#i don’t have my glasses on and i’m not totally awake so let’s hope this makes sense

[a-walking-fandom-reference]

the ads for gotg 3 are so funny because they will say “the best marvel movie since endgame” like WILD to imply your best movie was 4 years ago and that none of the NINE other films since then were as good (or *gasp* better…) like i personally have mixed feelings about endgame and in general i’m mcu critical but saying that endgame was the last best mcu movie is wild!! like spider-man no way home exists!! wakanda forever exists!! eternals exists!! shang chi exists!!

[blushedfemmes]

didn't even realize i was into intox before your blog, now i fantasize about showing up drunk at your place enough times that when i start showing up sober you feel comfortable resting a hand on my bulge while pouring shot after shot down my throat, and when i start slurring my words you know it's time to straddle me and push your nipple into my mouth

(went a little wild with this one, 1.3k words. butch/masc reader x femme dom)

my place just so happens to be within walking- or rather, stumbling- distance of your favorite bar, so i’ve grown accustomed to your late-night texts, ‘hiii im drjnk cna i come ovr’

you don’t know how much i enjoy the way you cling to my doorframe and grin at me, greet me with a “heyyyy,” face flushed, before staggering inside to flop onto my couch and sleep it off.

sometimes you stay awake for a little while, loudly recounting your night or complaining about work. i coax your head into my lap, playing with your hair until you fall asleep, drooling into my thigh. more than once you lunge into me for a sloppy kiss, and you have not the slightest clue how wet i am at the haze of booze on your breath, how much your clumsy searching hands turn me on.

you have no idea.

in fact, you’re thinking you’ve pretty much been a total ass.

so you show up sober one evening and really make an effort to show contrition: you’re freshly-showered, sharply-dressed, sheepishly holding a bouquet of flowers. hard-packing, too, hopeful that i might let you show me you actually know what you’re doing when you’re not all stupid with booze.

i pour us some wine and we talk. gradually you feel more at ease. you don’t think much of it when i keep topping off your glass- i’ve always been such a kind host, haven’t i? if anyone’s overstepped boundaries, it’s you, and the idea that i might get you drunk on purpose is the furthest thing from your mind. you’re not getting drunk off wine, anyway, you’re too grown for that. you’re just feeling very warm and very glad that i’m not mad at you. on the contrary, i seem to be happy you’re here. i’m flirting with you. wearing something silky that clings to my curves and sitting very close to you, walking my fingers up your arm, making your face burn and your dick throb. you struggle to focus on my words, what with my softness pressed up next to you and my breath fanning across your neck. “i just got some really nice mezcal, have you ever tried it?” you admit you haven’t. the next thing you know i’m bringing out the bottle, setting it on the coffee table with two shot glasses.

you chuckle, a bit uncertain. here you were trying to be a gentleman for once, trying to be classy. show me that i’m not just a couch to crash on after the bar. i pour two shots. you’ve had like three or four glasses of wine, it was hard to keep track when i kept refilling your glass, and you’re solidly buzzed, veering into tipsy. you’re trying to find the words to politely refuse, but then i put a hand on your thigh when i offer you the shot glass. you take it. just one, you tell yourself. just to try it, to be polite. it’ll be fine. we cheers, and you toss it back. it burns nice. smoke, a little whip at the back of the throat, plus a subtle sweetness. warmth pools immediately in your chest. you smile. “mm, that’s good-” you stop. you cock your head. “hey, you didn’t take your shot.”

i climb into your lap, and grab your jaw to force your mouth open, nails digging into your cheek. you’re a little confused and a little scared but way, way too turned-on to think straight. that shot went right to your groin. my silky dress is riding up around my hips as i straddle you and you’re getting a really nice view of my tits.

“that’s because it’s not my shot,” i tell you, in a cheerful, firm voice. “it’s yours.” i pour it down your throat.

you swallow most of it, but gag a little in your shock. you cough, sputtering. i grab the bottle and pour another one, chuckling at you. “that wasn’t very smooth. better give you another chance.”

your head is spinning. all the blood that was in your brain has rushed elsewhere, on top of the alcohol, and suddenly you sense this situation is getting away from you. “um, i don’t know if-”

my nails shut you up, sharp along the tender underside of your jaw. i tilt my head. gaze down at you like a cat toying with its prey. “y’know, i’ve really enjoyed your late night visits. but i think i like this even more. c’mon. show me you can hold your liquor, sweetheart.”

the pet name and the soft command in my voice has you opening your mouth and swallowing it all down. i grin. “good job,” i purr, and you’re throbbing so much it’s almost painful now. you can’t resist rubbing your hands up my thighs, underneath my dress, around to squeeze my ass. i hum in approval, grinding back into your grip. i settle myself a little lower, to press my heat into your bulge, separated only by the thin lace of my lingerie. your eyes roll back, groaning.

“you feeling good?” my hand curls around the back of your neck.

you nod.

i dig my nails into your neck, hard. “i need a full sentence, hotshot.”

“yeah, i’m- uh… feeling good,” you manage, and you have to take a little more care to form the words.

“good. that means you can handle another one.”

after the third shot, you’re dizzy and so very warm. i unbutton your shirt, to help you out. my hands are all over you, soft and smooth and slightly cool. delicate fingers and sharp, sharp nails. i press a hand to the center of your chest, another around your throat. “your heart is beating so fast,” i murmur, in mock sympathy. “how do you feel?”

it’s all hitting you. like an anvil to the head. your tongue is thick in your mouth. “feelin’ kinda tis- tisp- tipsy, jeez,” you laugh. “think ‘m good.”

i’m already pouring another shot. “you tap out after three shots at the bar?” i scoff.

you want to point out you’re usually not doing shots on a belly full of wine, but you can’t quite get the words to line up. i’m not wearing a bra and this fact is taking a good amount of your focus. you’re mesmerized by the jiggle of my tits as i move and the way my nipples peek through the fabric. i reach down and squeeze your bulge, rub you gently. it feels so good. it’s so easy to give in, when i hold your face and tell you sweetly, “drink up, there you go,” as shot number four slides down your throat.

“lissen’, i wanted- fuuuck.” you tip your head onto the back of the couch, letting out a heavy breath as i keep rubbing your bulge, holding onto your shoulder. a pleasurable, torturous ache builds inside you. you close your eyes, mumbling, “wanted‘a do things right, be a-” you try and fail to swallow a burp, “‘scuse me. be a ‘gennelman. wanted’a be good- uhhh…”

you trail off, slack-jawed, because i slid the straps of my dress off my shoulders while you were talking, let the fabric fall, revealing my tits. i grab one, and tilt forward to put it in your open mouth. you start sucking instinctively, eyelids fluttering. you feel comforted by the weight of me in your lap and my soft tit in your mouth and my nails in your scalp, anchoring while the room tilts and spins around you.

“don’t worry. you’re being so good for me, sweetheart.” my voice is honey in your ear. you know you’d take another shot, you’d take whatever i give you, just to keep me talking to you like that.

you can hear my smile when i say, “this is exactly how i wanted you.”

[newtkive]

pixels [ newt x reader - modern text au ]

ch. 2 - drama queen core

summary: minho's drama finally catches up with him, but newt becomes a hero.

warnings: strong language, mutual pining, none really.

➥ m.list

__

THE GLADE

[ 12:08 PM ]

y/n: gm pookies

newt: it’s the afternoon.

y/n: yeah well

ur east coast

newt: so are you y/n

y/n: FINE BAD MORNING THEN ARE U HAPPY?

minho: drama queen is awake

newt: you’re the drama queen min let’s be fr

minho: u want me to die be honest

newt: see .

tommy: hey guys :3 been waiting for you all

y/n: awwww tommy <3 gm

tommy: morning sweetums

minho: ew stop

newt: how did you sleep?

tommy: good! used my new heated pillow

newt: not you

minho: not you

tommy: wtf

WHO THEN?? THERES LIKE 7 OTHER PPL IN HERE

minho: he means y/n

and there’s 4 other people not including newt and y/n dumbass

y/n: oh

why just me????

newt: cuz you stayed up til 6 am

y/n: ..

how do you know that

newt: i saw you were active on discord

gally: doesn’t that mean you were awake too then

newt: ok and?

minho: thats crazy newt

newt: no it isn’t

i just casually saw it

y/n: hehe

im ok i need to sleep more. sims 4 was really consuming me

why were you awake??

newt: up for work

minho: you get on discord before work?

chronically online..

newt: can you choke and pass out and hit your head please

minho: THE WAY U WANT ME DEAD IS INSANE

y/n: he’s gotta check on his discord hoes before hitting the grind

newt: there are no discord hoes

unless you count thomas

and i don’t

tommy: well why not

newt: because you disgust me

tommy: love u too :3<3

minho: y’all about to kiss aren’t you

newt: never say that shit again im outside your door with a b*mb

minho: why censor it

just blow me up it’s my grandmas house anyway. u want to jump her that bad????

gally: blow that bitch up i say

y/n: HELLO???!,!!

gally: minho not grandma

she loves me cuz im so tall

minho: tall people always gotta remind you they’re tall 😒

like we get it bigfoot

gally: shut up tinkerbell

y/n: you’re somewhat tall minho

minho: any man under 6’0 is considered short

y/n: yeah but newt is 6 ft trapped in a 5’10 body so not totally true

newt: what does that even mean

minho: give me a break

i can tell you exactly what that means

she wanna hit

newt: stop

tommy: don’t get his hopes up

newt: dude

stfu

y/n: what newt said

gally: can we appreciate the only one actually over 6 ft here

minho: no.

tommy: im the same height as newt!!!!

y/n: yea but ur like 3 ft trapped in a 5’10 body tommy not the same

tommy: oh ..

minho: kind of real

newt: can someone kick gally i’m tired of seeing his fucking name on my phone

gally: then turn your phone off don’t you have old ladies to tend to at the library

newt: yeah and they all love me

y/n: so real

if i was old i’d go in there and imagine you’re my young boyfriend and cling to everything u say

tommy: true im the old ladies

y/n: LMAO

minho: write a fanfic y/n why don’t you

newt: yeah you both are old and not beating the dementia allegations

y/n: IM THE YOUNGEST HERE

ur just mad you’re old as dirt

tommy: youth has left you newt and it has turn you bitter in your old age.

minho: thomas knows big words who knew

newt: which word in that sentence was big??

y/n: shut up minho

minho: wtf did i do

y/n: idk but i imagine you sitting there typing on your little phone and i got pissed

minho: WHAT???!.‘wKWHFO

newt: LMAOOOOOOOOOOO

yeah chubby little fingers hitting the wrong letters on his iphone 8

minho: im leaving

tommy: dont leave i forgive you for what you said

minho: i don’t give a damn

y’all mad y’all are all fake im the realest i’ve been prophesizing and reading scriptures 7000 years before y’all fake asses were born be so for real right now

y/n: not reading that

congrats

or sorry for what happened idk

about to drink my coffee in a wine glass

tommy: just drink wine

newt: it’s noon tommy??

tommy: ok and?

newt: explains a lot

minho: no coffee for me this new year only water and pussy juice fr fr

[ newt removed minho from the group ]

tommy: woah

y/n: woah..

newt: i can’t take it anymore

alby: How did you get that access..?

newt: don’t worry about it

in times of need i have to step in like that

y/n: hi alby!

alby: Hey y/n!

tommy: you’re such a hero newt

gally: that was deserved

who wants to play minecraft rn

y/n: me!!

alby: I’ll play, I’m off work today.

y/n: let’s go to the desert i want a camel

gally: alright but then the caves after i wanna mine

newt: if you mine with her you gotta bring extra food and storage when she dies so you can pick up the fallen items

gally: i forget you’re her designated babysitter

y/n: oh please no he isn’t

and i’ll bring my own food

newt: you always say that and then leave it in the stove oven

y/n: WELL I WONT THIS TIME

newt: sure ok

i’ll get on after work

[ alby added minho to the group ]

minho: when i get you.

newt: why did you add him back alby

alby: He was harassing me.

newt: be a man and take it

gally: im leaving

[ gally left the group ]

minho: im going to throw up and die

newt: im staying out of this

minho: (guy who caused it) im staying out of this

y/n: why does gally alwyas leave 😔

newt: why question a gift from the heavens

tommy: get online y/n gally is attacking my dirt house w a pickaxe :((((

y/n: NO IM COMING

minho: im coming to your work newt

newt: okay im locking the door early then

minho: i’ll smash through the glass idc

newt: i’m leaving my shift is over at 1 today.

minho: i’ll use life360 on you

newt: i deleted that app

minho: i’ll stand in the middle of the street

newt: ok let me position my car in front of you

just come to my apartment and we can play w them on pc and xbox

minho: …. fine but i hate your guts

newt: fine

y/n: HURRY GALLY IS ATTACKING MY SHED NOOOOWWW

newt: i’ll just rebuild it

minho: i’ll set it on fire just wait

[arsenal-womens-1]

I see you in my reflection

Tw: self-harm guns shooting school death blood can’t think of anything else but please tell me if there is any more

“The most agonizing part of loving someone is not just missing them, but grappling with the void where they once filled your world.” - Unknown

6 months ago, you made the decision to move 3,459 miles away from home. You still haven't decided if it was the correct decision or not. You miss home, but at the same time, I will never step foot inside that country again.

Walking into the locker room, the room is filled with chatter. You're the youngest on the team, having just turned 15. You signed with Arsenal at 14, which makes you the youngest person in the WSL to sign a contract. Because of your age, you had to stay with a teammate or teammates. Beth and Viv had offered to let you stay with them; they were the best. You have nightmares at night a lot. Viv helped with the panic attacks that would happen after waking up. They didn't know about them for the first 4 months, then one night they found out.

“Come on, Lilly, keep your eyes open for me, keep them open.” Blood was everywhere; no matter the pressure you put on the wounds, it wouldn't stop. “Y/N, it’s okay, it’s okay. Go be a superstar, win all the trophies. Don’t give up on your dream.” The sound rings out again. You shoot up. It was just a dream; you know that it's not happening again, but the tightness in your chest won't go away. It feels like someone is sitting on your chest. Stumbling out of bed, holding onto the wall, the feeling gets worse. Somehow managing to get to the kitchen, grabbing a glass, filling it with water, you go to take a drink out of it. “Y/N, what are you doing up?” Beth's voice startles you, dropping the glass. A warm liquid runs down your shoulder. You look over to Lucy; she had been shot in the shoulder. Looking back down at Lilly, her eye held no life or color. “Breathe, kid. I need you to copy my breathing for me.” Viv's voice fills your ears. It feels like you're there: the coldness of the floor, the shouting, the sound of bullets being fired, the sound of people crying, people begging to be saved, the feeling of Lilly's body, the coldness of Lucy’s face, the smell of blood, the metallic taste in the air. “Come on, kid, copy my breathing.” The feeling of being moved into someone's lap brings you sort of back to reality. The sound of a heartbeat fills your ears; slowly your breathing slows down.

After the night, both of the women had asked you what had made you react like that. You hadn't told them; you hadn't told anyone. They had become protective of you a lot more after that night. It's February 2023. You stayed over at Leah's place with a few other people. You had a nightmare, which luckily wasn't that bad. You tried to get back to sleep after you woke up but couldn’t, so you went outside. That’s where you are now: headphones on, kicking the ball around as the sun rises. The feeling of something hitting you on the back startles you. Turning around, you spot Leah and Katie watching you. “Why did you throw something at me?” Walking up the steps into the house, you see everyone who stayed the night awake. “We tried to get your attention, but you didn’t hear us.” Sliding over the back of the couch, your shirt rolls up, which in turn shows your scars. Few look self-inflicted with how neat they are. There were 6 in total that you could see. One is circular. You pull the shirt down quickly, hoping nobody saw. Unaffectionately for you, most of the people saw. “What are we doing today?” You try to make them forget, but the people who saw just looked at each other. Leah was the first to respond. “We have media all day, kid.” By the time Leah had stopped talking, it seemed the people who saw decided not to bring it up just yet. “I’m sick, sorry, can’t do it today.” One thing everyone knows is that you hate media days. “You’re still going, kid. If Beth or Viv found out you didn’t go, we would all be dead.” She wasn’t wrong, but still. “Get ready; we need to leave in 30 minutes.” You just grumble as you walk up the stairs with the bag Beth had given you last night. Opening it, it was the Arsenal kit with an Arsenal jumper as well. The rest of the team get changed at the training ground, but you always get dressed at home. You go to the bathroom; there is a big mirror on the wall. You rarely look at yourself in the mirror or in pictures. You look up into the mirror, and all you see is Lucy. It may have been 5 years since that day, but all you see is her. The sound of the ambulance bangs against your head. Apparently, you had been shot 3 times: one time in the stomach and two times in the shoulder. The heart monitor sound fills your head. You were next to Lucy. The sound of the shocks fills your head. 3 minutes then, “Time of death 14:25 PM.” You stare at yourself in the mirror, trying to shake off the lingering images and sounds. The scars on your body are a constant reminder of what happened that day and for 4 years after. You try to focus on your reflection, to see the athlete you’ve become, but Lucy’s face keeps haunting you. You grip the edge of the sink, taking deep breaths, trying to get the images out of your head. Looking back in the mirror, you whisper, “I wish you were here. I like to think you're proud.” Pulling the clothes out, you get changed, looking at the scars on your body: your stomach, thighs, hips, and arms. You’re 5 months, 21 days self-harm free. There's always a voice in the back of your head that tells you to relapse. You have been close a few times, but you haven’t yet.

You button up your Arsenal kit, the familiar red and white fabric offering a small measure of comfort. You take one last look in the mirror, swallowing hard as you remind yourself why you’re here: to fulfill a dream that Lucy never got to see come true. A knock on your door snaps you out of your reverie. It’s Katie, her concern evident despite her attempts to keep a cheerful facade.

“Ready to go?” she asks, giving you a reassuring smile.

You nod, forcing a smile of your own. “Yeah, let’s do this.”

Walking out the door to the car, you put your AirPods in and put a random playlist on.

[joekeeryswife]

pedro pascal is so daddy like… i genuinely dont know why this man doesnt have kids yet but I VOLUNTEER 🙋‍♀️

anywayss, i cant help but think about the domesticity of being married and expecting with pedro like we all know that man is old and is already daddy status but just imagining him coming home to you and your swollen belly after a day running around the city… to kiss on you and hold you like!!! you cant tell me that wouldn’t be the cutest shit ever

then you got the early mornings and late nights of him and you talking, watching movies together, laying on the couch in your spacious new york apartment, looking over on the city!!! and i just know no matter what, that man would just adore you. would always want to have you around, inviting you to come out with him while he’s working, always wanting to take you on dates, and events. i mean just utterly infatuated with you (especially if youre having his baby!?! like that man wouldnt know what to do with himself)

he would just take the best care of you… when he wakes up making sure your vitamins are all set up for you to take (so cant say you forgot!) and maybe writing little love notes incase you arent awake to bid him away for the few hours he’ll be gone. and he’d shoot you just random texts and pictures whether that be on set, in a meeting, driving/walking around, anything to let you know that youre on his mind… and when he comes home, oh lord. i wholeheartedly believe, after an extremely long day, he’d always come home with a little treat for you…

you’d be in the kitchen, getting dinner ready for the night, anticipating his arrival, as you hear the door open, and a loud and cheesy, “honey, im home!” to which he walks into your shared kitchen with a small little bag, holding a pastry he picked up for you on his way home just because he knows how much you love that bakery. you’d welcome him into your warm embrace and as you continue cooking for the two of you, nothing would make more sense than for him to rub that belly of yours…whispering all the praise you’d been aching to hear. telling you how beautiful you look, how strong you are, how grateful he is to have you, to hold you… and then ofcourse you’d enjoy the dinner you had made for the two of you. ending the night with the pastry pedro had picked up for you and a glass of wine for him…

ahhh! i totally rambled so much but i love pedro like UGH

Baby- p.p

hello loves! when i tell you i screamed when i saw this i’m not even lying. i tried my best with this one and if i’m being honest i don’t think i like it at all😭! first pedro pascal imagine (btw dad! imagines are my fave to write) dms are always open if you wanna chat loves! i’m like nervous to post this idk why. anyways enjoy 🤍 ⚠️age gap couple!⚠️

taglist (add yourselves loves🤍)(if there is a line through your name i cannot tag you for some reason x) @1-john-4-19

"baby, im home" you heard Pedro voice echo through your New York apartment. you had moved in with Pedro two years ago after a year of dating and now you were pregnant with your first child together. you were in the kitchen making a sandwich which you had been craving for the past thirty minutes but you were too tired to even get up off the sofa to make it.

you were 7 months pregnant and even walking made you out of breath, it was like the baby was purposely kicking your rib cage just to make you more uncomfortable than you already were. you heard his footsteps walking toward the kitchen and smiled at him when he finally appeared.

he had been out in New York with Bella, doing random interviews which obviously didn't take long so they also went for lunch then here he was back home with you. he walked up to you and opened his arms wide for you to hug him. his left hand fell so he could gently place it on your stomach hoping that the baby would kick for him, which it almost always did.

a huge smile formed on his face when he held the strong kicks coming from the baby. he placed little kisses on your head as you cuddled yourself more into him. "how was your day sweetheart?" you snuggled into him further and sighed in contentment. "boring, couldn't move for ages because i was so tired. i was gonna start packing the hospital bag and do laundry but i couldn't get off the sofa"

"don't worry about the laundry baby, i'll do it later" he kissed your forehead again and tried to hold you as close as possible. "wanna go watch tv? i'll even let you pick" he said making you smile up at him. with a small nod of your head he lent in to kiss you for the first time that day he let go of you. you picked up the sandwich which had been forgotten on the kitchen counter and waddled your way back to the sofa.

after a few minutes of you scrolling through the different channels you felt the sofa dip beside you and Pedro's arm go around your shoulders pulling you carefully into his side. you felt his hand stroking your arms softly as you finally picked "Bridgerton" and finally let yourself relax in Pedro's hold, feeling the small pecks on your head throughout the show.

-

"what do you think the baby is?" you asked as the comforting silence between the two of you filled the bedroom, the only thing that could be heard was the tv which you both weren't paying attention too. you had decided to keep the gender a secret until he/she was born and now you were growing closer and closer to them being here the nerves were growing and so was your curiosity.

Pedro looked down at you and smiled softly, he had thought about the baby every day and what it was going to look like, what the gender was, what it's first word would be, all the normal things a parent thought about. "i don't know but i hope it's a girl and i hope she looks exactly like you because you're beautiful" you smiled brightly and felt your cheeks heat up at the compliment.

