#i cannot wait to see the full shoot

[hanfocus]

HAN for DAZED KOREA (FEB 2025)

[checkeredflagggs]

Baby Lion

Pairing: max verstappen x girlfriend!reader

summary: baby shower shenanigans with rich financially irresponsible F1 idiots drivers

a/n: I needed to do something funny 🤷🏻‍♀️

Masterlist | Taglist

Rookies Masterlist

Private Messages, the Grid (Unserious) [February]

Private Messages, Max and the Duckies Rookies [February]

y/n

liked by victoriaverstappen, sophiekumpen, maxverstappen1, and 1,824,349 others

tagged: sophiekumpen, victoriaverstappen

y/n: so many thanks to Sophie and Victoria for the amazing baby shower! Can’t wait to get the party started

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user1: What a party!

↳user2: it’s so aesthetic!

↳user1: Exactly! A Pinterest board dream

annehathaway: Looking forward to it! liked by y/n

oscarpiastri: Lily and I are on our way!

↳y/n: excellent! Shoot us a text or just come in when you get here — we probably won’t be able to hear you knock

↳lilyzneimer: Thank you again for the invite!

↳y/n: well since we’ve nearly taken custody of Oscar away from Charles — we really need to get know you!

↳charles_leclerc: stop stealing my kids!

↳nicolepiastri: is there something I need to know?

↳y/n: we can do shared custody Nicole? liked by nicolepiastri

↳hattiepiastri: or you could just take him?

↳oscarpiastri: 😑😑

user3: love love love the jungle theme 🦁🦒🐘

serenawilliams: Sorry we can’t be there but enjoy our gifts!

user4: ok but who all is going??

↳user5: Right? I need a full attendance list

↳user6: I’m guessing most if not all of the current grid?

↳user5: I mean obviously but who else?? Max and y/n are weirdly connected to a lot of different people

↳user6: you do have a point…

taylorswift: Can’t wait to see you again!

↳killatrav: do we get a trophy for winning the most baby shower games?

↳y/n: We’re so glad you could come! And Trav — absolutely

alex_albon: The theme is on point and I approve

↳y/n: not the albon approval I want tbh

↳alex_albon: 🙄

↳albon_pets: 🐾 paw prints of approval from us!

↳y/n: score!

caitlinclark22: Thanks again for the invite, sorry I couldn’t make it liked by y/n

user7: ok but I NEED to know if the rookies are there…

↳maxverstappen1: they invaded air max after Shanghai, then my apartment when we got to Monaco and they haven’t left

↳y/n: stop being mean to our sons!

↳olliebearman: yeah! You invited us!

↳jackdoohan: Don’t lie — you love doing arts and crafts with us

↳isackhadjar: You have to, you’ve stolen all the red beads

↳maxverstappen1: no one needs red anyway

↳y/n: well…

↳maxverstappen1: no

sophiekumpen: Oh, it was no problem sweetheart! Anything for my newest grand baby

↳victoriaverstappen: Yes! It was very fun to put it together and not have it thrown for you!

↳alexandrasaintmleux: It looks absolutely lovely! We can’t wait to get there to enjoy it in person

francisca.cgomes: Oh it’s so cute! (And I can’t wait for some of the games…)

↳landonorris: A chance to show off for my godchild? Sign me up!

↳y/n: what?

↳user8: Oh that’s not a good what… liked by y/n

y/n

liked by maxverstappen1, landonorris, charles_leclerc, and 2,821,628 others

y/n: now onto the games! We’ve got the Chug Bottle, Diaper Baby, Guess the Belly, Guess the Baby Food, Don’t Say Baby, and an Adopt an Animal Station!

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user9: oh my god Netflix needs to be there…

user10: I need details. I need receipts. I need videos.

maxverstappen1: All of this is going to be great blackmail material…

↳landonorris: Blackmail? No no no. This is gonna be video evidence of how great at games I am

↳y/n: I cannot begin to say how much over you were at Guess the Belly…

↳user11: ok but how much over was he?

↳y/n: based on his guess, I’m birthing a whale…

↳user11: oh my god 🤣🤣🤣

↳landonorris: I WASNT THAG BAD

↳y/n: Lando your ribbon was like 20 feet long!

oscarpiastri: Proud Winner of Don’t Say Baby 🏆

↳user12: that’s our Australian!

↳danielricciardo: rude!

↳jachdoohan: so rude!

↳user12: ok but he won?

↳danielricciardo: still rude

user13: I love the names but what even are those games???

↳y/n: chug the bottle is exactly like it sounds — we gave everyone champagne and whoever finished their bottle first won (Raikkonen won)

↳user13: I love that??

↳y/n: Diaper Baby had teams try to wrap a member into a toilet paper diaper (Trav’s team won this one)

↳user14: unexpected result…

↳y/n: the Guess the Belly had everyone cut a ribbon to the length they thought my belly was wide (Max, predictably, won)

↳user13: this was what Lando thought he won??? liked by y/n, maxverstappen1

↳y/n: Guess the Baby Food is again just like it sounds — they grabbed an unlabeled jar and had to guess the flavor (Yuki and Elton were shocking good at this one)

↳y/n: Don’t Say Baby had people trying to NOT say baby and if you heard someone else say it, you got to steal the clothespin for yourself. (Oscar was like a ninja and won by a landslide)

↳y/n: and the Adoption station was to adopt an animal, with a travel journal/camera, so the animal could go on adventures with the adopter and eventually baby lion will get those animals back with lots of fond memories

user14: ok i literally love all of these but the adoption center??? 😍😍😍

↳user15: that’s such a cute idea and for them to also have a journal and camera so there’s a story/timeline of their travels…

↳user15: and like we know/can guess Taylor and Sabrina and other singers were there…imagine the travel journal of those guys…

user16: ok but who ALL was there??? Cause we now have proof Kimi R was there…

↳user17: this is gonna be my white whale I just know it…

↳user18: oh that’s such a big mood! Need to know everything. Everyone there. All the gossip.

y/n

liked by taylorswift, zendaya, oscarpiastri, and 2,823,910 others

y/n: Everyone was so so generous today (and maybe a bit financially irresponsible — baby lion is a BABY who is gonna GROW why did you buy them so many shoes…) We ended up with a whole zoo of stuffed animals and somehow (ignoring my desperate pleas) enough electric cars for them all to drive see more…

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user20: that is the most extra baby crib I have ever seen in MY LIFE

↳user21: That it is. I think baby lion is destined to either be blessed by fairies or cursed by the fae with that crib…

↳user20: THATS SO TRUE OMG

georgerussel63: Well we had to get the child started with the right team!

↳maxverstappen1: and it’s not that one! All of it will be donated to charity (far far away from me)

↳user22: oh to be on max’s level of haterism…

↳kimi.antonelli: all of it 🥺🥺🥺

↳y/n: not yours sweetie! Baby lion will definitely be rocking your number occasionally!

↳kimi.antonelli: yayayaya!

oscarpiastri: Mum said that stuffed animals and diapers would be very welcome?

↳y/n: And they are! I just didn’t think we’d be opening our own stuffy zoo

���alex_albon: But the custom Albon pet line is the cutest right?

↳y/n: No that would be the custom Lion family with scent beads and realistic purring capabilities

↳alex_albon: foiled again…

landonorris: No picture of the rad McLaren merch and car I got you?

↳maxverstappen1: sorry it’s already been disposed of.

↳y/n: he was too fast for me — I opened it then it was already thrown away…

↳user23: I’m loving the fact that they’re talking about all the gifts because the fomo I would have otherwise…

user24: who on earth bought a diamond encrusted pacifier???

↳user25: FINALLY! That’s my biggest question too…

y/n

liked by lewishamilton, charles_leclerc, oscarpiastri, and 3,122,392 others

tagged: charles_leclerc, lewishamilton, sebastionvettel, kimimatiasraikkonen

y/n: and a very special thank you to you guys for all the Ferrari love! Forza Ferrari Sempre!

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charles_leclerc: Of course! We have to show Bébéte the real team to root for! liked by y/n

↳user26: Loving the wife and the mistress working together liked by y/n, charles_leclerc

maxverstappen1: we’re not keeping all of that

↳y/n: yes we are!

↳maxverstappen1: Redbull!

↳y/n: Ferrari!

↳maxverstappen1: Redbull!

↳y/n: you don’t even like Redbull that much anymore!

This comment has been deleted

pierregasly: Really? Jack and I got you so much Alpine stuff and we don’t get our own post?

↳y/n: Forza Ferrari Sempre!

↳jackdoohan: really?

↳y/n: oh don’t worry Jack! Baby Lion WILL be wearing the Doohan #7!!

↳jackdoohan: really? liked by y/n

↳pierregasly: really 😑

lewishamilton: It was a pleasure 🖤

↳y/n: So many thanks for all the clothing — lord knows I’ll need all the help I can get…

↳maxverstappen1: hey!

↳lewishamilton: 😂

user27: Are you telling me that y/n and max have Ferrari wonderkids Sebastian and Kimi giving them special Ferrari merch???

↳user28: I don’t know if I’d call Seb a Ferrari kid…

↳y/n: and yet we have so much Vettal merch in Ferrari red… liked by sebastianvettel

kimimatiasraikkonen: 👍🏻

↳y/n: 👍🏻👍🏻

y/n

liked by maxverstappen1, landonorris, oscarpiastri, and 2,827,193 others

y/n: my heart has never been so full. thank you everyone who came out today and thank you to everyone else who sent well wishes!

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Taglist

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[motorsportbarbie13]

One New Voicemail (Oscar's Version)

your relationship with oscar through voicemails

(no warnings. this one was fun. credit to @lestapiastrisgirl for the 'accidental voicemail' idea. hope this one was worth waiting for!! wc: 2.6k)

Oscar Piastri has a crush

“Hi. This is uh…” Oscar had actually just forgotten his own name. 

“This is Oscar Piastri. We met today on that tour?” 

He’d been asked to do a Q&A session with a class of kids that day, visiting from the local primary school. You’d been there, a chaperone for your son’s class. 

Oscar had briefly forgotten how to breathe. 

“Yeah, I hope this isn’t weird or anything but...” 

Pause. Now that he was about to say this out loud, it sounded super weird. He was going to murder Lando for talking him into this. 

“Okay this is probably pretty weird but in my defense, Lando said this is what he’d do.” Another pause, heavy with the weight of regret at listening to Lando Norris of all people. 

“Which was probably my first mistake, listening to chaos personified. Anyway…”

Now, where was he? 

Fuck. 

“Fuck. Sorry. So.” Oh God, this was going so so very bad “This is Oscar from earlier today. I had my PR manager find your number because…this is so embarrassing.” 

Oscar’s chest feels like it might crack apart with how heavy this moment feels. 

“I’ve just never seen someone so pretty as you are and it’s to the point where I have to just, suck it up and shoot my shot because I might just go insane if I lose out on a chance at even one single date with you.” 

The confession tumbles from his lips, quick and thick with his accent. 

“So. If I haven’t totally terrified you yet, call me back? I’d like to take you out.” 

Click. 

He kisses you 

“Hi.” He’s breathless, chest rising and falling quickly. Oscar is distracted momentarily by the memory of the way you’d pressed your lips to his just moments before. 

“Uh…Hi.” He stumbles. 

“I hope that was okay to do. I just couldn’t stop thinking about how much I wanted to kiss you all night long.” He flushes in to the darkness, thankful no one from the garage was around to see him absolutely fold for this woman.  

“Every time you bite your bottom lip when you’re concentrating is so fucking distracting, I could barely remember how to blink.” 

The confession hangs quietly in the air, thick and warm like woolen blanket. 

“Woman, you have ruined me and I am so thankful for that. I don’t think I’ll ever fucking recover from that kiss, my love.” His voice is rich, husky in a way that made your stomach twist. 

“When can I see you next?” A pause, as if something pings in his memory. 

“I know you have Jack full-time and I want to be respectful of that. So, you tell me when and that’s what we’ll do.” 

He makes it sound so easy. You know it’s not. But if he’s willing to try, so are you. 

“You’re in control here.” 

Music to your ears. 

“Okay. Call me when you get a minute. I just want to hear your voice.” 

Click

He Meets Your Son

“I am in awe of you, woman.” Oscar’s voice is misty, airy in a way that tells of his admiration of you. 

“The way you mother Jack is…God.” He chuckles, sighs and shakes his head.

“It was a sight to see. That little boy is so loved by you.” Your heart stalls at his words, at the sincerity in his tone. 

“I cannot believe how good he was at that miniature golf today!” Oscar huffs a laugh, light and genuine.  

“Lando is going to be so excited to have a potential golfing buddy in the future.” 

Oh, he was making plans plans now? He was so down bad. 

“You know how some people are just built to be a parent? That’s you, my love.” The compliments spill from his lips, as easy as breathing. 

“Watching you and Jack together today, getting to meet him…” The awe in his voice. Like he knew how big of a deal it was for you to allow someone else in your son’s life. 

You didn’t bring people around that weren’t going to stay. You had extended that trust to Oscar and he had accepted that responsibility without question.

Knew it was a privilege. 

“You are raising one hell of a kid. I hope you know that.” He pauses, dragging in a shaky breath. The emotion of what he wanted to say, what he needed you to know sat heavy on his chest. 

“How good you are. How well you’re doing. I know you know this,” 

A pause.

“But in case you need a reminder allow me to be the voice of reason, sweet girl.” 

Tears slip down your face, fast and free as you choke on a sob. 

“You are a good mom and Jack is such a good kid. Call me after his bedtime.” 

Click. 

He babysits 

“Okay, don’t panic.” 

You do, in fact, panic. 

“Everyone’s fine. For the most part.” 

Somehow, you doubted that by the way Oscar was panting and breathless on the other end.  

“No one is at the hospital. Yet.” 

You were going to kill him. And Lando. 

“I feel like I’m babysitting Jack AND Lando right now. Oh God, they’re causing a scene.” You hear the distinct wail of your six year old followed by Lando’s muffled British accent. 

“Why’d I let him talk me into taking Jack karting is beyond me.” He shakes his head. 

“Not entirely sure how I managed to get you to agree to this.” He muses. 

He was going to be in so much trouble. 

“Jack’s only gone into the barriers twice, which is only once more than Lando funnily enough.” 

It was not funny. 

“Don’t tell Lando I told you that.” Oscar says quickly and you chuckle. 

“We just finished our third race, Jack finished P1 all three of them.” Oscar sounds truly impressed. 

“That kid is good, babe! If you want, we can go to a proper track next time!” He knows he might be getting ahead of himself but the way Jack looked taking those corners as fast as he could push the little go-kart reminded Oscar a lot of himself at that age. 

He shakes his head, dislodging those kinds of feelings from his head. The dangerous ones. The ones that lead to slow Sunday mornings and quiet Thursday dinners. 

“Maybe Jack will race at Silverstone one day.” His voice goes wistful. Sentimental. Something Oscar generally doesn’t allow himself the luxury of doing. 

But he’s begun to, with you. Little by little. Piece by piece. 

“Anyway. We’re having fun. Miss you.” He almost says two other words, but catches himself. 

“Say bye to your mom, Jack.” He calls quickly. 

“BYE MOM.” Your boy yells gleefully. 

“BYE MOM!” Shouts Lando. 

Oscar groans. 

Click. 

An Accidental Voicemail

The TV plays softly in the background. Everything is muffled. It takes you a moment to realize but this wasn’t meant to be recorded. 

“So, your middle name is Jack? Just like my first name?” Jack asked skeptically. 

You’ve been sent to the spa that Saturday morning, one of Oscar’s rare weekends home during the season. Jack was thrilled to get alone time with your boyfriend. 

“Exactly.” Oscar confirms. 

“Did she pick you on purpose then?” Jack asks, voice small. 

Oscar tilts his head. Turns down the volume on the TV. 

“What do you mean, bud?” 

“Well, she already knows my name so did she pick you because your middle name is Jack. I know she forgets things a lot so maybe she picked you so she’d have one less name she’d have to remember.” 

The laugh that Oscar lets out is genuine and warm. He ruffles your son’s dark brown curls. They’re so similar to his, it’s almost spooky. 

“I don’t think that’s quite how it works, kiddo.” He says gently, but there’s laughter at the edge of his voice. 

“No, I think it is.” Jack says, all six year old confidence and bravado.

“I think it means you two should get married one day too.” 

Oscar is quiet for a beat. Like he doesn’t quite know how to react to that little declaration. 

“Yeah, that’s the goal for one day, little man. Would you like that? Your mom and I getting married one day?” 

This was certainly not the conversation Oscar thought he’d be having today. He hoped he wasn’t overstepping but it wasn’t like the two of you hadn’t already discussed it. In vague terms, in ‘one day’, abstract conversations about quiet wishes whispered late at night in the darkness. 

