#i kept encouraging her to come back to get a permanent position

[vitamin-sour-gummy]

💥

[subspencer]

the to-do list

Pairing: Spencer Reid x fem!Reader

Summary: Reader is worried that she’s not adventurous enough in bed. So, she makes a secret checklist of things to try with Spencer. Based on this request.

Category: Smut, 18+ ONLY, minors dni

Warnings/Includes: switch!Spencer, (sort of?) corruption kink, exhibitionism, mile high club, brief description of oral, unprotected sex, creampie, brief mentions of other stuff but no descriptions

Word Count: 3k

Spencer’s girlfriend has a secret checklist. It could be called a bucket list, of some sort, but really all of the items on it pertain to sexual acts to perform with Spencer, on Spencer, or in front of Spencer. So checklist is a more appropriate term.

The list came into existence after a girl’s night game of Never Have I Ever, in which she discovered there was an embarrassing number of things she’d never done. Some of them seemed nearly impossible to have gone twenty-something years without doing, especially when in a committed relationship. That was made abundantly clear to her when the girls pointed it out, teasing her — and by association, Spencer — for being more than vanilla.

There was no real reason she hadn’t tried those certain things — she wasn’t adverse to the idea of most of them at all. Really, it was just that she never bothered to dip her toes beyond what was familiar.

When Emily, Penelope, and Tara had nearly all ten of their fingers down after a couple rounds, she finally realized she might’ve been coming up short in the sex department. She figured it was about time to find out what she’s missing, so she made a list of everything she needed to try. And one by one, she and Spencer checked the items off.

One of the more simple things on the list, and perhaps her favorite, was giving her first blowjob. It wasn’t something she felt compelled to try with any of the guys she’s been with before, and Spencer, though he was very curious about it, was too much of a gentleman to ask for one.

So when she asked him to sit on the edge of his bed and dropped to her knees in front of him, he didn’t stop to ask questions. His mind went blank the second her fingers undid his zipper. It was Spencer’s first, too, and his fingers knotted in her hair as she took him in as deep as she could, hollowing her cheeks around his cock and swirling her tongue as her head bobbed up and down. Spencer always made pretty sounds in bed, but in this instance she envied his memory because she wished she could replay his moans and gasps from that first blowjob all over again in her mind.

Another favorite was allowing the favor to be reciprocated until completion. She figured she might just be someone who couldn’t get off from oral, because though she always welcomed Spencer to go down, she got impatient every time and pulled his head up by his hair, demanding him to fuck her already. Spencer was one to oblige every request, but he couldn’t pretend that he wasn’t overjoyed when one time she never stopped him short.

There were no interruptions, no hands shoving his face away from its rightful place against her, just increasing moans and shaking legs as Spencer was encouraged to give more. She can still remember the half-moon shapes his nails left on her thighs from where he had to grip them so tightly as she rode out her high. And she definitely remembers the almost feral look in his eyes after, because since that first time he insists on doing it again nearly every day.

There were more or less a dozen other items that slowly but surely got ticked off the list.

Handcuffs in the bedroom — fun, but perhaps better saved for special occasions. Or if Spencer was being extra good and deserved a treat.

Various new positions — a reminder to stretch more. And that sixty-nine is not as easy as it sounds on paper.

She let Spencer put a blindfold on her — it was decided they both prefer it more when the blindfold is on him. It keeps him guessing.

Spanking — both of them like this one, either giving or receiving. Surprisingly, she thinks she might like receiving it a little more, and Spencer is always excited to give.

Shower sex — a bit of a logistical nightmare, yet still a weekly staple. It’s slippery, yes, but it’s also relaxing and intimate. And Spencer just enjoys putting his hands on her wet, soapy body.

Sending dirty texts — great, but Spencer prefers taking nude polaroids of her instead. He keeps a few in his wallet for easy access. And because he knows Garcia can’t hack his wallet and find them.

And there were more items that went in the same tune until there was just one left. The one she was most nervous to attempt.

She wondered if joining the mile high club was better or worse if it was on the BAU jet. They’d have ample opportunities to do it, but they’d also be surrounded by their colleagues, and there is no coming back from getting caught.

But the main challenge was convincing Spencer to do it in the first place.

The initial plan of attack was to drop some “subtle” hints. She brought it up for the first time one night in their shared hotel room, right after Spencer fucked her against the bathroom counter, her legs wrapped around his waist.

“We could totally do that in the jet bathroom.”

“Yeah, I guess the basics are the same. Cramped space and a ledge to lean on.” Spencer was completely aloof as he picked up the scattered articles of clothing from the floor, rattling off about the size and dimensions of the airplane bathroom and missing the entire point of the comment.

She mentioned it again a little later, hoping the repetition may help him catch the drift.

“What’s the craziest place you’ve had sex?” she asked, completely catching him off guard as he ate a breakfast of frosted flakes in his kitchen.

“Um.. I don’t know? You tell me,” he shrugged, knowing that whatever the craziest place was, it was definitely with her.

“What about doing it on the jet?” It couldn’t get more obvious.

“We haven’t done that, silly. OH! I’m gonna say it was in my car,” he nodded with a wide grin, confident in his answer that unfortunately brushed past the proposition far too quickly.

It was time to change methods.

The new plan was to see if she could get him turned on enough on the jet to motivate him to do something about it right then and there. It seemed easy enough.

She sat next to him on the small couch, as she always did, and cuddled up to his side as he read his book.

Once everyone was distracted, she snaked a hand onto his thigh, allowing it to rest there long enough for Spencer to get over his initial shock and relax into her touch. As soon as he let his guard down, she moved her hand up another inch or two, watching him squirm again as he fought his mind from wandering. She repeated that cycle every five minutes until it drove him insane, his willpower diminishing in tandem with the proximity of her hand.

When everyone finally fell asleep, she craned her head to press small kisses on his neck, alternating between quick pecks and lingering ones, sucking warm and wet little flecks onto his skin that drew soft sighs without fail.

“What are you doing?” his breath was raspy and low as he muttered into her ear.

“Nothing.” She kept her tone innocent and sweet as she continued to sprinkle the teasing kisses across the column of his throat.

Her hand finally found its way directly on top of the bulge straining against his slacks and gave it a gentle squeeze. Spencer grinded himself into her palm, desperate to feel some friction, his jaw slacked and pupils wide. She dragged a thumb across his length, stopping to rub slow circles over the sensitive tip, drawing out a wet spot at the front of his trousers.

But even with his skin flushed red and his cock leaking and half-near orgasm, Spencer still found the restraint to stop her from jerking him off right on the jet and ripped her hand away, placing it in her lap as if the action could permanently force her to keep her hands to herself.

“I can’t go to the crime scene with cum in my pants,” he hissed, squeezing her wrist tighter.

She smirked at the opportunity, wrapping her warm lips around his ear lobe and tugging with her teeth before whispering with hot breath. “Then put it in me.”

For a second she saw him consider it. His eyes had a dark cast, gaze flickering between her eyes and lips as he swallowed the thick lump in his throat. But then Emily woke up and it was yet another failed attempt.

She resigned to the fact that it just wouldn’t happen, and that the item might remain unchecked on the secret list. So she cleared the idea from her mind, not wanting to keep pushing Spencer toward something he clearly didn’t have an interest in, or to keep embarrassing herself by trying.

And then a couple weeks later, as the team wrapped another case up, she came back to their hotel room to find Spencer sitting on the bed, facing away from the door.

“Hey, baby,” she greeted. When Spencer didn’t respond, she crawled onto the bed behind him, placing both hands on his shoulders and attacking the side of his face with kisses, giggling into his messy curls. “I said hey.”

Still nothing. Her eyes followed his line of sight down to his hands and went wide with realization.

“Spencer, where did you get that!?” She tried to snatch the crumpled piece of paper from him, but he was too quick to pull it away.

“I was looking for gum in your purse,” he explained, reading the sheet over again in complete amusement, “but I found something better.”

Spencer was much too excited about it, bordering on smug, and she rolled off the bed away from him in annoyance.

“Is this what I think it is?” She remained silent, suddenly feeling very insecure about the note. “Did you... did you make a list of things to do in bed?”

“You weren’t supposed to see that, it’s so stupid.”

“Hey, who said it’s stupid?” He tugged on her fingers, pulling her back onto the bed next to him. “I just wanna know where it came from.”

“Well... when I went out with the girls, we started talking about all the things we’ve done…” she paused to see if Spencer could guess where this was going, and of course he didn’t, “... in bed. And I hadn’t even done half of what they have, so I wrote some of them down. I — I wanted to try them with you.”

“So you… you’ve never done these with anyone else?” Spencer’s eyes widened as he pieced the puzzle together. He looked down again at the discarded sheet laying on pillows, his pride swelling at how long the list was. “I’m the first?”

She nodded in assent and no sooner was Spencer pushing her back flat against the mattress, settling his body on top of hers.

“God, that’s so hot,” he spoke into her neck as he sucked purple bruises into it, allowing his hands to roam freely under her shirt. His nimble fingers made quick work of her bra clasp, pulling the hem of the top up to attach his lips to her exposed nipple. He rolled the other in his fingers, tugging gently as she arched into his touch, rolling her hips up to grind against his. He groaned and pushed back, nestling himself perfectly between her legs.

Suddenly his motions halted and he popped his head up, looking at her with wide eyes and freshly ruffled hair. “We haven’t finished the list yet!”

“I — I didn’t think you were interested in the last one.”

“If my girlfriend makes a list of ways she wants to fuck me, I’m interested.”

A devilish grin took over her face. “Well, we fly home tomorrow.”

And true to the plan, they arrived on the jet the next day with at least a vague sense of strategy: wait until everyone is asleep then go at it in the bathroom. It wasn’t the most elaborate of plans, but there wasn’t much else to think of.

Except for the possibility that the others might not go to sleep.

The flight was already halfway through its journey and everyone was still wide awake, and Spencer was growing incredibly impatient. Perhaps even more than his girlfriend, now that he knew this would be part of a long list of things he got to be her first for.

That fact seemed to encourage him, the thrill of forever being her first at something. Never mind that she’d be his firsts, too.

Spencer’s not stupid, he knows that bending her over the bathroom counter while everyone is awake to hear it is a horrible idea. But his willpower doesn’t extend far enough to stop him from dropping his hand to her exposed knee, rubbing it softly just to be able to touch her. It seemed innocent enough in case anyone might see.

He kept his eyes on the open book he was pretending to read as his fingers traced the inside of her thigh, pushing up the hem of her skirt ever so slightly.

He inched his hand up and slowly spread his long fingers apart until they covered the length of her inner thigh. The tips stopping just below her cunt, delicately tracing lines back and forth parallel to the seam of her underwear.

And she quickly discovers there’s no taste worse than your own medicine. There was gentle brushes and concealed touches, all the things that she did to him. But where Spencer would’ve stopped her teasing before it got too far, she wouldn’t have done the same.

She covered up his hands by bringing her own down to her lap, silently encouraging him to continue unseen.

Spencer looked down at her through his thick lashes, bottom lip stuck between his teeth. Looking for more confirmation that she wanted this. The answer came in the form of her shifting subtly down the seat, pressing her clothed pussy firmly against his hand.

His cock twitched against the confines of his slacks when he felt the damp patch on the fabric. His knuckles brushed against her clit and her knees clamped shut, holding him in place as she brought her lips close to his ear to let him hear her soft whines.

He has to put his book over his lap to cover how hard he is, and it almost makes him regret starting this game. Almost.

Because just as she starts desperately grinding against his hand, squirming for more friction, he notices that everyone’s asleep. And then it’s a race to the bathroom, Spencer positioning her directly in front of him to cover his bulge as they stand up.

Their mouths are on each other before the door even closes, her hands wasting little time in going for his zipper. Both desperate to have each other after all the anticipation. She immediately perched herself on the countertop, spreading her legs wide so Spencer could fit in between them, just like in that hotel room. A confused whine fell from her mouth when he lifted her off from the ledge, interrupting her plan.

“No. Like this,” he growled, turning her around and pushing her hips against the edge of the counter, bending her over it. She muttered a “Fuck,” under her breath as he pressed his cock against her backside, knowing he preferred this angle because he could get deeper.

His lips trailed down her neck as he tugged the skirt up to her hips and pulled her panties to the side, running his cock along her folds to gather the wetness that had been pooling there.

“Shit, you’re so fucking wet.”

He quickly inserted his thumb into her mouth to stop any sounds from escaping before lining himself up. Her moans vibrated against the digit as he slowly pushed in, stretching her out and letting her adjust before starting to move. Slowly and deliberately, at first, then quickly gaining speed.

She pushed her hips back to meet his thrusts until he pinned them against the ledge with his own, holding them still so he could set his pace faster.

The hand that was resting on her waist came up to her chest, groping at the flesh over her blouse. Her spine arched into his palm, bending forward to give him more leverage to get deeper to that spot inside her repeatedly.

He alternated between a few quick thrusts followed by a deep one, holding himself there for a moment before repeating.

Her cunt tightened around him as he held still against her, applying firm pressure to her spot with the head of his cock.

“Fuck, do that again, please,” he grunted against her neck, pushing his hips into her ass with bruising force to get impossibly closer. A loud whine nearly escaped her lips as he did so, the motion sending her over the edge.

She sucked harder around his thumb, using it to keep her cries at bay as she reached her climax. Her walls fluttered around him as she did, giving him exactly what he needed.

“Remember what you said before, baby?” he hummed in her ear, “Do you still want me to cum inside you?”

“Please.”

Immediately his thrusts became erratic, hips snapping forward a handful of times before he spilled into her in hot spurts, biting down on her shoulder to stifle his moan as he came.

Still heaving from the comedown, he pulled her panties back on, using the fabric to keep his cum from spilling out.

She turned to feverishly attach her lips to his, panting into the open mouthed kiss. When they finally broke apart, both looked completely wrecked with swollen lips, flushed skin, bruised necks. Still, they tried their best to fix themselves, straightening out their rustled clothes and smoothing knotted hair.

Before Spencer turned the door handle, he pulled her side into him, pressing a kiss onto her forehead. “We should make another list.”

.

.

.

taglist: @suburban--gothic @ssa-sarahsunshine @mercy-burning @reidspurple @mediocre-writer @honeyboysteezy @ssa-m-187 @calm-and-doctor @drayshadow @s1utformgg @you-sunshine @altsvu @reidtheprettyboy @goose-eats-god @sonnydoesrandomshit @rigatonireid @muffin-cup @amoeebaa @reidingmelodies

[madrivervalleyicelandics]

If you follow on Instagram & Facebook, then you got very detailed coverage of this in real time, & I’d encourage you to head over to those spaces because I did a lot of eloquent writing on this subject, answered questions, and provided every bit of educational info I could.

Our first foal, Síríus from Árdalur, was born happy & healthy on August 21. I recorded videos for my vet, because she was out of town, and texting back and forth she was happy with how everything looked. I confirmed that the placenta was gorgeous and complete. I cleaned the umbilicus. Síríus was nursing with an excellent latch, moving around, snoozing, investigating things, all the normal behaviors we’d want to see, and Skvísa was healthy and smitten.

At around 6 hours old, Síríus developed a very mild breathing abnormality. Within 1 hour of discovering this we were loaded & on the road to a major equine hospital out of state. Symptoms were mild, & I thought I was overreacting. I assumed he had aspirated milk or amniotic fluid somehow and perhaps had mild pneumonia. As we drove 2 hours to the hospital, I rode in the back with the horses, along with a friend. Síríus nursed and was on his feet most of the drive, but his breathing worsened quickly and in the last 5 minutes, he began to lose consciousness due to oxygen deprivation, and collapsed.

He was carried into the clinic where he was given a temporary tracheostomy. As soon as the tube was in, he was a normal foal again. His bloodwork was excellent & showed that he was well-hydrated and getting what he needed from Mama. His passive transfer test was excellent, showing that mama was making super colostrum and that he was taking it in. Ultrasounds of his lungs revealed very mild aspiration of milk from the drive, which quickly cleared up almost over night. A scope of his airways through the nostrils did not show a blockage. But Síríus remained unable to breathe without the trach, so we continued diagnostics.

It took 3 days of imaging and consults with top surgeons from across the country to determine the issue - a dysmature larynx. When his neck flexed, the larynx displaced &hisbairway became blocked. Ironically, nursing was the position that gave him the most open airway, which explains why his symptoms didn’t begin right away - as an immediate newborn, he kept his neck fairly straight and was very focused on nursing. It wasn’t until he laid down with his neck flexed that I noticed the initially mild abnormality, and loaded him up.

No other part of Síríus was dysmature. He was systemically normal & healthy in all other respects. He grew rapidly, and was taken for walks and jogs with mama. He was left loose in a large box stall with Skvísa, they were never separated, and she nursed him without supplementation. He didn’t need fluids or IV meds. He was healthy and happy, and the prognosis was very hopeful - expected that within 2 weeks of living with the trach, the larynx would mature on its own, and he would be able to come home and live a totally normal, restriction-free life.

Instead, Síríus developed a complication no one saw coming. While scoping to see how the larynx was improving, we discovered that the inside of his trachea, around the trach tube site, was rapidly forming granulation tissue - basically, proud flesh INSIDE his airway. A disaster. Debriding it would have required a dangerous surgery that would risk collapsing the trachea permanently, and even if successful, would have likely needed to be repeated because proud flesh tends to stubbornly come back again and again.

It now no longer mattered if his larynx matured. His trachea was ruined. But he had no idea. He was as happy and comfortable as ever, running and playing, nursing, and snuggling with anyone who came near.

Of course, we made the heartbreaking choice to let him go. I brought Spönn to the clinic and then spent an hour just loving on Síríus and Skvísa. I was with Skvísa when he passed, and then we gave her 2 hours to be alone with his body and process what happened. When it was time to go, she stepped past him and followed me, but when we got outside, she called for him. She looked so sad.

But Spönn called to her, and Skvísa followed Spönn’s voice onto the trailer where they nickered into each other’s noses. I had the senseSpönn understood what Skvísa needed from her.

When we got home, Skvísa was treated for ulcers (which we began on day 1 of hospitalization but I continued it for some time after she returned home) and was given banamine until her udders became comfortable again. She did not call or look for Síríus at home. We brought his body home and buried him, and I painted a stone for his grave. I planted bulbs around it strategically so there will be flowers year round.

I pulled DNA on Síríus before he died, and got him a microchip, and yesterday I was able to send in his registration. There will be a record of him as a horse who existed, and was real. I pulled a color panel on him too. He carried cream like his daddy, Smokey black with grey like mama. So his blue eyes would have turned golden like papas, and he would have one day been white with golden eyes. He would have been beautiful.

I have consulted with specialists all over at this point, and believe me, I’ve asked the hard questions. I offered to bring the stud in for testing, offered to spend whatever to have the mare and stallion scoped , DNA tested,anything. Every vet has told me no, there is nothing to test for, this problem isn’t hereditary. It’s just a random act of nature that happened in the womb. Every specialist I spoke to said they would not hesitate to breed this mare and stud again. Both mare and stud have healthy offspring. I’ve ridden offspring from both. We don’t know why this happened.

There are some risk factors for dysmaturity - nutritional deficiencies during the pregnancy for the mare, infection during pregnancy, and problems with the placenta. I ran nutritional panels on Skvísa throughout her pregnancy, including just weeks before Síríus was born, which included making sure her iodine levels were correct which is one that can specifically affect dysmaturity. She was never sick during her pregnancy, and bloodwork ruled out infection as well. Vets confirmed the placenta was gorgeous and healthy.

We have not found any identifiable reason why this happened. But enough specialists feel confident that this was no husbandry fault of mine, and no genetic fault of the mare or stud that I feel safe to breed them again (albeit not emotionally ready to do so).

I am heartbroken in a way I have never been before. I think of Síríus every day and try to understand why he couldn’t just get better and come home with us. He was beautiful, incredibly strong and well-built with a breathtaking natural tölt and gorgeous movement. He was so friendly and bright. I loved him fiercely, and I wish things had been different.

[thornedrose44]

Supercorp prompt-

Lena takes an art class to de-stress and Kara is the nude model. Awkward semi- naked flirting ensues.

(A/N: So, I put my own twist on this (hope that’s okay), I made Lena a teacher just because I liked the idea of Lena having to keep her lack of chill under control and be professional in front of a class funny - though this fic went down just a really light, fluffy route which I hadn’t expected when I started it.)

Read on AO3

It had been going well, the first term had passed with only a few missteps and one trip to the emergency room - though, the Dean had told her that Zach had yet to make it through a single class without some sort of accident and had been preemptively banned from taking Chemistry classes for fear of taking out an entire graduation class. 

Lena had never expected to return to her alma mater as a lecturer but the stars had aligned at just the right time. The youngest Luthor had reached a stage in her career where she had finally proven her adoptive mother wrong about not finding success as an artist and had made enough money that she need never paint another picture in her life again. The lack of necessity and the return to a more Luthor-esque lifestyle - galas, fancy balls and paid talks - had subsequently impacted her inspiration. She needed a change. A return to her roots and some sort of stability without losing her ability to make a personal impact with her work. 

Her mentor - J’onn - was stepping down from the art department and had recommended her as his replacement; National City University had jumped at the chance of the world renowned Lena Luthor taking up a teaching position there. 

She was now a third of the way through the school year, settled comfortably into her new role, and absolutely loving it. Her spark was back, and she was enjoying being in one place surrounded by her old friends. She was reconnecting with skills and techniques she hadn’t touched in years whilst simultaneously giving advice and encouragement to students that reminded her of herself when Lillian had cut her off to force her into attending business school and abandoning her dreams. She was finally able to return the kindness J’onn had given her all those years ago to the next generation of artists. 

It was the second term that Lena experienced her first set of real nerves. 

Lena had an artistic weak spot, an achilles heel that she had been able to keep out of her signature artistic style but she would now be forced to confront. 

Life drawing.

It had been her lowest scoring class by a mile and she had avoided the advanced elective classes like the plague. Lena knew practice made perfect but she’d never had enough interest to develop her skills. Her interest had always lied more in natural landscape beauty - J’onn had said her true inspiration lied with trying to recreate her childhood memories of Ireland: emerald rolling hills, rocky cliffs, dense forests ensconced by a mystical fog that lended her artwork a fantastical element that she was now known for.

The problem lied in Lena’s lack of interest in people. 

She had never really seen the ‘art’ in them.

Kelly, Sam and Andrea had spent hours over evening drinks psycho-analysing just why that might be, their two favourite theories were Lena’s family (the loss of her mother and the general unpleasantness of the Luthors) or Lena’s truly terrible dating history (their favourite topic of conversation due to the sheer number of embarrassing stories it elicited).

Lena refused to acknowledge the accuracy of both theories. 

It was therefore with a sense of dread that Lena prepared for the first Life Model Drawing class that Tuesday afternoon. The one small silver lining was that she didn’t need to arrange a model - she had vague memories of J’onn trying to entice volunteers and grumbling under his breath about some of the less than pleasant eager volunteers. J’onn had a list of regular volunteers that he had accrued over the years that were reliable and just liked to help out - most of them older with an appreciation for the arts and more time on their hands than they knew what to do with. The University admin team had organised everything and simply told her to expect a Kara Danvers at the studio some time before the class.

Lena had finished prepping the studio well in advance, reviewed the relevant techniques for most of the morning and even phoned J’onn for a much needed pep talk over lunch. She had just convinced herself that everything might be okay, that she just might be able to do this, when the most beautiful woman Lena had ever laid eyes on burst into the studio.

A toned body that glinted with a light sheen of sweat barely covered by a white v-neck tucked in at the front of a pair of dark jeans that merely brought all of Lena’s attention to the bronze belt buckle that locked away a thousand dirty thoughts. Glorious golden ringlet curls bounced up and down as the woman stumbled to a sudden stop as the most piercing blue eyes imaginable behind thick glasses locked with Lena’s green ones.

“Hi, I’m Kara!” The goddess announced, swallowing thickly and stumbling forward in her hefty black boots as she extended out a hand for Lena to take.

Lena only reached out due to years of Luthor training that had ingrained politeness into her muscle memory - her brain still not firing on all cylinders at the sight of the woman in front of her. Kara’s warm palm connected with Lena’s, long fingers curling gently yet firmly around the edge of her hand and sending arcs of lightning through Lena’s body and causing her breath to stutter. 

“I hope you haven’t been waiting for me for too long.” Kara continued, a bright apologetic smile lighting up her entire face and grinding whatever gears were still turning Lena’s mind to a dead - permanent - halt. “I try to always get here early to help set-up but the interview I was conducting overran - I’m a journalist, by the way - and then my bike - motorbike that is -” Lena’s mind caught on the motorbike and turned it round over and over and over again, “didn’t start and… I’m rambling. Oh, golly! I mean heck, I mean sorry.” Kara huffed, cheeks filling with air before releasing into an adorable pout. “Sorry.”

It was then that Lena realised two things.

One, it was her turn to say something and there had now been at least ten  prolonged seconds of silence as they stared into each other’s eyes.

And two, they were still holding hands because that’s what it was now, it most definitely could not be considered a handshake.

“Umm… hi…” Lena choked out whilst simultaneously jerking her hand back to her side, hoping the somewhat stifling heat of the studio would hide the red blush perfusing her cheeks.  “Lena. I’m Lena, that is…”

“Hi.” Kara murmured, smiling soft and sweet at her causing Lena’s heart to flip and melt and dance and do a million impossible things all at once.

“Hi.” Lena repeated dumbly - so dumbly.

“I should…” Kara chuckled, hands miming grabbing the edge of her t-shirt and lifting it up, “You know?”

Oh, god the goddess is going to undress, Lena’s brain screamed in gay at herself.

“Yeah, definitely do that.” Lena encouraged with a flap of her hand towards the centre of the studio where a solitary illuminated stool awaited. “Do you need anything? Is the lighting okay? Stool… umm… sturdy?”

Kara grinned at her, blue eyes barely sparing a glance at the studio’s set-up, “Looks perfect.”

“Great.” Lena cheered, jerking her thumb over at her desk in the corner where she had prepped her teaching materials, “I’ll… uh… be over there.”

“And I’ll be right here.” Kara shot back with a cheeky wink as she walked over to the stool, a towel awaiting her to provide suitable covering until the class had settled, shucking her white shirt over her head and revealing back muscles that would star in Lena’s fantasies for the foreseeable future.

“Yep.” Lena popped, taking a deep breath and trying to work out if she should be murmuring a thank you to God or screaming a desperate why me.

