#i close the washing machine's lid and spend about a minute and half considering and adjusting the wash mode

[keeps-ache]

🔴⭐🟦💚 <- my tuoys

[sluttyten]

Taeyong. 32 and 172 please 👉👈 thanks in advance❤

taeyong + an innocent kiss turning into something not-so-innocent + leaving them at home and them having no idea how to work the washing machine

The first night that Taeyong stayed over at your place, it stormed. You'd been on a date the night before when the sky unleashed all it's fury on you, and together you'd run back to your place, slipping and sliding and laughing in the rain.

The next morning Taeyong was sleepy and comfy and made sounds of complaint when you tried to get him out of bed.

"It's still raining, just stay here a little longer," he mumbled, his face buried in your pillow and his hands clinging to your arm. "We don't have to get up yet."

He was right of course, but you were already awake. You were hungry too, so after a bit, you stood up from bed and went to get dressed. Taeyong didn't stir until you ran a gentle hand down his back, and even then he only half tilted his head and made a soft hmm? that let you know he was at least a little bit aware of the world.

"I'm gonna go grab us breakfast. I'll be back soon."

"M'kay." Taeyong sighs and sinks back into the pillow. You brush a kiss against his cheek, and then head out.

You're gone for maybe thirty minutes. It's about a seven minute walk to your favorite bakery (which feels like forever when it's still drizzling), and the line was surprisingly long considering the dreary weather outside, so that wait took a while.

By the time you get back to your apartment, you're feeling just generally damp despite the umbrella you hold in one hand, but at least the bag of warm pastries perched on top of the drink carrier containing two coffees are safely dry.

You sit everything down in the kitchen, and then you tiptoe back toward your bedroom, planning to wake Taeyong and drag his ass out to the kitchen if that's what it takes. But when you look through the door you find an empty bed with rumpled sheets and no sign of Taeyong. Did he leave? You were gone for thirty minutes, why would he leave?

And then you hear it, a heavy sigh from around the corner, the laundry closet beside your bathroom.

You backtrack, step around the corner, and peek through the doorway into the tiny laundry room. There's Taeyong, standing there in a pair of shorts only, scratching his head as he looks at your washing machine in total confusion.

"What are you doing?" You laugh, stepping inside the small room with him.

Taeyong frowns. "I was gonna do a load of laundry for you because I took our clothes out from last night and hung them up to dry." He gestures out at the drying racks and clothes lines in your living room. "But I can't figure out how this works."

His confusion is adorable. Your machine is a newer model, definitely different from the one that you've seen when you were visiting his apartment, but it shouldn't be so confusing, truly.

"You don't have to do that, but thank you." You kiss his cheek. "But if you want to know, look." You open the lid of the machine, showing him where the detergent and fabric softener are meant to go, which he'd already put the detergent in, so you fill the spot for the fabric softener. Close the lid.

Your machine has a touch screen, and when you tap it, it comes to life with a screen filled with many different options.

"This is where I got really confused," Taeyong admits, tucking his chin over your shoulder. "There's too many choices."

There are a lot of choices, but you tap through them quickly, selecting the options that you need for this load of laundry. The machine dings, the lid clicks as it locks shut, and just like that it starts its cycle.

"I like when you teach me things," Taeyong tells you, stepping around you to lean against the machine. He peers at the screen for a moment to see how it shows how much longer is left in the cycle and the exact type of wash that's being done. "You being so smart is why I love you."

You laugh. "This wasn't something smart, Tae, it was just reading the user manual when I got the machine. Now, before it gets cold, I bought us breakfast and coffee because I love you too." You lean in to kiss him.

Taeyong smiles as you pull back from the kiss, and then he slides his hands up your arms to your shoulders, pulls you back in for another kiss. “I love hearing you say you love me,” Taeyong kisses you once more. “Say it again?”

You can rarely deny your boyfriend a request like this. “Taeyong, I love you.”

He smiles and pulls himself up to sit on the top of the washing machine. He swings his feet so his heels lightly hit against the machine, and then he leans out a bit, puckers his lips, and he waits.

He’s in this type of mood today. The clingy mood, the lighthearted mood, the playful and needy and sweet mood. So you acquiesce, pecking him on the lips.

That’s all it was meant to be: just another peck before you grab his hands and drag him out of this cramped laundry closet.

But the moment your lips touch his, Taeyong’s hands cradle your head, his lips part against yours, and just like that this innocent kiss to satisfy your boyfriend’s neediness immediately shifts as his tongue sweeps your lip, as you’re pulled into the heat of Taeyong’s kiss. You want to leave the room, but unlike his invitation this morning, you stay.

"The pastries," you mutter into the kiss, a weak excuse.

Taeyong kisses the corner of your mouth. "They can wait."

It had been an innocent kiss, but now as Taeyong’s hand slides inside your pants, you think that maybe he’s right, maybe the pastries can wait. Maybe you can let Taeyong touch you and make out with you while the laundry swirls around the machine, and maybe you can let him slide from the machine and back you against the wall, pull you with him and pin you again to the doorway. You can wrestle with him back to bed and spend the morning with him there because it’s rainy, you can stay here a little longer, not get up yet, and the pastries can wait.

[themadlostgirl]

When It’s Cold (8)

