#i meant to go to sleep thirty minutes ago

[transsexualunderground]

the sequel to the toby the tram engine menstrual pads

perpy

[helaintoloki]

Can I request something with Five Hargreeves where Five and Lilia gets back to their family after the 7 years (nothing romantic happened between them, just purely platonic), and when he sees the reader for the first time after almost loosing so much hope in seeing her again, he just can’t help but latch onto her and never let go, kissing her all over cause he finally gets to see the love of his life again :,D

a/n: ty for sending in this request anon i really enjoyed writing it <3 this is basically the “good ending” of the subway incident

warnings: fluff, mentions of five and lila but in a platonic way not the bad way

His lungs feel like they’re on fire as Five pushes himself to continue his sprint to your apartment. It’s been seven years without you, and after almost losing hope of ever seeing you again, all he wanted now was to have you in his arms as proof that he truly was back in his own timeline.

He never should have listened to Lila when she insisted on traveling the subway system in search of a solution to the Cleanse, but he had been desperate to find a way to keep you and his family safe no matter the cost. He didn’t mind having to eat subway rats and sleep in flimsily sleeping bags on dirty platforms for your sake, but with no end in sight the entire thing began to seem futile. What good was putting himself through torture if he could never go back home to you?

Thus, when he found the journal that detailed the way back home, Five did not hesitate to jump on the next subway car and return back to his own timeline. He didn’t feel sorry for practically shoving Lila out of the way as soon as the doors opened, and he didn’t waste a second waiting for her to follow before he was booking it out of the station and down the streets to your apartment. While it would have been faster to just jump there, he didn’t want to risk accidentally placing himself right back where he started, and he didn’t have the patience to wait for Lila to find a car and drop him off herself. Seeing you could not wait, and so he ran.

Though Five has experienced seven painful years of being stuck with Lila in the subway, only four hours have passed since you last spoke to him on the phone to discuss your evening plans. He was meant to be at your apartment thirty minutes ago so you could enjoy a lovely dinner at a nice restaurant, and yet here you were sitting painfully board at your kitchen island watching the minutes tick by. You knew he wasn’t exactly keen on eating out when he’d rather stay at home and spend quality time with you, but surely he wouldn’t stoop so low as to miss your date entirely.

“Screw this,” you huff in indigence as you snatch your keys from the counter and grab your previously discarded purse from its spot on the couch. “He’ll just have to meet me there.”

After putting on your coat, you fling the door open only to met with the sight of a breathless Five, his fist raised in the air as if he was about to knock before you beat him to it. He looks completely disheveled with his mussed up hair and wrinkled suit, his eyes blown wide as he swallows down a big gulp of air and takes in your features. You look more beautiful than he ever thought possible, and he can’t believe that he’s really here standing in front of you after being trapped in a time travel hellscape for seven years with his idiot brother’s idiot wife.

“Five?” You utter gently, brows furrowed in confusion and concern as you reach out to place a gentle hand upon his cheek. He’s warm to the touch, most likely a side effect from having sprinted for three blocks, but it worries you nonetheless. He nearly melts into your palm as his eyes flutter shut in contentment at the feel of your skin against his own. He’s missed this, and he’s missed you. “Where have you been, I was just about to leave without you. You okay?”

You jump at his sudden movement when Five practically throws himself into your arms. You lose your footing and tumble back into your apartment, and it takes you a moment to process what’s happening before you tightly return the embrace. You know Five loves you, but he’s never been so forward with affection like this, so his behavior takes you by surprise.

“Sweetheart, I’ve never been better,” he breathes out in relief as he takes in your warmth and your smell and your touch and everything good about you. He never thought he could miss anyone as much as he missed you, and Five swore in that moment he’d never take you for granted again.

“Are you sure you’re really my Five and not a total stranger?” You question teasingly, poking fun at his uncharacteristically tender behavior. While normally you would be met with a biting and sarcastic response in return, you are instead given a passionate kiss as he cups your face in his hands and desperately pulls you closer to him. Your startled gasp is swallowed by his lips as he deepens the kiss and pushes you further into the apartment before shutting the door with his foot.

“Five,” you manage to breathe out after he pulls away for air, your face hot and your mind frazzled as you struggle to comprehend the sequence of events that have just occurred. “Five, we’re going to be late.”

“I couldn’t care less,” he replies with a faint smile, reaching out to carefully tuck your hair behind your ear. “I missed you.”

“Missed me?” You repeat in confusion. “You saw me this morning. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’ll explain everything in time,” he assures you carefully, “but right now I just want to enjoy this moment with you.”

With a faint smile gracing your lips, you know you can’t argue with that. You probably will miss your dinner reservations, but none of that matters as Five pulls you in close and showers you with seven years worth of pent-up affection.

You could really get used to this side of him.

[ahgasegotarmy116]

Faking It | Jeon Jungkook | Chapter Two

Summary: Seeing him again happened sooner than you thought it would but absolutely no one is complaining. Pairing: f!reader (30) x Single Dad Jungkook (33) (Arranged Marriage Slow Burn?) Word Count: 9.8k Warnings: Talking about Jungkook's wife who passed away in childbirth (Doesn't talk about her death but yeah) a/n: Took me three months but we're finally here 😭 And if any of you saw me post this and delete it...no you didn't. I posted it on my reblogs account on accident so sorry if that teased you a bit 😅 Anyways I hope this was worth the wait 😭 p.s. I only read through this once when I completed it so have mercy on me if there are typos

I wake up naturally this morning and it's honestly one of the best feelings in my opinion. Not having to worry about being woken up out of a sound sleep shows me that it's going to be a good day.

As I yawn and rub the sleep out of my eyes I hear my phone vibrate on my nightstand, telling me I have a new message. I roll over and reach for it lazily to check and when I read the sender's name I immediately shoot up, causing Salem to dart off the bed. "Sorry Salem" I call after him but then when I go back to read the message my heart is already beating out of my chest.

'Good morning y/n I hope you slept well. How are you?' a simple yet inviting message from the man I just met last night. Who knew waking up to good morning texts would still feel this good at the ripe age of thirty?

'Good morning Jungkook! I slept like a baby, best sleep I've gotten in a while actually. I just woke up so, so far so good. How are you? How's Juni? Did you guys sleep alright?' I send and at a second glance I can see how completely whipped I am for this man already. Why am I rambling on and on about sleep? I could've just said 'I slept well, I hope you did as well' or something like that.

'That's good, I'm glad to hear! Juni and I slept alright. She actually only woke up an hour ago which is unheard of since she's usually knocking on my door at six am. She's been talking about you since she woke up' he sends back and my heart flutters, loving that I've made that big of an impression on her already.

I check the time and see that it's already nine am which is a record time for me to sleep as well since I'm usually up by seven most days. Then again it's not everyday that you get to spend the night with a man like him...

Wait! That's not what I meant!

'She can't stop talking about going shopping for butterflies so I wanted to see if we could set up a time soon. Maybe this weekend if you're free?' he suggests and I have to restrain myself from kicking my feet, just thinking about this man asking to see me again, disguised by his daughter wanting to get butterfly decorations for her room.

'This weekend sounds perfect! I'm free tomorrow as well so either day is fine' I offer up and face palm, scolding myself for being too eager. 'Tomorrow sounds great! Should we meet around eleven? Juni and I would love to take you out to lunch if you'd like. You know, to thank you for the help' he sends and I can't help but think that maybe he's a little nervous too.

'Eleven it is! Should I meet you guys there? There's a shop that I'm sure Juni will love and it'll definitely have what we're looking for!' I send and I can see the bubbles popping up to show that he's typing but they go up and down a couple more times. He'll type for a little and then stop and type again and I can only hope that I didn't say something wrong in suggesting where to go.

When a few minutes go by I decide it's best to get out of bed and get a cup of coffee. That'll wake up my brain a little more and help me hopefully not make as much of a fool of myself while texting him.

I find Salem perched on top of his cat tree, still a little jumpy from me having scared him but I think it's made him playful more than anything as I watch his tail flick back and forth while he watches me walk up to him.

"I'm sorry for scaring you" I apologize again, scratching his between his ears but when I feel my phone vibrating over and over in my hand I jump again making him climb down off his cat tree and scurry under the couch. I sigh and scold myself as a result before taking a look at my phone, seeing an incoming call from Jungkook.

I almost drop it after reading his name but catch and answer before I end up dropping it.

"Hello?" I ask, slightly out of breath from the scare but try to hide it as best as I can. "Hi pretty lady!" I hear Juni call out in the distance, the phone no doubt on speaker phone. "Good morning Juni! How are you little one?" I ask, feeling more at ease talking to her first and my question awards me with a little giggle before she continues.

"I'm good! Daddy says we're going to a special store to pick out the butterflies for my room! Is that right?" she asks, clear excitement laced all throughout her tone. "Yes that's right Juni we are! Does that sound alright to you?" I ask and I can clearly hear how she's jumping from excitement from how punctuated her voice sounds now as she chants "Yes" over and over again.

"I wish we could go right now!" she says, her excitement too difficult to contain at the moment which makes me smile knowing that she wants to go right away. 

"Patience Juni, tomorrow isn't too far away" I hear Jungkook's voice coming through now and it makes my breath hitch, forgetting the fact that he had been there all along. He wasn't kidding when he said that Juni grabs everyone's attention right away. Given the chance I'm sure she would've talked to me for hours if her dad hadn't reminded her.

"That's right Juni, only one more sleep until tomorrow" I say and I can hear a little gasp from the other side. "Does that mean I can go to sleep right now and then we can go?" she asks, not understanding the concept entirely.

"Not unless you want to sleep for twenty four hours silly" he says and I hear a fit of giggles that could only mean that he might've tickled her but after a few seconds it's calmed down.

"How long is twenty four hours?" she asks, a constant roulette of questions gearing up if he doesn't answer this question correctly.

"You know how you woke up yesterday, went to school, came home, played with your toys, got ready, went to meet Ms. y/n, came back home, went to bed and woke up this morning?" he lists off and I can tell she's probably nodded her head all throughout his explanation.

"Yes?" she responds in a questioning tone, waiting for him to get to the point. "Well that's how long twenty four hours is" he responds and I hear jumping again once he's finished before an excited Juni calls out. "Does that mean we get to go see Ms. y/n again when I get home from school?" she asks and my heart melts at her excitement.

"Juni, we're seeing her tomorrow remember. I'm sure Ms. y/n is very busy tonight" he says and I hear a sad "Oh" from her and I contemplate my next words carefully before going for it. "Juni, would it be okay if I talked to your Daddy for a second?" I ask and I can hear her let out a disheartened 'Okay' before Jungkook takes the phone off speaker.

"Hey y/n, sorry she's a little hyper this morning" he says and I smile at his efforts to apologize for Juni's adorable disposition. "No that's okay, I love talking to her! She's a cutie" I say and he hums, "Try living with her" he counters and I smile, knowing that her excitable attitude might get a little tiring sometimes.

"I wanted to ask you if you would like to do something today after Juni gets home from school? Maybe meet you at the park? I forgot to give you Juni's dress last night after I washed it. I have to go back to my parent's house to pick it up anyway and theres a park around the corner. It's your call though. I don't want to go against what you told her" I say, rambling off nervously again but this time over the phone instead of texting and I regret ever offering it in the first place.

Why am I so freaking awkward?

"You sure you don't mind? I could always just get it from you tomorrow? I don't want to inconvenience you or anything" he says, giving me a chance to back out but not saying no to me, giving me a vote of confidence. "I wouldn't have offered if I minded" I say with a smile in my tone and he takes another second to think before giving me his response.

"She gets off at three, does that work for you or should we meet up later?" he asks and my heart skips a beat, knowing that I'll get to see him again so soon. "That sounds great, you can meet me at my parent's house if you'd like? The park isn't too far away so we can leave our cars and walk there" I offer and he takes a couple of seconds to think again before saying anything else.

"Juni, do you wanna go see Ms. y/n after school?" he asks and I can hear her little feet running around this time and repeating her response of ceaseless Yes's again. "Well I guess we'll see you later then. I can bring some food for us to take to the park if you'd like?" he offers and I shake my head before remembering that thankfully he can't see me in my sleepy state.

"No that's okay I got it covered. You already said you guys are taking me to lunch tomorrow so the least I could do is bring us food to share at the park today. Plus, I'm the one who suggested it in the first place" I explain and he chuckles before agreeing.

"Alright, thank you y/n. Should we show up around four then?" he asks, giving them time to make their way over after picking her up from school. "Four sounds perfect, I'll see you then!" I say and he calls Juni over to say goodbye. "Bye Pretty Lady! See you after school!" she giggles. 

I swear I'm never going to tire of her excitable disposition.

"Goodbye Juni! Have a good day and listen to your teachers okay?" and I can hear a faint 'I will' in the background, no doubt from her running off to do something. "Thanks again y/n, I know she's going to be so excited to see you today...we both are" he adds at the end and my heart skips at his confession. "Me too" I say quietly and we finish up our goodbye's before quickly hanging up.

I slowly walk over to the couch as to not scare Salem this time, grab the pillow next to me, put it over my face and scream into it. Although I tried to muffle it I still end up scaring him making him run off to my room, no doubt planning to be wary of me for the rest of the day but that's okay.

I get to see them again, I get to see him again.

I really hope I'm not wrong about thinking that there might actually be something between us already, something about this just feels right. I don't want to rush into this too quickly though since we don't really know much about each other. I want to take things slow and hopefully he does too.

Well...I hope he'll want to take things further but you never know, a man like him is sure to have a lot of options, right? I just don't want to set myself up for heartbreak. Gotta keep it together and not get too vulnerable with him, even if it feels like I should. 

I've already let him in a little, and he's definetly let me in a lot with letting me spend so much time with his daughter but I don't know, I guess only time will tell what's going to happen between us.

If there's going to be an 'us'.

~~~~~

The day drags on as I unconsciously count down the hours until I get to see them again but it seems as though time is standing still.

I've spent most of my day editing the pictures I took for a family friend's wedding since that's usually how I get my clients these days. I know someone who knows someone who needs a photographer and my rates are pretty fairly priced so they tend to hire me.

Going through picture after picture and seeing how happy they look together makes me wonder what it would be like to be truly happy with someone like this. Be so openly and obviously in love that no one can say otherwise.

As time ticks by though my mind wanders off until I realize I only have about an hour to get ready before I have to meet them.

"Shit!" I say aloud and get up to hopefully make myself look presentable enough, luckily I took a shower this morning so we're all set on that front. I still need to figure out something for us to eat while at the park though and if I had paid attention to the time it would've been a brilliant idea.

The only option I have left is to phone a friend.

"Y/n? Is something wrong?" my mom asks, the call on speakerphone while I try to fix my hair. "Well depends on if you can help me or not" I say and I hear her sigh. "Please tell me you didn't end up in jail" she says and I scoff at her obviously sarcastic remarks.

"Very funny mom, but for your information no I did not end up in jail. This is seriously something I need help with though. Are you busy right now?" I ask, hoping and praying her answer is no. "No I'm pretty much free for the rest of the day, why?" she responds and I let out a huge sigh before responding.

"Good! Can you do me a favor and throw together a picnic lunch for three? Well...two and a half" I ask, not wanting to give up who it's for but by her gasp I can tell she already knows. "Are you and Jungkook seeing each other again already?" she asks, and I can tell her eyes are as wide as saucers with her hand over her mouth, her reactions being the same since I was a child.

"Yes" I say, giving a one worded response leaving me turning down the volume on my phone when I hear her squealing. "This is incredible! See I knew you two would hit it off! I can hear the church bells ringing already" she says, jumping to conclusions as she always does.

"Mom can you please get the food ready for me?" I plead, going back to the topic at hand while putting some makeup on, nothing too crazy but not wanting to over or under compensate. "Yes yes of course. Leave it to me!" and before I can say another word she's hanging up the phone. "Well that was easy" I say to myself before going to my closet to pick out what to wear.

As I'm flipping through my options I see Salem come out of the darkness, scaring me half to death leaving me scoffing seconds later, realizing he's given me a taste of my own medicine "Okay I guess I deserved that one huh?" I say to him and he meows in response.

"Okay Salem this one, or this one" I say, placing my options in front of him and he sniffs both before swatting at the one he's chosen. "You don't think a sun dress is too much?" I ask and he meows almost as if he was telling me to trust him and so I laugh and give in.

"I hope Juni likes it" I mumble to myself, quickly throwing it on and rushing to finish getting ready. A few minutes later I'm giving Salem a couple tummy rubs like I always do and rushing out the door, praying that I'll get there on time.

The drive to my parent's house seems like it's taking ten times longer than usual and I'm constantly glancing at the clock, making sure that I won't be late but thankfully I get there with plenty of time to spare.

"Hurry up they'll be here any minute!" my mom says, practically having babysat the door to make sure I arrive first. "Nice to see you too" I mumble, never getting a proper hello from her anymore. "The basket is on the table and I put a blanket in there as well" she says rushing me over to where she's put it and it's at that moment she finally notices my appearance.

"You really like him don't you?" she ask, smugness laced in her tone as her efforts of matchmaking are slowly succeeding. "No! Yes...I don't know" I deny but I backtrack immediately since I really do like him. "I haven't been interested in anyone in years and so I don't want to try too hard but I don't know" I somewhat admit to myself, as well my mom that I'm really starting to warm up to the idea of being with someone again.

"It's okay love, he hasn't been with anyone in a really long time either" she says and I furrow my brow, "How do you know that?".

"Well Mrs. Jeon and I were talking about it last night and it seems like ever since his wife died he's been really closed off to love or the idea of dating again. He's tried a few times but they never went beyond a second or third date" she relays and I nod my head, distracting myself with looking through all of the things she had placed in the basket. 

I try not to let any expression spread across my face since I don't know how to feel. I don't want to say I'm happy that things didn't work out between him and another woman but it's also sad to think about how Jungkook might've felt when his wife passed in such a traumatic way.

"Thank you for telling me but I think I should start learning more about him when he feels comfortable talking to me about it. It's only fair right? I'm sure he hasn't asked too much about me and my past so I guess shouldn't either" I say and walk into the kitchen to get a glass of water.

"But he has" she says when my mouth is full making me spit it into the sink that was thankfully right in front of me. "He what?" I cough, trying to compose myself as I learn this tidbit of information. "He has asked about you. In fact I was on the phone with her right before you got here" I grab a paper towel to dab off whatever water I have left on me but before I'm able to respond we hear the doorbell ringing.

"I'll get it" she say knowingly, giving me another second to calm down before I have to face him. I take a few deep breaths, fix my hair and check my reflection as best as I can in the smudged steel finish on the fridge while listening to my mother greet them at the door.

While Jungkook and my mother exchange a few words I peek around the corner and notice Juni slightly tugging on my mom's pant leg. "Excuse me but where's the pretty lady?" she asks and I have to hold back the coos I want to let out so badly, my heart already a puddle at the sight of her pleading eyes wanting to see me.

"Why don't you go look for her?" she says and when Jungkook looks up his eyes meet mine immediately for just a second but long enough to know my cover is blown. I duck back into the kitchen to hide, convincing myself that he didn't see me when he clearly did. 

"Go on" he says softly when Juni no doubt looks up at him for approval and my mother follows behind her as Juni walks in the completely opposite direction from where I am, my mom trailing behind her, giving no hints and letting her explore on her own.

I assume that Jungkook follows them but when I hear what sound like his footsteps get closer and not further away I tiptoe my way into the pantry, completely mortified that I know now for a fact that he caught me staring at them.

I close the door almost all the way and ten seconds later I watch as his form passes by the little crack in the doorway and I hold my breath as if that might help but there's only one way in and one way out of this kitchen and both him and I know that.

Why did I even hide? What was I thinking? Way to start things off on the right foot.

While I'm busy scolding myself I forget to pay attention and stumble back when he opens the door. "Got ya" he chuckles and I clear my throat, "Yeah I uh, I guess you did" I say, trying to lean back against one of the shelves, stumbling over a box instead but quickly recovering.

"Why are you hiding?" he chuckles, leaning up against the door frame and crossing his arms making me look down and notice how one of them is completely covered in tattoos. I had never specifically been attracted to tattoos before but on him...

I lose track of what he had said and only realize I had left a lull in the conversation when he clears his throat. "Oh I-" I start off but when I hear my mother and Juni's voices in the other room I grab his shirt and pull him in, making him stumble inside, closing the door right away.

It's only when he hits the switch to turn the light on that I realize what I had done.

"I-" I try to apologize but when I look up at him I notice that there's something in the way he's looking at me that I have never seen before, making my words die in my throat. We stand there for what feels like hours but had only been mere moments just observing each other, watching those small changes of expressions and I start to feel dizzy under his gaze. 

The tension between us clear and building but it's only when he opens his mouth to say something that the door is thrown open and we're met with a squeal from Juni. She runs into the closet and grabs onto Jungkook's leg making him stumble forward and as a result pins me against the shelf, his hands resting on either side of me.

It's like the universe is playing some sort of sick and twisted joke on us, constantly putting us in situations like these and yet we had only just become reacquainted with each other last night. 

"I found you!" Juni squeals again, giggles as her cries of victory and she soon pulls on Jungkook's leg to try and separate us. 

"Daddy I wanna play with the pretty lady" Juni pouts and in her efforts of trying to pull him off of me he actually loses his footing and stumbles, our bodies fully flush against each other now, his face just inches away from mine. 

I blink up at him and he does the same to me, both of us frozen and not really knowing what to do. It's only when my mother chimes in and asks Juni to come with her to get a snack that that little bubble that had formed around us had been popped.

"I...sorry... I uh, tripped...you know...with Juni and everything" he says, fumbling his words like a school boy, taking a few steps back to be at a respectful distance again. "Yeah no it's fine. I um, I shouldn't have pulled you in here in the first place" I admit and he smirks, remembering the point that lead us up to the little predicament we're in. 

"Why did you pull me in here?" he smiles, glancing over at where my mom has Juni plopped down on the kitchen counter with a popsicle in her hand. "I take hide and seek very seriously" I explain, me being the one crossing my arms now and he chuckles at my lame excuse for my actions but accepts it anyways. 

"Right" he says and offers me a hand to lead me out which I reluctantly accept.

"Mom she'll spoil her dinner" I say, scolding her with Juni just lost in the flavor and sheer size of it. To be fair it looks adorable in her little hands. "It's alright, a little sugar won't hurt her. Plus we're still going to the park right?" he asks and I look at him and nod. "Right" I agree and lift Juni off the counter to set her on her feet. 

"Hi Miss y/n" she says with a bright smile with her lips and tongue stained a bright shade of red from the cherry flavor. "Hi Juni" I say and fix her little sun dress that she's wearing, it's almost as if we had planned to match and when she notices me straightening out her dress she look at mine and also notices the similarity right away. 

"Look Daddy! Miss y/n and I are matching!" she says with the toothiest grin I've ever seen, her front two teeth standing out just a little bit more making it another cute little trait she shares with her father. Although who knows if she'll keep that once she starts losing her teeth I think to myself and quickly fix her hair as well since it's gotten a bit ruffled in the excitement of it all. 

"That's right baby, you both look so beautiful" he says making my heart skip a beat. When I look over at him he's giving me a similar adoring look he gave Juni just moments ago making it even harder for me to not melt into a puddle. 

I'm beginning to notice that these two really know how to tug on a person's heartstrings, it's almost as if it were as easy as breathing and that's something that's gonna take a while to get used to. 

"Can we go to the park now, please?" Juni asks, her eyes going back and forth between the two of us and when I look over at Jungkook he nods. "Sure, are you ready?" I ask, turning back to Juni and she jumps up and down and chants 'Yes' over and over again like she had done this morning on the phone. 

"Alright let's go" I say and with one hand clutching her popsicle for dear life she uses the other one to grab mine and drag me towards the front door. 

"Juni be careful" Jungkook scolds but I turn back towards him and assure him not to worry and I can see how he relaxes at that. She's a little bouncing ball of sunshine, emphasis on the bouncing since she can hardly sit still most of the time unless she's eating, and even then she's dancing around and smiling happily. I swear if this girl gets any sweeter I'm gonna start getting a toothache.

I let go of Juni's hand while my mother entertains her so we can make sure we have everything before we head out and when I try to turn around to grab my cardigan Jungkooks already grabbing it and holding it out to help me put it on. "Oh! I can-" "I know" he cuts me off but doesn't make any moves to give it to me so I turn my back to him and let him do as he pleases, sliding it up my arms and over my shoulders.

He runs his hands down my arms, no doubt as an excuse to smooth it all out but it causes a slight shiver to run through my system and he let's go, surprised at the reaction. 

"You sure you're gonna be warm enough?" he asks, a hint of amusement laced in his tone making my cheeks heat up but I nod my head and quickly rush over to the table where the basket is so I don't have to face him but he takes it from me as soon as my fingers brush the handle, making our hands touch. 

"I can carry that" I counter and he shakes his head, "No I'll carry it, someone's gotta hold Juni's hand while we walk there" he says, clearly delegating our respective duties and I smile and nod again. "Deal" and at that we're out the door. 

~~~~

"Higher Daddy higher!" Juni squeals while Jungkook pushes her on the swing, his arms no doubt getting a little tired since she's been on it for the past ten minutes now and I can see he's losing momentum with every push. 

"Daddy's tired Juni. Can you swing on your own now? You know, just like I taught you" he suggests and she thinks about it for a second before saying a quick 'Okay' and clumsily moving her legs back and forth to keep the momentum going.

I smile as I watch Jungkook stumble over towards where I've been sitting on the blanket and watching them, adoring their father daughter relationship. "You're so good with her" I praise when he sits down and hand him a cold water bottle which he accepts right away and downs half of it. 

"You think so?" he asks, always unsure of himself but I couldn't think of a more perfect father than him. "I know so. She's lucky to have a loving devoted father like you" I say and he smiles softly, grabing one of the strawberries that my mother had packed for us. 

"You flatter me" he says, a slight blush blooming on his cheeks making me feel almost smitten with him. "It's the truth" I reenforcing what I've said and he shakes his head, finishing off the fruit in his mouth.

"Sometimes I feel like I'm not enough, you know? Like there's only so much I could give her" he says and I can tell from how his body language has changed that he's really thinking about how he wishes her mother could be here for her too.

"What was her name?" I ask and he looks at me curiously, not knowing that I'm on the same page as him yet. "Your wife, what was her name?" I say tentatively but when he registers it I quickly backtrack. "I'm sorry, you don't have to tell me that. I just figured that you might've been well..." I trail off and we sit there in silence watching Juni swing back and forth, back and forth until he decides to speak up. 

"Julie" he says softly, as if it had been years since he had spoken it. "Her name was Julie" he says softly and when I look over at him I can see the melancholy expression he's trying to hide. "That's a beautiful name, did you want Juni's name to sound similar to her's?" I ask, not wanting to make this conversation go dark but knowing that talking about her might cheer him up.

"Well, kinda. We wanted something that combined both of our names. It's silly, I know" he mumbles getting bashful about it. "It's not silly, it's wonderful to see in a way that both you and Juni are still carrying her with you everyday. It's a beautiful way to pay tribute to her" I reassure him and he smiles at me, mouthing a silent thank you. 

"I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't have pried" I apologize again, seeing that it still has him feeling down. "No it's okay, it's nice to talk about her every once in a while. Thank you, for that" him now reassuring me and I nod, both of us left in silence for a while before Juni runs up to us. 

"Daddy what's wrong?" she asks, seeing the clearly deflated Jungkook as she gets closer and it's good to see that instead of brushing it off like it's nothing he doesn't hesitate to tell her how he's feeling. "I'm just a little sad, Ms. y/n and I were just talking about Mommy" he explains and she gets almost a look of understanding which is surprising for someone of her age. 

"Please don't be sad Daddy, remember you said Mommy is always watching over us right?" she say, giving him the talk that he's clearly had with her a time or two. "Right" he say, brightening up just a bit. "And she wouldn't want to see us sad when we think about her right?" she continues, an slightly stern tone creeping up which makes both Jungkook and I smile. "Right" he echos again and she nods her head in agreement. 

"You always tell me to look in the mirror and touch my nose, and my ears and my lips and everything else that you say reminds you of her and you tell me that she'll always be right here with me. So that means when I'm here with you she's here too right?" she asks again and he chuckles. 

"When did you get so smart?" he says, grabbing her and starts tickling her, making her squirm all over the place and when he finally has mercy on her and she catches her breath she answers, "Well I am turning five soon" she says matter-o-factly and I can't help but chuckle at that. "Oh right, how could I forget" he over exaggerates  and she giggles, grabbing his shoulder before leaning in to whisper something. 

