#i hope i don't sound snippy

[starlight-diesel]

Sorry if this is dumb but where is your dni?

Really just all that's in my pinned post. I feel like it goes without saying that I don't want pedophiles/zoophiles or whatever they're called now (bc there's new names everyday) on my page as well as like. racists and ableist people and queerphobes and shit. So I didn't really feel like I needed to make a big long dni stating the obvious. I haven't really worked on it at all because like. Shit really all I want is for creeps and homphobes/transphobes etc etc to stay off my page.

And I've just got such a stressed and busy brain atm, I just wanted to make the general statements and stuff. Maybe I'll add all that I've mentioned later.

[almadelsur]

💋 The Turmoil One Suffers

summary: In the second installment of The Secrets One Keeps, a relaxing day on the pogue proves to be anything but, with your inner struggles getting the better of you and JJ hot on your tail.

jj maybank x reader, rafe cameron x reader

warnings: some good old angsty pining, very very slight smut if you squint, fem!reader, talks of suffocation ig? plz let me know if I've missed anything.

a/n: SHE'S BACKKKK, so I've decided to completely reformat and re-post this fic with a few tweaks and editing considering I first wrote this like 3 years ago. Also, for those asking, I won't be doing a taglist for this fic bc I'm lazy and technologically deficient.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。..・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・

You shouldn’t have been smoking, it made you feel uneasy, paranoid even.

You had found yourself on the pogue in the wake of Pope’s incessant bitching about how you had to make up for ditching them last night. The guilt had made you cave in. As he spoke, all that had flashed through your head was images of Rafe. You on top of Rafe, Rafe with his hands around your neck, the way Rafe’s hair felt between your fingers as you gripped on it when he got messy between your-

“Dude” Sarah’s voice snapped you out of your recurring thoughts.

You turned your head to her as you took a drag of the blunt JJ had rolled, "hmm?"

“I asked if you wanted a beer?”

You checked the time on your phone, 12pm. After enduring 3 hours on this floating nightmare, you decide you're probably deserving of one.

“uh yeah sure.” You took another hit, extending your arm to grab the cold bottle.

You bought the edge of the glass bottle up to your lips and took a swig, letting the liquid wash over your cotton mouth. A swig swiftly turning into a gulp as thirst suddenly became itself known to you. One gulp then turned to two and before you knew it the bottle dried out.

JJ eyed your every move, the feeling that had been bugging him since you got into the Twinkie that morning had now grown into full-blown concern. Your unusual behaviour was deafening with the sounds of alarm bells.

“Thirsty?” He spoke with furrowed brows, prompting Pope to chuckle though no joke had been intended.

Your eyes flickered towards JJ momentarily and instantly you knew what he was  thinking. Anger disguised as adrenaline coursed through you.

“Sarah will you pass me another? Mines empty.” Defiance clear in your tone, causing a thick tension to settle over the boat.

“'s a bit it early to start chugging drinks isn’t it?” JJ speaks up again before Sarah has time to respond.

You scoffed as you turned to him once more, maintaining eye contact as you took a long drag from blunt. As you exhaled the smoke, the thick white cloud blurred his features.

“Sarah” you tried again.

You hear a small sigh as she hands you another bottle.

“Thank you” You took another swig at the bottle, hoping the liquid would force down the concoction of guilt and anger that swirled in your mouth.

“So like am I saying words out loud or is it just in my head?” JJ tried, at this point he just wanted a reaction out of you.

“You asked me to come here.” Your tone was snippy, as another burst of smoke entered your system.

“well my mistake clearly.” He was getting pissed off now, and you couldn’t deny the sick satisfaction it gave you. You knew it was unfair, he hadn’t done anything wrong, you just couldn’t help it.

Pope cleared his throat. “This is a whole lotta tension for such a little boat.” He tried to lighten the mood but his joke fell flat.

As you downed your second beer, you took another drag. “It is isn’t it?” You turned to him.

“Maybe you should have some of this JJ, it’ll help you relax.” You threw the blunt in his direction, letting it fall at his feet.

“What the hell crawled up your ass today?” JJ spat at you, picking up the blunt.

The mixture of alcohol and weed infected your system, your breathing became staggered as you suddenly became hyper aware of the layers clinging onto your body.

You don't answer. Instead choosing to stand up and remove your T-shirt. Rafe returned to your mind as you focused on the image of him mimicking your same actions. Your trousers were next to go. You pushed them down whilst picturing Rafe’s hands running down your legs.

Pope eyed Sarah and JJ who’s gaze were trained on you and your movements.

“Whatcha doing there bud?” Sarah asked watching you strip down to your underwear.

“I’m too hot” was all you said, stepping off the edge of the boat and letting yourself plunge into the cool water below you.

As you became completely submerged, you breathed out all of the air in your irritated lungs. Leaving you empty and heavy as you continued to sink. The muffled noises of the water hit against your head yet all you could hear was your thoughts racing. 

As the need for air increased, the rush of thought slowed. You liked it. The weightlessness of your body, mixed with the numbing of all of your senses was peacefull. A welcome change from the overdrive your body had been running on for the past year. 

You forced yourself to stay down there, pushing your physical boundaries. A split second before completely losing consiousness you emerged again, letting the air penetrate through your system and invade your insides as it worked to reboot your muscles before giving life again to the internal mayhem in your mind again. 

You floated with your head above the surface and your back facing the pogues. You couldn’t find yourself to act remotely interested in what they thought about your little show. 

JJ in turn felt as though he was slowly loosing his head. He felt dumbfounded because it wasn’t just your behaviour that was different, your entire demeanour and vibe was off and he failed to comprehend what could have happened in the span of 12 hours for you to return to him a complete different person. 

Sarah could see the way he looked at you, he was hot on your tail and she panicked trying to divert his calculating eyes from you. “So” she spoke up loud enough so that you could hear and be part of the conversation should you wish to. “Theres a party at my house tonight.”

“Oh really?” JJ answered, evidently uninterested as he continued his stare down with the back of your head. 

“Yeah Ward’s out of town with Rose and y'know Rafe, any opportunity he has to get shitfaced he’ll take it.” Relief washed over her as JJ’s eyes finally unglued from you. 

At the mention of Rafe your ears perked up. 

“Do you guys wanna come?” A devilish grin on her face evident as she spoke. 

“A kook party? We wouldn't be welcome.” Pope answered for the three of you, prompting a scoff from Sarah. 

“It’s my house too, plus I already threatened Rafe to let me invite you guys. I told him I’d snitch on him otherwise.” She shrugged.

“I’m sure he loved that” JJ added, amused at the thought of antagonising the Cameron boy. 

“Well what did he say?” Three pairs of eyes turned to you as you finally spoke up from the water, now facing the boat again. 

JJ couldnt help the face that your question caused him to pull. Why did you suddenly care about what Rafe Cameron had to say? Sarah already said they could go so why did it even matter? 

“He said whatever as long we stay away from him.” Her answer caused Pope and JJ to roll their eyes. It had been somewhat of a lie though. 

Because what Rafe had really said when Sarah had threatened him was, “whatever just stay away from us, and why don't you go ahead and bring that sexy little friend of yours.” 

To which Sarah had replied with, “We wouldn’t want to hang out with you and your classist friends anyway. Also, Kiara’s with JJ, and Y/N wouldn’t even touch you with a 10 foot pole so.” Unkowing of the situation between you and Rafe.

Looking back at it now, Rafe’s coy response of “we’ll see” suddenly made much more sense to her as she shuddered slightly in disgust. 

“Can’t we take a night off? I mean don’t you guys think we’ve been going a little extra hard recently?” Pope tried to reason as you swam back up towards the boat, forcing yourself on board again. 

“I’ll be there.” You interjected as the water ran down your body, soaking the deck of the hms. 

“we all will be.” JJ fired back, a confusing swirl of concern and anger towards your attitude fought for dominance within his head. 

You ignored him once more and lay back on the sodden deck, letting your persistant introspection rest as the blanket that was intoxication comforted you. You looked up at the clouds and the weighlessness returned. Before you knew it, he sounds of Pope and Sarah chatting drifted away with the soft waves that carried the boat. You lost grip on consciousness as the sun lulled you to sleep.

Around half an hour went by before JJ spoke up. “hey" he double checked you were definitely asleep.

He took your silence as confirmation before turning to the other two. “Y'all saw that right?”

“Saw what?” Sarah played dumb even though he she knew exactly what he was referring to.

“the way she was acting” He whisper shouted, confused as to why no one else seemed remotely worried. “It was like she hated us.” He spoke with the tone of a wounded man.

“Yeah… us.” Pope muttered under his breath.

“I think she’s just tired J, she uh- she had a long night.” Sarah stiffled what had been something between a laugh and a groan.

“Nah guys look- I know her, that wasn’t normal.” JJ didn’t ease up.

“We all know her.” Pope jumped on the defensive.

“c’mon dude it’s not just me, somethings obviously wrong”

At this point Sarah wished for anything to distract him, because as much as JJ wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed when it came to academic performance, he most certainly wasn’t dumb. And he definitely knew what he was talking about when it came to you.

“Maybe It’s.. you know..” Pope waggled his eyebrows. “Her time…” he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck “of- of the month?”

“Nice Pope.” Sarah rolled her eyes.

“’s not that. Guys look listen to me somethings definitely wr-“ the ringing of his phone interrupted JJ mid sentence. Saved by the bell. Literally.

JJ grabbed his phone and his frown eased up slightly as he looked at the caller ID.

“Hey baby” his tone made it seem like whatever he had been worrying about softened it’s grip on him at the sound of her voice. “Uh huh, okay give us ten and we’ll be there.” He hung up the phone and slipped it back into his pocket.

“Kie?” Sarah asked, praying he wouldn’t resume his ramble.

“Yeah she’s finished up at the wreck, wants us to go get her.” And with that the subject was dropped.

—————————————————————————

The late afternoon breeze stroked you awake as you suddenly became aware of the voices around you.

Your eyes fluttered open and you stirred where you lay, your body stiff from the 4 hour positioning against the hard wood of the hms. You slowly sat yourself up and threw your T-shirt back on your body before turning back to glance at the now complete group of pogues. Fuck how long had you been out for.

You let your eyes linger on Kiara and JJ a couple of seconds longer than everybody else. He laughed carelessly pulling her tighter against his side. You groaned out quietly and reached for your phone, typing out that damned name.

To Rafe: Having a party and you didn’t invite me? I’m almost offended.

Almost instantly a reply came through.

Miss me already?

You rolled your eyes as he sent you another.

Figured Sarah would open her big mouth, better see you tonight ;)

“Morning Camper.” John B spoke up. You turned around to face him, every single one of them with their attention on you.

“Hey can you take me home?” You directed at no one in particular.

“You don’t wanna stay and hang out?” Kie asked, she wanted to reach you, connect with you.

“I just want to go home” You were irritated and your head hurt, you were certainly in no mood for any of this.

John B was next to try “C’mon man we haven’t all hung out like this in ag-“

“Fuck just take me home” You lashed out. “please” You added in an attempt to soften the blow.

Silence fell over the pogues as John B lifted himself up and steered the boat towards the direction of your house.

As you hopped down you muttered a joyless goodbye to everyone.

“Wait! I’ll walk you in.” JJ peeled himself away from Kiara and followed behind you, slightly speeding as you hadn’t bothered to stop and wait.

He walked beside you, waiting until you were both out of hearing distance from the others.

“why are you angry?” He spoke up.

“I’m not angry.” You tried to walk faster but a calloused hand stopped you.

“Stop. Just stop.” You heard the desperation in his voice as he turned you around to face him. “can you just talk to me? Look whatever I did to piss you off I’m sorry. You just- you were fine yesterday and now all of a sudden you hate us-“

“Stop JJ” You just wanted it to stop. The consequence of your actions pounding down on you with every word that left his mouth.

“Stop what?!” He couldn’t help but shake you.

“Talking! Stop talking!” You shoved him forcefully off of you.

“The hell's wrong with you?! dude I’m worried about you. Today’s just been so weird.” His fingers shoved themselves through his hair, a nervous habit of his.

The familiar lump in your throat began to form at the sight of your best friend.

“I’m tired J.” It wasn’t a lie, you really were fucking exhausted. You were tired of lying, tired of watching the boy you loved love someone else, tired of trudging through your life heartbroken.

“You’re lying.” He shook his head like a disappointed parent. “Why you lyin' to me?”

“JJ. I’m. Tired.” You screwed your eyes shut as your breathing began to quicken “I’m not lying I’m just-“

“Okay alright.”  His embrace cut you off. “I believe you.” He hated seeing you upset. Having known you practically his whole life, he also knew that nothing ever got resolved when you got like this, so he dropped the subject.

You almost broke down then and there, using everything you had in you to move your arms around him, hugging him back.

“I’m sorry.” You whispered, the meaning behind your words far greater than he could realise.

“Hey it’s okay, we all have off days right?” He let go of you and gave you a small smile.

“Right.” Your remained court and quiet. 

“I’ll see you tonight. Go rest for a bit okay?”

You nodded and began to walk away before his voice stopped you once more.

“Yo” You turned to see that he had shoved his hands in pockets. “You’d tell me if something was wrong right?” He hated that he even had to ask.

“Mhm, course” You lied straight through your teeth before turning and walking away from him uninterrupted. You knew that as soon and as your bedroom door closed behind you, you’d sink down into a pit of despair and loathing.

Whilst the resolution had given him a little comfort, something deep inside told him that this wasn’t the end of it.

Perhaps he should have left things alone, maybe then things wouldn’t have escalated to extent that they were about to.

So as he watched you walk away, JJ stood there unknowing of what was to come. Unknowing of the way things were about to change between you forever.

[princessmaybank]

Can you do prompt 7

I'm sorry this took so long! I ran with this one and it turned out longer than it should have!

Riding Lessons

Pairings: BestFriend!JJ x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Riding, maybe some second hand embarrassment..I think that's it?

Summary: Reader wants to learn how to ride, who better to teach her than her bestie?!

Author's Note: I hope you like it, I love this idea, I feel like I could have done better though, let me know what you think. Enjoy!

I wanted to learn how to, ya know, "ride" I guess. I've been a pillow princess every time I've ever had sex but I wanted to be able to impress my sexual partner. I know JJ was just fooling around when he said I could always come to him if I ever needed help with something like that but I'm seriously thinking of his offer, well fake offer I guess. Damn it, I don't know! I've been trying to ask all week but it isn't exactly easy to ask your friend for dick riding lessons. I just wanted him to help me learn to move my body, I didn't have to actually hop on him.

Every time I try to ask, something gets in the way. John B is always around, I make a fool out of myself, I can't spit it out, he's too busy to talk, something. This time we are hanging out in the back yard of the chateau. The guys are chilling while us girls are chatting away.

"So that's when I-" Sarah paused, but I barely noticed as I anxiously looked between the ground and the blond boy who's been recently occupying my mind. "What's wrong Y/N?" She asked, clearly noticing my rapid-fire thumbs playing thumb wars with each other. "Oh nothing.." I pushed off, stopping my fingers, even though it wasn't easy. The girls poked until I would tell them what was bothering me. I didn't tell them everything, just the fact that I needed to talk to JJ alone, and it wasn't an easy conversation. Kie said I should just go grab him and pull him to the side right now but I told her that wasn't as easy as it sounded. John B and Pope latch onto the man and keep him tight.

"HEY JJ COME HERE!" I heard Kiara shout as loud as fucking possible. All the guys started standing up. "ONLY JJ!" Sarah added.

The other two sat down as JJ waltzed over to us. My heart was racing, I wasn't ready for this conversation. "What?" He pretended to get snippy. "I wanna ask you something." I speak up. He motions for me to continue. "privately.." I add on. "Oh okay, we'll be back." He smiles towards the girls before grabbing my hand and leading me into the chateau. I expected him to stop in the living room but he sat me on the bed in the guest room before shutting the door. "What's up?" He smiled as he crossed his arms and leaned against the door. My fingers did that thing again. "Now that I think about it, it's not that important anymore!" I rush my words out and try to get past him and to the door. "Ah ah ah. What is it, Y/N/N?" He looked a little concerned.

