#i went self-indulgent for worst boy's day

[afsosville]

Here's the Shen Jiu addition to the PIDW x Avatar the Last Airbender AU ˚˖⋆.ೃ࿔.✧˚.💚⋆

The Luo Binghe/ge version

So, Shen Jiu being reborn as an air nomad! Let him have his well deserved peace!! Oh look, it’s a loving community that doesn’t have any hierarchies or power issues to fuck him over, and air being the element of freedom?? Fuck yes. 

ALTA lore dump and extreme self indulgence up head >>

Ideally, Shen Jiu would be reborn during Yangchen or Kyoshi’s time, coz I still need the air nomads to be, yknow, around. 

The air nomads lowkey act like a sect that practices aesthetic cultivation ( they reminds me of the Lan Clan too).

A quote >>

“The Air Temples had an expression regarding outside visitors who were shocked and disappointed by the incredible volume of chores the monks and nuns had to busy themselves with to support a few hours per day of meditation and study. Weak eyelids. Enlightenment was a muscle, and the world was too heavy for most.”

They work hard and are always studying philosophy and spirituality to seek enlightenment. Since they don’t hire people to do things, they do everything in their community themselves and depend on each other. Who knows, it could be therapeutic, and it’s not like Shen Jiu’s afraid to work hard. I think he would enjoy reading up on stuff about this new world he's in and there's access to so much knowledge and information in the air temples. He’d like travelling around to all of them. And a sky bison!!! He gets to have a fluffy sky bison of his own!! When it’s bonding day, he obviously doesn’t think any sky bison would want to choose him. Ofc he would make a terrible companion. Even great beasts are motivated by self interest, and he’d simply be a poor choice- 

Then, he sees one that’s nudging her head on his arm. She strayed away from the rest of the herd and the other kids and wandered over to the lone boy sitting by himself, who was too busy feeling sorry for his life to even notice her approaching him. He felt a tug on his soul and knew he had been picked and there was no changing that. 

Shen Jiu named her Xiyue, which means joy. Shen Jiu with a sky bison Shen Jiu with a sky bison Shen Jiu with a sky bison-

The air temples are segregated by gender, the monks live in the northern and southern air temples, and the nuns live in the eastern and western temples. Ofc all of them are traveling to wherever and staying in other temples for certain periods of time tho. Shen Jiu was originally from the northern temple but got relocated pretty quickly to the western one with his guardian once his aversion/fear of men became pretty apparent. They don’t understand just why another person who’s not the avatar has memories of a past life but they’ll make sure one of their own is cared for regardless. So now he gets to be surrounded by people who are mostly not men, and not a single person is around to judge him for it. He does go back to visit his home temple, and stays there when he’s older because he's learnt that the air temples are practically the safest of places. Pre-Sozin at least lol. I’m leaning towards this being Yangchen's time. She’s an air avatar from the western air temple and she’s unique for an avatar in the sense that she also remembers her past life. Or ten thousand of them in Yangchen’s case. 

She’ll sometimes have past avatars outright possess her and start talking or doing things as if they’re still alive. The people who know about Yangchen think it’s a gift, because she’s got the easiest access to her past lives. Lol. As if. Yangchen’s out here living through the trauma and grief of so many of her lives in the worst moments possible. The first time she went into the spirit realm, everything went to shit because one of her past lives had an intense fear of spirits and Yangchen started having an episode while the spirits were attacking her. She was with her sister, and ended up losing her on that trip :( And there was this other time, one of her past lives straight up tried to convince her to give up on humanity altogether during another episode. This was exactly what he said;

“They take with both hands, and they pay only with blame. They find your edges and then they dwell there. Work a hundred miracles? You’re worthless for not performing a hundred and one… Human beings choose their own misery, over and over again. Tell me why humanity deserves an Avatar” 

I was thinking this scene could be a character development moment for Shen Jiu, if he tries to convince her why she shouldn't give up on humanity. This seems like the kind of thing Shen Jiu himself would believe wholeheartedly, but he already spent a whole life believing that, and it didn’t do him any favours. (Yes, Shen Jiu is part of team avatar, he's the first member actually) He and Yangchen have something to bond over lol. Miserable past lives and all that. 

Also Yangchen was shrewd. She needed to engage in clandestine operations and spywork to even hope to achieve what she needed to. Guess which former Qing Jing peak lord could've helped nudge her in that direction? 

Not to mention she also knows forbidden air bending techniques (the one that Zaheer used on the Earth Queen that sucked the air out of her lungs to kill her heh). She perfected it completely and made her own variations. It's not mentioned just how Yangchen learnt of these techniques, but I imagine here that Shen Jiu had access to many of the archives and libraries (even the forbidden ones) in the four temples bc of how much he frequents them (the airbenders just like him a lot). And Yangchen knew this and asked him in which archives she could find them too. Shen Jiu is not going to teach the avatar voidbending! As if he'd risk getting in trouble with the elders and have all his access denied bc of it! *Cue Yangchen pestering Shen Jiu about it like a spoiled younger sibling and convincing him to just tell her which scrolls to look for, or else she'll tell tell the elders that he's the one who's been practicing voidbending*

It's not like he was even against teaching voidbending, he literally took it upon himself to learn and any all forbidden techniques he could get his hands on. And it's the fucking Avatar. Who would miss out on a chance to teach the Avatar?? But getting banned from the archives, or even from one of the air temples is a real fear of his soshjigl

Honestly tho, he could totally be on Kyoshi's team too. You know Kyoshi, she'd love learning those forbidden techniques too. Heck, Shen Jiu might as well be Kyoshi's airbending master in this AU.

He would totally find Wan Shi Tong's library without even trying. Idk how long it would take for him to get kicked out tho heh.

Shen Jiu would be one of those people who can easily get into the spirit world through meditating (he had a boon from having learnt cultivation in a xianxia world, that's why it would be easy for him). But since the spirit world reflects your emotions like a dream realm, Shen Jiu is not having a good time there. 

I think he'd be insanely good at metalbending if he was an earthbender further along the timeline instead. The first time we see Shen Jiu do any form of cultivation was literally him reshaping metal into a blade! Lowkey feel like drawing him in the Zaofu metalbending uniform too. He'd look good in those dfdggfdf

Remember when I said he's going to live a peaceful life? I lied. Guess what demonic tyrant's getting reborn as a waterbender? Yuh Luo Bingge's here too.

He picks up on bloodbending way too easily, and learns how to take away bending too, coz you can do that with bloodbending apparently! (Freakin Amon over here) And the moment he gets 'reacquainted' with Shen Jiu, Luo Bingge's gonna give him more shit to have nightmares over.

And he will take away Shen Jiu's bending too. And while I believe in Shen Jiu living a life of respite after going through the entirety of PIDW, it's even more fun to torture him again after he's got a brief taste of freedom.

[wordy-little-witch]

Self indulgent ideas for a one piece au-

CoraBug because I am WEAK to clown on clown loving.

Transfem Buggy as well because the blue jester bean is not cis, look me in the eye and tell me that's a cis man, you can't-

Okay now seriously onto the stuff

• Buggy comes out pretty early on in her life, still on the Oro Jackson. The Rogers are all aggressively supportive (some arguably too much so), but Buggy is free, authentic and relatively happy with herself.

• Roger and Garp often have play dates disguised as Good Vs Evil Brawls, which just means they fight for a few days straight then suddenly decide they're done and have a party and feast.

• Rosinante is with Garp for one of these "apprehension attempts", and is frankly just... bamboozled at best. When Sengoku told him to be ready for chaos, he hadn't anticipated this. He's rolling with the punches though!

• until, that is, during the party, he catches sight of this blue haired person alongside the redheaded boy he'd fought briefly the first day before each side's respective leaders went a little too ham on the fighting. Rosi is intrigued. Rosi is also slightly flushed. In his defense, blue hair over there is really cute.

• both cabin kids gravitate to their captain, uncaring of Garp sitting across the fire. Red plops beside the mustached man while Blue moves to step around just to yelp as a large arm lashes out and yanks her into the Pirate captain's lap.

"Garp!! Have you met my brats yet!! Redhead is Shanks, my oldest little nugget, he's pretty damn handy with a sword. And this lass here is my lil' pirate princess, Buggy! Ain't she a peach? Smartest gal I ever met bwahaha!!!"

Garp just arches a brow, looking the kids over before nodding. "Red's a lost cause, but I bet the little miss there has what it takes to be a damn good Marine."

The girl bristles. "As if, you damned geezer!!"

• Rosi is simply Staring Respectfully.

• that's the first meeting. It is not the last.

• by the time of Roger's execution, Rosi, Buggy and Shanks have grown arguably close. The latter two are still soul mates, two sides of a coin, and Rosi love and respects that. He and Shanks have an understanding, that while the love they each have for Buggy is different, it is equally compelling. There is no choosing one over the other. Even if there was, Rosi is sure he wouldn't stand a chance.

• Bug and Rosi both wind up courting.

• a few years down the line, they make things official in a small, private ceremony. It's bright and happy and loud and secretive on a small uninhabited island attended only by their most trusted friends or family.

• Sengoku doesn't approve, but he's willing to let it slide because he really DOES like Buggy, he just hates admitting he's fond of a pirate in any capacity.

• A few more years down the line, Rosi is given the task to infiltrate his family. Buggy by that point is a relatively low level pirate, not exactly infamous but not unknown either. She specializes in information, manipulation and subterfuge. By and large, most consider her a nuisance at best, an idiot at worst. Those who know, however, know she is so much more than that. If there's a cookie jar in any of the Blues or even select places along the Grandline, her hands are in there. It's a good cover.

• they go in as a married couple.

• Rosi still finds Law, and still gets attached. Buggy also takes to this kid like a flower to water, it's her quick thinking that leads to a new facet in their multistage plan. After all, it's not uncommon for couples to adopt, right? And Law needs medical attention, Buggy has contacts and favors but little in ways of getting what they need. Doflamingo is boldly and visibly expansive, so to keep her ruse, she and her husband could arguably look for ways of helping Law without blowing covers.

• Doffy.... buys it. Mostly. He doesn't trust, but he'll allow this to run it's course, he has back up plans.

• only the big flip flop never comes.

• medical intervention isn't available. Doffy has by this point himself grown rather fond of this little spitfire that is his nephew. He's also grown to respect Buggy as well, and he's delighted to have his baby brother back with him. It's predominantly business obviously, but he has caught a few pesky Emotions in the way of this small family. Truly inconvenient.

• he then considers the Ope Ope no Mi. The original idea was for Rosinante to eat it. Rosi already HAS a Devil Fruit, though. It could be fatal to consume two. Buggy also has a fruit, as does he himself. Law, however...

• two birds, one stone.

• Law is much too young for the eternal youth operation (and frankly, Doffy doesn't exactly want his nephew to, ya know, die). And the Ope Ope no mi is the only one they are readily and currently aware of the location of. And Law... is not doing well at all.

• Doffy is watching as Buggy comforts Law one evening from the pains of his ALD, and he makes a decision.

• the eternal youth operation is a bust. They'll figure something else out. They have time. Law does not have time. So Doffy and Rosi both encourage Law to eat this tiny little fruit, both against the wishes of those around them while Buggy holds Law in her lap.

• Doflamingo decides he made the correct choice when he sees Law, some weeks later, running the streets and actually acting almost like a child; he is decisive of it when Law cautiously asks to call him uncle; he is completely certain when Buggy hugs him late one evening and thanks him for saving her baby.

• Law started as a linchpin in a mission, and he became a permanent staple in the lives around them.

• Corazon lives, Buggy's mind playing a huge part in it thanks to her risk-reward reasoning. Law gets two parents and an unhinged uncle. Buggy still gets to fly under the radar. Everyone is happy. They even adopt more kids along the way.

• when Shanks calls Buggy up a little over a year later like "heyyyy I adopted a kiiiid" Buggy sighs and waves Law over with a "fine fine, tell me about my nephew and tell your nephews about their cousin".

"My what now"

"Surprise, bitch. Now start talking."

• they all keep in touch, Buggy establishing a connection to Makino to talk to her nephew and so Luffy can know Law and the others, she also strong arms Shanks into revising his promise so he can still, you know, interact with his boy, all the while complaining about men and their stupidity. Makino then helps facilitate it all when Garp moves Luffy up the mountain, and Buggy actually swings by once she can and meets all three of the ASL trio. She and Dadan get on like a house on fire, Law is trying and failing to understand how these feral jungle kids are alive while also facing the mortifying ordeal of their special brand of D Craziness bringing out his own subtle unhinged energy.

• the Buggy pirates double as a circus event under the radar and visit Dawn once or twice a year officially.

• Luffy, Ace and Sabo have a bigger support system, and so when Sabo is taken, instead of curling up and raging quietly, Ace and Lu make the trek to Makino's and call Auntie Bug for help.

• Auntie Bug and Uncle Rosi both show up. Uncle Doffy is also on call to pull some strings, pun unintended, because he's too far out to get there quickly. Law gets left with the two other Ds under Dadan's tentative watch. Yes, it's a hot mess. Yes, someone may have been threatened with lethal action. And yes, Sabo is essentially bought from his parents. The game was to retrieve him however they had to, so for Rosi... well, pulling the Donquixote Card was an option. They wanted to minimize the casualties or need to look for him.

• Garp returns to Fushia to a message from Makino and Dadan to meet someone a few islands east ward. Buggy, Rosi, Shanks and Doffy are all there, and they all give him quite the dressing down. A Marine, a Warlord, and two pirates give the vice admiral quite the lecture while the kids play happily a safe distance away. Buggy requests (ie, demands) custody of the boys. Not as the Pirate Buggy the Clown, but as a Marine's wife, as Bellelatrix D. Begonia.

• Buggy now has an entire army of children and she's vibrating (/pos AND /neg).

• Luffy, Ace and Sabo have a family, Buggy gets asked the age old "what if Gold Roger had a son" and she point blank cackles, to ASL's confusion. She just shrugs in response. "Then I'd have even more reason to punch him on the Dutchman. Like seriously, if Captain had a son and didn't think to TELL US, I'd be so angry. He knows Shanks and I would have loved that kid like our own little sibling.... I guess, in a way, Roger already had a son and a daughter, not counting your little 'hypothetical', freckles."

• Buggy just about breaks when Ace eventually asks her if he deserved to live. She just crushes him in a hug and tells him that he absolutely deserved to live, that anyone who says otherwise is an idiot and undeserving of the air they breathe. She makes a point to tell all the kids stories of her time under Roger, the good one and the bad, because she refuses to let them out into the world with a black and white view of the universe. It's all shades of gray. They need to make their OWN opinions, not hear them from others and take them to heart.

• she also debates hunting down Garp for sport because this kid's self hatred levels are alarming at best. These don't just happen overnight. She's clawing at the bars of her cage.

• speaking of bars and cages, Doffy is fucking DELIGHTED because he has new nephews to spoil, sorry to interact with - eh, yeah no he's shameless he's gonna spoil them.

• it's all a very delicate balancing act from there on.

• up to Canon time, they've managed to keep most things underwraps. Thing progress relatively the same up until orangetown, where Luffy just goes "Oh hiya, auntie!!"

Buggy just sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Gumdrop, look, the point of a test is to be impartial-"

"Don't care, haven't seen you in forever! Also I knocked out the mayor :))"

"Why would you-?!"

"Didn't know it was you. Wanted to keep him safe :D"

"Ugh. Fine. Fine! You pass, I guess. Good job for trying to keep innocent people safe."

"Yay!!"

Zoro and Nami are just watching this like a tennis match.

• Luffy goes on to kick ass and take names, and Buggy follows him just as she follows her other kids. Sabo has grown to follow the revolutionary army, Ace was a captain for a while before joining whitebeard (and wowza if that hadn't sent her into hysterics), Law and his brothers went on to form the Heart Pirates, it's a good time all around! Then she meets Alvida.

• mean girls squad. Buggy takes one look at this adult woman thirsting after her nephew and goes "haha no. Not happening. Get some help. He's 17."

• she also gets arrested by the Marines and sent to Impel Down. Nobody liked that. Especially not her husband, brother and brother in law. Nor, interestingly enough, Garp.

• Ace also gets arrested. Marineford events occur. Buggy finds Luffy, has several attacks of an interesting variety, and goes a little bit feral. On the way to Marineford, her past is outted, which leads to a deep dive on her history and her civilia identity is compromised as well as Rosi's, so at this point she decides to roll with it and stop holding back. They know now. Might as well profit.

• Ace is saved because Doffy was ordered there to help with fighting off Whitebeard, not informed WHO exactly was being executed, so when he heard it was his nephew?? Oh, haha, no. No way. Not happening. Come on. Give him a break, you can't be THAT stupid ♡

• the War is bloody and vast and Buggy in it all makes a wild fucking plan and spreads it. It works. Doffy keeps his warlord status through subterfuge as opposed to outright disobedience á la Hancock, Ace survives, Whitebeard survives by the skin of his teeth, and Shanks gets there in the nick of time to wrap it up all nice and neat with a bow. Law takes his cousins for medical treatment, and upon hearing from Ace that whitebeard is his pops now and that crew is family, offers his services there too. He gives Whitebeard a little extension on his lifespan, but not much. Dude's pushed too hard for too long to fully save him.

• Buggy gets named a Warlord and proceeds to explode. Rosi and Doffy find it hilarious. She DID pick Bellatrix as a surname after all. The irony is funny.

• Rosi is declared a traitor and pirate due to his marriage, but with Buggy being a warlord, he has not been issued a bounty. ((Yes Sengoku helped with that)). That only happens once Buggy is named an Emperor.

• Doffy finds it fucking hysterical, and makes a big show of bowing or giving a curtsy whenever she walks into a room. She's going to strangle him one of these days. Rosi makes a point if wondering if being married to an Emperor/Empress makes him an Emperor by proxy or like a Duke or something, to which she DOES actually strangle him. It's a hot mess.

• Cross Guild is now being formed, and Crocodile and Mihawk show up thinking "Ah yes easy pickings" until fucking DOFFY shows up like "ayooo- Oh hey croccy baby!!! And Hawky, good to see you, sugartits!!! Rosi, Bugababy, why didn't you TELL me there were hotties here???"

"Sorry, Doffypoo, you didn't ask," Buggy teases back, all relaxed lines and easy smiles. And Crocodile is SPIRALLING now bc WHAT

Mihawk is just staring consideringly because hmmm this is unexpected but interesting....

• anyway hot mess AU that makes me giggle, kicking my feet, twirling my hair-

[auspicioustidings]

Lost Boys

5. Poly Sex Cult

Summary: Preacher gets needy and Alejandro offers his help.