*Felix has always been a fast learner. wink wink nudge nudge

Come indulge in the smut you nasties! Yes I know I wrote it so I am the originator of the nasty but we’re not gonna dwell on that. Smut ahead!*

~~~

Morning broke with soft light streaming in through the windows and the melodious songs of bluejays and chickadees chirping happily. The warm covers of the bed were pulled up to my chin and next to me was Felix still fast asleep. I took the moment to look at his face and how peaceful it was when he slept.

I’m glad I sucked up my courage and came to his door last night. My bed alone had been so lonesome. I didn’t want to come off as clingy but then he opened the door and invited me in to sleep with him. He wanted me next to him just as much as I did. I hope that this can become a regular thing. I rather like waking up with him.

I traced the scar across his face and his eyes fluttered open. He gave me a lazy smile before pulling me closer and pressing a kiss to my nose. “G’morning,” he mumbled sleepily.

“Morning,” I giggled at the affectionate gesture, “Sleep well?”

“Very well,” He yawned, “Makes me not want to get out of bed.”

“Well we can certainly do that. Not like we have any obligations.”

“Kinda hungry though. Wish I didn’t have to go all the way downstairs to have something to eat.”

A spark of heat curled inside me when his gaze flickered over my face. Memories from yesterday flashing in my head. Words he had said echoing back to me.

I knew you would taste good too.

Nope! It is too early for this!

Stop hiding, if you can’t take it when I lick you off my fingers how are you going to handle when I have my head between your legs drinking it up straight from the source?

I pressed my legs together in an ineffectual effort to stave off the ache that was starting to grow. I had overreacted a tad yesterday when Felix had said that to me. I would not say that the thought had not come to me when I was alone in my room fighting off the loneliness of my bed. To hear him say it though had thoroughly flustered me. How was I supposed to react to such a blunt statement?

Perhaps I should have said, “Yes, please, for the love of every deity do that right now! Let us spend all day in bed doing nothing but slating each other's urges until neither of us can breathe let alone walk.”

“Darling?” Felix said and I realized that he had been trying to capture my attention for a while, “Morning fog not lifted from your head yet?”

“Apparently not,” I laughed off my real thoughts, “What were you saying?”

“I’m gonna go make breakfast. Do you want anything?” He asked.

“Oh no. I’ll be fine with just some cereal.”

“Okay,” He pushed back the covers of the bed and got up. I watched from the bed as he stretched and made his way out of the room.

My body was still twisted tightly with needs. I tried to hide away from them under the covers but it was no help. The bed reeked of Felix’s scent. I groaned back in my throat. Fantasies of Felix taking me in this big bed flitting about in my head. Being completely consumed by his presence. His body, his heat, the noises he makes, the feel of his--

“AGH!” I screeched into the pillow. I either need to cool down or get that boy back in this bed. There’s no other option.

I went to his bathroom and splashed some cold water on my face before meeting Felix downstairs in the kitchen. He had already set out a bowl and spoon for me for my cereal. I smiled at the gesture and grabbed the cereal and milk. Felix sat across from me flipping through one of his cookbooks. No doubt thinking of more dinner ideas.

I couldn’t stop staring at him. My mind wandering away from me as more lecherous thoughts befell me. All he was doing was eating some toast. It was hardly interesting yet when his tongue flicked out of his mouth to catch some jelly at the corner of his mouth my toes curled.

My own tongue crept out of my mouth to wet my lips. Felix looked up and I almost fell back off my chair at having been caught gawking. Get a hold of yourself! I stabbed my spoon into my now soggy bowl of cereal. I finished about half of it before I decided it was a lost cause and dumped out the rest. I need to get some space between Felix and I before I combust.

“I’m gonna do some laundry.” I announced, “I’ve been neglecting it so I may be a while.”

“No trouble. I’ll be up here.” Felix said.

I nodded and grabbed the basket from the basement then went to our rooms to collect the dirty laundry. I was rushing to get to the privacy of the basement where the washer and dryer resided. I was hardly breathing easier now that I was alone. It felt like there was a coil tightening inside me just waiting to be sprung.

Don’t think about it. Just do the laundry.

I started chucking clothes into the washer not really paying much attention to what I was grabbing. I held up a pair of pajama pants and froze when I realized that these were the ones that got dirtied yesterday. The cum stain still on the thigh.

“Fuck!” I hissed before chucking them in the washer as well. I slammed the lid down.

I can’t function like this. I’m too wound up and turned on. I need to do something to relieve the ache and set my mind right. I checked to make sure the basement door was closed before sliding my pants and underwear off. I hopped on top of the washer.

My eyes slid closed as I touched all my favorite places. I let the memories of yesterday and the fantasies I wanted to guide me along. My body was especially sensitive and I was close to cumming in a matter of minutes. I covered my mouth with my other hand so my moans couldn’t be so easily heard.

“Don’t bother stifling yourself, darling.”

I literally screamed at the sudden voice. Felix was standing on the steps. I couldn’t see his expression but I knew one thing was clear. He had caught me masturbating. Considering what we did yesterday I feel like I shouldn’t be so concerned about him seeing me like this but it almost felt like an intrusion. This had been my private moment and he waltzed right into it. My cheeks burned and I pulled at my shirt trying in vain to cover my exposed lower half.

“I was just--” I stammered.

“You don’t need to justify yourself to me. It’s not like it’s a bad thing to take care of yourself when you need to.” Felix said. He started coming closer and I froze. “That being said, if you were so damn horny, little girl, why didn't you just come to me? I would have been more than happy to help alleviate you.”

I couldn’t find anything to say. Things I wanted to say and things I feared expressing whirling around my brain like a hurricane.

“Perhaps,” Felix said, his tone softer than before, “I misread the situation. You prefer to take care of this on your own and I should have quietly excused myself when I saw you. Apologies.”

He turned to leave. I jumped off the washer and grabbed his arm. “Wait!” My heart was hammering painfully hard in my chest. “I did want to come to you but I--but I--”

“Yes?” Felix asked, turning to study me.

“I was nervous to ask you. You haven’t seemed to show any urgent interest in being intimate with me again so I never asked. I want to do more but you...I didn’t want to pressure you into something you didn’t desire.”

“Didn’t desire?” Felix grabbed me and pulled me flush against him. Something hard poked against me and heat flooded my body once more. “It seems my words were not explicit enough yesterday so let me make this clear now. I desire you. I want you. Every damn second of the day I want you.”

A small whine pressed past my sealed lips. “I never let on about how much I want you because I said I would go at your pace. Whatever you wish of me, I will give you. Understand?”

“Oh…” I finally found my tongue, “That’s uh, that’s great.”

“Just great huh?” He brought the hand that I had pleasured myself with up to his face. Fingers still wet with arousal. He sucked the juices clean from my fingers one at a time. Hooded eyes watched me the entire time. “You have me at your disposal, darling. Is there anything that you wish for me to do for you?”