***

The class had gone well - except for the long periods where her brain shutdown whenever she studied the play of shadows across Kara’s defined musculature. She managed to cover it quite well by making it seem like she was just assessing her students’ work closely, analysing their line work and shading rather than going through an extended gay crisis that eclipsed seeing boobs for the first time in college.

Kara, on the other hand, was a consummate professional, holding a steady pose throughout and utterly unfazed by the concentrated gazes on her - though, Lena could have sworn that she caught deep blue eyes tracking her movements round the half-circle every now and again. 

“So, you’re experienced doing this?” Lena asked, once the last student had departed and Kara was finishing re-tying her sturdy boots back up.

“Taking my clothes off?” Kara chuckled, shooting the teacher an amused smirk, getting to her feet and strolling easily over to where Lena was examining the product of her class’ efforts. 

Lena faltered, “I meant-”

“I’m just teasing.” Kara reassured, reaching out to squeeze Lena’s forearm in a half-apology that Lena could have sworn burnt Kara’s hand print into her skin, “I’ve done this for a while now. I did an interview with J’onn a few years ago and his model bailed at the last minute and I was here already and…” Kara shrugged casually like stepping in was the obvious thing to do, like kindness was the only option - which Lena didn’t doubt for a second was something Kara genuinely believed. “I like helping out where I can. And I just kept coming back…” Kara explained, clasping her hands behind her back as she took a tentative step closer to Lena, “I was never really sure why until-”

“Hey, babe, you ready to go?” 

Lena’s head snapped round to see Andrea strolling through the doorway, eyes fixed on her phone utterly oblivious to the moment she had just trampled all over. Lena wasn’t sure whether Andrea was naturally such a good cockblock or if she practiced at it - regardless of either option Lena’s sexlife had vanished into thin air since she’d returned to living in the same city as Andrea. (Not that Lena thought that her and Kara were heading that way but Lena had been enjoying the hope of it at least).

“Andrea, you’re early for the first time in.... well, ever…” Lena snarked, rolling her eyes before glancing over to Kara, only to find the blonde had taken a large step away from her and her expression was far more neutral and guarded than it had been only moments before.

“Wait, we weren’t meeting at 4?” Andrea frowned, still not bothering to look up.

“Ah, so you’re not early, you’re over an hour late.” Lena remarked.

“God, you’re such a drama queen…” Andrea sighed, finally lifting her gaze from her phone, her eyes immediately alighting on Kara with undisguised interest. “And who is this?”

“Andrea, this is Kara the model for our life drawing classes.” Lena introduced taking a protective step in front of the blonde, an action that did not go unnoticed by the other two occupants in the room. “Kara, this is my supposed best friend who is regularly trying to lose that title.”

“Oh, best friend?” Kara repeated; the familiar brightness from before returning to her expression as she looked excitedly between the two friends.

“Yes.” Lena answered, smiling shyly at Kara and immediately forgetting Andrea’s existence, let alone presence in the room.

“That’s great.” Kara grinned, blushing a light pink a second later as her hands fidgeted with her keys, “I mean… ummm…. That you have a best friend. My sister is my best friend, though I have other friends. I just mean that… friends are cool.” 

Lena laughed lightly at Kara’s ramble, leaning closer towards the blonde without realising until Andrea appeared at her shoulder looking far too pleased with herself.

“Kara,” Andrea greeted, holding out a hand for the blonde to shake (Lena was comforted to see their handshake was quick, almost professional in comparison to the lingering touch Kara and Lena had shared earlier). “The pleasure is all mine.” Andrea declared, winking surreptitiously at the teacher - Lena instantly dreaded the upcoming girl’s night.

“Nice to meet you.” Kara replied friendly and sincere, before smiling softly at Lena and muttering a hopeful, “I’ll see you next week?” 

“I’ll be here.” Lena reassured, watching as Kara nodded farewell to Andrea and departed, waving on her way out.

“Well…” Andrea murmured mischievously.

“Don’t.” Lena said sharply, holding up a finger to deter whatever torment Andrea had brewing. “Not a word. Not a single word.”

“Ooookay.” Andrea lied.

***

“You okay?” Lena asked tentatively, watching as Kara sluggishly slung her bag over her shoulder the pep to her step nowhere near as present as it had been last week. 

They hadn’t had a chance to talk before the class even though Kara arrived much earlier to help set-up - Lena had been helping a student struggling with deadlines and a sudden crisis of confidence which prevented them from interacting. Despite being occupied, Lena had seen the fatigue weighing heavily on the reporter, saw how her impeccable posture dropped and how her students added weary lines to her expression in their artwork. 

“I think you fell asleep on that stool for ten minutes at some point.” Lena murmured, brow creasing in concern.

“Pfft… what?” Kara reassured with a light-hearted wave of her hand. “Impossible.”

Lena arched an unimpressed eyebrow, “You snore. Quite loudly.”

“Oh…” Kara pouted guiltily, rubbing at the back of her neck, “My sister is going through a rough patch and I stayed up late with her last night.”

Lena’s amusement drained away to be replaced with soft, supportive care, “Is she okay?”

“Yeah, she’s doing better.” Kara replied, blue eyes twinkling at Lena’s inquiry that had them both ducking their heads coyly and sharing furtive glances. “I should get going.” Kara coughed out, though she made no move to leave.

“Or…” Lena began hesitantly, heart fluttering in her chest, “we could go for coffee? You should probably have a coffee before driving,” Lena rationalised, nervously stepping back from the blatant romantic line she was toeing, “you know for safety…”

“For safety.” Kara repeated carefully, blue eyes glowing with warmth, “That sounds wonderful.”

***

It didn’t take them long at all to settle into a comfortable routine.

Kara came early to the life model classes, helping set-up the room as they talked about the students' progress and what Lena was going to make the focus of the class. During the class itself, Lena no longer needed to flit as regularly between her students, they had learned the basic techniques enough to practise for themselves, now only requiring light guidance which allowed Lena time to either do some marking or her own art. Kara posed perfectly throughout, though Lena was becoming more and more aware of Kara’s still gaze on her as the weeks passed by. 

After class, it was now custom for them to grab a coffee and go for a long walk around the university campus as they talked about everything and nothing. They would have been building towards a strong friendship if it wasn’t for the lingering touches, blatant flirts, blushes and wandering gazes. 

Lena wasn’t overly sure why they hadn’t crossed that line, made that final move, but she found she didn’t particularly mind the wait. She was convinced that they had both decided that the journey was making the destination all the more desirable.

It became abundantly apparent, though, that Kara thought differently if their conversation after the class midway through the term was anything to go by.

“So do you not like my body?” Kara asked, quick and fearful, eyes looking down at the sketch Lena had done during class of a vase of flowers in the corner rather than of the readily available model.

“What?” Lena muttered in disbelief looking up sharply from her desk to see Kara paling considerably having clearly not intended to ask the question that she had blurted out.

“I… uh…” Kara squeaked, mouth opening and closing rapidly, before lifting her bare wrist up with a jerky motion and whistling in exaggerated surprise, “Wow, look at the time. I’m late for… uh… this thing. Work thing. Interview! That’s a work thing.”

And just like that she was gone - Lena wouldn’t have been surprised if there was a Kara shaped hole in the studio wall with how fast she disappeared - leaving Lena with a sinking, twisty feeling in the pit of her stomach that told her she might have lost more than her regular coffee with Kara over that one interaction.

***

Lena had Kara’s phone number and they had taken to texting throughout the day; however, since Kara’s panicked question - which probably revealed some deep vulnerability in the blonde - there had been complete and total radio silence. No memes, no cute animal pics, no sweet check ins… Lena’s phone remained silent when it once vibrated with life. 

Lena wanted to text or call Kara the second she had left the studio but Lena didn’t feel like this was a conversation they could have over text, so she waited impatiently for them to be face to face again, counting down the days until the next class. 

Lena even took to repeatedly checking in with the admin office to confirm that Kara hadn’t pulled out of modelling; reaching the stage where Jess, the most senior admin in the team, had taken to emailing her every couple of hours to reassure her that Kara still hadn’t cancelled. 

When Kara appeared, nervously stepping into the art room, fingers playing with the hem of her shirt, it was like Lena could finally breathe easy again. The fear and loss eeking away in an instant, giving Lena the necessary courage to stride forward and bare herself in a way that Kara had been doing every week without Lena fully realising.  

“I don’t like drawing people.” Lena announced, shoving her hands into her pockets to resist the temptation to reach out to the other woman as the blonde blinked at her in surprise, listening intently. “It’s kind of a thing with me.” Lena winced, pushing down all the reasons for why that is. “When I draw something I… kind of let whatever it is into me, let it consume me and it… stays with me for a long time after that. It’s why I draw what I draw. I draw my home because it's a part of me already. Drawing someone means carrying them with me and… that’s scary for me.” Lena breathed, glancing at the blonde to see soft understanding in blue eyes. “I just wanted you to know it’s not you.”

Kara nodded, shuffling closer and dipping her head so that she could whisper into the still space between them, “Thank you.” 

“Right,” Lena murmured, swallowing thickly before jerking a thumb over her shoulder, “I should-”

“Do you want to get dinner?” Kara inquired earnestly causing Lena to freeze in hopeful surprise. “After class, that is?”

“Um… Yes.” Lena replied, nodding her head eagerly.

“Awesome.” Kara grinned brightly.

***

Kara took her to a tucked away italian restaurant that was one of National City’s hidden gems. The food was outstanding and the company was even better.

It wasn’t a date, but it wasn’t just friends going out for dinner either. 

Lena would call it a test-run but that would imply that Lena wasn't already one hundred percent certain that she wanted an actual date with Kara. It was more of a date-appetiser if Lena was going to call it anything, a taste to build interest before the real thing. 

Once they had finished their food, Kara didn’t hesitate to interlace their fingers as they went for an evening stroll around a nearby park, both wishing to prolong their time together.

“Can I see your art?” Kara requested; they had been sitting on a bench in front of a lit-up fountain for the last twenty minutes or so in comfortable silence. Lena had expressed an interest in sketching the fountain and Kara hadn’t hesitated to find them a seat and encourage Lena’s desire without complaint, occupying herself with people-watching in the meantime. 

“I’m pretty sure the images are all over the internet.” Lena replied drolly.

“Yeah, I know it’s just…” Lena’s pencil froze in it’s movements finally noticing how hard Kara was trying to act casual, “what you said about it being a part of you, I thought-”

“You want me to show it to you…” Lena inferred, setting her pencil down and closing her handy sketchbook in an instant. 

“It’s stupid, I’ll-” Kara laughed awkwardly, shaking her head in an attempt to brush over the request like it wasn’t a big deal

“I don’t have many pieces here in National City,” Lena said thoughtfully, getting to her feet and holding out a hand for Kara, “but I have some works in progress that I can show you… if you want that is?”  

“I would love that.” Kara beamed, jumping to her feet as Lena tugged her back towards her campus studio, already picking out her favourite pieces in her mind that she wanted to share with the blonde.

***

Lena and Kara’s ‘friendship’ continued to blossom into something neither could have anticipated that day Kara sprinted into the studio all those weeks ago. The weekly class they shared was now always followed by dinner, taking it in turns to share their favourite cuisines and restaurants. They had also grown beyond only seeing each other on their allotted class day, sharing lunches and movie nights and spontaneous coffees as they learned each other's schedule and needs. 

Lena read all of Kara’s articles and spent many an evening asking countless questions about the background to each of them. Likewise, Kara would appear for coffee with one of Lena’s artworks saved in her phone, burning with curiosity about what had inspired it.

Time spent with Kara flew by and, before Lena knew it, it was the final class prior to spring break. Her last class with Kara until the next school year and Lena was finally ready.

She had finally figured it out.

Why she had waited.

Why she had yet to seize the numerous opportunities to transition her relationship with Kara into a romantic one.

It was because she knew. 

She knew from the second that she had taken Kara’s hand in hers when they first met that this was it. That Kara was it.

And that was, and still is, terrifying. 

When they had first met, Lena hadn’t been ready for Kara. Hadn’t been ready for everything that Kara represented and would come to mean. She had needed the time, the time to lower her guard, to trust and hope. 

And now, she was ready and she knew exactly how to let Kara know.

The class came to an end with Lena giving her students a quick speech on how proud of their progress she was and wishing them a good spring break. Kara lingered behind as was now custom, helping Lena tidy up the area before they headed out together.  

“Kara?” Lena called out nervously, sweaty palms rubbing against her black denim covered thighs as her heart beat thunderously in her chest. “I was wondering…” Lena began, clearing her throat as Kara stopped what she was doing to give Lena her undivided attention. “Can I… can I draw you?”

Kara’s brow instantly furrowed in confusion, “I thought-”

“Yeah…” Lena laughed shyly, staring into deep blue eyes, practically begging for Kara to understand what she was really saying. “Can I?” Lena repeated.

Kara pursed her lips thoughtfully as she studied Lena’s expression - it was then Lena realised that Kara understood exactly why they had been waiting. Kara wasn’t replying because she wanted to check that Lena was sure, was giving Lena a chance to delay, was saying - without really saying it - that she could wait longer.

Lena didn’t take the escape Kara offered, instead she lifted her head higher and arched an eyebrow at the blonde.

A thousand-watt smile of excitement took up residence on Kara’s face as she nodded eagerly, “Of course.” 

“Clothes on.” Lena clarified - she had promised herself that the first time she truly studied Kara’s body it would be in a setting where touching would not break any professional standards. 

***

Lena had Kara sit opposite her in her private studio, their knees pressed tightly against one another providing a warm point of contact to keep them grounded. Lena’s gaze flickered from her sketchpad to Kara’s features; occasionally, she would reach out to adjust a lock of golden hair so it caught the light. Kara, meanwhile, had an ever constant soft smile that didn’t diminish for the entirety of the session even as she was forced to rein in her boundless curiosity to stop herself from sneaking a peek at Lena’s sketch until it was ready to be revealed.

Lena only drew Kara’s head because, though, she had spent countless hours in the presence of Kara’s naked body over the course of the last few weeks - when Lena thought of Kara (really thought about her in the way that made her heart skip), it wasn’t her abs or her biceps that Lena pictured (though she did think about them regularly when she was in her bed alone at night). 

It was Kara’s eyes that Lena thought about most. 

How they were so bright and hopeful whilst simultaneously melancholic and lost.

There were whole galaxies in those blue eyes and Lena knew that she could spend the rest of her life drawing them and never get bored, nor get them exactly right.

“What do you think?” Lena asked, slowly turning her sketchbook round for Kara to see.

It wasn’t finished. It was mere line work that would require further detailing but it was a good start and she hoped Kara could see its potential like she did with everything else in the world - like she did with Lena.

“It’s…” Kara began, licking her lips as she pulled the sketchbook closer to her chest like it was something treasured and infinitely rare. “It's incredible.” Kara breathed, the sincerity of her words undeniable due to how they were accompanied by a watery film to her blue eyes.

“I like your body.” Lena whispered, shattering the companionable silence they had drifted into as Kara admired Lena’s artistry.

“W-w-what?” Kara stammered, head jerking up at the out-of-the-blue declaration.

Lena reached out for the sketchbook, lifting it out of Kara’s hand and placing it on the nearby table so that she could take Kara’s hands in hers. 

“You asked if I liked your body a while ago,” Lena reminded the blonde, “and I just thought you should know that I do. I really, really do. I mean really.” Lena emphasised, glancing appreciatively down at Kara’s body prompting the blonde to blush a pleased pink. “But it's more than just that. It’s become more than that. Talking after class, getting coffee, going for dinner… it's the best part of my week. You’re the best part of my week.”

“Lena-” Kara began, her mouth suddenly snapping shut as her jaw clenched and her chin lifted in determination. Blue eyes studied Lena for a long moment and all Lena could do was hold her breath and wait. 

Lena made Kara wait weeks, she could therefore wait the stretched seconds that Kara needed in return without complaint

Kara got confidently to her feet, tugging Lena up with her, squeezing their hands once before releasing her so that she could reach up to tenderly cup Lena’s face. “I’m going to kiss you now.” Kara declared, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Thank fu-” Lena sighed gratefully, cut off from offering up her thanks by Kara’s perfect lips sliding over hers.

[wienerbarnes]

A Certain Romance (4/6)

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Word Count: 2,111

Warnings: mentions to past abusive relationship, nothing too explicit, though

A/N: some emotional bonding✨ enjoy babes

MAIN MASTERLIST | A CERTAIN ROMANCE MASTERLIST

Bucky presses the little button on the side of his phone knowing the dead battery won’t allow it to turn on. He makes his way up the stairs to your apartment - the elevator is always broken - and hopes you’re home to offer him a charger.

He was getting a few groceries in your area when his phone died, the only place where his list was kept, and had no other choice but to leave and go back later. A curse with technology; a paper list would never run out of battery, he thinks.

He knocks on your door three times and he can hear the low sizzling of something, signaling your presence inside. It takes you a minute to come to the door, though. Longer than the amount of time for you to change your clothes or turn something off, no, it seemed to him like you were waiting to see if he’d leave.

Do you have someone over? Another guy? Are you expecting someone else you don’t want to see? Is it him you don’t want to see? He thinks he’d rather you tell him to his face if that’s the case.

It’s been about a month and a half since you’ve started “dating.” The two of you have started hanging out more frequently, relying less on when Sam asks about what the two of you are doing and going more based on when you genuinely want to see each other. In a friendly manner, of course.

After he knocks a second time is when he hears a quiet shuffling on the other side approach closer and closer to the door. A lock turns and you finally open up, Bucky meeting your slightly puffy and red-tinted eyes.

“Hey.” You sighed before turning around and walking back to the kitchen.

“Hi.” He starts.

You were clearly crying. While Bucky would call the two of you good friends at this point - as well as fake lovers - he’s not sure if he’s in a position to pry about what’s wrong with you. Should he ignore it? Not bring too much attention to your obvious emotions? Bring all the attention to it and try to fix whatever the problem is?

“I, uhh, my phone died and I was in the area, so I wanted to ask if I could borrow a charger?” He starts. Maybe introducing a topic that has nothing to do with whatever is causing you to feel this way will help.

“Coffee table.” Is your curt response.

He takes the minute it takes him to plug his phone into the wall and set it on the coffee table to think of how he can go about this.

“You okay? Actually, don’t answer that - bad question. Clearly you’re not okay…” He tries, quickly shutting himself up when you sigh and slump a bit in front of the stove.

“What are you making?” He slowly walks over to where you are, a pan in front of you on one of the burners.

“Apple and brie mini sandwiches.” You say. More words, same sad tone. Still progress.

“Want me to take over and you can chill out on the couch?” He offers quietly.

“No. I - I want to keep myself busy.”

Progress.

“Okay. Anything I can do to help?”

You let out a shaky breath. His eyes focus on your face as tears gather around the rims of your eyes and you bite down on your bottom lip. A tear drops from your left eye and your hand quickly reaches to brush it away, as though Bucky didn’t already see it.

“Um, can you set up a couple of plates on the table?” You ask, voice strained.

He nods and moves towards your cupboard, setting the table up wordlessly.

The two of you remain silent as he fiddles with the napkins on the table and you finish up browning the bread of the sandwiches. He finally hears the click of the stove turning off and you bring the pan to the table, setting it on top of a piece of cork.

You serve him two sandwiches and yourself one and finally sit down next to him, letting out another sigh.

“I thought I saw my ex today at the market. And it took the entire time I was running back to my apartment in fear to remember that he’s in jail. Four states away.”

He looks over at you and realizes that the look in your eyes he thought was sadness isn't sadness at all. It’s exhaustion. A look he wore himself very often in his days of hiding, days of constantly looking over his shoulder until his worst nightmare came true and he was caught.

Paranoia is something he knows too well and it hurts him to see you suffering from it too. He remembers the brief mention of your ex from your first date together; how he beat the shit out of you. And he imagines he did a lot more than that if it means he’s in prison.

A humorless laugh falls from your lips, “And now I need groceries but I’m too tired and embarrassed to go back. The cashier probably thought I was crazy.” You pick at the crust on the bread with your fingers and Bucky gives you a small, sympathetic smile.

“Eat before it gets cold.” You tell him, picking up your own sandwich and taking a bite, Bucky doing the same after another moment of looking at you.

Gooey brie and crisp sliced apples go great with buttery, toasted french bread, Bucky learns.

“Do you want to help me clean the apartment?” You ask him as you follow him to the sink where he washes off the plates and the pan you used.

“... Your apartment is spotless.” He tells you.

“I know. I cleaned it two days ago. But I like to clean when I have bad days, and you’re already here.”

He grabs the sponge and wipes down the stove, glancing over at you.

“I’d be happy to help you clean. Where do you want me to start?”

He planned on getting his own groceries today, but found himself on his knees slipping his arm as far as it can go under your dresser. I’m going to buy her one of those adjustable Swiffers for her birthday this year, he thinks. After collecting all the dust onto the rag, he tosses it into the pile with the few other dirty rags and glances over his shoulder to look at you.

Down the hallway, you wipe down all the frames on the wall one by one. He hears sniffles every once in a while, but keeps cleaning.

“Alright, I got all the low places and all the high places for you.” He walks over to you down the hallway. “What do you have next for me?”

“Nothing, we can stop for a bit.”

He’s gotten better at reading people. Through getting closer with Sam, through therapy, through becoming a more participating citizen in society. And through getting to know you. He can read you, and he can tell you’re holding something back.

“Anything else you wanna do? Anything I can do?”

“What’s your zodiac again? You’re very caring, you know that?”

“I’m a Pisces and you're deflecting.” He steps closer to you now, eyes less puffy from when he first saw you this afternoon, but tiredness radiating through them. “Talk to me, sweetheart.” He encourages quieter.

“Can we… cuddle? For a little bit?” You ask.

This is the first time Bucky’s ever seen you look so fragile. Not on that first date where you thought he was going to stand you up or when you told him about your ex. Not when you both discussed your deepest secrets on your couch. Not even earlier when you explained why you’ve been crying today. A timorous woman stands before him, now.

“Absolutely, doll. Where, on the couch? Wherever you want.” He tells you softly, seeing a bit of tension leave your shoulders as you gently bring him to the couch to sit, as though you were expecting him to say no.

He’d always used to make fun of Steve when talking about Peggy. Always teasing him as a brother would when the lovey-dovey talk would come out. But this is the very first time he’s ever understood a single thing he was talking about.

You’ll find someone, and they’ll fit you like a puzzle piece. You’ll mold to each other perfectly, and it’ll scare the hell outta ‘ya.

He’s propped up against the arm rest, one leg straightened out on the couch and the other planted on the floor. His arms are around you as you’re sandwiched between his side and the back of your couch. Your hands rest gently along his stomach, head tucked under his chin. A knee hooks around the leg that’s straightened on the couch, the other stretched on the remaining area of the cushions.

Like a puzzle piece.

You’re warm and you’re making him feel warm, both on the inside and the outside. He feels the way he did when he first pecked Barbara Albram on the mouth in grade school. Or when he first sat on a girl’s bed in her room when he was a teenager.

He feels like he has a crush.

“Do you know what love languages are?” You ask after a few minutes of silence. You’re both warm against each other, no blanket needed in the small space. He can feel your body much more relaxed under his hands and the permanent strain in your throat has disappeared.

“No. Sounds nice.”

“It’s the way you express and experience love, either with a romantic partner, a friend, family, that sort of thing. There’s five.”

“What are they?”

“Words of affirmation, quality time, physical touch, acts of service, and gifts.”

He hums, an arm absentmindedly trailing up and down your back.

“I’m not sure what mine is.” He says, thinking back to every relationship he’s ever had, both romantic and not.

“You can be a mix of them. I think you like to express love through acts of service. You did just help me clean half the apartment. And when you told me about helping Sam and Sarah with the boat.” You mention.

“What’s yours?”

“Physical touch. But he kind of fucked that up for me, though.” You scoff.

“I used to love holding hands, hugging, kissing. Not just with him, with everyone. I felt like I had so much love to give and now I have nowhere to put it. I wish he didn’t make me like that.” You confess.

“Only you are in control of that. He’s gone. And what he did was terrible. But it’s up to you to reclaim that. If you have a lot of love you want to give, give it. There’s no one that deserves that love in return more than you. You are worthy of all the love in the world.”

He stays with you on the couch until he feels your breathing slow a bit and your body relaxes against his, small snores and heavy breaths leaving your mouth as you finally rest.

He hears a buzz on the table and is reminded of the reason he came over in the first place. He carefully reaches over to the table and is glad that he’s able to reach without moving you around too much. He presses the button on the side to see a now fully-illuminated screen and a charged battery, as well as a text from Sam.

Double date friday night. Bring ur girl. I’m picking the place

He doesn’t let himself be upset at the fact that Sam’s bound to choose a place that requires him to wear a clown suit because he’s too caught up on it being a double date.

He hasn’t been on a double date since when he shipped out for the war. And times were very different then; he was very different. He’d be nervous even if he wasn’t fake dating you and was going with a real girlfriend.

Maybe I can cancel, tell him I’m busy. You know that won’t work though! You’ll reschedule over and over and over again until Sam just shows up out of the blue with his girlfriend, even worse if it’s an occasion where you tell Sam you are with her when you’re not. Bit the bullet, Barnes, it won’t kill you.

He glances down at your sleeping face, calm expression soothing his own nerves now that he’s replied with a text confirming both of your presences.

It’s only a double date, what’s the worst that can happen?

[artobotsrollout]

Transformers: Harbingers

The Pirate Scream AU

Before I talk about it you guys are the best thank you for indulging me and my AU from this post xjdjd. ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

@badlydrawntransformers @cosmic0de @warrioroffandoms @measlyfurball13 And a bonus thank you to those encouraging me in the tags as well ❤️

I plan to do art for it as well as accompanying written bits and maybe even an animatic but till then have some general info under the cut.

Also there is transformers: Prime spoilers below so open at your own risk.

TRANSFORMERS: HARBINGERS

So this AU comes from the same place many AUs heavily involving TfP Starscream come from: the unfulfilled potential in our boy Scream. Now deeper discussion of that is not gonna be in this post. It'd be a whole essay.

It also comes from just how salty I was that the Team's kindness never really benefitted them much and they kept getting slapped for it. And OP really wanted to win over a con and Starscream kept wanting a partner. ALSO ALSO Optimus was portrayed as keeping his emotions in check and then never really gets a message that it's okay to be emotional so... I'm doing that here.

And the Starscream Pirate AU was born...

Aka Transformers: Harbingers (maybe idk if it's catchy enough djjsw)

Why Harbingers? ''It's just a SHIP Starscream chills in for awhile in the show' ' I hear you say. WELL HANG ON!! I got two very good reasons!! .

