#i lovedddd this opening shot

[maggiecheungs]

Pacifiction (2022) dir. Albert Serra

[ID: seven gifs from the opening shot of pacifiction: a wide shot of a docking wharf at sunset, with the camera slowly panning over the shipping crates and loading cranes]

[badgerbl00d]

hey I've fallen down a rabbit hole of reading your fics and it's 3am here but they're so good!!! I'm in love ✨✨✨💕💕 i was wondering if I could request a story with Zoro but the reader's ex is there and she doesn't miss him but she runs into him for the first time and she's hurt after he disappeared on her, maybe he's with a bunch of his friends. Zoro comforts her, maybe even embarrasses the ex while they fight off some enemies and stuff. Sorry i know I'm rambling on, but ahhhh i would love to see this come to life! thanks again! :)

hands off

☆ characters: roronoa zoro

☆ up next: captain's girl; shanks x reader

☆ summary: you have an unexpected run-in with your no good ex boyfriend but unfortunately for him, you have zoro with you

☆ a/n: lovedddd writing this! i love writing protective zo :3 thank u for this ask! requests are still open

☆ key: e/n = ex's name

It was a busier night than you and the crew had seen in a while. You were all desperate for a day off of chores and the open ocean so Nami suggested a brief stop at the closest island. 

You’d broken off in groups to spend some time on land and you Zoro and Robin had made your way to a dive bar in town. 

It was a welcome stop– the ship only had sake on it. Franky and Brook had finished the gin during a card game and Sanji had finished off the bourbon in a recipe. 

The three of you found a seat and you took a moment to sink into the torn leather cushion, breathing in the smell of old cigarettes in ashtrays and beer. The neon lights washed you in a warm hue and Zoro couldn’t help but stare at how the blinking lights shifted on your face, changing the shadows of your eyelashes danced on your cheeks. 

He got up, realizing Robin had taken note of his staring and made his way to the bar ordering a drink for himself. 

You and Robin were talking, he could hear your giggling and tried to drown the warmth that erupted in his tummy by downing the drink.

You walked up behind him and hugged him from behind, “Zo-ro!”

He loved the way you said his name, stretching out the first syllable and emphasizing the second. Zou– ro!

“Hey, Y/n,” he said, biting back a smile.

“What’d you order?”

“Sake.”

“Shocking! Gimme a sip.”

He handed you the small bowl, his heart beating faster when your fingers touched.

He watched you sip it and wince as it went down.

“Still gross.”

It was too much to be around you, you were intoxicating and he knew if he spent too much time around you after having had a few drinks he’d most likely say something stupid and embarrass himself. 

He started getting up, awkwardly trying to get you off of his shoulders. 

You let go and took his seat. 

“Here,” he dug around in his pockets and handed you a few bills and several coins.

You shot him a puzzled look.

“Get yourself a drink, since you didn’t like mine.”

“With…” you paused and counted the money, “Three berries and sixty-four.. no, sixty-five cents?”

He shot you a look and snatched the money up, grumbling as he went back to the table. 

A man in the bar quickly took Zoro’s place once he’d walked away and started up a conversation with you, much to Zoro’s irritation. He went and sat with Robin, sipping his drink and playing a game of checkers with her. 

An hour or so had passed and you, sociable as ever, had talked to almost everyone in the bar. 

Robin playfully nudged Zoro in your direction, who was absorbed almost entirely in his sixth cup of sake of the night. 

You were sitting alone at the bar now, ordering yourself a drink. 

Zoro furrowed his brow and took another big sip of his drink, pretending not to understand what Robin was hinting at. 

“Hmph,” he muttered, still not wanting to admit to Robin that his crush had been found out. 

A sudden impulse to go to you and declare his feelings bubbled up in his chest and against his better judgment, he stood up trying to gather the courage to go up and sit with you. It’s not like it would have been weird–he was closer with you than the rest of the crew and he knew you better than anyone (at least that’s what he let himself believe). But tonight, for some reason, he had been feeling nervous around you. He told himself that maybe it was your new perfume, floral and saccharine, and dizzying every time he caught your intoxicating scent or the dress you were wearing that hugged your body in all his favorite places, not that he looked, of course, or maybe it was your hair which was framing your face, now glowing in the soft light of the bar and pink with the warmth of alcohol that was driving him absolutely mad at the thought and sight of you. 

“Better hurry,” she said, getting up to leave, “Looks like a few other people already want to take the open seat next to her.”

A group of younger boys in the corner pushed one of their group toward where you were sitting, sending flirty remarks your way. 

“I’ll see you two back on the ship tonight.” 

You ignored the boys behind you, rolling your eyes at their antics. 

“Mint gimlet, miss,” the bartender said, handing you a drink, winking, “The gentleman over there sent it.”

“Oh? Well, thanks,” you said, looking to see who had guessed your favorite drink. 

Your heartbeat picked up, thumping with a quick, erratic beat against your chest. You felt goosebumps cover your skin and your stomach churned. 

Him. 

It had been two, or was it three?, years. God knows you’d tried contacting him; dozens of letters, calls, messages, just wanting to know what happened. Had you done something? Was he in trouble? Did a year of your life mean nothing to him? All that time, all those kisses and conversations and messy beds and lazy mornings. All the petty arguments and fights and the tears you’d cried in front of him. You had told yourself that there was no way he’d have thrown it all away. But six months after you’d last seen him, leaving your bed in the early hours of the morning, kissing your forehead and promising you dinner that night, he’d responded to one of your letters. 

It was some shitty, half-assed excuse—something about new opportunities and not wanting to tie you down, being your own person. 

A lump in your throat began forming at just the thought of it. 

You looked away from him, blinking back tears, but it was too late. He was headed your way. 

