#i got a headrest regardless

[7thcirclebaker]

A solid wingback chair is the ultimate ADHD chair, change my mind

[heirofnight]

it's the shadows

pairing: azriel x reader (heavily), cassian x reader, rhysand x reader

word count: 1.2k (i intended for this to be a drabble but i can't ever shut the hell up)

summary: reader is close friends with az, cass, and rhys, but is very obviously pining for azriel. the four of you are drunk and cassian just has to know which one of them would be the best in bed. sexual tension ensues. duh.

while this entire debate was absolutely ridiculous - one may argue even downright childish - you couldn't stop the grin that was spreading across your cheeks.

you couldn't remember the last time you'd laughed this hard. your stomach was aching, cheeks sore. dried tears were collecting at the corners of your eyes. there'd be a lull in the conversation, a period of time that allowed all of you to calm down and collect yourselves, before you'd inevitably meet one of their mischievous gazes and fits of laughter would begin all over again.

"seriously, y/n?," cassian inquired, voice booming. you snorted at his dumbfounded expression, at the fact that the four of you had finally calmed down, just for cass to loop back to the topic that had you all howling in laughter in the first place.

"azriel?," he continued, pointer finger gesturing towards the male sitting opposite from you in the sitting room. cassian had a half-full wine glass in his large hand, the liquid sloshing around precariously as he motioned in the shadowsinger's direction. "the motherfucker doesn't even speak!," he finished, causing you to erupt in another alcohol-induced fit of giggles.

azriel smiled warmly at the sight, shaking his head in mock exasperation at his brother's disbelief. az took a sip from the glass of wine he'd been nursing at a much slower pace compared to the rest of you.

rhys chuckled now, sitting alongside cassian on the plush sofa. he shoved the war general on his broad shoulder playfully, gesturing towards azriel himself, "he doesn't need to speak in this particular scenario, brother," he purred, his own wine sloshing within his grip.

azriel's cheeks tinted red at the implication, shifting his gaze down to his lap to hide a dimpled smirk.

"and see, that's what i'm saying," you added, throwing your hands up in agreement. you sat on the floor, upon the cushioned carpet that spread throughout the sitting room. you glanced up at azriel, a fond smile playing across your lips as you met his bashful gaze.

"he doesn't need to use words, cassian. i stand by my original statement: azriel is absolutely the most capable male in bed out of the three of you," you couldn't even finish the sentence without giggling, awestruck at cassian's ability to always turn the conversation back to this topic in particular.

you'd been close to all three of them for so long, and cassian - with his overly-competitive nature - just had to know, from a female's perspective, which male you thought would be the best in the bedroom. even though your answer was always the same: azriel.

was it because you may have been harboring feelings for the aforementioned male? perhaps. however, you didn't need to be pining after him to come to that conclusion; it felt like the obvious choice, regardless.

azriel glanced over at you with silent pride flooding his gaze, and you winked at him playfully in response. "i've got your back, az," you slurred, alcohol heavy in your veins. you reached over to poke him in the kneecap gently, and he huffed out a laugh.

"thank you, sweet," he spoke, tone gravelly, and you felt your chest grow fuzzy at the nickname he reserved just for you.

"oh, come ON," cassian scoffed, rolling his eyes dramatically. rhys barked out a laugh, tossing his head back against the headrest of the quilted couch.

you laughed along with rhys, sitting closer to azriel's legs now. az reached down, smoothing a section of your hair that had grown disheveled during your laughing fits throughout the evening. you were hyper-aware of his touch, and currants of electricity shot down your spine as the contact mixed with the wine in your system.

"i'm going to go out on a limb here," cassian started, pausing to take a sip from his glass. you rolled your eyes, bracing yourself for the familiar statement preparing to spill from his lips. "and i'm going to say that your opinion on this particular topic is heavily biased," he finished, knowing hazel eyes glancing from you, up to azriel, and back down to you.

you groaned in mock annoyance, flipping your hand in a dismissive gesture.

"yeah, yeah, cass, i know," you huffed out a breath, narrowing your eyes, "you're so convinced that i want to be in azriel's bed," you finished, pausing for dramatic effect before speaking further. cassian scoffed, his eyes widening slightly as if to say duh.

the alcohol was making you feel bolder than normal, and honestly, it's not like you were completely shy about your attraction towards azriel. it was a commonly known fact, one that all of you tended to play into from time to time - an inside joke, a bit.

however, while the attraction was known, you'd never confessed to any of them your very real feelings for azriel. that aspect wasn't a joke to you in the slightest.

"it's the shadows," you deadpanned, shrugging your shoulders sloppily.

cassian and rhys paused for a moment, absorbing your statement. then, they both erupted into howling laughter, and you weren't far behind them. you heard azriel's low chuckle from where he sat behind you, and he sent one of those mentioned shadows from within his twining orbit to twirl through your hair playfully.

cassian collected himself, shaking his head as he wiped his eyes.

"what kind of shit are you into, y/n?," cass wheezed out, and rhys laughed harder at his follow-up question.

you sniffled, wiping your own eyes before responding, "i mean, you really cannot blame me," you mused, gesturing towards azriel once more, "have you really not stopped to consider this at all?," you widened your eyes, stunned.

as if to prove a point, you turned your head towards azriel, locking your curious eyes with his amused ones.

"azriel, have you or have you not used your shadows on someone during sex?," you asked, extremely forward.

he almost choked at the question, cheeks turning crimson. cassian and rhys resumed their howling, but you peered at him expectantly.

he couldn't deny you an answer, not when you looked at him like that - innocent-looking wide eyes, cheeks pink from the wine. and was there a large, screaming part of him that wanted to entice you with his bedroom habits?

perhaps.

he nodded once, a dimpled smirk appearing across his pink cheeks.

"i have," he spoke, deep voice cutting through the laughter.

everyone paused at his words - you'd all half-expected him to evade the question altogether. but here he was, divulging life-altering, world-ending information that had your brain short-circuiting in one fatal blow.

the silence was deafeningly loud, and your expression shifted in a way that had azriel knowing exactly what you were thinking. your eyes had widened and glossed over, your mouth was agape. his smirk grew, forming into something more playful.

and to prove his point, he sent one more shadow your way to lightly twirl through your fingers and caress up your arm, looping around your neck gently.

cass sent a low whistle into the dead silence of the room, croaking out a laugh. "well, fuck, az," he chuckled, downing the rest of his drink.

"you win," cassian added, awestruck - shaking his head in defeat.

you didn't even hear what was happening around you, too focused on azriel - his darkened gaze as he peered down at you, and the feeling of that tendril of shadow tightening around your throat in silent challenge.

a/n: i'm so sorry. i'm spamming u with all of these ideas but hear me out, i have to get them out immediately. pls don't hate me. but this one had me sweating lmfao. sucker for sexual tension as always!!!

[withwritersblock]

More Hearts Than Mine-Luke Gets Injured

~More Hearts Than Mine by Ingrid Andress~

Author's Note: a little delayed since he is back playing but anyways Summary: Y/N takes care of Luke after he gets injured Warnings: implied smut Word Count: 1,619

Her schedule was starting to get overwhelming, she decided to take a few more credits this semester to try and graduate a semester early. It was only week two in the semester and she’s already spent majority of her time at the campus library studying.

Usually, her phone would be on silent as she was studying. She was always desperate to focus. It was only noon and she was finished with her classes for the day but she wanted to get ahead on her work for the week.

Reluctantly she pulled her phone from her pocket to see a handful of missed calls from Jack. It was weird for him to text her, let alone call her multiple times. Without hesitation she quickly called him back. Jack answered after a few rings.

“What’s wrong? Is Luke alright?” she whispered as she glanced around her.

“He’s fine, but he busted his shoulder at practice. It’s not great, he’s on a shit load of meds, I’ll take his car back to ya’lls place tonight, can you come pick him up?” Jack explained in what seemed like on big long word. Her eyes widened as she quickly shut her computer, she rested her phone between her shoulder and her ear. 

“How bad is it?” she whispered as she shoved her computer into her bag as she stood up and started walking towards the exit. 

“Don’t know yet, he’s getting a scan right now.” Jack muttered, sounded like there was a lot of shuffling on his end of the phone.

“Jack?” she questioned as she stepped out of the library, luckily her car was parked close enough to where she could leave in the matter of minutes. 

“Y-yeah?” he let out as he got closer to the phone.

“A scan is probably not a good sign, right?” she asked. He hummed on his end of the phone.

The drive over to the practice rink felt like eternity but it was only fifteen minutes. Jack tends to get over protective of Luke, so it very well could be nothing. But she wanted to see Luke regardless.

She hopped out of the car instantly to see Jack talking with Nico outside the player entrance door. Jack’s eyes widened once he saw her walking towards him. “He’s inside,” he explained as he took a few steps back towards the door.

“Hey Y/N,” Nico muttered as he smiled politely towards her. She smiled towards him as she followed Jack inside. “He’s a little loopy,” Nico explained as he followed after them. Y/N nodded as she followed down the hallway. Jack turned and entered a room that was brightly lit. 

Luke lifted his head up as if he was drunk. His eyes widened and a sleepy grin formed to his lips. “Girlfriend,” he mumbled before he tilted his head back against the seat.

Y/N smiled as she walked towards him. The team’s doctor stood beside him. “Doesn’t look like he’ll need surgery,” he said reassuringly. Y/N nodded as she rested her hand onto Luke’s arm that was not in a sling. 

“He’ll just need lots of rest, the pain killers he’s on right now are only for today and tomorrow. He’ll just use over the counter until he doesn’t need it anymore,” the doctor explained as he handed Y/N the pill bottle with only two pills in it. She nodded as she shoved the bottle into her purse.

“Alright, can you guys help me get him into my car.” Y/N explained. Jack and Nico took a hold of Luke, cautious on his shoulder, and started guiding him out of hte room.

“God, I’m getting flashbacks to the Zach Bryan concert,” Jack muttered as he guided Luke out of the facility. 

“Oh don’t remind me of that,” Y/N said while laughing as she followed after the boys.

They managed to get Luke into the passenger seat of the car, the medication was a lot stronger than Luke thought they were going to be. He tilted his head back against the headrest. Jack shut the door on him, a chuckle leaving his lips in the process.

“I’ll drive his car back to your guys’ place, so I can help you get him inside.” Jack explained. Y/N nodded as she took in a long breath.

“Thank you, Jack,” she mumbled as she met his eye, taking a deep breath in the process. He nodded as he jogged towards Luke’s car a few parking spaces away.

Y/N jogged around towards the driver seat of her car and she dropped down into the seat. “You alright?” she asked him. He opened his eyes slowly, glancing down towards his arm.

“They said I’ll be out for only a few regular season games,” he mumbled, tilting his head to the side to meet her gaze. She put the key in the ignition as she met his eye. 

“That’s good to hear, my love,” she mumbled. He smiled towards her as he shut his eyes. 

