#i think to blame him for absolutely everything is just. dumb

[nightmare-foundation]

I very much appreciate the love you have for Ozpin🙏 you GET it.

THANK YOU absolutely no one understands him like I do. I may not be perfect at analyzing/reading plot but I DO get characters. Everyone else is wrong about him

[mountainsandmayhem]

BDSMaid - Chapter 5 Part Two

Series Summary: After recently graduating you take what is supposed to be a job to save money before you go back to university to get your law degree. Your best friend offers you a job cleaning luxury homes for clients you’ll never know. Easy. Simple. Mundane. Until one of your clients is home and everything you felt was missing in your life starts to fall into place. This goes against the NDA you signed and you could get fired. Or worse, you could fall in love.

Chapter Summary: You and Joel go to a Shibari class together; an innocent date, or is it?

TW: age gap (Joel 45/reader 22), reader does have some descriptors so more of an OC. Reader has longer hair and Joel can lift her. Mutual pining, kissing. Spoiler triggers below the cut in red.

WC: 8.2k

AN: Ok fiiiiiinnnneeeeee I couldn't wait any longer and I left you all on kind of a cliffhanger. As always, thank you to my lovely @lotusbxtch for reading and encouraging and helping me grow. Thanks @mermaidgirl30 , @littlevenicebitch69 and @joelmillerisapunk for being my lil cheerleaders. @for-a-longlongtime thanks for stoping me from working on that bull rider series LOL. Ok, enjoy this slowly because I haven't even STARTED chapter 6 yet, so I doubt it will be out until late October. Dividers and banners by the oh so talented @saradika-graphics

Masterlist || Series Masterlist

TW: complete sensory deprivation (tied down, blind folded and has hearing blocked), multiple orgasms, denial

Joel

Joel has tried to keep his distance since referring to tonight as a date. He left another large tip for your clean this week and then made sure he was as busy as possible to stop himself from going home to see you. As he coaxed you into drinking the orange juice and the water he kept hearing “it’s a date” over and over again in his mind, and he’d cringe internally. He wouldn’t have blamed you if you had leaped out of that bed and ran home. The thought of you wanting him in that way is ridiculous. Not only because he’s over twice your age, but you came to him for help with building self confidence and for an escape, and then he went and said something so fucking stupid. 

He shakes his head and pulls up his emails, trying to distract himself for what feels like the one hundredth time. Of course he wants to date you, he’d be crazy not to, but he can’t blur those lines. Furthermore, even if there was the slightest chance that you felt the same way he can’t risk breaking your heart the way he’s broken so many others.

She’s going to break yours, old man. Not the other way around.

Wednesday has been absolutely crawling. Time almost mocking him with how slow it’s ticking by. As he goes over the list of tonight's guests, Tess knocks on his small office door at the club.

“Hey,” she says, plopping down in the arm chair across from the desk. “You coming tonight?”

“Of course. Looks like a good turn out. Did the instructor make it in ok?”

“Cap picked her up from the airport yesterday and got her all settled at the hotel. Do you think you’re going to need me tonight?”

Joel cocks an eyebrow at her. He’s known Tess since she was ten. Her and Tommy are the same age, Joel being two years their senior. Aside from a few months when Tess and Tommy were sixteen, the three of them have been inseparable ever since. Tess was usually the undeclared leader of the group due to her bossy nature, but she kept the Miller brothers out of trouble most of the time. 

“What’s wrong, Tess?”

“Nothin’,” she crosses her arms across her chest. “I am the planner, you and Tommy are the personality. I’m fine to stay behind the scenes for this one.”

“You’ve been acting strange since the poker night.”

She rolls her eyes at him. She’s probably the only person ballsy enough to do that to Joel besides Tommy, but Joel’s almost convinced his little brother is more dumb than ballsy. “I’m fine, Joel. The staff is all in good morale, and that’s my department. Remember?”

Joel just stares as she continues, lowering her voice to mock his. “I need you to be the people person. Hire them, train them. I’m not patient enough because I’m a big scary dom who will just want to spank them for not listening. I also can’t plan anything because I have a man brain.”

“Hilarious,” Joel deadpans as Tess laughs at her own jokes. “I’m being serious though, are you sure you're ok?”

“Yes, you don’t need to be concerned about me. I’m actually a little gutted I’m gonna miss it. Tommy told me there’s been a very pretty young lady hanging around you lately.”

Joel puts his reading glasses on with one hand and pointing to his door with the other. “Out.”

You

Joel referring to tonight as a date has been on loop for the last few days. He has this amazing way of shutting off your brain and then leaving you with so many new questions. Either way, when a few more college letters came over the last few days you convinced yourself that right before leaving for the shibari-demonstration-slash-date was the best time to open them. 

Odette and Jamie sit on the couch across from you as you slide open the first letter. The thick eggshell parchment stamped with the Yale logo pops open easily. You close your eyes as you open the paper, the only sound in the room is the thundering of your heart behind your ribs. 

You peel your eyes open and read out loud. “We regret to inform you that you have not…” your voice falls off, fingers shaking as you put it back in the envelope.

“Hey, we expected a few no’s,” Jamie says gently, always the optimist.

Odette takes the other approach, “Their fucking loss, bunch of stuffy old cunts! Next!”

You laugh at the juxtaposition of your friends' responses and reach for the Harvard letter. “We regret to inform you…”

“Keep going babe,” Jamie says softly.

You pick up the bright white Columbia letter. “We regret to inform you…fuck.” You feel the defeat start to creep in, like thick morning fog. It’s suffocating, choking all the happiness and excitement you had for tonight. 

“What the fuck is wrong with these schools!” Odette says, snatching the letters up so she can check for herself. “Do the Toronto one, Canadians are supposed to be nice.”

“I can’t open anymore,” you say as your head falls back into the sofa. The fog starts to spread through your body, shutting you down inch by inch. You know you have to open the rest. You’ll spend the rest of the night wondering what they say if you don’t finish them. “You do it, Jamie.”

She shuffles in her seat uncomfortably. She’s not the kind of girl who likes to disappoint others; she's bright and happy but at this moment she’s the only person that you can take bad news from. As if she can read your thoughts, she grabs the University of Toronto letter. The sound of the envelope popping open slices through you. She clears her throat as she opens the paper and then reads aloud the same sentence you did. The letters from Duke and Notre Dame follow the same painful routine. With each rejection your stomach swirls, nausea building on top of self doubt and anxiety. 

Six out of the eight universities you applied to have turned you down; Berkeley and the University of Austin are your only chances left at reaching your dreams. The silence in the small rental unit has you on edge, so much so that when your phone vibrates beside you you jump. A sunset beach photo from your last trip to California is the background from a text from Cap telling you he’ll be at your doorstep in about twenty minutes. 

“I gotta finish getting ready,” you say, dragging yourself to the bathroom to touch up any makeup and brush your teeth.

“Babe?” Jamie says, following you down the hall. “You wanna stay here instead of going to that mixer?”

The reminder of the lie sends a new wave of nausea through you. Tonight you became a law school reject and an even bigger liar. Don’t forget that you’re also falling in love with an unattainable man, says the glittery pink box. You mentally lift a single finger in its direction, it usually doesn’t turn on you like that. 

“I need the distraction.” You say, deciding that that’s not really a lie.

Your friends look at you with sadness in their eyes and even though you’re sad too, you wish you could tell them about Mister Miller and the club. You know they’d be excited about whatever this thing is and it would really help to have someone to decipher all the moments that live in your mind.

“It’s a date”.

When you walk through the large door from the lobby and into the club, you’re welcomed by a completely different atmosphere. It’s not all dim lights and sexy music like it normally is; instead the overhead lights are on and all the people are dressed in regular clothing or athletic wear and not the sexy outfits they’d normally pick to come here. Joel is no exception, dressed in dark wash jeans and a fitted black t-shirt. You catch the glint of his gold ring while he’s engrossed in deep conversation with a blue and purple haired woman along the edge of the dance floor. As if you’re his due north or the other side of his magnet, after just seconds of being in the same room as him, his eyes collide with yours. He mouths an ‘excuse me’ at the woman without looking away from and his long legs eat up the distance between the two of you. He meets you just before the bar and immediately wraps his arms around you, one hand coming to the nape of your neck, silently guiding your forehead to his strong chest.

“What’s wrong, sweet girl?” You love how easily he can read you, but you hate that this is the second time this week that he’s seeing you like this. You know you have moments of weakness, but you don’t let anyone see that and you DEFINITELY don’t inconvenience others with your weakness. 

“Hasn’t been my best day, but I really don’t want to talk about it.” You don’t want to dump all of this on him now, not when he looked so excited when you said you’d attend tonight. 

“Ok, I’m here for you if you want to talk about it though. You don’t have to deal with this on your own.” His lips come to the crown of your head and you breathe him in letting his ash and leather scent break down your walls. 

“I didn’t get in,” you mumble and he holds you tighter for a brief second before his hand moves to your chin and tilts up to meet your gaze.

“All of them?” he asks gently but something akin to anger flares in eyes for just a second. 

“Six of them. I haven’t heard from two.” His thumb feels like heaven as it runs along your jaw.

From across the club the blue and purple haired woman, who is now on the stage, claps her hands. “Good evening, everyone! I’m Starr. If you and your brave partners could start making your way to the floor, we can get started right away!”

“Do you want to leave?” Joel says, his warm coffee and chocolate eyes dancing around yours. No one looks at you like that; no one ever asks what you want. This is one of those looks that you wish you could talk to your friends about.

“No,” you say truthfully. “I want to be here with you.”

“I wasn’t going to let you leave without me. Do you want to go somewhere else together?”

You step back and grab his hand, his fingers thread through yours as if you do this everyday, as if this is normal, and you pull him towards the floor. He stands behind you, an arm wrapped protectively around your middle, similar to how he did the first time you went through the voyeur room. Starr introduces herself and her wife and then begins explaining rope safety and terminology like rigger and rope bunny, before launching into a step by step on tying a beautiful star harness across her wifes clothed chest. The two women hand ropes to the person who will be doing the rigging and as the rope lands in Joel’s hand your pussy flutters at the realization that you’re about to become Mister Miller’s rope bunny. You knew that coming here tonight, even if it did include lying to your friends, would help you feel better. The disappointment of being rejected is slowly replaced with an excited anticipation of learning something new with a man who has done nothing but choose you since laid your eyes on each other.

Starr projects step by step instructions up on the back wall of the stage and Joel clears his throat behind you as he begins. The sound of the rope running through his hands as he folds it in half sends a shiver up your spine. You try to distract yourself by clipping your hair up and out of the way. 

“Arms up,” he rasps, and places a light kiss on the soft curve of your neck as he wraps the rope around your ribcage, just below your breasts. You purposely wore a tight t-shirt and leggings tonight. If anyone asks, you’ll say you just assumed it would be easier to be in something form fitting rather than loose, but the truth is that you did some research on Shibari classes and it was recommended to wear clothing that was tight to the body. As he walks around you to make the first diagonal cross of your chest he says, “Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?”

You lock your eyes with his as he loops back up, crossing the rope over your other shoulder and walks behind you. “Yes, at least not yet.” 

“Alright,” he says softly, pulling the rope back through the first band he made. “What do you want to talk about then?”

Your daughter. Your wife. The guitars and books of lyrics. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Do you like me or do you like like me? How do you feel about an age gap romance? Your brain races with a million things you could ask, and maybe would ask on a date. However, this is anything but a date, right? A dom and sub don’t date, there are strict rules. He tells you what to do, you do it. You don’t date.

The silence between you two feels like it’s lasted forever, you flinch as you ask the first thing you can think of. “How old are you?”

“Almost forty five. It says that on my profile, sweet girl. For someone who likes research…” His voice trails off. Is he flirting?

“I refuse to look at it in case you try to pawn me off to Tommy again,” you tease. You bite your cheek to hold in all the questions you want to ask as he chuckles behind you. You lift your arms as per the next slide and he brings the rope up towards your armpit as you settle on a neutral topic. “Baseball,” you say flatly.

Joel laughs silently as he walks around your body, the rope coming across to your other armpit and he’s behind you again. “Baseball?”

“Ya, it’s America’s favourite pastime.” Joel's fingers feel warm through the fabric of your shirt as he continues to work the ropes. 

“Ok, so what do you want to discuss about baseball?” He wanders in front of you again, following the instructions perfectly.

You shrug a little, lifting your arms again as you follow along with the slides. “Did you ever play?”

Starr circles around the two of you, “Great job, Joel. You ok, honey? Not too tight anywhere?”

You shake your head no and then you and Joel get lost in each other again. “Yes, I played for most of my childhood. I was pretty good too.”

You chuckle, “Why am I not surprised.”

“What?” he says, half laughing.

“Seems like Joel Miller is good at everything,” you say lightly, almost in admiration. He’s behind you again, feeding the ropes through themselves. The back looks beautifully intricate, and you can see other couples getting frustrated before either Starr or her wife comes and helps them. You continue, “Let me guess, you were like a big all-star pitcher or something?”

“No,” he answers.

“What position did you play then?” You glance down at your chest at the star shape across your chest, the rope scrapes gently on the exposed skin of your neck with the movement. It’s stunning, exactly as the demonstration and the picture. Yep, Joel Miller is good at everything. 

A new voice joins your conversation, “Best first baseman the school has ever seen.”

You crane your neck over your right shoulder towards the source; Tommy. You clench your molars when you see him with Jade; the beautiful icy blonde woman that Joel had tied to his desk the first time you met him. Joel shifts uncomfortably as she flutters her lashes at him. “As I was saying,” Joel huffs in his brother's direction before turning his attention back to you. “I played first base and Tommy was the back catcher. Our mom pretty much put us in any sport she could afford to keep us out of trouble.” 

“That’s kind of fascinating,” you say, looking back towards the stage and trying to get back into the safe little bubble you and Joel have created. 

“I dunno about that, sweet girl.”

The combination of him using that nickname and the feeling of his fingers on your body cause another shiver to roll up your spine, and suddenly it’s just the two of you again. It’s so easy to get lost with Joel, every ounce of that fog from earlier has dissipated. He’s like the warm morning sun, chasing away all the thick haze that coated you in the darkness. “I think this is a safe nickname space only, Sweet Cheeks.”

He swats your bum gently eliciting a giggle to pass your lips before getting back to weaving the rope in and out along your spine. “Careful. Now why is it kind of fascinating?”

“I mean, Tommy played at home plate, you played at first base.”

“I don’t know where you’re going here, Freckles.”

You smile over your shoulder at Joel. “Well, don’t you see the connection? You don’t have sex with your subs, Tommy does. He goes to home plate, you stay at first base.”

Joel arches an eyebrow at you as you flash him a cheeky smile and then he lets out a laugh. A real laugh that sounds like it’s coming straight from his stomach. His big beautiful smile draws up his cheeks causing the skin around his eyes to crinkle. The sound is almost enough to make you weak at the knees. “I swear to god, Freckles, I love the way your brain works.”

The rest of the group finishes off their harnesses and Starr begins the next part, explaining now how to tie the arms around the biceps and secure them to the harness. They hand out the ropes again and you reach behind yourself to criss cross your arms and grasp your opposite elbows. Just as Joel begins folding the rope over in his hands, Jade speaks.

“She sort of hit the nail on the head with that one, Mister Miller.” Envy flares in your eyes as she steps towards Joel, leaning into him. “I can’t wait for tomorrow. I’ve missed you.”

You glance towards Joel, expecting to see him looking angry but his soft eyes meet you with guilt written all over his face. You watch his throat as he swallows hard and the happy, sparkly bubble you built bursts and the fog returns. Your heart drops to your feet, it was too good to be true, you knew it was too good to be true and he almost had you fooled. You don’t think, you just act, you need to get away from this space and all these people as bile rises in your throat.

Your feet feel heavy as you walk quickly toward the voyeur room, slipping past the closed sign that's propped up outside the curtain that conceals it. Darkness surrounds you, the rope harness feels like it’s smothering you as you try to take deep calming breaths. A flash of light from the otherside of the curtain fills the room as someone follows.

“Go away, Joel.” You say quietly, trying to force air past the lump growing in your throat. 

“It’s Tommy.” He says, flicking on a dim light and noting the way you’re pulling at the rope closest to your throat. “Let me untie you so you don’t hurt yourself.”

You step back, a wall slamming down around you. Tommy raises his hands, “Please, just let me untie you so you can breathe.”

You spin slowly, giving your back to him and he approaches. His fingers pulling and working the ropes and the irony of him removing knots as you start to mentally tie yourself up in them is enough to make you nauseous. You retreat into your mind, looking for that stupid box. I fucking told you! You practically scream at the shadow you know it’s hiding in.

“Try to slow your breathing for me,” Tommy says softly as the rope begins to loosen and fall away from your body. Tonight felt too normal, too comfortable. You started to feel like maybe Joel was feeling the same way you do, but now you feel like you’ve been slapped across the face with yet another reminder that you are not enough. Six out eight universities and the man you completely misread. 

“I’m so fucking stupid.” It doesn’t come out self deprecating or angrily. Just as if you’re stating a fact, similar to how you’d say you like the colour green. 

“No, this is on me.” The rope falls away from your body and you step away, spinning to face Tommy. “I shouldn’t have said yes when she asked me to bring her here tonight. I assumed Joel had ended it before they were in Europe.”

“What?” You breathe out in disbelief. Even though you can see the rope in Tommy’s hands, it still feels like it’s around your throat.

You wander towards the nearest couch. All those pictures, all those flirty texts and she was there the entire time? You hear your mothers voice again, ‘You might be the smartest one in this town but the real world is going to eat you up and spit you out.’ Nothing has felt more true, especially today. Six schools rejected you, selecting smarter shinier applicants and now the same thing is happening with Joel. You knew you didn’t hold a candle to her, he wanted you to go with Tommy so he could keep her, didn’t he?

‘It’s only you.’ His desperate voice from the day in his office comes out of the shadows of your mind. But it’s not only you. If he didn’t end it with her then it’s her too. You’re constantly in competitions that you have no business being in. 

“No, not ‘they’. Not like that. They were there for different things, not together,” Tommy’s voice has a hint of panic. “...I’m really fucking this night up, aren’t I?”

Just then, Joel and Jade come through the curtain. “Sweet girl….”

“No,” you say, cutting him off with a wave of your hand. You want to yell and scream and ask him what was with all that “it’s only you” bullshit.

“Baby, please, just listen to me.” Joel kneels in front of you and you stand up. His hands come to either side of the couch, keeping you there. “Please?”

You can feel his eyes on you but you keep staring straight ahead, the curtains of all the rental rooms are drawn shut. “Please just go, Joel.”

Jade steps into your line of vision and you can feel the jealousy twisting at your stomach. She’s fucking beautiful. Long icy blonde hair that looks silky to touch, slender limbs and a perfectly symmetrical face. Her make up is done to perfection, and to top it all off she was kissed by an angel in the breast department. 

“I’m sorry. I left the country a few days after I saw you for your birthday celebration. I went to Germany to get married and I wasn’t coming back.” Her eyes go soft for a second as she looks down at her bare left ring finger and then back to you. “Clearly I didn’t do either of those things. I haven’t spoken to Joel and I just assumed our regular time slots still stood.”

Even without looking down, you know Joel hasn’t looked away. From the moment you met him, you’ve been able to feel his gaze on you. It’s one of the things you like so much about him, the way he looks at you. You feel warm and seen, and most importantly, safe in his gaze.

Tommy clears his throat gently and you glance his way. “Ending things with a sub is tricky. It has to be done in person. I know Joel better than anyone else, he ended things with everyone else. He’s gonna beat the shit out of me for this, but he’s crazy about you and he’s only ever looked at one other person the way he looks at you.”

“Tommy,” Jade's voice cracks as she says his name. “I think you should untie me so I can leave. I really am sorry, to all of you.”