“The other day when you spoke of um,” I swallowed back the embarrassment. It’s just us here. There’s nothing to feel embarrassed over. “You said that thing about your head between my legs...did you still want to do that?”

His grin cracked his face in two. “I’d certainly like to try.”

I nodded for him to go ahead. He grabbed me and hoisted me back on top of the washing machine. He pressed close to me capturing my lips in a ravenous kiss. His hands were in direct contrast to his mouth. He kissed me with a hunger that bordered on desperate but his hands were gentle. Caressing my torso and holding face so carefully while he ravaged my mouth.

His mouth trailed hot and wet down my neck. He sucked hard on my pulse and hands pressed my hips towards him. His clothed erection rubbed against my naked slit and I moaned into the air. “Felix…”

“Believe me now?” Felix asked, his words hot in my ear. “Believe that I always want you.” He thrusted hard against me and I swore. More. I needed more.

“Yes,” I whimpered, “Please, Felix, please it feels so good.”

“What do you want?” He thrust again and I scratched my fingernails along his back. He groaned into my neck. “Tell me what you want, little girl.”

“You. I want you.”

“Want me to do what?” His gaze met mine with that dumb teasing smile of his. I cannot believe that he has the gall to tease me like this right now. He laughed at my soured expression and caressed my legs up and down. “If you don’t tell me what you want then how am I to know?”

“I told you what I want already.” My legs started tingling and every time his hands hiked higher on my thighs the wetness between them grew.

“Not explicitly and I want to make sure that I give my girl exactly what she wants.”

“Your girl,” I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, “Wants you to stop teasing her so.”

“I’m not teasing,” he ran his hands under my shirt to fondle my breasts. “I’m simply waiting for a reply.”

“Felix!”

“I love the way my name sounds coming from your lips, darling, but that’s still not an answer.” He hiked my shirt up and pulled it off. His head dipped down to kiss at my breasts. He bit and sucked on the supple skin leaving tiny bruises in his wake. “I don’t want to tease you but if I do not receive an answer I’m afraid that’s all I’ll be able to do.”

“Have I ever mentioned how much of a jerk you can be when you want to?” I snapped, trying to keep some composure. His hips still kept a gentle grind against me so I couldn’t think straight.

“Maybe once or twice.” One of his hands trailed down my stomach and rubbed softly on my clit. I yelped at the sudden sensation. “Just tell me what you want. It can’t be that hard, can it?”

There was no other way to get what I wanted without asking for it. And here I thought that he wouldn’t be so damn cocky about it. My pleasure was steadily building but it was a light simmer that kept me wanting without making promises of giving me release.

“Felix,” I whispered, “I want you to put your mouth on me. I want you to devour my cunt and make me cum.”

“As you wish,” He kissed me hotly one more time before slowly dropping down to a knee in front of me. He peppered kisses along my inner thighs, occasionally stopping to suck and bite at them until he was facing my cunt directly. I looked straight ahead so I wasn’t witnessing him stare at my dripping core with those glazed eyes. I could feel his breath puff against me and I whined wishing he would just touch me already and rid my body of the anxious anticipation.

"Darling,” Felix's voice shook me and I made a noncommittal noise of response. “You should know that while I have envisioned this numerous times before I have no idea what I am doing.”

“Huh?” I looked down at him between my legs and saw him watching me with the same intensity he had when I was guiding him along my body for the first time yesterday.

His face was bright red, even his ears burned. It made me feel better knowing he was just as nervous, if not more nervous than me about this. Excited but still cautious. “Sooooo, I'm just gonna go with god and hopefully this is enjoyable."

“I have no doubt you’ll make me feel amazing,” I wove my fingers through one of the hands on my thigh. “And if for some reason you don’t then that just means you can keep practicing.”

“I adore you.” He squeezed my hand back. Our hands stayed interlocked as he drew his attention downward once more. “And you’re all mine.”

I barely made out what he said before he dove in to devour me as promised. I squeaked and almost squirmed away but Felix kept me tethered, squeezing my hand in reassurance. The flat of his tongue licking a stripe up my cunt. He moaned against me and the vibrations sent a new flood of arousal pooling out of me that Felix happily lapped up.

God this was such a strange sensation but it felt so good. My free hand wove into his hair and he groaned again. I was going to get addicted to this I know it.

Stars danced before my eyes as he drew his attention to my clit. The tip of his tongue tracing patterns around it that had me blubbering praises and made me grip his hair tighter. “Fuck, Felix! Feels so good! Feels so fucking good!”

“That’s it baby,” he muttered as he pulled away to breathe, “You taste divine. I could die happy with my head between your legs.”

“Not before you make me cum like you promised.” I said. His eyes met mine, that rakish grin of his glistened with my arousal on his lips.

“Of course, darling,” He kept his eyes locked with mine as he attached his mouth back to my cunt. I couldn’t look away now. Not when his eyes bore into me like they did. The fact that he was watching me as he ate me out had me spiraling farther from sanity.

His free hand joined his mouth, running his fingers up and down my slit like a tease while he sucked hard on my clit. My legs were shaking and I didn’t know if I was trying to push myself closer and farther away. A single fingered entered me and I gripped his hair harder, pushing him ever closer as that single long finger pumped inside me at a pace that was incredibly slow compared to the quick swipes he assaulted my clit with.

A second finger joined the first, scissoring and curling inside my cunt to stretch it open. “Yes, oh god, yes!” My hips started to grind down against his face, chasing the orgasm I was building towards faster. “Faster! Please Felix go faster!”

He grunted and started pumping his fingers faster. He gave a playful experimental nibble to my clit and I yelped. He started to pull away before I forced his head to keep put. “Do that again! Please do that again!” I begged.

He set back to his task switching from nibbling to sucking to tracing patterns across my clit as his fingers continued to fuck my pussy. I was losing any coherency, my words a blubbering whimpering mess of praises, pleas and Felix’s name. All the while Felix kept his eyes trained on me. The only thing keeping me tethered to reality being his grip on my hand.

“Felix,” I moaned, “Felix, I’m gonna--fuck--fuck I’m gonna cum!”

With that he sucked even harder on my poor abused clit. My orgasm hit me like a ton of bricks. Felix’s name the only thing I could say as the shockwaves of the experience continued to roll through me. Felix wasn’t letting up any either. He kept fingering me and licking my sensitive cunt until I was driven into another orgasm. Not as powerful as the first but nonetheless electrifying.

My grip on Felix eased as any energy I had slowly seeped out my body. Felix finally pulled away with a self satisfied smile. He licked what was left of my arousal off his fingers before looking me over. I can only imagine the image I presented. Naked, flushed, legs weak, and my arousal still leaking onto the top of the washing machine.

“Still with me, darling?” Felix asked, gently caressing my face.

“Yeah…” I whispered. Even my voice was hoarse. “Thank you, that felt amazing.”

“Glad to hear it.” He kissed me. I moaned slightly at the taste of me on his tongue. “I hope now you understand that you don’t need to suffer in silence if you get like this again. Whenever you will have me, darling, you can.”

“Care to help a girl back upstairs?” I asked, sheepishly. “My legs feel about as weak as pudding right now.”

