#i actually finished this set like. 2 months ago. and then got caught up in uni work and forgot about it lol.

[ripe-beetle]

Completely forgot to upload this whoops :* Set 2!

Set 1 here!

[zorosjuicymelonsx]

Finding You

A/N: Guys I'm here and I'm so sorry I'm a week late with this. I got a new job after losing mine a few months ago so things have been hectic lately with my schedule. All I can say is sometimes adulting SUCKS but I love money so 😭🤑

A lovely reader on AO3 had helped me realise there was an anomaly with the timeline of how Y/N and Zoro meet and all so I went through it and I thought I would go through this:

Y/N's flashback of Zoro sleeping in the forest in Chapter 3 was when they were 15 so its actually 7 years ago and not 4 years ago. I've edited this and amended the story you tell Zoro slightly in Chapter 5 to correct this so my apologies for not finding this sooner. I wanted to show that she had a crush on him before they officially met after he rescued her in the alley. They then turn 16, graduate school and then Zoro asks her out. They date till 18, get engaged and marry at 19. Zoro disappears a few days after this and you spend the 2, almost 2 and a half years looking for him so he's 21 and your 21.

Its sometime after Wano and Egghead doesn't exist in this "dimension" when you find him in Chapter 1 so they're just cruising right now. I wanted to match the actual One Piece ages he was before and after timeskip.

I hope this has helped clarify if anyone else was confused of the timeline but please do enjoy this chapter. Because of my new job, I'll do my very post to work and post in a timely manner. Thank you for everyones patience and support with me.

Chapter Eight Previous Next “Zoro? You okay?”

“i-I have to go, m’sorry.” 

That was the last thing he said to you a week ago in the Crows Nest. You had gone through every single possible reason for why he suddenly would switch up the way he did which left you nowhere near to a conclusive answer. You were sure you’d done absolutely nothing but at the same time doubted yourself and wondered if you had done something unconsciously. 

Since then, he'd practically been living in the Crows Nest. He never ate in the galley anymore, never came on the deck to hang around with anyone and you weren’t even sure if he was sticking with his once a week baths. Every time you tried to seek him out, you noticed the hint of stress in his face and would walk away in the opposite direction. Thankfully you weren’t the only one who noticed the swordsman's strange behaviour. 

“Marimo is really starting to piss me off, can you believe he’s making me bring his meals to him like I’m some waiter?!” Sanji spat with annoyance as he piled nourishment onto Zoro’s breakfast plate. You knew Zoro wouldn’t have asked Sanji for food, you just understood Sanjis code of ethics when it came to making sure that every member of the crew was properly fed and nourished. You appreciated him for it. 

You were one of the few who remained in the galley after breakfast, sitting with Jinbe and Usopp who were finishing off their own meals. You’d leaned forward to sit your chin on your forearms as you traced the rim of your coffee cup with your finger caught in a net of progressive overthinking of the enigma that was your husband. 

“Has he really not said anything?” Usopp asked Sanji, the cook turning to face them, the plate in his hand piled high in mostly eggs, sausages and toast. 

“Not a word. I swear the algae on his heads really taken over his brain.” Sanji cursed before leaving the galley, chewing on his unlit cigarette. 

“Isn’t this normal for Zoro? I mean he is pretty quiet.” Jinbe asked Usopp. Since Jinbe was the most recent crewmate to join Luffy and the crew before you, it was understandable he would ask. You would have agreed with Jinbe on the fact Zoro was quiet, however, you knew better than to mistake this for just his regular self. 

“When something is bothering him, he shuts down. He avoids everyone, he won’t talk, he’ll just isolate. I just can’t figure out what's bothering him.” You grumbled out before lifting your cup to take a gulp of your coffee. Setting the cup down, you realised you couldn’t hear either of them talking anymore and turned to see them both staring at you with wide eyes. 

“Has he really never done this in front of you guys?” You questioned the gaping pair with a raised brow slightly mocking their owlish stares back. Jinbe shook his head as expected whereas Usopp's gaze drifted off behind you in thought. You assumed he was revisiting his album of memories with the swordsman. 

“Well…there was the time on Thriller Bark when he shut himself away to train but it wasn’t anything like this.” Usopp answered cautiously, his mouth slightly turned down in slight distress.This caught your attention and your heart filled with anxiety. 

“What happened?” You asked, unconsciously frowning. Usopp's gaze refocused back to yours, adjusting himself uncomfortably in his seat as he seemed hesitant to retell the story. Nonetheless, he sighed before clearing his throat to speak. 

“We were on Thriller Bark where we met Brook. Brook was stuck on his old crew's ship and he couldn’t leave because his shadow being taken by the ex-warlord Gecko Moria.”

“Brook has a shadow?” You asked in surprise trying to suppress a laugh. You valued Brook as a crew member despite his panties fetish. Thankfully Nami always stepped in after he asked to put him in his place.

“I don’t even know anymore, ANYWAYS ....we managed to defeat him but another ex-warlord named Kuma came for us.We don’t know what exactly happened because Kuma knocked us out but we know Zoro got really hurt. He was unconscious for a few days after that. I think at the time we underestimated them but knowing him, he blamed himself for not being strong enough.” 

Usopp clarified, his tone laced with guilt. Your heart ached at the idea of Zoro being that severely injured to that extent. You knew he didn’t care as long as he met his goal in the end even if you did reprimand him on his mentality many times over the years you both dated. You had eventually accepted it and you didn’t want to stand in his way.

“Let's just give him space and see what happens.” You spoke assuringly to the two despite your chest hammering with the anxiety of unsurety. 

One Week Later

Two weeks had passed since you last heard Zoro's voice. The patient person you were two weeks ago was buried deep inside and now your patience was wearing thin along with your paranoia running rampant. You couldn’t take the silence anymore and neither could the rest of the crew. 

It was the afternoon and Nami had called everyone in for a crew meeting on deck, including Zoro who had unsuccessfully attempted to blend into the background. Your eyes has locked in on him from the moment you walked in and spotted green. You also saw the obvious attempt he made to avoid looking your way as he chose to focus his gaze on the wall behind Nami. 

‘Just what was so interesting about the wall you fucker?’ You thought to yourself as you leaned back in your chair in observation. 

“Right guys, I called this meeting in because I came across information that there's an island nearby rumoured to have a fuck ton of treasure. We gotta make a game plan.” Nami excitedly spoke, the berries practically beaming out of her eye sockets. Reluctantly, you took your eyes away from Zoro to focus on Nami. 

For about an hour, she went over and planned in detail how to navigate the island, showing you and the others the maps and other sources of information from a book she read detailing the treasure and its history. 

“I also decided that not all of us can go on the island so I’m picking Zoro and Y/N to stay behind on the ship.” Nami added. From the corner of your eye, you noticed Zoro stiffen before clearing his throat to speak up. 

“I’m coming with you guys, have Sanji stay on the ship with Y/N.” Zoro spoke in a low, reserved manner clearly disguising his obvious discomfort towards you. It was the first time you’d heard his voice in two weeks but hearing the words he chose only had you gritting your teeth. You took a deep breath in and decided that at that moment you couldn’t take anymore. 

He had drawn your last straw. 

“Oh Y/N-chan, I’d love to-” You cut off Sanji as you stood up from your seat, the feet of the chair roughly scraping against the floor boards as you paced your steps towards Zoro to now stand strong in front of him. You felt the intense gaze of the others on you but ignored it, the anger you felt overpowered your rationality. 

“Whats your fucking problem?” You spat out as you looked up at him. 

This caught him off surprise. You could see he was trying to shift away from you but you weren’t going to allow him to get out of this. You moved in tandem with him whenever he attempted to get away from you only to have him give up and stay glued to the wall behind him. 

“I ain’t got no problem-”

“Bullshit. You’ve been avoiding me for the past two weeks. In fact, you’ve been avoiding ALL of us.” 

“You’re being dramatic.”

“No I’m fucking not.” You somehow got even closer, your chest practically touching his as you felt his body heat against you. 

“She's really not Zoro, did something happen between you two?” Nami asked cautiously behind you.

“Did I do something?” 

He could see you were frustrated with him and he could see he was only hurting you more than he wanted to. 

‘I’m sorry….’ He thought as he looked at you, the guilt overwhelming him. 

Whilst he didn’t appreciate the questioning from you and the heavy gazes of everyone, he will admit he had isolated himself from you. It wasn’t because you did anything to him personally and it wasn’t because he started rejecting your presence on the ship; by far you'd been patient with him by letting him be. The persistent questioning he got from the others, especially the shitty cook despite being appreciative of him bringing his meals to him only to be met with silence from him only fueled his guilt. Since the discovery of his feelings for you, he felt overwhelmed. Being around you distracted him. He felt the want to be with you but at the same time, his mind shielded him from you as if he was protecting himself from you. He prided himself in being strong minded and he felt frustrated with himself over how he could possibly feel this way when he prided himself in being strong minded. He could only theorise that this mental block with you had to do with the guy who’d wiped his memory. 

‘Was his named Edward? Ethan? Whatever, it didn’t matter.’

He knew he was being a dick by staying away from you but he didn’t know what else to do. The moment he accepted his feelings for you, he’d also accepted what felt like an overwhelming burden in his stomach. He felt panic, a feeling he hadn’t felt in a long time. He left you in the Crows Nest, remembering the feeling of not being able to breathe. This was why Zoro did not do feelings; they were complicated. 

“You didn’t do anyth-”

“Then why have you been avoiding me?” You persistently questioned, the frustration brimming in your eyes. 

“I’m done with this, I’m leaving.” He felt his heart climbing up into his throat with you being so close to him.

“Oh no you don’t, you’re not getting out of this one.” 

You made an impulse decision out of anger. With your free hand, you summoned a hole behind Zoro. You pictured the very island where you spent time training yourself with your devil fruit, knowing it was quiet and you wouldn’t be disturbed. The hole behind him had formed and Zoro had realised too late he was no longer leaning against solid and fell through the smoke of clouds that enveloped him. 

You turned to the others who were gaping at you in shock. Even Luffy stayed glued to his seat with no attempt to jump through the cloud of smoke. 

“I’ll bring him back tomorrow.” You huffed out before going through the hole yourself. 

As you landed in the sand of the island, you looked up to see the hole you summoned. You then looked around to see your surroundings. The island hadn’t changed one bit; the wave of nostalgia hit as you breathed in the smell of the sand and sea, the lingering scent of greenery coming from the forest coming into the mix as well. If you looked around again, you’d be able to find the rock you carved the last date you were here before leaving to continue your search for Zoro. 

You purposefully summoned the hole on the empty side of the island, choosing to leave the small population of habitants to the other side undisturbed. They were peaceful people and had even shared a few meals with you from time to time whenever a few of them found you exhausted from exertion after training. They knew you well and that you didn’t pose a threat, choosing to peacefully coexist with them. 

Once closed, the anger still ever present in your system you looked around to spot Zoro sitting in the sand as he looked around taking his surroundings. 

“Wh-where are-?” 

“You gonna talk or what?” You aggressively asked. 

Zoro was now angry. He didn’t want to fight with you, he just wanted to piece together his feelings and rebuild his courage to be around you. He wasn’t ready to face you and being here with you only made him feel worse.  

He stood up from the sand and stomped over to stand over you, pushing the bile from his thumping heart back down his throat.

“What…the FUCK…were you thinking? Why would you do that? Do you realise without me there, you’ve put the others in danger? Take us back NOW.” 

“First of all, step the fuck back and calm down. Second of all, they’ll be fine. Third of all, were not going anywhere until we sort whatever the fucks gone up your ass and died.” You said as you matched his energy. 

“Fuck this, I’m out.” Zoro refused to admit anything. He couldn’t. He turned away from you and began walking. 

“Roronoa Zoro, come back here now.” You ordered him as you followed behind. 

“No. Piss off.” He called back as he continued stomping. 

“Zoro, stop.” You shouted, your voice almost broke as your anger now turned into hurt. 

“Leave me alone Y/N.” 

“WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?” You now cried out. You couldn’t stop the tears and the lump in your throat as you stared at his back. 

Zoro stopped at the sound of your voice breaking. He frowned at the thought of you upset, his heart ached but he couldn’t turn around. 

“I’m not doing anything to you Y/N. I just need space.” He spoke regretfully before he continued walking again and turned left heading into the forest. You stood still as you watched him walk away.

“Fuck.” You whispered to yourself, taking your palm to rub against your forehead in frustration and then using the back of your hand to wipe your tears away. You hated crying, you’d always felt so weak. No matter how much you try to control it, the tears always win. You decided to sit, digging yourself further into the sand before leaning back to let it envelop you. 

You breathed in, allowing yourself to take in the sound of the waves crashing against the damp sand. You didn’t realise how much you missed being back on land. You loved being on the Sunny, you really did but sometimes allowing yourself to be grounded for a bit always helped. 

You let your hands moved with the sand, feeling the softness of it between your fingers. You clenched the sand into your palms finding the action soothing and allowing the anger you’d felt seep into each particle.

What were you going to do with Zoro? 

————————————- ⚔️✨ ————————————

A few hours had passed and you found yourself waking up from a nap you had unconsciously taken. You noticed the sun was beginning to lower, you predicted you had a few hours left before nightfall. You sighed before getting up from the sand, swiping off the residue of sand that was left on your clothes and turned to face the direction Zoro left you from. You were grateful the island was small and you knew it  wouldn’t take you long to track down the lost swordsman. 

As you were about to start walking, you felt a presence lurking near you. You stiffened before smiling and realising there was more than one and posed no danger. 

“How long have you guys been there for?” You called out. You turned to find a small group of what you assumed were hunters gathering food. The group consisted of three men and one woman. 

“Y/N, are you okay?” One of the male hunters asked. 

“I’m fine don’t worry…you didn’t happen to see a green haired guy with three swords roaming around?” You queried. You didn’t know them personally but you assumed the few that did check in on you when you were training spread the word to the others of your existence.

“He’s sitting by the waterfall.” The female hunter softly answered. You nodded as you brought the memorised path to the area up into your mind to plan out your short walk. 

“Thank you, don’t mind us. We’ll be gone tomorrow.” You promised before you began making your way to him. A short walk through the forest and your feet found you at the beginning of a small lake. As you continued, your eyes caught the waterfall and the blue hues of water falling over into the lake. You looked around and soon enough your eyes caught on a head of green hair. You frowned at his slouched demeanor, noticing his eye was lost in the water and in thought. You took a quick breath in before continuing your walk to now stand near the swordsman. You noticed his body stiffened as you felt your presence before slouching back, his eye not breaking out of his lost gaze. 

“Zoro…I.” 

“Don’t speak.” 

Your mouth closed into a straight line, the words ‘I’m sorry’ stuck at the tip of your tongue. You felt like you stood for eternity but just a few short minutes later and you decided to find a seat on the grass near him. Your eyes followed his and soon enough you were also lost in the water with him. Apart from the sounds of the water crashing into the lake and the gentle calls from the birds in the trees, the angst between the both of you laid thick. 

As you watched the water, you were reminded of how much you missed swimming and the ability to just float. You had thankfully never fallen into the ocean since obtaining your devil fruit but the thought of sinking struck fear in you. You missed the feeling of saltwater soaking into your skin, letting your fingertips wrinkle and allowing your mind to wonder and be free. Sure you were able to shower in non-sea water but it just wasn’t the same. 

Time had passed and the sky had turned into a deep hue of orange indicating the end of daylight. The forest had begun to fill out with fireflies, adding to the ambiance and giving light to where you both sat. You knew you’d have to start a fire and look for food soon but you couldn’t find the will to do so yet. 

You had decided to scoot closer to the edge of the lake, allowing yourself to indulge in the only closeness you can have to water. 

“You ain’t plannin to jump in right?” 

Hearing his voice shook you out of thought, you shook your head to answer his question. 

Zoro had every right to be pissed at you but seeing the sadness in your face made him feel guilty for letting himself behave like a teenager for hours. This was his fault after all but admitted he let his pride get the better of him. 

“Why’re you moping?”

“I’m not moping..I’m just remembering how much I enjoyed swimming and just being in the ocean.” You confessed, pouting and allowing yourself to lean on your hand. 

“I thought you didn’t regret-” 

“I don’t regret anything. I’m allowed to feel sad.” You snapped. 

He allowed silence to fill the space between the both of you for a moment before he made an anxiety-consuming decision that would definitely change everything. 

“You wanna go in?” Zoro softly asked. 

You turned to face him, surprise evident in your face. 

“That's impossible, I’ll just feel weak and sink.” You answered. 

“Not if I’m holding you.” Zoro said. 

“I thought you were avoiding me, now you wanna hold me?” You questioned back. 

“Answer my question; you want to go in yes or no?” Zoro bit back with slight annoyance at you being argumentative. 

You bit your lip to stop yourself from going into a tangent, turning to look back at the water before nodding. 

From seeing your physical consent, Zoro stood up and began to strip. You visibly blushed and let your gaze turn away from him refusing to turn it into ogling. He brought himself into your line of vision as he walked forward and stepped into the water, waiting with his back turned to you at the edge to allow you privacy. You were able to see he was just left in his boxers. You stared for a bit before finding your brevity and beginning to strip until you were just in your underwear and bra. You walked a few steps forward until you stood just behind him but you hadn’t stepped in the water yet.

“Am I okay to pick you up?” Zoro cautiously asked, his back still facing you.

“y-Yeah you can.” 

Zoro turned around, pushing back his raging heartbeat and ignoring the growing heat in his skin before scooping you into his arms bridal style and slowly walking back into the lake until he was halfway submerged. You relished in the warmth of his skin and you hadn’t realised just how much you missed his presence. 

“If it gets too much for you, tell me and I’ll take you back.” Zoro’s voice almost broke. He was currently fighting back the blush that had threatened to consume his wholebeing as he avoided looking down at your naked body. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen a naked woman before, heck Nami and Robin walked around the ship in practically nothing and it never once bothered him. Seeing you see this way; shy and almost vulnerable gave a completely different meaning to it. He couldn’t fathom anyone else seeing you like this and the mere idea of any man seeing you this way made his skin itch and his temper rise.  

He hadn’t even allowed himself to be consumed in the lust-filled thoughts he had of you since his recent awakening of feelings he had for you. He felt too much respect for you to subject you to his internal needs. He didn’t even know if you both even consummated the marriage before he disappeared but refused to go down the tangent of thoughts surrounding it. 

He slowly began to lower you into the water, allowing the flow of the water to cover your legs and your arms. You gasped at the sudden coolness of the water, immediately feeling the weakness of the ocean consume you. Rather than fighting the weakness, you allowed it to sit as you relished in the feeling of the cool water and Zoro’s body heat. 

“You okay?” 

“Thank you Zoro.” You quietly spoke, grateful to him. 

His concern alone was enough for you to choke on a sob. You were overwhelmed. 

“Why did you avoid me?” You weakly asked, allowing yourself to cry. 

“M’sorry.” Zoro mumbled back as he bit the inside of his cheek.

“I don’t want a sorry…I want an answer.” 

Zoro said nothing. He didn’t know how to confess his feelings to you. He couldn’t even begin to explain or know where to start with talking about what was wrong with him. Seeing you broken hurt him badly and he knew he couldn’t let this go on anymore. 

‘Show her.’ 

A small voice in his head spoke. He frowned at the intrusion of the voice. 

‘Show her how you feel.’ 

He looked down to see you looking back up at him. The yearning he felt to hold you closer, the want to be with you overtook him. 

He decided to listen to the foreign voice, putting his anxiety to one side as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to yours in a chaste kiss.