If you're new here this is my very self-indulgent Lost Boys AU with CoD characters fic. It's all very dark and broody and everyone is looking to bang the mc :)

Words: 1.7k

CW: Smut, dubcon

Preacher threw herself hard into work. She had to really because anytime she let her mind drift she could hear Rudy’s words in her ear, feel König's hard length at her stomach, fucking taste Johnny. Had it been that long since she had been laid that one good fuck had turned her into a mess? Well it was possible, her last 6 months on Coney Island anyone she flirted with seemed to back off before it went anywhere. Keegan had been sympathetic at least, well as sympathetic as she could ever expect from him. Here meaning he told her he'd get her off if she begged real pretty. She had told him to fuck off, although if she had stayed there much longer she suspected he might have gotten what he wanted. 

What she needed she thought was a non-threatening casual fuck buddy to get over it. Maybe. Best to hold off and see if she could fix this little problem herself first. Right now that meant focusing on work until she could sneak away on her break and relieve some tension in the nearest dinghy bathroom. 

So that is what she did. She taught kids how to catch the brass rings for a free ride ticket, she held back a laugh at a teenage boy's attempt to flirt with her after his friends had goaded him into it, she was all in all a model employee who bantered away with customers. And then Alex popped in to give her a 15 minute break and she mumbled a thank you and excused herself to the bathroom.

It wasn't the worst bathroom she had ever been in to be totally fair, but it was pretty dire. Three stalls, all empty because she imagined people would rather just eat at one of the restaurants further down the boardwalk to have access to a clean and decent bathroom. Suited her just fine, meant she could lock herself into the stall that seemed least like a biohazard and lean her head against the coolness of the door while a hand snaked under the waistband of her jeans to slide experimentally against her clit.

Already she was sighing in relief, knowing that this was going to get rid of that roiling tension that had been just under the surface the whole morning after Rudy had whispered those words to her. Probably wouldn't be the best orgasm in the world, but sometimes quick and dirty was what needed to be done and she closed her eyes, one forearm bracing above her head, and went to work. 

It was frustrating to have to pause when the door clicked open, but she'd just wait out whoever had the bad taste to come into this awful bathroom. The light rap on her stall door made her jump given that her head was pressing right against the thing.

“Occupied.”

“Oh chiquita I know, let me help.”

Jesus fucking Christ. That was Alejandro, that older surfer from the other day. She panicked, removing her hand even though he could probably here the scrape of her skin against the waistband and trying to get herself together.

“Sorry, what?” 

“Open up.”

OK, surely he wasn't offering to… what the hell else would ‘let me help’ mean in this context though? But then how had he even known she was in here touching herself? That did get her to open the door, intent on getting a damn answer.

“Were you following me?”

Alejandro took her in, from dishevelled appearance to fiery eyes to flushed skin. When Rudy had all but promised him she wouldn't be able to survive her whole shift without some form of relief he had been only too delighted to thank him properly for that and then lie in wait.

It wasn't a full Sirens song that had her like this, no if Rudy had went full throttle she would already be naked on the beach begging them to take her. Just a little taste of it, just enough to have her needy but still in her right mind. If he was going to have this woman insane and begging it would be because she was desperate for him all on her own, not because he had her in his control from a song.

“Ah you looked uncomfortable chiquita, just being a good citizen and checking in no?”

God his stupid lopsided grin was so charming. He was blocking the stall doorway, leaning an arm on one side and towering over her. Fuck she was horny.

“As you can see I am just fine, but thanks for the concern” she replied through gritted teeth, desperate to get back to what she was doing and just bloody finish. 

“Let me eat you out.”

Her cunt clenched almost fucking painfully around nothing.

“Oh my God.”

“Use your words properly, say yes.”

As if she could say anything else when her entire body was on fire from even the idea of it and he was in her space smelling of the ocean and looking at her without even attempting to hide how much he wanted her.

“Yes.”

Alejandro did not waste time. He didn't even close the stall door, he just went straight to his knees and all but ripped her jeans and panties down so he could stuff his mouth onto her cunt like he was starved for it. 

“Fuck! Wait I- fuck it's too much” she hissed, one hand gripping for dear life on the top of the door and the other in his hair trying to pull him away so she could breathe. 

He looked up at her and she swore his eyes were fully black, just a trick of the light, must be. He looked almost pissed off that she was trying to get him to slow the fuck down.

“Take it. Take it and thank me” he said, syrupy and deep, before stuffing his tongue right into her, nose bumping her clit and making her choke on her attempts to not scream.

It was so intense, fuck he was so intense. His tongue was precise, singularly focused on what most made the air punch out of her lungs in almost pained gasps. Whenever she got used to him fucking her with his tongue and caught her breath he would move to lap at her clit, whenever she finally managed to breathe through that he would suck hard on it. It was a decadent sort of torture. 

She was rutting into his face embarrassingly quickly, desperate for release and being kept right on the edge. It was as if he was deliberately… oh for fake sake. She knew what he wanted from her and she wasn't happy about it, but she was going to fucking die if he didn't make her cum.

“Thank you” she all but spat at him.

Then and only then did he finally use the flat of his tongue to lick fully from her entrance to her clit before expertly swirling the tip where she needed it, sending her tumbling into an orgasm that had been ripped out of her with such intent it caused her knees to buckle. 

He was unnaturally quick and strong, grabbing her legs to settle them on his shoulders and bracing one hand at her back so he could taste her pleasure even when she was boneless, not willing to move away just yet. 

Fuck he was good, inhumanly good. Maybe he would work as a casual fuck buddy. Christ if this was just his tongue she could already imagine what he could do with his fingers, what he could do with his cock. When she finally got her legs about her again she groaned gently taking her own weight and pushing his head away from her. He went this time, leaning back on his feet and looking up at her in a pose that was just so incredibly debauched, especially since she could see his cock hard through his tight wetsuit leggings.

“That was… fuck me you are good at this. Thanks. Do you need me to…?"

“I will chiquita, but as much as I'd love to do it now so Alex can hear how you whine for me and report back to his masters, he's waiting on you to go back to work no?”

Preacher was not one to be embarrassed about sex, hell she quite enjoyed a bit of voyeurism. She really probably enjoyed a bit of everything. But following Alejandro’s eyeline to see Alex, her fucking boss, leaning casually against the main door watching the exchange, was making all the blood rush straight to her face. 

“Shit” she yelped, pulling her panties and jeans back on properly and trying to fix herself to not look like an absolute slut who had been getting head in a dirty bathroom during her break. 

“Fifteen minutes is up, back to it Preacher” he said, casually as if this was a normal situation.

Preacher tripped her way past a still kneeling Alejandro, looking back at him in a sort of questioning apology. He only grinned that fucking lopsided grin that made her want to get fucked right on this filthy floor.

“I- sorry, I need to go.”

“I know chiquita, Keller will keep me company no?”

Jesus fucking Christ. She slipped out past Alex, trying to ignore the stirrings of her arousal wanting to flare back to life when he bunched a hand in her hair as she passed to hold her there for a moment so he could shove his tongue down her throat with absolutely no warning, quick and sloppy, before letting her go and walking toward Alejandro. 

Fuck. She got out of that stupid bathroom and back to work, absolutely point blank refusing to even consider that the two of them might be… was everyone here? Was this some sort of poly sex cult boardwalk? Alex had warned her off of everyone but the 141 but had watched her getting her mind blown by one of the surfers and did nothing to stop it. He might be getting his own mind blown right now.

And that was frankly none of her business she decided, stubbornly stretching out her muscles and climbing back onto the carousel for the rest of her shift. 

[mrsnancywheeler]

the lakes and finnick x reader has been consuming all my thoughts and I've been listening to my Taylor swift playlist all day so I thought I'd indulge with a list of her songs and that just make me think of them in various ways, I'm just being self indulgent

the lakes obviously, but like "take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die, I don't belong and my beloved neither do you" literally so perfect

midnight rain is so how reader feels about the whole conway situation and I think about it everytime I listen

miss americana and the heartbreak prince just chefs kiss, like I can't even give lyrics bc the whole thing

new romantics as how the capitol views reader and her tactics to win, "we play dumb, but we know exactly what we're doing"

THE LUCKY ONE hands down, literally perfect for both of them, "and they tell you that you're lucky, but you're so confused because you don't feel pretty, you just feel used" literally makes me want to cry

betty as like the weird breakup era not the cheating way and Finnick is trying to like move on but not really and readers just yeah iykyk, "the worst thing that I ever did, was what I did to you"

you're on your own kid, "the jokes weren't funny, I took the money, my friends from home don't know what to say, I looked around in a blood soaked gown and I saw something they can't take away"

long live, "long live the walls we crashed through, I had the time of my life with you"

slut! "In a world of boy's he's a gentleman, got lovestruck went straight to my head, got lovesick all over my bed"

anyways sorry I'm being super self indulgent but I needed to just put it out there because it's consuming my thoughts and maybe y'all will have even more thoughts for us Finnick loving swifites

[cloudbersoo]

easy for you to say｜sung hanbin

synopsis: what happens when bloom dance academy's golden boy sung hanbin needs a new duet partner and y/n is the only one available? 

or; will y/n be able to fall in love with dance again? perhaps they'll fall for someone in the process.

tags: sung hanbin x gn!reader, dancer au, fluff, attempt at angst, insecure reader, miscommunication, happy ending, featuring: zb1 matthew and jiwoong, twice momo, exo kai, itzy yeji, ryujin and chaeryeong!!

word count: 5.4k

a/n: this whole fic was inspired by the ‘i like that’ dance hanbin recreated on weekly idol. i’ve never been more attracted to a man in my life, so here is a very self indulgent fic i wrote!! also this is barely proofread, so sorry for any grammar mistakes! hihi enjoy

my playlist while writing: easy for you to say & bleach by 5sos, sugarcoat (natty solo) by kiss of life, thanks to by woodz, blooming day by exo-cbx, anywhere but home by seulgi

i. that’s not good

every dancer has their bad days. but when those bad days turn into weeks and weeks turn into months, suddenly your entire dance season has been nothing but awful. that’s how your previous season went, and this year hasn’t been any different either. you weren’t chosen for any of the small groups this year for any competition. you didn’t even dare to dream of a solo, even when you had one just a few years ago.

you used to be at the top, one of the coaches favourites. you’ve danced at bloom dance academy since you were three, and had gained a good reputation at the studio over the years. though, now that seems so far in the past. you were in a deep slump, one that you couldn’t get out of no matter how much you practiced. you think you’d do anything to love dancing again the way you used to. 

you were currently at the studio, waiting for the full group rehearsal to start, while one of the small groups was going over their dance with coach momo. you were sitting in a corner alone, while others were socialising or going through other dances on their own. your eyes were completely fixated on one particular dancer, one that probably made you more insecure than any other – sung hanbin.

hanbin was basically your complete opposite. he only started dancing in middle school, and joined bloom dance academy only last season. everyone around him loved him, and rightfully so, as hanbin was truly amazing. his body control and facial expressions were something you could only dream of right now. his skills didn’t come out of nowhere though, everyone knew how hard he worked. and unlike you, his hard work paid off.

looking at hanbin made you feel horrible about yourself, but you couldn’t look away. he was so mesmerising to you, the way he carried himself through choreography, and how he helped those around him. you were in too deep thought to notice a couple of your teammates approaching you. it took for one of them to speak for you to finally notice your friends. “y/n, did you hear about yeji?” your teammate matthew asked you as he sat down next to you. 

“no i haven’t, did something happen?” you responded, finally taking your eyes off of hanbin. you noticed besides matthew, chaeryeong and ryujin had approached you. “she injured her knee really badly at practice yesterday, she’s still at the doctors, they’re trying to figure out what’s wrong” chaeryeong opened up, clearly worried for her friend. injuries at this point of the season were the worst, but they happen every time. last year jiwoong dislocated his elbow a week before competition and all formations had to be redone.

“that doesn’t sound too good” you said, taking a sip from your water bottle. yeji won’t recover in time for the competition in four weeks, you assumed. not only will you have to redo all the formations for the full group performance and for her small group, your team will need a new female soloist and a duet partner for hanbin as well. “yeah, she’s out” ryujin confirmed your suspicions. “momo asked me for the solo, but i don’t think i can do it” she continued, brushing her hand through her hair. 

“i feel so bad for yeji, but at least there's a little more time than last year” matthew said in an attempt to lighten the mood. his comment did get a few chuckles out of you. 

after a moment of silence, ryujin spoke once again. “how about you y/n? could you do the solo?” ryujin asked a question that almost made you laugh. “coach would never even consider me, and… i don’t even have anything ready” you replied lowering your head in shame. it was true though, you were probably the last person momo would consider as yeji’s replacement for anything.

“okay guys! let’s start going over the new formations!” your coach declared, clapping her hands to get the whole room's attention.

ii. y/n coming to the rescue!

you were exhausted, just like everyone else in the room. your coach had said “one more time” at least ten times tonight, but finally practice had officially come to an end. today’s rehearsal had gladly eased most people's minds from yeji’s injury. however, you could only worry about your own performance, as today’s practice had barely helped you improve at all. you were packing your stuff, as you heard your coach calling your name. “hey y/n, could i talk to you for a second?” momo asked.

your mind could only think of the worst. momo was going to tell you that you’re cut from the full group completely, because you can’t get your shit together. it made sense, today’s new formations were going to look better with one less dancer, and obviously you were the first in line to go. you tried to hide your nervousness, answering her with a hum. you stuffed the last of your things into your bag and walked to your coach. “yeah, is this about the full group?” you went straight to the point.

“actually no” she started, sitting down on a chair. you were relieved, but only partly, as you had no idea where the conversation was going. “it’s about yeji’s and hanbin’s duet” momo continued, your coach visibly stressed. you could only imagine what had been going through her head the past 24 hours since yeji’s injury. she let out a loud sigh. “y/n i know you’ve had quite rough year, but i think it could be a great challenge for you”

“what do you mean? sorry coach, i’m not following” you questioned. she couldn't possibly be offering you a spot in a duet, let alone one with hanbin.

“you should do the duet with hanbin, i think you could handle it” momo said hopefully. she took your hands into hers, looking at you with pleading eyes. it was almost working, but something in you couldn't agree to it. you couldn’t possibly handle the duet, not when someone else could do a much better job than you. “i don’t know momo…” you responded.

“hanbin! please convince her to do the duet with you” momo suddenly said, her eyes leaving yours. while your talk with the coach, you had failed to notice the presence of hanbin behind you. you freed yourself from momo’s hold as you turned around to see the boy. “i just think someone else would be a much better match for the duet, i’ve seen it myself” you tried to reason.

“no! i think you’d be perfect!” hanbin said, which felt like an exaggeration to you. truthfully, you’d love to do a duet with someone so amazing as hanbin, you would be dumb not to, but your insecurities were holding you back. the duet was difficult, and with the little time you had, you weren’t sure if you could pick it up. few years ago it would’ve been easy, but now you weren’t so sure. “c’mon y/n, i need you” he begged. 

“you don’t have any other dances besides the full group, so you’ll have enough time to rehearse” momo added. you looked at both of them, the two of them looking at you hopefully. while you still didn't quite understand why they were so determined to get you to do the duet, you were beginning to yield to them.

“well, when would we start then?” you asked carefully. your words made both of them squeal out of joy. hanbin wrapped his hands around you and squished you into a hug. “thank you thank you thank you” he rejoiced, spinning you around in the air. you weren’t sure if this was going to work, but having people who believed in you definitely helped.

iii. cries and confessions

the duet was not going well, at least not as well as it should be at this point. you had rehearsed for almost a week with hanbin, and while you had picked up some of the choreography, most of it was still not clicking for you. hanbin had been more than patient with you, but his patience wasn’t getting you that far.

you groaned out of frustration for the thirtieth time in the past hour. you were having difficulty with your footwork for a fast part in the choreography, and no matter how many times hanbin went slowly over it, you were not getting the timing right. “y/n it’s okay, you’ll get it eventually” he tried comforting you once again. you sighed, wiping the sweat off your forehead. “no hanbin, i’m not getting it” you snapped back, your words coming out much harsher than you intended. “i’m sorry, i just- i hate that i can’t seem to get anything right” you apologised, covering your face with your hands out of embarrassment. 

“do you wanna talk about it?” he asked carefully. you’ve been asked this question many times over the past two years. your teammates, momo, your parents, even the studio head, jongin had asked you if you needed to talk about whatever mental block you were going through. but you never did, because there wasn’t anything to talk about, at least that’s how you felt, and you told hanbin that. “you sure? i mean there’s clearly something going on… i get it if you don’t want to talk to me about it, but i’m here for you if you need me” he responded to you.

“what would you even know? you joined the studio after my good days” you mumbled, choosing to sit down onto the dance floor, not expecting hanbin to hear you. the boy sat down next to you, sitting close to you, your shoulders almost touching. the close proximity shouldn’t have made your heart race the way it did, at least not after dancing so close to each other for hours to an end for the past week.

“i saw your solo couple years ago at a competition, and i thought you were amazing” he confessed. hanbin was looking at you delicately, his words filled with sincerity. you never thought someone so skilled and awesome dancer like hanbin would ever say something like that to you. “you’re pretty much the reason i'm here, at bloom” he continued, his words making you speechless. “i mean, if the studio had someone as cool as you, the teachers must be something too” hanbin kept rambling, getting slightly shy over his confession, his cheeks flushed. 

hanbin’s confession made you feel appreciated and sad at the same time. your eyesight was getting blurry from the tears that were about to break through. “well, that was me few years ago” you started, trying your hardest not to start crying in front of him. you locked eyes with him and he was looking at you with sorrowness. “and this is me now, someone that can barely keep up with everyone” your voice cracked, tears finally sliding down your cheeks. 

hanbin didn’t say anything after that. he wrapped his hand around shoulders, lowering your head to rest on his chest. he just held you as you sobbed. it was slightly uncomfortable, the two of you were still sweaty from practice, but you couldn’t care about that for now. you were starting to calm down as hanbin stroked your arm up and down. you brought your hands to wipe out your tears, apologising to the boy for drenching his shirt even more. “i’m just wasting our time by crying like this” you said.

“it’s okay y/n, you know, sometimes letting your emotions out can help you to move on” hanbin claimed, smiling softly at you. letting go of your shoulder, he brushed some of your hair behind your ear. “should we end practice for today? i could drive you home if you’d like” the boy suggested.

