeezing me like that. I love the way you make me feel.” 

I moaned and gripped his cock even tighter, feeling the heat pool in my stomach. “I’m so close. Please don't stop.” I begged out to him. He did anything but stop and set a much faster pace. “I’m close to. I’m going to cum in you. Fill you up so full. So good. Want you to go to sleep dripping.” I moaned out at the idea.

“C’mon baby doll, I'm so close. Just a little bit longer.” I nodded and he grunted signaling just how close he was. Steve nodded and as I felt him painting my walls with his cum it triggered my release. He helped us ride out our highs and stayed like that for a moment.

He rolled off of me and took in the moment. Giving out sweet praises to me about how good I was for him and how much he enjoyed himself. Once we both came back to reality, Steve looked over to me.

“I don't want this to be a one time thing. I want you. All of you. Anything you’ll give me. Anytime and anywhere. I love you and have for quite some time.” Steve confessed.

“I love you too, Stevie.”

[hopeamarsu]

Of potions and myths - Chapter 8

William “Ironhead” Miller x f!reader

Word count 2,8k

Warnings: Some angst, but it’s mostly sappy and fluffy. 

A/N: This is it, the final chapter. I’m getting a little emotional over this, this is my baby and I can’t believe it’s finished. It’s done, complete, and OMG. I can’t believe I did it! Wow. 

Thank you so much for sticking with me on this ride, I can’t thank you enough ❤️ I hope you enjoy this morning with our bonded couple. 

Chapter 7 - Story masterlist

The morning light sweeps across Will’s bedroom and you stir from your slumber as the rays tickle your eyes and nose. It takes a moment to orient yourself, but as you wake up a little more, you feel Will’s strong arm around your middle, keeping you tight against him, the other hand under your pillow and last night comes back in a rush. You burrow into his arms a little more with a smile, feeling his hot breath on your neck and relishing in his warm embrace around you. You feel well-rested and the thought alone makes you giddy. 

When the call with his uncle was finished, he’d swept you up from the couch, kissed you soundly and told you about the pull he felt, how it had changed in between you. There hadn’t really been a discussion on what it meant as you’d taken the celebration back to the bedroom and he’d made you cum hard twice until he’d rendered you boneless once again. After a short cleanup, you had settled under the blankets and into his arms, falling asleep tangled up together. 

Now, as you lay in his arms, you turn the words from last night in your mind. The pull was still there? But how come you didn’t feel it, only he did? It’s a little concerning, though it might only be because he is a wolf and you are not, but you don’t like it. Worry gnaws in your stomach as you keep wondering how and why it’s different for you now when it wasn’t before. Were you not enough? Was your mundane status not what the bond wanted after all? 

“Mmmm, y’think too hard, I can hear you from here,” Will mumbles, kissing your neck. “I thought I’d worn you out last night.” He trails a series of kisses to where he reaches, basking in the combined scents of you both and the heavy aroma of sex still lingering in the air. One of his hand trails down to your naked thigh and he squeezes the flesh gently. He nips gently at your shoulder, a low purr in his chest as his wolf rejoices in the connection you now share. 

“You did, I don’t think I’ve slept this good in a long while,” you reply, trying to keep your voice light and airy, but failing miserably. He props himself up quickly, all alert now, and holds your shoulder to push you under him. His eyes flash somewhere between red and blue, almost purple as they sweep your face and his nostrils flare as Will takes in the shift in your posture.  

“Hey. Talk to me sweetheart. What’s on your mind?”

You turn your head sideways, not wanting to look at him and his inquisitive eyes. You don’t want to tell him, to ruin the mood, but also at the same time you want to share, want to hear him tell you again that all is going to be fine. 

The emotional turmoil of the past week and now takes its toll and you can feel hot tears gathering in your eyes and you close them in effort to make them not drop. This is a happy moment, don’t ruin it, you remind yourself over and over again. It’s not a big deal, the elders surely have an explanation for this. And you do feel him, the touch is there! It’s nothing big, just tell him all is well. 

“Baby, please. Look at me,” Will pleads with you, watching as you shake your head minutely, mouth in a thin line and eyes scrunched shut. He’s getting more worried by the second and gathers you as close as he can, burrowing his face into the crook of your neck. 

“Please sweetheart, don’t push this away. Whatever it is, we’ll deal with it together.” Please don’t push us away, he thinks as he kisses your scar, hoping it will soothe you but it only makes your head shake harder. 

“Are you in pain? You’re worrying me right now.” He takes an alarmed look at you, shuffling back a little with eyes running across your body to see if something has happened during the night. A worrisome thought comes to his mind that maybe he hurt you last night, not enough prep or care taken in the frenzy. He itches to run his hands all over your body to make sure nothing is there.

“No, no… I’m okay, just. I think a lot is catching up with me now.” Your voice is raspy as you finally speak. You don’t look at him, opting to keep your eyes closed, a point that is not missed by the man in bed with you. Will lowers his voice a little, something hesitant creeping into his tone as he speaks. 

“Do you - ummmm - do you regret... what happened last night?”

He doesn’t want to ask it, he doesn’t want to hear the words if this is what has you upset. But he’s trying, he wants to make this work and this bond flourish and if asking things that make him uncomfortable to voice is it, it’s a price he’s willing to pay. You shoot him a look with wide, panicked eyes and you place your hand on his cheek, stroking the stubble gently. 

“Will, no, of course not! Last night was amazing, beyond anything I’d ever hoped for. I’m just… I guess I took the loss of the connection harder than I thought I would.” 

He breathes deep from his nose, his shoulders sagging in relief. For a moment he thought the worst, the old wounds and fears rearing their ugly heads and Will gathers you back into his arms, squeezing tight. 

Taking a moment to ground himself on you, he closes his eyes and draws in your scent, blissfully mixed with his. The scent of home. He reminds himself that he’ll need to open up about his own scars eventually too, but this is far too important to dismiss. He wants to help you in any way he can and if he can help it, he’ll take all of your worry and pain away.   

“Do you want to go back to the elders? Or maybe Frankie’s abuela could help, she’s not in the council but she used to be. She knows a lot and has a good sense of the spirit world. I could invite her over and you could talk. Or perhaps you would like to consult your colleagues?” 

He’s spouting off ideas, feeling somewhat helpless. He keeps the more ludicrous ideas to himself now, his agitated mind sprouting off ideas that range from turning you into a wolf (something Will has never done in his life) to running away to live in Norway, far away from any of this but if you want them, he’ll give them to you. 

“Will, I’m not…”

“Just say the word sweetheart, whatever you want to do.” 

You are about to answer him, when a loud knock on the front door interrupts and Will lets out a low growl. The knock is soon followed by another and another and then Benny’s voice booms from the door. 

“Come open the door, brother! And you better be decent, I’m not watching your bare ass this early in the morning William!”  He growls again, this time louder. You cover your mouth with your hand, trying not to make a sound. 

“I can hear you growling in there! Come open the door. The boys and I, we brought breakfast and we need to brainstorm how you are going to ask your lovely mate to MOVE IN WITH YOU AFTER THE BONDING!” That little shit. Will leaps out of bed, huffing and forgoing his shirt as he stomps towards the front door. 

He wretches it open, eyes flashing in anger as he glares at the three men on his doorstep, shit-eating grins on their faces. Benny winks and shoulders his way in, followed by Frankie and Santi, the latter clapping Will in the back as he squeezes past. The blond drags a hand across his face before closing the door with a sigh and follows his brothers to the kitchen, where Benny has commandeered the space. 

He moves around the space like he owns it, picking up items to use for breakfast while Frankie sweeps up the glass shards and Santi gets the coffee running. It’s a well-oiled machine, each of them anticipating the others move but this time Will opts to stay out of it, flicking his eyes between the closed bedroom door and his brothers. He longs to join you back in bed, ease up your worries over the connection and he needs to figure out something fast so he can get the boys out of the house.

But all his plans go out the window as you open the bedroom door and step out, bare feet padding on his floor and his flannel tucked around your body. You’ve dug out some college pants and a tank top to fit under the flannel and he doesn’t think he’s ever seen you look more beautiful. All three heads pop up as they register the footsteps and Will smirks a little as he thinks of what goes on in their heads as you reach him and lean up for a kiss.

He tastes his toothpaste on your mouth and a little possessive but happy sound leaves his lips as he accepts the offered lips on his own. 

“So, no planning needed then, huh?” Santi quips, picking up a fifth cup from the cupboard. He doesn’t sound surprised, more like that he was expecting this. “I saw you last night as you hurried past, not exactly subtle behavior,” He winks at Benny, who has stopped peeling the avocados. 