You watch the two of them disappear back into the main area of the club before you finally allow yourself to look down at Joel. His eyes are big and soft, he looks so vulnerable. Is this real though? When you think about how easily he can slide on his dominant mask you aren’t sure what you can and can’t trust, and that’s really fucking horrible considering trust is the most important thing between a sub and dom. He could be lying, he gains blow jobs and doing whatever else he wants to your body by keeping this up. 

But what does Tommy gain from telling you what he just did? Tommy has no skin in the game here.

Joel  

His heart is flying wildly behind his chest, blood coursing through his ears. He never thought he was going to see Jade again. Neither of them talked about it really, but after that session that you walked in on she canceled the next one and told him she was moving to be with her fiance in Germany and was getting married. He continues to look up at you; the ever growing pinch in his neck be damned, he’s not looking away. Even at this angle you manage to take his breath away. It feels like hours have gone by when you finally speak.

“I thought it was only me,” it comes out as a whisper and immediately shatters the little bits that were left of his composure. 

“It is, sweet girl. I promise you it is.”

“I want to believe you,” your voice is so calm. He doesn’t deserve you being calm right now. Or does he? You came into this very methodical. Maybe these are just sub-dom transactions to you.

“What can I do?” He says hopefully. “I’ll do anything you need, sweet girl.”

You let out a shaky breath and he can see the wall building behind your eyes, that fun goofy girl who isn’t afraid to crack a joke is slowly locking herself away. He prepares himself for you to tell him this is over, or that you need time. He reminds himself that this was always going to end in heartbreak for him, so may as well get it over with now instead of when he’s fully in love with you, before he’s learned how those warm walls of your pussy feel against his cock. Because there really will be no coming back from that if that happens.

As he tightens the muscles in his core, physically preparing for the metaphorical blow to the gut he watches your long lashes flutter shut and when you open your eyes again the wall is gone. The shimmering pools of the eyes he’s enamored by are back and relief washes over him. 

“Nothing, Mister Miller,” your voice is saccharine sweet. “Trust is the most important thing between a sub and their dom. I can’t let my own anxiety ruin this, but I might just be a bit guarded until I’ve calmed all those thoughts.”

He whispers your name, biting back a groan as your hands meet his hair. “I’m so sorry that happened, baby girl.”

“I know. So am I. I shouldn’t have gotten jealous. It’s just…”

“No, you can be jealous. I told you one thing and -.”

You tug at the strands of his hair and shush him. “I’m not done,” your voice is stern. Joel isn’t used to hearing your tone like that and he suddenly feels his chest swelling with pride. This sweet bubbly person in front of him is morphing into a confident badass. That’s probably the exact tone you’ll use in boardrooms or courtrooms when other lawyers try to talk over you and he can only hope that one day he’ll get to witness that. “I shouldn’t have gotten jealous, but I really like the way I feel around you. It’s selfish of me, but I’d like to keep feeling like this for the few months I have left here before I leave for law school.”

Selfish. He lets that word wash over him. The most selfless person he’s ever known is worried about being selfish? No, he thinks, she deserves this. Hearing you say that you’re leaving makes him feel like his chest is caving in on itself. He’ll deal with the inevitable heartbreak when you leave him. He knows those rejection letters were hard on you, but he helped you to feel better and he’s going to hold on to that and give you that for as long as he possibly can. 

Your fingers release his hair and he watches you walk the few steps to where the rope Tommy untied for you lays on the floor. He licks his lips as you bend to pick it up, eyes trailing over the delicious curves of your ass. “It would be my pleasure, sweetheart.”

You turn, walking back towards where he’s kneeling and holding the ropes out to him you say, “Is the workshop over?”

He stands up, his fingers grazing yours as he takes the rope. Electricity tingles up his forearms at the feel of your soft skin. Your body is so close to his that he can feel your soft warmth radiating against him. You being at this proximity immediately put him at ease.

“No, there’s a bodysuit tutorial right now,” he says. You nod, stepping around him. Suddenly, Joel grabs your elbow to stop you, lowering his lips to your ear, and lowering his voice to that gravelly tone he knows you love, he rasps, “I should punish you for letting another dom untie what’s mine.”

You smirk up at him, “I’d like to see you try, Sweet Cheeks.”

You

Joel works silently around you and you lose yourself for a bit in the events that unfolded tonight. Joel has knelt in front of you before, but never like that. The sad, helpless look in his eyes, the slight slump of the shoulders. He was submitting to you, and when your fingers met his scalp, he leaned into your touch. The way his body melted at your touch was intoxicating. He wasn’t Mister Miller in that room tonight, he was Joel, and the dichotomy of this man is astounding. 

After about thirty minutes of Joel twisting, turning and pulling he has your upper half tied into a zigzagged bodysuit of rope. Joel steps in front of you and bends slightly to reach between your legs. When he brings the rope between your thighs and as he feeds it through the bottom of the chest piece, the seam of your leggings brushes against your clit. You jolt at the contact, your cheeks flushing crimson as Joel's eyes meet yours in a flash of onyx and honey. He begins shaping the bottom part of the bodysuit, bent in front of you the entire time and locking eyes with yours every time he tugs the ropes into place. 

You glance nervously around the room to see if anyone else is having the same reaction. You expected this night to be fun and silly, the way a date should be. And it was for a while, but now it’s taken a very erotic turn. The blush of your cheeks warms down your chest and neck as you hold off on what could be a very vocal orgasm in front of a room of people who you don’t necessarily want to witness it.

Joel finally finishes the body suit and moves to stand behind you, his patchy facial hair brushes the shell of your ear as he whispers, his voice full of gravel, “Hands behind your back, my sweet girl. We aren’t done.”

A shiver races up your spine and your arms fly back. “So eager,” Joel says softly, grazing his teeth along the lobe of your ear, adding gasoline to the small fire that’s been building between your thighs.  

You’re sure the arm restraints only take about three minutes to complete, but it feels like hours. The three knots that lay around your wrists, forearms, and biceps keep your posture nice and tall, and your breasts pushed up through the body suit. Once he’s finished, Joel spins you to face him, and that rope works its way in between the lips of your now absolutely soaked pussy. You squeeze your thighs together, the soft expression on his face only intensifying the growing ache. He’s such a fucking tease, you think, and now he’s looking at you as if you put the stars in the sky. Finally, his dark brown eyes settle on yours and he gives you a closed lip smile.

“What?” You ask breathlessly.

“I jus’ thought that I’d go all caveman seein’ you like this,” he steps into you, one hand cupping your cheek, the other tugging on the rope near your waist, which jiggles the rope that has you on edge. Joel’s voice lowers, this next part just for you to hear. “But you just look so beautiful.”

He tugs up on the rope and pleasure courses through you as you gasp quietly. He gives you that sexy smirk that makes that dimple carve into his cheek. 

Yep, he’s a fucking tease. The little box says, confirming your thoughts. 

“You like that, sweet girl?”

He tugs again and your forehead falls to his chest. “Please, Mister Miller,” you whisper into his expensive cotton t-shirt. 

Starr interrupts the two of you, but you can’t peel yourself away from Joel right now. The slightest move of that rope might make you explode. “Well, based on that reaction I’d say you tied it just right, Joel.”

“Thank you for coming, Starr. I’m sure we’ll host one of these again soon. Tommy is by the bar, he can help you kick everyone out.”

“Joel,” she says, a slight hint of amusement in her now hushed voice. “Your rope bunny is on the verge of having an orgasm, go.”

With that he hoists you over his shoulder and walks towards the door that leads to the private rooms. “Fuckfuck, I’m gonna -” you whisper into his broad back and squeeze your thighs tighter as Joel walks. 

The second the door shuts, separating you from the others Joel puts you on your feet and jiggles the rope around your waist. “Come, baby.”

You fall into him for support, his other arm wrapping around you to hold you up as stars blur your vision. “That feel good, my little rope bunny?” 

“Yes - oh god, yes.” Your arms pull at the ropes restraining them behind your back and you can’t hold it anymore. Your orgasm practically slams through you as you gasp and moan into Joel's broad chest. “Fuck, Mister Miller.”

 “You’re so beautiful when you let go for me. I’ll never get sick of watching you like this.” He continues to work the rope as your high crests and your legs start to go weak and boneless below you.

“I can’t…p-please Mis - Fuck.” Joel lifts your lax and quivering body over his shoulder again and makes his way to his room, placing you at the foot of the bed, spinning you and pushing between your shoulder blades until your chest meets the mattress.

“Spread your legs,” he commands and you listen, moving your feet to be shoulder width apart. He wraps two cuffs around your ankles, and attaches them to the bottom of the bed posts before doing the same to the ropes around your arms. You’re trapped, stuck bent over the end of the bed and even though you’re fully clothed under all of these ropes, this is easily the hottest thing you’ve ever done. “Fuck me. How are you so goddamn sexy even when you’re fully clothed.”

You hear Joel’s footsteps around the room, gathering whatever he has decided to use on you tonight before you can feel him behind you. “Sweet girl, I do believe I read that you would be interested in sensory deprivation. Is that correct?” 

“Yes, Mister Miller,” you hum.

“Do I have your consent to blindfold you and then have you listen to music in noise canceling headphones?”

Fire erupts in your stomach, your core pulsing at the thought of him doing whatever he wants to you. “Yes, Mister Miller.”

A silky black blind fold slips over your head, Joel's large body covering your back. “What’s your safeword?” he growls, his lips brushing the shell of your ear. 

“Stegosaurus.” Just once you’d like that to not leave your lips in the whiny, desperate tone it does when he asks you that question. 

“Good girl,” he praises before the plush headphones cover your ears. All you see is black, all you hear is soft decorative piano music, and all you feel is the warmth of Joel over your buzzing skin. There’s not a single thought in your mind, everything is silent. This is what you need and you start to worry that you’ll become addicted to the way Joel makes you feel everything while thinking nothing. 

The warmth of his body disappears from you and you whimper at the loss. Your eyes clench closed as if that will help you be able to find him. A thin, pulsing vibrator hits the back of your thigh and you jump. Joel's large hands rubs your opposite hip and every muscle relaxes under his touch. The vibrator pulses softly as he moves it up your thigh, tickling along your hip, and then down the other leg. You can’t hear the sounds that you’re making but you’re sure they’re desperate, needy gasps.

After teasing your arms Joel slips something small and hard between your body and the rope that’s been torturously teasing at your clit before you feel him pull away. You adjust so your forehead is resting on the mattress before it dips with the weight of him sitting beside your head. His warm fingers wrap around your neck and he kneads the muscles.

“Mmmm, thank you Mister Miller,” you hum. 

Whatever Joel slipped against your clit comes to life, a dull vibration that is sure to be your undoing has you attempting to arch your back, but you can’t move. Your breathing quickens, short little puffs of air passing your lips. 

“I’m gonna come,” you murmur quietly, or at least you think it’s quiet since you can’t hear yourself or anything else. Joel’s strong fingers continue the delicious swirling patterns up and down the sides of your neck as you begin to shake. “Oh god - I’m so close!”

Just as you’re about to slam head first into another orgasm the vibrating stops and Joel’s fingers disappear from your skin. “No,” and this time you know it wasn’t a whisper or a whimper.

The mattress jostles and then you feel Joel behind you again. A hand comes to one of yours, coaxing it out of the fist you’ve apparently clenched before doing the same to the other. The vibrating starts stronger this time and both his hands come to yours, his thumbs massaging at your palms. It doesn’t take long this time before you’re right on that edge again.

“Fuck, Mister Miller. Puh-please don’t stop!” Your legs start the familiar shake that happens right when you’re about to tip over the edge and he doesn’t follow your wishes. The hand massage stops, quickly followed by the vibrator being switched off. You groan in frustration and he lays a quick, sharp spank over your legging clad right ass cheek. “Hnnng - sorry.”

You can’t be certain, but based on the warm puffs hitting your core you’re pretty sure he’s knelt down behind you. The vibrator comes to life again, stronger than the last two times and his hands work at massaging the muscles along the back of your thighs. This is torture; wonderful euphoric torture and as much as you want it end, you also don’t ever want him to stop making you feel this way. 

You let your eyes flutter open behind the blindfold, it’s still just as dark but you see that little pink sparkly box. The one that’s overflowing with emotion for Joel. You should push it back into the shadows or light it on fire, but instead you let it come out of the shadows completely. You see your hands reaching for the lid just as the white hot pleasure in your core gets close to the breaking point.

“Please please…Mister Miller - fuck!” You whimper and whine as it begins to burn hotter and then it’s gone and it feels like the air is being sucked forcefully out of your lungs. 

“Nonono, I can’t. Please, I need you..” Joel's large body is across your back in a second. The hard bulge in pants pressing against your ass and the memory of how good he felt and tasted in your mouth the last time has saliva pooling under your tongue. You swallow hard as one of the padded ear pieces is lifted from your ear.

Joel’s voice is deep and gruff as he says, “What do you need, my sweet girl?”

The little box of feelings vibrates at him calling you his and you kick it back into the shadows. “I need to come, Mister Miller.”

“That right? How bad?” He says teasingly before placing a feather light kiss on that sensitive spot right below your ear.

“So bad. Please, it hurts, Mister Miller.” You are pouting into the fluffy sheets, a completely whiny mess, and you realize that you’re always a mess for him. Be it a horny or depraved one, a whiny or a pouty one, he doesn’t care and if anything you think he likes it that way, likes you that way. “I want to hear you. I miss your dirty talk, please, baby!”

“Fuck,” he breathes. “I should spank you until you can’t sit tomorrow for calling me anything but Mister Miller. You know that, right?” 

“I can’t think straight. I’m sorry, just please. Please!”

He whips the headphones off of you and the vibrator hits at an intensity you have never felt before. Your pornographic scream fills the room. His large body above yours intensifies everything that was already killing you.

“That what you need, huh?”

You cry out and try to say yes but you’re sure it’s all just an incoherent mix of sounds at this point. 

“God damn, baby girl. You should see yourself right now. All tied up in knots that I made. The way your leggings hug the curves of your hips and soft, creamy thighs. You’re going to be the death of me one day.”

Tears start to flow behind your blindfold as the pleasure almost becomes too much, you haven’t come yet, and at this point you aren’t sure if you’ll survive it if you do. You have half a mind to ask Joel if an orgasm can physically split you in two because that is how you feel right now. 

“I’m - oh god - I’m…” You try to form the words but you can’t. 

One of Joel’s hands slips between his front and your tied up arms, his hand wrapping tightly around yours. His lips come to your ear as whispers. “I got you, sweet girl, just let go for me.”

“Need to see you,” you say between gasps of air and the pleasure begins to burn in your. 

Joel peels the blind fold off. You blink him into focus, his warm eyes searching your face. “Let go, you’re ok.”

As per usual, it’s his words that seem to be that final push and you let your orgasm consume you. It starts as a cold spark, a shiver up your spine and then heat flushes through every since cell in your body. You moan and writhe beneath Joel who whispers your praises like a prayer. Talking you through the intensity of the feeling. Your pussy clenches around nothing and you’re sure your panties, leggings and the rope are ruined.

“I can’t!” You gasp and Joel slows the vibration to help you ride out the decresendo of your orgasm. As the jolts of your body slow, he follows suit; the vibrator going to a dull blip and eventually nothing. Joel's thumb traces soothing patterns on the hand he’s still holding between your bodies. You take a deep and shaky breath, trying to calm your racing heart. 

“Are you ok, angel?” he asks quietly and goosebumps somehow spread along your too hot body.

“Better than ok,” you say with a small smile.

Joel’s lips meet yours, soft and pliant and so full of passion. Your eyes shut as you part your lips for him and when your tongue strokes gently against his he lets out a small whimper that causes your pulse to leap. Mentally, you grab a bigger box, stuffing it with the realization that you’re falling for this man. But you will deal with that later, right now you just need to let yourself have something that is for, well… yourself.

Joel 

He breaks the kiss, even though he doesn’t want to. Even though he knows that by breaking this kiss it’s only going to mean you going home sooner.  “I need to get you out of these ropes and get some sugar into you.”

The two of you sit in a comfortable silence as his nimble fingers work to undo your restraints, then the intricate knots that bind your arms, and lastly the bodysuit. He really did think you looked stunning all tied up. He didn’t plan for this night to go the way it did, but when he saw the slight flush of your cheeks and the way your eyes glazed over he couldn’t resist giving you what he knew you needed. He stays close, one hand protectively on your hip as you crawl onto the bed. Once he has you seated, he pulls a fuzzy grey blanket out from a basket beside the night stand and then opens the small fridge to grab you an orange juice and water.

He cracks the top of the orange juice. “Drink this for me, please.”

He watches your eyes do a quick half roll but you don’t fight him, fingers just barely grazing his as you take the juice from him. “I had fun tonight,” you say between sips as he walks to grab the coconut oil. 

Joel stands beside you. “So did I, sweetheart. Arm, please.”

You take the orange juice in your left hand and give him your right. Both of you watch as he puts oil on the few pink marks the ropes left behind. “Do you think I should change my safeword?”

He lifts one eyebrow at you and as he tends to your other arm says, “Why do you ask that.”

“I don’t know. It’s just…well, originally that little dinosaur on your coffee maker seemed so out of place. It intrigued me. Your home is beautiful, but the parts you let people see don’t give away any hints about you, except for that little dinosaur. But now that I know the whole story, it just seems too special of an item to be tied to what we do.”

“I don’t think we need to change it. You’re right, that little stegosaurus is special to me.” He sits sideways on the bed, grabbing the empty orange juice container and handing you the water. His jaw flexes once before he continues, “But so are you. I love that you felt a connection to that part of me. Ultimately, it’s your safe word, sweet girl, so you can make it anything you want, but I think it’s perfect for us.”

The soft look in your eyes as he speaks is almost enough to kill him, and when your lips twitch up ever so slightly at his words he knows he’s done for. He shouldn’t fall for you, especially since he’s sure there’s no way you’d ever feel the same way, but he can’t not fall for you.

Your name passes his lips with a nervous tremble, because he knows that what he’s about to say next is going to be his undoing. If you say yes to this next thing, if he continues spending actual time with you, he’s done.

“Ya?” you say before sucking your bottom lip through your teeth.

“Friday night is the five year anniversary party for the club. It’s a black tie event for all the VIP guests. Would you like to accompany me?”

He watches as your eyes land on your lap, your lips pressing together as if to suppress a smile. When your gaze floats back up to his, your eyes give you away. Try as you might to hide your expressions with him; he'll always know when you’re happy based on the glitter of your eyes.

“I’d really like that, Mister Miller.”

His forehead meets yours. “This might be a Sweet Cheeks moment.”

Thank you soooo much for reading! Remember to follow @mountainsandmayhem-updates for future chapters xo.

Next Chapter

[kittykattropicanna]

Going absolutely feral over Mechanic!Simon and how you met him :(( I just want him so badddd

TW: pervy!Simon, smut, creampie, possessive!Simon, dirty talk (praise), he just wants you so bad girl, swearing, kinda naive!reader, brief mention of spanking

Mechanic!Simon masterlist

Regular masterlist

Just imagine you’re driving through a shitty little town somewhere in England, you don’t even know where you are at this point.

Your ex just kicked you out of your shared apartment in the middle of the night and you have nowhere else to go, your only option is to drive in your little shit box of a car as far away from him as possible. 

Of course its poring rain and of course your car breaks down in the middle of the road surrounded by scary looking government houses and a very obviously high homeless guy screaming and yelling all sorts of profanities :(

With shaky hands you quickly look up every mechanic in town on your phone, its almost dead and none of them answer :( of course they wouldn’t! Its the middle of the night! 

You don’t have insurance either! Everything is going wrong, you’re so lost and scared :( 

You start to panic when there’s only one number left, with a shaky breath you call it and just as you think you're out of luck, a deep cranky voice answers begrudgingly obviously pissed that someone dared to call him at this hour.

