#i have vodka and really good music and stuff i can clean

[exospherethoughts]

Even more questions are bouncing around in my head now.

I think it was on the last day, before we said goodbye, you said something when we were with other people about finding eating to be a chore and not really enjoying it. Was it a mistake then, for me to invite you over for dinner (twice) and take you out on a dinner date?

In a recent text you told me you mostly like movies for the sake of striking visuals and a good score, and couldn't care less about emotional impact. Did you hate watching The Breakfast Club with me then? Is that why you didn't want to finish eternal sunshine of the spotless mind when we started watching it together?

Do you listen to the music recommendations I send you? If you do, have you actually liked any of them or do I keep sending you music that you would never enjoy?

If I hadn't asked first, would you ever have asked me to call? If I stop texting you first, would all communication fizzle out? Will we ever talk about anything that isn't superficial again?

Why do you ignore my messages on Instagram (most of it is just memes anyways)? Or the ones on Discord? Everything feels so awkward now and I keep feeling like I need to filter out parts of me, like I'm walking on eggshells. And I know that's mostly my own fault-- you've given me no reason to believe you'd blow up or get angry or disappear if I do or say something wrong, but five years of needing to be careful and tiptoe around every single thing I do and say to avoid setting a certain someone off has ingrained it into me. Growing up I needed to filter out entire parts of who I am around my parents, at school, around friends, everywhere. I liked not needing to filter things out around you, but now I have to, and it's such a strange feeling, knowing that you know me better than most do, yet now having to watch what I say for fear of crossing into "emotional vulnerability" territory.

I don't know how to be less close friends with you. It seems like that's what you want, but I can't undo what you already know about me, I can't reverse the way my brain sees you. I don't know how to pull back from that without completely flipping into 100% superficial friendship, which would result in us almost never talking while you're away, because realistically I don't text most people unless it's specifically to make plans to hang out in person. And by the time you got back my brain wouldn't feel even remotely safe or connected to you anymore, and I would probably be a little bitter about what we lost, so the friendship would remain a "say hi if we happen to be in the same room and that's it" type of friendship. But I can't not pull back because I don't think that's what you want.

I just want to cry. It'll at least help me feel better for a little bit, venting the feelings out, but I can't cry. I don't know why, I've tried all the usual things (watching something nostalgic, watching something depressing, listening to music that normally hits really hard, simply letting myself think too much, etc), but nothing is working. I feel somehow feel empty and overwhelmed all at once. And cannot cry.

[inkysquelched]

Them.

I drew my bozos and there’s nothing you can do about it. Now get ready for a long post as I talk about my headcannons for them. Feel free to ask me anything about them, I love rambling:

Agent 3: Has a major RBF, but she’s nice I promise you. She’s been enjoying her role as captain but was overwhelmed at first.

Weapon preferences: shooters, chargers

Fave Special: Splashdown

Agent 4: Just vibing honestly, she’s gotten pretty good at hacking/research over the years.

Weapon preferences: daulies, brushes

Fave Special: Boyah Bomb

Agent 8: Curses in octarian at least 5 times a day. Remarkably relaxed despite all the bs shes been through.

Weapon preferences: shooters

Fave Special: Triple Inkstrike

Neo 3: A chaotic child, will occasionally eat stuff off the floor.

Weapon preferences: tri-stringer, blasters if shes feeling spicy

Fave Special: Super Chump

Some Honorable Mentions:

3 has a major sweet tooth and she won’t apologize for it. (shes awful with spicy food tho gchfxgfz)

Neo really likes bread.

8 will eat the most criminally offensive spicy food without a reaction.

3 likes to sleep in her squidform, it’s kinda weird to others. It’s honestly more worrying if she doesn’t shift forms. (hc that people usually only do that when theyre really sick…..and then theres 3)

4 listens to her music too loud.

3 and 4 bicker all the time, but it rarely gets to a point where they’re actually upset. They especially fight about how to lead on missions (this is moot bc 3 is the captain lol) because 3 prefers the “slow and steady” approach and 4 prefers to play “fast and loose”, if that makes sense. (8s just here for the ride)

The squid sisters like to say that 3 and 4 are twins and they both hate it.

3 is a runaway, Neo is an orphan. Different circumstances, same outcome. They relate to each other a lot and I think thats awesome (and sad).

Neo (and 8) will occasionally say some out of pocket shit without realizing just how messed up it really is: “what? you’ve never had to eat out of the trash before?”

3 is very emotionally numb and has a hard time expressing any care towards others, so she ends up showing it through favors/giving advice/“are you ok?”s. She’ll tell you to put on a jacket when it’s 70 degrees out lol. (this is also why she’s a mess around 8, those are feelings she has no idea how to deal with)

3 is terrified of being sick (like bedridden sick, haha sanitization go brr) and will inwardly panic the whole time.

3 has the worst alcohol tolerance behind Marie and 4. (Callie will drink 12 shots of vodka without flinching)

Octolings have a very different view on relationships than inklings do; inklings will date/marry out of love while octolings will treat it more as a transaction (not saying they can’t, love just isn’t a priority). 8 as had and infatuation for 3 for years but doesn’t act on it because she wasn’t sure if she really felt the way she did. She knows inklings hold more weight to relationships and didn’t want to risk hurting 3 if she was wrong. (the events of side order really helped her figure it out)

After the events of Splatoon 2, 4 took a back seat on being an agent. Less frontlines and more research focused. (like Marie lol) She hated this at first, but grew to like it.

3s alter ego is DJ Sango, she uses her rapping/singing to vent. 4 and 8 play dumb and pretend they don’t know about her account. (They both listen to her music tho 😶)

8 is extremely calm, you’d have to be trying to piss her off.

Inklings are like mood rings, there tentacles will change color depending on their mood (think like streaks or spots of other colors) The more intense the emotion, the deeper the color.

8 and 3 both have to clean/replace their weapon filters more often than most but for different reasons: for eight its bc shes an octoling (their ink is more abrasive) while 3 has thicker ink than normal as the last remnant of being partially sanitized.

3 isn’t actually as stinky as the squid sisters will have you believe. She one time came back from a mission smelling particularly RANKED that day, and they’ve never let her live it down.

There’s probably more but I can’t think of any rn

k bye <3

[jannelle-o]

April Travel Paintings aka Borahaegas~~ ✨💜🧡 w/ my sister and her husband woohooo~!! 🥰💙💖 We went to the Day 3 concert and other activities related to BTS~ It felt like a BTS festival and I was a little overwhelmed by everything because I only knew a few general things about them at the time, and it was one of the best experiences I've had in 2022. Probably the best live concert experience I've had in my life currently too~ 🕺✨🎶 This took me way longer to finish than I expected (wasn't expecting months to finish this oops) , but then again this is pretty detailed haha I'm amazed I finished the paintings before 2022 ended for me XD I had so much fun working on these ~ 🥺💙 Also this isn't a watercolor sketchbook, I just wanna put all my travel related drawings in one sketchbook... so that could be why it took longer too? XD;

I hope you enjoy looking through all this~ uwu 💕

( I'll put some details of the trip and of the paintings/drawings in a read more so this isn't hopefully too long for everyone haha 😅)

The first three pages were done during the trip, while the rest were done throughout a couple of months? Some road trip landscapes and bt21 and attempts to paint while in a car heading back home haha I had an accident with over-flooding my pink posca and that was before the concert lol oops sorry Cooky ( also the gray, but that wasn't as bad as the pink ) thankfully none of it got on anyone, but I did have to clean up the bed weh ;o; It was super windy heading back on Saturday ( my sister and her husband had to head back to help out with wedding stuff for friends ) and it was too hard to paint in a shaking car. I thought we were gonna fly off the road and tumble into the desert haha.

For the 3 1/2 page , I wanted to paint one more road trip landscape and also the Seven Magic Mountains. I only painted one of seven in my last Vegas related trip paintings so I wanted to try painting all of them this time. I haven't actually gotten up close to them yet only seen them while on the road, maybe the next trip to Vegas? haha

The rest of the paintings are a summary of the trip heheh~

Café in the City was very tasty, finally had tteokbokki after craving it for a while, mmm jajangmyeon, and I inhaled that bungeoppang even though I was pretty full :d The drinks were also very good~

The Pop-Up exhibit had lots of photo taking opportunities, I really enjoyed seeing all the music video inspired built sets 🤩 The food and drinks we got after the pop-up were really nice. I decided to put a space background for the My Universe Brownie 🌌

Behind the Stage exhibit was super wonderful, all the behind the scene photos of their practicing to rehearsals to concerts was really cool. Also I accidentally touched one of the photos and I was scared we would get kicked out haha :'0 I also liked the stage playing music videos afterwards and liked the design of the vodka can we got while resting so I painted that too 😆

Bacchanal Buffet was tasty too, though I think I got full much faster than expected and didn't get to try as much food Then we went to the Bellagio Fountains to see if they'll play a BTS song... but they didn't when we went there lol 😂 Then the day of the concert we went to a mall for a pop-up shop and you could write notes to BTS and put them on a wall, it was very cute 💜

Concert time wooo~!! 🎶🧡✨💜 My sister is the one with the Cooky headband, I'm the one in the bucket hat haha. The energy of BTS and ARMY in the concert was super infectious, I had so much fun and that energy was still pulsing in me for a couple of days 🤩 I tried to fit a visual for every song they performed, some were a little easier than others haha If I missed any song, I'm sorry I didn't mean to ;o; I wished I practiced all the fanchants :'D I also wished I had added some other things that happened in the concert, but I wanted to keep it contained in one spread c':

Just ahh... what a super wonderful time overall. ✨🥰 Thanks a bunch to my sister and her husband for inviting me to come along, you're both the best and I love you lots and seeing my sister's happiness about all this was irresistible and made me happy too. Also ARMYs were super kind and nice and gave cute freebies and it was sweet haha ;w; Much love to BTS for bringing so much joy and brightness to my sister and to many others. I already thought positively about them for helping her when she needed it last year, and I'm now so endeared with them and deep dove into their discography and videos and things and they have brought a lot of positivity this year for me haha 🥺💜

[yotsuyuchanswonderland]

1. I'm quite skilled when it comes to kissing. And yes, Dr. Wu taught me how to ❤️

2. Not that much. I wish I was.

3. Depends on the kind of game. I'm really good at horror and fighting games in general. I suck at sports and shooters though.

4. Aisho told me I had a beautiful singing voice. He may or may not have heard me sing a song I've written...

5. I don't know, I never dance.

6. I want to learn cello...

7. I love plants, but I wouldn't say I'm skilled at taking care of them.

8. I'm a Rock Human, duh, I'm one with nature.

9. Not something I often do, but yes, I can fight.

10. Human rules mean nothing for our species. We don't have to respect them as we have no need to. That doesn't mean I'd kill someone for fun though... or maybe... if I don't like you, I might... 😏I see you, Josuke. I'm in your walls.

11. I can cook some stuff like Rokakacake (yes, it's a cake with Rokakaka fruit, there's honey too because Rock Humans love honey)

12. Children are scared of me...

13. People really do that?

14. I hate parties. They're annoying and there's awful music...

15. Maybe, maybe not. Ask Dr. Wu.

16. That would be unfortunate if I wasn't... I mean, I'm an architect.

17. It's a human concept, right? Well, I don't know and I don't care.

18. I practiced kendo in college but that's all.

19. You wouldn't throw me in a pool, right? You know we Rock Humans can't swim at all, riiight?

20. I can't drive. Aisho said I'd be a terrible driver if I had a licence. No, it's not because I always ask Damo if he can run over humans I don't like 🙂

21. Do Stands count as magic?

22. Joshu hides vodka bottles under his bed, Damo has an OnlyFans, Jobin writes gay smut in his free time... Yes, Aisho, I know your secrets too 😏

23. I don't know, I don't use them.

24. Same as above.

25. Must have a blade or I'm not interested.

26. Why are humans so useless? Let's discuss. Wait, what do you mean that doesn't count as science??? It's science because I said so.

27. I don't have to, Rock Humans are always clean.

28. To be honest, Damo is our finance expert. I don't know much about that stuff, I've majored architecture, not economics.

29. If I start talking about how I see the world, I'll have an existential crisis. Yes, it's possible for us to have one.

30. Stands are considered paranormal, right?

31. I'm quite a fast reader. Also, Jobin, do you know where I can find the House of Leaves? I really wanna read it!

32. Kind of...

33. Time isn't a concept I experience like humans. My species can live up to 240 years old, so time doesn't really matter to us.

34. I'm an architect, obviously I'm extremely organized.

35. The twins put vodka in my cherry coke once. That didn't make me drunk.

36. I don't want to learn. Bikes are for humans.

37. We made a short animated movie in college and I did the voice acting.

38. No, don't put me on a boat, if I fall in the water, I'll drown.

39. Maths? What is that cursed thing? (please, don't mention that stuff around me... I understand mod when it says how much it's traumatized by that subject)

Muse skillset symbol meme

Send an emoji to learn how good/bad my muse is at that particular skill!

💋 — kissing

💄 — makeup

👾 — video games

🎵 — singing

💃 — dancing

🎹 — playing an instrument

🌷 — taking care of living things

🌲 — surviving in the wilderness

👊 — fighting

😇 — following rules

🍳 — cooking

🍼 — taking care of children

🎁 — giving presents to others

🎉 — hosting parties

💌 — romance/flirting

🎨 — art

🍀 — luck

⚽️  — sports

🏊 — swimming

🚗 — driving

🔮 — magic

🔎 — investigating

🔫 — long range weapons

💣 — explosives

🔪 — melee weapons

🔬 — scientific pursuits

🚿 — hygiene

💰 — finance

🌍 — knowledge of the world

👻 — communing with the paranormal

📚 — reading

🔧 — engineering/mechanics

⌛️ — time management

📥 — organization

🍺 — alcohol tolerance

🚴 — riding a bike

🎭 — performance art/acting

⚓️ — sailing

➗ — mathematics

[jovnie]

The devil's desire | Yoongi

Summary;

You fell in love with a man of many pasts, however he desired more than a relationship. He wanted your soul for eternity.

Words: 13k

Devil yoongi! Demon au! Human reader

Very Dark themes

Warnings: religious concepts, gore, porn without plot, death, big dick yoongi, clubbing, kidnapping, non-con touching, blood, cnc, prey ( y/n ), stalker yoongi, drugged, drugs, chains, cutting, rough sex,

"She's almost ready sir!" a winged creature announced. Nodding in his throne, he took the mirror and looked through it. There you were getting ready to meet a mysterious guy at a club or well hoping to once again. He smirked devilishly knowing you remembered to come back to this particular club.

He previously brought you to this nightclub in Korea, hidden through an alleyway in the darkest part of Busan. There was danger and a constant fear of being robbed, kidnapped. Even if Korea was a safe place, things like kidnapping and murder still happen and even more so at night.

He remembered that you kept a knife and a taser with you, he liked the vulnerability you had going to a place not meant for angels let alone humans at night. He found it charming how oblivious you are to your surroundings as well. He was a man of darkness and hell for sure, but one thing was for sure. He only craved humans who were pure and light energetically. 'Suppose you did know that the Club was own by the devil himself, would that really stop you' he thought.

He watched her put on clothes and noticed how delicate she was in his eyes. No, this wasn't the first time he'd watch her. Not the last either, it seemed like a generational curse in his eyes. He wasn't mad he placed it on the females to feel tempted by his actions, however, each one passed the test. you however failed it the first two times, making it the third time.

Sighing, he put the mirror down and stood up. Stretching, he allowed his black feather wings to elongate and move around before putting them away. Looking at his watch it was a quarter past 11 pm, he'd knew you want to be early and try and catch a good table. However the little worry of what if someone wanted to take you before him, hurt you before him. The thoughts riled him up, making him grab his keys and wait by the portal. Besides the gate doesn't open until 11:59, so his intrusiveness can calm for now.

While waiting, he took out the cute little human hand mirror you'd gifted him a while back. He looked at himself and the scar over his left eye, "maybe this is what attracts them" he chuckled softly.

As time fastened, he waited for the lock in the air to appear. He waited long and hard for that little red lock and once it appeared, he opened all the portals from his underworld to the human world and the other one which lead stright to his club.

Formally known as 666 plaza to hadians, the chosen humans only knew it as void 218. To you it was just another club on the holy day of Sunday. Although you were never brought up with Christianity, you had the basics that everyone knew, loved, and hated.

Waiting by the gates or humanly known as "doors" you pulled out your phone to realize there was no battery or charge. Confused as you could've sworn it was full when you left, you herd the doors open and the mini line began moving. Your eyes wandered the room to find the stairs that led to the upper level where you would meet and see Yoongi. You knew it was stupid to keep doing this, but with yours and his schedule it wasn't at all.

Passing by the few people, you found upstairs and walked up seeing there were already people inside which confused you, but you paid little attention to it. Waiting by the usual black velvet seats and area, you head a familiar voice.

"Is this your regular peach vodka with light ice?" yoongi asked loudly over the now loud music playing. Nodding, you sat up and greeted him before getting your drink. Little did u know about his plans with you or what tonight was gonna be.

Smiling softly, yoongi was gentle eyes admired your beauty as he get down with his own drink. He took a sip of his own drink that was laced with a sleeping drug, one that'd do nothing to him and more to you.

"So what are you doing here?" He asked knowingly.

"Well, it's a Sunday and I have nothing planned so I thought I come by" you lied, hoping the white lie would slip. Nodding, yoongi put his hand on your thighs and moved closer to talk to you about life and each other week. You mentioned something about the campus or school you were studying and he lied about his "forensics" job and how hard it was to see how people died. Continuing, he bought the two of you more drinks and when the timing was right offered one of his. Thanking him for the kind jester, you took a sip. He smiled and also took a sip after you, then placed it back down.

"Good isn't it?" he said, reaching over to his phone and at the time. Noticing he did so you hummed and snuck another sip. Then another. Whatever was in had you almost drinking his entire cup down.

"Omg what is this, what's making it so good. I can't put my finger on it" she said as her words slowed down and her eyes blinked slowly. He watched her body start to feel tired, then at the right moment whispered in her ear "apple, cherry, lime, it's a light alchcolic drink and right, drugs."

Soon as her eyes closed and body dropped, he mustered enough strength to pick her up and sling you over his shoulder. "Another one taken by the devils favorite drink, poison apple," he whispered knowing nobody cared to stop him not could. Well not if they wanted hells punishment if not worse death, even if they were immortal. Walking up the last set of stairs he opened the portal and handed the keys to his servant and told him to look after.

Noting the girl, the servant nodded and knew the king was gonna take his time and would be in a long "meeting." Taking charge of the place, yoongi walked up to his Castle surrounded by blue flames in the middle of nowhere and walked in. He demanded for total privacy, meaning nobody in or even near the castle or be banished for eternity and with that everyone wondered what that soul did to get his undivided attention. From there gossip spread about you from one to another creature and it traveled fast.

Meanwhile, he laid you on the bed and looked at his watch. The drug last about 30 minutes and about 20minuets have gone. From there he requested one trusted worker with a list. The list was :

The devils list

Body Chains and rope

Salt and a black cross

2 Robes

Wipes

Black paint

Sheep's blood

Lube any flavor

Nodding the worker flew off and yoongi allowed his wings to expand out his back and eyes to turn a dark blue color as his hair contained white strips. He watched your sleeping body, before checking the time and seeing he has 5 minutes left before you wake up. Taking that in he stretched his neck and before activating his speed and undressing you, cleaning the area around the bed, making sure the chain locks are stable and if not changing them, turning off lights and lighting candals all around the room and the whole castle and finally sitting down at the edge. Checking the time once again, he had 3 minutes left and so did the worker before he'd get pissed and with that thought the worker came to drop everything off before yoongi told him to get lost.

With the activation of speed he quickly undressed, sat the cup near the bed and filled it with sheeps blood, put salt near the edge without touching it as it stung him, put the cross around his neck and began drawing a ritual circle around the bed then finnaly the walls. To end everything he placed the chains on your hands and feet then connected to each end of the bed. The rest of the stuff he just put next to the bed and laid naked above you waiting for you to wake up.

