#i got him to eat frozen for like 2 years but he would never eat it in the winter but then i moved him into a 4x2x2

[theiris1002]

A new picture of snoots take because I think it's been awhile since I posted one. He loves going under his water dish (it used to be snakeys but I rehomed him)

((I ended up venting in the tags about why I rahomed snakey))

[httpsghostie]

Under one Roof pt 1

pt 2

OK finally IT'S HERE

smh I'm down bad for roommate ghost I am sobbing

my hand is literally burning I wrote this aT COLLEGE

and YES my love language is food pls dont come for me

Summary: you never knew you needed a military roommate until you've got one.

Word Count: 1k (sorry it's short

Warnings: roommate!ghost x female!reader, slightly suggestive (if you squint), mentions of trauma, fluff/comfort, no use of y/n

masterlist

Ghost was an old friend of a friend of yours, and he happened to be needing a place to stay for a while, that ended up being a few more months, and now it's currently been a year since he moved in. He doesn't plan on leaving, you know it, you know that despite the independent man that he is, he likes having someone to come home to.

He was cold at first, so cold. And for many nights you cursed yourself for letting that rock of a heart get into your sweet home. He wouldn't talk much when he was there, you'd almost forget he was around if it wasn't for random coughs or sneezes.

That man smoked like a chimney in the first days he's spent around, he was anxious and that wasn't very cute, he was always smelling like cigarettes, but thankfully he didn't smoke inside.

He appreciated your effort on cooking for the two of you, but you couldn't help it. How could he survive when he wasn't eating properly? Yes, frozen pizza is cool… until it's the third day in a row that you're eating frozen and instant food and you can barely stand.

He also had a fucked up sleeping schedule that you just went along with it, you once got scared when you walked in the kitchen and found him just laying on the wall, eyes closed and snoring slightly. That day you scolded him to go back to his room and made him lay down on the bed.

"You're gonna lay down on this bed and you're gonna have some nice hours of sleep, alright? I'm gonna leave the door open, if I see you awake I'm punching you." You sounded like a mother, almost, and he was so tired he couldn't fight back.

And the days went by, he'd go away, he'd come back as tired as he left. But at least he was slowly opening up to be a really cool guy. You two started to bond, and the more he talked, the more you wanted to spend time with him.

Oh and don't even get started on dad jokes, he's cracking them up whenever he's helping with house chores, or when you two are eating peacefully.

He became a friend, a very good friend, one that wouldn't mind you venting out to, plus he was a good listener. He'd just sit there listening to whatever haze your brain was going through, and slowly he learned that he shouldn't be giving you reasonable ways to solve your problems, he should just tell you it would be ok.

And you found yourself slowly falling for him. Of course destiny had to put you together. Only if it wasn't for the way he handled things around the house.

"Oh, the living room lamp broke? Let me fix it."

"Those boxes are heavy, hand them to me."

"Go find a movie for us to watch, I'll do the dishes. Find a good one, though."

"Goddamnit, I told you not to be climbing on that fucking balcony, you're not a cat, you're gonna hurt yourself one day." Said as he picked you up when you were trying to reach the top of the cabinet. "Just ask me, I can reach it without putting myself in danger."

Or maybe if it wasn't for the fact that he'd purposefully get out of the shower with that pretty little towel wrapped around his body, that made you clench your fists. The way he was still a bit wet, a few drops running down his abs. He was surprisingly cool with his scars around you, maybe because you didn't make a big deal out of it.

That's because it wasn't. You expected that when Gaz, your friend, told you that the friend he was sending to you was his 'work buddy'. And he phrased it exactly like that. 

"Don't mind him, he's big and scary, but he'll be a good roommate, I promise, he's my work buddy." You chuckled when you read the text.

And yet Ghost didn't mind the stare of admiration coming from your burning gaze across the living room, when you thought the most ungodly things a brain has seen.

He started to become more and more warm, he found safe with you, like you could actually be his home. One night, he found a deep conection with you when you were casually drinking together, sat by the coffee table, playing video games. 

She should know the truth about me.

He thought. And that was the night he dropped his heavy armor. He told you the bare surface of his past, even though most of it had been blocked from his memory, like a dark spot he couldn't remember, and would die without trying to take a peak at it.

You cried, and he couldn't understand why you were crying until you said it wasn't his fault.

"It's not your fault, you didn't deserve any of this." You sobbed, hugging him close.

He broke down. Like he needed someone to reassure him that he wasn't the villain from his past. He realized what you meant to him, and he swore to God he would try his best to come home to you when he had to work.

Some days were strange after that, like he regretted telling you about his story. He had that feeling in his gut that you weren't looking at him the same way, like you were pity. He didn't want your pity, he hated that look on your face.

But that changed.

He had come home one day, texting you while he was at the airport waiting for a ride. You ran to get groceries and make him a good meal, but the only thing that came to your mind was the old recipe of lasagna you kept from your grannie.

That old lady, always saving your life.

[bengals-barnesbabe]

Date Night

Pairing: Avenger!Bucky Barnes x Black!Nurse Reader

Warnings: mdni, mentions of sex, jokes about age.

Main Masterlist

WC: 1.3k

✧༺♥༻∞

Being at the Avengers Compound on your day off used to be weird. Avengers are cool and all, and you’re very appreciative for the chance to be considered ‘part of the team’ even if you only worked in the Medbay. No one wants to hang around their place of work when they don’t need to be. Then you started seeing a certain blue-eyed brunette super soldier.

So here you are walking through the main hallways to the the gym and passing a good amount of agents and techs enjoying their breaks. Then you hear your name being called. You look up from your phone and see Aaliyah, a friend of yours that works in the special equipment department (aka Avengers Weapons Only). You walk up to the cafe where her and some other work mates like to frequent.

“Hey Liyah, I didn’t know you were working today.”

She brings you in for a side hug. “I know, I’m not supposed to be, but Mr. Wilson just had to call me on my day off about fixing redwing.” Her cool demeanor shudders as the Falcon’s name coasts out of her lips.

You smirk. “I think he would prefer if you just called him Sam or your boyfriend. Your pick.”

She covers her face and shakes her head. “How about we talk about why you’re here on your day off? The Medbay is about 6 floors up and on the other side of campus.”

“Hey, I’m completely fine with saying I’m here for my man.” 

The light cockiness in your voice paints a mischievous grin on her lips. “Oh speaking of your boyfriend, does Barnes know how to use a pc- no a toaster- nope a smartphone?”

“Oh fuck off, is that what yall actually think?” You scoff as a people 10ft away from you shake their heads. “No fucking way, you can’t be serious!”

“Girl half of these people have never even seen him in person and they work in the same building he lives in.” Kyla, another nurse, says from the end of the table.

You roll your eyes and look at Aaliyah. “For real?” She nods her head.

“You know he wasn’t frozen for 70 years straight right? He couldn’t be a spy if he didn’t know how to blend in.” 

“How does he work a phone with the metal arm though?” She asks as someone comes up behind her.

“He has a flip phone, gotta remember he’s an old man.” Sam chuckles as she jolts out of her skin.

“You asshole! I told you to wait downstairs.” He shrugs and throws an arm around her. 

“You said you’d be back by 2:30, now I’m a punctual man baby. I waited a whole 5 minutes before tracking you down.” She buries her face in his chest to hide how he flustered her with the pet name. So cute.

“You should be going too, the old man has not stopped talking about you since we got here. I swear I’m gonna ask for a new mission partner.” You smile then hug them goodbye.

The walk from the break center/ cafeteria to the weapons testing arena and gym is a 5 minute straight shot. It also where you’d more times than not find your boyfriend. In the miniscule chance that he isn’t, you could probably find him in a conference room, with Captain Rogers outside lapping civilians or his suite. The kitchen exactly because those soldiers can eat. 

But the second those sliding doors open to his personal gun range, you see him just like you knew you would. He sat on a stool at a table with his muscular back adorned in a form fitting black henley and black jeans that emphasized his ridiculously thick thighs. His neck length brown hair is tied up in an adorable blue silk scrunchie as he dissembles his favorite rifle to clean it. You lean against the door frame just admiring the man’s beauty for a while more. He most definitely knows your behind him thanks to his enhances senses and experience as a spy, but that would not stop you from-

“Enjoying the view pretty girl?” Exactly, he gets it.

You smile and walk up to him, “absolutely.” You hum hugging his back and tracing your short almond acrylics across his abdomen.

A strong warm hand covers yours as he chuckles, a deep almost gravely laugh that electrifies every cell in your body. “I’ll be done in a couple minutes, then we can go.” 

You watch from over his shoulder the way his hands work in tandem to polish each nook and cranny of the gun. His vibraninum fingers curling around the body of it cause a shiver down your spine as you think about the nights you spend withering in his bed thanks to them. You shake those thoughts away and lay your head on his shoulder.

He brings one of your hands up and places his soft lips to your knuckles. “Fuck you smell so good. I knew you were coming before you hit the door.” He groans extending the kiss to your wrist before placing your hand back on his stomach.

“It’s your favorite, and you haven’t even seen the whole outfit yet.” 

He lets out another one of those heavenly chuckles. “Aw baby, did you get all dressed up for me?” The gun clicks shut and you feel yourself spinning around to face him.

“You like?” He takes your hand and you beam as he spins your once more. 

Since you were just going to a drive in movie, you paired a simple black top with your his favorite pair of dark gray baggy jeans that hug your waist and accentuate your ass just the way he likes. You couldn’t go wrong with some gold jewelry that shines beautifully on your brown skin. The whole look complimented itself.

Your 4c hair on the other hand didn’t want to cooperate this morning, the week old braid out was at its wits end and desperately needs all the mousse and gel washed out of it. So you did what you had to, found a giant hair tie, slicked your edges back and finger coiled a few strands in the front to give the look back some of it’s life. 

He nods biting his lip and looking you up and down. “You look just how you smell: decadent, like one of those death by chocolate cakes you love. And like you want to spend the rest of this weekend in my bed naked.” He smirks.

You hook your arms around his neck, step into the spot between his strong legs. “Well Mr. Barnes, we can’t have that. You promised me dinner and movie and the look’s not complete yet.” 

He raises a brow and dips his face to yours. “Oh yea,” he says huskily. “What could possibly be missing? You already have the body glitter.” The takes an imaginary bite out of your glazed arm. You nod at the leather jacket hanging on the hook by the door and he grins instantly.

“Go walkin’ around in that and everyone will know you’re mine.” He growls, his crystal blues deepening in hue flickering from your eyes to your lips.

“Maybe that’s exactly what I want.” You whisper against his lips tilting your head to connect them to yours.

His soft lips melted into yours perfectly, your hands pull on the hair tie locking away his silky locks and gently pull at them. He groans languidly licking into your mouth and swiftly lifting you into his lap, his hands holding firmly on your ass. Just like that it feels like the first time. Your heart beating heavily against your chest while you learn each other mouths. Tugging at his roots a bit more you nip his bottom lip and smile.

“You love playing with fire love.” 

You cheekily chuckle pulling back, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” 

He squeezes your cheeks then playfully smacks one inciting a gasp from you. “A dangerous, dangerous game that could cost you your night.”

“Aw but my favorite movie is playing.” Your fake pout morphs itself into a smirk. “Or maybe I wanted to makeout with my hot Brooklyn boyfriend in public without anyone knowing.” He bites his lip as you look at him with siren eyes.

“And people wonder why I can’t stop talking about you, my girl is a damn minx. Fuck it, lets go.” He sighs as you jump off his lap and grab his leather jacket.

While he’s securely putting away his rifle, you look over at him and smirk putting on the jacket. “Thanks daddy.”

His eyes go wide as you walk out the door giggling.

Gotta love date night.

♥*♡∞:｡.｡

AN: I was missing the character that brought me back to my passion, so this was really for me but yall can enjoy it too xox

as always likes, reblogs and comments are appreciated

[ashomodeus]

How the OM bros + Dateables react to walking in on M!Mc in just a towel after a shower.

Notes: Bad grammar, I haven't written in 2 years, I'm rusty. Though the Mc in obey me is gender neutral, or advertised as such, I just wanted to write about a M!Mc. Probably smut warning. Milking mentioned and other kinks as well, probably. Sorry it's all over the place I'm writing this with a killer migraine and whilst at work. Consider this an I'm backkkk. PLEASE SEND REQUEST IM SO UNORIGINAL. Or even send a request on a full story of one of these scenarios.

Part 1: Lucifer, Mammon, Levi

Part 2: Satan, Asmo, Beel, Belphie

Part 3: Solomon, Diavolo, Barbatos, Simeon

I would like to thank Beyonce for everything...

Satan

● Satan always knocks, but he never waits for an answer.

● He walked in and stared at Mc’s hips. He tried to keep cool but couldn't help but to stare.

●"was there something you needed Satan..." Mc stood there not sure why Satan was frozen.

● "Clearly but now I'm distracted." Satan said honestly. He pulled Mc close to him rubbing his buldge against Mcs toweled ass.

●Clearly the towel didn't feel good so Satan yanked down the towel. Groaned as he rubbed himself against Mc. He could feel his pants feel a bit wet since Mc was still wet from the shower.

● Something about Mc being fully nude while He's fully clothed gets him going a lot more. Mc whimpers wanting more contact.

● Satan feels a rush as he grabs Mcs hard cock and rubs him.

● Let's just say... they didn't leave the room for HOURS.

● Satan now tries to barge in as much as possible to walk in on Mc again.

Asmo

● Asmo wanted to know if Mc wanted to do a spa day and he walked in, his eyes were blessed.

● He stares and he will make it known how hot Mc looks. He looks at every curve. He starts to imagine what's under the towel.

●Mc was confident at first but while Asmo stares more and more he gets a bit more shy.

●"Oh don't you worry doll, there's no need to be shy~" Asmo need to be in Mc or have Mc in himself.

●"Could I... see what's underneath that towel Mc?" Asmo looked at Mc seductively. Mc nodded shyly.

●He pulled down the towel and got on his knees. Asmo softly kissed Mc's hips before putting Mc's rock hard cock in his mouth and began to suck while massaging his balls.

● "Oh my sweet love I'm going to milk you until you can't anymore" Asmo smiled.

Beel

●He wanted to show Mc a new snack he made. At first Beel didn't process Mc was in just a towel. He thought Mc was working out. Then he looked down.

●"sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you." Beel respectfully turned around. He didn't want Mc uncomfortable.

● Mc didn't mind. Mc told him to continue to talk because standing there was just more awkard. Beel did forget the food he was holding. He's hungry for something else. Gluttony isn't just over eating, It's over indulgence.

● His mind is now about Mc and Mc only. Beel unfortunately couldn't hide what he was packing as he turned around and it shocked Mc.

● "I brought you a snack... but I guess my body has other plans" He turned around to Mc.

● Let's just say Mc couldn't walk after that night.

Belphie

●Belphie was actually sleeping in Mc's room when he walked out with just a towel on. As Mc paces the room the towel got lower and lower.

●Belphie slowly woke up to see Mc in just a towel. He actually thinks he's dreaming so he grabs he cock and starts rubbing himself. He let out small whines as he stared at MC. Mc turns to see Belphie pleasuring himself to Mc's almost nude body.

● Belphie realizes he's not dreaming as Mc walks towards him slowly. Of course it's a little awkward at first but once Belphie starts something he's going to finish it. "Hnnn Mc I need you" He moaned out as he pumps harder.

● Belphie is trying to act as needy as possible so he can absolutely destroy Mc's throat.

● His embrassed feelings immediately dissappeared when he saw Mc was hard as well. That's when Mc came over and started to pump Belphie for him.

●There were so many positions that they wanted to try.

[tiredfox64]

May I request a part 2 to your Havik “You Have Freedom” fanfic? This felt so good to read. Truly liberating 💖

Test Your Freedom

Yip notes: I saw that you really loved the first part. Hopefully I can do you justice with this one as well.

Pairing: Havik x Gn reader

Warnings ‼️: Mention of abusive/toxic relationship, violence (not towards you), he is so strange, what a little goober

You are lucky. Very lucky indeed. Havik was your unexpected savior and you were grateful to have him in your life.

It’s been a year since you started dating him. Every day you were healing from the horrible past that you experienced. You were weary of him dropping his façade and would start gaslighting you into thinking you were crazy like all your exes did. But it never happened and it never will. He’s not like the others. He’s better than them.

I wasn’t lying.

Havik lets you do your own thing while he does his own. You go out more frequently to have fun with your friends or even have the chance to see your family. You get to eat whatever you want without him judging you and telling you to watch your weight. You don’t need to ask for his permission, just tell him what you are going to do so he knows in case of anything. In return, you don’t pay any mind to what he does. It’s best that you don’t. He doesn’t want you to know all the heinous acts he commits.

The one thing you haven’t done with him is introduce him to anyone. Not that it really matters to him his presence will be found out one day. But to you, you feel guilty for hiding him away from everyone. The first guy who has treated you right and you were afraid to even have your closest friends meet him. You could have been worried that they would assume the worst of him based on his looks. Or even that he would kill you one day. If that were true he would have done that a long time ago. Havik genuinely loves you and wants you to be safe. The thought that anyone would think negatively when you see him so positively saddens you. Maybe you will hold off on introducing him to others. Slowly expose them to the truth.

══💤══╡°˖✧🦊✧˖°╞══💤══

You invited your friends to come over since it’s been so long since they visited. You told Havik to stay in your room till your friends left.

Havik loves you but he won’t listen to every command you give him. When he wants to move, he’ll move.

So as you and your friends are catching up about what’s been going on and having some snacks you hear a ‘thud’ sound from your room. Oh geez, he’s on the move. One of your friends joked about you already having a new partner and your other friends felt like it was in poor taste to say something like that. Your face was blank with the only hint of emotion being a weak smile. You thought if you ignored it then they would ignore it. Your friends couldn’t ignore the sound of heavy footsteps coming down the steps.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Soon enough you heard your friends gasp in horror once they saw Havik. Not only did his mutilated face scare them but since he had no shirt on they could see all the scars he had. The only thing that he had on was a pair of sweatpants and he may not be wearing any boxers under there, my gosh he truly loves being free in every sort of way. And what does he do in response to your friends' reactions? Nothing. He’s just coming down for some food. Like a slab of frozen meat or a head of lettuce. He doesn’t eat normally but you’re not gonna change that.

He got what he wanted from the fridge before heading back up the stairs. All the while you kept that weak smile on your face. You can’t ignore what just happened. It’s like ignoring a buffalo breaking into your house, you can’t.

“What…was…that?” One of your friends asked.

“Uhm…” You debated about telling the truth or not, “My imaginary boyfriend.”

You heard Havik let out an amused ‘hah’ at the top of the steps because your efforts were too ridiculous.

You spilled the beans. You were honest with your friends and told them how you started dating Havik near the time your last ex left you. You told them that he was the one to walk you home. Your friends were unsure about this situation. They’re not gonna victim blame but you did have a bad history when it came to dating. Havik looks like the worst choice you’ve ever made. If they saw how he usually dressed and the weapons he had they surely would think you were in trouble. But they also realize that if you were telling the truth about how long you two were dating that means he was letting you do whatever you please. The others didn’t allow you to do that. You did seem much happier as well, even insisting that they come for a visit. If what you say is true, they want to make sure of it.

They told you to bring him back down so they could “observe” him, whatever that meant. You were unsure but realized that they only wanted the best for you. You told them certain likes don’t ask him about his scars or face, don’t start making rules, don’t start shit in general. You got up to get Havik.

“Could you do me a favor?” You asked him.

“You want me to go down there to have your friends judge me, don’t you.” He hit the nail on the head.

You were about to tell him never mind but he picked you up and threw you over his shoulders. He knew this would happen. Relationships call for this moment. He had one request.

“Don’t have them treat me like a freakshow. I can’t promise I will be gentle with them like I am with you.”

Your friends were alerted by the heavy footsteps and stared at Havik carrying you over his shoulders. He went over to the couch you were sitting on and laid you down before deciding to lay on top of you. His head rested on your chest as his arms wrapped around your waist. If it wasn’t for his burned face your friends would have said he looks peaceful while resting on you.

Your friends began asking him questions like how does he feel about you going out and would he allow you to do certain things like take a week-long vacation. The only answer they got out of him was “I don’t care”. You couldn’t tell if he was saying that in regard to whatever you do or if he was blankly telling your friends he didn’t care what they were asking him. You didn’t get the chance to ask him since they were throwing out questions left and right. After a while, he stopped answering them. Maybe an occasional grunt, but nothing more. He had his eyes closed acting like he fell asleep but you knew he was wide awake.

You’re not afraid that he will be angry after this because you know he will pass it off as something irrelevant. He tends to not listen to people when they are criticizing him. Havik knows at this point that you know he loves you and he knows you love him back. That’s all that matters. Your friends can keep testing, but they will eventually have to accept the truth. He would and could make them accept it now but you would tell him not to because you know what he would do.

Your friends were not too on board with you dating Havik. They find his dismissive behavior to be a red flag. You don’t see it that way because it isn’t that way. He has nothing to hide, this is just how he is because of his past. In fact, he was pretty calm at the moment until someone started slamming their fist against your front door. Then you heard a voice. Your ex’s voice.

His tone was aggressive and you heard him slurring. He was defiantly drunk. It wasn’t even the typical time for happy hour. You heard his voice calling towards you to open the door. He said he knows your friends are in there as well and that they can’t protect you. Immediately his tone changed quickly to begging for you back, saying he will be a better man. You’ve heard those promises before and they were never true.

You began shaking and holding Havik’s head closer to you. He tried his best to soothe you by rubbing your arm. He needed you to let him go. He slowly got up and walked over to the window. Lo and behold he saw your ex. Havik walked back towards you but grabbed one of your friends to drag them closer to you. He advised them to not let you near the windows or doors. They didn’t know what he was about to do but they got the hint when he walked over to the door and immediately headbutted your ex when he opened the door. Your ex fell back with his hands covering his bloody nose and Havik closed the door behind him so you didn’t have to see the bloodbath that would appear.

Havik grabbed your ex by the neck and dragged him to the forest near your home. His fingers dug into the flesh of your ex���s neck, causing a more painful sensation than a burning one. Once he was far away from the house he started wrecking your ex. Havik broke off parts of his own body to use his bones to stab. Your ex stood little chance. He had many opportunities to leave you alone but he always came back. Havik could not stand for that anymore. He would have killed him the first time but you were always around. Now was his chance to do you right and permanently end your suffering.

“You have permission…to die.” He said. It’s ironic that your ex always made you ask for permission. How the tables have turned.

Soon the pleas turned to gargling. Limb after limb was being ripped from Havik’s body only to be regenerated back in seconds. A painful cycle for his victim. An unholy demise for an unholy being. One would not say he was killed like cattle. This was a murder that could not be mentioned in a true crime show. All that was left was a mess that wouldn’t be cleaned up by your boyfriend. He will leave that job to the animals who were already coming close to take a piece of flesh or bone for themselves.

Havik did his best to hide what just happened. Any spot that he saw blood on he ripped that part of his body off to regenerate it back clean. He walked back into the house to spot you nearly hyperventilating. Once you saw him you ran into his arms. You were babbling things that no one could understand. Whatever it was it could wait. You needed to be taken care of. Havik picked you up and had your arms and legs wrap around him before taking you up to your room. Your friends let him do that, feeling like he might be able to calm you down.

When you both were back in your room he laid you on the bed and held you close. He licked your tears away as he comforted you with his words.

“You don’t have to worry anymore. You are free.” “Your chains are broken.” “You will never be controlled again; I’ll make sure of that.” “You did nothing wrong.” “I will make everything better.” “No one will cause you pain if it’s the last thing I do.”

Your breathing started to slow down and your took in every word he said. His licking has become a new comfort for you. Your fear and anxiety went down once you realized it was over. Fully over. Havik pressed his forehead against yours as he allowed your head to rest on your pillows. It was a blur after that.

══💤══╡°˖✧🦊✧˖°╞══💤══

You woke up randomly. The golden light of the setting sun filled your room, letting you know that it was getting late. Havik was asleep next to you, drooling away as usual. You needed a drink of water after that emotional episode. You got up and went downstairs.

When you got to the last step you realized your friends were still there. They ran up to you and hugged you while asking if you were okay. You nodded which was relieving to them. They were so worried about you but were grateful to hear your crying stop quickly once Havik brought you upstairs.

They apologized for doubting your boyfriend and doubting you. After seeing how quickly he acted both when defending you and calming you down, they saw him as a green flag. A little weird and horrific, but he’s chill. They were happy that you finally found someone good for you and they promised not to butt it too much with this relationship. They could see clearly that you were in good hands with a man who wanted to give you the freedom you deserved. Hearing that was the greatest thing to you. You knew you had finally won and got what you deserved.

So Havik is a little off. He can be a bit scary and even uncanny to look at. And some of his methods could be extreme. Not a little bit extreme, they are full-on extreme. But when it comes to you, he is perfect for you. You are perfect for him.

The only thing I would ask of you is to keep him on a good path. Do you think you can do that?

Yap notes: I saw a blue jay this morning and immediately when woooooooooah. That has nothing to do with the fic but I thought y'all should know. I wanted to post yesterday but I was having anxiety problems and fell down the rabbit hole of ARGs. Fucking Wyoming. I like and dare i say love Havik now. I lied to my friend and said he scares me. But I'd try my best to give him a kiss. I made a comment on a tiktok yesterday on an edit of him saying i would shove my hand through his chest cavity and take his heart. The creator said he would love that and now that's a headcanon of mine. This was too much and i need to feed my dog. Adiós!

[verefex]

Caged Giant (Titan Origins) pt 4

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Content warnings in tags. It's hard being a titan.

How long had it been since that day? Crashing through the planet’s atmosphere, encased in rock, emerging from the cracked halves under tons and tons of soil.

Sky’s memory was foggy. It may have been a year. Perhaps two or three years.

“Here it is.” The giant said as his enormous self stood before the impact site. A tremendous crater, ringed by mounds of earth and rubble. In the center was a large meteor, mostly buried. Tire tracks and boot prints littered the ground, indicating that humans had investigated the site.

“It’s huge…” Lark said as she peeped out from the giant’s collar.

“Yup. This is where I woke up.” Sky said as he approached the center of the crater and crouched down, touching his fingers the dark space rock.

Lark became excited upon seeing the giant touch the meteor. Her curiosity got the better of her and she tugged at the titan’s shirt.

“Can I look at it? I’ve never seen a meteor before.” She asked, trying to hide her excitement.

“Sure.” Sky laughed as he reached up and let Lark jump into his hand before lowering it to the ground. Lark hopped off and approached the meteor, little blue eyes wide as she gazed up and down the surface.

“It looks like it’s been split in half, such a clean cut…” She uttered as she ran her fingers along the edges. It reminded her of a geode, with the inside being a lighter color than the rough outside.

Sky crouched over her, examining the buried meteor. He furrowed his brows as he gripped the edge, noting how clean the cut was, almost as if a laser split it open.

Lark gazed up at the enormous man above her, engulfed in his shadow. She found herself staring at his intense, serious expression.

“...Sky?” she said timidly, and the giant’s face turned to look at her.

“Huh? Oh. It’s just, you’re right. It was split almost perfectly down the middle. There’s no way it could have broken so evenly without a guide.” The giant’s words were solemn.

Lark looked from the giant’s face to the meteor. She nibbled on her knuckle in thought.

“How did you get encased in a meteor in the first place?” Lark asked the giant.

Sky blinked, then sighed as he sat back heavily on his rear with a loud thump. Lark stood frozen as the ground shook her, and she was met with the towering torso before her, his legs arched above on either side.

“I don’t remember.” Sky said softly. “I don’t remember anything except waking up to dirt falling into my eyes. I dug my way out between this broken hunk of rock. I was so exhausted and weak, I fell asleep as soon as I freed myself.”

Lark was quiet, intently listening to the giant as his hulking body surrounded her. Her little frame knelt down on the ground in the wake of the titan’s shadow.

“And when you woke up…?” She urged the giant to elaborate.

“I… felt this hunger that has never left me since then. Gnawing, aching, compelling me. It’s the only thing I’ve known, the only constant. I didn’t even have a name. I knew I came from the sky, so that was what I called myself.” The giant uttered as he recalled more and more.

“I started to learn about this planet, as I satisfied my hunger… I’d gain knowledge whenever I consumed something new. Humans. Animals. Plants and minerals. Nothing was off the menu. And there are endless things to discover on this planet.” Sky’s face became darker as he went on, and Lark’s nervous little hands gripped her thighs in the presence of an enormous all-consuming being.

“So… is that your goal? To… eat everything?” She asked.

“I don’t know.” Sky huffed as he stared at the meteor again, almost wishing that it would talk to him and provide answers.

“It was the same thing every day for me… until I got captured. And then I met you.” The titan eyed the small woman under his gaze. “Since then I have been… conscious about the decisions I make and how they impact the lives of humans. Until I find out what my true purpose is here, that’s what I’m sticking to.”

Lark felt her cheeks warm as the weight of her decision to free Sky became apparent. She found herself devoted to unraveling his mysteries, anything to keep him interested in her.

Is that really what she wanted? She shook her head.

“Wow, that’s… really awesome.” Lark smiled up at the giant as she stood up. “It’s unfortunate that you don’t remember anything about your past, though.”

“It’s all I’ve known, so it’s fine.” Sky said as he leaned forward, gripping his thighs as he stared down at the human peering up at him. “I just don’t know where to start looking for answers. This meteor doesn’t tell us much.”

“You sure about that?” Lark asked cheerfully. “Maybe you can dig it out and see the full thing, that might help.”

Sky grumbled as he looked at the partially buried meteor. It was under heaps of dirt, but perhaps Lark had a point.

“Alright. You might want to stand back.” The giant said as he reached down and plucked Lark off the ground, then leaned over and set her safely to the side.

The titan then rolled up his sleeves on his pristine white jacket and got to work scraping dirt away with the largest rock he could find. Clouds of dust filled the crater as he dug and dug, his jacket now a shade of rusty orange as he finally loosened enough earth and was able to pull one half of the meteor out of the ground with tremendous effort.

The two observed the cylindrical rock. The outer surface was rough, but smooth to the touch, like cooled lava. The most curious trait, however, was the interior. Rather than rock, it had a likeness to metal, with a green sheen inlaid with etchings and port structures.

“I guess it’s… not a meteor?” Sky rumbled as his fingers ran across the etchings.

“Wait, let me see!” Lark yelled from the edge of the crater, and Sky reached over and picked her up, bringing her up to the inner surface.

“You’re right, it’s etched metal.” Lark said as she touched the smooth, curved surface from the safety of the giant’s hand. “It’s like it was manufactured this way.”

“Huh… look at the outside, too. It’s not even rock, it’s just burnt and melted metal, I think?” The giant said as he touched the rough outer edges.

“It probably looked a lot different before being burnt up coming through the atmosphere… I can’t believe you survived the crash, Sky.” Lark said, looking up at the confused titan from his palm.

“Must be really tough stuff. It kind of looks like an escape pod, so it’s meant to crash. But that still doesn’t explain why I’m here in the first place…” Sky sighed as he stood up and looked at the giant melted pod, the other half still mostly buried in the earth.

As the giant stood, clouds of dust and dirt fell from him. From his outstretched palm held at chest height, Lark could see streaks of brown and orange all over his jacket.

“Oh, your coat!” She said suddenly, and Sky looked down at himself. He blinked and looked at Lark with a calm expression.

“It’s fine, it’s washable.” The giant said as he used his fingers to brush off some of the dirt.

“Hmm, well it’s not like there are washing machines for clothes your size.” Lark sighed as she examined the titan’s enormous thick coat, padded and lined for warmth. She then blinked suddenly as she realized something inexplicable about the hulking man’s wear.

“Sky… where did you get that coat, anyways?” She asked up at the giant. “You didn’t even have a shirt on when I first met you.”

“Uh… I don’t know how to explain this, but it kind of just appeared.” Sky said flatly as he held the woman in his hand closer to his face.

“...please try to explain.” Lark replied, her face blank.

“Okay, so, after we escaped and parted ways, I was pretty cold without most of my clothes. It does take a lot for me to get cold, but the next night I remember I started shivering. Then, my insides glowed blue under my skin, and I got real warm.” Sky said as he gestured with his free hand, then grabbed the loose collar of his jacket.

“And then, these clothes appeared on me. And I been wearin’ em since.” The giant shrugged.

Lark, speechless, glanced down at the giant’s palm, which was covered with a thin, black fingerless glove. She picked at the fabric, deeming it rather sturdy and very similar to a glove she might wear.

“So your body… glows, and creates things out of thin air.” She chortled.

“I know, it sounds stupid.” Sky sighed, bringing Lark closer to his face. “But I’m not complaining. I’d be walking around almost naked otherwise.”

“Yeah, what a… shame that would be.” Lark said with a cheeky smirk.

The giant raised his eyebrows curiously at her comment. “Hmm?” He rumbled questioningly as he stared down Lark, who suddenly became shy and averted her gaze from his looming face.

“I mean, maybe, if we were in a warmer climate.” Sky shrugged. “It’s pretty damn cold here. I like it though.”

Lark leaned back into the giant’s palm and hugged her arms. “It’s alright… I wouldn’t mind living somewhere warmer. My team has been here for a while and it’s barely gotten warmer than 50 degrees.”

Sky chuckled as he glanced down at the woman in his hand, admiring her petite size.

“My body is very warm, you know. You can live in my pocket if you want.” The giant giggled as he gestured to his coat pockets on his hips. “But… nah, I mean, you must have a home or something to go back to, huh?”

Lark shook her head heartily and scooted along Sky’s palm, where she wrapped her arms around his enormous thumb. “I want to be with you.” She said firmly, hugging his thumb.

Sky’s expression softened as he gazed at the adorable little woman clinging to his thumb. His heart fluttered at her dedication and trust towards him.

The titan lifted his hand up to his mouth and pushed his soft lips into Lark’s body, feeling her warmth, her minuscule proportions.

“What made you trust me so much?” Sky whispered, incredulously, as he pushed his lips against her.

Lark froze up as the giant’s mouth whispered directly into her ear, his breath smelling faintly like birch.

“You… didn’t eat me.” She responded timidly, still clutching his thumb as his face smothered her against his broad palm.

“I could. Right now.” The giant rumbled, and Lark could hear his tongue scraping against the back of his teeth, directly behind her head.

“… I know.” Lark said softly, closing her eyes tightly, ever so hopeful.

Sky’s throat rumbled with a soft growl as he parted his lips, then his teeth, and suddenly his mouth had encircled her, trapping her between his palm and his enormous, blue mouth overhead. It took everything in her not to scream, to trust this mischievous giant with her own life as she forced herself to let go of his thumb and roll onto her back, staring up at the channel of his tongue, the grooves of his palate.

The interior of his mouth was partially illuminated only from the light pouring in from the gaps between his lips and his palm. While her back was against his palm, she was completely inside of his mouth, his teeth and tongue encircling her with no escape.

Her breath caught in her chest as she reached out and touched her delicate fingers to his tongue beside her.

“Sky. Enough.” She said shakily, forcing her eyes to stay open as his mouth surrounded her.

The titan grumbled as she touched his tongue, wanting nothing more than to close his mouth around her and seal her inside. But he obliged and withdrew himself, leaving her shaking in his palm.

“Huff- you’re no fun.” Sky said breathily, smiling warmly down at the tiny woman in his hand.

Lark stayed on her back, glaring up at him with a pout as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“Just cause I trust you doesn’t mean you should push it!” Lark retorted, and Sky couldn’t help but giggle mischievously.

“I know, I know…sorry.” The titan licked his lips and moved his hand away from his mouth, eyeing her carefully. His appetite was certainly whetted by her proximity to his jaws. He had to be more careful.

“It’s alright… no harm done.” Lark said as she sat up in his palm and crossed her legs, nestling into the giant’s warm hand.

“So, where would you like to ride from here on out?” Sky said as he gestured to his body.

“Ride? Um…” Lark leaned back and took in the enormous breadth of Sky’s imposing stature before her.

“You do have a lot of pockets. How about the chest one again?” She said as she started to fuss over her hair and tousle it back into place.

“Good choice.” Sky said as he lifted the tiny woman up to his left breast and unzipped the pocket. He tilted his palm towards the opening, and Lark gingerly stepped inside and dropped to the bottom of the pocket.

Being flush against the giant man’s chest warmed Lark to the core. She found herself smiling as she nestled into the bottom corner of the fabric pouch. As Sky walked with his enormous heavy steps, Lark was comforted by the sway of his gait. It really was a perfect place for a small human such as herself.

Sky smiled as well, feeling her fluttery little body against his right breast. His fingertips grazed the outside of the pocket protectively.

“Shall I zip you in, seal your fate?” The giant grinned as he tugged at the zipper, pulling the tab slowly along the teeth.

Lark gasped as she looked up at the opening of the pocket, the light dwindling as the enormous zipper teeth came together in a neat row.

“Hey, no! There’s no way I could pull that back open!” She whined, standing up awkwardly in the fabric folds and stretching her arms up. Her fingertips only grazed the teeth of the zipper.

Sky merely laughed and left the zipper halfway closed. “I’m kidding! I want you to be able to get out if you need to.” He patted the pocket gently and continued walking, consciously aware of the tiny life tucked away against his breast.

Very few humans lived in the remote wilderness of the north where Sky roamed. Aside from temporary settlements and camps, such as the one Lark came from, he was unlikely to encounter many people. Titans, on the other hand, were known to travel in a wide range.

Sky let out a long, pained sigh as he stood still. He gazed down at his breast pocket where Lark was safely snuggled into.

“Hey Lark. I know you agreed to stay with me, but… it will be dangerous if I meet another titan. I don’t know how well I can protect you if things get ugly.” Sky rumbled as he pulled the zipper outwards to peek inside his pocket.

Lark peeked up from the bottom, gazing at the giant’s worried eyes through the zipper opening.

“You mean like a fight? Do titans attack each other?” She asked.

“I might. It depends on how cooperative they are.” Sky replied. “I intend to only ask questions… I gotta learn more about myself. I don’t know where else to look for answers, and the meteor only complicated things.”

“Hmm… well, I’d still rather stay with you, Sky. I trust that you’ll keep me safe…” Lark said as she looked up and placed a small hand on the giant’s breast, a tiny reassurance within his pocket.

“I’ll protect you, Lark. If anything, I might just have to hide you somewhere you can’t be stepped on or crushed on accident.” Sky said while touching his fingers to the outside of his chest pocket. “Just wanted to uh, forewarn you. Though I’m sure you know other titans aren’t as gentle as I am.”

Lark let out a laugh. Though Sky was the only titan she had really met, she was well aware of the dangers. “Yeah, I won’t go waltzing up to another giant… don’t worry!”

Sky glanced down at his pocket again and grumbled, placing his hand over his entire breast protectively. The cold northern air chilled his enormous body, but his pocket remained warm, tucked against himself. Lark would be safe from the cold as long as she was with him.

As he walked, the titan suddenly winced as his stomach tightened into a knot. He had been ignoring it for the majority of the day, but the pain was now amped up to a 10.

Sky halted, standing still among the trees. His glowing blue eyes scanned the treetops, deliberating on which one to take a bite out of. Yet, as he brought his mouth up to the leaves, he stopped.

This wasn’t right. His body was telling him it was hungry for something else.

The titan blinked. When was the last time he ate humans?

“Damn…” Sky grumbled, gritting his teeth as he stared at the leaves in front of him, a snack he had eaten many times before when he was desperate. The thought of choking them down right now made him nauseous.

Lark, sensing the giant’s turmoil, peeked her head out of his pocket’s zipper and looked up at him.

“Sky, you okay?” She asked timidly, and the giant did not look at her.

No, he didn’t dare look at her, so small and vulnerable in his pocket, with her taste still faint on his lips. He merely closed his eyes and clenched his jaw tight.

“I don’t know. Stay in the pocket, Lark.” He rumbled lowly, reaching up with his fingertip and gently pushing her back down into the depths of his clothing.

“Hey-!” She squeaked as she was forced inside, even more so when Sky promptly zipped the pocket all the way shut.

The giant breathed deeply, feeling his lungs swell and his guts cramp painfully. This had certainly been the longest time he had gone since devouring Lark’s kind. He had to keep her safe, no matter what. Safe, and oblivious.

The titan turned in place and walked purposefully towards a hillside he had passed by earlier. He had caught a glimpse as he was walking of a dirt road winding through the trees, a pathway paved by humans.

Inside his pocket, tucked against his pounding chest, Lark was fiddling nervously. Rocked this way and that by his strides, her efforts to reach up and undo the zipper were fruitless. She was helpless, all she could do was sink to the bottom of his pocket.

What was he planning to do? She had to know. While the giant was distracted, she focused her attention on the seams lining the bottom corner of the pocket with her small knife.

Sky followed the dirt road, his giant boots plowing through trees and rocks as he scanned the area. It was unlikely, but there was a chance there would be humans somewhere along the road, either by vehicle or in a campsite.

Sure enough, the giant’s long strides brought him to a small camp. Three tents surrounded an electric portable stove on the top of the hill. No sign of a fire or smoke, a telling sign that the inhabitants were trying to avoid detection.

Two humans appeared out of the tents, alerted by the titan’s presence. Geared up in tactical camo gear, they immediately began shouting into their radios as Sky wasted no time in reaching down and grabbing them both in one hand.

Sky stared at them both as they struggled in his hand, feeling his innards rumble with anticipation. This was it, the cure. He wasted no time in cramming both of the men into his mouth and sealing them inside despite their protests.

Under his jacket, Lark had slipped out of the hole in his pocket, and was making her way down along his enormous body. An audible swallowing sound filled the air, and she froze somewhere along his abdomen.

“Sky…” she whispered, horrified, as her proximity to his stomach gave away what he had just put in there. Indeed, the muffled cries of the two humans the giant had just swallowed whole emanated from within.

The titan felt himself go into a trance-like state as his body immediately responded to his latest meal, and a warm glowing feeling washed over him as the pain in his guts subsided. He let out a long sigh, then leaned back in satisfaction, just in time for Lark to slip out from under his jacket.

“Woah!” He yelled and fumbled, reaching down to catch her before she hit the ground.

“What are you doing?” Sky said with a gasp as he brought her close to his face, cupping her in his palm. She shuddered briefly before looking up at him in horror.

“You ate them!” Lark cried, pointing her finger at his enormous face. “People, you ate people!”

Sky stared at her guiltily, covering his mouth with his free hand. Now that his stomach pain had subsided, he was able to think more clearly. Didn’t he tell Lark directly that he would not be eating other humans?

“...I forgot.” He mumbled.

“How could you forget? It’s not like you ate them on accident!” Lark cried, pounding her tiny fists into his palm.

Sky bit his lip as he leaned over and stared down at his belly, which was happily full of squirming. Now that he had finally eaten, the thought of letting them back out was agonizing.

“You don’t understand… I have to.” He retorted, his gaze avoiding Lark’s.

“You have to? What will happen if you don’t eat humans? What about eating trees, like before?” She cried.

“I couldn’t continue any longer. It hurt… my insides felt like they were on fire. Now it’s fine…” Sky uttered.

“Sky…” Lark said, defeated, crumpling in his hand at his words. Her entire body shook as she was forced to witness such atrocities. All she could think about was how whoever was eaten was still alive inside of him… for now.

The titan sighed, glancing around his surroundings. He felt guilty for exposing Lark to this without much warning. If she just stayed in his pocket, would things have been better? She certainly would have still heard the commotion.

“I’m sorry. Maybe all this was a mistake.” Sky said as he crouched down and held his hand against the ground, with Lark on top. “If you stay with me, you’re going to witness stuff like this. I can’t change who I am.” The giant’s expression was solemn.

Lark’s lip quivered as she looked up at the giant, then down at the ground, at the empty encampment.

“You’re going to leave me here alone?” She asked, staring up at him with big eyes.

“Don’t worry, there’s one person left.” Sky said, nodding towards one of the tents. Lark followed his gaze and stared inside, indeed catching a glimpse of its occupant. Sky’s enormous hand reached over and plucked the tent off the ground, exposing them.

With a surprised expression, the last human in the encampment froze in Sky’s shadow. It was none other than Devon, the unfortunate man who couldn’t seem to catch a break from the titan.

“Oh god, it’s Devon… don’t leave me with him!” Lark whined, pointing her finger at the cowardly man.

Devon scrambled in place and stood up, clenching a rifle in his hands. Sky’s huge body eclipsed the area, a look of amusement on his face.

“You again…! You’ll pay, titan… for eating my men!” Devon shouted, aiming his weapon and Sky and pulling the trigger… a click. He had forgotten to load any rounds.

Sky, heaving a sigh, cupped Lark in his hand and leaned closer to the shouting man.

“Hey, don’t be so upset. They were very satisfying.” The titan said lowly, eyeing the lone human who was currently fumbling with reloading his rifle.

“Shut up, you!” Devon said, gritting his teeth as he finally loaded his gun and aimed up at Sky once more. The titan blinked, staring at the tiny gun pointed at him, and brought his hand up, over Devon, and clapped it down on top of him.

The man was flattened instantly under the giant’s massive palm, and when Sky removed his hand, Devon was reeling from the shock, sprawled on his back in pain. Sky took the opportunity to pinch the man’s leg between his thumb and forefinger, lifting him off the ground as his rifle tumbled down, out of his loose fingers.

Lark watched, still cupped in the giant’s other hand, as the limp body of Devon was lifted up by his foot, dangling precariously between Sky’s fingers. Her eyes grew wide as she realized what the giant’s intentions were.

Sky caught her gaze and looked at her, holding Devon up next to his face threateningly. His expression was stern.

“So, you don’t like this guy. Are you going to protest if I eat him, too?” The titan uttered, and Lark could hear the malice dripping in his voice.

“I…” Lark stammered, suddenly feeling like she was the judge, jury, and executioner of this one man’s life. She didn’t particularly hate Devon, but he did vocally advocate banishing her from their group.