“And you didn’t tell us?” Benny gestures at himself and Frankie with the peeling knife. The older man snorts. “He didn’t tell you, but I got a text full of emoji peaches and eggplants with the words Will and mate sprinkled in.” The dry tone of Frankie’s voice makes Will snort and he watches amused at his little brother pointing an accusing finger at the third man. 

“The fuck Pope?!” 

“Hey, you would’ve run your mouth and brought the whole council here had I told you. These two needed a night alone, without anyone hovering over them with research or myths or potions or pressure.” He looks at Benny, who has to shrug, agreeing with the statement.

“But you could’ve told me this morning…”

“Where’s the fun in that? And besides, this had the added bonus of embarrassing Ironhead when you yelled that comment, so I’m going to take my win!” Santi cackles and tries to hide behind Frankie as Benny suddenly gets the urge to throw something in his direction.

Will grips your side softly, steering you to the side, out of view. 

“Please excuse those assholes…” He murmurs, turning you so you are face to face and tips your face up from your chin so he can look into your eyes.” Are you okay?” He wants to ask more, but mindful of the men currently wreaking havoc in his kitchen, he keeps his words brief. “Do you want to talk in private?”

“I’m fine Will, really. It just hit me hard, but we’ll figure it out. I’m alright, I promise. We’ll consult the elders later, okay?” Your words feel like a balm on his heart.

“As long as you’re sure, sweetheart.” He rubs your arm before honing in on your bare shoulder peeking from under his flannel and this time he follows his instincts and wraps his arms around you and noses the flesh. It works well for him to hide his face as he speaks the next words, feeling both calm and timid at the same time. This was definitely not the way he thought about doing this but his brothers forced his hand. 

“I know you heard them yelling, so I guess there’s no point in hiding this.”

“Yes.” You answer him before he can even get the question out. He’s right, you did hear Benny yelling earlier (the whole street heard) and while it still feels crazy and too soon and out of this world, you know it’s what you want. What you desire. “I’ll move in with you, if that was your question.” 

Elated, Will sweeps down to claim your lips into a longer, heavier, more passionate kiss. He grips your hips as he draws you in and slips his tongue into your eager mouth. “Let me, umhmm, get rid of, mmmmm, these idiots and, uhnmmh…” He tries to whisper between kisses, but not a lot comes out. You finally regain your senses and end the kiss, small pants leaving your lips. 

You go to speak but Will shakes his head and kisses you hard again. “Just a moment, I want a second to kiss my mate good morning. My beautiful, gorgeous mate who is all mine,” He grins against your lips, relishing in the idea that you are his, he is yours and the bond is strong between you. All mine and I’m all yours, he thinks as he forgets the world and loses himself within your warm lips. 

Before he can turn it into a full-blown make-out session, you distance your lips from his, echoing your movements from before. You press your foreheads together briefly before straightening your spine. “Behave, mate,” you tease him and watch surprised at his unconsciously preening form over the word, tucking the information for later use. 

Will nearly whines at the loss of you, but your finger on his lips stops any of that and he nibbles on the digit, hoping you’ll entertain his idea of breakfast in bed, for two only, but you have other plans. “They are your brothers and considering our newly-bonded status, I would love to get to know your pack, your family, a little better.” 

“Our pack, our family.” 

Your eyes might be a little misty and your smile is splitting your face at his words, but sappy as they might be, it feels so right to hear the words from his mouth. You reach up to cup his face between your hands and you press a hard kiss into his plush lips. 

“Then let's go and tell them the good news.”  

You take his hand into yours and you return to the kitchen, snorting as something green hangs from Santi’s cheek. Frankie is washing his ballcap under the spray and his curls wild around his head as he glares at Benny, who looks mighty proud of his ability to swing guacamole ammo around the room. 

Will shakes his head in that exparated love in his eyes one can only have for family and you know that despite what the elders might have to say about the missing connection, or your bond or whatever, this is now your home. Even if the pull never comes back for you, this feels right and that’s all that matters. Despite the worries you had in the morning, they seem to evaporate as you work it out in your mind. You love this man and he loves you, he accepts you into his family. That’s all there really is to it, your mind whispers to you as calmness settles on your heart. 

You all sit down around the table and only slightly burnt toast is passed around. Once the plates are full and overflowing, Will tells them the good news. He wraps his arm around your shoulders and kisses your forehead and whoops of joy fill the air.

“So it really worked, huh? You are bonded now?” Santi asks, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Yeah, we are. We’re mates now.” Will nods and steals another small kiss from you, Benny groaning that it looks gross when it’s his big brother. This makes Frankie smack the younger man and grin in your direction. The tiny nod of approval from him goes unnoticed by all but you and you wink back at him.  

The boys gently rib at their brother while congratulating you and asking all the questions you don’t know all the answers to but it’s okay. Easy conversation fills the air as the men begin to plan moving all your things into this house later that afternoon and you lean into your mate’s embrace and smile. 

Whatever might come next, potion or myth, you know you have this and it makes your heart soar. 

It might be the first time a love potion actually led to love.

*

Of potions and myths taglist: @mylifeisactuallyamess​​​​ @luxmundee​​​​ @innerpaperexpertcloud​​​​

Everything taglist (I fully understand if you want to skip this one, please let me know and I’ll remove you!) @clydesducktape​​​​ @wayward-rose​​​​ @themuseic​​​​ @miraclesabound​​​​ @clydesfavoritegirl​​​​ @a-true-janian-reply​​​​  @10blurredsmoke10​​​​  @caillea​​​​ @mariesackler​​​​ @princessxkenobi​

[sylvies-chen]

Test Runs

Summary: Matt agrees to help Sylvie babysit a 5-month-old Brian Cruz for the night to help Chloe and Joe out, and gets a glimpse at a life with Sylvie he thought he could only ever dream of.

Words: ~5.5K

Warnings: None?? It’s just pure baby fever and heart eyes and canon-compliant established Brettsey

Tagging: @fighterkimburgess Cíara, this one’s for you. I hope you enjoy your much anticipated gift— and some very long, plot-less tooth rotting fluff :)

A/N: I don't know what this is and I'm pretty sure I zoned out while writing this so let me know what you think of this because this is the least edited thing I've ever written lol

“Please don’t be mad at me.”

Matt’s in the locker room at the end of a tiringly long shift when he hears Sylvie’s voice coming from behind him.

Their shift has been filled with an endless amount of intense calls. House fires, a harrowing ambo call according to Sylvie, car crashes galore. He’s more than ready to go home and enjoy his next few days off. He and Sylvie had even agreed to make tonight a date night, staying in with a bottle of wine and watching a movie (or, in their case, not watching a movie). It makes him even happier to be done with this shift. Just a regular, normal, peaceful night.

That’s what it’s supposed to be, at least. Only he hears his girlfriend’s voice and, instead of its usual soothing effect on him, is filled with something tense and nervous. He turns around and lo and behold, Sylvie’s standing in front of him with a perpetual wince.

“Why would I be mad at you?”

“I may or may not have told Joe and Chloe I’d babysit Brian for them tonight,” she explains nervously, her palms stretched out flat against each other. “Which means I’m going to have to take a raincheck on that date night we’d planned.”

Matt instantly finds it hilarious that she’d been so worried to tell him about it. “Sylvie, it’s fine,” he assures her. “Date night can be any night, we’ll just postpone it for another day.”

“Really? You’re not bummed out?” “I’m extremely bummed out,” he corrects her, his hands flying to her arms and rubbing circles on them gently with his thumbs. “But I’m not mad. I just wanted to spend time with you after a long shift, that’s all.”

“I know,” she sighs. “I’m sorry. Joe just kept going on and on about how he and Chloe haven’t had a minute to themselves since the baby was born and I just remember thinking how, if that were you and I, it’d make me really sad not getting to have a night off with you.”

Matt swears his heart melts right then and there. Sylvie’s compassion is pretty much endless but when she mixes it with that adorably longing look in her eye, and with words like that? Yeah, Matt’s a total goner.

Things between him and Sylvie have been going so great. They’re going on six months and not a single day goes by where he doesn’t feel like the happiest guy in the world. He knows tonight is one of their only nights off between shifts and he’d prefer not to have to share her quite yet during those nights but Joe and Chloe are their friends, Sylvie was right to offer them a kind gesture.

So an idea forms.

Matt’s always been good with kids, he’ll never complain at getting the chance to look after one. Especially not when it’s with the woman he loves. Besides, he sort of loves the idea of spending the night watching Sylvie gush over Brian Cruz. She was sort of adorable with Amelia, he can only assume it will be the same with Brian.

So much for a normal, peaceful night. (Although frankly, Matt thinks normal is overrated.)

“What if I came with you?”

“What?”

