#i have tried to fix the goddamn text 5 times. and it will not let the you stay small. i am so mcfucking pissed

[maroonian]

Maybe you're looking for someone to blame Fighting for air while you circle the drain Never be sorry for your little time It's not when you get there, it's always the climb But I won't save you

[x]

[jjkarmy091]

Second Best - Jungkook (part 5)

Summary: Being friends with someone who has your heart it’s already hard, let alone when that special someone ends up falling in love with your best friend, the one you think would never make anything to hurt you . Will you be able to ignore it and move on? what will happen when everything gets too much for you to handle?

Genre: Friends to lovers; angst; body insecurities; bullying; friend betrayel;

Pairing: Jungkook x female!reader

Jungkook’s feeling down lately.

After leaving Sewoon in the club, he hopped on his motorcycle and started driving until he reached his own home. Opening the front door he looked around and was emerged by this void feelling. He didn't know what was going on and why he felt the way he did. It wasn't a normal reaction of his. His night even went okay, he was having fun with his friends and kissed the girl he was in love with. How come everything turned out to this shitty. 

Then he remembered Y/n, the way she spoke with him before leaving. Did he say something he wasn't supposed to? Was she mad because of the guy she was sad for? He picked up his phone and called her, not once, not twice but four times. In any of those tries did she pick up.

“Hey Y/n. Just wanted to let you know I’m home and safe. I’m sorry the way things went out tonight, it was a very confusing night. Are we good? We never fought before and I'm lost here. I just-- I want you to know I care about you Y/n, a lot. Never forget that”  

Five minutes later: 

“Please call or text me when you get the chance so I know you are okay and we can talk about it” 

"Don't leave me in the dark Y/n. I'm beggin you. Talk to me or else I'll lose it"

Nothing. After millions of calls and text the response was not what he was expecting and it was driving him insane. Breathing heavily he sent one last text

---------------------------------------

Sitting down on his couch waiting for a call or reply from you was being a nightmare. It's been an hour and he got nothing from you. He fucked up bad. "Shit”. Then his phone started ringing and he answered it so quickly he didn't have time to see who it was, almost dropping it midway.  

“Hello?” 

“Hi Jk.” Sewoon replied on the other side. “Did you get home already? I wanna apologize for the way I spoke earlier about Y/n. You’re right, I shouldn’t have take it so easily and said those things. Were you able to talk to her after?” 

“Ahhh Sewoon. No I didn’t. She's probably asleep. I’m sure she’s alright.” Jungkook said nervously. “she better be. She’s not home either. I went there and no response” Sewoon said and Jungkook mind stopped working. What does she mean she's not home either? Did she really went out with some guy? She was never the one to behave like this. Only if she was --

“Jk are you listening to me? Can I come over to yours? Leaving Y/n aside for a bit, I thought we could have some fun I saw how stressed you were before. I want to help you shake it off a little, like old times”

Jungkook could only laugh to himself thinking how crazy he was when he said “I’m sorry Sewoon, not today. I’m tired and wanna get some rest okay? I'm sorry. If you get any info on Y/n, please tell me yeah? Just to be sure she really is okay. Sleep thigh"

Dropping his phone next to him, he turned the tv off, went to his bedroom, laid down and tried to find a way to sleep

----- 

Y/n called her manager the next morning asking for some days off, caliming she was having some personal issues and needed some time to fix them. The manager put no restraining to that, giving her a week off since she never missed work and was a great employee. She knew that too damn well.  She spent her life that goddamn coffee shop trying to earn every penny she could .

After drinking with Lisa and clean the mess they made she tried to get some sleep. Everytime she was about to close her eyes her phone screen would light up. She would look at it. Another notification from Jungkook and one in particular from Sewoon saying “you better had some fun tonight bitch because you leaving the club with someone else ruined my night. Jungkook lost his mind thinking you were in trouble. Call me up".

Y/n couldn’t help but sigh. Was her best friend always so self centered? How come she never noticed it? She turned her phone off and rolled over, finally being able to get some rest until she wakes up with a loud bang on the door and Lisa walking in full of excitement.  

“Good morning lady. Did you pack your stuff already? Pack warm things, a book or two, some pair of boots and lots of socks. We’re going to the snow. Oh and our flight is in about 5 hours. Hurry up”  

You didn’t know if you wanted to kill Lisa or thank her for being such a light in the middle of the storm going in your head and your heart. The next few hours were a rush. Between preparing things, buying others, organizing documents and being ready in time to go to the airport and checking in. In all this time, Y/n hasn't responded to either Sewoon or Jungkook. It was better this way. It was too much on her plate. A burden she had no need to carry.

After all the stress to get there on time they finally managed to sit down in their seats and recover from all the rush. Y/n wasn't definitely used to all of this. After a bit of silence she turned to Lisa and said  

"Jungkook called and texted me several times last night. And Sewoon too. It made me question the context of her text."  

“what do you mean?” Lisa questioned. 

"Basically she blamed me for ruinning her night with Jungkook after I left the club." Y/n retorded. Lisa opened her mouth but then closed it. Y/n wishes she had said what she was going to say, but instead she questioned "Did you answered any of them?" Y/n shakes her head "Good. These days we will have our phones turned off. No Jungkook, no Sewoon and no worries. Let's just have fun and create some badass memories. Deal?”

Y/n has to make sure that after all this mess gets better, to thank Lisa for everything she's been doing for her. Not that she hasn't already. She's so glad she came back into her life at a time like this. It made her compare Lisa to Sewoon. Where was Sewoon in the most difficult moments of your life?

"Deal"

A bit of sadness hits Y/n. She holds Lisa's hand and mouths "thank you" squeezing it tightly. You are going to get through this, like you managed before but this time with someone who truly cares and you couldn't be more relieved by it

------------------------------

@esposadomd @joonlover1207 @eegyo @furrywonderlandwolf @minghaosimp @differentrunawayperson @nikkinikj @jksusawife @11thenightwemet11 @jk97bam

[mingis-conspiracy-theories]

dating poly!jongsang

i’m finally back from the dead 💀 poly!atz part 5/7~ nsfw at the end!

dating these two is like having your own personal security squad

jongho won’t let anyone harm a single strand of hair on your pretty head

and yeosang? ready to roast anyone you need him to without mercy

did you ask for this?? no

but are you the most well-protected person within a 10-km radius??

don’t hesitate babe, you KNOW you are

Choi Jongho

guard dog #1

has MUSCLES and isn’t afraid to let you know he has them

but also doesn’t know how to flirt properly because his examples have only ever been wooyoung and san, and he’d rather eat cardboard than learn from those two, thanks

instead, his version of flirting is making sure you know you’re safe with him

that includes flexing his biceps as hard as he can for NO REASON when he’s holding your hand

always tries his hardest to convey his love by telling you to get home safely, but every single time, it comes out as “if you don’t text me when you get home, i’m going to find you myself and kill you with my bare hands”

like what 😭😭😭 ok i-i love you too

when he can walk you home though, is the type of gentleman to walk you all the way to your front door

and then spend 3 whole minutes stopping you from going inside yet because he’s still trying to decide whether or not he should kiss you goodnight

is just as anti-pda (public displays of affection) as yeosang, but yeosang actually finds it LESS painful to see the both of you kiss each other goodbye than to watch jongho flounder around like a fish out of water for 1 more goddamn second

jongho’s love language is acts of service

so if you aren’t taking good care of yourself for whatever reason, you can bet yo ass jongho will put that responsibility on himself to do it all

aka - you didn’t eat breakfast?? how DARE you 😤😤😤 If you aren’t going to take care of your own body, guess Jongho is going to have to do it HIMSELF.

when you’re dating jongho, your fridge is NEVER not stocked. Your pantry is N E V E R not full. Even your secret stash of pads and tampons (if you use them!) have somehow been stocked enough to last you the next 2 years

you don’t even notice they’re being regularly stocked until you’re thinking about it one day and realize you can’t remember the last time you ran out and had to buy some

you once came back home and found yeosang eating popcorn at your dining table while jongho was busy fixing the leak in your kitchen sink that you never told either of them about

jongho just ✨knows✨ things

is the type of boyfriend to lowkey be offended when neither you nor yeosang pick him as a partner on board game night

you both always fight to be yunho’s partner because he’s the best at games and jongho is flabbergasted EVERY SINGLE TIME

because hello?? are you guys dating yunho or dating him???

gets jealous but won’t admit it

every time he loses either of you to yunho, refuses to hug either of you to sleep, no matter how hard you try to sway him by telling him you can’t fall asleep without your teddy bear

on the other hand, yeosang just shrugs and goes to brush his teeth because he knows jongho will give in eventually 😈😈😈

yeosang’s gut feeling ALWAYS checks out because every single morning after y’all win with yunho, you ALWAYS find jongho in bed with you both because he’d spent the entire night wide awake on the couch being eaten alive by his guilt

jongho can and will accept apologies in the form of breakfast 😤 eggs sunny-side-up ONLY with a kiss on the side and NO QUESTIONS

like yeosang, doesn’t really say the words i love you

the only time he says it is when he’s been egged on and in competition with someone (read: wooyoung)

then he’ll become the loviest doviest boyfriend you yeosang AND wooyoung have EVER SEEN

literally scoffs when you suggest making two trips from the car after grocery shopping because y’all bought too much shit

will dangle one of the bags from his teeth if he has to

has a certain pride about how strong he’s gotten

you and yeosang once brought him a watermelon to break for funsies and y’all ended up having to clean watermelon juice from the ceiling after jongho couldn’t accept defeat and ended up just smashing his fist into it

is REALLY protective over the both of you

you verbalizing that you need him makes his chest puff up in pride

you need him to come with you to the doctor’s because you’re scared of the shot you’re getting? say no more

someone say something hurtful to you at work? do you want him to  just cuddle you to death or should he tell your coworker to meet him in the parking lot?

gets embarrassed when you compliment him or tell him how much you love his gummy smile

but it lowkey boosts his confidence

chugs respect women juice

loves you two so much, even if you both like to follow him to the gym just to chant his name and whistle at him distractedly while he’s just trying to do his reps goddammit

Kang Yeosang

guard dog (cat?) #2

will never admit it but having jongho present comforts him deeply because his introverted self likes to hide behind the other whether it’s because the stranger on the elevator is initiating small talk or if someone’s being rude  to y’all at the store

if yeosang had cat ears, they’d be flat on his head

is WAY less confrontational and less overprotective than jongho, but that doesn’t mean he loves you both any less fiercely

it just means he’ll try plan b (glaring silently) to plan e (feigning ignorance) until he has no other choice but to unleash the savage tongue lashing he’d been saving as a last resort

doesn’t happen often but when it does, he goes for the JUGULAR

has an insane poker face

is the KING of any board games that require lying or manipulation

he and yunho make such a SAVAGE team that they’re now banned from being partners because of how much they won (and also because of how much money mingi lost when y’all bet with real money last time 😭)

likes to go hit the gym with jongho

when it’s just him and jongho, they get SO much done

but when you decide to come too, he ALWAYS gets distracted having fun with you taking silly pictures in the mirror and trying to get an exasperated jongho to lift the two of you while you hang off his arms

when yeosang laughs openly, it’s the CUTEST thing

sometimes when you’re out with him, you don’t realize you’re the only one wearing a face full of makeup until he turns to talk to you and you see his birthmark staring at you in the face

like jongho, doesn’t really prefer to show PDA

but it’s really clear to people who know him that there’s only two people in the world that yeosang will wrap his arms around unprompted or rest his head onto the shoulders of

over the years, you’ve learned not to make a deal out of him doing it because bringing attention to it just embarrasses him into getting off

the longer you leave him to put his head on your shoulder, the more likely he’ll curl into you more and more until his head is so far into your neck that you can’t even see his face anymore

he’s literally A CAT

also isn’t aware of his own beauty

whenever you both compliment him, he gets flustered and then deflects by turning it back on you

only started hitting the gym because he wanted to spend more time with jongho

but then one day he started coming home with BICEPS and it’s slowly becoming the death of you

the type to save all of the selfies you send him in a folder on his phone and then name the folder “GROCERY RECEIPTS” to deter wooyoung  from opening the folder when he snoops

somehow has 1837407014 unflattering pictures of you and jongho saved

won’t admit that it’s for future blackmail purposes but you KNOW

you won’t let him play mid lane on league of legends? oh... oh no... his finger is slipping... he’s accidentally about to upload an unflattering picture of you to the group chat... o-oh no...

won’t actually do it but his bluff gets him mid lane EVERY single time

is somehow level 572 on candy crush

you also found out 3 years into your relationship that he plays online scrabble regularly with your MOM

you don’t know how it happens but every single year, he GENUINELY forgets that it’s your birthday

you ain’t even mad anymore

because it’s freaking funny to see the panic slowly build up on his face when jongho kisses you and wishes you a happy birthday in the morning and you both have to hold in your laughter as you watch a giftless yeosang approach you to do the same and then have to come up with an excuse about why he suddenly has to go this very instant

lowkey competitive

the three of you went to a carnival once and he blew $50 trying to win you a stuffed animal

keyword: trying

at the time, yeosang just shrugged and started talking about where to go for dinner so you let it go, thinking he wasn’t upset at all

but y’all ended up going to the carnival again the following week for funsies and when you got to the same stall, yeosang took out EIGHT pages of strategy notes about how to win rigged carnival games

he and an overly competitive jongho ended up going head-to-head

did the three of you end up getting kicked out for clearing out all the stuffed animals at the carnival?

yes, yes you did

did you all have to take the bus back home holding two industrial sized plastic bags full of stuffed animals each?

yes, yes you did

did you get glared at? yes

did yeosang glare back?? hell yes

but were you all smiling until your cheeks ached?

i’ll let you answer that one

❗NSFW❗

honestly, these two don’t get in the mood very often

sometimes, jongho has to be egged on, riled up and pushed and pushed until he reaches his breaking point

but ALL the classic tropes do it for him

lacy lingerie, texting him suggestive photos when he’s out, wearing nothing but one of his hoodies around the house, you name it, it gets him hard

and surprisingly, yeosang is VERY good at playing that game

yeosang in just a button-up shirt in all his milky-skinned glory...? he WEAPONIZES that shit

unfortunately, jongho also has a ridiculous amount of self-control, so if either of you want him to pin you to the bed with the intention to WRECK, you gotta work for it

but if you succeed, he’ll make sure you get EXACTLY what you wanted

frustrated jongho has the strength of a fucking tiger

still, despite how roughly he’s treating you in the moment, he always makes sure that you’re okay

you use the stop light system

and if you or yeosang give jongho anything less than an enthusiastic green when he asks, he’s stopping no matter what you say

LOVES being ridden so he can watch you and yeosang’s faces contort with pleasure when he bucks up into you just right

gets off watching you work for what you wanted

in this relationship i imagine yeosang is likely your partner in crime

just two kittens who want to play with their master 🥺😈

wants to be punished and railed into the mattress just as much as you do

more often than not, you two work together in perfect synchrony to seduce jongho into madness

after so many years, yeosang has PERFECTED the art of acting like he doesn’t know how much his half-naked mirror selfies affect you two

and if you happen to be in the picture too?

honestly jongho never stood a chance

it was you and yeosang against the rules and the rules LOST

won’t admit it but yeosang gets half his confidence from you

when you’re with him, he feels like he can do anything

including that two-second burst of confidence he got one time where he felt like he could shove jongho onto the mattress, jump him and get away with it

he was promptly manhandled, flipped over and taught a lesson

and you? ordered to stay put until it was your turn

whenever jongho has his way with you, the two of you are ALWAYS sore afterwards

none of you are good at cleaning up

and the three of you always regret it when you wake up in the morning

both of them have seen you at your worst

but even after so many years, underneath the warm glow of sunrise, they still look at you with more adoration than you’ve ever seen in anyone

at this point, you’re pretty sure... they’re the ones

[finelinevogue]

hiii ! could you write something about harry stalking y/n's Instagram but her account is private, so he sends a request and she accepts and she follows him back, and harry likes her pics (which aren't many) and tries to find out if she do you have a boyfriend or something?

this might be quite short but i hope this is alright for you;

“What’s the correct reaction I should use when Harry Styles requests to follow me?”

You asked your best friend, Heather, as you were both lounging on your bed. She was sat up against the headboard and you lay the opposite way around, holding you phone to the ceiling.

It was just another simple day for the two of you. You’d worked a long shift at the local supermarket and Heather had worker her long shift at the cat shelter, both of you now just having some down time to relax and regroup your thoughts before you even thought to start on dinner. Heather, your best friend and roommate, was an absolute tyrant in the kitchen which meant you were often the one to cook dinner. Tonight was shrimp risotto, if you could be bothered to get out of bed to actually make it. However you were no grounded to your bed more than ever, shocked with the current notification staring you square in the eyes.

“Why?” Heather laughed at you, not noticing your heavily serious face to your question, “you having your daily dreams over the man again?”

Okay, you didn’t have daily dreams… Nightly dreams, maybe. You had liked Harry for a while actually, perhaps since he had cut his hair for a movie he had done. You weren’t a huge fan of his and listened to his music occasionally - like when you were folding laundry or on a long train ride - but you weren’t dedicated to him. He was cute and his voice sounded really lovely. He was definitely the face you used in your nighttime scenarios, but you would never admit that out loud.

“No,” you briefly paused to find the right words to say, “because Harry Styles just requested to follow me.”

“You— What!” Heather sprung up from her position on the bed, but you stayed still and eyes fixed to your phone.

“Appropriate reaction?” You asked again, handing her your phone so she could see for herself.

“Um, ascending into heaven, I don’t know do I? The really question is why the fuck haven’t you accepted it?” She was quick to answer your question and even quicker to ask hers, looking at you as if you’d just told her you were born with only one tit.

“Maybe because it’s Harry Styles!” You exclaimed, sitting up and looking at her now the same way she had just done you.

“Babe, honey, that’s exactly why you need to accept him.” Tossing you back your phone you caught it as you looked to her. God, what was happening? You’d been stacking shelves at a supermarket 3 hours ago and now you were about to accept a follow request from Harry Styles - like the same man who you think about every night before bed and yet know barely anything about.

“Oh fuck it.” You clicked accept and then followed him back, switching your phone off and throwing it down onto the bed.

“Did you..”

“Yeah.”

“So…”

“Yeah.”

Then you started to freak.

It hit you that Harry Styles could see all of your instagram photos - even the ones you were tagged in. Then you questioned whether he would even bother to stalk you? Was he that kind of person? How did he even find you in the first place? You had 489 followers to his near 50 million, so it’s not exactly like he just saw you appear in his notifications - you didn’t even follow him until 30 seconds ago. Let’s say he did see your photos, what would he see? For starters there’s the photos of you and your parents dogs and then just your parents. There’s you on the beach and you in the snow. There’s you with friends and still some posted of people you didn’t like anymore. It was okay.

“Do you think he’s wanking off to that picture of you in your lingerie?” Heather broke the silence.

“What?” You looked at her baffled by such a question.

“You know? The one you just posted like two days ago because it was body positivity week at the gym?”

Fuck.

You’d completely forgotten about that photo and you scrambled quick for your phone. God, you couldn’t let Harry see you like that. You’d felt really, really, good when you’d posted it, dressed in your black lingerie from Victorias Secret, but now you were insecure that Harry could’ve looked at the photo and… well, vomited maybe?

“Oh no, no, no.” You repeated as you went back onto Instagram, only to freeze. “Holy fuck balls.”

If your mother heard the tone of your tongue from the past 5 minutes, she would have you strung up on her washing line by your toes. Okay not literally, but something similar.

“What? What’s happened?” Heather pressed, nosy to the current situation.

“He liked the photo.”

“He what?” Heather shouted, a shit eating grin on her face.

“Oh my fuck he liked the photo.” You put the phone on the bed and got up off to stand up, pacing whilst your rubbed your hands over your stressed temples. “He liked the look.” You repeated to yourself, trying to convince yourself that this was actually happening.

Harry Styles had seen a photo of you in your lingerie. That is not something you’d ever thought you’d ever say, but there’s the fact. Like he’d seen you - your body. You paced the length of your bedroom, completely in your own head wondering where you’d go in your life past this moment. Crawling under a heavy rock to live forever sounded pretty good right now though.

“Have you done freaking out yet?” Heather asked sarcastically, watching you pace with your phone in her hands.

“No. Yes. Maybe. Is this an acceptable reaction?” You stressed your hands through your hair and cupped your hand over your mouth in shock that this was genuinely happening.

“So I shouldn’t tell you that he’s also sent a direct message?” She asked rhetorically, making you stop wearing a track into your carpet.

“He…”

“Yeah.”

“Saying?”

“Do you want to sit down first or…” Heather asked, clearly concerned you weren’t handling this all very well.

“No. I’d rather just collapse afterwards.” You nodded your head, egging her to continue.

“Okay…” She rolled her eyes and returned her eyes to the screen to start reading out the message. “Y/N—”

“Oh jesus.” You interrupted, clutching onto your desk chair as your legs went weak and you had to sit down. Heather laughed at you before continuing, her eyes lighting up as she skim read the message.

“I hope you’re having a lovely day. I hope you don’t find my follow request or liking of your photos too creepy or forward, it’s just I think you’re really beautiful and ever since I heard about you I just had to know who you were. If you don’t want to reply, that’s alright I understand, but if you would like to know me a bit more as I would like to get to know you then feel free to call me or just message back. If, however, you are already seeing someone I apologise for this message to both you and your partner. Wishing you all the best, H. x”

Breathe check. Yes, still breathing.

“Y/N?” Heather asked, noticing you were struck still.

“Okay…” You let out a shaky breathe, doing some internal meditation to try and calm the buzzing of nerves that were rushing throughout your entire body.

“Y/N?” Heather snapped you out of your attempt of peace. “What do you want to do now?”

“He called me beautiful.” You smiled at her she smiled back, happy that you were happy.

“He also said he had heard about you from somewhere?” Heather asked, having picked up on that important bit of information.

“And he wants to get to know me.”

“Yes, okay lover-woman, let’s focus here.”

“Right, yes. Focus.” You nodded your head, still in a dreamy daze.

“Should we call him?” Heather asked.

“Are you out of your goddamn mind?” You threw your hands up in the air, which shocked you both. “Woah, sorry. Do you seriously think he’s going to want to listen to me paralysed at the lips? No.”

“So, text?”

“Text, yes.” You sighed, coming to sit on the bed next to her and draft a message back to the man who was about to change your life.