“i think i’d rather walk and cool down a little, but thanks” you gave hanbin a weak smile and started getting up. he seemed to take your word, as he got up as well and started cleaning up the practice room with you. the room was filled with comfortable silence, and you were glad you had someone like hanbin to rely on.

iv. nothing happened!

after your heart to heart with hanbin, rehearsals had started to go much smoother. some days were better than others, but at least you weren’t pouring out your frustration onto him. aside from a few lifts, you two had finished the whole choreography, and you felt good about it. even momo was pleased with your work, after you had shown her your progress. while the duet was still far from perfect, you and hanbin were confident you could do well at the competition. 

hanbin had also become more friendly with you over the past few weeks. he always greeted you with a hug, asked how you were doing, and kept insisting on driving you home after you were done, which was something you could no longer deny. he’d come up to you during practice if he ever noticed you frustrated, cheering you up and giving you much needed advice, while also offering to refill your water bottle. thanks to hanbin, you were slowly starting to enjoy dance again, and you think you’ll be forever grateful to him for that.

it was late friday night, only you and hanbin were left at the studio. hanbin had convinced you to stay for another hour to practice one of the lifts for your duet. while you thought it would be safer to practice with momo around, hanbin assured you he wouldn’t let you get hurt. so there you were, forty minutes later, probably at your hundred attempt of the lift. you had never been the best at any tricks or lifts, and at this point you didn’t think you'd ever quite get them.

however, hanbin was determined to get the lift right before you went home. “it’s not that hard y/n” he said, his hands on both sides of your hips. there was no hint of impatience in his voice, while he looked at you with such care. “easy for you to say, mr. i’m perfect at everything” you teased, getting a laugh out of him.

“hey! none of that!” he scolded you with a pout. “just trust me, i’m gonna catch you no matter what, okay?” he continued, squeezing your hips for reassurance. you only nodded, and on the count of three, hanbin lifted you in the air again. everything was going well, until you felt one of your hands slip, and the next moment you were laying on top of habin on the floor.

his hands were tightly wrapped around your body, and you could feel his heart beating fast into his chest. hanbin’s face was mere centimetres away from yours. “oh my god! are you okay?” you worried, trying to get off of him, but his grip only tightened. the act made you stop in your tracks, your cheeks warming up. “h-hanbin” you stuttered, now worried the boy had hit his head or something. 

“see? i said i wasn’t going to let you hit the floor” he only laughed. sighing out of relief, you brushed his bangs out of the way of his eyes. hanbin looked beautiful, even when he was all worn out from the hours of practice. you’ve always thought so, but now seeing it up close you were certain about it. he smiled at you, showing off his famous whisker dimples. you smiled back, as your hands laid against his chest. you noticed his eyes travelling down your face, to your lips, and at that moment you couldn’t stop yourself from hesitantly leaning into him. 

“oh sorry, didn’t know you guys were still here” you heard a voice coming from the door. being snapped back to reality, hanbin finally let go of you. you standed up and helped hanbin to do the same, the two of you now recognizing the person that had entered the room as jiwoong. “did i interrupt something?” his voice was filled with amusement. 

“no not at all, we were just about to finish” hanbin’s whole face and neck hued the colour pink, as he spitted out the biggest lie of his life.

v. flirting 101

you couldn’t stop thinking about hanbin all weekend, how the two of you almost kissed if only jiwoong hadn’t interrupted you. when did you even start liking him? 

while you could’ve just texted him, you never found the right thing to send. what were you supposed to say to him? you thought about asking for advice from some of your teammates but eventually decided against it, knowing they wouldn’t have anything smart to say. you could almost hear chaeryeong’s teasing words just thinking about it. 

you had yet to find time to rehearse your duet together, as hanbin needed time to practice his solo. you had tried to talk to him multiple times, but snitched out last second each time, claiming that it was only because you couldn’t bother him at the moment. in reality, you felt nervous around him. you don’t remember the last time you’ve felt this way towards someone, let alone almost kissed someone.

you had stayed at the studio after practice to help momo with your team’s costumes for the competition. it seemed that you struggled with saying no when someone asks for your help. it was late again, the studio nearly empty, when you were finally ready to go home. walking towards the exit, you noticed one of the practice rooms was still in use. curiosity getting the best of you, you decided to take a look at who was still practicing at the late hour. in the room was hanbin, rehearsing alone again. 

hanbin was fully focused on the music, his body hitting every beat of the song. the way he moved was captivating to you, like he was putting some type of spell on you. it wasn’t that surprising that you fell for him so easily. you thought hanbin was the most beautiful when he was in his element, when he danced.

he was too concentrated to notice you at the door. as the song came to an end, he was completely out of breath. you couldn’t help but to clap, finally revealing yourself to the boy. the act made hanbin burst out of his own bubble, seeing you in the mirror first, giving you a tired smile before turning around. “that was amazing” you praised the boy as you fully stepped into the room.

“thank you” hanbin shyly responded, walking towards his stuff and taking a towel to wipe the sweat out of his face. you went up to him and offered him his water bottle. he smiled at you before speaking up again, “what are you still doing here this late?” his voice was filled with worry, but he was still glad to see you regardless.

“you should worry about yourself” you replied, your comment getting a small chuckle out of him. hanbin seemed tired, his eyes sleepy and hair all over the place. he must’ve had a lot of pressure on him, when so many people were counting on him to do well. you took a step closer to the boy, reaching up to fix his hair. “you’re doing great hanbin” you felt the need to reassure him, his face finally relaxing from your touch. after a while of playing with his hair, you lowered your hand to his cheek, wiping the last of sweat that was left. 

“i didn’t take you for a touchy person” hanbin said teasingly, making you quickly retreat your hand from his face. your cheeks started to warm up from embarrassment. was this how you acted when you liked someone? you made an attempt at hiding by turning your face away. the boy in front of you just giggled, mumbling about how cute you were being. 

“do you have time tomorrow? to practice our duet i mean” you asked, trying to change the subject. 

“hmm, let me think about that” hanbin pretended to think about your question for a while. “yes! but only on one condition” he said with a mischievous smile. his behaviour made you suspicious, you had yet to get used to hanbin’s playful side. hanbin took your confused face as a sign to continue, “when we win with our duet, i can take you on a date”

his straightfulness caught you off guard, but you couldn’t hold back the smile that broke into your face. knowing there were mutual feelings between the two of you gave you butterflies in your stomach. there was a hint of nervousness in hanbin, so you didn’t want to keep him waiting for an answer for too long. “if we win” you said, emphasising the word if.

“so it’s a date?” his wide smile matched yours. you nodded as confirmation, and before you knew it, hanbin quickly embraced you in his arms. you laughed how gross and sweaty he was, as he leaned back to look at you, with a pout on his lips.

“let’s go home then, i’ll drive you.”

vi. heartbreaks

your heart dropped the moment you saw yeji walk into the studio, her knee seemingly fine. everyone was shocked to see her going into jongin’s office. it was one week before the competition, and no one knew what yeji’s return could mean for the team. were jongin and momo going to let her dance? what could that mean for you and hanbin’s duet? you couldn’t hear their conversation where you were, and the suspense was killing you. 

deciding you could no longer sit around waiting, you went over to the office door to eavesdrop. “we finally got the formation to work for the full group! we can’t just go and change them all over again for you!” momo’s voice said, notably worked up by yeji’s sudden appearance. yeji kept on pleading for the two to let her come, as she didn’t want to miss the competition, “then at least let me do the rest!”

“i don’t think it’d be fair for the others, ryujin has worked hard on the solo” jongin tried to explain. 

“i already talked with everyone! ryujin, hanbin, they’re all okay with it!” yeji claimed. 

hearing hanbin’s name mentioned made you freeze on your spot. your insecurities were starting to creep in again, your mind filled up with questions. did hanbin rather do the duet yeji instead? when did they even talk about it together? it hadn’t even been twelve hours since you last saw him. 

maybe hanbin was relieved after hearing that yeji was okay. he had a much bigger chance to win with her than with you. maybe this whole time you’ve just been one big project to him, while he waited for yeji to get better.

you thought you were already over all this, being the second choice – but no, you weren’t even an option at this point. the past weeks have been the first time in years when you’ve felt great when you danced. you felt like you had finally improved, able to move on from your slump. you must’ve been just a joke to him, to everyone. tears were falling down your cheeks, your chest feeling too tight to breathe. 

“there you are y/n!” you heard a very familiar voice calling you, but you couldn’t even move to see him. hanbin sounded out of breath as he finally approached you. “i was looking for you, there’s something i need to tell you” he continued, putting his hand on your shoulder. his touch finally made you shift, as you moved out of the boy's touch, you saw his concerned face. you could only watch him for a second, before you knew you had to get out of there. 

“good luck with that duet” you said before taking your leave.

vii. making up and making …out?

since getting cut off from the duet, you've been avoiding hanbin like plague all week. he had tried to talk to you multiple times, but you ran off each time. you’ve tried to distract yourself by practicing on your own, and offering to help chaeryeong, matthew and jiwoong with their trio. it only helped you for awhile, because most times hanbin would show up and try to explain himself. you don’t know how many times you’ve told him to just focus on the competition instead of running after you.

you weren’t really mad at him, it wasn’t his fault that yeji came back. deep down you knew he probably had an explanation for everything, he wouldn’t have tried to talk to you otherwise. after calming down you could no longer blame yeji for losing your duet either, you would’ve likely done the same thing if you were her. she worked hard too, even to the point of injuring herself. you were mostly just mad at yourself, embarrassed how you’ve handled the whole thing, and letting your insecurities get the best of you again. 

it was the last day of competition, and you were sitting in the audience, as you didn’t have any dances left. there was a small break between the small group category and the solos. your team did well, however, you could tell something was off with hanbin as he danced. it wasn’t something the judges could notice, but you knew hanbin, and something was clearly off. you were worried, but you didn’t think it would be a good idea to talk to him right now, as he was somewhere probably getting ready for his solo. 

“hi, can i sit with you?” you were surprised to see yeji out here in the audience, let alone approaching you of all people. you nodded as a response, and she sat down next to you. there was an awkward silence between the two of you. you thought about what you should say to her, if you were even supposed to. both of you sat stiff, looking everywhere but each other. “shouldn’t you be getting ready for your solo?” you tried testing the waters.

“i’m not doing it” she replied, her hands gripping the corners of her chair, as she looked down to her legs. it quickly got quiet again, neither of you saying anything. you wondered if yeji’s knee wasn’t as fine as she made it seem or if something else was going on. yeji didn’t let you think for long as she finally spoke again, “i couldn’t take it away from ryujin…”

“but you could take it from me?” your words coming out of your mouth more harshly than you intended. regretting what you said, you shook your head, telling yeji to forget what you just said.

“no y/n, i should’ve asked you first, i’m sorry” she interrupted you. “i just- i was so excited to dance again… too excited even, i failed to notice that hanbin would’ve much rather danced with you. but you know him, he’s too nice to say anything” yeji explained, the last bit making you both chuckle. you were glad yeji apologised to you, even when you were never angry with her in the first place.

“do you really think that? that he would’ve rather danced with me?” you asked, wanting to believe what she said, you just needed some more reassurance. 

“obviously! i might not have been around when the two of you got closer but i’ve heard some stories from jiwoong and chaeryeong” she teased, nudging your shoulder. your cheeks blushed, as you figured yeji was referring to the night jiwoong had caught you two almost kissing at the studio. “i bet he’s already halfway through choreographing your duet for next season” she continued. yeji’s words made you feel shy and giddy, they gave you the sudden urge to see him, to talk to him.

“i think i should go find him” you stood up from your seat, looking around for the fastest route to your team’s dressing room. yeji gave you an encouraging push, telling you to hurry before he needs to go up on stage.

you ended up finding hanbin before you even got to the dressing room. you found him warming up close to the stage, already in his costume. he noticed you coming right away, giving you a small smile and a wave. saying your hello’s, you stopped awkwardly few steps away from him. “how are you feeling?” you asked carefully, not sure how he’d react to you suddenly showing up.

“i’m okay, just a little nervous” he answered quietly, continuing his stretching. you just stood there, awkwardly, not knowing what to say. you didn’t really plan ahead when you suddenly decided to find him. hanbin got up, now fully looking at you, but he didn’t say anything like you hoped he would. the two of you just stared at one another, neither knowing what to say. you could no longer bear the silence, so you finally spoke, “i’m sorry.”

“no, i’m sorry, i should’ve talked to you” hanbin took your hands to his, holding onto them like his life depended on it. his eyes were sorrowful, all this must have pained him the past week, and it was mostly your fault.

“i mean you tried to…” you reminded him, hoping that he would stop blaming himself. he let out an airy laugh, a smile finally breaking to his face. announcement could be heard in the background, telling everyone that the solo category would be starting in a few minutes, and you could see hanbin tense up. 

“you’re going to kill it, don’t worry” you reassured him, deciding to embrace the boy in a hug. he wrapped his arms around in a second, squeezing you tight. “you think so?” he mumbled next to your ear.

“hanbin, let’s go!” you could hear jongin yell from a distance. you took a look at hanbin, not quite ready to let go yet. “yes, and i’ll be right here watching” you said, with one more thing in your mind that you thought would help him. you looked around your surroundings, hoping that jongin wouldn’t be looking, before doing something you should’ve done weeks ago. you leaned in and kissed the boy, wrapping your arms around his neck. 

hanbin kissed you back after a moment of shock, and you could feel him smile against your lips. parting ways, the two of you now giggling like little kids. “I’ll be back” he let go of you, starting to walk towards jongin, who had an amused smile on his face. 

to put it simply, hanbin had never danced as well as he did then, and he was sure it was all thanks to you.

viii. lets dance

“are your eyes closed?” hanbin asked you for the fifth time, as he was moving you towards his surprise. it had been a few days since the competition, and today hanbin had been acting really suspicious. you were informed by matthew that you should stay at the studio after practice, and he left without telling you why. your questions were finally answered, when hanbin started dragging you out of the dressing room, putting his hands in front of your eyes. 

“yes, you’ve made sure of it” you answered, acting bothered by his antics. “okay okay, but no lurking!” he said excitingly, helping you to get over a higher threshold. you could tell you had entered one of the practice rooms, but you had no idea what hanbin had planned. you two stopped walking, and hanbin finally let you open your eyes, “you can open now!”

once you did open them, you wouldn't believe what laid in front your eyes. the entire room was decorated with fairy lights all over the room. the view was beautiful, and you were in complete awe. you never thought hanbin would do something like this. “hanbin…” you were completely speechless. 

“shh, that’s not all” he said, as a familiar song started playing from the speakers. you turned to hanbin as you recognized the song, it was the song for your duet. he smiled at you, offering you his hand. “dance with me”  he said quietly. you took his hand without hesitation, and he pulled you into the middle of the dance floor. you started dancing the choreography, the room filling up with laugh and giggles. 

dancing with hanbin just felt right. it made you feel at ease, moves coming easily to you as the two of you spinned around the dance floor. you never wanted this moment to end, that’s how much you were enjoying it. for a long time you haven’t enjoyed dance as much as you did right now, with hanbin. and suddenly it hit you – you loved dancing again. 

…and maybe you loved hanbin too.

- end

bonus:

“y/n, will you be my duet partner?”

“only if you’ll be my boyfriend as well”

“i like this deal”

[hitomisuzuya]

Dom!Childe x Fatui!sub!fem!reader. Smut. Established poly relationship. Degradation. Praise. Yandere-ish? Self indulgent. Wearing Childe's scarf during sex. Harbinger jackets. I think I covered it all.

a/n: Welcome to #suzu after dark, everyone. As stated last night that this is a part two companion piece. Bear with me on this one, everyone. This is a way for my brain to go brrrr writing Childe for a bit. I woke up feeling like shit. So, enjoy cause sheesh, both of these boys bring out the worst in me LOL 🫶 I am gonna finish up the little bits of the Windblume Festival gameplay tomorrow and then start getting the last few requests I have done in my inbox done. About 4 days or so should be all I need.

Tagging @xxventiswindblumexx and @kichikichiko

It had been Scaramouche's turn to provoke Childe that night by putting his Harbinger jacket on you. This started a new round of their game.

"You know, girlie.." Childe groaned, smirking down at you, holding onto the back of your head, making you cough as he pushed his cock into your throat. "You look like slut, on your knees, sucking me off so well, drooling pooling all over that short shit's jacket."

He stroked the back of your head. "And I have the added bonus of seeing your slut throat wrapped in my scarf. By the way," he yanked your head up off of his cock, gripping your hair tightly, "I fucking hate how much it turned me on when I could smell him and you all over my jacket. It disgusted me, and I know you got off on it too."

Childe roughly flung you down onto the bed, making you shiver with excitement. You knew Childe lay into you extra. And you couldn't get enough of it.

Childe flipped you over onto your stomach, grabbed your hips to pull them up and thrust himself inside of you. He laughed when you cried out in pleasure. "You know, as much as I would to make you beg for me the slut you are, like Scaramouche did, but I would rather him see my marks of dominance darkening over his."

Your hair was a favorite go to for leverage. Childe gripped a handful and yanked your head back, pushing two fingers into your mouth, making you gag on them the way Scaramouche did.

"It would piss him off extra he if knew you were sucking on my fingers while I fuck you. His favorite show of dominance over you being used against him adds extra fun for me. And you as well. So try and beg so that he can't hear you."

You happily sucked on his fingers while he pretty much ruined your insides in a way that sent you reeling with love for the both of them.

When Childe decided his fingers were wet enough, he wrapped his hand around your throat. Another use of Scaramouche's favorite use of dominance. Knowing it would piss him off if he saw it make Childe extra harsh with his thrusts as he squeezed. "Don't forget, you are all mine to, my girlie. And I'll fuck you dumb whenever I please."

You barely heard him over your babbling and moans as your orgasm approached.

Childe went to work, biting into your throat first.

[carmylasso]

out of the woods (jason sudeikis x reader)

summary: after your boss sets you up on a date with your longest celebrity crush, you were pretty sure that was as wild as your friday was gonna get...turns out you shouldn't be tempting fate.

warnings: anxious thoughts, smutty inclinations, olivia.

a/n: so....i wrote the nanny thing? this is mostly fluffy and a lot self indulgent. obviously the kids are mentioned and will be making appearances in later parts, so if you feel uncomfortable with that, skip this one. 

hope you like it! (you can totally curse me for that ending. i know)

tagging some friends without who this would never see the light of the day @calzone-d @thisismysecondrodeo @tedssweaters

statistically speaking, you shouldn't be nervous: it's not like that's the first time you step into the house – by now you could probably say where everything is stored in that kitchen, or slid a joke over the fact that he's obviously organized the living room a bit before you came over tonight – or as if the man at the stove is a stranger by any means.

however, statistically speaking, the chances of you being here tonight, just you and jason, in a date, were never that great to begin with, so...

no, scratch that. up to 6 months ago, there was simply no starting scenario that ended up here, even if alexi never missed a chance to tease you about him whenever the man was brought up. one downside of being friends your boss, you figure. as the years passed, you gave up "hiding" your stupid, incurable celebrity crush on jason sudeikis, even around her and seth. it was harmless, after all. made your face warm with embarrassment when you overheard plans that included him being made? without a fault, but it usually granted you a night off if the man was coming to the house.

til they sat you down one morning to ask if you'd be interested in meeting his kids, seth's eyes gleaming with mischief as he held his hands together in a plea for you to not forget you loved their boys, who would miss you terribly if you sacked them for a hot, newly single comedian.

the three of you were laughing when you told him to kindly fuck the hell off.

except now jason's here, close enough to touch. he's here, and this feels like a whole lot more than flirty jokes late at night, more than stolen glances after a big award ceremony, his hair a mess, clothes askew. certainly more than the almost kiss that got you here in the first place, the feeling of his hand on the side of your neck as he said if he was gonna kiss you he'd do it properly still burning your skin days later. this is real, it's deliberate.

so fuck statistics, you're a mess.