Tomorrow is his only day off for the week  >:(

Simons personal number was attached to the shop after Price promoted him to manager, now he has all sorts of dumb fucks calling him all times of the day and he hates it!!

But how could he say no? A poor girl called him in tears gasping for air between sobs and absolutely hysterical :((((  His not an ethical guy and a young girl like you that knows absolutely nothing about cars :( imagine all the extra money he could charge you? You wouldn’t question it either! Oh how could he say no to such a silly girl…

After what feels like hours a very tall, bulky, thick man with a scary balaclava knocks on your driver seat window and you scream so loud!!! His so scary and big! And his eyes! They’re are so angry :(((( he must be so angry at you for calling him :( you feel so bad :(

After he loads your car onto the tow truck he insists on driving you home

“Ohh come on sweetheart, would hate to see a pretty baby like you stuck in the rain, let me take you home darlin’” 

His so pervy too! Subtly touching your arse and looking at your hard nipples that poke through you soaked shirt :(

He can’t help it! You can’t blame him! You’re not wearing a bra! 

And with a beautiful face like yours and a body like that, what did you expect him to do? Not eye fuck you? Don’t be ridiculous. 

You tell him that you have nowhere to go because your shitty ex threw you out and Si insisted you stay with him!!

“Oh pet, you poor poor girl, you want to get a room at a motel? No. Nooo. That’s no place for a doll like you, come stay with me darlin’, come on sweets, I’ll sleep on the couch, promise yeah?”

“I’m just tryna’ keep ya safe honey, its not nice around these parts, okay? hate for somthin’ to happen to ya”

And you know his right :( he came all this way in the middle of the night, left his comfy bed in the  pouring rain just to help you, his from around these parts and he knows best!

His voice is so deep and husky, you just know a man like him could keep you safe!

You jump in the shops tow truck and he insist you take off your soaking shirt and put on his company jacket. 

Its covered in oil and dirt, smells like cigarettes and is wayyyy to big for you. “Riley” is printed onto the left breast pocket with a large logo with the words “Price’s Motor Repairs” on the back. 

Its so disgusting and smells musky but something about it makes your pussy clench!!! His so manly, so dominant, how could you not get turned on by him!!! You could feel his eyes roam your breasts as you sit in his jacket, chest completely bare underneath, hard nipples rubbing against the fabric :(((

Once you reach the shop, he drops your car off then shows you around.

He wants to impress you sooooo bad, showing you all sorts of tools and telling you what he uses them for, how he uses them to fix things. The whole time his talking all you could look at is his big muscly arms as he purposely flexes them for you. 

Never in his life has he seen such a gorgeous, gorgeous girl and all he wants to do is bend you over his modified truck and fuck you so hard you’re creaming on his cock :(

And that’s exactly what he does! Before driving you back to his, he has you bent over, back arched and his callused hand wrapped around your hair as he ruts into you while you're still in his company jacket :((((

Your poor pussy hasn’t taken such a big girthy cock before, his wide hips connecting with your arse and slamming your much smaller body into the hood of his car :3 

Thrusts so deep his car shakes from the force :)

As you moan and babble completely cock drunk you can hear him snickering and grunting behind you, whispering dirty words in your ear 

Praising you between grunts….

“Look at you love, fuck, look at that perfect fuckin’ pussy, taking my cock so well, such a good girl, aren’t ya?” As he pounds into you so deep the tip of his leaking cock touches your cervix. A small squeal exiting your lips as he holds you there for a second, letting you feel for the first time what a real deep pounding feels like :)

“Never been fucked this good have ya baby? Never cum his hard before” he’d snicker has you cum for the third time, legs shaking and mascara running not from the rain this time, but from the tears of pure pleasure his so kindly giving you :(

And of course his coming inside of you! His loads are so big as well, when he finally lets himself cum he absolutely floods your pussy :)))

Your moans bounce around the tin walls of the shop, the sound of him slapping your arse echoing  at the same time

You can feel the hot ropes shoot up inside of you as he continues to slowly thrust making sure none of it goes to waste. 

He tries to suppress his moan, disguising them as grunts but a few slip past his lips :( 

He doesn't pull out but that doesn’t stop his cum from leaking out of your cunt and down you beautiful thighs, 

“Look at tha’ baby, fuckin’ hell, you did so good for me my gorgeous girl, so fuckin’ good”

He just met you but his already so, so possessive. :)

He carries you to his truck because your legs feel like jelly :( his so gentle with you too, whispering in your ear how good you did for him and how you're such an obedient girl, his obedient girl. 

You fall sleep in his truck, curled up in the passenger seat, his company jacket still wrapped around your bare chest. 

You’ve had such a big night and the sound of the soft radio and drizzle of rain lulls you to sleep. 

You wake up in Si’s arms as his gently placing you into his bed. 

“You’re alrigh’ darlin’, jus’ close ya eyes for me, ill be here”

Its safe to say he didn’t take the couch that night :3

Request are open for Mechanic!Simon, I would love to hear your thoughts so feel free send them through and add to the AU. im just obsessed w/ himmmm

!Disclaimer! - Above is NSFW content - MDNI - If you follow my blog without your age in your bio, you will be blocked - If you are under the age of 18, you are not welcome here, otherwise, enjoy :)

Cat divider sourced by @positively-mine from Pinterest - Pink line divider by @eloquentreverie - MDNI divider by @cafekitsune

Basic blog housekeeping -  fic requests guidelines, boundaries and my rules for minors

[camilyscove]

A LOVE UNLIKE ANY OTHER . JJ MAYBANK ꩜

trope : enemies to lovers .

genre : fluff . ꩜

summary : you start having your doubts about whether jj really was the worst person you met after the pogues lock you in a room together .

IT NEVER OCCURRED TO YOU how much you actually liked jj. it pained you to admit such a thing, even if it was just in your head.

ever since you and jj met, there was a rivalry between you two. the other pogues didn't understand why, and as much as they tried to make you two get along, it never worked.

you were at a party when you first met jj, and you had been trying to find your friend, kie, when some drunk dude stumbled into you, his drink spilling onto your shirt.

you hitched your breath, muttering out a small 'shit,' when you looked up at the boy.

it was strange, but you felt your chest tighten. your heartrate picked up, and you couldn't rip your eyes away from him. he was so.. perfect, with those ocean blue eyes of his and his dimples that you found absolutely adorable. you wanted to be the one to make those dimples appear in a laugh, wanted to look into those gorgeous eyes of his and just admire them. and his hands. you wanted to lace your fingers through his—

"damn, my fault, mamacita," he said sarcastically. he was dazed, and his eyes were clouded. you blinked, giving him a look of disbelief.

"this top was $50," you deadpanned, your heart dropping to your stomach. you looked down at the stain you knew wasn't going to come off, biting your lip nervously. he scoffed, rolling his eyes as he placed a hand on your shoulder for balance.

"well, obviously you're a kook, so just buy another one." you stared at him, suddenly all those thoughts about how beautiful he looked disappeared. the only thought you had now was to not beat the living shit out of him.

"I bought it with my own money," you informed, pushing his hand off you shoulder. he squinted at you, as if he were trying to detect any sincerity in your sober eyes. "just because my family is rich, doesn't mean that I use my parents money to buy all my stuff."

"nahhhh," he trailed off, a stupid smile painting across his face. "all of y'all kooks are fuckin' lazy, 'ya feel me? us pogues gotta work our asses off, while you guys don't have to work for shit." his words were slurring together, and he laughed as if it was the funniest thing in the world.

you knew this guy was definitely out of it, that he didn't understand what the hell he was saying. but you still took it personally. you were tired of everyone assuming you were some rich little spoiled princess that got everything she wanted, because it wasn't true. your parents worked hard to support your family. it wasn't like they just pulled all the money they made out of their ass, and you didn't just throw their money away for unnecessary things.

you actually worked at the country club; you were a cart girl and would waitress from time to time. your parents wanted you to learn that you would have to work for the things you wanted, too; that they wouldn't just hand you money when you wanted it.

"since you seem pretty fucking slow, i'm gonna let you know that I actually work at the country club to pay for the shit I want, but i dont blame you for not knowing, because obviously you've never been there," you bit back, and he knit his eyebrows at you.

"i'm slow? who the fuck do you think you are?"

"yes, you're very slow, you dumb fucking blond--"

right before you could finish, kie came up beside you.

"hey, jayj, i see you met—“ she cut herself off as she took in the tension between you two. “jj?” she said, looking at the boy who was fuming. she turned to you, a questioning look on her face. "what happened?"

you inhaled deeply, staring up at the boy who had your patience running thin. "this drunk ass dude spilled his drink on me, and he started calling me a lazy kook who uses my parents money to buy shit," you said lowly, not breaking eyes contact with him once.

"he's drunk, y/n. he has no idea what he's talking about--"

"drunk words speak sober thoughts. you've said it yourself."

she blinked, sighing before muttering an apology on your behalf to the jj guy before pulling you away. she scolded you for arguing with him, saying that he was actually cool if you just got to meet him, that he was drunk and was just saying things off the top of his head. you scoffed and shook your head, refusing to listen to any of her excuses about her friend.

from then on, your relationship between jj was composed of insults thrown at one another and situations where the pogues had to hold you back from swinging at the dude.

even though jj made it clear he had a deep hatred for you, you were still accepted into the group as one of them. they respected how you understood what hard-work was and that you actually made an effort to actually have the things you owned, rather than just begging your parents for money.

it had been two years since the first interaction between you and jj, except now the pogues were done with your shit. they despised how one of you just had to start something up, causing a whole argument to spark up between the two of you. so they came up with a plan.

you were laying flat on your stomach on your bed, reading a book as you listened to the waves crashing against the shore in the background, the result of leaving your window open. your phone began to ring, and you put the book down before answering the call. it was john b.

"yo, we're all going to meet up at the château in like, 10 minutes," you heard him say on the other end of the phone. you sighed, turning to lay on your back.

"i'm on lockdown from sneaking out last time."

"when are you not?" he said with a laugh, and you rolled your eyes.

"y'know what? fuck it. my parents are probably asleep, anyway. my brother will cover for me if they wake up and notice i'm gone, " you said, standing up to pull your shoes on.

"alright, see 'ya later."

he hung up, and you slid your window all the way open. you jumped onto the tree right next to your window, climbing down the ladder before hitting the ground and getting into your new car. you drove away, praying that this would be a lucky time you didn't get caught.

when you finally arrived at the château, you padded up the steps of the porch before swinging the door open, met by surprise as someone grabbed you from behind. you immediately elbowed them in the chest, making them loosen their grip, and before you could hurt them any further, two other people got a hold of you. you tried to scream, but they covered your mouth and dragged you to the back of the château.

"sorry, babes, but we have to do it," you heard kie's voice say. your voice of suprise and confusion was muffled beneath john b's hand.

you were pushed into big john's office, the door locking behind you.

you slammed your fists against the door, screaming for kie and john b and pope to let you out. you were so focused onto getting out of the room that you didn't notice jj sitting on the other side of the room.

"they're not gonna open it, dumbass."

his voice caught you by surprise, and you turned to see him spinning around in big john's chair. you scoffed.

of course.

"you're not leaving until you guys become friends!" you heard pope say from the other side of the door.

"besties," kie corrected, her voice a whisper.

"I'm not saying besties," he protested.

"you have to say besties," john b confirmed, and you heard more aggravated whispers until pope finally caved in.

"until you guys become besties!" you heard kie laughing as pope said, "there, you happy?"

"no way they locked me in a room with you," you said, your jaw going slack as you stared at him in disgust.

"trust me, i'm not any happier than you are, miss kook princess"

"this is the most betrayed i've ever felt in all my seventeen years of living."

"that's a pretty long time."

you looked around before rushing to the windows, but before you could even try to get them open, jj spoke up. "they're painted shut. no way out of this one, mamacita."

"how many times have I told you not to call me that?"

"I dunno."

"exactly. too many times to count, dickhead." he began to go on a rant about how improper it was for you to say such a thing. you sighed and slid down the wall, leaning your head against it as you closed your eyes. now you had to listen to his voice for— God knows how long.

it was a nightmare.

you couldn’t believe you had snuck out again just to be locked into a room with jj— did the pogues not understand that you were already on thin ice with your parents?

about an hour had passed, and jj was still talking about anything that came up on his mind. it irritated you, and you had just about enough when he started to sing.

“jj, can you just shut the fuck up?” you snapped. he looked up at you, a little surprised at the intensity in your voice.

“like, i know the other pogues aren’t the only ones that are tired of this back-and-forth shit.”

jj looked up, meeting your eyes from across the room where you sat next to the door. he had a little doubt in his eyes, and he hesitated for a minute before standing up and moving to sit down next to you.

you knitted your eyebrows together, confused about the close proximity. jj looked down at you, silent as he observed the all-too-familiar features he liked to secretly trace with his eyes when you weren’t looking.

“i…”

you had no idea where this was going.

“i’m sorry.”

you blinked. “what?”

“i said i’m sorry. i’ve always kind-of been a dick to you,” he mumbled, fidgeting with the rings on his fingers as he avoided eye-contact.

“kind-of is an understatement.” he shot you a playful glare, and you laughed. “i should be apologizing, too, jj. i made things much more serious than they needed to be.”

jj locked eyes with you, and suddenly you felt that feeling again. that first emotion when you first saw him at that party.

you seemed to finally remember how gorgeous he was, with his sea-ridden beach-blond hair that fell onto his forehead perfectly and those sweet blue eyes. they looked dazed, just like they did at the party, except he wasn’t high or drunk. he was with you.

to him, it felt the same. even better, actually.

“look— i gotta be honest, okay?” he started, nervously biting his fingernails. you nodded. “all that stuff i said about you being a kook was.. well, it was just me trying to be a jerk. i don’t actually think of you as one of them. y-you’re a pogue. one of us.”

“thank you,” you said quietly, a small smile painting across your face.

“and— i never hated you. i just didn’t want to confront my feelings because i don’t do feelings. so i made myself think that you were a bitch and—“

“wait, what?”

he stopped, and you felt like the weights had been lifted off you shoulders. it wasn’t just you?

”feelings? what do you mean by that?”

jj’s eyes widened, and he took a deep breath as he ran a hand through his hair. “fuck i— i said to much, okay? just.. ignore what i said—“

but before he could finish his anxious rambling, you cupped his jaw with your palm before leaning in to press a soft kiss against his lips.

it was mind-altering. you had always dreamed that this would happen, but then you’d kick yourself for thinking such a thing. now, you realized it wasn’t such a stupid thought as jj kissed you back.

you finally pulled away to catch your breath, and you laughed softly. jj had the biggest grin on his face; like a little kid waking up the morning of christmas.

“you—“

“yeah, jj. i like you, too,” you whispered, grabbing one of his hands and lacing your fingers through them just like you wanted to at that party.

“you’re not just doing this so that you can leave this room?”

you gave jj a look, and he laughed. “yeah, i am, actually. i kissed you because i want to leave this room that badly.”

“hey, what are we gonna tell the pogues?” he asked. you shrugged.

“i have no idea.”

“what if we just, like, smooched in front of them? y’know, a lot.”

“please never say smooch again.” he frowned. “and you’re just saying that because you wanna kiss me again.”

“you know me too well,” he breathed out before leaning in to kiss you one more time. he then pulled you up with him off the floor, about to bang on the door and tell the rest of the pogues that you guys made up. but he stopped himself, turning to look at you.

“can i be your boyfriend?” he asked, a nervous waver in his voice. you smiled, taking a minute to gaze at his face before nodding and squeezing his hand.

“of course, jj.”

and this time, he didn’t have to look for the sincerity in your eyes.

authors note : this is my first fanfic so any constructive criticism would be appreciated ! thank you for reading . 💞

[fukashiin]

how they admire you from afar

— w. ace, deuce, floyd, kalim, jamil

⤷ times when they stare at you and think "wow theyre pretty"

ACE TRAPPOLA

- you? beautiful? him staring at you because of it?

- audacious. seriously

- he stares at you so much and he hates YOUR guts for it somehow

- like why do you have to look so breathtaking when doing the most ordinary of tasks? do you WANT him to stare at you? (not like you’re aware of how much he does anyway)

- and you miss the salty side eye he gives to the previous person you were talking to

- fail to notice the subtle pouts he sends your way and he ignores you back for the next week

- like literally what is his problem

- but the time he spends trying to “ignore” you doesn’t last for long

- because. you don’t know. how beautiful you are in his eyes.

- scribbles the most illegible notes down in his journal back in his dorm because he just can’t get rid of the sight of your face (no human is supposed to be that pretty. he’s just being ridiculous)

- posts weirdly ominous captions on his magicam stories about how “he’s going to lose it” or “how can someone be THAT blind?” 

- he removed you from his close friends just so you couldn’t view it

- and he’s still wondering why you aren't taking the hint? ace please wake up you're going to harvard

- the next day is his basketball tournament. you were invited

- and the moment he was about to shoot the ball through the basket, he saw you amongst the crowd, cheering for him, yelling his name, encouraging him to score a point for NRC’s team

- he misses the shot with his hand a centimeter away from the basket and the ball bounces off the ring

- the whistle blows and the tension falls off of everyone’s shoulders

- he’s not ashamed in the least. in fact he was still focusing on you. why did you look so confused? head tilted and everything? now is not the time to distract him when he’s in a tournament you know? this is a very important day for him and he absolutely cannot miss this shot.

- he comes back to his senses when both teams that were competing against each other disappeared from the ring. only turns out it was time to take a break and he was informed of his foolish mistake 

- he sees you running up to him, scoffs, and turns away

- why do you have to put him through so much? just when will you notice his dumb advances towards you?

- but all his thoughts dissipate into thin air when you smile at him so sweetly and reassure him that he’ll do better the next round

- he really hates you

- and he’s really down bad for you

DEUCE SPADE

- no. he can’t accept this. he won’t accept this. what happened to his first priority to become NRC’s notable honour student?

- stage 1: denial

- his gaze settles on you entirely, while you’re taking notes in class and you’re unaware of a hungry gaze that burns into the back of your head

- deuce then realises that he’s been balancing on the front two legs of his seat this entire time

- slips and hits his chin directly on the edge of the desk when mr. crewel calls out his name

- pull out the bandages with my melody characters cutely printed onto them, he’s going to need it 

- but when your hands come in contact with his skin

- he absolutely

- FOLDS

- “let me bandage it up for you” you said. “i promise it won’t hurt one bit” you SAID

- stares at you the whole time while you’re focused on cleaning his bruise (caused by you)

- he takes notice of the bandages and feels the childish tears pricking at his eyes (caused by you)

- mutters a weak ‘thank you’ once you’re done and when you push your hair back to get rid of the accumulated sweat on your forehead, he feels an arrow shooting right through his heart

- can he blame you? everything you do is just so seemingly flawless and attractive that he can’t help but wonder if he’s truly worthy of your attention. after all, you are aware of his past 

- spams his mother’s phone once he’s back at the dorm in the evening, telling her that there’s this person who’s so drop-dead gorgeous that he can’t get them out of his mind and he’s begging her, asking her what he should do with such unfamiliar feelings that poke at his heart

- except ms spade was probably dealing with a workload that evening and had her notifications off for the entire day (and probably forgot in the process so she’s worried about his son not texting her for one whole day)

- they’re bothj so silly

- the next couple of days fly by, same as ever, with deuce admiring your features at the other side of the table while you help wipe the crumbs off of grim’s face during lunch

- his entire thought process was just about how dreamy you were, he’s so lovestruck it’s insane

- and great seven does he thank them above for being able to live this day

- because you suddenly remembered that your fridge back at ramshackle dorm was out of stock

- so you offered deuce this golden opportunity to head to sam’s store together to help shop for missing groceries that you desperately needed to fill your fridge again 

- he snaps out of his own thoughts and nods his head. violently. was he trying to mimic those bobble head figures?