[starglow-xx]

owning a bakery and being discovered by the ada and the port mafia (part 3)

platonic! yosano akiko x f! reader

type of writing: head canons !!

this is part of my head canon series, flour & fluff !!

tag list is open !! go to this google form and fill it out to sign up!

series synopsis: owning a bakery at 20 is tough; even more so when you have to handle members of two opposing organizations! this is your journey to meeting those fools and creating an unlikely bond with each of them. but only at the cost of your peace and sanity.

fandom: bungou stray dogs

content: fluff & platonic stuff but trigger warning!! there may be a sensitive topic for others

*getting grabbed and pulled to an alleyway! alcohol mentioned!*

please remember that yokohama isn’t the friendliest place, especially at night.

previous: part 2 : their beloved president

author’s note: same ages as last time!! (so that means everyone is one year younger than canon; that makes yosano 24)

this one is actually pretty long :0

i got info abt her likes on her wiki page (careful! there’s spoilers!)

and yosano is a queen and no one can tell me otherwise

the doctor is in the house (quite literally)

going grocery shopping was an okay chore in your opinion

it honestly depended on your mood or whatever kind of shit happens when you go shopping

cause like something always, always happens whenever you go do groceries

sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad, and sometimes it’s just plain weird

one time some weirdo proposed to you in the middle of the store asking for a double suicide

he was good looking you’d admit but it’s not like you’d ever see him again

or so you thought

a n y w a y s

every so often, you’d run out of real person food in your apartment

you mostly survive off all of the leftover bakery treats and ingredients—which works out pretty well actually—but bakery supplies unfortunately also run out quite often

and also unfortunately, one time when both fukuzawa & ranpo took a visit to Sakura’s, fukuzawa argued that “no you can’t live off sweets for the rest of your life”

ranpo was scandalized and scrambled to cover your ears

you guys were at it for a while

in the end you sided with fukuzawa causing ranpo to go off about “betrayal from the people he cared most abt” or smth like that

you guys were okay again after bribing him with sweets :)

for bakery supplies you usually have them delivered bc you order them in large quantities bc ahaha no way were you gonna carry like 15-20 50 pound bags of flour no way

when days like those happen, you close up the bakery early so you aren’t walking home when it’s too dark

you scheduled it to happen every first saturday of the month

on those saturdays, you close at 5 instead of at 8

currently, you were at the grocery store looking for basic cooking ingredients such as proteins, vegetables, fruits, and most importantly, snacks

ranpo’s been rubbing off on you

the sun was starting to set and you were walking home with your two bags of groceries when shit went down

tbh you were kinda expecting it cause your grocery run was peaceful for once

but what you weren’t expecting was a wack-a-do to appear out of goddamn nowhere right when you were opening the side door to get to the staircase up to your apartment

like honestly

let a woman do her own thing

the man who grabbed you tried to covered your mouth so you couldn’t scream but you didn’t exactly make it easy for him

you kicked and thrashed around even using the grocery bags—that were somehow still in your hand—as a weapon and the man struggled but he was still bigger than you and was able to bring you to a nearby alley

he reeked of alcohol and you spotted a wedding band on his left hand

not that you cared about the detail in the moment

you kicked him in the groin and in response he let you go only to fall on broken glass that was in the alley way

using the wall to help yourself up, you grabbed a nearby wooden stick and struck him right on his back

your attacker fell and you immediately turned on your heels to escape only to fall back down on the hard cold ground once again

you lift your face up and look back to see the man holding onto your ankle

grabbing a shard of glass—cutting yourself in the process— you begin to swing it at him only for him to easily grip your wrist and stop you

you get ready try and kick him in the groin again but you’re interrupted as your attacker gets sucker punched and flies to wall

you look up to see your savior and you’re blessed to see a beautiful woman, probably not that much older than you are—she’s probably around ranpo’s age— donning a white long sleeve button up, a matching black necktie, knee length skirt, and gloves, along with tights, red heels, and a pretty butterfly clip in her short black hair

but what you really notice is her eyes

ranpo’s eyes were pretty but you like hers just a bit more

you’ve always liked the color magenta

the pretty lady holds out her hand and you take it graciously and thank her as she helps you up

as that’s happening, your attacker gets himself onto his feet and his groan catches both of your attention

he struggles to stand and the pretty lady simples saunters over to him and delivers an uppercut knocking him out cold

you’re stunned and you breathe out a “thank you” making her turn towards you

she notices the condition you’re in

bleeding scrapes on your hands, arms and legs, small rips in your clothes like your tights, blouse, and skirt, and the ruffled state of your hair and clothing

she asks if you live nearby and you tell her that you own the bakery that’s one or two buildings away

when you tell her that, it clicks in her mind that you must be the bakery girl ranpo’s been talking about and the friend fukuzawa was cat sitting for

it’s been abt two weeks since ranpo and fukuzawa first met you and since then, they’ve seen lucky in the office plenty and the boxes of your signature sweets even more

if those two trust you, she has no reason not to

she smiles at you, holds out her hand for you to shake, and introduces herself as the doctor of the armed detective agency

your eyes widen and you smile back at her shaking her hand

“ah! you must be yosano-sensei then! ranpo-san and fukuzawa-san have talked about you! it’s so nice to meet you! im (l/n) (y/n)!”

“they’ve talked about you too, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you (y/n)”

after that exchange she insisted on bringing you home to treat you wounds which you told her it wasn’t necessary

she gave you a pointed look and that was when you realized what state you were in

you sighed and weakly gave in to which she only grinned at

before leaving the alley she walks over to the unconscious man and pulls out his wallet for some sort of identification and home address as you try to see if there’s any groceries still salvageable

after texting the details to kunikida, yosano turns to you poking around the now ruined grocery bags

she simply rubs your back and tells you that the both of you could go buy more groceries together as she was meaning to get some anyways; she even said she’ll pay for you

you refused obviously but she, unknowingly, used the same tactic fukuzawa used with you

“so you’re saying you don’t need groceries?”

“...”

*cue an eyebrow raise from our resident queen*

“...you agency members don’t like making things easy for me huh.”

you gave in reluctantly and at this point you don’t even know why you try negotiating with them

and that’s only three of them

apparently, she was on the other side of the street on the way to buy groceries for the agency when she noticed different produce items on the other sidewalk leading to the alley and she went to check out what happened

ironically, the way to the grocery store from the agency makes you go past Sakura’s but she didn’t realize it until after the two of you had met

before you know it, the two of you are in your apartment kitchen as she cleans and patches up all of your wounds

as she does so the two of you have a little girl talk

you find it quite comforting bc since you opened up Sakura’s you haven’t really had the chance to connect to many people much less other women

you definitely see yosano as your cool, loving, badass older sister

she thinks you’re adorable and agrees with ranpo’s opinion

yup 

that’s right

the opinion that you’re like a little kid </3

you called it a betrayal and all she did was laugh at you <//3

“awhh that’s really cool yosano-sensei!—MFPH?!?”

*squishing your cheeks the same way ranpo did* “ranpo-san was right (n/n)-chan, your cheeks are squishy!”

“?!”

after that small fiasco, the two of you talked some more and bonded over your love for flowers, japanese sweets, and much more!!

you even made a date to have a girls day to go shopping and eat out!

you’re internally squealing a bit bc it’s been a while since you’ve gone shopping

yosano notices and she giggles behind her hand not saying anything bc she knows you’ll only throw a fit

the two of you came around the topic of ranpo when lucky passed by

lucky quickly warmed up to the doctor and cozied up in her lap

“i wish ranpo-san was able to meet lucky when he came by the first time, but then again, he’d probably throw a tantrum if i don’t pay attention to him for 5 seconds”

she snorted at that and like fukuzawa, she shared stories abt the slightly older male

“ranpo-san doesn’t know how to ride a train?”

“unbelievable right?”

“for someone so intelligent i expected more from him”

“i’ll be telling that to ranpo-san, (n/n)-chan”

“wha—?! yosano-sensei please don’t!”

like ranpo, she’s also a tease </3

but you love her anyway <3

eventually, she finished patching you up and promised to treat you to a new set of clothes when the two of you go out

“you don’t need to lose a good set of clothes just because of a sleazy man (n/n)-chan! you deserve better!”

you were going to argue that the rips in your clothes were fairly small and could easily be fixed—except the tights—but you stopped in your tracks when you remembered that it was practically useless to argue against an ada member

the two of you walked to the grocery store and bought both of your needed supplies—along with some extra goodies—and then she walked you back to your place bc it was already a bit dark out

but even if it wasn’t, she would walk you anyways

besides, if anything happened to you, she’s 1000% positive that ranpo and fukuzawa are gonna flip the fuck out not that she wont cause she most definitely will

speaking of which

you were drinking a bottle of water as the two of made your way back to Sakura’s when all of a sudden

“(y/n) you do realize that i have to tell shachou and ranpo-san about what happened today right?”

you choked on your water

“yosano-sensei you can’t! if you do they’ll freak! they won’t leave me alone for at least two weeks! one if im lucky!”

“exactly the point”

you just accepted your defeat already knowing that you’d lose

but maybe you can simmer down their anger towards the bastard with sweets and lucky

you arrived at Sakura’s shortly after and after bringing groceries in, you packaged a bunch of pastries leftover from today—bc you closed early—and bc you’re well aware that ranpo doesn’t share any of the sweets you send him with

you even gave yosano her own special box filled with goodies she loves, and a thermos of fukuzawa’s favorite, your special hot honey lemon tea

other than the sweets, you prepared lucky to spend the night at fukuzawa’s

you really really hoped that doing these things would make them calm down

you shivered at the thought of what their responses would be

you felt really bad for giving yosano all these things to carry and that you were keeping her very late

she assured you that she was fine and that if someone tried to mess with her she’d kick their ass

and after exchanging numbers, the magenta eyed queen bid you a good night and walked back to the agency with lucky walking by her heels

arriving back at the agency, yosano was greeted with some concerns asking if she was alright bc she came back from her grocery run pretty late

(she usually goes in the mornings but today was pretty busy so she left in the late afternoon but now it was already dark)

she waved off the concerns and plopped a couple boxes of your signature bakery boxes at ranpo’s desk, the one for her at her own, the last few boxes in the kitchen for any other agent or clerk to grab, placed the thermos on the desk fukuzawa was by, and picked up lucky and handed him to the president

the two males were pleased with what yosano had brought them, and pleased that another agency member had the chance to meet you

fukuzawa was rubbing lucky and ranpo already snacking on treats as yosano expected

but here comes the hard part

or maybe it’s gonna amusing who knows

“i met (y/n) today.”

“we could tell.”

in goes another treat in the green eyed man’s mouth

“would you like to know how?”

“you bumped into each other, had girl talk, made plans to go out, went grocery shopping, and you brought me and shachou presents.”

“great job ranpo-san, you’re almost completely correct.”

this caught the attention of basically everyone bc they knew ranpo was never “almost completely correct”

“we ended up meeting bc she got attacked on her way home from grocery shopping, i treated her wounds, then we had girl talk and did all the other stuff”

ranpo and fukuzawa froze right in their tracks

“i sent all the info of the bastard to kunikida”

“kunikida.”

“yes shachou”

“find out everything about that man and bring it to me and ranpo”

“...yes shachou”

“and yosano”

“yes?”

“text (y/n) and tell her that her cat, tea, and pastries aren’t going to work as a bribe”

just as you finished taking a shower you sneezed

<<previous // next >>

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[hyunjilicious]

100 ways to say ‘I love you’ Christmas Edition [bucky barnes]

Summary: it’s pretty self explanatory, I guess. (FLUFF) 1.6k

Warnings: absolutely none, just Bucky being cute, awkward and madly in love with you!!

-

In 2018, you were in Namibia, hunting down an American terrorist that had been on the run for the better part of the year. In 2019, the avengers were scattered around the globe, executing a 'shoot first, ask questions later' type of mission that ended long after the new year began. But this year, all of your friends were home. For the first time in years, the Stark Tower was shining from top to bottom with Christmas lights, carols echoing down all of its long, secluded hallways. It was the first time you'd get to actually spend the night of 24th of December with your true family. That is, if you made it in time. Back on December 19th, you and Bucky got stuck in the depths of Louisiana, with absolutely no means of communication, let alone transportation. You decided to make the best out of the situation and turn it into a road trip, but time flew by so much faster than expected, that it was now 2:13 pm on Christmas eve, and you and Bucky were sprinting down the snow covered empty highways of the east coast, dead set on making it home in time. He wasn't that eager to get back and tried to get you to rent a hotel room and spend the night alone, but you weren't having it. He huffed and puffed about not giving a shit about Christmas, but it was the first one he could celebrate with people that loved him, in over 70 years. With every motel that you passed, he'd turn and look at you from the passenger seat, begging you to stop. You didn't even consider it. You wanted him to have the full Christmas experience. A storm was brewing and you were whiteknuckling the steering wheel, fighting back the urge to yawn for the 3rd time in the last 10 minutes. After driving for 7 hours straight, you were close to passing out, but nowhere near ready to give up. "Pull over, love" he smiled, grabbing your thigh, "Let me drive. I'll wake you up when we arrive"

-

And of course Bucky refused to decorate. You spent the better half of the day rummaging through boxes and looking up diy tutorials on the Internet, doing your absolute best to make your bedroom as cozy and Christmasy as possible. Candles were scattered all over the furniture, their soft light and delicate cinnamon scent filling up the room, a small Santa Claus figurine was sitting neatly by the window, garlands dripped from every corner and your Christmas playlist was on shuffle for probably the 4th time that day. As you kept busy, lowkey exasperated whenever one ornament didn't fit in as planned, Bucky laid on the bed, making nasty comments with every chance he got. He complained about the music, said the room was too hot, that the candles made his nose feel funny and not for a second did he stop begging you to drop the fucking decorating and join him in bed. You didn't wanna hear it. You kept going, bringing in box after box of ornaments, each one making Bucky more and more frustrated.

"Buck!" you whined, turning around in your hands a little remote controlled reindeer. "His leg is stuck... he keeps falling"

"Throw it into the trash" he scoffed, plopping down on his back and hiding his face in the crook of his elbow.

Of course you didn't listen to him. "No..." you mumbled, more to yourself. You sounded like a child, but you didn't care. Instead, you just sat down on the edge of the bed, all your attention focused on the broken toy in your hands, "I'll fix it somehow"

"Just throw the goddamned thing away, Y/n" he groaned, "Only on my nightstand there are other 3. We got enough"

You just shook your head, focused on getting the reindeer to walk again. It was no use. You got no utensils and your nails were threatening to break as you kept trying to open up his battery container. 5 minutes of painful silence followed, ending with you finally giving up, "I'll just put something under his leg and use it as a decoration" you whimpered, legitimately heartbroken over the toy.

"Fuck, just come here. Give it to me. I'll fix the damn thing for you"

Your heart swelled up, "Really?"

"Yeah..." Bucky sighed, grabbing a screwdriver out of his nightstand and picking up the toy. "Master assassin and I'm fixing toys" he mumbled under his breath and you couldn't help but wrap your arms around him and kiss his cheek.

-

Your version of paradise started just when you arrived at the tower on Christmas Eve. Bucky did as promised and then offered you a weak smile, full of warmth as he helped you out of the car when he parked in front of the Tower. You were beaming with excitement for the days that were to come. When the next morning arrived, you were sipping your coffee on the balcony, waiting for everyone to wake up so that you could all start unwrapping the presents. When the door opened you didn't expect Bucky to come out, as he never - ever, failed to sleep until noon, if given the chance. But there he was, wrapped in one of your comfy blankets, padding over to you with a coffee mug in his hand. When he reached you, he opened his arms and welcomed you against his chest, closing his hold around your body and engulfing you in the warmth of the blanket. It didn't take long until you noticed the little paper bag lodged under the elastic of his sweats, and when you asked about it, he cursed himself for ruining the surprise. He handed you the bag, and urged you to open it, insisting that it wasn't your present. When you did, your eyes landed on a knitted bunny clutching a heart to its chest. "An old lady was selling these a few weeks ago at a boutique I saw while waiting for you to meet me. I know you love to call me Bucky Bunny because you know how much I hate it. I forgot about it and came across it this morning at the bottom of my bag while searching for my charger. Now I think its stupid, a dumb rabbit and his eyes are a little bit fucked up, but he's cute and it reminded me of you, so here you go"

-

As much love as some of you had for the holiday, it still wasn't enough to convince the whole group to actually watch a Christmas movie. So, in true avenger spirit, you all decided to watch Terminator. After finishing dinner, you all scattered around the Tower. Some people left to change in more comfortable clothes, some helped clean up the kitchen, and some, like Bucky and Thor, remained in the living room, plopped in the middle of the couch, fangirling over Arnold Schwarzenegger's acting and the great sense of humour of the 90s. Eventually everyone gathered around them, you and Wanda being the last ones to show up. She cuddled against Vision's side, but Bucky was lodged in between Thor and Steve, and there was no way you'd ever ask any of them to move. Seeing you eye an open spot, Bucky waved you over as he stood up. "Here, take my seat". You wanted to object but he didn't want to hear it. Eventually, you sat down, and so did he, on the floor, right in front of you. Nonchalantly, Bucky pulled your legs apart and settled between them, with his back against the couch. He gathered your Christmas themed sock clad feet into his lap and rested his head against your knee as the movie began.

-

And like any other Christmas dinner, of course yours wasn't an exception. Natasha's recipe for apple pie was by definition the best that ever blessed the earth and none of the attendees was any stranger to that. Considering how many of you there were, as you made a point of spending the end of the year together, 2 batches had to be made. It was hectic, everyone fuzzing around the Tower, preparations on tow the whole day. And of course there would be repercussions for the chaotic atmosphere, but you'd only find out about them later. After burning through the first meal courses of the evening, it was finally time for her sweet delicacy to grace the table. Natasha neatly placed the two pies on either end of the table, proudly announcing you could all dig in. Bucky was seated to your right, and he unlike you, managed to grab a piece of pie from the first batch. You didn't think too much of it, until you started eating yours, only to realise the bottom was burned. Despite all of you trying to assure Natasha that it was not her fault and that she shouldn't beat herself up about it, she promised she'd make another one tomorrow. The night carried on as planned, but no matter how much you tried to push away the thought, you couldn't help but feel bitter about missing out on the good pie. Just when you were about to come to your senses and realise what a dumb reason for you to get upset that was, Bucky sent you text, asking you to come to the bedroom. Curious as to what this could have been about, you hurried upstairs and burst into the room, nearly crashing into Bucky's chest. He slammed the door behind you and handed you his plate - his slice of pie only halfway eaten. "I saved you a piece. These are jackals, I had to hide it. Dig in before anyone comes!"

-

On December 27th the buzz was starting to die down. When you put up the lights in your bedroom, Bucky said they could stay on for two days and two days only, and you reluctantly agreed to make a compromise. Just this time. The time to turn them off came last night, and since he offered to let them on until the morning, you felt like an unreasonable little shit if you were to ask him to turn them on again. It was about 7pm and you were two seasons deep in The X Files, and Wanda asked for your help. Bucky pulled out his phone and assured you he wouldn't watch ahead until you got back. It took you about 30 to help your friend with her problem, and when you returned to your room, confusion washed over you. The Christmas lights were on and Bucky was nowhere to be seen. "Fuck" he grunted.

You turned around to see him behind you, standing in the doorway, two cocoa mugs in his hands, "I made these cause I know you like them. And I wanted to surprise you with the lights but vision is a dumbass and forgot to text me and tell me when you were almost done"

"So she didn't actually need help folding the bed sheets?" you laughed, endeared by his antics.

"Of course she didn't" Bucky shook his head, handing you one of the mugs, "She's not an imbecile"

"Oh my god" you giggled in disbelief as you sat down on the bed.

"I'll squirt shit nuggets out of my ass for two days, so please tell me at least I got the recipe right" 

He was so adorable, anxiously waiting for you to taste the cocoa he just made. "It's so good!" you rolled your eyes in pleasure, taking another sip, "Thank you, you're too sweet, Buck"

"Yeah, I know-" he chuckled, grabbing the mug from your palm and placing it on the nightstand. "I got one more present for you. Close your eyes and hold out your hands"

"No, Buck-" you whined, "I didn't get you anything else-"

He dismissed your words in an instant and kissed your lips, before guiding your hands up. You opened them up and closed your eyes, curious about what he could have gotten you. First, you heard him shuffle around the bed, and then you felt something rather itchy touch your palms. You nearly burst into laughter when you realised it was his chin.

"Ok, open your eyes"

And as you did so, your eyes landed on Bucky's face, as he had placed his head on your hands. He was wearing a tiara with reindeer ears, and you couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"You're my present?" you beamed, throwing yourself against his chest.

"My face is the present-" he corrected you. "Guess what it does. Take your leggings off and you'll find out"

[yes-ihavealwaysbeengreen]

Day 6: Carpet- Santiago ‘Pope’ Garcia

Day 6: Carpet - Santiago ‘Pope’ Garcia 

Prequel now available: The Test Results 

November Writing Challenge 

Day 5: Holy - Llewyn Davis 

Monday 

“So I’ve been thinking querida, how do you feel about putting carpet on the floor of the nursery? I just don’t want the baby to fall and get hurt because of the hardwood.” 

You blinked staring at your husband, “Santi, baby are you serious? You want to put down carpet in the nursery so if they fall it might not hurt as bad? Baby the whole house is hardwood…” 

“Yeah I know, but they will probably be spending a lot of time in there and I was just thinking it might be a good idea. I already talked to the guys about it and they said they would help.” Santi grins at you. 

“Wait...you are going to have your buddies from Delta Force come to our house and put down carpet in the nursery? You don’t even want to hire someone to install it? Baby that’s insane!” you shout at him before pushing yourself out of the kitchen chair to walk to the kitchen. 

The second you stand, Santiago rushes out of his own seat to hold you. “Querida you need to take it easy you-” 

“I swear to god Garcia, women have been having babies for centuries. I am not going to get injured walking from the table to the kitchen. Santi you need to calm down, you have turned the whole damn house into a baby proof fortress, nothing is going to happen to me or our daughter, ok?” you press your hands against his chest before waddling the rest of the way to the kitchen. 

Santiago takes a deep breath before following you into the kitchen, “Ok, how about we make a compromise? I will lay off on being an overprotective papa bear and you will let me and the guys put carpet in the nursery.” 

You laugh out loud, visualizing your husband as a bear defending the house before you turn to face him again, “Ok...deal you and the guys can put carpet in the nursery.” 

Santi puts his fist in the air and grabs you into his arms, kissing you passionately. Your daughter begins kicking wildly, and Santi laughs before leaning down and rubbing your swollen belly, “you hear that mija, your papa is going to make your room safe for you,” he whispers before placing a kiss on your belly. He stands back up before kissing you again briefly, “I’m gonna go call Frankie and the guys, this weekend baby the nursery will have carpet!” 

You shake your head watching him go off. Good lord what did you just agree too. 

Thursday 

You're sitting on the couch, elevating your feet, watching TV when your phone beeps signifying a text message. Santi and Frankie had gone to the store to pick out the carpet and order the supplies for Saturday. You open the phone and snort when you see a picture of a very annoyed Frankie Morales holding up two basically identical colors of cream carpet. 

Which one do you like better? - Hubby 

You are tempted to reply and let him know they look exactly alike but you know better. 

The one on the left. - Wifey 

Hmmm…. But that one isn’t as soft. - Hubby 

You roll your eyes, how the hell would you know that. You type back a reply. 

The one on the right then. - Wifey 

Hmmmm...but it’s quite a bit darker than the other one. -Hubby 

The look on Frankie’s face is beginning to make sense. 

Pick which one you like then Santi. -Wifey 

…. Ok let’s go with the one on the left….no right….ugh fuck I don’t know this is hard querida, and Frankie just keeps telling me to pick. - Hubby 

You send a quick text off to Frankie.

Tell him to pick the one on the left. - Besties Wifey 

Querida, Frankie’s telling me to get the one on the left and you know he has no sense of style so I am going to pick the one on the right. Is that ok with you?- Hubby 

You shake your head laughing at your husband. 

Sounds great! :) - Wifey 

Saturday 

“Okay get together, I need all of you in the picture!” Benny’s girlfriend Mya is shouting at the guys. They’re all smiling wearing knee pads, jeans, and an assortment of colored flannel. 

You giggle to yourself watching them pose in their work gear. “Santi, baby do you really think this is the best idea, your knees…” you trail off watching the smile slip from his face. 