“You don’t have to watch. I’ll make it quick.” Sky said as he slowly brought the dangling man to his mouth.

“H-He won’t feel any pain, right?” Lark asked innocently. Her hands started to get clammy as she braced herself for what she was about to see.

Sky shook his head. “No. At least, I don’t think so. They usually quiet down after a little while.”

“...until they get dissolved in acid, right…” Lark shuddered.

“No, that’s not it. Titan’s bodies are different from a human’s. Remember how I mentioned my insides glowing? It happens after I eat, as well. The light grows warm and disperses nutrients throughout, instantly. At least that’s what I think.” Sky said as he nodded down to his torso, clad in his warm jacket but a faint blue glow could be seen underneath.

Lark stared at his middle, her eyes indeed picking up the faint glow within the titan’s body.

“Really? So… that light in your body is responsible for regulating your organs, and… manifesting clothing and equipment for you…” She said curiously, head tilting as she contemplated the complicated nature of the titan’s body. “That’s pretty handy, you know. I wonder what else it does…”

As Lark sat comfortably in the giant’s hand, Devon was slowly coming-to, held by his leg in front of Sky’s face. He gasped as he was held upside-down, so high off the ground, staring at the titan’s mouth.

“Hey, no, no, no…” He said, flailing his arms as he swung back and forth from the giant’s fingers. “C’mon, you don’t gotta eat me too!”

Sky turned his attention to Devon, feeling his appetite growing by the minute.

“If I let you go again, you’ll just try to shoot me.” Sky retorted, already feeling impatient about delaying his meal.

“What? No, of course not! You really think that gun can do much damage to you anyways??” Devon squeaked helplessly.

“You could take my eye out. Not risking it. Besides, I’m not satisfied with just the two.” Sky said lowly, opening his mouth and raising Devon above it. Just as he was about to drop him inside, Lark piped up below.

“Wait! Sky, hold on.” She said, patting the giant’s hand. Sky glanced down at her, mouth still partially open. “We could… use this as an opportunity to see what happens in there…”

Sky raised an eyebrow at her words. He closed his mouth and leveled his head to look down at her in his palm.

“...go on.” He said. Lark bit her lip nervously, suddenly feeling rather put on the spot.

“Well, um, since you’re eating him anyways… what if we hooked up his body cam and transmitted it to my phone?” Lark said, holding up her device. “All of those suits have them.”

Sky smiled, impressed by her boldness to use a fellow human in this way. Devon, of course, protested loudly to the idea.

“What?? Oh come on, you’re gonna use me as an endoscope?” He squealed, and Sky merely flipped the man’s body into his hand and closed his fist on him.

“Didn’t expect this from you.” Sky laughed as he brought Lark up closer to his face. “Isn’t that rather morbid?”

Lark blushed at his words, fiddling with her phone as she perched in his palm. “You know what? Yes, it is. You were right, by staying with you I have no choice but to be complicit in… this. So, let’s make the most of it, and maybe if Devon cooperates well enough, you can let him go afterwards?”

Sky huffed, glancing upwards as he considered her request. He hadn’t considered letting humans free after swallowing them whole before. The process did not appeal to him, but he cared for Lark a lot, and if this is what he had to do to make her happy, then it was worth it.

“Fine. Let’s try it.” He said, bringing his hands together and opening up his fist in his right hand, which contained the disgruntled Devon. The man grumbled as he scrambled onto his feet, only to fall onto his rear once Sky’s hand tilted enough.

“I didn’t agree to this bullshit.” Devon grumbled as he started undoing the straps on his pants and boots. His clothing was quite bulky, so he wanted to minimize the risk of getting lodged in the giant’s gullet on the way down.

“That’s too bad.” Sky said, eyeing the man carefully. He could tell Lark was uncomfortable being so close to him, but it was only temporary.

“I just gotta set my app to your cam’s frequency…” Lark said timidly as she peered at Devon’s chest camera. The young man glared at her, unsure if he should be furious or thankful for her idea. He shook his dark hair and leaned back, turning on his camera.

“50602.” He uttered as the camera powered on. “That’s the code.”

Lark avoided his gaze as she punched the numbers into her phone. The devices connected, and she could view the camera.

“All set… um, good luck.” She said with a wave to Devon, who sneered back at her.

“Yeah, thanks.” He said sarcastically.

“Hey, be nice to her. She’s doing you a favor.” Sky said as he brought Devon up to his face.

“Not so much as she is doing it for her own creepy needs. You two sicken me.” The man said, feeling the dread rising inside of him as he was brought close to that terrifying, blue mouth yet again.

“You’re not gonna change my mind. Just relax and enjoy the trip.” Sky said with a smirk, before tilting Devon into his mouth.

The man grunted as he was tilted inside, the giant’s enormous size easily engulfing him and surrounding him with his teeth and blue maw. He fell flat on his palms in the middle of Sky’s tongue, with a clear view of his throat before him.

Lark watched her phone with bated breath as the camera fogged up from the titan’s hot breath. All she could see was the blue of his tongue, before the screen went black just as Sky swallowed.

Devon was tilted into Sky’s throat by his powerful tongue, sliding down head-first into the darkness. He grit his teeth as he was forcibly squeezed down, his small size effortlessly fitting inside the titan’s esophagus.

After what felt like an eternity in the giant’s throat, Devon reached Sky’s stomach, where he was suddenly dropped from the throat and into the bottom. He landed with a thud, rolling down the side of the titan’s stomach until he was flat on his back, trapped in the pit of Sky’s belly.

Sky let out a satisfied huff as his empty stomach was filled. He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them as he brought Lark up to his face to observe her. She was staring at her phone, admiring the look of the inside of her enormous companion’s gut.

“It’s… bright blue…” She uttered, noting how the inside of Sky’s stomach lit up with an ominous glow.

Devon shivered, scooting himself backwards from the pit of the giant’s stomach. His breaths were coming out rapidly as he looked around his environment. Every fold and ridge of the titan’s stomach were illuminated by a bright blue glow, which emanated from underneath the flesh.

“Holy shit…” He said, fully expecting to see the half-digested bodies of his comrades inside the titan’s stomach. He was completely alone inside; not a trace of them were to be found. Devon’s eyes went wide as he realized his time was very limited before he was completely digested.

“Are you done yet??” He yelled as he continued backing into the walls of Sky’s stomach. Just then, among the inner gurgling and groaning of the giant’s guts, a pulsing mechanical sound whirred around him. The glowing flesh of the titan’s stomach became brighter, and waves of lines traveled up along the folds from the center.

Lark stared at her screen in disbelief as Sky’s stomach appeared to be scanning its contents, surrounding Devon with waves of light. “Something crazy’s happening… I think it’s bad news for Devon.” She said as she looked up at Sky, who was eyeing her curiously.

“My stomach feels very warm.” Sky said as he glanced down to his middle. He grimaced, knowing he would have to empty it.

“Get me outta here, this shit’s crazy!!” Devon wailed as he plastered himself against the walls, and the waves of light got more and more intense.

Suddenly, the giant’s stomach contracted, and its contents were squeezed upwards. Devon was forced back up the wide throat he had just slid down and in just a few seconds, he was back in Sky’s mouth, utterly soaked in fluids.

Sky leaned over his free hand and calmly opened his mouth, rolling Devon’s limp body off of his tongue and into his palm. The man lay there, dazed after being squeezed so hard on all sides.

“Is he okay?” Lark asked timidly from the giant’s other hand, and Sky nodded.

“Yeah. That was close, though. Another minute and he would have been gone.” The giant said as he cupped his hand around the regurgitated human.

“You’re goddamn kiddin’ me. That was insane. I hope you two know that.” Devon groaned as he sat up in Sky’s hand and started wiping globs of spit off his face.

“Hmm, but you’re probably the first human to get eaten by a titan and survive…” Sky said thoughtfully, running his tongue along his lips, savoring the remnants of flavor.

“Well, whatever you are, you sure as hell ain’t like us. Blue insides. Glowing, blue insides at that. And what must have been a damn full-body scan…” Devon said rather lowly, as if he was talking to himself.

“Do you think… it’s an artificial organ?” Lark said thoughtfully, mostly directed at Sky, who looked at her rather incredulously.

“Artificial? Like, you think I’m not comprised of flesh?” The titan asked, tilting his head at the curious little woman in his left hand. “I guess… I never thought about that. I… don’t think I’m artificial, but, maybe parts of me are…”

“I am not going back in to get a biopsy.” Devon retorted, sitting with his back turned to both Sky and Lark as he squeezed moisture out of his hair and clothes.

Lark glanced at the disgruntled man and bit her lip. He looked awful, drenched in digestive fluids with his hair and clothes matted down. She looked down at her phone and ended the stream to his body cam, saving the recording.

“I think it’s about time to let him go.” Lark said, glancing up at the titan, who nodded in agreement.

“Yeah. Thanks for taking the plunge.” Sky laughed as he bent down and brought Devon lower to the ground in his hand. The man scoffed before hopping off eagerly.

“As if I had a choice…” Devon seethed quietly as he promptly walked back to his tent and started drying himself off with a rag.

Sky then stood up and turned his back to the campsite, walking away without another word. He held Lark close to his chest, cupping her protectively as he walked, enormous stride easily taking them a good distance before finally stopping.

Sky sat down with a contented sigh, spreading his legs out as he cupped Lark in both hands and held her close to his face as he leaned over. He gave her an exasperated smile.

“I feel like I have more questions than answers now.” He said, using his thumb to gently rub Lark’s petite shoulders.

Lark smiled warmly as the giant touched her. Despite his enormous size and terrifying appetite, the titan’s hands around her were a welcome feeling.

“Do you still think we’d be better off parting ways?” She asked timidly, looking up at the titan with big eyes.

Sky’s eyes narrowed, and he smiled as he shook his head.

“We make a good team, don’t we?” He rumbled as he touched the tip of his thumb to the top of her little head. Lark giggled in response.

“I’m glad.” She said softly, leaning into the giant’s warm embrace, his touch already numbing her to the memory of his recent meal.

[bellewintersroe]

Howard ‘Hambone’ Hamilton x Reader

When you, a British Red Cross nurse is taken in as a prisoner of war by the Germans you’re made to work in their hospitals, often taking care of soldiers from the axis. Much to your surprise the odd trickle of allied troops come in, not for very long, but when you meet a certain American airforce man, you’re swept off your feet.

18+ content, mentions of injuries, death, war (obviously), ptsd, threats of violence- it’s a heavy angsty 2 part? series ok. Part 1.

October 31st 1943:

Hambone’s eyes softened as you walked into the room, closing the curtains behind you to create his own private space. “Hi.” You’d smile gently to which Hambone would sit up straighter. “Hi.”

“How’re you feeling?”

“Better if I didn’t eat that slime this morning.” Hambone muttered as you laughed softly, perching on the edge of his bed to feel his forehead with the back of your hand. “How’re you really feeling?”

“M’ okay, yeah.” The midwestern man responded as you made eye contact, sharing a sweet smile that made Hambone’s heart race. You truly were the only person he had whilst in this German hospital. With a broken shoulder, broken rib, punctured lung and torn up face you’d practically nursed him back to life over the past 3 weeks he’d spent here. A POW yourself, you understood the fear, the anxiety, the danger you were in. Hambone knew it was different for you, this hospital was your make shift home, it was either here or the dreaded camps. He couldn’t understand what was so bad about them, but he wasn’t so sure he wanted to know. Being a British cross nurse you were captured by the Germans back in 1942, a whole year ago. There was no use leaving you to rot inside some dingy camp, so they set you to work, where you could be handy in their hospital 12 miles east of Berlin.

“M’ gonna listen to your breathing. You need any painkillers today?” You muttered, pulling the stethoscope up and into your head. “Nah.” Hambone tried to relax, but the feeling of your hand going up his shirt drove him wild. On no planet did he think he’d be in a German hospital with a pretty English nurse, falling head over heels for her.

“Okay.” You’d whisper sending shivers down his back. “I thought you’d never come back after last night, you were busy?” The American continued talking as you felt a soft smile come to your face. “I was just about run off my feet.” Your smile made Hambone want to try harder to see you grin even more.

“Well, I wouldn’t blame you for having a lie down in here.” Finally, you’d giggle at his words, a sense of accomplishment filling Hambone. “Quiet for now, let me listen to you. Take a deep breath for me.” He did as he was told as you shifted your hand from the back, to then up the front of his top.

“Sorry.” You’d smile a little nervously, your hands bumping into each other as Howard found himself watching you with heavy lids. You were so close, the closest he’d been to anybody in weeks. You were trying your best to listen as carefully as possible, but the quickening of his heart rate distracted you. It happened often, whenever you got close his heart would accelerate, even with some deep breaths, you could hear the sound of his nerves.

“Sounds like your lungs healing up fine. Just need to get the rest of you better now.” You pulled the equipment back down around your neck, resting a hand on the edge of the cot.

“And leave you alone in here?” He charmed, an even bigger smile breaking out. Just when the both of you were distracted, your minds blissfully in their own world, the curtains snapped back causing your back to straighten and you to nearly jump out of your skin.

You didn’t move from Hambones bedside when you saw the SS officer there. You were simply frozen in your tracks, fearful and silent, eyes wide and jaw clenched shut. Howard eyed you up as well as the Nazi ahead of him. He’d never seen an officer dressed like this before, most of the men in here were young soldiers or physicians. They were majority all fine- but this man didn’t seem it. He had a cold expression, eyes narrowed and thin lips pressed together creating a sealed line where they met. There wasn’t an inch of emotion on his face, and perhaps that was scaring you more than anything.

“Amerikanerin, yes?” The SS officers head moved with robotic jolts, moving side to side between yourself and Hambone. Unsure of whether to answer, the two of you remained staring, until Hambone eventually nodded. From his side, he glanced to see your fist bundling around the bedsheets, drawing white from the pressure as you squeezed.

The SS officer then rolled his eyes to land on you, scanning you up and down in a more than obvious manner. It was intimidating to say the least, he almost moved like a mechanical object, every movement seemed planned and rigid. Hambone felt a wave of disgust and protectiveness run through him, the feelings he’d harboured for you were nothing short than pure adoration. Seeing your neck tense and hand grip the sheets from nothing but sheer terror made Hambone fidget uncomfortably. He wanted to reach out, yell at this scum to leave you alone, but he couldn’t.

“This is the Red Cross nurse.”

“Das ist die KrJaenschwester des Roten Kreuzes.” The doctor spoke from the side of the SS officer, looking intimidated and feeble beside the armed man. Hambone, watched, concerned and confused by the German, you however had spent enough time in their company to understand he was introducing you to the SS officer.

Remaining quiet, your eyes fell to the floor, only gazing up to catch a slight smirk drawing across the officers face. “Nurse?” He questioned, stepping closer, making you subconsciously inch closer to Hambone in the bed.

“From England, Ja?” He questioned, looking down upon you. “Yes.”

“What is wrong with him?” Timidly, you turned back to Hambone, his eyes bearing into yours, harbouring the same surprise and fear that the officer spoke English well.

“He’s got a broken shoulder, and a broken rib that punctured his lung.” Hambone watched as you touched your left side, indicating the same place where he had been wounded. You’d glanced up to the SS officer who listened along, expression unreadable. His striking eyes landed on you once more, staring into your soul like he could suck the life out of you at any minute. Hambone watched back, gawking at the officer before him.

“A-and he had a laceration down his cheek into his neck. He lost alot of blood.” You inhaled deeply, pointing at the jagged scar that had been roughly stitched up by a different German doctor, one that hadn’t cared as much as you would’ve. Peering up at the officer once more, he pushed his jaw forwards, scanning over Hambone like he was food on his dinner plate.

“You kept this man alive?!” He then spoke out, expression changing completely as he scanned between the German doctor at the door and yourself. The tone change in his voice made your stomach completely drop, unable to answer to his strange question. Of course you ‘kept him alive’, but you feared responding that to an enemies officer wouldn’t be the smartest thing.

With the lack of response, the room fell silent and the officer grew agitated with what he perceived to be rudeness. Before anybody could object, he raised his hand and struck a smack directly across your cheek. Startled and struck, you stumbled back, crying out at the sudden physical contact, but the shock that overcame you numbed the pain. Hambone felt his eyes bulge out of his head, an anger like nothing else seethed through his body. Now Hambone was an intelligent man, but when his emotions overcame him, it got the better of him. Everything moved in slow motion in your mind, yet Hambones actions happened so fast.

He’d hauled himself up, body still weak and broke, but he snatched at the officers uniform, grappling at him with a tense jaw. “Hambone, stop!” Crying out, you grappled against the wall, an instant fear filling you as you scrambled to intercept. The officer didn’t hesitate to pull out his gun, yelling curses and spitting towards Hambone.

“Stop! Stop!” A horror upon seeing the man at the barrel of the Nazi’s gun had you jumping between. “You can’t touch him! He’s a prisoner of war under the Geneva conditions and will be treated that way!” Despite the shake in your voice your tone was firm yet desperate.

The gun was still pointed towards Hambone, the man’s face twitched, searing in anger, eyes squinted and hand shaking as you’d bravely wedged yourself between what was probably the most dangerous situation of your life. “Tell him!” You’d ordered, eyes wide and snapping towards the startled doctor at the door. Upon his silence, a frantic sensation hurried through you once more.

“Tell him!”

“Sir, der Mann ist in unserer Obsorge. Ich kann nicht zulassen, dass du die Verantwortung für seinen Tod übernimmst.” The German words seemed to register something in the man’s head. The officer turned back to you, glancing you up and down once more before he backed away, turning his back on you both and stuffing his gun into his pocket, leaving the room with a spit of a curse in German.

When the doctor behind shot you a look of pure horror, he snatched the curtains closed and Hambone let out a sigh of relief. “Are you-”

“Don’t ever do that again.” You snapped, turning around to the American who still looked shaken from the whole situation. Hambone barely had time to register his thoughts before you were telling him off.

“You want to get yourself killed?!” Breathless, you felt tears prick at your eyes, terrified and shaken up from the whole encounter. Hambone watched back to you with a saddened gaze, shaking his head. Letting out a sigh, you found yourself relieved to be staring back at the blonde man, angry or not, you couldn’t deny the relief that he’d made it out of that encounter alive.

The American then shifted slightly, wincing and letting out a slight groan of pain as he attempted to ease back down into the bed. “Hambone.” You then found yourself sorrowful, seeing him in pain and recognising the man was only trying to protect you from the violence you’d grown so accustomed to over the past year. A hand reached up, stroking his hair out of his face before easing him back down so he was propped up against the bed, breathing heavily from the pain that continued to rattle through his side.

“Are you okay?” You hushed once more, but he found himself reaching out for your face, ignoring the pain he found himself in. “Your face.” He responded, finally speaking. His finger touched at the small gash on your cheekbone that spilt drips of blood down your cheek. Upon seeing you wounded, Hambone’s stomach clenched and churned.

“I’m fine.” You hushed, hand resting on his shoulder. “Just please never do that again.” As a tear fell, you dropped yourself into hug him, in utter disbelief that he managed to walk out of such a risky encounter. “Please.” You’d hushed into the embrace, feeling him lift his wounded hand to hold you closer with both arms.

“I won’t.” Hambone hushed, nudging his face into your hair, eyes fluttering shut as he held your body close despite the throbbing pain in his rib. Slowly, your breathing settled in his arms and your trembling body eventually calmed. Sensing this, Hambone retrieved his head, only pulling back to take a better look at your face.

Overtaken by emotions and the sense of impending doom, he didn’t hesitate to push his lips onto yours. Hell, he half expected you to pull away in disgust, but when you sunk into the kiss, it was more than he ever bargained for. A hand tightened around the back of your head, fingers pressing into your scalp and between strands of your hair as you pulled off with a gasp.

“Don’t ever do that again.” You reminded once more, Hambone, was momentarily left a little stunned, thinking you were talking about the kiss, but with another firm kiss to his mouth, he could lax once more, relieved in the comfort he at least had you through all this.

[alovesreading]

Constant Repeat | Part 18

Summary: Having worked at Focus Creeps for a year, Ella knows that as a production assistant and part of the crew, there’s one important rule: don’t interact with the talent unless it’s needed. But once she meets Arctic Monkeys, and the recording of the music videos for their upcoming fourth studio album starts, the band seem to become her exception. Not only because they treat her more like a friend than just someone else they’re working with but when Alex continuously makes her blush with his flirting, so enthralled by her that he forgets he’s got a girlfriend, Ella finds herself growing closer to him. As videos are filmed, wrapped and edited, the friendship lines become blurry. Situations unfold, secrets are told and others are kept under lock and key, but how long can Alex and Ella endure being stuck in each other’s minds on constant repeat.

Word Count: 41.3k

Story Warnings: Throughout this series there will be suggestive talk, jealousy, cheating, alcohol and drug use, angst, smut.

A/N: Well, clearly I need to stop deeming one or another chapter the longest of the series when I still haven't written the rest cos I'm actually equally horrified and surprised that this chapter is this long - especially since I had to chop down a third of it to push it towards a new chapter. Yep, that's right - you lot are getting two more chapters after this one and the epilogue lol Anyway, I cannot believe I'm posting this chapter finally!!! Pinch me moment, really, but I hope with all my heart that you love it. Also sorry but I just literally finished writing this so it's not fully proofread so I'm very sorry if there's grammatical and spelling mistakes. Okay, I'll shut up now!! Enjoy!!! xxx

Masterlist

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 |

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

Four days had passed since that stupid article had come out and Ella seemed to be working on automatic. She was trying her best to appear completely normal and unbothered while every word she’d read that day echoed inside her mind in an agonizing loop.

The giddy Ella that Ben had been teasing all day that Thursday was long gone by the end of the day. He had been completely ignored when he asked her what was wrong while everyone was saying goodbye and walking out the door to go home.

And the following four days were just the same: a blank expression on her face that only was exchanged from time to time for a forced smile she pulled whenever someone asked her if she was alright.

Ben had tried to joke with her on Friday, teasing her about being so down bad for Alex that she was missing him too much to function. But it had gone poorly. Ella had frozen in her place and stood up abruptly after a few beats of silence, grabbing her pack of cigarettes and lighter to take with her outside and her voice broke as she mumbled that she needed to go for a smoke. That was when Ben started to actually worry.

Even her coworkers had realized it was something far deeper than they’d been thinking when Monday had come around and she looked the same as the end of Thursday and Friday. At first, they thought she was just shutting down after coming back from her hometown, but she never let it drag on this much when that would happen. Usually she’d speak to her family on the phone on the weekend and that’d be enough for her to be cured of the homesickness, but this time it was apparent that it just wasn’t the case.

They tried to cheer her up during lunch break, tempting her with an offer to take her to her favorite Los Feliz restaurant, but she shook her head to decline their advances. With an absent look on her face, she told them she’d brought her own food that day. No witty remark to hold them up to that offer in the future, just falling silently into eating—more like moving around—the lunch she’d packed herself the night before.

Even if she was behaving that way, she was fully invested in her work and whilst everyone appreciated the fact that work wasn’t being halted, it just wasn’t something anyone in the office enjoyed seeing.

So Ben and Aaron begged her to go home earlier that day, knowing she’d be willing to stay way past usual hours just to drown in the work that had accumulated slightly while she was in Tennessee. She had already caught up with a lot on Thursday and Friday, and the last thing anyone wanted was for her to burnout due to her seeking an escape from whatever was going on by working non-stop.

Ella’s eyes were red from how long she’d been staring at her computer, editing pictures without a break once she came back into her office after finishing lunch—which had been a mere few bites of her pasta before threw it away. She still had two weeks to give back the finished product but she was determined to just do everything and anything she could to distract herself from her thoughts.

Staying at the office later than usual on Thursday and Friday had helped, and the weekend she’d spent alone at home had been beyond miserable, she needed the distraction that work gave her that Monday, and every day that would follow until her mind would stop racing and she could try to get over everything—force herself to forget about everything that had happened in Tennessee and forget about the hope that had bloomed inside her from it all, the one that made her heart break in a thousand more pieces the more time passed.

It was all a blur how Ben and Aaron managed to get her out of the office by six in the afternoon and when she got back home by seven, she was thankful for loud music and the lighter than usual LA traffic.

She’d spent the weekend deep cleaning every corner of her house, trying to be meticulous in every aspect so that her focus was completely on her tasks, so many movies had been playing in the background those two days. Crying over fictional people’s lives seemed to be just what she needed to fool herself about what she really wanted to cry over. When she had gone into her room to clean it though, it had gotten tough and Sunday had unfortunately ended with her sobbing as she clutched onto that Clockwork Orange shirt she’d never given him back.

So when Ella stepped foot into her spotless house, she started to panic over what she was meant to do so as to not drive herself insane for the rest of the day.

Breana solved that for her by calling her. She was currently on the way to Indianapolis with the lads and she’d been trying hard not to stress herself about Ella’s lack of answer to her texts throughout the entire day.

Unlike Alex, Breana hadn’t gotten the version of Ella who was acting like nothing had happened; she’d gotten a sad and absent Ella on the phone every time she called, and the texts would always come late and short. The model was actually surprised about how well Ella was playing it off to Alex, chipper on the phone to him and smiling hard, making sure to reply on time and joking with him through texts.

She was trying to fool everyone else into thinking everything was alright, and the only one who actually saw how broken and despaired she was, was Breana.

“Hey babe, I thought you were gonna text me during your lunch break.” Bre said softly when Ella picked up the facetime call.

Ella could see that she was hidden away in the back lounge of the bus so she felt relieved that she could let herself break down freely in front of her best friend.

“Sorry, completely forgot. Everyone was trying to ask me what was wrong and to cheer me up and I was focused on not crying in front of everyone.” All the tears she’d been holding back started to silently run down her cheeks, it made her feel so pathetic but she needed to cry after trying so hard not to all day.

Bre’s face fell at the sight and she wanted to be there with her and hold her all night, console her and tell her it’d be alright. After all, Alex still hadn’t mentioned seeing Alexa in New York so it felt like Ella was worrying about a phantom menace.

“It’s okay. Let it out, hun.” The model sighed when she watched Ella drop her head and start quietly sobbing, her shoulders shaking as she wept. “Why don’t you– Have you thought about asking him?” Bre asked wholeheartedly, thinking that Ella subtly asking him about it would lead to him honestly giving her the answers she needed.

But Ella was long gone in psyching herself into the worst situations, so there was no way in hell that she’d risk her own heart all over again by asking him about it. There was no way she could ask without exposing herself and she had no idea if she could ever come back from getting her heart broken by Alex again.

It was way different this time, nothing like what had happened in 2012 but exactly because of that is that Ella was terrified to risk losing him now that he meant so much more to her.

Just thinking about how much she loved him was enough for her to cry a little harder as she shook her head before lifting it up to look at Breana through the screen. “I have thought about it but I won’t do it. I can’t just ask him without making it obvious that I’m in love with him and then what? If he’s actually considering it with Alexa like everyone is raving about online then, what? I do my best to ignore the heartbreak so I don’t ruin the friendship?”

“Ella, he’s not said a thing about Alexa and we’ve all talked about New York multiple times these past few days.” Breana explained with a sigh, hoping her words would help settle Ella even if it was just slightly.

“Yeah, well. Maybe he’s hiding it. Maybe something happened and he hasn’t said anything ‘cause everything in Tennessee is too fresh and you’d all shit on him for it.” Ella was reeling by then and she knew it but everything that was being said online about the pair getting back together was making her come up with every and any theory that would back it up.

She was trying to get ahead of the big reveal and make herself numb to the future heartbreak, getting herself ready for the worst possible outcome. She was still trying to come to terms about the fact that this most likely meant losing him for good. There was no way she’d be strong enough to endure seeing them together while she was stuck longing for what could never be.

“You need to stop reading the bullshit people say.” Breana raised her brows at her with a stern look on her face, knowing Ella had gone on Twitter again and read what people were saying like she had on Sunday after finding Alex’s shirt in her wardrobe. “If you don’t ask him, I will. So you’ve got until the weekend to do it.” The model gave her the ultimatum and it was enough for Ella to scoff loudly and frown.

“You can’t do that.” Ella said breathlessly, the hurt clear in her voice.

Bre shrugged, “You’re driving yourself mad, Ellie. I can’t keep seeing you like this because of something that’s clearly not happening.” Her words didn’t matter because Ella was still looking at her like she’d just stabbed her in the back, “What happened with everything your parents said? Don’t you remember huh? They were right, in every single thing they said. And your mom is right too, you should tell him even if it’s through the phone.”

Ella shook her head, “Not happening anymore. Sorry Bre.”

Breana gave her a sad smile, “It’s not me you should be saying sorry to, Ella. The only one you’re hurting right now is yourself.”

Those words hit Ella like a punch in the gut, her breath hitched in her throat as she tried not to sob loudly and she let her gaze drop to her hands. She couldn’t handle much more anymore today so she shook her head and hastily let Breanna go, “I’m gonna make myself something to eat, shower and go to bed. I’ll text you in the morning.”

Breana’s sigh was full of anguish for her best friend but she knew it’d be worse to push, she’d only drive Ella into a worse state and she needed to relax. “Okay babe. Don’t forget to text me yeah? I’ll be waiting for your messages.”

Ella only hummed with a curt nod, her gaze wandering around her desolate kitchen for a second before facing Bre again and saying goodbye, “I promise I’ll text. Love you.”

“Love you.” Breana reciprocated and ended the call herself.

When she came out of the back lounge to where everyone was hanging out, they all picked on the sadness that had overcome her expression.

“Y’alright?” Jamie asked Bre as she sat down next to Matt, making the drummer turn to look at her fiance and when he caught the look on her face, he hugged her tightly and dropped a kiss on her cheek.

“Yeah, yeah. Just tired.” The model excused and the guitarist nodded. Everyone caught her up on their conversation then, slowly managing to get little giggles and soft smiles from her as the time went and they got closer to the state of Indiana.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

The following day, Ella woke up to the ringing of her phone. An incoming facetime call from none other than Alex. A call that made her frown and startle awake since it was half past six in the morning and all she could think about was that the early call meant an emergency.

But Alex’s chipper, “Hiya, darling.” proved nothing close to an emergency had happened.

“Hi, sweetness.” Ella replied breathlessly. Seeing him ready for the day with his hair yet to be gelled back with a bright smile on his face that not even the cigarette that he was smoking could hide, made her want to scream. “You’re very smiley today.” She teased him the best she could, trying to ignore the ache in her heart that got more prominent when the memory of the article and the stupid online chat weaved through into the forefront of her mind.

He hummed like he was aware. After all, his cheeks hurt from how hard he’d been smiling for the past hour. “I’ve got good news.”

“Oh?” Was all that Ella managed to say, her signal to get him to start talking.

But all Alex did was smirk and hum, “Mhm.”

She knew what he was doing, so she rolled her eyes as she let herself fall back onto bed and rest her head on the pillows, “You’re gonna make me ask, really?”

“I am.” Alex cheekily replied, his smirk only getting bigger at the prospect of having her guess what it was.

From the way he was smiling, Ella had a feeling it had to be about his imminent move to Los Angeles, so she grinned back shyly and softly asked as excitement started brewing in her chest, “Is it about the house?”

“Yes.” He answered with joy, but still steered her into guessing.

So she continued with her guesses, “Have you got it?”

He nodded eagerly before explaining further, “Signed an hour ago and my agent got the keys so yes, it’s all mine now.”

“Fuck off!” Ella gasped and sat back up on her bed, “So you’re moving here for the holidays?” Tour was meant to finish mid November in South America so that’d mean that he was gonna be moving to LA just in time for the holidays and that made her incredibly nervous to think about.

But Alex shook his head and clarified, “Moving in this weekend actually.”

The notion had Ella breathless and wide-eyed. “What?!” Ella stuttered when she managed to stop holding her breath in shock. He was moving in that very weekend and all she’d done the past week since she’d last seen him was sob over some stupid paparazzi pictures of him and his ex.

“Yeah, well, our last festival this month is tomorrow so I’d be flying over to LA on the 26th and moving in until we have to go back on tour on the 2nd.” Alex explained easily. He’d bought his ticket back to LA with the rest of the group only a few minutes before and the first person he had to tell was Ella.

“Wait, so you’re coming back in two days?” Ella was truly shocked at this all, she kept blinking as if wanting to properly wake herself up because it all just didn’t feel real.

Alex flashed her a toothy smile, “We all are. Bought our tickets about ten minutes ago.” Seeing her getting even more surprised by that information made him want to coo out loud, she was so cute. He wanted to kiss her face over and over and over again.

“Holy shit.” Ella muttered under her breath, getting up from bed and walking towards her dresser to actually start getting ready to go to work.

The singer chuckled at her but attentively watched her every move on the screen as he continued, “And I’m gonna have everyone over on Saturday for a housewarming party.”

Ella nodded, her throat becoming dry at the thought of only having four days to mentally prepare to see him in person again after the torment she’d kept to herself. She had no idea how she’d be able to hide it from him in person, it was already hard to hide it from him through texts and facetime. But in person? She could only hack acting okay for an hour maybe, there was no way she could play it off for a whole afternoon.

“Right. Let me know if you want me to take anything. Is it gonna be like Matt and Bre’s?” She asked just to be prepared for who she’d have to hide from. If it was just the lads and the girls then it’d be tricky but at least she’d have Breana to lean onto and she’d feel more comfortable.

Her heart stopped when Alex shook his head and said, “A bit bigger. Steve and Davey are flying in with us so Mia, Davey’s girlfriend, is gonna be there too. Miles is gonna come as well and some other friends we have in the city.” He took a pause to think about the list he’d written down inside his mind and he added, “Oh, Josh is coming too and I think Alexa is coming over too.”

At the mention of that name, Ella felt herself go cold and pale. She was so glad she’d decided to move off camera as she went to grab a pair of jeans just as he said that.

“Darling?” Alex asked with a frown when he didn’t hear a thing coming from her.

Ella took a few deep breaths as she tried not to burst out crying, the wound she’d been opening up more and more with her overthinking for the past week felt like it had started bleeding all over again and she was trying her best not to cry in pain.

Clearing her throat, she rose back up and appeared on the screen. She kept her head hanging low so he wouldn’t see her failed attempt of a smile, she lifted her jeans up and chuckled dryly before excusing herself with, “Sorry, was getting my clothes for work.”

His eyes went wide when he realized he had once again forgotten about time zones and the fact that it was a Tuesday morning. “Shit, darling. Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you and make you late for work.”

She finally looked up and waved him off, “You actually helped ‘cause I’m pretty sure I snoozed my alarm.” Moving out of frame, Ella started changing and she was so glad she could use the excuse of getting changed for him not to complain about her not showing her face like he always did when she tried to hide from him. “Miles and Josh are coming?” She asked first, feeling like him mentioning Alexa first was the best opening she’d get to ask about it without having to risk her heart.

“Yeah, you know Miles wouldn’t miss this one after not being able to come to Matt’s. And Josh has been trying to convince me to move over here since we met him back in the Humbug days.”

Ella chuckled as she pulled the jeans up her legs and buttoned them up, “That’s a long while he took to convince you.”

Alex hummed, “Well, he wasn’t the one to convince me in the end.” He hoped she’d get what he was trying to say, his smirk was a clear sign that he meant she was the sole reason he decided to finally do it.

But Ella wasn’t looking at her phone, she was staring at herself in the mirror and giving herself a quick mental pep talk as she geared up to ask, “You said Alexa is coming too? Alexa Chung?”

“Ah yes.” Alex nodded, “Bumped into her in New York the other day and we were chatting for a bit. I told her I was moving here soon and she said she was due a visit to LA so I should let her know if I was doing anything once I got the house.” He hoped he was playing it cool because in all honesty, most of the talk he’d had with Alexa was about how he was trying to get the house as soon as possible to finally be able to get things moving in the right direction with Ella.

“Oh, right. Right.” Ella said casually, like she wasn’t trying to figure out if Alexa had said that as a friend or if she’d been flirting.

“She’s excited to meet you, you know?” Alex continued, unaware of how Ella was struggling to take in the new information, “She’s seen your pictures and she loved them. Think she said something about wanting you to take her pictures, she loved the ones you took at Katie’s last year. Said you were brilliant.”

Deep breathe in and out. Ella tried not to think about how it’d be to not only meet her in four days but make peace with the fact that anything she would’ve hoped to have with Alex would also be gone in four days.

“I’m sure we can arrange something on Saturday.” Ella hoped she sounded like she was smiling, but the mirror reflected a wince instead of a grin and she wanted to scream at herself for being so pathetic.

She walked back into frame, watching Alex take one last drag of his cigarette and toss it to the ground. A pang of hurt flooded her system and she smiled sadly knowing that she’d soon lose all of this, purely because of her inability to just speak and make herself vulnerable to take a chance on it.

“Sweets, I unfortunately gotta go now but I’m so fucking happy for you and I really can’t wait to see you this weekend.” Despite the hurt, the love she felt for him shined through and it showed on her face. On her eyes shining as she watched him smile at her, on the sweet grin she offered him.

“Me too darling. I’ve missed you way too much.” Alex admitted with a loopy smile. He almost could already feel her arms around him as he clutched onto her when he’d see her next. Just a few more days and he could have her by his side again. And hopefully his plan would work out and he would be able to kiss her again, and again, and again. “Love you. I’ll see you soon.”

“Love you.” Ella replied, a hint of sadness behind the words, like she was mourning the loss of its actual meaning already. The loss of the opportunity to let him know how he’d driven her mad, and how she’d been so close to just risking everything in hopes he felt the same way. “See you soon.”

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

Ella had been incredibly thankful that she’d gotten ahead of herself with her workload those three days she was back at the office because on Tuesday, after Alex’s call, she’d barely been able to concentrate enough to finish what she’d left halfway done on Monday.

She’d been frantically texting Breana all day, not knowing what to do with the fact that Alexa was meant to show up on Saturday along with everyone else. How could she even keep her emotions at bay when she was gonna be there too? It was impossible, and if it was any other case, she’d avoid the event altogether but she couldn’t. She just couldn’t because not only would Alex get suspicious and she’d feel like she would be letting him down, she wanted to know straight away if anything between the singer and the model were to happen.

Breana had let Ella talk all about it when she called her as soon as she got back home from work. The model had only a bit of time to talk to her best friend before she had to leave to see the band take on the stage of Summerfest to end the opening night of the festival with a ninety minute long set.

But before she could go, Bre left Ella with a few questions that she’d be pondering an answer to for the next twenty four hours.

“What if nothing happens between them on Saturday?” The model started saying after Ella had gone on a rant about what she’d have to do once Alex took Alexa back the day of the housewarming party. “What are you gonna do if there’s nothing going on there? Are you gonna waste another opportunity?”

“I doubt nothing will happen, Bre.” Ella sighed, rubbing her face in exhaustion. She needed her brain to stop for a bit so she could rest from the worries that filled her insides with dread.

Bre scoffed, “He said he bumped into her and they chatted about him moving to Los Angeles. How’s that a sign of them getting back together?”

“I don’t know, okay?!” Ella said loudly, wincing when Breana’s face fell at the volume and hostility of her response. “M’sorry. God, I’m so annoying. I’m sorry, I’ll stop bothering you with the same thing. I promise I’ll stop.”

“I just want you to stop with the bullshit.” Breana said frankly, “Stop with the stupid theories and the lack of security on where you stand with him. Alex doesn’t ever stop talking about you, he always has you in mind when even the smallest things happen. He smiles like a fucking fool whenever you text him and I know he’s texting you because I ask him every time and it’s always you. This is their fourth festival since Bonnaroo and I bet he’s going to say it doesn’t compare to Tennessee like he’s said with the other three before.”

Ella just stood there silent as she took in every word Breana said, the model took her silence as a sign to continue, “And why are you even waiting until Saturday for?! We all land tomorrow night and he’s going to his new house straight away so he’ll most likely be getting everything ready on Friday. You’ve got all of Friday to go see him and try your luck. You just gotta do it, Ellie.” In Breana’s mind, this was Ella’s chance and it would be such a shame to miss it, “Just go and tell him on Friday, spare you the hurt and the stress of waiting until Saturday for something—which isn’t fucking happening, by the way—to happen.”

There hadn’t been a chance for Ella to reply since Kelly and Katie came by the trailer to get Breana out and take her to the balcony since the guys were about ten minutes away from taking over the stage. Ella had to put on a smile and say a quick hello and goodbye to the girls she also missed tons, and then pretend like the call ending didn’t mean she was gonna go crazy with her own thoughts for the rest of the night.

Ella had fallen asleep thinking about every word Breana had said and she woke up to the same internal debate she’d been having all night. Would it be better if she just got it out of the way? If she’d just told him and have him let her down easy if he didn’t reciprocate. Have the chance to avoid seeing everyone on Saturday if it meant what she was dreading was actually happening, to start distancing herself before the damage was irreparable, to give herself a head start on the pain it’d bring her to lose everything that came with Alex.

There was a point during Thursday where everything changed from being unsure of telling him to knowing it was the right thing to do and it might’ve been the fact that he texted her, right as she was packing everything up to leave the office and head back home, to let her know that he was boarding his flight and it’d only be a matter of hours before they were in the same city.

She figured it was her lack of patience and the overwhelming need for answers that flipped the switch inside her. There was no chance she’d let this opportunity pass and she’d just have to deal with the consequences when the time came. She just needed to stop being afraid and face whatever would come with the strength she knew she could find inside herself.

For fucks sake, she’d been cheated on twice in her life already and she’d come out of the other end alive and well. And she’d survived it. What would another heartbreak do to her? Probably break her, realistically, but there was no way of knowing if she didn’t do what she needed to do.

Her appetite was gone by the time she finished cooking herself dinner but she’d tried eating as she watched a movie and it had worked to eat most of her plate. But she was fully spent by ten in the evening so she quickly washed the dishes and got herself ready for bed.

It wasn’t until she went to grab her phone from her coffee table that she realized Alex had texted her about half an hour before, her heart hammered inside her chest as she read what he’d sent.

(26/06/2014 21:43) Just landed and we’re waiting for our bags! Seeing the new house very soon. Do you want pictures or would you like a proper tour when you come? Cannot wait to see you darling xxxx

His words made her giggle like a fool, she bit her bottom lip as she went over his message again and walking back to her room, she threw herself on her bed and typed a response.

(26/06/2014 22:18) Think I’ll endure a few more days of intrigue and take you up on an actual house tour on Saturday. I missed you sweetness, can’t wait to hug you!! xxx

Ella couldn’t believe he was back in Los Angeles again, and she fell asleep with a grin on her face and her phone in hand as she waited for him to reply. A reply that she wouldn’t see until she woke up the next morning.

(26/06/2014 23:36) I’ll have you come earlier on Saturday then, give you proper time to take it all in. It’s cosy here, I think you’d really like it. You’ve no idea how much I just wanna have you here already and give you a cuddle. Love you darling xxxxx

As she got ready for work, she kept reading and rereading the message. Breana’s words echoing inside her mind as her gaze went over the text again and again.

It was Friday and this was it. It was the one day she could just get it over and done with, and it hurt thinking of treating the love she felt for him like a burden that she had to try and strip off herself as soon as she could, but it was for her own good. To know where she stood, to deal with what he was gonna choose to do.

But knowing what she’d decided to do and having to endure a full work day with it in mind had her going crazy. Every time Lydia would come in to check things with her, she was half distracted and had to ask the PA to repeat herself. She felt awful for it but she couldn’t help it, and she’d apologized for it multiple times.

By the time she came back from her lunch break and she’d been trying to properly answer emails for an hour, Ella called it a day and left. Ben and Aaron got a hasty apology for her early leave that they waved off, and they watched her all but run out of the office with confused looks on their faces.

Ella was just driving. She had no idea where she was going because after twenty minutes on the road, she knew it wasn’t the way back to her house, but she kept driving until she realized she’d taken the 101 freeway up to Hollywood Hills.

She made a quick detour when she knew she’d been driving the way to Matt and Bre’s, knowing Alex’s new house was a few minutes away from there. It would be bad if she went there empty handed, and she really needed an excuse to ease into whatever the conversation would turn out to be.

Fuck, fuck, fuck! She cursed over and over in her mind as she got off the freeway onto Hollywood Boulevard and went to the first grocery store she could find.

Two bottles of Pinot Noir later, Ella rushed back into her car and pulled up Alex’s new address—luckily he’d sent it to her with days in anticipation for her to know how much time it’d take her to get there on Saturday.

Merely fifteen minutes it took her to finally pull up into Alex’s driveway and when she put her car in park, her hands started shaking. She really had to clutch tightly onto the necks of the wine bottles not to drop them, one on each hand with her bag forgotten somewhere inside her car. In the haste to walk up to his front door she’d just grabbed her car keys and the wine bottles.

After having come all the way there, Ella rushed herself to ring the doorbell. There was no fucking way she was going to psych herself out of it when she was already there. Though going back inside her car and dashing back home to drink the wine alone as she cried over how much of a pussy she was being deep inside sounded very tempting.

But there was no chance for her to decide on taking that route for the front door opened and a sweaty and surprised Alex greeted her with the biggest of smiles.

Despite the house coming furnished for him to move in straight away, Alex had spent the entire day making it feel like home. Taking it upon himself to do some cleaning around and putting some clothes away that he knew he’d have to pack up again to leave back on tour, but he’d wanted to feel settled already.

As he’d been filling the drawers of his dresser with trousers and jeans, he remembered there were many things he needed to go through with his plan of the perfect way to finally tell Ella everything, and so he’d left his suitcase half unpacked and gone to the grocery store to buy everything he’d need to cook her a lovely dinner.

He knew he was going to try cooking her favorite pasta, making it a candlelit dinner and just giving it the old romantic fool to pour his heart and soul out for her. Like she deserved to get after all this time. There was no way he was leaving her again without properly trying to push their relationship in the direction he’d been longing for so long.