- you were content and looked at him with that killer-smile

- instant K.O

- ace watches from the sidelines and gets up to purchase another deluxe steak hamburger that the cafeteria was handing out for a limited time

FLOYD LEECH

- completely ditches his work at mostro lounge just to sit at the booth you’re at to stare at you

- he doesn’t even say anything

- he just stares

- maybe even twirls a lil strand of your hair if you consent to that

- and he’s completely head-over-heels for you. but who knows that other than jade and azul thanks to their gifted intuition? not you, for all they know

- absolute menace

- casually slings an arm around your shoulders, wrap his arms around your waist from behind-he does all of these and starts a countdown out of nowhere for the person that you were conversing with to get away from the two of you

- you: (　ﾟдﾟ) Floyd: (*^ω^*)

- what’s that about personal space??? yeah he has zero idea of what that is while he continues staring at you

- your lips to be specific.

- every part of you just seems so-pretty? whenever you two have mixed classes together all his thoughts go right through the window and you’re the only thing that his eyes see

- leaves the classroom feeling pretty goofy. slacks his arms behind his head and accidentally whacks a student right in the face with his elbow

- hallway chases are nothing new

- you have to run twice as fast as you do in PE

- he justt thinks you’re so cute the nicknames are endless

- “my adorable shrimpy” “my cutesy little sherbet in a cup” “my one and only mike wazowski”

- they’re not even related to sea animals anymore

- revoke his pet name privileges please

KALIM-AL-ASIM

- smitten the moment he makes eye contact with you

- menace number #2 (lovingly)

- what’s wrong? you don’t want a costly chandelier installed in ramshackle’s lounge? Funny! kalim does not bother and your complaints fall on deaf ears

- cups his cheeks in his hands and kicks his legs while he watches you from afar like a little high school girl

- he has a big fat crush on you and he isn’t afraid to show it

- INSISTS jamil that they should bring back every traditional cuisine from their hometown for you to try out

- sends unprofessionally written love letters onto ramshackle’s doorstep when he’s away for the holidays (jamil modified some parts of the letter to not make it too hard to understand)

- think his only love language is giving gifts? absolutely not. doesn’t even know what the five love languages are but masters them all (and it doesn't even take him any strenuous effort)

- rambles to jamil about how beautiful you are during lunch. proceeds to even make an hour-long powerpoint presentation to show to his 30 younger siblings back at home with low-quality images downloaded from shutterstock.

- “how pretty are they?” “are you two going to get married?” “can i see them in person some time? I’ll be nice!”

- no you did NOT give him permission. but you’re okay with that. you love him too much to scold him anyway<333 

- one time you were invited to scarabia’s dorm where they were holding a large banquet (kalim sat beside you and mindlessly kept placing portions of food from the table onto your own plate-it started overflowing you HAD to stop him from grabbing the tongs)

- by the time everything was settled, you went back to your own dorm to get a goodnight’s rest

- but kalim was so adamant on not letting you go that a student from his dorm basically had to rip him off of your figure 

- he loves you and your cute face so much 

- scratch that he loves everything about you from head to toe

- when he was back in his room daydreaming about you, he heard the door burst open

- turns out it was jamil needing to inform him about the upcoming dorm leader meeting happening the next day

- kalim accidentally called him “teddy bear” thinking it was you who decided to come back and give him a farewell kiss

- jamil took his first shot that day

JAMIL VIPER

- jamil viper is not like the other guys

- no he’s different

- he stubbornly pushes all his surfacing feelings down and outwardly ignores the elephant in the room!

- which is his abrupt crush on you

- but seriously-he has no idea what to do

- when you offered to help him make dishes for the next dorm feast scarabia was having

- he couldn’t stop staring at the way your hands handled the kitchen utensils so effortlessly 

- and how you looked so laser focused on chopping the ingredients with beads of sweat starting to form on your forehead

- he’s DEFINITELY not into you at all. there’s nothing outstanding about you. he does not think you’re even pretty in the least. (press X to doubt)

- kalim takes notice frustratingly quick and suddenly he’s not a dorm leader anymore but a persuasive wingman

- kalim: you like them right??? do you want me to confess to them for you???? i promise i wont make you look stupid!

- jamil: PLEASE STO

- but when you start to become aware of the subtle signs and how he’s much more softer when it comes to you, jamil assures you that you had no fault in this at all and he’s stupid for letting such affection get to his head

- “It’s not you, it’s me.”

- (he secretly tells himself that it is kind of you because you’re just too charming to take his eyes off of??? inflexible much)

- but he still continues to stare at you. he doesn’t even know if it’s out of pure habit or if he’s just shameless anymore (news flash: it’s both)

- throw your personality into the mix and he’s very much in love

- and you were kind enough to not pay mind to it. when you do notice and call him out-he’s flushed. he’s flustered. bro ascended.

- and when you do accept his feelings, he’s relieved. he even offers to cook for you every day 24/7. and you’re rather surprised at his ability to balance all his responsibilities on his shoulders without a single slip up.

- sometimes kalim would walk with you guys in the hallway when arriving to your locker to pick up some books for your next lesson. jamil doesnt particularly mind but

- why does it feel like he’s the one who’s third wheeling?

- but in all honesty, he doesn’t mind in the least

- because he knew that you reciprocate his feelings so sincerely-and he’s grateful for it.

- mega W if you start dating jamil you won in life

[adorehyyuka]

puppy!hyuka <3

smut mdni

warnings: puppy hybrid!Kai, sub!Kai, praise, degradation, name calling, slight anal ? aftercare, bed humping, lmk if I missed anything !

thinking about puppy!hyuka who only wants to be your good boy :( who wants to follow all your rules, instructions and everything you say just so he can hear you praise him and give him head pats <3 but sometimes he can't help himself. . .

he can't help it if one day he feels particularly sad, so he goes to find your blankets and your pillows that smell like you, he just needs a lil comfort is all ! he can't help it that today his emotions are all over the place :,< so you shouldn't blame him when the smell of you sends him into a frenzy and suddenly he's humping your bed like the dumb pup he is :(

you can't blame him for being a little disobedient, you just can't ! He's always been your good boy, surely you can let one mistake go ? right ? wrong.

the moment you get home and see what a desperate mess he is, absolute filth is spewing from your mouth. you call him a whore, telling him off for being a bad puppy when you had only been gone for a little over an hour. tears spill down his cheeks, he's crying and pleading with you, saying "I'm sorry, 'm sorry ! you just smelled so good ! . ." but of course you don't relent, instead you're teasing his tight little ass hole with the tip of your finger and telling him how cute he looks when he's acting like a slut :p

his hips only move faster when you insult him ! his twitchy little cock begging for release <3 he should be upset at you for calling him such names, he should be disgusted with himself for being so desperate :( but the mix of praise and degradation is sending him reeling, his head is so fuzzy and he can't think of anything but getting himself off :3

eventually the thing that tips him over the edge is the tug on his tail you give him, and suddenly he's squealing ! his fluffy ears are fully pointed up to the ceiling, his lower half is spasming all over the place and his sensitive tail is twitching in your softening hold >.< Isn't he such a cutie ? tell him he's a cute pup :(

as soon as you hear him whimper you're immediately cradling him in your arms, telling him what a good boy he is and petting his head <3 all the nastiness in your voice is gone and all that's left is sugary sweet words. puppy!hyuka's head is spinning and it's clear he's overwhelmed, all he needs you to do is hold him and whisper sweet nothings into his floofy ears. . . so that's what you do !

©adorehyyuka

[vrisrezis]

My fav Bnha characters with a crush teehee

Have probs done this b4 butttt lol these look rlly long ngl

Katsuki is kinda disgusted with himself. He hates all that lovey dovey bullshit and he always told himself he wouldn’t end up falling in love like the shitty old hag, but here he is being a lovesick moron. Katsuki is not known for being subtle, you’d have to be a special kind of moron to not notice he’s totally head over heels. Even if he wouldn’t describe it in those words, he totally is. He has very complicated feelings about the fact he likes you, wanting to focus on his hero training but you make it so difficult for him with your stupid smile that he loves hates so much. However he’s aware of how happy you make him feel, so he’s willing to set it aside, it must be a good thing you make him feel so good, right? It’s strange, but he will find himself showing off more when your around, trying to prove to you specifically he’s gonna be the best hero. In training he works extra hard if you happen to be around or happen to even be watching, he may even start competitions with class 1A just to prove himself to you. Whether it’s dumb competitions like racing in the pool or even school related competitions such as, who’s got the best grades, this nerd absolutely shows off around you. He wants you to think he’s cool, that he will one day be the best. But he also tries to leave subtle … hints he likes you. Even though it’s obvious already, he’s been given the impression that he isn’t totally obvious. He shows his interest in you in other ways, but I will mention he has an extreme jealousy problem even before you are even dating. This is typically of people that are “stronger” than him, so todoroki and deku. However he might get that jealousy if say, kaminari flirted with you. Other ways of actually showing interest though is that he’s actually nice to you, though he shows it in ways that can go unnoticed. If your forgetful he always makes sure he has an extra water bottle with him, or anything else you may need he just says he happens to have. Or perhaps you need help studying or even with homework, he just says kirishima happened to pick a different study buddy that day, so you and him can study together. And kirishima, as the ultimate wingman, insists you two should study more often… alone… and the main thing that gives him away! Blushing! Oh man, if he isn’t the most obvious guy in the universe because of that red face! He can blame it on the cold, he can blame it on how hot it is out, he can blame it on his quirk, or that he’s angry, he is always red faced when you’re too close. If you’ve ever seen amity blight blush, it’s exactly like that. He stares at you in class with this soft expression that is almost never seen on his face, and if he is to ever be caught he simply turns away as fast as possible, wide eyed and blushing. You’ll find that bakugou believes in your strength, so he’s protective in battle a reasonable amount, only if you’re truly in deep shit. When he’s more comfortable with being your friend, he takes you out on hiking trips and just hanging out with you, and sometimes kirishima. The entire class of 1A knows about his little crush though so it makes it extremely hard for him to keep it a secret lol, he’s constantly paranoid somebody told you.

Oh man if you thought katsuki was bad, izuku is on another level of being obvious with his feelings. The boy truly wears his heart on his sleeve. It’s not even something he’s aware of at first, he just thinks your good looking like … wow way more attractive than anyone he’s ever met! You’re a good friend, with an interesting quirk and yes his notes on you are a lot longer than even kacchans and maybe he draws you a lot, maybe he draws moments where you looked really breathtaking and maybe he thinks about you before he goes to bed and when he wakes up in the morning and yes maybe he dreams about you too and overthinks everything you say to him and maybe he rambles about you an unreasonable amount to his friends but… oh man he… he likes you doesn’t he? And once he realizes, it gets even worse because now he’s just blushing at you and he looks like he’s gonna pass out everytime ochako mentions the fact he hasn’t confessed yet and he’s just dying on the spot. Boy talks faster than Eminem can rap whenever she mentions him having a crush especially if you happen to be there for the conversation. Tends to ramble around you a lot, just about random things and everyone is just like “oh god not this again” you have to be oblivious to not notice. Izuku tends to worry about you a lot, so he always checks up on you after training to make sure you didn’t get too hurt, and don’t even get him started when it comes to you going on missions, he worries so much when you’re fighting villains. Now he knows how his mother feels. Izuku tends to be clingy around his crush, so he tends to ask you to hang out quite often, whether it’s hanging out or even studying or even fighting together against some villain he likes being around you and likes making sure that you’re safe when it comes down to it. He tends to have very obvious slip ups that he likes you, voice cracks then correcting himself or perhaps coughing way too loudly when he tries to do an ahem cough, bumping into you and tripping, he’s so clumsy around you. Probably accidentally calls you pretty. He’s just… such a mess man.

Hawks is not experienced with romance, while many can agree he’s a good looking guy that has many people flocking towards him, he was never that interested in dating until you showed around. Honestly, could’ve seen him being aromantic before meeting you, lol. So since he’s never experienced romantic feelings, it’s going to take him a little longer than it should to realize his feelings. However he does show signs of taking a special liking to you beforehand, that even he doesn’t understand at the time. He hates the idea of people looking at you the wrong way, perhaps to court you. He assumes this is because he senses they’re potentially dangerous and as a good friend of yours, he’s just looking out for you. After all, he’s naturally protective of you in battles with villains, even if you can protect yourself. Sure he’s not protective especially of endeavor or miruko, but that’s just because he’s not as close with them as he is with you! He doesn’t feel his heart beat faster around his other friends, but he assumes it must be something else, maybe there’s something making him nervous, or maybe he’s just simply excited to be around you! Sure he doesn’t blush around anyone else when they compliment him, but that’s because it means a lot knowing a close friend thinks about him in such a way! For awhile, keigo comes up with many reasons to justify his feelings towards you until miruko and endeavor make him realize he’s being a total moron right now. Upon realizing his feelings, he’s not completely sure how to go about it, but he starts by trying to make it known he likes you. He’s subtle with his flirts, but once he puts his toes in the water to see if your comfortable with him flirting, he dips his whole foot in. At that point, people just think you two are dating with how casual he is with his newfound flirtatious personality when you enter the picture. Upon realizing his feelings he becomes 10x more protective and kinda already acts like a boyfriend by bringing you lunch to work and taking you to cafes and literal dates and stupid shit like that, lmao.

Aizawa I imagine having very few crushes in his lifetime, and has dates with even less people than that. Because of this inexperience even in his age, he’s not quite sure how to go about his feelings initially. Mic and midnight are extremely annoying about how obvious he is, as well. Aizawa is extremely protective of you, given his experience with his students, it’s only natural he grows protective of you and worries for your safety. Whether you’re a hero or not, he’s going to worry for you. Other than that, the way he shows he cares for you is different with you than it is with his friends. He’s good at listening to you and remembers very small things about you that maybe he wouldn’t remember with other people, he remembers very small details. Perhaps something as small as your favorite coffee even if you don’t like coffee that much. I imagine him fearing if his students ever found out he liked you, what kinda hell that would be. Dealing with them teasing him and potentially telling you, but he truly can’t help but be obvious at times. He stares at you longer than he should, even smiles at you longingly when he thinks you aren’t looking. He looks like a lovesick kitty. Generally reserved in his attraction to you, keeping to himself and hoping he can find some hints you return the feelings before initiating anything. However, he’s always been relatively stupid with romance so this takes awhile for him to even figure out and he has a habit of overthinking everything you say to him and is often left wondering what your intentions truly are with him. When you two spend time together, he likes doing things with you he’d never do with anyone else. Likes you playing and doing his hair, and watching movies and such, your hangouts often feel like dates even when you aren’t dating. So when the time does come you two date, it feels as though nothing has changed. He with trust you whole heartedly, if you aren’t a teacher at UA he is introducing his students to you, his co workers, and especially Eri, all the people who are important in his life but does it in such a way that feels casual and natural. He has a way of not making his crush known if your oblivious enough. However, a part of him that feels like he shouldn’t tell you how he feels come from a place of worrying for your safety and the people that may come after you. He will learn to trust you and your strength, he’s just a worried dad.

Miruko is a bold and brave lady, however even she’s never had much experience with love. Being way too determined to become a hero, it hasn’t given her much time to really experience romance aside from hookups. She decided it was a waste of time, but as one of the top heroes, she understands she can have both things in her life. If she cares to, anyway. And upon meeting you had come to the conclusion she would love to have both things. Miruko is a very confident woman so you will find she wastes no time in approaching you with her feelings. This is, when she realizes them. Due to her being new to it, it takes her a bit to realize it. But after a couple months of knowing you she figure it out. The way she feels compelled to buy you stuff despite not knowing you for that long, the need to protect you from danger even when you can protect yourself just fine, the strange need to wrap her strong arms around you, it all connects to her eventually. Upon realizing the feelings she’s gained she is very flirtatious and makes her intentions with you very clear. She doesn’t like wasting time. You will find though that despite how bold she is, if you flirt back she gets a little shy sometimes. This is a rare occurrence, but it happens! She can be a softie too yknow? She is physically affectionate with you, casually wrapping an arm around your shoulder when you two are talking, whispering in your ear a lot and getting close and personal when she really doesn’t have to. She loves inviting you over to hang with her for games and such, it already feels like you two are a couple even when you aren’t. It’s only a matter of time before she officially asks you out. You may find that during your hangouts she tries to impress you with her strength and tends to brags about her accomplishments. You’ll also find she dresses nicer and even wears makeup occasionally. Her flirtations with you are different than with her hookups too, compliments on how cute you are rather than how hot you are. She wants you to know you mean something to her as well, so on occasion she tells you that you mean the world to her.

Dabi has not experienced romance, ever. Hookups aren’t in his life either. Dabi had been set on one thing and one thing only, revenge. You’d have to be a real special one for him to be attracted to you, but no matter how special you are it will not deter him from his original plan. He didn’t plan on pursuing you in anyway, but he’s selfish at heart and can’t help himself. He may not try to pursue you romantically but he will try his absolute hardest to form a strong bond between you two. It may take awhile to be vulnerable with you but it will absolutely happen while you two are friends, he will be extremely open with you. He’s open about being touya early in your friendship to show he trusts you whole heartedly, to show he thinks you’re like nobody else he’s met. He would know his feelings, despite the complete lack of experience in dating. He just knows. He looks at you and thinks, you’re the one for him. Out of everyone on this list, he’s one of the more protective ones. I’d say the most if it wasn’t for toga, tbh. You will find he’s around you a lot, like just because he’s so protective but also because he likes to be around you. He cares for you and likes your company. You remind him of the good parts of home, you bring back his humanity. Dabi makes no moves on you, despite how strong his feelings are for you and how aware he is of his feelings. He’s scared to form a relationship, in fear it will go to shit and knowing he’d hurt you, knowing his plan of revenge will end in his death. He’d never want to put you through that. He spends much of his time hanging out with you and it feels like the two of you have been best friends forever. He tends to joke with you and be sarcastic, but always being one that’s there for you when you need it and even give you advice. He’s a true friend but he’s scared to be something more.

Toga is truly the most obsessive and protective, the closest you get to a yandere. She grows feelings almost automatically, because she feels as though she sees you for who you are right away. She feels like she’s known you forever, she knows she likes you the more she wants to steal some of your blood and become you. If you’re okay with an overbearing insane girl on your side, she’s the lady for you! She acts like she’s known you forever, even if you’re complete strangers. There is no filter with toga, and she acts like you’re already best friends when you aren’t. And when her romantic feelings become apparent, she makes those feelings very apparent and that she wants something more with you. She tends to get up in your face a lot when talking, with a blush on her cheeks, it’s just because she loves being so close to you! Flirting with you and calling you her darling or her love is a common occurrence, even when you two aren’t even a couple yet. She worries for you a lot and is very protective, and after twices demise this protective nature becomes 10x worse. She’s clingy and constantly cuddling to your side, holding your arm or your hand. She has no shame in you knowing her feelings, she just hopes you will stop being so shy and tell her how you feel too! She will absolutely murder for you too just to add onto her yanderish tendencies, not that I don’t think every villain would do that for you though, lol. Also, the moment you meet her she’s inviting you to the league of villains without a doubt. You’re a part of her little weird family now, no questions asked. You become extremely important to her and how she approaches life from then on. (You could actually help her become a decent person if you were aiming to be a hero. You hold so much power by being the object of her affection, lol).

