#i needed it out of my brain and onto some paper asap

[strawberrycowtime]

in case you cant read my shit handwriting it says

edgeworth: Thanks to you, I am saddled with unnecessary…feelings.

phoenix: Unnecessary…feelings?

maya: nick im becoming homophobic

[ritsugaminge]

❥ Four players ❥

Pairing : F Reader x roommate Heeseung x class partner Sunghoon x best friend's older brother Jake 

Synopsis : Welcome to college, where the latest craze is this app that lets you make out with the three hottest guys on campus : You get one good and steamy fuck with each of them, no second chances. Are you up for making a reservation? 

Warnings : smut with a story, foursome, voyeurism, kissing, a bit of dirty talk, blowjob (f and m receiving), protected sex, masturbation (m)

Word count : 3.5 k

While you were busy unpacking inside your dorm room, the buzz of excitement from the other girls was hard to ignore. Still, you tried to focus on sorting your stuff until your door suddenly swung open and out of nowhere, a girl flung a newspaper at you. 

“Uh thanks? I guess..” you said, grabbing it from the floor. 

The headline said 'New School Year, New News'. You opened it and a glaring pink page with 'PLAYERS' caught your eye.

“The tradition’s back and hotter than ever! Our college’s finest are on deck and eager to meet you. Make sure to snag your reservation ASAP!”

/!/ Just a heads-up—each guy is a one-time-only deal! Download ‘PLAYERS’ to lock in your date!

You stared at the words in front of you, your brain refusing to process. 

This couldn’t be serious… could it? 

A nervous laugh escaped as you tossed the newspaper onto your bed, but your eyes were drawn back to it—back to the three impossibly gorgeous guys in the pictures, especially the one with dark hair and those lips… 

Oh. No. Wait. 

You snatched the paper up again, heart racing. Was that… Jake? Your best friend’s older brother?

The guy you used to have the biggest crush on?

"What the heck is he even doing here?" you nearly choked, your eyes scanning his ridiculously gorgeous photo from top to bottom.

"Well, that’s my room," a deep, amused voice replied.

You turned, startled, to find a tall, stylish brunette guy standing here, and… hold on… didn’t he look just like one of those guys in the pictures?

He glanced at the newspaper. “Oh, it’s out already?” he said, tossing his bag onto the bed right next to yours.

“Isn’t this supposed to be a girl’s room?” you asked, absolutely stunned, as he casually unpacked his underwear and slid it into a drawer like it was the most natural thing ever.

“It’s not the first time the administration messed up, and trust me, they won’t bother fixing it,” he said, now plugging in his gaming console like it was just another day.

“I’m Heeseung, by the way, in case you didn’t know. What about you?”

You stood there, frozen for a moment, trying to wrap your head around the whole situation before finally managing to stammer, “I’m, uh, Y/N…”

He then left as quickly as he arrived, leaving you by yourself. 

“I think I need to get some fresh air.” You thought, putting your jacket on and finally leaving the room. 

You plopped down at a small table after ordering your iced tea, letting out a dramatic sigh as you dropped your head onto the table.

Seriously, how is it that the first time you see your childhood crush again is in a newspaper article about sex?

Your thoughts were interrupted by the sudden sound of squealing girls. You opened your eyes and lifted your head to see a group of them swarming around a guy with impossibly fair skin and a jawline so sharp it could probably slice through steel. 

“Damn, he could cut someone with that…” you whispered to yourself, half in awe, half in disbelief. It only took a glance to realize this was the third guy from the newspaper—Sunghoon. 

After a moment of hesitation, curiosity won out. You couldn’t resist, so you downloaded the ‘PLAYERS’ app. What harm could it do to see what the fuss was all about ? 

The app opened up with three separate calendars, each dedicated to one of the boys. You noticed that this year’s lineup featured Jake, Sunghoon, and Heeseung, but last year, it had been different guys. 

Their schedules were already packed, a clear sign of just how insanely popular they were.

“This is a bit much,” you thought, unable to wrap your head around the idea of girls actually booking them. “Ridiculous.”

After finishing your tea, you headed back to your room. With Heeseung nowhere in sight, you took a quick shower and went straight to bed, dreaming about the app and those handsome guys. 

“Pair up with the person who has the same number as you!” the professor announced, and you glanced down at your paper, seeing the number two. 

Just then, a warm breath tickled your ear as a voice whispered, “Looks like we’re together.”

You turned around to find Sunghoon standing there, his own paper showing the same number two, a shy smile playing on his lips.

You had a big essay to write for your first-semester final grade, and while you weren't sure if being paired up with this guy was a blessing or a curse, his cute smile made you forget all your doubts. 

You both decided to continue working on the project in your dorm room.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor amidst a sea of books and a laptop, you were deep into your research when he broke the silence.

"You really read this newspaper?" he asked, grabbing the paper from your cupboard and raising an eyebrow.

"Well, a girl literally threw it at me, so I figured I had to read it," you answered, a little embarrassed. 

You both locked eyes for a moment, the silence stretching between you. Then, out of nowhere, he asked, "So, are you planning to book a date with one of the guys?"

His sudden question caught you off guard. "Aren’t you one of the guys?" you shot back. "I mean, I’m technically on a date with you right now."

He couldn’t help but chuckle at your response, a playful grin spreading across his face. "Trust me, it’s REALLY not the same."

Your ears turned a deep shade of red at his boldness. 

“What do you mean, ‘not the same’?” you asked, your voice more curious than confused, even though you already knew the answer.

“Well, on those dates, we do something more like this…” he murmured, leaning closer.

Your breath caught in your throat as his face moved closer to yours, the space between you shrinking by the second.

Your eyes locked on his lips, unable to look away, drawn in by the anticipation hanging thick in the air. 

You could feel your heartbeat quicken,

but before you could even form a thought, the door to your dorm burst open, slamming against the wall with a loud thud. 

You both turned to see Heeseung standing in the doorway, his eyebrows raised, a silent question etched across his face. 

“Come on, not in my room, Sunghoon!” he said, exasperation dripping from his tone as he kicked his shoes off and flung himself onto his bed.

Sunghoon let out a long breath, leaning back and creating a bit of space between the two of you.

“Relax, Heeseung. It’s not what it looks like,” he explained, his voice calm but a bit defensive. 

“We’re not on a date,” he added, shifting his focus back to his laptop, as if that would make the whole situation disappear.

For the next 20 minutes, the room was quiet except for the occasional sound of Heeseung tapping away on his phone.

You and Sunghoon continued to work, your concentration only broken when Sunghoon suddenly stood up.

 "Alright, I'm heading to my room," he said, offering a quick wave.

You watched him leave, glancing at the clock to see it was already late afternoon. 

A shower sounded like a good idea before you had to meet your best friend for dinner.

You glanced at yourself in the mirror, taking a deep breath before slipping out of your clothes and stepping into the shower.

The warm water cascaded over your skin as you pulled the curtain closed, letting the heat relax your tense muscles. 

As you began to rinse out your shampoo, the creaking sound of the bathroom door swinging open made you freeze. 

“Heeseung! Come on, didn’t you hear I was in here?!” you yelled out as you peered cautiously from behind the curtain, pressing yourself against the wall. 

“I have to go to the bathroom—it’ll be quick,” he called out as his footsteps drew closer.

You cringed when you heard the toilet seat lift, and you stood still, counting the seconds until he would leave. 

But then, your gaze drifted to the mirror, and from behind the curtain, you could see him reflected in it. 

The fuck is wrong with me? you thought, trying to tear your eyes away but finding it impossible to look anywhere else.

Your gaze lingered on his dick. Yes.

It was thick and veiny even in its relaxed state. The deep tan gradually faded into a lighter, pink shade near the tip.

You swallowed, feeling your cheeks grow warmer, a blush creeping in as you struggled to tear your eyes away. 

You were so fixated on it that you didn’t even notice him approaching the shower. Suddenly, the curtain was yanked open, and you let out a startled shriek as your naked body was exposed to his gaze.

“I saw you spying on me,” he said with a smug smirk.

Words failed you, your mind scrambling for a response.

Should you apologize, admit you’d been caught staring? Or act like it was all just a misunderstanding? 

But you didn’t have time to decide—Heeseung stepped into the shower, water immediately soaking him through. His clothes clung to his toned body, revealing every contour beneath the wet fabric. 

“Enjoyed the view? You know, you could’ve asked—I might have had let you see more,” he murmured.

His eyes roamed shamelessly over your wet body, watching the way water glistened on your skin,

how droplets slid down between your boobs and then thighs. 

You raised your chin, a mix of defiance and embarrassment coursing through you as you crossed your arms over your chest.

“Well, do you like what you’re seeing?” you countered, trying to sound confident even as your heart pounded.

“Hell yes, I do,” he breathed,

Pressing his lips to your neck, his kisses light but electrifying. 

You shivered with surprise as he let his hands rest possessively on your bare hips, and felt the heat of his tongue as it traced a line up to your collarbone. 

His lips hovered just in front of yours, leaving your lower body tingling with anticipation.

When you inched closer, desperate for contact, he merely smirked and glanced down at you.

“You’ll have to schedule a date if you want more,” he said, stepping out of the shower and leaving you alone, speechless and flustered.

“Excuse me, what the fuck?!” Mia exclaimed loudly in the restaurant, causing several heads to turn in your direction.

“Please, keep it down,” you pleaded, mortified.

You’d just filled her in on everything—the PLAYERS app, Heeseung as your new roommate, Sunghoon as your essay partner, her own brother’s involvement as one of the players, and of course, the incident in your room. 

Mia’s eyes reflected her inner turmoil. “I’m stuck deciding whether to tell my mom about my brother’s college antics, use this to blackmail him into buying me makeup, or just forget it all.” 

She shook her head, then refocused. “But, are you going to make that reservation or not?”

"Mia," you called, barely louder than a breath. "I don't know... should I?" You frowned, totally confused.

"You definitely should," she insisted. "I mean, when else are you gonna make out with guys that hot?"

You nodded, eyes lighting up.

"You're right! I'll book all of them at once!" you said, already reaching for your phone.

"Wait, what?" Mia nearly choked. "Even my brother?!"

You paused. The one you wanted most was her brother. But—

"No, no! Just the other two," you lied, eyes fixed anywhere but hers.

She hesitated, “Mhh, okay, I trust you. But can you really book the two of them at the same time?”

A grin spread across your face.

"Well, they won’t know until they see each other, right? It’s worth a shot.”

Without hesitation, you selected a date for each of them, ready to see how it all plays out.

A few days later, you found yourself sitting in the old gymnasium, resting on a worn-out mat. You'd picked this strange spot on purpose—no one would ever guess what was going on here.

Your heart raced as you checked the time every few seconds, fidgeting with anticipation. 

Finally, the heavy gym door creaked open slightly.

Heeseung’s face appeared, his eyes scanning the empty gym before they landed on you sitting on the mat. 

Surprise flickered across his features—it made sense, since the app didn’t reveal anything about the girls until the meet. But the shock faded fast, and he walked up to you with a confident grin.

"I knew I'd be seeing you soon. You couldn't resist after seeing my dick.” 

You stared at him in silence for a few moments, unsure of what to say.

"It’ll definitely be better if we don’t talk, that’s for sure," you thought to yourself.

Without a word, you gave him a small hand gesture, signaling for him to sit next to you. 

Then, your hand slowly reached up, fingers gently wrapping around his chin, guiding his face closer to yours. 

Your heart raced as you leaned in, and without a second thought, you pressed your lips against his in a deep, passionate kiss.

Both of you closed your eyes, sinking into the moment, letting everything else fade away. 

His hands found their way to your neck, holding you firmly, while your arms slid around his, pulling him even closer. 

The old gym fell into a still silence, the only sound breaking through was the soft, rhythmic noise of your lips meeting, filling the empty space around you.

Then, you slipped off your shirt, and he forcibly laid you down on the old gym mat.

As he turned you onto your stomach, his tongue began a slow, teasing journey down your back, tracing every curve with warm, sensual strokes.

He then made his way up to your shoulders, his breath hot against your skin.

Pressing himself against your ass, he let out a slight smirk, his ears turning a deep red from arousal.

“Fuck, you’re hot.” 

His fingers fumbled with the clasp of your bra,

But just as he began to undo it, the door creaked open once more.

You both turned in surprise, only to find Sunghoon standing there, his face in disbelief as he took in the unexpected scene.

"Come here, Sunghoon,” you breathed out softly, the words slipping out in a hushed, desperate tone. 

He approached you, eyes full of a mix of desire and uncertainty.

Without a word, both of them began to explore your body, leaving heated marks as you laid exposed on the mat.

Sunghoon dipped his head, his face brushing against your thighs he kissed softly, breathing deeply of your scent before slowly and carefully sliding your panties off. 

He began to eat your pussy out with a raw, angry passion, as if he demanded even more of you, making you a moaning mess beneath him. Each touch and stroke drove you wild. The pleasure was almost overwhelming, leaving you gasping for air. 

At the same time, Heeseung focused on your boobs, his hands eagerly molding and caressing them. His tongue traced over your sensitive nipples, circling and flicking with a mixture of teasing playfulness and intense desire, each flick and swirl sending shivers down your spine.

"‘Ugh Sunghoon, I’m going to…” You tried to gasp out,

But the intense pleasure left you unable to form coherent words. Your body trembled uncontrollably as waves of ecstasy overtook you, coating his mouth with your juices. 

Sunghoon’s smile grew as he savored every last bit, his tongue sweeping across his lips, licking them clean.

‘‘You taste sweet, Y/n,” he murmured, his voice filled with pleasure. 

Trying to steady your breathing after the intense orgasm, you crawled over to him, hands shaking slightly as you worked to undo his pants. You reached inside his boxers, your fingers wrapping around his long, throbbing cock, drawing it out with a gentle grip. 

“Let me return the favor,” you whispered, your lips brushing against the tip in a lingering kiss. A deep, pleased “hmph-”’ escaped him as he savored the touch.

“Don’t forget about me, Y/n” Heeseung put a condom on his shaft and started to thrust into you, while you tried desperately to hold onto Sunghoon’s.

But then, you looked at the gym entrance and froze. 

Jake, your childhood crush, was staring at you, his expression unreadable.

“Jake…?” you breathed.

His eyes stayed locked on you, full of unspoken emotions.

“Y/n, I never thought…” he began, his words trailing off into silence.

You paused, and with a provocative glint in your eye, you slowly met his gaze and said, “Come join us…” Your voice was smooth and enticing as you continued to pump Sunghoon’s dick, his panting breath echoing in the room. 

Jake inched closer, his eyes locked on the steamy scene before him. 

Heeseung’s dick was deep inside your pussy, while your mouth was taking Sunghoon’s all the way.

The sight stirred a flush of excitement within him :

Actually, it made him completely horny. 

Without thinking, he started to palm himself through his pants, feeling the stickiness of it pressing against him. When he finally pulled it out, a stream of precum dribbled onto the floor. He was so aroused that it looked like he pissed himself.

To him, you were always more than just his sister’s best friend; 

You were the girl who effortlessly captivated his heart. 

Even as you both grew older, there were nights when the thought of you kept him awake, moaning your name as he reached his high,

and yet, he kept his feelings buried, respecting the bond you shared with his sister. 

But now, seeing you standing there, so pretty, it's as if a switch flipped inside him : all his suppressed desires came rushing to the surface and ignited a fire he could no longer ignore.

His eyes were fixated on you, unable to tear themselves away, as if you were the only thing in the room. 

His cheeks reddened with a heat that spread through his body, his breath hitching as he bit his lip, trying to stifle the words bubbling up inside him, but they slipped out anyway.

“Y/n, show me more. Be pretty for me,” he whispered, the words tinged with an aching desire. 

You shifted closer to him, offering him an unobstructed view of your sweat-slicked, flushed body. 

You angled yourself just right, allowing him to take in the full, tantalizing view. 

You could feel his gaze drinking in every inch of you, exactly as you intended. 

You removed Sunghoon's dick from your mouth as his semen sprayed onto your cheek. 

His eyes fluttered shut, a gasp slipping from his lips as pleasure coursed through him. 

“Ahh..” His voice broke into a low, desperate groan as you continued, drawing out every drop left. 

But just as you thought you were in control, Heeseung’s hand found its way to your clit, his touch a jolt of pleasure that made you gasp, the sensation only intensifying as he kept thrusting, deep and unrelenting, inside you.

As you and Heeseung were both on the brink of cumming, the sudden, harsh bang on the gymnasium door startled you, followed by a stern voice shouting 

“No dates in the gymnasium! Some students reported hearing strange noises, so I know people are inside ! Get out before I go get you !” 

The four of you exchanged silent, wide-eyed glances before quickly scrambling out of the compromising positions, hurriedly pulling on your clothes and attempting to smooth out your disheveled appearances. 

Walking out of the gymnasium, you caught the janitor’s astonished stare, clearly stunned that all three 'players' had been inside. 

“Sorry for the mess, sir,” Heeseung stammered out, trying to pull off a look of innocence.

The four of you managed a few steps before the embarrassment took over, and with a burst of laughter, you all started running, fleeing the scene together.

Well, that clearly didn’t turn out the way you imagined.

But still, you did it. You played with the three players. 

The group of you stopped behind some bushes, gasping for air. 

“Well, it was a bit short, but I guess it was fun,”  you said, smiling between breaths.

“Nah, we didn’t go all the way, so it doesn’t count,” Sunghoon interrupted with a smirk.

“Exactly,” Heeseung added with a grin, “looks like another date will be necessary.” 

You found yourself trying to meet Jake’s gaze, but his eyes were already deeply entrenched in yours.

 “That’s right,” he said, his killer smile—a smile you had always adored—lighting up his face. “But I want to have one alone with you this time.” 

You were startled by his statement, a wave of hope washing over you as you wondered if your long-time crush was finally being reciprocated.

"And not through the app. I’ll be in touch soon,” he said, leaving the three of you standing there. 

You watched him go, the silence heavy with unspoken thoughts. 

“Damn,” Heeseung said, breaking the silence with a smirk.

“Jakey’s got a crush on you.”

You couldn’t help but smile, feeling a thrill of anticipation as you realized your college life was just beginning.

END

[gamblersdoll]

cw: power play, boss on employee, blowjob, p in v. please dont say “this is not..” yes its fiction.

this had to be the busiest season of it, of all the year.

the business always boomed around june or july, production sales and having more accidents in the summer. see, when it got hot in the south, no one knew how to drive. the heat must be frying their brains.

but thats where your job came in, you making commissions exactly how you always did.

and you were the most important and wanted agent in your industry, town, and on the market. your skills were unmatched, making more commission because you were a smooth talker.

do you think that passed by your boss, Nanami? you were crazy to think that. he always saw how well you did.

“come to my office, asap.” the message said on your work phone. your bosses’ voice never sounds completely comforting or warm, sometimes stoic. and dare it be past five o’clock, because now he’s just a grump.

you knocked on his door, received a ‘come in.’ you open the door, peaking in through the small crack.

“i did say come in, close the door behind you, please.” he said, nodding in response when you do exactly that.

such a good listener.

“what did you need, sir?” you ask, fixing yourself ad you sat down with minimal effort. he turns back to you, handing a stack of papers. “whats this?”

“im offering a promotion.” he says, a small smile on his face at your excited reaction. “for what could be a small price to pay, just maybe.”

“anything, this is great!” you cheer, earning a small chuckle from him.

and you would do anything for this promotion. you were on your knees, hands on his clothed thick thighs. your scalp burned, nanami pulling your hair. he didn’t pull too hard, knowing you had an attachment to your hair.

your throat expanded when his cock plunged into the warm tunnel, eyes tearing up as you look up to him. your eyeliner became ruined, runny at that.

his groans vibrated around the room, feeling more comfortable since all the employees had basically clocked out and left around their usual end of day meetings. his hips instinctively thrusted into your throat, curling your toes so you didnt gag too much on him.

“get up.” he hushed, pulling you up and bending you over the desk. he roughly pulled your tight mini skirt. he should reprimand you, you were out of dress code. your skirt was too tight and your ass could fall out any minute.

oh well, he had his cock sunk deepen into you to even give a flying fuck about some dress code that was put in place in the fucking early two thousands.

“do you like this, lovely?” he said in your ear, hovering above you. he nodded, “yeah? you do, dont you?” when you mumbled your positive answer. he undid his tie, replacing his neck for your wrists. he tied it enough to not cut off circulation, yet to tug you back whenever he so pleased.

“how bad do you need this promotion, lovely?” he asked in your ear, forcing you to stand against him while he thrusted his cock inside your slippery walls.

“need it so bad..” you choke out, feeling nanami’s hand squeeze only a tad bit more.

“say ‘thank you, sir.’ for the promotion.” he egged on, hands going to your hips as he groaned louder, feeling himself get closer to that brink. he felt his balls tighten, rolling his eyes as his veins popped out of his neck.

“thank you sir!” you cry out, he was hitting that spot that made your legs shake and your thick thighs quiver. “take me, use me please! anything!” you moan, feeling him slam your body back down onto his desk as your cheek pressed up against it.

he breathes heavily, moaning louder as he pumps his cock into you for the last few times. he made a mental note that he had remembered to put the magnum on before he even decided to take your body for his own.

“dont move, i have some wipes that i can clean you with.” he assures, rummaging through his desks and finally wiping the sweat, spit, drool, and your own milky essence coming out of your folds.

“thank you, sir..” you mumble, looking over your shoulder and he hushes you softly.

“you deserve this, youre a hard worker. your efforts never go unnoticed.” he praises in his own way.

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is:  Skepsis_Ree! @skepsiss has 16 fics in the Stranger Things fandom on AO3 and 15 of them are in the Steddie tag!

Our anonymous nominator recommends the following works by @skepsiss:

The Last Strange Thing

It's Snowing In Hawkins

Long Road Ahead

House to ourselves

Modern Problems, Modern Solutions

"Bailey's fics are phenomenal and they don't get enough love!" -- Anonymous

Below the cut, @skepsiss answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

a) Why does anyone latch onto any pairing? Something about Steve and Eddie grabbed my attention like no other ship has in years. I’ve always liked Stranger Things, but I never shipped anything from it until season 4 and until I saw the on-screen dynamic of Steve and Eddie. It felt so fun, and I just constantly saw Steddie art popping up on my dash, so I was looking more and more at it until I just said OKAY, I’M GOING ALL IN and started writing private fan fictions for just one of my friends who encouraged me to post them. b)Why do I still write Steddie? Probably because of my pals Eddy and Jess who talk to me about the lads day in and day out <3

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

I’m really bad at reading fan fics, to be honest, and I don’t actually enjoy reading tropes. The closest thing to a trope I like to read is probably just “they’re in love” or “they will fall in love.” I like good stories, regardless of the setting or the trope.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

Does angst count? I pretty much just write angst! I love drama, angst, and exploring miscommunication! Supernatural elements are also super fun, and of course, I love horror, but those things feel more like genre rather than tropes. But I am also a sucker for a happy ending, so you can sort of expect that from me.

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

My fav fic is “No Regrets” by @/strangersteddierthings I loved it so much that I made a graphic for it, and Jess uses it as a banner for the fic now!

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

I try to avoid tropes in my writing, (unless you count drama and angst, lol), so I’m not really sure how to answer this. I’ve never written a classic “there is only one bed” or “coffee shop au” or ANYTHING like that, so maybe I should try and do an actual, classic trope. I don’t think I’ve ever, EVER written a REAL trope before, tbh. I’m actually really curious what people would suggest for me to write, if anyone has a suggestion, I’m all ears!

What is your writing process like?

If I’m looking for a story idea, I usually play the “3-word game” to generate an idea. It works like this: I ask someone to give me 1 word that is a Person (priest, character from a show, sister, etc), a Place (NYC, a house, tombstone, etc), and an Object (pen, houseplant, knife, etc) and then I try and connect those 3 things. That usually helps me generate an idea and develop an interesting story. My other method is… I have wild dreams and wake up with a fully-formed scene in my brain, and I deconstruct that scene in order to find out how I can create a story to get to that point. I also write super fast, so I try and get the idea down on paper asap, or I’ll lose interest and never write it. If I’m writing for a Big Bang or something, I have usually finished writing that fic like… months before I need to post it.

Do you have any writing quirks?

A say “though” a lot, start sentences with “so,” and say “a bit” or “a little bit” in my writing a lot. An example would be “He wasn’t alive though, he didn’t ‘have a life’ to speak of, so this was what exactly?”

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

As soon as I finish!!!! I have a hard time holding back….

Which fic are you most proud of?

That I have posted? Probably “The Last Strange Thing.” It is my longest one. But I have one that I will be posting soon that I am very proud of that I have been working on for a while called “Senior Year” which I’ve been writing on and off since November 2022. I finally buckled down and finished writing it for the Steddie Big Bang and I’ll be posting it this year!

