#i miss doin photography

[mx24]

i don't got a lot left from my old blog, but i did keep some of my photography apparently

[couldawouldashoulda50]

A heart full of regret - Part 2 (William Nylander)

Part 1 is here

A/N - I’m going to start this off with an apology.  I’ve been writing as a female reader insert but did have a specific picture of someone in my mind for the reader herself, in terms of physical traits etc. Looking back, I should have probably made this a William x OC story.  I apologize if the body/hair/facial descriptions have made it difficult in any way to have the reader put some version of themselves into the story.  I’m sort of learning as I go along. 

I had planned to release this around the holidays but true to form, my personal responsibilities derail my escapism 😉

In this next part, there are some musician/song references to the late Shane MacGowan/The Pogues and Sinead O’Connor, as well as their respective funerals.  I have included the lyrics to the chorus of a song entitled Fare Thee Well Love by The Rankin Family (posted in the next blub 2.1) - but it’s passed off as a song written and sung by the reader.   While there are facts used as part of the story (including a couple of links to the reality), all of this is meant to be purely fictional.  

Warnings - overall 18+ themes (various sexual references), angst, alcohol, swearing, cigarettes, brief mention of illness/death - sorry if I missed anything.

Word Count 10K+

Thanks so much as always for dropping by.

Early December, 2023

A wide grin spans your face as the broad man, with salt and pepper hair (more salt than pepper these days), approaches you.

“Hey handsome” you said cheekily followed with a wink, as he embraced you in a friendly hug. “I hope it’s still ok that I call you that….it’s the first thing that comes to mind every time I see you”.

“Best compliment I have had all day, next to my wife’s of course. How ya’ doin, kid?” Sheldon smiles at you as you step back from him.  Sheldon has always called you “kid” despite him only being  just shy of 13 years older than you.  

“Well then, as long as Jackie doesn’t mind that I call you that either”,' you smile as you and Sheldon walk toward the players lounge. “I’m doing well…busy, but good.”

“Ah well, you know my wife - she just laughs and agrees with you…she says you obviously have immaculate taste” Sheldon quips.

You chuckle and give him a little nudge. “Yeah, well, in most cases I do”, you smile.  “Dare I ask how you’re doing? I’m not asking about hockey…I just mean with the regular, normal-ish part of your life, if you even have that.”

“I need more normal these days than what I’ve been getting…but yeah, the kids and Jackie are all doing great. Thank God for them.”

You get the hint. The Leafs have been shaky out of the gate this season with inconsistent outcomes; it’s been like watching a pendulum swinging between pure magic and potential disaster.

You shoot Sheldon a knowing smile.

“Well, thanks for letting me stop by - I didn't like asking…I don’t want to ever be any kind of distraction, but I have something special to give Jake (McCabe) and Gaby wanted me to surprise him here after practice.”

“You gonna let me in on the secret?”

You lift the heavy coffee-table style book that you had been carrying along your side into view and run your hand over the smooth hard cover. Sheldon glances at the black and white photo of you spanning the surface. The photo was taken at one of your band's first sold out shows in Manchester back in 2010; you were just in your 18th year of life. Your long layered hair is tousled around your face; a cigarette dangles from your mouth.

“Yeah, I kinda love this. I’m so happy with how this turned out…the imagery and photography of all the guitars are amazing. We’re selling these books at the exhibit…it chronicles the collection of the guitars on display.”

You flip to a page showing a nickel and steel plated guitar from the 1930’s.

“I met Jake ages ago, back when he was on the Sabres. He and Gaby approached us after an acoustic show that we played. We just hit it off, all of us - Jake and I are both total guitar geeks and over time, he told me his dream was to have one of these nickel plated beauties. I said I had one that was rare which he totally flipped out about it - it’s this one in the picture”, you smile as you recount the conversation.

“Wow…it's really beautiful”, Sheldon leans over to take a closer look.

You continue your story, “So, I’m not sure - have you heard of Shane MacGowan?”

“Oh right, my brother became a huge fan when he moved to Belfast - Adam told me he passed. You knew him?”

“Our band has strong Irish connections with two of our members being from there; we met Shane and some of The Pogues a number of years ago. We managed to stay in touch - I was very fond of Shane, and he was of me. He was almost like a protective older uncle - know what I mean?  He had a rough go with that illness since last year and so after Sinead (O’Connor) passed, I stayed behind after her funeral and spent some time visiting him in the hospital. My heart breaks every time I remember him in that hospital bed - I haven’t been able to get those images out of my mind yet.”

Your emotions were already still pretty raw with your idol-turned-friend passing in July, but with another passing of someone you held so dear just a few days ago, you could feel your throat tighten with sadness and loss.

You took a deep breath. “Anyway, Shane played the same type of guitar in a duet he sang with Sinead back in the ‘90’s. Long story short, he had his wife give me the one he used for that song. As much as I love the one I already owned here, Shane’s means a thousand times more to me. So…I thought I would surprise Jake and give him this one, knowing how much he would treasure it”.

Sheldon continues to leaf through the glossy pages. “Y/N, you are pretty remarkable, you know that?” Sheldon throws his arm around you while discreetly looking at his watch. “I’m sorry, I gotta run but I know Jake will be coming through here any minute so just sit tight and he’ll be out. Oh - and Jackie was talking about having you over for dinner so she’ll be reaching out to you soon. See ya’, kiddo”. Sheldon gives your shoulder a little squeeze and then disappears down the hallway.

Over the years, you have become a welcome sight around the Leafs organization; your presence had essentially reached the point of being more or less commonplace and didn’t warrant the media coverage that it once did. You helped out with various MLSE charities as well, having a preference for more of the hands-on local charity initiatives, whenever time allowed it.

Ultimately, you had established some strong personal connections within the Leafs and their families, so whenever you were in Toronto, it was not an out of place thing to occasionally see you turn up at a practice or out to dinner with a few of the WAGs.

As you waited for Jake, various staff and players stopped by for a quick catch-up before heading home for the day. 

Jake eventually emerged in his Leafs tracksuit, freshly showered with a baseball cap on backward. He spots you and gives you a wide smile, mixed with some confusion, as he approaches you. Gio appears right after Jake and the two circle around you for a hug.

With the book concealed, you make small talk with the handsome veterans. They congratulate you on the gallery exhibit and they assure you they cannot wait to go and see it.

Two dogs suddenly appear out of nowhere; it doesn't take you long to determine they belong to William.

Knowing he would be appearing any second, you try to calm your nerves and focus solely on the dogs as they run towards you, jumping at your feet.

Your heart melts at the sight of them, and you gush “Oh my goodness, is this Pablo and Banksy?”

William hears your voice and stops dead in his tracks. His stomach flips and churns and his heart starts to race.

Oh my God, if that's her…holy shit…

He rounds the corner to see you bending down, allowing the dogs to completely envelop you.

“C'mon, whoa, whoa, whoa….boys - down…”, William chuckles and smiles at you somewhat apologetically.

“I don’t mind one bit…but you better listen to your Dad” you said to Pablo, giving him another scratch and rub as you stood up.

You smile at William who is posturing for an embrace and as his arms pull you in, as you reciprocate the gesture.

“How’s it going, William….” which you say as more of a statement than a question.

“Really good. It’s good to see you again”, William smiles widely, hardly believing you're in front of him now.

Before you melt or explode or however your body is reacting to his touch, you calmly say “you too” with a smile.

Turning back to Jake and Gio, you desperately hope you don’t appear as flustered as you feel.

William comes up on your one side while Jake and Gio, and even a few others have gathered around a countertop in the lounge.

“So, I have a bit of a surprise for Jake - that’s why I’m here. Actually, Jake’s wife is in on the surprise so I’m just going to call her real quick”. 

The men that had gathered look at Jake who appears a little panicked, but in the best way possible.

Gaby answers and you ask Gio if he could hold the phone up, showing her face on the screen, in which he obliges once waving hello to Gaby.

You flip the heavy, hardcover book around; everyone leans in to get a glance at the cover. William catches a glimpse of the photo of you on the cover.  He's not seen many images of you from when your career started, and the photograph captivates him immediately.  Your tousled hair, your eyes that always bore into his soul, and your beautiful mouth that many times had made William almost see God himself.

William discreetly gazes at you.

You had been polluting his thoughts since he saw you at Mitch’s wedding. He wished you could have stayed. He wished he could have talked more with you; maybe could have danced with you…or better still, touched you for the first time in 4 years.

As you begin to explain the details of Jake’s surprise, you try to tame the whirlwind of emotions that circle within you. Between the loss of a dear friend, the anticipation of giving Jake a guitar that he has only dreamt of, and the remnants of feelings that you carry for William, you have to pause a few times while you speak just to regain your composure and keep the tears at bay.

William watches you open the book, and as you flip to the desired page to show Jake his newest possession, pangs of guilt and regret hit William.

William was famous for his confidence; he rarely burdened himself with many heavy thoughts, as he did not waste time dwelling on the past or anything that he could not change. The anointed King of Unbothered. And, as well as that has served him in both his personal and professional life, there were rare moments where something or someone shook him right to his core.

As he studied the side profile of your face, at this moment, you were that very person. Someone he realized that he had carelessly, and foolishly, disposed of. He disposed of your friendship, your companionship, and your love. Four years ago, he cut all ties with you, which was well within his right to do. But, the manner in which he severed those ties, never once affording you the ability to say a word in response, still haunted him to this day. What was worse is that two years later, he reached out to you, seemingly desperate to get a hold of you, and then he ghosted you once you responded. Your head spun with even more confusion and hurt than you had ever felt before and as time went on, it was yet another proverbial nail in the coffin for you and William.

William mused that when he saw you at Mitch’s wedding, you could have behaved any number of ways. You could have gone out of your way to ignore him. You could have been snide and made his entire night hell. You could have berated him for his callousness. He probably deserved all three of these possibilities.

Instead, you greeted him with kindness and friendship, which to William, only further illuminated your ravishing beauty. The way you still managed to smile at him, even though he sensed a deep sorrow behind your beautiful, deep brown eyes, it rocked William’s typical carefree nature.

And now you stood before him and his teammates, gifting Jake a precious guitar simply because you knew how happy it would make him to have it. William’s chest heaved with a mix of deep desire and the stark reality of the mistakes he's made with you.

William’s mind snapped back to the present, smiling at his teammate as Jake reeled and appeared completely flabbergasted.

“I can’t believe you remembered that conversation about this guitar, Y/N…that was ages ago. Jesus - I still played for Buffalo at the time…I cannot believe you’re giving this to me” Jake said, his face flushed as he looked at you and then turned to his wife’s face on the phone “and you knew about this…” he grins at Gaby.

“Can’t wait to hear you play for me, baby”, Gaby said, blowing Jake a kiss.

“Ok, so once the exhibit closes, I’ll get the guitar prepped for you and have it delivered. There are some nuances to how to tune her so I’ll drop by sometime and walk you through it. Oh, and here - the book is for you as well” you smile wryly at Jake “sorry, I think I diminished its value by signing it….but there is a little note for you in there for you too” you chuckle.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve this but thank you so much Y/N. I’m completely stunned.”

After hugs were given and goodbyes were said, the small group dissipated. 

You turned to see William standing off to the side, glancing at his phone while Pablo and Banksy lay at his feet.

“Awh, your boys are tired” you said, unable to contain your smile looking at the two dogs, and then at William. “They’re awesome - it figures you’d have the most fly dogs ever”.

“You ever think about getting one? I guess it’s hard with all your travel but you can take them with you. I take these guys along with me all the time, almost everywhere I go”.

“When COVID started, I was in London…I started fostering from a nearby shelter. I wanted to give the dogs that were constantly overlooked a chance to get out of that environment and see if we could get some viable adoption candidates. I have been doing that here as well - my last girl just got adopted after being in a shelter for over 8 years; I just haven’t had the chance to go see another one to bring home.”

You bring out your phone and lean towards William to show a picture of the last dog in your care, Siba, a nine-year old Asian Shepherd. 

William cheeks flushed pink as he catches the scent of your fragrance; a sudden urge to have his lips graze your skin as he recounts each location on your body where you usually dabbed each drop of perfume has his mind racing and his cock hardening.

Either side of your neck. 

Sometimes behind your ears. 

Your wrists.

Between your breasts.

Sometimes a little swipe across your navel.

“She’s so beautiful…” William said, hoping that you’d get the subtle hint he might be referring to you as well.

You shift uncomfortably for a second; he’s standing so close that you can feel his breath.

No. He didn’t get to do this to you again. The innocent remarks that whisper allusions to his desire for you is what you thought you wanted to hear for the past 4 years.  But, all the sentiment is doing now is creating havoc in your mind.

You swipe the screen to close the photo down and drop the phone back into the pocket of your coat. You turn back to William and smile, now in a little more control of yourself than before.

“Christmas came early this year I guess…for both Siba and Jake.” you said, as you lean down to pet the dogs again and say goodbye.

“Oh - wait…speaking of Christmas…” William hesitates, sensing a slight change in your disposition. “I have been meaning to get in touch with you about that…”

“Oh, right - yeah…no worries…your Mom reached back out to me and said you gave the thumbs up for staying at the house. She mentioned you would reach out but I’m sure you’ve been pretty busy.”

William has an inkling when you’ve mentioned him being “busy”, you’re not referring to his hockey schedule.

“I’ve been working out some details with your parents already…it’s all good.” You tried not to sound too curt but there was a definite chill in your response.

William senses the conversation is quickly derailing.

William’s voice becomes low and soft. “Hey….maybe we could still get together sometime?   Maybe drop by sometime?  I'd kinda like to be involved with the Christmas thing and… it’s just there are some things that we maybe need to talk about.”

Talk. He’s about a million years too late for that, you think to yourself.

“If you feel there’s a need, sure. Let me know when and where…you moved, right?”

William’s expression changed, showing shades of remorse. “I’ll text you the address. I just have practices for now; we don’t play until the 7th so any afternoon is good. Today even, if that works for you”.

“I’m flying out to Ireland again late on the 5th so yeah - maybe today or tomorrow…” 

Thinking back to your conversation at Mitch’s wedding, William joked with a slight smirk “Ireland again? Not another funeral I hope…” 

You quickly looked away, tears threatening to well up in your eyes. 

“It is, actually” you said softly.

Oh my god, you idiot, William berated himself in his mind. ”Fuck…Y/N….I’m so sorry…I shouldn’t have joked”.

“No, I know, Will. It’s ok…I’ll be ok” you smiled, faintly. It seemed like, for the thousandth time that day, you fought to suppress the ache deep within you and had to fight back tears.

William gently reached for your hand and pulled you into his arms. Involuntarily, you gripped onto his hoodie, probably a little too tightly, all in an effort to not completely fall apart in front of him.

You pull away, still trying to hide the anguish on your face with a smile. It broke William a little to see you struggling to maintain your composure. Always putting on a brave face, no matter how cracked or broken you felt, was what you did. It was how you were wired.

“Here…if you’re leaving, I’ll walk you out to your car” William said, searching for his keys in his pocket.

You were tempted to come up with an excuse to avoid spending any additional time alone with William, simply because every molecule in your body was inexplicably drawn to him.

Fresh out of reasons or rationale, your mind was too overwhelmed lately to come up with the excuse needed to flee in the opposite direction. The 4 of you walked down the corridor together in a comfortable silence, and exited into the parking lot.

Pablo and Banksy bolt forward out into the daylight, but do not stray far from their Dad, as they happily jump on each other while nearing your vehicle. William smiled to himself and shook his head. Of course your vehicle of choice wasn’t a super luxury SUV or sports car. You took your key fob out and unlocked the black crew cab 4x4 truck. He could picture it now; you in your tank top and jeans, covered in dirt and dust with your work gloves on, hauling lumber and bags of concrete mix for a mini home project.

You were always a parallel of opposites.

Poised and immaculate at high-profile events and functions versus you at home, decked out in ripped work clothes with sweat and sawdust stuck to every part of your body.

Your ultra-cool and larger than life demeanour on stage as you absorbed the electric energy from the crowd versus your sometimes quiet, humble, and super composed personality off stage.

Your vocabulary and your way with words versus your ability to spout off more profanity than a pissed-off truck-driver.

The innocent and submissive side you showed William while making love on many occasions, when he was between your thighs versus the absolute rocket you became when you flipped the switch and took complete control of his body.

“So….what about today. Do you think you could come by later on…I could order in some food - we could catch up?”

You open the door to your truck and Pablo and Banksy both put their front paws on the running board, their tails wagging furiously.

You look at them and chuckle, and bend down to let them bombard you with affection.

“Yeah, you know what…sure, that sounds good. But if you don’t send me your address and end up ghosting me yet again…William….I just - don’t even….”, shaking your head and chuckling, leaving the sentence unfinished. You hop into the truck and William shoo’s the dogs away from the truck door.

“Awh - Y/N - fuck…” William winces at your sarcasm, rubbing the back of his neck, showing a mix of guilt and acknowledgement that he deserved it. “I’m not going to do that”.

“Uh-huh….famous last words,” you said in a cheeky tone, rolling your eyes as you turned the ignition on. “I guess we’ll see you later…bye boys…”.

William chuckled and watched you drive off towards the exit. Walking back to his SUV with the dogs in tow, he felt an excitement, to the point of giddiness, which he hadn’t felt in ages about anyone. He had no idea how the future would pan out but he could at least look forward to tonight so the two of you could finally clear the air. 

William arrives home and after one last bathroom break for the dogs, he starts his typical routine of making calls while eating whatever he picked up from the chefs at the rink or on the way home. He knows your food preferences and makes a mental note of which restaurant he’ll call for take out from. The last thing he does before his afternoon siesta is a quick home delivery order of red wine and other essentials.

He stretches out on the couch that he recently had deep-cleaned due to his last few

sex-capades, none of which seemed to end well or at least warranted an invite for a return visit. He begins to drift off; his dogs curled up around his feet and legs.

Panic suddenly grips him as he realized he had not sent you his address.

See? no 👻 - 😉 William texts as he sends you the address.

If I had forgotten - what a fuckin disaster William thought before falling into a restful sleep.

A couple of hours later, and at least an hour before William was ready to wake up, his phone began to dance and vibrate on the coffee table. Groaning, he grabs the phone off the table and fumbles with it until he can focus on the caller.

The name “Trina” is illuminated on the display.

“Fuuuuuuck” William grumbles while forcing the call to voicemail. “Should have fucking blocked her”.

Since the last time William and Trina had seen each other, there had been a few harmless texts; mostly Trina following up on William’s health and well-being. 

Despite the rather unappealing outcome of their last meeting, William had started to think perhaps he had been too hasty in judging their first sexual experience together. She was beautiful, eager, and readily accessible; these are the exact qualities William needed for a short term fling. He decided to keep his options open, although he continued to feign being unwell until he was ready to see Trina again.  

This all was, of course, prior to William seeing you again.

A voicemail notification appears on the screen followed by a text message bubble.

Missing you - let me come by and make you feel better 

William rubs his hand over his face, stroking his moustache as he thinks about how to respond. Thanks but I’ll be ok. Just need some more rest. I’ll msg you soon. Good enough, William thinks and sets his phone back on the table. 

He leans back on the couch, and closes his eyes again, when another chime sounds from his cell.

“Jesus - take a fucking hint…” he mutters, grabbing his phone. 

It’s from you:

You sure about the no 👻… you didn’t tell me what time… have you already started 🏃?

William laughs and responds:

I’m not gonna 🏃… too tired.  I might hide tho.  How’s 5?

Dots appear as you type your response:

Ooof 💀. K - see you then.

90 minutes from now. Fuck. I should have told her 4.

William continues to read your text exchange over again as he smiles to himself. You always succeeded in making William laugh, no matter how small the exchange was. Your individual senses of humour seemed to mesh flawlessly - he seemed to get you and your little idiosyncrasies, the same way you understood his.

He looked forward to the possibility of earning your friendship back and maybe even more. William wondered if you had met anyone; he had heard rumblings a while ago about you catching the eyes and interests of a few other NHL’ers but he hadn’t heard anything since. In William’s mind (and he was aware he had no claim on you), he dreaded the idea of you being with anyone, but there was something so much worse if that guy was another hockey player in the league. 

He pushed those thoughts to the side; he would need to establish rumour and fact later, and it made him queasy just thinking about it.

Rather than trying to steal a few more minutes of sleep, William putters around the condo tidying up here and there, but feeling no pressure in having the place look unlived in.

Nerves were starting to build. William seemed to wander aimlessly from one room to the other, serving no other purpose than to kill time. Although he had a shower after practice, William decided on another long shower to help him relax, and to allow him to take some additional care with his grooming regimen.

William steps into the hot water and closes his eyes as the warmth and the steam envelop him. Every quiet moment lately, William has thought about the two of you and your past. Memories that never seem to erode; images that William would often rely on when he needed to drift off to sleep or relieve some built up “tension”.

Streams of water weave their paths down William's broad chest, through his chest hair and down his toned abs, eventually trickling down the veins of his cock, and dripping off the tip. He begins to feel a stirring, an urge with the thoughts of your arrival. William's strong hand gingerly wraps around his shaft and he begins to pump himself with long, methodical strokes.

He remembers the occasions with the two of you in the shower….

….you on your knees before him and encouraging his cock further into your mouth until the tip is rubbing against the back of your throat. With his hand fisting the hair at the back of your head, you allowed him to fuck you deep in your mouth until you tasted the pre-cum seeping onto your tongue. William marvelled with how much your mouth could accommodate as you expertly controlled your gag reflex and breathing.  It seemed with your years of voice and mouth exercises, the benefits were many, beyond simply increasing your vocal range and pitch.  