“Damn, I’m fucking tired,” he muttered.

~~~

The next morning, Luke was sleeping in late, his shoulder in a sling. He struggled to get comfortable for majority of the night but he was finally sleeping comfortably. Y/N stood in the kitchen making breakfast, knowing that he would be starving the second he wakes up. 

She was swaying back and forth to the country music playing through their tiny speaker. She hummed along to the song as she poured the protein pancake batter onto the skillet watching it immediately start to bubble. 

“Cause, oh my god, he walked in like a 6’2” dream, Heaven-sent. He says what he means and he means what he says,” she sang along to the song. She spun around to see a sleepy Luke with his arm in a sling leaning against the kitchen counter. “Shit, Luke scared the hell out of me,” she said while she held her hand against her chest. He chuckled as he titled his head back against the cabinet.

“Whatcha making?” he asked as he scanned her frame. Her body was only covered with an old t-shirt of his and very tiny shorts. She smiled towards him as she flipped one of the pancakes.

“An amazing breakfast spread, you go relax,” she offered as she pointed towards the couch with the spatula. He shook his head as he ran his hand over his shoulder wincing in pain. She frowned. “Go sit,” 

He sighed as he walked towards the couch, sitting down. He squinted his eyes shut as he felt his arm throb. He was listening along to the music that was playing in the background.

It took a few minutes before the breakfast was ready. She was carrying two plates as she walked towards the couch. She excitedly handed one of the plates to Luke, cautiously. He sat up, resting the plate onto the coffee table.

“This looks amazing,” he muttered as he brought the food towards his mouth, taking a large bite. “Wow, this actually taste good,” he teased.

“Oh shut it, I can cook,” she said before biting a perfectly crispy piece of bacon.

“Are you sure Jack didn’t sneak in and make this for you?” he teased again as he took another bite. 

“Hardy har,” she said sarcastically. He smirked as he continued eating the food. 

“Thank you, baby, really this is amazing,” he let out as he met her gaze. She smiled softly towards him as she reached for the remote. He winced in pain as he leaned back.

“I can go grab that medicine that your doctor gave me,” she said, already standing up.

“No, no better not. I don’t want to feel like that again,” he said as he waved her off. She nodded as she leaned back into her spot on the couch, glancing towards him every so often. “I’ll grab some Advil or something after this amazing meal,” he said with a smirk on his lips.

She rolled her eyes playfully as she met his gaze briefly. She put on a random show as they continued to eat their breakfast in comfortable silence.

It had been a handful of hours later and it was safe to say Luke was already over being injured. He felt useless and lazy. He already hated the idea of being held up in bed but he wouldn’t complain about Y/N taking care of him. 

He was laid up on the bed, his laptop in his lap as he was watching a movie. Y/N walked into the room, smiling towards him. She took note of the frown on his face and tilted her head to the side.

She walked towards the bed, delicately resting her hand onto his cheek. He tilted his head into her hand. “It’s only a month in a half,” she muttered. He pouted his lips as he shut his eyes. “Luke,” 

“You know what could make me feel better?” he asked, fighting a small grin forming to his lips. 

“What’s that?” she teased as she slowly climbed onto his lap, being extra cautious of his arm. His eyes scanned her frame, biting his bottom lip trying to prevent a wide grin. He couldn’t form words as he continued to admire her frame. She rested her hands onto his jaw as she ran her thumbs across his jawline.

She leaned towards him, kissing him delicately. His free arm, slowly started running up and down the back of her thigh. “How’s that?” she mumbled against his lips. He hummed as he pressed his lips against hers once more.

“It’s a start,” he let out teasingly.

“Asshole,” she mumbled against his lips before she kissed him more urgently.

[dawn-in-neocity]

driving with nct dream

(this is slightly self indulgent bc i recently got my driver’s license)

mark

passenger princess! takes his position on aux very seriously, he has a specific playlist for driving with you. lowkey gets sassy about anyone moving his seat lmao. pays for all your drive thru trips since you don’t let him pay for gas. loves it when you take him to deserted roads and teach him how to drive. (except if you drive stick shift, he’s not having any of that).

renjun

literally makes you feel so safe. never speeds. rests your joint hands on his lap <3. not shy to use the car honk. swerves when he sees birds on the road (“jun, they can fly”). you bond by road raging together. turns and smiles at you at red lights. lets you put cute stickers on his dashboard and sun visor. his car smells SO nice. always opens your door for you!!!

jeno

drives stick shift. you hate that you can’t hold his hand, but watching him change gears makes up for it. keeps hair pins/ties or a hat for you in his car bc he likes driving with the windows down. never sees potholes. automatically puckers his lips for a kiss whenever you’re getting in his car. pretends to be annoyed when you ask for starbucks (he is ecstatic).

haechan

definitely a curb hitter. y’all split driving 50/50 between you. basically karaoke on wheels (y’all are somehow even louder than the music). his hand is on your thigh, regardless of who’s driving. you can never finish a trip without getting a little treat, and he just GETS it. you always sit in the car for 5-10 mins both when leaving to and getting back from anywhere.

jaemin

only drives when you’re too tired/intoxicated to. otherwise insists on being your passenger princess. takes candid pictures of you bc “you look hot when you drive”. don’t put him in charge of directions, you will miss three turns and be late. keeps a small bottle of his cologne in your car. brings you a lil snack from inside if you’re picking him up from his place.

chenle

music is for background noise only. running errands together and chatting on the way is a main pillar of your rs sorry. puts his arm behind your headrest when reversing bc he knows you find it attractive. hardcore backseat driver whenever you drive. puts one of those storage thingies in his car bc he’s SICK of finding random chapsticks and candy wrappers everywhere.

jisung

only likes driving when he’s with you. hand on your thigh always (does the thumb thing without realizing). only lets go to mom arm you. has a blanket in the trunk for your stargazing dates. gets pouty when it’s time to drop you home. can NOT park (no pun intended). you guys always play those road-trip games like parents on vacation.

[samoankpoper21]

JJK Men as Passenger Princesses

IMAGE CTTO!!

Summary: Their car is in the shop and have no means of getting around until you offer to be their personal uber driver for the day. It strikes them that they've never seen you behind the wheel before, always opting to pick you up. What kind of chaos will ensue?

A/N: In California there's an unspoken rule where a yellow light translates to green 🤣 Don't ask me why 🤣 Also I do not condone/endorse speeding or reckless driving but my dad swears I am a reckless driver 🥲 As always the reader is a chubby!/POC! reader~! Enjoy~!!

Gojo Satoru: "Haaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiii babe," leaning over he pecks your cheek, rubbing his hands up and down the length of his thighs. He's giddy with anticipation: this is the first time he's ever seen you drive! "Got your seatbelt on?"

"Of course." Putting the car in drive you slowly peel away from his apartment complex easing into traffic as conversation ebbed and flowed like water. He hadn't realized how relaxed he was until you put your hand on his thigh smirking. Jokingly he peels your hand away from his thigh throwing it back to you. "Excuse me! I am not some hussy where you can easily put your hands where your please."

"Breh really?"

"Don't 'breh' me. I am a princess today." Giggling you ask, "Well princess what do you feel like eating? I'm starving."

"I don't know you pick."

"No because every time I pick you disagree with it so where do you want to eat?"

"Are YOU part of the menu?"

"I meant food babe sheesh."

"I can't help it if you're sitting there looking like the finest chocolate pudding I've ever seen."

"Ew what," you giggle. "We're going to In-N-Out that's final." With Target being the last stop you pull into his parking spot where Satoru was going to instruct you to pull in but you surprised him when you put the gear in reverse, one hand on the back of his headrest, the other on the wheel reversing perfectly into the designated area. Putting the car in park you look at him scowling and say, "Alright baby let's-"

"Who the fuck are you fucking besides me?"

"Excuse me?!"

"How did you learn how to reverse perfectly like that? Is it Nanami? He's the only one I know who reverses like that?"

"Breh really?" 🤦🏽‍♀️

Kento Nanami: Nervous was the last adjective he would use to describe the nerves that were running through him at the moment. Anxious? Most accurate. He has never once been a passenger, always opting to give you the princess treatment regardless of his fatigue. "Come oooonnnn Nanamiiiiiiiii let me do this for you. It's the least I can do since you're always driving us around." Sighing in defeat he reluctantly agreed leading him to his current predicament; you zooming on the freeway as he gripped your door handle. Glancing over he watched your right hand on the wheel, the left propped up on the window sill holding your tilted head when it dawned on him that you were unaware of how fast you were actually going. This is how she normally drives?? Would he describe you as reckless? Slightly. No regards to anyone's life except your one? Leaning toward it. "Darling," he hisses out through gritted teeth.

"Yeah?"

"You do realize the speed limit is 65 right?"

"Yeah why?" Looking to your speedometer you gasp out, "Oh shit!" you were pulling 90 and not a cop car in sight. You sheepishly glance in his direction and say, "At least we didn't get pulled over."

Geto Suguru: Having the music low enough as to not disturb Nanako and Mimiko you and Suguru chatted quietly about all types of random topics. Being stuck in traffic always brought out the worst in every human and today was no exception. Bumper to bumper there was finally a break as the line of cars started flowing. "Finally." you huff out. As you pressed on the gas to accelerate a bit more a car cut in front of you jumping to the next lane over making you stomp on your brakes. "Mother-!"

"Babe the girls."

"That doesn't give him the right to drive like a maniac!"

"I'm just glad that we're all safe." At the top of your lungs you yell out while pointing at them, "You're lucky I have my kids in the car with me!"

"Babe the windows are rolled up." 🤦🏽‍♀️

Choso: "Babe is it alright if the kids come along?"

"Yuji, Megs, and Nobara?"

"Yes, they won't stop hounding me about watching you drive."

"Y'all need to chill" you laugh out speaking into the steering wheel. "Y'all make it seem like me driving is on the same level of the Mona Lisa."

"Well it kinda is."

"And who's fault is that? Every time I offer to meet you at whatever location you refuse saying and I quote, 'You're a princess and deserve to be treated like one.'"

"But you are."

"Cho," you squeal. "That's beside the point." Chuckling you couldn't help but blush at the deep timbre of his voice. "Well get the kids ready. I'm 5 minutes out."

"Ok. See you in a bit. Be safe."

"Always."

Pulling in front of the Itaodri house you found a lone, pale figure with a scar spreckled across his cheek surrounded by 2 overhype teens, one silently judging them. Rolling your window down youyell out, "Uber for Choso and co?"

"Here, here, here!" Yuji yells back. Parking the car you unlock the doors telling them to squeeze in the back, Choso sliding in beside you kissing your cheek. "Hi babe." the baritone in his voice making you internally shiver.

"Hi handsome. So where we off to?"

"Groceries, game stop for Megs, Target for Nobara, and maybe a gym store. Yuji wants some boxing gloves."

"Okay. But y'all better not judge me." Rolling her eyes Nobara asks, "Why would we judge you?" Offering her a sheepish grin while eyeing her in the rear view you answer, "I play my music real loud, sometimes have my own concerts and it's on shuffle." Dismissing your answer with a wave of her hand she retorts, "Please. Your shuffle can't be that bad."

"I listen to everything."

"Said by everyone." The drive to Target was approximately 20 minutes; within those 20 minutes your passengers went through a range of emotions: ready to fight (Set It Off - Lil Kayla), paying tribute to a late grandmother (Helena), felt like they were part of a rave (rampage), lost in translation twice (SKZ and a Samoan song), rapped along to Ice Cube, and finally belting out Keyshia Cole's Love. Parking the car you shut it off taking in your passengers. "Wow," Nobara breaks the silence. "You really do listen to everything." Laughing you look to Choso who quietly says, "You should sing to me more often."

Toji Fushiguro: "You're not gonna make it."

"Oh so you're doubting me now?"

"Look doll I've been driving longer than you have."

"Longer driving experience doesn't equate to greatness." You were doing 50MPH in a 35MPH trying to get to the green light before it turns yellow. The problem? You would need to make a wide left turn to continue about your ways. Stomping your foot on the gas the light turned yellow. "Y/N!" Toji hissed. Smirking you crossed the thresh hold while the light remained yellow; easing a bit you flicked the steering wheel to the left lifting off the throttle making the car careen smoothly into the lane. Quickly and simultaneously releasing the throttle and straightening the angle of your wheel you continued smooth sailing. A beat of silence passed before Toji huffed out, "That. was. FUCKING AWESOME! Where did you learn that babe?"

"Fuck you dawg you thought I wouldn't make it."

"Fuck babe that just turned me on so bad." Giggling you flick your head ahead. "There's an abandoned alleyway straight ahead. You can put that doubtful mouth to use."

"Yes ma'am."

Ryomen Sukuna: 3PM - 5PM on a weekday is practically the cursed time for anyone operating a vehicle: school buses fill the roads, drivers are trying to maneuver around other cars by any means necessary, taking short cuts or trying to wedge themselves into cramped spaces, horns blaring. Offering to take Sukuna to run his errands you now found yourself stuck bumper to bumper with rapper Mozzy playing in the background. You pressed on the gas inching forward a little when a tan colored mini coup cut you off, making you slam on your brakes and begin to fervently press your horn. Rolling down your window you yell out, "Don't know how to fucking signal asshole?! Use your fucking eyes next time!" You swerve into the left lane where you manage to pass the mini coup flipping the driver off in the process. Stunned Sukuna bellows out, "Remind me to never drive in front of you."

"Oh so you were thinking 'bout leaving huh? Because if you are I swear to god I will drive this car into incoming traffic and we both gon' be goners, how 'bout that?"

"Jesus chirst woman where did you even get that logic?! You're insane!"

"Okay and? You love my insane ass." Smirking he clasps your thigh squeezing it in agreement. "Damn straight I do."

©ALL WORKS BELONG TO SAMOANKPOPER21; ANY INFRINGEMENT OR PLAGIARISM WILL BE REPORTED!! DO NOT STEAL MY WORK!!

[ddejavvu]

getting in early for mvm otherwise I’ll forget again 😂

could you do something where eddie munson is dating a clumsy reader, and he’s forever finding new bruises on her and kissing them better?

mvm is on a temporary hiatus because of my schoolwork but also this isn't an au so you don't have to worry about mvm !!

--

Eddie isn't used to undressing you with this level of chastity, but you're sleepy and drunk so it's business, not pleasure. He slips your top off of your torso, using its stretchy straps to slip it out from under your bum rather than trying to wrestle it over your head. It's currently weighing down his pillow, and he doesn't want to lift it and disturb the haze you've fallen into. He takes your shorts off with the top and scavenges through his dresser to find your favorite pair of his old gym shorts, the ones with the stretchy elastic that make them a perfect fit on you regardless of the size.

He retrieves a shirt for you as well, turning to take your left foot into his hand. He prompts you, 'Leg up, babe.' but notices a dark-colored splotch against the side of your knee that he hadn't seen in the low light that you'd been hanging out in before now.

"What's that?" He pokes at it, gently of course, but just enough so that you feel it. You whine at the feeling, letting him lift your leg off of the bed to threat it through the hole in his shorts.

"Bruise." You offer helpfully, and he snickers.

"I know that, I'm asking where you got it from."

"I dunno," You shrug, liquor lacing your words, "Pro'lly from bumping into the counter yesterday."

"You've gotta be more careful," He chides, bending down to kiss the marks softly, but he doesn't mean his scolding, he just doesn't know what else to say. You are careful, but you're clumsy by nature, and no amount of care can reverse that. If you try hard not to bump into something you'll trip over a different obstacle, but he feels restless not wishing you could be free of your constant bumps and bruises.

A strand of his hair tickles the bare expanse of your thigh and it raises a giggle from you, one that you jerk with and expose another bruise just above the small of your back.

"Babe!" Eddie gawps, wrestling your other leg into the shorts and hiking them up under your butt, "There's one on your back, too. Does it hurt?"