Jack thinks for a moment and then nods. “Yeah, I think that would be cool.” 

Something tightens in Oscar’s chest. 

“Well, now we just have to get your mom on board, huh?” Oscar says conspiratorially. “Hopefully she says yes.” 

“She already told me she would.” He says it so casually, so off-handedly that Oscar’s heart nearly stops. 

And then he glances at his phone. “Oh…sh…” 

Click. 

Thanks, Dad 

“Hi. We have a problem.” He stops. Silence. 

“Problem? No, that’s not the right word.” He reconsiders. 

Oscar is always very careful with his words.  

“A…situation? That sounds bad. Maybe it is? I’m kind of spiraling.” 

Clearly. 

“When Jack got into the car today after school pickup, he told me how his friends didn’t believe his dad was Oscar Piastri.” Your stomach lurches. 

“Dad.” 

The word hangs in the air. Heavy. Meaningful. Everything.

“He…seemed to catch what he had just said and got a little shy.” 

Jack had shrunk back in his seat, realizing his embarrassing slip of the tongue. 

“But then in the tiniest voice I’ve ever heard him use, asked me if it would be okay if he called me dad.”

Oscar had nearly driven off the road. 

“I panicked. Should I have told him no?” 

A pause. He swallows around the stone of emotion that’s blocking his windpipe.  

“I told him he could.” He confesses. 

It had been an easy decision. As easy as falling in love with you. He just hoped you wouldn’t be mad. 

“I told him that he could call me whatever he wanted and if he wanted to call me dad he could.” Oscar paused. 

“I should have asked you though? Maybe?” His voice was tight. Thin. Like he was second guessing everything coming out of his mouth. 

“Oh, I am freaking out here.” He blew out a breath. 

“Did I just ruin everything? Jack was super happy when I dropped him at your moms. All smiley and chatty about his homework.” 

The words come quickly, like he’s trying to convince himself that this is okay. That he’s not seeing his very much desired future unfolding right in front of him.

“Then he gave me a hug and said ‘Thanks for picking me up from school, Dad.’” 

Emotion chokes him

“Babe. I. What?” He lets out a breath of disbelief. Like he can’t figure out how he stumbled his way into such happiness. 

“Can I? Can we…” 

A sob concealed as a cough. 

“Be a family? Please? 

Click. 

Interview Blunder 

“Um. Hi. Quick reminder that I love you…” Oscar was away for the weekend, somewhere in the Middle East, for a race. 

“But hopefully you listen to this before you watch the post-race presser.” 

Oscar had finished P2 that weekend, the tail end of a brutal triple header. You hadn’t seen him in what felt like weeks. The sound of his voice was a balm. 

“I just…” He drags in a shaky breath. 

“A reporter asked me if I was excited to have a few weeks off and without thinking I said that I couldn’t wait to get back home to my family.” That wasn’t unusual. Oscar was known throughout the paddock to be family oriented. 

“I said that I missed my son and was looking forward to doing school drop-off so you could have your slow mornings back.” 

Silence. Oscar has never publicly claimed Jack like that. It was known in your circle that you two were serious. That Jack called Oscar Dad. That you three were a family. 

But to the general public? No one knew fully grasped how serious it was. 

“I didn’t mean to talk about Jack so publicly. I know you don’t want him in the spotlight.” His breath catches, like he can’t fully take in a lungful of air. 

It wasn’t that you didn’t want to be claimed by Oscar. You saw the kind of relationship he had with your son, the way he carefully considered Jack in everything he did. You were scared of the public scrutiny, the way people always had an opinion on everything. All you wanted was to protect what was yours. 

“Fuck, please don’t be mad at me.” The anxiety in his voice has your stomach twisting painfully. 

You weren’t mad. 

“He calls me dad and I think of him as my own, baby. You and Jack are my family and I slipped.”  He hadn’t meant it. It hadn’t truly clicked, what he’d said, until he saw the look on Lando’s face beside him. The shock. The awe. The cheeky grin. 

“I thought Sophie was going to have an actual anxiety attack. Crofty nearly went feral. Lando choked on air.” He chuckled. The reactions in the room had been priceless, even if he’d fully panicked as soon as the weight of what he’d said settled in his chest. 

“I think Max even smiled a little.” Anything that got Max Verstappen to show emotion was a big deal. 

“Anyway. Fuck.” He paused, his train of thought stalling. 

“My point is that I’m sorry, I just love that kid so much. And you. I love you.” He says it as easily as if he’s reading the day’s weather forecast. Matter of factly. Casually. 

“And you’re both my family and one day we’re all going to have the same last name and he’s always going to be my son and I just hope you’re not mad.” 

Another pause. Like he’s trying to figure out if he needs to do more damage control.

“I love you.” He says again. 

Deep breath. 

“Okay. Call me. Tell Jack I’ll be home soon.” 

Click. 

[chaoticwriting]

Old Friend 2

Part 1

In the car

Vlad: So, young Daniel. I'm not really trying to pry but may I know how you know young Cassandra?

Danny: *Grunts* We met a long time ago. Way before I became Phantom. I was kidnapped when I was young by a group of cultists.

Vlad: What!? I never knew any of this.

Danny: Of course you don't. My family never dares to bring up the topic since they are afraid it will trigger my trauma or something.

Vlad:.......

Danny: And for the longest time, they are not wrong. Imagine, you are 5 years old, waiting for your parents who go out to hunt some ghosts when suddenly a group of men in fully black clothing cover your face with black clothing and knock you up. Next thing you know, you are standing in the middle of a group of children. Scared just as much as you while being surrounded by a group of assassins.

Danny releases a sigh as he remembers his past.

Danny: It is not easy to survive. They train you like you are a robot. If you don't complete your task, they will either punish you or ignore any of your needs. Sometimes both. For them, kids who fail to complete tasks are as worthless as a grain of sand.

Danny: I stayed there for a full 4 years. Training, fighting and killing. I do whatever it takes to survive. Just to see mom, dad and Jazz again. It was there I met her. She's just like me although her circumstances are different.

Danny: A kid who is raised unwillingly as an assassin. We used to escape our observes eyes and meet up in a forest. For the longest time, it was like that. Sometimes we talk about escaping. But most of the time we just talk, or show each other things that we found interesting while we were out on a mission.

Heavy silence falls in the car as Danny stops talking.

Danny: However, things changed one night. I waited and waited in the forest. But she never came. When I returned back to the base, I heard a commotion. "The Perfect Weapon has escaped". I don't know what to feel then. It felt like I was betrayed and yet I felt relieved and happy to know that she was no longer there.

As Danny stops speaking, they arrive at the hotel Vlad booked. Vlad is not good at comforting people but he knows from Jazz that sometimes giving people time alone is a good way to comfort them.

They eat dinner from the room service and decide to go to bed early tonight. As Danny lays on his bed, visions of the past return to him. The bitter and the sweet. Looking at the clock that is past midnight, Danny gets out of bed and takes out a long coat. If he can't sleep, might as well get rid of this excess energy.

---Wayne Manor---

Bruce silently nods as he hears his daughter's story. Honestly, it frustrates him that such a thing could happen and yet he cannot do anything about it. Sometimes, he wonders if he should really just kill all his rogues.

No. He shouldn't think like that. Returning his focus to his daughter, Bruce calmly rubs her head.

Bruce: It's fine. I'm sure you could talk it out with him. From what I see, he is not fully hostile to you. I'm sure he would understand if you explain it to him.

Cass: Hmmm.

Bruce: Do you still want to go on patrol tonight? I think Tim is free to fill in your spot if you don't feel like it.

Cass: No. I'm okay and will be. Just need to process my thoughts.

Bruce: Alright sweetheart.

Suddenly, his phone starts ringing.

Oracle: Hey, Bruce.

Bruce: Yeah?

Oracle: You might want to check in soon. There have been reported shootings at a factory near Scarecrow's territory.

Bruce: Alright. Inform the others to get ready.

As the call is cut off, Cass quickly goes down to the Batcave. She will think about how to contact Danny later. First, there is a shooting to quell.

Part 3

[darkbluekies]

Cannot take what was never meant to leave

Yandere!king OC x fem!fairy!reader

Summary: Edmund walks out in the forest and finds something he never seen before: a tree fairy. Upon learning that he can't take her as long as her tree is there, he does the only thing he can think of.

Warnings: Edmund is a bit more insane than usual, reader is in a lot of pain, kidnapping, basically killing, use of an ax

Word count: 2.5k

A/N: this is HEAVILY inspired by Erutan's song "The Willow Maid"!! I have absolutely loved that song for ages, and after seeing PurestarMedia's music video of it on YouTube, I had to write something!! Edmund felt like the perfect fit for it!!

Summer is almost over. He can tell by a slight shift in the winds that colder times are approaching, even though barely any of the trees show any signs of autumn. He can't wait until he can bring out his thicker coat. He likes the colors of it much more.

Ten men he brought with him on his hunt for rabbits. They've decided to go into another part of the forest in hopes of finding anything.

Suddenly. A sound.

“Shh!” Edmund hushes and holds up a hand, signaling the others to stop.

He listens closely. It sounds like humming. It's a tune he has never heard before, but one that feels weirdly familiar — as if he has heard it in a dream or past life.

Quietly, they follow the sound until they reach a field full of small, white flowers. In the middle of the white field stands a tree with dark leaves. A scene taken straight out of one of the paintings hanging on the castle walls. Edmund notices someone sitting by the foot of the tree, resting among the roots. A woman?

The group of men creep closer. The woman is lying on the tree roots, leaning her head against the tree trunk, having a root under her knees for support. She's dressed in a long, white gown reminding Edmund of the small flowers. On her head rests a flower crown made of the very flowers. Her eyes are shut. Her mouth hums. 

A fairy.

One of Edmund’s men steps onto a branch on the floor, which snaps in half and pulls the fairy out of her thoughts. Her eyes snap open, revealing them to be deep and dark — and full of fear. She shoots up from her root and stumbles backwards, hiding behind her tree.

“Who are you?” she asks quickly. “What do you want?”

“You are a fairy”, Edmund says, still in disbelief.

“Yes … what do you want?”

“Have you seen any rabbits around here?”

She peeks out from behind the tree.

“What do you want them?” she asks and seems to notice the rifles hanging over their shoulders. “I'm not assisting you in killing harmless creatures.”

Edmund meets her dark eyes. They're hypnotic.

“You humans are despicable sometimes”, she says. “Killing innocent creatures who haven't done anything to you.”

“If I wouldn't, someone else would — man or animal.”

“I want you to leave.”

“Yeah, we should move on. We have rabbits to hunt.”

He can feel her eyes burn through his back as he walks back over the field of white flowers. He hopes that she will watch him until he disappears into the forest.

“Did you have a good hunt, your majesty?” his secretary asks as Edmund and his ten men come back to the castle.

“Caught a few rabbits”, he answers and smiles, thinking of the memory. “We encountered a fairy.”

They start to walk inside. 

“A fairy?” the secretary asks and holds the door into the castle open for the young king.

“What do you know about fairies?” Edmund asks. 

They walk down the large hall.

“I know that, like humans, there are different types of fairies”, the secretary says. “You found her in the woods, you said?”

Edmund nods. 

“She’s probably a tree fairy”, the secretary continues. 

“Yeah, she was sitting by a tree … almost like it was holding her”, Edmund says, furrowing his dark brows as he thinks about it. 

He holds out his arms as if he was carrying a woman, imagining her knees bending over his right arm and her back supported by his left … her head resting on his shoulder — like she had done to the tree bark. 

They walk into Edmund’s office, closing the door behind them. 

“What do you know about tree fairies?” Edmund asks and throws himself in his chair. 

“I know that they live in the woods and that they are connected to a particular tree. They feed off of sap from the tree and flower nectar — and if their tree bears fruit they eat that too.”

“What happens if they eat something else? Like meat? Or potatoes?”

“I don’t know, your majesty.”

“Would it kill them, do you think?”

“Perhaps. What I do know kills a tree fairy is killing their tree.”

Edmund looks up at him. “What?” 

“Their life source is connected to their tree. They live as long as their tree does.”

“So you’re saying that a fairy can become hundreds of years? Thousands even?”

“Could be.”

“Interesting.” He sighs and throws his head back. “You should have seen that thing. Before she noticed us she looked so … peaceful. She was resting and humming a tune. When she realized that we were there she flew up and hid behind her tree. All of that seemed so young and naive. Her tree wasn’t that large either. I think I’ve found myself a young fairy.”

“The fairy seems to interest you.”

“I’ve always wanted to meet a fairy. I didn’t believe that they actually existed. But now, I’ve found one. I think that I’m going to make her my wife.”

The next day, he returns with his ten men and his secretary, dressed in his autumn coat. On the way to the glade, Edmund picks a few flowers with the biggest nectars he can find, hoping that they will be a good enough gift. He is going to ask her to marry him. 

She is walking around the white flowers, picking up a few and putting them in her flower crown. She looks up as they come. This time she doesn’t look as startled, but there’s something wary in her eyes. 

She’s beautiful and delicate, there’s no denying. Edmund needs her. Every fiber of his body needs her. She needs to be his wife, to be the mother to his children. He refuses to leave without her. 

“What brings you back?” she asks as Edmund gets close enough, but doesn’t sound like she wants to know. 

He can tell that she wants to get back to her tree. She gives it quick glimpses and takes small steps back towards it. 

Edmund holds out the flowers towards her. She hesitates before taking them out of his hand. Her fingertips barely graces his skin. Her touch is humanlike, kind and delicate. 

“Thank you”, she says and smells them softly. 

He smiles. He wants nothing more than to hug her, to hold what belongs to him in his arms, but he has to ask the question first.

“I want you to marry me”, Edmund says. 

The fairy drops the flowers in shock. They disappear underneath the small, white ones. Edmund furrows his brows.

“Marry you?” the fairy repeats, shocked. “How could I possibly-? No, no, I shall not.”

Edmund stares at her, eyes darkening, unable to understand how anyone could turn down his proposal. Women would travel far and wide to hear those words come from his mouth, and this fairy — who does she think she is — doesn’t even think twice before rejecting him. It should crush him, but instead it has the opposite effect. He will not leave without his fairy. 

He looks over his shoulder, at his ten men. “Seize her.”

Just as the ten men are about to grab the fleeing girl, his secretary grabs his shoulder. 

“Your majesty, don’t”, he says quickly. “That won’t be possible. She can’t leave the glade.”

“What do you mean?” Edmund scoffs.

“She’s connected to that tree.” He nods towards the tree in the middle of the field. “She can’t leave it.”

Edmund glares at the tree. That damn tree. The woman runs through the flowers towards her tree, hugging it tightly. Edmund finds it humorous how she thinks a simple tree could protect her. He could do it a hundred times better, will do it a hundred times better. 

He sees how she sinks down by the tree, huddled up by the tree bark, crying. Soon, she will search for comfort in him, not a damn tree. 

“We can’t take her”, the secretary says. “I don’t know what would happen if we tried, but as long as that tree is there, we can’t remove her.”

Edmund doesn’t answer as he walks back into the forest. The ten men follow him. His secretary keeps a distance. Edmund feels like he could explode with anger. He had pictured himself leaving the forest with his new fiance hand in hand. But he will not give up. He will get his fairy. 

He returns a third time the next day. This time he’s by himself … and this time, he’s brought an ax. Determined to take her with him. She will be his wife. This time, he’s not taking ‘no’ for an answer. He will not walk away empty handed. The thought consumes him as he marches through the forest, towards the glade. 

He can see her lying in the same spot he had seen her the first time. This time, she’s not humming. She opens her eyes as he gets nearer and jumps to her feet as her eyes fall on the sharp edge of the ax. 

“No!” she screams in pure panic. “No, what are you doing?! Don’t!”

Edmund lifts his hands and lands a blow on the bark, cutting away a piece. To his right, the fairy screams in agonizing pain and clutches her heart. He continues to hit the tree. The woman continues to scream. She cries in pain. 

It takes longer than he expects. He takes his eyes off the deep cut in the tree and turns them towards her. She’s lying between the roots, curled up with her hands pressed against her heart, crying and screaming. 

“Please stop!” she screams and sobs so that her entire body trembles. “Y-You’ll kill me! Please s-stop, please! I’m begging y-you!”

If he continues to hit the tree, she will die. 

Edmund will have to bring a piece of the tree with him and replant it in his castle’s garden so that it doesn’t die — so that she doesn’t die. He continues to chop. She continues to scream, cry and plead for him to stop. 

A loud creaking echoes through the air. He watches as the tree bends in half and falls. The fairy stumbles upon weak legs and hugs her fallen tree, sobbing. 