"Daddy can we show the pretty lady a picture of Mommy?" she says almost at full volume leaving him flinching back. It's adorable how she still hasn't figured out this whole whispering thing. "Sure baby" he obliges and pulls out his phone, picking out one and handing it to her so she can show it to me. 

She surprises me by plopping down in my lap and putting the phone way too close to my face. "This is my Mommy, her name is Julie" she says proudly and my heart can't help but ache thinking this is the only way she's known her mother. "She's beautiful Juni" I say, putting my hand on top of her hand that's holding the phone and pulling it back so I can see the picture properly. 

"You really do have your mom's nose" I chuckle when I notice the same curved button nose they share leaving me booping her's and making her smile. She scrolls through a couple more photos giving me little bits of commentary that no doubt Jungkook has told her as she grew up and it's when I hear the soft click of a camera that I look back up at him. 

"Sorry, it was too perfect not to" he says, seemly enjoying watching the two of us and I can't help the way my heart skips a beat making me shy all over again. "Can we take some more pictures?" Juni asks, wrapping her little arms around my neck and squishing my face against her's leaving me laughing at how adorable this all is. 

Jungkook obliges and we take picture after picture after picture together until Juni is satisfied and has run off to play again. 

"I didn't even know that you brought that" I say, watching as he fiddles around with the camera, flipping through the photos he just took. "It was on the table right behind the basket" he explains and now that I think about it I do remember seeing the corner of a camera bag sitting next to it. 

He smiles as he looks at the pictures and I lean over to catch a glance at them but he pulls it back out of my reach. "Hey!" I chuckle and she shakes his head. "Not until they're edited" he refuses and I scoff. 

"You're not actually going to edit them are you?" I say, nervous at the thought of him spending hours looking at those pictures. "Why wouldn't I?" he asks as if I had said something confusing. "Well I mean, aren't you busy with work? I doubt you would want to take extra time out of your day to play around with them" I explain and he smiles. 

"Let me take a few more and then I'll let you see them" he says, angling his body so he's facing me. "Did you want me to call Juni back?" I ask but when I try he stops me with another click and I look back at him confused. "I meant of just you" he says simply but I can tell he feels a bit bashful from the way he's started to hide behind the camera. 

"I'm not used to being the one in front of the camera" I say, trying to figure out exactly how to pose but he chuckles and puts the camera down a little to take a good look at me. "I don't see why not, you're beautiful" he says casually as if those words hadn't sent my heart into overdrive. "I-" I start but the words just don't come out, especially when he places the camera down and leans in closer. 

He takes my hand and places it on the blanket so I can lean on it, places the other in my lap, angles my shoulders slightly away from him and takes my chin and softly tilts my head up, making the sunlight peer down on my face through the leaves of the tree we're under. 

"Just relax" he says, acting as if I could possibly relax after he had his hands all over me, posing me just how he wanted. 

I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths to clear my head and once I start to get that sense of serenity I hear a few soft clicks from his camera, taking picture after picture, him adjusting my pose by hand every time. 

"Daddy!" is the next thing we hear after who knows how long with the sight of Juni running over to us all covered in mud. "Is this your daughter?" a woman who is clearly out of breath says while trailing after Juni. 

"Juni what happened?" I chuckle, seeing that she's as happy as can be with a few smudges of dirt on her face and her dress all muddy. "Her and my son were playing over there and I guess he convinced her to jump in the mud and well..." she says, motioning towards Juni where I'm trying to clean her off as best as I can. 

"I hope she didn't cause you any trouble" Jungkook says, now feeling a bit guilty about the situation since he had taken his eye off her for a second. 

"No, not at all. If anything I should be apologizing for my son. I swear we look away for one second and he's as dirty as can be" she chuckles, finally close to catching her breath. 

"Can you tell the nice lady thank you for bringing you back?" Jungkook tells Juni and she does as she's told and I can see that she has just about as much of an affect on this mom as she does with me. If Jungkook's not careful she can use her cuteness for mass destruction if left unchecked. 

We hear a boy calling out for his mom that looks just like the woman in front of us now with no doubt her husband trailing after him. "Mom, Dad says it's time to go home" he says, his state twice as bad as Juni's. What is it with kids these days and mud? I chuckle to myself and when the boy notices Jungkook and I with Juni he gets a little shy. 

"Oh, hello" he says before he goes and hides behind his mother's leg, "Oh so now you wanna be shy?" his dad teases and snatches him out from his hiding space and whispers no doubt an encouragement for him to apologize. 

"I'm sorry for getting her all dirty. She was just really nice and I wanted to have fun with her" he mumbles and I can see hints of pink peeking through the streaks of dirt on his cheeks just like Juni. 

What did I say? Weapon of mass destruction.

"It's okay sweetie, I'm just glad you had fun" I say, brushing off his apology and when he looks up at me now I can see that his blush deepens and opts to hide behind his Dad's leg this time. "Alright well say goodbye" his mom says and he mumbles a quiet goodbye and gives Juni a shy wave compared to hers being one to match her outgoing and bubbly self.

"Can we play again tomorrow?" Juni asks him and he looks up at his parents for approval. "We usually come here around this time everyday after school so you just have to ask your Mommy and Daddy if you can come again" she says and when I try to deny her claims Jungkook jumps in before I can get a word out. "We'll be here" he says and Juni smiles so wide. 

"See you tomorrow!" she calls out to them and the trio waves goodbye one last time before heading to their car. 

"Mommy and Daddy?" I turn to Jungkook while Juni is busy doing a little happy dance before taking a drink of her juice box. "Well I um, I guess they couldn't help but think we're her parents so it felt best to not correct them" he says while rubbing the back of his neck, his cheeks dusted a light shade of pink just like the little boy's were when he was looking at Juni. 

"Right, and when they say something tomorrow?" I tease and he clears his throat, no doubt not thinking this whole thing through. "Well I guess there's no harm in faking it?" he says and now I'm the one that's nervous.

"Faking it? You mean you want me to pretend to be Juni's mom? Why?" I ask, flustered by the thought of it. "I'm sorry I guess I didn't think about how you might feel about it. I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable" he apologizes but I rush to explain myself.

"I'm not uncomfortable I'm just shocked that you would want to go along with something like that to keep up appearances for people that we hardly know" I say, trying to figure out where his head is at. "Sorry that was a stupid suggestion we don't have to do it if you don't want to" he says and I shake my head.

"I mean I want to, but do you? I mean what about Juni? What's she gonna think?" I ask and watch as she chases a butterfly that has caught her eye. "We can just tell her we're playing pretend" he says and I raise a brow at him. 

"That's the best you got?" I ask and he chuckles nervously. It's funny to see that a tall, strong, handsome man like him is getting so shy about this but I'll play along, I just don't want to confuse Juni. 

"Juni can you come here for a second?" Jungkook calls and she turns and runs over to us right away, looking between the two of us since we're both looking at her with no doubt some very strange expressions. "You like to play pretend right?" he asks and she brightens up at the thought, "It's my favorite thing to do!" she says, twirling around in her very adorable muddy dress. 

"How would you feel if we started playing pretend with Ms. y/n?" he asks and she gets even more excited and does her little chanting of 'Yes' over and over again, a very adorable habit of hers. 

"So this is what we're gonna do, whenever we're out and about with Ms. y/n we're going to pretend like we're a family. You'll be the Baby, I'll be the Daddy and Ms. y/n will be the Mommy, does that sound alright to you?" he asks and she giggles and looks between the two of us, clearly loving the idea. 

"Yes let's do it!" she says, fully confident in her playing pretend skillset. "Alright Juni but there's one little rule" he says and she come in close, knowing that this part is probably a secret. "You can't call her Mommy in front of her parents or grandma and grandpa, got it?" he says and I fully agree with him, we don't need to get their hopes up when we still don't know exactly what we are. 

"Got it! Mommy?" she asks, getting my attention and trying on the name for size and I answer to it right away, somehow feeling almost natural already. "Yes Juni?" I ask, and she looks over at the playground for a second before looking back over at me. "Can I go play for just a little while  longer?" she asks, holding her hands together and giving me the cutest puppy dog eyes I've ever seen. 

"Go ahead" I say and she giggles and rushes off to run around just for a little while longer just like she said. "It suits you" Jungkook says and I look over at him curiously, "What does?" I ask with a tilt of my head. "You being a mom" he says and the words die in my throat. I've always been told I'd be a good mother when the time came but hearing it from him after what we just agreed to do just...

"Thank you" I say, my heart squeezing in a painful but also grateful way and he gives me a smile before he places his hand on my waist for a second to solidify his sincerity before walking a bit closer to the playground to watch Juni. 

I decide to start packing up the stuff we had brought and by the time Juni is dragging her feet back over to me and completely out of breath I've got everything ready to go. "You tired?" I ask and she nods her head, her blinks getting lazy as a clear sign that it's time for bed. 

"Why don't I carry her home...I mean back to my mom's house" I correct myself quickly but I can tell he liked the sound of what I had said, my implication being completely different from what he had imagined. "It's alright, I can carry her, we've got one pretty dress all muddy so I don't think we need another one" he chuckles. 

I pause for a second and pull out the picnic blanket we brought and hold it against myself before picking her up. "Problem solved" I say and he can't help but smile at my solution and quickly takes Juni's shoes off and wipes her feet clean as best as he can before taking the end of the blanket and  tucking it all up so she's practically wrapped up like a burrito. 

"You sure you can cary her? She can get a bit heavy when she's sleepy like this, especially since we've gotta walk for a little bit" he offers and I assure him I'm fine. "What kind of mother would I be if I couldn't carry my child home?" I tease and his eyes widen, clearly having forgotten the little game we're playing.

"How dare I doubt your capabilities as a mother" he chuckles and picks up our stuff, motioning for me to lead the way.

A few minutes go by and we're left in a comfortable silence on our way back to my parent's house and when I decide to speak up he does the same. "I-" "Tha-", "Sorry you go first" "No that's okay you go first" and we toss it back and forth a few more times before he hits me with the age old "Ladies first".

"Thank you for coming tonight and letting me spend some more time with Juni...well and you of course" I say sheepishly and he smiles. "I would hope you like spending time with me since you are my wife after all" he teases and now we've switched personalities. "You know, I think you're getting a little too comfortable with this already" I say and he smiles, playing with his lip piercing that I somehow only noticed right now, the silver glistening from the street lights.

There's so many things I haven't noticed about him yet, or even know about him but somehow everything seems so easy. 

"I mean can you blame me? You fit right in with Juni and I. Honestly better than I thought you would" he mumbles the last part to himself and I have to try my absolute hardest not to literally fall for him. I'm holding his daughter so I would one thousand percent say that now is not the time. 

"What?" I ask, needing clarification but he doesn't give. "Oh nothing" he smiles and picks up the pace, leaving me trailing behind him and right when I go to say something else Juni flinches leaving me slowing down and soothing her back to sleep. "Your Daddy is crazy, you know that?" I whisper to her as if she could hear me but the need to say something was too great. 

A minute or two later we're walking up to my mom's house and I twist my body to give him access to the small purse I brought with us and let him fish out the keys to open the door. 

When my mom hears us come in she goes to give us a no doubt overly exaggerated welcome home but as soon as she sees a very sleepy Juni in my arms she cuts herself off and switches to a hushed tone. 

"Looks like you all had fun" she chuckles and caresses Juni's head for a second, checking to see if she's really asleep and she very much is. "Maybe a little too much fun" Jungkook chuckles, seeing my mother slowly realize how dirty Juni had gotten. 

"She's a cheeky one isn't she?" my mom smiles lovingly and I can't help but wish this whole mom thing with Juni was real. "She is indeed" Jungkook agrees, and hands my mother the picnic basket. 

"Thank you so much for letting me steal your daughter today" Jungkook teases and I can tell that she absolutely loves this. "Honestly you can keep her. I hardly see her anyways" she says, giving Jungkook permission as well as sending a jab my way. 

"Mom" I groan and the both of them smile as if they delighted in my embarrassment. "I just might" he says softly while looking over at me and I can see my mom picking out the wedding venue as we speak, meanwhile I'm wrestling with myself to stay calm. 

We agreed to fake this relationship which means that everything he says is fake...right? I need to separate the real from the delusion but he unfortunately isn't making this any easier.

We say our final goodbyes to my mom and she watches until we walk up to Jungkook's car, no doubt still watching behind the curtain of one of our front windows, spying on us as if her life depended on it. I try to ignore it though because how we end tonight is really important to me. 

"Can I ask you something?" I say after he finishes putting Juni in the car, him closing his car door and walking me over to my car just a few feet away. "Anything" he says while ushering me toward it with a hand on my waist, a slight sign of protection since it's gotten a lot darker than we both realized. 

"When you said I fit in better than you thought I would...and that you might keep me, was that a part of this whole faking it thing we have going?" I ask, wanting to have an open line of communication with him. We're not shy teenagers anymore so as adults I feel like this is something really important to establish. 

"Do you want it to be?" he asks, standing in front of me while I lean against my car door. It still very much being locked as a very clear sign that I don't want this to end. "I mean we just met and..." I say, trailing off because I don't really know what I want. All I know is I like him. I really really like him and his daughter has got me wrapped around her cute little finger. 

"I know, we can take this slow. If this whole husband/wife thing is too much for you we don't have to do it" he offers and I shake my head, "No, no I want to. I just don't want the lines to get too blurry" I explain and he nods his head and leans his hand against the car right next to where I'm standing. 

"Blurry lines aren't a problem for me when it comes to you, it's your call though" he says and if my heart wasn't already racing it surely would've been now. I look up at him and hold my breath when he gets closer my eyes not leaving his and when he lean down I close my eyes, giving into whatever he wants to do to me. 

"Goodnight" he whispers, his warm breath fanning my neck making me lose my sense of reality for a second, wanting to lose myself in him without abandon. I can hardly breathe let alone think straight and he chuckles at that, standing up straight and ghosting his fingers along my jaw before stepping aside, a clear sign for me to get into my car and when I fumble with my keys he takes them and unlocks it and opens the door for me.

I sit down inside and look up at him, indulging myself for a few more seconds. When he hands me my keys he makes our hands touch only for a moment before saying a soft 'Drive safe'. 

When he closes the door for me I finally let out that breath I had desperately been holding back, watching as he walks back to his car with his little Juni still sound asleep.

I watch him pull out of the driveway and decide that even the way he drives is irresistible, giving me a small wave before he goes and while I'm lost in thought I almost jump out of my skin when I hear my phone ringing and my mom's name pops up.

"Mom I really can't talk right now" I say, putting her on speakerphone and starting to car. "Do not give me that y/n I am your mother and set you up with this man so tell me what is going on" she says and I sigh, checking all my mirrors and heading out as well just seconds later. 

"To be honest mom I don't even know. He's showing me very very clear signs that he's interested in me but I can't really say much of anything else at this point" I admit, the realization that the state of our relationship is anything but normal. 

"We just met last night and things are progressing fast, like really fast" I sigh, stopping at a red light, thankfully giving me a second to think. "Well I'd say this is all a good sign. I mean you're both in your thirties honey so adult relationships can progress a lot faster than when you're younger. He's a man that clearly knows what he wants and he wants you. So go for it" she encourages and I take it all in. 

"You're biased because you're my mother and would love to have his parents as your in-laws" I say and she scoffs. "Yes but that's not the point. You would be a fool if you let a man like him walk out of your life" she scolds and I know she's right. 

"I'll do my best to keep an open mind. But please don't talk to his mom yet, or at least not tonight. I don't need both of you losing sleep over this" I warn her but I know she'll do as she pleases no matter what. "You know I can't do that, but I'll do my best" she says and that is the biggest lie she's ever told but I'm not surprised since we dangled this whole thing right in front of her face. 

"You called her already didn't you?" I sigh and she chuckles. "As soon as I closed the door" she admits and I sigh, not the slightest bit surprised. "Alright mom well I gotta go but we'll talk again soon" I say, pulling into my parking spot and turning off the car. 

"Okay well keep me updated" she says and I can't help but roll my eyes. "Between you and Mrs. Jeon I'm sure you can keep each other in the loop" I say, putting my keys in the lock and closing the door behind me when I step into my apartment. "But I gotta go alright, I'll talk to you later" I say once again and hang up as soon as she says goodbye.

"Hi Salem" I sigh, watching as he jumps down from his cat tree and stretches before walking up to me, rubbing against my leg before walking over to his food bowl, clearly requesting the very late dinner I'm giving him. "I'm sorry boy, I guess I gotta get you one of those timed feeders now from the looks of it" I apologize and give him his food right away. 

I put a couple treats into his bowl as well as an apology and make my way back to my room to jump in the shower and think about everything that happened today. 

Jungkook basically admitted that he wants to get to know me better because he clearly feels like he can see a future between us and to be honest I pretty much feel the same way. It could be that we've caught a severe case of puppy love but I think we both know that this could potentially go somewhere. 

I love spending time with him and Juni, granted this is only the second time we've spent time together but still I can't get over the fact of how natural it all felt. Then he goes and pulls this whole pretend to be married business and now he's telling me he doesn't mind if the lines are blurred between us. 

This is all way too much for one day but I can't deny that I'm not enjoying the journey. This is progressing a whole lot faster than I thought it would but that doesn't necessarily mean that's a bad thing. I guess we've both got a whole lot of learning to do. 

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[gyuscoquetteribbon]

^᪲᪲᪲ what the world has to offer

SYNOPSIS: you were supposed to be home about thirty minutes ago. mingyu doesn't know why you aren't home yet and all his calls are left unanswered and his texts, delivered, but not read.

PAIRING: mingyu x gn!reader

GENRE: fluff, established relationship

WORD COUNT: 1.1k

notes: this is pretty self indulgent y'all also also omg first written piece that i've posted for the world to see in 4 years???? also im not very satisfied with how i ended this so my bad y'all but hopefully i get to write more in the coming weeks !!

hpr btw

'i'm close by, i'll be there in five mins !!!'

going by your last text, you should've been home about thirty minutes ago. needless to say, mingyu was beyond worried, pacing back and forth in your shared kitchen while he also he kept an eye on the boiling pasta.

'y/n.'

delivered.

'y/n why aren't you answering my calls???'

delivered, yet again.

delivered, but not read.

mingyu's anxiety, which had picked up upon the ten minute mark, only increased as all his texts were left unopened and unanswered.

the pasta had finally come to a boil. as mingyu turns the stove off, a soft tune fills the otherwise empty house.

his phone was ringing.

mingyu goes to pick his phone up, his speed only picking up when he sees your name illuminating on the phone screen. he attends your call, ready to chide you as he adjusts his phone so that you could see his (rather upset) face.

"y/n, why the fuck won't you—"

"i don't think i'm coming home tonight," you cut him off.

mingyu raises an eyebrow. he knew exactly why you were late the moment he saw you sat, leaning against a wall that looked much like the wall of the entrance to your apartment complex.

you angle your phone towards your lap, and there it was. the reason why you weren't home yet.

laying down cozily on your lap was a sleeping cat, pearly white fur with specks of dust and brown spots. if mingyu was right the stray was probably—

"i think he was abandoned," you pull him away from his thoughts, gently swiping your fingers over the cats ear that was cut at the tip, indicating it was spayed either by a rescue team or its previous owner. your free hand goes to cradle its head as it tips back.

a soft smile falls on mingyu's slightly chapped lips, his eyes gazing at his screen with so much love. he leans closer to the camera. "you don't even look at me with this much love," mingyu jokes, causing you to chuckle softly, "i'll bring him something to eat yeah?"

you nod and allow mingyu to cut the call. a shiver runs down your spine while you wait for your boyfriend to come down to join you. it was a particularly chilly evening. as you wait for mingyu, you watch the cat as its body rises and falls in a gentle rhythm. you had placed your woolen scarf over the cat earlier, when it had fallen asleep, afraid that it might be too cold for him. you sit there, wondering how confused the cat must have felt upon being thrown into the streets to fend for itself after being sheltered for so long. you felt sorry. the world is too cruel, you think to yourself.

"hi," mingyu's voice pulls you out of your thoughts. you lift your head to look up at your grinning boyfriend, the scarf wrapped around his neck doesn't hide his sharp canines shining under the dim light of the lamppost.

"hi," you whisper back as mingyu squats down across you. with all the sudden commotion, the cat stirs awake, sleep eyes blinking up at the new figure before him. "he's awake," you note, eyeing the cat cautiously, praying that the presence of another person doesn't scare him.

the cat sits up immediately, the scarf draped over his body, slipping onto the ground. its eyes land on the small tin of cat food which mingyu had bought along. good thing mingyu had bought a bunch of those since you have a habit of feeding strays in your area whenever you come across one.

you loved cats. mingyu knew that much. going out on walks with you almost always meant that you'd both would have to stop somewhere in the side of a road because you came across a stray cat. sometimes, you'd stop mid conversation if you see one, rushing towards it, muttering a soft "look! cat!" mingyu doesn't mind, though.

in fact, it was this quality of yours that made him fall so deeply in love with you. despite the pain the world had given you, love was all you ever gave back. that too with a big grin on your face. when you'd run towards a stray cat mid-conversation, you'd miss the fond smile that'd fall on mingyu's lips. when he'd go shop for groceries, you'd miss the absent-minded smile that'd paint his lips when he'd inevitably walk down the aisle containing pet food. when he'd see you sat beside your potted plant, talking for hours about anything and nothing at all while a slow song plays in the background, you'd miss the way he'd look at you, with hearts in his eyes.

they can hear you. it helps them grow better, you had told him.

once again, you had missed the way he was smiling at you. "or so it seems." a puff of air briefly forms in front of mingyu's mouth as a chuckle escapes his lips. the cat jumps out of your lap and approaches the can of food cautiously, almost as if it'd disappear if he'd look away. gently, mingyu pushes it closer towards the cat, assuring that the food is, in fact, for him.

you sit on your knees, your freezing hands falling on your lap as the cat takes his first few bites, his entire face fitting into the can. when he lifts his head, his overgrown whiskers are coated with minced meat. you and mingyu coo softly as the cat looks up at the two of you with his minced meat clad fur and whiskers.

you laugh, your eyes crinkling at the sides. you sounded so beautiful. music that mingyu wishes was only reserved for his ears; for him to listen to and cherish. but alas, the world knows your name.

"you've taken quite a liking towards him," mingyu points out.

you look at your boyfriend, "i wish we could take him home." an unsaid plea.

mingyu laughs softly, reaching forward to gently pat your head, "i'm free tomorrow. i'll pick you up from work and we both can take him to get vaccinated, alright?" he smiles, mirroring your own beaming smile, "i'm sure bopeul would like a friend or two when we go visit my family when i get a break."

"and, i'm sure dollop would love bopeul too," you say.

mingyu raises a brow, "is that what we're naming him?"

"yes."

"dollop it is then," he smiles, reaching down to gently boop its snout.

you miss the way mingyu smiles at you when you aren't looking. but, you never miss the way he loves you. all the little ways he's shown his love. you've never once had to ask for something. he'd know.

maybe this was what the world had to offer for all the love you've given it.

[bamboobooshark]

YOUR WADE WILSON’S HEADCANONS WERE SO GOOODDDDDD PLS DO MORE WADE STUFF OMG <33

WADE WILSON X READER

⋆༺𓆩⚔︎ DELICIOUS : 872 WRDS

<RATING: PG-13, DESCRIPTION OF A MAKEOUT, BITING>

A/N : More Wade due to popular request! Which I didn’t expect at all because I thought I wrote him out of character BUT THE CROWD SAYS OTHERWISE (and I’m hugging the crowd so hard, thank you all deeply for the compliments)!!!! No additional warnings than the rating!

You groan in anguish while sitting on your couch. Wade said he’d “be home in a jiffy” thirty minutes ago when you called him. Maybe you should call him again. Yeah, you’ll call him again.

The phone rings once before he picks up. He grunts while fumbling to get his phone positioned between his shoulder and cheek. “Hey, pumpkin! Did something happen? Is everything okay? What’s up,” he asks with the most excited tone, sounding absolutely thrilled just to hear your voice. You let out a huff while shaking your head. “No, nothing’s wrong. I just miss you so badly. Please come home, Wade,” you whine, pouting even if Wade can’t see it himself. He laughs at your whining as he slips his phone into his hand. “I’ll be there soon. I pinky promise, okay,” he says with a sincere tone. You exhale deeply and hum in agreement. “Okay, but you better not be lying again. If you are, you’re sleeping on the couch,” you threaten. Wade audibly gasps. “The couch? Oh, you wouldn’t dare,” he challenges with a playful tone. “I so would,” you reply. “Good thing I’m not lying then,” he says before he hangs up on you. You’re about to grab the nearest pillow and scream into it before you hear Wade open the door.

You get up from the couch and run up to him happily. “Oh my god! I missed you, you idiot,” you chuckle as your arms wrap tightly around his waist. He pretends to start choking and gasping for air. “Holy shit, baby! If I could die it’d be from your sweet self crushing my bones so hard they puncture a lung,” he jokes. You ignore his words and hug him a little bit harder just for saying that. Once you pull back and look into his eyes, he points towards something with his gaze. You look where his eyes are guiding you, and he’s holding a tube of chapstick. Your grip around him loosens and you frown with nothing but love for him. “Oh come on. You didn’t have to go out for that long just to get me some new chapstick. I told you I could’ve gotten some myself,” you insist while looking at Wade. He does nothing but give you a goofy smile in response. “But I did, sugar. I really, really did,” he assures you before kissing your nose.

“Now, how about we — sorry, you try it? I meant you. I bought this for you,” he corrects with a straight face. You shake your head because you know exactly what he intends to do. You sigh softly and take the chapstick out of his hand, watching him eye you intently while you put it on. “Holy Mary, mother of Jesus, you are just stunning,” he mutters softly. “Wade! Stop that,” you exclaim before playfully hitting his arm. He rubs his bicep as if you made him experience the worst pain ever, frowning like an abandoned puppy from your actions. He mumbles a soft sorry while letting you finish applying the chapstick.

“Oh! That’s really nice. Where’d you get this,” you ask with wide eyes. Wade simply shrugs and smiles before grabbing you with one hand on your back and one under your thigh. “C’mere you,” he grunts. He butts his forehead against yours like a cling cat, humming happily. You are completely silent aside from the heavy breaths caused by Wade’s sudden actions. “What the hell was that for,” you ask through a nervous laugh. “I don’t need to explain for that was for. Now, let me try some of your chapstick. I bought it, so it’s fair game,” he teased before leaning forward to press his lips onto yours.

He sighs against your soft skin, brows knitting together tightly. Your hands go from his shoulders to the back of his head and you ever so slightly dig into his flesh. He pulls back, eyes wide and expectant. “I think I need to get another taste,” he mumbles almost mindlessly while attempting to keep up his usual attitude. “And I’d be glad to give it to you,” you manage to huff out before tightening your legs around his waist a bit more. Wade tries his best to be as close as possible to you while holding you in his arms. He fingers dig into your thighs and the hand on your back juts to press you closer against him. He bites at your bottom lip, panting heavily. You’re quick to let him in, your tongues pressing as he tastes you. You whine into his mouth and the bastard smiles against you. As much as you want to slap him for smiling right now, you don’t blame him for feeling so giddy.

He moves cautiously over to the couch, sitting you down on his lap carefully. He unlatches himself from your lips and looks up at you with his big, brown eyes that look so pitifully pretty in the moment. You’ve never seen him so star struck during your makeout sessions. “What’s up,” you ask with a slightly concerned look on your face. His lips form the smallest smile before he whispers to you, “Nothing. You’re just so damn delicious, baby.”

[drak3n]

THE LOST LOVE

ꨄ. SYNOPSIS: two lovers who went seperate ways years ago… one of the cases we love most!

ꨄ. CONTENT WARNINGS: exes to lovers, angst, hurt/comfort, age gap (reader was in college & toji in his thirties when they met), dad!toji, breakup, implied divorce, insecurities, smut, unprotected sex

bold italic quotes = letter excerpts

PROLOGUE. | SERIES MASTERLIST.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ ♡•°`.