And Alex was planning on doing it all tonight, to give her a call and ask her to please join him that night, he was thinking he would probably tell her to come over a day early to give her that tour he’d promised. If he wanted this to work out, it couldn’t be hours before everyone else was due to come over.

But it seemed like she had beat him to it, bringing wine with her as well.

“Ella!” His eyes were wide and so was his toothy grin. Seeing her in front of him again flooded his system with relief, a feeling that escaped him when he saw the color drain from her face and the clear anxiety on her face. “Hi, darling. I wasn’t expecting you here today. Y’alright?”

Damn him and his ability to read her so easily. She stumbled through her thoughts, shaking her head and taking half a step backwards as she said, “Sorry, I-” What was she meant to say? How would she even begin the conversation?

Her gaze fell down to the wine bottles and she remembered why she’d gotten them in the first place, “Ermmmm, are you busy? I brought a gift…” She looked up at him and gave him a smile, moving the bottles up and showing them to him.

The joy she felt when seeing him in person just a few feet away from her was genuine, and she thought that was why he hadn’t questioned it. Alex gave her a tooth rotting sweet smile as he cooed, “Ah you’re so sweet.” and waved her inside, opening the front door wider and inviting her inside the new place, “Come in.”

Ella’s stomach flipped at the thought of what was about to happen and suddenly the excuse of bringing the wine as a gift felt like a mistake. “Actually, I–” She wanted to be sick. All the words she had been thinking about saying for the past twenty four hours rose up her throat and she was trying to hold back the impending word vomit.

“Fuck.” She cursed under her breath as she only took a few steps inside the house. There wasn’t even a moment for her to take in the beauty of the place since the second she heard the door closing behind her, she turned to Alex and gave him an awkward smile to let him know, “Erm, I wasn’t planning on staying long.”

His brows shot up and he smirked, amused at the sudden change in behavior. He still found her so fucking endearing, she was like a little mouse trapped in a corner by a predator. “You just drove over an hour to bring me a bottle of wine and leave me to drink it alone?” He knew the traffic must’ve been awful on the way here, and he wasn’t letting her go without getting an explanation for the way she was acting.

A few beats of silence passed before she answered, “Yes?” the inflection of her voice going up so her affirmation sounded like a question.

If she wasn’t gonna say it without being explicitly asked, then fine, he would ask. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” She hastily replied, way too fast to appear normal. She winced, holding her breath for a few seconds before reiterating, shaking her head and chuckling dryly at herself, “Nothing! Sorry, this is stupid.”

“Ella.” Alex said a bit more sternly then, “What’s going on?”

Her eyes met his and she watched the determination he had to get an answer. She couldn’t turn back anymore, there was no chance she could lie her way out of this one, to give him some white lie that he’d believe was the reason for her awkwardness.

It was right then, it just had to be done. Taking a deep breath, she started, “Okay, erm… I gotta tell you something.” Alex frowned and opened his mouth to speak but she got ahead of him and pleaded with him, “But please let me finish before you say anything, okay?” She would burst out crying and lose her ability to speak if he was to cut in the middle of the flood of words that she knew was coming soon.

But the singer was starting to worry and his amused smirk was long gone, exchanged for a deep frown and distress clear in those brown eyes of his, “What’s happened?”

“Alex.” Ella said in a sigh, begging silently for him to do what she was asking for. Before she could make a run for the door and escape, leaving it all a mess behind her.

Alex pressed his lips together and nodded, “Sorry, go on.”

“No, don’t apologize.” She was the one to frown this time, her chest felt so tight and it was getting uncomfortable. “Okay, fuck.” Every word she’d rehearsed was slipping away from her mind, and in its place a knot of thoughts stayed. Knot that if she didn’t manage to untangle in the next minute, she’d start crying out of frustration at herself. “Wait.”

Alex nodded, willing to wait as she gathered herself to start saying whatever it was that was bothering her. He had no idea what it was but he was already thinking of ways to help her. There were only so many solutions he could come up with when he didn’t know the situation, “Is everything okay? What can I do? Do you need my help with anything?”

“No. I–” She started, but before she could continue trying to ask for some more time to think about it, Alex spoke again.

“Then what’s wrong, darling?” It was so sickeningly sweet, the way he walked up closer to her and reached his hand out to grab hers, the way his brows furrowed even more but that look in his eyes prevailed, the one that she’d started to read like something close to devotion.

She couldn’t get a grasp on her logic anymore, and her words escaped her in a loud manner that made him freeze in his place, “I’m tired!”

Alex was beyond confused, a quiet “What?” leaving his lips in a split second.

But Ella’s eyes started filling up with tears when she continued, “I’m so exhausted from this, Alex!”

Completely forgetting what he’d promised just a few seconds before, Alex went ahead and tried to ask for an explanation, “What do you–?”

Ella interrupted him before he could finish the question, giving him the explanation he was looking for with a passion that burned her insides, “This! All of this! The cruel back and forth that leaves me confused.”

She just needed to let it all out now, and that she’d do. Not that she could control the way her mouth moved ahead of her brain, words leaving her before she could even process her own thoughts, “I don’t want you to go again because I feel like my heart’s being ripped out of my chest every time and, fuck, I’m in love with you and I was so close to telling you that after the festival but then you had to leave. And then just two days later, you’re seen with Alexa in New York and everyone is talking about how ‘the IT couple is back’ and mentioning me in some stupid article just to completely disregard me like I’m some disposable thing to you, so that they could go on and on about you and her.”

Her voice broke by the end, remembering everyone’s excited words when it came to talking about the possibility of them two getting back together. She hated it, she really hated how badly it got her so she let it out too, “And I hate it! I fucking hate it! ‘Cause I just want you to be around but you can’t and it fucking hurts. All the damn time. But I’m never brave enough to just fucking tell you.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks, hot trail from the corners of her eyes down to her neck, she ignored them as best as she could to continue with her rant, “But now you’ve moved here and it’s too real, and I was scared of letting you know how stupidly in love I am with you but I just can’t lose you to somebody else again.”

She huffed as she shook her head, like a child showing her determination on the matter, “So I have to risk it. I have to risk getting rejected, ruining our friendship, losing you entirely and I–”

A sob managed to rip through her at the thought of this being the last time she’d see him, of everything ended like this, “I don’t wanna lose you but I can’t keep it to myself any longer. And I’m sorry but I just–” The words tangled on the tip of her tongue then, the avalanche of words abruptly ending after all of that.

Alex was breathless, his chest heaving as he stared at her with wide eyes, his mouth agape and his throat dry. He could barely muster the soft, “Ella, I–” he let out.

But he didn’t say anything else, he just stared at her with his brows furrowed like he was confused and it all dawned on her.

It had been such a mistake to do it like this, she’d needed to think it through properly and not throw herself into it as if she had a way with words, as if she could make it cute and nice and enchant him with an improvised speech.

It had been a mess and it was all fucking ruined. “No. Don’t.” She shook her head, not even wanting to meet his gaze anymore. “Oh fuck, this was so stupid.” She wanted to hit her head against the wall, to smash the bottles she was still holding in her hands, “I’m so stupid.” She cried out loud before shaking her head again and sniffling, breathing deeply and trying to swallow the knot in her throat.

She managed to look up, the singer looked blurry through her tear filled eyes. She was glad she couldn’t really make up his face then so she took a step up to him and pushed the bottles towards his chest, “This is pathetic. Just take the wine.” But he didn’t even try to make the effort to receive the bottles so pressed her lips together as she silently cried even more, turning on her heels to walk up to his kitchen island and leave the wine there.

In a hurry, she started walking back towards the front door, shaking her head once again as she tried to think of how badly it had gone but it was all blurry. Yet, Alex’s silence was enough to know it had gone terribly wrong.

“I’ll see you on Sunday if you even wanna keep me on the guest list.” She mumbled, almost by the door, but he quickly walked up to her, his hand stretching out to what she thought was opening the door for her. She watched the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbows and she cried to herself again in frustration. How could it have gone so wrong? “Sorry. You probably were busy, doing stuff and–”

But instead of his fingers wrapping around the handle of the door, they wrapped around her wrist to turn her around, so she could see the wicked smile on his face as he asked, “Why now?”

She was fucking trying not to audibly sob and he was smirking at her? Ella narrowed her eyes as she asked, “Pardon?”

“Why now?” He repeated his question but that smirk only tugged further on the corners of his mouth and that to Ella only meant he was making fun of her. Suddenly, the heartbreak was mixing with rage and all she could do about it was run away. So she tugged away from his grasp, her arm slipping away from his hold but he was fast to catch her wrist again as he sternly said, “No, Ella.”

She thrashed again, trying to pull away from his hold, “Alex, please let me go.” Another wave of tears flooded her eyes.

But he shook his head and he sounded breathless when he replied, “No. Just give me a second.”

Ella scoffed, pulling hard enough to escape his hold again, but this time her gaze was harsher and her words sounded venomous, “Why? So you can let me down easy and send me back home? So you can exchange me for another one of your models like you’ve done before?”

Alex ignored the way her words stung, taking a big step towards her and cupping her neck with his right hand to make her look at him. Her eyes brimmed with angry tears broke his heart and the way she was staring at him with rage that was almost palpable had him pressing his fingers a bit tighter around her neck.

Her mouth opened with a gasp at the pressure and he smirked. His left hand came up to wipe away a tear that rolled down her cheek before it could fall down to rest on her waist, where he clutched her tightly and pressed her against him.

His tongue poked out in between his lips to lick them softly, and he smiled even harder when he saw her gaze fall on his mouth. He was almost drooling at the thought of tasting her mouth again, but this time it’d be so much better with everything out in the open, with his heart out for her to finally take in her hands, because it had been hers for so long she just had to hold it close to her chest.

He shook his head softly, denying the things she’d said were about to happen. He wanted to scream out of happiness, cheer and celebrate finally being able to say it out loud for her to hear, “So I can process that this isn’t just another one of my dreams and tell you that I fucking love you too.”

Without giving Ella a second to properly react to his words, Alex caught her lips between his and their mouths melted in a kiss that contrasted so much to the ones they’d shared before. Because it was raw and with a passion that they’d been trying to hide for so long finally revealed. It was needy and devoted, their fingers clutching onto each other tightly and harshly, almost sure they’d be leaving marks but nothing sounded more fulfilling.

They could finally bare themselves to the other, proudly wear the fact that they were each other’s like a medal. Loud moans slipped from their mouth as the knowledge ringed in their heads. They kissed harder, deeper, running out of breaths.

“Alex…” Ella panted as she pulled back, trying to get some oxygen back in her lungs as fast as she could, the need to have his mouth on hers too intense to even give her body what it needed to survive.

All she needed was him. Only him.

“Ella…” Alex whispered back, his forehead pressing against hers with his eyes closed, just taking in the proximity—the way they were taking each other’s breaths, the brush of their noses as they gasped for air.

“Don’t stop.” She begged, her eyes opening to see him and plead with them as well as with her words, “Please.”

His eyes fluttered open, being met with her green eyes that made him weak in the knees. “Never.” He mumbled back. She had him entirely at his mercy, he would do anything she asked and more.

Alex pounced on her lips again with desperation. He leaned in, sucking the air out of her mouth, licking away any remaining sanity. Her lungs burned. Greedy, his hands fell down her body until he grabbed her ass. He gave it a harsh squeeze, eliciting a moan out of her, before clutching the backs of her thighs and swiftly picking her up off the ground.

A squeal fell from her lips when he lifted her and she wrapped her legs around his hips quickly. She whimpered at the feeling of his hardening cock brushing her already aching core. He walked backwards blindly, cursing under his breath as she rolled her hips into him, begging for friction. She let a delighted giggle out, kissing him harsher.

Ella’s arms wrapped around his neck, fingers running up his hair and pulling on the longer strands. She swallowed the groan that rumbled through his chest at the feeling of her nails scratching his scalp and tugging his hair. His steps got quicker then and he only stopped when he felt the edge of the settee against the back of his legs.

Sitting down carefully, he settled on the settee with Ella straddling him. His growing bulge was even more obvious then, and she let her legs spread a bit more so she’d be deliciously pressed against his hardness.

“Fuck, Ella,” was his first reaction, breathy and solemn from his lips. She nodded, finding his mouth again, already addicted.

The brush of his tented jeans on her clothed clit felt heavenly, her own denim shorts only adding to the way the friction was making her increasingly dizzy. She had to break the kiss to gasp loudly. A cheeky grin teased his mouth, only to be wiped away for a moan as she rolled her hips. His hands dug at her thighs, encouraging her, guiding her.

Ella tried to catch her breath, but it was knocked out of it at the sight of Alex. Pupils blown, lips swollen, hair disheveled. They were panting, both stuck with the dilemma of not knowing if they should elongate the moment or hurry to the point they had been waiting so long for.

It had been barely eleven days since that cowboy party, and not even once had Alex stopped thinking about it. Not when he closed his eyes and he could still feel her fingers all over his body, the way she pressed against him and taunted him with the move of her hips, the taste of her lips and her tongue and the bruises she sucked on his skin.

But now he finally had her, and his expression which had been contorted in utter pleasure softened for adoration. He brought his hand up to brush a strand of her hair behind her ear, cupping her cheek right after. She leaned into his touch with a loopy smile, kissing his palm, her hips slowing down to an unhurried pace.

“You’re so beautiful.” The words came out soft, his breath hitting her parted lips as he leaned in again and they met in the middle for another kiss.

She cupped his jaw and wrapped an arm around his neck, pushing herself flush against him as she followed the pace he’d set for the dizzying kiss they were sharing. Her hips picked up speed again, making them moan into each other's mouth.

His quiet whimpers and moans were driving her mad. She just couldn’t wait to hear him properly, once and for all, coming undone for her.

Alex grabbed a handful of her ass, kneading her flesh harshly with his fingers, making her roll her hips rougher against him. Her mouth went slack at the pleasure rippling through her.

“Shit.” Ella shuddered, letting her head drop and moaning into his neck. She started a trail of sloppy open mouthed kisses there, her hands working through the buttons of his shirt until it was completely open and she had more skin to kiss.

She went back to kiss his lips first, but she rushed through it. Now that she had all that skin available, she was going to make sure to mark every inch of him so everyone knew he was hers.

She made her way down his jaw, his neck and even going behind his ear, enjoying a certain spot that had him bucking his hips up and breathlessly moaning. It wasn’t until she was sucking the skin on his collarbone that she knew she’d hit the jackpot. When she started marking up the place at the base of his neck, he let out a loud groan that made her smile.

She let go of the skin there, giving the soft red mark a peck to then look up at him, “You liked that, yeah?” Her smirk was big and proud on her face, already enjoying the way he’d become putty in her hands this easily.

“Yes. Fuck, Ella, I like everything you do to me.” Her hips rolled once more, him meeting the movement by thrusting upwards. “Especially that. God, darling, I fucking love it.” She chuckled, quicking her pace.

She peppered kisses on his collarbone again, smirk brushing his skin. “And do you love that?” She teased, trailing a hot tongue on his red skin. His chest rose and fell against her mouth.

“Yeah, but–” She nipped gently at his skin and he jumped, thrusting up into her. “Shit. But–” Ella hummed, encouraging him to go on like her wicked tongue wasn’t actively doing the contrary. Finally, Alex grew desperate, missing the feeling of her lips on his so he grabbed her by the neck, calloused fingers pressing tightly on its sides to pull her back up to meet his mouth.

Teeth clashed, as the air grew hotter around them, the kiss was messy and the smacking of their wet lips echoed inside his living room. Their hips went faster, meeting in the middle every time with a growing desperation, looking for relief until she stopped.

Ella hummed into his mouth before breaking the kiss again, “Let’s go to your room.” She needed more, so much more than just dry humping him over their clothes.

Her suggestion was met with an eager Alex, who wasted no time grabbing her by the ass and rushed through the hallway to go up to his room. Her smile was impossibly wide, he could feel it on his neck where she was hiding, leaving a few pecks as he walked up to the bedroom.

Alex didn’t even know how he had gotten to his room so quickly, barging through the door but taking his time to set her on the bed softly. And their lips met once again, it was a bruising kiss filled with urgency.

Yet, for the first time in their lives, they were in no danger of running out of time.

They’d finally said the words they’d been wanting to say and heard the ones they’d been waiting to hear. They had all the time in the world. Every minute of every day for as long as they wanted, and just from the way they were kissing, it seemed like forever was the only option.

Ella’s legs wrapped around his waist after Alex took her shoes off blindly, and she dug her feet on his ass to make his hips press against her throbbing cunt once more. He started rolling his hips then, thrusting into her and the kiss only got sloppier. She was growing breathless as he pressed his hardening cock against her clothed clit. Their moans grew louder, needier.

His hands started wandering, going from cupping her face down her neck and chest until they rested on each side of her waist. His fingers started fiddling with the edges of her shirt and they snaked beneath the fabric of it, slowly lifting it up. “This okay?” He asked, out of breath. She didn’t answer; instead, she pushed herself up enough for him to take it off her with ease.

The piece of clothing was lost somewhere on his bedroom floor, thrown away carelessly as his entire focus was on admiring her figure, exposed all for him.

Her black bra hugged her tits perfectly and when she let herself fall back down on the bed, they looked as if they were about to spill out of the bra. If Ella had anticipated her confession would’ve ended in this, she would’ve worn something much nicer—she cringed at the thought of the plain and simple black thong she was wearing—but it didn’t matter to Alex for he was jaw dropped at the sight of her.

“Fucking hell,” He mumbled before dipping his head to kiss a path over the valley of her breasts, his tongue coming out to lick her skin in a painfully slow pace. Her back arched as she moaned when he bit on the top of one of her tits. She got louder and squirmed even more when he repeated his actions on the other one.

“And this is all mine?” Alex asked breathlessly, eyes now on hers and she nodded with a loopy smile, her cheeks flushed from everything that was happening. “I’m so lucky.” He couldn’t wait to see her naked, to devote himself to giving every inch of her the attention she deserved.

His hand snaked between her back and the mattress, and there he found the clasp of the bra. With apt fingers he undid it and slowly peeled off the piece of clothing off Ella’s body. His breath hitched at the sight of her bare chest, her hardened nipples making his mouth water. “You’re killing me. You’re actually trying to kill me.” She flushed slightly, secretly pleased.

He couldn’t wait any longer to have his mouth on them. Flattening his tongue, he dipped his head to give a bold lick to one of her nipples, pointing the tip of his tongue to start flicking it. Ella squirmed beneath him, whimpering and moaning at the taunting touch. Her hand came to cradle his head, moving slowly up until she could tangle her fingers in his hair just as he latched his lips around her nipple and started sucking eagerly.

“Shit, Alex.” Ella managed in between gasps as he alternated between sucking and flicking.

He smirked at the sight of her, wanting to ruin her even more. So he let go of her nipple with a pop before he bit it.

A mewl fell from her lips at the pain his teeth inflicted on her sensitive nipple, her hips rolled in search of relief but he had her pinned down with the way his body was resting on top of her. She needed more of him, her cunt throbbed and leaked with arousal with everything he did.

“Alex!” And it came out as half a beg, half an order. Alex nodded against her, undeterred. Her need for more only got more intense when he started sucking bruises on her tits, biting and sucking and drinking in all the sweet sounds she let out as the pain of his abuse on her skin sizzled into dizzying pleasure.

“So good for me,” he promised. “Taking it all.” His tongue came to lick the blooming love bites, pecks on top of sore skin before he moved onto her other tit. Smirking proudly when she was just as responsive to his actions as she had been before. “So pretty. The best fucking girl with the best fucking tits.”

And he wouldn’t stop until she was whining in a high pitch. The sounds she made were music to his ears, only wanting to keep getting them out of her, “Alex. More. I need more.” She managed in between moans. She was clenching around nothing and it frustrated her, she loved what he was doing to her but she had a half mind to take over everything and let herself have her way with him just like she wanted already.

“Say please,” he singsung.

Desperate, “Please.”

“Soon,” Alex breathed, continuing his tantalizing trail of kisses and half hearted bites down her chest and stomach, smirking as he watched her through his lashes. Ella huffed and pushed him off her. He fell onto his back and she wasted no time to straddle him.

His shirt was still messily on him, barely hanging on his shoulders and becoming a burden more than anything. She grabbed onto his collar to pull him up until he sat on the mattress. Once his chest was pressed flush against hers, Ella pushed the shirt off him and tossed it behind her onto the floor.

Alex watched the way her eyes darkened with lust and mischief, a wicked smirk pulling at the corners of her mouth as her fingers moved slowly up his chest, brushing his shoulders and neck until she cupped his jaw with both her hands and pressed her lips on his. “My turn,” she said gleefully, kissing him again. Alex laughed, though indulged her.

Feeling his bare chest under her fingertips as she licked into his mouth made her patience run thin, she couldn’t keep kissing him without continuing to bruise his skin. The sight of the bruises she’d left on his neck a few minutes before made her mouth water with the need to leave more.

Ella got drunk off the whimpers and shaky moans Alex let out as she sucked harshly on his skin, his hips bucking every time she sunk her teeth into his flesh. He was a mess, clawing at the sheets as she abused his skin, and she fucking loved it. “I want to ruin you,” she revealed.

“Yeah?”

Making her way down with wet open mouthed kisses, she got right below his navel where his happy trail started and came down until it disappeared beneath his clothes. She licked a bold strip up the hair there, smirking when he cried out in pleasure and thrusted upwards so his bulge hit her tits.

“I want you to fucking beg.”

She left more kisses along the edge of his jeans, making him bite on his bottom lip to stop himself from being too loud. But that was exactly what she wanted, so she latched onto a patch of his skin there and started sucking harshly until his fingers came to tangle in her hair and pulled her off him.

He would definitely cum in his pants if she continued teasing him like that.

“Do you trust me?” She asked sweetly, batting her lashes at him. Putting on the innocence act to have him say yes to what she wanted to do. Not that she needed it, because he’d do anything she wanted now that he had her like this.

His mind was a mess and his words failed him so he only nodded. She tutted and shook her head as she started crawling up his body until their noses brushed and they couldn’t look anywhere else but into each other’s eyes.

“Words, baby.” She whispered, her voice low and sultry making him groan before nodding again.

This time his nod was accompanied by, “I do. I trust you.”

Ella hummed in satisfaction, and she turned her head slightly to the side to kiss the palm of his hand, which was still holding her head with his fingers tangled in the strands of her hair.

But for what she wanted to do, she needed him to drop his hold on her. So she held onto his wrist to pull his hand away and she peeled herself off and away from him.

His gaze followed her intently as she got off the bed and stood at the side of it, slowly undoing the button and zip of her shorts and pulling them down, making a whole show of undressing that only made Alex grow achingly harder inside his jeans.

His breath hitched in his throat seeing her like that, almost entirely bare for him. “You’re so fucking gorgeous,” he whispered. She grinned. She swayed her hips a little as she hooked her fingers on the edge of her underwear and without breaking eye contact, she shed herself of the last piece of clothing that kept herself hidden from him.

Alex whined from the back of his throat. “You’re not real. You were made to be my downfall.”

“Yes,” Ella agreed. To ruin him, to unravel him. Fully naked, she came back on the bed to straddle him again. Her slick core brushed against his bulge over his jeans and she smirked harder at the way he reacted, a whine leaving his lips, hips bucking up as his hands held her hips tightly, pressing her against him and keeping her there as she slowly rolled her hips on him. “I’ll make you fall, Alex.”

“You already have.” She smiled, raking a hand through his hair. His lips part, a quiet moan on his lips.

Ella loved the view she had, Alex fully at her mercy. She just couldn’t believe her luck; after all those years of thinking and fantasizing about it, she could finally have him like this.

“You look so pretty like this.” Her thumb rubbed at his cheek as she cupped it, leaning in until their breaths mixed together. Her fingers slowly moved down his face until she could wrap her fingers around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss.

Their lips met hungrily again, Alex had her naked on top of him and he wanted nothing more than take his jeans and underwear off and fuck her senseless, but Ella had other plans.

Her lips left his mouth to start kissing all over his face, each peck followed by some type of praise that he was loving. “Beautiful.” Smack. “Talented.” Smack. “Smart.” Smack. “Loving.” Smack. His heart swelled in his chest, the contrast between her shameless lustful behavior and the sweet words she kept uttering had him dazed. “And that nose,” she teased. With one last peck on his lips which Alex tried to elongate, Ella found his gaze and with the sweetest voice, asked him, “Can I ride your pretty face?”

His breath staggered hearing that, his cock twitching in his pants at the thought of what was about to happen. He nodded quickly like he had just a few seconds to answer before the offer was gone, and he added a breathless please when he remembered her telling him to use his words.

That was enough of a greenlight for Ella to push herself up on her knees and start shuffling up his body until she’d been hovering over his face. She would’ve kissed him once more if she wasn’t desperate to feel his mouth on her cunt already, if she wasn’t dripping and throbbing for his touch.

Alex’s lips parted at the sight of her slick cunt practically begging for him to latch his mouth on her. His hands ran up her thighs slowly until he rested them on her hips and he guided her a bit further up on the bed so her knees caged his head in place.

He was almost drooling, already imagining how sweet she’d taste on his tongue. But despite the growing burning need to lick up her folds already, he started kissing up the insides of her thighs, sucking and biting the skin like she now knew he loved to do and making her whimper and squirm in his hold.

There seemed to be no hurry in his mind, repeating the actions in that same agonizing pace on her other leg. By the time he got incredibly closer to her sopping cunt and her legs started to tremble from the teasing, she was ready to tell him off for it. She felt the way his hot breath left from so close to her core, a frustrated whimper fell from her lips.

Just when Ella looked down with a frown and her hand came down to tangle in his hair, he craned his neck up to lick a bold strip up her folds, wrapping his lips around her clit once he licked past her entrance.

He hummed at her taste, using his hands to pull her closer to his mouth just as he taunted, “Come closer, darling. You taste so fucking good.”

Without wasting more time, he started flicking his tongue up and down, her slick already dripping down his chin and mixing with his spit as he lapped and lapped like he was starved.

One of his hands left her hip and came down to her cunt, to spread her open so he could properly suck her clit, the pressure of it making her get louder and start pulling on his hair to bring him closer to her. “Need you. Fuck, Alex, keep doing that.”

He fucking loved it, the reaction only pushed him to getting more out of her. By that point, he was humping the air in search of some kind of relief. Her moans only made him drip in his jeans but he had no time to feel embarrassed at the pace in which he was ruining his pants, not when he had her sweetness all over his face.

He moved down, two fingers spreading her folds as he pointed his tongue and he started dipping it inside her sopping hole. Her back arched, breath hitching in her throat, “Fuck, yes Alex–” She could just keep saying his name as he started fucking her with his tongue, broken gasps and high pitched moans slipped past her lips and only got louder and more desperate when he started moving his head, causing his nose to flick at her clit with every thrust of his tongue inside her.

It was all so much. Not only what he was doing to her but the whole scene, it was so much better than she could’ve ever imagined and as he continued working his tongue in and out of her before lapping up at her arousal only to end up with him flicking and sucking on her clit, Ella was sure she wouldn’t last much longer.

“Oh God, oh God.” Ella rolled her hips on his face, grabbing her own breast and playing with the nipple. Pleasure rushed through her. “Fuck, Alex, you’re–”

The mix of her arousal and his spit was already dripping down his neck by the time he teased one of his fingers into the cunt. His mouth left her clit and the hot breath that came from it along with his gasp as her hole swallowed his finger with ease made her even more of a whining mess. “–Perfect,” she finally finished, though with much difficulty. “You’re perfect.”

He curled his finger inside her before drawing it back and the loss of the slight fullness had Ella crying out loud. So at the same time as he wrapped his lips around her clit again, he pushed two fingers inside her, curling them and making her legs shake and her hips rut as she leaned forward and held onto his headboard with a white knuckled grip.

The feeling of his skilled fingers curling inside her and his mouth sucking harshly on her clit made Ella erratically grind her hips against his face. “Alex! Yes! Yes!” She chanted breathlessly, every one of his actions stealing the breath from her lungs. She felt her orgasm so fucking close, her brain melted and every one of her filthy thoughts left her, “God, I fucking love your mouth! So eager, so greedy. Lapping at me like you’re starved, like you need me. It was made for me. Made to be between my thighs.” A throaty and long hum came from him, that vibrated against her and made her squeal in pleasure.

So he did it again, and again, along with picking up the pace with his fingers. “Made to worship me,” Ella blabbered on, mindless. “All perfect and hot and– Fuck, Alex–” The combination of it all threw Ella over the edge.

Profanities along with his name was all that he could hear from her as she came all over his mouth and face. Despite the tremble of her legs and the stuttering of her hips as she came, he didn’t stop. He couldn’t stop, not when he looked up at her and saw how fucking stunning she looked as she came. Her chest flushed and her tits bouncing as she rutted on his face, her mouth agape and brows scrunched up in pleasure, hair a mess falling on her shoulder and sticking to the sides of her face as a thin coat of sweat glazed her skin.

Riding out her high with that in mind, Alex kept his unrelenting pace until it made Ella’s knees weak and she had to be the one to pull him away from her cunt before she fell on his face and smothered him.

It wasn’t like Alex wouldn’t say that was the best way to go.

“That nose,” she cursed, shaking her head.

Her chest was heaving as she struggled to shuffle down his body, while he was hypnotized with how good she looked all fucked out. “I want to do that again. And again. And again. For the rest of my fucking life.” Ella chuckled at his words, still shortwinded. “I’m serious. I want that view forever.”

“Oh my– Fuck, c’mere,” Ella wrapped her hand around his neck as she looked at him, her cum all over his face. She hastily leaned in to kiss him and when she tasted herself, a loud moan came from her. It rumbled through her chest and she only got more desperate when she settled her hips on his and felt him rock hard in his jeans.

Her head spinned as a new wave of arousal flooded her system, as if she hadn’t just cum all over his face a few seconds before.

Sticking her tongue out, she lapped at the mess that had dripped down his neck. Lewd noises came from her as she tasted herself on his skin and when she got to his jaw, she wiped his chin with her thumb and brought it up to his mouth for him to suck. A smirk broke on her face when his wet swollen lips wrapped around her finger, eyes rolling back into his head and humming as he tasted the last bits of her arousal.

She admired him for a few seconds, her thumb brushing against his lips while she cupped his jaw and her other hand went up to brush his hair back. “See, I knew you were beautiful but you look even prettier with my cum all over your face.”

His cock twitched in his pants, her praises making him harder than he thought he could get from just words, but she was just so stunning like this, taking complete control over him and making a mess of him. He’d never considered himself submissive but fucking hell wouldn’t he willingly put himself at her mercy every time if that was what she wanted. The filthy words she’d been saying as she rode his face came to the forefront of his mind and he couldn’t help but point out the contrast between them and her sweet praise, it was just like the contrast of her sweet shy self and the Ella he was seeing now.

“God, you couldn’t be more perfect,” he whispered, barely registering the words left his mouth.

His hips bucked once again and his face fell into a pained expression when he brushed against her cunt. Ella pouted at the look on his face, feeling just how fucking hard he was and how he must be aching in those jeans, so she leaned in to peck his lips before saying softly, “Let me take care of you, yeah?” Alex whimpered when she rolled her hips once more as he nodded at her words. Again, she teased, “Words?”

“Please.”

“So polite.” He caught a glimpse of her smirk while she busied herself into kissing down his jaw and neck, down his chest until she was facing his bulge. With deft fingers, she undid the button and tugged down the zip, her fingers hooked on the edge of the denim to start peeling it off him and she smiled when he lifted his hips up to let her take them off him.

Alex was slightly relieved from the partial freedom, sighing as she kissed back up his chest and met his lips once more. But when she started rolling her hips slowly on his again, he knew that she was teasing him and he didn’t know how much of that he could take.

“Ella, please.” He mumbled in a broken moan when her hips rolled again.

Their lips brushed when she asked, “What do you want, baby?” Her hips stopped so he could form a coherent answer to her question.

Alex felt like he would explode at any second, so he just shook his head as he peeled his eyes open and stared into her eyes, “Anything. Just need you, darling.”

Biting her bottom lip, Ella took in every detail of his face. She sighed heavily before kissing him again. Leave it to him to sweet talk her into considering not teasing him and give him exactly what he wanted.

She could find some middle ground, so she enjoyed the slow trail of her mouth kissing down his chest and licking over the bruises she’d left there already. And she especially enjoyed hearing him whimper when she finally got to the band of his boxers and all she did was leave open mouthed kisses along it.

Taking some pity on Alex, Ella thought it had been enough taunting so she brought his boxers down, his hard cock springing free and slapping against his belly. He was swollen and heavy, red tip already leaking so much precum and her mouth watered at the sight, wanting nothing more than to take him in her mouth and gag on it but the need to continue teasing him a bit more was far stronger.

She moved back up to face him and he was about to complain but all the words died in his throat when she grabbed his chin and turned his head to the side so he could face her and said, “Spit in my mouth.” before parting her lips and sticking her tongue out for him to spit on.

“Fucking hell, Ella.” Alex cursed under his breath. He was sure she’d been made for him, this was something he hadn’t seen coming but fucking hell didn’t it make him want to kiss her lips until they were bruised and make her cum over and over until she couldn’t move out of bed. There was this animalistic need to give her everything he could give, until he could satiate the need of her.

Ella rolled her eyes and dug her fingers harshly into his face as if to hurry him and he snapped out of his trance to cup her jaw firmly, spitting into her mouth just like she’d requested. She hummed and closed her eyes in bliss when she felt his warm spit coating her tongue, closing her mouth to swallow it.

“Do it again.” She said, stealing Alex’s air from his lungs all over again, his cock twitching and he felt a bead of precum leaking out of the tip.

He spat in her mouth again but this time she didn’t swallow it, she shuffled down the bed to come back beside his cock and wrap her fingers around it, spitting on it and letting the mixture of her and Alex’s saliva dribble down his length until it hit the duvet.

“You’re filthy,” he whined, and it sounded like a praise.

Her thumb rubbed on the tip of his cock, smearing the precum down his length and starting to stroke him up and down slowly. Her eyes admired the way his cock looked thrusting in and out her fist, throat going dry at the thought of how it’d look like as he fucked her, but then she looked up and saw him already a flushed panting mess and she couldn’t help but stopping her movements to taunt him.

Alex groaned at the loss of the friction her hand brought on him and out of desperation, he started thrusting up into her hand to resume the pleasure that it had brought him. Ella smirked and started moving again, a very slow pace to have him do most of the work. “That’s it, fuck my fist.”

He whimpered, leaking more and more of his salty arousal as his pleasure made him shudder and stop being able to keep his eyes open. All he could think of was cumming, so he picked up his pace, his hips meeting her fist every time he thrusted up, “Oh Ella– Fuck!”

She could only watch him with her mouth agape, almost drooling and her cunt throbbing and clenching around nothing at the sight. She had to press her thighs together to get some kind of alleviation. “Yes Alex, just like that. Is this how you fucked yours huh? Is this how you fucked your fist to my pictures?”

Alex was desperate to orgasm, her statement almost flying past him. His brows furrowed, concentrated in the rhythm he had set for himself but he grew confused as to how she knew that. “Wha– Ah fuck! Who told you that?”

She chuckled at his lack of denial, “Who do you think?” She giggled at herself, finding it amusing that she’d brought this up in such a situation.

A string of profanities left him, as he felt himself growing closer and closer to his orgasm. His hips started stuttering and she tutted, “No, you’re not cumming yet babe.” Her fist left his cock, coming to rest on the mattress and a massive smirk showed on her face when his eyes went wide open and he started complaining.

“But Ella– Please, let me–” He choked on his words when her thumb brushed on his tip again and she brought the finger up to her mouth to suck. “Please, darling. I need it. Need you.”

She hummed, satisfied with his growing desperation and making a show of swiping her thumb over the tip of his cock again and moaning loudly at his taste. He groaned in protest, but she shut him up with a hot kiss, smacking lips and teeth clashing for a minute until she felt him rubbing against her leg, dripping precum over her.

She left him with a peck, moving back down his body and once more, she grabbed his cock. This time not waiting before licking a bold strip from the base to the tip, sucking harshly on the head of his cock before letting it go with a pop when he whimpered loudly, “Tell me how bad you want it.”

He looked down at her and couldn’t do more than just curse under his breath, “Fuck, Ella.” He could bust right then and there just from the view.

Her breathy chuckle hit the tip of his cock and he whined, “That’s the spirit but not what I asked.”

Alex ached and he knew he had to listen to her if he wanted to get anything, “I want you so bad darling, your mouth–”

But Ella was enjoying this way too much so she teased him some more, her words coming out in a sing-song tone, “You’re missing the magic word.”

He rolled his eyes and threw his head back on the pillows, “Please darling, I want to fuck your mouth.”

A snort of laughter came from her, Alex groaned at the sound because he was on the verge of tears and begging for her to do something, anything. “Chivalry is truly not dead after all, huh?” She joked with a stupid smile on her face.

The singer would’ve laughed in any other situation but he was about to lose it, he couldn’t even use his hands because he was fisting the duvet so hard his fingers ached. “Stop teasing, Ella, please.”

She dared him then, “Oh, but I thought you liked teasing?” There was a clear memory of him stating that, and how it’d opened a can of worms that always came to the forefront of her mind when she touched herself to the thought of him.

She smirked again and taunted him by leaving a soft peck on the tip of his cock, making Alex cry out a pained, “Fuck me–”

Still teasing, Ella hummed and played with the meaning of his words in a nonchalant manner, “Maybe in a bit, if you’re good and listen to what I say.”

Despaired now, he didn’t mind begging at all, “I will, I will. I promise baby. Just– Please Ella, I need you. Need you so fucking bad.” The vein on the side of his neck protruded as he spoke in a haste.

Ella was more than satisfied with that and she breathily let him know what had been her plan all along, “Just like that, Alex. I want you desperate.”

And with that she took him in her mouth, inhaling deeply through her nose to take him as deep as she could. When he hit the back of her throat, Alex subconsciously thrusted into her mouth, moaning louder than he had anticipated, making her gag but moan back in response when she drew back enough to take a deep breath.

With her taking him to the back of her throat every time, hollowing her cheeks and bobbing her head up and down relentlessly, he started twitching in her mouth and squirming beneath her in a minute. Ella knew he was close and she would’ve loved to have him paint her throat with his cum but this time she wanted him inside her, to spill in her cunt and drip out of her like she’d fantasized about so many times before, so just as he started gasping and his hips started stuttering, she pulled back and left him hanging over the edge of climax.

“Ella–” He choked out as he felt the coil of pleasure that had been tensing and building up as he’d been buried deep in her mouth completely left him and all that was left was the uncomfortable feeling of a stolen orgasm.

“Wait, sweetness.” She said in an infuriatingly sweet tone, cupping his jaw as she stood beside the edge of the bed and kissing him softly before standing back up and saying, “I want to do something. Stay there.”

She turned on her heels and made her way to his walk-in closet, knowing she would be able to find something there if she were to look for it. But she'd only taken three steps into the room when she heard the movement back in his room. He had painfully sat himself on bed, back against the cold metal rods that formed his headboard, and he’d been debating whether or not to get himself off to relieve himself of the ache that washed over him when her voice hit him like a ton of bricks, a heavy demanding tone behind her words, “If you don’t listen to what I say, you’re not getting a single thing, Turner.”

Alex froze in his spot, his cock twitching at the dominating roll she was taking. He threw his head back and swallowed a groan. He hadn’t even cum and she’d already ruined him, there would never be another one but her.

He waited patiently, a minute passed and all he could hear were the drawers being opened and closed until he saw her come back into the bedroom with one of his ties on her right hand.

She smirked seeing him sitting in bed waiting for her. She cooed like it actually amazed her that he listened and got on the bed again, placing her knees on each side of his hips to straddle him. Her hand came up to cup his jaw and her thumb brushed soft circles on his skin before she praised him with a proud, “Good boy.”

She distracted him with a dizzying kiss, one that he indulged in with feverish eagerness until she pulled back and their lips separated with a smack, the sound was followed by her words which sounded more of a statement than a question, “I’m gonna tie you up, yeah?” He nodded quickly, his brain a mush and unable to even think about what it was that she wanted to do to him tied up to his headboard but he was willing to comply if it meant that she’d make him cum.

He didn’t even have time to complain or ask questions because her tits had been on his face while she tied his wrists avidly to the posts of the headboard and he’d been too busy biting and sucking on them.

She moaned when he caught one of her nipples in his mouth and sucked it. Despite the very nice distraction, she pulled on the knots she so expertly knew how to tie and grinned in satisfaction when seeing them hold his wrists perfectly for her.

Ella sat on his lap, feeling his cock still hard coming to touch her drenched cunt and brought her hand to his face when he hissed at the contact. “I know.” She said softly before kissing him softly and briefly. “Is this alright?” She needed to ask again, to make sure it wasn’t too much since she could see the way his eyes were glazed over with frustrated tears from the edging.

But Alex nodded with a loopy smile that she loved and all she could do was smirk, nothing but a mischievous look in her eyes.

A look that’d get a meaning when she spoke up again, “If you’re cumming anywhere today, it’s gonna be inside me, okay?”

Alex nodded despite the shock her words had given him, his mouth agape in surprise at her bluntness.

Her hand slowly crawled down his chest until she could wrap her fingers around his length, she watched with a parted mouth as he threw his head back at the contact and he muttered under his breath, “Fuck me…”

A bright grin broke on her face and she leaned in to lick his bottom lip before saying, “That’s exactly what I’m gonna do.”

Alex was left with his mouth parted in search of a kiss but oxygen left his lungs when she pulled back slightly to spit on his cock, her hand starting to pump him a handful of times before she lined him up with her sopping entrance. She knew it would be easy to sink into him with how wet she was and the mess she’d made of Alex.

Just to build on the last bits of anticipation, she brushed his cock up and down her cunt, shivering when he grazed her clit.

“Darling…” Alex breathed out in pain, hidden away in the crook of her neck as she teased his tip in her hole.

She hummed, acknowledging him and finally letting herself sink down on him. He tried his best to keep his eyes on her as her mouth went slack and a soft whimper left her at the stretch of his cock, but his gaze fell down to see where they connected and his eyes rolled back into his skull. He could just cum seeing himself buried balls deep inside her, snugging him so tightly and clenching around him as she slightly squirmed over him when adjusting her balance on her knees.

She cried out in pleasure right as she started moving, rolling her hips tentatively to set a starting pace. But she could barely get a hold of her own thoughts, all that went through her mind was how she could feel every ridge and vein, how he was making her brain melt inside her skull with the way he felt inside her, “Filling me up so good.”

Alex swore he was seeing stars with how she was squeezing him, how good she looked as her hips rolled with an increasing speed that would surely drive him to the edge in no time, “Fuck, you’re so tight–”

With every roll of her hips, her clit pressed against his pubic bone and offered her a delicious pressure that made her eyes roll back. Her gasps and moans got louder as she went faster and the melodies of their pleasured sounds turned into a pornographic harmony when Ella went from rolling her hips to bouncing on his cock.

Her tits bounced as she picked up the pace, her hands resting on his chest for leverage and her hair falling in front of her face as she leaned in and changed the angle slightly. Alex stared at Ella fucking herself on his cock and it was a scene that not even his dreams could amount to. Watching himself disappear inside her over and over, and feeling her slick dripping down his cock and making a mess of the bedsheets had him looking up at the ceiling for a few seconds, willing himself not to cum too fast, to last as long as he could so they could cum together.

“Is this how you imagined?” She teased.

“Better,” Alex swore, too gone to be anything but sincere. “You’re perfect. You’re– I couldn’t have made you up. I couldn’t have ever imagined– God, you’re everything I need, Ella.”

The sound of the skin slapping every time they met was loud so the shit she muttered under her breath was barely audible. Ella slowed down just a bit to stabilize herself with just her left hand on his chest, bringing her right hand up to his neck and wrapping her fingers deftly around it, “I’ve always wanted to do this with you.”

Her fingers pressed on the sides of his neck, choking him just the perfect way. Her ‘Pure Desire’ tattoo adorning his throat. It was a miracle how he didn’t cum from just her doing that, that lustful look on her face as she watched him gasp and choke on a whimper as her fingertips dug on the sides of his neck. It just made Alex want to fuck her harder, and it seemed like it had the same effect on her because she picked up her pace despite the burning of her thighs from the effort.

Alex met her in the middle with every bounce, thrusting his hips up into her and hitting the perfect spot for her. “Right there, right there! Alex!” She was growing breathless, barely able to pick her head up. She was starting to regret tying him up just a little, she wanted him to hold her and help her match his eager thrusts as she got closer to her orgasm.

Digging his heels on the mattress, Alex found the footing to quicken the pace, “Ella– fuck!” He groaned and moaned loudly, his mind reeling when his hearing was entirely overcome by the sounds of the skin slapping and Ella’s mewls and whines.

Ella gasped with every thrust, the coil in her lower stomach tightening impossibly each time he hit that sweet spot inside her and her grip on his neck got tighter as she clenched hard around him. Her legs started trembling more and more and then her orgasm hit her suddenly, blacking out her sight as she shook and spasmed on him, loud cries of his name accompanied the symphony.

Seeing Ella as she came again, hearing how she cried out his name and the way she squeezed his cock with her cunt, Alex came hard inside her. His thrusts became sloppy as he shivered and his cock twitched as he spilled and painted her walls with his cum. His hips stuttered as her tightness milked his cock relentlessly, but he still rocked his hips into her, meeting her slow messy pace as they both came down from their highs.

With her legs trembling, Ella just dropped against his chest, completely fucked off reality for a few minutes. All they could hear was each other’s breathing and their hearts beating in sync as their chests pressed against each other.

She wondered why Alex was keeping his touch away from her when she remembered she’d tied him up so she lifted her head up and brushed her hair back to reach out and undo his restraints with one pull of the end of the tie.

Alex groaned at the feeling of his arms plopping down beside his head, but he ignored the soreness of his limbs when he could finally brush her hair back from where it stuck to her sweaty face and cup her jaw to give her a sweet kiss he’d been craving to give her the whole time she was riding him.