Well, you thought, the least you could do was ignore him. 

He sat one seat away from you, smiling at you like a schoolboy in love. You wanted to break your glass over his head. 

“Hi, sweetheart,” he said, placing his hand over yours, “How are ya?”

He was halfway through a beer, a drink that you now associated with his memory. 

You clenched your jaw and looked straight ahead, ignoring him entirely. 

“At least taste the drink, I know they’re your favorite.”

Zoro, who had been closely watching this entire interaction noted how you tensed up the moment he sat down and placed a steady hand on the handle of his sword. He paused for a moment, closely observing the scene that was playing out before him. He watched you push the drink in front of you away and your soft smile fall into a frown. 

“Leave me alone.”

The man reached over and placed his hand on your thigh and gently squeezed, eliciting visible disgust from you. 

Pushing his hand off you repeated yourself, “Leave me a-lone.”

Zoro was already making his way toward you from the other side of the room, his blood starting to simmer at the sight of your unwanted visitor. 

He stopped at a table about twenty feet away from you, deciding he would wait a bit more before taking any action– he was, after all, somewhat intrigued. 

The man was laughing, but you had never looked so angry.

“I am sorry, sweetheart,” he heard him say, “Let me explain what happened, just hear me out.”

“I don’t care what happened, and I will not hear anything out so long as it’s you speaking,” you responded.

“Did ya miss me? At least answer me that.”

Your hands were balled up into shaky fists, “No.”

The man laughed again, grabbing your drink from in front of you and taking a sip, “Yes, you did. Look how worked up you are! Don’t know how to respond to the sight of me, huh? Am I as handsome as you remember?”

You suddenly felt a large hand on your shoulder and turned to look up and see Zoro, relief sweeping through your body. 

“Hey, Zo,” you said, smiling at him.

“Mind getting me a beer?”

“Not sake?” you asked. He laughed, a lot more than normal, but insisted it was the beer he wanted. 

Tension between you and your ex was already at an all-time high, and your apparent closeness with Zoro wasn’t helping.

The bartender placed the beer in front of you and you pushed it over to Zoro who grabbed it and sat in the empty seat between you and your ex. 

“You know him?” Zoro asked, taking a generous sip of beer. 

You didn’t respond for a second, but eventually nodded, “Yeah.”

“Want me to move?” 

You could see E/n glaring at Zoro. 

You bit the inside of your cheek and looked up at Zoro who had an unreadable sort of expression on his face, something between irritation and apathy. He looked straight ahead and didn’t look at either you or the man to his right. 

Several moments passed without an answer and he turned to look at you, “Didn’t think so.”

“We were having a conversation,” your ex nudged Zoro’s arm. 

You knew the look on Zoro’s face, it was that sort of glazy-eyed focus he fell into before fighting. 

“E/n, we’re done talking.” 

“Are you sure this guy isn’t bothering you, Y/n? I felt like we were close to… reconnecting.”

Ugh, go away.

“Well, we weren’t,” you said.

Zoro stayed silent, sipping his beer, but you could tell he was very aware of everything going on around him. 

“Alright,” he said, getting up. He grabbed his coat and walked over to you, leaning over your shoulder, his chest to your back, and pressed a kiss to your cheek. You watched Zoro’s fist clench out of the side of your eye.

You shifted uncomfortably in your seat, “Get off.”

As much as you hated the man, you knew Zoro was very capable of escalating things very quickly and you wanted to avoid causing a scene. 

You felt a small rush of wind on the back of your neck and the cool edge of a blade settle there. 

Uh-oh.

So much for staying calm. 

“Step away from her,” Zoro snarled, “Now.” His sword was extended behind your head and the point was resting on E/n’s chest. 

He put his hands up and smirked at Zoro, “Let’s not get too confident here, buddy.”

He pushed his jacket to the side and rested his hand on the gun that sat on his hip. He drew it slowly and dragged his finger to rest on the trigger.

You remembered that stupid gun and the fight that had ensued when you’d accidentally touched it.

Zoro laughed, loud and bold.

“I’ll have your hands cut off and skinned before you can pull the trigger. Make this a lot easier for yourself and leave.” 

Zoro didn’t look anywhere other than his face. His arm was steady and the sword didn’t waver even an inch. Confident and unwavering, he resembled a tiger before it kills. 

Your ex placed the gun back in its holster and turned to shoot you a pathetic smile, “Are you sure you want me to leave? You won’t see me again.”

You won’t see me again.

For a moment, all that hurt resurfaced. The striking realization that this was it. Your relationship was done and would never be what it had been again. This moment, right now, was truly it. You prepared yourself to say something, anything. But there was a growing lump in your throat so you stopped yourself from answering. You’d never forgive yourself if your voice broke now. 

Zoro moved in front of you, blocking you from his view, “You’re conversation with her is done. You can talk to me and lose your life in the process or you can leave.”

“Bitch,” he muttered under his breath, still looking at you and turning to leave. 

Before he’d even finished saying the word you watched Zoro’s sword cut through the air quicker than you could process, leaving him standing over your ex-boyfriend who was now clutching his bleeding chest on the floor. 

You shot up, suddenly nauseated by the exchange and the unnerving satisfaction you felt. 

Blood was soaking through his shirt and puddling in his palm, his breathing heavy and ragged. 

You grabbed Zoro’s arm and he turned to look at you. His complexion completely changed the moment he looked down at you, concern pouring from all of his features. 

Are you okay? he asked, his eyes speaking for him. 

“Let’s go, Zo,” you said, tugging on his arm, “There’re marines in town.”

He nodded, lowering his sword but he didn’t sheath it. 

“Just give me one more second.”

Zoro crouched down and nudged him with the handle of his sword like a cat playing with its prey. 