“i like to think that meeting each other was like a breath of fresh air. for both of us. wouldn’t you agree?”

wake up. go to work. get home. eat. sleep. repeat.

toji’s life was a vicious cycle, one of a middle age man with no goals in life. it was funny to him how people would actually call that a life.

the only times he truly felt like he was alive was when he was seated on the bleachers watching a good old horse race. or a boat race. or whatever it was that he had bet money on.

no one understood him.

toji knew that life rarely gifted him anything. he was no lucky man. in the many years of betting and gambling, he seldomly won. and the money he had won those few times was enough to cover the ticket and perhaps a nice dinner.

and although knowing he was probably going to leave empty-handed, he did it for the thrill. it made him feel youthful again. like he hadn’t wasted his years on useless things that aged him faster than he had hoped to. like he was still the same old teenager he had been years ago.

it wasn’t until one fated day that he found out that there were other things that could bring him back to his youth, other than doing useless crap that only burned a hole in his pocket.

said thing being you.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ ♡•°`.

“the way we met wasn’t really romantic. it wasn’t like a scene out of a movie or a novel. looking back, it was quite comedic, even. i’m sure you felt the same way.”

there were a lot of terrible things that came with being a busy person, one of which you were facing right now. standing in front of a ridiculously long line at the grocery store.

you ran out of basic ingredients for cooking, it was a saturday evening, and you really did not want to order takeout again for a third time this week.

standing in front of you was a group of drunken kids — by kids you meant they were around your age, maybe in college like you — but they were different. they seemed carefree. they used their time to have fun and laugh instead of constantly grumping and punishing you with more work than you had.

you wished you could be like them, too. at least sometimes.

what made you get out of your train of thoughts was the sound of an item being placed on the conveyor belt, the rattling sounding too familiar for your liking. another person who hated cooking, so it seemed. and another person who barely had enough change to get a cup of instant noodles.

it was a man — you heard from the occasional sighs and grunts leaving his lips, and the way his cologne wafted over to invade your senses.

why did you suddenly have the urge to turn around and bond with this random stranger? perhaps hit him up with something like ‘heck, youngsters these days, right?’

absolutely not. that would be goofy as hell. and judging by how slowly the like progressed, you were likely going to stand here for at least ten more minutes. you would rather die than make a fool of yourself and then proceed to stand here for even longer afterwards.

oddly enough, the huffing stranger beat you to it. your breath hitched in your throat at the gruff voice sounding.

“s’cuse me, little lady.”

a bulky arm shot forward from behind you, making you step aside to grant him access to the side of the conveyor. you cleared your throat, turning around with an apologetic smile— and damn was he hot.

he looked quite a bit older than you, and he looked quite… distraught. sleepless, deep green eyes, unruly jet black hair that looked like he hadn’t gotten cut in a while, and a stubble gracing his jaw and chin.

you hated romanticizing people who weren’t feeling their best. so, you quickly snapped out of it.

“sorry for hogging the conveyor.” you chuckled, trying to lighten up the tense atmosphere as everyone else in the line was quite angry. the man gave you a halfhearted smile, scar on the right side of his mouth stretching. you wondered how he’d gotten that scar.

“don’t worry ‘bout it,” he waved your apology off, slightly motioning at the impatient woman huffing and puffing behind him. “someone’s just very fuckin’ annoying.”

you couldn’t help but chuckle at his words. then, your eyes wandered to the conveyor, staring up to meet his again. “you can get in front of me, sir.” you offered kindly, already moving to make some space in front of you, “don’t have to wait even longer for a single item.”

the surprise in his eyes was a dead giveaway that no one had been polite or nice to him in a long time. before he could make it obvious, he shook his head, uttering, “s’fine. thanks.”

but you insisted, for some reason. it wasn’t until he was standing in front of you, cup of ramen placed in front of your groceries, and the seething woman now standing right behind you, that you were happily smiling.

the man walked off after paying for his noodles when the line finally progressed what felt like years later, not even sparing you a glance. you were barely able to contain your disappointment as you bagged your groceries and shuffled outside of the store, ready to take the train back home with full hands.

just to see the man from the line in the grocery store thumbing at the instant noodle cup’s lid, lit cigarette dangling from his lips.

his hands wordlessly approached yours to take your bags of groceries, not even frowning at the heaviness of them, as he let out a puff of cigarette smoke.

“i’ll drop ya off, little lady.”

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ ♡•°`.

“our love was fierce. characterized by sleepless nights, stolen breaths and undying passion.”

ragged breaths filled the air of your small bedroom. it was dark, perhaps around nighttime, and the air was thick with sweat, arousals and the sinful smell of sex.

a lazy kiss was exchanged between you two with swollen, trembling lips as you settled down in each other’s arms. your eyes were shut as toji moved a little to light a cigarette.

your fingertips traced over his bare, built chest, post-orgasmic glow making his handsome face look even prettier. you were convinced he was the prettiest man you’d ever seen in your life.

“are you staying for dinner?” you asked, voice hoarse and quiet from how he had formerly railed you into your mattress. toji wasn’t a gentle lover. the word soft was very foreign to him. but you didn’t mind that. you didn’t mind him squeezing your hand too tightly whenever he held it. he didn’t know any better.

he exhaled the cigarette smoke away from you, large palm settling on the tender, bruised flesh on your hips. his thick, rough fingers traced over the softness of your skin that he had grabbed and kneaded mere minutes ago while manhandling you.

“sorry, baby,” he mumbled into your hair as you already knew what was coming, “gotta go. i’ll stay over next time, promise.”

you wanted him to stay, you really did, but with a sigh, you watched as he got dressed and left — not without pulling you into another kiss. missing the way his eyes twisted with a hint of guilt as he shut the door to your apartment behind himself.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ ♡•°`.

“you weren’t a man of many words. you didn’t like talking too much about yourself. but you’d always listen to whatever i’d say. and whenever i wasn’t up to talk, we’d relish in each other’s silence. it was calming.”

“how many girlfriends have you had before me?”

the silence surrounding the air on your balcony after your question made you reconsider if it was a smart thing to ask.

it wasn’t. since when was it okay to talk about exes? you remembered it as one of the most off-putting conversation topics to ever come up with.

toji’s bare arms were propped up against the metal railing, gaze wandering from the unspectacular sight below him that consisted of old, run down buildings and sketchy streets, to you.

he knew it was too late to tell you the truth. he pressed his scarred lips together in regret, before opening his mouth to respond to your question.

“many.”

he saw the way your nose scrunched up at the ugly word — he wished it had been the truth. much better than hurting you with a fucking lie. made him wonder how you’d react to the truth.

“c’mere.” when you didn’t make a move to approach toji, he pulled you into him, dwarfing your body in his form. “you’re not mad, are you?”

“how could i ever be mad at you?”

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ ♡•°`.

“there was just one thing i wish you had just told me from the beginning. you know, i actually knew the entire time. i was just waiting for you to tell me.”

“dad, the show’s about to start.”

toji was now a couple of years older, about to celebrate his fourth decade of living in a few weeks. he wouldn’t admit that he was getting older. he had just plucked another gray hair from his scalp this morning, but no one had to know that.

sock-clad feet padded from the kitchen to the living room, bowl of salted popcorn in his hand as he placed it in front of his college-aged kid. toji was in awe at how the brat was becoming more of a carbon copy of himself the more years passed.

the only difference being his spiky, wild hair and blue eyes he had gotten from his mother.

“we’re not watching a match today?” toji sounded rather bored as he leaned back on the couch with a can of soda in his hand, legs finding the surface of the living room table as the younger man munched on sweets.

megumi shook his head, eyes focused on the screen that was still playing some shampoo commercial. “have you ever heard of TATMYLB?” the green-eyed man beside him narrowed his eyes at the obnoxiously long abbreviation, .

“kid. i don’t understand your language,” he grunted, “i’m headin’ out if it’s another high school rom com.” said boy only snorted as he pointed at the tv that happened to be playing a trailer of what was going to be playing next.

“reading today… TO ALL THE MEN YOU’VE LOVED BEFORE’s 26th letter!” toji kissed his teeth. of course it was going to be some sappy ass show. why was it so popular anyway?

he raised from the couch, scratching his belly lazily under his sweater as he pointed to the door with his thumb. “gonna check the mail,” he uttered, “we haven’t emptied our mailbox in days.”

megumi hummed, too immersed in what today’s live episode was going to be about. just as toji approached the door, curiosity got the best of him, and he found himself listening.

“unfortunately, she won’t be joining us today, but we have received a beautifully written letter by her! what a lucky man to have been loved like this.” the host spoke gleefully as the audience erupted into cheers and applause.

“our writer is a 29 year old lady from tokyo, a journalist for a very popular newspaper, which explains her splendid writing,” the co-host added, “she has met a man she refers to as her LOST LOVE nine whole years ago.”

toji set his keys down on the shoerack and walked back to the living room. megumi took notice of his dad walking back and smirked. “caught your attention, old man?” he only scowled at his son and placed his hands on the back of the couch.

the stage was beautifully built, and one could tell how much budged was spent on it all. it was a hell lot of pink, too much for toji’s liking — then again, any amount of pink was too much for his liking. the hosts were dolled up to the max, host dressed in a baby pink, frilly dress with her hair done up while the co-host was dressed in a pink suit.

“adding on to that… we have not received an answer or a reaction from the recipient.” a glum round of oh’s echoed across the studio, which made toji snort. “which doesn’t have to mean anything, of course! perhaps he’s just terrible at checking his mail.”

megumi stopped mid-chew as he side-eyed his father, who shot him a look. “old man, you don’t think—” megumi might have been young, but he had a very good memory of his father’s past lovers. especially that one woman who had changed him forever. you.

although he had never met you, he could tell it was you who had a huge impact on his father. and he figured that toji never opened up about having had a son.

“don’t be silly, bud,” toji laughed, reaching over to steal a handful of popcorn from the bowl in his son’s lap. he didn’t even like popcorn, why the hell was he eating it? it had to be the most annoying snack in the world with how the shell of the kernels always got stuck in one’s gums or throat.

you must have moved on years ago. it’s been almost a decade, for fuck’s sake. perhaps you were married already. had kids. he hated how the thought made his jaw clench. it was none of his business anymore, after all.

“mistakes. we all make them. so far, we have had a lot of letters speaking about wrongdoings,” the host clapped her hands together, “but how about keeping secrets? crucial ones?”

of course they were going to drag it on. what a bunch of clowns the audience was for eating it up. he totally wasn’t, not with the way he was clutching the couch cushions in anticipation.

he just wanted to know it wasn’t you, so he could move on in peace. because if you have moved on, then he shall do the same.

the audience was then asked to talk about their experiences with secrets in a relationship, before they started guessing what the person might have done.

eventually, an elderly woman received the mic and laughed. “it wasn’t another woman, so,” she paused, “i’d say hiding a child.”

the two hosts opened their mouths before knowingly looking at the audience, and toji cleared his throat. by now, megumi was fully facing his father, a look of disbelief on his face. before he could speak, toji raised a palm.

“i said don’t be silly,” he warned megumi, “it’s not me. jesus.” megumi shook his head before raising his palm to invite his father to a handshake, challenging him to a bet, “fifty bucks if it’s you, then.”

toji could never say no to bets. maybe he should have checked his mailbox first, though.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ ♡•°`.

the show was halfway through, currently on a commercial break as you found yourself in the kitchen to prepare yourself a cup of instant noodles. the sight of the cup still brought you back to day you had met toji.

before you could open the lid of the cup, you were halted by the sound of your doorbell ringing. leaving behind the sounds of your kettle whistling, you approached tye door to look through the—

your hand immediately flew to the handle to fling the door open. to stare right at the man you hadn’t seen in over seven years.

there was a lot both of you wanted to say. he wanted to apologize for having disappeared out of nowhere, for having abandoned you when things had been going so well between both of you; while you wanted to slap him, cuss him out and scream at him.

alas, all that came out was a choked sob on your behalf. a sound forced out of your throat, displaying the despair you had felt out of the lack of closure.

toji watched with wide eyes as you broke down in front of him. he wanted to make you happy. or get yelled at. anything but you crying. fuck, he was terrible at this.

toji was only ever good at leaving. that’s what he had done back then when his family no longer served him; that’s what megumi’s mother had spat at him before she left.

screw the past. screw all of his fears. he had waited far too long to come clean. you didn’t deserve this at all.

“i’m sorry.” he breathed, taking a step closer, now partially surrounded by the warmth of your place that hadn’t changed in the slightest. “i hid him from you because—”

you shook your head, trembling hands raising to wipe at your reddened eyes, “i don’t give a damn, toji.” he shut his mouth, because respectfully, you had all the right to be angry.

what he didn’t expect was for you to chuckle through tears. “stop looking at me like that,” you pointed at his lips, “that stupid pout of yours…” he had a habit of pursing his lips whenever he was distressed. you hadn’t forgotten about it.

when you stepped aside to welcome toji inside, he was baffled. “‘course you didn’t read the letter,” you sneered, which made him look down grimly, “if you had, you’d know that i could never be mad at you.”

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ ♡•°`.

you didn’t ask toji to, but he told you everything. how he had just gotten divorced when he met you, and who had fought for split custody the entire time. who couldn’t have you over at his place because of the child’s room he had.

it wasn’t like he was ashamed to have had megumi. he considered him one of the very few good things in his life. but, he couldn’t risk scaring you off. not when he had found someone as perfect for him as you.

and when things got serious, he did what he knew best. which was to bolt.

it wasn’t a surprise to him that you already knew. he had the wrong idea of you by thinking you’d push him away just because he had a son. now he knew that you could have been the best stepmother megumi could have asked for.

if he hadn’t blown it all.

“so he’s in college now?” you were smiling as you were both situated on your couch. toji feld oddly calm looking at you. you hadn’t changed much.

“this was us at his high school graduation,” he couldn’t help but smile too as he showed you his phone wallpaper. the thought that you could have been on that picture too made your smile fade for a second before you found yourself melting at how proudly he glanced down at his son in his crinkled button-down shirt, one arm lazily slung over the boy who looked at the camera with an irritated, forced smile.

you wondered if megumi would have liked you and already accepted you as his stepmother if toji hadn’t left. wondered if you two would have been married by now—

thoughts like those were useless now.

it happened so fast. like the force of two magnets attracting each other, it felt like you were pulled towards each other. a mumbled ‘i missed you’ left your lips before they planted themselves on his, both of you getting lost in the sensation of the other’s lips.

toji’s lips tasted like salt and popcorn, whereas yours tasted of the peace of candy you had popped into your mouth while waiting for the water to boil.

ah… right. the water. the kettle had stopped whistling a while ago. but both of you were busy sucking each other’s faces to notice that.

you were sat prettily on toji’s lap, hands running across his muscles hidden by his clothes. the only sign of him having aged were the tiny wrinkles on the corners of his eyes. other than that, he still looked like the 31 year-old toji you had met in the line of the grocery store.

he was the same man you had given your heart to. and you were eager to do it all again.

your clothing was shedded in a matter of minutes, hastily and in a rush. it felt like you were being intimate with each other for the first time all over again with wide eyes and shaky hands.

toji pressed you into his chest as he slid inside of you, and it seemed like the world stopped for a while. toji didn’t do soft, he wasn’t gentle. but you could swear you saw nothing but softness and adoration in his eyes in this very moment.

once he started thrusting up into you, your hands straddled his face, fingers digging into his skin as if afraid to let go. toji saw and felt the fear in your eyes, and he took both of your hands to place soft kisses on them.

“‘m not leaving again,” he grunted, relishing in the tightness and warmth he was buried inside of, “promise.”

you whimpered, nodding as you pulled him into yet another sensual, messy kiss while you worked each other through your releases. out of all the times you and toji had sex, this had to be the rawest, most intimate time.

it wasn’t fucking. it was love-making. the kind you’d never expect from a man like toji.

he stayed inside of you after both of you came, buff arms trapping you as you listened to his slowing heartbeat as both of you trembled. neither of you wanted to move, if you could, you’d stay like this forever.

toji’s lips against your temple pulled you back from your daze, and you reached for your underwear to avoid a mess, sighing softly when he pulled out of you. “shower?” he asked, to which you nodded lazily.

before he could lift and throw you over his shoulder, you placed a kiss on his collarbone.

“let’s eat instant noodles and rewatch the episode after that. since you haven’t read the letter—”

oh, toji was never going to hear the end of this.

but he wouldn’t have it any other way.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ ♡•°`.

[on-a-lucky-tide]

I hate that you are working a 16 hour day so much, that I want you to write a fic where Price is burning the candle at both ends so bad that Nik grabs his silly chipmunk face in both hands and growls: "No." Because neither of you deserve having to work so damn much. <3

I am soft that you sent me this.

Price is overworked and underpaid. Nikolai intervenes.

cw: none.

Price pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes, holding his breath with a full chest, as he willed himself to focus.

It was getting on to a sixteen hour day, one of way too fuckin' many recently, and all his stores were depleted. No amount of coffee and sugar free Redbull Bull was helping him now. He had no choice but to push on anyway.

With a sigh, he dropped his hands into his lap and blinked away the fog, his eyes no less sore than they had been moments ago. His watch read 2300, which meant he still had four hours to squeeze out a few more reports before he hit the minimal threshold for sleep. Any less than four hours and he would be inefficient.

His chest felt tight and his shoulders ached from where he had been hunched over for so long, and no matter how many times he read through Gaz's summary of the interrogation training from three days ago, nothing was sinking in. He was at peak information saturation, with four deadlines looming over his head, fifty emails to answer and a field exercise to organise.

Price picked up his pen, circled one of Gaz's comments on a specific trooper and tapped at his keyboard. Just as his sluggish brain had negotiated the database he needed, a sharp knock at his door drew his attention. "C'min. Make it quick."

The door opened and the familiar sight of his favourite pilot loomed large against the white lights of the corridor. "Captain," Nik said as he stepped up to the desk, shutting the rest of the world out behind him. He had been grounded for a few days due to much needed repairs, and Price would be lying if he said he hadn't enjoyed having him around, even if they'd only managed to snatch thirty minutes here and there. It was just... nice.

Nik placed a plate of food on top of the reports; ham sandwich with Cheese and Onion Walkers crisps on the side. White bread n' all. Price's favourite. "Ah, cheers," Price said, pulling it towards him with a faint smile. "Y'olrigh'?"

"Da." Nik walked around Price's desk to stand behind his chair, big hands squeezing Price's biceps before stroking up to his shoulders. "I am concerned."

"About?" Price closed one of his eyes in hopes it would help the remaining one bring the text on the page before him into focus. Unfortunately, Nik chose that moment to press his thumbs into the knots packing Price's shoulders and he grunted, his fingers tightening around his pen, as the pressure unspooled pleasantly down his arms and up his neck.

"You are exhausted, and I know this is the first thing you have eaten since this morning."

"Ahh, I'll have a big breakfast tomorrow, mmph." Price hunkered over as Nik's hands worked up his neck, large fingers sloping down his clavicles as Nik's thumbs rubbed circles to his hairline. It was like sinking into heaven; Nik's palms were so warm, absolute kryptonite to Price's dwindling resolve to keep working. He was fighting to keep his eyes open, wanting nothing more than to sink back into Nik's arms and fall asleep. "Oi, ah, Nik... 've gotta finish these."

"Tomorrow," Nik said, tracing Price's hairline in sweeping strokes, leaning down to press a kiss to Price's thinning crown. It was too much. Too good. Price shrugged him off and Nik's hands fell away reluctantly.

"Naw, g'won. Go back t' bed. 'll be there in a bit."

"You have half an hour."

"Oh yeah?"

"Da. Enough time to finish your sandwich and wind down."

Price smirked, huffing. "Yeah, we'll see."

Nik patted Price's shoulder and left the office with his usual swagger. Price shook his head, grabbed a handful of crisps, and returned to the computer screen.

-

Nik set himself a timer on his phone. It was enough time for him to fill up the hot water bottle John kept in his closet for strain injuries, bundle a few more blankets onto the bed, crack the window and fill a pint glass of water for the bedside table.

When his phone buzzed in his back pocket, he readied himself for the fight. To out-stubborn John Price was a feat of strength in itself, but Nik had a track record of successes that were mounting up more rapidly with each passing year. The more he burrowed into John's life, gently nurtured their relationship, the less John was able to resist him. It was a good thing; he worked too hard and had a depressingly poor sense of self care.

Nik didn't knock before he entered John's office this time, but it didn't matter anyway. He found his captain slumped facedown on the desk, his hand slack around the pen. He was snoring softly, the noise muffled by the pile of paper that made up his make shift pillow.

Waking a sleeping soldier was always a little dangerous. John was fairly centered when he was on base, but there was always a small risk. Nik approached slowly, his palm sliding over John's wrist as he spoke softly to rouse him as slowly as possible. "John, time for bed."

John's face crumpled in a frown before his eyes opened. He sat back, a page sticking briefly to his cheek before he batted it away. "Bollocks, bit of food in my belly and that was it," he grumbled. "Naw, can't, I've gotta--"

Nik took John by the jaw and turned his face up. "Nyet. You are finished now." John was barely awake, his eyes lidded as he looked up at Nik fuzzily, his hair ruffled, his beard flattened on one side, his round cheeks pinched between Nik's fingers, the tiredness filling his usually bright irises; he looked heartbreakingly sweet, which was probably an assessment that would rankle him should Nik voice it.

Rather than give John time to argue, Nik dipped forward and slid an arm beneath his legs, wrapping the other around his back, pausing for a moment to breathe him in.

"Nik... What're ya--ha, what're yer doin'?" Price chuckled tiredly, flailing only a little as Nik lifted him out of his chair. "Put me down, yer giant bastard." Perhaps John's protest would have had a greater impact if it hadn't been murmured into the side of Nik's neck, one of John's hands bunched in his shirt.

"You have lost weight."

"S'been a long year," John replied, lifting his face free only enough to put up token resistance. "If someone sees me bein' carried like some virgin bride, 'm never gonna get me reputation back."

"It is nearly midnight. There is no one awake but overworked, underpaid captains and their long suffering lovers." Nik hooked the door open with his foot and carried John into the corridor. It wasn't far. Just two doors down. But one could not put a Price down once captured, lest it scurry back to its labours.

"Still gives me the... shivers y'know, the... lovers thing..." John was falling already, his body lax in Nik's arms, each breath a struggling, tired sigh as he cling to consciousness. Nik dipped his elbow and backed into the bedroom, depositing his armful of captain gently into the centre of the bed.

John was more a hindrance than a help getting his clothes off, and Nik batted his hands away from the laces of his boots, smiling when John flopped onto his back. The trousers and t-shirt were easier, and soon Nik was tucking John beneath the blankets and sliding in beside him.

The one advantage of such a narrow bed was that they had to essentially sleep on top of each other to fit. It was such a habit that even when they were in one of Nik's condos, with a sprawling king to enjoy, they ended up huddled on one side, their bodies curled together. John rested on Nik's chest, one arm draped over his belly, and Nik wrapped his back, thumb, stroking slowly over warm skin.

"Yer too good t' me," John murmured, turning his face into the soft hair on Nik's chest with a contented hum, his hand kneading against Nik's belly.

"I must make up for how bad you are to yourself."

"S'jus' the job, Nik." John squirmed a little, rubbing himself against the length of Nik's body, snuggling down into the warmth and comfort subconsciously as sleep pulled him under.

Nik turned his face into John's fluffy hair, and closed his own eyes as John's breathing evened out and his body relaxed. Perhaps, Nik thought groggily as his dreams lured him in, if John Price was married to him rather than his job, he would be happier and healthier. Nik decided then, as John nuzzled against him in his dreams, that he would turn 'lover' into 'husband' by the end of the year.

[sc0tters]

The Day It Went Down | Trevor Zegras

summary: you haven’t seen Trevor for weeks, so when he lands up at your door you can’t help it when you fall back into old ways.

part one of the babies and buddies series

warnings: sexual themes, fingering, p in v (unprotected), swearing.

word count: 1.66k

author notes: you guys have been waiting for this one but the Trevor and Hughes sister AU is officially here! I have been writing this piece for days late at night so a lot of it might not make sense but she’s here and she’s happy so we will accept here as it is.

To say you were surprised when he showed up at your door was an understatement.

It was a humid Californian afternoon and you had been sat on your floor getting ready for the a night out with friends when there was a knock at the door “Z?” You furrowed your eyebrows as you opened your door.

The boy took in your sight as you were currently sporting an orange dress that complimented your freshly painted nails “interesting look.” Trevor smiled motioning to the curling rollers that were still in your hair “may I?” He added as you nodded pushing your door open further to let him in.

Your living room hadn’t changed since the hockey player last saw it with everything including the pictures of your brothers and family scattered around your apartment. It reminded Trevor of just who you were “what do you want?” Your words weren’t meant to come out as harsh as they had done so “missed you.” Trevor’s confession came out soft and cute.

What one would have made you smile honestly made you want to pull your hair out “sure you aren’t meant to be saying that to Dixie?” Your arms crossed unintentionally pushing your breasts up “you jealous of her?” The hockey player smirked as he moved across the room to stand with you. The rumours of them had been coming thick and fast since April but now as you two were into June you figured that it only could have gotten more serious for the two of them.

Trevor let his hands run over the satin fabric of your dress as your hands reached up to pull the roller from your hair “why would I be jealous if you don’t want me?” You blinked raking your fingers through your hair “we were only just sleeping together after all.” Your words made him frown as it felt like a punch to the gut.

Twelve months ago you two ended up sharing a drunk night together after you were in the same bar that he was in celebrating a big win. You were stood at the bar waiting for a drink and that was truly all Trevor needed to come up and talk to you.

The boy sighed as he forced your face to look at his “we weren’t just sleeping together.” His finger brushed along your cheek “look I’ve got to leave in thirty minutes.” You sighed pushing away from him as you walked back to your room.

Trevor was hot on your tail as he grew alarmed “a date?” The words felt foreign as they danced on his tongue “what I do is none of your business now Trevor.” You laughed shaking your head.

It felt hypocritical coming from the boy “you think he could fuck you like I do?” Trevor walked up behind you letting his breath send shivers down your spine “he could fuck me even better.” You weren’t even going out with a guy but the boy clearly didn’t know that.

His hands pushed up your dress causing you to gasp “you sure about that baby?” The hockey player grunted running his finger along a high part of your thigh “if I felt your panties they wouldn’t be soaked?” He added watching as your head leaned back against his chest eyes rolling back into your head as your jaw went slack.

Your body melted at his touch “so dry,” the game you were playing was one that you were close to losing “tell me to stop and I will.” Trevor pulled your dress even higher revealing your black panties.

Instead of talking you remained silent letting out a little gasp as his fingers slipped under the fabric “please Z.” You begged finally giving the boy a green light to have his way with you.

The hockey player smirked moving his hand to cup your pussy “fucking hell baby.” Trevor groaned two fingers teasing your clit before he moved them down your slit to thrust them into your pussy.

Your soaked cunt wrapped around his fingers making you both feel hot “Trev.” You moaned as the hockey player used his other hand to wrap around your neck pushing your head up of that he could kiss your lips “I know baby, I know.” His lips were rough against yours as he let out a grunt squeezing his hand around your neck when your eyes locked onto his.

For someone who was getting ready for girls night you were surprisingly horny as you squeezed around the hockey players fingers “you enjoying this?” Trevor smirked watching your face contort in your mirror “huh baby?” He added as you remained quiet “don’t stop Z,” you begged bringing your hips to meet his fingers as he added his thumb focused his attention on your clit.

As you forced your ass against his cock he couldn’t help but grunt “I’m gonna come.” You announced forcing the movement of your hips to go quicker than before “not so fast baby.” Trevor clicked his tongue retracting his fingers from your panties “you thought it was going to be so easy to come when get dressed like this for someone else?” He laughed at the words as you spun around to finally face him.

Trevor looked down at you as he licked his lips like he had seen this as some kind of challenge “real fucking hypocritical of you.” You grumbled placing your hands on his chest as you pushed him back into your bed hit the back of his knees causing him to fall back bringing you with him “you think you. Can. Go. And. Fuck. Someone. Else. And. I. Can’t?” You kissed his lips between each word as your hands reached down to fiddle with the drawstring of the shorts.

The hockey player groaned watching your tongue dart out of your mouth as you focused on moving his cock out of his boxers “never fucked her.” Trevor confessed as your hand teased his cock rubbing up the skin “just you baby.” The boy felt his body shudder as you used his hardened head to tease your clit “I’m still on the pill.” You announced letting your cunt swallow his cock as you sank down on it.

Condoms were something you two had let leave your relationship months ago after you both realised that there was nothing hotter than you coming around his bare cock “shit baby.” Trevor grunted as he began to guide your hips letting you move.

It was hot as your hands went to his shoulder “you always feel so good.” The hockey player confessed as his forehead leaned against yours.

You didn’t want to admit it but you missed these intimate moments with anyone in general as you hadn’t slept with anyone since Trevor took a step back from his relationship with you “missed having me like this?” You smirked as you turned back to look at him.