I wasn't sure how to bring this up. I've thought about this conversation many times and still haven't figured out the best way to say it. "Uhm- well this is a di-difficult conversation Jayj..I want to have it, but I'm not sure how to start it, and I'm worried it'll ruin our friendship and I was kind of ready for this con-" I started my rambling because I got nervous, but JJ cut me off. He walked up to me and crouched in front of me. His right hand reached out and laid on top of my knee. "Breathe Y/N. I'm sure whatever it is, won't ruin our friendship. Cause we're too close, there's nothing we can't say to each other." He said with a smile.

"O-okay.." I said sheepishly. "So talk to me." He said casually and got up to sit on the bed next to me. "Uhm- so you know how you jokingly said I could come to you with like-" I was hesitant and JJ knew that. "Questions involving sex?" He giggled and finished my question for me. I nodded very fast causing him to giggle again. "That wasn't a joke, I meant it." He smiled with a small chuckle. My eyes widened but I shut that down real fast. "Oh, okay, well I do have a question.." I slowly spoke. He nudged me to continue. "This is really awkward and you don't have to say yes, please don't feel pressured to do this, it's really stupid actually, so-" He shushed me. "Calm down. I'm willing to help with anything you need." He smiled. His words caused a blush to rise to my cheeks. I took a deep breath before I closed my eyes and said what I've been meaning to say. "I want to learn how to be on top." That was the easiest way I could say it. "You want me to teach you how to ride dick?" He asked. My eyes were still closed but I felt so embarrassed. My hands covered my face and I heard him chuckle before pulling my hands away. "Look at me." He said. I opened my eyes and looked up at JJ. I tried not to think about the embarrassment coursing through my veins. "Good girl." He said and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. My heart was beating a mile a minute. I can't believe he just called me that. "Now strip for me." He said and motioned for me to stand. "W-what?" My eyes went wide again. "You want to learn, right? Gotta take your clothes off for me." He said calmly. "I-I thought...I thought you were just going to show me how to move my body.." I twirled my fingers again. "Oh baby...you wanna get some practice first don't you? And who better to try it out on than your best friend?" JJ smirked.

I can't fuck my best friend! This would ruin everything.

"B-but-" I stuttered. "Don't go shy on me now Y/N." He smirked. "Here, I'll go first." He stood proudly in front of me. He removed his hat and boots first. His cut off tank was next before he finally took off his cargo shorts. JJ sat back down next to me on the bed, only in his boxers now. I couldn't stop my eyes from wandering his toned body.

"Your turn Y/N/N." He whispered into my ear. I hesitated again, and he must've noticed. "Would you like some help?" He asked. All I was able to do was lightly nod. JJ slowly grabbed my hands and stood me in front of him. His fingers traveled to the bottom of my shirt and pulled upwards, over my head, gently. His hands grasped my waist and pulled me closer to him. JJ's fingers danced in the waistband of my shorts before shimmying them down my legs. His hands ran up and down my legs starting at my hips.

"Come here.." He whispered before sitting against the headboard. I straddled his lap and his hands met my hips again. "Can I kiss you, Y/N?" He asked. So gently and calmly like we weren't in the position we were in. I nodded and parted my lips, pushing them closer to him. As our lips lingered together, his hands rocked my hips against his, back and forth. I could feel him growing beneath me, causing arousal to pool in my panties.

"You sure you wanna learn from me?" He asked after pulling his lips away from mine. "Wouldn't wanna learn from anyone else.." I responded slowly, staring into his eyes. He smiled before pulling our lips back together for a moment. "You already have step one down, which is good." He smirked. "What's step one?" I asked while breathing heavily. "Turn on your partner." His hand found its way to my hair and tugged forcefully. JJ pressed his lips to my neck and made his way down my torso. "Next you're gonna move your panties to the side for me."

For the next few minutes I listened to every word this man said. When I finally eased myself onto his cock, we both let out small gasps. He encouraged me to move when I felt ready but I asked him to help guide me. JJ placed his hands on my hips and moved me back and forth on him slowly. "You can also go up and down, side to side, or in circles, why don't you try something." A small whimper escaped my mouth. I wasn't sure I was ready. "Let the pleasure guide you..nothing you do is wrong. Go ahead." He said while tucking a piece of hair behind my ear.

When I finally worked up the courage to move, I decided to just move back and forth. JJ's mouth opened slightly from the pleasure. His hands were still on my hips but he wasn't moving me. I picked up my pace and tried to bounce up and down, which felt so good. I felt like I could release right there with the way his dick was punching my insides. I picked up my speed again, JJ and I were moaning messes in each other's arms. I bounced harder when I realized that's what felt good to me. JJ threw his head back as his hands squeezed my hips tighter. "Just like that.." He whined. My jaw was on the floor. He was gorgeous like this. "Fuck baby... don't stop. I'm almost there.." He let out, heaving. I didn't even slow down. I chased our highs until I couldn't anymore. JJ released with my name on his lips as I did the same with him. I collapsed on top of my best friend, his cock twitching inside of me as we started to come down. My body was shaking from the ultimate pleasure I had just experienced. "Shhhh .." He soothed as he caressed my hair. "such a good girl...I can't wait for our next lesson.." He wanted more? My pussy is in for one wild ride.

[lanawinterscigarettes]

Happy Birthday, B (Blair Waldorf x gn reader)

Summary: when you're too late to celebrate your girlfriend's birthday, you vow to make it up to her

Warnings: SMUT, swearing, cunnilingus/vaginal fingering (Blair receiving), light praise kink

A/N: so blair's birthday was november fifteenth and of course I don't remember until early morning the next day so please take this as an apology fic for forgetting (I love you B I'm sorry </3)

It was Blair's birthday, and you'd fucked up big time by doing the one thing you swore you wouldn't: not showing up.

You'd gone on a business trip right beforehand, promising you'd make it back in time to celebrate it with her. Your plane was supposed to land early enough on the fifteenth of November so you'd make it, but between flight delays and unexpected turbulence of course that didn't happen. Now you were arriving just after midnight on the sixteenth with an overdue birthday gift and a very angry girlfriend.

"Baby, I'm home," you called out as you entered your shared penthouse where you had the limo drop you off, frowning slightly when she didn't immediately come to greet you at the door. You supposed you couldn't really blame her all things considered.

"Baby?"

You dropped the shopping bags full of her birthday gifts- all of which were highly expensive designer and luxury brands, as you got only the best for your beloved -in the front walkway of the penthouse before continuing your search. When you finally found her, she was in the bedroom, pouting while staring down at the sheets.

"Baby," you cooed out as you moved to sit next to her on the bed. She simply huffed and turned away from you, clearly upset. "Baby, I'm so sorry I wasn't here sooner, my flight got delayed, and then it got cancelled, and-"

"I don't care about any of that," she spoke suddenly, her voice snippy and full of irritation. "It was my birthday, and you were supposed to be there with me."

"I know, baby, I know, and I'm so sorry," you desperately tried to apologize, wanting nothing more than to see her happy again. "I brought you some gifts I think you might enjoy," you added in hopes that perhaps that would be the thing to lift her spirits again.

You noticed her eyes lit up very briefly at the mention of you having gifts for her, but it was gone just as soon as it appeared, that same sullen expression returning as she mumbled out "Whatever".

The guilty frown on your face only deepened even further at that. "Baby, please," you pleaded, now starting to feel a little hopeless. "There has to be some way that I can make this up to you."

It was as if you'd said the magic words, because the next thing you knew her previously pouty lips had curled upwards into a mischievous smirk. "Oh, I'm sure I can think of something," she purred in a low and sultry tone, her gaze already darkening with the oncomings of lust.

That's how you found yourself with your face between her thighs in the earlier morning hours after her birthday, doing something that would certainly always make it up to her no matter what you'd done wrong, and that included missing her birthday.

She mewled and whined at the feeling of your tongue dragging along her wet slit, gently lapping up her sweet juices. One hand rested on her thigh, making sure her legs were kept spread while the other was inching closer and closer towards her aching hole itself.

Her back arched upwards almost immediately the moment she felt your fingers nudge inside her, expanding her velvety walls as you slowly pushed them in. "God, yes," she moaned loudly as her hands reached down to rest on top of your head, directing your mouth on where to go. "Just like that, God- Just like that, so good-"

The sound of her being expressively happy rather than angry at something you did only boosted your confidence and made you want to please her even more, which was definitely achieved judging from the loud whimper she let out when you changed course and decided to start lightly sucking on her clit.

"I- I'm gonna cum-" She announced right as her hips began bucking up against your face, your fingers intentionally plunging deep within her when she said that.

You could feel her body tense up underneath you, and you peeked up at her from your spot between her thighs, watching as she tilted her head back while biting her lip, trying to muffle her sounds of ecstacy the best she could. You were just about to pull away when you felt her hand shove your mouth back against her swollen clit.

"What, you didn't think we were done, did you?" She said with an obvious scoff, spreading her legs a bit further apart to give you some more room. "You owe me at least one more orgasm as well as whatever's in those bags that you brought me before you can even think about being forgiven."

She drove a hard bargain, but that was why you loved her. "Of course, baby. Whatever you say," was your only response to the demands that were being made, your fingers beginning to pump in and out of her at a quicker speed than before as you went right back to eating her out.

Blair was known to most to be hard to please, but you knew exactly which buttons to push in order to get back in her favor, and you intended to use them to your advantage. After all, the birthday girl deserved to be spoiled.

"This just in: B allegedly received apology head from her tardy partner after they didn't make it back in time for her birthday. At least, that's what's been gathered from what the neighbors say. Talk about a noise complaint. Here's a tip: next time, B should gift them with a watch so they'll remember to keep an eye on the time, or perhaps a calendar so they'll never forget her special day. Or at the very least she should hide their passport from them so they can't jet off somewhere without her. They might've left you hanging in the first half, but from what we've heard they always know how to keep you properly satisfied in the end. Happy birthday, B. Here's to hoping it wasn't a total disappointment. You know you love me. XOXO, Gossip Girl."

End notes: I'm so obsessed with this even though it was written super duper fast haha

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[tinynerddeer]

Missing You

Alec Volturi X Fem!Reader

Summary: You begin to miss your vampire soulmate when he leaves you in the italian castle on an important mission.

Warnings: suggestive material

Authors Note: My first work!!! I've been deliberating this for the longest time. I am open to criticism (be nice please lol) and any comments! Hope you enjoy 💞

》》》》

The bed you usually shared with him was cold and empty while he was gone. You opted to sleep on the couch included in your lush chambers in his prolonged absence. His being away was prolonged exactly by five days as his mission was originally supposed to be two days, but was extended to a full week immediately after his departure. Alec's phone calls were hurried as he was always pulled away by the rigorous chase of a troubled rogue vampire. The hasty words shared between the two of you were never enough for either side.

You layed upon your velvet sofa, gazing at the gold bracelet gifted to you by Alec. It had a darling engravement on the plaque: "forever". Your phone rang and you hurried to jump up to grasp and answer your phone.

"Hello", you tried to not sound excited or anxious, although you currently were both.

"My Tesoro, are you well? I expect to be home shortly." He sounded slightly strained, although you chose not to comment on it.

"I'm fine." You come off more snippy than intended, but move past it to not worry him. "You caught him? Finally?"

His reply came immediately: "Yes-- well, Jane caught him."

You giggle, a sound that always made Alec's dead heart flutter. "I bet she did." You pause. "So...soon as in tonight or..." you let your impatience do the talking, much to Alec's amusement.

"Yes as in tonight, princess." You heard the smirk in his voice. "Can you handle another few hours, dear?"

"Don't tease me." You order sternly. "Run here as fast as you can because 'another few hours' is all that I can handle anymore." Your snarky response was followed by Alec's laugh before you hung up to get ready for his return.

You take your time in showering and applying light brushes of makeup while listening to music. When you were in your shared walk-in closet surveying your options of dresses, you felt cold hands on your waist.

"Don't bother putting anything else on when your robe is about to come off..."

You quickly turn around to throw your arms around Alec's neck. "Alec! I missed you!" You hugged him tighter as he leaned closer to your neck to leave kisses.

"And I you." His lips moved up to your cheek, then to your lips. The kiss was filled with longing. Your tongues soothed eachothers as your hands moved to his shoulders to anchor yourself so he could pick you up.

He walked the two of you over to your perfectly made bed and sat you down. Your hands slid down Alec's chest where he held them there between his own hands. "It's been too long..." you state in a sultry manner, laying back on the comforter.

"I can't help but to agree with you, my lady." Alec's response was accompanied by his hands running down your thighs, and back up again to toy with the hem of your robe. "Shall I act on my earlier words?" Alec winked at you while he waited for you to give your consent, a must in your relationship.

"You shall," you giggled out in excitement. Your robe now dangled off of your shoulders, and Alec's hands are tracing the lace of your panties. Slight rubs through the fabric had you letting out panting breaths. "Alec," you whimpered.

His movements suddenly stopped. He gained a statue like appearance with his unmoving eyes and pristine skin. You tugged on his sleeve to gain his attention. "Don't tell me."

His lips were now pursed in an apology. "You know I don't mean for this to happen--." Bangs on the doors sound and you hear a teasing voice directing Alec to the throne room: Demetri.

"I'm afraid you and your hands are needed elsewhere, Alec." You scoff at Demetri's inappropriate words, and move off of the bed to put your robe back on.

"Be quick. Dont make me take matters into my own hands." You warn Alec.

This makes Alec determined to get back to you in a timely manner; he speeds out the door, almost trampling over Demetri.

A busy vampire you were mated to.

[stellarbit]

i have a kinda strange ask.

so i have severe insomnia. i've done sleep studies and meds but sometimes i just CANNOT sleep, even as bad as multiple days no sleep. doctors and i are still working on a fix. it's a fucking nightmare (except i can't have nightmares if im not asleep, can i???)

i'm a very calm, quiet, logical, and collected person except when i can't sleep. then i'm a crying and genuinely insane wreck.

i would absolutely LOVE if you could do some kind of Crosshair x female reader with some kind of scenario like this. it would make me feel better. Like maybe he didn't see her sleep the previous night and finds her still awake at like 3am the next night and this normally stoic girl is just an absolute unhinged psychotic mess and he has to fix it 🤷🏻‍♀️

idk how far ur willing to go (leaving it up to you) but just as a general idea as to how i (and many other people with this problem) get without sleep, i can get kinda violent, super snippy with people, can't stop crying, impulsive, physically sick sometimes, and don't always sound coherent or refuse to listen to people even if they're trying to help me. it's not a fun mental state to be in.

i'm never sleeping so i might as well read your literature (it's like a nightly ritual i love your stuff)

thank you 🙏

I know what it's like. Insomnia kicks my ass occasionally and it wrecks me and takes days of my life away before I can finally sleep. I hope you find some rest buddy <3 alsothankyouforthecomplimentjfc

give this a listen while you read

Just Lay With Me

Word Count: 1.5k Pairing: Crosshair x fem!reader SFW Warnings: insomnia kicking your ass all the way to next Sunday Summary: After a long bout of no sleep, you break and Crosshair is there to pick up the pieces. gif credit: @moonstrider9904

Sleep evaded you more and more often lately. Your new normal was turning into nights without more than an hour of dozing off. Nights that stretched into a week at a time with an occasional night of sleep, however restless. This time around the sleepless nights were quickly working their way to a month’s stretch.

After a few nights of frequently waking, two rotations went by without so much as a blink of sleep. At this point you weren’t just delirious, nausea turned your stomach and your head throbbed constantly. Every sound jarred you, pushing you to the brink of crying each time. 

Unable to string together more than a few coherent thoughts at a time, you’d planned on avoiding town the next. You were liable to snap at the smallest slight, but even in this state you knew it wasn’t fair to others.

By the time Crosshair came to find you, you were well beyond your limit.

Crosshair noticed your erratic behavior first. You’d snapped at Omega when she and Crosshair bumped into you on the street. Crosshair tried to stop you from walking off but you bit his head off too.

It was unlike you. Ordinarily, you were composed and rational—characteristics that had faded as your sleepless nights dragged on.

Your increasingly disheveled look became Crosshair’s next worry. You didn’t preen by any stretch of the imagination, but you took care of yourself and it always showed. Now, your skin took on a dull hue, your hair greasy and untamed, and dark circles gave your eyes a sunken appearance.