How did you get the idea for The Last Strange Thing?

“The Last Strange Thing” was written for a Reverse Big Bang in collaboration with @/llamalpaca. They created an amazing art piece of Steve and Robin in apocalypse gear, and it got the wheels turning in my brain about an apocalypse AU which reminded me of a conversation I had with a pal about “The Last of Us.” It inspired a whole tale in my brain about Steve and all of the “Stranger Things” party existing in a “The Last of Us” world, so I mashed them together and started writing a story.

When writing The Last Strange Thing, what was something you didn’t expect?

I plan out my stories pretty thoroughly, but something I feel is a very “weak point” in my writing is “action scenes,” so I really surprised myself by even ATTEMPTING to tackle something like “The Last Strange Thing,” which has so much action in it. At first, I sort of assumed I would avoid action as much as possible and make the story about the journey, but as I plotted things out, I just kept making plot points that involved more and more action so when I sat down to write it… I was really surprised that everything flowed together so well and the action felt really natural. Lots of people even complimented my action writing, which felt amazing, cause I’ve always felt it was a weakness!

What inspired It's Snowing In Hawkins?

“It’s Snowing In Hawkins” was a request for a mini-Steddie Winter Exchange where a secret exchanger submitted three requests/tropes/inspirations, and you got to choose from them. One of them involved a snowman-building contest, and Eddie “schooling the younger members of the party.” Another part of the request was that they DID NOT WANT ANY ANGST, so that was a big challenge for me! So it was all fluff, and I thought giving Eddie a slightly ADHD-sideways assignment from “snowman” felt fitting for him. Thus, snow-dome and Steve and Eddie getting some private time in the snow together. That, and at that point, I had never written “virgin Eddie” before, so I thought it would be super cute to explore.

What was your favorite part to write from House to ourselves?

Oh geez, this one is almost PWP, but I think probably just the adult-domestic side of it. Just two dads… getting to be dads. Their young kids are away for the weekend, and they get to take a nap together? There is something so… luxurious about that as an adult (I don’t have kids, but working full-time doesn’t give you enough time for naps either) that feels so nice and REAL about that, haha.

How do/did you feel writing Modern Problems, Modern Solutions?

I really wanted to channel shitty-teen energy. This was the most TEENAGE ANGST AND TEEN DRAMA story I’ve written. Everyone in the story is properly a teen in this, and I dug deep to remember what it felt like to be a teenager again. So I guess what I was feeling was… teen spirit.

What was the most difficult part of writing Long Road Ahead?

This is a really emotional fic, actually. Probably the hardest chapters to write were chapters 2 and 3 where we see the intense yearning between Eddie and Steve and how both of them truly believe that nothing would work between them—Eddie because he thinks Steve doesn’t like him, and with Steve, it is because he is terrified about being queer. I think the toughest thing about writing this was challenging Steve’s intense internal homophobia. That’s something that isn’t explored a lot in fic, and it does not feel good, so I get it, but I think it’s realistic for the 80s. Steve being really scared about his own feelings would be something a lot of boys would struggle with in that era, especially as a handsome, sporty guy who really thinks he is straight up until that point where he falls HARD for his guy friends uncontrollably. It’s difficult to write characters who have polar opposite opinions compared to yourself, but I find it really interesting, and it makes it really fun to write them GROWING OUT of that mindset.

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

I don’t think I can pick a line because it has been too long since I have written any of those fics, but scene-wise, I think one of my favourite scenes is from one of my stories called “Tooth and Nail” where EDDIE is the one struggle with the idea of being queer and Steve is the one who has “come out” first. Anyway, Eddie is sitting on one side of a door, and he has no idea if Steve is listening to him or not, but he is confessing all of his feeling of “I messed up, and I don’t know how I feel, but I know I messed up and I’m sorry.” Also later, he cries about it to Steve and gets so embarrassed he pulls his shirt over his head to hide the fact that he is crying, and I still think that is adorable. I really like both of those scenes.

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

a) If you haven’t read “Tooth and Nail” you should, it’s older but up on my Tumblr. b) New project wise though!!!! I HAVE THREE NEW ONES! c) “Batter Up” just dropped on June 16th and is a 14,000 word fluff fic for the Steddie Summer Exchange. It’s about Baseball!Player Steve and Rockstar!Eddie meeting and falling in love. d) “Momento Mori” is my Wayne & Steve (with Steddie of course) fic for the Stranger Things Big Bang that will be posting in July, so keep an eye on my Tumblr and/or my Ao3. My artist @/the-aphelion-archives has some really cool art being cooked up, so stay tuned for that! e) And last but not least, my Steddie piece “Senior Year” will be posted for the Steddie Big Bang at the end of this summer/early fall during the bang with art made by @/metalfreaks86! This is my 50k fic that spans from just after Season 2 to after Season 4, and involves a lot of heartbreak, and first loves. Keep an eye on my Tumblr and Ao3 for that one too because we do not yet have a release date.

Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?

Thank you to whoever nominated me! I often feel like my fics aren’t for everyone because I tend to write for a more serious audience and tackle tougher topics and that just isn’t an overly popular medium in fan fiction––which is fine! Because fan fiction is escapism and I know people use it to feel good, and sometimes you don’t want to read sad stuff. So, I really appreciate people who take the time to read my sad stuff (that ends happily every time, cause I also like happy things haha), and enjoy my hard work. Genuinely, every time I feel like throwing in the towel because I think I’m writing into the void, some little kudo-kween pops up and reminds me that my writing is appreciated. Thanks gang <3 Also!!!! I am ALWAYS accepting requests. Anyone and EVERYONE (anon or not) is welcome to pop into my inbox on Tumblr at ANY TIME to make a Steddie fic request, be that a trope, a tiny Steddie idea or whatever. And if you’ve made a request and I’ve forgotten… please ask again!

Thank you to our author, @skepsiss, and our anonymous nominator! See more of Skepsis_Ree's works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

[waywardxrhea]

Part One - Welcome to New York

[slow burn romance between you, a SHIELD investigative journalist, and Steve Rogers]

Warnings: 18+, contains humor, fluff, mental health, family trauma, romance, angst, language, violence, smut later on.

installment list

Word count: 3.3k

Steve Rogers wakes up in a modern New York City and you are assigned to help him acclimate.

“Where’s the report on our latest intel on the Whiplash tech?” a SHIELD agent in a suit and tie asked you as you made your way through the halls of SHIELD's New York HQ building.

“It’s on Director Fury’s desk as requested,” you replied promptly. You shuffled some papers and handed the man a small stack. “This is what I have so far on my interview with Jane Foster. Get a copy to Tellez ASAP, I need her to proofread what I have and make sure it will be article-ready by the time I finish my interview with her today. Please and thank you.”

“No problem,” the agent said with a nod as he parted ways with you, heading down the hall to the newsroom to find Tellez. You took a pencil out from behind your ear and began writing down where you had sent your reports for the day. As you were about to turn into a conference room to try and get a hold of Jane Foster, you heard your name being called.

“Agent, you seem to be a busy bee today,��� came the voice. The voice of Nick Fury.

You straightened your back, tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear, and said respectfully, “Yes sir, but I don’t mind. All in a day’s work.” You turned to the voice and were met with the stern face of Director Fury as well as the face of the Deputy Director of SHIELD and your close friend, Maria Hill.

“I see you were already heading into that conference room, perfect. Can we speak privately there?” he asked, gesturing toward the room.

“Of course sir,” you replied quickly. As you all walked into the room, you wracked your brain trying to think of any mistake you could have made as of late. Did you not get enough intel on a takedown? Did you leave out critical information in a newsletter article? Did you ask the wrong questions in an interview? You couldn’t lose your job at SHIELD, it was everything you had worked so hard to get…

Maria could tell you were stressed, so when Fury had his back turned, she mouthed, ‘It’s okay. It’s good news!’ With this sentiment, you relaxed a bit and released the tension in her shoulders as Director Fury turned around to speak with you. He said your name sternly before beginning. “You must be wondering why I asked you here today.”

“The thought may have crossed my mind, yes,” you replied which earned a quiet laugh from the Director. Director Fury pulled up a tablet and enabled the projector feature. What he pulled up and projected onto the wall was an article you wrote, only it wasn’t one of your SHIELD articles, it was a personal one. From your blog.

You cringed inwardly and mentally kicked yourself as he started speaking, “With just a brief look at your blog’s homepage, I can see that you have done almost all there is to do in New York City since you moved here. You’ve seen Broadway shows, toured Central Park, took multiple trips to Coney Island just for a food tour, among many other things.” After he examined the look of sheer embarrassment on your face, he asked, “You may now be wondering how I know about this blog of yours.”

You nodded and avoided eye contact, saying, “That thought may have crossed my mind too.”

“Look me in the eye when you talk with me Agent,” Fury told you.

You returned eye contact with him and nodded, telling him, “Yes sir.”

“Now, as I was saying. You may be wondering how I know about your blog, Agent. Well, I have three reasons. One is that I try to keep an eye and ears on every one of my agents, that includes some aspects of their personal lives. The second is that your blog is...all the rage as the kids put it. Your website has more views than some articles covering The Olympics. The third reason is that Miss Hill here informed me of it when she missed three of my calls while out on an adventure with you for said blog.”

Your eyes widened in horror and you began to apologize profusely, “Director Fury, I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to take Maria away for so long. Please, you can put all the blame on me. If a mission was compromised because of m-”

Fury put up his hand to stop your rambling and chuckled. “Agent, I’m not here to punish you nor Miss Hill. If it had been a major concern, you would have already been fired. That night I had just forgotten where I put my takeout menu in my office. Hill usually has a knack for finding it for me.”

You closed your eyes and let out a sigh of relief, saying, “Thank you, Director. Seriously though, it won’t happen again. Ringers on when we’re out from now on.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” He paused before continuing, “What the situation brought to light though was that you are the perfect candidate for the assignment I’m about to give you.”

“Oh?” you asked, raising your eyebrows. “What may that be?”

“Well you see, today some of our men discovered a frozen Captain Steve Rogers in the Arctic Ocean. When he wakes up, he’s gonna be in for quite a culture shock from the 1940’s to now. That’s where you come in. I want you to help ease him into the modern world.”

“That seems like quite the task, are you sure you want me in charge of this assignment?”

Maria spoke up, telling you, “You’re probably the most qualified of anyone at SHIELD for this job. Captain Rogers will need a guide through all of this if he’s gonna figure this world out. You’re great with tech, you know the ins and outs of the modern city, and you’re extremely easy to get along with. You’ll be great.”

You smiled at the vote of confidence from your friend, saying, “Well thank you, Maria.” You turned to Fury, and asked, “So when does this assignment start, sir?”

“Well, my men just got Rogers here and are setting up a hospital room to look like one from the 40s as we speak. Who knows how long it’ll be before he wakes up. When he does though, that’ll be when your assignment starts.”

“Will I still be on my normal reporting duties as well?”

“If you want to be a workaholic as I presume you will, yes. I will lighten the load on you a bit though because you have 67 years of tech and culture to catch Rogers up on. I imagine you’ll be a very busy woman, especially if you and Miss Hill here intend on having your little adventures still.”

Maria and you shared a look and a smile before you nodded, saying, “Sounds great! Is there any sort of file I’ll need on the assignment?”

“What, are you saying you don’t know the story of Captain America, Agent?” Fury asked with a chuckle.

“N-no sir, not saying that at all, sir. I just wasn’t sure if there was anything SHIELD specific that needed to be covered,” you replied quickly.

“I’m just kidding you, of course there'll be a file. I’ll have it sent to your box in the mail room by the end of the day as well as onto your computer. Thank you for accepting my offer, I think you’ll find the assignment to be quite enjoyable.”

“I’m looking forward to it!”

Director Fury left the room, leaving you and Maria alone soon after. “See, I told you it wasn’t bad!” Maria told you.

You smiled and relaxed your body once more, telling her, “Maria, any time The Director asks to talk privately I freak out. You know that.”

Maria laughed lightly, saying, “I know, I know. But even if it was something you did wrong, nobody’s perfect. You can’t not make mistakes.”

You gave Maria a look and told her, “Some days I think you forget what line of work we’re in.”

“I’m just saying, not everyone is perfect and for your end of things, one missed fact for the newspaper isn’t gonna be the end of the world or your career. There have been far worse mistakes made at this agency.”

“Well thanks for the vote of confidence,” you said with a sarcastic roll of your eyes, laughing all the while. As you started setting up your computer for a video interview with Jane Foster you added, “You know, Fury was wrong about me having done everything in the city. There’s a sushi house tucked into a corner of Times Square that I have seemed to overlook. How’s about meeting for dinner tonight?”

“You had me at sushi,” Maria replied as she exited the room. “I get off at around six, maybe seven depending on how long it takes to get that file of Rogers made up for you.”

“I’ll text you the address.”

“I’ll be on the lookout for it.”

After a few days of nothing happening on the front of Captain Rogers waking up, you were coming back from lunch to check in, hoping that some progress was made while you were out. You opened the door to the room where the fake hospital was set up and saw the wall explode, with two men flying through it and onto the floor. A third man, Captain Rogers, jumped over the rubble and ran out of the double doors past you. As you watched on, shock froze your body in place, your muscles refusing to jump into action.

After regaining your composure, you quickly checked on the two guards before running in the direction Captain Rogers went. You saw Maria and Fury jump into an SUV to catch up to the super soldier and hopped in behind them. “I’m gone for one hour and all hell breaks loose,” you said between deep breaths. “I was supposed to be the one there when he woke up.”

“Well there’s always Broadway auditions if you so desperately want to do some acting,” Maria joked from beside you.

The SUVs caught up to Captain Rogers in the middle of Times Square and you all jumped out. When you did, Director Fury called out, “At ease, soldier.” When the man turned to look at him, he added, “Look, I apologize for that little show back there, we just thought we’d break it to you slowly.”

“Break what?” Captain Rogers asked.

“You’ve been asleep, Cap. For almost seventy years,” Fury replied, ripping the bandaid off in one go.

While saying this, he motioned for you to step forward. You smiled warmly at the bewildered Steve Rogers and offered your name before telling him, “This isn’t really how I pictured your first time seeing the big city again would go.” At your words, he didn't respond, he just looked around at his surroundings while breathing hard from his run. After a few seconds of silence, you asked, “Are you okay, Captain?”

“Yeah,” he replied wearily, “yeah, I just...I had a date.”

You nodded and asked him after a few seconds of silence, “You ready to go back in? The city can be overwhelming for a first-timer.”

“Yeah,” he said absentmindedly. With this confirmation, you all loaded up into the SUVs and made your way back to SHIELD HQ. Once you all reached the offices, everything was back to business as usual. Fury, Maria, Rogers, and you all made your way to an empty conference room once inside so he could become acquainted with you and get a brief on what exactly was happening. Everyone besides Captain Rogers sat down in a chair when you got into the room, instead, he paced back and forth, asking, “What is going on here?”

“Well like I said, you’ve been on the ice for-” Fury tried to say but was interrupted.

“How is that even possible? Are you HYDRA? What kind of games are you playing here?” Captain Rogers asked, losing his temper momentarily and getting up in the Director’s face.

Fury put his hands up in surrender before saying, “We aren’t HYDRA. We’re called SHIELD. We’re a US government agency that deals with international security.”

“Where am I?” Rogers asked.

“You’re in New York City,” Maria informed him. “More specifically Manhattan.”

“No, no, no, no. New York City? That isn’t here. The city I know-”

Fury interrupted him, saying, “Was phased out decades ago.”

“Decades?”

“The year’s 2012, Cap,” Fury told him. “Don’t believe me? Agent, take that newspaper out of your bag and show him.”

“Yes sir,” you responded while pulling out the newspaper from your bag. You slid it across the table to show Captain Rogers. He studied the paper and you said quietly, “See, we’re not lying.”

After seeing the paper, Rogers finally sat down in a chair, not sure of what to do with himself. You stood up and grabbed a cup to fill with water from the cooler in the room. You gave him the cup and he offered you a small smile in return, saying, “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” You sat in the chair caddy corner to him and tried your introduction again, “I think we got off on the wrong foot." You offered your name once again before adding, “And if you wouldn’t mind, I’m here to help you navigate the craziness that is the world you just saw out there.”

Captain Rogers finished his water before saying, “It’s uh...nice to meet you.” He is quiet for a second before asking, “And who are they?”

“That’s SHIELD Director Fury. He runs this place. And the other is Deputy Director Hill, she’s his right-hand man in all of this.”

“And what do you do here?”

“Oh, well, I run articles for the papers both privately within the agency as well as for the general public. Besides writing, I go out on missions with agents and film everything that happens for documentation, intel, training, the works. I do it all with a drone and control tablet, and wow I realize this is probably all gonna go right over your head, I should stop.”

Your rambling earned a bit of a smile from Captain Rogers although he did look overwhelmed at all the information. Fury spoke up once again after your fumble, saying, “What she's trying to say is that she’s got a lot to catch you up on, Cap. The two of you can start now if you like while we set up a place for you to stay.” Fury and Maria stood to leave and Fury told you, “I’d start with a cell phone considering he’s gonna need it if he wants to communicate with all of us. I’ll have one delivered ASAP.”

“Yes sir. Thank you,” you replied as the pair walked out of the room.

Once they were gone, Rogers asked, “So what happened? I assume we won the war?”

You nodded, telling him, “We did. Hitler and his accomplices killed themselves before they could get punished for it all. You’ll hear a lot of conspiracy theories surrounding that though. Don’t believe everything you hear.”

“Got it,” he responded slowly. “Now what was Fury talking about a…cell phone?”

“Oh, right!” you said and then fished yours out of your bag. You showed it to him as you said, “This is a cell phone. It does all the stuff a normal phone does and so much more.”

“Like what?”

“Well you can text people, video chat, take pictures, play games, watch the stock market, listen to music, and there’s a lot more I just don’t want to overwhelm you,” you told him, stopping yourself from listing every feature of a smartphone to him. As you stopped talking, your phone started ringing with a video call from your grandmother. You looked at the door to make sure it was closed before saying, “I’m sorry, I have to take this. It’s my Gammie.”

“Go ahead,” Rogers said. As you took the call, he watched you and the device in your hand intently, trying to wrap his head around the concept of it. Right as you ended the call, the door opened to reveal an agent delivering an activated phone for Captain Rogers.

Once the phone was in his hand, he held the object awkwardly, unsure what to do with it. You giggled and said, “Here, let me help you.”

The two of you spent the better part of the next two hours setting up the phone and getting the basic functions of it down. After you had gone over the basics, you told him, “Let me give you my numbers real quick.”

“Numbers?”

“Well, I have a work and personal phone. I can be reached at either, but I’ve found out it’s just easier to have both.” You showed him how to add and save a contact into his phone before going to your messaging app and sending him a smiley face and a greeting. You smiled as you told him, “There! Your first text message.”

“Now how do I respond?” he asked. You gladly showed him and as he watched the message go from his phone to yours, he whispered, “That’s amazing.” Your heart warmed at the smile you were finally able to get on his face.

You checked the time and said, “It’s getting late, I wonder if the place they’re setting up for you is ready…” You pulled out your work phone and saw a text from Maria detailing where his apartment was located. “Oh hey, here, your place is gonna be just up the block. I can drive you there.”

Rogers nodded and stood as you did, leading him out of the office and down into the parking garage to get to your car. He looked around as you both walked and asked, “So this is what cars are like now?”

“Yes, they’re a lot more compact, lighter weight, automatic transmission. A lot have tons of gadgets in them too,” you informed him as you approached your car, unlocking the doors before you both got in. Captain Rogers looked at the dash and the radio while you connected your phone to the speakers. “I prefer classic cars, but they’re impractical in the big city. Compact sedans are easier for parking.”

Rogers nodded, once again at a loss for words as you shifted into gear and started driving. Music played quietly as you drove and made small talk, Captain Rogers asking questions as you went. After a few minutes, you pulled up to the assigned apartment complex and you walked him to his new place.

“So I have to ask,” Captain Rogers said as you both approached his door, “from what you’ve told me so far, it seems like you have an extremely overwhelming job. How do you deal with all of the stress of that plus trying to navigate city life?”

“See, that’s my secret Cap, work isn’t what stresses me out. I throw myself into work so I don’t have to deal with other stressful aspects of my life. My Grammie calls me a workaholic.” You laughed at the comment and added, “That woman is really what keeps me stable though. She’s been there for me since I was a teen and she’s always got my back no matter what. I don’t know what I’d do without her really.”

“So a strong support system and distractions from it all is what I’m hearing,” Rogers summed up for you.

“Pretty much. At least that’s what works for me,” you confirmed.

Captain Rogers nodded his head in consideration before reaching for the doorknob. As he opened the door to walk in, he thanked you for helping him out. “It’s no problem, Cap. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” he replied, closing the door.

“Wait, one more thing!” you called before the door shut all the way. Captain Rogers opened the door back up and you handed him a mini notebook, telling him, “Keep this with you so you can jot down things you want to learn about and I’ll show them to you.”

“I will do that, thank you.”

You smiled and nodded, saying goodnight one more time before heading out, hoping that this experience would be all that you were hoping for and more.

[enderpearlgirl1005]

Years of the Dead

Chapter 1 How It All Began

In the year 2029 a woman was scavenging through the wastelands of the city she once lived in. The woman was around 26 years old and she's collecting up supplies she needs to survive for another few days. She wore a helmet that covered her whole head along with a thick shark suit to protect herself. For double protection she'd put on some thick patches of rubber on the suit as well.

"Ugh, this suit is so heavy and hot! But it keeps me safe from the evolved infected so I can't complain much." The woman said as she sat down for a bit.

The suit concealed heat, which would be good during the cold months, however the temperature was pretty hot today. As she sat there she looked in the bag and she had to see how her supply run was going. Inside were some cans of food, medication, tools for her motorcycle, alongside some matches.

"Alright I got a good amount of supply, but I still need to find a working battery. Without that I can't get my van working and I won't be able to move onto the next location." The woman said to herself.

Just as she said that she heard vicious and bloodthirsty roars coming from around the corner. The woman stood up and looked to where the roars were coming from. To her horror she saw some evolved infected jump out from around the corner and start whipping around looking for their next meal.

She started slowly backing away to get away from them quietly before they saw her. Unfortunately fate decided to be an absolute dick to her and she ended up stepping on an old glass bottle and it broke under the presser from her foot. The sound was small, but the evolved could hear it very well because of their heightened senses, so they looked and saw the woman. They all roared at her in delight as they saw her as their next meal for the next few days.

The evolved then sprinted her at sonic speed which inturn prompted the woman to start running as fast as she could. She turned tail and went full on flash in order to get out of there ASAP. However the evolved where catching up on her as their speed was much higher than her own.

But there's still several questions left, how did this happen? Why is this happening? And what are the evolved alongside the other infected. To answer all of that we'll need to travel back to three years before the apocalypse took place.

Three years ago in a regular tech company the same woman was working in the accounting department. She had deep dark circles under her eyes, her hair was all matted, and there was enough discarded coffee cup to build the entire elfe tower in France. Just by looking and smelling her you could tell she hasn't left the office in a long time and is clearly having too much coffee.

"Hey Ella, I need you to calculate these numbers for me." A man's voice called out to Ella.

She turned around and saw her manager standing outside her work cubicle with a stack of papers in his arms.

"Alright sir, I'll just put these in with the rest." Ella said in a flat exhausted tone.

"Good, the boss also said that once you're done with all of this you can go home and have a few days off. But we'll need you back next week. The numbers just keep growing and growing." The manager explained.

"I know, I've been counting them for the last week. I haven't been able to go home for almost two weeks because of it." Ella explained.

"Well once this is all over things will go back to normal and you can go home more often again." The manager said as he handed the papers to Ella.

Once she had a firm hold on the papers the manager let go and left her cubical to go do some of his own work. Whatever he did, Ella didn't really care as long as it didn't affect her paycheck or was illegal.

All she wanted to do was bedone and go home to shower, rest, eat and drink something else aside from processed food and coffee. She swore that if she goes another day filled with coffee she's going to have a seizure from how much caffeine was going to her brain to keep her awake.

Ella had been working this job since she finished college, and this was an enormous busy season for the company she worked for. The company had gotten a great investment deal with a well known client and has had lots of income for their products coming in. As a result of this the accounting department has been flattened with enough work to fill the Atlantic ocean.

While they did get paid well for all their hard work, for Ella it was too much at times and she needed more than a few days off. She'd needed a vacation once this was all over, but she had to wait till this busy season was over, which she prayed would be soon. Ella looked at the time and saw that it was now 9:00 Pm so she decided to work as quickly and effectively as she could so she could get home ASAP. All Ella wanted to do right now was go home and pass out on her bed as if her life depended on it.