“Querida...I need to be able to protect our little girl, my knees will be fine. Plus with the four of us it should only take a few hours,” he kisses your head before slapping his hands together guiding the guys to the bedroom. 

It did not take them only a couple hours, four hours in and you and the other wives/girlfriends were lounging by the pool outside. Drinking lemonade and gossiping, when Mya came back out laughing outright holding a white box in her hand. 

“This is the greatest thing I have ever listened to!” she shouts holding the white box out to you. 

“Oh my god, is that….is that a baby monitor?” Madison, Will’s wife gathers closer to your side and you flip the switch on. 

“Why do you already have a baby monitor?” Ella, Frankie’s wife asks. 

“Santi wanted to be prepared for the baby, so he set it up weeks ago,” you tell them, twisting the knobs to turn up the sound. 

From the device comes the voice of your husband panting, “fuck...why is this so goddamn difficult?! This should be easy, I told her this was going to be easy.” 

“Pope, man maybe it’s time to call in a professional. I mean we’ve been working for four hours and have barely made any progress,” Will tells him. 

“Fuck no man, I told my wife we could do this and we are going to do it!” Santi shouts back. 

“Hermano, I’m not trying to sound defeatist but we literally have no idea what we're doing,” Frankie tries to comfort his best friend, “I mean we could shoot our way into the most dangerous places in the world but I know absolutely nothing about carpet.” 

“We are not giving up! Santi needs us!!...plus I bet Mya $100 we could get it done and you know how much shit she’s gonna give me if I lose,” Benny whines. 

Mya snorts into her lemonade, making the rest of you burst out laughing. “Maybe we should just take pity on them, and call in a professional,” you ask looking at the other women. 

“I can’t believe Will agreed to this, he is hopeless with anything related to fixing or maintenance. We have to call in a professional for everything!” Madison laughs. 

You all listen for a few more minutes, laughing as the guys argue before the painful grunt of your husband makes you get up. “That’s it I am ending this shit show,” you waddle into the house and go to the nursery ushering everyone out except Santi who sits on the floor on his butt looking up at you with an adorable pout. 

You walk over to him and look down at him, you bend your knees and half fall/half sit down on the ground next to him. Santi immediately looks alarmed before you raise your hand silencing him. “Baby, I know you really wanted to do this yourself but I think it’s time we call it quits and call in a professional.” 

Santi sighs loudly, “Querida, I wanted to be able to do this for you and the baby. I need her to be safe, and I really wanted to do it myself.” 

“Santiago Garcia, you look at me right now. We are safe with you, we don’t need high tech security cameras, carpeted floors, locks on every cabinet. You didn’t fail baby, sometimes it’s ok to need help.” 

“I love you querida,” he pulls you into his side placing a kiss on your cheek and rubbing your belly, “I love both of you.” 

“We love you too, now help me off this floor my butt is beginning to go numb,” you reach out to your husband who gives you a blank look. 

“I can’t get up right now querida, my knees...I think I need some ice and my pain killers.” 

You blink several times, “....you mean we are stuck here?” 

You both burst out laughing until you’ve got tears in your eyes. You gulp for air before looking at your husband again, “Don’t worry I got this,” he looks at you slightly confused before you take a deep breath shouting, “BENNY!! WILL!! FRANKIE!! HELP ME!!!” 

It sounds like bulls charging through your house when the door suddenly flies open. The look on their faces will be burned in your memory forever, panic and determination. You start laughing all over again, and when Frankie steps forward and asks what’s wrong you almost can’t get the words out, “We- we’re stu-stuck! We- we can’t ge-get up!” 

You and Santiago begin cracking up again like a couple of lunatics before the others join in, eventually helping you and Santi off the floor. Frankie holds your arm and takes you back to the living room, Benny and Will each holding a side of Santi easing him down onto the couch. 

“I took the liberty of calling a company to come out tomorrow to install the carpet,” Mya tells you, handing you your phone you had left outside. 

You thank her before plopping down on the couch next to Santi, your head resting on his shoulder. 

“Baby, you're the best,” Benny tells Mya. 

“Oh ho ho no Benny Miller, you owe me 100 bucks, and I owe you a massive I told you so!” Mya points at him.

The room bursts into laughter again. What a great way to spend a Saturday.

Day 7: Sculpted Javier Pena 

[samanthadalton]

Star crossed lovers (au) part 2

pairings: poppy x mc (bea)

warnings: throughout this fic there will be mentions of substance abuse, homophobia, sexual abuse, violence, NSFW, mentions of abandonment, depression and death including suicide

reader discretion is advised

(i apologise for any spelling/grammatical mistakes, i’ll fix them later) 

taglist: @somewillwin @save-me-the-last-dance @baexpoppy @cloud9in @stanzoeywade @ognenniyvolk @thepotatobleh @crazzyplays @rxssians (i’m pretty sure this is my taglist, if you wanna be tagged in future posts just reply or message me 😊) 

word count: 6.2k

read part 1 here: 

Part 2: First day jitters

BEEP BEEP BEEP 

Bea groans and puts her alarm on snooze momentarily silencing the deafening noise. After finding difficulty in falling asleep on time, the brunette found herself feeling zombified this morning. With great difficulty she forces herself to sit up and reaches over to her dresser to check her phone.

A snapchat from Poppy, 

a miss call from AJ

And 5 unread texts from Zoey

She opens the snapchat from Poppy who had sent a selfie of her with an adorable bedhead, lips slightly puckered, captioning the picture, ‘good morning babe 💋I love you’. Bea decided to send a selfie back, hands raised in a peace sign captioning her post, ‘I love you too, see you at school ❤️’. She decides to give AJ a quick text since he called her at 4:34am and Bea is worried he might’ve gotten into some trouble overnight.  

AJ Baxter, one of the few friends Bea has at Belvoire. He’s younger, a sophomore now, but has a heart of gold. His family is more middle class but his father is good friends with the superintendent which means his place in Belvoire is secured, he could practically get away with anything without risk of suspension. He hangs out with Bea and her friends who live in the south, but recently he’s gotten caught up in a bad crowd, a gang called ‘Southside nation’ who causes nothing but trouble. Bea’s taken it upon herself to look out for him and make sure he doesn’t do anything illegal because he’s a good kid, just a little lost. 

She then decided to check her texts from Zoey who just wants to wish her luck at her fancy school and to let her know if any preppy rich kid tries to bully her to call Zoey who would beat their ass. Zoey was one of Bea’s best friends, they had met when Bea moved into her neighbourhood after leaving the northside of Greensburg, and she practically taught Bea how to survive in the south. She often discloses her opinion about Bea and Poppy’s relationship, warning Bea that it will only end up with her getting her heart broken. Bea tends to ignore Zoey’s criticisms, and anyone else’s really, no one could understand their relationship, Bea and Poppy were soulmates, or at least that’s how they saw each other. Bea usually retorts to Zoey’s criticisms arguing that no matter what life threw at them she and Poppy were destined to be together and no one could ever ruin that. 

After a few more moments of scrolling through her phone, she forces herself to get up and moves over to the other side of the room to wake up her little sister. 

“Hey sleepy head, you gotta get up” Bea gently shakes the younger girl who in response groans loudly and pulls the covers over her head. 

“Go awayyyyy” her voice rasps, as she’s evidently still in sleepy mode. 

Bea grins and decides to jump on her sister’s bed and shake her awake, earning a hard shove from her Aria who sits up on her bed rubbing her red eyes, “Bea whatthehell, what’s wrong with you”, for a 11 year old she sure as hell had a lot of attitude, a trait she definitely acquired from her mother. 

“Sorry kiddo” she leaps off the bed and turns back to look at her sister, “I want you ready for school in 40 minutes, that means you’ve brushed your teeth, brushed your hair, wearing your school clothes and eaten breakfast, all in that order okay?” 

Aria just drags her hands down her face and moans, “okayyyy, relax Bea, let me at least fully wake up”. 

Bea smiles and stalks towards the bathroom and turns on the tap blasting the cold water. She cups her hand and splashes the water all over her face, gasping as if she had been holding her breath for hours. Well, that definitely woke her up. 

After brushing her teeth and going through the steps of her basic skincare routine Poppy practically forced upon her, she advances to the living room and sees that her mother is still in the same place she left her last night. She takes a minute to analyse her mother’s facial features, a few grey hairs peaks out of her hair, threatening to showcase her ageing, her slightly creased forehead, and the small wrinkles which edged on the corners of her eyes. Her nose was similar to Aria’s, a petite buttoned up nose, except she had a silver nose ring. Her lips were thin and wide, red lipstick smeared on her chin a little and all Bea could do was frown. Her mother used to be so beautiful, she remembers the time she stumbled across a photo album in which Bea’s mother had documented almost everything in her life, she used to be so full of life, so happy but now, she was different. She hated her life, ever since her husband left her she resorted to alcohol and drugs, the only way she knew how to numb the pain. It killed Bea to see her mother destroy herself piece by piece, she often questioned to herself why she or Aria were never enough for her to want to live. But Bea would never say anything out loud, not wanting to upset her mother or sister or the more likely answer, she was afraid of the truth. 

Bea shakes herself out of her thoughts and moves towards the kitchen which is connected to the living room. She decides to make scrambled eggs for breakfast as she definitely needs the protein and it was pretty easy to cook. A few minutes later, Aria emerges from her bedroom, dressed in her school clothes, Bea begins to assess the girls outfit from head to toe, disproving the slightly cropped t-shirt Aria decided to wear and forcing her to change into something more appropriate for school. 

“No, turn around and change your top now,” her tone commanding with a hint of discontent. 

“It’s just a t-shirt, why are you making a big deal out of it, god” she retorted as she walks back to the room and moments later she walks into the room wearing an oversized hoodie. “There, happy?” 

“I’m practically jumping for joy, A, now hurry up and eat, the bus will be here soon” Bea moves towards the stools while Aria pours herself a bowl of cereal. Behind them they hear a series of moans and groans, guess their mother is finally awake. 

“Could you girls make any more noise, goddamn” she clutches her head in agony and begins rubbing the temples of her forehead with her fingertips. 

“We’re eating breakfast, maybe if you managed to make it to your bedroom we wouldn’t have woken you up,” Bea quips, turning back to focus on eating her breakfast while her mother just glares at the back of her head and rolls her eyes. 

“I’m your mother, don’t be a bitch with me especially when I’ve just woken up” she reaches over to the table and takes a huge swig of the vodka on the table while Bea silently berates herself for forgetting to throw the drink away. “Anyways where were you yesterday, you didn’t leave any money for dinner so I had to pay for a pizza” 

“I saw” Bea says unaffected, she’s used to her mom’s bitchiness and attitude. 

“Don’t tell me you were with richie rich’, she downs the rest of the drink and slams the empty bottle on the table. 

That agitates Bea and grabs her attention, she shifts in her seat to glower at her mother, “Don’t call her that”

“Looks like I hit a sore spot” her mother waves her hands dismissing Bea’s anger, “next time be here for dinner or leave some money because I don’t have enough money to be worrying about feeding that one”, she nods her head towards Aria. 

Bea clenches her fist and takes a deep breath, ‘Aria go get your school bag”, Aria’s about to respond when Bea just glares at her expecting her to follow through, Aria reluctantly gets up from her seat leaving her almost empty bowl of cereal on the counter. Bea quickly gets up and stomps towards Isabella, her voice is low and sharp, “Do you have to speak about your daughter like that when she’s around? I don’t give a shit about a $13 pizza, she’s your kid, she comes first no matter how much you despise her, she’s not to blame for your own mistakes”. Without waiting for a response she goes towards the bedroom and finds Aria lurking in the hallway looking dejected. 

“She hates me doesn’t she?”

Bea sighs, the relationship between her mother and Aria has always been so strained, her mother viewing Aria more as a burden and a physical embodiment of her biggest mistake in life. One of Bea’s biggest worries was what would happen once she moved to New York for college, she’s the only thing that is keeping the peace in the house but once she leaves she’s apprehensive about how her sister would fare around their mother. 

“She could never hate you, you’re her daughter, mom’s just….” she struggles to find the words, “mom’s just sad, she just doesn’t know how to properly control her emotions, but don’t worry you always have me here”, she feels guilty as she says the words because her mind drifts to college and New York but she musters a smile and hugs her sister, “now come on I’ll walk you to the bus stop just let me grab my bag”. 

After grabbing her bag, she quickly goes to the kitchen to put the dirty dishes in the sink, making a mental note of remembering to wash them when she gets home from work, since she knew her mother nor Aria would. She looks over to the living room to find the sofa empty and the door of her mother’s room, which was connected to the living room, slightly ajar, guess she’s gone back to doing nothing productive..again. 

After walking her sister to the bus stop, Bea insists on waiting with her to make sure she gets to school on time because she cannot afford having the principal call home about Aria being late, not if she wanted to piss her mom off more. Bea leaves Aria as soon as the  bus arrives, running back home to get her motorbike after looking at the clock on her phone and realising school begins in 30 minutes, “crap”. As soon as she makes it to her bike, she practically throws on her helmet and drives as rapidly as she can. The motorbike was a present from Poppy who had bought it from one of Bea’s co-workers at the diner at the beginning of the summer. Bea, at first, was apprehensive about the gift, she usually disdained Poppy for spending a lot of money on her but once she got on her new bike it was her second favourite thing in the world, the first being Poppy of course. Poppy secretly loved riding on her bike because it gave her the excuse to feel Bea’s abs (not that she needed one) but also because of the ephemeral ecstasy she would feel at every ride. It was a little taste of the freedom she so badly craved. 

The brunette is almost sweating at every red light because it means that she has to drive even faster and she did not want to be late on the first day back. Bea’s plan for senior year is to draw the least amount of attention to herself as she can, and coming late to homeroom is just basically like putting a huge kick me sign on her back. 

As soon as she parks her bike in the school’s parking lot she looks down at her phone, ‘7 minutes to spare that must be some new record’ she thinks to herself. She looks around at Belvoire, the school’s pristine building hasn’t gotten any less intimidating over the summer. She hears a bunch of shrill voices booming behind her and one of them in particular was almost like a banshee, the high pitched voice ringing in her ears which could only mean one person, Chloe St James. 

Chloe was one of Poppy’s best friends and one of Bea’s worst enemies. She was captain of the volleyball team which meant that she practically owned Bea on the court during practice but she was also incredibly irritating and very stupid. Once in class, her maths teacher asked Chloe what pi is, and she replied with “I don’t eat foods with a high fat content”. Everyone laughed at her until she cut them all off with a silent but deadly look. No one really messes with Chloe because she is secretly a very aggressive person which is exemplified by her plays on the volleyball court, Bea hated to admit it but Chloe was their best player. However, Chloe is the epitome of a classic dumb blonde rich girl who has to depend on her money and looks to get her somewhere in life, she practically has half of the football team worshipping her at her feet. Bea could never really understand why but Chloe has had it out for her since she’s come to Belvoire, maybe it was a classist thing but in the last year especially, Chloe’s antics became an everyday chore for Bea, who was getting sick of the constant harassment. It’s almost as if she swore to make Bea’s life a living hell. 

“Omg look who it is”,Bea rolls her eyes so hard they could get stuck in the back of her head, she turns to face the dumb blonde, “hey strip tease, how was your summer in the slums?” 

Bea balls her hands into a tight fist, ‘god this bitch is annoying’ she thought. “Is it true you whored yourself out so you could get that bike of yours?... Like mother like daughter I guess?” She giggles a little, triggering the girls around her, whose names Bea could never remember, to start laughing along with her. 

“Do you know what Chloe?” Bea takes a step forward a scowl etching on her face, “You’re all talk, I guarantee I’ll be able to take you”, Bea lowers her voice so only the blonde can hear what she’s saying, “You know I grew up in the South which means I was taught how to fight, so unless you want me to mess up that pretty face of yours back off.” Bea thought she was threatening enough for the dumb blonde to recede but her threats only aggravated Chloe more. 

“Listen up here you little tramp,” Chloe’s eyes were shooting daggers at Bea, even though she felt a tiny bit daunted by Chloe’s cold demeanor, Bea stood her ground when suddenly she could see Poppy in her peripheral vision sauntering up to the group and decided not to engage with Chloe since she promised Poppy she would be good. Before Chloe could obliterate Bea using her words, Bea holds up her middle finger at the blonde and counters, “go fuck yourself Chloe”. 

Chloe’s eyes flash with anger and just as she’s about to retort Poppy lays a hand on her shoulder and greets the girl with a squeal and Chloe delivers a bone crushing hug. Poppy doesn’t bother to spare a glance at Bea which means they’re back in the real world. 

After having the entire summer to themselves, riding around Greensburg, going to parties in the south, stealing moments in each other's rooms and going on secret weekend long trips to New York, being two teenagers completely in love, it was now a closed chapter. Now, the girls were in two different worlds, Bea took a quick second to appreciate Poppy’s outfit, she wore the cute pink bomber jacket Bea loved so much and her legs looked so long in her jeans, Poppy wore that specific outfit to catch Bea’s attention, but it was doing a lot more than that. Bea just wanted to reach out and kiss her so bad, the gloss on Poppy’s lips were shining so bright, almost as if she wanted to tease Bea, knowing she could only stare and not touch. 

“Come on Chlo, we’re gonna be late,” she drags the blonde away and as she breezes past Bea she spares a quick glance, their eyes locked for a brief moment, Poppy’s gaze softens for a second, her big brown eyes bore into Bea’s in the most tender way. If only the students at Belvoire, were less self absorbent and paid attention to the girls instead of themselves, they would’ve already felt the sexual tension just through the intense stares. After all the eyes are the windows to the soul. 

Bea takes a second to breathe, leaning on her bike, she knew today was going to be a long day. After hearing the warning bells she grabs her bag and practically runs the last 50 feet to homeroom and is grateful to see an empty seat at the back of the classroom. She slips in as their homeroom teacher, Mr Jennings quietens the class for the morning announcements, and as all the students direct their attention to the tv in the corner of the room, Poppy’s angelic face brightens up the screen with her adorable smile while she stacks the papers in her hands and turns to look at her co-anchor Carter Jackson. 

Carter Jackson, he’s devilishly handsome and the school’s golden boy. Captain of the football team, on track to being the school’s valedictorian, prevailing against the stereotypes of jocks all being dimwits, his resume is impeccable, any college would be lucky to have him. Bea always felt a pang of jealousy whenever she saw Carter within the same breathing space as Poppy since it was obvious he had the biggest crush on her. The whole school is already expecting for them to date since traditionally in movies and books the football captain and head cheerleader always get together. There were already existing rumours that they were secretly dating or they’ve had sex and many others which made Bea envious.  Bea was never the jealous type but subconsciously the thoughts of her not being good enough for Poppy would regularly infiltrate her mind. Poppy usually had to subside Bea’s fears whenever she felt like Bea was worried about Carter, promising her that she would never actually be into him but Carter is a gentleman and is practically harmless. 

‘Look at this stupid goofy smile and his stupid awesome hair’ Bea clenched her fists so hard her nails were digging into her palms which are definitely going to leave some marks. The announcements went on about the new school year and something about the sports teams and school spirit but Bea’s blood begins to boil when Carter makes a dumb joke earning playful slap on his arm from Poppy. She knows she can trust Poppy around him, it’s just Carter she couldn’t trust. He would always openly flirt with Poppy who would just give a little laugh or change the subject or sometimes indulge in his flirtations, just enough to throw him and the rest of her friends off from the truth. 

After the morning announcements Mr Jennings begins talking about the importance of senior year and how the students would have to start thinking about college and their futures. Bea has her whole future planned out with Poppy, get into Columbia, live off campus with her and eventually Poppy would tell her father about them and he will have no other choice but to accept them and if not then Poppy could take out some loans and eventually use the Min Sinclair name to build herself a brand. Bea wants to go into law, first into corporate, so her and Poppy can work together, so when Poppy takes over her father’s duties as the official CEO of the Min Sinclair industries, Bea would work the legal angle until she’s made a name for herself. If Poppy’s father wouldn’t pass the companies down to Poppy then she’ll go straight to being a general practice lawyer. Then she’ll open her own law firm to help those in need, money won’t be an issue for clients as she just wants to help people who are suffering from legal trouble but have no sufficient funds, because if we are being honest, the public defence system in America is a joke. 

Once the bell went off Bea checked her timetable to see AP science class first thing in the morning. ‘Kill me now’, she heeded she loved science but on a monday morning? It was a different kind of torture. She walks into the class to see all the students glaring at the projected screen and sees that a seating plan has been put into place for them. Miss Acker, is one of the strictest teachers at Belvoire, she’s a straight to the point no BS kind of teacher who would never let students walk all over her so the students in the AP class knew better than to challenge the seating plan. Bea looked for her name to see her being placed at the back corner of the class and her seating buddy is, no way… It’s Poppy. Bea felt a sliver of enlightenment fill her chest, an entire year of sitting next to Poppy and no one would say anything because they had no choice but to be next to each other. 

As Bea makes her way to the back she sees Poppy stride into the class, she gives Bea a quick wink, so quick that you would’ve missed it within a blink of an eye as she promptly took a seat in a random seat near the front of the class, her focus is on taking out her books from her bags until a stern tone catches her attention. 

“Miss Min Sinclair, if you bothered to look at the screen you would see there’s a seating plan, you’re supposed to sit with Miss Hughes at the back”, Miss Acker raises an eyebrow waiting for Poppy to oblige. 

“I-”, Poppy’s face flushes red, either from the embarrassment of being called out or the thought of sitting next to Bea all year, it wasn’t clear. She picks up her notebook and bag and as she’s walking to the back of the class a hand reaches out to touch her elbow. 

“Good luck sitting next to the freak all year” Carter’s voice smooth and his tone jesting at Poppy. 

“Uh, thanks,” Poppy lets out an awkward laugh and sits at the back daring not to look at Bea as the lesson begins. 

“So, looks like we’re science buddies,” Bea leans over and whispers as Miss Ackers goes over the rules of the lab. 

“Not here Bea, please,” Poppy almost pleads as her attention is fixated at the front of the classroom. 

Bea huffs a little, “well we do have to work together Pops, you can’t exactly avoid me since we go to the same school and everything”. 

Poppy doesn’t answer Bea, as the class continues. As Miss Acker addresses the class, Poppy’s attention shifts to the notebook in front of her, doodling across the blank page. She draws a little bumblebee and a heart around it and nudges Bea slightly with her elbow, directing her focus to her drawing. A small smile graces Bea’s face as she runs a finger around the heart and the bee on Poppy’s notebook. 

Bees were part of an inside joke between the two girls, Poppy used to call Bea her ‘little bumblebee’ when they were 14 and although Bea pretended to hate the nickname she found it a little sweet and gave Poppy the nickname ‘Popsicle’. 

The lesson carries on in full silence between the girls as they begin to concentrate at the lesson at hand, and when the lesson ended Poppy quickly packs up her things, grabs her bag and leaves the class with Carter and a few other girls in tow. Bea sighs and places her hands in her jacket pocket suddenly hearing the rustling of a piece of paper. She brings it out and sees a little folded note, and when she unfolds it, she sees a cartoon drawing of two girls kissing and the words ‘I love you’ written underneath it. She has no idea when Poppy even put the note in her pocket but she’s grateful she did. It was the little things like that that made Bea smile, and reminds her why she loves Poppy so much. To the rest of the school, it seems like the girls don’t even care about each other but Poppy’s a secret romantic at heart and usually leaves little tidbits around Bea as a reminder of her love. 