As William spouted broken sentences of praise for what you were doing to him, you would masterfully take control of his cock with your hands, stroking his girth, alternating between licking and sucking the rounded head as it turned shades of feverish reds and purples. William’s grunts and loud groans never ceased to arouse you as William began climaxing.  You lapped at his balls, gently sucking on them as you continued to pump his shaft.  You ached to hear the warnings before he cums, desperately waiting for him to unload.  Gripping his ass, your mouth engulfs his cock, your head moving back and forth at a frenzied pace.  You force the oozing head towards the entrance of your throat.  William’s hand cradles the back of your neck, allowing you to look up.   Your eyes locked on each other as his seed coated the inside of your mouth. You smile as you enjoy the taste of him, and slowly guide his cock away from your open mouth as strings of your spit mixed with his cum stretch from the head.   Your eyes remain fixed on his; soft smiles and intimate words are lovingly exchanged as you continue to lap, suck and fill your mouth again and again with his generous cock.

William shuddered as he watched you intently overtaking his semi-erect member into your mouth.  With you maintaining his heightened arousal, the urge to spread your thighs apart for him to greedily feast on your pussy took hold. You always claimed to be a better giver than receiver, but William was now hell-bent on respectfully pushing your boundaries. Without fail, each and every time, you had given him the hottest oral of his life, and William was determined to reciprocate until your pussy was properly worshipped.

He pulled you up and pressed you hard against the shower wall with his thick and muscular frame. He scanned your face, focusing his gaze on your lips; he watched as the water washed away the remainder of his cum that had oozed from your mouth.  He used his thumb to slowly guide the fluids back into your mouth, allowing you to suck on the tip of his thumb.  He kissed you; his lips were hungry and eager on your mouth as his tongue manoeuvred around yours. His hands moved skillfully from massaging your tits, down along your sides, and towards the front of your abdomen. You let out a gasp and bit your lip hard as 8 fingertips gently landed with a faint, feather-like touch near your pussy, as he began to lightly graze your wet and ready folds. You begin to shiver at his touch and have the goosebumps to prove it; your pussy is past the point of throbbing and you are almost on the fringes of insanity waiting for William to binge on your core.

He wanted to mark you tonight. His mouth slid down your body, nipping and sucking some of the most pleasurable, albeit discreet, areas of your toned body. As he knelt on the shower floor, he caressed your long leg, leaving love bites at the apex of your slender thigh which he then guided one over his shoulder. His mouth instantly latches onto your folds as he slowly strokes your clitoris with his pointed tongue. You shriek, reacting to William suddenly engaging his jaw muscles to tongue-fuck you in concert with mercilessly licking your clit. William rubbed his facial hair repeatedly over your most sensitive spots, feasting on your swollen pussy as if it was his favourite dessert, moaning with pleasure as your arousal hit his taste buds. He loved hearing you cry out his name, watching you let go of your usual collected composure and allowing him to help release your inner inhibitions.

As an added bonus, he inserted his middle and ring fingers slowly and deeply inside your cunt. He adjusted and moved the ends of his fingers eventually hitting the most desirable spot as he watched you writhe in pure ecstasy. He wanted to see you succumb to the sensation as he continued lapping and stroking your clitoris with his tongue. He began to move his fingers rapidly in and out of your entrance, until your thighs began to shake and quiver involuntarily. William increased his already formidable pace with his fingers and his tongue as you fight not to collapse under the sheer magnitude of your impending orgasm.

And when he brings you to the highest level of pleasure, he vigorously gyrates his fingers deep inside your core, inciting you to cry out as you squirt for him. After he made you spray for him a few more times, he laced his fingers with yours and he stood up, pressing you against the shower wall again. One hand slides back down to your pussy and he gently rubs two fingers against your engorged clit. William’s eyes are locked on yours as he slowly pulls his fingers up to his mouth, and wipes the sheen from your arousal on his pouting lips. He runs his tongue along the shiny trail he made with his fingers, whispering in your ear of how delicious you are.

Back in a lonelier shower, William’s head falls back under the steady stream of hot water that begins to collect in his open mouth as he’s reaching his orgasm. He spits it out and begins to grunt as streams of cum erupt into the flow of water heading to the drain on the shower floor.

He pants for a moment, catching his breath. He needed that. He needed to take the edge off before you arrived.

William steps out of the shower and wraps a towel around his midriff. The steam quickly dissipates as he exits the bathroom into his bedroom, and he takes his time selecting the relaxed and casual attire for the evening. He glances at his phone to check the time. 4:30.

He sighs and smiles slightly; he’s really looking forward to tonight, to just have you there relaxing on his couch, catching up on the past few years.

He checks his messages, making sure there was nothing new from you.  There is, however, another text from Trina.

My friend and I are going to Mademoiselle for Happy Hour and then dinner. Maybe it will do you good to come out - we can all have a little bit of fun?

Knowing the message will show as being read, William sends a short response.

Not tonight, but thanks anyway.

Trina responds with just an emoji showing her disappointment.

William shakes his head and finishes getting ready. Minutes tick on but it feels like hours, and he’s getting impatient.

The ringtone on his phone assigned to building Security begins to chime, startling William for a moment and each of the dogs perk up their ears in response. He answers the call and his stomach flips once the guard announces your arrival.

He can hardly believe how nervous he’s become and silently kicks his own ass in his head for being so ridiculous. But on the other hand, it’s you. The one girl he still finds himself longing for after so many years.

He props the door open wide enough so you can spot him once you get off the elevator; Pablo and Banksy sit at William’s feet anxiously anticipating the arrival of someone new.

Once the elevator reaches William’s floor, he can hear the chime and the doors sliding open. You step into the plush waiting area and then follow the signs pointing to the appropriate suite number.

You round the corner and see him waiting in his doorway. It’s no use to try and conceal your smile when your eyes land on his grinning face. He opens up the door allowing the dogs to fly down the hallway in your direction.

William watches you beam with delight as you bend down to greet the two.

After tummy rubs and a lot of cooing from you, the dogs follow you back towards the condo where you greet William with a friendly embrace.

William takes a moment to gaze at you; your curls are contained by a loose bun, you are dressed in a tan coloured pea coat, black turtleneck with black slacks. You managed to make clothing that were simple and understated look elegant and absolutely fucking sexy. He inhales deeply - your appearance already has William rattled.

He takes your coat and you remove your heeled boots at the entranceway. The dogs follow your every move as you scan his condo. Had it not been December and the days being so short, you could imagine how a sunny day would radiate throughout the place from the large windows and glass balcony doors from the living room.

“This is really beautiful, William. Such a fantastic part of the city too,” you said smiling, your eyes wide and shining.

“It’s small, but I’m on a waitlist for a larger place up on the penthouse floor. It’ll be better when my family comes to visit…so they don’t need to crash at your house at Christmas again” William laughs. 

“Well, yeah…I get it but I have to say, I’m really looking forward to having them stay. It’s far too big for just me, so having some life around will be amazing. At the very least, I’m hoping someone in your family will kick your ass at ping-pong…or at any of the other games, really…” you smirk.

“Ha, yeah…never gonna happen…” William laughs.

“Ah, well…pardon me as I try to squeeze by the giant ego that just arrived” 

“Ouch…hey, I'm just telling it like it is”.

You roll your eyes and scoff. “Ok, King...let’s leave it there.”

The conversation and friendly banter ensues; there are no awkward moments or strained silences. The shared mood is happy and light and soul-warming, much like it had been all those years before. There was a tinge of bashfulness at times as you both would steal glances at each other. It seemed apparent that you both were still very much attracted to one another.

Prior to seeing him, there were moments that you found it annoying to still have these feelings simmering just beneath the surface, given your spirit had been shattered for much of the past four years. Nevertheless, he wasn't to blame for the anguish you shouldered…it's how life was; you caught deeper feelings for him than he did for you. End of story.

At that very moment, it didn’t matter anyway. Or at least, you were going to bury those thoughts way back in the proverbial closet for tonight.

The wine arrives via delivery, followed by dinner. You both opt to sit on the floor and eat at the coffee table in the living room, devouring the variety of sushi and sashimi pieces William had selected.

You filled him in on some of the different music and business ventures you had been a part of since COVID. He asked you about certain gigs and various celebrities, trying to get you to spill some dirt (although tempting, you did not oblige). 

He in turn told you about some of his brother’s exploits with women, and you reminisced about the old days and the unhinged female drama involving Kasperi and his ex-girlfriends that you witnessed firsthand a number of years ago.

Your muscles in your face began to hurt from smiling and laughing; it’s been forever since you’ve been able to truly unwind like this. You realize that the wine is going down far too easily and you felt a little more buzzed than you should, with remnants of jet lag still plaguing you from the previous round trip from Europe.

William had excused himself to the bathroom, and in an effort not to submit to the wave of drowsiness that was creeping in, you got up off the floor and started cleaning up the containers and plates scattered around the table.

William appears from the hallway and tells you to leave everything - he will clean it up later.

“Ha – no, I need to move - I had a brutal travel schedule at the end of November and it nearly killed me. This exhaustion just strikes whenever, so I had to at least stand up…otherwise, you’re going to find me passed out on the floor.  I feel like a narcoleptic lately.  Plus - that wine…is really, really fucking good…I feel a little drunk,” your face flushed as you laugh.

“You can stay here tonight, if you want?”

You hesitated as waves of nostalgia and cautiousness, in equal measure, washed over you. “Are you sure - I wouldn’t want to cramp your style…”

Before you can stop yourself, you blurt out some musings - or misgivings rather - about his current love life that had been bouncing around in your head.

“I’m sure your dance card is pretty full these days…maybe you’ve got a young model-type waiting for you later somewhere?” you try to joke as you rinse off the plates and stack them in the sink. Your fear that he'll see right through your comments as you look for some clarity on his current love life.

William chuckles and shakes his head; he knows this is partly because of what has been stirred up about his personal life during the Sweden trip.

Touch her. Hug her. Kiss her….do something William thinks.

“I’m positive…I really like this…us hanging out, you and me again. And…please - stop cleaning up” he laughs.

William offers you a small towel and helps you dry off your hands. He smiles as he gazes at you.

“It's really been amazing to see you,” William says softly.

You're certain that the surface temperature of your cheeks are reaching five alarm status as he pulls you closer against him as he leans against the kitchen counter. William feels your light touch as your hands gently lay on his chest.

He searches your face. “And we haven’t really talked about the stuff from before - with what happened with you and me. Do you think maybe we should?” William asks quietly.

You can only manage to look directly into his eyes for brief moments; anything longer will make you crumble.

“I think we can shelve it…it’s not going to change anything that happened before. It’s been such a fantastic evening already…I don’t think we should spoil it by dredging everything up from the past.”

You stare at the thick chain around his neck using it as your main focal point.

 “Yeah, ok…you’re right. It doesn’t change anything that went down.”

You nod your head and look up at his face, blushing more heavily as you try to contain your wide smile.  

Your head is swimming but your need to be in control of your emotions takes hold, and you apologetically excuse yourself and head to the washroom.  William just smiles and lets his hands slide down your hips as he releases you from his embrace.  

You try to stabilize your heart rate and your thoughts. Your desires versus your logic are each trying to get the upper hand in your mind. You take your time, willing yourself to sober up a bit before heading back out to William. You drink some water from the tap to try and dilute the effects of the alcohol you’ve consumed. You study your reflection in the mirror and after repositioning a few curls here and there and applying a little more lip gloss, you exit the bathroom.

Suddenly, there’s a knock at the door spurring the dogs to start barking. You hear William pad over to the entrance and pause for a moment before turning the lock and opening the door.

You hear a female’s voice shriek “Willy!! Heeeey….I missed you so much”.

You can hear the sound of bracelets clinking as the woman wraps her arms around William, followed by an audible kiss. It's crystal clear that she currently has something going on with William.

You hear the dogs muffling whines once William gently commands them to quiet down.

You stop dead in your tracks, feeling completely trapped. Part of you wants to return to the bathroom and not hear any of their conversation. The masochistic side, however, wants to hear every word.

Your brain begins to spiral out of control.

How did you manage to misread this situation again? What was that in the kitchen….was it meant to be platonic? Would he invite you here just to tell you about her?

It feels like a literal punch in the stomach, and you instinctively place your hand over your abdomen as though it would help numb the ache coursing through your body. You stand in the hallway, completely motionless as if your feet were concrete blocks.

“Trina, what are you doing…I mean, how'd you even get in?”

“I dunno, the security guy and the other one were dealing with somebody, someone else was leaving, they held the door, so…we just walked in. Oh, this is my best friend, Lara. I told her how fucking amazing our first date was. She's a fan of yours too. We were out for a few drinks and I thought the two of us could come by to help you feel better. You and I haven’t seen each other since the last time….I know you said not tonight but here we are,” Trina giggled, her words slightly slurred from intoxication.

Lara glared at her friend. Trina had said William was ok with them coming over anytime she wanted, and she claimed he would be game for anything they wanted to do.

William’s present demeanour is definitely contradicting Trina’s story.

For years now, Lara, being the pragmatic one of the two, had been suspicious of how much truth was behind Trina’s claims when it came to the men she had met and dated. True, William and Trina had sex; that much was obvious. However, based on the number of times Trina initiated contact versus William, Lara surmised William might be only willing to meet solely on his whim, given the tone of his short and dry text messages that Trina showed her. Trina was too wrapped up in all the media attention William had been receiving lately to even notice the bland tone behind each of his responses.

When Trina and Lara arrived at Mademoiselle that evening, Trina was clearly on a mission, ordering multiple Perfect 10 Martini’s because, in her inebriated words, she was exactly that. Her mission was to make sure William felt that about her too.

When Trina came up with the brilliant idea of dropping by William’s in order for the two ladies to seduce him and coax him into bed, Lara thought there was no way she was being serious. Lara allowed Trina to call the shots just to humour her; she had learned long ago it was better to play along first before pulling the plug straight away on Trina’s antics. If Lara was being honest though, the exciting flipside of this situation is that if she was ever going to have an opportunity for her first threesome (and if he was truly willing), it might as well be with William Nylander.

As Trina continues to ramble about their evening and some explicit ideas she has for the hours that lie ahead, Lara scans the scene in the living room. Her heart drops when she realizes William is not alone. First she spots two wine glasses - William had filled up your glass while you had stepped away to the washroom. She looks over to see your Louboutin stiletto boots placed off to the side. Then your jacket. She glances at William and can’t quite determine what emotion has registered on his face.

“I….I’m sorry William - I didn’t know you told Trina not to come by tonight” Lara interjected. William looked toward Lara and verbally confirmed, he definitely told her not tonight.

“I have a guest so it would be better if you both just head home” William said calmly.

Trina’s eyes suddenly widened. “A guest??” Trina's voice is raised as she emphasizes the last word. “Do you have another girl here tonight? Where is she? So…what - is she fucking HIDING? Come on out, bitch…let’s see you - I guarantee it, you got nothing he wants” Trina yelled into the air as she looked around the space.

“Alright - enough…you need to leave or I’ll fucking calling security…” William's jaw was clenched as he warned Trina and Lara.

“No - please William, I’m so sorry…we’re leaving. I'm so embarrassed - she said we could come by.”

Lara grits her teeth when she looks at Trina. “You…we’re going….NOW…”

Lara grabs a hold of Trina’s trench coat and half guides but partially shoves her as she stumbles down the corridor. Lara’s voice was a low growl as she berates her until the elevator arrives.

William watches the two girls vanish around the corner to the elevator, hearing the chime as it arrives on his floor. He steps out of the doorway into the hall making a call down to security to ensure they have exited the building. Sometime soon, William will have to go down and find out how they got in from the get go.

He stood there, exasperated as he rubbed his forehead as he re-entered the apartment. The dread of facing you now is creeping into his mind. William is genuinely worried that the fallout from tonight’s events is that you won’t want anything to do with him going forward.

Indeed, that was one of the many thoughts going through your mind. You knew you were judging him and his lifestyle, and you knew you had no right to do so. Just because you chose to abstain from casual sex or any kind of relationship for all these years, certainly did not mean he had to do the same.

You’ve known all along that he was super popular with women. He didn’t have to do much to have girls reaching out to him in droves. Through various means, you also knew he took advantage of his popularity, with being spotted out and about with a number of gorgeous girls over the years.

However, acknowledging reality in theory and seeing it first hand was completely different.

As you stood there listening to Trina drunkenly spout off details of what she and William had done previously and the plans she had for him tonight, you wanted to wretch. The worst part about it was you knew your soul that you still wanted him, but William had moved on, many times over. 

You and William may have started as convenient and casual hook-ups but it never was just about sex with you. It was about all of him. No amount of time or distance or how much you pushed it down could cure you of your feelings for William, up to this point anyway.

But now, all you can feel is torment and defeat from that gut punch from the last 5 minutes. The universe had to be telling you something; the first time you spend time together after four years had passed, and within hours, he had two women show up at his door propositioning him for a threesome.

Here you stood, the week before your 31st birthday, a multi-platinum award winning musician, composer. entrepreneur, philanthropist, advocate, model, actress, and the list went on.

Yet, with all of your achievements under your belt, right now, you were just another girl in a veritable ocean of females all vying for William’s affections. If there was ever a chance that something could have transpired tonight between you and William, the moment has now been instantly derailed by some drunk girl who fucked your ex-hook-up….lover…whatever label fit.

At the end of the day, William could fuck whomever he wanted. He could do whatever he pleased with as many girls as he chooses. It’s his life… It was his decision how he wanted to enjoy his downtime and really, it was none of your business anyway.

Your sometimes passive-aggressive nature, mixed with hurt feelings, made you want to see him twist a little. As you appeared from the hallway however, his expression made you think twice about adding to his misery.

He looked completely crushed, embarrassed, and lost. “Are you ok?” you asked, softly.

“It’s more like, are you…” he said. “Y/N, I am so sorry”.

“Well, it doesn’t seem like it’s really your fault, though…I’m assuming you didn’t know she would sneak into your building, hammered …and well, try and…” you nod your head toward the bedroom.

“Well, no…but I sorta led her on. I’m not even sure why I did…she was kind of…I dunno…like…just there” William struggled to come up with the right word.

“Available…”

” “Yeah…something like that” William confided, feeling a little embarrassed.

He pulls you towards him. “So much for the fantastic night…I guess I ruined that” he said into your ear.

Based on the looseness of your embrace, he knows your feelings have shifted. William feels horrible, desperately wishing he could rewrite the past ten minutes.

You took a step back and you could feel your expression soften. You manage a faint smile and tell him that it was mostly fantastic - even amazing - night but you could have done without the plot twist at the end.

“So….I think I’ll grab an Uber or something and head home, if you’re gonna be ok?” You paused.

No, I’m not ok. I want you to stay here, he thinks to himself.

“Maybe you should stay. Seriously, that girl - just in case she gets it into her head to hang around and watch whoever leaves the building” William says gently.

“Shit…do you think she’d stalk you?”.

“Not sure” William smoothed his hand over his beard. The last thing either of you need is to have your names splashed around the social media universe because of a drunken altercation with a girl in a parking lot, who had been recently fucked…and then slighted, by William Nylander.

You consider the options for another moment, and finally agree that it might be for the best to stay. The couch looks pretty comfortable so you offer to sleep in the living room.

William looks hurt. He wants you in his bed. The urge to wrap himself around you is almost too much for him to handle.

Given the circumstances however, he knows how self-serving it will seem asking you to sleep in the same bed as him. Despite you trying so hard to hide it, he knows you are hurt. He’s beginning to feel a sense of hopelessness from the damage that’s been done tonight.

He grabs some dog treats and tells you to just stay and try and relax while he heads out for a walk with the dogs. He wants to drop by the concierge desk and security just to make sure all is clear around the outside of the building before he ventures out with his boys.

After William and the dogs leave, you survey your surroundings and allow a release of the emotions that have been simmering just under the surface all day. Tears well in your eyes as you stare at the wine glass he filled for you earlier. You lower your head in your hands and weep quietly.

Moments pass and a blinding headache begins to form behind your eyes; the pressure making your eyelids feel heavily weighted. Between the wine and William’s unexpected visitors, the unmitigated happiness you felt only 30 minutes ago has completely evaporated. Like a magnet to steel, a force anchors you to the couch, and you can’t help but to lie your head down and close your eyes to try and get some relief. 

Exhaustion eventually takes hold of you, and you fall into a deep sleep within minutes of your head hitting the pillow.

William and the dogs return after spending longer than anticipated on their walk; the one night William really needs Pablo and Banksy to do their business quickly, it took them forever to get it done.

William enters the condo in a hurried pace, only to find you curled up on the couch asleep. His heart expands and breaks all at once as he approaches you, your figure gently rising and falling with each breath.

He considers waking you up to offer his bed anyway, wanting you to have a more comfortable place to sleep but he vetoes his own thoughts, given all that has transpired.

Instead, he grabs a blanket and gently lays it over you.

It feels strange for William to leave you in the living room by yourself. He watches you for another few moments, your face scarcely illuminated by the dim light from the kitchen that he's left on for you. Desire and disappointment grip his stomach as he turns to head to his bedroom.

The next morning , you awake to something cold and wet brushing up against your face. “Pablo….down, buddy” William chuckled.

Opening your eyes, you’re initially disoriented from waking from a deep sleep. You see Pablo sitting in front of you (you swear he’s smiling), waiting for some kind of acknowledgement.

A wide grin spans your face.

“Oh…sweet boy…thank you for the kisses” you softly say, encouraging Pablo to hop up onto the couch. Pablo gladly obliges and lies lengthwise on your torso. You murmur words of affection to Pablo’s face as you rub behind his ears and nuzzle him back with your nose.

Banksy comes bouncing across the room wanting to join in on the love fest.