Shigaraki is determined to destroy the entire world and everyone in it, but even he has feelings. He has feelings towards the league, secretly (or not so secretly) seeing them as his found family. And you, well, in his eyes you are also family but you’re also special to him even in comparison to the league. He isn’t aware of what his feelings towards you are for the longest time, even after the advice kurogiri had given him. He now relies on spinner to give him proper advice, who tells him he feels romantically towards you. Shigaraki is naturally a protective person when it comes to you, not liking anyone getting too close and personal with you, even spinner and toga sometimes. He’s lost a lot and he’s not willing to lose you too especially to some loser that doesn’t deserve you. He’s easily jealous and he’s also easily paranoid you could find somebody else. In his mind, he knows you deserve more than him and the possibility of you ending up with anyone that isn’t him is almost too much to bare. Even if he knows you deserve more, he’s selfish to his core. He likes to play games with you and treats you like a longtime friend, he consistently works on your relationship to make sure he keeps your bond going at all times. He enjoys being close to you and would like to keep it that way and maintaining your relationship. He could talk to you for hours about anything while playing video games with you (Nintendo gamer tingz). As time goes by, he tries to trust you more and grows less protective and obsessive, especially as he becomes much more powerful and much more confident he can protect you if need be. He isn’t bold about his feelings, an occasional shy blush coming from him is the closest you get to him letting his feelings be known. He may eventually approach you, though.

[louvemione]

illicit affairs (part two) — d. malfoy (draco's pov)

synopsis : Draco watched as Y/n slowly walked out of his life and wonders why their relationship is considered illicit.

warning/s : angst, fluff if you squint hard enough, profanity, written in first person, pureblood! reader (this isn't really important & would only be implied)

author's note : like promised, here is part two of illicit affairs 🥳 but i feel like i didn't write it properly 🥲 hopefully, you guys get the message i'm trying to get through!

<- part one | part three ->

leave the perfume on the shelf

that you picked out just for him

sixth year

"why is it that you no longer wear your signature perfume? I used to love it" that was probably a dumb and unnecessary question to ask

but can you blame me? I just need the slightest reasons and I would gladly start a conversation with her. as crazy as it sounds, I'd most definitely take every opportunity to talk to her.

she was silent for a moment, luckily it was only us sitting by the fire, "there's absolutely no reason for me to wear it but i'm glad you loved it"

i hate this. i hate the awkward silence between me and her, i hate that she's distancing herself from me and i hate that i am pretty much aware of it, i hate not being able to tell her how much i adore her, i hate not being true to myself, i hate—

"i'll go to my dorms now, it was nice talking to you" she didn't wait for my response and continued to walk to her dormitory, i hate when she's formal, it's as if we weren't friends.

so you leave no trace behind

like you don't even exist

"good morning!" I say, rather awkwardly than I hoped for it to

"hello, Draco" she smiled and walked past me

I watched her retreating figure like I always do now that she tries to cut every interaction short.

I hate it.

I hate it when she acts as if nothing ever happened between us. I hate that she no longer wears her perfume. I hate that she's slowly starting to slip past my finger tips.

I fucking hate it.

because she was leaving my life, slowly. so slow that I could see her disappear bit by bit. like, she was packing her things to move else where.

from her presence, to her perfume. it's as if she never even existed with how carefully everything connecting to her disappeared from my life.

take the words for what they are

a dwindling, mercurial high

"you look gorgeous" I whispered, hoping that it was loud enough for y/n to hear, hoping that she knew that it was directed at her, not Astoria.

I felt guilty for dancing with my soon-to-be wife and wishing it was y/n I'm holding.

soon enough, when Harry and Y/n stopped dancing, I excused myself.

"I'll go out for a moment" not waiting for Astoria's reply, I started walking away. I walked behind Y/n, grazing my hand against her waist in the process, hoping that she gets the message.

and that's how we ended up in the restricted section of the library, where we spent the next hour hugging and exchanging kisses and i love you's while looking through the different books in the shelves.

i love you, looking back, I started to wonder whether or not she took my words seriously.

"impossible! he can't...actually mean it!"

but according to the conversation I overheard, she took it as a dwindling, mercurial high.

a drug that only worked

"we're okay, we'll figure this out together, but let's not think of that for now" my kisses were denied when she pushed my head away and sat up.

"we all know we can't do anything about it" she argued and pushed me off, "listen, baby, we shouldn't restrict ourselves from loving who we want and I definitely won't spend my life married to someone I don't love, so believe me, I'll do something about it"

"but you two are set for marriage—"

"but I love you, not her" she stayed silent and I smiled, "so, do you trust me?"

"yeah, of course, I do"

the first few hundred times

"do you not trust me?!"

"NO! I FUCKING DON'T!"

and that's the thing about illicit affairs

and clandestine meetings and stolen stares

illicit? our relationship is nowhere near illicit.

it's not wrong to love someone, what's wrong is to pretend to love someone.

if it were Astoria I'm in a relationship with, that's illicit. but y/n? why would our relationship be illicit? because I'm bound to marry someone I don't want to marry?

"you okay, mate?" only then did I realize that I have been gripping my knife so tightly as I watched as she laughed with Saint Potter.

"we know you've been...feeling bad since she ended things with you but—"

"I just don't understand! why now? why—"

"why not now, Draco? did you think she'd want to wait 'til your wedding before breaking it off?"

"there will be no wedding!"

"oh I wouldn't be so sure if I were you" Daphne says, "my mum wrote to me this morning and mentioned that they might start planning yours and Astoria's wedding, if I were you, I'd start getting into action"

I spent the rest of supper thinking and secretly staring at y/n, who seemed to be doing the same.

they show their truth one single time

"i love you"

but they lie, and they lie, and they lie

"do you love me, still?" I say, not too bothered by the students who I knew were eavesdropping in our conversation

"as a friend, yeah"

we both know she's lying. and I know she's aware of the fact that I know she's lying.

a million little times

© louvemione on tumblr | do not steal, copy, translate or repost

[knyontop]

Hello! Hope you're having a good day! And I was wondering if the creepypastas could react to your death but if you're a child pasta? Like say it's from a bullet wound since the enemy defended themselves? Take your time:)

₊˚ ‿︵‿୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿ ˚₊

ONG IM SO EXCITED FOR THISSS

Creepypasta x Child!reader.

Tw: gore, depression and stuff, starving, self sabotage, and other stuff.

Ft: Jeff the killer, Sally, Ticci toby, Ben drowned, Nina the killer, and our beautiful, amazing, handsome, reader.

Jeff:

・He doesn’t know what to say, he only feels anger. Rage.

・The rage of Jeff the killer is something I hope my worst enemy never experiences😭

・He will not sleep until he finds whoever killed you, he will go to the depths of hell to find them.

・He cant even think straight when looking for them the only thing he wants to do is kill.

・he starts to isolate himself from everything and everyone, he will just sit in his room or just go out and kill.

・he killings are much more brutal from the anger.

・taking all his anger and emotion out on his victims.

・cry laughing while he carves em’ up.

・he thought he would be happy if you just randomly disappeared or something but I guess not. ☹️

・He lost his some what friend and sibling.

・He will drink, and drink, and maybe drink some more and drink while killing.

・This just makes him less of human then he already was. He cant do it, he just cant.

・He still refuses to say he cares about you btw. (We all know the truth)

・”Damit kid… you dumbass. Why did you have to die?”

Ben:

・Life is all fun and games to him, playing pranks on people, killing people, torturing people, just the usual!

・This news just hits him like hes being drowned all over again. Hes panicking, feeling like he cant breathe, just losing it.

・Hes glitching all over the place, saying its not true, its not true. You cant be dead! NO YOU JUST CANT!

・Please come back.

・Please just come back.

・He doesn’t find video games fun anymore. He doesn’t annoy people like he used to. He gets more aggressive with his pranks.

・He like jeff takes his anger out on his victims, getting all his anger and frustration out.

・he just wants you back. Please. Come back. Come. Back. Now.

・Hes more glitchy and on edge now, you were like his dumb, little sibling.. but your gone now.

・He just doesn’t get why kids are always the ones who have to suffer, why did you have to die? Your just a kid. You shouldn’t have been dragged into this mess.

・”W-W-Why d-did you h-have to die… y-y-your just a k-k-kid im so sorry.”

Toby:

・oh, oh this poor boy. Hes already lost his older sister, imagine what this is like.

・The worse part is he was there when it happened, and he couldn’t protect you. He couldn’t protect you. HE COULD NOT PROTECT. YOU.

・He will never forgive himself this is like Lara all over again. He cant do this anymore.

・He will eat less and less, just sit in bed. Having random outbursts in the middle of the day, just breaking down absolutely losing it. But who can blame him? Everyone missed you.

・Toby just wished he could have died instead of you, its not fair.

・Hes mad at you, hes mad at himself, hes mad at everyone. Hes now more violent then ever. Hes easy to anger, just everything.

・Hes over here lashingout at everyone, even sally!

・oh and you have no idea how this has affected sally. Omg. 😭

Sally:

・oh this poor sweet baby :C

・She just cries, cries and cries and cries.

・You helped heed forget about all the bad, she had someone to care for and someone to care for her. But your gone now.. why?

・She just misses you so much, shes mad at the world for this. Shes mad at Slender and even Mr. Charlie!

・Sally is now more clingy then ever. She needs more attention and starts to get more “annoying” to everyone.

・visitsyour grave everyday to have tea partys with you, like old times yk? She cant go there without crying.

・She misses when you would brush her hair and tell her about your mission and how there head would go splat splat splat! The sound is so silly to her!

・Sally just wants you back! She wants her parents back, she wants everything back!

Nina:

・Nina is no longer her sadistic silly self.

・She doesn’t have anyone to rant to anymore, she doesn’t have anyone to practice shots on, she doesn’t have anyone to try make up looks on! Her little sibling is gone again! Just like she lost her little brother.

・She didn’t trust herself with you, she thought she would hurt you like she hurt her little brother. But you just ended up hurting her…

・Nina just like toby starts to pass on food, she literally loves food tho! But she just cant anymore…

・”You were my best friend and now.. and now your gone.”

₊˚ ‿︵‿୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿ ˚₊

[tinykittendelusion]

Seventeen as different tropes

a/n : I've gotten into a book slump again so i thought might as well try something that's going to make me want to read more :)

triggers: mentions of sex or sexual content or indicates sexual behaviour

Scoups

Workplace romance especially billionaire ceo romance where he falls in love with this girl from a small town almost like a typical hallmark movie. he gives very CEO vibes especially like business proposal kang tae moo he loves showering you with love and lots and lots of gifts.

Jeonghan

Opposites attract. I think it would be so cool if jeonghan falls for someone his exact opposite who looks like a troublemaker but is actually very innocent. It would be hilarious when at first she gets blamed for a prank he pulled making him apologise with lots and lots of kisses. Also she'd be the only person with whom he won't cheat while playing games?!

Joshua

good boy x bad girl. This is the reverse of the bad boy trope and that suits him so much Joshua is a very good gentlemanly guy until he isn't and then he's this crazy person and he'd naturally be drawn to people who take risks.

Jun

childhood friends to lovers. Honestly after watching exclusive fairytale I feel this is exactly his vibe he's a shy guy so he takes time getting comfortable and since you've known him since childhood he's the most comfortable with you. The comfort of knowing someone through all their stages of life and falling for them.

Hoshi

Enemies to lovers. Hoshi is a sweetheart that everyone knows but he's amazing at teasing people aka seungkwan in gose episodes so him having an enemies to lovers relationship makes so much sense to me. Also hoshi getting angry/pissed would be HOT.

Wonwoo

Aloof couple. Everyone except the both of you know that you both are dating. Together you both are dumb and dumber. After Hoshi accidentally ends up spilling the fact that wonwoo has a crush on you You guys would finally start dating. Both of you would be so shocked to know that the other person actually liked them too.

Woozi

Fated soulmates. Now listen to me woozi is a homebody just like me and sometimes I wish the love of my life would just come to my house and announce his existence. This is exactly what happens when you go to deliver fried chicken completely drenched in the rain and he offers you to stay and dry off before leaving.

Dokyeom

brothers bestfriend. He's your brother's friend so he should be off limits to you but he's so kind so nice and so caring you can't help but fall in love. He doesn't notice you until one day you drunk confess and then suddenly you're all that he can think about.

a/n: very much like the male lead in hidden love (c-drama)

Mingyu

reverse grumpy x sunshine. Oh he falls for the slightly broody introverted nerd. They literally collided into each other when Wonwoo dragged him to this one book convention. He was jealous of how close Wonwoo and you were. Which led to him confessing and you both dating. He absolutely adores the fact that your cute silly side is reserved only for him.

Minghao

hopeless romantic x skeptic Minghao was that person who did not believe in love at first sight cause how do you fall in love without knowing anyone that is until you walked into his life and caused him to fall literally for you. You loved this fact as you were a big romantic person. You'd often watch rom coms together and have discussions on the characters for hours.

Seungkwan

Academic rivals. YES YES YES

the banter would be off the charts. He'd be full on sassy boo who loves winning and y/n would be the same. They'd fight argue and insult each other but would be forced into spending time together and boom he's pinned you to the wall.

Vernon

Second chance. Yes the angst the pain the hurt the NOSTALGIA. everything vernon runs into you in seoul one day and it's decided that he wants you back bonus points if you have a child that he babysits and that child comes to adore him.

a/n: i think I have to cry vernon with kids would be so funny and cute and I WILL CRY

Dino

a/n: i absolutely adore these I lowkey might make all of these into longer fics.

best friends turned enemies turned lovers. the chemistry would be fire you'd both participate in a dance competition as kids but at the last moment you ditched him to dance with your crush years later you both hate each other and it gets worse when you are one of the background dancers in seventeen's world tour.

i made a longer version for dino- here

[exrellian]

Replaced MC AU

Three parts in one day! This part gets a lot more serious and where the drama really starts!

TW: Descriptions of pain/burning, the brothers being assholes to MC, manipulation.

Could things get any worse?

The rest of the day came and went, MC just stayed in his room, holding the tears from overflowing. MC didn’t sleep a wink that night, instead deciding to clean his room and organize all his things… just in case. Luckily for him, Amelia must have spent the night in someone else’s room so he didn’t have to worry about being suspicious or having Amelia find where his valuables were.

When it become morning MC made his way to Lucifers room. Raising his hand to knock on the door, he stopped, hearing voices from inside.

“Don’t worry Amelia. We will make sure he will never hurt you again.”

“Please don’t be mean to him! I don’t think he is a bad person, he might just be jealous! You and your brothers seem to like me more so I can see why he is bothered!”

“That is no excuse for him to attack you and hurt your beautiful face. He will not bother you any more.”

‘Did someone attack Amelia? Was it a demon?’ The door opened, interrupting MCs thoughts, he was now face to face with an injured Amelia and angry Lucifer

“Hey, sorry for eavesdropping but was Amelia attacked? Are you okay Amelia?” He asked, inspecting the wounds littering her face, it looked like a pretty bad attack

“Don’t play dumb MC. Are you trying to completely ruin the exchange program?” Lucifers voice was filled with a poorly restrained rage, as if he was about to unleash “All of my brothers have told me of how mean you’ve been to Amelia and it is unacceptable.” He continued, pushing Amelia behind him as if to protect her

“What? I’ve been nothing but kind to Amelia! She is a human and I know how dangerous the Devildom is!” MC tried to defend himself, unsure why he is being blamed for the attack on Amelia when he hadn’t left his room all night

“Stop talking. Your excuses will not work on me. Now Amelia insists on not sending you back to the human world like I had originally intended, so, we will be separating the two of you for her safety and you will be staying at Purgatory hall for the time being, at least until you have learned how to be a decent human being. I have already discussed this arrangement with my brothers and lord Diavolo and we all agree this is the best course of action. Be better, MC”

MC walked back to their room in deafening silence, what was happening? Why was everyone turning against him?

Amelia’s POV

“Thank you Lucifer! I actually wanted to ask you and the brothers something at breakfast, but MC can’t be there so let’s get going!” She giggled, dragging Lucifer to the dining hall, him following with a small smile, what an adorable human.

When the two got to the dining hall the other six were already eating

“Everyone, Amelia has something she would like to ask so pay attention.” Lucifer drew all eyes to him and Amelia

“Where is MC?” Satan asked, growing more concerned when a chorus of scoffs and groans came from his brothers “What happened!? Is he okay?”

“He will not be living here anymore. He has crossed the line by attacking Amelia and has been moved to Purgatory hall, he is up packing his belongings this moment.” Lucifer explained, rolling his eyes at his younger brother

“What!? He attacked Amelia? He would have no reason to do that though, they have been getting along well and MC is absolutely not the type of person to attack someone without reason.” At this point Satan had stood from his seat and completely disregarded his book. “Has MC not saved this family on multiple occasions? Has he not sacrificed everything for us? Why are all of you suddenly turning on him!?”

“Satan. Sit down. The decision about MC has been made.” Lucifer scolded, his demon form emerging

“Satan… I also have faith in MC! I was the one who convinced Lucifer not to fully kick him out of the exchange program! Please Satan, just listen to what I have to ask” Amelia spoke, not breaking eye contact with Satan. Satan sighed and sat down, attention still on Amelia “please, I want all of you to do me a favor, break your pacts with MC.”

MCs POV

As he was packing his belongings into his bags, MC felt a scorching pain flowing through his body, like someone had replaced his blood with molten lava. He screamed in pain before collapsing to the ground, seeing the pact mark on the back of his hand burn and fade away

“Why… why did Satans pact mark… burn off?”

He had no clue what was happening, he couldn’t even think due to the pain coursing through his veins. After a few minutes the pain dissipated, leaving him with just an ache through his whole body as he lay on the ground, curled into a ball beside his bed. With that, the boy lost consciousness.

When he awoke, the pain was only faint.

“Oh dear, why are you on the ground? Have you really stooped so low you would do anything for attention?” A slightly feminine voice spoke from above him, looking up he locked eyes with Asmodeus

“Asmo… why did my pacts burn away? What… what happened?”

“Is this really ok because we broke our pacts with you? You being this dramatic for something as minuscule as that? Foolish human.” He scoffed at the boy on the ground before leaving the room.

‘They broke their pacts with me? But why? What did I do wrong?’

His mind was racing, he knew he had to finish packing and get out as fast as he could. That task seemed to be easier than expected, seeing as his side of the room was suddenly stripped empty, none of his belongings anywhere to be found, even his DDD which was previously in his pocket was missing.

MC wasn’t stupid, he knew exactly what happened and that he had zero chance of getting any of it back. He had one more place to look, where he had previously hidden some spare change, just about 50 Grimm in case of emergency. He lifted his mattress of the bed frame and looked for the small tare in the fabric, finding the Grimm he had hidden… thank god they weren’t smart enough to check here.

He left the house in silence, noticing a note on the door that was addressed to him

“To; MC

I am extremely disappointed in your actions toward Amelia, it is shocking to see someone as kind as you give into your emotions so easily. I expected better from you. Due to the recent events you will be suspended from RAD for the time being, I will reach out when you can come back.

Sincerely;

Lord Diavolo”

MC didn’t even react to the letter, just shoved it in his pocket and left. Not going to Purgatory Hall, he couldn’t trust anyone anymore. He had no clue where he was going.

MC found himself in an alleyway, tired and hungry, unable to go buy himself food without wasting all of his emergency money. As if the world just wanted to make things worse, he felt a few drops of rain turn into a downpour. Could things get any worse?

[fallenseaofstars]

Argenti headcanons

🌹 Tags: Afab g/n reader, Smut/Fluff, established relationship, obsessive Argenti once again 😍, size difference kink, belly bulge, creampie, idk what else to tag 💔

🌹 A/N: sorry I tried making him as accurate to canon but he's a bit of a freak in my eyes (not in the kinky way but in the questionable way)

Argenti is a gentleman, he loves to be sensual and treat you like royalty, so naturally the aftercare is top notch! No matter how tired he is (unlikely that he's tired to begin with) he'll always make sure to clean you well, get the bed ready and pepper you with many many kisses <3 He will never leave until you're fully taken care of

Raging size difference kink. He can't quite pinpoint why exactly he's so into it but all he knows is that he can't help himself when he sees just how much smaller you are to him- believe me he has had to learn a new level of self control around you...