First off: Starscream, with the help of some Cybertronians who he wins over one way or another (Ill get to that), help him essentially use the remains of the Harbinger to put together their own functional ship. It's smaller than the Nemesis and will take some pirate ship inspiration. While it is a hardy beast it's a bit jury rigged.

Second of all:

Imagine being a fictional character living in a ship with a name that basically means 'Foreshadowed bringer of change' and then going back to Megatron and his bullshit. I'm gonna grab this and run all the way with it. Highway to Hell just came on my Spotify so... That may be an omen.

---------

NOW LISTEN

I feel like Starscream and Optimus could really have had such an interesting dynamic but we never really got to see that in TfP and I feel cheated. Also both could have mutually benefitted a great deal.

So what do I do? I shove them together to be sorta begrudging Co-Captains. As a result there's a lot of shenanigans to be had!

How this happens OP has some run ins with cons and, through a way I'm still deciding, has the opportunity to extend a hand to Starscream. Starscream, being kindness starved, doesn't entirely know what to do about Optimus being nice to him one whole time with no sarcasm or ulterior motive and sorta starts trying to get his attention.

Starscream and his crew are a bit of their own team at this point. MEANING sort of new LOGOS!

I'm yoinking the crossed out Decepticon logo from the Dark Energon Starscream and Dark Energon Knockout toys cause I mean... It's right there and also kinda like a skull and crossbones. It fits too well guys.

Starscream essentially manages to win over the autobots enough so they can sorta make a mutually beneficial, if strained, alliance to aid their aligned goal: killing Megatron and revitalizing cyberton. This is aided by some slight changes to the plot of course. It's also a benefit, much to Ratchet's delight, since they finally get some cybertronian tech to work with.

And so they gotta work together to take Megatron out and there's much bonding moments esp later when the autobot base is destroyed. Starscream extends his hand to them and offers them a more permanent position onboard. (rubbing in how unfortunate their situation is and how this is such a big favour but he's paying Optimus back.)

And insert team dynamic stuff!! Like cons teaming up with Bots, Starscream and Optimus trying to stick with it leading their own teams but keep accidently backseat-leadering one another. I will write some other ex-con and bot dynamics cause there's a lot of chaos to be had.

Optimus doesn't open up to his crew for morale sake and masks his emotions well, and Starscream is... well Starscream is Starscream so he masks what he truly feels a lot and doesn't share a lot of personal stuff besides complaints with his team either. So there's a lot of tension.... That is until Starscream has had it at just how good a poker face Prime has.

Because he's absolutely paranoid got a harmless curiosity about Optimus's ulterior motives and wants potential dirty secrets he can use as blackmail to have power over the Prime, he essentially puts cybertronian booze (but kid friendly version of course fbejek) in Optimus's energon heavily expecting him to spill the beans when heavily drunk. What he doesn't expect is that Optimus is just... LIKE THAT to his core. He's smart but very sad and guilty. And maybe a bit weepy and exhausted cause this man has not shown an emotion for eons now. /s. Starscream doesn't know wtf to do but swayed by how earnest Optimus is he sorta softens up and does open up. Might have helped that he took a swig of the tainted energon to get on his level though. But it also helps that neither is the others subordinate so they don't need to maintain their image as badly with the Co-captain as they do their team.

The ex cons sorta accidently absorb some of the autobot's morals over time. The cons help the autobots have some fun. There's a lot of stuff learned both ways. Also the cons realize how cool humans can be and after a lot of argument and forced time spent with the kids, they want to protect earth too.

Starscream, helps Optimus open up a bit more and allow himself to be emotional. He also shows him how to be a little selfish. Optimus in turn helps him with self confidence and making friends. Both help each other with the shit Megatron put em both through and overall boost one another up. (This also does change the start of the war a bit but I'll get to that in another post.)

Miko tries to fight all of the cons at first but quickly changes her tune cause "BOOYAH PIRATE CONS!!"

Other bits about this AU:

Starscream will eventually get a slight design change. It'll be less scrappy and look more confident and put together. It'll be minor

Because they are on a flying ship but have less energon than the Nemesis, everyone gets equipped with mods for flight. There is a jetpack upgrade one can get or Knockout can straight up help change their alt mode surgically.

I'm working up a list of who gets what flight mod but... Ya'll should know that Wheeljack dares Knockout to make him into a flying car. Largely cause I just got the image of Wheeljack flying above vehicons and just turning into a car and dropping on them. That and driving up the side of the Nemesis and confusing the fuck out of Megatron. Out of all the characters you know that would be a Wheeljack thing.

Arcee and Knockout grieve together.

Knockout loves bugging the hell out of Ratchet. It's extra fun for him cause Ratchet often can't do shit about it since they both need the room and tools.

Knockout and Wheeljack become an insufferable duo with the nicknames they have for everyone.

Wheeljack won't leave Starscream alone and keeps coming up with worse and worse nicknames like he did with Ratchet.

Starscream and Ratchet become complaining buddies.

STARSCREAM'S SEEKER SQUAD REJOINS. Well some of them. Skywarp, Thundercracker and maybe other peeps.

Miko manages to befriend Skywarp and Bulkhead now has to watch both Miko AND Skywarp. Wheeljack refuses to help Bulkhead round them up.

Raf hits it off with Thundercracker.

Knockout: "FINALLY a team with fragging MANNERS!"

Instead of Beeftimus Prime from the forge, Optimus actually gets access to a third alt mode and.. Idk something else primely. So he actually gets wings.

Starscream and the other fliers are greatly amused because Optimus, as great as he is at his poker face most of the time, hasn't yet figured out how to not emote with the pair of wings he gets from the forge. Thundercracker is the one who eventually informs him while the rest of the crew are booing loudly in the background.

I actually do have designs of TFP Skywarp, Thundercracker, and Ironhide in the works.

Fowler and Starscream have insult battles. Oddly both grow a weird almost fondness for these verbal sparring sessions

They frequently raid the Nemesis

Miko keeps talking in a pirate voice. Smokescreen has joined her.

AND A LOT OF OTHER STUFF I'LL GET INTO WITH MORE DETAIL AND ART. I'll also talk more in depth about some of these things that isn't a ramble like this post is. xnwjskw.

Feel free to ask about anything you're curious about.

[storiesforallfandoms]

messed up internal clock ~ aaron tveit

word count: 1861

request?: yes!

“If you write smut, Aaron Tveit smut?? Otherwise non-smut is good too! Preferably Female reader. Love your work!!”

description: after night shoots have his internal clock messed up, and an unbearable neediness for intimacy, they decide to have a late night quickie to tame both of their needs

pairing: aaron tveit x female!reader

warnings: swearing, smut

masterlist (one, two)

It became evident very quickly that the night shoots were fucking up Aaron’s internal clock.

The filming was never meant to go on into the night. One on day of shooting they were having trouble getting the right shot and ended up filming until 1am. Due to this, they had to delay the early morning shoot the next morning so everyone could be well rested. Then that day of filming went until 2am again, and then the next day’s filming had to be pushed. It was an endless cycle until they decided they’d permanently move the schedule to be afternoons and into the night.

At first, Aaron could come home tired and worn and would go right to bed, but soon enough his body grew used to this new schedule. He’d come home after filming and stay up for another few hours before his body finally felt ready to go to sleep. Then he’d sleep right up until he was scheduled to go to set again. On his off days, he’d sleep nearly all day and be up all night.

Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem. It wasn’t anything new for him, he had a messed up sleep schedule before. It came with being an actor. Now, however, it wasn’t just him being affected by this. It was was his girlfriend as well. Due to his work schedule, Aaron didn’t get to spend a lot of time with (Y/N). Either he was constantly filming or constantly sleeping. Although she’d never complain about it, Aaron knew it wasn’t easy on her.

On one of the final nights of shooting, Aaron arrived home around 3am, as usual, and silently shut the door. He made his way to their shared bedroom to find that (Y/N) was already sound asleep. He sighed in slight frustration at his own lack of exhaustion. He didn’t want to disturb her but he also knew he wasn’t ready to lay in bed just yet, so Aaron decided to grab a quick shower before trying to sleep.

The hot water running over his aching body felt heavenly. He wasn’t sure why he had agreed to take such a physically taxing role, but he kept reminding himself that it would be over soon. Just a few more days before he could relax for a long time and spend his days with (Y/N), preferably in bed.

Thinking of spending the day in bed with her caused Aaron to picture (Y/N) laid under him, her hair splayed across the pillow and her eyes full of lust gazing up at him. He pictured her hands running over his body, nails digging into his back every now and then, and her legs wrapped around his hips. He could almost hear the intoxicating moans falling from her lips, followed by his name every so often. He groaned as he felt himself becoming hard.

It had been so long since he and (Y/N) were able to be intimate. The difference in sleep schedules plus his filming schedule and her work schedule left very little time for them to do anything else besides sleep and sometimes eat together. It was another one of Aaron’s biggest frustrations with the whole situation.

He stood in the shower for a while, head back to allow the water to wash over him, his eyes closed as he continued to picture (Y/N). His hand wrapped around the base of his dick and he moaned as he began to pump himself a few times, the small action alone sending chills of pleasure through his body. He tried to keep his moans and whimpers as silent as he could in fear of being too loud and waking (Y/N), but it was hard to do when this was the first moment of pleasure he had been able to have in quite some time.

He imagined it was (Y/N)’s hand wrapped around him, pumping him ever so slowly. He remembered the first time she had done it: they were sat together watching a movie and she just slipped her hand into his pants. The forwardness alone had almost made him cum in his sweatpants, but he had managed to hold out until she pulled his hard cock from his pants and stuck it in her mouth.

He was so lost in the pleasure he was feeling that he didn’t hear the shower door open, or the sound of clothes being discarded on the floor. It wasn’t until he heard the shower curtain move that his eyes popped open to find (Y/N)’s naked body joining him in the shower.

“Fuck,” he said, trying his best to hiding his throbbing erection. “I-I’m sorry, did I wake you?”

“No,” (Y/N) responded, shaking her head. “I just woke up and heard the shower running. I was going to wait until you got out, but then I heard you were having some fun without me.”

Aaron was glad the water was so hot or else (Y/N) might’ve been able to tell that he was blushing. “I-I just...just wanted to - ”

(Y/N) was nodding along as if she were listening, but while she looked up at him with her big, innocent eyes, she began lowering herself onto her knees. Aaron watched, his words fizzling out in his throat, as she took the base of his dick in her hand and the tip in her mouth. The sensation of her warm lips sucking on the tip made him throw his head back and let out a low moan.

She bobbed her head a few times, taking him deeper and deeper with every stroke, until his dick was nearly touching the back of her throat. She placed the hand that wasn’t around him on his chest, digging her nails into him and slowly moving them downwards, leaving angry red marks on his chest and stomach. Aaron took a handful of her hair, helping her to take a slower pace so he wouldn’t finish before he wanted to.

He placed his other hand against the shower wall, trying to steady himself. His legs already felt like jelly and he felt like he could collapse at any moment. The feeling of (Y/N)’s tongue gliding across his hard dick was driving him absolutely wild.

When she pulled her head back, Aaron pulled on her hair to pull her away from him. She looked up at him, expectantly, which made his dick twitch with anticipation.

“Up,” he told her. She smiled and excitedly got to her feet. With his hand still in her hair, he pulled her to him so he could kiss her deeply. He slipped the other hand between them so he could start playing with her clit. The moment his fingers touched it, she gasped, giving him the opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth. “Does that feel good, baby?”

She nodded, her words stuck in her throat. Aaron smirked to himself before continuing to kiss her. He loved when he could make her speechless.

He ran his fingers between her wet folds, teasing her entrance with his fingers a few times. Every time he got close, or would seem like he was about to put them inside of her, then would pull back, (Y/N) would whimper against his lips. It was so hot to see her so needy for him after so long.

Aaron pulled away from the kiss so he could spin (Y/N) around. He bent her forward so her hands were pressed against the shower wall and positioned himself with her opening. He pushed himself inside of her slowly, making sure to give her time to adjust to him inside of her. She gasped and moaned as she felt him inside of her, a feeling she had missed dearly the past few months.

Aaron wanted to take it slow to make the moment last, but he had been so pent up that he could hardly control himself now that he was inside of her. He grabbed hold of her hips and began thrusting at a steady pace, the sound of their wet skin colliding against one another the only thing filling the room. (Y/N)’s back arched almost instinctively as she threw her head back in pleasure. Aaron’s fingers were digging into her hips in a way that she knew would cause bruises, but she didn’t really care. She would wear any marks he left on her with pride.

“God, I’ve missed this pussy,” Aaron moaned. “I almost forgot what it felt like to be inside of you.”

“I’ve missed you inside of me, too,” (Y/N) gasped between moans. “I’ve tried to replicate the feeling, but none of my toys can make me feel as good as you do.”

Aaron pulled (Y/N)’s hair so her back was touching his chest. “You’ve been playing with yourself without me? Naughty girl.”

(Y/N) smiled up at him. “I have to do something while you’re away. I have needs, Aaron.”

Aaron smiled back at her and kissed her before returning her to the position she had been in.

Despite wanting it to last so much longer, Aaron felt himself twitching inside of her. He was so close and he knew he wouldn’t be able to hold it back any longer. Before he could voice this, though, (Y/N) managed to stutter out, “I-I’m gonna c-cum!”

“Cum on my dick, baby,” Aaron encouraged. “I wanna feel how good I make you.”

His dirty words of encouragement were enough to push (Y/N) off the edge. She screamed his name so loud Aaron was almost sure the neighbors heard her. He felt her walls contracting around him, which was enough to also help him reach his own climax.

(Y/N) leaned against the wall, her legs shaking and her eyes suddenly feeling heavy. Neither had noticed the water had gone cold around them until that moment. Aaron carefully slipped himself out of her and turned off the shower. He offered his towel to (Y/N), wrapping it around her wet body and carrying her back to their bed. He retrieved another towel for himself so he could dry off his body before joining her in bed.

The moment he was under the covers, (Y/N) rolled over to cuddle into him.

“I miss you,” she admitted. It was the first time she had said it outloud.

“I know,” Aaron sighed. “I miss you, too. But filming is almost over. I’m planning on taking a nice long break when it is over.”

(Y/N) smiled although she knew Aaron couldn’t see it through the darkness. “I hope you know I’ll never let you leave again if you do.”

Aaron chuckled and kissed her forehead. “You say that as if I’d complain. There’s nothing I’d love more than to be held hostage by you in this bed.”

(Y/N) giggled. Her eyes were beginning to grow heavy and she struggled to fight against them. “Goodnight, Aaron.”

“Goodnight, (Y/N).”

And for the first time in months, Aaron actually felt tired enough to fall asleep with (Y/N).

[matsbarzal]

Time’s a Ticking || Matthew Tkachuk

Notes: anyways I decided to do matty and I found this long list of soulmate AU prompts so I know what I’m doing tonight yikes. so here’s a lil bit of a nervous/anxious matty even tho he refuses to admit it. hope you enjoy!!! let me know how you like it <3 

Summary: everyone is born with a dwindling time on their wrist. the moment the time reaches zero is when a person meets their other half, the person who makes them whole; their soulmate. 

Word Count: 3k+

10,584. 7 days, 8 hours and 24 minutes. 7 days until he’d meet his other half, the person that’s meant to complete his soul, be his better half, or whatever a soulmate is meant to be. Matthew wasn’t crazy about the idea of soulmates, sure, he was surrounded by people who were madly in love and happy and complete; but he was also surrounded by those people... the one’s whose time stopped, girls and guys who had a permanent marking of time on their wrist that would never move again.

He wouldn’t say he was a pessimistic person, but he had seen so many friends and family fall into a spiral after their soulmate clock stopped ticking, watched as their other half broke them without even meeting them. He wanted to be excited and optimistic but Matthew couldn’t bring himself to feel the same delight that his friends did on his behalf. Anything could happen in this 7 days, 8 hours... and 22 minutes now.

6160 minutes

You could feel the bump of the plane as it touched the ground. This was the one part of flying you hated the most, the anxiety and the bumping as the plane made its way down the runway towards its destination. You knew anything bad was unlikely to happen, but your nerves were on edge. All you could think about was the time on your wrist, the time that kept on ticking. It hadn’t stopped in your entire 21 years of life, and from the looks of it, you were approximately four days away from that happening.

Sighing, you listened to the claps from around you as everyone congratulated the pilots for landing the plane safely. Around you, people stood up and began collecting their belongings, grabbing their bags from the overhead compartments as the chatter continued in the cabin.

You politely smiled at the man beside you as he passed you down your bag, a quick “Thank you” leaving your lips as he gestured for you to walk in front of him towards the exit. 

Originally, you hadn’t had any intention of leaving Alberta for the holiday break, but your parents had practically begged you to come home for the holiday’s, citing the fact you had remained in Lake Louise for the last year and that they had only seen you once since you made the choice to unravel everything you knew by packing a few bags and moving halfway across the country to Alberta to work at some fancy ski resort in the mountains. 

It was originally only meant to be a few months worth of work, waitressing in Lake Louise at a 5-star resort that is, and then time kept going by, and the more and more you fell in love with not only the scenery, but the people. Everyone was happy there, tourists were always excited and polite, everyone just wanted the chance to see the Lake, skate on the Lake, whatever it was. No one was ever unhappy here, and you loved that. 

You were pulled out of your thoughts as the line in front of you continued to move quickly, people eager to get out of the cabin and get back into the fresh air that flowed outside. You could barely contain your giddiness as you stepped off the plane. You could barely believe how much you missed the province, missed your friends, coworkers, you even missed the tourists. Who would’ve thought?

After about 20 minutes of watching the carousal spin and spin and spin, you finally eyed your bright red, Flames red, as a lot of people reminded you, suitcase. Grabbing it, you hauled the bag off of the carousal and onto the ground. You were eager to get to your car, which you had already paid a good 500 dollars worth of parking for, and eager to get the move on the three hour drive across Highway 1 to Lake Louise. 

After four and a half hours of travelling, you knew this three hour drive was going to exhaust you. And with the temperature out in Alberta right now? All you wanted was your bed and a cup of piping warm hot chocolate to end the day.

4590 minutes

“Man, your face is already awful to look at. You really trying to ruin it even more right before you meet your soulmate?”

Before Noah could even think, a wad of tape hit the side of his head while exclamations went up around the room about the choice of target. “Whoops, guess my tape slipped... out of my hand.”

Matthew shrugged his shoulders, an innocent grin on his face as he stood up to grab the tape from beside Noah Hanifin’s locker. 

“No, but seriously, why are you getting into fights with three days left on your wrist? Don’t go and get yourself killed or something, they’d be devastated if they’ve waited this long for your dumb-ass just to have 4000 minutes tattooed on her wrist for the rest of her life.”

Shrugging his shoulders, Matthew ignored his teammates comments, choosing instead to run his finger across the always-changing number on his wrist. 

“It’s not like it matters anyways.” His words were barely above a mumble, but it was enough to spark the attention of his captain, who was quick to tell him to meet him in the trainer’s office after he was done showering and getting the blood that was currently dripping down his face, cleaned.

Obliging on his captain’s orders, he found Gio in the office, a tight smile the only warning that he was about to get ripped apart by the veteran. Gio was one of the lucky ones, he had barely been 16 when his clock finally hit the big 0. It made him an advocate for all the soulmate bullshit, constantly encouraging his teammates to wait it out, be patient, their time would come. 

“Chucky, buddy, we gotta have a chat.”

Quirking his eyebrows at the older man, Matthew nodded, “Well Gio, I kinda figured that one out buddy, unless you pulled me in here to look at my oh so pretty face.” 

“I’m serious. You need to stop with this constant bashing of soulmates and times and shit. I know you don’t like it and you hate the concept of soulmates and whatever, but you’re doing nothing but worrying the younger guys. These kids are constantly terrified their minutes are just going to stop and be etched into their skin.”

Subconsciously running his fingers across the number on his wrist again, 4530 minutes. Wonder what that is in exact time. Shrugging his shoulders, he was quick to apologize to his captain. “Sorry, G. Not trying to scare the kids, just getting a little... I don’t know? Worried? It’s getting too close, I don’t want to get like...  it’s not important, never mind. I’ll stop talking about times in the locker room. Sorry.”

Quickly tightening the tie that was now wrapped around his neck, Matthew raced out of the office before Gio could say something else to him. He eagerly grabbed his phone, wallet, keys and suit jacket before quickly making his way towards the parking garage, the only thing on his mind was of course, you.

2120 minutes

One whole day and just a few hours. You could barely breath as you ran your thumb over the little black number on your wrist. You knew it was inevitable that you’d be meeting your soulmate while working, the moment you looked at the work schedule when you arrived back from home, you knew you’d be stuck working during the time in which you were meant to meet you soulmate. You were giddy, sure. But what if they didn’t like you? What if whoever it was, was snooty, and rude, and didn’t like you for who you were?

“Y/N, you gotta stop thinking about it, babe. You’re gonna get your head stuck in a whirlwind of thoughts. Think about other things! Like... the Calgary Flames.”

Eyeing the blonde beside you, “Tell me Cassidy, why in the world, would I think about the Calgary Flames, instead of thinking about my soulmate?”

Your coworker shrugged her shoulders and gestured to the board behind your head. You had all been notified a day prior that the Calgary Flames had reserved a whole floor of the Chateau for the weekend. With your restaurant being directly in view of the Lake and the Mountains, you were expected to be the main dining spot for the team over their course of the weekend.

“Believe me, Cass, the last thing I want to think about is a bunch of hockey boys who are going to make me miserable the weekend where I’m supposed to be... not miserable.”

She winked at you, a teasing glint in her eyes, “Maybe one of those awful hockey boys has the same number on your wrist. Maybe Noah Hanifin’s your soulmate. God, I’d be so jealous, could you imagine being destined for that beautiful exhibit of a man? God, I’d climb him like a tree.”

Laughing, you wacked her with the towel in your hand as she continued to egg you on, gloating about how beautiful of a specimen Noah Hanifin was, and how she’d do just anything to crawl into bed with that man. Cassidy was always like this, bubbly, happy, positive. Her number had stopped moving 12 years ago, or so she says. She hadn’t been paying attention the day it stopped, the number etching itself into her skin permanently, to never move again. She was never negative about it, always saying that she hoped just the thought of her brought peace to her soulmate in their last moments. 

“Okay okay, enough about the Flames. I doubt it’s even going to end up being any of them, hockey boys and I do not get along. Especially the one’s that are just constantly bothering people, and that’s the entire Flames roster, so... let’s get back to work.”

440 minutes

One thing Matthew was sure of was the fact that he loved everything about the drive to Lake Louise. He wasn’t notorious for being a huge fan of the scenery around him, but something about the drive across Highway 1, the trees, the snow covered mountains, they all just faded together and created this picture in his head. It was hard to describe, there wasn’t anything specific to the picture, it was just joyful, it was happy, it was calm. Jesus, maybe he was just fucking crazy. 

A lot of people always said you feel more calm in the hours leading up to the first time you meet your soulmate. But he sure as hell didn’t feel calm. He was on edge, the scenery around him, albeit, it was beautiful, it was not calming him down. His leg was shaking, his foot tapping the ground beneath him on the bus. He could see Johnny giving him a look every time his shaking leg touched his teammates. He knew the entire team was frustrated with him. Two games straight, two 10 minute fighting majors. 

He was being a pest, constantly egging people on, trying to ignite arguments or fights or just some form of stimuli to get his mind off of the only thing it could stray to. You. He didn’t want to think about whoever the hell you were, he didn’t want to get his hopes up that maybe his clock would actually hit 0, maybe he’d actually meet his better half. Or maybe he'd fall through a crack in Lake Louise and never have to worry about it again... hopefully. 

“If you touch my leg... one more fucking time, I am going to sock you in the fucking face Chucky.”

Immediately pressing his heel into the ground, Matthew mumbled out a quick ‘sorry’ to the teammate beside him as he watched the trees continue to go by outside the bus window. The time was still changing on his wrist, every minute counting down as the minutes passed outside. There was barely any cell service on the drive up, so the only thing that could truly distract him at this rate, was you, and he hated that.

“Soooo... you excited Chucky? It’s gotta be the big day, no?”

If choking a teammate was legal, Matthew would already be wringing Noah Hanifin’s neck. 

“Yeah, delighted.”

“C’mon grumpy pants, you’re literally like what? 6 hours away from meeting the person who’s supposed to complete your soul... and you’re in a foul mood. Did Doughty crawl up your ass and die last night or?”

Grinding his teeth, Matthew tried to bite his tongue, refusing to lash out at his teammate, even though he so desperately wanted to. He wasn’t going to be the cause for a toxic locker room, especially over something as stupid as soulmates. 

It was obvious that something was going on, everyone on the team knew the time on his wrist equalled out to less than a day. Everyone could see how on edge he was slowly getting as the time dwindled down, but no one could figure out why he was getting more and more frustrated, why the excitement wasn’t shining through as the time continued.

“Why the hell aren’t you excited man? This person’s supposed to be the love of your life, and you seem like you couldn’t give two fucks if you meet them or not?”

It was too late, Matthew was exploding before he could even comprehend what he was saying. “It doesn’t fucking matter man, okay? I don’t give a shit about this soulmate bullshit. Everyone’s soulmate is gone one day anyways, what the hell does it matter if you meet them now? I’m gonna be aching at some point because they’re gone and I’m alone. Woohoo, I get to meet them today, woo-fucking-hoo. I could literally not care less, so stop bugging me.”

27 minutes.

It was all around, highly likely, that your soulmate had some form of connection with the Calgary Flames. Their reservation was scheduled for 23 minutes from now... and your wrist had that small number 27 etched on it as it continued to count down. 

“Wow... maybe your soulmate really is Noah Hanifin... I’m sorry for saying I’d climb him like a tree.”

A loud laugh left your throat as you watched a guilty smile form on your co-workers face. “Cass, I highly doubt it’s Noah Hanifin. It’s probably just a coincidence that their reservation time coincides with my meeting my soulmate time.” Cassidy gave you a knowing look as she walked away, a small smile on her face.

You were anxious, you couldn’t deny it. Every second that counted down, you were nervous, what if you weren’t good enough for them? What if they were embarrassed it was you? What if... oh god... what if they hated soulmates? What if they were one of those people who was willing to cut the tie, ignore the call, ignore the connection?

You refused to think about that, instead putting yourself to work, clearing the tables and plates of the previous occupants, you waved off the clearing crew, instead choosing to do it yourself. Anything to get your mind off of it. 

The Flames weren't the only occupants of the Chateau tonight, only taking up about half, you were able to still seat other tourists who were interested in the view tonight. 