“Come here,” He grabbed my shirt from the floor and slid it back on me. I was able to keep my wits together enough to slide on my own panties and sweatpants again. My legs were plenty wobbly once I jumped off the washing machine. Felix kept an arm around me as he walked me back upstairs to my room.

He turned to go and I grabbed his arm to halt him. “Need something?” He asked.

“Can we sleep in the same bed again tonight?” I asked. “I just really like falling asleep with you and waking up next to you so…”

“Of course, darling,” He smiled softly, “You’re always more than welcome in my bed. To sleep or to play.”

“And I hope you know that the offer you made me about being there to sate my needs also applies to you.” I told him, “Don’t think I didn’t notice that you were left wanting after our fun downstairs.”

“Rest assured,” he inched his face closer so we were a breath away, “I’ll be sure to let you know when I want your attention, little girl.”

“Not now?”

“So eager to please me?”

“And if I am?”

“Then I am more fortunate than I thought.” He placed a kiss to my cheek before turning me around and pushing me towards the bathroom. “Clean yourself up and come downstairs. It’s my turn to choose the movie today.”

I nodded and scurried into the bathroom. My heart full and my body still abuzz with pleasure. I could get used to this sort of treatment every day.

---

(Previous) (Next)

[snowdice]

One More Chance (Part 12 of the Series “Is There Anything Left of Patton?”)

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Relationships: Logan/Patton, Virgil & Patton, Logan & Virgil, Roman & Patton

Characters: 

Appear: Patton, Logan, Virgil

Mentioned: Roman, Remy

Summary: Season change. Life changes. This time, Patton does too.

Notes: Zombie Apocalypse AU, Patton is a zombie

This is the twelfth part of a series of one-shots called Is There Anything Left of Patton?

Previous parts:

“Something Left”

“Someone You’ll Never Meet”

“Food You’ll Never Eat”

“Things You’ll Never Do”

“There Are Things That Are Lost”

“There Are Things That Are Missing”

“And There is a Question”

“Is There Anything Left of Patton?”

“And There is an Answer”

“But What Does It Mean”

“One More Dance”

My Master Post

The day Roman danced with Patton marked a big change in the house. Remy had basically already figured out what was going on with Patton (or at least as much as one could given Logan and Virgil didn’t quite understand it themselves), but it came as a surprise to Roman… somehow. Virgil had worried on the first day about Roman’s reaction considering his initial behavior when he’d met Patton, but much like Virgil had, Roman had managed to get attached. Zombie or not, Roman had decided Patton was his friend. The explanation of just what exactly was going on had come with some awkwardness, but not violence and life quickly moved on.

Once the secret was out and neither of them had an extreme negative reaction, their guests began to crest the barrier between guests and residents in the house. Logan began to devote time to thinking up a more permanent solution than just having the two crash on the floor of the study. For now, they had found usable mattresses and dragged them home to set up a temporary third bedroom in the study, but Logan had been making plans to renovate the house next door and build an attachment between the two so they would have more space. He’d already spent some of the summer constructing a sturdier fence around the neighboring house and planned on working on building more solar panels for its roof in the basement during the winter.

The division of labor became a lot easier too with the addition of two people. Scavenging was much easier, allowing Logan to get the supplies for the aforementioned solar panels as well as other supplies from more difficult to break into places. Remy and Roman were actually quite practiced at not dying in more risky situations since they’d started in a city.

Remy knew a bit about tech, having worked in a theater and jury-rigged a few things like microphones and lights in his day. Though he didn’t know as much about stuff as Logan, he knew enough basics that Logan was able to teach him things about maintaining and fixing the generators and other things around the house.

Roman, meanwhile, was good at hunting in both the traditional way and in the Roman-did-you-really-just-catch-a-chicken-with-your-bare-hands sort of way. They now had 3 chickens which they’d set up a coop for in the other house’s backyard.

Both Roman and Remy could sew pretty well which took some of the load off of Virgil and they could help in the garden some (Logan was still not allowed anywhere near it).

Virgil still often found himself panicking about the fast approaching winter, but they had even more supplies than the year before even counting the two extra mouths. So, overall, everything had changed for the better.

And then, there was Patton.

Patton had good days and bad days, but even the bad days were in stark contrast to what he’d been like a year ago. It’s like something had been triggered in him, and once he’d figured out how to follow the path to consciousness, it became easier to do so by the day.

On good days, Virgil imagined an outsider wouldn’t ever guess what he was. He wasn’t 100% normal, but most people would have no trouble saying he was a person. He still never spoke (except reportedly to Logan sometimes when they were alone), but he did react to what they said and seemed to understand. He smiled at Roman when he played him a song and tilted his head when Virgil spoke softly to him. There were entire passive aggressive arguments about the décor between him and Remy as both moved everything from furniture to decorations around sometimes behind each other’s back… and sometimes while making unflinching eye contact. Virgil thought they were having fun. Maybe?

There was a day in late August after the temperature had finally broken and it wasn’t boiling hot anymore where Virgil came down to find every blanket and pillow in the house had been brought to the living room and piled on and around the couch. Virgil at first had thought it was another malfunction and Patton was confused, but it was clear by how Logan reacted that it was in fact just a Patton thing. Roman had taken the blankets and constructed a fort for him which they’d both proceeded to spend the rest of the day in talking (well, Roman did the talking) about musicals and Disney movies.

Then, there were a few times where Virgil had caught him staring at a full cup of water sitting in the armchair. He’d sheepishly pretend like he’d gotten the water to drink it and Virgil let him.

Virgil’s hoodie just as often ended up folded outside his bedroom door in the mornings as it ended up in the washing machine and sometimes Patton would even come find him and hand it to him.

They hid the macaroni and cheese and woke to the entire loaf of bread that had been on the counter gone and cold grilled cheeses in the refrigerator. They put the macaroni back.

And on his best days when he came downstairs and poured himself a glass of juice from the refrigerator, he’d shoot a smile at Virgil and go off to find Logan. Virgil would often find them later smashed into the armchair together with Patton’s head on his shoulder while Logan read a book to him out loud.

The good days were become slightly more frequent as the months pushed on, but today was a bad day.

He’d been very confused and mostly unresponsive all day, but there was still something there in his eyes even today. Virgil glanced over as he removed the last jar of canned strawberries in this batch from the pressure cooker on the stove and set it on a dishtowel to cool. He’d been taking inventory earlier and some of the older cans that needed to be used soon were on the kitchen table including a jar of pickles.

Patton was staring at that jar intently as though it held the secrets of the universe. “Do you want a pickle, Patton?” Virgil asked. There wasn’t much of a response except for maybe a flicker of his eyelashes. However, the fact that he seemed to connect the sealed container with one of his favorite snacks did say something good about his object permanence.