"No," You hum, slumping forwards in his arms when he pulls you upright to slide his shirt over your head. Your face rests against his tummy and he rubs a hand down your bare back as the shirt falls over it, chasing his touch and shrouding you in fabric that smells exactly like him.

"Lay down," He whispers, gently nudging you back onto the pillows. You fall easily and his hand behind your back stops you from hitting your head too hard against the pillow, your limbs loose and languid after liquor.

"G'night, clumsy," Eddie murmurs as he leans in to kiss a barely-there, faded bruise against your temple. You'd gotten that one from getting out of his car; you'd smacked your face right against the headrest. You blink sleepily at him but don't offer up any response, only the serenity so clearly written on your face as you sink into his mattress. "Try not to fall off the bed," He grins at you, nudging his nose against your cheek as your eyes drift shut, "You're not allowed to get any more bruises tonight."

[jaegeraether]

Sunsets and footballers (Part 92)

Lucy Bronze x Reader (69) & Jordan Nobbs x Leah Williamson (24)

Masterlist (other parts here)

((3k))

Due to popular demand, I'm going to post a chapter bi-weekly, every Thursday and Sunday night until we hit Part 100!

JORDAN POV

“What are you smiling at?” Leah asked from beside her, placing her hand on her thigh as she drove.

“Can I not just be happy?”

“Of course, but I know your looks. There’s something else there. Don’t you go hidin’ it from me now.”

Jordan smirked, her head resting against the headrest of her seat as she stared at Leah. She was wearing grey joggers, white sneakers, a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a cap, her face still lit up and happy from their morning of golfing. The corners of her eyes were crinkled. She never liked it, the signs of her ageing, however it was one of the things Jordan loved most in the world.

Leah looked at her. “Jord?”

“I was thinking that not long ago I was on a beach, alone and feeling hopeless.” She saw Leah’s expression fall and held her arm with both of her own, leaning in slightly to kiss her shoulder. “And now I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. Everything I was upset about is a thing of the past. I have a new friend who I wouldn’t trade for the world. I’m getting game time and making friends within the group. And I have you…” Leah’s face softened. Although they’d spent the morning doing something Leah had loved – it was the perfect day for Jordan also as she got to spend it with her. She murmured her next words softly. “I want to grow old with you, Lea.”

She waited for a reaction for what seemed like an eternity.

Leah pulled up somewhere and stopped the car, putting it in park and turning off the engine. When she turned to her, Jordan could see her tears forming and threatening to spill over.

“Oh Christ, you’ve done it to me.” She accused, wiping at her eyes. Jordan chuckled and gave her the time she needed.

“You want to grow old with me?” Leah asked, holding eye contact. It was ironic as she was the younger of the pair.

“I do.” Jordan brought Leah’s hand to her cheek and nodded against it. “Do you?”

Leah rolled her eyes. “Of course I do, silly girl. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

Jordan leant over and tasted the salty tears on Leah’s lips as she kissed her. It felt like home. Leah’s hand pressed against her chest; over her heart which calmed the nerves. Just like she knew it would. No one knew Jordan like Leah did.

She savoured the taste of her until Leah pulled back gently, her thumb stroking over her chest.

“We need to talk about what’s going to happen though, Jord.” She murmured lowly against her lips.

Jordan nodded against her and whispered a response that was almost a croak. “I know.”

She pulled back and any nerves she had for the conversation were immediately calmed by looking at Leah alone. She was calm, collected, and looking like she was in it, regardless of what obstacles they had to overcome.

“Arsen-” she started.

“No.” Jordan cut off, shaking her head. “No. My Arsenal days are over. I’ve made my peace with it. I’m getting game time with Villa, and I don’t have long enough left to be on the bench half the time, which we both know Jonas will do with me. You all have too many quality players.”

Leah pondered her words for a minute, looking like she was going to argue, and then eventually coming to terms with it and nodding. “Okay, Jord. Are you happy with Villa?”

“I am now..”

“And you’re enjoying Birmingham?”

She knew where this was going. “I know it’s not ideal, being so far from London, but hey, it’s only a few hours. We can do that… right?”

Leah didn’t hesitate. “A few years apart is nothing. I’m not losing you again. But… I was thinking I could join Villa…”

Jordan felt her eyes widen as she thought about it for a split second before shaking her head. “No. Absolutely not. Arsenal is your home. I’ve never met a bigger Gooner in my life. I want to see you retire there.”

Leah opened her mouth to speak again, though Jordan beat her there. “There’re no arguments here, Lea. If you can do the distance while I finish my career out at Villa, then we stay where we are. And anytime there are international camps, I’ll come to you. We’ll spend out weekends together. Any spare chances we get.”

“You may be at the camps too..”

Jordan gave her a look. “I’m p…past my time.” She stuttered out with emotion and caught herself with a deep breath. “Sarina won’t call me up again. I’ve made my peace with that too. I’ve had a few conversations with Luce and YFN about it… but I will be there for you. I’ll be at all of your games in England kit.”

Leah’s face softened at first at that comment, and then slowly, Jordan could see that crease forming between her eyebrows. She reached out and smoothed it over. “It’s okay, Lea. It really is. I promise.”

Her hand found her cheek and Leah leant into it. “Are you sure?” She muttered.

“I just want you.”

“You have me.” She admitted with an exaggerated sigh. “God, you’ve always had me, Jordan.”

Jordan’s heart skipped a beat.

“I just want you to be happy.”

“This will make me happy. Me at Villa, you at Arsenal. Us together. We’ll make it work.”

“You won’t get lonely out there?”

“I have Blu, and YFN will be moving back in while she gets better. And I’ll have you whenever you’re free.”

“I’ll be with you every chance I get, but I do have a lot of commitments.” She admitted. “I have events. Charity work. Interviews. A lot of expectations… and I know you don’t like coming to events-”

“-I’ll come.”

Leah almost startled. “What? You’ve never come to an event with me before…”

“We weren’t ever public. We are now.”

“Are you sure?”

“It’s part of your life, and I want to be there for it. Plus it means more time together and excuses to dress up..”

Leah grinned. Actually grinned. “So you’ll leave clothes in London?”

“At your house?”

“At our house.” She corrected.

Jordan’s lips twitched as she hid a smile. “Yes. And you’ll keep some at our Birmingham place?”

“Well, it makes sense to, of course.”

Jordan beamed lightly, trying to calm her excited heart. “It’s agreed. Now let’s get home so I can listen to you singing your horrendous country music from the shower while I make us some ham sandwiches for lunch.”

Leah chuckled and it was such a carefree sound. As if all the worries she had, were just expelled with their conversation. She reached out to stroke Jordan’s cheek before gesturing outside to the garage. “We’re already home.”

Jordan’s mouth dropped open slightly before she caught it.

“What about… other parts of our future?”

“What do you mean?” Jordan asked. “You mean our careers afterwards?”

“Well yeah, along with the other important things we never talked about before. Like marriage and kids.”

“It’s best to talk about it all now…” Jordan acknowledged. “What are your thoughts on kids?”

Jordan knew Leah wanted kids, but with her endometriosis, it made it difficult. It would always be Jordan who would need to carry them.

“You know what I want,” Leah sighed. “I want them. Even if we adopt.”

“I’ll carry them…” Jordan offered. They’d never spoken about it like this before, and she’d never offered, but now was the right time. They were all in. Honesty and compromise was necessary for their future together. “Just give me another two years of football. I want to see if I can make the Euros in 2025. If not, then I’ll retire.”

Leah was shocked. She turned in her seat. “Jordan, I can’t ask you to do that.”

“You’re not asking,” she reassured. “I’m offering. I want this, Leah. I want us. A future with you. I have to be realistic. And the reality is that I will be lucky to be starting in two years. My best football is behind me. Time is not on my side.”

“There are other options… surrogacy, adoption, freezing eggs…”

Jordan reached over and touched that worried crease again between her eyebrows and felt it deepen under her finger as Leah’s thoughts and worry ran more rampant. “This is what I want. I promise.”

Leah took some time to accept that. She reached out and laid her hand on Jordan’s lower tummy, eventually allowing herself a little smile.

“A little Nobbs.”

“A little Williamson.”

“You’d take my name? And carry our kids?”

“There’s nothing I want more than two little Williamson’s running around, causing and then solving chaos. Telling everyone what’s right and wrong.”

Leah chuckled. “Fair.” She tilted her head. “Three.”

Jordan shook her head. “Two. Better for travelling.”

“Hm. Okay. Two. But the first jersey we’re buying them is a Nobbs England kit.”

Jordan didn’t think she’d ever felt so happy in her life. These were the conversations they’d avoided previously. Only now did she realise it was because they weren’t ready for them then. They were now. They were all in it, now. And she knew that Leah would drop everything if Jordan wanted that. But she didn’t.

Jordan had reached the point in her life where she wanted to finish her career and go out on her own terms. She was already thinking about the future. She hoped she’d be lucky enough to bring their kids to Leah’s games if she were still playing. To be fair, Leah was the type of person who would play well into her mid to late 30s. She was the leader the team needed. She thrived on the pitch, and off it.

The only thing that had made her feel uneasy was the thought of finding a job after it, when the entirety of her life had been as a football player. It was a career with such a short life-span, though her first thought was YFN and the conversations they’d had about what she’d do after she retired. Jordan wasn’t the interviewing type, though knowing YFN, she’d find the perfect job for her.

Jordan’s thoughts were interrupted by Leah reaching out to cup her cheek and stroke it with her thumb.

“I have two more conditions.”

Jordan raised her eyebrow. It was cheeky given all that she’d offered from her side already.

“Go on, then.”

“I know we had the kiss at the game on Friday… but I want us to make it official on social media.” She requested. “Only if you’re comfortable with it, of course. I don’t want us to be dancing around the media. Let’s tell everyone on our own terms.”

This was a slight surprise as previously; it had been Leah to ask that they didn’t make it official. To be fair, they’d grown a lot in a year, and she completely understood Leah’s want to keep her private life private given just how famous she was.

“Okay, Lea. But… only after tonight. When the situation with Mark is sorted out.”

Leah nodded. “Agreed.”

“And the second condition?”

Leah paused, her eyes flicking between Jordan’s as if searching for something. Whatever it was, she seemed to find it.

“Marry me, Jordan.”

YFN POV

YFN was looking down at the colourful keychain in her hand, fiddling with it to stop her hands from trembling. The yellow key was for Lucy’s Spanish apartment. The blue for her place in Manchester. The red for her… for their place in London. The black fob for Miles. She bit her lip.

“Hey, love,” Lucy eased, reaching out to touch one of her dimples as they pulled up to a red light. “Your dimples are working overtime. What’s wrong..?”

She closed her eyes, allowing herself to lean into Lucy’s hand. “I’m just a little nervous, Luce.”

“About Mark?”

She nodded, kissing her palm and lowering it to tangle their fingers as Lucy began to drive again.

“It’ll all be sorted tonight.”

“I’m not so sure. He’s not one to back down so easily. It’s his child…”

Lucy was silent, though YFN could see her jaw twitch slightly, betraying the feeling inside her. It made them all uncomfortable.

“I did some research on them…” she murmured, her grip tightening on Lucy’s hand. She stroked patterns into the back of it absentmindedly with her sling hand as it hung there. Lucy loved being touched by her and she knew it would ease her. Especially with the topic of conversation. “They were beautiful. Young. Talented. They loved reading fantasy and fiction. They adored female footballers. They used to write in their school newspaper, and loved JK more than anything…” She paused and took a deep breath. “Callie wrote this article about when they came out to Mark on the roof of their house. They were always the tomboy in the family. The one their dad wanted to be a boy. One day they were up fixing the tiles on the roof together when Callie told him…”

Although she didn’t say anything, she knew Lucy was listening intently. “…they were worried he’d react badly or perhaps even push them from the roof. He didn’t. He sat with them on the roof and offered them a beer. They watched the sunset in silence until he said, ‘You’ll always be the best part of me.’ He offered to pay for all of their surgery. Callie said in the article that it was the best day of their life.”

Lucy cleared her throat but didn’t say anything. YFN continued. “They titled it: ‘The sunset that changed my life.’ It was a beautifully written article. I wish I had a talent like them at that age. After that, Callie’s story spread throughout high school like you would expect, though worse. They were bullied. Dragged into classrooms and beaten. Mark tried to stop it when he realised. They survived by burying their head into football… and books. Fantasy. Anything creative and world-building. Just wanting an escape…”

“And then the comments…” Lucy muttered.

“And then the comments,” she whispered, wondering if Joanne knew the harm she’d done. “That was the final straw.”

Lucy pulled into a carpark and stopped. “Little one?”

“Luce?”

She turned to her with a serious, caring look on her face. “I’m going to be a good parent, aren’t I?”

Her heart melted. How could she even think that she wouldn’t? “You asking that question proves that you will be, Luce.” She raised her hand to kiss it. “You’re going to be such a good mum, that I find myself daydreaming about it whenever I see you with Alzira and Freddie. And your fans, Luce. You’re going to make such a good parent, I promise. And regardless, we’re in this together.”

“I want them to have more opportunities than I did.” She admitted with that strong, Northumberland accent of hers.

“We’ll give them the world, and make sure they know how lucky they are. Let’s start by giving Mark the closure he needs for Callie.”

Lucy smiled and nodded, satisfied.

She put the car into drive and drove into the closest drive-thru. “Hungry already?”

She gave an offended look. “I was getting you a hot chocolate to calm your nerves…”

When YFN heard her order a hot chocolate, a coffee and some snacks, she rolled her eyes at the lie and received a cheeky Lucy grin in return.

They arrived at the airport around 6pm, boarding slightly earlier than the Lionesses, though they were on separate flights. They parked up Miles in a designated bay, and once their luggage was collected, they were driven to the aircraft. It was a small, private plane, something she’d been in before with Ridley. Though Riddles had nothing to do with this one.

This was all Catherine.

Lucy carried her up the stairs and placed her down gently at the top. They greeted the pilots and crew, before seeing that Leah and Jordan were already onboard and ready to go.

They greeted them and sat down near each other, strapping in. Lucy laid out her snacks on the table, and YFN her laptop. Every second closer to their meeting, she became more nervous.

She felt Lucy’s hand take hold of her thigh formly and realised she was bouncing her leg. It automatically stopped at the feeling of Lucy there. She took a deep breath and calmed herself, taking a sip of her hot chocolate.

It was then that she remembered exactly what he’d done to Leah and Dory. They had much more reason to be nervous than she did.

With a gentle smile, she looked over to her friends opposite them who both seemed more excited than nervous. They kept staring at each other and catching themselves, smiling like idiots. YFN tilted her head, pondering over it. It was too obvious to miss… or so she thought. She looked over at Lucy who was very unaware, instead fully focussed on the food she was munching away on, seemably happy with her choices.

She turned back to Dory as she looked at Leah, blushed, and looked away, directly at YFN who caught her. She felt her mouth drop open. Dory’s eyes widened as she realised she knew.

“Something you care to share with the group?”

Lucy stopped mid-chew and looked at the pair. She was terrible at social cues, and YFN had always wondered whether it was the ADHD or if she simply wasn’t interested.

Suddenly, she was choking.

“Luce, are you okay? What is it?”

She kept choking, her face going slightly red as she pointed to Dory’s hand. And the giant fucking rock on it.

[spacequokka]

Day 24 | Mistletoe

Pairing: Jisung x Reader Genre: f2l, fluff Rating: T Summary: Felix lays a trap for you two with a mistletoe. Word Count: 1.8k Warnings: Language, alcohol mentioned

Sometimes you have to be an emotional support human for your resident quokka. The same one sitting in your passenger seat biting his nails as he no doubt counted the cars surrounding Felix’s apartment building.

“Want some water?” You tapped his shoulder with a water bottle. “Bet it tastes better than your fingers.”