“I know you’re alive, so listen ‘cause I’m not gonna repeat myself,” he drew his sword and brought it up next to his ear. You watched silently as he visibly flinched. Zoro brought the blade down to rest on his shoulder, and slid it toward himself, wiping the blood off of the sword and onto his shirt. 

“If I ever see you again. Any time, any place- I guarantee that I will be the last thing you see on Earth. Understood?”

Zoro didn’t move at all, not a muscle, not an inch. He stayed watching the man like a hawk, clutching his bleeding chest until he gave a slight nod. Had you blinked you would’ve missed it. 

Zoro stood up, dusting off his knees and sheathing his sword. 

He turned toward the door and grabbed your hand on his way out taking you with him. 

The urge to turn around and look bubbled up inside you—to see him as devastated as you had been, to see him experience the pain you had felt. 

And as though he had read your mind Zoro gave your hand a squeeze.

Keep walking, he told you. 

You steeled yourself and walked out hand in hand with Zoro, whose hand was warm with speckled blood. 

He led you around the side of the bar, stopping only when you were tucked away in the alley. 

It was silent, neither of you saying anything. 

You looked up at him, making eye contact finally. He seemed somewhat embarrassed, his cheeks were fairly pink. 

You figured maybe he was regretting his rash actions but he was only really freaking out about having held your hand for so long. 

“Zoro…” 

“It’s nothing, really. He was a dick. Ex-boyfriend?” he said, trying badly to hide his jealousy.

It was funny– how he could go from quasi-murderer to shy schoolboy in minutes.

“Something like that,” you replied, looking away from his face, messing around with the hem of your shirt. Your eyes were starting to water again. 

“Hey, hey,” he said, leaning down to take your face between his thumb and forefinger, “What did he do? I’ll go back and kill him.”

You laughed, sniffling in between, “He just… He left me with no explanation and showed up out of nowhere today. It was so long ago I shouldn’t care. I don’t! But seeing him all of a sudden was just-”

Zoro wrapped his arms around you and pulled you into his chest where you let several more tears flow, staining his shirt.

He petted your head, holding you close to him with his free arm unsure of what to say. 

“‘m sorry, Y/n,” he muttered, shuffling his feet, “I shouldn’t’ve asked.”

“It’s okay!” you insisted, wiping your eyes with the backs of your hand. 

Zoro, who’d only known you for a few months, had defended you and your honor without a second thought. And though he’d probably been a little excessive your heart swelled at the thought of how he’d stood up for you. 

““Sorry about your shirt,” you muttered, patting the stains on his chest where you’d soaked his shirt with tears, 

He looked down and smiled, “It’s ok. It’s an old shirt anyway.”

You laughed, “Yeah and it’s not super clean either.”

His cheeks grew pink and he lightly punched your arm.

You suddenly grabbed his hands in yours, surprising him.

You squeezed his hands extra tight and looked up at him, “Thank you, Zoro. Seriously. I don’t know why I didn’t knock him out myself and I never shut down like that but I– Thank you.”

Zoro nodded, giving you a small squeeze back. 

“I would do anything for you,” he admitted. More to himself than you. 

Warmth crept up your neck and into your face. 

“I mean– ‘Cause you’re my crewmate! I’d do anything for any of you guys, obviously. Maybe not Sanji but, well, yes him too just don’t tell him I said that.. But I meant, as in, like,” he rambled suddenly realizing what he’d said. 

His hands still in yours you pulled him down, crashing your lips into his. The sudden addition of his full body weight on top of yours sent you both falling backward, stumbling until your back hit the brick wall behind you. 

“Oh, shit– sorry! Sorry,” he said, pulling away from you.

“No, don’t be! I shouldn’t have….”

“Kissed me?”

“Pulled you so hard,” you responded, your hands still holding the other’s, “Thank you. I hope that shows I really mean it.”

His eyes were looking anywhere but yours and his cheeks were a furious shade of pink. 

His hands were still in yours and he gently shook yours off.

“Zoro?”

He stayed silent, embarrassed and unbelievably happy, and wrapped his arms around you again. You were pulled into his chest and he stayed quiet, hugging you tight. 

Ah, you understood, he didn’t want you seeing him so vulnerable. 

“You know,” you said, your voice muffled by his chest, “I can’t kiss you again if you hold me down here.”

You felt him tense up and his arms stiffen around you. 

“Fine with me,” he grumbled.

“You’re blushing, huh?”

“.........No.”

“Then let me out.”

“Will I get a kiss?”

“Thought you didn’t want one.”

He pushed you off his chest and started marching back in the general direction of the Thousand Sunny, grabbing his bandana and wrapping it around the lower half of his face, leaving you behind.

You laughed and ran behind him trying to grab the bandana away from his face which he was holding out of your reach. 

You could see the ship in the distance and Zoro had started laughing too, getting more and more comfortable with the pink hue of his face. 

Sanji and Nami were a little further down the way yelling at Luffy who’d ran off with a bag of groceries. 

You paused for a moment, looking at all these people who loved you and, all of the sudden, the past wasn’t all that important. 

Zoro turned, noticing your absence. Nami had spotted the two of you and was waving. 

“Coming?”

[sarahs-secrets2]

Before He Cheats (Phillip Graves x Reader) ࿐♡ ˚.*ೃ

request here for @graves4girls! i lovedddd writing this thank you sososo much

based on Before He Cheats by Carrie Underwood

fem! (no use of Y/N)

Word Count: 1.4k

Warnings: cheating, mention of alc, pet names, Phillip being the villain LMFAO, violence against a car (???), glorious female rage (i support women's rights AND wrongs!!)