That’s how you found yourself, 25 minutes later, your hand on your hip as you interacted with the group of rowdy guys in front of you. They were from Edmonton, and they were absolutely hammered. They were as nice as you could expect them to be, continuously flirting your ears off, as they tried to impress you with their... what was it? Accounting job? You couldn’t remember for the life of you, your mind solely stuck on the small number 1 now etched on your wrist. 

You were roused out of your thoughts at the feeling of a hand touching your waist. “C’mon sweetheart, you’re not even paying attention to us here. Take a shot with us, baby!”

You politely removed the offending wrist, a tight smile now etched on your face. “First, I would ask that you please don’t touch me. Second, I was most definitely listening. You boys want another round of beers, and 6 tequila shots. Unfortunately, I don’t believe the shots are the best idea, nor do I think the beer is, but I’ll definitely get you a glass of water.”

Spinning on your heel, you went to walk away but were stopped by the feeling of a hand tightly gripping your wrist, a small squeak falling from your lips.

“We don’t want water.”

“Please get your hand off of me.”

“Get us what I asked for then, bitch.” 

You were about to retort, a vicious snarl on your lips, but your words were caught in your throat as you watched a fist connect to the cheek of the man in front of you, a gasp leaving your throat.

2 minutes

This had to be a joke. He was apparently two minutes away from meeting his soulmate, and here he was, in an orderly fashioned line as him and his teammates made their way into the restaurant. He could barely breath, his pants felt too tight on his hips, he could feel the sweat seeping through his shirt. Thank god he made the choice to wear black. 

It felt like everyone’s eyes were on his, everyone was wearily watching the number on his wrist go down, as the obvious anxieties began to cloud his every thought, action, move... everything.

He tried to take his mind off of it, observing the restaurant as the team slowly made their way to their designated tables. There were a few other patrons, most of them caught up in their own world. One specific table caught his eye, they were a group of rowdy guys, maybe a few years older than him. 

Quite frankly, they looked like all around assholes. Looked like the guys you’d see from Wolf of Wall Street, and from the looks of it, they were really starting to irritate their waitress. Although, all he could see was your back, your posture was unbelievably straight, your hand on your hip as you inventively listened to the guys in front of you.

Matthew continued to watch you, something inside of him telling him that he just couldn’t look away. He had to keep looking. He watched as you turned your body, ready to walk to wherever your destination in mind was, but he instantly zeroed in on the hand that was now tightly wrapped around your wrist, a violent look on the man’s face.

He wasn’t moving on his own accord now, his feet were basically moving by themselves as they raced towards you.

“Get us what I asked for then, bitch.”

His fist was connecting with the other man’s face before he could even think. He heard the gasp from beside him, he watched the number on his wrist hit 0 the exact moment he looked at you, a look of shock on everyone’s faces.

“Chucky!”

“What the fuck are you doing?”

“I’m going to call the police you fucking curly-headed fuck.”

He could barely focus on the voices around him. You were here. You were literally right in front of him. Both of your numbers were at 0, he could see it on your wrist. He was literally staring in the eyes of his soulmate.

“Oh my god, you punched one of our guests.” Your voice was like bells to his ear, soft, delicate, everything he wasn’t... but god, you were perfect.

“I’m Matthew, and yes... I uh... I think I did punch one of your guests. I also think you’re my soulmate. Does it count as self-defence... if I punched him in my soulmate’s defence?” 

You laughed, trying to cover it up with your mouth as you watched your manager’s rush towards the now bleeding asshole at the table behind you. 

“I think I like you already, Matthew.”

[gladerwolfstarkimagines]

Imagine being the reserved quiet niece of Ursa and cousin of Zuko and Azula, a powerful fire bender who catches Ty lee’s attention. You struggle to find a way to show her you return her affection until Azula threatens her....

(Note: this is loosely based on the comic the search which takes place after the tv show ended and follows Zuko finding his mother)

You’d grown up in a village terrified of the fire nation. Your family used to be the proud respected descendants of Avatar Roku....and then Fire lord Azulon showed up and demanded one of the line marry his son Ozai. Your aunt was stolen away just for being linked to a fire bender and so when you developed fire bending your family were horrified. They forbade you from ever using your bending but refused to explain why. So of course you ignored them and carried on working to be the best fire bender ever. You absorbed every technique you could read about and were advancing quickly....until your family caught you. They were furious but you were determined never to stop and so they saw there was nothing else to do but tell you the truth. They finally told you what fire bending had done to their family and urged you never to show your power. Who knew what the royal family would do if they knew you existed, if they’d take you too...and so you stopped. You stopped fire bending but you were restless, so much energy bottled up inside you, and so trained in other physical disciplines. Your family disapproved of your boisterous activities but they were better than fire bending so they allowed it. Even when your aunt returned from the fire nation they didn’t lessen their rules on you an inch. You listened to them dutifully but continuously felt the itch your fire in your palms. You vowed you would get to use your fire bending some day...some how.  

8 years later

Your family had socially and physically isolated themselves so much you were unaware the war had ended even months after Zuko had been crowned. It wasn’t until said new fire lord appeared on your doorstep that you realised everything had changed.

You were outside with your little cousin Kiyi when a well dressed man appeared. You immediately identified him as some noble man from the fire nation or maybe even a royal and tensed. The fear instilled in you was strong and you swept your cousin behind you before getting in a defensive stance. "Who are you and what do you want?" you called adrenaline pulsing through you. The man started towards you and you drew the knife you always kept on you "don’t come any closer". The man raised his hands and you realised he wasn’t quiet a man yet, he was about your age and had an odd burn across his eye. "What do you want" you said louder and Kiyi clutched your legs. "I’m looking for a woman, Ursa...does she live here?". "No" you said "go away". "Are you sure?' he asked "please it’s important i find her, here’s a photo of her". He went to step forwards and you raised your hand. "Okay here" he said and put it down before walking away. You picked the photo up and before you could do anything Kiyi frowned "mommy!". "Mommy?" the boy asked confused "so you do know her? She’s here? I have to see her!". He started walking closer and wasn’t slowing down. You didn’t want him to get near you and so used your best attack. Your fire practically leapt from you after being supressed for so many years and hit him square in the chest sending him flying backwards. "Go away" you yelled loudly "now or i will hurt you". "Zuko!" someone yelled and you saw a group come running around the corner. "Kiyi run! Tell Ursa to run!" you yelled and turned to face them. You shot some warning jets of flame “leave now” you yelled trying to feign confidence. A girl dressed in blue threw up protection while a girl in pink worked her way towards you with super human agility. You fired at her but she dodged your flames as easily as if you were a beginner bender. The girl reached you and you switched to close range attacks and the two of you became locked in a close combat. “No stop!” the boy yelled but neither you or the girl stopped. The girl was dodging ever single attack you threw her but you were getting closer. You singed her t-shirt when the girl landed some punches along your muscles. Your body cramped in pain and you flinched clutching your arm. You raised your other arm but nothing happened. You raised both hands but again no flame. Your fire was gone. “My bending....” you gasped and the girl knocked the knife from your hand. “Ty lee stop it!” the boy yelled and the girl in pink simply backflipped back to the group. “I don’t know what you did to me but I still won’t let you take her” you growled. The others matched your defensive stance but the boy pushed past them “no leave her I think she’s my...” when a voice cut him off.  "Zuko?". You turned to see your aunt running forwards her eyes fixed on the man. "Zuko!" she cried and rushed past you to throw her arms around him. They were both sobbing by the time the rest of your family arrived and you were utterly confused. "What’s going on?" you asked loudly and Ursa smiled "y/n dear it’s okay, this is my son Zuko, he’s your cousin, it’s okay!".

You family flocked around Zuko and all had similar reactions to Ursa. You watched still clutching your arm as they all headed to the house. The group with Zuko went to follow and you zoned in on the girl who had done this to you. “Hey you” you called at the pink girl. She glanced at you before bounding over “i’m Ty lee, it’s lovely to meet you, your fire bending is really pretty!”. “What did you do to me?” you cried in reply and the girls smile wavered. “Sorry about that, I’m sort of swore to protect your cousin so I had to attack you, i used Chi blocking on you don’t worry it’s not permanent”. “Chi what? That’s not important...what do I do to reverse it? Undo what you did!”. “ I can’t make it come back instantly” Ty lee frowned “it takes a while for your body to repair but it’ll come back soon I promise”. You stared at your hands “you swear it’ll come back”. “Totally” she smiled crossing her heart and you stared confused why she was so happy. Was she mocking you or something? You were about to ask her when your aunt called “Y/n come meet your cousins Zuko and Azula” and with a glance to Ty lee (who was still smiling) you made your way inside.  

Ursa introduced you but that was all the encouragement Zuko needed, he seemed thrilled to have a cousin his age and launched into a thorough interogation to work out everything about you while his sister just glared. It was hard not to be caught up in his infectious happiness. He called over his friends to meet you and you noticed how proudly he called you his cousin, a large grin on his face.  When the group reached you Zuko smiled “guys this is my cousin y/n! Y/n this is Sokka, Katara, Ty lee, Mai and Aang”. They all shot greetings at you and you blinked in reply. “Aang as in avatar aang....”. “Yeah” the boy smiled awkwardly and you stared “my cousin the firelord is friends with the avatar...the avatar and fire lord are in my house right now...”. “It gets old soon I promise” Zuko’s girlfriend Mai told you and everyone laughed. Zuko was called away by your adoring family but his friends stayed around you. They all began asking you questions excited to get to know you and arrived at your bending pretty soon. "You took Zuko out surprisingly easy" Mai smirked "you must be a skilled fire bender". You glanced at your elders worried but none of them were even listening, they were all staring at Zuko amazed. You’d never seen them look so relaxed before and it dawned on you that Zuko being fire lord would change everything. It would free your family from their fear and you smiled emotional at the thought. “Y/n?” the avatar asked bringing you back and you nodded "sorry yeah i’m a good fire bender" you admitted "well i guess...i’ve never had any training or actually met another fire bender". "Really?" Katara asked and when you nodded she smiled "so you’re a prodigy!" she cried and you blushed when someone started to laugh. You followed the laugh to it’s owner, your cousin Azula who was watching you with a cruel sneer. "A prodigy? How can she be growing up here?". You narrowed your eyes but another girl scolded her "you don’t need resources to be a prodigy that’s the whole point Azula"  Ty lee snapped before turning back to you "I bet you’re awesome!" she smiled winking and you blushed.

Your family celebrated well into the night and you wanted to join them but something was worrying you...your bending still hadn’t returned yet despite what Ty lee had told you. You walked away from the house and practiced the basic moves you’d known since you were 5 but could conjure a single flame. “Maybe wait a bit longer?” a voice called and you saw the said cause of your predicament. “Sorry I don’t know exactly how long but they will come back I swear” Ty lee frowned. You frowned staring down at your hands “I’ve spent so long having to hide my bending and now I can show it, they’re gone”. “Only temporarily!” Ty lee assured you “but I get it and i’m sorry....it must’ve been hard hiding who you were all this time?" she asked and you nodded "i guess". Silence settled and Ty lee stared at you. "You don’t talk much" she observed and you blushed. “I noticed in the party you’re rather quiet, that does not run in common with your family” she smirked as your family could be heard from your position outside. "Sorry i was always told to never speak about what i can do and so to have an audience just waiting to listen....it’s pretty anxiety provoking". The girl frowned and laid a hand on your hand "i’m sorry i didn’t realise, we don’t have to talk about that, we can talk about something else". You didn’t get why the pretty girl was with you at all but suspected she felt bad for disabling your bending. "Thank you" you said politely and a silence settled again. You winced, fearing this would get awkward but Ty lee seemed to be a cunning socialite. "So what’s your favourite colour?". "My favourite colour?" you asked amused. Ty lee nodded "your aura is hard to read....you’re quiet hard to read actually and that intrigues me so humour me". You blushed as the beautiful chi blocker stared at you intensely and answered her questions.

A lot of time had passed and still the two of you were outside and Ty lee’s constant chattering broke past your nervous nature. "So what’s your life like?" you asked now more comfortable "growing up so high born must’ve been cool, so much power and freedom..." you said wistfully. Ty lee frowned and you were immediately worried you’d upset her. "I’m sorry have i...". "No" she smiled at you "you didn’t say anything wrong, you’re right, i had many opportunities women don’t get but they came with expectations and set backs" she said glancing back at the house "i did things i wasn’t proud of just to be different...you see i have 6 sister who look exactly like me and so i struggled to stand out and be different. I tried desperately to not fade into the background and guess i fell to extreme measures in the process". You frowned and Ty Lee sighed before smiling "but that was in the past! Now i’m a kyoshi warrior hired with the protection of the fire lord!” she cried “my life’s pretty good now”. “I’m pleased for you” you smiled and Ty lee smiled back at you. You noticed she had a habit of staring really intensely and with how beautiful and nice she was it was a bit too much for your tired state “we should go back to the party” you blushed looking down and Ty lee nodded “sure!” not seeming to notice the effect she had on you.

2 days later

Your cousins arrival had certainly shaken things up but things were slowly getting back to normal and your chores were still expected of you and so you took your cart into town to get the shopping like every week. You were almost back to the secluded area of you home when you noticed a group of green women on the path ahead. They all had their faces painted white and had fans.  You frowned confused at the entourage your cousin travelled with when one of them popped out infront of you. "Y/n!" Ty lee cried "these are the women i work with the Kyoshi warriors, everyone this is y/n Zuko’s cousin" she said exposing you to the large group of women. "Hi" you smiled awkwardly and they all nodded to you “is Zuko okay?” you asked her. “Ow yeah Suki and the girls are just here to make sure it stays that way...that is a lot of shopping, do you need some help?" Ty lee asked looking at your full cart and you shook your head "i’m fine thanks". "Are you sure? It’s no trouble” she smiled and before you could protest she spun around to her friends. “Suki i’ll be back in a bit" Ty lee called and twirled back around to you. She hopped up beside you on the cart and you blushed as she perched on the armrest of your seat. “Lets go” she smiled.

Ty lee had a habit of finding you and joining you in whatever you were doing. You didn’t mind, she was nice company but that was also the problem. Any time she was around you became a soft slow thinking mess, made worse by Ty lee’s lack of boundaries and intense kindness.

Case in point, Ty lee was quiet for 3 seconds before she began complimenting you. "It’s so cool you can drive one of these things" she smiled and you blushed "it’s not hard really i snap it when i want the horse to go and pull it to stop...". "Well i still think that’s cool" Ty lee cried and you looked away so she wouldn’t see your blush. You’d have to learn to stop blushing around her or she’d realise you liked her. You reached your home and climbed down as Ty lee somersaulted off. You watched impressed before turning to the cart "if we unload it here that’ll be best". Ty lee nodded and watched you pick up three boxes. Ty lee stepped forwards and heaved two but they didn’t lift up. Ty lee frowned and tried again but they wouldn’t budge. "Those are probably a bit heavy" you frowned "try a bag". Ty lee lifted a bag of vegetables and then saw you discreetly lift the two boxes she’d been struggling with. "Wow you're so strong" she cried and you blushed "i’m not...” you stammered but Ty Lee wouldn’t drop it. "No you are i couldn’t move them and you just picked them up like that...i bet your arms are huge". Your blush was painfully obvious and there was no hiding it which made you angry, was she doing this on purpose? Why was she showering you in compliments if not to try embarrassing you? "I...i’m not...you're one to talk" you replied glancing at her toned physique before becoming horrified at what you’d just said and done. Ty lee didn’t seem to mind though she just blushed and carried on helping to unload the cart.

When you’d unloaded the cart Ty lee lingered as you sorted the supplies away and when you’d finished she still hadn’t made a move to leave. You liked being around her but knew you were so obvious with your crush she had to leave or she’d easily work it out. “So that’s all the shopping sorted, thanks for helping” you said and Ty lee smiled “no problem”. You nodded staring at her waiting for her to leave but Ty lee just smiled at you. “So i guess i’ll see you around?” you asked and Ty lee took the hint “ow i’m so sorry I bet you’ve got so much work...i’ll get out of your hair”. Ty lee smiled but you noticed she seemed a bit embarrassed and it killed you that you’d hurt her. So against the sensible part of your mind telling you to avoid the girl if you didn’t want to make a fool of yourself, you called after her. “Ty lee” you called “would you...do you want to stay for dinner?” you asked. “Really?” she asked smiling again and you nodded “we always cook too much so you’d be helping but of course you don’t have to...” you started when Ty lee cut you off.  “I’d love to!” she cried and you nodded cheeks pink as you led her into the house. Zuko and Mai were inside already with your family and everyone looked up when you walked in together. “Y/n’s here great we can start” your grandmother smiled “and she brought a guest”. “You all know Ty lee” you said awkwardly as Ty lee beamed beside you “y/n invited me! I hope you don’t mind”. You blushed as your family all told Ty lee she was welcome and made room for her beside you. “Your family’s so nice” she grinned at you and you blushed very aware of said family watching you and Ty lee very smugly...they knew you had a weakness for nice girls.

Mai was also watching and she smiled to see you blush any time Ty lee grabbed you or came close to you, two thing with Ty lee seemed to do to you a lot. Her friend has definitely brought her A-game.

You saw Ty lee around a lot, especially as your family seemed to find any excuse to bring the talented chi blocker anywhere near you. The excuses varied from sending Ty lee to help you with the horse, to calling you in for dinner, to having her bring you spare change on your daily errands. Ty lee seemed more than willing to help and no matter how crowded the room was she’d somehow notice you and make her way over to you. It didn’t matter who she was with she’d drop what she was doing and appear by your side, usually not moving away from you for the rest of the night. At first you found the constant attention and looks from your family embarrassing but you soon realised embarrassment was worth it just to have Ty lee by you. She made you feel special and important in a town and family that had always wanted you to be quiet. Ty lee seemed to make it her mission to get you to open up and you found you liked it. And her of course....a lot. The situation where you realised you couldn’t deny it anymore was when you ran into Ty lee in town. Ty lee surrounded by adoring suitors from your village what she caught sight of you. She called you over but never a fan of the boys your age you waved her away and expected that to be the end of it. Seconds later you heard heavy breathing and Ty lee appeared. "Phew your village has a lot of friendly people sometimes it’s a bit much...can I walk with you?”. You blushed realising she'd ditched all the boys in your town just for you and nodded "sure" and led her away from the group of simmering boys watching. As much as every encounter with her left you feeling dazed and humiliated at whatever embarrassing thing you’d done, you hoped Zuko would never leave so Ty lee could stay. You were well and truly smitten.

1 week later

Your whole family had been anxious for so long that when something did go wrong their response time was impeccable. You were all gathered out of bed minutes after Zuko called and stood around listening as he explained how his sister Azula had escaped his custody and was raising a revolt against him. You listened worried as your cousin explained what Azula was capable of and watched as everyone hurried to set protection plans in place. You wouldn’t be called on for your opinion or skills so you were just listening in the background when someone mentioned Ty lee. You perked up and noticed she wasn’t here. "I’m sorry but what was that about Ty lee?" you called and Zuko frowned "Azula kidnapped her, she took her as a hostage so we wouldn’t follow her". "What? We have to get her back!". Mai nodded "that’s the plan". "Well i want to help, if you need fighters i volunteer, I can leave tonight". "Y/n" your mother gasped but you shook her away "i’m a good fire bender I can help get Ty lee back". Zuko smiled "thanks y/n but were not actually planning on engaging with Azula". "But how will you get Ty lee back?". "Hopefully with a trade she likes those" Mai said dryly "it’s too difficult to sneak into Azula’s base so that’s our only option. She'll offer one we just have to wait". "Just wait?" you asked and Zuko frowned "I know it sounds backwards but we could do more harm than good attacking Azula". “That’s only if we lose” you pointed out and Zuko nodded “that’s true but my sister is hard to beat one on one and a group is too easy to spot, we’ll just have to wait”. You took in what Zuko said and fell silent. You stayed mute the rest of the meeting and may’ve seemed calm or passive to the others but you weren’t. You took in every single thing they said, every detail about Azula’s camp and snook away before the meeting had ended.

Azula’s camp was not as impressive as you thought it would be, just a small compound that was very easy to break into. Ty lee seemed to be the main prisoner and so you listened to some guards and found her location. You arrived outside the house you were sure Ty lee was being kept in and calmed yourself slowing your breathing and concentrating on what you were here to do. You waited for a guard to approach and took his keys before knocking him unconscious. You hid him in a shaded area before opening the door to Ty lee’s prison. You took out the first guard you saw with fire bending and he went down unconscious. A second tried to rush you but you winded him with fire bending and then kicked him over for good measure. The man fell over and went to get back up but your flared your fire "stay down" you yelled and he did. You straightened and looked around when a voice cried out to you. Relief flooded through your body to see Ty lee stood there and you rushed to her. "Ty lee! You’re....please tell me you’re okay?". She nodded "i’m fine! I can’t believe you’re here”. You smiled at her before spinning around to the conscious guard. "Open her cell!" you commend and the man scrambled to get it open. Ty lee swept out as soon as it was open and you pushed the two guards inside locking it and taking the keys. "You saved me" Ty Lee cried and she flung her arms around you. You hugged her back and smiled, going as pink as her top, "well i....we should go" you tugged Ty lee’s hand and noticed as she winced. "What’s wrong?" you asked and she shook her head "nothing lets go". "No you’re hurt...". You noticed how she stood awkwardly putting more weight on one foot and frowned "your ankle, you can’t walk". Ty lee shook her head worried how you’d escape if she couldn’t run "no i’m fine i promise". "I’m not letting you injure yourself more" you told her. Ty lee went to assure you she could exert it a bit more when you suddenly picked her up. Ty lee yelped as you carefully swept her up in your arms. "Is this okay? Does it hurt if I do this?". Now Ty lee was the blushing embarrassed one, you were holding her up so easily and securely, it was impressive. "It’s fine" she smiled "thank you" and you nodded. "Okay hold on" and took off into a run.

You made it back to your town with only minor incidences. It had been a rough night regardless and your arms ached painfully when you put Ty lee down having reached your home. Zuko and the others were still gathered inside and you hooked Ty lee’s arm around your neck helping her to the door. You pushed the door open and led Ty lee in. Mai glanced at you before doing a double take registering who was beside you. "Ty lee, you’re okay!" she cried rushing to hug her friend. You stepped away from her so Mai could hug her but rushed to grab Ty lee a chair. You seated it behind her and tapped Ty lee’s shoulder lightly. She took the seat shooting you a smile as the others all frowned. "But how?" Zuko asked. "Y/n" ty lee said proudly "she was amazing! She stormed Azula’s camp and carried me the whole way back!". Mai noticed how you brushed away Ty lee’s compliments and were blushing vividly. She also noticed how you stood protectively behind Ty lee and how Ty lee twisted in her seat to look up at you. "No it’s the bravest most valiant thing i’ve ever seen!" Ty lee cried and launched into a full blow by blow retelling. Mai watched as her oblivious friend made your blush worse and Mai smiled. It was clear you liked Ty lee but even clearer you didn’t realise Ty lee liked you too. Ty lee may come across as perpetually friendly but Mai could tell when she was just being nice and when she was genuinely impressed. Ty lee was indeed very impressed with you.

Ty lee’s POV

“I can’t believe you got yourself kidnapped” Mai scolded her and Ty lee rolled her eyes. Katara had worked on her ankle but it was a bad sprain so would take some time to heal. So Ty lee was forced to go to bed when all she wanted to do was help with the Azula problem. Mai however was very strict and seemed just as determined as you to make sure she was okay. “I didn’t mean to get kidnapped, plus it’s fine i’m back now!”. “Thanks to y/n” Mai commented and Ty lee nodded “I know, the way she risked everything just to help me...she’s really something” she sighed wistfully. Mai scoffed glaring at her and Ty lee paused “what?”. “You are not this clueless!”. “What?” Ty lee cried and Mai rolled her eyes. “You seriously don’t see that y/n is smitten with you?”. “What!” Ty lee yelled going pink “why do you think that?”. “Ow I don’t know maybe because she’s an introvert who avoids anyone but the two of you are always together, or because she brings you to her family dinner every week, or how whenever she’s around you she can barely look you in the eye without blushing....or how she tore down Azula’s camp risking her life just because you were there and then literally carried you back in her arms”. Mai sat next to Ty lee with a bounce and Ty lee stared “I....I never noticed”. “Figures, you never notice all the people infatuated with you but please tell me you realise you’re just as smitten for her?”. Ty lee blushed profoundly and looked down “i’m that obvious huh?”. “Yup, you’re not fooling anyone with all those excuses to run y/n’s errands with her”. Ty lee chuckled and then paused “you really think she likes me too?” she asked coyly. Mai rolled her eyes at how clueless her friend was but smiled despite herself ”definitely, so go get your girl”.

Your POV

After Ty lee was safely returned home and her ankle seen to by the healer Katara you promptly collapsed into bed. Your mission had been a resounding success but that didn’t mean you weren’t bruised and tired. You had just extinguished the candle when there was a knock on the door. You dragged yourself out of bed angrily and yanked open your door “what is....Ty lee?”. Ty lee stood there smiling at you and for once she didn’t have her signature confident aura. “Sorry were you sleeping? I can come back....”. “No it’s fine come in”. You led Ty lee into your room and hurried to tidy it and relight the candles “sorry for the mess I....wait what are you doing up! Katara said no walking" you cried realising she was on her feet. "It’s fine I have crutches!" she said happily gesturing to them but you shook your head "you should be in bed resting!". "You should know by now i can never stay still" she grinned and you rolled your eyes "fine but please sit down".

Ty lee would’ve argued she was fine but you seemed so certain she took the chair you offered her. You fussed around her, getting a cushion for her foot and one for her back and Ty lee blushed to see how much care you were taking. Maybe Mai was right....