The boy moaned as you clenched around his cock “thought about you all the time.” The hockey player mumbled as his fingers dug into your sides guiding your hips against his “what would Jack think about you saying that?” Your mention of your brother causing his one hand to brush at your clit “what would he think about you on top of me.” Trevor spat as he let his other hand reach out to slap your hand.

It was now clear that him letting you take control was now over as he had enough of your fun “pull that top off so I can see those pretty tits of yours.” He ordered making your cunt clench around his cock “shit Z,” you cried as you pulled the straps of your dress down bringing your bra with it “you’re so hot.” You added as he brought his lips down to your nipples letting his tongue swirl over the sensitive peaks.

Your fingers locked into his hair “don’t stop T,” your body began to shake “not so strong now are we?” Trevor smirked as you shook your head letting your hands cup his cheeks as you kissed him.

The sight of you two was almost amusing as you were both still fully clothed with your panties pulled to the side as you rode his cock “think you knew I was going to come back to you.” The hockey player confessed as his thumb that was once on your clit moved up to your stomach “feel me right here?” He added making you gasp as he pressed his hand against your skin forcing you to stare back at his eyes as their hardened gaze brought you closer to your high “so big.” You murmured letting your eyes screw shut.

You were still sensitive from the orgasm he never let you have “gonna come.” You cried out as you began letting your hips bounce as Trevor helped move them.

The sight of your breasts bouncing in his face made the boy groan as he let his head rest between them “so fucking beautiful,” Trevor mumbled as he looked up to watch you come.

You were scratching your fingers over his shirt as your body almost collapsed against him “you’re so good baby.” He cooed as his come shot into your cunt that practically soaked it in as your release mixed with his.

Trevor spun you over so that he was now on top of you as his cock slid out of your pussy “can’t have you wasting a drop of this.” The boy grumbled shaking his head as he used two fingers to bring his come back into your pussy.

Your body jumped as his fingers pushed back into you “what are you doing?” You asked blinking at him as he hovered over you “making up for lost time.” The hockey player explained letting his cock tease your clit again.

For now you were going to enjoy this, because it two weeks you were back at the lake house.

Where everything as you knew it would change, forever.

[folkloresthings]

in honour of us both going to uni tomorrow, i have a lil drabble request…fernando with a younger gf doing a degree 🫣 nando is my guilty pleasure ngl

EL ur a genius 🤍 my two fav things. also made her do a journalism degree because i’m doing a journalism degree so what

A WORLD AWAY. ❨ fernando alonso x reader ❩

“how’s your essay going?”

fernando’s soft spanish accent is muffled through the speaker of your phone, his face propped up on your desk next to your laptop. the glow of the screens and your newest candle illuminate your face in the top—right corner, hair scraped back and a large hoodie hanging on your shoulders. fernando still thinks you’re the most beautiful thing.

“not terrible,” you sigh, glancing at the word document that has laid untouched since your phone had rang thirty minutes ago. “need some more sources to fill it out a bit. i’ll probably have to stay up to finish it.”

“not too late,” fernando orders, brows raised. “you need your sleep.”

glancing at the clock, you mentally work out what time it is with him. he’d have only been up for a few hours, morning in singapore while it was night in london.

“yes sir,” you chuckle, sipping your lukewarm tea. “how do you feel for quali?”

the usual updates from your boyfriend pour in, and you know he could talk for hours about his job and the race. frankly, you’d let him. your degree was exhausting at the best of times, but you were in your final year now and with the deadline for your dissertation looming, the stress was piling on. fernando’s calls to rant about work or just dissect a race distracted you from your own responsibilities, even if it was just for a little while.

“go to sleep, mi amor. you look exhausted,” he sweetly worries, head titled adorably in the camera. “you can finish it tomorrow.”

“wanna talk to you, though,” you pout, already shutting your laptop and crawling under the covers of your bed. “i miss you.”

“i miss you too, cariño,” fernando murmurs. while the other wives and girlfriends jetted off to as many races as they could, your degree kept you far too busy to be able to visit fernando as much as you wanted to. you went to as many races as you could — but both of you felt the hardships of the distance.

“but you need to sleep. i’ll speak to you later, okay? i love you.”

“i love you too. goodnight.”

when you did get the chance to visit fernando at work, he was ecstatic. showing you off was his favourite thing to do, bragging about your academic achievements and whatever article you’d written most recently. it made a nice change to people asking, or not so subtly whispering, about the evident age gap.

you were almost twenty—four, fernando eighteen years your senior. it gained a lot of attention when you first went public, and still did two years into your relationship. you’d learned to deal with it, but you could always feel the eyes on you when you entered the paddock.

“don’t worry about them,” kika always told you, walking arm in arm to hospitality for a coffee. she had her own struggles, with her and pierre’s smaller, but still noticeable, age gap. “you love each other. that’s what matters.”

and, god, you did love fernando. watching him race, embedded in his element, he was easy to adore. when, every time he took him helmet off, he found your face in the crowd and sent you a wink.

“i’m so glad you could come,” your boyfriend mumbles in your ear when you hug him after the race, congratulating his impressive P5. it wasn’t podium, but you were proud no matter what. your chest seized as his words flew straight to your heart — you knew how much it meant to fernando to have someone there to support him, even with the tough facade he so often put on. you only wished you could be there more.

“a few more months and i’ll have graduated, then i’ll come to every race,” you tell him happily, lips squished where his hands press to each cheek. lingering forward, his soft lips fall on yours and kiss you adoringly. a thank you, everything he wasn’t very good at vocalising when he wanted to.

“i’m so proud of you,” fernando mumbles against your lips, hands heavy in your hair.

“i’m supposed to be the one telling you that.”

“i mean it, mi amor. you’ve been working so hard, and i know it’s not easy being with me. but i’m glad that you are,” fernando admits. your teeth find your bottom lip, willing it not to wobble as your eyes begin to sting with warmth. no matter what happened with the race, or your degree, or even the scandal of your relationship — you had each other.

[batarella]

Bruce's Bathtime - Batfamily Sitcom

Bruce's mistake was thinking he could have a peaceful night in the bath on his day off when his manor is full of kids who share one brain.

A/N: HELLO EVERYONE I LOVE YOU AND IM SORRY I DISAPPEARED BUT I WANTED TO WRITE SOMETHING SWEET FOR YOU TO ENJOY. THIS IS HEAVILY INSPIRED BY "BATH" BY SAM AND MICKEY ON YOUTUBE.

WORDS: 1.7K

WARNINGS: NONE. IT'S WHOLESOME AND SWEET.

MASTERLIST

——-

Crime rates were always at an all-time low in time for the Superbowl.

Which meant Batman gets a day off. Duke was the only one on patrol that night. Alfred spent half an hour convincing him not to spend the night at the cave.

“Master Bruce, the bath has been drawn and I’ve taken the liberty of using the expensive lavender bath salts so you would not like to waste it.”

“You’re right, Alfred. I’m a billionaire and I find the fifty-dollar lavender salts a waste to not use.”

“Just get in the bath, Master Wayne. Just thirty minutes of quiet shall do you good. I’ve set an alarm.”

Since when did Bruce start working for him?

He did as told anyway. Bruce closed the bathroom door and stripped off his clothes to get in the tub. There were so many callouses in his body, he barely felt just how burning the temperature was.

It was just a minute in there when the first knock woke him from drifting off.

“Bruce?”

What the hell is Dick doing out of Bludhaven? “What?”

“Is the music room haunted?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“I heard something inside.”

“Instruments tend to do that.”

“I did a headcount of everyone in the manor and everyone is accounted for except Duke who you sent out for patrol so I doubt it’s anyone but a ghost,” Dick said.

“Get out.”

“But I’m not even inside the bathroom.”

“Go away.”

“What if it’s not a ghost? What if it’s a spy?”

“The manor has more advanced security systems than the Pentagon, Dick.”

“That’s not a good point of comparison.”

Bruce closed his eyes and let the steam slow his rising blood pleasure.

“Just check the room. Could have been the wind.”

“I’m too scared.”

This man was almost thirty and was still giving Bruce the same amount of aneurysms as when he was eight.

“Ask Alfred to check for you.”

“Okay.”

He heard fading footsteps and let them lull him into sleep. He set his large arms onto the sides of the tub, sinking his mouth under the water.

“Father,” a voice said from out the door followed by three soft knocks by a small hand.

“What, Damian?”

“I need you to sign this letter from the school headmaster.”

“What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything.”

He doubted that.

“It’s for a parent-teacher conference.”

Bruce let the silence answer for him until Damian gave in.

“Someone attacked me in class.”

“Damian-“

“Okay, I threw the first punch but he taunted me first about how I was small for my age but I said that I’m of perfect size for my age and that I’m simply too smart to be crowded into elementary school children when my intellect belongs to that of a senior and then he asked what I was doing here and not in 5th grade and I said what was he doing here and not in 5th grade and he spat at me and now his nose is broken and they want you to cover the medical bills.”

Christ.

“Maybe you don’t have to pay it. You can call them yourself. You’re Bruce Wayne. You can get away with anything.”

“I can, but you’re not Bruce Wayne, so you have to deal with it.”

“Can you just sign this, Father?”

“Fine.”

Damian walked in, fanning the steam off his face and covering his eyes so he wouldn’t have to see his own father naked, then handed him the letter to sign it.

“Make sure your handwriting is the same as when I forged it.”

His eyes could not have rolled further back into his skull.

The boy walked out, just two seconds before the next set of voices made him wish the gunman shot him in the head four decades ago and not just his parents.

“Bruce, could you tell Jason he’s not the only one who died and come back to life and that his robin costume doesn’t deserve to have to top display in the Batcave anymore especially since he’s here?” Tim said.

Jason’s voice was even more obnoxious. “I died first, asshole and no one else would have died if it weren’t for me so clearly, you should thank me. And my rebranding was better. You’re still technically a robin since, you know, it’s the other half of your name, so you don’t deserve to be memorialized.”

“You don’t deserve to be memorialized at all when you’re alive and not a memory. You’re not even the first robin.”

“You’re not the first anything.”

“I’m the first at a lot of things.”

“Replacement.”

“Glorified zombie.”

Bruce grabbed the cucumbers Alfred had laid out on the table next to him just so his eyes wouldn’t burst out in blood at how much he wanted to scream.

“Ask Alfred what to do,” Bruce said.

“Alfred is with Dick in the music room to look for ghosts. We need an answer now.”

“What do you even want me to do?”

“Tim threw my robin costume piled up with all their robin costumes when clearly, it should be in the display case,” Jason said. “And Tim wants to move my motorbike out of the cave.”

“You have so many motorbikes, would it hurt you to move just one?”

“No.”

“Bruce!”

Bruce counted to ten. “No.”

“No to what?”

“Everything.”

“You don’t even know what you’re saying no to.”

“I could not care any less.”

“Can we please come in?”

“No, I’m naked.”

“We’ve seen you naked.”

“Not on purpose.”

Jesus fucking Christ. “Fine. Fine. We’ll get glass cases for both of you and we’ll pretend it’s a shrine as if you’re still dead. Happy?”

“Not from dying but sure,” said Tim.

“What about the motorbikes?”

“Put it outside,” said Bruce.

“Are you sure? What if someone sees?”

“Do whatever. Throw out the T-Rex in the cave for all I care.”

“Also, I need access to the batcomputers,” Jason said.

“For what?”

“Everyone else has access except me.”

“That’s for a reason, Jason.”

“Pretty please.”

“Get out.”

It took another five minutes of the two yapping at the other side of the door before it finally quieted down.

Then his phone started ringing. Duke.

That was when his blood pressure really started to spike.

“Duke? Is everything alright? What’s wrong?” he said to the phone.

“Me?” said Duke. “Oh yeah everything’s great! Not much crime when everyone’s watching the halftime show.”

“Then why’d you call?”

“Can I use the batmobile?”

Fuck a duck. “For what?”

“The streets are empty and you said I could drive it when there isn’t traffic.”

He hung up and threw the phone into the water before Duke could say anything else.

He had five minutes of quiet this time. Then Steph was at the door. “Bruce!”

An aneurysm. One of these days, he might actually have one.

“What now?”

“Can I change rooms?”

“Why?”

“Dick said there’s a ghost in the music room and my room is like five feet away and I don’t think I can sleep there anymore.”

“You slept there last night and everything is fine.”

“Ghosts can be quiet, Bruce, it doesn’t mean they’re not there. And you’ve made a lot of enemies, so I won’t be surprised if anyone’s settled in to haunt you.”

You’d think he wasn’t in a house full of vigilantes who fight the city’s most dangerous criminals.

“I haven’t killed anyone, Stephanie. I keep all my enemies alive.”

“What if it’s not your enemy? They don’t have to hate you to haunt you. Can I please just change rooms?”

“Move wherever you want. I don’t care.”

“Can I move to the bedroom at the west wing?”

“That’s mine,” Bruce said.

“You have a bedroom? I thought you never slept.”

“Fine. Take it. Just get out.”

“Really?” Steph squealed. “The master bedroom. Sweet!”

It took less than five seconds before the next reason for his headache started pounding at the door.

“Bruce! Jason is trying to hack into the batcomputer!”

“I did not!”

“He did!”

“The World’s Greatest Detective is just mad I guessed his password on the second try.”

Bruce sank into the water, drowning their yapping until it had blurred out. He held his breath for seven minutes straight. He could die. That wouldn’t be the worst thing. Just when it was finally quiet, again, Bruce rose up and found Damian sitting on the toilet.

He continued to look unbothered even when he looked at Bruce straight in the eye.

“Do you mind?”

“I’d like to use this toilet.”

“There’s fifteen bathrooms in the manor, Damian.”

“I like this one.”

“I understand I have not spent as much time with you, but this is not what your tutors mean by father-son bonding.”

“Oh no, don’t worry. I don’t mean to bond with you. I just like this toilet.”

“Fine. Please. Take your time.”

He did take his time. Damian sat there for a whole five minutes and pulled out a book.

“I wasn’t being serious. Get out of here.”

“Relax, father. It’s your day off.”

Bruce eyelids fluttered closed and he refused to open them until his son left the bathroom.

The next knock made a blood vessel pop. “Bruce. It’s me Barb. So sorry to bother you but I found another group of conspiracy theorists on the TikTok who made a list of billionaires who have never been seen in the same room as Batman and you’re the front liner of that list. I know you told me to never engage with these things but it’s at fifty million views right now and they’re making edits of you as Batman.”

“Make more bot accounts and pin it on Elon.”

“On it,” said Barbara. “So sorry to have disturbed you!”

He’s going to have a talk with Alfred to block off the whole floor the next time he draws these baths.

“Bruce?” It was Cass. “I hope it’s alright if I take Steph’s room. I took the liberty of putting a speaker in the music room so Dick would tell everyone there was a ghost in the manor and Steph would move out.”

The alarm went off. His thirty minutes were up.

 One of these days, Bruce might finally break his no-kill rule, and it won’t be for the Joker.

---

A/N: I MISSED ALL OF YOU ASSHOLES AND I HOPE THIS WON'T BE THE LAST

TAGLIST

@karurururu​  @trixie-bb @childofposeidonforlife​ @fantasticwizardnerd @iibonniee @queenoftodd​ @foenixphire​ @omgtheywereroommates98​ @spooklies​ @nyja-ls​ @jason-todd-is-my-husband @pieanq​ @spookyfrances​ @tacticaldivine​ @bathroom-sand​ @vicomtess​ @willieoo @consultingkilljoywinchester​ @elsenthal​ @willowoo​ @massiveathletefanauthor @chemicalpapercuts​ @the-abyss-of-fandoms​ @pparkeramorr​ @pricetagofficial​ @traceymoyashi​ @seutarose @littleredwing89​ @astrids-pandora @nomalu1​ @knightfall05x​ @lovelyartemisa​ @fourteengemstones @acookiesnmilkuniverse​ @24-7-multifandomsimp​ @xemiefx​ @cherry-glade​​ @ @lilith1717​ @yujikuna​​ @dwboutit17​​ @ouflater​​ @satan-s-ass​​ @indigowcrds​​ @little-prying-pandora​​ @butwhyduh​​ @killersandmonkeys​​ @kierdlt​​ @illzarr​​ @ramdomtails @probsjosh​​ @angel-lover-alice​​ @evalynanne​​ @adazzlingsakura​​ @offendedfishnoises​​ @lupinslibraries @comic-cat83​​ @jason-todd-is-my-husband @estrela-rogers​​ @jadesublime​​ @tedii-bear00​​ @andieperrie18​​ @willieoo @insanebatty​​ @queennightsetz​​ @mkknrd22robinlover​​ @she-sees-fire @quintessences0posts @spideypoolfeelz​​ @batgalsblog​​ @mello-d​​ @https-101iamtheredhood101 @offendedfishnoises

[jaegeraether]

Sunsets and footballers (Part 44)

Lucy Bronze x Reader (39) & Jordan Nobbs x Leah Williamson Mini (3)

Masterlist (other parts here)

((**This is now my largest chapter at 7.5k. Enjoy!**))

YFN had instantly fallen asleep in her seat on the plane and woke to the jolt of the landing gear absorbing the impact on touchdown. She shook her fatigue away and took her phone off flight mode. 11:15am UK time. She gave a sigh of relief that the flight had been quicker than usual. She knew she’d been cutting it close with the flight time and instead of Ruby picking her up as planned, she’d told her to go to the stadium instead so she could get an Uber. It worked out well, because it meant she had time to speak to Jordan without feeling rude talking in front of Ruby.

She collected her bags and timed the Uber well, hopping in immediately as she exited the building. The stadium was thirty minutes from the airport so she’d be arriving just at kick off. She wasn't too concerned, though. Bridget and Emily were also in Manchester for a 1300 game between Man City and Brighton and were getting a bit more experience up onsite with Ruby at her game. She was lucky to have such good workmates.

She slid into the cab with a polite hello and found the only contact with a fish in it.

“Hey chicken! How was Barcelona?”

“Oh my god, Dory, it was amazing. Absolutely amazing. But I’m dead on my feet.”

Jordan laughed. “I’m guessing Lucy didn’t let you sleep much?”

“Don’t be cheeky. But you are correct.”

“How many hours are you running on?”

She counted. “I had two hours sleep on the plane so…about five hours?”

“What?!”

“I think…I remember we had a ‘midnight snack’ but that was about 4am so…”

“You’re unbelievable. Priorities, right?”

YFN chuckled. “I have no regrets beyond the struggle to walk-”

“Oh god! I don’t want to hear it.”

They both laughed together.

“How are you? Tell me everything.”

Jordan hummed and then proceeded to tell YFN about her dreams and the flowers and note that morning.

“Why didn’t you lead with that?!”

“I don't know. Good news before bad?”

“You think the flowers and note are bad news?”

“I don’t know. My head’s all over the place from the dreams. They were good and bad, but it’s just wrecked me emotionally.”

“I understand that…it’s not great for game day. Are you on your way there now?”

“Yeah, I’m on the bus. We have another hour and a half to go.”

“Well, you can’t resolve these emotions before the game because that would be a miracle. So how about you put a movie on and distract yourself? Don’t sleep, you won’t be able to.

“Yeah, I think I’ll do that to be fair…”

“Perfect. Have you messaged her?”

“No. I can’t do that today. Trying not to mess with my head before the game.”

“That’s all good, I was going to suggest maybe not responding until after the game.”

“You’re doing two games today, aren’t you?”

YFN’s mouth almost dropped open. “You have no idea how proud I am that you remembered that? I told you a while ago...”

“Oh, sorry, I should probably keep up my forgetfulness, right? Who are you again?”

YFN laughed. “I love forgetful Dory. She’s my favourite. Along with cuddly Dory. Football Dory though…jeez she’s terrifying.”

“I definitely will be today.”

“Get those emotions out, girl! Just don’t hurt anyone or get red carded please.”

“No promises.”

“As for your question, yep. I have the 1200 Man United versus West Ham game at Leigh and then the 1845 Arsenal versus Leicester game at King Power.”

“Oh that's right! Kyra…”

YFN had obviously told Jordan about Kyra. They both thought it was cute.

“Yes ma’am.”

“Our bus will drop us back at Villa Park about 7pm tonight…I can drive and meet you there?”

YFN could tell that Jordan needed comfort, and most of her friends were in London. She did the timing math in her head.

“You’d arrive about 8pm tonight with the traffic…how about you get a lift with my guy, Matt? He’s relocating to my game and then driving me back to Birmingham after it’s done.”

“Oh, yeah! That works out brilliant, that does. God, you’re so good at this logistics stuff. I just kick a ball around.”

YFN had a giggle at the visual image and messaged Matt. “And you look great doing it. Plus, you do more than that and you know it.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

YFN bit her lip as she thought a little. Jordan needed some love, and she knew just what to do. “What do you think about us asking Katie and Caitlin to stay the night? We’ll all finish up around 9pm in Leicester so they’ll have overnight accommodation. If I message them then they’ll have time for the team to cancel their room. They can come home with us.”

“Ohhh I didn’t think of that! See, this is why you’re the best.”

YFN grinned at the sound of genuine happiness in Jordan’s voice. She knew she missed them a lot.

She looked up and could see the stadium approaching in the distance. “I’m excited! Okay, I’m almost at the stadium. I’ll message the group.”

“Okay, love you!”

“Love you more. I’m so excited to see you tonight! Have a good game today, please. Smash it.”

They hung up happy and she opened a message from Matt that replied with an excited yes. Being a Villa supporter meant his dream just came true. YFN wondered how the car ride with them would be to Leicester and couldn’t help but be amused.

YFN then put a message in their little four-way group. Caitlin was usually the first to respond whether it be message or Instagram, and today was no exception. She’d answered an unequivocal yes for the both of them before she’d even stepped foot into the stadium.

The national anthems were playing just as she arrived and met up with her workmates. Bridget was running the boundary line, excitedly videoing the singing while Emily and Ruby were taking photos.

“Hey, Em.”

“YFN! Hi!” She gushed, wearing her purple and yellow Lumos hoodie. YFN was wearing Lucy’s hoodie so she opted for a beanie instead. “How was your flight?”

“I slept the entire trip,” she admitted with a chuckle.

Emily snapped a few shots of the starting line-ups.

“How are you and Bridget?”

“Oh, great! Yeah, we’re excited to be staying in Manchester tonight. Because we all have tomorrow off, we have plans to sight see and visit some family.”

They chatted for a little longer when YFN recognised the photographer from the last game she’d been to. The one who followed her home. She pretended to not notice him as she kept speaking to Emily and then made her way around the field to get a few good videos and say hi to Ruby and Bridget also. Bridget was running a mile a minute as she usually did, and Ruby mentioned that she had a date with Matt the next day. Ruby also ran a mile a minute, just with her mouth rather than her legs like Bridget. The whistle blew.

“Oh are those two already leaving already?” She asked rhetorically as Bridget and Emily waved on the way out. “Aw I didn’t say bye! Anyways, Matt said he’d take me on a date but I don’t know where-” she snapped a few photos and then cringed at the tackle she’d just captured, “-and I know it’s going to be amazing because we’ve been talking for a while now and…well not a while but since we all met and we were first partnered up-” she jogged further up the field to take another and came back when she was satisfied, “-and we’ve both been talking about supervising this next group of people coming in and we’re so excited for them to join us-” she took photos while YFN pulled her phone out to get a good Instagram video of Man United’s goal as they were both standing just a few metres from the West Ham goal. Goal number one, just three minutes in. YFN uploaded the video straight to their social media with an update on the score, “-and I just think it’s going to be amazing to have so many people with us. Is that guy staring at us?”

YFN turned to the photographer who’d been following her around the boundary, more focussed on her than the game.

“Yeah…just ignore him. He won’t hurt us.” She said, repeating what Catherine had said to her. Phone still on video mode in her hand, she pressed record but before she could lift her arm up to video him, they were interrupted.

“Now, now, physical violence isn’t my thing.” The voice teased from behind them.

YFN didn’t even have to turn, but she did out of polite habit as Mark stepped next to her, his eyes focussed on the game. She kept her phone on record and down near her body, but angling the mic towards him.

“Mark.”

“YFN. I hear you had a lovely trip up to Edinburgh to meet your…controversial leader.”

Ruby frowned, not understanding.

“He’s just teasing,” she assured. “Could you give us a minute?”

Ruby nodded and headed back up the field.

“So none of them know then?”

“What could you possibly be referring to, Mark?”

“Joanne.” He almost hissed. “That heartless woman.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Well let me be clear, then. I know your boss. She took something from me, so I’m going to tear her whole fucking business down.”

“Which business would that be?”

“The only one not protected by a board. Lumos. Her baby that she’s trying so desperately to hide. And you know exactly how I’m going to start?”

“By getting a photographer to follow me?”

He gave a grin that sent shivers down her spine. “Something along those lines.”

He handed her a large yellow envelope. Against her better judgement, she took it and looked inside. She found several printed photos of herself and Lucy kissing at the airport. The photos weren’t the best quality, they looked like they’d been taken on a phone, but still…it was disturbing.

She turned her attention back to the game as if she were unbothered. “Congratulations. You gave me photos of my girlfriend and I. You do realise that we are public? We have nothing to hide.”

“You don’t think that someone in your position dating one of the most famous footballers of all time is a conflict of interest? Let me give you some advice…people will care. Whoever Joanne has investing in her company will. And this is just the start. I’ll get more and more dirt on not just you, but your workmates also. I’ll drag you all into the fucking ground.”

She sharply breathed in. “You want to ruin a good thing for a little rivalry?”

“A good thing?” He scoffed. “Nobody wants to watch women play. Look around you. The stands are only filled with friends and family. As for everyone who works at Lumos…” He shrugged. “Collateral.”

YFN let herself look at him. He was determined and deadly serious.

“See that photographer? Get used to seeing him around. As for Joe…tell her I’m going to tear down her company before it even begins.”

It was a dominant display by Manchester United who ended up winning 5-0 with five different goal scorers. YFN felt for West Ham who she’d grown a soft spot for since her visit, and especially felt empathetic for their Captain, Mackenzie Arnold, a fellow Australian, as she was the goalkeeper. She couldn’t imagine how hard it must have been mentally after a game like that. You’d feel like it was all your fault while having to be the one to pull the team together.

A few of the players wandered over to her after the match, one being Mackenzie. She gave her a hug and surprisingly agreed to an interview. She interviewed her alongside Mary Earps, letting the two talk business. Mary didn’t exactly have a quiet game, she’d had shots that she’d saved and they both bantered about that, with YFN steering the questions when and where she wanted. The fact that they both pointed out the brilliance in several different moments of each teams and gushed over not just their team but the opposite was the exact reason she’d fallen in love with women’s football. After those two, she interviewed Kirsty Smith and Riko Ueki with Ella Toone and Lucia Garcia. The dynamics of who she put together were interesting and got the results she wanted. She felt like she was Graham Norton putting interesting guests on and leading them here and there with questions, making sure they each felt acknowledged and appreciated for their time and their skill on the pitch.

They finished up around 2:30pm and stopped for a late lunch and some quick editing and posts before they started their two-and-a-half-hour drive to Leicester for their next game. It was only early evening, and YFN could already feel herself getting tired.

As they got into the car, Ruby noted that and told her to get some sleep. She had no idea that Ruby could be quiet for long enough and was pleasantly surprised.

Just before she went to sleep, she sent the video recording of Mark’s voice to Catherine who she knew was busy with few royal duties, and then she fell asleep just after she put her phone on charge.

YFN woke to the loud sound of her phone ringing and she jumped, her face feeling half numb from the window. The car was stopped and she looked outside to Ruby who’d noticed her wake and gave her a thumbs up from the fuel bowser. She gave one back and answered the phone without checking the caller ID.

“YFN! Are you okay?!”

She recognised the voice immediately. “Cath- I mean. Joe? Wow, you really did a great job of sounding not yourself before we met.”

Catherine gave a light chuckle. “One of my secret talents. I listened to your video. Did he threaten you?”

“Not physically, just what you heard on the video.”

“He’s absolutely insistent and much more of a pain than I’d expected.” She sounded annoyed and that was amusing to YFN as she was always painted as the perfect Princess. “I’m so sorry. I spoke to Joe and even she is surprised. He will not hurt you. If you feel unsafe at all, I will hire security.”

“That’s okay, I think we’re okay for now. He seems to be all bark at the moment..”