With the ax, Edmund manages to dig up root systems of the tree. He holds it in his left hand and grabs the fairy’s wrist tightly with his right. He yanks her up on her feet. 

“You belong to me now”, he says. 

She only sobs for an answer. She tries reaching out for her tree, but Edmund pulls her with him. She stumbles. He drags her into the forest. 

“Please …”, she sobs. “Please …”

He doesn’t know what she begs for. The tree is fallen, he can’t undo what he has done. 

“Please, I’m in so much pain”, she pants. 

He doesn’t listen, doesn’t have time for it. He has to get her to the castle, where he can lock her in, so that she can’t escape out to the forest again. 

He can feel her collapse. Edmund gasps and watches her lie lifeless on the ground. He shoves the tree roots in his pocket and hurries to check her pulse. She’s still living, for now. Edmund stresses to pick her up. Her limp body rests in his arms as he runs out of the forest, towards the castle. 

He runs into the castle yard, into the hallways and out to the garden. He lays the fairy down on the grass and hurried to dig a hole with his hands. Oh, how he hates the feeling of dirt under his nails. He can’t think about that now. 

He places the root in the hole and covers it with the soil. Edmund runs over to the fountain, cups his hands and fills it with water. He runs back and forth until enough water has been poured over it. He feels for a pulse on the fairy’s neck. There’s still a faint pulsation underneath his fingers. He removes his coat and places it on the ground beside the tree root before lifting the fairy onto it. He caresses her face. 

“You actually got her.”

He looks over his shoulder at his secretary. He stands there, looking at them in disbelief and horror. 

“Is she dead?” he asks. 

“No, not yet”, Edmund replies  breathlessly. “I brought a piece of the tree here and I have replanted it. She should survive. But we need flowers — lots of flowers. And anything else a fairy might eat. We need to nurture her back to life.”

“I’ll prepare some honey water, I think that should be drinkable.”

Edmund sits by the fairy, waiting patiently. 

Hours go by. She doesn’t move. Barely breathing. Edmund wonders if he she has fallen into some kind of limbo, where the tree is barely alive, and so is she. If the tree doesn’t survive, neither will she. He has to nurture both. 

He feeds the tree water and nutrient dense soil and tries to pour droplets of honey water into the fairy’s mouth. Sometimes she responds by swallowing softly, and sometimes let it drip out of her mouth. 

Hours turn to days. Days to weeks. As the tree slowly grows roots in Edmund’s soil and become stronger, so does the fairy. Edmund doubts that she will ever become as strong as she was before. The tree will never be in its full glory again, and neither will she. She can’t walk, her body is too weak to move more than a few minutes. He lets her rest by her short stub. When he can’t stay with her, he watches from afar, from one of the windows. She’s always curled up, hugging her stomach as if she’s got cramps. The poor thing never smiles anymore. 

He holds a glass of warm honey water in his hands as he walks out to the petty excuse of a tree. It'll take years to become as big as it originally was, but it will never be the original tree.

“Hi”, Edmund says softly and sits down beside the fairy, holding the cup to her dry lips.

She doesn't seem to care what she gets fed anymore. Maybe she hopes that it will kill her.

In a sense, Edmund has killed the fairy.

She drinks slowly.

“I don't know what to feed you when winter comes”, he says. “I have harvested a lot of nectar and sap, but I don't know how long that will be good for.”

A tear runs down her cheek. Edmund wipes it carefully.

“My fairy, don't worry”, he whispers reassuringly. “I will figure it out.”

He wishes that she could respond, but he hasn't heard her voice since that day she screams in pain — when he killed her.

He stands up, gives her forehead one last kiss before walking back inside. In the beginning, he used to have guards watch over the garden to make sure that she wouldn't run off, but he realized that as long as that tree is there, she isn't going anywhere.

[auroralwriting]

wait for your love

spencer reid x fem!liaison!reader

after joining the bau eight months ago, you and spencer quickly became close. too close, to be just friends, that is.

word count: 2k

warnings: comfort and fluff, no use of y/n, mutual pining, (un)reciprocated feelings, spencer's love-blind, he only likes your touch, vague hints at spencer's autism, playful flirting

Spencer Reid was all you'd ever wanted. He was a sweet, smart, charming, a gentleman. He understood your thoughts and feelings. He made time for you, and actually, the two of you spent a great deal of time together on a daily basis. It was rare you'd go more than two days without seeing the resident genius.

You were even the rare exception to his physical touch boundaries-- he couldn't keep his hands off of you. Holding your hand or interlocking your pinkies was a common form of touch you shared. Hugs, cuddling, and sharing beds wasn't uncommon, either. Usually on cases, you roomed together, even if you had separate rooms. You were Spencer Reid's solace, even more so-- simply his person.

The only issue? He was just your best friend.

For as close as the two of you were, no, you weren't dating. No, you had no clue how he felt about you. Sometimes it felt like he reciprocated your feelings, but then he'd go and call you something like his best friend. So, maybe he didn't reciprocate the feelings. But that was fine, you were still in his life and he was in yours. That was all that mattered, right?

You barreled into Spencer's hotel room the moment he opened the door from your rapid knocks.

Spencer watched as you flopped face-first on his bed with a chuckle, "Hello to you, too." He walked over to where you laid, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Can you guys please profile this douche any quicker?" You groaned into his pillow, the whine of your voice making Spencer smile. "I'm seriously done with the press on this one. I cannot take another call from stupid Heather Young."

"Who's Heather Young?" Spencer asked as you flipped yourself over quickly, sitting up to face him.

Begrudgingly, you pointed to the small TV that sat in front of his bed. "She's some nosey, obsessive, and pestering news reporter who wants the full coverage story on this case." You sighed. Heather Young truly was testing every limit you had. Her phone calls boarded on stalker, at least one an hour, if not more. You'd tried to block her number, but she found another phone to use. "She won't leave me alone. I swear, Spence, every hour this woman calls!"

Spencer knew all too well the struggles of being a liaison, and this was one of them. Dealing with obnoxious reporters and pestering questions would frustrate him to no end. That's why he admired you so much, for your tolerance and patience.

Your phone rang, and you groaned, turning back over and letting yourself fall face-first back into Spencer’s pillow. He chuckled, grabbing your phone and shutting it off so you wouldn’t receive any more calls for the night. “See? Problem solved,”

“Until six a.m when she calls me trying to get an inside scoop,” your muffled voice whined.

“You’re so grumpy,” Spencer chuckled, leaning on his arm beside you. “Come on, don’t let some stupid news reporter get you like this.”

Maybe if you'd looked closer, harder, you would've noticed the adoration in the genius's eyes. However, you just rolled your eyes and scoffed at his words. "M not grumpy,"

Spencer chuckled, poking your side teasingly. "You definitely are," He chuckled at the way you squeaked, shooting upward at the ticklish sensation.

"Spence!"

"If I were to look up the definition for grumpy, your name would be its definition." Spencer continued to softly poke at your ribs and sides, causing giggles to spew from your lips like an endless waterfall. It was music to Spencer's ears.

"Spencer!" You tried to whine, but it came out as laughter instead.

After a minute or so of his relentless attack, Spencer eased. "See? Not so grumpy anymore. I just know the grumpy cure."

"Tickling me is not a cure," You argued, crossing your arms as you sat criss-crossed in front of him. When Spencer went to reach forward, you sucked in a breath, "Okay, okay! Consider me cured!"

Spencer just chuckled at your words. "Admit it, you were grumpy. I could tell based on the way you threw yourself onto my bed." Spencer joked. He wasn't wrong. His hand, instead of poking, found its way to your side, but it gently caressed you in a sweet motion.

With another roll of your eyes, you smiled, letting Spencer know wordlessly he was right. His touch was soft and comforting. Spencer's touch, no matter how it's given, was the cure.

The moment was broken when your phone buzzed, a text from JJ lighting up your screen. For a moment, ignoring it was a highly considerable option, until you realized you were still on a case, and it could be important.

"Who's that?" Spencer asked, looking over your shoulder as you grabbed your phone from his bedside table.

"JJ," You simply stated.

Where are you? The text read.

With Spence, need anything?

Why can't you ever stay in your own rooms, SMH!! Wanted to see if you're ready to give the profile tomorrow?

You chuckled at her text, As ready as I'll ever be

KK, I won't bother you two lovebirds anymore! Enjoy Spencer time!!!

Spencer grinned at the texts. "You don't think she's going to read into that, do you?"

"She already does," You shrugged, setting your phone back down. "The whole team always asks, 'When are you and Spencer getting together?,' 'When are you finally gonna date?,' blah, blah, blah."

With an eyebrow now raised, Spencer felt himself become surprised at your response. While he speculated there was some sort of, well, suspicion about the two of you, he was never on the receiving end of any of it. Apparently, that's because you were. "How many people have asked about us? Just the team?"

"Just them," You paused, considering his question. "Wait, you don't know about this?"

Spencer became more confused at your tone, "No, I don't."

"They think we're madly in love or something," you chuckled, trying to hide your true feelings, "talking about our future little genius-liaison babies."

The genius's mind became scattered, flooded with images of the two of you that his mind created in a moments notice. Children, marriage, love. It felt so surreal picturing you, yet so right. "Did you ever deny it?"

"For the first few months," You confirmed with a solid nod. "I just don't really entertain it anymore. I don't see them stopping anytime soon."

Spencer nodded, clearing his throat. "You haven't let them think it's true though, right?"

"Why?" You asked, his words confusing you. "Is there some sort of problem being with me?"

You felt defensive at his words. Maybe this was his way of telling you the feelings aren't reciprocated. Maybe, all along, you were playing the fool. This stupid, silly little mistake of a crush was mere moments from destroying your closest friendship. You wished you could swallow this whole conversation down like bad medicine and pretend it never happened.

Spencer paused for a moment, your question making his heart drop. "Why would you ask me that?" He softly asked.

"Just--" You sighed, turning over to lay on your side that faced away from him. As much as this sucked, you couldn't see yourself leaving him, either. "forget about it, Spence."

You were upset now, that much was apparent. Spencer couldn't tell if it was about the team, or his response. He wasn't good at talking to girls, let alone about romance. Spencer softly laid on his side, wrapping his arm around your middle and trying to gently pull you into him.

"Spence, it's really fine, just--" You knew this play. You knew he was going to give you the softest affection to try and get you to open up.

"It's not fine, you're upset." Spencer observed, a gentle firmness behind his voice. He hated it when you closed in on yourself.

Adamant about not moving, Spencer realized his efforts were useless; you weren't going to budge. So, he scooted closer until front was pressed against your back, practically spooning you. When your body went rigid against his, Spencer felt disappointment seep into his heart. You always melted into him. Ever so softly, Spencer let his free hand come up and begin to massage your scalp, slowly playing with your hair ever so often.

Like memory, your body began to relax into his, just the way he wanted it to. Of course, it was against your better judgement, but soft moments with Spencer Reid was what you lived for.

Spencer smiled against your shoulder, his efforts weren't so fruitless after all. "You're so stubborn," Spencer mumbled into your shoulder.

"M not stubborn," you muttered in reply, heat rising to your cheeks at his words.

"Yes, you are." Spencer said, giving you a small squeeze. It made you giggle in reply, making Spencer's heart thump loudly in his chest. Could you hear it, too? "You never answered me before,"

You hummed, "Hmm?"

Spencer said your name slowly, a growl of a warning. He needed to fix whatever happened. There was no way he was going to let you stay upset at him.

"I asked you that because.." you hesitated. "I don't know. would there be a problem being with me?"

At your soft words, Spencer realized what had happened. He'd been a fool and insulted you. How could he ever do such a thing? "Of course there wouldn't be a problem being with you," he breathed softly into your ear.

"Then.." you paused, "then why aren't we, I don't know, together?" You rolled over to face him. "I mean, we do this," Your hands waved in the air, motioning to your current position with the genius. "We're always together. We even sleep over! Even the team asks me why we aren't together and--"

Spencer felt shock flood his system at your confession. Did this mean what he thought it meant? Was he reading this right?

"Just, why? Is it me?"

Taking a deep breath, Spencer choked down his fears. "I've been.. scared."

"Scared?" Your desperation morphed into one of curiosity and confusion at his words.

"Scared," Spencer confirmed softly. "I didn't know how you felt. I didn't know if you even wanted this.. us,"

Humor slowly filled the situation. Maybe you'd both been fools, but not in the way you'd originally thought. "Do you really think I cuddle with all my best friends?"

Spencer raised a brow at your words. Yeah, he felt unbelievably stupid. How could he not have seen it before? "No, I suppose not." He meekly replied, a small smile growing on his lips. "Does that mean you-you really want to be my girlfriend?"

A chuckle escaped your lips, "Spencer Reid, you ought to know better than to assume. Don't you know what that makes you?"

He smiled in return, rephrasing his question. "You want to be my girlfriend."

"I do," you smiled.

"I want to be your boyfriend," Spencer replied with a now wide grin on his face.

You felt your heart skip a beat, "I want that, too."

"Do you want to be my girlfriend?" Spencer asked, the question feeling like one of a middle-school boy. Nothing else felt right to say, though. Nothing felt as sweet and innocent as this moment did.

A finger patted your chin as you faked deep thought. "I don't know, it's a lot to consider."

Spencer let out a small laugh, propping himself up. He moved over top of you, his weight now on his forearms as you stared up at him. "Oh, really now?"

"Yeah, being tied down is a lot, you know?"

He leaned down closer to you, so close you could feel the tip of his nose grazing your own. "Tied down," he chuckled with amusement.

"That begs your question; should I be your girlfriend?"

"I say yes," Spencer said, his lips mere centimeters from your own.

Staring down at his lips, you whisper, "I say yes, too."

Like a moment of explosion, your lips meshed perfectly with Spencer's. It felt like everything you'd dreamt of thus far. Poor Spencer, he was in absolute bliss. He felt like he'd been waiting this day his whole life and another. It was magic, heaven, and unbridled passion.

"Stay here tonight?" Spencer whispered as he pulled back, lips tingling with the feeling of you.

"Always," you smiled, pulling him in for another kiss.

[ce1estiall]

eyes roll

summary paige x teammate!reader paige knows she's right when something's wrong with you. inspired by this request. masterlist.

warnings slight angst (?), smut, fingering (r!receiving) oral (r!receiving), finger riding (r!receiving), edging, pinning, fluff in the end :)

celestial notes this is not that long, lo siento 💔💔 finals week is this week + next week, prepare for inactivity 😔 taste of love should be coming out 6/1 also TWICE COMEBACK YESSS

“keeps your eyes on me, push the start now go full speed

lock it down baby, you about to fall to your knees.” eyes roll - gidle

the roster was finalized 2 days before the home opener against the indiana fever. coach chris called you into his office as you were getting some shots up. your heart immediately fell down to your feet, not knowing what to expect even though you were the first pick in the draft. you followed coach chris to his office, anxiety filled the air around you. your heartbeat increased and you started breaking out in a sweat. "hey. have a seat."

you pulled a chair out and sat down in front of his desk. he started speaking. "well i'm going to make this very short and sweet. as you know, you were the 1st pick in the draft and there's multiple reasons why we picked you." he paused for a second, looking like he was thinking on what to say. it made you nervous, until you heard "welcome to dallas."

you took a sigh of relief. "oh thank god." you touched your chest, feeling your pulse calm down slightly as you started smiling. coach chris started laughing at your reaction. "did you really think we'd wave you? that would be the stupidest move on our part." you got up from your seat, in all smiles. "well, you never know what can happen. bye coach! thank you so much." you heard a faint "see you later" as you walked back to the gym, much more relaxed.