He knew the drug was strong, but he didnt think it was that strong so he checked the time again and 10 minutes had passed by. Sighing, he began taking the knife and cut a slit on his wrist and placed the wound to your mouth. After a few blinks, you began to wake up and within a second you panked and a minute later realised you were chained.

Weak, scared, targeted, blood covered lips, chained and his favorite vulnerability he finally felt aroused at the sight. With lust in his eyes and an aura darker than night himself, he slowly kissed your cheek.

"Welcome to hell baby" he greeted, confused you closed your eyes and for once prayed you'd be able to wake up in where you left to only get the image of him drugging you and making you pass out. To then opne them and see the same sight.

"Wouldn't that make you?" She paused trying to yank the chains.

"Hades, satan the devil or whatever you humans call me for ruling the underworld. Then yes that's me and as you see, you're caged like a bug trapped in a spider's web. How cute. How naive to trust anyone you've properly met either. " he whispered the last bit in your ear as his lips traveled around your chest and neck leaving hickeys as he moved.

Groaning, you tried yanking the chains hearing a noise and hoping it ment it broke to realise no he fooled you with the sound of his nails knocking on the wood.

"Got you" he chuckled as you began scared, moving his lips towards your breast he sucked softly getting slight moans from your mouth. "Mm good girl continue with it an d maybe I'll spare your soul" he joked, sucking and groaning your other breast with his hands. Ignoring him and forcing your mouth to close. He raised an eyebrow and sat up, he then looked at your mouth and then his length.

"That wasn't smart now was it dsrling?" He asked, as his crouch hovered your mouth and his length being rubbed on your face as the other hand rested on the wall. "Noe open wide and if not, I can allways just shove it. Dont think about biting as i can manually remove teeth of needed" he mentioned as tears rolled down your eyes as he slowly entered his length.

"Good girl, suck it like that" he groaned, slowly moving his hips all the way in and out. With doing so he admired the trlaclesnt salty wetness driping from her eyes that he took a finger and wiped it. Caressing her face as he continued thrusting and groaning till he felt hard enough and then pulled out. Wiping her eyes again he grabbed the lube and posed the non negotiable question of

"May I pretty angel, take this as mine?" He whispered softly as he leaned down to her ear. Nodding yes a tear ran and he licked it clean, causing a slight shiver down her body. "Good" he replied, putting lube around his own length and stoking it on.

"If you cum on me will I get pregnant?" You asked shyly.

"Mm, well yes and that's my goal princes or should I say queen. Your body is mine after all." he tells, taking his fingers and tracing a cross between your chest as he watches a dark mark appear in a mini cross between your chest.

Crying harder knowing you've not only been kidnapping, but there was an even little chnace of seeing your family friends and well your little pet. "I love when you cry my love" he said softly as his fingers softly rubbed against you clit and his lips attach to yours. Knowingly you kissed back and surprisingly it felt like comfort but tasted like sin and poison. One your body will soon adapt to. As your mouths moved in unison, his fingers rubbed softly around your bud and you were finally able to relax and enjoy the feeling. He had an undeniable hold on your body, one your soul started to grow a liking too the longer her rubbed and kissed your lips. Soon you became hungry for more and grinded against his hand and with the hint he rubbed quicker as you moaned down his throat and his free hand now snaking behind your back. Moaning more you called his name, in which he loved begging you to say again.

"YOONGi!"you moaned louder as his stomach and cock felt it making it twitch slightly. stoping his finger he guided his tip and put his chin on your neck and slid in slowly, taking his time as you adjusted before moving faster. You pulled the chains trying to hold onto him but he shook his head no and softly held your body up with the help of the chains and began pounding into you.

No it was not a speed nor length you were used to, but the feeling you could by a heartbeat. You legs became weak, your back arched hard, your mouth could only stay open and your head was in a daze as he fucked you without mercy. His length was big enough to make you scream from the top of your lungs and beg for more. He loved that and too started moaning which soon started to sound like deep breathes and heavy grunts. He loved the warm, pulsing feeling of your pussy on him as it dripped with cum around him.

"Ah, fuck, That's hot!" he moaned loudly. Moving his hips closer, he pushed his length in deeper and the sounds of his hips crashing into yours echoed the room. You were now at a point of no return, all you could do was moan and take him, which only increased his horniness and overall arousal.

"I'm close!" yoongi groaned and panted as his hips movements slowed down, but the deepness was still there. Shopping, yoongi's body out of tiredness fell on top of yours and he kissed your neck softly. Without enough energy to pull out, he came deep, groaning in your neck and laying still. Both overly fucked out and deep breathing, laid there until yoongi got enough energy to unchain your hands and drink from the cup of blood that started to reek and fill the room. The room that once smelt like lavender and vanilla now smelled like sex and sheep's blood. Leaning down to kiss you, you kissed back with your body begging to ache like hell and body starting to contort you screamed in pain. Whispering something into your neck, he held you close to his chest as you grabbed and scratched his back till the blood came from it.

"Submit and it'll go quickly." he whispered tired as can be. Taking his advice, you closed your body and let it take over. Suddenly your eyes and hair became white as a dove and the pain stopped. Not only did he claim you as his, the kiss of blood crowned you queen of the underworld.

They laid naked as each could no longer have the strength to get up, but hold each other in a soft hug. Comferting and relaxing, considering what had to happen. They slept wedded that night, perfectly times as the full moon was now full and the ritual circle could light up red as the two came into harmony.

[disturbedbydesign]

The Widow and the Wolf - Chapter 2

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x dark!exWidow!reader

Summary: After Natasha Romanoff took down the Red Room, the former Widows scattered to the wind. Raised to be a killing machine and released into the world with nothing and no one, you decided to use your newfound autonomy to take down the bad guys of your choosing. But now Natasha is riddled with guilt for leaving you on your own. She wants to recruit you, rehabilitate you, make you part of a team again. But the rest of the squad has reservations, and no one is more against you than Bucky Barnes.

Warnings: Graphic violence; Mentions of domestic violence, rape, pedophilia, human trafficking, child sex trafficking; eventual Dubcon (not Bucky); eventual smut; slow(ish) burn enemies-to-lovers. [More warnings will be added as necessary but these are the Big Bads.] 18+ only, no minors.

If you prefer to read on AO3, you can do so here.

Chapter Two

It’s almost midnight by the time Garcia is officially gator food, but you’re too wired for sleep. You head out, driving the hour and change to Miami, with a stop on the way to clean yourself up a bit in a gas station bathroom. You check in to the swanky South Beach hotel you’ve decided to treat yourself to, because you’ve earned it. The world is a better place without that man in it, the impressionable young girls of Miami are a bit safer tonight, and that’s enough for you. For the moment, it’s enough.

Your next target is a man you’ve been searching for for a long time, and he’s your own personal project, but tonight you aren’t going to think about him. Tonight you’re going to allow yourself a moment to breathe, to celebrate your victories—a party of one, as usual, but satisfying all the same. You don’t have that much time left before last call at the clubs so you get yourself together quickly and hit the spot closest to your hotel. Even at this time of night, there’s a line to get in, but one look at you and the bouncer is opening that velvet rope and beckoning you inside.

The place reeks of sweat and unchecked hormones as you make your way to the bar, the booming bass drowning out any and all thoughts you might have, which is exactly the way you want it tonight. You order a double vodka rocks and you wait to see what kind of man will approach you this evening: angel or devil. Of course, none of them are really angels, not in the club at this time of night, but some are far worse than others.

You have no problem with decent men. There’s nothing wrong with trying to get laid. It’s normal, it’s natural—you know that now. You’ve even learned to enjoy consensual sex with strangers. At first it was difficult for you—your body having belonged to others for your entire life. But it wasn’t long before you started to enjoy the power of choice, of having control over what your body did and who with.

A man approaches you—brown hair, blue eyes, muscular—and you hate that your first thought is of him but you can’t help it. The Winter Soldier had always been the stuff of nightmares—a ghost story to some, but the Widows knew better. He was terrifying, yes, but the few people who had seen the man’s face and lived to tell about it had always remarked on how handsome he was, even with that cold, dead-eyed stare. You’d seen pictures of him after he came out from under all that brainwashing, and they had proven the reports correct, but you’d never seen him in person until tonight. You couldn’t stand the sight of him in some ways, but in others…

You turn to the attractive stranger and smile, waiting to see what he’ll do.

“Can I buy you a drink?” he yells over the music. You raise your nearly full cocktail in his direction and he smiles awkwardly. “That’s the best line I got,” he says, and he introduces himself with a name you don’t commit to memory.

You give him a fake name and he reaches his hand out to shake. He’s got a disarming personality, but that doesn’t mean you trust him. You know better than anyone that there’s no better tactic than to appear non-threatening. Still, he’s incredibly attractive and you’re in the mood for a party of two tonight.

You let him talk for a while—about his job, about his family—and you pepper in a few lies here and there. He hasn’t laid a hand on you or invaded your personal space in any way that isn’t necessary among the crush of people at the bar. When the bartender signals last call, you decide that he’ll do. You’re rarely wrong about people, and even if you are, you could snap his neck like a twig if necessary.

You allow him to walk you out, expecting him to make a move, but he doesn’t. He just stands there with his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans, rocking a bit awkwardly on his feet.

You smile and tilt your head. “Nightcap?” you ask, and he follows you like a puppy to your hotel room.

You don’t want another drink and neither does he, but he waits for your signal before he tries anything. You try not to make it all seem transactional, but it’s not like your heart is in it. You let him kiss you and touch you, albeit briefly, and you pretend to enjoy it even though that’s not what you want. What you want is to be on top of him, using his body for the pleasure of your own, and it’s not long before you’re doing exactly that. Your beautiful stranger certainly doesn’t mind, not even when you close your eyes and allow yourself to think about someone else inside you—what his face might look like all twisted up and blissed out, what sounds might spill from his pretty lips, what the cold metal might feel like against your hot sweaty skin.

You make yourself cum and then kick him out (kindly). You’re gone by sunrise. You’ve got places to be.

*****

Natasha sits cross-legged on her couch, a pint of ice cream in one hand and scrolling her tablet with the other. After Miami, you’ve been a ghost. None of her usual contacts have been able to give her anything useful. You’ve gone underground, and she knows she won’t find you if you really don’t want to be found. Whoever your next target is, it has to be somebody big if you’ve covered your tracks this well.

She doesn’t regret not taking you in, even though Bucky had complained the entire ride back about how leaving you there was a mistake. But, as she’d told him, you have to want to come in. Trying to force your hand is not only incredibly dangerous, it defeats the purpose. Natasha doesn’t want to retraumatize you; she wants to help you. There’s no point in trading a floating cage for a gilded one.

She doesn’t realize she’s finished the pint until the spoon hits the cardboard. When she goes to pull another one from the freezer, her phone rings.

“What’s up, Rogers?”

Steve’s voice holds a barely contained anger that Natasha knows well. “You need to come in.”

She should have known Bucky would rat her out, but it still pisses her off. “Steve, it’s getting late. Can we do this in the morning?”

“I don’t know,” Steve replies. “Are you gonna steal another jet in the middle of the night?”

“Technically, I didn’t steal-”

“Natasha, please,” he says, and she can picture the set of his jaw on the other end of the line.

She sighs. “Alright, fine. I’m leaving now.”

When she gets to the tower, most of the usual suspects are gathered around the conference table. Steve looks pissed. Tony looks amused. Sam and Wanda look concerned. And while, to anyone else Bucky would be wearing no expression at all, Natasha can tell that he’s feeling a bit guilty—as he should, he gave her his word. He mouths “I’m sorry” when she sits down at the table and she raises an eyebrow at him that he knows to translate as a middle finger.

Steve tries to speak but Natasha cuts him off. “Save me the lecture, Rogers. I’m not going to apologize.”

Steve’s voice is stern but not unkind. “This needs to be a group decision, Natasha, and as of right now, you’re the only person who thinks this is a good idea.”

“That’s not actually true,” she says. “Wanda? Do you want to tell Steve what you told me?”

Wanda looks a little shocked to be called out but she answers, if a bit hesitantly. “It sounds like she needs help, Steve. Like she’s lost. I… I know what that feels like—when everyone thinks you’re a monster.”

Wanda and Nat’s eyes both turn to Bucky, looking for any recognition whatsoever that he, too, knows exactly where they’re coming from, but he’s completely stolid. Underneath his blood is boiling and he feels like he wants to crawl out of his skin, but the surface remains placid.

Tony pops a blueberry into his mouth and swivels in his chair to face Natasha. “So, let me see if I’m understanding this correctly, Romanoff. You want to bring in one of your former compatriots who has spent the last… what?... year or so on a globetrotting murder spree? Am I getting the general idea here, or am I missing something? I have to be missing something, because if I’m not missing something, this is categorically batshit.”

“It’s more complicated than that, Stark. But essentially, yes. That’s exactly what I want to do.”

Tony laughs. “Wow. OK. Well, Rogers—you and I rarely agree on… well… anything, but I gotta say, I’m Team Cap with this one.”

Natasha crosses her arms and huffs her displeasure.

“I’m sorry,” Tony says, looking around and addressing the room, “but don’t we usually catch mass murderers? Isn’t that kind of our thing?”

The longer the conversation goes on, the more uncomfortable Bucky gets. It wasn’t lost on him that Tony’s eyes lingered on him when he threw out the term “mass murderers,” and he’s learned that it’s better to just let Tony go off when he feels the need. Still, he needs to get out of the room. He needs to take a walk, get some air, push all thoughts of you and this whole mess out of his mind, because if he doesn’t, he thinks he might go crazy.

“Are we done here?” Bucky asks.

“No,” Steve replies. “Sam? Anything you want to say?”

Sam takes a minute to gather his thoughts. “Look, Nat, I understand where you’re coming from on this. I really do. And it would be different if she was willing to come in on her own. But it sounds to me like she isn’t interested. She wants to be doing exactly what she’s doing. You can’t rehabilitate that. You just can’t.”

Steve looks apologetically at Natasha. “I’m sorry,” he says, “but it’s a no. I’m not necessarily saying we go after her-”

“I am,” Tony interjects. “I’m saying that. That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

Steve glares at Tony and it shuts him up. “Leave it alone, Tony.”

“You’re seriously telling me you want to leave this girl on the streets knowing what we know? Come on, Rogers.”

Everyone starts to raise their voice at once—everyone except Bucky, who is already sneaking out and halfway to the door—when Natasha shouts, “Enough!”

She takes a deep breath and blows it out, speaking softer now. “I’ll find her and I’ll bring her in, whether she wants to come or not. But it stays in this room—no cops, no agents, just the team. When I get her here, I’ll figure out what to do with her.”

“Fine,” Steve says, and the rest of the team assents. “Buck, you go with her.”

Every cell in Bucky’s body is screaming not to do it, but he never could say no to Steve. He grunts his agreement, refusing to even look at Natasha before storming out of the room and out into the humid mid-August evening. He walks all the way from Midtown to Brooklyn, but he still can’t shake the malaise that’s settled over him ever since Natasha first came to him with her plan.

Bucky knows that he should understand—and, in a way, he does—but he just can’t bring himself to feel anything for you except disgust. Natasha sees something in you that he just doesn’t see. All Bucky wanted to do when he finally got free of it all was prove to everyone that he was a good man—that he was not the things that he’d done. It took a lot of work and a lot of time, but he’s finally in a place where he’s separated himself from the Winter Soldier. That isn’t who he is; it never was.

Steve always knew that, and Natasha hadn’t taken much convincing. The others, though—some of them still don’t fully trust him, and if he thinks about it for too long, it cuts deep. So when Bucky thinks of you—free now, but still violent and bloodthirsty and absolutely unrepentant—it makes him sick. After all the work Bucky has done, how can Natasha look at you and him and think that you’re the same?

Not everyone comes out of their traumas unscathed. Sometimes people can’t come back from the things that have happened to them. That’s you. That’s who you are. You’re not good, you never will be, and as sad as it may make him, Bucky truly believes that you are beyond redemption. You don’t need to be saved; you need to be stopped.

Bucky gets a text as he unlocks the door to his Brooklyn Heights apartment. He’s been waiting for it, hoping for it, and now he has it. Natasha doesn’t know where you are yet, but he does. One of his contacts in Bucharest has a line on you, and he’s not going to let you get away this time. Much as it pains him, he doesn’t trust Natasha to keep her word to the team and take you in against your will. No, Bucky is going to handle this himself. You may be a Widow, but you’re no match for the White Wolf.

CHAPTER THREE >>>

[funtimebunnyblog]

Let's all raise a glass to you, Surey! 🥰😇❤ Please enjoy!

The Pillarmen go out to a Bar with you! 🍻

(Under the cut for length...)

Kars:

• Kars isn't really a person to go out to drink.

• If anything, he prefers to enjoy a drink or two at Home and unwind with a book or in a bath.

• However, if you want to take him out on the town he doesn't refuse you, even though he's not the biggest fan of bars or nightclubs and the crowds of people that come with it.

• If this was something that made you happy, than he supposed it would all be worthwhile to let you enjoy yourself.

• When going out to a bar or a club, those are the nights he dons his dark coat and hat (despite how you may plan to dress for the evening) and walks arm in arm with you down the street to the place of your choice.

• You better had pick a good one because he's not a man to hop from place to place in one night. He makes it very clear that it's here and then Home.

• The majority of the night he prefers to sit quietly at the bar or at a booth in the far corner, silently nursing a glass of vodka or red wine.

• He'll let you dance and socialize and enjoy yourself all you want but don't expect him to do the same.

• Kars will also monitor how much you're drinking and don't think he won't cut you off if he's deemed you've had enough.

• For your safety, he keeps his eyes on you at all times as he doesn't exactly trust these kinds of establishments and he knows how truly disgusting Humans can be if given the chance.

• It's no surprise he has absolutely no tolerance for riff raff or drunks should they happen to be around.

• Anyone who's sober (or anyone with a brain for that matter) wouldn't dare to bother him, simply by the powerful and inhuman aura he emits just sitting there.

• Once on a night out, a drunk man who was entertaining himself by going around and poking people made the mistake of staggering up to Kars where he sat, reaching out and tapping him right on the nose.

• Surprisingly very calm about it, Kars watched him stumble away laughing with little more than a glare before rising to his feet. The song had suddenly changed in that moment and couples were dancing to some upbeat music, Kars left his glass behind at the bar and approached you on the dance floor.

• It shocked you to say the least when Kars approached and took your hand and asked for a dance to which you happily obliged.

• This was a little odd for Kars to want to dance in public but you didn't think to question it.

• As the dance floor crowded and people danced away the drunk man made his rounds again, laughing as he went around and tapped people on the nose, pinched their cheek or flicked them on the chin. Kars had his eyes set on him the entire time he danced, waiting with all the patience in the world.

• The unsuspecting man passed bye Kars one more time and the altercation was fast. Very fast. So very momentary even you didn't see it happen.

• Kars spun you around with one hand and with the other he curled his fist and punched the drunk man straight under his chin, knocking him to the floor, completely unconscious.

• Kars continued to dance with you like nothing at all happened as people suddenly took notice, crowding around the floored drunk questioningly.

• "Hmm," Kars peered over his shoulder, lips pursed and the very definition of unbothered. Not a soul (not even you) suspected a thing. "It would seem he's had too much to drink."

• In Kars' opinion, that was more merciful than the man deserved.

• On the nights where you're drunk, you can bet that he's grumbling the entirety of the time dragging you Home.

• Listening to you giggle and chatter on without a care in the world, slurring your words and relying on him to keep upright might've warmed his heart if he wasn't aware of the complete mess you would be in the morning.

• Kars isn't one to baby you when you're hungover either.

• You did this to yourself and he did warn you not to drink so much afterall.

• But he's not cruel to you when you're hungover. He'll smoothe your hair and rub your back if you happen to get sick. He'll also make you drink plenty of water and he'll let you rest as long as you need to.

• As long as you had fun and keep enjoying these little nights out he doesn't mind all the displeasing parts that come with it. Your happiness is truly what matters to him in the end.