————————————- ⚔️✨ ————————————

A/N: HE DID IT!!! FINALLY HE KISSED YOU AHHHHHHH 🥳 😭💚

Taglist: @starlightanyaaa @eggrollforyou @rosellerinfrost @qalable

[romihearts]

helloo(≧∇≦)/ can i request tbhk character hanako, akane, teru, and kou x tsundere reader??? 。･:*:･(✿◕3◕)❤

* ˚ ✦ MELTING | ft. hanako, akane, kou

— how they are with a tsundere reader ⋆ gn reader

— ngl i finished this like 2 or 1 month ago ish but i never got arounf to editing it ... !!! also while writing this i memorized the song "its not like i like you" to truly embody the tsundere ness,, also i couldn't write teru to this 😓😓 im sosorry

— hanako

Stationed at the school rooftop, gentle winds breeze through you, the radiant skies harbor a beauty that can be appreciated by millions. Yet to Hanako, none could compare to the sight before him—you. Staring eyes, that have been caught by yours. “Hey! What are you looking at?” you questioned him, in such a tone and expression which makes the common person think he’d made a grave mistake. Even so, hanako knew more, the lingering look harbored in your eyes tells a different story.

The boy dons a sly smile before answering your previous question, “ah, nothing really. I’m just admiring you. Did anyone tell you how charming you are?” Hanako knew all the right words to say. Your face heated up due to his answer, he just seemed to always know how to fluster you. Attempting to counter his compliment, you restated that you most definitely did not like him! 

Hanako’s face portrayed his dejection, before immediately looking somewhere else. “Awh, and i thought you cared for me like i do to you.” Hearing that made you feel a sharp pang of guilt, you just didn’t want to confess your feelings yet, not reject him!

Quickly finding a way to clear up the misunderstanding, you held on a small piece of fabric from his uniform, causing him to place his attention onto you once more. “Um.. it’s not like i hate you or anything but, i do.. I do care about you or something.” Hanako’s face lit up immediately, shining eyes and a big smile now present on his face. “So you do like me! Hahaha!” the boy cheered, yet you stood there, face burning up once more. No objection from you, considering it was true.

* ˚ ✦

— akane

Ignorance is bliss as most would say, yet to Akane, he simply couldn’t ignore all your wondrous and cute reactions when he teases you. He wasn’t mean, far from it. There’s just a certain type of delight your face exudes. Today was one of the particular days that akane would be tired from both supernatural and academic work, and he knew what person could remedy him; you.

Akane set out to look for you, and he’d found you at the school library. He could see from the look of your face that you were bored, spacing out on a book. He moved quietly, trying not to get you to notice him. Finally positioned behind you, he slowly slithered his arms around you, gaining a surprised look from you. “How are you doing, my dear?” he questioned, causing your face to heat up slightly; he knew how much those lovely nicknames riled you up.

You looked up to meet at eye level, taking a while to calm your mind before responding. “Oh! Akane, i didn’t notice you.” you retorted, placing a smile on your face. The boy looked at you, clearly studying your expression. “You seemed bored there, honey.” he said, pushing your buttons. Knowing how easily you fluster, you and akane were both well aware how you’d be embarrassed, stammering your words. “I-im not bored! Far from it, actually!” you said. Akane raised one of his brows, further questioning your expression. “Really? That’s nice to know, babe.” akane said, grinning. You ran out of anything else to say as your face heated up, mouth agape. “Cat’s got your tongue? You really are adorable, haha!” akane continued, still keeping that wide grin on his face.

* ˚ ✦

— kou

Soft footsteps echo throughout the corridors as you and kou walk alongside each other, heading home together now that your classes are done. No conversation was exchanged between the two of you, yet the silence was comforting. Not to mention, your hands were mere inches close together. Unfortunately, that comfort would be cut short when teru saw the both of you.

The tall boy walked towards the both of you, smiling and waving. Teru was aware of your feelings for kou, but he didn’t know if his brother reciprocated those feeling. Wanting to try and get his answer, a perfect idea popped into his head; to tease the both of you. 

Teru continued walking towards the both of you, placing on hand on his brother’s shoulder while his other hand was on your shoulder, which then presented a surprised look on the faces of you and kou. “Well what do we have here! I didn’t know that you two liked each other!” Teru said, with such a wide smile on his face. It was aggravating! You immediately knew he was teasing you. Your face still displayed a surprised look, but now paired with a longing look. 

Kou broke the silence between the three of you, “Ah.. brother. I didn’t expect to see you.” he said, now slightly flustered. “I was just accompanying [name], to protect them!” the young exorcist said. Teru took one last glance between the both of you before smiling, “ok then, i’ll let the two of you be.” he claimed. The tall boy finally let go.

Now left once more with silence, except now, the air felt unbearable. “You like me?” kou immediately questioned now that his doting brother was gone. Your face immediately heated up, mouth left agape as it seemed you weren’t able to respond; not sure whether to confess or deny. “I don’t… w-wait no, uh, i—” before finishing what you said, kou suddenly pulled you into a hug. Your face was really heating up, not knowing what to do. “You can say what you want to when you’re ready. I’ll wait.” he said, piercing an arrow through your heart. Oh how you truly did adore him..

[choicesficwriterscreations]

CFWC Writer of the Month - Aug 2023: ao719

Each month CFWC highlights one of our talented fanfic writers, and this month’s writer of the month is @ao719. We hope you will enjoy learning more about them and their work below! The writer is selected at random. More info can be found on the navigation page.

Quick Links:

Tumblr Blog: ao719 Blog Masterlist

How do you want to be known on Tumblr? Anitah

1- When did you start playing Choices? What was the first book you played? 

I first started playing in June 2018. The Royal Romance was the first book I played, and I got hooked from the end of the first chapter. At the time, they were midway through releasing TRR book 3, so I binged books 1 & 2 and finally caught up on the day of the wedding, where the chapter ended with the attack at the boutique. Then I didn’t know what to do with myself because it was the first time I had to wait a week to find out what was going to happen.

2- When and why did you join Choices fandom?

Finding Tumblr was a complete accident. I was googling something really dumb about Liam and TRR and happened to stumble across a link for a fic on Tumblr. At the time, I didn’t know what Tumblr was; I’d heard of it but had no idea what it consisted of. The fic I came across was around 40+ chapters, and I was in my glory reading this angsty story about Liam, but it wasn’t finished, so when I reached the last updated chapter, I was like, “I need more.” So I opened Tumblr and searched for more Liam fics and found a trove. I lurked for another month or so before finally making my account in September 2018.

3- How did you pick your blog name? 

I wish I had some good story for it, but it’s the most basic thing, lol. It’s just my initials and a significant date. I think if I came into the fandom with the intention of actually doing something with the blog, I would have tried to come up with something a little more clever and creative, but I had zero intention of doing anything but reading. I thought about changing it a few years ago, but when I learned that I’d have to relink everything in my masterlist, it didn’t seem worth the hassle.

4- Pull up the first post in your archive, and tell us about it!  

It’s from the day TRR 3 ended and it’s about how I was sad that it was over but was glad that I had all these stories to read.

5- How long have you been writing fanfiction?

I’d never written anything until I joined the fandom, so I’ve only been writing for almost five years now. The thought of writing didn’t even cross my mind when I joined the fandom, but within a couple of weeks of making my blog, I had a random idea pop up in my head, and for some reason, I decided to write it down. A few days later, after talking myself out of posting and then talking myself back into it, I bit the bullet. For me to post a story that I wrote was entirely out of my comfort zone. I’m pretty shy and tend to be more of a wallflower, so I don’t usually put myself out there, especially like that, and I’ve never been someone who does something where I intentionally set myself up, knowing there is a very good chance that I will fail. And social media on any platform can be a pretty intimidating and terrifying place when you open yourself up, especially to strangers, even by way of posting a measly little fanfic. So to say I was terrified of posting that first fic is an understatement, but I’m so glad that I did.

6- What is your favorite Choices book, and what is your favorite Choices book to write about?

The Royal Romance will always be my favorite. It was the first book I ever played and was the only one I played for well over a year (I just kept replaying over and over and over until @cocomaxley convinced me to give MotY a try, which I fell in love with). It’s my comfort book. And like every book, it definitely has its flaws, but I love it and the characters so much. And TRR is my favorite book to write about. Liam will always be my number one guy.

7- Share the first fanfic you wrote with us. Do you still like it, or would you change it if you were writing it today?

The first fic that I wrote was I Dare You. It’s not an all-time favorite of mine, but I like it well enough that I wouldn’t change anything about it.

8- What is your favorite fic that you’ve written?

This is tough because I have a few that I love for different reasons, but I think Always You will always be the most special to me because it was the first series I wrote that I can truly say I poured my whole heart into. I love that story, and I love the history between Liam and the OC, their bond, and their relationship. 

9- Do you have a fic that you didn’t expect to be well received, but it was? What about one you expected to be but found could use a little more love?

When I decided to start Hopeless Hearts, I didn’t think it would be received any differently from most things I’d written before. It was an idea I’d kept on the back burner for over 2 years prior to writing it because I didn’t think it was anything spectacular or out of the box. It turned out to be my most well-received series, and it became one of my personal favorites as well.

I don’t think anything I’ve written has left me feeling as though I wished it had gotten more. I’m still surprised to this day that anyone wants to read anything I’ve written at all, so any love that my fics get is beyond appreciated.

10- If you could write only angst, fluff, or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why? 

Angst (but with a HEA). I love putting my characters through the wringer before giving them that happily ever after they deserve. Whether I’m reading or writing, there’s something about feeling the pain and longing they’re going through that gets me emotionally invested. I think that’s why I love the second chance romance trope so much, too. It’s a really versatile trope, but there’s a lot of room for angst in those kinds of stories because of that established history between the characters and a past that tore them apart the first time around.

11- Do you ever recognize yourself in any of your MCs or in your writing?

I think I sprinkle a little bit of myself into all of my MCs/OCs. It’s usually something small like a favorite food, a hobby, certain mannerisms, etc. I think the one that I’ve added more of myself into than any other and can relate to the most personality wise would definitely be Charlotte.

12- What element of writing do you struggle with most?

I struggle with all of it here and there, and I’m constantly questioning whether something makes sense, if it’s flowing together, if it’s too descriptive or not descriptive enough, etc. I think the one area I most consistently struggle with is deciding where and how to end because I always want to leave my chapters with a cliffhanger or if I’m finishing something for good, I want to give it the ending it deserves. 

13- Do you have any neglected work you really want to finish?

I have quite a few that are unfinished that I know I more than likely won’t ever pick back up, mostly because I just lost my mojo for them, but there are definitely some that I want to finish. I’d really like to get back to Past Meet Present one day. I don’t even remember why I got off track with writing it, and it’s been at least two years or more since I last updated it 🫣 so I’m not sure if anyone would even still be interested at this point, but I’d really like to finish that along with Breaking Point and Us Again.

14- If someone you know in real life (who isn’t involved in fandoms) asked to read your work, would you let them? If yes, what would you recommend they read first? 

No. Maybe. I don’t know, lol. I try to be a “never say never” kind of person, but writing is something that I’ve done for almost five years that literally no one in my real life knows about. Not my friends, not my family, not a single soul. It’s like my dirty little secret. And it’s a little tough because it does get lonely sometimes when you have something that you love doing so much but you just feel like you can’t share or aren’t ready to share that part of yourself with even those closest to you. I’m a pretty self-conscious person, and posting on here where I can hide behind a screen is hard enough; I get nervous and have a good spike of anxiety every time I post something, no matter what it is. I don’t know if I could handle someone who knows me personally even knowing that I write, let alone actually reading something I’ve written. I’ve got the bubble gut just thinking about it 🥴

15 - Are there any writers (published authors and/or fanfic writers) who influenced your writing? 

I’ve been lucky enough to talk to and befriend some amazing and talented people in the time I’ve been here who I’ve certainly looked up to when it comes to their writing talents. And there are also those writers who I got to know after I’d been writing for a while that not only continued to inspire me with their amazing stories and talent but who also became a huge support and really close friends. They were and/or are always willing to brainstorm, look over snippets, help in those moments when I’ve been extra critical of myself and feeling very unsure, and/or have just been the absolute best cheerleaders and constantly supportive and encouraging to not only me but others as well. I don’t want to make a list because I always end up forgetting someone and I don’t want to leave anyone out, but anyone that fits that bill above, you know how much I love and appreciate each one of you.

16- Which one of your stories would you most like to see as a movie/series? 

I’d say either Always You or Hopeless Hearts for a movie. Series I think Full Disclosure with some Charlotte shenanigans would be pretty fun 😂

17- Do you write original fiction? 

I haven’t. I’ve been asked a few times about whether I’ve thought about turning a couple of my series into original stories, but I just don’t think I’ll have the confidence to ever do it 😬

18 -  What other hobbies do you have?

I do photography. I love calligraphy and making hand drawn quote signs on wood or canvas. I love to read — I’m currently in my fantasy girl era and have been obsessing over the ACOTAR series for months, lol. 

19 - What’s your favorite emoji? 

I use so many to express myself in conversations that I think it would be hard to pick just one. My most commonly used ones: 💀 😂 🥲 😬 😍 🥴 🥹

20: BONUS - tell us anything you’d like (if you want to).

I just want to thank CFWC for working so hard to help keep this fandom active and supporting everyone here. 

To anyone who’s taken any time to read my stories and interact with me in any way, I appreciate it more than I can say. 

This place has been such an escape for me over the past (almost) five years, one I’m still very much in need of. So, whether you’re a content creator, writer, artist, reader, whatever the case may be, whether we’ve interacted before or not, thank you for what you’ve done to help keep this fandom alive.

[dewdewick]

Shadows in the dust |

Chapter 6

Pairing/s: Finnick Odair x fem reader

Summary: At the age of 18 you thought you’d soon be free of the hunger games, unfortunately fate has a different plan. You are picked as a tribute for district 2 and thrust into capitol life.

Warning/s: Angst, Hurt/comfort, Trust issues, Death, Torture, Mental illnesses, manipulation tactics, Weapons, Swearing, Canon typical violence, Mentions of psychological distress, Use of Y/N, Fem reader, descriptions of clothing reader wears, explicit descriptions of weapon use

A/N: I’m back! The chapter is short but only because the next one is gonna be LONGGG. As always Thank you to the Betas, I owe you my firstborn child.

Word count: 2K

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

Fire caught wood, sending sparks up into the air like fireflies. Y/N sat back as the fire began to grow, looking at the young boy next to her with a guilt in her eyes. “What are you doing there honey?” She asked, watching him pick at the fish they had caught. Caspian blinked quickly, regaining focus as he had been lost in thought. “Finishing Scaling the fish so we can cook it” he said simply, a questioning look at her as if his answer was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Oh I’ve never really done much fishing, District 2 isn’t actually much different from the arena.” She said, still watching him work “do you think you could teach me?” She asked after a moment of silence. “I’ll show you how to make herbal medicine for pain relief,” she offered. He furrowed his brow before nodding, “yeah ok that sounds like a good trade, my legs hurt pretty bad anyway.” He mentioned, motioning to the bite marks on his calves and thighs.

She perked up a bit, grabbing the tortoise shell and retrieving the small tin of salve “I actually have something for that!” She said with a small smile. unscrewing the lid on the tin and putting a bit of the medicine on each bite mark. She knew he was still upset about Meena, but hopefully a small kindness could help ease the tension a bit. As she finished she looked into the tin, realizing she didn’t have enough salve for her own leg ;she scrunched her nose but simply screwed the lid back on and set it down. They sat silently for a few seconds before he spoke “Finch said you were kind.” He said simply and quietly. She looked up from the tin and finally meet his eyes. “I try my best,” she replied, a tired smile on her face. He averted his eyes from her gaze again, looking down to the knife in his hand. He took the fish and turned to face her better, placing the knife right below the gills. “Watch carefully” he said, slicing into the fish.

He carefully removed the head and tail of the fish, pulling out the spine. He used the knife to scrape out the guts of the fish, pouring a bit of water on the meat to clear out any blood. Afterwards he expertly pulled out most of the small bones that remained, laying out the prepared filets. “That simple, might still have a few little bones but it’s the quickest and easiest way.” He explained. “Seems easy enough but I might need a few more lessons.” She said with a small laugh “I got about a third of that, plus to be honest I’m not sure I know where to cut quite yet.” She smiled. He smiled as well, grabbing another fish and starting to scale the skin. “How about I show you again tonight and then we can have more hands-on learning when it’s light outside in the morning?” He asked, “Good idea, because I can’t teach you anything until tomorrow when it’s light enough anyway.” She replied in a bit of a relieved tone.

He made quick work of the fish as they spoke, gutting and deboning it with skill and accuracy. The two squired the meat on sharpened sticks, holding them over the fire to cook. “How old are you anyway?” Caspian asked, raking a hand through his curly blonde locks. She sighed, a bit of a grimace on her face “turned 18 a couple months ago, it was my last year.” She said, pursing her lips. “Ouch rough business” he said, sucking in a breath through his teeth. “Yeah it’s fine, not happy about it but I’m here so…” she shrugged, twirling her stick.

“Finch told us all about you, he’s been whining about it since the beginning. Apparently you’re pretty, thoughtful, kind and smart.” He teased. She wrinkled her nose and giggled, “you little jerk” she smiled “Maybe I am all of that” He only shook his head with the same smug smile “nah you seemed much better in the stories.” He further teased. “Oh I’ll show you punk” she smiled wider, “I’m totally awesome and super cool” she giggled.

He let out a boyish laugh, his sun kissed cheeks crinkling with the small dimples upon them. She twirled the stick squired with fish, a soft smile on her face. Watching the flames barely touch the meat, her mouth watered a bit. “When’s it done anyway? How do we know?” She asked, her attention fixed on the dancing flames. He shook his head with the same smile, “it’s done when it’s not that pink color anymore, then you gotta wait so you don’t burn your mouth.” He stated, once again, quaking an eyebrow like it was obvious.

“Well excuse me for not wanting food poisoning smarty pants” she quipped, once again scrunching her nose up in an upside down smile. “Maybe I’m kinda dumb when it comes to district 4 stuff but I’m pretty smart at district 2 stuff. I can kill a snake and I can get the venom from a scorpion pretty easily.” She grinned proudly. His eyes widened a bit and he inched a bit closer to her “wait really? That’s actually kinda cool” he nodded, waiting for her to say more.

“A few of the more affluent women in my district used to like to wear rattlesnake tails as jewelry. My siblings and I would catch them when we could and sell the tails to the jeweler in town. They threatened our cattle and set up burrows in the tall grass where they ate.” She explained. “And the scorpion venom was something I could sell too, it has a lot of uses both as a poison and a medicinal remedy.”

“You gotta show me how to do that, I can coat my spear in it!” Caspian said, his eyes full of excitement. “I dunno, I thought I wasn’t cool enough” she said with a smirk, her brow raising just as he had before. “I was kidding!” He whined, his shoulders dropping slightly.

She only laughed in response, ruffling his hair. “I’m kidding, you pretty much fed me tonight so of course I’ll help you.” She grinned.

He pulled his stick out of the fire and looked over the meat “speaking of food, it looks pretty much done” he commented, blowing on the filet. She pulled her stick towards her, examining it closely and poking her finger into the meat. She pulled back quickly, the food much too hot to even touch. The two sat in silence for a few minutes, blowing on their hot dinner and mentally willing it to cool off. After a while the meal was finally cool enough, the two teens eating their portions within minutes. It was a bit of a chewy meat but delicious nonetheless. After not eating for a while she felt she would’ve devoured anything at that moment. After they ate the wind began to slowly pick up, blowing stronger and stronger as the fire died out.

Caspian shivered as he backed into the cornucopia, curling up in a corner with his weapon in hand. Y/N did the same before looking over at the younger boy “sweetheart why don’t you come over here? It’ll be warmer together.” She suggested, offering a hand. He scrunched up his face as he thought for a moment before standing up and shuffling over to her. They sat shoulder to shoulder for a moment silently before she cracked a smile. “Can I put my arm around you? Promise it'll be warmer” she asked.

His blonde curls blew in the wind as he nodded, tucking his shoulder under her arm and smushing his cheek against her clavicle. She shuffled even closer and wrapped her arms around him, resting her chin in his hair. He exhaled at the warmth, closing his eyes in exhaustion. It wasn’t long until he was in a semblance of sleep against her. He reminded her of one of strays that roamed her families property, wronged by the world but still so willing to take a gamble on love.

“Sleep good sweetheart” she whispered, her words lost in the strong roar of the wind. She let her cheek rest on top of his head, closing her eyes and exhaling. Exhaustion took over her body, putting her to sleep despite the loud whipping of the wind.