--

it was finally the day both you and the media were waiting for. your official wnba rookie debut. you had been looking forward to this since you were a little girl. the pressure was definitely on you. you had a bunch of worries that you weren't able to meet the standard of the public eye. a couple hours before the game, you had team shooting. ever since you and paige apologized each other, you both have been attempting to reignite the relationship you had in the past, even though things were still a bit rocky between you both.

at team shooting, paige noticed you were off, unlike yourself. you brought back your old personality and charm around her, which made her light up a smile when she was with you. she was able to see right through you, instead of at you.

after you shot a free throw and missed, she grabbed your rebound and walked towards you. "you okay?" paige whispered, only loud enough for you to hear. the color in your skin faded away, like you saw a ghost. "let's sit down for a second, you don't look okay." paige grabbed your hand and interlocked her fingers with yours, assuring you that she was not letting go. you sat down on a courtside seat as paige grabbed your gatorade water bottle and sat next to you, placing a hand on your right thigh. your left thigh shook with anxiety. "talk to me, what's wrong?" you picked at your fingers, attempting to find the right words to start speaking. "i'm scared, paige." you looked up at her with glossy eyes. "what are you scared of?"

you look back down at the ground as tear slowly started filling your eyes. "i'm not gonna do my best tonight, like the whole world wants me too. that i'm not good enough and i don't deserve to be here."

paige grabbed your hands in protest. her touch was soft and warm, soothing and melting your worries at that moment. "i do not want you to ever say that. you are going to do amazing. you will play your best. when you do your best, that's all you can do. you, me and anybody else. fuck the media, they cannot be talking about anyone's performance. because they are not in the w. they have not worked as hard as you to be here today. you've done so much to be here. you should be so proud of yourself. i'm proud of you, okay?" her soft blue eyes gazed you, like she was protecting you from her vision. your eyes met hers, and your face relaxed. a slight tear escaped your eye. "thank you paige." you squeezed her hand as she wiped the tear away from your face. "go finish some shots before the game."

you got up from the seat and grabbed a ball. you shook off your nerves and took a deep breath as you decided to practice your handles, one of you strengths and favorite things to do. the touch of the ball, the sound of bouncing back and forth at such intense speed just made you satisfied.

after team shooting, you returned home and made a simple but quick meal before the game. grilled chicken breast with a side of corn. it was one of your comfort meals, as it brough nostalgia from your college days. you went to your closet, picking out a tunnel fit. you wanted to set the tone early, as you wanted to make it known that you loved not only basketball, but fashion as well. you loved dressing in both a masculine and feminine way. you decided on a simple black top with a tan jacket with black buttons, complimenting your skin tone. you wore jeans, a dark brown belt and black knee high boots, pairing it with a louis vuitton bag you bought with your first nil paycheck.

you entered the stadium, boots clacking on the floor as you made your grand entrance. camera lights flashed everywhere, as media was stunned by your first tunnel fit ever. you smiled and waved at every camera, appearing much calmer than you were before. you entered the locker room as your team was also in awe by your look. "okay rook i see you! you got style!" dijonai said as she approached you, observing your outfit. "do you guys like it?" you asked, fixing your hair before you changed. maddy turned around and saw you, looking at you from head to toe. "no girl, we love it! you're gonna be awesome today."

you gave her a smile, grabbing your uniform. you went to the bathroom to change and saw paige, doing her slick back pony. she whistled as she saw sight of you through the mirror "wow." it caught you off guard, but you smiled as she fully turned around to see you. she leaned against the counter, giving you that look. the look of interest, not as friends, but something more. paige looked like she was melting just by your presence. "just wait until you see my future tunnel fits, think you'll like 'em real better." you threw your bag on the marble bathroom counter. paige stepped closer, touching your jacket. "i think anything you wear i'll fall in love with." you rolled your eyes playfully as she winked at you. "continue getting ready, you flirt." you entered the stall and locked it as your heard paige's response. "you're distracting me." you heard paige's footstep fading away. "i'll see you soon, rookie." you spoke up loud enough for her to hear. "bye paige."

you put on that navy jersey, and exited the stall to immediately see yourself in the mirror. change. it was such a scary but exciting thing. knowing how you would never put on the uconn jersey again killed you, but made you excited for new beginnings in dallas. you saw the word "DALLAS" across your chest with the number 9, then turned around to see your last name. it made you smile, knowing that this was "you made it" moment.

it was now tip off. you entered the arena with your team and sat down, as the announcers announced the people on the bench, then the starting line up. "a 6-foot guard from los angeles, california, y/n." the arena exploded in cheers as you got up and hi-fived your teammates, then doing a handshake with arike. you saw the fans, wearing your jerseys, holding up signs that had their support of you. it gave you serotonin.

the game started as normal, dallas won jumpball, shots were going up, defense was manageable, it was a good first half, and you were a beast.

however, the spark started to fade. you weren't switching correctly on defense. missed shots left and right, getting face guarded. that's when basketball became started mental, because it had you questioning your ability in that second half.

dallas lost to the fever, 93-113. unhappy faces filled the locker room after the game, knowing you guys could've beat this team. "it's the first game of the season. i know it wasn't the outcome we expected but we can all just learn and grow from this. you all did what i asked you to do and that's what i needed, win or lose. i'm proud of yall." the team stood up for them to be released. "together on me, together on 3" dijonai chanted. "1, 2, 3, together." the team said in unison after 2 claps. you grabbed your bag, jacket, and slides. you changed immediately so you can go home and cry about your performance. however, your emotions didn't want it that way. tears started flowing on your face as you exited the arena and jumped in the car. you cried the whole ride home, questioning why you were even here. you imagined social media and twitter already, picking apart and analyzing every good play or bad mistake you made. you had 14 points, 4 assists, and 2 steals. you knew you were better than this, that you could've assisted paige or arike more, or just simply driven through traffic to get some shots.

you had practice the next day, and you had one goal in mind. make your shots, but something was stopping you. during practice when you had the ball, you froze. it was like you touched a basketball for the first time. you didn't know what to do. you just stood there and dribbled, eventually passing it. it was like you were afraid. like a wave of fear overcame you and started controlling you, like a puppet. coach chris looked at you from the sidelines, confused also. he started to yell. "don't just stand there! move!" but if you did a crossover, you turned over the ball. what was happening to you?

the team called practice off, but you stayed there like normal, working overtime. you got extra shots, but only a handful of them would go in. it made you frustrated, eventually slamming the ball against the floor with all your strength to get your anger out. paige exited the locker room and entered the gym, watching your outburst. "you're losing your confidence." a voice spoke from a distance. you turned around with the ball in your hands, seeing paige with her arms crossed watching you. "just shoot it, don't over think it. don't think twice." she grabbed the ball from you hands and shot it, perfect swish. she grabbed the rebound and handed the ball back to you. you shot a midrange, but missed. you grunted from frustration.

"something is stopping you from being the player you were before. you're not confident anymore. i can see it, anyone can, really." you gave paige a look, as if you were kind of insulted. "what are you on about? i'm confident." paige smirked at you. "nope. you literally hesitated that shot. i saw it with my own eyes." you started to get fired up. you bounced the ball and shot a free throw. "i'm not hesitating shit." you bent your knees, then released the ball from your hands, but missed. paige grabbed the ball and handed it to you, letting you try again. you did your free throw routine. but once again, missed. you turned red from anger. "just be honest with yourself man. you ain't confident. missing easy shots means you don't have confidence."

"you should be the last person to talk about confidence paige. you never had it. you only developed it recently. you miss shots too, paige. i'm not gonna be 100% from the field." paige slowly approached you. "yeah, i might miss shots here and there. but i don't beat myself up about them." she shrugged her shoulders.

she had a point, and you fucking hated it when paige was right. because not only did it make you feel stupid, it made you look stupid. you gave her a glare of envy when arike watched the whole situation. "locker room, both of you. now."

you sat down with annoyance and paige sat across from you. arike and dijonai were in the locker room with both of you, looking irritated. "well." nai started. "obviously both of you don't fucking learn a lesson! so here we are again, locking your immature asses in the locker room once again." arike looked pissed. "and yall were teammates last year? god bless 'em, because i would've transferred if i had to deal with both yalls asses." dijonai squatted, touching her knees as she gave both of you a death glare. "let me make this crystal clear. fix this shit right the fuck now, or get benched for an entire game with silent treatment. your fucking choice." they exited the locked room. "y'all the last ones out. turn off the lights." was what both of you heard echoing before the door slammed shut.

and there it was again. pure silence. silence that was so loud that your ears started ringing. paige broke silence instead, you could tell her attitude wasn't with anger this time. "do you think you're confident?" paige turned her body, facing you.

you looked at her. "yeah, i think so. why?" paige's hand held her head. "earlier at practice i saw you frustrated. why so?"

you didn't have the time to deal with paige today, but she had some tricks up her sleeve. "if you saw me then you should know." your eyes roamed the room, looking at everything except her. paige smirked at your bold response. "it was because you missed all those shots, huh? is that why you stayed longer?"

you shut your mouth quickly. fuck, she got you there. one thing about paige was that she was clever. she was gonna get information out of you one way or another. "and why do you think you missed all those shots?"

you felt ashamed, stupid even. "my confidence.." you trailed off. paige stood up, reaching for your hand to stand you up. "exactly my point. develop your confidence, that fire inside you, so that you don't have to think twice about something on the court, hm? why do you think you don't have confidence?" tension slowly entered the room as paige started to get closer to you. her hand slightly brushing yours subconsciously.

"i have this pressure inside me that i have to be the best and i have to do the most, and if i'm not satisfied i failed it. i failed everything. i wish the public would stop perceiving me as this selfish player and i can drop 30 points in a first wnba game." you felt a weight lifted off your shoulders as it had be weighing you down all this time. paige felt your feelings shift in the air based off your body language.

she held your hands once again, in desperate need. "what did i tell you about the media. you're only a rookie. ignore it. they're trying to get to your head." paige tucked a piece of hair falling out behind your ear, she looked at you with desperation. you suddenly felt a magnetic attraction, like you didn't want to leave paige's side. her hands gripped your waist, like she thought you would disappear if you let go. your face became red and hot, pulse beating faster. paige heard your heart beating faster the closer she got closer to you, pinning you against the wall. she whispered in your ear. "tell me what you want, what you need, ma." her voice low, enough for your body to send a shiver down your spine.

you looked up at her, eyes filled with lust. "you."

she didn't need to be told twice. her lips went straight to yours, tongues dancing with one another as you tasted each other. you felt dizzy, but her lips felt electrifying, as it could almost cure you. she released her mouth from yours, panting filled the air. "you don't know how long i've been waiting for this." she placed her knee in between your thighs, giving you a slight sense of pleasure. you released a soft moan from her touch.

paige scooped you up and heading to the bathrooms in the locker room, placing you down on the counter. your legs spread open for her, as if it was automatic. "pants off."

you took off your practice shorts. paige saw that wet spot in your panties. "wet for me already? fuckin' whore." she took off your underwear with two fingers, gripping your thunder thighs.

she slowly teased your pussy, aggressively slid in two fingers in your hole, picking up the pace every thrust afterwards. "fuck paige, right there." you moaned, as if your voice was leaving your body. "this is what you get for makin' me stay mad at you. fucking bitch." she spat in your pussy, adding more moisture. she lifted your body up, as her fingers were still deep inside you. "ride my fingers baby." you lifted up and down, as they curled inside you, feeling the sweet spot along your walls. "fuck, mmh." she took off your shirt and bra with her other hand, squishing your tits together before sucking them slowly. her tongue played around on your nipple, making you a moaning machine.

"oh my god p, i'm gonna cum." you spoke, throwing your head back. she released her fingers from your pussy. "you don't get to cum until i fuckin' tell you, understand?" you nodded, obeying to her commands. "open your mouth." she brought her fingers in your mouth, letting you taste yourself. you teased her fingers, licking every last drop. "good fucking girl." she said with a smirk. she lifted up your legs, letting them rest on her shoulders. she moved down a little, facing your wet clit. she licked a strip on your fold, immediately leading to you screaming. she drew circles all over, eventually starting to suck and slurp your pussy as if she were dehydrated. "yes, right fucking there." were the only words you could speak from the effect she was having on you.

your pussy was throbbing from the amount of force paige used on you. you hands eventually found her blond curls she let down. she then turned your over, ass up in the air. her tongue went inside you, now fucking you. "faster paige." you screamed. her tongue now entering deep inside of you, tasting your juices all over her mouth. "cum on my tongue baby."

your eyes rolled back as you squirted in her mouth. you felt like your soul was being taken from your body. you moaned her name with such meaning, like you were worshipping her. you tried to catch your breath, turning to see the aftermath of your love. "i've been needing that." paige said, smirking as she looked at your body as if it were art. she wiped the corners of her mouth with her hands. "glad i was able to satisfy your cravings." you smiled at her. she grabbed you down from the counter, placing a hug around your waist while placing sloppy kisses on your collar bone. "get dressed ma. let me take you to my place."

you placed an oversized hoodie on with some sweats and slides and entered her car. it was just like how you remembered. her terrible singing, giggles throughout the air, and the dallas city. how everyone was asleep and you were amazed by the lights all over the town. when paige reached a stop light, she'd place her hand on your thigh, and observe you with a smile on her face.

you entered her place for the first time since she got drafted. marble kitchen countertops with an island, beige couch with a 70" screen tv above a fireplace, a body mirror, and burning candle filling your nose. "since when did you become so clean?" you giggled, looking at paige. "since i got drafted. you don't really have time to be messy once you really enter the real world." paige held your hand and led you to her bedroom, the purple sheets and pillows she always had, her wall of shoes, and her closet that was always full, but managed to only wear the same 6 outfits. you leaped onto her bed, looking up at the ceiling fan. you took a deep breath from exhaustion. "tired baby?" you got up and sat on the edge of the bed, sending her a nod. "you need to relax this evening. let me prepare you something. wait here."

she walked down the hall to the bathroom, as you heard her turn on the fossit. she let the tub get full, then placed a bath bomb and some red rose petals in the water. she burned a lavender candle for relaxation and place it on the sink counter while relaxing spa music played in the background. you waited patiently for paige, wondering what her curious self was doing, until you heard a "babe!" coming from afar.

you got up from the bed, scattering the house like it was a maze looking for paige until you saw her in the bathroom, seeing what she prepared. "is this for me?"

paige nodded. you took off your clothes and entered the water, eventually relaxing and letting your body float. you opened your eyes and looked at the luckiest girl you had. "you didn't have to do this for me baby."

paige messed with your hair. "i wanted to. you deserve it, after everything. i know we cleared the air, but i am so truly sorry for how i treated you back then. i feel like such an asshole still."

"p, i forgive you. and i know you're sorry. why? because you changed your actions towards me. that's more than enough." you up from the wall, as paige started massaging your back, releasing the tension in your muscles just as you were releasing the tension between you both in the past.

"from now on, i will always go to you first than believe some fucker." she smiled, rubbing slow circles with her thumbs from your shoulders to your lower back. you got up from the tub as paige wrapped you around gently in a towel, then placed a kiss on your cheek. she let you borrow her favorite hoodie that smelt like her cologne, and some sweats. she made the bed just for you, as you both lied down, facing each other. she gently touched your face, skin feeling smooth on yours. you blushed at her, as you kissed her nose. "good night baby. i love you." you said, turning around to your side. "sweet dreams. i love you more." she turned to your side and wrapped her arms around you, as if you were her own teddy bear. you both fell asleep soundly, only thing on your minds were each other.

[mediumgayitalian]

"It reminded me of you."

Will looks into his cupped hands. He purses his lips. He opens his mouth. He closes it. He opens it again.

"This is, uh." He clears his throat. "It, being this fish skeleton?"

Nico nods. "Yes."

Will waits for an explanation. With none forthcoming, he looks up, intent on asking for it directly, but his tongue does completely numb in his mouth, jaw softly unlocking. From the late afternoon sun behind him golden rays shine directly into pools of what has become spun copper and amber brown; spools of shining wire surrounded by shining white. It takes him time uncountable to register the wide, round soporifics in front of him are in fact Nico's eyes, cradled in the light, watching him.

"What," Will tries, mouth dry, "uh, what? Why. I mean." He holds up his hands. They're shaking. "Fish?"

"That's you," says Nico, crowding into Will's space. Will makes a noise that can be registered only by bats, dolphins, and bush crickets.

Nico's callused hands encircle Will's wrist and his soul ascends, exiting from his body, floating away gayly away until Will snags it by the ankle and yanks it back to his mortal body. Dad, if you can hear me, I cannot stress how much you owe me and how badly I am calling in that favor. SOS. SOS. SOS. SO --

"It's small, see. Delicate."

"I'm -- six two?"

"Yeah, physically." Nico pokes at the tiny little spine. "But you're, like." He makes a squishing motion with his hand. "Crushable, you know? You just go around feeling your feelings at full force. All over the place. Delicate."

Will is pretty sure he's ghasting. Is that what it's called? Flabbering one's ghast? When you just -- kind of stand there, slack jawed, wheezing like a doofus? Maybe he is a fish. "Nico, I've got --" He makes a swooping gesture in front of his nose, trying and visibly failing at indicating a plague mask. "You know? I could poison you."

"Yeah, that's why I picked one that died from whirling disease."

"How...thoughtful?"

"Thanks."

Nico returns to the fish skeleton. He points out the eye sockets. "See here? The fish had shallow orbits so it probably had big eyes like you."

"I have big eyes?"

"Duh. You are ninety percent eye. Everyone looks at you and it's like bam. Blue. All you can see."

Will begs the red to recede from his cheeks. He can hear the echo of his father's cackling, all the way from his stupid dork ass nerd ass lame tryhard chariot, and the red continues to rise.