“Yeah,” he nods. “What if I looked after him with you? I’m sure Joe and Chloe wouldn’t mind, I’d be more than willing to give you an extra set of hands.”

She gives him a puzzled, slightly skeptical look. “So you mean to tell me,” she starts, “that you want to spend one of your few nights off in between shifts babysitting a screaming, crying, spitting five-month-old baby, just… because I am?”

“That’s sort of the idea, yeah,” he chuckles. “I’m good with kids, I can handle a little spit-up. Besides, I’ll take any time I can get with you.”

Ok. So maybe that was a little cheesy. It still rings true nonetheless. Spending time with her in any capacity is good enough for him-- and he has a feeling this will be a lot of fun.

She seems to think the same thing too, and smiles sweetly at him. “How did I get so lucky?”

“You just are,” he shrugs amusedly and leans in to kiss her soundly, sinking into it for a minute before he realizes he shouldn’t get carried away when they’re in the locker room. He’ll save the PDA for Stella and Severide. When he pulls away, she moves to pick up her bag and shut her locker, the two of them ready to leave. “So I’ll pick you up then? What time did they want you there?”

“5:00. But I should warn you,” Sylvie warns teasingly with a pointed index finger. “I will be singing a lot of Wiggles songs. It will not be sexy.”

He lets out a chuckle from deep in his chest and Sylvie returns the laugh as she heads out of the locker room and to her car. Even when she’s gone, Matt can still feel himself smiling like an idiot.

Like he said: Sylvie Brett makes him feel like the happiest guy in the world.

“Hey. You’re in a good mood.” Matt’s about to get his own bag and leave when he turns around to see Severide coming into the locker room.

“Yeah, well, I’m on babysitting duty tonight,” he explains. “With Sylvie. Joe and Chloe needed some time off so she volunteered and I thought I’d tag along.”

“Uh-oh,” Kelly teases. “I sense a little baby fever coming on.”

“What? No, Sylvie’s not baby-crazy, it’s not like that.”

“I’m not talking about her,” Severide explains. “I’m talking about you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you. You’re a sucker for kids, man. You’ve wanted them for as long as I’ve known you. You’re going to have that little pipe dream back in your head by the end of the night, I’m telling you,” he warns, a shit-eating grin on his face.

“I’ll be fine,” Matt grumbles in response. “I think I can handle one night of babysitting. Besides, we’re just helping Cruz. Kids are something for down the line. Way down the line.”

“So you have thought about it,” Kelly replies victoriously, raising a single, cocky eyebrow.

“What about you and Kidd, huh?” Matt knows deflecting won’t work forever, but he’s not ready to admit to himself that he has thought about it, nevermind Severide. So switching the subject back onto his best friend seems like the safe option. “You’re the ones who are married now. You two haven’t thought about having kids?”

Kelly bites his tongue, blushes slightly. It’s a rare occurrence for him, but one reserved uniquely for all matters related to Stella. “Maybe,” Severide shrugs. “But we’re not talking about me, we’re talking about you.” Matt huffs, picking up his bag and shutting his own locker. “I can handle myself. I was just giving you a heads up in case you wondered why I wasn’t at the loft. I’ll be fine, I promise.”

Matt heads out after that making a beeline for his truck before anyone else can question him about this.

Severide doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He and Sylvie are enjoying their time together right now, taking things at their own pace. Matt’s not about to ruin that for some fantasy he had that’s slowly dissipated. After all, what’s the point in wanting kids if you don’t have someone you want to have them with? After Gabby, he’d given up on that until what was once a pipe dream became something completely irrelevant and blurry in the back of his mind. Besides, six months of dating is a little soon to be thinking about that. There’s about a million steps they have to go through first, a million milestones before kids would be in the question. So yeah. He and Sylvie are not in any rush. For now, Matt is perfectly happy to be able to wake up to her for as many mornings as he can. Just him and her. That’s always going to be enough for him, no matter what. His small fantasies are a thing of the past.

At least, that’s what he tells himself as he drives home to the loft and gets ready to pick Sylvie up. He repeats it over and over until eventually, it doesn’t feel like a lie anymore.

********

When Sylvie hops into his truck, she’s wearing jeans and an old graphic t-shirt. She figures it’s best to wear something she won’t mind dirtying a little. She explains this to Matt when they’re in his truck and he nods thoughtfully at her smart thinking. He even leans over to kiss her on the cheek while waiting for one of the traffic lights to turn red. Only then does it truly register in Sylvie’s head about what they’re doing tonight.

They’re really, truly, spending an entire night together with their friend’s adorable baby.

She really hadn’t expected Matt to offer his help tonight. She doesn’t need the help-- Sylvie knows her way around a five-month-old, after all-- but he’d offered it anyway which somehow makes it even sweeter. Joe and Chloe had been more than okay with it. There’s no one more decent and reliable than Matt Casey, after all. Together, Brian Cruz is guaranteed to spend the whole night being showered with love. She’s sure of that, so she’d obviously been thrilled to have him tag along for babysitting. Until the weight of it all sinks in, that is.

Things between them have been going so great. It’d taken them longer than she’d hoped to sort out their feelings but it’d made the release all the more satisfying. They’re here now, together. And even though they’re only six months into this relationship, she knows that she’s never backing out. This is it; for both of them. It adds an extra layer to her happiness, knowing that everything she does with him will be her last firsts. It’s wonderful and beautiful in all the best ways. They’re still fairly early on in their relationship though. She doesn’t have an exact plan for the future-- it’s the only thing she can’t plan out thoroughly, unfortunately-- but she knows six months is still fresh in the grand scheme of things. And whereas she thinks a kid or two might be nice, it’s still too early to have a conversation that’s that detailed with him. Up until now, she’d been perfectly fine avoiding that talk. Now though, it’s going to be the big, plus elephant in the room. They’re getting a glimpse at what it would be like to have a kid together. It seems silly, but she’s almost scared to let her mind wander.

She goes over it in her head quietly in the car. It’s not a big deal, she reminds herself. They’ll just look after Brian, have some fun, and put him to bed at a reasonable hour. And most importantly, under no circumstances will daydreaming about their future be allowed. Ever.

They reach Joe and Chloe’s house and Matt takes her hands as they reach the front door. She’s been quiet the rest of the car ride, ever since he kissed her on the cheek. She’d gotten so preoccupied reminding herself not to get ahead of herself tonight that it’d picked up his attention, but she gives his hand a gentle squeeze as they wait for Joe and Chloe to answer the door and he smiles, thinking nothing of her quiet mood.

“Hey,” Joe greets them when the front door finally opens. His face is beaming, and it really dawns on Sylvie how excited he must be for tonight. He and Chloe haven’t been out of the house for weeks, never spending more than five minutes alone without baby Brian Cruz. “Come on in.”

Sylvie flashes a friendly smile and lets go of Matt’s hand to step inside, looking around the place. Chloe’s putting her earrings on in the mirror, preparing the finishing touches of her date night outfit. Which, in Sylvie’s opinion, is gorgeous. Saying her friend looks amazing is almost an understatement. “Don’t you look fancy,” Sylvie teases from behind Chloe. “Sylvie! We’re so glad you two were able to make it,” Chloe cheers, leaning in to give Sylvie a tender hug and then doing the same for Matt. “Thank you so much for this. We owe you one.” “Don’t worry about it,” she hears Matt speak. “I think we’re both just happy to lend a helping hand, right?”

He looks to Sylvie with raised eyebrows, and she nods in agreement. “Yes, we really are. You two seriously deserve some time off.”

“You’re right about that,” Joe nods. “I thought being a firefighter would mess with my sleep schedule but it’s nothing compared to this kid.”

“Where is Brian anyway?” She asks.

“He’s in his crib right now, hang on,” Chloe tells her, stepping into the room next to them and pulling Brian out of his crib. The little boy sits perfectly against his mother’s chest, his feet dangling slightly. He’s wearing a onesie too, the light blue fabric covered with little robots. It’s quite possibly the cutest thing Sylvie’s ever seen and she has to fight back the urge to coo at him.

“Say hi to Auntie Sylvie and Uncle Matt, sweet cheeks!” Chloe coos to her son, grabbing his tiny hand and waving it at Sylvie and Matt for him. He can’t talk yet but he flashes a smile at them and it melts Sylvie’s heart. Man. Tonight is going to be amazing and yet so tough to get through. “So there’s fresh formula in the fridge but we just fed him so he should be fine for the night. His toys are all laid out on the floor if he needs tummy time and we normally put him to bed at 7:00. If there’s anything you guys need or any questions, just call us. We’re bringing our phones with us and the number for the pediatrician is on the counter just in case,” Joe explains to them.

“Got it,” Sylvie nods.