Virgil passed the card table he’d set up for the earlier batches of cans to the kitchen table and grabbed the jar. He quickly took out one of the pickles and closed the can back up tight so the man wouldn’t try to eat all the contents in one go. He placed the pickle down in front of Patton. He immediately grabbed it and Virgil quickly turned away, so he wouldn’t have to watch that. When he looked back, the pickle was gone, and Patton had placed his chin on the table to once again stare at the jar intently.

“You just keep doing that buddy,” Virgil said before turning back to his canning station on the counter. He’d been working all day and this next batch would be his last. He started spooning the pre-prepared strawberries into the jars as he heated the water back up in the pressure cooker. He heard Patton shifting around but didn’t pay him much mind, too engrossed in his task. Annoyingly, it ended up that he was about half a can short on his mixture. He must have filled one of the earlier batches too full and now everything was uneven. It wasn’t a big deal, but still irritating. He’d just placed the last lid on when a hand suddenly appeared next to him and he jumped.

Honestly, one would think he’d be used to Patton randomly reaching for him by now. Except, unlike what usually happened, the hand went for one of the jars from the last batch instead of for Virgil himself. There was a quiet pop before the jar was set down again with its lid off. Virgil blinked at him. He blinked back and then wandered away. Virgil’s eyes followed him which is when he saw the card table. Every single jar was open.

“Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me Patton.” Patton gave him a curious head tilt, looked at the dozens of opened cans, and then looked back at him.

Virgil put his head down on the counter and let out a long, loud groan. He was actually impressed by own his lung capacity.

There were footsteps from the living room after about 15 seconds of sustained groaning. “What happened?” Logan asked.

“I just wasted an entire day on canning is what just happened,” Virgil sighed, gesturing to the many, many open cans.

Logan’s presence in the room seemed to pull Patton in and he walked up to him, kind of bumping into his front. Logan’s arms came up to hug him softly, and he rubbed his back a bit. Virgil watched as, after a moment, Patton tilted his head a bit to angle his mouth towards Logan’s ear. Virgil raised an eyebrow at that. Logan hummed after a few seconds and pressed a kiss to the top of Patton’s head. “It’s okay, love. I’ll help Virgil clean it up for you. You don’t have to worry.”

Virgil blinked. “Yeah, no, it’s fine Pat,” he was quick to reassure. “I get it. You’re good. It’s just a few cans.”

“How about I take you upstairs and you can lay down for a bit?” Logan offered. Patton nodded. “Alright, I’ll be down in a few minutes,” Logan said to Virgil before starting to guide Patton upstairs.

“You will not,” Virgil muttered, knowing it would be at least an hour, maybe two before he could pull himself away. Yet, he was more amused than annoyed at that fact. Virgil turned to look at the state the kitchen was in as they disappeared up the stairs. “Well, I guess I get one more chance to make sure the strawberry levels are even in all of the cans.”

Want to read more? The next part of this series is  When There Is Something Left.

[lonelypond]

Parent Trap, Ch. 8

NicoMaki, NozoEli, Love Live, 3K, 8/?

A chapter full of conversations.

And We Talk

Clack...clack, light but solid, bamboo striking bamboo, Nico sliding closer to Umi, the pace of her blows picking up, as Umi manuevered her sword to parry, easily absorbing the increasingly frantic energy Nico forced into each strike. Sensing Nico’s flagging stamina, Umi dropped to one knee, rising with a strike that forced Nico to block behind her, Umi’s blade sliding off, and Nico leaping into a overhand strike, which Umi parried and then forced Nico’s sword down.

“So are you going to tell me now why you’re paying me three times my normal rate to choreograph a fight scene for you.”

Nico stepped back, freeing her sword, then attacking again, sliding forward, dodging to the side, pushing back, but found Umi always there to calmly parry.

“It’s like a dance.” Nico struck Umi’s sword rapidly and repeatedly as she slid to the right, then pushed forward, Umi responding to each movement.

“Perhaps.” Umi held up a hand, “Let’s take a water break.”

“If you need one. Nico’s fine.”

Umi raised an eyebrow at the obvious sweat rolling down Nico’s face. Nico scowled as she swiped a forearm over her forehead. “It’s hot in here.”

“You were too hasty. I prefer to work at half speed to perfect techniques.”

“Nico needed a workout.”

Umi chuckled, “My training dummy rates are much cheaper than even my stunt choreography hourly.”

Nico grabbed her water bottle, “Ha! Nico will pay both.”

Umi watched, concerned. She didn’t know Nico that well, but something was obviously disturbing her. Nico sat on the bench, slumping forward, head hanging down, more than physical exhaustion weighting her.

“Hypothetically…” Nico began.

“Yes?”

“Let’s say you were a guy and you found out you had a child you didn’t know about.” Nico glanced up, her ruby eyes challenging Umi to flinch, but Umi remained solid. “What would you do?”

“Everything I could to help the mother.”

“Just like that.”

Umi shrugged, “If I had a child, I would have had a committed relationship with the mother of the child. If she chose not to include me at first, but then later reached out, that does nothing to change my responsibility as a parent or my affection as a…” Umi stumbled, Nico leaned forward, curious. Umi had always been almost prudish about her relationship with Kotori, “a former paramor.”

“No one night stands.”

“No.”

Nico raised her water bottle in a salute.

“Is this about Maki?”

“I thought you didn’t spend time on TWIG?”

“Kotori does.”

“Nico knew that. What does she think?”

“You never looked like you had baby weight. And she wants to design you a dress.”

“We’ll talk. And not hypothetically, like Nico’s question.”

Umi did a slow sword sequence as she considered how to continue the conversation. “What does this hypothetical guy want?”

“Romance, love, being there...the complete package. ” Nico was slumped again.

“Can’t Maki be part of the complete package?”

Nico glared. “It’s not that easy. Everything’s backwards. Nico’s backwards.”

Umi, not letting Nico look away, went through a series of movements that made Umi look like a river rolling along in its bed, graceful, surging, continuing. “Some things are just natural, Nico.”

“Not with everyone who has a phone and the TWIG app watching.”

Umi settled into ready pose. “So close the app. Step off the stage. Seize the opportunity.”

Nico had her sword in both hands, “Opportunity?”

“Yes.”

“Nico’s not sure. Last time Nico checked it was a locked door. No knocking. No open window. No welcome mat.”

“And you gave up?" Umi chuckled, "Doesn’t sound like Nico.”

“No.” Nico slid into attack position, shoulders squared. “It doesn’t.”

And the dance began.

###

Nico was showered, locked in the Ayase-Tojo spare room, and ready to get back into the conversation. Texting. Sexting. Remind Maki of the good things. The sexy things. The fun things. The Nico things.

N: Nico misses seeing your nightly pajama snaps.

M: Dia’s been throwing up all day.

So sexting out, sympathetic in. At least Maki was texting. And mentioning Dia instead of aggressively avoiding the name.

N: Can Nico help?

M: Don’t distract me while I’m trying to watch a using your washing machine tutorial. Laundry is not in the nanny’s job description.

N: You don’t know how to do laundry...it’s easy, open the lid, put the clothes in, put detergent somewhere, push a few buttons. Most laundry machines are super instructive.

M: I have to be careful. It’s Dia’s things. Mama didn’t pack enough for throwing up. And Dia threw up in the bag. She didn’t like the car ride. Or lunch.

N: Is she allergic to something? Are you keeping her hydrated?