"what if it's a boy?" you questioned, feeling Pedro's hand on your bump and the strong kicks coming from your baby who was still wide awake at this late hour for some reason. "then it's a boy, i'm still gonna love them whatever they are. but i do really hope that it's a girl. she'd be so cute. also all the names we have picked out are for girls so" you laughed, it was true, every single name you had were all girl names.

comfortable silence filled the room again and Pedro let his eyes fall onto the bed covers where your bump was. he just couldn't believe his baby was in there, growing beautifully. it was just the most perfect thing. "you are the most beautiful person i've ever seen." you looked up at him and saw him staring right at you, his eyes filled with adoration. your heart swelled as you listened to him.

"stop it" you said, turning your head so you could hide your blush which covered your cheeks. "i'm not kidding, you are so perfect. i love you" he said moving his head so he could place a few kisses on your cheek making you giggle as his beard tickled you. "can you come out with me tomorrow? want you to be at work with me. don't want you to be stuck in here all day by yourself" he let his head rest in your neck with his body just off to the side with his hand resting on your bump, again.

"i'll see how i am, they might keep me up all night and you know how i am when i'm tired" you kissed his head and felt kisses being placed on your neck. before you got pregnant you and tired just didn't mix well and it got even worse ever since you did get pregnant. you didn't mean to be mean but if you were tired you'd become snappy and annoyed very easily.

"god don't remind me" Pedro joked remembering how you snapped at him yesterday because he was just there, he didn't do anything wrong you were just tired and annoyed because the baby didn't let you sleep. "even though you snap at me i still love you so much. my favourite girl" he said, pulling his head out of your neck so he could kiss you. "yeah okay, i love you too" you said smiling at him.

-

Pedro got up before you every single morning just so he knew you'd have your vitamins ready for when you did wake up. it was rare for him to be there when you woke up unless it was a quiet day and he didn't have to work until the afternoon which was when you'd usually go to work with him. it put his mind at ease when he knew you had all your parental vitamins next to you so you wouldn't forget to take them.

he would leave little love notes next to them just letting you know he loved you and that he was proud of you, even if you didn't do anything but sit around all day he was still proud, you were carrying a whole child inside of you and you were coping so well. if it took the stress of you remembering every morning and it made your life a little bit easier he would do it.

as well as love notes he'd send you messages throughout the day just checking in to see if you were alright and if you needed anything. he always made sure he wasn't too far away from the apartment just incase something did happen. today in particular you were in a lot of pain, your back was killing you and so was your legs, just walking around was hurting you.

you had decided to start packing the baby bag just in case something happened you'd be prepared. the baby was kicking constantly and you'd gotten hardly any sleep that night because of the kicking and you just wanted them to be here so you could have a somewhat decent sleep. Pedro always woke up if you shook him, he was the one who could sort of calm the baby down with his talking but sometimes nothing worked.

he would always help you get comfortable before he would rest his head just above your bump so he could whisper to the baby. "need to stop giving your mama a hard time, she needs sleep baby" he would leave little kisses on your bump which made his heart swell with love just because he knew his baby was in there 'responding' to him. "we love you angel but give your mama a break"

it wasn't very often he had to do that but the nights you'd be overly tired from the baby kicking you he would do anything to make you as comfortable as possible. carrying the baby was hard, it felt like you were lugging around a watermelon and it was sometimes so painful you couldn’t even get up to brush your hair. Pedro saw how difficult it was for you when he was home and when he wasn’t there he’d always send you texts saying ‘he was so proud of you’ and that ‘you were doing so well’, the messages, somehow, always made you feel better.

-

it was late and Pedro was on his way home from filming. you were making dinner for the two of you and you were waiting for him to finally come home after a long day doing interviews. you had been craving your favourite pastry from the bakery which wasn’t too far away from your apartment all day. you had tried to get yourself ready but your feet were killing you and so was your back so getting there didn’t happen.

"y/n? i'm home love" you heard Pedro shout and then the door closing behind him. you turned to face the kitchen door and your heart melted once you saw the small bag with the bakery's logo on it. "i got this for you on the way home. i got there just in time, they were about to close" he said as he walked to you.

once he got to you, you wrapped your arms around his waist and placed a small kiss on his chest "how did you know i was craving something from there" you smiled, feeling his arms around you tighten slightly. "i guess i'm a psychic. i had a feeling" he kissed your forehead and rubbed your back before you pulled away, almost forgetting that you were cooking.

"how was today?" you said, your back facing Pedro as you focused on the food. "it was alright, wanted to be here with you though" he replied wrapping his arms around you from behind, making you smile and lean your head back against his shoulder.

"you look so beautiful, so so pretty" he whispered, kissing your cheek which was now a bright red shade. his hand was on your belly, rubbing it gently as your baby kicked. "you're so strong, carrying our baby. you're doing so well sweetheart. so perfect. i'm so lucky to have you" anytime Pedro saw you his heart swelled with love, you were carrying his baby and you looked so beautiful doing so. he couldn't wait for these last two months to pass because it meant he could finally meet your beautiful baby and he was so excited.

"you look so beautiful, so so pretty" he whispered, kissing your cheek which was now a bright red shade. his hand was on your belly, rubbing it gently as your baby kicked. "you're so strong, carrying our baby. you're doing so well sweetheart. so perfect. i'm so lucky to have you" anytime Pedro saw you his heart swelled with love, you were carrying his baby and you looked so beautiful doing so. he couldn't wait for these last two months to pass because it meant he could finally meet your beautiful baby and he was so excited.

"you look so beautiful, so so pretty" he whispered, kissing your cheek which was now a bright red shade. his hand was on your belly, rubbing it gently as your baby kicked. "you're so strong, carrying our baby. you're doing so well sweetheart. so perfect. i'm so lucky to have you" anytime Pedro saw you his heart swelled with love, you were carrying his baby and you looked so beautiful doing so. he couldn't wait for these last two months to pass because it meant he could finally meet your beautiful baby and he was so excited.

“y/n? i’m home love” you heard Pedro shout and then the door closing behind him. you turned to face the kitchen door and your heart melted once you saw the small bag with the bakery’s logo on it. “i got this for you on the way home. i got there just in time, they were about to close” he said as he walked to you.

once he got to you, you wrapped your arms around his waist and placed a small kiss on his chest “how did you know i was craving something from there” you smiled, feeling his arms around you tighten slightly. “i guess i’m a psychic. i had a feeling” he kissed your forehead and rubbed your back before you pulled away, almost forgetting that you were cooking.

“how was today?” you said, your back facing Pedro as you focused on the food. “it was alright, wanted to be here with you though” he replied wrapping his arms around you from behind, making you smile and lean your head back against his shoulder.

“you look so beautiful, so so pretty” he whispered, kissing your cheek which was now a bright red shade. his hand was on your belly, rubbing it gently as your baby kicked. “you’re so strong, carrying our baby. you’re doing so well sweetheart. so perfect. i’m so lucky to have you” anytime Pedro saw you his heart swelled with love, you were carrying his baby and you looked so beautiful doing so. he couldn’t wait for these last two months to pass because it meant he could finally meet your beautiful baby and he was so excited.

[frozenjokes]

I’m Really Sorry About The Whole ‘Crush On My Alter Ego’ Thing, But We Could Still Totally Make This Work

Grian woke up early to a harsh alarm as he had every day since Scar’s.. confession..

The sun hadn’t even risen yet, but it probably would in an hour or two, so Grian wasted no time getting right on his morning routine. Which is to say. Doom scrolling for at least an hour before actually getting up. Though before choosing one of many social media platforms to waste his time with, he checked his texts, expecting to find a meme or work schedule change from Cub, and instead:

Good morning sunshine👊👊👊👊👊!!! ❤️ Time to get ready for another day of stopping crime and KICKING ASS👉👊👊‼️⚡️⚡️⭐️✨✨💥💥💥💥 I would say I hope you slept well.. but I KNOW you did and that your going to have a certifiably SLAY DAY⭐️💥⭐️💥⚡️⚡️⚡️ I just wanted YOU to know that your killing it (👊👊👊👊👊👊) and you’re awesome and very cute😳 like cUtEgUy you know and everyone loves you❗️❗️❗️❗️❗️Me included!! Can’t wait to see you today🫵🫵👊👊🫡💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥 *dhoots arrow* HOTGUY

It went on for quite a bit longer, but Grian had seen enough actually, and consequently was no longer inclined to stay awake. This would be a problem for future Grian.

Future Grian was not very happy with past Grian when he woke up a few hours later, stumbling in his disoriented state to the kitchenette for coffee. Cub was at the kitchen table scrolling through his phone, and once Grian had the presence of mind to interrogate him, he pulled up the text, shoving his phone in Cub’s face.

“What is this. Did you have something to do with this? Did you write this for him? That’s probably something you’d do. What’s your prerogative here?”

Cub took a long moment to read, a small smile creeping across his face before outright laughing, “Oh, this is great.” Cub gently took Grian’s phone to keep reading, adjusting his glasses, “It just keeps going. How long do you think he spent typing this?”

“I don’t know! I don’t care! What the hell am I supposed to do? Why is he even texting me in the first place?”

“I’m failing to see how this is a big deal. He’s probably just sorry about the Micah thing and this is how he’s chosen to express that. Oh- here. ‘You don’t have to worry about seeing Micah again because I killed him. He’s gone.-‘ several explosions emojis ‘-I also tried to kill HotGuy but when I brought it up to one of my buddies who’s in with the higher ups he said No No Definitely Not Do Not Bring This Up To Anyone Else Ever For Your Own Safety so I’m feeling a little bit more insecure about my place in the world but that’s okay! I mean I know my life has always been in the hands of government doctors but I didn’t actually think through those implications until right now. You know me though, I’ll just keep doing my best! HaHa!’ Oh god. That’s a lot more text with very few emojis. Do these things not have character limits? I don’t think he’s okay actually. This just keeps going.”

“The- Okay, how am I supposed to be upset at him after you just read all that out to me? This is not fair. Can we just put that aside for later because how the fuck am I supposed to look at Scar in even remotely the same way after Micah- You can not possibly understand, Cub, I told Micah everything. We like- connected! And it was just fucking HotGuy the whole time! The guy I can’t fucking stand!”

“Out of costume I think he prefers you just call him Scar.”

“Okay. Sure. Fine. Scar fucked my brain! How can he even expect me to look at him the same way! He just let me think for all that time he was a different guy! Do you know how crazy that is? He talked shit ABOUT HIMSELF constantly! He tricked me!” Still, after a whole week to think about it, Grian couldn’t make sense of that. That he had met someone, made a real connection with a real person, but he hadn’t, not actually, because all of it was a facade. It was just Scar. But it didn’t feel like just Scar- it felt like Micah. Micah, who was just an act. Micah who he’d never see again. And maybe that hurt the most. That he’d lost someone like that. That he’d lost a friend. Someone who he thought might be able to be more than a friend.

“If it helps I think he has serious enough issues with his identity that he was not just ‘Scar but playing a character.’ Micah was a different person to him, I think.”

“Yeah.” Grian’s shoulders sagged, the idea not much of a comfort, “That. I got some idea of that. He was asking me a lot of questions about alter egos when-“ Grian cut himself off to groan loudly, “This is so stupid. This is so stupid. He needs to go directly to therapy for weeks at a time so I don’t have to see him for at least another month.”

Cub shrugged, “Maybe it would be good for you to see him. Maybe you should go in today.”

“How would this help me.” Grian glared, but Cub wasn’t looking up, still reading-

“I don’t know,” Cub said, setting Grian’s phone down on the table to return his focus to his own coffee, “I just kinda want you to.”

“Seriously.”

“I do. You’ve both been a bit of a wreck all week, maybe this’ll clear the air. And unless you plan on never speaking to Scar again, which is not practical for your work or your home life, you’re going to have to tear the bandaid off at some point. If he wants to apologize, you should let him say what he has to say at the very least. You don’t have to forgive him.”

“You- Are you in on this? I think you’re in on this.”

“I didn’t know about the text. Honestly, the majority of that message comes off as very.. in the moment. I don’t think that was planned. But he has a plan. No idea what. He wouldn’t tell me. It’ll probably be funny though.”

“So do you want this to fix me or do you want to laugh at me?”

Cub waved a hand dismissively, not looking up from his coffee. “I want to laugh at Scar.”

“Great.”

“You should go to work though.”

“I know your motives, Cub.”

Cub only shrugged. “Yeah, but I’m also just curious. I want to know what he does. Don’t you? Wouldn’t it be sad if he planned some sort of big I’m Sorry event for you and you never showed?”

“This is extremely appealing to me.”

“But then you’ll never know what it was. Or if it even happened at all.”

“Scar will text you.”

“He might not.”

Grian scoffed. “If you want to see what Scar has done so badly then you can go and see it for yourself.”

“You think security would let me in?” Cub looked a bit too excited by that idea, the kind of expression that crossed his face holding Great Intention. Always a terrifying look on Cub, and definitely not something to be encouraged lest he get himself arrested.

“I don’t know. Probably not.”

Cub deflated (a great relief), but didn’t budge on his prior sentiment. “You should go.” Grian rolled his eyes.

“Well I am going, I want to go, but I'm not trying to see any of Scar. If he wants to talk to me he can chase me down. I’m not playing into anything he has planned.”

“Oh,” Cub blinked, then looked back at his phone, “Great. My job’s done then.”

“You are in on this!”

“I maintain my innocence. Hope it’s a good day though.”

“It won’t be.”

“If you say so.”

Grian rolled his eyes, taking his coffee off the maker and heading back to his room. He dressed in his underclothes, grabbed his bag, then headed out with a passing goodbye. Cub’s focus was elsewhere anyway, getting ready for his own work. One day Cub would be able to quit that damn job. Now that Grian had he means, he was going to make sure of it.

…

With the ample warning, Grian made sure to steer completely clear of his and Scar’s offices. He intended on lingering here as little as possible, only dropping in to change and collect a radio.

Apparently Scar had anticipated this.

“Well hello there!”

Grian didn’t catch more than a glance of him before slamming the public office door closed, but had to open it again seconds later because what the fuck was Scar wearing.

Scar had laid himself out over the center desk, dressed head to toe in the most garishly abhorrent green crop top, booty shorts, and sparkly jewelry Grian had ever seen all on top of his uniform. ‘IM SORRY’ was written across the chest in neon pink fabric marker chicken scratch, a miserable failure at matching CuteGuy’s colors. The entire outfit clashed so horribly that Grian couldn’t help but stare, for a moment too long apparently because Scar took this as an invitation to continue speaking.

“CuteGuy! I had a rose for you, but you took your sweet ass time getting here and I got bored, so I ate it instead. You know how there’s rose flavored candy and shit? Does not taste like the flower. Would not recommend. Actually!” Scar rolled over onto his stomach, kicking his legs, and Grian choked on a snort when he saw the text across Scar’s ass said ‘WHORE.’ “I was trying to spit it out, you know, and I’m pretty sure my saliva is purple now. It turned my water purple. I might have poisoned myself.”

Grian found himself stuck between bafflement and a laugh, but he refused to show Scar he was any amount amused by this display, his voice stilted in suppression when he finally spoke. “Give me. A radio.”

“Sure thing!” Scar plucked one off the dock, spinning it in his fingers before tossing it across the room. Grian caught it, turning on his heel to leave. “Hey! Where are you going?”

Grian didn’t feel the need to answer, shutting the door behind himself as he went, but it wasn’t long because he heard the tip-taps of Scar’s boots behind him, not running, but certainly trying his best to catch up.

“Did you see my message this morning?”

“I saw it.”

“Did you see the part where I asked to take you to lunch?”

“No.”

“Do you want to go to lunch then? Later, obviously. You don’t even have to go with me!”

Grian scoffed through a chuckle, rolling his eyes. Ridiculous. “No thanks.”

“I thought so. That’s okay! Maybe another time! I’m going to go now, but it was nice to see you, CuteGuy!”

Grian frowned, not responding or turning around. If Scar wanted to dress like an idiot, that was his prerogative. Grian wasn’t going to be the one to stop him. He had actual work to be doing.

…

Grian liked how often he got to fly in this line of work. CuteGuy the villain didn’t fly anywhere; he laid low, he scouted the streets from roofs of buildings, he stuck to the shadows. ‘Grian’ didn’t fly much either, not without a reason. Sometimes he’d fly just like anyone would go for a walk, but he liked doing something, he liked having places to go. As much as he loathed superhero culture- and the whole damn city for that matter- he loved this.

It wasn’t unusual for a crowd to gather at the scene of a fight or crime, but maybe Grian should have known that a crowd this large, this dense, was a red flag. It had been a couple hours since he’d set off into the city, so his guard was down, he was in the zone. He had just assumed someone was hurt. That people were trying to help or panicking. Clearing the crowd revealed otherwise.

Scar was laying on the sidewalk, still wearing his clashing clothes, signing a book from a fan before shooing them away while looking distinctly like the two of them were in on some sort of inside joke. He.. didn’t have his legs.

“CuteGuy!” Scar swooned, drawing a gloved hand across his forehead, “I have fallen and I can not get up! I need a handsome and capable superhero to assist me!”

Grian cringed, but despite the majority of people having backed up, no one seemed to actually have left, encircling the both of them in a tight barrier. Scar knew plenty well how their fans felt about the two of them, (Grian had stumbled upon some.. choice pieces of fanart before) and he’d never miss an opportunity to tease under the scrutiny of eager eyes. Though, there was something beautifully normal about that; the teasing, the invitation of banter. The kind of normalcy you long for, even when things aren’t well. (Even when Micah was never real, even after you lost a friend.)

“You’re plenty capable. This is a severe waste of my time.” Grian flapped his wings, not intending on leaving, just needing more space from the onlookers.

Scar watched him carefully, delight dancing across his face when he realized that Grian was going to stay. “Well of course, of course, but going all that distance walking on my hands? No no, I don’t think so! I don’t even want to think about the kinds of calluses I’d get! And it would take hours.”

“Serves you right. Did you make sure that call only wired to me?” Grian huffed, making a grand show of his annoyance since Scar couldn’t see the roll of his eyes. And.. well.. he couldn’t quite help himself with the crowd. Everyone gets a kick out of dramatics sometimes. “Where’d your legs run off to anyway?”

“Oh! Funny story! The Goat took them.”

“You paid him to do that?”

“That would have been a really good idea! But no. He just happened to see me, and after laughing at me for like ten minutes he said ‘iF yOu aRen’t uSinG thEsE tHen I wiLL’ like he does, you know him. It was a little ominous actually. I’m a bit worried. My doctors are going to be pissed when they find out, so personally, I would rather be delivering this news with legs in hand.”

“Oh my god.”

“Yeah. It’s not ideal. If it wasn’t already clear, I’m going to need help getting them back.”

“I hope you know how unbelievably a ‘you problem’ this is because I am not helping. Good luck hunting him down. First I’d recommend calling someone to bring you your chair.”

“No!” Scar jolted upright, proving just how capable he was of not laying pathetically on the concrete, “I want you! Look, look at me. Listen. Close your eyes.”

Grian made a face, scoffing to hide the hint of amusement that was threatening to show in his expression. “Do you want me to look at you or do you want me to close my eyes.”

“Listen. Imagine. HotGuy and CuteGuy: Dynamic Duo-!”

“This sounds awful.”

“-I’m up on your shoulders, we’re infiltrating The Goat’s home base together! You’re punching bad guys and I’m shooting my bow from above-“

“And how do you think you’re going to hang on, huh?” Grian interrupted, tapping his foot.

“Obviously I’d-“ Scar moved, seeming to realize too late he didn’t have the legs he was planning on using. This did not deter him, a sharp smirk splitting his smile, “Velcro!”

Grian snorted despite himself, “Yeah. That’d be perfect, wouldn’t it. I foresee zero issues.” With a great irritation that gripped him out of nowhere, Grian was suddenly aware of other voices, the crowd, speaking loudly amongst themselves. Someone started to chant his name. Another chanted ‘Velcro!’ That caught on much faster. Grian flapped his wings far more aggressively when the crowd began to close in, hitting civilians out of his personal bubble, but this didn’t seem to be very effective, anxiety crawling under his skin as the attention started to be too much. Scar seemed to notice, but despite his efforts to control the onlookers, they were too rowdy, too caught up in their excitement to listen.

“Goodbye.” Grian hissed, straining to be heard, and Scar half-shrugged, a possible attempt at apology.

“So that’s a no, then? You’ll fetch my legs at least, will you?”

“No.” Grian beat his wings hard, forcing civilians out of his way and prepping to take off.

“Oh! Okay! Have a nice day then!”

Grian was gone before he could hear another word, before any other body could brush the backs of his wings. Anger painfully out of proportion boiled in his stomach, spilling out and staining the rest of his insides in its pulsing fire. He wasn’t angry at Scar. Well. He could certainly blame Scar, luring him around and speaking like that, stoking the fire of fans who adored the both of them, but Grian hadn’t minded the show, he hadn’t even cared all too much that he’d been tricked, not when the resulting interaction felt so.. normal. He liked an act. He liked being CuteGuy. So why was he so upset? And maybe that was it. He was just angry for no reason, and that made him angrier, because despite everything, despite trying so damn hard, he was still broken.

He could punch someone about it. He wanted to punch someone about it. Cub wouldn’t want him to.

So he flew instead. Flew like he liked, fast and far and high until the air was too thin, then let himself fall, playing games with his life as he hurtled through the sky before catching himself under spread wings and doing all of it over again. Eventually he got tired. Eventually he had to stop. But the aftermath of a senseless episode still buzzed under his skin, nearly as unpleasant as the burn that caused it. Grian could feel it. He could feel it under his skin. He wanted to tear it out. He wanted to fly, exhaust himself until he couldn’t feel anything at all, but he was too tired, so instead he found himself gliding to Cub’s workplace. He didn’t know where else to go.

“CuteGuy-“ Cub’s manager was frightened by his sudden entrance, stumbling through the front door aggressively enough to rattle the attached bell into senseless noise.

“Hello Diane.”

“How do-“ but Grian cut her off with a frustrated groan, not caring to listen as he dragged himself to the back. Cub looked even more startled to see him than his manager did, though surprise quickly melted into concern when Grian collapsed into a pile of cardboard boxes. He grunted. They were not as soft as they looked.

“Ah CuteGuy, friend of HotGuy who I am friends with and know for this reason- it’s fine Diane, it’s fine, let me just- I can handle it.” Grian heard the soft arguing from the doorway, but didn’t care to say anything. He didn’t care to think. He just wanted to be better.

Eventually the door closed.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Cub’s hand flew to his shoulder and Grian viscerally cringed, lips parting in silent discomfort until the hand was swiftly drawn back, “I’m sorry. Do you need me to call an ambulance? Are you okay? You’re not okay.”

“I’m not hurt,” Grian mumbled, narrowing his eyes against Cub’s panicked expression in his peripherie. “Angry. Stupid.”