"There" you said finished, satisfied Ty lee was comfy. "Now how can i help?". "It’s kinda the opposite...i’m here to thank you" Ty lee beamed "you saved my life tonight y/n and literally carried me to safety". "It was nothing" you tried to brush it off but Ty lee shook her head grabbing your hand "it wasn’t! Mai told me how everyone told you not to do it and how you actually disobeyed them by coming to get me". You glanced at her hand over yours and relaxed "well i...i was worried Azula might be being harsh to you, i figured even if i got caught i might distract her from you...". Ty lee blushed "that was very sweet of you but you don’t need to risk yourself just for me". You shrugged "i think you’re worth it" and Ty lee frowned "what do you mean?". You shrugged embarrassed "well you’re the nicest person i’ve ever met! I actually thought it was an act at first you’re that nice but it’s not" you smiled "you were so kind to me and for no reason...you just cared" you chuckled "i think we need more people like you in the world Ty lee, you’re very special". Ty lee let out a mini exclamation of emotion and suddenly threw her arms around you. You let her hug you, used to surprise hugs by now but you weren’t used to her kissing you. Ty lee wrapped her arms around your neck and pecked your lips with her own. You broke away immediately thinking it was a mistake but Ty lee just blushed looking at you "was that...was it not okay i did that?". "I...you mean you actually meant to kiss me?". "Yes silly!". "Because i saved your life?". "No because i like you". When you blushed Ty lee smiled "that’s a good sign right?" and when you nodded she leant back in. You were prepared this time but not for how great it would feel. Everything about her, how she felt, how her arms felt wrapped around you neck, how you felt wrapped together just made it bliss. It was a sweet but long kiss and when Ty lee pulled away you blinked your eyes open and stared at the wall in a daze "wow". Ty lee giggled looking up at you before you gasped. "You’re stood up! Ty lee!" you scolded her and she rolled her eyes "i’m fine, plus you realise you’re practically holding me up?" She asked and you realised without meaning to you were, you had your arms around her waist and she was hovering off the floor. "Ow well...i guess this works". "So if i want to stand up i just have to hold onto you ever time i guess" Ty lee grinned and you blushed. "I mean i don’t object to that". Ty lee smiled and stared up at you "good". Ty lee kept gazing at you and you lasted second before you looked away embarrassed. You blushed and Ty lee laughed so you just pulled her into you so you couldn’t see her face. Ty lee chuckled “you’re adorable” and settled her head against your neck. “You’re one to talk” you replied and Ty lee blushed too.

----

So I got Ty lee feels which has honestly never happened to me before but now I am obsessed! So might do a part 2 because I have lots of Ty lee ideas rn 😂

[wildlyglittering]

Love in an Elevator

Happy Sunday everyone!

Thank you to those who have liked, commented and re-blogged my pieces so far - you are *chef’s kiss* awesome. 

How’s the ACOSF discourse coming? I’m watching it all whilst slurping my tea but very much staying out of it. I’m cracking on with my fanfiction though, am feeling weirdly inspired lately which is rare but I’ll take it! 

In a few weeks I’ll probably ask if anyone has any requests as I’m feeling up for the challenge. I’m slow but I’ll get there in the end. 

In the meantime I hope you enjoy this one!

***

There was no getting out of the predicament she’d found herself in, no matter how much she begged - and she had begged.

She’d thrown in some negotiations and when those offerings failed, she’d feigned a nonchalance that was as transparent as water. The very last weapon in her arsenal had been to fling mean spirited insults but those spurred him on more.

Then again, she grinned to herself, didn’t she know they would?

Nesta’s arms were stretched upwards above her head, the backs of her hands pressed against the cool wall of the elevator. Two large hands held them in place with a grip that refused to relent, the skin of her captor so hot he must have been burning.

At some point his mouth had moved from hers to her throat, his head dipping down while she strained hers back, her neck arching to give him better access. She always provided an initial protest. I don’t want your filthy mouth on me. The waiter from the restaurant looked like he was able to provide more satisfaction than you and he could hardly stand. I think I should go home now before my evening ends in disappointment.

It was a game they played and they played it well.

That hot mouth travelled to a sensitive spot, lips skimming her skin to the point where they scarcely touched her. A whine escaped her, short and shrill enough that she’d hoped he hadn’t heard but from the quirk of his lips on her throat that she did feel, she knew he had.

“Patience is a virtue,” he trilled at her and her own lips turned into a sneer.

“I’m just trying not to die of boredom.”

Nesta’s voice was far too breathless for the barb to land and he chuckled.

“Sure,” he murmured, “and that’s why you sound like you’re a filly in a stable right now.”

“Shut up, Cassian.”

“Mmm. Make me.”

His mouth was on hers again, lips hot and greedy, tongue gliding against hers. He tasted faintly of the scotch he’d been drinking at dinner and he would be tasting red wine.

Cassian was somehow lazy and energetic with his kisses.

He kissed like his goal was to steal every breath she might ever make but he did it so leisurely, so languidly, like he’d managed to switch the passage of time off to allow for it. He pulled back his mouth to suck her bottom lip between his before soothing it over with his tongue.

One day he’d probably make someone combust from kissing them. Not her though, she’d built up an immunity.

Nesta squirmed; her muscles straining in her back. Thankfully yoga had made her limber over the years so that any discomfort was minimal but still, she needed to exhibit some form of protest.

Cassian slid his mouth from hers and glanced at her, it was a brief check in to make sure he wasn’t hurting her, his eyes quick to turn gentle even with his pupils dilated into blackness. She could tell all this from one look. Cassian had such expressive eyes.

Nesta mentally chased the endearment away and pouted. Cassian’s faced slipped from worry to amused, his lips tipping into an arrogant smirk. He chuckled and dipped his head down to suck on the skin of her collarbone.

“Nice try sweetheart, but it’s not going to happen.”

She let out a sigh, half irritation and half bliss, which turned into a moan when he doubled his efforts and sucked harder.

If Nesta had any decency, she wouldn’t be letting him doing this to her in the elevator of his apartment building. If Nesta had any decency, she would pull her body away instead of rubbing it against his.

If Nesta had any decency, she wouldn’t have been the one to make the first move as soon as the doors had closed.

Nesta’s eyes fluttered shut. Her heart pounded its rhythm in her chest and her blood rushed in her ears. Her pulse thrummed everywhere, everywhere, including the place Cassian hadn’t yet reached for.

Still, it was as though he read her thoughts, and he elevated some of the ache by pressing his pelvis against hers, his crisp dress pants rustling as he stepped further between Nesta’s legs.

He lazily flexed his hips against hers and she rocked back, her dress slipping further up her thighs, expanses of bare skin showing to an empty cube. His tongue pressed against the pulse point at the join between her neck and shoulder and she gasped, eyes flying open.

Every. Time.

Once Cassian had figured out what made Nesta’s body hum he’d seemingly made it his personal mission to turn a tune into an orchestral delight.

Her eyes refocused past the swimming haze that Cassian drowned her in and what she saw must have reached some part of her brain that hadn’t vacated her head.

The numbers on the elevator display kept increasing. Five, Fifteen, Fifty.

There was no danger of anyone calling the elevator, the apartment building was in an area of the city that was considered ‘up and coming’ which meant over three quarters of the complex were still up for sale. Cassian had been one of the first buyers and snagged the penthouse at a decent introductory rate.

Nesta’s eyes managed to sharpen into focus when they alighted on the black polished and exceptionally shiny tiles lining the ceiling, which, for all intents and purposes, acted like a mirror.

The tableau playing out did absolutely nothing to quell her thundering heartbeat.

Earlier Nesta’s hair had been preened into a slick French knot, teased into place by her hairstylist who implied Nesta had big plans for the evening. Nesta had dismissed those remarks with a wave of her hand and a scowl that could curdle milk.

Now, hours later, all was in disarray. Gold-brown strands fell onto her shoulders loosened by two firm hands that had buried themselves in her hair at the first available opportunity.

One of those shoulders was bare, the strap of her dress slid down when Cassian had made a beeline for the curve that contained the most freckles. His favourite shoulder, he’d once told her. She’d rolled her eyes at him on hearing that but made a point of wearing one-stap tops at family summer barbecues where he couldn’t reach for her.

At this vantage point Nesta was able to catch glimpses of herself from their mirror-twins but mostly what she saw was him.

Cassian’s hair was still in its low bun, which, unlike Nesta’s was messy by design. The expanse of his back covered her, his snow-white shirt stretched across solid back muscles. His jacket was discarded on the floor along with her bag and one of her shoes.

She’d managed to tug his shirt loose before he’d pinned her, the bottom of it now crumpled and ridden up at the back and in the shimmering, slightly distorted surface of the black tiles she saw his smooth, deep olive skin.

Her fingers twitched. She couldn’t wait to get into his apartment, to grab at the buttons and pull the fabric from him. Nesta had ruined, two, maybe three shirts of his now, not that he cared. With any luck she’d have him naked halfway across the lower floor of his open planned mezzanine. Maybe this time they’d make it up the stairs to his bed. Maybe they wouldn’t.

Cassian must have felt her fingers twitch because he shifted his hands upwards, from her wrists across her palms, to entwine his own between hers. They clung, entangled with each other, their knuckles surely turning bone white with the grip.

It wasn’t enough that she wanted to see his skin, she needed to feel it, smooth and warm underneath her fingertips. She envisaged her fingertips rounding over the muscles of his chest and abdomen and then drifting her palm over hard muscle to harder muscle still.

Every time they did this was like Nesta was receiving a present from the universe and it was a sobering thought that ultimately, they would have to decide the gift tree needed to stop gifting.

“Cassian,” she groaned and he lifted his head.

It always seemed to Nesta that she was more undone than him in these situations. Her clothes and hair were always mussed, her skin flushing red and her breath huffing from her mouth in harsh pants. Cassian always looked like he’d run a marathon without breaking a sweat.

There was lust in the way she’d said his name, of course there was. A man this decadent couldn’t hold his body against hers like this, couldn’t flex his hardness against her pelvis like this, for Nesta not to sound like she was about to unravel into a spool of thread.

But something else had crept in, something that sounded disturbingly like longing, like she wanted their ribs pressed as close as they could get so their hearts almost touched.

His eyes, half-lidded and hazy were staring into hers. Desire lived in them when he looked at her, but she also knew how he counted the freckles on her nose while he thought she was asleep and how he played with her hair when she dozed. Now his desire had a permanent room-mate who’d crept in uninvited.

These were things that would go unsaid. They hated each other, of course. They even had friends who encouraged the level of vitriol they could spew.

Cassian slipped back into arrogance as easy as he could breathe.

“That’s right, Nes,” he murmured, “say my name.”

Her eyes narrowed at him. If she could move her legs, she’d be tempted to give him a kick. “Bastard.”

The smile never left his face. “Oh, and don’t you know it.”

He kissed her again, shifting his pelvis away only to position one strong muscled thigh between her legs instead. She moaned against his mouth, feeling the determined throb of his erection through the fabric of his pants against her thigh. She ground down onto his leg, her hips rocking as she tried to quell her building ache.

Cassian moved both her wrists into one of his hands, freeing the other. His grip was looser now with just one fist holding her and if Nesta wanted, she could pull both her hands down and out with ease. She didn’t of course, despite her earlier protests. This game had well established rules.

Cassian’s free right hand slipped down to her bare knee, hooking behind it to draw it upwards towards his hip. They’d played this part of the game before too, Nesta instantly wrapping her leg around his waist, her dress indecently bunched around her hips.

There were many things to be thankful for in this world. The fact that Cassian’s apartment complex was semi-deserted. The fact that his frame shielded hers from any view if the elevator happened to stop and the fact that Cassian knew where the button was to turn off the security camera.

They’d learnt their lesson from experience.

Stern words had been directed to them both from the old security guard. “Please,” he’d pleaded, “no more sex in the elevator. I’m over 70, my heart isn’t so good. Make love to your girlfriend in your apartment.”

Nesta had been extremely quick to point out she wasn’t Cassian’s girlfriend which just made the old man raise an eyebrow in disbelief.

Perhaps Nesta was the only woman that Cassian invited over, perhaps she’d brought over an overnight bag once or twice and perhaps they’d hooked up after the cinema and a couple of dinners and even after a Sunday farmer’s market but it didn’t mean a thing.

“Ah,” Cassian sighed, pulling his mouth away from hers. “I know this pair – the red silk?”

His fingers trailed up her bare thigh and further until he reached the edge of her panties. The man had an unusual gift for accurately guessing her underwear.

The dress she’d chosen to wear out was a new one; sleeveless black lace with thick cut straps scooping into a scalloped neckline. Demure and elegant. Hints of cleavage and slight bare shoulders only.

The lower half was significantly shorter than what she would normally wear but pairing them with her highest heels had been worth it to see Cassian’s face when she entered the restaurant, his eyes skimming up her naked legs with an expression like he wanted to devour her.

This underwear was a particular favourite of his so she thought that tonight they should make an appearance.

His fingers, a maddeningly delicate touch, skimmed across the front of the fabric, pressing firmly with his thumb in just the right place for the briefest of seconds before pulling away.

Nesta’s body jolted and his eyes shone.

“Prick.”

“Hmmm pretty sure that’s Feyre’s pet name for Rhys.”

Well there was a mood killer.

“Ugh please,” she said, “please don’t mention my baby sister and that asshole while your hand is up my dress. I already spend enough money on therapy as it is.”

Cassian laughed, a sound that was rich and warm and thrummed through her. When Cassian laughed, he laughed with his whole body. “Oh, not finding Feyre and Rhys’ terms of endearment a turn on?”

She scrunched her nose.

“Well, that’s cute.”

“Shut. Up.”

Cassian grinned and kissed her again.

At first, when all this began, they didn’t talk about real life; Cassian’s job, Nesta’s job, weekend plans, friends or family. It was strictly skin on skin contact only. Those were the rules.

As time trickled past like sand in an hourglass, the rules warped until a significant portion had changed completely.

They ended up asking how the other was.

At first it was small talk, trying to be polite as they walked through shared the lobby of Cassian or Nesta’s apartment buildings but then Nesta had a bad day and Cassian seemed genuine in his question.

She told him about a potential client who no longer wanted her as their literary agent and how that rejection had stung. She’d believed in that book she told him, it was about sisters and redemption, and she explained how she’d cried when she first read the manuscript.

After that point they talked about their work. Nesta would glance at the architect plans Cassian had scattered about his drafting table and asked questions about how his projects were progressing and check her emails while he cooked dinner. There were times they sat opposite each other, Cassian while he drafted and Nesta while she read.

That was the other thing. There were dinners. Lunches. Weekend plans involving brunches and early morning Saturday jog’s around the park.

The one thing that did seem to be beyond their new rules was discussing friends and family.

Cassian and Nesta rarely spoke about their mutual acquaintances, often refusing to acknowledge they even had any. It was strange for Cassian to bring Rhys into conversation but he was obviously on Cassian’s mind from the phone call earlier.

They were done with their starters and waiting for the main’s when Rhys rang, Cassian answering because if he hadn’t, ‘shit would look suspicious.’

Nesta could hear the conversation from both parties even as Cassian twisted in his chair, phone pressed to his ear hunched away as much as possible to try and limit the sound.

It was confirmation from Rhys that him, Cassian and Azriel were still on for their tomorrow plans; a morning of manly activities followed by ‘lunch with the ladies’ to celebrate Cassian’s thirtieth birthday as Cassian had told them he wasn’t able to celebrate tonight, on his actual birthday.

Of course, Nesta hadn’t been invited to the group festivities. As far as all were concerned, Cassian and Nesta loathed each other and so Nesta let it slide. Cassian had essentially fobbed off the ones he loved the most with a work-based lie to have dinner with her. She thought it was a poor and unexpected exchange on his part.

Still, she had promised him a lovely birthday treat to make up for it.

Nesta gently pulled back from his kiss and watched Cassian pout.

“Now, who’s looking cute.”

“It’s my birthday. I want kisses.”

She looked up at him as coyly as she could, flexing her hips forward into his, gasping as the action moved his fingers across the front of her underwear. “Well as you’re now such a big boy perhaps tonight we can do that thing you’ve always wanted to do. It being a special occasion and all.”

Cassian’s pout dissipated and his eyes grew five shades darker.

“You mean...”

“Yes.”

“Fuck, Nesta. What the hell floor are we on? Why aren’t we top floor yet, c’mon!”

Nesta laughed. They were in the world’s slowest elevator which wouldn’t be an issue but they definitely wouldn’t be doing the thing in here.

The birthday gods or whoever Cassian just offered a sacrifice to in his mind were in an obliging mood as the ‘ding’ told Nesta they’d finally reached Cassian’s floor.

Somehow, with super human speed, he’d removed his hands from her body, scooped up the jacket, bag and shoe from the floor and turned to her, hoisting her up so she clung to him like a bear climbing a tree.

Nesta laughed again combined with a shriek of surprise, her legs wrapping around his waist, her hands buried in his hair. With a fumbling grace, his face pushed between her breasts, one hand full of their belongings and the other on her ass, Cassian moved them from the elevator into the hallway.

Her back thumped against the wall by his front door as Cassian dug around for his keys. Nesta tangled her hands further into his hair, making his bun as messy as hers.

“You know,” she said, “you should really consider getting a mirror installed above your bed. I think it would add a certain post-modern aesthetic.”

He momentarily paused his search to look up at her, his eyes hazy. “Yeah, you think?” he rasped. “If you want, sweetheart.”

“Not for me,” she replied with an air of indifference, moving her fingers to skim along the muscles corded in his neck. “Some woman you try and pick up might go for it.”

Cassian gave her a smirk and kissed the skin of her exposed cleavage before getting back to find his keys.

“Hurry,” she pleaded to hear Cassian mumble back, trying.

The click of the lock turning was the best sound she’d ever heard and they were barely through the threshold and into his darkened apartment before everything in Cassian’s hands, aside her, fell to a clatter on his solid floorboards.

Cassian simultaneously slammed the door and her back against the wall, his mouth stretching up to claim hers while she grabbed the back of his shirt, tugging it higher. She needed to get to his skin, needed to peel off his layers and throw off hers. If they made it to the bed for the first round of this evening it would be nothing short of a miracle.

It was only seconds before the apartment flooded with light where it had been pitch black before. The realisation that neither of them had turned on the lights came a second too late.

There was a chorus of loud and happy voices to accompany the lights.

“SURPRISE!”

It petered out to stunned silence and gasps. Cassian pulled back from Nesta his eyes filling with horror. Nesta didn’t want to look, but she was facing them, she couldn’t not.

Balloons and streamers dotted the apartment, a huge banner stretched overhead to say ‘happy birthday,’ tables full of food and alcohol primed and ready to go. There they were in front, the collective loved ones they didn’t talk about with a few extra of Cassian’s friends thrown in for good measure.

They just stared, eyes wide and mouths open. Silence.

There was a throaty chuckle followed by Amren’s voice. “Surprise? Well, I’d say it is.”

[haikyuuhimbosandhypebeasts]

Heliotrope

Here’s my submission for the Forget Me Not collab for Anisylum! Please note the TW as it is VERY heavy. This piece is entirely SFW though!

Ship: Tsukishima Kei x GN! Reader Genre: Angst, but some fluff in some places. Word Count: 2.2k  Trigger/Content Warnings: near death experience, hospitalization, COVID-19, vomit mention, amnesia after hospitalization, a suicide attempt is briefly mentioned, swearing because this is by me Sexy Sexy Masterlist: here!

Sand clung to skin and the harsher rays of light that usually cascaded and burnt you had died away into a fading tangerine glow. You perched comfortably on the sand, taking note of the undulating waves- they were like you in the sense that while you could crash down hard on the opposition, you would shy away in a fragile manner when faced with gentle treatment. Perhaps it was that you felt you weren’t worth such luxuries that you found it hard to make friends through your first few years of high school. Perhaps it was trying to push people away because you were afraid yet alarmingly aware of your mortality. Perhaps it was something else entirely, something you weren’t quite ready to come to terms with. What you did know was that you weren’t alone in the violent struggle through high school to make friends while you had your walls up. Next to you was someone you never thought you’d share your favorite place with; in any terms you found this boy appalling with his behavior. So appalling, you saw yourself in the way he closed himself off and cut those close with tongue lashings. You knew this only through another friend who took issue with him as you went to another school in an entire other prefecture. Words mauled their way out from your throat, breaking the silence between you and Tsukishima Kei. “I won’t ask you why you tried to do what you did today. But I will ask if there’s anyone you can talk to in your life.” You didn’t understand yourself. Why would you say that…? You don’t remember anything like this at all… His response was equally incoherent and odd. “Okay, but I’ll kill you if you go back on it.” When you opened your mouth to reply to him, the ground around you suddenly reared up like a defensive serpent. A pillar of beach sand forced its way from the ground into your throat, suffocating and trapping your lungs in permanent fullness. You could only gag and cry, unable to even see Tsukishima past the torrent of sand breaking into your body with the intent to kill you slowly…

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You woke up once more in that dull grey-blue and white room with the only sounds you could properly process being the beep of a heart monitor somewhere behind you. You had managed to halfway curl into somewhat resembling the fetal position, but something kept making you cough and gag as your throat was caught. You move your hand to whatever is catching and about to make you vomit- a tube. This tube, you followed, was in your nose good and solid, and you felt it deep enough in your sinuses you didn’t dare try to pull it out. Moving your hands felt foreign like you had forgotten how to process being human and natural motions like that. You testingly ran your right hand down the tube, taking care to not tug and cause discomfort. Your other hand came to rest on your face. It was slick from sweat, likely due to whatever the fuck you just had a dream about. At the corner of your lips was another tube and when you followed where it led it was taped to the side of your face. You lick your lips and manage to almost fall into a haze until you see movement for the first time in what feels like forever. To be fair, it is one of the most jarring appearances of a person you’ve seen in your whole life to what you can recall. A person in a full-body hazmat suit enters your room through a door you hadn’t even processed was there, then greets you as casually as they can through a plague-resistant suit. “Hey there.” You squint at them. Yeah, you have no fucking idea who this cosplayer in a hospital is, and while you should probably be polite, you feel like you got ran over not once but twice.  You try to speak to them, but you can’t. You don’t have the air for it, it’s like you have no control over your breathing. Clarity washes over you. You’re hospitalized. These are tubes because you were asleep and weren’t breathing or eating right. The realization must show on your face because your nurse speaks up again. “Don’t worry about me too much, we’re just gonna check your vitals and if you feel up to it, we can see how you do without the ventilators.” You try to manage out a “whoopee”, which unimpressively comes out as some form of odd wheeze, and your nurse begins by grabbing the blood pressure cuff covered in protective plastic while they wear a sympathetic expression.

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Once you were off the ventilator, the nurse informed you about what had happened. Apparently, an ambulance was called when you were unresponsive and nearly blue in the face, sitting in front of your refrigerator with the door open. You were diagnosed with a severe case of COVID-19, something you had feared would wipe you out entirely and turn you past tense since its spread in your country. This fear wasn’t entirely irrational, either- you were immunocompromised and have been since you were a child. You grew up with being careful around others and hearing of a highly contagious new strain was something that filled you with so much paranoia you seriously considered quitting your current career and instead adopting a hermit lifestyle while completing college at home. Of course, such a thought was squashed by the slowly impending thought of rent, bills, due dates for assignments, and your bitch of a manager who lets people get close to you without a mask on. It’s not a big deal, (y/n), she once said to you. You wanted to shoehorn some tubes down her throat just to survive, see how that felt. It didn’t help that human resources wouldn’t listen to your complaint. They brushed it off since you were just a lowly sandwich maker at a chain sub place. If you had enough scraped together for lawyers right about now, they’d be totally fucked, you thought to yourself. Even more jarring is that it seemed you lost a handful of memories while in the hospital. You could remember basic outlines of people in your head- your very tall and incredibly testy roommate, your younger sister who wore glasses and was much smaller than you, and… a foggy memory of a man with messy black bedhead who had an arm wrapped around your shoulder. It hurt to think too hard. The doctor soon came by to give you test results, to check your vitals again, and to look over your records. He was a bit terse, but you can’t make the best judgments of people when they’re in plastic suits. “We’ll need to get you cleaned up by tomorrow and you should be able to head home,” he’d said, looking over your chart. You didn’t necessarily feel too ecstatic about your trip to your apartment. You remembered your roommate and how finicky he was, and you dreaded for him to belittle you over your condition. You dreaded it enough to even feel a knot of anxiety form in your stomach, wrenched in between your ribs without the intent of ever coming out. “We’ve already contacted uh…” The doctor squints at the screen, “Tsukishima… to come to pick you up tomorrow at noon. We’ll have care instructions printed out. You still have to quarantine for about a week more since your immune system isn’t at its most prime currently.” You agreed, it probably wasn’t a good recovery idea to make a couple of sammies for the public while you were recovering from a virus that had you intubated. He seemed grateful that you were lucid and cooperative, at least.

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You, predictably, didn’t sleep well after being in a medically induced haze for several days. Even more predictably, you found yourself awake from anxieties of the future. Tomorrow was only a few hours away, and then you’d be home. Home… what did that look like for you? The fog in your head was thick initially. You do remember coming home from classes at a different time than Tsukishima, how when you entered he’d often be reading over homework. You remembered how sometimes he would be in the shower and the scent of cheap green apple soap filled the living room connected to it. You remembered… You remembered holding his thin frame in your arms on a bridge, pulling him back from oncoming traffic. You remember how you both collapsed and how the cold autumn air stung your lungs. You remember wide golden eyes staring back at you, as tears slowly filled them, then his normally impartial voice breaking as he hiccuped a sob, “Why? Why did you have to be in Sendai right now?” You felt tears stinging your eyes and a lump form in your throat. You found yourself in distress of your new emotions. Maybe… maybe you can sleep this horrible feeling off. Maybe this fog in your head where you need to know how deep your relationship ran will lift once you get genuine sleep.

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Finally, a knock on the door encouraged you to rouse from your sleeping state. And eloquently, you spoke your true feelings in your sleep-deprived state,  “No.” You hear the doorknob turn and the door open. There’s a lack of a greeting from your nurse nor a quick apology from your doctor for interrupting your sleep. Actually, if you’re gonna use logic, what nurse or doctor is gonna wake up their peacefully sleeping patient in recovery? Thought of it being your doctor or nurse practically evaporates once the intruder has a seat on your bed. They still haven’t spoken, so now you’re remembering what tricks of self-defense you learned online to give this person a proper ass-kicking for getting way too close. You crack your hazy eyes open to get a look at where they’re sitting and you stop dead in your thoughts as wary gold eyes peer down at you. Your eyes widen out of reflex and butterflies bloom from your stomach at seeing what you now remember is your roommate. “I knew you were awake,” He said, a wry smile on his face. His expression was betrayed by his concerned gaze, though, “Wow, you look like shit.” You don’t know entirely why past his comment feeling not as an insult, but almost as a compliment, but you smile a little, “I feel like it too.” His expression doesn’t change. He runs a large calloused hand through the tresses of your hair, though, as if to soothe you. The doctor walked in and apologized for interrupting the moment between the two of you, unsure if it was something serious. You told him it was nothing because that’s what it was to you.