"i need to tell you something" the voice brings you back to the moment, watching as he sets down a plate full of gooey cookies right by the glass of wine he poured you earlier "i'm a fraude. i actually can't bake to save my life" his face is full of guilt as he drops down on the fluffy carpet, the fabric of his trousers raising goosebumps on the exposed skin of your thighs. "if you said you wanted dinner, that i could work with. dessert...brought out the worst in me, i'm afraid" you're trying not to laugh at the man's proneness to the dramatics when he breaks one of the warm sweets in half, practically moaning around the first bite "worth it. so fucking worth it, yn"

"what did you do? these look amazing" it's chocolate ones, big and melting, your favorite kind.

"asked otis to take a pic of the box last time you got 'em from your favorite place"

"really?"

"i'm a terrible father, i know. in my defense, i did try making a batch before i resorted to cheating with help from my child, i promise you"

"jason! you didn't need to do that. we could have gone for ice-cream or something, that'd be just fine" the thought of him trying and failing to make you your favorite food was all too endearing, sweet and amusing to the same degree.

"you're picturing it right now, aren't you? it wasn't pretty, yn. smoke detectors went off, yet the things were still raw on the inside? i mean, how?" his body turned to you, knees bumping while your eyes trailed the way his long fingers broke bits and pieces of chocolate to bring it to his mouth. "these on the other hand..." you felt caught by the grin spreading over the man's face, so you took a bite too.

"fuck me!" the words rang in your ears a second too late to be taken back. if this wasn't the only thing that made it better somedays– you foresaw a long trip to john's in the near future, always one to drown your sorrows in sweets rather than the often sour taste of alcohol – you'd be cursing the place with more fervor right now.

"see, i had a feeling ice-cream wasn't gonna get me that" you felt yourself warm up when the guy winked at you, voice dropping an octave.

"i hate you" from the way he was still staring, he didn't believe your words for a second: sometimes it was good being a terrible liar, after all. "i'll have you know that the right ice-cream could get you this"

"really? where can i find it? for future reference, i mean"

"you'll be the first to know when i have it locked in. jury's still out" you snook in a little taste from different shops every time you had his babies, but he didn't need the details. if anyone was aware of how hard some days could be, it was him. the media frenzy seemed to get worse every week, not that you were keeping track (you definitely were. it was hard not to, harder once you got to know them)

"i'll be waiting"

was it possible to go through the whole spectrum of emotions in just a few hours? it had always been a silly type of question for you. you felt everything so deeply that switching up was never that easy, but, with some comedy playing on the tv, the nerves cursing through you were far different from the ones earlier: now, sprawled out on his carpet, the knowledge that jase was pressed up close didn't freak you out, it made you relaxed, even if were painfully aware of every little touch, every accidental nudge when laughter made his body shake, head resting on a Frozen themed pillow. you were surrounded by the man: the heat from his body, his scent, the way he pulled you back every time you started to drift away a few inches

you were almost drowning in him, yet all it seemed to do was make matters worse. you should've guessed it: if not for anything else, for the way your stupid heart picked up it's pace whenever you managed to make him laugh over the time you'd known him, the way every weird little thing you learned by being around seemed important. it would never be enough, not when it came to this man, would it?

"i...think i should go" before you got sucked in any deeper.

"wha' happened?" he sat up when you did, back pressed to the couch, eyebrows scrunching together as his mind played back the last couple hours. what had he done wrong? "yn. hey, what's it? was it me? did i do something?"

"no! jason, no. it's fine. you were wonderful" this felt all too easy, was the thing. nothing happened, you hadn't even kissed yet, but here you were, all in your head, getting carried away to some point in the future where this was some sort of routine to your days. stupid. it might feel easy, but it wasn't. it wouldn't be, not out of your naive fantasies, anyway. your phone was on top of the centerpiece, your purse hanging from the coat hack down the hall. good.

"you're running off like the house's on fire, sweetheart. i can't be that good" his laugh was humorless, his eyes earnest as he moved slowly, intertwining your fingers. "i'm sorry"

that did it. the way he was so quick to apologize for something that he didn't even know what was broke you.

"is it okay if i kiss you?" it wasn't much more than a whisper, all the bravado you had melting away when he didn't look away, nodding his head.

"only if you want to" this whole exchange was just short of giving you both whiplash, yet it was better do something insane than it was to just leave. if you kissed him, you would have that. even when he inevitably decided not to see you again. you would know what it felt like. "do you?" it felt like deja vu but it wasn't, his fingers caressing your cheek, the hold steady but gentle, like he knew you needed that point of contact as you brought yourself closer.

he tasted sweet, warm, the kiss tentative, each drag of your mouths together making a shiver run down your spine. for a moment it didn't go any further, then his lips parted a bit and you pushed yourself more into his space, tongue darting out as strong hands rumpled the material of your dress while yours pulled at the hair on the back of his head

one second you were awkwardly kneeling on the floor, trying to breathe and kiss and commit every second of this to memory, the next he was pulling you into him. onto him. like he wanted this as much you did, the scruff from a couple days without shaving causing you to moan into his ear whenever jason drew back to let you breathe, his mouth never leaving you, just diving down to your neck, your collarbone, any patch of skin he could reach without having to let you go before he came back up for more.

"off!" you're sure there's an ebb to be made about all those freaking layers but the one word is all you manage as you pull on the green hoodie he chose for the night, grinning when its out of your way, his sly smile morphing into something darker as you grind yourself into the man's lap, just a bit, seeking friction. he's hard under you, tense, like's he's trying to figure out how far he can take this tonight, how far you want him to. "jas..." whatever was about to follow that whisper of his name gets cut off by the harsh sound of his doorbell.

"fuck's sake" it's a deep groan, head flexing back to look at the ceiling, nervous laugh bubbling in your throat when his hold goes stronger for a second "a fucker, whoever that is. can you please get that?"

"gotta let me up first, sir" seems like a conscious effort to ease his grip, your legs a bit wobbly when you stand up, trying to reorient yourself with arousal burning deep in your veins.

if your knees were unsteady as you walked to the door, he didn't need to know.

"is jason home?" that voice is a like a bucket of icy water over your head, eyes blinking fast at the porch light glow illuminating harsh green eyes raking through you.

olivia. olivia is here. shit.

"yeah, he's..." she pushes you out of the way then, carrying a sleeping daisy in her arms through the hall, otis holding onto the back of her coat til he spots you.

"YN!" his voice is loud and excited, body crashing into yours in a tight grasp "did you know we were coming home?"

if only it was that simple, little guy.

[sarroora]

I shall indulge in your request because I also ain't been feeling too hot so 💃

Sort of akin to what you just asked me, what do you think gets the boys feeling down and what do they do to console themselves/what do they do to console another member of the gang?

(also have you got any extra Fancy headcanons cos I feel like nobody talks about him)

(I know the feelin bruh, you’re not alone, my mental state is very bad these days but I’m trying. Hang in there)

Long post ahead -

*T.C.’s pretty well-attuned to what every member of the gang needs in terms of comfort. He knows Benny and Choo-Choo’s love language is physical touch and so that’s the kind of comfort he’ll provide, but it can’t be in public view of other gangs (more on that later).

Spook is normally chill, but sometimes even he gets overwhelmed by concerns over their state and that of the world around them, and so he and T.C. will talk deeply for hours and hours if need be, until the green cat has some clarity.

Brain gets the blues and goes through periods of silence, but isn’t always able to articulate why; it’s actually him remembering some pretty bad times from his childhood, which was pretty lonely. Brain’s fears are actually the ones T.C. relates to the most, and goes out of his way on days like those to affirm with Brain that the gang is forever and no cat gets left behind.

Fancy has a massive weakness when it comes to women - and has his own inner demons about keeping promises, and commitment. He’s terrified his vices might lead to one of the guys getting hurt one day (lol that sounds familiar), but T.C.’s the one who keeps reminding him of the lengths he went to in order to protect them when things got rough. The fact that Top Cat trusts him means everything to Fancy, and gives him a boost of self-confidence.

*Top Cat’s worst fear is loneliness, not poverty. And across all media T.C.‘s shown to be really at his most content when the gang is happy around him.

*If you think about it, a lot of T.C.’s decisions as a leader are fueled by emotion, not pragmatism. There’s this story that I never got around to writing and there’ll probably never be a chance in CGaL…but T.C. taking in Brain was a big deal when the news spread amongst the cat gangs in Manhattan.

Almost everyone thought he was crazy; cat leaders typically have to be very pragmatic about who they allow to join them - life on the streets is brutal, and a ‘gang is only as strong as its weakest link.’

Cats that live alone in Manhattan are much more likely to starve or perish (see tags), so it’s a matter of survival for cats to form groups to help each other get food. No one wants to take a risk on a cat with a disability in such a brutal city, because they’d be jeopardizing the well-being and chances of the entire group. But T.C. took him in and made it work and told everyone to shove it (and it was during these events btw that Chooch realized he absolutely adored and idolized him.)

*T.C. needs to keep a certain image as a cat gang leader in front of others but in reality he has no problem with physical touch at all, especially with the gang. They’re a tight-knit group, they love to catpile, cuddle, hug, everything. Humans, however, are a different story.

Very few people - namely Tony and Patrick - are Blessed(TM) and have Permission(TM) to hug and pet him..but with a few rules. Dibble’s a bit more complicated, because of what he represents and the power dynamic, but ultimately, he’s in the Accepted team. Then there are humans that aren’t allowed anywhere near the cats.

*Last HC: fr when Fancy first joined the gang everyone made fun of him for ‘smelling like a house cat’, after a short stint staying with some humans. He knew they meant well but the comment was still a bit mortifying for a street cat. Easy though - nothing a nice warm session of catpile won’t fix.

[sheelre]

“𝐻𝑒'𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑠𝑜 𝑏𝑎𝑑, 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑙𝑙…”

: deuce spade x fem. reader

; contains harassment and violence(non-graphic), self indulgent, ooc

: word count, 1800+

Deuce Spade.

You have heard of the infamous delinquent in your school through one of your classmate’s gossip. Known for being a huge troublemaker and often gets into random fights with almost other delinquents in the school and outside of it, people tend to stay away from him out of fear and danger. Naturally, despite not meeting him yet, you instinctively also stay away from him. You did, however, see a picture of him. Hair dyed blond, face scowling and ready to beat you up any moment. That and the amount of rumors about him was enough to be wary of his presence.

That’s why you were quite surprised when he helped you out of your unfortunate circumstance, beating the people who were bothering you on the spot and scaring them away.

It was another normal day for you that day, you went on your way to return some books you borrowed from the library last week. Holding the books tightly against your chest, you squirm away from the group of boys that surround your form as they laugh among themselves. They were spouting things about how they didn’t have any money with them and needed to ‘borrow’ some from you.

What a pain, you scrunch up your nose in distaste as you gave the boys a nasty look, why does it have to be me? Stupid delinquents…

You didn’t meet any delinquents during your school year until now. Other than staying away from them, you don’t really know how to deal with these troublesome boys. You need a plan to get away. Maybe push them off? No, they’re probably stronger than they look. After all, they do get into fistsfights so often. Kick the leader’s nuts? It could shock them for a little while and then make your grand escape, if it wasn’t for your low stamina. They’ll catch up to you in no time.(Now you kind of regret not exercising when you had the time.)

Your eyes scanned around the hallway. There were no people.

There are probably still people inside the school, but they are either currently performing their club activities or somewhere else inside the school. It was already after school hours, most students have probably gone home by now.

“Go away, or else I’ll call the teachers.” You purse your lips immediately after realizing what you just said, cursing yourself internally for letting those words escape your lips. Threatening them was the worst option you had! Maybe you should’ve just kicked the leader’s manly jewels and made a run for it— 

One of the boys let out a snicker at your empty threat, as you swallowed down your growing nervousness. “Oh!~ I’m sooo scared!~” The leader mocked in a high pitched tone before laughing afterwards, the other two poorly trying to stifle in their laughter. Your eyes hardened as you gave them a glare, gritting your teeth as they all made fun of you. Noticing your glare, the leader smirked down on you, eyes filled with mischief and a hint of mockery.

“What’s that look for, princess?” He asked, feigning a hurt tone. “Look, we just want something little from you. And after you give us what we need, we won’t bother you any further. Right boys?” He titled his head towards the other two, echoing their agreement with a snicker. He turned back to you with the same smirk. “See?”

“I don’t think money is something ‘little’, though...” You respond, still maintaining your glare. His eyes died down dangerously, his smirk was completely wiped off his face as chills went down your spine. You shouldn’t have said that.

“Look, I won’t beat around the bush any further, kay’?” He leaned his face close to yours as you instinctively took a step back, feeling uncomfortable by the sudden closeness. “Give us your money, or else.”

“...” Cold sweat dribbled down your neck, your nervousness from earlier finally took over your whole body. You finally realized something, you screwed up. Your silence seemed to irk them off, as one of his two goons yelled at you. You flinched at the sudden volume. 

“St-Stay away…” You muttered with a shaky breath as you took a step back, legs shaking. You should’ve realized from the start that one of the reasons why people stay away from delinquents is because they are dangerous. People that could hurt you. They simply laughed at your pathetic figure and took a step forward. As you continue to take a step back, they would follow until you finally hit the cold and solid concrete wall. You were cornered. You forgot about your due books, you needed to get out of here.

“Looks like there’s no escape now, princess~” You hugged yourself along with the books you were supposed to return, looking away somewhere else but the people in front of you.

“Oi.” Your hand was suddenly yanked off, making you drop your books to the tiled ground. You let out a pained and choked back gasp as the boy in front of you gripped your wrist tightly. You closed your eyes when you felt the tears start to well up as you whimpered from fear and pain.

“Say something back when someone talks to you. That’s how a conversation goes.” He clicked his tongue, before grinning widely. “Maybe I should teach ya’ a lesson. Don’t worry, it won't hurt that much.” Your breath hitched at his words as your body froze. He raised up his free arm and clenched his fingers together tightly, forming it to a fist. 

Help me…

You wanted to scream those words out. 

Someone please—

You shut your eyes even tighter as you prepare for the impact. The boy smirked sadistically and swung his fist, aiming directly to your face.

—help me!

“HEY! THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!”

That was the last thing you heard before your attacker was tackled down to the ground, instantly letting go of your now bruised wrist. This was your chance to run, yet your legs were still paralyzed from fear. You crouched down and covered your ears as the sound of fists hitting against one another’s flesh echoed in the empty hallways along with pained yells and grunts. As you wait for it to stop, the tears from earlier finally come down like a harsh waterfall. You sobbed, letting out all the fear and anxiety from the danger earlier whilst shaking like a leaf.

As you continue to cry your heart out, you fail to notice your saviour approaching your shaky figure. He had already beaten up your harassers until no one would recognize their faces anymore, running away like a coward and shouting a half-assed apology to the person they harassed. He sighed, wiping away the blood that dribbled down his nose. Despite winning, he too got some hits here and there. But nothing he could handle, he was used to it after all. He sighed again after realizing what he did.

Just right after he swore he would change, he got into a fight yet again…

A hiccup interrupted his thoughts as he perked up.

The girl! He almost forgot!

He turned his head to the side, seeing you all curled up and covering your ears while crying quietly. He hurriedly walked over to your form and kneeled down to your level.

“H-Hey, it’s alright now. They’re gone.” He reassured, trying his best to sound gentle. He didn’t know what to do. He hasn’t comforted anyone before, especially after what happened earlier. Then he remembered a memory still fresh in his mind. The image of his mother crying, lamenting over the phone as she talked to his grandmother about her son’s behavior. Blaming herself over what Deuce has become. He frowned. Seeing the nameless girl in front of him cry reminded him of his mother crying. 

“Hey…” He called out again. Her cries have been reduced to sniffles, yet she remained in a crouching position whilst covering her ears. He gently placed his hand over her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “It’s all okay now…”

The girl, who seemed a bit hesitant, looked up from the ground and looked at Deuce, eyes brimming with tears and nose as red as a rose. Deuce’s eyes widened at the sight. Her hair was a mess, strands of it flying all over the direction while her expression was plastered with uncertainty, yet Deuce call only think of one thing:

Crap, she’s pretty.

He has never seen somebody who looks like an angel from heaven. It was like her whole body was glowing with radiance and beauty, with her eyes shining the most like a bright star in the night. 

“Umm…” Deuce snapped out of his trance as the girl was staring at him with a face that was painted in confusion. He spaced out, he realized, face heating up as he cleared his throat.

“A-Are you okay now?” He softly asked. He gently grabbed her bruised wrist as she instinctively hissed in pain. Realizing his mistake, he immediately let go of it.

“S-Sorry!” His face reddened. There was an awkward pause between them, with him looking away from the girl out of embarrassment while she was staring at him with a thoughtful look.

“So uhh-” He cleared his throat. “Your wrist seems to be hurt… do you want me to escort you to the nurse’s office or—” “Are you Deuce Spade?”

He froze up.

“Umm- I uhh- yes…” He muttered. Another awkward pause. 

Deuce shifted slightly under the scrutinizing gaze of the girl, feeling a bit shy and a little bit disappointed. Right, she must have heard about me. She probably doesn't trust me now…(Wait, why did he care?)

“Pfft-” Deuce let out a ‘huh?’ and looked up to see the girl trying to hold in her laughter. His face burned up even further. Was there something wrong with his face? What he wore? His hair? It’s gotta be his hair right—?

“S-Sorry—hahaha…!” She stuttered out, wiping away the imaginary tears on the corner of her eyes. She gave him an apologetic smile. “I just didn’t think the infamous Deuce Spade would be this polite and kind.” She giggled. Deuce smiled.

“Haha, well… I’m not really…” He rubbed his nap while looking with a melancholic face. “I guess I just wanted to… change my ways.” You stared at him, a bit bewildered.

“A-And I know it’s hard to believe that someone like me could change, but…” He clenched his bruised fists, as your eyes softened. “I want to try, at least.”