Ella smiled into the kiss when she remembered all that had happened in a matter of a few minutes. She’d lost track of time entirely, not even able to point out how long it could’ve been since she’d showed up at his house to just tell him all that she’d been holding back.

The happiness that bubbled inside her filled her with warmth and a small burst of energy enough to have her peel herself off him to rest beside him in bed. She lifted herself off him and settled to his right with a soft whine at the loss of him. Alex turned to his side and cupped her face once more to give her a quick kiss before he pushed himself up and off the bed with a quick, “I’ll be right back darling.”

He got up and went to his ensuite to clean himself up, flashbacks of what had happened made his cock twitch again. He got a cloth and wet it with warm water, taking it with him to clean Ella up.

Her eyes lazily followed him as he came back into his room and up to her. His hands softly spread her legs out to clean up the mess in between her legs. His cum dripping out of her mixed with her own had Alex biting his bottom lip, a shaky breath out his nose before he cursed out loud, “Fuck me.” She whimpered at the touch of the cloth against her overstimulated center, and he kissed her softly as an apology, being careful to continue cleaning her up until she was rid of it all. He had made a mental note to stuff his cum back in her next time, see it dripping out of her over and over, fuck the cum inside her with his fingers or his cock.

Alex left to go back to the bathroom with that in mind, his blood rushing south again the more he imagined it all. When he went back to bed, he noticed Ella had thrown the ruined duvet on the floor and gotten under the sheets. And when he turned to see her, she made grabby hands at him. He chuckled at the contrast of her behavior throughout the night, but was quick to cuddle her into him.

They snuggled beneath the sheets, their legs tangling together as his arm snaked under her to wrap around her waist and holding her flush against him so she could rest her head on his chest. Throwing her arm across his middle to keep him close, Ella nuzzled her head into his chest and she melted against him.

With Alex rubbing circles on her waist, Ella was starting to fall asleep. It was still light outside, the sun still heating up the ground outside and the bright rays managing their way into the room through the thin curtains that covered the windows, but her eyes grew heavy and her breathing evened out as time passed.

That was until Alex sighed loudly out of the blue and cursed, “Well, fucking hell.”

Ella frowned, confused by his sudden choice of words, “What?”

But Alex had been replaying everything in his mind and he felt himself growing flustered and hotter the more he recalled, “You’re seriously asking what after that?”

She couldn’t help but blush, because how the fuck had she gone from crying and going on and on about how tired she was of silently wanting him yet losing him every time to riding his face, edging him twice to then tie him up and fuck the lights out of him.

So she hid her face behind her hands, not wanting Alex to see her face, which she knew had to be bright red.

“Oh don’t go all shy on me now, darling.” He played with her, a chuckle slipping past his lips. His fingers peeling her hands off her face, only to be followed by littering every bit of her face with kisses until she was giggling and cuddled back into him.

They laid there in silence, dropping sweet kisses and tracing patterns on each other’s skin. It was one of those comfortable silences that they’d developed ever since they grew back together during the recording of AM.

A silence that was shattered by Alex thinking out loud, “Now I know what it feels like…”

She snorted when hearing him trail off like that, because what would that even mean? He wasn’t a virgin. “Huh?” She frowned as she looked up at him, trying to hide her amusement by pursing her lips.

“To be that bull.” Alex simply stated, looking down at her with a growing smirk on his face.

She was even more confused then, “Bull? What bull?”

“The one from that pub when you broke the record.” He explained with an obvious tone in his voice.

Ella burst out laughing at the realization of what he was implying. As if her riding that mechanical bull for three minutes was anything near what they’d done just then. She shoved him by his shoulder, letting herself fall away from his hold still laughing, “Fucks sake Alex, you’re an idiot.”

He hooked his arms around her waist again and pulled her into him again, “What? Thought you were a proud cowgirl?”

But she shook her head in disbelief and hid in the crook of his neck, mumbling a halfhearted “Stop.” on his bruised skin.

“Nothing not to be proud of with how well you ride, darling.” The singer added, to which she pinched his side, making him jump and yelp aloud.

With a frown to conceal her amusement, Ella came out of her hiding place, narrowed eyes to help her threat resonate in his head, “I’m gagging you next time.”

Alex shook his head as he watched a smirk slowly breaking on her face, “You’d like that wouldn’t you?”

Her gaze dropped to his lips, picturing them all wet and swollen, wrapped around a gag, leather belt wrapped around the back of his head and tight on the skin of his face. That was a view she certainly would appreciate, “I’d love it.”

Love. Alex smiled at the word, remembering he finally could tell her, “I love you.” and have her know exactly what he meant.

Ella’s heart was almost bursting at its seams when he said that, saying “I love you.” back to him was the easiest thing she could ever do.

Staring at each other adoringly, a minute or two passed. He twirled a strand of her hair slowly with his fingers, counting each freckle on her skin and taking in every bit of her in this new setting.

“How long have you been holding that back?” He asked curiously, wanting to know how long she’d been agonizingly waiting to let all those words out. His chest hurt when remembering her mentioning the pictures paparazzis had taken of him and Alexa and how she’d implied him going for Alexa just like he’d gone for Arielle two years before.

Ella genuinely asked back, “Wanting to fuck you?”

“No, you dickhead.” Alex replied with a cackle, his giggles falling right behind his words, making her giggle along until he could clarify, “Wanting to tell me you love me.”

“I was in denial for a while.” Ella admitted easily. There was no reason to not be entirely transparent with him anymore and she hoped he felt the same way as she continued, “But as soon as I saw you leave that morning… I was just entirely sure about it the second I woke up.”

He frowned, “Why didn’t you say anything?”

She scoffed softly when just considering how that would’ve happened, “Tell you that over the phone? No chance.” She was so glad it hadn’t been that way, because having him close after having told him everything felt so right and she knew she would’ve cried when he reciprocated and she couldn’t have him beside her right then and there.

Alex hummed, knowing what she meant, “I reckon if you’d told me when I was away, I would’ve cried not being able to kiss you right then and there.”

“Exactly.” Ella said, slightly wide eyes at the way it just felt like he’d read her mind. But before she could forget, she asked him, “Why didn’t you say anything?”

With an embarrassed smile on his face, Alex shyly replied, “I was afraid you wouldn’t feel the same.”

She sighed, smiling at their own foolishness. Both of them were concerned about the same thing and instead of speaking about it, they kept it to themselves in fear of rejection as if their actions didn’t speak louder than their hushed words. “We’re such idiots.”

“We are.” Alex agreed with a grin on his face, leaning in until their noses brushed and giving her a eskimo kiss before slotting his lips between hers.

Her fingers delicately held his jaw as they kissed slowly, all that hunger had simmered down and turned into tenderness, wanting to feel each other as close as they could like becoming one was possible. There was no rush, the only priority was taking in every second their lips moved together, tasting each other’s tongues with patience and trying to translate their love into it.

“How long has it been for you?” Ella asked softly when she pulled away after a minute of slowly kissing, her thumb rubbing circles on his jaw.

Alex smirked when he knew what he could say about the very second he realized how he felt for Ella, “You wanna know who was there when I realized it all?”

Her curiosity was piqued by the weird approach of his answer, “Who?”

The last thing Ella was waiting for him to say was, “Alexa.”

A quick, “No.” in disbelief left her lips, Ella’s cheeks heating up at the fact that she’d been horrendously affected by her presence beside Alex on a picture when Alexa had been there the time Alex came to the conclusion that he was in love with her.

“Yes.” Alex continued smirking as he said, eager to see her reaction when he’d tell her just how it had happened. “Remember how we were on the phone at the wedding and she came by for a smoke?” Ella nodded, remembering that exact moment way too well for her liking, “You hung up and she just asked who you were. And once she asked, I couldn’t stop talking about you. She just listened and kept teasing me about it. I was gonna leave but then she asked why I hadn’t made a move, said something like ‘you really like her, don’t you?’ and it dawned on me; how I just couldn’t say I liked you because it wasn’t enough.”

Ella looked at him with teasing wide eyes and played, “‘Cause you love me.”

He hummed with a foolish grin tugging at the corners of his mouth, “Because I love you.”

Alex couldn’t help catching her mouth in a kiss again. Now that he could freely kiss her any time he wanted, there was no moment he wouldn’t be thinking of tasting her mouth and feeling her lips on his. She was all he needed to get drunk from.

He caught her bottom lip with his teeth before he could pull back from the kiss, tugging on her lip until she hummed in satisfaction at his action. Her pupils enlarged when he let go of her lip and looked at her in the eyes. She took it as the perfect opportunity to answer the question she thought he’d meant to ask at the start, “If I’m being honest, I’ve always wanted to fuck you.”

His mouth opened agape in slight shock, “Oi, you filthy bitch.” He called her out for the bluntness he would have to get used to without becoming speechless, but she’d caught him off guard and he couldn’t help but chuckle.

“What?!” She frowned and scoffed before calling him out, “Don’t even start, Turner. Not when I know that you were getting yourself off to my pictures.”

He played dumb very obviously, the inflection of his voice going up as he asked, “Who? Me?”

“Yeah, you. Pervert.” Ella narrowed her eyes as she joked, calling him out further by adding, “And whilst you had a girlfriend too!”

At the mention of that, Alex dropped his joking expression and sighed in regret as he got serious, “Don’t. I actually feel really bad about that. I had to break up with her because I couldn’t stop thinking of you.”

She’d always been curious as to why he’d broken up with Arielle all of the sudden so she gasped and looked for more answers, “Are you serious?”

He hummed, wincing as he recalled, “I called her your name one time and I just couldn’t continue in that relationship after that.”

Ella gasped horrified, “You didn’t Cornerstone poor Arielle to me!” She couldn’t believe him, barely being able to scold him with the way her jaw was on the floor in shock, “Alexander David Turner!”

“I’m sorry.” He apologized wholeheartedly.

Her eyes looked into his unwavering for a minute and when she remembered a certain piece of information she’d gotten all those months before, she slapped her hand over her mouth and a muffled, “Oh my god. No. No. No. No.” came from her.

Alex frowned in confusion, his eyes swimming all over her face searching for answers but she just kept her mouth agape in further shock behind her hand, “What?!”

“Are you fucking kidding me, Alex?!” Her hand went from covering her mouth to cover her eyes as she sighed, entirely appalled by it all.

“What?!” The singer asked again, he’d no idea why the look on her face and he was starting to worry.

She had to take a few seconds to gather her thoughts before letting him know, “She fucking called me, you know? After you broke up with her, saying how you’d had the best sex the night before you broke up with her. And he said you called her darling for the first time that night!”

Alex hissed when he heard that and he knew he’d just have to admit to his mistakes, “I did call her darling ‘cause I was picturing you but she didn’t hear me calling her Ellie when I came.”

Another gasp came from Ella, “Alex! For fucks sake!”

“I know, I felt horrible.” Alex admitted, regret written all over his face, “I really did. If it counts for anything.”

Ella shook her head in disbelief, “Alex, I took her out to the club to make her feel better when it was because of me all along?!”

But Alex wouldn’t let her take that blow when it had all been his actions that caused Arielle hurt, “It wasn’t your fault, love. That was all me.”

“Alexxxxxx.” Ella whined as she covered her face with her hands again but this time because she had no idea what to say anymore. She was starting to feel bad for that having happened to Arielle due to her own existence and of course, Alex’s lack of self control. But she felt even worse for the fact that her stomach flipped and she filled up with a strange feeling when knowing she’d made Alex a total and complete mess since that long ago.

“Stop it.” Alex chuckled and pulled her in closer to him but she shuffled away from him the more he pulled on her wrists, “Come here.”

She shook her head, still hidden behind her hands, “No. I’m angry at you.”

“Our first argument already?” Alex joked and Ella rolled her eyes because she could hear the smirk on his face just from the tone of his voice.

“Slight disagreement.” Ella corrected, making Alex cackle loudly.

“Right.” He snickered before pulling on her wrists again, “Don’t hide please.” If she wasn’t gonna let herself be pulled towards him, then he’d go to her. So he crawled over to where she was and hovered on top of her, leaning in to leave a kiss on top of her hands and whisper, “I love you.”

She huffed, dropping her hands from her face to show her frown and cross her arms over her chest, “No, don’t bribe me like that.”

But how could he not? He just couldn’t hold himself back from saying, “I love you.” followed by a kiss on the right side of her face. Another “Love you.” with a kiss to the left side of her face. And one last “Love you so much.” before catching her lips in an elongated peck.

Despite the fact that she’d gracefully accepted the peck, when Alex pulled back, Ella still kept a blank expression on her face and said a meek, “Sure.”

He frowned, “Darling.”

“Alex.” Ella said back with the same determined tone he’d used.

He huffed childishly, “No.”

She chatted back with a short and dry, “Yes.” A roll of her eyes added in to accentuate her annoyance at it all.

But all that did to Alex was make him bite his lip because she looked so fucking hot when she was like this. He didn’t even know if he ever wanted to see her angry, but if she looked hotter than this, then he wouldn’t be opposed to being the target or her wrath.

“God, I fucking love you.” Alex groaned before cupping her face with his hands and pouncing on her lips.

His tongue licked at her bottom lip instantly and despite the fact that she was trying to continue acting all annoyed, she parted her mouth and invited him to lick into her mouth with a sigh of bliss.

Just to make her facade of annoyance crumble, Alex started moaning and groaning into the kiss, making a show of becoming sloppier with it and then leaving her mouth to attack her neck with wet open mouthed kisses so quick that the brush of his lips tickled her and had her giggling.

He pulled away when he heard her laughter, a loopy grin on his face matching the one on hers. But one that fell when she caught his gaze and said, “Now you gotta answer.”

“Huh?” He let out when he couldn’t put a finger on what she meant.

She smirked, her hands slowly brushing up his chest until they were resting on his shoulders and her legs wrapping around his hips before she asked, “How long have you been wanting to fuck me?”

Feeling her the heels of her feet digging into his ass, he let himself fall over her, his cock hardening just at the faintest touch of her cunt. “Ages.” He replied, gasping when she rolled her hips and he felt the arousal already wetting her core.

“Is that right?” She teased, fingers playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.

He hummed, a rush of heat flooding his body and blood rushing down to his cock just by the hungry look that had taken over her face. Her green eyes became black as her pupils dilated with another roll of her hips. “And I’ll make up for lost time until the day I die.” He swore out loud, because he would and it would not be a hardship in the slightest.

She grinned proudly at his words, butterflies fluttering in her belly at the hint of him willing to give her all those years of his life, willing to share all that time with her, “Good boy.”

His cock twitched at the praise. She’d fucking ruined him for good. “Call me that again.”

Ella smirked at his request but had no problem with repeating herself. “My.” She started saying, accentuating each word with a kiss, “Good.” Kiss. “Fucking.” Kiss. “Boy.”

Smashing their lips together, a bruising kiss followed as their hips started rolling in sync. Alex was already growing hard against her, his erection pressing onto her mound and she was getting more and more turned on from the way he reacted to her and the desperation seeping through his pores.

Alex could feel her already drenched and he couldn’t help but bring his hand down to gather some of her arousal. Two of his fingers ran up her folds and he hissed into her mouth. When he looked down, he let his fingers sink into her hole and her wetness allowed for them to glide in easily. The singer cursed under his breath when he drew his fingers back and when he looked back up at her, she let her mouth hang open inviting him to push his fingers into her mouth, wanting a taste.

He pushed his digits past her lips and let them heavily weigh down on the tip of her tongue. She moaned and her eyes rolled back at her taste, swirling her tongue around them before fully sinking them onto her mouth and humming in satisfaction when tasting even more of her wetness.

His mouth fell agape as he took in the filthiness of the scene, “How did I get so lucky?”

Letting go of his fingers with a pop, Ella replied to his question with a passionate kiss. So messy and pointless for their teeth clashed and couldn’t stop gasping the more their hips rolled into each other’s. But Alex could taste her arousal on her tongue and it drove him mad. He wanted another taste, he needed it.

So he broke the kiss, a string of spit clinging between their wet lips, guiding his kisses down her jaw and neck, her chest and abdomen until he reached her mound. Ella shuddered feeling his hot breath growing closer and closer to her heat, a wave of pleasure making her hips rut on the bed.

Her cunt was glistening, inviting him to have a fucking feast. And that he did once he threw her legs over his shoulders and he laid flat on the bed. His tongue pressed flat against her cunt and started to lap eagerly up and down her folds. Her right hand flew to catch a hold of his hair while the other one came up to her chest, fingers kneading her own tits, pinching her nipples when he started flicking at her clit.

“F–fuck!” Ella cursed loudly when he sucked on her clit, her hips bucking quicker with every second that went by, her fingers abusing her pebbled nipples even more to intensify the pleasure his mouth was bringing her. “Alex, baby… Shit.”

He hummed with his lips wrapped around her clit, her back arching from the vibration reverberation all over her. Her toes curling and her mouth going slack when he pointed his tongue and started fucking her with it, moving his head in such a way that his nose was rubbing on her clit.

She fucking loved it. She hadn’t known how badly she’d wanted to feel that again until she did and now all she could think of was getting this every day for the rest of her life. “Mmmm, just like that.” She praised, her hips still meeting his movements and making her orgasm build up.

Alex looked up at her and the sight of her playing with her tits as he tongue fucked had him letting out a guttural groan and bucking his hips into the mattress. The friction that brought him made him whimper pathetically and once the whiny sound fell on Ella’s ears, she got louder.

He got more vocal then, humming and moaning as he lapped at her, flicked and sucked at her clit, pointed his tongue to tease her sopping hole; all of it over and over until her legs started shaking beside his head.

“Alex! Al– Fuck.” She messily let out in between gasps, “M’so close. Oh fuckkkkk.” She mewled when his tongue started flicking faster at her clit, her eyes screwed shut and her hand falling from her chest to claw at the sheets when she felt her orgasm approaching her rapidly.

With a yell of his name, she came on his tongue, coating it with the sweetness he was already addicted to. The wetness mixed with his spit dribbling down his chin as he tried his best to lap at every drop, not wanting to let any of it go to waste.

His hips started rutting faster against the mattress, the springs of his bed creaking as he went. The sound of it was the thing Ella first heard when she came down from her high, not knowing what it was until she looked down and saw Alex lapping at the arousal that had wet her inner thighs and his hips bucking relentlessly on the bed.

“I can’t get enough of the taste of you, darling,” he confessed, kissing her inner thigh. “I’m obsessed.”

Pulling on his hair, Ella peeled him away from her cunt and in between her panting as she tried catching her breath, she finally said, “Fuck me, Alex. I need you.” Even if she was spent, and she felt far too oversensitive, she couldn’t miss the chance of him filling her up again.

He couldn’t wait anymore so there was not a second to doubt nodding and giving into her wishes, he crawled up her body and pumped himself quickly before aligning his cock to her entrance. Pushing his hips forward slowly and sinking into her for the second time in the night, Alex swore that was exactly how heaven felt like. Her back arched off the mattress when he bottomed out, her legs wouldn’t stop shaking and she felt her eyes well up with tears at the stretch after having just cum.

A cry of his name blessed Alex’s ears at the same time he leaned in to groan onto her chest. “Fuck me, you feel so fucking perfect.” He praised as he tried to catch his breath, stilling inside her to give her time to adjust to his length again. She needed to relax again because if her cunt kept squeezing him like that, he wouldn’t last more than a minute.

Before he could start moving, he lifted her legs up slowly one by one until they were thrown over his shoulders, shuffling closer until the backs of her thighs were flush against his chest and he leaned into her, her knees coming closer to her chest and the new angle allowing for him to sink even deeper inside her.

“Oh my– Fuck!” She yelled at the stretch of this new angle that had him pressing into her g-spot perfectly. She shivered beneath him, hips struggling to stay in place when her body was screaming for him to start moving. She felt like she was about to explode. “Alex, Alex, move please.”

Alex started at a fairly quick pace, not being able to start slow because the angle in which he fucked her just made her squeeze his cock even tighter. Not that Ella wanted him slower, she could feel her second orgasm looming on her with force and she needed him to continue picking up his pace.

The claps of their skin filled up the room, along with her high pitched whimpers and his groans. Her head was thrown back, giving him full access to kiss and bite and suck the skin of her neck and when he did, it just made her pleasure increase tenfold.

“Al– harder. Please, harder.” Ella cried out, feeling herself about to fall over the edge, seeing stars behind her eyelids with every thrust.

“Aren’t you greedy?” Alex taunted but obliged, and with harder thrusts, it truly felt like he was fucking her into the matress, the springs creaking as it bounced from their movement.

“Yes! Don’t stop!” She yelled desperately, her orgasm building more intensely every time his pubic bone smacked against her clit, the pain turning into blinding pleasure that made her toes curl and her fingers pull harder on his hair.

Alex rested all of his weight on his left hand then, using his right hand to start rubbing her clit in quick motions to have her cum along with him because there was only so much longer he could hold and he was afraid he was getting closer and closer to his limit. “Are you gonna cum for me?”

She bit her lip, rolling her eyes. “If you keep– Just–”

“Gonna drench my cock, huh?” He nosed her neck, tickling her. “Gonna make a mess of it?”

“Yes!” And, true to her words, Ella came all over him, the stimulation from him hitting her g-spot and toying with her clit making her squirt all over him, drenching him and the sheets. And with that filthy sight Alex came right after her, his cum coating her walls as he continued pounding into her with messy thrusts.

“Fucking hell, you’re hot.”

The rhythm of his hips faltered as he continued riding out both of their climaxes, his finger slowing down on her clit until it stopped as she kept spasming around him. Her legs were shaking on his shoulders, so he let her let them down slowly after dropping a kiss on her calves and resting them on the bed.

Alex rubbed her thighs softly as he pulled out from her, hissing when he did just like Ella whined at the emptiness, wanting nothing but for him to be always inside her, he filled her up so good she thought she would soon become addicted to it.

He looked down at the mess on the sheets, his brain flashing the image of her squirting all over him as he watched his cum dripping out of her and staining the wet sheets. Alex groaned from the pits of his chest, hovering down over her again and mumbling against her lips, “I fucking adore you.”

She giggled, trying to see his face through half lidded eyes and hummed, “Adore you too.”

At the sight of her eyes closing, Alex got off the bed and swiftly carried her to the bathroom so they could get cleaned up. When he set her on the floor of his en-suite, she groaned loudly at the soreness of her legs and her cunt, Alex laughed in response.

Ella glared at him then, folding her arms as she watched him get towels from some shelves hidden in the corner of the room. “Don’t laugh, you’ve just folded me like a pretzel. I’m gonna be so sore.”

The comparison only made him laugh even harder and she pouted. “‘M sorry, but you enjoyed it.” He walked up to her and, after tossing the towels on a bench beside the glass doors that encased his shower, he enveloped her in a hug and dropped a sweet kiss on her lips.

He started walking towards the shower as they kissed, so she walked backwards until the cold glass made her hiss when it touched the warm skin of her back. He pulled back from the kiss and dropped two pecks on her before opening the glass door for them to get inside but when she turned, she managed to catch a glimpse of herself in the mirror.

Ella scoffed, “Gonna have the best time covering these up, thanks Alex.” Her neck was covered in lovebites and so was her chest, and when she let her gaze fall down to her thighs, she found the darkening bruises littered inside of them.

He looked at her through the mirror coming to press himself against her back, his arms wrapping around her middle and dipping to leave a trail of kisses up her neck until he reached her ear and whispered, “Didn’t hear you complaining when I left them.”

She rolled her eyes at him trying to act like his tricks weren’t working but her walls clenched around nothing in response. “Shut up.” She said before peeling his arms off her and walking into the shower first. He was gonna be the death of her.

Alex walked in after her and pulled her into him again by wrapping an arm around her waist, their chests pressed flush against each other this time and making her throw her arms around his neck. “You love me.” The singer mumbled against her lips in a reminder, the smirk that broke on his face only pushing Ella to tease him back.

“Do I?” She quipped back, cocking her head to the side and putting on a pretty convincing confused expression on her face.

His eyes turned mischievous as he said, “You do.” and then flicked the shower on making her gasp when the cold water fell over them as they stood right beneath the wide shower head.

“You’re such a little shit.” She hissed through her teeth before pushing him off her softly. She really didn’t want him away because the water still fell on them cold but she had to commit to the bit.

The singer giggled as he stumbled backwards but came back up to her seconds later, wrapping an arm around her waist again and cupping her jaw, tilting her head slightly so he could kiss her. It stupidly felt like kissing under the rain and suddenly Ella couldn’t be more excited for every first kiss they’d share in the future.

“You still love me though.” Alex chatted back when he broke the kiss.

And despite the roll of her eyes, a smile won over her pursed lips and she agreed, “I do love you.”

Alex hummed, “And I love you.”

Soon enough the spray of water grew warmer and they started to clean themselves up. Alex grabbed the new bottle of shampoo he’d gotten and started washing Ella’s hair, massaging her head softly and making her moan as his fingers dug perfectly into scalp. When he rinsed the shampoo fully off her hair, she took over the task of washing his and he also was a moaning mess as she took her time massaging his head. They soaped each other up delicately and slightly teasingly, hissing when they would poke at a particular tender spot the other had sucked on their skin, smirking when they’d taunt each other with a frisky touch like when Alex groped her tits with the excuse of properly cleaning her up and when she let her fingers inch closer and closer to his cock as she soaped up his lower stomach.

When they came out of the shower, after Ella had made him fuck her first when he got hard at her tantalising touch, Alex wrapped her in a towel and left her to dry her hair with another one while he wrapped his own towel around his waist and went back out into his room to get some clothes for them to wear.

A few minutes later, Alex walked back into the bathroom in just a pair of joggers and one of his shirts and a pair of boxers in hand for her. He gave Ella the clothes and left her to take her time as he went back to his bedroom and picked up the duvet and the bedsheets to take to the wash.

It didn’t take him long to put the bedding in the washing machine and when he came back he melted at the sight of her wearing his shirt and boxers and brushing her wet hair with her fingers.

He stepped into the room, walking back to the shelves in the corner to take out a comb and a hair dryer. “C’mere, I’ll do it for you.” He waved her over to the marble counter where two sinks stood beside each other, and he tapped on the space in the middle for her to sit on while he took care of her hair

She walked over to him and sat where he told her, the marble cold against her bare thighs making goosebumps break along the skin of the legs. He stood between her legs, brushing from the ends of her hair upwards, making her get down to properly brush the back of her head. He then plugged the hair dryer and started drying her hair, his fingers tenderly combing through her hair as the warm air dried it.

When he was done, Alex was quick to give her a peck so that she would open her eyes which had fluttered closed at the feeling of his fingers raking through her hair.

“Thank you, darling.” Ella said with a fake British accent, trying her best to mock him but clearly failing when he frowned at her advances.

“You’re welcome, babe.” Alex replied, retaliating by putting on a fake American accent so high pitched it made Ella wince.

She scoffed, swatting at his chest softly, “I don’t sound like that at all!”

The singer just shrugged, wanting to wind her up, “Are you sure?”

“Dickhead.” She bit back with her eyes narrowed, making him let out a loud laugh before he pulled her into a tight embrace that ended with them sharing a sweet kiss.

With one last peck on her cheek after he separated their lips with a smack, Alex went and unplugged the hair dryer and put it back in its place along with the comb. Walking back to where Ella still stood, leaning on the marble of the sinks, and interlocked their fingers to walk back into the room.

Seeing the bed bare of bedding made Ella’s cheeks heat up, knowing that it was all her doing that the sheets were fully ruined to use tonight. Alex looked at her and smiled at her bright red face, pecking her lips before reminding her that it had been the hottest thing that he’d ever seen and suggesting taking the bedding from one of the guest rooms to get her out of her head.

Walking over to the guest room, Ella chuckled out loud remembering how he’d promised her a house tour and she was only getting it after she’d ruined his sheets, not because he’d promised.

“You still owe me that house tour, you know?” She taunted him with a grin on her face.

He turned to the side to look at her and giggled when realizing what was going through her head, “Tomorrow after breakfast, I promise.” She hummed, knowing she’d hold him up to that.

But at the mention of food, she openly admitted she was hungry and he said he was too. So they went back to his kitchen, hand in hand, and made themselves a fast sandwich that they practically devoured in minutes, along with a few talls glasses of water when they realized just how parched their activities had left them. They quickly put everything away in the dishwasher and continued their quest for the bedding.

When they opened the door to the guest room, Ella marveled at the look of it. It was California rustic and so pretty, the wallpaper and the wood used around the room combined beautifully and she realized then she hadn’t even had the chance to appreciate Alex’s room. Too caught up in trying to finally have him all to herself in the many ways she’d dreamed about.

She made a point to take in every detail of his room when they came back to it with their arms full of white bedding. Compliments came from her about what she’d seen of the house so far as they struggled to put on the fitted sheet, they laughed when they messed up the way it went and when the corners wouldn’t stay on as they perfectly placed them at first. The scene was so domestic, her heart grew in sizes inside her chest. How could she be feeling this rumble of butterflies in her stomach from just making a bed with him? She was utterly and completely fucked, and instead of scaring her anymore, it just felt right and she reveled in it.

Once they managed to tackle the fitted sheet, everything else came easier and as soon as the duvet was perfectly placed, Alex ran up to the window to pull down the blackout curtains and once that was done, the two of them gracefully disheveled the tidy way they’d made the bed to get under the sheets and finally cuddle each other until they could rest.

This time it was Alex who lay on top of her, the side of his face pressed over her chest where he was starting to fall asleep, being lulled by the steady beating of her heart and her nails scratching lightly at his scalp.

They’d been lying in silence for about ten minutes when Ella whispered, “Love?”

Alex smiled brightly with his eyes closed, his heart leaping from his chest hearing her using that pet name for him, “Hmm?”

“Which one’s your favorite?” She asked, still being intrigued about so many things they’d yet to talk about.

But it seemed that Alex didn’t really know what she was talking about for he lifted his head up slightly to press his face on her tits and motorboated her lazily for a few seconds before he mumbled, “Both of them.”

A loud cackle came from her, piercing through the silence in the room as she shook her head, “You’re such an idiot.”

“I’m not lying.” He wholeheartedly promised while coming back to rest the side of his face on her chest.

She hummed, a snort coming from her as she tried to contain her laughter and when she managed to keep it at bay, she actually clarified for him, “Okay, good to know. But I meant which of my pictures is your favorite.”

A soft, “Ohhhhh…” came from him in realization. She laughed just as loudly and then he peeled his eyes open to look up at her with a conflicted look on his face, “You can’t just make me pick one.”

“Well, I am.” Ella challenged him. She wanted him to list every single picture he’d gotten himself off to but for now she could go to sleep just knowing which was the one.

Despite him acting like it was despicable for her to make him choose one, coming up with an answer was as easy as the ticking of five seconds on the clock, “That one of you on the motorbike. The one where you’re wearing that silver bikini and your cowboy boots and that hat.”

She frowned, trying to think about which picture it was and when she remembered the frame she’d posted long ago, she gasped, “Really?”

He nodded, still looking up at her, “Yes. Wrote Arabella ‘cause of that one.”

“Of course you did.” Ella chuckled and rolled her eyes at him. She would’ve never realized that the ‘Barbarella silver swimsuit’ line actually had to do directly with her too and it wasn’t just another one of Alex’s witty lyrics.

“I did.” He confirmed, smiling proudly at her, “No regrets. Though you never said anything about that one.”

She frowned and scoffed at him like he was crazy, “What did you want me to say? I thought that one was about Arielle until I heard the bridge!”

He closed his mouth and let a few beats of silence pass when he knew her excuse was valid, “Oh, well…”

Ella actually giggled loudly at his response, a shake of her head in disbelief and she called him out for his audacity, “You’re so annoying.”

“You love me.” Alex countered with the statement that he knew she would never actually deny.

She hummed with a foolish smile breaking on her face as she confirmed, “I do.”

“Say it again.” Alex breathlessly pleaded, his fingers coming to take a hold of her chin as he craned his neck to lean in closer to her.

There would never be a day she would pass on the opportunity to tell him, “I love you.”

His heart soared hearing those words, devotion written on his face when he stared into her hazel green eyes and whispered back, “I love you.”

Their exhaustion was wearing them out already and the languidness of their movements translated into a lazy kiss. But what lacked in energy, compensated with the sheer amount of sincerity and intent, wanting to let the other know with every kiss just how much of a love fool they’d made each other.

When he pulled back, Ella leaned back in to drop a handful more chaste kisses on his lips and after the sixth one, she couldn’t help herself about asking another question that was poking at her curiosity intensely, “Which other ones are about me? Other than Snap, you made that very clear.”

“Fireside, Do I Wanna Know?, Stop the World.” He listed quickly, knowing just what was his train of thought behind every song he’d written about her. “I made I Wanna Be Yours into a song because I wanted you to get the hint.”

She offered him a sweet pout and cooed at him, “Awh, sweetness.”

“That worked out well, didn’t it?” He added with a lighthearted sarcastic tone.

But she shook her head because it had been her fault too, not picking up on the obvious signs, “Sorry, I’m just a bit dense sometimes.”

Yet, he wouldn’t have her blaming herself for it when he knew he should have just spoken up, “S’alright. I should’ve just told you.”

Just to tease him, Ella nodded and agreed, “You really should’ve.” As if she hadn’t been keeping it hidden for far too long too.

He shook his head and rolled his eyes in amusement before smiling brightly, “Nice to be able to say it now.”

She nodded, thinking nothing else would ever compare to the feeling that flooded her when he said he loved her for the first time and it only got better and better the more he repeated it. The peace that she felt when she let those three words out was just as good, “It’s relieving.”

“I love you.” Alex told her, his eyes taking in every detail of her face as it lit up when hearing those words.

Ella brought her hand up to his face to cup his jaw and reciprocate sweetly, “I love you.”

One more kiss was shared, another one of those teeth-rottingly cute ones that left each other dazed. The heat of their bodies beneath the covers was making it harder for Alex to stay up so he broke the kiss and mumbled against her lips, “Right, darling. Close those pretty eyes of yours and go to sleep yeah? Long day tomorrow.” She’d fully distracted him from cleaning up the house and getting it ready, nevermind for the party but he’d been planning on tidying everything up for when she’d come over, if he’d actually had the chance to prepare the candlelit dinner for her.

“Hmm right.” Ella whispered back.

It was hard to know if the fact that everyone else was coming over the very next day was gonna make her want to sleep as soon as possible, dreading the exhaustion that evening would bring, or if it was gonna make her nervous enough to keep her eyes open for far longer than necessary.

All because Alex started rubbing circles on the skin of her thigh just as he let his eyes flutter closed and wished her, “Sweet dreams, darling.”

Seeing Alex’s face starting to melt into a blissful stupor, she forced her eyes closed and wished him back, “Sweet dreams, my love.”

It was impossible for him to keep that stupid smile off his face when she called him that, “I like the sound of that.”

She giggled, her cheeks heating up again. “Go to sleep.” She called him out, trying to bite back her smile to push herself into her slumber.

With the dark behind their eyelids being the only thing they could see then, it was impressive the way they found each other’s lips again and shared one more quick and soft kiss before they could actually succumb to their exhaustion. The foolish grins on their faces stuck there until they fell deep in sleep, arms wrapped around each other and legs tangled to keep the other as close as possible, not wanting to let go anytime soon.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

The domesticity continued well into the following morning, after Alex woke Ella up with an attack of kisses all over her face which ended in them holding the other as they worked their ways to an orgasm, whispering sweet nothings and looking into each other’s eyes intently as pleasure washed over them.

Brushing their teeth together before changing the sheets yet again—this time bringing the freshly washed ones in Alex’s room and putting the one’s they’d borrowed from the guest room in the wash���, making breakfast together and getting comfortable on the settee to eat.

Ella’s legs were thrown over his lap and he was trying his best to keep one hand on her thigh, rubbing circles on her skin while they ate. The only sound that rumbled through the house was the consistent hum of the AC that kept the house cool, outside the sun was heating up the ground and the water that filled the pool; they broke the silence from time to time to hum when they had another bite of the scrambled eggs and sausage he’d made.

It was hard to imagine everything else was going by normally outside the walls of Alex’s house. It felt like they were stuck in their own little bubble and pure happiness simmered inside them, butterflies fluttering inside their stomachs and their smiles just stuck on their faces so their cheeks ached from how much they were smiling already despite it just barely being nine in the morning.

Alex already felt the need for this to be routine, for this to be his normal so with a soft squeeze to her bruised thigh, he let out, “I could get used to this, y’know.”

It was so easy to agree, when Ella felt so complete right there. Everything felt right, all worries had been stripped away from her and she felt light and carefree, like she was soaring and the only weight was the love that filled her heart and swelled it until it tripled in size. She hummed in agreement, “Mhmmm, me too.” But just to tease him, like she was growing to adore, she joked by tapping her fork on the almost empty plate, “This is so good.”

An eye roll was added there along with a soft moan so that she could emphasize how good she meant the food was and, even though she wasn’t lying, Alex still gasped aloud, mockingly insulted.

A string of giggles fell from her lips and she set the plate down on the coffee table next to her coffee cup to cup his face with both hands and promise, “I’m joking.” Ella pressed her lips over his, their eyes fluttering close at the feeling, and she pulled back softly after a few seconds to genuinely say, “This just feels so right.”

With a smile, he also set his plate down on the coffee table and settled back on the settee to look at her and admit, “You know, you actually beat me to it by a few hours.”

A soft frown appeared on her face as she brushed his hair back, “Beat you to it?”

He nodded and told her just what he’d been planning for her later that night, “Was gonna call you and invite you over for dinner. I’d bought some things earlier to make you your favorite pasta and a bunch of candles to set it all up outside by the pool.”

“Awh sweetness…” Ella cooed as she shuffled even closer to him, “You’re so fucking cute.”

Alex kissed the soft pout off her face and hummed into her mouth before pulling back and smirking, “It was gonna be really cute but then you surprised me instead.”

She shook her head in disbelief not only at the fact that she missed that but also of her own actions, “Can’t believe I ruined your cute little plan by barging in and going on a crying rant.”

But Alex couldn’t disagree more with her choice of words, “You didn’t ruin anything, darling.”

“It was...” Ella started, trailing off to think of a proper word to describe what that had been and when recalling it in her mind, she closed her eyes in painful embarrassment and concluded, “A whole mess.”

“Nah, I loved it.” Alex said wholeheartedly, cupping her jaw and rubbing soothing circles on her face to have her open her eyes, “Not seeing you cry though, that broke my heart.” Her words echoed inside his head and his brows furrowed as worry washed over his gaze, “Did you really think I was ever going for Alexa when I have you?”

She averted her gaze but she tutted softly and tilted her face so she’d look him in the eye again. Biting her tongue, she took a deep breath and her fingers fiddled with the hem of her shirt before she mumbled, “Well if you’d read that article and seen all the shit people keep saying online then you’d know how I felt.”

“What article, love?” He’d no clue what she was referring to and if he could see it and get a link to it so he could send it to his PR team, he would do it in a heartbeat and ask them to do their best to take the bloody thing down. “Show it to me.”

Silently, Ella nodded and left him with a kiss on the settee to get her phone. She found it with ease as it was saved in Breana’s chat, and she held her breath when it loaded and showed on her screen. The stupid fucking article that had made her miserable for days. She had herself to blame for that too but she couldn’t not when that was going around social media and people took it like gospel.

Ella bit on her thumb when she sat down next to Alex and offered him the phone opened on the article. She watched attentively as he started reading and taking in every way his pursed lips twitched and his brows lifted and furrowed.

A loud scoff came from him when he read that last sentence and he shook his head, closing the tab and setting Ella’s phone down on the coffee table. “Utter wank.” That was all he could describe it as. And to completely clear things up, he explained, “We were chatting about you that morning, actually.”

“What?”

Alex grabbed her ankles and threw her legs over his lap again, wrapping an arm around her waist to bring her as close as he could to him before he could add, “Like I told you yesterday, she was there when I realized I love you. So when she heard that we were in New York and had just played a festival, she texted me and we met up. We were walking around smoking and I told her about the house and moving here and wanting to tell you and she gave me loads of ideas about how to tell you, the candlelit dinner being one of them.”

Ella’s mouth fell open agape at the information. She couldn’t believe not only had Alexa been there when he realized he was in love with her, she had given him ideas on how to finally tell her.

Her cheeks tinted bright pink and she let her head fall on Alex’s shoulder. He felt her shake her head and sigh heavily, “Ugh, fuck. I feel so stupid.”

Alex shook his head and rubbed up and down her legs to soothe her, “It’s all the media's fault and all those chatting shit online.” He got angrier when recalling all the idiotic implications written on that page, “Dunno what the fuck they’re going on about Cookie’s wedding either. Just a bunch of bollocks, that.”

Ella hummed as she took in the way he reacted to what he’d just read, his look of disdain when reading each sentence was imprinted in her mind. In a moment of utter sincerity, she started explaining what had gone through her head when reading the article, “It really just made me feel the same as 2012 when you went for Arielle after our date and I–,” it was hard to compare because it was a very different situation but the ugly feeling that had flooded her system was just the same only amplified tenfold, “I thought the worse and I didn’t want to be left broken like back then so I started overwhelming myself to just anticipate what was coming.”

Alex’s hand coming to hold hers and intertwine their fingers coaxed her out of her mind and she looked up at him with a sorrowful smile. He kissed the back of her hand and she said the last thing she wanted to ever utter about the matter, the one thing that had been haunting her the most, “I think what freaked me out the most was that last line. I had no idea you were engaged to her.”

“Never was.” Alex wholeheartedly said while still holding tightly onto her hand, “It’s just one of them things people take out of context. Must’ve told someone I wanted to marry her back when we were together and they probably went straight to the tabloids to exaggerate it and make it a piece of hot gossip.”

A faint, pathetic “Oh,” fell from her lips. She couldn’t keep his gaze because she felt embarrassed, she almost pulled her hand back but his touch was soothing and it was all she needed as she added, “My head was spinning. I thought if I already had no chance in ever coming close to the Alexa Chung then the history between you would make it entirely impossible to compare.”

With a pull to her hand, Alex made her look up again and once he could see those gorgeous eyes of hers, he shook his head, “That’s so far from the truth, darling.” Grabbing her other hand, he pulled her towards him so she shuffled and changed the position of her legs, coming to straddle him.

He cupped her face with both hands, watching every detail on her face adoringly, taking one of his hands up to her hair so he could rake through it with his fingers as he said, “No one comes even close when compared to you, Ella. You’ve been all I could ever think about for a while. Just the thought of you drives me mad. I’m all yours, I’ve always been.”

Silence fell around them as they took in each other’s expression. His face shined with devotion and her worried frown had melted into complete infatuation.

Cupping his face with her hands and softly rubbing circles on his jaw, she quietly asked, “Mine?”

“Yours.” Alex smiled brightly, an almost imperceptible nod made her fingers hold onto him the tiniest bit together.

It was as true a statement as her declaring, “I love you.”

And he knew. He felt it just the same, his heart beating in the same erratic pattern as hers, “I love you so much darling.”

She leaned in closer to him, breaths mixing together and their parted mouths ready to slot together and make the distance disappear between them, “I’m yours too, you know.”

His throat dried up at her words, it would take him time to realize this was actually real and not one of those dreams he had felt too crazy to lose himself in before.

“And for that I’m the luckiest man alive.”

They met in the middle to share yet another kiss that only assured for them to continue getting addicted to the taste of each other’s mouth. It was soft at first, deliberate and full of intent, but when his tongue brushed her bottom lip and she opened her mouth to welcome him in, it grew hungry and needy.

It was more than clear that they only had a few days to enjoy their bliss before he had to go on tour again. He’d shown her the schedule while they made breakfast and they knew once he left on the 2nd to tour festivals in Europe, they wouldn’t be able to see each other until he came back for three shows in different cities in California in August. And then he’d be off again. So it would be a little over a month that they’d be away from each other, and those three days they’d get would go by way faster than they’d need. It was just how time always treated them.

Therefore, they knew to take advantage of every minute they got with each other. To drink it all in and not take it for granted, to indulge in it all.

So it wasn’t surprising when his hands came to rest on her hips and he pressed her flush against his hips, he was already hard for her. A needy whine fell from her lips at the friction, his breath hitched in his throat when she rolled her hips, keeping her gaze on his to watch his face contorted in pleasure.

Alex threw his head back and rolled his eyes, “This is what you do to me.” Struggling to pick his head back up, he grabbed one of her hands and guided it between their bodies so her fingers could wrap over the bulge tenting his joggers. She squeezed softly and a groan rumbled through his chest, “One look at you and I’m fucking ruined.”

Her tongue poked between her lips to wet them as she looked down and continued stroking him through his clothes. Alex took in the view, her mouth agape and almost watering at the outline of his cock pressing against his joggers, her hand moving on him now more confidently as he tried swallowing his whimpers, her bruised thighs spread open and on each side of his legs.

“I mean, look at you.” He said raggedly, struggling to catch his breath. “Fuck.”

When Ella looked back up at him, she took in the way his chest flushed. He was still shirtless, and she’d been smirking all morning, shamelessly gawking at him. But now the pink hue his skin was turning contrasted with the dark red bruises she’d left on him the night before.

His breath grew heavier when she leaned in and kissed over the big bruise that adorned that sweet spot on the base of his throat, “Did a good job,” she said before licking up the side of his neck until she reached his earlobe, she bit it and tugged, letting it free after a pathetic whimper stumbled through his lips.

She leaned back slightly and stopped the movement of her hand on his cock, making him cry out at the loss of her consistent touch building on his pleasure.

Smirking, she whispered in his ear, “Wanna write my name all over you.”

Alex shuddered when her breath fanned on his skin as she made her way down his neck, only to start her abuse on his skin all over again, finding patches of pale skin in between the bruises that she felt the need to fix.

His hips bucked upwards when she bit on a bruise, the pain rippling through his body and turning it into eye watering pleasure that had him a mess of whispered profanities and her name as she went.