She pockets the note and goes to her next class with a little more pep in her steps. Lunchtime soon rolls over and Bea sits on one of the tables alone enjoying her sandwich. A few tables over, Poppy and her friends are laughing and sharing stories about their summer. One of the girls who’s sitting next to Poppy, catches Bea staring their way and gives a little wave. 

“Veronica who are you waving at?” Chloe’s voice blares and she turns her head looking around the lunch hall to see who’s gotten her attention now. 

Veronica Lombardi, Poppy’s other best friend and one of the very few people who actually treats Bea like a decent human being. She is one of the prettiest girls in school, excluding Poppy, and last year she made the decision to dye her hair a really cool greyish ombre which makes her look ever hotter. She’s also on the cheer team, and is also a vlogger and has over 30k subscribers on her growing youtube channel. Veronica’s family moved to Greensburg when she was 12, and she became quick friends with Poppy after being introduced at a work dinner since Veronica’s dad is one of the COOs for one of Poppy dad’s companies. Veronica also grew up with a lot of money and privilege but it never once deterred her from making friends from all sorts of places. She’s also the only one of Poppy’s friends who knows the truth about her and Bea’s relationship after accidentally walking into one of their make out sessions in the locker room last year during cheer and volleyball practice. She was super understanding and completely supportive of the relationship and often joins the girls when they would go to parties in the southside, arguing that they were tons more fun than the regular highschool parties her peers hosted. She loves to tease Poppy about Bea and insinuate that Poppy may or may not be in a secret relationship which would make their friendship group ask Poppy all kinds of questions about her ‘secret boyfriend’. 

“I’m just waving at Bea” that earns a hard eye roll from Chloe who just shifts her focus on her salad. “Is it me or has she gotten hotter over the summer?” she nudges Poppy with her elbow giving her a playful smile. Poppy’s jaw tightens as she stealthily kicks Veronica’s shin under the table. 

The rest of the people on the table have disgusted looks on their faces at the mention of Bea until Ford, one of the boys on the football team and a perfect example of classic dumb jock says, “I heard she got chylamidia or something because her mom pimps her out to get money or drugs”. 

Poppy takes a stab at her salad and gulps uneasily, “Can we talk about something less disgusting you’re making me lose my appetite.” 

Another girl, Tasha, who surprise surprise is also a cheerleader chimes in, “Like you ever have an appetite Poppy” the table bursts in laughter while Chloe sits in silence lost in thought. 

“What the hell are you plotting Chlo? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you think so much” Veronica laughs. 

A devilish smile appears on Chloe’s face, “I have a little surprise for that little tramp at the end of lunch, I’m just thinking about how hilarious it’s going to be”, the rest of the table reciprocate a similar smile on their faces except for Poppy and Veronica who just lock eyes confused at Chloe’s revelation. 

Poppy clears her throat, “so, uh, what are you planning?” Her tone is steady attempting to keep it as monotone as she can so no one suspects she cares. 

“Lets just say she’s gonna get the stripper treatment real soon” and with that the conversation swiftly changes. 

All the while an unsuspecting Bea sits at her table, after acknowledging Veronica’s wave with a swift nod of her head, Bea silently eats her lunch until she’s interrupted by two scrawny hands clamping onto her shoulders. 

“Dammit AJ you’re gonna give me a heart attack”, Bea sputters while her mouth is full of food. The young boy breaks into a wide grin and sits opposite Bea and swipes the cookie off Bea’s tray, “Hey no!” Bea grabs the cookie before he can shove it into his mouth, “not my cookie, I need my sugar”. 

AJ sulks a little, giving Bea a strong puppy dog look until she gives in and breaks her cookie in half giving him the larger piece. “Thanks Bea, I’m starving and all the good food has already run out, they’re just handing out apples for dessert” he sticks out his tongue making a ‘blergh’ sound and shudders. 

Bea doesn’t laugh, instead she stares intensely at the sophomore with a small frown outlined on her lips’, she leans in her voice low and serious, ‘AJ I want you to tell me the truth, where were you yesterday and why did you call me so late?” 

AJ gulps and places one of his hands on the back of his head and rubs it sheepishly, “I wasn’t doing anything bad I swear, it’s just that dad came home late last night and started fighting with my mom, it woke me up and I guess I just needed someone to talk to. I’m sorry i should’ve texted you back or something.” 

“Yeah you should’ve, AJ I was worried sick, you can’t pull that kinda crap on me okay? If you can’t reach me at least text me or leave a voice message or something.”

The boy nods but Bea isn’t entirely convinced he’s telling the truth but she decides to let it go since AJ is usually not someone who likes to dwell on the bad stuff. The conversation moves to a lighter one as the two reminisce about the summer and the parties they went to and how they were looking forward to the party on saturday. 

“I heard Razor’s getting a bunch of fireworks for the party, it’s gonna be so lit”, AJ is almost jumping out of his seat while Bea looks stunned. 

“Fireworks, really? Poppy would love that, I gotta remember to invite her.” 

AJ rolls his eyes slightly not that he had anything against Poppy, he adores her, he just hates the lovey dovey crap, “yes, yes she’ll love it,” he looks down at his phone and abruptly stands from his seat, and tells Bea he needs to fill up his water bottle but before Bea can even open her mouth, AJ moves out of her line of sight and sprints out of the dining hall. ‘Well he’s most definitely lying’ she thinks but she doesn’t want to press the matter in case AJ closes off on her, she trusts that he wouldn’t do anything too stupid. She begins to clean up after herself and throws her rubbish into the trash can and walks towards the courtyard. Just as she’s leaving, Chloe, Carter, Ford, Tasha and a few of the others on the table share a conspiratorial look before standing up and going after Bea. 

Poppy pulls Veronica to the side, her face filled with worry, “What the hell are they planning?” 

Veronica simply shrugs in response, her face looking exasperated, “I don’t know P but it’s not gonna be good”, she grabs Poppy’s elbow and pulls her towards the doors, “let’s catch up before something bad happens”. 

Bea peacefully walks in the courtyard, one of her hands inside her jacket pocket fiddling with the note Poppy left for her, a small smile gracing her features. Behind her, she hears a loud cough and stops in her tracks, she automatically knew it was Chloe, she softly sighs and turns to see a group of Poppy’s friends encircling her. Her face twitches into a scorn as she uneasily looks around to see the preppy kids staring back at her, all greeting her with a smile which unsettled her. 

“What the hell do you and your stupid cult want Chloe?” She tries to look unbothered but her fingers deceive her, as they fiddle with the straps of her backpack. Behind the group she sees Poppy and Veronica almost running and stopping in their tracks when they see the group surrounding Bea. 

“We all want a show,” Chloe spreads out her arms smiling, god her smug face is so punchable. She walks towards Bea until she’s standing directly in front of her, “well strip tease? I got a paying audience here, why don’t you show us what you mom taught you?” 

Bea shoves Chloe back, and Tasha steps forward and suddenly moves her hands so quick Bea for sure thinks she’s going to be punched. Instead she brings out a bunch of one dollar bills? ‘Oh shit’ is all Bea could think before the group began throwing one dollar bills at the brunette, drawing the attention of all the students in the courtyard. Some took out their phones to record the ordeal while some started cheering and whistling. 

“Come onnnn, don’t be such a tease Bea, show us something” Tasha forces Bea back into the middle of the circle as Bea struggles to leave. 

All the colour drains from Bea’s face as she takes in the faces of the laughing students all publicly humiliating her, it makes her so mad, especially at her mother, who’s at fault for the nickname ‘strip tease’. Bea looks over at Poppy who is frozen in her spot, her face falls when suddenly Veronica pushes herself into the circle and grabs Chloe by the arm, “End this now Chloe, it’s not funny,” Veronica’s eyes are filled with fury, Bea’s heart slightly drops because she secretly hoped that it was Poppy standing up for her. 

“Chillax V, Bea’s used to people throwing their money at her,” she laughs and bends down to pick up some fallen one dollar bills from the floor and throws it in the air. Carter moves towards Bea and places a folder one dollar bill in the loop of her jeans and winks at her and just when Bea pulls her hand back to deliver a blow, a sharp whistle sound infiltrates the ears of all the students who begin clasping at their ears. 

“What the hell is going on here!” the voice bellows over the entire courtyard. 

“Principal Steinhelm, I-” Chloe struggles to speak. 

Principal Steinhelm quickly assesses the situation, seeing Bea’s hands balled into fists and on the verge of tears, with one dollar bills thrown all around her while the rest of the students are surrounding her, some still holding money in their hands. She raises a hand and points at the crowd encircling all the guilty students and simply says, “All of you detention, if any of you do not show up today, there will be consequences. Get to class. Now”. All the students begin to disperse, Veronica places a hand on Bea’s arm and comfortingly rubs it for a few seconds before she walks towards Poppy who is still staring at Bea, her eyes filled with sadness, she looks away and trudges off with Veronica and the rest of her friends who are laughing cruelly in tow. Principle Steinhelm advances towards Bea, eyes filled with concern, “Miss Hughes would you like me to call your mother?”

Bea shakes her head no, her voice dissipated, scared that if she tries to speak, she’ll just burst into tears. Principle Steinhelm gives Bea an awkward pat on her shoulder before telling her to make her way to class as the bell rings. For the rest of the day, students around Bea were staring at her, sharing whispers and covertly laughing at the brunette, so much for not wanting to draw any attention today. Her phone buzzes with texts from Poppy but Bea puts her phone on silent not wanting to think about everything that just happened at school. 

Once the school day is over, Bea runs over to the parking lot and speeds off to work, not waiting to give Chloe a third chance to annoy her today. Poppy sees the girl rushing to leave and feels a pang in her chest. It kills her to see her girlfriend being mistreated but she couldn’t do anything to help her. Right? 

read part 3 here: 

[sevenstarsinning]

Sweat

Ch. 1 - Ch. 2 - Ch. 3 - Ch. 4 - Ch. 5 - Ch. 6 - Ch. 7 - Ch. 8 - Ch. 9

Chapter 10

"Did... did you... is he the flying boyfriend?" Kyla asked, eyes wide like a startled baby deer.

"Ummmm... " Your brow furrowed as you brought your phone back up to your face. You could've sworn you texted Vegeta but the proof was right there on your screen. You texted Goku.

"I guess I accidentally chose Goku instead of Veg... Veggie... why the fuck can't I say his name?"

Kyla started laughing, "Geets!"

"Are you okay?" Goku stared at you confused.

You cleared your throat and tried to stand up straight, "I'm just... fine." You burped.

"Drinks! Goku needs drinks! I've never seen him drunk," Kyla said, her words running together.

"I haven't either... drunk Goku," you said with a dreamy look in your eyes.

"I've drank stuff before." Goku argued.

"Yeah, but not aclo... alcloh... drinks!" You shouted and looped your arm around Goku's.

Kyla did the same as you both tried to pull him with you to order drinks.

"You seem sick. Should I take you home?" Goku watched you concerned.

"Not a chance. We're good and we want you to be good too," you said, using him to keep your balance.

"They have this thing... this like.. fruity thing. We had a lot and it's good. Drink that," Kyla said as they approached the bar.

"No! He needs a fishbowl!" You shouted at the bartender.

He fixed the drink and slid it down to Goku in a huge fish bowl. Goku sniffed it before he picked the whole thing up and started chugging it.

"What the fuck?" Kyla watched in horror as you ordered him another.

"Saiyans can handle way more than us," you said before she freaked out.

"Makes sense," she shrugged and watched him down the second.

"One more?" You said to the bartender.

"I'm not having his death on my conscience. I'm cutting him off," the guy said before walking away.

"Fuck... we need another... let's do a bar crawl!" Kyla said, excited by the idea.

Goku's mood seemed to lighten as the alcohol took effect. He followed the two of you down to the next bar and the one after. By the time you made it to the fourth one he was having some trouble standing himself.

"I fuck... I'm fuckin' horny," Kyla said as the three of you left the last bar. The chilly night air felt great on your heated skin.

"Me too," you said, clinging to Goku's arm for support.

"Me... too-three? Me three?" Goku burst out laughing and continued on down the busy downtown street.

Drunk Goku was adorable as he struggled to walk with the two of you hanging off of him.

"Where's fucking Yamcha?" Kyla sighed.

"Probably asleep... it's like- late, early?" You stumbled but Goku was able to keep you from falling.

"Can you do the thing with the fingers and the forehead?" You asked, drawing a blank on the words you needed to fast travel.

"The fingers and... is this some weird sex thing?" Kyla asked.

"You like when I use my fingers." Goku blurted out, his filter completely gone.

Kyla looked over at you then to him, "please do the finger thing!" 

"Not that! Make us- um... put us somewhere else." You were having the hardest time thinking of the words, especially with Goku's fingers on your mind.

"Like on your knees?" Kyla asked with a Cheshire cat grin.

"She likes that too," Goku said, still trudging forward.

"I- can we not- "

"I can use my fingers if you need it," he offered unexpectedly.

"Fuck. I think I need it." Kyla said with a sigh.

You cupped Goku's face and pulled him down to eye level, "focus. No sex stuff, use your fingers- fuck, use your forehead thing and take us somewhere else."

"But I miss it," he pouted.

"Goku, focus! Fingers, forehead... the fucking... INSTANT TRANSMISSION!" You shouted in his face.

"Ju..just like that?" He pressed his fingers to his forehead and shouted just as you had.

"But where-" 

Before Kyla could ask, Goku had grabbed you both and your surroundings changed instantly. 

"Goku?" You glanced around to see Master Roshi's house.

"I took us somewhere else." He shrugged.

"New place." Kyla demanded as she saw Roshi glancing out the window.

The second time Kyla shouted with Goku before the three of you disappeared and materialized in front of Piccolo meditating on a cliff in the middle of nowhere.

"Oh, hello big green dude I wanna climb," Kyla said, winking at a very confused looking Piccolo.

"Goku? What are you doing here?" Piccolo looked completely confused.

"Fingers." He answered and pressed his fingers to his head again.

The next time your surroundings changed, it was familiar. Home.

"Okay, no more. I'm sick." You dropped down to the ground, needing to be still for a moment.

Goku sat down next to you and Kyla sat next to him.

"This Earth ball is spinning faster," Kyla said, leaning against Goku.

"I feel happy again," Goku said, draping an arm over each of you.

"Me too, dude. It feels good to not give a shit for a while," Kyla replied.

You remained quiet, focusing all of your energy on not getting sick.

"You okay?" Goku asked when he noticed you barely talking.

"Too much drinks." You felt like your stomach was inside out.

Goku rested his hand on your lower back and smoothed it up and down lightly.

"It's good to see you smile and laugh again," you said, glancing up at him.

"Hard not to when you're around." He smiled and kissed the side of your head.

It was so easy to fall back into old habits with him and that's what scared you. You laid back in the grass and let the coolness envelope you. Goku laid back beside you, his hand grabbed yours and laced your fingers with his. 

"Shit, we laying down now?" She said as she fell back on the ground.

"Thanks for tonight... it was definitely needed," you said as your eyelids grew heavy.

"Yeah, it was," Kyla said in a sleepy voice.

Goku squeezed your hand and pulled you against him while Kyla scooted up close to rest under his arm.

"You've got to be kidding me." A loud, gruff voice shook you from your alcohol induced sleep.

You groaned as you opened your eyes slowly to see Vegeta standing over you. When you moved you realized you weren't alone. Your head was resting on Goku's chest and Kyla was tucked up against his other side.

"What the... " you groaned and slowly started to move. A hangover made you queasy when you sat up too fast.

"The fuck... " Kyla said, stirring on Goku's other side while he snored between the two of you.

You squinted as you looked up at the brightness of the sun blinding you.

"I feel like shit,” you muttered.

"Why are the three of you asleep on the lawn?" Vegeta asked, his voice too loud.

"Did we fuck?" Kyla asked, rubbing her eyes.

"I... no? Fuck, did we?" You glanced at Goku. He was still fully clothed but that didn't mean it couldn't have happened somewhere else.

"Goku?" You shook him.

He groaned and rolled over, wrapping his arms around your waist and nuzzling against you. You glanced up at Vegeta who held a full scowl as he glared at you all.

"Goku, wake up." You shook him harder and he finally came to.

"Fingers... " he mumbled, further angering Vegeta.

"What the hell happened?" Vegeta shouted. The three of you recoiled, covering your ears.

"Fuck, Vegeta... too goddamn loud," Kyla said with a look of pure disdain towards her ex.

"One of you explain what the hell happened last night," Vegeta ordered, arms crossed while he waited.

Goku sat up groggy, rubbing his head, "drinks and fingering?"

"Goku, you're not helping." Kyla said.

"We had a few drinks then Goku did his fin- instant thing and brought us here. We must have passed out,” you explained, hoping to quell some of his anger.

"And why did you go out with the two of them?" He scowled.

"I didn't. I ran into Kyla at a café yesterday, we got drunk, and I texted- "

"I texted Goku to come get us," Kyla interrupted, saving you from more questions.

"But-" Goku opened his mouth.

"And then we roped him into drinking too." Kyla nudged him.

"I didn't plan any of this if that's what you're thinking." You stared up at him.

"You just happened to run into them out in public? Don't be ridiculous," Vegeta snapped.

"It's what happened. I'm not going to fight with you right now," you said, burying your face in your hands.

"Hey, big guy, think you can fly me home? I think they need some privacy." Kyla asked Goku.

Goku leaned over to you, "you want me to go?"

"Yeah, it's fine. Take her home," you said with a slight smile.

Your heart shattered all over again when his sad face returned. The temporary relief you felt from the previous night was gone and you felt worse than before.

Goku and Kyla stood and took off immediately, leaving you sitting on the ground staring up at Vegeta.

"Are you going to stay out here all day?" He asked.

"Are you going to bitch at me all day?" You looked at him and wished you could take back the conversation from the day before. Then you wouldn't know you were his second choice.

"No, I'm using the gravity chamber," he said in a cold voice to match his scowl.

"So you're leaving again?" You pushed yourself up off the ground.

"Should I stay so we can argue some more?" He snapped.

"No, stay so we can figure this out, you stubborn ass," you spat back. Your anxiety was skyrocketing along with your nausea and all you wanted was for him to hold you and say the two of you would figure it out.

"How do you suggest we do that, woman?"

"By talking like a normal couple instead of yelling and being hurtful." Everything from the night before was boiling to the surface.

"What else is there to discuss? You want the fool and you're pissed off because I didn't initially choose you." 

"If I wanted Goku then I'd fucking be with him. You saw how much he still cares for me, unlike you." It was starting to spiral out of control again.

"The second you heard something you didn't like, you went straight to him!" He shouted.

"I didn't go to him, I went to a fucking restaurant to drink by myself," you yelled back.

"It doesn't matter, you still ended up with him. Have you seen me trying to spend time with Kyla?"

"No, but this is different, I-"

"It's far from different. She was my mate!"

"So what the fuck does that make me?" You felt the tears threaten but you held them back.

When he didn't immediately answer, your heart sank. You knew your relationship with him was still too new to be considered mates despite what happened at Bulma's party. But not having anything to call you somehow hurt more than finding out he wasn't the one to end his relationship with Kyla.

"So, I'm nothing... "

"That's not what I said." He reached for you but you recoiled.

"You didn't say anything,” you shot back and turned to head inside.

"Damn it, woman, stop walking away." He grabbed your arm and pulled you back towards him.

"Tell me this is going to get better, tell me what I mean to you." You stared up at him with pleading eyes.

"You know that's not- I don't talk about feelings," he said, clearly trying to stay calm.

"Well, I kinda need you to because I don't where I stand with you right now and that's really hard." Your voice cracked and the dam finally broke sending tears streaming down your cheeks.

In another uncharacteristic move, Vegeta pulled you into a light hug, his hands remaining fixed on your hips.

"I just- I can't do this alone, Vegeta." You sobbed into his chest.

"This isn't something I know." He seemed to soften.

"I know you're not the type to open up but sometimes, like now, I need you to," you pleaded with him, crying into his shoulder.

"What do you need me to say, exactly?" He kept his softness but you knew there was only a short window of opportunity.

"I need you to say how you really feel about us and our relationship."

"I want to be with you, is that not enough?" He was still struggling.

"It is, but I just- I need to know I'm important to you, that you actually care about me." You clung to him, trying to hold on a little longer.

"Woman, I wouldn't be standing here if I didn't care about you," he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

You pulled back and ran your hands up his chest and neck to barely cup his cheeks. A move you knew he wasn't used to.

"I'm sorry I walked out."

"Next time stay." He felt so tense beneath your fingertips.

"Will you stay with me today?" You asked, hanging on his next words as if they meant everything.

"Yes, I'll stay today," he relented.

You were so overcome with happiness that you jumped into his arms.

He caught you and let out a soft sigh as his arms squeezed you against his body.

"Thank you." You nuzzled against his cheek and kissed him.

"You humans and your affection," he said with a hint of a smirk on his lips.

You went inside and he immediately grabbed you, backing you towards the wall.

"Since you talked me out of training I have to find other ways to get a workout."

"I'm more than happy to help you burn some calories." You grabbed his armor and pulled him flush against you.

"Good, I plan on getting a full workout in." He captured your lips with his.

He was a little softer than usual and you hoped it would last for a while.

His hands slid down your sides and grabbed the hem of your shirt, lifting it over your head.

"I missed you," you murmured while he kissed down your chest.

"You should've come inside last night,” he chided as he kissed his way down to your breasts.

"Would you have let me?" 

"Of course. I would've claimed you while your friends slept on the lawn."

The thought of rough make up sex with Vegeta sounded so good you wished you would've gone inside the night before.

"You can claim me now."

He let out a soft growl, "I won't be gentle." 

"I'm okay with that." You wanted him to be rough, you felt like you needed it.

"It'll be worse than the day in the gravity chamber," he warned. Your panties were soaked in an instant. More intense than the day in the gravity chamber was going to leave you completely exhausted.

"Wear me out,” you said with a slight grin.

Vegeta ripped the rest of your clothing off with ease, effectively making you even wetter at the fact.

He knelt down, put each leg over his shoulders, and stood back up with ease.

With your back pressed against the wall and his head between your thighs, you grabbed his hair and hung on as much as you could as he devoured your pussy.

He pressed his face against your cunt as his tongue swirled around your clit. Vegeta definitely knew what he was doing when it came to eating you out as he left you breathless within seconds.

"Fuck..." you tightened your grip on his hair.

He was focused fully on you and it felt like his way of telling you how he felt without actually saying it.

"Vegeta... " you panted and your thighs began to tremble.

He didn't slow down or stop, your whimpers only drove him further. His hands dug into your thighs almost painfully until you finally came, screaming for him.

He lapped at your pussy, licking up as much of your cum as he could before lowering you to the floor. It took a moment to regain your equilibrium as you came down from your intense orgasm.

"Fuck, Vegeta," you panted.

"Don't thank me yet, I'm not done with you." He grabbed you and pulled you with him upstairs.

You could do nothing but follow as your legs still felt wobbly. He entered the bedroom and shoved you down on the bed before he climbed up your body in a predatory manner.

To your surprise, he hooked his arms around your thighs and went right back to eating you out again, even more intensely than before.

"Vegeta!" You shouted, clutching the sheets beneath you.

"Scream for me, woman." He growled against your cunt.

You bucked your hips and tried to squeeze your thighs together but he forced them back open. He was determined to drive you insane with each swipe of his tongue and you were more than happy to take the torture.