“I see…” You smiled. You… wouldn’t have guessed that the Deuce Spade would come and save you. There are many bad rumors about him after all, so you thought he’ll be someone rude and loud. Maybe he was once like that, but meeting him in person and seeing him like this…

It’s like he wasn’t beating the crap out of three people just earlier.

“(Name).” He looked at you with a raised brow.

“My name.” His mouth formed into an ‘o’ shape before shyly laughing.

“Right… (Name)... Nice to meet you, (Name).” He scratched his cheek.

You grin widely. “Nice to meet you too, Deuce.”

Maybe he isn’t so bad after all.

“So uhh… should we get you to the infirmary or?”

“Oh- I forgot about that. Wait- where are my books?”

[ktkpopping]

I’ll Take Care of You

summary: Dealing with chronic illness is never easy. Waking up one morning having a killer flare causes you to cut the workday short, which leads to your attentive and loving partner, Park Seonghwa, taking care of you.

Hiiiiiiiii

So this is the first fic I've ever written and it is purely self-indulgent and born out of one of my own bouts of chronic illness. I don't see a lot of fics dealing with this particular topic so I wrote this in an attempt to shed light on chronic illness and make other readers feel seen. It's super fluffy and only slightly angsty with Seonghwa being the softest boy on earth.

This fic can be read as gender-neutral! While writing it I imagined F/M, but it ended up not having any real identifying characteristics of the reader so it's up to your imagination to decide!

AO3

warnings: mentions of chronic illness and flares, mentions of food

genres: fluff, slight angst, romance, gn reader x seonghwa

word count: 3454

You knew today was going to be one of those days. You could feel it in your bones the instant you woke up but decided to push forward with the day regardless.

Though now, you were definitely regretting getting out of bed this morning.

Sitting at your desk and fighting the urge to fold in on yourself, you could feel your joints throbbing and a dull burning radiating around your knees.

A normal occurrence, however unwelcome for someone who lived with chronic illness.

After another 30 minutes at your desk desperately trying to be productive, you decided to call it quits for the day. You would be no use to anyone while in this much pain, so why bother staying?

You texted your partner Seonghwa to let him know you were going home for the day.

You Hi my love, I’m having a really bad flare today and have decided to head home

I’ll probably be asleep when you get home from work

He responds moments later.

My star ⭐️ Oh my darling

I’m so sorry to hear that

I’ll make you some dinner and help you out when I get home later

Please try and get some rest 💕

You and Seonghwa met in college at a party during your freshmen year. You knew he was the one the second you laid eyes on him. Coiffed, black hair with a striking undercut and deep, round eyes had you melting in an instant. You had never seen someone look so soft yet so commanding at the same time.

You were already head over heels at first glance, but the second he spoke to you and you heard that honeyed deep voice, you knew you were a goner.

You’ve been together for a little over eight years, and following college, you both moved into a nice apartment together in the city. You worked in higher education, while Seonghwa worked in the nonprofit sector.

Dragging yourself out of the building with your remaining energy, you drive home and try to keep your breathing even and thoughts focused on delivering your tired body back home.

Upon arriving, you immediately went to your room, stripping clothes off along the way to release yourself from the confines of professional attire, leaving a trail of black on the way to your bed. At this point, you couldn’t be bothered to care about the mess in your wake.

Immediately crawling between the sheets and under your weighted blanket, you willed yourself to fall asleep, desperately hoping the pain would subside for a while so that you could rest.

When you woke a few hours later to the sound of the garage door closing, you groggily wiped your eyes.

Your joints still radiated pain, albeit less intense than before.

You heard the sound of dress shoes clicking on the tile as they came closer to your shared bedroom.

Standing in the doorway was Seonghwa, dressed in his standard work attire of a crisp button down, slim tie, and fitted slacks.

“Oh my love, are you alright? How are you feeling?” He asked as he slipped his shoes off and made his way into the bedroom, seating himself on the edge of your bed to cup your face gently.

“I’ve been better. This isn’t the worst flare I’ve had, but I couldn’t focus at work and my energy drained rapidly. I knew I wouldn’t be of use to anyone if I tried to tough it out through the day, so I came home.”

“Darling, you shouldn’t push yourself so hard when you know you’re not feeling well. Your bosses understand. I hate seeing you push yourself to your breaking point when it’s not necessary.”

He looked at you with concern and fondness and you knew his words were true, it’s just hard for you to get out of the headspace of feeling like a burden and needing to be “on” at all times to keep up the masquerade of being a “normal” person.

Chronic illness was a part of you, you knew that. But it didn’t make it any less difficult to deal with, nor did it quell your anxiety around others and how you would be perceived or treated if they knew.

You sighed. “Yeah, I know. It’s just hard for me to overcome the monsters in my head sometimes. I know you’re right, I’m just…struggling.” You admit as your shoulders slump.

His gaze softened as he caressed your cheek softly.

“Love, it’s okay not to be 100%, I promise you. How about you let me run you an epsom salt bath? Let me take care of you tonight and ease some of your stress. I know I can’t take the pain away, but I can try to help you manage it.”

You nod and he kisses your lips gently before making his way to the en suite bathroom.

You hear the tap start and you heave a sigh while trying to stretch yourself out without causing too much additional discomfort.

A few moments later, he returns to your side.

“Come on my love, let me take care of you.”

He pulls the covers down and loops his arms around your back and under your knees, carrying you bridal style to the bathroom.

Depositing you gently on the floor, he helps you remove your remaining clothes. He then holds his hand out for you to grab as you step into the warm water and sink into its comforting embrace.

Once you’re fully reclined in the clawfoot tub, he strips off his button-down and tie, leaving him in his white undershirt and slacks, settling in behind you with shampoo, conditioner and a bowl at his side.

He starts by filling the bowl and gently running the warm water over your hair, a heavy sigh escaping you as he does. He then pours some of your favorite shampoo in his palms and begins a soothing lather over your scalp, his deft fingers causing a shudder to wrack through you at the sensation. He has long fingers, and he knows how to use them to his advantage.

He continues to massage the product through your roots, allowing for you to relax further into the water as he works.

Filling the bowl again, he rinses your hair out thoroughly, all while whispering sweet praises into your ear, lulling you into a more relaxed state despite the way your joints continue to throb.

Once rinsed, he adds a generous portion of conditioner to his hands to work through your ends gently, pinning your hair up to allow the product to work.

“Darling, close your eyes and continue to relax while I get the shower started for us. I’ll come back in a few minutes to help you out of the tub” he says gently at your side.

You nod slightly and keep your eyes closed, focused on the sensation of the warm epsom salt bath with the scent of comforting eucalyptus oil wafting up from the water.

Lost in your thoughts, you don’t realize that Seonghwa has returned and is now fully undressed until he nudges you gently to help you stand up.

He unplugs the drain and holds your hand as you step out of the tub and onto the bath mat. Once out, he guides you over to the shower, following you inside.

He leads you both under the spray so he can help you rinse the conditioner out of your hair, settling himself behind you and situating his hands on your waist once you’re finished.

He wraps his arms around your midsection and holds you close, but gently as he peppers soft kisses to your temple and crown.

You sink into the sensation of the warm cascading water with the love of your life behind you and try to stay grounded in the moment despite all the pain.  

“I know you’re not feeling well baby, once we get you all clean, I’ll help get you set up with your meds and some arthritis cream and a heating pad. Once you’re settled, I’ll make you some dinner. Does that sound okay?” He asks with his lips pressed to your temple.

His deep, soothing voice causes you to melt, and if you weren’t already, his ministrations and soothing words would cause you to fall head over heels in love with him.

You nod your assent and feel him shift to grab the body wash off the shelf. He begins to lather your skin with soft, soothing motions to prevent aggravating your already tender body.

There’s nothing sexual about his movements. You can feel the love and care he puts into helping you shower and feel more comfortable. His large hands shifting his way down your middle, over your thighs and down your legs causing you to shiver slightly but bask in the comfort.

“Spread your legs darling, let me help you” you hear him whisper behind you. He trails back up the inside of your thighs and helps to clean your most sensitive areas with the gentlest touch as to not cause you any additional discomfort.

Not that he’s got any ulterior motive, but you couldn’t be turned on right now if you tried, your pain receptors alight and burning and trying to focus on standing up straight instead of curling into yourself like you want to.

He senses your struggle to stay upright and balances you back on his front once he finishes soaping your body up.

Detaching the shower head, he runs the warm water over you, concentrating some of the warmth on the joints he knows hurt the worst.

Once rinsed off, he turns off the tap and leads you out of the shower, wrapping a large, warm towel around you as he helps you dry yourself off.

Shifting slightly as you allow him space to do the same for himself, you lean over on the counter as your body continues to work against you.

Once dried, he grabs both of you fresh underwear and settles you onto the bed.

“Stay here and rest, I’ll get everything you need and I’ll be back shortly” he says as he places a chaste kiss to your forehead.

You close your eyes and will the plush mattress to swallow you whole if it’ll take away the pain. You know flares are temporary, but the way your body feels like it’s on FIRE never fails to make you want to tear your hair out in frustration.

The pain has become so much despite the care that Seonghwa bestowed on you, and hot tears finally slip from your closed eyes as you finally break from the stress of the day.

You don’t know how long you cry for, only really coming back into your body when you feel the bed dip and gentle thumbs wiping away at your under eyes.

You open your eyes to see his pained but loving expression as he caresses your face.

“I know, I know darling. It’ll get better soon. Here, sit up and take your pain relievers and drink a full glass of water” he says in a low, soft voice.

He helps prop you up against the pillows so you can swallow down the pills and drink, the cold water soothing down your raw throat.

Sniffling, you turn to Seonghwa and hand him the glass whilst grabbing his free hand to rub circles into the back of it.

“Thank you…thank you for taking care of me. I know it’s not easy and my flares are unpredictable, but I can never thank you enough for the care you give me when I’m struggling. I always…” you sigh heavily as a fresh wave of tears make their way down your cheeks. “I always feel like such a burden. I know you’re going to tell me that I’m not, and I know that I’m not…but sometimes it’s really, really hard to bring myself out of that dark place within my own mind. I just feel so…useless and helpless when this happens and it drives me insane that I can’t function at all” you say as the tears continue to fall.

He continues to cradle your face in his palms as he speaks in his low timbre. “My love, you could never, EVER be a burden. I know I’ll never fully understand or experience what you do, but I know that I will do anything I can within my power to lessen the pain and comfort you, even if it’s just holding your hand through it all. I love you, and I will continue to help you navigate whatever life throws at you.” He grips your face a little tighter and stares directly into your eyes, watery gaze firm and insistent. “You are not and nor will you ever be a burden. Even if you don’t believe it, I will continue to reassure you. I love you, and I am here for you.”

Your tears continue as you hold his gaze, but you lean into his touch and close your eyes. Inhaling a shaky but steadying breath, you open your eyes back up to his. “Thank you, I love you more than I ever thought possible.”

“And I love you, darling. Now lay back down and tell me which joints are bothering you most,” he says as he eases you flat down on the bed.

“My knees feel like they’re on fire and my lower back and shoulders really, really hurt,” you reply with a grimace.

He grabs the medicated arthritis cream off the night stand and starts to work it into your knees. The smell of menthol wafts up between you as his nimble fingers massage your aching joints and you feel yourself relaxing a bit the longer he works your joints.

“Flip over darling, I’ll get your shoulders next” he says, nudging your side to catch your attention. You roll over and he repeats the process on your shoulders, working out some of the tension as he does.

You let out a small dulcet sigh as you feel some of the day’s tension draining, silently willing the medication to take effect faster the more he works.

He steps back after placing a gentle kiss to your crown. “I’m going to go wash my hands and let that sink in before we flip you over for the heating pad on your lower back, and then I’ll go and get us some dinner.”

You grunt in affirmation, earning a slight chuckle from the man as he makes his way into the en suite. As you lay there, you find yourself continuing the thoughts of how grateful you are to have Seonghwa as your partner. You’ll never know how you got so lucky, but you’re consistently amazed by his grace and patience and overwhelming support of you and your conditions. You know you would do exactly the same if the situation was reversed.

“Alright, let’s get you rolled over on the heating pad and once you’re settled, I’ll bring us dinner in bed and we can watch whatever you’d like on tv,” he says upon emerging from the bathroom.

You begin to roll over and he sets the heating pad directly under the small of your back as you settle back into the covers. Again, he places a gentle kiss to your forehead as you get comfortable, and then makes his way out of the room toward to kitchen for dinner.

Left alone, you feel your eyes growing heavier as the medication and cream begins to take effect and you concentrate on the pad slowly heating on your lower back. Soon, you find yourself drifting off until you’re roused from your almost-slumber by Seonghwa returning with a tray of food for you both.

He settles it between you and helps you to sit up before moving to the opposite side of the bed and taking his place at your side. He’s prepared you both a hearty stew and bread, with steaming cups of tea for the ultimate comfort meal.

You find your eyes watering again as you turn to him and notice a very soft smile and fond expression color his features as he gazes back at you. You lift your hand to cup the side of his face and whisper “thank you” to prevent the tears from fully falling down.

He leans in and kisses you softly while wiping under your eyes as a lone tear tracks its way down your cheek.

“Any time, my love. Now, please eat something and then we can get you settled into bed for the night.”

You both eat in comfortable silence as some show plays on the tv in front of you. You can’t find it in yourself to fully pay attention to what’s happening, but you find additional comfort in the background noise and the knowledge that Seonghwa is right beside you.

Once you’re both finished, he gets up to grab the tray and bring it back to the kitchen. You know he’ll be a while as he does the dishes and wipes down the kitchen, as it would irk him to leave the kitchen in any kind of messy state regardless of the situation.

You giggle to yourself at his fastidiousness and sink back into the pillows to relax. The medications have finally started to take effect, and you’re feeling some of the ache drain out of you, as the fatigue and exhaustion take over.

After a bit, he returns to dim the lights and settle back at your side. He comes closer, leaning on his left arm as his right drapes lightly across your abdomen.

“How are you feeling now? Is the medication kicking in? Do you need anything else?” He coos gently to you with mild concern etched between his brows.

You reach up to smooth the skin there, soft gaze meeting his. “I’m doing better. I can’t think of anything I need at the moment, I’m just…really exhausted and think it’s about time for bed.”

Now that everything’s cleaned up and you’re both settled in, he shifts closer to turn off the heating pad and move it to the floor so that you can get comfortable for the night. He lays on his back, and you shift slightly as to lay your head on his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat as his arms wrap gently, but securely against you, rubbing small patterns up and down your spine to further relax you.

He kisses your head and you both lay there, basking in each others comfort until you feel yourself losing the battle against sleep. You kiss his chest and lean up to press your lips to his, where he reciprocates easily, before rolling over onto your back to get comfortable and prevent any further fatigue or joint pain in the morning as a result of sleeping in an awkward position.

Once settled, he turns off the tv and pulls the covers over both of you securely, encasing you in soft warmth. “Goodnight my love, I hope tomorrow is easier and that your pain is lessened,” he whispers into the darkness.

“Thank you again Hwa, I love you very much” you mumble back, before sleep finally overtakes you for the night.

Upon waking in the morning to the sound of your combined alarms, you realize that your joints feel far less tense and you breathe a heavy sigh of relief.

You look over to seonghwa as he groggily rubs his eyes and looks to you before rasping in his morning voice, “How are you feeling this morning, darling?”

You smile, feeling slightly affected and endeared by his husky tone. “Much better; thank you again for taking care of me yesterday, I can’t ever thank you enough for doing that.”

He hums affectionately before pulling you close and wrapping his arms back around you, peppering soft kisses into your hairline.

You both lay there a while and bask in each other’s warmth until the alarm goes off again and you both need to get up and get ready for the day.

You both make your way into the en suite where he turns on the shower while you use the bathroom. Once finished, you step out and admire his silhouette through the fogged glass and a soft smile paints your features as you again think about how lucky you are to have this beautiful and compassionate man as your partner.

You join him in the shower to let the hot water run across your shoulders again, wrapped and content in your lover’s arms as the soothing spray cascades over you both and you know that despite the unpredictable daily trials of chronic illness, that everything is going to be okay.

[swamp-spirit]

So You’re in Effexor/Venlafaxine Withdrawal

Had some provider change bullshit and went from 225 mg a day for years to cold turkey for five days. Effexor’s pretty famous for being The Fucking Worst withdrawal wise, but it honestly works great for me. I’m a dumbass with ADHD, so I often end up without a day or two, but HOO BOY five days was a lot.

Unfortunately, most withdrawal advice I’ve found it targeted at people who are intentionally going off Effexor and focused on working with a doctor and weening slowly, not super relevant to me. I wanted to write up what I’ve learned to help other people who might be going through the withdrawal and not have access to Effexor or a doctor. None of this magically fixes it, it’s just making the shit timeframe until you can get your meds a bit less shit.

Note, this is pretty much all personal experience, and there’s not much research. This is not formal medical advice, and if you can talk to a professional, please do. Also note that I have a number of side conditions that may influence my experience. (Withdrawal is actually something that can be so personal.)

Know the Emergency Signs I’m not gonna fully list symptoms here, plenty of people have done that, but know which symptoms are normal ‘yup this sucks‘ symptoms and which are ‘oh shit‘ symptoms.  If you’re in this situation, I imagine the odds are good money is part of the problem, but know Urgent Care and the ER will usually give you an emergency prescription, so if you feel like things are getting that bad anyways, it’s good to go before it gets worse.

Don’t Drive I can’t drive ever, but pls don’t do this in withdrawal. I know you might have obligations, and I know calling a ride is expensive, but getting in a car crash is more expensive.

Try Not to Be Alone If you can, ask a friend over, go to a family members house, whatever you can. A lot of the emergency signs (delirium, seizures, losing consciousness) mean you can’t seek care for yourself. It’s good to have somebody around who knows what to look for. The biggest danger to people in Effexor withdrawal tends to be the mental symptoms. If it’s safe, let your loved ones know that you’re at higher risk for self harm and suicidal thoughts, and what you’d like them to do if  they’re worried. Most situations aren’t going to be that bad. Usually, it just sucks, but like... it’s good to have somebody around who can bring you soup and listen to you feel sorry for yourself. Treat it like having the flu, and know you deserve the same care as anyone else in that situation. (Yes, even if it’s ‘your fault’ you ran out of meds. If punishing yourself for not thinking ahead/missing an insurance detail/forgetting something worked, I’d never miss a dose.)

Chill Out Your Nervous System A lot of the symptoms (brain zaps and shivers esp) are your nervous system going out of control, so doing calming techniques can actually help. Getting hugs, bundling up somewhere cozy, and doing deep breathing is legit medical treatment for soothing out a haywire system.