For the first time since you pulled up, he looked at you. “Doesn’t it seem like a whole lot more than ‘just a few?’” He turned back to the window. “What if it’s, like, standing room only? I haven’t been to a packed house party since uni and—”

You turned his face towards you and pinched his pretty lips shut. “It’s entirely possible Lixie’s neighbors threw a party too. And it’s a big building.” You let him go and turned the car off. “But if for some reason it’s packed in there, we can either hang out in his bedroom or I can take you home and we can watch a movie or something.” You patted his hand. “No worries, okay? He’ll understand.”

He grimaced. “But then you’ll miss the party!” He glanced at your outfit, a rendition of Santa’s little helper. “You were so proud of it.”

“Yeah, but it's just a Christmas costume.” You shrugged. “I mean, I got to wear it and it’ll be seen regardless. It’s not like I’m in a fashion show.” You shook you head. “Besides that, I won’t ditch you. You’re stuck with me tonight. Unless you finally get laid. Then you’re on your own, bud.”

That did the trick. Jisung’s head fell back against the headrest as he cackled, swiping at you playfully. “You’d abandon me when I needed you most?”

You made a face. “I do not need to guide you through dicking someone down. I know you have a general idea of what to do.” You opened your car door. “I saw that Amazon order of hentai.”

He choked on his spit and scrambled to get out. “You said you didn’t see what was inside!” He pointed. “You lied?”

“I see you’re not denying what it was.” It took everything in you not to cackle as his ears and cheeks flushed red. Together you made your way up two flights of stairs to Felix's door. As you entered the apartment, the sound of laughter and music filled the air, confirming Jisung's fears that it was indeed a packed house. Whoops. His hand wrapped around yours with a tight grip as he looked around for a familiar face. Just as you were about to say something, a loud voice called out your name.

"You made it!" Felix scurried over and pulled you both into a hug. "I was beginning to think you'd cancel on me."

"Oh, please." You pinched his side. "I said I was coming and I keep my word. However," you gave a pointed look around the room, "we didn't expect it to be this crowded."

At least he had the grace to duck his head. "My bad. I sent the invite to Changbin and he invited everyone he could think of. But!" He brightened up again. "Me and Jin made sure to reserve a room for you to chill in. There's a cooler with drinks, wings and pizza, and the PS5 is all set up with charged controllers."

Jisung pulled Felix into another hug, peppering his cheek with kisses. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Felix groaned, feigning disgust as he pulled away until something above your heads caught his attention. "Oh, well I guess it's okay since we're standing under the mistletoe." His expression turned devious as he looked at you. "You should get a kiss, too."

Jisung froze, stock still and unblinking. "Huh?"

You looked up. Yup, that was a mistletoe, alright. You had no doubt Felix was the one to put it there as Hyunjin wouldn't want people crowding the doorway. You looked at Felix, unamused. "You are so fucking corny."

"That is your personal opinion and quite frankly it's shit." He turned back to Jisung. "Come on, kiss her." He nudged Jisung closer. It wasn't until then that you caught the fear in his wide, brown eyes. He hadn't said a word and he had a death grip on your hand. But you couldn't figure out why. He'd just kissed Felix with no problem. Was it because of you? You knew your friendship wasn't on the same level as his with Felix or Hyunjin, but you thought it was at least somewhere near a playful kiss under a mistletoe.

Jisung shifted and avoided your gaze. You weren't going to make him kiss you if he didn't want to. You turned to tell Felix as much but the brat began chanting "kiss" triggering the party-goers to follow suit. “Lixie, you ass.”

It was too late. The chant grew louder and you noticed Jisung’s palm started to sweat. You knew the easiest way out would be leaving the party, but you didn’t want to do that. Part of you was a little jealous that Jisung would hesitate to kiss you. He’d kissed girls before, even fucked them. Before really thinking it through, you grabbed him by the chin and planted a three second kiss on his plush lips. The crowd erupted into cheers and went back to their conversations. Felix, the little bridge troll that he is, skillfully dodged your kick to his ass as he led you two to his room.

“You can be an asshole sometimes.” You mumbled once you were away from other ears.

Felix shrugged, eyes darting over to Jisung before a grin spread across his lips. “Just sometimes, huh?” He winked at Jisung prompting you to turn to him too. Jisung’s cheeks were flushed again and he pressed his fingertips to his lips. You’d watched enough anime with him to know that look and it confused you. Just a few minutes ago you were thinking he’d hate you for kissing him and now he—“Well, I’m gonna go check on the others. Don’t want anyone shitting in the dishwasher.”

And he was gone.

“Who the hell does that?” You asked yourself as you shrugged off your jacket and tossed it into a chair in the corner. You brushed off your skirt before kneeling on the floor and going through the cooler. “What do you want to drink, Sungie? He put both alcoholic and non-alcoholic in here.”

Silence. You bit your lip. If he wasn’t going to say anything about it, neither would you. It happened. Let it go.

“Fine. Here, take a Lime-a-Rita.” You held up the large can.

“Ew. You know I hate those.” He inched closer to look for himself. “Just gimme a Sprite.”

You mocked him under your breath and passed him a can. “So what are we playing first?” And just like that, things went back to normal. You went from game to game, plowing through the food and drinks. Nearly three hours later, he called for a break so you could use the bathroom and when you got back, you heard Felix’s voice through the door.

“Just ask her. She’s not gonna say no.”

“I don’t think she wanted to do it the first time. You put us on the spot.”

“Yeah because you were supposed to make your move.” Felix sighed. “How can things change if you don’t let her know how you feel? As much as you like to pretend, she actually can’t read your mind.”

There was a sigh and the door opened. Felix jumped back. “Oh! Can you not?” He put a hand over his chest. “Between the two of you, I’m gonna fucking die.”

You pushed him out the way. “It isn’t like you don’t deserve it.”

Felix snorted. “Oh, like I haven’t heard that before.” He disappeared down the hall.

You sat next to Jisung on the bed and took a chip from his bag. He licked his lips and swallowed. “So, how much did—”

“What is it you’re supposed to ask me?” You looked at him. “Is it about the kiss?”

His eyes widened for a second and he nodded, eyebrows scrunched together. “Did…did you want to kiss me or did you just do it to get it over with?”

You tilted your head and took another chip. “Both. I could tell you were uncomfortable. I’m sorry for kissing you without asking permission first, though. Thought it was weird you were okay with kissing Lixie but not me.”

He startled like you’d physically shocked him. “No it was different! I always kiss people on the cheek.” He touched his cheeks. “But usually mistletoe kisses are on the lips. And I’ve never—we’ve never, not like that.”

You sipped your soda. “So that’s why you froze up? Because it was something new?” You nodded. That made sense. If he wasn’t sure how you’d react and he’d never done it before, of course he’d overanalyze the situation. “I thought you just didn’t want to kiss me. I considered just leaving the party for a minute.”

He shook his head. “I’d never mind kissing you.” He lowered his voice and touched his lips again. “It was…nice.” His eyes darted over to you. “I—I keep thinking about it. It was kinda short.”

You nearly choked mid-sip. “What do you mean ‘short?’ I thought three seconds were long enough for a peck.”

“Everything happened so fast. Once second you were arguing with Lix then your lips were on mine then you were gone. I just, I really didn’t get to experience it since I was in my head.” He put the bag of chips to the side. “I want to remember the first time I kissed you like that, y’know?”

His words made your chest tingle as butterflies took flight. “I mean, I kissed you but I get what you’re saying.”

His gaze didn’t leave your face as you both sat there in silence. His hand found yours and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Yeah, so…what I wanted to ask was if you’d let me try again? Lemme give you something to remember.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Unless you weren’t into it before, then we totally don’t have to—”

“Ugh, Ji. Come on!”

He startled but thankfully leaned close and brought his lips to yours. His hands rested on your shoulders, holding you in place as if he believed you’d pull away too soon. The kiss was slow and gentle, allowing you to savor every moment of it. Your heart raced as Jisung's lips met yours again and again, a soft and tender connection that sent sparks of warmth through your body. When he finally pulled away, both of you were breathless and wearing matching smiles.

“Better?”

His eyes lit up as he rubbed the tip of his nose against yours. “Impossible to forget. Merry Christmas.”

[vinvantae]

Unmasked

Part 3/16

<<< previous part

Includes some bad French and Italian - English translations at the end

Word count - 2.7k

You looked out the window as the helicopter flew over to Monaco, the sky was grey and the city seemed unusually quiet. Your father had bought you your apartment as a present for your championship win - buying gifts was his way of showing his love, that he was proud. Because he didn’t know any other way to. The NDA about your job had caused some tension in your family but you were never close enough with them to be that bothered by it. Now, more than ever, you could afford to pay for your own lifestyle.

Usually during break you’d disappear back to your home-base, hide away from the world for a while and be ‘normal’. Well, as normal as the youngest 2 time faceless WDC could be.

But what you were about to do was anything but normal. As you touched down on the helipad, you could see Charles lent against his car in the distance - a soft smile tugged at your lips when you saw the bouquet he was holding. Damn, he was good at this fake dating thing. You crossed the tarmac after stepping off of the helicopter, heart fluttering a little when Charles’ face lit up at the sight of you. Gosh, he’s pretty.

“Those for me? You shouldn’t have.” You smiled softly, leaning up to press a kiss to his cheek. His free hand found a spot on your waist, kissing each of your cheeks.

He chuckled, passing them to you. “Can’t meet my girl without flowers now, can I? What kind of boyfriend would that make me?”

You gave him a hug, relaxing into his hold as he pressed a soft kiss to the top of your head - the PDA should have felt weird, but it felt scarily comfortable. The driver stepped away to open the passenger door for you, hand on the small of your back as you climbed in. Charles took a glance around and saw an older gentleman watching you both, almost as if he was trying to place you both. He simply gave him a nod and slid into the driver's seat.

There was a moment of silence before he spoke up, his eyes on the road. “Please let me know if I cross a line with the PDA stuff.”

“I will, but I can’t see that happening.” You smiled sweetly, giving his thigh a gentle squeeze. “I feel so comfortable around you, Charles.”

“So…” He smiled at some people as they crossed the road in front of you. “If I needed to kiss you..?”

Your cheeks flushed that same soft pink that he loved so much. “Got to make it believable, right?”

The two of you looked away from each other simultaneously, you hid your smile behind your hand as you looked out the car. You raised a brow as Charles drove past your street and kept driving.

“Uhm? You missed my flat.”

“Thought we could have a cute homemade pasta date… you know, for instagram.”

You giggled softly, the sound making Charles’ heart flutter. He knew it was part of the contract, but he couldn’t believe that you were really here with him right now.

“Oh yeah, for instagram.” You teased, taking in the sights as you continued your drive through the city - you pulled your sunglasses over your face, mostly to protect your eyes from the sun threatening to escape from behind the clouds but you were still trying to keep your identity a little mysterious. Leave people guessing who was in Charles’ car for a moment longer.

Charles pulled into the parking lot for his apartment, resting one hand behind your headrest as he reversed into his spot. “Let’s get you fed.”

“When did you have time to go pasta ingredient shopping anyway?” You asked, taking his hand as he helped you out of the car. “And hey, no one can see us, you don’t have to be all couple-y with me when we’re alone if you don’t want to.”

“I’ve been here a couple hours.” He hummed, draping an arm across your shoulder as you smelled the bouquet. “And I know, but you’re still my friend. Gonna treat you right, regardless.”

You lent into his hold, letting him lead you into the elevator. “Thank you… sorry, I’m just not used to hanging out with people.”

“Well that’s gonna change from here on out. You’re gonna be so fed up with me by the end of the break.” His grin was playful. “Here’s me.”

He swiped his keycard and held the door open for you, letting you step inside. You were greeted by what you’d definitely call a bachelor pad - it was somewhere he didn’t spend a lot of time because of the race schedule so it was well kept. He helped you remove your coat and hug it up on the peg.

“Nice place.”

“Thanks, it does the job. Place to sleep, place to eat.” He shrugged, kicking off his shoes. “I’ve never really settled in though.”

You hummed. “Maybe a homemade pasta dinner will make it feel a little different?”

His lips curled up into a smile. “I hope so. It’s nice to have you here. Been a long time coming really… I-I mean like… we’ve been friends for so long it’s almost weird that-“

“Charles, chill, I get it.” You teased, nudging your hip against his before heading into the kitchen. “Ooh spacious.”

The Monaco native moved around you as he pulled ingredients from the cupboard. There was a lull in conversation as you weighed things out but the quiet was comfortable, you didn't even notice snap a photo of you making a meal of mixing the dough before he gently nudged you aside and started kneading the dough.

You pulled your phone out of your pocket and sent a quick message to the PR manager.

YN - can I post some subtle photos of Charles on my insta story? We’re making pasta

PR - Sounds perfect. Send them via me before you post pls :)

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

yourinstagram added to their story

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

The two of you sat around the table, enjoying your pasta with some comfortable chatter as you split a bottle of wine. You smiled softly as Charles relayed back some memories of before he knew you were Thirty.

“It was your first win of the season in 2018. You had climbed on top of your car and were waving around the Ferrari flag… you were so cool. I really wanted to be your teammate some day, I was worried you were going to retire before I got a chance.” He chuckled softly. “Little did I know, you were just a kid like me.”

“Can’t get rid of me that easily.” You smiled softly, twirling your pasta around the fork. “You know… you’ve never really told me how you actually felt about me being y’know… me.”

The driver paused for a moment, taking a sip of his wine as he thought back. He had a nostalgic, almost wistful smile on his face. “Honestly? At first I couldn’t really believe it. Not only were you a girl but like… young. I was actually so shocked.”

His eyes flickered over you as you dipped your wine before he continued speaking. “But mostly? I was so impressed. To have achieved so much you were an amazing talent and I thought it was a shame that they kept you hidden away. So many little girls could use an idol like you, y/n. Having you as my teammate has inspired me, so I can’t even fathom what it would mean to them.”

“Charles.” You said, placing a hand over your heart. “You’re going to make me cry, thank you… I’m grateful I met you. You’re such a good friend, and I’m glad - perhaps besides the circumstances - that we get to hang out more.”

The driver cheersed his glass against yours, not missing the way you’d called him a friend. He had to remind himself that this wasn’t real, as much as he wished it was. Whilst he could hold your hand and kiss you in public, behind closed doors you were simply friends. He never wanted to make you uncomfortable - he knew how frustrating it was for girls when a male friend you thought you could trust made a move. If anything were ever to happen, he wanted it to come from you.

“You’re thinking too hard.” Your voice snapped him out of his trance. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

He shook his head. “Nothing, nothing. I’ll get you home in a bit, I imagine you’ve got quite a bit to unpack?”

You groaned. “Don’t remind me. I did have the flat cleaned before I showed up but I need to order groceries… Do we have anything tomorrow?”

Charles fished his phone out of his pocket and opened up the itinerary your PR manager had sent you over, eyes flickering across the screen. “I think they’re giving us a day to settle in.”

“Perfect. Because I’m shattered.” You stretched your arms above your head, a soft yawn escaping you. “But, you’re more than welcome to join me at my place if you find yourself with nothing to do.”

“Might be your only day free of me, love. I think you’ll get bored of me.” His voice had a teasing lilt but you could tell he meant it as his eyes didn’t meet yours as he started clearing the table. “I really enjoyed this though.”