The night before he and Omega ran into you, Crosshair had noticed a light on in your home around 2 AM. Knowing you weren't typically up at that hour, he found it strange. The following evening, as he lay in bed, thoughts of your earlier encounter in town filled his mind. With a growing suspicion, he rose and stepped out to the patio. From there, he could see a dim light shining from your bedroom window.

He knew what insomnia looked like, had fought with it himself after being trapped on that Kaminoan platform, and didn’t want to push you if his suspicions were true. 

Then, the sound of glass shattering from your home shattered his hesitation. He leapt over the patio railing, his feet barely touching the ground as he dashed toward your house. Fortunately, your door was unlocked—an issue he noted to address later—and he entered your home in seconds.. 

He didn’t call out for you, instead choosing to quietly make his way through your space, tiptoeing through scattered blankets and clothes strewn over furniture. When he found you, you were on your kitchen floor, hunched over with your hands fisting your hair. 

Soft heaves shook your body as you rocked in place. Broken glass surrounded you, making the situation even more delicate.

Crosshair had been right, you hadn’t been sleeping.

Knowing there was no good way to break the silence, Crosshair softly called your name. Sure enough, you jumped hard and nearly slid onto a shard of glass.

Crosshair lurched forward to steady you by your upper arm only for you to rip out of his grip. You whipped your head around, hair falling in your face in a deranged look. It fit seeing as you certainly felt deranged. 

The sniper’s eyes were uncharacteristically soft, with brows slightly raised and shoulders relaxed. It felt like pity. Red hot shame flooded your system, sending you shuffling like a newborn fawn to your feet. 

In a harsh, hoarse voice you lashed out, “What are you doing here?”

Crosshair glanced at the mess around you.“Your lights were on and I heard something break.” You didn’t answer leaving only heavy silence between you. Crosshair sighed, looking back at you. “You’re not sleeping, are you?”

There wasn’t enough air for you to answer, your breath hitched into small gasps as tears warped your vision. Dipping your head back, you managed to blink back some of the wet from your eyes. With a determined shake of your head, you cleared your voice and firmly said, “I’m fine.” 

A line in the sand between you - a desperate claim to control something, anything.

His eyes on you, those sharp, all seeing, critical eyes, made your skin crawl. Not him specifically, but him seeing you as you were. This wasn’t how you wanted him to see you. Unable to stop the uncomfortable squirm that rolled through you, you waved both hands at him as if to ward him off.

“Please just leave.” Your voice was pleading, your eyes blinking furiously. 

“I’m not doing that.” Crosshair said gently. You weren’t sure if your tears, the lighting, or reality itself made Crosshair look so hazy.

Perhaps this was the next step into delirium. The thought widened your eyes with newfound fear. He’d appeared so suddenly - was he even real? Crosshair narrowed a worried look on you as a fresh, sickening feeling gripped you, spurring you back a step. Right onto a shard of glass.

You cried out, nearly collapsing, but Crosshair was quick to support you, preventing you from falling completely. The pain shooting through your foot crumbled your remaining resolve.

Crosshair swept an arm under your knees to scoop you into his arms. He hugged you close, even as you thrashed against him in fits of sobbing. He carried you to the bathroom and carefully set you on the edge of the tub.

Despite the sobs, you let Crosshair put your injured foot under the tap and rinse the blood still seeping from your wound. He felt the tremors wracking your body as he angled your foot towards him. Luckily the shard was sticking out enough that removing it would be easy enough under normal circumstances.

“I have to pull the shard out.” Crosshair said as inspected your foot. A choked sob pulled his eyes to your face again. Your lips wobbled in a devastated frown on your blotchy tear stained face.

Seeing you so fragile or haunted tore something in him knowing he could do little more than sit and watch you fall apart.

In an exhausted whisper, you confessed, “I’m so tired, Cross.”

“I know,” He whispered back and removed the shard in one swift pull.

Crosshair put your foot under the tepid water again, simultaneously pulling a towel from the rack beside him. As he dried your foot and applied pressure to the wound, he decided to share something.

“When the empire recovered me from the Kaminoan platform…” He paused on a deep breath. He hadn’t even told his brothers or Omega, but if he could do nothing else he hoped he could at least make you feel less alone.

Crosshair gently pulled you by your leg and pivoted you out of the tub. Braving vulnerability, he knelt in front of you and said, “I… I didn’t sleep for a long time. I don’t know how long, exactly, but long enough that I had to be sedated.” He smoothed a hand over your knee, adding, “I know what it’s like.”

You gave a small nod, focusing on regulating your breathing, too overwhelmed to speak. Sensing your need for comfort, Crosshair whispered, “Can I carry you to bed?” His tone was gentle, mindful not to startle you.

Your head fell forward in shame. Pressing a hand over your eyes you shook your head and mumbled, “It’s a mess.”

Crosshair couldn’t help the soft snort that came from him, drawing your head back up. A questioning, almost offended, look came over you. Crosshair didn’t ask for further permission as he came in close to you and lifted you with him. 

“You should see Tech’s room.” He teased, his breath warm on your cheek. “And he sleeps whenever he likes.”

The small joke did manage to lift your lips and you found some comfort in the cadence of his steps. He’d not yet gone this far for you. No one ever had. 

Crosshair crawled into bed with you still in his arms, pushing into your tousled duvet and placing you next to him. Leaning across you, he murmured an apology and froze before turning your light out.

Peering down past his arm at you, he swallowed before asking, “Do you mind if I stay with you?”

You didn’t think it was possible, but a small smile warbled over you. You hummed out an affirmative and rolled towards, rubbing your face into the soft fabric of his shirt. Crosshair chuckled under his breath and turned off the light.

He slid in next to you, sitting at an angle that his arms cradle around you. His made lazy trails over your back

“The kitchen-” you started.

“Tomorrow.” Crosshair cut you off. “For now, just lay with me.”

In the quiet hour, in your messy bed, in Crosshair’s arms you finally found rest.

[gg-neptune]

Sevy Helping with a Flare Up

A/N: So, this is based off my struggle with the illness' I have. I have a few that they just make it hard to function sometimes and life all around painful. I usually have to just push through, but I hope this can bring comfort to anyone else who struggles with chronic illness as well or if your just tired. I know this can't be specific to everyone so I based it off mine and my struggles I am sorry if you cannot relate. This is more of what I wish someone would do to me when I wake up and feel like ughhhhhhhhhhh. I hope you enjoy <3333. Thank you for all the support feedback is welcome :))

Word: 1.0k

He would do everything he could think of for you

Acts of Service king

He wants to lighten your load and make things easier for you in general

When you have a flare up or it’s just a bad day, he’s all over trying to do everything he can to help you

Want a bath? He’s already got it run. Want a massage? He’s got a massage bed, don't ask where from? Want food? Five course meals eat as much or as little as you want. Want to complain? He’s a licensed therapist.

You simply want to lay in bed and let tears slowly drip down your face as you contemplate the point of continuing life if this is what your life will be like? He will be there holding you in his arms wiping away your tears pressing a kiss or two to your face reassuring you that this is going to pass.

He always is on you about taking your meds too

He always remembers

And any potion he can possibly think of that will help you he will brew immediately and have a stock of it at all times if it proves to be helpful

If you have headaches, he will be quieter than you knew a human could

His chest is always open to you, and you are always welcome to come rest your head upon it when music it too loud, but you need some noise

Recently it seemed as if your body had been slowing down

Every movement took so much out of you it was a struggle to move your limbs not to mention the pain shooting through your body when you would make a bigger movement than usual

The overwhelming feeling of fatigue was taking over your body as well after being in so much pain for almost 2 weeks by now with no sign of it getting better your body was giving out

So, when you awoke on that warm Monday morning attempting to sit up and immediately feeling a pain shoot through your lower back up to your shoulder through your elbow you knew you were screwed

Whining at the feeling you try to stretch a bit to alleviate the pain to no avail

Severus moves at the sound of you being in pain, immediately being awoken

“Are you ok?” He asks gently, bringing his hand up to rub circles over your shoulders

“Do I sound ok to you?” you respond in a snippy voice. The immediate pain first thing in the morning putting you in a foul mood

He winced at the sound of your voice, “What hurts?”

“Everything,” you groan out before easing your way back down into the bed resting your head on the pillow, pulling the covers over your head. “I just don’t feel good, sorry I’m being pissy.”

“It’s ok, I understand It’s not your fault.”

“It’s no excuse.”

The man leans down over you putting part of his weight on you hoping to help you, “I forgive you it’s ok.” He gently whispers in your ear his warm breath casting over your ear tickling you slightly

You simply hum in response not having the energy to respond to him fully, your head was aching dully it was like your body had been beaten and was now bruised and recovering, but it would forever be recovering, never healing

“Do you want some breakfast,” his deep voice asked you gently, his hands now running lightly through your hair which in response you swatted him away not wanting your tender head to be touched

“No, I feel like I’m going to be sick,” the thought of any type of food getting anywhere near you immediately making bile raise in your throat luckily you were able to swallow it back down

“Do you want me to just leave you alone and let you sleep,” he asked sarcastically a hint of knowing in his voice though already aware what your response would be

“I have classes to teach today.”

“I’ll tell Albus he’ll find someone to cover just go back to sleep alright? Let me take care of it I’ll be back in a moment,” he whispers to you before pressing a gentle kiss to your lips savoring every second and then carefully removing himself from on top of you, tucking you in making sure the blankets fully covered you

You stare into the abyss for a while not being able to fall asleep for quite a while, despite your exhaustion and desperation to sleep and to rest your body would not go to sleep, so instead you opt for staring into the wall

Music would be too loud right now, but the silence is deafening

Finally, you hear Severus enter quietly, his footsteps light and soft in case you were asleep

He carefully peeks into your shared bedroom to see if you were asleep

“Why aren’t you sleeping?”

“Can’t,” you grumble out irritably before rising up slowly, some of the pain having subsided by now allowing you to get out of bed

Almost until you stand and suddenly all of the blood in your head rushes out of your head and you immediately start to sway, this has happened so many times however you are used to locking up and steadying yourself

Severus will quickly realize this and rush to your size placing his hand on your power back to steady you and his other hand on your shoulder. He supported you until you were able to stand on your own still helping you to the couch borderline carrying

You make your way to the couch (with his help) and tuck your legs underneath you, trying to retain heat in the cold room

“Would you like me to run you a bath,” he asks still talking quietly not wanting to hurt your head

You nod the thought of the warmth of the water enveloping being very comforting and soothing right now

He has one of his fists clenched as he walks over to you, he holds it out to you

"What is that?"

"Your pills," he states. You had forgotten about them completely. Dropping them in your hand before going to run your bath.

Situating yourself in the water allowing it to wash away some of the dull aching all over, Severus say crisscrossed right outside leaning his head against his hand

“I wish there was more I could do for you,” he said quietly his voice laced with empathy the thought of you being in pain and him not doing enough not being a comforting idea for him

“You do more for me than I would’ve ever done for me.”

[acefiree]

𝗯𝗮𝘆! 𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹 | bedtime argument

Raphael ✷ Grayson ( dating ) MASTERLIST

ᕦ(๏益๏)ᕥ: when stupid argument turn into a cuddle session with the hotheaded ninja.

WARNINGS: ocs, first pov, cuddling, slight tension, harsh words.

NOTE: this can be read as a reader insert, so enjoy ❤️

      IT WAS A PETTY argument, one that I couldn’t even remember how or why it started. But it was still an argument, and it left me fuming with my boyfriend. My very hotheaded, burly, boyfriend – who right now, was lying on his side of the bed, eyes sharp as the Sai he wields as he stared down at me.

      "Why are ya' actin' like a brat?" The fuck? His words came off gruff, and the tone he used caused my blood to boil. Did he really just call me a brat?

      "Brat? Seriously?" I snipped, the angle I was in giving me a perfect view of his face. I squinted my eyes up at him. I know this was childish, but the petty side of me was strong. So I did the most logical and expected thing any girlfriend would do when pissed off at their boyfriend. I grabbed a handful of my thick duvet, jerking it up my body until it reached under my chin, “I’ll show you a frackin’ brat!”

      This time, instead of egging him on to get a rise out of him, I swiftly rolled over and faced away, curling under the blanket to hide myself from his glare. I could feel the bed shift from behind me, dibbing deep from the weight of the burly turtle. There was a gruff huff, and I knew Raphael was even more annoyed now.

I felt the bed shift again, and I could only assume he was rolling onto the back of his shell, given the fact the matress jostled with his movements, as if he were having a little trouble getting comfortable. After that, a deafing silence filled my room and the only sounds was of us breathing. I'm sure a whole hour passed, and by then, I had calmed to the point I started to feel bad.

All I wanted to do now is roll over, curl into his arms, and pepper kisses on his face until he showed me that breath taking smirk I loved so much. But the stubborn side of me wouldn't allow that. Raphael couldn't think what he said earlier was okay. Sure, calling me a Brat pissed me off, but that wasn't the reason I was upset.

He had just come through my window in a pissy mood because things at the lair where tense, him and Leo butting heads again, so naturally he was already upset, with his quick temper and rebellious attitude. I know he had a hard time controlling his actions when it came to following his older brothers demands for their team. But what started our argument was something so so stupid, and I should have known telling him to give Leo a break would set him off.

Raphael just wanted someone to take his side for once, but I didn't, instead I took his older brothers side. Though, it wasn't with ill intent. I only said what I said because it was true. Leo could be an ass sometimes, but the guy had the stress of protecting his younger brothers, and on top of that, he was the leader. And when I tried telling Raph that, it didn't play out the way I had hoped.

"If ya' wanna defend Fearless so bad, why don't ya' date him instead,"

Those words had hurt, but I knew he didn't mean them. It was very, and I mean very rare for Raphael to get snippy with me like that. But tonight, I caught him in one his worst moods, and I should have approched the situation better. Though, I wasn't going to give in and let him think speaking to me like that was okay.

Cause it's not, and he won't do it again. I couldn't give in to his tough-guy charm, which always made my heart flutter in the most alluring way.

      I kept my eyes closed, hoping soon, sleep would take me so I wouldn't just fold.

      Just as I was starting to relax, and drift into sleep, the feeling of three large fingers incasing the side of my shoulder had me wide awake and on guard. At first, I reached up, pushing his hand away, trying to show him I meant business. But then, the bed dipped as he rolled to face me and a muscled arm around my mid-section made my stubbornness melt away as I was tugged backward into a hard, plastron chest.

      His arm slotted under mine as he gently turned my upper half a little so he could see my face, his beak burring into the dip of my shoulder as he laid a small kiss on my skin. A tiny shiver ran down my spine as he let out a small rumble, the deep sound vibrating against my back as he left a trail of soft kisses until he got to my ear and lowly whispered.

"I'm sorry, baby, I shouldn'a spoke to you that way..."

His lips were ghosting over mine as I turned my head, finally getting a good look at those green eyes I loved so much. There was a softness to his gaze, and I could see the regret shining in the pools of his eyes.

My own gaze softened the longer I stared into his eyes, and no words had to be shared, because I knew, he was honestly sorry and he knew he messed up. And he also knew I couldn't stay mad for long, especially not when was staring at me like that, a look I was sure he had learned from Mikey, who oftentimes got anything he wanted when he pulled this expression.

      His soft apology had me like putty in his hands, and all I could do in response was nudge my nose against his, laying a soft peck on the scar on his upper lip before grasping the hand that somehow wedged its way on the other side of my head. Turning back around, I sunk into his hold and tugged his arm under my chin, which was slunked over me like a protective blanket. I kissed his knuckles, earning a deep churr in response as he relaxed and laid back, effectively pulling my smaller form closer.

      I felt him bury his face into my hair, inhaling deeply "Ya' drive me crazy, babe."