The sun rose after only a few hours, it’s warm rays shining on the two teens. Y/n blinked her eyes to wake up, the gravely feeling of dust urging them to remain closed. Caspians wavy blonde lacks tickled her nose as he laid snuggled against her chest. She gently brought a hand up, petting his hair absentmindedly with a soft smile. “Time to wake up sunshine” she whispered, her hand traveling to rub his back.

The young boy mumbled a few unintelligible words, his bleary eyes squinting up at her as she grinned. “Good morning” she muttered, sweeping a lock of hair out of his eyes. He sat up tiredly, stretching and hunching over a bit “m’ exhausted” he yawned. “I know the feeling” she said, taking her jacket off and balling it up. She set it on his lap as she stood “why don’t you take a bit longer of a nap honey? I’ll look around for some breakfast.” She offered. He nodded slowly, putting her jacket under his head and curling into himself a bit on the ground.

She silently laughed to herself, looking out into the arena. She decided to forage a bit, try to see what she could find in an obviously more popular area of the arena. She wondered if the game makers had purposely put more food around for the careers or not.

The sun was hot on her back as she looked around the shining gold cornucopia, finding a few familiar sprouts of greenery. She couldn’t help but also track a few marks in the dust, it was obvious a lizard of some sort was roaming around.

Finding a small hole she stomped on it, sending a medium sized lizard fleeing. She quickly used the pitchfork she carried to stab the animal in the back. It let out a sharp cry as it quickly died and she winced. Picking up the scaled animal and setting it atop the foliage she had collected, she began to make her way around the cornucopia again. The sun was higher in the sky and she figured it must’ve only been about an hour.

Turning the corner she saw it, the sword plunged into the dirt,

She looked up from the weapon, her eyes meeting familiar brown irises.

Finch.

[beaker1636]

Streaming pt. 2 - Vinny

a/n: So here is the finished part of the twitch stream request from awhile ago... remember how he threatened to make her blow him under his desk if she ever did that again? Well......

Also this is unedited so expect errors but I was pretty excited about getting this posted because I have wanted to write this since I did the first part. Enjoy!!

You smile to yourself as you watch Vinny set up for his chill stream tonight, because you have plans to mess with him and you can’t wait.  Knowing that he is gaming on his stream means you could easily get away with what you have planned, and he is none the wiser.

A few months back you decided to sext him and send him photos while he was streaming and he told you that if you ever did it again that he would make you blow him from under his desk, and now you have decided to test if his threat is any good or not… but you can’t make it too obvious that you have a plan up your sleeve.

“Thank you baby, for making dinner and for being so cool about me streaming.  I love you,” Vin says, kissing your forehead as he grabs his plate to take to the next room.

“You’re welcome, I am sorry that dinner got done late and you’ll have to eat while you stream tonight.” you say, feeling bad you lost track of time.

“It happens, you can come in and hang out for a little bit if you want tonight, they keep asking if you will,” he offers with a smile.

“Maybe later, I really don’t want people to watch me eat,” you laugh, taking a seat on the couch with your plate.

When he starts his stream a couple minutes later you pull your phone out, always watching him when he streams unless you can’t.  Plus when you start to fuck with him you want to be able to see how he reacts, because you know that he will have no clue what is coming.

You eat as you watch him, smiling softly when he says that you may join later in the stream.  It has been a long time since you have joined him… and hopefully you may join him, but not how he is thinking.  But for now you have to be patient, deciding you will be nice enough to wait until he is finished eating before you send the first message. 

The second he is though you send your first message.

“So, does your threat ring true? If I get you worked up will you make me hide under your desk while you play?” you hit send, excited for a response.

You watch, and smile to yourself when you see him read his phone and flush just slightly, not enough anyone would notice that isn’t watching for it but you can tell.

“Don’t push your luck baby girl, I can make it so you aren’t visible,” he sends back with a winky face.  

You laugh to yourself thinking immediately, game on.  You know all his buttons, what it will take that gets him longing for you and wanting you in seconds flat.

“What do you mean to push my luck? You’d be the one struggling, having to hide all your reactions as my lips wrap around your cock under the desk, trying not to give yourself away.  You think you could hide it, you are usually pretty vocal for me Vin,” you tease, feeling awkward but wanting to push him, see if he would actually be willing to give in like that.  

“You are really getting into dangerous territory y/n.  Don’t push yourself, do you really want to push it and wind up punished in such a way? You realize that if you get caught that will wind up just as bad on you because everyone will know who it is that’s doing this to me under my desk if I can’t hide it,” you smile as you read it, all the while he continues to talk to his fans while they decide what game he should play.

You decide to give it a few minutes, long enough to make him think that you don’t care anymore and are done, but in all actuality you plan to make it far worse for him.  You had your friend help you take some very risque photos while he was last on tour and while he saw some of them, you also kept some of them to yourself… ones where you are in his favorite lingerie.

About ten minutes later he is starting up a game and sends you another message.

“I knew that when I turned up the heat you wouldn’t respond,” you read and decide that’s it, you are going to turn it up to eleven.

You slip into your bedroom that you now share with him, the two of you moving in together a few weeks ago when he got home from tour, so that you could change.  Not into anything special as you don’t want to give yourself away later because you figure you likely will end up on the screen with him after you do your thing, but they’re your pair of athletic shorts that you know he absolutely loves, so that when he does bring you in there you completely drive him wild.  You have no clue what it is about the shorts that he enjoys so much but whenever you wear that particular pair around the house he watches your ass and usually makes a move on you… which you absolutely use to your advantage at times.

Once changed you send him one of the photos and then you wait, the steam is still quietly playing on your phone.

“Hey guys, I have to run to the bathroom quick, I will be right back,” you hear Vinny say through the screen and that is how you know that you are in trouble.  You just hope to yourself that it will be the fun kind.

Before you can fully process what is happening your bedroom door opens and you find yourself shoved against the wall, his hand holding both your wrists above your head as he glares at you.

“You must not have taken my warning seriously, well you play with fire and now you are getting burned.  My camera and microphone are currently off, get your ass under my desk now,” he says harshly before letting you go. “By the way, tell Kayla that she isn’t allowed to help you take photos anymore.  That one was really risque and the only person who gets to see you like that is me.”

You can’t help but smile, so glad that your photos worked and did exactly what you hoped they would do.  You smile harder when you feel him smack your ass rather harshly from behind, letting you know that the shorts are also doing their job.

You quietly make your way into his gaming studio and slip yourself under the desk, as far back as you can manage to make sure you are not visible before Vin takes a seat, slouching so that it would not be noticeable by anyone that you are doing things you shouldn’t be to him before he sends you one last glare as he adjusts the camera to make sure that nothing can be seen.

Slipping his jeans and boxers off he then turns on his camera and goes back to streaming, loading up his game like absolutely nothing is going on and fuck are you excited to try and break him.

Deciding to start light you just reach out and lightly stoke him, working him to get him fully hard for you, all while you watch up towards him so that you can see his reactions to you touching him like this.  You are a little disappointed when he doesn’t do anything to make it known how he is feeling.  You decide to stroke him faster, smirking to yourself when he stutters just slightly when he answers a fan question.

“Apparently I forgot how to speak there for a second,” he jokes, playing it off like his usual playful self.

You smirk to yourself, deciding to take it up a notch and you leave some teasing licks along his shaft, knowing how sensitive he gets when you follow along a particular path whenever you go down on him. All he does when you do so is shift, but that is enough to let you know that he is starting to get a little impatient with you.

Wrapping your lips around the head you take him in your mouth, swirling your tongue around it before you slip down, taking more of him in your mouth while one of your hands works around what you haven’t yet taken.  

You know what it takes to drive him mad, and that is exactly what you intend to keep doing, torturing him until he finally gets to finish… wanting to drag it out and make it hard for him to hide what you are doing to him.  Part of what makes this so thrilling is knowing that one wrong move and you will be caught, and while you don’t want to be caught the thought of it happening is really turning you on.

You continue these movements, catching him glancing down a couple times and then seeing him take a drink from a glass of water before you finally decide that it may be time to stop torturing him.

You slide down, taking as much of him as you can without deep throating him, starting to bob your head and feeling satisfied when you can feel him tense, letting you know without words that he is really starting to enjoy what you are doing… and nobody's the wiser.

“Sorry guys, I may have to ask y/n to turn the air up because it is getting warm in here, anyways…” and he keeps talking to the fans while you keep going.

You are still not satisfied with this though and decide to pull out your final trick and begin to deep throat him, you hate doing it because it hurts your throat after but you want to make him fall apart for you, you are incredibly into this, way more than you expected you would be.

He slowly shifts in his chair to give himself a little more leverage before he begins to rock his hips, not enough that anyone would notice that he is moving but enough to chase the feeling of his high, which he is getting dangerously close to. You don’t fight it but rather increase your movements so that you can pull him over the edge.

He covers his mouth with his hand as he finally cums in your mouth, losing himself for a second in the moment, especially when he looks down and you open your mouth to show him his cum all over your tongue before swallowing.  

“Shit, sorry guys, I am getting a little tired.  I didn’t mean to yawn there.  I need to go get some more water quick and then I will be right back to keep chilling, see you again in a few.” he says, quickly muting the mic and shutting the camera off, pulling you out and into the hallway.

“That was stupid on both out parts but fuck, I think that is the hottest thing you have ever done baby,” he says, slamming his lips on yours harshly, kissing you for a couple seconds before pulling away. 

“I almost got us caught, everyone was pointing out that I was starting to look flushed so I tried playing it off that it was hot in there… and then tried covering it up with a yawn.  I pulled it off a lot better than I thought I would honestly.  Now I think I owe you when I get done, you better be ready because I am going to completely destroy you.” He says, smacking your ass and getting ready to go back into his streaming room.

“So, should I still join you there?” you ask, teasing him because of what he asked earlier. 

“If you want to, they’d be none the wiser.  They’ve been asking for you for a while, little do they know you’ve been in there the entire time,” he says winking at you.

“Oh jesus, go in there and I will join soon… maybe you could even return the favor.” you smirk, watching him walk back in.

As soon as he gets started and plays for a couple minutes you decide to join him, going in and saying hi to everyone as he plays, giggling when he pulls you down on his lap in his chair.  

“Aww thank you to whoever said that we are the cutest, that was sweet. I am glad a lot of you are starting to accept me more,” you say smiling at the camera while Vinny continues to watch comments, he decided he wasn’t feeling up to gaming anymore.

Suddenly you feel one of his hands harshly grab your thigh, letting you know that this night is far from over once the stream is done, and you can not wait for him to follow up on his threat from earlier.

[jaxteller87]

Where I Need to Be 2

I was focusing more on the club than my personal life. Every time a run came up, I threw my hat into the ring and signed up for some open-road therapy. A few weeks had passed before I set foot in the house I call home, even though it felt more like a fancy hotel room at times. Generally, when I was stuck in my head, but that made everything different. I tossed my helmet on the kitchen counter, and from the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a brand new flannel shirt folded on the counter.

“Hey, stud,” I heard Amber call out as she wheeled herself around the corner and into the kitchen.

I chuckled and leaned in for a kiss. She had come down from New York to visit, which always made things feel more homely. “Hey, darlin’! I’m uh— It’s good to see you.”

“You seemed surprised to see me,” Amber looked behind me like she expected me to see a woman following me in, “I’m not interrupting a hot date or anything, am I?”

“What?” I probably looked guilty, but her accusation couldn’t have been further from the truth. “No, it’s just I’ve been on the road. I haven’t been home in weeks, and the first time I stop by, here you are. It’s a very pleasant surprise; the timing is shocking, is all.”

“Oh,” she said, almost looking disappointed. “So, I told you I’d buy a new shirt for you since I ruined the other one.” It was true, and the last time I was home, actually. Opie and Donna were over for a cookout, and after a few beers, Amber thought she was a professional wrestler. Having had a few beers myself, I accepted her challenge. One thing led to another, and my flannel got torn. No big deal to me, I have a dozen of’em between the clubhouse and here— but it meant something to her.

Amber also stopped by the burger joint down the road and picked us up our usual. We sat there at the kitchen table and ate together like we used to do when we were teenagers in love. Through the idle chit-chat and small talk, I noticed that look in her eye, the one that says she has something on my mind that her lips don’t want to say.

“What’s up, darlin’?” I asked, “Something troubling you?”

“If I’m being honest, I don’t know what this is or what it will become,” Amber confessed.

“Amber, honey—”

“Teller, please just let me ramble for a minute; I need to clear out some space in my head.”

“Well, in that case, drop your baggage, girl,” I said, sitting back, trying to replicate Donna or another girl pal.

“Cute,” she smirked, “But that’s why I broke things off a few months ago. I want there to be an ‘us’ so badly, and I think about it all the time, but then when I see you, it just reminds me that I’m not in any shape to be your girlfriend.”

“But darlin’,”

“Jax, let’s call it ‘us’ like we did when we were teenagers— no labels.”

“Are you finished?” I asked.

“I suppose,” Amber looked nervous but mildly relieved to say what she wanted to say.

“Well, the truth is I haven’t been with anyone since right after you broke it off. I admit, I got a little rowdy and hooked up with one girl.”

“Just tell me it wasn’t Ima,” I could see the worry in her eyes.

“It most definitely was not Ima. Some old croweater a few miles from Chino. I was too drunk to remember much else than that. I haven’t felt right since and just took to the road while you did you. But like ya said, whatever this is, I’m here for it— whatever you need, darlin’.”

“Damn it,” she mumbled as tears rolled down her cheeks. “This is what’s so frustrating—I’m fine, and then, boom, I’m a puddle of tears the next.”

I couldn’t shake the feeling that she wasn’t allowing herself to grieve her parents’ passing properly, and now those feelings were resurfacing. Amber would bury herself in her work to keep her mind from straying into the painful stuff—  but who could blame her? If I lost Gemma, I’d probably do the same thing. 

The next night, I found myself at the club with my ma, taking a break from VP stuff and updating her on Amber. 

“Baby, I wish I knew what to tell you,” she sighed sympathetically as I finished up my story with a sentence about me holding Amber in my arms as she cried herself to sleep.

“She’s in pain, ma. I just wish she’d come home. I mean, I get it—Amber can’t uproot her life; plans have to be made, but, still—I can’t help but think if she were here, surrounded by people who give a shit— she’d be better.”

Gemma smiled, placed her hands on mine, and nodded. It wouldn’t be long before I discovered how severe Amber’s depression had become. I felt like Ma was holding back on her true feelings, which was new for her. She’s always been a shoot-from-the-hip kind of person. The few times I knew of her to withhold her thoughts was when she believed they’d hurt me. Knowing this didn’t make me feel any better. 

Once I got done using my mom as a sounding board, I returned home to find Amber asleep on the sofa with only one light on. Carefully, I laid down beside her, holding her close as we embraced in what she called the “full-body snuggle.”

“Jax?” she whimpered; she had been crying.

“It’s okay, darlin’. Big Papa’s here,” I whispered, kissing the top of her head as she drifted back to sleep.

Sometime later, I woke up alone. Expecting to hear Amber in the bathroom, but nothing. I lay there for a few minutes before I went on the search. As I approached the kitchen, I could smell the earthy aroma of a freshly lit joint, which led me to the side door— lo and behold, there she was. “You gonna share that?” I pulled over a chair from the table and plopped down beside her.

She exhaled and coughed in the other direction, handing me the joint. “Sure,” she coughed again softly.

“Sweet,” I took a big, long drag, held it for a minute, and then blew it out my nostrils like an angry bull.

“I just want you to know; I swear I’m not leading you on. But if you wanna bail until I get my head on straight, I totally get it.” Amber reached for the joint.

“I’m good, darlin’. You need to do whatever this is, and I promise I’ll be here waiting for you whenever you’re ready to call it what it actually is.”

“And what is it, actually, Teller?”

“If you gotta ask, then you really don’t know.” I smiled at her, and she smiled back. 

After that, we went to the bedroom and snuggled up. It was as if my embrace was the only place Amber felt safe, where her demons didn’t scream at her. “You’re safe, Big Papa’s got you, my love,” I whispered, holding her tightly.

The next day, I woke up feeling like everything was good, but instead, I found Amber on the back patio, bawling her eyes out like a kid who just lost their pet hamster.

“Let me ramble for a minute,” she stuttered through her tears.

I nodded, taking her hand in mine.

“Jackson, I don’t know what’s wrong. That’s part of the problem. I haven’t said anything about this part yet— I turned 30, and then I said to my counselor, there’s something else wrong, but I don’t know what it is. I just keep twisting myself up in knots trying to fix it, and the only time I’m not in pain is when I’m with you,” she confessed.

“Shh, my love, it’s okay. I’m right here,” I comforted her.

“It’s not... your... job... to... fix... me,” she sobbed.

“You’re right; it’s not,” I said, wiping my face before she could see my tears. “But I can help you. Let me, please.”

“The only time I feel okay is when I’m in your arms, or well— when we’re— you know,” she chuckled.

“Yeah, sex with me is pretty great,” I smirked, but I instantly realized that she could have taken that the wrong way. Fortunately, she didn’t.

“Oh, Teller— don’t let it go to your head, but it’s true. Only I can fix me. But how can I fix something when I don’t know what the fuck it is?”

“We can figure it out together; that’s what I’m telling you. I’m here for ya, darlin’. I don’t know how you’re going to figure out what you need to figure out, but I’m here to support and help in any way I can. All I know is you’re right where you need to be, and that’s how I feel. Sorry if it’s selfish, but my life is better when you’re around, and I wish there were something I could do to make you see that.”

Later that night, I found myself on the back porch, alone with my drink—more Jack than Coke, as usual. About a month before the accident, Kim, Amber’s mom, had pulled me aside, saying I was going to have my hands full with her daughter when she turned 30. It was funny how right Kim was, but it was also a stark reminder of just how cruel life could be.

[hiccanna-tidbits]

@jackunzel-time

Jackunzel Month Week 2 - Coming of Age

***

"Okay, can I look now?"

"Not yet!"

The kitchen is once again filled with the sounds of Rapunzel banging around, plates and dishware clattering as she searches the fridge. Jack's got a sneaking suspicion this all has something to do with the huge, tinfoil-covered mound on the top shelf.

For an entire week, Rapunzel insisted they put every ounce of leftovers in the bottom half of the fridge, ignoring the Mysterious Object™️like a leaky faucet you handn't gotten around to fixing. Not that Rapunzel doesn't occasionally need her home fridge for work-related things, but she isn't normally cagey about it.

Jack once again resists the urge to peek out of the blindfold.

"Come ooooon, Zellie! This anticipation is going to kill me before our starving artist lifestyle does."

Rapunzel laughs. "Starving? I'll have you know, sir, that I've had no less than 5 whole french fries today!"

Considering it was 9 pm, this was not an ideal french fry quota. Rapunzel definitely had time to eat more fries today.

Jack wonders idly if Rapunzel's just getting too caught up in her work to take lunch breaks, or if her manager is crunching her deadlines again.

Before he can get too far into plotting how he would swap her boss's salt and sugar without getting Rapunzel in trouble, he hears the distinctive sound of a lighter.

"Are you torching our apartment?" he asks. "Because if so, I'm very offended I wasn't invited to participate."

Rapunzel scoffs. "Don't be silly! Like I'd set the place on fire without getting home insurance first. And it isn't as though either of us can afford that."

"You're still making me nervous. Usually I'm the one who plays the pranks."

"Hmmm, well...that would have been a good idea, actually." Rapunzel sounds a little regretful. "But no tricks today, I promise. Now open your eyes!"

And at last, Jack gets to see what all the fuss is about.

A stunning, snow-white cake sits in the middle of their dining room table, covered in sparkly silver candy orbs and carefully sculpted fondant snowflakes. All around the side are little hand-painted winter scenes, meticulously crafted by an icing brush in a process that must've taken hours. On top, a "2" and a "6" candle sit ablaze.