A broken moan came from him when she finished sucking a bruise over his heart and went straight back to dig her teeth on a patch of tender skin. “Awh baby.” Ella cooed when she straightened up and looked at his tear glazed eyes, “You okay? Want me to stop?”

She had started lifting herself off his lap when he shook his head eagerly, “No. Don’t.”

Alex pulled her back down on his lap, this time so her cunt was right over his hard length and she moaned when he used his firm hold to guide her into rolling her hips over him and his cock brushed her clit.

His brows furrowed in pleasure, a moan stuck on his throat, he managed out a shaky, “I need you.”

And Ella needed him too. She was wet and throbbing for him already, clenching around nothing and all she could think of was how good he stretched her out. She needed him inside her again. But she couldn’t help herself, pouncing on his lips with lust and an animalistic need that made her rock her hips at a quickening pace over him.

When his mouth went slack and he couldn’t kiss her back anymore, she took it as the cue to get off his lap and quickly undress. His shirt she’d been wearing was thrown behind the settee and the boxers she’d borrowed quickly followed.

Completely naked, Ella came to straddle him again. Alex’s hands fell on her waist and slowly trailed up until he could cup her breasts, fingers pinching each nipple and mouth parting in a silent gasp when her hands fell on his shoulders and she started rolling her drenched cunt over his clothed bulge.

“You’re gonna be the end of me.” Alex swore under his breath, her wetness already ruining his joggers. He could feel his own precum leaking and aiding in wetting the fabric along with her own slick.

Ella hummed, stopping her tantalizing movements to lift herself up and off his lap, enough for her to pull down the waistband of his joggers and his hard cock to spring out and brush against his lower stomach. They didn’t even think of getting them off him fully, halfway down his thighs was enough for them to carry on.

Her mouth watered at the sight, the hairs of his happy trail being wet by the salty arousal that leaked out of his tip. With nimble fingers, she grabbed his length and pumped him. Once, twice. Fuck. He was heavy, swollen in her hand.

Her thumb swiped the precum off him and brought it up to her mouth, sucking devotedly to memorize every detail of him.

How he shivered beneath her, how he tasted on her tongue, how he dug his nails in her skin to silently beg her to hold him again, how he looked as he panted and tried his best to go along the pace she set, the aroma of sex already lingering in the air surrounding them.

Every one of her senses was completely overcome by him, and she greedily wished for it to remain the same until she took her last breath.

“And you’ll be mine.” Ella reciprocated, hand coming down between their bodies to wrap around his cock again. No more time to waste anymore when the need for each other started to morph into an ache.

She took him and rubbed him up and down her folds, reveling in the way his face fell at the contact with her sopping cunt. The tip of his cock teased her entrance, and she concluded, “What a way to fucking go,” as she sank down on him.

Words struggled to come out of his mouth the more she swallowed him whole, “I love you–,” he started to say, just wanting to praise her for how good she was to him, how well she took him, but his thoughts melted into the puddle of pleasure she brought him and all he could do was curse under his breath when he bottomed out, “Oh fuck.”

Catching her breath with shallow inhales, Ella pressed her forehead against his and their lips brushed as she sighed, “All mine. Only mine.”

Their eyes rolled into the back of their skulls when she started rolling her hips, the angle heavenly and making them a mess of moans and whimpers.

“Feels so good baby.” Alex praised, wrapping an arm around her waist to keep her as close as possible. Her pebbled nipples rubbing against his chest, his senses going haywire. Ella, Ella, Ella. It was just her, all his mind knew. His heart, body and soul shared the same knowledge. “You’re a fucking dream.”

She hummed, he felt so good inside her. Every roll of her hips meant his cock nudged against that spot inside her that drove her mad, and her clit pressed on him deliciously. She was delirious from the pleasure, “Love– fuckkkk. Love you.”

Stilling for one second, she stabilized on her knees and started moving up and down on his cock. The friction of him dragging in and out of her velvety walls made them gasp, she was making a mess of him.

A high pitched moan fell from her lips, straight into his open mouth when one of his hands smacked harshly against her ass. The sting of the spank dwindling into white heat that only made her mewl louder when she bounced back down on his cock.

“Again, please.”

Her wishes were his command, so he did it again. Reveling in the feeling of her walls clenching around him with every hit. Because she kept asking for more and more, her breaths growing shallow, her cries of pleasure getting louder and louder. He was sure he’d see the red print of his hand there with how hard and often he was spanking her.

His fingers dug harshly in the tender flesh of her ass, helping her glide up and down his cock. He looked down to watch how easy it was for her to take him over and over, “So good to me, darling. Fucking made for my cock, weren’t you?”

“Yes.” She gasped out in agreement, they fit together like the pieces of a puzzle. A delicious, brain-melting, toe-curling puzzle that brought her closer and closer to the edge.

Her hips got faster, thighs burning from the effort but she wasn’t relenting, not when she felt that coil in her lower stomach tightening with every stroke. The slaps of their slick covered skin meeting made her smirk, “We’re gonna make a mess here.”

The image of her squirting all over him the night before flashed through his mind, a guttural moan coming from him at the possibility of it happening again, “I don’t care.”

“Already wanna ruin your new furniture?” Ella giggled breathlessly.

He nodded, biting his bottom lip to muffle a loud moan when she picked up her pace. He was gonna spill inside her any second now if he didn’t focus on holding out until she could cum with him. His words came out strangled by the effort, “I’ll ruin every inch of this house with you.”

“Yeah? What are we ruining baby?” Her voice was molten lust that washed all over him, fingers digging harder into her flesh.

Every scene played in his mind like a film, his mouth moved quickly with each frame, “Gonna bend you over the kitchen counter, have you make a mess all over the marble. Have a feast of this sweet cunt on the dinner table. You’re gonna see how well you take it when I fuck you in front of that mirror in my room.” She dipped her face to suck a bruise on the skin right below his ear, “We– Oh fuckkkk…”

With those plush wet lips of hers she stole his thoughts, making him crumble into a blubbering mess as she marked him up.

She let go of the patch of skin with a pop, licking over it with her eager tongue. “Yeah? Promise?” She whined, needy and begging for him to already make all that reality.

“Promise baby.” He moaned in response, “Ella… Shit.” He couldn’t hold out any longer, he was so close and he knew she was too with the way her legs started trembling. He needed her to cum with him and to drench him again so he brought a hand down in between them and started rubbing quick circles on her clit.

A broken gasp fell from her mouth, he swallowed it with a quick wet kiss but she caught his wrist and pulled his hand away. “Don’t.” She knew exactly what he was trying to do. “We can’t just throw your settee in the washing machine.”

He was about to complain but those fucking hips of hers wouldn’t relent and he was losing grasp around reality and any sort of logic. His need for release took over and pressing a hand down on the settee while the other still clutched her tightly to his chest, he started bucking his hips up, every thrust more determined, meeting in the middle as she fucked herself on his cock.

“Shit, yes! Keep– Ohh!” Ella couldn’t even properly speak, she was almost drooling from how fucking good it felt, how fucking well he slammed his hips up into hers. One arm wrapped around his neck and the other making sure to keep a good grip on the back of the settee, she mewled into his mouth, “Like that. Like that. M’so close baby.”

“Cum with me darling.” Alex struggled to say, his words strained as he got closer and closer to his climax. His thighs started trembling but he did his best to continue, cursing as it took all of him not to stop, “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”

Her legs shook beside his hips, her hips stuttered as she tried to continue riding him. Panting into each other’s mouths, they came. Crying out each other’s name, holding onto the other for dear life as their minds went blank and their sight was overcome by nothingness except for the feeling of him twitching inside her and coating her walls with his cum.

Sloppily, they rode out their highs until Alex slumped back down on the settee with Ella, almost dead weight on top of him. Their heavy breaths sounded like blissful sighs with every exhale.

It was an unearthly feeling to have this all with each other at last. So fucking perfect, they weren’t fully conviced this wasn’t a dream.

Ella giggled when she opened her eyes and found him blissed out, eyes closed and trying to gather his bearings, “Mmm, that was so good.” Not only was the sex amazing, she felt fulfilled in every possible way, her soul was vibrating with joy. She felt whole.

“Match made in heaven.” Alex finally opened his eyes as he stated, wholeheartedly. He could fucking write it on stone.

With a raise of her brows, she teased, “Doubt this scene is anything worthy of holiness, sweets.”

Alex shook his head and took his time to look her up and down, his cock twitching inside her when seeing himself still buried deep inside her and their slick covered thighs. Her chest was flushed and heaving still, all those bruises looming on her made his mouth water as well as those tits of hers that he couldn’t help but cup softly. She looked at him expectantly with the prettiest smirk he’d ever seen, like she was trying not to show her amusement at the way her body had him hypnotized.

With that view, it was so easy for him to confirm, “Nothing’s near as divine as you are, love.”

She snorted out a laugh and shook her head, brushing the strands of hair that stuck to his sweaty forehead, “I’d say you’re just saying that to get lucky tonight but you’re balls deep inside me and I can already feel your cum dripping out of me.”

He laughed with her and stole a quick kiss that she delved in for a few seconds, breaking it to lift herself up and off him to clean themselves up before it all dripped and stained the settee. But her legs shook intensely and she wasn’t able to even hover above him enough for him to pull out.

With a kiss on her cheek, Alex mumbled, “I got you,” before he carefully stood up as he held her with one arm. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and held on so he could stand up without her slipping off his hold.

Step by step, slow and steady, he carried her and took her to the bathroom, there he carefully got inside the glass doors that surrounded the shower and carefully lifted her up and off him, and onto the floor.

Ella knew right then that every shower she took after he left would be lonely when she didn’t have him massaging her shoulders and her scalp, or when he wasn’t giggling with her as she molded his shampooed hair into odd hairstyles. She would miss the kisses he dropped on her face and her shoulders as the water rained over them, and how he’d intertwine their fingers when walking out of the shower.

“Our coffee is definitely cold by now.” Ella joked when he was plugging the blow dryer to help with her wet hair like he’d done the night before. She half wanted to put on her best puppy eyes and beg him to cancel so they could just go back to bed and cuddle instead of actually setting everything up to be ready for when everyone was meant to come around.

With a fresh set of sheets that they’d just taken out of the dryer, they took on making the guest room’s bed again as their first task. It felt easier this time, and even through the novelty of the scene, Ella felt content and fulfilled like she did when she was at home doing something she’d been doing her whole life. It felt so familiar and just right, her heart swelled in her chest.

When they went out to the back, Ella gasped at the sight of the pool. She could see the blue water catching the sun rays and glimmering beautifully against the pink tiles of the walls of the pool.

She had laughed when Alex ran back inside to bring out a box in which there was a High Green sign just like the one Matt had gotten and put up on the back of his house. Of course, Ella helped Alex put it up and they proudly appreciated how it looked against the tan paint that coated the walls of the house.

There was a big table outside surrounded by a handful of chairs that they moved to the left hand side of the sliding glass doors that gave way into the patio so Alex could set up the food there outside. Thankfully, the pool chairs were perfectly placed around one side of the pool, making the rest of the patio look spacious enough to house the amount of people Alex had invited.

But before they could cheer about having done everything rather quickly, and run back to his bedroom to do fuck all before they needed to get ready, Ella realized she’d come very much unprepared to Alex’s house. She was wearing a new set of his clothes, because hers had been the same she’d been wearing the previous day at work and long forgotten in a corner of his room.

It was about noon when she managed to peel herself off a clingy Alex who was trying to convince her to use one of his shirts and the same shorts she’d been wearing on Friday, but Ella had reminded him of the amount of love bites he’d left on her skin and how she would still need her makeup to cover it if she wasn’t gonna use something with more coverage than her jeans and one of his shirts.

Alex huffed but managed to make a deal with her, one that he didn’t really need to push hard at all for her to accept. There was no way in hell she’d pass on the opportunity of staying over and staying with him every single day until he had to leave.

Ella made it to her house in record time, considering the Saturday traffic and all, and she’d packed everything up in a rush. Her makeup, toiletries, whichever clothes she saw first and deemed okay—she’d gotten annoyed remembering she needed to go to work the last three days Alex had in LA, so she grabbed a handful of clothes to wear to the office—, her camera, underwear and those lingerie sets Katie had convinced her to buy back in April, as well as some things that she quickly plucked out of that fun little box she kept in the back of her wardrobe.

When she came back, Alex had already set all the drinks out on the kitchen island along with glasses for everyone to use. There were so many bottles, Ella actually didn’t know what to expect of the night but she smiled knowing they’d have a nice time.

On the kitchen counter laid many different containers with food: fruit bowls, charcuterie boards, loads of dips for the many crisps Alex had bought, a variety of precisely cut veggies to be dipped as well, brownies and cookies, cheese and crackers, bacon wrapped grilled shrimp, sushi rolls.

Ella’s mouth watered at the sight and she was about to steal a bite of the shrimp when Alex walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, “I ordered us some actual food and it’s on its way.”

She smiled and turned in his hold, cupping his face and leaning in to mumble against his lips, “You just know the way to my heart don’t you, Turner?”

By the time the doorbell rang to announce the food was there, Ella had just finished setting her makeup bag and toiletries beside one of the sinks in his bathroom, her clothes were still inside her little carry-on case which Alex had brought into his walk-in closet the second they got to his room.

After eating the lovely chinese food he’d ordered, they made their way back to Alex’s room and he watched attentively as she started getting ready by doing her hair. His eyes followed every move of her hands and the way her lips pursed in concentration when she loosely curled strand after strand of hair until it looked voluminous and shiny. He grew more and more entranced as she put half of it up in a little bun and the rest brushed over her shoulders.

Ella dropped a kiss on his lips when she unplugged her curling iron and walked back into the walk-in closet to get the dress she’d chosen for the evening.

Since she couldn’t really show off her chest or her thighs thanks to the bruises Alex had sucked onto her skin, Ella had chosen a high neck, criss crossed back, long knitted black dress. It covered her whole chest and legs so she only had to worry about covering the love bites on her neck with lots of concealer and a heavy hand of translucent powder.

When Ella walked back into the room with the dress already on, Alex commented how rude it had been of her to change in another room. She’d laughed about it, deeming needy and horny, but he’d nodded and hugged her by the waist only to throw her onto bed and kiss all over her face. She couldn’t even fight the loving attack because if thrashed around too much, she’d ruin her hair entirely and she couldn’t be arsed to start working on it again.

Alex and his puppy eyes, and those lips she couldn’t resist, managed to convince her to cuddle him and kiss him for a few minutes before she could start doing her makeup.

Ella might’ve acted annoyed when she had been able to stand up and felt her hair all crazy, but she was more than happy when seeing him like that. Knowing that he just couldn’t get enough of her filled her insides with warmth.

Like a lost puppy, Alex followed her to the bathroom and he leaned against the door frame while watching her start working whatever magic she did with her makeup on her neck. He was all entranced, fully smitten and eyes glimmering with adoration, watching as she carefully applied products to her face and neck that he had no idea how they worked but she used in a way that just enhanced her beauty and completely hid away all the darkening bruises on her skin.

“Aren’t you gonna go get ready, sweets?” She asked softly, heavily focused on not messing up her eyeshadow as she applied mascara to her lashes, “You’ve been staring at me this whole time and you’re not even ready.”

He hummed, pushing himself off the door frame and walking slowly up to her, giving her time to put her mascara down and check on the mirror that it was alright.

“You’re so gorgeous, darling. I can’t stop looking at you.” He said as he hugged her from behind, kissing the side of her neck a handful of times before looking at her in the eye through the mirror, “Can’t blame me for getting distracted when this is my view.”

He watched as she rolled her eyes and her cheeks tinted even more pink than they already were from the powder blush she’d applied on the apples of her cheeks, “So smooth, Alexander.”

Tapping the backs of his hands softly which were resting on her waist, she waited for him to loosen his hold so she could turn around and rake her fingers through his hair, “Go change so I know if I need to cover up your neck or not.”

Looking up to see his own reflection in the mirror, he nodded knowing that she was right, and she’d taken most of her time covering her neck up than actually putting makeup on her face. So with a quick kiss, he dashed to his wardrobe and chose a simple outfit, a short sleeve red shirt that he made sure to button up as much as he could without feeling uncomfortable and black jeans.

She praised his speed when he came back to her all ready for the evening, and she waved him over towards her so she could cover up the hints of bruises that showed over the collar of his shirt. Her touch had made him melt under her fingertips, he kept letting out soft moans when she grabbed onto his neck to keep him steady as she blended the concealer to cover everything as best as she could.

Alex giggled when she pressed her brush over his neck after she dipped it in the translucent powder, and while she’d tried her best not to laugh, she couldn’t hold in her own giggles when he acted like a child being tickled.

“Can you not gel your hair tonight?” Ella fluttered her lashes as she asked, a soft pout on her lips that she’d painted a natural mauve color with some lipstick she had in her bag. He nodded, rolling his eyes like it was a burden to go along with what she was asking for. She poked his ribs and he jumped, making her cackle loudly before he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder to go back into the bedroom and throw her on the bed.

Ella knew what he was about to do so she clutched onto his wrists and held them away from her, “Don’t tickle me babe, I’m gonna mess my hair up.” And just because he’d seen how much time and effort it had taken, he nodded and leaned in to press a kiss on her lips and then moved to lay on bed, beside her.

Laying on his side, pressing his elbow on the mattress and his chin on the palm of his hand, he looked down at her lying on her back right next to him. She grabbed his free hand and started playing with his fingers, kissing each pad of his fingers and then making a fist to kiss each knuckle, finishing up by kissing the back of his hand and then opening it up to kiss his palm.

Once she was done with her kisses, she intertwined their fingers and Alex swore he could cry at her tenderness.

“Do you think they’ll know if we don’t tell them?” Alex asked after a few moments of silence.

“Breana might.” Ella knew her best friend would be suspicious about it since she’d been blowing up her phone earlier in the day and the director hadn’t known how to reply to her messages without lying so she just left them unopened. “She was the one who convinced me to tell you already, I was gonna wait ‘til today to see if you actually were gonna get with Alexa.”

The singer kissed his teeth and shook his head softly, “You silly thing.”

“I know.” Ella let out a breathy chuckle at her own stupidity, but changed the subject back to the main question, “Think it’d be fun to hide it for as long as we can and see if they suspect anything.”

He frowned, “But I wanna kiss you.”

“Me too but it’ll be fun.” Ella admitted with ease, and when she remembered something she had yet to tell him, she smirked, “And if you’re good, I’ll give you a reward.”

At that, Alex perked up: his eyes widened a little and his brows rose up on his face. He watched as her pupils dilated right before she cryptically explained, “Brought some things with me from home.”

Pure seduction was written on her face when she licked her lips and her teeth sank on her bottom lip, and that was enough to know exactly what she meant by it. “You can’t just say that to me right now.” He groaned, letting his head hang until it fell over her chest. He picked his head up in a second when her chest shook with laughter, “I swear I’ll call everyone and cancel, I don’t fucking care.”

She pursed her lips and shook her head, “Patience is a virtue.”

“But–“

“No buts. Thought you were gonna be good and listen.” She raised a brow in challenge.

Alex huffed at her clear invitation to defy her and see what that would bring, but he bit his tongue and went along with her game, “Alright, I’ll listen.”

Completely satisfied with his response, she smirked proudly again, “I know you will.”

The doorbell ringing startled them out of their bubble, Alex rose to his feet and pulled Ella up to stand with him by the hand he was still holding. Through the peephole, he managed to see a few of his friends and he opened the door with a smile, not letting go of Ella’s hand even under the questioning eyes.

Alex introduced them to Ella and she brightly smiled at them and reciprocated their niceties. She was trying not to chuckle at how hard it had been for Alex not to introduce her as his girlfriend, his awkward silence after saying her name out loud was comical. And it kept happening with each person that came through the door that he introduced to her, all of them expecting the title to be said after Alex lingered on his words instead of sounding resolute.

He was so cute.

Around five in the afternoon was when Jamie and Katie showed up, and at the sight of the first couple of the group to arrive, the pressure to keep their secret under wraps fell heavily on their shoulders.

It only got worse when Nick and Kelly got there and they asked when was it that Ella had gotten there and she’d struggled to answer; Alex had aided her by saying she’d gotten there early to help him around setting everything up and once that was out, Kelly was too focused on scolding Alex for not letting them know he needed help instead of lingering on Ella’s mishap.

Ella was probably on her second glass of wine when Miles came knocking on the front door. Alex had been knee deep in a conversation with Nick and some guy they knew from the city, and the music that came from the speakers he’d set up outside was a little too loud so he didn’t hear the doorbell ringing. Therefore, Ella was the one to go up to the front door and open it. In a blink of a second she was being squeezed tightly by Miles’ arms, swaying side to side and panicking about spilling her wine on Alex’s brand new wooden floorboards.

The scouser didn’t let her stray away from him for a second, not even when he went right into the kitchen and got himself a drink, topping off Ella’s until she squeaked at how much wine he wanted her to ingest.

When Ella walked out with Miles in hand, Alex raised his brows in amusement and excused himself from the conversation he’d been in. Only when Alex went for a hug did Miles let go of Ella and Alex laughed over the scouser’s shoulder when Ella sighed in relief. Still, even then, it seemed like Miles had been suffering withdrawals of their presence for he took the both of them around the party with him to greet everyone and start conversations.

There were no complaints to have though, Miles was a joker and he never failed at making Ella spill tears from how hard she’d laugh at the shit he’d say.

He was so distracting with his jokes and comments that Ella didn’t notice she’d drank her almost full glass of wine in just twenty minutes so she went back inside to get herself a drink of water and then a refill of her wine. Alex followed her inside and no one questioned it, it wasn’t like they didn’t behave like that all the time.

The singer smirked when seeing Ella taking sips of a glass of water as she leaned on her ass on the side of the kitchen island. He walked slowly towards her and caged her in her place by leaving his glass on the marble and placing each hand over the surface of it on each side of her hips.

She put her glass down behind her, lipstick stain on the rim of the glass that had him licking his lips in hunger. After having his mouth on her for twenty four hours, spending almost two hours now without kissing her once was agonizing. He was craving the feeling of her lips on his and he didn’t care if anyone could walk back into the house and find them.

But just as Alex was leaning in, the doorbell rang again and he slumped against her with a sorrowful sigh. A mocking laugh fell from her lips, she was enjoying seeing him slowly crumble away with need. It was hard for her too, lord knew she’d been itching to have her lips all over him for hours now, but it was funny seeing him suffer like that, so obvious.

Pressing her hands on his shoulders, she cocked her head and in an obnoxiously chipper tone, she instructed, “Go on. Be a good host.”

He wouldn’t let her have the pleasure of watching as he struggled to properly greet someone else, so he grabbed her wrist and pulled her along towards the front door.

The second the door opened, Alex and Ella’s faces lit up at the sight of who was standing there. “Zack!” They both said at the same time, but the photographer wasn’t alone and the stunning woman beside him smiled brightly at them as Zackery introduced her as Lola.

“Lola, nice to meet you, I’m Alex,” the singer said with that charming smile of his, turning to his side to add, “And this is Ella…”

Once again, Alex trailed off awkwardly and Zack knew exactly what was going on. He chuckled and added for Alex, “His girlfriend. Finally!”

Alex’s face fell, “How–”

Ella couldn’t help cackling at how naive he was toward his own failure at concealing the news, “Baby, you haven’t exactly been subtle about it. I wouldn’t be surprised if half the people you’ve introduced me to know I’m your girlfriend too.” She watched as Alex cocked his head, slightly embarrassed, so she turned to the photographer and pointed at him to warn, “But don’t tell anyone, Zack. We're trying to see how long it takes the lads and the girls to notice.”

“Are they all here yet?” Zack asked, enthused to introduce Lola to everyone. They’d only properly met a month before—he’d worked with her on a shoot about a year and a half before and they realized they had friends in common but their schedules never aligned—and gone on about three dates but he had a good feeling about her and he felt the need to introduce her into the friendship group as soon as possible.

Alex nodded, “Just Matt and Bre missing.”

“Right.” Zack shook his head, not surprised at all that the couple who lived closest was late.

But before the photographer could go on, Ella grabbed Lola’s hand and with a smile she said, “I’ll steal this gorgeous lady from you and I’m gonna introduce her to the girls!”

Katie and Kelly sat next to Mia, Davey’s girlfriend, on the pool chairs when Ella came back outside with Lola in tow. Turns out that Lola was a model—which didn’t shock anyone with how absolutely gorgeous she was—and she currently lived in New York, but was visiting LA for a modeling gig that she’d taken upon to have the excuse to see Zack again after he’d just left the big apple a little over a week before.

The sky was painted a beautiful pink and orange as the sun started to set when the girls were giggling and cooing like fools hearing the way her and Zack’s first date had gone like, but then their attention was caught by Alex and Zack coming back outside, followed by Matt and Breana.

Alex and Ella shared a knowing look then, it was now that it all properly started and Ella had to bite her tongue not to giggle like an idiot at the little secret she was meant to keep for a little longer. She thought that if no one was to call them out about it before they left, they’d come clean about it. Her heart jumped in her chest at the prospect of finally letting them all know.

When Matt and Breana finally incorporated the group, Ella knew she and Alex would have to try a little harder so they wouldn’t be too obvious. But that proved to be harder than they expected for they’d always been very touchy feely with each other.

At the start, keeping their hands to themselves had earned them a few looks and Kelly asking if they were alright. Ella had nodded and when the pregnant woman explained how odd it was to see them distancing themselves from the other, the director forced out a few giggles and excused herself as being a little too hot to be hugging Alex. That had proven futile when Katie then asked why she was so covered during a hot summer night, telling her she should’ve chosen a cute little sundress and even offering to take her to Bre and Matt’s so she could borrow a shorter, lighter dress.

So she and Alex started tentatively invading each other’s space more and more every passing minute, realizing just how foolish they’d always been when their behavior towards each other had always translated to something more. Ella let herself melt into him and Alex kept dropping kisses on her skin, they giggled into each other’s ears and fiddled with each other’s fingers as they spoke.

But there was something there, something out of the ordinary that everyone felt. It was palpable and the pair got multiple questioning looks throughout the night, all of which they ignored until Ella said she was gonna get another drink and Alex went along with her.

When they got back inside and into the kitchen, Alex caged her in against the marble of the kitchen island again. This time the wine that she’d been nursing and those whiskey and cokes Alex had been drinking made them a bit more careless about their actions and when they leaned in for a kiss, which exuded need from the second their lips touched, they lost all sense of logic.

Her hands came up to his face and her fingers carted through his hair only to tangle in the strands and pull on them. Alex moaned into her mouth as he pressed his hips forward into hers, and if it wasn’t for the fact that Jamie had been loud when calling out for the two of them, they definitely would’ve been caught prematurely.

Alex had basically thrown himself to the other side of the kitchen island and rubbed the back of his hand over his lips, as if he’d been drinking something and spilled down his chin, when Jamie got to the edge of the open plan kitchen. All the while, Ella had taken sudden interest in every label of each bottle that sat over the marble.

The guitarist knew something was going on, especially when he asked them if all was fine and their answers struggled to go past their lips.

So when Jamie went back outside with a new bottle of beer and a glass filled with rose for his wife, he made sure to tell everyone of his suspicions. Bless Zackery and Lola, they played along as the others threw theories around, nodding and humming as they indulged in the chat and trying their best to not expose the little secret Ella and Alex trusted them with.

“They’re together.” Jamie said entirely sure of his gut feeling, “They’ve gotta be.”

Matt scoffed, “How’d you know?”

The guitarist ignored his tone and explained, “You know the tension that’s always there when they’re together with us. It’s different now, I can’t really explain it but it is.” Katie hummed as she thought about it and actually agreed with him when she started connecting the dots.

The drummer once again, ever the skeptic, continued interrogating Jamie, “So what, you think they’ve been together since when?”

“I’d bet after Tennessee.” Nick smirked, actually believing Jamie could be onto something.

Jamie looked at the bassist and smirked back, “Me too.”

“No, ‘cos then Bre would know. Right babe?” Matt turned to his fiance to ask and she nodded.

“Mhm. And Ella hasn’t said anything.” The model fiddled with her fingers before actually continuing with why she sided with her fiance's logic, “She actually was struggling about her feelings towards him a few days ago.”

But that wasn’t enough to deter Nick, “I would still bet on it.”

Or Jamie, “Me too.”

“You would?” Matt asked, incredulously, and when the pair nodded, he shrugged, “Okay. A hundred quid they’re not together yet.”

“Fine.” Jamie agreed, a gallic shrug that matched his unbothered expression.

Nick seemed just as nonchalant, actually very smug about the agreement, “Helders, this is easy money.”

The drummer was set on his own logic though, so he scoffed and chatted back, “Easy money for me. They’re not together yet but I’m about to change that.”

Jamie and Nick snorted, “Okay, cupid.”

No one knew what exactly Matt was planning on doing to ‘change that’ but he put his plan to work as soon as Ella and Alex were back.

Matt basically let the pair join the conversation he’d started as a distraction for a few minutes before he asked Alex something random about the house. He made Alex take him to see what he was asking about, something about one of his guest rooms, and suggested Ella came along.

The whole group trying hard not to laugh at Matt’s incredibly improvised plan almost ruined his cover, but they managed to hold in their laughter until the three of them walked past the glass doors and back into the house.

“Ladies first,” Matt had said once they got to one of the guest rooms so that Ella would walk in first and, in a blink of an eye, Matt pushed Alex in without warning and slammed the door closed before loudly giving them notice, “You’re not coming out until I say so.”

Ella snorted when hearing that, because the doors locked from the inside so she was pretty sure he didn’t have a say at all in that, “Whatever that means.”

But at the opportunity to have each other alone, together for a little while, Ella and Alex took it and happily sat themselves at the edge of the bed.

Alex grabbed her legs and threw them over his lap, a big calloused hand coming to hold her thigh as he sighed, “Finally some peace and quiet.”

“Matt did something right for once.” Ella joked a little louder so, if Matt was still out there, he’d listen to her taunting.

But Matt had decided to go back to the kitchen to wait after giving everyone a thumbs up outside through the glass. So he didn’t hear as Alex shook his head and corrected his girlfriend, “Nah, he already did once asking Breana to marry him. This is the second time.”

Ella hummed in agreement, “That’s right.”

Alex didn’t let another second go to kiss her again, his hand cupping her jaw harshly as his lips intently moved with hers. His tongue slipped past her parted lips and licked into her mouth, moaning when he tasted the red wine she’d been drinking all afternoon. A giggle came from her at his desperation, but he continued making it known with the way his hands started roaming down her body, groping her tits through her dress and stealing the oxygen from her lungs further when he pinched her nipples with his nimble fingers.

Before she could lose herself in him entirely, Ella pulled away and grabbed his wrists as she tutted, “Uh-uh.”

“But–” Alex was quick to try and fight, his wet lips falling into a pout.

She fought the urge to kiss it away and joked, “You can do this, babe. I believe in you.”

“You’re a cruel tease.” Alex groaned, letting his head fall on her shoulder.

“You better get used to it.” Ella replied while bringing her fingers to his head, scratching his scalp softly and making him moan.

He dropped a kiss on the side of her neck and she could feel his smirk against her skin as he said, “Not going anywhere, are you?”

Pulling his hair, she made him come out of his hiding place and look at her, “Do you want me to?”

The shake of his head was decisive, just like his words, “Absolutely not.”

The sweetness that coated her tone as she easily said, “Well I wasn’t planning to,” made Alex fall back onto her lips.

This time, it was sweeter. The I love yous they had shared in the past day all said wordlessly though the movement of their mouths on each other’s. Gracefully stealing each other’s breath and melting into each other’s touch. It was heavenly, and it meant so much more now that they knew how devoted and entirely crazy they were about each other.

The memory of the last time they’d been forced into a room for minutes made her smile like a fool, leaving Alex to kiss her teeth twice before she pulled back, “Have you noticed how stupid we’ve been all along?” She wondered how different everything would’ve been if she’d just told him she liked him back then, because she knew she did.

Alex snorted, “Yeah. Think we came to that conclusion last night, didn’t we?”

“Hmm, yeah.” She agreed, but she realized that very afternoon how oblivious they had been to their own behavior towards each other, how everyone had been right all along, “We’ve always acted like this though, just never kissed.”

“Or shagged.” Alex smirked.

“Or shagged.” She repeated with a smirk of her own tugging at the corners of her mouth. “The girls were right.”

“About what?”

She knew then she had loads of things to tell him, “How we really shouldn’t have called this just a friendship.”

He hummed, understanding what she meant, “There’s always been more.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way.” She declared, eyes filled with devotion as she stared at his pretty face.

Yet, there was still a lot of regret that settled in the pit of his stomach when he thought about it so he admitted, “There were some things I shouldn’t have done.”

Ella shook her head, knowing that he’d keep on haunting himself with guilt that he needed to shed off him already, she had forgiven all of his wrongs a long time ago. Rubbing soothing circled on his jaw, she whispered, “But it got us here, sweets. And that’s all that matters.”

“I fucking love you.” Alex mumbled against her lips, eyes fluttering close at their proximity.

Puckering her lips, she dropped a chaste kiss on his mouth before reciprocating with ease, “I fucking love you too.”

Loving him was second nature, it just happened and she wouldn’t ever forget because she just did. Alex felt just the same, and he could prove it with the way their lips slotted together perfectly, how right it felt to be held by her as they kissed and how his body couldn’t stop responding to her touch and her presence all over him with soft moans and gasps, the twitch of his cock in his jeans, the buzzing of every nerve ending in his body.

When their lungs burned and they needed to pull back to catch their breath, they just hugged with the biggest grins on their faces. All their worries about distance and the uncertainty of the future disappeared when the constant of their love was so strong and they felt it seeping through their pores.

But they couldn’t revel in the feeling for long since Matt burst through the door and startled them. “Fucking hell!” Alex cursed loudly as Ella clutched a hand over her chest and she tried to regain her breath.

Matt ignored them entirely and rose his brows to question a vague, “So?”

“So, what?” Alex bit back with annoyance written all over his face.

“Did you–” Matt started this time, but ended his sentence with more vagueness, “You know.”

Ella frowned, pursing her lips before chatting back, “Erm… We don’t know, actually.”

“Fucks sake.” The drummer rubbed his face in frustration, “This was my attempt to get you talking…”

Still completely confused, Alex asked, “About what?”

What the pair, who were still hugging, didn’t expect was for Matt to rid off his vagueness and spout out, “About how you’ve been wanting to fuck each other since 2011?”

“Woah, mate,” Alex said at the same time as Ella gasped, “Matt, Jesus Christ!”

Matt scoffed for the millionth time that evening, “Oh, don’t you two start fucking lying. Alex, I caught you–“

Alex knew what he was about to say and though Ella knew already, somehow, he still didn’t want Matt saying that aloud, so he interrupted before Matt could ruin the moment further, “We were talking…”

Ella knew by the way Alex squeezed her thigh that this was it so she smiled brightly as she started, “Yes. I was talking… to my boyfriend.”

It was Matt’s turn to loudly gasp, “What?! Wait, what? That quick?!”

Trying not to burst out laughing, Alex nodded, “Erm, well. You’re only,” he checked the watch that adorned his wrist and finished, “About a day late mate.”

“Fuck off.” The drummer let out in disbelief, “You’re joking.”

Ella shook her head and proudly denied, “We’re not.”

“Really?!” Matt made sure to ask again.

Alex and Ella nodded.

And again, “You’re not taking the piss?”

Ella rolled her eyes and mockingly suggested, “Do you want me to shag him in front of you for proof, Helders?”

Matt gagged loudly then, “God, no. No. Absolutely not.”

The director hummed, “Yeah, thought so.”

With despair, Matt sighed and rubbed his face again, knowing what this meant, “You’ve just made me lose a bet against Jamie and Nick, you insufferable cunts.”

Alex snorted at the clear pain in his voice, he couldn’t not ask, “How much?”

Matt replied with the meekest tone and the most irritated expression on his face, “A hundred quid. Each.”

Ella couldn’t hold back the loud cackle that rumbled through her, contagious as Alex laughed beside her, “What a shame, Matthew.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He rolled his eyes knowing they had no pity for him. And then he properly looked at them and saw how close they were, so he grimaced, “God, I regret locking you in here now. Ugh!”

Alex’s brows rose and he reminded his best mate, “S’my house.”

But the drummer ignored his words as he was lost in his head. He shuddered and shared one of his thoughts out loud, “I don’t even know if you’re gonna be worse now or not. Honestly, I'm scared.”

Ella let out another cackle and narrowed her eyes at him, “Shut up, you drama queen!”

“Does Bre know already?” Matt asked, thinking for a second that maybe his fiance had been in it all along and hadn’t said anything to see him suffer over losing a bet, like the tease she was.

But when Ella seriously answered, “No.”

Matt smirked, “Oh, she’s gonna kill you,” and dashed out of the room.

“Matt, no!” Ella yelled out for him but he was long gone. She let her head fall back onto Alex’s shoulder and she sighed, “I hate him.”

“I know.” Alex said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “At least they know now. Can kiss you all I want.”

“Yeah you can.” Ella perked up and sat back up straight, her gaze falling to her boyfriend’s lips and stealing a long sweet kiss before she stood up and called, “Let’s go. But you’re gonna have to hold me back so I don’t commit a crime.”

Alex grinned brightly, “Of course, darling.”

She offered her hand to help him up and he took it, intertwining their fingers as he stood up beside her and once he was on his feet, she started walking towards the door with him following closely behind.

“Hey.” Alex said before they crossed the threshold of the room, tugging on her hand so she turned and crashed against his chest.

Breathless, she looked into his eyes, “Yeah?”

“I love you.” He said quietly, just for her to hear before they could go out and be disturbed by the million questions he knew everyone would ask.

Ella blushed as she smiled at him, her stomach doing somersaults in response to how adorable he was, “You’re so fucking cute.” She kissed him again before mumbling back, “Love you too.”

Apparently, once they walked through the sliding glass doors, the news had spread like wildfire and everyone was gasping and hollering seeing them hand in hand on their way towards the group.

Ella caught the look on Breana’s face in a second, knowing exactly what was going through her head. So she tried to warn her best friend with a, “Don’t–”

That was cut short when Bre said exactly what she’d been thinking, “I told you so.”

“And she said it.” Ella sighed in defeat, earning the laugh of everyone around as well as questions about what she meant by that which Ella quieted down by promising to tell them in a bit.

As they watched Matt grumpily take out the cash from his wallet and handing their respective amount to Nick and Jamie, Miles hugged the new couple and congratulated them for finally realizing how in love they were with each other. Everyone gasped when Alex and Ella thanked Zack and Lola for keeping it hush for a few hours. And the new couple laughed loudly when Zack countered their surprise by calling them out on being too slow to notice what was obviously there.

Now that they could kiss and properly act like a couple, the party felt far sweeter. They went around the party, chatting and meeting more of Alex’s friends, laughing and sharing stories with everyone. The music got a bit louder, and the drinks flowed easier and faster, as well as the food which became more and more scarce as the time passed.

When Josh got there, it was hilarious to hear him yell, “Finally!” when he walked outside and the first thing Matt uttered was that Alex and Ella were together.

It truly felt like they were all celebrating the fact that they’d gotten together at that point and it only made the two of them more and more elated.

When Alex had gone to get Ella another glass of wine, she’d walked over to the speaker and queued up You Make Loving Fun by Fleetwood Mac to play next. Just in time for it to start playing, Alex walked back outside and found a smiley Ella staring at him expectantly, waving him over towards her with a cheeky grin.

Matt heard the harmonies loudly coming out of the speakers and he was about to complain about Ella choosing a song she knew he very much didn’t like when turned around and saw her starting to sing along, directing every word to Alex.

She walked to the beat of the song, meeting Alex in the middle as he made his way towards her. He was completely entranced by the way she looked, staring at her adoringly as she swayed her hips to the staring beat of the song.

Plucking the wine glass from his hand so he had a free hand to hold her, her arms flew around his neck and he swiftly wrapped his around her waist, swaying with her as she sang the lyrics out to him.

Sweet wonderful you / You make me happy with the things you do / Oh, can it be so / This feeling follows me wherever I go

She continued to sing with a massive smile on her face. She let her head hang back and then came back close to his face with her eyes open and sparkling with love.She pecked his lips quickly, leaving him dazed like she always did when she kissed him, and he swore he had never felt more adoration for someone before. It felt like his chest was about to burst, warmth tickling every inch of him, his lips itching to kiss her properly, his body burning to adore her over and over.

I never did believe in miracles / But I've a feeling it's time to try / I never did believe in the ways of magic / But I'm beginning to wonder why

Her hands went to cup his jaw as she sang the chorus again, staring right into his eyes. They were far too preoccupied with enjoying each other that they hadn’t noticed all eyes on them. She swayed her hips as he held her close and when she’d brought her arms up in the air in pure elation, he had grabbed one of her hands to twirl her around twice and then pull her back into her chest.

Don't, don't break the spell / It would be different and you know it will / You, you make loving fun / And I don't have to tell you but you're the only one

She sang that softly against his lips, Alex stole a kiss that he’d wanted to deepen but she broke it when she leaned back not wanting to miss singing the last bit of the song. Yes, she loved the song but she wanted him to know how hard she’d fallen for him and since she couldn’t do it with her own words, she’d do it with a song.

You, you make loving fun / It's all I want to do / You, you make loving fun / It's all I want to do / You, you make loving fun / It's all I want to do / You, you make loving fun / It's all I want to do

Alex held her close, hiding his face in the crook of her neck leaving pecks all over the skin he had available and making her giggle as the song died down. He squeezed her waist as he pulled back up to look her in the eyes and she brought her hands up to play with the hair at the nape of his neck.

Some other song started playing in the background but they were entranced with their gazes swimming all around each other’s faces, taking in each other under the golden haze of the patio’s lights.

“I love you so much, darling.” Alex was the first to break their silence and she was so glad his hold was tight around her waist because she felt her knees go weak when she heard him say that yet again. The alcohol in her system made her so much more sensible to everything that she now had with him and she could just collapse on the floor from the amount of love she felt for him.

One of her hands came to hold his neck and breathlessly she reciprocated, “I love you more, sweetness.”

Alex shook his head as he leaned in. “Impossible,” he muttered before catching her lips, both of them sighing in relief at the feeling of their lips together again.

Ella’s fingers pressed around his neck, making him blissfully hum in response. Her tongue teased his bottom lip, and he obeyed the silent indication to open his mouth. They swallowed each other’s soft moans when they tasted the alcohol on each other’s tongues, Alex bringing her in closer to his front, tightening his hold on her waist. He held back from the need to squeeze her ass and buck his hips forwards. He wanted her so badly, he needed her right there and then.

“Please tell me it’s an incredibly great idea to kick everyone out right now.” He begged, out of breath after they broke the kiss to get some oxygen back in their lungs.

She chuckled against his lips and shook her head, pulling back a little more to brush his hair back and then let her fingers trail delicately down his pretty face. She knew exactly what he was feeling, because it burned her too but waiting a bit longer, until everyone left, would make it all taste and feel much sweeter.

“It isn’t, love.” She disagreed, a smile on her face from her attempt at trying not to laugh at his despaired face.

His hold on her waist tightened as he pushed his hips forwards subtly, or at least he hoped because he couldn’t help himself. Ella swallowed a moan by biting harshly on her bottom lip, she could feel him starting to get hard and it was all very tempting, especially the tone in his voice when he argued, “But–”

But Ella held the best she could onto her logic and tutted as she remembered what was waiting for them if he pulled through with his promise of behaving tonight, “Good things come to those who wait.”

The reminder of her earlier words were enough for Alex to swallow his pain and bury the hunger she could only satiate for a little longer. He’d do anything she asked for, especially when it promised her to make him all hers afterwards.

It only took a few minutes for Ella to be snatched away by the girls and Alex to be left to fend for himself with the lads. It seemed like after that show of pda, everyone had loads of questions and a separate interrogation for the both of them couldn’t wait more than a few minutes.

Alex tried his best to answer the questions the guys were asking him but he was too distracted by watching Ella sitting on one of the pool chairs, surrounded by the girls, blushing and giggling and covering her face as they scooped everything out of her, question by question.

The faint sound of the doorbell was the perfect excuse for Alex to escape his nosy friends, so he excused himself in a split second to walk back inside and open the front door.

“You’re here!” He greeted with a smile when he opened the door and found Alex standing there, “Hi!”

“Al! Hello!” Her tone was chipper as she greeted him. A whistle came from her when she took a look around his new place, she complimented, “This house is stunning.”

“Ah thank you, thank you.” Alex replied with a soft grin, waving her over to the left side of the room where the gorgeous kitchen was set, “Come in, there’s drinks in the kitchen.”

As Alexa walked in and approached the bottles set on the kitchen island, Alex couldn’t stop himself from eagerly telling her that Ella was there and he was going to get her so she could meet her.

Alexa nodded excitedly, joking about him taking his time because she was indecisive and there were too many types of alcohol to choose from.

The singer wasted no time walking back outside and slowly approaching the group of girls. Leaning in behind Ella, he interrupted the conversation as he kissed her cheek and said, “Love?”

Ella smiled like an idiot and mumbled, “Sweetness?”

“There’s someone I want you to meet.” Alex said vaguely.

A spark of curiosity lit up inside her as she let out a soft, “Oh?” So it wasn’t long that it took her to excuse herself and hold Alex’s hand as he guided her back inside the house.

When they crossed the living room and walked past the edge of the kitchen, Ella was shocked to see Alexa standing in the kitchen.

The quiet, “Oh,” that Ella let out made Alexa look up from her glass she’d just filled with white wine.

“Hi!” The model said excitedly, that bright smile of hers reaching her eyes as they crinkle around the edges in such an endearing way. “I’m Alexa, nice to finally meet you!”

Ella was breathless but she reciprocated the enthusiastic sentiment, “Hi! Nice to meet you too.”