      This time, a tiny giggle escaped my lips and I ran my fingers over his forearm, marveling at how rough he was compared to my softness. "You love me for it,"

      "Yeah, I do." He murmured, kissing my head once more before dropping his hands to trail the curves of my body that were slotted against his larger form. He rumbled once again, "So fuckin' much,"

MASTERLIST

[eddiediazismyhusband]

breathe friend you know tommy is bones in s8, he's not bucks endgame the reliable leaker has literally been clear about that. don't believe anything that psychopath on twitter says, she's literally insane.

oh trust me i don’t believe anything she says lmao

and i know the leaker said that about tommy but tbh that dont mean shit about whether or not they are actually going to fix any of the fuckery they pulled in s7

just because they are allegedly giving tommy the boot doesn’t mean they’re going to actually get their shit together and stop ship baiting us; so like i said until they actually start to give us any indication that they’re going to stop mistreating poc characters for cheap drama and that storylines are actually going to be thought out beforehand rather than thrown together because “ehh, this is good enough” i’m not going to be wasting my time. these shows are meant for entertainment. if i am not being entertained by what’s being done, why am i going to waste my energy on it?

i dont say this to sound snippy or rude, anon, and it is NOT directed at you specifically (and i really hope it doesn’t come across that way i am just bad at emoting through screens 😭😭), i promise, but sometimes it feels like people who try to “talk me off the ledge” in these anonymous asks don’t really look at what i’m actually saying and they jump to the conclusion that i’m just making shit up to panic about, but the fact of the matter is that everything i talked about in that post is something that could feasibly happen… all of buck’s love interests up to this point have not been narratively satisfying; developed or not. so even if tommy does end up going like the leaker said (again not getting my hopes up because things change at the drop of a hat in this business) that doesn’t mean they will actually follow through with queer eddie or that any other potential love interest for buck will be in any way narratively satisfying. i’m not saying i’m closing on buddie, because i will love them and ship them together when my body is six feet under, but after the burning dumpster that was s7 post the cruise ship arc, i don’t have the faith in tim that i had before.

at the end of the day, yes abc is a more accepting and inclusive studio, but it is still that: a studio. a corporation. a money maker. they don’t actually give a fuck about the fans. i have seen time and time again that these shows do this cat and mouse shit with a queer ship and then never follow through, even if one of the characters involved does end up being confirmed queer. maybe it was a little harsh to say that tim is only interested in money, but after how little thought and care he put into last season it’s hard not to feel like he actually cares about the fans who have stuck with this show since the beginning.

i’ve mentioned before that i have stuck with this show for seven years. i have shipped buddie since s2. i witnessed the s4 buildup and subsequent letdown in s5 and 6. I know that was not tim’s fault specifically, that KR and Fox both fucked the show over

but that does not mean that tim won’t also change his mind— we saw evidence of that last minute with all the rewrites that were happening post mid season hiatus with s7. he found out he’s getting another season so he changed the plot of 7b, and if they get a season 9, all the more reason to keep dragging the buddie bait hype along with now true intentions to follow through?

i reslly really reallly wanted to trust tim again especially after the potential he had with the shooting arc in s4, but sometimes it feels like he himself has closed on buddie since then unless it’s done as a last-ditch effort to save the show… again, i’m not saying i think bt is going to be endgame, but just because they aren’t endgame doesn’t mean buddie is and that is what pisses me off. that we will have been waiting for nearly a decade for this ship to go canon, we will have gone through so much hate and vitriol from the bt stans, we have been teased and built up time and time again (even in s7), we have been bait and switched with no satisfactory outcome, and we have been laughed at the entire time, and there is a possibility that none of it will actually pay off, all because some white man gets to call the shots and he’s shown that all he cares about is melodrama and trolling people online to stir up shit.

anyway, i didn’t mean to hijack this post, anon, but i wnated to further expound upon what exactly my point was in my original post, which was not that i believed Bree’s delusions or that the helicopter pilot is buck’s endgame, but that i won’t trust tim to actually go through with anything promising until i start to see actual concrete irrefutable evidence of it.

[givemea-dam-break]

could you possibly do lockwood x reader and the reader is always slightly to eager to sacrifice her life for george and lockwood etc to the point where lockwood is concerned about it and he confronts her abt it and she basically says how does the same thing like kinda angsty.

sorry that was long and rly specific and sounds abit depressing in retrospect 😭 no pressure if not love ur lockwood and co imagines tho

a/n: oh i can absolutely do this! if there's anything i love, it's lockwood and angst lol. i hope you enjoy!! and don't worry about the length of a request, if there's something you want then I'll do it <3

warnings: mild language, angst, mentions of death gn reader

It's four in the morning and all you want is a good cup of tea and to lie down, but when does anything ever go the way you want it to?

As you sit on one of the kitchen chairs, Lockwood is fumbling around, trying to patch up a gash on your forehead after a scuffle with the ghost you had a case for tonight. You feel like a child. Even more so because he's telling you off.

If you're being honest, you've not been listening to most of what he's been saying, partly because of exhaustion and pain, partly because he's been pattering on for so long that, quite frankly, you've lost interest.

"Are you even listening to me?"

You flinch as Lockwood slathers antiseptic cream on the cut. "Honest answer?"

"Preferably."

"Then no. What were you saying?"

The look he gives you holds no humour. No, this is the look Anthony Lockwood gives when he's tired and irritated and unable to keep up the farce of a charming, unbothered business owner. It doesn't hold much sway over you, and it never has, truthfully, but you can empathise with him. Solely because he often acts the same way you're acting now.

"You can't keep doing this," he says. His eyes are fixed on the plaster he slowly places on your forehead. "You're throwing yourself into harm's way with no good cause."

"No good cause? I think making sure you and George stay alive is an exceptional cause."

"This isn't a joke, (name). This is your life."

The words irk you a little. "I could say the same to you."

Lockwood's hands drop from your head, and he looks at you straight-on now. His eyes, usually filled with curiosity and soft happiness, swirl with something else. Frustration.

"What do you mean by that?"

"You're always so snippy with me after cases," you say, trying to keep the edge out of your voice, "when all I'm doing is keeping you and George safe. I mean, tonight, you were both ghost-locked when I found you! But you're no different. If anything, you're worse than me. You've thrown yourself out of windows before. Shit, you've locked me in a room to fight a ghost yourself while I tried to find a source!"

He starts packing away the first aid kit, tearing his eyes away from yours, and you know you've made a good point. He never looks at you when he knows you're right.

"Lockwood, this company can't survive without you, we can't survive without you. My risks are thought through, and I'm not doing anything that should really cost me my life. You on the other hand..."

He glances at you, a muscle twitching in his cheek. "Me?"

You sigh, willing him silently to just look at you. "You'd give your life in a second. Which, believe me, I am eternally appreciative of, but it's rarely ever necessary, if ever. I've half a mind to think you're doing it to just... you know. Finish things. I'm - we're concerned about you."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, you absolutely do. You are such a hypocrite!"

"Me?" The look he gives you is scathing, so unlike any way he's looked at you before. "That's rich. Who was it that jumped from a balcony to stop of ghost? Who put themself right in the path of a ghost launching itself for someone? It was you!"

The anger that grips you is almost unbearable, but you push it down. Shouting will get you nowhere, and George is trying to sleep. "First of all, that balcony hung over a thick spread of bushes, so I had no injuries except for some thorn scrapes. Secondly, that ghost was going to kill you. Third, I can name at least five more things you've done in the last two weeks that put you in much more danger. Are we seriously going to make this a competition?"

Suddenly, he stands, and his chair scrapes loudly against the floor. You wince, watching as he shoves the first aid kit back into the cupboard. He pauses, hands on the countertop, standing straight as a rod.

Drama queen, you think, but you don't dare say it out loud.

"You're getting too reckless," Lockwood says, his back still facing you. "I can't risk having an agent who is too reckless. It endangers everyone."

Oh, you want to strangle him.

Angrily, you stand, not caring that you almost send the chair clattering to the floor. You press your hands to the table, wrinkling the thinking cloth, and lean forward, scowling.

"Reckless? Do you even hear yourself, Lockwood?"

"I do."

"I think you just love to hear the sound of your own voice. Surely that's why you spout so much bullshit."

"No, I -"

"I'm talking now, Lockwood," you snap and, thank god, he goes quiet. "You of all people do not get to call me reckless, not with the shit you pull. George, yes, he can feel free. But, you? Not a fucking chance. You go out of your way to put yourself in dangerous situations! And I get it, you want to protect us, but that is what I'm doing, too, and you don't see me almost dying! I leave with a scratch or two, so what. You leave with concussions and ghost-touch and the risk of bleeding internally. But, okay, I'm the reckless one. Whatever."

When he turns, his eyes are burning. "You endanger all of us when you pull shit like what you did today."

Scoffing, you say, "All right. What should I have done? Left you and George to be killed? My question is, what would you have done, Lockwood? Would you have left us?"

His silence is your answer, and you stand straight. Your gazes are locked, both alight with rage, but you won't back down. Not on this.

"That's what I thought."

You make to leave, but he moves quickly, grasping your wrist with a touch that should be strong. You're surprised by the gentleness of his hand, how loose his grip is, and you look up at him, frowning. His gaze has changed entirely, from rage to desperation.

"I can't -" He struggles for the words. "I can't lose you, (name). Not like I lost..."

My family. The words are left unspoken, but you know it's what he would've said. There's a pang in your heart, and you want to apologise for it all, but that's always been your gut instinct. To say sorry for everything. But not this time.

"And you think I can bear to lose you?" You try to hide the waver in your voice, but he's caught it, and you know it from the way his gaze softens. "You can't order me around, demand me not to protect you guys, when you do exactly that. It's not fair, Lockwood. Not on me, not on George. And I don't - I don't want a part in this if all you're going to do is sacrifice yourself and then criticise me for doing the same."

His hand shakes as it holds yours, and that's when all the sadness hits you, the regret for the argument you've had. "I'm sorry. I just..."

Your hand closes over his. "I know. I know."

When his forehead touches yours, careful not to press on the gash, you breathe in deeply. And you breathe out all the bad, all the pent-up anger inside of you. There's too little time in your lives to spend like this.

"I won't stop unless you stop," you murmur, closing your eyes.

His breath is warm on your cheeks. "Seems like we're stuck in a checkmate forever, then."

You sigh. "I suppose we are."

[mental69er]

Hii. Could you write a Firecracker x Fem!supe!reader. If you'd want to you could just do whatever with this request or Firecracker recently joined the seven and, reader is already apart of the team and. Firecracker kind of develops an obsession with reader kind of like the one she has on Homelander but, she is in denial because yk homophobia "girls cant love girls!". I dont really know what else to add so 😔 (also sorry if this request is a bit of a yap session) (I hope you have a good day/afternoon/night even if you dont read or do this request!) (Also this is my first request so sorry if it sounds rude in any way.) (English isnt my first language so sorry for any errors in grammar!) (Sorry for the bother and !Remember to stay hydrated!)

I hope you have a good day/night as well! Here's some Firecracker and fem super reader!

Content: fem reader as a superhero, obsessive Firecracker, homophobic Firecracker because she's in denial, mild spice, Fireracker pinned to the wall

Firecracker couldn't stand her.

Her entire existance was an affront to God.

Firecracker had been over the moon when she'd first heard she was going to be part of the Seven. Joining the team had been a dream come true, especially for someone like her who'd come from next to nothing.

The joy of being one of the Seven quickly began to fade when she realized who her teammates were. Homelander, she could look up to, Noir and the Deep she could ignore, A-Train had long deserted, and she'd thought of Sage as a friend once before the supe had used her to become Starlight's punching bag,

But her.

The superhero known as Myght.

Everything about her infuriated Firecracker to the point that she was entirely too distracted. Myght's eyes were a soft golden brown, sparkling in the light. Her long black hair spilled down her shoulders in waves. She was so beautiful she was probably full of herself.

Her lips were full and pulled up in a cocky smirk as she sat during the meetings and imparted her opinions. Opinions she should have no right to, not when they contradicted Homelander's own.

Firecracker couldn't help but speak up during those meetings to defend their leader, earning skeptic or mildly irritated looks from Myght. Firecracker wanted to piss her off even more, as payback for the way that she couldn't stop thinking about her.

Firecracker could spend hours thinking about what Myght said in a meeting or during a mission. Thought about how awfully muscular she was. A woman shouldn't have biceps that size, or have abs, or thighs that could crush heads.

Firecracker thought about how on one mission Myght had carried Firecracker to safety in those arms and how ashamed Firecracker had been to be seen weakened like this, relying on someone she hated.

And she made sure Myght knew she hated her. She'd poke fun of her, making snippy comments, and try to take her glory during missions. Not to mention she shit talked her on her podcast and it was validating to see others chime in on their hatred of her. For the most part.

'Sounds like someone has a crush' was one of the comments on Firecracker's latest half hour rant. Firecracker immediately deleted the comment and blocked the user from ever seeing any of her videos, pulse thudding with anger.

How dare they fucking think that! Firecracker only dated men and was only interested in them. Rage pulsed through her as thoughts she tried to suppress fought to surface into her concious mind.

She decided to work them out by going to the gym in Vought tower and take them all out on the equipment there. Eventually, when her muscles were too sore, she was able to finally go back to her room and shower, trying to wash away the weird heat churning in her stomach as the comment replayed over and over in her head.

"I don't like her!" she screamed out in frustration to no one and punched through the tiled wall, before taking deep shuddering breaths to calm herself. She'd find herself doing this more frequently when multiple comments accusing her of being hot for Myght kept circulating around in her comment sections. She kept deleting and blocking but someone always said something about it.

As Firecracker's time on the Seven extended, so did her efforts to piss off Myght.

Myght barely gave Firecracker any thought and that only made Firecracker try harder to annoy her.

Eventually though, as it always did with supes, the taunting and teasing devolved into violence. Myght swung Firecracker into the wall after a particular meeting, hand to her throat holding tight, anger making her bare her teeth.

"Seriously, what issue do you have with me?" Myght had spat out, grinding words. Firecracker tried to pry the hands off of her throat, but the grip was tight. Bits of plaster crumbled around her as she struggled to free herself.

"What have I done to warrant this behavior?"

"You existing is bad enough," Firecracker grit out, trying to catch her breath. Their faces were close together and she couldn't help the way her eyes flicked down to Myght's lips. Firecracker had never realized that Myght smelled this sweet, her perfume wafting over into Firecracker's nose.

"I think you want my attention," Myght said and Firecracker laughed.

"I want you gone. Don't flatter yourself," she said, pulling her lips back to show how unaffected she was.

"Really?" Myght asked, huffing. She stepped in, til their bodies were touching. Firecracker could feel the warmth of her against her chest, feel the shape of her breasts and muscles, and her heart rate slammed up.

Her eyelids fluttered as all those annoying comments about having a crush on Myght surfaced through her mind. At all the countless hours she had spent watching footage of Myght's rescues and trainings in an effort to better understand her enemy leading to Firecracker's costume feeling uncomfortably tight.

Just like it did now, the material sticking to too hot and too tight skin.

Firecracker had wondered, against her better wishes, what it would be like to be held in those strong arms again. What it would feel like to have that body pinning her down.

"Really," Firecracker said, voice sounding too breathy.

"Are you sure about that?" Myght began slipping a leg in between Firecracker's own and Firecracker's eyes flared in panic. "Because I've seen the way you talk about me on that little show of yours. And I've seen the comments they post about us."

"You're delusional if you think I feel that way about you," Fireracker spat out even as her body tensed when Myght's thigh slotted perfectly in between her own. Fireracker had to tamp down on the ridicolous and curious urge to buck right into it.

Myght merely smirked, thumb pressing down hard over Firecracker's pulse. "We'll see about that." She stepped back and let go and Firecracker nearly fell over, legs feeling strangely weak. She rubbed a hand up and down her throat.

"Things would be a lot better if you stopped being so cruel towards me and your own self," Myght offered softly.

"Fuck off," Firecracker growled out. "You disgusting leech. I'm letting every single one of my fans know what you did today during my podcast."

"Go ahead," Myght smirked and walked off.

Firecracker mumbled a few choice words under her breath about her. She would show her! When she turned to go to her room, she became aware of the uncomfortable wetness between her thighs.

Shit.

She really didn't want to think about why that was.

And when she finished ranting on her podcast about what Myght had done to her, vindicated by the many comments agreeing with her, her feelings of arousal had not gone away. Only intensifying when she had recounted them live for her audience.

As usual, there were a few comments that continued to ship her and Myght.

'Them fucking against the wall would have been so hot. Firecracker submitting to Myght, riding her thigh until she comes all over it' followed by thirsty emojis.