"You -- like my eyes?"

"Yeah."

"Oh."

"Hey, look here. You can see its -- are you looking? -- you can see its heart cavity. Cool, right? Your heart is going really fast."

A high-pitched noise comes out of Will's throat, sourced from somewhere in his kneecaps, probably. They're wobbling enough.

"Yeah, I -- uh, best believe I noticed."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm vibing. Chilling, even. One could even say I'm maxing, relaxing, acting all cool. If there was a basketball net outside of a school I would be totally shooting right now."

"You're acting weird," Nico accuses.

Will laughs out loud. No, like, really laughs, it comes out of his stomach and then his knees give out and he barely manages to catch himself, hunching over, veins hot rod boiling and stomach writhing and face the color of a gently polished tomato. He may have passed.

"Oh, my gods, something kill me."

"Whatever, weirdo. Come back over, I want to show you why the rib cage is representative of your repression issues."

"Okay."

[conflictofthemind]

Take Me To Church-Gate

A few weeks back, I received a tip that Noah and Finn came into Atlanta for a couple of days to rehearse a scene alone together that never ended up being filmed. This was around the time of the convention that Finn ended up missing in early June (and we initially theorized was for the playground scenes).

I since received confirmation of not only this, but that the rehearsal in question was for a scene at the UD church set. The filming never went through because Noah got an eye infection / sty, so the shoot was rescheduled for early August. If you've seen me mentioning looking forward to August, this is what that was about.

The Eye Infection:

Let me link this post to begin with, barring the 'James' stuff who has proven to be false. I heard about the eye infection and my alarm bells rang immediately - I have a friend myself who wears contacts occasionally and whenever they get sties, they're always caused by the contacts. When has Noah worn contacts before in the show? When Will is being possessed by the mindflayer in Season 2.

The church is an interesting location, because it most definitely has to do with Henry as well. When the original countdown for TFS was being posted, there were images of a church - a location that may have been changed during development. The characters most likely go there as part of the continuing Henry investigation.

And we know Henry was exorcised at some point, but it failed. The sign going into the church is also a likely clue to this, referencing Mark 9:29 - a verse about a failed exorcism.

Conclusion for this part: Will very likely becomes possessed again while in this church. My source tells me they usually only do big rehearsals like this for scenes involving action, too.

My opinion is that Will was never fully exorcised either. I mean, he still has a clear connection to the mindflayer with all the tingles on his neck and the possible literal psychic connection he has to Vecna as well.

It's Byler, Too:

I suspect that Jamie has some part in the scene as well (given they scheduled it during his latest block on set), but the focus is on Will and Mike - being the only two other main characters on set at the time, and the only two rehearsing.

But going back to the church thing.... I wonder what kind of symbolism is created by bringing two gay characters who both have a lot of internalized shame into a location that is honestly the source of said shame? It's honestly not even symbolism. It might just be referenced in plain text. Looking back at that church sign:

"This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer"

"This kind" really evokes the dehumanising language used by homophobes to refer to gay people. And the driven out by prayer part, well that really evokes conversion 'therapy' practices of praying the gay away. So what if this is where Will and Mike finally admit their love for each other, and kiss. And what if that is actually what's able to drive the 'demon' away - gay love.

Especially during the Satanic Panic arc we are sure to see come full circle with the reckoning of the Hellfire Club in Season 5.

An arc which Mike is surely at the centre of as well, being not only a Hellfire Member in the past, but being family to the new disappeared child in town.

And it's not like Mike's love is what's been shown to us time and time again as the way to break Will out of his mindflayer trance. Oh, wait.

Consider it incredibly fanfic-y, but it's on the table now. An action scene at the church involving Byler where Noah is wearing contacts - Will becoming possessed just like Henry again and being made to fight Mike as not only part of the plan to get all of the Wheelers, but also as something that would break Will's spirit permanently. They're all alone with nobody to help save Mike. But the plan is thwarted through the power of love, and in a place that represents a lot of shame for gay men (especially in the 80s) - they finally come together. And it is love that frees Will from his trance. Whether through a confession or true love's kiss. It would be so dramatic and atmospheric.

Additional evidence:

Jopper's Season 4 reunion and kiss inside the Russian church, of which this would be a parallel.

The whole idea of "we kissed, as though nothing could fall. And the shame was on the other side" from David Bowie's Heroes - the shame being in the actual church from the rightside up, but they're alone together on the other side / in the Upside Down.

It is also very likely that this scene is from Episode 5 or 6. I've asked and nobody seems to know which episode it is from, but following the logic of Episode 4 being when the characters enter in groups into the Upside Down, and here Byler are all alone, it is definitely after some time has passed and groups have split further. They're definitely not having any kind of confession in the first half of the season, so this timing sounds positive.

Multiple rehearsals. Noah contacting his acting coach recently for advice. Them even having to cancel an entire shoot because of a sty indicates close-up shots for sure.

Anyway. I'd really love to see people's thoughts on this. I feel like there's even more I could get into in follow-up posts, especially if other people chime in with their thoughts. I have been buzzing about this scene for weeks now. I want to start another gate for old time's sake, so please use #churchgate if you want to make your own posts about this!

[gxhana]

Malfunction (Optimus Prime X Human!Fem Reader)

Summary: A strange Cybertronian signal infiltrates Optimus’s systems, overriding his usual restraint and amplifying his sensory responses. Every sound, every touch, every thought of you sends unbearable waves of pleasure through his frame. He resists at first—but when you touch him, even accidentally, his control snaps.

Warnings: AI corruption, Size Difference, smut, curse words, transformer x human sex, rough sex, rough oral sex (female receiving), overstimulation, brutal thrusting, breeding, full penetration, degradation, forced stretching, desperate Optimus, slight dub con, dirty talk

The strange Cybertronian signal has been affecting Optimus all day, his body tense, his voice thick with static-laced restraint. You notice the way his optics flicker whenever you get too close, the way his massive hands flex as if he’s holding himself back.

"Something… is wrong," he finally confesses, voice strained. "Every sensation is… amplified. You—" His optics darken, tracking the way you shift under his intense gaze. "I cannot focus when you are near."

And then, you make a mistake.

You touch him.

The instant your fingers graze his heated plating, a deep growl erupts from his chassis. His entire frame shudders, and his massive hands shoot out, grabbing you, caging you against him. His optics burn into you, his vents cycling erratically.

"You shouldn’t have done that." His voice is low, almost dangerous, thick with something primal.

Before you can react, he’s lifting you—effortlessly, as if you weigh nothing—pressing you against the cool metal wall of the Autobot base. The size difference is staggering; his body dwarfs yours completely, his massive frame surrounding you, pressing you down, trapping you in his overwhelming presence.

"I can’t stop," he groans, his servo sliding under your clothes, fingers dragging roughly over your bare skin. His touch is hot, desperate, as if he’s memorizing every inch of you. "I need to taste you."

He doesn’t wait for permission.

You gasp as he lowers you, his enormous frame sinking down, positioning you exactly where he wants you. His optics flicker, scanning you with predatory intent as he spreads you open, his thick digits gripping your thighs.

And then—his mouth.

His glossa (Cybertronian tongue) is bigger than it should be, hot and flexible, pressing against your aching heat in long, devastating strokes. The size difference makes everything overwhelming—his sheer power, the way he holds you in place, how easily he could devour you whole if he wanted to.

"So small… so fragile… and yet you take it so well," he groans, voice vibrating through your core.

His grip tightens, his massive hands keeping you spread open as he ravages you, his pace rough, insatiable. His deep growls send shockwaves through your body, his mouth working you open with relentless precision.

He’s too big, too strong, too much, and yet you can’t stop screaming his name.

He doesn’t stop when you come. He doesn’t even slow down. If anything, the taste of you only makes him hungrier. His deep, reverberating purr vibrates through you as he buries his face deeper between your thighs, dragging another orgasm out of you before you’ve even recovered from the first.

"Again," he commands, voice dark and wrecked with need. "You’re not done yet."

Your overstimulated whimpers only make him more desperate, his grip tightening as he devours you, utterly addicted to the sounds you make, to the way you break under his touch.

By the time he finally pulls back, you’re trembling, your body wrecked from the intensity of his mouth. But Optimus isn’t done. Not even close.

His massive fingers stroke over your slick thighs, spreading you wider, his optics dark with hunger. His vents stutter as he towers over you once again, his sheer size pressing down on you.

"That was only the beginning," he growls, his massive form caging you against the wall. "Now… let’s see how much more you can take."

The sheer heat of him makes you shudder. His panel shifts with a mechanical hiss, and fuck, he’s huge. Thick, ridged plating lined with Cybertronian biolights, far too big for a human body—yet he’s determined to make you take it anyway.

"You’re going to stretch for me," he rasps, pressing the tip against your slick entrance, the difference in size making you whimper. "It’s going to hurt, little one… but you’ll take it."

He doesn’t ease in. He forces his way inside.

A strangled cry rips from your throat as his massive shaft pushes in, spreading you wider than should be possible. The stretch is unbearable, your body resisting, but Optimus doesn’t stop. His grip on your hips tightens, pinning you down as he forces every thick inch inside.

"Look at you," he groans, voice laced with raw lust. "So fucking small, struggling to take my cock."

You claw at his plating, nails scratching uselessly against the metal, but he only laughs, a deep, dark sound vibrating through you.

"Hurts, doesn’t it?" he mocks, thrusting another inch inside, making you scream. "You wanted this, didn’t you? You wanted to be fucking ruined by me."

The stretch is unbearable, your body too tight, but the pleasure is just as overwhelming. He’s grinding against nerves you didn’t even know existed, forcing your body to adjust to his impossible size.

"Pathetic little human," he growls, voice thick with static-laced pleasure. "Crying like you can’t take it— but look at you. You’re dripping all over my cock, sucking me in like a desperate little whore."

Your mind is spinning, your body overwhelmed by the sheer intensity of being filled so completely. Every slow, brutal thrust forces another choked gasp from your lips.

And then—he starts moving for real.

Optimus doesn’t hold back. Once he’s inside, once he feels the way you squeeze around him, something snaps.

"I’m done being gentle."

His grip tightens, and then he slams into you.

The impact knocks the breath from your lungs, your body jerking against the wall as he drives his cock in deep, his sheer strength keeping you pinned. The brutal stretch is too much, your mind dissolving into raw pleasure as he pounds into you with reckless force.

"Fucking take it," he snarls, thrusting harder, his metal body unyielding, slamming you into the wall with every brutal snap of his hips. "You’re mine. Made to take my cock. Nothing else fucking matters."

His engine roars, his frame shaking with the effort of holding back from completely breaking you. But even as he ruins you, he keeps talking, his deep, growling voice making you clench around him.

"Listen to yourself," he huffs, pressing his forehead against yours, optics locked onto your wrecked expression. "Whimpering, crying— and yet you keep spreading your legs for me. You love this, don’t you? You love being fucking wrecked by something this big."

You can’t even speak. Every rough, punishing thrust sends shockwaves through your body, your nails digging into his plating.

"You were made for this," he groans, his pace brutal, his thick shaft stretching you past your limit. "Made to be fucking bred by me."

That’s what finally breaks you.

Your orgasm slams into you with blinding force, your body spasming around him, clenching so tight he growls, his own movements turning ragged. He doesn’t stop. Doesn’t slow down. He fucks you through it, overstimulating you until you’re sobbing from the pleasure.

"I’m not done," he growls, pressing his forehead against yours. "Not until I’ve filled you. Not until you’re leaking with my transfluid, dripping with proof that you belong to me."

His movements grow desperate, his thrusts turning animalistic, his deep moans vibrating against your skin. He’s close—his vents stuttering, his fingers bruising your skin as he slams into you with reckless force.

"Gonna fill you up," he groans, thrusting deep. "Gonna fucking ruin you."

You’re still shaking from your first orgasm when his final thrust slams inside, his entire frame locking up. His grip tightens, and then—heat.

Liquid metal warmth floods your core as he comes, a deep, wrecked growl tearing from his throat. His overload is violent, his entire frame trembling as he pumps you full, his transfluid so much that it leaks out, dripping down your thighs.

He doesn’t move for a moment, his massive frame shuddering. Then, his grip loosens, and he pulls out, watching with dark optics as his thick release spills from your stretched, ruined hole.

"Look at that," he murmurs, his fingers gathering the mess between your thighs. "So full of me."

Even now, his optics burn with hunger.

"I hope you’re not too tired," he warns, voice dark and dangerous. "Because I’m not nearly finished with you."

[lvmimis]

cw: smut. dry humping under the influence. no penetration. semi-public sex-ish.

“Hey.”

Unsure of when exactly the two of you dozed off, you look over to Luffy, raising your head off of his chest, and gently shake his shoulder as he lays fast asleep, partially slumped against the trunk of a tree, one big enough to cast shade over both of you and your midday picnic. The sun still remains high in the sky, you glean through the leaves, so you cannot have drifted off for that long, but the fatigue on you is not exactly lifting in the normal way it does when you’re waking up from an impromptu nap, and you’re starting to get concerned.

“Luffy!”

Luffy rises not when you pat him on the face but rather at the sound of his name, eyes shooting wide open initially until he takes in your expression fully - frantic but unharmed - and his eyes go sleepy again.

“What?”

“Where exactly did you get those fruits?” You don’t know why you’re whispering or hissing in his ear, it’s not like there’s anyone around this clearing to see you except for the birds overhead and the wildlife that Luffy is a little too good at intimidating with a mere smile. You should have known better than to not question whatever Luffy presents to you without a second look, but you’ve learned to trust your captain and lover a little too implicitly, and now potentially you might be paying the price.

“Why, does your tummy hurt?” he asks with only a slight hint of alarm and more inquiry, still half-lidded and sleepy, the drawl of sleep on his tongue. He has yet to sit up completely, arms still raised and head rested on his palms. You on the other hand, are becoming somewhat diaphoretic - perhaps the hot sun was is making its way to you despite the cool shade generated by the swaying leaves, but more likely the fact that there’s a tingle through your body that’s beginning to spread from the tips of your toes and fingertips to your center and further just south of it which portends another problem entirely. 

“No, I just…”

You pause abruptly, finding yourself drawing in a breath all of a sudden and sighing out. Luffy’s eyes widen again and he finally does sit up, but you start to breathe out slowly, your eyes closing shut languidly as you lean forward over him, disoriented.

“Is everything okay?”

Barely able to hold your head up anymore, you finally tip forward onto his body, a lull suddenly washing over you and swaddling you tightly, and he lets you fall into him, pulling you onto his lap.

“I… I don’t know if it is…” you whimper but another odd sound escapes your lips, interrupting your own sentence, soft and yet guttural in nature, and your head starts to spin.

“___, what’s going on with-”

Luffy stops mid-sentence too, suddenly holding his breath. Whatever is coming over you has started to come over him too, and against his body, you can feel the sudden deep rise and fall of his chest, deeper, slower, fuller, breaths, a soft heave that makes both of your eyes roll into the back of your heads and threaten to stay there. You fingers curl and draw downward gently along the fabric of his shirt, a sudden desperate need overtaking you.

You whisper each other’s names in unison.

“Are you-,” you start but Luffy’s hands are already moving roughly up your body, slipping below your shirt but staying rested under your ribcage to move you properly, until you’re straddling him perfectly, and you maneuver your own lower body, a longing stare fixated at his unfocused one so that your the clothed crotch of your pants is just flush to his. You can feel that he’s growing hard and sensitive and the tiniest rock of your hips against his has the two of you gasping.

You have each other’s full attention now - Luffy is seated, back pressed and supported against hard bark, the rest of him tense and hot all over.

“Do you think it’s poison?” he asks, but he doesn’t wait for your answer before he leans in and nips at your lower lip, then sticks his tongue down your throat, and you take it mercifully, letting the taste of his tongue laving over yours help wash away the fire building inside your belly.

We’ll know if we pass out and don’t wake up, is a thought that passes through your mind fleetingly, but your heart is racing rather than slowing down and your arms don’t lock up or lose strength as you wrap them around his neck. You muster a shake of your head, lacking confidence but filled with desire.

You continue to kiss, your lower halves grinding against each other rhythmically, the words between you as a minimum as you swallow each other whole, want and saliva dripping and flowing between the two of you fluidly for what feels like far too long.

“Move more, I wanna feel you,” he insists, impatient as he huffs into your ear, but he does it instead, tightening his grip around you as he bucks his hips upwards, rough and desperate against the snap of grind of your own hips. No longer kissing you on your mouth, he finds solace in letting his teeth graze against the soft of your shoulder and the length of your neck.

Bite, lick, suck, grind, sigh… the friction with which the two of you writhe against each other could start a forest fire, and with further, unrelenting need, Luffy lays you back against the picnic blanket and pins you beneath him.