Cub jolted in his recognition, gears shifting immediately. “Scar, then. Was it Scar? I mean, I can’t say I haven’t been keeping tabs on the news- social media, the like. I’ve seen more than a few videos- people are going kinda nuts over nothing in my opinion but- It was too much. I’ll tell Scar to stop bugging you, he’ll stop.”

“It’s not Scar. I don’t care about Scar.”

Cub made a bit of a face, enough for Grian to tell he wasn’t so sure about that, but Cub didn’t voice the thought, instead asking, “What happened?”

“Nothing happened. Nothing.”

“Is- I’m struggling a little with the tone, man.”

“I don’t know! I was fine, I was kinda having fun and then I just wasn’t and out of nowhere everything just sucked and I was so mad and that’s not supposed to happen to me! Nothing happened and I wanted to rip out my hair and punch things and I didn’t, but now I just feel stupid! Why is my brain so fucking dumb.”

Grian let his head drop, face down in a pile of cardboard, but Cub didn’t move, intense in his silence. Eventually he sat down, right on the floor. “I need to break these down anyway,” he hummed, almost subconsciously as he leaned to grab something off his desk. The next couple minutes were filled with the sound of a boxcutter against tape and cardboard. It wasn’t awful.

“Do you want to know what I think?” Cub asked, not much more than a whisper. Not like he was sad or anything either, just focused on the task at hand.

“Okay,” Grian mumbled, the word coming out entirely indecipherable as anything but a noise of assent.

“I think you were nervous this morning. I think maybe you had an alright day, but got overwhelmed near the end. You can be having a good time and still get overwhelmed. There were a lot of people around you from what I could tell; it looked kinda claustrophobic.”

“But I didn’t- I didn’t care. It was like a switch in my brain just flipped! No build up!”

“Sometimes that’s how it happens. Sometimes there is build up and you just don’t notice until it’s too late. It’s not always so simply defined. There’s not always a reason. And there doesn’t have to be. You’re not regressing because you had a bad day, Grian. You’re not stupid.”

“I feel awful.”

Out of the corner of Grian’s eye, he saw Cub nod. “Yeah. I get it.” Cub continued with the boxes and Grian didn’t speak, only shuffling a little to grant easier access to the few he was laying on. But Cub stopped almost abruptly after breaking down one box, the room blanketed in a meaningful silence. “Have I told you yet? How damn proud of you I am?”

The question jolted Grian out of his daze. He didn’t know what to say. How to respond. “I haven’t done anything.”

“Of course you have. You’ve been dealt a pretty shitty hand of cards, but you haven’t stopped working with them. You haven’t given up. And you have your moments, you have bad weeks, bad months, but you still pick yourself back up at the end of today. I think you’ve grown. I don’t think Grian from a couple months ago would have walked away from the crowd and taken his anger somewhere better. I don’t think Grian from a couple months ago would have come to me. I respect you, Grian. You’ve come so damn far. I’m proud of you.”

Grian shook his head. “I haven’t done anything. It’s all you. I don’t pick myself up at all, you’re just pushing me back on my feet.”

“I haven’t known a single person that overcomes any of these kinds of challenges without support. That doesn’t make you any less capable, Grian. You’re still standing on your own two feet. I am proud of you.”

Discomfort burned in Grian’s chest. Cub didn’t get it. He didn’t understand. “It’s all for you. I’m only here because of you.”

“Having a strong motivator doesn’t discount all the hard work you’ve put in for yourself. You want to be better, Grian. You give your blood, sweat, and tears to make it happen. I’m not just dragging you along. You go to therapy and work your ass off. You keep track of your meds. You make the decision to walk away when all of you wants to haul off and kick someone’s shit in. You do it. You. And maybe most impressively, every time you fail, get arrested, relapse into old behavior, you peel yourself right off the concrete and try again. And there’s nothing harder than that. So that’s why I’m proud. That’s why I will always be proud. You’re a good man, Grian. You’re good.”

Grian didn’t know what to do with that. A soft chill rippled through his form, shaking him in his entirety despite its gentle nature. All of him felt so heavy. His lungs were full of lead.

“Can I have a hug?” A meek question, but he didn’t care.

“Of course.”

Cub’s touch sent another wave of coolness riding through his veins, contracting his muscles, making him sick and heavy and limp. And then, slowly, a steady march that began in his chest and spread outward; warmth. A soft, perfect warmth. The kind of love that could make anyone believe they were something to be proud of.

[littlexscarletxwitch]

i’m not sure if this is where i request. but i’ve been thinking about this for a while. it would be cool if it was a super overprotective girlfriend reader protecting florence from paparazzi. or maybe even reader as her bodyguard or something? totally okay if not. <3 love your writing 😘

── ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎ 𝗺𝘆 𝗸𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗼𝘂𝗿

paring: florence pugh x fem!reader

tag(s): fluff, established relationship, r literally being protective over flo, short blurb, sfw but slightly suggestive

warning(s): grammatical errors, unedited, not proofread, language, overprotective behavior (but not possessive, more like cute), mention of consuming alcohol

word count: 1.2k

note: This was so fun to write. Thank you for requesting it, anon. I mainly took inspiration from the movie "First Daughter", hope you like it, anon. I'm not a native english speaker, so please let me know about any sort of mistake. Hope you enjoy! <3

requests are open! + check my rules here <3

It was 4AM, you felt your eyes starting to close, but you had to remain awake. 

It wasn’t just about her, protecting her, making sure she was alright because you cared about her. But it was also your job after all. It was like that stupid movie, “First Daughter”, where the bodyguard fell for his client. You internally laughed at the memory of Florence showing you that movie. 

You had been working for her only for a month at that time. She would always tease you, flirt with you and be touchy around you. You figured it was just her personality, but once she insisted that the two of you watched that movie, everything became crystal clear. It was her way of telling you: “Hey, you idiot, I really like you.”

At first you tried to resist her, but there was no way of resisting that woman. She knew exactly what to do and say to make you a flustering blushed mess, and then you fell for her. You didn’t realise at the beginning, but you started to behave differently in her presence. You would constantly be looking out for her, more than you already did before, making sure she was always on your sight. You would get this sick feeling on your stomach when she would get all touchy and flirty with other people. You tried to hold your feelings, you weren’t supposed to fall for her, your boss of all people. But you did and she was there to catch.

And now, you were waiting for her to end partying. You smiled at the sight of her, she was having the time of her life, swaying her hips back and forth, a drink in her hands. She noticed you stare at her and smirked. She motioned for you to come, to which you just shook your head. Not only were you working but you didn’t want to interfere with her and her friends. All you wanted to do was home and cuddle her. Still, she insisted. And once you made no attempt to go to her she made her way towards you. 

“Hey,” she said once in front of you. She rested her arms around your neck, caressing your nape. 

“Hey.”

“Why don’t you join us?”

“I’m working,” she chuckled. 

“Yeah, I know. My knight in shining armour,” she mumbled, biting her bottom lips. “But I want to dance with you, have fun with you.”

“And we can do that, just not now, okay? Now, go and have fun, I’ll be right here,” you pecked her lips and gently pushed her forwards. 

She huffed at your words but still decided you were right. So she partied until she couldn’t feel her feet anymore, until her mind was clouded with alcohol and her ears couldn’t take the loud music anymore. 

She, then, once she had enough, clumsily made her way to where you still were waiting for her. You hadn’t moved not even one inch. A glass of what she assumed was water on your hands. As she got closer to you, she noticed you were holding back your smile. 

“What are you laughing at?” she gently smacked your arm. 

“Nothing,” you replied, but she wasn’t buying it. 

“I look like a raccoon, don’t I?” realisation hitting her.

“A really cute raccoon,” you tried to say with your most serious expression, but it faltered once you took another look at her smudged make-up. 

She rolled her eyes at you. “Take me home,” she dramatically said, her arms reaching out for you. 

Through your earpiece you communicated with Florence’s chauffeur, they replied they will be there in three minutes. While waiting for them, you ordered another glass of water so she could sober up a little. Once she was done drinking it, you heard from your ear piece that the chauffeur was right outside. 

Even though it was now 8AM, there was always a chance that paparazzi were waiting outside. You called your partner, who was waiting outside, and waited for him to give you the signal that it was okay for Florence to come out. Once he did that, you nodded to her and the both of you made your way to the exit door. Her arm wrapped around yours, holding you close to her, looking for both comfort and stability. 

As you predicted, paparazzi were waiting outside, but James, your partner, was keeping them at bay. Florence was three steps away from the car when one of them got free of James’ grasp. 

From the corner of your eye you saw the man getting closer to Florence, holding his camera close to his chest, afraid something would happen to it. Your instincts kicked in, you weren’t going to hurt him or something, but you were not going to let him get away with a picture of her. Your team work really hard tonight to keep everything away from the public eye and that shithead wasn’t going to fucked that up. 

You gently pushed Florence inside the car, so she could get inside faster, and quickly made your way towards the man. He was already snapping photographs of her and you didn’t like it one bit. You snatched the camera away from his hands and threw it to the ground. The man’s eyes grew wide as he saw the device breaking into pieces. You quickly grabbed the memory card so he wouldn't have any pictures at all. 

“Sorry for that, mate. Here, for the damages caused,” you handed him 100 bucks. 

“This isn’t enough, that was a $2000 camera.”

“Not my problem, mate. Have a good one,” you said before heading to the car where Florecen was waiting for you. 

“You are unbelievable,” you heard James say before getting in the car, you could hear the smile in his tone.

Florence was feeling sleepy but that didn’t stop her from watching what you did, —what you did for her. She knew that you were just doing your job, but she also knew that you loved taking care of her, in any way you possibly could. 

Once you were inside the car, next to her, she rested her head on your shoulder. 

“My knight in shining armour,” she repeated once again. “I have to admit, that was hot.”

“Yeah, right,” you laughed.

“I’m serious. No one has ever looked out for me the way you do.”

“It’s my job, Flo.”

“And there you ruined the moment.”

You grabbed her chin forcing her to look at you. 

“It is my job as your girlfriend to take care of you,” you clarified. Her eyes lit up at your words, a grin forming on her lips. 

You then leaned in connecting your lips to hers, tasting the alcohol in her lips. Moaning once you felt her tongue inside your mouth, your hands tugging at her short hair. But the moment was cut off when you heard someone cough. 

“We are home,” the chauffeur said. You noticed that they were embarrassed having to witness you and Florence. 

“Let's get inside and finish this,” Florence said, getting out of the car and pulling you from your tie. 

“See you tomorrow, Alex,” you quickly said to the driver, before following quickly after Florence. 

Likes, reblogs and comments are appreciated! <3

-M

[multiwreckedmess]

February Filth Fest - Day 12

Pairing: Mingi x gn!Reader Prompt: Nipple Play WC: 1k Summary: Mingi loves being your boyfriend, except when the latest expansion releases for your favorite game. All he wants is some attention and maybe for you to come to bed. TW/CW: Implied consent, dom(ish) Mingi, Mingi is a brat, denied orgasm (reader), nipple play (reader receiving), no sex defining genitalia mentioned

Mingi sat on the couch, legs stretched long, propped against the armrest with his eyes scanning a manga. He was comfy. Ostensibly, it was a perfect night in for him. Except for you. You sat in your gaming chair at your desk, totally absorbed in the gaming you’d been playing for the past week.  Normally, he loved your hobby, it was nice having a nerd for a partner. There’s a lot of things about being a nerd that you just don’t have to explain if your partner is also a nerd. Tonight though, he was lonely. Mingi wouldn’t have minded it as much if you’d even been coming to bed at a normal hour with him for your nightly cuddle session. But you hadn’t. You’d stayed awake until the wee hours of the morning, leaving a cold space next to him. “Are you going to come to bed with me tonight?” Mingi pokes his head up over the black and white pages of his book, asking with a hopeful lilt. “Uh, yeah. I will,” you answer, eyes glazed over, reflection of your character prominent in your bluelight glasses. He knows the answer is automatic, on autopilot, in one ear out of the other. It annoys him. “So if I say i’m going to be now-” he says slowly, skeptically, “-you’d come too?” “Yeah. Sure.” Again you answer without tearing your eyes from your precious monitor. “Okay well I’m going to bed then, are you coming?” “Sorry I just have to get back to the hub city, then I can.” It’s a lie he’s heard every night. An easy small lie. But he’s just so tired of hearing it. Circling your chair he hovers. He knows you hate hovering but he does it anyway. The pressure of his presence makes the back of your neck tense. “How close are you to stopping?” He places his hands on your shoulders, squeezing slightly. “I don’t know Mingi.” He leans on the top of your chair, rocking it upright. “Do you mind if I just…watch you?” You sigh heavily. “Okay but only if you massage my neck.” “Deal.”

Starting at the base of your head where your skull and spine meet he drags his thumbs down, warming up your stiff muscles. In long light strokes his hands glide over your shoulders, layers of tension falling off with each sweep. Slowly Mingi notices your character bumping into corners of scenery briefly, your head nodding forward with even the slightest pressure. You moan as he presses just a bit harder on a difficult knot in the side of your neck, tendon twanging as he rubs circles into it. “Feels so good,” you sound drunk, slurring your words together dreamily. You whole torso sways with his motions, eyes closing.

“Come to bed,” Mingi whispers in your ear, pausing briefly. “No, I just have one more- one more thing i gotta do.” You sit back upright in your chair, reapplying your concentration to the task at hand. With a sigh Mingi starts to withdraw from your side, “I guess I’ll go first-” “Wait! Can you continue?” You look at him, pleading. “To make sure I actually go to bed, please?” Mingi sighs and nods, returning behind you, hands resting with his fingertips just barely  brushing your collar bone. This time he lets his hands wander more to the side and front of your neck. To give a balanced massage of course. Gently pinching the upper trapezius, he watches your posture soften once more. You lean with each push and pull up and down the column of your neck, letting out small airy whines of appreciation. 

He knows it’s a devious plan but Mingi want attention. And what Mingi wants, Mingi will find a way to get. Unfortunately for you, he knows your weakness because he shares it. Your chest. Slowly his fingertips circle their way down to your upper chest muscles. Pressing all four fingers of each hand on either side and rubbing in large languid circles you moan and melt. “Mingi, don’t stop, that feels so good,” your eyes closed, you lean back into your chair, chin tilted up towards him. “Does it?” He coos. “Does it feel good?” Hands sliding a little lower, to brush over your sternum, you sigh. “Yeah. So good.” “How about this?” Palms on your chest his fingers brush over your nipples, barely concealed by your shirt. The small gesture tingles, curling your toes, your breath catching briefly. He teases with butterfly touches flitting over your chest, tickling and sparking your nerve endings. Back arching into his touch you’re still desperate to complete your objective, wrenching your eyelids open and eyes to focus by sheer force of will. Your breaths become louder, lips pressing thinner. Mingi smiles, it’s his revenge.

Cupping your chest his thumbs trace the outside of your pebbling nipples, imprint growing quickly obvious in your comfy clothing. He delights in the fraught expression that crosses your face, the moan barely muffled by your pinched mouth. Grabbing handfuls of your flesh he kneads your chest, gasping with you as your body moves with him. “Mingi!” “What?” He asks, tone flirtatious. Barely faking that he doesn’t know exactly what he’s doing. The pads of his thumbs flick up and down, your thighs pressing together as the fire in your core builds from a flicker to flame almost too large to ignore. “I have to. I have to finish,” you breathlessly insist, eyelids fluttering, fingers clenching your mouse. “Of course, of course you have to.” He coos, pulling your shirt up and tucking it under your arms.  “Don’t mind me at all.” Crouching down next to you he cups your chest with one hand, flicking his tongue quickly over your pebbled nipple, testing your resolve. Huffing the flame turns to a full blaze, unable to relieve the pressure mounting in your core. “Mingi, please,” you beg quietly. “Finish your ‘one last thing’, I can wait.” That’s how you know you’ve fucked up. Mingis lips wrap around your pert nipple, sucking harshly, releasing with a pop. White knuckling your keyboard and mouth he lashes an all out attack on your chest. Lashing his tongue over one nipple as his hand pinches and twists the other. You writhe in your chair unable to find solace for your aching core, chest practically pinned back in your seat. “Mingi, I can’t, I can’t, please, I can’t,” you tremble and twist. “I can’t finish-I can’t finish like this.” He smiles. “Then come to bed.”

It’s a short one! Sorry. This one's for all the gamers out there.

[theboywithburninghands]

And just like that… I got another one. Okay, so this one isn’t nearly as long or as complete as the last one, but I had the day off today and just… went for it. It could be good, it could be crap. But it’s here! @fernstarsblog And honestly I just felt like doing something… nicer today. It’s not nearly as tense or harsh as the last one. Hope you enjoy it byyyyyyye

T/W: Era appropriate sexism, mentions of domestic abuse and drug use

Primum Peccatum Ch. 10: Are You Ready For A Miracle?

Pomni and Jax returned to Primum Peccatum around 10:20 at night. Full dark had fallen by then, and the ferry had to maneuver carefully by spotlight through the inky black saltwater of the reach. Once they arrived on the island, Jax took one of the communal lanterns from the post office’s storage containers, lit it and handed it to Pomni, who led the way home. Moths tapped futilely at the hot glass, and mosquitos descended on the two of them. The citronella oil in the lantern kept many of them at bay, but a few alighted on them to drink, only to be crushed into charcoal black smudges. Insects chirred and frogs sang, but it was otherwise a silent trek home.

Even in almost total darkness, Pomni knew the path. She could do it blindfolded, having lived on the island for two and a half decades. The edge of The Rooker estate’s sterile garden came into view, and Jax turned to look at Pomni. His eyes were shaded in the bubble of light created by the lantern, painting his already dour expression in shadow.

“My sincerest apologies for my family’s behavior tonight. If my father sends another letter to you, I’ll read it for you. If it isn’t anything worth reading, I’ll be rid of it.”

Pomni shook her head. “I’m the one at fault. I failed to adhere to our plan to keep quiet and let the night play out. I owe you and your brothers an apology. …I’m ashamed of myself.”

Jax managed a smile. In the dark, his Cheshire grin looked quite ominous.

“You needn’t be. How can you be expected to not react when all of this, the wedding, my family, was dropped on you so suddenly? I’m… impressed at how you stood up to my father,” Jax looked off into the dark. “Goodness knows I don’t have the backbone.”

Pomni looked at him for a long while. “I believe you do. But I’d rather not bandy with you at the moment… I’m quite tired.”

“As am I,” Jax concurred.

Pomni led him down then overgrown cobblestone walk to Kinger’s front stoop. Jax unlocked the door.

“Mr. Krolik?” Pomni asked before the rabbit could open the door. She kept her eyes on her shoes. “…Please go straight to bed. You needn’t sedate yourself. There’s no sense in making yourself sick when you’ve already been ill once tonight.”

Jax smiled again. It did not reach his eyes.

“I’ll try,” he said.

Even Pomni, who had her difficulties with reading people, could tell that was a bald-faced lie. However, she found her rebuttal caught in her throat when Jax reached down to gingerly pick up her left hand. He removed his sweat-addled gloves and tucked them into his breast pocket, so his paw was relatively dry. He closed his eyes and bent down slightly, placing a gentle kiss on the back of her hand, just beside her ring.

“Good night, Pomni,” he said, opening the door to The Rooker Estate.

“…Good night, Jax.” Pomni replied, just before the door closed in its entirety.

Pomni was left standing on the stoop, the lantern and her cheeks smoldering. She stood and thought for a good half minute before she turned and journeyed home.

—

As soon as the next morning’s birds began twittering, and dim, gray dawnlight filtered through her curtains, Pomni rolled out of bed. She dressed herself in a plain, Robin’s egg blue dress. She hadn’t slept particularly well, and a need for rest laid heavily on her eyelids, but she sought guidance that morning. She took a moment to brush her teeth and comb her slightly oily hair, splashing some cold water on her face to help keep awake.

She pulled on her stockings and crept downstairs to avoid rousing her parents. She slid her feet into her pumps, tapping the toe of each on the floor to fit it correctly, and went to find Zooble.

“Up early again, Ms. Shutnyk,” they said. They hadn’t begun making Pomni’s parents breakfast for the day, instead enjoying their own light meal, toast with strawberry preserves and a dusting of sand with plain red tea, at the dining room table.

“Good morning, Zooble,” Pomni said.

“How went your meeting with the in-laws?” they asked, blowing on their tea and taking a sip. Zooble had been the only person Pomni told about the meeting, naturally.

“It went…” Pomni thought for a moment. “Dreadfully. Simply dreadfully. Drexl Krolik is an ogre.”

Zooble let out what might have been a faint laugh. “He did come off as rather severe, didn’t he?” They took a bite of their toast, holding it over the plate so any loose crumbs or grains fell safely back onto it.

“He left in the middle of dinner to beat two of Jax’s brothers,” Pomni continued. “I asked the eldest brother to excuse us as head of the house, and he did. So, doubtlessly, I’ll be receiving a letter demanding my return.”

Zooble swallowed their food, having another sip of tea to wash the sand out of their invisible mouth.

“I’ll keep your secrets, but when your parents discover them, and they will, I will be very, very disappointed in you.” they said.

Pomni smiled. “Of course. You don’t deserve to lose your position because of me. And my parents…”

“Can go walk off the pier, as far as you're concerned?” Zooble finished.

“That’s significantly more mild than what I was envisioning. But yes.” Pomni said with another smile.

“I imagine that you and I share similar sentiments about your parents’ decision-making prowess.” Zooble replied.

Pomni giggled. “Indubitably. I should be going now. If you receive a letter from Drexl Krolik-”

“Then you will be the first to read it,” Zooble finished. “Honestly, what kind of third-rate caretaker do you think I am?”

Pomni nodded. “Of course. My apologies for interrupting your breakfast.”

As she made to leave, Zooble spoke up. “Please be back at a reasonable hour. Your mother has hired a tailor to measure you for your wedding dress. You know she’ll be upturning the entire island to find you.”

Pomni sighed. “Very well. Thank you as always, Zooble.”

“They really should pay me more, shouldn’t they?” Zooble replied without looking up from their tea.

Pomni exited the estate with her purse. She picked up the communal lantern from the stoop, planning on returning it to the post office and then heading to The Gray Church. It was a cloudy morning, the sky a billowy gray and white. There was a very slight chill in the air, the final hurrah of springtime before summer arrived in full. Pomni closed her eyes and enjoyed the soothing ambience. She was still quite tired, her eyes remaining lidded for almost a full minute before reluctantly opening again. She hoped this dress business wasn’t an all day affair, her mother could take so long on tasks that should have taken an hour or two at most.

She sighed, turning and walking towards the post office.