M: I know how to take care of my daughter.

N: Right, Dr. Maki.

M: ಠಿ_ಠ

N: I’m sure the laundry will be fine. Text Nico sometime (ɔˆ ³(ˆ⌣ˆc)

M: (🖒^^)b

###

Maki had finally gotten Dia to sleep, put on some Chopin, and collapsed into the couch when there was a thud at the door. She pulled herself up by the couch arm to see Raye standing there, coat and hat on, headphones off for once, and her backpack on the floor.

“My ride’s here.” Raye announced.

“Your ride?”

“Dr. Nishikino agreed that I could take my month’s leave now.”

“What do you mean?” The panic in her own voice was grating.

Raye made a skutching noise, “I’m a live in nanny in Chicago, with a personal chef on call, not a Cheesehead hostage eating frozen pizza two meals a day.” An eyeroll and a gesture toward upstairs,”I said goodbye to Dia.”

“You can’t leave...I don’t…”

“You’ll be okay, Maki. You’re a mom. Moms know what to do.”

Was there some kind of Mom superpowers that kicked in when you were alone with your child? Maki had never been alone with Dia without someone in shouting distance. Everyone she trusted was five hours away.

###

#Nico was trending. Just #Nico, not #ThatKillerSmile. Pics of her and Umi sparring, Nico’s kiss on Umi’s cheek when she said goodbye...whoever took that had a top tier zoom lens. Influencers were reposting older pics.

Nico’s phone pinged. Tsubasa. Nico picked up.

“Hey, how’s the tour?”

“Finished. Back in Chicago. Throwing a rave Wednesday. Drop by.”

“Nico will be in bed by six. Shooting for the video the next day.”

“Too bad. You could have brought Maki and hung out with Honoka.”

“Oh, Honoka, huh?”

“Yeah, she’s great. We’re really having fun. And no pressure.”

“Good for you. But Maki’s in Wisconsin anyway. Staying away from snap crazy stalkers.”

“Oh.”

That was a tone.

“Oh?”

“That’s the other reason I called. Some PR firm offered A-Rise a lot of money to boost pics of you with anyone but Maki on TWIG.”

Nico felt her lip rise in a sneer as suspicions started to gather. “That’s why Nico’s trending.”

“Probably.”

“Do you know who?”

“I texted Cocoro their name. Turns out they represent, among other clients, the Nishikino Medical Group.”

A shrewd, calculated move. Nico was impressed. And livid. But red hot anger wouldn’t do her any good now. She needed to counter. Or ignore. But she definitely needed to make sure Maki wasn’t thinking she was out there swinging for new partners.

“Nico?”

“Sorry, Nico was thinking. Thanks for the heads up.”

“Anything I can do?”

“Cameo in That Killer Smile.”

“You got it. Just not too early in the day. But think about coming to the party. You need some fun too.”

“Maybe Nico will take a nap.”

“Not much else to do with Maki in Wisconsin. Bet you have some good visuals though.” Tsubaba's tone was a conspiracy invitation.

Nico's reply was curt. “We’re done.”

Tsubasa laughed as the call cut.

One, disrespectful. Two, Nico didn’t need to be reminded of how Maki blew everyone else off the hot curve. Nico had to scheme.

###

Lilo and Stitch for the fifth time that day. Maki was about to claw off her ears.

“NICO!”

The Nico cries had stopped until this last viewing. Maki could see Dia was getting tired and cranky. Maki was also getting tired and cranky. Maki checked the time. One a.m. She should have never let Nico get into the habit of singing Dia a lullaby over the phone.

“SING!”

“Nico’s asleep, bun.”

Dia jumped off the couch and raced to the door, “Nico!”

Repetitive firmness was a necessity with Dia. Never retreat from a decision. “It’s time for sleeping, Dia. Nico’s asleep. You should be asleep. Mama is tired.” Talking about herself in the third person. Sure sign of exhaustion. “C’mon, Dia, let’s get your pajamas on and put you in bed.”

“Tsuki!”

Tsuki had fallen behind the couch, Maki picked her up, and Dia ran to grab her, then screamed “Nico Nico Ni!” right in Maki’s face. It took all of Maki’s remaining self control not to react to the volume. She picked up Dia, did a quick visual check of Dia's clothes to make sure there weren’t any closures that might interfere with sleep, grabbed her laptop with her other hand, and marched upstairs. She put Dia down gently, taking extra care not to let her frustration turn into excess energy that would unsettle Dia further.

“Nico!” The demands were getting weaker, Dia would sleep soon if she didn’t kick into tantrum gear.

“We’re going to call her, bun. Just let Mama set this up.”

Maki flipped up her laptop, moved the EFF.org sticker, hit video call. Nico sounded sleepy and had some kind of green goop on her face. Maki just stared for a minute. Nico did the weirdest, cutest things.

“Maki? What’s wrong?”

Maki woke up from her imagining what it would be like to spend the night in Nico's arms, what the green goop would smell like. Avocado probably. “Sing to Dia.”

“What? Did something happened?” Wide awake Nico.

Maki could hear Dia pulling herself up on the crib rail, “NICO!”

“Hi Dia.” Nico waved.

“Look, just sing, make sure she doesn’t fall out of the crib, and text me if she’s not settling down.” Maki let her face relax, knowing she looked exhausted, “I just need a few minutes.”

“Okay, Nico’s on it”

Maki remembered the earlier part of the day. “No Elvis.”

“What?” Nico shook her head, sitting up, setting her phone on her nightstand, “Never mind, just text Nico sometime.”

“Okay.”

“Nico’s got this. Get some air.”

“Thank you.”

“Thanks for calling Nico. I missed seeing your face. Now go look at some stars.” Nico smiled. “Hi Dia. Your pretty mama is going to go look at stars and Nico’s going to teach you her new song.”

“Sing!”

“That’s right. You’re Nico’s first audience. So pay attention.”

Dia had settled back down. Maki put the laptop at a level where Dia could see Nico through the crib bars and as Nico started singing, backed quietly out of the room.

###

Stars. Inhale. Cold air. No sense of time passing. Maki half dozing, maybe actually asleep for an hour or two. Nico was keeping an eye on Dia. That was a calming thought. Was that good? Maki realized she only had vague panic flashes of her last IRL encounter with Nico, Eli calling and saying something about Nozomi and paperwork and then fear kicking in. Maki didn’t have the mental bandwidth for any news that might trigger another explosion of emotion so talking to Eli was going to have to be another day thing. She reached into her pocket for her phone, to check notifications. A message from her mother, probably about Raye; Eli, not going to deal with that now; and Honoka. Maki hit play.

“Hey, Maki! Tsubasa’s throwing a huge party and invited you and Nico. So you should really come. It’ll be so much fun. Tsubasa’s gonna have a private karaoke room, and an entire arcade and the best DJ in the world. We gotta hang out.”

Party? Why hadn’t Nico mentioned it? Maki flicked over to TWIG, searching #NICO...Nico kissing Umi on the cheek, Nico with her arms around a group of scantily dressed women, Nico at a concert, leaning down into the crowd, Nico writing her phone number on a barista’s stomach…

Maki hit call, “What the hell are you doing?’

Nico sounded sleepy. “Maki?!!?!”

“Yes, Maki, your girlfriend, not that that barista would know that when she called you.”

“What barista? Maki, what’s going on? I just got Dia to sleep. She’s so cute.”

“We got invited to a party and you didn’t tell me.”

“DId Tsubasa call you?” Nico’s question was sharp.

“No, Honoka.”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

“What do you mean?”

“Never mind. Tsubasa and Nico have different opinions on dating.”

“Does yours include giving random women your phone number. And why are you kissing Umi?”

“Slow down. Let Nico catch up.” A pause, “Dia’s still sleeping calmly. Nico does an excellent lullaby. Now what did you do?”

“Searched TWIG to see what you were up to.” Saying it out loud, Maki felt a bit sheepish.

“Cyber stalking Nico. Classy.” Nico hummed, obviously searching through pics. “The Umi kiss was friendly, the barista pic is Photoshopped, and Nico is at home in bed and has been since 7 p.m. getting her beauty sleep before a video shoot at 5 in the morning.” An inhale, “And why you’re seeing pics of Nico with everyone else in the universe is because your parents PR firm is paying influencers to flood the algorithim with pics of Nico and anyone but you.”