“Ok,” Chloe nods to herself, handing Brian over to Sylvie. The small boy fits just as nicely against Sylvie’s chest but he tries to turn his head as soon as she holds him, urgently looking for his mom. Chloe stands back, staring at Brian nervously. “I gotta go now, buddy. I’ll see you later.”

“It’s harder than you expected, isn’t it?” Sylvie asks her, already well aware of the answer. Leaving your kid with a sitter is tough, she imagines, especially when it’s your first kid.

“Yes,” Chloe admits, slightly pained. “I know it’s only a few hours but we’re going to miss him.”

“We’ll take good care of him, we promise,” Matt assures them, already moving closer to Sylvie to see Brian and let his tiny hand wrap around his thumb. “Thanks again you guys,” Joe nods appreciatively.

“Of course, anytime. Now go on, have fun, you crazy kids,” Sylvie teases.

“Alright, bye!” Chloe keeps waving until their front door is fully shut, leaving Matt and Sylvie in total silence.

Matt glances at Sylvie up and down, taking in the sight of her with baby Brian, and something in his eye lights up. It sends a warm tingling down Sylvie’s spine, but he just nods at her. “He really is a cute baby.”

“I know,” she raves instantly. “Look at how small his little hands are!”

“You’re just so tiny, aren’t you, little buddy?” Matt talks to Brian, wiggling his hand.

Brian giggles, his arms wiggling amusedly at Matt’s gesture. He looks over at the front door though, waits expectantly for Chloe and Joe to come back in. A few seconds pass where Matt and Sylvie watch as Brian stares at the door. It’s almost as if everything that happens next happens in slow motion. They watch as his face turns back to Sylvie, his twinkling eyes turning sad as his face sours. The wail comes next, matched with flailing arms as Sylvie feels his body shaking in her arms.

He’s not hungry, Joe said he and Chloe just fed him. And he can’t be tired since they haven’t done anything with him yet. So really, he just misses his parents. It’s not all that abnormal for a kid his age but it still hurts Sylvie’s heart, watching this little guy wail in her arms.

“Oh no,” she blurts out, slightly panicked. “Shh, it’s okay! We’re right here. I know you miss your mommy and daddy but they’ll be back soon, I promise.”

He continues to wail, sticking his hand out and wiggling to try and get to the front door. “Who am I kidding, you don’t understand what that means,” she mumbles under her breath, beginning to bounce him.

His wailing isn’t as shrill after the bouncing starts but he’s still crying at a volume comparable to 61’s sirens. She tries her best to calm him down but it seems unsuccessful. Dammit. Sylvie and Matt aren’t five minutes into this night and Brian’s already crying.

The reminder that Matt’s there is enough to snap her out of it. Only she turns to where he was not five seconds ago and he’s gone. “Matt?”

“I’m in here, just a second,” he calls from the family room. Sylvie moves down the hallway away from the entrance to find him. When she does, he’s hovering over a small, wooden chest and rifling through it. Brian’s still crying as she pats his back and offers soothing hushes.

“I think we just broke Cruz and Chloe’s baby,” Sylvie tries teasing, her face still making a worried wince. “Shh, it’s okay Brian. You’re okay, it’s okay.” Matt grabs something out of the chest, moving to close the space between him, Sylvie and Brian. “Here,” he tells her, revealing the little, plush blue and green robot in his hand. “I figured a toy might distract him.”

“Right, good idea,” she nods, turning to meet baby Brian’s eye again as he grabs a fistful of her hair. “Uncle Matt has some of your toys, you want to play with them?”

Sylvie turns him so he can see Matt, who extends the soft plush robot and wiggles it playfully.

“I bet you like that one, huh? He even matches your pyjamas,” Matt points out.

Brian instantly becomes mesmerized with the toy, his eyes sparkling as they follow it’s trail as it moves in the air. His cheeks are still glossy with tears but he sticks out a hand to clumsily grab at the toy. The shift from upset beyond consolation to pure fascination with something so simple as a toy robot is enough to astound Sylvie-- and, admittedly, send relief washing through her body.

As soon as her shoulders relax, she feels Brian relax in her arms too. He even smiles as she wipes his cheeks clean of the tears, pointing towards the toy and cooing incoherently. Matt keeps wiggling the toy and bobbing his head along with the toy, eventually handing it to Brian and letting him play with it on his own. He squishes the robot’s rectangular head, then mimics Matt’s movements with it and moves it around in the air. Sylvie watches in happy surprise. She’s about to move her head to send a bewildered yet appreciative look at Matt but when her eyes look up, he’s already looking at her. There’s a slight twinkle in his eye, similar to the one Brian had when he saw the robot. It’s nothing but pure wonder, and her heart skips a beat.

Up until now, she’d been trying to keep herself from getting ahead of herself. Apart from the logical reasons of it being really early and soon on in their relationship, Sylvie also just doesn’t want to freak him out with baby fever. But he’s staring at her as she coddles Brian, a smile dancing over his face, and it seems pointless.

Maybe she’s not the only one picturing them doing this with a kid of their own.

Maybe, he’s just as much of a daydreamer as she is.

********

Matt’s not trying to give himself away too much. He swears he isn’t.

But damn. If Sylvie with this little Cruz baby isn’t the most adorable thing he’s ever seen, he doesn’t know what is. It’s been an hour since they arrived at the Cruz residence. An hour since they’d walked in and immediately had to deal with a screaming, crying baby Brian. Thankfully, they mellow out pretty quickly after that. Matt and Sylvie pull out as many toys as they can and try to distract him. His tears dissipate as they play around, keeping the young child preoccupied.

Sylvie, as promised, even starts dancing and singing Wiggles songs. Matt started out singing and dancing with her but Brian had tried crawling away while they were both up so he’s now sitting next to Brian, who’s on his stomach on his mat in the family room propping himself up to watch the show as Sylvie keeps dancing and singing.

“The Big Red Car rolls along the street

And to all the people that we meet, we like to say hello

Say hello! To the people that we meet!”

Sylvie sings, spins around, and does comically dramatic gestures as Matt claps along with Brian, making a few sound effects himself to help out with the number. The songs are too catchy not to sing along, so he does. That just seems to make the baby giggle even more, and he tries crawling over closer towards Sylvie.

She finishes the song and does small but amusing jazz hands, practically out of breath. “That was exhausting,” she exhales heavily. “How’s that for entertainment, little guy?”

He coos and waves his arms around in the air, trying to cheer for her. Matt chuckles and claps along himself, keeping an expectant eye on Brian.

The baby keeps wagging his arms though, and when they realize he’s asking for an encore Sylvie leans over with her hands on her knees in exhaustion. “You want more of this?” She addresses Brian, not expecting a response. “We’ve been at this for nearly an hour, I’m getting more of a workout from this than from Foster’s infamous spin classes. How is he not more exhausted?”

“Different sleep schedule, I guess,” Matt shrugs. “Don’t worry, you can tap out and I’ll take over.”

“More romantic words have never been spoken,” she replies teasingly with a relieved groan. She wipes at her brow and moves to find space on the mat but instead of the encore, Brian turns to her.

“Oh,” Matt says. “Looks like he doesn’t want more singing and dancing after all.”

The young boy starts reaching for Sylvie’s hair, grasping at the blonde strands that fall just above her shoulders. He manages to find a fistful but Sylvie pulls him in closer so he can grab her hair without yanking it. “I think he likes you,” Matt points out with a grin. “Good, my plan is working,” she teases, resting her head ever so lightly on Brian’s head. “I’m hoping to work my way up to his favourite aunt by the time he’s two. I’m going to be your favourite, aren’t I, little man?”

Brian coos in her lap, smiling wide at Sylvie. But he looks over at Matt and reaches out from Sylvie’s hold to grab at Matt’s hand too. Matt’s heart melts.

“He seems to like you too,” Sylvie adds.

“Yeah, I’ve never met a baby with so much trust in people,” Matt replies. “And so many robot toys too. What’s up with that?” He gestures at the spread of robot toys they arranged in a row on Brian’s mat.

“I think Joe was hoping he’d get him interested in tech stuff like Otis was,” Sylvie explains, a wistful sigh falling over her. Matt gets serious too-- not a day goes by where he doesn’t think of their dear, fallen friend. Thinking of where Brian Cruz gets his name from is always a sharp reminder of Otis, and this new piece of information doesn’t make it any better.

Matt throws Sylvie a sympathetic look, which is returned. There’s nothing much to say to that, nothing but to let there be a gentle and solemn moment of silence as Brian wiggles in Sylvie’s criss-crossed legs on the floor.