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The car ride wasn’t filled with the snarky banter you had been expecting. Instead, there was plentiful comfortable silence as Tsukishima drove. You didn’t know whether to be grateful or not for the silence- you still felt quite feeble and needed way more bed rest before you could get ready to do anything for anyone. Despite the wholesome silence, you felt those round gold eyes focus on you occasionally. And even though it was comfortable, you felt a melancholy twinge in the atmosphere as he inspected you. “I know you’ll give me shit for this… but you look like you’ve lost weight. I uh…” He gripped the steering wheel harder. You glanced over at him. A shade of baby pink dusted itself across his cheekbones and nose as he focused on the road. “I’m worried about you.” Fuck, there go those butterflies again. Something in you pushed to help- to comfort- but the logical side of your brain brought you to a halt. You’d weighed it in your head a couple of times. You two act closer than just roommates, and it’s not entirely clear how or why you got up to this point… but you had a solid hunch you might be dating this guy. Maybe? You closed your eyes and rested your head on the car door as you thought. You remember how sand clung to your body and you could hear the roaring of the sea. How you watched Tsukishima focus on the waves to regulate his breathing. You vaguely remember your words breaking away from your throat and catching the salty sea air. “Why don’t we stay together?” His lanky body stiffened, then he looked at you with disbelief. “... you wouldn’t want that. I’m fucking annoying and mean.” Your eyes creased with familiarity at the line. “Yeah? So am I. We can butt heads until we balance each other out.” It looked like he wanted to cry, but his pride wouldn’t let him cry in front of you anymore today. “I won’t ask you why you tried to do what you did today. But I will ask if there’s anyone you can talk to in your life,” you reached a careful hand over to rub his back, “Kei, if there isn’t, let me be that person.” You felt how his breath shuddered. To save his pride, you looked to the ocean and watched its hypnotic movements. After a few deep, shaky inhales and exhales, he replied. “I don’t understand why you’re being nice to me. Why you didn’t let me die. I will probably come back to this point in my life several times and you’re trying to say you’ll put up with it?” There was some bite to his tone, he was trying so hard to put up walls when he had no will to do so at the moment. How long had he pushed others away from being close? If he was anything like you… it was since grade school. “Let me be your support for when you’re in pain,” You tried once more, “I’m stubborn as shit so I know I won’t give up on you.” “You’re not getting it, you fucking idiot. I’m always in pain, that’s just been life,” he snapped bitterly, glaring at you now.  “Then I guess I’ll be by your side forever.” You’d said it without thinking that day. It was like the ocean grew quieter with your words as if even Poseidon became interested in your proposition. You felt heat rise to your face at the implications of what you said. He stared at you with raised eyebrows and the slightest hint of a champagne pink hue on his face. He averted his eyes almost in a panic and watched the ocean again, suddenly very aware of his own expression. You carefully peered over at him again to see he’d only grown redder, now mirroring you. “You… don’t mean that,” He said as if it were a statement. “I do. You’re a good person inside, but you’re defensive and hurt. I’ve seen that from you in the past and I’ve learned more about you today. I want to be there for you as long as you’ll have me. Will you let me?”  He picked at the sand as if thinking it over for a moment. There was a brief pause as waves rolled over each other in front of both of you, the sound of their impact being the only thing to grace your ears. Finally, his cynical tone returned as he regained some form of his prior composure. “Okay, but I’ll kill you if you go back on it.”

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

“Hey. (Y/n), we’re home,” Tsukishima gently shook your shoulder to rouse you from your sleep. You opened your eyes slowly and groaned out a swear. Tsukishima felt a hesitant smile creep up his face as he opted to just try and maneuver you into your shared home himself. He remembered how waking up was hard for you. Once he opened the passenger door you nearly fell out onto the pavement, only saved by your seatbelt and the giant himself. Your face fell awkwardly into his hip, and you grumbled at the interruption to your sleep. “You sleep like the fucking dead, christ,” he mused out loud and sat you up so it was safe to unbuckle your seatbelt. He urged you to get up more- it wasn’t that you were heavy, he just really wasn’t in the place to lift you at the moment and didn’t even know how to go about it. Regardless, he held you up by a shoulder and crouched to make it easier for you both to walk to the apartment. In some part of your sleep, you began to speak, “Kei.” He kept his gaze trained forward at the front door and struggled to grab his keys from his pocket, “Yes?” “Are we married?” Kei dropped his keys, then shot you a look of concern, “... No…?” He had to hold himself back from saying not yet, unsure of what you were getting to. He reached down to grab his keys and he focused back on the door. “Why are you asking?” He unlocked the door and threw it open, getting you both inside finally. He set you on your couch and sat on the floor in front of you. You looked at him suspiciously, now roused from your sleep. The only thing on your mind was that dream- it had to be a memory! You refused to understand it as anything but that. You prodded, “On the beach, I told you I’d be by your side forever.” He seemed to weigh your thoughts heavily in his mind, “... did you forget about us?” You didn’t expect what felt like cold water to hit your back so hard and so suddenly at his suggestion. He didn’t seem hurt at the thought, instead, he found himself occupied with your reaction. His hand reached out to rub the side of your face as you looked at him with wide, guilty eyes. “Don’t worry about it. Your sister told me this kind of thing might happen…” His calloused thumb traced over your lip, and he offered a smile the best he could, “I’ll try to explain it.” Tsukishima explained that what you remembered happened about four years ago and you had been living together ever since. He motioned to photos on the walls of the two of you and people who you could just hardly remember. When you rested your index finger on an individual who was much scrawnier than most of the people there, sitting on the bench with you and watching you speak with admiration, Tsukki put his hand over yours. “That’s your sister. She took most of these pictures, but she usually sits next to you when you have a space available.” You nodded and closed your eyes. You began to remember summers you spent with her in childhood and her yelling at you to do your homework when you bothered her as you got older. You smiled a bit. Once your eyes opened again, your finger traveled to possibly the tallest person in the room. He was big, but you remembered something warm and comfortable about that man… “That’s Kuroo. You both went to the same high school and you were in his friend group.” You both went on like that for a while until you’d cleared everyone in that picture. Once you did, you sat down to think over the new cluster of names you’d picked up. “... when you promised you’d be here with me forever, did you remember what I promised to you?” Kei asked as he sat next to you. “No… I just remember what happened on the beach up until you threatened to kill me if I took back my promise.” “Oh, right. I was going through that phase,” He seemed displeased with the comment. You found it almost funny but refrained from laughing for his sake. He continued, in a quieter tone, “I promised that if something happened to you, that I would always be here for you, too. That I’d get you back into shape.” His larger hand gently entwined with yours, “... so if you remember that promise and you’ll have me, I’d love to marry you once you get your memories back. … If you want to. I-” You cut him off with a hug to his side, trembling a bit as your emotions got the better of you. You smiled up at him. “I can’t promise I’ll be better fast, and I still feel like several trucks ran through me at once… but I’m happy,” you managed out. You didn’t know what your face looked like right about now and you didn’t have the nerve to look up into Kei’s glasses to check your reflection. He wrapped his arms around you in return, pressing the side of his face against your head. “Please, don’t give me an answer yet. You’re not in the right mental state. I’ll wait for you until you’re ready.” You ran your hands up and down his back. You weren’t exactly afraid of remembering things, but you were quite anxious for what tomorrow might bring for both of you. Despite that, you felt safe recovering in his arms, and you were sure you’d feel that way for a long time.

Have a link to the sexy sexy masterlist down here as well. Unless you’re done reading, then have a good day. But if you’re not there’s some fire stuff in that bad boy.

[uwua3]

Yo! Can i ask for a cute Pirate AU with an adventure seeking MC pirate captain, who, when she and her crew are making a stop at some port, meets her childhood friend, Tenma, with whom she has romantic tension, only Tenma is a big blushing tsundere mess, and MC is verrrryyy oblivious to his blushiness, but accidentally innocently flirts with him?? If that makes sense? Also oops the soldiers have seen me, the wanted pirate, wanna get out of here and join my crew?

summary: a deal is made between a pirate captain haunted by their legacy and an island medium who wants to go home

warnings: alcohol, death (mentions), cops/police, crime, fights (physical/arguments), fires, ghosts, military, near–death experiences, pirates, slow-burn, swords, unrequited love/love triangle

author’s note: thank you so much for your patience requesting this pirate story~ i did my best to do this justice, as i love pirates more than anything! .*:ﾟ（｀・ω・´）ゝﾟ:*. this was a jolly good time to write, thank you! (please let me know if you would like a part 02 to this, as it ran longer than expected)! thank you!! :D

word count: 6,163

music: ship in a bottle – fin

captain, let’s make a deal.

☀️🌻 sumeragi tenma

even out at sea, you couldn’t escape the fire that destroyed your town years ago. the fire that made you become a pirate captain

you were born by a local village by the coast, where the air tasted like salt no matter what and trade was your community’s main economy

it was home. a place where everyone knew each other as family, where the sun was hot upon even warmer smiles and the euphoric laughter of children surrounded the island. this was the land of the happy, the free, and the united

it wasn’t until the damn navy—your first enemy until death—came

according to heresay, pirates were supposed to plunder and pillage without mercy. pirates were the villain and yet, what would the navy be then? after what they did to you, they were anything but heroes

yonaguni was made of tall palm trees that provided shade during the eternal summer that sunburnt your skin, floating markets by the pier with tricky elderly and learning apprentinces in the family business, and rare wildlife not found anywhere else

now, it was nothing more than hell. you could remember it all—how the flames licked the open wounds from navy seamen, the screams of the innocent replacing what would’ve been last words meant for decades later, the sound of crashing trees blocking every available escape route as birds flew away in the distance

you were just a yonaguni native, and now, there was nothing left of your hometown. it was permanently erased from world history forever, and you were the sole survivor of the island, making you the most wanted vigilante alive

it had been years since you last had a nightmare of the attack. was haunting your brain and traumautizing you for life during every waking hour not enough?

but, you knew the answer why you couldn’t stop mourning the loss of yonaguni

it was nearing the anniversary of your friend, sumeragi tenma’s, death

and, as you climbed to the crow’s nest with the power of the ocean running through your salted veins and spite overwhelming you in the deepest, darkest parts of yourself, you could see it over the horizon

the navy said dead men tell no tales, but you were alive, and you would be a legend

“all hands ahoy or you’ll be given no quarter!” (everyone on deck or you’ll be shown no mercy)

“aye, captain!” your crew replied eagerly, their loyalty unwavering and strong as always. you stood atop of the main mast, surrounded by vast ocean bordering a blue, cloudless sky. even without your telescope, you could see everything in the world

beneath you sounded the swing of the lines (rope) against the wind before two feet landed in the crow’s nest. the sailor had the type of agility that only came from a boy born on sea

“cap, don’t tell me ya forgot about me?” your quartermaster, rurikawa yuki, grinned (a rare sight that only came when the ocean smelt strongest of salt and treasure), standing at the ledge whilst holding onto the lines with one hand. any other novice would’ve immediately fallen off with how strong the random gusts of wind were, but yuki was an enigma and your second in command for a reason

“ahoy, yuki! so long as the jolly rodger waves, this crew will always be ready to set sail.” you responded, sliding down the mast to be in the crow’s nest as well. yuki just rolled his eyes, crossing his arms and leaning upon your frame like it was nothing

“don’t hornswaggle (cheat) me, cap. what are you thinking about?” yuki read you like a map, as expected of the second best cartographer (after master boatswain muku, of course) in all the seven seas. you tried to remain present in the moment, with the wind flowing and sky clear, but it wasn’t enough

“... tell me, yuki. is it so easy to read the distraught upon my face?” you joked, but it fell flat as yuki raised an unimpressed eyebrow at your facade. yuki didn’t take bullshit from anyone, not even his own captain

“aye, do not be acting as if you’re feeding the fish (about to die), captain.” yuki carefully watched if any of their small crew was eavesdropping, but the rest were doing their proper tasks for the morning. cartographer muku was happily reading directions to helmsman misumi. the two were a fantastic pair, considering the “sky” ship hasn’t sunken

surgeon kazunari was dutifully sanitizing his medical tools besides them, taking some time to laugh loudly at some story misumi was dramatically reenacting as he spun the wheel skillfully

“boom about!” yuki called out without looking away, already feeling it in his bones moments before anyone else could. his intuition was unheard of, and you watched no one hesitate as they ducked just in time

“sorry~!” misumi responded without any apologetic tone to his voice whatsoever. his sailor’s grin was infectious and wide, a smile only those accustomed to the fatal winds and waves of the ocean could make. just like everyone else on the “sky” ship, they all were forged by the sea

“smartly make way to land before i toss you off myself!” yuki snapped, but it held no malice. he rolled his eyes unimpressed when kazunari laughed at misumi’s sarcastic salute, knowing pirates did no such navy thing without mockery

“oh, dear yuki, how could i drown with you by my side?” you reached over to ruffle his hair, the precarious creak of the wooden mast the last thing on your mind as yuki swatted at your hand, irritated by the littlest of things as always

“you’re right, i’ll have your head first anyways.” yuki said with no malice, giving you a small frown as his calculating eyes glanced over you once more, trying to find any cracks in your confident visage. when he found nothing, he climbed back down, seemingly unsatisfied when you didn’t break under his stare

(you were one of the few on the crew who didn’t flinch. the other was misumi, who just had no fear towards anything, so it wasn’t personal. after all, misumi was the finest swashbuckler around!)

ahead, your acute sight narrowed in on the growing formation in the distance, your gut tensing before realizing it was far too large to be another ship

with a grin, you hanged over the edge (a habit that no longer scares your crew), your voice amplified as it was carried downward by the wind. it was to be expected, of course, as a yonaguni native, your town always had a special connection to nature that no one else did

“my men, turn your heads and look forward into the horizon! what do you see?”

“land, captain!”

“then let us sail faster! the sooner we reach the shores, the quicker you all can take a damn shower!”

with a shared lighthearted laugh, everyone focused on their role and position towards the land mass ahead. whether it was the possibility of smelling like something else other than a siren’s cove or something more, you smiled, forgetting about last night’s sleepless disturbances

up ahead was fukusaki, sky crew’s next location for the night

after three months or so on sea, your crew’s resources were dwindling (much faster since everyone had a bottomless appetite). it was time to visit a port town to stock up and set sail the next sunrise

sure, it was a rushed habit of yours, but it was never good to stay in one place for too long. that came with the risk of losing again...

besides, who liked a crew of pirates to suddenly come to the town square in their stained clothing and gleaming swords?

after barely securing a place to tie down the great beauty known as “sky”, entering fukusaki was like any other town. merchants upon the docks were experts at haggling prices, civilians went by with their day to day life, and the sun burned everyone’s skin just the same

but as you placed your leather boot upon the wooden dock, something inside you turned. like something had suddenly shifted in the town but you had no idea what

yuki seemed to have felt the same thing, even if his facial expression didn’t change. as kazunari kept muku from fighting with a seller for a map of the local area (misumi was unfortunately encouraging him), yuki inched closer to you, his brows furrowed

“you feel that? something isn’t right.” yuki bluntly stated, eyes scanning his surroundings like usual. except he didn’t know what he was looking for, so a frustrated sigh left his lips

“aye, feels as if someone’s running a rig (playing a trick) on us...” you murmured under your breath, careful not to alarm the returning muku with haughtiness ablaze in his eyes and sheepishness from an apologizing but relieved kazunari (it was hard to believe muku used to be shy prior to joining)

“keep a look out. let you know if somethin’s amiss.” yuki peeled away, checking in with muku asking where the closest tavern was. at the mention of alcohol, misumi jumped in, rambling about how he had already talked to a local about all the best spots

you took a moment to take a deep breath in, the scent of palm trees and fruit replacing your usual endless seas. it wasn’t unsettling, just new. your sea legs itched to return to somewhere always changing, always new, but you knew you couldn’t do that to your friends

you straightened your back and walked with the confidence of a true pirate captain, swinging both your arms around kazunari and misumi, peering down at the map with an easy smile

“alright my hearties, where to?”

this gut feeling could wait, you had a few hours to relax before everything turned upside down

of course the captain got the most inconvenient yet boring jobs that could’ve been assigned

(yuki didn’t look sorry as he happily enjoyed your childish huff at being the grocery shopper, knowing how much you hated to interact with people outside of the crew)

due to your very limited people skills, you awkwardly tried to summon your confidence to come back around all the fukusaki shop vendors. when you were with your crew, all eyes were on you and how high your head was held. but, when alone... a captain was nothing without its crew, you supposed

a messily scrawled list by kazunari was in your hand (never ask a doctor to write anything) as you tried to decipher the words, holding it up to the sun to figure out what the hell he wanted

after getting the main idea of what each person wanted within budget, you stood on the outskirts of the town square, desperately trying to decide what was the best way to approach this situation

you couldn’t appear helpless or confused! how were you supposed to haggle in this state of mind?! as you slowly spun around in a circle to view all of the sellers before settling on a rather small, unimpressive stand

maybe that meant cheaper prices! you thought cleverly, walking over with the poise of a seasoned native. with a neutral expression, you reached a wooden display with a certain swagger to your step

however... there was nothing. as you stood in the front of the set-up and realized no one was there, you couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. what kind of service was this? was there no one actually here to sell anything?

before you could leave, a flash of orange appeared in front of you, purple eyes wide as if surprised they even received a customer. “w-wait!” he called out, nearly falling over his own table. this kid would clearly not make it upon a ship, you thought

for whatever reason, you stopped, looking over your shoulder with an unimpressed expression at the simple boy. he was tall and lean, wearing a bandana around his orange hair and an unbuttoned shirt. it was a casual appearance unfit for a merchant

“what is it? i’ve got places to be and there’s nothing here to be sold.” you stated, a wave of shock passing over his face before solidifying in a stubborn crease in his forehead

“huh? what are you talking about? haven’t you come here to get rid of that?”

when he reached out, you jolted back, a surge of energy visible in your body. you felt that strongly, what the hell did this random merchant do to you?!

“w—calm down! stop moving or i can’t remove the yokai! you’re making this difficult.” he demanded roughly, his proper words clipped from an accent unlike any other on this island. there was a certain... twang, to his vocabulary. as if it didn’t sit right, as if it was on the tip of his tongue

so much for customer service! you didn’t listen, dodging his hand like your life depended on it. as you ducked beneath his arm, you gripped his bicep with a death glare. at your narrowed eyes, the orange-haired boy gulped and stared back with astonishment

clearly, fukusaki natives weren’t this rude

“yokai? what the hell are you blubberin’ about, kid?” you questioned, your patience thin like a century-old rope worn down by salt. he set his lips in a straight line, as if trying to assess if you were serious or not. when you didn’t budge, he yanked his arm back and rubbed the sore spot, giving in

“ghosts. you got more spirits than normal around you, they’ve been there for a long time.”

you were about to retort, but fell silent at the remembrance of yonaguni. had your ancestors been with you all this time? you almost couldn’t believe you’ve been actually haunted by their deaths for this long

“i have no ghosts. do not try to scam me.” you flatly said before turning on your heel, intent on leaving the possibility of ghosts behind before tenma took a hold on your arm this time

“but, they’re trying to tell you—”

before tenma could finish, an irritated and offended voice boomed just down the cobblestone pathway

“you dare lay your hand on our captain?!”

“yuki, wait!” the crew clambered after him, hands always short of his shirt fabric as yuki’s sword made a sickening sound when pulled out of its sheath. the orange-haired boy let go immediately, attempting to make a run for it before coming face to face with misumi, whose previous smile was cold and nonexistent

it was as if the other merchants disappeared, fearing a start of a fight would be terrible for business. tenma was caught in the middle of a 5-person circle, with yuki pointing the tip of his sword at his throat

“state your name and business for grabbing our captain like that!” yuki was adamant on proving his sword was real by putting it closer to the boy’s adam’s apple. he tried not to shake under the pressure, but you noticed how his feet had no shoes and looked ready to run to anywhere but here

“um... t—johnny. it’s johnny, and i simply belong to a family of fukusaki mediums, that’s all.” johnny(?) said, as if trying to convince himself. all of you secretly exchanged a look, trying to decide whether or not to believe this so-called johnny

“you see ghosts?” yuki scoffed, his position already clear on the issue. ever since you two have met, you knew yuki never believed in anything involving the supernatural. after all, so many mysteries were hidden in the ocean, yuki doubted anything could scare him on land

but, you... you’re starting to believe johnny as you notice his eyes waver towards you. maybe not so much you, but whatever was surrounding you

“yes, sir. i can communicate with them as well. ever since i was a young boy, i’ve brought peace to the dead.” your head snapped towards him at that, something inside of you turning

that boy could bring your ancestors peace? could it be too good to be true? as if hearing your thoughts, johnny nodded to reaffirm your beliefs

before anyone else can join in on the questioning, you held your hand up and everyone fell silent, waiting for your next words. you could easily tell yuki to kill this boy and he would... but you won’t

“how much are your services?”

johnny blinked, clearly not used to this question as he mentally calculated whatever in his head. “uh... i usually don’t get paid.”

“if we took you on your ship, how much then?” (you immediately hushed a protesting yuki and wary crew)

“my payment wouldn’t be money.” johnny quickly said, almost shocking himself with how fast that answer came. you raised an eyebrow at that, about to question his terms before muku turned, eyebrows furrowed

“there’s someone coming.” muku whispered in a hush, immediately on guard as everyone shifted to a defensive position. at the first sound of a boot on ground, kazunari’s eyes widened. a telltale sign of the cop’s traditional uniform, which kazunari knew better than most

“go! go! go!” you ordered, everyone taking off running. without thinking, you took a hold of johnny’s hand. he squeezed it without flinching, turning and impressively staying by your side even as you got faster and faster

you were fast, but you despised running with a passion. if you closed your eyes longer than a blink, you could almost smell the smoke and crack of the tree trunks. for some reason, johnny smelt like coconut, and that humored you to a certain extent as your crew ran for their lives from the officers. someone must’ve alerted local authorities nearby...

even with a map, muku was lost to the island’s complex system. despite being quick on his feet, muku’s eyes frantically analyzed the outdated lines and pressed his lips into a straight line out of frustration. you knew you should’ve stepped in, but what could you have done?

“follow me!” johnny whispered hurriedly, turning into a waypoint before stopping and looking back. your crew subconsciously looked towards you as well, as if asking if this fukasaki native was trustworthy

though, it’s not like you had a choice now

you ran with johnny, the rest of your crew following suit. when you reached a dead end, you expected this to be a mistake before johnny nimbly flung himself up the ivy-covered wall, landing with a hard thud as if he hadn’t done so in a long time. ignoring the pain, johnny extended his hand an impressive height away

“grab my hand and we’ll be free!” pirates weren’t one to say no to freedom (or put all their coins in one chest...), so you got down to provide a boost to your crew mates. it wasn’t a time to be noble, so they all took your support without complaining, easily being able to run past johnny

when it was your turn, the sound of polished boots grew increasingly closer, much to your chagrin. you backed up quietly, gulping and trying not to look behind you as you glanced up. both johnny and yuki were standing there, their hands extended as you got a running start

you closed your eyes, breathed in the imaginary smoke, and leaped, feeling the grip of both their hands upon yours as they helped you up. just as you ducked beneath the foliage, you breathed a sigh of relief as the officers ran by without sparing a second look

when you opened your eyes, you noticed johnny was still holding your hand, his fist tight around yours as you could practically feel his heartbeat through leaning on his shoulder

you got up to thank johnny before noticing yuki’s uncharacteristic quietness and the way his eyes looked between you and johnny... as if he was betrayed

you didn’t think more of it despite the sinking feeling in your stomach

it was a night to celebrate! escaping the cops was no easy feat, especially on a foreign island. your crew, who had taken a liking to johnny’s ability to hold his own, invited him to drinks (not that they needed guidance to the safest tavern, of course...)

you nursed your own drink of choice at a rickety table with the crew, watching as they became less like pirates and more like their own ages with a few drinks and good music. yuki didn’t drink, which was something that had always occurred no matter where they went

johnny was flustered under all the attention, or it was the alcohol everyone insisted he could keep down. you stifled a chuckle when kazunari hooked his arm around tenma’s neck and ruffled his hair, the look upon his face priceless

you took a sip before lowering the cup’s rim, noticing yuki’s wary gaze. he met your eye with a frown, as if hesitating on what to say next. once again, how strange

“captain,” at that, you tried not to outwardly wince. it wasn’t common for yuki to be so... formal with you, at least. “do you truly intend on bringing this stranger with us?”

“johnny is no stranger anymore, yuki. he saved our lives, we are indebted to him.” you flatly said, glancing at johnny once more. yuki huffed, clearly disagreeing with your opinion as he rolled his eyes

“we would’ve been just fine without him. plus, he’s a medium! how do you know he’s the real deal, anyways?”

“i just... know.” you tried to elaborate, but it fell on deaf ears. there were some parts of your past you just couldn’t elaborate on, some parts that wouldn’t make sense to a non-yonaguni native

yuki slammed his water on the wooden table, a sound barely distinguishable in the rowdy atmosphere before getting up with a skid of the stool. he silently left, no doubt heading back to the docks where the stars shined the brightest and moon made things shrouded in dark more visible

you got up and followed without speaking another word. the crew knew disagreements between you & yuki were far and few, so there was no time to ask silly questions

when you reached the outside, the salt in the air and muffled sound of everyone having fun made you stop. behind you, you noticed the door didn’t slam completely as a quick-footed pair of feet made their way besides you

“are... you okay?” johnny asked, his hands in his linen pockets as you exhaled, nodding as you leaned onto the wall. johnny stiffly stood by the door, as if guarding it

“yeah, yeah. i am... just a little tussle, that’s all.” you sounded as if you were trying to convince yourself, but neither of you pointed it out. a few moments of awkward silence passed, before johnny cleared his throat

“okay, i didn’t hear nothin’. just... heard the spirits around you get loud.”

there he went again about the ghosts and spirits! you subconsciously patted your hair down flat, turning to look at johnny with yuki-like skepticism in your narrowed eyes

“how can you see there are ghosts on me? how do i know you’re not pullin’ my leg?” you suspiciously questioned, watching as johnny bristled under the attention. it seemed as if the island natives didn’t question his credibility as a medium

“you know i’m right. you have tens, maybe more, spirits attached to you. i can help you take them away, for a price, of course.”

“which is?”

“i want to find an island lost to me long ago.”

if you blinked, you could’ve sworn you were talking to a past-version of yourself. why did that request seem so familiar?

“do you know its name?”

“nay... my family refuses to tell me anything about where i’m from. all i know is the navy is the reason i lost my parents.”