Rapunzel, of course, spends all day at work decorating cakes. It's her career. (Or, at least, it has been for the past 6 months--the longest she's gone without leaving a job to date.)

It still seems like she went the extra mile with this one.

"What--" For a long moment, all Jack can do is stare with his mouth hanging open.

"What the hell," he says finally. "How did I forget today was my birthday???"

Rapunzel's surprise quickly turns to laughter.

"Oh my god, how did you forget?"

Easy for her to say. Back when Rapunzel lived with her crazy mom, who practically kept her a prisoner in her own house, birthdays were easily the most interesting thing that happened all year. Birthdays with the Overlands were always much more...lowkey, so to speak.

"In my defense!" He holds up his hands. "Nothing interesting happens when you turn 26. Pretty much all the milestones are finished, so it's just another orbit around the sun."

"Nonsense!" Rapunzel sticks her lip out in disapproval. "That's no way to talk about your coming-of-age ceremony!"

"Coming-of-age?" He raises his eyebrows. "I think we missed the cutoff for that a while ago."

"Well, 26 is your age now." She crosses her arms, chin up defiantly. "And you have come to it. So therefore you have come of age."

He chuckles. "Is that how that works?"

"Why not? Teenagers and college kids shouldn't get to have all the fun!"

"My point still stands, though," he argues. "You don't really...unlock the same kind of stuff in your 20s that you do when you're younger. It's not like there are new magical adventures that you suddenly have access to when the clock strikes 12 on your 26th birthday."

"Says who?"

His girlfriend's conniving smirk sends a wave of excitement through him. What is she plotting?

"Did you find an elite 26-and-over club to join?"

"Not exactly." She leans over the table, smirk widening. "But someone did have a chat with your boss about how many great snowscape photo opportunities there are in the mountains, and how you're going to need to not come into the office for while to get all the best shots."

Jack's eyes widen as her meaning dawns on him. "And Mr. North was cool with that? Me taking a vacation right before the holidays?"

"I mean. He could hardly resist the offer of having his best photographer out getting festive snapshots for the December issue of the magazine. You'd do more good on the field than stuck behind an editing desk, right?"

"No kidding."

Jack sits down, getting ready to blow out the unexpected birthday candles. He pauses, something occurring to him.

"Wait, what about you? I'm not about to go off and leave you to handle the bakery's holiday rush on your own!"

Rapunzel hums thoughtfully.

"Well, funny thing. I told our head baker that I just hadn't been feeling very inspired lately. And if I went somewhere, say, fresh and exciting, then the muse was sure to strike again and I'd pump out a collection of the most beautiful winter cakes the bakery's ever known. Ones to really send that holiday profit flooding in."

"So...you snuck around and got us both a week off for my birthday by spinning it as a work trip? And on top of that, you just casually whipped out the most gorgeous birthday cake I've ever seen in my life?"

She nods, beaming.

"You're my goddamn hero."

He stands up and sweeps her into his arms, pulling her into a kiss worthy of being the Big Dramatic Finale to any coming-of-age film. All these years later, and it still feels like cameras should be spinning around them with rock music building into a triumphant crescendo.

Maybe that's cheesy, but to hell with it.

"Have I ever mentioned I'm in love with you?" he murmurs against her lips.

"I would hope so, Overland. We've been dating for 9 years now."

***

Half a hazelnut chocolate cake and two celebratory hot cocoas later, Jack finds himself being dragged toward the car in the encroaching darkness of 5:30 pm.

"Zel, what--"

"Come on! I booked us a night in a cabin, and we need to take off before the roads get icy. It's supposed to snow in a couple hours!"

"But what about--"

"I packed the car while you were at work." Rapunzel doesn't miss a beat. "Don't worry, I grabbed all your favorite sweaters! Your snowboarding stuff too. And the sleeping bags. And the cozy socks. And the snow chains. And the binoculars. And the sled. And the scarves."

He doesn't have time to form a reply before he's being bundled into the front seat and covered in one of his favorite fluffy blankets. The sheer amount of alpine field guides and brochures on the car floor make him do a double take.

"You have an itinerary?" he asks, surprised.

She hums uncertainly as she pulls out of the driveway.

"Well...nothing too rigid. No coming-of-age road trip of self-discovery can be that structured, or else it might get in the way of spontaneous epiphanies about who you truly are, right?"

"Right."

Rapunzel looks like she's about to burst open with what she isn't saying.

"I sense a 'but' there."

"I did find a really cute place for us to sled." The dam breaks as Rapunzel pulls out of the driveway. "And there's this secluded little mountain animal rescue we have to see. And this four-star cafe we can stop at for hot cider and soup, and this really pretty snowy hike that I don't think is too tiring. Also this ski and snowboard slope we can check out if we have time, with this really cozy lodge, and--"

She cuts herself off mid-sentence as soon as she picks up that all this might be a little overwhelming.

"Buuuuut," she amends slowly. "It's not like I've put down a deposit for anything. We could just drive through the mountains and stop whenever we feel the urge. Find the best secret spots and have them to ourselves, you know? Have deep conversations and be alone with nature and reconnect with our humanity and our sense of purpose. Or something like that."

He can't help but laugh at the way her brow scrunches as she goes deep into thought.

"That sounds great."

"Do you...have a preference?" She gives him a searching look as they pull onto the freeway, already glowing with streetlamps and taillights. "Agenda or no agenda?"

"Whatever you're down for, I'm down for. Hell, I'm just happy to have an unexpected week of vacation."

"I guess that's the thing about these types of 'finding yourself' stories. You kind of have to figure them out as you go along."

"Then let's do some figuring!"

Rapunzel hits the gas, and off they go into the winter sunset, bound for their next coming-of-age adventure. One to perhaps be followed by many more, depending on how many future ages they deem it significant to "come to."

***

Tfw you keep aging but The Blorbos™️do not, so the only logical solution is to force them to age with you XD God dammit, if I have to be in my mid-20s, then so do my comfort characters!!!

Fr tho, I often find myself wishing there were more aged-up AUs in the RotBTD fandom. Most fandom olds returning to (or who stayed in) the fandom aren't the teenagers we were when we first got into the big four anymore, so...why not let them grow up with us??? It's not like their canon ages are some sacred, set-in-stone thing that can't be changed since people do in fact get older as time passes ajdnlshbf

And like!!! Don't get me wrong, I love a well-done high school or college AU, and they can be a lot of fun!!! But I think as I've gotten older I wonder more about how the RotBTD kids would navigate adulthood, and how they would change/adapt and how they would stay the same throughout their lives.

Jackunzel I feel like would be one of those couples who would just be it for each other. Like they get together in late high school--probably junior or senior year--and everyone keeps waiting for the spark to die in college and for them to get stir-crazy (as people who get into committed relationships young often do) or bored of each other, and they just. Don't. MFs hit 30 and are still in the honeymoon phase with no sign of getting out XD

Rapunzel is so right here btw. Twenty-somethings DO deserve to have indie coming-of-age dramas made about them!!! Kids and teens and college students shouldn't get to have all the fun!!! Besides, there's plenty of growing/maturing still to do in young adulthood, so why stop writing stories about that just because the people in question are out of school??? Tbh I'm so tired of movies with adult protagonists being either fluffy (hetero) romcoms or a drama about Some Guy with a wife and kids like??? There are other types of adults besides straights in the dating pool and middle-aged people with tidy little nuclear families!!! I promise!!!

Guess I'll just have to write all those funky little RotBTD twenty-something AUs myself ajshdkuys

Shout-out to the RotBTD discord for giving me the idea of having Rapunzel be a cake decorator and Jack be a photographer! I sometimes struggle a bit with future career ideas for the RotBTD kids, but these fit really well :D Jack definitely seems like the kind of person who would like something freelance and loose-scheduled where he basically gets paid to capture the beauty in the world around him :O And we know Rapunzel can bake, and she likes art, so...

CAKE ART CAKE ART CAKE ART CAKE ART

VERY happy I found that snowflake-and-orb cake, because that definitely seems like something Jack would enjoy 🤍❄️ And now I kind of want to try it 👀👀👀I DO have to wonder how they did that little picture with the tree and the car :O

As always, moodboard pic credits available upon request!

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

We finally have our teaser for THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM!

I think it looks pretty cool. The backgrounds are absolutely gorgeous, and it's nice to see a big 2D animated film getting a wide release. J.R.R. Tolkein's Middle-Earth is actually no stranger to animation, as it has seen animated adaptations going back to the 1970s... You also had the still-pictures short put together by animation legend Gene Deitch in the 1960s that was never meant for release to the public, more to establish a trademark. Described as an "ashcan copy", this was when producer William Snyder's Czechoslavakia-based Rembrandt Films - where Deitch worked, and made all of his TOM & JERRY cartoons circa 1961-62 - briefly had the rights to turn the books into a feature, but it didn't materialize.

Rankin-Bass - in working with Japanese-based animation studio Topcraft - finished the first screen adaptation in 1977 with an animated TV movie called THE HOBBIT, and a year later, Ralph Bakshi rolled out his rotoscoped adaptation titled THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Bakshi's RINGS didn't lead to a sequel despite being a part one and also being a box office success, while Rankin-Bass HOBBIT got a follow-up in the form of THE RETURN OF THE KING in 1980.

But Peter Jackson really set a standard with his ambitious, visually resplendent adaptations. Not just for LORD OF THE RINGS adaptations, but also big-budget fantasy movies in general. Even his HOBBIT trilogy was thought to have fallen way short of that classic trilogy...

So where do you go from there? How does an animated version made nowadays do its own thing and sit nicely alongside the Jackson trilogy?

Warner Bros.' marketing seems to think that beginning the trailer with moments from the Jackson films is the way to go... And then wham-banging from those big budget productions into... An anime film that's noticeably a lot lower budget. I think that's not gonna go over great for a lot of audiences, who will be thinking after those first 30 or so seconds... "Wait, why is this a cartoon?"

And what's your explanation? "It was to keep the rights"?

I think it looks cool, then again I'm an animation fan. I gladly ate this up when they announced it a few years ago. I remember INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE getting that sort-of "wait, they're doing a cartoon now?" reaction before it came out. We already had the three big-screen live-action iterations of the character (Sam Raimi trilogy with Tobey Maguire, the 2nd Sony series with Andrew Garfield, and the MCU movies with Tom Holland), and we had VENOM just a few months earlier which was possibly setting up another distinct universe... So this was yet another Spider-Man movie, another universe, and it was animated...

SPIDER-VERSE opened okay in December 2018. $35m wasn't bad, per se, but not exactly great. That was lower than what, say, fellow Sony Animation movie HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA opened up with six years earlier. It wasn't anywhere near a more recent Pixar original like COCO ($50m)... But then something happened. Those who saw the movie raved about it. I know I sure I did, I caught it opening day. And the movie went to make over 5x its opening weekend gross and more than covered its $90m budget. $380m+ worldwide was pretty successful, though it was far below what the live-actions all took in. Even the more mixed Garfield movies, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 made over $700m worldwide back in 2014...

Cut to ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE, which took in over $380m DOMESTICALLY last year, and $690m worldwide. INTO got by on being great and audiences discovering it... Maybe a similar leggy performance awaits WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM, if it's pretty good. It does face some screen battling with MUFASA and SONIC 3, along with... Coincidentally, Spider-Man villain movie KRAVEN THE HUNTER.

I'm very curious to see how it does, honestly. Do I think the future of wide-release 2D movies rests on its back? Absolutely not. An anime adaptation of a well-worn property that's really just a rights-grab is not some great decider, and shouldn't be seen as one IMO. If it does well, I think it'll just be viewed as a sort of one-time thing. Not absolute proof to executives that full-on 2D animation units MUST be invested in. If the occasional 2D SPONGEBOB movie or whatever can't, this certainly won't. It would have to take multiple 2D movies making FROZEN numbers back-to-back... Yeeeeah... I think a lot of 2D purists don't realize that are so many editorial, financial, and technical factors at play that keeps the wider American feature animation industry dead-set on just using CGI. Not cheaper, but easier in some regards, and it's also their way of not dealing with certain aspects of 2D production that they didn't have much control over.

Anyways, I hope this movie does well, and it's neat to see animation filmmakers playing in this particular sandbox. Showing that anyone can take a crack at the property once again. After all, director Kenji Kamiyama - in addition to having a history dating back to the '80s - did direct a STAR WARS: VISIONS short and BLADE RUNNER: BLACK LOTUS.

In general, I like this sort-of current wave of big screen animated feature adaptations of properties largely synonymous with live-action movies. Spider-Man, Ninja Turtles, Transformers, ya know. Movies that are more than just "Oh, and the cartoon." SPIDER-VERSE and MUTANT MAYHEM did such cool things with the medium and the properties they were adapting, and TRANSFORMERS ONE looks to do the same.

(Yes, I know, there was a CG TMNT movie in 2007. It made its money back, I know. It kinda just came and went, though, in the public conscious. Whereas MUTANT MAYHEM was acclaimed and it has a sequel coming. And I'm also aware of the 1986 TRANSFORMERS movie. It's why I said "largely synonymous with"...)

I wonder if more happen. I'd imagine it'd be for another franchise, though, not an animated take on a standalone live-action classic. Like, don't expect a really sick animated FRENCH CONNECTION film or something like that. Surprised Disney doesn't get the jump on an animated STAR WARS movie that's NOT a pilot for a TV series (yes, I also know the 2008 CLONE WARS movie exists). Warner Bros. was silly to not make that animated BATMAN BEYOND movie pitched a little while back. Maybe a horror mainstay could be next? Wasn't there an animated NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET in the works at one point? More animated horror would be neat, honestly.

[boasamishipper]

Hi, I’m intrigued by the Night Court content I’m seeing from you. How did you start up with this show from 40 years ago? Which episodes give you Harry/Dan vibes? (Truly curious! I’m watching the show rn on FreeVee because of you.)

how did i begin watching night court, you ask?

okay so the story ACTUALLY begins several months earlier. i'd been seeing ads for new night court on tv, and i was like hey!! that's the guy from richie rich!! and so i looked up old night court on tvtropes and ao3, found some fics for the show, skimmed them, and moved on with my life.

THEN in november 2023 i got laid off (corporate reorgs my detested) (dw i have since found a new job) and started looking for non-indeed.com ways to fill my hours. cue another commercial for new night court, which was returning to nbc in january. huh, thought i, jokingly. wonder if anybody on here watches this.

one quick tumblr search informed me that there were, in fact, other people who watched this show. specifically the original show. and then i saw this post, thought 'boy that judge and that prosecutor sure have Something going on' and proceeded to devour all nine seasons over the course of two months. (then i caught up with the reboot and watched s2 as it aired.) i posted my first fic, Zeitnot, nine days after i started watching the show, and told my bestie caroline that now that it was up, i had gotten all of my night court thoughts and feelings out of my system and would shortly go back to finishing my other wips.

(narrator voice) she did not, in fact, get all her night court thoughts and feelings out of her system.

anyway so 90k+ words of night court fic later here i Still Am and here i Still Plan To Be for a good long while.

so why night court?

well, to begin, it's the wildest show i have ever seen in my life. it's set in - you guessed it - the night shift of a manhattan arraignment court during the 1980s. the judge (harry stone, played by harry anderson) is a gangly goofy cutie pie dork who loves magic and mel torme and sees the best in people and has the saddest backstory of any of the cast. the prosecutor (dan fielding, played by john larroquette, who won four emmy awards in a row for this role and would have won more if he hadn't taken himself out of consideration to give someone else a chance to win) is a womanizing lecherous pervert with a heart of gold, a sharp tongue, thick hair, and an ass you can bounce a quarter off of. harry shoots plastic snakes in dan's face in their very first meeting and by the end of the show the two are partners in shenanigans and platonic soulmates and perv4perv best friends. (another anon asked me my top harry/dan episodes; i'll answer that in their ask.) other characters include Tall As Fuck Intimidating Ditzy Bailiff Bull Shannon (richard moll), Spunky Naive Morally Upright Prude Public Defender Christine Sullivan (markie post), Hot Court Clerk Who Is Done With Everyone's Shit But Will Nonetheless Participate In The Shenanigans Mac Robinson (charlie robinson), and a collection of short, snarky, tough as nails bailiffs (selma diamond in s1-2, florence halop in s3, and marsha warfield in s4-s9).

the show is incredibly funny. if you don't like one joke wait five seconds and there will be another, even funnier one. physical comedy galore. hijinks and shenanigans everywhere. logic and realism? don't know her. wile e coyote once showed up as a defendant. dan once got so horny he locked himself in a closet and shoved a firehose down his pants. in another episode bull twisted dan into a human pretzel. it has to be seen to be believed.

but what i love most about night court is its heart (something that the sequel series has not found yet, but that's a rant for another day). the characters (at least as long as reinhold weege was involved with the show - again, a rant for another day) feel like real people. they have real flaws. they make hard decisions. they love with all their hearts, and we love them for it. they hurt, and we hurt with them. and the show - especially in the earlier seasons - balances the heart with the humor incredibly well. in 4.01, harry tries to reach out to his mother, who abandoned him when he was five, only to find out that she died, and the show does not shy away from his pain and conflicted emotions. that's the a-plot of the episode. in the b-plot, a ventriloquist's dummy commits suicide. not the ventriloquist. the dummy. and it's one of the best episodes of a start to finish stellar season.

and if you are still not convinced to give the show a try, watch this compilation of the best dan fielding moments. then watch all nine seasons of night court (available for free on freevee!) for more.

[babycatlix]

invisalign check-in: final trays and retainers!

not that i think anyone still cares about this, i kind of stopped updating after my first halfway check-in because everything was kind of the same after that. there wasn't anything really new. but i'll tell you everything that happened after that halfway check-in:

since my last check-in with my first halfway check-in i finished up my first 40 trays. i had 4 retention trays which i used to hold my teeth in place while my next set of trays were being made. i had another 40 trays for my second round and 4 extras again. however, after my second round, my teeth were mostly in the right places! i was actually told to not wear my retention trays so that my back teeth could settle. when you have invisalign, your back teeth will naturally form a gap between them because of the plastic trays. so they don't touch when you're not wearing your trays. my orthodontist said this was completely normal and that i would have a settlement period, time for my molars to settle back in place so they touch again. for me, this lasted for 2 months. yes, my teeth did move a bit during this period (which i hated), but he wanted my back molars to settle before he did the final refinements.

during my settlement period, i got to eat food without my trays in for the first time in almost a year and... it was something. feeling food on my teeth again was really weird and my lips kept getting caught on my attachments, so i kept biting the inside of my mouth 😩 i got to chew gum, which was also weird, and i got to eat whatever i wanted without worrying about my trays getting torn up or staining. i ate a lot of indian food during my settlement period 😂

after my settlement period my back teeth were touching again and it was time for another scan! he said that there were very minor refinements that needed to be made. i only had 10 more trays to go! i am currently wearing a retention tray from those final 10. when i went in for my final check-in a few weeks ago, my orthodontist took my trays out and looked at my teeth and these were his exact words, "your teeth look perfect!" and idk why but that made me so happy! 😭

there are 2 more appointments i have to go to. attachment removal and getting retainers. they are 2 separate appointments. i assume that it takes a day or so to make my retainer, so tomorrow (monday) i'm getting my attachments off! i'm assuming my teeth will feel weird just like when i got my brackets removed from my original braces treatment. i think they're also going to fix one of my incisors, it was worn down before treatment started, i assume from grinding my teeth. my right one is fully formed and the left one is missing a corner 😂 i also think they're going to take my after pictures! i didn't think my teeth were too bad, but looking at my very first tray to now, i am astounded at how crooked and crowded my bottom teeth really were. i think my orthodontist did an amazing job and i'm really happy with my results!

the second appointment will be on wednesday. i'll get my retainers and they'll tell me anything else i need to do or any future appointments i need to have. i do remember my orthodontist mentioning another settlement period while i have my retainers. he said something about cutting off the back of my retainters, basically cutting off the molar part and only leaving the front teeth with the retainer so my molars can settle again. when i take my trays out to brush, there is already space and my back molars aren't touching again after just 10 trays. so i guess i'll be having a few sets of retainers, which again is built into my treatment plan.

but yeah, my invisalign journey has come to an end! it was a fairly easy process for me. i didn't have any issues with my teeth not tracking properly and only got teeth scans when i was scheduled to. the pain was pretty minimal for me and i had a total of 90 trays. 40 for my first and second rounds and then only 10 for my final refinements.

anyway, i hope you're doing well! make good choices, stay safe out there, and stay hydrated my friends! 🩵

[aci32]

CATTLE DECAPITATION/IMMOLATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey folks, here's my 14th and last review of 2023, Cattle Decapitation and Immolation!!!!!!!!!!! This was my 3rd time seeing Cattle Decapitation as I saw them back in May when they were on the Decibel Tour with Dark Funeral, 200 Stabwounds and Blackbraid. This was my 9th time seeing Immolation and 2nd time I see them more than once in a year as I saw them as direct support for Obituary 7 months earlier and they're always a treat to see live.