₊°✧︡ ˗ ˏ ˋ ♡ ˎˊ ˗

Your feet failed you as you fell back onto the couch, exhausted from the day. Another night Phillip was out late, leaving you at home. He blamed work, as usual, but something inside you told you there was more to it. You reached over to your phone, clicked his contact, and waited for him to answer.

The dial tone dragged on.

Voicemail.

“Hey, just checking in to see when you’ll be home,” you sighed into the phone, “Yeah, just call me back when you get this, love you,” hanging up the phone and tossing it down you leaned back into the couch. Another wasted attempt. 

You leaned forward reaching for the remote, flicking on the tv before aimlessly scrolling through the channels trying to take your mind off the fact Phillip wasn't answering his phone. A couple of minutes had passed before your phone rang, immediately you shot up to see Graves was calling you back. You answered as quickly as possible, 

“Hey Phil, I missed you-,” you were cut short by sporadic background noises. The longer you listened the more you realized he didn't call you back intentionally. The noises sounded like a bar, a woman's voice broke through the chaos.

“So a Commander huh,” she giggled, “Tell me about it.” your stomach fell listening to the way she was talking to Phillip. You waited to hear his reaction, he laughed. It was so clearly him that the conversation could've been happening right in front of you in the living room you sat in. Before you could hear his response, you hung up, trying to save yourself from the torture. 

You thought for a moment, taking a breath and thinking about what your next move was going to be. Standing up you made your way towards the front door, stopping at the table before you exited. Your fingers dug through the dish of car keys, grabbing yours, and the spare to Phillip’s truck. 

The drive to the bar was a blur. There was only one spot Phillip frequented and you decided to try your luck to see if he was there. It felt like a fever dream as you made your way to the dive bar, praying that he wasn't there, that this was all some misunderstanding. Maybe his phone was stolen? Maybe it's a prank? Maybe this itself is all a dream? Your mind conjured up a hundred different excuses to avoid the facts that you were being confronted with. 

Quickly you parked and hopped out of the car. You peeked through the window of the bar, seeing some girl draped on Phillip’s chest, placing kisses on his jaw. He was laughing and throwing back a beer, just the sight of it made you lightheaded. You laughed to yourself, wondering how any of this was real, before heading towards the parking lot and finding his car. Stuffing your hand in your pocket you pulled out his spare key. You smiled to yourself as you clicked the button and unlocked the truck. 

The car lights flickered signaling it was unlocked as you swung the backseat door open. Looking around the back of the truck, you noticed he had conveniently left his golf clubs, what a shame, you thought before yanking them onto the blacktop of the parking lot. The metal clanged and the contents of the golf bag scattered across the area. You bent down grabbing the driver, slightly bouncing it in your hand feeling the weight. 

Instinct took over as you slammed the car door, and began smacking the red paint with the golf club. Each time you heard the metal against the door you felt yourself becoming freer. The dents accumulated faster than you had realized as you took a minute to catch your breath. Taking the club in both hands, you slammed the end through the window, sending glass shards everywhere. You could feel the little pieces in your hair but it didn't matter, not right now anyways. Moving to the headlights next, you repeated the technique using the end of the club to smash the bulbs sending more glass shards everywhere. After determining the headlights were unusable, you tossed the club back onto the ground haphazardly, listening to it clink against the mess on the concretes.  

The emotions inside of you were now the only things that were controlling you. Any sense of right and wrong was out the window. Phillip had wronged you and it wasn't going to go unnoticed or unpunished. You laughed to yourself as you walked to the other side of the car, opening the passenger side door now. You began to rifle through the glove box, finding Phillip’s pocket knife, and flicking the blade out. You carved your name into the leather seat, smiling each time you sliced up his precious truck. Taking a step out of the truck you admired your handiwork as you twiddled the knife in your hand before noticing the tires. 

Why not?

Taking the knife you slashed 3 out of the 4 tires. Leaving one untouched knowing it would make it more difficult for him in the long run. You sighed, tossing the knife on the ground as you backed away from the truck. Sweat was beading on your forehead as you used the back of your hand to wipe it away, admiring your handiwork.

You decided to go check in on Phillip and his new girl of the night, as you peeked through the same window again. This time the girl was twirling her hair around her manicured finger as she was obviously leaning too far forward. Her cleavage was fully on display and Graves took no shame in looking. You scoffed as you watched the girl sip on a fruity cocktail. Phillip offered his whiskey to her to try, she made a sour face after barely letting it touch her lip. The pair laughed as if they'd known each other for years. 

Phillip Graves didn't know that right outside his precious truck had been destroyed quicker than he destroyed his relationship. The next time he cheats, it wasn't going to be on you, which you made sure of. 

The adrenaline was still rushing through you as you entered the bar, you had no idea what your plan was, the anger rushing through you took full control. Phillip was too entangled with the girl to notice you had walked in, his back to you as you ordered a whiskey at the bar. 

You waited till you got your drink before tapping his shoulder, his neck craned to face you as you spoke,

“Excuse me sir, you know if this whiskey is any good?” you batted your eyes at the cheating Commander, as he looked completely gobsmacked. He quickly pushed the girl off him, who was just as confused as Graves.

“W-what’re you doin’ here doll, I thought you-,” he couldn't even piece the words together as he stumbled over his thoughts. You swirled the whiskey in the glass as you watched him struggle. He kept rambling on about something, you weren't listening. It didn't matter anymore, none of it did. Taking one final look in the glass, and then at Phillip you splashed the liquor up into his face. He sputtered out as he wiped his face off with his hand.

You smiled at him sweetly, “I won't be needing these anymore Phillip but thank you so much,” you winked as you tossed the spare truck keys onto the bar top, you looked over at the girl who was standing next to Phillip, “Save yourself the trouble and stay away from this one, yeah?” You pointed to Graves who looked a mess trying to dry his hair from the whiskey. 