"Ve...  Veg," you panted, unable to form full words with him licking and sucking at your clit.

"Scream for me," he repeated a little louder.

He shoved two fingers into your soaked cunt, making you scream.

"Vegeta! Fuck, don't stop!" You clutched the sheets beneath you as you came, moaning loudly for anyone near the house to hear.

He settled on top of you and didn't waste a second shoving his pants down and slamming his cock into you. You were still recovering from the previous orgasm when his cock hit deep within your cunt despite your clenching.

He stilled and it felt like all of the tension in his body faded as he looked down at you, chin still glistening from going down on you.

Vegeta thrust into you hard, his cock slamming into you and making you gasp with each harsh thrust. He was rougher with you, determined to claim you or break you, whichever came first and you were honestly good with either.

He leaned down, grunting in your ear as he kissed and nipped at your neck. You winced when his fangs sunk into your skin but an overwhelming sense of excitement filled you immediately following the bite. His tongue lapped over the two small puncture wounds and when he lifted, you pulled him right back down into a heated kiss.

You could taste the metallic tinge of your blood on his tongue as he kissed you and continued to fuck you. He was relentless with his pace and didn't slow down for a second.

"You bit me there?" You asked between heated kisses.

"Yeah, problem?" He grunted, fucking you just as hard.

"I... just... isn't that... symbolic for saiyans?" It was a struggle to speak with him fucking you harder than ever before.

"Yes,” he answered, but gave nothing more.

You opened your mouth to say something but he shoved his fingers into your mouth before you could. He continued to fuck you roughly as his hands dug into the softness of your thighs.

"Come," Vegeta commanded once you were showing signs of fatigue. He was trying to fuck you to sleep and you couldn't help but wonder if it was because he didn't want you asking more questions or because he wanted you to rest. You zoned out just enough to remember how great it felt to be around Goku and surprisingly, Kyla, the night before. The heaviness you had felt since choosing Vegeta had lifted.

He snapped his hips against you as a reminder which was enough to push you over the edge. You clung to him as he continued to drive into you, your orgasm rolling through your body as you cried out for him.

He kept up the pace through your release until he finally let go, coming deep within you. By the time he pulled out and rested on the bed next to you, the room went dark and you drifted off to sleep.

Your eyes slowly opened sometime later. You had no idea how long you were out, only that the sun was setting and you were alone. You crawled out of bed and wrapped yourself in a blanket as you walked down the hallway towards the living room expecting to see Vegeta there, but he wasn't.

It dawned on you that this may be your norm, waking up alone and without the comfort or warm embrace you needed. Kyla's words echoed through your mind as you stood in the emptiness of your home.

As the silence ate away at you, tears began to form. Vegeta said he wouldn't train but he left anyway. You knew that was what he went to do. He rarely left for any other reason.

Like a switch flipping inside of you, your sadness turned to anger. If he was going to leave all the time, you weren't going to sit around and wait for him.

You marched to your bedroom and grabbed your phone from the bedside table. Swiping through your contacts, you came to the name you were looking for. Kyla.

"I know last night was probably a one time thing but do you want to go get a few drinks with me?" You sent the message and waited.

[lunetheaveragefan]

one day...

Hi, y’all! Sorry there’s been such a delay for Chapter 2. I’ve been super busy with school and dance and other activities and all that. Also, I decided about halfway through my original Chapter 2 that I was going to alternate between Virgil and Roman’s perspectives so I had to start a new chapter from scratch. But that means that now-Chapter 3 has already been started, so hopefully I’ll have it done by Friday this week!

A Sander Sides high school AU

Pairing: Prinxiety and some background Logicality

Summary: Virgil is used to being alone. He only has one friend, Logan. But when Logan makes a new friend, things begin to change as two more join their group. Roman, a boisterous theater kid, seems determined to destroy Virgil’s lonely, average life. How much will Virgil’s life change?

Warnings: Some cursing and quick mentions of a possible fight/hospital. If you notice anything else, let me know!

Word Count: 1,919

anyway, here it is!

--------------------------------------------------------

CHAPTER TWO

Roman Princeford is absolutely, completely, terribly humiliated. 

He can’t stop blushing in embarrassment, and it only makes it worse when the classes are boring and he can't stop his mind from drifting to that morning. Like now, for example. 

Stupid, stupid Roman, he chastises himself. Why didn’t you notice him there, you oblivious dumbass? 

He groans and buries his head in his hands. 

“Is something wrong, Roman?” the math teacher asks. “Do you need help?” Yes, but not the help you can give me, Roman thinks. He takes a breath and fixes a dazzling smile on. 

“No, Mrs. Perry, I’m doing fine! Thank you for your offer of assistance, however!” he exclaims in his usual lyrical way. Roman always makes an effort to seem like he’s reading off a script, especially one where there’s a heroic prince he can play. It always makes him feel better when he plays a part. Then, Roman can imagine that he is the character. The same qualities, traits, life, everything. 

He can ignore how stupid he is and pretend he’s a brave, dashing prince. The princes in stories would never have the problems Roman’s been having. 

Mrs. Perry walks off, rolling her eyes, not without fondness, and Roman turns back to his math. Shoving his mind out of fantasy, he tries to solve the problems. It seems like he’s gotten nowhere by the time the bell rings. Throwing his paper into his bag, he hurries out of the room. 

“Heya, Roman!” Patton Hart, his best friend, calls through the throng of people. Roman slows down so Patton can catch up. “How ya doing?”

“Uhh, Patton, I am a disaster!” Roman proclaims. “You’ll never guess what happened this morning!”

“Oh no! What did you do this time?” Patton asks jokingly as they enter the classroom. History is one of the few classes they have together, so they always walk from fifth period there. 

“I was telling a story, a great one, mind you, and knocked over a poor, innocent student!” Roman throws down his bag next to his seat and plops into the hard plastic chair. “I didn’t mean to, I swear. But that wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was who I hit!” Pausing for dramatic effect, Roman finishes, “It was Virgil! I knocked over Virgil Tempest!”

Patton’s mouth forms a small ‘o’. He starts to laugh, but after seeing how embarrassed Roman is, he stops and places a hand on his shoulder. “What did he say?”

“Nothing much. Just some mumble-jumble. But now I can’t stop thinking about him! I didn’t get a single thing done in math! It’s terrible, Patton. My entire life is all going to go downhill from here! I’ll become ineligible for the play because I’m failing all my classes! I won’t be able to graduate, and then I’ll have to work.” He shudders. “That’s it! I’m done for. I’ll never accomplish anything!” He collapses back against the chair for dramatic effect. He knows he’s being very extra, but honestly, what else does anyone expect at this point? He’s Roman Princeford, after all. 

If only I were the brave, loud, daring person the whole school thinks I am.

“Woah, woah, woah there buddy!” Patton comforts. “I’m sure you’ll do fine. You aren’t going to fail high school. You just gotta tell him how you feel! Then you won’t have to worry about it anymore!”

Roman looks at Patton in shock.

“Tell him how I feel?” Patton nods, encouraging. Roman sits back up. “And make a fool of myself yet again? No thank you! He hates me, you know that! I’d be better off flunking high school! How could I look into those beautiful brown eyes in that beautiful face and tell him I had a crush on him! Impossible, I say! Impossible!” He throws out his hands, but then remembers that the exact same movement started this whole thing. Quickly, his hands fall back to his sides.

Patton chuckles. “It’s not as hard as you think, Ro-ro! You’ll do great. And I’m sure he doesn’t hate you.” Roman sighs. “Hey, why don’t you—”

“Boys in the back,” the history teacher says, shooting a look at Roman and Patton, “it’s time for class. Pay attention please.” They both nod at turn away from each other and towards the board. 

Roman doesn’t pay attention to a single word of the lecture. All he can think about is Virgil’s freckles and his eyes and his lips and his laugh, which Roman had only heard briefly while walking past him but loved nonetheless. How come I’ve never noticed that Virgil had freckles before? he wonders. Goddammit, is that boy just going to keep getting more and more amazing? 

Roman chuckles to himself, thinking, Oh my god, I’m so gay. Deciding he should probably start listening to what the teacher is saying, he shoves any and all thoughts of Virgil from his mind and fills the gaps with information about the buildup to World War 1.  

After class, Patton rushes up to him. He pulls Roman to the side of the hallway in a little nook where the row of lockers end. 

“After school, you should come with me to this coffee shop,” Patton says, a little smile on his face. Roman knows that smile. He’s up to no good. 

“Why?” His voice rises with suspicion at the end of the word. 

“My lab partner, Logan Wise, you know him, said that we should meet up to work on our project after school.” A blush rises to Patton’s cheeks causing Roman to smirk as he figures it out. 

“Someone’s got a cru-ush,” Roman teases, voice sing-songy and laughing. 

“That’s not the point,” Patton says, blushing even harder. 

“Fine.” Roman lowers his voice to a whisper. “But you can’t hide it from me. I’m the love whisperer, remember?” Throughout their years of high school, Roman had been responsible for setting up many couples. It’s gotten to a point where almost every day, he has someone walk up to him, asking him to help set them up with whoever their crush happens to be. 

“Well, maybe I have a crush, but so do you. And you do know who Logan’s best friend is, right?” Patton responds, that same mischievous smile. Roman chuckles, looking around in a fond mix of exasperation and amusement. 

“Virgil,” he finally says. Patton’s smile grows wider. “Look, I told you. I can’t talk to him. I’ll just make a fool of myself!”

“Fine,” Patton says. “Suit yourself.” He pats Roman on the shoulder and starts to walk away. Before he’s completely out of sight, he turns and yells, “Just think about it, okay?” Roman rolls his eyes at his friend’s shameless attempts to set him up and heads to choir. 

------------------

Slinging his bag over his shoulder, Roman shuts his locker with a bang. He joins the flood of people heading towards the front doors. He spills out of the school and heads towards his car. Once he’s only a few yards away, he unlocks the doors and dumps his things inside the passenger door. After waving to a few other kids on their way out that he knows, he gets into the driver’s side.

Alone, finally, Roman allows himself to drop the fake smile. Ugh, you goddamn idiot. How did you not notice him there? Now he hates you even more. Good going, Roman! Love whisperer, yeah right.

If only I could just talk to him…

Shoving his embarrassment and frustration aside, he starts the car and pulls out of the school, heading home. His route home winds its way through the downtown streets. Roman is so used to driving the same streets, he’s startled to notice something unordinary. 

A few cars ahead of him is Patton’s silver car. What is he doing over here? Patton lives on the opposite side of downtown as Roman, and while the town is relatively small, it’s still strange. Roman is sure he’s never seen Patton drive this way home before. 

Turning onto 4th Street, Roman watches Patton, now directly ahead of him, park in an open spot in front of one of the little shops lining the street. The sign above says “The Sanders Cafe” in swirly cursive lettering. A decal of a little cupcake sitting next to a cup of coffee accompanies it. 

Oh, right, Roman remembers. Patton and Logan were meeting up to work on their chemistry thingy. 

And Virgil is probably going to be there. No matter how much he tries to block the thought, it still shows up. Roman has tried to get Virgil out of his mind, but it never works. He always pops up when Roman least expects it. Frankly, Roman finds it quite frustrating. 

Lost in thought, Roman turns one intersection too early. “I guess I’ll just go around the block,” he sighs. It had been a long day, and he was looking forward to crashing when he got home. The detour would only cost about 5 minutes but still. Annoying.

Roman’s phone buzzes in the center console while he’s waiting to turn back onto 4th Street, the one with the cafe on it. One quick glance down at it tells Roman it’s from Patton. Checking the road to make sure he has the time, he looks back to read what it says. 

“Patton…” he groans. 

“I think you should come to the cafe with me. I’m waiting outside. Just give it a chance, kiddo!” reads the text message. However much Roman would like to deny it, he does want to go with Patton. On impulse, he finds a parking spot and pulls in. Patton is parked a few spots down, still sitting in his car. He hasn’t noticed Roman yet, and Roman’s glad for that. 

“Come on, Roman,” he says, trying to give himself a pep talk. “Think about what a prince would do. He’d charge in there without a second thought. It wouldn’t matter what would happen because it would be in the name of love. You got this. What’s the worst that could happen, besides Virgil hating the sight of you so much he instantly fights you the second he sees you and you lose and have to go to the hospital and become the laughing stock of the school because while under anesthesia you admit your feelings for Virgil and now everyone knows and—”

A knock on the driver’s side window cuts Roman’s worrying off. When Roman looks up, he sees Patton’s grinning face. The other boy waves enthusiastically and gives him a thumbs up. 

You got this. Be a prince, Roman. It’s in your name, after all. Taking a deep breath and clenching his fists in determination, Roman grabs his phone off the console and double checks to make sure he has his wallet. 

Patton practically assaults him the moment he steps outside the car, talking in a rapid stream of words, but Roman can’t hear anything over the ever-increasing beating of his heart. They walk up to the front door, Patton ahead of Roman, still rambling about something from foods class. 

The moment they walk in, the little silver bell dinging above them, Roman forgets all his worries because there Virgil is, sitting in a booth with another boy, — Logan, probably — his hair falling in front of his face, teeth gnawing on his lip in concentration and Oh god, that boy is beautiful. 

And then Virgil looks up at them, and Roman swears he can feel his heart drop all the way to the ground.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #452

“what i’ve felt, what i’ve known, never shined doing what i’ve shown  /  never free, never me, so i dub thee unforgiven”

Are you a part of the LGBTQ+ community? I am. Do you have Tiktok? Are you addicted? I don't. Do you enjoy being outside? IF it's cool outside, yes. Do you like being around kids? No, not really. Have you ever gotten Covid-19? No. What's your ethnicity? Caucasian. If you were president, what's the first change you would make? I'd probably put in place free healthcare first. What is an animal that you'd like to have as a pet but it's not allowed? If an animal shouldn't be a pet, there's a reason. So none. What was your favorite meal as as kid? Has it changed now? It was spaghetti. I still love it, but it's not my favorite now. Which doctor is your least favorite? Primary, eye, dentist, gynecologist, etc. Potential TMI answer follows. So, the VERY easy answer is gynecologist. Like, I've never even BEEN to one because I'm too scared. Not because I think they'll find anything wrong, but because I'm just very self-conscious about stuff like that and I do fucking not want some random stranger laying a goddamn finger on me like that. My doctor is really pushing me to go by now though as a safety precaution, but I just really, really don't want to. Do you feel that you'd be any good at solving a murder? No. I'm so clueless. You own a dragon, but it doesn't breathe fire; what comes out instead? Water, I guess? That could be beneficial in a lot of ways. Have you ever been sprayed by a giant rain puddle when a car passed by? No. Do you remember the last movie you saw while on a date? Yeah, IT with Girt. What color is your iPod? Hot pink. Do you think baby clothes are adorable? Ha ha yeah, I just tend to like miniature things in general, and babies are just... miniature humans lmao. Whose house did you last sleep over at? Sara's. If you could adopt 3 unique pets, what would you get? A plains hognose morph (probably a lavender, or snow?), a Brazilian black tarantula, andddd... an African fat-tailed gecko morph. What grade are you in, if you’re still in school? I'm not in school. Do you get a lot of tourists in the area where you live? Hell no, there's not shit here. Do you enjoy watching vlogs? Only occasionally by certain people I like. What was the last new video game you were excited about? It really sucks I don't have the appropriate console to play it myself, but I was SUPER stoked for Resident Evil 8: Village to be released and literally watched like four different playthroughs at the same time, ha ha. Have you ever talked about your period with a guy? Were they okay with it, or grossed out? In a three-and-a-half years intimate relationship, it obviously came up before. He didn't care, because he wasn't 12. Have you ever been to small church/bible group/study? Forced to or wanted to? I was forced to go to Sunday school, as well as church. Have you ever been to an Asian (any type) market? If so, what is the closest one to you? I've never seen one here, even. How would you feel if your significant other had tattoos? That'd be a bonus to how physically attracted I was to them, probably, lol. I just love tattoos. Where was the last place on your body that you felt physical pain? My uterus is screaming. :') What are you listening to right now? I am fucking unhealthily obsessed with Violet Orlandi & Skar's cover of "The Unforgiven" by Metallica lkasdjkflawjerwr like I will not stop listening to it lol. Last person you texted? My mom. Have you ever gone out of your way to make someone happy? Yes. Is there a certain person that makes you feel safe? My mom. Have you ever used a chainsaw? Nooo, and I don't want to. Do you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa? crihmuh Ever been so stunned, no words came out? Oh yes. Ever written that you were going to end your life? I have. I was fucking stupid and made a suicide note on Facebook. I genuinely wanted everyone on there to know what they meant to me, so like it seriously wasn't for attention, which I still worry people think that. Ever put fake bugs around your house to scare someone? Not to scare people, no. I have two faux tarantulas in my room as decor, though. Is there a reason you have the name you do? Not particularly. My parents just liked it, ig. Choose: the best song by Green Day? Aw, that's way too hard! I love Green Day. I guess if I absolutely had to pick, maybe "21 Guns." It's just a truly beautiful song. Have you ever tried to “save”, or “fix” someone, before? No. I don't believe that works and only damages you. Were ethics discovered or invented? That's a good question. I really can't say I know. Do you put effort into getting tan during the summer? Nah. Are you a fairly self-motivated person? NO. I need external motivation pretty badly. Be honest, does the person you like actually deserve you? Or are they actually not worthy of your affections? I don't deserve him. List 5 things that have been on your mind most recently. 1.) wtf I feel about Girt and wtf to do about it; 2.) my weight; 3.) what job I'm going to search for once I make progress at the gym; 4.) whether or not to quit photography and focus my efforts elsewhere; and 5.), as always, Jason. What is better, history or science? Science is way more interesting. Do you flinch at the sight of blood? No. Do you enjoy swimming? Yeah. When you swear, is it usually in general or directed at someone? In general. I don't generally swear at people. Are any of your friends hoping to be famous one day? Yeah; I've got a couple of musician friends. Who would you kiss right now if you could kiss anyone? GO AWAY Ever slapped a guy in the face? No. I don't hit people. Do you think you’re a good friend? I sure try to be. Have you ever thrown your cell phone in anger? When? I have on only one occasion when I Jason and I were texting and he pissed me off. I don't remember what we were even talking about now. My phone was fine btw, ha ha, I didn't like, chuck it. What color of hair do you find the sexiest on the opposite gender? Out of the natural hair colors, black. But I really like hair that's dyed exotic colors on like... anyone. Have you slept over at a member of the opposite sex’s house in their bed? Yeah. When you lost your virginity, were you sober? Yeah. Have you ever given your phone number to somebody you met online? Quite a few people, actually. Most of my friendships are online. On average, how much does gas cost where you live? When I was out today, it was $2.99. Why are you happy? Who said I was? I'm not happy. What is in your pocket? Nothing. What was the worst feeling you last felt? Severe indecision. Worthlessness. Yesterday had some grim periods. What would you name your future son? I always answer with the first name, "Damien," so let's see about a middle name... uhhhh... maybe Damien James? I'm not really sure about a middle name, but that sounds nice. What are you waiting for? Girt to message me back. He barely touches Facebook, so I can't blame him, but I wanna plan a day for him to visit and we can hang and I can decide what the fuck it is I feel towards him. What takes your breath away? Big waterfalls, to name a major one. What fact of life would you rather not know about? That the world doesn't give a fuck about you. It sounds super pessimistic, I know, but it doesn't. There is no sentience to it, no will to keep you safe and happy, it just... exists, and we're thrown onto it to figure it out. Unfair things happen. That's life. ... Damn, this answer was dark lol. What’re a few things that automatically make you go, “Awww?” Meerkat pups doing so much as blinking, guys being really cute with kids, seeing elderly couples holding hands and just generally being precious, proposals (especially gay ones just because of how hard that was fought for), seeing literally any picture in existence of Mark and Amy together, veterans coming home and their dogs freaking out... Man, a lot of things. This question brightened my mood to think about. :') Are you easily scared by horror movies? Nah. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go? Illinois to visit Sara. :') I really wanna hang. Do you know anyone with the same birthday as you? No, but a former best friend had her bday a day before mine. Are you wearing a ring? I always wear two. Do you hate to hug people? No, I love hugs. How many rooms does your house consist of? Seven. If you could be on any TV show, which would it be and why? Can I be a Pokemon trainer, pls???? What would you want to be famous for? Most ideally, a great wildlife photographer. The kind photography students would see and be inspired by. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal? No, I sleep with a real animal, ha ha. What is your favorite brand of hairspray? I don’t have one. What is in your backyard? Not very much... I'm barely ever even out there, so I barely know. There's one shed, a small tree, and uh... idk. Who is/was your favorite teacher? I have a few. Mrs. Whitley, Mr. Proctor, Coach Collie, and Miss Tobey are some. What’s your favorite non-sexual thing to do with a girl/boy? Play video games together. Do you cheer for the bad guy? Ha, I have a tendency to do that... Would you rather start a new career or a new relationship? Career. I want one so very badly. Something on the human body that grossest you out the most: So even though I am sexually attracted to any gender, nevertheless, genitalia gross me the fuck out. Either kind. Penises especially though like what the fuck- Do you think it’s easier to raise a boy a girl? Why? From most parents, I've heard boys are much easier because girls (supposedly) tend to have more of an attitude. What is your favorite strawberry flavored food? Strawberry is generally my favorite flavor for like, everything, so this is just about impossible. Maybe uhhh slushies? What is the oldest video game system you’ve played? An Atari.

[delos-mio]

Death of a Bachelor - Part 16

A/N: The bitch is back! Thank you EVERYONE who has showed me love and patience and grace while I took time for myself to get back in order. If you’d like to refresh your memory or catch up, you can do so here. This is by far the longest chapter of DOAB so far, because no one can make messes like the Delos’ can. Tags are at the end, please let me know if you no longer want to be tagged! (or, if you want to be added) There is a scene akin to a panic attack if that’s a trigger for anyone- please proceed with caution! Alright, I think I’ve talked enough. Please enjoy Sweet 16!

The night before Jim’s retirement party, you were curled up next to Logan. Both of you couldn’t be bothered to get dressed after soaking, and perhaps a bit more, in the bathtub together. Since there were still so many last minute details to take care of, Logan had been out of the house most of the last week. You hadn’t seen him for more than the 5 or so minutes when he came home and kissed you goodnight before sliding into bed next to you since last Thursday. He still found time during the day to text you, telling you how much he missed seeing you, how that kiss he got at the end of the night, when you were still half asleep and flushed, was the best part of his day. Sure, Logan could be a shithead, but he was sweet when he wanted to be. And he was yours.

His skin was still warm and just the slightest bit slick as he propped himself up over you, eyes searching over your face.  The look on his face, the soft one with the adoring eyes and just slightly upturned lips, was your very favorite expression of his and one you simply couldn’t resist. “I missed you. I missed this,” you murmured, moving your hand over his collarbone and down to his bicep.

“Promise I missed you more,” Logan smirked and nuzzled into your neck.

You arched up enough to press your lips to his, savoring the fact that you could finally take your time kissing him. Logan was eager to acquiesce and slowly, teasingly, ran his tongue along your bottom lip. Just kissing him was already making you ache for round two. But just as you were about to grab his hips and drag them over yours, Logan pulled back and looked you in the eyes again.

“You’re everything to me,” he mumbled, running his large palms over your hips. You couldn’t help the stupid, dopey grin that spread over your face.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he smiled. Logan surprised you then by rolling off you and walking out of the bedroom without saying a word. You snapped to attention and sat up in bed, letting the blanket fall around your waist as you debated whether or not to follow Logan. But, he returned only a moment later, now with his hands behind his back. Still standing in the doorway, he paused and let out a breath. “You look so beautiful right now,” he mused, unable to tear his eyes from you.