After about four hours of hard and exhausting labor, Ella was finally done for the day and could go home. So she started collecting her things so she could go home in peace with no worries about her things. Once she had everything Ella got up and left the cubical like she was leaving the gates of hell and going to heaven.

"Hey Manager, I'm going home now!" Ella called out weakly to her manager with the little energy she had.

"Alright, I'll see you in a day or two." The manager said as he continued to do his own work.

Ella left the office and called up a cab to take her to her apartment as the buses were done for the night. The city of Pittsburgh was brightly lit up as always even during the very early mornings. Ella stood on the sidewalk, looking like a zombie waiting for her cab to come and pick her up.

After about five minutes the cab finally arrived and Ella got in as soon as it parked. She collapsed in the back and tiredly told the driver where to take her, which was just her apartment building. The driver didn't say much and just drove her back to her apartment, which was just fine for Ella. Once at the apartment Ella paid the driver and got out of the cab.

She stumbled inside the building, with the night shift receptionist being the only other sign of life inside the room (aside from the plants in the room). Ella manages to make her way into the elevator without passing out from exhaustion. She pressed the button that took her to her apartment's floor and waited as the elevator shook a little as it went up. As soon as the elevator reached the floor and the doors opened Ella stepped out and made her way to her apartment.

Soon she's at her apartment, she unlocks it and goes inside. She then closed and locked the door behind her before heading to her room. She was so exhausted and tired that she didn't even bother to take off her work clothes or even turn on the lights. She just passed out in her bed and fell fast asleep instantly, as if she'd been shot with a tranquilizing dart.

The next day Ella woke up and looked at the clock sitting on her bed shelf and saw that it was now well into the afternoon.

"I slept for most of the day and I'm still slammed so hard. Maybe I should just make myself something that isn't processed or instant food, and drink some goddamn water! At this rate I think my kidneys are going to blow a fuse with how much I've been overworking them." Ella said to herself as she slowly got out of bed.

However before she went to the kitchen to make a proper meal, she stripped off her work clothes, along with her undergarments. She then walked up to her dresser and opened the draw where she kept all her underwear. She picked out a cute and comfortable pair of underwear and put it on. Since Ella lived alone in her apartment she was free to walk in nothing but her favorite underwear without a care in the world.

Once she had her underwear on she went into the kitchen and started cooking up a healthy and proper meal. As she cooked she turned the TV on and switched on the news to get some updates.

"Hello everyone, I'm Barbra and I'll be your newscaster for the day." The woman on the TV said.

Ella just started cooking while the announcements on the news just became another background noise, aside from her neighbors walking around their apartments.

"In recent events outbursts of violence have been happening all over the city. The hospitals have also been overflowing with patients who seem to have suffered horrific injuries from the attacks. Those who were killed seemed to have huge chunks of their flesh bitten right off. The police believe that some satanic cannibalistic cult is behind the attacks. It also seems that those who survive fall ill after a few hours from the attack. After about a day they suddenly disappeared from their hospital room with the only thing left behind is a trail of blood. It's unknown what has happened to these people yet but the police say they are doing all they can to find them." Barbra explained.

Ella just listened to the news and didn't take too much interest in what was going on. She was too tired from work to even care, as she just wanted the news as background noise. After sometime she finished making herself a healthy meal and once it was finished Ella got a glass of water. She then swiftly drank the water as her body was crying out for something that wasn't coffee. As she drank it she felt like it was absolute heaven for her.

"Ah! OMG! I never thought I'd miss the taste of fresh water!" Ella said to herself.

She then refilled her glass again before taking her plate and went back into her room. She sat down on the floor and sat the plate down on the table, that was thankfully small enough for her to not need a chair. She then changed the TV channel from the news to a station that was currently playing her favorite live action TV show. Ella sat back and watched the show while enjoying her food that wasn't processed or even a microwavable store bought meal.

"Ah, this is like heaven! I know my body's thanking me for this right now!" Ella exclaimed happily as she felt as if the food was from a five stair restaurant.

Later in the day Ella was now watching some brain rotting shows to help her unwind more from the tiring work weeks. As she laid down on the bed she heard someone knocking on the door rapidly.

"LET ME IN! HURRY PLEASE! THERE'S SOMETHING GOING! S-SOMEONE ATTACKED ME! PLEASE HURRY UP AND LET ME IN!" Ella heard a woman screaming.

While Ella wouldn't normally let some rando in her apartment, she recognized the voice as her upstairs neighbors daughter. The couple was currently out in Hawaii for a vacation while their daughter stayed here for school.

"Hang on, hang on! I'm coming!" Ella called out as she got up and grabbed her bathrobe off its hanger.

She put it on and then went up to her apartment door, unlocking it she opened it up and the young teenager collapsed into the apartment and Ella's arms. She then began crying in Ella's arms as she seemed to have gone through something horrifying. Ella noticed that the girl had many scratches on her body and she even saw a bite mark on her shoulder. Not sure if the person responsible was still out there Ella closed and locked the door again just for safety. Once locked and secure, Ella took the girl to her room and sat her down on the bed. She then went into the kitchen and got the girl a glass of water, returning to the bedroom Ella placed the glass in the girl's hand.

"*sniff* T-Thank you, I-I was so scared!" the girl exclaimed, still sniffling and shaky from what happened.

"Hey, hey it's alright, you're safe here with me. You want to explain what happened?" Ella asked curiously on how the girl got her injuries.

"I-I was heading home after going out to karaoke with my friends, and there was this guy in the alleyway on the other side of the street. I-I thought he was on some substance as he was acting strange and twitching violently. B-But then he started sprinting at me, and he attacked me. I believe he was on drugs as he was way too strong or that's what I thought from how he looked, but h-he looked like he was... r-rotting." The girl explained.

"What?!" Ella exclaimed, confused.

"I know it's hard to believe but his face just looked like it was rotting. He didn't look human, I managed to push him off of me, but he bit and scratched me. I ran all the way here and tried to find anyone who would help me. And now I'm here with you, telling you all this." The girl explained having finished her story.

She then took a big gulp of water and started to calm down a little. Ella remained quiet for a bit, thinking about what she could do to try and help the girl feel better.

"Hey you want me to call the cops and an ambulance for you?" Ella asked, hoping that with the help of proper authorities they could find the stranger.

"S-Sure, go on and do that." the girl said.

She then placed her water on the table and laid down on Ella's bed, and passed out faster than Ella did last night. After the girl passed out Ella got up and grabbed her phone off the table and dialed in the emergency number. When the operator answered her call, she started explaining the whole situation to the operator.

Once she was done with her explanation the person on the other side of the line said "Alright we'll send an ambulance over along with some officers to access the situation. You just make sure the girl is alright and stay on the line with me in case something happens."

"alright, but I'll need to put the phone down as I'm gonna put on some actual clothes as I'm just in some underwear and a bathrobe right now." Ella explained.

"That's alright, just make sure your phone is still near you and on speaker." The operator explained.

"Understood, I'll let you know if anything happens." Ella said, then went up to her dresser and started digging through it.

She went for a sky blue tank top and dark green baggy lazy day pants. Once she got the main clothes on Ella went up to the sleeping girl and looked to see if she was doing alright. She lightly touched the girl's forehead and it felt pretty hot.

"Um, the girl is running a fever. I don't know how she wasn't before but now she is, and I'm not sure what to do!" Ella explained feeling a bit worried about what was happening.

"Don't worry the ambulance will be there soon, just make sure nothing bad happens to her till they get there." The operator explained.

Ella understood and sat back, waiting for the ambulance to arrive and hopefully help the poor kid out. After a few minutes, Ella heard the loud sirens roaring outside, so she got up and unlocked her apartment door. She then looked over the balcony and saw the ambulance and some police cars parked in the parking lot.

Ella stood there watching as the medics and officers scrambled out of their cars and went up to the apartment. Once they were up Ella let them in and the paramedics put the girl on a stretcher while the police asked Ella a few questions. She answered them as best as she could from what she knew, but she couldn't give out many details.

Soon the police had asked her everything they needed, so they informed her that they'll update her about the situation. The paramedics and police all then left the apartment and got back into their cars/vans. As soon as the vehicles were out of sight Ella decided to go back to watching shows that would rot her brain so she'd be more effective at work.

However as Ella went back inside her apartment she had no idea that in a few days her whole life would be turned completely upside down. As the world is beginning to suffer a change that would change everything for many years to come.

[havin-a-wee]

Appointment (Doctor's Orders Part 2)

read part 1 here

send me a request here

masterlist

pairing: gynecologist!harry x reader/doctor!harry x reader

word count: 4.7k

warnings: the filthiest of filth. like im serious this is basically pure smut.

its finally here! im in love with the way this turned out and i hope you guys are too! i got a few requests for this, and im actually really liking these two characters, so lemme know if you want me to make a series out of this!

Y/N's texts are in italics

Harry's texts are in bold

You felt like a kid in a candy store as you skipped out of the building, being welcomed by a setting sun. You weren’t just skipping out of excitement though, it was also because if you walked normally the shaking of your legs would be extremely noticeable. Luckily, when you arrived you had managed to find a parking spot nearby, so it didn’t take you long to make your way to the small black car that you recently purchased for yourself.

A small noise signaled when you unlocked the car, and you slipped into the driver’s seat quickly, shutting the door as you sat down.

You let yourself slouch, your back hitting the leather seat and a heavy exhale pushing through your flared nostrils. Finally, you had a moment to take in the events that just took place, and the excitement and nervousness flowed through your brain. Luckily, there was no regret swirled in with your feelings, although you were sure there wouldn’t be. Okay, maybe it wasn’t the ideal situation to have your first orgasm, but if this was how Harry would make his way into your life, you couldn’t complain. You closed your eyes and sighed, the post-orgasmic haze you’ve heard so much about finally settling in. In the darkness a smiling face appeared, and you grinned as well at the detailed picture of Harry your mind had concocted.

Suddenly, you sat up with a gasp, gripping the gear shift with your clammy hand. You had just remembered about the small piece of paper sitting in your pocket. The piece of paper with the number of the most beautiful man you’ve ever seen written on it. He had told you to text him when he got home, so obviously you had to get home as fast as possible.

Having been driving since you were 16, the motions were second nature, and the only thought you had to put into it was when you were checking to see if there was anyone in the way before you backed out of your parking spot.

Your apartment was only 10 minutes away, and you spent those 10 minutes half paying attention to the road, half thinking about the man that had his fingers inside of you. The thought in itself was causing arousal to pool in your already soiled panties. The expensive lingerie was undoubtedly going to end up in the trash, but you’d rather lose a pair of panties than lose a chance with Harry.

You pulled into your designated spot in the parking garage attached to your apartment building, and ran so quickly to the elevator that you almost tripped on your own feet. Thankfully the silver doors slid open without delay, and you swiftly stepped into the small area. Your manicured finger frantically pushed on the ‘door close’ button. The last thing you needed was someone walking into the elevator with you, seeing your bright red complexion and flushed features. Much to your relief, that didn’t happen, and the elevator lifted you up to the third floor. Objectively, the elevator was incredibly quick. However, in your needy state it felt so slow as if you were riding the shell of a turtle. The loud dinging pulled you back into reality, your mind wandering. You were thinking about what Harry’s hands felt like, and what they would feel like on the parts of your body that he hadn’t gotten to touch.

Yet.

You fumbled with your keys, attempting to grip your phone at the same time. After a bit of struggling, the rigged piece of metal slid into the slot on the doorknob, the door swinging open after you twisted the key. When you tried to remove the key from the lock, it stayed in place, pulling you backwards and almost making you fall.

You smiled at your own clumsiness, not focused enough to allow embarrassment to develop throughout you. Again jiggling the key, it slipped out of the lock and you quickly pushed the door closed using your back. You were left leaning up against the wooden door, flipping your phone screen to face you and sticking your hand in your pocket. You fished around in the small cavity, your fingers locating the small piece of paper that was making you so giddy. You punched the scribbled numbers into your contact app with haste.

Although you wanted to text him more than anything, you reasoned with yourself for a second. Instead of clicking at the keys on your screen, you picked your head up, disconnecting it from the bright touch screen in your hand.

Sucking in a deep breath, you turned back to the phone, satisfied with your attempt to calm yourself.

Hi Harry, it’s Y/N.

Instead of immediately going for something sexual, you wanted to start off the conversation normally. Also, there was the fact that you had no idea what he was actually looking for by giving you his number. His response came quicker than you could of ever expected, the typing bubble popping up seconds after the delivered sign appeared underneath your text.

Hi! I’m glad you actually texted me, because honestly I thought you wouldn’t.

Why would you think that? I would have to be pretty shitty to do something like that with you and then ditch.

I promise I don’t think you’re like that, it’s just the whole thing happened it slightly odd circumstances haha

It’s totally okay I get it, but I definitely don’t want that to be the only time something like that happens ;)

You were feeling bold, now sitting on your bed removing the heeled white boots you wore to match your outfit.

I’m glad you feel that way, because I feel the same. Just curious, when exactly would you want to do “something like that” again?

You giggled while reading his text, practically hearing the pauses of shyness that he would take if he said it in person.

As soon as you want to.

I’m sitting in my car right now about to go home, but I could make a pitstop if you asked politely..

Will you please come over and take care of me Daddy?

You cringed as soon as your finger hit the send button. Sexting was definitely not your forte, and in the heat of the moment you had forgotten that you hadn’t indulged in that kink with him the first time.

Who knew you could be so dirty love?

Send me your address. I'll be there asap.

You tapped away at the keys on your phone, sending him your information and you saw that he read it, but didn’t respond, clearly driving to you already.

Your panties were absolutely ruined at this point, and you made the decision to take them off, gliding the lacy white panties down your thighs and calves. When they fell on the floor, you picked your feet up to remove them from the leg holes, leaning over to pick up the panties with your hand. You wanted to show them to Harry, show him how messy he made you.

You clenched your thighs together, your core pulsing like a second heartbeat. A small whine slipped past your lips, and your eyes widened at your own actions. You had never been this aroused or needy in your life, and while these feelings were new, they weren’t scary like a lot of new feelings were for you. It was exciting, and just thinking about Harry rushing over to you because he wanted you so badly was sending fire through your veins. No one had ever wanted you so much, and you have never wanted someone this much. And it’s exhilarating.

After a painfully long time sitting on the edge of your bed anxiously, a loud knock on the door had you standing up in a flash, sauntering over to the door with unnatural speed. Your arousal began to drip down onto your thighs now that you were standing. The slickness between them had them sliding against one another, but the feeling was overshadowed by the rapid beating of your heart. You gripped the doorknob so tightly that your knuckles turned white, twisting your hand and pulling the door open.

“Ello love.”

He stood in the doorway with his hand resting on the top of the doorframe, towering over you. He had that sexy smirk plastered on his face and you ran your eyes up and down his figure, taking in the man before you. He was wearing a black t-shirt, which was loose but tight enough that his pecs were defined in the shirt. He had on a pair of black dress pants which the t-shirt was tucked into. There were tattoos littering his arms, which you hadn’t seen before because of the lab coat he wore during your appointment.

You thought he couldn’t get any hotter than before, but the person in front of you proved you wrong.

“Hi,” you murmured timidly, your boldness from the texting having disappeared. “Come in,” you stepped to the side, opening the door wider so he could step into your apartment. You closed the door, and against your better judgement you turned to the kitchen, trying to find that desperation that had allowed you to throw away all of your anxieties. “Do you want water or something?” You weren’t sure what to say, so you went with the default offer for a drink.

“No.”

You spun around, looking at Harry and tilting your head in confusion.

“I want you.”

He took a long stride forward and placed his large hand on the soft skin of your cheek, leaning in and connecting your lips with his. His lips were as soft as cloud, and you kissed him back with just as much vigor. The kiss was passionate, mixing moans into the drafty air. You sucked his bottom lip and bit down lightly, and a low growl bubbled up from his throat.

Your heart skipped a beat when his tongue swirled around yours. You jumped slightly at the impact of the wall on your back, Harry pushing you into the cold drywall.

Finally pulling away to allow breathing, you and Harry kept your foreheads pressing on each other, leaning some of his weight on you.

“Y’so beautiful darlin, reckon yeh the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen.”

His hot breath hit your face when he breathed, and you were squirming underneath him.

“I could say the same for you,” you huffed out, refusing to break eye contact.

“Thank you baby,” he cooed, placing his veiny hand on your plump cheek and running his thumb across it. The tip of his finger reached your swollen lips, and he pushed his large thumb pass them. You eagerly sucked on the digit, hollowing your cheeks and treating it like you would his cock.

His free hand had found a home on your waist, but he hadn’t moved it since he initiated the kiss, and you were getting frustrated. You reached down and placed your hand atop his, looking up through your eyelashes into his emerald eyes. They’re piercing, and you knew that one stare from him would have any girl on her knees.

The tops of his cold rings touched your fingers when you peeled his hand from its strong grasp and your waist. You were looking at him with innocent doe eyes while you lifted his significantly larger hand and placed it back on your side, but this time at the same level as your breasts. He broke the deep eye contact you were sharing to look down at his hand, slowly shifting it to cup you through your thin tank top.

“M’baby girl is desperate fo me huh?” Harry teased you and you nodded frantically, whimpering in neediness. He pulled his finger from your wet mouth and in a split second he collided his lips with yours once again, but they didn’t remain there for long. He dragged his lips down your jaw, sucking and kissing down your neck. You tilted your head to give him better access, moaning when he sucked on a particularly sensitive spot.

His hand that you had moved was pulling and squeezing at your full breast, eventually rucking your tank top up to pinch at your budding nipple underneath. You had removed your bra when you got home, and a small smirk tugged at your face when he moaned at the realization. A sheen of sweat was glistening on his forehead and you lifted your arms straight in the air, giving him permission to remove your top. He pulled it over your head hastily, only breaking the kiss for a moment when the fabric covered your face. You didn’t see what he did with the top, your focus diverted to the feeling of his lower torso. You had removed the hem of his shirt from underneath his pants, only leaving the back part tucked because you couldn’t reach it.

You splayed your hands over his hardened abs, and he snaked his arm around your waist and pulled you closer in response. His head was buried in the crook of your neck, leaving hickey after hickey on the silky skin. He nipped and licked at your skin as if you were a popsicle, sweet and refreshing.

“Daddy, please -- off!” Your moans cut off your words, rendering you unable to form a coherent sentence.

“Y’want me to take my shirt off baby? Such a naughty little minx y’are.”

Despite his teasing, he pulled away from you to grab the bottom of his shirt and ripped it off in one fell swoop.

You barely had time to take in the tattoos on his chest, only being able to identify a large butterfly right in the middle before he looped his arms around your waist. “Jump.” His command was quiet, but you heard it perfectly clear.

You bent your knees and jumped up, his arms following your motions. You lifted your legs and wrapped them around his bare torso. You hugged him tightly, your arms wrapping around his neck and sinking your face into his soft brown curls. His hair smelled of expensive shampoo, and you indulged in the sweet scent. “Behind you,” you whispered, directing him to your bedroom.

Without a second of hesitation, he turned around and carried you to the bedroom. You took it upon yourself to place sloppy kisses on his neck, giving him the same hickeys he had given you.

You giggled when he bent over the bed, dropping you from about an inch off the red comforter covering your bed.

“Don’t know why y’laughin’ pet, cause m’about to fuck yeh till yeh can’t walk.” You gasped when the dirty words registered in your head, and he sported a shit-eating grin on his face. His hands grasped your thighs and he ran them up and down, getting dangerously close to your core. You were writhing under his grasp, pleas for him to do something tumbling out of your mouth. “Patience baby.” He didn’t look up at you when he spoke, instead hiking your skirt up to get a look at your sopping cunt. “Look at you, s’wet already and I’ve barely touched you.”

“All for you, only for you Daddy.” Your words were wailed, every muscle in your body aching for a release. He traced his warm fingers along the crease of your thigh, right next to the place you needed him most.

“Gonna let me have a taste baby? Wanna taste yeh so bad.” He finally looked back up at you, but only for a second before his eyes connected with your glistening pussy again.

“N-no.”

Although you greatly wanted him to put his mouth on you, there was one thing you were craving more.

“No?” His demeanor changed immediately, removing his hands from your body and sitting on his knees between your calves. He removed every source of physical contact you were sharing, and you realized that he took your words in a way you hadn’t intended.

“Still want you Daddy, just want something else.” The second part of your sentence was murmured, and you turned your head to face away from him out of embarrassment. Out of your peripheral vision, you could see him raise an eyebrow, placing his hands by your shoulders and returning to his place hovering above you.

“Look at me little girl. Y’sure yeh don’t want me to taste yeh?”

You followed his command after a beat, looking at his disheveled state.

“What do yeh want baby? M’feelin generous today.” He was speaking in pants, his curls sticking to the perspiration-slick surface of his forehead.

“Wanna taste you Daddy. Please lemme-”

You reached down to unbuckle his belt, but he caught your hand before you could.

“Thas’ what this is all about? Such a slut f’me that you’d rather taste me then lemme taste you?” His hand moved to caress your cheek, running his finger across your saliva coated lip.

“Yes, wanna suck you off so bad Daddy.” You pushed out your lip forming an adorable pout, giving him your best puppy eyes and making sure he saw the tears of desperation welling in your lust blown eyes.

“Alright, alright, how do yeh wanna do it baby?” Instead of responding, you grasped the back of his firm thighs, pulling him up towards your face. He got the hint, shifting his knees to sit by your chest. You were now face to face with his very prominent bulge, and your mouth watered at the sight. Even though you wanted to unbuckle his belt yourself, he did it for you, allowing his rock hard erection to spring free after rolling down his boxers.

He stroked himself a few times, and you lifted your head to try and get him in your mouth. He pushed your shoulder down, and made it clear that he wanted to be in control. Finally, after much anticipation he placed his cock on the tip of your tongue, which you had stuck out for him to do exactly that.

You accepted it eagerly, sucking harshing on the tip of his cock. He moaned lowly, tilting his head backwards in ecstasy. You ran your tongue along his sensitive slit, reveling in the filthy noises and expletives that spilled out of his sweet pink lips.

Once you were satisfied with your teasing, you took him in your mouth about halfway, stopping before you gagged. Your hand made its way to the base of his thick shaft, pumping the part of him that you couldn’t fit in your mouth. You bobbed your head up and down his cock, your tongue twisting and twirling around his member. You made sure to pay extra attention to his tip, giving it kitten licks when you needed to take a breather. Each time you took him back in your mouth, you pushed yourself further down, this time gagging after pushing him all the way down your throat. He stopped his groans of pleasure to look down at you, and he swore he could cum from just seeing you under him with smeared mascara and teary eyes. “Y’ok baby?” You nodded with him still in your mouth. You stilled for a moment, trying to think of a way to tell him that you wanted him to fuck your mouth. His hand was holding your hair out of your face as a makeshift hair tie, and you decided to tap on the wrist of that hand to give him permission. He looked down at you and raised his eyebrows, a silent gesture to assure you were okay with it. You nodded, his cock moving up and down with your head. He didn’t need any more instructions, pushing your head down on his shaft instantly.

You choked and gagged as he took control, moving your head up and down his thick cock. “Doin’ so well f’me baby, taking m’cock like a good little slut.” His purrs of approval were raspy, moan and gasps chopping his sentence up. Periodically, he pulled you off of him, allowing you to catch your breath before plunging back down on his member again.

The sudden pulsing of his cock inside your mouth was a wordless praise, and you were incredibly proud that you were able to bring him to his orgasm as quickly as you did.

He pulled you off of him again, and you heaved a few times as you filled your lungs back up with oxygen. But unlike before, he didn’t bring you back onto his cock, even pulling you back when you attempted to put him back in your mouth yourself. You cried out when he repositioned himself between your legs, back in the place he was when you were first on the bed.

All you wanted to do was finish him off, but he wouldn’t let you for a reason that was unknown to you.

“Daddy!” You were about to beg and whine to finish him off but his index finger on your lips kept you from your begging.

“As much as I’d love t’watch yeh swallow m’cum, I need t’feel this gorgeous cunt of yours.”

You quivered when the bands of his icy cold rings gripped the warm, supple flesh of your inner thighs. They dug into your skin, sending a pleasurable tingling sensation throughout your body, landing in your core.

If you were horny before, there wasn’t even a word to describe how utterly turned on you were now.

Your skirt was already hiked up from before, but Harry wanted it off fully. He ran his fingers across the waistband, finally finding the zipper and unzipping it faster than you could blink. “Bloody hell baby,” he grunted, taking a moment to admire your fully naked body squirming under him, begging for him to touch you. He wished he had a camera to capture you in this state, only thinking about one thing, him.

He stood up, his feet barely hitting the floor before he yanked his pants and boxers off. He was huge, and you stared at his prick in awe, even though you’ve been looking at it. His size was truly difficult to take in, because usually a big cock is either long or thick, not both. But Harry was both and some, and you were convinced that you would be content sucking on it for the rest of your life.