—

Pomni glanced around the confession booth. She had never been inside it before, and she wasn’t quite sure what to expect. It was nothing but a gray room, about the size of an outdoor privy, with a pull string for the bell, an old and somewhat moth-eaten cushion to sit on, and a screened window into the priest or priestess’s chamber. She swallowed, sitting on the cushion, and rang the bell.

She waited a moment. Another moment. Several moments more. She thought about leaving, and she thought about ringing the bell again. Ragatha always told her that it greatly irritated her when a confessor repeatedly rang the bell, so she thought better of it. Sure enough, she soon heard footsteps from within the sanctuary, the door to the confessional booth open, and a person take their seat just by the window.

“Good morning, my child. Tell me what ails you,” came Ragatha’s motherly voice from the other side of the booth. Anyone would feel more at ease if a voice that warm told them everything was going to be alright.

“Sister, I have doubts and seek guidance,” Pomni said.

“Of course, you may begin when you are ready,” Ragatha said.

“Well… you see, my… friend is to be married to a man she barely knows. And she was opposed to the idea at first, naturally, but now-”

“Pomni?” Ragatha asked in her regular voice.

Blazes.

“Er… but-but now she-”

“Pomni, that is you! What are you doing in the confessional?”

Pomni sighed again. “I was… hoping to get some advice anonymously.”

Ragatha scoffed. “Darling, you have nothing to be ashamed of. Come inside, I’ve just made tea.”

Ragatha then rose to her feet and exited the confessional, chuckling to herself. Pomni bit at her thumbnail, but obliged, entering the church anyway. She took the stairs down into the rectory, where Ragatha and Gangle sat around the table.

“Ms. Shutnyk! It’s so nice to see you again!” Gangle said with a wave.

“Good morning, Ms. Gangle,” Pomni said, waving back shyly.

Ragatha smoothed out her habit, keeping her hood down as she normally did around guests. It appeared as though she had just gotten dressed, as she had to pause a moment to roll up her sleeves.

“So, something so serious has happened, you felt the urge to confess anonymously? For the first time as long as I’ve known you? Goodness, what could have happened?” Ragatha said with a small smile.

“It isn’t anything wrong that I’ve done… It’s merely something… embarrassing.” Pomni said. She sat in her usual chair and picked up her cup.

“Embarrassing?” Ragatha asked.

“Yes, embarrassing. I am to be married soon, as you both know…” Pomni began.

“I seem to recall you were somewhat upset about that.” Gangle jested. Ragatha fought a smile and gently nudged her.

“But… things have changed. I believe…” Pomni took a deep breath and stared down at her teacup. “I believe I have caught feelings for him.”

Ragatha and Gangle were both silent with anticipation.

“But..?” Ragatha coaxed.

“…But nothing. I… I fear I’ve caught feelings for him.” Pomni said. She looked at them both with a dire expression.

Ragatha and Gangle looked at each other, then back to Pomni.

“That’s what is upsetting you so?” Ragatha asked incredulously.

“Ms. Shutnyk, that’s wonderful! Congratulations!” Gangle chirped, clasping her ribbons together.

“You had me so worried, darling, good heavens…” Ragatha fanned herself, slumping over with relief.

“N-No!” Pomni shouted, making Gangle jump. “It’s not wonderful! They’ve won, don’t you understand? They’ve finally forced me to gain feelings for a stranger!”

Ragatha sat up straighter. “Forced you? Little sister, no one forced you.”

“But they have! They-” Pomni began, but Ragatha gently interrupted her by grasping one of her hands.

“Pomni Shutnyk. I’ve known you for seven years, and there is one thing I can tell you with absolute certainty. If you don’t want to do something, I don’t think anyone short of The Allfather could make you. If anybody, and I mean anybody told you to love Jax Krolik when you didn’t actually love him, there would be no further discussion. You wouldn’t.”

Pomni frowned and sipped her tea with her free hand. She looked down at her feet. “I don’t follow.”

Ragatha smiled and leaned forward. “I’m saying, Pomni, that your feelings are real, not manipulated. You are not the kind to be manipulated. I think you feel this way about Mr. Krolik because you are genuinely fond of Mr. Krolik. And that’s wonderful! You found a kindred spirit!”

Pomni gripped her cup a bit tighter. “But… It’s manufactured. I didn’t meet Jax on my own, I was forced to! I wanted to pursue my own dream, not my parents’ dream!”

“Who says you can’t pursue a dream, Ms. Shutnyk?” Gangle piped up.

Pomni shook her head in frustration. “Everyone! The entire broken, idiotic ideology that this country is built on! I wanted to take over my father’s firm, but I cannot because-”

Ragatha held up the hand she was using to hold Pomni’s. “Peace for a moment, dear. Do you still want to inherit your father’s business?”

“No! Never, not after he betrayed me like he did!” Pomni declared.

“So… what is your dream now?” Ragatha asked with a tilt of her head. Her curls bounced.

“I…”

Pomni froze.

“I… I don’t know.”

Ragatha rested three fingers on her chin and looked up, deep in thought. “Perhaps that is something you should contemplate for the future. This is my advice. I believe you should find what brings you the most joy. But even if you aren’t sure what that is now, answer me this question: Who do you see at your side in the future? Are you alone?”

“I don’t know…” Pomni said again.

“Oh, but I think you do, Ms. Shutnyk. I think you do know.” Gangle said with a smile.

Pomni covered her face and whined. Ragatha stood up from her chair and embraced the smaller woman.

“It’s perfectly fine to have feelings, darling. You’re not gullible or weak for it. This is a good outcome to an incredibly untoward scenario.”

Pomni embraced Ragatha right back. “I’m… I don’t want to be a housewife…”

“Then don’t be. Be with the one you love, and do what you wish to do. That’s what I’ve done.”

Ragatha smiled and put a hand over Gangle’s ribbon as the shapewoman placed it on her shoulder. Gangle rested her cheek on Ragatha’s head with a smile.

“…I didn’t say I loved him.” Pomni said after a moment. “It’s only been a week. I just… I… I’m not as opposed to… courtship as I used to be…”

“Oh, bless your heart, darling.” Ragatha waved a hand and giggled. Gangle began to laugh, and Pomni joined in. Soon, they were all laughing together.

Pomni left the church, her spirits brightened somewhat. Ragatha’s guidance revealed something not quite expected, but it was… something good. She still detested the whole wedding rigamarole, and how her parents thought of her as a commodity, and her soon to be father-in-law’s compassion-free, ink-black soul, and how society treated her just because of her sex… But. She had grown an interest in the man she was to marry. A real interest. And that was something to treasure.

[celandeline]

Summer of Like // Farleigh Start x OC (7)

Even at night, this house is sweltering. It’s like somehow, the walls trap in the absorb the heat of the day and spit it back out at night. Even in my thin cotton shorts and the tiniest shirt I own, I’m still sweating. I roll over, and kick the sheets off, spreading my limbs out to try and alleviate the stickiness. I’ve got to get used to this heat or I’m not going to get any sleep for the rest of the summer. 

I shift again, flipping the pillow in the hopes that the underside might be cooler. Moonlight streams in through the window, and I watch a breeze shift through the short trees outside. In the hopes of catching some of that breeze myself, I slide out of bed, padding over to the window, the floorboards creaking under my feet. I undo the latch, and push against the frame, but the glass doesn’t budge. 

I simply stare at the wall for a minute. “Fucking fine. I’ll just die of heatstroke then.” I say, like the house can hear me and is deliberately fucking me over. 

I’m still at the window when I hear a low creak from out in the hallway, and for a minute I’m worried that Venetia heard me, but there is no knock at my door. Instead, her footsteps retreat down the hall until I can’t hear them anymore. A twinge of annoyance flares up in me - she didn’t even check to see if I was awake. Not that she had to, of course, but this summer is supposed to be about us hanging out. If she’s going to go out on a nighttime adventure, I’d expect her to at least ask me along. Especially to get me out of this stuffy room. 

I walk back over to the bed and kick my flip flops out from underneath, slipping my feet into them. Taking the box of cigarettes and the lighter from my nightstand and tucking them in the band of my shorts, I start out after her.  

I know the house well enough at this point to find my way outside, immediately relishing the feeling of the cooler night air washing over me. The subtle concert of crickets in the tall grass is the only sound. Venetia is nowhere to be found, and I have no idea where to start looking. Instead, I sit down on the stone steps, and light a cigarette. 

For a while, it’s just me, the nicotine, and the moon. It’s about half-full, and hanging high in the sky. Even only half full, it’s brighter than normal, it seems, and casts the grounds in sharp definition. It’s goth, almost, the eerie way the moon highlights the statues dotted around the lawn and paints the maze in the distance like a looming mass. It’s eerie enough that the sound of the door behind me almost makes me jump. 

I turn, quickly, to see Farleigh step outside, only in his boxers. He seems just as surprised to see me as I am to see him. A beat of silence passes between us. “Hi.”

“Hey.” I return, turning back to face the yard. 

I don’t expect him to sit down next to me, but he does, sprawling his lanky body down the steps. “Can I bum a smoke?”

“Sure.” I say, digging the box of cigarettes out of my waistband, and passing one to him. Farleigh tucks it between his lips, and then leans close, pressing the end of his cigarette to mine, lighting it off my cherry. The scent of him - the musk of sleep, his hair products, deodorant - fills my nose. 

“Thanks.” Farleigh says, exhaling smoke through his nostrils. 

Another moment of silence passes as we both smoke. 

“So,” He drawls. “Couldn’t sleep?”

“Yeah.” I say. “It’s so fucking hot in there, and the window in the room I’m in won’t open.” I let a cloud of smoke slip out from my lips. “I take it, you too?” I say, gesturing to his boxers with my cigarette. 

“Mhm.” Farleigh hums. 

The conversation dwindles into nothingness again. It’s little awkward - I haven’t spoken to anyone but Venetia one-on-one, and I don’t quite know what to say. It feels more intimate than it should, us sitting here in our pajamas (Farleigh barely wearing anything really), having a smoke. 

“So what’s your deal?” He says, breaking the silence and tilting his head towards me. His tone is totally different - sharper, accusing even. 

It takes me aback. “What do you mean?”

He flicks the ash off the end of his cigarette. “Why does V keep you around? What do you do?” He asks. “I guess,” He laughs, “Is it drugs or sex? Lord knows she doesn’t need money.”

It’s offensive, almost, except for the smile on his face. It spikes some anger, but I squash it quickly, taking a drag of my cigarette. “Why do you ask?” I force my tone to be casual. “Scared?”

He scoffs. “As if-”

“Because it seems like you’re scared, Farleigh.” I say, cutting him off.

There’s a tension in the air as we just look at each other. His eyes shift around my face, looking for something. A slow smile stretches across his face. “I see.”

“See what?”

“It’s just like Venetia to need a guard dog.” He laughs. “I mean, I know she doesn’t have any friends at Cambridge but I didn’t know she was being bullied.”

This time, my anger is not so easily squashed. “She’s got enough to deal with-”

“I’m not going to jump on the bandwagon, Eves, calm down.” He rolls his eyes. “I was just curious why you’re here.” 

I take a long drag of my cigarette, and purposefully exhale so that the smoke drifts past his face. My anger dissipates some. I can read him just the same as he’s read me - he’s making sure I’m not another Oliver, for whatever reason. 

He waves the smoke away from his face. “God, you’re vicious.” He grins. “I can see why she likes you.” Just like that, all the sharpness in his voice is gone. Just like that, he’s talking like we’re best friends again. Flipped on a dime. 

I roll my eyes, and lean back against the steps. 

“Don’t take it personally, c’mon.” He says, leaning back on his elbows to follow me. 

“In the week that I’ve been here, the only thing I’ve learned about you is that you’re a catty bitch.” I say, looking him dead in the eye. 

He tips his head towards me with a wry grin. “What, you wanna know my favorite color or something?”

I just blink at him, and take a drag of my cigarette. 

His gaze shifts back out into the yard. “It’s blue.”

The admission makes me smile - it’s an apology without saying ‘I’m sorry’, which seems like the best I’ll get from him. “Mines red.”

&lt; previous part | next part >

[scooptroopfanfic]

Cas with a C CH 5

Note: Please look at the Chapter Select for warnings and general notes. I hope you enjoy!

Cassie wakes up to the sound of a door opening and tired grumbling as keys fumble with the front door. Cassie grumps herself for a few moments until she remembers where she is and shoots up just in time to see the older man come into the house she is assuming is Wayne. He immediately goes to the sink and pours himself a glass of water. It takes him a moment to notice the shocked eyes of Cassie. He seems surprised himself.

“Ah. Eddie didn’t tell me he was going to bring anyone by.”

“If it helps Mr. Munson, this wasn’t planned.” She says sheepishly as she slightly hides behind the couch.

“No offense Miss but you don’t seem the type to hang around with my nephew.”

“Oh trust me. I was reminded constantly of that fact at the movie Eddie and I went to.” She doesn’t think much of it in her sleep-addled mind as she mumbles curses about them under her breath which the older man chuckles at. “Sorry about the language. I swear it isn’t much of a habit.”

The man still seems on guard but Cassie doesn’t take offense. She would be weirded out too if one of Steve’s hookups were just chilling on the couch. Not that Cassie was a hookup. She shuddered at the thought. She then goes wide-eyed as she remembers something.

“Oh, I’ve really blown my introduction. I’m Cassie Harrington.”

“I know the name Harrington from somewhere right?”

“Probably my- Do I have permission to curse?” She asks to get a nod from the older man. “Asshole of a neglectful father.” Wayne gives her a look of sympathy. “I don’t normally talk about this Mr. Munson but it is early and I don’t have a filter.” After this, a snore is heard from the back room causing the two to chuckle. 

“You seem nice and by the smell of you not like you are using my nephew for his business.” Cassie looks at him wide-eyed. “I’m not dumb. Anyways, where was I? All I ask is that you don’t hurt my boy.”

“I believe there has been a misunderstanding. I am just a friend crashing on a couch which, thinking about it, I am realizing is your bed.” She says as she shoots up and starts trying to tidy up.

“You don’t have to do that. I was planning on maybe watching a show and having a smoke.” 

“Let me at least clear part of the couch.” 

For the rest of the early morning, the two sit in a silence that’s somewhere between awkward and comfortable. Like they don’t know each other, but there aren't any elephants in the room forcing them apart.

A couple of hours later Eddie groggily opens the door to his room with a slight yawn as he heads over to the sink to grab some water. 

“Good morning Wayne,” Eddie says clearly not awake yet. Wayne clears his throat and Cassie waves from her spot on the couch. Suddenly Eddie has water go up his nose in shock and he frantically tries to clean it up.

“Good morning Eddie. Sleep well?” Cassie asks with a laugh as soon as she sees he is ok.

“I thought you would have snuck out.”

“I’m not that kind of girl.” Eddie then remembers what happened last night and he gives Cassie a look. She gives him a look of disbelief in turn.

“Do you think I would have hung out with one of those things willingly for two hours?” She asks him mentally and he looks around confused before Cassie’s eyes flicker back to her normal brown and her nose bleeds.

“One sec swe- Cassie,” Eddie says as he scrambles for a tissue to give her and Wayne looks at the two with a sort of smugness. Once he has one in hand he passes it over to her and she quickly wipes her nose.

“Sorry Mr. Munson. It’s a medical condition.” Cassie then flicks her eyes to Eddie giving him a look before speaking. “It’s actually the reason I ended up on your lovely couch. My condition has been flaring up recently and with my brother working and my family on vacation Eddie here invited me back so someone was looking after me. Originally it was just rides home after a late shift but you know with the late movie…”

Wayne doesn’t seem totally convinced by that but he doesn’t verbally question it. Cassie then gets up after stretching and popping joints to go into the kitchen.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m gonna make breakfast. Anyone have any requests from…” She trails off as she looks to see what she has to work with. 

The kitchen is stocked enough for it to be called a kitchen, but not much more than that. It has the bare minimum of everything and if it is redundant it doesn’t exist. 

“Actually I’m seeing eggs and bacon are my only thing right now. I hope neither of you is totally against it.” Cassie gets an appreciative nod from Wayne and Eddie decides to just stay leaning on the small counter next to the kitchen but not in it. 

“Another Harrington skill?” Eddie asks as she goes to heat up the stove. Cassie almost looks offended as she can still smell the smoke the one time Cassie was sick and he tried to make soup for her. Last time she let him do that.

“Another Cassie skill. Do you think the meathead knows a thing about how to not burn things?” 

“I thought you wouldn’t either.”

“If anything it helped me know how to properly cook something. Especially Carol’s hair.” She says with a laugh as she lays out bacon for the three of them on the pan. Normally she would add a few bits of seasoning now, but plain bacon is fine with her. After a few minutes of silence, she flips them over. 

“Don’t you normally have work in the morning?”

“Normally. After you asked me to go to the movie with you I was able to negotiate with Mary to switch a few shifts around.” Eddie looks shocked. “What?”

“Isn’t that job like your favorite part of the day?”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to be a zombie like the other day.” 

“Yeah, that was rough to watch.” Eddie agrees as Cassie puts the bacon on a paper towel and covers it. Eddie gives her a weird look as she starts cracking eggs into the pan. 

“What? You want your bacon egregiously greasy?”

“Yeah. That is the best part.” Cassie gives him a grossed-out look as he tries to pick up the bacon but burns his fingertips. He goes to suck on them as she gives him a look. Cassie goes into the fridge to see if there is anything to put on the eggs as she uses her powers to continue stirring around the eggs causing Eddie’s eyes to go wide. She eventually finds cheese in the fridge and brings it out and places it on the counter. Eddie looks confused as her nose doesn’t bleed.

“I’m assuming everyone here wants cheese?” After confirming she starts melting it into the eggs and scrambling them. Eventually, she turns off the heat on the stove and starts adding food to the plates which takes a bit of time to find. Eddie rummages around the drawers until he finds silverware and starts handing it out as Cassie passes around plates.

“You know you didn’t have to do this.” 

“I know Mr. Munson, but I wanted to thank you for letting me borrow your bed and I wanted to thank Eddie for helping last night.” She says with a smile as she finally grabs her own food and the fork from Eddie. 

The rest of the morning goes by uneventfully until Cassie gets to the Mall in Eddie’s van. Thankfully she has a change of clothes and her touch-up kit from last night so it isn’t too suspicious when she shows up to work without having gone home… until she has a guest.

“Cassie?” She pokes her head out from between the aisles of books as she finishes helping a small kid find his next sci-fi book. 

“Hi, Steve!” She smiles at him but with his frustrated look and hands on his hips, it is clearly not reciprocated. 

“Don’t ‘Hey Steve’ me after you were missing all last night.” Cassie’s eyes flash with fear as she sees one of the girls that she saw get dragged off last night trying to get close to Steve. She quickly pulls Steve into the back room and shuts the door. “Aww so now you are embarrassed.”

“No. Just. Ugh.” Cassie crumbles her hands near her face in frustration. “You’re an oblivious dumbass.” 

“Why are you mad? I’m the one that should be mad.” Steve's tone has long since shifted to sassy. Cassie feels the chill take over and one minute she is with Steve and the next is with possessed Billy.

“Hello there Cassie.”

“Hi there not Billy.” Cassie sasses back and it chuckles at her. “Long time no see.”

“Not like I didn’t try. You kept ignoring my calls.”

“I have a life outside of all of this you know.” Suddenly the thing closes the distance and grabs her throat. Not in a choking manner but it is still threatening… letting her know he is there and willing.

“Once he is in charge this…. life you have will no longer matter.”

“That won’t be for a while.”

“Not if you are not fully onboard Cassandra. He can tell. Your willingness to the cause is faltering. Maybe if you were to let me consume your brother or that other boy with you.”

“They won’t help. You want people that have power and influence. You know this. I helped you get in with the popular kids from my school. They have neither of those and can’t help you get anyone else.”

“Fine. But in return, you must help me with one thing.”

“What?”

“Keep El in your sights. She’s the girl that shut the gate and cut me off from the rest of myself.”

“Who is that?” Suddenly the grip around her throat tightens and Cassie grits her teeth as her hands come to her throat trying to tear him off.

“Don’t play dumb. I know you know. Now be a good little helper and do your job.” Cassie could feel that the creature wanted to terminate contact, but failed, and suddenly in front of her was Billy who quickly released his grasp on her, causing her to drop to the ground to catch her breath. Billy kneels down next to her to talk. “Shit Harrington. It’s getting worse. I’m losing more and more time. Whatever the fuck you plan on doing hurry.” Everything fades to dust and suddenly she is in front of Steve who is light-slapping her face.

“Ow dingus that hurt!” Cassie puts her hands up to block his hits.

“You were having an episode.”

“Wow gee, I haven’t noticed. Maybe because they are becoming more frequent? Have you maybe thought that the reason I stayed out last night has something to do with that?” At this, Steve shifts immediately from aggressive to concerned.

“…what?”

“Yeah. I stayed at my friend's house last night. On a couch. Not in someone else’s bed. A couch. There. Happy?” Steve is about to open his mouth but then Dustin busts in.

“Hey, Cassie! I need to borrow Steve real quick.”

“Can you just give me five minutes?”

“No, it’s an emergency! Let’s go!” Dustin says as he shoves Steve toward the door.

“Ok ok, I get it. We can talk later Cassie. I promise.” Steve says before he lets the door shut behind him and Dustin. 

Cassie sighs and works the rest of her shift. She hasn’t seen Mary all day which is odd considering this is her store after all. Eventually, Cassie is able to clock out and meets up with Eddie at his van as the evening settles on Hawkins

“Hey there Cassie.” He says with his goofy smile.

“Can we take a detour on our way back?”

“Where?” 

“Give me a sec and I’ll tell you.” Cassie climbs up into the seat and closes her eyes. After focusing on her breathing, her heartbeat, and her thoughts. Eventually, she sinks down out of her body and then she opens her eyes and she is in a black landscape. She starts walking around and looking around. She focuses her thoughts on El. Eleven. Eleven Hopper. Jane? Suddenly she sees the back of the girl along with a bunch of the kids Cassie recognizes from her brother’s babysitting group. 

El turns around and looks directly at Cassie.

“What are you doing?”

“Who are you talking to El?” Max asks her looking in the same direction.

“Her.”

“Who is her?”

“You can’t see her?” Cassie laughs to herself as she watches the scene.

“People I am connected to or have powers could probably see me. I’m not trying to hide myself. Cassie says as she sits on the water in front of El. “Now can you tell me where you are?”

“Why?”

“The host made contact. He knows who you are and he knows who I am.”

“Who is he?”

“You know. You may deny it but you know.” Cassie gives El a hard look and the younger girl folds quickly. 

“We are testing him. We need water and heat. Two things it doesn’t like. The only place my friends could think of is a thing called a sauna.”

“You’re at the pool.” Cassie’s eyes flicker open and Eddie is already ready with the tissue. “So you want the bad news or the worse news?”