“Thanks for wasting my time Phil,” you patted his chest before turning and briskly leaving the bar. Once you hit the doors you ran to your car quickly leaving before Philip could follow you, and see the aftermath of what you had done to his truck. The combination of anger, betrayal, and dejection was slowly wearing off as you came back down from the adrenaline high. Fuck him is all you could think.

Phillip tried to follow you out of the bar, his eyes searched for his truck, finding it sooner than he would've liked. His jaw dropped looking at the dents, smashed windows, and headlights, slashed tires, and your name carved into the seats. He walked carefully up the driver's side, trying to avoid the scattered golf clubs, as he rubbed his temple. Was it worth it?

₊°✧︡ ˗ ˏ ˋ ♡ ˎˊ ˗

i hope i was able to capture rage eek i'm scared LOL

[kanencrow]

HI i have this picture in my mind of S3 Clementine teaching the reader how to drive since Kenny never got to, so can u please write something like that? also if possible could you imply or include the fact that clem and the reader have stuck together since the start of the apocalypse? I lovedddd your dating Clementine hcs both of them were so good

The Woes of Driving - The Walking Dead | One Shot

A/N: Thank you for the kind words, I really appreciate it! I really like your idea, so I hopefully I managed to give it some justice.

SUMMARY: Clementine teaches you how to drive, and in the process, you both reminisce about the days of old, when things felt a little bit simpler.

WARNINGS: Swearing, thoughts of death, fluff.

WORD COUNT: 2486

(N/n = Nickname)

“Okay. You remember the basics, right?”

The passenger door creaked open as Clementine spoke up, clearly wanting to make sure if your head was still in the game when she originally gave you some pointers last night. The whole lesson only came to reality because of the fact that you didn’t want to see the brunette appearing as exhausted as she did whenever you and her would drive on the road. You both were still in search of AJ. Even though Doctor Lingard told the both of you where he was, the journey there was a long one, and it was one you didn’t want to end solely because your partner couldn’t commandeer a vehicle anymore, due to her fatigue. You wanted to be of some use. And you wanted her to get some much-needed shuteye for a change.

Turning your head to meet the amber eyes of the girl occupying your thoughts, you nodded your head and swallowed, as your lips parted to stammer out a paraphrased version of the advice she gave you the night before. “Uh, yeah, I think so.” You quickly shifted your attention back towards the steering wheel your hands lingered on. Your fingers tightly gripped the leather, but your wrists were far enough apart to where the position looked comfortable. “Ten and two, right? And, um… seatbelt on,” you reiterated, before glancing your pupils up to stare at the rearview mirror. “And direct this to where I can see out the back window.” You raised an arm up to adjust the hanging piece.

Clementine watched you earnestly, her body settled into the dip of the passenger seat, as her hands remained in her lap. She watched while you brought your limb away from the mirror, before you turned your head to glare down between your knees, your mind already fighting to remember which pedal did what. There were three in total, and you remembered how Kenny had told you and your girlfriend only stick-shift vehicles had those. One was for the clutch, the other was for the brake, and the third was for the gas. The order in which they sat, however? You didn’t know it. So, you continued to confusedly look down at the three contraptions, until a voice spoke from beside you. “Left one is the clutch. Middle is for braking the car. And the right one is for the gas, hence why it’s longer than the other ones.”

Your jaw dropped in understanding, as a small, “Oh” escaped you. You quickly lifted your head after that and turned it to gaze over at the brunette, who smiled at you with an endeared expression lining her features. You let out an embarrassed laugh in response, which made the girl grin at you amusedly. “I should’ve probably guessed that. That’s like, basic common sense, isn’t it?” You chuckled to yourself, which earned a playful shake of her head in response to your words.

“You’re a newbie at this, Y/n,” she reminded you, smirking at you softly the moment her grin lessened. “Cut yourself some slack, all right?” You knew she wasn’t wrong, but you couldn’t help your clear nervousness towards the idea of driving. You remembered the time when Kenny mentioned that learning in the apocalypse was going to be much easier than compared to before the world basically ended. According to him, you wouldn’t have to worry about dealing with other drivers and possibly getting pulled over for speeding, as road laws no longer applied. But even with that FYI from so long ago, you still found yourself a little anxious.

It wasn’t like you had any good past experiences with cars, either. The vivid image of Kenny shooting out the windshield of the old vehicle Clementine test drove in always tended to circle your mind. Even in your dreams, which would quickly turn into nightmares that ended with you waking up in a coat of your own sweat. You didn’t want what happened then to happen again. Especially not to someone you cared about as much as you did. Someone who you had known since the walkers first started roaming.

…

You eventually let out a quiet exhale and let your hands that were once stuck at ten and two fall down to settle on your thighs. You felt yourself slump back into the drivers’ seat as you turned your head to gaze over at Clementine, who raised her eyebrows faintly, silently acknowledging you. She, of course, was as patient as ever with you. “Is it bad to admit that I’m, like, super duper nervous right now?” you asked quietly, embarrassed with your statement. “I don’t want to fuck up and possibly get you hurt in the process.”

“I think you need to trust yourself a little bit more, N/n,” the brunette replied, tilting her head to the side slightly as she sent you a tight-lipped smile, already understanding where your worries were originating from. “What happened was a mistake, and it’s one I won’t let you make, okay? All you need to do is go slow and pay attention to the path you’re driving down.” She then let out a chuckle, before pointing down to the black strap that sat across her torso and lap. “And, besides, we have seatbelts now. I’ll be okay, and so will you.”