“C’mere.” You smiled and patted his side of the bed. Logan quickly complied and sat down, taking one of your hands in his. He looked a little nervous and you couldn’t pinpoint why.

“I know I haven’t been around a lot over the last couple months, and really not around this week. But I hope you know that I would always much rather be here, rolling around naked in bed with you,” he smirked. You let out a single laugh and squeezed his hand.

“I absolutely believe that,” you giggled.

“So, I kind of got you something. Just to say thank you.” Logan pulled a larger, flat black box from behind his back with a black silk ribbon around it. You took it from him, still looking in his eyes.

“Lo,” you started, smiling, “You didn’t have to get me anything. You know I understand.”

“Yeah, but,” he shrugged, almost looking a little bashful, “It’s something I want you to have.” You tugged the ribbon loose and opened the top of the box on its single hinge. Inside, there was a breathtaking diamond pendant necklace. It was simple and elegant and totally you.

“It’s beautiful,” you breathed out. “Thank you, Lo.” He could only nod his head, his gaze now fixed on your still joined hands.

“The, um,” he started, his voice shaking just a little before he was forced to clear his throat. “The stone is from one of my mom’s rings.” Your gaze snapped up from the necklace to Logan, your mind going completely blank. “I meant what I said, princess. You’re everything to me. And I was hoping maybe you’d keep a little bit of me with you.”

The Logan you met in the coffee shop, the Logan who hung over girls and guys to make you jealous, the Logan who damn near overdosed to forget who he was…all those Logans had grown and morphed into the man sitting beside you. You couldn’t wrap your mind around him giving up something of his mom’s willingly. This was a lot for him. This wasn’t him just custom making some expensive piece of jewelry to say sorry. He loved you. Logan Delos really and truly loved you. The tears that sprang to your eyes were sudden and free flowing.

“Of course. Of course, I’d love to,” you choked out. Logan finally looked back up then and saw your tears, which he quickly thumbed away. You understanding what he was trying to say without him having to say it took a visible weight off his shoulders. He leaned back against the headboard and let out a breath he must have been holding. You wasted no time climbing into his lap and peppering his face with kisses. Finally, Logan broke into a grin, which you couldn’t help but kiss straight on. “Thank you, baby. I love it. And I love you.”

“Anything for my princess,” he mumbled against your mouth. And, yeah, you believed that.

-----

The guests were all just beginning to arrive. You recognized a good handful of them, familiar faces from other Delos events. But a lot of them were old friends of Jim’s. They all had that distinct look of asshole with way more money than brains and old enough to be the father of the girls they had hanging from their arms. The sight made you a little more than uncomfortable, but it seemed very on brand for the company Jim kept.

Juliet, and Logan to a smaller extent, had done a beautiful job putting together a retirement party worthy of a billionaire. Jim fawned over Juliet, going on and on about how wonderful she did, bragging proudly to anyone who would listen. Though he acted like he didn’t care, and truthfully, it was what he’d come to expect from his father, Logan could be seen in quiet moments with just the barest trace of a frown. True, he hated Jim, but that was still his father. And his father was still refusing to acknowledge any of Logan’s successes, even the small ones like picking a five star caterer. Even though Juliet had taken up a lot of the actual planning and arranging, it was still Logan’s idea to event throw this party. Logan was still technically the one hosting. It broke your heart. After over a year, it had become a familiar sight, but time did nothing to dull the pain it drove into your chest.

As you scanned the rest of the crowd, sending a close mouthed smile to a woman you recognized, you felt John slide up next to you.

“Logan ditch you?”

“Momentarily,” you said with a small laugh. “Something about Jules and puff pastry.”

“Sounds about right,” John smiled. “Who knows what kind of disaster there would be if he wasn’t there to intervene!”

“You say that like he wouldn’t be the one causing the disaster,” you laughed as you felt a pair of arms wrap around your waist.

“You are so cruel. All the time.” Logan’s lips connected with your next once and then twice before sporting a full grin.

“You’re in a much better mood than this morning,” you noted, leaning your head back against his shoulder.

“No fucking joke. You were a little bitch this morning,” John laughed. Honestly, John wasn’t too far off the truth. Logan was worried about being able to pull off this party the way he had planned it out in his head. So, once you got to the Delos compound that morning, he went from 0 to 60, ordering staff around and groaning over wrinkles in his dress shirt.

“You know what, fuck you both,” Logan said with absolutely no bite. If anything, his grip around you tightened. “I can’t believe Billy is late to this. Jules is going to fucking kill him.”

“Hopefully,” you and John said in unison. It was odd, though, that William hadn’t showed up yet. He was already a fashionable 30 minutes late to his future father in law’s retirement soiree. And, to his knowledge, this was the same man whose company he was taking over, so it was not a good look for him to be running so late. As if she could sense the topic at hand, Juliet stormed over to your group, grabbing a flute of champagne off a tray and downing it in a single go.

“He’s getting on my last goddamn nerve,” she all but growled, staring at the front door, waiting for her fiancé to slide in.

“I’m sure he’s on his way,” you said, resting your hand on her arm comfortingly.

“He knew, he KNEW how important this was to me and he couldn’t even be bothered to get here on time! Dad’s supposed to hand Delos over to him in front of all these people. You’d think he’d show a little more respect.” Juliet crossed her arms and looked down at the floor, disappointment lacing her voice. Logan conveniently lifted his drink to his mouth as she spoke, not wanting to make Juliet feel worse about her piece of shit fiancé.

From the corner of your eye, the front door opening drew your attention away from the conversation at hand. William was walking in with a slender, beautiful blonde woman you didn’t recognize. If you didn’t know any better, you’d say he looked guilty as hell. “Jules,” you said quietly and pointed your chin toward the door. She let out and exasperated sigh and shot him daggers.

“Darling, I’m so sorry,” William tried, leaning in to kiss Juliet. All he got was her cheek as she turned away from him. “Jules, please. I had to pick up the pianist like you asked me to, remember?” he said gently, not wanting to incur any more of the younger Delos’ wrath. She looked back him at the mention of that. Evidently, that was something she had tasked William with.

“Fuck. I forgot. There’s been,” she let out a breath, “There’s been so much going on.”

“I know. But, I got her here!” he said with a cruel smile. His expression confused you. But when you felt Logan freeze completely, you knew whatever it was that William did, he did it for the express purpose of making Logan uncomfortable.

“Thank you so much for having me. This is a beautiful home,” the pianist said with a pleasant smile as she shook Juliet’s hand.

“You have to be fucking kidding me,” Logan mumbled to the group before releasing you and taking off for the staircase, not stopping for anyone in his way.

“I should…” you started before following the path he took up to the second level. All of the doors were closed, which made finding Logan a little more difficult. But, you remembered from coming her a handful of times before which one was his childhood bedroom. You knocked lightly on the door. “Lo? Baby?” you called, not getting a response. Gently, you opened the door and saw Logan sitting at the foot of the bed, his head hung down with his fingers laced together behind his neck.

You could see his toe tapping erratically on the floor, a tell-tale sign he was anxious. With the door shut behind you, you kneeled down in front of him and put your palms low on his thighs. “What’s going on?”

“I can’t do this,” he said softly. “I can’t…Fuck!” he cried out, tugging at the roots of his dark hair.

“Shh, babe,” you cooed, rubbing your hands in gentle circles. “Take a deep breath.” It took some effort, but Logan managed to gulp down a shuddering breath. “One more.” He repeated the action with more success. “Talk to me, Lo,” you said, encouraging him to open up. Logan had made so much progress with opening up and being vulnerable with you, it broke your heart to see him shut down so completely.

“She…” he began. So, it was the pianist. Perhaps she was a former lover. Did he know by now you wouldn’t care if she was? You trusted Logan and you knew there would be an ex fling or twenty still around LA. The thought didn’t bother you. Was there something about this one? He said he’d never been in love before, so what could be so bad that would send him running on sight?

“Who is she?”

“It’s Delores.” That was not an option you had considered. In your mind, you’d placed Delores into a box of ‘evil robot still in Westworld’ and therefore unable to get to your Logan out here in the real world. You had assumed he was safe now. He was healing. Shit, he was thriving. But she walked into a day Logan had planned out from sunrise to sunset and completely threw him off course.

“Oh, baby,” you cooed. “What can I do? What do you need?”

“I don’t know,” Logan sighed. “How many fucking piano players are in LA? There have to be hundreds! And that stupid fuck had to bring her here. He had to pick the one person he knows will rattle me.” He let our a sharp breath, running his hands down his face. “And he fucked her! He fucked her and fell in fucking love with her and brought her around Jules?” You could feel his blood pressure rising even from where you were kneeling on the floor. “I hate him. I him, baby,” he said, his eyes glassy as he finally looked at you.

“He’s a piece of shit, Lo,” you said simply. Logan was still being tortured by a man who very clearly had no sense of respect or decency. The thought of the hurt he was causing Logan and Juliet, if she knew about his clandestine relationship, was enough to make you charge back downstairs and lay him out yourself.

“This is so stupid. I shouldn’t freak out just seeing one stupid robot,” he muttered.

“Hey.” You pulled his hands away from his head and stood just enough that you could hike up your dress a bit and straddle Logan. His arms instantly wrapped around your waist and he let his head rest on your shoulder. “It’s not stupid. They both did unthinkable things to you,” you whispered into his ear. “I’m sorry she’s here and this is happening to you. But Lo,” you lifted his chin to look into his deep, dark eyes, “I am so proud of you. You worked so hard on not just this deal or this party, but on yourself. And I know how hard it’s been for you. So you’re allowed to freak out a bit, ok?” You both laughed lightly, but a lone tear fell from his eye, which he quickly wiped away.

“I don’t say it enough, I know. But you know how much I love you, right?” Logan asked, his gaze soft as his palms moved along your sides. The light reflecting off the necklace he gave you the night before caught his eye, and just the barest trace of a smile formed on his lips. He looked so handsome and so open, you couldn’t resist leaning down and placing a single long, firm kiss on his soft mouth.

“Of course I know. I love you too,” you smiled and he grinned right back.

“Mmm, say it again,” he smirked and you shoved his shoulder.

“I love you, dummy.” Just as you threatened to laugh, Logan tilted his chin up to kiss you again, this time taking control and letting his tongue trace over yours. The spark between you ignited immediately and Logan pulled your hips just a little bit closer to his. His half hard cock was noticeable as he adjusted you in his lap. Your heart was hammering in your chest as Logan moved his lips from yours to trail along your jaw and down to your neck. Logan took his time kissing that spot right at the base of your throat that he knew you loved. “Logan,” you breathed out.

“Hmm?” he mumbled against your skin, unwilling to move his lips too far from you.

“We should consider heading back downstairs,” you said before moaning at his teeth scraping that same sweet spot.

“Or,” you could feel Logan smirk against you, “We could stay up here for a bit and you could ride me.” Given what Logan was currently doing to you and what was going on downstairs, you were greatly tempted to give in to him. But you knew he was hiding behind sex again, which you didn’t mind, but the sensible part of your brain knew there was unfinished business to attend to before you could give Logan the kind of sexual attention he deserved.

“How about we go back downstairs and get this day over with and then tonight, I’ll let you do whatever you want to me out on the deck?” you bargained, knowing he likely wouldn’t say no to semi-public sex.

“Anything I want?” he asked with an arched eyebrow and you nodded. “And I can do it out on the deck where I can show everyone how fucking incredible you look with me inside you?”

You nipped his bottom lip before standing up and holding your hand out to him. “Anything for my love.”

His eyes went bright as he looked over you, his smile soft. Logan pulled you tight to him and placed a light kiss on the top of your head. “Thank you,” he whispered.

“I’ve got you. I’ve always got you,” you whispered back before kissing him one more time.

The two of you walked back downstairs to rejoin the party, Logan waiting at the bottom of the staircase to take your hand and help you the rest of the way down. Now that he had calmed down a bit, he kept your arm in his as an anchor, something to ground him and keep his thoughts occupied. You gladly accepted the job and squeezed his bicep reassuringly.

“There you are!” Juliet was clipping up to you and Logan, irritation burning in her eyes.

“Here I am,” Logan smirked.

“Shut up. Dad’s about ready to make his little speech, so I need you up front.”

“Why? So he can look at me like I’m a piece of shit while he gives my company over to Billy?” Logan bit back.

“Please don’t do this right now,” Juliet sighed. “I just need you to smile for five minutes and then you can go right back to wishing he was dead.”

Logan conceded and kissed you once more before following Juliet outside where the bulk of the party goers had gathered. You spotted John up near the front and made your way to him, not wanting to be left alone in a sea of billionaire strangers. John made room for you and threw his arm over your shoulder.

“You ready for this?”

“I really don’t know.” You were nervous. You worried about any potential fallout and just wanted Logan to be happy at the end of it all. That was all you really wanted these days.

“Attention, attention,” Juliet sang out as she gently clinked a fork against her glass. “First, I want to thank you all so much for coming. It means a lot to our family that you’d be here to celebrate my father and his many accomplishments.” There was a small bout of applause and you couldn’t stop your eyes from rolling. “I know he wants to make a few remarks of his own. So, without further ado, Jim Delos,” Juliet said with a smile.

Jim took the spotlight and gave her a tender kiss on her cheek. “Thank you, Jules. Can we have another round of applause for the wonderful job she’s done putting this event together?” The crowd clapped and you could hear Juliet try to say something along the lines of ‘Logan too!’, which Jim promptly ignored.

“I started Delos 30 years ago with the hope of changing how the world viewed VR and on a broader scale, the world around us. In those 30 years, I made a lot of sacrifices to grow Delos into the corporation it is today. If I were asked to do it all again,” You looked to Logan and saw the little glimmer of hope in his eyes, “There’s not a goddamn thing I’d change.” You couldn’t bear to look at him a second time. There was no way you’d be able to stomach the hurt we was undoubtedly trying to hide on his face.

“And while I initially set up my succession to have the business stay in the family, I was presented an offer I couldn’t turn down.” Murmurs broke out among the crowd, trying to understand what Jim was trying to say. William stood tall with his jaw set, confusion set on his face. Juliet had an almost identical look on her face as well. Next to you, John started to move forward, but not before shooting you a comforting wink. “It’s my pleasure to announce the new owner of Delos, Mr. John Collins.”

Confused and scattered applause started up, most of the guests still confused by what was going on. William had been acting head for some months now, so the sudden change was throwing nearly everyone present for a loop. “Thank you, Jim.” The two shook hands and Jim gave him a hearty clasp on the back. “J&L Ventures is very excited to be embarking on the adventure that is owning Delos. We have a strong vision on where we see Delos 5, 10, even 20 years down the line. And, yes, Jim is correct in calling me the owner of Delos. But I’m just the charming, eloquent half of the J in J&L.” John succeeded in getting laughs. John did have that bit of charm about him that people seemed to latch on to immediately. “Please, L, join me up here?”

Logan took four proud, certain steps forward and stood at John’s side, smug and sexy as he’d ever been. Now it was time for the crowd to gasp and loudly chatter. It was comical, you thought, the collective clutched pearls of those around you. You were so taken by how proud Logan looked that you almost forgot to check for William’s reaction. He was bright red and downright murderous- at Logan or Jim, you weren’t sure. Perhaps both. Juliet looked like she had seen a ghost and all color had drained from her face. It would have been nice if she’d been able to be looped into all of this, Logan had regrets about having to keep this from her. But, he also knew there had to be as few people as possible who knew about the sale of Delos.

“WHAT?” The roar from Jim pulled all attention to where he stood.

“L. You know, like for Logan? My name?” Logan chirped back. “Let me recap- you sold Delos to John. John is my business partner. John is also my best friend. It’s not my fucking fault you weren’t around enough growing up that you can’t even remember what my best fucking friend looks like!”

“How dare you speak to me like that!” Jim bellowed. He began to berate Logan as another argument broke out between William and Juliet.

“Did you know about this?” William growled, violently taking her arm in his hand.

“Does it look like I knew about this!” she yelled, yanking her arm away. “Don’t you ever fucking touch me! You really think I’d keep a secret like this from you? Do you know me at all?”

“Well, I thought I did. But maybe you’re just a cheat like everyone else in your goddamn family!” He was spitting mad and inching closer and closer to Juliet. But, being the big brother he was, Logan stepped between the two, pushing William back by the chest.

“Take another step closer to her and I’ll fucking kill you,” Logan said plainly. He didn’t need any theatrics for William to know he was serious. He stormed off into the house, leaving with a huff and pulling at his hair. Logan turned then to check on his sister, who was thankful for his intervention but clearly hesitant to even speak to him right now. You couldn’t hear their conversation, but it must not have gone in Logan’s favor. Because just as you approached, she threw her hands up and also made for the house.

“Hey,” you said, putting a hand on Logan’s back.

“Hey, princess.” Logan pulled you into him and kissed the crown of your head. “Was that enough of a show?”

“You always did know how to steal the spotlight,” you laughed. “Are you ok?”

“Well, my dad really hates me now and Jules is a little pissed at me. But, I’ve never been better,” he smirked, leaning down to kiss you softly. “I should go find Jules though. I suppose I have somethings to explain.”

You nodded and walked into the great room with him, hand in hand while he tried to find Juliet. It was a scream from down the hallway that drew both your attention. There was banging and yelling coming from the library. Logan pulled you with him to find the source of the commotion.

“GET OUT!” It was Juliet screaming at the top of her lungs. Suddenly, the door flew open, William tumbling out of it into the hallway and landing flat on his ass. His shirt was thrown at him from beyond where you could see. The shirt was followed by a vase, which shattered as it hit the wall behind William. All you and Logan could do was watch as the scene unfolded. Delores was pushed out next, looking disheveled in a distinctly sexual way. You knew William was capable of evil, but you didn’t think he was dumb enough to fool around with another woman right under his fiancé’s nose.

“How long?” Juliet cried out.

“Remember when we took that trip to Westworld?” Logan interrupted. Juliet snapped her attention to him. “I didn’t want to hurt you, so I didn’t say anything. But damn, Billy. You really are good at pissing off everyone around you, huh!”

“Oh, and I suppose you think you’re some saint, huh? You stop shooting heroin for 8 months and suddenly you know everything? You only fuck one bitch and now you’re the relationship expert?! Well, congratulations on doing the bare fucking minimum!” William laughed. That was it for Logan and he was charging at him and grabbed William by the shirt he had shrugged on.

“You can disrespect me all you want. But you’re never going to fucking talk about my sister or the love of my life.” Logan spat. “Get the fuck out of our house.” He released William roughly and herded him down the foyer.

The Delos’ siblings glowered as William grabbed his jacket and let himself out. Delores was still hovering in the doorway. Logan nodded toward the front door. “Sorry, was that unclear? That get the fuck out extended to you too.”

Delores looked down as she shuffled out of the Delos compound and into the passenger seat of William’s car. The peeled off into the California twilight, hopefully not to be seen again. Bombs had been dropped that night, now all that was left was to sort through the debris.

TAGGED: @thesandbeneathmytoes​ @marvelcapsicle​ @something-tofightfor​ @songtoyou​ @abroadcastofthemind​ @its-my-little-dumpster-fire​ @gollyderek​ @dylanobrusso​

[jovialecho]

Comeuppance

Rahzel decides to hit Troy up, telling him to head to the bar tonight rather than Sunday. He asks why it even matters what day, bringing up how eager and impatient Rahzel is to collect a soul.

“You might not even win the games.”

So sure of himself. It makes Rahzel’s blood boil and his eyes roll involuntarily. He urges the other to meet him at the corner of it anyway, and with enough fussing, Troy teleports over.

“Tonight,” The demon starts, walking over to Troy, grabbing his shoulder. “because tomorrow, they ain’t stay open as late. Drinks ain’t up and handed out as late either.”

Troy peels Rahzel’s hand off him, shaking his head. “We came to play, not get drunk. Stupid shit happens when you drink-”

“When I drink???” Rahzel guffaws and puts his hand on Troy’s shoulder again, leading him to the building, “Don’t be acting all innocent. You just as dumb when you blitzed.”

The other doesn’t bother with taking the hand off, walking past the double doors, immediately greeted with laughter and music. The pair head off to the new gaming side.

“Ah sick.” Rahzel latches onto an air hockey table, grinning wide. He looks up at Troy when he follows close by him.

“Been a hot fuckin’ minute since i done played this-” Troy finishes his sentence for him. “-Since the one in your room quit worker? Yeah. Funny how that one doesn’t work anymore. I don’t think we should play this one. I don’t think I’m for seeing the rage you’re always talking about.”

Rahzel watches Troy slip towards the nearest billiards table, instead.

“So we immediately going in, no drinks? No funny shit? No games for the fuck of it?” He watches Troy as he pays for the balls and places them into the rack. It doesn’t take long at all for him to get bored, “Aight, well. I’m gonna go get us some sodas or something, dude, just get the game set up.”

As Rahzel heads to the bar, he listens to passing conversations from the other few people in the booths. He heads for the barkeep, listening out the snacks and drinks he wants, taking a seat so he can wait for them.

His phone vibrates in his pocket, so he pulls it out to have a quick look, turning his head to see if Troy was texting from the pool table. Nope. Once in his device, he opens the texts, seeing it’s from...Rudy. Great. His favorite guy! What overrated nonsense is he going to spill? Deep breath, Rahzel. Alright, he’s ready for the headache.