“Bad news first. Always. Wait…”

“Ok so worst news it is. We’re gonna have to go fight one of those things again. Not the big scary one. The people shaped ones.”

“Why?!”

“Bad news number two. You know all those kids my brother and I hang out with?” Eddie nods to this. “Well, they thought it was a smart idea to try and figure out who the host is and they are probably guessing right.”

“So where are we going now?”

“To the pool.”

“Fuck. Hargrove works there.” He says as he starts driving. 

“Yeah. That's kinda the point if they are testing him.” Eddie looks away from the road to give her a terrified look. 

“Eyes on the road Eds. I know I look pretty but not that much.” She shoos him off. 

As they start parking at the pool Cassie feels something is off causing her to bolt into the pool house before Eddie can even stop the car. Cassie makes it over to the men’s bathroom and notices a lock on the door. She raises her hand and it instantly falls off. Cassie then unbinds the chain and wraps it around her right hand as she heads inside. 

She hears the glass break and the screams of El as she approaches from the shadows. The lights begin the flicker and the cold feeling on her neck is constant as she continues further into the locker room. When she turns the corner she can see the body of Bily but he is not present as he is being choked against the wall covered in black veins. 

He suddenly throws off the weight on his neck and Cassie begins her work of slowly cutting a few of the puppet strings on Billy’s mind as her eyes glaze over. This allows him a few moments of clarity as he sees what he is doing, horrified before he gets swallowed up again and starts choking El. Mike quickly grabs a pipe and hits Billy causing him to drop El and redirect his efforts to Mike.

Cassie can’t continue to wait for Billy to wake up. She quickly and quietly charges in and throws the chain around his neck using her powers and pulls on it keeping the monster away from the kids. It continues to try for Mike and El but after a few moments gives up and instead grips the chain and pulls her in closer… the same chain she has wrapped around her hand. Suddenly the wrap of the chain goes from comfortable to like her hand is on fire, causing pain to shoot up her arm. She grits her teeth to muffle the cry of pain as she charges forward again and kicks him in the chest and makes the two go to the ground and her glasses fly off nearby.

Cassie is surprised with herself as she throws a punch that connects to his face and continues to do whatever the hell she does, getting into a better position. She uses the chain like a single brass knuckle and drives her fists into him, channeling years of pent-up anger and resentment. She starts to smile and her eyes turn from disparate to crazy. The monster frantically tries to untangle the chain around his neck as Cassie continues to mentally cut a few more puppet strings, letting her body go on autopilot. Her heart is racing. She feels like she is on fire. She can win this. That is until suddenly Billy can free himself from the creature.

“Harrington?” He is cut off slightly by getting punched by Cassie’s unchained fist. “Fuck!”

“Billy?” Cassie pauses her assault for a moment. After looking him in the eyes for a moment her body relaxes a bit. “Welcome back. Listen to what I tell you. There is only so much I can do out here for you. You gotta keep fighting in there.” She then gently nudged his forehead with her finger. Suddenly she feels Billy’s body shudder and she quickly finishes unbinding his neck with enough time for El to gather herself and restrain the creature as it possesses Billy, throwing him through a brick wall which Cassie winced at. As she looks through once the dust settles she hears a car door lock and sees a figure running off into the distance.

Cassie looks down at her fists and sees black blood lightly coating them. She slowly unbinds the chain from her fist as she tries to look around for her glasses, just for Will to hand them to her, surprisingly intact. 

“Are you all ok?” Cassie asks as she catches her breath and tries to slow down her heart rate. Mike is hugging El close and the other three look traumatized. She sighs in relief as she slides down the wall slowly until she is on the ground.

“How did you know to come here?” Lucas asks bewildered.

“Fucker tried ‘talking’ to me earlier. Ended up in a fucked up basement with my friend and they left us to get chewed on by this… thing.” Suddenly Eddie busts in looking terrified with two a pair of drumsticks raised in defense. “As you can see we both somehow made it out unscathed thanks to a knife.”

“Eddie?” 

“Will?” 

“Ha. Funny coincidence.” Cassie says between breaths. “These are the kids I told you about when we first met. Both an awesome party on and off the board.” Cassie leans her head back against the wall. “Now I don’t know about you all, but I would rather catch up in the safety of a van.” They all are slow but eventually agree. Eddie walks over to Cassie and offers a hand which she quickly takes up and he helps her back to the passenger side of the van. Once the kids are loaded up with their bikes Eddie speeds off for the Wheeler home.

————————————/————————

“You beat up Billy?!” Eddie says in disbelief as they all sit on the couches in the basement of the Wheeler home.

“Yeah to be honest not sure how I managed that one,” Cassie says resting a pack of frozen peas on her right hand, wincing at the cold downward pressure. “I just saw red when he started choking El out.”

“Wait. You know each other?” Lucas points between El and Cassie.

“Yeah. We didn’t always go with you to the mall genius. We sometimes just wanted a girl's day… and Cassie wouldn’t rat us out to Hopper, unlike Steve.” Max chimes in with a shrug.

“Wait. Steve is a snitch now? Ewww.” Cassie looks grossed out. “I guess that makes me the cool sibling now.”

“Focus. We need to know what you two know. Anything helps.” Eddie and Cassie look at each other and Eddie shrugs before gesturing to her.

“Don’t ask me. I’ve just been bravely running away with Cassie for the past day or so. Gotta protect my club members after all.” Cassie gives her a look.

“I never said I was joining. I just like to watch. Anyways. Eddie and I were minding our own business post watching a movie at the theatre. Eddie was driving his van in the rain and then a girl walked in the middle of the road… I think it may have been Heather… Eddie then stopped to not hit her, we were dragged out, tied up, and left to be fed to that… thing.”

“The Mind Flayer.” Eddie's eyes flash with recognition as Will speaks up.

“Whatever. Anyways they were idiots and left a knife so I grabbed it, cut Eddie free, then we ran like hell back to the car and sped off for Eddie’s house to hide for the night.”

“Why not go back to your place?”

“Billy knows where I live. He doesn’t know where Eddie lives.” Cassie shrugs.

“Wait wait wait. We are going against The Mind Flayer? Fuck are we dealing with a hive mind?!” Eddie’s foot begins to bounce. 

“Politely with what I have been dealing with no shit.” Cassie retorts.

“Huh?” Lucas seems surprised.

“Does no one else get a chill down their spine when they are near?” Cassie looks at the kids confused. Will's eyes go wide. 

“You feel it too?” 

“Yeah. Since I got out of the coma.” She looks at him confused as she tries to lightly enter his mind, but she fails. She has never failed. Like she does this on accident every day. How could she just lose the ability? That’s when her eyes flick to El who looks at her in confusion. “RIght. Comas are when your body is in the hospital but your mind is still going on adventures.”

“That is… a way to describe it,” Mike says unsure. 

“Wait. What do you mean adventures?” Will asks as he seems to be remembering something. Cassie gives him a look of disbelief.

“You don’t remember? Cute little multicolored gas mask? I thought it was definitely a statement, or at least as much as you can in that place.” Cassie makes a gesture like a mask Will still looks bewildered and she sighs. “You know I thought you ignored me because it was traumatic but I guess it was actual traumatic memory loss which… fair.” She says with a shrug.

“Cassie focus,” Max says causing Cassie to ice her other hand’s knuckles. 

“Right sorry. I guess I can sense those things. At least somewhat reliably. I think that may be the reason for them getting all aggressive and trying to make Eddie and I join in on their fun.”

“Why are you calling it fun?”

“Sugarcoatting.” Her eyes then flick down to his leg as she feels the chill down her neck. “Hey, Mike. Does your family keep a first aid kit?”

“Uh yeah, why?”

“Eds got hurt when we escaped and I really don’t it to get infected.” El also looks down at it. She then looks at Cassie.

“What is-” Cassie’s eyes lightly glaze over.

“Subtly is a virtue. Especially with matters like this.” Her eyes go back to normal as Cassie moves to balance the peas on her fist. Cassie can feel Eddie’s anxiety rise as she silences El. She doesn’t sense anything else wrong but better safe than sorry. Cassie pats her lap and after a second Eddie struggles, but eventually gives up and lays back and raises his leg to rest in his lap. “You go physical. I’ll keep him immobile. Ready?” Cassie asks El mentally which El nods to. Cassie then detaches herself mentally from El and moves on to Eddie.

“Hey, Eds?” Cassie attempts to grab his attention as she starts to slowly unwrap his leg.

“Yeah?”

“So how do mind flayers normally work in DND? Since we are going against one I figure we should know oh wise Dungeon Master.” Cassie’s hands shake a bit from both the slight pain of using her fingers and nerves. 

“Hmm. I’ll tell you what I can but without the book, it may be a little difficult.” 

“I got one here. Give me a second.” Will then runs off to the corner.

“Why are you asking this?” Eddie looks at her with confused eyes. Ones that look sweet to her. Innocent like a doe.

“Don’t worry about it.” Cassie waves it off as she has most of the wrapping she did earlier off. Will’s eyes go wide as he feels the back of his neck. “Let’s just check this out. You may not want to look. It was pretty bad earlier.” El stares it down as Cassie is on the cloth covering the injury. Her fingers lightly grasp it as she watches something move under his skin causing Eddie to flinch and attempt to kick and Cassie to internally gag as she removes the bandage. 

“Watch out!” Will exclaims as Cassie braces her bodyweight right above Eddie’s knee and below his ankle with gritted teeth feeling a burn running through her arms as she holds herself up. Eddie continues to thrash about as Cassie enters his mind and El focuses her power on the wound.

“Hey Eds. Didn’t want to freak you out. Let me make this easier for you.” Suddenly the two are teleported elsewhere or seem to be. The stars and lake at Lover’s Lake. A younger Eddie sits down alone staring out at the stars. Older Eddie looks around confused at the peaceful scene.

On the outside was nothing peaceful. The kids are screaming as they watch Eddie’s leg move around uncontrollably as something under the skin wiggles. El is using her powers on it trying to immobilize it and extract it, but the thing keeps moving away. Will and Lucas are screaming as Mike runs downstairs with the first aid kit. Eddie and Cassie have glazed over eyes but Cassie is still able to control her muscles enough to keep Eddie’s body relatively still.

“Where are we?” Eddie asks as he looks out into the sky.

“A pleasant memory. I don’t know specifically because it is your memory.” She plops down on the grass a distance away from young Eddie. 

“You can just… poof yourself into my memory like that?” Eddie makes a hand gesture like a bomb.

“No. It took a bit to find this actually. I kinda sensed something off so I started digging a bit. Hope you don’t mind too much.” Cassie scratches the back of her neck sheepishly. 

“Huh?”

“You have a parasite in your leg from that thing. It’s been hitching a ride it seems.” 

“Is that why you asked about Mind Flayers?”

“Yeah. I thought I remembered something about them planting a parasite for conversion.”

On the outside of Eddie’s mind, El has gotten a hold of the parasite as Will grabs his staff in defense and Mike has brought down a frying pan. Max and Lucas start arguing as Lucas attempts to hide behind Max. Slowly El starts dragging out the parasite and its squirming body becomes exposed. Lucas faints and Max catches him with a scoff.

“I would probably be screaming and freaking out right now.”

“Exactly. Figured it would be better to keep you tranquil and not have that memory in your head.” She then looks around. “After all memories like this are nice.” She then pats the spot next to her. “So let’s enjoy this one.”

Eddie smiles at her and slowly sits down. The two sit in the mental state for a few moments in relative silence. After that Eddie laughs.

“I now remember this day. Remember in the 8th grade when I performed at the talent show?” It seems like Cassie went back into her own memories.

“Yeah. I think so. You are in a band right?”

“Can’t you just dig around and figure that out?”

“I could but I want to try and give you some privacy. That and there is a bit of fun with mystery.” 

“Corroded Coffin. Some of the guys you met in the last game are in it.” Eddie sighs as suddenly music bleeds through the silence. 

And back in the real world, there are a lot of small children screaming as the creature squeals at them showing off its small teeth before diving back into his leg a bit. 

“You control this place, Eddie. I mean I can navigate it but in the end, it is all you. So let’s see where you are leading us.” Cassie gets up and brushes off her butt as she does so. 

Eddie gets up quickly and starts guiding her off towards the music. It sounds like it is inspired by the music she hears in the car when she takes rides from him. Cassie starts lightly dancing around as they go off into the fog surrounding the lake. As Eddie is about to enter he turns back and offers his hand which she takes with a smile as they break the fogline. 

As Cassie and Eddie walk through they can’t see anything, Eddie uses the music to guide them through the fog until they reach a place that is familiar to the two of them.

“You’re kidding me right?” Cassie looks at Eddie in surprise.

“What?”

“I go to the Hideout in fifty-cent beer nights with some of Steve’s friends sometimes.” She then laughs. “I didn’t know this was you.” At this Eddie’s eyes go wide and he points at her which she shakes her head at. “I’m DD silly. I just danced around and wrangled in the drunks.”

“Wait! You were the Ellen Ripley who had to reign in the drunk fairy?” Suddenly the scene around them shifts for a bit and there are a bunch of jocks who don’t even hide they are high schoolers at the bar getting another pitcher for their table. There are a few girls in costume. There is a witch, a fairy, and Ellen Ripley. After the girls laugh at a joke one of them said Eddie and his friends finish their song and begin a new one. Cassie begins to lightly dance with the other girls as Corroded Coffin begins. 

The memory seems to be focused on a few locations, what is happening on stage, at the bar, and at the table she is at. The rest seems blurry and unfocused. Cassie’s younger self then turns to reveal their face and it looks distorted. Cassie laughs as she sees this. 

She then looks to her right as she feels a tap but doesn’t notice anyone. She smiles sadly and turns around.

“Hey, Eddie?”

“Yeah?”

“We gotta go.”

“What?” Suddenly Cassie and Eddie are back in the Wheeler basement.

El is next to the two of them and on the ground is a pile of flesh with a face full of teeth. Eddie’s eyes take a second to go back to normal before he looks at the mound and quickly scoots as far as he can away. Cassie reaches around Eddie for the box of tissues and starts to dab her nose before she offers a clean and fresh one to El.

“And I didn’t get grabs so we should be all set right?” Cassie asks as she looks around to see the fearful eyes of the kids. “You know what Eddie? I think we should go. I don’t want to freak them out more.” Cassie hands back her frozen bag of peas. Cassie then offers her less injured hand to Eddie and pulls him up away from the mess on the floor. “Let me know if you guys ever need anything. I’m one call away.” Lucas then rummages in his bag and hands Cassie a radio which she looks at confused.

“We use this to communicate with each other. If Billy tries to come after you two again just say ‘Code Red’ and explain without being too specific about the situation. Government stuff.” Cassie and Eddie give Lucas a wide-eyed look before looking at each other in concern. 

“Well, kids don’t get grabbed by those things,” Cassie says as she guides a slightly shocked Eddie to the stairs. “But, something forbid and you guys need a place away from parents give me a call and I can probably lend you guys a room at my place for a bit.” Cassie then runs up the stairs leaving the kids very confused about what just happened.

[novelist-becca]

It’s the terror of knowing (what this world is about)

AO3

Fandom: The Owl House

Relationships: Luz & Vee

Rating: Teen

Summary: Vee and Luz have a long, overdue talk. Title is from the song “Under Pressure” by Queen and David Bowie.

Luz was definitely acting…off. That much was true. 

  Vee had yet to know why, though. 

  Ever since the human girl came home for real, her demeanor compared to months ago had changed. Now, she acted more tired, spoke less about the demon realm, and changed the subject whenever somebody asked. 

  And if she ever started choking up, one or more of her friends (who Vee was still reluctant to go near) would offer a hug. 

  But… after that, Luz would go back to smiling as if nothing happened. 

  It was scary. Not in a “she’s out to hurt me” way. But the girl was a ticking time bomb. 

  Sometimes, Luz would sneak a glance at Vee and change her expression to a more cheerful one. Letting her know she was still part of this home. Her happiness always felt forced .

  Vee also didn’t miss how sad Luz looked whenever Vee spoke Spanish with Camila, or talked about her camp friends in conversation. Or when either of them were called mija. 

  Despite her words to Luz on that day, she couldn’t help but feel concerned. 

Vee finally decided to take action when she came downstairs to get water, and caught Luz lying alone on the couch, wide awake. 

“Hey,” Vee greeted. She didn’t miss the human’s slight jump at hearing her voice. 

  “Oh!” Luz gasped. “H-hi, Vee. I didn’t see ya.” 

  Once again, Luz had the forced energy in her voice. 

  Vee gestured to the fridge. “…did you want some water too?” 

  The human was silent for a moment before nodding, and Vee went to fill two glasses before sitting on the couch adjacent to the human. 

  Luz looked very confused and averted her eyes. “Aren’t you gonna go back upstairs?” 

  Vee shook her head. “Mm-mm, don’t wanna.”

  “Okay…?”

  “Besides,” she took a glance at Luz. “You look like you could use some company. Mo - I mean Camila, says it’s bad to stay up this late.”

  Luz looked back to her. ���You know, it’s okay to call her ‘mom’ too, right? I don’t mind…”

  “Right, right,” Vee nodded nervously. 

  “I have someone back in the demon realm that I called ‘mom’ a few times, so I know how you…” Luz caught herself then and waved her hands. “I-I mean, not that it matters ! My point is that you’re family too!” 

  Concern spiked at how Luz’s voice shook after mentioning said person. 

  Sure, some part of her was irritated at how Luz would replace Camila so easily. But another part told her to be patient and listen.

  That’s not why she’s staying out here. 

  Vee cleared her throat. “So, uh…are you okay?”

  “Yeah, totally! Why wouldn’t I be?” Luz answered immediately, looking out the window.

  “You don’t seem okay. You’ve been acting weird.” 

  The girl started to rub her arms nervously. “Well, I…” 

  “You’ve been acting weird, and it’s getting scary.” 

  Luz’s eyes widened. “Oh shoot, I didn’t accidentally offend you, did I?”

  Vee shook her head. “No, no, not like that. Just… you seem down.” 

  “I’m fine, really.” The human girl insisted. “You don’t have to worry about me.” 

  “But you look so sad all the time!” 

  Luz sighed and looked down. “I was hoping you wouldn’t notice…” she mumbled under her breath. She probably thought Vee didn’t hear. 

  “Look, Luz, I’m not stupid,” 

  “Never said you were…” Luz’s voice crackled. “I’m sorry,” 

  “I don’t like seeing you sad!” Luz actually looked surprised at that statement. “You’re always letting those witches comfort you, and you’re always comforting them, but you don’t actually sound happy.

  “Did something…happen, before you came back?” Vee asked slowly. 

  At that, the human frowned and clenched her hands around her jacket sleeves. So tight that her knuckles turned white. 

  “I… it doesn’t matter.” She mumbled in a low voice. 

  “It does if you’re acting like this,” Vee pushed. She hated how Luz looked like she was about to cry. Hated how forlorn Mom looked whenever she saw her. 

  The human shook her head furiously. “I can’t, not now…” 

  “Why not?”

  “I-I just can’t!” 

  “Look, I know we’re not…close, but I don’t like being in the dark when family is hurting!” Vee urged. 

  Luz looked up, eyes shining and lips in a thin line. “You…see me as family?” 

  “…well, yes, but don’t change the subject, okay! Why can’t you talk to me about it?” 

  Luz looked away once more. “I- you wouldn’t understand.” 

  “Don-don’t say that. Please. I want to understand.” 

  “Do you?” There was a hint of hope in her voice. 

  Vee nodded. “I wanna try,” 

  “Okay, okay, well, something did happen, alright?” Luz stood up, her voice shook and her fists clenched. “In the demon realm, I lost my family. The Day of Unity happened, and s-so much stuff happened, and-and I don’t know if they’re okay, or if they’re dead, and now my best friends are stuck here because of me, and I love them too much, and I just, I can’t stop feeling so trapped!” She was panting by the end of her rant, and she scrubbed fiercely at her teary eyes. 

  For a moment, Vee didn’t speak. This human - the same one that helped save her from the scary museum guy - was holding so much pain, it’s a wonder she didn’t explode. 

  “I-I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have rambled so much, you don’t like hearing about the demon realm…” 

  “… why haven’t you talked about this? Did you tell Mom?” 

  Luz mumbled something under her breath. 

  “What?”

  “Not all of it. Didn’t wanna bother her. Besides…” the girl’s shoulders shook, and Vee hesitantly placed a hand on it. 

  “Besides…what?” 

  Luz snapped her head up. “Everybody else has it worse, okay?! My friends got separated from their families, probably for good if we never figure this out, and you have been having such a good time here after what you’ve been through! And me…

  She hugged one of her legs against her chest. “I should be happy now. I got what I wanted, to be with my mom again… so I’m not allowed to cry about this.”

  “Is that really what you think?” Vee hesitated to ask. 

  “You kinda said it yourself, right? I have a mom that loves me, I have a good life . I should be grateful that I’m back.”

  Oh. 

  Vee couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable at the reminder of saying that. Although, it felt true at the time. The human ran away from such a wonderful life. But now, she is starting to regret that.

  “And yet…I’m so unhappy. Why am I so unhappy?” Luz covered her eyes. 

  Vee stayed silent again, not knowing what to say. Luz must’ve noticed, because she stood up, getting ready to leave.

  “I’m so sorry, I-I should go back upstairs…”

  “No!” Vee cried out, grabbing the human’s wrist, startling her. “I’m not mad at you!” 

  “You should be… I can’t tell you why yet, but you should be.” 

  “Please, just sit back down…” Vee asked. 

  “You wanna know something else, Vee?” Luz began. “I’m a little jealous of you. You’re just…the perfect daughter for Mom. You work perfectly with her. You’re not reckless, you’re kind to her, you even have friends here!

  “But me, I didn’t have anyone except Mom here. You say I had a good life? Well, I’m a nobody in this town. I was bullied at school, my teachers hated me, everybody hated me. I never felt like my own person here. In fact, that’s one of the reasons I was sent to that camp. I’m a bad kid. I thought… part of me thought Mom didn’t love me anymore.” 

  Oh. 

  Now she really regretted saying those words to Luz. Granted, she hadn’t gone to school yet, but if she’d known this much she wouldn’t have…

  Vee folded her hands in her lap. “…You don’t seem like a bad kid to me.” 

  After all, the girl saved her and welcomed her.

  “Heh. I wish I could believe that.” 

  “Stop. Look, I understand now, okay?” 

  “No, it’s fine.”

  “It’s not ! You’re hurting now!” Vee was starting to feel frustrated.

  “Not as bad as you or everyone else!” Luz cried. “I can’t cry, I have to stay strong for them, this situation isn’t about me!” She sniffled. “I’m sorry, I love this house, I love my mother, but I can’t bring myself to be happy now, I want to be, but…I can’t. Not without them.”