Let's begin the festivities!

First band up was CASTRATOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This was the first time I've ever seen this band as it was their first time coming to Toronto as frontwoman Clarissa Badini had mentioned. When I looked them up they were an all female death metal band from New York and of all the members, the one I recognized the best was bassist Robin Mazen as I've met her several times in the past when I bought merch off of her and even though our interactions were brief, she's cool. Although I hadn't heard their material before, this band put on a great live show and I hope they'll return in the future on another stacked death metal tour ie go on tour with Nervosa or perhaps on their own headlining tour.

Second band was SANGUISUGABOGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This was another band I hadn't heard before but they put on a great live show and I looked up where they were from and they're from Columbus, Ohio. Frontman Devin Swank was a joker in between songs when he sarcastically said he was a Leafs fan, when in actuality he's a Columbus Blue Jackets fan, and he said "If you're standing still, MOVE IT!!" He also wore a guy's Cat in the Hat hat for 30 seconds much to the crowds delight and I was laughing hysterically at that action. It was also cool how he said that he and the other members were lifelong Rush fans and it was more cool to see his Art the Clown tattoo on his left forearm. Devin had also initiated a game called Murderball in which he threw a gridiron football into the crowd and whoever caught it and held onto it throughout their song, would get merch for free. I didn't see who caught and held onto it, but someone got lucky.

After Sanguisugabogg's set it was time for IMMOLATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This was my 9th time seeing Immolation and first time in a decade I would see them more than once in a year. This was also the first time in 16 years they played at The Opera House as that occurred when they were on tour with Skinless and Suffocation and also my first time seeing them play at The Opera House as well. Each time I see them live they get better with each performance, particularly Bob Vigna's guitar swinging and his upstrokes and downstrokes he does with authority, and to me that is incredible stage presence. I'll also say I've seen Immolation 3 times in a span of a year since I saw them as direct support for Cannibal Corpse last November. Here's their set:

1. All that Awaits Us

2. The Age of No Light

3. Dawn of Possession

4. Once Ordained

5. When the Jackals Come

6. Let the Darkness In

7. An Act of God

8. Higher Coward

9. Epiphany

After Immolation it was time for CATTLE DECAPITATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This was my 3rd time seeing them as I saw them back on May when they blew Dark Funeral or more like Dank Funeral off the stage at the Decibel Tour and as well it was exactly a year ago at the time they returned to Toronto but as an opening act for Amon Amarth alongside Carcass and Obituary at History, in which I sold my ticket at that time as I was sick with a cold and I didn't want to risk infecting the overwhelming amount of people there as they were going to attend Walter Froebrich's viewing and/or funeral at that time. This year around, Cattle Decap returned on as headliners on their own tour and played a sold out Opera House and were crushing from start to finish. In between songs, Travis Ryan had made reference to the first time they came to Toronto 16 years ago and played the Opera House, in which they played the inaugural Summer Slaughter show. He was also a comedian in between songs first when he said "We got a new album called Terrasite, you can get it over there *sporadic cheers* fuck you then Jesus Christ you're supposed to go *flashes horns* "Yay" idiot frontman says some dumb shit. So we got a new album we fuckin know that called Terrasite if you know what the fuck that is, this song is called *speaks in raspy falsetto* SOLASTALGIA IF YOU KNOW WHAT THE FUCK THAT IS!" Then before their last song Travis picked up the guys Cat in the Hat hat and said "I'm gonna fuckin kill you whoever threw this up here, like with most comedy of errors on this entire fuckin tour. Who threw this? Show yourself. I can't do what I'm about to do and give it to you. I'm gonna wipe my fucking ass on this thing *wipes the his ass with hat* I'm gonna put this on Ollie's head". Here's their setlist:

1. Terrasitic Adaptation

2. We Eat Our Young

3. Scourge of the Offspring

4. Dead Set on Suicide

5. The Storm Upstairs

6. Bring Back the Plague

7. Finish Them

8. Solastalgia

9. A Photic Doom

10. Vulturous

11. Time's Cruel Curtain

12. Pacific Grim

Encore:

13. Kingdom of Tyrants

Overall a great show and a great way to spend a Saturday night. Plus this was a great way for me to conclude my concert going season of 2023 as my next gig won't be until February 5th when I catch Machine Head.

HEAVY METAL FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jungkxook]

—out of the blue. (m)

⟶ pairing: jungkook x reader 

⟶ genre: youtuber/gamer!jungkook + fluff / smut 

⟶ words: 5,204

⟶ rating: 18+

⟶ summary: catching your boyfriend bleaching and dyeing his hair for a livestream is definitely not what you expected — but it certainly has its perks.

⟶ warnings: established relationship, some attempt at humour, .2 seconds of sort of sub jungkook (you just like seeing him on his knees), you call jungkook a good boy, shower sex, hair pulling, oral sex, face riding, standing sex, breast play, cum eating, doggy style, unprotected sex, creampie

⟶ note: because blue haired jungkook has me feeling all sorts of things. also dedicating this to the lovely ryen @kithtaehyung​ because blue haired jungkook is getting her too and i hope this helps!! and thank you to the wonderful @gamerkooks​ and @stanrandomthings​ for always giving me inspiration for gamer jungkook <3

“What the hell are you doing?”

Jungkook has less than a second to react when he hears you bursting through the door of his bedroom, a guilty expression plastered on his face as if you’ve caught him in the midst of a much worse act than what he’s already currently doing ━ but the flustered scowl deepening your countenance is enough for him to certainly feel that way, because how else is he supposed to casually explain why he’s currently sitting shirtless in front of a camera?

Admittedly, the sight is odd enough, and there’s a split moment where your incredulous look is enough to make him feel as if he’s wronged you, and your six month long relationship with him, entirely before he remembers that he didn’t actually do anything wrong like cheat on you, but is actually just trying to dye his hair.

He’s sat in his gaming chair, camera and lights set up around him, and the monitor of his desktop all recording his face to the hundreds of thousands of viewers currently watching his livestream. He had told you well in advance about his aim to do a twenty-four hour live broadcast for his subscribers to both raise money for a donation and to countdown to his next subscriber milestone with the help of his friends ━ and had even asked you to help him plan the event, discussing it animatedly with you for the past month on various occasions ━ but mainly just because Jungkook is crazy enough to sit through a twenty-four hour stream and call it fun.

You had known most of how the entirety of the day would go. Starting from noon the previous day to now, almost an hour before the stream ends, thus far he’s done various gameplays from Minecraft to Overwatch to Among Us simultaneously with his friends who had offered to marathon with him the twenty-four hour event; had a period of time in which Jimin and Taehyung were over and cramped in his room to answer questions and talk to viewers but mostly just to create absolute chaos. You had been there for most of it, though you’re still trying to figure out if it’s a blessing or a curse that you were suckered into paying rent for your three bedroom apartment by Taehyung more than a year ago, and subsequently falling madly in love with Jungkook and forcing you to aid in his antics. You’ve been in a handful of his videos before, appearing in Twitch and YouTube streams, and in the background of vlogs in his channel and the channels belonging to the other boys; and, on that day for Jungkook’s twenty-four hour event, you had joined him at the start before being dragged away for work and then tried to pull an all-nighter with him until you crashed on the couch in the living room, and checking in on him occasionally to give him food and water and to just generally make sure your boyfriend isn’t dead.

Now, with the remaining final hour dwindling down, you had been in your room trying to finish last minute essay writing for school, with your phone propped up on your desk and Jungkook’s livestream playing as background noise to your studying. One minute, he had been playing a round of Among Us, and the next, when you had glanced up, he had the bottle in hand and the detrimental blue dye coating his hair in slick globs. It wouldn’t have been so shocking, had you not seen Jungkook an hour ago when he had his natural dark hair still, and now he had somehow managed to sneak in bleaching his hair in the time you had left him. Maybe it was your fault for not catching it sooner, if only because you had sheepishly taken a small nap amidst your studying only to wake up to a nightmare.

Which is where that leaves you currently, dishevelled demeanour standing at the threshold of his door after chasing over to his room, watching as Taehyung helps Jungkook sufficiently ruin his beautiful hair which you love so much.

“Uh… Dyeing my hair?” Jungkook finally answers, dumbfounded. He’s fortunate he had pulled off his shirt to avoid getting hair dye on it, an old towel now draped around his shoulders to catch any excess mess. He adds brightly, “We asked for suggestions on how to end the stream and someone said I should dye my hair, so Tae got the stuff.”

“You bleached your own hair?” You retort, exasperated. “When the hell did all this happen? I’ve been next door to you the whole time! What if your hair falls out? You should’ve gotten a professional to do it, not Tae━”

Taehyung looks inexplicably offended by your slandering remarks on his (lack of) hair styling skills, retorting with, “Yo, what the━?”

Jungkook blinks, as if just being made aware of what he’s actually doing.

“My hair’s gonna fall out?” he gaps. “Guys, what the hell? Why’d no one tell me?”

He looks from you to Taehyung then over at the comments on his livestream which are currently flooding with the sole topic of you. His eyes snag the first few that appear to him in the frenzied influx of words:

uh oh jungkook’s sleeping on the floor tonight

oh shit run bro

f in the chat for jk’s hair

get him y/n!!!!

“Dude, she’s just being dramatic,” Taehyung waves you off. He ducks out of the way when you reach out to Jungkook’s bed for a pillow and chuck it at the older boy’s head.

“And when he’s bald, then what━”

“No!” A helpless Jungkook exclaims suddenly. He gestures wildly to the stream, “Don’t give them ideas. The edits are gonna start pouring in.”

“Jeon, look, it’s too late to go back now,” Taehyung says. “You’ve got half your head covered in dye and three minutes to go with the stream. How bad can it be?”

A groveling sigh eclipses your lips as you push yourself forward. “Then at least let me help before you ruin it completely.”

Jungkook’s fortunate, to say the least, though he’s left wondering if you’re truly upset with him.

He finishes the countdown to the end of his twenty-four hour stream with you and Taehyung putting the last remaining globs of dye on his hair, a heartfelt goodbye to his viewers who marathoned the stream with him, and a promise to update them on the status of his hair when he washes the dye out.

And, just as soon as he’s shut his camera off, the mundane world returns to him.

It’s no longer millions of anonymous and faceless viewers watching him from the other side of their screens in the tiny bubble that is his room, but just you and Taehyung and the older boy’s frisky little Pomeranian dog and the threat of a wallowing regret as Jungkook thinks to himself, what the hell did he truly just do to his hair?

At some point, Taehyung retreats to his girlfriend’s house taking Yeontan with him, leaving you alone with Jungkook and he basks in the sudden cozy quiet after twenty-four hours of madness as the adrenaline rush begins to fade and mellow out. Back aching, joints cracking and popping as he stretches and moves, and eyes burning in the similar way they do from having stared at a screen for too long, but tenfold, he craves nothing more than to find your sweet and comforting touch to end such a long day.

He finds you in the living room already scrolling through your phone and your Twitter feed to read and marvel at all the comments and memes made by his viewers during his stream and his heart threatens to burst through his chest because you’ve always been so supportive of him and his fans, and they’ve always adored you and your endless interactions with them. So, surely, you can’t be mad at him for bleaching and dyeing his hair. Right?

As his arms come to wrap around you from behind, face nuzzling in the crook of your neck, he hears you bemoan, “You look like a Smurf came on your head.”

Wrong.

Well, not entirely, he guesses. You do lean into his chest, practically melting against him. A sluggish grin tugs at his lips and, instead, he chooses to ask, “Shower with me?”

“Aren’t you tired, Koo?”

“Baby,” he deadpans, and your heart flutters just a little bit, “by this point, I’m running solely on Red Bull and coffee that I’m positive I could fight the gods with my bare hands and win. In fact, I’ve had so much caffeine that I’m fairly certain I’ve ascended to the astral plane. Besides, I need to wash this dye out, and I could use some help. Sleep can wait.”

“Help,” You snort. “You’re such a liar. I already know what you want.”

“To spend time with my beautiful girlfriend? You’re right.”

“I’m not sucking your dick.”

He pulls his head back to look at you. Though he tries to look offended, there’s the tiniest of smirks on his face. “Wasn’t gonna ask you!”

You turn to properly face him in his arms and shoot him a dubious glance. He leans down to press a chilling kiss to your jaw, then nudges his nose against you in the same spot so that you’ll move your head. You do so, despite your prior scolding, and let him kiss the underside of your jaw down to your neck.

“Okay, fine,” You huff finally.

You relent, miraculously, but Jungkook had already guessed you would the moment he had found you in the living room and he couldn’t be happier.

He cherishes the moments alone with you, has come to know them well as he falls into a comfortable routine with you away from prying eyes over the last few months. Because sometimes, as he comes to learn, it’s hard to establish a relationship when his job requires him to be in the spotlight often. What is authentic and what is simply fabricated for views is difficult to discern, and yet you’re patient with him. Not everything to him is money and views and numbers, or what his next big plan is, or how you could potentially help him in some way (despite knowing that any video featuring you seems to skyrocket his views and land his videos on the trending page of YouTube more often than not because he knows everyone loves you more than him). You know when he’s his online persona and when he’s simply just Jungkook, and while there’s hardly any difference between the two, his online personality surely has to maintain a level of privacy and happiness that may not always be true.

At least with you, he can just be himself. He can finally be at ease.

Showering together is just one of the many acts of normalcy he cherishes with you. So, he turns on the shower and lets the bathroom get all warm and balmy as you undress. He’s the first one inside, hissing in delight as he lets the water run over his sore muscles, washing out the dye in his hair firstly so as not to get it on you and fortunately not making too much of a mess of blue dye in the tub. You’ve joined him in an instant when he’s nearly done, squeezing into the space in front of him as you shut the glass door behind you, the pane already beginning to fog and slick with droplets of condensation. He pulls you into him once more, nestling his chin on your shoulder as his hands come to wrap around you. They slide across your front, all wet and soapy, briefly gliding across your breasts, palms brushing against your nipples before traveling down to your navel.

“Congrats, baby,” You coo gently. “Twenty-four hours.”

He murmurs into your hair, “Missed you loads though.”

You turn to look at him finally, and it’s hard not to stare. Your eyes land firstly on his abdomen and the toned muscles there, trailing up to his arm and the pretty tattoos that decorate every inch of his skin, to his soft pink lips and his big eyes. Then, there’s the matter of his hair. The water has done most of the work in washing out the dye from his hair, now falling across his forehead and into his eyes and cheekbones, and it’s only then that you fully register the dye has worked as you struggle to find any remnants of his once-ebony-then-blonde locks. The blue hair is an obvious stark contrast to his natural hair and, you think, it is pretty, accentuating his radiant skin and making his eyes pop.

“I didn’t think you were actually serious all those times you said you wanted to change your hair.” Your lips are pursed as you survey him now, your fingers twirling a strand of his tresses around and around as you inspect it.

He smiles, catching your hand and pressing a quick peck to your knuckles. “Neither did I,” he admits sheepishly. “It sort of just happened.”

You pout. “I’m gonna miss your natural hair.”

“Do you really hate it blue?”

“I don’t hate it. Was more scared you’d ruin your pretty hair and make it all fall out.”

At this, Jungkook flashes you a cheeky smile. He holds his head a little higher. “So you still think my hair is pretty?”

“I think you’re a dork,” You clarify. “And, aside from the fact you almost gave me a heart attack, I’d say the blue is so pretty. Beyond pretty. Kinda hot, if I’m being honest.”

Because you’re not really mad, but it’s fun just to tease Jungkook and see his reactions. At the very least, he can sense this, as it’s apparent with the way his smile stretches even wider on his face.

“Hot, huh?”

“Mhm. But you didn’t hear that from me.”

He feigns a look of mock hurt. “Oh no. You must be really mad. Want me to make it up to you?”

“How are you gonna do that?”

“Well, what do you want from me?”

You take a moment to think it over, but the answer is already obvious enough. It’s one that even he knows, and one that has won you over the moment Jungkook was freed from his stream. You hum aloud, “You, on your knees, head between my legs, like a good boy. Think I can get a better viewpoint of your hair from down there anyway before I judge it.”

“Like a good boy?” A dark smirk tugs at his face. “So now who’s the needy one?”

He lowers his head so that he’s leaving a trail of sloppy wet kisses down your neck to your collarbones. As you let yourself get carried away for a moment, you wrap your arm around his neck, pulling him backwards until you’re pressed up against the glass door. He ducks even lower, kissing just above your left breast and then catching your nipple between his teeth. You swallow thickly, rubbing your thighs together, reminding yourself to respond to him.

“It’s not my fault when you were busy for the past day,” You pout. “And the blue hair really is sexy.”

“Aha!” he straightens up in front of you suddenly, a crooked smug smile on his face. “So I’m not just hot. I’m sexy.”

“You’re literally always sexy. And beautiful too. It’s almost unfair.”

“That’s even better.”

You tug your fingers at his damp locks. When you speak, your voice is a mix between urgency and a whine. “Jungkook. I could’ve already gotten off with my hand at this point.”

“Ouch, feisty!” He pokes his fingers at your sides. Then, nipping a little more firmly on the soft skin of your breast, murmurs huskily, “Alright, alright. But only if you call me a good boy again.”

Part of him is taunting you, but there’s a small sliver of intrigue that makes the thought in his head and the pretty words on your tongue excite him to no end.

Still, you choose to entertain him, maybe a little drowsily and entirely consumed by him, “I will if you let me ride your face.”

A rumble of a chuckle resonates from him. You find him on his knees in the next moment, wedging himself between your thighs. He nudges one of your legs and you follow the wordless command, hitching one thigh over his shoulder as you settle back against the glass door of the shower. He kisses at your hips as he dips his head lower and lower to where you want him, before swiping his tongue at your cunt, tasting all of you at once.

“Mmm, Koo━” A soft whimper sounds from you, making his head swim.

He wastes no time in lapping at your folds, tongue delving into you deeper and deeper as he cranes his neck. The wetness that pools between your legs and on the tip of his tongue is a sticky mess that he basks in just a little longer.

“Fuck,” he groans into your pussy, “you taste so fucking good. Missed this so much.”

His hands are big as they come to hold you close, cradling your ass, your thighs, your hips, anything to pull you into him while simultaneously pushing your thighs further apart.

You manage to find your voice and quip weakly, “Missed me or having your head between my legs?”

“You, definitely,” he murmurs. He busies himself by reaching out with his thumb to press circles against your clit. Your mouth falls open in a silent moan, hips rutting into his face. “All of you.”

“Jungkook━ Fuck━”

He burrows further into you, humming in response. His nose brushes against your clit, the muscle of his tongue a pleasant wet that makes you warm all over. You give another experimental swivel of your hips, grinding against his tongue just right. He pinches at your hips as if to probe you onward, and then you do it again, and again, desperately rocking your hips back and forth against him. Your fingers reach out to grab a fistful of his hair, clutching it so tightly he hisses. But you’re right. The blue locks look dazzling between your legs, being pulled by your hands as you push him further into you.

His eyes meet yours from below your waist, hooded and idle, enjoying the view as you squirm and writhe above him, shamelessly riding his face. Grinding against his chin, nose, and tongue, the slick wetness you leave behind glistens on his skin.