You smile apologetically at William. “Sorry I passed out before you came back; I wasn’t able to keep my eyes open.”

“I’m glad you stayed…looked like you needed the rest.  The snoring though - you sounded like a freight train” William says with a smirk.

“I’ll take my snoring over you ripping farts all night” you jokingly retorted.

“Hey…I couldn’t help that…it was better out than in. I seem to remember you laughing until you almost wet yourself…you weren’t exactly complaining”, William laughs.

“You held me under the blankets…fucking Dutch Oven - and that wasn’t laughter, that was gasping”.

William starts laughing that trademark laugh.

You roll your eyes as you smile widely at him. “Yeah, keep laughing there, chuckles. Good times”.

Yeah...they were. So many good times together William thought.

You both take a lingering look at one another, and before he notices you blushing, you excuse yourself and head to the washroom.

Every thought in your mind concerning William has shifted. Last night, prior to Trina's arrival that is, you felt a closeness resurfacing with William. The calmness he always seemed to provide to you, just naturally with his presence, had begun to return.

But now, with this new day, there's just uncertainty and uneasiness that has settled in your gut. You realize now that you don't know him like you used to. Maybe it was a stretch to think that you ever did. After all, in the three years you were involved, you only managed to string together a month here, or two months there - and then you would have to leave. Only experiencing the best side of each other; it seemed true that no two people could be more entranced with one another than you and William when you were together.  But everything has changed since then and it’s doubtful that you want the same things from life.

Returning to the living area, William’s about ready to head out with the dogs. Both Pablo and Banksy run over to you, falling over each other for your attention as if you’ve been gone the whole day instead of just 5 minutes.

“I’m not sure if they love me as much as they seem to love you…I feel like a distant second to them now”.

“Awh - boys, you better go see your Dad…he’s feeling a little jealous” you say as you kiss and nuzzle the tops of their heads.

“I was going to ask if you wanted to come with me for their walk but I think it’s pouring out there now. I might just take them to the rink and let them run around there, I guess.”

“I would have but one - it’ll kill me to walk in those things” you nod your head towards the stilettos. “And, two - I better head out…there’s a ton of things I have to get done before I leave. Otherwise, I would have loved to.”

You finished getting ready and within minutes, the 4 of you were descending in the elevator towards the main lobby. William offers to walk you out to the parking lot but you decline. Figuring his car is in the underground lot, there was no need for him to get him and the dogs soaked as the heavy December rain ensued.

“It was good to see you…memorable in the most legendary Nylander way” you say smiling.

Before he could respond, you crouch down to acknowledge the dogs, allowing them to put their front paws on your knees for more wet nose boops and kisses.

As you stood up, you could see his expression had changed. He didn’t look like his normal light hearted self. He looked weary. He looked like he had a million things to say but wasn’t able to utter a single word. Instead, he reached out and pulled you into him, wrapping his arms around you in a firm embrace. You felt his breath on your neck as he lowered his head and rested it against yours.

You pull back slightly and give him a warm smile. “I know you’re travelling too pretty soon - wishing you great games and safe travels, ok?”

“Yeah, you too. Shit - we didn’t get to talk about Christmas - the family coming - or anything like that though…”

“I’m in contact with your parents about everything - someone is bound to fill you in but seriously, there’s nothing for you to worry about. As long as you show up sometime after you fly home from Columbus, you’re golden” you say with a grin.

This time, the silence between you weighed heavily in the air.

“Ok…you better get going there, superstar. Traffic’s going to be shit…I don’t want to hear Sid Seixeiro bitching about you being late on Breakfast Television again.”

William laughed out loud. “Yeah - got a lot of flak for that one…I didn’t know you knew about that”, William says as he sheepishly rubs the back of his neck

“Well, it was pretty much splashed around everywhere at the time. I couldn’t avoid it”, you smirk.

You turn to look out at the steady stream of rain and sigh; half of you wants to go with him and the other half wants to get the hell out of there, downpour be damned.

“Ok then…I’m off. See you later, boys”, you grin at William and the dogs, turning to head across the lobby and out into the miserable and wet December morning.

William heads back into the elevator, hands jammed in his pockets, feeling uneasy about how everything with you was left up in the air.

[cerealmonster15]

For the date ideas post, may I slip a note under your door that says Idikei? K bye! 🏃‍♀️

HELLO. this ended up being way longer than i planned initially JFKDLSJKLF sorry it took forever but also THANK YOU for the suggestion i LOVE IDIKEI i'm so glad i had reason to make myself sit and write for them!

This was written as a prompt from this post! I asked for someone to suggest a ship, and I would randomly draw numbers for the rest of the categories. I pulled:

Date type: Wedding date

Date idea: Getting ice cream[x] and strolling through a park

How the date is going: Super romantic

I may have taken some liberties with the prompts LOL but the overall vibe is there.

[Ao3 Link]

Title: Blue Raspberry Mango

Word Count: 5,224

Rating: G

Summary: Idia absolutely cannot show up to Azul's wedding while he's still single. Can you IMAGINE the obnoxious gloating he'd have to endure? Good thing his best buddy Cater Diamond is willing to help him avoid such a perilous fate!

“Oh my god, Trey,” Cater sighed between bites of risotto, “No one does it like you! I miss your cooking SO much!”

“Cater, don’t talk with your mouth full,” Riddle chided from across the table, but smiled nonetheless. “I suppose that means you’ll just have to come visit us more often, doesn’t it?”

“You know our door is always open for you,” Trey agreed.

“Provided you call first,” Riddle added. “It’s good manners.”

Cater laughed. He was glad his job in photography allowed him to travel around and ultimately landed him in the Queendom of Roses for most of his work. He’d never expected that he’d see so much of his old friends after graduation  and yet… Here he was, years later, sitting at the dinner table with two of his best friends in the entire world.

“Ooh, speaking of getting together for some mingle time,” Cater said, a grin spreading wide across his face as he spoke. “Did you guys get the invite to Jamil and Azul’s wedding!?”

“We did.” Trey stood for a moment to step into the living room, returning shortly with a familiar card that he placed on the table. “Riddle already sent our RSVP, of course. You’re going too, I assume?”

“So punctual!” Cater winked at Riddle, then nodded. “And OBVI. Cay-Cay’s not about to miss a once in a lifetime event like this! Idia says Azul’s inviting practically everyone from our NRC days. Something about wanting to ‘flaunt his happy marriage to everyone that doubted him,’ or something like that. You know how Azul loves his theatrics.”

“Ugh, yes,” Riddle scrunched up his nose, “I’m sure Azul will love reminding me - again - how he and Jamil managed to schedule a wedding before Trey and I have.”

Trey chuckled, pressing a kiss to the top of Riddle’s head on his way back into the kitchen to retrieve dessert. “You know it’s not a competition.”

“It is to Azul, and he certainly believes he’s winning,” Riddle sighed, but then turned his focus back to Cater. “And how is Idia doing? I imagine you’re one of the few that he willingly keeps in contact with from NRC these days, yes?”

Cater nodded, a sense of pride filling in his chest at the acknowledgement that Cater was, in fact, one of the rare people Idia spent time talking with. On PURPOSE, even! “I sure am! He’s chill doin’ his thing over at S.T.Y.X. with Ortho. He still games with Lils on the ‘reg, and I think he and Azul do these, like, speedy flash matches on Chess.com? I don’t know if they even talk to each other. I think they just like the thrill of trying to digitally kill each other or whatever.”

Still, gaming and asserting dominance over virtual board games was practically the social pinnacle when it came to Idia Shroud.

Riddle raised a curious eyebrow. “Chess… Dot com…?”

Cater already had his phone out. “I’ll send you the link, and I'll get Idia and Azul’s usernames for you. I bet they’ll be thrilled to have a fresh opponent.” 

He pulled his phone out, despite Riddle’s unspoken no texting at the dinner table rule, and sent a quick text to Idia.

Cater: heyyy whats ur chess.com username or w/e + also azuls

To which Idia replied almost instantly, as he tended to do with Cater whenever he wasn’t physically too busy to multitask.

Idia: no way ur actually signing up for chess.com unprompted. whats it for

Idia: also ew why azul lol

Cater huffed a small laugh through his nose at the incoming messages while he sent the website link to Riddle, and then swapped back to Idia’s messages.

Cater: lol u know me so well bestie ~ it’s for riddle!

Cater: cmooooon u know u and azul would have fun doin one of those speedster rounds with him lol

Idia: they’re called bullet rounds 😑 w/e ya i’ll txt u the info

Idia: or yknow. he could wait to get it at the wedding. 👀👀👀

Cater gasped out loud, followed by a squeak of delight, causing both Trey and Riddle to look at him curiously.

“Whatever’s happening on your phone must be very interesting,” Trey said, “because you haven’t even glanced at the plate in front of you.”

There was, in fact, a new plate in front of Cater. A plate with a beautifully sliced, dark chocolate tart, topped with fresh strawberries and raspberries. A compromise, of course, as Trey trained himself in the art of locating more semisweet desserts back at NRC, so Cater wouldn’t feel completely shut out when it was time to bring dessert to the table. 

A subtle reminder to Cater that he was very loved by his dear friend.

“Aw, sorry Trey!” Cater set his phone down and took a bite of the tart. Perfectly balanced flavors, as always. “I just got excited! Sounds like Idia’s able to make it to Azul’s wedding after all. We weren’t sure ‘cause of his schedule, but I guess he managed to clear things up in time!”

“That’s good,” Riddle said, a light smirk forming across his face, “because I think we all know Azul would never let Idia hear the end of it if he failed to show.”

Cater’s phone lit up again, another text from Idia displayed for all to see.

Idia: ummmm ahem nows the part where u ask me if i cleared my schedule so i could go ( which ya i did) so that i can smoothly lead in2 asking u for a favor

Idia: cmon cay stay on the ball 🙄 

Riddle sighed. “Why don’t you just call him? There’s no use pretending you aren’t distracted by his texts going off every few seconds. It’s faster.”

Cater COULD argue that he and Idia weren’t exactly ‘callers’ so much as ‘texters’ or ‘video chatting in the privacy of their own homes while multitasking on six other activities’, but… He figured it was best not to start a disagreement with Riddle of all people.

After about three rings, Idia answered. “I-it’s not such a big favor that you needed to call me…” he sheepishly mumbled into the receiver.

Cater smiled. Idia was always so shy in the first few seconds of a call, planned or not. “Yeah, yeah, but I don’t wanna bug Riddle and Trey with my constant text notifs-”

“You know how to put your phone on silent.”

“Idiaaa…” Cater pouted, and though Idia couldn’t see his face, he could definitely hear it in Cater’s tone. “Just tell me what’s up?”

Idia exhaled a long, drawn out, dramatic sigh, before responding. “‘Kay, fine, whatever. Basically, I need you to LARP as my player 2 at Azul’s wedding. Y’know, secret stealth mission style.”

A long pause.

“...Huh?” Cater eloquently replied. “Um, what?”

“Uuughhh, this is why I didn't wanna have to explain out looouuud,” Idia groaned. “Listen. You know Azul. I know Azul. The dude invented the concept of being an insufferable, smug little bitch.”

That last comment pulled a full laugh out of Cater. “OMG, Idia, if that’s the kind of stuff you say about your besties, I’d hate to hear you tell me about your enemies!”

As if Cater hadn’t heard endless gamer rants time and time again about randos online that Idia felt personally wronged and slighted by. He knew exactly how cutting and fired up Idia could get, so by comparison, Idia was being gentle with Azul.

“LOL, Azul’s no bestie - but N-E-Way, circling back to the prime objective… Um…” Idia’s voice grew quieter as he cleared his throat. “What I’m saying is… There’s a 100% chance Azul’s gonna rub his stupid new marriage in my face, like, ‘Ohh, Idia, still single, are you? Wow, what’s that like? Can’t relate, Jamil and I are sooo happy in our stupid normie marriage, here come look at my ring did you see my ring-’ like, DUH I saw the stupid ring! He only emailed me a billion pictures of it!”

EMAIL?! Cater bit back a laugh. That was so on-brand for Azul.

“So, uh, anyway…” Idia resumed his mumbly, more reminiscent of NRC days tone of voice. “I wanna… Lie. W-With you.”

WHA-

“N-N-Not like, physically!” Idia quickly followed up before Cater could interject. “I mean, like, deceit! Lies and slander but without the slander! I want you to pretend to be my wedding date!”

“Your… Your wedding date?” Cater repeated, earning a couple of curious glances from Trey and Riddle. “Wait, what? You want me to pretend to be your date just so Azul doesn’t think you’re single?”

Trey raised an eyebrow. Riddle furrowed his brows together with a frown.

Cater pretended not to see.

“Exactly!” Idia responded with a sigh of relief that Cater was still following. “If he thinks I have a new b-boyfriend, he’ll have slightly less reason to be annoying towards me specifically! And it has to be believable anyway, right? You’re one of the few people I still talk to post-grad, so…”

It also didn’t hurt that Cater would be high up in Idia’s top 10 list of prettiest guys to ever graduate from NRC. And NO, it didn’t matter who the other nine on that list were, thank you very much.

“Well, for one, I’m totes flattered,” Cater said. “But, d’you think we’d be able to pull something like that off?”

“Cater!” Riddle interrupted. “You cannot seriously be considering-!”

“Shh,” Trey softly interrupted Riddle’s interruption. “Let’s see where they go with it, first.”

Riddle relented with a pout, leaning into Trey’s shoulder and watching Cater closely.

Idia huffed into the receiver. “What, because the Riddle Police is gonna expose us before we even try?”

“Aw, nooo, Riddle can keep a secret! Right, Riddle?” Cater covered the phone with his hand and offered Riddle and Trey his best, sweetest, pleading smile - complete with as much eyelash fluttering he could muster on the spot. A classic Cater Diamond move.

Riddle and Trey both sighed at the all-too familiar sight. 

“Cater,” Trey said, “You can’t weasel your way out of every situation with a cute face.”

“Ooh, is that a challenge?” Cater winked, then dissolved into giggles as Riddle crossed his arms and continued to pout at him.

“I don’t exactly feel right about you two lying for such frivolous reasons, but… I can’t say I don’t fully… Understand.” After all, having graduated alongside Azul, Riddle just might understand better than anyone why they might feel tempted to go about such a way to avoid Azul’s smug tendencies. “Just don’t expect Trey or me to carry any outlandish stories for either of you!”

“Yay!” Cater cheered, uncovering the receiver and speaking back into the phone. “No biggie, Idia. We’re all good over here!”

“Wait, so you’re in, then!?” Idia asked. He hadn’t really expected this to go so well, but he figured if anyone would be willing to hear him out, it would be Cater. He was always down for a fun shenanigan, after all, but still… “I kinda thought I’d have to do a little more convincing, TBH. I even wrote a speech-”

“Lemme hear it anyway!”

“No!” Idia shouted. “You already agreed, so no take-backs!”

Cater giggled. “Hehe, alright, alright! Let’s do a vid call when I get home later, and we can start planning our coordinated outfits!”

–

The wedding itself was beautiful, obviously. Cater and Idia wondered just how much bickering likely went on behind the scenes for Jamil and Azul to find a compromise between Azul’s need for an extravagant, flashy-yet-tasteful, show-off wedding, and Jamil perhaps wanting something more lowkey and humble.

Or, perhaps they truly both wanted to show off to their former classmates, as the wedding ultimately ended up very ‘cammable, as Cater made sure to tell Idia every five minutes. 

“God, did you see these centerpiece flowers?” Cater giggled between sips of champagne as he clutched Idia’s arm and tugged him over to a nearby table. He nearly spilled the glass on his shirt trying to pull his phone out of his pocket, and was saved only by Idia reaching over to pluck the champagne flute from his hand and finish drinking it himself. 

“Heh, failed your dex saving throw,” Idia grinned. “And yeah, I saw those same flowers when you pointed them out ten minutes ago.”

“Uh, ‘scuse me for getting excited about all the photo ops, babe.”

Idia rolled his eyes at the obvious teasing, but a few giggles spilled from his mouth all the same. Surely it was due to the champagne that he felt so lighthearted and giddy, despite being trapped at such a bustling social event.

“Well, well…” The familiar voice of Azul Ashengrotto called out from behind the pair as he and Jamil - arm in arm, much like Idia and Cater - approached. “It would seem that your message wasn’t full of baseless fabrications just to try and distract me from our active chess match after all, hmm?”

Cater couldn’t hold back from openly, loudly laughing. “Wait- Idia, did you for realsies RSVP to their wedding over Chess.com?!”

“Yes, he did,” Jamil sighed. 

“Oh, don’t act like it didn’t make you laugh too, my dear.” Azul patted Jamil on the arm, to which Jamil responded with a snort and roll of his eyes. 

“That being said,'' Azul continued, “I really couldn’t believe it until I saw it for myself in person. You two really did end up together after all, then?'' His piercing gaze shifted from Idia to Cater, and then back to Idia with a growing, devilish grin. “Your cute little high school crush never faded after all these years?”

Idia gasped. Oh, he should've known this was the route Azul would take the second he didn’t have a chance to gloat about Idia being single. Of course Azul wouldn’t forget about the forbidden knowledge he collected back in the olden days of NRC. An elephant - or in this case, an octopus - never forgets! And this particular octopus still had that stupid, smug grin on his face that Idia was so hoping to avoid.

But, there truly was no avoiding smugness when Azul Ashengrotto was involved; both Idia and Cater were fools if they thought they could prove otherwise.

And speaking of Cater, his gasp was even louder than Idia’s. “OMG. A crush!? You had a crush on me when we were in school?”

Idia instinctively reached for the hood that he was not wearing. Curse these fancy wedding clothes and their stupid, hoodless collars… “U-um! So what if I did?!”

“You never told me!” Cater huffed with the PUFFIEST cheeks he could muster. Trey and Riddle could say what they want, but his cute pouts were his most powerful weapon! … After his unique magic, probably.

“The poor thing thought you were dating Trey for the longest time,” Azul interjected, clearly pleased with the direction this conversation had gone. Idia’s flustered look of betrayal was more than satisfying.

“Wh-!? I literally TOLD YOU when Trey started dating Riddle!” 

“Okay, well, I thought you three had some sort of secret polycule hidden route thing going on in your IRL VN of a life!” Idia huffed, crossing his arms in what was probably a more adorably huffy look than he intended. 

“Oh? What’s the matter?” Azul asked, his smarmy grin not faltering in the slightest. “You’re together now, are you not? No need to be so embarrassed… Right?”

Oh. So that’s how it was. Azul was a doubter and a HATER, huh?

“Ugh,” Idia grumbled. “Anyone would get embarrassed when you go aggro-mode like that with forbidden lore of the past!” He reached for Cater’s hand as he spoke, and gripped it firmly in defiance of Azul’s stupid smug face. 

“Um, yeah, totes!” Cater returned his friendly, dazzling smile to his face. “Besides, I think it’s cute. Look how far we’ve come!”

“Maybe your wedding will be next, then.” Jamil said, a tiny smirk tugging on his lips as Idia once again failed to hide his jittery reaction. 

“Oh, please,” Cater laughed. “I think Riddle might actually kill me if we cut ahead of him and Trey.”

“Oh, yes, of course,” Azul chuckled. “And how long have those two been engaged, again?”

“UUGGHHH,” Cater groaned with every ounce of drama he could muster. “Don’t rush them! You KNOW Riddle isn’t gonna cut a single corner when it comes to having the perfect wedding!”

“Well, I’d say we managed to do so quite efficiently,” Azul said, not even pretending to be humble. “I couldn’t afford to waste time, after all. I wanted to marry the love of my life as soon as possi-”

“God, you’re so cringe, Azul,” Idia interrupted, crinkling his nose at Azul’s shameless, sappy proclamations of love for his partner while he and Cater were still standing RIGHT THERE! 

Cater decided that perhaps this was his and Idia’s cue to escape the conversation. “Um! Y’know what, Idia?” He said, starting to tug Idia in the opposite direction. “I totally feel inspired by their lovey-dovey vibes. Let’s go dance!”

“Wh-!” Idia’s protests dissolved in his throat as Cater swiftly pulled him through the crowd and back to the dance floor. Idia, of course, complained, but when Cater asked him if he’d rather dance together or go back and continue talking to Azul, the protests quickly stopped.

And so they danced - Cater led Idia through a range of more traditional dances that Riddle taught him over the years, and plenty of modern dance trends that Cater practiced through watching hours of viral Magicam videos. Idia, though nervous at first, soon forgot his fear of prying eyes as he and Cater got lost in the moment together. Cater wasn’t the only one with dances to teach, after all! Idia made sure to show Cater just how much he learned through all his hours of watching idol group music videos.

Perhaps their dancing strayed a bit from the theme of the actual music playing, but that didn’t matter to them. Idia and Cater had fun off to the side in their little pocket of the dance floor together, occasionally joined by a former classmate now and then, or pausing to make conversation. It really WAS  an NRC reunion, intentional or not.

And it was exciting! Exciting… And really, really draining.

“...Idi-BB,” Cater sighed, draping an arm around Idia’s shoulders and leaning against him with a few exhausted pants. “I’m, like, so spent from all our hardcore grooving. Y’’wanna go outside for some fresh air and a sensory break?”

“Yes,” Idia wheezed, nodding with equally exhausted enthusiasm. 

The two promptly fled the scene, getting themselves out of the crowded venue and across the street to a quiet little park that was decorated with seasonal lights and flowers.

“Azul and Jamil really know how to pick a location,” Cater murmured as he and Idia walked under an arch of twinkling lights and found their way to a bench. “Even the nearby lots are top-tier photogenic. It looks like there’s even some kind of night market going on at this park.”