Track When In the Day It’s Worst Being sick, unfortunately, does not always mean you don’t have shit to do. I realized pretty quickly my shakes were a ton worse at night, so, even though I didn’t want to do much during the morning, if it had to get done, that’s when it was going to happen. It can also be good just so, when you’re symptoms are at their worst, you can remember that it won’t be like this the entire time until you get meds.

Indulge Cravings When your body’s doing heavy lifting, it starts yelling for whatever weird shit it thinks might help. That’s what weird pregnancy cravings are, and that’s what you need now. Save the diet for later, get a little lax on the grocery budget, and have zero shame about replacing dinner with pickle juice mixed with gatoraid or whatever. If you deal with nausea, try to stick to small meals of whatever seems doable. My personal buddy was Morningstar Veggie sausages since they’re high protein without being too dense or fatty.

Medicine Cabinet Helpers Dangerous layman advice!!! I saw medical pages advise it but still be careful!!! That said, holy shit, those dramamine lemon ginger chews are my best friends now, followed shortly by melatonin gummies and advil.

Room Temp Baths Hot baths can be a lot on an overtaxed nervous system, but I found pleasantly warm water was very pleasant.

Sick Day Entertainment When electronics are overwhelming, books are hard, you can’t get out of bed, and you desperately need a distraction, it’s good to have things you can handle. Some ideas -Calling somebody -Audiobooks/podcasts -Coloring Honestly, more suggestions here would be great. My go to was podcasts, but I know a lot of people, trying to track a podcast in withdrawal sounds like hell.

Anyway, cheers to making it out the other side, because you will. In the meantime, spoil the shit out of yourself.

[astartothemoon]

Boys! Boys! Boys! II Steve II

Summary: Steve is given his dad’s auto repair shop after Mr. Harrington up and leaves Hawkins. Things go semi-great and soon enough Steve and his coworkers (Eddie and Billy) need to come up with a plan to earn some money on the side to keep the shop going. Good thing they are all hot and willing to put on a show. Stripper!AU

This is part 1 of 3 - Steve’s part 

Pairing: Steve Harrington x female Reader (nicknamed reader, little use of Y/N)

Trigger Warning: Swearing. Mention of alcohol. Mention of food. Mention of sexual acts but no full on smut. This is a stripper AU. Billy Hargrove is mentioned in this part though he’s barely in it.

Wordcount: 8.8k

A/N:  Likes, reblogs, comments are all much appreciated. I am German. Sometimes I get the tense wrong or make mistakes. I am useless when it comes to punctuation. Go easy on me, please

Not a single soul in the small town of Hawkins was particularly surprised when Thomas Harrington finally had enough, sold his car dealership, and went off to go live with his second not-so-secret family somewhere in Oregon. Least of all his son Steve.

What came as quite a shock though, was the letter the Harrington patriarch left behind. The one that said sorry, to Steve not to his wife, and that came with the ownership papers of Harrington Auto repairs, the auto body shop that his dad had acquired a while back but never got around to opening. The one that was meant to go hand in hand with the dealership.

"I know you're good with cars and bad at selling things, so have the garage instead of the dealership. If you want to open it, that would make me proud and if you want to sell it, that's okay too. It's yours."

As much as Steve hated to admit it, his dad was right and he probably knew him better than Steve had ever realized. He was good with cars but an absolute failure when it comes to selling stuff to people. Ice cream, family video membership cards, himself. He'd never get anyone to buy a freaking car.

He could fix them though. And he knew people who do too. People who needed jobs. People he wants to strangle at the best of times but that he calls his friends anyway.

Eddie was easy to rope in, the boy was as excitable as a golden retriever. And while he wasn't super enthusiastic about working a full-time job, the pay and the fact that he got to work on cars all day made it worth it for him.

Billy was a bit harder of a case to crack. Him and Steve having a bit of a strained relationship was the first obstacle. The second was the fact that Billy was a bit of an asshole. Self-centered, with an ego the size of a small country, vain, and a little bit aggressive.

But Billy was good. He knew a shit ton about cars and how to fix even the worst of the worst.  

It took a lot of groveling from Steve. A promise of good pay and the agreement to rent out the flat above the garage to him for Billy to come on board.

That was two years ago. Two years of hard work. Of sweat and (secret) tears and fighting and celebrating. Two hard but good years.

Things have changed - for better and worse.

Billy is less of an asshole now. He still has his moment but his anger doesn't cloud all of his judgment anymore. Now he's mostly just a smartass with a big ego. It's crazy what getting a kid out of a bad home can do. 

At this point, Steve might even consider him a good friend, though he'll never admit it. Ever.

That's the change for the better.

The shop though, that's barely scraping by. Bills are at an all-time high. Customers come in but with the low prices and relying mostly on locals, funds are limited.

"Eddie, that looks great!" Steve's voice echoes through the room. His eyes are fixed on the shiny blue Mercedes, an intricate silver design painted onto its side.

Turns out Eddie is not just a great mechanic but an artist on top. What started as a fun way to pass the time and something that Eddie had expected to stay a fully self-indulgent hobby, has quickly turned into a somewhat lucrative extra income for the garage.

"Yeah? I got these new spray paints in. The silver really pops against the dark blue."

"Looks great, man" Steve exclaims and gives the man an appreciative pat on the back, earning him a grin in return. Eddie thrives on praise. Golden retriever that he is.

"Hey, have you seen Hargrove? I need to know if Mrs. Hackman's Escort will be done this week.

"Oh, it's done." There's a teasing edge in Eddie's voice that both amuses and terrifies Steve.

"He fixed it already? I thought he was aiming for the end of the week. Wow, that was quick."

"Mmh, " Eddie responds and nods his head in the direction of the front desk where Billy is happily talking to the aforementioned Mrs. Hackman. He's got that saccharine smile on display, all teeth and dimples. All fake.

If there is one thing undeniable about Billy Hargrove, it's the fact that he is disarmingly charming. With his blue eyes and golden locks, he turns everyone's head. Man or woman.

Especially women though. Middle-aged ones to be exact. Like Mrs. Hackman. 

And when at first he kind of hated it. Felt used and dirty and uncomfortable with it, Billy has long ago realized that there's some money to make there. A smile means a tip, some flirting means an even bigger tip.

It's all pros and cons in life you just have to decide what outweighs the other.

Eddie lets out a huff, blowing a strand of curls away from his face. It's a terribly hot summer in Indiana this year. All, clothes sticking to your skin and air feeling heavy, kind of hot. 

They're all struggling through the heat but while Steve's hair is still looking fairly reasonable, Eddie looks a bit like a wet poodle.

"The AC bring broken is killing me, Harrington."

"I know. I know, me too. I'll — I'll go see what Bunny says."

He finds himself glancing at the closed door to the office at the top of the stairs. He can just imagine Bunny, their secretary, and the smartest person in this workplace, sitting by her desk palming her face in frustration.  

Sitting there looking absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous as ever, trying to get them out of this sinking ship, to keep the shop afloat. 

She's way too good for them, he's always thought so and probably always will. Which makes him even more grateful that she chooses to stick by them no matter what.

Maybe it's because she's Steve's oldest friend, basically his second half since kindergarten. Maybe she's got masochistic tendencies.

Whatever it is, he doesn't mind as long as she doesn't abandon them.

"Well," Eddie's voice shakes Steve from his thoughts "go ask her now because I'm literally about to die."

"You're being dramatic."

"You won't be saying that when I'm dead and stinking up the place."

"Okay, okay.'' Enough with the theatrics. I'm going."

With an overdramatic roll of his eyes, Steve pushes away from the car and drags his feet up the stairs, entering the office after giving the wooden door a swift rapt of his knuckles.

"Close the door! I don't want the hot air to get in."

Bunny is leaning against her desk, hair clinging to sweaty skin as much as Eddie's does, as much as his own does. She's fanning herself with a piece of paper while a fan whirrs behind her, blowing lukewarm air at her.

"It's just as hot in here as it is downstairs. Actually, it might even be hotter in here, now that I think about it."

She throws a bunny-shaped eraser at him, just barely missing his head. But by ty smile tugging at her lips, he can tell she knows he's right.

It's funny, he thinks looking around the office, how one small moment can change so much about someone's life.

Had he not befriended her at 4 years old she wouldn't be here today, making sure the store is going and keeping the boys out of trouble.

Had she not worn a hoodie with bunny ears that day he might've never called her by the silly nickname that still sticks to this day. She's (Y/N) to her parents and Bunny to everyone else.

"We need to get the AC fixed. Eddie is about ready to die out there and Hargrove is from California but even he is reaching his boiling point … literally."

She laughs at the joke like he knew she would. Of all the good things about her, her sense of humor is not one of them. He loves it, means she laughs at his jokes even when they're really bad.

"I know, Steve but uh - it's not looking so good."

It's not a secret. Even though he's not too involved in dealing with the financial side of the business, as the owner Steve is well aware that they are just barely scraping by.

"Shit."

"Yeah. I'm sorry Steve. We're just able to pay the electricity bill this month, don't think we can splurge on anything else."

He nods in defeat. It feels like letting people down. Himself, the guys, his dad. Everyone.

“You think we can manage to buy a fan or two at least? You know, just to keep Munson alive.”

She looks at him with that expression in her eyes that says “we really can’t but I’ll find a way to do it”. He loves her for it, for everything she does.

“I’ll see what I can do. We really don’t want Eddie to overheat. —“ a big sigh leaves her lips before she continues. “ But Steve, it’s really not looking good. I’ve been twisting and turning and pushing around numbers for what feels like forever now. I don’t know how much longer we can go on like this.”

He knows this. No matter how much he’s trying to push it out of his mind. He is painfully aware of the shot show they’re currently in. Hearing her say it, outright and with no sugar to coat it, that’s like a dagger straight to the heart. Box cutter to the jugular.

“I’ll figure something out, I promise.”

“You always do.”

She puts an unwavering amount of faith in him. Steve is not sure he’s entirely deserving of it but he’s not gonna complain.

Thanks, Buns, you’re the best. Don’t know what I’d do without you.”

When he places a soft kiss on the top of her head, the scene of her shampoo fills his nose and takes over all his senses for a moment. She always smells so good. Warm and comforting and like — well, like home. 

"What in the world is going on here?"

Loud heavy metal music echoes through the garage, it’s the one thing Eddie and Billy really can agree on. The music choice. This leaves Steve outnumbered when it comes to choosing the music being played during working hours.

It's not the music though, that confuses him, it's the fact that the boys are both shirtless as they lean against the respective cars they're working on, sipping on - water?!

Billy doesn't go out of his way to drink water usually, that boy has a sweet tooth like no other and if there's no beer there (which there isn't during working hours) he always goes for the coke. Regular, none of that watered-down, nasty-tasting diet crap.

And Eddie? Eddie eats and drinks like a 10-year-old. Soda or Juice are just fine but water? That's new.

"It's crazy hot in here, Harrington. Be glad it's just the shirts, Munson was this close to taking off his pants too," Billy jokes, indicating a tiny space between his fingers.

"Yup but I didn't want to make you guys jealous of my great ass. I know it's hard enough measuring up to a shirtless me."

"Whatever you say chicken breast." 

Laughter echoes through the hall as Billy twirls the dirty rag, he uses to wipe the grease off his hands, into a tight knot only to land it against Eddie's chest with a loud snap.

It's not always been like this. Fun and full of laughter. Their beginnings were awkward to say the least, neither of the boys was particularly fond of the others. But they've grown on Steve, even Billy. They're somewhat of a little family right now. Brotherly teasing and rivalries included.

"Wow, there are people out there who would pay a lot of money to watch this."

Robin's voice cuts through the boyish laughter and makes 3 heads turn in her direction. 

"This," she continues and waves her hand between the boys " I mean. You guys, half-naked, dancing or playing or whatever it is you're doing. Some people would pay money to see this. Not me - but I'm sure there's someone out there. "

"Are you here for another free oil change? You know you're my best friend but at some point, I'm gonna have to start charging."

"Calm down Steve, what do you take me for? No, I'm here for Bunny actually. I gotta return some records she let me borrow. So don't let me interrupt your - whatever session. Keep going, gentleman".

With a mock salute, she pushes past the boys and continues her way up the stairs and into the office. All that's heard before the door falls back into place is a loud "close the door! The cool air is getting out!".

He loves that the girls are getting along. His girls. The two people he trusts with his life. The first time he brought Robin around was nerve-wracking and sent his anxiety through the roof. For no reason, really. The girls got on like a house on fire. Now it's like they've known each other their whole life.

"Steve?" Eddie shakes him from his daydream. There's an edge to his voice now, a seriousness and sincerity Steve hasn't heard before.

"Yeah?"

"I think I have an idea."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"The shop needs extra funds, right? I think I have an idea of how we can make more money."

“Do you know why we’re here?” Bunny asks as she shuffles into the garage long after store closing, Robin and Nancy following behind her with quick steps.

By the expression on their faces, she doesn’t even need them to answer. The same confusion she’s feeling is looking back at her.

“Steve just said it’s important and that it’s about the shop.” 

“Well, that’s more information than I got. Eddie just called me and said they needed my opinion on something then hung up before I could even reply,” Robin explains.

“They? As in Steve, Eddie, and — “ 

“ — and me! “ 

Billy grants the girls one of his million-dollar smiles. The one where his eyes twinkle and you wonder what kind of secrets are hidden in the corner of his lips. Not that it works on either of the girls. Especially now that they are all way too confused and focused on the huge elephant in the room.

“Why are you wearing a suit?” 

“It’s all part of tonight’s entertainment. Would you ladies follow me to your seats?” 

“Seats? Entertainment? “

Bunny isn’t sure he even takes notice of her questions, if he does he chooses to ignore them as he silently leads them further into the room to where 3 chairs are placed neatly in a row. 

“Please take your seats, the show is about to start.” 

A questioning glance passes between the girls. Nevertheless, they do as told and sit down just before Billy hands each of them what seems to be a leaflet of some kind. Though it’s hard to tell since he hands it to them with the print pointing down.

“ You can turn this around as soon as I leave you to it. Please just — just wait. “ His cool suave image slips for a second before his lips pull back into the familiar cocky smirk “now enjoy the show. “

He has the audacity to wink at them. What the hell is going on?

“What is this about?” Nancy asks as the girls turn the papers around, almost moving in sync.

In big bold letters, the flyer reads:

This one’s for the ladies!

Witness Hawkins’ Hottest:

King Steve

Billy the kid 

& Mr. Hellfire.

“So wait, are they gonna put on a play or dance or what? “

Robin’s chuckles cut through the confusion and, between long wheezes of laughter, she forms the words: “Holy shit, I think they’re gonna strip.” 

Before Bunny’s brain can even begin to comprehend the information that just tumbled from Robin’s lips, the lights dim, and the beginning guitar chords of Def Leppard’s “Pour some sugar on me” fill the room.

One after the other, the boys step onto a makeshift stage put together from old wooden palettes. All of them wearing suits, a sight the girls are far from used to. Sure Steve’s worn a suit before on several occasions but Billy and Eddie? 

Though none of that really matters right then. All Bunny can focus on, is the rhythmic though out-of-sync rotation of the boy’s hips. There’s a lot of hip thrusting from all of them, suggestive winks from Billy, and what can only be described as borderline obscene tongue movements from Eddie. 

Hands are tracing down their necks, their chests. The suit jackets go first, then the bowties, then their hands grab onto their respective buttons up and in the matter of a blink three naked chests are on full display.

Though if Bunny is being serious, neither Billy nor Eddie are at the receiving end of her attention. 

Steve looks otherworldly in the shine of whatever cheap lights the guys have dragged out here for their little show. All perfectly shaped muscles. He must’ve shaved for this and though she doesn’t mind his usually hairy chest, this just makes it easier to see all of him. Every dip and every ridge. 

There used to be a time when seeing Steve shirtless was just that. Seeing her friend shirtless, no biggie. That changed around the time she turned 15 and suddenly it wasn’t just Steve being shirtless anymore. Now it’s the subject of all her sleepless nights, all her inappropriate thoughts, and all those times she finds herself alone with her hands under the covers.

He is cut from marble. Made to represent the best a man can be.

When his hands move to the belt buckle, and he looks at her directly, Bunny thinks she might just die. Right then and there. A one-way ticket to heaven. Or maybe hell, she can’t be too sure about this. The thoughts running through her head right now, sure don’t seem appropriate to have when passing through the pearly gates.

“I'm hot, sticky sweet

From my head to my feet, yeah”

And then the pants are gone and she’s dying a slow and painful death.

He looks so good. Like she could eat him up right there and he’d taste like the sweetest poison.

Robin's laughter mixes with the music, a melody of chaos and joy. She's having the time of her life and Bunny is sure she'll never let the boys forget about this. This will be her "remember when" card for the rest of all their lives.

Nancy is just quiet, hand going to her face every once in a while, shielding her eyes from what she could potentially see. It's not like this is anything new. She's seen Steve this way before and though Bunny hates to admit it - Nancy is her friend after all - the thought does leave a bitter taste of jealousy in her mouth.

While the girls are caught between shock, amusement, and — whatever it is Bunny is feeling at the moment, the boys take this whole thing with a surprising amount of seriousness. There are teasing smirks on their faces, masks of pure confidence, and a banner of determination and courage that seems to wrap around them.

This is a serious strip show and they make it abundantly clear. If there was ever a doubt in the girls' minds, it is being wiped away completely when the underwear goes. Those shiny black bottoms that seemed entirely too tight for either of them. Bunny wonders if Steve bought them specifically for this or had them already stuffed into the back of his underwear drawer.

That’s the moment Nancy’s eyes go wide, almost threatening to pop right out of her head. The moment Robin covers her face, laughter turns into amused shrieks. And the moment Bunny thinks her heart might stop altogether. 

It's not like they get to see — anything. The boys make sure to cover everything with both hands. Both hands. But still, it's hard to look at the man that owns half of your heart, the recipient of your undying affection, standing there completely naked, and not die a little. 

The song comes to an end and Robin, still in a fit of giggles, starts applauding, Nancy following soon after. It's the first time that night that the guys let their act drop and a certain sense of insecurity fills them as they quickly scurry off to throw on some robes. Those ropes, Bunny is sure they bought specifically for today. They're all silky and shiny. Ridiculous if not a tiny bit endearing.

"What the everloving hell was that?" Robin questions as the boys make their way back toward the line of chairs.

"That, " Steve exclaims and clears his throat as if to fill his voice with determination, " is our chance to keep the garage going."

"You're going to strip for the customers?"

"We're going to strip for whoever books us."

This is all too much all at once for Bunny to properly process. Steve has had many crazy ideas over the years, a lot of delusional thoughts. More now that he's hanging out with Eddie and Billy who all have 0 impulse control. 

None of those ideas ever came close to this. It's on a whole nother plane of existence really. And the worst part? Bunny thinks the boys might be onto something.