Distracted by your own dirty thoughts, you weren’t paying attention to what Harry was doing, only being shocked out of your haze when he ran two of his fingers across your sticky folds. He pulled his fingers away as your body jolted, surprised by the sudden contact. Strings of your arousal connected your cunt to his fingers, and he cursed under his breath. His fingers were covered in your juices and he stuck the digits in his mouth, sucking happily when he finally got to taste your sweet, sweet nectar.

He hummed constantly when he took the fingers out of his mouth. “Taste even sweeter than I imagined, baby. Could eat y’up all day long.”

You mewled and kicked your legs, tired of all of the teasing. “Daddy... just want you inside me!” He hushed you and reassured you that he would take care of you, leaning over your body and positioning himself on top of you. He lined himself up with you, his tip bumping your puffy clit. You whimpered and Harry took the message, finally pushing his rock hard cock into your soaking wet core.

“Fuck -- Daddy you’re s-so big,” you whined. He tilted forward, his lips brushing your ear as he whispered sweet nothings into your ear.

It took a minute for him to bottom out, Harry pushing in slowly to minimize the sting. There was a bit of pain as your body conformed to fit him inside of your tight little hole.

“Fuck baby, y’so fucking tight, might come just from this.” He had a silly smile on his face, but you both knew there was no joke laced between his words. He latched his darkened lips on an indent by your collar bone, nipping and licking on the skin while he waited for the approval to move.

“Move. Please move.”

The first thrust was hard and fast, he pulled almost fully out of you and then slammed him hips back up into you.

“Shit!”

Just like when you had him in your mouth, you could feel the thick veins running along his sizable shaft. He repeated the same type of movement for the next few thrusts, pounding into you and drawing back out over and over.

“So,” “Fuckin,” “Beautiful,”

Each of his words preceded a snapping of his hips, slamming into you particularly hard after calling you beautiful.

“Feels- feels so good, so good Daddy.” You were sobbing with pleasure. His thick cock filled you up so good it was like he was made for you.

“Didn’t even think it was possible f’someone t’be this tight baby. You’re takin’ meh so well sweet girl, so so well.” He found a rhythm, snapping his hips into yours, your velvety walls engulfing his cock perfectly. Watching himself disappear inside your tight hole egged Harry on even more, as well as the noises that your juices made when he rammed himself inside your pretty little cunt. His thumb was pressed against your clit, circling the overly sensitive bundle of nerves. Pleasure was coursing through your veins, the firey burning feeling better than anything you had ever felt before.

Your hands were spread across his back, nails digging crescent shaped divots into the skin. Each time your fingers dug into the expanse of his back he growled, so you did it after each thrust. His lips were everywhere, kissing and licking all of the exposed skin that he could reach.

“Daddy..”

He took your pebbled nibble into his mouth, unable to resist after watching your tits bounce when he pushed himself in and out of you.

“So good baby, s’like y’were made fo me,” he cooed, your reply dying in your throat when he pressed his lips to yours.

You bit each other’s lips and swirled tongues like you had done at the beginning of the night. After a minute of rough kisses, he pulled away, and you both gasped for air. You could tell his thrusts were getting sloppier, and his cock twitched inside of you like it had when you took him in your mouth.

“Was made for you, just you.”

“Thas’ my good girl.”

His hand instinctively reached for your throat, and you watched his cheek heat up when he realized what he had done. But you grabbed his hand and placed it back on your throat. “Please,” you croaked out, desperate for him to choke you and make you see stars.

He smirked and obliged, pressing on the sides of your throat but avoiding your windpipe. Euphoria overtook your body at the new found sensation and the knot that had formed in your stomach was threatening to come loose. The tightness in your stomach translated to your center, and you clenched tightly around Harry.

“Y’gonna come? Can feel y’squeezin me love, lets come together yeah?” You gave him a tiny nod of agreement, too weak from your impending orgasm to give him a better response. “Let go f’me baby.”

The knot in your stomach uncoiled rapidly, bursting inside of you and sending shudders throughout every inch of your body. Seconds later Harry released inside of you, his hot ropes of cum painting your walls. Your eyesight got blurry and white spots clouded your vision as Harry worked you both through your climaxes. You thought the orgasm he gave you at your appointment was strong, but this one sent you to another plane of reality.

His movements slowed and he removed his thumb from your swollen button, which you were thankful for due to your hypersensitivity.

When you finally came back to reality, Harry was above you, pulling himself out of you. You placed your hand on his cheek, diverting his green eyes to look at yours. “Stay in, please?” He simply nodded, pushing back into you fully. He was already hardening again, but who could blame him? Your face alone was enough to get him rock hard and leaking precome.

He rolled you two to your sides, cuddling into each other’s bare chests. You shared no more words, both of you drifting off to a blissful sleep within minutes. But you didn’t need to ask him to know that this was the first time you slept together, but most definitely not the last.

[jflemings]

you don’t need to prove yourself to me | spencer reid

summary: the BAU gets called into a local homicide case where all the victims have been women. You end up questioning the unsub and he hits a bit too close to home. 

warnings: murder, aggressive tones & language, mentions of violence against women, substance abuse & domestic violence is mentioned, normal cm type stuff ends in fluff tho!

note from the author: This fic might get pretty heavy for some people reading, nothing too major. substance abuse is mentioned as is minor domestic violence but does not go into detail it is just for the sake of the plot. do not read if you feel like you are not comfortable with these topics!

word count: 5k - I am so sorry but this fic wouldn't make sense to make into two parts whoops 

“The unsub in question is presumably a white male in his mid to late fifties with some sort of prior anger issues. He may seem relatively approachable at first, often may be charming to people he first meets but has an underlying sense of self rightousness and hatred towards women.” Hotch says before looking at you to continue.

Your attention shifts from your superior to the crowd of police officers in front of you “Chances are he’s a family man, a local. someone who knows his way around the area and can hide in plain sight. Depreciating jokes about women and possibly even a spouse could be in his humor, most likely he holds old sexist values. Grew up in an abusive household or with no mother which is where his lack of respect for women stems from.” you conclude your statement with a scan around the room, getting a feel for the reactions in the crowd before JJ starts to pull you away to a back office where the team has been set up temporarily this morning. 

The door closes with a soft click as JJ leans up against it, her hand still on the handle. The sound of shifting papers fills the suddenly very obvious quiet room while you stand at the desk organising the case file and any evidence left on the desk, your long time friend stares at you and you can feel her eyes burning into the left side of your face before breaking her silence. 

“Y/N what’s wrong?” the calm tone floats through the room as you stop shuffling papers and look up to the photos of the women on the evidence board before making eye contact with your most respected colleague 

“I grew up with these women. One of them was my tutor in math when I was a sophomore, JJ!. To you guys these women are strangers but to me they’re friendly faces whom I’ve been with since I was a toddler and it frustrates me so much to not know if I’m waiting around for a dead body of an old classmate” A breath releases itself from your lungs and a weight has started to lift off of your shoulders and be replaced with a steady hand.

“This sick son of a bitch isn’t going to be doing this for much longer. We’re gonna catch him, y/n and I promise you can be the one to put his head on a stick” Her reassuring gaze and firm but kind smile is enough to put you at ease before Reid comes busting through the door.

His eyes are locked on you 

“There’s been an attack” is all he can get out before your blood runs cold and you’re out of the station making a beeline for Hotch in the parking lot. 

His back is turned to you but it doesn’t take a genius to know that right now he’s determined to find the unseen before it’s too late. 

“Hotch! what’s going on!?” His name desperatly leaves your mouth before you, JJ and Spencer are stood in front of him 

“a young woman was attacked two blocks away from her home, she fought back and is okay but may need to be taken to hosptial. She specifically asked for you” 

You can feel the colour rapidly drain from your face, your great rate sky rocketing “Where was she attacked?”

“Corner of Anderson and Meyers street” 

..

The street is lined with patrol cars and officers when you pull up with spencer, your hands on the wheel are shaking and white and you can’t control the over whelming feeling in the core of your stomach.

Your blank stare and lack of response doesn’t go unnoticed by your boyfriend of a year. He reaches over to put the car in park and then gently takes your hands off the steering wheel and placing them in his own . 

“Y/N look at me. She’s okay. She’s alive and she wants to speak with you. She fought and he couldn’t grab her.” Spencer’s slow tone is attention grabbing enough for your eyes to pry themselves away from the scene in front of you. 

His eyes soften when he sees the tears brimming in your own and feels the ever so slight shake coming from your palms. Spencer had seen you cry before, yes, but not like this; the BAU had taken plenty of cases like this one but it was obvious to him now that you had taken this far more personal than he had initially though. His left hand removed itself from yours and brushed some fly away hairs behind your ear before gently resting it on the side of your face.

“if you want, we can sit here for a minute I’ll call Hotch now and tell him to take the lead and we’ll sit and yo-” He begins to ramble and you move his hand from your face so you can ahem his full attention.

“Spence, it’s okay. You and I can go over and speak with the victim; I’m going to be fine” you spoke softly with a smile on your face de before the both of you unbuckled yourselves and headed towards the ambulance parked in front of the corner. 

The young woman is sitting in he back of the ambulance whilst holding an ice pack to the right side of her arm. Emily stands in front of her trying to get any information she can when you approach so you can take over. 

“Thanks, Em. Reid and I can take over” you say before she puts a hand on or arm and walks away so your undivided attention is now on the woman in the back of the ambulance. 

“Hello my name is Dr Reid and this is my partner Agent L/N, you- uh insisted you speak with us” Spencer introduces whilst flicking his gaze from you to the victim.

It’s like a tidal wave of realisation comes over you once you finally get a good look at the person in front of you “Oh my god- are you okay?” both hands grip the woman’s shoulders is utter disbelief and a look of concern is now occupying your features. “Ellie, what did he try to do to you?” the question comes out rushed while your eyes scan her body.

“Y/N! oh my god you’ll never believe it! I was just doing my normal track and when I got to this corner he tried to grab me. He held a knife to my stomach and threatened to stabbed me if I screamed but I couldn't take any chances so I hit him in his ribs and then heeled his toes as hard as I could but he still managed to get me on my arm and hip” She said exhausted, like she had just re lived it right in front of you. Stress crossed her features and her hand gripped her forehead.

You turn to your dumbfounded boyfriend standing beside you and you remembered that he had yet to properly meet your high school best friend.

“Ellie this is Spencer” you gestured to him and Ellie looked like she had finally found a thought that was floating in her brain “My boyfriend spencer” you clarified.

Instinctively, she stuck her hand out for him to shake “Oh of course! You’re the cute doctor” she smiled graciously when he did take her hand while Spence side eyed you.

“Sorry we aren’t meeting under better circumstances” He gave her a tight lipped smile before taking out his notebook “We were just wondering if we could ask a few questions? We’re not too sure we can wait ‘till after you’ve been checked out of hospital” spencer said.

You agreed with him “Did you happen to get a look at his face? or possibly any identifying characteristics” you quizzed while she racked her brain for some answers. 

She sighed before answering “His hair was clean cut, like he had just gotten it done and his eyes were kind of deep set- like he hadn’t had a good nights sleep in at least a couple of months” she hesitated before looking at Reid “He wasn’t as tall as Spencer but he still had a bit of height on him, I think came up just past his shoulder” She stopped again and mindlessly scanned the crowd of uniformed officers before she set her sights back onto you. “The shirt Y/N! underneath his hoodie he wore a grey collard shirt that looked exactly like the police uniform”

 Spencer’s head whipped around to the crowd of officers, either trying to find your superior or trying to find the suspected unsub. You wracked your brain, thoughts flying in and out of your head a million miles a minute. Nerves once again invaded your stomach and you started to rock from foot to foot trying to come up with someone- anyone- who possibly fit this profile and then it happened.

A light bulb moment. A realisation. A solution to all your problems went off in your brain. 

You grabbed the thing closest to you which was coincidentally spencer’s right forearm “Tell Hotch we need everyone back at the station as well as photos taken of all uniform officers from the past fifteen years, I need to get onto Garcia asap I think I know who our unsub is” Your tone was firm and merely unfamiliar to Spencer, you had never spoken to him like that before so he knew you meant business.

You had taken your phone out of your back pocket and turned in the direction of the car, starting to rush away from the ambulance before spencer caught up with you and caught your arm in his hand 

“Where are you going?” Once said out loud he knew it was a stupid question and judging by the flat look on your face you did too. he let out a defeated sigh “No, I know exactly where you’re going but I mean what are you doing going back without the team?” 

His eyes scanned your face and he dropped his head so the two of you were on the same level “If the unsub is a uniformed officer I’m not letting you go back to the station without the team. We don’t know if he’s out here with us right now or back a the station waiting” His tone was hushed and firm like he wanted to make sure neither of you could be heard but also to ensure you knew that he meant what he was saying. 

“Spen-” 

“No Y/N” He now stood at his full stature which you were now coming to realise could be quite intimidating “Do not argue with me about this. This guy, animal, absolute son of a bitch targets women, seemingly people he knows. You’re a local and started out as a uniformed officer in this precinct so if you genuinely think that there is even a slither of a chance that I’m going to let you walk back into that station you are very much mistaken” He was confident as assertive when he spoke to you and when he finished his chest started to rise and fall with frustrated breaths.

He had never spoken to you like that or told you what you could and couldn’t do, especially when it came to a case. Spencer adored you- practically worshiped the very ground you walked on- because he had the up most faith in you and respect for you. He was very confident in the fact that you could take care of yourself with or without a gun strapped to your belt.

You visibly deflated and let out a deep sigh neither of you were aware you were holding in. Spencer once again got down to your eye level

 “Okay Spence, okay” you reassured him. 

You caught sight of Morgan over Spencer’s shoulder and called to him 

“Get the team back to the precinct and Garcia on the phone Derek!” your voice caught the attention of Gideon and JJ who was giving you a nod when you turn back to spencer and motion to get in the car.

While stopped at traffic lights Spencer dialled Garcia’s number and put it on speaker phone 

“You have reached the resident genius what can I do for you my sweet?” Penelope’s voice sang through the phone and spencer made a face at the use of ‘resident genius’ 

“Pen I need you to pull up the most recent photos taken of the uniformed officers at this precinct and look for a white man, mid to late fifties with a clean cut haircut, deep set eyes and he’ll have scars that look like fingernail scratches at the base of his neck” you could feel spencer’s curious mind get the better of him when you included that last detail but you were determined not tot make your eyes off the road.

“Bingo baby! Nick Kane, fifty five years old standing at five foot nine with, exactly like you said, three long fingernail-like scars at the base of his neck” she stated a-matter-a-factly 

A knowing smile came over your features “pull up anything you can find on him, a record, any house calls or complaints, anything that was maybe payed off or covered up” 

“you seem to know a lot about this guy, L/N” Penelope quizzed 

Reid could see the hesitation in your eyes as your grip tightened on the wheel 

“Don’t question it” you said through gritted teeth 

“Oh no I uh- I wasn’t” 

Your eyes slightly widened “No pen, not you” 

Garcia seemed to understand “I’ll have that faxed over for you my love”

A small smile found it’s way upon your lips “thank you P”

Spencer hung up the phone and looked out his window not noticing the glances you threw his way.

By the time you and Spence pulled up to the station you were in full on work mode. You were practically burning holes into the ground with your feet when you marched up to Morgan and Emily with your boyfriend hot on your heels. 

“I need the both of you to get information on Nick Kane’s whereabouts on this afternoon’s patrol. Ask any officers or detectives if they saw him leave the station at what time and if they didn’t ask them when the last time they saw him was” The words tumbled out of your mouth and all your two friends could do was nod 

Emily smiled proudly at you “all over it, Hotch is in there now but I’m not too sure he’s very successful” she nodded her head to the back where the interrogation rooms were. Derek nodded in agreement 

“Garcia also said that the files you asked her to fax over are ready” Morgan read the text off his phone which earned a grateful smile from you before walking off to grab the papers with all three of your co workers following you with their eyes.

Derek turned back around to face spencer who had worry written all over his face “Alright man, what’s going on? we got the bad guy, no one was majorly hurt today which means you can rest easy tonight” 

Spencer came back down to earth at the sound of his long-time friend’s voice. He sighed in defeat “We might have the bad guy, nothing is concrete right now even if he fits the profile, the victim was incredibly lucky that he only got her arm and hip and I can’t rest easy tonight because I know that Y/N is hiding something” Spencer’s hands flailed as he rambled, completely missing the look  Emily gave him.

“Hiding something? Spence what are you talking about? If she was hiding something she’d be hiding it from us, not you. I genuinely don’t think theres anything in the world that you don’t know about her” Emily said trying to calm him even a little bit 

“I thought you two agreed not to profile each other anyway? wasn’t that, like one of the first things you agreed on even when you were friends” Morgan raised an eyebrow 

“This isn’t me being an FBI agent and profiling her, it’s me being her boyfriend and worrying about her. She’s taken his case to heart more than I thought she would. It hits too close to home for her” Spencer concluded while he scuffed his feet at the old carpet floor “And I know that there were women killed that she knew personally but her demeanor changed once she figured out who our potential unsub was and I can’t figure out why...” Spencer begins to trail off when his eyes follow Hotch leaving the interrogation room.

Emily and Morgan follow his eye line and begin to follow after him. 

The first thing the doctor notices is that Hotch is more rigid than normal. His brow is furrowed low and his posture is stiff against the table he’s leaning on with his mouth set in a concrete frown and before he can register what just happened in the interrogation room three of his agents are standing in front of them asking for their co worker. A deep and tired sigh can be heard before the trio of agents is rushing toward the room where he just was, JJ and Gideon already watching the scene unfold from behind the two way glass.

A box with the last name Kane scribbled onto the front is slated down on the desk followed by a very angry agent.

The skin around her cuticles is bleeding from being picked at all day but her face is stern and cold so if she truly was as anxious as she had been through the day you would never know.

The dirty cop is relaxed when Y/N sits down in front of him, he’s leant back in the chair with his hands placed on his thighs casually almost as if he’s with a friend or at home and unknowingly to agent L/N her colleagues are less relaxed from behind the glass.

Morgan is first to point out the obvious.

“He doesn't seem nervous or even on edge about being questioned; shows he’s been in that same position before” he states, not taking his eye off the room

Gideon hesitates before he speaks “That’s because he has been: a few years ago he was brought in for substance possession after a bag was found during a warrant in his home” 

Derek’s face contorts “why did they have a warrant?”

Agent Gideon doesn’t look at Morgan when he replies “illegal firearm possession as well as concerns of domestic violence both charges were dropped” 

Your eyes briefly look up from the manila folder in your hands containing details of each of the murders in you hand to the man sitting in front of you. A picture of a middle aged woman is put directly in front of the officer “I don’t have to ask you if you know who this is because we know you were with her the night before she died” you state 

Nick kisses his teeth “yes, I was with her the night before but I was also with her husband”

“her husband who has a solid alibi unlike you” another photo comes out from the folder “she went missing at five am and was found around seven thirty am in a bush, her husband had left for work at four thirty and clocked in five thirty”

Two more sets of photos are spread in front of the offender and he was only yet to shift in his seat. You kept eyeing the other folders in the box, the older ones but you were waiting for an opportunity one where he would just slip up and you’d have him.

Spencer’s nails may have well been chewed to the bed from pure anxiety of seeing you sit in that room. You’d obviously done interrogations like this before but a feeling that spencer couldn’t shake was sitting at the bottom of your stomach.

With Hotch now back in the room everyone was even more on edge. 

“He hasn’t said anything useful while she’s been in there?” the monotone voice broke through the silence of the onlooking room. 

“Not yet but the more photos she pulls out the more on edge he gets. Not noticeably to anyone but a profiler of course but he seemingly gets a little bit more uneasy every time a new victim is pulled out of the folder” JJ informs. Out of the corner of her eye she can see Reid chewing on his nails while not taking his eyes off of his girlfriend she slaps his hand away and passes a small smile to let him know that you knew what she was doing. 

“Reid what’s the matter with you? She can take care of herself” Gideon calmly asks. The debate going on in the youngest team members head is a hard one because on one hand he doesn’t want to sound like a paranoid boyfriend but on the other he needs some reassurance and maybe his superiors can give that to him.

“Y/N has been on edge since we took this case on and I know it’s because she grew up here and there were people she grew up with murdered but since she got the idea into her head that this was our guy I just feel like she’s hiding something” the ramble stops and eyes fall on Reid but his only concern is what Jason Gideon thinks 

Jason purses his lips “I know she’s hiding something but thought nothing of it because I was under the assumption that you knew what it was” for the first time since entering the room Spencer and Jason make eye contact.

“Your boss asked me about the scars on my neck” 

Reid’s concentration is lost and once again all eyes are back on you

“Did he now?” Your shock is masked by the cold set frown that you’ve had on your face since the minute you stepped into the station.

Kane leans forward over the desk, his hands coming together infant of him “yes he did, was very curious to hear about how I got them which made me think: if Aaron Hotchner isn’t aware of how I got them then certainly your little boyfriend isn’t either” the smirk is set on his face 

Reid’s ears perk up 

“I was under the impression that you had to have a clean record to go into the FBI work that you do”

you lean forward in the slightest “My record is squeaky clean. Yours on the other hand, isn’t” 

Eyebrows raise in surprise.

You pull another folder from the box but this time it’s dated back to seven years ago when domestic violence complaints first started getting called in. First piece of paper is pulled out and you continue to read. 

“Complaints of screaming, excessive cussing from two of your neighbours, January 16th 2004, yet again complaints of screaming, cussing and loud bangs July 25th 2004, sudden screaming and what sounded like a heavy piece of furniture falling March 16th 2005, same thing November 21st and 25th, Glass shattering, shouting police are called but nothing gets further done August 2006″ you pause from your reading and look him dead in the eyes.

Left hand rubs forehead 

Another folder.

“April 2007 a warrant was issued for your home for suspected possession of substances, charges dropped. Any further domestic violence complaints or charges were dropped after May that same year until September 2009 when your wife was sent to hospital with critical injuries; the matter was under further investigation until early January of 2010 when you wrote a cheque for $14,000 to get those charges dropped and cleared”

Hand rubs scars, obviously a nervous habit picked up after the incident 

The man shifts in his seat again “Don’t think I’ve forgotten because I haven’t” the sentence grinds it’s way through his teeth 

You merely relax your posture and speak calmly “Not my record, not my problem” a small smirk sits comfortably on your face. “We know what you did to these women, Nick. This case has your name written all over it.” 

From the opposite side of the glass spencer wracks his brain to put all the pieces together “not my record, not my problem” he mumbles to no one in particular. The genius looks back on old conversations only to realise one topic that had never really come up in conversation between the two of you.

“The mother” he says out loud. Confused faces cast their attention to the doctor.

Spencer hesitates “When she talks about the record, she’s talking about her mother” 

Emily raises an eyebrow “How’d you figure that?”

Gideon intercepts before his agent can even get a word in “You ever seen a man make scratches like that?” 

“Know what I did? My family fell apart, I have no one” His hands slam on the table sitting between the both of you “I bet you don’t even know what you’re talking ab-”

This time it’s your turn to slam the desk 

“I know damn well about the four counts of aggravated assault against an officer, the drug possession, the attempted fraud! I know every last fucking bit of it! I know you try to pull my brother in here to charge him with whatever you can! the number of vandalism charges and assault charges don’t even scratch the surface!” anger surges through you and suddenly Spencer has it all figured out.

“So what makes you so clean huh? Why does assault cover your immediate families records but not your own huh?!” He spits at you 

You’ve had enough

Quick to stand, the chair you were sitting on suddenly slides back behind you, hands are planted firmly on the top of the table and now you’re standing right over him

JJ jumps back in fright straight into Derek who takes no time to grab her and steady her. Emily and Gideon are speechless, not once has anyone seen you react to something like that. Hotch places a firm hand on Spender’s shoulder which ultimately goes unnoticed. He gets it now. 

Colour drains from his face 

“I’m better at controlling my temper but I’ll still hit you twice as hard” the words flow out of your mouth so calmly anyone standing outside the door might think you were talking to a frightened child.

Eyes search for any sign of remorse and find none 

Garcia calls Derek’s phone to let him and the team know that while Ellie had escaped, Nick got sloppy and left something behind. 

Gideon’s voice filters through your earpiece “DNA was found on Ellie”

You can’t help but smile

“Your DNA has just been found on your most recent victim Nick, you’ve got nothing left” 

Got him.

 The box of files is in your hands when you walk out of the interrogation room and practically body slam your boyfriend. Kind eyes look down at you pleadingly “Got given the all clear to go home, do you want to have a chat?” the sentence is just above a whisper but the genuine worried expression etched upon his face is all you need to know.