Esidisi:

• Quite the opposite of Kars, Esidisi LOVES going out on the town for a couple of drinks with you.

• In fact, he's got a number of favourite places around to pick but he'll always ask you for your approval when making the decision.

• Chances are, when you and him are such frequent Bar goers together, EVERYONE at your favourite spots will know you!

• Esidisi sometimes likes to go the extra mile for the occasion and throw on something sexy but still casual. Long sleeved, colourful shirts halfway unbuttoned and some jewelry always does the trick for him.

• The most memorable nights for you both is when there's a new place opened up in town and the two of you go to check it out, meet some new people and maybe dance a little.

• It's probably safe to say that Esidisi's favourite thing to do is mess with any drunks that happen to be around.

• He'll sit at the bar as you drink and socialize with some of your friends, surrounded by a bunch of tipsy Humans, using his powers to do the oddest tricks for money.

• The crowd goes absolutely wild no matter how many times they see him make a glass of cold beer boil using just his hand.

• Chances are, Esidisi might end up being more drunk than you the majority of these nights because of his entertaining nature.

• "You can't possibly drink that whole glass in one go." The Bartender frowned at the Pillarman skeptically after he had made that outrageous claim. "It's not possible."

• Esidisi could only grin at him as he put the glass to his lips. Without another word he threw back his head, sucking down the cold, inky Beer in one massive gulp; foam and all.

• The Bartender (now not so skeptical) and the man sitting to Esidisi's left, who had been nursing his 2nd glass of the same stuff for about 10 minutes now, could only stare at him, awestruck.

• "Aw Hell," he gaped. "I'd pay 20$ to see that again!"

• 20$ was put down and another glass gone within seconds; just the same as the first. A crowd began to draw around the bar and the massive man seated there.

• 40$, 80$, 150$, 300$ bets were laid out on the counter and Esidisi rightfully collected ALL of it as he just kept drinking, each glass gone in a single gulp.

• Needless to say, you're gonna be screwed if you're drunk yourself on nights like that because stuffing a Pillarman whose drank his body weight in alcohol into a Cab to try and get him Home isn't an easy job.

• Most especially when said drunkard Pillarman keeps insisting he's NOT drunk, whines he doesn't wanna go Home yet and keeps trying to go back inside.

• When Esidisi is hungover the next day it's not a treat either. Be prepared for WHINING.

• However, if you happen to be the hungover one he's probably one of the best caregivers you could ask for.

• He'll chuckle as he gives you some ibuprofen and water, telling you all about the great time you both had (if you happen to have forgotten) and how you took your drinks like an absolute champ.

• Needless to say, he's always down for a night out at a bar with you.

Wamuu:

• Admittedly, Wamuu was a little on the inexperienced side when it came down to drinking or going to places like bars.

• Overtime with you however, he grows more accustomed to the concept of both.

• When you take him out to a bar for a couple of drinks he doesn't really dress up for the occasion unless you tell him to. He prefers to just put on a clean white T-shirt, sweatpants and maybe a hoodie.

• You'll have to order his drink for him on the first few nights out together because he honestly doesn't know what he likes or what to have.

• The variety of alcohol (let alone the amount of brands under a single kind) was a little overwhelming to him.

• "--and what will you have?" "Um... beer?" "What kind, sir?" "..... um.... beer?"

• He's happy to let you drink and socialize if you wish to but he'll be a little lost if you leave him alone at the bar with his drink and a bunch of strangers to go to the washroom.

• Surprisingly however, it isn't hard for him to make some friends when that happens.

• With nothing else to do, he'll be watching whatever sports game is happening on one of the many TV's as he sips away at his drink.

• The game doesn't really interest him (he doesn't even understand the point of it) but he picks up on the habit of cheering when other people in the bar cheer and celebrate for their team.

• Because of that, other men and sportsfans alike will just flock to Wamuu under the impression he's a fellow sportsfanatic (or maybe even a sports player himself due to his massive size).

• By the time you come back, he's surrounded by a gaggle of sportsfans all cheering and highfiving Wamuu, patting him on the back, punching his shoulder and offering him plenty more to drink.

• He just shrugs at you when he catches your confused gaze from across the bar as he's not really sure what's going on either.

• Though he's content to let you drink and enjoy yourself, he knows very well when you've had quite enough to drink. He will straight up pick you up and carry you Home if need be.

• "Kisssh me, Wammmmuu." You half-giggled, sluggishly trying to pull yourself more upright to give his absolutely delectable looking lips the smooching you so wanted to as he closed the door of your apartment behind him.

• The Warrior sighed, patting your head. "Oh beloved, I am most honored you want to but you're drunk, it's not right..." he told you gently, carrying you all the way to your bedroom to lay you down despite any protests you might make.

• After giving you plenty of water and tucking you in (you at least get a goodnight kiss on the head), he'll keep an eye on you until the morning and ensure all your needs are met when you're hungover.

• If you ask him, he'll admit that he had fun and has no objections to going out again next weekend.

Santana:

• Much like Kars, Santana isn't exactly the biggest fan of noises or crowds of Humans in one settlement.

• Be prepared for him to crinkle his nose at the thought of going to a bar or a club where all of that happens under one roof.

• After some coaxing however, he'll agree but mostly for your sake.

• He wants to see you happy and he knows that nights out for some fun and social interaction was healthy for Humans.

• Besides, he also saw this as an opportunity to study Humans and try to understand their behavior a little better.

• Santana will throw on some street clothes and follow you wherever you want to go that night; whether its near or far, big or small.

• When going to a bar he's more interested in the food there rather than the drink.

• In fact; you'll come to find that he LOVES Bar food.

• The waitress will barely turn her back for a second before the basket of nachos she just delivered him has suddenly ceased to exist and he's asking for more.

• With an appetite like that, the Bar staff asks him if he wants to try their challenge of eating a HUGE meal under a set amount of time. If he wins he gets the meal free and all the drinks you order tonight free, his next meal here free and his picture on the Bars wall of fame.

• He only agrees to the challenge because he likes the sound of free food.

• The food comes and Santana makes it on the wall of fame easily in record time. The Owner of the place is absolutely gobsmacked with the fact that Santana scarfed down an ENTIRE 10 pound burger in less than 2 minutes.

• Santana will stare at the menu of drinks for the longest time, mouthing out the names of drinks and brands curiously. He'll want you to explain him what everything is but he honestly won't know what he'll like.

• He absolutely doesn't like beer. Not at all.

• The first sip of the first glass given to him was promptly spit out. Santana's mouth twisted into a bitter knot, pushing the glass FAR away and shaking his head frantically to try and rid of the disgusting yeasty film left on his tongue.

• You'll have to order him something more appealing in taste if you want him to drink at all.

• You'll find that he comes to enjoy a more sweet and fruity tropical drink like a Piña colada.

• "How is it?" You ask, a smile tugging at your mouth when you notice a little gleam in his eye as he put the colourful drink to his lips. He definitely looked less miserable than he had a moment ago.

• "Hmm," a little pink tongue darted out to swipe along his upper lip, his thumb fiddling with the tiny umbrella sitting on the ridge of the glass. "sweet. Pleasing."

• Because of his newfound love for the sweet tropical tasting booze you might have to monitor how much he has to be on the safe side as you weren't sure whether Santana would handle intoxication well.

• However, if you decide to let go and have one too many Santana will put his arm around you and firmly tell you it's time to go Home.

• He doesn't really know the first thing about the care and feeding of a hungover Human but he'll do anything you ask of him.

• You need water? He's got two bottles ready for you. Head hurt? He'll sprint to the store for Ibuprofen for you. The sunlight in the window bothering you? He'll cover that window using his own body if he has to.

• You might just be surprised when he asks you if you and him could go to another bar soon for more good food and a couple more drinks...

[wienerbarnes]

Much Ado About Nothing (5/6)

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Word Count: 2,747

Warnings: none! wedding stuff? 

A/N: happy new year yall hope everyone had a safe one! das all imma say tho im keeping my mouth shut about 2021 i aint risking shit anyway enjoy this chapter :P

MAIN MASTERLIST | MUCH ADO MASTERLIST

For being given a week, the ballroom looks immaculate. Satin drapes and tablecloths of cream and white cover the room, gold and olive green accents strewn throughout. The handful of tables in the room have large centerpieces of small white flowers, thin branches, and delicate leaves, as well as a lace trim around the vase they rest in. A warm toned light makes the room look bigger than it is and the dancefloor welcoming for everyone.

The wedding guests include the team, of course, some of Sharon’s family that were able to make it in such short notice, and anyone’s dates were welcomed. Sam brought a date himself, Sharon extended the invitation to some agents she’d been training over the last few months, and she told you invite those who worked in the lab with you.

She insisted, in fact.

Sharon banished you and Nat to the ballroom, while she finished getting ready, wanting to have a few minutes by herself before the wedding started. You assume Steve felt similarly when you see Sam and Bucky enter the ballroom and merge together with the rest of the team. You linger by the bar, hoping to get a bit of liquid courage before the party starts, but to your dismay, the bar doesn’t open until after the ceremony.

You also don’t want to take a seat because you’ll be one of Sharon’s bridesmaids, along with Nat. You and her wear matching warm brown dresses with a slit on the side, tying in with the neutral and woodsy tones going on throughout the rest of the wedding. Sam and Bucky wear brown bow ties and you assume they’re taking the role of Steve’s groomsmen. You pray you don’t have to walk with Bucky.

As more and more people take their seats, you find Nat and meet the other boys at the back of the room.

“Sam already claimed me.” She tells you cheekily as she loops her arm through Sam’s bent elbow.

Of course he did. You sigh and begrudgingly loop your own arm through Bucky’s as he smirks. While the group of you wait for the music to start to indicate your time to begin walking, you take in the man standing next to you.

He smells crisp and clean, his cologne smelling fresh and flooding your senses with lavender, rosemary, and cedarwood. His bicep is ginormous in your hand and you can feel the warmth radiating off of him through his suit jacket that he wears. He cleans up really nicely. Not that you’ll tell him, but you’ll definitely be thinking about it for the rest of the night.

Bucky’s mind goes through a similar thought process. Your skin is shiny and smooth, and he imagines you applied lotion while getting ready with the other girls. Maybe there hints of glitter in whatever cream you use, because to him, it looks like you’re glowing. You smell like the sweetest of roses and juiciest of fruits, and you look good enough for him to take a bite. He won’t give you the satisfaction of a compliment - God knows the argument that would lead to - but he imprints this vision of you in his mind to remember.

Finally, Steve enters the ballroom and makes his way towards the front of the room and any few people left standing take their seats. As people settle, Steve adjusts his jacket and glances over the room to take in all of his loved ones in one room. He glances over to where John sits alongside Leila and Kennedy, the two other lab interns that work under you, he’s come to learn about. He briefly wonders what John is thinking about, if he thinks his plan worked, if he thinks Steve is going to cause a huge scene in front of everyone, accusing Sharon of cheating in some big explosion. He wonders what John’s reaction will be when he witnesses him marry the most beautiful woman in the world, kissing her to solidify their love.

He can’t wait.

Soon enough the music starts and Nat and Sam begin down the aisle, you and Bucky following after. For someone that has hated the idea of love for so long, walking down the aisle like this feels really great. You’re not sure if it's the anticipation for the bride, or the decorations, or the huge hunk of handsome soldier guiding you down to the front of the room, but it makes you feel tingly all over. Almost makes you want a wedding of your own. Almost.

As Bucky makes his way down the aisle with you on his arm, he meets Steve’s eye, who gives him a smirk that looks a lot like I told you so. He ignores it, though. He knows he’ll get picked on later, but for now, he enjoys having you so close to him. You’re close to him outside of the lab, outside of a mission, outside of an argument. You’re close to him, holding onto his arm like you’re his girl in a sweet silence. He can almost get used to this. Almost.

Once everyone’s in their place, the rest of the guests rise as the music changes and Sharon enters the ballroom. Her dress is beautiful; a lacy brassiere top to connect the flowing train, all of the silk following her walk, making her elegant and glowing. Her hair is lightly curled and there are a few white flowers pinned around the back of her head, matching the rest of the room.

The officiant reads everything they have to and Steve and Sharon share their vows, causing everyone in the room to shed a tear or two. Nat and Sam find it particularly amusing to see you and Bucky wipe a few tears as well, seeming to get foggy eyed in spite of their hatred for love. They’re too busy silently teasing their friends to notice the fume coming from John’s ears, realizing his plan didn’t work the way he wanted it to.

There’s still time, he thinks. Maybe Steve didn’t want to make a big, public fuss. Yeah, once everything is over, he’ll take her upstairs and they’ll talk and soon enough they’ll announce that they’re marriage is over! Shorter than the Kardashians.

Finally, Steve and Sharon kiss to seal their marriage, sharing their official first kiss as husband and wife. Cheers and clapping erupt in the room as the couple makes their way back down the aisle, Nat, Sam, you, and Bucky following after. The lights dim a bit and the bar opens as the music changes to encourage people to mingle and dance until the couple emerges once more.

“What’s the matter, don’t like weddings?” You tease John, coming up behind him, your voice making him jump from leaning against the bar the way he was.

“Uh - No, not really.” He says, turning to face you, feeling awkward as he talks to his boss after trying to sabotage her best friend’s wedding.

“They grow on you.” Bucky’s deep voice makes him jump once more as it comes behind him, forcing him to turn away from you and face him, staring at his towering stance.

“Uhm -” John stumbles as he realizes he’s cornered against the bar by you and Bucky.

“Did you really think you’d get away with it? I mean, you’re surrounded by spies and an artificial intelligence system that records everything in the tower.” Bucky tells him.

John’s eyes widen as they glance between you and Bucky, realizing where he went wrong in his plan. I should’ve figured out a way to hack F.R.I.D.A.Y.! Or at least get rid of any footage of what I did!

“Not to mention the fact that Steve and Sharon are too disgustingly in love with each other to even fall for the kind of charade you put on. In my lab, nonetheless,” You add, “Some kind of unfunny joke by an ex-lab intern.”

“Ex?” John confirms.

“Oh, yea. Leila and Kennedy, too. I don’t want to waste my time training and giving experience and advice to the kind of people that lie, play around, and cause mischief in a lab and in a tower where some of the most important and delicate information in the world is handled. If I wanted that, I’d have Barnes, here, as an intern.” You tell him.

“Hey, I thought we were on the same team here -” Bucky tries to interject, but you smack his arm to get him back into the focus of their conversation with John.

“Anyway,” Bucky continues, “Why don’t you do us the favor of getting out of here? We’ll tell Steve and Sharon that you’re sorry you weren’t feelin’ well and had to head out early. Unless, you’d like for me to get them and bring ‘em over here?” He slings an arm over John’s shoulder, leading him over to one of the exit doors, as John nods his head in agreement, accepting his defeat.

Once John has left and the wedding is officially safe again, Bucky meets you back at where you wait at the bar.

“Nice job, McGeek.” He tells you, leaning on the bar next to you as you turn to face him better.

“Could say the same to you. He looked real scared there at the end.” You giggle.

“He should be, he almost got Steve’s ass kicked by me when Sharon first told us the whole situation.” Bucky tells you, leaning just a bit closer to you.

The bartender comes over to them asking what they’d like to drink. “Whiskey, neat, please. How bout you, Geeky?” Bucky says.

“Vodka cran.” You order.

“Really? That’s your drink of choice?” Bucky teases.

“What? What’s wrong with it?”

“Well, I thought you’d pick a drink that’s actually good, is all.”

“And here I was revelling in the fact that this was the longest conversation we’ve had where we’re not at each other’s throats.” You tell him.

“Well -” Bucky’s cut off by the dimming of the lights and change in music as Sharon and Steve enter the room again to share their first dance.

His words are forgotten as he watches his best friend dance with his bride, the two of them looking happier than Bucky’s ever seen. Bucky feels a smile bloom on his own face as he watches on; he’s so happy for Steve. He knows this is all he’s ever wanted. The girl, the marriage, the house together, the kids in the future. The happy ending. And he’s happy that despite things - or people - trying to get in the way of that, Steve still got the happy ending he deserves.

He peeks over to see you have a similar smile, admiring the love shared between your best friend and his. He gets lost staring at you as the DJ is heard inviting anyone else to join the newlyweds on the dancefloor.

He asks before his brain can filter his mouth, “Do you want to dance?”

Your head snaps over at him, a surprised expression on your face, and Bucky prepares for you to make fun of him.

“Sure.” You tell him.

He doesn’t risk saying anything that might change your mind, only grabbing your hand softly and leading you to the dancefloor where other couples have begun to fill in. The slow music continues as his hands find their place on the curve of your waist and yours rest on the tops of his shoulders. He feels warmth and tingles flow from the placement of your hands through his suit jacket, down his arms, and through his entire body. He looks at you and how close your face is to his, quite enjoying having you so close in his arms like this.

“Do you remember what we were talking about last night?” She finally breaks the silence.

He hums in indication that he does and for her to continue, “So, you really don’t hate me or anything?” You ask.

“No. I don’t. Actually,” He chuckles humorlessly, “I know you like me.” He confesses.

Tension floods your body. How does he know?! “No, I don't! Not anymore than reasonable, I mean.” You deny.

Bucky’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise, his body still swaying with yours with the music, “Oh. Well, you have Steve and Sam fooled, then, because they, uh, had me convinced.” He tells you, trying to play off his incorrect assumption.

“Do you like me?” You ask, drawing yourself just a bit closer to him, his arms moving from your waist to the small of your back.

“Uh, no, no more than a friend, I mean.” Bucky lies.

“Oh. Well, you have Sharon and Nat fooled, as well.” You tell him.

The two of you chuckle softly with each other at the whole situation, an attempt to hide the disappointment in each of your chests at the thought of unrequited feelings. Bucky glances back up to meet your eyes once more, eyes flickering down to look at your lips, in time to see you take your bottom lip into your mouth with your teeth. He looks back up at your eyes to catch you staring at his own lips. When your eyes meet his again, it's as though the two of you have a silent understanding. An understanding that you were both lying, and an understanding that you both really want to kiss each other right now.

So he does. Bucky leans in seemingly at the same time you do and presses his lips against yours in a sweet yet fiery kiss. His hands push a little harder into your back to bring you closer and your hands move to touch his neck and cheek, ensuring that his face won’t leave yours anytime soon. Everyone in the room has since disappeared; there are no wedding guests, there are no decorations, there is no music, only you and Bucky.

His lips are soft, softer than you were expecting, and he tastes of peppermint and the sip of whiskey he had, all mixed with a taste that’s so him. His taste and his smell and the feel of his hands on your back and his chest against yours makes you want to melt to the ground in a puddle of mush. You can’t believe you waited so long to kiss him.

Your lips are plump and soft. Your lipstick is fruity but he can taste the sweetness of cranberry behind it and a sweetness that’s all you. You’re the rarest candy he’s ever tried and he’s not sure he’ll ever get enough of it. A part of his mind wants to ignore that they’re still in public, though it certainly doesn’t feel like it, and just kiss you silly for the rest of time.

The two of you finally pull away after what feels like forever and you both can’t help but lick at your own lips, savoring the taste of each other. Before either of you can say anything to follow what just happened, another voice interrupts, “About time.”

You both turn to see Tony and Pepper, her with an admiring smile and Tony with a shit-eating grin. The two of you feel warm as you realize the rest of your friends that occupy the dancefloor are also staring at the both of you. Nat smirks from her place in Bruce’s arms, Sam winks at Bucky over the shoulder of his date, and Sharon and Steve are almost on the verge of happy tears at the sight of their best friends finally getting to be happy with each other. Even Clint and his wife smile at the two of you.

“What are you guys looking at, huh? Never seen a guy and gal dance together?” Bucky barks, Brooklyn accent slipping out as he chooses to pretend none of them saw the kiss that you and him shared.

“Not you two.” Steve says.

“Oh, whatever! What are you guys, five years old?” Bucky asks only to be met with his friends giggling.

“Whatever. Make fun of us all you want. I don’t care.” You speak up, curling your hands around the back of Bucky’s neck.