You smiled small at the lighthearted sentence and nodded your head, trying to mentally rid yourself of those uncertainties. “Okay, okay. So just… go slow. Got it.” You moved your hand over to cup the top of the leather stick-shift that sat in the middle of the car as you spoke, and your thumb was quick to tap against it: a nervous fidget. Although you remembered how shifting worked, you wanted to make sure you were actually correct with confirmation from the pro driver next to you. “So, with shifting the vehicle into different gears, I use this thing, right?”

“Yep,” Clementine responded, nodding her head in affirmation as she leaned over to get closer to you. The seatbelt stretched in the process, but she didn’t seem to care as she rested her elbow on the center console, before pointing a finger at the shifter. “There are five gears in total. First gear is left and up, second gear is left and down, third gear is center and up, fourth gear is center and down, and fifth gear is right and up.”

“And what about reverse?”

“That’s right and down,” she informed, “and keeping the stick-shift in the center will put the car in neutral, but make sure you have your foot pressing down on the brake when you do that, just so it doesn’t start rolling on its own.” You widened your eyes faintly. It was all a little complicated, but you knew it was something you had to learn. Not a lot of automatic cars existed anymore, so you knew you needed to learn manual more than anything else, which was the hardest one to learn of the two. That’s what Kenny said, at least.

Nonetheless, you acknowledged all that she was saying and stored it in your mind. Immediately, you maneuvered the stick-shift so that it sat in the center, which forced the car in neutral. That earned a verbal form of praise from your girlfriend, and you smiled to yourself as you lifted your chin and asked. “So, when it comes to starting the car, what do I do exactly?”

“Okay, so,” Clementine started, as she peered over you and pointed towards the ignition of the car, that sat on the right side of the steering wheel. “The key is already in the hole, so all you have to do is turn it. That’ll start the car.” Then she lowered her arm to point down at the clutch and brake pedals. “Though, before doing that, you have to press down on those two pedals. Not doing that can also make the car start moving forward on its own, and neither of us want that.”

You hummed in understanding and shifted your boots to settle onto the two pedals. Without much effort, you pushed your feet down, which forced the levers to sit against the floor of the car. After that, you glanced down at your right hand and made sure the shifter was positioned to sit at neutral, and the moment you saw that it was, you used your other limb to grab a hold of the small black key. You turned it clockwise, and immediately, the vehicle revved up to life, causing you to slightly jump in your seat. “Whoa, okay! I did it!”

“You did!” Clementine agreed, showing the same amount of enthusiasm as an endeared giggle slipped past her lips. “Now, push the shift into first gear,” she instructed, and you did exactly that. You brought your wrist to the left, before pushing it up, and the moment the stick was locked in its place, you nodded to yourself and let go of the shifter. “See? You had nothing to worry about. You’re a natural, Y/n.” You felt heat rise to your cheeks at her words as you let out an embarrassed chuckle in response. She could only grin amusedly, while your gaze focused between your knees, already trying to figure out the next step, which was something she quickly helped out with. “So, now that the car is in first gear and on, you want to press down slowly on the gas pedal, while simultaneously lifting your left foot off the clutch. In one fluid motion, though.”

“And don’t press too hard on the gas either, right? Or else I might stall out the car?” you asked, wanting to make sure you heard the piece of advice correctly the first time she went over the basics with you. When you heard an affirmative hum from your girlfriend in response, you nodded, before doing exactly what she instructed, yet again. You knew it was beginners’ luck when you managed to not do exactly what you were originally worried about. Inevitably, the old vehicle started moving forward, its tires rolling and crunching down on the grain of dirt below, and the moment you were going a decent speed down the road with both your hands on the wheel, you glanced over at the brunette beside you, who stared ahead proudly. “That wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be.”

Clementine turned her head towards you and smirked, “Oh, we’re not done yet.” She chuckled when your happy smile turned into an expression of apprehension. “Don’t worry. It’s nothing crazy. You just need to know when to switch gears,” she clarified. “Once you reach 3,000 RPM, which is something you can see on the meters behind the steering wheel, that’s when you’ll have to switch to second gear. Or you can sometimes tell when the vehicle is overworking itself just by the sound it starts making.”

You shifted your gaze back towards the dirt path you leisurely drove down, as your fingers gripped the steering wheel tighter. You were mainly worried about destroying the cars’ transmission, but with a quiet statement of encouragement from your partner next to you, you relaxed and shifted the Oldsmobile into second gear. You pressed down on the clutch and raised your foot from the gas pedal, all while your hand shifted the gear once more. Down and left, instead of up and left. And all one fluid motion, like you had been told before. You could hear the sound of engine change shortly after, and you moved back to pressing down on the gas and lifting away from the clutch once more.

“Holy shit, I did it!” you exclaimed, your mouth falling open in shock as you continued to drive down the vacant road ahead. It felt like it all came to you naturally, but you knew it was due to your number one supporter that sat right next to you. In the corner of your eye, you could see how she was grinning at you proudly, and you felt your stomach flutter in reaction, as you let out a breathless chuckle, your hand moving down to the shifter to change gears once more. “This is actually pretty fun.”

“Now you see why I like driving so much,” Clementine replied, letting out a chuckle as she leaned back into her seat and watched you. From completely anxious to immensely relaxed, it was funny how quickly moods could change from negative to positive. Seeing you in the position that she was typically in seemed to remind her of a memory, too. And she couldn’t help but lean her head against the seat as she continued to gaze at you lovingly. “Remember when you and I would always promise each other that we’d drive away from everything? Together?”

That moment of the past filled your head next, and a small, content smile came to your cheeks, as you tapped your thumbs against the steering wheel and nodded your head in agreement. “Yeah, I remember,” you admitted. “Like the time when we were riding on that train Lee and Kenny got working. I remember how we genuinely thought that we could get away from all the death and walkers. As if there were some… other world that existed. One that didn’t have what the one we’re in does. No walkers, no raiders, no death, no killing… none of that.”