"Wait, let me get this straight. You guys want to start a stripping business?"

"Yes, Wheeler. That's exactly the plan. Everything we earn on group booking goes to the shop. Everything from individual jobs goes to the funds for our own special projects. Like paints for me, car radio stuff for Billy. In the end, it all ends up helping the shop."

Eddie talks about the plan with childlike enthusiasm. It’s quite amusing considering the topic of the discussion. Though his words make the gears in Bunny’s head turn. This might not be the worst of all ideas. 

“So — Robin asks, swallowing another laugh, “ I hate to ask this but where do we come in? “ 

“Well, you — “ Billy replies and points and Nancy “are here because you’re part of our target audience. We wanna know if you think this is something that could be successful. You —” he continues now pointing at Robin “are just here because we knew you’d love making fun of us for this and you’d be pissed if we didn’t invite you.” 

“What about me?” 

It’s the first time Bunny speaks up since the show started. The words feel heavy on her tongue. 

“ Oh, you —” 

“We want you to be our manager.” Steve's voice cuts Billy off mid-sentence.

Manager? It’s then when it really settles in how serious the guys are. There’s a look on Steve’s face she’s only ever seen a handful of times. No joking around to be detected. He told her he’d figure out a way to keep the shop going and this is his solution. It’s maybe a bit unconventional and not at all anything she’d have ever expected but it’s a solution nonetheless. 

“Your manager?” 

Steve’s eyes connect with hers, full of hope and uncertainty all at once. He seems to be almost pleading — not with words just with looks. This means more to him than just a silly little idea with his friends. This is his last chance. 

“We need someone to help us out here. You know how shit we are at keeping our appointments in order. How unorganized and messy we are. How much we suck at financials and numbers and all that. We need you. “

“And you think this might actually work?”

Nancy’s voice cuts through the tension. “This might actually not be the worst idea. A lot of girls that I went to High School with got married last year and they all wanted a stripper at their bachelorette parties. But — well the choice was limited.” 

“You sure you want to end up stripping for people you went to Highschool with?” 

Bunny raises an eyebrow in question.

“I mean yeah, that might happen. We want to advertise mostly around Hawkins so not directly here. Just to avoid any awkwardness. But that’s also a reason we wanted to try this out on you. If we can do this for our best friends without dying of embarrassment then —” 

“You guys really want to do this?” 

All of them answer with a determined nod of their heads. There is uncertainty there but not about trying. No one can know the outcome of this but neither of them is afraid of trying. For the one thing they all helped build. For their shop. 

“Well, I guess I can’t let you do this by yourselves then, huh? You need someone to keep you in line.” 

The smile Steve grants her as he realizes she’s in sends Bunny’s heart racing. It’s ridiculous to be so in love with your lifelong best friend. Ridiculous and hopeless and dumb. Agreeing to manage his business where he will get undressed in front of a bunch of ladies sounds like a surefire way to break your own heart. But isn’t that the fundamentals of the human experience? Isn’t that love? Putting your own heart on the line for someone else’s happiness?

“We really do need you.” 

“Okay then, guess I’m in.”

Before the words even fully leave her lips, Bunny is already tackled into a hug. Steve is not a hugger, never was. It’s a side effect of growing up with emotionally absent parents who’d rather give you a new car than a hug. So Steve's hugs are always special. A perfect little cherry on top of every cake.

He’s so warm and he smells like sweat and too much body spray. It’s disgusting but she can’t fault him for it, that man just put on the performance of his life, danced his ass off, and stripped down both literally and emotionally. 

It also reminds her of all the times hanging out with him after basketball training. The best times.

“Thank you, Buns.” 

And maybe she pulls him a little bit tighter. No one has to know. 

“So,” Eddie speaks up as they pull away from the hug. “What do you say, manager? How did we do?”

“Well, glad you asked. If you wanna do this, we’re doing it right. You guys came up with names, now we gotta make them a character. King Steve? I’m getting you a crown and maybe we can also make use of that little sailor uniform of yours. You — “ Bunny snaps her finger and points it at Billy “get out those tiny red shorts you used to flaunt around in at the pool, I know you still got those somewhere, don’t even try to deny it. Maybe some sunglasses too.” 

“Yes, Ma’am.” 

“And you, Mr. Hellfire.”

“Mmmh?”

“ How do we feel about some devil horns?” 

Word spreads fast in Hawkins, that’s not surprising. People are so damn curious about other people’s business and no one keeps their mouth shut — ever.

What is surprising, is that a small stack of flyers, just 50 of them, hung up in clubs and bars around Hawkins, leads to 5 bookings for Hawkins Hottest not even 3 weeks after the idea took seed.

The first one is a group performance. A group of girls books them to surprise their friend at her bachelorette party. It takes place in a small apartment just outside of Carmel and the stage is a living room barely big enough for all 3 men and the spectators. But they make it work. They have fun. It’s a good chance to gain confidence. To really settle into their roles.

And the pay is good. Good enough to buy 3 fans for the shop. A move that put Steve forever in Eddie’s good books. 

The second one is a bit of a bigger performance. An all-female bowling team book them for their 25-year anniversary party held at a venue just an hour north of Hawkins. 

Those ladies are scary in a way that Steve doesn’t even attempt to describe. Scary in a way that is fascinating and a little uncomfortable. But the job gets done and the pay is once again great. 

Bunny is there with them, always. Steve wonders what he ever did to deserve her. Her unwavering support. The faith she puts in him, displaced but appreciated. Her kindness, patience, and trust. 

She’s the one doing all the dirty work. Advertisement, bookings, financials. She makes sure the boys get to where they need to be on time. She books hotel rooms if needed. She provides snacks for the ride. She helps with costumes and makeup and sound and lighting. She does 12 jobs at once and she never complains. She just smiles and sometimes when Steve feels a little anxious on stage and looks for her in the crowd or backstage, she’s always there to offer him the encouragement he needs. She is everything. 

“So … are you ever gonna tell Harrington how you feel or are we all taking it to the grave?”

Eddie has a big mouth and no filter. Sometimes that’s funny, hilarious even. It makes for great icebreakers and exciting conversations. Sometimes his big mouth plucks a secret straight from your brain that you didn’t even know was there in the first place. And he presents it to the world. Those times his big mouth is less funny. Those times it scares Bunny.

"Not sure what you're insinuating here, Munson."

Her eyes involuntarily search for Steve across the room. His chest is on display, a shirt hanging loosely from his shoulder, unbuttoned and almost teasing. The boys are about to go on stage in just a few minutes and while Eddie is all cool and collected, Steve always gets a little nervous. He's a bit of a perfectionist, Bunny has realized lately. Not always, but about the important things. Especially when his future and the future of his shop are at stake.

"Mmmh. Of course, you don't. Not like you're undressing him with your eyes right this second."

"Eddie," she lets out a mix between a scoff and a chuckle "I've seen you guys strip nearly every night lately. I don't need to undress him, he's doing it himself.”

“So do I and you never looked at me like that, or Billy. Just good old Steve over there. I’ve deducted —”

“You haven’t deducted anything.”

“Just saying, I’m picking up some vibes here.” 

“Eddie —” Bunny says and fixes him with what she attempts to be a serious glare but probably ends up making her look as intimidating as a literal bunny rabbit “ — stop it. Go get some oil on that chest of yours, you guys are about to go on stage.” 

Stage. A real actual stage this time. 

The club they have been booked to perform at is small, smaller even than the hideout. It’s a bit grimy, with lots of mismatched furniture. Ripped concert posters line the wall and the dressing rooms smell like bleach and cheap air freshener. But it’s a stage! A real stage in front of an audience that paid an entry fee to see them specifically. It’s amazing to think that they’ve been given this chance only such a short time after starting this whole crazy idea. Sometimes it feels unreal. Like none of this is really happening. Maybe because it’s hard to explain to people. This insane whirlwind of an idea they’ve all willingly jumped into is not only working, it’s also fun. Most of them won't understand. Most of them will just judge. 

It doesn’t matter though. It never did.

None of it really matters when she looks at the boys as they perform their stage show. An immeasurable amount of pride fills her heart. This is something that quickly becomes more than either of them thought it could be. A spark turning into a raging fire. 

They’re all good, surprisingly. Stripped both figuratively and literally of everything. They are their characters and they’re putting on one hell of a show.

The room is filled with a sizzling static, a euphoric atmosphere. It’s sexy and fun and mesmerizing all at once.

Steve looks good enough to eat as he moves around on stage. Dipped in hues of pink and red and orange as the stage lights capture him, it’s quite the vision and not unlike some of the scenes from Bunny’s most intimate, most secret dreams. 

The baby oil that the boys have lathered onto themselves earlier, leaves a shiny gleam on his pecks. He looks delectable. For a moment she wants to scold herself for these thoughts, this is Steve. HER Steve. But isn’t this the point of all of this? These feelings of desire and lust and passion? Isn’t this what they want to awaken in their audience? 

So what if the audience is Bunny of all people.

He’s meant for greatness even if no one ever made him believe so. She knows it. Maybe that greatness is found on this stage. Or maybe it’s in whatever he chooses to do. Maybe it’s simply him.

A few weeks later 

“Are you nervous?” 

Her hand feels so warm as she rests it on his shoulder. 

It’s his first solo performance. The first time someone booked just him. Not him — King Steve.

A 21st birthday. All the way in the big city of Indianapolis.

This time it’s all on him whether the show is a hit or a failure. If he fucks this up, he fucks it up for all of them. Himself and Eddie and Billy — and Bunny.

Bunny who is sweet enough to drive to Indianapolis with him. To stay in a hotel room with him for the night because it’ll be too late to drive all the way back to Hawkins after the show. 

He can’t feed off of Eddie’s dramatic energy or Billy’s sense of seduction. Just himself and the character he is trying to create for his stripper self.

“A bit yeah.” 

“You’ll do great, Steve. I just know it.” 

He finds her eyes over his shoulder in the hotel mirror. There is no doubt in her. No one has ever believed in him like this. Not even his own goddamn parents.

“What if I fuck up?”

“You won’t!” 

“But what if I do?”

This is his last chance. This needs to work. There is no room for error when every little mistake could mean having to close the shop. He loves that shop even though he never thought he would. Never saw himself as a mechanic. But this is so much more. This is his baby. His home away from home. His friends are there. Bunny is there. 

And though it’s silly and dumb, he also wants to make his father proud. Even though his dad doesn’t deserve it. Even though he’s a huge asshole. Steve wants to make the shop work to make his dad proud.

“Steve, they booked you for a reason.”

“It’s because of the hair.”

“No, it’s not because of the hair, you dork. It’s because you’re good at this.”

He is. It’s not really something society allows you to take pride in but Steve can’t deny that he’s quite alright at stripping and putting on a show. He still wishes the boys were here too.

“You wanna go over the routine again? Would that help?” 

“Maybe.”

“Okay, let’s do it then!” 

Before he knows it, ZZ Top’s “I need you tonight” comes from the boombox they brought, perched on the desk in the corner of the Hotel room.

Bunny sits down on the end of the bed, hands resting by her side and digging into the soft, blue comforter. 

The encouraging smile she gives him makes him want to melt right then and there. He wonders if she knows just how much she means to him. When he said they couldn’t do this without her, he meant it. She is the beginning and the end of it all. 

He goes through all the moves as if his body works on autopilot. A swing of the hip, a turn, a twist. His brain doesn’t have to work to recall the choreography, it comes naturally. 

He doesn’t really register any of that. All he can see is her. Her eyes and her lips and her hands fisting the sheets. Her eyes. Her lips. Her hands. Her. 

The show continues as it would in front of the actual audience. Only it’s not the birthday girl he’s getting close to, it’s Bunny. 

It’s her body heat radiating he can feel as he stands before her and opens the buttons of his shirt leaving him bare. It’s her hand he takes to trail down his chest, to feel every dip and groove and ripple. It’s her perfume he smells.

Her eyes. Her lips. Her hands.

Her.

This is not in the performance. Being this close. Feeling her nose against his, her breath mingle with his. None of what he’s feeling right now is scripted. The tingles in his fingers. The racing of his heart. 

“Bunny, I — “ 

If the universe wants to play tricks on him, Steve doesn’t think they’re very funny. A shrill ringing sounds from the alarm clock on the bedside table making the two snap away from each other, breaking the spell and dropping them back into reality.

Steve doesn’t feel like laughing at the universe right now.

“I um — I set the alarm to remind us when we have to leave for the gig.” 

“Oh yeah. Yeah — good. Let’s uh — let’s get a move on. Chop chop.”

Chop chop? His inner voice is cringing at the words as they fall from his lips. Chop fucking chop?

She doesn’t meet his eyes while they grab their stuff, not on the way there and not as they meet up with the best friend of the birthday girl who made the booking. 

It’s only when he’s about to go on stage that she grants him a smile, though it doesn’t meet her eyes. It’s missing its usual sparkle. “Break a leg.” 

“I’ll do you one better, I’ll break two.” 

Steve, his inner voice scolds him again, sometimes it’s better to just keep your mouth shut.

But when he hears Bunny laugh. Like really actually laugh, he thinks he might just keep talking nonsense. Her laugh is his favorite sound in all the world.

“Please don’t.”

“I’ll try not to.”

“Go get them, King Steve.”

The man on stage, that’s not her childhood best friend. The man up there is King Steve, all suave and self-assured and seductive. All the dorky qualities her Steve holds are wiped away and replaced by confidence and courage.

It’s like he is two different people at once, both the best versions of him he can be at that moment. 

There’s something enchanting about watching him perform. He looks so free and liberated from all the pressure to be a certain kind of way that has been resting on his shoulders from the moment he left his mother’s womb. He gets to be whoever he decides to be. 

The girls are screaming and giggling as he moves his hips. When he loses the shirt then the pants — they lose their minds. 

She thought she’d feel some jealousy, watching him on stage, entertaining all these other girls. But it’s different. Some part of her is holding on to the knowledge that the version of him off stage, those girls don’t get. They know King Steve but they will never know her goofy, dorky best friend Steve. That version of him is hers and hers alone.

Red and blue lights paint every ripple and every inch of his body. He looks like a painting. A masterpiece.

“Sorry if this is disrespectful but your boyfriend is so damn hot.” 

The girl standing beside her isn’t even looking at Bunny, her eyes are fixed on Steve who at this point is only in a tight pair of shorts. 

“He’s not. My boyfriend I mean. No doubt he’s hot. That’s undeniable.”

That gets the girl’s attention.

“Oh so, you guys are not …” 

Things would be far easier if they were. And maybe the moment in the Hotel meant nothing but what if it did? Then again, was there even a moment to begin with? Or was this all just wishful thinking clouding her thoughts? 

“No, we’re just best friends. And I’m his manager.” 

“Okay cool.” Bunny hates the tone the girl’s voice takes on. Hates it with every fiber of her being. The girls staring at King Steve is one thing. Having one of them show interest in the off-stage him, that’s a terrifying thought to Bunny. She looks nice though, the girl. She looks like the kind of girl Steve would go for. Nice girls who let him know they’re interested and don’t hide their feelings for years until it’s too late and break their own hearts in the process.

A loud “ooooh” washes over the crowd as Steve loses the last of the fabric covering his body. Bunny doesn’t think she’ll ever get tired of seeing him like this.

And when he looks across the group of girls and meets her eyes, he throws her a wink. That one, she knows for certain. That one is just for her from her Steve. 

There’s something awfully nostalgic about sitting crisscross on the hotel bed, a can of beer in hand as Steve sits across from her with a big smile on his face, reminiscing about the show he just put on a few hours ago.

“ — and the pay? This one show is paying for the next two months' electricity.” 

“You’re saving our shop, Steve.” 

“Can you believe people are willing to pay that much money to see me? King fucking Steve.”

“Oh, I’m not surprised. You’re worth every penny.” 

Steve scoffs at her words. He was never all that good at taking compliments, even when his ego was through the roof during their High School years. 

“Wonder what my dad would think if he knew this is how I’m keeping the garage open.”

Mr. Harrington was always perfectly nice enough to Bunny. He was polite and attentive and a good host whenever she was around at the Harrington house. He asked her about her parents and made small talk about school and work and everyday life. 

None of that mattered to her though. The way he treated his own son was all she needed to know to realize that he placed very low on her list of people. Steve didn’t deserve all of the weight put on him. All the degrading comments. The snarky remarks. The sour looks and scowls and scoffs.

He did the best he could, always. Steve is a good man and while he was a bit of a shithead during his teenage years, that can be chalked up to just that — being a teenager.

“Do you want me to be honest or nice?” 

“Honest. Always.” 

“How honest?”

“10 out of 10”

“Your dad would hate this. Because he doesn’t understand it, or the time we’re living in. And also because he hates seeing you succeed without him. It would make him have to face the fact that you are doing just fine without him. He can’t come by and say I told you so, and that would make him pissed.”

“Why does that make you smile?”

“‘cause I love pissing off your dad. He’s an asshole like no other.”

“Cheers to that” 

Laughter echoes through the tiny hotel room as they clink their cans, weaving itself into a sweet harmony with the music coming from the boombox.

“Ooooh, I love this song!” Bunny announces as the opening chords of Joan Jett’s “I love Rock n Roll” fill the air. 

“You know what I think?” 

“What is that, Steve?” 

There’s an intensity in his eyes, a sense of mischief on his lips. It’s both endearing and a bit unnerving all at once. 

“You’ve seen me do my show a bunch of times now, I think it’s only fair if you dance for me this once.” 

An unintentional scoff falls from her lips. For her to put on a show — to strip — for him? It’s a bizarre thought, truly absurd. He surely can’t be serious.

He is serious. It’s written on his face as unmistakable as a light-up billboard on main street. 

“You kidding me, Steve?”

“Creative expression through passionate and erotic dance is not a laughing matter, Bunny.”

He laughs anyway. That full-on sunshine Steve Harrington laugh of his that makes you feel invincible and grand. Like for a second, all the bad in the world has vanished and there are good things to believe in. Like laughter and friendship and cute boys with great hair.

“Alright, you asked for it. I’m just telling you right now I can’t dance very well — oh and the underwear stays on.” 

“Buzzkill!”

“Hey, hecklers will be removed from the premises!” 

Steve does a zipping motion across his lips only to follow it up by throwing away an invisible key. It’s a very Steve move, no thoughts behind the action, just good intentions and unrelenting loyalty.

Bunny starts moving her body to the rhythm of the song. It’s easy enough to get lost in the music but there’s no way she can fully let go. Not with Steve watching her the way he is. She’s unable to shake the thought of making herself look laughable in front of him. Steve’s seen her in all the stages of her life, all the best and most definitely the worst, and never had Bunny felt like this. But it’s different right now. There has been a shift and this whole night feels like it could be a turning point. A crash and burn or happily ever after kind of situation.