  “Who?” 

  “My other family. I miss them. I’m so tired of feeling like this…”

  Vee unfolded her hands and leaned forward, wrapping her arms awkwardly but tightly around Luz. 

  This was how Mom did it, right? 

  “Vee?” Luz gasped. She didn’t push away, however. 

  “Is-is this okay? Mom always does this when I’m sad…” 

  Then Luz hugged back, albeit with a looser grip. “Of course it’s okay…I love hugs…” she said shakily.

  Vee stayed silent and held Luz close, allowing her to cry for what she assumed was the first in a while. At least, in front of her. 

  Sure, they didn’t truly know each other aside from how Vee technically almost replaced Luz, but the human had a good heart. Too good. She gave her home away to a creature she just met. Allowing her to have an identity. She seemed to have room in her heart for everyone.

  Vee didn’t know her like those witches, but she did want the human to feel happy. Mom wanted her to be happy. 

  For heavens sake, she was acting like this wasn’t even her house! 

  Following Mom’s example, Vee started to gently stroke up and down Luz’s back, mindful of her small claws. The human seemed to relax further.

  After a while, Luz pulled away and wiped her reddening eyes. 

  “Thank you…you didn’t have to,” she sniffled. 

  “I wanted to. You were sad.” 

  Luz didn’t respond, just smiled sadly. 

  “Also, I shouldn’t have said those things to you. It was mean.” 

  The human huffed. “You don’t have to apologize, you had a worse life than me. Of course you’d think I had it better.” 

  “But that doesn’t mean I didn’t disregard your feelings about it! Your pain is real . Even if I didn’t know, I hurt you! I’m sorry. And Mom still loves you!” 

  It hurts to know she thinks these things about herself.

  Luz looked to the side before leaning her head on the back of the couch. “Well…do you like your new life?” 

  Vee smiled and scratched her cheek. “If I’m being honest…yes. I love it here. I never want to leave. This house is wonderful, and Mom is so kind to me. And so are you!” 

  “That’s good. You deserve it.” Luz had warmth in her eyes now. “If it’s all the same to you, I think you should stay.”

  Vee’s ears pricked up. “Really?!”

  “Yeah, Mom deserves you. And if I’m being honest - and I hope this doesn’t sound weird!” Luz blushed and waved her hands in front of her face. “With you here, it kinda feels like you’re a sister.” 

  “Sister?” Vee cocked her head. She knew what a sister was, but the idea of having one never crossed her mind. 

  “Y-yeah! You know, back ho - in the demon realm , I had a, uh, little brother of sorts. He was wonderful. If you stayed here, it’d be awesome .” Luz sounded more confident. 

  “Actually now that I think about it, the way we ended up in different dimensions is more similar than I thought…” Luz whispered to herself. 

  “But what about how I took your place? I still take your form sometimes.” Vee reminded her. “We can’t just tell people we’re ‘twins’.” 

  “Shoot, you’re right… well, um… we’ll help you figure out your own look. And nobody said we couldn’t pass as siblings.” 

  “How do you mean?” 

  “Mom already adopted you, technically.” Luz explained. “Adoptive siblings are still siblings. No one will bat an eye. Maybe we could even finally make use of my bunk bed!”

  “Huh, I never thought about that.” Vee rubbed her chin. “I guess we can try it.” 

  She supposed she’d have to reveal herself to her camp friends later, which was a terrifying thought, but…

  Waking up with Luz every morning, helping Mom around the house, doing what the sisters in movies do… it sounded appealing. 

  “Sweet!” Luz quietly cheered. Then, “Look, I’m sorry for snapping. You must be tired.”

  “I am.” Vee chuckled. “But I’m glad we talked. If it’s any consolation, Luz?”

  “Hm?” 

  “I’d like you as a sister too.” Vee gently nudged Luz’s shoulder. 

  The human blushed and then yawned. “Jeez, what time is it?” 

  Vee saw with a wince that the wall clock read 3:00am. 

  “We should both get some sleep.” Vee cringed.

  Luz yawned again and laid on her side. “I agree, our mom is gonna be worried sick if she catches us both up. Surprised she didn’t come down by now…” she trailed off. 

  Our mom…

  “Let’s just sleep out here…” Vee yawned as well. She took one of the throw blankets off the back of the couch and draped it over herself. Luz did the same across from her with the other blanket. 

  They both adjusted themselves so that they were facing away, but the crowns of their heads were touching. Their feet were also hanging over the arms of the couch, but they’d make due.

  “Vee?”

  “Yeah?” 

  “Thank you for talking to me…I feel better now,” That was a white lie, of course Luz wouldn’t feel completely better, but the talk was still good. “I hope you feel less lonely.”

  “You’re welcome. You - you’re a nice person.” Vee said softly. The human didn’t answer, but she would assume for now that she heard. 

  If Luz ended up staying in the human realm, or still visited, or anything happened where she could come back, Vee liked the idea of having her as a human sister. 

  And if Camila came downstairs in the morning and noticed her two girls snoozing away on the couch, she didn’t say anything. 

  She also wouldn’t tell them that she heard their conversation. Or about the many photos she snapped on her phone. 

[beatleszeppelin]

Puddles (of Water) on the Bathroom Floor

Summary: Dwayne is sick, really sick, so when Olive has a pageant in California, you get called to babysit. To babysit Dwayne!

Category: Sick Fic, Hurt/Comfort

Warnings: vomit, fever, taking medication, lots of crying, swearing...

Word Count: 3.5k

Note: This is an unfinished work, I don't know if it will ever be finished... but here it is anyway.

Babysitter in the Bathtub

You are in the bath, and you hear  a call on the landline. Your mom yells through the bathroom door to tell you that Sheryl called and she has a babysitting job .

You have your mom give you the phone while you are in the bath, hand creeping around the door.

You put it on speaker on the toilet lid, and ask when she needs you. 

“I actually have a weird request.” “Okay shoot” 

“Well, for the school break there is going to be a pageant that my sister wants Olive to be in, Frank is also going, because he hasn’t seen her since he’s been out of the hospital. And Richard refuses to stay home, because of some work thing.” “No, yeah I totally understand, but what is it that you need me to do?” 

“Well Olive was sick last week, with a stomach bug, she’s all better now,” she added, “but Dwayne has it, and I just don’t feel comfortable leaving him alone when he’s sick.”

“I’m available anytime.” 

“Thank you so much, we’ll be gone from the 8th to the 11th, unless Olive wins top three, in which we may have to stay in California ‘til the 14th for some sort of ceremony, but I doubt he will still be sick by then.”

“Do you need me to stay at your house then, or…”

“No, no, just once or twice a day, to check up on him. Maybe make sure he eats something, and force him to take medicine when he needs it, he probably wouldn’t take it even if his temperature was 110,” she sounds exhausted.

“Hey, don’t worry about it, I’ll be over tomorrow morning, what time are you guys leaving?”

“Too early, I’ll leave you a note with instructions walking you through everything.”

“Sounds good, and make sure to call and tell me how Olive does, and wish her luck for me.” You start finishing up the call to let them pack.

“I will, and thanks for helping on such short notice.”

“No problem, and Sheryl, I hope you have a good time on the trip.”

“Thank you, I’ll call you when we get there, bye.”

“Bye.”

Your arm was dripping on the floor, as you hung up the phone. 

Shot Glass of Pink Syrup

Late morning the next day, you knock on the Hoover’s door, after waiting a minute, you let yourself in.  Dwayne isn’t in the living room or kitchen, so he must be in his room. 

A bottle of liquid Tylenol was set next to a shot glass on the dining table, and a note was left on a yellow legal pad. The note reads: Left at 5a.m. He was feeling fine, so he didn’t take medicine. However, Dwayne was up, miserable all last night. I will write you a check when we get back. I also left $40 on the counter, if you need to order a pizza… Thanks again for doing this! 

And at the bottom of the paper was their sister Cindy’s number, just in case you needed to call.

Your feet sunk into the shag carpet with every step down the hall to Dwayne’s room. After the last trip, Frank got his own room, so Dwayne was alone in here. You stood outside the door, left open a jar, seeing him lay on his bed. His sheets were sagging down the edge of the bed, dripping down to the floor.

“Dwayne, you awake?” There was no response, meaning you would need to wake him to take his temperature. It felt strange, entering his room without him knowing. You walked in, shimming in through the crack in the door, so his door didn’t squeak to wake him. 

He lay on his side, in grey sweatpants and a white shirt, face half pressed into the pillow, and his mouth open. His feet were tangled in the remnants of the bedding. 

You looked around, the Nietzsche banner was down, and his room was warmer than you remember, not just in color, temperature too. You got close to the bed, “Dwayne,” you said again. You reached out to shake him, not knowing where to touch, so your arm stayed out for a long moment. 

You set your hand down on his hip, but not letting your fingers grip down to touch his butt. You shook him a little, repeating his name in a louder tone. 

“Mom?” His eyes barely opened. 

“Ummm no, it’s me. I’m just going to take your temperature.” You looked to his side table, a thermometer was laying next to a half full movie theater cup of water. You picked it up, and his head fell back to the pillow, and with seemingly no depth perception he reached for the instrument. 

He placed it under his tongue, mercury rapidly rising. 

After an awkward moment of you standing over him, he took the tube from his mouth. The numbers had peaked at a little over 101. 

“Woah, okay. You must be burning.” You ran your hand up his arm, and squeezed at his shoulder. He flinched away, skin probably sore. “I’m going to grab you some medicine, how are you feeling?”

He didn’t respond, rather shrugging in place.

You walked back down the hall, and straight to the counter, where a bottle of tylenol sits. You pick it up, reading for the dosage, but they all seem to be for children 12 and under. You decide that filling the shot up would get the job done, and return to his bedside, walking tentatively, as to not spill. 

He was more presentable, his hair was laying more smoothly than when you’d left him, and you noticed his dyed black hair was a light brown at the roots now. He was also sitting up. 

You handed the shot glass of pink syrup to him. He shivered, and shut his eyes tight. “You really don’t like this stuff do you?” You picked up his water and held it out to him.

He swallowed the medicine swiftly, gagged once, then his hand shot to his stomach, and the other over his mouth. Dwayne groaned, taking his hand off of his mouth to take your drink offering. Every swallow was loud, like he was trying to keep something down, by drinking quickly.

“I was gonna check on you, then go home to eat. Come back tonight,” you said, sitting next to Dwayne on his bed, “but I could go get food for the both of us, and maybe stop and get you some adult medicine if you want.”

His lip was still wobbly. He hummed a pleased sound, that you decided to take as a yes.

“Should I wait until the medicine starts to work or should I leave soon?” You asked him.

“I am getting hungry,” he said bashfully, setting his now empty cup on the nightstand.

“I’ll leave now, then.” You picked up his cup and took it to the kitchen to fill. 

It fills slowly under the low water pressure of the facet, giving you time to look at the art and pictures that seem to riddle every corner of the house. Photos of Sheryl and Richard’s wedding overlapped report cards with A’s and B’s in every subject and Dwayne’s name at the top. You never knew his last name until looking at it; you had always assumed that his last name was just the same as the rest of the Hoover’s. 

The water had filled and overflowed into the sink. You dump some out before returning it to its rightful place on the nightstand. Dwayne was in the bathroom, so you yelled that you were leaving, and grabbed your keys off the table. 

Frozen Taquitos on a Sick Stomach

An hour and a half of running around town brought you back to The Hoover’s house, with a full tank of gas, a five dollar footlong from Subway, and two cans of soup. No medicine. 

You walk in their front door, and are met with Dwayne sitting at the table reading a book. He stands to offer you help, and you wave him off. 

“I got a sandwich for myself, and I got you some soup,” You set the bag on the table, “I couldn’t get the medicine though, apparently you need to be 21 for that.”

He dug through the bag, and held up the two soups. 

“Thank you for trying, I’m going to eat the soup later I think. Right now I could go for some real food though.”

“Are you sure? That might make you sick.” You got your sandwich out of the bag, unwrapping it, and Dwayne handed you a plate.

“I am fine, right now at least,” he said standing by you at the table.

“You’re free to have my other half.” You slid the plate over to him, and opened the bread, exposing the sandwiches middle. The fileted sandwich had jalapenos covering the top layer of anything edible so he had to refuse. “Just because you aren’t sick right now, doesn’t mean that the symptoms are gone, so you might not want to eat anything too harsh. Just incase it fucks with your stomach.” He was already digging out a box of taquitos from the freezer, covered in ice. “I think I’m fine,” he mumbled as he put them on a plate. He wrapped them in a paper towel and threw the plate into the microwave.

A minute…

He takes the wrapped taquitos off of the hot turntable, and grabs some salsa from the refrigerator. He, along with the plate and jar, go and sit on the couch to eat.

You join him and reach for the remote on the middle of the coffee table. You turn it to Nick, and enjoy the shows about kids going to school, and living without adults.

After a couple episodes pass, Dwayne sits up. He’s pale, and looks like he’s sweating. 

“Are you okay, you look like you’re going to be sick?” You lean toward the edge of the couch ready to stand, just like he is.

Dwayne picks his plate up to take to the kitchen, but bending down must not have helped his stomach. He sets it back down, and slowly starts walking out of the room. He only gets half way across the carpet before he says, “I don’t feel good.”

Almost immediately after announcing, he falls down to his knees behind the couch, and he turns his head away. His fists are tight, and he rubs them up and down his legs. He is shaking, but you can’t see his face.

His hands stop making fists, and he moves them up to cover his face. 

You don’t move.

After a second however, you ask, “do you need help getting to the bathroom now?” 

He nods.

You tiptoe around the coffee table, behind the couch, and meet him still in a ball. He doesn’t lift his head when you approach, rather he tucks it closer to his chest. You place your arms under his armpits.

He’s sweaty and hot, and you assume that his medicine has worn off by now. You walk him to the bathroom down the hall, holding up most of his weight.

You leave him at the door, and ask that he keep the door unlocked, in case he needs you. Then you yell from outside the door, “where does your mom keep the towels?” 

“Hall closet,” speaking loudly makes his voice break.

Opening the hall closet, you see a tower going to the ceiling of towels, sheets, blankets, and what might be curtains, (but you didn’t see the metal rings). You pull out a dark towel, straight from the middle of the stack and surprisingly it doesn’t fall. 

“Can I hand it to you,” you ask, already prepared to close your eyes tight. A skinny arm shimmies around the corner, and you pass it over.

The water starts and you decide to sit on the floor outside, like camping out overnight for a concert. You need to be there for him, just in case he needs you.

Sitting on the floor back to the wall, you play with the carpet. Then after a few boring moments, you stretch your legs out and reach for your toes as far as you can. You can hear water splashing down, and bottles clunking and sputtering out soap or shampoo, or whatever part of the process he may be at.

Wonder if you can do the splits? You stand and start inching yourself down, until your legs start burning, and you topple back. 

Boredom overtakes you and you wander to Dwayne's room and start looking at his bookshelf. Symposium, Thus Spoke, Remembrance of Things… 

The hot water hitting Dwayne’s back felt good at first, but soon the heat overcame him. His head felt heavy, dizzy, and faint. He tipped his head down, and held on to the side of the tub, this only worsened the feeling. The room spun and his stomach growled angrily. “Are you out there?” He could only conjure a whisper while bending down, before he started to burp. “Can you come in and help? Please.” He tried swallowing back this nauseous feeling, but it quickly turned. 

He swiped the shower curtain away, and his hands hit the edge of the toilet, catching his falling body. With a crash he opened the toilet…

And a crashing sound pulled you from your snooping. You stumbled around the doorway, and hesitated by the door, until you heard gagging. 

You opened the solid wood door, and saw Dwayne’s head in the toilet, one leg in the shower, the other dripping puddles of water onto the linoleum floor. The wet shower curtain clung around his body, which was wracked with gags and/or sobs. He heaved breaths, and choked on the mostly liquid that quickly evacuated from his stomach. 

You took his towel off the floor and held it out for him. He soon got a break from his violent vomiting, and wrapped the towel around his body, replacing the shower curtain. You could then help him get his footing and turn off the shower, ignoring the pile of wet clothes in the bottom of the shower from earlier. 

Now, hugged into his own body, he shook, near the toilet. His hair dripped shampoo, and he sat in the puddle of water he had created. His lip wobbled and he hummed a whimpering tone to keep his gag reflex at bay.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know how to help you,” you said as the first thing since you entered the room.

He cried at your statement. Bubbles from his hair dripped down into his reddened eyes, burning on contact. 

“Where are your washcloths?” You started looking in the cabinets before you could even finish your question. 

He pointed to the hall, and you ran out to the hall closet and the tower of towels. Which sounds like a ride at Disneyland, but now was not the time.

You pulled one from the basket, feeling for the softest one in the bin. More retching stopped your testing, and you returned to his side. 

You put your hand on his shoulder, waiting patiently for the wave of nausea to subside. Guttural sounds and high scents filled the tiny bathroom, making you feel sick. Now was no time for you to throw up, though so you kept it to yourself.

Minutes of retching, dry heaving, and sobs, left Dwayne exhausted with snot and tears all over his face. You turned around for a second so he could put on boxers off of the counter, and dry off his lower half. 

“Can I look now?” You were turned toward the bathroom door, with your hands covering your eyes so you couldn’t accidentally see anything in the mirror.

He pulled at your shirt, since his throat was probably killing him from the horrible gags and sobs. 

Turning, you find him slumped down on the toilet, wearing blue checkered boxers, and a towel around his shoulders. His eyes are a painful red. They are puffy, and pathetically swelled. He still has shampoo falling down his half black hair.

“If you sit on the edge of the tub and lean over, can I get the shampoo out of your hair?” 

He stood up, and sat at the edge. He leaned forward, and sat back up abruptly. He looked to you with a whine and a waver of a frown. You took the washcloth from earlier, and wet it in the sink, then took it to his snotty face. After that you wet it again, ringing it out on top of his head, excess water running into his towel that rest on his tired shoulders.

A couple more times and the suds were gone. He reached up like a toddler who wanted to be picked up and you knew his mission was a similar one. He put his hands on your shoulders to help himself stand, then kept them there as he finished getting dressed in his most comfortable pajamas. 

You walked him to his bed, whence he finished getting dressed. And pulled back his covers for him. The less bending he does the better.

The movie theater cup still stands on the nightstand, empty. A helpful thing that you decide to do is fill it up again and keep Dwayne hydrated. So this time, not wanting to stray too far, you take it to the bathroom to fill. You walk out with the cup, and hear a small noise, and assume that it is Dwayne getting comfortable in bed. The tap runs cold, and the pressure fills the cup slowly.

You shut it off with a squeak, and carry it carefully back to the bedroom, not spilling any more puddles of water. 

When you arrived at the side of his bed, Dwayne had rolled away from you. His shoulders shook and he shivered in his [color] shirt. “Hey, what’s wrong?” You grabbed his trash can from the side of his desk, and thankfully it was lined. “Are you gonna be sick again?”

“I’m sorry,” he whined, and shook his head.

“It’s okay,” you said, not knowing exactly what he was meaning, but knowing what it was about. “What do you need?”

He rolled back over to face you, and his eyes were puffy and his cheeks were red. He started to cry, and you repeated your previous question. “I want… I want my mom,” he choked out.

Your eyes welled up at his request, and you felt it all the way to your stomach. But not a moment later, you composed yourself. “I can call her if you’d like.” He covered his face with his hand, and you heard a muffled, “No, I just want her.”

“May I sit down,” you gestured to the edge of his bed.

He started crying harder, and you made the split decision to sit down next to him. His childlike sobs were loud, and shook the bed you shared. He whined a little, too. 

You rubbed up and down his shoulder, offering comfort in any way you could. Soon, you lay down next to him, and started to play with his still damp hair. 

He bit his hand to quiet the sobs that wrack his body. But quickly you pulled his hand away, so he didn’t hurt himself. Although you were too late and a bruise in a crescent moon shape was already visible.

After a little time, his breathing had become more calm, and his body was only slightly shuddering.

“Hey Dwayne, do you want to try to fall asleep? After a fever, everything in the bathroom, and now this, it’s no wonder you felt like crying. Anyone would be exhausted. And that’s nothing to be embarrassed about, btw’s.”

He peeked out from behind his hands, eyes still glassy from the tears, and he lay his head down on the pillow next to the one you leaned back on. You rubbed his back. His eyelids fell closed, and his eyelashes stuck together from wetness. 

The sun shone in through the gaps in the blinds and lit up his chest, and created reflections across the tear tracks on his cheeks. His breathing was now deep and even, so you eased yourself off of the bed. 

You cleaned up lunch from the living room. Throwing both of the leftover plates away. And then you remembered the clothes in the shower, and all of the water on the bathroom floor that you could help clean while you waited for Dwayne to wake up.

You pushed open the bathroom door, keeping a hand on the handle so you wouldn’t make much noise, then you almost slipped and fell on your ass, so the handle really helped.

[vquacki]

It's My Fatherly Duties!

It's My Fatherly Duties!

Short DAD Scenarios 

Characters: BONTEN - Rindou Haitani, Ran Haitani, Sanzu Haruchiyo

~ Inui Seishu, Kokonoi Hajime, Izana Kurokawa, 

~ Souya Kawata (Angry), Nahoya Kawata (Smiley)

Warning ⚠︎︎ : Mature content, cussing, MINORS DNI

Note : requested, I added some characters. Hope ya don’t mind! These are pretty short, just little things I put together. Word barf kinda..? Anyways- I hope you enjoy :))

R I N D O U 

His lashes fluttered open when he heard a loud crash coming from the hallway, along with a string of cuss words sounding like his daughter's voice. 

“What the hell was that?” You groaned, not a single word was uttered from your husband when he sprung out of bed, bolting to the bedroom down the corridor.

“Tohru?!” Rindou yelled, flinging open the door. Revealing your teenage daughter fully dressed, half way through her second story window. A facade of pillows under her blanket seeminging meant to be her ‘sleeping body’.

“Oh dad, I-”

“What the hell are you doing” The man was fuming by the ears, pajamas ruffled when he jolted out of his slumber. 

“Is Tohru okay?” You peeked from behind the broad shouldered man. 

“I was just going to get fresh air!” Your daughter lied, making up a somewhat excuse to appease her angered father. 

“Hey Tohru! Hurry up and get down here!” You heard a boy's voice call out, looking over at Rindou’s face to see the man's darkened expression.

“Who the fuck is down there? Is that a boy?!” He growled, stomping his feet over to the glass. Pushing past his daughter to take a look. 

“Oh shit- her dads here. Let’s book it!” The kids whispered, but loud enough for Rindou to make out, hastily running down the dark street. 

“You little shits! Don't you dare come back here!” Rindou growled, slamming the window shut in the process. 