With another roll of his eyes, Rahzel pockets his phone and collects the food he paid for, making his way back towards Troy, though now he finds himself looking around for anyone paying him any attention. Luckily, nobody has the guts to look his way, so he carries on, ready to try to win a soul, MAYBE fair and square.

~~~~~

From one game to 4, Rahzel found himself on the losing end far too many times to accept. He’s never been one to swallow his pride in anything, let alone gambling, or games in general. 

Yet, as he leans against the bar, scowling, he can’t help but find a hint of amusement in the fact Troy bested him more times than not at a game Rahzel had to help him be better at. Maybe the kid his destined for something great-- Yes, Rahzel picks that up just from playing pool, because that’s definitely a useful life skill.

A hand on his shoulder pulls him out of his grouchy headspace and he turns his attention back to Troy. He’s surprised to see he isn’t smiling.

“What’s up? You won? Ain’t that enough?”

Troy pats him on the back, “As long as you aren’t going to hole up in your room for a week because of it, sure. It’s enough. I’m sure you’ll find someone better to make your first deal with. ...Maybe I’ll even change my mind down the road. Who knows, man. Just figure out what you’re best at offering first before making a mess with your words.”

Rahzel downs the last of his rum and coke before slipping off the barstool.

“Let’s go get some ice cream or something.” He walks right for the doors, ignoring whatever logic Troy decides to spew his way.

“Rahzel there’s no place open!” The brunette follows the lanky troll out of the bar, doing his best to keep up with the pace, “Dude. No place! There is noooo place!”

Rahzel stretches, groaning, “There’s ALWAYS a place, dude. Don’t worry. We going on a motherfuckin journey, dogg.”

Before he gets much further, a voice stops him. He looks ahead of himself to see a familiar face. Oh, it’s that biker again. Time for eye roll number 4 tonight...or was it 5. Rahzel puts his arms down and sighs, hearing Troy stop behind him.

He notices there are three others behind the familiar biker and he scoffs. Is this really happening?

“’ey. What’s good, man? You still pissed about that shit I TRIED to fix?”

The only response he gets at first is a scowl before the bearded biker takes a step forward, the others following in a synchronized fashion. Ew. It’s a posse.

“Yeah, I am. But this is strictly business, mostly.”

Rahzel puts a hand on his hip, raising an eyebrow to emphasize how little he cared, but also prompted him to continue, “Aight?”

He’s quick to notice any movement the biker makes and sees him pull out a handgun. Two of his lackeys follow suit, three guns aimed directly at him.

The demon can’t help but let out a laugh, both of surprise and fresh amusement. The lost deal completely forgotten now.

“Holy shit you really ain’t smart at ALL.” Rahzel can’t tell if he’s goading them or not at this point, though he surely is annoyed but what he perceives as an inconvenience more than anything else at this point.

“You’re gonna shoot me? You do. All four of ya are dead. You don’t know what the fuck ya dealing with, dude.

The lackey in the back starts to look between everyone, seemingly uncertain about what’s transpiring in front of him.

“Even one of ya own ain’t solid on this shit. Grow the fuck up.” Rahzel takes a step forward to further show his lack of concern for his own safety. “You ain’t big. You ain’t tough. You full of shit if you think you can take me on with a gun. I’ll get the fuck back up and find ya ass and rip you a new asshole. Ugly ass bitches you think-”

The leader aims, getting heated faster than Rahzel anticipated.

“I bet you goddamn drunk as shit, too. Put your gun down motherfucker. You’ll regret this shit, for sure.” Casually he reaches for the gun, only to have it immediately discharge into his arm. The sound startles him more than the actual bullet in his arm. “Gh-!”

Troy pushes himself in front of Rahzel, arms up.

“Stop! Stop! We don’t have to do this. Whoa-”

Rahzel reaches for Troy’s shoulder, hissing. “Troy st-”

The next gunshot makes Rahzel’s ears ring worse than before,  but his focus is on how Troy’s head jerks back, and it’s immediately obvious where the shot landed as blood, not his own color, lands on his shirt. As if time itself slowed down, Rahzel watches as Troy drops to the ground like a ragdoll, partially falling against him.

He doesn’t breathe in that moment, the reality not quite setting in. It all happened too fast. What the Hell is even actually happening. Shot. Troy. Troy’s been shot. Rahzel glances down some, seeing the bullet hole in Troy’s forehead.

Dead? Killed.

A hue of purple colors his vision as he looks upward at the group, the lackey on the right looking the most guilty. Yet, his attention falls on the leader as his gun raises again, no remorse on his face.

Rahzel’s mouth opens and all that comes out is screaming. From being frozen in place to suddenly lunging forward, nobody suspected the guy to just fling himself right at the biker. He knocks him to his back, growling and screaming at him, another gunshot hitting him in the chest, then another. He doesn’t let that stop him as he spits out honks and drool at the same instance, face diving right into the biker’s throat. The tendons and cords don’t stand a chance against his teeth and he sinks in, ripping out flesh, muscle. A mess of red cascades down his face and chin.

It’s immediately spat back out, and another shot, though ignored again, is sent into Rahzel’s back.  He stops himself from going back in for another bite, letting the shell of a man bleed out slowly, or suffocate on blood. A quick turn sends him in the direction of the next two. He gives zero fucks with how scared they look, he’s off his shit. All he can think about is Troy. How dead he is.

The demon’s running leaves the two to back away, still taking aim and firing, missing only a few times, though it doesn’t seem to slow Rahzel down at all.

“HOOOONK!”

With a quick burst of flashstepping, he ends up right in front of the two, still running. His hands grab at both of their faces,throwing them down into the asphalt at the same time.

A few more bullets are sent into him, his neck catches one for dinner later. All the pain is set aside as he kneels down with the lackeys’ heads in his hands. Simultaneously, he lifts and bashes the back of their heads into the pavement, listening to their muffled pleas and threats. He keeps going, unable to parse the difference of the bashing with the heartbeat in his ears.

Dead. Dead. He wants them all just as dead as--

He drops the two when there is no more sign of life left in them. Rahzel stands up slowly, bringing the two guns from the corpses with him as he searches for the last one. Down the street, he can see him running away, and Rahzel also notices a crowd gathering around to observe this spectacle.

He doesn’t give a fuck. He takes off running, using his flashstepping until he’s close enough to stop and aim, using a gun for the first time in either lives he recalls. He closes one eye and starts shooting, missing once with one gun and finally hitting the guy in the back with the second gun. He tosses the useless hunks of metal away, making his way over to the squirming lackey.

His hearing is coming back and he listens to the pleading and crying through the faded ringing in his ears.

“I didn’t want a- FFuuck I DIdn’T WANT ANY PART OF THIS! Please don’t. I don’t wanna die. Not like this. Not this young.”

Rahzel kneels and turns the man on his back, reveling in his scream of pain. With his claws he swipes his hand across his throat, successfully slitting it, but not enough blood comes out, so he does it once more, before standing up and hobbling over towards the pile that is Troy.

He has to be careful- He could still be- He sees Troy’s eyes open and his chest tightens.

Fuck.

He kneels, the pain starting to make its way past the numbing rage. He gently closes Troy’s eyes, noticing how bad his own hand is shaking. No, no. no. He scoops him up slowly, taking him in his arms bridal style.

No.

No, no.

He can’t decide which pain is worse, the ones in his body or the one in his heart.

Heart. He decides it’s his heart as his eyes well up with tears. The dead weight in his arms only amplifies the pain.

Distant sounds of sirens pulls his eyes off Troy for a moment. The crowd outside has grown larger, shocked faces staring at him. At what he's done. What about what they did?

Rahzel stumbles away towards an alleyway, but he doesn't fall. He can't. There's no way he can drop Troy. He has to take him home.

Troy.

He never got his soul. It's gone.

Rahzel drops to his knees, sobbing in both anger and despair, lungs fighting against this action thanks to the new holes in them.

"FF-Hhhghk!"

He gurgles on the blood coming up from his lungs, looking down at Troy again. "Mh.."

His captchalogue modus opens and he looks up at it. Troy would fit perfectly in the free slot. He looks from the slot down to Troy’s face, past the blood. He has to go in there.

Just for a while, okay?

He’s captchalogued in an instant, leaving Rahzel freedom to pull out the portable transportalizer, his vision darkening at the corners of his eyes. His focus fades in and out as he slaps the button to the last location on the device. He’s sent into another world, another universe and spat out right in front of his cave’s entrance.

Dropping to his knees in the sand, Rahzel looks around at the familiar territory, then up towards the house, Simon’s house. He crawls that way, every movement causing him to wheeze and ache. Sand sticks to his pants thanks to the collection of blood on his clothes. His lungs, filled with blood instead of air, makes it hard to really breathe, doesn’t it?

“Ghk..kkh.”

As his vision continues to darken, Rahzel becomes more frantic to get to the house. He can’t pass out, not now- No, this isn’t passing out. He knows the difference and this is most certainly dying. No way can he die on this fucking sandy hill. Pathetic. Though, seeing how he’s crying and bleeding everywhere on his way up, it’s hard not to be seen as pathetic.

C’mon Rahzel, you’re only thirty feet from the door. Twenty. Ten.

He uses the doorknob to push himself to his feet, wheezing again from the sheer effort. With his fading strength, he slaps his palm against the door repeatedly, moving to lean on the frame instead of the doorknob. Wouldn’t want to just fall right into someone, right?

Rahzel’s legs feel like rubber as he keeps himself standing for as long as he can. His ears twitch as he hears the doorknob turn. When he sees Simon, he notices the face journey she has as she looks him over. He heaves out another cry, shuddering weakly as he brings himself to stand up straighter.

His voice, hoarse and scratching from the bullet that tore into his throat as well as from the blood making its way up it, comes out barely above a whisper, and he can only push out one word, his consciousness fading in and out.

“M.. mom..?”

Everything goes black for him as he falls forward almost right on top of Simon.

Good job dropping dead in front of your mom, asshole.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Yours, Mine, and Ours [5]

Masterlist

Warnings: non/dubcon sex.

This is dark!Steve AND dark!Bucky and explicit. 18+ only.

Summary: Steve is away but that doesn’t mean there’s an end to the play.

Notes: So there’s a lot of sex in this chapter but there is a sliver of plot and I think it’s even a bit sad in the end. Anyways, enjoy as Steve turns into more of dick and gets insane on his sexual power trip.

Also, maybe reblog and or comment :) It’s your call but I would forever love you.

...

Steve rarely slept before a mission. Luckily, he hadn't been very tired. He had taken real pleasure in wearing her out. He'd be away for a few days, maybe more, and it was nice to have her to himself. Even so, he couldn't help but think of all the other ways to use her as he was fucking her. 

As she was beneath him, he recalled their last rendezvous with Bucky. Her mouth around his friend's cock as he pounded into her from behind. The way her back arched, the noises that came from her. The very same as he crushed her into the mattress. Her body bounced beneath his violently as he kept his hand around her throat.

She passed out for an hour and he roused her. His cock hurt it was so hard. She was groggy as he turned her over and entered her. She gripped the pillow as his skin slapped against hers. She fell asleep again, filled with his cum. Still, he couldn't sleep. He was thinking of the conversation he needed to have with Bucky before he left. And with her.

She snored with her head hidden behind her arm and he rubbed her lower back. Her alarm began to chime and she snorted as she lifted her head. She reached over clumsily and swiped her finger three times across her phone screen before it quieted. She rolled back over and buried her head in the pillow.

"Sweetheart," He purred as he pressed his body to her. He felt himself harden and she shook her head at the prod of his cock. "Time to wake up."

"Five more minutes," She mumbled. 

"I gotta leave soon," He cooed as he cupped her ass, "And don't you have to work?"

"Not til nine," She kept her face hidden from him as she sprawled on her stomach. "Five minutes."

He chuckled and slapped her ass. She winced but didn't move. He squeezed her ass and kissed along her neck and shoulder. She grumbled and shimmied away from him. 

"Haven't you had enough?" She tried to shrug him off.

"Of you, never," He traced his fingers along her back and she stiffened.

"I'm sore," She turned to look at him, her eyelids heavy and barely open. Her voice was thick with fatigue.

"It's alright," He climbed over her and pinned her to the mattress with his arm across her shoulders. "I'll do the work."

"Steve," She tried to lift her head and he moved his arm to her neck.

"Shhh," He lined himself up and pushed past her ass. She wriggled, a whimper squeaked from her.

"Really, Steve," She was a bit more alert, "I said no."

He entered her without furth argument. His cock was throbbing. Her warmth eased the ache. She reached back to his wrist and he batted her away. He grabbed her shoulders and lifted himself. He thrust into her with all his weight as his long fingers hooked over her shoulders. She clawed at the sheets as her head was forced deeper into the pillow.

"Fuck," He slammed into her, each rock of his hips marked by a whine from her lips. "I'm gonna miss you so much."

"S-s-steve," She stuttered, "Goddamn--it, st---"

He shifted his weight onto his knees as he kept his motion hard and deep. He spread a hand over the middle of her back to keep her in place as he clamped his other over her mouth. She muttered into his palm. Her eyes were wide now. He sped up.

He felt her walls tighten around him. She was cumming even as she grasped at his hand. Her eyes rolled back and he felt the wave roll through him. His thrusts were jerky and rough as he came and grunted out his release. 

He slowed and pulled his hand from her mouth. He wiped her saliva along her back and eased out of her. His cum leaked out of her beautifully. He fell back onto his side of the bed and she sat up in an instant. He caught her hand before she could slap his chest.  

"Steve!" Her voice was shrill, "What the fuck?"

"Sorry, I know that was more than five minutes," He laughed and the rage sparked in her eyes.

"Not funny," She tried to yank her hand away but he kept his hold firm.

"You're gonna be begging for it by the time I get back," He tugged on her and grabbed her other arm. He forced her over him as he squeezed her wrists. "Won't you?"

She stared at him. Her lips twitched but she said nothing.

"I was going to have Bucky take care of you while I was away but if you're going to be a brat, I'll let you pout alone," He gritted through his teeth. 

Her eyes searched him and the tension left her jaw. She looked down; ashamed, afraid even. His cock threatened to rise again and he pushed away the urge.

"Hmm?" He brought her hands up to rest on his shoulders.

"Yes, Captain," She mumbled. "I'll be good."

"Alright," He hugged her to him and she slowly let her head rest beside his. "You remember the rules when I'm gone."

"I will," She whispered her ascent. 

He pushed his leg between her and felt his cum dribble from her. He reached down and dragged his fingers along her wet pussy. She shivered and he snarled in approval.

"I've got something else for you," He said as he slipped his fingers inside of her. She was warm still. "A little present for following the rules."

He removed his fingers and ran his hands along her body before reluctantly rolling her off him. He sat up and turned his legs over the side of the bed. She pushed herself up and as her thighs brushed together, she trembled. She would feel him until he returned. 

He stood and crossed to his dresser. They had spent the night in his room. He wanted the privacy. The retreat. He opened the top drawer and pulled out the curved pink toy. He admired it before he turned back to her and held it up. Her eyes rounded and her brows rose.

"I want you to wear this today," He sat on the bed as she crawled over to him. She tucked her legs under her as she came to his side. "All day. Until I say otherwise."

"Wear it?" She crinkled her nose.

He smirked and handed it to her. He reached over to his nightstand and unplugged his phone. He opened it and hit the app. He pressed the first setting and it buzzed; a short spurt, but audible between her fingers. She gasped and his eyes drifted down to her lap. Realization smoothed her features.

"But I... I can't have this in at work," She shoved it towards him. "I'm supposed to be at a conference with Tony at noon--"

"You'll manage," He wrapped his hand around hers and pushed the toy against her chest. "You're a good girl, aren't you?"

-

Steve left her with a kiss. He could tell she was irritated with him still. She knew better than to say anything. That didn't mean he wouldn't remember the look on her face or the tone she took with him as she stepped out of the shower and he waved the toy at her. He knew she wouldn't disobey, she had yet to do so, but he expected a bit of gratitude. 

He yawned as he stopped at Bucky's door and knocked. He waited. Knocked again. He heard movement from the other side and finally it opened. 

Bucky's hair was a mess. His blue eyes were cloudy with sleep and he looked confused at Steve's presence. His voice was thick as he grumbled a 'hey' and glanced down the hall.

"Just sayin' goodbye before I leave," Steve nodded past him, "May I?"

Bucky shrugged and opened the door. He stepped back as Steve entered. The room reflected its occupant. Sloppy, dark. The blankets were twisted across the bed and the hamper overflowed with clothes. The desk was piled with old case briefs and wrappers. It was not the quarters of a military man but a distracted one.

"When I'm gone," Steve crossed his arms as Bucky closed the door. "I leave her to you but...rules, right?"

"Right," Bucky gristled and cleared his throat. 

"I'll call you tonight. 2300 hours." He sighed. "Get her to the apartment. We'll take it from there."

"I'm tired, Steve," Bucky sat on the office chair at his desk. "I think a night off would be good for all of us."

"I say what's good for us," Steve said, "She'll be desperate by then."

Bucky looked away, his blue eyes dull. "Okay," His voice was just as enthusiastic.

"I could call it all off. For good," Steve approached him. "And you can leave her alone. Entirely. No talking. You'll never be in the same room as her again."

Bucky's eyes flashed and he glared at Steve. His shoulders tensed then fell as he saw the resolve in Steve's sneer. "You...fine." He huffed. He leaned back in the chair heavily. "Whatever you say, Captain."

-

The day had been torturous. There was no relief to be had. Even alone in your room, you could not get comfortable. You had shed your blouse and skirt for a night shirt, but it did nothing to cool you down. You sat against your head board, unable to focus on your phone screen as you watched a DIY video on tiling, or wallpaper. Who knew?

You tried to sleep but that was hopeless, you could barely sit still. You were close to writhing across the mattress as you slid further and further down. Your phone buzzed, you jumped. It hadn't vibrated all day but that thing inside of you had. Endlessly. 

You were rigid. Antsy. It was almost as if Steve was there with you. He'd get you close to the edge and then lay off, only to start again the moment you relaxed. You were about to pull the damn thing out. 

'Bucky's waiting', the text read. 'Downstairs'. You frowned and a moment later the vibe buzzed too. You typed back. 'Yes, Captain'. 

You stared at the suggested responses. 'Love you', heart emoji, 'miss you'. You hit send and ignored the pang in your chest. You scrolled up but gave up before you could find those sweet messages from long ago. That Steve rarely showed his face anymore.

You sighed and pulled on a hoodie and jeans over your night shirt. You tied your sneakers and didn't bother to fix your hair. You pulled the hood up and head down. Bucky was in his car, a hand on the steering wheel as he idled around the side. You dipped into the seat and flinched as you sat on the vibe and it went off again.

"Hey," He said. He didn't look at you as he pulled out onto the street.

"Sorry, hope you weren't waiting too long," You clasped your hands together nervously.

He shook his head. "No. No. It's nothing," His cheek twitched, almost like he wanted to smile. "I wasn't waiting long."

You looked out the window as he drove. He looked as tired as you felt. You had noticed that lately. He seemed entirely out of it. You were out of it. This whole arrangement had grown increasingly stressful. Every other night, if not every night, at least when they were in town. They hadn't had many missions as of late.

Steve made sure that you felt his absence this time. Another vibration and you bit down on your knuckle. You counted the blocks until the building appeared before you. You undid your seat belt before the engine died and Bucky glanced over at you with a twinkle. You smiled at him and waited to grab the handle.

He got out first and you stumbled out your side. The key jingled against his metal hand and he waited for you to precede him. There wasn't much to say. His phone lit up in his other hand. Steve giving another order. You ascended in a mutual resignation as he texted back. 

You waited for Bucky to unlock the door. Inside, the apartment was cool; silent. You headed for the bedroom but stopped as Bucky spoke up. "He wants us in here," He held up his phone and read, "There's a box on the counter," You looked over to the kitchen; the counter looked out onto the living room. "He's says to change."

You nodded and grabbed the thin white box from the counter. You looked at Bucky as you headed back to the bedroom and he glanced away. He crossed his arm across his chest as he held his phone with his other hand. 

"I'll wait in here." He plopped into the chair.

You entered the bedroom and stripped. You felt as if you were shaking. You were nervous suddenly. You fished your phone from your pocket and touched the head of the toy pressed to your clit. 

'Take it out'. The text read. You replied diligently and sighed. You removed the toy and felt painfully empty.

You opened the box. A bodysuit of black straps stared back at you. No crotch, no ass, no tits, only straps. You placed your legs carefully through the holes you were sure were meant for them and worked at keeping it from tangling as you pulled it on. You looked down and felt like covering yourself. Bucky has seen it all and more but you felt even more naked in the harness-like lingerie.

You shook it off and went to the door. Bucky was talking when you entered. His screen was lit up as he held it before him. You could see Steve's face over his shoulder. 

"There she is," Steve said, "Let me get a look, Buck."

Bucky turned his phone and his head. He blinked as he saw you and steadied the phone. 

"Amazing," Steve purred and Bucky stood. "Alright, I want you two on the couch. You should be able to prop the phone up on the coffee table."

Bucky hesitated. He was lucky Steve could only see you. He lowered the phone and leaned it on the coffee table against the fake plant in the middle of it. He stood and backed out of the frame so that the lens took in the complete expanse of the couch.

"Naked, Bucky," Steve ordered, "Sweetheart, on the couch." 

You met Bucky's gaze and he tilted his head. He unzipped his jacket and began to undress. You passed him and sat on the middle cushion. Steve smiled and you smoothed your hands over your thighs.

"You look so hot," He said, "Turn. On all fours."

"Yes, Captain," You replied and got up on hands and knees.

"Mmm, look at that ass," He purred. "Buck, you almost ready?"

"Yeah," Bucky answered grimly as he pulled down his jeans. 

You watched him over your shoulder as he threw them over the chair with the rest of his clothes. Despite the edge in his voice, he was hard. You looked forward and waited for him.

"Behind her," Steve directed as Bucky came into frame. "She should already be wet...I got her ready for you."

You heard Bucky huff. It was too quiet for the microphone to pick up. The couch dipped behind you and you were surprised as his hands grazed your hips; one roughened flesh, the other smooth metal. He pushed his knees between yours as he squeezed your hips.

"Go on," Steve urged. You looked over at the small phone. You could only see to his shoulders but you could tell he was touching himself. "Slow."

You gulped and braced yourself. Bucky's cock pressed along your pussy and he pulled his metal hand back to guide himself. He pushed inside and you exhaled. He was deliberate, as if taking Steve's direction to the letter.

"Yeah, like that," Steve breathed. "Make her want it."

Bucky thrust smoothly. His hips rocked slow and steady. He held your hips as he suppressed his grunts. A moan erupted from you as he stoked the flames that had been burning all day. You hung your head as your pussy clenched around him. It wasn't enough to finish. Just enough to keep you teetering.

"You gonna beg, baby?" Steve asked, "Let me hear it. Let him hear it."

You bit your lip and hissed. You forced your voice out as you lifted your head. "Please," You croaked sharply. "Please, more."

"That's it," Steve cooed. His own breaths were starting to strain. "Harder."

Bucky complied and his fingers tightened around your hips. You clawed at the cushion and pushed back into him. 

"Please, more, more, more," You were so close. At last. A whole day of buzzing had made you crazy. You needed it more than you wanted it.

"More," Steve echoed you. His voice was stone.

Bucky's hand moved up to grip the straps along your shoulders. He pounded into you, his groans escaped him at last. He pulled you back until your hand were off the couch and your back arched. 

"Fuck, yeah," Steve growled, "Let her have it, Buck."

Bucky's metal hand snaked under your arm to your throat. He brought flush against him as his fingers stretched across your neck. His breath was hot against your ear as he jostled your body. 

Agonized sputters leaked from your lips and the heat stormed within you. You clung to the straps along your stomach and closed your eyes. You could barely hear Steve's moans or orders. You stuck your tongue out as you came and  laughed as the sudden release that washed over you.

Bucky slammed into you as his hand squeezed enough to block the air from your lungs. You wheezed and reached up to touch his hand. His grunts swirled in the air with Steve's. He motion grew harder and wavered. 

His fingers loosened and he pushed you away. You fell forward over the cushions as he came on your thigh. Steve was already panting and your heart hammered still. You looked at the phone and met Steve's dark eyes. 

"Again," He growled as he fixed his phone, "Hold her down."

-