“Ah, Koo━” You cry out. “Fuck, I’m gonna━!”

Your orgasm hits you violently, sending you keeling. Your hips continue with reckless abandon, and Jungkook presses his finger against your clit a little harder, a little faster. The abrupt gushing warmth between your thighs sends your mind spinning, as the steam from the shower and your panting breaths begin to fog the bathroom. When your hips begin to slow, Jungkook laps at the rest of your leaking core before pulling away with a grin brandishing his shimmering face. He lets you pull him up eagerly, clumsy hands fumbling to hold either side of his face as you tug at him.

“God, you’re so hot, babe,” he sighs wistfully, smothering your lips with his for an all too chaste kiss, before leaning in once more to nibble at your lower lip.

“Wanna feel you, Koo,” You prompt urgently. “Want you in me.”

Jungkook hastens to comply, his hands falling to your waist. “Go on, then. Turn around for me.”

You don’t need to be told twice. You spin so that you’re facing the glass sliding door, your back to him. You watch him over your shoulder, momentarily admiring his well built stature, the tattoos that ink his body, and the water that shimmers on his skin. He has to push his wet hair up and away when it falls across his forehead and then he reaches down to grasp at his length, grip tight around his shaft so that he can pump himself sluggishly a few short times. It’s almost painful to watch him jerk himself off in front of you, the tip a burning red and glistening. He catches you staring and decides to catch you off guard when he grabs a hold of your hips with one hand. He yanks you towards him, your ass pressed firmly against his hips, making you jump from the startle, and grins when you look back at him.

Then, ever so slowly, he runs the length of his cock along your folds. Before you can brace yourself for the overwhelming rush of pleasure, he’s sliding his cock past your folds, burrowing into you deep. He curses behind you, his other hand flying out to steady himself by digging into your hip.

“Fffuck. Shit.” He dips his head so that his cheek is resting against your shoulder and sputters for air. “Jesus, fuck━ Been dying to feel you all day.”

He fits so snugly in you, so perfectly, just like always and you take him so well, coaxed by your own arousal. He ruts his hips forward into yours and you nearly fall forward before catching yourself by pressing your palms to the glass. Then, he’s grinding against you, small and precise thrusts that roll into your hips.

“Mmm, Jungkook,” you choke out. “You feel so━ So good.”

“Ah, shit,” he hisses. “Wanna wreck you so bad.”

He angles his chest a little more, pummels his dick into you in such a way that he’s hitting a different spot in you. His eyes stay fixated on the soft, round flesh of your ass and the way his cock slips so easily into you, brows screwed in concentration, jaw clenched. The slight bounce of your ass each time he rolls his hips firmly against you, the way you ricochet forward each time in tandem with his moves. You bow your head, pressing your temple against the glass door now tinted with condensation, only marked up by the imprints of your fingers grasping at anything. It’s almost sweltering hot in the shower now but you both pay no mind to it. He fucks into you with such languid, steady strides, cock beginning to throb and twitch in anticipation. You feel so wet, such a pitiless mess between your thighs already that it makes him growl.

“H-Harder,” You mewl. “Oh, Koo━”

He almost slips behind you in his eagerness to obey, awakening something animalistic in him, a yearning to just release all the tension in his core. This time, he adapts a measured pace, forceful thrusts that have you crying out in delight each time. One hand reaches up to grip at your shoulder to steady himself while his other slithers around your front to grasp at your breasts, all wet and supple, pinching at your nipples.

“So good,” he moans, pressing sloppy kisses just below your ear. His breath is hot as he pants behind you, sending tingles down your spine. “Fuck━”

His voice is cut off by a whine, hips bucking forward in an unsolicited manner as he feels his high drawing near. You lean your head onto his shoulder, stretching your arm out so that you can tug desperately at his hair. It’s a silent, simple command, but it’s one that he immediately understands even without you speaking.

“Wanna feel you━” You whimper. “Wanna see you.”

Jungkook nearly slips as he fumbles to pull out of you, hissing at the loss of warmth and friction. As soon as you’ve turned to face him, he wastes no time in closing the distance between you. He pushes his leaking cock past your folds once more and continues at the same pace as if he had never even stopped to begin with.

“Fuck,” he whines. “Not gonna last━”

You wrap your arms around his neck, drawing him even closer to you, as he presses you against the glass. He hitches one of your thighs around his waist, spreading your legs just wide enough to hit a certain spot that has both of you crying out. You’re clinging so tightly to him, fingers digging harshly into his skin in an attempt to alleviate the building pressure you feel. He knows you’ve almost reached your end when you resort to a gasping, moaning mess, writhing beneath his broad stature.

“Close, baby?” he hums.

You open your mouth to respond but can only muster a whimper. His pace treads over to heedlessly frantic, the sound of skin against skin and the lewd wetness filling the shower. Despite his hips pounding into yours so harshly, his fingers flutter so delicately under your chin, grasping it and moving your head just enough so that you’re facing him.

“Lemme see you,” he grunts. “Wanna watch you when you cum all over my cock. Always so pretty.”

“I━ I’m━ Fuck, Koo━”

But you can’t finish your thought.

You keep your gaze fixated on Jungkook’s, however exhausted and weary it may be. Your lashes flutter, brows knit together, and you suck your lower lip between your teeth, biting so hard Jungkook’s certain you’ll bruise it. Another few hard thrusts and then you’re reaching your high, overcome by such an intense burning that you can’t help but look away out of instinct. You cry his name, face contorting in pure pleasure, and chest arching to meet his. You’re clenching so tightly around him has him sputtering for air, nearly collapsing entirely against you. You’re near dripping around his cock which only means he almost slips from you with each draw of his hips that he makes. It’s why he sloppily rocks his hips into yours, desperate to reach his own high as well.

When you return to your senses, blinking away your blurry vision, you can make out Jungkook cooing into your ear, “That’s it, baby. Doing so well.”

You meet his gaze once more, only this time you’re perhaps even more tired. Hooded eyes watch him, silently probing him to his climax. He comes tumbling towards it, a few more short thrusts of his hips and, finally, he’s there. He slams his hips up into yours one final time, crying out, and then he’s releasing into you in an overwhelming abrupt gush. Only he can’t quite enjoy it because, out of genuine accident and driven by impatience to just get off, the last jerk of his hips hits you a little too hard.

It’s what causes you to slip backward and he, so lost in his own reverie, hardly has a proper grip on you or where he’s standing. When you lose your footing beneath you, slipping on the wet porcelain of the tub, and comes crashing down, he’s brought along with you. “Oh, fuck━!”

The both of you yelp from the surprise, your hands flailing out to brace yourself for the fall.

Fortunately, you land on him when you reach the bottom of the tub, courtesy of him grabbing onto you last second so that he can soften the blow upon impact.

Unfortunately, the breath is knocked out of him from the startle and from the sudden added weight of you on top of him with no warning.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” he groans.

“In hindsight,” You wince as you shift your weight above him, “maybe having sex in the shower again wasn’t the greatest idea. Remember last time when we knocked the shower curtain down and I had to get stitches on my elbow? It’s why we got the glass door installed, and then we had to lie to Tae about it.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” He tilts his head back, rubbing a hand over his face. Then, he flashes you an all too charming smirk. “Was kinda worth it though.”

You giggle, sounding so sweet and angelic, even despite the way his cum still leaks from you. Somewhere in the fall, his dick had slipped from you and now lays softening on his stomach which, really, is probably the worst part of the accident to him. He already misses the warmth of you wrapped around him, your mingling cum a dirty mess around him. You prop yourself up on his chest with your palms, but before you can even think to respond, you notice something out of the corner of your eye.

A small mass of fur in the shape of little Yeontan has just poked his head through the crack in the door, oblivious to you and Jungkook’s compromising position. And then, shortly following behind him, is his equally oblivious owner who must have forgotten something in the apartment to bring him back so suddenly.

“Tannie, get back here━ We gotta go━ Oh, Jesus, what the fuck?” Taehyung appears at the door for a millisecond before noticing the situation he’s just stumbled upon. Thankfully, he acts fast, and clamps a hand over his tainted eyes, clumsily scooping up Yeontan in his other hand. “Can you guys please stop fucking all over this damn apartment? My son’s eyes are too pure for this!”

And then he’s retreating, but not before bumping blindly into the doorframe, grumbling along the way. It’s silent for a moment as you and Jungkook gawk at one another; then you hear Taehyung leave the apartment once more, and the both of you dissolve into a fit of unabashed laughter.

“Are you okay?” You ask once you’ve calmed down enough as he reaches out to shut the shower off. You plant a kiss in your boyfriend’s hair. “You hit your head coming down.”

Jungkook’s heart swells at your gentle touches and smiles. “I’m fine,” he promises brightly. “You?”

“Well, you did just thoroughly fuck me, so━” You shrug innocently. “I’m kinda still too giddy to even care.”

“I’m gonna make it up to you,” he says. “For almost giving you a heart attack with my hair and for almost putting you in the emergency room again just now.”

The mention of his hair draws your attention to it once more. It’s not as wet as before, damp azure waves falling into his eyes that you brush away gingerly.

“Yeah,” You snort, “but I’ve decided I like your hair. Like, really like it.”

“Yeah?” he grins wide. “What was the deciding factor?”

You pause, as if to think for a moment. Exhaustion riddles your body and you know sleeping curled up next to Jungkook is nearing your future, but for now you let yourself entertain the last remnants of whatever lewd thoughts are still on yours and his minds before they fizzle away completely. You can’t help yourself anyway. The blue really is nice.

“Definitely the view of you eating me out,” You say. “And can’t forget how pretty it looks when I’m pulling at your hair.”

“Say no more,” he beams. “Then I’ll make it up to you by making you cum on my tongue again and again and again.”

The last thing he hears before he grabs at your cheek to softly pull you down to him for one last kiss, slow and ardent, is a bubbly giggle from you that delights him to no end.

“That’s a good boy.”

⟶ All rights reserved to © jungkxook. I do not allow reposting, translating, or any sort of modifying and reuploading of my work.

⟶ Feedback is always appreciated!

[mrs-johansson]

Strangers in the night - Scarlett Johansson x Fem!Reader

Part 2:

Later when the food was finished, we all sat down at the table and had early dinner together.

Léa has been talking about her cases for a long time. She and mom had a floating conversation while dad and I were just listening. When it became quiet, I saw dad take a deep breath with a smile on his face. "And how has it been Y/N? Anything new lately?" That's why he is my favorite. I know you're not supposed to pick between your parents, but if you have a way better relationship with one of them it's already decided I think. "I just booked a new role a couple of weeks ago. I don't know if you've heard of Brian Stevenson, but he is a lawyer and the movie is about one of his first successful cases. Michael B. Jordan found me with the part because he is one of the creators of the project. It's not a big part but it's for a very good cause so I took it." "Brian Stevenson? I went to school with him." Dad said and my eyes widened. "Did you actually?" "Yes, we were friends to be exact. He became thriving. And who do you play?" "A local advocate. Kind of the sidekick of Brian." "Are you doing any kind of research?" "Yes, I'm reading the book version now, and the cast is set to meet with Biran before we start shooting so.." As I finished my sentence I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket. Quickly slipped the device out and it was an unknown number. "Sorry, I have to check this," I stood up from the table, leaving the house and walking to the patio which was a bit chilly.

"Hello?" I spoke. "Hey, it's Scarlett!... Johansson," the woman said, making me frown and also leave my mouth open. "Oh, hi." How did she get my number? "How can I help you?" I asked awkwardly. "Right, sorry. When we bumped into each other the other day I think my necklace accidentally fell out of my bag and I can't find it anywhere. I was hoping you might have grabbed it and it's with you somewhere," She said. "Let me check," I made my way back inside, earning a questioning look from my family. I held up my pointing finger and quickly grabbed my bag which was upstairs.

"What does it look like?" I asked, putting the phone on speaker so I could look for the necklace. "It's gold and it has a Rose sign on it." I was looking through my bag when suddenly a chain got tangled between my fingers. I carefully lifted it out and there it was. "I've got it," I said. "Oh thank god, thank you." She let out a relieved sigh. I chuckled lightly and put the necklace in my wallet just so I won't lose it. "I'm actually in Boston at the moment but I could ship it back if you'd like." I changed it back from the speaker. "I could wait until you get back, I'm in no rush. It's in safe hands." "It sure is. I'll be back around the 27th, I could give it to you then." "Yeah, that would be great. Thank you again." "It's nothing really." "Oh now that we're speaking, I saw you're on for Carol." "Yeah, I just got the script this morning. I haven't had the chance to look into it, but I like the first scene." I explained. "Are you booking it?" I asked. "Yeah, I think so. It seems like a great one." She said. "That's great." I cleared my throat. "Well, I'll see you soon then." "Yes, thank you again." "It's nothing." "Bye!" Her raspy voice got quiet, she probably lifted the phone away. "Bye," I said before hanging up.

"Who was it?" My mom asked as I sat back at the table. "Scarlett Johansson," I said and everyone got quiet. I looked up to see them all waiting for some kind of explanation. "We bumped into each other the other day and I accidentally grabbed her necklace. That's it," I said, taking a bite of my food. "Oh okay."

*next day*

"I'm leaving," I yelled at the front door. "Okay, bye! Tell Florence we said hi!" Heard my dad's voice from somewhere around the house. "Okay, bye!"

While waiting in front of Flo's hotel, I was scrolling through Instagram when my eyes caught an article.

Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost reportedly ended their relationship just after 6 months of dating. "The two just have different lifestyles," said the source.

I didn't even know they dated. Not that I have time for other people's relationships, I don't even have time for mine.

"Heeeeeey!" Florence brought me out of my thinking by jumping in the car. "What's up, dude?" I smiled, hugging her immediately. "You smell good boo, what's this?" I tapped her shoulder and she flipped her hair, brushing off her shoulder. "I just bought this, like it?" "It's delicious." "So where are we off to?" Flo asked. "The café we always go to."

After getting to the café, we got our usual order. Can't miss my usual oat milk latte with THE best avocado toast. "So, I have something to tell you," I said, and Flo looked up from her phone with an excited expression. "You're seeing someone?" She asked with a smile but I shook my head. "No. I finished the script a couple of days ago and I want you to read it," I said and her face lit up. "You're kidding..." "No! I wanted you to read it first in case you'd be interested if someday I'll bring it to a studio," reached into my bag and got the thick layers of paper. "Omg just let me read it already," Flo rushed her words out and I handed her the script and she quickly flipped to the first page."Don't worry darling..." She read the title out loud. "What's the plot?" "A 1950's housewife, Alice, living with her husband, Jack, in a utopian experimental community begins to worry that his glamorous company may be hiding disturbing secrets. And yeah, it's kind of a psychological thriller." "Just what I like," She locked her eyes on the paper and read a couple of pages then looked up at me. "Can I take this home?" Flo asked. "Yeah yeah, just don't spread it online please." "I would never," She put her hand on her heart and put the stack of papers in her bag.

"So you really doing this, huh?" Florence asked with that witty British accent. Wish I had an accent that cool. "It's been my dream for years," I said with a small smile. "I know and I'm so happy and excited for you. I can't wait for this to become a big thing." "I don't know if it's gonna be big though," I shrugged. "Uhm halo, you're Y/N Cole of course it will be huge," She said with an eyebrow raise. "We'll see." I chuckled.

"And what's up with you? Anything new?" I sipped my coffee which arrived just about 2 minutes ago. "Now that you're asking..." Flo smirked and glanced around us, probably checking who was listening. After she saw there was no one surrounding us she leaned forward. "I'm gonna be part of the MCU," she whispered and my eyes went wide. "You what?" My mouth fell open and she nodded. "Playing who? Are you gonna be a superhero? Dude that's fucking amazing. Flo, you're not kidding are you?" I leaned forward, trying not to scream out of happiness. "I'll be Black Widow's long-lost sister." I leaned back in my seat not even believing what I heard. "This is crazy. So what, you're an Avenger now? Will you be in the new one?" "No, I'll be in the solo movie but, Y/N you can talk about this to anyone. Marvel will haunt me down if anything gets out." "Solo movie?" "Fuck..." Florence sighed and closed her eyes. "Black widow's gonna get a solo movie?" "Yes..." She whispered and I smiled so widely my face started to hurt. "I'm done, why am I talking?" Her hands covered her face. "Sorry, I calmed down. So, you're a superhero," I whispered. "I'm not telling anyone, calm down." I patted her shoulder. "Thanks." "So that means you're gonna be playing with Scarlett," I sipped my coffee. "Yeah, cool right?" She said with a smile and I nodded. "Actually, I've booked a movie with her too." I looked down at my hands. "You did? What is it?" "Well, uhm it's a... uhm... you know drama and... romance kind of thing. It's too set in the '50s." "Romance? You're her best friend or what?" She took a bite of her toast. I raised my eyebrows and cleared my throat before answering. "More like her lover..." I mumbled. Her movements stopped and her gaze was quickly lifted to me with a smirk on her lips. I rolled my eyes and looked away. "Don't give me that look," I sighed. "I don't know what you are talking about," Flo said. "It's not even sure if she'll book it. When I talked to her she said she probably will-" "So you talked to her?" "Why are you making a big deal out of this?" I asked, not really understanding her actions. "I don't know, Scarlett seems like a nice person." Flo gave me a look and I just focused on the edge of the table. "I don't know her." I shrugged. "Get to know her. You guys are gonna be working together, possibly. Use the opportunity, look the least you get out of it is you get a new friend." "Yeah."

"Would you be open to a relationship at the moment? For real, be honest, babe," Florence took a bite of her food and looked at me curiously. "I don't know to be honest. Lately, I've been feeling more responsible I guess. I just want to find someone who I can see a future with. You know, like a lasting relationship, and maybe settle down, have kids. It's been so difficult to keep a relationship alive while working and I just need someone stable," I said. "I understand. I can totally see you as a mom, not gonna lie," She grinned and I just chuckled. "Yeah?" "Mhm, having your baby around at all times and dressing them in cute outfits. Omg them painting, can you imagine? I would be the best auntie," I smiled at her words and nodded. "Well yeah, you'd have to fight for that place with Léa," I said. "Oh my god, how's Léa? Is she dating Chris yet?" Flo asked and I just shook my head with a frown. "No, and it's so bothersome. But, I made progress in my mission, Chris said he will ask her out. So, I need a plan for Christmas." "I just can't believe they are still not together. The time they are wasting is so much." "I KNOOOOW... Honestly, I'm done with those two," I sighed.

*Day before Christmas*

"Y/N you're in charge of the turkey," Mom said as the four of us gathered around the kitchen. "Like always..." I murmured. "You can't deny that you make the best turkey," Léa said. "Why thank you," I nodded.

The thing with turkey is that it takes so much time to make it right. I need a whole mental preparation for that.

*next day, before dinner*

Everyone was already dressed up nicely and the table was set perfectly. The Christmas tree was glowing and the food was almost done. The Evans' were on the way and I was just feeling so happy and ready to get my sister and Chris together.

Around 7 pm, the doorbell rang. "Léa, get the door," I said and she rolled her eyes at me and walked to the front door.

Couple minutes later all I could see was the Evans' floating in the living room. "Hello everyone," I said with a smile. Lisa looked at me instantly and walked up to me with her arms open. "Y/N, honey, it's so good to see you again," She said and wrapped her arms around me. "You too, Lisa. You're glowing, you look very nice," I said and she quickly waved me off. "Oh stop it. Look at you, such a beautiful lady," She looked me up and down. "You always enrich my ego, whenever we meet." I smiled.

"Where's my baby doll?" Heard Scott's voice and a second later his big arms were around me. "Scott!" "Hey, you! How are you?" He asked, taking a tiny step back. "I'm great. How are you? I haven't seen you in so long." "I'm doing good. I missed you, babe. Oh, I saw Lady Bird the other day, it's brilliant. You're just so amazing," Scott said, his hand on my shoulder. "I'm glad you liked it." "Honestly, I see why it has an Oscar buzz," He said walking past me to my mother. "Even if it has, I don't think I would get it." "You say this before every award thing," Chris joined the conversation. "And I haven't got any of them," I tilted my head with a smile then we shared a hug. "But I don't need them anyway. I act because I love it, not for some gold status," I sighed. "And that's why you deserve them," Chris said. "Why don't we get to the table? I can't wait for you all to destroy the turkey in 15 minutes that I made for hours." I said and a couple of them chuckled.