With a nod you stood up, taking your empty wine glasses through to the kitchen - Charles close behind. “I enjoyed it too. Can I maybe help more next time?”

He playfully rolled his eyes. “If you promise not to ruin my pasta noodles again… needs a gentle touch.”

“Didn’t know you were so passionate about pasta, Charles.” You laughed.

“I am not, you’re just clumsy.” The smile on his face was fond. “Pass those here. I need to rinse before I put it in the dishwasher.”

“I was expecting you to be more of a slob.”

He gasped. “Rude.”

You returned his previous eye roll and passed him the glasses, stepping away to lean against the counter as he popped the dishes in the dishwasher. It still felt so crazy that you were allowed to hang out with him now, this time two days ago the most he could do was hide away with you in your driver’s room and now you were in his home. It should’ve felt weirder than it did, but you were glad how easy this was.

“I don’t know if you remember, way before you moved to GP3, when we were like… 7 or 8 maybe? That wet race in Belgium.” He turned to face you, standing opposite you now - you were mirroring each other's stance. “Where you drove through that puddle and absolutely drowned me.”

A fond laugh escaped you. “Absolutely I do. And do you remember why I did that?”

“…No.” He lied, feigning confusion. “I have no memory of that.”

You crossed the kitchen until you stood almost directly in front of him, his eyes bore into yours and your confidence wavered for a moment. He raised a brow, the corner of his lip tugging up into a challenging smirk. “Are you going to remind me or are you just gonna stare?”

“You yanked on my hair, said that girls had cooties and I shouldn’t be allowed to race with you.” You narrowed your eyes, prodding him directly in the centre of the chest. “So I think 7 year old you fully deserved to be splashed.”

“Well, 7 year old me was very stupid.” The Monegasque hummed. “I should’ve considered myself lucky being able to drive alongside a future world champion.”

“Too right.”

His eyes flickered across your face, you could almost see the memories replaying in the bright blues as he studied you. “You know what they say about when little boys tug on little girls’ hair though, right?”

Your heart skipped a beat but before his words could really sink in, his phone rang from the counter behind him. He kept his eyes trained on your face as he reached to take it - lifting it to his ear without seeing who was calling.

“Pronto?*1” He paused. “Ah Pierre! Ça va… oui… je suis avec un ami… Oui, Pierre, elle est une fille*2.”

You held in a giggle as he rolled his eyes at his friend’s insistence of being aware of every girl that ever roamed the planet. Charles held a finger to his lips, fighting back a smile himself as Pierre continued to ramble at him down the phone.

“Bon, à demain*3.” He hung up the phone. “So, you know how we had no plans tomorrow?”

“What on earth have you signed us up for?”

He gave you an apologetic smile. “Pierre is coming over to Monaco tomorrow, wants to go out. Would be a good opportunity for you to meet some of my friends, no?”

“Fine.” You groaned, letting your forehead fall against his chest. “Just Pierre?”

“…Max and Daniel as well.”

“I hate you.”

“I know.” He chuckled, his laughter vibrated through you as he wrapped an arm around you - pulling you into him for a hug. “You’ll have a good time. They’re good guys, I promise. And because you’re my ‘girlfriend’ Pierre should behave himself.”

“I’m not sure if I should be excited or nervous.”

“It’ll be fine, I promise. I’ll order you a ride home, I’d drive but we polished off that wine.” Charles released you from his hug, smiling down at you. “I’ll swing round yours before we meet the boys tomorrow?”

You nodded. “Works for me. Just give me a rough time so I can get ready.”

After saying your goodbyes at the door, you climbed into the car and made your way back to your own flat - it was dark now, the dull grey of the sky had changed to a deep blue but the world around you remained illuminated by the bright buildings of Monaco. Your place was only 10 minutes from his, so you were home fairly quickly - making sure to tip the driver.

When you stepped into your apartment you noticed a large bouquet of flowers with an envelope tucked inside of them but you didn’t even stop to read it. Knowing it was from your father, once again too busy to make time to see you during your break from racing, instead just throwing money your way. You were grateful that his lifestyle had meant you were able to get into racing at a young age but you had paved your own way, able to fend for yourself.

Your Monaco flat wasn’t as lived in as your place back home but you had made it homely. Blankets and pictures dotted around, the soft smell of whatever candle the cleaner had used to cover the smell of cleaning solution. It wasn’t your intention to be here during the winter break but you knew it was easier for your contract with Charles.

But one thing you knew here was an old photo album from back when you were a kid. You fished through a draw and pulled it out, flipping through the pages until you found the photo of you, Charles and Max on the podium in that race in Belgium - the future Ferrari driver soaked from head to toe. You brushed your thumb over the photo before sending a picture of it to Charles.

YN - Looking a little damp here, Charles

CL - Can’t believe you still have a photo! Nice helmet hair 😘

You chuckled at his response before ticking the album back away, letting your mind wander to tomorrow. Meeting Daniel properly for the first time. Seeing Max and Pierre for the first time since you karted with them as a kid. Would they like you? Would any of them even suspect who you are? Would the younger two even remember you?

But more than anything you were just excited to get to know the people you’d worked with for so many years. You had existed in the same world for years but had never shared more than a congratulatory handshake or pat on the back. But now you were going to look them in the eyes, they were going to hear your voice.

It was just a shame they wouldn’t know who you were, they’d just think you were Charles’ new girlfriend. You just hoped that the day they learned the truth would be sooner rather than later, because until then, they would never really know the real you.

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

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

Next part>>>

*1 ‘Ready’ - how Italians often answer the phone

*2 ‘How are you… yes… I’m with a friend… yes, Pierre, she’s a girl’

*3 ‘Good, see you tomorrow’

Hope you enjoyed ❤️❤️ thank you all for your continued support x

Mixed media won the poll so I hope you enjoyed this new layout! I may still post some edits separately but mostly they’ll be integrated into chapters like this

[taones]

If You Can Hold On - A.A, S.K, S.D

Part four is finally here! reminder that I do not accept criticism, this could be crap but I do not care if it is <3 it's been like three years in the making so take it or leave it king!

pairing ~ poly asadaisuga x gn!reader

warnings ~ pining, angst, negative emotions, suggestive towards the end, probably bad writing but gimme a break I haven't written in a year, cursing <3

You couldn’t sleep.

Every time you closed your eyes it was like the image of the boys were burned into your retinas. At first, it had incited some sort of rage in you - their actions at the diner curdled with the waffles you had eaten, churning in a way that made your stomach feel tight and queasy. Admittedly,  Daichi got to you the most. He was never one to hide his emotions, but he usually kept his sadness to himself. It took a lot of effort over many years of friendship to get Daichi comfortable with expressing that in front of you. Seeing him so emotional, exhaustion weighing on his shoulders, had struck something in you. Not that you were sure what that emotion was.

The longer Kiyoko drove, the less angry you felt. The rage from the diner slid off your shoulders like water - which only allowed for fatigue to settle itself across your chest. Of course, that didn’t mean you could sleep. Instead, you gnawed on your lip and focused your gaze on the back of Yachi’s headrest, trying desperately not to think of the situation. 

Every time you thought back on the weekend that had passed, you couldn’t help but cringe. When they had talked about adding a third to their relationship, you had been so caught up in how you felt that you hadn’t stopped to be logical. Of course, seeing them with someone like that would hurt, but it would hurt so much more to not see them at all. There wasn’t much time for you to stop and be realistic about the situation. You four had known each other so long there was no way they would let you walk out of their lives that easily. 

Resting your head in your hands, you sighed. 

“You okay?”

You snorted, lifting your head to catch Kiyoko’s eye through the mirror. 

“Would you be?”

She hummed, shrugging her shoulders. 

“Probably not” she began, “but me and Yachi talk about our feelings.”

She paired her statement with a smile and a pointed look. Yikes. She was correct, naturally, but it didn’t make it any easier to hear. Her ‘I told you so’ tone made you cringe and immediately jump to defend yourself. 

“Okay, yeah good point, but it’s harder when its three of them and we’ve known each other for forever”

“And you’ve been moping for half of that” 

Grumbling, you adjusted in your seat. She was right, as Kiyoko often is. Deep down you knew it was dumb for you to sit on these feelings for so long and never even drop a hint to the boys about your feelings. You would say it was fear, but you knew it was cowardice. 

The traffic slowed to a stop in front of you, it was mid-evening now so you knew Kiyoko would be dying to get out and stretch her legs at some point. It would be a good opportunity to wake Yachi up from her never-ending nap and grab some coffee for the night stretch of the drive. The car had passed a marker for a rest stop a couple miles back anyway. The woman in the front whipped out her phone while the traffic was at a standstill and shot off a few texts rapidly. 

“This traffic doesn’t seem to be letting up any time soon, you should get some sleep and i’ll wake you up when we get to the rest stop”

Knowing Kiyoko, this was more of a ‘listen to me’ than a suggestion. Regardless, you felt your eyelids begin to droop at the mention of a nap. Soon enough, your head was resting against the cool window and you were drifting off.

—

Your body was jostled awake by the car pulling in. Night time had truly fallen by this point and the LEDs on the dash told you it had reached 9pm. Shifting, you forced your joints to crack and pop as you stretched your body back to life. Your joints screamed at you to get out of the cramped vehicle. 

“We’re here!” 

You groaned at Yachi’s chipper tone. 

“Come on sleeping beauty, lets get some coffee”

The industrial lights of the rest stop burned your eyes as soon as you walked through the revolving doors. The white linoleum floor squealed against your trainers and the swishing and screaming of coffee machines made your ears hurt. The crying had caused your nose to stuff up to the point you could tell your eyes were still crusty and puffy, even without checking in a mirror. Still, you persevered and trudged towards the coffee shop at the back of the stop. 

“We’re gonna go to the bathroom and meet you back at the car, that okay?” Kiyoko asked, pressing a palm to your shoulder. 

You nodded, rubbing your eyes. 

Honestly, you really didn’t give a shit if you were left alone in the rest stop - it meant you could escape its stupidly bright lights and ridiculous shiny flooring as soon as possible. Maybe having a coffee in your hand at the end of all this will make the awful situation seem ever so slightly better. But, until you had that coffee, you would continue grouchily stomping up the aisles of the rest stop. 

—

By the time you got back to the car, you assumed the girls would've already sat in the front seats - waiting for you to get back. Instead, the front seats were dark and empty and there was no sign of the couple. 

You tried the door - locked.

Footsteps echoed behind you. Your heart fell to your stomach. 

“y/n, thank god”

Your head whipped around, coming face to face with the three people you wanted to see least right now. Your mouth opened and closed like a fish. The coffee cup trembled in your grasp and you tried desperately to pretend like it was the cold. 

“Suga-what? Why are you guys here?” you asked, tripping on your words. 

“Because you ran off!” 

Taken aback, you took a step backwards towards the car. Suga, or even Daichi, talking to you like that. As with every friendship, there had been ups and downs but you and Asahi rarely argued. So him bursting out in an undeniably emotional way came as a shock to you. 

“Did Kiyoko text you?” you asked incredulously, ignoring his previous statement.

“Yeah we know we messed up Y/n, but you need to give us a chance to explain ourselves” he continued, running a hand through his hair, “you can’t just call Kiyoko and expect her to save you”

The sense of betrayal squeezed your stomach, even tighter, sending heat rushing through your limbs. Your mouth hung open in shock. The rage bubbled up inside you once again and you clenched your fist against the side of your jeans.

“I ran away? You pushed me out! All three of you did, with your secrecy and your whispering and your keeping things from me” you ranted.

“I am your friend, your best friend at that. You tell me when you change anything about your life but when you want to add some random person to your relationship - that's suddenly not for me to know? Because that makes so much sense!”

You gasped. That wasn’t meant to come out. 

The three men in front of you stared at you in shock. Asahi’s face was red as a firetruck and the other two were holding each other's hand in a death grip. Even though it had been upsetting you, that information was still something you were not meant to know. You couldn’t help but feel a curl of shame choking your stomach in its grip. Gnawing on your lip, you pulled your arms around your torso and shrunk away from the three men in front of you. It was easy to pretend that they were the ones at fault, and their actions definitely still hurt, but you were face to face with the consequences of your own actions and unable to accept that. 

A laugh broke you out of your stupor. It was a classic Daichi chuckle, mixed with hints of disbelief. You’d be lying if you said it didn’t make you somewhat insecure.  

“Oh my god, Y/n this is why we say you need to listen to us.” huffed Koushi. 

Asahi was just standing there in front of you, shoulders sagged. You stepped towards him, confusion still racking your brain. As much as you were upset with them right now, Asahi was still your friend and you knew how sensitive he could get. 

“It’s you, y/n” he mumbled.

You paused, brows shooting up. 

“Huh”

“It’s you, you’re the fourth person, you’re who we were talking about”

It felt like the wind had been sucked from your stomach. The bitterness of your coffee sat heavy on your tongue and began to make your stomach churn. Stumbling, you grasped tightly onto Asahi’s hands in front of you.

“You’re not serious?” you forced out, looking him in the eye. 

You could not have missed that. You searched for any sign they might like you continuously for the past almost-decade of friendship. Again and again you found nothing, so why has that changed now? They wouldn’t be messing with you, that’s not something Asahi would do. You scrunched your nose in confusion.

“Yes we’re serious, why do you think we’d hide it from you? That makes no sense at al-”

You cut the taller man off with a teary laugh, launching yourself at him to wrap him in a hug. He let out a small ‘oof’, obviously shocked - but held you in his arms regardless. 

“y/n, you’re always telling us about the value of communication and then you pull shit like this on us” came a teasing muse from the silver-haired man behind you. 

“Oh shush Kou, come here - both of you”

The other two joined your hug. Suga wiggled between you and your larger companion and Daichi wrapped his strong arms around all three of you. God, you were so stupid. 

“Wait, what does this mean?” you asked, pulling back, “for us then, for our friendship?”

“Uh, whatever you want it to mean really. I suppose it’s up to you” Daichi mumbled, scratching his head. 

“Um no, not saying what we really want is how we got into the situation in the first place, we need to tell the truth” Suga scolded, rubbing his hand up and down his brunette boyfriend's shoulder. 

“We would like you to join our relationship, y/n. Officially” 

Asahi spoke softly, resting his hands on your waist. 

Butterflies exploded in you. A grin broke out across your face, your gaze shifting to each one of the men in front of you. Naturally, you had imagined this moment several times - mostly teenage daydreaming. Everything from intimate confessions with dozens of roses, to loud and garish prom-confessions on the dancefloor had been imagined. Nothing, however, could compare to the feeling of hearing the words in real life. 

“We love you” Suga spoke gently into your ear.

“And we want you,” Daichi added. 

Tears welled up in your eyes and you sniffed. Nodding, you wrapped your arms around all three and best you could and tilted your head back in a giddy laugh. None of this felt real. It was almost too good to be true.

Cold droplets began to fall out of the sky, hitting heated skin from the rush of the confessions. As the drops began to pelt your face and shoulders, you turned to the boy closest to you and grabbed his jaw in your hands. 

“You mean it? Really, you’ll have me?”

“Y/n, it’s always been you - nobody else was an option” he confirmed, holding the hand you had placed on his face. 

The long-haired man in question moved the hand on your waist to your back, pulling you close to his face. And, finally, he kissed you. It was warm and comforting, you could ignore the rain pelting down on you because of the explosions of colour that were pulsing from your connected mouths. 