“Just what we need,” Idia complained, “MORE activities.”

“Hey, c’mon, at least over here we don’t have the obligation to talk to anyone. No familiar faces at a random market! And besides…” Cater pointed towards one of the trucks with pretty lights and colorful signage. “That one looks like it’s selling ice cream!”

“You don’t even like ice cream!”

“But you do…” Cater mumbled, and then grinned. “Plus, ice cream from vendors always looks super pretty. So, like, you get a sweet treat, and I get sweet pics! It’s a win-win, really.” 

“Do you ever take a day off your photographer brain?”

“Absolutely not. The ‘cam life was simply my calling, as my professional website can show you. I still can’t believe Azul didn’t even ask to hire me for wedding photos, TBH.”

“You wouldn’t’ve wanted to,” Idia said, slowly standing up and inching over to the ice cream truck-slash-booth. “Azul would have crazy annoying standards and requests, and would no doubt try and squeeze out a ‘friends and family’ discount from you.”

“Ugh, totes,” Cater shook his head, walking alongside Idia towards the truck “I’d rather take it easy and enjoy the event as a guest, anyway. Much more fun!”

He paused for a moment, peering at the menu. “Looks like they've got some flavors based on the Great Seven - Ooh, OMG, you should get that one!” 

Idia looked at the menu item Cater pointed at and read it aloud. “...King of the Underworld Cone: Mango and Habanero Sorbet, topped with blue raspberry syrup and chili-lime flakes, and served in a blue raspberry cone.”

“I love a good mango-chili combo! And the colors are perfectly coordinated to match our hair. You’ve gotta get it so we can take a cute selfie under the lights!”

Idia sighed, but pulled out his wallet as Cater ordered it for him. It DID sound pretty good, so he wasn’t going to fight it. He allowed Cater to hold the cone and pull him back over to the bench, pull him in close, and finally snap the photo before he finally got to try the ice cream.

“Jeeze, you seriously haven’t let up on the selfie-taking all evening,” Idia said between licks. “It really is like we’re back at school.” He held the cone out to Cater, tilting his head and silently offering him a taste.

“Aw, c’mon!” Cater paused, eyeing the ice cream suspiciously for a movement before lowering his head and giving it a tiny, curious lick. “...Ooo, spicy! That’s not bad.” He smiled, then turned back to his phone to text Idia the photo. “And anyway, I’ve def let up on the selfies these days, especially since I take pics for a living now.” Cater supplemented his statement with yet another pout. “Besides, today was a special occasion! Like, hello? It’s a WEDDING, and there were a ton of people I haven’t seen in years!”

Cater reached over to boop Idia on the tip of his nose. “Like you, mister! You live so far away and with such a complex job, I haven’t seen you in, like, LITERALLY forever…” He sighed, dropping his head onto Idia’s shoulder.

It was a warm and familiar sensation to the both of them. Near the end of their time at NRC, the two spent many a late night in Idia’s room binge watching anime or pop idol music videos together, which almost always ended with Cater laying half asleep propped against Idia’s side. The first three dozen times it happened, it would send Idia into a silent, internal freak out spiral, but through the exposure therapy of Cater’s consistent sleepiness, he eventually not only grew used to the feeling, but started to yearn for it on nights he watched shows alone.

“...Tell Riddle and Trey to hurry up on their wedding planning, then,” Idia mumbled into his ice cream. “If I know about it early enough, it’d be easier to fit into my busy boss-lord schedule.”

Cater’s ears perked up. “Oh? Would you really go to their wedding?! I know you weren’t as close to Riddle and Trey as you are with Azul … But then again, I guess you have been playing those online chess matches with Riddle ever since we signed him up.”

“Never doubt a warrior’s bond over a chess board,” Idia snickered. “A-And, uh, yeah. I’d go, but… Only ‘cause I know we’d get to see each other again, or whatever… O-Ortho would probably want to go, anyway, so… Might as well.”

“Aww!” Cater picked his head up to beam at Idia, eyes shining with delight. “You better promise! ‘Cause I WILL be there, and I’ll be on official photographer duty, so you should start planning your perfect outfit now. There’s no hiding from this professional shutterbug!”

“Wha-?” Idia scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion. “Weren’t you just saying you were glad you didn’t have to put up with Azul’s picky perfectionism and just wanted to enjoy being a guest? You don’t seriously think Riddle Rosehearts would be any less difficult a client than Azul, do you?”

Cater laughed. “Oh, don’t worry, Idia. you’re forgetting one very crucial detail!”

“...What’s that?”

“Riddle is my bestie, and I love him.”

Idia burst out laughing, quickly covering his mouth to avoid spewing blue and orange droplets everywhere. “The power of friendship is gonna save you from Teapot Tyrant meltdowns?”

“Hey!” Cater protested. “I’ll have you know that Riddle is MUCH more mellow these days-”

“Heh. You should see the chat logs from our last chess match.”

“Oh my god,” Cater rolled his eyes. “ANYWAY, I’ll have you know I’m the perfect person for the role. Trey and I stood by Riddle’s side for two years running Heartslabyul and herding underclassmen around. Riddle trusted my aesthetic eye when it came to setting up tea parties, and I earned that role, thank you very much! I’m a trained professional in both photography AND Riddle de-escalation tactics.”

Idia laughed again as Cater dropped his head back down onto his shoulder. Really, he couldn’t argue with that logic. After Trey, Cater really was the only other person from their school days that knew how to handle the ins and outs of a Riddle Rosehearts tantrum.

Still, a lot had changed over the years…

“...Did you really have a crush on me when we were in school?”

Idia nearly choked on the half-crunched cone that he just shoved into his mouth. “WH- GHK- CATER!” 

Cater quickly sat up again and started patting Idia on the back while he coughed up blue chunks. “OMG- Don’t you dare die on me before giving me an answer!”

A few more coughs and wheezes, a rough swallow of ice cream remains, and then Idia finally spoke again. “...Ugh... Hey, what’s with the sneak attack!? Don’t you think I took enough psychic damage when Azul brought that up earlier?!”

“No!” Cater huffed. “Because you never even told me! Why’d I have to find out from AZUL?”

“B-B-Because…” Idia stammered, “Why would- I told you I thought you were dating Trey and kind of also Riddle back then! And there was also that one time you came over to hang out after you’d been to a party in Pomefiore, and you told me you kissed Rook Hunt!”

Cater gasped. “OMG, I can’t believe you remember that. I almost don’t remember that!”

“Of course I remember!” Idia took his turn to pout, now that the ice cream cone was finally finished and no longer a hazard to his theatrics. “I had a huge crush on you! OBVIOUSLY I’m gonna sit and agonize endlessly over every little detail you told me about your love life - and also my own headcanons to your love life, apparently. You were my super hot best friend and I was the school shut-in!”

Cater gasped. “You thought I was hot?”

“I still think  you’re hot!” Idia shouted, and then slammed his hands over his mouth as his eyes blew wide open and the tips of his hair flushed into a bright shade of pink, flaming wisps dancing wildly around his face.

Cater stared silently back at Idia with equally wide eyes as silence filled the air between them.

Idia promptly spent the next ten seconds planning out how he could escape and have Ortho help him fake his own death, only to be interrupted by Cater speaking again.

“...It’s kinda like the universe is playing a trick on us, don’tcha think?” 

When Idia’s only response was more panicked stares, Cater continued. “Um, like… Neither of us was really ever the type to seriously ask someone out, y’know? So we were both just… Sitting on our feelings.”

Idia finally managed to find his voice again as he squeaked out a reply. “Wh-?! Both? ‘O-our’ feelings?! You never-!”

“Ugh, Idia, please,” Cater grabbed Idia by the shoulders and turned him so they were facing each other. “I fell asleep on your shoulder WAY more times than I’ve ever gotten sleepy hanging out with Trey, and he and I were roomies for two years straight!”

“...How many times did you fall asleep on Tr-”

“NOT important! Just- Listen…” Cater closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. He slid his hands down from Idia’s shoulders to his hands, then opened his eyes and looked at Idia very seriously. “...I… Also still think you’re hot.”

“Wh- Don’t make fun of me!” Idia shrieked, his face now matching the color of the tips of his hair as he attempted - unsuccessfully - to wiggle his way out of Cater’s grasp.

“Sorry, sorry, I couldn’t help it!” Cater giggled, tugging Idia closer. “But I'm not making fun, I swear! You really are still a Grade-A hottie after all these years!”

Idia paused his squirming to glance sideways at Cater. “..Enough to kiss me instead of Rook at a party?”

Cater gasped in shock, and it was Idia’s turn to laugh. 

“IDIA! You’re so much bolder these days, jeeze….” A sly grin spread across Cater’s face, and he leaned closer. “But, y’know… We ARE at a wedding party, and Rook is one of the guests.

Idia went quiet again, freezing in place as he watched Cater’s face move closer.

“Totes within kissable range if we went back, I guess… But I kinda don’t wanna get on Vil and Leona’s bad side, y’know?”

He leaned in closer, and hoped Idia couldn’t hear the anxious hammering of his heart against his chest.

“And… You’re a lot closer… And a lot cuter, TBH…”

Cater paused, averting his eyes to the side. Waiting. 

The offer was on the table, and it was up to Idia what happened next. The following five seconds stretched across what felt like eons to them both as Idia focused all his energy on trying not to literally pass out on the bench and take Cater down with him, or get overwhelmed by the possibility that if he DID kiss Cater, Cater might immediately throw up all over him and run away screaming. Really, it wasn’t that he didn’t WANT to kiss Cater, but what if he died? What if they both died!?

Well, they didn’t die. The agonizing seconds passed, but Idia decided that if he DID die, he’d rather go out knowing what Cater Diamond’s lips felt like against his, even if just one time. 

The kiss itself was quick, but had the weight of ten thousand hammers crashing into their walls of repressed feelings built up over several years.

Idia pulled back first, watching Cater cautiously for any signs of nausea.

But, Cater smiled at him, a nervous giggle bubbling from his lips. “That was-”

“BIG BROTHER? CATER DIAMOND? WHERE ARE YOU!?” Ortho Shroud’s shouted out in the distance from the direction of the wedding venue.

Oh, shit. How long had they been hiding out at that park, again?

“We… We should probably… Go back…” Idia mumbled.

“Y-yeah…” Cater slowly backed off of Idia, face flushed, but had not let go of his hands. “We… We should talk tonight, yeah?”

Idia wordlessly nodded, clutching Cater’s hands like his life depended on it.They headed back towards the wedding venue, hand-in-hand, both ignoring the internal dread from within at the growing realization that they both, somehow, had Azul Ashengrotto to thank for this.

[bloodxhound]

        For weeks he’s been on her trail, watching her from afar, sticking to crowds, corners, the shadows. To her, he should be no more than the backdrop of a life she’s borrowed. A passing face in the mall, a customer in a café, a man going about his life like any other. He exists somewhere on the periphery of her awareness, only drawing close enough to keep a good eye on her, this beautiful, terrible woman, who has returned from beyond the grave. It’s as if he entered a ghost story; one he cannot quite call his own, one he’s determined to exorcise her from all the same. He’s been tasked to, though personal reasons played just as big a role in accepting this peculiar case, if not more.

          All this while he’s been waiting for an opportunity to confront her. A time when she’s alone—unable to cause a scene, unable to drag anyone else into harm’s way. Like a hound after its game, he’s stalked her into the outskirts of town. All greenery, all scenic. Once again, he watches at a distance, before deciding to make himself known.   “Photography,”   his voice arrives, loud and bold, as he comes into view from behind a tree’s shadow.   “I thought the dead had more excitin’ ways to pass time. Rattlin’ furniture, spookin’ pets an’ kids... plottin’ revenge. What’re you doin’ here, Miss Hawthorne?” / @bloodthirstyflower

[hoonvrs]

Hey saint watchu doin 😊

Honestly had a really bad day today and Ur the only person I can talk to rn. Idk what's up with ppl forcing me to do things I don't like and telling me to stop doing things I love doing. As if whatever I wanna do is always wrong. My school has restricted me to do any crochet in the campus EVEN THOUGH I don't interrupt nor am I distracted during the classes. My mum has told me to solely focus on studies and do crochet in the holidays. BUT now they want me to do extracurriculars. Maybe I'm in the wrong but I have no interest in the acts of singing, dancing, art and other cultural activities. But I have to do them because I do nothing at home. Like I don't take extra classes for playing instruments, or go to other places for tutoring, nor do I learn anything involving self defense, dancing, singing, reciting. I don't even like sports. I just don't like these activities. But I have to do them and I'm being forced because they're 'good for me' and 'good for my future'. Which I get it's completely fine. But is crochet not? Infact I wanted to do a specific activity and my friend wanted to do photography. But since I chose that activity, she has to too because she won't do photography alone. And then she said it's my fault but when I said that I could switch for the sake of her not blaming it on me for the rest of the semester, she said no. I can't deny anything anymore. When they ask me if I want to do something and I say no, they ask why and I just say that I don't want to. But apparently that isn't a valid reason to say no. I would say all of this to my mum but she's friends with my friends mums and would try taking to them about it but I don't want the others knowing. Ill be honest saint you were the first person I could think of because no one else would just listen to me and not go tell someone else or start asking questions. I don't have anyone to talk to anymore. I just wish things were like before when in was like five and I wasn't allowed to meet my friends outside of school. When our parents weren't friends to the point they would steal away the only day my mum had a holiday I could spend time with her on. I wish I had someone to talk to. Now all I can do is look in the mirror, cry, and talk to myself. Saint you don't understand how much talking to u like this is helping me. We don't even know eachother personally but at least I can talk to you freely without any judgement. I just wanna live my life. I've never had a moment in life where I felt free since I was 5. I miss freedom.

-🌜(rant again 😭)

i can’t understand personally but i can definitely feel for you cause i have a friend in the exact same situation and honestly fuck them for not letting you do what you want in your own life, esp ur school cause in what world do they completely nan you from crocheting in school likes it’s really none of their business. honestly the advice i can give ( if you even want any ) is to not do it. nothing teaches a parent a lesson unless their kids rebel cause it honestly so much easier to ask for forgiveness then for permission, and they’ll see in the future all of that was so useless.

with your friend pls try and stand up for yourself, coming from someone who’s literally ignored her own cousins cause they were being bitchy it’ll be better to avoid and ignore her then to have to put up with her attitude. tell her no one told her to ditch photography and that she should learn some independence or she won’t get too far in life, and she might get offended but that’s her problem not yours.

i’m happy that you feel safe enough with me to share this but i’m so upset that you have to go through this, praying it’ll be js an emotional memory when you’re a little bit older with more independence cause parents will learn to give their kids freedom once they’ve hit an age where they can’t control them ( usually uni )

don’t let anyone try to talk you out of what you love or talk you down into staying in a toxic friendship just because you’re ‘parents are close’ or ‘you’ve known each other for so long’ they’re js manipulating you into wasting your energy and effort on stupid friendships and ik it’s easier said then done but you’ll feel so much better without that burden

[deathandthesoul]

"Hangman"

A series of interconnected snippets from the mortal life of the Volgirre now known as Aidan Evans, leading to his embrace, circa age 25-30.

Setting: Vampire the Masquerade, in my chronicle City of Lost Angels Rating: Mature Genre/themes: Personal horror, college academia, detective, serial killer Content warnings: Accusations of/Schrodinger's necrophilia, suicide ideation, alcoholism, brief description of a murder victim, brief vampire sex, death

----

October 1972. My wife thinks I'm at the Yankees game with friends. I hate the Yankees and I don't have friends. I'm down in the morgue doin', let's say, extracurricular activities.

It's after hours, after sundown. The staff's cleared out already, havin' dinner with their families. I'm not. I'd rather be here. It's just me, my camera, and sketchbook.

The room's locked when I get there but the lock's not too hard to beat. I try not to think about how many hail Marys I'm gonna have to do on Sunday and sneak inside as quietly as possible. The coast is clear. No one here 'cept the dead guy on the slab. Really? They just left him out there in the open. My goodboy ass is gonna be in so much trouble. This is exhilarating.

I wipe down the doorknob on the outside 'cause I'm a fuckin' forensics student and I know better. Swallow my nerves and shut the door, lock it up nice n' tight. Wipe it down on the inside too. My palms are sweaty but I get my camera ready and start.

[Static]

I turn over in bed. 3am? What happened last night? I don't remember. The hangover's killin' me but I don't remember drinkin'. I have class in the morning and two papers due in three days. Guess I'll make some coffee…

I waddle out to the kitchen in the clothes I wore yesterday and slept in for some reason, quietly to not wake my wife. Guess I was just that tired… I go through the motions, put the grounds in, pour the water, push the button. That's when my phone rings, at 3 in the fuckin' morning.

I answer it, like a dumbass. It's my dean. What the hell is going on? He accuses me of doin' some real sketchy shit in the morgue I'm goin' to Hell for. I tell him I don't remember goin' there 'cause I don't. He has me on security camera footage, goin' inside, committin' sins. Says I didn't come out for two hours and left some things behind. I hang up on him, like a dumbass. Is this real? Am I dreaming? Am I dead?

I panic and dig through my stuff. There's no new empty bottles in my trash and my film's missing. So's my sketchbook. This is bad. I'm so fucked. I don't remember a goddamn thing. I pray to God my dean's wrong, get on my knees and cry like I always do. Please don't tell my parents. I can't afford to lose my future. I wanna wake up already. This is a nightmare.

--

My professor tells me to sit out in photography class cause my hands are shakin' too much. I've gone through so many cigarette packs already. My mind is numb and I haven't been sleepin'. I keep thinkin' about that phone call but nothing happens. I wait a goddamn week like I'm on the chopping block and nothing fuckin' happens. Is someone fuckin' with me?

A couple years later I graduate. I settle down eventually but I don't forget. I can't. And nobody says anything. Did I hallucinate?

--

May 1977. My wife and son aren't up yet so I'm readin' the morning paper. There's a murder on the front page and I'm almost jealous it wasn't me. Victim hung upside-down, Spider-Man style, completely exsanguinated, no external wounds. I wanna see the body up close. Professional curiosity… But I got a day off 'cause my boss forced it on me, just my luck. Says I'm too much of a workaholic. I think it's just 'cause he doesn't like me. I think he knows I'm bi. My whiskey glass is almost empty and I haven't touched my cereal. Haven't gone shopping in a while 'cause I'm always so busy…

I flip through my film rolls for the billionth time. Maybe one day I'll develop these. Crime scenes upon crime scenes and my coworkers gettin' up to all sortsa shit… My precinct has no clue these exist and I'm happy to keep 'em in the dark forever. I have so much dirt on everybody it's insane. This is my hobby.

--

October 1977. Somethin' weighs in the back of my mind but it's my day off again so I might as well have some fun. I go to a gay bar 'cause I can. Thought it couldn't hurt. Everything else does. I love-hate my job but I hate hidin' more. Work has me swamped tryina find this Hangman guy and every lead's a dead end. Swear he's playin' with us like a cat n' mouse. Took a lotta photos but so many days with those bastards in the office wears me down. Just need some stress relief…

I put on a wig and change my features with a little makeup before I leave so my ex-friends won't recognize me and get me kicked to the curb. Would be cool if I could just Play-Doh all this. My wife asks where I'm goin' and I lie to her. Gimme a break. Please…

Out at the bar I'm sittin' alone and this smokin' hot guy hits on me. Tells me he likes my art but I don't know what he means. I never show anyone that stuff. He buys me a drink, my third of the night. I think he's been watchin' me since I stepped in. He looks familiar but I chalk it up to bein' drunk. It's kinda creepy to be honest but I'm desperate.

We hit it off like the Yankees at that game I didn't go to. Apparently they won. His skin's cold and his heartbeat's faint but I'm too depressed and horny to care. He gives it to me rough like I ask and bites my throat. I die happy.

I am the final victim of the Hangman.