“mine too.” you admitted with a breath and the conversation paused, you two sharing an understanding expression of sympathy but unshakable faith. you two understood each other despite knowing one another for a few hours

“then, is it settled?” johnny held out his hand, which you took with a firm grip. his palms were soft for an islander, funny enough. he must’ve thought differently since this was one of the few times you took off your leather gloves

“as long as you bring peace to my ancestors, you’re comin’ with me.”

when the hours became late and you ultimately decided everyone passed their limit a long time ago, you and johnny led them all to their barracks with laughs and humor in the air

when you reached the docks, yuki was barely noticeable in the night as he stood upon the mast of the ship, his hair waving in the wind like a flag

he didn’t look at you, not once, so you didn’t climb up. how could you when johnny was holding your hand with his eyes flickering back to you, or whatever was around you?

you introduced johnny to his new quarters and left him to be, feeling free for once in your life that night

morning came with the unfurling of your sails and your position in the crow’s nest. the sky was blue and cloudless, just like everyone predicted as the sea welcomed your crew into its arms

“ahoy, my hearties! off we go to find our next treasure!” you commanded joyously, the crew hurrah-ing in return at your enthusiasm. like most pirates did, your crew’s goal when off-land was to find a ship to rob and make off with their goods

you turned to the side, about to say something before realizing yuki wasn’t next to you. he must’ve slept in, that’s all. you didn’t question it even if he was always on time the years you knew him

disguising your expression of disappointment, you left your crew to their own means, sliding down the mast as per usual. when you landed, you noticed johnny standing awkwardly to the side as everyone was doing their own job

“hey, johnny! what are you muckin’ around for?” you questioned lightheartedly, slamming your freshly-shined boots (after an unfortunate drunk throw-up incident) upon the oak boards. johnny flinched from the sound, unaccustomed to the constantly-busy atmosphere of a large ship

“do you... need any help? i kinda, feel guilty just lazing about in my quarters.” johnny confessed, a red flush against his face as he rubbed the back of his permanently-sunburned neck. you were taken back for a moment, not used to being offered help

“um... you seem to know how to throw a person off their rhythm! i have nothing on mind as of now, hmmm....” after much consideration, you snapped your fingers with a start. “perhaps consider shadowing me for today! get the feel of a captain’s life—”

“no need, captain. i will take him off your hands for you.”

you turned to see yuki besides you, his feet silent and eyes attentive as always. you sensed the tension still imbedded between you two, gulping as you tugged at the collar of your shirt. for some reason, you immediately felt disappointed at the missing opportunity of tenma being with you

why were you feeling this way?! there was no reason to think like that as a busy, efficient pirate captain!

“thank you, yuki. return him in one piece, alright?” you joked, turning away to review what needed to be done that day. as you left, you didn’t notice yuki place a cold grip on johnny’s shoulder with an uncharacteristically eerie stoic pose

johnny looked after you, wondering what was behind that shroud of spirits who wanted nothing more than to see you freed of them

“you’re quite lucky the captain has taken quite a liking to you, johnny, was it?”

yuki & johnny found themselves ending the ship’s tour in the underground of the main deck, located along the cannons placed in their corresponding holes. the smell of gunpowder and flint was nearly suffocating, but yuki moved with ease and seemed to revel in johnny’s tight expression

“y-yes... the captain is very kind and charitable to take me on board.” johnny managed to get out without coughing, his eyes inspecting the materials and wondered how loud it truly was during battle

“you agreed to come so soon. you have no family of your own?” yuki asked innocently, mindlessly fixing the placements of the bombs behind the barrels. johnny shook his head, explaining it wasn’t an emotional attachment he had to fukusaki

“how... suspiciously fortunate.” yuki deadpanned, suddenly whipping around with a blank stare. it caught johnny off guard, who nearly stumbled back into a cannon. yuki wasn’t armed, but his tense demeanor and personality change was jarring

“listen, kid, i’ve got no clue who you are, but you have no reason to be upon this ship.” with every word, yuki seemed to come closer until his pointer finger pushed in the center of johnny’s chest

“you may have fooled everyone else, but our captain has always been too naive. i see right through you, johnny. who are you, really?”

johnny shuddered, backed against the wall and desperately holding onto anything that can keep his wobbly legs up. he didn’t know if it was the rocky seas or yuki’s simmering anger, but he felt like he was staring straight into one of those cannons

“i’m johnny, an island medium who sees ghosts on your captain. it is my duty to let them go, that’s all.”

a moment passed, before yuki took a few steps back. before johnny could react, he found the tip of a real sword pointed at his neck once again

“you’re lying, i know it. do not make me ask you again, who are you?”

johnny tried to remain placid in the face of a weapon, but he gritted his teeth and couldn’t help himself

“why the hell does it matter to you? are you in love with your captain or something?!”

silence, then yuki lowered his sword. he sheathed it back, before turning and leaving without another word. johnny let out a deep breath, sinking to the floor as he closed his eyes

if johnny listened hard enough, he could hear your spirits try to communicate with him. but, their voices were garbled and unlike anything he’s heard before. who were you and why was he here?

the first time you & johnny met in terms of spirits was two weeks after a pattern of sleepless nights

he already found you teetering close to the edge, your hands folded as you searched for something, or someone, past the blackened seas

it was as if some savage sea monster had spilt its ink-like blood into the waters, the once blue surface that reflected lucky skies now murky and as mysterious as the dark side of the moon

with your usual guarded glint now gone, you still seemed just as capable to be the one responsible for such dark seas

“good evening.” johnny mumbled lowly, placing the lantern besides his feet as he made his way next to you. you hummed, not particularly fazed by his sudden appearance despite not paying attention. it’s as if you had eyes in the back of your head, like a sea monster

“i suppose fukusaki isn’t used to the rocking of wooden ships?” you retorted, to which johnny sharply exhaled through his nose, a sign of amusement at your observation

“nay, but... i haven’t been able to properly maintain my sleep schedule ever since boarding. your spirits... are rather loud for ghosts.”

you full-on laughed at this, disturbing the intimate atmosphere between you two. johnny couldn’t help but smile at your worn-down exterior. you presented yourself like you were made of a glass bottle, but you were as intricate as a carved artisan ship

“try living with them your whole life, boy, then you can start complaining about their volume.” you jested lightheartedly, offering a soft smile at the newest recruit. as you leaned back onto the railing of the ship, you watched the constant surface of the waves, as if you could anchor your endless thoughts to davey jone’s locker

johnny mimicked your position, his elbow knocking into yours. his hands were much too soft for a seasoned sailor, you noticed this in the dim lantern light. for a moment, you let your impulses take over and you wondered how they felt against yours

“pardon my words, but when will you let me speak to them? i can never find you through the day...” johnny began to ask, but trailed off when your salted eyes and weariness became apparent in the way you exhaled quietly

“it is not your fault but mine, johnny. this is my ship and i am the captain, that’s all. i cannot allow myself to suddenly become weak in case i am needed.” you spoke like a true hero, well, as much of a hero a pirate could be

johnny didn’t exactly understand, considering he just got up and left his entire life on a whim of a promise to find out who he was. but, he nodded anyways, watching blurred movements of entities swirl around your head like troubled smoke

“what about now? will you let me—?” when johnny reached out, you immediately stepped back, your lips pressed in a straight line as if restraining your true reaction

“you look for every reason to touch me, don’t you?” you tried to force it out like it was nothing, but it was clear how your boots twisted like they were prepared to run away

when was the last time someone physically comforted you in any sense? or... comforted you at all?

“captain...” johnny mumbled, eyes wide with pity and you couldn’t stand it. he called you captain, but he didn’t revere you like a typical person would. he didn’t flinch at your sword or head held high, it was unnerving

“what is the purpose of having a crew if they cannot help you through this?”

the wind wailing against your ears reminded you of how little time there was in a day, and how the sun would rise soon and this cycle of pretending everything was okay would begin again

it was maddening, to live the same day again and again with no change

johnny perhaps was someone you looked forward to, a diversion from the expected

“do you consider yourself apart of my crew, then?” when johnny took a moment to think, you wondered what he was remembering. was it the night where misumi pretended to fall over board to scare everyone or was it when kazunari didn’t react to seeing a skeleton that time? was it when muku could predict every type of weather for the next day without fail or when yuki finally cracked at a joke after a hour of pretending nothing was funny?

or, was it when you two shared glances across the deck, clinked your glasses a little too long, or when your hands ghosted over another when pulling lines?

“yes, your crew is my own as well. and like them, i wish to help you, if you’d let me.”

you always found yourself unsure around johnny, unaware of how to respond in a way worthy of your pirate captain title. as you hesitated, johnny looked you in the eyes and his eyes reminded you of storm clouds thundering in the distance

“why else would you take me on the ‘sky’? if you didn’t want help?”

perhaps those were words you would reveal later, but you couldn’t bring yourself to share the real answer. it was a gut feeling that your world would be turned upside down, and you were right when you felt your throat dry at johnny’s hopeful gaze

johnny continued on, straightening his usual bent posture and his voice carried, like he was one with nature. as if they supported him unconditionally

“i know this is your own battle to win and this is your ship and you are my—our captain, but please... let’s make a deal.”

you stood, intrigued, as you witnessed a side of johnny never seen before. once meek, once easily intimidated, now talked to you like an equal

“let’s promise to say things we both really feel. be honest with me, do you want me to help? to remove the spirits and let them move on?” when you nodded, johnny let out a breath of relief and moved closer, gathering your hands in his. when you didn’t pull away and only tensed, he spoke as if he was sure things would change

“i can help you, i can make them go away. you bring me back to my home, i let your spirits go home. deal?”

“is that how you truly feel?”

“and more.” johnny’s eyes glanced down, and you felt your heart stutter as if the surface rocked

“i feel the same way. i wish to help you.”

that night, you remembered for the first time in a long time, a captain was nothing without its crew

[mymoonagedaydream]

Only the Good Die Young (Part 7)

Summary: There were just a few more hoops you had to jump through before you and Bucky could be happy

Pairing: Biker!Bucky x y/n

Word Count: 2.5k

Warnings: Language, anti-religious sentiment, harmful relationship with parents, smut references

Author's Note: This is the Time. It’s always the time for Billy Joel. No, I haven’t taken this too far. If anything, I haven’t taken this far enough. You’ll see. You’ll all see.

This part is dedicated to the anon message I got earlier which simply read ‘UPDATE OTGDY ITS SO GOOD’, cause the mix of affection and vaguely threatening demand absolutely made my day. I love you, whoever you are. 

---

You spent the whole next day researching places you could move to. Something small, cosy and close to the beach would’ve been ideal, but anything a significant distance away with four walls and a roof would do. 

You tried to get some preferences out of Bucky, but he insisted that he wasn’t picky, and that he’d be happy as long as you were. 

When he got back from work you cornered him in the kitchen, enthusiastically telling him about everything you’d found. He’d had a pretty long day, but your excitement seemed to cheer him up a bit. 

Not long afterwards, the two of you were curled up on the couch, flicking through beautiful, unbelievably expensive beachfront properties and dreaming about the kind of future in which you could afford them.

Your current situation, however, was presenting issues of its own- the most pressing one being that most of your belongings were still at your parents’ house. 

There was a vague plan in your head for how you were going to retrieve them but, in all honesty, you were really trying not to think too much about it. You had a terrible tendency to overthink, and doing that would only cause you to put it off for longer.

Unfortunately, you’d completely forgotten to tell Bucky all this, so he decided to bring it up casually while you were doing the dishes.

‘So, when are we paying your folks a visit?’

‘We’re not.’ He flung the dish cloth over his shoulder and shot you a confused frown. ‘I still have a key, so I was thinking we’d sneak over on Sunday morning while they’re at church.’

‘Damn, that’s a shame. I’d really like to get to know them better.’

‘You’re such an ass.’ You grabbed a handful of soap bubbles and blew them at him, laughing as he tried to protect his hair. ‘They’d only call the cops on you anyway.’ 

‘That’s half the fun of it.’

You spun round and playfully pointed your finger at him. ‘I thought we’d established that I am not cut out for being a prison girlfriend. For one, I couldn’t pull off the juicy couture tracksuit.’

A mischievous smile spread across his face. ‘Oh you definitely could.’

---

Sunday came around a little too fast for your liking. 

The two of you walked to your parents’ house, but only after you’d taken an unbelievably long time convincing Bucky that he wouldn’t be able to strap two suitcases to the back of his bike. 

He’d also suggested towing them on their castors, like trailers. 

You were moving in with this man.

The closer you got, the tighter your grip on Bucky’s hand became. When the house came into view and you saw that the car was gone, you calmed down a little, but still stayed extremely cautious in your approach.  

As long as you’d been alive they’d never missed Sunday mass, however, by this point, you’d completely given up trying to predict their behaviour. You wouldn’t have been surprised if they’d both stuffed themselves into the mailbox, waiting to jump out at you.

With the coast seemingly clear, you unlocked the house and scurried inside.

Bucky stepped through the door and immediately couldn’t hold in his laughter. You weren’t sure if it was all the crucifixes, the bible quote plaques on the kitchen wall or the plastic coated sofa cushions, but he was endlessly amused. 

After letting him have his fun for a while, you gestured for him to follow you upstairs. Reaching your bedroom door, you turned to warn him about how your mother’s taste had inexplicably worsened while decorating in there, but he’d disappeared. 

You heard faint chuckling coming from your parents’ bedroom. 

Rolling your eyes and huffing, you trudged through to see him holding their bedside bible, flicking through it amusedly. 

‘What are you doing Buck?’

‘I’m trying to find the bit where it tells you which sex positions are god-approved.’ 

He caught you off guard, making you burst out laughing. Your mother would absolutely flip her shit if she found out Bucky had been in her bedroom, but knowing that made you much less likely to drag him out. 

‘Try Leviticus.’ You strolled over and rested your chin on his shoulder. ‘That’s where all the weird stuff is.’ 

He raised a cheeky eyebrow and started skimming faster through the book, stopping occasionally to read a few lines, feign disappointment at the content, and rip the page out. You tried to grab it from him, but he moved it just out of your reach and carried on.

‘Oh here it is.’ Still holding the book with one hand, he suddenly grabbed you round the waist with his other arm and pushed you onto your parents’ bed, climbing on top of you. ‘Let’s give some of these a try.’

You laughed as he threw the bible onto the floor and started kissing down your neck. Brushing your hand over his hair, you almost got lost in the moment, before remembering how little time you had before your parents got back. 

‘We really don’t have time for this Buck.’

‘We always have time for something that’ll piss your mom off.’ 

You shoved his shoulders playfully, making him reluctantly push himself back onto his feet and pull you up after him. 

The two of you walked through to your room, leaving the bed sheets messed up and bible pages scattered all over the floor. You didn’t mind her thinking something had happened, even though it hadn’t. You just wished you could’ve seen the look on her face. 

Time was ticking but, thankfully, you’d never had the chance to properly unpack anyway. All you really had to do was grab one or two things and zip your suitcases back up. 

‘Jesus Christ, are your clothes made of lead?’ Bucky’s only job was to help carry the cases downstairs, yet he still found cause for complaint.

‘Oh that one is mainly textbooks. That’s why you’re carrying it.’

He frowned, still bent double, dragging the suitcase into the hallway. ‘Can’t you just leave those here? You’re not gonna need them.’

‘I know, but my parents paid for them, and I’m gonna resell them. Will probably fetch a decent chunk of our first month’s rent.’ 

He stood up straight and gave you a proud smile. ‘I knew there was a reason I liked you.’

He disappeared down the hallway as you finished gathering your last few things. You zipped up the second case and rolled it out of your bedroom, endlessly relieved thinking about how you never had to come back here. 

Even if your current plans didn’t work out, you were determined that this severing of ties was permanent. 

As you reached the bottom of the stairs, you saw Bucky on the sidewalk outside, sitting on your suitcase and lighting a cigarette. He looked up towards you, but his attention was immediately caught by something else, making his face drop. You stepped through the door and followed his gaze. 

It was your parents’ car, pulling up on the driveway. 

They must’ve left church early. Of course that’d happen on the one day you really needed it not to. 

You tried to come up with some course of action, but all that was going through your mind was fuckshitfuck. 

You heard the fast clicking of heels against stone and your mother appeared from behind the car, storming towards Bucky with her usual venomous expression. 

‘Get off of my property.’

He looked down. ‘Um, I’m pretty sure this is a sidewalk.’

You yanked your suitcase over the threshold and slammed the door behind you, drawing her attention.

‘What do you think you’re doing?’ She screeched, probably waking up every baby within a five-mile-radius.

You didn’t respond, marching away from the house as fast as possible and keeping your gaze fixed on the ground. Before you reached the sidewalk, you felt a hand grip your arm tight and yank you back, almost pulling you off your feet. You turned round to see your father, looking like he was ready to kill someone. 

Before you could really process what was happening, Bucky had planted himself in front of you, giving your father’s shoulders an almighty shove. Your arm was released as they squared up to each other, your mother in the wings encouraging her husband to start throwing punches- cause that’s what good Catholics do. 

Then something happened that you wouldn’t have predicted in a million years. 

Bucky walked away. 

He reached for your hand and led you back to the sidewalk, grabbing the other suitcase without breaking stride. The two of you hustled away from the house as fast as you could, not looking back or responding to anything shouted after you. 

Despite what’d just happened, you couldn’t help but crack a smile. You’d never seen him walk away from a fight on his own before. 

---

The walk home was quiet once your parents’ voices had faded into the distance. You kept glancing over to see if he looked angry, but he seemed alright. 

Was this… progress?

When you got home, Bucky dragged your suitcases into the middle of the front room and unzipped them both. By the time you’d made it through the apartment door, your clothes were littered all over the place and he was wearing a pair of your best underwear stretched over his jeans.

‘I like these.’

You were pretty shocked at how good a mood he seemed to be in, but you weren’t about to question it.

‘It’s a shame you’ve stretched them beyond all recognition, then.’

You chased him round, trying to yank them off him for a while, but he was a slippery little fucker when he wanted to be. 

You debated properly unpacking all your clothes, eventually figuring that you were moving soon anyway, so there was really no point. 

So, your overflowing suitcases ended up piled in the corner, and you and Bucky ended up tangled together on the couch for the next couple hours. It was so nice just being able to relax and decompress after such a shitty situation, usually you’d just be arguing or cleaning his wounds. 

You were almost at the point of nodding off, when Buck unceremoniously jolted you back awake by jumping up and proclaiming his next great idea.

‘Alright, there’s gotta be somewhere nice in this stinking town. I’m gonna take you out on a proper date.’

���Yeah?’ A warm, sleepy smile spread across your face. 

‘Yeah.’ He lifted you off the couch and threw you over his shoulder. ‘C’mon let’s get you dressed.’ 

You dug around for something nice, half-dreading what Bucky had planned for the evening. He was great in so many ways, but you were struggling to forget that the last time he took you for a night out, he ended up leaving in a cop car.

---

You kept trying to guess your destination from the route Bucky was taking you, but you came up with nothing. The only time you’d been to this part of town was when you were fourteen and your dad brought you to help collect a life-size, wooden virgin Mary statue that he’d bought from a seedy guy at church. 

Sometimes you wondered if your childhood was actually just a series of really vivid fever dreams...

Bucky pulled you into his side as you were walking. ‘We’re nearly there.’ 

‘If this is another dive bar I swear to god-’

‘You think so little of me.’ You raised an unamused eyebrow. ‘Yeah, fair enough.’

You turned the corner, and almost had to double-take. It was a little Italian restaurant, tucked between some vague office buildings but lit up like a golden Christmas tree. It looked like it couldn’t seat more than ten people, but that just added to its charm. Bucky led you inside and the waiter sat you at a little table in the corner. 

He’d really nailed it, the place was beautiful.

You both ordered and sat in comfortable silence for a minute, taking in your surroundings. Maybe it was more than a minute, you weren’t too sure, you’d gotten a little lost in your thoughts.

‘What’s up?’ Bucky snapped you back to reality. ‘That’s your deep thinking face.’

‘I dunno, it’s just... I keep forgetting that we’ve only properly known each other for a few weeks. It feels like we’ve lived through a lifetime.’

He leant back, smirking a little as he thought about it. ‘I guess someday we’ll look back and have to laugh.’

‘Someday?’

‘Oh yeah. I've got plans for you.’

You smirked and narrowed your eyes a little, leaning towards him and whispering ‘I know it probably wasn’t intentional, but that sounded vaguely threatening.’

He chuckled into his glass, wincing slightly before swallowing the wine. You told him you really wouldn’t mind him sticking to beer, but he insisted that he wanted to go the whole hog with this fancy dinner-date. It was just a shame that the bottle he’d ordered completely at random ended up tasting like ass, bless him.

You’d been meaning to bring up what’d happened earlier on the walk over, but you’d struggled to find the right moment or to come up with wording that wasn’t unbelievably patronising. 

Well done for not punching my dad by the way, really proud of you kiddo. 

‘I also wanted to say.’ Here goes nothing. ‘What you did today, I really appreciated it.’

‘What, wearing your underwear?’

You gave him a playful scowl before smiling and reaching over the table, placing your hands on his. 

‘I know sometimes you struggle to control this self-destructive streak, but you walked away from a fight today. I’ve never seen you do that before, it really meant a lot.’

His smile slowly dropped. Shit, had you upset him? That was about as diplomatically as you could have worded it. Maybe you should’ve just kept quiet. 

‘It hardly makes up for all the other times, though.’ His eyes flicked away from yours, moving down to stare at your hands. ‘Y’know, before you came back, the stuff I did… it was some kind of miracle that I survived.’

‘Don’t say that.’

‘It’s true. It was more than a self-destructive streak, I really just had nothing to live for.’ 

Jesus, that knocked you back. You felt like you’d been winded. The worst part was that he didn’t even look upset, he’d just fallen into this heart-breaking expression of sunken acceptance.

You squeezed his hands hard. ‘Things are good now, that’s what matters.’ 

He nodded, looking back up at you and forcing a smile. 

Now more than ever, you realised how important it was for you two get away from this town and start again. Maybe it wouldn’t be enough to completely disconnect him from the guilt of his past, but it would at least make it all seem a little further away.

You just knew that you were desperate to help him, and you were willing to try anything. 

---

Part 8

---

@shawnie--jo @brilliantbellesoares @livingoffsavvyillusions @noiralei @bebeyeni @kingkassam @newyorkgoddess @sir-lili @im-squished @dancer3205 @thefallenbibliophilequote @supernaturalwintersoldier @adriannajackson

---

[savnofilter]

Kinktober Day 14

angel!y. momo

☠️ warning(s): ⚠️ everything between both parties is consensual. ⚠️ 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕘𝕙 𝕣𝕚𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘, f/f, debuachery, no specific religion.

☠️ genre: smut, holiday special.

☠️ words: 2k [8 minutes, 10 seconds].

☠️ read more: kinktober(uary) | part one

☠️ summary: after a full year of rebuilding momo’s vows, she still had a lot more work to do.

“It’s time for your bath.” The guard escorting her said curtly, closing the door to her room-like dungeon, the cell accommodating her high status although ignoring her ‘heinous’ crime. Momo sighed to herself as she didn’t have time to thank her, looking back at her vanity as she looked at herself in the mirror.

It had only been one year since she had been taking her service, and might she say it was much harder work than she would have thought. Even though she had the pleasure of basically living in luxury she had to reap the work that had been damaged to many forests and landscaping of the lands that needed maintaining. Guiding souls, bringing them to their sentences, counseling them, filing  -- everything she wasn’t exactly excited to do. Momo loved to be in the action and this was something that had action just not the way she wanted.

Another sigh fell from her lips as she got up from the makeup bench, wrapping the pearl-white robe around her nude body, and got ready for her walk to the bathroom. She swiftly got her slippers on and began her walk from the long hallways, quietly following her warden to her scheduled bath. She was grateful that the god’s still swayed in her favour, no cold draft having to poke and prod at her skin. She much as she always enjoyed watching the tall ceilings and nicely embroidered walls with the memorable paintings; it never beat the always hot and comforting bath behind the mahogany doors she had been introduced to. They were massive and the guards in front of it opened with almost no hassle. Still amazed her till this night that they could.

“Two hours rewarded massage time for service.”

She couldn’t help but smile at the news that she had earned a longer bath added along with a massage, nodding her head before skipping into the said room it was spacious and large, the heavy ambiance of relaxation just as comforting as the hot and steamy room. She dropped her robe as she stood once the heavy doors closed behind her, letting her hair down as she made her way to the open bath pool, slowly going down the steps as she submerged herself into the water. Momo was quick to tie her hair into a towel, giddy as she could just imagine all the kinks being worked out from the heat. A graceful and small smile came across her face once she swam further in, going up to a shallow spot that she could sit in but still be submerged, and tilted her head against the wall. It was only a matter of time before the masseuse would come in and she couldn’t help but feel at least a little grateful that she was able to help fix up things needed to be tended to while gaining something in return.

N-Not that she did good things to receive praise-

“S-Sorry my lord…” Yaoyorozu groaned in apology, knowing that she didn’t aid something else to her sentence. She cupped up the water and washed her face once, the holy water washing her of her burdens… or so she thought.

“It’s alright my love, as long as you repent.” A voice joked back, making her jump. Her ravenette eyes looked at the woman who stood near the pool, her head coming up, and her breath hitching. It didn't take a second for her to recognize who you were. You faked a frown as she shrunk back, the heat on her cheeks that came about definitely wasn't from the bath itself. “I thought you’d be happy to see me.” You continued, resting your beautifully weaved tote. It was almost as if a cat had caught her tongue, struggling to even say as she didn’t dare to look at you.

“I-I, u-um…” Her head was running in circles, she had been doing so good. “How did you get in here?” She asks, finally looking up at you. She jumps back a bit once you start to climb into the bath, her hand clutching and the other steadying herself.

“Does it matter?” You smiled warmly at her, unlike her nude state you had a cloth bikini that kept you saint. “I have many jobs, you just so happen to be my appointment.” You say simply, beckoning her over. Momo was hesitant in coming closer to you, her hot blush not going away once you softly cupped her jaw and leaned down close to her face, talking against her lips. “I missed seeing you on your duties, y’know~?” You brushed against her teasingly before standing up again leaving her to admire your body in its glory. She couldn’t help but admire your unique physique. You gracefully sat down in the spot she once sat, beckoning her over so you could get started on your duties.

She nodded without a word, turning her back to you and carefully laying down her head in your lap and let your hands massage her head. Momo desperately tried not to think about the last time you two had met, the lingering remembrance of your fingertips making her brows furrowed.

“Relax.” You say calmly, hands leaving her hair while swiftly taking off the towel. You grabbed the appropriate hair routine for her and washed it. You observed as she closed her eyes at the wonderful treatment. Your hands were fairly innocent rinsing it before rubbing circles into her shoulders and urging a moan out of her. Her eyes shot open and she looked up at you, sitting up quickly.