“He is, I assure you. Also, there is no conflict of interest here. I’m aware of your relationship. We are not even covering her games yet and when we do, it is absolutely not a conflict of interest. The man doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I know you, I chose you for a reason and your judgement, and your actions won’t be compromised by your relationship. Not only that, but there’s nothing in which to base these allegations on just yet. I understand the implications that may occur with you interviewing her and potentially being seen as biased, but I’ve seen your work, I’ve seen you interview friends and colleagues without that bias. I chose carefully.” She sighed. “My plan was for us to build your reputation in the field so high it would surpass any of these allegations before they even occurred.”

“I appreciate the support, and I promise that anything to do with Lucy or her team against another team will not be an issue. I want everyone and every team to be represented, regardless of if they’re against her or not.”

“Perfect. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, I think. In the meantime, you don’t need to hide your relationship. I’d never ask or expect that of you.”

“Thank you…also I’m assuming part of your security check on us is that you look for anything controversial which may be used against us like this?”

She hesitated. “Yes. I don’t like it, but we need to protect ourselves and the business from any potential threats…”

“I understand, and I agree.” Ruby hopped back into the car then with a grin. “You have my support…Joe.”

Catherine took the hint. “He won’t find anything controversial on the other employees because there is nothing. We just need to stay a tight knit group and continue our jobs.”

“Copy that, will do. Would you like me to send out a group memo about him?”

Ruby started to drive again.

“Yes, absolutely. If you don’t mind, I’ll write it and you send it?”

“Perfect, that saves me the work.”

“Lastly, the office won’t be ready tomorrow.”

“Oh?” Her interest peaked at that. She could be with Lucy on her day off. Jonatan had been giving her more days off with her knee. She only had to train four days this week, Tuesday to Friday.

“It’s all related. Mark somehow managed to talk to the local council…anyways I’m sorting it. It’ll be ready by Wednesday, I promise you.”

“Okay. That’s perfectly fine. I’ll meet up with the real estate agent and then the original ten of us will settle in and prep for the new group to arrive.”

“I thought it would be best to start the new group on Thursday instead because of the timing with the office date moving, but I wanted to check with you first to make sure you weren’t losing too much preparation time with them for the next round?”

YFN thought about it a little. Their first game was Saturday, and it was the only one. Catherine had gotten permission for ten employees at that game which allowed her to send two original crew with a full new crew to train. “I think Thursday will work. It’ll give us two full days to cover everything which is enough, and for eight of them, they’ll get experience on Saturday at Stamford Bridge. If I feel we need more, I’ll organise Saturday with the others not at the game to prep more.”

“Agreed! We think very much alike, you know.” It was a compliment that made her blush.

Catherine asked if she had any more questions before the call ended. She wasn’t surprised it wasn’t a long conversation, as she knew she’d been busy all day with regular duties and then Mark’s drama in the background. She couldn’t help but think about the possibility of booking a flight to Barcelona to spend the next two days with Lucy, as she knew she had the next day off. She could explore Barcelona with Narla and do a bit of work on the Tuesday while Lucy was training… She bit her lip and shook her head. Jordan needed her. Jordan was her priority. Thinking of, she looked up Jordan’s game which was almost finished. It had been fairly even all game and Jordan had been subbed on in the 65th minute, having a goal attempt in the 66th minute. YFN smiled as she watched Jordan running around, looking frustrated which was so opposite to her everyday self. Aston Villa were up 1-0 and she watched while Ruby listened to the end of the game. Multiple fouls were made by both teams. Aston Villa scored a second goal. A foul by Jordan at the 90 minute mark. And then it was over. Jordan had only played 30 minutes, but she’d made an impact. YFN sent Jordan a message saying how proud she was of her.

They arrived in Leicester around 5:45pm and stopped at a local café for another snack and a drink before the game. Being too early at the stadium meant boredom. They made sure to arrive around 6:15pm and set their equipment up, capturing the players during warm up. The Leicester players exited first to warm up and a few came over to chat. Luck have it, Courtney was one of them. Australians tended to flock together outside of Australia, she realised. YFN asked if she’d do an interview after the game and she agreed for the price of a hoodie. She liked Courtney and could see why Kyra did too. They were both cheeky.

“Hey stranger.”

YFN turned to see Leah’s smile as she stepped next to her. She was alone and not in kit, not quite ready to play after her ACL.

“Leah!” She smiled, pulling her into a hug. She liked Leah, regardless of her issues with Jordan, and she’d previously spoken to Jordan about their little growing friendship. She was okay with it, of course, otherwise YFN wouldn’t have been so forward. “How are you?”

“Oh mate, desperate to get onto that field, I’m telling ya.” She looked longingly at the pitch and then back to YFN. “I watched your interviews. They’re great! I don’t know why anyone hasn’t interviewed like that before.”

“The ones from last week?”

“Yeah and this morning. I loved it, honestly. I’ll be happy to do interviews anytime with you, just let me know.”

“That’s just given me an idea…” She hummed as she thought.

“Taking me up on the offer already?” She laughed.

“Actually I’ve been trying to work out different segments and ideas that would make us stand out from other companies….you’re not playing today. There are always players who are not playing but watching their teams. So it might be a good idea to get players willing to on the sidelines with us to interview and to film some of the snippets we upload with their own perspective and jokes and insight. Sort of like when you’re excitedly screaming motivation at the girls from the bench, but this time they’d be in snippets for our social media. It’ll promote the team and show just how supportive all of the players are with each other. Plus, I think it'd be hilarious.”

“Sort of like when they mic up the cricket players?”

“EXACTLY.”

“Put me in, coach. I love the sound of that. Plus, if it mucks up, you can just blame me.”

“You are 100% my scapegoat if it goes bad.” She laughed. “You’d be willing to today?”

She shrugged. “I have nothing else going on and I’m used to the camera so why not.”

“Perfect! Yeah, oh that’s so exciting-” She stopped and bit her lip as she thought of Jordan.

“What is it?”

“Um…maybe not today? Maybe next game?”

The frustrating thing was that she didn’t know yet if she’d even be at Arsenal’s next game. It depended on the roster.

“YFN, just tell me.”

“So…hm…here’s the thing…”

“Please don’t tell me this is about Jordan?” She asked, a little upset. “I was hoping that wouldn’t affect our relationship…”

“It won’t! Dory’s fine with us being friends. It’s just…”

“Spit it out, mate.”

“She’s going to be here in under an hour.”

She swore Leah paled. She definitely froze. “Oh.”

“Yeah…so she’ll already be with me on the sidelines for company.”

“She just finished a game…” she looked at her watch. “…so if she’s coming here I guess it’s to talk about us?”

“Leah…”

“She told you about this morning?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” She groaned and ran her hand through her hair. “Look, I don’t know your opinion on everything and I don’t want to drag you into it all, but I promise you I just want the best for Jordan.”

“And the best for Jordan is you?”

Leah held her eye contact. “Yes. Just…I know I don’t have the right to ask but I will. Can you please maybe tell Jordan it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to go with me this Friday night to the awards? I want to win her back, to be there for her but I can’t without opportunity to actually be around her.”

“I won’t convince her to do something she doesn’t want to…”

“I wouldn’t expect you to. Just…advocate for me? You don’t have to push it. Just…please?”

“I’ll have a talk to her,” she murmured.

“CHICKEN!”

The Arsenal players were headed out for their warm up and most were headed her way led by the Irishwoman who was being overtaken by a smiley, wavy Kyra.

“Thank you, I really appreciate it. Also, I can still do that thing with you, I can be over the other side away from Jordan if she doesn’t want me near.”

“Thanks Leah, I’ll ask her about it when she gets here,” she replied with a smile.

“Ask who about what?!” Kyra asked as she landed on YFN’s back. YFN’s hands immediately caught her legs.

“Oof. You do realise I’m small, right?”

“Yeah, but I knew you’d catch me. When’s Nobbs here?”

A few of the Arsenal girls looked awkward because Leah was there. “It’s okay…” she assured them. “She’ll be here during the first half.”

“Okaaaaay.”

“Oh, also Kyra invited herself tonight.” Caitlin said as she wrestled Kyra off of YFN so she and Katie could give her a hug.

“Tonight? Where was our invite?” Beth asked.

YFN grinned sheepishly. “Our apartment isn’t big enough for the entire Arsenal squad…”

“I’m just joking, this one wants an early sleep anyways,” she said as she nudged Viv who looked unimpressed as usual.

“Aw what a granny!” Kyra teased.

YFN couldn’t help but laugh at the look on Viv’s face. Kyra giggled at her joke, ducking away from Caitlin’s motherly swat to the back of the head when a blue shirt appeared amongst the red and Kyra stilled.

“Hey…”

“Courtney!” YFN replied, making sure she didn’t feel left out. “Hey!”

Courtney looked around, her eyes finding Kyra and then tearing them away pretending she hadn’t looked at her. “Just letting you know Sam and Sophie are both good for the interview after the game. Do you know who it’ll be with?”

“Awesome! Yeah, I was hoping Beth and Frida would be up for it…”

“Me? Yes please! Not sure if I’ll be subbed on though,” Beth said eagerly.

Viv rolled her eyes. “She’ll be subbed on.”

“FRIDA!” Katie yelled.

“FRIDA!!” Beth yelled shortly after. Viv covered her ears and YFN chuckled at that.

The blonde spun around and jogged over. “Yes?”

Frida Maanum was a Norwegian midfielder who’d been with Arsenal since 2021. She was rarely chosen to be interviewed and softly spoken, so YFN thought it’d be great to involve her and help her confidence out with Beth who she could always rely on to talk if she didn’t.

“Want to do an interview with me after the game? YFN wants to know.”

Frida looked over at YFN with a polite hello wave. “It’s going to be with Sam Tierney and Sophie Howard from Leicester. You can absolutely say no if you want.”

“You want me?” She sounded surprised.

“Of course she wants ya, you’re amazin’.” Katie said with a playful grab of her shoulder.

“O…okay. Yeah.” She smiled at YFN which made the Australian feel good for asking.

“Aw, I’ll look after you mate! No need to be nervous!” Beth said loudly, extending an arm around her shoulder.

“So…Beth and Frida,” YFN said to Courtney with a smile. “And then you and Kyra. Is that okay Kyra?”

“Yeah that’s cool.” Kyra said, suddenly quiet.

Courtney’s eyes widened hearing that she’d be interviewed with Kyra. YFN knew it was sneaky of her but it was an opportunity for Courtney to reject the idea before she surprised her with her ex. Not that they were ever public knowledge.

“Okay. I’ll see you after the game.” She said, directed straight at YFN but she knew it was more for Kyra from the tone of it.

Caitlin and YFN shared a sheepish look.

“Come on girls, Jonas is about to kick our asses. Let’s get warmin’ up!” Katie ordered.

“If you see me shouting from the sidelines, it’s because I’m mic’d up!” Leah warned them and received some amused looks in return.

“You’d better not be focusin’ on my ass.” Katie teased.

Caitlin messed up Kyra’s hair. “You’d better be focusing on this one’s debut!”

They all jogged off and Leah turned to YFN.

“Okay boss, where do you want me?”

Jordan and Matt arrived just after 7pm, both with wide grins. Matt because he’d just spent a car ride with Jordan and Jordan because of YFN.

“Dory! Come here!” She took her friend in a hug big enough to lift the footballer off the ground and a few Arsenal fans spotted Jordan and shouted their love for her as she did so.

“I missed you.” She mumbled into Lucy’s hoodie.

“It’s been a day. Needy, hm?”

“I’m always needy.” Jordan grumbled as she put her down.

“I missed you too.” YFN chuckled before turning to Matt. “You look excited, mate.”

He was still grinning ear to ear and nodded.

“I think I tired him out with all the talking, to be fair.”

“I’m glad you two got on for the drive then. Matt, are you okay taking a few of us back to Birmingham tonight? If not, I can ask Ruby…”

“Yes!” He almost shouted and then cleared his throat. “Um, yes, of course. Who..?

“Uh Dory, Katie, Caitlin, Kyra and myself. Oh actually that won’t work… Ruby will have to take some of us anyways… maybe those three and I’ll ask Ruby if she can take Kyra and I.”

“Done.”

“How was the game?”

“Yeah, great. Noel and I got some great footage. A few of the girls were asking about interviews but I said we’d start next week.”

“Next week hopefully… and congrats on Aston Villa’s first win for the season?!”

“Yeah!” Jordan grinned. “I wasn’t on for long but I think I did alright.”

Loud noises from the crowd turned their attention to Leicester running towards goal. The ball was pushed out by Lotte for a corner.

“I’ll go record that.” Matt said as he ran towards the goal up the side of the pitch. Jordan spotted Leah behind the goal then.

“Leah…?”

“You had to have expected her to be here,” YFN teased.

“Well yeah but…is she recording with a phone?”

“I have her mic’d up for some footage. Trying something new out and she’s helping.”

Jordan frowned but her eyes remained on her, mixed emotions in her eyes.

The crowd went wild as Leicester scored from their corner. Jordan swore. The game reset.

“She really wants you to go with her on Friday..”

Jordan’s eyes flicked up to meet hers. “She said that? What else did she say?”

“Nothing you don’t already know… that she wants the best for you, she wants to win you back, and she wants an opportunity to do so.”

Jordan groaned. “I can’t. We rarely went to events together before. Now she wants to show me off to the world like I’m hers when I’m not?”

“I think she just wants a night with you, Jords…”

“Nope. No way. Unless she has another plus one and you come to chaperone us.”

YFN tilted her head. It wasn’t football but… “I could get an invite?”

Jordan spun back around. “You could?”

“My boss can 100% get me a ticket. Now, did you mean it?”

“I mean…” she looked over at Leah. “If you’re going, I will.”

“And is this really what you want?”

Jordan got a little frustrated and pouted, trying to think. She was a bundle of confused emotions and the dreams wouldn’t have helped. YFN put her arm around her and pulled her close.

“What do you think?”

“I think whatever this is, you need to resolve it. The best way to do that is communication. I think you should go. Sooner or later it’s going to be clear to you if you do or don’t want to have her back in your life.”

Leah looked over at the pair, her and Jordan looking at each other. She nodded. “I’ll go.”

“You’re sure?”

“I think I wanted to, I just didn’t want to admit it. Plus, you’ll be there now so it’ll be less awkward.” She grinned up at her.

YFN rolled her eyes and messaged ‘Joe’. Just as she finished the message, Leicester was surging forward, forward, forward, and tucked away their second goal. Two goals in two minutes. A terrible start for Arsenal.

Jordan settled next to YFN, following her and her camera around, watching the game intently. She always wanted the best for Arsenal. They had more of a catch up in between photos that she’d changed to as Matt was now doing the videography. YFN didn’t miss Leah off and on staring across at them just as longingly as she stared at the pitch she missed. Jordan and YFN gradually moved closer to Leah through that first half, though Leah ducked away to the change rooms for half time with her girls.

While it was half time, Ruby, Matt and YFN on worked on their footage while they talked.

“New office tomorrow?!” Matt asked excitedly.

“Oh…no. That’s been delayed until Wednesday. Waiting on approvals. New group are now starting Thursday.”

“You’re not going to Barcelona?” Jordan asked. “Doesn’t Lucy have tomorrow off?”

“You spoke with her?”

“Yeah she messaged me. I assumed you suggested it,” she laughed, “she’s terrible at messaging.”

“Not with me.” YFN winked. “Also that was all her, I promise.”

Jordan rolled her eyes and nudged her almost off her chair. “She misses you.”

“I was there this morning…”

“You miss her too.”

“Dory…” She groaned.

“No.” She said, putting her hand on the camera YFN was playing with which made her look up at her. Ruby and Matt shifted a little nervously as they could do nothing but listen. Jordan looked serious. “Don’t you dare stay here tonight just for me. You barely get any time with her as it is. She’s my friend too, and I like to see her happy. And you happy. And you’re both never as happy as when you’re together.” YFN opened her mouth to argue but Jordan continued. “Let me live vicariously through you. You’ve already done enough, I have Katie and Caitlin and Kyra tonight! They need a bed.”

“You’re kicking me out of our apartment?” YFN laughed.

“Only if you can find a flight.”

She put her camera down and took Jordan into a warm, long hug, mumbling into her. “I love you, Dory. You know that? If we’re both single in five years, I’m going to propose.”

Jordan laughed but they were both emotional. They just wanted the best for each other. “Okay but Blu will be ring-bearer.”

YFN laughed back into her and sat back, wiping tears away that she didn’t even know had formed.

“You’re putting Kyra on the couch?”

“I’ll let her share my bed if she shuts up.”

“She’s only small, she’ll be asleep before you all finish dinner. She tends to tire herself out fast, the little baby.”

“Little baby,” Jordan mimicked adoringly. “Now look for flights. I’ll message Lucy.”

“Or…how about we make it a surprise?”

“I love it! If she thinks you’re robbing her and knocks you out though, that’s not on me.”

She did wonder what Lucy’s reaction would be. She found a flight from Birmingham to Barcelona at 11pm.

“Won’t you need her to unlock the door?”

“I have keys…”

“You two are adorable.”

“I found an 11pm flight from Birmingham…”

“Do you think you’ll make that?!” Ruby asked. “I’m happy to take you…”

“That…sort of works out perfect because then the girls will all fit in Matt’s car. Um…the game finishes at 8:30pm. Interviews until 9pm. Arrive at the airport around 10pm. Cutting it close for international but it’s a late flight and nobody will be there… I think we can make it?” She shrugged and booked the flight anyways. If she didn’t make it, it wasn’t meant to be.

Jordan grinned. “Tell her to thank me when you get there.”

“Honestly, I’m probably going to be passed out from fatigue all day and not even get the chance.”

Her phone buzzed. It was the flight confirmation.

“Are you sure?” She asked Jordan. Sure, she’d already booked the flight, but it was cheap and she didn’t care. She wanted Jordan to be okay.

Jordan grabbed her around the shoulders and smiled. “I promise it’s okay. You’ve really cheered me up today and helped with my Friday night decision. Plus, I have the girls tonight. We both know you’ll just pass out anyways.”

“How dare you…” she laughed as the crowd began cheering loudly as the players re-entered the field. Ruby and Matt got to work. She stood to do the same when her phone buzzed again.

Joe: Done, they sent us through two invitations. Check your emails. Enjoy!

She grinned at the message and then at Jordan.

“What?” She handed her phone over and Jordan took it, an ecstatic look crossing her face. “Yes mate!”

She took her phone back and pocketed it, holding her camera up to take photos of the players as they ran out.

“One condition.”

“Anything.”

She jerked her head towards Leah who was wandering over to the pair. “You tell her.”

Jordan groaned. “Okay but at the end of the night. She can sweat until then.”

YFN chuckled at that.

Starting the second half 2-0 against them meant Arsenal had to push deep. And they did. Arsenal kicked six goals in the second half. Their first came at a hesitation from Courtney which YFN felt terrible for. She was next to Leah when that happened who filmed a mic’d up scream of joy from behind the Leicester goal as the shot went in. Slowly Jordan gravitated towards Leah more during the match, Leah managing to let her come at her own pace. The rest of the match was an absolute riot. Caitlin with an assist and a goal, Katie with an assist, and Kyra with multiple attempts at goal. She was shocked when she saw Courtney take Kyra down in the 83rd minute and wondered just how much of the history between them she didn’t know. The game ended 2-6 Arsenal. A complete second half dominance that had Leah screaming with joy on the sidelines. It turned out to be the perfect day to test the mic’d up segment, as she posted the live updates with video’s Leah had taken of her yelling at the girls running towards goal and screaming, turning the camera around on herself to show her celebrating. It was great content.

Regardless of the outcome, the Leicester players still came over for their interviews. First she had Sam, Sophie, Frida and Beth who actually did get some game time and almost a first goal since she’d come back from her ACL tear. Beth was the loudest, of course, and helped Frida to open up a bit. Frida had some back and forth with the Leicester girls talking about some of the plays including Sam’s goal. Overall, she was happy with the results of the interview, and how much the girls had come out of their shells.

Next was her interview with Courtney and Kyra who seemed equally nervous next to each other. They knew each other well though. YFN waited to sense the overall mood before she allowed herself to go in with some cheeky questions about Courtney’s tackle on Kyra, and Kyra’s debut. Her goal was to get them to start teasing each other, and it worked. At first, they didn’t want to address each other, and after a few comments here and there, it was more them talking and throwing cheeky comments to each other, and YFN could almost sit back and enjoy watching the show. She had to steer it a few times of course, both were young, but the tension between the two was obvious. For the sake of the viewers and their privacy, YFN made sure to make it known to the camera that they were teammates and brought up that they went to school together as justification which started a whole other line of questioning about their start in football.

Only when she was satisfied that she’d helped them break whatever awkwardness they’d previously had, did she end the interview, but not before she told Kyra how proud she was of her on camera for her debut. Courtney gave her a proud shove for that too.

Being Australians, and women, they all hugged their goodbyes, Kyra whispering a thanks into her ear. As they were packing up, she could see them still chatting as Courtney was being called away. She gave Kyra her phone and she typed into it what YFN assumed was her number. Courtney gave an awkward wave, obviously not knowing whether a hug was appropriate, and ran into the change rooms. Kyra turned to YFN with a grin and a little fist pump. It was adorable.

She looked past Kyra to where Leah and Jordan were standing, Jordan telling her she’d go on Friday. Leah’s expression flashed excitement before she contained it, and then it went a little shy as she pretended to be calm about it. They didn’t speak for long, just enough for Jordan to agree before she wandered off with Leah’s eyes following her longingly. She watched for a while until she met YFN’s eye and blushed, having been caught. She mouthed a ‘thank you’ to which she gave a smile in return.

“We really need to go.” Ruby stressed. She looked at the time and groaned. She only had time for quick goodbyes with everyone and a threat to Katie and Caitlin to not have sex in her bed. Katie seemed to enjoy the idea of the threat, to be honest, and that terrified her.

She rushed through security as quickly as possible and was the last person to board the flight, sweating and grateful she’d made it, though cursing herself for having to stay longer just to make sure Kyra and Courtney were good. As with her morning flight, she passed out immediately and wished she had a chance for a shower before seeing Lucy. Instead of a shower, she tidied herself up in the bathroom at the Barcelona airport when she touched down, changing her clothes and washing away the day. She brushed her teeth and did her nightly makeup routine, ignoring some funny looks. She sure as hell wasn’t going to let her skin suffer more than it already was with the change in weather between the UK and Spain.

Her Uber dropped her off at just before 3am and for some reason she was nervous, jiggling the keys Lucy had given her in her hands and playing with the little flags. At the front door she took a deep breath in and unlocked the door, entering as quietly as possible so as to not wake Lucy or Narla. She kicked off her shoes and left her suitcase in the entrance, not wanting to risk the wheels waking them. The smell as she walked into the house was home. Vanilla and bitter orange, and whatever the hell Lucy had been cooking for dinner. She swore she could even smell the big breakfast they’d had that morning. She looked at the trophy Lucy still had out and smiled, putting her phone on charge next to it before tip-toeing her way into the bedroom.

Lucy was quite literally dead asleep. She was on her back facing YFN’s side of the bed, one hand touching the pillow YFN had been sleeping on the night before. She was beautiful. She loved seeing her so vulnerable and herself. Her dark hair was spread out over the pillow, another thing she loved. Lucy with her hair down. She clicked the door closed quietly and snuck around to her side of the bed, avoiding Lucy’s collection of shoes around the bed. She carefully laid down and when she touched Lucy’s hand to move it, she jerked awake, her head rising and her eyes opening.

“It’s just me.” She whispered and put a hand to her cheek, coming closer so Lucy could see her better without her glasses.

“What? What?” She was dazed and confused, her body tense.

“Shhh. Shhhh.” She comforted and cuddled up to her, her head finding Lucy’s collarbone. “It’s okay, it’s just me. I’m sorry for scaring you.”

“Little one?” She asked, unbelieving. “You…you’re here.”

Her arms wrapped around YFN tighter than they ever had before, holding her close to her body, her own body softening into her. “Is everything okay?!”

“Everything’s fine, Luce. I have the next two days off. I’m all yours.”

Lucy groaned happily and kissed her wherever she could reach.

“Sleep now, Luce.”

“You’re home,” she whispered huskily with emotion, her voice already fading.

“I’m home.”

[seung-mongmong]

Don't ask "What are we?"

the new album has had me in a chokehold, i had to write something inspired by i like it

Warnings: PWP(if you squint) mean seungmin, possibly toxic relationship, casual flings, spanking, biting, hair pulling, degrading, a little crying, oral (f recieving), unprotected sex

Word Count: 2k words

part one, part two

You really had tried to ignore the dings coming from your phone as you wound down for bed. You forced yourself through the motions of brushing your hair and teeth as the piercing notifications droned on. You knew exactly who was messaging you at this hour, your eyes scanned the clock to read 12 am. He was most likely attempting to convince you to let him come over, as he did every time he texted. You swore you would stop seeing him until he decided what your relationship actually was, but as your phone began ringing with a call, you felt some of that resolve crumble. 

You shuffled back into your bedroom to grab the phone, staring at the contact as you wrestled with yourself. All he’d do if you let him in was string you along for fun, but having him that close in the first place felt intoxicating. You hit the answer call button, annoyance seeping through your voice as you asked what he wanted. You had to bite your lip to not laugh at the sweet voice he put on, pleading with you to come over and watch a movie. You knew what that meant. 

“Seungmin, I'm tired, it's late.” you mumbled, playing with the sleeve on his shirt, one you’d started to use as a sleep shirt after he forgot it. 

“I know you don’t have anything to do tomorrow, you talked about it last time” he argued

“Well…” you started, but he cut in

“I’ll even stay the night, we could talk in the morning about…stuff, you know.” 

You bit your lip, weighing the options. He always knew how to get you to cave to what he wanted. “I’m going to bed in thirty minutes if you aren’t here.” you finally answered, sighing as he hung up immediately. 

You felt awful for letting him sway you so easily, but you couldn’t help the pang in your heart at his promise to stay and talk. You always hoped that he’d finally talk about your little situation, maybe finally treat you like a lover instead of a body to warm his bed. You knew it was foolish, he always dodged your questions. You still let yourself hope he’d actually stick around as you dug through your drawers to find a nicer pair of underwear. You didn’t bother grabbing a bra, recalling the past few he had messed up in the heat of the moment, rendering the clasp unusable. You curled up in your bed after getting ready for him and waited quietly, lost in thought as you mindlessly scrolled through your phone. 

Your door opened after about fifteen minutes, Seungmin knew where the spare key was, and he always let himself in when he visited. You sat up, glancing at your bedroom door as he slipped in. His jacket must have been ditched on the couch before he came in. 

“About time” you mumbled, grabbing your laptop to look through movies as he settled on your bed. You could feel his hands snaking around your waist, feeling up and down. 

“You aren’t even going to act like you want to watch a movie like you said?” you asked as his hands crept under your sleep shirt. He sighed “why bother? We both know what's going to happen” 

You sighed, moving your laptop to a safe spot on your bedside table before he could pull you closer by your hips. You reached up to grab his arms as he climbed over you, a sly grin on his face. You could recognize that look, silently telling you he always won when it came to the games he was playing, he knew exactly how to keep you wrapped around his finger, no matter how many times you begged him to stop treating you like a toy to play with. You should have kicked him to the curb months ago when he started acting this way, when the sweet dates stopped and he only called you to get you into bed. You should have, but as his lips began to trail down your neck, leaving a tingling feeling in his wake, you knew he had you hooked. You’d do anything to keep his hands on you, even if you’d always wish for more. 

He pushed your shirt up to kiss further down, only stopping to push your underwear down and off your legs. You lost your train of thoughts the second he shuffled between your legs, kissing around the inside of your thighs so sweetly, you almost thought he’d go easy on you tonight. The bite to your thigh threw that out the window instantly, and his hands quickly pushed your legs apart to keep you where he wanted you. You squealed as he finally began to kiss at your wetness, tongue darting out to taste you. You snaked a hand down to grab his hair, tugging in the way you knew he liked. He groaned, sending vibrations up your spine. He always took his time making you fall apart with just his tongue, his grip on your thigh tightening as you writhed. He could easily keep you pinned if he wanted, you knew he was being lenient with you right  now. Your whines and whimpers pushed him to draw more noise from you. An arm slipped around your leg to lay across your stomach, effectively pinning your lower half to the bed as he began to focus his attention on your clit. You moaned out, pulling his hair harder. He took his other hand, landing a sharp slap across the outside of your thigh to tell you to behave. You really did try to listen, but with the rough treatment and the feeling of his tongue on you it was becoming harder to ignore the shake in your legs and the heat licking up your spine. He delivered another slap to your thigh when your squirming failed to stop, making you whine out, pleading with him to let you finish. He hardly even spared you a glance as he doubled his effort on your heat, silently giving you the go ahead you needed. 