That only filled Firecracker's mind with images she didn't need, images that made her hand crawl mindlessly to the front of her shorts, rubbing down as she continued to read the reply thread.

'Do you see how ripped Myght is? She could probably get Firecracker off by rubbing Firecracker's cunts against her abs'.

Firecracker stifled a whimper at the thought of that, hand rubbing harder while her hand holding her phone began to shake from effort of holding back.

'Firecracker wants to be fucked so bad by Myght. Pinned under her and taken.'

"I don't," she defended breathlessly, hips beginning to cant up. Frustrated tears leaked from her eyes as she forced herself to pull her hand away before she could orgasm. Shaking with anger and want, she tore away from the chair, tossing her phone to the side and went to the shower.

She turned the water on cold and let it run over her until her body had calmed down.

She needed to get rid of that demon woman. Only then would she be able to stop feeling this way.

[whiskey-tango-matcha]

Heart. Sick. (m, cold)

clearly the clicky clacky keyboard helped my writers block because here I am, back to churning out a 5k fic in one day lmao. this is a Greyson-centric one, and tbh it's a lot of exposition, and a lot of character development. but don't worry - Greyson is plenty miserable throughout 😅 I hope you guys like these ones that are a little more plot-driven! I honestly set out to write fluff but it wanted to be a drama fest. classic. enjoy!

Cw: male, cold, some mess, coughing, sick character galavanting about instead of just going to bed, implied contagion

“What is your problem today?”

Greyson’s head snapped up at the sound of his boss’s voice. He raised an eyebrow and put down his knife; this seemed like the kind of conversation that required his full attention. “What?” he asked, brilliantly.

Elijah crossed his arms. He had been leaning against the prep table, but straightened up to his full height when the chef regarded him. “You’ve been here for an hour and you haven’t even stopped in the office to say hi,” he said. Did he hear how lame and codependent he sounded? Yes. But that was their friendship – lame, codependent, and most of all consistent. Greyson always made the office his first stop when he got in; they checked in with one another, mapped out the day, traded stories from the night before if one of them had been off. Not having his morning gossip session with Greyson made Elijah feel like he was living in a weird, wrong, nega-dimension, and he didn’t want that to become a thing.

The chef huffed out a laugh. “Seriously?” he asked, picking his knife back up. “I have a lot of shit to do today, Lij,” he said. “Matt called out.”

“Oh,” Elijah said, immediately feeling stupid. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I am telling you,” Greyson said, looking pointedly up at his boss. “Right now.”

Elijah bit his tongue; this was exactly what he meant. Greyson wasn’t himself today. Matt calling out was obviously stressful, but the chef never let things like that make him angry, or short, or snippy. Something was definitely off – he didn’t know what, but it was definitely something.

“Did he say why?” Elijah asked as Greyson continued to chop. Greyson stopped short again and looked back up.

“Why what?”

“Why he called out.”

“Who?”

“Jesus Christ, Greyson,” Elijah threw his hands in the air. “Did you smoke a bowl the second before you walked in today? Matt. Did Matt say why he was calling out?”

“Oh,” Greyson said, turning once again to his prep work. “Yeah, some sort of flu thing. I said if he has a fever he can’t come in.”

Ah. There it was.

Greyson and Matt were what everyone in the restaurant affectionately called the plague rats – that is to say, they were the ones who brought any illness that was roaming around New York City into the restaurant, ad infinitum. They were the partiers, the club kids (though Greyson, at thirty-one should have reached the end of his club kid stage years ago), the chronic sleepers-around, and the past few months, it had gone from going out a couple times a week, to going out every single night. Hardly a month went by that the two of them weren’t complaining of a sore throat, a cold sore, a stomach bug that they’d been gifted by one of their many nights out.

And, of course, they never went out partying without one another.

“Did he seem okay last night when you guys went out?” Elijah asked, the question so pointed it may as well have been an accusation. Greyson shrugged, covered up the last of the prepped vegetables with plastic wrap, and slid them into the reach-in cooler below the prep station.

“Maybe a little off,” Greyson said. “He didn’t mention anything.”

“What time did you guys leave?” Elijah asked. Greyson gave his boss an incredulous look.

“What are you, a cop? I don’t know, mom, one or two? What difference does it make?”

Elijah recoiled a bit at the chef’s snappiness. “Christ, sorry, just trying to suss out whether he’s actually sick or just hungover.”

“Who gives a fuck?” Greyson asked, pushing his hair back into a small ponytail and tying it with a rubber band Elijah knew came from a package of asparagus. “He’s not coming in, that’s all we really need to know, right? Are we gonna track him down and fire him if he’s hungover?”

“You are on one today,” Elijah said. “No, we’re not going to fucking track him down, Jesus Christ.” This time, Elijah went for an honesty-is-the-best-policy approach. “I’m trying to figure out if you’re in a mood because you have extra work to do, or because you feel like shit.”

Greyson rolled his eyes and breezed past Elijah. He yanked open the walk-in and stepped inside, his boss hot on his trail. The chef grabbed two heads of cauliflower and a few bunches of radishes and nearly jumped out of his skin when he turned to see Elijah practically on top of him. “Stop following me,” he growled, pushing past Elijah again.

“Greyson,” Elijah said to the rapidly-closing walk-in door. He pressed the red button to let himself out, and once again tailed the chef to the prep table. “Greyson, I just want to know if you’re alright,” Elijah said, keeping a healthy distance. Greyson took a deep breath and put down his knife.

“I am fine. Matt will be back tomorrow. Please, let me do my work. Ple – hh...hhNGSTHH-uhh!” Greyson crushed the sudden sneeze into his shoulder, picked up his knife, and continued his work, not acknowledging it at all. Elijah bit his cheek.

“Bless you,” the older man said, accusatory.

“Elijah,” Greyson said, not looking up, “leave me alone.”

Elijah nodded, not that Greyson could see it while he chopped. The GM turned, walked back to the office, and pulled out his phone to text Matt.

Hey, he typed into their chat. Heard you’re sick, hope you’re getting some rest.

Thx boss, Matt typed back almost-instantly. Should be good by tomorrow.

Elijah paused before sending his next text, but then did it before he could question himself too much. Just wanted to ask...was grey acting weird with you last night? He’s totally on one today.

It took a minute or two for Matt to text back – the three bubbles popped up and went away at least three times, as though Matt was trying to figure out what to say but kept second-guessing. Finally, the text came through.

Wait, is chef there today? He told me he was going to call shelly in.

Elijah cocked his head at the phone screen; Shelly, the sous chef Greyson had brought on a month ago, was scheduled off today. Why would he call her in?

No, it’s just greyson today. Why would he call shelly in?

This time, it took Matt no time to respond.

That asshole, he said he was going to take the day off.

I’m lost, Matt. Why would he take the day off…?

Another minute of bubbles popping up and going away ensued. When the text did come through, Elijah felt his face flame. That motherfucker, he thought, slamming his phone down, screen-up on the desk and stalking back to the prep kitchen.

On his open phone, the text from Matt: he gave me this shit. We literally went and had one drink, then he said he had to go bc he felt like trash. Fuckin greyson.

Fuckin’ Greyson. That was for damn sure.

***

He knew he was coming down with something on Monday, but it was one of those excruciatingly slow-to-come-on illnesses that made you wonder if you were actually just crazy, and this whole thing was in your head. A sneeze here, a rogue cough, the sore throat that came and went with several long drinks of water – for three days, Greyson gaslit himself, told himself he was imagining it, took Emergen-C and chalked it up to allergies.

“Morning, boss,” Matt had greeted him.

By the time Thursday – yesterday – had come around, it finally hit him properly. Greyson woke up with a heavy feeling in his chest, his head throbbing, and a lump in his throat to match the one in his stomach. He sighed as he got ready, loaded up on dayquil, and headed into work.

Greyson had returned the greeting with a rough, “HNGSTHH-ue!” and a sharp sniffle. Matt winced as his boss unpacked his knife bag.

“Yikes,” he said, “I guess that girl from the bar last night wasn’t just doing a lot of coke, then?”

“More like the guy I stayed the night with on Saturday didn’t just have a naturally deep and husky voice,” Greyson said, rubbing his nose on the back of his hand. “It’s the world’s slowest-to-come-on cold, I swear. I’ve been almost sick since Monday.” He coughed into his sleeve for what felt like a long moment, came up to see a water bottle placed in front of him. “Thanks.”

“No worries,” Matt said. “That makes sense, though,” he continued, “because I can definitely feel it coming on. Thought maybe it was allergies.”

“Sorry, kid,” Greyson said. “We’ll get you outta here early.”

Matt rolled his eyes. “If you’re here, I’m here, boss,” he said. The two of them had prepped in near-silence for awhile, before Greyson seemed to realize something was off.

“Has Elijah come back here yet this morning?” he asked, and Matt shook his head.

“Isn’t he off today? I think Mark said he had some sort of appointment.”

Greyson flashed Matt a little look and the sous chef blushed – Matt and Mark were very recently a thing, a fact that was clear to everyone in the restaurant and that the two of them were attempting to hide, as if any fling that took place within the confines of these walls was anything other than obvious. Greyson figured now wasn’t the time to bully his muse.

“Thank god he’s not here,” he said instead. “Elijah, I mean. I’m so sick of him giving me shit every time I have a stuffy no – NGTSHH-uh! Hh...HTSHH-ue! Fuck.” Greyson slunk away from his prep area to blow his nose, cough again, and wash his hands.

“Bless,” Matt said when Greyson made his way back to his station. “To be fair to Elijah -”

“No,” Greyson stopped Matt by holding up a hand. “We’re not talking about this.”

“I was just going to say, I mean, you have been out a lot since the whole… breakup situation.” The way Matt trailed off made it obvious that he immediately regretted bringing this up. Greyson sniffled, stayed silent for a few moments, and then sighed.

“You're one to talk. And besides, I don’t know how it’s my fault that every club in a five-mile-radius is a cesspool,” Greyson muttered, a lame attempt at a joke. Matt took the bait and huffed out a laugh.

“I don’t think Elijah blames you for the general grossness that is the midtown club scene,” he said. “I think he’s just worried about you.”

Greyson wasn’t so sure. Maybe it had started as worry; worrying was one of Elijah’s greatest passions, after all. But it had been six months since Greyson and Collin had broken up, and in that time worry had turned to annoyance, which had led to what felt like resentment. A month before, Greyson had been laid up with strep throat, thanks to a girl who he swore was trying to steal his tonsils with how deep she shoved her tongue into his mouth, and Elijah didn’t even try to hide his distaste.

“Seriously, Grey?” he had asked when the chef stumbled into the restaurant sweating, shivering, and unable to speak. “Who over the age of twelve gets strep throat? What’s next, mono? Chicken pox? Run the gambit of diseases kids get from putting their hands in too many people’s mouths?”

Greyson knew it was stupid to go out drinking and partying every night; he knew he was too old, knew it was irresponsible, he knew he should be processing the breakup instead of drowning every feeling he had about it in booze and sex. He knew. But he just couldn’t do it. Collin was the first person he’d ever really loved; getting over the coldness with which his first love threw in the towel that was their relationship was easier said than done.

He certainly wasn’t going to tell Elijah of all people that. He loved the man; Elijah was his best friend, his business partner, the guy he called first when something amazing or devastating happened, but this was not his strong suit. Elijah was basically a nun when it came to all things partying; he prided himself on never having more than two drinks when they went out, never sleeping around, and being married to the restaurant. Greyson loved Elijah, but he knew that the GM just wouldn’t get it.

So, the reprieve from being harassed about his near-constant menagerie of illnesses was a welcome one. He and Matt had prepped, passing a box of tissues between them the entire time, they’d gotten through a relatively slow service and, like every night the past few months, they’d ended the evening at a bar a few blocks from Elliot’s.

Greyson wanted to want to be there, truly he did, but he didn’t have it in him. Maybe it was the thought of being the only chef in the next day – Matt was well and truly coming down with the cold Greyson had come in with – or maybe it was just that the constant barrage of illnesses was starting to wear on his body, but the thought of staying awake for another minute, let alone another few hours, made Greyson’s head pound.

“I’m gonna call it,” Greyson said, shooting back his whiskey and placing a twenty on the bar top. “Take the day tomorrow, alright?”

Matt raised an eyebrow. “What about you?” he asked, coughing into the back of his hand. “You look like shit.”

“Thanks,” Greyson said, elbowing Matt playfully. “I’ll call Shelly in, okay? I’ll take the day, too.” It was a lie; Shelly wasn’t ready for the responsibility of running a Friday night, not even a slow one, but if it made Matt take a day off, it was worth it to lie.

“Alright,” Matt said, wary. “Well, have a good night, Chef. Feel better.”

“Same to you,” Greyson said. “Tell Mark I said night-night. Give him a little kiss for me, too.”

Matt’s face turned bright red. By the time he’d collected himself enough to respond, his boss was gone.

***

“Greyson!”

Elijah stomped his way through the kitchen, on the hunt. He reached the back kitchen before Greyson could hear him, and the chef was blowing his nose into a rough paper towel looking caught, like a deer in the headlights.

“You fuckin’ asshole,” Elijah said, “why didn’t you tell me you were sick?”

“I’m not sick,” Greyson said, sniffling and tossing the paper towel. His eyes, Elijah noticed now, were rimmed red, and his voice was low and gravelly. “It’s allergies.”

“Right,” Elijah rolled his eyes. “Contagious allergies? Allergies you passed along to Matt? For Christ’s sake, Greyson, I don’t know what the fuck is going on with you lately, but you need to get it together. If Matt’s sick, that means Mark is going to get sick, then my entire front of house team gets it. What do you think you are, twenty-three years old? You can’t go out every single night and sleep around with anything that has a hole and also have an eighty-hour-a-week job. You’re not a kid, Greyson. This behavior? It’s childish. And I’m fuckin’ sick of it.”

Greyson stood there and took it, his mouth in a hard line. “Okay,” he said after a beat.

“Okay?”

“Okay,” he repeated. “You’re right. I’ll – hh! HhhIGSTZH-ue! Huh! HuhhESTCHZUE!” The chef sneezed painfully into his elbow, cleared his throat, and righted himself. “I’ll stop. It’s childish. Okay?” his voice was nasal, hoarse, and tight, as though he was on the verge of tears. All the fight Elijah had brought to the back kitchen was rung out of him like a washcloth at the end of a long bath.

“Um,” he said, “okay. Good. Now, go home. I’ll call in Shelly, I’m closing the books, it’ll be an easy night. Go rest so you can be good for the weekend.”

The chef just nodded, not making eye contact. “Heard,” he said, packing up his things. He didn’t beg to stay, didn’t insist that he was fine. He just picked up his bag, nodded at Elijah, and said, “See you tomorrow.”

Elijah was so in shock, he didn’t even respond until Greyson was out the door. “Yeah,” he mumbled, blinking. “See you tomorrow.”

***

The pulse of the music thumped in time with Greyson’s headache; it was oddly soothing, if a little disconcerting how in tune the two were.

“I’ll take andother,” he called to the bartender as loudly as he could muster. The bartender nodded, brought the bottle over, and topped him off, smiling seductively all the while.

“This one’s on the house, love,” he said in a faint British accent that Greyson couldn’t decide was real or fake. “What’s your name?”

“You’re very cute,” Greyson slurred, all levity out the window three drinks ago. “But I’mb sick as a dog, and I’mb ndot trying to pass it around any mbore than I already have.”

The bartender laughed. “This job is worse than a daycare when it comes to germs,” he said over the thrum of the crowd and the bass of the music. “Pretty sure I’m immune to just about everything at this point.”

Greyson let a sloppy smile paint his face. “Mbust be ndice,” he said, taking a swallow of his drink, then turning to his elbow to cough. “I work in a kitchend, it’s just about as bad but I haven’t seemed to gain any immu – immu...huh...hhINGTZHH-ue! HTSHH-ue! HRSHH-ue!” Greyson pulled his white tshirt over his nose and mouth and ducked almost completely under the bar to sneeze. He swore under his breath, sucked in through his nose, and sat himself upright once again. The bartender tutted in sympathy.

“Poor thing,” he said, smiling slyly. “You should be in bed.”