Bucky fell back as the video called blipped. Steve's face was gone; his voice too. Both were starting to wear on his nerves. He breathed out as he wiped the trickle of sweat along his chest. He was even more tired than before. He wasn't sleeping. Only in spurts, an hour if he was lucky. He was exhausted. His head never stopped.

The movement beside him stirred him from his daze. As his cock softened, the fatigue sank in. He looked over at her with tired eyes as she rolled onto her back. She reached down and touched her pussy. His cum smeared along her ass and thighs, some dry and sticky on her stomach, too. 

He couldn't looked at it. He had done that to her. And for what? She was Steve's girl. He could never have her and he had done this on the threat of losing her. What would he lose but her humiliation? Her pain? Was it worth his fleeting pleasure? The harrowing highs and devastating lows.

She groaned as she slumped against the arm and dragged herself up. He peeked over at her again. She looked tired too. She rubbed her forehead and her features fell. He rarely saw her anything but cheery. Bright. She inhaled as if to right herself and stood unsteadily.

"I'm gonna...wash up," Her voice was distant, her steps staggered and uncertain.

He watched her as she neared the bedroom door and he cleared his throat. He stood and shook of his hesitance. He felt more ashamed than she looked. 

"Can I...I'll help. I gotta…" He looked down at his sweaty body, "If it's okay with you?"

Her brow wrinkled and she considered him. A bitter smile curved her lips. "You're asking me?"

"I…" He hung his head. "Are you okay?" She shrugged and turned to lean on the door frame. "Did I hurt you?"

"No, I don't think you did," She said softly and glanced over her shoulder as she stood straight, "Come on. We can share the shower. Save some water."

She disappeared and he followed at distance. When he entered the washroom, the faucet was cranked and the shower curtain drawn. She stepped over the lip of the tub and the rings rang against the pole as she pulled it closed. He stared at her blurred figure through the thin curtain and slipped in behind her.

"Admittedly, it's selfish of me," She said as she lathered a loofah, "I need you to get my back."

"Oh," He sputtered and took the sponge as she held it over her shoulder. 

"Fair trade. I'll get yours."

He nodded and daintily touched the loofah to her skin. He ran it down her spine and she shivered. He focused on his work, he scrubbed her diligently but gently. He did her arms and her ass. He paused at the latter. He hadn't meant to go that far. He pulled away and handed her the loofah back.

She worked at the rest of her body and turned to him. "Now you," She spun her finger. "I think I'll--" She yawned as he followed her direction, "Sleep here. You can go if you like but I'm...wiped." 

She began with his shoulders, gently along the metal seam. Her touch was firm but caring. As if she feared she could hurt him. He let his head fall forward as he eased into her touch. The act was almost intimate. The slaking of his sweat at her hands. She finished and pressed the loofah into his hand.

She left before him. He was close behind. He dried himself as he followed her to the bedroom. Hung his towel beside hers as she fell onto the bed.

"Think I'll stay too." He said, "I'll crash on the couch. Give ya a ride in the morning."

She nodded and rolled onto her stomach. She lifted her head as he made to leave. "You can sleep in here." She offered. "Figure...after everything, it doesn't matter."

"Are you--sure?" He asked.

"Yeah, come on," She shimmied over, "Lots of room."

Bucky hesitated. He should grab something to sleep in but he was tired. He just wanted to lay down. And beside her, that sounded like heaven.

"Okay," He crossed to the bed slowly. 

He laid down so that the bed barely moved beneath him. He slipped under the blanket and she did the same. She faced away from him, her arms up around her pillow as she lay on her stomach. The silence was eerie as he reached to turn off the lamp.

"Are you...sure you're okay?" His voice cracked in the darkness.

"Are you?" She didn't move. "Something…" Her voice died and she wiggled around to face him. "Steve's changed. A lot. Do you think?"

"He has," He kept his voice low as if afraid to be heard.

She stayed quiet a moment as she thought. He held his breath as he waited for her to speak.

"I feel…" She stopped and scoffed at herself. "Would it be wrong to say I'm lonely?"

"Lonely?" He echoed her, "No. Not wrong if that's how you feel."

She sniffed. and rolled onto her back. Her hand came up and she wiped her cheek. She was crying. She rubbed her neck and slowly rescinded her hand. She reached over and touched his. She laced her fingers through his vibranium ones.

"Will you---will you hold me?" She trembled, "Steve doesn't...he's so rough."

Bucky's heart pounded in his ears. This woman who he had just desecrated now looked to him as some sort of comfort. It felt wrong.

"If you want," he said. 

She untangled her fingers from his and nestled closer to him. She rested her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her instinctively. She pressed her hand to his chest and felt the rise and fall. Could he feel how hard his heart was pounding?

"I'm...sorry." He muttered.

"Me, too," She said. "I thought...this was what I wanted. It was...good at first." She traced a line along his chest. "Bucky?"

"Yes," He replied as he felt a flutter. 

"Are you okay?" She whispered as she looked up at him. Her breath was hot along his jaw.

He closed his eyes and sighed. "No. I don't think I am." He confessed. "I think we should stop. All of this."

"Me too...but--" She gulped and her hand slipped down to grip his side. "I don't wanna lose Steve…" He nodded and bit down on his tongue. "Or you."

"Me?" He looked down at her through the dark. She lifted her head and stared back at him.

"Yes," She shifted closer and pressed herself against him, "But I don't want it to be like this." She reached up and trailed her fingers along his jawline as she leaned over him. "Don't you want me?"

"Of course--" His answer was cut off as she crashed her lips to his. He kissed her back. 

He didn't think, he didn't doubt, he just did. She was soft, warm, delicious. It was wonderful. She cradled his face as she climbed on top of him, her body flush over his. His cock twitched and his hands came up to explore her. His fingers danced over her delicately.

She parted from his lips and he whispered her name. A question. She hushed him as she bent her head and kissed along his neck and shoulders. She lingered on the vibranium, her hand caressed it as if it were truly his. The swirl of her fingertips sent electricity through the metal and his flesh.

She sat up and straddled him. His cock prodded her and she wiggled her hips. He touched her thighs shyly. "We can't--"

"I don't care," She said, "I don't care about the rules. Bucky...what do you want?"

"You," He replied without pause. "I want you."

She reached down and raised herself over him. She guided his cock along her pussy and rubbed the head along her folds before easing onto him. She sighed and he did too. She sank down to her limit and he held her hips as she rocked them. Her pace was slow at first, she tickled the muscles of his stomach as she moved.

Bucky gasped as he felt the flurry around his cock. His hands slid up her sides and he cupped her breasts as she fucked him. Her moans were a melody. Her breaths as heavy as his own as he was swept up in her. 

She pressed her palms to his stomach as she sped up. Her moans turned shrill and she squealed through her panting breaths. He brought one hand to her ass to steady her motion and pressed his other thumb to her clit. She hissed and bucked against him as she came. She shook as her orgasm piqued in the darkness.

Bucky gripped her hips as she continued to rock against him and he rasped. "I'm going to cum." He groaned and she fell forward and clung to him.

"Inside me," She purred and kissed him again. 

He came as he hummed into her lips and she ran her fingers through his hair. She slowed her pelvis as she felt his release and reluctantly parted from his mouth. She leaned her head next to his and shuddered. He exhaled and ran his fingers up her back.

"Shit," She swore in his ear and lifted herself off of him. She fell onto her back and covered her face. "I'm sorry, Bucky...I…"

"It's okay," He said as he pulled her hands away from her face, "We won't tell him."

She stayed quiet but let him guide her to him. He held her as his body buzzed. He couldn't bring himself to feel guilty amidst his rapture. It was like a dream. 

"Sleep," He cooed as he kissed her forehead. "It's okay. You're okay."

-

tags to be added in reblog

[xxrainbow-princessxx]

Unspoken Truths - Royal Romance/TRR AU

As things come to a head, can Isabella or Leo find some mutual agreement? Does Liam, Drake and Leo’s hunt for Barthemely gain momentum?

Chapter list:

Chapter 1: Enough

Chapter 2: Homeward Bound

Chapter 3: Band of Brothers

Chapter 4 Dearest Sympathies

Chapter 5: No Expectations

Chapter 6: Line of Succession

Tag list: @lorirwritesfanfic @drakewalkerfantasy @desireepow-1986 @rainbowsinthestorm @lorircreates @itslaniquelove @liam-rhys @hopefulmoonobject @speedyoperarascalparty @kimmiedoo5 @rafasgirl23415 @kingliam2019 @mom2000aggie @texaskitten30 @the-everlasting-dream

Trigger warning: Violence, death, premonition of death, sexual innuendo, swearing

“We’re getting nowhere!” Liam barked slamming his fist onto the table, “If Barthelemy has been under our noses this whole time, where the hell could he be hiding?!” Drake began to slowly shake his head, “...we’ve checked every corner of each of the provinces over the past two weeks... you don’t think...” Drake ran his fingers through his hair, his dark features smouldering in the dimly lit room, “Maxwell’s and Bertrand’s disappearance will have spooked him?” Liam took a deep breath, his shoulders were tense as he stared at the map of the Cordonian Kingdom, “No...” Liam’s tongue clicked “...we’re obviously missing something...” tracing his finger across the North River. “We’ve had the Kings guard check each of these points...” Drake agreed, “Yes, and they are currently in the Valtoria forests... should we send in another party to scour the Fydelia to Portavira intersection?” Leo stood on the veranda with one hand in his jean pocket whilst taking a drag of a cigarette staring out into the Cordonian landscape. He was glad that Liam was now focusing on what was important; he was fighting for what he believed in but he missed Isabella, he missed his own family. As Leo’s sea green eyes gazed towards the flickering stars that glistened in the dark midnight sky, he wondered if they missed him too? Once Camille was safe, it would allow Liam to return to rule the Kingdom in his own way and if anything; this would establish a message to neighbouring Kingdom’s that Cordonia is not for sale.

Once everything was signed and sealed. Leo would finally be able to let go. He would finally feel like the burden he placed upon his brother’s shoulders when he abdicated would become less painful or at least, in his heart, the guilt he held to gain his own personal freedoms would no longer keep him up at night. It had been over a decade since Leo abdicated but Leo felt duty bound to repay that debt, no matter his own cost. Drake looked over his shoulder, sighing as he watched Leo standing quietly in the archway; the cigarette smoke lingering in the Cordonian air. “Liam...” Drake began to shake his head, “He needs to talk to her...” whispering under his breath so Leo didn’t hear. Liam nodded in agreement as he sadly looked out towards his brother, “He’s more like Father than he cares to admit...” Drake snorted at the comparison as Liam up the map that had been sprawled across the desk, “Leo is crazy if he thinks that Sánchez will be sitting waiting for him when he gets back?” handing Drake the map, Liam shrugged his shoulders, “My brother and his wife’s circumstances are none of our concern...” Drake’s dark brow lifted as he angrily the map from Liam, “Talk to him...” Drake snapped, “He’s throwing his marriage away to help you and that’s all you can say?! If you don’t say something...”

Liam took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose, “This is not the time, go rally the Guards before we lose the cover of darkness...” Drake had heard enough, gritting his teeth, he stared down his friend and King, “Make it the goddamn time!” before pushing passed Liam. It was hard for Drake knowing the truth, even after all these years - he adored her. Isabella was the only one that Drake felt was there for him with no agenda. Anything Drake ever needed, she did without him having to ask. Many a night he crashed in her townhouse when he needed to get away from the suffocating pageantry of the Cordonian Palace or needed to vent about life in general she supplied the alcohol and listened but deep down Drake knew if he interfered, he would say something he’d immediately regret. Running his fingers through his dark mane, he refocused proceeded to the Guards armour to plan for the next search. “Bas...” Drake quietly murmured, “Tonight’s checkpoints are the Valtorian Pass and the Fydelia to Portavira intersection...” Drake picked up rounds of ammunition and a rifle, throwing it’s strap over his shoulder, “I’ll head out with the second team to the Valtorian Pass... you head out to Fydelia...” Bastien nodded before signalling to the guards to fall out, “You heard the man... let’s go!”

Drake’s words however played on Liam’s conscious. He wasn’t Isabella’s biggest fan by any means but he knew deep down that she made his brother happy and that’s all that mattered. Pouring himself and Leo a drink, Liam walked out onto the veranda where his brother had stood silently for what felt like hours, “Here...” Liam handed him the crystal tumbler as he sighed, “I appreciate the sentiment brother... but putting your marriage on the line...” The Cordonian King’s sparkling river blue eyes met his brother’s, placing a hand gently onto his shoulder, “You don’t have to do this...” Leo bit down on his bottom lip as he held the bourbon in his hand, “I must do something...” he murmured before taking a drink, “I won’t allow Cordonia to fall...” Liam remained quiet as he allowed his brother to speak, “Felipe mentioned before that he knew the Cordonian Royal Council were dirty rats but even I could never have believed him...” shaking his head, Leo sighed heavily, as his grip onto the tumbler tightened, “These people were our family, our friends....” turning his head, he glared at Liam, Leo’s sea green eyes burned with hatred, “... how can I trust the woman I married when I can’t even trust my own fucking shadow right now?!” Liam tilted his head slightly, his heart heavy as he empathised with Leo, “Brother... you need to speak with Isabella... I’m sure she would understand... You still love her don’t you?”

Leo’s sea green eyes rolled to the left towards his brother sadly, “With all my heart... Of course I do...” a lump was forming in his throat as Liam placed his hand on Leo’s shoulder, a passive smile barely graced his face, “Tell her before it’s too late...” Leo nodded pensively and without a word returned to his suite twisting his wedding ring as he walked. The pure Laurentian gold band was plain but it stood for much more than just their marriage; it was everything he and Isabella ever fought for. It wasn’t new that Leo lay in an empty bed without Isabella beside him; the last six months affirmed that but with a deep breath, Leo removed his phone staring at the lock screen. Isabella’s bright, warm dazzling smile drew him in and made him fall in love with her all over again every single day. He could almost hear her giggling happily in the quiet room as he took the simple photograph of her smiling back at him. Closing his eyes, Leo sighed heavily. What he wouldn’t give for Isabella to look at him like that again. “You have no idea...” he quietly spoke, running his finger down the screen, “...how much I miss you...” Biting down onto his lip, Leo began to type, holding his breath as he sent Isabella a message, the first time they had spoken in weeks.

‘Can we talk?’

‘Please...’

Isabella’s dark chocolate brown eyes rolled to the left as she saw her phone lighting up. Her heart was in her throat as Sasha and Lia pouted, “Is that papa?” Turning her phone over, Isabella raised her brow, “You two need to focus on getting ready for school, than what’s on my phone...” as she nursed Nico, brushing his little cheeks gently. “But Mama...” the pair begged, “Can we FaceTime him later?” Isabella began to sigh, “Mi queridas... he is busy, I can’t promise anything...” Leo’s texts infuriated her but she couldn’t allow her children to see the pain she felt, “Now go get dressed you two... Jimena will need to take you to school today...” Unimpressed, the pouting Princesses slid off of their chairs sulking off towards their room knowing it was best not to argue with their mother. Isabella rested her elbow onto the table, cradling her head as she looked at the empty chair to her right where Leo would have sat each morning. She was so confused, on one hand, he made her blood boil - the other; she still loved him which made things so much harder. Isabella reluctantly opened the messages, her cheeks sucked in as her eyes gazed upon the text. “You want to talk huh?” she sarcastically mumbled, “Look Nico...” as she cradled the little one “...Your papa actually has something to say...” before rolling her eyes and coldly replying,

‘Fine... but you can video call me in Conference Room 2...”

Isabella knew she’d have to wait; Leo was never on time on a good day let alone when he was on Cordonian time. Fixing her nightdress, she lifted her baby boy upwards giggling before she rested him against her chest rubbing his little back. She cooed happily as Nico snuggled into her shoulder, “Who loves you?? Mama loves you!” as she carefully carried him back to her suite. Since Leo had left, Isabella had the crib moved to her room - he wasn’t there to complain that the kids were in the room or the baby’s crying would keep either of them awake. Sitting up on her bed, Isabella propped the infant against her legs, tickling him and making funny faces as he smiled back at her trying to giggle, “Sí mi amor... puedes hacerlo...” she cooed, “Eso es....” as Nico stared up at her with his father’s green eyes, Isabella could only beam with delight, her and Leo’s children were getting her through this mess. It was hard shielding them from the rows and pain she felt but she tried her hardest. “Who’s my handsome little Prince... huh?” Isabella carefully brushed Nicolás’ soft sandy blonde hair back as he was drifting off to sleep. Isabella gently manoeuvred herself to place Nico into his crib. As his little body was placed onto the mattress, Isabella bit down onto her lower lip. He was his father’s double, same hair, same eyes, same nose and like his father, he was the most beautiful boy his mother set eyes on. Swallowing hard, Isabella brushed his cheek, “Please when you are old enough, don’t you break someone’s heart like your father’s broke mine...”

Stirring the spoon in her afternoon tea, Isabella tapped the silverware against the delicate china crockery. She was becoming anxious that Leo hadn’t called yet and it was near time that the girls arrived back from school. Isabella was famously known for being patiently impatient as her long manicured nails tapped the table waiting for Leo to call. Isabella felt her chest tightening as the screen updated, the waiting video call was just a push of a button away. Would she get the answers she wanted? Would Leo tell her he was coming home? Did he even still love her? Nervously she accepted the call, her heart racing with trepidation as the screen flickered to see her husband looking at her. “Hey...” Leo spoke softly, “You look...Sorry I’m only...” Isabella sat still, her stony expression only added to the icy atmosphere between them. Leo began to run his fingers through his sandy blonde hair nervously as he cleared his throat, “Yeah...” she mumbled, “So... how are the kids?” Isabella raised her left brow slowly as her lips finally parted speaking quite matter of fact, “They miss you... they want to know when their father is coming back or if he is coming back...” Leo began to shake his head sadly as he shrugged his muscular frame, “Bella I...”

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” The Laurentian Queen screamed, “It’s a simple answer!” as she gesticulated her arms widely, eyes darkening with anger, “Why the fuck are you playing games? There’s only two options here Leo, either you want to be here or you fucking don’t!” He was not in the mood to be chastised, taking a deep breath Leo clicked his tongue, “Isabella... we’re not all as fucking perfect as you... Things are complicated right now, I need more time...” Isabella’s lips began to pout, taking a moment to process what Leo had just said to her. “Time?” Isabella questioned, “You’ve had nearly six weeks of time!” slamming her hands into the table caused her china cup and saucer to shake, “I am trying to understand right now Leo I really... really am...” Isabella’s nostrils began to flare, “But you are making this exceptionally difficult!” Gritting his teeth, Leo tried to hold in his anger, “You’re not fucking listening!” he growled, “I’ve already told you, I can’t go into details! It’s not safe...” Lowering her head, Isabella pressed her fingers against her temples taking a deep breath before looking up at Leo. Her lips were pursed, eyes narrowed slightly as she finally spoke, “I can’t live in a marriage that’s based on secrets or lies... if you can’t talk to me, then...” she began to laugh shrugging her shoulders, “what is the point of anything?” Leo began to beg, “Bella... don’t... no...” but Isabella simply shook her head, tears began to roll whilst her mascara stained her cheeks, “I’m done... I can’t live my life waiting on a promise...” Leo closed his eyes, it felt like a knife was stabbed through his heart, “Kitten... don’t do this...” he began to panic, “I’ll tell you everything!!” Leo held his hands up as a knock came at the door, “... just...just wait!” but Isabella moved, her finger hovering over the end call button, “No...” she sniffed as she pressed the button. The Queen stood from the table wiping her tears as best she could with the sides of her index fingers, blinking away the excess, “Yes... come in...” she cleared her throat until her eyes widened, “Your Majesty...” Jimena rolled her eyes, “Duke Ramsford to see you in the throne room... he insisted you made yourself available...”

[imagine-all-the-imagines]

“Imagine Rafael comforting you after you’ve had a rough day.”

Warnings: Talk of blood.

I firmly believe that Rafael would call you pet names in Spanish as he tried to make you feel better.

Italics are text messages

________________________________________________________________

You had not had a good day. In fact you had a terrible day. If it had just been the stress of work, you could have handled it, but of course, it wasn’t just that. It could never be just that.

The phrase: “Bad things come in threes” has been going through your head for the past two hours and you pulled your phone out to text your boyfriend.

Me: Hey.. I know I said I would cook tonight, but are you ok with ordering like five pizza’s and watching cheesy 80′s movies?”

It took a moment for your phone to light up.

Mr. ADA: It’s your choice tonight. You get to choose if you’re cooking or ordering out.

Mr. ADA: Wait, five pizza’s?

You let out a slight huff.

Me: It’s been, as the kids would say, not a good day.

Mr. ADA: Anything I can do?

Me: At the moment? Not really. But maybe later a foot rub?

Mr. ADA: I’ll make sure my hands are all warmed up for you.

You smiled for the first time today and put your phone down and worked on the pile of paperwork on your desk.

As the clock ticked closer and closer to 5:00, your anticipation grew and grew until you all but ran out the door at 5:00:01. After hailing a cab and ordering pizza, you walked up the three flights of stairs to your apartment. When you got to your door, you noticed that it was unlocked and you immediately got worried. You pulled out your phone and dialed Rafael’s  number.

As you waited for him to pick up the phone, you heard some shuffling in the apartment and finally, you hear a voice on the other end of the line, “Querida?” his voice was almost a whisper.

“Rafi, I’m worried someone is in my apartment.” You whispered back.

The man barked out a short laugh, “Amor, there’s no one in your apartment.”

You were about to respond to him when you heard more shuffling in the apartment. Suddenly the door opened and Rafael stood in front of you holding his phone, “No one but me.”

You let out a breath and smiled at the ADA in the door. “Rafi, what are you doing here?”

“Well, you said you weren’t feeling well, so I figured I’d come over and offer my healing hands.” he says wiggling his fingers at you.

You smiled and then felt tears well up in your eyes. Rafael saw the wetness and his eyes got big, all traces of joking gone. He ushered you into the apartment and took you to the couch sitting you down. As you were sitting, you saw what seemed like sunflowers everywhere. There were at least four bouquets with sunflowers and red roses, along with vases with singular sunflowers peppered throughout the apartments. Along with the flowers, there were candles on almost every flat surface. Seeing all of this and knowing how much preparation went into it made you tear up even more.

Rafael’s eyes got wide seeing your response, “Mi Carino, what is it?  Is it too much? I can take the candles and flowers away. I’ll fix it.”

He started towards one of the bouquets when you grabbed his arm, “Don’t, it’s amazing, I love it. I just had a bad day and thinking that you did all this for me, it’s just so sweet and you didn’t have to.”

Rafael kissed your hands, “Of course I did, mi vida. You deserve all of this and more. Want to tell me about what made your day so, as the kids would say, not good?”

You laughed lightly and then sighed. “Well, I had my dentist appointment this morning, and it went fine, but my teeth always hurt and of course my gums were bleeding which just makes it hurt even more. Then I ended up starting my period, and, you know, for someone who has a period tracker, you would think I wouldn’t be surprised and I’d be prepared, but, nope! So that was a crampy, no good time. And then just to top it off, I got a nose bleed and it was a goddamn gusher. I was lucky I felt it a few seconds before it started, and I got my hand up in time. But of course I got a smear of it on my papers for a meeting, so that was great too, and not at all embarrassing. So, I’ve been dealing with the headache that always accompanies my nose bleeds.”

You made yourself stop talking as you realized that you had just rambled and word vomited all of this to your boyfriend, who was sitting there with compassion in his eyes as he took in your words. 

“Sorry, I shouldn’t complain so much, I’m sure you had a busy day today.” You gave a dismissive sigh as you looked at Rafael. 

Rafael was looking at you with nothing but adoration in his eyes. As you looked at him, you could see the gears turning. Finally, he gave you a smile and ushered you to the couch. 

“I want you to sit here and relax until I call for you, ok?”

Rafael gave you a quick peck on the cheek before heading off. You heard the faucet in the bathroom filling up the tub and started to smell the relaxing scent of lavender fill the apartment. 

When Rafael came back, he took you by the hand and led you to the bathroom where you saw candles lit and a bubble bath waiting for you. Rafael turned to leave to give you your privacy. You grab his arm and motioned for him to stay. You both helped each other undress and got into the tub, whispering words of love and adoration to each other. 

As you relaxed with each other, you couldn’t help but realize that no matter what the days threw at you, you were glad that you had a man like Rafael to make your days better.