He looks back at you to meet your kind eyes with a gentle smile. Their friends continue to tease on, but you and Bucky only have eyes for each other. He ignores them and chooses to kiss you again, already craving the taste of your lips on his and the feel of your body in his arms.

[lost-in-the-80s]

I’ve Never Seen You Here

Pairing: Axl Rose x Reader

Words: 2,889k

Summary: It's no secret that you and Axl desire each other, but what would happen if you met at a club? (smut)

A/N: This is my first smut, so sorry if it's shitty. 

Warnings: Mature content, swearing, and unprotected sex. (Use a condom, guys!) 

Tag list: @roger-taylors-car​ @ladieswttda​ add yourself to my tag list

It was a little past four on a Tuesday afternoon, you were behind the counter, with your back against it, fanning yourself with one of the menus, trying to get some relief from the hot summer weather in Los Angeles.

Your friend, Braeden stood in front of you, drying some glasses that had just been washed by you. 

The bell on the entry door ranged, announcing new customers at the cafe. 

You didn't mind looking who it was, you weren't really in the mood to deal with people now. You were just about to ask Braeden to take their orders when she spoke up.

"Your ginger is here" a smirk appearing on her lips. 

You turned around just in time to see him passing through the door. He nodded in your direction in a greeting way. It was your turn to smirk.

Forgetting completely about your previous annoyance, you stretched your pink 60s inspired dress and picked your small notepad, walking towards his table. 

He was there with his friends, all of them talking loudly about something that had happened on their way to the cafe. 

He looked so cool with his leather jacket and bandana. Smoking hot, you would dare to say. 

"Welcome to Flar's Cafe, what can I get you?" 

You started writing down their orders as the skinny brunette started telling you, but you couldn't not see the way the ginger looked you up and down. 

"Alright, I'll be right back."

Turning around, you walked back to the counter, feeling his gaze burn your back. 

Once you got their food you went back to the table, placing everything on it. 

"Anything else you might want?" You asked with a smile.

"That's all for today, sweetheart." The ginger answered with a grin. 

It was always like this. They started coming to the cafe a few months ago, every time the ginger would call you a nickname or smirk at you. You would smirk back, or ask what they wanted, looking right into his eyes, just for the pleasure to see the lust that spackled on them. 

The sexual tension between the two of you was so thick you could almost cut it with a knife. 

Sometimes you wanted to bluntly ask for his number, or write yours and hand it to him, but you never got the guts, since all his friends were around. 

You moved back to work, attending other tables, making coffee, cleaning the counter, but at every chance you got, you would look in his direction and sure enough, he would be looking at you. 

"You're gonna keep this mouse and cat game 'till when?" Braeden spoke up, making you jump startled. 

"What do you mean?" 

"Why don't you just ask him for his number?" 

"Because first: I'm working, that's not professional at all. Second: his friends are there, what if he says no and all of them start laughing at me?" 

"You're just overthinking it!" She said rolling her eyes. "If work is the problem, why don't you meet him somewhere else?" 

"As if it was easy to find him in the middle of L.A."

"I actually might know where he's gonna be on Friday…." She said with a smirk, leaning against the counter and raising her brows.

"Where!!??" You almost yelled with excitement, making some customers look in your direction. "Where?" You repeated in a much lower tone now.

"I-"

Before she could tell you, his friend with black fuzzy hair appeared behind the counter and interrupted her.

"25, right?" He asked, handing you their order form. 

You got the paper from between his fingers and looked at the numbers fastly, making the count. 

"Yes, 25." You said, putting the order form on the pile of the finished orders.

He handed you 30 bucks, telling you to keep the change. 

You thanked him and watched as they walked away.

"Where, Braeden?"

She laughed a little. "When I passed near their table before, they were talking about going to this club on Friday." 

"A club." You said thinking. "Do you think I should go?"

"Of course!" 

"Come with me!" 

"Hm, I don't know. I had plans for Friday." She looked at her nails.

You knew she was just waiting for you to beg her, she had nothing to do on Friday.

"Pleasee!! I'll let you choose my outfit!" You said hugging her from the side and making puppy eyes.

"Ok then." She said with a proud smile.

----

The week passed by quickly, it was Friday now, you were at Braeden's place getting ready for the club. 

She convinced you to curl your hair while she teased hers. You applied some natural makeup, while Braeden chose a red lipstick with a sparkling eyeshadow.  It wasn't a surprise though, Braeden has always been the "Go big or go home" type of girl. 

You two sang some Aerosmith song that played in the background, while you put on the final touches on your makeup. 

"Hold on, I'm gonna get the dresses." She said before running to her bedroom. 

She reappeared a few seconds later, holding a tight lime green dress and a tight black dress with some tule details. 

"This one is yours!" She said, handing you the black one. 

You matched your dress with some black high heels you had brought and she matched hers with a nude pair.

You two took a second to look at each other through the mirror. "We look fucking hot!" You said grinning.

"Hell yeah!" She said, high fiving you.

You two exited the apartment and walked for a good 15 minutes before you could hear the blasting music coming from the club, a huge line of people in front of it.

"Shit! Look at that line!" Braeden said, pointing with exasperation.

"Calm down, I'm gonna put us in."

Walking on the sidewalk, you stopped in front of a bald man at the door, with a clipboard in hands.

"Hi! Y/N Y/L/N" You said with a smile, trying to make your voice come out as smoothly as possible. 

He looked at the papers and then looked back "Sorry, not on the list." 

"What do you mean not on the list?" You said raising your voice. "I can't believe Matt forgot to put me on the list!" 

You looked back at Braeden "Do you believe it? Two years together and he fucking forgets to put me on the list!"

You moved on, complaining about how Matt had forgotten to put you on the list, even though there was no Matt at all.

The man at the door started to look worried about the attention you were calling. He got the clipboard fastly and then looked up. "Matthew Anderson, right?  I found him, you can come in!" He said, relief filling his voice. 

"Yeah! That's him! Thank you, dude!" You said touching slightly his shoulder, in a way to thank him, before walking inside the club.

Red neon lights filled the room, and a Motlëy Crüe song got to your ears. 

"Remind me to never go to a club without you." Braeden said laughing a little about your scene.

You laughed along and pointed to the bar. "Let's get something to drink." You shouted so that she could hear.

You both squeezed yourselves among the people dancing until you got to the bar, asking for two tequila shots. 

The barman put the drinks on the counter and you drank before putting the glasses down with a loud sound.

"Woah! I know you two!" You heard a man saying from beside Braeden. It was the tall blonde, one of the ginger's friends.

"Hi!" Braeden said smiling. 

"Are you girls having fun?" He asked with enthusiasm. 

"We just got here!" She shouted. 

"Wanna sit with us? We got a table." He shouted back. 

You two exchanged looks before nodding in his direction. 

He got five beers from the counter before telling you to follow him.

"Look who I found at the bar!" He said, catching the attention from the other men,  putting the beers on the table. "Girls, I'm Duff, these are Axl, Steven, Izzy and Slash." He said pointing to each one of them. 

So his name is Axl huh? You thought to yourself. 

Axl and Slash sat at the edges of the booth, while the other two took the back part. 

"I'm Braeden and this is Y/N!"

They greeted you two loudly and then asked you girls to take a seat. Watching as Axl and Slash opened up some space for you to sit. You sat beside Axl while Braeden and Duff sat beside Slash. 

Duff started some conversation with Braeden, which she gladly got involved with. You were paying attention to them when you heard someone whispering in your ear.

"I've never seen you here." It was Axl.

"It's my first time here, to be honest." 

He nodded. "It's nice seeing you without that pink dress." He said looking you up and down. 

You smirked in his direction, taking his beer bottle for a sip when he offered you. 

After a good 20 minutes, Duff came back with vodka shots, which made you all engage in conversation easier, talking about music and other stuff. 

After a while, Axl put his arm around your shoulder, looking at you, to see if you would ask him not to do it. But after seeing your smile, he knew it was okay. 

Another 30 minutes passed by, and another three shots of vodka with it. Def Leppard started playing and you and Braeden decided to go dance. 

You moved your body with the beat, swaying your hips and singing out loud. Your body started to get hot, and you looked at the table seeing Axl's predator gaze in your direction, making your core start heating too. 

Another song started playing, and that's when you saw the guys approaching you. You all started dancing together as good friends, but after a few minutes, you found yourself dancing suggestively around Axl, loving the way his eyes watched your hips. 

You decided to make a move and turned around, pressing yourself on him while still dancing, rubbing yourself against his body. His hands found your hips as you two swayed to the song together. 

After some minutes you started to feel a bulge forming in his pants, making a smirk crept your lips. That's when his hands moved to your waist and he turned you around, making you face him.

Your hands found the back of his neck and his hands went down to grab your butt. He leaned down and kissed you hungrily, making you moan slightly during the kiss. 

When you parted ways to catch your breath, you bit his bottom lip, seeing his eyes get dark with desire. 

He leaned down, near your ear and whispered. "You better stop doing this, doll, or you're gonna end up taking it to a new level." 

His voice was husky with desire, making you even wetter. 

"What if I want to take it to the new level?" You raised one of your brows. 

He smirked at you, kissing you again. 

"Bathroom?" He asked, still smirking. 

"Bathroom!" You confirmed. 

He grabbed your hand and started to lead you towards the bathroom, opening the door for you to enter first, before attacking your lips again. 

You two moved towards one of the bathroom booths while still kissing, closing the door and looking for the lock on it, in between hair tugs and muffled moans. 

Once the door was locked he pushed you against it, allowing you a few seconds of breath before his lips found yours again. 

His hands went to the back part of your thighs, telling you to jump, which you gladly did, wrapping your legs around his waist as his hands found your butt again, this time to support you. 

His mouth traveled from your lips to your jaw, before finally stopping at your neck. He started giving you sloppy kisses there, while he played with one of your boobs through your dress fabric. 

His fingers found your nipple, squeezing it slightly, making a quiet moan escape your lips. 

The sound made his member pulse inside his pants, making him bite your neck with voracity. You were sure there would be a mark there tomorrow. 

You moved one of your hands to his bulge, palming him through his pants, making a muffled moan escape his lips. 

You saw that as an incentive to slide your hand inside his leather pants. You palmed him gently, moving your hand up and down his length slowly. 

He groaned before kissing your lips again. One of his hands finding your waist and tugging at it with force.

You pulled apart to breathe and his hand found your core, his fingers touched you through your panties and he smirked, feeling your wetness.

He put your panties to the side, and his index finger traveled between your folds, getting wet with your liquids before entering you slowly. 

You moaned again, giving him the approval he needed to slide another finger inside of you. 

"So wet already, baby." The nickname made you moan one more time, as you closed your eyes and enjoyed the feeling.

You got so caught in the moment, that you had to take your hand out of his pants to put it on his shoulder for support, not sure if you could trust your legs anymore. 

He removed his fingers from you, making you whine at the loss of sensation. His fingers traveled up to his lips, where he sucked them looking at your eyes. 

His green eyes were almost brown now, and his pupils were dilated with lust. He kissed you one more time, letting you taste yourself on his tongue.

He pushed your dress up to your waist and unbolted his pants, moving his hands up and down his length a few times.

"Are you sure?" He asked, gaze burning your eyes.

"Yes!" You said kissing him again.

That's when you felt his member collecting some of your juices before sliding slowly inside of you, making you moan slightly. 

He waited for a while, for you to get adjusted, before he started to thrust at a slow pace in and out of you. 

You both moaned and your hands found his hair, pulling it. He used one of his hands to support you and the other he put on the door behind you, to help him get some stability to thrust harder inside of you.

And that's exactly what he did, his once calm thrusts became fast and hard and you were sure anyone in the bathroom would be able to hear your bodies colliding against each other.

He straightened up a little, which gave him a whole new angle that hit your sweet spot instantly, making you let go of a loud moan. 

"Yes! Right there" you said between moans, as he promptly obeyed. Hitting your core ever harder. 

After a few minutes you both were moaning loud enough to fill the whole bathroom, your bodies were sweating and his thrusts were becoming sloppier.

The constant hit against your sweet spot made your walls start to clench around him, making him groan huskily. 

"Oh my god! I'm gonna cum!" You announced, feeling the pleasure take control of your body. Your eyes closed and your head fell back, hitting the door, while a series of moans and incoherent words left your mouth. 

"Yes, baby, cum for me!" Axl said, using his thumb to circle your clit, making you moan even louder. "Come on, doll, cum for me!"

His thrusts became faster and you felt a wave of pure pleasure take over your body as you hit your climax, moaning his name. 

He thrust inside of you a couple more times before he came too, biting on your shoulder to muffle his loud groan. Shots of his cum filling you, while you moaned with the sensibility of your core after your orgasm. 

He held you for a few more seconds before he placed you gently on the floor, your hands still on his shoulders, to make sure you weren't gonna fall. 

"Fuck" you said, adjusting your hair. 

"Yeah, fuck!" He said, laughing a little, while he adjusted his pants again. 

You two opened the door, glad to see that there wasn't anyone else in the bathroom. 

You moved towards the sink, looking at your reflection in the mirror. Your hair was a mess, your makeup all smudged, your neck full of red marks that you were sure would become bruises soon. You quickly fixed your dress and your hair, trying to fix your makeup in the best way you could, while he fixed his hair too. 

"So…" He cleared his throat. "Will I see you again?... Out of the cafe, I mean." 

You smiled at him a little, before looking for a pen in your purse. "Maybe…" you smiled suggestively now. "Why don't you call me someday and we find out?" 

You grabbed his hand, writing down your number on it. 

"You can be sure I'll call you, princess." He said, smirking.

"Are you ready?" 

You nodded and so the two of you left the bathroom and went back to your previous table, laughing at the shouts and whistling coming from your friends. 

[dripkingpetey]

give me a chance-j.virtanen

a/n:this took me way longer than it should’ve but I've just had no motivation for writing lol (watch me not post another fic for the longest time-)

1910 words

“Y/n, I bet you’re the only girl that’s ever turned Jake down.” Brock said to you over the loud sounds of people talking in the background of the bar and he wasn’t wrong, any girl who Jake has every approached or even talked to would be falling in love with him right away but not you. You always used the excuses like “I’ve known him for too long, it would be weird.” Or “I just don’t want anything with anyone right now,” But all of that just made Jake want you more.

“He’s not wrong.” The young swede sitting to the left of you chimed in. “I’ve never seen anyone turn Jake down, you must have some anti Jake gene in you or something.” The three of you bursted laughing at Elias’ words before you took a sip of your drink. “I don’t know, I want something serious and I know Jake can’t give me that.” You said quietly but Brock and Elias definitely heard you as they exchanged a look to each other.

Jake came back to the area that all of you were seated and nuzzled his face into your shoulder, clearly very drunk. “Hey,” He grinned while slowly closing his eyes as he couldn’t help but drift off to sleep.

“Are you sure you guys don’t have something going on? Secretly fucking or friends with benefits?” Brock joked quietly, looking at you rubbing Jakes back and comforting him. “Seems like you and petey are the ones that are secretly fucking.” You commented at Brocks words and his face immediately turned red. 

By the next morning you had completely forgotten what you had said last night, the only thing occupying your head was the pounding headache from your hangover. “Hey,” Jake grinned while taking a sip of water in his kitchen and that was when you realized you had fallen asleep on his couch last night. “You’re creepy, were you watching me sleep?” You joked and threw a pillow at him. “For your information, I was not. I actually need to get ready for practice.”

“Do you mind taking care of Bruce and Donny today? I forgot they had to go to the groomers.” Jake asked nicely knowing you would say yes. “Yes, but only if you hangout with me tonight.” You smiled at him as he nodded. “Count me in, okay I really gotta go get ready.” Jake pulled you in for a hug and a light kiss on the head before he rushed to get ready, you waited till Jake left to get ready for the day. You had clothes there from spending time over there so much so you grabbed a pair of leggings and your favourite hoodie of Jakes before you hopped in the shower.

You ran some errands before you had to pick the dogs up from the groomer, you sat them in the backseat before taking a photo of you and the dogs to show Jake you had picked them up.

i got the boys :) 

*image attachment*

Is that my sweater?

maybeee

I’ll be home soon, should I pick up dinner?

nope, i already planned what we’re doing for dinner

You started putting away the groceries and grabbed the ingredients you needed for dinner, you decided to make burgers and salad for dinner since you knew it was Jakes favourite meal and he was dying to try out the new grill he purchased the other day. 

“Hey.” Jake whispered right by your ear which made you jump while preparing the salad. “I already knew you were here,” “Yeah but you still got scared.” Jake chuckled at you and sat on the stool for the kitchen island. “What’s for dinner?” Jake raised an eyebrow at you before you pulled out the hamburger patties. “Burgers, you get to use the grill that you’ve been dying to use.” You smiled as Jakes eyes immediately lit up. “Oh god, you are a literal man-child.” You sighed with a chuckle.

-

Since Jake was gone on a road trip, you went over to his house to take care of his dogs and the house, it was the second game of their road trip when Jake got his injury.

You couldn’t help but sigh as you saw Jake get hit, he was against Dallas when Jamie Oleksiak collided with Jake. But the sigh quickly turned into fear when Jake was struggling to get up. “Oh shit.” You mumbled to yourself as the refs whistled and the trainer went on to help him. Jake slipped a little but got off the ice quickly with the help of Bo and Brock.

You watched the replays of the hit that they were showing on tv before you texted Jake.

i watched the game, call me when you can please.

You were half asleep when Jake called you, you quickly woke up from the call and answered.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” Your voice was sleepy and Jake could tell. “Hey, I’m okay. Sorry did I wake you up?” Hearing Jakes voice made you calm down. “No, no its okay.” You mumbled, half asleep which made Jake chuckle. “I’ll be home tomorrow.” Jake quickly realized you weren’t listening when he heard your light little snores. “I love you” He whispered before hanging up to fall asleep as well.

You woke up early next morning and cleaned up around the house and  waited for him to come home. “Oh god I look like a mess.” You mumbled as you saw a glimpse of yourself in the window.  You quickly tried to fix your hair and outfit but quickly gave up and changed into a set of Jakes clothes along with a messy bun.

“Hey.” Jake said cheekily as he flopped himself on top on you, wincing a little from his injury. “Hey,” You mumbled quietly, now realizing you were asleep. “You’re home.” You grinned. “Would be better if it was our home though,” Jake winked as he whispered into your ear. “Jake,” You sighed as he kissed your cheek. “Y/n, just kiddinggg.” Jake said as he dragged on the ‘g’ and sat up on the couch.

“How was your trip? Well other than the injury.” You asked but quickly realized it wasn’t a good question to ask him. “The trip was pretty fun, but did you know the doctor actually said that cuddling will help out my concussion and my injuries?” Jake smirked as you looked up at him. “Oh really?” You teased, moving your body onto Jakes and burying your face in his chest while you traced the tattoos on his arm with your fingers. “Yeah, just like that.” Jake chuckled and rested his face into the top of your head.

-

Jake didn’t want anything super special for his birthday this year, just a little party at his place with close friends, which was surprising since Jake was a party guy.

“Morning, birthday boy.” You grinned over FaceTime to a half asleep Jake. “Hey.” Jake mumbled, pulling his blanket up to his head. “What do you want?”

“Woah, woah. I’m just trying to be nice and wish you a happy birthday,” You defended yourself as Jake laughed. “I’m just kidding, thank you y/n.”

You ended the call shortly after to go get ready for the day since Jake kept on whining about wanting to go back to sleep. 

You snuck into Jakes house with your spare key, setting down the breakfast you had picked up from his favourite cafe. You tippy toed quietly up the stairs to Jakes room, trying not to wake him up yet. Sneaking into Jakes bed and cuddling up behind him. “Hey.” You mumbled against Jakes neck before giving him a kiss there. “Y/n?” Jake mumbled, chuckling a little. “How did you get in?” 

“I have your key dummy.” You laughed, starting to play with Jakes hair and you knew he loved it. “I brought you your favourite breakfast.” You smiled as you saw the smile grow on Jakes face as well. “You did?” “Yep its in the kitchen,” Jake jumped up out go bed and headed downstairs as you sighed and laid in his bed for awhile.