He stops for a moment, appraising you again hungrily but curiously like a wolf sizing up a particularly delicious appearing rabbit. Your legs wrap around his waist, pulling him closer to you.

“Don’t tease me.”

“Wasn’t trying to, I just…” he kisses you again, the bulge of his pants pressing hard against your restrictive, practically oppressive jeans.

“Clothes,” he pouts, but doesn’t stop rocking against your hips. Fingers curl around the hem of your jeans and you want him, you want more, you want skin to skin, but you think about the very full possibility that you may keep fucking like this until whatever’s come over you wears off and shake your head.

“Just like this… is fine.”

He may be groaning at your prudishness, cock straining against need and a wetter and wetter spot growing in your panties, but for now, mimicking sex, letting your bodies struggle a bit prior to release might be just enough.

And if the fruit’s effects don’t abate soon at all, you might just have to get the rest of whatever you started just now worked out through your bodies, somewhere else where the birds can’t tattletale and your bodies don’t imprint into the grass, and you can really let yourselves go.

[senualothbrok]

A Perfect Storm

Summary: You and Gale give in to your passions, but there are some obstacles along the way.

Sequel to 'A Tight Fit' and 'A Generous Portion'. A reimagining of the Gale romance in Act 1 and Act 2, featuring nosy menaces Karlach and Astarion.

Word count: 5.6k

Disclaimers: Gale x female Tav/reader. NSFW. 18+. Smut. Oral sex. Vaginal penetration. Heavy petting. Light angst.

AO3 link

Beta: @dekariosclan, thank you so much, you are amazing and wonderful.

****

Peach juice gleams on Gale's beard, trickling down the thrust of his chin. He makes a slow sucking sound as it spills down the folds of your fingers. He pauses, his tongue darting over the bulge of his bottom lip, thick and wet. 

His eyes are full and black, sparking purple from the throbbing of his orb. You were not certain what that meant before. You have no doubts now.

He lets out a low moan as he bites down again.

The peach falls from your hand. He does not move. Neither do you. There is a moment when you simply stare at him, alight with the pulse of his desire, rippling with the slick fire spreading from your core. Entranced by the unmistakable swelling between his thighs. 

And then, you feast.

You fall on each other. A gush of peaches cascades across the ground. He laps and sucks at your fingers in a tumult of groans, as your tongue draws frenzied arcs over his soaked stubble, the honey of his skin. His hands are everywhere at once, weaving through your hair, grasping at your breasts, pressing your hips against his. You cannot get enough of him, pawing at his shoulders and his chest and his tousled waves, the bristled heat of his neck, the broad grooves of his back. When your mouths meet, you devour each other, ravenous for touch, scent, taste, anything, everything, more.

You are no longer aware of the open vista around you, the impending return of your companions. Nothing exists but Gale’s panting breaths, the velvet swirls of his tongue. His smouldering flesh against yours, crushing out all space between you, as it had been the first time, when there was no room for pretences and nowhere to hide. All that exists now is your desire, revealed and returned, at long last.

When your hand dips beneath his robe, his hips cant up to meet you. And when your fingers find what they seek, he shudders into the nook of your neck. It is no longer a memory, an ache that beset so many listless nights in your bedroll. You take hold of his hardness, hot and familiar. Searching fingers trail down the inside of your thigh, and you whimper as he rasps your name like a plea.

In the trance of your lust and longing, you do not notice the deepening flare of Gale’s chest. Blinding blades of indigo cut through Gale’s skin. As you move your hand along his length, he buckles into you. He lurches back with a cry. 

You freeze as Gale doubles over, clasping at his chest. Ebony-purple tendrils writhe on his neck like poisoned veins, his chest a searing brightness that hurts your eyes. 

“Gale, what's wrong? What's happening?”

He clenches his jaw, folding into himself. Choking breaths sputter out of him as he balls and unballs his fists. To see Gale deprived of speech is a unique brand of horror. You have no idea what to do.

“Do you need a magical artefact? A potion? Should I get–”

He jerks his head. You watch, terrified and helpless, as he extends a shaking palm. Wait. Please. Wait. His eyes wrench closed, his lips rippling as though in prayer. 

Is this what it was like for him, that year in his tower, before your paths had crossed? The thought of him alone and abandoned, trapped in these convulsions of torment, shoots through you like pain. 

You are not sure how long you sit there.  Gradually, excruciatingly, his breathing slows to a laboured rhythm. The orb dims to a lavender wash. Relief overwhelms you as he lifts his head.

“I'm alright,” he heaves. “I'm fine, Tav.”

“Are you sure you don't need–”

“I'm fine. It’s safe. The orb… it's safe now.”

You suddenly feel so foolish. So blind.

“I'm sorry, Gale. I'm so sorry.” 

“Whatever for?” His voice is broken, but still so tender. You could cry.

“All this time…I thought you were avoiding me because…”

You look away. He dips his head to chase your gaze. “Why?”

“Because you felt embarrassed. Because you didn't want me.”

He lets out a huff of disbelief. His gaze is urgent, so urgent, as he looks at you.

“Tav.” He moves closer. “I've wanted you since the day we got locked in that room. You're all I think about. All I dream of. I've never felt…”

He trails off. You watch the rise and fall of his chest, strained and uncertain.

“I've never met anyone like you,” he says finally.

You understand his struggle. You, too, cannot explain what it is between you. What you feel for him.

“Neither have I. I don't usually do this.” 

His crow's feet crinkle. “That makes two of us. I don't make a habit of throwing myself at people tongue first.” 

For an instant, you are lost in the memory of his tongue. He clears his throat. You tear your eyes away, fixing on the creases of your tunic. 

The orb remains, mercifully, faint.

When you look up again, he is studying you. He scratches at his beard, still damp from your earlier exertions. You can still taste him, and you still want more.

“I’ve always considered myself a disciplined man.” He grimaces. “Surprising, I know, because I just can't control myself around you. Even the threat of imminent destruction couldn’t keep me away.”

You swallow. This is new territory for you, too. You have never felt so desired, and you have never desired someone more. You cannot make sense of it.

“You should have told me,” you manage. “If I had known this was hurting you…”

“I think I had more pressing priorities than talking.” He pauses, chuckles. “I never thought I'd say that.”

Despite the circumstances, you laugh. “You do love talking.”

“There are things I love more.”

Your core tingles as you linger over the swell of his lips. The orb flickers as his eyes hover over your parted mouth. You wonder if you should pull away. He does not.

“I wanted to do things properly. Charm you with dazzling displays of wit. Conjure a canvas to rival your beauty. Dance with you beneath the stars.” 

Is that sorrow in his voice? Regret? He frowns, and in the shadows of his face, you think you see shame.

“If things were different… if we were home… I would give you everything you deserve.” 

It is not quite shock you feel, but you cannot fathom it. When Gale had told you about his past, his greatest mistake and his fall from grace, you had wondered at the fairness of his self-judgment. It did not sit well with you, the crushing burden of the blame he carried, as though the sin was his alone. For you, that guilt had always jarred against the proud veneer Gale projected - the bluster of a wizard of considerable acclaim, a scholar of exceptional accomplishment.

Now, you see him so clearly. The passion that drives him, the gentleness that sets him apart. The conviction that he will always fall short. 

You reach forward to cup his cheek. His breath catches, a mirror of your heart. You have touched before, drawn together by the whirlwind of your yearning, a surging, panting need. But this is different. 

“You already have.” 

His eyes ebb with surprise, doubt, something like fear. There are things you wish to say, but you do not know how. They go beyond the language of your bodies, into the recesses within you that no one else has stirred. 

But still, you try.

“Being with you… It’s everything.” 

He is speechless for a moment. When he looks at you, you know he sees. He smiles.

And as he kisses you, you realise it is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen.

****

“So, let me get this straight.” Karlach leans forward. “All those nights in Gale's tent, and you still haven't ridden that wizard’s staff?”

You rub at your temples. You already regret those extra glasses of red. Wine has always made you loose lipped.

Astarion smirks. “Come now, Tav. That tent lights up like a signal flare every time you go in. You must be doing something.”

You glare at them pathetically. You know they will not let this go, no matter how mortified you are. No matter how much you dig your heels in.

“We can't,” you sigh. 

Astarion arches an eyebrow. “Well, I can't say I'm surprised. Gale does leave a lot to be desired. Though I’d assumed there'd be spells for that sort of thing. Enlarge, for one–”

“No!” you splutter. “For the love of – No! There's nothing wrong with Gale's–” 

You catch the grin Astarion shoots at Karlach. Karlach gapes at you, expectant.

“It's his orb, alright? Not his… anatomy. We can't because of his orb.”

Karlach's eyes widen. “Are you saying that if Gale nuts, his orb will explode?”

You wince. “That's the worry, yes.”

“Gale’s cock could bring about the apocalypse.” Astarion chortles. “Who would have thought.”

You give Astarion a shove. “It's not funny.”

“Of course it isn't!” Karlach looks genuinely distressed. “You poor things. I can hear you two going at it sometimes–”

“Like a pair of clumsy teenagers,” Astarion pushes in. “You’d have to be deaf not to hear everything, by the way.”

Karlach scratches her head. “Seriously though. What are you guys doing in there? If you can't wet that wand–”

“For gods’ sake!” 

Astarion snickers. “Are you finding all his special places and kissing them better? Is he putting that mage hand to good use? Whispering sweet nothings into your–”

Your face burns. “Just use your imagination!” 

“Poor Gale.” Karlach blows out a breath. “He must have the biggest, bluest balls in all of Faerun.”

“And you must have the most swollen–”

“Right!” You leap to your feet, lunging away from the campfire. “I'm done! I'm not discussing Gale's balls, or my–”

You crash into Gale as you turn. He catches you, alarm and confusion flitting across his face as you squeeze his hand. Sorry, you signal with your eyes as you retreat. I'll make it up to you later.

“What did I miss?” you hear Gale ask behind you. You cringe at the delight in Astarion's voice.

“Oh Gale.” He titters ominously. “I'm so glad you asked.” 

****

“Oh, I get it.”

You chuckle as he wraps his arms around you from behind. Everything feels and smells like Gale - every nook and cranny of his study, plush and warm, every chime of the well-worn piano beside you. The teasing dance of hands around your waist, the tickle of his hair against your neck. The familiar scent of sandalwood and scrolls, indistinguishable as fantasy or flesh. Your fingers hover over the bookshelf before you.

“This is some kind of elaborate courting ritual, isn't it? You seduce me with kisses and honeyed words–”

“I seduced you?” Gale barks out a laugh. “I seem to recall that you were the one who touched my–”

“You whisk me away to your wizard’s tower, ply me with mood music, and then–”

“Excuse me, but you willingly accepted my invitation. No whisking was involved–”

“And then–”

“I might also remind you that technically, we haven’t left the boundaries of my tent, given that this is an illusion, though admittedly, a masterful one–”

You jostle him. He nibbles at your earlobe, and you bat him away half-heartedly.

“And then, you show me your personal, and very extensive, collection of porn.”

Gale titters as you gesture towards a cluster of tomes in the upper left corner.

“A gentleman can never be too well-read.”

“Clearly not.” You crane your neck. “‘Beauty and the Beast with Two Backs’. ‘Longsword of Love’. ‘The Wand of Wonder.’”

“Oh, that's a good one. The sequel was a poor imitation, though. ‘The Tiefling's Horn.’ Disappointing.”

“What a shame.” You squint. “‘Two Wenches, One Goblet’. What's that about?”

Gale opens his mouth, then promptly closes it. 

“Wait. Maybe don't answer that.” 

You laugh as you delve further. You remember that Gale has conjured all of these books from memory. You have no doubt that he recalls their content in exquisite detail.

“I wasn't sure whether you'd misplaced some of these. ‘Exploring the Underdark.’ ‘How to Tend Your Garden.’ ‘Studies of the Kraken.’”

Gale huffs. “I'm offended you'd think my library would be anything but impeccably arranged.”

“Ah.” You turn to face him, nuzzling into his neck. "Shall I beg for your forgiveness?”

His hands wander down your spine, over the small of your back. A violet shimmer fills the space between you. You have learned which shades you should flinch from, and which you should welcome. You cannot help but feel Gale's arousal as your own, after all. To see it displayed so clearly - it drives you wild.

“Tav,” he murmurs into your hair. “You could take a first edition of ‘Etheril’s Enchiridion of Enchanting Easements’ and burn it in a ritualistic bonfire, and I’d forgive you.”

You brush your lips over his jawline, running your thumb over the arc of his collarbone. You feel him tremble against you. 

“So you're saying I have you wrapped around my little finger.”

“Wrapped?” He tuts. “Bound and double knotted. Triple knotted, even. If you had an inkling of a desire for me to jump, I'd catapult myself to the other side of the Chionthar.”

“So…” You bite your lip. “You’d do anything I asked?”

His eyes are misted, lips curled in a sideways smile. “Within reason. But yes. There's very little I wouldn't do for you.”

You tilt your mouth to his. He opens to you without hesitation. A soft moan escapes him as he presses you against the bookshelf, enfolding you in his lavender haze.

“I’d do the same,” you whisper, before you melt into each other.

****

You stare up at the peak of your tent, flickering in the candlelight. Your bedroll feels foreign, the ground beneath you impossibly hard. You kick away your blanket with a grunt, abandoning the hope of sleep.

Should you go to him? After Elminister’s departure, you had made your feelings on Mystra's charge - and Mystra herself - abundantly clear. When you had sat with Gale, watching the sun set with his hand in yours, he had been uncharacteristically quiet. You had known, without him asking, that he needed space.

He had not been at dinner - a haphazard assortment of beans and fish heads which you were too preoccupied to taste. When you returned from a wash in the river, you thought you glimpsed the curve of his back sliding into his tent. You have not seen him since.

You imagine Gale, tossing and turning, wondering how long he has left. Sifting through his memories for triumph, and finding only despair. Convinced that his life has no meaning outside of his death. Standing at a precipice, alone.

You lunge up, darting through the slit of your tent.

He stands outside, features shadowed in the empty night. There is a weariness in his stooped frame, an exhaustion that he cannot conceal. But when your eyes meet, his face glows with unmistakable joy. He reaches for your hand.

“Come with me.”

****

“This was going to be a surprise.” 

You marvel at the illusion around you. The bed of lush grass beneath your toes, adorned with a

fine spray of daisies. The lilting forest canopy, framed by a boundless azure canvas bejewelled with stars. The sky glimmers with the most vivid shades of turquoise you have ever seen. 

In awe, you follow Gale to a clearing, where a velvet rug awaits, soft and welcoming. A billowing bouquet of peonies rests beside a basket of peaches, two glasses and a bottle of Gulthmeran Reserve. All your favourites.

You are at a loss. 

“I've been trying to make it perfect, or as close to perfect I can get, in the circumstances. It's not quite finished, but…” 

He looks down, grimacing. 

“Well, there's no time like the present.”

You step forward, resting your hands on his chest. “This is incredible, Gale. It is perfect. Beyond perfect.”

He shakes his head. “I wish I could give you more. There's so much more I would give you, if only we had time.” 

His eyes are shining. You realise that he is holding back tears. You cup his face in your hands.

“You've given me more than I've ever dreamed of. More than I could ever imagine.”

He is silent for a moment. Through the storm of your emotions, you watch the quiver of his lip, the spasm of his brow. He gestures towards the rug, arrayed with all the gifts he has prepared for you. You sit beside him, caressing the petals of a scarlet peony, rolling a honey-ripe peach around in your palm. He smiles as he watches you, a smile that puts the stars to shame.

“All of this,” you breathe. “How did you know–”

“Tav.” He chuckles, mock-chiding. “You should know by now that I'm a keen observer and a meticulous scholar, especially when you're the subject matter.”

You are not sure why you suddenly feel shy. You fiddle with his collar, the chestnut curls around his neck. He draws you closer, his legs bracketing you, the tip of his nose tingling over yours. 

“No one has ever done anything like this for me.” 

It is difficult for you to understand it. The things Gale has done, the feelings he has professed. You struggle to explain the magnitude of them all. The miracle of him.

“Then I'll do everything in my power to make up for their shortcomings.”

You stare at him for a long time. Without warning, a tear slides down your cheek. He catches it with his thumb, stilled by the admission, the implication. Your hands find his as he plants a slow, searing kiss on your forehead. In his touch, there is the warmth of home. 

“Do you remember when you said you'd do anything I asked you?” 

“Of course.” He nods. “I said what I meant.”

You know it is a risk. You know the consequences of what you are about to say. But you cannot stay silent, not after all you have been through together. Not after all you have discovered about the man he is, everything he has become to you. You cannot abide it.