He's really big and absolutely loves seeing you take all him, has accidentally overstimulated you before but can you blame him? The way your pussy takes all of his cock and how his cum drips down you ... one round is not enough to please him.

Belly bulge is almost a guarantee everytime he fucks you and yes, it makes him very hard seeing how deep he fucks you

Pleasure dom but can also be sub. He absolutely loves spoiling you no matter how greedy you get, but he also enjoys being spoiled! He won't outwardly admit this however so make sure every once in a while you take good care of him, he deserves it~ ❤️

Worships you like a god(dess) regardless if he's top or bottom, it's almost embarrassing hearing his over the top compliments but he means every word! He loves spending a while just kissing your entire body, his kisses are so soft and full of love, and they linger in the areas that you're most self conscious about! To him, everything about you is beautiful, no matter what you think of yourself!

Loves it when you take the lead, he'll do whatever you ask of him like an obedient little puppy~ just kiss him a few more times and he's already head over heels for you! (Not that he already isn't though) When you ride him and threat him like a whore he cums even faster than usual. He can't decide if he prefers when you're gentle and loving or when you're mean and harsh.

Big praise kink, even when you're mean to him you should still praise him~

Into bondage as well, loves it no matter who's the one tied up! When you're the one tied up he loves to blindfold you as well and whisper to you everything that he will/is doing to you. He's very comforting when you're blindfolded but you can feel his voice go deeper than usual which makes you all the more hot for him

Now when you tie him up...he becomes a complete mess. He whines and moans, his body shaking so much that you almost feel bad for not letting him touch you, but that's just part of the fun, no? Again, cums a lot faster in this state

He cums a lot- and quickly too. You're lucky he has so much stamina since he cums way before you even come close. After you're both done the bed/wherever you fucked is very very messy- makes him a bit embarrassed but also loves seeing it as a way of claiming you as his own~

Also has a breeding kink, even if you can't have kids hes simply just obsessed with the idea of filling you up and having so many kids with you~

CW: Dub-con and cnc (roleplay kidnapping)

Overall he's very loving, no matter how you want him to fuck you he'll do it and praise you so much while doing so! You're his beloved little rose and he absolutely loves everything about you! ❤️

Although you're his priority and he wants to make sure you enjoy every second of it, he's still quite...obsessive over you- which can lead to him forgetting that this is reality and will fuck the living light out of you to the point that it's just painful- at some point he'll make sure you're okay but he's quick to go back and fucking you dumb

He's a bit addicted to roleplaying as if he kidnapped you, tying you to his bed and just fucking your pretty face drives him insane <3 You spend a lot of time before hand making clear each other's boundaries, and even while roleplaying he can't help but ask if your ok and compliments you so much

[biting-miguel-ohara]

Pretty - Laura Kinney x ftm!Reader

A/N: Oh, I hope this is good 😬 Bold text is Spanish, because Laura speaking Spanish is my absolute favorite; I just didn’t wanna have to put translations, lol. Let me know if I missed any warnings

Written for this request

CW: misery; dysphoria; mild Charles Xavier bashing; dysphoria; Reader kinda has a breakdown; Reader is a mutant, but their powers are not mentioned; crying; Laura is softer but still grumpy in this; Reader is called love; language; unspoken acts of love; Reader wears a binder; ‘I love you’s; soft ending

675 words

It had started with the Professor. You didn’t really blame him, but it was definitely his fault. He’d been the one to insist you come with them on the mission.

You’d missed Laura the whole time, not used to being on a mission away from her. That had made you quietly miserable.

And then one of the members of the crowd afterwards had to go and shout at you. You don’t remember exactly what they said, but they’d called you pretty. Pretty made you think of girls, which brought up your insecurities, and then one thing led to another.

You’re shaking as you get off the jet, barely able to hold back a breakdown. You want to hide. You want to get away. You need Laura.

Logan tries to stop you as you pass, but you brush by him. Tears are already threatening to spill and you hastily wipe at your eyes. He calls out to you, but you ignore him.

You make it to your room and rip off your suit. Shoving it as far out of your sight as you can. You pull on a comfy shirt and curl up in your bed. Pulling the covers up over your head to block out the world.

It doesn’t help with the thoughts, but you can finally cry in peace.

Eventually, the covers are pulled back and she crawls under. Tugging your frame tightly against hers.

“Love, why are you sad?”

You bury your face against Laura’s shoulder, curling your body into hers. “I dunno.”

She gently scratches your back, resting her chin on your head. “That’s stupid. Did someone say something?”

There’s an edge to her voice, and you know she’ll jump to chewing the Professor out the moment you say yes.

You hug her tighter and nod. “It’s dumb. I don’t even remember what they said. It‘s just…”

Words fail you, tears prickling at your eyes again. Your voice cracks when you speak. “They called me pretty, Laura.”

“Those fuckers.” Laura’s voice is a low growl. “I’ll kill them.”

You press your face to her neck. “Not yet. Just stay here for a while?”

She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “Just for you, love.”

You hide with her until Bobby comes around to call everyone for dinner.

Laura gets out of the bed first, rummaging around your dresser and closet. You poke your head out from under the blankets, wiping at your eyes.

She sits next to you, handing you a pile of clothes. “Change. I won’t look.”

You nod and crawl out of bed. She sits with her back to you, not even glancing your way once. It helps calm you a little. She loves you enough to know how to wait.

You look through the bundle of clothes, your heart climbing its way to your throat. It’s your favorite t-shirt and pants, complete with your least itchy binder and some fingerless gloves.

You take your time putting on the clothes, making sure everything is in the right place. Then you hug her from behind. Pressing your face into her neck and closing your eyes. “Thank you.”

She turns her head to kiss your cheek. “Feeling better?”

You nod. “I’m always better with you, Laura.”

She rolls her eyes a little, but a smile twitches at her lips. “Don’t be sappy.”

You smile, pressing a kiss to her cheek in return. “I mean it.”

She grumbles, twisting to hug you properly. “I said, don’t be sappy, idiot. We’re going to miss dinner at this rate.”

You press your forehead to hers, gently rubbing your nose against hers. “I love you.”

She melts after a moment. “Yeah, yeah. I love you too.”

You pull her to her feet and take her hand, entwining your fingers with hers. “Come on. If you promise to watch a movie with me later, I’ll let you chew out the Professor.”

She perks up immediately. “Yes! I promise! That old bastard deserves a good bite!”

You just grin and lead her towards the door.

[cracklinhaze]

Absolutely love your post weirdmageddon Dipper centric fic! Ppl tend to forget that even before all That, the lil guy has always been snarky and protective & Feisty. If anything, what he went thru would def make him even bolder and braver enough to have those traits be more apparent. On another note, I know we saw bits of it on the fic but I just can’t help but be curious on your take of how post Weirdmageddon mabel is doing? Like your head canons and such :O

Hi Anon! <3 Happy Sunday! Thank you so much for your kind words. Dipper Pines being mouthy is one of my favorite things about him.

(For reference: Anon is referring to THIS FIC of mine!)

I would be MORE than happy to lay out some of my post-Weirdmaggedon headcanons for my beloved Mabel Pines.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

✰ Mabel Pines POST-WMAG Headcanons ✰

✰ She and Dipper have their own rooms back in Piedmont. Their parents assume the kids will be excited to have their own space, and they both claim they are. However, Mabel spends the first few months back in California in a sleeping bag on the floor of Dipper's room. Dipper wonders if her own pink, cheery stuffed-animal-littered room reminds her too much of Mabel-Land.

✰ Mabel gets REALLY into scrapbooking. After her scrapbooks saved Stan, she records everything.

✰ She blames herself entirely for Weirdmaggedon. Keeps a smile on her face and the shame shoved way, way down.

✰ Gets caught bringing her grappling hook to school SEVERAL times by teachers. Piedmont MS has a strict "no weapons" policy. She continues to break it. The administration is at their wits end.

✰ When Dipper gets anxious or angry about something to do with Weirdmaggedon, Mabel is the first person to notice. She starts making jokes in a very specific way, entirely directed at him in the hopes he'll be distracted.

✰ Speaking of jokes, Mabel's humor gets DARK. She's got a lot of trauma and nowhere else to put it.

✰ The divorce hits Mabel hard. Even though Dipper thinks he was protecting her from it, she knew. As someone who usually sees the bright side of things, she finds it increasingly hard to rationalize all the bad stuff. The world can end? Love can die? Twins can stop talking to each other for thirty years? Late at night on the floor of Dipper's room, she sometimes stays awake in a numb state of panic.

✰ Mabel's second "first kiss" is freshman year homecoming with the guy she asked to the dance. She teases that it doesn't really count because Dipper didn't kiss him, too.

✰ Sometimes, when Mabel's hair gets really messy (curls, ugh) -- Dipper sits on the floor and helps her untangle it while they watch Ducktective reruns.

✰ After fighting with her hair for too long, Mabel finally cuts it short. Wendy is the first person she texts about it.

✰ Her sophomore year of high school, Mabel goes to a party with some of the more "edgy girls" who are into stick-and-poke tattoos. She does a sort of messy star on her ankle and gets grounded when her parents discover it isn't just sharpie.

✰ Soos, Dipper, and Mabel have virtual game nights where they play shitty browser games on call.

✰ The thing that Mabel fears MOST is losing Dipper the way Ford and Stan lost each other. As Dipper gets more confident and starts making a few more friends at school, interning, and preparing for college, Mabel worries desperately about being left behind.

✰ The moments when Mabel KNOWS they're going to be okay are the times when she and Dipper sit on the couch, scrolling through their phones in mostly silence -- occasionally cracking up and showing each other dumb internet shit. Dipper usually tries to covertly put his cold feet on her. She hits him with pillows.

-----

When I write Mabel, there are a few things I stand by: Mabel Pines is intelligent; she's not the stupid twin. Mabel alleviates her anxiety with humor, silliness, and absurdity -- she chooses underthinking over Dipper's overthinking. She is, in many capacities, just as mature if not more mature than her brother; she worries about him growing up too fast.

If you want more of these, let me know! I am never not thinking about the Pines twins <3

[intoanotherworld23]

Calling You Mine

Pairing: Reader x Bradley Bradshaw

Warnings: just some swear words and mild kissing, someone getting punched

Summary: You haven’t seen Bradley Bradshaw since the two of you broke up, and you run into him at the Hard Deck

If you wish to be added to my Bradley Bradshaw/ Miles teller tag list please don’t hesitate to ask me so I can add you! Heart it! Reblog it! Enjoy it! XOXO

✨Please do not copy and paste my work or take credit for this without my permission or you will be reported✨

It has been too long since you've last been to the Hard Deck. Every memory you've ever had of this place went flashing across your eyes. Smiling to yourself at all the laughs and kisses you shared here.

Bradley Bradshaw was the love of your life and you loved him with every once of your being. The two of you grew up together, and had talk of plans to spend the rest of your lives with one another. The two of you even at one point talked about have little ones running around.

Every pilot always joked with you guys saying how head over heels you guys were. Your dad absolutely loved him and his mom loved you. It was like the two of you were made for each other. Nothing could break the two of you apart.

Frowning once images of him started showing up remembering this was the last place you saw him. This was where you had your big fight that ended your relationship with him. Not even remembering what the fight exactly was about.

It was the worst night of your life when you lost the love of your life. Constantly looking at your phone praying he was going to call or text you but it never happened. The pain was too much you moved to a completely different state.

Seeing him tonight would bring back all those horrible memories and thoughts you had or yourself. Blaming yourself every day for why he left you.

All you know is that you were hoping he wouldn't be here to remind you of everything. Walking inside the bar already seeing that it was filled with people. Almost every person here was in uniform wondering if they were going to be joining in the mission as well.

Seeing the familiar khaki uniforms over by the pool table. Instantly recognizing some of your fellow pilots Coyote, Fanboy, Phoenix, Bob, Payback and Hangman. If they were here surely they all got the same letter as you. They were all the best and they wanted the best.

Your eyes doing a quick glance around seeing if you could see that familiar mustache anywhere. Wherever he was you were surely going to avoid as along as possible. Which was probably going to be damn near impossible.

"He isn't here yet." Pennys voice called out when she noticed your figure standing by the bar looking around.

"Who?" Asking playing dumb damn well knowing she knew exactly.

"Please Y/N I know exactly who it is you're looking for." She scoffed as she grabbed you your drink placing it in front of you. "He usually comes in later than everybody else."

"Does he always come in?" You already knew the answer to that you still just wanted her to say it.

"All the time." She smiled at you and you couldn't help but smile back knowing he's always loved this place when you two were going out.

"It's good to have you back in here." She said as she cleaned out some dirty glasses. "Brings back good old memories."

Nodding your head as you took a sip of your drink avoiding the subject looking back over to your group of friends. Penny knew everything about the two of you, and how close you were with one another. You were like a daughter to her and she hated when he broke up with you how crumbled it left you.

"Do you think he'll be angry if he sees me?" Asking her as she stepped in front of you now placing a rag on her shoulder.

"No I don't think he will." She shook her head as she thought about it.

"Do you think he'll talk to me?" It was a question you didn't want answered but needed to hear something hopeful.

"Probably." Not liking that word or the way she said it. "Which means if he doesn't talk to you you'll just have to talk to him."

"I don't know if I can Penny." Shaking your head as you looked down at your hands on the bar top. "He hates me I know he does."

"Bradley does not hate you." Her voice stern as she gave you a certain look.

"I guess we'll see huh." Grabbing your drink and heading over to your friends not giving her a chance to respond.

Penny knew very well about what happened between you two, and always had hope both of you would make amends. She truly believed the two of you were perfect together, and always told you her feelings.

When you two broke up everyone left it alone, and knew it was a sensitive subject. Everything around you reminded you of him, and surely he was feeling the same. Laying in bed just staring at the ceiling wondering if he would ever speak to you again.

"Hey." A chorus of greetings rang out when they saw you approaching their table.

"Hi guys." Greeting back as you stood by Phoenix giving her a tight hug she was your best friend out of everyone.

"Well we can all go home everyone Y/C/S is here." Patting you on the back as you rolled your eyes at her.

"I'm here." Hangman pointing to himself which was responded with eye rolls.

"Oh shut up Hangman." Phoenix snorted out with a shake of her head. "Need remind you she graduated top of the class."

"Yeah and kicked your ass during training every time." Smirking when you saw it was getting to him as his jaw clenched.

"Not every time." Mumbling to himself as he picked up his pool stick lining up his shot.

"Yeah they only brought you here to make us all feel better." Snapping back making everyone break out into ahh's as they smacked him on the back.

"Ouch sweetheart you're as ruthless with that mouth as you are in the sky." Putting a hand over his chest trying to act like he was wounded.

"Yeah I agree I don't want you to kick my ass in the sky." Coyote joked reminding you the last time you flew together you blew him out of the sky with your skills. "Again."

"Not my fault you're scared of a girl." Shoving his shoulder everyone laughing.

"I'm not scared of a girl." Coyote pushed you back. "I'm scared of you."

"Yeah I don't ever want to face off with you in the sky." Fanboy agreed with Coyote looking over at him. "No offense."

"None taken." Crossing your arms over your stomach as you watched the boys playing pool.

"She doesn't scare me." Recognizing that voice instantly your entire body froze afraid to even turn around.

"Bradshaw as I live and breathe." Hangman smirked at the man getting his attention off you who you still couldn't turn around to face.

"Hangman." His voice stoic as he leaned up against a stool behind him not even acknowledging you. "You look...good."

"Oh I'm good Rooster I'm very good." The blonde haired man cockily said as he shot one of the balls into the pocket.

Feeling someone walk right next to you looking up to see Hangman standing there with a huge grin on his face. You knew exactly what he was about to do, and you just closed your eyes and prepared yourself for whatever was about to happen.

"Doesn't our Y/N here look absolutely stunning." Putting an arm around your shoulders as he moved your body to face towards Bradley. "God I wish you were mine."

Looking up timidly at Bradley whose eyes were now glued to yours. You couldn't tell what kind of emotions were going through his mind but you knew he wasn't happy with Hangman hovering over you like that. He was breathing heavily through his nose not trying to get angry since the two of you were broken up.

Hangman always like to flirt with you when everyone found out you and Bradley were going out. It made it his life's goal to mess with you and say things to piss him off. You could tell it was something that Bradley really didn't like, and he was close to punching Hangman in the face sometimes.

"She's all yours." Sneering through his teeth as he glared at you and Hangman who looked a little surprised at his lack of reaction.

Everyone was standing there awkwardly listening to what was going on. They tried to act like they were doing other things but they wanted to hear what was going on.

You gotta admit hearing Bradley's harsh words stung you. A tiny piece of your heart break at his lack of affection and feelings towards you. Turning your head away from him when you felt your throat start to close up, as you tried to keep yourself from getting too upset.

"I'm getting another refill." Mumbling as you moved Hangman's arm off you practically running back up to the bar.

Penny could see your flustered look and without even responding handed you another drink. Your hands gripped the counter as you tried to control your breathing. You didn't realize seeing him and how little he talked to you would upset you that much.

"He hates me Penny." You stated staring off into the distance not wanting to walk back to them. "He hates me."

"Y/N he doesn't hate you." She stood in front of you throwing a rag on her shoulder. "The two of you just need to talk."

"Penny he pretty much handed me over to Hangman." Throwing your hands up as she gave you a yikes look.

"I am sure he didn't mean it." She was trying her best to make you feel better but it wasn't helping anything.

"Think I should just go home." Feeling defeated as you looked over to Phoenix and Bradley talking.

"You can't go home Y/N." Her voice stern as she spoke not liking your answer. "Just talk to him."

"He won't listen to me." You argued back making her groan.

"You'll never know unless you try." Nodding behind you as you turned around to see Bradley walking straight to you. "Now might be your chance."

Turning back around to face her giving her a help me look but she just shrugged and continued her job. Standing there like a statue as you felt someone now standing next to you already knowing who it was.

"Y/N." Hearing his low voice calling your name felt good. "Can we talk?"

"Yeah what's up?" Trying to act cool like you had no idea what he wanted to even talk about, and he just scoffed at your reaction.

"Can we talk outside?" He asked again nodding his head towards the back deck where there was nobody.

Also noticing that everyone from your group was now standing there watching the two of you. Phoenix looking at you with a reassuring smile and giving you two thumbs up. Hangman looked bored by what was going on and continued to play pool.

"I guess." Sighing as you led the way through the many patrons and headed to the back deck was the noise already went down a few notches.

Wrapping your arms around yourself as the cold beach breeze smacked against your skin. Rocking back and forth on your feet as you avoided eye contact with him. As much as you wanted to look into his eyes if he was going to give a cold shoulder than so we're you.

It's been so long since you and Bradley have spoken and neither of you knew what to say to the other. It was like both of you had so much to say but you just couldn't find the right words to say it.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry." He spoke first and you stopped moving as you looked up at him.

"For what?" Asking him with curiosity to what exactly he was talking about.

"For earlier." Clicking your tongue realizing it wasn't about what actually happened between you two. "I shouldn't have said that."

"No it's fine I'm already over it." Which was a complete lie and he knew that.

"You know I can tell when your lying Y/N." He had a tone of amusement behind his voice as he tried not to smile. "You've never been able to fool me."

"Is that all you wanted to talk about?" Not bothering to respond to what he said watching as his smiled faded.

"No it's not." Shaking his head as he stepped a little closer to you. "I also wanted to apologize for how I ended things."

"The way I ended things with you was completely wrong and I had no right to do that without talking to you first." You could have sworn you were holding your breath the whole time.