After everyone settled down at the table we shortly started eating. Light Christmas music was playing in the background. The lights were making the house so pretty. But ME, I was just sitting there like a goddamn sociopath. I was so anxious about how they liked the turkey.

"So?" I asked, looking at their faces, but not seeing any reaction. Chris was the first one to look up from his plate. "It's amazing. Somehow you make it even better every single year." He said and I let out a satisfied shaky sigh. "Oh okay, thank god." I started eating too and not gonna lie, I cook fucking fantastic.

Soon we finished eating and we gathered around the tree. I grabbed all the presents that I got for them and Scott stood beside me. "You got it?" He whispered to me and I nodded, handing him the envelope. "Okay, since you're the youngest, you start Y/N." Mom said and I smiled proudly. "Brilliant. Then, mom, this is for you." I handed her the bag, which had First Folio by William Shakespeare. She looked inside the bag and her eyes went wide. "It's a collector's piece so you can't read it, but it'll look nice in your office," I said and she smiled at me. "This is nice, thank you," she said. "Of course." I stroked her back and she stepped away to put the bag on the couch.

I gave all my presents out and last was Léa. "And you, dear big sister. I thought you could use a little holiday. Tuscany could be nice," I gave her the envelope and she wrapped her arm around my shoulder. "Oh, you shouldn't have." She opened the envelope and when she saw only one ticket, Léa looked up at me questioningly. "Okay Scott you turn," I patted his shoulder and he walked up to Chris. "Great minds think alike, I got you a holiday too, buddy," He said and Chris took the ticket. "When do I go?" He asked and checked the date. "January the 2nd," I said. "But mine says the same," Léa spoke. "Oh wow, what a coincidence." I sighed, wrapping an arm around Scott's shoulder, who was acting surprised. "What a shame, you guys have to go together." He said and Chris shook his head with a smile.

"Merry Christmas," I said.

[waitimcomingtoo]

Quirks

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader with OCD

Thank you to the anon who requested this and consulted with me on OCD!

Disclaimer: It it not my intention to glorify or romanticize OCD with this story. I consulted with multiple people who have OCD to develop this character.

Masterlist

“Are you ready for bed?” Peter asked as he climbed under the covers on his side. It was your first night in Peters apartment after moving in with him, and you had a nervous feeling in your tummy. There were things about yourself you had begun to notice, and you wondered how long it would take for Peter to notice as well.

“Almost.” You nodded as you knocked on the wall behind you four times. You climbed into bed beside Peter as if nothing happened, leaving Peter puzzled.

“What are you doing?” Peter chuckled as he watched your movements.

“If I don’t do this, I can’t sleep.” You said simply.

“Okay.” Peter laughed again, making you wince a little.

“I know it doesn’t actually help me sleep.” You admitted. “I just need to do it.”

“Wow. I can’t wait to see all the other little quirks you’ve been hiding from me.” Peter smirked as he leaned over to kiss you.

“Yeah.” You laughed nervously. “Quirks.”

~

Peter woke up the next morning to the feeling of you playing with his hair, soft fingertips brushing it off his forehead.

“Good morning sleepy head.” You said through a yawn as you combed his hair off his face.

“Good morning to you too. Are you hungry?” Peter asked as he rubbed your shoulders.

“Um, what time is it?” You sleepily rubbed your eyes.

“111:23” He answered after checking his phone.

“I’m okay.” You decided, despite your stomach growling. “I’ll wait until lunch.”

“Are you sure?” Peter noticed the growl. “I can make you something.”

“I’m sure. Sure, sure, sure.” You told him. “I’ll wait until lunch.”

Once the clock hit an even number, it was lunchtime. You walked into the kitchen at 2:24 feeling famished.

“God I’m hungry.” You patted your stomach. “Do you have anything to eat?”

“Let’s see.” Peter said as he opened his cabinet. “I have honey and boxed Mac and cheese.”

“Ooo. This a fancy restaurant.” You teased as you hugged him from behind.

“Shut up.” He laughed and turned around in your arms. “I haven’t gone shopping in a while.”

“It’s fine. We’ll go tomorrow.” You told him before kissing him. You broke away from him and took out the macaroni while he got out a pot and filled it with water.

“Here you are my love.” Peter carried the heavy pot with ease and placed it on the stove.

“Thank you. How long does the box say to boil it for?” You asked as you turned the heat up on the stove.

“11-13 minutes.” Peter read off the back of the box.

“Okay.” You nodded as you set the timer to 12 minutes. “Okay, okay, okay.”

“So precise.” Peter joked, making your face flush.

“Yup.” You forced a laugh and kept your tone light. “I just like to be precise. I definitely don’t feel like I can’t eat the macaroni unless it cooks for exactly 12 minutes.”

“What was that?” Peter asked curiously when he didn’t understand what you said.

“Nothing.” You looked over your shoulder and smiled at him. “It’ll be ready soon.”

~

A month later, Peter walked into his bathroom to brush his teeth. You were already in there, leaning close to the mirror and pressing on all your teeth.

“What are you doing?” Peter chuckled as he wrapped his arms around your waist from behind.

“I need you to check my teeth.” You turned around in his arms with a panicked expression.

“For food?” He asked and looked at your teeth. “They’re all good.”

“No, for any loose ones.” You told him and he let out a short laugh.

“Why would your teeth be loose?” He raised an eyebrow, thinking you were kidding.

“They’re not. I know they’re not.” You said, mostly to yourself. “Could you just confirm for me that they’re not?”

Peter found the request strange, but obliged and pressed on your teeth the way you had.

“All good.” He confirmed. “Nothing loose.”

You sighed in relief and turned around again, leaving Peter curious about the encounter. He shrugged it off and walked back into the bedroom, changing into his Spiderman suit while you finished up in the bathroom.

“You’re going out?” You asked from the doorway when you noticed Peter in his suit.

“Yeah. I shouldn’t be too long.” He promised. “I’ll be back before you’re asleep.”

“Will you be back before 12?” You asked as you tugged on your earlobe.

“Yeah, I will.” He told you as he placed his hands on your waist.

“Okay. I’ll see you then.” You smiled at Peter as you patted his cheek twice before kissing him. You did this every time Peter was about to leave on patrol. Before you were a couple, he’d text you before he would go out on patrol so you could flex your hand three times to ensure his safety. Now, it was two taps to the cheek and a kiss.

An hour into patrol, Peters phone rang and lit up with your contact. He answered it but before he could say hello, you started speaking.

“Peter are you okay?” You wheezed, sounding frantic.

“I’m fine, honey.” He quickly assured you. “Are you okay?”

“Yea.” You sounded more relaxed. “Are you sure you’re okay? Where are you?”

“I’m on a rooftop near the bakery.” He answered. “Did something happen?”

“No.” You sighed. “I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m okay.” He confirmed. “I’ll be home soon.”

“Alright. I love you.” You said into the phone. “I love, love, love you.”

~

“Are you ready to watch the movie, honey?” Peter called from the living room. It was a few months now since you started living together and he had taken a night off from patrol to be with you.

“Almost. I’m just washing my hands.” You called back. A commercial playing in the background caught your attention and you shut the water off to listen.

“What did they say it treated?” You asked as you looked over your shoulder at the TV.

“BPH.” Pete answered, reading off the screen.

“Do I have that?” You wondered, making a Peter laugh. He looked back at you to see if you were kidding, but your face showed your we’re serious.

“BPH? No, lovey.” He shook his head. “That’s just for men. I think it’s when your prostate is enlarged. And in the words of Noah Puckerman, “chicks don’t have prostates”.”

“So I don’t have that?” You asked him again, as if you didn’t believe him.

“No. You don’t have that.” He answered, growing concerned.

“Okay.” You nodded and dried your hands. “Do you have that?”

“Um, I don’t think so.” Peter furrowed his eyebrows at the strange question.

“Okay.” You said again. “Just making sure.”

“Okay.” Peter eyed you curiously as the opening credits started to play. “Oo, it’s starting.”

“I love this movie.” You mumbled as you nuzzled into Peters side.

“Me too.” Peter smiled as he pulled you closer. “I’ve seen it like 3 times already.”

“I’ve seen it 13 times.” You said after a beat of silence, making Peters eyes widen.

“Really?” He asked. “You must really like it.”

“I like rewatching the same movies.” You said sheepishly.

“Why?”

“I like knowing the ending and whats gonna happen next.” You told him, looking at him to see if he thought it was weird. His face didn’t show any signs of disdain, so you relaxed.

You watched the movie in comfortable silence as time went on, never leaving each other’s sides.

“What time is it?” You asked as the movie neared it’s end.

“11:47 babe.” Peter answered when he checked his phone.

“I have to go to bed.” You said suddenly, getting up off the couch.

“The movies almost over, lovey.” Peter chuckled in confusion as you left his side. “Just 30 more minutes.”

“I know.” You chewed your lip nervously and twisted your fingers. “I just have to go to bed. I can’t really explain it.”

“Okay.” Peter nodded, still confused. “Good night.”

“Goodnight.” You bent down to kiss him before trotting off to bed. “Night, night, night.”

Peter was beginning to pick up on certain things. You needed it be in bed by 12, you often called him randomly to ask if he was okay, and you stayed away from odd numbers. He didn’t know what to chalk it up to, but he didn’t want to pry if you didn’t want to talk about it.

~

Peter caught you putting your caught on one morning as he was coming into the kitchen to get some breakfast.

“Where are you sneaking off to so early?” He asked through a yawn as he lazily kissed your lips.

“I forgot I have a doctors appointments today.” You pouted. “It’s in a few minutes.”

“Okay. Do you need me to drive you?” He offered.

“You don’t have to drive, but could you come with me?” You asked and he nodded.

“Of course. Let’s go.” Peter grabbed his keys and walked with you to the car.

~

You walked into the lobby where Peter had waited for you with a strange look on his face. Peter immediately stood up and met you halfway, feeling concerned when he saw your expression. He could sense something was off with you but he wasn’t sure what.

“Hey baby.” He rubbed your arms in comfort. “How was the appointment?”

“Um, fine.” You nodded hesitantly. “It was fine.”

“Just fine?” Peter asked. “Did the doctor say anything?”

“No.” You lied. “Nothing important.”

“Thats good.” Peter agreed, not fully convinced you were okay.

“Hey, when’s the last time you had a check up?” You wondered as you walked towards the car.

“Oh, I’m not sure.” Peter shrugged. “Less than a year ago.”

“You should probably get checked out. You know, to make sure you’re okay.” You told him as you buckled your seatbelt.

“Sure. I can schedule an appointment soon.” Peter nodded, still looking at you in confusion.

“Do you feel okay? Do you feel sick or anything?” You put your hand on his forehead while keeping your eyes on the road.

“No.” You said quickly. “I’m okay.”

You continued driving in silence as Peter wondered what was bothering you. You were nervously chewing your lip as you checked your rear view mirror every few seconds.

“Oh my God.” You gasped and looked behind you. “I have to turn around.”

“Why?” Peter turned around as well. “What’s wrong?”

“I might have hit someone.” You gulped and changed lanes so you could turn around. Peters jaw dropped a little, knowing full well that you hadn’t hit anyone.

“Lovey, you didn’t hit anyone.” He said slowly. “We would’ve felt it.”

“I know I didn’t.” You said in defeat. “I just need to check to make sure.”

“Okay.” Peter nodded, sensing something was wrong. “We can turn around.”

You turned around and passed by the street where you though you hit something. Nothing was there, so you kept driving. Peter kept hai eyes on you, notching the worried look on your face as you continued to check the mirror.

“Are you okay?” He asked you.

“I have to do it again.” You sighed. “I have to turn around.”

“You didn’t hit anyone. You’re a good driver, baby.” He said quietly as he put his hand on your knee.

“I know I didn’t hit anyone. I know that but I just…” You sighed in frustration and put your blinker on. “I just have to. I’m sorry. I have to turn around.”

“Okay.” Peter agreed, not taking his eyes off you. You drove past the spot again and kept going, but your expression didn’t change.

“Do you want to turn around again?” Peter asked gently, and hit tears fell down your cheeks.

“Yes.” You sputtered. “I have to do it again. I know I didn’t hit anyone but-“

“It’s okay.” Peter assured you. “We can turn around as many times as you want.”

You gave him an appreciative look before turning around again. You calmed down as you passed the spot and continued driving in silence.

“I’m sorry.” You said after a minute. “I know it’s weird. I know I’m weird. I can’t help it though.”

“You don’t have to apologize. And I don’t think it’s weird. I just don’t understand.” Peter spoke softly as he rubbed your knee. You looked at him quickly and chew your lip as you toyed with something in your mind.

“Peter, I have OCD.” You said weakly as you snuck glances at him. Peter’s eyebrows raised in surprise before settling back down into a look of confusion.

“Oh. You do?”

“That’s what the doctor just said.” You continued. “He said there are medications to treat it. I don’t know if I should take it. But I think I need some help.”

“I’m proud of you for telling me you need help.” Peter squeezed your knee. “I had no idea you had OCD. You don’t clean things all the time or like, straighten your pencils or anything.”

“That’s not - no.” You shook your head. “It’s not really like that. It can be for some people, but that’s not what mine is like. OCD is not always cleaning based. Mine is mostly instructive thoughts or repetitive behavior.”

“Oh.” Peter thought back on all your repetitive phrases and movements. “Oh.”

“Yeah.” You sighed and looked at him out of the corner of you eye to see his reaction.

“Is there anything I can do to help you?” He asked, much to your surprise.

“Could you just text me? I worry about you. Like, a lot.” You admitted. “I worry about if you’re okay or not all the time. Every time you go out on patrol, I put on this one movie. I feel like if I’m not watching the movie, you’re gonna die. I can’t explain it. I know you won’t die, but I can’t shake the feeling that you will. I just always worry about you.”

“I think I can help that.” Peter offered. “I can text you every half hour and make sure you know I’m safe.”

“Are you sure?” You asked as you pulled into your driveway. “That’s a lot to ask.”

“It’s okay.” Peter assured you. “Whatever I can do to make this easier, I’ll do it.”

You smiled fondly at Peter before leaning over the gear shift and kissing him, patting his cheek twice before pulling away.

“Thank you.” You whispered. “Thats exactly what I needed to hear.”

Tag List 🏷

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@maybemona​ @young-romanoff​ @alexxcorona113​ @spideyspeaches​ @lethal-wisdom​ @xo-spidey​ @im-still-tryin-to-find-it​ @big-galaxy-chaos​ @pandaxnienke​ @theincredibledeadlyviper​  @thestylestour​  @officialsimppage​ @mrvelscaptains​ @peterbenjiparker​ @itsemohours​ @satanswitchings​ @okkulta​ @parkerlovebot​ @sarcasticallywitty15​ @mati4188​ @geminiparkers​ @jungkxxkk​ @friendlyneighborhood-mendes​ @whatthefuckimbisexual​ @olixerwxxd​ @starkbrain​ @creatorofthegalaxy​ @far-from-holland​ @f-hollands​ @ilovefrogs1000​ @itstaskeen​ @dreamedforu​ @itmatteredatthetime​ @monimillion​ @amazinggracy​ @slutforsebstan​ @iprobablyshipit91​ @magicalxdaydream​ @whereismytelephone​ @theonly1outof-a-billion​ @alwayssandy @leilanixx

[crossbowking]

More Than Anything (Part 2)

(Click HERE to read More Than Anything Part 1)

Summary: (Set mid-season 6) The reader’s feelings towards the archer evolve, but a supply run that goes south threatens to destroy it all.

Request: “I’d love to see something w protective Daryl and some angst, maybe set at the start of their time in Alexandria w an established relationship?” - @pulplorrd

A/N: See, you'd think I would've learned after making you guys wait a year and a half for No Way Out Part 2, that I should probably FINISH my stories before actually posting the first part...yet, here we are, one month later lol I'm sorry for the wait but hopefully it's worth it!

Happy reading and let me know what you think :)

xx Jess

Masterlist

Tip Jar

Previously...

But as its grasp slipped away from around Tara’s arm, the walker’s deadweight, in turn, collapsed against you.

You lost your footing and fell backward.

Except the solidity of concrete never rushed up to meet you.

Instead, you were embraced by water, the tarp that’d laid across the motel pool coiling around your body as you sunk deeper and deeper into nothingness.

Now...

When the world ended, you’d accepted the idea of death — your death, specifically.

You knew that one day, your life would undoubtedly end — most likely at the hands of the dead, ripped to pieces, torn to shreds, the way so many others before you had been taken. But you’d always hoped your death would at least mean something — maybe laying your life on the line, sacrificing yourself so the people you loved could survive.

Something noble, something brave.

Not like this.

Before the fall, you’d managed to inhale a sharp breath — though once you’d submerged into the grimy pool water, the coldness, the darkness, the shock of it all, had zapped the air right out of your body. You were becoming increasingly aware of the tightness in your chest, the burning in your lungs as you struggled against the walker pressed against you, its weight sinking you further into the depths of the pool.

Then, the panic set in — your heart pounded against your ribcage, right alongside the immense pressure crushing your lungs. Glimpses of sunlight hung just above you, peeking through parts of the drifting tarp you frantically attempted to push aside. You were completely disoriented, your vision obscured by the murkiness surrounding you, floating specks only visible beneath the shattered light above.

When your back connected against the bottom of the deep end, you managed to wriggle out from under the dead’s listless body — though the tarp remained twisted around your limbs. No matter how hard you fought, how hard you struggled, you couldn’t free yourself from the suffocating material. You could’ve sworn you were caught in a dream, your movements lagging and sluggish as you thrashed beneath the surface.

It felt as though someone had reached their hand directly through the center of your chest, squeezing your insides in a vice-like grip. A tingling sensation crawled down your spine, settling atop your churning stomach as the throbbing behind your ears began to slow.

You were listening to your last heartbeats.

It became unbearable, the water threatening to force its way past your clamped lips, the simple need to breathe. A sharp stab of pain shot through you as the blackness in your vision intensified, pulsing reddish-white around the edges as the fire in your chest consumed you at last.

Then, with nothing else left to do, you inhaled.

You weren’t sure what happened next — everything felt faint and fuzzy and quiet. The darkness that lingered no longer struck fear in you — instead, it was warm, enveloping you in its arms like a long-lost lover. The silence was soothing as you drifted in the emptiness, like careless whispers and forgotten melodies. You were weightless, you were freed, you were everything and nothing all at once.

You were dying.

That you were sure of.

Yet much to your surprise, you weren’t afraid — no, instead…you felt at peace.

But the brevity of calm didn’t last as you were suddenly aware of a vague pressure, though it wasn’t all-consuming nor constant. It was distant at first, a feeling you could’ve easily brushed aside had it not begun to gradually grow in force, in vigor — a steady pounding, coming from the center of your chest, over and over again.

The warmth around you began to splinter, shattering like shards of glass, the fallout piercing your skin as it collapsed around you. The pain was deep and burning and you longed for just a moment ago when all you felt was the sweetness of oblivion. The pressure pounding against your chest increased, becoming the sole thing you could feel, the only thing you could focus on, the unwavering thuds drawing you back from whatever place you’d drifted off to.

In the next moment, you were awake.

Your body flailed, jolting upright, but you’d only managed to get an inch or two off the ground before water began to suddenly spurt from your mouth. Your eyes squeezed shut as you choked on the liquid, every nerve ending in your body red-hot. You were vaguely aware of hands, rough and calloused and familiar, gripping onto your arms and forcing you onto your side, the motion allowing the water leaving your lungs to flow easier.

You gasped a constricted breath, coughing harshly on the exhale, completely and entirely disoriented as to what in the fuck just happened. Your chest tightened as you spit up more water, your throat closing around the sensation as you fought for control of your breathing, the feeling of concrete against the side of your body grounding you.