The silence is broken when he crawls out of Sylvie’s lap, slowly finding his way to Matt. Somehow, some way, he can sense Matt’s heavy heart and reaches to grab his hand. Brian doesn’t try to lift it, just puts one hand around Matt’s thumb and one around his pinky. He looks up at Matt, his eyes twinkling energetically.

“I bet your mom and dad tell you all sorts of stories about Uncle Otis, don’t they?” Matt asks as he lifts Brian into the air. He giggles, waving his arms and toes in his little onesie. Matt knows the kid can’t talk yet but he takes that as a yes. When Matt brings him back down from the air, he presses a kiss to the kid’s forehead and pulls back with the small smack of his lips. It makes Brian laugh even more.

Man. He really is a cute kid. Maybe Severide was right, maybe Matt’s already feeling that little pipe dream of his coming back. Because he’s sitting there with this tiny little kid in his arms, having the time of his life as Sylvie watches them amusedly, and it feels like he’s getting a glimpse at their future. The idea of a family, one with someone he loves as much as Sylvie, feels so right. It’s enough to send a warm and electric feeling throughout his body.

“This is fun,” Matt admits to her, meeting her eye with a hesitant but hopeful gaze.

Sylvie pulls her lip in between her teeth, fighting a smile. “Yeah, it is,” she nods. “It’s nice, I’m glad you offered to tag along. It’s like a little test run.”

“Test run?” Her eyes widen slightly and her cheeks heat up ever so slightly, to the point where Matt thinks he imagined it for a second. “I-- I mean, for babysitting,” she backtracks, shaking her head. “You know, if Joe and Chloe decide somewhere down the line that they need more nights out.”

Matt’s heart skips a beat.

Sylvie’s a terrible liar. She knows it, he knows it, all of 51 knows it. He can tell when she’s fibbing. She gets all flustered, fumbles her words just like she is now. Only now, he can see right through it and it excites him beyond comparison. He can see it in her eyes: she’s been thinking about kids just as much as he has.

“Right,” Matt chuckles lightly, going along with it. “For babysitting.”

She knows he can see right through him and sucks in a sharp breath. She looks more hesitant than he does now. “I don’t know, a kid or two might be nice somewhere down the line,” she admits nervously. “Right?”

“It would,” he replies softly with a smile. “I’d be lying if I said I haven’t thought about it once or twice tonight.”

“Really?” When Matt nods, she smiles and her shoulders relax.

“Well Severide said I should probably keep that to myself but I don’t care.”

“I don’t want you to keep it to yourself,” she tells him firmly but kindly. “You, Matt Casey, are always allowed to share what you see in our future with me. Okay?”

“Okay,” he nods happily. “I guess this test run isn’t so bad then, is it? If we’re on the same page about things.”

“No, it isn’t.” Her eyes light up and it’s all the confirmation Matt needs that he’s not alone in his baby fever. Their eyes stay fixed on each other, a soft and exciting tension washing over them.

The moment, however, is interrupted by Brian. He’s still in Matt’s arms but Matt suddenly hears what is probably the quietest, cutest yawn he’s ever heard come from Brian’s mouth.

“It’s getting late,” Sylvie realizes.

“Yeah, his bedtime was…” Matt checks the clock and his eyebrows immediately shoot up. “Twenty minutes ago?”

Sylvie looks at the baby in Matt’s arms, surprised. “You really had a lot of energy tonight, didn’t you? You were dancing past your bedtime, little buddy!” “Well I don’t blame him, your performance was very entertaining,” Matt muses. “Maybe a little too good,” she realizes with a giggle. “Come on, let's put him in the crib.”

“Aw come on,” Matt pleads. “Just a few more minutes? I don’t think he wants to move.”

“You are a bad influence, Matt Casey.” Sylvie shakes her head amusedly. She soaks in the sight though and can’t resist. Brian is draped over Matt's chest, his head now resting on his shoulder as his eyes flutter tiredly. Matt’s hand covers the little boy’s entire back, rubbing circles on it gently as he stabilizes the boy. Sylvie bites her lip for the second time that night and Matt knows she’s going to concede. “He does seem to be comfortable there though,” she counters reluctantly.

“Very comfortable,” he corrects her. What can he say? He just wants to sit in this little fantasy of his for a little longer. He so rarely lets himself hope like this that it feels almost necessary to extend this for as long as possible. Besides, Brian Cruz is adorable, it’d be crazy if he didn’t think of a kid of his own-- at least a little-- while he’s here. “I, however, am not.”

“Well here, come up to the couch. That’ll be more comfortable for the both of you,” she tells him, her voice now hushed and soothing so as to calm Brian down and not interrupt his process of slowly falling asleep.

Matt carefully gets up and shifts onto the couch, Brian still in his arms. He leans back and lets Brian sprawl out against his chest. The boy is light, no more than 15 pounds, but it’s still enough to put a light pressure on Matt’s chest.

He doesn’t mind. In fact, it’s the opposite. He loves it.

Sylvie stands up too, clearing the toys off the floor as Matt watches Brian’s breathing, the rise and fall of the small boy’s chest against his. It’s weirdly soothing and he soon feels his breathing match Brian’s, his eyes fighting to stay open. The singing and dancing and playing around really took the energy out of both of them.

When she’s done, she looks down at the two fatigued boys, smiling gently at the sight before curling up next to Matt on the couch. She holds Brian’s hand with her index and her thumb, and runs a soft hand over his head, before Matt’s arm wraps around her shoulder and she tucks her head in the nape of his neck.

“That’s better,” Matt beams, a tired smile on his face. He moves to press a kiss to Sylvie’s forehead.

“Much better,” she agrees quietly. “But we shouldn’t stay like this forever. He’ll need to go to his crib soon.”

“We’ll put him there soon,” he tells her. “Just five more minutes, babe…”

********

Wake up.

She feels those words ring through her body like an alarm. It sends the lights in her brain slowly turning back on as she eases into consciousness.

The first thing she sees, just barely and surrounded by a tired blur in her vision, is Matt. Brian’s still on his chest, both of them sleeping soundly. She smiles to herself, noting how peaceful her boyfriend looks in this position. Everything feels so warm. She’s cuddled up next to him, he’s lying with the baby. It all seems so picture perfect. She revels in it, if only for a moment.

She looks up and realizes it’s been twenty minutes since they’d fallen asleep— and Matt had promised only five. For a minute, she considers waking him up and telling him to bring Brian to his crib. She decides against it though, choosing instead to cuddle back into him and relax.

Joe and Chloe are going to be back any minute now. But she’ll be damned if she doesn’t soak every minute of this moment in. Before they’d figured things out and gotten together, Sylvie had scarcely allowed herself to feel things for him, nevermind daydream about the life they could have. But she looks at them, sees how truly good and comfortable Matt is with Brian, and can’t stop now. It’s addicting, dreaming about her future with Matt Casey. She intends to chase that feeling like it’s her only fix, especially since now she knows he’s thought about it too. Her dreams are his; theirs.

To Sylvie, that makes for a pretty good test run.

She falls back into Matt’s embrace, the three of them dozing off. They don’t wake up again until Joe and Chloe come back.

It’s the first night Brian Cruz gets a full night’s worth of sleep.

[kuroopaisen]

cause & effect || chapter 5

➵ your work friend, kuroo, has a tiny favour to ask. unfortunately, that favour includes convincing his family that you’re very much in love with him and have been for a while now. let’s just say it’s easier than you’d assumed.

warnings: f!reader, mild depiction of anxiety i guess? 

wc: 3.9k

m.list | ch. 4 ↞ ch. 5 ↠ ch. 6

“You ready?” Kuroo asks, giving you a warm smile.

You take a deep breath.

He’s parked his car in the driveway of his parent’s home. You hadn’t even known he had a car; you’d always thought they were a bit useless when you live somewhere like Tokyo.

But that isn’t the point.

The point is, you’re about to meet his grandmother.

The very woman who’d started the toppling dominos that’d led to you sitting in this very car.

You’re also about to meet his dad and grandfather, but they sound a little less intimidating.

Honestly, you feel like this is all a bit quick. Do you even know him well enough to pull this off yet? But, as Kuroo had pointed out, the earlier you met his immediate family, the fewer names and faces you’d have to familiarise yourself with later in the month.

You’re the one who’d suggested this weekend, anyway. You can’t back out now.

“Hey,” Kuroo murmurs, tilting his head at you. “If you’re not feeling up to it, we can say you came down with a cold.”

“Oh,” you blink at him, heat rising in your cheeks. “Oh, no, it’s fine! I just need a moment. To… to steel myself.”

Kuroo smiles, the concern in his features melting away into relief. “Take all the time you need.”

“Thank you, Kuroo,” you nod.

God, how long has it been since you’d met someone’s parents? Too long. Embarrassingly long. Long enough for your own parents to be a little disappointed in you. Not that their opinions matter—

You shake your head.