Before you knew it, you had dozed off to sleep. Groaning as you woke up to the loud music playing downstairs combined with the sound of people talking. Making sure you looked presentable and awake before going downstairs.

“Hey, you’re up!” Jake exclaimed as you walked downstairs and greeted everyone, realizing that Jake was already very drunk. “The drinks are in the kitchen if you want one.” Jake grinned with his visible rosy cheeks. “Thank you.” You smiled at Jake and made your way to the kitchen, grabbing a red bull and taking a big sip so you can pour way too much vodka in the can than needed. 

Completely tipsy and almost drunk, you found yourself sitting on top of Jakes lap with your face inches away from his. Jake softly but his hand on your cheek and you leaned in as well, realizing what you were doing and pulled away.

“Why won’t you give me a chance?” Jake whined at you pulling your face away from his. “Jake.” You mumbled quietly. “No, don’t give me that ‘Jake’ bullshit. Give me a reason.” “Its not that I don’t feel the same way about you, I do, but I don’t know what you want out of this and I want something serious, not one of your casual Friday night hookups, I want an actual relationship but I don’t think you want that.” You finally let it all out, the things you’ve been whining about to Brock and Elias, he finally knew. 

It took Jake a moment to process what you said especially under the influence, but he tried to sober up before he could say anything else. “Just give me a chance y/n, I promise I can be the serious relationship you want.” You sighed at his words, knowing you needed another sip of alcohol before you could do anything else. “Tell me that in the morning Jake, when you’re sober.” You stood up and left the living room so you didn’t have to see the disappointed look on Jakes face, finding yourself in his bedroom and changing into Jakes clothes so you could drift off to sleep. 

You woke up to Jake wanting to talk about last night immediately but you somehow successfully persuaded him to let you wake up and have a cup of coffee.“I know I haven’t had the best reputation with long-term relationships but I wanna try, with you. So just please, can we work this out?” Jake said quietly, he’s never had to do stuff like this before and you could tell he was taking it seriously. “You know how this is gonna end if it doesn’t go well right? I need you and I can’t lose you.” You said quietly, afraid to make any eye contact with him because you were tearing up at the thought of losing him.

“Then I won’t let it go bad.” Jake sat closer to you and tucked the loose strands of your hair behind your ear and he noticed the tears. 

“You promise?” You mumbled, looking up at him. “I promise y/n.” Jake said while smiling lightly at you before you pressed your lips onto his and you could’ve sworn the kiss was out of a movie, it was perfect.

[officialwittek]

pt. 2

*gif is not mine* 

word count: 1,987 

“SAGE” a voice yells, my eyes shoot open and I fall out of the bed, David laughs loudly holding his vlog camera

“Fuck you” I groan, standing up I notice I was changed and all my makeup was taken off

“Wow I was so productive even while drunk, I even took my makeup off bitches” I say, collecting my things off the floor and plugging my phone into the charger

“Nah, it was Jeff. You passed out after taking shots with Zane and Ilya. So he carried you into Natalie’s room and took care of you before he left” David explained, tucking his camera under his arm

“Oh nice, where’s Natalie?” I ask, putting on some shorts and walking to the kitchen with David

“She went to get coffee for everyone” He says, I laugh quietly seeing all of our friends passed out on the floor or the couch

“I guess I’ll make breakfast. Then I’ll help clean after we eat” I say, David nods and follows me to the kitchen

I grab some eggs, bacon, and pancake mix and start making breakfast for everyone. I notice Jeff and Todd aren’t here and assume they went to work out so I make extra food just in case they come by after. I shoot Jeff a text and ask him but I just get left on read. Weird. I pout a little and David suddenly takes my phone.

“Why did Jeff leave you on read?” He asks, I shrug and David takes out his own phone and texts him and of course gets an immediate response

“Interesting, whatever. I ain’t tripping ‘bout no hoe” I say, spooning the scrambled eggs into a big bowl

After I finished making breakfast, Natalie walks in with the coffee, Todd helping her carry everything. Our friends wake up one by one and join us in the kitchen

“Sage, baby marry me” Zane says, I laugh and take everyones empty plates and put them in the dishwasher

“Baby.. you couldn’t pay me enough money” I reply, our group laughing even harder

I wash the dishes while Matt helps me put them away. He also offers to help me clean the rest of the house. I take the soiled couch blankets and throw them in the wash while Matt takes the trash out. I grab the empty beer cans, solo cups, and hard liquor bottles and take them to the recycling and trash. After about an hour we had David’s house looking as nice as possible. I say bye to David and Natalie before Matt and I head our separate ways for the afternoon.

I finally get home and take a shower. Cleaning David’s house had me in the mood to be productive and Carly was probably with Erin I open our curtains and play some music over the speakers. Quietly singing to myself I take my laundry and start separating the loads before throwing the first one in. I walk to the kitchen and start cleaning out our fridge. Expired foods, old take out, nasty old fruits and veggies. After that I compile a grocery list and send a quick text to Carly to see if she needs anything, she sends me a handful of items and tells me to let her know how much she should PayPal me. I wash the dishes and put everything in their respected cabinets. After a few hours of cleaning and washing laundry, I get dressed to run errands.

I choose some brown patchwork jeans, a white tank top, a chocolate brown oversized zip up jacket with my white Air Force ones. I throw my hair in a ponytail and text Jeff.

Sage: Hi bub, ik you left me on read, but do you want to run errands with me?

Jeff: nah i’m good.

I sigh in annoyance and shove my phone in my purse. I grab my keys and walk down to the parking lot. I get a text from Corinna and Natalie asking if they can tag along with me since they’re bored and I agree, the three of us meeting at David’s house. After they pile into my Honda Civic and we go to the grocery store.

“So.. what’s got you all annoyed?” Corinna asks, I realize my eyebrows have been furrowed the whole time

“Jeff keeps leaving me on read or he’s being dry. Even at breakfast he didn’t even acknowledge me. I mean what the fuck. I would never ever do that to him. The fuck is his problem” I whine, grabbing a carton of oat milk

“Well you did kiss him last night and you haven’t said anything” Nat points out, my eyes widen and my jaws go slack, the two girls giggle at my expression  

“I k-kissed him? I mean shit go me, but now I feel like an asshole” I ask, turning to them and I sigh

“I’m never drinking again” I reply, making them laugh. After a bit more shopping we all go to pay for our stuff.

We stop by my apartment and they help me put the groceries away. We all go back to Dave’s house and hang out for a bit. I start editing some pictures I took for my instagram. While editing Todd, Jeff, Zane, Carly, and Erin walk in. They all come up to me and give me a hug, well except a certain someone. I’ll admit I feel like an asshole about not saying anything but I didn’t know it pissed him off that much. I text and ask if we can talk in the studio and he leaves me on read right in front of my eyes.

I roll my eyes and just sit at the kitchen island alone. Mindlessly scrolling through my phone as I hear some people approaching me. I turn and see Mariah, Carly, and Erin. They immediately knew something was up, my eyebrows were furrowed so we walk outside to my car.

“It’s fucking Jeff. So Nat and Corinna told me what happened last night and I obviously felt bad. So I texted Jeff about five minutes and asked him if we could talk in the podcast studio for a bit and he left me on read. He probably hates me now. He’s been ignoring me all day” I cry, Mariah rubs my shoulder to help console me

“I’m not going out with you guys tonight. I think I’m just going to stay home” I say, the three of them nod

“Well then all the girls are coming over tonight. I hate seeing princess peach being sad” Mariah says, princess peach is her nickname for me since I love anything to do with peaches and everyone treats me like a princess since I’m the youngest member

“Finee, bring wine and I’ll make pasta” I say, finally letting a small smile appear as we head back to the house

“Where the fuck did you guys go?” Heath asks, wrapping his arms around Mariah as I pretend to throw up

“We went to make out real quick” I retort, walking over to collect my things

“Nat, Corinna let’s go babes” I call, they excitedly grab their things and we hop in Nat’s Mercedes

“Oh c’mon guys” Todd says, but Carly promptly stops the rest from coming

“No we’re having a girl’s night. Sage isn’t feeling well, no boys allowed. Especially Jeff” she says, mumbling the last part so only the girls could hear and we let out giggles

“Fuck men” I yell, closing Nat’s door as we head to my place with Carly

Nat drops us off while her, Mariah, and Corinna get some alcohol. I grab the ingredients from the pantry and fridge. I decide to make a simple pasta with garlic, cherry tomatoes and basil. While I was cooking the other girls come back and we all gather in the kitchen. Talking about everything and anything, Nat starts snapping pictures on a disposable camera. After a few minutes the food was ready and we all gathered in our living room to watch some movies. After some bickering we all decide on Always Be My Maybe.

“T-that was so good” I cry, heavy tears streaming down my face, I look and see them all with tears in their eyes

“I hate being single” I whine, grabbing a pillow and crying into it and the others start laughing at me

“Sure sure” Corinna says, taking all of our plates to the sink. After countless bottles of wine we started dipping into the vodka. Natalie decides to stay sober for tonight  since she’ll probably have to take everyone else home

“Wait hold on David’s calling” Natalie says, I turn the music down and sit there nursing my vodka bottle and another bottle of sparkling pink lemonade

“Yea I’m not sure Sage is in any shape to go anywhere” She comments with a laugh, watching Corinna take the bottle and pour more vodka in my mouth

“Uhm I don’t know, let me talk to her” Nat says, her smile falling as she covers the mic with her hand

“Is it cool if the boys come here? They’re tired of staying at David’s and he needs drunk Sage content” She asks, I look at the rest of the girls and sigh

“I guess” I reply, Natalie purses her lips before replying

“No, we said it was girl’s night. You can get drunk Sage content any day of the week” She says, soon there’s some jiggling by our door as Natalie and Carly quickly run to the door and lock the door with the latch above the handle

“David get the fuck out of here” Natalie yells, stopping them from kicking our door down

“It’s ok I guess, just let them in” I reply, getting off the floor and unlocking it, quickly  walking to my balcony and Erin locks the door behind me, knowing I should have some alone time

I play some music on my phone and just sip the vodka in my hand. I take a hit from my puff bar, just enjoying the cool breeze on my skin. I let some tears fall down, thoughts invade my head. Maybe Jeff is just over how clingy I am? Is he tired of being friends with me? I sigh and sink deeper into my chair. I jump when I hear a knock, I quickly wipe the tears off my face and turn. I’m greeted by that dumb face and nod.

“Hey” I said, taking a hit of my puff, watching the vapor disappear as Jeff take a seat next to me

“Hi..” he replies softly, I can feel him burning holes in the side of my head

“Carly said I should probably come talk to you” he continued, I roll my eyes and collect my things

“Thing is, I don’t really want to talk to you anymore ok? This is me, leaving your dumbass on read in real life” I slur, putting my phone in my pants as I reach the door he grabs my wrist

“Please, I know you’re mad and I don’t really know why” Jeff replies, I scoff and set my things back down

“You ignore me all day, LEAVE ME ON READ WHILE I’M TEN FUCKING FEET BEHIND YOU, over a fucking drunk kiss for the vlog. Why would I be mad? You asshole” I yell, finally getting someone to open the door and I storm back in, sitting in the kitchen with the girls

“I DOn’T ReaLlY kNoW WhY You’Re MAd. The fucking NERVE of him” I rant, Nat pats my back as the girls and I talk on the kitchen floor

After another hour everyone leaves and I get ready for bed. Sure, I could’ve actually talked to him and I really was until he asked why I’m mad. I mean what the fuck? Whatever, I set my alarm and slip off into a peaceful sleep.

[boop-le-snoot]

PARTY FAVOURS I CHAPTER 9

As promised, two chapters in one day! HBD to this trash rabbit. I just get thirstier with age.

Rating: Explicit.

‼️TW: Reader is EIGHTEEN! Recreational drug use, smoking and alcohol consumption, deeply internalised self-loathing, very questionable moral standards. Daddy kink taken half-seriously. BDSM themes in later chapters - explicit content will come with it's own TWs. FIRST PERSON POV. DRUG USE IN THIS CHAPTER. Just generally an uncomfortable vibe, thread carefully.

Summary: You're Peter's classmate, a child of rich and famous but uncaring parents. Getting paired up for a lengthy project with the boy was an interesting turn of events and you don't know whether to feel blessed or cursed when you develop, seemingly, a perfectly normal, harmless crush on Tony Stark. Fueled by feelings of inadequacy and boredom, your life spirals out of control - and you're lucky your newfound friends are there to pick up the pieces even if you cannot find it in yourself to believe these amazing human (and not so human) beings voluntarily give you more than a fleeting glance and an offhanded thought. And they brought cake!

A/N: Ooh, boy. This is a whole mess. Angst. [insert drugs owl meme]. Steve doesn't pass the vibe check yet again, stupid old man. Bruce + Tony be like: I CAN'T GET NO SLEEP CUZ OF Y'ALL.

My beta, whomst I love more than cake - @miscmarvelwritings . She's so beautiful though. And so smart. Wow.

The strobe lights pulsated to the rhythm of the music, bodies swaying, gyrating to the tune. The club was banging this time of night, people were living it up like there was no tomorrow. For me, in the VIP zone it was quieter, calmer, but no less exciting. The atmosphere here was distinctly different from the one on the main floor.

It was hard to wallow in misery even if it only took me an hour to stop resisting the gratuitous amounts of white powder on the silver platters. "It's better when you're there to watch them, they'll do it anyway but at least you can know that they're getting the good stuff!" My idiot father proudly announced, looking at me snorting a line through a rolled up hundred dollar bill.

Whiskey and vodka wasn't doing it for me. It made me feel low and Dad, being Dad, of course noticed it and immediately called a guy who knew a guy and suddenly all of his friends and their baby-faced companions had white under their noses. Cash flew like autumn leaves.

As I went out to the main dance floor to get a closer look at Billie Eilish in all of her edgy, beautiful self, the drug hit me like an avalanche. No trace of the grogginess or the mortification that had hitched a ride on me from Stark tower. I danced and sang and saw dad smiling at me in approval, his equally high and important friends all wearing identically predatory smirks. They were good at spotting the obvious - beauty, talent, money. I had no qualms about the fact that dad was off bragging about my close relationship with Tony. If my father was feeling particularly bold, he'd be telling them he knew and encouraged it all along, his buddies pretending to believe the white lie in turn.

I had exchanged my pants and sneakers in favour of a skirt and fishnets with high heels combo, a decidedly inappropriate attire for a daughter having a family night with her father but he insisted I dress trendy. I loved my dad, I really did, and I knew he meant well - I'd definitely be out of place amongst these TVscreen worthy people in my jeans and sneakers but...Tony was one of those people, and he had never ever said anything bad about the way I dress. Even when I obviously and purposely put on obscene clothing just to get a rise out of someone.Tony just smiled and played along.

Tony Stark was the heartless asshole here? Really, press? Really, haters?

"Standing there, killing time, can't commit to anything but a crime..." I sang along quietly as I hurried back to the VIP area. My dad was standing up and so were a couple of his buddies. "Where's ya goin'?" I asked, taking a seat.

"Be right back baby girl, if you find better company then go on without us," Dad winked, throwing a totally nasty glance at one of the girls. She was not much older than me but her body was stick thin and bolt-ons and Botox were her two best friends. She gave me a dirty look and I returned it, extending a waiting hand towards my dad. He chuckled, depositing a neatly rolled stack of hundreds into my palm.

"Dad, I want a new purse," I whined, just a tad. Just to see the girl's eyes go wide with acrid envy. Dutifully, another couple of stacks landed in my palm without any objections and the company retreated towards the back door.

I sighed.

Fiddled with the straw of my drink a bit, contemplating my options. I could always ditch this party and go somewhere more active, somewhere with better music and kinder people.

"Ay, baby girl, you wanna party with us?" A tall, handsome man from dad's previous company approached me. "We'll have some fun." He maintained a respectful distance but the intentions were clear.

"Nope," I popped the sound, not even sparing him a glance. A few lines of cocaine stared at me from the table beckoning with a better high, a stronger sense of euphoria, confidence and energy to dance, to sing, to be happy. I picked up one of the discarded banknotes, quickly rolling it by a sheer force of habit and cleaning up the tray. One line.

"Holy shit, is that..."

Two lines.

"The fuck?!" I recognised that voice. I have been hearing it every day in the labs, I've been hearing it in my dreams.

Tony was gaping at me, in front of me.

"Hey, Tony. Fancy seeing you here." Any other time, I'd be cringing at my lame greeting but I was feeling way too good to care about trivial things like being clever or being appropriate.

"I was looking...for you," He slowly said, putting a single finger on the tray with the last line of coke and pulling it out of my reach.

"That's funny," I snorted, hastily wiping at my nose to cover the tracks of my very bad, very immoral, very illegal activities.

"It's not, Princess, it's not funny at all," He frowned. "C'mon, we're leaving." And extended his hand. I decided to follow along - there was nothing for me to do at this club anyway, the music was lame and the people were stuck-up.

"I look like a prostitute, Tony, I'll take the back door," I attempted to pull him towards the aforementioned but he didn't budge, just stared straight ahead and towed me along like he was wearing one of his iron suits under the stylish jeans and tee get-up.

He stopped in front of the exit, giving me a critical once over. Wiped my face, again, brushed my hair back. Gave me his shades - I dutifully put them on, figuring the manic look in my eyes was anything but attractive right now. "Jesus Christ, Princess," He sounded desperate. "You're beautiful, don't you fucking worry."

And we made our exit, arm in arm, me trying not to stumble in my high heels, Tony being my rock, my solid foundation. In other words, I was hanging onto him for dear life trying not to fall over and give a reason for a sneaking paparazzi to make a scandalous headline.

"You're doing great, Princess," Tony helped me into his Tesla, slamming the door behind me and hurrying towards the driver's door. I managed to unclasp and kick off my shoes, curling up comfortably into the passenger's seat.

I watched the man as he started the engine and watched him wrestle with whatever personal demons that tormented him as he peeled off and raced into the Friday night city.

"What in the everlasting fuck..." He started, stopping abruptly mid-sentence. "How did you even get in there?"

"I came with dad. He literally ditched me to fuck some whore, like, twenty minutes before you showed up." I shrugged, eyeing the modified panel of the car. It was very obviously Tony's own design. I wondered if he could introduce me to Elon Musk someday.

"What the fuck? And correct me if I didn't hear you clearly," Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. "Your father took it upon himself to drag you to a club, get you drunk, gave you cocaine and fucked off with some groupies?"

"Yah, that's about it. My dad is all about cocaine and whores, the more the better," I replied, leaning in to take a closer look at the car's panel. "Hey, could, like, introduce me to Elon Musk someday? That would be fuckin' awesome."

Tony went eerily quiet, I saw his knuckles on the steering wheel go white. Vague expletives were muttered under his breath. "I'm guessing you're good on sleep?" He finally asked through gritted teeth.

"Sleep? Don't know her," I laughed. "I wanna dance, Tony."

"Of course you do, Princess." His smile was tired and forced and full of pity. "You know, I don't think I'll be able to sleep now, either," He admitted, taking a sharp left. "How about we get some McDonald's and camp out in my lab?"

"Sure, whatever," Not like I had much choice in the matter. What I really craved was a good, long, hard fuck (by Tony himself preferably) but if science calls... I have no choice but to comply. "Get me two Big Macs," I demanded least he try to joke and get me a Happy Meal or some shit.

He did get me the food without any usual grumbling. I didn't like this Tony. Tired Tony, sad Tony, angry Tony. Wrong Tony.

"Huh?" He said and I realized I'd said the last part out loud.

"I don't like a sad Tony,” I said. "It's the wrong kind. Sassy, snarky and perpetually caffeinated Tony is the best Tony. The only proper kind, in fact." I stated with seriousness, shoes dangling from one hand and my McDonald's in the other. Man, I have been seeing more and more of this god-damned elevator recently.

"You're high as a kite, darling," He chuckled then, a real laugh.

"Who's high?" Bruce's voice came from the kitchen.

In a state of blind panic, I jumped behind Tony. "Not me."

Tony palmed his face.