“Wh-What do you think you’re doing?!” Yaoyorozu panted softly, not minding that her top half was visible anyways. But you did though, and your eyes wandered with the discovery as well.

“Please relax, I’m only here for your tranquility.” Your smile didn’t fade or flicker, the overwhelming urge to leap into your arms and feel your body against Momo was growing stronger by the moment and she had to keep herself from falling for it. “Come now, I promise to be softer.” Your smile turned into a pleading pout, eyes showing just a glint of your true intentions.

A few minutes had passed and you didn’t try anything sneaky. Your hands were back to massaging her as they should and only had her raising her brow at a few times when it would trail somewhere it wasn’t. But of course, each ‘mistake’ was met with an apology, one that she didn’t even need since secretly she liked it anyway. She sat up once you told her, her breath heavy as your hands worked almost like magic, the knots, and tension of that area significantly loosening. Your hands glided over her wet back, humming at how well curved and built her body was.

“You’re very beautiful, Momo.” You leaned over her shoulder to whisper in her ear, delighted that she didn’t move to speak or respond. Your hands gripped her hips and pulled her back into your lap, the position leaving her straddled against you. You played it as if you paid no mind, smirking to yourself as you just knew her brain was going in circles once again. Your hands started to work at the knots in her back, trailing over her sides just higher than the last each time. “So, what had you so tense today?” You try to make small conversation, hands reaching around to wrap around her waist, chin on her shoulder. Momo gulped as you did, feeling your clothed chest press against her, about to retaliate before your gripped her arm and started stretching it.

“Well, I was on duty to clean up the lands from Wishful Peak to the falls in Tenshi Sanctuary.” You cooed at the answer, nodding your head in understanding.

“That does sound very tedious, no wonder they called me in~” You answer, doing the same to her other limb before resting your hands on her hips again. “But I’m guessing you want something more, don’t you?” You ask against her ear, eyes watching your reflection along with hers. She made eye contact with the reflective surface. She bit her lip before nodded her head, hands timidly coming up to place your hands on her chest and turning her head to look back at you.

“Yes.”

You wasted no time in leaning in for a kiss, moaning at the sweet and pure taste of her lips against yours. Hers was delightfully soft and plump, the inside of her mouth just as heavenly. Your hands started to fondle and grope her tights, letting her carefully shift onto sitting on one of your thighs instead. You opened your eyes to watch her lewd expression, the excitement of being able to court such an esteemed angel making your heart race. Of course, this wouldn’t be the first time, but to do this in one of the official sacred places is what makes everything exciting for you. You pulled away to watch up at her with a loving look, smiling bashfully once her hand came up to cup your jaw, her fingers delicate as she started to rock against your thigh once again.

You interlocked your free hand with hers, the other continuing to play with her tit to keep in rhythm. Once the stimulation started to build up with her, she couldn’t help but tilt her head back against your shoulder. You looked over her once again, lips attacking the skin of her neck with kisses, nibbling here and there to tease her but careful as to not leave any permanent marks. At least any that couldn’t disappear with the mystical water you used on her. Her breath was light as she gyrated her hips into your thigh, you happily allowing her and welcoming her to get off using you.

"That's it, baby. I've got you~ " You mumble in her ear, giving her loving a kiss before nipping it and sucking on it. Her hips stuttered as your hand expertly played with her breasts, your thigh moving against her to give her extra pleasure. Your mouth was careful in sucking on her lobe, making her breath hitch. Her hand moved from your jaw to lean to hold on your knee as she continued to ride against it. You encouraged her to keep going, her hips needily moving for a high she’s only felt once in a lifetime.

“H-Honey~” She tilted her head back, eyes closing again once your head played with her chest again, missing your devilish smile as you helped the angelic deviant get off.

“Cum if you’re ready to~” You tweak her hardened buds and pull, the stimulation making her tense up. You held back an amused smile when she finally did cum, the cutest shiver through her as she finished on you. You let her rub up against you as you slowed to a stop with your leg, watching as she came down from her high. You hummed appreciatively and let your hands over her skin, kissing her shoulder as you signaled her with a small tap on her hips that you were done.

Momo was a bit stunned before quickly realizing, apologizing as she got up. This time she faced you, hands close to her body as she looked away bashfully. “A-Are you going to leave now?” She asks, eyes hopeful and soft. You nodded as you looked at the sun setting outside.

“I’ll be back for you, don’t worry.” You give her your famous sly smile, standing up to kiss her on the corner of her mouth. You pull away as if you were never there, washing yourself off as she watches you. She sits back in the water, letting the water surround her once again. You step out of the pool to dry yourself and get ready, glancing at her once you place the note on her pile of discarded clothes. “Enjoy yourself, Yaoyorozu.” You walk to the door, leaving her in bashful silence. She waited a few minutes before getting up and going to the pile in which you had left your note. Her heart skipped a beat as she read it, a bright smile etching onto her face as she reads it. It was as if her night couldn’t get any better.

“Will you be mine? ♡”

[hanibalistic]

#ECECBE | YANG JEONGIN.

genre | fluff, a little angst, a little bittersweetness, royal au, arranged marriage au

word count | 1590

warning | none

note | this is not all fluff, unfortunately... i hope you still like it though! thank you for requesting (˶′◡‵˶)･:*:･。

request | @bangchansmullet0310​

you fixed the crooked tie sitting on jeongin's neck, and he looked at you as if he was about to lose something.

supposed, though, he would soon be losing something important to him.

the velvet box holding a shining ring, seated comfortably in the pocket of your blazer, one you would be handing to him soon at the alter of his wedding with the neighbor princess, was the prime object of the final stage of his teenage years.

"you look nervous," you commented as you placed a hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat against your palm. you found that his heart was beating slow, at a normal pace.

"i'm not nervous, i just don't want to get married," he responded with a permanent frown, one he knew you would smack off of him when it was time for him to stand at the altar, waiting for the bride to arrive.

you heaved a sigh. you never had a say in such matter. being the palace staff, and the prince's escort, you were merely supposed to stand close to him and keep quiet as he goes about his daily tasks—studying, meeting, hunting, partying, and more studying. until one day, things took a turn, and instead of discussing management tactics, he got involved in a royal marriage.

you watched him try to argue his way out of the set proposal, one he had no choice but to accept. he whined and complained and stomped about not wanting to hold such heavy responsibility at the age of eighteen, but none of his tantrums have ever worked against his father's decision.

he was set to get married and that was it.

"princess kim is a lovely person, it may not be a bad thing to be married to her," you said softly, taking a gentle step back. "you may have fallen in love with her down the line anyway. why not consider this a jump in progress? just a little mess up in the timeline."

jeongin looked at you, his eyes wavering with both a bitter taste and an unexplainable love. it wasn’t about princess kim, he thought you understood. or perhaps you did understand, but the true reason behind him not wanting to get married was a matter so out of your control that you had to boil it down to him not loving his bride to be of useful comfort.

he thought you should know that this wasn’t about love. his unwillingness to get married—it wasn’t about affection. everyone was trying so hard to make it about love, but it wasn’t all about that. it was about the loss of his freedom after being tied to the title as a husband and a future king. 

it was about not being able to act like a teenager anymore and having his maturity overestimated simply because he turned eighteen. people have the misconception that once he turned eighteen he would understand things, he would know things, and he would get over things to abide by his duties. 

as if he wasn’t still the boy who cried at his desk because he couldn’t handle the schoolwork, as if he wasn’t still the boy who occasionally needed his tears and snot wiped by his best friend because he was too tired to do anything by himself, as if he wasn’t still the boy who had once sunk out the palace to buy medicine because the royal cabinet would ever open for a mere staff like you.

seeing that he had nothing else to say, but his expression remained groggy and grim, you pushed your hands together before your abdomen and you sighed. “it seems this calls for an emergency dance party.”

shaking his head to clear out his foggy thoughts, jeongin gave you a pointed glare before he asked, “a what?”

“an emergency dance party,” you said, leaving his side and moving over to the table.

jeongin watched as you knelt by a cabinet, mumbling something under your breath as you opened the doors and reached inside so you could pull out an old, dusty, vinyl record player. you set it on the top surface of the cabinet before kneeling again to search through the small collection someone had carelessly kept hidden in the room. 

“how is that going to help the situation right now?” he frowned when you began to pull the vinyl out of its packaging. 

“do you have any other suggestions, then, aside from escaping from the wedding?” you retorted casually as you carefully placed the vinyl on the player. you messed with the buttons and slowly pulled the headshell over to the vinyl. 

jeongin tilted his head to the side, his brows still furrowed when an upbeat instrumental song scratched to life with the old device. he didn’t feel like dancing at all, especially not to such a boppy, happy song. his head was still feeling gloomy and annoyed that he has to kiss a girl he’s not fond of in a few hours, there was absolutely no jumpy element in his limbs right now.

but you sure seemed swell. dressed in a pretty blazer, with little glittering badges pinned to your white shirt, and a pair of high-quality, velvety black pants that you would never be able to afford on your own. it was the royal groomsmen outfit jeongin had to beg his mother to convince his father to let you wear, and you looked unsurprisingly good in it.

"come on, jeongin, we have maxed out our solutions," you encouraged as you glided over to him in your expensive shoes. you grabbed a hold of his hands, bringing them up and putting him in a waltzing position. "dancing is all we have left."

his feet automatically moved with you. this wasn't the first time you two danced your sorrows away; he was trained to accompany you, his body knew how to match yours in a flowing rhythm. he knew how to dance with you, and he knew how to make himself feel okay when he danced with you.

it was all you two could do. dancing with each other, shaking the woes away from your body, and drowning in music, as well as the absurdity of your impromptu dance moves. it was all you two have left to do with each other before you send him off to his future wife, and you would no longer hold the duty of being by his side twenty-four-seven.

it would be a big step for both of you, so you two have to dance out the fear of unfamiliarity and change together.

"i don't really like this song!" he exclaimed after you two separated from each other.

"it's either this or some sad violin, you pick!"

jeongin grinned, trying to even out his pants as he jumped and spun and kicked like the child he still was. "maybe we should have an emergency crying party! with sad songs playing and we cry more than we have to."

you raised your brows, tapping your feet and high-fiving him when you two brushed shoulders. one twirl after another, you finally made your way back to his side. standing before him, the proximity comfortable and friendly, and you giggled. "i will consider that."

his chest heaved with huffs of short breathes—moving so much in such tight clothing was not the best idea. he would probably have to fix himself up again, but it felt worth it in return for a burst of sunshine indoors. you read his thoughts vaguely, and you reached up to slightly redo his messy hair.

jeongin stared at you then, and you smiled with a brief look into his eyes before you returned to his hair. 

you weren’t afraid of his eyes anymore, you had not been for a long time. he wasn’t sure when he noticed that and how long it took him to get used to it, but you could look into his eyes now. and the swirling in his chest, the awful swirling he could never get tired of, that one deeper part of him that he would keep with him forever, made him realize one simple thing.

maybe this is about his disappointment in realizing that his affection for you could never go further than this despite him wanting to, in knowing that he wanted to fall in love with you, in ways more than being best friends and being partners in crime, but the chance would soon be ripped away from him because of an arranged marriage.

“hey.”

he looked at you, asking you to speak.

your hand trailed down his hair, the tenderness of your nails rolling past his skin in a haunting sensation. you might have heard his mind, you might have known that he once had the tendency to trip head over heels for you, and you might know that he would restrict himself from that now. but you showed nothing of it; everything bright in your eyes was only directed toward him and not yourself.

“i’m still going to be here even after you get married,” you said.

jeongin smiled. it wasn’t bittersweet, he was happy. he still wasn’t fond of getting married, for sure, but he was happy that you were here to walk him through everything. he knew he would still have someone to talk to, and perhaps he could change up his pace and anticipate falling in love with someone else instead.

he leaned forward and bumped his forehead against yours, laughing. “thank you.”

because maybe this is about love.

[ship-enthusiast]

Prompt: Modern Destiel AU

Teacher!Castiel x Youtuber!Dean

3.2k words

TW: mild swearing

Castiel Novak was a socially inept introvert to those who personally knew him and just a quiet guy to those who didn’t. He never knew his mother and had an absent father throughout his childhood. Despite the terrible credentials, his father had adopted a boy before Castiel was born from Africa named Uriel. He also had an older half-sister named Anna whom he was closest to throughout his childhood.

Castiel and Uriel were terrible step-siblings with Uriel always bullying Cas into submission during their childhood. Since his home wasn’t a safe place, he would often find sanctuary at the local library and immersed himself in history and literature. He had a short-term girlfriend named Hester whom he dated for a few months as a teenager when he was under the pressure of his father to date girls. Not wanting to disappoint him further, Cas tried to court his dad’s business friend’s daughter but it ended up a mess since Cas was, well, gayer than a rainbow unicorn.

Due to his excellent grades, he was offered a full-ride scholarship to the University of Kansas. He accepted the offer because he wanted to get as far away from home as he could and got his bachelor’s degree in education before interning at a public school. Because he loved working at the high school so much, he decided to become a substitute teacher for the district.

While subbing for a variety of teachers, he worked for his master’s degree in American history and was offered a permanent teacher’s position when one of them retired. On the side of subbing for teachers, Castiel worked at a coffee shop in a neighboring city. Although he was still shy and reserved, he managed to make a friend named Meg who was a regular at the coffee shop. At that time he met a downcast Dean Winchester who had just lost his father. He would usually meet up with his brother, Sam, at Cas’s coffee shop since Sam attended the nearby university. Sometimes Dean would stay behind when his brother left and that’s when Castiel introduced himself and the two bonded over their love-hate relationships with their parental figures.

Dean always expressed how he felt like he was a failure for never going to college when Castiel encourages him to go for a job or start something he wants to do. Dean had a side hobby of making videos as a kid because his family would move around a lot so he liked to film entertaining short videos of him and Sam to stay in touch with old friends. The friendships never lasted and the hobby was discarded until he decided to take Castiel’s advice and began filming little videos and posting them on youtube under the name ‘Wayward Winchester.’

The two would introduce each other to their interests and new things like movies and/or music. One time Dean brought over his friend, Charlie Bradbury, and Castiel thought the two were dating. He was immediately confused because although the two hadn’t explicitly come out to each other, they knew in the short yet meaningful duration of their relationship. His worries were for nothing, though, when Charlie noticed the tension and just casually mentioned she was a lesbian.

Castiel was over the moon when Dean’s videos started gaining traction a few months later. He was scared at the same time because he didn’t know what Dean would do with the newfound fame but he wasn’t ready for him to leave his life forever, and neither was Dean. After one of Castiel’s midterm exams, Dean asked Cas to hang out with him at the coffee shop where they had met. By this time Castiel had almost graduated and had a position waiting for him at the public high school so things were finally going well for the two. Castiel was scared for the meeting, thinking it was goodbye, and almost had a panic attack before Dean asked him to be his boyfriend. Of course, Castiel then felt stupid, said yes, and Dean declared that day to be their first date. Two years later on the exact same date at the exact same spot, Dean Winchester got down on one knee and asked Castiel to marry him.

Dean was a bit surprised and flattered when his fans were thirsting over him in the comments of his newer youtube videos so he explicitly stated he was in a stable relationship with his fiancee. He never specified the gender or his sexuality which was a big topic about him because gay marriage was still only legalized the year before.

They were married in the summer of next year by Dean’s father figure, Bobby Singer. Uriel and Anna were both invited but only Anna came. Sam attended as the best man with his wife, Jessica, and their one-year-old daughter Mary. Cas had asked Charlie to be his maid of honor since the two had bonded immensely after their first initial meeting. The two’s dynamic was convenient since Charlie would talk to whoever approached them and since she was with a guy, she wouldn’t be harassed and sometimes he’d be her wingman when hooking up with other chicks.

As a teacher, he was everything a student could ask for. He assigned homework three times a week and one essay a month. He was also a bit lenient on the due dates because he knew life could get in the way and tried his best to accommodate all of his students’ needs into his lesson plans. Despite his awkward demeanor, new high schoolers feared him but they were easily quelled when they met him. It was cringy whenever an older teacher would try to talk in their generation slang but when Castiel did it it felt extra out of place since he was so awkward. He still continued to surprise students whenever he quoted or understood a popular meme to which he’d reply with a Mean Girls reference of “I’m not like other teachers, I’m a cool teacher.”

His students didn’t question his sexuality much because they were adamant he wasn’t straight. The man was stylish and had a million different sweater vests. His trenchcoat became his trademark since he always came to school wearing it and it was rarely seen not nearby him. His students liked to do their own gestures to let him know they were okay with his sexuality, whether it was speaking about social issues in class or wearing pride clothing.

Castiel would also incorporate a lot of modern issues into his lessons and made sure his students were all self-aware of the situations in the world in hopes that they could help those he could not. There was absolutely no Mr. Novak slander in the hallways—literally, every student loved him; even if they’ve never had him as a teacher. Sometimes he acted like a counselor to those who felt uncomfortable talking to their parents or guardians at home. Overall, he was the best teacher a student could ask for.

In the end, his students were still teenagers and would be caught watching youtube or Netflix in class so he would have to confiscate their phones for the rest of class. He always felt guilty if he kept it any longer so he would pass the phones to his co-worker, Jo Harvelle. Jo also happened to be the daughter of the principal and an avid fan of Wayward Winchester. Castiel would sometimes listen to her rant about how much she liked or disliked something in his husband’s videos during their breaks with minimum comments. If he liked anything she said, he would go home and tell Dean and the two would laugh over it.

It wasn’t until Jo began continuously talking about the theories regarding who Dean’s mystery lover could be and comments regarding his sexuality did Dean finally feel like he was ready to open up to his fans with his husband’s encouragement. Castiel was the one who filmed that video and it trended pretty quickly since only a small handful of popular YouTubers were in the LGBTQ+ community. The video did garner some hate but the reception, for the most part, was very positive. This finally led to Castiel revealing to his students that he had a husband whom he had been married to for eight years. He was only met with positive responses and felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. A year later, Castiel started an elective class that taught about historical LGBTQ+ figures, monuments, timelines, and etc. It also doubled as a “therapy group” as the students liked to call it since it was a safe space.

Even if Castiel dearly loved his job, he wanted nothing more than to go home to his husband, curl up on the couch and have a western movie marathon. Summer break was finally coming up and Cas was more than ready to take a break from grading tests and papers. He had a love-hate relationship with the end of the term because, on one hand, he had a lot of stressed-out students, high piles of ungraded homework, and barely any sleep. But on the other hand, he had the next three months just for him and Dean. Their 10th year anniversary was also coming up and he was fretting about what he should get his husband.

Castiel was snapped out of his thoughts as he heard faint giggling from the back of the classroom. He glances at the clock from the corner of his eye to see that there were still fifteen minutes left of class and students weren’t allowed on their phones until the last five minutes. Sighing, he stands up and walks to the back of the classroom where he sees a small group of girls huddled around a single phone. He walks behind them without any of them noticing, raising an eyebrow when he sees what they’re watching. Most of the time it’s that god-awful show called Riverdale but this time, it was one of Dean’s videos. His husband’s video.

He was a bit taken aback as he recognized the video being on Dean uploaded last week about this game he played with Sam and Jessica called “Never Have I Ever.” The part they were on was “never have I ever gotten a speeding ticket.” Castiel snorts to himself when Dean puts up the sign “I have.” On one of their dates, they were almost late to a musical Castiel had been waiting months to see so Dean was speeding and they were pulled over.

“I wonder what kind of car he drives,” the girl on the right whispers to the others.

“Do not ever get Dean Winchester started on his car,” Castiel finally spoke up, causing a few of the girls to jump in surprise. “He will never shut up.”

“I—” one of the girls blinks in confusion.

“Do you…?”

Before they could ask any questions, Castiel confiscates the phone and walks back to his desk with a smug smile. If only Dean could see him now. The two had decided on keeping Cas’s identity a secret because Dean was the one in the relationship who wanted attention and Cas was content in staying in the background. Dean had also progressively become even more famous throughout the years and Cas knew the fame was not for him. It also made it harder to go on dates without someone recognizing Dean.

There were a few times when they were grocery shopping where a fan spotted them and Cas introduced himself as Dean’s cousin. The two had spoken about whether or not to introduce Castiel to Dean’s channel except Cas was afraid if any of his students saw and began viewing him differently. That is if any of his students even watched Wayward Winchester which apparently, they did.

When the bell rang, Castiel promptly returned the student’s phone before joining Jo in the teacher’s lounge for lunch. After the video where Dean came out, Castiel felt it was time to tell Jo that he was Dean’s husband. Jo was extremely embarrassed and kept apologizing for talking about Dean that way but then was offended she wasn’t told sooner. She forgave him pretty quickly when Cas let her talk to him on the phone one day after school and gave her a signed t-shirt.

“You won’t believe what some students were watching in class today,” Castiel began as he sat down at their designated table.

“What?” Jo asks as she sets down her phone. “Also, I have a favor to ask.”

“What is it?” Cas asks as he opens his lunch bag.

“I have a date later this week so I was hoping you could help me find an outfit…?”

“Why don’t you ask your mom for help?”

“Ugh, you know how she is,” Jo groans into her sandwich. “She’ll shoot down everything and suggest I go in a turtleneck or something.”

“Turtlenecks are fashionable.”

“Not for this type of weather.”

“All right, I’ll help. Do you mean shopping or raiding your closet?”

“Maybe both if you can’t find anything suitable in my mess of a wardrobe.”

“I’m sure it’s not that bad.”

“Oh, it is. It looks like it belongs to a thirteen-year-old Amish girl.”

“Poor thirteen-year-old Amish girls.”

“Oh, shut up. Anyways, what were you talking about earlier?”

“Hm? Oh! I caught some girls watching Dean’s video in class today.”

“And?”

“What do you mean ‘and’?”

“You didn’t know students watched your husband’s videos?” Jo shoves her face into her sandwich to keep from laughing. “You do know...that kids have worn his merchandise to school before, right?”

“Really?!”

“Yeah,” Jo lets out a chuckle. “For a while now. He became really popular after his coming out video.”

“How did I not know this…” Castiel sighs and rests his face in his hands.

“Why? What’s wrong with them knowing?”

“It just makes everything so much more complicated.”

Jo decided not to press any further and continued to eat her sandwich.

“So, who’s the poor chap?”

School ended that day painfully and Castiel was more than happy to come home to hear the shower running, guessing Dean just got back from the gym. He set his bag down and took his coat off before face-planting onto his bed. He stayed in the position for a few minutes before turning his body around as he heard the bathroom door open.

“Hey, huggy bear,” Dean smiles as he leans down to kiss Cas’s forehead. “How was work?”

“Turns out the whole school watches your videos.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah,” Castiel says as he sits up. “But maybe I’m worrying over nothing. Maybe they won’t even care that I’m married to a famous YouTuber.”

“I wouldn’t say famous.”

“Dean.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.”

Dean wraps an arm around Cas’s shoulder and pulls him close. “We’ll figure it out.”

Castiel snuggles further into his husband’s embrace. “You’re still wet.”

“Just the way you like me.”

“And the moment’s ruined,” Castiel playfully pushes Dean away and stands up. “I’ll go get dinner started.”

“I love you!” Dean calls out.

“Yeah, I know,” Cas replies as he closes the door.

Castiel’s alarm clock blared loudly as he hit the off button and rubbed his eyes open. He sighed as he tapped Dean’s hands around his waist, trying to loosen his arms. Dean protested by whining and holding him closer. Castiel sighs and stays in the position for a few moments, basking in the peaceful quietness as he traced shapes on Dean’s left arm. His eyes began drooping when he looked back at his alarm clock to check how much time he had when he suddenly bolted out of bed.

“Come back to bed,” Dean whines sleepily as he makes grabby motions towards Cas’s side of the bed.

“I can’t,” Castiel says breathlessly as he began pulling on a shirt and pants. “I’m going to be late!”

“Hm?” Dean groans as he finally opens his eyes and glares at the alarm clock as Castiel rushes out of their bedroom. “This is your fault.”

He slumps his head back onto the pillow when he hears the front door shut and lies there for a few more minutes before finally sitting up and stretching. He looks around sleepily to see a few of Castiel’s shirts lying carelessly on the floor. Dean picks them up and throws them on the bed so Cas can hang them up later before putting on pants and heading to the kitchen. He’s about to make his coffee when he notices Castiel’s lunch bag lying on the counter.

“Oh, Cas. What am I going to do with you?”

After his first three cups of coffee and an hour of sitting and staring at the wall, Dean looks into the bag to see it still empty and decides to make a sandwich and pack some of the stuff he’s seen Cas put in it before checking the time. Cas’s second period would start in fifteen minutes so he had some time to give him his lunch. Dean shrugs on a jacket and starts the impala, careful to make sure the water bottle is secured tightly in Cas’s bag.

When he makes it to the school parking lot, he puts on a cap and sunglasses to hide his face before grabbing Castiel’s lunch bag and heading to the front office. He signs in at the front office and walks through the hallways, thinking back to the time when he was in high school which felt like eons ago. He had no idea why Castiel wanted to make a career out of teaching high school students—they were usually the moodiest bunch of kids but Castiel loved them.

A student is walking past him when he stops and gasps when he looks up at Dean.

“Oh my God, are you Dean Winchester?!”

“Yes I am, kid,” Dean says, not wanting to disappoint him.

“Oh, wow!” The kid’s eyes widened. “I’m a huge fan of your videos. Can I...maybe get a photo?”

“Sure, why not?” Dean takes off his sunglasses and leans down for a quick selfie when the bell rings and streams of children begin pouring out of their classes.

“Ah, shit,” Dean groans to himself.

Sure enough, a crowd accumulates around Dean as multiple students ask for photos and for him to sign their folders or homework assignments with sharpies and mechanical pencils. Dean chuckles at the students enthusiastic response to his presence that he forgets the reason why he was there in the first place until he felt eyes drill into the back of his head.

Dean straightens his posture and turns around, making eye contact with Castiel over the crowd of students. He strides over to his husband with a bright smile before planting a little kiss on his cheek, causing their audience to gasp and some students begin to scream.

“What are you doing here?” Castiel asks in confusion.

It seemed like the whole school was holding its breath.

“You forgot your lunch,” Dean says as he hands the bag over.

A few girls collectively sigh in the background.

“MR. NOVAK IS DATING THE DEAN WINCHESTER?!”

The students begin screaming again.

“Actually,” Dean clears his throat as the screaming subsides. “Mr. Novak is married to Dean Winchester.”

Castiel covers his bright red face with his hand as Dean grins at the chaos he had created.

“See you at home, angel,” he plants a chaste kiss on Cas’s lips before doing a salute and exiting the school, grinning the whole way back to the impala.