[ineedtobeheardnotseen]

So I made myself get up

Doin' a little "opposite action" here

And I drove 40 minutes to a nearby regional park

I brought my camera and some water

It was just going to be a quick trip

Just something to get me out of the house

I saw a couple of families of quail

Like, so many quail

They were mostly juveniles, very cute

Did you know the "comma" feathers on their heads are called a "topknot"

Anyway, I also saw a young buck

His antlers were mostly still furry

I got a lot of good shots of him

I saw a small snake too

No wider than my index finger, black with a yellow racing stripe

And some very tiny birds

They were the hardest to shoot

With my camera, to be clear

They're so small, you could fit half a dozen of them in your hand

I love nature

I miss it often

Spending all day every day at a desk in an office ain't it

Unfortunately, photography doesn't pay

Not the kind I'm able to do, anyway

I don't even pay for photos when I need them, so I never ask anybody for any money to use mine

It's just not going to pay the bills

[tonycamonte]

school ⬇️

sooo excited for next semester....... have english again with my favourite teacher for the first time since i was a freshman + itll be fun to have him in senior year i think..... cooler novel study selections also i know catcher in the rye is one of the options which is soooo fun i would love 2 write an essay abt it but youre not supposed to do a book youve already read so. sorry holden. anyway i have art studio for the first time (its basically impossible 2 take with french immersion so i havent had the chance til now) + im reallyyyy excited i think itll be fun + its another class thats pretty light on group work which is reallyy choice because my 2 best friends r graduating so im gonna be sort of lonely. ummm i really miss doin art classes i used 2 do a lot of stuff in the city but because of covid i stopped + i kind of stopped like drawing which sucked but i have Ideas for what i wanna do............... eermm then i have 20th c world history which ive been looking forward to for like trhee years so. yippee!!!!! i was sort of. eavesdropping with my eyes on a girl in the lab doin her work for it and i was like wowowow so fun so cool.. and then i have photography + i dunno how i feel about it like i signed up for it but i kind of want to switch into religious studies (which our school allegedly has but ive never heard of anyone taking it + the course list on the website is broken so) but i dunno if thats gonna be too much + i really regret picking philosophy this semester over that but whatever i like photography its just supposed to be kind of boring but maybe thats a good thing. idk i think my classes r well balanced this year like this semester i have cooking + two socials classes + math (usually my best subject + kind of easy this yr) + next semester i have 2 art classes + 2 humanities. harmony. also NO SCIENCE THIS YEAR. big win for me. and AIEEE i just looked at my assessment stuff i got a 4 on my numeracy assessment am i a smart fella or what................. society if i liked math enough to do it as a job but alas its so boring...................... and i got a 3 on my french written assessment soooo.... french people hmu except i think i probably sucked at my oral assessment so mybe we can just text

[lunarsapphism]

baps you with my paw jumps around you excitedly HELLO LIV !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! coming round to say hi :] it has been ages and ages and Way too long but im slowly coming back to tumblr after kindof dying activity wise and i wanted to say hi !!!!!! kind of missed u :'DD

first off wanted to say i hope you are doing awesome and very well!!! if yes GODBLES you deserve it !! if not the storm will pass ☁️🌧️☔ sun is right around the corner trust me 🌺🌷💮🌷🫂

i have good news though!! remembered that you are my photography mutual and upon realizing I'd be taking photography classes next school year i thought it'd be awesome to share 💪💪 because you know your images are one of a kind and i cherish them dearly 🌟🌟

ANYWAY. that's really all :]] wanted to stop by after a long time and share that :DD TLDR: hi i missed you lots and um. im back with swag

flowers for you 🌹🌺🌷🪷🌸💮🏵️🪻🌻🌼

CLOUDY. OH MY GOD HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN SITTING IN MY INBOX FUCK IM SO SORRY <3333 HEY HI HELLO!!! missed u king

im doin alright! i hope you're doing well too!! i think its sick as hell that you're taking photography classes at school, i hope you have (or are having? has school started now?) fun taking them! if u ever wanna share any cool photos u are absolutely welcome to send them my way :]

thank u for the ask and the flowers ^_^ it is sososo lovely to hear from u !!

[sinsofsinister]

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2019. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

I got tagged by @lastwiish!! This was a super fun one. I liked looking through my stuff and going ‘hey yeah actually I like this, this is good’. I’mma tag @exowarlock, @sotc, @commanderwilloh, and anyone else who wants to do it :>

“I’m giving you a good story here. Pay attention!” (gifset) - When I first saw this scene I was like ‘hell yeah hell yEAH look at my gremlin son fuckin GO’ and I literally just made the set bc I wanted to be like *will smith pose* I love him. I’m also just lowkey fond of every K Project set I do bc the show is so naturally fucked with it’s default gradient that tweaking the colours sometimes makes me wanna yeet my PC out a window.

“Am I cursed to lose everyone that matters!?” (gifset) - I made this set back before the recent filesize increase so getting all these down to under 3MB without making them look like absolute trash garbage was a fucking mission and a half. I love the first gif. Rufus Caligula is such a cool enemy design fr.

Mitsu (drawing) - I recently decided to pick up art a bit more seriously so I thought it’d be fun to try and draw my FFXIV characters to practice. I thought my Au Ra would be easy aside from the horns, which don’t look like any of the in game ones. I was horribly wrong. Scales are torture when you aren’t actually Good yet. Still, I think it’s cute.

ACNH Island Rep (drawing) - This is actually a redraw of the same thing I made like two weeks ago when I finally decided to draw more, which I only ended up doing bc I hated the hair in the first version lmao. This was the one where I discovered how to do those coloured lines by complete accident and it’s vastly improved my own opinion on my doodles.

Friends to Enemies Speedrun (video) - I hadn’t sat down and properly edited anything in a long time and I learned some new things while making this, so I’m really fond of it. Not as much to say here compared to the others, haha. I just really like making these.

- - -

BONUS MENTIONS: x | x | x | x | x | x

[isabelguerra]

i love pnat dynamics so much i cannot put it into words everyone is so wrong about each other except when they are right. nobody talks to anyone they should be talking to that would make for interesting and compelling character development. the interpersonal drama is so burdened that characters can barely look at each other without feeling horrible. its so genuinely unironically my favorite

[blooming-violets]

Ahem, excuse me, but I’m gonna need “Fighting to be on to” 🌻 congrats on 1k sweets! You are so incredibly talented and I’m grateful you’re sharing those talents with us here in this corner of the internet! 🌻💛

Play TASM Writing Bingo [here] (If you just stumbled upon this post and this is your first time seeing this, read the rules and check to see if something has already been requested before you ask. Things already requested and in the works: list. Please and thank you!)

Fight To Be On Top

[tasm!peter x fem!reader]

TW: 18+ smut, very light, brief choking in this

A/N: I just finished writing this and immediately said "Oh shit I should have done this between Spidey and Black Cat instead." Next time lol I just think they'd be a good pair to have a dominance fight. I hope this still satisfices your needs anyway @spidervee

It wasn’t uncommon for Peter to pick up on passing conversations people were having. At a big party like this he was bound to get bits of unwanted chatter from all angles. He preferred to stick close to your side at events like this. You had this wonderful ability to dampen all the excess noise around him like his own personal ear muffs. There was something about you that just softened everything. So as Peter pushed through crowds of people, his eyes frantically searched each corner of the room to seek you out. He’d only slipped away for five minutes to sneak off to the bathroom.  When he returned, you were no longer where he left you. He pushed through the house of drunk college students in search. 

“Peter!” The sickenly sweet voice of Hazel, one of the girls in his photography class, momentarily paused his task. 

Peter forced a smile and gave her a short wave, “Hey. How you doin’, Hazel?” His eyes kept scanning over face looking for yours. 

“Are you looking for your girlfriend?” She asked. 

He nodded, “Yes and you don’t have to pretend like you don’t know her name. Have you seen her?” 

Hazel scoffed, “Maybe.” She gave him a flirtatious smirk and swayed her hips closer to him. “I think I saw her upstairs in one of the bedrooms. Why don’t you and I go up there and have a look?” 

Peter gave an anxious sigh and took a step back. This wasn’t the first time she had come on to him. She made it very obvious of her intentions much to his discomfort. His smile tightened, “It was nice seeing you, Hazel. I got to go.”

She pouted and clung onto his arm. He could smell the alcohol coming off of her and it was making him feel nauseous. 

“Aw, come on. You’re no fun, Peter. Play with me. I’m bored,” she whined.

Peter shook her off his arm and gave her a swift nod, “Yeah…no…I have to go.”

He quickly pushed his way into the kitchen and nearly fell to his knees in relief when he saw you standing by the counter. You had your hand deep into a bowl of chips and had never looked more beautiful in your life. He hurried to your side and buried his face against your neck, arms ensnaring you to him, inhaling your familiar scent and sighing with happiness. 

“Missed ‘ou ‘oo,” you mumbled through the chips. You finished your mouthful and gave him a little pat on the top of the head. “We haven’t seen each other in, what, ten minutes?” 

He gave a breathy chuckle against your skin and snuggled in closer behind you, “I know it was terrible. I’m never leaving you again.”

“Did some guys try to get you to do a keg stand again? You sealed your fate as a living legend amongst the frat bros last time you did one.” You popped more chips into your mouth and leaned back against his chest. 

Peter groaned at the memory, “Never again.” He lowered his voice to whisper in your ear. “I ran into Hazel.”

You let out a loud, overly exaggerated retching noise at the mention of her name, “Gross. Did you know she once asked me if I could invite her to a threesome with us? I got the impression she didn’t actually want me to be a part of the equation though. So, really, she wanted me to invite her to have sex with you.” 

Peter laughed, “What did you say?”

“Oh, I told her of course! Go right ahead! I planned it for tonight so you better get ready. She’ll be expecting you later.” You gave him a wink and a cheeky smile. 

Peter felt his face heat up into a blush and he playfully pushed you against the counter, “You’re an evil woman. Quick, let’s get out of here before she finds us.” 

He grabbed your hand and dragged you out of the kitchen onto the porch. The night air was cool with a pleasant breeze. A string of warm, glowing lights were strung overhead. Peter pulled you to a quiet corner and slipped his hand over your lower back as you rested against his side. You were a few drinks ahead of him but nowhere near as intoxicated as you could be. You’d found your happy spot with enough of a buzz to keep you energetic and smiling without the worry of the effects that might present themselves tomorrow. He knew you’d only want to stay a few more minutes before begging him to take you home so you could finish off the night with just his company. That’s why he led you outside, to help calm everything down and nudge you in that direction. Parties were never much of his thing. 

“Shit, man, look at that ass.” 

Peter’s ears perked up. It was a large porch that wrapped around nearly half the house. A group of guys were huddled around the opposite end with beers in their hand. The music from inside was loud enough to drown out their conversation from regular ears. He could tell by the way you made no reaction to their statement. It was obvious who they were talking about. It was just the two of you and their group out here and Peter highly doubted they were talking about him. His eyes traveled down your back and legs. From their perspective, they had a perfect view of how beautifully your skin tight dress hugged your curves. The dress stopped right below your butt to show off your gorgeous legs. You had leaned forward against the railing which was only highlighting the plump curve of your ass. 

“She’s something else. Look at that body. You think her man will share if we ask nicely?” 

They all snickered, having no idea Peter could hear them. By your lack of reaction, he knew you were none the wiser. Otherwise, he knew you would have marched over there to put them all in their place in a matter of seconds. He put a possessive arm around your waist and pulled you closer against him to make it very clear who’s girl you were and that he had no intention of sharing. 

One of them took a long swig of his beer and gave a low whistle, “You know what I’d like to do to her?” 

Peter held his breath. He was torn. Part of him wanted to beat the shit out of all them and swing you away from their perverted gaze. The other part wanted to listen. He wasn’t sure what came over him but he wanted to know what the man speaking was going to say. It gave him a little flutter of pride knowing they were all impressed by your beauty and couldn’t have you. 

“I’d dominate her,” the man continued his statement. “Up against the wall. Her tits hanging out of the dress, my hands wrapped around those ass cheeks, her leg hooked over my waist, and my dick sunk deep inside of that pussy. I’d have her screaming for mercy. She wouldn’t know what hit her.”

Another one spoke up, “Nah, man. You have it all wrong. You got to take her from behind. Then you can grab handfuls of those tits while you pound into her.” 

The third guy laughed, “That’s the difference between you two. One’s an ass man and the other a tit guy. Now, if it were me, I’d have her mouth wrapped around my cock and have her take me all the way down that throat.” 

Peter had heard more than enough. If he stayed any longer, he was either going to end up smashing their heads into the ground or fucking you right on the porch. Or maybe both. He was a strange mix of possessively angry and furiously horny at what they were saying. He leaned over to press a kiss to your temple, whispering in your ear, “Time to go.” 

“But-”

He dragged you off the porch before you even had a chance to protest. 

Once back in the safety of his apartment, Peter finally released the death grip he had on your hand. You yanked your arm away from him with an annoyed expression. 

“What the fuck was that about, Peter? I didn’t even get to say goodbye to my friends. You didn’t say a word to me the entire walk home. My hand’s going to be bruised now. What’s gotten into you?” You were too pissed off to notice the large bulge pressed against his pants and nursed your hand to your chest. “That was some bullshit you pulled. There better be a good explanation.” 

You let out a delicious gasp as Peter forcefully backed you up into the wall. He pushed himself into your body, letting you feel his erection pressing against your hip. Your eyes widened in surprise and you let out a quiet, “Oh.”

“Oh,” he repeated. 

“Oooh,” you nodded with a light giggle. “And now I understand.” 

Peter smiled, letting his head dip down to kiss over your neck, between kisses he would murmur against your skin, “I heard a group of guys talking about you.”

Your eyes closed, your head leaning back against the wall to give him better access to your neck, and you let out a small sigh. “Is that so?” You asked.

“Mhm,” he nipped at your flesh. “They were saying terribly, terribly dirty things about you.” 

You whined in pleasure at the feeling of his mouth roaming over your skin, “What kind of terrible things?”

Peter smirked and brought his face back up to yours, wanting to look in your eyes as he spoke, “One of them wanted to push you up against a wall, tear your breasts free from your dress-” He slipped the straps off your shoulders and yanked the dress halfway down your stomach to sounds of your surprised gasp. He reached behind your back to unclasp your bra and tossed it onto the floor so your breasts spilled out for his eyes to feast on. “Grab a fist full of your ass-” He slid his hands up your thighs and under the bottom of your dress to grab a handful of your cheeks. “And then fuck you so deep up against the wall.”

If the thought of other men speaking about you like that bothered you, you certainly didn't show it. It was one thing if you heard it happening in the moment. It was entirely something else when Peter was reciting it back in the safety of your bedroom as he mimicked each actions. If anything, it only seemed to excite you more by the way your heart rate was speeding up and the quick, irregular breathing happening in his ear. 

“Oh, fuck,” you sighed, having to swallow, and remember to breathe. “Is that all?” 

Peter shook his head. His eyes were aflame in lust as he gazed down at you. His voice lowered, “Another responded that he wanted to do something else.” He slid his hands back down your legs and gripped onto your waist. With dizzying speed, he spun you around. He gripped a hand to the back of your hair and bent you over so your ass was pressed tight against his bulge. “He wanted to take you from behind.” 

With the fistful of your hair, he pulled you back up, keeping his hips pressed hard into your behind and snaking a hand around to fondle your exposed chest. “He wanted to hold onto your tits while he fucked you raw.” 

You practically melted against his chest the second his hand found your breast. He held the weight of them in his palm and brushed his thumb over your nipple. It sprung to life at his touch as he rolled the nub between his fingers. You responded by grinding your ass into his crotch and wiggling your hips over him. 

“And what about you?” Your voice was barely anything more than a whisper. “What would you want to do to me, Peter?” 

A wicked smile spread across his face and he spun you back around to face him, “Their ideas were decent enough but not what I’m looking for tonight.” He wrapped his arms around your waist and hoisted up. Your legs hooked around his hips while he carried to the bed, effortlessly tossing you top of it. He began to slowly remove his clothes while he talked. “What I want…is to watch you squirm naked under me. I want to hold you down, put my hand around your neck, and fuck you straight into the mattress.”

You let out a little shiver of excitement and shimmied the rest of the dress off your legs. He could see the damp patch soaking into your underwear and quickly finished stripping himself down to nothing. He grabbed your ankle, jerking your body towards him, and peeled the underwear down your legs. You scrambled back to the pillows and laid down. He watched in silent awe as you spread your legs for him. Your hand teased over your pussy, circling your clit, in an invitation. 

“Tell me what it made you feel hearing all those men talk about me like that, Peter.” There was a pouty innocence caked into your words as you tried to bait him into showing his more possessive, jealous side. 

A low growl rumbled in the back of his throat and he slowly climbed over you, looking like a tiger about to pounce on his prey, “It made me want to bend you over that porch railing and fuck you in front of them so they knew exactly who you belonged to.” 

Peter didn’t even wait for a tease or a warm up. The second his hips were close enough to yours, he slipped his cock straight inside of you. You let out a yelp and rolled your hips to meet him, sinking him deeper, your eyes rolling into the back of your head. 

“Fuck, Peter,” you whimpered. “Oh god. You feel so good.” 

“From the second I heard them talking all I could think about was sliding into you. I couldn’t wait any fucking longer.” He gave you a hungry kiss as your hands ran down his muscular back. 

Peter began to dive into your slick heat, feeling you stretch around him, as he pumped his hips. You clung your arms around his neck, fingers digging into his flesh, as he drove in and out. Long, forceful thrusts pounded into you as you arched and writhed under him. You could feel his jealous spite towards those men in every thrust. Your moans quickly filled the room, your insides on fire with an exquisite pleasure. His hand closed possessively over your breast, his fingers rolling the hard tip, as he leaned down to bite your shoulder. You let out a loud yelp at the sudden searing pain and arched your hips to meet the thrust of his thick shaft as it worked itself deep inside your pussy. He was on a mission to prove to himself, to you, and those guys who you belonged to. He was using a lot more strength than usual to pound into you and it was making you feel dizzy. 

“Peter,” you breathlessly gasped. “Jesus, Peter.”

You raked your nails down his back in an attempt to alleviate some of the building tension in your stomach. Your moans were turning into full on cries with the intensity of the sensations he was creating. 

“Fuck those assholes,” he grunted. His eyes were scrunched close, a hard crease forming in his brow. He was clearly replaying the memory in his head as he fucked you. With a growl, he slammed his hips into you so hard you were afraid he might actually break your pelvis. 

“Peter!” You gasped. 

If you kept yourself under him, you weren’t sure your body was going to make it to morning. You wrapped a leg around his waist, steadied yourself with one arm, and used the full weight of your body to flip him onto his back. You straddle your legs over his hips and pinned his chest down with your hands. He was too in his own head to be ready for the sudden change of position and his eyes snapped open in shock. He blinked up at you in a confused awestruck, completely freezing in place, worried he had done something wrong. You’d never been one to take control in the bedroom before. He was scared he had gone too far and really hurt you. You usually loved it when he threw you around and took on the dominant, aggressive role. Tonight, you were feeling something different though. You smiled down at him with a devilish grin. 

“Now you know how I feel when I’m forced to listen to Hazel gush about how perfect your body is.” You trailed your fingers over his chest. “How she loves when you wear tight shirts because she can see all your muscles under it.” You slid your pussy over the length of his cock, tilting your hips so your clit could get the best angle. “How she loves being alone with you in the dark room and daydreams about riding you right there on the floor while your stupid photos develop.” You raised yourself off of him and held his shaft in your hand. Slowly, you lowered yourself on it, moving a little at a time to really drag it out. “How many times I had to listen to her guess how big she thinks you are based off that one time you wore sweatpants to class.” 

Your wet lips spread to wrap around him as you sunk down. You could feel every vein of his shaft and ridge of his head glide along the folds of your womanhood. You bit your bottom lip to repress a moan. Peter stared up at you, completely enamored as his eyes flicked between watching your face and watching his cock disappear inside of you. Your own jealousy imagining Hazel with your boyfriend was too much. You couldn’t keep up your slow, taunting pace anymore. You threw your head back and buried him all the way inside. 

Peter let out a groan of pleasure and hissed, a lazy smirk tugging on his lips, “Is someone jealous?” 

You huffed in response and rolled your eyes, “No. Not jealous. Fuck off.” 

He jerked his hips upwards causing you to gasp, “Is that so? Not even a little, tiny bit jealous at the thought of me and Hazel alone together in the dark room?” 

You bit your lip and shook your head, “No.” 

“The thought of us, all alone, those red lights setting an eerie mood…and me, none the wiser, as she accidentally bumps her chest against me.” 

Your eyes flashed with anger. It sounded as if he was replaying a memory of something that happened. He caught the look of jealousy and sat up with a triumphant smile. His arm hooked around your waist. 

“I knew it,” he murmured against your lips, giving you a quick kiss, before flipping you back onto your back. 

“Hey!” You tried to protest but he was already fucking you again. One of his hands snaked over your throat and pinned you down, keeping a light pressure there. 

Peter smirked, his eyes rolling to a close and his mouth falling open, “I can’t help myself. You feel too good under me, baby.” 

You gave a soft cry of pleasure but tried not to let yourself get too distracted by how good he felt inside of you. You wanted to be on top. You wanted to ride him exactly like Hazel said she would if she had the chance. 

“Those guys…on the porch…” You choked out the words, Peter’s grip tightening around your neck at the mention of them again. “I bet they would have loved to let me ride them.” 

His eyes snapped open in horror but, once he caught the evil glint of your smile, softened to a tease, “Give it your best then, pretty girl.” 

You shoved his shoulders and rolled him onto his back. He was a willing participant in the motion and let you take control. If Peter didn’t want to be moved, he wouldn’t have been. He was playing down his strength for your amusement. 

You climbed back on top and smiled down at him, “Thank you very much. This is where I belong. Up here, looking down on you like the little peasant that you are.” 

He let out a light laugh, staring at you with hearts in his eyes, and shaking his head in disbelief, “Well go right ahead then, my queen. Be my guest. You want control, you have it.” 

You settled back to where you had started, slipping his cock back inside your warmth. Any bit of lighthearted teasing disappeared the second he entered you. He just felt too good stretching out your walls to think about anything other than pleasuring yourself. The burning passion returned with a fiery heat. You pushed back against him and he moved to meet you. You slowly began to move as one as you found your rhythm. Your hips rolled over him and you tossed your hair back behind you, your back arching, as you let the waves of electricity flow through you. 

Peter feasted his eyes up at you. You looked nothing short of stunning up there. The glow from the city streets poured in through the window to cast moving lights around the dark room. His eyes moved to take in all of you, starting with your beautiful face, lost in the moment of pleasure, and ending with your perfect pussy stretched over his cock. His hands moved up, dragging nails lightly along your skin, to capture those full breasts bouncing with each thrust. His rough thumbs brushed over your nipples, eliciting a sweet moan, and pinching them between his fingers. 

Your thrusting hips were becoming more desperate. Peter rose to meet you, sitting up to pull you against him, and crashed his lips over yours. Your tongues danced around each other, moaning into each other's mouths, and hands tugging at fistfuls of hair. You felt so full with him buried so deep inside of you. Waves of ecstasy and passion beyond reason. You felt like you were rushing to the finish line and would die if you didn’t cross. 

Peter felt his own urgency meeting yours. He was always so good at matching himself with you. He knew when to hold off and when to push harder. Now was the time to push harder. He growled and thrust into you, your bodies now slamming together in a desperate crescendo you could both feel building deep within. Your arms wrapped tightly around his neck and your forehead rested against his sweaty one. 