It’s terrifying. 

“Come oooon! I know you can do better than this. Go on, move those hips a little.” 

Before she knows what’s happening, his hands find their place on the side of her hips, holding her tightly. His skin touching the sliver of her’s that revealed itself where her shirt rode up a little. He smells like body wash and deodorant and spearmint chewing gum. He radiates an all-consuming warmth. 

Steve moves her hips in time with the music, rotating motions the way he does when he’s on stage. It feels like her body is moving on autopilot, vulnerable, and all his to do with as he pleases. His eyes lock on hers and like a magnetic pull, Bunny stares right back. Mesmerized and enchanted.

“Like that?”

“Yeah, just like that.” 

He doesn’t let go, he just grabs on tighter, moves closer. There’s barely any room left between them and yet he’s not nearly close enough for Bunny’s liking. 

As if he can hear her thoughts, he pulls her flush against his body, chest to chest, heart to heart. His hands stay on her sides as if they were never meant to be anywhere else. 

“Tell me to stop.” 

There’s a saying that the flapping of an itty-bitty butterfly's wings can cause a hurricane. Bunny always thought that was utter bullshit. 

As Steve’s lips meet hers in a heated kiss, she thinks there might be a little bit of truth to the statement.

“Don’t stop!” 

Two words. Two itty-bitty words and they cause a hurricane. Change everything.

It takes a blink of a moment for Bunny to forget where she ends and Steve begins, he’s all-consuming. Mind and body and soul. 

She doesn’t even realize it as it happens when he picks her up and sits her down on the dresser as if she weighs nothing. Just a feather in his hand. 

His kisses are hot and needy on her cheeks, her lips, her neck. Everywhere. 

Bunny combs her fingers through his hair, hands trembling. It’s almost embarrassing how nervous all of this makes her. She’s touched his hair a million and one times. Not like this though, never like this. 

“Hey, hey wait a second.” 

She doesn’t want to wait. Doesn’t want to stop. What if they stop and he realizes this was a mistake? What if this is all an elaborate prank that life is playing on her? You think the boy you’ve loved since you knew what love was likes you back? Silly girl, so silly.

“Buns, come on look at me.” 

He cradles her face in his hands so gently, so soft, as if he’s holding the whole world in his palms.

“I can’t.” 

“Why not?”

“What if I open my eyes and all of this isn’t real?”

A chuckle tumbles from his lips but it’s not mocking. It doesn’t make her feel stupid or ridiculous, even when she very well might be.

All it does is fill her with infinite affection.

“Buns, what do I have to do to make you believe it’s real? Pinch you? Give your cheek a lick? A bite maybe?”

“Do not lick my cheek. — the biting though.” 

Steve’s laughter sounds so sweet. Like a song from a memory long forgotten and finally remembered. His chest shakes against hers making it impossible for her not to crack a smile. Secondhand laughter. 

“Oh, biting gets you going? Alright, I’ll remember that for the future.” 

“The future?” 

It sounds like too good of a promise to be true. 

“Bunny, look at me!” 

He’s soft in all the ways a person can be but the softest of all is the way he looks at her when she opens her eyes.

“I’ve been in love with you for an embarrassingly long time. It just never felt like the right time to act on it. Either you were in a relationship or I was or — things were just a liiiiittle messed up.” 

“So what changed?”

“I’m tired of waiting. I just wanted — no I needed you to know. Life moves surprisingly fast actually and I didn’t want to spend another minute pretending I don’t love you.” 

Those girls in the crowds, cheering and hollering, they may get to see his abs, even his ass, but they will never have this. This is all hers.

“You serious?” 

“As a doornail.” 

“That’s — that’s not how the saying goes but I love you anyway.” 

“Yeah?” 

There’s no room for an answer, it gets swallowed somewhere in the ocean of kisses he places on her lips, one sweeter than the next. 

Perhaps there doesn’t need to be an answer. Not one spoke with words at least. She hopes the kisses he receives in return are enough to silence his doubts forever. Quite honestly, she wouldn’t mind reminding him though.

“You feel that?” Eddie’s voice calls out, echoing through the shop as Steve and Bunny step inside. “The sweet sweet relief of a working air con!” 

“Well, you guys have been working your asses off to get it for us.”

“More like showing our asses off.” 

“Either way, “ Bunny says and gives Eddie a friendly pat on the shoulder. “It was all you guys. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be upstairs in my office doing some paperwork and basking in the chilly air-con.” 

Just before she takes a turn towards the steps leading to the office though, she wraps her arms around Steve’s shoulders and places a long, gentle kiss on his lips. There’s something exhilarating about being able to kiss someone you’ve wanted to kiss for so long but were never allowed to. It’s addicting. It’s magical. 

“See you later, baby.” 

“What the fuck?!” 

Life comes with a lot of struggles. A lot of dark days and bad times. It asks for so much and often it feels like it gives nothing in return. But maybe that’s not all true. There is joy to be found. In the big things like kissing the one you love, like realizing the person you always wanted wants you back. And in the small ones like the taste of his lips, the feel of cool air on your skin, the knowledge that you can do great things and overcome struggles — and in the laughter of your friends sounding through the halls as they realize that love has finally found a way to settle where it was always meant to be.

[kasey-writes-stuff]

Number 43 with Lee! Punz and Ler of choice? 😁

(Indulge yourself Kasey, go wild <3)

Side note I’m changing the wording slightly I hope that’s okay!

Seeing as he couldn’t manage to convince the older boy to come to his house Sapnap decided screw it and went to Punz’s instead. The two had been casually hanging out when Sapnap began to grow restless so they had begun sharing childhood memories along with more recent ones such as their trip sometime last year to North Carolina. A specific memory was brought up though, a memory of Punz trying to tickle sapnap out of his seat for having stolen it! That memory being brought up also reminded sapnap he had never tried to get Punz back, Sapnap or anyone for that matter has never really had a chance to tickle Punz. He either is always off to the side remaining uninvolved with it all or he’s the ler and he’s so good at it and slightly ruthless that anyone hardly ever dare to try to get him back for fear of an immediate round two. Today though Sapnap threw caution to the wind ready to deal with the consequences later on in the day!

He quickly tackled Punz to the couch who let out a noise of surprise

“GAH! You idiot what are you doing?!”

Sapnap smirks

“Finally getting revenge for that little on stream tickle fest you had against me in North Carolina”

Punz’s eyes widen momentarily before he steels his expression rolling his eyes tiredly

“Yea well good luck have you ever seen anyone successfully get revenge on me?”

Sapnap pauses slightly, taking a small gulp before speaking

“Well no but that doesn’t matter because today I’ll be successful!”

Punz rolls his eyes again about to make another witty remark and attempt to shove sapnap off and flip their positions but suddenly he feels an intense tingling sensation on his ribs and stomach and he squeaks bursting into laughter

“EEK NAHAHAHA AHAHAH SHAHAPPPNAHHAHAPPP!”

Sapnaps eyes widen in shock before narrowing satisfactorily

“Oh~ so the great big bad Punz is ticklish after all? How’d you manage to keep this secret?”

Punz shrugs through his laughter he truly hasn’t been tickled in years apart from maybe a poke or two from his dad or his siblings when he visited home or maybe his mom giving the back of his neck a quick tickle when he was home just to see him scrunch up a little so he truly had forgotten he was even really ticklish at all let alone this bad

“IHIHI FOHORRGOHOHOTT!”

Sapnap tilts his head softly and slows down to simply tapping at his stomach and ribs

“Forgot what? That you’re ticklish? How could you forget when you’re *this* ticklish?”

Punz gratefully takes in air as he shrugs again

“Iihihi dohohnnttt knhohow I uh I guhuehess ihits just been soho long sihinncchehe I’ve rheheaallyy been tihicckleheddd that I just forgot ihi mehehahnnn I usually always tickle everyone eehehllllshehehe anyways ahhannddd ahhamm so tough no Ohoho ehehe ehevveherrr rhehehahahllyy attthehhempptsss revenge..”

Sapnap nods

“Okay I guess that makes sense, so this means you don’t know any of your worst spots or anything?”

Punz nods

“I knohohowww absolutely nothing”

Sapnap nods again stopping the tapping

“So what do you say we find them all?”

Punz’s eyes widen and he shakes his head his steely stubborness gone replaced with a blushing face as he stutters some

“Uh I… well I don’t know about all of them right now or anything… in fact what we did just now… is enough for me.. for now but um… I’m uh you could say open to uh maybe sometimes letting you get your revenge… just not a lot at once or anything okay? And please don’t tell anyone…”

Sapnap smiles happily and brightly nodding excitedly

“Awesome, don’t worry I won’t be my usual self and say I will and not really do it and all that I can tell this is something serious and all so I’ll treat it that way and everything, but the second your comfortable with others knowing I’m telling everyone!”

Punz rolls his eyes lightly smiling

“Yea yea yea whatever… um thanks… though seriously… it uh means a lot”

Sapnap nods “of course dude”

Punz nods

“Okay enough sappy crap now, you wanna watch hunter hunter?”

Sapnap practically leaps off top of Punz excitedly sitting up beside the older boy

“Yea! You hungry? I can order us something to eat while we watch it”

Punz sits up nodding

“Yea food sounds good just get whatever”

Sapnap nods

“You got it”

Well safe to say both guys are very excited to possibly explore more of this discovery in the future

[kattythingz]

10 and 13 for the ask game

-👑🐢

Hello hello! Ofc!

10. Which three fics were you most nervous to post? Why?

Just for You - Oh boy, this fic. This fic. So, at first glance it's pretty innocuous, just a cute roleswap of my boy Hiccup getting the Scourge of Odin instead of Astrid. But this prompt has originally started as a VIGCUP idea specifically. And I reaaaally wanted to keep that element because—that was why I was writing the fic in the first place! But, y'know, people get weird about ships of this nature, even when both parties involved are adults. Sigh. I worried a lot about the reception of this fic, but it thankfully reached its target audience at least!

Apple of Your Eye - as stated in a previous ask, this fic explored several darkfic elements, including predatory behavior from Adam. I made it VERY CLEAR throughout the fic that Adam was fucked in the head for his obsession with Reki, but a big part of me still worried people would think I liked the ship unironically because I. Kinda went ham on Adam's creepy behavior. BUT I HAD TO MAN!! PREDATORS ARE VERY REAL PEOPLE AND I WASN'T ABOUT TO SUGARCOAT THAT SHIT. I was dedicated to portraying the sheer fucked-up-ness of Reki's situation. Despite my extreme anxieties.

Mother(ghost) of Mine - also in that same prev ask, I mentioned this fic being very self-indulgent. In this case, it involved Dani and Dan calling Danny, a boy, mom. And the phandom as a whole looooves its trans Danny headcanons (I don't personally hc it, but I respect it). So naturally at the time, I worried people would get the wrong idea from the use of that title (and I def did receive a few comments of that nature lol). The phandom is uh... kind of a monolith, in the worst way possible. I don't regret leaving that fandom tbh. That fic was a huge stepping stone for me back into serious writing tho, so I'd never tell my younger self to not post it. No matter how much I cringe at the old writing.

13. Which three fics did you enjoy writing the most?

What Sort of Imminent Threat - I BLAZED THROUGH THIS FIC IN A STRAIGHT WEEK. It was honestly insane how consistent my energy was for it, but I had a very strong love for Ody and Eury's relationship, and I had an even stronger love for Ody as a nuanced character. Honestly, as soon as he sang "I could raise [the infant] as my own", I was locked in to make this man a father. He deserves it, damn it! It doesn't help how precious little Galen turned out, and put together with Ody being soft for him??? I'm only a woman, plz.

reap what you sow - I'm a sucker for Edward Elric and I'm an even bigger sucker for FURY Edward Elric. I really, really, really love my Hades au okay. Really. And getting to explore Ed's pov?? While exploring his several friendships and his budding relationship with Ling?? My absolute FAVORITE thing to do is explore/expand a character through their relationships, and this fic was kinda just that, with a lovely side of self-indulgent world-building. Did I mention that I love my Hades au?

By No Auspicious Day - Crown by itself is obv a fic I enjoy writing a lot (you don't slave over 110k+ for sth you don't adore lmao), but its unedited sequel holds an esp dear place in my heart. I will have to revamp it to match the new Crown, BUT, even as it is—this fic was so goddamn CUTE. It's edling being silly despite the end of the world!! They're in love!! I was giggling the entire time I was writing this fic back in 2022, and I'll do it again after Crown's finished. (Hopefully.)

[fighting-these-demons]

They really went for pain with this OP. That breakup is front and center! Ow. 😭😭😭

Thought I posted this a couple days ago but I guess I saved it as a draft.

I guess they have to do Blue Predator's Tragic Backstory SOME time. May as well get it out if the way half way through Season 4. 🙄

I'm gonna be honest I completely forgot that the Inter High has 3 days I thought it just had 2.

So what they're doing is stretching each day into a season and while I Don't Like That because I'm losing out on a whole years worth of whatever the boys get up to and their own 3rd Year Inter High, I do at least understand it now.

You go into an anime and it's so cute and it's about sports and you think to yourself "There's no way this will be triggering! It's Sports! What could possibly happen?"

And then Boom. 👊 💥

If he'd talked to his parents or like literally anyone and talked this shit out I feel like maybe someone could have steered him on the right path but his shame kept it quiet and he met the absolute worst enabler on the planet.

o7 RIP 🪦 kids y'all are GOD AWFUL for each other and literally everyone else around you.

How has an adult not noticed any of this bullshit? Don't they have a teacher for their club?

Good for him I guess? Midousuji seems like he's using him but he's probably aware if that and happy about it honestly.

Wish he wasn't let loose on everyone else though.

Of course the only introspection on feelings and actual confession so far are from him. Of course. Because this is the ONLY Homo in the series and everyone else are just Best buds! Nothing to see here Upper Management!

This is bolstering my Blue Predator Red Herring argument.

Lord if literally anyone else had gotten ahold of this kid he may have been OK after a couple talks. That's what sucks so bad about it.

He may have still been unsettling and obsessive but probably not like predatory.

Idk though that puts a lot of blame on Midousuji and while he definitely pushed him down that slippery slope with both hands there's plenty of hand and foot holds on the way down fir him to stop and get his footing and be like "idk man is this really the right thing for me to be doing?"

And dude just threw his hands in the air and laughed with glee on his way down to the bottom.

Jesus the jump scare

Man good for him that his confession went well and I'm glad they avoided the Show Canceling Next Season Destroying No Homo Beam but like,

At What Fucking Cost though?????

I hope he gets some kind of talking to and redemption. He's got 2 years of high school left for someone to step in and set him on the right path before he's out on his own and he deserves that chance.

Granted I'm saying this halfway through the episode because I keep pausing to avoid the episode so.

Oh geez Midousuji really actively taught him that huh? Then again dude knows that's not cool and does it anyway. 😕

He has sense at the back of his mind he's just actively silencing it to indulge in what he wants.

I haven't called it quits and skipped an episode yet but this might be it honestly. This is so rank. 🤢🤮

You know what good for toxic masculinity smoothing Izumida's self preservation instincts so effectively that this terrifying behavior slides right off his brain like water off a duck.

He just does not comprehend.

His subconscious does but he sure don't.

And I'm glad for him.

[foxlawed]

“I want you, I want you right now. I want you here. I want you in my bed, I want you tomorrow. And I want you the next day.” (Yup. Tonights mood is drunk af declarations of love. College era. After Nathan found out who Patrick was and Patrick had to win him over again)

@ofwings-andclaws

everything was great & life was a lie.

nathan had once again fallen victim to his own heart, had let it lure him into a trap of the worst kind. lies. he'd opened his heart, had bared his very soul to patrick, only to find out it had all been a lie. everything. all of it. it hadn't been fate - it hadn't been a coincidence, it ... wasn't anything special. just a rich little alpha kid's joke & nathan was the one paying the price for that.

that entire dinner to introduce the future of both the gray's and the ruthledge's.. had been terrible. nathan had to hold it together, had to sit & smile with a broken heart, because he was raised to be proper - to always be your best self. sit straight, write properly, enunciate properly... hell, they'd made him learn standard dance before he could walk. it was all about appearances & that was all nathan knew.

being a ghost moon.. being the only white fox in the entire history of gray's... being the only one a year late at law school due to his early struggles with the voices.. he'd pretty much accepted to stay on his own for the duration of his law degree, which .. was for the best. study, classes & sleep... some nights he'd still sneak out to get drunk, but that was about the worst he indulged in. enter patrick.

he should've known, though, because no guy - no alpha could be this sweet & love at first sight.. was a myth. his parents didn't love each other when they met & they ended up great together. patrick had charmed him, it'd been his own fault for letting him. he should've known it was a farce. nathan was not the type to be flirted with a lot. he usually never went anywhere without headphones, which was a first turn-off for most & then he didn't have the most outgoing personality to make up for that.

he wasn't shy per se, just ... used to being on his own - with only himself for company. he'd never really been allowed free time after school, so friends & experience were scarce. he hoped to change that at college, so... when he literally fell for patrick he thought that it was a sign & that someone was looking out for him. boy, was he wrong.

ever since that awkward dinner... nathan had been avoiding the alpha. he didn't want to see him, or speak with him. he didn't want to hear it. it didn't matter anyway, because they were bound to each other. it wasn't final or official yet, but nathan knew that he had zero influence on the decision, whether he liked patrick or not. the ruthledges & the gray's were looking for a unison. together they could do even worse better. no, he wouldn't be asked & no, he had no other choice, but to agree. it was bad enough he was the only white fox in the history of grays, the only gray who enrolled in law school a year late due to early struggles with the voices, ...there was no way out of this for him.

back on campus, nathan decided to go out at night, find a party & drink until he didn't remember his own name, but he didn't quite get as far, because patrick was way ahead of him. nathan was determined to ignore his existence, but patrick felt a little different about that & refused to piss off as nathan had put it kindly. he didn't want to hear what he had to say, he didn't want to hear the excuses, or an explanation. he'd lied. he'd deceived him.

"i want you, i want you right now. i want you here. i want you in my bed, i want you tomorrow. and i want you the next day."

admittedly, that was the most patrick had said about them since the introduction dinner & nathan - a lot less inebriated than he'd hoped to be... couldn't help but... but... listen. no. he was a liar, why shouldn't he lie now? he'd drunk, damnit. he's telling the truth.

"you lied to me. you lied. you hurt me and let me walk into that dinner knowing it'd be a disaster. you could've told me before." he was hurt, still & ...some would say pouting. but to him it felt like just punishment & besides, cute or not, promised to each other or not, nathan was determined not to let the other get away with what he did.

that said....

".... don't ever lie to me again."