No, no, you shouldn’t be thinking about them right now. You have a job to do.

“Alright,” you sigh. “I’m ready.”

“Great,” Kuroo nods. “Well… let’s go, I guess.”

The two of you slip out of the car, making your way towards the front door.

It opens before you’re even halfway there.

“Ah!” An old lady hobbles towards you, and you know immediately that it’s Kuroo’s grandmother. They have the same eyes – clever, bright, calculating.

“Look who decided to show up,” the woman tuts, placing her hands on her hips in the perfect image of a displeased mother.

Kuroo rubs the back of his neck, his cheeks turning pink. “You make it sound like I never visit,” he mumbles.

“Well, you certainly don’t visit as much as I’d like,” the old woman scoffs, shaking her head.

“I have a job, Obaa-chan,” Kuroo grins, stepping forward and ruffling her hair.

“Now, now, Tetsu,” she chuckles, swatting his hand away, “you’re still in no position to do that.”

“I’ll be the one looking after you in your old age, you know,” he teases.

“Oh, I’m well-aware,” she responds, totally unphased. “You’re not getting away with anything less.”

The old woman turns to you, a kind, if cheeky, smile on her face. The family resemblance really is striking. The eyes, the smile, the energy… It’s almost comical.

“Hello, dear,” she greets you with sincere warmth in her voice.

“Hello,” you smile as best you can, offering her a bow. Your stomach feels all fuzzy and your chest is tightening –

This shouldn’t be so stressful. It’s not like you’re meeting his family as his actual, real girlfriend. And yet, you’re still worried about making a good impression.

Oh, and putting on a good performance. That’s important too.

“Oh, none of that,” Kuroo’s grandmother chuckles, shaking her head.

As you rise up, she waddles towards you, arms open and ready to embrace you.

You respond at the last moment, only just registering what’s happening.

“It’s delightful to finally meet you,” Kuroo’s grandmother beam, looking you up and down. “Ah, you’re even lovelier than the photos.”

“You too,” you smile, your cheeks blooming for the second time today. “And thank you.”

His grandmother chuckles, throwing her arms around your neck. Your eyes widen and you almost jump, but you reciprocate, nonetheless.

This woman is already more delightful than you can handle.

“I’ve heard many wonderful things about you, my dear.”

You didn’t think your face could get any warmer, and yet here you are. “You have?”

“Indeed!” She laughs. “And I’ve surmised that you are far too good for my grandson.”

“Obaa-chan!” Kuroo gasps.

“Would you begrudge me for telling her the honest truth, my boy?” Kuroo’s grandmother tuts. “I know you’ve got a good head on your shoulders. You should be able to put two and two together.”

“You’re exaggerating,” you laugh.

“Oh, surely not,” she shakes her head, taking a step back. “Now come, come!”

She hobbles back to the front door, beckoning the two of you.

You stall. Why, you don’t know. Nerves, probably? Man, this is so much harder than you thought…

“Hey,” Kuroo murmurs, his hand resting lightly on the small of your back. You start as his breath tickles your ear, whipping your head round to look at him.

He nods towards his front door with an encouraging look in his eyes.

You swallow roughly, trying to ground yourself. There’s more to be nervous about than you’d anticipated.

The two of you walk through the front door – Kuroo has to stoop a little, because of course – and you take a moment to survey the house.

It’s a little cobbled together – walls covered with frames of all different shapes and sizes, a bookcase full to bursting with a rainbow of books, trinkets scattered here and there. It’s a mix of Japanese and Western-style, a concoction of couches and spare floor cushions, a low coffee table, wide rooms with open sliding doors and generous windows.

Slapdash as it is, it’s homely. Comforting, even.

Kuroo’s grandmother potters around the kitchen. From the clatter of mugs and kettle, you guess she’s preparing tea.

You turn to Kuroo for instruction. He takes your hand in his, leading you through the front room and towards the kitchen. You tighten your fingers around his palm, trying to calm the swirl of nerves rattling around your stomach.

He pulls out a chair for you at the kitchen table. You thank him quietly and slip into it as he plops himself next to you.  

He slouches against the back of his chair, his demeanour melting in a way you’ve never seen before.

Well, you think, this is the house he grew up in.

“Here you go, dears,” his grandmother hums, flashing through the corner of your vision and setting a tea-set on the table in front of you. “I hope you’re a fan of green tea.”

“Thank you,” you smile. You’re not going to complain – especially since she’s gone to the trouble of preparing it for you.

She pours out three yunomi, setting one in front of each of you. Once she’s done, she plops herself down on one of the chairs, wiggling forward so she’s on the edge of her seat.

“Now,” she smiles, reaching over and taking one of your hands in hers. “You must simply tell me all about yourself.”

You freeze.

What is there to say? Even now, an adult with a wage job, you can’t quite put a finger on what really defines you as a person. It certainly isn’t your job in marketing.

You clench your free fist in your lap, trying to think of something, anything to say.

Even if this is fake, even if this is just a ruse to calm his grandmother’s nerves for the holiday’s… it’s hard. It’s scary.

You want to make a good impression. You want this to go well. But you just don’t know how to make that happen. What if his grandmother doesn’t even like you? What then?

Kuroo slips a hand over your balled-up fist, rubbing a gentle thumb over the ridges of your knuckles. You loosen your grip just a little, letting him slip his fingers through yours.

The contact is still strange, still foreign. And it’s fake.

You know it’s fake.

But it gives you the tiny spurt of strength you need.

“Ah,” you laugh nervously, “where would you like me to start?”

The old woman smiles, shaking her head. “You’re fine, dear. The two of you met at work, yes?”

“Yes,” you nod. “He makes it more bearable.”

His grandmother laughs. “Well, I suppose his sense of humour is decent enough. He gets it from me, after all.”

You grin. “There is that. But he… he helped me settle in when I first started working there. I really appreciated that.” You blush. It doesn’t sound particularly romantic, but they’re honest feelings. Perhaps the best way to make this believable is to play upon what’s already there.

Kuroo squeezes your hand gently. You squeeze his back.

“You just can’t help yourself, can you Tetsu?” His grandmother chuckles. “You see a lost little duckling and you just have to take them under your wing.”

Kuroo blushes, bringing a hand up to rub the back of his neck. “Well… you know…”

His grandmother shakes her head, turning back to you. “He’s always been like this, you see.”

“Trust me, I’ve heard all about Kenma,” you smile. “Oh, and there’s a Tsukishima, right? From volleyball.”

“As I expected,” she chuckles, raising an eyebrow at Kuroo.

“You make it sound like I go around picking up charity cases,” he mumbles, looking away from her. You can’t make up much of his face, but his ears have gone a little pink.

“Are you calling me a charity case, Tetsu?” You tease, tilting your head at him.

His head whips back around, eyes wide. “No—I—why would you draw that conclusion?”

You giggle, giving his hand another squeeze. “Just teasing.”

His grandmother chuckles, a new glint in her eyes. “You might have to reconsider who the charity case here is, my boy.”

“I never said she was a charity case!” He whines, looking between the two of you with an expression of deepening panic. “I would never—”

“I thought I raised you to treat women better,” his grandmother sighs, propping her elbows on the table and dramatically hanging her head in her hands. “To see that I’ve failed so terribly…”

You laugh, the tension in your stomach easing a little.

He definitely gets his sense of humour from her, you realise.

And it’s more than just the sense of humour.

You know this woman’s already picked up on your anxieties. It’s like she’s trying to soothe them, in her own way. Just like he does.

His observant eye is a family trait, it seems.

The conversation flows a little easier after that; Kuroo tries to redeem himself to little effect, his grandmother asks you how you like to spend your spare time, Kuroo tries to stop her from relaying any embarrassing childhood stories…

You’re not sure how long you’ve been sitting at the kitchen table, but your tea’s gone cold.

You haven’t even drunk any of it.

“Oh, I should put the kettle back on,” his grandmother hums, as if reading your mind. “I’ve always been bad at playing host.”  

“Not at all!” You say without even thinking.

Kuroo’s grandmother chuckles, offering you a kind smile. Her gaze flicks to Kuroo, the look on her face turning a little wicked. “Honestly, Tetsu, I don’t know how you managed to land yourself such a sweet young woman.”

“It’s almost as if you don’t have faith in me,” Kuroo grumbles, propping his chin on his hand.

“The gall it must take to say such things to your own grandmother,” she tuts. “It’s my duty to love you more than anything else on this planet, you know.”

“Hm,” Kuroo nods slowly. “It’s a shame you’re not doing a very good job at performing said duty, then.”

“Kuroo!” You gasp, staring at him with slack jaw.