“I’m so close,” you managed to get out. 

He gasped and nodded, “I know, baby. Almost there.”

“Cum inside of me. I want you inside of me, Pete.” You hide your face against his shoulder. Even though you were on birth control, you tried to avoid having him finish inside you as often as you could. It wasn't an everyday occurrence he got the gift of the go ahead. Tonight, you couldn’t help it. You needed all of him. You needed him to fill you. 

Peter whimpered at the thought and gripped his arms tighter around your hips to hold you steadily in place against him. Your cries of passion matched his lower, throaty groans as your hot cunt clamped down on his throbbing cock. You could feel every muscle tightening in his body in anticipation of what was coming. You cried out in an uncontrollable release. He could feel you tightening like a vice on his cock as his own release tore through him. Peter pulled your hips down tight against his body to pump load after load of his thick cum into you. You felt his warm seed fill you, the feeling still a little unfamiliar, but sending you straight into another wave of orgasm. Your body shook uncontrollably as Peter held you tightly to him. You whimpered and whined, as the pleasure was almost too much to handle, and collapsed against his chest. You were both gasping for breath. 

Peter grazed the tips of his fingers up and down your back and nuzzled his face into the crook of your neck. You clung to him, eyes closed, not able to do much else while he enjoyed the feeling of your skin under his hands. He slowly softened inside you and gently slid out, taking along much of his dripping semen with him. You felt both a little dizzy and at peace. It was a nice place to be.  A soft smile tugged at the corner of your lips and you nudged your head against his to get him to look up at you. Peter lifted his head and pressed his forehead to yours, his sleepy eyes staring back at you with such love, and you shared a soft kiss. 

“Don’t ever fuck, Hazel.” You mumbled with a little smile. 

Peter laughed and kissed you again, “Don’t ever fuck three drunk guys at a party. You’re too good for them. You're too good for everyone. Even me.” 

“You’re lucky I put up with you then.” 

He smiled, head over heels in love with you, “The luckiest.”

[tteokdoroki]

— “TRUST YOU + KATSUKI BAKUGOU.”

author’s note(s): two thousand words of pure sloppy filth written for your entertainment and inspired by an ask i got from my ♈️ anon, who asked me to imagine college katsuki teaching you how to give bjs,, so this is dedicated to them. i hope you enjoy this my fellow sinners! there’s a lot in this one so read the warmings!

warning(s): mdni, 18+. heavy smut, dark content, dub-con, forced photography, cheating, manipulation, power play dynamics, dacryphilia, slight infantilisation, throat fucking, blow jobs, cum play, facials, corruption!kink, praise!kink, fem!reader, mentions of boyfriend!sero and college!bakugou.

“suki, a-are you sure this is okay?”

your voice trembles as you lower yourself between bakugou’s thighs, both of them instinctively spread when your palms grip them with a slight nervousness. you’re so fucking stupid, so trusting but of course he’d never given you a reason to feel anything otherwise. your suki took care of you, an innocent girl from a small town— fresh look in her eyes from the moment you’d stepped onto campus.

of course you’d shaken more when you’d first met the blonde, he was big with dark and blood red eyes that spelled bad news if you didn’t look closely enough. and yet, you still trusted him because suki promised he would protect you from all the bad men and women and non binary folk on campus. he would always come swooping in to protect your chubby cheeks and doe eyed smile.

you always thought it was because he cared about you, your friends always told you that you were lucky your roommate even paid attention to you and suki always brushed away your doubts— but it was really because he dreamed of you, dreamed of taking away the very purity that shone within your bright eyes.

“‘course it’s okay princess, remember, suki always takes care of you. yer’gonna trust me, right?” bakugou reassures you, an evil glint hidden behind the soft smile he gives you while his large hand pats your cheek affectionately. his chest burns at how easily you lean into him, nuzzling his palm stupidly. you should consider yourself lucky that it’s katsuki who’s guiding your innocent hands to the tent in his pants and not some other guy from campus.

katsuki had seen the way they looked at you, watching the way your thick thighs bounced as you walked and their hungry eyes drifting down to your chest as you talked. it made him angry that other people looked at you as if you were just a piece of meat— which you were. but you were his little slab of ass and they needed to learn that. even your boyfriend; sero who made you cry twice a week over stupid things, needed to be taught a lesson.

after all; that’s how you ended up right where you were right now. between the legs of your roommate— drooling over your first cock like the dumb, hungry cock whore bakugou knew you really were. you wanted to learn how to make it up to sero and what better way to a man’s heart than a fuckin’ blowjob, right? the blonde had thought the best way to teach a virgin like you would be through a hands on experience.

he watches as the dark in your eyes takes over and your pupils dilate, fingers much smaller in comparison to the hard-on his pants hide. you palm bakugou lightly, mimicking the heavy petting your boyfriend had coaxed you into a few times before and watch with awe as your roommate shudders underneath your touch— a dark growl reverberating in his chest. “trust you,” you whisper quietly, the words slightly slurred as you begin to drool, growing hungry for your first taste of a real man. “b-but what if someone finds out suki, w-wont we get in trouble? what if sero—?”

leaning down to capture your lips, he pulls you into a honeyed kiss— grinning at the way your body leans into him, always so desperate for more. “no one will find out, sweetness, i won’t say anythin’ if you don’t,” he lives for the giggle that streams from between your lips and pats your cheek once when you look up at him earnestly. it was only a small lie, but bakugou would worry about that latter. “now how about’cha take out that cock ‘n i’ll show you how ta take it jus right.”

you nod so fast that you make yourself dizzier than you already are— the foreign feeling of lust building up at the forefront of your mind. katsuki could tell that you’d never seen a dick before, it was easy to tell from the way your bottom lip trembles at his sheer size alone; thick and weighty in a way that dwarfs your hand.

his tip is an angry shade of red that could rival that of his eyes, even while they drip with a desire to corrupt and ruin you. his mind runs wild with thoughts of bending you over the bed and fucking your virgin cunny until you’ve been given a proper reason to cry, the image of salty tears running down your hot cheeks alone causes fat drops of precum to ooze from the tip and onto your fingers.

“‘s big suki, dunno if i can take it,” you whine, lips pushing into a pout while your fingers say the opposite, hesitantly curling around bakugou’s thickness. he moans from deep within his chest at the sight of your hands barely able to close around him and bucks his hips up into your enclosed fist. you can’t help but watch, salivating at how beautiful your roommate looks while he fucks into your tight grip, spitting onto his own cock to ease the glide of your hand up and down him.

bakugou’s chest heaves, even as he starts leaning back on his elbows to get a better view— you’re doing so well for him, he can’t imagine letting you touch anyone else the way you touch him. you’re his and he plans on ruining everyone else for you. “you can. you will.” he spits out at you through gritted teeth, vermillion eyes hooded and voice authoritative. submissive as you are, you listen to him— because suki is never wrong, he knows best and if you listen to him you’ll learn well. “yer gonna start by gettin’ that mouth on me, kay sweetness? y’wanted to learn how to suck a cock butcha ain’t doin’ much suckin’.”

“but ‘suki—“

he doesn’t miss the way your hand freezes in hesitation and a nervousness takes over you— katsuki has already been so patient with you but that very patience is wearing thin, how is he going to teach you that he’s all you’ll ever need if you won’t fuck his cock like he’s asked. taking a fist full of your hair, the blonde drags you forward despite your whimpers and forces your mouth only inches from his twitching length.

“don’t you trust me sweetness? don’cha wanna get good at suckin’ dick... so your boyfriend don’t leave ya?” bakugou seethes, eyes swimming with darkness that almost scares you. you want to be good for him, nodding your head in compliance while tears sting at your pretty doe eyes. bakugou would apologise for that later, reassure you that you’re still his darling sweetness and that he never meant to make you cry but he can’t help the way his girth jumps at the view of your water eyes. your head jerks with every word he spits at you, frightened whimper sounding in your throat as you utter a weak ‘yes.’, only then does katsuki finally relent, bringing you close to his tip again and tapping it against your glossy lips. “that’s what i fuckin’ thought, princess. now open up.”

doing as you’re told, slowly take his engorged rip past plush lips— giving gentle kitten licks to the oozing centre. precum doesn’t taste as bad as you thought it would, maybe it’s because of katsuki and because of him the liquid is sweet against your tongue, making you eager to taste more. you feel so fucking good, albeit a little bit sloppy but a pleasured smirk burns against bakugou’s lips as you take him, your virgin mouth, hot and wet around him and if he didn’t know any better, he could cum in an instance.

“fuckin’ hell princess, that’s a good girl, y’sure you’ve never done this before...” he grunts out, fixated on the way you practically make out with his cock and the husky sound of his voice makes your innocent cunt flutter along with the praise. glancing up at the blonde above you, you moan at the way katsuki’s face contorts with pleasure— nothing like you’ve ever seen before and you desperately want him to make that face whenever you’re around. slurping noises fill the air as you practically make out with his cock— getting bolder and bolder with the way your tongue moves against him.

you make out with his cock like you’re kissing katsuki bakugou, he’d taught you that too.

his nails scratch against your scalp with every lap of your tongue to his length, mapping out the thick veins on the underside. you moan around him in a way that makes him shudder. the same hand in your hair moves to the back of your head, pushing you further down on bakugou’s cock and forcing more of himself down your tight throat.

“can’t believe no one’s thought to fuck your throat before, sweetness, s’fuckin’ tight. yer gonna let me use you right? yeah? you my good girl?” katsuki babbles mindlessly, intoxicated with the heat of your mouth and the way you sloppily drool all over him, a combination of your spit and his precum dripping between his weighty balls.

you’ve never made a man feel this good before, not even hanta has responded to your touch like this— and you could so easily become addicted to the way pleasuring katsuki makes you feel. the blonde’s hips jump up, cock hitting the back of your throat and you yelp on surprise— gagging at the unexpected and new feeling. hearing you gargle over his dick while you sloppily suck it down makes pride swirl in bakugou’s chest— accompanied by shallow thrusts deeper into your mouth.

what a mess he’s made of his sweet, innocent little roommate— he has you looking like pure sin as mixes of his arousal, your mascara and your tears cascade down your chubby cheeks like a waterfall. “fuck baby, suck me off, just like fuckin’ that, such a good fuckin’ girl for your suki...” he curses. “gettin’ close baby, why don’t you swallow for me— make me cum yeah?”

you do just that, attempting to bob your head up and down before swallowing around katsuki’s cock. you feel so proud of yourself when his hips and breathing stutter simultaneously— earning yourself a small victory. you want to be the reason your roommate cums, want him to be the course for his earth shattering pleasure...it’s the least you could do for the blonde after everything he’s taught you. this is your way of showing your gratitude for how much he’s taken care of you.

“gonna fuckin’ cum, gonna fuckin’ cum...atta girl sweetness,” bakugou praises you as your hand moves experimentally to squeeze at his balls, heavy with cum. his grip on you tightens and all he can think about is how pretty you’ll look when he’s stained your innocent, supple skin with all of his seed. he’ll mark you up as his, fuck your mouth so good that you’ll only ever drool over his cock. he wants you to long for him and only him. a strangled moan escapes katsuki when you let the spit gathered in your mouth, spew out against his girth and and all it takes is one sweet look from you before the cord in his stomach snaps.

“s-shit, fuck—oh god, fuck...” bakugou’s hips stall as he falls into orgasm, the world of colours flashing behind his vermillion eyes while his viscous hot seed fills your mouth and his dam of pleasure finally breaks. there’s not a thought in your mind as hot white paints your tongue, nothing aside from how good your roommate tastes and how much you yearn to taste him again.

not even sero comes to mind. he’s addictively sweet against your tastebuds and swallow every drop that katsuki has to offer— milking him for all of his worth and even lapping up the reminders of his release after he pulls from the confines of your mouth due to over sensitivity. “holy, fuck princess...” the blonde pants, wiping the sweat from his brow.

“did i do good, suki?” you ask with a muffled, sweet voice. your chin and cheeks are still messy with sticky globs of cum and the rims of your bambi eyes blackened with the traces of your eye makeup...you look like a fucking sin on legs and if he wasn’t so fucked out, bakugou would have claimed your mouth again.

using a thumb, and despite his breathlessness, bakugou leans forward and collects his arousal from your baby fat cheeks and pushes the digit past your cherry lips. he swears lowly as you eagerly suck on his thumb, cleaning it off as though you didn’t just take a mouthful of him already. “so good baby, suki’s s’fuckin’ proud of you, yeah?” he coos, patting your face softly before holding his arms out to pull you into his lap.

you wiggle happily at the praise, allowing yourself to be scooped up into your roomie’s arms as you whisper a small ‘thank you for teaching me, suki,’ to him. you’re so cute, so precious, curling in on the man like a defenceless baby before you fall asleep, a dirty mess in his arms. bakugou thinks to clean you up, but not before snapping a picture of your face dirtied with his cum.

you wouldn’t find out about it and it’s not like it mattered, you trusted your suki with all your heart...and even if he did send the picture to your boyfriend, hanta... it’s not like that mattered either— you’d thank him for it later, you always did after katsuki had taught you a lesson.

this would simply be a lesson to remind you, that you were always going to be his.

— TAGLIST: i didn’t tag you if i didn’t see an age in your bio lol

@bakugous-trauma @greenchild @luv-dum @souleatermia @younggoth136 @fullchonk @t0xic-todoroki @chou-maitresse @definitetrashlord

[tommyhardyx]

Mr Solomons - Chapter Five

** Updated Version **

Pairing: Modern!Alfie Solomons Word Count: 4.4K Summary: It's finally time for your date with Alfie. Warnings: smut, swearing Note: And here we go it's time for the first date! I hope you enjoy and please let me know if you do!

Ever since you agreed to the date with Alfie you’ve struggled to keep the man out of your mind.

The days leading up to Saturday begin to drag, work becomes boring and repetitive as you spend your days researching an upcoming article, and you find yourself constantly checking the clock hoping it’s getting closer and closer to the weekend so you can finally put all your focus into Alfie.

At coffee, with friends, you tune out unintentionally, your mind always going back to him. You had spoken to him a couple of more times since he asked you out, trying to coax the meaning behind why you need a leather jacket to go out to dinner with him but he never breaks, never gives you anything more to go on than ‘just trust me, you’ll need it’.

When Saturday finally rolls around, the mixture of excitement and anxiety for the night ahead wakes you earlier than intended and after a morning spent pacing around the house with nothing better to do than think about what might come from tonight Nancy finally has enough, dragging you out to your favourite coffee shop to take your mind off Alfie, refusing to address any mention of him and for the first time since you said yes you find yourself distracted, Alfie banished from your mind finally.

By the time you get home it’s late enough to start getting ready, Nancy blasts loud music to get you in a good mood while she helps you decide on your outfit for the night, helping with your makeup and hair, keeping you smiling and laughing until it’s only a few minutes to 7. She gives you one last tight hug before sending you out the door, a smile of luck and an encouragement not to come home tonight.

Waiting on the pavement outside your building, butterflies flying up a storm in your stomach, a smile pushes its way onto your face as the reason for Alfie’s confusing text asking you to wear a leather jacket finally makes sense.

He pulls up to the curb right in front of you, the motorbike he sits on loud enough to drown out your thoughts of worry as he turns off the engine and pulls off his helmet grinning at you, his eyebrows lifting as he looks over you.

“You look incredible,” he says, taking a moment to look over your body. “You ever ridden one of these?”

You shake your head as he offers a second helmet to you, his smile a comfort as you reach out a hesitant hand to take the helmet.

“All you gotta do, yeah, is hold on tight.”

Slipping the helmet over your hair, praying it won’t mess it up too much after all the time you and Nancy spent on it, you ease yourself onto the bike behind Alfie, your arms immediately slipping around his waist as you push your body against his back.

“Good to go?” he asks, and you nod. He must notice your anxiety, his hand moving to squeeze one of your own gently “Don’t worry love, I won’t let you get hurt yeah?”

Nodding slightly you rest your head against his back and say quietly. “I trust you.”

Your hands grip each other as Alfie revs the engine, your stomach doing a little flip as he pulls out onto the road and you swear you hear him chuckle when your arms tighten around his body.

It’s surprisingly easy to distract yourself from your fear as you focus on the feel of Alfie’s body beneath your arms, feeling his muscled torso this close to you has you thinking less about the possibility of crashing and more about what he might look like without his shirt off.

You’re so distracted by your thoughts that you don’t realise at first that you’ve slowed to a stop, and that Alfie has cut the engine until he speaks.

“So, how was that?”

It takes a minute for the question to sink in, and you’re sure he knows what has got you so distracted by the smirk on his face. He swings himself off the bike, waiting for you to take your helmet off to hold a hand out to you.

“Not as bad as I thought,” you admit, taking his offered hand as he helps you off the bike. “Still terrifying though.”

“Told ya I wouldn’t let you get hurt,” he says with a wink.

You smile up at him, enjoying the feeling of his large hand holding yours so much that you squeeze it tight when he tries to pull away, his smile mirroring yours at the motion.

“Right, well we’re in here,” he explains, pointing to a Jewish restaurant in front of you. “Hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all! You’ll have to tell me what’s good though, I haven’t eaten much Jewish food before,” you admit.

He nods, holding the door open for you. “I can do that.”

The inside of the restaurant is small, cozy even, setting you at ease as a waiter guides you to your table and Alfie holds your chair out for you.

Both of you hang your leather jackets over the back of your chairs, Alfie’s outfit underneath finally showing itself properly. The crisp white shirt, combined with the black slacks and vest is a good look for him. He has the sleeves rolled up to expose his forearms, giving you a glimpse at some of the tattoos that litter his skin.

Alfie helps as you read through the menu, pointing out some of his favourite dishes always with little anecdotes of his mother making them for him when he was young, his love for her clear every time he speaks about her.

As your food is placed in front of you, you give him a look.

“I’m putting my trust in you, if I don’t like this it’s your fault,” you tease and he gives you one of his wide grins.

“Then I guess I’ll just have to make it up to ya if you don’t,” he promises with a wink.

“I’m holding you to that,” you tell him, pointing your fork at him before taking your first bite.

The food is delicious, the slight moan you let out on purpose causing a smirk to spread onto Alfie’s face and you’re sure you notice his tongue flick across his lips.

“Alright then?”

“It’s incredible,” you mutter, digging into the dish once again and enjoying the way Alfie smiles at you as you eat.

The conversation flows as the meal goes on, your nerves disappear the more he asks about your life and your family,

As dinner comes to an end and the two of you make your way back outside to his bike you realise you don’t want the night to end quite yet, though to come out and just say you’d like to go back to his place might sound a little desperate. He hands your helmet to you, the question on his lips as he intently looks you over, looking for any sign you might want to get out of this now.

“Do you want to come back to my place for a bit? I’m sure Cyril would like to see you again,” he says, the offer of his dog making the offer sound a little less like all he wants is to get you into bed.

“Yeah, I’d like that,” you almost whisper, slipping the helmet back on.

When you reach Alfie’s building, you have to make an effort not to allow your jaw to hang open. The massive brick building looks to be an old factory that has been converted into flats, and approaching the large brown metal door, you wait a step behind Alfie as he types in the code for the door.

“This is where you live?” you ask, and Alife smirks as he opens the door for you.

“It is,” he says, following you inside and guiding you through the foyer to wait by the elevator with a hand resting on your lower back.

Built into the exposed brick wall beside the elevator is a bench lined with red velvet and you sink into it while looking around the room, glad to get off your feet for a moment.

“This place is incredible,” you tell him, looking around in an attempt to take everything in.

Alfie watches you, one hand in his pocket while he twists one of his rings around his finger.

“Used to be a piano factory in the 1800s, then a photography space, and now apartments. I was one of the first to buy ‘ere. It’s close to the distillery and big enough for Cyril not to feel cramped,” he explains.

The elevator door opens, and he holds out a hand that you happily take as he helps you off the bench and into the elevator, your feet still burning from your shoes.

“Oh well Cyril is of course the most important,” you say, grinning at the man.

Inside the apartment you can’t help but look around in wonder, the place is huge with a gorgeous open kitchen and massive curved sofa facing a wall of bookshelves with a large TV in the middle. Just like the foyer the apartment is filled with exposed brick walls, and metal, all to great effect.

You’re so preoccupied with the apartment you almost miss the thumping sound of heavy paws on the wooden floors.

“Hello Cyril,” you say as the dog comes running over, his tail wagging madly behind him and Alfie holds onto the dog’s collar to keep him from tackling you to the ground. You reach to scratch behind the dog’s ears, smiling at the way he leans into your touch.

“Think he missed ya,” Alfie says, squatting down to the dog’s level.

Watching Alfie with Cyril never fails to make you smile, the man’s face lighting up at the mere sight of his dog, his chuckle making your stomach flip in the best possible way as he scratches under the dog’s chin.

“How’re you doin’ mate?”

You make your way to a wall of framed photos, there’s one of a woman you assume is Alfie’s mother holding a young boy which could be no one but Alfie himself in her arms, another more recent photo of Alfie and Ollie outside the distillery, and another of Alfie with his arm around a girl that must be his sister.

“Is this Hannah?” you ask as Alfie comes to stand by your side.

“Hm? Yeah, that’s her, made me take that photo with her,” he admits, running a hand over his beard.

“What’s she like?”

“She’s brilliant. Fucking smart, don’t know where she got that from, she’s an engineer. She’s also a pain in my arse, but I love her,” he explains, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“I’d love to meet her someday,” you say as you turn to the photo of him and Ollie. “When was this taken?”