“What! Dad!” Tohru whined, 

“You're so grounded young lady!” Rindou shouted, not caring for the sleeping neighbors beside his shared condo at three in the morning. 

“Rin, she was just having some fun!” You defended, you were also like her when you were her age, trouble makers run in your blood. Actually Rindou couldn't even talk- he was running roppongi at her age.  

“No! She's just too young to be hanging out with boys!” Rindou’s brows joined together as he withered in front of you. 

“But we dated when we were her age-” You deadpanned at him, 

“Grounded! My final answer!” 

R A N  

Ran was coming home from a late night bonten meeting, mouth agape when he saw his daughter’s feet dangling out from her window. 

Fearing the worst he sprinted to the ground below his child, hands outstretched to catch her if she were to misstep. 

“Mitsuri!” His voice boomed,

“Eh? Dad?!” His daughter stuttered, slowly slid out the window, climbing down like she had done this many times prior to this awkward occurrence. 

Toes easily touching the grass with ease, not a scratch upon the females porcelain skin. 

“Ran?” You yawned, cracking the door ajar. It was late, you waking up to your husband's screams outside your house. 

“Mitsuri, what are you doing climbing out your window like a maniac?!” Ran scowled, hands running through his messed up hair. Sweat dripping down his temple from the not so pleasant adrenaline rush. 

“I was just gonna hang out with some friends..” your daughter answered, fingers gripping the edge of her shirt, scarily waiting for her dad’s reaction. 

“At this time of night? .. out your window?”

“Ye-”

“Phone privileges. Give me it.” Ran demanded, palm stretched out. 

“But-” no question she was a tad bit spoiled by her father. You being the bad cop, while your husband played the good cop for his beloved daughter. 

“If you want to go anywhere all you got to do is ask!” Ran plucked the phone from his daughter's hand, a wave of relief washing over him. Secretly thanking whatever being watching over him that it wasn't some sort of gang related subject. 

“This is what you get for spoiling her!” You laughed from the sidelines, hand clutching your stomach.

“This is your fault too ya know!” Ran argued. 

“I’m the one who tries to discipline her! But someone always lets it go!” You emphasized the special somebody. 

“Whatever” Ran sighed, This was a lesson for the usual carefree man, a special lesson he wouldn't forget in the many years to come with his unborn future children. 

S A N Z U 

It was Sanzu’s best day of his life when his daughters were born, the two only being about one year apart. They were spoiled to the core, anything they wanted their money liberl father blessed them with. He thought they were the sweetest things ever, them both being a daddy's girl after all. 

He never would have expected to see both of his daughters outside his humble abode, standing beside two boys, most likely a double date. 

He stared in shock, hands pressed firmly against the glass, teeth gritting. 

“Huh? I tucked them into bed an hour ago” You rubbed your eyes, riding yourself of the sleepiness threatening to drown you. The pink haired only tutted his teeth, swifty twisting the door knob to confront the four children outside. 

“Oh you better run” your oldest daughter whispered, gesturing for the boys to make haste from her deadly father. 

“You better not come back here, unless you want trouble you fuckers!” Sanzu yelled, red in the eyes from anger. Not bothering to chase after the two scoundrels. 

“Dad, mom! What are you guys doing awake?” Your youngest asked, sheer panic in her eyes, watching her insane fathers unpleasant smile. 

“I swear you two will be the death of me” Sanzu uttered, shoving his hands into his pockets. A irked gleen in his orbs as he stared them down. 

“They were just friends dad, stop overreacting” the older daughter said, 

“I- You little shi-” He bit his lip to suppress his anger fueled words, knowing well it would definitely hurt his precious children's feelings. Having regretted it later if he were to say those sinful words. 

“Now now Sanzu, let's head to bed” You wrapped your arms around your lover, dragging him inside the house. 

“You can sort out their punishment tomorrow, after a good night's sleep” , coating him with reassuring words. That day he learned how misjudged he was of his children, even so he still loved them with all his heart.

I Z A N A 

Izana had his feet kicked up, relaxing in his office while he watched the moon. He had a clear view, the street lamps positioned next to the sidewalk, the side of his beautiful house facing his office window. He was enjoying his free time, mind taking over his body while he thought about his life choices. He was in ease until he saw his son's window light up, a long string of rope being tossed out the opening. 

Sitting up from his chair, he rushed over to his clear casement. Throwing his window open, a boy and girl standing beneath his son's window. The two holding the rope still as your child tried to slid down. 

“My my Yuki, where are you off to?” Izana laughed, nerves finally relaxing when he figured out what was going on. Calmly settling into the frame, head leaning on his chin. It wasn't like he had the right to be upset, he did much worse when he was his son's age. Robbing, fighting, killing. You name it, Izana’s done it. 

Sneaking out was nothing compared to what he did, but he wasn't gonna just let his son go. He was more wise now, he knew for a fact he didn't want his son to end up anything like him. Sure, he wanted the boy to have fun, but in a normal kid way. 

“Dad! Um- I”

“You better get your arse back up that window before I drag you around with that rope” Izana smiled, Totally different from the sentence he was portraying. Not forgetting his manners, giving a nonchalant wave to the other two kids. 

“Zana? Who are you talking to?” You asked, placing a cup of tea you had prepared for Izana on his desk. 

“Oh no one doll” Izana answered, closing the window before walking over to you. 

“Let's go to bed, yeah?” He proposed, trailing his hands around your shoulders, guiding you to the door.

“But the tea I made”

“Im tired~” 

Overall the male wouldn't want to talk further about the situation, nor would he discuss it with you. Trivial matters held no place between you both, as long as the child did not dare do it again. 

I N U I 

Inui wiped the sweat dripping from his forehead, the AC wasnt working at the motor shop. Him, draken and yourself were sweating bullets, the hot material around you not helping. You had decided to help the pair around the shop, cleaning what you could. Or helping with cashing every customer out, it would've been an easy task if it wasn't blazing hot. 

Leaving your daughter home alone, obviously thinking she’d stay and do her teenage things. You couldn't be more mistaken, astounded as you watched her fiddle around with a boy across the street at the ice cream parlor. 

“Y/N please don't tell me that Kagura..” Inui’s jaw dropped, the wrench that was once in his clasp dropping to the ground. Startling the concentrating Draken that was crouched over a motorbike. 

“What's wrong Inui? Y/N” Draken twisted his body around, raising a brow when you two just started muttering to each other like two creeps. 

“Is that... a boy” Inui held his chin between his fingers, squinting to get a better view of his kid. 

“You trying to catch flies with your mouth Inui? Close your yap” You whispered, 

“Y/N! She's too young, I feel like I just held her in my arms not too long ago. She can't get married just yet!” Inui argued, he would've been on the verge of tears if he didn't have a reputation to uphold. 

“What? The fuck are you on Inui? She's probably just with a friend!” You patted his back, reassuring the man. 

“Boys and girls can be friends ya’know” you added.

Cueing the two children across the road from you, feeding scoops of ice cream to each other.

“I don't think friends do that..” Inui looked over at you, eyes widening when you swung the motor shop’s door open. Hands coming around your mouth to amplify your words,

“Kagura, is that your boyfriend?” 

“WHAT?” Inui almost fainted, the ledge behind him holding his wobbly frame up right. 

“I didn't know you guys would be here!” Your daughter jogged across the street, leaving the boy sitting by himself. 

“And no! Just a friend” She answered your embarrassing, blushing as she stared down at the ground.,

“I sense some lies” you wiggled playfully at the flustered girl. 

“What! Anyways, Sorry I left the house without telling you” Kagura apologized, 

“Just don't do it again, without my permission..” Inui stated, 

“Especially not with a boy.”

K O K O N O I

Bribing people is his forte, and if they did not obliged? Threatening always did the trick. 

And that's exactly what he did when he saw his descendant out with a male. All was dandy until the boy came running back, babbling about how his girl was the so called ‘love of his life’.

“Hey brat, you got a death wish?” Kokonoi asked, leaning against the door frame. 

“Koko go easy on him, he’s just a kid” You nudged the man, a mischievous grin plastered on the males face. 

“And I kinda think it's cute” You said, a small smile erupting from your daughter that was not so far behind her parents. 

“I approve, kid! I like your romantic drive!” You clapped, 

“Y/N!” Kokonoi pouted, 

“You better not try to bribe him with money again” You threatened, waving a finger at the whiny man. 

“Yeah! I like him too, dad!” Your daughter agreed. 

“You're like twelve, go play chess or something” Kokonoi barked, crossing his arms in disapproval. 

“Dad, I'm sixteen!” 

“That's what I said” 

S O U Y A 

He almost had a panic attack at the sight, having to shield the man from the scene playing out. Your twin daughter saying their goodbyes to their dates, followed by a kiss. You removed your hand when the boys were no longer in view, riding off in their motorcycles. 

“Shira, Nihra” You held Souya up by the shoulder, the light headed male limping towards the worried kids.

“What's wrong with dad?” Nihra questioned, eyeing her ghostly pale father. 

“He's out of it” You giggled, 

“I'm not crazy am i?” He stood tall, letting go of the arm you had draped around him. 

“There was boys-” His voice cracked. 

“You saw that dad?” Shira sweat dropped, watching as her fathers should leave his body. 

“Next time ask before you go out” You smiled, you weren't too strict on the two. They were Souya’s children, earning most of their adorable traits from him. Even his fighting skills. 

“This better not happen again, i'm trusting you” Souya grumbled.

“Sorry pops” The two girls remorsefully sollied the man, both hooking onto one of Souya’s arms as they helped his shell into the house. 

N A H O Y A 

Nahoya was beyond pissed, infamous smile widening. Taking fast steps towards your daughter and her significant other. 

“Look boy, I don't know who you are. But my daughters not up for grabs” Nahoya grinned, cracking his fingers. 

“O-okay sir” the boy was jittering, body trembling from the males intense arua. 

“If I catch ya here again” he used his finger to slash his neck, motioning to the death that would happily greet the boy if they were to ever meet again.

“Yer dead meat kiddo”  Nahoya laughed, watching as the boy ran for his life. 

“Dad, that was really extra!” Your daughter sneered, a pout on her lips. 

“Shut up!, you're grounded rat!” Nahoya shouted. 

“Yeah Nahoya, there was no need to threaten the poor kid. He looked like he was gonna piss himself.” 

“Exactly the effect i wanted”

End Note : as I said this was a word barf T-T, so it’s quite short.

Reblogs & Notes are always appreciated! Take care! ♡︎♡︎

[babyboibucky]

The Match - Part 7

Pairing: CEO!Bucky x Reader

Word Count: 3.6k (woops the longest part yet)

Summary: You finally decide to lower your pride and talk things out with Bucky.

Warnings: SMUT IS BACK BABIES! Oral (f receiving), edging, orgasm denial, also lots of alcohol consumption, Bucky stalking you, annoying people I guess? Uhhh y’all might want to strangle me at the end lmfaooooo

A/N: I’m gonna be honest, every single time I update this I get nervous as fuck because what if this story starts to suck lmao but okay I just hope everyone’s still enjoying this story. Thank you for the continuous support like fuck??? People actually like reading my shit so I’m really flattered. Sending y’all sloppy kisses ‘cause I’m a hoe like that

The Match Masterlist || MAIN MASTERLIST

"Uhh you might want to slow down on the drinks."

Mark was right about the bar serving the best drinks. It was actually a Mexican-themed bar which also served Tex-Mex food. The drinks were so good that the main course hasn't even arrived yet and you were already on your third frozen margarita.

"Let me have this, Mark. It's been a pretty shitty week." you told him, finishing up your drink before asking the waiter for another round.

Mark watched you with a funny look on his face, the kind that was baffled at the way you were acting now. He probably thought you were all prim and proper, given your demeanor at the office. But with the way you were stuffing your mouth with chicken quesadillas, you were far from being the department head that everybody seemed to respect.

Stress eating. That was what you were doing, because holy shit did you get on Bucky's last nerve. With the message, no, more like warning, that he sent you earlier, you might as well have your last meal before your execution.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Mark carefully asked but there was a hint of amusement in his voice as he watched you eat.

You hummed, mouth full of food. "Totally okay. These quesadillas are the bomb, actually."

Mark laughed, "It's good that you're enjoying the food. I'll be honest, I really appreciate that you agreed to go on this date. I mean, if you even would like to call it that." he explained, much to your relief actually.

You swallowed your food and took a sip from your glass of water, "Thank you." you told him. "Well, this can be a date. A friendly one, of course." you awkwardly chuckled.

Mark nodded, "I don't want to pressure you into anything. I guess I got a little to enthusiastic earlier and I'm really sorry for that. It's just that...you're a really interesting person and you're cool." he admitted with a charming smile.

If Bucky was out of the picture, you would have actually swooned at Mark's charm. He wasn't so bad, he was tall and handsome. He oozed a certain charm, the nice guy kind of charm and any girl would really appreciate the honesty he was showing you now.

You smiled at him, "You're pretty cool too, Mark."

-

The friendly date was very fun, you definitely didn't expect to enjoy it to the point of forgetting about Bucky's warning. Mark was a nice guy, you realized. Bucky doesn't have to worry about him because it was never even your intention to make him jealous in the first place.

By the time the dessert was being served, you were bellowing from laughter. You literally had tears in your eyes from how hard Mark was making you laugh with his hilarious stories.

Little did you know that from someone else's point of view, you looked like you were having the time of your life with Mark. Your laughter, the ease you were exuding as the both of you talked-- it was very easy to misunderstand.

Especially if that point of view belonged to none other than Bucky, who was sitting silently inside his car that was parked right across the bar.

"Oh god, I can't breathe!" you exclaimed amid your laughter, leaning back against your seat.

Mark heaved out a shy, "That was really, really embarassing." he said timidly.

Mark's phone buzzed in the middle of the conversation, his face turning into a frown as he read the message.

"Hey, everything okay?" you worriedly asked.

"It's my younger sister. I'm needed back home." he explained with a sigh.

"Is everything okay?" you asked worriedly, holding Mark's arm to comfort him.

Mark nodded, "It's fine. It's just a little family emergency." he said before offering you an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, I can drop you off on the way home--"

"Hey, it's fine. You can go. I'll be fine. Your family needs you." you reassured with a smile.

Mark sighed, "I'll make it up to you next time." he said, fishing out a couple of bills from his wallet.

You walked out of the bar with Mark and bid goodbye, giving him a friendly hug before he slipped inside his car. As soon as Mark drove off, you headed back inside the bar and ordered a couple of shots because you badly needed to get Bucky off your mind.

-

Your head was pounding when you stirred awake, your throat burning and vision spinning as you opened your eyes. The light that greeted you made you hiss, pulling the covers over your head you tried to get back to your slumber.

Until you realized that the bed was soft, too soft to be your own. And when did you even own a duvet?

Slowly but surely, you sat up and looked around you, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. This was definitely not your room. Shit, did you sleep with Mark? Fuck no, you remembered him going home early due to a family emergency.

You squeezed your temples and shut your eyes, trying your best to recall everything that happened after you went back to the bar. Flashes of tequila shots and glasses of mojitos made you dizzy. Jesus christ, how many did you drink?!

And then you threw up in the streets as you attempted to walk home. Shit. Someone pulled your hair back while you puked and then there was nothing but darkness.

Pulling the duvet down, you noticed that you weren't wearing anything but a white shirt and your panties. You lifted the shirt up to your nose and sniffed it.

The scent was too memorable to forget.

"I thought you wouldn't be up until the afternoon."

You stilled at the sound of Bucky's voice and you almost didn't want to look up from your lap when he walked into his bedroom. How the hell did you end up at his place?!

"Four frozen margaritas, two shots of tequila and two tall glasses of mojito. I'm surprised you're still alive." he said as he stood at the foot of the bed, his arms crossed over his broad chest.

He was wearing a tight black shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants. This was the most casual you'd ever seen Bucky, but also the most feral. You thought that the scowl he gave you at the elevator was the worst, apparently, this Bucky in front of you, seemed the most dangerous.

"Why am I here?" you asked softly.

Bucky rolled his eyes and walked over to the bed side table, fetching the glass of water and a bottle of painkillers that you failed to notice when you woke up.

"Drink." he commanded and waited for you to take the glass before moving back to stand at the foot of the bed.

Your eyes never left Bucky's when you popped a pill into your mouth. After drinking water, you carefully placed it back on the bedside table and exhaled heavily.

"What happened last night?" you asked again.

"Your date left you." Bucky said, matter of factly.

You snickered, "It wasn't a date and Mark didn't le--"

Your very own squeal cut your statement off when Bucky threw the duvet aside, grabbing your ankle and pulling you towards the edge of the bed until your legs were hanging off. He didn't waste any time to kneel in between your thighs, holding your neck in place as his nose brushed against yours.

Your lids fluttered at the closeness, his scent yet again invading your senses, making you lose all your inhibitions because fuck, it's been too fucking long.

"Let me have this, please..." Bucky whispered against your lips.

When you failed to respond, Bucky took it as his go signal to crash his lips against yours. You knew this was a bad idea because one taste of Bucky and you're gone and yet you let him take what he needed from you.

Because you needed him just as much. So you kissed him back fervently, your fingers carding through his hair as you tugged him closer, wanting to feel and taste all of him.

Bucky breathily chuckled when you whined as he pulled away, only to shower your neck with open-mouthed kisses which made your body buzz with need. Your head was still hurting and you felt like you were going to pass out from dizziness but fuck it, you couldn't care less. Especially not now when Bucky was now nipping at your inner thigh while his hands were spreading you wide open.

All your thoughts flew right out of the window the moment Bucky pushed your underwear aside, his mouth quickly latching over your clit. A needy, raspy moan escaped your lips when Bucky sucked your bud followed by his tongue flattening against your folds.

"Fuck, Bucky..." you breathed out, falling down on your back as he continued lapping up your pussy.

You'd almost forgotten how fucking good Bucky was with his mouth and tongue. You elicited another whimper when he pulled back, but only to stand up and pull down his sweatpants, revealing his cock-- already hard and weeping with pre-cum.

In one swift motion, Bucky slid into your cunt. He leaned down to kiss you, swallowing your moans as you adjusted to his size. With how your pussy was clenching down on his cock, you realized that indeed, it's been too fucking long.

Bucky moved slow at first, letting you adjust to him before he began to speed up his thrusts. His breathing was erratic, soft grunts and growls reverberating from his chest as he fucked you. You gripped his forearms when he started pistoling his hips into yours, the head of his cock kissing your cervix.

"Want you to watch me fuck you." he growled, pulling you up to lean against your elbows.

Bucky held your neck with both his hands, forcing you to look down at your pussy while his cock slides in and out of it. Your face scrunched into pleasure, your mouth open as moans and whimpers continued to escape past your lips.

"Keep your eyes on my cock, see how your pussy takes all of it." Bucky demanded as he fucked you relentlessly.

Your thighs began to tremble, your entire body thrumming from pleasure. You tried to keep your eyes open as you watched Bucky fuck you fast and hard. Clawing at his biceps, you held on for dear life when you felt yourself teeter at the edge of your climax.

"Gonna cum, Bucky..." you moaned as your eyelids fluttered.

Bucky kissed your hard, taking your bottom lip in between his teeth before tugging at it. He pressed a soft kiss beneath your ear, licking at your skin before sucking your earlobe.

"Remember this when that Marcus fails to fuck you real good." he whispered and then pulled out just before you could even cum.

You blinked, unable to process what just happened. Bucky stood up and pulled his sweatpants back up. He rubbed his chin angrily before turning to you.

"You really blew me off to be with a guy who left you at the bar." he said.

Bucky really seduced you, fucked you raw only to edge you and deny you of your fucking orgasm. And now he was reprimanding you? While your legs were spread, panties pushed aside and your wet pussy out there for the world to see. You quickly adjusted your underwear, pulled your shirt down and sat up.

"What the fuck, Bucky?" you hissed. "First of all, his name is Mark. Second, he didn't leave me at the bar!" you exclaimed before you realized something.

"Wait, how did you know?" you asked, finally realizing that Bucky seemed to know everything that took place last night. "Bucky, did you follow me at the bar? Is this why I'm here?" you asked, standing up to come face to face with him.

Bucky shrugged, "So what if I did? If I didn't, you'd wake up in the streets, in your own vomit because again, you went for a guy who couldn't even bring her girl home. You should actually thank me." he said.

"Thank you!" you yelled. "I appreciate you bringing me back to your place. I really do." you said, calmly this time. "But can you please not bring Mark into this because he's a nice guy." you explained, squeezing the bridge of your nose.

Bucky snorted, "You call that nice? He left you!" he said again.

"He didn't! There was an emergency, for fuck's sake! He needed to go home and I said I can take care of myself." you said. "I shouldn't even be explaining myself to you yet I am because you're being really irrational right now." you scolded Bucky.

Bucky shook his head, "You really expect me to believe you? I saw how you laughed with him, how carefree you looked when you talked. How you caressed his arm and you're asking me not to bring Mickey into this conversation?"

You hid your face into your palms, "It wasn't a date, Bucky. We both made it clear. And he's a good person, I enjoyed talking to him. That's it. And again, it's Mark." you said through gritted teeth.

"Not a date my ass, you were flirting with him." Bucky accused.

You scoffed, "I wasn't flirting with him! I was casually talking to him like how a friend would! How hard is that to understand, Bucky?!" you exclaimed.

"You were never like that with me!"

"It's because we did nothing but fuck each other, Bucky!"

"That's why I wanted to make it official but you said no!"

"I already told you the reason why!"

"And yet you went out with a co-worker!"

"We're not just co-workers, Bucky. You're my fucking boss! The fucking CEO! How many times do I have to...you know what, it's useless for me to even explain it again to you." you said.

Bucky chuckled bitterly, "You're going to regret this." he said with a sinister smirk.

"Why can't you understand where I'm coming from?" you asked exasperatedly.

"Maybe because you won't let me help you." he said confidently. "And you know what I hate the most about this thing we have? It's that you want me too but you're too stubborn to give in. And you know what? I'll make sure you do." Bucky said, towering over you and staring deeply in your eyes.

"What I want, I always get."

-

The weekend passed by like a blur-- a huge, messy blur that made your head and heart hurt. You wanted to spend the weekend to ponder on things, to forget about Bucky even for just a while and now that was impossible after everything that happened.

You caved in first, that was for sure. And the thing is, you don't even regret it but then Bucky exploded and now everything seemed to have gotten worse. You understood why he was so mad at Mark, poor guy though, but he wouldn't even listen to you when you said that the date wasn't even a legitimate one!

"What the fuck did I get myself into?" you uttered under your breath as you sat in your car in the parking.

You began to analyze the situation you were in and drew out possible solutions to your dilemma. Nothing a good conversation can't solve, right? So maybe talking things out with Bucky properly would make things right. The previous conversations you had with him were always too emotional with both your egos getting in the way.