Steve came over from the fridge, leaving the rummaging to Bucky. He took one look at me and suddenly I felt small, insignificant like an ant. I didn't like it much. "Holy hell, the fuck happened? Tony, explain." The Captain demanded, giving me the world's biggest stink eye.

"It's her piece of shit of a father, dragged her off to some night club and left her hanging with his buddies, fucking off god knows where. It's not her fault so lay the fuck off, Rogers, with your self-righteousness," Tony exploded all over Steve, the pent up frustration rearing it's ugly head.

I mustered enough courage to tiptoe around the dick measuring contest to sit at the counter. My appetite was gone and my burgers were turning colder and soggier with every passing second. Just like my life.

"Hey, Princess," Bruce's gentle voice halted my train of thought. He approached me carefully, ignoring the men behind me in favour of simply wrapping me up in a quiet, comfortable hug. "You feel alright? Want some water?"

"Nu-uh," I mumbled, unwilling to part ways with the warmth of this embrace.

"... Steve, I found her snorting miles of coke all by herself while an some jackass was waiting for her to be even more out of it. It's rare that I say this but I had literally zero words." Tony punctuated his words by tapping his fist against the wall multiple times.

Bruce tightened his hold on me, a sudden influx of strength accompanied by a quiet, low growl in his throat.

I felt the sudden need to clarify the situation. "Tony, chill. It takes me a lot more to be out of it, I'm fucking coherent and I'm talking sensibly. It's not my first rodeo."

Apparently I'd gone and said the wrong thing because all the men in the room were suddenly growling. I even totally forgot about Bucky who had the uncanny ability to exist in a room without making absolutely any sort of noise.

"The fuck do you even mean by that, Princess?" Tony screeched, probably already knowing that answer.

"From one rich kid to another, you should damn well fuckin' know," I spat, unwilling to admit my misery.

He sighed, audibly deflating behind me. I refused to listen to him, refused to be humiliated and exposed like that for my perfectly human desire to be happy. To not be a disappointment, to not be disappointed in everything and everyone. Bruce was nice and kind and warm and selfless but even he couldn't love me the way I wanted to be loved. Cherished, taken care of. All that mushy stuff. I was selfish, so I snuggled in closer to him, muting the world around me, replacing it with the smell and feel of him.

Cocaine made it a whole lot easier to imagine. Maybe that's why it was so addictive.

"Guys, calm down, you're stressing everyone out," Bruce rumbled quietly. I loved the way his deep voice seemed to reverb throughout his chest.

"Get me a cup of coffee, would you, Buckaroo?" Tony sighed again. I heard the sound of him slurping at his coffee. I heard Bucky's metal arm clunk against something equally metallic before the supersoldiers bid everyone good night and walked off.

Only then I removed my face from Bruce enough to take a good look at Tony. He was eyeing me, too.

"We have a caffeinated Tony," I said, softly. "Now we just need some science to have a happy Tony."

He smiled but it came out watery. He wanted to say something but choked on his words. "C'mere," He finally said, turning in his chair and opening his arms.

I unashamedly made grabby hands, the universal gesture for ‘I want, gimme’, and Bruce delightfully deposited me into Tony's waiting arms. It was like my birthday and Christmas came out all at once. Tony's embrace was warm, like Bruce's, but tinted with an unexpected familiarity. He smelled like motor oil and fancy cologne. It was heavenly.

"You keeping tabs on me, huh? Coffee, science and sass? That's your recipe for happiness?" The engineer asked me, a seriousness that didn't match the joking tone of the conversation at all.

"I think I got you figured out. Peter, too, is important for happiness. But in controlled amounts," I said, giving it a careful thought.

Tony chuckled, sounding a little bit shocked. "What about you?" He said after a brief moment of silence passed, interrupted only by Bruce's tea kettle coming to a slow boil.

"I don't think you need me for happiness," I said, meaning it. "But let's be honest, I'm a nice addition."

He stilled under me, briefly. Bruce cleared his throat.

"Brucie needs me, I think. He's lonely," I told Tony with a sudden influx of desire to be completely honest and 100% transparent. "And it makes me happy, because I need Bruce too. He's the best," I finished.

"Is that so?" Tony sounded vaguely tearful so I attempted to pull back to take a good look at his face. He didn't let me though, gently but firmly pressing my face back into his chest. "And me?"

"I do need you, Tones," I admitted without spilling any unnecessary details.

There was a child within me, small and scared and lonely, like Bruce. I hated her, hated being so soft and needy when everybody else obviously (and understandably) was busy with figuring out their own lives. I wished, desperately so, to just boom-boom-whoosh her away like Doctor Strange magicked away unwanted visitors.

Tony said nothing but his hands betrayed him. They shook and they held onto the skimpy see-through fabric of my top like he was a drowning man and I was his only floatie. For the moment, I closed my eyes and let myself believe he needed me, too.

"I'll catch a wink or two, wake me up if you need something," Bruce broke the silence, having finished off his tea. I didn't notice the time pass so quickly, too lost somewhere between here and there and Tony. In short, I was being lovesick all over the billionaire.

"Bwucie," I leaned backwards, pushing until Tony caved and let me rest my back against the counter, elbows on top of it, legs dangling freely on the sides of his legs. It put a lot of me on display. Tony had called me beautiful earlier so none of my usual habits of being appropriate around the man concerned me. He thought I was pretty!

"Princess," Banner came over to wrap me in a hug that was quite awkward, considering the fact I was sitting on Tony. It took some maneuvering to get it right.

"Night night," I said the usual and got a brief kiss on the cheek before Bruce shuffled off, yawning.

Tony was watching us with an unreadable expression. As soon as I turned my head to look at his face instead, something in him changed. His eyes grew big and round, the crease between his eyebrows disappeared. The corners of his mouth tilted up.

On a sudden impulse, I reached over to run my palm gently over the neatly trimmed line of his beard, following from his chin to his jawline, to his soft tousled hair. His eyelashes shook, fluttered, as the engineer leaned into my touch with the grace of a cat. "Kiss him, kiss him" my brain chanted. I knew I was a coward, I wouldn't do that. "Pretty," I said instead, the word coming out in a whisper.

He gulped, audibly. "Princess, you have no idea..." Shaking his head, as if he was surrounded by a swarm of mosquitoes, Tony briefly looked away. "You have no idea what you're doing."

"Nope," I agreed solemnly. "But at least it feels good. It feels right."

"God," He frowned, one of his hands coming to nervously card through his hair. "Nothing about this is right."

My face fell. Just like I thought, Tony wanted exactly nothing to do with a clueless little teenager. It stung and tears pooled in the corners of my eyes where I stubbornly refused to let them escape and make me into a crybaby. "Whatever you say, Tony." I was ready to agree with anything he said, really, if he would just keet holding me like that.

"Don't," He raised a palm. "Don't close yourself off like that."

Now I was genuinely confused. What exactly did he expect from me? I shrugged.

"You're clever, brilliant and beautiful, you can and should do so much better than all of this," He vaguely gestured towards me, towards himself, towards us and the whole damn city.

I contemplated my answer, briefly. "A lot of people tell me what I should and shouldn't be doing. Don't I get a say?" The bitterness had fought its way out and won. "I just want to be happy for a bit. All the usual bullshit."

He looked taken aback, really. Like he hadn't even considered the option. Typical.

Meanwhile, I continued my word vomit. "I want someone to give a damn about what I want and what makes me happier. Until then, I have no other choice but to take care of myself the best way I know how. Like everybody else does," The weight of his arm landed on my waist, pulling me close to his chest yet again. I didn't resist. No fight left in me. The tiredness seeped deep in my bones, chilly.

The sudden change of altitude startled me. The engineer had picked me up and started walking off towards the elevator, directing it to the lab. His personal lab. The tiles felt cold under my feet where he put me down to make his own beeline for the bar. I would've joined if not the drug in my system - the last thing I wanted was to land in a hospital yet again.

I took the moment to browse my social media, untag myself from all the unflattering pictures, post my usual shitpost. A tiny skirt, equally tiny top and fishnets - I felt out of place in his lab although I've worn more outrageous things previously. I was raw, torn open, bleeding my misery all over the room. That was not in my plan, but then again, when did ever life go as you planned it?

THE TAG LIST IS NOW OPEN! @another-stark-sub ​ @mostly-marvel-musings  @vozit @littlegasps @pilloclock @shereadsinquiet @downeyreads ​ @hermione-grangers-wife ​ @individualistfem ​ @as-i-layhereinyourbed @sleep-i-ness @gigglyfox01

please check your blog settings before tag request or, alternatively, follow the "party favours" tag itself if Tumblr doesn't let me tag you - it does that for some reason. love you all 3000.

[dragonrajafanfiction]

Club Takamagahara (End) - Dating Game

Woo Doggy! This has been fun to write and I mean FUN. Having no real holds barred and getting really silly was a lot easier than I expected and I had a great time with this arc. 

One of the biggest complaints in the mobile game fandom is the Main Story offers no love interest for the MC and it trails off at this part as the MC is reduced to a go-fer for every NPC’s sidequest. Well I say NO MORE, you will be quite literally the center of everyone’s attention from here on out.

Cars lined up around the entire block of the street and women were lined up along the sidewalk for their tickets. From 8 to 10 p.m., the busiest time of the night was when the stage was filled with shows by the performers, from ancient erotic dramas like Cleopatra and Marc Antony to Chu Zihang's swordplay; off stage, the guests were already drunk. The guests who came late were often groups of girlfriends who had eaten dinner elsewhere and came to join the singing and dancing party in Takamagahara, the performers had to go over and greet them, there was a shortage of manpower everywhere. Both the escorts and waiters were running to work, Whale was roaring outside the dressing room backstage, like the circus troupe master. 

The message of the Romanceable MC Contest had caught fire and boosted to epic proportions. Princess Night was in full swing and featured all the top names in Male Escort business. Even before they got out of the cars, the women were screaming and taking pictures having lined up for hours.

The  white Cadillac Escalade stretch limousine rolled like an anaconda and reflected the millions of electric lights of the Tokyo night. It took up half the block, but there was space left for cars like this, reserved for the VIPs of the Takamagahara elite. No one could park there on pain of towing and a hefty fine.

A man in a hooded cloak pulled the lollipop out of his mouth. His bright green eyes scanned the crowd waiting outside. He crossed his legs one over the other and leaned back. “What percentage of the fans out there are mine?”

“From the ticket sales it seems that you are about 30% of the crowd today, Master Inoue.” The driver, a veteran and son of drivers, had been there for him since he first made it big hosting the Bliss Hall. This driver was so skilled at avoiding paparazzi that he put him under a lifetime contract. Now he was much older, but his driving was still as sharp as ever.

The man in the back seat was barely visible, dressed in all black and keeping the lights down so that it looked just like an empty limo. He huffed with a slight smirk. He crossed his arms and looked down. “Wow. And I’m supposed to have competition?” 

“You are the top male escort in Tokyo, Master Inoue,” rumbled the driver again.

That sharp green eye flicked up to the rear view mirror. “Second… to the top. If you would, sir. But apparently Ruri Kazama isn’t competing.”

Ruri Kazama. The name was so legendary among the escorts of Japan that they scarcely dared to utter it. Although he rarely appeared outside private showings, the man reigned supreme as the king of the male escort business.

“He’s unlikely he would have been able to respond on short notice, Master Inoue…”

“No one skips the Takamagahara…” He looked back outside, pushing back the thick velvet curtain slightly.

“You’ve skipped it by 3 hours sir.”

“I”m only here to see one woman. There’s no need to see any others or stay here too long. I come here, win her little heart, and leave with my prize money.”

“You’re really not going to entertain your fans, sir?”

He grinned, his radiant and white smile shining in the dark of the limo. “There’s value in scarcity. If I popped up in full all the time, there’d be no chase. And as you know very well, my most excellent driver… It's all about the chase! If you would, please?”

The driver put the truck in park and stepped out in his sharp suit and driver’s hat. He pulled the handle on the pearly side door and opened it.

Shining black cowboy boots covered in sparkling rhinestones stepped down from the limo. He moved as smooth and graceful as a dancer in skin tight leather pants. His black leather jacket was open to reveal his bare chest and sculpted abs. His hair, bleached white streamed from a black cowboy hat decorated with shark’s teeth.

His appearance sparked immediate mayhem, screams, and mad panting. Dozens of hands reached out desperately, stretching their fingers towards him as though they were pulled by an extremely powerful magnet. They were all screaming, “Diamond!”

Master Inoue - or to his fans, Diamond - stood still as a statue, hat tipped over his eyes, listening to their desperate pleas with his eyes closed.

It seemed arrogant, but for him, it was always like this. From the time he was a child, people couldn’t keep their hands to themselves. When they caught sight of his brilliant green eyes they were drawn to him before he even knew the difference between boys and girls. Sitting in the stroller, all he had to do was smile and the women would come and coo and smile and ask, please, can I hold him. Please!

“Please! Hold me, Diamond! Never let me go!”

Diamond lifted his head toward the voice. It was a woman in her thirties, tears in her eyes, begging with the desperation of a leper before Christ. If he just wanted to, he could heal her broken heart. He walked casually towards her and saw her eyes get bigger and bigger and then he took her delicate hand in his and gently kissed it.

The woman, struck with a Pentacostal frenzy, trembled and fell to her knees sobbing in desperation, clutching her hand and rocking back and forth. She would probably never wash that hand again.

The little favor revved the up crowd even more and the bouncers hurried to line up and make a barrier. That kiss was all he would grant. He turned and walked through the velvet rope staffed with burly workers with black masks over their eyes. They opened the doors to Takamagahara and he stepped inside. Immediately, two more workers turned to lead him to the VIP area.

“So who’s the lucky lady tonight?” Deep down, he was quite excited. His clients were usually 35 and older. For thousands of dollars, he would have dinner at a fancy restaurant, followed by drinks in some VIP Lounge. Or he would be asked to clean the house naked. Or pretend to be her boyfriend for the night. There was the common misconception that his clients were old or undateable. But that wasn’t his experience at all.

People who had $5,000 to spend on a naked butler could have anyone they wanted.

And they wanted him.

This challenge was new for him. The club picked his woman and they would be paying his escort fee. 

His only task would be to ‘Love her.’ If she felt that then she would give him tickets. Whoever got the most tickets was the winner. When she picked his ‘route’.

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

It wasn’t that you got a private party, MC. This was a show.  You were on the floor with everyone else. Rather than sticking to the edge of the crowd you got your table in the shape of a figure 8 in the middle of a raised platform filled with fish swimming about and surrounded by plush red couches in the shape of women’s lips. And already, the bottles were open. 

You’re wearing another dress, not a cheongsam this time. It was a light green satin tube dress that hugged your figure and barely covered anything. Your hair was long and down your shoulders and your make up again was light. For such a simple look, you had spent hours in the spa that day while they made sure your hair was softer than it ever had been. You smelled like lilac and roses. 

A man with short blond hair cropped above his ears, blue eyes and a black shirt so tight it conformed to every muscle in his body yelled above the music. “Where are you from?”

“Uh… Russia!”

“Russia! Woooow! Are you some sort of Oil Baron?”

“Yeah!” You yell figuring nothing you said mattered. They wouldn't remember anything anyway would they?

He flicks his wrist and produces an unopened rose stem, seemingly from thin air and offers it to you. “To me you’re worth more than all the oil in the world. I hope we get to know each other well, MC.”

Below the shirt, He wore pale form fitting jeans that hugged his considerable muscle just like Caesar’s outfit did. But his shoes were casual sneakers without ornamentation.

You accept the rose he offers you, feeling a bit shy.

Another man in a golden blouse that is made of fabric so sheer you could see the belly button piercing underneath, pulls out a cigarette and lights it up. He puffs out a perfect ring of smoke between his thin lips. “That would be Oil Baroness, Calypso…” He says. “She must have more pull than just money to bring us all to the same table.” His voice was deep and carried through the noise. He pulled another drag and sipped his liquor. But he was looking at you with calculating dark eyes.

A silver coin goes spinning on the table. A man in fiery red hair tied back in a ponytail, puffy red coat and a long chain over his bare chest lifts his chin at you. His eyes are as silver as that coin. “Heads or Tails, MC?”

“What am I betting on?” You ask.

His smile spreads further. “I just said heads or tails.”

“Hey, go easy, she’s new!” The man in the skintight black shirt returns with a bottle of vodka and pours it into a glass.

The redhead slaps his hand over the coin. It’s painted with an elaborate henna tattoo, elaborate, like stained glass. “You’re not going to win by going easy…”

The smell of the vodka is the mix of rubbing alcohol and gasoline. Light a match and it might produce a plume of flame! You lean away, repulsed, but the man next to you brazenly pours himself a glass and downs it. Sighing roughly like he might breathe fire, he grins. “That’s the good stuff! But you must drink it every day right?”

“Yeah!” You take cautious sips but the burn builds and builds until it overwhelms you and forces you to stop and cough into your arm.

Caesar, Mingfei and Chu Zihang were nowhere to be found. It was clear this club was over occupancy and over staffed so there was no rescuing you. All the waiters were running around. From somewhere in the hall, glass breaks.

A finger taps your shoulder. You’re met by a bright green gaze in a pale face.

You flinch as a crown is laid on your head.

“Your Majesty…” The man bows to you.

“Your Majesty!”  They all echo with bows and kittenish smiles. For years, you’d never considered trying to date anyone. You lived like you were preparing for war. Then the war came and never let up. Now, you’re surrounded by men who could honestly be called the handsomest in Tokyo who were placing their hands on their broad chests and bowing their heads in fealty.

Off stage, the women on the floor whooped with delight.

Cowboy hat tipped over one eye, shirtless in his jacket, with a bare hairless chest, the man who gave you the jeweled tiara leaned over the couch. Every muscle stood out in carefully carved relief and your eyes followed them down to where they disappeared below his waist. The elastic band of his boxers peek up from the pants. You’d seen naked people before. But they were all familiar, people you knew and were fine with. This is the first time encountering the bare chest of a complete stranger and he’s so close you can smell his sweat. “Wow…” He says quietly, in a low purr next to your ear.

“I’m sorry?”

“You are… beautiful.” His eyes roamed about your body with a lopsided smile, his eyebrows raising. “I have to say I am caught by surprise.”

If your face gets any hotter it might catch fire.

He vaults over the couch, plops next to you and leans in, filling your vision. He gives a quick wink. “I’m yours for the night.”

“Diamond is always this forward but the truth is, he’s the most inexperienced of all of us.”

Diamond shoots the yellow shirt a glare. “I’m experienced in everything she would possibly want, Armani.”

“Yes, but we must go gently, gently…” The black shirt lightly rustles your hair. “We don't want to scare her off.”

“I’m here to do what she wants me to do…” Diamond waves the other men away before addressing you again. “Well, what’s your name?”

You tell him.

“Beautiful… let me guess? Russian?” His hand crept over to envelope yours in a steady grip. His fingers were so much larger than yours and soft like they were bathed in milk every day. There were no calluses. When Mingfei or Caesar touched you, there were roughened, thick patches of skin from hours of practice at the shooting ranges. His nails were even, shining and unbroken.

He raises your hand to his lips and gives it a small kiss. “Pleased to make your acquaintance. You can call me, Diamond.”

“Okay, Diamond.” You glance up at his eyes. He follows your gaze down when it falls again, trying to hold it as much as possible to the point where he leans over and tilts his head to do so. Every time you look up, those eyes are there, to catch that glance, like a serpent hypnotizing his prey.

He holds your drink out to you and you accept it with thanks.

“Are you cold? I noticed you’re keeping your feet tucked under.”

“Yes, it’s… a little cold.”

He shrugged off his jacket and laid it over your shoulders. It was very warm and you realized that the smell of the cologne he was wearing surrounded you like a thick heavy fog.  You could now see his body in all its glory. You belatedly realize that the observation of your being cold was just an excuse for him to remove one of the few pieces of clothing he had!

His shoulders.. The way his neck curved into them and then down to his back. You’d seen shoulders like his before but for some reason, in seeing someone new, made your eye rest on it that much longer, on the way the muscle hugged his bone . The cold in the room made his nipples stand out and...