“Day we opened the distillery. Fuck, I was terrified that day, had no fucking clue if we would fail or succeed. Ollie kept me from panicking. Yeah, he kept me calm. He’s good at that,” he explains.

He rubs a hand over the back of his head, a move that almost seems like nerves as he keeps his gaze on the photo in front of him.

“He encouraged me to ask you out, so if this goes well expect him to never fucking shut up about it,” he mutters, making you laugh.

The two of you make your way to the couch, the conversation flowing long enough that Cyril gets bored with the lack of attention and goes off to occupy himself some other way and you find yourself moving closer to Alfie, his arm resting along the top of the couch just beside your head.

As the two of you continue to talk, your eyes move from his face down his toned body and you begin to wonder just what he looks like underneath those clothes.

Alfie’s hand settles on your hip, his face mere inches from your own so close you can feel his warm breath on your skin. His eyes search your face, moving from your eyes down to your lips and your heart pounds with anticipation as you wait for him to make his move.

“Are you going to kiss me or stare at me all night?” you whisper.

He grins, his free hand reaching to cup your cheek as he finally presses his plump lips against your own. Your hands move slowly up his chest, fingers grasping the material of his shirt.

“Finally,” you whisper, mouth breaking into a grin as he rests his forehead against yours.

Alfie matches your grin, his hands settling firmly on your hips as he lifts you with ease, settling you onto his lap as his lips find yours again his tongue slipping into your mouth tangling with your own.

Your hands move up his muscular arms, the feeling of them beneath your fingers making you groan into his mouth.

“Let’s move to the bedroom yeah?” he asks, voice gruff as his lips press along your jaw.

“Yes,” is your breathless response, your fingers tangling in his hair as he stands, your legs wrapping around his waist.

His hands find your backside, squeezing the skin as he carries you to his bedroom, kicking the door closed before Cyril can find you and follow you in.

Alfie sets you down on your feet and you immediately reach for the buttons on his vest, desperate to see the body you’d felt beneath his clothes on his bike. You manage to get the vest off, pushing it down his arms and immediately do the same to his shirt, grinning at the sight of his muscular, tattoo-covered chest.

“See something you like?”

“I do indeed,” you tell him, reaching up to kiss his lips as your hands find the buckle on his belt, easily getting it open before unbuttoning his trousers and shoving them down his hips.

“Right, your turn then,” he says.

His hands are rough as he pulls off your clothes, the outfit you’d painstakingly picked out for tonight mixing with his own discarded on the floor.

Alfie groans at the sight of you in just your black lace underwear, and when you reach to hook your fingers in the waistband his hand is quick to cover your own.

“Leave ‘em on,” he mutters, his lips finding yours once again as he pulls your body against his.

His hands roam over your back, moving down to your lace covered backside, fingers digging into the skin as he lifts you up and carries you over to the bed, dropping you onto your knees.

Alfie watches, hungry expression on his face as you lie back against the mattress, your legs opening to give him a view that makes his cock twitch, but he ignores it as he climbs onto the bed, hands reaching for your legs as he pulls you closer to him.

“Fuckin’ hell,” he breathes, hooking your legs onto his shoulders.

His lips press a trail of kisses down the inside of your thighs, his beard brushing softly against your skin as his fingers brush along the lace of your panties, hooking a finger along the strip of material hiding your slit from view.

A gasp leaves your lips as his tongue first runs along your slit, flicking against your clit. He clearly knows what he’s doing, he’s well practised and you both know it so you let your head fall back and enjoy it, his tongue feeling incredible against the most sensitive part of you.

Your grip in his hair tightens as you feel your orgasm impending, his tongue working you faster as you move your hips rubbing yourself against his face.

The moan that escapes your lips as your orgasm crashes over you is louder than any you’ve let out during sex, and your fingers grasp his hair tighter as you come down from your high.

“Fuck,” you mumble, head tipped back as Alfie pulls away, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand watching you with a grin your grasp on his hair finally relaxing.

“Alright, there love?”

You groan, looking down at him and rolling your eyes at the smug grin on his face as he takes hold of the black lace between his teeth and slowly pulls them down your legs.

Discarding them, Alfie kisses his way up your body and once he’s close enough, you take his face in your hands, pulling him closer so you can kiss him, tasting yourself on his lips as his hands find your waist.

“You have condoms?” you whisper against his lips.

“In the drawer,” he mutters, pulling away to reach over to fish a condom out of the drawer. He stiffens as you reach down to grasp his already hard cock in your hand swearing as you begin to slowly stroke him.

Alfie settles onto his knees, fumbling with the condom while trying to get it open as you continue you stroke him grinning at how distracted he is with just one hand on his cock.

“Need some help?” you ask, earning a glare from him as he finally tears open the packet.

“Got it,” he mutters, swatting your hand away so he can roll the condom on himself, stroking his cock a few times as you lie back against the pillows, smiling up at him as he watches you, mesmerised by your body.

He lines himself up with you, rubbing himself along your slit as you reach for him, your arms wrapping around his neck as you pull him down closer to you.

“Fuck,” Alfie groans at the same time you let out a gasp as he finally slides into you, his thickness filling you up. He pauses for a minute, his lips finding your own once again and your nails dig into his back as he starts to thrust.

He feels perfect inside of you, much better than previous lovers. The way he holds you as he thrusts into you, his lips kissing every inch of your skin he can reach, your nails scratch paths down his back as you wrap your legs around his waist.

You try to match his pace, moving your hips back into him as he trusts, but soon enough he takes over, and you do nothing but lie there and let him, the feeling of him making your fingers grip him as tight as you can, your toes curl, and your lips unable to say anything other than his name.

His thumb finds your clit, rubbing the sensitive ball of nerves as you find yourself getting closer to the edge again.

Your lips collide with his as you both find your climax, your tongues tangling together as you moan into his mouth. He continues to thrust until you’re both spent, finally pulling out as he pulls his lips away from yours.

Alfie rests his forehead on your chest as he catches his breath, his hands holding your waist as you run your fingers through his hair, feeling guilty for how hard you pulled on it earlier.

Soon enough he sits up, pressing his lips to yours.

“I’ll be back in just a minute,” he says, his lips brushing yours.

He gets up and you watch his bare arse as he makes his way into the en suite.

Left alone with your thoughts, you sigh as you sink back into the pillows, slipping beneath the blankets as the cool air makes a shiver run through your naked body. This isn’t how tonight was supposed to go, you never do this on the first date, never go this far so quickly. But somehow, with Alfie, it doesn’t feel wrong. It feels right.

Alfie makes his way back into the room and climbs into bed beside you, those big arms reaching towards you to hold you tight against his body and tucking your head in under his chin.

“So you’re a cuddler are you?” you tease, settling into his chest.

“You can’t tell me this ain’t fucking nice,” he says, lips pressing against the top of your head.

It is nice, so nice that you don’t want to leave. But this is only the first date, you never intended to have sex on the first date and now you’re on the verge of already spending the night with him when all you intended for tonight was to have dinner.

You can already imagine the look on Nancy’s face if you come home tomorrow morning, still wearing the outfit you’d worn tonight. The idea of that smug look alone is enough for you to shift so you can kiss him softly.

“I should go,” you whisper against his lips.

“Stay the night,” he mutters, his arms tightening around you as you attempt to pull away. “I’ll cook ya breakfast in the morning.”

“Oh well that changes things,” you tease.

“Just stay.” Alfie’s eyes are drifting shut, his face softening as he holds you a little tighter and while you’re telling yourself to take this slow, that you really should leave and give yourself time to process the night’s events, everything about him is telling you to stay.

Gently you press a kiss to his chest, your hand gently rubbing his side as you settle in against him. His fingers brush softly along your arm and a tired smile stretches across your face.

“Alright, I’ll stay.”

The first thing you notice the following morning is Alfie’s arms still wrapped around you.

It takes you a minute to work out what’s going on, where you are and why arms are holding you against a solid chest, but soon enough the night before comes back to you. Alfie’s promise of breakfast and his tired voice asking you to stay the night brings a smile to your face as you glance up at him.

“Good morning.”

He’s awake but just, his eyes half open, a deep frown on his face as he reaches to rub his eyes with one hand.

“Mornin’,” he mutters, voice deep from sleep.

You press a kiss to his chest, earning a grumble from him as he throws his arm over his eyes to block out the light breaking through the gaps around the edges of the blinds.

“Not a morning person?” you ask, fingers curling in his beard.

“Didn’t I fucking warn you ‘bout that?”

“Nope. It’s cute though,” you tell him, laughing when he grunts in response.

You sit up, pulling out of his grip and glance around the room looking for wherever your clothes ended up last night.

“Third drawer, grab a shirt if you want,” he mutters, pointing to the chest of drawers on the other side of the room.

“Thanks,” you say, leaning in to kiss his cheek before sliding out of the bed.

As you approach the drawers, you hear the sound of scratching on the bedroom door followed by a loud whine. Cyril.

“Fucking hell,” Alfie mutters.

“Where do you keep the dog food? I’ll feed him,” you offer, slipping a grey t-shirt over your head and your underwear back up your legs.

“It’s in the kitchen. Can make yourself a cup of coffee while you’re out there if you want.”

“You want one?”

“I’ll get it when I’m awake,” he mutters, turning over to bury his face in the pillow. When he speaks again, his voice is muffled. “Don’t go making any fucking breakfast, told ya I’d do it.”

Opening the bedroom door, you manage to slip out without letting Cyril in to disturb Alfie and lead the large dog out into the kitchen. You fill up both his food and water dishes before making a cup of coffee, sinking into the couch with it and smiling when Cyril comes to join you, his head resting on your lap.

The morning is quiet, peaceful, as you sip your coffee and gently brush your fingers through the dog’s fur.

Soon enough Alfie emerges from the bedroom, dressed in a matching shirt, his hair a mess atop his head.

“You awake now?” you ask, watching as he makes his way over to you, his frown hidden partially behind a pair of glasses you’ve never seen him wearing before.

“Partially,” he says, stopping to pat Cyril’s head.

“I didn’t know you wear glasses,” you point out, smiling as he leans in to press a kiss to your head.

“I wear contacts when I go out. Too fucking tired this early in the morning to put ‘em in,” he explains, swiping your cup of coffee from your hand and taking a sip.

He twists his face up in disgust, handing the mug back to you as you laugh.

“Fucking sugar. How do you drink it so sweet?”

“It’s because I’m so sweet,” you joke, earning another kiss to the top of your head.

“That’s true. Now, breakfast,” he says, clapping his hands together startling Cyril who quickly lifts his head to see what the noise was. “Relax mate, only me. Pancakes sound good?”

“Sounds perfect. Do you want help?”

“Nope. You keep that pretty arse of yours right there, yeah?”

You grin up at him, angling your chin just right before speaking. “Okay, now come give me a kiss.”

He happily obliges you, leaning down to press his soft lips to yours before heading off towards the kitchen. You watch over the back of the couch as he cooks, looking content as he cooks and you decide to join him.

“Thought I told you to stay over there,” he says as you pull yourself up onto the benchtop.

“I wanted to be a little closer to you,” you tell him.

Alfie grins as he comes to stand between your legs, your hands finding his hips as you bring his face down to yours.

“If they burn them cause you’re fucking distracting me you’re eating the burnt ones,” he mumbles against your lips.

“Worth it.”

He chuckles against you, his chest rumbling with laughter as he presses a kiss to your forehead. With ease he pulls himself from your grip, so he can flip the pancake in the pan.

“Too bad you put your shirt back on, should have left it off,” you comment, grinning at the glare he shoots at you.

“You think so aye?”

You nod, grin widening as he sighs and strips off his shirt, playfully throwing it at you.

“Much better.”

Watching Alfie, his hair a mess, bleary eyes hidden behind his glasses, mouth stretched open in a yawn as he cooks you breakfast, you find yourself yearning for more of this in the future.

Tags: @tommymcartney @misselsbells06 @lauren-raines-x @innerpaperexpertcloud @lizyshores

Next Chapter

[got-any-references]

What are your fav beetlebabes headcanons? Also, love your stuff <3

Thank you <3. And thank you for the wait cause oh boy if I don’t answer this ask with a ridiculous amount of art how will I live?

*Digging out the dust covered manuscript that is my nonexistent Beetlebabes fic from under the floorboards* It’s showtime.

So...Lydia is the one who falls first. She is about 17 or 18 at the time, so this is very much an “I have a teen crush on someone I am not supposed to” type of deal. Honestly they fell in love with each other way before that but like, platonically 

Beej is...horribly oblivious XD. Honestly its for the best because Lydia spends the better part of her pre-college summer freaking about because any time her best friend walks in the door her heart wants to go bull-riding in her chest and if she actually has to confront her feelings she might just explode.

Then, just before Lydia was supposed to go away to college, Beetlejuice...disappears. He leaves a note, saying he’ll be back, but weeks turn into months, months turn into a year, and no one either in the living world or the netherworld has seen a hair of him. Lydia goes through college without really knowing what to do with herself, missing what was probably the closest person in her life. She graduates with a journalism degree and a minor in photography. She works for a newspaper as an investigative journalist before breaking off over less than great circumstances and going off on her own.

She’s 25 when she establishes herself as a pivate eye, with an enormous amount of anonymous sources being dead people. Also, this takes place in New York City.

(Yes she absolutely does exorcisms on the side).

She’s following a rather stange missing persons case when one of her sources points to a run down establishment that is 100% totally haunted. Except when she goes there she doesn’t find any ghosts, but rather

Beetlejuice. And he looks awful. And very much human.

Lydia: You look like hell.

Beej: Yeah, I just got back.

...

Beej: Also I’ma pass out now so you better catch me.

So he crashes at Lydia’s place, and the whole thing turns into solving the crime as well as Beej’s  mysterious aquirement of a beating heart and working lungs. He doesn’t remember how that’s happened, only now everything is Too Much with Too Many Feelings. Speaking of feelings, you bet your ass there is PINING. SO much pining. Lydia’s best friend comes back and suddenly those feelings she’d dismissed as a stupid teenage crush come FLOODING BACK. 

While Lydia’s internally feaking out over her feelings (it's totally normal and platonic to wanna kiss your best friend while he sleeps, right??), Beetlejuice is, you guessed it, totally oblivious! To his own feelings especially! All he knows is that it's his best friend only now she seems like a completely different person, and hot. She is now hot. His mad respect for Lydia makes him bury that thought deep, deep down. Also the whole marriage deal is a source on bad memories for both of them and he doesn’t wanna ruin the only good thing he’s ever had and-

Anyway, more pining:

Lydia’s feelings bring out resentment, too. She hates that Beej calls her kid, because that means he still sees her as one, and her ego and her desire for him make her want him to see her, the woman who's seen some real shit in the name of finding the truth, who can take care of herself, and who is very different from that angsty 15 year old girl on the roof. 

It all comes ahead to a big confrontation where Lydia is shot, and Beetlejuice has to drag her to the hospital without any knowledge of how human bodies work and he has no magic so he can’t help her-

The hospital needs to know his relationship to her when they take her away, and Beetlejuice knows they wont let him in unless he’s close family so he is blurts out: “Husband. Yeah, I’m her...husband.”

Lydia wakes up with a patched up hole in her side and Beetlejuice clinging to her hand. She’s happy she’s alive, but also angry, because she could have avoided all of this. She was competent enough to not need anyone to rescue her. 

She wants to get back on the case as soon as possible, she found the key lead, but Beej doesn’t wanna hear it, cause he saw way too much of her blood and he’s not big on how human bodies work, but he's pretty sure that shit’s supposed to stay inside. They’re arguing when the nurse comes in and adresses him as “Mr. Deetz.”

Lydia snatches the clipboard away, sees that he’s told them she’s his wife, and is livid. Because crush or not the wedding thing had a whole lot of baggage she does not want to unpack. She has to confront the fact that her feelings are for someone who manipulated her into marriage at 15 and who she’s not supposed to see in that way but she does anyway.

And Beej, a dumbass but also angry cause she almost died out of a stupid reckless mistake is like: "Why are you all mad? It was a green card thing. It's not like it means anything." And that gets Lyds even more upset, with him cause he's an idiot, and with herself because she's still pining for someone who, she thinks, still sees her as a child. 

Lyds, getting her coat: "Fuck off." 

BJ: "Kid-"

 Lydia: "Stop calling me that! I haven't been a child since my mother died. I haven't been a child since you showed up! I haven't been a child since I've started this, since I moved here, since the first asshole tried to kill me. I've been through literal hell and I've had to pull myself out of it all on my own because I was still here and you left."

There's a beat of silence as Lydia realizes what she just said. 

Lydia: "And that's fine. Because I don't need you. I don't need anyone. You taught me that, at least." She yanks her coat onto her shoulders and turns to go.

 BJ, quietly, but its clear he's angry: "Do you think I wanted to leave?" 

Lydia: "I don't know what you wanted. Do you even know what you wanted?" She pauses at the door, turns to him. "Do you know what you want, Betelgeuse?" 

BJ: "I-" 

He stops. He can't look her in the eye anymore. You. I want you. Lydia scoffs, turns to go. 

BJ: "Lydia, wait-" 

Lydia: "Fuck. Off."

She leaves, and he just stands there, floored by his too little too late realization. Lydia thinks the best thing to do after leaving the hospital with a bullet hole in her side and hopped up on painkillers is to go get drunk! Self-preservation? None

Beetlejuice finally finds her drunk off her ass and suddenly in a great mood. He grabs her under the arms like "Whelp. Time to go." 

Lydia: "Nooo come on-" 

BJ: "Aren't you on hospital drugs? Doesn't that shit kill you breathers if you mix it all up?" 

Lydia: ":D I stopped taking them :'D it hurts like a bitch." 

BJ: "I guess I have the shared braincell now. Okay, time to go."

He manages to get her in the car without incident, but when he gets in the driver's seat suddenly Lydia's all over him.

BJ, with a lap full of drunk Lydia: "What. What are you doing." 

Lydia: "Beeetlejuice." 

BJ: "Yeees?" 

Lydia, smiling all dopey as she cups his cheeks: "Beeetlejuuuice."

BJ: "What" 

Lydia's finger hovers over his nose, as if to boop him. He closes his eyes. And suddenly her lips are on his. She tastes like alcohol and hospital food and as she pulls away he can't think. Then she starts laughing. "Ha! Gotchaaa! Classic Bait and Switch!"

And he’s pissed.

BJ: "Ha. Ha. Good one, Lyds." 

He dumps her out of his lap and into the passenger seat. Lydia blinks in confusion. Now she's cold. She wants to ask, but her mental faculties aren't all with her at the moment. He drives them home and helps her up the stairs before dumping her onto her bed. "Well. Bye." Lydia scrambles up the bed. The car ride gave her enough time to be at least a bit sober, and everything before getting here is blurry. "Where are you going?" Beetlejuice turns around, the widest smile on his face. She's confused for a moment before she realizes he's vibrating with rage. "Ya said you want me gone? Great! You don't need me, you can do your weird little suicidal quest thing yourself!" Lydia looks lost. They had a fight but she'd rarely seen him this angry. "If its about the thing at the hospital, I didn't- I didn't mean it-"

Beetlejuice: "Really? You'd think you'd be glad to have me gone. Why would you want a creep like me around? The whole marriage thing didn't just disappear, after all! Great to know you can still pull one on me, huh?"

Lydia: "Pull what, Beetlejuice-"

She remembers, hazily, the car ride.

They stare at each other for a moment Beej is breathing heavily, he's not used to living person emotions, ones you can feel with your whole body instead of just as an abstract thing, but its clear he's holding back

Lydia: "I wasn't-" 

Beej: "You weren't what?"

 Lydia (quietly): "It wasn't a joke."

The angry grin slips off Beej's face. He suddenly looks very, very tired. She might have believed just now that he'd lived for millennia. 

 Beej: “Why are you doin' this, Lyds? Did you know the whole damn time? It's not like I was gonna do anything, I just thought- I just-”

Lydia suddenly realizes that they are having two different conversations. And something else. She looks away, trying to wrap her head around it, and Beetlejuice doesn't read it correctly. He turns to go. 

Lydia: “Wait!”

 She jumps off the bed, feeling the whole world tip over slightly, still drunk, and stumbled over to him. He catches her instinctively as she grips his forearms for support. 

Lydia: “Beej. Beej, look at me.” 

She takes his face in her hands, and turns it toward her. He looks so lost, like one word from her might actually break him. She'd only seen that look on his face once before, and she never wants to again.

Lydia takes a breath. 

Lydia: “Beetlejuice, I-”

Aaand then she throws up all over his shoes.

She doesn't quite remember what happened next, only that she was in the bathroom, leaning against the door, the toilet was flushed, she was sweating, and he wasn't there. 

Lydia: “Beej?” 

Beetlejuice (through the door): “...hi”

Lydia: “What-”

BJ: “-happened? Well, that's a story!” 

His voice sounds cheerful, but it’s shaking slightly 

BJ: “First ya threw up all over us both! then that little experiment of yours with mixing the meds went off, and you started babbling about...rocks? Then we got here, you heaved out the rest of your insides, and then ya kicked me out and said you were gonna shower, and now we're sitting here, so, yeah”

Lydia: “...Are you still covered in puke?” 

BJ:”...yeah”

Lydia: “...sorry?” 

BJ: “Pshh, what's a best friend if ya can't throw up on 'im a couple times.”

They both fall silent

Beetlejuice (quietly): “Lyds, do ya still want me here?”

...

 Lydia takes the time to find the words. Want him here? After everything, he was still asking that question. Did he still think, after all this time, that she'd throw him out at the smallest inconvenience? Would he ever stop thinking that way? Why did he think so now? Was it because he- Because he-

Lydia: “I love you.”

The other side of the door is silent. 