Alexa went for a quick hug that Ella welcomed and when the model pulled back, she gasped, “You’re even prettier in person, bloody hell.”

“Oh stop it.” Ella blushed hard when Alexa said that. Ella had just been breathless over the fact that she was even more perfect in person, as if that was humanly possible. When seeing Ella struggle to find her words, Alex wrapped an arm around her waist and giggled, dropping a kiss on her cheek, bringing her back to reality with the feeling of his lips on her skin. Ella smiled and told Alexa, “I was about to say that about you.”

“Ah, you’re too kind.” Alexa said like she didn’t hear that on the daily, waving Ella off jokingly. The model smirked then, seeing Alex’s hold on Ella’s waist, taking it as a sign that it had finally happened, “So… he finally told you?”

Ella giggled pathetically, melting into his chest and nodded, “He did, yeah.”

Alexa cooed, placing her hands over her heart, “You two look adorable together. So happy for you guys.”

Alex hummed, “Thank you ‘Lexa.”

Going back to get her glass, Alexa took a sip and told Ella with a funny look on her face, “Gave him quite a pep talk in New York last week about it. He was just wasting precious time, wasn’t he?”

Ella’s stomach flipped at the mention of New York, this time with embarrassment rather than dread. She cocked her head to the side and pouted at the mention, “Ah, I think we were both making that mistake.”

Alexa cooed again like it all was a cute little tv show drama that now had reached its happy ending. She raised her glass as if making a toast, “Well, no point in dwelling in the past now that you’re finally together.”

“That’s very true.” Ella agreed, raising her own glass and smiling when Alexa got closer to clink them.

After another leisurely sip of her white wine, she inquired keenly, “Did he tell you about my request for a photoshoot?”

“Oh yeah, he did!” Ella smiled as she nodded, still cozied up in Alex’s arms. “Just let me know when and we can plan something, brainstorm ideas for concepts and play around with what we come up with.”

“Sounds amazing. I’ll definitely let you know when I get a hold of my schedule.” Alexa promised. A smirk came to her face when she knew what she could say to take the piss out of Alex who was just silently witnessing the conversation, “Though I would cancel anything for you to make me look as good as you do in those pictures.” She whispered loudly on purpose, and winked when she added, “He showed me his favorite ones.”

Ella couldn’t help blushing, but a smirk broke on her face as well. She squirmed in Alex’s hold, purposely brushing her ass on his front, she heard him hiss in her ear as she said, “Has he? You’ll have to let me know which ones are they ‘cause he has yet to tell me.”

“That’s just plain rude of you Alex.” Alexa scolded playfully with a faux frown on her face.

Ella shook her head and shrugged, “Seems like he doesn’t want any new ones.”

Alexa laughed loudly when Alex’s face fell at Ella’s words. He scoffed and pinched her waist, making his girlfriend yelp before he scolded, “Can’t believe you’ve met her a second and already teaming up against me.”

“Hmm I love her.” Alexa stated, snatching Ella away from his hold to throw her arm over Ella’s shoulders. She started walking away with Ella beside her, Alex calling her out for stealing his girlfriend behind them. When they walked out of the kitchen, Alexa gasped, noticing the amount of people outside, “Bloody hell. There’s loads of people here! Where are the girls? And where’s that menace of a Scouser? Is he here yet?”

Ella chuckled at the mention of Miles, “Yeah. He’s out by the pool, probably trying to throw Matt and Nick in.” He’d been joking about doing it since he arrived, so she had no doubt he would still be trying to find the perfect moment to do it.

“Oh I’m sure I can push him in without him noticing.” Alexa smirked, shedding herself off Ella’s side to give her and Alex a moment alone and calling out a “See you around!” before walking outside.

“That went better than I expected.” Ella thought out loud.

“Of course it did.” Alex said as he walked up behind her, kissing her temple when he was pressed against her back. “No one can’t just not fall in love with you as soon as they meet you.”

A string of giggles fell from Ella’s lips as she turned around to face him, her arms wrapping around his neck, she cocked her head to the side and teased, “Speaking from experience?”

“Definitely.”

Her laugh was cut short as he pressed his lips against hers, her amusement being swallowed by the way he eagerly licked into her mouth. Her fingers tangled into his hair and she pulled harshly on it when his hands fell from her waist to her ass, cupping it before harshly kneading it with greedy fingers.

She moaned into his mouth and he gracefully swallowed the sound before pulling back and declaring, “I love you.”

After stealing a little peck from his lips, she replied, “Love you more.”

But Alex shook his head in disapproval, and Ella knew just what he was about to say. So before he could deny her words by swearing it was ‘impossible’, she kissed him hard and eager, successfully leaving him stupefied when she pulled back to scorn him.

“Stop it before we actually fight over that.” He opened his mouth to speak but she glared at him and that look was the only thing it took for him to keep the words to himself. She sighed, “Looks like I’m actually gagging you tonight.”

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

After the housewarming party, the band had four more days in Los Angeles before they had to leave.

Since Ella had kept her word on Saturday night and rewarded Alex in ways he could have only dreamed of, the two of them woke up rather late on Sunday morning. They would’ve kept sleeping if it wasn’t for the fact that their friends were blowing up their phones and it had gotten so obnoxiously incessant that they had ended up having to answer one of their million calls.

It was Katie, the one calling this time, and she wanted them to join them for a trip to the beach and then out for drinks later in the night. They all knew Ella had to go to work on Monday and every day that followed until the band had to leave so they had to take advantage of the only full day they all had together to hang out and enjoy each other’s company. Knowing how long it’d be until she could see everyone again, Ella accepted in a heartbeat and her own enthusiasm was what finally got Alex up from bed.

She certainly didn’t regret agreeing to it when they all had the loveliest day at Manhattan beach, laughing and having drinks, taking pictures and running in and out of the water. She and Alex had been teased endlessly for the amount of love bites littered all over their bodies and the little marks and bruises in other parts of their bodies from things their friends didn’t even want to know about.

“You animals.” Nick had said when noticing the bruises on Ella’s ankles and the faint marks on Alex’s cheeks, which the bassist could guess what they were since he’d been complaining about his jaw aching here and there.

Later that night, after they all went back to their respective houses and hotel rooms, they met back up at a karaoke bar where they had way too much fun in just the few hours they managed to stay there. They had all begrudgingly left the place when it closed at two in the morning, pouting about the fun time being over way too soon.

It had been horrendously difficult for Ella to wake up on Monday when her alarm ripped her off her peaceful slumber. Alex’s arms around her waist and his legs tangled with hers tempted her to stay in bed but when she remembered all that she had to start that week at work, she knew she had to force herself out of bed as soon as she could.

When she was ready for the day, after making herself and Alex a quick breakfast that she left there for him, she went back to his room and kissed him goodbye. He had been half asleep still, but when he woke up without her next to him, he knew he hadn’t been dreaming. After he got ready for the day, he found the breakfast she’d made him and he’d sent her a horrendously cringe and clingy string of texts that she giggled about when she saw them at work.

That afternoon, she’d been surprised to come back to his house and walk into the completely blacked out house which was decorated with a path of candles and rose petals that she followed out and found the cutest little set up for that candlelit dinner he owed her.

She enjoyed it thoroughly, complimenting him over and over for how good it was and how well he’d done making her favorite dish. And when dinner was over, and they were finally in bed, she made sure to let him know just how much she’d appreciated it by using her mouth and her spit coated hand to bring him pleasure, whispering sweet nothings and telling him just how much in love she was with him over and over until he came all over her face.

Tuesday morning had brought even more of a challenge for her to wake up. She was too content in Alex’s arms and she had no intention of moving so she kept snoozing her alarm, time and time again, somehow managing to go back into deep slumber after every ring of her phone.

But Alex had woken up around the fourth time she did that, and despite him shaking her and whispering her name to get her to wake up, she continued softly breathing in and out, not peeling her eyes open for a thing.

He watched the time on the screen of her phone when the alarm rang again, and instead of snoozing it, he fully just turned it off and took it upon himself to wake her up. So he started kissing all over her face, down her neck and her clothed chest and abdomen but it wasn’t until he got to kissing her inner thighs that she started waking up.

Waking up with his lips burning a trail down her body assured for her to blink herself awake with need buzzing through every one of ehr nerve endings, pleasure dripped down her spine in white heat that ran down straight between her legs.

He stopped when he saw her open her eyes, knowing his plan had worked. But Ella cradled the back of his head and pouted, spreading her legs open and wordlessly coaxing him to continue and to go all the way because there was no way she’d be getting out of that bed without having his mouth lapping at her cunt like a starving man until she came.

That was the reason why she’d been late to work that day and after being distracted the whole time she was in the office, her brain filled with the memory of his head between her thighs and his tongue working her up to her orgasm, Ella knew she had to ask for the following day off to properly enjoy Alex’s last day in Los Angeles.

Her plans for Wednesday had been less lewd. They had both slept in, heavenly giving into their laziness and staying in bed for far longer than necessary. She’d woken him up when it got closer to midday by peppering kisses all over him and then coaxed him out of bed to the kitchen where she made breakfast as he watched.

Then, they both got ready for the rest of the day with a shower—which they definitely elongated as they got lost in each other’s touch and ended up with Alex pounding into Ella from behind against the glass walls of the shower—and once they changed, they rushed out the door to make their way to Los Feliz and catch the early day screenings at the theater to have the whole place to themselves. It was their first proper date to Los Feliz now that they were official and Ella had been skipping down the pavement and swinging their interlocked hands as they went around the boulevard.

A pout had made its way to her face when it was time to go back home, Alex had offered to drive and he’d kept a hand on her thigh and asked her to play her music so they could sing along together. He didn’t want to see her sad yet, even though his heart was breaking little by little as the clock's needles moved forward and closer to the time he had to leave for the airport.

Once back at Alex’s, the both of them started packing. Alex packed to leave for Europe to resume the tour and Ella to go back home now that Alex was leaving LA.

When Alex went to the bathroom to get a few of his things, he quickly realized just how much he loved seeing their things scattered around in the same space and knew it was far too soon but how could he not think about her moving in when all he wanted at that very moment was for them to be together all day, every day.

So, hours later, when they were ready to go and leave to the airport, Alex gave her one of the keys to his house.

Ella was slightly shocked so the soft, “Why?” slipped past her lips without her wanting to.

“So you can come and go as you please.” Alex replied with a sweet smile on his face, his voice so soft it felt like a caress in her ears.

“Alex,” she whined softly. Yes, it was way too soon, they hadn’t even been together for a full week by then but she really wanted to keep it. But it wasn’t that the reason why she complained, it was because she didn’t know if she could take the reminder that he wasn’t gonna be there for weeks.

“Someone’s gotta enjoy the pool.” Alex joked to soothe her, recognizing the despair that shined through her eyes, it was burning him inside.

She snorted, “That’s actually tempting.”

“I know it is. Fucking hundred degrees out here darling.”

Ella hummed, a blush creeping up her neck to her cheeks, her teeth sunk in her bottom lip as she debated, “Well someone’s gotta take care of your house, no?”

But that wasn’t why Alex wanted her to take the key. “Don’t even think about it,” he frowned and shook his head, letting her know what he had actually planned, “I’ll have people come over to clean it. I just want you to enjoy it.”

“But you’re not here.” Ella argued in a whisper. How could she enjoy it when it would be the reminder that he wasn’t there?

He pressed his forehead against hers and sighed, his eyes fluttering closed as he said, “I know, but it’ll make me happy to know you are here.”

She smirked, pulling back so he could open his eyes and look at her as she teased, “Already wanna wife me up, Turner?”

His smile reached his eyes hearing that, and he had to hold himself back from nodding eagerly at the suggestion. He was completely sure he wanted to call her his wife in the future, and even if it was crazy to admit this soon, he knew he also wanted her to be the mother of his children. His pupils dilated at the image of her swollen belly carrying his child, fucking hell did he love her with all that he was.

Instead of all that, he played it off suavely, “Well if you’re also considering it.”

Her cheeks hurt from how hard she was smiling, but she couldn’t help it when he said things like that. “You’re smooth,” she called out with a raise of her brows.

And, of course, her boyfriend puffed his chest out and nodded, “I know.”

“Okay c’mon, we gotta go.” She said as she put the new key in the front pocket of her jeans.

But Alex didn’t move, instead he leaned in and hugged her around the waist, hiding his face in the crook of her neck to mumble, “I don’t wanna.”

He surprised her by easily picking her up off the ground, making her drop her bag to the floor as she yelped and walking up to the settee to lay there with her on top of him, “Just wanna be here with you all day, every day.”

She hummed, picking her head up to look at him beneath her, pecking his lips once, twice and then pulling back to say, “Me too baby. But that’s the cost of being a rockstar, every country wants you to step in it.”

He sighed, her fingers starting to brush through his hair making his eyes grow heavy, “Wish I could just take you on tour with me.”

“Yeah, me too.” She agreed with ease, thinking that nothing would be better than that.

Alex continued fantasizing out loud, “Travel the world with you, live every experience with you, seeing the crazy crowds everywhere we go.”

“We’ll figure it out.” Ella promised with a kiss to the tip of his nose, the pads of her thumbs rubbing softly on his lids to make him open his eyes again, so he could see the determination in her eyes as she said, “Now we’re together and we got this yeah? It’ll be the same as before, you’re just actually my boyfriend now so I can tell everyone to fuck off when they interrupt our facetimes at work.”

He giggled like a fucking fool and hummed, “Mhm, baby. You tell them.” She snorted before dipping down to kiss his lips softly for a few seconds, pulling back only to hide in the crook of his neck and have one last cuddle before they had to go.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

By the time Ella and Alex walked into the airport and got to their airline section, everyone was there. They were all waiting in line to walk up to the check-in counters, and with the amount of stuff they needed to take with them, Ella knew it’d take a while.

So she went to sit next to Mia, who was also staying in Los Angeles like Ella, not going on tour with her boyfriend either. And thankfully they had each other, going through the same type of heartache, as they watched everyone go through slowly until it was time for them to head to security.

The security line was already so long and the airport was packed so they all needed to go in as soon as possible, which meant that goodbyes would have to happen right then and they’d have to be brief.

“I hate this.” Alex mumbled into her neck as they hugged goodbye.

“Fucking sucks.” Ella struggled to say as her eyes welled up with tears that she knew would spill as soon as she looked at his face.

Alex clutched her even tighter when hearing the heaviness in her voice, “We’ll be alright yeah? You’ll be sick of me by the time we come back to California.” He joked to settle her a little and he smiled when he heard her giggling.

“You wish.” She sniffled as the laughter had helped the tears start running down her cheeks. Sighing, she pulled back and cupped his face, “We got this, sweets.”

“We do.” He promised, bringing his hands up to her face to wipe away her tears. But they wouldn’t stop falling and he started tearing up at the sight. His hands held her face delicately but his words were determined as he said, “I love you so fucking much, darling. I’ll never let you forget it.”

Ella had to press her lips together in order not to sob, and taking a deep breath first, she managed to whisper, “Love you lots and lots and lots, sweetness.”

When their lips met, it tasted salty from the tears. That only made Alex move more intently against her mouth, hold her even closer to his body but not out of lust, because he needed the both of them to memorize how it felt to be properly pressed against each other. The way in which she held his face exuded longing, prematurely really because he was still there, but she was already mourning his presence beside her on the daily. The kiss was sad, a goodbye that hurt three times as much as the one they shared when he was leaving Tennessee.

But Alex couldn’t help but smile in content when he knew he would get to properly kiss her goodbye every time he were to leave from then on, like he’d been wanting to do for so long, “I can’t believe I can finally do that.”

“What?” She sniffled again, her sadness not only clouding her vision with tears but her thoughts for she couldn’t think about what he meant.

“Actually kiss you goodbye.” Alex answered breathlessly, a feeling coming over him in the most overwhelming way; a tear ran down his cheek and she quickly wiped it away.

Despite the ache that ripped through their chests, she knew what he meant by that. The final piece of the puzzle fell and the air changed around them when it all just felt right, once and for all.

Ella hummed, her pout changing into a massive grin as she concluded, “Finally.” 

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

A/N: So... what did you think? I hope you enjoyed it and you can yell at me freely all you want, I know I made you lot go through it to get to this moment lolllll Hope you found it all worth the wait!!! Thank you for your constant support and your comments and messages, I appreciate them with all my heart!!! xxx

Taglist: @imagine-that-100 @kennedy-brooke @faveficz @indierockgirrl @ladydraculasthings @moonvr @unwantedlovergirl @eaglestar31 @nikisfwn @funniestpersoninnyc @andrearroe @justacaliforniandreamer @alexturnersgf69 @yourorganiccigarette @chickenxdrum

[b00ks1ut]

It’s All About Trust

Joe Liebgott X Fem!Reader

Warnings: Angst, war, fluff (an attempt anyway I think), swearing, Briefly mention of reader being a medic, reader has a shit ton of siblings (relatable), not that many physical descriptions if any, mentions of death, normal Band of Brothers stuff

Sorry if this is bad. I’ve never written any BoB fanfiction and really have like hardly any writing experience at all so hopefully this isn’t horrible. Please give me feed back if you want. Thank you! Also sorry for the ending. It’s kinda abrupt but it’s the best I could get lol

Bois Jacques is hell. A very very cold hell. Nothing could truly combat the cold that seeps into everyone around me. Not even the plainish slop they feed us in an attempt at food. Or in the current case, cold, hard “pancakes”, or that’s what Domingus says they are.

Don pokes at his and calls after our ever so kind cook, “Joe these smell like my armpit!”

“At least your armpit is warm.” Skip grumbles from Malarkey’s side as he holds his pancake up for emphasis.

“You want syrup with that?” Domingus sasses back to him.

“Joe, be honest, what’s in these things anyway?” Don asks the retreating man.

“Nothing you won’t eat, Malarkey.” He replies.

“I won’t eat Malarkey.” Spina shoots back quickly causing us all grouped up to let out a chorus of laughs.

Julian brings back the topic of Babe and Spina’s run in with a German on their search for 3rd Battalion. “Hey, maybe Hinkle would like your share, huh?”

This happens to hit my funny bone and I let out a snort leading to the rest of the men’s laughter to only further increase until Peacock comes around looking for Dike.

“Try battalion CP, sir.” I tell the man. The rest of us wait for him to walk away on his hunt for the company CO before we break our into giggles again.

“Try Paris.” Skip laughs.

“Try Hinkle.” Malarkey adds, only increasing our laughter and before I know it tears are pricking my eyes.

Spina begins his less than great German impression and I have to leave before I piss myself laughing.

I seem to run into a brick wall in my way back to my foxhole, tears of laughter still stinging my eyes.

“Sorry ‘bout that (y/n/n).” A deep southern voice speaks from above me.

I take a look and send a smile at the blonde who’s got me held by the shoulders.

“You’re all good Bull, no harm done.” I tell him as I step out of his hold. “Sorry about that.”

“No harm done.” He repeats before walking away with a smile sent to me.

I continue to make my way back to my temporary home of a frozen foxhole. I look down to find none other than Joseph Liebgott.

I’ve always had a soft spot for the rageful Jew. I don’t think it’s any specific thing that made me so drawn to him but rather his whole entire being.

On the other hand he’s never shown any direct attraction to me. Sure nearly all the men of Easy have sent me a glance at least once but I don’t blame them, I’m one of the few women they’ve interacted with past a single night in around 2 years. But past a glance none of the boys have soberly tried anything.

Especially Joe. He’s not unfriendly to me but he’s never really gone out of his way to interact with me. Not until now.

He’s sitting alone in my foxhole, hands tucked under his armpits, gun leaning in the dirt next to him, and his eyes intensely trained on the line.

“Joe? Did you get lost?” I ask him with a small laugh.

“Uh?” He looks up at me and gives me a small smile. “Not lost, just looking for someone to talk to.”

“Luz’s hole is like 2 over that way.” I told him pointing in the direction of the jester’s own hiding place.

“Well good thing I wasn’t looking for George then, yeah?” He says with his trademark smirk. “I can leave if you’d like me to, though.”

"You're fine, but can I ask a question?" I asked as I began the short descent into the frozen foxhole.

"Shoot away (y/l/n)." The Californian told me, looking back at the line across the cold, white field.

"Why are you talking to me? I'm don't mean to be rude but you've never put any effort into having any interaction with me." I asked sitting across from him and stuffing my frozen hands into my jacket pockets.

"I'm just trying to be friendly. No time better than the present, right? Do you have a problem with that? I can leave if you need me to." Joe had begun to get a little defensive but that's hardly surprising when he'll jump at a chance to be upset, whether isn’t reasonable or not.

"Why now? There's hardly a point in making friends when fucking Babe and Spina barely just ran from a Kraut fucking foxhole so excuse my confusion at your extremely sudden olive branch when we're all about to be sent home either on a stretcher or in an enveloped as a piece of shitty metal with our names stamped into it!" I grabbed my dog tags and shook them for emphasis. It took all of my self control to not start yelling or crying, but I could feel the sting of unshed tears at my eyes. "We're all going to be blown to kingdom come by all of this damned artillery." I whisperd.

"Hey. That's not true. We've made it this far but look at us. Sitting in this frozen hell hole and you're alive, I'm alive, and so is Bull and George, Don, Babe, Doc, Skip, Penkala, Perco, and Buck and Lip." He began listing some of the guys we had been with for so long. "I know it's scary and there's not a single thing I can promise you to make anything seem ok, because I'm scared and I have no clue what's going to happen even 10 seconds from now but one thing I can tell you that might make you feel slightly better is that you've made it this far. You made it through Sobel's shitty personalty, Normandy, Carentan, and I know that if you have made it this far without a scratch then what can take you down? You’re what, one of nine kids back at home, you managed to talk and work your way into the airborne and then continue to be an absolute badass throughout boot camp and combat!” He took a break to really look at me and I took that as an opportunity to defend myself and my feelings.

“I’m really flattered but don’t you think I’ve been too lucky? I’ve come so far with nothing more than a bruise and I’m sure the next thing you know I’ll be blown to pieces! I don’t know why I thought I could do this, Joe! I’m fucking terrified and there’s no where to go!” I can feel the tears beginning to well in my eyes and in a sorry attempt to stop them I look to the sky. “I don’t know what I’m doing here anymore.”

“Hey, you can’t go thinking like that. You’re going to make it out of here alive. I need you to believe that because trust me when I say that you are the toughest damned woman I’ve ever met in my life.” He scooted closer to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his side.

The tears couldn’t be held any longer and the dam broke, salty waves rolling down the sides of face into my hair line. A sob escaped my lips before I could muffle it with a fist that had been stuffed between my lips only seconds too late.

“I’m sorry.”

“No need to be sorry, (y/n), we’re all feeling it, you’re the only one brave enough to let anyone see it.”

I let out a scoff. ‘Brave’ is not the right word to use. “I’m pathetic. I’m sitting here crying, doing nothing to help anyone around me who has it worse. I’m a a medic for fuck’s sake, I shouldn’t be crying when I routinely see how bad I could have it.”

Joe had only pulled me closer and wrapped his other arm around me, essentially cradling my shaking form. “Don’t you see? That’s what makes you so brave, (y/n). You see all these men in so much pain and put yourself in harms way to make sure they get patched up and safe. You are completely allowed to be overwhelmed and scared and cold and any other feeling a person can have. Not one man here would blame you for being upset right now. They know that as long as you are safe so are they, because when shit goes down you’re always there to help us.” He was talking so softly and so gently that I couldn’t help but cry harder.

“Oh fuck.” I muttered , wiping at my eyes. “I’m sorry Joe.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for Doll.” He gave me an affectionate pat. “Just know that you are such a light in the dark here, and not one of the men in these woods would judge you right now.”

I gave him a weak smile and sniffed, wiping at my eyes and nose. “Thank you, Joe, really. I’m forever grateful.”

“Oh don’t mention it, just don’t go telling anyone that I give out cuddles, I can’t have my reputation ruined like that.” Joe snickered with his smirk and a pat to my side.

“Your secret is safe with me as long as you don’t go telling people I cry.” I tittered and wrapped my arm around his neck.

“Your secret is safe with me, (y/n).”

“How do I know you’re not lying to me?”

“It’s all about trust. I trust you, you trust me; that’s how this has to work, yeah?” I was nearly bumping noses with him and if I wanted to I could just lean in a little and kiss him. The thought quickly crosses my mind but part of me knows better.

“I trust you, Joseph Liebgott.” I meant it, with more of my heart than I thought was still there.

[wonwoosthetic]

omg i absolutely loved the new minnie and wonwoo chapter 😔 are you planning on posting a part 2 soon? I CANT WAIT AHHHH

No Words Should Be Left Unsaid || Minnie🌷

minnie masterlist

PART ONE

warnings – a bit of angst, one quick mention of the word ‘sex’

word count – 11k

A/N: Took longer than I would've wanted, but here it finally is and I'm happy to admit, that I've definitely gotten my inspiration back ˙ᵕ˙ I hope I didn't disappoint with this chapter and that you all enjoy it ˙ᵕ˙

italics are spoken in english

The following day already started like hell. Minnie woke up with a pounding head, a scratchy throat, and burning eyes - all aftereffects from crying herself to sleep. It was a wonder she even got to fall asleep, but the exhaustion from the fight must've taken over her body. 

The fight. 

The screaming.

It all flashed back into the girl's mind as she sat up on the bed, cradling her face in her hands, running her fingers through her hair, and trying to loosen some of its knots.

 "I SWEAR TO GOD, YOU'RE PISSING ME OFF RIGHT NOW, MINNIE!"

"You've never given me reasons to not trust you before."

"I hope they send him to jail."

Wonwoo's hurtful words he shouted to her face only mere hours ago sliced through her heart like a hot knife. She couldn't exactly remember everything she had thrown at his head, but she knew they hadn't been any better.

What still echoed through her mind though was the exact scene that had her crumbling down.

"So what? You suddenly don't trust me anymore? You think I just did this... for- f- for I don't know... fun?"

"Looks like I should've questioned that a lot earlier."

The one thing she looked for in a relationship. The one thing she was always to come back to whenever she started losing herself. Trust. Loyalty. Never had she ever had to question either characteristic when it comes to Wonwoo. She thought he felt the same. But last night, he proved to her that she was in the wrong. He didn't trust her anymore. No matter what she would've done the night before, his words were already out in the world, they had already reached her ears and made her entire world fall and break into millions of pieces she so desperately wanted to hold together.

No matter how hard she wanted to cry about it again, how much her body was urging her to scream the pain out loud in hopes of saving her, nothing came out. There was nothing left in her. Not even a single teardrop could escape her eyes. She was empty.

Due to the blackout curtains, S.Coups had gotten for his room, there was no light seeping into the room, only adding to the depressing episode Minnie could feel herself falling into. Not again. Please, God, don't let me go through this again, she prayed. The darkness brought her back to the place she had been only two years ago. She couldn't let herself go back there. No, not like this.

Hastily, the girl shrugged the blanket off her body and rushed out of the room, opening the door to be met with the light walls and bright interior of the dorm her members shared. The familiar soft voices and gentle laughs rang through her ears, almost making her smile, only if there wasn't this heavyweight still pressing on her heart, not letting any emotion escape. Fuck, it was happening...

Just as Minnie was about to turn to enter the living space, Joshua's silhouette rounded the corner, stopping when he saw her form, frozen in the hallway.

"Oh, hey," he softly spoke to her. "You're awake."

Minnie nodded before realising she should probably also open her mouth. "Yeah," her voice was only a whisper, scared she would hurt her body or somebody else if she dared to speak any louder. The older member sent her a loving smile, nodding to where he had just come from,

"Come on. You should eat something." Waiting for the girl to follow him before he made his way back into the kitchen.

Did the female performer have an appetite? Absolutely not. Did she know she would have to put food into her body otherwise the others would start to worry once again? 100% yes. So there she was, walking into the kitchen, hot on Joshua's tracks, her arms crossed in front of her chest as she entered the shared room when all eyes fell on her. She met the comforting gazes of Seungcheol and, to her surprise, also Jeonghan and Seungkwan who must've joined them earlier in the day - if only she knew what the exact time was.

"Hey," she greeted them with a somewhat smile and a wave into the room, sitting down on one of the empty chairs by the table that Jeonghan pushed out for her.

"Hey," he smiled at her, "H-... how are you feeling?" The nervousness and uncertainty were clear in his voice - the members knew not to drown her in too many questions, remembering and respecting her sensitivity from the previous encounters they had with Minnie in a state like that.

The girl shrugged her shoulders, honestly not knowing what an honest answer to the question would be. Was she fine? Definitely not. Did she feel bad? Maybe a little. Was she miserable? ...Yes...

Before Jeonghan could continue a small talk, the leader beat him to it as he stood up and turned around to the cupboards.

"Is cereal fine?" He questioned her, to which she raised her head and nodded softly, followed by a quiet,

"Sure."

Seungcheol was just happy that she agreed to eat something.

As soon as she had joined the others in the kitchen, everyone could feel the tension spreading. The elephant was clear in the room with them, and she hated it. No one wanted to say what they were thinking, each one of them on edge in one way or another for the girl in the group. Joshua had left the four as he got ready in his own room. Jeonghan's hand was resting on the back of her chair, Cheol was preparing her bowl, cereal and milk, and Seungkwan was sitting in front of her, munching on his breakfast in silence - until it got too much for him.

"Wonwoo's an idiot." He suddenly blurted out, gaining the attention of the room.

"Seungkwan-" Cheol warned him in the strict voice all of them had gotten so accustomed to.

"What?" He shrugged, "It's the truth."

The leader brought the bowl to her, setting it down on the table. Minnie looked up at him,

"You told him?" He wasn't sure whether she was genuinely just curious or disappointed in the fact the other members now knew about the couple of the group having had the biggest fight they ever had. Coups sat back down in the chair next to the '98 Liner.

"Jeonghan asked why you were sleeping here, he saw you in my room, and when I explained it to him, Seungkwan came in. He overheard it," he explained.

She nodded as she held onto the spoon, moving it around in the bowl, suddenly at a complete loss of appetite. There was no way the food would make it down her throat. Suddenly, Minnie felt the soft hand of the '95 Liner next to her on her head as it brushed down the length of her hair.

"It's gonna be fine, princess." Using the name she had gained early on in their career. But all she could do was shake her head.

The female member got up to walk over to the fridge, her hand reaching out to grab a bottle of water, in the same moment, knocks from the front door echoed through the apartment.

"Got it!" Shua shouted before he opened the door, letting in whoever was behind it.

Minnie got back to her seat, now much more hydrated. Finally, her body would have enough fluid to create the tears again she so desperately wanted to let out. Jeonghan noticed the shaky deep breaths she took, still stirring her cereal, trying to suppress the sadness daring to seep out of her.

Joshua and another familiar voice got closer and closer. With one look to her left, she found the other member she shared a dorm with - Mingyu.

"Morning," he smiled into the room, only to change his facial expression once he noticed the still very tense aura in the room. "Hey," he nodded towards the girl, who sent him a nod. The concerned look in his eyes didn't go unnoticed by the second oldest who discreetly raised his hand with a nod to assure him that she was very well taken care of, even though he already knew that. Whenever she was with the members, didn't matter with whom specifically, she was in good hands.

"What do you need?" Cheol wondered why he had come to their dorm earlier than usual.

Mingyu raised his hands in synch. His right one held onto the female's phone while his left carried a bag. 

"You left this," looking at the dancer that was avoiding his eyes, he went ahead to place the phone in front of her, but before the device could touch the top of the table, she stopped him with her hand on his.

"I don't need it." She cleared her throat after noticing how scratchy her voice still was.

"You don't have to look at it, just have it by you-" he tried to reason with her, but she just pushed his hand further away.

"Keep it. I don't want it," Minnie looked up, the tears making her eyes glisten in the light coming from the window, "Please." She quietly begged him.

Her fellow '97 Liner nodded understandingly, not wanting to bring any more emotions up if they were able to keep her like this, he wasn't about to provoke her for no reason. He put her phone into his back pocket silently, nudging his head to the bag in his other hand.

"And... I brought you some things. I didn't know when you'd want to be back, so..." Mingyu wasn't sure how he wanted to finish the comment, so he decided to just not. His statement brought another wash of emotions over Minnie's body as she felt her eyes reacting and blinking rapidly, trying to push the tears back down as she kept her head low. Great... so the fight seemed as serious as she had perceived it as. Even Mingyu thought I wouldn't want to go back into their dorm... what have I done... her own voice kept repeating words in her head. Words she didn't want to hear.

The older '97 Liner took another look at her, getting nods from the other members, before retrieving back to the couch, taking the bag with him and sitting down on the side not occupied by Joshua, who was more focused on the little screen in his hand. While the four at the dining table sat in silence, eyes on the girl, Mingyu got a hold of the remote and turned on the TV on the wall. The screen lit up to show the news. Only that it was the wrong news for the current situation.

"-years probation as well as serving community service along with-" the voice of the female reporter filled the room, making all the heads turn to the living room, where they got a quick glimpse of no other than the man that was part of the reason for the fight that Minnie was still recovering from. Her gaze was fixed on the picture of Hanbin the report showed before it quickly switched to an action scene of a drama as Mingyu hastily changed the channel. He turned to the group on the table, fear in his eyes, as he was faced with the concerned look of Jeonghan, the disturbed glance on Seungkwan's face just screaming 'what the fuck is wrong with you, idiot' at him, and the warning frown forming on the leader's face.

"Sorry..." he softly apologised, immediately directing his attention to the girl, who kept a straight watch on the television, her eyes not letting them know what she was feeling because they looked empty. But that's exactly what she felt like. Empty. She was quick to lower her head again, afraid of what was to come next.

Cheol fixed his gaze on the spoon in her hand that wasn't stirring anymore, but was still tight in her grip - tighter than before. Her hair was covering the sides of her face that were getting redder as she tried to hold back the first sob of the day as hard as she possibly could, but everyone could see her shaking shoulders. Everyone's eyes were focused on her, Jeonghan had raised his hand softly, ready to brush over her back once the damn broke.

The unstable breath surprised the guys. "Good to know." Hadn't the room fallen so quiet, her whisper would've gone unnoticed. 

Before anyone could register what had happened, a loud sob escaped Minnie's lips as she pushed the bowl of cereal to the side and stood up, wanting nothing more than to leave the room and cry by herself, embarrassed by her outburst. The members were quick up on their feet, not even a second after she had gotten up, ready to go after her. The girl tried wiping away the tears that were suddenly falling uncontrollably, so she didn't notice the big stature of Mingyu, who was faster than the others and blocked her way into the hallway. She ran into him, stumbling back slightly before just coming to a halt, leaning her forehead against his chest. He didn't hesitate to raise his arms, wrapping them around her upper body, pulling her closer, making her hide her entire face in his shirt.

Mingyu let his cheek rest on her head, his right hand brushing the back of her hair, as he tried to shush her with his low voice.

"It's okay, Minnie-ya. It's okay."

She couldn't even bring herself to hug him back. All she was, was a limp body in his arms. Shaking and crying, needing to scream out into the world.

Her fellow '97 Liner could feel her mumblings something against his torso.

"What was that?" He wondered gently, giving the other guys a hand sign, letting them know he got her.

Minnie switched to lean her cheek against his chest, letting her speak more clearly. "He'll never forgive me." Followed by another crying round as she didn't even try to hold back the rush of emotions this time. Mingyu shut his eyes tightly, hating the feeling of having a weeping girl in his arms, knowing there was rarely anything he could do to make her feel better, other than just be there. He felt useless. His arms tightened around her, hoping it would do something, help her somehow. He just wanted her to stop crying. Make the pain stop. He started feeling tears welling up in his own eyes, knowing that two of his closest friends were hurting.

-

He came back into the hallway, shutting the door to S.Coups' room as quietly as he possibly could. His footsteps were soft against the hardwood floor, despite his muscular figure, as he walked back into the shared living space, where the members were now split up with Joshua and Seungkwan on the couch, while Seungcheol and Jeonghan were still at the dining table, all the dishes now gone. Even though it was an hour after Minnie had broken down in Mingyu's arms, the room was still just as tense as before.

"Did you get her to fall asleep?" The leader of the group wondered, making the tallest member sigh.

"Barely." He threw himself back onto the couch with a groan, his hand brushing over his face in frustration. Seungkwan patted his shoulder, trying to assure him of whatever he needed at the moment. You did well, he wanted to tell him, you're doing what you can.

"This is not good," Cheol stated, shaking his head, "This might be worse than I thought."

"It's not good?" The youngest in the room jumped up, "It's bad! It's really bad!"

"Seungkwan!" Jeonghan tried to shush him, but the '98 Liner didn't listen.

"Do you know how worried I am right now?! We haven't seen her like this for years, and all you're saying is 'this is not good'?!"

The leader copied his stand, "Well what do you want me to do?! I'm thinking, okay?! I'm trying to find something to help her, but I don't know what to do!"

"Guys!" The second oldest got up, holding out his hand to make both of the members shut their mouths, "Be quiet, for God's sake!"

S.Coups went back to sitting down, but Seungkwan stayed in his position, now nervously fumbling with his fingers.

"I-I'm sorry, hyung," he slightly stuttered. "I'm just really frustrated right now."

The '95 Liner nodded, "We all are." Then sighed out loud. "God... I knew this was gonna happen." All eyes turned towards him.

"What?" The youngest questioned him.

"I mean, it was bound to happen. They had to have their first fight, being so close all the time, I just didn't expect it to be... like that." The members nodded in agreement.

Seungkwan sat back down, letting out a chunk of air. "You know, for the fact that Hanbin isn't even in her life anymore, he sure makes her cry a lot."

"Well, but he still is. Kinda," Joshua spoke up, gaining the attention of the room. "Not physically, but she's still attached to him... in a way."

"Can you blame her?" Cheol asked him. "Their breakup was... not really normal. And definitely not natural. Who knows how long they would've stayed together if that scandal never happened."

"God, please don't start with that," Mingyu groaned, making the guys look at him in confusion, "I had to listen to that too much last night."

"What do you mean?" Jeonghan wondered.

The rapper got up to enter the kitchen, explaining himself on the way. "Minnie said that to Wonwoo last night, that she still cared about him because they didn't part in bad ways, but because they were kinda forced to. And then Wonwoo went on, on what if that never would've happened if they had still gotten together at some point, and obviously, she said how would she know that, because she can't, which is true. And... Wonwoo... didn't take that too well. So please," he came back into the living room, faced with stunned gazes, "Let's not wonder about that. What happened happened, and now Minnie and Wonwoo are together. And that's it."

The room fell silent for a good five seconds, the guys letting Mingyu's words sink in. He had to listen to every single word that came out of the couple's mouth, and he was probably remembering them better than the people involved since he hadn't been filled with anger in the heat of the moment. There were so many questions the members had for him, they wanted to know more. More details. More anything. But they also knew that it wouldn't be right to question him about that all too much.

Jeonghan was the first to break the stillness. "How is he?" Everyone knew who he was talking about.

"Hopefully miserable," Seungcheol sitting across from him, leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed in front of his chest as he scoffed.

"Coups..." his fellow '95 Liner spoke out his name with a slight warning tone.

"What?" The leader locked eyes with him, "You've seen the state she's in and you just heard what he asked her. I don't even want to know what other things he said to her. Do you really want him to just upstairs and not regret anything from last night?! I hope he's fucking sad, I hope he's in even more misery than her. But I know he probably isn't..." mumbling the last part.

With a deep breath, Jeonghan looked back at the other rapper, "Mingyu?" Who exchanged a quick glance with him before shrugging,

"I'm not sure, to be honest. He didn't talk to me last night, and I didn't hear him go to bed. Today I only passed his room and saw him sitting in front of the computer. But that's it."

"Did you even try talking to him?" The leader threw at him, making Mingyu roll his eyes.

"Of course. But nothing came back."

Cheol scoffed, eyeing Jeonghan again, "See! He doesn't even know what he did wrong."

"I don't know about that," the '97 Liner interrupted him.

"What?" The two oldest looked at him in confusion.

"I'm pretty sure he cried during their fight. I don't for sure, but it definitely sounded like it."

Seungkwan looked at him, his mouth slightly open. "But Wonwoo-hyung never cries."

"Exactly," Mingyu nodded, "But yesterday..."

"See." Jeonghan copied S.Coups' expression from before, showing him that both of them were somewhat right about the story. "You're just suddenly furious with him because he's quiet? As if that's surprising all of a sudden."

"I'm furious because he's not even trying to make it better."

Joshua spoke up, "Well... we don't know that. Maybe he's currently thinking about what to do as well."

Cheol scoffed as he stood up, "Is anyone here on my side?"

"There are no sides to be on, Coups!" Jeonghan tried to explain, "Both of them probably said things they regret now. We're not taking any sides, we're in the middle, and we have to figure out what we're gonna do now."

"They have to talk." Mingyu simply stated. "They have to talk like normal people, not scream at each other, because I can understand both sides, and I'm sure they can too, but they have to talk about it. Calmly."

Shua shook his head, "Not today, though. I don't even think we're gonna get her out of this apartment any time soon."

"She's supposed to be with Woozi tomorrow," S.Coups got up from his seat and started to roam the room. "But I don't know if she's still up for that. Then after that, we have practice for the live shows."

"The day after tomorrow?" Seungkwan asked, getting a nod from the leader in response.

"They're gonna talk," Jeonghan assured everyone in the room - or at least tried to. "They can't go longer than two days... right?"

Mingyu shrugged, "I wouldn't be surprised if they did, to be honest," making any bit of guarantee in the room evaporate.

-

Minnie slept for another good three hours on their free day. During that time, Jeonghan, Seungkwan, and Mingyu went back to their designated rooms after their group conversation had come to an end. They decided to not let the other guys know until the day they all had to be in the practice room together, in the hopes of the couple making up before that. It was a small spark of hope, but at least they had some. The other '97 Liner promised to try and talk to Wonwoo again, otherwise their leader would... and he wouldn't go easy on him - Jeonghan literally had to hold him back so he wouldn't sprint out of the door and ran upstairs, not afraid to let a fist or two fly. Yes, Wonwoo was his member and he loved him very dearly, but Minnie was his sister and he had promised her, his parents and her mother, to take care of her, and right now, it felt like he was failing.

After a two-hour-long phone call with his father, which his mother also quickly joined for a bit, he gained back the confidence he needed, not as a leader, but as a friend in the situation. That's who they needed. Not an annoying leader, but a trustworthy friend.

Joshua and Cheol made sure Minnie ate something after waking up, not pressuring her to talk any more than necessary and not watching her as if she was a fragile little newborn, but still keeping a protective eye on her throughout the day. The only movements she really did were from the bedroom to the kitchen, to the living room for a bit before disappearing into the bedroom again. She went to the bathroom to freshen up as well as possible but didn't even dare to think about going back to her place where she was being missed more than she could imagine.

-

The next day came quicker than the female performer would've wanted and after spending another night in Seungcheol's room, filled with some much-needed late-night deep-talk, she got herself together, ready for a day at the studio with her favourite producer. If there was one thing that could get her mood up, it was letting all of her frustration out on paper, writing lyrics and poems and whatever would come to mind before discussing each line with Woozi. She understood the other members' concern about her falling yet into another deep hole, and she, just as much as them, didn't want that. And she somewhat had the energy to fight against it.

Was she ready to face her boyfriend again? Probably not, but she also wasn't sure about how much longer she could endure the tension between the two.

The night before she almost reached for her phone to text him sorry and beg for his forgiveness, but the guys had reminded her that both parties were somewhat in the wrong and that she was in no position to give in.

'Take your time, think about it. You had a fight, that's normal. But you should still talk about everything. Don't hide what you truly think.'

'If he truly loves you, which he does, he loves all of you. Every single bit of you.'

The leader had offered to drive her, but she declined, already having called the manager, who had to visit their label's building anyway. After making sure she had everything she needed in her bag, a smaller one that Mingyu brought her, not expecting her to come upstairs to get it for herself, she exited the apartment and went down into the garage, greeting her manager with a small smile.

They fell into a somewhat comfortable small talk conversation after Minnie found more comfort in lying about how the past days had been for her. She wasn't gonna mention the fight. This was something between her and Wonwoo - she already felt bad enough that she dragged so many other members into it.

They left the car together and entered the building, their ways parting after the elevator opened for the first time, her manager exiting the small room before she went up a few more floors, already knowing the way to the producer's studio by heart.

She walked through the modern hallways, eyeing the floor the entire time, and stopping at the right door. Minnie knew to knock before entering even though there was a big chance Woozi would be wearing his headphones, not hearing a single thing, but much to her surprise, she got a muffled,

'Come in!' in return.

After opening the door, she came to sight with the producer she was expecting, as well as Bumzu standing in the room, hands in his pockets. They seemed to have been in a conversation, which ended as soon as Minnie had come in.

"Hey," she gave both men a soft smile, her hands clutching the strap of her bag on her shoulder tightly.

The older producer copied her facial expression, just much more brightly, greeting her with a wide grin.

"How are you?" Bumzu opened his left arm, inviting her for a hug she definitely needed, even though he didn't know about that. She gladly accepted it, wrapping both of her arms around the side of his torso, giving him not the usual squeeze she normally would.

"Alright," the girl mumbled before sitting down on the couch on the wall behind them, "You?"

Bumzu nodded, "All good. Was just on my out," he turned back to Woozi, discussing a few last things about their next session, then switched to Minnie, giving her a quick wave. "See ya, Min." Before seeing himself out.

A wave of silence washed over the room as the female propped her feet up on the small table in front of the sofa, getting her notebook and pen, laptop and phone out of her bag. Jihoon's eyes didn't leave her form, trying to read and see through her unusually slow movements. He let it slide, blaming his slight fatigue.

"So," he turned back around to the mixing table, "What you got for me?"