“Hey, stop hogging”

Koushi shouldered Asahi out of the way, not giving you a moment to breathe before plastering himself on you. You laughed into the kiss. It wasn’t as slow and passion filled as Asahi, but it was your Suga all over. Quick and hot and excited, he slid his hands to your waist and connected your hips together as you kissed. It was certainly a steaming first kiss and you were certainly not complaining. 

Daichi groaned next to you, clearly done with his excitable boyfriends antics. The resignation in his tone caused you to giggle and break the kiss - something that elicited a pout out of the man in your arms. 

Sawamura’s strong arms muscled you out of the grip of Suga. The strongest boyfriend was never one to be outdone, he had that firefighter, classic gentlemen energy and it showed in the way he held you. 

The brunette smiled, resting his forehead against yours. 

“It finally feels complete, we should’ve asked you about 5 years sooner than we did”

“To be fair, I did not make it easy for you, did i?” you cringed again. 

He chuckled, shaking his head and snaked his arms around your body. The two of you connected your lips together, moving against one another in a familiar way. Daichi’s kisses felt like the kisses you had seen in Disney movies when you were younger - soft, passionate and romantic. 

The rain was hammering down now, soaking your clothes and hair all the way through. You broke apart from Daichi when you heard cheering from the front of the rest stop.  

Kiyoko and Yachi stood at the entrance, an umbrella covering them. The smaller blonde was jumping up and down, her girlfriends arm wrapped loosely around her shoulders. Kiyoko made eye contact with you, nodding gently in approval. Smiling, you nodded back. 

You felt your cheeks warm and turned to hide your face in Suga’s shoulder. 

“Sooo” you started, “does this mean i have three boyfriends now, cause that’s gonna be hard to explain to the guys”

The three men in front of you chuckled.

“It’s none of their business for now” mused Koushi, nosing at your jaw. 

“We have a whole holiday to think about it, don’t we?” Asahi smiled down at you, “but boyfriends sounds good to us”

You nodded, smiling bashfully up at him. 

“Come on, let's get you into the car hmm?” Daichi asked, sliding an arm around your hips. 

— 

The white sheets crinkled from where they were tucked around your hips. The bed sheets of the villa you ended up at were crisp and starched, but the bed was warm around you like a cloud. The birds chirped outside, fluttering around the window in the morning sun and the fresh scent of coffee wafted in from the kitchen. It was heaven. 

Best of all was the tan arm wrapped around you and the smaller, paler arm rubbing up and down you back - getting dangerously low to where the sheets covered your hips. 

“Sugawara Koushi, you better be careful” you grumbled, sleep adding voice rising from your dent in the pillow. 

The man in question huffed behind you, stopping his hand just beneath Daichi’s arm on your waist. 

“Finally awake i see”

You snorted. 

“Yeah cause you can’t keep your hands to yourself” you mused, rolling onto your back. 

Daichi was very much still asleep next to you, the drive there must have taken it out of him because he was dead to the world - face down on the pillow snoring. A real shame considering you were now allowed to take full advantage of his shirtless sleeping policy. 

Suga slid over the bed towards you, pulling you by your hip towards him. Nuzzling his face into your neck, he began to plant soft, slow kisses up and down the column. You hummed, enjoying the blissful moment. 

“Oh - uh” came Asahi’s stutter from the door, “i got you guys coffee”

Suga snorted into your neck, the moment gone. Regardless, you found your tall and awkward partner adorable and reached out towards him. Partially for coffee, but mostly so he would join you on the bed. He smiled, slipping into the sheets beside your sleeping boyfriend and handing the coffees over to you. 

You held the warm coffee cup in your hands and levelled your gaze over all three of your partners, curled up in bed with you. Things were just how they were supposed to be.

finally!!! the end of an era look at us go!!! thank you for whoever stuck around for this I love you all dearly and I hope it didn't disappoint you. If a spicy epilogue is wanted... let me know ;).

[morbiderotica]

hey! would love to hear your thoughts on how a reader/oc would get close to matt and mello if they grew up in the wammy's house.

─ ★ wammy headcanons ... gn!reader

MATT

♡ matt would be easy to befriend especially if you both like the same video games

♡ he's not very cautious when it comes to people in general so youre no exception

♡ even if he makes it look like he doesn't like making new friends, he does

"hey, you're matt right?" you sat on the floor next to the boy who was playing a video game. he barely acknowledged your question but nodded. you looked over his shoulder to see what had him so entranced. the screen showed various characters that you recognized easily. "is that pokemon?" you asked a little excitedly and matt reciprocated it. "yeah!" he was a little too enthusiastic to find someone else who liked the game he was playing but he didn't mind already accepting he had a new friend. whether you liked it or not  

♡ he likes making friends and sharing interests with people

♡ besides you the only other person he was really friends with was mello

♡ regardless of the shared interest he just liked hanging out with you anyway

♡ he liked to listen to you ramble about whatever you were intrested in and in turn you would listen to him

♡ as you guys got older nothing really changed except for the fact the two of you would sneak out all the time

♡ it was late night car drives going on about your interests instead of sitting in a small room now

"no like they literally crash princess peach's party and then steal her bro." matt enthused about this new game that came out, new super mario bros or something, as he drove. his hand rested on the headrest of your seat. the road was empty given the time of night it was. you were tired but you could listen to him for hours and hours.

MELLO

♡ if you got within a 10 feet radius of mello he would leave so fast

♡ nothing against you in particular he just hates people

♡ but when his only friend (matt) befriended you he had no choice but to like you or rather tolerate you

"so.." you began talking to mello who was sitting in silence eating some sweets. "how are you..?" you tried so so so hard to be nice to him but he would rather burn himself alive than entertain you. "i'd be better if you weren't bothering me." for such a small kid he had a big attitude. "alright then." and so the next 10 minutes before matt came back were silent and awkward.

♡ you didn't give up on trying to be friends though cause you knew it would make matt happy

♡ he realized that too but he was too stubborn and selfish

♡ honestly he had a plan to make matt hate you he spent so long trying to come up with the perfect plan

♡ but before he could even excute the plan you helped him through a panic attack so now he couldn't get rid of you even if he wanted to

"mello?" your voice was soft compared to the ones in his head. you didn't really know what to do and you knew getting an adult probably wouldn't help and you had no idea where matt was. he tried to stand up or yell at you to get out or to just turn away and hide from you but he was frozen. "hey, hey." you sat next to him, his head was in his knees. "copy my breathing." you took one of his hands and placed it on your chest to help him follow your breathing pattern. breathe in. breathe out. breathe in. breathe out. "thank you.. i guess." he grumbled once he was alright.

♡ he thought you were alright after that by alright i mean he would probably tear anyone's head off who tried to mess with you

♡ matt was stoked that his two best friends were becoming friends and mello was just stoked you didn't tell matt the real reason why

[kindersurprisebacterium]

17$ An Hour (Dabi/Reader)

Explicit Content MDNI

W/C: 2.7k

Gender Neutral AFAB Reader

“We really appreciate this,” Rei spoke with a gentle smile. Enji, standing behind her, simply nodded in agreement.  “Shoto’s a very well-behaved boy so we hope your time here isn’t too strenuous, especially considering the last-minute arrangements,” she explained, “but regardless, while we’re away please make yourself at home.” She glanced back at Enji. The two turned towards the door. Enji had already started off down the hallway.

“Oh, and there’s shampoo and conditioner in the en suite!” Rei added before following along behind her husband. I grabbed my suitcase and pulled it up onto the bed. Maybe now wasn’t the best time to unload, however. I left my luggage to sit on the guest bed, trailing down the hallway to the living room. Shouto sat silently on the couch, nose-deep in a book. The cover had a picture of a dinosaur on the cover. I took a seat beside him. 

“You got anything I can read?” I asked. Without looking up from his book, he grabbed another off of a stack and handed it to me. Another one about dinosaurs. I flipped open the book and was met with a more expanse vocabulary than I’d assumed he’d know. Mentally making the note that he was a dork, I continued reading, eager to befriend him, even if just a ploy for obedience. 

“What’s your favorite dinosaur?” He asked, heterochromia eyes peering over the top of his book. I smiled.

“Brontosaurus, specifically because scientists thought it wasn’t real, but they found fossils that proved its existence again,” I answered. 

“Mines the leopleurodon. It’s an aquatic dinosaur with massive jaws and fins,” he responded with a grin, pointing to a picture of it in his book. The sound of the front door slamming echoed throughout the room. My eyes darted toward the noise. A messy head of white hair appeared from around the corner. Cerulean eyes latched onto me as he walked through the entryway. 

“Who’s this?” He asked, lips just barely curling into a smirk. A glint of silver slipped from his mouth as he spoke. 

“Babysitter,” Shouto answered plainly, eyes returning back to his book. The man nodded and sauntered off toward the hallway. Another slam shook the walls before the house settled back into silence. 

“Who was that?” I asked, reading over the page about the hydrorion.

“My brother Touya.”

A soft breeze brushed past my skin, a welcome feeling to ward off the humidity of the night. Crickets softly chirped, breaking up the stillness of the night. The potent, musky taste of cannabis washed over my tongue as I took another drag. Settling into the lounge chair, I kicked my feet up, eyes scanning across the sky, sparkling with thousands of tiny diamonds just barely bright enough to see.

The sliding door screeched against the rails as it was dragged open. Glancing over the back of the chair, I saw a familiar white head of hair. 

“Why aren’t you watching him?” I asked as smoke seeped from my lips. 

“I don’t do that shit,” he huffed, sitting in the chair next to me. I clicked my tongue, eyes drawn back to the sky. “You got another?” He asked. I tilted my head, temples pressed against the headrest. 

“If you pay me back I will,” I glared at him as I took another draw. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a loose five-dollar bill. I grabbed it from his hand and pinched the bill between my knees as I grabbed my bag. Digging past loose piles of change and trash, my fingers brushed over the cool metal of my grinder. Perching the joint between my lips, I pulled out a pack of papers.

“You’re good at rolling then, I thought that was a pre-roll.”

“Practice,” I muttered as I spread the flower across the paper in a line. Pinching each end gently between two fingers, I slowly rotated the joint, rolling it up until only a bit of paper was showing. My tongue darted out, licking across the end of the paper to bond it shut. I held out the newly rolled joint between my fingers and extended it out to him. He smirked and grabbed it from me. I handed him the lighter in my lap and laid back against the seat. 

“Real good with your hands, babe,” he said, lips moving around the joint perched between his teeth.

“Yeah? I can use ‘em to break that little neck of yours,” I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. I brought the cigarette back to my lips for another drag.

“I’m not that much of a masochist,” he huffed, smoke trailing from his lips.

“That implies you are a masochist to some degree,”

“See? You’re already flirting back. I knew I could get you.” He chuckled, which soon turned to coughing. 

“The only thing you’ll be getting is a fist to the face, fucker.” I spoke, struggling to hold back the smile growing on my face. 

“Nah, nah, if you let me smoke you out, you’ll let me eat you out,” he stood up from his chair, slowly approaching me. 

“I’m not going to say no to free head…unless it’s coming from a cocky bastard like you.” He grabbed my leg at the ankle, pushing it to bend so he could take its place. “See, shit like that? Cocky,” I pointed to my leg. He rolled his eyes and brought the joint in his hand up to his lips. “Do you come onto everyone this quickly?”

“Yes.”

“Grade A slut.”

“You know it, babe,” he winked and returned to silently eyeing me down. Feeling the dull thud of a heartbeat in my core, my thoughts kept circling back to his proposition. Inching closer and closer to-

“Fine,” I muttered. In an instant his hands were on me, tugging my body further down the chair until I was laying flat on my back. While it was still within reach, I set my joint into the ashtray, somehow resting alongside his. He kneeled between my legs, lowering down to my level. Lips pressed against mine, jagged dead skin pricking my lips. He moved slowly, seemingly in sync with the hands that slowly traced up my thighs. The pads of his fingers swirled in circles across my inner thighs, creeping up higher to graze against the inseam of my shorts. His lips moved down my jaw to my neck. Kisses turned to rough sucking, hard enough to leave behind bruises. He tugged at the waistband of my shorts, slowly pulling them down my hips. I lifted my hips up, just enough to help him remove the fabric the rest of the way. The biting chill of the night breeze nipped at my newly exposed skin. My knees were pushed aside, fingers delving into my core, sliding up and down, spreading slick arousal over my heated skin. And then they pulled back, just for a moment. He stood up, moving to kneel in front of the chair. Arms hooked over the tops of my thighs, pulling me further down the chair until my body hung off the edge. I threw my legs over his shoulders for stability, a move that seemed to excite him. Jagged lips kissed across my thighs, leaving more splotches of purple as he moved slowly toward my core. His breath fanned across my cunt, sending a shiver up my spine and a curse off my tongue. Cursing him for teasing me so much, and yet not wanting it to stop, each second without stimulation only driving me further into heated arousal. 

His tongue breached my thoughts, circling around my clit at a tantalizingly protracted pace. I carded my fingers through the tufts of white hair at the peak of his head, gently tugging the strands. His tempo began to hasten, shifting to quick flicks of his tongue against my clit. My teeth sunk into my bottom lip, blocking the flood of noises that threatened to break free from my throat. My toes curled, fingers knotted further into his hair, egging him on. My stomach clenched, muscles tensing as my body became overwhelmed with pleasure. My hips rocked against his face, pushing further into the stimulation. His lips closed around my clit, latching onto the bud. My eyes rolled to the back of my head, desperate pleas spilled from my tongue like drool as I inched closer to the precipice. My legs clamped around his head, threatening to cut off his breathing, but the suction from his mouth never subsided. My body was jolted into a state of static, muscles going limp as I came. My chest heaved as I tried to settle my panting breaths. He pressed a soft kiss into my thighs, an unexpected contrast to his aggressive motions before. As my vision slowly came back into focus, I watched as he picked up my discarded clothes, holding them out for me to grab. His face shone in the dim porch lighting, stained with arousal and sweat.

“I promise I’ll pay you back for this,” I spoke, having regained my breath.

Peering into Shoto's room, I was met with stillness. I grasped the doorknob, gently pulling the door closed. My body seemed to pull me along, down the hallway, to a closed door. I rapped my knuckles against the door. Audible shuffling sounded from behind the door, soon followed by cerulean eyes peering at me through the crack. He swiftly pulled the door open, body leaning against the frame. My eyes caught a glimpse of the room behind me. Posters were haphazardly tacked to the wall, a mess of scattered clothes on the floor, empty beer cans, and a handful of bongs stained brown from dirty water. 

“What are you here for?” He asked, a smirk creeping over his face. 

“To pay you back,” I pushed my hand against his chest, and his body moved back into the room. Kicking my leg back, I shoved the door shut, and a soft clang echoed throughout the room. I stepped forwards and pressed my lips to his. I stepped forwards, nudging my hips into his. He stepped back, knees bumping into the mattress. With a nudge of my hand, he laid back on the bed, cyan eyes flickering up and down my body. I kneeled between his legs, hands soothing over his thighs. 

“Can I suck you off?” I asked, nuzzling my face into the bulge in his jeans. 

“Fuck yes,” he said with a heavy exhale. I undid the button on his pants. I slowly tugged at his zipper. He shifted his body, pushing the jeans down to his thighs. I hooked my fingers under the elastic of his boxers. His cock sprang free from its confines, bobbing up and gently tapping against his stomach. Adorned with silver barbells along the shaft. I licked a stripe up the shaft of his cock, tongue circling around the barbells. I moved up to the tip, tongue whirling around the head. I enclosed my lips around the head and lowered my head down, taking more of his cock into my mouth. 