“They’re not.”

“They are. A-Rise got approached. Nico has receipts. I can forward you emails.”

Maki was silent.

“And the reason there aren’t pics of us is because you’re in Wisconsin at an undisclosed location because your parents think Nico is going to steal you.”

“I don’t care what my parents think.” Maki felt pressured, with a sudden urge to bolt for the woods.

“If that’s true then why are you in Wisconsin?” Nico sounded annoyed.

“Just shut up for a minute…”

Silence. Maki heard what she’d snapped at Nico echo.

“Good night, Maki.”

“Wait, Nico, I just…”

Call ended. Maki leaned forward, fingertips barely clinging to her phone. How did this work? How exactly did this happen? What had Eli said?

###

“Oh, hi, Maki…” Eli was on the couch, eating chocolate ice cream and watching a production of Swan Lake.

“Why did you call?”

“What did Nico tell you?”

“We're not talking about Nico, Eli.” Maki’s voice had no chill. “Paperwork. Nozomi. What did that mean?”

“Ummm…” No matter how much Eli had rehearsed this in her head, telling Maki was not easy. She glanced toward the door of the spare room. Nico had gone to bed hours ago because of an early set call. So no interruptions. “When I started working on the procedures, Nico was the first person I asked to help. Nico’s always the first person I ask when I need any kind of help. She’s amazing.”

Eli had expected some response from Maki, but no, just waiting, judging silence.

“Okay…” Eli coughed nervously, "So Nico donated eggs, but absolutely refused to be an anonymous donor. She wanted a family but not until she met someone she wanted to marry and was ready to stop touring as much as she had been. So I banked most of her eggs and used the rest in my early tests.”

“So Nico wasn’t just an anonymous donor?”

“No.” Eli laughed, “She was very clear about no little Nico’s running around without her knowing about it. She’s furious right now.”

Maki sounded angry. “How did it happen? Did it happen? Is Nico really Dia’s...”

Eli paused Swan Lake, and headed to the freezer to put the ice cream away. Melting chocolate all over the couch was too easy a tease target for Nozomi. “As far as I can unravel, when Nico came back for her ultrasound to make sure everything was okay after the donation, Nozomi was there and altered Nico’s paperwork. So Nico was in the system all the time, but you were the first and only to match.” Eli pondered whether or not making a pot of coffee would be worth it at this hour. She wasn’t sleeping. Not having Nozomi next to her was lonely. But Nozomi was still being infuriatingly disingenuous about the turmoil she’d thrown Nico and Maki and Dia into. “I’ve taken Nico off the donor list now that I know.”

“So it is true…” Maki’s voice was a low whisper, barely heard.

“I’m so sorry about this, Maki, but from what I can tell, Nico is your egg donor.”

And then the roar, “Why would Nozomi do that to Nico? To you? What the hell kind of friend alters your medical paperwork? What kind of wife...how can you...that’s so many kinds of illegal, unethical, just awful, Eli. Why would she do that?"

Eli winced. All of that was true. But she knew that Nozomi really believed she’d had Nico’s best interest at heart.

“I know, Maki. I’m trying to explain it to her, how I would feel if I had missed the twins’ first steps or when they said “Mama”...it’s still so amazing, Maki, to watch them be their own people, but you know that, and Nico missed so much of that with Dia and I’m heartbroken for her, I just can’t bear to think about it, but Nozomi really cares, I promise…”

Maki cut Eli off, voice in efficiency professional mode. “Is Nico okay?”

“I don’t know. She’s super busy. Super busy usually means stressed.” Eli rested her forehead on the refrigerator, “Are you okay?”

Maki made a huffing noise. “I have to go check on Dia.”

“Maki....”

And Eli was alone. Or maybe not.

“Better make that coffee, Eli-chi.” Eli turned, Nozomi stood in the archway, Eli’s robe wrapped around her. “I miss you. I haven’t been listening to what you've been trying to say. Help me fix this, my love.”

Eli was going to cry, Nozomi opened up her arms, and Eli rushed to be held, Nozomi’s fingers in her hair, Nozomi’s sweet, soft voice promising everything would work out.

A/N: Shakespeare season. How you?

[buckybabybaby]

Everything Backwards  (Chapter 4/12)

Summary: When you make-out with a ‘James’ on a night out, you don’t expect to see him again, so imagine your surprise the next day when it turns out he’ll be your new sort-off-flat-mate. As Nanny for Peggy & Steve’s three children, you’ve lucked out, but now the guy across the corridor is threatening to ruin it.

 This is the story of how it all works out.

Chapter 4 summary: Two week in, things go a little wrong…

Pairing: Bucky Barnes/Reader (Gender Neutral) Slow Burn

Word count: 2003

Warnings: Bucky’s a bit awful, but only because Y/N is! Mention of illness?? People being rude to each other.

Previous: Chapter 3 

Everything Backwards Masterlist

Masterlist

With the horrendous aftermath of the last time you drank very fresh in your mind, you decide that this time when you meet your friends a late lunch is probably safer than anything involving alcohol. Yesterday was the last day of term for the children so their parent have taken them out to the cinema as a treat, giving you a free afternoon to do as you please with, and when you leave the house the sun is shining brightly. 

Today marks two weeks since you first met Bucky. Things have improved a little since that short exchange of words in the car after swimming; you two haven’t actually talked yet, mainly because he stays in his room most of the time, but he doesn’t look at you with so much contempt any more, and there was that incidence earlier in the week when he held the door for you as you struggled with shopping bags.

 A small start but one nonetheless. 

You sincerely hope that over the coming months you’ll get to the point where you can hold a proper conversation with him. Sometimes, during a mundane task like hoovering or hanging the washing on the line, you wonder what would have happened if you hadn’t kissed that night, and how much easier it’d be if you knew him only as Bucky and not James. 

Dwelling on things that can’t be changed isn’t healthy but you can’t stop yourself. That is why you need to see your friends, to get your mind off him and spend a couple of hours with people your own age who actually want to speak to you.

“Sarah, she’s the oldest, and is so intelligent it’s a little intimidating, but it’s not a surprise considering both her parents are professors at a top university.” You are aware you sound like a proud parent when talking about the children to Wanda and Natasha, but they seem to understand. “And the two little boys are an absolute delight.”

“So no runaways at bath time?”

“Thankfully not! And do you remember the family with the child that refused to take off the batman costume? These three are practically the opposite, I’m so relieved.”

Natasha grins. “And the room is better in this place? No rattly pipes or leaky windows?”

“Honestly, it’s a palace in comparison.” You shudder thinking back to that house. “Anyway, now I really need to tell you something I thought best to leave a secret but if I keep it to myself any longer I think I may explode.”

They both sit up straight at that, expectant.

“Okay, so there’s another room opposite mine which was an office but now one of Steve’s, Mr Rogers’, friends is staying there. He, the friend, he’s…” 

You stop, unsure how to explain, but it doesn’t take long for Natasha to half work it out.

“Is he hot? Single? Is he nice? Would it be awkward if you dated or amazing because he lives right across-” Wanda shuts her up by stuffing the rest of her cake into her mouth before turning to you.

“Basically all of that but with room to breathe.”

This is going to be the worst part of the conversation and you decide to get it over with as quickly as possible.