"You're right you were a dick to me." Finding your voice as you snapped back at him. "Not even explain to me why you broke up with me."

"I'm sorry believe me I am I wish I could go back and do things all over again." Slowly leaning forward to press his forehead against yours.

Both of you standing there without exchanging any words and enjoying being with each other again. Smiling to yourself feeling like you finally got your Bradley back. It felt so good to have him touching you and holding you like this again. Not wanting him to let go of you in fear this was all a dream.

It was like you back in time before you broke up remembering how he would always just hold you like this. Sometimes he would even start dancing around the parking lot making you laugh as other stared at you like you two were crazy.

"Why did you break up with me?" You couldn't help but ask wanting to know his exact reason.

"I was just angry and I thought you were acting out on purpose." Now you were even more confused as to what he was talking about.

"What are you talking about?" Questions him as you scrunched your face up. "Whadda ya mean how I was acting out?"

"That night Hangman was all over you and you were flirting back and it really pissed me off." You we're about to respond when he put his hands up to let him finish. "I confronted Hangman to leave you alone."

"That's when he said you two dated before and were sleeping together." You swear your jaw dropped down to the floor in shock by what he was telling you and you didn't know whether to he disgusted or pissed off,

"Excuse me?" Screaming at Bradley as he looked at you nervously judging by your reaction it wasn't true. "That is further from the truth."

"I know I know I wasn't thinking clearly." Putting his hands up when he watched you walking back and forth trying to control your anger. "I should have talked to you but I just assumed it was true."

"Your damn right you should have talked to me first." Shaking your head at him as you scoffed. "I would have never ever dated Hangman let alone sleep with him."

"Seeing him touch you like that tonight brought back memories and I just got angry." He was sounding angry himself and beating himself up for letting you go like that.

"Wait a minute." You stopped him from talking as you thought back to what he just told you. "So Hangman told you specifically that we dated and were sleeping together?"

All Bradley did was nod at you and that was enough to send you sprinting back into Hard Deck looking for that cocky blonde asshole. Looking to see him still standing with everyone laughing and joking which only fueled your anger.

"Hey sweetheart decide to join us again?" Hangman smirked as he started walking towards you Bradley right behind you as you brought your hand back punching him square in the jaw.

"Oh shit." Bradley spoke as everyone in the bar stopped what they were doing to watch everything unfold.

Phoenix looked proud of you and wishes she could have done what you did. Some of the guys felt bad for him but knew it was a long time coming. It was just a matter of time before someone punched him even more so a woman.

Bradley looked at you like a proud father who wished he had been recording it so he could play it back over and over. Hands on his hips as he stood right behind you in case you wanted to keep going. The last thing he wanted was for the admiral to find out and kick you off this mission.

"You son of a bitch." Screaming at him as he grabbed his jaw moving it to make sure it wasn't broken. "You told Bradley we dated and slept together?"

"What?" Phoenix exclaimed as she looked at the three of you shocked and wanting answers.

"Didn't think he would actually believe it." Shrugging his shoulders as you started moving forward only to be grabbed by Bradley.

"Don't you ever say anything like that again or I swear to god I'll kill you." Pointing a finger at him in warning making him put his hands up in defense.

"Yes ma'am." Quickly nodding his head as everyone around him chuckled at how terrified he was of you.

"Let's go." Bradley whispered in your ear rubbing his hands up and down your arms pulling you away.

Walking out with Bradley behind you people cheered you on even Penny. Who lifting up a glass to you with a huge smile on her face making you laugh. It felt so good to do that and you didn't realize how much you wanted to do that until now.

"I gotta admit." Bradley spoke stopping you by grabbing onto your waist turning you to face him as he smirked at you. "That was pretty hot what you did."

"Thanks." Smiling up at him as he stared down at your lips and then back up to your eyes.

"Can I kiss you?" He timidly asked afraid you would say no and walk away.

"I thought you'd never ask." Wrapping your arms around his neck Bradley smiling showing off his teeth as he pulled you flush against him his lips on yours.

——————————————

Tag list for Miles Teller/Bradley Bradshaw: @mak-32 @florencediet @maverick-wingman @khaylin27 @angeeeelinx @allie131313 @phantomxoxo @katieshook02 @alanadetigy @bradleysgirl @acesofspadess @hotch-meeeeeuppppp @classyunknownlover @o-the-o-grim-o-reaper-o @roosterforme @mushy-mushroom04 @rosiahills22 @pedrohoe04 @fandom-life-12 @noz4a2 @rossylightwood @itsdesiree86 @topgunbb @sexytholland @spaceygirly1 @oxxolovemelikeyoudooxxo @abaker74 @tallrock35 @ondina-granger @blackcatdhisgf @dreaminglandsworld @bangsterz @k-k0129 @roosterschanelslut @ishipit1420 @atarmychick007 @artemissunn @michaelaandthediamonds-blog @adoringsebstan @sydneejean @igotmajordaddyissues @m-rae23 @alana4610 @calsjack

Tag list for everything: @iam-laiya @rosie-posie08 @madzleigh01 @alwaysclassyeagle @mytbel0st @shanimallina87 @marvelstarker-mha98

[pedrito-friskito]

strawberry wine - joel miller x ofc!liv stone/fem!reader

after - part thirty-two

SERIES MASTERLIST | MAIN MASTERLIST | READ ON AO3

crossing the river of death puts you in a precarious position.

a/n: I HAVE RETURNED LOOK AT ME GO. y’all aren’t read for the end of this chapter, or what’s around the corner!! thank you all for such a warm welcome back 🤍

word count: 7.1k

warnings: y’all know the drill. no smut here.

✨@friskito-library for updates on new parts/works✨

You find a better rhythm. With a direction in mind, you find it easier to pull your feet through the snow, your eyes trained on the back of Joel’s head. Ellie hovers somewhere in the middle of you two, her eyes downcast, refusing to look at you. Not that you blame her.

She has every right to be pissed at you, snapping at her like that. You know she was just concerned about Joel, and by extension, concerned about what would happen to the two of you if he was gone. But it was like she had reached into your heart, yanked out your worst fear, and thrown it in your face.

Because you’re fucking worried about him.

The cold still bites. The soup left a lingering warmth in your bones, but it has since faded away, leaving you just as chilled as you were before. Your feet hurt, your back aches, every scar on your body seems to thump with every step you take.

There’s something to be said for the landscape. The snow-capped mountains and deep valleys. You’ve yet to reach the River of Death, but you find stretches of land that aren’t coated in white, and your feet are eternally grateful.

After a good few hours of walking, Joel calls you to stop and hands you the rifle, disappearing around a tree. You and Ellie sit in awkward silence for a few moments, but your mouth won’t stay shut.

“I’m sorry for snapping at you like that,” you say, stepping closer to her and nudging her with your shoulder. “I didn’t mean for it to come out that way I just…” You trail off, looking in the direction Joel went.

“You’re worried about him,” she finishes, something way too wise in her voice for a fourteen-year-old.

“More worried than I’ve ever been,” you reply, digging your hands into the pockets of your coat. “He’s not okay, and I don’t know how to fix it, and when you asked if he was dying I…” You trail off again, unable to finish that sentence. “He’s the only reason I’m alive, Ellie,” you tell her, eyes stinging, “and I mean that in every sense.”

For a moment, you consider telling her. We’re not so different, you and I. You consider showing her the bite, telling her that you get it, that in a way, you understand what she’s going through and what she’s been through. The curious part of you wonders if she’d give you her own story, if she’d tell you what happened, but the protective part of you doesn’t want to know, doesn’t think you could stomach it.

“You two are fucked up,” she tells you before you can open your mouth again, “but like, in a good way?”

You bark a laugh despite the tears crawling up your throat. “Thanks, kid.”

Joel reappears, his brow furrowed, hand curling around your elbow when he’s close enough, leaning in to drop a kiss at your temple. Ellie makes a retching noise and he rolls his eyes at her. “Let’s go.”

And you fall back into the rhythm once more.

+

Whatever rift had formed between you and Ellie, Joel can see that it’s gone as he steps around the trees, watching you two for a moment, just talking. He can’t hear what you’re saying, though the expression on his face makes him think you’re about to cry. But before he can barrel forward and jump to your rescue, you laugh, a genuine smile on your face, and for a moment, he lets himself bask in it, forgetting everything he’s feeling, everything he’s carrying.

He can still remember the first time he made you smile.

The first day he walked into the hardware store. He was struck dumb the moment he rounded the aisle and saw you standing there. Made an absolute fool of himself, tripping over his words as he asked you for a drill bit, anxiety twisting his gut when he realized you didn’t have a name tag or anything confirming you actually worked there. But you’d indulged him, assuring him you did in fact work there and helping him find what he was looking for before turning on your heel and giving him an eyeful of your ass as you walked away.

It was when he walked up to the cash. He stumbled his way through another conversation, asking you if you were new to Austin, that he hadn’t seen before. And he knew he’d have remembered you. Yours wasn’t a face he would be forgetting anytime soon.

And you smiled as you answered, your eyes flicking from his to the cash register to the drill bit he was purchasing. It was an easy smile, relaxed, just simple conversation to you. But it was the kind of smile that reached your eyes, making them crinkle at the edges, making his heart riot around in his throat.

Joel had no idea back then that he was falling in love with you on the spot, but looking back, it’s easy to see.

You had him — hook, line, and sinker — the moment you smiled.

Now, he just needs to get close to you. He grabs your elbow as soon as he’s able, pulling you against him. Your warmth envelops him like a blanket, a comfort, and he kisses your temple, inhales the scent of you. You all smell awful, granted, but it’s still there, that thread of you beneath the dirt and blood and grime.

Ellie fake-gags and he rolls his eyes. “Let’s go.”

You walk side-by-side for a while, your hand wrapped in his, covering his bad side as always. Ellie walks ahead of the two of you, boots trudging through the snow, dead rabbit dangling from her backpack. You have your new bat propped against your shoulder, careful of the barbed wire, and despite that persistent ache in his chest, he grins.

You catch him, your brow lifting in question, but he can see the shake of your lips, the blue lining the edge of them. You’re freezing. “What?”

“Nothin’,” he replies, a slight shake of his head. “You just look all badass, carryin’ that scary bat of yours.”

Your grin is bigger than his, holding the thing out in front of you. “It’s not a perfect replacement, but I’ll make it work.”

Joel squeezes your hand. “Damn right, you will.”

The sun has hidden itself behind the mountains by the time you come upon the river. The air has gotten colder and Joel can hear your teeth chattering.

“The River of Death!” Ellie declares, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Scary.”

Joel sighs as you all come to a stop, looking down at the river below. “Don’t start.” He pulls you close, tucks you under his arm, trying to give you some of his warmth. “It’s too close to dark, and we need to get  warm. There’s some caves along the river; we’ll set up camp there, cross in the mornin’.”

He looks down at you, and you just nod, burying your face in his coat.

“Good,” Ellie agrees. “I’m starving.”

“Me too,” you say, voice muffled by the leather. 

“Should’ve stolen two rabbits,” she continues and Joel shakes his head.

“We can get our own rabbits.”

“You gonna teach me how?” the kid asks, perking up at the mere thought.

Joel gives her a long stare, inhaling deeply, feeling your hand press against his back. “Just keep movin’.”

She sighs and turns on her heel, starting to walk away.

“It’s not a bad idea,” you say, peeking your face up at Joel. Your lips are almost bright blue and worry lances through him. “She knows how to shoot, she might as well know how to hunt. I should know too, y’know, in case—” You cut yourself short, eyes flaring with the unsaid words, but Ellie’s voice rings out in his head.

If you’re dead, we’re fucked.

“Come on,” he mutters, forcing himself to ignore the wheeze in his breath. “We need to get you warm.”

+

Joel picks a cave not far from the bridge that’ll take you across the river, but it’s far enough out that you’re out of sight, and he deems it safe enough to build a fire. Which you’re now sat in front of, as close as you can get without burning the ends of your hair, both sleeping bags wrapped around your shoulders. Joel made coffee and sat beside you for a good hour, rubbing his hands over your shoulders, trying to help you get warm. He only got up when the fire started to die, in search of more wood to add.

Now, he’s sat beside you, rummaging through your bag or his, you can’t be sure. You watch as he produces the roll of duct tape you’d found in the watchtower, sliding one foot in front of him as he tries to find the end of the tape. Once he does, he wraps his boot three times over, bites the edge to tear it off before smoothing the end into place.

He catches you staring as he presses down on the tape. “What is it, baby?”

You shake your head, not realizing how rapt you’d been, watching his movements. “Nothing. Just…should have tried to find boots for you before we…” You trail off, rolling your lips together. “M’sorry, is all.”

“Liv, you don’t need to be sorry,” he tells you, tossing the tape back into the bag and sliding across the ground, closer to you. “You scoured every inch of that store; I watched you do it.” He reaches down, raps his hand against the side of the boot. “They’re still intact, mostly. I can still walk. It’s fine, okay? You don’t need to be sorry.”

He wraps his arm around your sleeping bag-covered shoulders and tucks you under his arm. You sink into his warmth, the feeling finally returning to your fingers and toes. You feel him shuffle slightly, reaching into his coat, and then something silver is pushed under your nose.

“Think this’ll help warm you up?” Joel asks, and your eyes nearly bug out of your skull when you see the flask in his hand.

“Where’d you find that?” you nearly gasp, snatching it from him. You shake it slightly, feeling the slosh of liquid inside. “It’s full?”

“Nicked it from the old folks,” he admits, giving you a boyish grin that momentarily eases the worry you’re still holding onto. “Saw a few other bottles tucked away in there, they won’t miss it.”

“Joel Miller, you thief.”

His eyes are shining as he unscrews the cap, taking a quick whiff before tipping the flask up to his lips. He actually makes a face, features pinching in a scowl, and you laugh. “That’s strong.”

“Good,” you say, taking the flask as he offers it. “Then it’ll definitely keep me warm.”

He’s not wrong. The liquor burns on the way down, nearly making you cough up a lung like some college girl doing shots of tequila. But once you get one sip down, the warmth spreads through you from the inside, and you take another.

When you go for a third, Joel stops you. “Easy, tiger,” he laughs, closing the flask. “We gotta ration this shit even more than those coffee beans.”

“Good point.”

You sink back against him, warm inside and out now. Your eyes snag on his duct-taped boots and there’s a pang in your chest, but you push it away. You’ll get across the river in the morning and you’ll find something. You’ll be damned if you let him walk another day in those boots.

You can almost feel yourself dozing off against Joel’s chest when an awestruck woah! fills your ears. You glance up, spotting Ellie atop the rock she’d climbed up as soon as you’d made camp. The protective part of you wanted to bark at her to get her ass back down on solid ground, but you let her go. And now, you can see you were right to do so.

She has an obstructed view of the sky overhead. The darkness shimmers with streaks of green, the Northern Lights dancing across the stretch of black, dotted with stars. The fire crackles in front of you and Joel tosses another thick branch onto it, wrapping his arm around your waist as you adjust yourselves.

It’s Joel that interrupts Ellie’s sky-gazing, and the protective part of you is thrilled that he does. He gives a whistle and she turns, wide-eyed. “Come down from there,” he calls. “You’re gonna break your neck.”

She turns back, face tilted back up to the sky, and for a moment, you think she’ll pull the defiant teenager act and tell him to go to hell, but she doesn’t. You hear her boots touch down a moment later, snow crunching on impact, and she rounds the rock, coming to the fire and taking a seat across from the pair of you.

Joel shuffles and your eyes catch the silver glint of the flask. “What happened to rationing?” you mumble, chuckling as he tilts it to his mouth.

Ellie doesn’t miss a beat. “Can I have some?”

He shakes his head as he hands you the flask. “No.”

“What? Just to warm up,” she protests, her eyes sliding to you as you take a sip and try not to wince. “C’mon.”

You can hear Joel start to form the second no, but you beat him to it, screwing the lid on and tossing it at her. She’s beaming as she catches the flask, opening the lid and giving you both a little salute before taking a sip.

Her dramatic cringe makes you laugh and you can feel a chuckle rumble through Joel.

“Yep,” she declares, her face screwed up as she reaches across to hand the flask back to Joel. “Still gross.”

“Still?” you ask, lifting a brow.

Her eyes go wide as she looks at you. “I mean…ew.”

You bark a laugh, taking another sip after Joel. You’re suitably warmed, you decide, as the liquor slides down your throat. “Well, whatever you had before, I hope it was better than that.”

It’s silent for a moment as you all settle back. You can feel Ellie’s eyes on you from across the fire as Joel moves his arm up to your shoulders, rubbing his hand up and down your bicep. 

“You okay, kid?”

“Yeah,” she starts, looking down at her lap. “Yeah, I was just…You’d be a really cool mom, Liv.”

You’re not expecting her admission, and it manages to hit you like a ton of bricks. Your body goes nearly rigid and you feel Joel tense beside you, like he’s waiting for something.

Ellie gives you a soft smile and you school your face neutral, not wanting to give away the way your mind is spinning.

“Thanks, Ellie.”

Her eyes turn back to the fire and you feel Joel’s lips near your ear. Your mind is going a million miles a minute, blood thumping through your ears. All you can think about is Emily and Henry, Sarah, the kids you’ve held so dear to your heart all these years. You’d make a cool mom. 

Yeah, you like to think you would have.

And the fierce girl sitting across the fire from you, who’s managed to worm her way into your heart, hearing her say it out loud? It’s a punch to the gut, in a good way.

“You okay?” Joel murmurs, the words barely above a whisper. You nod slightly, leaning your head against his, your hand reaching out to cover his knee, palm rubbing at his jeans.

“So I’ve been thinking,” Ellie says, her voice cutting through the crackle of the fire. “Let’s say we find the Fireflies, it all works, they draw my blood and put it through some of their fancy machines and make a cure.”

Your brow furrows slightly as you draw your legs up to your chest, still huddled against Joel. You can hear the question in his voice when he says, “Okay?”

“Then what?” she asks. “Like, what do we do?”

“Oh, it’s we?” Joel quips, and you smack his chest, lifting your head slightly to shoot him a glare.

Ellie rolls her eyes. “Okay, fine, whatever, you two then. You can do anything you want. Where are you going? What are you doing?”

You sit up fully, your eyes staying on Joel. You want to hear his answer.

“It’s never been an option,” he says, meeting your gaze, clearing his throat. You can see him searching for the words, but his eyes don’t leave your face as he gives his answer. “Maybe…an old farmhouse, some land, a ranch.”

Your brows lift. It’s not the answer you’re expecting, but it paints a picture in your mind all the same. A vivid one.

“Cool,” Ellie says, a smile in her voice. “What kind?”

“Sheep,” he says, and your brows shoot up. “I would raise sheep. They’re quiet, do what they’re told.”

There’s a point to his comment and you roll your eyes, turning your head to look at Ellie, who chuckles. “Yeah, yeah, okay. So, just you and Liv and a bunch of sheep. Sounds romantic.” She reaches over and pokes you in the arm. “You’re down with the sheep ranch?”

You scoff a little laugh, turning back to Joel. He’s still looking at you, his eyes glittering in the firelight. “I go where he goes,” you say with a shrug. “Doesn’t matter to me. Sheep, pigs, chickens, whatever. I always liked horses.”

Joel pulls you back to his side, fingers curling around your wrist and tugging you against him. You go willingly, glad to be enveloped in his warmth again, slinging your arm around his waist.

“And what about you?” he asks Ellie over your head. “Where are you gonna go?”

Her face goes almost wistful as she looks up at the sky, the stars and the full moon and the glimmer of the Northern Lights. “It’s probably because I grew up in the QZ,” she starts. “Behind you, there’s ocean, and ahead of you, there’s a wall. Nowhere else to look but up. I read everything I could in the school library. Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Jim Lovell. But you know who my favourite is?”