“Fuck, that’s it, babe,” he moaned. He took hold of my hair, balling it up in his fist. I wrapped my fingers around his shaft and stroked in sync with my head, twisting my hand gently. Breathy noises slipped from his mouth. His hips twitched, pushing the head of his cock deep into my throat. Spit began to run down my chin, soaking his underwear. 

“Can I fuck your throat?” He asked between moans. I grabbed his hand and placed it on the back of my head. “Good fuckin’ slut,” 

He moved one of his hands back onto the sheets, using it as leverage to thrust his hips up. He tugged hard at my hair, shoving his cock down my throat. Tears pricked at my eyes as my nose brushed against the white locks of hair at the base of his cock. I set my saliva-soaked hand onto his bare thighs, bracing myself against his thrusts. My throat burned from the intrusion and my chest spasmed as I gagged.

Over the squelching of my mouth and gags was a symphony of noises, liberated of restraint. I looked up at him through my damp eyelashes. His eyes were crossed, jaw slack. His thighs, on either side of my head, were quaking, the thrusts of his hips slowed, and a flood of salty semen stained my tongue. He held my head at the base of his cock, keeping me still as he came. His grip loosened, and I quickly pulled myself off of his cock. My body dropped onto a pile of clothes as I took in wheezing breaths. 

“Gimme twenty minutes and I’ll fuck you,”  he said, standing up. He extended a hand to me. I grabbed his hand and was quickly pulled onto my feet. 

“Both of us will wake up Shouto,” I said, grabbing onto his shoulders for stability.

“The master bedroom is soundproof,” he smirked, arms wrapping around the small of my back. 

“How do you know?”

“You think it’s my first time fuckin’ someone in that bedroom?”

I rutted my hips against his, lips moving in sync against each other. His grip on my ass tightened, pulling my hips forward. 

“Ready for another round?” I asked. He pulled me down onto my back, replacing our positions. He began hurriedly tugging my shorts down, the seams creaked as they began to spit from the force. Once my shorts were torn from my legs he began pushing my shirt up and over my collar bones. I returned the favor, pulling his shirt from his chest and revealing a myriad of ink and piercings. Black and silver contrasted sharply against his pale skin. The rest of his clothes were discarded alongside mine, scattered across the floor. He dipped a finger between my folds. 

“Fucking soaking,” he mumbled, spitting onto his shaft. He stroked his cock, spreading the saliva over his skin. He lined the head of his cock up with my entrance, lightly tapping it, teasing, until pushing in. The stretch caused a dull burn to trickle throughout my stomach, splitting me wide. But the feeling of the head of his cock nudging against my insides made my body tense, stomach clenching as the pleasure drew me in. 

“Fuckin tight,” he groaned, grabbing my calf and pushing my leg up to my chest. His chest pressed into mine as he used the new angle to drive even deeper. A swelling array of noises arose from me as my body trembled, thighs shaking, toes curling. The sounds elicited from us melded into a cacophony of lust. Hips pounding into mine at a rough, quick pace. Every thrust pulled me closer to a burning precipice. My stomach knotted into twists, binding tighter, tugging my eyes to the back of my skull. With a choked-out sob, my body seized, clenching around his cock as I came. 

Without even a brief pause I was flipped onto my stomach, chest pressing into the soft pillows. He pushed back inside me, causing a cloud of haze to bloom over me. My limbs turned to stone, going limp. 

“You’re lucky I’m strong, babe,” he grunted, nails digging harsh red marks into my skin. His pace sped up, hips causing my body to rock against the mattress. I placed a hand against the headboard in an attempt to keep my body still. The head of his cock drove deeper inside me, spiking a pleasure so intense that my tongue began to loll out of my mouth. Spit pooled onto the pillows and drenched my cheek. 

“Fuck, can I cum in you?” 

I nodded, unable to utter anything besides desperate pleas. His cock twitched inside me, hips stuttering as his pace staggered, and then stopped. Warmth filled my insides, seeping out and dripping down my thighs.

“Fuck, fuckin- where’s a towel!” Touya spoke, pulling out of me. The mattress dipped as he moved off of the bed, reappearing with a towel in hand. He cleaned up the mess between my legs and pulled me onto my side. His warm body curled up behind me.

“How many days we got left?” Touya asked. 

“Four.” 

“Lotta time for a lotta shit, babe.”

[angstyaches]

I really wanna see Blake at that point of having a stomach flu where hes sick enough that he realizes he needs to accept the help thats offered. hes puked so much that he’s probably empty but hes still got such a bad belly and the fear of what might happen is making things worse. From what little we know of them all i think Astrophel can relate to that sort of fear and might be a good calming presence to have around? or just one of the people blake would find the least irritating because at least xes usually quiet

Ahh thank you so much for requesting sick Blake, anon!

CONTEXT: This takes place TWO YEARS before the official MARS story will begin. It's Blake's second-last retreat before he misses a few. The actual story will pick up upon his return, around two or three years after this.

CW: illness, emeto, anger outbursts, magically drained, vision/prophecy, stimming, yelling and cursing.

Word Count: 1,793

___

As he opened the door, looking like a dishevelled, cadaverous ghost of himself, Blake Forte sighed, as though in heavy resignation. A silken dressing gown sat rather astutely over his button-up pyjamas, though he were proud to be in the formal uniform of the indisputably sick.

“I told Madame A that I wished to be left alone,” he mumbled. “So, naturally, this intrusion is no surprise.”

Astrophel stepped into the room with the older witch’s bedroom with the tray, much to Blake’s apparent disdain. He didn’t try to intervene, however, and just observed placidly while he withdrew to his bed.

“I do not require food,” he sighed, slinking towards the headrest with all of the listlessness and eyelid-fluttering of a Victorian wife struck down with cholera. . “My stomach is way too delicate right now.”

Astrophel laid the tray down on top of his chest of drawers regardless.

“I suppose you’ve also been tasked with checking up on my condition.”

Astrophel turned to look at him again.

“I do not see why they didn’t send the great Forrester instead. Although, admittedly, you are the least insufferable choice."

Astrophel could, at least, report to Madame A that Blake's illness had not had an effect on his personality.

"What are you going to do for me, anyway?” Blake’s eyes – one icy-blue, one the colour of tree bark – glared out at Astrophel from between swollen eyelids and the shadowy eyebags. His skin was alarmingly grey. “If you were of any use in this scenario, you’d have warned me that I was going to fall ill.”

As unreasonable as this statement was, and as safe as Astrophel felt in the knowledge that it was indeed unreasonable, it still inflicted a sour sting to something that rested just behind xyr breastbone. In Astrophel’s line of work (although it pained xem a little to call what xe did ‘work’; it felt like implying that xe had been enslaved, not chosen), building up an immunity to this kind of comment was not as easy and fast a feat as one would have hoped. People chose to feel disappointed, abandoned, betrayed, and personally attacked, based on which snippets of the future did or didn’t present themselves to Astrophel in a timely manner.

“There’s a basin under the sink,” Blake croaked. “Will you get it for me.”

It wasn’t a question.

Astrophel knew what Rex Westbury would have said in this moment. Get fucked, Forte. Or maybe, Get fucked, dickhead, if she was feeling particularly spicy and lackadaisical about putting graphic, colourful ideas into his head.

Astrophel crouched by the sink in the corner of the room – Blake had evidently been using it over the course of his stomach flu, and although he seemed to have tried to clean it, there were streaks and spatters of dried vomit near the edges. Astrophel had noticed that when it came to basic domestic tasks, Blake lacked ability, but xe supposed that this was to be expected of those who came from households like the Fortes’. Add that to the fact that, on a good day at least, Blake could probably just manifest himself a new, clean sink, along with a platter of sushi and a Long Island Iced Tea.

Astrophel had never really learned the extent of Blake’s abilities, since conversing with him was particularly taxing.

“Hurry up,” Blake grumbled.

Astrophel opened the cabinet beneath the sink and pulled out the red plastic basin. Xe froze for a moment, stunned by the fact that there was little else on the shelves to suggest that anybody actually occupied this room. There was a toothpaste tube and a travel-sized bottle of facewash on the side of the sink (both drugstore brand), but while Astrophel and the others had need for storage of things like hand creams, body sprays, and makeup, Blake had brought... nothing.

Either he lived a surprisingly minimal lifestyle despite his upbringing, or he was unaware of how much joy he was missing out on. Astrophel, for one, couldn’t imagine dressing xemself and walking downstairs in the morning without a spritz of cologne.

Xe stood, carrying the basin towards the side of the bed where Blake had nested himself.

And then, the back of Astrophel’s neck tightened, as though a very thin layer of cement had just started to solidify beneath the surface of the skin. Xe stiffened, hands tightening around the basin as though safeguarding xemself from dropping it.

Phone, phone, phone, phone, phone, phone, phone, PHONE, PHONE, PHONE! PHONE! PHONE! –

Xe stuck one hand in xyr pocket, fingers scrambling for the lump of blue-and-yellow playdough. Xe rolled the ball gently between xyr thumb and forefinger, picturing the way the blues and yellows streaked past one another, never smudging, never mixing, so long as xyr touch was delicate. 

Xyr eyes flicked towards Blake’s phone, which was perched on the nightstand and rocketed into Astrophel’s focus. The shift in xyr focus didn’t go unnoticed to Blake, and he turned his retched gaze towards the phone, too.

PHONE – PHONEEEEE – PHONY – PHONICS – TONICs – GIN AND TONIC – GINGER SNAPS – FINGER SNAP – SNAP – SNAP –

Xe took xyr hand out of xyr pocket again and snapped xyr fingers, and the screeching inside xyr head simmered into an immediate, complete silence, as though a blanket of snow had been gently draped over the landscape of xyr thoughts.

The room fell silent, too – for about five seconds, before Blake’s phone started to ring.

Blake jumped at the sound of it, his already ashen face losing even more of its colour as he eyed the illuminated screen. He seemed to take a rather nauseated swallow, though Astrophel guessed it was a different breed of nausea to the one he’d been previously fighting.

“I’m n-not… I’m not answering it,” Blake growled, as though Astrophel had asked. He slumped to the side again, facing away from the nightstand. “If my f-father wishes to s-speak with me, he is w-well within his means to come here and do so.”

Astrophel couldn’t relate to the sentiment. Xyr parents called every night at 9 p.m. and knew that if xe didn’t answer, there was a high chance that something was very wrong.

Although, if xyr biological parents one day called them out of the blue, xe might leave the phone to ring out, also, unless curiosity got the better of xem…

“This... this cannot be happening. Astrophel,” Blake choked out, pointing towards the basin in xyr hands.

Xe was stunned for a moment, wrestling with the realisation that this was the first time Blake had used xyr new name. He’d never exactly deadnamed xem, but had rather gone about with an air of avoidance. Xe only basked in the warmth of this development for a couple of beats, before realising that Blake was trembling and swallowing back vomit.

Astrophel gave an urgent little hum as an apology and thrust the basin in his direction. 

Blake didn’t sit up or change position, put rather scooped the basin into his embrace and curled up around it, like it were a small child or animal that he’d been tasked with protecting while it slept. 

“I’m in terrible, horrible pain right now.” Blake whispered so quietly that it seemed like he hardly wanted to be heard. His eyelids fluttered again, this time remaining shut.

If Astrophel had been expected to speak, or if Blake would understand xyr sign language, xe still didn’t know what xe would have said. Perhaps the urge to try to comfort Blake would have won out - You’ll be alright. Don’t worry.

Once again, xe found xemself imagining what Rex would say, if she’d been sent to Blake’s room instead. Maybe she’d have said nothing at all. She wouldn’t exactly revel in the fact that a fellow witch had been struck with what seemed to be an awful virus and reduced to a shivering mess, but she was still angry enough with Blake that she, too, might have refrained from comforting him. 

"Wh-why is this... why is this happening now?" Blake's voice dipped even lower. Astrophel was growing more and more certain that he was not addressing xem, particularly as xe had no idea of the significance of now.

Then again, Blake Forte lived in a world where his problems were centric to everyone around him.

He threw up so quietly that Astrophel blinked in surprise at the brightly pigmented stomach contents that suddenly crashed into the bottom of the basin. Tendrils clung thickly to Blake’s lips, and he was either too weak or too unfazed by Astrophel’s presence to spit or wipe it away.

Astrophel turned xyr gaze towards the wallpaper over the headrest. Xe still wondering what xe should do when Blake’s phone lit up again, buzzing harshly on the painted wood. 

“Ah!” Blake screamed, as though the phone had caused him some bodily harm as it had started up, “just shut the fuck up!”

The effort of yelling made him break into a coughing fit, and before Astrophel could process his outburst, he was retching up bile again. One hand left the basin so that he could gingerly cradle his stomach. 

Astrophel didn’t realise it until it didn’t happen, but xe had expected Blake’s command to make the phone’s buzzing cease. It did not. 

A sound came from the sick witch, which was neither a retch nor a cough, but something that might have translated into a sob if he’d had any strength left to turn it into one. 

The sight was so pitiful that Astrophel’s empathetic side won out, and xe placed a hand lightly on Blake’s shoulder.

And, well... he must have found some secret reserve of energy somewhere, because he turned his head again and let loose a scratchy cry;

“Don’t touch me!” 

Astrophel took a prompt step backwards, partially out of self-preservation, but mostly in the hope that it would make Blake stop screaming at everything. 

"Just get the hell out of my room. I don't... I d-don't need you," Blake croaked, once again settling into a curled position around his basin. "And do not let Forrester or Westbury come here."

If he'd been a man of more words, perhaps Blake would have said, If Madame A sends anyone to check on me again, please make sure it's you.

But perhaps Astrophel was reading too far into it.

Xe nodded, continuing to do so as they rounded the bed and came into Blake's line of sight - just making sure that he could see xem nodding. So that he could see that xe understood. Or didn't understand. He'd see what he wanted to see, at the end of the day.

"Thanks," he muttered, shutting his eyes before Astrophel had even opened the door to let xemself out.

[darcymariaphoster]

Day 3 - Comfort

God, I am so sorry; I am just not feeling it tonight. I think I might be getting sick but I am refusing to acknowledge it rn. But, regardless, I wanted to attempt this anyway. Please forgive this nonsense. I just wanted something soft and cute. 😭

(Kinda set in "I Asked for Coffee and Got You" but you don't have to read it to get it.)

@norfin-week

It's been a shit day, and Lukas feels it. He sits in his car for a moment after work and stares out his windshield blankly. He wants to go home and go to bed, but he also doesn't really want to tell his partner that he's not feeling well. Tino can be such a worry-wart sometimes, and he's already stressed with work -- he doesn't want to add to it.

Lukas sighs as he bangs his head against his headrest, and then starts his car. He needs to go home regardless, or he really will freak out Tino.

He and Tino have been together for somewhere around two years now, and he knows how Tino can get -- a bit fussy. Lukas usually finds it endearing, but not today. Today, he knows that he's pushed himself. He's been more stressed and anxious than usual, and it's hit his immune system hard. Which maybe wouldn't be a big deal, if he hadn't been ignoring Tino's repeated attempts to get him to slow down and rest more. Now he just knows Tino was right and it's annoying.

Lukas gets home before Tino and takes a shower before getting into something warm. It's supposed to snow tonight, but that's not why he's cold. He's actually freezing, and he knows he only gets like this with a fever. So he pulls a half-gallon of orange juice from the freezer to start thawing and makes himself a cup of tea before settling into bed.

At 7pm.

He's going to hear about this one.

He must have dozed at some point because when he wakes, he's aware of Tino bustling about the apartment. He frowns and climbs from bed, wrapping one of the throw blankets around himself before he heads down the hall. "How long have you been home?" he asks when he sees Tino in the kitchen.