Minnie cleared her throat, "Ehm," and started flipping through her notebook, trying to find the loose piece of paper she was thinking of. "I still have this," she leaned forward as he turned to her, taking the napkin out of her hand. He chuckled with a shake of his head. Even after years of writing, this girl sometimes still used whatever was closest to her to write down what was going on in her head. Woozi remembered the time she ran over to him, showing him her arm that was covered in lyrics, around four years ago - she never changed.

"That was supposed to be for Crush, but I didn't like it in the end," she quietly explained, sitting back down comfortably on the couch.

He let her be by herself, alone with her thoughts for a few more minutes. It wasn't unusual that both of the members would work in silence next to each other. But never right from the beginning. Jihoon was used to hearing her talk about what she had seen on her way to the studio or about events from that morning, or even the evening before. Minnie would move around the room, walking back and forth as she dramatised whatever story she was telling him or even when she was just thinking. Having her sitting quietly in his studio didn't seem as natural.

"What's up?" He broke the quietness, making her hum.

"Not much," she mumbled once again. Her head was still down on her notebook, switching over to the laptop she had turned on.

Woozi turned his chair to look directly at you, "I didn't mean in general. I meant what's up with you."

Minnie looked up slowly, her eyes moving up first, followed by her head, her lips tightly pressed together as she shook her head. "Nothing."

With a sigh, he put the piece of paper back on the coffee table, sliding it over to the girl. "Then I don't want this until you tell me what's bothering you."

The '97 Liner scoffed and snatched the napkin back into her grip, throwing it onto the cushion next to her. "Then don't, Jesus Christ, your loss."

The producer raised his eyebrows, yep, something was definitely not okay with her. "Minnie, if you're gonna be like that, you can walk out and go back to the dorms, I don't need you in a bad mood here." He leaned back more comfortably, crossing his arms. "So either you tell me what's going on or you leave."

Minnie sighed in clear annoyance, "Can't I just sit here in silence and write?-"

"Not if you're gonna snap at me like that."

The girl shut her mouth, looking dead in the eyes of the '96 Liner before throwing her head back, realising there was no way out of the situation. Three days ago she was excited about spending some time with him in the studio, with no pressure of creating their next album, but just chilling and killing time, comfortably exchanging lyrics and recording demos for possible future songs. Now, she was sitting there, almost regretting her decision of coming, wanting nothing more than to just hide herself in the comfort of a bed again.

She brushed some hair behind her ear, glancing at him one more time, finding him still looking at her, waiting for an explanation.

"Wonwoo and I had a fight."

Jihoon's mouth opened and nodded 'There it is.'

"And I'm guessing it didn't end well?"

Minnie brought her legs ups, hugging her knees tightly to her body, shaking her head, already feeling her lips quivering again, only annoying her even more. She took a deep breath, hoping to contain some of the sadness.

"I haven't been to the apartment in two days."

Woozi was clearly taken aback by that statement. "Jesus..." he exclaimed, "What happened?"

"Just... stupid shit." He let her take her time, waiting patiently as she explained the events of that evening to him. She started with the moment in the practice room, all to the screaming that began in the kitchen, and the final shouting match they had in the living room, all until she left to stay in the 8th-floor dorm. Minnie surprised herself as she got through the story without crying, her body clearly dried out from all the tears she had shed throughout the past few days.

Woozi wanted to curse out loud, wanted to throw the most vile words into the room, but he knew it wouldn't make anything better and that it would in fact be the last thing the girl in front of him needed, so he did his best to stay calm. He looked around the room, forcing himself not to shake his head. "Wh-... Guys..."

"I know..." The dancer hid her face behind her knees. 

"What are you gonna do?"

He only got a shrug in response.

"You have to talk to him, Minnie."

The girl shook her head.

"Minn-"

"He said, he didn't trust me anymore!" She exclaimed.

"That was in the heat of the moment, I'm sure he didn't mean it."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that..."

Woozi sighed, "Don't say that." But she didn't answer. Another few seconds passed in which they didn't share any words before the producer got out of the question that had been bothering him ever since she finished her story. "Why do you still care so much about him?"

"Hanbin?"

Woozi nodded.

Minnie rolled her eyes. "Why is it a crime to care about people?!"

"Hey," he stopped her, "I didn't say you're not allowed to, I asked you normally and genuinely want to know." His explanation made the girl feel bad about the outburst she almost had. He was just trying to be a good friend and here she was throwing accusations at him... similar to what she and Wonwoo had done to each other.

"I..." she started but stopped. If only the answer was easy as she wanted it to be. "W-... We were forced to break up. Neither one of us truly wanted it... but it happened... because of him... and because of what happened to him. And back then, I was so scared of what was going to happen and I... I still was because... we didn't end things on bad terms, you know?" Minnie looked up, finding the caring eyes immediately gazing at her, a gentle smile decorating Jihoon's face. "Of course, I was devastated, but... he had to do it and I understand why he did it, and I'm very thankful that he did it..." She took a deep, slightly shaky, breath, "He cared so much for me back then that he broke up with me to protect me... so w- why shouldn't I now care for him? We're friends?..." Making it sound more like a question as she wasn't even sure about the statement herself.

"Are you though?" Woozi suddenly threw into the room.

She glared at him, eyebrows scrunched, "What?"

"Are you and Hanbin really friends?" She waited for him to continue, "When was the last time he texted you, or talked to you or... I don't know, had some kind of interaction with you?"

Minnie shrugged, "H-He... hasn't. Not ever since back then."

"Then that's not a friend, Minnie," he stated but before she could interfere, he continued, "I understand why you wanted to be there for him, even if it was just through Bobby, asking how he was and stuff, I truly get that. But... I'm sorry, but... you have to let him go. He broke up with you for a reason. He didn't want you involved in his shit in any way. He cared enough about you to let you go... so you should do the same."

"B-But how?" Minnie whispered, suddenly the tears in her eyes as visible as ever before when Jihoon looked at her, dragging his chair a little closer to her. "How c-can I just... let him go," she sniffled, "If I don't even know if he's okay?"

"You just have to learn how to not care too much anymore," he got up to join her on the couch, placing a comforting hand on her knee as he let his head rest on the back of the sofa, looking up at the ceiling. "Do you still love him?- And before you give me the same answer like you gave Wonwoo, think about it." He quickly added, letting the girl know, that he was there to help and understand her. He wasn't blaming her.

Minnie shook her head, sniffling once again. "No." She assured Woozi, and herself, "Not like I did before. I love him... like... a friend would, but that's it. I promise." She moved her head to look at him. Jihoon saw her from the corner of his eye, turning his head to lock eyes with her.

"I know, you don't have to defend yourself in front of me. I'm not the one who needs to hear that. But... like I said... you're not friends with him anymore. I know it hurts. And I'm sorry. But it's the truth."

The female member nodded, finally letting the tears escape from her eyes, letting her head fall onto the man's shoulder.

"You lose people all throughout your life, Minnie. He was there, he made you happy, but you have someone new who loves you more than you could ever imagine," his arm had found its way around her shoulder. "Imagine how you would've reacted if the roles were reversed. You don't think you would've been jealous if Wonwoo was still caring so much about his ex?"

"But he never lost an ex like that."

"That's true," he nodded, "I understand that, but even if he did. Imagine him ignoring you, putting you second, just because he was so focused on making sure his ex was doing alright."

Minnie moved her head in understanding. She didn't even think about that.

"You both are jealous people in one way or another, and that's healthy to an extent. It just shows that you care about each other," he lifted her head from his shoulder, making her have to look into his eyes. "He cares so much about you, that's why he reacted that way. He just wanted to know that you feel the same way. Everyone needs that assurance every now and then."

The girl nodded, "I get that."

He patted her arm one more time before getting up again and sitting back down on his beloved chair. "Just remember who you wrote To You about. Or Crush. It better not have been about Hanbin, or it's coming off the album right now."

She couldn't help but let the giggle tumble from her lips, "No," she sniffled one last time, "Not, it wasn't about Hanbin."

"Good," he grinned, "Then it can stay."

Before he could turn back around the mixing table, her voice stopped him.

"Do you think he ever asked Bobby or any of the other guys how I was doing?" She know she shouldn't wonder about that, but that was the very last thing she needed closure on.

Woozi took a deep breath, "I'm sure he did at the beginning. You don't just suddenly not care about a person, especially if you've been together for as long as you guys were. But I also hope that he has gotten over it and that he's happy. Just like you should." Sending her a strict eye, making her nod.

"I know..."

-

Before leaving the studio later that night, she had to promise the '96 Liner that she would at least go back to her own apartment. She didn't have to go back to their lives and pretend like nothing had happened, but she should try to get back to what was once their normality. The couple still had to talk about what had happened, both of them still carried some kind of baggage with them and she swore to Woozi that she would, at some point in the very near future, confront Wonwoo about it.

What she didn't know about was the confrontation her boyfriend had with the two Chinese members over Facetime, who noticed very quickly that something was going on with the rapper, immediately squeezing out every answer they wanted from him. Just like Minnie, he opened up and shared the entire story with the two, letting them in on his feelings, which he rarely ever did. He needed guidance. He needed advice. And yet, he could not get himself to face one of the members in real life and ask them for that favour - it seemed so much easier over the phone.

The '96 Liner would still need some time to get himself together enough to confront her so openly, but he wanted to, God... he really wanted to.

Wonwoo was in the living room, close to dozing off, clearly bored by what was playing on the TV, while Mingyu was already asleep in his room - it was 2AM after all. The sound of the door unlocking made the rapper perk up, trying to listen to who had entered their apartment, desperately hoping it was who he expected it to be. He concentrated on the light footsteps, listening to the person settling the bag, softly smiling once he knew for sure it was who he hoped for. 

The steps got closer and closer, once they walked through the hallway, they stopped at the entrance to the living room. Wonwoo whipped his head to the side, finding Minnie frozen in place, surprised by the fact that it was him and not her fellow '97 Liner she would've expected to sit on the sofa.

"Hey," the rapper spoke first, breathing heavier than he would've liked to admit.

"Hi," the girl tried to force a smile, but it rarely showed.

Wonwoo gulped, sitting up straighter. "You're back."

"I... am," she looked around the room nervously. God, why was this more awkward than a first date. It shouldn't be like that. Both of them hated it. Minnie didn't notice when he was about to open his mouth, ready to talk to her, unknowingly interrupting him, "I-" he raised his eyebrows expectantly at her. "I'm... I'm gonna to bed. I'm... tired."

Okay... it looked like she wasn't ready to talk about it yet.

He nodded, "Yeah, yeah," he whispered. "I... I'll take the couch." Minnie gazed at him, her mouth slightly agape. She didn't expect that.

Okay... he wasn't ready to even be in the same room with her... that hurt.

She nodded, "Yeah... okay." Without wasting another second in the uncomfortable stillness, she turned to walk towards their usually shared bedroom, when his voice made her turn back to him.

"Minnie?"

"Yeah?" Her voice was filled with hope and desperation. Hope that he might change his mind and join her like he normally would. Desperate to feel his touch again.

His eyes found hers. But he couldn't read her. He was so scared to say the wrong thing yet again, so it would just be better to not say anything at all - or at least that's what his head told him.

"Good night."

Minnie sighed. There goes the hope. "Good night." She nodded, leaving him alone in the living room, where the only light was coming from the small lamp on the end table in the corner. Only a few days ago, Wonwoo could've sworn that that girl in front of him was brighter than any light he had ever seen. Her smile could light up an entire city. But right now... she looked duller than the deepness of an ocean.

Once she had reached their room and closed the door, throwing herself to lean back at it, she took a deep breath. She repeated Woozi's words in her head, trying to calm her racing thoughts and pumping heart.

'Give him time. Give yourself some time. You both need it.'

Just some time. She silently prayed for that 'some time' to be over soon.

-

The following started quietly, the three dormmates didn't share many words in the morning, deciding on sharing breakfast in silence after Mingyu exclaimed how happy he was to have the girl back in the apartment.

In the car on the way to the practice room, each one of them entertained themselves with their phones, some with their headphones in. Mingyu hated the clear tension and tried to loosen it up by talking to their manager in the driver's seat, directing questions to Wonwoo and Minnie every now and then, hoping the older man didn't notice it all too much.

Once they arrived in the practice room, each went their own way, Wonwoo sat down on the floor, his back against the wall, Mingyu talked to the choreographer that had become a good friend of the group and Minnie lowered her body to the floor to start stretching, getting ready for the practice-choreography for their upcoming live shows where they'd be performing 'Rock With You' without Jun and Minghao.

She felt a presence next to her, and looking up into the mirror in front of her revealed Seungkwan who rounded her sitting form and crouched down in front of her.

"And?"

"And what?" Minnie switched to stretch her other side.

"Did you two talk?" The '98 Liner wondered, sipping on the coffee he had brought along.

The girl sighed, "Does it look like we've talked?"

"Jeez..." he shook his head and stood back up, "Make-up quicker, you're no fun in this mood." As he brushed past her again, she smacked his calf, getting a surprised exclaim from him before he dared to fake kick her, walking back to Vernon, who had been eyeing them in confusion. 

The other members left her to be by herself, but she could feel their eyes on her, especially the '95 Liners' and Woozi's - Seungkwan seemed to leave her alone.

The woman with the camera entering the room alarmed Mingyu who confirmed his worry. He rushed over to the girl, leaning down behind her, surprising her at the sudden closeness as he mumbled into her ear.

"They're filming for Inside today, don't forget that." She looked back at the door, where the woman was getting the camera ready and let a sigh out.

"Oh, fuck, I forgot..."

The rapper patted her back, "Just act. You're good at acting," smiling at her through the mirror as he leaned back to nudge him, making him chuckle before his facial expression slightly shifted.

"Why didn't you guys talk last night?" Minnie looked at him with raised eyebrows. He continued, "I heard you come in, but you two spoke really quietly and since you almost didn't even look at each other this morning, I'm just guessing."

The girl crossed her legs, deciding that she had finished her stretching session for the day. She shook her head and fixed her hair,

"He didn't even want to be in the same room as me, how was I supposed to talk to him?"

"What? What makes you think that?" Remembering hearing the conversation he overheard as he passed Wonwoo's room, where Jun assured him that he should make the first move and apologise and Minghao letting him know that Minnie was most definitely just as miserable as he was. Why he hadn't followed their advice was a mystery to him.

The girl leaned back against his chest as his arms rested over her shoulders. "I told him I'd go to bed, and he just said he'll take the couch. He didn't even try and follow me. He wanted to be away from me..."

"Minnie..." he sighed, "I think you understood him wrong-"

"No, he could've at least tried, and he didn't even try to stay in the same room. He doesn't want to talk, so I'm not gonna try and make him."

Her fellow '97 Liner nodded softly. "Alright..." and stood back up, patting her shoulders before walking away from her. Minnie raised her head to look at herself in the mirror when she felt another pair of eyes on her. Her gaze drifted to the right where she found her boyfriend staring at her reflection, the phone in his hands long forgotten. She was about to force a smile when she saw Mingyu getting closer to him, taking a seat right next to his best friend. With a deep huff of breath, she pushed herself to stand up and walk further away from the duo.

-

The practice was in full swing, the group taking small breaks after each part they had finished performing in front of the mirror.

"Alright, for the time being," the choreographer explained, "We agreed on Minnie being lifted up, so let's try that." It would be the first time they tried that move.

The group got into their positions, with the girl on her way to the far left where five of the members were waiting for her.

"Be careful," she heard him whisper as she passed Wonwoo, looking back, she gave him a quick nod. 

She stopped once she had reached Dino and Joshua, who each held one arm open, welcoming her and ready to steady her back once she'd get lifted up. Carefully, she took a step forward, just about to step on their feet as the choreographer let her know exactly just how she should do it. On three Dino, Joshua, Mingyu, and Jeonghan all together lifted her up, making her chuckle at the feeling while she steadied herself with a hand on the '97 Liner's strong shoulder

"You're so light!" The youngest commented, making the two oldest exchange knowing glances, but they didn't comment any further. "Even lighter than Myungho," Dino added, making the girl chuckle nervously.

"You okay with doing that move, Minnie?" Youngjoon asked her, getting a quick nod in response as she straightened the front of her pants. "Good, and just don't forget to extend your arm forward."

-

The members fell to the floor, panting, desperately trying to catch more breath than physically possible after practice had officially ended. Minnie was laying on the floor, eyes closed, with her hands on her ribs, trying to execute the breathing exercises her pilates teacher had taught her.

Suddenly, the light was blocked by something and after opening her eyes again, the figure of her boyfriend revealed itself, holding out a bottle of water down at her. She eyed him for a second before he pushed it closer to her, "Take it."

The girl sat herself up and took the bottle out of his grasp, giving him a small, "Thank you," in response, along with a nod before he disappeared again. She opened it to take a quick sip, turning her head to the side to find Woozi and Seungcheol already looking at her. Both of the leaders grinned at her, to which she just rolled her eyes and got up from the floor to get ready to leave.

-

The female performer wasn't even able to get her jacket off once they got back home when her phone started ringing. With one quick look, Minnie saw 'Mum' lighting up the screen, making her sigh softly. Their conversation started normal: the mother asking her daughter about what work was like, with her asking the same in return, but it only took a few minutes before the older woman changed the subject.

"Why didn't you tell me that Wonwoo and you had a fight?" Her mum's voice rang through her ears from the other side of the phone.

"What?" Minnie wondered, "How do you know about that?"

"Seungcheol called me. You know, he was very worried about you. He got really scared," she explained. As much as the girl appreciated the worry leader showed for her, she couldn't help the slight annoyance of him talking to every living being about her misery - yes, it was her mother, but still... but she reminded herself that it was out of love, just like the woman had told her.

"It- I don't know... I hoped to clear it up myself, I guess." Minnie's fingers brushed through her hair as she leaned back against the chair at the dining table, her feet up and knees close to her body. "I messed up, now I have to fix it-"

"I don't know, Seungcheol said something else."

"Cheol is just annoyed. And I know he cares for me, so... yeah. But I really wasn't in the right either. Trust me, I did my part in the fight as well."

"Well, there's always two parties involved."

"Exactly."

She heard her mother sigh, "I just hope you don't take it too hard on yourself. Like I said, you two were part of it, so it takes two to make up for it again. Don't think that you have to fix whatever is going on between you two on your own. Work together, as a team."

"I know, I know... I'll try. Last night, he didn't really want to talk to me... I hope it'll be different soon," Minnie explained, finding a loose thread on her sock to pull on.

"And, you know, there's always make-up sex.“

"Mum!" The girl groaned in embarrassment.

"Oh, please," the woman exclaimed, "You're an adult now, let me talk to you like one!"

"Alright, alright," she chuckled, thankful for the person on the other side of the world, suddenly missing her even more than she usually does.

"Men would never say no to that. You just have to know how to initiate it."

Minnie laughed, "Okay, yeah, thanks. But... we should probably also talk about what happened, it's not something that... will be taken care of quickly, I think."

"You know him better than I do, and I'm sure you know what to do, so I trust you. And just know, it's not only you that did something wrong, so don't blame yourself too much."

The female member was about to respond when Wonwoo came into the room, passing the dining table to walk into the kitchen.

"Alright, maman, je dois y aller," (trans.: mum, I gotta go) she quickly switched to French, knowing her boyfriend could easily understand any English she'd speak now.

"Oh, Il est là?" (trans.: Is he here?") Minnie hummed to let her know she was right, and continued humming, as well as giving her a series of 'okay, okay' as they ended their call.

She placed her phone down, letting a quiet sigh out as she put her feet back onto the floor and leaned forward to rest her elbows on top of the table.

"Your mum?" Wonwoo suddenly broke the silence, making Minnie's ears and head perk up, surprised by the sudden conversation he was trying to start.

She nodded, "Yeah..."

The rapper continued chopping up the vegetables for whatever he had planned to make. "How is she?"

"Good," the girl took a deep breath, "They found a new place to open their next restaurant."

"Oh... cool," they both nodded in silence as they could feel the tension and awkwardness growing again.

With his back to the walkthrough leading to the living room, Wonwoo didn't notice Mingyu who was about to come in, but stopped abruptly when he noticed the couple in the room, and quickly walked back, ignoring the silent pleads from Minnie not to leave them alone.

Another minute went by, neither one of them saying a thing. The sound of the knife hitting the board was the only reason the room wasn't completely quiet.

"Min-"

"Listen-"

They both started at the same time and stopped in synch as they noticed the other one wanted to start.

"Sorry," Wonwoo was quick to apologise, putting the knife down, leaning back against the counter as he motioned towards the girl. "You go first."

"No," she hastily exclaimed, "No, you go. You were first."

He took a deep breath, looking down at the floor before locking eyes with his girlfriend. "I'm sorry. Last night... I-... I didn't..." he sighed in annoyance. Annoyed at himself that he couldn't find the right words. "I wanted to talk to you, but... you said you were tired and wanted to go to bed, so I thought you didn't want to talk."

"I wanted you to join me...," Minnie shyly explained, finding her nails to pick at.

Wonwoo nodded, "I was too blind to see that."

She cleared her throat, "I thought you didn't want to talk because you said you'd sleep on the couch-"

"I did that because I didn't want to make you uncomfortable."

A light switch turned on in the girl's head. That's why...

"But," he started again, "I... I'm sorry about the other day... I- ugh... I don't know."

Minnie's eyes never left his form while he drifted all around the room, mostly focusing on the floor. She looked at her destroyed nails, quickly brushing off the nervosity and speaking up.

"I-I'm sorry too... but... I mean... I'm sorry for what I said... to you," she looked up and was thankful to find his gaze on her. "I shouldn't have said some of those things... but... I'm- I'm not sorry for caring about him." Her voice was soft and quiet, scared of the reaction she might get, knowing he would probably disagree with her. To her surprise, Wonwoo nodded.

"I can't help it."

"But why?" He wondered gently, "Why do you still care about him so much? Am I not enough for you?"

"Wha- no, no no no," she quickly stopped him, "That has nothing to do with you." Minnie took a quick breath, reminding herself of what Woozi had told her, and to not repeat the exact words she had thrown at her boyfriend a few days ago. "He cared enough about me to end things," she could see Wonwoo's body tensing up, "So... I guess, it just feels right that I should also still care about him."

"But after two years, Minnie? Two years."

"I know," the girl whispered, hiding her face behind her hands, "God, I know... I'm sorry."

"What do I have to do?" He questioned, getting a confused look in return. "What do you need me to do, so you can finally keep him in the past."

"I-I don't know... I'm trying... I promise..." she stuttered, her breaths feeling heavier with each second.

Wonwoo crossed his arms in front of his chest, taking a quick glance into the living room. "You know I'd do anything for you. And I mean... anything."

Great, he just had to say something that would get Minnie's emotions to come back up again. His words reached her ears, sending a gentle chill down her spine, making her heart speed up just a bit. She hadn't lost him.

"I know," he almost overheard her shaky whisper as she brought her hands up to her face once again

"Then just tell me, and I'll do it. I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like I don't care enough about you, that he was the better boyfriend or whatever. Just tell me, and I'll prove to you-"

"No, God, please, it's not that-"

"Then, what is it?"

"I don't know!" She revealed her now red face and glassy eyes, taking him back to the night he wished never had happened. If he could take back the way he confronted her, he would. And here he finally had the chance to make everything right again.

Wonwoo rushed over to the weeping girl on the chair, "Hey, hey, don't cry," getting down on his knees right in front of her, "Please don't cry, jagi." He raised his hand to brush over the side of her head, pressing it down to make her lean into his body.

"I'm so sorry," she cried into his shoulder, "I love you, I promise-"

"Shh, I know," he comforted her, his hands on her body, pulling her close, "It's okay-"

She raised her head, "No, it's not okay-," she sniffled, "I love you, Wonwoo. I only love you."

"I know, it's okay, I shouldn't have questioned that."

"I don't love him anymore, I swear," Minnie steadied herself on his shoulders, "I-I don't, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you that. But I promise."

His fingers grazed over her forehead and left eyebrow, down the side of her face, down to her jaw and chin.

"I know, babe. It's okay. I'm so sorry for not believing you."

"I'm sorry that I still care about him, I-I know I shouldn't, but... I can't help it-"

"No, I...," he sighed, "I understand it, I just... I got jealous... and I took it out on you, I'm sorry."

With a pained facial expression, Minnie let her head rest back on his shoulder, leaving the chair and letting herself fall into his arms, wrapping hers around his shoulders. His hands rubbed up and down her back, as he hid his face in her neck, breathing in the familiar scent of her perfume and shampoo he had so desperately been missing. Wonwoo could still feel her slightly shaking against his body, hoping his hug was comforting her. If he only knew how much it was helping Minnie, but that it was also the reason why she couldn't hold back her tears. The girl had been almost convinced of the fact that she was going to lose him and lose a part of her along with him.

"I'm sorry for making you feel like you couldn't trust me," she mumbled against his clothes, making him shake his head immediately.

"Don't say that. I've never not trusted you." His hands cradled her face to make her look at him again. "I promise." Her fingers wrapped around his wrists as she leaned her forehead against his.

"I can't lose you," she quietly admitted, the pain still clear in her voice.

The '96 Liner leaned back slightly to lift his head and place a loving kiss against her forehead, making sure to stay in that position for a few seconds before doing the same to her left cheek.

"You're not gonna lose me," he whispered back, his thumbs brushing over her cheeks. "I couldn't live with myself if I ever let go of the best thing that ever happened to me."

The girl sent him a sad smile, her eyes still glassy and her cheeks stained red.

"If I ever make you cry again, slap me, okay? I don't want to ever be the reason that you feel like this." His first sentence made Minnie chuckle, before she hugged him tightly again, needing to make up for the lost days when she couldn't hold him like this.

"I'm so sorry," she told him one last time as his hand found its way underneath her shirt, placing his palm on the naked skin of her back.

Another kiss was placed on the side of her head, "I'm sorry too." He let a few seconds pass, just enjoying the warmth of their bodies together before he spoke up again. "He's not going to jail, by the way."

She relieved him of the hug, leaning back while his hands stayed on her back, "I know. But I don't care," and shook her head, "I shouldn't care."

His right pointer finger came up to move away some of the hairs that had stuck to her forehead, "No, it's okay to care. Just shows that you have too big of a heart."

Minnie grinned, locking eyes with her boyfriend once again, relieved to feel no suspense and no awkward tension between them anymore.

"I love you," she let the words roll off her tongue easily, just like she normally would.

It didn't matter that it was probably the 400th time Wonwoo had heard the words, he'd never get enough of it, and them coming from her would never not make him smile.

"I love you too." Not hesitating to lean in and finally get the kiss both of them have been craving for for the past few days. To finally feel his lips move against hers again, let Minnie feel the ecstasy rushing through her body, making her only smile even more.

A few seconds later, they separated again, gazing into each other's eyes, still engulfed in their arms.

"You know what's in a week?" Wonwoo grinned up at her.

"Hm?" She tilted her head gently to the side as she let her fingers run along the side of his face, admiring his beauty like she sometimes did whenever they shared a bed.

"One year." Then it hit her.

She gasped softly, "Oh my God... already?" Wonwoo nodded happily, making her copy his expression. "One year together... what would you rate it, Sir Jeon?" Making him chuckle as he pretended to think about it for a second before continuing to smile at her.

"Could use a few more years." To which the girl couldn't hide her smile as well. "What do you say?" He wondered, making her nod.

"I agree. A few a lot more years, I'd say."

"That sounds about right," he grinned, leaning back into her to feel the softness of her lips on his again.

Almost one year. And many more to come, Minnie prayed silently as she let herself give into the kiss, drowning in the love flowing through their bodies.

Mimiwon👀👀

Taglist: @shrynkk @chaebb @lunarxsun @hoe4wonwoo @kimhyejin3108 @soobzao @billboard-singer @cosmicwintr @zwiehe ( @alixnsuperstxr ) @angie-x3 @smooore @allthings-fandoms

How are we after the comeback? Everyone still here? Currently posting this in a trance from the mv🥹

[edelweiss123]

(Posting this in case Disney starts delving the sticky pits of tumblr for plot ideas because I accidentally Goncharov-ed my niece with "spoilers" for Frozen 3 and now I need it to happen the way I said it would because I'm like 90% sure my plot is better anyway.)

So, my nieces (6, 3) were drawing Frozen Characters with their Frozen crayons, as one does, and asked me who my favorite character was. I have never watched either movie the whole way through, but know all the Lore from my local, very dedicated tiny Elsa cosplayer.

"Oh, I like Gooblaf" I say and they laugh.

"No, but who really?" I act shocked.

"You don't remember the part with Gooblaf? But that's (Grandpa's) favorite too!" I make eye contact across the room with my father, the man who taught me the art of Committing to the Bit. The girls ask him.

"Oh yeah, my favorite is Gooblaf". Younger niece starts adding Gooblaf to her drawing, but 6yr old isn't buying it. She has watched both films 278 times. She *is* Elsa as far as she is concerned.

"Gooblaf isn't a real character," she insists.

And I could have let it end there.

But I didn't.

Instead, I remembered:

"Oh that's right! Gooblaf is from Frozen 3, so of course you don't remember!" She perks up.

"What? How do you know what happens? Did you see it? It's already out?!"

"Oh yeah they gave out tickets for a preview"

"Can I get a ticket?!"

"Oh, uh, no, they only gave some adults tickets so they could watch and make sure it would be good for their kids."

"Awwwwww...."

"...But I can tell you about what I remember!"

I only intended to give her a vague summary but this Superfan wanted *details*. So then the story kept getting more and more fleshed out as we went back and forth.

"Frozen 3 is about the secret *third* sister, uhh.... Jorien!"

"And what powers does *she* have? Why is she secret?" And so on. Younger niece interrupts to show me her drawing of Gooblaf. It is a circle with a face.

"How did you know what Gooblaf looks like?" I ask her seriously.

"No way," says older niece.

"No, that's really how he looks: he was supposed to be a snowball but he got too big and he rolls around instead of walking."

And of course, I tell them the rest. How Jorien the secret sister has *water powers* because while the King and Queen were on their last voyage they had a *baby*, and when the storm sank the ship she landed in the water and magic turned her into a mermaid to save her! But she's only *part* mermaid see, so when she's dry she's human. And she's taken in by other mermaids... and because she was just a baby, she doesn't know about her sisters!

So after Frozen 2 the kingdom needs money for repairs, so they start fishing a lot more to sell the extra fish. But then there are lots of bad thunderstorms and boats keep getting destroyed, and it turns out it's Jorien! The merpeople don't have enough fish to eat and she's trying to help them!

And it was at the point that the 6yr old started drawing Jorien and asking what color she was that I realized what I had wrought. This is the same child who, when she asked me what "yes" in spanish was side-eyed my "Si" and walked to the next room to ask Alexa. Her hunger for more Frozen content had won against her natural skepticism, and now I can only hope that the "real" plot somehow manages to top mine in 3 years.

Maybe she'll have grown out of Frozen by then.

Or maybe she'll have a 5th Elsa dress.

[breathlessheartbeat]

Big Healer, Little Nurse

Every so often I remember I made this to be a writing blog. I made this to fit a prompt of "incompetent rescuer", which is one of my favorite tropes. When they WANT to be better but can't and know this will have consequences?

Anyway, this might have a part 2 bc I can't keep anything short.

------

He was big, her healer.

It scared people, his size. They were used to healers being meek women, driven to healing magic to save their children or to make some money on the side to support their homes. No one expected a man over 2 meters tall to have such a gentle way with healing wounds and calming pains.

Joan herself had been rescued by him two years prior. She didn't remember much about her previous life - and what she did was painful and scary to recall. She had been found in the wood, half frozen to death, body full of bruises. Thaddeus had nursed her back to health painfully slow. Back then she felt like she would never fully come back, but he never gave up on her.

Once she was better, she made herself useful, hoping that would mean she got to stay. She cleaned and organized his chaotic home and office. He had been surprised, as if he didn't expect someone to notice he had a hard time with his own messy habits, let alone help him with it. She cooked and took food for him when he was out on house calls because he often forgot to eat. She stood by him and helped with his tools and ingredients when he needed.

So he let her stay. He taught her what he could, but she really had no way with magic. She learned about human medicine, about how a body works and what it needs to be balanced and healthy.

Two years from the day he found her in the woods to the day she found him.

He had been travelling to the next village over the entire week, leaving her in charge of their own village. After making the usual rounds making sure no one was in need of help, she had gone to the woods to gather herbs. That was when she saw him, lying face down on the road. She didn't need to see his face to know. He looked like a mountain had just fallen over.

Joan rushed to his side, calling his name, turning him over to his back. His tanned skin was pale, his lips bluish, a low gurgling coming up from his throat each time he breathed. Little droplets of foam were hanging from the sides of his mouth. She tapped his face, trying to get him to rouse. When he didn't, she undid the ties on his shirt, exposing the top part of his chest and rubbing his sternum. Still nothing.

She opened his mouth. A foul smell came out and his gums were clearly discolored. He had been poisoned. He was probably on his way to this wood, where a lot of antidotes grew. Why would anyone do such a thing to him? He had never done anything but help...

Worried about his bluish lips, she touched her mouth to his and sent a few breaths of air down his throat. He coughed and gagged and she pulled away, moving his head to the side so the foam and saliva could drain out.

"Tad..." She called, rubbing his chest again. "What's the poison? I can't administer the antidote if I don't know..."

His eyes fluttered, but didn't open, only the whites showing inside. She opened one eyelid, and saw his pupils still react to the sunlight above. Good.

She pushed her fingers against his carotid to feel for his pulse. It was weak and erratic, a terrible combination.

Joan took a deep breath. She couldn't do anything in the middle of the road. She had to bring him home, to their tools and their medicine. But leaving to get someone seemed impossible. He couldn't be left alone in this state. She had to do it herself.

Bracing, she pushed his shoulder upward to sit him down. Even this effort got her sweating. He was out cold, his head lolling back. There was no way she was going to be able to lift him over the shoulder like he had taught her to do with someone larger than her.

"You're going to be okay. You're going to be okay."

She told herself even if her eyes were filling up with tears. She got up and held him under his armpits, starting to drag him back through the road. His troubled breathing was a constant in her ears as she sweated and sweated under the sun to pull him centimeter by gods damned centimeter.

Joan hadn't even gotten halfway home when he gagged, heaving. Foam had consistently been dripping through his mouth thorough the process, but it had stopped now. Moaning in distress, Joan placed him down again and kneeled at his back, holding him around the waist. She needed to clear his lungs or he wouldn't make it to the house.

Remembering his strong hands showing her the placement, she found the spot just above his belly button to push upwards. Nothing came out the first few tries, her arms too puny to make enough pressure. But on the third try, a spurt of foam came out and Thaddeus gasped, his entire body shaking. He was warm now and she suspected it wasn't the sun above.

Joan helped him breathe a couple more times since they had stopped. He looked like death now, his pallor growing lighter and lighter and his lips bluer.

"We're almost there." She assured him (or herself) before closing her arms around him and starting to pull him back to their cottage again.

But his breathing didn't get better and neither did his shaking. Eventually, he started gasping loudly, no sound of air coming out. They were only about twenty steps from the house, but her arms gave out as she put him down on the dirt floor.

"Please, breathe." She begged, pressing more air down his throat. His chest lifted but needed help falling. She had to press on it for the air to come rushing out, along with more viscous saliva and darkened foam. "That's not good."

The noise kept coming from his throat, not matter her efforts. She was about to keep breathing for him when she had half a mind to look for his pulse again.

"But they were breathing," she remembered saying after a particuarly bad night where they had lost a patient.

"No. Their body was trying to breathe, but the air wasn't sticking to the lungs." Tad had said, shaking his head.

No beat pressed against her fingers. She pressed harder and harder, sure she was wrong. He was just big, maybe his heart was taking longer. She laid her head on his chest. Nothing.

"No, no, no!"

She put her hands to his chest and started pressing down. Her arms were already shaking from dragging him there and almost buckled when she pushed down not nearly enough. She wiped the sweat off of her forehead and tried again. Each time, she got a little further, but she knew it wasn't enough.

"Damn it, Tad!" She straddled him. That made it easier, but not less challenging. She either didn't press hard enough or kept the wrong rhythm. Tears were streaming down her face as she gave it her all. This couldn't happen, not like this.

She stopped at 30 like had instructed and delivered a trio of breaths. Agonal sounds escaped him as she pushed his chest so the air could escape. Taking advantage of her position, she laid his head to the side and pushed on his abdomen, trying to clear his lungs. The popping of bubbles in the foam would haunt her dreams and the stench of the dark liquid would never allow her to feel clean again.

Another cycle. Another failure to keep the minimum. She couldn't keep this for long. She used to let him do this, they only traded placed on in a while in very long resuscitations... she really should have been better at this.

She had lost track of how many cycles she had done when he gasped again. Her hand went to his neck. His heartrate was too fast, but was there. That was all she needed. A chance.

Joan rushed into the cottage, grabbing all of the antidote shelf. She had had time to catalog his symptoms enough to have an idea of what this could be. The bad smell, affecting the lungs, the darkening of his saliva... Running to him again, she opened his mouth and rubbed a couple of leaves of ancient berry bush in his gums as he gasped and heaved. She delivered a few more breaths to him. The antidote wasn't a quick one, but it would work. She just needed time.

Since his heart was still unwell, she tried her hand at pacing him again, pushing his chest another two rounds of half assed compressions. As her arms shook with exhaustion and she herself felt a pang in her own chest, she gave up. She was probably doing more harm than good.

The smell in his mouth was better, but foam kept coming up, his lungs probably too overtaken.

Still straddling him, she crushed the antidote eaves until they let out their goop and dilluted it in salline. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She couldn't miss and she couldn't hold back. This could be his only chance of making the next hour.

So she touched his chest, looking for the right placenent, took a deep breath and insirted the syringe right into this heart, releasing the liquid directly in there before pulling the syringe out.

Joan took the last of her strenght to give a few compressions more to get the antidote running. She rolled off of him, lying on the dirt. He was still gasping, still shaking from his fever, but she could feel his heartbeat on his wrist when she held it between her fingers.

5 seconds and she would drag him inside and wait for him to recover. Just... 5 more seconds.

[slapjacq]

Thoughts as I listen to s1 ep6-while you were hypersleeping 2:

Ep 6:

MF WHAT-

HOW WAIT WHAT WHATS GOING ON-

KAREN GIRL WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE???

KAREN? WIAR WHAG-

WHAG THIS FUCKING EARLY

WARREN WAIT DUDE WTF ARE YOU IN FOR

Someone needs to punch someone else this instant and, specifically, I think Warren should be able to sock this Clive dude in the face

HOLY SHIT HE DID

SO MANY QUESTIONS JESUS

HES FOING BACK TO SLEEP WHAT-

While you were hyper sleeping (whole mini series):

GORDON I LOVE YOU SO FUCKING MUCH

he’s me fr

oh Warren this poor fucker bro is not having a good time

Clive is such an asshole and I can’t help but love his antics

Also the Shining references both thematically and just from the dialogue is top tier shit to me

S2 ep1:

44 FUCKING YEARS

AND THEY WERE LESBIANS

WHAT DID THEY DO TO MY BOY GORDON I JUST GOT ATTACHED WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS-

I feel like I’m spiraling through space and time good fucking lord

ep 2:

Oh okay wait I think I’m getting it now

Oh Christ the dead frozen body??? Always when I’m eating never when I’m chilling

Oh god oh what the fuck are those sounds

I have zero trust in ms ma’am Bryony and she should be allowed to do everything I may not trust her but I trust the shit she does. She’s batshit, she’s insane, but by god would I follow her to the ends of the earth.

oh wait wow no she’s crazy crazy slay

Also poor Gordon just keeps going through it

And shoutout my pet hamster Warren this mf is just dying and then dying all over again isn’t he

Ep3:

Warren isn’t girlbossing his way through, he’s just fucking dissociated. Lemme tell you I cannot blame the man.

OH AND HES GONE MF LMAO

HES LOVES SNOW

MAZDA BONGO FRIENDEE LETS GO BOYS IT WAS AUBREY THE WHOLE TIME

Shoutout absurdism ig

“I think I scared the shit out of him” what is with insane women scaring the shit out of pathetic archivists in podcasts

Also the fact that all of the ladies in this show are absolutely insane is just so dear to me. And not just like feral insane, but like victor Frankenstein insane anyways shoutout Mary Shelley. Forces of nature to be dealt with but just the forces of nature are making these ladies need shoulder rubs from their girlfriends or hands on therapy (aka threatening some loser with a saw)

Ep 4:

Warren you nutjob bless you and your crazy ass

The fact that Gordon is somehow the more sane one out of two is so funny and an insane leap from what the dynamic was between these two a season ago.

YES GET THAT MF A TORTOISE

Aubrey is so fucking right though, like trauma jokes aside how truly well adjusted could one be after the mind fuck that is hyper sleep plus the absolute insanity of dreamlike memories just peppered in between it all.

Like I distinctly remember having a really long dream where I woke up like 16 different times. And everytime for some variation of time something happened between each time I woke up and like that fucked me up for a good week. That being said I CANNOT EVEN BEGIN TO IMAGINE what it must be like to have that happen to you in real life. That just sounds like such a fucking trip Jesus

CHANNEL MF 6

While you were sleeping 2:

My head is gonna explode from the exposition so far. Plus my ✨gummy✨ just started working.

Honestly from what I’ve heard from other people, those within STEM jobs are pretty incestuous with their work. Most specialty jobs are. There’s always gonna be recycling, mainly because theres never enough funding to make the world go round so I mean yeah

Bryony is THAT BITCH though

She knows it too. Good for her.

Yeah I think that’s enough for tonight.

[ohforficsakelibrary]

You Brought Me Poison Flowers

Chapter 2: Yarrow - It draws the attention of those you most want to see.

prev / series masterlist / masterlist

Series Summary: Joel and Ellie settle into life in Jackson, one more easily than the other, until Joel is reminded of what normal feels like. The kind of normal that he perhaps never had. A series of one-shot glimpses into a relationship (no true plot here, people.) Soft!Joel. Two touch-starved babes. Slow-ish burn.

Chapter subtitles taken from Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs by Scott Cunningham. Although herbal preparations are consistent with historic uses, nothing herein is to be construed as medical advice.

Pairing: Joel Miller x Herbalist!OFC (age-appropriate age gap)

Word Count: ~4.1K

Rating: Eventually explicit 18+ / Minors DNI.

A/N: Joel fucks up a plant ID. Lennie feels him up and has him hang out for three.

Thanks very much to everyone who read and left some love on the first chapter of this little adventure. I honestly love these two, and I hope you all will come to as well.

Lennie’s processing comfrey for drying when Joel returns a week later. The shop is empty this time, he figures probably because they’re serving lunch down at the Mess Hall. 

“Hey, Lennie,” he glances over at where she’s splitting stalks, “I brought you yarrow.” 

Lennie casts her eyes up momentarily and the sight of him very nearly makes her cackle. 

He’s freshly washed, having just returned from a morning patrol shift, silvered hair raked wet off of his face. Brow knitted. Mouth frozen in that scowl that he never quite realizes is perpetually plastered to his face. But he’s got a massive bouquet of white flowers clutched to his chest.

And not a moment after she looks away her eyes cut back to him. 

The comfrey is hastily abandoned. 

“Yeah, just, go ahead and lay that down on the table there.” Joel obliges as she wipes her hands on the edge of her apron and quickly swings around the bar. “How long ago did you pick those?” 

“Uh, dunno, an hour, hour and a half maybe, sorry, I know they wilted a bit…”

She considers his face carefully before glancing at up the clock that hangs above the door as she closes the distance between them. “Did you eat lunch before or after you picked those?” 

“Haven’t eaten lunch yet.” Suddenly she’s in his space, toe to toe. Immediately his back goes rigid.

“Ok, good,” she starts calmly before grabbing his face in her hands to hold him in place, staring intently into big brown eyes that have flown wide.

And now he’s been struck stupid.

“And you didn’t eat any part of those plants?”

“What? No.” 

Her hands are quick yet determined as she lays the back of one across his forehead for a moment. He’d daresay he’s amused. 

Bringing a woman flowers seems to go much farther these days.

“Open your mouth.” It’s a command. He does and she stands on tiptoes.

He finds himself enough to very nearly reach up to stop her the second she thumbs his bottom lip to get a better look. 

And he would have. If he wasn’t starved. 

The kind of hungry you don’t realize until the scent of food wafts in on a breeze. 

“Did you happen to touch your face at all after you picked them? Rub your eyes, your nose, touch your mouth?” 

“Uh, no? I dunno.”

“Are your eyes burning? Numb?”

“No.”

“Nose?”

“No.”

“Mouth?”

Yes.

“No.”

“Shortness of breath?” Her left hand is on his neck now, eyes on the clock, fingers gently applying pressure and readjusting until she finds his pulse and he swallows hard.

You mean not from this? What even is this?

His mouth drops open and “no” falls out. In response to her question, nothing else.

Christ, Miller. Like a fuckin sixteen year old.

“Sorry, what are you…” He finally finds his words, but she makes a soft noise to shush him. 

A few seconds later “good” comes out on a breath that’s meant more for herself than for him.

“Do you feel nauseous?” Her small hands take both of his by wrists she can’t fully encircle, carefully poring over his palms.

“No.” 

"And you haven't thrown up."

"No."

“Headache?”

“No.”

The backs of his hands fall under her scrutiny before she carefully examines his fingers.

“Sorry, may I?” She points at his chest and then at her ear. He nods before the thought finishes processing and in an instant she’s popped another button on his flannel and pressed her ear against his naked heart. 

“You feel dizzy?” Her head is still on his chest and he realizes that his hands are poised in space, hovering just above her shoulders. 

Yup.

“No.” 

“You’re more than likely going to be fine.”

The fuck does that mean. Good sense is back.

“Lennie, what is going on.” He takes a step, hands held up before his chest in surrender. “Is this from that plant? You didn’t tell me yarrow was dangerous.”

“It’s not,” she finally vacates his space but instead of relief he registers loss of warmth. 