He wasn’t wrong; after Elijah’s blowup, Greyson had certainly thought about doing the right thing, going home, crawling into bed and actually attempting to get better. It had only been noon when he left the restaurant, and if he didn’t have to be in til noon the next day, that was almost a full twenty-four hours that he could spend doing nothing except relaxing, resting… being alone with his thoughts…

Yeah, that wasn’t about to happen.

Instead, Greyson had walked forty blocks to Greenwich and had lunch at one of his favorite spots. He’d moved on to a coffee shop from there, writing in his little black notebook recipes that he wanted to try out at Elliot’s. After that, he’d stopped into a CVS and bought them out of dayquil; three or four swigs later, and he was on his phone rapidly texting anyone he’d slept with in the past two months to see if they wanted to hang out. They did not.

The failed attempts at a hookup sent him into a darker place than he’d like to admit, so Greyson decided four pm was late enough to start drinking, and he took a cab back to midtown to begin his nightly spiral. The bar with the cute bartender was stop number four of the evening; at stop two, the dayquil had worn off. By stop three, he was coughing every time he took too deep of a breath. This was the stop where he’d given up the facade of health and just allowed himself to be the grossest person at the bar – much to everyone but this bartender’s chagrin.

“Yeah,” he said to the bartender, “you’re probably right.”

The bartender winked and turned back to the other bar patrons, leaving Greyson to sit foggy-headed and cold, alone with his whiskey. He looked at the clock on his phone – 11:45PM. The restaurant was probably empty by now. He wondered if Elijah was still there, finishing up paperwork; he thought about texting him, then remembered the blowup again. Greyson put his phone away, pulled a fifty out of his wallet, and ducked out of the bar.

It was cold outside; it was barely September, but Greyson could definitely feel that fall was in the air. He didn’t realize until now that he’d forgotten his jacket at work. Fuck.

Greyson shoved his hands into his pockets, shivering – there was no way he was going to make it back to his apartment without a jacket. The chef looked up at the street signs and realized he was only a block or two from the restaurant. Fuck it, he thought, sneezing into his exposed elbow. I’m getting that jacket.

***

It had been a long shift.

Shelly was great, really – she was just young, and a little bit scared of the enormity of running a restaurant. Elijah had figured that out at about seven pm, when she was nearly in tears with just six tickets on the board. But they had gotten through it, with Elijah taking over expo and Shelly running inside middle. It was fine. Long? Yes. But fine.

At eleven, the restaurant had emptied and with it went the servers, cooks, and junior managers. Elijah finished up his paperwork, locked the front door, set the alarm, and sat down at the empty bar with a glass of whiskey – just him, the thrum of the heater, and the restaurant.

When he was feeling really low, Elijah would spend hours like this; just sitting at his bar, looking out into the dining room, reeling in what he had created. This space was his, a place that he had spent his entire life clawing upwards for, despite the drone of older restaurateurs telling him he was too young, or too poor, or too talentless to own his own place. Elijah hadn’t grown up with money, or support, or any kind of nepotism that would have propelled him into this field, but he’d grown up with something most people hadn’t – drive. Passion. An absolute need to succeed, despite it all. Sometimes he needed to remind himself of that.

He knew that no one could really understand his reasons for being as anal as he was about everything in the restaurant – not even Greyson, though his counterpart came close. Often, Elijah felt like he spent his life explaining himself; explaining why he wasn’t married or even dating at thirty-nine, explaining why things had to be done a certain way so that appliances and tables and chairs and glassware and plates would last as long as humanly possible; explaining why people should care about his restaurant, his vision. Sometimes, Elijah wished he didn’t have this fire inside him. This passion for his work. He knew damn well his life would be easier if he didn’t.

Elijah looked at his phone as midnight approached, thinking about the day, thinking about Greyson. He wished things had gone down differently this morning, but he know Greyson could be like a kid when it came to arguments – quick to forgive, quick to forget. Sometimes that made Elijah feel even worse; he wished the other man would scream back at him, give in to his baser desires like Elijah was so wont to do when it came to arguing. Greyson saved those more carnal instincts for after work, Elijah supposed.

It would be worked out by tomorrow, whether Elijah wanted it to or not. He sighed, drained his glass, and went to turn off the lights behind the bar – when the alarm began blaring.

Elijah froze in his tracks. Who the fuck was breaking into the restaurant?

The GM burst through the doors to the kitchen and ran towards the back, absolutely nothing to defend him in his hands. If he was defending his restaurant, he was doing so with his bare hands; he’d figuratively clawed his way up to this position, he would certainly literally claw someone’s eyes out if they attempted to take it from him.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Elijah heard someone at the back door before he saw them. He slowed his pace when he heard the voice. Greyson.

“Grey?” Elijah called, turning the corner and seeing the chef clumsily attempting to turn the alarm off. Greyson was wearing just a tshirt and jeans despite it being near-freezing outside, and the way he was fumbling with the alarm system meant he was almost certainly wasted. “What the fuck are you doing?”

Greyson turned to his boss and smiled, lopsided. He looked like shit; he was as pale as his shirt, his nose was bright red and running so much that he had taken to swiping a hand under it every few seconds, and Elijah could hear the wheeze in every breath he took. “Oh, thangk God,” he said, moving out of the way so Elijah could turn the alarm system off. “I thought if that back was opend, I could just sneak in. To grab mby jacket.” Greyson coughed away from Elijah, an angry, productive sound that made the GM flinch. “Sorry,” Greyson said. “It’s cold outside.”

“I’m well aware,” Elijah said, turning away from the now-silent alarm. “What are you doing out? You’re supposed to be at home. Getting better. Remember, I sent you home twelve hours ago? What have you been doing, out partying? You’re sick, Greyson.”

“I kndow, I kndow,” Greyson said, yanking the rubber band out of his hair and letting it fall wildly around his shoulders. “I just… I… hh… huh! HuhhhIGTSZHH-ue! HTSH! HRSHH-uh! Fuck – HNGSTHHZUE!” The sneezes wrenched themselves from him, rough and painful-sounding. Greyson stood, post-fit, and pushed his hair back with a hand. “Sorry,” he said, his voice wavering.

Elijah sighed; it was too late to fight. “C’mon,” he said, “let’s go sit for a bit. I can’t send you home like this.”

He led them both back to the bar and, despite his better judgment, poured them each a whiskey. Greyson coughed and took a swig of his before Elijah even sat down. “Thangks,” he said.

“Don’t mention it.” Elijah drank his whiskey slowly, trying to decide what to say to the chef. After a moment of silence so tense it could be sliced through with a butcher knife, both Elijah and Greyson attempted to start a conversation at the same time.

“Grey, I -”

“Lij, it’s-”

They both stopped, smiled at the absurdity, and Elijah motioned to the chef as if to say the floor is yours.

“Ndo, you go ahead,” Greyson said, sipping his drink. “Besides, I cand barely talk.”

Elijah couldn’t disagree with him there, so he let out one forced little laugh and then sighed. “Grey, I’m sorry. Really. I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”

“Grey,” Elijah said finally, turning towards his friend, “what’s been going on, really? You’re… something is wrong. You’re not… you.”

Greyson shrugged. “I shouldn’t be bringing every disease kndown to mban into the restaurant, but here we are,” he said, coughing into his fist. Elijah laughed in earnest this time, and the two of them lapsed into silence once again.

Greyson pursed his lips, downed the rest of his drink, and cleared his throat. “Yeah,” he said. “You’re right. I’mb ndot.” The chef sighed and turned his barstool towards Elijah. “It’s… it’s the whole Collin thing. It’s beend… a lot harder than I thought it would be. Getting over himb.” Greyson sniffled; Elijah was unsure if it was illness-related, or if the other man was crying. He was quickly given an answer when Greyson wrenched to the side – “HGTSHH-ue! Hh! HhhNGTSHZ-ue!” The chef wiped his nose on the back of his hand and cringed. “Sorry,” he said.

Elijah shook his head. “Dude,” he said, “you could’ve just told me you were taking it harder than you expected. You know I’m always here if you need to talk. I thought we were friends.”

“Lij, we are friends, but like… I don’t kndow. It’s weird talking to you about this shit because you don’t… I don’t kndow, fuck up. You take everything in stride, like it all rolls off your back. I’mb ndot like that. Plus, you literally ndever date - I’ve ndever kndown you to have a single girlfriend, let alonde break up with someone, and we’ve kndown each other for years.” Greyson pressed his hand into one of his eyes and groaned. “Fuck, I thingk I’mb getting andother fuckigg sindus infection,” he muttered. Elijah gave his friend a pointed look.

“The fact that you know off the top of you head exactly what that feels like definitely says something about these past few months,” he said, prompting a sharp laugh and the middle finger from Greyson. Elijah smiled. “You’re right,” he said, after a beat. “I don’t date. There was a girl, a long time ago – before I bought this place. I thought we were going to get married one day.”

Greyson’s eyebrows shot up, headache clearly forgotten. “Ndo way,” he said. “You’re shitting mbe. You? What was her name? Do I know her?”

Elijah laughed. “You don’t know her,” he said. “She was actually a chef, too, at this vegan brunch place in the Financial District. But she wanted kids, she wanted me to have a job where I could be home in the evenings…” Elijah shrugged, a fingernail digging into a groove in the bar top. “It just wasn’t meant to be.”

“Dude,” Greyson said, placing a hand on Elijah’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, man.”

Elijah shrugged again, and looked back up at Greyson. “It was a long time ago,” he said. “But I mean – I do get it. Heartbreak, that is. You can talk to me about anything, Greyson. And I’m not some let-it-roll-off-your-back, take-it-in-stride monolith, either.” He smiled, attempting to break the tension. “Obviously I get pissed all the time so just… talk to me. Tell me what’s wrong. I want to help.”

The two of them sat in silence once again, neither really knowing the right thing to say next. Finally, Greyson’s body broke the tension: “HNGTSHH-ue! God, fuck,” the chef reached across the bar and attempted to blow his nose in a cocktail napkin – to no avail.

“Bless you,” Elijah said, and Greyson nodded.

“Thangks,” he said, slowly lowering his head to the bar top. “Fuck, I feel like such hot garbage. The going out every ndight thigg is definitely ndot for anyone over thirty.”

Elijah couldn’t help but cackle. “And you wonder why I have a two-drink-maximum hard line? I’d be dead on the floor if I drank like you and Matt. Welcome to old age, bud.”

“Yeah, you mbight be on to something there,” Greyson said, closing his eyes. “Definitely ndot gonna be hooking up with anyone under twenty-five anymbore, either. They’re all cesspools. HGTSHH-ue!”

“Bless,” Elijah said again. “Want me to drive you home?”

Greyson opened one red, watering eye. “In a mbinute,” he said. “I just ndeed to...rest mby eyes.”

Elijah pursed his lips to keep from laughing at the spectacle that was Greyson; mouth-breathing, whiskey-smelling, chest-crackling Greyson. Heartbreak didn’t look good on anyone, but on him it was especially rough. Within moments, the chef was snoring.

Elijah shook his head, stripped a table of its clean white cloth, and placed it over Greyson’s shoulders. Rest was rest, he figured. Elijah poured himself a rare third drink and sat next to his ailing friend.

“Sleep well, Chef,” he said, and took a long pull.

[joeys-babe]

(i fudging love his hair, i have an addiction to it)

Someday We’ll Be Together

Chapter 8: Good

————————————————————————

(y/n's pov)

"what do you mean you're joes date?!" - your mom

i was getting ready in my bathroom when my mom walked in and asked what i was getting all fancy for. the look on her face when i explained the situation was one of excitement.

"he didn't have a date mom, the only reason he asked me was because i already know some of the people on his team and their partners." - you

"y/n, joe asked you to be his date! that has to mean something right?!" - your mom

"you're reading into this too much. plus it can't mean too much to him, he told me he likes someone." - you

"oh really?" - your mom

"yeah, he said he doesn't think she likes him back. i told him to shoot his shot anyways." - you

"what if he was talking about you?" - your mom

"mom. you're the reason i'm delusional." - you

"i'm being serious! don't you think it's kind of coincidental that he'd tell you that he likes someone and then ask you to be his date?" - your mom

"i don't know mom.. i don't want to get my hopes up." - you

"i understand that. just see how the night goes and you can come report back to me tonight."

- your mom

"okay i will." - you

my mom gave a me a quick smile before leaving my bathroom, probably going to tell my dad her newfound discovery about me going as joes plus one.

now that i had finished curling my hair and doing my makeup, it was time to slip my dress on. it wasn't anything too fancy, but it was nice enough for the occasion.

i was putting my heals on and doing my finishing touches when the doorbell rang. joes here.

i grabbed my purse and slipped it my phone into it as i headed downstairs. when i got to the last step i noticed that both of my parents were at the door talking to joe with ecstatic smiles on their faces.

how come they weren't this exited to greet tee on our actual date?

clearing my throat to get their attention, all three pairs of eyes landed on me as my parents turning to the side to see me revealed joe. he was wearing a dress shirt and slacks looking incredibly handsome. i watched joes eyes scan over my outfit, a smile pulling at his lips as his eyes met mine.

"you look beautiful." - joe

"thanks, joe." - you returned the smile as you walked towards the door

my parents moved out of the way as i walked out of the door and stood in front of joe.

"love you both, be safe!" - your mom

"we will!" - you answered as you walked to joes car with him

joe walked out in front of me and just when i was about to make a snippy comment, he opened the car door for me.

"why thank you." - you smiled as you sat down

"of course." - joe shut your door and jogged over to his side

your parents were watching through the blinds, unbeknownst to you and joe.

"how are they so blind?" - your mom

"i don't know. i don't know how they can't tell they like each other back." - your dad

"i know right. it's so obvious to everyone but them." - your mom

"i really hope one of them confesses eventually. they'd be the cutest couple. plus i mean i trust joe with her." - your dad

"if they do get together i take full responsibility for their relationship." - your mom

"you're the one in their ear, so i'll give it to ya."

- your dad

once i was in the car with joe he connected his phone to the cars sound system and shuffled a kid cudi album.

"of course you still listen to kid cudi" - you

"yes of course, he's the man." - joe

"i remember in high school, you'd play man on the moon on loop. i've heard that album hundreds of times." - you

"oh yeah? then maybe we should shuffle that one instead." - joe reached for his phone but you grabbed his hand before he reached it

"no!" - you laughed

joe smiled as his eyes met mine, a sudden tension falling on us as we both realized i was holding his hand. for a second i thought joe was leaning in, but i dropped his hand before i could figure out if that was true or not.

"uhm.." - you dropped his hand

"let's get going.." - joe

i let out a mhm before averting my eyes to the window, watching the scenes fly past as joe drove down the road

"i have deja vu right now" - you

"of what?" - joe

"you driving while we're dressed up. reminds me of prom." - you

"that was a really fun night. other than the after party." - joe sighed

"you mean the after party that you were dared to kiss me at?" - you

"you don't understand how self conscious i was that i was going to mess it up somehow. i hope it wasn't a bad kiss, you probably don't remember it.." - joe

"awww that's so sweet. i do remember it though, because it was my first kiss." - you

"i- i was your first kiss?" - joe

"yeah.. i know that's kind of late to have a first kiss but i was saving it for someone specific."

- you

"who?" - joe

"it's not important.." - you didn't want to admit to him that it was him

"well i wanna know who i stole your first kiss from." - joe

"seriously, it's not a big deal." - you

"please tell me." - joe

"you didn't steal it from anyone. i wanted you to be my first kiss." - you

"what?" - joe

"i thought it'd be easier since i was really close with you. like it wouldn't end up awkward." - you

"you really wanted me to be your first kiss?" - joe

"yeah." - you

"i had bleached hair and you still wanted me to be your first kiss??" - joe

"i thought it was cute" - you laughed

"you did?" - joe

"mhm" - you

"well since you told me that. i'll tell you something. when you started cheering junior year, you don't know how bad i struggled on the field. i couldn't take my eyes off of you, you were so beautiful." - joe

"really?! even with how bad my acne was??" - you

"acne didn't bother me. couldn't have cared less actually." - joe

"you really thought that?" - you

"yes, y/n." - joe

"wow. i didn't know you felt that way." - you

"i didn't know you felt the same way either. could you imagine if one of us like confessed?" - joe

"what if we dated?" - you

"we'd make a good couple- or we would've." - joe

"guess we'll never know huh?" - you

"guess not" - joe

*time skip*

we arrived to the bengals facility and joe being the gentleman he is, opened my door and helped me out of the car.