You came undone in a matter of seconds on his tongue, legs shaking as your breath caught in your throat. He stayed where he was until the shaking died down, before sitting up to wipe his mouth on the back of his hand. He stared down at you, your chest heaving in the aftershocks of an orgasm, trying to catch your breath, but he seemed to have other plans. He took a hold of your hips, effectively hauling you onto your hands and knees, just how he preferred you. You could hardly feel your legs still, but you knew he’d have you up all night if you complained or tried to move. 

The sound of him taking off his belt and pants reached your ears as you stayed still, waiting for him to do anything. Finally, he came close, leaning over your back to start leaving bites and marks down your shoulders, hands rubbing circles into your waist. It almost felt romantic, the soft touch and lack of urgency pulled at your heartstrings and reminded you of wanting more of his sweet side. You were quickly snapped back to reality when a hand came down against your ass, surely leaving a nice red mark. When he didn’t hear you react to the slap, he brought his hand down again, and at the same time bit into your shoulder harshly.

“You act all coy, like you don’t love this, but look at you.” His free hand came up to grab your hair into his fist, yanking it back so you had to look up. You made eye contact with yourself in the mirror you kept in the room, and your stomach swirled with emotion. Arousal, shame, annoyance. Seungmin knew you too well, he knew you loved being treated like this by him, no matter how much your heart ached at the thought of how empty your bed would be come morning. You’d still let him back in, time and time again. When you try to stick to your promise to ignore him, you’d come to miss the pleasure he brought you, and he knew it. 

You turned your head as much as you could with him still holding your hair, closing your eyes defiantly. You could hear chuckle next to your ear, low and rumbling as he pulled harder “so you’re feeling bratty tonight? Be that way then” he said, pushing his boxers down just enough to free his cock. Still holding your hair in his fist, he used that as an anchor to keep you where he needed you, pushing into your heat slowly. He reveled in the cry you let out, arms going weak under you as your face met the mattress. He pulled out slowly, then used your hair to pull you back onto him, earning another cry from your mouth. He loved getting you like this, pliant and noisy. He could already imagine the call your neighbors would be making to complain about the noise. He moved to slap your ass one more time, before dragging you up by your hair, your back pressed against his chest as he kept thrusting into you. Your eyes were watering, sweet cries spilling out of your mouth at the feeling of him pounding away at your insides. His voice almost didn’t reach your ears as he began to speak 

“Look at you, always swearing this won’t happen again but you always end up crying on my cock. You couldn’t stop this even if you wanted to, you need me.” He spat out, not even giving you a chance to respond before he released his hold and let you fall forward again

“Face down, ass up, not a single protest to this. You like this arrangement no matter how much you say you don’t.” He continued, his thrusts speeding up. You could feel your stomach tingling with your second release, helpless to stop it as you came undone on his cock. He clenched his teeth, rhythm faltering as you clenched down on him. You could feel him struggling to keep it together, trying to keep himself from making too much noise.  He grabbed your waist with both hands, thrusting harder before he pulled out suddenly, prompting you to gasp at the sudden movement, while he began stroking himself to finish on your back with a low groan. You silently cringed at the way your back began to feel cold and sticky immediately, but let him. 

You could hardly keep your eyes open, slumping into your bed when he finally let go of you. The bed dipped beside you as he sat down, catching his breath. You could only bask in his presence briefly before he stood up again and began shuffling around the room. You peered up, watching him collect his clothes and belongings from the ground. Your heart ached again as he put his pants back on, not even bothering to say a single word to you. He got what he wanted, now he was running away before things got too romantic. 

“It wouldn’t kill you to stay, Seungmin.” you said, pulling your covers over your body. He didn’t even look at you. 

“Just go to sleep. There's no reason to start getting feelings involved in this.” He mumbled

“Seungmin-” you started, but he cut you off “there's no reason to change this, we’ve got something good going. We get to get off, no strings attached. It's on you for getting more attached, I like things the way they are.” He said as he fastened his belt, headed for the door. You sat up further “I’m serious this time, we should stop this- I can't keep this up, Seungmin. I’m done with whatever mess this is. Don’t text me” you spat out, watching him scoff 

“Yeah, we”ll see about that” 

[thatchickwiththecamera]

If I'm There

This is from a request sent to me by @lma1986

Pairing: Noah Sebastian x Female Reader

TW: Death, Loss, Grief.  

Any and all feedback is appreciated!

Y/N groaned upon entering the hotel room and flung her body onto the crisply made king sized bed. The pelican case she had been holding was discarded somewhere along her journey. Noah, her boyfriend of two years, simply smiled at her antics as he rolled their remaining bags into the entryway. 

Noah’s band, Bad Omens, had just wrapped up their latest North American tour with a four day run of shows across central and eastern Canada. Y/N was a member of the band’s visuals team and worked as the lighting and video technician alongside Matt at Front of House. Her and Noah met four years ago when she was running visuals for one of the bands supporting Bad Omens on tour. 

Noah, Matt, and Nicholas liked her work and decided to extend an offer to join their growing team prior to the next tour. After two years of working with Bad Omens and two years of tip-toeing around shared feelings, Noah finally asked her on a date and as they say, the rest is history. 

With this tour coming to a close, it meant that they had the next two weeks off to do whatever they wanted before the guys had to be back in Los Angeles to finish tracking the new album. Everyone was scheduled to fly back to their respective home states at various times throughout the next day. While all of the gear was to be freighted back to the LA to either be stored in the warehouse until the next tour or to be moved into the awaiting studio space for recording. 

“I am so ready to sleep in my own bed,” She exclaimed, voice slightly muffled by the pillows. “I think the mattresses in the bunks are getting worse with each tour.”

“Either that or we’re just finally starting to feel older.” he said, flopping down next to her, “I mean, we are almost thirty.” 

“Don’t remind me.” She groans.

Before she can raise the question of who gets first dibs at the shower, she is interrupted by the familiar sound of her sister’s ringtone chirping from the phone in the front pocket of her hoodie. 

“Yellow!” She tiredly exclaims, placing the phone on speaker. 

“Y/N” the serious tone of her sister's voice cuts through the speaker. 

She immediately sits up and looks over at Noah, now sporting a concerned look on his face that she was sure matched her own. 

Her sister rarely called her by her first name. Mainly using childhood nicknames. Never her given name. 

“What’s wrong?” Y/N questions. 

“Y/N…it's Olivia.” Her sister continued, voice shaky. “There’s been an accident.”

She went on to explain that Olivia, Y/N’s best friend since as long as she could remember, had been hit head on by a drunk driver on her way home from dinner with friends from work. She had been rushed to the local trauma center where the medical team had managed to stabilize her but they stated that the next 24 hours were going to be critical. 

Noah was immediately on the phone with Matt, who five minutes later knocked on their door ready to drive them to the airport. 

The small airport chapel was dark and empty. The smell of incense lingered in the air from a Mass held earlier in the day. Y/N sat quietly in the last pew staring up at the large crucifix hanging on the wall above the altar and tabernacle. 

Despite eventually developing a vehement disinterest in organized religion as an adult, Y/N had been raised in the Bible Belt of the deep south and had grown up in and out of church as a child and young adult. She had witnessed and experienced enough over the course of her life that made her unable to completely let go of the notion that there was a greater power at play somewhere in the universe. 

Her grandmother always expressed belief in the power of prayer and when her usual sage advice fell on the deaf ears of a stubborn teenager, she always told Y/N to ultimately pray about it. 

“Give it up to God,” she would say, “Put it in his hands.” 

There were no direct flights out of Toronto, which left them stuck at JFK in New York City for the next three hours due to a layover. Noah’s many years on the road made it possible for him to sleep pretty much anywhere despite his tall frame. But her anxiety prevented her from finding any respite of sleep on the uncomfortable metal chairs outside the gate. 

Which is why she now found herself sitting in the Our Lady of the Skies chapel talking to a wooden crucifix. 

“I don’t know how to talk to you or if you even are actually there and listening,” She states, eyes stinging from the tears that threatened to form, “But at this point I’m desperate.”

“If there is one person in this lifetime that deserves to live a long and fulfilling life it is her,” she continued, “she can be one of the most naive people I know, but she has only ever brought kindness and love into this world because of it.” 

“You’ve already taken so many from me…,” she pleads, unable to hold back the tears as a few escape and trail down her cheeks. “Please don’t take her too.” 

A moment later she felt the warmth of an arm wrap around her and turned to see Noah sit down next to her, their carry-ons bags sitting on the floor in the aisle next to the pew. 

She buried her face in his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, placed a tender kiss on her head and held her close as she finally let the tears pour out. 

Upon landing in South Carolina, Y/N's sister met them at baggage claim. She looked as tired and spread thin as Y/N did. She knew just how much Olivia meant to her little sister, and also considered her a good friend. But her bond of friendship was no wear near as unbreakable as the one that had been built between Olivia and Y/N over the years.

She wrapped Y/N up into a tight hug and let her know that Olivia had been rushed back into emergency surgery about an hour before they had landed. They had found internal bleeding that was previously missed due to the severity of the initial trauma sustained in the crash, causing her previously stable condition to quickly deteriorate. 

Upon arriving at Columbia Memorial Hospital, they quickly located Olivia’s parents in the waiting room outside the Intensive Care Unit. Olivia’s mother, Mary grabbed Y/N in a  bone crushing hug the second she saw her, thanking them for coming as quickly as they did. She followed the band and knew the journey they had made to be there. Before they could speak further, a man dressed in surgical scrubs emerged from the large bay door. She felt Noah take her hand and give it a squeeze.

Mary walked over to the doctor. He grabbed her hands and shook his head. Y/N couldn’t hear the words he spoke, but Mary’s reaction to them told her all she needed to know. 

Olivia was gone.

Y/N felt numb. She felt her emotions shut down. She wanted to cry, to scream, to fall to her knees but her body just remained frozen in place for what felt like an eternity. Noah’s hand never left hers and his grip never faltered.

They briefly expressed their condolences to Mary and other member’s of their family before leaving them space to grieve. There was no reason for them to stay at the hospital while Mary began the heartbreaking task of preparing for her only child’s funeral. 

The drive to her sister’s house was silent. She showed Y/N and Noah to the guest room and left them to unpack and prepare for bed. 

Y/N found little sleep that night. As sunlight began to stream in through the bedroom window, she turned to peer at the clock on the nightstand. 

It read 6:00am. She quietly rose so as not to disturb Noah’s sleeping form in the bed next to her. She quickly dressed, grabbed her sneakers, and headed out the front door. 

Y/N ran. 

She ran until her lungs felt like broken shards of glass. 

She ran until her legs felt like they were made of jello.

She ran until her feet were numb and weighed heavy like cinder blocks.

In school, she ran after her first heartbreak, she ran when her father died of cancer, she ran when her mother became absent in her own grief leaving her and her sister to fend for themselves, until she would eventually pass as well. 

She ran when all of life's problems seemed to pile up as high as the peaks of Mount Everest and bare down on her shoulders. 

When life didn’t make sense, Y/N ran. 

Olivia had always been the one to run with her. When her own body would grow tired she would remain on the bench at the trailhead of the old high school cross country course, making sure Y/N knew she wasn’t alone. 

But now Olivia was gone and the bench by the trailhead sat empty save for the water bottle Y/N had discarded at the start of her run. She tried to ignore the empty spot as she set out on her second loop. 

As she circled around again she spotted a second water bottle sitting next to hers on the bench. She felt the already growing agitation stir inside her further at the idea of having to interact with a stranger on the course. She prayed they would just run their route and leave her alone. 

Halfway through her third loop she heard the sound of another person coming up from behind her and expected them to call out what side they would be passing her and continue their run. 

Instead the person fell into stride next to her. She turned her head, ready to tell the stranger to politely fuck off, but stopped when she saw Noah running next to her.

He didn’t say anything, just kept running, never leaving her side as they continued to complete two more loops. He knew this was something she had to do, and despite his own fatigue, he wasn’t going to let her do it alone. 

Toward the end of her fifth loop, she felt her legs start to give way. Her toes snagged on a root sticking up in the middle of the path and she waited for her body to hit the dirt. She thought that maybe she would just lay there for a while and let the earth swallow her whole, but the impact never came. 

Instead she felt Noah wrap his arms around her. Pulling her firmly into his chest. The weight of everything she tried to hold inside started to fracture and crumble around her. The emotion she tried to run from rebounded back like a lightning bolt striking her directly in the heart. She thrashed against his hold and hit the bottom of her fists against his chest. 

She screamed out in rage as the hot tears streamed down her face. But despite her best attempts at getting him to let go, his hold remained firm. Noah was sure that his chest was red by the time she finally relaxed in his arms. He took the opportunity to kneel down and scooped the sobbing figure of the woman he loved into his arms. She didn’t have the energy to protest as he carefully carried her home. 

The funeral took place four days later. It was held at St. Joseph's Cathedral downtown where four generations of Olivia’s family had been baptized, confirmed, married, and eulogized. She could not deny that the Mass her family prepared had been beautiful despite Y/N not knowing much about the ways and traditions of the Catholic Church. 

After the service, Mary came up to the both of them and thanked them again for traveling back like they did and for staying for the service. 

“You were the closest thing Olivia had to a sister and even though it may not have seemed like it at times, you were and still are like my second child.” She stated. “Thank you for being her friend and being in our lives.” 

Tears once again formed in her eyes as Mary pulled her in for one of her soul squeezing motherly hugs that Y/N learned to cherish over the years. 

“I love you so much” she said, reaching up to grab either side of Y/N’s face, wiping away the tears with the pads of her thumbs. “And I am so proud of you.”

“I love you too.” Y/N replied, before hugging the woman once again. 

The next day they were scheduled to fly back to LA, but not before visiting Olivia’s grave. It was covered in layers of floral arrangements and marked by a temporary placard with ‘Olivia Renee Barber” and her dates of birth and death engraved on dark metal. 

Noah stayed back as Y/N paid her respects. He wished that he could take all of her grief and carry it on his own shoulders so she didn’t have to weather the burden. He knew from his own experiences that she had to go through this process at her own pace. Loss was not linear and there were no magical boxes to check as you grieve and heal.

There was one thing he knew for absolute certain. As long as he was around, she would never go through anything in this world alone. He’d be there to catch her when she’d fall and just as he knew she’d do the same for him in return.

[oharaslove]

word count: almost 9k summary: Your everyday routine turns upside down when a couple of strange visitors land on your city. warnings:Miguelx!Spider Reader (kind of Latina), some cussing, mentions of death, injuries (let me know if there is something else!)

<Masterlist>

Chapter 1: 𝙇𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙁𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙒𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧

❀•°•═════ஓ๑♡๑ஓ═════•°•❀❀•°•═════ஓ๑♡๑ஓ═════•°•❀

Earth - 129

Readers POV

“Dear soulmate, Do you think of me? ‘Cause I do”

You wish you wouldn’t. You wish you could erase his memory out of your mind. He isn’t thinking of you and he never will.

“Dear Soulmate, I can’t wait to fall in love with you”

That is the problem, you already had. You saw him with other eyes as soon as you found out the truth. The minute you learned that fate had tied you two together, your heart gravitated towards his.

He possessed your heart in his hands, and he crushed it, leaving you in this situation.

You feel alone, empty, as if you will never be enough.

When you were young, your father always told you how meeting your soulmate was where all the pain went away. From then and on, life was always going up.

LIES

You’ve never felt so low, how can you get back up now? Who can help you get out of the hole you dug for yourself? Why did your parents have to be soulmates?

Miguel was right, soulmates are stupid, you are stupid for believing your father. If you could go back, you would change the past, to never meet him, or better, to never be born…

❀•°•═════ஓ๑♡๑ஓ═════•°•❀❀•°•═════ஓ๑♡๑ஓ═════•°•❀

X POV 28 years ago

It was a cold January night in New York. The snow falling beautifully on top of trees and cars. The streets decorated with colorful lights, making the droplets glister with different shades, making them seem like fairies.

Everything was happiness. The Christmas and new years glow lifting everyone’s spirits. New beginnings, new dreams and new hope all around.

But inside a fairy-tale, there is always a tale of woe. A fragment of the story is never told. Stories are usually filled with brightness and happiness, but life is never like that. Not even for two people meant for each other. A pair of souls tied by destiny. Fate is never fair.

Inside the icy white hospital walls, there was a tense atmosphere. A man, in his mid thirties, was pacing the almost empty hallways, muttering to himself. Nurses watched him with heartfelt eyes, feeling his despair, knowing, deep down, what was about to happen.

“I can’t lose her, I- I.. I-I can’t” was all he repeated. Over, and over, non stop, for what felt like an eternity. “Por favor, Dios, quien sea. Please, help them” (“Please, God, anyone”) he pleaded, looking at the ceiling, as if a deity would pity him, and gift him a miracle.

Cries of pain were heard from inside the surgical room, a space that seemed far away, but was just a couple of steps ahead. A place that called him, lured him to get in, but with no use, given that it was forbidden, and that he already tried to fight the nurses to let him stay.

His wife, the love of his life, his soulmate, laid in there, suffering.

It all had started smoothly. The check ups were fine, everything looked perfect to welcome their daughter to the world, but nothing prepared him for this moment. 

Every minute that went by, every second, was pure torture. The walls felt like they were closing in, the floor about to disappear beneath his feet. His life, his everything was slipping out of his grasp.

The staff grew worried, they knew they couldn’t keep the man away for much longer. They were aware of the pain he was in, they could sense, feel it, tension palpable in the air. Chances were they had experienced and witnessed this exact situation a million times. The man’s health was deteriorating with every tick of the clock. His steps becoming shorter, pace slowing down, until he stopped. 

The calm before the storm.

Numbness. Cold. Fear. All emotions are far from familiar to this man. He could feel her presence in the back of his head, but barely. The man sat on the floor, knees to his chest, head tucked in, rocking back and forth, trying to steady his breathing, praying. “No por favor, po-por favor” (“No please, pl-please”). Tears began streaming down his face, wetting his shirt and trousers.

And just like that, the pain was gone. Only emptiness. His soulmate had parted this Earth. He could no longer feel her existence. His mark was surely gone, a mark that was printed on his skin his whole life. A half heart, only complete with her, your mother. 

Doctors came and went, apologizing, giving their condolences, explaining there was nothing to be done. The man tried to pay attention to them, but with no use, his mind else where.

But, he had to be strong, he had to keep going with only half a soul. He needed to prevail, since there was still a part of her with him, you. His beautiful daughter, half him, half your mother.

Your cries were heard from the other room. Your father dismissed the doctors and ran to tend to you. As soon as he reach the crib and saw you he swore on his life that he was going to take care of you, forever.

Your father immediately picked you up to calm you down. As he did so, he uncovered your right shoulder, where he noticed the mark. A strange shape, nothing seen before, from what he heard in stories and read in books or the internet. It couldn’t be a simple birthmark, it was yours and your soulmate’s.

A strange feeling formed inside of him. Obviously, happiness, for one part, as you had someone to call yours, but some sadness, and mostly worry. Your mark wasn’t as dark as everyone’s. It was even lighter than when someone is born before their soulmate, a much softer brown than his when he came to the world, as your mother was younger than him.

There was something wrong, but he couldn’t tell what. Not even the doctors or specialists in soulmates. All he could do was pray that his little girl could find the love of her life, like he did with your mother, all those years ago, and that you could live a happy life, a much longer one than your parents.

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Reader’s POV 5 years later

“Papiii…, can you tell me how you met momma again pleaseeee?” you said with a pout as your father tucked you in bed. Their love story was your favorite bedtime tale. “¿Otra vez?” (“Again?”). You nodded excitedly. The idea of soulmates was your favorite thing in the world, and knowing that your parents were, only fueled your dream of someday finding yours.

“Okay, here we go..”

Like every other night, he told you how he met your mother in high school. The day that they met, he felt his mark itch more than normal, like it was trying to tell him something, that she was near. Everyone experiences a different feeling or physical sign.

As soon as he saw her, he knew she was special. It  wasn’t like with the other pretty girls, he felt pulled by her, he couldn’t move his eyes away. 

As soon as they touched, their marks changed. Marks in your universe can change multiple times in a lifetime. When someone is born, it is a light brown if their soulmate isn’t born yet and a dark brown when their other half already roams Earth.

But, when two soulmates meet (and realize they are each other’s soulmate) the mark turns a reddish color, symbolizing true love. It stays on your skin until one of the pair dies, like it happened with your mother.

You’ll never forget the look on your father’s face when you asked why he didn’t have his. He looked at you with tears forming in his eyes, and that’s when he explained to you, for the first time, what had happened with your mother, and how important soulmates are.

Despite his loss, as it came with an unforgettable pain, he always reminded you that one’s half is the only person you should be with. Soulmates can only be born from other soulmates, and if someone chooses not to wait for their soulmate, the link breaks, leaving only emptiness and sorrow behind.

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Three months ago

“Y/n!!”

The sudden scream waked you up from your slumber. The shock made you lose balance, falling from the stool you were on and landing butt first on the floor.

“Aghh, shit” you groaned, rubbing your eyes, trying to regain consciousness and see what was in front of you.

“Oh my god, I am so so sorry” Peter, your best friend, apologized. “I just wanted to wake you up”.

“Yeah, well Pete,” you said cleaning the saliva off your arm, “maybe, next time, just maybe just shake me a little bit” you said, sarcastically.

Peter laughed, the sarcastic tone a clear indication that you weren’t harmed. “Noted” he stated, offering his hand for you to take.

You just swatted it away, lightly, and stood up on your own. This was no surprise for Peter, who didn’t make a fuss out of it. You weren’t a morning person at all, and he was aware of it. But you had your reasons.

“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning” he joked, trying to light up the mood, as he walked back to his lab station, that was perpendicular to the left of yours.

“I didn’t wake up at all Parker” you groaned, looking at the devices and papers spread over your table, trying to remember what you were doing before dozing off.

“You can’t keep doing this, you know?” he said, concern lacing his voice. Peter was aware of the life you had once the day was over. He believed it was dangerous, and even though he tried to be supportive, he really didn’t approve.

You sighed, resting the palms of your hands on the marble surface in front of you. “With great power-”

“Comes great responsibility. Yeah yeah, I know. You always say the same” he said, while he turned his body towards you, resting his back on his table. “But, the fact that you have this powers doesn’t mean that you have to compromise your health every single night” he lectured, punctuating the last words with his hands.

The course this conversation was taking was not strange to you. Peter always tried to coaxed you out of being Spider-woman, every chance he gets.

You didn’t fight back, as you normally would. You just kept looking at the floor, exhaustion taking over, a yawn forming in your mouth.

“Hey” Peter whispered. You slowly lift up your eyes to match his. He stared at you for a little, supposedly trying to decipher what was going on behind your eyes. He walked up to you in slow, quiet steps, as if he made a wrong move, you would break, like glass.

He stopped a couple inches away from you, giving you enough space. “I know that you feel like everything that happens in this city is your job to fix.” He started in a calm, soothing voice. “I get that after your dad passed and he said those words, you fight day and night to make this hell a better place, but it has taken a toll on you. You need to rest”

The mention of your father brought tears to your eyes, or maybe it was the frustration, or both. You lost him not long after becoming Spider-woman. You never got to tell him, but in some way, you think he knew. After all, he was the person who knew you best.

Every day, you try to imagine whether your father would be proud of you or disappointed on how you are handling your life. Oh, how you wish he was here, to hug him one last time, to run into his arms and feel safe. However, you knew he was in a much better place, reunited with your mother after all those years.

As you didn’t answer, Peter continued, “I know it is hard, but I am here, MJ too. She doesn’t know, I promise I didn’t tell her, but that doesn’t matter” he rested a hand on your left shoulder, trying to give you support. “Just tell us that you need help, and we will gladly provide it”.

That brought a smile to your face, mirroring his, despite the tears spilling from your years. You laughed, easing the tension of your chest and shoulders, and hugged Peter. You knew you had amazing friends, the issue was that, sometimes, you felt out of place. And, there were numerous reasons why you felt like that.

One, you are not completely human. You are Spider-woman, spider DNA resides in your cells. Two, and arguably the most important, you haven’t find your soulmate yet. A constant reminder that you are in fact, alone.

Every time you are out, whether when you are swinging across the city or walking on the street, all you see is couples having dates, holding hands, whatever. The important thing is there were always two people simply enjoying each others company. Apparently, you were the only one who couldn’t find their other half.

Another worry to fill your mind, as if being a superhero wasn’t enough.

“What you are saying is,” you said after calming down and pulling away from Peter’s embrace. “is that, if I ask you to put on the mask for one night, you are going to do it” you finish half smiling, trying not to erupt in laughter.

Peter snorted, a smile forming on his lips. “There is no way in hell I would do that, not even for a million dollars” he laughed. “There is only room for one crazy person in this friend group, and that is you” he said, punching your arm affectionately, before walking back to his station. He knew that if you were joking, that meant that you were okay.

“Never say never Pete!” you quipped, wiping the remaining tears from your eyes and cheeks. “One day maybe, after finishing all this research, I’ll find a parallel universe where you have the powers”.

At that, Peter double down laughing, clutching his stomach from how hard he was chuckling. “Yeah sure” he said between giggles, cleaning his happy tears out of his eyes with the back of his hand. “Maybe you could find your soulmate too”.

“Oh fuck off” you exclaimed. “I thought we were having a wholesome moment over her” you laughed.

You both giggled for a good couple of minutes, still bickering at each other, throwing shade back and forth. The break from work helping you both distress, the weight on your shoulders decreasing.

After calming yourself, both of you went back to working on your respective projects and theories. Peter was fixing some technology and improving your web-shooters, something you had been complaining about for weeks.

You, on the other hand, were trying to come up with a device capable of breaking the fourth dimension. Something that could allow you to travel to other dimensions. This being your ultimate goal.

You had been theorizing about inter dimensional travel since the last year of college. You wrote your thesis about it, claiming that it was possible given the technology human race had available at your time.

The difficult part was gaining the energy necessary to make the jump, or open a portal. You wished you could do it, prove to all the people who called you crazy that it was in fact possible. You were going to be the first woman to jump between dimensions, or at least you hoped. If you were trying to do this, did that mean there was someone who also thought about it in other Earth?

Those kind of questions always pop up on your mind, distracting you from work. It for sure was a possibility. If there are others out there, you can’t be the only one trying to find them. As with aliens, you can’t be alone in this bast space. You shook your head, trying to focus on your papers in front of you, aiming to push those thoughts to the back of your brain.

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Hours went by. You would think that you had done a lot of work, but no. Your brain wasn’t cooperating. You still couldn’t find a way to make the devices stable with the amount of energy they were consuming. You have never tried to use them, but theoretically, the portals wouldn’t form evenly, making the jump extremely dangerous. You weren’t taking any chances.

Besides, sleep was still trying to creep on you and now, to top it off, you were hungry. Your stomach had been complaining for like an hour now, but you were too lazy to stop and look for food.

Your stomach growled, making you lose the last bit of concentration you had. You groaned out of frustration and flopped on top of your table, not caring about the technology or papers scattered on it.

You heard Peter laugh behind you, which made you grunt in annoyance. How can he always be so happy?

As in on cue, you heard the sliding doors open, followed by the clicking sounds of heels on the floor. You heard rustling beside you, probably Peter trying to cover your spider things so MJ would not see them.

“Hey guys!” MJ greeted, always with that angelic and cheery voice. “I brought lunch”. Oh thank god, you thought, she really was an angel. Reason number one of why Peter is happy every single damn day.

“Thank you babe” you heard Peter say, followed by a kissing sound, making you gagged internally. Too much cheesiness. The dream of accomplishing the same thing with your soulmate since you were a kid slowly banishing. Every reminder of love making you sick to your stomach.

“What is wrong with y/n” MJ asked, concern present in her voice.

Upon not hearing an immediate answer from Peter, you lifted your head up from the table and looked over at them. They were clearly communicating, but without uttering a word. Their shared looks was all it took.

Maybe it was the sleep deprivation, the hunger or the fact that you were pathetic from not founding your soulmate which made the feeling of anger and frustration inside of you come to light. Anger and frustration that were only directed to yourself, but that somehow, escaped you, even surprising you.

“Hey!” you snapped without thinking. “I’m right here, you know? Can you two quit doing that?” Your face becoming redder and redder as seconds went by.

The couple glanced at each other. “Doing what exactly?” MJ asked furrowing her eyebrows, and playing with her hair.