Spencer starts the engine before driving out of the carpark and onto the road. Thick silence sits in the air and all of a sudden the car feels to small even though you are the only two in it. Mindlessly picking at your fingernails means you didn’t notice Spencer pulling into the McDonalds drive through to order two hot fudge sundaes with extra topping - your tradition after a particularly difficult case. He wordlessly hands you the tray while he picks the furtherest car park in the parking lot and stops the car. You hand him his ice cream and noticing his chewed nails you grab his hand.

“Spence” 

“Watching you in there today was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do but knowing that you felt like you couldn’t come to me based off of the fact that you thought I-I would be upset or angry or not understanding was something that I don’t know how to deal with” He grabs the ice cream tray off of your lap and places them in the cup holder before unbuckling his seatbelt and turning his full attention to you.

“Y/N you mean the world to me, truly you do, I can’t think of anyone else in this world I would want to spend the rest of my life with so I’m telling you now that I love you unconditionally and I want you to know that even if that didn't happen today and you didn't feel like you would be able to tell me about your family I would happily wait for as long as you needed me to until you felt like you were ready for that and I’m sorry that he felt the need to say it in front of myself and our team.

His hands are cold against your flushed face and you flutter your eyes closed momentarily before looking hime in the eye. 

“I didn't want this to affect my work life or the opinions of our team or your opinion of me I was- well I- I hid it because I want to prove to people that I can come from a household like that and still be a good person. a good agent” your confession made his eyes glass over and his smile soften.

“You have proved yourself time and time again to not only me but to the team. You handled it so well today even after what he chose to say to you. Y/N I am so unbelievably proud of you and the person you are, nothing is going to change that” His thumb stroked your cheek before he giggled to himself 

“Plus telling him that you could hit him twice as hard was pretty hot I’m not gonna- hey! no! I’m being serious” 

The sound of your laughs filled the car and the once heavy feeling was now light and airy when he brought your lips to his.

“Spence, these ice creams are gonna melt and I want to eat them” 

[thatslikely]

A Slow Dance - G.W.

A Slow Dance- George Weasley x Fem!Reader (unspecified house)

Warnings: none! pure fluff <3

Word Count: 1.3k

A/N: y’all I’m serious. where’s my George. I need someone like this asap, don’t be shy universe. hope you guys enjoy as always :)

Just a Reminder: song lyrics/thoughts are in italics [I imagined is Put Your Head on My Shoulder by Paul Anka, but any song works]

Taglist: @horrorxweasley @hufflepuff5972 @amourtentiaa 

if you want to be added, send me a dm or an ask!

Requested by the lovely @amourtentiaa [my first request I’ve gotten, and I love it!]

----

“Ugh. Why do you have to sit hunched over your desk studying all the time? Have at least a little fun! It’s our last year at Hogwarts!” A sprawled out George exclaimed from your ruffled four-poster bed with a groan. His handsome face hung off the edge of the bed frame, his upside-down gaze fixed on your distracted figure.

George was always quite needy; it was practically a law of nature. Whether it was running around pulling a record-breaking marathon of pranks, or just tenderly holding his large, soft hand while discussing your favorite novel, he lapped up every ounce of you he could. 

“Georgie, if I don’t do well on my N.E.W.T.s, how do you expect me to get a decent job?” you asked with a bit more bite than you intended. The complex, academic sentences scribbled onto the parchment before you droned through your brain like headache-inducing white noise, which soured your attitude more than you liked to admit. 

It made your heart flutter knowing that George yearned for your care so much, but you had your whole life to spend with the vexatious redhead. You only had the next week to pass your N.E.W.T.s. 

“You’ll always have a job down with me at the shop, c’mon! Imagine: my two favorite things wrapped up into one!” he said, before adding more softly, “plus, you’d look so cute in the uniform.” You couldn’t help your cheeks from heating up at his affectionate comment, which wasn’t intended to grace your ears. 

“I wish it was simple as that, Georgie. While I’d love to work with you at the shop, you know that’s not what I really want to do. You always tell me to shoot for the moon, and this is just part of the process.” You were unrelenting with your studying, which George of course admired, but he was equally relentless in his pursuit of spending time with you, even if it was just for a second. 

The dorm fell suspiciously quiet, which allowed your mind to delve even deeper into your studies. The strokes of your quill grew deeper and sharper into the parchment with focus, the ink-blotted tip eventually tearing a small rip mid-sentence.

A breath that you unknowingly held escaped your lips in the form of an exasperated sigh. You rubbed your temples before picking up the quill and starting again. 

You mindlessly scribed cursive onto the dense paper for several minutes before snapping out of your trance at the jarring noise of a chair’s legs scraping across the hardwood floors. George took the vacant seat next to you, resting his elbow on the surface of the desk. 

His handsome face rested comfortably in his palm, his whole body turned towards you. You could’ve sworn his mischievous but lovable gaze flickered to your soft lips every few seconds like a magnet drawn to its opposite pole. 

Stop thinking about George, and his delicious lips, alluring cocoa-colored eyes, fluffy red hair… think about Transfiguration! 

Your quill-wielding wrist moved in more furious motions, your determination to stay devoted to your academics made your eyes drift to the smug titian-haired boy next to you more than ever. You eventually succumbed to your heart’s desires, giving George a small glance.

The expression George donned shattered your expectations; you expected his eyes to be droopy and half-asleep, jaw-slacked in boredom, evidenced by his disdain of all things school-related. 

Instead, however, his red tongue stuck out to his chin, his index fingers pulling apart his freckled cheeks. His mocha eyes were humorously crossed, fixed on his adorable aquiline nose. He looked utterly ridiculous.

“What’re you doing, Georgie? You look absurd!” you questioned with a hefty chuckle. His eyes lit up with triumph at the laugh fleeing your lips. 

“I’m getting your eyes off that stupid piece of parchment! You’ve been writing nonsense on it for the past quarter of an hour. You need a break.”

“Just let me study a bit more, then I promise I’ll spend some time with you, okay?” you bargained, hoping for compliance. You pivoted your head back to the strewn papers resting on the mahogany desk in front of you, ready to get back into a productive rhythm. 

The welcome rhythm never stayed for long though, for it was always disrupted by George making another goofy face. He’s just being a child, you thought, you’re a seventh year. Ridiculous faces aren’t funny. Oh how wrong you were. 

With every new expression that graced his features, another laugh threatened to escape your mouth. Soon enough, your eyes were steadily fixed on the frivolous ginger, ready for what face he would come up with next. 

Your brain was locked in a battle: George and his loveable humor, versus your Transfiguration notes and passing your N.E.W.T.s. Both were hardy competitors, but in the end, McGonagall’s subject prevailed. George got up from the seat next to you with a huff, blowing a stray red strand of hair up from his forehead. 

He paced around the large room, scheming a way to get your undivided attention. He peeked around the wooden shelves and dressers that stayed pressed against the walls of the dorms, looking for something, anything.

His eyes eventually settled on the record player on your nightstand by your bed. It was a muggle device that his father had ranted about many times before, and he guessed that he could probably figure out how to work it. 

His calloused fingers plucked the top inky-black vinyl record from the stack, feeling the textured grooves engraved in its surface. He set the record in place, dropping the needle not long after. The previously pin-drop silent room quickly came to life with the enrapturing sounds of harmonious chords.

It appeared that even the universe wanted to free you from the shackles of your boring notes, for the vinyl George happened to choose was your favorite song, and a slow, romantic one at that. 

George lightly tapped your back, causing you to swivel around towards him. He had his long, toned arm outstretched to you charmingly, beckoning you for a dance. You gingerly placed your palm into his and he swiftly pulled you out of the chair and into the middle of the floor.

His face was handsome as ever; you only just now realized how much you missed all of him. His gentle touch, his honey-pooled eyes, the pure love pumping through his veins. His hands rapturously rested on your waist, yours’ wrapped around the nape of his neck. You twirled a small section of his red hair in between your fingers, which only made the lovestruck grin on his face grow bigger.

The song continued to echo through the cozy walls of the room, the unified swaying of your hips in sync with the song’s slow beat. You nearly melted in his warm embrace, his arms gradually bringing you closer and closer to his beating chest.

You eventually rested your head on George’s shoulder, feeling the soothing vibrations of his vocal chords humming along with the notes of the song. 

Put your lips next to mine dear, won’t you kiss me once, baby?

As if the song had you two lovebirds under a spell, George slowly brought his lips to yours, giving you a slow and passionate kiss. 

He’d kissed you so many times before, but this time it felt different, in the best way possible. It was as if angels sang when your lips graced his’; you could taste his feelings through the connection, his devotion and longing for you overriding your senses. Your eyes teared up at the wave of endearing emotions that overcame you. 

The sensual dancing continued long through the night, the tender and enchanting kisses and slow sways wiping your mind of the stressful upcoming exams. 

“Feel better, darling?” George breathily mumbled into your ear, the warmth from his mouth shooting directly to your heart, coating your body with goosebumps.

All your hazy, smitten mind could respond with was a simple but passionate, “I love you.”

“I love you too, darling.”

[hoekageyama]

cmfrt

yaku morisuke x reader

warnings: nsfw, smut, uhhhh grey sweatpants (ik im sorry ew)

wc: ~3k

a/n: hi hi! this is my first piece, so pls go easy on me ._. this started off as something fluffy bc my desire for yaku content is thru the roof (as it should be), but ofc i got off the rails and went the soft smut route lmao oops. anyway, i hope u enjoy! 

~ also! please don’t consume this content if you are not of age, thnx <3 ~

You and Yaku had been best friends for years. Having gone to the same middle school and practically being next door neighbors. Needless to say, you spent a lot of time together; you two were pretty much attached at the hip. So when Yaku told you that he’d also be going to Nekoma for high school, you were pretty excited but not really surprised. 

Throughout high school, the two of you spent as much time together as possible, proving to be difficult at times with every ounce of Yaku’s free time being devoured by volleyball and the endless amounts of studying that was required for prepping for uni. All that aside, the two of you always found time for each other. Whether it be little lunch dates on the weekends, small study sessions in the library, or even facetime hangouts when you were both exhausted and too lazy to actually meet up face to face.

It felt like any other Friday when you and Yaku met up in the early morning to walk to school together. “Y/n, did you finish that history report yet? I’m almost done, but I need someone to review it so I don’t look like an idiot when I present on it.” Yaku ran a hand through his light brown hair and looked over to your slightly shorter form.

You turn to Yaku, noticing how his cheeks were slightly flushed due to the cold wind blowing directly in your faces. “Just about. I just need to finish my conclusion, but it shouldn’t take me too long to power through it. Also, yeah, I can take a look at it. No worries.” You turn away after answering the boy, and continue on your walk, thinking that was the end of that conversation. You can feel his gaze on you suddenly, leaving your cheeks to tint to that familiar shade of red. “Thanks. Also… are you free tonight?” he asks with slight notes of hesitation in his voice. You glance at him through the side of your eye noticing his fidgeting hands. “Yea, I’m free. What’s up?”

Without looking at you or answering, he slows his pace until he’s stopped. Standing and gazing out at the trees that lined the roads, watching as the Maple leaves are shed from their branches, showing the first true signs of winter. You stop alongside him and nudge him slightly with your elbow, “Why’d you ask so suddenly, Mori? Something up?”

He jumps slightly being pulled from his thoughts. He glances over at you, “Oh, uh, no reason really. I was just wondering if you’d wanna come over tonight to study and hangout. We can chill and watch movies like the old times. I have the house to myself and all so…” When you see his raised eyebrow and sly smirk grace his features, you feel your face heat up slightly.

You turn to him giggling, “Oooooh, Mori! I didn’t know you could be such a flirt!” He wraps an arm around your shoulders and forces you to start walking again. “If that’s what you call flirting, then the guys you talk to must be braindead.” He pulls you a little closer into his chest, laughing along with you now. You nuzzle your head into his chest, breathing in his familiar scent, “Of course I’ll come. As long as you treat me to some takeout tonight.” He nods and smiles, looking at your slightly smaller form clinging to his for warmth. “Deal. We can stop by the store on our walk home, and I’ll get you whatever ya want.” You only nod in agreement, leaving the two of you to walk the rest of the way in a comfortable silence.

As the day moved on, you found yourself getting a bit anxious for your hangout with your best friend. It’s not like you haven’t slept over at his house before. In fact, you and Yaku practically slept at each other’s houses every weekend for as long as you can remember. But what was so different now? Oh yeah, that’s right. It’s because now you were painfully aware of your burning crush on the mighty libero. 

The final bell signaling the day’s end rings as you make your way through the double doors of Nekoma. Making your way towards the gym, you see Kuroo and Kai standing by the entrance chatting. “Yo Tets! Kai! You guys seen Mori anywhere?” The two both wave in greeting as you move closer to the duo. “Yea, I think he’s getting changed right now. Should be out in a bit.” Kai states. “You two still aren’t dating yet? You guys act like you're married already.” says Kuroo, rustling your hair. “Oh shut uuuuup already.” you hear Yaku groan from inside the gym. “You’re so worried about our relationship when you can barely hold a conversation with a girl without looking like a nerd.” Yaku scoffs, punching Kuroo’s arm. 

The four of you eventually split off into your own groups, making your way home for the weekend. The walk home doesn’t take very long. It’s filled with Yaku telling you about Kuroo’s horrible chemistry pickup lines and complaining about the test you both had coming up. Midway through, you both stopped at the store, picking out ample snacks for your movie night and some dinner for later.

Upon finally trudging through the icy winds, you arrive at Yaku’s house. He unlocks the door, but steps aside to let you in first. “What a gentleman!” you say jokingly as he laughs from your reaction. You slide your shoes off at the door and make a beeline straight for Yaku’s bedroom, plastic bag filled with goodies in hand. Yaku lets out a happy sigh and soon follows suit. 

Once in Yaku’s room, you lie face down on his bed groaning. “What’s wrong now, princess?” he asks as he closes the door. Plopping down on the bed next to you with two juice pouches already in hand he nudges you gently to sit up. “I completely forgot to stop by my house to pick up clothes for tonight. All I have in my bag are gym clothes.” you sigh in exasperation as you take the pouch from his cold hands.

“Oh stop. You know you can always just use some of my clothes.” he shrugs while taking a sip of his juice. “I mean.. You’ve done it before. It’s not that big of a deal. I- if you’re ok with it, that is.” he says looking over to you, waiting for your response. You nod in response moving to lie in his lap.

If you didn’t know Yaku well enough, you wouldn’t have noticed the way he tenses slightly, ears the tiniest bit redder than they were moments ago braving the cold of the outside world. “Well then, get me something comfy because I need to get out of this skirt asap!” you say brushing down the edges of your skirt, putting them into place. “I’ll say..” he mumbles. You barely heard it, but it makes your cheeks grow a little red.

After you both finish your drink, you see him disappear into his closet only to emerge moments later with two sets of clothes in hand. He tosses a black t-shirt and a pair of red shorts to you on the bed. Both of which, landing right on top of your face. “I’ll go shower up first since I don’t take ages like some people.” he says with a smirk as he reaches the door.

You giggle hearing his mocking tone “Ok that was one time! And to be fair, it was all your fault. My hair smelled like Yakuult for days after!” He blushes slightly remembering the incident, but chooses to only shake his head laughing to himself as he continues his pursuit for the bathroom.

You lie in his bed scrolling through some app on your phone when you hear the door open. Yaku returns, toweling off his lightly dampened hair, clad in just a pair of grey sweatpants that seem to barely hand onto his waist. You feel your thighs press together tightly as he throws a hoodie on, turning to see your flustered state. “What? Am I too hot for ya?” he asks, wiggling his eyebrows. “Oh shut up!” you groan, rushing passed him and right out the door. You quickly hop into the shower once in the bathroom to cool off your burning cheeks, praying that you can keep it together for the rest of the night. 

Soon enough, you’re all dry, dressed, and heading for Yaku’s room. As you close the door, you see Yaku sitting at his desk running his fingers through his hair. Yaku had been working on his history paper while you were in the shower, and it seems he isn’t making much progress. You grab your back and move to sit by him, brushing against his leg with your own on the way down. He feels a shiver rush down his spine at the sudden delicate touch. “You ok, Mor?” you ask when you see him nodding profusely in response. “Yeah just can’t get this paper done. It’s like my mind is racing, but I can’t focus.” You rub his back and lean over to view his paper in front of him. The way you’re positioned isn’t helping Yaku’s brain one bit. 

Yaku places a hand on your lower back, ogling at the way your back arches naturally reacting to his touch. He smooths out the back of your shirt, admiring the swell of your ass. He flushes a bit, feeling a dull throb and a tightness beginning to form in his sweatpants, when he notices how short you made the shorts after rolling the waistband up a few times to ensure they’d fit. 

You subconsciously rub your thighs together a little while reading through his history report. You hoped that Yaku wouldn’t notice, but unlucky for you he did. He continued rubbing your back, slightly lowering his hand little by little until you felt his rough hand caress your ass. You turned around to look at him, but were met with eyes glazed over in lust. “Hey Mor, you ok?” you ask confused. “I’m fine, baby. Sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable.” he says as he drops his hand into his lap in an attempt to conceal the bulge that began growing in his sweats. You shake your head giggling, moving back to your original position next to him. “Nah it’s all good, babe. Just…” you lose all train of thought you possibly had when you glance down and notice the outline of something in his sweatpants. “Hey, y/n, listen. I’m really sorry! I didn’t mean for this to happen, I promise. I- I just think you look really good in my clothes…. Sorry.” he quickly spits out. 

He began shuffling to get up from you when you reach out and clamp a hand around his wrist. “Why are you apologizing, babe? I should probably be the one apologizing. Especially when you’ve made me like this.” you say bashfully, leading his hand to the wet spot that was now visible in the red shorts you wore. He groaned upon feeling the dampness. “What’s all this, princess? Why so wet already?” he coos into your ear, continuing to rub his rough hands against your clothed core. 

After building up the courage to get this far, you threw all caution to the wind. “You, Mori. Fuck! I want you to touch me, please.” you let out a little moan as you palmed him through his sweats. You could tell just how hard he was through his pants. “Fuck, baby, I’ll do whatever you want. Just please let me fuck you.” he groans when you press a little harder onto his hardened cock.

Everything that happened next was a blur. Lips smashed together, tongues dancing, teeth clashing every now and then. You finally part lips, gasping for air as he tugs his hoodie off over his head. You follow suit, removing your shirt and shorts, leaving you standing nearly bare in between his legs as he lounged in his desk chair. 

His eyes never leave yours as he unhooks your bra, allowing it to fall to the floor with a thud. His hands smooth over your breasts, rolling and pinching a nipple in between the rough pads of his fingers. He places open mouthed kisses from your jawline down to the swell of your breasts. Leaning back to take in the view once more he groans, saying, “You’re so beautiful, baby. I can’t believe you’ve been hiding these from me all this time.” you only moan as he moves in to nip at one of your pert nipples. Your hands immediately reach for his light brown locks and begin to tug in response to the stimulation. 

His hands move to your lower body pulling off your lace underwear until they drop to the floor. You kick them aside before he grips your hips tightly. “Mo- Mori please, let me ride your cock.” you say through moans as he lightly trails a finger through your soaked folds. He removes his mouth from your chest with a lewd popping sound. He stands up to pull his sweats lower and sits back down in his seat. You take a moment to ogle at the sight before you. His cock, painfully hard, dripping precum from the swollen head. You grab his shoulders and move in to kiss him as his grip returns to your hips. 

He hoists you up onto his lap, making you straddle the length in his lap. When your wet core makes contact with the length below you, you let out a lewd moan and grind in his lap. He hisses at the contact and tightens his grip on you to stop you from moving. “Patience, princess.” he groans out as you finally stop your ministrations. He lifts you slightly, aligning himself with your hole before looking up to you for approval. You simply nod your head and lower yourself onto his cock little by little. It isn’t too above average in length, but damn did he make up for it in girth. 

You both hiss at the feeling of him being sheathed completely inside your tight cunt, neither of you moving to allow for you both to regain some composure. “Fuck baby, you’re so tight!” he groans, “Just let me know when you want to start moving.” You only nod your head, savoring the delicious stretch in your core. 

As soon as you regain your bearings, you look up to him with glazed eyes, “Mori, mo- move please.” He attaches your mouth to his and gently lifts you, gripping your ass tightly. Before long, he let you take control. The pace you set is slow at first while you kiss him tenderly, running a hand through his hair, tugging gently every so often. His cock hits a particularly sensitive spot inside you, causing you to erupt in another lewd moan of his name. You feel him twitch inside you, he speeds up the pace a bit bringing your ass down harder each time he lifts you. 

Before long you feel that familiar heat in your core building inside you. “Ah fuck, I’m c- close” you moan out as he snaps his hips up to meet yours. The sound of his balls slapping your ass is nearly enough to set you off, but when he reaches a hand down to place sloppy circles around your clit. The coil of heat building up finally snaps, and you’re thrown head first into the bliss of ecstasy.

Yaku groans feeling you tighten around his length. He continues fucking you through your high, and his pace begins to get sloppy before he pulls out frantically. Before he can ask you, you get on your knees in front of him and take him into your mouth. He hisses at the feeling of your tongue gliding over his swollen head and throws his head back in pleasure. With one hand in your hair, he pulls you lower onto his cock as he bursts ribbons of heat down the back of your throat. 

After removing himself from your mouth and tucking himself back into his sweats, he pulls you back into his lap. He places a gentle kiss on your lips, holding you tightly in his arms. “Mori, I’m cooooooold.” you whine into his shoulder. “Let’s get you cleaned up and ready for bed, huh?”

He moves you onto his bed and quickly disappears to the bathroom. You see him return with a damp washcloth and a cup of water in hand. You let him clean you off as you look around the room for your clothes. “I’ll get you some new clothes ok? Just relax and drink your water while I put these washing.” he says, motioning to the pile of clothes on the floor. He hands you some garments and you quickly get dressed as he moves about the house.

He later returns, only to see you waiting for him with the takeout you had gotten earlier. He plops down beside on the bed for the second time tonight and pulls you into a hasty kiss. “You’re mine, right? I love you so much. I’ve dreamt of this for years. Please stay with me.” he says as he looks deep into your e/c eyes, while cupping your cheeks with his hands. “How can I say no?” you giggle, smashing your lips into his once more before chowing down on your takeout meals. The rest of the night is spent with the two of you cuddled up watching terrible rom-coms. The history report, long forgotten. That can wait for tomorrow.

- again, i’m so sorry at how trashy this is written lmaodfadfj 

- if u did read it tho, tysm! ily & maybe send me some suggestions on what to write next. i’m down for whatever rlly. i’m trying to write more often so this is kinda just a warm up for now.

[ladyseaheart1668]

Endless Summer Book 4: Daughter of Vaanu (Chapter 56)

Description: The Catalysts attempt to return to their lives as River Skye finally comes home.  tagging: @endlesshero1122 @mysteli @feartheendlesssummer @whatmcsaid @tigerbryn11

Chapter 56: Not Over

Alodia

I almost can’t believe how quickly I start to feel better once the fever breaks. The pain, which had felt like some hellish demon with teeth made of red-hot iron gnawing at my lower back, begins to recede within hours. 

“That’s how it tends to go with an infection like this once we find the right antibiotic,” the doctor tells me. “You are fortunate, though. These days, a lot of bacteria have developed resistance to antibiotics. But the infection is responding well to treatment, and all your vitals and your blood work look good. And your daughter appears as healthy as a baby horse. ...I would just like to take a quick look at how you’re healing from the birth if that’s okay.” 

I nod, turning onto my back with Jake’s help as the doctor draws the curtain around the bed. Improved as I am, I know I’m not at full strength yet, because moving still hurts. I guess I must have winced, because the doctor raises an eyebrow in concern as she pulls on a pair of gloves.

“You okay there?” 

“I think so. Guess I’m still pretty sore.” 

“That’s to be expected. You probably won’t feel one-hundred percent for another week or two at least.” 

I draw my knees up and part my thighs while the doctor pulls up a stool at the foot of the bed and lifts the blanket. I keep my attention focused on Jake’s face above me and the pressure of his hand on mine as the doctor carries out her checks. Occasionally, I let my eyes wander around to the multiple bouquets and mylar balloons that have built up over the past couple days, gifts from the Catalysts, Tahira’s team, my aunt and uncle, and Jake and Diego’s parents. 

“Everything is healing beautifully. Stitches should be dissolved by next week. You’re probably going to be feeling pretty tender for a while though.” 

“Yeah, we had the whole tearing conversation with my OB in California some time ago.” 

“Good. If you have any pressing questions regarding the birth and recovery, you can of course ask me, or one of the maternity staff. We can also forward your hospital records to your regular OBGYN.” 

“How long do you think it will be before we can go home?” Jake asks. 