A sound that exists somewhere in the venn diagram of a shriek, a warble, and a laugh erupts from Kuroo’s grandmother. “My my, we are getting bold!”

“He’s lying,” you cut in, “he talks about you all the time. Especially about how good you’ve been to him.”

“Oh?” She grins devilishly. “Is that so?”

“Mhm,” you nod. “He’s a real grandma’s boy.”

“Oi!” Kuroo barks, staring at you with what appears to be disbelief. Nothing you’re saying is a lie – and that just makes it all the more incriminating.

“Oh, don’t blame her, Tetsu dear,” his grandmother laughs. “I’m sure she’s just worried about my feelings.”

You blush a little. She’s right – the last thing you want is for this lovely old woman to feel like her grandson did nothing less than adore her.

But, this family dynamic is very new to you. You can’t imagine being this casual with your own family members.  

“I’m sorry, Obaa-chan,” Kuroo grins, shaking his head. “I didn’t mean it.”

“You better not have!” She gasps, placing one aghast hand on her chest. “Goodness me, Tetsu, you’re going to do my heart in if you’re not careful.”

“And we can’t have that,” Tetsu chuckles softly.

A lull sets over the kitchen as the verbal combatants take a moment to compose themselves. You let the silence sit, trying to find comfort in the pause.

You can tell that there’s nothing misunderstood here. Even though you feel like you need to explain, like you need to ensure that she’s aware of how Kuroo really feels…

Well, it seems like that’s not necessary at all.

How beautiful, you think to yourself with a small smile.

A scuffling down the hallway perks your ears.

“Oh, hello!”

You turn towards the source of this new voice.

A kindly old man pokes his head through the hallway. He’s got quite a lot of hair for someone his age.

“Hey grandad,” Kuroo says, holding up a hand.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were visiting today?” He chuffs, hobbling towards the little gathering.

Kuroo frowns. “Obaa-chan didn’t tell you?”

The woman in question chuckles to herself.

“Really?” Kuroo asks, raising an eyebrow at her.

“You’ve got to make your own fun when you’re this age, Tetsu dear,” his grandmother says sagely, bringing her yunomi to her lips as if to declare an end to the interrogation before it’s even begun.

At this point, the tea must be stone cold.

The older man tuts, turning to you with a nod. “I’m so sorry I didn’t come and make my introductions earlier, my dear.”

“You must be Tetsu’s grandfather,” you grin, returning the nod.

“The wrinkles gave it away, didn’t they?” He sighs.

“Not at all,” you shake your head with a smile. “It’s the air of wisdom.”

He laughs, a full-bellied chortle that’s not unlike the one of the man sitting next to you. “Oh, now I know you’re lying. There’s no wisdom to be found in here.”

He emphasises his point with a solid tap of two fingers against his temple.

“Oh, I’m sure that’s untrue,” you smile.

“He married me, dear,” Kuroo’s grandmother chuckles. “Believe me, that is not the mark of a wise man.”

“I beg to differ,” you turn to her with bright eyes. “I think any man would be lucky to have you.”

A genuinely delighted laugh leaves her lips. “Oh, you really are lovely, hm?”

You blush for what feels like the hundredth time today, glancing down at your lap.

Your hand is still twined with Kuroo’s. You’d forgotten about that. He seems to have, too.

How strange.

You raise your head sharply, intent not to think about it too hard.

Kuroo’s grandparents are exchanging a look – so many years of marriage simply must result in some kind of nonverbal literacy, right?

“Go call Ta-chan, would you dear?” Kuroo’s grandmother smiles sweetly up at her husband, fluttering her eyelashes like a young vixen.

He rolls his eyes, but even you can tell it’s out of fondness. “Yes, darling.”

“Ta-chan?” You ask, looking to Kuroo.

“My dad,” he grins.

“Ah,” you giggle. The thought of a man well into his fifties being referred to as ‘Ta-chan’ is enough to help you feel a little more comfortable. Just a little.

Kuroo’s grandmother scuttles off down the hallway. His grandmother gets up and puts the kettle on again after pouring her current cup of tea down the sink.

You take a moment to compose yourself, turning to Kuroo.

He smiles at you, his cheeks warm and his eyes fond.

‘How am I doing?’ you mouth at him.

‘Great,’ he mouths back.

The burden slides a little, your shoulders feeling a little lighter.

You can’t quite tell, but if Kuroo thinks you’re doing okay…

“Ah, hello!”

The new voice makes you jump as a new presence fills the kitchen.

A tall, broad man ambling his way towards you, his cheeks ruddy and his eyes glinting with a cleverness that you’ve already begun to associate with the Kuroo family line.

“Kuroo Takashi,” he beams, holding one hand towards you. “And trust me, you need no introduction.”

You blush as you take his hands, giving it a meagre shake. “It’s nice to meet you.”  

Takashi grins at you as he pulls out a seat of his own, right next to his father.

You realise, now, that the table is full.

Some absent-minded conversation flies around the dining table – something about work, something about the vegetable garden.

Family stuff.

It’s endearing, even if you’re not a part of it. Even if you don’t really know what it feels like.

“Well,” Kuroo’s grandmother hums, folding her hands in her lap as she shot you a knowing look, “I’m just glad he’s finally got a girl to look at him twice.”

The comment brings you back to the moment like a sharp slap. You raise an eyebrow at her in response, hoping it makes you look like you’ve been engaged this whole time.

“Ha ha, very funny,” Kuroo scoffs, rolling his eyes.

His grandmother leans across the table towards you with a playful glint in her eye. “You see, he wasn’t very popular with the girls in high school.” She casts a furtive glance towards her grandson. “I think it’s the hair.”

“Obaa-chan!”

You bite back a laugh at the expression of pure incredulity on Kuroo’s face.

“I kept telling you to brush it,” she tuts. “And yet, you always ignored me.”

“I did brush it!” He whines, patting the top of his head. “It just made it worse!”

“That’s what young boys always say when you try to get them to take care of their hygiene,” his grandmother sighs. “It’s a real shame.”

“Is that a dig at me?” Takashi asks.

“And what if it was?”

“You know, I think you need to be taking more responsibility,” he tuts, shaking his head. “We’re the result of your genes, after all,” he says, gesturing between him and Kuroo.

“Yeah,” Kuroo nods.

His grandmother raises his hands in surrender, shaking her head slowly. “Why are you just blaming me? Shigeru is right here—”

“Don’t pin this on me!” Kuroo’s grandfather scoffs. “I am but a bystander!”

You watch the family bicker with a gentle smile on your face.

Kuroo Tetsurou makes sense to you now.

This is only your first meeting, but there’s a little bit of all of them in him. There’s a relief to knowing that no matter what, Kuroo is loved. Adored. Cherished.

And he’s comfortable here. It’s like he can be himself – and he can certainly run his mouth without fear of retribution.

It’s nice to pretend to be a part of it, even if just for a moment.

✧ ✧ ✧

When Kuroo had asked you to pop by Kenma’s house with him, you hadn’t expected… this.

The house isn’t opulent, per se, but it’s big. It’s enough of a spectacle to be a marker of wealth, even if it didn’t have all the bells and whistles that usually accompanied excessive capital.

But perhaps the most staggering thing about it is its occupant.

You’d been told that Kenma’s a successful YouTuber. With that knowledge in mind, you couldn’t help but have expectations.

And yet this man, this famous YouTuber who Kuroo couldn’t shut up about, is so… normal. Just some guy, standing in his sweatpants and a jumper, his long hair tied up in a messy bun.

The contrast with the house is almost comical.

“Hey, so…” Kuroo grins bashfully, one hand rubbing the back of his neck. “Don’t laugh.”

The man standing at the door of this ludicrously expensive-looking house glances between the two of you, his apathetic expression darkening to one of incredulity. “What’ve you done?”

Kuroo turns to you, his cheeks a little red. “So…”

He takes a moment to introduce you. He also decides that now, this moment, is the perfect time to explain his harebrained scheme. You can’t keep up as he babbles on about miai and the holidays and meddlesome family members and all sorts.

Kenma stares at him through narrowed eyes. His mouth is drawn into a sour point, as if he’s just bitten an ulcer by accident.

“And this is… my fake girlfriend,” Kuroo laughs nervously, gesturing at you.

Kenma turns to you. He looks a bit like he’s having an out-of-body experience.

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” you smile brightly. “Kuroo talks about you like he’s a proud father or something.”

Kenma shoots Kuroo a truly vitriolic glare. Kuroo grins back, a shade more bashful than before.

Kenma turns back to you with a touch of sympathy in his eyes. “I’m so sorry about him.”

“Oh, it’s fine,” you laugh, waving a hand at him.