“Anything else I can do to make you more comfortable, Your Highness?” He stayed turned to you. The way his abs wrinkled. That little valley on his side that disappeared when it met the leather pants. You were naturally observant. Everything you saw was getting laser etched into your mind. In an effort to stop it, you return to his eyes but even that wasn’t safe. He was so close, you could notice small flecks of blue and gold that enhanced the color. 

“Your eyes are really pretty.” You say this, but it doesn’t sound right even in your own ears. It wasn’t really his eyes you wanted to say something about.

He gives an easy relaxed smile, his eyebrows lift once. “Your eyes are prettier.”

“No they’re not.”

“I think I’m gonna barf. Let a pro show you how it’s done.” The redhead plants one arm between you and Diamond and ignores his furious glare.

His lips were really pink, almost cherry red, but you don’t see any sign of gaudy lipstick that Caesar wore. Everything about this man was gorgeous, even the light smatter of freckles on his nose. And everything about him was natural, save his hair color. The breath from his nose tickles your lips. He’s not backing away, he only tilts his head a bit.

You start to imagine what it might be like to kiss him. He draws a bit closer… closer. You close your eyes and wait. Wait… nothing.

“Can I?” He asks, quietly pleading.

“Uh...huh?” You press the words out from a stomach that was already squeezed tight like a fist.

“Good. I’ll keep that in mind for later.” The redhead pulls back and sashays back to this spot on the couch, giving Diamond a sharp snap of his fingers, just inches on his face. “Get on my level.”

“Alright, Alright, point taken.” Diamond pours himself some vodka.

The man in the yellow blouse, Armani, tilts his glass a bit. “Popularity is just a sign of good marketing and ubiquity. None of us can doubt your social media prowess, Diamond, but this is much higher class.”

He’s then staring at you with a half-lidded gaze. “Perhaps the baroness should accustom herself to someone who has dined with high officials. The ones with real power.”

“Okay…” You whisper, you’re completely captivated, unable to move.

“But that’s boring.” The Redhead sighs. “She needs to have more anticipation and suspense!”

“Your name is Chance because whether or not you’re any good is a complete crapshoot.” Armani sips his whiskey.

“But you could hit the jackpot.” He winks at you. “I’m one in a million.”

A loud popping sound  made you suddenly duck but he held you close. Confetti and glitter rained from the ceiling and cascaded over your skin. You look at your arm and watch the play of the disco lights on the sparkle.

“It’s time to give out Star-Heart Tickets! Who is the Ikemen who’s won this round?!” Whale is still emceeing this event and apparently was watching you. A waiter comes by with a basket full of stars with hearts in the middle.

You look at face after glorious handsome face. They were all leaning forward, smiling, waiting. Off stage people were yelling. Bets were being taken. “Diamond! Diamond!”

“PIck Armani he’s the best!”

“You’ll love Calypso!”

“Go with Chance!!”

“I don’t know…” You say, your voice weak. You look at your glass but it seems like the level has hardly moved even though you already feel dizzy.

“No one!” Whale shouts loudly. 

There must be a microphone because you’re not sure how he’s hearing what you’re saying. A gasp ripples through the crowd surrounding you and they fall to a confused silence. All the men sitting around you sit up straight, their faces each registering different levels of surprise and consternation. Save Chance, who whooped loud. “Yeah! Now this is what I’ve been waiting for! Let the games begin!” He pumped his fist.

Chance makes a mighty leap on the table and stands in front of you, all six feet of masculine bravado. “Let me give it to you straight. It’s true, I’m not always everyone’s cup of tea, I go buck wild sometimes.” He sweeps his arms across the table at the other men. “But if girls just fall into your lap at the first sight, how do you know how to compete? Ya don’t!”

Armani stares up at Chance and slowly sets his whiskey down. The others also suddenly changed their demeanor, grave determination and desire in their eyes.

[horansqueen]

Stuck With You - Chapter 5

Chapter 5 : Hey, Soul Sister

🡪chapter 1  🡪chapter 2  🡪chapter 3  🡪chapter 4

College Enemies To Lovers AU

characters // masterlist // instagrams // mood board 

I knew when we collided You're the one I have decided who's one of my kind

I can be myself now finally In fact there's nothing I can't be

I knew I wouldn't forget you And so I went and let you blow my mind

You gave my life direction A game-show love connection We can't deny

click here to be on the update list

                                     Louis' room was exactly like mine but with posters of bands and football players. I let my eyes roam on the white walls before they fell on him again as he sat on his bed. He tapped the place next to him and I sent him a small smile before joining him, sitting a bit further and leaning against the wall.

"So, what do you wanna drink?" he asked, opening the small fridge next to his bed.

"Beer is fine." I just said, shrugging a shoulder as I let my palms brush against the black comforter i was sitting on.

I noticed his bed was a mess and so was his room. There were books everywhere, a box of pizza on his desk and dirty clothes covering the floor.

"Thank god I didn't end up sharing a room with you." I added with a chuckle, taking the beer he was handing me.

"Why? Don't tell me your anal like Neil is."

I frowned but my lips curled a bit. I had noticed that Niall's side of the room was clean and in order but hearing Louis tell me he was actually anal about it was interesting. I took note of it, adding it to the mental list of 'things I know about my roommate', which was, let's face it, a very short list for now.

"Actually, i'm just as messy as you are, but now you got me worried about how Niall could react if I leave my stuff around." I admitted with a smile. "Perhaps i'm gonna try to keep my side of the room clean."

"Cheers." Louis chuckled. "Niall would be pissed."

I clinked my beer against his and we took a sip. I kept staring at him as his eyes fell on the bottle in his hands. He moved it slightly but I knew he was looking at it without really seeing it.

"He was pissed, actually." I pointed out, leaning my head on the wall and bringing my knees up, my feet flat on the bed. "He's mad at me and I have no idea why."

"No, Devon, he was angry at me, not at you. You did nothing wrong."

I was not sure he was right but I pressed my lips together and tilted my head. "And what did you do to him?"

Louis chuckled but this time, there was no amusement in his tone. He was sad, I could feel it. I wanted to be there for him but I didn't know what to do except listen to him. I was never good at giving advice, or receiving advice, actually. I always ended up doing what I thought was right and realizing way too late that it was not the right thing to do. There was no way I could really help Louis and I knew it.

"It's just a bunch of little things, you know? Realizing his dream of being a professional footballer, having the girl he likes falling for me..." he stopped himself and looked up in my eyes. ".. despite myself, of course. And just... not being there for him when he needed him the most."

Louis sighed loudly and swallowed his beer, putting it away near the pizza box before leaning his head on the wall too and closing his eyes. "I was a fucking bad friend. I still am. I'm still trying to be close to him despite knowing very well he doesn't want me near."

I licked my lips, feeling my heart twist in my chest. It just confirmed that I really couldn't do anything to help Louis and I hated it.

"I think Niall doesn't want many people near." I pointed out. "Has he always been like that?"

Louis smiled more and opened his eyes, shaking his head slightly. "No, not at all. Niall was always the light of the party, the one everyone loves, always surrounded by so many people it was hard to actually get his attention." he turned to me and smiled. "I'm the opposite."

"Me too." I let my lips curled.

I didn't want to admit it, but the fact that everyone was so in awe when it came to Niall actually fascinated me. People like him, to whom everyone seemed to be drawn, were so interesting, and at the same time, I could totally understand why. There was something emanating from Niall that even got to me after only a few days. So yea, he was the most annoying little shit I've ever met, but I still wanted his attention.

I cleared my throat, a bit embarrassed by the thought and very glad that it stayed in my head. Okay, Niall was intriguing, but he had also mentioned that I intrigued him too, and I didn't know what it meant.

"You either love Niall, or pretend that you don't."

I chuckled and raised my eyebrows at Louis' words. "What?"

"I'm serious!" he laughed a bit, turning his body my way. "Everyone who has said they hated Niall didn't really hate him, or if they did, after a while, they ended up liking him. He's just got the effect on people. I've always been jealous of that."

We remained silent for about a minute and Louis finally got up, grabbing the beer from my hands. "We're gonna need something stronger than that."

I laughed a bit and he got a bottle of vodka, serving me some in a plastic cup before sitting back on his bed, slightly closer to me. I watched him take a long sip and blinked a few times.

"So tell me, Devon, why did you come to this school? What happened at your old college that was so bad you had to leave?"

I breathed in, feeling my heartbeats accelerate, and drank half my glass before grimacing and coughing, almost choking on my drink. It made Louis smirk and he raised his eyebrows as my eyes watered, due to the feeling of burn in my throat.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

I looked inside my cup, watching the transparent liquid move as my hand shook slightly, and finally pressed my lips together, not daring to look up at my new friend.

"Let's just say I trusted the wrong person, dated them and ended up with a broken heart."

"Darling, that's everyone's story." Louis replied after a shot moment of silence.

He drank what was left in his glass before filling it again and I decided to do the same. I watched as he poured more vodka in my glass too and sighed louder than intended. I was getting past the tipsy stage and I wanted to share everything with Louis but instead, I just stared in his eyes and sent him a fond smile.

"I know we just met but.. that day in the hall when you talked to me for the first time? I felt something. Like, a connection or something. Have you ever heard about sister souls?"

He chuckled in his glass and swallowed hard before sending me an amused smile. "Like the song?"

"Sort-of." I rolled my eyes. "Except for the 'love' part."

"So you're telling me you're not in love with me, is that it?"

"I barely know you." I smiled more.

"But you know me enough to feel a connection."

I chuckled and rolled my eyes again, making him laugh. "Come on, Louis!"

"I'm just playing with you, Dev." he said, licking his lips. "I know what sister souls are, and I feel that connection too, if you wanted to know."

"Good." I replied low, nodding a few times before looking down at my glass again. "Besides, I'm never gonna fall in love again."

"You're not the one who decides that, love." he let out in a soft tone, making me look up at him. He raised his eyebrows and shrugged a shoulder. "If it happens then it happens. You've got no control over it."

"Trust me, I'll make sure of it." I argued, blinking a few times and feeling suddenly tired. "Love hurts too much and when you give your heart to someone, you become this vulnerable wreck human being. Not worth the pain."

I lied down on Louis' bed and yawned, letting my eyes close, feeling half conscious and right before I fell asleep, I heard Louis say something that I didn't have the strength to answer.

"You sound just like Niall."

----

Niall had ignored me for exactly eight days after that day I left the room to go spend time in Louis' and ended up falling asleep in his bed. He was back to throwing hurtful comments directed at me without really addressing to me personally. I was sad and it hurt me way more than I thought it would but I decided to pretend I didn't care and started playing the same game he was playing.

We ended up living together without acknowledging each other and I couldn't remember the last time Niall actually had looked at me. I didn't know why he was acting like that but it just proved to me that it was not Louis he was mad at. It was actually me, and I didn't know why. I also didn't want to ask, especially that I was pretty sure he wouldn't answer the question, or even answer me at all.

I had been busy working on my last painting and he was spending as much time as possible away from our room. I didn't dare following him but I was pretty sure he was working on his song in the music room, or shagging some random girls wherever he could.

The morning of our visit to the museum, however, I was surprised to hear his voice. We hadn't met with Daxia and Asher to talk about our project but I knew today was the day and perhaps, he knew he would have to sort of interact with me.

I saw him put a few things in his pockets and grab his backpack, zipping it quickly, but I still pretended I was not looking at him. The truth was, the longer he was ignoring me, the more I was looking at him, and the more I spent time wondering why he hated me so much.

"Look, we're both going to the same place." he explained with a sigh, not even looking at me. "I know you don't have a car, so, maybe you need a ride? I mean," he sighed again, stopping everything he was doing and closing his eyes. "You can ride with me."

I stood there for a few seconds, a bit surprised and speechless by his proposition, before finally blinking a few times and licking my lips. "Oh, uhm, yes, thank you, that's very nice of you." I agreed, stuttering a bit and letting a small smile spread on my lips.

"Alright. Cool." he just replied, putting his backpack on his shoulder as I grabbed my stuff quickly.

I followed him outside, remaining slightly behind him, and as we walked down the stairs, a few other guys waved at him.

"Hey Horan, are you gonna be there for the party this saturday?"

He turned on his heels when he was down the stairs and started walking backwards. "Wouldn't miss that for anything!"

He chuckled and I stared at the way he was smiling. A lock of his hair fell on his forehead again and it twisted in a cute swirl. I almost tripped on my feet but gripped the banister to get my balance back but unfortunately, it caught Niall's attention and for the very first time in days, his eyes met mine. He frowned a bit and chuckled before shaking his head slightly.

"Did you forget how to walk, Devie?"

I raised my nose up at the nickname he gave me but decided not to comment on it, knowing that openly be annoyed by it would be the perfect reason for him to use it again. I breathed in and tried not to sigh but he noticed and raised his eyebrows.

"Oh wait, it's because of me, isn't it?" he said with a smirk as his dimple dug deeper in his chin. "I look too good? You can't handle it?"

"Funny." I replied, my eyes getting smaller as I looked at him. God, he was annoying. And it annoyed me even more that the reason I almost tripped was because of that stupid hair lock falling on his forehead and therefore, there was some truth in his words. "This is gonna be a long ride." I muttered as we stepped outside.

He was still amused when we entered his car and although I was still annoyed, I couldn't help but let my lips curl as my eyes traveled on his car. It looked amazing from outside, and it seemed amazing to drive, too. When I looked up, he was sending me an amused smile and I pressed my lips together.

"You alright?"

I cleared my throat and shrugged. "Like I said, I love your car."

He started it and raised his eyebrows at me. "It's just a Jeep."

"It's literally my dream car." I admitted low, regretting it immediately after and glancing at the window.

"Then buy one."

I chuckled and rolled my eyes, turning to look at him again, staring at his face like he was an alien. "Do you remember how much you paid for it? I don't have that kind of money."

"I do." he finally replied after a few minutes of silence. "I bought it with my first paycheck as a model. I never had that kind of money before."

"So, you're a model." I repeated even if I already knew. He glanced at me and I did the same, and it made the left corner of his lips raise up.

"Yes, I am." he replied with a chuckle. "Me and my double chin, darling."

I smiled more at him, realizing how much fun and nice he could be sometimes, and just licked my lips. "What double chin?"

As an answer, he just smiled at me and turned on the radio. I started laughing when the Train song started playing and he turned to me with a frown.

"No it's just, I was talking with Louis the other day, and we talked about this song."

"That's not really the kind of music Louis listens to." Niall explained, raising his eyebrows as his eyes remained on the road.

"No I just asked him if he knew what sister souls were and he mentioned it." I shrugged, feeling suddenly a bit embarrassed. I was drunk and perhaps I had express a bit more of my feelings than I should have.

"That's a weird conversation to have." Niall simply pointed out with a frown.

I knew he was curious and I licked my lips. "I just feel... I mean, I barely know him, but that's how I feel towards him."

Although I could only see his profile, I noticed how his facial expression suddenly changed and I held my breath. He didn't answer, but he also stopped glancing at me and I didn't see a smile on his face for the rest of the ride. He parked and as he was undoing his belt, I turned to him and sighed.

"Why were you mad at me the other day? We were talking and Louis knocked and suddenly, you were rude to me."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." he replied, once again avoiding my gaze.

He got out of the car and I quickly did the same, grabbing my bag and following him. I had to walk quickly to keep the pace and I sighed.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." I argued, holding the strap of my bag so tight that my fingers turned white. "You're doing the same thing right now. Louis thinks it's because of him but I know it's me. Why do you hate me so much?"

He stopped and turned to me so fast that my heart jumped in my chest. The way he stared at me made me swallow hard and in the three seconds it took him to talk, I had the time to notice that his eyes had turned the exact same shade of blue from his shirt. Why did I notice things like that?

"Look, just because we had a small conversation about futile stuff doesn't mean we're friends now. It doesn't mean I like you, or that I have to like you. It doesn't mean I care about you, what you do, who you befriend and what you want. In fact, I really don't care, okay? I'm stuck with you in that fucking room, and i'm stuck with you for that stupid project, but spending time with you is irritating. You're the most annoying person I've ever had the misfortune to meet, and I can't wait to get rid of you!"

It was a reflex. A simple reflex. I didn't have time to think about it, I just slapped him as he threw all those mean words at me, my hand hitting his cheek way harder than I thought it would. It took him by surprise and his lips parted as I held my breath, not really believing what I had done. After the shock had passed, he scoffed and shook his head.

"Great." he let out. "Stay the fuck away from me." he added, pointing his finger in my direction and I just took a step back as he left.

I realized that my heart was racing when I finally breathed in deeply but somehow, I couldn't stop the ache in my chest. My heart felt like it was stuck in a vice and I was not sure if it was because I had slapped him, or because of the hard words he had thrown at me. It made me realize that it was the very first time I actually touched Niall and I looked down, turning my hand to look at my palm. That was not the kind of relationship I wanted with anyone and I knew I should do something, but I had no idea what it was. I also couldn't force him to like me, and I closed my eyes, trying to get back to my senses.

There was no reason for me to want him to appreciate me but I did and realizing that made me a bit mad. I had promised myself that I wouldn't be this weak person anymore, and that I didn't need the approbation or the love from anyone, but the truth was, I was still human, and letting Niall be hot and cold with me over and over again was affecting me more than I thought and hoped it would.

I felt my phone vibrate in my back pocket and grabbed it, feeling my heart sink in my chest when I saw it was from Daxia. For some reason, I had wished for someone else... and that thought made me press my lips together.

'Where are you?' I read before blinking a few times.

I checked the time, noticing that I was late, and let out a low 'fuck!' before I ran inside. Deep down, I just hoped that this visit at the museum wouldn't be too awkward and hopefully, things would get solved between Niall and I. I thought about asking Louis but I decided to keep him out of this. I was a big girl, I could work this out by myself, right?

[full-of-roman-angst-trash]

A Darkside Christmas

Merry Christmas @nonbinary-bitch! I hope you have/had a nice Christmas. I was your secret santa. Sorry if the fanfic was a bit late, there were a bit of technical issues. Well, I hope the fanfic is to your liking and worth the wait!

Warnings: Cursing, mention of alcohol, Remus being Remus.

It’s been a bit over a year since Virgil has left the Darksides and while he didn’t hate being with the Lightsides, it wasn’t the same. Every morning in the Darkside was full of playful banter, cursing, loud music, vine references, and overall chaos. Remus and Virgil would team up to annoy Janus as much as he did and Janus did his best to control the two younger sides. It was fun and well they all knew it was nothing more than lighthearted jokes. 

Mornings in the Lightside is completely different. It’s quiet, Logan usually wakes up first, makes himself a coffee, and then returns to his room. Patton wakes up later, makes breakfast for the two remaining sides. Virgil, Roman, and Patton then eat together, talking softly. In the Lightside, they prefer to be quiet, peaceful, and reasonable. If Virgil tried causing the same chaos he used to cause in the Darkside, he would just be told to please quiet down.

The best days in the Darksides though were holidays and birthdays. During holidays, the usual chaos was intensified by 100%. By the end of the day, things would end up broken, Janus would end up drunk, and Virgil and Remus would end up passed out somewhere. When the next morning came, they would all clean up and Janus would have to sleep through the day to get rid of his hangover. 

 On birthdays, the lighthearted jokes would intensify for the person turning older. If it was Janus’ or Virgil’s birthdays, Remus would give them tons of gross and inappropriate presents before giving them their real presents. Remus would also fill the house with pranks or annoying inconveniences to tease them. When it was Virgil’s birthday, Janus and Remus would both push his face into the cake. During Remus’, the other two darksides would take the opportunity to get revenge on the demented side for everything he’s ever done to him. Pranks would liter the house, each year getting more elaborate. Instead of giving him disgusting things, that the Duke liked, they would give him fluffy things that he found boring and “sickening”

One of Virgil’s favorite holidays to celebrate with the Darksides was Christmas. While Halloween was fun, it was a bit repetitive since most of the time they were just trying, and failing, to scare each other. Christmas on the other hand was full of alcohol, prank gifts, loud music/karaoke, teasing, way too competitive games, and overall crackhead energy. At the end of the crazy day though, they would make some cookies and hot chocolate, sit on the couch, and cuddle as they watched movies.