"Not too long," Tino answers, a very slight edge to his answer that sets Lukas off.

"I'm sick," he snaps impatiently and heads for the couch. "You don't have to rub it in or anything." He gets now reply as he settles on the couch and it makes him nervous and more agitated.

Who knows how long he pouts there before Tino comes out with a couple mugs of fresh tea. "I wasn't going to," he tells him quietly as he hands him one of the mugs. "I was just going to ask if you needed anything, or if you wanted to be left alone. I guess I know the answer to that."

Lukas stares into his mug as Tino goes back to the kitchen, presumably to make himself something to eat this time. "Hey, Tino," he calls after a beat, setting the mug on the coffee table. He waits for Tino to appear in the doorway, and then he says, "I do need something. Can you come sit with me?" Tino sighs, grabbing his mug and a plate, and sits beside Lukas. "I'm sorry... I didn't want you to be right..."

Tino sets his mug on the coffee table beside Lukas's and crosses his legs, balancing his plate of cheese and apples in his lap as he mumbles, "You sure are stubborn. And grumpy when you're sick."

Lukas snags one of the apple slices and rests his head on Tino's shoulder. "Thank you for being here..."

"I always will be," Tino replies easily. "For as long as you want me to be."

"Which will be until I die," Lukas declares, turning awkwardly to wrap his arms around Tino's waist and hide his face in his shoulder.

"So dramatic," Tino chuckles, reaching over to stroke Lukas's hair affectionately. "I just worry about you. I'm allowed to, you know."

It's in this little moment that he forgets why he'd resisted Tino's comfort all day. Suddenly, it's all he wants -- to be wrapped in his arms, his head on his chest, being lulled to sleep by his steady breathing... "I love you," Lukas says into Tino's shoulder.

Tino is quiet for a moment, and he peeks up at him just to see one of his softest and warmest smiles. "I know. I love you, too."

[eelqueen]

Angel with an Amber Halo

Chapter 3: a little dream on AO3

Astarion/OC 1970's sleazy porn magazine photoshoot AU.

She lay in the bed of her small flat, sprawled out nude with a joint hanging from her lips, and an ash tray resting next to her on the duvet. The photographer let her eyes drift shut, and though her head was full of cotton, she noticed the frankincense drifting back into her consciousness. It must be stuck to my hair , she thought dreamily. His scent must be coating my skin, seeped into my pores, here to stay permanently. That's not so bad. He's quite a lovely thing, hard and sensual and luscious.  Her hand drifted downwards to deposit the joint in the ashtray, then continued on its journey to ghost over the hair at the apex of her thighs. She huffed out a laugh, feeling the soft tickle of the hair under her hand.  What might Astarion’s hand feel like there? Would he be gentle, caressing me with gentle and yearning hands? Or would he let his desire take over and touch me with only his own pleasure considered? I wouldn’t mind, either way, Francesca thought. I’d let him do anything to me if it meant would always look at me like he did during the shoot.

Francesca slid into her car and slammed the door shut. The engine roared to life and the radio turned on with it.

“Stars shining bright above you…”

God, she hated this sickly sweet song. But she was too annoyed with everything else to change the station.

“Night breezes seem to whisper I love you…”

The night had gone horribly, terribly wrong. This isn’t how her shoots normally went. This wasn’t the usual Francesca. The usual Francesca was, well, Frankie. She used the more androgynous nickname with clients, regardless of how much she hated it. Frankie was always cool, calm, collected and impossible to sexualize with her banter and confidence shielding her. But this evening had been off from the beginning, the heat of the night putting her on edge. 

“Birds singin’ in the sycamore tree…”

She just needed to get away from Astarion's ridiculous estate. And so she began the long drive home.

“Dream a little dream of me.”

Why had Astarion been so forward and intense with her? Clients usually got the hint and backed off after a while, but he was flirting with her nonstop, all night. And besides, he was the mysterious and powerful Astarion Ancunin, the elusive socialite. What did he want to do with a starving artist? 

“Stars fading but I linger on, dear”

Ugh, she thought suddenly. It must be a power thing. She was under his thumb all night long, either too embarrassed or turned on to fight back, and that's how he liked it. He was so good at playing the role. Francesca was squirming through the whole shoot. Infuriating , she thought. All that influence and money, and he still has to exert his control over a little nobody like me.

“Still craving your kiss,”

But then, it was also so sweet to have his attention. All of the focus she was showering on him through the lens was reflected right back at her. And, oh god, he really was the most beautiful man she ever laid eyes on. His taste was impeccable, and he was perfectly styledk and his soft curls were perfectly coiffed. She remembered how full his lips were and how his tongue played along his sharp, straight teeth as she shot a close-up of his face. She thought of how his body may have very well been carved from marble by one of the old masters, and how his muscles tensed as he stroked his length... and how his cock twitched when he looked at her. 

“I'm longing to linger 'til dawn, dear…”

Stopped at a traffic light, Francesca punched the power button on the radio, tossed her head back into the headrest and groaned out loud. She wasn't supposed to be into clients, but Astarion was irresistible. She'd have to keep this to herself. No office gossip, no bashfully admitting her secret to friends. Besides, she'd have enough to answer for with how curious everyone was about the mysterious Astarion.

—

Francesca passed by the weekend in a cloud cigarette smoke and ocean haze, topped off with a musky touch of weed. But the warm glow of frankincense from Astarion’s candles seemed to have stuck in her nose.

She lay in the bed of her small flat, sprawled out nude with a joint hanging from her lips, and an ash tray resting next to her on the duvet. The photographer let her eyes drift shut, and though her head was full of cotton, she noticed the frankincense drifting back into her consciousness. It must be stuck to my hair , she thought dreamily. His scent must be coating my skin, seeped into my pores, here to stay permanently. That's not so bad. He's quite a lovely thing, hard and sensual and luscious. 

Her hand drifted downwards to deposit the joint in the ashtray, then continued on its journey to ghost over the hair at the apex of her thighs. She huffed out a laugh, feeling the soft tickle of the hair under her hand. 

What might Astarion’s hand feel like there? Would he be gentle, caressing me with gentle and yearning hands? Or would he let his desire take over and touch me with only his own pleasure considered? I wouldn’t mind, either way , Francesca thought. I’d let him do anything to me if it meant would always look at me like he did during the shoot.

She thought about how he would seduce her, crawling towards her, stalking up to her like she was his prey as his hand drags up her thigh. Astarion’s eyes are laser focused on her cunt, then move up to her breasts, then he’s looking up through his eyelashes at her. His clothes are gone now, and his cock ruddy and pressed against her belly. It’s so hard and she’s panting beneath him, completely lost to desire. He takes his cock in hand and rubs it against her clit. Francesca nearly cries from the combination of how filthy it feels and how much she needs the stimulation. Her pussy is soaked, she knows it, and he could take her in one push if he wanted. She places her hand over his and pushes it further down, where she needs to feel him the most.

Francesca was panting on her bed alone, eyes heavy lidded and staring at nothing in particular. Her hands were both between her legs, one working in and out of her slick pussy, the other frantically sliding across her clit. She came quickly, gasping out moans and wishing Astarion’s cock was inside her to feel her orgasm.

[thedreamcrosser]

Automatic Heritage

Chapter 6: Up

Chapter index: • ch 1 • ch 2 • ch 3 • ch 4 • ch 5 •

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Everything just hurt, and not just physically.

She dragged herself one foot at a time, the pain of the bite marks in Cyan’s shell made it hard to move, but she knew she had to keep going. She kept her eyes down, watching her feet, and taking notice that she already had a hole in the leg of her new pants.

“Was this my fault?” she wondered. Surely she could have said no to her twin sister, but that look…

That look Beryl gave back in the greenhouse with all of the same sureness that there was going to be another day, all for a silly set of numbers, was tearing her apart. She couldn’t blame her though, there was only one time in her life when Beryl had a strong feeling about something ridiculous and it turned out better than expected. That turned out to be Whitney, back during what he would call his “prodigal son” days.

Boy was that scary.

Shaking those thoughts she switched to warmer ones. If she was going to make it out alive she knew she had to focus on the positive. She thought back to the early days when she was freshly online, waking up next to her Beryl-faced twin. Cyan herself came up with the names, just simply colors.

She missed it. How innocent they were. Exploring theempty city with no fear. Playing and making up games. It wasn’t long before Beryl was the one finding new friends, she would introduce Cyan to everyone she met.

Friends… Those were hard. Beryl was always the outgoing one despite how quiet she could be at times. Cyan never had the same talent that her twin did in that regard. Maybe that is why she kept finding herself returning to the dead part of the city even after the Zurks evolved.

She shuffled to a stop and slumped over some boxes. Sleep notifications beeped at her inside her head. Could she recharge? That could keep them away.

She looked up from her headrest to glance around. The soft amber glow of a neon lamp beckoned her in a small abandoned storefront. She rose and made her way inside, finding televisions lining the walls. They hummed softly, static crackling across the screens. Once inside she closed the door behind her and slumped to the floor.

Cyan was not dead, she knew that, but she felt like she wanted to be. She leaned her body slowly down and curled into a fetal position on the floor, the rug on the ground providing no comfort in her pain. Regardless, it was still something, and she lied there.

Was this it? She thought about her promise to Beryl, to be back for her. Surely the city wouldn’t change if she left, so what would happen if she just turned off?

For good?

There were always others who ventured out for supplies and bots willing to protect.

Cyan became aware that she had been staring at her hand for a minute, maybe more. Her vision cleared and she looked up to see a remote on the ground across from her. After staring at it for a while she tentatively grabbed it and pressed its soft buttons. Maybe whatever was left of human television could distract her.

“You have GOT to be absolutely joking with me now!”

The televisions all lit up with a dark purple glow as a voice from the static scolded her. It was enough to shock Cyan onto her knees. Cowering she could see… a face? It was more like an eye really, and it was blinking right at her.

“Who the hell are you?” Cyan beeped, suddenly aware that someone was talking to her through the television screens.”

“Who am I?” The purple period mark of an eye glared at her as a digital bar like something from a stereo bounced as the stranger talked. “Honey, I could be your new potential boss and you choose to talk to me like that? Kids these days I swear!”

Another screen turned yellow and more bars bounced on as another voice popped up. “Boss, keep it short, I am not sure how old this tech is.” It faded out.

“Ugh, you're right… Get up and stand girl, you have the opportunity of a lifetime here.”

Cyan had no idea what was happening, but she did not want to test it. Wobbling she rose to her knees and looked the stranger straight in the face. “Um yes, uh…?” She fiddled with her fingers.

“Ma’am. I was assigned female upon sentience.”

The yellow bars came up again “Phft, whatever”

“Ignore them.” The purple eye glared. “I have been watching you girl. if you haven’t noticed, there are security cameras all over this little hole you live in.”

“The slums?” Cyan asked.

“Okay, you can be kinder than that.” Purple scolded.

“No, that is actually where I live.”

“Oh, bot…” the purple eye squinted. “Well, at least you're honest.”

“Hey!” Cyan retorted.

“Enough! As I said, I have been watching you. Your art is impressive, I’m seeing it everywhere in these dark streets.”

Cyan tilted her head. “My art?” As if on cue the lights outside the store flickered on with a splash of color on the walls. Leaning forward she saw that it was one of her graffiti murals. The depiction of two robots of similar make danced as they held hands. The first art of her early years, a tribute to sisterhood.

Tugging at the wires near her head she continued to admire her early memories. “Um, thank you, I didn’t think…”

“I think you would be an excellent addition to the team.” The purple eye interrupted.

Cyan almost popped a wire out. “Team?”

“I have a work pass all set up for you. As soon as you arrive at the… slums… pack up. The elevator will be there and you can head right up.”

A third screen popped up with a blue face, its pink features giving her a wink. “You're a lucky duck that I got on here as well. I found one of your friends down there and he is heading your way now with first aid.” Pink sighed. “Shame if you are actually coming up, he looks cute…”

Cyan glared at Pink while Yellow spoke their mind. “Maggs I swear to bot…”

“Good job Maggs, remind me to give you a bonus.” Purple praised. Cyan could have sworn that she saw yellow roll their eyes.

Purple looked back to Cyan, “I only have an hour to work with the Peacekeepers before they are forced back up, so once they are down hussle. Don’t make them wait or you will miss your shot.”

Just as she was about to fizzle out Cyan caught purple. “Wait! Two things, it will be quick!”

The purple eye paused. “I’m listening.”

“The slums have been desperately trying to contact the upper levels for years, please give them what you know. If you find Clementine or others who call themselves Outsiders then you have the right people.”

The eye looked like she was looking around in front of her. “Alright I will make a note…”

“And thank you, ma’am, for the warning.”

The eye looked up. “The what?”

Cyan became confused. “The warning in the subway? That was you, correct? The writing on the monitor?”

Purple looked indifferent, “That wasn’t me honey, there has to be someone else roaming the city.

“What?” Cyan wondered out loud and rubbed the back of her neck, only to feel dampness soak the sensors in her hand. Bringing it to her screen she could barely make out a dark stain against the soft black padding of her hand. Oil?

The Purple stranger looked to the door, “Looks like help arrived, remember what I said.” With that, all televisions went dark and the amber glow of the neon signs lit up what was left of the shop. A bizarre stillness hung in the air as Cyan tried to understand what just happened.

She wasn't alone for long, hearing the handle of the door twist to unlock she saw a rusty companion with a gray pullover tentively enter the store.

”Cyan? Are you in here?”

“Benzoo?” She attempted to rise to her feet but could feel her limbs begin to lock.

Starteled by her appearance the blue freckled-faced robot was quick to take out a first aid kit. Laying it on the floot he reached out to steady her. “Maybe you should take it easy. Let's get what we can patched up.

Cyan grunted in pain. “I think my fluid intake has been severed, can you see it?”

Benzoo brightened his screen and made the patch “Yeah, we are going to need that if we don’t want your limbs locking up. I will keep an eye out for a vending machine on our way out, but we should move.”

“Zurks…”

“We made a safe route back home, don’t worry.” Benzoo lifted Cyan to her feet and gave his shoulder for support. Looking at the gesture she paused, thinking twice about taking it.

Benzoo’s face deadpanned, a face that knew what was up. “Cyan, you're not being a burden.” He swung her arm around his shoulders and guided her to the door. She reluctantly leaned into him, her joints felt like sandpaper while limping on one leg.

“I know, I just… I don’t know.”

“Well, it sounds like you have a friend now who does know, looks like things are… looking up for you?” He smiled, proud of his joke.

Cyan completely ignored it. “They told you about the elevator?”

“They as in multiple people?”

Pain shot up her leg as she pitched forward. Catching herself on a concrete wall she paused to skim her eyes across it, finding her mural.

Beryl did not need her, did she? Her twin had enough to live on. The problem was that Beryl's sad, determined face was still in her mind.

Up. Cyan decided she had to go up. For Beryl.

Her optics fuzzed as she hissed static at the pain in her limbs, trying to endure it. Benzoo looked ready to catch her. “Do we need to take a break?”

She stopped him with a hand. “I…” then leaned her head on the wall to look at him, “I want to go home…need to pack up…”

Benzoo tentatively put his hand on her shoulder, giving a sad whine. “We will miss you Cyan.”

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*Sees an onslaught of likes from @1reiyuu* hahaha yes! Like them all!

In all seriousness, I am proud of this chapter. My lovely editor husband said I am getting better and I can feel it.

I am currently brain dead from a day at NASA yesterday so weeeeee!