The air became silent after your words, as the two of you started pondering about the fantasy you both knew would probably never actually happen. You felt your chest tighten, while Clementine’s expression fell down to show a feeling of somberness. However, hers didn’t last that long, as the ghost of a sad smile came to her lips instead, and her amber eyes moved to look out the windshield of the car. “I think we can still have that.” She paused for a moment to see if you would give her a response, and when you didn’t, she continued. “When we find AJ. Let’s try to fulfill that promise, okay?”

With the road ahead completely devoid of any life, you took your chance and twisted your head to meet your girlfriends’ golden eyes. With a loving smile, you gave her a slight nod. “Okay. I like the sound of that.”

Clementine felt her heart swell at the sincerity in your tone, and the moment you moved your right arm down to settle it on the center console of the car, she quickly looped her own limb around yours and intertwined her fingers with your own, leaning closer towards the middle. Your only response towards that was a tight, reassuring squeeze to her palm, and she gave you one in return shortly after. In that same moment, the atmosphere was comforting, and you drove the rest of the way to yours and her destination with a content smile on your cheeks.

I've never driven a stick-shift before. I just looked up a tutorial on Google and went with it, so if I got anything wrong, I'm sorry lmao.

[peanut-butter-parkerxx]

comfort

Peter just wants to lay down with you but there's something that kinda makes him uncomfortable and you try to confront him about it...

Pairing: Peter Parker x fem!reader

Status: dating

Warning: mentions of bra's

Y/n's POV

I was laying on peters bed liking the tiktoks that I thought were funny and saving the ones I wanna do for later when Peter suddenly opens the door mumbling a few incoherent words then I can tell he sensed me since he looked up so quickly, eyes wide open and a small smile, getting bigger by the second, appeared on his lips.

"Babyyyyyy" he quickly took his shoes and jacket off and flopped on the bed his head resting on my stomach while his arms hugged my lower belly.

"Oof" I laughed since he basically jumped on me, he looked up resting his chin on my stomach

"I'm sorry did I hurt you y/n/n?" He whispered voice as soft as butter

"No it didn't hurt, it was just unexpected" I smiled playing with his soft hair "come closer, I wanna hug you" I made grabby hands and he just laughed, resting his head on my chest now, hugging my waist his legs were between mine so I crossed them around his middle and wrapped my arms around his neck kissing his head once in a while

He shifted a couple of times, making me think he's just trying to get comfortable so I ignored it, but he shifted again and silently huffed. He gave in for a few minutes then lifted his head up again to peck my lips and lay next to me.

I got very confused coz usually I'd have to make him move but he's never done this before, it made me kinda sad to be honest. Did I do something wrong? Omg do I smell bad? Does my shirt smell bad?

At first I didn't say anything since he looked unbothered and I was anything but that, I mean if you think about it, would you like your boyfriend to randomly stop cuddling you for no reason and just lay beside you? Is he mad at me?

Our cuddles would last for hours! And this one didn't even last for 10 minutes! I turned around seeing him looking at his phone with his left hand and his other is draped around my waist

"So what do you wanna order, babe?" He looked up his brown eyes hopeful for food

"Oh uh" so he's not mad at me? "W-Whatever you w-want" I silently cursed at myself for being nervous, now he'll get suspicious. And in fact he did.

"Oookay? You okay bubba?" He tilted his head? Caressing my cheek for a moment before setting his gaze on his phone again to order some food

"Yeah yeah I'm fine, it's jus- nothing no I'm fine" He nodded slowly not really convinced but let it go, for now. He laid on his side, his right hand supporting his body, leaned in and kissed me. As a way to make sure that I'm not mad at him or anything. I obviously kissed back not wanting to seem more suspicious than I already was.

He pulled away smiling, his eyes adoring my face. I would be a psycho if I didn't smile from that look.

"Ok well I'll go set up the ingredients so we can make brownies after, sounds good?" I only nodded still smiling. But that didn't convince him so he started kissing my forehead down to my nose to my lips a couple times making me laugh.

"Ok ok! We're gonna make brownies" i verbally agreed this time. He nodded happily and left the room, all the doubt I had were long gone.

The food arrived to our luck and we stuffed our face with the delicious hot meal, Peter also got my favorite drink AND were about to make brownies so to say I was happy was an understatement.

"OOOH GIRL YOU'RE SHINING" I was mixing the brownie batter swaying my hips to the song 'classic' by MKTO, while Peter took my spatula and used it as a microphone running around the kitchen singing his heart out

"LIKE THE FIFTH AVENUE DIAMONDDD" he pointed at me and I laughed "AND THEY DONT MAKE YOU LIKE THEY USED TO, YOURE NEVER GOING OUT OF STYLEEE" he shook his head as if he's confirming the lyrics and we continued on well, I continued on finishing the brownies

but Peter did make an effort, he sprayed the pan and sprinkled the chocolate chips. And he said and I quote he did "the most important parts for making a brownie"

"I WANNA THRILL YOU LIKE MICHEAL" he made the thriller dance moves while sprinkling the chocolate chips "I WANNA KISS YOU LIKE PRINCE" he turned around trapping me between him and the counter behind me, grabbed me by the back of my neck and kissed me until the chorus came in. And i couldn't contain my laughter by the sudden energy my boyfriend got from the food.

"YOURE OVER MY HEAD, IM OUTTA MY MIND. THINKIN' I WAS BORN AT THE WRONG TIME" he suddenly pulled away belting the rest of the song "BABY YOURE SO CLASSIC" we both sung together after he stopped me from putting the pan in the oven claiming its 'too dangerous' and he doesn't want me to get hurt, i mean can you blame him? I'm a totally clutz.