She pulls the blanket back down and stands, peeling off her gloves. “Well, the fact is, we want to get her and your baby out of here ASAP to lower the chances of either of them picking up a secondary infection.” She smiles at me. “Now that the fever’s gone, we’re gonna get you off the drip and onto some oral antibiotics, and we can pretty much start the discharge process immediately.” 

“So soon?” My own question surprises me, but it’s out of my mouth before I realize it’s on the end of my tongue. 

“Believe me, it’s better we get you both out of here.” 

“I know. It’s not that I want to stay here. It’s just...thinking about how we’re going to get home...how soon we can get home…” 

“That’s all taken care of, Princess. Aleister is having Castor and Pollux deep cleaned, and he and Grace are gonna put us up for a few days until Mike gets up here from Santo Domingo. Diego and Varyyn are with Estela and Quinn, and your aunt and uncle basically paid for hotel rooms for everyone else.” 

His infodump has my head reeling a little, but there was one particular tidbit I find myself fixing on. 

“Why is Mike…?” I trail off as realization crashes down on me in an icy wave. A bit of information I had nearly forgotten in my struggle to bring my baby safely into the world while fighting a fever. Jake wasn’t worrying about me for all that time from the safety of our home in California. I don’t know the details, but I have a sinking feeling that has something to do with the reason that Mike isn’t here with us now. 

Jake folds my hand between his palms, glancing at the doctor. “Hey...do you have everything you need? I’d like a few minutes alone with my wife, if that’s okay.” 

“Of course. I’ll get the ball rolling on your discharge.” 

I wait until I’m sure she’s well clear of the room before I reach to stroke Jake’s cheek. “...I know Lundgren got his filthy hands on you. ...Fiddler told me. ...I’m guessing he got a hold of Mike, too.” 

He leans into my touch. “...And Sean and Michelle. Nabbed us all as I was bringing ‘em back from the island.” 

“I don’t know if she told me that. That conversation got swallowed up in worrying about you, and then I got sick and River started coming, and…” I swallow, running my thumb along the fuzzy ridge of his cheekbone. “...Did they hurt you? Any of you?” 

He shrugs, not meeting my eyes. “Knocked us all around a little. Michelle’s the smart one, of course, so she escaped the worst. ...Mike’s in Santo Domingo having his prosthetics repaired. Lundgren ripped them out ot torture him.” 

I shudder. “Oh, god...Oh, Jake, I’m sorry...I’m so sorry…” 

I’m crying before I realize it. And as soon as I do realize, it turns into sobbing. Jake reaches down to gather me in his arms and cradle my head against his shoulder, rocking me tenderly. 

“It’s okay,” he murmurs into my hair. “It’s okay. He’s gonna be fine. You’re gonna be fine. In a few days, we’ll be home with our baby.” 

“I w-wanna be home,” I hiccup. “I wanna be home with River, but I’m scared of leaving everyone again. I just wanna bring them all home with us…” 

“Well, it’s a very big house. ...On the other hand, you cram us all into the same house long term, it might start to feel less big. Plus, it would mean a brutal cross-country commute for some of them.” 

I can’t help chuckling a little bit, which makes the sobs start to die down. Jake gives me a moment to get myself under control before he speaks again. 

“...How are you feeling, Princess? Really?” 

“Physically?” I pull back gently to lie down on the pillow again. “Definitely better. My head is clearer, and I don’t hurt as much. But I’m still worn out. And by the way, you’re gonna have to make due with blow jobs for awhile, because it’s gonna be a long time before you stick that thing in me again, if ever.” 

It’s his turn to laugh, and he bends to kiss me. “Princess, I will tug it for the rest of my life as long as you’re still a part of that life.” 

“I will be a part of your life as long as the universe allows,” I promise. “...But Jake, we both know this isn’t over.” 

He sighs, and I see his forehead crease before he presses it to mine. “I know. I know you’re right. But for River’s sake--and mine--will you let the others take care of that for now? I ain’t saying don’t worry, because I know that’s impossible. But River and I need you healthy. Can you stand to let yourself be looked after for a while?” 

I feel a rueful smile tug at one corner of my mouth. “Am I to assume that arguing is pointless?” 

A tapping at the open door to the birthing suite distracts Jake from answering. We both look up to find Raj and Diego hovering in the doorway, Raj with a paper bag in his hand, and Diego with his right arm in a soft blue sling. It’s the first time I’ve seen him since River was born, and I sit up a little straighter as he hesitantly steps over the threshold. 

“...Are we interrupting?” 

The baby has started fussing, and Jake eases off the edge of the bed to go pick her up. I open my arms to Diego. Just before he rushes into them, I see his face twist with anguish. And as he falls against me, his one-armed grip is surprisingly strong. 

“Goddammit, Allie,” he whispers quiveringly. “Goddammit…” 

“...Did I scare you?” 

He pulls back sharply, enough so he can look me in the face, but he keeps a grip on my shoulder. “Did you scare me?! You had me on my knees saying the Ave Maria! Do you know how long it’s been since I said the Ave Maria?!” 

There isn’t really a lot I can say to that, but I smile ruefully. “...Thanks for staying with me.” 

“What, you thought I’d bail?” 

I snort. “God, no. But I can still be grateful.” 

“...You’re really okay?” 

I nod. “I’m fine. The fever is gone, and the wound doesn’t really hurt anymore. I’m still pretty sore down there, though.” 

A smile finally starts to play cautiously around his mouth. “...Well, that part’s Jake’s problem.” 

“How about you?” I ask, gingerly touching the strap of his navy blue sling. 

“That’s nothing serious. It was dislocated, but they popped it back in. Just got to wear this for a few more days, and take it easy once we get back home. ...Raj brought food, by the way.” 

“Oh!” I pull back a little to smile at Raj. “Sorry, big guy. I didn’t mean to ignore you.” 

Raj chuckles. “We’ll blame it on the new mommy brain and leave it at that. Speaking of which…” He shoos Diego back enough that he can drag my bed table over across my lap, and sets an insulated lunch box on top. “I figured you could do with something better than hospital fruit cups and oatmeal, so I brought you a special Raj lunch. Michelle supervised its creation, and it’s full of stuff that’s supposed to be good for new moms.” 

“What is it?” 

“So glad you asked!” With a flourish, he opens the bag, and pulls out each item in turn, presenting them like a game show prize lady. “A sandwich of salmon, spinach, and poached egg on whole wheat bread with a garlic white bean spread; in case you are extra hungry, a side of gourmet trail mix made from an assortment of nuts and dried fruit; and to drink, a pineapple-orange-banana smoothie with extra protein powder, and just a few extra leaves of spinach!” 

I can’t help but be uplifted by his enthusiasm, and hold out my arms for a hug. “I must be the most spoiled new mother in the world.” 

Raj embraces me lightly over the table. “As you should be. You know in some Asian cultures, a new mother spends a whole month resting while her mother-in-law takes care of her and the baby.” 

“Oh yeah?” I look at Jake. “Think your mother would spend a month taking care of me?” 

“Honestly, I bet she would. The problem would be getting her to ease up and let you start taking care of things after the month was up.” 

“Hmm...probably best not to give her ideas then.” 

“Probably. We’ll have my folks over in few more months, when we’ve had a chance to get settled.” 

“...But…” Raj says, “in the meantime, do you think you guys will be needing any extra help? I know it’s going to be a pretty full house as it is, but Diego’s going to want to take it easy with lifting and stuff for a while, and Michelle says Mike will probably need time to recover, too. If you need a couple extra pairs of hands and someone to do the cooking, I have some downtime, and I know Lila would be happy to come along.” 

I look questioningly at Jake, who shrugs. “I don’t have anything against that. It’s a big enough house. And if Varyyn and I are gonna be the only ones at full strength for the time being, I wouldn’t say no to a couple extra pairs of hands.”

“And probably better those hands be Raj and Lila than anyone’s parents,” Diego adds. “I bet Varyyn would prefer not having to wear his disguise twenty-four-seven.” 

“Yeah. And,” Jake adds with a sigh, shifting River to rest against his shoulder, “it’s probably preferable not to involve anyone who ain’t already involved in the bigger picture. ...Like you said before, Princess, this ain’t over.” 

“But for now, we’re all safe and sound, and Allie has a lunch to eat.” Diego smiles encouragingly as he pushes the tinfoil-wrapped sandwich toward me. “Go on. Dig in.” 

Jake

I gotta admit, it does my heart good to see my wife savoring the meal Raj brought her and enjoying our friends’ company. She seems almost back to her old self as she talks and tells jokes and teases with them. Although, as I put River in her arms, I can’t help but be reminded that she’ll never be exactly like her old self again. Not now that she’s a mama. Not like I’m ever gonna be exactly like my old self again either. I’m a daddy now. That’s gonna change me forever. The thought scares me, like it has a lot over the past nine months. But just a look at that precious little face is enough to reassure me that I am never gonna regret it. 

Diego and Raj eventually leave us on our own again. After nursing and burping, River sleeps just long enough that we can fill out her birth certificate, nestled side-by-side on the bed. From there, it’s not more than an hour or two before they’re wheeling Alodia toward the hospital exit with River in her arms again while I walk at her shoulder, a baby carrier in the crook of my elbow and my arms laden with flowers and mini mylar balloons. Any staff we happen to pass on the way out smile and wave or give us their congratulations. I have a feeling that in a hospital, any chance to see a patient off happy and healthy is a cause for celebration, and that probably goes double for a new mama leaving with a baby. 

Grace is waiting in a car for us at the curb outside the hospital. One of Reggie’s old carseats is in the backseat. Grace settles the baby in the carseat while I help Alodia into the seat beside her. 

“There’s a surprise for you guys when we get to our place,” Grace informs us as I circle around the car to get in on the other side of River. 

“Nothing too strenuous, I hope,” Alodia quips. “I am not up for a party yet.” 

Grace chuckles as she starts up the car. “Oh, believe me, I realize that. No, everyone is pretty sure parties are off the table for you for the time being. ...But you do know that everyone is going to want to see you before you leave, right? You gave us a scare, and no one wants you to go before we all know you’re okay. ...Plus, everyone wants to see River.” 

“I am not opposed to visitors,” Alodia assures her. “Just...only a few at a time.” 

“Absolutely. We won’t let you get overwhelmed.” 

“River, either,” Alodia adds, stroking our sleeping daughter’s downy hair. “Poor thing is probably overwhelmed as it is, suddenly coming into all this noise and color and light.” 

“Birth is the craziest thing that ever happens to us, and none of us remember it,” I remark, letting the blade of my forefinger run gently back and forth across the soft back of River’s tiny hand. Her little fingers twitch just slightly, and the base of her pacifier rocks back and forth across her lips, but she doesn’t wake up. I don’t expect the quiet will last. 

River does sleep throughout the half hour or so it takes to drive to Aleister and Grace’s luxury Northbridge apartment. As we pull up to the curb, I realize what our surprise is. 

“Mike!” 

I must have been a little louder than I thought, because River wakes up with a cry that can only be described as irritated, but it doesn’t fully register until I have already launched myself out of the car towards Mike. He’s balancing on a walker, so I at least have the good sense not to jostle him, but I can’t hold myself back from grasping him firmly by the shoulders. He grins, carefully removing his hands from the walker one at a time to grasp me back. 

“Good to see ya, Grandpa.” 

“Shit, you too! We weren’t expecting you for another couple days! How are you feeling?” 

“Well, as you can tell,” he says, nodding at the walker, “I’m not quite ready to run a marathon yet. But my new legs are healing up nice. ...Good to see you, Goldilocks.” 

His gaze shifts over my shoulder, and I turn to look back at my wife supporting herself on Aleister’s arm while Grace bounces River in her arms. Alodia smirks at me, her eyes twinkling mischievously. 

“I feel like I should make a joke about you abandoning your wife and child in the car to go hang out with your buddy,” she drawls. 

I grin sheepishly as Mike carefully returns his grip to the walker. “Sorry about that. Let me make it up to you.” 

I lunge and sweep her up bridal style, and I have the pleasure of feeling her arms twine around my neck. 

“Mmm, much better. However, unlike your daughter, I am actually capable of walking.” 

“But you don’t have to. Not right now, anyway.” But I do return her to her feet after capturing her mouth in a kiss. I don’t entirely take my hands off her yet, though. After her ordeal, I don’t think she’s really that much steadier than Mike right now. Her grip as she slips her arm through mine confirms my concerns. 

I’m standing between my wife and my best friend, and neither of them are fully able to stand under their own power. I’m starting to feel that much more grateful to Raj for volunteering to help us out for a while. 

I think Mike notices Alodia’s weakness, too, because his forehead creases just a little. “You all right, Goldilocks? From what I hear, you gave everyone a real scare.” 

“It was pretty scary on my end, too. But I’m fine now. How about you?” 

Mike shrugs. “Ahh, you know. A few weeks of rehab, I’ll be a six-million dollar man again. In the meantime,” he adds wryly, stroking the frame of his walker, “it’ll be hard to call Jake ‘Grandpa’ when I’m dottering around on this thing.” 

“You just called me ‘Grandpa’ two minutes ago.” 

“And I cannot tell you how hard I internally cringed. Seriously, if you could have seen my internal expression, you’d have thought I was sucking lemons.” 

I am morally obligated to reach out and swat him for that, but before I can, Alodia abruptly steps forward to wrap her arms around his shoulders. It’s an awkward embrace, encumbered by the walker and both of them still being weak, but it’s a sincere one, and Mike leans into it gratefully. 

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Alodia murmurs. 

“You too,” Mike says softly, reaching up to pat her shoulder with one hand. “But can we go inside? I wanna properly meet that baby you’ve been carrying around for the past nine months!” 

***

The Catalysts come by in shifts throughout the afternoon and evening, apparently having planned it all out beforehand. No one stays more than an hour at a time, which proves to be a good thing, since Alodia is clearly worn out by about eight in the evening. We’re set up in the guest room of the Rourke apartment, with River in a bassinet beside us, and Mike on the foldaway bed in the living room. 

Alodia nurses River and rocks her to sleep before lying down herself. At first, I curl up beside Alodia in bed. She’s asleep within minutes, but I’m not as quick. And after an hour, it’s pretty clear that I’m not on my way to dreamland any time soon. I don’t want to leave Alodia or River. I never want to leave Alodia’s side again. But I’m restless. Anxious. And eventually, the desire not to disturb what precious little sleep my wife might have before our daughter wakes her up again wins out over my irrational need to pace back and forth between them. I check the windows, making sure they’re locked, then I slip out of the room as quietly as I can, heading back out into the living room. 

I find Mike, Aleister, and Grace all seated in the living room. On the coffee table are four short, round glasses and a bottle of golden red liquid that I’m guessing is some kind of whiskey. 

“We were starting to wonder if you had also fallen asleep,” Aleister says. He gestures to the glasses. “We thought you might like to wet your baby’s head.” 

“Kind of a weird expression,” I remark. Nonetheless, I pick up the bottle and take a seat in an armchair to read the label. “Ooh, Irish Mist. Fancy.” 

“It is not every day that one becomes a father. The night Reginald was born, Diego, Varyyn, and I toasted his birth with Irish Mist.” 

I crack open the bottle, and lean forward to fill each of the four glasses about halfway. I set down the bottle and raise my glass, the others following suit. 

“To River Skye McKenzie, my beautiful angel. And to her mother, my better half, who is truly the best and bravest of us.” 

“Here, here!” Grace says. We clink glasses, and I take a long, deep drink, savoring the sweet notes of honey and spices riding atop the alcoholic burn of whiskey. I return my glass to the table empty and lean back in my chair. 

“When my sister and I both were born, my grandpa had my dad and the men of the neighborhood over to smoke cigars on the porch.” I chuckle a little. “Rebecca remembers helping our grandma in the kitchen, and seeing all the men outside smoking. She says what she remembers most about the day I was born was our dad coming in from outside to give her a hug, but she pushed him away and said, ‘No, Daddy! You stink!’” 

My story prompts the expected laughter. 

“I am afraid Irish Mist will have to do tonight,” Aleister says. “I did not think to buy cigars. Nor would I know enough to ensure I was purchasing a quality product. As I understand it, Cuban cigars are the best, but those are illegal.” 

Mike shudders. “Honestly, I think the smell of a Cuban would be enough to give me flashbacks. Lundgren used to smoke contraband Cubans.” 

“Same here,” I agree. “I mean...there was that one time…” 

“...That one time what?” 

I chuckle a little, rubbing the back of my head. “Okay, no one currently in this room was there when Zahra blew up MASADA…” 

“What’s that got to do with Cuban cigars?” 

I sigh, but in spite of myself, in spite of how literally everyone else in the room with me was in some kind of bad situation at the time, I feel a smile playing around my mouth at the memory. 

“Okay, so it’s me, Alodia, Sean, Quinn, Estela, Craig, and Zahra trying to find another way out of the complex after the gondola gets severed, and when we go through a control room, Zahra gets the idea to blow the whole thing up. We figure it’s worth the couple extra minutes, so we let her do it. And while she’s rigging the system, I find one of Lundgren’s Cubans somewhere on the floor. ...And I light it up. But only to spite the bastard.” 

“But did you enjoy it?” Mike asks. 

“Hell, yeah! The hype ain’t a lie, buddy. Not saying I’d do it again unless it were one of his personal stash, but that was a real good smoke. ...Still...it wouldn’t be right to celebrate River with Cuban cigars. Lundgren and Rourke did enough to taint her birth.” 

“Nothing has been tainted,” Grace says firmly. “She and Alodia both came through it well and healthy.”

“I ain’t losing sight of what’s important,” I assure her. “But I can’t let my guard down, either.  ...We all know this ain’t over.” 

Grace sighs. “...No, you’re right. It isn’t over. ...Which means...I should probably tell you what I learned in Ireland.”

Diego

I knew that the Catalysts wouldn’t have sat on their hands while any of their own were in danger, but I am surprised to learn just how busy they were during the time that Allie and I were in Arachnid’s claws. I’m even more surprised--and frankly unsettled--by some of the things they learned. Yvonne might be alive. Lundgren flew the same plane that killed Allie’s parents, even though the twisted wreckage of that plane is the property of the NTSB. The whole mess with Allie’s mom, that weird AI message from a program made by Allie’s mom. It all leaves us with a lot more questions than answers. 

I told the police everything I felt like I could safely tell them. I went so far as to tell them that I think Everett Rourke might be alive because that’s who our kidnappers claimed they were taking us to. I don’t know if they believed me. I don’t know if the future of the Vaanti is safe. A part of me hopes that they lose interest in the case since everyone who was abducted has been recovered safely. But I also know that none of us are really safe until Rourke is either back behind bars or dead. 

Aleister and Estela make all the travel arrangements for those of us going back to California, including my folks and Allie’s. Castor carries me, Allie, Jake, Varyyn, Mike, Raj, Lila, Rebecca, and River. For once, Jake and Mike aren’t going to be flying. Pollux is taking our families. A third plane, smaller but no less luxurious, takes Jake’s parents back to Louisiana. They’re reluctant to leave him. They don’t want to be apart from their son, or their daughter, or their granddaughter. He assures them they can come visit soon, but that their daughter-in-law needs some time to recover first. 

At the airport, Allie’s aunt and uncle hesitate to part from her on the tarmac. Allie stands with River in her arms, patiently enduring as Molly smoothes her hair and kisses her forehead, asking if she’s sure Allie doesn’t want her and Rob to wait at the airport in California to drive her home. When Allie insists she’s sure; that Molly and Rob should go ahead and get home so they can rest. Rob says they’ll make sure there are cars waiting for us to take us all back to the house in Laguna. 

My parents board the plane before I arrive at the airport. On board the plane, I nestle up with Varyyn on one of the double-width leather seats. I wind my arms around him and bury my face in his shoulder, inhaling his scent. He kisses the top of my head. 

“Are you alright, my love?” he murmurs. 

“...I’ll be fine,” I assure him. “I’m just...disappointed. I knew my parents weren’t ready to meet you. But I had hoped...I don’t know. I had hoped it wouldn’t be like this. Even if I knew it probably would be.” 

Varyyn sighs, bringing a hand up to stroke my cheek. “They may yet come around. Or they may not. In the end, it is up to them. All I can promise is that I will love you regardless of their decision.” 

“...I love you, too.” 

“You guys all set?” Raj’s voice makes me look up. The others are boarding behind us and finding their seats. Jake helps Allie settle in and get her seatbelt on, River still cradled in her arms. 

“Are you sure a plane is really the best way to travel with a newborn?” Lila asks. 

“When the choices are between a rental car, a train, or a private plane for a cross-country trip, a private plane is hands down the best option,” Rebecca declares. “I mean, if we were on a commercial plane, I’d think twice, since those things are basically flying petri dishes. But this plane has been deep-cleaned, unlike the train. It’s more comfortable than a car, and faster than both the car or the train.” 

“Yeah, but what about her little ears? All the pressure?” 

“The doctor says that if I nurse her during take-off and landing, that should keep her comfortable. Besides...I just want to be home.” 

Home. The word washes through me in a way that comforts me even as it makes me want to cry. Images flash through my mind of the house I share with my husband, my best friend, her husband, and his best friend--and now, my little niece and goddaughter. Watching movies in the living room with Allie. Sharing dinner around the table or out on the balcony. Cuddling with Varyyn in the hot tub in the evening, letting the warm, swirling water sap the energy from my body, and then sliding into bed beside him and drifting off to sleep in his arms. At home, I don’t have to hide. I don’t have to walk on eggshells or worry about losing anyone’s love. At home, I’m safe and free. I meet my best friend’s eyes, offering her a tired smile. 

“I’m with you, Allie. Let’s get home.” 

Raj

Nothing but the best for my friends, that’s my motto. I came to the house in Laguna Beach to make sure that my friends would have the best care while they needed it, and I waste no time in getting down to business. Alodia, Diego, and Mike need space to convalesce. But with a new baby in a huge house like this, there is a lot to be done. Jake and Varyyn can’t be expected to do everything, and that’s where I and Lila come in. 

River is constantly monitored. Whenever she cries, someone is ready to come running to change her diaper, or to bring her to Alodia for feeding. I prepare meals ahead of time that can be easily heated and served, so no one goes hungry. Lila helps me cook and keep the house clean. Alodia’s aunt and uncle attempt to send cleaning and catering services to her at one point, but they end up being politely refused. Lila and I have everything under control, and none of us want strangers poking around here. 

Alodia is occasionally moody, snapping at everyone to stop fussing over her, and she can’t wait to be free of this gilded cage and go back out into the world. This is usually followed by tearful apologies, with all of us assuring her that we don’t take it personally. She just had a baby, she’s allowed to be moody. Besides, the moment someone places River in her arms, it seems like everything is right in her world, and everything is right in our world, too. 

...Except it’s not. Not entirely. 

River is happy and healthy. Alodia is getting her strength back. Diego gets rid of the sling, and Mike starts to get around without the walker again. But underneath the surface, there is still trauma. There’s still fear. 

“They’re having nightmares,” I tell Lila one morning as we’re preparing breakfast. She pauses for a moment with a knife poised above an orange before swiftly slicing it in half. 

“Is that so surprising?” she asks. She doesn’t look at me as she speaks, but concentrates on making sure the thick, white heart of the orange half in her hand is positioned properly on the cone of the juicer before she presses down and begins to twist. Bright yellow juice splashes down into the container below. 

“Well, no. But it is sad. Jake and Alodia especially should be concentrating on enjoying their new baby, not having nightmares and worrying about whether Rourke’s coming back for them.” 

Lila pulls the now-deflated orange rind off the cone of the juicer and tosses it on the countertop. Ribbons of tattered orange flesh cling to the inside of the rind. She picks up the other half. 

“...Do you ever have nightmares from Mr. Rourke?” she asks softly. 

“Of course,” I reply. “Not as much as before, but I think we all have them sometimes. After what we all went through, I think I’d be more surprised if any of us didn’t.” 

The twisting of the orange on the juicer slows just slightly. The toaster pops behind me, and I pluck four pieces of perfectly browned bread from the slots to toss onto a plate. 

“...I have nightmares, too.” 

The butter has been softening on the counter, and my knife slides easily through it. The heat from the toast softens it further, and it spreads cleanly. 

“...You want to talk about it?” 

Lila shakes her head, picking up her knife and another orange. “No. Not now. They don’t really matter anyway. They’re about things that happened in the past. I’m less scared of them than I am of what happens in the future.” 

“Do you mean Rourke’s next move?” 

“Of course that scares me. ...But more than that, I’m scared of him trying to use me against all of you again.” 

“We won’t let that happen, Lila. You’re safe with us.” 

“...But are you safe with me?” 

I pause a moment before putting down my knife. I turn to Lila, put one hand on each of her shoulders, and turn her toward me. 