Lydia: “I love your stupid laugh. You sound like a fucking cartoon villain, its so fucking obnoxious. I love your jokes, all of them, even the shitty ones- you always look so god damn proud when you say them.”

Is she crying? She tries to wipe at her face, but the tears keep coming. 

Lydia: “I loved you since that last day on the roof, and when you left-” 

Her throat closes up. She chokes back on her tears, she has to finish it, he has to hear it. 

Lydia: “When you left I thought I might die again.” 

Lydia: “I kept seeing things, dumb branding on cereal boxes, that shitty college play I went to, my first client, and I kept thinking aw, Beej would have a field day with this one. I thought about what you'd say. You were like a voice I couldn't scrape out of my head, I thought I was going crazy, I thought I'd imagined it all, some lonely little girl with no life or friends, needing someone to talk to- But you'd been real, and then you were just gone- “

The words dissolve in her throat as she sobs, pulling her knees up to her chest. She feels like a child now. She feels more childlike than she had at 15. She’s clinging to a scrap of hope she doesn’t have a right to demand from him. And yet he'd said- 

Lydia: “I love you. Please, don't leave.”

They sit is silence for a while. Lydia tries to stop crying. Then, quietly from the other side of the door:

BJ: “You know what I thought when I first saw you?”

Lydia: “Here’s a suicidal teen haha what a riot?”

BJ: “What? No, not then. Like now.”

Lydia: “Oh. What?”

BJ: “I thought wow, who the hell is that and why is she so dang hot?”

Lydia laughs.

BJ: “And then I thought oh God that’s Lydia.”

Something in his voice makes her pause. Maybe it’s the strange fear that she feels coming from him.

BJ: “It’s like, you’re Lydia, and I don’t know shit about you! You’re the same person, but you’re a stranger to me. Lyds, do you know how fucking terrifying that is? You’re someone I never got to know because of a shitty decision I don’t even remember making.”

he falls silent. She can hear the pain in his voice. And something else. Longing. 

Beetlejuice: “I’d like to.”

Lydia opens the door. Beetlejuice scrables up, only for her to throw her arms around him. 

They figure it out. It’s a slowburn 200k fic that I’ll never write so it takes a while for them to actually kiss, or do anything more, but they get there. 

This turned out...ridiculously long XD. I don’t know what you meant by “headcanons”, exactly, but have this instead.

Thanks for the ask! 

[atlafan]

My Everything - Part Six

A Take it Slow Sequel

What happens with Harry and Y/N after he proposes? How will the two navigate the engaged life while also continuing to juggle their jobs, friends, and families? Let’s find out.

Warnings: Fluff and smut.

a/n: not proofread fam, I didn’t have the strength.

Masterpost

“What do you think you’re gonna be for Halloween this year? I hope you step up your costume from last year.” You giggle with Niall at lunch.

“I know, Netflix and Chill wasn’t exactly original. We have somethin’ in mind, but we’re not tellin’ anyone. What about you guys?”

“We’re also keeping it a secret. I’m really excited El’s gonna stay with me while Louis and Harry are in Wisconsin.”

“Yeah, it’ll be good for you guys to get to know each other a bit more. Is it awkward at all that you and Sarah are in her wedding party, but Rachel isn’t?”

“Not really.” You shrug. “Mariah’s taking their photos and Rachel’s actually doing the videography, so she’ll still be there.”

“Oh good! I still can’t believe Harry’s finally gonna see a Packer’s game, he must be so excited.”

“He is! I’m sorry I couldn’t get a third ticket, it would’ve been nice for the three of you to go.”

“Nah, we don’t need to do everything together. It’ll be good for them to have a little trip just the two of ‘em, but I appreciate you thinkin’ of me.”

//

You get home from work, grab the packages waiting for you, and head up.

“Babe! The fabric for our costumes got here, I can start putting it together tonight!” You say as you come in. Buster trots over to greet you. “Hi baby boy, where’s daddy?”

“Daddy’s right here, pumpkin.” He comes over and kisses your cheek.

“Pumpkin?” You giggle. “That’s a new one.”

“I got a little inspired. I bought a couple today for us to carve, thought we could roast the seeds.”

“Oh that sounds like so much fun! We could put them out on the balcony for decoration too.”

“I was thinkin’ the same thing, baby.”

You and Harry eat a quick cauliflower crust pizza for dinner, and you get to work on the costumes. You were so excited to be making them, just like when you were a kid. Once you get a good chunk done, you both sit down to carve your pumpkins.

“What kind of face are you gonna make?” You ask him.

“I don’t really make faces, I like doin’ designs.” He says, concentrating with his sharpie.

“Alright, then what design are you going for?”

“Have you ever seen The Nightmare Before Christmas?”

“Of course I have.” He turns the pumpkin around to show you his sketch.

“It’s the dog.”

“Harry…I didn’t know you could draw.”

“A little here and there.”

“That’s gonna look really cool.” You look down at the triangles you’ve drawn on your own pumpkin. “I guess mine will look pretty sad compared to yours.” You laugh.

“Nah, yours will be a classic.”

You both cut holes in the tops of the pumpkins and take all the guts out. You separate the seeds into a different bowl so you can roast them later. You finish your pumpkin much sooner than Harry’s, so you go in the kitchen to work on the seeds.

“It’s all done, come look, I put some fake candles inside them. They look pretty cool on the balcony.” He says to you as he washes his hands.

“Oh wow!” You gasp. “You’re so talented, babe.”

“Not my best work actually.” He shrugs. “So I’m still comin’ to your office tomorrow to take those pictures?”

“Mhm. Apparently I’ll be in the winter edition of the magazine…I’m really excited! Zach put a really cool video interview together.” You both plop down on the couch while you wait for the pumpkin seeds to finish up in the oven.

“What did you talk about?”

“Why knowing your alumni network is important, why getting involved with clubs on campus is so important, getting out of your comfort zone to make friends, stuff like that. Then I talked about how I fell into the work I did, if it was my dream job, stuff like that. I talked about my hobbies. Even Buster was in the video for a bit. I talked about you too, of course, and how having a supportive partner can make a huge difference.”

“Aw, you didn’t need to mention me.”

“Well, you could see the pictures of us on my desk in the frame, so he just asked quick. I didn’t talk much about my personal life since that wasn’t the point of the interview. I also talked about why checking your benefits when job searching was a really big deal, and how I’m getting my master’s for free.”

“Yeah, that’s one of the reasons why I stayed with Plant Geo for so long, they had great benefits.”

“Speaking of benefits, when we get married did you want to come onto my insurance plan and all that? Or do you wanna keep the state’s?”

“It depends on how cost effective it is. More will be taken out of your paycheck, and it could just end up equaling the same as what I pay now…”

“True, I could talk to someone at HR and they could go over the plans with me. My copay is only like $10, not too bad.”

“Yeah, that’s really good actually. Man, that’s the one thing I miss about home, health insurance and medical bills are way less fucked up.”

“Yup, it’s all just big business here.” You sigh. “At least I work at a company that actually provides what I need.”

“Mhm, like your maternity leave? I still can’t get over that.”

“I think it helps that the CEO is a woman…she gets it, you know?” He hums his response.

“When exactly were you planning to get off the pill?”

“Oh god, I have no idea. We have so much time, I was thinking maybe a year before the wedding? I read that it can take like three months before you have a regular period again if you were irregular before you started the pill, and I was very irregular. Why?”

“Just wondering. I’m trying to mentally prepare myself for havin’ to use condoms all the time.”

“I guess we’ll just have to make sure we’re stocked up. Plus…it’s not like you’ll never be able to stick it in raw, you can, you’ll just need to pull out and come on me.” You shrug.

“You would be way too paranoid.” He laughs.

“Well, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, okay? Not something we even need to think about right now.” You hear the oven go off. “Seeds are done!” You kiss Harry’s forehead and go into the kitchen.

While the two of you were crafting he couldn’t help but think a few years down the line, having a toddler, and carving pumpkins with them. You’d probably put them in a cute costume for trick or treating as well. With how well you took care of him and Buster, Harry knew you were going to be an amazing mum someday. You come back out and sit down.

“Where are the seeds?”

“We can’t eat them yet, we have to wait for them to cool. They’ll burn your mouth.” He throws an arm around you and kisses you. “What?” You giggle.

“Nothin’, just love yeh.”

//

“Hi, Mr. Styles.” Trish beams at Harry when he comes up with his camera equipment.

“Trish, uh, you know you can just call me Harry, right?”

“I do, but you’re here for a professional purpose today. I thought we’d keep things formal.” She gets up and leads him down the hall to your office. “The CEO was thrilled that Y/N was being featured in her college magazine.”

“She was?”

“Oh yes, what a great way to plug Mark It. Maybe more young people will want to work here.”

“Right.”

She knocks on your door and opens it.

“Y/N?”

“Hi, Trish.” You say without looking at her, finishing up an email. It was nearly the end of the day.

“Mr. Styles from Styles Photography is here to see you.” She giggles.

“Ah, okay, send him in, thank you.” You smile and stand up from your desk.

“Did you tell her to be so professional?” He smirks. “They know me around here.”

“I didn’t say a thing.” You go over to him and give him a kiss on the cheek while Buster trots over to say hello to his daddy. “But…” You move to whisper in his ear. “It does create a new fantasy, doesn’t it?” You step back and blush.

“Don’t you start.” He shakes his head. “If I get my wheels turning on that…”

“I could really see it. A hot photographer coming to take my picture, you do that thing where you brush some hair from my face, suddenly we’re making eye contact…”

“Y/N.” Harry says sternly. “Enough.” You fake pout at him while he gets his equipment set up.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to rile you up.”

“M’not.” His face was flushed and his pants were growing tighter.

“Okay.” You scoff. He side eyes you for a moment and then gets back to his things. “So…how do you want me?” You ask in a genuine tone.

“Alright.” He stands up straight and walks over to you. He takes your cheeks between his thumb and index finger. “You’re not bein’ a very good girl right now.”

“I just asked a question.”

“Well, I-“

“Oi!” Niall says walking into your office. “You know the door’s open right?” Harry lets go of you and turns to look at Niall. “Probably shouldn’t be doin’ all that.” He smirks.

“Just gettin’ her how I want her for the pictures.”

“I hope that magazine is gonna give you credit.”

“They will.” You say. “I wouldn’t have let Harry do this if they weren’t going to put his name in. They’re even giving him free ad space at the back of it.”

“Oh, that’s great! Well, I’m headed out for the day. See you tomorrow.”

“Night.” You smile. Him and Harry wave each other off.

“Okay, can we be professional now?”

“Yes, I’m so sorry Mr. Styles of Styles Photography.”

“You’re a little bit goofy at the end of the, huh?”

“Just a little bit.”

Harry gets some good shots of you in your office, and a really nice one of you and Buster. He has you pack up your things, and takes you outside the building to get some nice outdoor shots before the sun sets.

“Thank you so much for coming to do all of this.” You kiss him. “I’ll see you at home.”

“Be ready for me when we get in.” He says, loading his car up.

“Be ready for what?” He walks closer to you and presses you up against your car, his hips pressing into yours. “Oh.” You blush.

“Yeah.” He kisses you and lets you go.

//

When you get home, you get Buster fed and some fresh water before going into your bedroom. You wanted to freshen up for your man. You were just putting on some fresh lace panties when Harry walks in.

“I appreciate the sentiment, but you can just leave those off.” He smirks.

You slide them back down your legs and kick them away as he approaches you. He grabs you by the back of your neck and tilts your chin up.

“What I don’t appreciate is you purposefully trying to get my hard when you’ve told me over and over that you don’t want to fuck in your office.”

“I wasn’t trying to make you hard, I was just playing around.”

“Just playing around, hm.” He nods his head and lets you go. He undoes his pants and sits down on the bed. “How about you play around with this?” He points to his crotch and you get on your knees in front of him. “Wait, let me grab you a pillow, honey.” He reaches behind him and hands it to you.

“Thank you.”

You get his hard cock out of his boxers and lick your lips before licking up and down his length. You suckle on his tip while your hand pumps him slowly. You look up at him, and he’s already looking down at you. It’s intense it makes you groan against him. You sink down further on him, and his hips buck up, trying to fit as much of himself in you as he can. You think of something, and you pop off him.

“Harry, I need you stand up.”

“Wh, why?”

“So it’s easier for you.”

“Easier for me to do what?”

“You know…fuck my face.” You mumble. His eyebrows shoot up, and he doesn’t hesitate to stand.

“You really want me to do this?” His hands cup your cheeks to get a better grip on you.

“Mhm.”

“You’re gonna gag a lot.”

“I’ll work through it.”

“Just tap my legs if it gets to be too much, okay?”

“Okay.”

You grip his hips and open your mouth wide for him. His slides back in and moans softly from how good your mouth feels on him. He thrusts in and out slowly, going a little deeper each time. He had hit the back of your throat before, numerous time, but usually you were the one in control of that. Your eyes start to water as his pace quickens, and you try to focus on just breathing through your nose. When he hears you gag he slows down to give you a second, and then he jumps back in to what he was doing before.

“Fuck, Y/N.” He groans. “I’m gonna come.” He pulls out, and you leave your mouth open. His comes onto your open mouth, neck, and chest. He helps you up before he sits down on the bed. “Jesus, I think I’m light headed.” He chuckles and runs a hand through his hair. He looks at you, and you’re not saying much as you stand there naked in front of him. You had an odd look in your eyes. “Shit, let me go get a rag to clean you up, baby.” He stands back up, kisses your forehead, and rushes into the bathroom. He comes back out with a warm rag and wipes up your chest. “You did really well, took it all down that pretty throat of yours. Felt so good.” He steps back and looks at you. “There, all clean.” You blink at him. “Are you alright?”

You tap your throat and try to speak but it comes out really scratchy and hoarse. You try to clear your throat but it doesn’t help much.

“Lemme get you some water…maybe I was a bit too aggressive.” You grab his wrist. “What?”

You tug at the hem of his shirt, and he gets the idea. You wanted him, the water could wait. He gets you on the bed, and hovers over you. His lips find yours, and he sucks on your bottom lip. He plants gentle, wet kisses down your body, stopping to suck on one of your nipples. He twists your piercing between his teeth, making your head roll back. His hand slides between your legs while he continues to work your breasts. His middle finger runs up and down your slit before entering you. You gasp when he starts to curl it up.

“You’re so wet f’me baby.” He mumbles, switching to suck on your breast. He slides a second finger in and pumps in and out of you.

You grind against his hand, and he lets go of your breast with a pop. He retracts his fingers, and slides them up to your clit. Your mouth falls open and you moan out his name when his tongue enters you. You hear him groan as he moves his tongue in and out of you, and you tug on his hair.

“Harry.” You moan again, throat dry and hoarse.

He head your legs shaking. Your voice cracks as you cry out from your release. He continues to rub your clit as you come down. He grabs your hips and flips you over gently, spreading you apart and entering you. You loved how quickly he could get hard again. His chest was flush with your back as he rocks in and out of you. His hand snakes underneath you to rub your clit and you feel like you just wanted to melt. It still amazed you how much he paid attention to your body. It was never about him getting his, it was about this mutual pleasure that only you two shared.

Everything felt really good, and you were overstimulated.

“Oh my god, don’t stop.” You say in a raspy voice. “Fuck, Harry, that’s so good.” You clutch at your blankets and pillows. He bits down on the back of your shoulder as he feels you come around his cock.

His thrusts get sloppy and quicken, and a few moments later he’s filling you up. He pulls out of you slowly and rests on the bed to look at you. He smooths some hair out of your face and you smile at him.

“My throat really hurts.” You giggle.

“I know, I’m sorry.” He kisses your nose and gets off the bed. He wiggles his boxers up his legs, and watches you walk into the bathroom. “M’gonna get dinner started.” You give him a thumbs up and he leaves you to clean yourself up.

You come into the kitchen in a pair of light sweatpants and a t-shirt. Buster comes over to you and you pat him on the head. You guzzle down a nice glass of water and try to clear your throat. Harry was working on a stir fry.

“Why’d you want me to do that to you, I feel bad…”

“I don’t know.” You cough, and clear your throat again. “Just thought of it. I like when we take turns being more in control of those things.”

“But I hurt you.” He frowns.

“No! It was fine, it was just different. See, I’m all better now.” You smile. “My throat just got dry.”

“Okay.” He kisses the top of your head and puts his attention back to dinner. ���Just veggies and rice, that okay?”

“It’s perfect, thank you.”

You sit down at the island and wait for him to finish preparing everything. He makes a plate up for you and he sits down next to you. He tells you about his day at the studio, and how cute some of the little kids in their costumes looked.

“I still can’t believe parents pay to have Halloween cards sent out.” You laugh.

“I choose not to question it. If these rich people wanna pay me for these little things, I’m all for it.”

“Oh, definitely! I think it’s great you’re doing all these little sessions.”

“The Thanksgiving sessions are all booked, and there’s only a few Santa sessions left open.”

“I’m so proud of you.”

“All that social media stuff you do makes such a big difference, that’s why so many people are signing up.”

“It’s nice getting to work together in this capacity.” He stands up and takes both of your plates.

“My sweet girl.” He says as he kisses your head before putting the dishes in the dishwasher. “Wanna watch TV for a bit? I’m beat.”

“Mhm.”

Harry lays down on the sofa and you lay in front of him so he can spoon you. You were nearing the end of the third season of Glee.

“God, the show got so hard to watch after these last few episodes.”

“Why, baby?”

“Just everything with Rachel and Finn, you’ll see.”

You get to the last episode of the third season. You both sit up so you can watch intently. You were sobbing already, and Harry was getting to that point himself.

“Wait…he’s not goin’ with her?!” He looks at you. “I mean, I wasn’t in favor of them gettin’ married right away, but…he’s sendin’ her off to New York alone?”

You couldn’t even speak you were so upset.

“Finn, no, what the fuck?!” He looks at you again. “That’s how they ended it?”

“Yes.”

“And you had to wait an entire summer to know what happened next…Jesus.” He wipes his eyes. “This show is fucked up.”

“You said it.” You wipe your own eyes. “Come on, we need to go to sleep.”

“You can’t be serious, we need to-“

“Harry, it’s already after ten, come on. We can watch more tomorrow.”

“Okay, but only because I wanna cuddle some more.”

//

“Morning, Harry.” Isaac says as Harry walks in.

“Mornin’.” He takes his coffee from him. “Ah, thank you.”

“So your day is going to be interesting.”

“Define interesting…”

“Lot of single moms and their kids…”

“Oh, why is that interesting?”

“Look at the reviews of you on Facebook.” Harry comes around to Isaac’s computer to look. “See, this one says, both Harry and Mariah are extremely professional, I’m very happy with their work.”

“That’s…I’m very confused.”

“Look at all of the comments. Harry was amazing with my son, I can’t wait to bring my kids to see him, I wouldn’t mind him taking my photos…and they sort of escalated from there. You know how wine moms can be. I made it so some of them weren’t visible.”

“These people do know we do any type of portrait, they don’t just need to have their kids involved.”

“You’re missing the point. They’re thirsty for you.”

“Thirsty?” He scoffs.

“I notice them flirting with you from time to time.”

“A lot of people flirt with me.” He shrugs. “I just don’t flirt back.”

Just then a young woman and he toddler walk in. Her daughter was already dressed like Bat Man.

“Woah, looks like the Dark Knight has arrived, Isaac.” The little girl giggles.

“I had hoped she’d want to be a princess, but she insisted on Bat Man.” The mother sighs.

“Nothin’ wrong with that, is there?” He smiles. “I just need a few minutes to get settled and set up. Isaac can get you anything you need.” He turns and goes upstairs to his office.

“So, how’d you hear about us?” Isaac asks.

“Word of mouth. One of the other moms at Janey’s preschool raved about someone named Mariah, but she was all booked up today. Then someone else mentioned Harry might have more open spots since he owns the place.” Isaac nods. “I heard he’s very talented.”

“He is.” Isaac smiles.

Harry comes down shortly and gets his spot set up the way he likes. Mariah was in her office editing photos.

“Okay, Janey, I mean, uh, Bat Man, come on over.”

The little girl runs over to Harry.

“Janey, don’t run! I’m so sorry, she never listen to me.” The woman huffs.

“No worries.” Harry smiles and looks down at the girl. “Is it okay if I lift yeh up and what not?”

“Mhm.”

“Thank you.”

Harry picks her up and puts her on a chair decorated for Halloween. There were pumpkins and other Halloween things around her.

“Smile, Janey. Grandma’s gonna want to see that pretty face.”

“No.” She pouts. “Bat Man doesn’t smile, mumma.”

“She’s right.” Harry says. “But sometimes he does.”

“He does?” Janey asks.

“Oh sure. Right after he gets a bad guy, like when he sends the joker to jail, that makes him really happy.”

“Okay.” She giggles and Harry snaps a shot.

He’s able to get a lot of great shots of her, and wraps everything up. He hands Isaac the SD card from the camera. Lately, Harry had let Isaac touch up these simpler photoshoots.

“Isaac should have these to you in a couple of days with the design you chose.”

“Thank you so much, Harry. I haven’t seen her have so much fun since…well, I won’t bore you with my problems.”

Isaac has to refrain from making a gagging noises. He knew exactly where this was headed.

“You’re a single mum?” Harry asks.

“Mhm, it was all for the best, but she misses her daddy.”

“Yeah, that’s, uh, gotta be tough.” Harry and Isaac make knowing eye contact. “Well, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go give my fiancé a ring before my next appointment. It was nice meeting the both of you.”

Harry slips away and almost runs up to his office.

“Oh, he’s, um, not single?”

“Nope, very taken.” Isaac smiles. “Will that be cash or credit?”