"i don't exactly like stuff like this.. so whenever you wanna leave we can." - joe

"sounds good." - you

"i'll introduce you to the guys' girl's so that you can talk to someone. i promise i won't leave you by yourself though." - joe

"thanks. and that's sweet but i don't want you to worry about me, you can leave me alone for a little bit." - you

"i don't want to though. i asked you to be my date so its only respectful if i stay with you." - joe

"i appreciate it." - you smiled, you weren't used to guys treating you so well.

"how do we get in?" - you

"my keycard" - joe put his card up to the door and opened it for you

as soon as we walked in there was immediately a lot of people dressed up standing in the lobby and socializing.

"burrow!!" - ja'marr

joe looked around for the source of the voice calling his name and when he saw ja'marr across the room he grabbed my hand and walked over to him.

"i was staring to think you weren't going to show!" - ja'marr

"had to. i rsvp'd months ago unfortunately."

- joe

ja'marr laughed before his eyes shifted to me and grew wide in shock. then his wide eyed gaze went to joes hand holding mine, then to joe.

"wha- woah." - ja'marr

"you remember y/n right?" - joe dropped your hand and motioned to you

"of course man, she went with you everywhere at lsu so kinda hard to forget her. but uhm.. what's goin on here??" - ja'marr

"nothing. i didn't have a date so i asked her to go with me instead of going alone." - joe shrugged

"mhm." - ja'marr gave a knowing smile between joe and i

"i give it 2 weeks." - sam walked up to ja'marr and motioned to us

"i say 3" - ja'marr

"wanna bet?" - sam

"guys stop." - joe rolled his eyes

"okay okay i'm done. hey y/n, jess and gracie are already in the cafeteria helping some of the other wags with setting up." - sam

"okay thanks!" - you

"i'll show you where it is" - joe took your hand and began walking through the sea of people

"they're for sure gonna get together." - ja'marr told sam once you two were away

"he's liked her since ohio state. i think he's finally gonna make a move." - sam

"i'm happy for him, you can tell she cares about him a lot." - ja'marr

"well yeah, they've been best friends since birth. i say they go all the way and get married." - sam

"oh no doubt, they are endgame" - ja'marr

joe was leading me down this long hallway, he knew exactly where he was going so i stuck by him.

"oh is that the locker room??" - you pointed towards a door clearly labeled *player's locker room*

"yeah, before we leave later tonight i'll show you around the stadium. i'll show you my locker if you promise to not bug me about cleaning it."

- joe

"no promises, joey" - you

joe laughed before walking through double doors, into a room i quickly realized was the cafeteria.

"y/n!!" - jess

"hey girl!" - you

jess smiled at me and then gave me a pointed look when she saw joe was beside me.

"you can go hang with your teammates now."

- you turned and smiled up at joe

"you sure?" - joe

"yup, i'm okay to be left." - you

"okay, just text me if you need me okay?" - joe

"i will." - you

joe nodded before he left, i watched him walk away and then turned to jess with a smile on my face.

"okay so what's going on?!?!" - jess

i shrugged and looked around to realize there was at least 20 women staring at me, i didn't realize they were all there.

jess noticed my discomfort and motioned for me to follow her as she went into this back room, it had a couple vending machines and was empty people wise.

"spill." - jess

"nothings going on." - you

"you're his date! something has to be going on!"

- jess

"i'm only his date because he didn't have one.. that's all." - you

"why didn't you come with tee? choose joe over him?" - jess

"not exactly.. at our date, tee asked if i had ever had feelings for joe-" - you

"see! it's obvious to everyone but you." - jess

"hold that thought" - you

"oh my god, go on." - jess

"after my date with tee he told me we'd be better off as friends. which i agree with, and then he told me that there was something i wasn't noticing.. and then he said that i still liked joe."

- you

"oh my! do you?!" - jess gasped

"uhm.. yeah." - you

"i knew it!" - jess

"what'd i miss?! why are we yelling??" - gracie

"oh god could you hear us all the way from the main room?" - you

"no you're good, i didn't see you guys so i guess you went back here to spill some tea. but what is it?!" - gracie

"y/n is joes date." - jess

"oh my gosh! i was wondering why you were here. that's so exciting! is there finally something going on between you two?" - gracie

"no, but-" - you

"she likes joe!" - jess

"you do?! oh my gosh! you guys need to get together asap." - gracie

"i don't know how to tell him, we've been friends our whole lives i'm worried that he doesn't feel the same way and our whole friendship is down the drain." - you

"oh girl don't start that. it's so obvious he likes you back. why else would he ask you to be his date to a team dinner?" - gracie

"because he didn't have a date." - you

"stop being difficult! if you need help with confessing we can help. but, we should probably get back to setting up." - gracie

we all agreed and eventually went back to the cafeteria, i had talked to a couple of the other girls as i helped. they were all nice but surprisingly they already knew who i was. one of the girls, holly, even referring to her boyfriend joe bachie as her joe to not add confusion.

after a few more of the girls had told me they already knew who i was, i had to ask how.

"joe of course. our boys tell us all the time about how joe would ramble on about this girl named y/n. a couple of us found your instagram to put a face to a name, but it is really nice to finally meet you. you seem to make qb1 really happy, even if you guys aren't together. which i can really see that changing in the future because you guys would be an adorable couple." - morgan, logan wilson's girlfriend explained.

so there it was, did joe really talk about me that much?!

*time skip*

once everything was set up the players and the rest of the plus ones came filing in.

i didn't know where joe was gonna sit, or if he wanted me to even sit with him, so i was going to wait to see where he'd sit down to approach him.

jess, gracie, and i stood off to the side and were talking when i felt a large hand on my lower back.

"hey" - joe smiled

"hey, joe" - you returned the smile

"you wanna sit down? i'll get you your food if you want to just pick a spot for us to sit." - joe

"okay yeah, i'm not that hungry though." - you

"what have you eaten today?" - joe

"i had a breakfast burrito this morning-" - you

"i'll go get your food. go find a spot." - joe stated before he walked away and towards the long table with food put out

"he made sure you ate" - jess awed

"he's sweet isn't he?" - you smiled

"let's go get that table." - gracie pointed to an open table

after we all sat down, leaving empty seats next to us for the guys, they joined us shortly after.

sam and joe talked about old stories from ohio state, including the adventures of our old friend group. it consisted of sam, nick bosa, joe, and of course i tagged along with joe.

we were knee deep in a story of how it took all four of us to kill this mouse that had gotten into the boys dorm when joe looked over at me and chuckled slightly.

"what? oh my god, is there something on my face?!" - you

"yeah here, lemme help you." - joe

he put one of his arms behind my shoulders on my chair before he grabbed his napkin and leaned closer to me, wiping the food off the corner of my mouth.

"there you go." - joe grinned

"thanks." - you awkwardly thanked him, trying to keep your cheeks from heating up because of the flirty moment

a few moments had passed and joe was still studying my face.

"everything okay?" - you

"have i told you that you look beautiful tonight yet?" - joe

"yeah" - you smiled softly

"good." - joe turned away and focused back on sam, leaving butterflies in your stomach

_________________________________

authors note: was writing so consistently and now i'm in a slump 😭

it's okay though i'm excited to write the next couple chapters because they are 🤭

[spaceofentropy]

Questions for fanfic authors

I was tagged by @dragonflylady77 so let's do this!

How many works do you have on AO3? 21? *checks ao3* Yeah, 21.

What's your total AO3 word count? 406k. The half million is approaching.

What fandoms do you write for? Currently? Stranger Things.

Do you respond to comments? I try to, but sometimes I suck. Like right now. I have 50-something comments I need to respond to 🫣

Have you ever had a fic stolen? No. I think. I hope.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? No, never. I don't think I'm made fo co-writing, I'm too precious and in my head about my writing process, I fear.

What's your all-time favourite ship? I don't know if I have an all-time favourite ship, but Harringrove goes close, I think.

What are your writing strengths? Snippy dialogue.

What are your writing weaknesses? Smut and descriptions. They're both a chore. Smut because it's never as smutty as it is in my head, and descriptions because they are the devil and they always sound so wooden and bad when I write them,

First fandom you wrote for? No idea, honestly. A book, ages ago? Maybe? 🤷‍♀️

I should tag people, so if you read this and you want to partecipate, congrats, you've just been tagged!

[crimson-calligraphyx]

Tag List: @cheyfi @kingdomof-omens @daylightlvrs @blade-in-red @ladyveronikawrites @jay02bo @itsmrsfuentes @cncohshit @catj422 @lma1986 @chels3a-smile @kiwi475

Noah

"I promise you, Liv. The guys are going to be happy to see you."

I soothed circles into Liv's back as she breathed deep and rested her forehead against her arms, folded over the toilet seat. She worried herself sick, thinking the Nick's and Jolly would be cold towards her due to her absence and my condition when in reality they were the ones who were asking about her. She just wouldn't listen to me.

"I know you think they're mad at you, but—" she heaves, briefly interrupting me. "But they're not. They ask about you—" She choked and released what was left in her stomach. I cringed but continued to rub her back. "You're okay," I whispered when she lets out a cry, and pressed a kiss into her hair. She coughs into the bowl, the raspy sound filling the otherwise quiet bathroom.

After a moment, she sat up sniffling, and wiped her nose on the back of her hand. "I'm sorry," she huffs. "It's not just them being mad, it's the fact that everything makes me sick now. What if I get sick at Jolly's?" Shrugging lightly, I brushed back her bangs that were stuck to her forehead in sweat and gave her a soft kiss on her temple. "So, you get sick. It happens." "But what if they ask? I don't want them to know yet, Noah," her voice starts to grow in pitch, her lips trembling.

I cupped her face in my hands, tracing her lips with my thumb to settle them, and gazed into her eyes that were beginning to swirl with fresh tears. "Then we tell them you ate something that made you sick, Liv. You're overthinking it; I promise they won't know until you're ready for them to know, okay?" I held onto her stare, hoping to quiet her frantic and worrisome mind. Her eyes bounce between mine, and I knew she was trying her damnedest to believe my words.

She sucks in a choppy breath as her eyes fluttered shut and bobbed her head in a quick nod. She then gave my thumb a tiny kiss, and I knew she was finally accepting what I'd been telling her. "C'mon, let's get you cleaned up and head over to Jolly's," I tell her, wiping the remaining tear stains from her cheeks. She whispers a barely audible 'okay' and flushes the toilet before standing. I stood from my spot on the floor and headed into our bedroom with only a minimal wheezing fit, leaving her to wash her hands and brush her teeth.

When Liv finally emerged from the bathroom, I couldn't help the bit of sadness I felt seeing the look of pure exhaustion on her. She had thrown on one of my old hoodies, her hair was unkempt, and her face was paler than usual, paired with dark circles under her eyes. Yet when she tried to smile, as weak of a smile it was, she still looked as beautiful as ever—but I knew how worn out she was feeling, especially after puking the way she had.

Flashing her a sympathetic smile, I stood in front of her and gave her shoulder a gentle rub. "On second thought, why don't we stay in?" I suggested, "You're exhausted, and I'm still not feeling all that great either." She shakes her head, peering up at me with tired eyes. "No, no. I'll be fine. You said the guys wanted to see me, so..." she trails off, shrugging her shoulders with a dry chuckle. "You sure, love? You have inventory tomorrow morning; I wouldn't want you to be too tired going in." She rolls her eyes with a scoff. "Well, after you just drilled it into my head that the guys want to see me, I'd better go."

I pursed my lips into a line and gave her a pointed look. "Don't get snippy with me," I tease, propping my fists on my hips. "I'm not," she grumbles, folding her arms over her chest and averting her gaze elsewhere. "Mmm, sure. And I'm not the lead singer of Bad Omens." She lightly smacks my chest at my remark, but I can see the slight curl of her lips as she fights back a smile. I laughed, the rumble of a cough soon replacing it, and I tried my best to stifle the coughing fit I was about to have.

As things progressed with Olivia, I was slowly but surely recovering day by day. My breathing improved quite a bit, but I was still having coughing fits here and there throughout the day, though not nearly as bad. Rose petals would still make their way out of my lungs, but there hadn't been any thorns along with them as of late—thank God.

I quickly distanced myself from Liv, grabbing tissues from the nightstand to rid the flowers from my mouth. She comes up behind me and rubs my back just as I crumpled the tissues and wiped under my lash line to hinder any tears from falling. Sure, there weren't any thorns, but it was still painful as all Hell hacking as hard as I had to in order to get the shit out.

When the wave of coughs finally subsided, Liv moves to the front of me and places a comforting hand on my face, her thumb coasting across my cheek. She asks if I'm okay, and like I always do, I tell her that I'm fine—it's become the norm as of late. I didn't mind it though; I was just happy to feel her touch again. So gentle, so caring, so loving.

She still hasn't told me that she loves me since I've returned home, but I was hopeful it would come soon. Her actions certainly indicated it. The way she burrowed herself in my arms at night, the way she checked to make sure that I was feeling alright even on the days where she wasn't, the way she'd let me tease her and she'd give it right back, the way her eyes lit up when I came down to the bakery for breakfast.

And most importantly: I was recovering. That had to mean she was falling back in love with me...right?

-

"Folio, put her down!" I huffed, pinching the bridge of my nose in aggravation. The second we walked through the door, he engulfed Olivia in a hug and picked her up, giving her a twirl. Even though she erupted into a fit of giggles, my mind immediately flipped to protective mode.

"Oh no, did I break you?" He overexaggerates a gasp and sets her down, miming a quick examination by extending her arms and bending them at the elbow playfully. "I don't know man, she seems fine to me." She snorts, swatting his hands away. "Don't worry, I'm not broken. Noah's just... Noah." I furrowed my brows, folding my arms over my chest. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She giggles, making her way back over to me and wrapping her arms around my torso, craning her neck to look up at me. "I mean, you did almost bite his head off for complimenting me." I opened my mouth to defend myself but stopped short with a sigh, remembering how I stormed out of the green room the first day of tour. She was right. "Yeah, yeah," I mumbled with defeat, holding her close to me.

"It's okay, I certainly liked the outcome of that," she whispers suggestively, winking at me. "You remember that don't you? Taking me to the showers and drilling it into me that I'm yours and no one else's." "Liv," I shot her a warning glance, my fingertips pressing into her lightly. Her voice was so low, husky, and my dick twitched in my pants at the insinuation of her words. I felt my cheeks warm with embarrassment from not only my behavior then, but how easily aroused I just became.

It's been months since we've fucked, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to bring her into the closest room and show her just how much I've missed her—and judging by the tantalizing glint in her eye, paired with that cheeky smirk, I'd say she felt the same way.

I took a deep breath and swallowed down the temptation as she stands on her toes and plants a chaste kiss to my lips. She quickly slips from my grasp and runs over to greet Nicholas and Jolly, leaving me to bite back a groan of disappointment.

It was safe to say that her nerves from earlier weren't warranted with how she settled right into the couch like she always did, striking up a lively conversation with the guys. I couldn't hear any of the words; I was too distracted by her charm, her innocence, how genuine of a moment this was. Bliss radiated from her, and I admired the smile that continued to spread across her face, her eyes glimmering with excitement from whatever their conversation was about.

I chuckled to myself, amazed with how she went from a nervous wreck earlier, to playful, to frisky, and back to playful in a matter of no time. I knew I was going to have to get used to the mood swings, and this was only the beginning, but I didn't care. So long as I had her at the end of the day, I'd take whatever she threw my way.

"Glad to see things are better between the two of you, brother," Folio claps a hand on my shoulder, giving me a little shake. "Seems like you're finally getting over that cold." He offers me a beer with his other hand, nodding towards it. I gave him a soft smile, bobbing my head lightly as I accepted the drink. "Yeah, me too." I cracked open the Modelo and took a swig, bringing my gaze back towards Liv to see her laughing at something Nicholas said. "I'm just glad to see that smile back on her face, you know? It feels like forever since I've seen her genuinely happy."