“Lila...look at me. ...Has Rourke approached you at all since you’ve been with us again?” 

Her eyes widen in what looks like genuine surprise. “What? No, I...that isn’t what I meant!” 

I relax just a little. “...Okay.” I slowly take my hands away from her shoulders. “...You’d tell me if he had, wouldn’t you?” 

She nods. “Of course.” 

“Good. ...Because if he approaches you again, we can help you. We can help keep you out from under his thumb. ...We’re not gonna let him just have you back.” 

A weak smile lifts the corners of her mouth. “I believe you.” She hastily turns back to the oranges in front of her. “You should...um...finish buttering before the toast gets cold.” 

Overhead, the sharp, piercing cry of an infant rings through the air. I smile. Another morning blending into another day. It’s not perfect. We’ve got reason to worry. But for now, all is well. 

Diego

I keep my head down as I move through the halls of my high school, clutching the straps of my worn-out backpack. It’s the same shabby gray one I’ve been carrying since freshman year. I’m a junior now, and the corners near the bottom are starting to fray where the sharp corners of paper-bag covered textbooks have dug into them. 

My stomach growls. I skipped lunch again today. My parents were gone to work early again, and I didn’t leave myself enough time to make myself anything this morning. I barely had time to scarf down a banana for breakfast. I didn’t have enough cash for a cafeteria lunch, either, and besides, I preferred spending my lunch period playing on the computer in the library to sitting by myself at the end of a table filled with noisy strangers anyway. 

If I can scrape together enough change from the bottom of my pencil case, I might have enough to get a bag of chips from the vending machine before I have to go to my after school job. But for now, my hunger isn’t all that sharp, and I am heading towards English Lit, the only class I currently look forward to. 

The class is taught by Mr. Hunter. He also teaches the film-making class I want to sign up for next semester. He’s in his early fifties, and not handsome. He is tall and lanky, with gray-green eyes and a dark helmet of slicked back hair that sits atop a rectangular face. He has one of those mustaches that seemed to be popular in the 1970’s that always make a man look a little sketchy. He wears paisley shirts and slacks, and his voice reminds me of Bert from Sesame Street.

Mr. Hunter is the best teacher I’ve ever had at this school. When we studied Romeo and Juliet, he started off by giving us all a printed-off list of Shakespearean insults. When one girl tried to mumble her way through a line-reading, he shouted, “Put some feeling into it, you saucy wench!” 

Mr. Hunter is also gay, and he does not attempt to hide this. When my parents ask about my teachers and which ones I like best, I leave this fact out. If they knew, they would make me switch to another class. Mr. Hunter has a picture of himself with his boyfriend on his desk. I’ve seen it when I’ve gone up to hand in assignments. His partner is bald and ruddy-skinned. He’s not handsome, either, but he has an open, friendly smile. Sometimes, I imagine them kissing. I worry that I have a crush on Mr. Hunter. 

On the post of every classroom door is a laminated pink triangle, with a message proclaiming that this is a safe space for LGBTQ students. These triangles are mandated by the school district. Not every teacher honors them. One teacher actually tore hers down and refused to put it back up. She was fired. Last year, two girls were voted “Cutest Couple” in their senior class. I look at the triangles, prominently displayed as I walk into each classroom, and I don’t feel particularly safe. I feel safe in Mr. Hunter’s classroom. 

Inside Mr. Hunter’s classroom, two boys from the football team act out a love poem with one of them in a curly blond wig and the bottom of his shirt tucked into his collar to create a crop top. They end with a flourish, with the boy in the wig jumping into the other boy’s arms and goosing him. Everyone applauds their performance, including Mr. Hunter. 

Outside Mr. Hunter’s classroom, guys of all stripes growl “faggot” in my direction, and even the girls who are nice to me seem pitying more than anything. There’s a Pride club that meets after school two days a week, but I don’t dare join. I’m slowly realizing I can’t deny the truth anymore, but that doesn’t mean I can just announce it to the world. 

I have just enough change to buy a bag of chips after school. I put it in my backpack as I make my way toward the library where I work for a few hours each day. I see Sam Dzugan eyeing me as I pass through the main doors to the school, and feel dread so familiar that it’s almost dull. Of all the bullies at this school, Sam is the worst. He also knows where I work. If he’s bored and hungry for a power fix tonight, I’m in for a rough walk home. 

But he doesn’t follow me to work. At the library, I set to work filing back the books from the return cart. As I do, my mind wanders to the same place it always does: Alodia. 

Alodia. My ideal friend. I conjure up an image of her beside me. She would be pretty, like all the most popular girls at school. I summon a small, pale figure with blonde hair, big blue eyes, and rosy cheeks. I talk with her in my head as I wander the aisles of the library with the return cart. I can picture her cheeky smile as clearly as if she were really beside me. I have spent many years getting the details of her perfect. Early incarnations of her were dark-haired. Green-eyed. Taller. I drew pictures of her. I wrote down her description in a private notebook that I kept under my mattress. But she never felt as real as when I wrote her with golden blonde hair and sapphire eyes. 

She laughs at all my jokes as I work the rest of my shift. I forgot to eat the chips I bought, and I’m hungry enough now to start feeling dizzy. ...Alodia would invite me to dinner at her house. A huge, fancy house with a pool, where a chef would have prepared a gourmet meal. 

“Don’t worry about Sam,” she would say. “If he gives you any trouble, I’ll fight him off.” ...Because Alodia would be fierce. A fighter. Alodia was a hero. A hero who loved me unconditionally. 

Alodia was never meant to be my lover. I wasn’t looking for a lover when I first dreamed Alodia into existence, which is probably why I always imagined her as a girl. I could scarcely imagine having a lover before I had a friend. That was what Alodia was to me. A friend. A friend who would always love me. A friend who I could tell my secrets to without judgment. A friend to fight for me and protect me, who saw value in me, and needed me back. 

But my friend is a fantasy. And when I leave work and Sam corners me in the encroaching darkness, Alodia vanishes…

...I wake up with a gasp, bolting upright in the darkness of my room. Beside me, Varyyn grunts in his sleep and rolls over, the moonlight reflecting off his blue skin. I stare at his sleeping form for a moment, trying to take stock of myself. I’m shaking. My pajamas are damp with sweat. I feel cold. I feel sick and empty with fear. I don’t exactly remember what I was dreaming about, but one thought keeps echoing in my mind: Allie. I have to find Allie. 

I slip out of bed as gently as I can while I’m still trembling. I don’t want to wake Varyyn. As I slip into the hall, motion-sensitive lights plugged into the sockets near the floor illuminate my path. My dream is still hazy, but bits and pieces trickle back as I shuffle down the hall with my hand on the wall. I was alone. Allie didn’t exist. It was a timeline that I have all but forgotten, and it felt entirely too real. 

I need to find her. Or at least evidence that she still exists. The door to the nursery is slightly ajar, enough that I can see the soft glow from the lamp on the bedside table. I peek through the crack in the door and relief floods through me. Allie, bundled up in her robe and slippers, sits in the rocking chair with River in her arms, gently rocking back and forth. I exhale slowly. I should go back to bed, but I am not ready to let her out of my sight yet. I start to push open the door. She gasps a little, looking up sharply. 

“Oh, Diego!” She smiles at me, settling back into her chair. “You startled me.” 

“Sorry,” I whisper back. “...Did I wake up River?” 

“No. I just fed her, so she’ll probably be out for an hour or two.” She looks up at me as I come to settle into the armchair across from her. “...What are you doing up?�� 

“...Bad dream,” I admit. “...About...about you. I had to come check on you or I was never going to get back to sleep.” 

I half-expect her to joke about me being a creeper watching her while she sleeps, but instead she sighs. “...I kinda know the feeling.” 

“Yeah. I bet you do.” 

“You wanna stay up with me for awhile?” 

“Yeah. But I feel like I should be telling you to get some sleep while you can.” 

“I probably should be sleeping,” she admits. “...But I don’t really want to let her go.” 

There’s not really much I feel like I need to say to that. I understand. I don’t think there’s anyone in this house who doesn’t empathize with that feeling in one way or another. Especially now. 

“...Diego…?” 

“Yeah, Allie?” 

For a long moment, she doesn’t say anything, though her mouth opens and closes a couple times. Then, she swallows and takes a deep breath. 

“...I love you. I love you, and I love Jake, and Raj, and all the Catalysts…” 

“We love you, too, Allie.” 

“...When you imagined me. In that other timeline. When I didn’t come to be until the Island...did you ever imagine my future?” 

I can’t help flinching. Her words feel like a cold pinprick at the top of my spine. “...Allie...I...I don’t really remember that timeline…” 

“I know. I know. But...it happened. It existed. I was once born to be what you needed. What all the Catalysts needed. ...But now...now I have River. Someone new who needs me. She needs me more than any of my Catalysts.” 

“I...I think that’s true,” I say slowly. “...We all love you, and we want you with us. But River is your child. She’s helpless and new. She needs your love and your care and your guidance to survive.” 

“...I’m scared, Diego. I’m scared by how much I love her. I’m scared by how much she needs me.” 

My earlier fear is being replaced with concern that is entirely for my friend.  “...Allie...are you okay? Is this some kind of postpartum depression?” 

“I don’t know what this is, Diego. I know that I love River more than I ever thought I could love anyone alive. I would have torn myself apart for my Catalysts without hesitation. I gave up my existence to give my Catalysts the world. ...But I can’t consider that anymore. Because River needs her mother.” 

“Oh, Allie. That’s not a bad thing. None of us want you to tear yourself apart.” 

“I know. ...But I am afraid of what happens if the world asks for it. ...If I end up at the Threshold again, or a new Raan’losti…” She looks up at me. “...Diego...I think I have to face what’s in the pool shed.” 

I feel my blood run cold. I know what’s in the pool shed. The collection of objects that were left for us in the Crystal dimension when we went to rescue Tahira. Including…

“...Are you sure?” 

She nods. “...It was left for me to find for a reason. I have to touch the Andromeda idol again.” 

[lancermylove]

Sleep? What’s That? (HC)

Fandom: MLQC

Pairing: Victor x Reader, Gavin x Reader, Kiro x Reader, Lucien x Reader,

Warning: Gavin’s hc gets a little suggestive. 

Requested by: Anon

Prompt: Hello!! Can I request an MLQC headcannon with an MC whose like “haha, sleep? Never heard of it” because she’s working at the company, and helping out other people? Maybe fluff? Haha- I think it’s quite fitting because of your name- be as creative as you like and alter whatever you need to do! Thanks in advance ✨

A/N: Hi! I wasn’t sure which guys you wanted, so I picked the main 4. Haha, I just went with my blog’s name for this hc’s title. I got a bit carried away with Victor’s hc...is my bias-y showing? XD

——————————————— 

Knock. Knock. Knock.

You thought someone was trying to break down your apartment door.

KNOCK. KNOCK.

Picking up your pace, you flung open the door, ready to give the visitor a piece of your mind.

"Ms. Chips! Are you okay?"

You were shocked to see Kiro standing at your doorstep. He was out of breath, and small beads of sweat covered his face.

"Kiro? What are you doing here?" You stepped aside to let him into your home.

"Savin told me that he saw Willow's post about you not sleeping enough! I rushed here as soon as I could."

You watched your boyfriend place a few bags on your coffee table before plopping onto the sofa.

"Kiro, what's all this?" You couldn't help but wonder why he was carrying so many bags.

"Well, I thought you could use a little help," he started taking the items out of the bag and placed them on the table, "so, I got some chamomile tea, melatonin gummies, a few fruits with magnesium, lavender oil, passionflower tea, a few vegetables that have glycine, and over-the-counter sleeping pills."

"Kiro, did you buy the entire grocery store?"

"Sorry, Ms.Chips, I wasn't sure which item would help you, so I just got everything." He flashed a toothy grin, causing you to laugh.

You couldn't help but hug your sweet boyfriend. "Sorry for worrying you, Kiro. I have been extremely busy with the company and helping people around town."

"Princess, you need to sleep!" Kiro placed his hand on his chin, "You know what? I have an idea."

He pulled out his cellphone and dialed Savin. "Hey~! I am going to take the rest of the day off, take care of everything, okay? Thanks!"

Just as Kiro was about to hang up, you heard Savin screaming from the other side, "KIRO! YOU HAVE A LOT OF COMMITMENTS TODAY!"

"Kiro, are you sure that was a good idea? Wait, why do you want to take the day off?"

"Savin will handle everything. Ms. Chips, let's go to bed and not wake up until tomorrow. Actually, I don't want to hear anything...we are sleeping for the rest of the day, and that's final."  

Kiro left you no choice as he threw you over his shoulder and carried you off to bed.

No getting sleep was nothing new to Victor. After all, he was the CEO of a very well known company, and on top of that, he had a reputation to maintain. 

When Victor learned that you were not getting proper sleep, he wasn't surprised. Whenever you emailed your reports, Victor made a mental note of the time. 

The first few times, Victor didn't think much when he saw 1 am, 3 am, 4:30 am. He assumed you were procrastinating, but when this became a frequent occasion, he began to worry.  

One day, you received a text from Victor asking you to come to his office asap. No excuses. 

You immediately thought that Victor was going to reprimand you for not sending in a proper report, but when you walked into his office, he seemed more worried than upset. 

"Victor, is something the matter?" 

"Yes. From now on, I want you to send in your report before 10 pm."  

You expected Victor to give you a reason, but instead, he remained silent, awaiting your reply. 

"T-That will be difficult to do." You bit down on your bottom lip, knowing well that your response was not going to go down well with your boyfriend.

"Why is that?" His face remained expressionless.

"Well, you see..." you started but decided to stop. 

"Why are you always tired?" He asked and examined your face, "Your dark circles have gotten worse, and it seems as though you've lost weight."

Victor opened the top drawer of his desk and pulled out a stack of paper. He looked straight into your eyes before placing it in front of you. 

"V-Victor, I..."

"You were in the hospital last week. Did you truly believe that you could hide this from me?" 

"I am s-sorry. I knew you were busy and didn't want you to worry." 

"Why are you not getting enough sleep?" 

Taking in a deep breath, you told Victor the truth, "I have been volunteering, and there is a lot to do around the company. Anna has been sick, and Minor has to take care of a sick family member, so I have to do their work as well."

Victor sighed, "Did you think that I would get angry at you if you told me the truth? Your well being is more important to me than anything." 

"Victor..."

After making a few calls, Victor turned his attention to you, "For the time being, you will solely focus on your company. I have asked Goldman to send a few employees of LFG to your company. As for volunteering, you will take a break from that."

"But-" Before you could make any excuses, Victor interrupted you. 

"There are others in the city that can volunteer in your place. Also, you are still responsible for sending your reports in on time."

You were waiting for him to say this, but what Victor said next caught you completely off guard.

"Send your report to Goldman in bullet point form, and he will convert that into a formal report." 

"What?" You gawked at Victor, thinking that you may have misheard his words. 

Victor chuckled, "Dummy." 

He rose to his feet and made his way to your chair. Victor picked you up and walked to the sofa in his office. 

"Now, I want you to rest." He gently lowered you onto the black and white sofa before taking off his suit jacket. 

Victor covered you with his blazer and took off your heels. He leaned down and placed a tender kiss on your forehead. 

After a few minutes, Victor turned his attention from his laptop to you only to find you sleeping peacefully. A rare smile appeared on his lips, "Sleep well, my beloved dummy." 

After what felt like an eternity, you finished your volunteer work. Anna had warned you to think carefully before working on a show that required you to volunteer. You couldn't help but think that you should have listened to her. 

The clock read 1:10 am, and your report was far from being finished. You were almost tempted to call your employees and ask for their help, but you decided against it. After all, the company was your responsibility. 

You decided to take a break and walked over to your open window. 

"Having trouble sleeping?" 

You nearly lost your balance, but Gavin caught you. 

Even though this was usually Gavin's way of visiting you, for some reason, you could never get used to it. 

"Gavin? What are you doing here?" You regained your balance and wrapped your arms around his neck. 

"You have not been sleeping for the past few days." 

"Huh? How do you know that?" 

"I come to check on your every night." He gave a smile. 

"You do? Are you that worried about you?" You pecked his lips. 

Your action caused Gavin's cheeks to turn red. He averted his eyes and cleared his throat before speaking, "I always worry about you. Would you like to come out with me?" 

"Well, I have a report due, but..." 

Gavin smiled and lifted you out of the window. "It won't take long." 

The night air was crisp and refreshing. The moon's brightness made the ocean shimmer. The cool air brushed your cheeks, causing you to wrap your arms tighter around Gavin's neck. 

"Cold?" He asked with a hint of concern in his voice. 

"No, the air feels good." 

By the time you got back, you felt so calm that you were able to finish your report in no time. 

All the while, Gavin sat on the sofa and watched you with a smile.

After you finished, you took a shower and changed into your nightclothes.  When you walked out, Gavin couldn't help but stare at you with wide eyes. 

You had completely forgotten that Gavin was still there and had accidentally worn your revealing nightwear.

Your boyfriend rose to his feet and slowly walked towards you, taking in the beautiful sight in front of him. 

"Gavin, will you be staying? It's pretty late." 

You failed to notice the mesmerized look on Gavin's face. He wordlessly lifted you and carried you to bed. 

After placing you on your bed, Gavin brought his lips closer to your ear and whispered, "You look beautiful. Don't let any other man see you like this." 

After saying those words, Gavin quickly walked into your bathroom. 

In your tired state, you had failed to notice a tent in Gavin's pants. 

The next morning, when you saw yourself in the mirror, you realized what Gavin meant. Luckily for you, your dear boyfriend wasn't there to see you turning a hundred shades of red. 

It was 3:45 am, and you were typing away on your laptop. Your mind was too preoccupied to hear a knock on your apartment door. 

The sound of your text notification nearly made you jump from your seat.

My dear kitten, I know you're awake. I can see the light under your door.

You were confused for a second, but it suddenly hit you that the only way Lucien can see the light under your door is-

Rushing to the front door, you opened it to find your beloved boyfriend, smiling. 

"I have been knocking for a while. You had me worried."

You let Lucien into your apartment while explained that you were too focused on your report.

"Dear kitten, sleep is an important commodity. Do you wish to impair your brain functions?" 

"Of course not, but Lucien-"

"Have you forgotten that I am a neuroscientist? Sleep deprivation will negatively impact your body." 

"But Lucien, your awake as well, and you don't sleep enough." 

Your straightforward response startled your boyfriend. "I realize that, but my dear kitten, I do sleep. It does not seem as though you have slept recently." 

"I have just been so busy, and I need to get the report in before morning!" You sighed and rested your head on Lucien's shoulder. 

"Then shall we get your report finished?" 

Though Lucien was a firm believer of "one has to do their own work", his concern for your health forced him to make an exception. 

With the help of your genius boyfriend, you managed to get the report finished in half an hour. As soon as you submitted your report, Lucien carried you to your bedroom and placed you on your bed. 

"Do excuse me for a second." He made his way to the bathroom, and after a few minutes, he returned. 

"Lucien, are you staying here?" 

"But of course. How else will I be sure that you receive adequate rest?" With those words, he got into your bed before pulling you close to him. 

Your comfortable bed, Lucien's warmth, and his comforting scent were enough to help you relax. Soon, sleep began to consume you.

Lucien gently ran his fingers through your hair as he studied your sleeping face. "My love, do take care of yourself. You worry me more than you realize."   

———————————————

➣ MLQC Masterlist ➣ Buy me a Ko-fi or Commission?

[arknights-imagines]

Exusiai for the Christmas letter and gift prompt with a Male Sarkaz Operator S/O who is a part of Penguin Logistics and acts as her weapon smith making sure her gun is working properly and that she has plenty of ammo when she goes out on Operations. Thank you for answering my request.

From, Exusiai

Christmas Letter and Gift event

Satisfied with your work, Emperor gives you the rest of the day off after you deliver to him your report of weapon and cargo records for the month. The Penguin Logistics base is quiet as you head back to your workshop for the night.

You flick the lights on with a yawn, but your eyes do a double take when they fall to your workbench. There, amongst your tools and papers is a red envelope sealed with a cute cartoonish sticker, sat next to a cute gift bag of the same colour.

Your gaze stares the items down, the glint in your eyes curious; a gift perhaps? It is the Holiday season, but who would be sending you something at such an odd time? Though you feel a little bit cautious, you sit yourself down at your workbench, taking the envelope and turning it in your hands carefully.

The words on the back of the envelope reveal the identity of your sender immediately - in bold, messy handwriting is ‘To my baby, from your Exu! A very Merry Christmas!’ surrounded by playfully drawn hearts and stars.

Exusiai - you told her that you didn't need anything for Christmas, but you aren't surprised that she got you something regardless. You open the letter carefully, pulling from inside the envelope a sheet of Penguin Logistics stationary paper, that smells faintly of apple pie. Even though Exusiai’s hand penmanship is barely legible, from the very first words of the letter, a smile comes to your face.

--------------------

Yo, hi [name]~! I hope my favourite cutie is feeling good today.

I’m not much of a writer, but the boss sent me out on a mission I’m not sure when I’ll be back from, and I wanted to give you your gift ASAP. Don’t worry about me! I’ll be back faster than you can say ‘apple pie’~.

What's up with this letter and gift? Well, it’s Christmas season! That means lots of parties with me and the other girls - Ehehe, I hope you're ready for a Holiday party the Penguin Logistics way. You know, you really do need a break baby~. All that tinkering with weapons all the time looks like it would really poop me out. But I guess that's why we all have our roles, right? Without you, I’m not sure what the other girls and I would do.

Christmas is a big deal pretty much everywhere - from Lungmen to Rhodes Island, everyone celebrates the Holidays.

When it comes to Christmas, I only like the fun parts - that's probably why I like celebrating it my own way, different from how other Sankta do it. Most Lateranos celebrate Christmas seriously, with all these intricate traditions and whatnot. Me? I just like the gifts, the smiles, the lights and the food! And baby, if you ask me, as long as you're having fun, Christmas can be spent anyway you like~. The Holidays came so fast this year! I guess time really does fly when you're having fun~.

Do the Sarkaz celebrate Christmas? Ehehe, sorry, maybe that question is a little too personal. Don't worry baby, now that we’re together, we can celebrate the Holidays together however we want.

That reminds me - what do you want to do for Christmas this year? We’ll have a party with the girls, obviously, but we will need to make plans just for us. We can hang around the base and I can make us apple pie, then we can cuddle or watch a movie. Or if you're feeling adventurous, we can go out into whatever city we’re in by the time Christmas rolls around and see where fate takes us. Ehehe, think about it, okay?

[Name], we’ve run into all types of things, but honestly? I wouldn't really have it any other way. If I had never met you, I don't think waking up for the day would bring me half as much excitement as it does now. Knowing I get to get up in the morning and see you working when I pass by your workshop really makes me smile. Ehehe, is that too cheesy? I’m sorry cutie, my insides really do get all mushy when I think about you.

Y’know...people like to call the Sarkaz ‘devils’, but [name], you're not a devil at all. You protect me by keeping my gun and I in shape and if anything jams, we can trust you to fix it. I might be the one with the wings and halo, but you're the real angel - my guardian angel. The boss and the other girls ought to be super grateful for you~.

Baby, I feel like I really need to repay you for everything you’ve done for me. I know you repair my gun and help the girls and I on missions sometimes, but it’s more than that. You gave me a real shelter, a place where I feel safe and can be myself. I don't really fit in with the other Sankta back at Laterano, Rhodes Island and Penguin Logistics are nice but the people there are my friends and colleagues - not my lover. The one I love, the one I know I can rely on no matter what, is you.

My cutie, my baby, my [name] - what I’m trying to say is that my home is with you. I want to be with you forever.

I wanna do so many things together; eheh, where do I start? I want us to go to Siesta for their Obsidian Festival, I want us to go to Lungmen again so we can properly celebrate the Sauin festival, I even want to bring you to Laterano, my hometown, just to show you where I grew up.

Is this warmth inside my heart the Christmas Spirit everyone keeps talking about? Ehehe, I’m just kidding. Only you have this kind of effect on me, [name]. I wonder - when you think of me, does your stomach do the same summersaults mine does when I think of you~?

But seriously - baby, I love you. So much that I’m basically oozing with affections for you, but that's probably obvious. Someday, I’ll find some better way to say thanks, but for now, take this letter and gift I got for you. Also, it’s Christmastime! Hold your head up and smile big for me~.

Ehehe, boss is gonna start yelling at me if I take too long, so that's all for now! Keep up the hard work [name]! Ehehe, maybe the boss will give us a nice long break for the holiday season if we all blow him away with our amazingness~. Right, Exu out!

--------------------

Exusiai and her antics never fail to make you smile; this time was no different. A small chuckle leaves you and your lips upturn into a warm grin as you read the conclusion to her letter. Exusiai really does mean as much to you as you meant to her - you remind yourself to tell her that when she comes back from her mission.