“What if I asked you to trust me? To trust that we can find another way?” 

He hesitates. The lines on his face deepen, his eyes darkening.

“You don't have to die, Gale. We can fight the Absolute together.”

He jerks his head. “Tav…”

You clasp his hands against your heart. “I'm asking you to trust me. Someone who knows you. Someone who… cares deeply for you. You don't deserve this. You don't need her forgiveness. You don't have to die.”

“Tav.” His chest heaves. “What you're asking…”

“I'm asking you to live.” 

It comes out as a plea, though you had not meant it as such. It is your beating heart, held out before him - the truth laid bare, without reservation or fear. You cannot run from it any longer.

“I love you, Gale.”

The words are everything, yet not enough. Perhaps love cannot capture the hunger you feel for him, frantic and insatiable, the desperate ache that possesses you whenever he is near. The candle he has lit inside you, illuminating the world with a wonder you have never known. A steady tide, washing over everything within and around you, making all things new.

A thousand feelings stream across his features as a comet soars through the sky. And as he surges forward, clutching you against him like a lifeline, you recognise the promise that is sealed between your skin.

“I love you too.”

His tongue is tender at first, almost reverent as it slides against yours. Your mouths move slowly, savouring each other like the richest banquet, the finest wine. But when his hands roam under your robe to palm your breasts, when your fingers weave under his waistband to grasp his need, all is lost.

You had imagined this, the minute Elminster calmed the orb. The implications had been immediately clear to you. But all that had fallen to the wayside in the face of Gale's suffering and grief. Now, as Gale’s chest flares to the rhythm of his juddering breaths, you are unleashed. 

Suddenly, all you want is his skin on yours. He tears your robe off with a ferocity that makes you whimper. You wrench his tunic off, shoving his breeches and briefs down in a frenzy. He rolls his tongue around your nipple, sucking it roughly into his mouth. As you arch into him, you tighten your grip around his shaft. He gasps, digging into your ass as you begin to pump.

“Wait,” you think you hear. But he is lapping wet whirls on your areola, parting your soaked panties to find your fire. You can feel the veins twitching on his girth as his fingers flutter into your cleft. You grind into his hand with a whine. 

When he draws back abruptly, your first instinct is to check the orb. Before, that indigo blaze would have been a warning. But Gale's eyes are wide with desire, not clenched with pain.

With a low murmur, he flicks his wrist. A crackle of blue thread bends in the air. He rises, lifting you up into his arms. 

“A gesture towards your comfort.” 

You gape at the four poster bed that has appeared behind you, its violet canopy and silk sheets. You look back at Gale, incredulous. 

“Are you telling me that all this time, you've had this in your back pocket, and we've been messing around in your bedroll?” 

Gale dips his head, half amused, half sheepish. His hands meander down your curves, distracted, insistent. You lean into his touch.

“Maintaining an illusion like this requires concentration. Concentration I was devoting to making sure the orb didn't take out a small city every time you and I were having a…particularly heated interchange.”

“I see.” 

You run your fingers over the scar of the orb, sunken into Gale's skin. It pulses, cold as metal in winter. Tentatively, you bend down to dart your tongue over its edges, lingering over the bruise in its centre. You can taste the static as Gale sucks in a breath.

“And you won't have a problem maintaining concentration now?” 

His voice is strained, but his eyes glint. “I won't now.”

You gasp as he pulls you onto the bed, his cock stiff against your belly as you straddle him. You wet your lips as you skim his beaded head with your thumb. His head falls between your breasts as he shivers violently against you.

“That remains to be seen.”

When you slide off his lap, he makes a muffled sound, reaching for you. You hold his gaze as you roll his briefs and breeches down and off, caressing the exquisite muscles of his thighs, the arcs of his strong calves. As you settle between his legs, the smell of his sweat and arousal fills your senses, heady as a drug. Gale tenses in anticipation as you look up, his length twitching against your cheek. 

He swallows.

You plunge his cock into your mouth. His back bows as he bites back a whine, the bed quaking beneath you. He is hard, so hard, and the warm silk of his shaft glides against your tongue like butter. You ache with a throbbing, swelling fire at the slick sounds of him sliding in and out of you, stretching you wide as you take him deeper and deeper. You want nothing more than to gorge yourself on him.

“Gods above…Tav… Gods…”

You are wild with the sounds of Gale's pleasure as he writhes to the rhythm of your mouth. You move faster, firmer, hollowing your cheeks as you suck on his girth. Spit spills down your chin and neck, and you keen as his cock thrusts against the back of your throat. You can feel the bud of your desire thrumming against your folds, bursting for release. 

“Gods, you're incredible…that feels incredible…Tav…. ”

Arousal trickles down your thigh as you hum in approval. He is surging, impossibly stiff against your flurrying tongue. Tears prickle at your eyes as you continue to pump, losing yourself to his pleasure. 

“Tav.” He clutches for you, frantic. 

The tightness of his grip stills you. You slow for an instant to look at him. His brow is twisted, his hair mussed and cheeks flushed. The orb pulses like a heartbeat. A sheen of sweat ripples on his abdomen, glittering on the damp down of his skin. His beauty is maddening. Dizzying.

He springs up, pinning you beneath him. Your eyes roll back at the force of his weight grinding down into you, the stark demand of him. His hair is a tousled curtain around your faces, his chest rubbing against your nipples as you pant. 

“Did you not like it?” Your hips cant up, desperate for more of him. 

“I loved it. Too much, in fact,” he rasps. “I didn't want this evening to come to a premature end.”

You can feel his cock, steely and determined as it nestles into you. Your flesh burns in every place he touches. His musk is a haze, blurring every boundary, making you one. You are struggling to think, to speak.

“How considerate,” you manage.

“I'm nothing if not thoughtful.” 

He begins at your neck – that secret nook just below your ear. A discovery he had made on one of the first nights, when you had come undone beneath his hungry mouth, a mewling mass of nerves. He has remembered ever since. 

He rolls his tongue across your skin, teasing it between his plush lips. You shiver as he licks a tantalising trail of kisses down your collarbone, between your breasts, around your navel. He hums as he peels off your panties, drenched with your arousal. Your legs quiver as he spreads you wide, firm fingers edging into the sensitive flesh of your thighs. You whine at the wet sound of your folds opening to him, the hot puffs of his words over your bulging clit.

“You have no idea how much I've wanted to do this.” His voice is low and hoarse. Ravenous.

“I have some idea.”

You can barely breathe. The smirk on his lips sends a shudder through you.

“You have no idea.”

You let out a needy cry as he drags his tongue through your folds. He tastes you slowly, painstakingly, savouring every inch and corner of you. With every messy swipe, every moan that spurts from him, your back arches, your thighs lifting higher as Gale pushes into you, devouring you like a man starved.

“Gods,” he murmurs, and you think you might explode at the flick of his tongue on your clit. “You taste like heaven.”

You have no words, only a whimper. You will not last. Every fibre of your being condenses into the throbbing ache under his tongue. As he begins to draw small, swift circles around your fire, sparks spasm up your spine, spreading to the tips of your fingers and toes. His groans vibrate against your swollen centre, his nails digging into your thighs. His beard chafes against your flesh with a friction that gathers like a flaming coil inside you. You clench at the sheets, your toes curling with mounting ecstasy.

“Gale…Gods… Gale, I’m going to–”

He hums again. Even in the midst of your unravelling, you can hear his appreciation, his pride at having uncovered another mystery, another key to your undoing. His eager, plump lips close around your desire, his tongue flat and snug against you. He sucks at your clit with a loud, slapping sound, and you throw your head back as your last nerve snaps.

Blinding pleasure jolts through you in waves, shattering your every sense and thought. Incoherent sounds tumble out of you, your hips jerking frenetically as Gale continues to feast. He does not stop, even as you keen and bend beneath him, even as your climax erupts from you in bursts of sweet release. You have never come so quickly or so hard.

Overwhelmed by sensation, frenzied from it, you twitch and flinch, thighs clamping around his head  as he holds you down. You cannot take any more. As you lurch up onto your elbows, his eyes meet yours, fully dilated, drunk with bliss. You reach for him helplessly. 

“Gale,” you plead. “Come here. Please.”

He lingers, lapping up your delight in long, sloppy stripes, greedy for every last drop of you. When he rises, you can see streaks of your slickness glistening on his beard and chin. You tremble as he licks his lips. 

You lunge for him, wild with want. Your mouths meet again in their furious dance, your taste thick on his tongue. You are closer than you have ever been, your bodies flush against each other, the sweat on his skin mingling with your own. He presses your arms down above your head, his fingers entwining with yours as you groan into each other. 

“I need you.” Your hips roll against his, his cock jostling against your folds. It is anguish, your yearning to be filled by him, to be eaten whole. “I need you inside me. Please.”

You do not need to ask twice. You can feel the pounding of Gale’s heart, the billow of lust in his dark eyes. There is no more reserve, no trace of deliberation. When your legs part to welcome him, he makes a sound you have never heard before, all gentleness lost in the urge to consume you. He notches himself at your entrance, coating himself with your slick. With one rough thrust, he sheathes himself inside you, and you almost scream from the delicious drag of his cock against your aching walls.

“Gods,” he pants. “Tav…Gods… you feel…Tav….”

Your calves clench around his waist as he plunges into you, an erratic, gasping rhythm of wet, slapping skin. You flutter around his girth as he drives into you again and again, splitting you open then filling you to bursting. He releases your hands to cup your cheek, crushing his forehead against yours, and you cannot catch the words that stream from his lips, only his raw and wanton need. Your fingers fist into his tangled waves as you pull him closer. 

“Gale.” Your entire being quakes beneath him, for him. “I love you.”

His brow steeples as he clasps your face, eyes shimmering with awe and exertion. He kisses you like it is his last night alive, taking what is left of your breath away.  The world around you swirls into a purple storm as he pumps faster and faster, hips snapping with dizzying force. Your head rolls back, your eyes shuttering in rapture as he thrusts into the deepest parts of you over and over again. 

“Tav.” His thumb pushes into your moaning mouth. “Look at me.”

You obey. As your tongue twists around his questing finger, you look at him with all the love and longing within you, every inch of you that cannot get enough of him. His eyes are bright as summer earth, his lashes fluttering like butterfly wings. You can feel the tremors through his muscles, the convulsions of his gut, as he nears the peak of his climax. 

“I love you,” he whispers.

The orb flashes like an eruption of stars, the bed flickering in a chaos of colours. For an instant, you are floating in a lavender sea, drifting in the abyss of the night. With a final, keening stroke, he spills himself inside you. You whimper against each other, writhing through the aftershocks, a convulsion of shared breath and flesh. And as you lie on the bed he has made for you, with his arms around you and his warmth inside you, you wonder how you will ever part from him again.

****

You are curled on his chest, tracing the peaks and valleys of his body, studying the fine dust of hair over his flushed skin. His touch roams, tender and earnest, mapping the topography of your being, every dip and dune of your drowsy, sated flesh. Cocooned in him, cloaked in a passion that goes far beyond need, you feel a peace you have never felt before. You know, in an inexplicable way, that he feels it too.

He huffs, that quiet laugh you have come to love so much. You draw back to look at him. 

“What?”

He smiles, rubbing his nose against yours.  “Nothing. Just thinking. Marvelling, really.”

His lips graze your forehead as he pulls you close again. You nestle into him with a contented hum.

“At what?”

He chuckles, drawing languid circles over your hip bone, the curves of your thigh, the dimples on your back. 

“The miracle of serendipity that brought you into my life. What fortune, what divine calculus, what wondrous confluence of circumstances…”

You pause, drinking in the joy that radiates in every lilt of his speech, every dance of his features. The love that burns in every part of him, pure as sunlight, fierce as life.

“A perfect storm.”

Gale stares at you. The grin that bursts on his face thrums with pride, a glee that would be ridiculous were it not so endearing. You laugh through the sprinkling of kisses that he peppers all over your face, a whirlwind of affection that floods your heart. 

“My love,” he sighs, as his lips find yours. “I couldn't have said it better.”

********

A/N: Not wanting to blue-ball everyone after 'A Generous Portion', I decided to write a conclusion to this saga - but what I didn't realise was that I was going to end up rewriting the whole of Gale's romance in Act 1 and Act 2...

This is what I imagine happened if instead of the Weave scene, Gale and Tav were locked in a room together.

I tried to stay true to the canon as much as I could, with the orb, call backs, Elminster's visit and such. Most of all I wanted to capture a romance with Gale that begins with an explosion of passion / physical attraction, and then deepens into love.

I hope you enjoyed it! I am forever grateful for your support, and as always, would love to hear your thoughts and comments <3

Liked this fic? Check out my other work

[purple-plum-petals]

⊱ What It’s Like Cuddling with Him ⊰ || Mr. Gap Headcanons

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Character(s): Mr. Gap (Homicipher/文字化化) Reader Type: Human (Gender-Neutral Pronouns) Warning(s): None! Genre: Headcanons, Fluff, Romantic or Platonic Relationship (It’s Complicated, honestly). Word Count: ~590 words. Request: “Please I've been dying for content 😔 can I get uhhhh mr.gap content plz ?? I can't stop thinking about him popping up between ur blankets on you. Love ur homicipher stuff so far btw 🩷” Author’s Note: Thank you so much for the kind words! I’ve been enjoying writing for the fandom, too. Everyone has been so incredibly supportive, and that just means the world to me as a writer who never thinks their work is good enough. I love you, Homicipher fandom. 😭🫶 I went ahead and did headcanons about how Mr. Gap would be as a cuddle buddy since you mentioned the scene of him popping up between the blankets (and because they’re a lot easier to crank out than full-on drabbles haha). I hope you enjoy!  

→ If you enjoyed my work, please reblog it if you can! Exposure on Tumblr is based on reblogging content rather than liking it, so your support would be much appreciated!  ♡

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🕳️: The first time Mr. Gap surprised you by suddenly appearing under the covers, you nearly died of a heart attack right then in there before scolding him to never do that again. He simply rolled his eyes at you, calling you boring before disappearing into the void once again. He never did stop like you had asked him to which, honestly, wasn’t surprising in the slightest. Eventually, you got used to his sudden presence to the point where it didn’t startle you as horribly as it used to (much to his disappointment). 

🕳️: Even if you don’t get startled by his appearance as often as you used to, that doesn’t mean you never get scared when he suddenly pops up. He enjoys spooking you, smiling widely whenever you gasp or let out a shriek when he lunges at your face from under the sheets like an alligator shooting out of the water to grab unsuspecting prey in its maws. He leaves with a chuckle if you smack or try to hit him, vanishing before you can do any damage. Your reactions are funny to him, and he enjoys being able to get a rise out of you. 

🕳️: You eventually become fed up with him and ask him with a huff if he wants to cuddle after lifting your covers and seeing his face in the darkness underneath, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce. He grimaces and asks you what that even means, not familiar with the term. After explaining it to him as best as you could considering the language barrier, his semi-disgusted expression doesn’t change, and he leaves faster than it took you to blink. This continues for a while, you ask him with a smirk if he wants to cuddle with you which successfully manages to chase the trickster away (you just have to threaten him with physical affection... good information to know).

🕳️: However, one day, Mr. Gap doesn’t leave after your half-hearted threat. He stays and stares up at you with a blank look on his face before, to your shock, agrees to cuddle with you. It’s strange laying in bed with a ghost that doesn’t have a body in the conventional sense, his head resting on your chest while his arms rest limply at your sides (he usually doesn’t hold you back, instead laying on you like a dead fish). While you can feel the presence of a form on top of you, whenever you try to catch a glimpse, you cannot see anything resembling a body underneath the covers. It’s not an unpleasant feeling, though, and he reminds you of a weighted blanket. 

🕳️: Mr. Gap doesn’t move or make much noise whenever you two are cuddling, an occurrence that has become more frequent as time goes on. He isn’t the biggest fan of physical touch, but he finds himself not minding the way your hands feel threading through his hair or the sound of your beating heart while his ear is pressed against your chest. The noise is strangely comforting... 

🕳️: If you inquire about his lack of commentary, he looks up at you and smirks, asking if you would give him your heart. You just tell him no with a smile since you were used to his questions at this point and close your eyes, your hands returning to combing out in knots in his black locks without another word… He kind of hates how he doesn’t find himself disgusted by your touch, and he can’t help but wonder why that is. 