So when Virgil made the decision to leave, he knew that he’ll have to leave all those fun days and traditions as well. Now it was his first Christmas with the Lightsides. Holidays like Halloween had been slightly disappointing since Patton can’t handle scary stuff, all they did was eat candy and dress up. But, Virgil was sure Christmas would be fun. 

It had started off pretty well. Roman had decorated the entire house the day before. Patton made them all cookies and hot chocolate. Logan even came down from his room and had breakfast with all of them. They all got Christmas sweaters. Roman even had a karaoke machine, which brought Virgil close to home. 

It was about 6 p.m when Virgil started to feel off. He remembered that Every Christmas, Remus would bust into his room and scream “It’s Christmas” starling the emo awake. None of the Lightside ever really drank, which meant he couldn’t get drunk as he had with the Darksides. He missed having chugging competitions with the others. He missed having to double-check his drink to make sure Remus didn’t add anything nasty to it. He missed having singing battles with Remus while Janus tried to hide his fond smiles and look annoyed. He missed Janus given him ugly sweaters, which he was often convinced to wear. He missed Remus setting up a bunch of mistletoes everywhere and teasing them by “trying” to kiss them. He missed looking through pictures of the past Christmas years that Janus hung up every year. He missed when Janus finally gave in and would sing with them. He missed them playing Uno or Monopoly which would lead to them arguing and fighting. He missed them so much he couldn’t bare it anymore. 

“Hey guys,” Virgil said softly, getting the others’ attention.

“Yes, kiddo?” Patton looked at him with a soft smile.

The anxious side stood up, “I’ll be right back. I need to go do something real quick.”

Roman nodded, “Alright!”

Virgil gave them a small smile before sinking down to his room. There, he took off his Christmas sweater, neatly folding it and putting it on his bed. Afterward, he walked over to his closet, taking out two presents. He starts walking to the Darkside.

As he was getting closer, he could hear the two Darksides arguing, however, unlike the lighthearted fights they had in the past, this one sounded serious. Remus’s voice was harsh and shaking slightly while Janus’ was quieter and carking as if he was holding back tears. Virgil frowned, wondering what happened to make them fight on Christmas of all days. He also noticed there was no music in the background. 

He cautiously walks into the living room. Janus nor Remus notice him, too caught up in their argument. 

“G-Guys….?” Virgil speaks up quietly after a while.

The two sides freeze at the familiar voice. They slowly look over at him. For a second no one moves or says anything. Suddenly the two sides rush over to their old friend and hug him tightly. Virgil drops his gifts and hugs them back tightly. They all start crying, the tears holding both joy and sadness. 

Once they finally calm down, the hug is broken. Virgil picks up the gifts and holds them out to them.

“I brought some gifts.”

“Thanks, emo!” Remus says cheerfully as he quickly takes his.

He starts going over to the tree to put it with the other presents. 

Janus takes his, rolling his eyes and jokingly saying, “This better be a good gift or I’ll return you can go back to the Lightsides.”

Virgil laughs, “Yeah, okay, as if you weren’t just crying about me coming back.”

He gets a hiss in response from the snake-like side, which only makes him laugh more. 

Remus then runs up behind Virgil and jumps on his back, making the slightly shorter side yelp and almost fall.

“Remus! You almost killed me!”

“That’s beside the point, Virgin! You owe me a singing battle!!” The demented side loudly exclaims. 

Virgil rolls his eyes, doing his best to hide his fond smile, “Yeah, yeah! Whatever.”

“Before you guys do that,” Janus smirks at them, “Virgil! I have a sweater for you!”

The emo side whines playfully and sniffles dramatically, “Fiiinnnneeee!!”

Janus hands him an ugly sweater/ Virgil quickly puts it on, trying to hold back a laugh when Janus and Remus burst out in laughter. Once they calm down Virgil does that singing contest that he owed Remus. The two of them loudly (and purposely badly) sing “I’m Gonna Kill Santa Clause.” All of a while, Janus dying of laughter in the background at the two sides trying to outsing each other. 

Once they are done, Remus randomly starts singing, “Never Gonna Give You Up,” resulting in Janus throwing a pillow at his face. After the two of them finish throwing the pillow back and forward, they make their way to the kitchen to get some alcohol. Virgil ends up getting half a cup of vodka, Remus gets a whole cup, and Janus just takes a whole bottle. 

While they drink, they sit on the couch, blasting music on multiple speakers. 

Remus smirks after a while, “Hey, emo!!” His voice is full of mischief

Virgil looks at him with suspicion, “What?”

He points up, smirking wider. When Virgil looks up, he sees a mistletoe.

“No! Hell no! I ain’t kissing you! I rather kiss the trash can!”

Remus rolls his eyes and leans on Virgil dramatically, puckering his lips, “Come on Virgie!! It’s the rules!! Give me a kiss!! I’m basically the same as a trash can!!”

Virgil pushes him off the couch, “I don’t give a shit about the rules.”

The crazed side falls onto the floor with a thump, immediately laughing, “Come on Emo! Don’t be so boring!!”

“Oh hush,” Virgil kicks Remus’ sides, making sure not to kick him too hard.

Janus rolls his eyes at the two sides’ antics. 

They all finish their drinks at about 8 p.m. 

“Double Dee!!!!” A tipsy Remus whines, “Can we open the present now!!!”

A now drunk Janus shrugs, “Whatever.”

Remus stands up quickly, “Yay!!! Come on!!!”

He goes to the tree, behaving like a five-year-old. Virgil chuckles and stands up, going over to the tree as well. Janus just stays in his seat, too lazy to stand up.

“I’ll go first!” Remus says, getting one of his gifts, the one Virgil got him, and ripping it open.

The gift was a pink fluffy alpaca plush that smelled like lavender, it’s nose in the shape of a heart.

Remus puts the gift out and looks at Virgil with exaggerated ook of betray, “You leave for a while year and come back with this pink monstrosity!!”

Virgil laughs mischievously, “Merry Christmas!”

“Bitch! You better give me another present before I throw it at your face!” Remus threatens.

“You ungrateful,” Virgil says joking, “Rip the toy open.”

Remus raises a brow but does so happily, when he does, he finds a pocket knife and some slime.

“Fuck yeah! Thanks, loser!” 

“Hurry up and open the rest of the presents slow ass!” Janus cuts in

“Fine, danger noodle!”

He quickly opens the rest of the gifts. There were five in total, one from Virgil, three from Janus, and one that wasn’t labeled but Remus knew it was from Roman. He ended up getting a painting of Remus’ favorite animal from his twin. From Janus, he got a Shrek costume that Remus totally didn’t pressure Janus to buy him, a pet rat, and an avocado as a joke. 

“Your turn Virgil!” Remus looks at him.

“You guys got me gifts?”

Janus sarcastically says, “No. You’re just gotta open some air.”

Virgil huffs, “Calm down there with the sarcasm there Jan.”

He gets his gifts, two of them from Jaus and three of them from Remus. He quickly opens them. From Janus he got a spider plush and a new hoodie to wear with the Lightsides instead of his fully black one. Remus got him a weird body pillow as a joke, which Virgil threw back at him, a My Chemical Romance shirt, and a Jack Skellington figurine. 

“I guess it’s my turn,” Janus says before standing up and getting his gifts. 

He had the one Virgil got him and the three from Remus. Once he finished opening them up, he had a big snake plush from Virgil. From Remus, he got a shirt that said “Snitties” which Janus promised he will never wear, a philosophy book, and a blanket with snakes on it. 

“Come on mom!!! Put the shirt on!!!” Remus begs

“First of all, don’t call me mom,” Janus says flatly, “And Second of all, no. Never in a hundred years.”

Remus continued to try to pursue Janus into wearing the shirt but eventually gave up after half an hour.

 Was now about 10 p.m

“Looks like it’s time for movies and cuddles,” Virgil says as he checks the time.

Remus’s eyes light up with excitement, “Yeah!!”

Janus goes and gets the cookies and hot chocolate from the kitchen before sitting down with a fond smile on his face. 

The two other younger sides sit down, each on one of Janus’ sides. The older sides drapes his new blanket over the three of them and holds them close.

“Let’s watch “A Christmas Carol first!” Remus and Virgil say in unison.

Janus nods, snapping the movie on. For the rest of the night, they continue watching movies, eventually, all of them falling asleep. Virgil completely forgetting he was supposed to return to the Lightsides, Falling asleep with a fond smile on his face, happy he came back to celebrate Christmas with his best friends.

[fallingstarnovel]

Chapter Two

content warning: alcohol, binge drinking

That was how Evan ended up standing in front of a huge house in a part of the city that he had never visited before with an unopened bottle of vodka in his hand. It was getting dark out – midwinter was coming fast, turning the air frosty and driving everyone indoors. At least it would be warm inside the house.

Evan took a deep breath, forcing himself to relax. A puff of vapour clouded the air before him. 

This was fine. It was fine. It was a party. He was supposed to be here – he had been invited. There was no need to be anxious. It wasn't going to be like it was back then. 

He could hear loud music pumping from inside the house, and spilling from between the curtains of the house was dim purple light. 

God, who was he kidding. He couldn't do this. 

As Evan turned around to leave, someone opened the door from the inside. 

"Oh, shit, there's someone here. Sorry, were you waiting to be let in?"

Evan looked up at the tall student who just stumbled outside. "Um. Yeah. My friend is inside. She–" 

"Go ahead," the student said, holding the door open and gesturing to go inside. Evan nodded in thanks, before stumbling into the house. 

Immediately, he was surrounded by people. The house was crammed wall to wall with students in various stages of inebriation, all chattering away at the top of their lungs as the hypnotic electro music filled the space between them. Evan found a pile of coats in the hallway and dropped his on top. He hoped it wouldn't get lost or stolen before he left. 

"Excuse me," he said, edging his way past a group of girls in short dresses who gave him judgemental looks. "Sorry. Sorry, sorry–" 

He couldn't find Aliya anywhere. She wasn't in the living room or the kitchen. Evan poked his head behind every door, but all he kept finding were more guests crammed into unlikely places like sardines in a tin can. He recognised one or two from around campus, but some of these people seemed slightly too old to be students. Was this really a university party? Did these people all know each other? 

Evan saw someone who looked like they were slightly in charge, maybe, and tapped them on the shoulder. They turned around with an unfocused look, hair in messy tumble around their head. 

"What's up? Didn't Fae get you it? Oh, shit, where did you get the vodka?"

Evan blinked. This person sure was saying words at him. "What?"

The person squinted at him. "Didn't you just ask me for a kitchen towel?" 

"No, I just got here," Evan said. "But thanks. Um. I'm looking for Aliya, do you know where she is?"

That got him a blank look. "Who?"

"Aliya! Aliya, you know, she does Astro with me. Uh." The blank look still persisted on the person's face. "She came here with volleyball? No, wait, I mean, netball? I think?"

The person looked vaguely less blank. "Oh, wait, the netball bitches. I love those girls, they make me feel like I'm some kind of insect. My name's Rock by the way."

"Oh," said Evan, who didn't know why that was relevant. "That's a cool name. Like Dwayne Jo–"

"Not like Dwayne fucking Johnson," Rock replied with a scowl. "I hate that guy."

"Oh. Sorry."

Rock just nodded, before tapping a person on the shoulder seemingly at random. "Is Becca around?"

"In the garden," the girl replied, "probably? Unless she left."

They were both yelling at full volume. Evan winced. His ears were already ringing. 

Rock led him through sweaty crowds of people to the kitchen, and then out of a door into the garden. It wasn't much of a garden – more like a patch of concrete with a few bricks and weeds lying around, as if for decoration. There were more people out here, mostly smoking. Some of them looked like they were asleep. It was so cold out here – the girls were huddled up under big jackets that they had stolen from other people. 

Wait a minute. Evan was pretty sure that was his coat. How did it get stolen so fast?!

"Aliya?" Evan called. Some people looked up, their eyes glazed over. 

"Aliya bounced," someone said. 

Evan's heart sank. "What?" 

"Yeah, she dipped pretty quickly. Said she forgot about a deadline."

God damn it. Evan fought the urge to bang his head off the nearest wall. Why didn't she text him and say so? He could have escaped too! 

"Right, thanks. I, uh–"

"Bro, no, you're not leaving yet, are you?" Rock said, giving him a betrayed look. "You just got here!"

Evan shrugged, plastering on a polite smile. "I don't really know anyone here–"

"Yet," Rock said firmly. "You don't know anyone yet. You know what they say about strangers? They're just friends you haven't made yet. Come on, live a little." 

Personally, Evan thought Rock was slightly unhinged. He must have looked obviously uncomfortable, because Rock held out a hand and squeezed his shoulder. 

"You don't go to a lot of parties, huh? It's cool. You can chill with me. Give it half an hour and see how you feel, yeah?" 

Why was this person so eager to see a complete stranger join the party? Evan considered saying no and leaving anyway, but then again... 

Evan wasn't a coward. He would give it half an hour and see if he made any friends. And if not, he could always leave. 

"Sounds good," he said. 

Rock cheered. A bunch of other people in the garden cheered too, though Evan doubted they knew what they were cheering for. "Alright! We got another one! Come on, pal, let's get you a drink!' 

Half an hour later and after a couple of drinks, Evan somehow found himself watching Rock pour out a tray full of shots in the kitchen. 

Several people wandered over in interest, lured by the idea of free alcohol like they were cats who just heard the tin of tuna being opened. "Who's down?" Rock said. 

A few people came forward. Evan watched as a girl slung herself over Rock's shoulders with a bored expression. She had long, long straight black hair, like an oil slick that ran down her back, and she was either exceptionally tall or she was wearing huge platform boots. Maybe both. Evan thought it was both. "I will."

"Evan?" Rock said. "You want one? It's okay if you don't, I know shots are a little much..."

"I can do shots," Evan said without meaning to. Oh, shit. Was he trying to impress the hot goth girl? He kind of was. "Uh, if that's cool." 

Rock's smile widened. "If you're sure you can handle it. Are you a lightweight, Evan? Because if so, I'm not going to be the one cleaning up your puke afterwards."

Evan smiled. "Ah, I don't know. Maybe. I'll try to keep it inside."

"Attaboy, big guy! That's what I like to hear!"

Soon, everyone around him had a shot in their hand. Evan had no idea what the liquid was. He tried to sniff it, but then Rock was counting down, and everyone was lifting their shot glasses up and drinking. 

People winced and made appropriate noises as the burn hit. Rock blinked away his tears with a grin, before watching Evan drink with interest. 

Evan calmly put down the shot. After seeing everyone else's reaction, he quickly pretended to gasp. "Oh, wow, the burn, wow..." 

Rock's eyes flickered over the glass. It was empty. "Have you done that before?"

Evan shrugged, waving him away. "Once or twice."

Hot Goth Girl finally seemed to notice him. She stared him down, before slowly smiling at him, her black painted mouth in a closed-lip smirk. It was kind of terrifying. 

"Hey Rock," she said, keeping her eyes on Evan. "Who's this?"

"I'm Evan," said Evan, before holding out a sweaty hand. She stared at it, and he immediately dropped it. "Haha, what, I don't know why I did that. Nice to meet you."

"I've seen you around," she said. 

It sounded like an accusation. Evan wilted – before perking up. Wait, didn't this mean she remembered him? She had noticed him before! This was good, right? He nodded eagerly. "You recognise me? I'm sorry, I don't think I've seen you around, otherwise I would have remembered – I mean, you're very recognisable, haha, there's not a lot of people around here who dress so, like..."

He trailed off, feeling awkward. Hot Goth Girl glared at him. 

"Like what?"

Evan blinked. She was wearing black lipstick and huge eyeliner, like two bat wings painted on her face. Most people around here weren't so brave. 

"Um... so, um... alternatively."

Her eyes narrowed. Slowly, she grinned. "Where did you find this guy, Rock?"

"Aliya likes him," Rock laughed, before holding up the bottle. "Let's do round two," they hollered, and the night took a downward turn from there. 

Coming to this party was such a bad idea.

When Evan woke up in the morning, he was very confused. 

He had a vague memory of someone carrying him home. And holding someone's hand. And... 

He groaned with embarrassment and rolled over to bury his head in his pillow to try and suffocate himself. When that didn't work, he rolled onto his back and massaged his forehead. 

It felt like something had crawled into his mouth and died. He was so thirsty. But mostly he was mortified. 

Ah, that poor person! Evan probably rambled on about weird depressing personal problems! He became one of those maudlin drunks who just starts crying about stuff! The person who carried him here must have been totally sick of his shit. 

What an angel. Evan wished he could remember who they were. 

He looked around for his phone, his bleary eyes cracking open. Whoever they were, they left a full glass of water on the desk. Evan jumped at it, drinking the whole thing in seconds. 

It helped a little bit. But now he felt nauseous. 

This sucked. Why did he do this. 

Oh, shit, his phone and his wallet. Did he have them? He looked around in a panic. Were they in the jeans he wore? Where the fuck were his jeans?!

Slowly, he looked under his duvet and realised that he was still wearing them. Ah. Oops. 

At least the person didn't undress him while he was drunk or unconscious. That would have been uncomfortable. In fact, he seemed in exceptionally good condition, considering he got black out drunk at a strangers house.

Aaaa god why did he do that!!! Why didn’t he slow down and drink some water!! This was so embarrassing, he could have done anything last night!!

... oh jesus fuck, why did his eyes hurt so much? They were so sore! It was like someone shone a supercharged torch in his eyes or made him stare into the god damn sun!! What happened last night?!

In his pocket, he found his wallet and phone, much to his relief. Evan quickly scrolled through his messages to see if he had sent anything weird to anyone. 

Huh? Who the fuck were all these people he had added on Facebook? Why had he sent out so many friend requests?! He didn't recognise any of the names here at all!

He also saw a series of messages he sent to Aliya. 

> you. are the qorst friend ever 

> ┻┻︵ヽ(`Д´)ﾉ︵┻┻

i'm so sorry!! i'm really sorry!! oh i feel so bad, i thought i text you not to come anymore!! <

> ABANDONED me 

> discarded me like an EMPTY CRISP PALKCET

> packet

... evan are you perhaps a little drunk? <

> everyone is very friendky. They keep handing me shots. These are my new friends now 

> you're fired

no!!! 😭😭😭 <

don't fire me!!! i need someone to copy revision notes off!! <

> too late. now rock is my new fri be. Goodbye

> oh shit they’re doiign WEED in here

> Your missing otu on thrjelkc weeb

who's rock?? <

seriously though, be safe evan and have fun. if you need to call anyone, im up all night doing this assignment so just call me okay? x < 

Just as he finished reading the texts, his phone buzzed in his hand. He nearly dropped it in shock. There was an unread text in his inbox from an unrecognised number. 

How are you feeling? <

This was awkward. Clearly, this was a person Evan gave his number to last night. Unfortunately, he had no clue who they were, and now he felt too awkward to ask, since they clearly assumed he knew who it was. 

> haha a little hungover!! oops

Was that too many exclamation marks? This mystery person would think he was a psycho. 

The reply came soon. 

Make sure you drink plenty of water. And eat something salty. < 

Do you want me to bring anything? <

Seriously, who was this and why were they being so nice? Evan still felt a little awkward. 

> i will :) and no thank you but that's so kind! how are you feeling? 

I'm fine. I'm glad you're alright. <

...

This was too much to deal with. Evan decided not to answer. Hopefully, whoever this was would drop a clue at some point, or just leave him alone.

There weren't many people it could be. He had all his friends (haha, all his friends, as if he had more than three) saved as contacts. So this must be a stranger from the party. 

A memory flashed into his head of the messy haired host – what was their name, Tree? Root? Boulder? – saying something stupid about all strangers being friends he hadn't made yet. It was probably them. They seemed overly familiar, so this lined up. 

Ah, what the hell. This was a problem for future Evan. 

He rolled himself into the shower without vomiting even a little bit, which he considered a huge achievement that should be celebrated with pizza for breakfast.

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