“It doesn’t matter what he’s like, it matters who he is. He’s Bucky.”

You’re met with twin looks of confusion and a joint answer.

“Who the hell is Bucky?”

“Oh right, of course. Bucky’s a sort of nickname, but you know him as James, as in James from the club, James who I kissed-”

Half the café turns to look at your corner booth as Wanda and Natasha scream at you. You shush them and attempt to hide behind your hair, giggling when they only quiet down slightly, looking half enthralled and half horrified.

Wanda recovers first.“Is that as awkward as I imagine?”

“More than you can imagine, let me assure you.”

You spend the next half hour filling them in. They react appropriately at all the right moments, both being outraged when you repeat what he said the first afternoon and sounding just as conflicted as you when you describe how sweet he is with the children.

“You really should have told us straight away.” Natasha laments you as she reaches for her coat and bag at the end of the meal. Wanda agrees.

“I’m sorry,” you whine, “but I really didn’t know what to say. Am I supposed to just text; 'hey, guess what, that guy who made out with me on Saturday night and then left without saying au revoir is now my sort of flatmate’?” You cringe as you say it, realising just how bad it sounds.

“Yes! That is exactly what you should have said. We could have helped!” Wanda replies.

You sigh. “Unless you have a time machine and can stop me from ever entering that club, there’s not much you can do. And anyway, it was much funnier to see your reaction in person! Even if we may never be able to come here again.” 

You place another coin to the tip on the table in compensation for making so much noise.

“Well now we know, I want minute to minute updates on anything else that happens between you and him, no excuses.” Natasha leaves no room for protest so you agree as you hug her and Wanda goodbye, assuring them you’ll keep them in the loop. 

It feels like a weight has been lifted as you stroll home. If nothing else, your friends knowing about your situation means at least next time Bucky passes your room flushed after working out, you’ll have someone to vent your frustration to.

It’s raining on Sunday. Tipping it down, actually, and you watch out your window as the water splashes off the sodden deck and shakes the hydrangeas in the border. You were supposed to go to the park with your friends today but the weather had other plans, along with the cold you’ve come down with. Michael had been ill this week, but insisted on still going to school so he didn’t miss the end-of-term fun, and the slight tickling in your throat from yesterday seems to have morphed into a full-on cold. 

Sitting up in bed, you reach for your lemon drink and sigh when you realise you’re all out. On your way back from refilling your mug you glance at the bath bomb sitting on your desk and decide that a hot bath might make you feel better, but the sight that greets you as you enter the bathroom nearly makes you cry. 

Clothes everywhere. They’re scattered all over, right across the floor and even the closed toilet lid, the red Henley in the centre of the chaos making it clear who’s responsible, but really, who else would it be? You can’t even get to the sink without treading on something and that makes you snap. When you’re ill your ability to deal with annoyances decreases significantly, and before you know it you’re storming back up the hall and bursting into Bucky’s room. 

You’ve never been in here before and you spend a few moments taking it in. What little there is to take in, that is. The walls are bare, the bed, whilst made neatly, is plain with just one blanket, and the only personal item you can see is a teddy sitting on a bookshelf in the corner. Shaking yourself mentally you turn to face Bucky. He’s sat at the desk that was originally in the room, pencil hovering over the page of what you assume is a journal as he stares at you questioningly. 

You realise you must look quite strange so you get straight to the point. “Move your stuff from the bathroom.”

“Huh?”

“Your things all over the floor meaning I can’t even enter that room. I mean is it so hard to just pick it up when you leave? And what where you even doing in there? There’s at least three whole outfits in that mess! I get that we have to share and there’s going to be some compromises but this isn’t acceptable.” 

You’re breathing heavily when you finish your rant and Bucky doesn’t look impressed.

“I’ll move it, no need to be such a bitch.”

“I’m not being a bitch! You need to know I make a special effort to keep that room tidy. I’m always sure I don’t leave so much as a tube of toothpaste out of the cupboard so it’s easier to keep everything separate and in order. The least you could do is not leave it looking like a suitcase exploded in there.” 

You follow him along the corridor, haranguing him the whole way. His body language is warning you from continuing but you’re on a roll. 

“This is laziness, pure and simple, and I’m not going to put up with it. What exactly is it you do all day that means you don’t have time to clean up after yourself? I’m aware you don’t go to work anywhere so there’s really no excuse.” 

You knew Bucky didn’t work but you hadn’t asked anyone why, trying to mind your own business, so you regret your words immediately. He rises in front of you, arms full of clothes and face stormy, and you have to force yourself not to take a step back. His expression changes slightly as he appears to deflate, his glare disappearing, instead looking you up and down with a smirk.

“Clearly, somebody needs to get laid.”

You gasp as your face heats up. “Excuse me?”

“I said, you need to get laid. Maybe you wouldn’t be so uptight and irrational if you did.”

“I’m not irrational! I just find you infuriating!” You sound slightly hysterical but you can’t help it, not when your whole body hurts and your fantasy that you and Bucky were starting to get along is shattering before your eyes. 

You’re close to tears and his next sentence sets you off.

“Right now, feelings completely mutual.” 

Sweeping past you he disappears back into his room. You cover your mouth with your sleeve as you sob, attempting to muffle the noise as tears roll down your face. Seconds later you remove your hand, not being able to breathe, and the small room is filled with the sound of your loud, gasping cries. As you slide to the floor you manage to close and lock the door behind you. 

Your tears aren’t slowing down, if anything they’re getting worse as you think over everything that just went on and wonder why you always do this to yourself. You didn’t mean what you said. It’s only because you’re ill. In your line of work you can’t afford to be unwell so when you are it’s incredibly stressful, and you tend to lose your temper at the tiniest things, like you just had. You bury your head in your knees as you continue to cry, absolutely miserable. 

Ten minutes later when you’ve stopped sobbing you rise from the ground and wash your face, wondering if it’s safe to leave yet as you’re no longer in the mood for a bath. Pressing your ear to the door you don’t hear anything so you quietly open it and tip toe to your room, frowning at the music from Bucky’s side of the passageway. 

You’ve never heard anything from his room, let alone the thudding beat currently seeping through his door frame and it makes you feel even worse. Wavering outside, you decide to apologise tomorrow when the dust has settled slightly, and when you hope you won’t feel so awful, either mentally or physically. You try to convince yourself you’re not putting it off because you’re a coward but it doesn’t work. 

Crawling into bed and grabbing the book off your bedside table, you sit back against the cushions and allow the rain and the words to lull you into a more peaceful state.

Chapter 5

A/n: I was going to split this into it’s two scenes and post them separately, but I though I should just get this over with. I promise after this Bucky will get a lot, lot nicer…

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