"I don't know what you did, but keep it that way. I was getting ready to take you out back and put you out of your misery," he laughs. "Hacking up a lung, moping around. It was getting old." I leered down at him after rolling my eyes at his comment. "Gee, sorry that I was dying. Won't happen again." He snickers, "I'm just kiddin'. In all seriousness, I hated seeing you like that. It was hard to watch, and I didn't know what to do to help. None of us did." I shook my head, dismissing him. "There was nothing you could do. I had to fix it myself, and I very quickly realized my faults. Things still aren't perfect; it's a work in progress, but we're getting there." “Good. Keep workin’ at it.” He gives me another shake of the shoulder, a smile of ratification spread across his face.

We made our way over to the living room, Nick scooting over and allowing me space between him and Liv as I sat down. I draped an arm over her shoulders, settling against the cushions as she leans into me. “So, what’s on the agenda for tonight?” I asked. Seconds later, there was a Wii remote sitting in my lap. I looked at the TV, the loading screen of Mario Party displayed. "Loser has to buy us dinner!" Liv exclaims, sitting up abruptly. I huffed and sat up to put my drink on the coffee table, with her giggling next to me—she knew the chaos that was about to unfold from how competitive the guys and I were. That must’ve been what her and Nick were laughing about.

"You're not even gonna play, how can you make that bet?" I retort playfully, mulling over which character to pick. "Oh, I'll be playing," she says matter-of-factly. "When you storm off, I'll take over for you." I turn my attention towards her, blinking slowly. "Excuse me?" She snorts, "You heard me. You know you can be a sore loser sometimes." I pressed my lips into a line, giving her a stern look, which only made her laugh. "You're lucky that I love you, Olivia. Pain in my ass," I shake my head while fighting my smile. "I know," she muses, resting her head against my shoulder. I grinned and pressed a kiss on the top of her head, turning back to the game that was about to start.

Well over an hour and several bickering matches later, Olivia was right. I did end up forfeiting, but only because the more I yelled, the more I coughed, and I knew that it was only a matter of time before I'd have a fit. I handed over the Wii remote to Liv and excused myself, making my way out to Jolly’s balcony. As soon as I shut the slider door, I found myself tucking my face into my elbow, coughing away.

I braced myself against the railing, winded with my heart pounding, and spit the flowers out of my mouth—God, I couldn’t wait for this to be over. It was just so exhausting.

Still holding myself up, I tried my best to recoup as I heard the slider door open. I don’t move as someone steps out onto the balcony, trying to get as much air back into my lungs as I could. Deep breath in, hold it for a few seconds, slowly let it out.

“You good?” It was Nick. “Yeah," I sigh, "just the usual.” I reassure him, my heart rate beginning to regulate itself. “Alright, just wanted to let you know the food’s here.” He gives me a gentle pat on the back. I nod, pushing myself away from the railing and turning towards him. “How much was it?” He puts his hands up, waving me off. “Oh, no dude. I wasn’t coming out here for the money—” “I know you weren’t.” I chuckled, pulling out my wallet from my back pocket, “Technically, I lost, so… How much?” He sighs, rolling his eyes incredulously. “Dude, I’m not making you pay. Put the wallet away.”

I do the exact opposite and open it, starting to take several 20’s out, but he stops me by pushing my hands down. The wallet slips from my hands, and lands at our feet splayed open. He apologizes and quickly bends down to retrieve it, but halts once it's in his hands. “Dude,” he murmurs, slowly standing back up and locking eyes with me. “Is this what I think it is?”

Fuck.

My heart skips a beat—I forgot I had the sonogram in my wallet, and there was no way I could deny that it was my unborn child he and was looking at.

Anxiety starts to settle in, and I take my wallet frantically from his hands, shoving it back in my pocket. “Nicholas, I trust you to keep this between me and you,” I say lowly. “Liv doesn’t want anyone to know yet, and she’d fucking kill me if she found out that you knew.” He blinks at me with bewilderment. “How long—when were you—what?” He stammers, and I swear I could see smoke coming from his ears as his brain short circuits. “You’re gonna be a dad?!”

“Nick, shut the fuck up!” I hissed, scowling at him. “We’ll talk about this later, okay? Please. I’m trying real hard to patch things up with her, and I know this would fuck everything up. I-I can’t have that happen again.” “Sorry, I just…” he exhales, puffing out his cheeks, and raked a hand through his hair. “I was not expecting this at all.” “Yeah, neither was I," I chuckled nervously, "but I think this may just be our saving grace."

|Chapter 19|

[taylor-tut-fics]

Hi!!!! i love ur camp camp fics and would DEVOUR cranky david if u offered him!!!! let my boy complain lord knows he deserves it 😩

THANK YOUUUU omg. I personally don't feel like this fic is the best. it's a little short and i had trouble connecting some of the scenes. but it's written, and that's what counts. maybe you'll like it!! i sure hope you do!! and thank you for always encouraging me! it means a lot!! :)

“David, can you get Preston to stop painting the walls?”

“Sure, why don’t I do everything?” he mutters. Gwen rolls her eyes and takes a deep breath. She’s been dealing with this all day. The first time he’d snapped at her, she’d thought she misheard. Surely, her sweet, cherubic David wouldn’t say something rude. Of course, it had happened again, then again. When pressed about it, he’d told her that he just wasn’t feeling well. He’d apologized, which had assuaged her anger and replaced it, temporarily, with sympathy. Both of those things dried up when the snippy attitude didn’t stop. 

She’s seen David not feeling his best before. From heat, from a cold once. He always gets quiet, but she’s never seen him like this. He’s slow, dragging, crabby. Though she understands he doesn’t feel well, she’s losing patience. 

“Watch it.”

“Sorry,” he rasps, coughing wetly into his elbow. It brings back what little sympathy she still has for him. It makes her worry a tiny bit, too. It doesn’t sound so good. “I just don’t have the energy for all this.” 

The only reason he’s pushing himself like this is for her benefit, she tries to remember. These demons are not a one person job and he knows it. If he had his way, he’d be sleeping off whatever flu bug he’s caught, but he’s afraid (rightfully so) that if he leaves them alone, the kids will smell her fear and use the opportunity to burn down the camp. Even just having him weakened is inviting chaos, so she can’t imagine how bad it would be if he checked out. Still, she could live without the attitude. He’s even been a little terse with the kids, though certainly not outright rude like he’s been to her. 

“If you need a break, say so,” she says a little pointedly. Though she knows he’s not going to take her up on it, she has to remind him that he’s allowed to take a break because if he continues on like this, she’s going to lose her goddamn mind. She expects him to ignore her like he has all day, but he sighs. 

“Actually, could I take a few minutes? I need to catch my breath.” 

It strikes her as odd. Either he senses that he’s actually ticked her off, or he’s feeling worse than earlier, sand she’s willing to bet it’s a little of both.

“Uh, sure. I can handle this for a minute’. You okay?” 

Upsettingly, he shrugs, then nods. “Just a little dizzy.” 

That doesn’t make her feel any better, but she doesn’t have time to ask follow up questions before he’s dragging himself out of the mess hall. 

“Max, follow him,” she commands. “Come get me if he starts dying.” 

Max groans and grumbles for a while about the order. For so long, in fact, that by the time he finally does get outside, he has to search for David. He assumes he’s going to find him reinvigorating himself in nature by smelling a flower or hugging a tree, but that’s not the case. Instead, he can’t find him at all. 

“David?” he calls, but gets nothing in response. He checks the picnic benches by the mess hall and David’s favorite tree. Just when he’s running out of places to look, he thinks of a long shot: the counselor’s cabin. David probably wouldn’t choose an air-conditioned, sunless, treeless place for his break, but he’s running out of places to look. He pushes open the door and is surprised to find David on the couch, lying on his back with his eyes shut. 

“David?” 

He blinks, clearly already almost asleep. He must really be exhausted. “Max? What are you doing here?” 

“Gwen wanted me to make sure you don’t die.” David rolls his eyes, then forces a smile. 

“I’m fine. I just need a minute to myself, if that’s okay.” 

Max kicks his feet up on the armchair and sits. “Knock yourself out. I’m gonna play Gwen’s Switch.” He has his own save file on her Stardew Valley game and she knows it. For some reason she never deletes it even though she’s banned him from playing. 

David takes a full 15 minutes to recover. He sets an alarm on his phone and Max is pretty sure he actually falls asleep. His breathing evens out and he looks less miserable than he has all day, not that he’s been paying attention. When the alarm goes off, he groans, stops the sound, and rubs his hands over his face. Max has never seen him so tired. 

“Hey,” he says despite instantly regretting showing concern, “are you okay? Because you seem not okay.” 

Gwen had told him to make sure he’s alive, after all, and he can’t do that if David is pushing himself this hard. If there’s one thing he knows, it’s that this camp isn’t worth this kind of effort. He’d love to see David give up and throw in the towel. He’d be able to hold it against him, possibly for the rest of the summer. 

“Of course,” he lies. “I’m just not feeling my best today.”

“You know you can just pawn us off on Gwen, right? Phone it in and give up?” 

David shakes his head. “I’m okay. I promise. I’ll just go to bed a little early today.” 

“Your funeral,” Max shrugs. Still, he walks behind David all the way back to the mess hall and a part of him knows it’s to ensure his safety, just like Gwen had asked. 

It’s an excruciating several hours until dinner. Usually, torturing David is Max’s main source of entertainment, but it’s not fun if he’s already maxed out on suffering. Without that to distract him from camp activities, he’s left only with Gwen’s botched knot tying lecture, and he’s not into it one bit. At least David would be delivering it with a mockable passion. Gwen’s just barely managing to read the words on the page in front of her. David’s notes, no doubt, but he’s got the spiel memorized. The only reason she’s giving it over him is because his voice is barely audible. 

Even shivering with fever chills, coughing terribly, and barely clinging to wakefulness, David is alert enough to correct her on misinformation. It’s driving her nuts. By the time she’s gotten to the demonstration, she’s ready to fight him. She doesn’t even care how sick he is. She’ll throw hands, anyway. 

“You don’t hold it like that,” David interrupts harshly. Her eye twitches.

“Thank you, David,” she says, breathing measuredly. 

“You didn’t pay attention when I showed you how to do it.” 

“No, I didn’t.” 

“So how do you expect to—”

“David,” she curtails, “do you want to teach the lesson?” 

He flushes redder than he is already. “I—well, I wish I could, but—”

“Then stop correcting me. No one is paying attention to this shit, anyway.” His face falls. Great, now he’s embarrassed and crushed. She regrets being so harsh. “I know you want everything to be perfect all the time, but until you’re back on your feet, you’re gonna have to live with it, because I’m trying my best.” 

Though she’s prepared for an argument, she watches him deflate a little, staring at the ground in defeat. 

“Sure. Okay. Go ahead.” 

Despite how pathetic he looks about it, she’s happy to be able to finish the lecture before dinner is ready, if only barely. She leaves him to clean up while she does the more strenuous job of getting the kids fed and seated while also making sure none of them kill one another. 

Unfortunately, though, she’s not able to prevent madness from descending. She’s already lost control when David stumbles into the room, looking sweaty and unsteady. It’s not that she doesn’t care—she just doesn’t notice. Max does, though. He sees everything. Even though he can’t stand David, he’s a perceptive kid and can tell when things aren’t right. Apparently, so can the other campers. 

“David?” Harrison calls. He takes a moment before registering that he’s been beckoned, and when he does, he looks a little peeved about it. “Maybe you should sit down.” 

“Before you fall down,” Max adds. He shakes his head. 

“No, I’m—what’s going on here?”

“The usual. You and Gwen are both useless, so we’re taking advantage of the opportunity.” He doesn’t react to the jab, which, combined with the pallor of his face and the fact that he’s visibly shaking, proves that something is very wrong. Something worse than the cold he’s been fighting all day. Max glances at Gwen to see how she’s reacting only to realize that she’s not even paying attention to his misery. It takes her a long time to glance up for long enough to see that David is in the room, and even then, she isn’t really looking at him. If she were, it would be obvious that he’s fairing poorly. 

“I need help,” she begs. “They’re monsters.” David doesn’t even appear to register the plea. He’s focusing all his energy on balancing on his feet. He looks like he’s about to fall down, possibly dead. 

“Gwen,” he calls weakly, “I need a break. I’m feeling lightheaded.” 

“That’s great, David,” she says offhandedly, not listening. “Nurf, utensils are a privilege, and I will take them away from you!” 

He can’t stop watching David, who staggers over to the empty counselor’s bench and braces himself against it. It gives him a sense of foreboding. 

“Uh, Gwen?” Max asks. She doesn’t have time to deal with that right now.

“Not now, Max. Space Kid, get down from there!” 

As she fishes him down from where he’s dangling from the fan, David clutches his forehead, his eyes fluttering dangerously. 

“I’m serious. I think I need to go lie down.” Max isn’t sure she even hears it.

“Are you gonna give me a hand here?” she demands. David forces himself forward, but he instead runs directly into Gwen’s back. 

“Hey!” she exclaims when she spills the mug of tea she’s holding, whirling on him angrily just as he slumps forward. For the first time all day, she’s actually got a good look at him, and she doesn’t like what she sees. His blinks are long and slow, and he’s swaying. “David?” she calls, but before she realizes she needs to reach out and grab him, he drops. 

The chatter of the mess hall stops at once, Space Kid still swinging from the ceiling. She kneels down to his side and shakes his shoulder, but he doesn’t respond. 

“Oh, shit. Hey, David, come on. Wake up.” She taps a worryingly hot cheek. “Crap. That’s not good.” 

“Step aside,” Max says, cracking his knuckles. “I’ve got this.” He slaps David’s face so hard he has to wind up. It does absolutely nothing but leave a red mark. This is not the same unconsciousness as when he’d taken a nap on the couch earlier. He’d really fainted. They’d pushed him too far. 

“Don’t do that!” she scolds. “Okay. This is going to be fine. Nikki, get a wet cloth. He’s burning up. Harrison, get the first aid kit. Have Nerris help you.” 

The children disperse. Neil and Ered go off in search of water and fruit snacks for when he wakes up. David stays unconscious for longer than Max is comfortable with. Gwen has to run the cool dishcloth against his face and neck for several minutes before he blinks awake. 

“Hi,” she greets softly. “Are you with me now?” 

“I—what happened?” 

Hi words are still slightly slurred, but that appears to be from exhaustion rather than a sign they need to go to the hospital.“You passed out a little. How do you feel?” 

He looks to be on the brink of tears and forces the palms of his hands to his eyes, clearly upset to be so out of it. “I want to go to bed.” 

“Okay, okay. In a minute. We need to take your temperature first.” She forces the thermometer on him and waits for the beep. When the number appears, it makes her look nervous. “God, David; I’m sorry. You should have just stayed in bed today.” 

“I wanted to help.”

“Only because you knew I didn’t want to deal with this all on my own.” She extends a hand to help him sit up. “Think you could stand if I help you?” 

He considers this. “Maybe give me a minute.” 

The kids are quiet, well-behaved, even, as he sips his water and waits for his head to stop swimming enough that he won’t faint again if he stands. After a few minutes, he decides he’s feeling well enough to try. Gwen gets him to his feet where he wavers, but manages to stay upright. 

“Kids, I’m going to be gone for 10 minutes. If you’re not in these exact positions when I get back, no one gets dessert for a week.” 

She half drags David back to the counselor’s cabin and sets him on the edge of his bed. While she fishes around for something more comfortable he could change into, he climbs beneath the sheets. By the time she turns around with a set of sweatpants and a t-shirt in hand, he’s already snuggled up tight. She smiles. 

“Guess you’re pretty tired, huh?” 

“A little.” He stares down at his hands. “I’m sorry for being so crabby all day.” 

“Are you kidding? I’m the one who owes you an apology. I ignored you.” 

“I was being difficult.” 

“You were being bitchy, but it doesn’t matter. You’re my friend. I should have been paying attention.” She doesn’t often call him that, and it makes him smile. “Go ahead and get some rest. I’ll be back to check on you once I get the kids to bed, but call me if you need me. Think you could eat something if I brought it to you?”

The thought of food makes his stomach churn. “I’m not hungry. Maybe later.  

“Thanks, Gwen.” He rolls over and shuts his eyes, thankful for quiet for the first time that day. He falls asleep almost immediately.