Your gaze returns to your workbench, more specifically, to the gift bag. Its colour reminds you a little of Exusiai’s hair, and sticking out the top of the bag is tissue paper of all different colours. Your brow lifts as you pick it up; the bag is light, what kind of gift did she get you? You shrug to yourself slightly, ‘Only one way to find out’, and so, you open the little bag up.

Inside of the bag, underneath all that colourful tissue paper is a cute keychain with two chibi figures and a tag with your name hanging off it. You immediately recognize one of the little figurines as Exusiai - the cheeky grin and halo are both pretty unmistakable - and the other figure; confusion paints your face for a few moments as your try and rack your brain for who it might be, and then it dawns you. You almost facepalm; it's clear from the Sarkaz horns that the other chibi is you. Another smile is brought out of you and a light laugh follows. The gift is lighthearted and playful, and at the end of the day, it's just a keychain; but paired with Exusiai’s letter and the thoughts she conveyed with it, to you, it's so much more.

Your eyes go back to the gift bag, and you this time notice the tag hanging off its handle. Gaze curious, you take the tag between your fingers and see that Exusiai’s handwriting is squished onto the little blank space it provides, ‘Merry Christmas cutie! I promise I’ll be home for the holidays, but for now, check out this keychain! It’s mini versions of you and I, pretty cool right? Shoutout to the super awesome craftsman I met during my Operation in Lungmen who made them for us!’ Your heart goes mushy - she had been thinking of spending Christmas with you even during her missions? You can tell you’ll always be in her heart, and you can't wait to tell her that she’ll always be in yours, ‘[Name], carry the keychain around with you everywhere you go - that way, we’ll always be together~.’

[diesukitsuki]

Hi Hi, 💜 Anon! First of all, you’re so sweet. I’ve been having a bit of anxiety, and Your message literally made day, muah! Also please don’t be nervous, i’m really happy that you reach out!! (and your english is perfectly fine dw and don’t apologize!!)

I wanted to answer this ASAP bc i felt like this was something that needed to be answered quickly.

As for posting stuff on your own blog, i want you to know to please take my advice and words with a grain of salt. I do this as a hobby and im not a professional tumblr blogger/writer.. also i’m kinda dumb 😭.

I want you to know that no matter what people will love and dislike the things you write. I’ll be honest, It’s kind of tough out here, emphasis on ‘kinda’. People will literally eat up any kind of content on their favorite character, so it’s kinda easy to get some kind of traction..

but sometimes your fic doesn’t get the attention you thought it might get, and it breaks your heart a little.. but it’s okay! Just because one fic doesn’t get attention doesn’t mean the others won’t get attention.

there are also bitches that complain about everything and will tell you just to make you feel bad, just for the sake of making you feel bad. You should never listen to those people, especially when it’s not critique, because if they really wanted to bitch about the way you write, they should write their own shit.

What you should really focus on is writing for you.

I know, I know.. an overused phrase, but it’s one that rings true. Because at the end of the day, the main reason you want to share your stories is because you want to spread your brilliance, your pride, your joy. If you’re not happy, then your fic isn’t going to be happy, which means in your eyes, your fic will never be good enough for you. (notice how i said for you?)

I think you have real potential, though. The prompt you gave me was magnificent and something I wouldn’t have really thought of. I’m really excited to write it.

Other than that, here’s some stuff i wish people told me:

« Your first draft doesn’t have to be your final draft:

Idk if it was just me, but i used to just write all my fics down in one go and send them out.. i mean i still do, but only for drabbles bc i don’t take them seriously. I recommend you writing out all of your fic down and don’t look back..

This helps especially if your brain is working so fast that you just want to spit shit onto your paper.

it doesn’t have to be perfect.. it can literally be a simple ass sentences with a bunch of typos. You just have to get the basic idea of your fic.

then rewrite it on a new doc/paper… like actually think about what you write down when you go off of your first draft. Don’t tweak it on the same doc.. kinda like an essay in a way?? idk if that makes sense.

For example:

1st doc: Bakugou begins to go to school with a frown, and saw a tree that reminded him of you. He feels better.

2nd/final: A grimace weighs his lips as he began trudging his way to school, his body hunched over. If he didn’t have his heavy ass backpack breaking his back, he would’ve thought his brain was too heavy for his body. Bakugou lugs his head back as he hears the breeze wrestle with the leaves. A floral scent hits him, and before he knows it, he’s dazzled by the sight of delicate pink flowers. All he can think of is you. The backpack still bites at his shoulders, but at least his chest feels lighter.

Of course, it doesn’t have to be as wordy as mine. Do what makes you feel good!! what makes you feel proud!!

and the final product does not have to be the second draft. it can be the third, fifth, or sixth draft!

« space out your paragraphs!

It kind of hurts people’s eyes when they’re all bunched up together. Most people (including me) tend to log off of the fic when things are all squished together.

I tend to separate my paragraphs based off of what it’s talking about.

For example; lets say you’re describing the way a bedroom looks then you want to talk about the family dynamic your character has. You would space those out.

« don’t be afraid to look up synonyms!

I feel like this one is really obvious, but when people tend to use the same words over and over again. It can make your fic seem a bit dull, so liven it up with different kinds of words!! It paints your fic better :D!

« Don’t be afraid to let people read and comment on your fic before posting.

this ones is pretty straight forward.

« After you’re done writing your fic, read it over and wait a bit before posting.

I don’t know about you.. but sometimes i get ideas right after i post my fic. Sometimes letting your head roam with thoughts can produce new ideas or new sentences that’ll make the fic even better!

« Don’t be like me and post in the middle of the night

I recommend posting it when people are awake and off from work and school!

« having an aesthetically pleasing layout for your blog/fic

God, i hate saying this.. but when you have a pretty lay out.. it really attracts the viewers attention.

You can go here for the dividers!! I also find that going on desktop helps a lot when doing your lay out.

I wish i could help you more on the aesthetic side.. but i’m literally shit at it 😭..

…

agh.. that’s all i can think of right now. sorry for rambling 😭..

Again don’t feel nervous!!Please feel free to send me another ask if you have any more questions. I’d love to answer them!!

Again, please take my advice with a grain of salt. This is just stuff I do to make myself satisfied with my fic.

[satorilovebot]

a little help? [ atsumu x reader ]

pair : miya atsumu x reader

words count : 1650

warning : none

You are curled in your bed, clutching your pillow and biting it hard enough so your sob wouldn’t be heard by others. Honestly, you don’t like crying, but your sibling’s words echoed into your brain, and it weighs you down, making your sob harder as time goes by.

*

“I don’t know what I want to do in the future … ” you said softly, looking at the paper on your hand with a frown on your forehead.

“What do you think you are good at?” your sibling replied, eyes still glued to their smartphone. You stare at them, tilting your head slightly before answering.

“… nothing?”

With voice flat as ever, eyes doesn’t leave the screen either, your sibling replied coldly, “Then don’t ask people to help you, you don’t even want to help yourself.”

Your heart drops at their answer, yet you managed to let out a soft chuckle and whisper, “Ahaha, you are right.”

*                

You are the first born of your family. It is only natural that your parents expect a lot from you.  At first it wasn’t a problem. You are doing fine in your study, not always on top of the class, yes, but still not bad either. You won some competitions too. But as you get older, the burden starts to weigh you. Especially when you see that your sibling is doing lots better than you. Better grades, better achievements, even better manner, if that make sense.                 

To be honest, you were satisfied with how you live your life until now. A moment ago, at least. You are always the type that goes with the flow; it is easier to blend in, to face problems with ‘present’ mindset rather than planning for the future. But maybe it wasn’t a wise choice. Maybe you should’ve thought about your future more seriously. Finding things that you can be good at, or working hard on things you like so you can master it. But no. You had choose to live in the present, enjoying things too much and never really master anything. Just jumping into one hobby to another before you can master it.                

“y/n.”                

You chocked on your own spit, you didn’t expect anyone, especially this person to come into your dorm room and find you in the most pitiful state, “N-no.. hik.. ‘Tsu.. ‘Tsumu please leave.” You managed to say between your sobbing.

Atsumu Miya decided to ignore your words, closing the door, and sit on the edge of the bed instead. You can hear him sigh, “Is it about that stupid ‘future plan’ shit again?” golden orbs catches on the paper that laying on the floor. It was a form from school, every student obliged to fill it with their plan for the future, like do they want to continue to college or working. It supposed to be harmless, but apparently, not for everyone.                

“Look, y/n, I said it yesterday, that it’s okay to not know what do you want. Just take your time, you would know, as always.” He tried, rough palm softly reaching for [h/c] locks and stroking it as gentle as he could. But it didn’t stop your sobbing or trembling.

“But apparently our teacher think the otherwise. They want it tomorrow,” Breathed, you try to calm yourself “And then someone said I don’t deserve any help from other people cause I don’t want to help myself.” voice laced with anger, and heavy disappointment. It was addressed to yourself though.

His eyebrows furrow together, “Who said such thing?” and your sibling name slipping through your lips. Atsumu only clicked his tongue and pinching your ear, practically pulling you to face him, “You know that they meant no harm right?”

“IT HUUUURTSSS!” you whine, both hands now holding your boyfriend’s wrist, trying to get his hand away from your ear. “Of course I know. It just makes me hate myself more… like, why I can’t be a decent human being, and know what I want to do in the future. Like you with volleyball… I… don’t master anything.”

He gently cups your cheeks, wiping the tears with his calloused thumbs and looks straight into your puffy eyes. His skin felt rough against your soft one, but it calms you down somehow. “They are right though. You always chickened out when you doesn’t do well in something, trying other things right away. It’s a vicious cycle. Y/n, when we start things we are not obliged to be perfect. No one does … ” 

“My sibling did, they manage-” 

“SHUSH! Let me, would you?” he frowns, practically pinching your lips so you would shut up. You only whine and pouts even more, letting him continue his words. “Okay maybe they did things perfect in one try, so what? Most people don’t. I didn’t. Do you think I able to set that perfect in one try? Receive those balls? Serve? No. But what makes me different from you is I don’t give up and I give my fucking everything to volleyball.”

“It’s because you like it,” this time, it is you that sighed. Slowly pulling yourself up to sit in front of him, who now already crossed his legs on your bed. “I don’t particularly like anything…” you whisper, avoiding his stares and looking at your own fingers while you fiddle on your shirt.

“You and your commitment issue are really scary. You need to fix it ASAP or I feel like I am getting dumped after three months, like you and those clubs you constantly in and out. ” he roll his eyes and you huff.

“That was because I don’t like those that much!!” you try to argue and he only raised his eyebrows.

“You said you liked taekwondo before tap out three months later saying you can’t remember their moves,”

“That wa--”

“You quit swimming club because you said it makes your skin darker and you don’t like getting tanner, even when you won second place in prefecture,”

“Swimming was tir-”

“I wonder who said that they like baking but quit three months after started and saying that, ’I can’t do frosting. I shouldn’t even start’?”

At this you only raise your both hands in defeat, your shoulder slumped and you rest your head on Atsumu’s broad shoulder. Nuzzling onto his hoodie, filling your lungs with this masculine scent before breathe out, “Fine, I’m at fault. Sorry for being so pathetic.”

“I never said you are pathetic, honey,” he pulls you closer. Resting his chin against your head and caressing your back, “I just said maybe, if you are not chickened out and try harder you might achieve something big. You said it yourself; failure is just a postponed victory. But you need patience, and work hard to achieve it.”

You hug him tightly, letting his warmth gives you the comfort you’ve been seeking. “Just kiss me and I might find what I want to do in the future right now.”  

“Have you seen yourself? Kiss those tears and snot covered face? Ew never!” he said jokingly, making a disgusted face. You can only laugh, hit him on the chest and look up.

“You mean!” but you smiled anyway. “Thanks ‘Tsumu, I still need to short my thoughts but maybe, just maybe, I can come up with something tomorrow.” His gaze was tender when you stare into those golden orbs, his thumb stroking your cheek lovingly.

“That’s better. You don’t suit gloomy mood anyway. So, dinner? You must be hungry after cry your eyeballs out.” 

“Yeaaah! Can we get pizza? With pineapple on it!” you jump down your bed, run toward bathroom to clean your messy face.

“Ew, I still don’t get it. Your taste in food is awful.” He winched at the thought of pineapple on his pizza. Only psychopath does that, he thoughts.

“At least my taste in man isn’t,” you step out of the bathroom with freshly washed face, putting on your hoodie and untangling your hair, you hug his arm “Let’s get some pizza!!!”

Atsumu smiles, he kiss the top of your head and give you a quick hug. “Now, this is the girl I am dating. I love you, y/n.”

Atsumu may not the sweetest boyfriend in the world, definitely not the softest, nor the kindest. He is just a boyfriend that y/n needs. Know when to praise, when to scolds, and when to slap some sense into them. After all we need to stand with our feet, we can’t always rely on the others. Because the one who can help us, is us. 

Hello! this is a mere test post? like, i’m giving you a quick look about how i write stuff ashdashda. honestly i’m not really satisfied with how this turn out but, I wrote it like just in an hour so please bear with me. however if you have critics and (please) request do send me some message! thank you!

[mcrmadness]

Madness draws: Behind the Scenes of the Bela/Farin: “Widumihei” comic.

A few months ago I posted here this comic:

CLICK HERE for the original post about that comic where you can see it in better and bigger size, and also reblog it ;)

And this post is just a deep dive into how I plan, do and draw my comics.

Let’s start with sketchbook things...

So every comic needs a story, right? My comics usually are born from either some dialogue I imagine in my head or by an impulsive inspiration that happens when I see something or talk with people and a random idea is triggered. I’m very good at coming up with new ideas solely based on just one word or so which is why I often ask people if they have anything they would want to see/read because I suck at coming up ideas on my own. Or I do get ideas, but not as often as I’d want to.

This particular idea was very old and I have tried but I cannot find the piece that was my inspiration but it was in some of my old German books because I remember laughing at it with either my brother or even with the German teacher in 2011 or 2012. I was only able to find my first “sketch” of the story:

This is in the notebook I used for writing down some comic ideas and even had one comic in it, plus it’s also my fanfiction writing notebook. It has no date but I know for sure it was either 2011 or 2012 because that’s when I did my last Bela/Farin comic and pretty much started my (unintentional) 6 year pause from drawing altogether.

I have always been trilingual when I do these plans for my comics, often writing the “narration” in Finnish and the dialog either in English or German because I just cannot imagine them to speaking Finnish. The translation of that text goes as:

COMIC (sarjis = sarjakuva = comic book in Finnish)

1. The phone is ringing. 2. F: “Widumihei?!” B: ? 3. B: “Farin wtf?” 4. Farin walks from another room. 5. B: “Widumihei?” 6. F: “It means, “will you marry me?”“ 7. B: *wtf* REPLAY:

1. Bela is sitting/laying somewhere. 2. The phone is ringing. Reached with his hand? 3. Looks at the phone, “wtf?”, a thought: “von Jan: Widumihei?!” 4. Bela: “Farin?” / “Jan?” 5. F comes from another room, looks in from behind the door frame or something. B: “Widumihei?” 6. F: “Widumihei: “WIllst DU MIch HEiraten”“ 7. B: “WTF”

So when I then started to draw these comics again in 2018, I kept thinking about this one too and still wanted to draw it one day. If you have read the finished comic, you may notice something different in the old plot versus new: I switched Bela’s and Farin’s roles. Back then I didn’t know too much yet but over the years I have learnt much much more about them and I just figured that asking to marry him even as a joke would be too much for Farin and that it would fit Bela’s persona much much better.

***

I had a bit of problems with getting started with this one, mainly because the last times I drew a dä comic was in June 2020, in April 2020 and before those in October 2019. Because of so long time between the comics, I just always forgot about my methods and in which order I do things and what works for me the best. So every time I started to work on a comic, I had to start completely over because all I had was blank paper and I somehow needed to get my thoughts in order and out of my head, into a physical form aka as text and images on the paper, and it’s easier said than done.

So pardon me but from this on the text is going to get a little bit confusing for a little while from now on - but it’s also a very good look over how the life with my suspected ADHD be like sometimes...

I started working on the plot once again to my sketchbook... I think it was somewhere in the beginning of 2020. Because the next idea there is from the summer. This is what the plot looked like at that point - here I had already switched their roles:

Shortly, the texts go: 1. Farin is reading a book. 2. A phone makes a noise. 3. (Farin) looks at it/read the message. / 6. B appears into the doorway. / 11. F spits out the tea.

And underneath it you can see one of the stick figure storyboards I often do in order to kinda see the text in pictures better, and I will write down or draw important aspects like expressions (Farin’s eyebrows) or things like *facepalm’* or *eyeroll* so that I remember to add them.

Next I was struggling with the era. It needed to be an era with the old mobile phones with SMS options but still not too early because I feel that Farin would have not been the first in line to buy a brand new technology object, especially not when it’s a phone. I was even googling when did Germany get their first mobile phone - I remember I got my first phone aka Nokia 5510 in 2000 or 2001 after my mom got a new one and gave her old one to me, so the story shouldn’t happen too many years before the Millenium.

Originally I planned 1997 for that - I needed to think about that based on their styles because shorter hair is harder to draw. Here’s me trying out some hairs and how they’re to draw and which era would suit my needs the best. I actually find the text hilarious altho it’s mine but this is what it’s in English:

Time period -> 1996-1997? 1998 I’ve never drawn 1999 is not that much fun to draw 2000 is already a bit too late? Bela not that much fun to draw. -2001 moustaches are not fun to draw?

I think I was struggling with my thoughts because the next thing in that sketchbook is yet another storyboard:

Or actually I think this was just to see how many sheets I’d need and how many panels I could fit on one sheet.

Anyhow, I then did other things for some time before I got back to this project this year. Including finishing with the sketchbook I had been using since 2010 (and the half of it since 2018!) and I had to get myself a new one. So when I started to think about this comic again, one night I was just thinking about some Bela/Farin scenarios as usual and suddenly I just felt that I NEED to do the comic in the 1998 style!!! So suddenly we jump from the original 1997 idea to the new era, only because of the colors. 

So asap I grabbed my sketchbook and started to look for the proper colors for the hairs:

This one I posted here before too as I was struggling a lot and just felt that I didn’t know how to draw, again. Sometimes when I feel like that, I start drawing with my non-dominant aka left hand because it doesn’t have all that in muscle memory so drawing and writing with it feels more free and it feels almost like pressing a refresh button in my brain. Suddenly the right one know again how to draw because left isn’t too well in control. The below part of the image is done completely with the left hand, including the coloring.

And because I had now a new sketchbook, I somehow couldn’t... deal with the plot and plans being in a different sketchbook than everything else so I had write the plot/dialog AGAIN, into this new sketchbook, along with the storyboards and everything:

Translations: kirja = book, puhelin = phone, oviaukossa = in the doorway, teet suusta = tea(s) out of a/the mouth. “Puhelin zoom” just means “close up to the phone screen” in Madness.

You can also see that I found out that I don’t need to do the stick figure storyboards to imitate a sheet when I can just draw this rectangle and smaller rectangles inside of it and write there numbers to match the things in the dialog to make it much easier for me to plan the pages. And here’s also a small easter egg: there’s 13 panels overall in this comic :D I almost did 12 but then felt that no, I really need to do 13 because, you know, the hairs, the era, the album title. And also because I like the number so much lmao.

So from there we get to the second storyboard which is not just stick figures anymore but just me planning how I want the panels to look like. To get the imagery of the rooms and facial expressions etc. out onto the paper so that I can see them in real life instead of my shady imagination that sometimes isn’t as vivid as what I could be.

Also have you ever tried to draw a beach chair? It’s more difficult than you’d think:

I tried to draw the same thing from the same reference photos so many times and still I always felt like I was trying to draw that impossible triangle or some other illusion image. And it just went on and on here:

Originally I also had planned the second panel to be a close up of the phone so that Farin’s face would be left at the background from the frog perspective. That’s what I was trying to with that weird-ass face on the left but turned out that I have never drawn these characters from such angle and I just... couldn’t see it in my head clearly enough to be able to draw it. So I dismissed that idea and that’s why the angle changed from a phone close-up to a side view to the room and at Farin.

As I was in the middle of planning the second page, I suddenly wasn’t happy with my original plot anymore. I wasn’t sure if it would work and needed to think about it one more time. So I wrote two other dialogs here, along with a storyboards for them both. I ended up choosing B from those two options eventually.

I don’t remember anymore if I had already done the first sketch of the comics or not but at some point I just felt that I no longer knew how to draw in my style. Sometimes you just draw and learn wrong things and wrong methods that you get used to and then you have to take a break and actually do a little bit of studying over your own style to find again the way how you want to draw, and get rid of the bad habits and find the good ones again. In my case it was to draw the eyes way way too big when they originally never were THAT big, so I had to learn how to draw them small and normal again. That’s why I did these, as I really needed to pay attention to the faces and remember how to draw them again:

The front-side views were another big readong for this “study” because I have drawn that perspective only once or twice before and I needed to figure out how I want to draw that. Also, I don’t know if it’s just me but for some reason the front-side Farin reminds me of one of the parent characters from this cartoon called The Rugrats which I watched as a kid. It was totally unintentional, but you can google The Rugrats if you don’t know how the charatcers looked like in the cartoon.

The things below are just me testing something. The red Farins were just to test how the colored pencils work on each other and how the fineliners work with the colored pencils, and which way is the better way to do the shading. And the red colored pencil was the only one available at the time so that had to do.

A little bit about the heads btw: You might notice some difference between the left and right faces. It’s because I have always, always struggled with drawing anything that is looking at right. Most of the animal portraits and all I have drawn so that they look at left because I just find it so much easier to draw. I think with comics it’s because I always start with the eye (and the eyebrows if I don’t forget it) and then do the forehead, nose, mouth and chin, and after that I either continue from the hair (from the front) or do the ear first. But when I am drawing them to look at right, I have to basically draw the mirror image and starting from the hair is not the key because it can easily mess up with the perspectives. I still usually draw everything in the same order but it really is difficult because I’m doing a mirror image and my own hand is on the way, too. Basically I’m drawing from right to left instead of left to right! (I think I should try drawing those with my left hand, then...)

And from here we get to the first sketch of the comic. From here on the images are from my phone’s camera so they are sometimes illegally bad but no can do, I again didn’t think I’d post these to anywhere:

Here you can see I was mainly just focusing on the shapes and the space inside those panels. Just trying to see the perspective and how everything is. The only thing that I drew more precisely was the third panel, with the hand and phone. I had quite a nice memory of old phones in my head but I still googled for some reference photos of Nokia 5110 phones as that was my first phone (as I mentioned earlier), and I also happened to have some of my other old phones on the table nearby so I took my own hand reference photos too:

They always say there’s a little bit of the artist in their art and this one literally has that - “Farin’s” hand is actually my hand! :D And I think the size is kinda on point too because this phone was like 2-3 times smaller than Nokia 5110 and I have small hands, and I believe Farin must have much bigger hands, so the 5110 probably would have looked about the same size in his hand.

After the first sketch, the next step was then - the second sketch:

I also wanted to add more action to the panels so that it’s interesting to look at and not just basically the same panel over and over again with just different speech bubbles, so I came up with the idea of Farin spitting out his tea not being as cartoony as it could be and that he would have to actually clean it up instead of just leaving it there just because in cartoons/comics everything is possible. That way I got more depth into the panels and it was also interesting for me to draw because I drew lots of new postures I have never drawn before, and I’m surprised how well it went despite me not even looking for any kind of reference photos! The only things I used reference photos for were the beach chair, and the phone in a hand. (I have actually always been quite good at drawing 3D objects and spaces, especially if they are rectangular.)

So yeah, this is the phase where everything is then finished with pencil and what follows next is drawing the lines with fineliners - I use Sakura Pigma Micron fineliners for everything else, and black Promarker for doing the lines for the panels (and also if I need bigger pitch black areas done).

Here are the panel lines done but I only had a photo of this first sheet.

And here are both sheets with the finelining done and all pencil marks etc. erased. I really like this part because it looks so clean when all those sketch marks are gone. It’s also crazy to think I literally spend hours drawing something in pencil only to erase it all away later :D

And here’s one photo of the coloring process, the first one has only the base colors done but none of the shadows yet (apart from the shirts), and the second one has some of the shadows done but not everything yet.

Usually after coloring, I will then go through everything with the fineliners one more time to make sure all the lines are dark enough as it just gives everything the finished yet a bit “sketchy” look that what I really like with my comics. The actual last detail is always adding my signature along with the date or year.

And here’s the finished comic one more time for comparison:

Don’t forget to check and reblog the actual post about this comic if you read this post all the way here. I’d appreaciate that a lot since art and artist on Tumblr are not really that much appreciated.