Kenma blinks at you, as if appraising… something. Your tone, maybe? Your expression? Who knows?

He just sighs, turning back to Kuroo.

“Explain it to me again,” he drawls. He looks positively exhausted. “But in one sentence this time.”

“So, to stop my grandma from setting me up on dates, she’s agreed to be my girlfriend for a few weeks,” Kuroo says, as if it’s the most nonchalant thing in the world. “Not my real girlfriend, but, like…”

Kenma stares at him for an excruciatingly long moment. “You’re so stupid.”

“Why?” Kuroo pouts.

“You really think this is going to work?”

He turns to you, a subtle look of genuine pity in his eyes. “I’m so sorry he dragged you into this.”

“It’s fine,” you smile, waving a hand at him. “He’s going to buy me boba for a year.”

Kenma shoots Kuroo a disparaging look.

“It seemed like a fair deal,” Kuroo shrugs.

Kenma shakes his head, closing his eyes. “We can discuss this after the collab.”

“Oh, right,” Kuroo grins at you bashfully. “I’ve got to shoot a collab with Kenma, so if you want to take the car and go somewhere, or…”

“I can help,” you say, almost automatically. “If you need a hand, or…”

A beautiful grin blossoms across Kuroo’s face. “Thank you.”

You smile back at him, your heart doing a little skip in your chest.

“Have you ever moderated a chat before?” Kenma asks.

You shake your head. “No, but I’m a fast learner.”

Kenma smiles a little at that, turning around. “Alright, come on.”

Kuroo gestures you forward, a gentle, fond expression on his face. You nod, stepping through the front door and removing your shoes.

This is only a small sliver of Kuroo’s world, only one little look into all the complexities that go into making this one man. But it’s already so beautiful; so bright, so full of adoration.

You’re already grateful for your stay here – even if it’s going to be brief.

Even if it’s all based on a lie.

✧ ✧ ✧

a/n: let’s pretend this isn’t late sdflkjfsdlkjf anyway!! 

[rat-father]

Buttons is a baby <3 sad the comfort won't last long after this

Tagging; @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi @bloodsweatandpotato @pickleking8

-- tw;; non human whumpee, implied previous starvation, food/eating, lab setting, non con touching (not sexual), scientist caretaker, dehumanisation, exhaustion, mostly comfort --

Ryo finished setting up a temporary bed for Buttons, made entirely of spare pillows and fuzzy blankets. It had been bouncing on its feet the whole time, watching closely behind the glass door. Its ears perked up when they approached it, purple fabric of its sweater moving as it wagged their tail. They couldn’t stop a smile from creeping on their face, the sight reminding them of an all too excited puppy. They opened the door to let it out, Buttons running past them and plopping down on the nest they made. It buried its face in the blankets, a long exhale leaving them. Ryo chuckled, wordlessly folding a blanket over its body to tuck them in.

“Are you comfortable?” They asked.

Pushing a strand of hair out its face, they were met with its sleepy gaze squinting at them. It tucked its ears forward to cover its eyes, smacking their hand away.

“I’ll leave you to rest. Seems like you need it.”

They doubted it could even hear them, it seemed to be deep asleep already. They wondered when the last time it got to actually sleep was. But it gave them plenty of time to prepare plans and figure out what to feed them. It had no problem chowing down their sandwich when they offered it to them so they assumed anything would be fine. Their legs moved on their own as they pondered, heading straight for the communal kitchen.

“Hey grandpa.”

The sudden voice dragged Ryo out their thoughts. They turned to see one of their coworkers sitting at the table, a laptop open in front of him.

“Orite, please, I’m not that old,” they sighed.

“No you’re quite old.”

“Well then, how about you help your old grandpa figure something out.”

Orite raised an eyebrow. “Figure what out, exactly?”

“What would you feed something that looks like a mix of a goat and human and possibly an alien?”

His eyebrows furrowed together thoughtfully for a couple seconds. He gave a small shrug, shaking his head. “I don’t know. How much human is it?”

“70, 80 percent.”

“Salad? I think we still have some.”

Ryo turned their attention to the fridge behind them. “Yeah, salad’s good.”

It didn’t take them long to find the leftovers in the fridge. The bowl still had plenty to last the small creature for the rest of the day. They gently shook the bowl up and down a bit, mixing everything inside.

“Wait, old man,” Orite started. “You working with that new subject? The tiny one with floppy ears?”

“Yes. I named it Buttons.”

“Lucky. It looked really cute,” He laughed. “It isn’t like, aggressive, is it?”

“Not so far. A lot more skittish then anticipated but it seemed to adjust well. Still trying to figure out what it is, though.”

“Sounds like a lotta work, hope your partner gets better soon so they can help you.”

They nodded in agreement, waving goodbye and heading back to Buttons’ room. They traversed the halls with ease, muscle memory bringing them where they needed to go without much thought. They found Buttons in the same position they left it, soft breaths deafened by the blankets. Its body was relaxed, mind wandering peacefully in its sleep. They were curious as to what it dreamed about, or if it dreamed at all. Ryo made a mental note to ask it when it woke up.

Its ears twitched periodically, as if it was swatting away flies. They couldn’t help its curiosity of what they felt like. They kneeled next to them, lightly holding its left ear between their fingers. They felt the short fur covering its skin, careful to avoid the scar. Big eyes opened to stare up at them, nose twitching slightly. Ryo smiled, letting go of its ear to stroke its hair.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you up.”

Buttons suddenly jolted up, gaze fixated on the metal bowl sat on the table. They looked over their shoulder instinctively, already knowing what it saw.

“That’s for you,” Ryo got up, taking the bowl over to them. “I don’t know what you usually eat, so I got salad. Is that okay?”

It put its hands on the top of the bowl, pushing it down to peek inside. It grabbed a decent handful, which still wasn’t a big amount, hastily wolfing it down. They caught a glimpse of its tiny sharp teeth, a good indicator to it being a carnivore. Both the salad and their sandwich had meat in them, and they assumed that was what it wanted. They set the bowl down in front of it, letting it eat in peace. It occasionally glanced up with a nervous stare, seemingly scared they’d take the food away. They took a few steps back to give it space, and earn its trust in not hurting it.

Buttons’ ears hung limp against its head, movements more sluggish then before, its small energy boost wearing off and fatigue returning to them. It licked its fingers clean, picking out a stray piece of chicken.

“Did you like it, Buttons?”

“Yes,” it whispered. “Thank you.”

[themovieblogonline]

The Show Must Go On: McGregor Steps Up After SXSW Road House Premiere!

SXSW kicked off with a bang, and right in the middle of the action was the highly anticipated premiere of the new "Road House" flick. The movie itself might have gotten mixed reviews (more on that later), but one thing's for sure: things got interesting after the credits rolled. The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Conor McGregor, Post Malone and more. After the premiere lights dimmed and the applause died down, things took a dramatic turn. One attendee, maybe a little too hyped or maybe just overheated in the Texas sun, ended up dehydrated and passed out right there in the historic Paramount Theatre. The Excitement At The Paramount But here's where things get real. One of the movie's star, none other than MMA legend Conor McGregor, stepped right up to the plate. Forget the afterparty – McGregor stayed behind to help get the person who fainted back on their feet. We're talking grabbing water, holding a towel, and generally being a decent human. Props to McGregor for showing some real concern! Apparently, things got a little heated before medical help arrived. McGregor, maybe still pumped from the movie's action scenes (or maybe just not a fan of seeing someone down), yelled at some folks around him to understand the seriousness of the situation.  Thankfully, with Conor McGregor and his help and some quick action, the person who fainted got the medical attention they needed and was soon back on their feet (with the EMTs already gone, crisis averted!). Now that's the kind of teamwork we can all appreciate. Of course, the show must go on, even at SXSW. Festival peeps hustled everyone out of the Paramount Theatre so they could get things prepped for the next movie. Bummer for those who wanted to linger and chat about "Road House," but hey, gotta keep the festival rolling! Now, about the movie itself. Reviews are mixed. Deadline's Valerie Complex wasn't exactly blown away, calling it "more fizzle than sizzle." Ouch! But hey, that's the beauty of movies – everyone has an opinion. Maybe you'll love the new "Road House," maybe you won't. The only way to find out is to grab your popcorn and see for yourself. Conor McGregor Leaves an Impression But one thing's for sure: the SXSW premiere of "Road House" will definitely be remembered, not just for the movie itself, but for the real-life drama that unfolded afterwards. And hey, who knows, maybe McGregor will channel his inner-Dalton (the movie's main character, a legendary bouncer) in some future project. Stranger things have happened in Hollywood! So, what do you think? Will you be checking out the new "Road House"? Let us know in the comments below! Source: Deadline