When your coughs finally died down, the same hands from before grabbed onto your arms, pulling your deadweight upright, maneuvering your limp body as if you were a rag doll. You blinked your bleary eyes open, wincing from the sunlight directly above as you drew in shaky breaths.

And then you saw him.

Daryl knelt in front of you, his ragged breathing mirroring your own, soaking wet from head to toe. Strands of hair stuck against his forehead, droplets of water still dripping from the ends as he stared at you, wide-eyed, his expression a mixture of horror and shock — something you rarely witnessed when it came to the archer.

He was mouthing something — no, he was shouting something — but you couldn’t hear him. You couldn’t hear a damn word he was saying as you sat there, dazed and confused, wondering if what just happened actually happened.

His hold around your arms slipped away, his hands cradling either side of your face instead, tilting your head up and brushing your drenched hair back. He leaned forward a fraction, frantically studying your features, his haunted eyes bouncing back and forth between your own as though making sure you were there — really there.

The silence was becoming a little less resounding, the world around you gradually seeping back, though muffled and dull — but the way Daryl was looking at you, the apprehension in his gaze, shook something loose inside you. Your mouth opened, but no sound came out. You wanted to tell him it was okay — that you were okay — but damn it, why couldn’t you speak?

So instead, you slowly lifted your hands, weakly grasping onto Daryl’s wrists, the small motion all you could muster — you had to let him know you were here. He glanced down at your hands, a small huff of relief escaping him.

But when he looked back up, you noticed the moisture that’d built in the corners of his eyes.

Daryl’s hands slipped behind your head, holding you still as he leaned forward and pressed his forehead gently against yours.

You, on the other hand, silently thanked whatever God or higher power was out there for giving you one more moment like this.

When the archer pulled back, you spotted a red streak smeared across his forehead that hadn’t been there before. Your brow knitted together as he sat back on his haunches. You tried clearing your throat, the sensation burning the rawness that’d spread. “You’re —” you croaked, your voice sounding foreign. “— you’re bleeding, D.”

Daryl’s expression darkened, his jaw clenching as he lowered his gaze and unsheathed his hunting knife. “It ain’t mine,” he rasped, suddenly slicing a long strip of fabric off from the bottom of his dampened shirt and balling it in his fist, ringing out some of the water.

Before you knew what was happening, he was reaching forward, pressing the material gingerly against your forehead and wrapping it behind your head, tying the strip into a knot to keep it in place. You were surprised at the sting of pain you felt, unsure when you managed to cut your head open in the midst of what had happened — everything was still sort of…fuzzy.

The sound of a car door slamming drew your attention. You peeked out of the corner of your eye, spotting Tara jogging towards you, the car you’d driven to the motel running idle in the parking lot.

“They’re coming!” she called out, motioning towards something just behind Daryl.

You craned your neck, attempting to get a look, but before you could, the archer was looping his arms beneath your armpits and hefting you up to your feet. The world tilted unsteadily around you, and had it not been for Daryl’s hold, the ground would’ve surely rushed up to meet you.

“I got ya,” he rasped, slinging one of your arms across his shoulders, his grip snaking around your waist.

Tara appeared at your opposite side, slightly out of breath. “Welcome back, chicka,” she shot you a slightly strained smile before following Daryl’s lead and winding your other arm across her shoulders, keeping you propped upright between them.

You wanted to tell them you were fine, that you were more than capable of walking on your own — but your strength had depleted, your legs shook beneath you, and the shock was beginning to wear off, making all the little aches and pains in your body alarmingly obvious.

Then, you were moving.

They half-dragged, half-carried you across the stretch of concrete, hurrying towards the parking lot where Tara had left the car. You peeked over your shoulder, managing to get a glimpse of what you were leaving behind — the small herd from earlier had been taken down, their bodies splayed out sporadically on the other side of the pool. Some sporting knife wounds, others bullet holes. The pool itself was rippling, the water sloshing back and forth, air bubbles visible at the surface.

Some of the dead had followed you into the water.

Just beyond the pool, you spotted exactly what you were running from — another herd, three times the size of the first one, ambling in from the woods behind the motel, most likely drawn in by gunfire.

When you reached the car, Tara slipped away and jumped into the driver’s seat. Daryl flung open the back door and maneuvered you carefully inside. You grimaced as you inched further into the car, only stopping once your back was pressed up against the opposite door. The archer quickly slid in after you and slammed the door shut, grabbing onto the back of the driver’s seat as Tara peeled out of the parking lot.

The silence that followed rang heavy.

Your heart hammered against your chest, your breaths coming out slightly wheezy, almost like there was still some water left in your lungs. You met Tara’s eyes in the rearview mirror before she focused back on the road — you noticed then that the sleeves of her shirt, up to her elbows, were wet.

She’d helped drag your body out of the pool.

You glanced over at Daryl, the archer’s grip on the driver’s seat white-knuckled as he stared at the back of the headrest. Waves of tension rolled off him, the feeling nearly palpable. But his eyes flickered towards you a moment later, as though he felt you watching him, and some of the rigidity faded.

He wordlessly shuffled closer, grabbing your arm and pulling you away from the door you leaned against. You were too tired and too sore to object, your body slumping against his side as he wrapped his arm around your shoulders — you thought for a brief moment that he was hugging you.

But instead, he wound your seatbelt around your body and locked it in place.

Daryl fell back against the seat beside you with a huff, keeping his gaze focused ahead, staring straight through the windshield. He didn’t look at you again — he remained still, like he was carved from stone. You weren’t even sure he was breathing. His arm just barely grazed the side of yours, but despite whatever hidden turmoil was surely happening inside of him, he made no effort to move away.

He needed time to process what happened — what almost happened.

But so did you.

You shifted, closing the small gap between you and resting your head against his shoulder, ignoring the way he stiffened. The material of his shirt was still damp and smelt like a mixture of chlorine and mildew from the murky pool water, but you couldn’t find it in you to pull away either.

You hadn't realized you’d dozed off until the archer gently shook you awake, the car now parked outside Alexandria’s makeshift infirmary.

You still felt weak and lethargic, but you managed to make your way inside without any help — although Daryl, silent and stoic as ever, remained at your side, his hand hovering over the small of your back.

The infirmary was quiet as Denise checked you over — Tara had gone to update Rick and the others on what happened, as well as distribute the supplies you’d managed to bring home. Daryl, on the other hand, paced — back and forth, like a caged animal, on the opposite side of the room. Almost like part of him desperately wanted to run, but a bigger part of himself needed to be there.

“Are you feeling any nausea? Confusion? Loss of basic motor skills?” Denise suddenly asked, breaking the silence that’d stretched on, looking up from the textbook she was reading from. She’d never dealt with an ‘almost drowning’, but had been able to scrounge up some old medical textbooks for help.

“Uh,” you cleared your throat, shaking your head once. “No. No, nothing like that.”

“Okay, good. Yeah, that’s good…” she murmured, mostly to herself, before flipping to the next page and skimming the stretch of words. “Besides your forehead, any other lacerations?” she looked up at you once more, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

“I don’t —” you shot Daryl a look, but he was too busy pacing to notice. “I don’t think so,” you shook your head again, your fingertips ghosting over the bandage Denise had patched your head up with.

“Good, good. We’ll want to keep an eye on that in case of infection,” she informed before flipping to the next page, mouthing the text to herself. “Okay, and any soreness?”

You grimaced as you sat up a little straighter. “Just — just right here mostly,” you admitted, motioning towards your center, below your chest.

Denise shut the textbook and placed it on the metal table you sat on top of. “Can you show me?”

Your brow knitted together but you obliged, sliding off the table and grabbing the hem of your shirt. You fought back a wince as you rolled the material up, stopping just below your chest, exposing your skin.

The first thing you noticed was the way the room suddenly stilled — you glanced up, spotting Daryl standing frozen across the way, pacing no longer. But he wasn’t staring at you — he was staring at your midsection, a look in his eyes you’d never seen before.

When you lowered your head, getting a good look at yourself for the first time, you realized exactly what he was seeing.

Bruises. Dark and discolored. Scattered down your sternum and along the center of your ribcage.

Your head snapped up at the sound of the front door slamming shut.

And Daryl was gone.

You tried to ignore the pinprick of tears that grew, the hurt that settled across your chest as you lowered your shirt back in place — but when Denise suddenly reached out and placed her hand on top of yours, patting it softly, your features crumpled.

Everything that happened seemed to catch up to you in that moment — the fear, the shock, what Daryl must’ve felt pulling your unmoving body out of the water. You’d nearly died. What would’ve happened if he hadn’t been able to bring you back? Would he have been the one to put you down when you undoubtedly turned? Or would Tara have done it — the act far too painful for the man you loved to follow through with.

The man you loved.

Denise wrapped her hand around yours, squeezing gently and drawing you back. “Hey, it’s okay,” she soothed.

You quickly swiped at the tears that slipped down your cheeks, huffing a hitched breath. “I know, I’m just —” you glanced up at the front door, hanging onto the foolish hope that it’d swing open once more. “I don’t know,” you finally mumbled, albeit defeatedly.

Denise followed your gaze, scoffing slightly. “Men suck,” she finally shrugged.

You sniffled softly before shaking your head. “Not that one,” you murmured fondly.

Denise squeezed your hand once more, shooting you a sympathetic smile before she pulled away. “It could’ve been worse — most people who have CPR done on them end up with broken ribs or punctured lungs. You, my friend, are one of the lucky ones.”

You inhaled a deep breath, fighting back a wince, the motion stretching your bruised body. “Thank you. For everything.”

Denise nodded before taking off her glasses, using the hem of her shirt to clean the lenses. “Y/N, I don’t mean to overstep my boundaries, but,” she paused, sliding her glasses back on as she regarded you seriously. “You smell like a sewer rat.”

You faltered, completely caught off guard by her statement before remembering that you were still wearing damp, swampy, pool water clothes. Then, despite everything, a laugh slipped past your lips, breaking the tension. You let out a hiss as the movement sent a wave of pain through you. “Ow, fuck, don’t make me laugh,” you bit back another chuckle, lightly swatting her arm.

Denise smiled before motioning towards the door. “Go home, shower, get some rest — Doctor’s orders,” she grinned, turning away and beginning to clean up her workstation.

You thanked her again before hobbling out of the infirmary.

As night drew near, most residents of Alexandria were already in their respective homes — you were grateful for that. You didn’t want to see anyone right now, their worry and endless questions something you were more than happy to put off until tomorrow.

When you made it back to the apartment you and Daryl shared, you were, yet again, fighting back feelings of disappointment — he wasn’t home. You felt a pinprick of worry, but knew he needed time and space to process whatever it was he was feeling.

And when he was ready, you would be too.

You walked through the kitchen, the morning you’d shared earlier feeling like a lifetime ago — the pan he’d used to make eggs, now dry, remained sitting on the counter. The bedroom was untouched, looking exactly how it had this morning, just the way you’d left it. You grabbed a fresh set of clothes before making your way into the master bathroom attached, ignoring the bone-deep tiredness settling over you.

Showering was a good call — the warm water rained down as you scrubbed your body of the muck that clung to you, being extra careful not to get the bandage on your head wet or make any sudden movements. When you were finished cleaning up, you stood beneath the shower head for a few minutes, eyes closed, inhaling the steam around you with deep, calming breaths.

You were okay. You were alive. You were here.

You shut off the water, stepped out of the shower, and dried yourself off, gingerly patting down your chest and around your ribs, before slipping into clean clothes. You wiped away some of the steam that’d collected on the bathroom mirror before hanging up your towel, combing out your knotted hair, and brushing your teeth — the same routine you did every night.

The normalcy was soothing — you were already beginning to feel better, more like yourself. You were ready to put what happened behind you and move forward, sure to never take another day for granted.

But when you opened the bathroom door, ready to curl up in bed and doze off, all of your feelings from earlier came rushing back at the sight of Daryl.

Once again, he’d been pacing the length of the bedroom, only stopping after you’d entered the room, his gaze snapping towards you. He shifted his weight back and forth, opening his mouth before clamping it shut. You could feel his energy, rolling off his body in waves — tense, rigid, wild. He was struggling to say whatever was on his mind, only furthering his evident frustration. He flicked his hair away from his eyes, turning to face you head-on, clearly gathering up the gall to speak.

You took a small step forward. “Daryl —”

“Ya were blue,” he suddenly rasped, a fire in his gaze that wasn’t there before. “Tara was shoutin’ for ya an’ I — when I went in an’ pulled ya out, there wasn’t — I didn’t —” he huffed a breath in frustration, his face tinged red. “God, damn it, Y/N, ya were fuckin’ blue,” he finally growled, chest heaving, hands balled into fists at his side.

His anger wasn’t directed at you, but the situation itself, you knew that. But still, his words — or more so the emotion, the truth hidden behind them — had you recoiling from him, your heart breaking at the thought of what he’d seen, of what had run through his mind when he realized you weren’t breathing.

You couldn’t imagine how scared he must have been.

And that was what was beneath his outburst — not rage, but fear.

But he wasn’t finished with what he needed to say — if anything, he was just getting more and more worked up as he began to frantically pace once more. “This is why — I fuckin’ told ya — I didn’t need ya comin’ out there. I didn’t need ya on that run but ya — ya didn’t listen ta’ me an’ then —”

“I love you.”

Daryl stilled, mid-stride, his gaze widening as if all of the air had been sucked from his lungs.

You felt your face flush, the air between you so thick it could be cut with a knife. You hadn’t meant to say that aloud, but the words just sort of…tumbled out? And now, there they were, hanging between you. Part of you wondered if the archer could hear your heart pounding from where he stood — or maybe it was his heartbeat, synched up to yours.

You sputtered a soft breath, shaking your head in disbelief, trying not to panic because the last thing you wanted was for Daryl to look at you the way he was looking at you after telling him you loved him. “I’m —“ you took a breath, regarding him earnestly. “I’m sorry if that makes you uncomfortable. And I promise — I promise — you do not have to say it back. Hell, you don’t even have to feel the same way,” you huffed an awkward laugh, but the noise hitched somewhere in your throat, betraying your words. You grew serious once more. “I just — I couldn’t have another night going by without you knowing. Not after what happened today,” you swallowed the lump in your throat, shrugging a shoulder up meekly. “So, I love you — I love you more than anything.”

You weren’t sure what sort of reaction you were expecting from him. But you absolutely refused to acknowledge the tiny part of you that secretly wished he’d swoop you into his arms, pull you close, tell you he loved you too — because that wasn’t Daryl. That wasn’t the type of man he was — and you were okay with that.

Because you hadn’t fallen in love with that type of man.

You’d fallen in love with the man standing shell-shocked in front of you.

You cleared your throat and stepped forward, moving away from the bathroom doorway. “The shower’s all yours,” you murmured, needing to break the uncomfortable silence that carried on.

You sidestepped around his frozen form, ignoring the way your legs shook like jelly beneath you as you made your way towards the bed. You took a seat on the edge of the mattress, keeping your back towards him, staring ahead at the blank wall in front of you instead.

After what felt like forever, the floorboard squeaked beneath the shifting of his weight, his footsteps growing faint as he slowly walked away and entered the bathroom, closing the door shut after him.

You strained your ears, listening for any movement beyond the door he’d disappeared behind — but you heard nothing. It was like you could feel him through the panel of wood between you — you could almost picture him, just standing there, trying to process whatever the hell was going on inside that mind of his.

A moment later, the shower turned on.

And you released the breath you’d been holding.

Exhaustion swept through you, the day’s events wearing you down. You carefully maneuvered yourself into bed, pulling a thin sheet over your body and settling onto your side. Your eyelids grew heavy, the sound of the shower lulling you to sleep despite the strange, sort of freedom your admittance had brought you, the feeling buzzing through your veins.

You didn’t regret your vulnerability — he needed to know he was loved, damn it.

When you heard the shower turn off, you snapped your eyes shut. You listened to the archer move about the bathroom until the door finally creaked open. He seemed to be just standing there, and you could’ve sworn you felt him staring at the back of your head as if he was gauging whether or not you were actually asleep. But a moment later, you heard his footsteps padding across the bedroom before the mattress dipped beneath him.

You held your breath, covers drawn to your chin as Daryl shifted in bed, eventually lying down beside you. Another beat of quiet passed, neither of you moving, nor breathing it seemed.

But then suddenly, you heard him speak, so softly you almost missed it. “I know ya ain’t sleepin’,” he rumbled.

The corner of your mouth quirked up — because of course he knew.

You sighed, shifting gingerly onto your back, the sheet pooling at your waist as you looked over at him. He laid on his side, facing you, propped up on his elbow. He was dressed in clean clothes, his hair still wet from the shower, pushed back out of his face.

He really was rather beautiful.

“Busted,” you smiled, though the archer’s expression remained solemn.

Ever so gently, he reached towards you, his fingertip grazing the material of your shirt, over your ribcage, below your chest, hovering the bruises that lingered. “Does it hurt?” he rasped, the mouth turned downward into a small frown.

You shook your head. “Not really.”

Daryl’s eyes met yours, his expression skeptical and knowing.

You never were a good liar.

“At least you didn’t break a rib?” you offered sheepishly, your lame attempt at a joke falling flat given the current audience.

But when Daryl’s features fell, a flash of what looked like guilt settling over his face, you placed your hand on top of his, resting them against your stomach. “Don’t do that,” you murmured, reading him like a damn book as you rubbed circles with your thumb over the back of his hand.

The archer grumbled something indistinct, staring down at your intertwined hands.

Your grip tightened around his. “I mean it,” you spoke, an edge to your voice, only softening when he looked at you instead. “You saved my life, D — that’s it. You can let go of anything else you’re holding onto.”

Daryl’s lip twitched as he chewed on the inside of his cheek, seemingly mulling over your words.

You were sure he’d hang onto whatever unnecessary guilt he carried — because that was just who he was — but eventually, he nodded once and settled down on his back, staring up at the ceiling. You were too tired to press the subject further so you curled into his side and rested your head against his chest, winding your arm across his midsection. His arm automatically wrapped around you, his fingertips trailing absently up and down your spine, sending shivers through your body.

You weren’t sure how long you laid like that, melting into the warmth he exuded, the steady pounding of his heartbeat easing you to sleep.

You’d nearly faded away when Daryl suddenly spoke.

“Did ya mean it?” he rumbled, the noise vibrating from deep within his chest. “What ya said before?” he grunted, his hand pausing at the small of your back.

You could’ve imagined it, but you almost felt the slight tremble of his fingertips against your skin.

You slowly pushed up onto your elbow, your faces mere inches apart. You searched his uncertain gaze, a small smile tugging at your lips. “Of course I meant it,” you whispered. “Every damn word.”

Daryl’s eyes narrowed, as though not entirely believing what you said could be true.

So you leaned forward, closing the remainder of space between you, and pressed your lips gently against his. He returned the kiss, a quiet desperation growing as one hand came up to cradle the side of your face, his thumb sweeping back and forth across your cheek. You broke away from the kiss, brushing his hair back before meeting his lips once more, settling your hand on his chest, feeling his heart racing beneath your touch.

When you pulled back, you noticed his skin flush, surely mirroring your own. He looked up at you, slightly breathless, a fondness in his gaze that sent your stomach somersaulting. He cleared his throat, the ghost of a smile flickering across his face. “Well, alright,” he finally resigned, accepting your answer to his question.

You snorted a breathy laugh, leaning forward and kissing his cheek before burrowing against him. A soft sigh slipped past your lips as Daryl’s hold tightened around you, as though afraid you’d disappear if he didn’t.

You closed your eyes, reveling in the feeling of contentment, unsure how many more moments like this you, or anyone else for that matter, had left in this kind of cruel and harrowing world.

But for at least tonight, you could be at peace.

“I love you,” you murmured groggily, beginning to sink deeper into unconsciousness.

Right before sleep came, long after Daryl thought you’d drifted away, you heard him whisper three, simple words.

“More than anythin’.”

Then he pulled you closer and the world dimmed.

A/N: Aw...a happy ending! (I figured I owed ya after putting y'all through Honey & Whiskey lol)

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