The passion in her eyes is infectious.

“Sally Ride,” Joel answers almost instantly and your brow twitches.

“Sally fuckin’ Ride!” Ellie repeats, triumphant. “Best astronaut name ever.”

But then she catches herself. You watch it happen, see the passion and excitement give way to something solemn and heavy.

“It’ll work, right? The vaccine?”

How this kid has managed to bowl you over with her words twice in the space of ten minutes is beyond you.

“It’s a little late to start wonderin’,” Joel grumbles, and if you weren’t stuck still, you’d smack him.

“I tried, with Sam,” Ellie admits, and your breath whooshes out of your lungs. After she told you, back in the hotel bathroom in Kansas City, you never told Joel. You weren’t actively trying to keep it from him, it just…

“Tried what?” Joel asks.

Her eyes shoot to you for a moment before she answers. “I knew he was Infected. I rubbed some of my blood into his bite.” You hear Joel’s sharp inhale and Ellie’s eyes flutter close, shaking her head against his impending anger. “I know, I know, it was stupid, but…I wanted to save him.”

Joel’s gripping your shoulder so tight you can feel every finger and you snake your hand up his coat, pressing your own fingers to his ribs. “Well, I reckon it’s a lot more complicated than that,” he tells her, his voice almost soft, and something in you swells at the thread of comfort in his tone. “Marlene, she’s a lot of things, but…she’s no fool. If she says they can do it, they can do it.”

The mention of her name makes you bristle, but you play it off, ducking your head against Joel’s side. Silence settles over the camp for a moment, only the sound of the crackling fire and the wildlife echoing through the night.

You can’t tell if Ellie’s pleased with Joel’s answer or not, but she changes the subject. “I can take a watch tonight, if you guys both wanna get some shuteye.”

Joel shakes his head, his chin rubbing over the crown of your hair. “I’ll take both. Get some sleep.” He pauses as she gets to her feet, and you follow suit, grabbing the rifle from where it’s propped against the rock you’ve been leaning on. “Dream of…sheep ranches on the moon.”

Ellie nods, and you see the corner of her mouth twitch. “I will.”

She disappears into the cave where you’d set up the sleeping bags and Joel grunts as he straightens, taking the rifle when you offer it. “And what should I dream about?”

You see the question sink in, his features twisting from hard to soft in a split second. Joel slings the rifle onto his shoulder and reaches up, curling his fingers in the collar of your sweatshirt, pulling you into him. “Baby, you should dream about a ranch too,” he tells you, leaning in until your nose nudges his. “Maybe not on the moon, but a ranch. Somewhere quiet, safe, warm.” He drops his jaw, giving you a soft kiss. Soft, but urgent, the kind that makes you want to melt into him. “Big ol’ bed upstairs, so I can have you whenever I want and not fuck up my knees.”

You bark a laugh against his mouth, kissing him again, hooking a finger into his belt. “Something tells me you’ll be too busy with your sheep.”

“Nuh-uh,” he protests, shaking his head, nose brushing yours. “Never too busy for my wife.”

You roll your eyes, lifting up on your toes as you wrap your arms around his neck, another kiss pressed to his mouth. It’s deeper, more demanding on your end, though you know it’s not the place or the time. The picture in your mind grows more and more vivid as you let your mind run with it, allowing yourself to feel like it’s a possibility.

If it works.

When you finally come up for air, Joel sinks back half a step, his lips swollen, and for half a second, you feel like that young girl in the hardware store, absolutely rabid for the man before you, stealing kisses in the alleyway. “Liv,” he says.

“Joel, are you—” you say at the same time, cutting each other off. Your unfinished question hangs in the air and you wonder if the worry you just tried to chase away, tried to bury under his musings of the future, is plain as day on your face.

You don’t wait long enough to tell, reaching up to rub your thumb across his bottom lip before turning on your heel and heading for the cage, calling over your shoulder to him, “Wake me for second watch.”

+

It’s not Joel that wakes you, but a bleary-eyed Ellie. She has the rifle in her hand, and as you blink sleep away, you can see that the sky is starting to brighten. What time…?

“Joel fell asleep,” she tells you as you sit up, rubbing a hand over your face. Sure enough, you look over, and Joel is sprawled on the floor at the mouth of the cave, head propped on your backpack. “I’ve been up a couple hours,” she continues, talking around a yawn, “but I don’t know how long he’s been out for.”

As silently as possible, you get to your feet, taking the rifle from Ellie. “Go lay down,” you tell her, slinging the gun over your shoulder. “I’ve slept long enough.”

She nods, brushing past you as you head for the cave’s entrance. You crouch near Joel, put a gentle hand on his chest, just to make sure he’s still breathing. He mumbles something unintelligible in his sleep, heart thumping against your palm, and it’s proof enough. 

You rebuild the fire as you wait out the morning, the quiet sounds of the forest surrounding you. The rush of the river is faint from where you’re camped, and the sun tries to peek out around the clouds, the sky overcast again.

Maybe an hour later, Ellie re-emerges, sleeping bag wrapped around her shoulders, and parks herself next to you beside the fire. “Couldn’t sleep?” you ask, and she just grumbles, tilting her head onto your shoulder. You’re sat with the rifle between your knees, boots propped in the dirt, and you let yourself get lost in the flicker of the fire, the crackle of the logs, the far-off birdsong that makes the whole world seem less…bleak.

Every so often, Joel makes a noise, and your eyes dart over to where he’s laid out on the ground. “Still mumbling in his sleep,” Ellie whispers. Your jaw goes tight with every sound, ears perking to see if you can make it out, if he’s having a nightmare or a panic attack or—

There’s a scuffling sound, and he shoots upright, gasping.

“Liv!”

Ellie startles beside you with a quiet groan, and you get to your feet, leaving the rifle in her lap as you walk toward the cave. “I’m here, Joel,” you call, crouching before him, taking in his confused expression, the panic in his eyes. “Hey, we’re okay. Ellie woke up early and you were asleep. You never woke me up, so she took second watch and I took third.” You grab his wrist, pressing your fingers hard against his pulse. “Everything’s okay.”

He looks over your shoulder, his eyes going wide, and points at Ellie with the hand you’re not holding. “You gotta wake me up if that happens,” he scolds, pulling away from you and getting to his feet. You follow suit, putting yourself between the two of them. “You can’t do things like this, Ellie.”

“But I can,” she throws back, “and I did. You needed the sleep.”

Joel goes rigid, his jaw tight, looking at you, but you just lift a shoulder.

“I’m responsible for you,” he says, looking back at Ellie, then back at you. “Both of you.”

“Then don’t fall asleep,” Ellie retorts. “I was quiet, I checked my six, I looked for tracks, I found the high ground, and I kept watch. When I got too tired, I woke Liv up. Just like you taught me.” Pride swells in your chest and you bite back your grin. “What can I say, man? I’m a natural.”

You nearly sputter out a laugh, but Joel’s dry-as-all-hell uh-huh makes the noise die in your throat as he snatches the rifle from Ellie. They’re both quiet as he slings it over his shoulder, Ellie giving you a sideways glance, but then Joel gives her a nod, and you know it’s the closest thing she’s gonna get to an attagirl. 

“You wake me up next time,” he tells her, his brow hard, but it’s with concern, not anger. “Or Liv. Understood?”

“Yes, sir,” Ellie says, giving him a smug smile.

You cross your arms over your chest, watching them a moment longer before, “If you two are done, can we pack up and get this show on the road?” Joel grumbles at you as you brush past, but you just lean up on your toes as you do, brushing a kiss across his mouth. “Good morning.”

“Mornin’,” he mumbles, and returns your kiss with his own. 

+

It’s starting to snow as the bridge that will take you across the River of Death comes into view. Joel’s had you keep to the trees, and the warning shot he makes with the rifle makes your ears ring, but sends a flock of geese into the sky, their honking sure to rouse any other creatures nearby.

You wait a few minutes and…nothing.

“The River of Death,” Ellie muses, “and still no people.”

“Fine,” Joel sighs, and steps out of the tree line, the rifle still raised, ready to shoot if the need arises. You and Ellie follow him down the snowbank, and into the thicker copse of trees that leads toward the bridge. It’s oddly pretty, in a way. The wrought iron beams blanketed with snow, the trees that have started to encroach on the metal. It doesn’t so much as creak as you step onto it, the only sound is the soft crunch of snow beneath your boots.

Ellie keeps looking back over her shoulder, and you nudge her with your elbow after the third time. “We’re good,” you tell her, trying to be reassuring, and she just nods.

“I know.”

You make it across the bridge with no incident, but you’re the first to admit that the air feels different this side of the river. Still just as cold and biting as before, but…

You have no idea what’s coming.

It’s just as much walking, though you’re glad for the flatter stretch of land ahead of you. 

Joel and Ellie only keep up their comedy from the morning; at least it helps pass the time.

It starts with Ellie making some strange breathing sound. You ignore the first squeak, but when she keeps it up, you shoot her a look. “I’m learning how to whistle,” she tells you, thumb and middle finger jammed either side of her mouth.

“You don’t know how to whistle?” Joel asks, like it’s the most ridiculous thing he’s ever heard.

“Does it sound like I know how to whistle?” Ellie throws back.

“…no,” comes Joel’s response, and you toss your head back and laugh.

She keeps doing it, blowing around her fingers, clearly annoyed. “Seriously though, how the fuck do you do that?”

“Talent,” he answers.

Ellie rolls her eyes. “Whatever.”

When she looks at you, though, you lift your hands in surrender. “Don’t look at me, I can’t do it either. Not like that, anyway.”

A bit more walking, and Ellie has put herself at the front of the pack, walking backwards as she talks to you. Well, more to Joel.

“You should teach me how to hunt.”

“Huh,” is all he gives her.

“Huh,” she repeats, dropping her voice, “like, she’s a girl, she can’t handle it.”

“You can handle the shootin’,” he tells her, speeding up to walk past her. “Not so sure about the dressin’.”

“What’s the dressin’?” she asks, and you can’t hide the way your gut rolls as a memory bubbles up.

“The part where you take the guts out.”

“Oh yeah,” Ellie breezes, so nonchalant. “Why do they call it dressing? It’s like, they should call it undressing, cuz it is, it’s like undressing from the inside.”

“Can we talk about something else please?” you shout, squeezing your eyes shut to hide your nausea. When you open them again, Joel’s looking at you, the corner of his lips twitching. “Joel, please.”

“What?” Ellie asks, looking between the two of you. “What, what is it?”

“We used to go huntin’ out near Lincoln,” Joel says, and you groan, stomping your way past them, but not going out of earshot. “Nothin’ big, just rabbits, turkeys, that sort of thing. Bill liked rabbits, and after we got back, we skinned ‘em and dressed ‘em and hung ‘em up in the garage, but forgot to tell Liv that we had.”

“Oh, gross,” Ellie cries, and you whirl.

“Not just hung up in the garage, Joel Miller, you tell the whole story.” He’s pressing his lips together, trying not to laugh, and you’re trying not to punch him. “Tell her how you left the fuckin’ bucket of guts in there, too, and then asked me to go find a wrench or something and that’s the first thing I see.”

“I think that’s the loudest I ever heard you scream, baby,” he says, chuckling around the words. “All honesty, my first thought was an Infected had gotten inside somehow, even though I knew it was next to impossible at Bill and Frank’s. I go tearing in there and she’s flat on her ass, that bucket of guts is everywhere, and she’s got her hands over her face, refusing to open her eyes.”

“I tripped,” you spit, crossing your arms over your chest. “Which could have been easily avoided if you’d just told me there were dead animals strung up in there!”

“Oh, baby,” he croons, closing the distance between you and hooking his arm around your neck, dragging you into him. “You’re not really still mad about that, are ya?”

You roll your eyes, ignoring him and looking at Ellie. “I still can’t look at rabbits the same way. That one we took the other day gave me nightmares.”

Ellie just laughs.

Joel presses a sloppy kiss to the corner of your mouth and you shove at him halfheartedly. Their giggles subside and you keep on, following the river until you find yourselves standing over a—

“Dam.”

You scoff, nudging Ellie’s shoulder. “You’re just full of the puns today, aren’t you?”

“Eh, she’s no Will Livingston,” Joel says, referencing the joke book that’s been your comic relief many a night since she’d first pulled out the puns.

“Yeah, but who is?” she grins, then juts her chin toward the dam, the rushing water below. “So that thing made electricity?”

“Yeah,” Joel answers, but starts to turn away as he continues, “but don’t ask me. I don’t have a clue.”

Her eyes shift to you and you bark a laugh. “He doesn’t know, and you think I do?”

“You know, you could’ve just made something up!” she laughs, and the pair of you follow after Joel. “I would have believed you.”

You keep walking, find yourself following another river, and you’re revelling in the feeling of the sun on the back of your neck, honest-to-god warmth on your skin despite the chill in the air.

“Look at that river; it’s crazy blue.”

Ellie trails behind a little and you tap Joel’s back to get him to stop, turning back to her. “El, what is it?”

She’s stopped in place, boots planted in the snow, staring out at the water. “What if this is the River of Death? What if the other one was just…”

Joel’s brow goes hard as he pulls out the map, staring down at it as he turns slightly, angling your steps in a slightly different direction. You tug on Ellie’s sleeve, trying to get her to follow when the sound of horses fills your ears.

They’ve over the ridge in an instant, hoofbeats thudding against the snow, kicking up sprays behind them. Ellie reaches for your hand and you grab her, positioning yourself in front of her as Joel steps in front of you, trying to find an opening as the horses and their riders surround you from all sides.

“Stay behind me,” Joel grits over his shoulder at you and you look to Ellie, lifting a brow. She nods in understanding and you do your best to ignore the twist in your stomach. They have guns, you realize. All of them. Pointed at you. “Put your hands in the air,” he says, and you listen, motioning for Ellie to do the same.

The wind howls, but even it’s not loud enough to cover up the thunder of your heartbeat in your ears.

“We ain’t lookin’ for any trouble,” Joel calls out, his tone placating. “We’re just passin’ through.”

“Drop the gun,” one of the riders calls and your breath stalls as Joel does as the man says, pulling the rifle from his shoulder and setting it down in the snow. “You,” the same rider calls, his eyes pinned on Ellie, “take five steps back.”

She stares at you, fear making her eyes big and wet and you almost drop your hands while Joel tries to reason. “How ‘bout we just talk this through?”

“How about you shut the fuck up?” the rider throws back. He has his gun trained on Joel, and the one to the left of him has one trained on you.

“Okay, easy,” Joel responds, and turns slightly, looking past you at Ellie. “You’ll be okay.”

She moves back slowly, and every step she takes feels like a punch in your gut.

“You been near Infected?” the rider calls.

“There’s no Infected out here,” you respond, finding your voice somewhere amidst your terror.

“The hell there ain’t,” the rider says, shaking his head. He whistles, the sound loud and sharp, and a dog starts barking in response. Your heart has now climbed into your throat as one of the other men leads the dog forward. “Last chance for a bullet. If you’ve been Infected, he will smell it, and he will rip you up.” The dog keeps barking, and your head is a mess of noise, your heartbeat and the barking and Joel’s you’ll be okay playing on a loop. If that thing gets close to either of you, you or Ellie, then—

It stops barking as soon as the man unclips the leash, and heads for Joel first. You’re holding your breath, frozen in place, as the dog sniffs at Joel’s boots. It jumps up, plants its front legs on his waist, cocks its head to the side as it looks at him. Joel’s just looking at the riders, and you’re grateful he’s not looking your way.

Apparently satisfied, the dog jumps down from Joel and turns tail, heading back to the man with the leash. “Like I said,” Joel says, “we’ll just move on.”

But the rider isn’t having it. “Now her,” he says, pointing the gun at Ellie.

It takes everything in you not to throw yourself in front of her. Joel looks at Ellie, then you, panic blooming in his eyes as the dog starts padding toward her. At the last second, it veers off, coming toward you instead, and the scar on your side seems to throb in response.

The dog sniffs at your boots the same way it had Joel’s, jumps up and puts a paw on your stomach as it sniffs more. You keep your eyes trained ahead, refusing to look at either of them until the dog drops down at heads for Ellie.

It barks once, and then Ellie starts to giggle.

You turn to look, your frozen state melting away, and find the dog licking her face, Ellie laughing away as she pets the dog. The man whistles again and the dog darts off. Ellie gets to her feet, and you try to angle yourself in front of her again, swallowing back the anxiety that just ripped through you.

“You just bought yourself ten more seconds,” the rider says, his gun now pointed at you. Somehow you feel more at ease with a gun trained on you than you did with the Infected-sniffing dog. “What are you doin’ out here?”

“I’m just lookin’ for my brother,” Joel calls back. “That’s all, nothin’ more.”

One of the riders toward the back of the circle, a dark-skinned woman with a mask covering half her face, cowboy hat on her head, nudges her horse forward, moving past the interrogating rider. The horse trots up until there’s only a few feet between it and Joel, before she pulls on the reins to stop it.

“What’s your name?” she asks, her eyes darting between you and Joel.

“Joel,” he responds, turns slightly and gestures to you, “and my wife, Liv.”

She juts her chin in Ellie’s direction. “And the girl?”

“My niece,” you say instantly, the lie spilling out before you can stop it. You hold your hand back toward Ellie and when she takes it, your heartbeat slows.

The woman slides from her horse, coming to stand in front of Joel. “I think you three need to come with us.”

+

They give you horses. Joel takes one, you the other, and Ellie slips into the saddle behind you, her arms tight around your waist as you ride. It’s been years since you’ve ridden a horse, but the beast beneath you seems friendly enough, and responds nicely when you dig your heels in, trying to keep up with the rest of the riders.

Soon enough, the high walls of Jackson come into view. It must be thirty, maybe forty feet tall, thick logs standing upright in the snow, patrols walking the top, spotlights currently turned off but still visible. When you get close enough, one of the riders waves a bright green bandana in the air, and the gate swings inward as you approach.

You tug on the reins, slowing your horse to a trot as you pass through. Ellie tightens her grip around your waist, her cheek pressed between your shoulders, and you suck in a breath, unsure what to make of the small town that lies within the high walls.

It’s everything the QZ never was. The storefronts look like something out of a Western movie, but it works. There are people everywhere you look, and they look…healthy. Well-fed. There’s not a beaten face to be seen. Back in Boston, you couldn’t go a block without seeing someone sporting a black eye or broken limb, FEDRA’s doing or the Fireflies. But here…it’s different. It’s all different.

There are snowmen lining the streets, kids laughing and playing, but some of them stop as the crowd of horses makes its way through. Joel trails behind you some, and you still don’t know where to look, when you hear him shout.

“Tommy!”

Sure enough, there he is. Your brother-in-law stands atop metal scaffolding, helping another man hoist a beam. He sees Joel, and then you, his eyes darting between and locking on his brother as he nearly leaps down the scaffolding steps. Joel gets off the horse, passing the reins to another rider, and you follow suit, scrambling down as gracefully as you can and handing the reins to Ellie, who takes them with wide eyes.

The Miller brothers meet in the middle of the road, Joel crushing his little brother in a hug, and tears spring into your eyes as you see Tommy start laughing, hugging Joel just as tight.

“What the fuck you doin’ here?” Tommy asks, still beaming as you step up to Joel’s side. “Liv!”

He pulls you into a bone-crushing hug that you return enthusiastically. The tears fall down your cheeks as he pulls back, touching a glove-covered hand to your cheek.

“You really let this fucker drag you halfway across the country?”

“We came here to save you,” you admit, and Joel lets out a wet laugh, his lashes clumped with tears as he claps his brother on the shoulder and pulls him back in for another hug. You step back slightly, letting them have their moment. As you look back at Ellie, who’s still perched atop the horse, something catches your eye across the snow-covered street.

“Cowan?”

PREV | NEXT