"Ok so why don't we watch something while we're waiting for the brownies?" He suggested putting on the timer.

"Sure" I suddenly jumped on his back (but he still caught me) waiting for him to go to the living room. He laughed at the sudden clinginess (he lovedddd it) and walked out of the kitchen. "TO INFINITY AND BEYONDDDD" he shouted sprinting to the living room. And I squealed from the sudden movement.

"Take the remote, babe" he turned so I can take the remote from the shelf.

"Got it" then flopped us on the couch, causing us to laughed. The jump made me cuddle him as the big spoon while his back rested in my front as the little spoon. At first everything was okay, the first 10 minutes of our favorite show was watched at peace but then the shifting began again. Am I making him uncomfortable?

"Babe, what's wrong? You've been doing this everytime we're cuddling today?" I asked him, so done with the feeling I'm getting.

"Uhhh" but to my luck...

*dinggg*

the oven dinged alerting us that the brownies' finished "oh looks like our brownies are done I-I-I'll go get them!" He rushed to the kitchen and I huffed in annoyance.

The rest of the night went smoothly, but I still had the pang of guilt in my heart. I wanted to know what wrong. so enough is enough, I turned my attention away from series to my boyfriend.

"Pete?" He somehow sensed the hurt in my voice and immediately turned to my side cupping my cheeks

"Baby what wrong?" His eyes scanned my face

"N-Nothing it's just- am I uncomfortable?" I didn't know what to say but hopefully he got the message

"W-what? Why would you say that?" The tv was long gone now he caressed my checks with his thumb trying to soothe the tension

"Well, everytime we've been cuddling you'd shift away, I don't wanna sound clingy or anything but y-you've never done that before" suddenly feeling ashamed and embarrassed by question, I couldn't even look at him in the eye. His eyes widened in shock and his face was full of guilt

"Baby it's nothing I swear, you did nothing wrong. He pulled me in so I could sit on his lap, his hands caressed my jaw slightly admiring my features.

"Then what happened?" My voice croaked not believing him by the second.

"Well it's jus-" his cheeks suddenly became darker, the heat risen to the tip of his ears and on his neck. I was confused to why he suddenly got all flustered.

"Pete it's fine, you can tell me" I rested my forearm on his shoulders slightly touching the small hairs that are on the nape of his neck.

"N-no it's just uh ur b-bra is uncomfortable so I just decided to sleep next to y-you inste-ad" he squeaked out, eyes closing from embarrassment. Wait- what?

"What?" A small smile crept on my face, and my mind suddenly pieced everything together, the material of my shirt is rather thin, he hugged my stomach first then I told him to come closer, he shifted a couple times due to the wiring! Oh my god how could I be so stupid?

"Y-Your b-bra, there's nothing wrong with it and I don't want you to feel uncomfortable or anything it's just, I didn't know they put metal on a piece of clothing?" He tilted his head confused.

"Yeah" I nodded laughing "well there's like a wiring around my chest like under my boobs" I showed him the area from his shirt. And I could tell he got even more flustered when I said 'boobs' coz his posture immediately stiffened again.

"We can talk about it pete it's fine, it's normal to communicate in what make you uncomfortable, in fact it's important!" I assured him

"Well I just thought you'd get more comfortable if you were wearing it and if I say something you'd have to take it off or something" he looked down at his lap, I could not believe this boy, he'd think I'd purposely wear a bra even if I didn't have to?

"Believe me, if I didn't have to wear this 'thing' I wouldn't, it's hurts so much at the end of the day since the wiring basically suffocates you" his eyes shot up immediately when he heard 'hurt' and tilted his head.

"Then why would you wear it if it hurts you?" Now it was my turn to get flustered

"Uhh well I just thought maybe you'd get uncomfortable" I nervously laughed

"No no Baby I want you to be nothing but comfortable around me, you don't have to wear you're bra infront of me or when we're hanging out. I looked at him lovingly, proud of how he handled the situation, respectfully and kindly. I leaned in so our lips could briefly touch and mumbled a

"Thanks Pete"

"You're welcome" he replied "now please kiss me" I laughed at his eagerness but Peter didn't have any of it and smashed our lips together.

"Wanna get ready for bed?" He slowly pulled away but right after the words left his mouth he kissed me again

"Yes" we finally pulled away, for real this time. And went or his bedroom. I was already wearing sweats and the thin t-shirt so I was ready to go. Peter came out of the bathroom now in his flannel sweats and a grey t-shirt flopping on the bed and taking me with him. I squealed trying to stop the fall but obviously failing. I stood up again trying to find my bag causing Peter to whine.

"Baaaaabe where are you going?" He whined

"Taking off my bra so we can cuddle, I missed our cuddles since you couldn't give me any today" I fake pouted, taking the bra off and putting it in my backpack. Peter cheeks turned red again turning his head immediately after looking at my laced black bra.

"You okay there hun?" I smirked at his flustered state

"Y-yeah everything's great" he shook his head and grabbed me again, turning us around so he can lay on my stomach

"Better?" I whispered my hands immediately going to his luscious curls.

"Much" he kissed the exposed part of my stomach and covered both of our bodies with his duvet. "I love you" he closed his eyes sighing in content

"I love you too" I replied although I'm not sure he listened since immediately after he talked I heard little snores from him. Finally closing my eyes feeling nothing, but pure happiness.

Idk what this is but I thought of it yesterday and decided to try and make it come to life 😂 tell me ur thoughts! And if u have any requests my inbox is always open :)

Have a wonderful morning/afternoon/evening/night!

-quacksonlover