“That!” you shouted, as if the answer was clear as water, pointing at them with your hand, moving it from one to another. “You are using your soulmate telepathy or whatever” you finished, throwing your hands in the air and turning your back to them.

Peter snorted, clearly not sensing the tension in the atmosphere. “You do know we can’t read each other’s mind, right? Soulmate can only sense emotions. That’s not how-”

“No Peter!” you roared, turning back around at light speed. Your tone and actions making Peter and MJ take a step back from fear. “I don’t know how it works, or what it is, or how it feels” you continued, while pacing from left to right, using your arms to exaggerate your words. “I don’t know if you haven’t notice yet, but I DON’T HAVE SOULMATE YET” you finished, aiming those last words directly at him, looking at Peter right in the eye.

As soon as you finished that sentence, you spun around again. You pressed the palms of your hands strongly against the table, not paying attention to the things on it. If you broke something, it didn’t matter. Nothing worked anyway.

Your chest was heaving up and down, your breath quick and short. It was getting hard to see, spots feeling your vision every time you opened your eyes. You tried to calm yourself down. The annoyance you were feeling was strange, you had never felt like this. Sure, you had your bad days, but most of the time, the negative emotions were directed to yourself! And you knew how to control them.

It wasn’t Pete’s or MJ’s fault that your soulmate wasn’t here, that you hadn’t found him yet. They were just trying to help. For God’s sake, MJ even brought you lunch! Tears began spilling out of your eyes out of frustration. The emotions too strong to let them in, and crying was the only way you knew how to get them out, without shouting at them again.

You started shacking, not being able to stop it. Sobs spilling out of your mouth. You ran your hand though your hair before covering your face, trying to stop the tears and sounds coming out, but not succeeding.

You slumped over your desk, hoping to be swallowed by the floor. You were so ashamed of shouting at Peter and MJ, they would probably walk away, you would. Is this why you haven’t find your soulmate yet? Because you are not ready? You are emotionally immature? Probably you are overreacting, but still.

Between your sniffs, you heard shuffling behind you. Steps growing louder, until you felt a gentle hand on your right shoulder. The smell of roses and vainilla signaling it was MJ.

Raising your head up and looking to the right, you were met with a blurred image of a red mass and blue eyes staring at you. MJ wiped your tears away from your eyes with her thumb, always so gentle. The gesture making a sob come out of your throat.

You could see on MJ’s face that she was worried, and she didn’t know how to make you feel better. After looking at your face for a little longer, she glanced at your station, making you do the same. Papers were scattered all over, no organization whatsoever. For many, it would be chaos, but you knew your way around it. After all, the state of your lab table was a clear indication of how your life was going.

“What are you working on?” MJ asked calmly, snapping you out of your thoughts. You looked back at her, contemplating whether she was really interested on what you had to say, or she was merely trying to get you out of your head. You shook your head. The reason wasn’t important, what mattered was the fact she was helping you.

“Umm, I am just trying to prove some theories, nothing important, really” you shrugged. You used your sweater sleeve to dry off your cheeks and nose, before showing her the different devices.

“This is supposed to teleport you.” you explained, grabbing the bracelet in front of you. “And this, is supposed to create a portal to another dimension” you said, pointing at the first piece of technology on the table.

MJ watched you with a smile on her face. Not that you were paying much attention to her, talking about science always made you wonder to other worlds, forgetting about all your worries and sorrows.

“Have you tried any?” Peter questioned, joining the conversation. He walked towards you like he was stepping on eggshells, aiming to keep you calm, for the second time that day. He stopped right at your left, between you and his station, just as a few hours prior.

“You know I haven’t Pete” you giggled. “Stop being so tense Peter, I’m not going to bite you”.

The three of you laughed, and you visible could tell how the weight was lifted from Peter’s shoulders.

“I am so sorry for snapping at you both” you said, looking between them. “I know it isn’t your fault. I guess I was just a little jealous” you admitted.

“It is okay” MJ replied, putting her hand on your arm and giving it a squeeze. “Just, let us know how you feel before your emotions explode right in our faces, alright?”

You laughed and nodded at her, focusing your attention on the bracelet on your hands.

“I wish I could try them, you know?,” you continued elaborating what Peter had asked “but I guess it is still too dangerous. I don’t know how unstable this things are”.

You examined the device a while longer. After being satisfied with the fact that everything looked normal and just as how you had planned it, and not longer being able to extract information by just looking at it, you went to set it down on the table.

As if the universe was listening, as soon as the lateral of the bracelet hit the surface, a surge of energy emerged from it, aimed at the roof.

The sudden blow knocked you off your seat, falling to the ground on your butt, for the second time that day. MJ and Peter crumbled to the floor, protecting their heads.

You quickly sat up, checking for injuries on both of your friends. After visually checking they were unscratched, you watched the energy beam. You couldn’t take your eyes off it.

It was a mixture between red, orange and blue, illuminating the room in a beautiful warm light. On the ceiling, the matter was creating a spiral, turning and growing bigger by the second.

The ray coming out of the bracelet was unstable. It shone brighter for seconds and then it slowed down, making the semi-portal grow and close, consuming and dropping matter everywhere. Things were floating towards the portal, but then dropping down when the surge became smaller. You felt pulled by it, your scientific mind wanting to see what was on the other side.

You were stuck in place, sitting on the floor, mouth agape, watching all the changes the portal was creating on the lab. The trance you were in was so strong that you almost didn’t register your spidey senses going off.

“TAKE COVER!!” you screamed, before grabbing MJ’s hand and pulling her towards you, to put her beneath Peter’s lab station, following Peter.

As soon as you got MJ below the desk, the bracelet exploded, breaking the surge.

The semi-portal took all the remaining energy, and stopped moving.

Just as you thought it was all over, the spiral shrunk and then expanded, creating a blinding light and an electromagnetic wave. Pieces of the ceiling fell, the lights cut off, the emergency lights turn on, at the same time the fire alarm did.

Five minutes went by, no one dared to move. Being Spider-woman, you decided to be the brave one and taste the waters, besides, it was kind of your fault this all happened. You crawled out under the table, and looked around the lab.

Everything looked normal, if you rule out the big hole on the ceiling were the portal was forming. After inspecting everything in case of danger, you signal Peter and MJ to get out.

“Are you guys okay?” you asked concerned “Yeah, yeah, we are fine” Peter answered cleaning the dust on his knees. “What the hell happened?” MJ questioned a little shaken up. “I don’t really know. I recognize the devices were unstable, but they weren’t suppose to work. At least theoretically” you elaborated. “Unless-”.

Before you could end your explanation, your Spidey senses went off again. You scanned the lab alarmed with your eyes, trying not to make sudden moves to not scare MJ even further. Peter could see that you knew there was something wrong, he had seen that look in your face a million times. He knew your Spidey senses were attempting to tell you something.

“Why don’t you go and look at the light panel y/n?” Peter said, aiming to call your attention and making you look at him, which you did.

He was staring at you, telling you to go and save the day, like you always do.

“The light panel, right. Yeah, I’ll do that.” you declared, giving Peter and understanding and thanking look. “Stay safe, the fire department should be here in shortly.”

“Will do, now go!” Peter urged you.

And with that, you grabbed your bag and ran out the door. Thank god you always carried your suit with you. You made a quick pit stop in the bathroom to change and, five minutes later, you were off in the streets, trying to guess what your spidey senses were warning you about.

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Earth - 928B

Miguel’s POV Same time as reader’s pov

Miguel had been in front of the screens in his office for what felt like days, which probably were.

After all the chaos had Spot caused and the mistakes he made with Miles, he didn’t dare rest, in case the multiverse collapsed, when he wasn’t on watch. Besides, he was giving himself a really hard time. He couldn’t believe that the theory of canon events was wrong, it shouldn’t have been, it made total sense.

But, given that Miles father was still alive, and the police captain, nonetheless, that meant he was mistaken.

Not only his job became ten times more difficult because of the instability of the multiverse caused by the Spot, but also, he needed to find answers. He craved to know why Gabriella’s universe shattered. If it wasn’t because he wasn’t supposed to be there, what caused it? Can it be fixed? Can he see his little girl again?

On top of it all, there was a new group of villains roaming the various dimensions. He had sent different squads of spiders, hoping one of them could trap them, to then be sent to their respective universes. But they all failed, and not by a little.

There was little to no information about the individuals forming the evil organization. The only warning someone could get before being sent off being “Warning: Extremely Dangerous. Do not, under any circumstance, hold back”.

Every spider sent on the quest came back severely injured or passed out. The ones injured were far too traumatized to speak. The lines of the Spider psychologist growing as the weeks went by. Miguel had to even consider hiring a new one, even taking into consideration a normal human.

The atmosphere at the Society wasn’t ideal. Many spiders losing respect for Miguel over the whole Miles ordeal, even if he had apologize to him a thousand times. Tension was escalating, and Miguel was between the sword and the wall.

He needed people to trust him, because he needed to catch these bad guys, but he couldn’t do it alone. The whole stability of the different universes was in play. And yes, he is aware he had use that argument before, and that he was wrong, but there is proof now.

Miguel had tasked Lyla on monitoring the universes where this group had been last. During their stay, all the living creatures of the surface started to slowly die. Technology was unusable, and people were growing mad.

This case was the top priority, but there were still other variants outside of their respective universes that had to be taken care of. Unwillingly, he had to give control to Jessica Drew. She was now the leader of the “easier” missions to retrieve anomalies. Furthermore, much to his dismay, Peter B was in charge when Jess had to take care of his son, as long as he didn’t bring Mayday along.

The sleep deprivation wasn’t helping, at all. He was more irritable, he could barely focus, and to top it all off, his left side started itching. He should probably check it out, but it was probably nothing. Jess would probably tell him to go to the infirmary and rest, but he couldn’t, not now.

Talking about the devil…

“Hey Miguel.” Jess announced herself. “Any new lead?”

“Ugh not yet.” he hissed, trying to find the spot where the itching originated.

“Are you okay? Why are you scratching yourself so much.”

“It’s nothing Jess, you back to work.”

“There is no work Miguel. I’m just that good.”

“Then go do whatever, I’ll rather be alone.” he growled, visibly uncomfortable.

Jess rolled her eyes, that response being an usual thing she heard this days. “Why don’t you get Lyla to check you up? Maybe it is an allergy.” Jess pressed, not accepting a no for an answer.

“No es nada, mierda.” [(It is nothing, dammit) kinda, ahha) ] Miguel replied, scratching his side even more. “I don’t need a check up.”

“Too late!” Lyla chirped, appearing from thin air, making Miguel roll his eyes and groan.

“There is nothing out of the ordinary.” the AI informed “Apparently, the itching comes from the mark on you abdomen Miguel.”

“Mark? Like, what, a past scar? Those itch all the time.” Jess questioned confused.

Miguel hurried to answer before Lyla could open her mouth. “It’s noth-”

Late again. “Oh, the soulmate mark? You weren’t aware of that? Weiird” Lyla stated in a sarcastic tone, eyeing up Miguel to see his reaction.

“Lylaa” he snarled, trying to grab the AI, but she teleported near Jess’ shoulder.

“What? I am just providing information to our dear friend Jessica” the AI expressed shrugging, as if the information she has just divulged wasn’t a secret Miguel had been hiding for years.

“A Soulmate huh? You’ve never mentioned that” Jess wondered

“I’m not in the mood to talk about it Jess” he said, turning his body towards the screens, trying to hide. The itching was becoming unbearable. His talons threatening to come out.

“You are never in the mood. Why have you never mentioned it?” Jess continued questioning, abusing the fact that Miguel wasn’t going to yell at her.

Miguel slumped his shoulders and head forward, his chin touching his chest, his hands on his hips. He took deep breathes, trying to prepare himself for the inevitable conversation that was about to happen.

“This Earth like many others,” he began, lifting his head. “once had a lot of soulmates roaming the surface”.

Miguel turned to Jess, checking if she was following. Once she nodded, he continued.

“After a while, people stopped looking for them. Many didn’t believe there were meant to be, others weren’t patient enough.” he sighed, remembering his mother and his biological father. “My mother married George O’Hara, a man who wasn’t her soulmate. But still, whatever wicked entity who is in charge of all of this, brought her to her soulmate, and I am the outcome of that.” he finished, anger evident in his voice.

“So.. what?” Jess asked. “Soulmate disappeared as a punishment for not wanting for them?”

“No” Miguel answered pinching his nose, already done with the conversation, at least it was distracting him from the pain on his side. “From what I gathered from Lyla’s investigation, only soulmates can birth soulmates, thus, the numbered decreased because people had children with others who weren’t their ‘half’.” The last bit said between air quotes, as he shared the sentiment of all those people. There wasn’t a person who could be his other half. The universe wouldn’t gift him a nice one. One that he could love and could love him back.

“And that’s it?” Jess said. “Your excuse for being secluded in your office all day and being lonely is waiting for your soulmate?. You ain’t gonna find her if you keep burying yourself with work.”

“Quite the opposite actually” he mumbled, the end of the conversation not coming fast enough.

“You don’t want to find her?” she replied surprised. “I get why you don’t want anything with this..”

Jess words blurred in the background, all he could hear was his heart pounding in his chest.

“… you are condemning the girl to the same thing.”

His chest was rising up and down, the air around him becoming too hot. Each breath too hard to pass. Miguel rested his hands on the table, slumping his body forward, aiming to calm himself down.

“What if she wants to find you? What if she is waiting for you?”

He stopped registering what Jess was saying, all his brain could focus on was the itch in his abdomen. The mark hot to the touch despite the barrier of his suit. Closing his eyes, he tried to regain control of his body, but it wasn’t cooperating.

“And, what if-”

“Enough!” Miguel roared, halting Jess from talking, her mouth wide open. He turned around, eyes as red as his suit. Chest heaving, nostrils blown.

“I don’t care how she feels, and neither should you.” he declared firmly, aiming to get his point across. “I am Spider-man, my duty is to the multiverse. I don’t have time to waste on trivial things as love, as finding the ‘the one’. I can’t, and I won’t.”

“And if she finds you?” Jess pressed, not caring about the consequences.

“I said enough! Ya basta por favor” he snarled, turning his head towards the screens. (stop it please).

Silence consumed the room. The only noise being Miguel’s heavy breathing.

Miguel could feel Jess’ deathly stare on the side of his face, but he was done talking. All her questioning was useless, there was no way his soulmate could appear out of thin air. Besides, again thanks to Lyla’s research, he knew his mark wasn’t normal. The shape was strange, the color was wrong. He was aware that the marks disappear once one of the souls left this Earth, but he still had his, meaning his soulmate was somewhere still.

The weird thing was that it seemed dormant, as if his soulmate was in other reality. Funny huh?, how he said he doesn’t think about it, but he had Lyla do research and how he has theories about them.

Despite everything and his brain’s attempt to bury the thought, his heart still yearns for love, for being taken care of. His emotional side urging him to get out of his office, go on patrols hoping, praying, to find the one person destined to him. His rational side, for the other part, shouting at him to have some sense.

His soulmate for sure was a normal citizen, someone else to protect. Another person to lose. One more person whose blood would be on his hands. He couldn’t bear it, his hands were red enough as it is.

The calm atmosphere was interrupted with the flash of the multiple screens in front of him.

“Lyla, what is this?” Miguel asked

“The evil group has being spotted entering Earth-129.” Lyla answered, looking at her tablet.

“What do we know about this universe?” Jess said.

“Not much. But there is a Spider-woman in it” Lyla answered adjusting her glasses. “If you want to catch them, this is a good chance. There is no time to call a squad. It has to be you two”.

Miguel looked at Jess. Despite the anger he felt towards her at that moment, she was his friend and his most trusted teammate.

“Stop looking at me like that” Jess said rolling her eyes. “I am not going to let you hanging. Let’s go!”

Lyla clicked some buttons on her holographic tablet and opened a portal to said dimension.

Before crossing the threshold, Jess turned to Miguel with a grin and joked “You know, if we both get injured or die, Peter B stays in charge of everything”.

Miguel groaned, not having thought of that. “Another reason to leave this mission unscratched” he said under his breath, swearing to himself to come back, no matter how hard.

They both pulled their masks over their face and disappeared into the portal.

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Earth-129

As Miguel emerged from the portal he had to squint his eyes. The brightness of the sun burning his eyes, not used to the light, given his office was always dark, and a consequence to the spider DNA.

He scanned the city looking for the bad guys. This universe, New York at least, was similar to his. A little less technological, but almost a copy.

It didn’t take him long to localize the villains. The chaos they were creating clear as day and really loud. The citizens of New York screaming at the top of their lungs and running away.

Before Jess and him could jump into action, a sky-blue figure flew right past him, or in retrospective, swung. The spider-woman of Earth-129 had a blue, grey and black suit, with a belt around her waist.

As she fought against the biggest guy, Miguel could see that she was experienced. She moved like she had been doing this her whole life, dodging punches, kicks and electromagnetic fields like they were nothing.

“We should help her” Jess said.

Miguel nodded, and they both jumped into action.

Reader’s POV

The minute you started swinging across the city after leaving the lab, you saw what your spidey senses were warning you about. Three individuals, each one different from the rest, were causing a havoc in the city center.

The first one, and the biggest one, was basically a mountain of dirt. He looked like a toddler had built him with clay and put rubies for eyes. He was at least 3 meters tall, from what you could see from afar. He also had some weird red rays surrounding his body, which attracted different materials. Probably an electromagnetic kind of thing.

The second one, who looked like the one in charge, was a regular human, or that was what it looked like. The only extraordinary thing was that he had a weird helmet on his head, but apart from that, normal.

The last one, you couldn’t decipher what it was, partly because it looked like he was constantly changing its appearance. From a tall man, to a woman, to whatever human shape you can imagine. It grossed you out a little, because it sometimes had two faces at the same time.

There was no time to think, you needed to protect your city.

You swung as fast as you could to reach the center. As you were passing a tall building, from the corner of your eye, you saw two people on the rooftop. It was probably the adrenaline and the lack of sleep, but you could swore they had suits on, and they looked like yours! Different colors of course.

You were approaching the scene as fast as you could, trying to come up with a plan. Clearly, the safest option, was to attack the human guy, let’s call it number two. The downside of it being that, if he was the leader, he was probably powerful, but it is the best option.

Before you could change your mind, you jump towards number two and kick him straight to the face, making him stumble back and fall to the floor.

The action caused the other two to lock their eyes on you. Oh, you were so fucked. You had fought bad guys before, in big groups even, but you could sense these were different.

Number 1, the big ugly guy, leaped forward, trying to strike you, but you jumped out of the way before he could even touch you, landing close to guy number three.

He was still changing his appearance, but once you landed in front of him and he locked eyes with you, he transformed into your dad. You stumbled back, shock, making you lose focus.

“What, dad? How- how do you know him?” you said dumbfounded. The quick distraction was enough to make you miss your spidey senses and receive an electromagnetic surge from guy number 1 from the right.

You flew back ten meters, crashing against a parked car. You groaned in pain. Your ears were ringing from the crash. You opened your eyes, seeing a blurred brown figure fast approaching, your senses begging you to move out of the way.

Your limbs weren’t answering, you were doomed.

Just as you were accepting your fate, a red and blue figure crashed against the other one, moving it out of the way.

“Hey” you heard from your left. You tilted your head upwards, trying to locate the source of the sound.

“We are here to help, come on” she offered your hand to take. You did, slowly, trying not to cause more pain.

You double down, hand on your knees trying to regain your breath. Whatever that guy hit you with, it was strong.

“I am going to help him, stay here until you feel okay” the woman said. When she saw you nod, she swung into action, kicking guy number 3.

The tall guy, the one that saved you, was still fighting with ugly guy number 1. The leader was no where on sight. You would have to be alert.

Both the woman and the man looked like Spider-guys to you, they had similar suit to yours. That’s weird, you thought you were the only one. You had never encountered them in your patrols. Why now?

Once you recovered your breath, you decided to join the fight. And just on time, because you saw the leader trying to sneak attack Spider-man.

You jumped right in front of him, before he could strike the man. Both of you entangled into a fist fight, none of you succeeding on hitting the other. Obviously, you had your spidey senses on your favor, so you could predict were the blow was coming from, but the leader was reading all your moves, as if he knew what you were going to do next.

Other thing that surprised you was that he wasn’t getting tired. Scratch the fact that he was a normal dude, he clearly had something.

”Surprised Spider-woman?” you heard inside your head, which made you stop in your tracks, giving him the opportunity to punch you straight in the face, making you fall to the floor.

”Where is it?” he continued, speaking in your head. Where is what?? What is this guy talking about?

”Where are you hiding it?” he stood above you, each leg on one side of your body, trapping you in. ”Well, are you gonna tell me? Or am I going to have to take it from you? I warn you, it is a painful process”

You could barely register what he was saying. What does he want? What is IT? Nonetheless, it didn’t matter. Whatever he was looking for, it couldn’t be good, and you didn’t want him to take it from you.

In a swift move, you punch his crotch, which made him stumbled back, liberating you from him. You stood up quickly, trying to continue the fight.

“How are you? What do you want?” you questioned, fists ready to punch. A few meters away, you could hear the rest of the fight.

”We are Cataclysm, and we will prevail”. he answered. ”We will catch you little spider, when you are alone.”

And just like that, the ground opened up and swallowed him. You stood there, confused, staring at the floor for a sign of where he had went.

The noise behind you had stopped as well. You turned around, looking for the other two bad guys and the two spider-people, but the first ones were already gone, probably alerted by their leader.

The spider-people, on the other hand, were talking a few meters away from you. You couldn’t hear them. As you were about to go up to them and introduce yourself, they shot a web to the nearest sky-crapper.

“Hey! Wait up!” you said, and shot a web yourself, trying to follow them.

You landed on the rooftop, and the other two weren’t there. Fuck! You missed them. Just as you were about to jump off and keep looking around, you felt a sting.

‘Ugh fuck!’ you exclaimed, clutching your right shoulder. Something might had hit you, which was weird, because it wasn’t there a minute ago. Maybe it was the adrenaline wearing down.

All of a sudden, you heard a thud behind you. Two heavy landings.

You turned around, fist up, ready for a fight, in case they weren’t friendly, even though your spidey senses were silent.

‘Easy girl’ the woman said. “It’s just us. My name is Jess, this is Miguel.”

The tall guy, Miguel, was just looking at you, or you presumed, given the fact that all of you were still wearing your masks. He was crossing his arms, as if he didn’t want to be there. You had to admit, he looked hot.

“What are you doing here?” you asked defensively. “I thought I was the only one. And what the hell was that?” you said, pointing in the general direction of where the fight took place.

“First, those were a group of villains that we are chasing. They have been on the loose for a couple of weeks now”.

“The Cataclysm.” you replied.

“The what?” Jess questioned.

“The Cataclysm. That’s what they are called.”

“How do you know that?” Miguel asked. Wow, he had a really nice voice.

“Their leader, or well, what I presume is their leader told me” you answered, shrugging your shoulders.

“I was watching you while I was fighting, he never talked” Miguel continued.

“Not out loud, he has telepathy or something.” you said. Funnily enough, you accused your friends of using it just an hour back. You laughed to yourself remembering.

“Why are you laughing? This is serious” Miguel groaned.

“Jeez, sorry man” you said lifting your arms, the palm of your hands facing them. “I get that it is serious, I guess you wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t. Which leads me back to my first question. Who are you? And why haven’t I seen you before?” you questioned crossing your arms.

Jess and Miguel shared some looks, and then she answered.

“We are just like you, we are Spider-people.”

“I get that. But I thought I was the only one.” you said.

“You are the only one,” Jess reassured “in this universe, at least, as far as we know.”

“In this universe?” you repeated slowly, uncrossing your arms, letting them fall at your sides. this universe?? Alarms were going off inside your head, you opened your eyes and mouth, not believing what you just heard.

“Sorry, this universe?” you questioned. “As in, there are more universes?”

Jess simply nod, sensing that you only needed that.

“Oh my god. You are joking, you are fucking joking” you screamed excitedly, jumping in place. Your theory was right, you were right all along!!. You couldn’t wait to tell Peter

“That means that there are others like me, you are like me, how many are you? Are you from the same universe? Are you like a team?” you rambled. You were shaking with excitement.

You were pacing back and forth, trying to grasp the idea of there being multiple realities. From the corner of your eye you could see Miguel and Jess eyeing each other. You saw Jess nod with her head towards you, as silently asking Miguel something. With your happiness, you couldn’t decipher what.

Wait, why are they still here? Do they want you on their team? I mean, they never told you they were a team, but it seemed obvious. You stopped dead on your tracks and faced them. You watched them have a silent argument before Miguel rolled his head to the side in defeat, crossing his arms.

Jess took off her mask, which made you do the same, but Miguel kept his on.

“What was your name again?” Jess asked walking towards you.

“Oh right, sorry” you apologized, silly you, with all the flash news you forgot to introduce yourself. “I’m y/n” you said taking a step forward and offering your hand. Jess took it and shook it.

“Answering your questions, no, we are not from the same dimension, and yes we are a team, and we want you to be part of it.”

“You want to” Miguel mumbled, low enough to escape any normal human, but your ears caught it.

You both locked eyes, or you presumed. The more you stared at him, the stronger the burning of your right shoulder got. At the same time, Miguel started scratching his left side, as if something was bothering him.

You had to break eye contact because the pain was becoming unbearable.

“Ugh, damn” you exclaimed, clutching your shoulder and moving it, trying to ease the pain.

“Are you okay?” Jess asked.

“Yeah, I think I just got hit with something during the fight, when I crashed into the car. It’s probably nothing”

“Let’s get you checked up at HQ” Jess proposed

“Jess…” Miguel started, but was cut off by Jess looking at him with a death stare.

You switched your eyes between them, feeling how the tension was raising. You could feel the anger and frustration inside of you, as if you were the one fighting silently.

In the end, Miguel groaned, shaking his head and pinching his nose.

Jess smiled brightly at you, signalling that she had won that fight, and you could join them.

“Let’s go” she said, and opened a portal with her watch, kind of similar to the ones you were experimenting on. You were definitely asking about them later.

Jess crossed first, leaving you alone with Miguel, who had his back turned to you. You eyed him up and down before taking and deep breath and crossing the threshold of the portal, taking you to a new adventure.

<Preview> <Chapter 2>

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OKAY!! Here we gooo!!

So sorry for the wait, I hope you like this chapter!!

I feel like the action scene is sooo dull, but well, it is my first time writing something like it. I'll get the hang of it. Besides, it served its purpose.

The tension has began.

Please tell me what you think of it!!

Tags: @oscarissac2099 @amberbalcom14 @glaciertea @cupcakeinat0r @greensagephase @pigeonmama @resident-clown

[inawickedlittletown]

Just Let Me Adore You (BuckTommy) - 6/9

Summary: What if…instead of Chimney taking the role of interim Captain of the 118, Tommy is asked to take on the role.

Or, what happens when Buck meets Tommy in S2

Words: 4.3k

Notes: Title from Adore You by Harry Styles

Read on Ao3

Part One - Part Two - Part Three

Part Four - Part Five

-

Part Six

Had someone bothered to tell him that Tommy was coming over, Buck would have cleaned himself up some. At least he’d managed a shower the night before — and boy had that been an effort that took way longer than Buck had expected it to — so he didn’t smell horrible, but he would have made some effort to not look a total mess. Tommy, of course, had to look incredible. 

Unlike everyone else, Tommy didn’t rush through the visit. Buck understood that everyone was busy and that they had work and other things, but aside from Maddie and Bobby — when he arrived with ingredients to make Buck lunch or dinner and on one memorable morning breakfast — everyone else stayed an hour or so and then they were gone with promises to return soon. He didn’t blame them, but being on his own really was starting to feel lonely. 

After the initial inquiries, Tommy didn’t even bring up his leg or ask about what the doctors had said, maybe even aware that for Buck the topic was a bit sensitive. He didn’t even press Buck to take more pain meds when he caught him wincing. He did get up to get Buck into a more comfortable position and his hands kinda just lingered over the cast afterwards and Buck wished that he could actually feel his touch. 

Tommy told him about going back to the 217 and about a few of the calls he’d been on since. It was nice to hear Tommy’s voice and to hear about air support. As curious as he was, Buck didn’t want to bring down the mood by asking about why Tommy had been kept from flying for a time. 

When Buck’s stomach growled, Tommy even took it upon himself to order them some food and he ate with Buck right on the couch. He even insisted on cleaning up afterwards including any other clutter in Buck’s kitchen despite Buck arguing for him to leave it. 