“It’s actually incredibly safe outside of pregnancy and it’s one of the few things I can freely recommend for children, but you didn’t bring me yarrow.” She’s over at her bookshelf now, scanning quickly before slipping a text out of line. 

“You brought me poison hemlock.” 

Means you’re a fuckin’ idiot.

He glances down at the flowers. “What.”

“Poison hemlock,” she returns to him and perches on the edge of the table, feet on the bench. “Of Socrates fame. Take a seat.” He obeys her, mostly because he’s in a daze. “Hey, look at me.” He does. “It’s actually an incredibly honest mistake. You got any plans in the next three?”

“What the fuck Lennie, did I just…” big brown eyes are wide and he goes to scrub a hand down his face.

“Don’t touch your face,” she’s fast and grabs his elbow before he can make contact. “And no, you didn’t.” She stops meets his stare. “You’re more than likely going to be fine.”

“More than likely,” he nearly mocks, “how the fuck do you know? I thought you couldn’t touch that stuff.”

I know because its my fucking job to know, don’t test me, Miller.

“That’s a myth, all but the most sensitive people won’t have a reaction to just touching it and even then it’s just contact dermatitis, it has to get into your blood to do any harm.” She lets loose his arm as her words come fast and easy. “You didn’t eat it, so we’re good there, and you don’t have any fresh cuts on your hands, but you’re not sure if you touched your nose, mouth, or eyes, so that’s an open question.” She’s gone back to flipping pages, searching for something as she rattles this off. “Your pulse is strong, pupils a normal size, your heart is in normal rhythm, body temperature seems normal if a little warm, but we’re…”

“I run warm.” He’s not sure why he feels the need to clarify in this moment of all things.

“…concerned about cold here.” She finishes simultaneously. “You’re not sweating or salivating, no dizziness, nausea, or vomiting, no tremors, and finally, here we go.”

She appears to have found what she’s looking for.

“You’re staying here for the next three hours though.”

Ah. A finally a fuckin’ unit.

“You said I’m fine.”

“Symptoms can appear anywhere from 30 minutes to three hours after exposure.” Lennie reads out and clamps the book shut with one hand. “You haven’t touched your face since you’ve been in here, meaning the absolute last time any sap and therefore toxin could have made it into your system is right before you walked in that door. I figure give it three hours max for you to be completely in the clear.” She drops the book behind her on the table.

Somehow, he actually does follow her math. 

“And if I do show symptoms…I assume you have an antidote?” “There is no antidote.” Lennie leans over her knees so her face is level with his. “It works by paralyzing your neuro-musculatory junctions…”

The dazed look is back.

“Where your nerves control your muscles,” she rephrases, “and causes paralysis, which is a problem when it comes to, you know, breathing. But that’s not going to happen.”

Lennie springs from the table and moves behind the bar.

“Me not being able to breathe is not going to happen, but I have to stay here for three hours and you have no antidote.” He’s not quite yelling but he’s not calm either. 

“There is no antidote, and don’t touch YOUR FUCKING FACE,” she is though, seeing that he’s nearly gone to rub his eyes in frustration. “If you start to show any symptoms at all, I will notice, and I can get you over to Jane at the hospital sooner rather than later. She can treat the symptoms until it processes out of your system.” She drops down, disappearing for an instant before popping back up and dropping a pair of black rubber gloves on the bar top. 

“I need your knife.” Lennie crosses the distance to stand in front of him, hand outstretched. Joel weakly reaches back for the pocket knife he used to cut the blooms. 

She tosses it on the table next to the flowers.

“Come,” Lennie takes both of his hands in hers and he allows himself to be led to the sink. He’s not in shock, not by a long shot, but he’s not all here right now either.

These past few months here in Jackson have been the first time in the last twenty years that he didn’t want to. You know. 

He has a house. His brother back. He isn’t tossing fucking bodies onto a burn pile. 

He has Ellie. 

And now here he might have actually gone and done it to himself. Finally.

Unless he missed again.

The water runs cool and then warm against his skin before Lennie soaps up her own hands and massages the suds into his skin, idly taking note that his hands are massive. Strong square palms and thick fingers. 

Earth hands. 

She continues in silence for a full minute before reaching for a nail brush. It takes him another minute of her scrubbing before he speaks.

“I know how to wash my hands, Lennie.”

“Well, that’s good,” she guides them under the water until they run clean and then some. “Your face now.”

Joel looks down at her with an expression she doesn’t bother to unpack. Instead she holds the bar of soap up between them and he takes it. 

“Wash everything around your eyes and mouth first, keep ‘em shut tight.” Lennie calls over her shoulder as she heads back to the bar top. “Rinse for 30, repeat that once, and then gently take the soap over your eyes and mouth. Scrub that beard. And your neck too.”  

She slips the rubber gloves on and grabs the Reaper’s bouquet that’s resting on the table. “Keep going till I get back,” she calls, passing him on her way through the door to the left. He hears the creaking of something heavy and the click of a screen door and two full wash cycles later hears the sequence in reverse.

“You should be good now,” moments later a gentle hand rests on his back and a washcloth is pressed into his palm before she turns the water off. Joel dries his face first, then his hands and finally opens his eyes as he steps back from the sink. All he can manage right now is to slump down at the table. Face in his hands.

Behind him, Lennie is at the bar, pouring soap into a metal bowl. She fills it with hot water and drops it off near him, slipping the rubber gloves on again. She washes the table carefully, starting with areas she knows are clean, before moving in to where he was sitting before, anywhere he could have touched with sap-sticky hands. She’s so thorough that she wipes the cover of whatever text she was flipping through too.

Joel watches her while she works.

He’s not really sure what else to do.

Faded jeans are rolled up at the cuffs and at some point she had taken off her sweatshirt. Underneath she’s wearing a yellow t-shirt upon which Smokey the Bear urges him to help prevent forest fires.

What if you are a fucking forest fire?

He doesn’t know how he hadn’t noticed before but her left arm is adorned in a black and grey sleeve of foliage and bones. 

She has the arms of someone used to throwing heavy stuff around all day. He likes that about her.

What a fucking thought process. 

He’s hungry and delusional from nearly having poisoned himself, he figures. Or potentially having lightly poisoned himself.

“Elbows up,” she says gently from across heavy oak. She’s quick with the cloth and allows him to get back to sulking in no time at all.

Lennie spends at least five minutes on the spot where the flowers were before his knife is flipped open and dropped into the soapy water. She’s careful to clean that spot too. She takes the whole bowl to the sink and deposits it into the basin to soak before dropping the rubber gloves into the bowl too. Lennie then moves to the front of the shop, flips the “Open” sign to “Closed” and pulls dark blue curtains over the front windows. 

“Alright,” she turns around, resting her hands on her hips before pointing at him. He has no idea what she means, but knows it wasn’t meant for him. The kettle is filled and placed on the hot plate and she disappears again, this time through a door to the right, returning in five with a fork and a plate of thickly sliced ham, cheese, bread, and salad greens dressed lightly in oil. 

“Sorry it’s not very cohesive, but it’s the quickest thing I have.”

“It’s fine,” Joel tears into the ham, honey-sweetness on his tongue reminding him of his manners. 

“Thank you.” 

Ten minutes later there’s weird coffee in front of him and he could not be more grateful. She finally comes to rest opposite him with her own cup, and rakes a hand through her hair as he shoves a bite of crumbly bread into his mouth.

“I’m sorry for all of this,” he says as he swallows.

“Don’t apologize, Joel. It’s an honest mistake. And I probably should have made it more clear.”

A few moments pass in silence before he mumbles, “a thousand leaves.”

“What’s that?” 

“You said the leaves were the key. Soft and lacy. Thousand leaves.” He downs the last bite of greens, staring idly at a knot in the wood. “The leaves were different, that thing had carrot leaves.”

“It’s a member of the same family, yeah. Which is actually how most poisonings happen,” she takes another sip from her mug and rests a cheek in her hand. “Good observation.”

“What did you do with them?” He asks between bites of cheese.

“They’re in a lock box out back until I can process them.”

“Process?”

“Even poison plants have their uses.”

He’s curious but not ready to know.

“So what now?” He finally meets her eyes.

“Well, when you’re finished there I’m going to check you again for symptoms, and I’ll keep doing that every thirty until we’re clear.”

“And what do you want me to do?”

“Whatever you want Joel.” She stands and makes her way back to the bar. “You can read a book, tell me your life story, take a nap, sit there and scowl.”

At this, he throws a scowl back over his shoulder at her.

And for the first time today she grins. 

She runs through her checks again after he’s through, and much to her surprise, he opts to help her finish processing the comfrey, portioning and binding bundles for drying. After that he pulls a book from the shelf and takes a seat at the table facing her as she sets to work straining tinctures.

Lennie smirks when she sees what he’s chosen. The Third Policeman by Flann O’Brien.

_____

They continue like this, in silence save for the clinking of mason jars and the metallic scrape of lids, speaking only for her to run her checks. 

And yet discomfort remains at bay.

She catches him occasionally, dark eyes angled at her up over Flann’s pages. She can’t see his mouth but from the knit of his brow she knows the scowl is there. He doesn’t dwell long each time, but each time he dwells longer than the last. 

He likes how she looks with her wild curls pulled back. Likes the rebellion of the errant ones at the nape of her neck. She isn’t a frail thing, whether from conscious nurturing of strength or what life has seen fit to deal. And yet the promise of softness in all the right places shows through baggy denim. Under the yellow cotton of her shirt. That gold against tawny skin. He clears his throat and shifts in his seat. 

A sip of water helps.

Lennie isn’t innocent here. She’s just sneakier. His hair has dried by now, accentuating the silver streaks in ashen brown. The way his massive hands make the novel look small. It’s impossible not to notice the way brown and red flannel clings to his shoulders, stretching around his biceps when he brings the glass of water to his lips. 

Those lips. Far more plush than they have any right to be. 

Man walks in with big hands and broad shoulders and you’re fuckin’ nineteen again.

Just the hands will do these days, apparently.

She takes it out on chicory root with a cleaver.

_____

About ten minutes after a third round of checks Joel pipes up again.

“Hey uh, you got a bathroom?” His bladder is protesting the coffee. Tea. Whatever the fuck that thing is, and the glass of water that she’s been keeping full for him.

Lennie is a good host even in a shit situation.

“Yup,” he watches as she looks up from where she’s splitting roots of god knows what and points her cleaver at the woodstove in the corner. “Left and then another left.”

He follows her instructions, seeing that there’s a mudroom to the right after the first left. He can’t help but take quick stock. A door to the back garden. Jackets for all seasons hung on cast iron hooks. An array of practical shoes lined up neatly in a tray. He idly notices the pair of rain boots far larger than its companions before he slips into the tiny wood-paneled bathroom.

“Soap you’ve got in there smells nice.” This when he returns.

She smirks as he walks back in, amused that this broad, rugged thing likes scented soap.

“Oh so it does know how to wash its hands.” She grins up at him before answering in earnest. “Thanks. Think I’ve got…ponderosa? In there?” She reaches out a hand.

It takes him a moment to realize she’s asking for his hand to confirm. He obliges, and a corner of his mouth twitches in amusement when she takes a quick whiff.

“Ponderosa. You want a bar? Give me a sec.”

She wipes her hands on her apron and turns behind her where small wooden crates are stacked nearest the window. She shuffles through a few boxes before selecting a bar for him.

“I don’t have anything to trade.”

“What are you talking about, you brought me poison flowers. Those are my favorite.” She returns to her chopping with a smile.

He very nearly laughs. Instead, he returns to his seat and his book, absently pressing the bar of soap to his nose as he reads. 

It’s funny how when everything went away, smells went with them. The good ones at least. Replaced with decay and dry rot. Gunpowder and shitty whiskey. Burning bodies. You stop paying attention. 

To register is to be repulsed.

It apparently takes scented soap to make you want to inhale again. Warm vanilla without sticky sweetness. Earth. Barely there lavender.

“How’d you do this?”

“Uhm,” she takes a moment to simplify down to component parts. “Soap is some kind of fat and a base. A few years ago I started using whatever was left over from the prior year’s infused oils and tallow as the fat and some janky steam distilling equipment to eek out a bit of essential oil from fresh plants to boost the scent. It takes a lot of material and it’s not a particularly productive process but I figure everyone deserves a little frivolity. Something normal like before.”

“But there’s benefit to the plants being in there?” He still has the bar idly pressed up under his nose in a way that makes something jump in the pit of Lennie's stomach.

“Great question, there’s more benefit to the infused fat than the essential oil, but the essential oils carry the smell.”

“Hmm.”

Is he learning?

He finally pops the bar into the front pocket of his flannel.

Thank god flits across her mind.

The way that pleasure registered on his face every time he took a whiff didn’t go unnoticed.

It sets something long-dormant to churning.

Twenty minutes later he says, “I think it’s time for you to feel me up again.”

She snorts and glances at the clock seeing that it is indeed.

Paying attention and learning. What a guy.

“If I didn’t know better I’d say you’re beginning to enjoy this, Joel.”

She washes her hands and he stands up, smoothing the front of his shirt for a reason he can’t explain.

“Any shortness of breath?” Lennie starts, taking his face in her hands, studying his eyes in the late afternoon light. She can see easily that his pupils are a completely normal size, but now she notes softness in the brown. A subtle shade of gratitude.

She doesn’t bother with his mouth this time, leaving lips to tingle in unfulfilled anticipation.

She sees something flit across his eyes for a moment but doesn’t dwell. Instead, her fingers brush over his stubble to fit under his jaw. She’s learned by now that his pulse jumps just behind the bare patches in his beard. A handy shortcut that a part of her perhaps didn’t actually ask for.

Lennie breaks his stare to hold the clock’s gaze, and for a few seconds, Joel takes the opportunity to really look at her. He had noticed a round ago that her brown eyes are flecked with gold. But he can’t for his life figure out how old she is. Long strands of aggregated silver curl from her widow’s peak and temples. Faint lines in the corners of her eyes belie that perhaps at least she was able to find some joy in this hell.

Her mouth was impossible not to notice, but up close it strikes him that her lips aren’t chapped. They look—soft.

Soft? An adjective that fell to the wayside.

“Alright, good,” she breaks his reverie. “A little faster, but still within a completely normal range.” She steps back instead of leaning in.

“You’re not gonna listen?” He points loosely at his chest.

“Do feel out of breath?”

Gasping.

“No.”

“Like it’s skipping?”

Fuckin hopscotch.

“No.”

“Racing?”

A mile a minute.

“No.”

“Do you want me to?”

He takes too long to answer and she takes it as a “no.”

She returns to the bar top and her roots and Joel sits back down and finds his last-read page.

_____

The next thing he remembers is the hand resting lightly on his shoulder.

“Joel?”

“Yeah?” He sniffs as his eyes pop open. The shop is filled with pink light.

“You’re free to go.”

“It’s three hours?”

“It’s a little over four, but you looked like you could use the rest. You’ve been asleep for about two. It’s getting to dinner time and I figured Ellie would be looking for you.”

He scrubs his eyes with the heels of his palms before lightly scratching his beard.

“You didn’t wake me up to check.”

“I checked your breathing every fifteen until you started snoring, so I just listened for any change.” She slips him a scrap of paper on which is scribbled a few time entries and numbers next to them ranging from twelve to fourteen.

“Every fifteen?”

He lets it go without units.

“Well, you weren’t awake to tell me if anything started feeling off.”

“You really do care," he snarks.

“I mean, I try.” Lennie smiles and rakes a hand through curls that she’s freed from the scrap of fabric she had tied them with.

He stares at her for a second, hair wild from what she’s just done. Her sweatshirt is on again and she’s got her hands stuffed in the back pockets of her jeans.

“Yeah. Yeah, I should head out.” Not because of the time, though. He stands and tentatively stretches his back. “Can I borrow this?” Joel asks, holding the book up.

“Yeah, of course.”

“You comin’ to Mess?” He slips his clean knife into his back pocket.

“I’ve actually got some leftovers from a rabbit I trapped the other day, so.”

“Yeah. Yeah ok,” Joel starts for the door and turns back. “Hey, thank you, Lennie. For today.”

He sticks out his hand again and it makes her want to scream.

He does that. His reserve. Makes her want to scream.

“Yeah, of course,” she gives it a firm shake instead. “Anytime you uh, feel like you’re dying. Hit me up.” She grins. 

He returns it. With teeth.

“Have a good night, Joel.”

“Goodnight, Lennie.”

She latches the door behind him and presses her back against it before sliding down to the floor.

Heavy breath hisses from her lungs.

“Not what I needed.”

Exactly what she needed.

“Fuck.”

next

Old chapters are hosted on the OFFS Library page. New chapters will be posted to Ohforficsake - follow me over there for future updates.

Shoot me a message @ohforficsake or comment under this post if you would like to be added to the taglist for updates! Thanks so much for reading.

[faededaway]

Natsuo and Fuyumi Todoroki x reader

ATTENTION: it's polygamy. It truly is a Natsuo and Fuyumi's girlfriend type'a thing. (No description of reader besides use of the word girlfriend) about 2k words.

[more thoughts on this ship]

Natsuo has a hard time dating people. After reaching a certain point he always pulls back. He always makes sure to do it as early as possible. He was going to do the same with you. He told himself he would let you go before seeing you in his jacket felt more natural than wearing it himself, before waking up without you felt like a nightmare, before he starts thinking of what you'd like to eat for dinner when he's cooking, before he aligns his holidays with yours, before-

Before it was too late.

But, it was too late. You were in the shower when he did it. You made a remark about the water being cold enough to make you cry. He didn't say anything until you got out. He'd packed your stuff and laid out an outfit for you.

“Maybe you find me too cold, too.”

You'd laughed and told him, “Natsu! Of course I don't! I was talking about the water. My fingers hurt from the cold.”

“Don't they hurt when you hold mine?”

There'd been a lot of back and forth. You'd spent weeks trying to convince the love of your life that you didn't mean anything metaphorical. You were being literal. You recalled every hug, every hand held, every bed shared, every time you touched, every time you bared yourself to him. None of it made any difference as he wasn't leaving because of you. He was leaving because of himself.

Last time you'd spoken, you had begged him to give you a reason for why he left. You'd begged him to meet you one more time. He'd stayed quite on the other side of the call. You'd said, “you know? I, I do find you very, very, cold, Natsuo. C-cold enough to make me cry for the rest of my life.” The crack in your voice was reflected in the crack in his heart. He vouched to never date again.

Then you met Fuyumi. Fuyumi.

Everything about her appealed to you. Her smile, her voice, her glasses, her hair, her hobbies, even her gait. The more you learned about her, the more you liked her.

Fuyumi. Fuyumi who fills every corner of her life with warmth.

You didn't realize her relation to Natsuo until you saw him in her house.

You had just showered after spending the night with Fuyumi. She was making tea in the kitchen. It was your small routine.

If she spent the night at yours, you made the tea. If you spent the night at hers, she made the tea. The other person would shower and make their way to the kitchen. Then you'd embrace each other with soft smiles and softer kisses.

“Your tea always tastes better than mine! Tell me your secrets!”, you peppered her neck with kisses to hear her giggle, your real source of warmth through the cold.

“I can say the same about yours. You make it just how I need it”, she turned to wrap her arms around your neck and kiss your temple.

You closed your eyes to savor the short moment you had before you'd separate for work.

“Sorry, it took me a while. The water was so cold, I almost cried.”

A shattering noise from the adjacent living room made Fuyumi jump in shock.

You turned around to see him, of all people, with a half cracked frozen mug, sitting on the couch you and Fuyumi first made love on.

“Natsuo! Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself? Don't touch the broken pieces. I'm bringing a dustpan,” Fuyumi left your arms to help your ex-boyfriend fix his mess.

Natsuo.

Natsuo. The reason you cried for six months straight.

Natsuo. The reason you walked on eggshells around every person you knew for fear of upsetting them enough to leave you.

Natsuo. Your first love who carved out a whole chunk of your personality and threw it away while throwing away 2 years of your life.

You were one more thought away from dropping to your knees when Fuyumi said something worse, “love, meet Natsuo, my brother. He said he made too much food so he brought some over to share with us.”

Natsuo. Fuyumi's brother.

Sirens blared in your head, a thousand exclamation marks were drawn all italicized. For the first time, something she did took warmth away from your life.

It did make some things fall in place. Like, why you liked her so much from the get-go. She looks like him. Laughs like him. Or maybe he laughs like her. Same laugh, they have the same laugh. They smell similar. Same detergent, you assume. Her hands hold yours the way his did. They listen to the same obscure vinyl record, only Fuyumi plays it on a record while Natsuo played it on his walkman. There were a thousand other things you could list. Like that time you got a dirty look from a restaurant owner that Fuyumi said was a family friend. It didn't make sense then but ah, I did go there with Natsuo.

For the second time, the love of my life would leave me because I said something about a stupid cold shower.

You laughed. An honest, amused laugh until there were tears in your eyes and said, “Fuyumi, I know your brother as well as I know you.”

Natsuo had forgotten your voice in the 2 years you spent apart. But he'd never forget your face. His first thought upon seeing you was did she do this for revenge?

But then, your voice cracked the way it did when you last spoke to him. And he knew, life was being cruel to him and you and Fuyumi once more time.

He cursed himself internally for thinking you would stoop this low for revenge. He, more than anyone else, should know how he contributed to this. In the two years you dated, he never once introduced you to any family member. He told himself you were temporary. And you, you never had an interest in celebrities to look up 'Endeavor's family members'.

But Fuyumi loves you enough to talk about you at family dinners. I think you will like her. She's very sweet and pretty. She gave me a vinyl record of her favorite song. I just think, whatever we have, I want it to last. I really want you to meet her so she knows how serious I am about her.

“You-, you do?”, Fuyumi's voice was faint. The stillness of the room was the only reason it was audible.

You looked like you wanted to cease existing.

Natsuo got up from his seat. Two of the women he loved, loves, were going to fall apart because of him.

“I, it's fine! We were young and it was a long-”

A sob left your chest. Fuyumi was by your side in an instant, holding your falling body.

Natsuo sat back down and held his chest while you cried in Fuyumi's arms.

Everyone had called their work and asked for a day off. Natsuo had called and asked his friend to take notes for him.

You were all seated around the kotatsu. Natsuo had served the food he brought over. Fuyumi's tea was served on the side.

You picked at your plate and nibbled occasionally. You were seated next to Fuyumi. Your left hand held onto her sweater.

The Todorokis exchanged glances. While Natsuo didn't introduce you to the family, he did tell his sister about his last girlfriend (aka, the reason he stopped eating for 2 weeks straight).

Fuyumi knew Natsuo's girlfriend. He had confided in her during your breakup. She knew how he broke your heart and knew why he did it. Their father left different wounds on each of them, some of them hurt others in these ways. But she didn't want to hurt you or lose you.

She took a deep breath and asked a brave question, “what if you dated?”.

“I don't want you to leave me!”, your hand clutching her sweater tightened.

“I know. I know, honey. I am-, I'm not leaving you,” she squeezed your left hand to reassure you.

Natsuo, who understood her question, choked on his meal.

His sister was proposing something blasphemous. He had to brush out the thought as soon as possible. No.

That's all he had to say. But the thought of feeling you and holding you in his arms again, and to have you hold onto him like you're holding Fuyumi held him back.

“Yes.” He said before he could convince himself otherwise.

You jerked your head towards him. His sister hummed in thought. You glanced between the siblings to try and understand what they were thinking.

Natsuo moved to sit by your right side and Fuyumi drew in a breath again.

The two of them held a hand of yours before Fuyumi spelled it out for you, “darling, I understand that finding out your first love and your current girlfriend are siblings isn't easy for you to take. But I think there's an easy solution here. I love you so much. And I know how much Natsuo loved you, how much he still loves you. I know how loving be would be to you, how much better he would be today. I'd love to see you be loved like that. Will you let us both love on you?”

“I, I don't get-”

“Date us both. Go out with both of us. Love her and let me love you, again”, Natsuo simplified the thought for you.

You gaped at the two of them while trying to form coherent responses. You couldn't wrap your head around it. What part of it was easy? What part of it made sense? Dating two siblings at the same time, one being your ex, made no sense.

“Let me kiss you. Just once. If that doesn't help you, we can forget this whole thing. And I'll leave you alone”, Natsuo suggested.

Hearing him say ‘I will leave you alone’ hurt more than you expected it to. Do you still have feelings for him?

You looked back at Fuyumi to see how she felt about his suggestion. She wore an encouraging. To help you, she held your chin and kissed you.

When you separated to take a breath, she turned your chin towards your ex.

He gave you a second to hesitate before leaning in.

His lips still felt the same. He cupped your face with both his hands and kissed you like he was making up for the two years he spent apart from you. You let go of your girlfriend's sweater and brought your hands over to his chest.

You liked it. You liked it a lot. You missed him. You wanted him. Tears spilled from your face and you choked on a sob.

Natsuo pulled away immediately.

“But, what will, ah, how, people, and uh, people, and your mom and my mom, and others, and you're siblings. And I don't-”, you had so many worries. All of them spilled over in an incoherent mess. Your chest heaved. Your body shook.

Your two loves steadied you in their arms. One kissed your head while the other kissed your hand.

“We can explain. I am sure your friends will understand. It may be harder to explain to our families but we can work on that slowly,” Fuyumi held your face in her chest and consoled you.

“You don't have to think of everything now or today. Just focus on us now,” Natsuo rubbed your head.

The two of them were truly like your rocks. Having both of them here made you think how could I not want this?

“O-okay.”

And that's how you became Fuyumi and Natsuo's girlfriend.

[third-arch]

No Surprises-A Trafalgar Law x Reader Fan Fiction

Chapter 3-Part 2-Nothing

nsfw, trauma, cussing, fluff, comfort, angst, mentions of abuse/degredation and rape

“Mmmm…”

Captain Law’s eyes fluttered open as he looked at your sleeping person.

He pressed a kiss on your forehead, smiling.

“Mmm…Law?”

His expression immediately steadied into one of grumpiness.

Yet, he still couldn’t hide the blush on his cheeks.

“Law, why are you furrowing your brows like that?” You asked in a sleepy voice

He pulled you in closer,

“…”

You giggle,

“Alright,”

Hugging him tighter,

“Thank you for earlier, Captain”

“…”

He remained silent.

You stretched your arms, yawning, and wrapped them around Law once more.

“When I was with Doffy, he'd make me sit on the floor for my meals. Sometimes, if he was drunk, he’d piss on my plate.”

“If I didn’t oblige or refused to eat, he’d lock me in a closet.”

Law's eyes widened. His eyes fell into dark stormy colors, expressions of wicked horror and confusion.

You nuzzle into laws chest, softly speaking,

“I just got some bad memories. That’s all, okay?”

Law gently holds the back of your head, pressing his lips onto your head.

“I’m fine now. Just-!!”

Law brings his head back to look at you, anxiously.

His calloused fingers stroke your hair,

“I won’t ever, ever do anything like that to you, Reader-ya. I promise you,”

He holds your lacerated arm firmly, looking at you in the eyes,

“I won’t let anyone or anything hurt you.”

“Nobody here will. I’ll know about it if it happens.”

“You’re safe here.”

You nod,

“Thank you.”

“…Reader-ya,”

“Hm?”

“Do you ever wonder how things would be different had we met at a different time?”

What do you mean?”

Like, what if you never met Doflamingo and only me?”

Oh! Well duh, I’d be a lot happier.”

His eyes soften.

“I agree.”

“Why do you ask?” You say, stroking his cheek.

Law sits up, pulling you into his lap.

He wraps his arms around your stomach.

“I just think about it sometimes. About what could have been, about all the unnecessary pain you wouldn’t have to endure,”

He buries his head into your neck,

“About what should have been.”

You feel a painful stinging in your chest.

“Mm…”

“But you’re here now, and that’s what matters.”

“With my family and the person I care about most!”

“Yeah..!!”

Law blushes.

“Tch!!!”

He hugs you tighter, causing you to laugh.

“Law! Your face feels hot!!”

“Be quiet!!”

You ruffle his hair, turning to plant a kiss on his cheek.

What should’ve been, huh?

All that pain and suffering, did it make you stronger?

Maybe it was worth it. You saved another girl from falling into Doffy’s hands.

Or, are you just piling guilt on your plate?

Excuses for enduring the pain you went through. 

It didn’t matter, that shouldn’t be a reason to feel proud of your pain.

No matter how lucky or unfortunate one can be, overcoming the pain is the most rewarding step.

For some, it might take days, for others, it might take years, and for some, it might never go away.

As long as you kept pushing forward, you thought,

As long as you had your crew, and Law

And knowing your family was safe,

Your were stronger than titanium,

You were fearless, like a lion.

Nobody could break you.

Nothing at all.

-

The next day, the Polar Tang docked at Elston Island.

It was yet another dreary morning. Lots of fog and cloudy skies.

“You’re sure you won’t be making it for lunch?”

Law adjusts your uniform,

“I’ll be fine, Captain. Same route as usual.”

You held your dulcimer and satchel tightly in your hands. 

“Just be safe, okay?” Law promptly pats your head.

“I promise”

You turn to wave goodbye to your crew as you head off for the woods.

-

As you made your way through the woods, you hummed the melodies of folk songs from distant lands.

Then take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind

Down the foggy ruins of time

Far past the frozen leaves

The haunted, frightened trees

Out to the windy beach

Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow

“Doo Doo Doo Doo~”

Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky

With one hand waving free-

“Huh? What’s this?”

An ovular-shaped purple fruit with swirly bumps rested at your feet.

You pluck it from its stem and hold it, examining it.

Your eyes widen

“This is…a Devil Fruit!!”

You held it in your hand, examining its smooth textures and crevasses. 

You press it to your lips, closing your eyes.

“...”

…

MUNCH.

“...” 

Wait, why did you do that?

Your eyes widen in shock.

“Oh shit. Why did I do that?”

You spit the bite out, 

A nostalgic taste develops in your mouth, as if Doffy’s degradation and humiliation during mealtimes prepared you for this moment.

“Dang.”

You don’t flinch,

Pleh 

“Gross.” is all you say, as you spit out every remnant of the bite.

You drop the fruit to the ground. 

Your hands felt hot and clammy.

Why did you do that?

What were you thinking?

You had no rhyme or rhythm in even knowing what the fruit you just ate would do to you.

What if it turned you into a horse?

Or, maybe a festive Christmas reindeer,

The Jingle Jingle no Mi?

It was hopeless. You knew nothing about pirates.

“Oh god, I’m gonna have to tell Captain about this.”

You covered your hands over your face and sighed,

You felt nauseous. You wanted to throw up.

Well, you had no idea how to unlock this power.

Only time would tell

And, when the time was right, you’d tell Law.

But, when would that be?

You felt dizzy.

You felt numbness, like an adrenaline boost rushed though your body.

Tomorrow? Next week? In a few years?

You loved him, but, this couldn’t be a secret forever.

Nothing at all.

Nothing at all.

Your heart beat louder and louder

Lub-dup, lub-dup, lub-dup, lub-dup, lub-dup,

It pounded against your ears

Lub-dup, lub-dup, lub-dup, lub-dup, lub-dup, 

Your wrists felt numb

“Ah!! Make it stop!!”

You clutched your wrists

“Just, calm down.”

Lub-dup, lub-dup, lub-dup, lub-dup, lub-dup, 

“Please!!” You trembled.

“Calm down!!” You swallowed hard, clutching your heart.

Calm!!

“...”

Pure silence.

Your body felt latent. 

For a brief moment, everything felt quiet.

No ringing in your ears, no heartbeat pounding in your head.

Only the quiescent solitude of the world around you.

Then, like a flame, it was snuffed out.

The noise returned

But, you felt calmer.

Beads of sweat had already piled at your forehead.

You panted, falling to your knees.

Fear loomed over you.

You felt terrified and exhausted.

-

Later that night, aboard the Polar Tang, you anxiously sat in your room.

There was a party going on downstairs, but, you were too shy to even attend.

Regardless, you had other things on your mind.

Your hands felt hot and clammy and you felt like you couldn’t breathe.

You felt like passing out.

Knock Knock

You closed your eyes and took a deep breath

Just, stay strong.

“In a second.”

“It’s Bepo!”

“Alright.”

Gathering yourself, you took one more deep breath and approached the door.

You peered out the door.

“Reader-chan?”

“Hey, Bepo, what’s up?”

“Are you okay? You seem alittle off since you got back from your usual spot.”

“Yeah, um, I’m just tired.”

“Can I come in?”

“Sure!”

Bepo sits on your bed.

He places his paw on your head.

“You know, Reader-Chan, when I was little, I used to work in a construction company.”

“Really?”

“Yeah! It helped me when I was upset. I’d create things. I got to use all kinds of tools.”

“Maybe you could create things, too. For when you’re upset and stuff.”

“Like what?”

“What about writing?”

“Huh?”

You look at Bepo,

“Well, you draw already, don’t you?”

“For me, I used to study navigation to search for my brother,”

“Sometimes, when I’m sad, I turn to my writing and studying.”

“I like researching meteorology, the currents, magnetism, those kinds of things.”

“Didn’t you get stranded on the wrong beach like me?”

“Like you?”

“Law didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“Oh, about how I got here.”

“Ehh?? That’s right! Why did Captain recruit you, Reader-chan?”

“Well,”

You adjust yourself,

“I was sailing with my dad and decided I wanted to go off on my own. I wanted to pursue music,”

“So, I ended up in Dressrosa, of all places.”

“I was 17, doing some commissions here and there, and I guess Doflamingo took a liking to me.”

You play with Bepo’s paw, tracing along his dark claws and the soft pink pads of his palms.

“He found me, one night. I was covering for the lead at a club. I had just turned 18.”

“When I was done, I sat at the lounge.”

“The atmosphere was calm, and I had already had a drink or two at that point. Cherry wine, I think,”

“Classy!”

You laugh,

“Well, anyways, I remember sitting there, tracing my finger along the rim of the glass.”

“I was really anxious, since I never dressed that nice. But, since it would be my first time making a public-ish appearance, I thought, ‘Well, might as well try for tonight.’”

“Out of all nights, seriously.”

-

A white chiffon shirt hung loosely around your arms, exposing your bare shoulders to the drunken atmosphere. The red and purple club lights illuminated your skin, allowing your lacy leopard lingerie underneath to show through. You pressed your legs together on the black leather stool, swiveling back and forth. Your black miniskirt hugged tightly around your waist. You clicked your black high heels together that had been stored away for years, now shiny and dazzling under the ceiling lights.

Your long braid hung over your left shoulder. Your subtle black eyeliner and eyeshadow was starting to bother you. You never liked wearing makeup. At least the taste of your strawberry chapstick kept you distracted.

As you were taking another sip of your liquor, a handsome, tall-statured man with extravagant red sunglasses sat down next to you. 

His bright pink feathered coat nearly consumed his body as it kissed the wooden floor of the bar.

More notable than the slight receding hairline of his short, blonde hair was his sharp and defined features. His jawline, and chest were impeccably gorgeous and mesmerizing to look at. He was very muscular, it was somewhat intimidating. His golden earrings complemented his stylish appearance. Your face met directly with his tanned chest, causing you to blush. 

He’s so tall.

About twice your height. He was very tall.

And he smelled incredible, it was hypnotizing. 

The rich floral scents kept your gaze on him.

Look away, Kanna, look away!

You felt your cheeks growing red. 

Finally, you looked away. 

“...” 

You could feel the man turn his head. His eyes were all over your body.

“What’s a pretty girl like you doing here all alone?” he finally spoke,

You looked up to face him.

By now, his entire body was turned to you, legs spread as wide as the grin plastered on his face.

“Just trying to unwind, I suppose,” you giggle nervously.

“Well, there are better places to do it than this shitty bar,” he remarks.

“Tell me,”

His large, slender fingers inch their way over to your hand, like a spider trapping a butterfly.

“Why stay anonymous?”

“What do you mean?”

“All of your music, your works, commissions, you never gave your name. It made it a bit frustrating to track you down.”

“You’ve listened to all my music?” your eyes sparkle. 

“Why wouldn’t I? I love your music, Miss Kannazuki.” he grinned wildly.

You smile shyly into your lap

“Thank you!”

“I’d love to hear how that lovely voice sounds in bed~” He coos, caressing your braid.

Your cheeks redden,

“We’ve barely even introduced ourselves!” “I know better ways to do that,”

He laughs,

“Do you even know who I am?”

You shake your head,

“No.”

The music stops.

Unfamiliar faces are now looking at you.

Twisted expressions of amusement and fear.

“Oh, well, now I have to show you.”

His arm slithers around your waist, pulling you close.

“I’ll make you remember my name,”

His calloused fingers tilt your chin up to face him,

“You’ll be screaming it all night for everyone to hear.”

His voice lowers, “I’ll make you remember so you'll never forget, Donquioxte Doflamingo.”

-

“He took me home, and, well,”

You pause,

“We had sex.”

“He didn’t really ever let me go, though. I felt like he kept me on a leash all the time.”

“I was trapped with him for nearly two years.”

“He did whatever he wanted to me.”

“No matter how much I begged him to stop or pleaded for him to be gentle, he was rough and abusive.”

“He raped me, Bepo.”

“He molested me.” Your voice trembled slightly.

“To him, I was a bitch.”

You lifted up your shirt to show your stomach.

An abundance of scars littered your stomach. 

“All of these,” you point all around your abdomen,

“Well, most are from Doflamingo.”

Bepo covered his paws over his mouth,

“Reader-chan!!”

“I guess he wasn’t lying when he told me he’d make me remember his name, huh?”

You give a sad chuckle while rolling down your shirt,

“Sometimes, he would molest me after I was done playing the piano. So, I’d play for as long as I could, hoping he’d get bored waiting for me. But,” 

You swallow, 

“Doffy’s a patient man. When I finally gave up, I’d be crying by the time his hands were under my shirt.”

You shake your head.

“Anyways!! Uh, well, I finally was like,”

“‘If I don’t escape, I’ll either die here or get some case of Stockholm Syndrome, or something.’ I guess,”

“And then, well…you guys and the Straw Hats came.”

“Y-you mean.”

You smile softly into your lap, nodding.

“I guess Law saved me.”

“R-rea-” “Well, myself and Zoro, too-”

“READER-CHAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!”

Bepo hugs you.

“Oof! Bepo!”

Bepo cries loudly while hugging you,

You sink into his white polar fur.

You smile,

“You guys really didn’t know?”

Bepo only sobs,

“Oi!”

Quick footsteps approach your room.

The door swings open,

“Oi! Is everything alright?-”

Law stands at the doorway, seeing Bepo smothering you in his embrace.

“Bepo! Give her some space!” He yells.

Bepo lets go,

“So-orry, Captain,” he sniffs

“Captain!!!” Bepo leaps out of your bed, running up to embrace Law.

“Oof!! Bepo! Get off of me!!”

“You really are the best Captain ever!”

“O-Oi!! Knock it off!!” Law growled.

The two of you glance at each other from the doorway.

You smile awkwardly at Law, giggling.

You wave to Law with both hands, as a silent greeting.

He only frowns and turns his head away from you, shutting the door with a click.

Carefully, you approached the door, pressing your head against the wooden barrier.

“Bepo, What was that all about?”

“Reader-chan told me how you saved her!!”

“What?”

“Yeah! She told me how Doflamingo did horrible things to her when she was younger. I felt so bad, Captain! I wanted to hug her!” Bepo cried.

“Tch!! Well, listen! You can’t tell anyone! It’s not your story to share, okay?”

“Captain…”

“Give her some respect and don’t say anything until she’s ready! That’s an order!”

“Aye aye, Captain!”

Your eyes sparkle.

He was protecting you, this entire time.

A heavy set of footsteps fades. 

You hear Law sigh and approach your door once more.

Knock Knock

Your heart skips a beat. You adjust your hair and fix your clothes.

Calmly, you open the door to see your Captain. 

His tattooed arm rested over the headboard of the doorway.

“Oi,”

You blush.

“Captain!”

He looks at you calmly, quietly noting your flustered appearance.

“Looks like you and Bepo were having some fun, huh?”

“Hey! Not funny!”

“O-Oi! I didn’t mean it like that.” He retorts.

“Are you okay?” He sighs at the white fur all over your clothes,

“Yeah. I’ll just change out of this before bed.”

“…” you stare at your feet

He sighs, patting your head,

“Silly girl”

“...”

Law studies the lingering anxiety in your eyes.

He crosses his arms, leaning against the side of the door,

“…Are you doing okay? From today?”

You shake your head.

“Did something happen on the island?”

You swallow hard, shaking your head once more,

Just still shaken up from yesterday then, I take it?-”

“Y-yeah, something like that.”

“…”

Law pauses,

“Well, if there’s anything you need to talk about, you’re always welcome to-”

“I know,” you interrupt.

“Ah, sorry.”

“You’ve done enough already. It really helped a lot. It means so much...”

“I’m…ah…”

Law notices the redness on your cheeks, and sighs.

“It’s fine, I won’t pressure you.”

You nod.

“…Law?”

“Hm?”

“Thank you for yesterday.”

He glances away,

“I know you’re really protective of me, but just know that I wanna be independent too, sometimes.”

“Huh?” Law’s eyes widen.

Protective? Did I really come off that way all this time?

“I guess helping me all this time made you a bit soft, huh?”

“Oh, I, uh,”

Law blushes while studying your smile.

He looks away, awkwardly,

Protective? Maybe I’ve been…too much?

“Hey, what’s wrong? You seem concerned,” 

Your hand reaches to touch his forehead. 

He grabs it, gently holding it and returning it to your chest,

“…It’s nothing,” he stammers,

“Law, you’re my best friend!” You tug on his blue coat, instead.

“I’m really thankful for you looking out for me.” You look down at the blue fabric.

Law watches your eyes soften. 

He smiles, ruffling your hair,

“I guess it’s only natural. You are my dearest friend, huh?”

He holds his hand on your head.

“Reader-ya,”

“Yeah?”  You hug the piece of his coat close to your chest.

“…Does it bother you how much I’m around you?”

“Not at all, Captain. I love being around you.”

“But, you don’t think…”

“Hm?”

“…Well,” he pauses,

“What if it…becomes a problem?”

“Why would it?”

“I don’t know.”

“...” a brief moment of silence falls over the two of you.

Your hands let go of his coat and find his hands.

You play with his hands, tracing the tattoos on his fingers,

Maybe I should stop.

“Law! I should paint your nails black sometime.”

He gives you a forced smile,

How does that saying go,

“If you love someone, let them go”

“…”

You hold his hand to your cheek, nuzzling it closely,

“Your hands are rough, like a cat’s tongue…like a snow leopard!!” Your eyes sparkle.

Law chuckles,

“Are they?”

You hum.

Reader-ya 

…What are we?

“Oh! Also! I got signed up!”

“For the medical assistant position?”

You continue holding his hand, nodding.

“Well, I’ll be looking forward to training you, Reader-ya.”

“Kanna-ya”

“Huh?”

“That’s my real name!”

“…”

“…”

Law stares at you, dumbfounded.

“…what?”

He pinches your cheek.

“You’re telling me this whole time, your name wasn’t actually Reader?”

“It’s a nickname!”

“Why haven’t you told me sooner, huh?”

“I was scared! I was waiting until we were close enough!”

“Close enough? What’s that supposed to mean!”

“I dunno! Like, best friends!” 

“Huh! That doesn’t make any sense. I’m your Captain, for crying out loud!”

“What’s your excuse, Trafalagar Deee Water Law?”

“Huh?? I told you that already, though!” 

He ruffles your hair, causing you to laugh,

“Captain! Stooooop!! “

He sighs, stifling his laughter.

“You’re so strange, Kanna-ya.” He smiles,

Kanna-ya A soft pink hue warms your cheeks. 

His words felt loving and genuine.

“Well, you’ve come this far. So, tell me your real name.”

“Kannazuki Kaze.”

“Kannazuki, your name is beautiful. I wish you’d told me sooner.”

You blush, looking down at your feet.

“Anything else you want to share, Kanna-ya?”

You pause for a moment. You reflect upon the moment at Elston Island. When you pressed the mysterious purple Devil Fruit to your lips and took a bite.

How you tried spitting it out,

How you were almost entirely sure nothing felt out of place by the time you were heading back to base,

How you almost vomited from the guilt and anxiety pressing against your stomach.

How the ugly and bitter taste never left your mouth.

But, you were terrified. 

Nothing at all.

Nothing at all.

Nothing at all, huh?

What about Doflamingo?

What about the relationship between yourself and Law?

What about the softer moments you shared with your Captain.

How did he even feel about you?

What if he didn’t even feel the same?

What if there was someone else?

Would he even care if you decided to leave the crew?

“Hm…”

None of this mattered. You were strong. Just, what’s the word,

Hurt? No,

Fragile.

Something like that.

“Nothing that I can think of,” you chuckle.

Law,

You shake your head.

I’m sorry, Law.

“Nothing? Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

Please forgive me. 

“…”

“Well,”

“Hm?”

Just,

You shake your head.

Don’t think less of me.

“…Nothing. Goodnight, Captain.”

“…Goodnight.”

You shut the door with a steady click.

You crawl on your bed and snuff out the light.

You curl up under your sheets and sigh, 

Nothing

“Fuck.”

-

-

-

“I suppose you're a lover, not a fighter, Miss Kannazuki.”

“Huh?”

Your eyes flutter open.

“Mmm?”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“What is this?”

The woman stands from her seat, placing a hand on the large wolf as she turns towards you. 

She approaches the bed, towering over you.

A knowing grin tugs at her lips.

“...What are you doing?” you stammer.

“No need to feel nervous,” she responds, calmly.

“I just wanted to look at you, that's all.”

The woman inspects your body up and down.

“Heh,” She stifles her laughter, “That’ll do it. Farewell, Miss Kannazuki.”

Darkness followed once more.

Song Credits!!

[Song-Artist (Album, Year Released)]

Mr. Tambourine Man-Bob Dylan/Robert Zimmerman (Bringing It All Back Home, 1965)