[alotofpockets]

Confidence | 18+ MDNI

Pairing: Reneé Rapp x Reader

Summary: Reneé asks you to come to her first day off shooting Mean Girls to give her the confidence she needs to play Regina George. (based on this scene)

Warnings: 18+ MDNI, smut

Reneé Rapp Masterlist | Words: 1.2k

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Reneé usually didn’t have a problem with showing off her body, she was proud of the way she looked, and often showed the world her confident side. She wore revealing outfits all the time, and never really gave a care in the world what others thought about her appearance. However, as the first day of shooting Mean Girls came closer, she started getting more and more nervous about portraying this confident character in front of the cameras.

Of course, Reneé had played Regina before, and knew the character well, but in front of the cameras it was different. On stage she got into character and played the part in front of a lot of people, but they were all sitting at a distance, and observed not only her but also the rest of the set around her. On set the cameras and the crew would be focussed on her playing the character the way they had envisioned her, of course they did the same for the other actors there, but the scene she was most worried about was Regina’s opening scene. 

It didn’t take much convincing on your girlfriend’s end to get you to join her on set for the first day of shooting. You loved supporting her in person whenever you were able to. Supporting her didn’t just mean her music and her acting, you supported her in every aspect of life, and she did the same for you, that is why your relationship worked so well. 

While it was an early call, Reneé still took some time to show you around the set. You hadn’t been to the Mean Girls set yet, and were looking at everything full of amusement. When you were younger, you had watched the original, and you always loved the movie, so seeing the set of the remake made you feel very nostalgic.

You sat to the side as Reneé was getting ready in the hair and make-up trailer, talking with her costars and the hair and make-up team. It was nice getting to know the girls she’d be working with for the next couple of months. 

Before you headed to the set they’d be shooting at this morning, you took Reneé to the side. “I just wanted to say that you are amazing, and you look incredible. You are going to crush this scene, and every scene after. You are the perfect Regina George, and I cannot wait to see the lines we rehearsed together come to life. I love you, baby. Have fun out there, and I will be right behind the crew supporting you.” Reneé pecked your lips, “You’re the best, but shush now or you’re going to make me cry.” You both laugh, and head into the hall the scene would be shot in. 

They were shooting the scene where Cady met Regina for the first time to the song ‘Meet the Plastics’. It included a close up shot of Reneé signing the song, while the camera slowly panned out, revealing more of her. It took a few takes to get the close up right, but when the crew was happy with the results, they moved on to the part that Reneé was most nervous about. It was a shot where she would sensually open her leather jacket and show off her boobs.

The first few takes were cut, “Reneé can you give us a try with some more confidence please?” The director asked and she nodded in response. Reneé looked up to you for some reassurance, and found you clenching your thighs together. You hid it well, no one else around you would notice, but Reneé knew. That familiar look in your eyes, and the subtle movements, she knew all too well. That sight alone gave her the confidence she needed to act the scene exactly how the directors had in mind. 

Once the scene was done, and Reneé had quickly said bye to her co-workers she walked up to you, “I knew having you here would do the trick. Wanna head back to my trailer?” Reneé wouldn’t be in the next couple of scenes they were shooting, so she had some free time. She knew just the way she wanted to spend that free time. 

After entering the trailer door behind you, Reneé pressed you up against it. Your breath hitched at the sudden movement, but a smirk started playing on your lips once you saw the look in your girlfriend’s eyes. “I told you you looked incredible.” You tease, letting your hand drag over her chest. When your hands found the zipper, you undid it the rest of the way, and took off the jacket. Your hands moved up her arms slowly until they reached the nap of her neck. “You are so beautiful, baby.” You tell her before she crashes her lips onto yours.

The kiss was instantly heated, you were very turned on from watching the scene Reneé acted in, so every small touch of your girlfriend letting her hands explore your body sent electricity throughout your body. Her lips made their way down your neck, kissing, sucking, and licking the spots you knew were going to have small bruises later. Your soft moans filled the trailer.

Reneé pulled you towards the bed in the back of the trailer. Only breaking the kiss, once you made it to the bed, so she could take off your shirt, and your bra. “So pretty.” She said before taking one of your nipples into her mouth, and swirling her tongue around the hardened bud. With one of your hands behind her back to pull her closer, and the other massaging her breasts, you fell back onto the bed. 

It didn’t take long for both of your clothes to be thrown onto the ground, and your moans filled the trailer once more, as Reneé drags her finger through your folds. “Fuck, you’re so wet baby.” Between moans you manage to say, “I told you, you looked incredible.” Reneé chuckled, “Once again proving that you are a boob girl.” Her comment made you laugh, but it got caught short as she entered one of her fingers into you, and started fucking you at a fast pace right away. 

Your moans start to get so loud that you’re afraid that someone will hear you, so you pull Reneé closer and crash your lips together to muffle the noises. You felt yourself nearing your high fast, as she entered a second finger, and used her thumb to run circles around your clit. “Baby, I-” Reneé’s darkened eyes meet yours, “Fuck, I’m close.” Reneé fastens her pace even more, loving the way she can feel you tighten around her fingers. “Come for me, baby.” Her sultry voice brings you over the edge. You moan her name loudly, no longer being able to control yourself as she fucks you through your orgasm. 

You let your head fall back onto the bed, while you come down from your high with a heaving chest. Reneé cleans off her fingers on the sheets, before she places soft kisses all over your face. “You did so great, baby. I should take you to set with me more often.” She says smiling down at you, admiring the way your sensitive body reacts to her soft touches. 

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💗 If you enjoyed this fic, please consider liking, commenting, and reblogging! You can also supporting me by leaving a tip 💗

[joicecubes]

hey guess who’s absolutely losing it over the stan twins again (spoiler alert its me)

so i was innocently scrolling tiktok when i was introduced to this DIABOLICAL au idea: firstly, what if ford really had shot stan with his crossbow when stan first showed up at the shack? and secondly, what if ford tried to bring him back to life frankenstein-style? (full credit to tiktok user @44boora for this idea, go check their account for some gut-wrenching art) (also… full post below the cut this got long)

but like i was thinking about this, ford bringing stan back to life specifically, and how dependent the concept is on this specific time in his life. i just feel like any other time and under any other circumstance, ford would have been able to, eventually, accept stan’s death. we see it at the end of weirdmageddon, where ford is ready to accept that the stan they all know and love is gone now that his memory has been erased. he tells mabel as much, and only realizes there’s hope for him when mabel is determined enough to push back against ford’s logic. ford believes very intensely in his own perception of the world. he believes in science. theoretically, he believes death is death, and there’s nothing he can do to change that.

but then, think of ford after he’s been betrayed by bill. this ford is at his absolute lowest. he can’t trust his own perception of the world anymore. he’s seen the truth of what their relationship was and the horrors he was so close to unleashing on their universe. he is desperate to right his wrongs. he’s losing sleep, his body is abused every time he closes his eyes, and the end of the world as he knows it is iminent if he doesn’t succeed in making the portal as secure and unusable as possible without dismantling it entirely. the only person he believes he can trust after everything that’s happened is stan. so he contacts him for help, and in his time waiting for him to arrive, cannot stop thinking of the worst-case scenario: that bill could still be coming for him. so when he opens the door to stan, his high-strung, paranoid brain doesn’t see stan, and he shoots.

he shoots his own brother with a crossbow and kills him.

ford is not usually one to blatantly ignore a scientific fact. again, death is death, and there’s nothing he can do about that. and yet, in a state of such intense grief, when his entire world is already close to crumbling around him and he’s holding his dead brother in his arms, there’s nothing else he can feasibly do but deny. so he does.

he lives in denial of a lot of things. that stan’s death is final, obviously, but also his reasonings for attempting to do the impossible and revive him. ford likes to believe he operates purely on logic, so he tells himself he’s doing this because he has to. without stan, he can’t prevent bill from entering their universe. he’s still the only person ford can trust, so reviving him is another step in his ultimate goal of stopping bill and saving the world. it doesn’t matter that its never been done before, ford will do it anyway. and he believes that he can, because as much as he thinks he’s moved on from his hubris, he’s still acting off the assumption that he’s special. he’s so far ahead of everybody else, so naturally, if anybody could accomplish the impossible and bring stan back from the dead, its ford.

and so he denies that the real reason he’s trying to save stan is not a logical one. he denies that he’s running entirely on emotions. it would be foolish to try something so risky and impossible and time-consuming if he were only doing it because of his crushing guilt and decade-long yearning, so he tells himself there’s so much more to it than that. he can’t just be doing this because he loves him, right? he’s not that shallow. he’s not that desperate.

and yet, he is. because as much as ford wants to deny it, he can’t live without stan. he can’t live with the knowledge that he was responsible for stan’s death. if he didn’t succeed, his grief would surely kill him.

[i-dared-myself]

Need For Nine Leads to Sick

Stray Kids x reader

Requested by anonymous: can you do a ninth member sick fic with skz? and like she physically cannot go on stage but is forced to and collapses?

It’s one of those days. You woke up with a scratchy throat, clammy skin, and a full bladder. The last one was easy to solve, but the first two required a bit more effort.

“Chan,” you whine nasally as you walk down the stairs. A sudden bout of dizziness makes you tumble the rest of the way down, landing in a heap at Chan’s feet.

“What the-“ Chan’s eyes widen in surprise before he kneels next to you. He helps you sit up, eyebrows furrowed. “Are you okay?”

“I’m sick,” you complain, groaning. “I don’t feel good.”

Chan frowns and lifts you to your feet. “How sick are we talking? Because we have a big performance today. For that awards show, remember?”

“No, I’ll be okay,” you tell him. You sniffle. “I’m going to go get some medicine now.”

Chan sighs and squeezes your shoulder before you wander off. You go to the cabinet where it’s stored, rifling through until you find the cold medicine.

“I heard you’re sick,” Hyunjin suddenly says from behind you, startling you. You nearly hit your head on the cabinet door.

“Yeah? And?” You hold the bottle up to see what the dosage is.

“Alright.” Hyunjin rolls up his sleeves. “Bend over.”

“Excuse me?” Your eyebrows shoot up and you take a step away from him. When he slides closer to you, your back hits the wall with the next backwards step you take.

“Gotta take your temperature to make sure you’re not just lying,” Hyunjin tells you with a roll of his eyes, as if it’s obvious. “So bend over. We only have a rectal thermometer.”

“Absolutely not!” you exclaim, darting past him. He tries to grab you before you can escape, but you duck under his arms.

Hyunjin chases you down the halls, effectively waking every other member. They all grumble as they stumble out of their rooms, confused to see you running from Hyunjin.

“Where are you going?” Felix asks as you sprint past him.

You ignore him and hide behind Changbin, dizzy from exertion. “Hide me? Please?”

Changbin throws his arms out protectively, narrowing his eyes at Hyunjin. “What are you doing?”

“Checking her for a fever,” Hyunjin says, holding up the thermometer. His eyes are locked on you.

Changbin shrugs and lifts you to put you down in from of Hyunjin. “Here you go.”

“Betrayal!” you hiss, fighting against his grip. 

Hyunjin cackles, waving the thermometer around like a crazed maniac. He advances closer, but then, your hero arrives.

Jisung lunges in front of you, shielding you with his body. “Go! I’ll hold them off!”

Seungmin scoffs, appearing out of nowhere to press a hand to your forehead. “Wow, that’s a fever. And I didn’t even have to penetrate anyone for it.”

Minho pokes his head around the corner, eyes wide with surprise. “What the hell are you guys doing?”

“Not penetrating people,” Jisung carefully says, nodding confidently to himself.

Minho sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Let’s go. Chan and Jeongin are already waiting in the van.”

“I-“ you say before you’re being rushed to the van, your cold medicine forgotten. But you’re sure it’s fine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Alright, people,” the stage manager loudly says, clapping his hands. “We have twenty minutes until we’re on!”

It’s a bustle of activity. Last minute changes to makeup and costumes, with chaos rampant as staff rush around. You’re feeling worse now, but know you don’t have a choice.

So why would you bring it up to someone? That would just worry them for no reason.

So you push past your sore throat, your aching head, and your stuffy nose. You sip at your water bottle, watching as Minho glares at his stylist.

“You don’t have to be so grumpy,” Jeongin tells Minho with a smile. “You’re scaring everyone.”

“Good,” Minho shortly says, scowling at everyone in the room. 

“Changbin,” you whine as he passes by. “I don’t feel good.”

“Okay… Well we have to preform. Did the medicine not kick in?” Changbin touches your forehead gently. He hums to himself. “You feel warm still.”

“I forgot to take it,” you mumble.

Changbin winces, eyes flicking to the clock on the wall. “Did you bring it? Or maybe we could find some?”

“No, I’ll be okay,” you tell him. When he gives you an unsure look, you force a smile. “No, really! I was just complaining. I feel good though.”

“Alright.” Changbin pats your shoulder comfortingly before jogging over to Hyunjin.

You feel ill. You’re nauseous, light-headed, and still have a fever. 

You’re slumped in the chair, an arm thrown over your eyes to block the intense light from impacting your headache. You’re dreading having to perform.

It’s getting worse with time. There’s an ache in your chest that’s forming as well, causing you to cough.

“Excuse me,” you say to the stage manager as he hurries by you. “Is there a way for me to not preform? We know the choreography for if someone is-“

“No,” he snaps, whipping his head around to glare at you. “We prepared for nine, and we’re going to get nine. So you’re going to get your ass on that stage, and you’re going to dance.”

You blink in surprise, nodding. “Yeah, okay. Of course. I’m sorry.”

He huffs and stomps away.

“Changbin,” you whine as he passes by. “I don’t feel good.”

“Okay… Well we have to preform. Did the medicine not kick in?” Changbin touches your forehead gently. He hums to himself. “You feel warm still.”

“I forgot to take it,” you mumble.

Changbin winces, eyes flicking to the clock on the wall. “Did you bring it? Or maybe we could find some?”

“No, I’ll be okay,” you tell him. When he gives you an unsure look, you force a smile. “No, really! I was just complaining. I feel good though.”

“Alright.” Changbin pats your shoulder comfortingly before jogging over to Hyunjin.

Eventually the time to file out onto stage comes. You trail after the others, falling into position. The music starts and you follow the choreography exactly.

Well, mostly exactly. You do stumble off to the side halfway through, turning your back to the cameras so they don’t see you dry-heaving. 

Nothing comes up, thankfully, but tears still form as you cough. Your fingers curl around nothing as you try to level your breathing out.

The crowd gasps, all eyes turning to you. Minho slips over his own feet, which you know he’d never do. He practised too hard for this, and he messed up for you.

Seungmin kneels at your side, eyes wide with concern. “You’re okay. Breathe.”

A staff member waves from just offstage, trying to call you over. Seungmin helps you over to them and out of the audience’s view. You slump against the wall, head tipped back as you go through waves of dizziness.

You sit like that for minutes, although they feel like hours. You just want to go home and away from the loud music and bright lights. You want your bed and maybe some cuddles.

Finally, the show ends. Your group runs backstage, peering around for you before Seungmin guides them to where he left you. Jeongin inhales sharply, covering his mouth.

“Wow…” Hyunjin slowly says, taking in your clammy skin and glassy eyes. “You look…”

“Great,” Felix interjects, giving the others a pointed look. “You look fantastic. I can’t even tell that you’re sick.”

“Why are you lying?” Minho asks. “You’re not even good at it. She obviously looks-“ He’s elbowed by Changbin and stops talking.

“Are you ready to go home?” Chan softly asks, forehead creased with worry. When you nod, he waits for you to stand before handing you a water bottle.

Jisung talks as you go to the van. He describes how worried he was when you collapsed, and how much attention the crowd gave to you. You’re not really reassured by that, but it’s nice to know people care. 

As soon as you get home, Felix is grabbing the cold medicine. He pours you the correct dosage and hands it to you.

You cringe at it. “What if… What if I just tough this out? Like, who really needs medicine.”

“Take it,” Seungmin insists.

Chan crosses his arms, raising an eyebrow at you. “Come on. You’ll feel better once it’s in your system.”

You groan, but swallow it down. You pull a face at the taste before you’re being shooed to your room.

Jeongin lays out a set of pyjamas for you, patting them gently. “Let’s get you changed, okay?”

You grumble but go off to the bathroom to change. When you get back, they’re all smushed together on your bed.

There’s really not enough room for all of them, and there’s a lot of pushing and shoving going on. Changbin gets Seungmin in a headlock, much to your amusement.

“Alright, get out of here,” you rasp, clearing your throat with a cough. When they don’t move, you wave your hands at them. “I need rest.”

“Yes, and I need cuddles.” Jisung spreads his arms. “So get over here.”

You crawl into the bed as well, sorting through the writhing mass of bodies to lay your head on your pillow. At least you think it’s your pillow, until it shifts.

“You’re going to make my arm fall asleep,” Minho grumbles, trying to tug his limb away. But your eyes are drooping and you’re comfortable. And because he’s the big softie that he is, he lets you stay like that as you drift to sleep.

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