Alright fine, you'd tone down your pride for Bucky this time around and tell him that you do want to be with him. It's just that the repercussions scared the living daylights out of you.

You can't afford to lose your job nor everyone's respect. So if you were going to do this with Bucky, he has to understand that he has to be really careful. Everything must be done in secret, for the meantime at least.

"That sounds about right." you sighed, feeling hopeful that this might actually work out.

The shift in your mood gave you a little bounce as you walked into the building. You were confident that maybe Bucky was able to calm down over the weekend. Perhaps today was a good day to have a decent talk with him.

As soon as you reached your floor, you hurriedly went to your cubicle to drop your things. The earlier you get to talk to Bucky, the better. So as soon as you were done, you jogged back to the elevator excitedly, unable to notice how everyone seemed to be preoccupied gossiping about something.

Your heart was pounding as you walked along the corridor leading to Bucky's office. Fuck, you were really going to risk it all for one Bucky Barnes. You were a few steps away from the door, ready to reach for the knob when an unfamiliar voice called your attention.

"I'm sorry?" you asked, turning around.

"Sir James said not to let anyone disturb him right now." you were met with the presence of a blonde girl who looked younger than you, an intern maybe?

You nodded but then spared another glance at Bucky's office. "Yeah, I uhh need to talk to him. It's usually not a problem for me to barge into his office." you explained with a soft chuckle.

The girl made a face, "I'm sorry, but I'm just following Sir James' orders." she explained, walking around the desk near Bucky's office.

"I don't think we've met. Are you an intern?" you asked, trying to be as nice as much as possible.

The girl giggled, straight on giggled cutely and stood up again. She excitedly extended an arm for an overly eager handshake, "I'm Beverly. I'm Sir James' secretary. It's my first job!"

You blinked, "Oh...oh uh what happened to Amelie?" you asked, curious about Bucky's previous secretary.

Beverly tilted her head, "I don't know. I just got a call over the weekend from Sir James, offering me the job so I accepted it. I mean, he is pretty cute. Right?" she said in a soft voice.

Is this Bucky's plan? To hire a younger, more bubbly secretary who'd follow his every order? Someone who was the complete opposite of you? Because if this was his plan to get you to cave, it wasn't working. At all.

Sure, Beverly was pretty and young and very chirpy. But you were sure she wasn't Bucky's type. He was never into obedient little girls, hell, your defiance turned Bucky on. This was definitely not working.

You didn't know why, but instead of relief you felt even more nervous. Because if this wasn't Bucky's threat to you, what could it be? You snapped out of your pessimism, maybe Bucky came around over the weekend too?

Only one way to find out.

"Beverly..." you carefully said. "I'm just going to go inside. And don't worry, I'll make sure that Mister Barnes won't get mad at you. This is all me, alright?" you reassured.

Beverly pouted and sighed, "I don't know, because he was very clear with his instructions. And he's talking to--"

"I got you, Bev. I'm going in now." you said, cutting her off and then going straight for Bucky's office.

Taking in a deep breath, you pushed the door open and wasted no time to talk.

"Hey, I really need to talk to you. I thought about--"

"Oh, who's this little lady?"

Your eyes widened upon seeing Bucky in the company of another woman. She looked like she was around your age, except that she was taller and had legs for days. Her brunette hair reached past her shoulders in lovely waves. She was wearing a white chiffon blouse paired with a pair of black trousers and matching stilettos.

She oozed the charm of a lady boss. The way she carried herself reminded you of someone but you just couldn't point out who it was.

"I'm sorry to interrupt." you said, straightening up and turning to look over at Bucky who lifted a brow at you.

That fucking look of mischief.

"I told Beverly not to let anyone in." he said.

"I just wanted to--"

"Oh come on now, Bucky. Don't be so grumpy this early, you were about to call everyone for a meeting anyway." the woman said, turning to you with a smile.

Did she just call him...Bucky?

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Bucky rolled his eyes and sighed, "Yeah, well you're already here might as well introduce you first."

You narrowed your eyes at Bucky in confusion, "I don't understand what's going on." you said.

Bucky stood up from his chair and walked over to the other woman, standing beside her. Seeing them side by side was making you feel things. You haven't even seen them interact that much but you were already sensing that you were going to hate their dynamics.

"This is Mackenzie. I hired her to help us out on a huge project which I will be discussing with the entire team this morning." Bucky introduced a little too proudly for your liking.

Mackenzie offered her hand, "You can just call me Kenzie. I'm a marketing consultant. And you are?" she asked.

Your blood boiled, your eye twitched and your heart ached. Because now you realized who it was that Mackenzie reminded you of when it came to her charisma.

You.

And not only did she have a similar personality to yours-- confident and had authority-- but she also seemed to be here to take the one thing you worked so hard for.

You offered a smile, taking Mackenzie's hand in yours as you mentioned your name, your piercing eyes glancing over at Bucky.

"I'm the head of marketing."

-

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[dreamerstreamer]

Human GPS

Pairing: c!Technoblade x f!reader

Summary: [Dream SMP!AU] Technoblade really needs some books of mending, and you just happen to be the daughter of the village cleric.

Word Count: 3.8k

A/N: this a repost of the first ever story i posted when i first made my blog. this story takes place back when technoblade was still allied with pogtopia. i hope you like it as much as i did! <3

Technoblade blinked, his eyes squinting up at the clear, cerulean sky. It was about midday now, and the beating sun sat in the center of the sky, almost taunting him from where it hung.

If the sun is directly above me, he thought, then west must be… He frowned. Somewhere. Maybe.

He groaned and swung his legs off of Carl, the horse letting out a soft whinny as he hopped onto the ground. He had been travelling for what must have been close to an hour now, and he still hadn’t found a village. It was almost like the universe was trying to waste his time. All he wanted was to get his hands on some books of mending so he didn’t have to worry about any of his armour breaking, yet the world was sending him on a wild goose chase, anyways.

“Seriously,” he muttered, irritation gnawing away at his already dwindling patience, “how hard can it be to find just one cleric? It’s not like I’m asking to find a woodland mansion, or something.”

Letting out yet another long groan, Technoblade flipped open the pack he attached to Carl’s saddle. He pulled out a baked potato and bit in, allowing himself a few seconds of relief as he ate.

For a brief moment, he considered digging through his bag to look for a compass or—better yet—a map. But then he remembered that just prior to leaving, he had reminded himself that he was a human GPS and that “Technoblade never fails.”

He sighed. No compass, it is.

He took another bite of the potato in his hands, looking around at the terrain around him. There was a lush birch forest to his left and a barren desert on the opposite side. Just a little to his right was a river and—

Wait a second.

Technoblade froze, his jaw freezing halfway through chewing another bite of potato.

He recognized that river.

A wide grin split across his lips.

He totally knew where to find a village.

Doing his best not to choke, Technoblade stuffed the rest of the baked potato in his mouth and buckled his pack shut. With a grunt, he pulled himself back onto Carl, picking up the reins. “Like I said, Carl, who even needs a compass? I’ve got the map memorized, and my inner compass is perfectly calibrated.”

Carl looked back at him and let out an almost sarcastic sounding neigh that seemed to say, “Sure.”

Technoblade’s face rolled his eyes. He snapped the reins once, and Carl charged forward.

The human GPS never failed.

You let out an ecstatic cry as you pushed the last book in your hands onto the creaky bookshelf, stepping back to look at your work in pride. You’d been organizing the library for a little over half the day now, and you were almost finished. Each shelf was now in alphabetical order.

Dusting off your skirt, you took one last glance at the shelves before settling down at the table in the corner of the room, looking over the to-do list you had set out for yourself the night before. “Let’s see,” you hummed to yourself, “I already dusted all the tabletops, mopped the floor, and delivered that order to Mr. Hart. Now I can check ‘organize bookshelves’ off the list, too.”

You set the quill down on the table. “Meanwhile, dad’s out trading with Mrs. Lee and said he would be back soon.” You stared down at the page for a moment longer before sighing. A frown etched itself onto your features. You leaned your elbows on the oak tabletop as your gaze trailed out the church window and up at the cloudless sky.

You had lived in the village your whole life with your father, the village cleric. Everything was peaceful and you loved the familiar environment you resided in, but things had also become so… boring in the village. So bland, so dull. You can’t even remember the last time you did something fun. Sure, you were productive and made sure to help your father around his workspace the best you could, but you wanted more than this.

Please, you thought to yourself, squeezing your eyes shut in a silent prayer. Please, please, please let something new and exciting happen. At least just once in my life.

All of a sudden, you heard a distant rumbling.

You sat up straight, blinking awake from your reverie. What’s that sound?

The rumbling grew louder, and you could now recognize it as the galloping of a horse. Your thoughts were only confirmed by the loud whinny you heard right after the rumbles stopped.

You pushed your chair back, standing up from the table and walking over to the front window, crouching down to peek outside. You squinted, your eyes scanning around outside before they landed on an unfamiliar shape.

Your heart suddenly barrelled over in your chest.

Sitting atop a horse wearing diamond armour in the center of the village square was a stranger.

His back was facing you, but from what you could see of him, the first thing you noticed was the crimson robe hanging off his shoulders, cascading down his back like a scarlet waterfall. An axe was strapped to his back, tinted with a murky, violet hue. His hair was a vibrant shade of cherry blossom pink like nothing you had ever laid eyes on before, and on his head sat a golden crown encrusted with glittering gems. You wondered what his face looked like, curiosity bubbling in your chest.

Just then, he slid off his horse, landing on the ground with a small thump. He stood tall and proud, turning his head this way and that as he looked around at the houses around him, an air of regality surrounding him.

Then, he turned.

Your eyes only met for a fraction of a second before you immediately ducked down, hiding your figure from view in the window. The moment you were out of sight, you stilled, doing your best not to give yourself away.

He was handsome.

His face was calm and demure, reflecting his royal air almost perfectly, and his eyes, like his robe, were a piercing crimson red. They almost seemed to stare into your soul, laying every part of yourself bare for him to see.

He looked like a king in every sense of the word, and you just had to meet him.

Your heart was thrumming wildly in your chest as you struggled to regain your breath. You peeked over the windowsill carefully, glancing past the glass outside once more. The stranger had tied his horse to a post in the square and was walking around, glancing at the villagers here and there. Most of them seemed to be slightly wary of him—after all, it wasn’t everyday a king showed up at your doorstep. He seemed to be looking for something with the way he kept looking around him, his eyes sweeping over every inch of the village. Perhaps you could help him.

Slowly, you slid away from the windowsill and carefully clicked open the front door, stepping outside. The sun shone brilliantly on your face as you made your way toward the stranger. Once again, his back was turned to you, and you stopped a few feet behind him. Taking a deep breath, you mustered up what courage you had before speaking.

“Hello.”

The man turned at the sudden sound of your voice, his scarlet eyes piercing into yours. “Oh, hello.” His voice was deep, laced with a low rasp that sent a shiver down your spine.

Your offered him a warm smile. “Welcome to our humble village. I’m [Y/N].” You extended your hand, and he took it in a friendly handshake, smiling back.

“The name’s Technoblade.”

Your eyebrows quirked. “Technoblade,” you repeated. “That’s a unique name.”

“Thanks,” he said, jokingly adding, “I got it for my birthday.”

You giggled at that. He may look regal and intimidating, but right off the bat, it seemed that his personality was far from it. “You know what they say, a bad joke is always the best way to leave a good first impression.”

He frowned, feigning sadness. “Oh, c’mon, it wasn’t that bad.”

Your lips twitched. “Well, I laughed at it, so I’ll give you that.” His face lit up once more, and you felt your stomach churn with warmth. “Well, what brings you here?”

He gestured to the pack he had clipped to his belt. “Just looking to do a few trades, really.”

You looked at him in confusion. “A king? Trading with commoners like us?”

He blinked for a moment. “Ah, about that, I’m not really a king, per se.” He plucked his crown from off his head, tossing it casually in his hands. “The crown and robes are more for… aesthetic purposes, to say the least. I don’t really rule over my own country or anything.

Your tilted your head at him. “Where do you come from, then? I can only imagine you travelled for a while to get here.”

He shrugged. “It was kind of far, but it wasn’t a big deal, really. I never got lost.”

You raised your eyebrows at him. “Never?” you said.

“Never,” he confirmed. His grinned smugly, your heart reeling at the sight. “I’m a human GPS, if you will.”

You stifled a laugh but couldn’t hide your smile. What a dork. “Totally.”

His grin only widened. “Anyways, I’m from this place called Pogtopia.” You must have made a face at his words, because he laughed at you and god, even his laugh was pretty. “Yeah, it’s kind of a funny name, isn’t it? Well, I didn’t come up with it. My friends Tommy and Wilbur did.”

“They must be…” You looked for a good word. “…interesting people.”

He laughed. “It’s okay—you’re allowed to say they have bad taste in names.”

You giggled, your cheeks flushing in slight embarrassment. “Okay, yeah, their taste is pretty poor.” You glanced at him. “Are they the kings of your country then, since they named it?”

“Kind of. I guess you could call them kings, but they’re more like self-instated presidents, even though that kind of defeats the whole purpose of having a president.” You nodded, following along in agreement. “They’re trying to win back some land they were exiled from a while back called L’Manberg, although it was recently renamed Manberg, but there’s also Dream and his SMP, and—” He sighed, running a hand through his rosy locks. “It’s complicated. Basically, we’re sort of in the middle of this war, and I just kind of got roped into it.”

Your eyes widened in alarm. “A war?! Surely we wouldn’t get involved, right?” Your village, like many others, was a pacifist group of people, having no source of defense or battle skills to protect yourselves with. If this supposed war came all the way to your little village, all of you would surely perish.

Technoblade raised his arms in front of him, quickly shaking his head. “Oh, definitely not. You’ve got nothing to worry about, I swear.”

You pressed a hand to your chest as you let out a breath of relief. “Oh, thank goodness.” Technoblade smiled at you from the corner of your eye, amusement lacing his lips. You suddenly straightened, another thought popping into your head. “What about you, then? Aren’t you worried?”

He laughed again, though it sounded more like a cackle. “Me? Worried? Nahhh.” He swung his axe off his back, being careful to point it away from you. “I may not look like it, but I’m actually one of the most feared warriors in the land. Tommy and Wilbur basically begged me to join their side so I can help them win.” He gestured to himself. “You don’t have to believe me, but I think it’s pretty clear to see I’m pretty much a god at PVP.”

You hummed, shaking your head. “No, I believe you. You do look like you could seriously teach someone a thing or two with that axe, but I really don’t think I need to feed your ego anymore.” You smiled bemusedly. “It already seems to be quite large on its own.”

His grin dropped. “Wait, please, feed my ego, I thrive off complime—”

A giggle escaped your mouth as you waved your hand at him. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding!” Your expression grew a bit more serious. “But honestly, you’re not scared? Even a little?”

Technoblade shook his head. “Nope. A war is just a lot of fights lined up one after the other, and I’m great at winning fights. Heck, I could probably wipe out the other side in a heartbeat with what I’ve got in my arsenal. Tommy and Wilbur might just send me out by myself to do just that.”

“They would?” you said in disbelief. “Aren’t they worried for you, either?”

He snorted. “They were the ones who wanted me here to help them win, so they definitely aren’t worried.”

Your eyebrows furrowed. Well, that was no good—no good at all. Wasn’t a single person concerned for this man’s safety, not even just one? No matter how powerful he may be, this was a war you two were talking about, and wars don’t always go according to plan.

Suddenly, it hit you.

“I see,” you murmured. You raised your chin, resolve filling your veins. “Then I’ll worry for you.”

Technoblade stared at you for a long moment, stunned into silence. Panicking, you began to ramble. “You and your friends may have overwhelming confidence in you and your abilities,” you said, “but it’s still important that you recognize that sometimes things don’t go according to plan. That’s why you should worry, and if you won’t, then I’ll do it in your stead.”

When he still didn’t say anything after yet another moment, you felt embarrassment rise up in you. “I’m sorry, we just met and that was totally uncalled for of m—”

“No, no, really,” he abruptly said, shaking his head. “It’s all good. Seriously.” There was a slight pause. Then, he softly added, “Thank you. I appreciate your concern.”

His lips curled to form a smile, but this one was different from the ones he gave you before. Those ones were proud and teasing, full of mirth and some level of arrogance. But this one was softer, kinder. More genuine and real.

You liked this one more.

Still feeling slightly embarrassed from having just rambled about caring about a near stranger to his face, you quickly shifted gears. “W-Well, I should probably ask what exactly you wanted to trade for,” you said as your cheeks flushed pink. You lowered your gaze to the ground, trying to avert your eyes from his. “I can probably help you find whatever it is you need.”

Technoblade hummed. “I have a bunch of stuff with me that I can use to trade, but I’m looking for a cleric to get some mending books from.”

Your head shot up in recognition. “A cleric, you say?” Your lips curled into a small grin when he nodded. “I know just where to find him. Wait here for a minute, okay?”

As soon as he nodded his head once more, you had already taken off, bounding down the grassy path with your skirt trailing behind you. Technoblade’s gaze followed you as you rushed down the path, a pleasant warmth bubbling in the pit of stomach and he watched you run off.

Usually whenever he came to a village, the people he met were wary of him and hardly ever spoke more than the bare minimum to him. Most of them were intimidated by his appearance, others thrown off by his cockiness. And yet here you were, treating him like a friend when so many before you had done the exact opposite. You were kind, compassionate, and you saw more than just his arrogant exterior. You genuinely cared for the person he was underneath the crown and the robes. Not to mention, you were quite the sight for sore eyes.

Warmth blossomed in his chest and something fluttered in his stomach.

He was glad he came to this village.

To say your father was more than pleased to trade some books of mending for the stacks upon stacks of emeralds Technoblade had was an understatement.

“I thought you said you weren’t a king,” you said to him, your eyes nearly bulging out of your head when you saw him open his pack.

“I’m not,” Technoblade said, twirling an emerald between his fingers. “I just happen to be very wealthy.”

You shook your head at him, a smile gracing your lips. “You’re a maniac.”

He shot you a smug look. “Oh, don’t I know it.”

After he had traded for some mending books with your father, he had asked you if your village had a fletcher.

“Oh, I made a delivery to Mr. Hart earlier today,” you said. “Here, follow me.”

The trek to the other side of the village was short enough, and you were content to wait on the sides while Technoblade made some negotiations. Just then, Mrs. Lee spotted you and strode up to you.

“Good afternoon, [Y/N],” she greeted, her lips tilting into a familiar gentle smile.

“Hello, Mrs. Lee!” you chirped happily, turning to face her. “Thank you for the pumpkins, earlier today! I’ll be sure to give you some of the pumpkin pie I bake tomorrow.”

“Why, there’s no need for you to do that, dear.” She leaned close to your ear to whisper, “You know you’re my favourite of the youngins here.”

You blushed. “You know that’s not true.”

She held a finger to her lips. “It’s our little secret, alright?” She looked over your shoulder at Technoblade, who was still debating with Mr. Hart. “Looks like you’ve become acquainted with our visitor, haven’t you, dear?”

Your blush deepened. “Y-Yes! I have. His name is Technoblade and he comes from a country called Pogtopia. He traded for some books with my father just now.”

Mrs. Lee wrinkled her nose. “Weird name, the both of them, but never mind that.” She smirked at you, glancing just behind you. “He’s quite the looker, isn’t he?”

Your face exploded like a bright red tomato. “I-I, um, he’s. Um.” You took a deep breath and fanned your face, lowering your voice. “He’s handsome.”

Her smirk only grew larger. “I hope the two of you become even more acquainted then,” she said cryptically, patting your shoulder. “I’ll be on my way now, but do let me know how it goes, okay?”

You nodded dutifully, too embarrassed to say anything else. Mrs. Lee turned away and continued her way down the grassy path, smiling to herself.

If only you had seen the way he had looked at you.

Hours had passed since Technoblade had first arrived in the village, and the sun was just beginning to set. The two of you had visited just about every working person in the village, chatting away as Technoblade traded for whatever he needed from each person you two saw.

The two of you learned a lot about each other in the time you spent together. You learned that Technoblade wasn’t a huge fan of government and much preferred anarchy. He learned that you longed for something much more than your normal life in the village, but you had yet to discover what it was you wanted to do. You learned that he owned a dog named Floof. He learned the location of your favourite spot in the village. By the end of the day, it felt like you two had known each other for ages.

You secretly hoped that he would stay, but you knew that he couldn’t. The village wasn’t his home, after all.

You stood nearby as Technoblade strapped his pack back onto Carl’s saddle, chewing the inside of your lip. He climbed onto Carl, securing his axe on his back and picking up the reins in his hands. “Well, [Y/N],” he said, a hint of disappointment tinging his voice, “it looks like this is goodbye.”

“I guess so,” you murmured sadly, casting your gaze down at your feet. You had only known him for so long, but an overwhelming sense of loss filled you knowing that Technoblade was leaving and may very well never return. He was funny with his dry, dorky sense of humour and charming with his sharp grins and deep voice.

You weren’t sure you were quite ready to let go just yet.

“Um,” you spoke up, your voice cracking a little, “will you…” You peeked up at him, nervously biting the inside of your cheek as you fiddled with your fingers. “Will you ever come back?”

Something in Technoblade’s chest seized at the shy look on your face, your cheeks rosy and your gaze darting back and forth between his eyes and the ground. While he had originally only come in search of this village to trade with a cleric, he supposed he might always need more mending books in the future. Not to mention, he would also get to see you.

He smiled, letting out a soft laugh. “Yeah,” he said, “I’ll be back, so wait up for me, yeah?”

Your eyes lit up and an elated grin spread across your face. “I-I will!”

He chuckled at your giddiness, his own heart beating wildly against his rib cage. “Good.”

Sharing one last look with you, he snapped his reins and held on tight as Carl dashed forward, his gaze trailing behind him as he watched you wave your arms frantically at him. He couldn’t help but crack a smile at your enthusiasm, raising his arm to wave back at you himself. He kept waving until he could no longer see you, and only then did he face forward to find his way home.

The journey back was significantly shorter than the trip to the village, and before he knew it, he was tying Carl to his usual fence post. He was a human GPS, after all. How else would he have found the village—and you—with so much ease?

He tilted his head up, looking up at the rising moon in the east. Now he knew that the village (and you, his heart helpfully supplied once more) lay to the west, just beyond the birch forest, desert, and river. Above him, he could make out the shapes of a handful of constellations, the stars twinkling and winking down at him from space. He wondered if you were looking up at the same starry sky as him. He wondered if your stomach was full of butterflies, too.

“So,” he mused to himself aloud, his heart thump-thump-thumping in his chest, “[Y/N], huh?”

He was definitely going back.