Tommy was also the first to offer to rearrange Buck’s apartment so he could get around easier and so he could have his bed down on the first floor. Buck had thought about it, but it seemed like such a hassle and he had almost convinced himself that he was fine on the couch. It was starting to not be fine, but Buck could still manage, even if it did leave him with sore shoulders and an aching back whenever he managed to sleep for more than an hour or two. 

“Look, I can tell you don’t want me to bother, but you can’t recover on a couch,” Tommy said. “Not when it will be weeks before the cast comes off and even then you’ll probably still be on crutches or capable of going up or down those stairs. One day, you’re going to be tempted to go up there and it will not end well.” 

Maddie had said the same, but she’d wanted him to go stay with her, so she hadn’t tried to offer to make Buck more comfortable in his own apartment. She was probably even banking on Buck getting sick of the couch and asking to stay at her place. Buck was not going to do that. 

So, then Tommy had made a call and thirty minutes later Eddie and Chim arrived and between the three of them Buck’s entire apartment was rearranged. The bed took the place of the couch and because it would be too cluttered otherwise, the couch was moved upstairs. Tommy even rearranged where his table sat so he had more space to move around with the crutches and so that Buck could actually use it too. 

“Honestly, you should have asked one of us to help you with this days ago, Buck,” Chim said. 

“Maybe someone should have offered,” Tommy muttered and Buck figured it wasn’t meant to be heard. Something about it sent a thrill through him. 

Tommy was just that considerate and that concerned about Buck and Buck didn’t think that anyone had ever really shown such a level of care as Tommy did. At least, not someone that wasn’t Maddie. 

“Now, this looks a lot better,” Tommy said when they were done. 

Chim went out to pick up food for the four of them, so he found himself sitting on his bed with Tommy at the foot of it and Eddie in the armchair. 

“It was a good idea,” Eddie said. 

“Thank you,” Buck said, aiming it at Tommy. 

“So, how are you feeling about your probationary period coming to an end?” Tommy asked. 

“Pretty great,” Eddie said. “I think I finally made my parents understand I’m not going with them back to Texas.” 

“Was that on the table?” Buck asked. 

“According to them,” Eddie said with a shrug. “It’s like they can’t acknowledge that I’m an adult or that Chris and I can be happy here.” 

“Will you be there?” Buck asked Tommy. “At the ceremony, I mean?” 

“If I’m not on shift.” 

When Chim arrived, they moved to Buck’s table and Tommy helped Buck sit, placing another chair for his cast to sit on. 

“Thanks,” Buck said and received a smile in return. 

A few days later, Tommy came back. This time with bags of Chinese food and the intent that they continue their movie education. He didn’t even care that he’d need to sit on Buck’s bed to watch the movie. Buck kinda liked it, wanted it to be because of different circumstances. 

Buck hadn’t forgotten about his attraction to Tommy, or even about what he’d been researching before the bombing. Having Tommy around put that right at the forefront. It hadn’t helped matters that during Eddie’s ceremony, Tommy had arrived a little late but in his formal uniform and Buck had almost toppled out of his chair because of it. 

It was bad how much he wanted Tommy around, how every time Tommy left he wanted him to come back and couldn’t wait until the next time it was Tommy knocking on his door. He was actually genuinely disappointed when he opened his door to anyone that wasn’t Tommy and that…well, he’d had to really think that through. 

It went on that way for weeks. Tommy was over at least twice weekly always with food or snacks and another movie. A few times they did play board games for a change of pace. Tommy was really good at Scrabble, as it turned out. Twice on movie nights Buck fell asleep right on his shoulder and Tommy didn’t seem too bothered going by how Buck always woke up with his head still secured to Tommy’s shoulder and sometimes Tommy’s arm supporting him so he didn’t slip down. 

Buck didn’t know what to make of it, other than to love the level of comfort that he received from Tommy. He just made Buck feel better even when he was having a bad day. It helped that Tommy kept things light. He talked about work a bit, filled him in on his renovations, and when he knew that Buck had gone for a doctor’s visit he asked about it casually and Buck found himself telling him everything about it and the choices that Buck was given about what to do next. With Tommy there was no reason to be scared of judgment. 

Another surgery or waiting it out. Buck was impatient and he wanted the surgery and how it might speed everything along. Maddie had been trying to convince him not to rush things. 

“I just want to get back to the 118,” Buck told Tommy. “If another surgery means that can happen sooner then that’s what I want to do.” 

“Look, I get that. I get wanting to get back to doing the job, but an injury like yours,” Tommy paused and looked down at Buck’s leg. “How about you don’t rush it? Give your body the time it needs to heal. You’ll be right back at the 118 before you know it.” 

It was the first time that Buck actually believed it. After Ali not understanding why he would never quit being a firefighter he’d had Maddie hinting that maybe he should try doing something else. The single time his parents had called it had been to tell him he should consider another career, granted Buck didn’t think they had ever agreed with any of his choices. His father had even gone on to email him a list of things he could look into and information on how he could still go back to school. Buck hadn’t deemed that it needed a response. None of them understood how much being a firefighter meant to Buck and how much it defined him. 

“You think so?” Buck asked.

“Unless you’ve been lying about what your doctor has said, you’ll be back to walking and then back to work once your leg is back at normal strength. Just gotta be patient.”

“I’m not great at that,” Buck admitted. 

Tommy laughed and nudged his shoulder. “Yeah. But you also don’t know that the surgeries won’t lengthen the time you need for recovery. And, hey, that also means you can catch up on all the movies you haven’t watched.” 

“Only if you watch them with me,” Buck said. 

“That’s a given,” Tommy said. “Someone needs to pick the movies for you.” 

When Tommy smiled at him, Buck felt himself melting. He liked the way that Tommy talked to him, not just like he understood where Buck was coming from, but like he was expressing an opinion rather than pushing Buck in any specific direction. 

“And what are we watching tonight?” Buck asked. 

“Tonight, I treat you with The Princess Bride.” 

“Sounds interesting,” Buck said. 

“I have a feeling you’re going to love it, Evan.”

“Oh. And is this your favorite movie?” 

Tommy rolled his eyes, eyes crinkling in a smile. “Nope,” he said. 

“Why won’t you tell me what it is? Is it something really weird or embarrassing?” 

It had become a bit of a game. Buck had asked if they could watch Tommy’s favorite movie, but Tommy had refused and then refused to even tell Buck what it was. It was driving him crazy even if it was fun to sometimes just list a bunch of movies to see if Tommy had a reaction to them. He never gave anything away. 

“It’s not. A lot of people like it.”

“So, then why—”

“Because it’s so much fun to keep you guessing,” Tommy said. 

“Oh, is that all,” Buck said and he knew he was pouting. 

Tommy nudged him. “We’ll watch it. I promise. It’s not time for it yet, but we’ll watch it when it is and I think you’ll appreciate it just as much as I do.”

“But you’ll tell me if I guess it correctly before then?” 

“Yes. Now, put that pout away, Buttercup.” 

—

Tommy was charmed by Evan. He’d been infatuated before, but the more time he spent with him, the more that that infatuation grew into something more. Something bigger. Something dangerous. It didn’t help that Evan was always flirting with him. Tommy wasn’t even sure if Evan was aware of the flirting, or how much Tommy was allowing himself to flirt back. He’d also caught Evan checking him out, and yet Evan never said anything. Then again, Tommy didn’t bring it up either. On the nights when mid-movie Evan fell asleep right on his shoulder, Tommy lost himself in watching him sometimes. He really was in trouble. 

Tommy had his reasons. Mostly, the fact that Evan had been recently broken up with, the fact that Evan had more things to focus on like his recovery, and how Tommy didn’t want to tear apart the friendship they’d built if bringing in his feelings went the wrong way. 

Not that it made any of it easier in any way. Evan was still Evan and Tommy didn’t think he would ever find someone that made him feel the way that Evan did. With all the time that he was spending with Evan, it wasn’t like Tommy even had the time to find anyone to date or hook up with even if he’d wanted to. 

A few days after Evan’s cast finally came off, Tommy arrived at Evan’s house just in time to run into Maddie as he got off the elevator. 

“Oh,” she said. “Hi. I don’t know if he told you, but I think he has a date? I know you were keeping him company a lot so maybe it’s not a good night.” 

Tommy didn’t know her too well. He’d only seen her a few times, but never for long. Somehow, they had managed to not cross paths too often even though Tommy was over at Evan’s any chance that he got. 

He and Evan had agreed that they could go out for dinner as soon as the cast was off to celebrate and have a change of scenery, but maybe Evan had forgotten. Maybe he’d gotten a better offer. 

“Maybe he double booked himself. Got excited about getting out of the cast?” Tommy asked. 

He felt like his heart had dropped into his stomach, that it might make it all the way down to his feet and out of his body. Tommy had just…he’d been excited about going out to eat with Evan. 

“Maybe,” she said, but looked dubious. 

“I’ll go see him, anyway,” Tommy said. “Even if just for a few minutes.” 

“Okay,” Maddie said. “Oh, and Tommy, I’ve wanted to say thank you. You’ve really kept his spirits up and made all of this easier for him.” 

Tommy knew his cheeks were heated. He ducked his head. “It’s nothing.” 

“No,” she said. “It means a lot.” 

When he knocked on Evan’s door, Evan opened it almost immediately. He looked good. He was wearing pants for once and he’d put on a blue shirt that brought out his eyes. Evan looked like he’d even bothered to shave and put on cologne, definitely date behavior. So, maybe his sister wasn’t wrong. If he had gone and broken his own heart over this boy then Tommy really only had himself to blame. 

Evan smiled as soon as he saw Tommy. He held himself up by leaning on the doorframe, but both his feet were on the ground. 

“Hi,” Evan said. “Come in. Come in.” 

“I ran into your sister,” Tommy said as he stepped in. 

Evan wasn’t using his crutches, though Tommy knew he was supposed to be. Instead he kinda moved gingerly across the room to where his shoes sat. 

“Yeah…she stopped by for a bit,” Evan said. “Anyway, where did you say we were going?” 

Evan sat down on a chair and started putting his shoes on. He looked up and when their eyes caught, he smiled. He didn’t have a date like his sister had assumed. All of this…the way that Evan looked, it was because he was having dinner with Tommy. Or maybe, it was because he’d gotten his cast off and was going out to eat for the first time in while. Either way, there was no denying how he was filled with warmth because of it. 

“Italian place,” Tommy said. “Has really good pizza.” 

“Great,” Evan said with a grin. “It’ll be nice to get out of here for once. Let me just grab my crutches and then we can head out.” 

“Or, I can grab them before you get hurt again,” Tommy said and did just that. 

—

He regretted telling Maddie to help him pick out an outfit. It was just that his time recovering had kept him from being too active to the point where he had definitely lost some weight. A lot of his clothes still fit, just a bit looser than Buck was used to and he still wasn’t supposed to go up or down stairs so he’d needed Maddie to bring him down some clothes that weren’t sweatpants, shorts, or t-shirts. He really should have just asked Eddie. 

She’d been needling him about his reason for wanting to dress nicely since she arrived and had tried to get him to admit to a date. God, did he wish it was for a date. Maybe that’s why he didn’t bother to correct her and tell her it was actually Tommy. 

Tommy who had asked if he could take Buck out to celebrate not needing the cast anymore. Tommy who had made the time with the cast bearable and who had talked Buck out of a second operation without even knowing he had. Tommy who Buck definitely had a crush on. 

By the time that Tommy arrived looking way too good in a henley and dark wash jeans, Buck knew he couldn’t hold it in any longer. He couldn’t look at him and not want to literally jump him, though Buck thought that physically it might hurt a bit if he tried. His leg wouldn’t be back to normal for a while yet, but he’d already started doing some of the exercises the doctor had told him to try on his own. If he had thought that getting to the point of not having the cast was the end of his recovery, he would have been wrong. He still had a ways to go. 

Tommy helped him into his car even though Buck could have done it on his own. With anyone else, Buck would have hated it. Tommy was…he was different and his hands were big and strong and Buck wanted him to touch him so badly that he’d take any touch even it was just Tommy supporting him as he got into the car. He was glad for the moment he had to take a breath before Tommy was climbing into the driver’s seat. 

“So, it all went well?” Tommy asked. 

“What?” 

“The cast removal?” 

“Oh. Yeah. Perfect. I start PT in a few days. Get my strength and movement back.”

Tommy shot him a smile. “Well, if I’m free I’m happy to drive you to any appointments.” 

“Oh. I — thanks.” 

“Of course,” Tommy said. 

The restaurant was casual but also intimate and they were led to a table right by a window that looked out onto the street. For all the time they’d spent together they had mostly eaten any shared meals side by side on Buck’s couch or on his bed. Buck had never sat across from him. He found that it was even harder to look away when Tommy was right in his line of sight. 

“Any fun calls lately?” Buck asked. 

“Rescued a couple of hikers the other day,” Tommy said. “They had a fight and they got stuck together on a ledge for almost a whole day. Both were fine, just dehydrated. One sprained ankle. We only got called in because it was the only way to reach them, but we got to listen to them bicker the whole way to the hospital.” 

“That sounds the opposite of fun,” Buck said. 

Tommy shrugged. “No, it was…it was sweet in a way. Kinda romantic, I think.” 

Buck squinted at him. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“It was like an old couple that can’t help but pick at each other but it all came from love,” Tommy said. “I guess it’s the type of love that makes me believe it does still exist out there.”

“Any luck with that?” 

“No, Evan,” Tommy said with a chuckle. “I deleted all the apps and I’ve been spending all my free time remodeling or, well, with you. I haven’t…there is only one person that’s had my attention lately.” 

Buck didn’t know why hearing that left him weirdly hopeful. It didn’t help that Tommy held eye contact, only looking away when their waitress arrived, smiling, her eyes lingering on Tommy. And, wait, did she just try to pull her shirt down a bit to show off her boobs? Buck watched as she leaned down to wipe at the table, a spot just beyond Tommy. Watching it happen, Buck hated her a little. 

“Can I get you anything to get started?” she asked when she straightened up again, back straight and chest pushed out. 

“Uh, just give us a few minutes,” Tommy said and did she even notice that Tommy wasn’t even looking at her?

“Oh. Sure thing. I’ll be right back.” She touched Tommy’s shoulder and giggled. 

“The pizza here is great, unless you want something else,” Tommy said. 

“I’m good with pizza,” Buck said. “And maybe we share a pitcher of beer?” 

Tommy eyed him. “Are you even allowed to drink beer right now?” 

Buck rolled his eyes. “I’m really only taking acetaminophen right now. And, we’re celebrating that my leg is cast free.” 

“Yeah, alright,” Tommy said. 

When the waitress returned, she didn’t even look at Buck. She made a point of complimenting Tommy’s shirt and mentioned how blue it made his eyes look. She wasn’t wrong, but it was weird for her to say it. When Tommy put in their order she didn’t even write it down.

“Oh,” she said, just as she was turning to go. 

“Yes?” Tommy asked. 

She reached down with a hand headed to Tommy’s cheek. He flinched back. 

“You have an eyelash,” she informed him. “I can just—”

“No,” Tommy said. “Thank you for letting me know.” 

Her cheeks went pink, but she kept smiling as she dropped her hand. 

“Wow,” Buck said as soon as she’d walked off. “So, tell the truth, how often does that happen to you?” 

“My eyelashes falling off?” 

Buck rolled his eyes. “We lose between one to five lashes a day,” Buck informed him. 

Tommy wiped at his cheek and Buck spotted the long dark eyelash left behind. “Missed,” he said. “Here, I’ll get it.” 

Tommy held himself completely still as Buck reached over and brushed a finger over it to pick up the loose lash. 

“Do you want to make a wish?” Buck asked, extending Tommy’s own eyelash towards him. 

“Hmmm, how about you take it,” Tommy said, lips lifting into a smile. 

“Don’t know if it works if you’re not using your own eyelash,” Buck said. 

“But I’m giving you permission,” Tommy said. 

“This is starting to sound a lot like witchcraft,” Buck said. “What if I wish for something and then you face the repercussions because I used your eyelash and not mine?” 

Tommy’s laugh was infectious and Buck found himself grinning and laughing along, finger still held aloft with Tommy’s eyelash sitting on it. 

“Like, if I made a wish over your birthday cake candles.” 

“This is assuming that all wishes come true,” Tommy said. “So what would you wish for?” 

“That would negate the whole thing,” Buck pointed out, trying and failing to keep a straight face. 

“So then I have to make a wish and not tell you what it is,” Tommy said. “That’s what you’re getting at?” 

Buck shook his head. “Finders keepers, and no take backsies, you already gave me the wish.” 

“But you say it won’t actually work if you use it.” 

“We don’t know that,” Buck said. 

“Evan,” Tommy said, “make a wish.” 

“I think I will,” Buck said and he tore his eyes from staring at Tommy to look at the eyelash on his finger. 

He could make a wish about his leg for faster healing or to already be back at work. Instead, he made a wish for something else. Something he didn’t know that would be attainable. He wished that he and Tommy weren’t out as friends, but that it was a date. 

Buck gently blew on his finger. Tommy’s eyelash disappeared a moment later. 

“So?” Tommy asked. 

“I’ll let you know,” Buck said. 

The waitress reappeared then, back with their beer and two glasses, setting them down and immediately turning to ask Tommy if he needed anything else.

“We’re good,” Buck said. 

The waitress glanced at him and then turned back to Tommy as if Buck hadn’t spoken at all. 

“I do have to ask, are you some kind of trainer? Your arms are really impressive.” 

“Firefighter,” Tommy said. 

“Oh, that’s really cool.” 

Luckily another table called her away. 

“Okay, so how often does that happen?” 

Tommy laughed. “Yeah, like you don’t have the same experience. She might actually have a chance with you, though.” 

“I don’t exist for her,” Buck said. “Maybe you didn’t notice with how she was twirling her hair at you.” 

Tommy laughed. “So maybe not.” 

“Definitely not.” He braced himself, watching Tommy as he poured them both beer. “I, uh, I think I’m a little bit caught up in liking someone too.” 

Tommy took a sip of his beer. “Is that right?” 

Maybe wishes were also a little bit like things someone could make come true on their own. He gathered up his courage. 

“Yeah,” Buck said and he reached across the table, aiming for Tommy’s hand. 

He felt brave, felt like he was taking a huge step. He also knew it was the right one because he couldn’t stop thinking about Tommy and because he couldn’t imagine not being around Tommy. Mostly, because he liked him and wanted him and Buck had never been afraid of going for what he wanted and this time he knew what it was and he was going to jump feet first even if one of his legs wouldn’t hold up his weight because Tommy would catch him and it wouldn’t wind up with him injured again. 

Before his hand could make it across the table, the waitress was back. She was smiling and set down a glass container with pepper flakes even though they definitely already had one on the table. So, instead of grabbing Tommy’s hand, Buck grabbed the bottle on the table and shook it at her. 

“Oh,” she said with faux surprise. “Sorry. I didn’t think I saw one before. But are you alright, can I get you anything else?” 

Buck set down the pepper flakes maybe a little hard. “We’re fine,” he said and grabbed his glass, bringing it to his lips and taking a gulp. 

“Good. Good,” she said cheerily. “Just wanted to check.”

[ar4chn333]

“One More Night”

Michael Bluth x fem reader

Smut ahead!!

Fem reader, p in v, explicit consent (very seggsy), soft dominant Michael

Probably my best work, ngl

…

“Don’t stay up talking too late, guys! Good night!” You chirp as you give George Michael and Maeby a soft smile before turning off their bedroom light and shutting the door. Letting out a sigh of relief, you find your shoulders dropping at the thought of finally being able to return to your own house. Though you loved spending time with George Michael and Maeby, you were ready to sink into the warmth of your covers. Michael had left on a business trip five days ago and needed someone to care for George Michael while he was gone. God knows he couldn’t rely on any of his siblings to do so. You offered to look after Maeby too, though she was plenty used to being without a guardian. Your family was quite close to the Bluths, having designed cabinets for their homes for over twenty years.

Though you’d met Lucille and George plenty of times during their business meetings with your parents as a child, you’d never seen Michael until a couple of months ago. God, was he gorgeous. Overcome with butterflies, you’d only spoken a few words to him in your first meeting and felt a twinge of guilt for fawning over a man so many years your senior. But the way he smiled at you sent waves of tingliness through your chest, words oftentimes failing to form at the sight of his devastatingly beautiful blue eyes. The tension between you could practically be cut with a butter knife as you two saw each other more, but neither was bold enough to make a move. Naturally, when he called you in need of a last-minute babysitter, you were more than happy to help him.

…

10:30 pm? Michael was supposed to be home by now to relieve you of babysitting duties. Looking over at your phone, you see a text from Michael.

“Got off the flight a tad later than expected, will be home around 11:00.”

“No worries!” you reply.

Drained from the day, you flop on the couch in the living room, quickly drifting off to sleep. Cuddled up with a blanket, your hair splays delicately along the pillow. Resting dreamlessly, you await Michael patiently. Suddenly, you jolt sharply at the sensation of Michael’s hand on your shoulder, waking you. Inhaling quickly, you look up at him, surprised for a moment, but your face quickly softens. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” he says sympathetically, carefully removing his hand from your shoulder. You wish it had stayed. “I’m so sorry I’m late—my flight was delayed,” he says. “No worries! I was practically passed out, so I barely noticed,” you reply mid-yawn. “I better get going if I’m going to make it home before I pass out again. George Michael, Maeby, and I had a ton of fun.” you chirp.

He pauses, mouth opening as if to form a sentence. He hesitates, but eventually his words come spilling out. “Why don’t you sleep here tonight? It's dangerous to dive tired. You can use my room like you have been, so you don’t have to move your stuff, and I’ll crash out in the living room.” You lived around thirty minutes away and were certainly not looking forward to the drive. Admittedly, you were a bit giddy about spending more time with Michael, even if it meant simply waking up and seeing him and the kids briefly before you left. “That’ll probably be a good idea, I’m absolutely exhausted,” you reply groggily. “I can imagine–they’re a handful,” he sighs knowingly.

You walk up the stairs to Michael’s room, where you’d left your things from sleeping there while babysitting, and begin to change into your sleeping clothes. Your body tingles with adrenaline from the conversation you had not one minute ago, suddenly awake. You wonder if he feels the same. Sitting on the bed, you promise yourself you’ll confess your feelings in the morning–or at least hint at them. Just then, a knock comes at the door.

“Hey! So sorry, I just need to get something from my dresser. Are you decent?” He calls through the door.

“Oh! Yes! Come on in!” you say instinctively. Though perhaps you should have covered up first as your bottoms were quite short, and the shape of your nipples showed through your cami in plain view as you sat upright on the bed.

Walking in, you caught his eye, provoking a split-second wide-eyed look before he respectfully turned away and went about fishing clothes out of his dresser. “Did George Michael and Maeby behave okay?”

“They were wonderful! I think I finally got Maeby to like me! She only rolled her eyes at me thrice.” you chuckle.

“That’s got to be some kind of record,” he adds, smiling toward you, eyes shining in the warm yellow light of his bedroom.

His gaze lingers, the tension growing thicker before he somewhat abruptly turns away and says, “Good night! See you in the morning!”

“Michael…” you call out softly, his hand on the bedroom doorknob. Lifting yourself off from the seat of your bed, your body rages with adrenaline. His eyes widen as you walk slowly toward him. You search for something–anything to indicate he wanted you as much as you wanted him. You reach out an arm to touch his shoulder. “Good nigh–” you begin, but before you make contact, he lunges towards you, one arm wrapping around your torso, the other on your cheek, pulling you against his hungry lips. The feeling of his warmth next to you is enough to make you melt, his taste so delicious you feel like you’d been a woman starved. He pulls back briefly to make eye contact, his face flushed. Smiling, you pull him into another kiss as he locks the door to the room. His touches grow deeper and heavier, and his breaths against your mouth ring distinctly in the tone of his voice, making you grow wetter by the second. His hands make their way about your waist, caressing and pulling you flush against him. They wander down to your ass, and you instinctively jump onto his hips, arms wrapping around his neck, your lips never losing contact for a moment. Sensing the ground moving beneath you, you soon feel the pressure of the bedroom wall on your back. Michael presses his hips closer to yours, and you let out a desperate moan, hand tightening its grip on his hair.

Michael feels the heat radiating from between your legs, your entire torso burning with want for him. Your whimpering sounds testify to your desperate need for him, making him feel like an animal, subtle growls escaping his lips as his tongue meets yours. Pulling back just briefly, “Do you want this?” he asks. You tighten your grip on his hair, pulling his ear toward your mouth with a firm but gentle force. “I want you to fuck me, Michael,” you coo, inhibition having left your body long ago. He didn’t need to be told twice. He spins around, now facing the bed, and you fall back onto it as he climbs on top of you. Lifting your shirt off your head, he grips your breast while leaving sloppy kisses on your neck and collarbone, moaning at the taste of your skin. Head trailing down, his mouth makes contact with your nipple, causing you to arch your back, pressing your chest closer to him. The texture of his soft lips and rough stubble send chills down your torso. Writhing beneath him, you feel his cock rock-hard beneath his pants. “I want you inside of me,” you whisper impatiently.

Sliding a hand to your shorts, he places a hand over your lower stomach, just above your underwear, savoring your lewd expressions, brows furrowed, mouth agape. Teasing you, his fingers slide along the upper hem of your panties, watching intently as you yearn for him to touch you. Your hand trails down to push his closer to your heat, but he catches your wrist mid-travel and, with the same hand, grasps your other wrist, pinning them singlehandedly over your head. An impish look spreads across his face as you struggle against him, unable to find your release, its potential energy building by the second. “Be patient, baby, I’m gonna savor you.” Biting your lip, your eyes lock, and his hand slowly slides beneath your underwear, where he slides a finger through your folds, eliciting a breathy moan. With your arms still hopelessly pinned, he begins to circle your clit, your hips bucking involuntarily at the sensation. Looking down at his hand, you see the muscles in his forearm moving, overlaid by his watch glittering in the light as he continues to pleasure you.

You groan as he takes his hands off of you to stand and undo his belt, your legs spread open for him, palms lining the inside of your thighs, which begin to tremble slightly in anticipation. He practically rips off his shirt, hair flying messily over his forehead as his belt clinks on the floor. He looks down at you–you’re doe-eyed, fully exposed, and ready for him to fuck you. Hard. Freeing his throbbing cock, he slides his torso between your legs, placing one atop his shoulder. “God, he’s fucking perfect,” you think to yourself. He slides the tip of his member up and down your folds, a shuddering breath escaping his lips. You gasp in unison as he presses his tip into you, sliding himself forward. He’s sizeable, to say the least, eliciting a whimper from you as you adjust to him. “Fuck, Michael,” you wince in a tone of half pleasure, half pain as he fills you up. “Shh, baby, you’ll wake the kids,” he coos, putting a firm finger to your lips. Before he finishes the sentence, his hips begin to rock against yours, cock sliding against your walls. You don’t want to wake them, but you can’t help the sounds you make as he thrusts inside of you, each movement building the knot of pleasure in your stomach. You whimper pathetically and uncontrollably as he fucks you. His fingers trail along your neck and to your jaw, index and pointer making their way into your mouth, your lips wrapping around them. Sucking gently, your moans are reduced to high-pitched hums, making way for you to hear more of his delicious sounds. “You feel so good, y/n,” he groans in a sultry voice, his eyes locking with yours.

Removing his hand from your mouth, he places it beside you to leverage his increasingly powerful thrusts. “Oh, Michael!” Moans escape from your lips in rapid succession as he pounds your throbbing pussy, hips crashing into yours. “Good girl, take it.” Hand traveling to the headboard to keep you in place, your body begins to shake uncontrollably around his cock. Eyes rolling back, waves of hot electricity force their way through your body, the strings comprising the knot in your stomach pull like a ripcord against it, unraveling fully. Yelps escaping from your mouth, you grasp desperately at Michael's back, nails clawing at his skin as he fucks you through your orgasm. He follows shortly behind, moaning into your open mouth as he comes inside of you.

In the afterglow of your releases, Michael lays down beside you, holding your body close to his. His breathing rings warmly in your ears. “I’m glad you stayed for one more night,” he whispers. “Me too,” you reply, gazing into his perfect eyes. Smiling, he coos in your ear, “I’d love for you to stay for more–and days, of course.” Your face lights up, beaming at his suggestion. “I would love that too. Though I might need some help getting to the bathroom. I get the feeling I won’t be able to walk if I try to stand,” you chuckle.

💕I hope y’all liked it!! Author’s note in comments💕