#i will need three to five business days to process thank you

[polarsirens]

[targaryenluvs]

we can send in ideas you say 👀 dark! Cory with a reader who’s not so inclined to behave and listen to him, being bratty, turning him away, embarrassing him in public ….. his frail ego would shatter (and who knows what he’d do to her 🫣🫣)

TEMPER TANTRUM

pairing: president!coriolanus snow x fem!bratty!reader

summary: you were the daughter of one of the richest couples of panem. everything you’ve ever wanted, handed to you. coriolanus had a short temper and you were stubborn. who knows what could happen?

warnings: arguments, bratty reader, public scenes, punishments, kinda smutty, fingering, not proof read i’m lazy

a/n: stand up and fight back to that rude bitch babe

they’d messed up your order. again.

you’d ordered three dresses, all pink and one was too small. you’d already returned it multiple times but apparently the shop owner was incompetent. did he know who you were? the first lady of panem deserved nothing but the best and this imbecile couldn’t even do his job.

you’d give him another chance you figured. “soreen!” you shouted out as you heard the pitter patter of footsteps on the floor. “yes mrs snow?” you sighed, “pull the car around please. we’re going down to the genevieve store.” she nodded before scurrying away to arrange your mode of transportation.

the car ride was smooth, much to your relief. you needed at least one thing to go right today, and the car ride helped boost your morale as you pulled up in front of the aforementioned store. “here we are mrs snow.” your driver spoke as he promptly exited the vehicle to open your door, “thank you phillip.” he tipped his cap to you before shutting your door, “i’ll be waiting ma’am.”

the store was quite large, for someone who hadn’t been there before it was quite easy to lose your way. but you knew exactly where you were headed, walking a path of determination as you reached the front desk. a young lady, clearly disengaged from her job sat filing her nails at the desk. “what do you want?” your face twisted into a disingenuous smile, this was going to be fun, you thought. you cleared your throat as you placed your handbag down with care.

“mrs y/n snow, here for adina?” the girl looked close to tears as a string of apologies fell through her lips, “let me go get him, again, i cannot express my apologies mrs snow.” you’d already turned around to sit at one of the many chairs strewn about.

adina was frantic.

he sure as hell wasn’t expecting the first lady of panem, in his store, by herself. nonetheless, he quickly nodded along to her explanation of her dilemma, the dresses, the sizes, the unresponsive customer aid line.

you’d walked out of the store were five new dresses, all free of cost. a successful day in your eyes. the whisperings were there, of how the last store clerk who’d kept you waiting went out of business. or how the cook whose meal caused you to choke had his hand cut off. mistakes were made in the process of the workers bending over backwards to produce the upmost quality service for the presidents darling wife.

who was known for her own expensive tastes.

and god help anyone who kept her waiting.

the dress was for a charity event that night. coriolanus of course didn’t want to go, but it was seen as beneficial to his own cause to be seen out and about, especially at a high profile event. whereas you on the other hand? you’d ordered three new dresses, five now, two new pairs of heels and that jewellery set you’d been eyeing up for a while.

coriolanus wanted to get through the night, that was it. the office was as stressful as ever, his secretary was out sick, so a fill-in took her place, stuttering every time he spoke to her and messed up his meetings of the day. but since marrying you, coriolanus knew nothing was ever easy with you.

you prided yourself on your unpredictability. to keep people on their toes. you loved being able to stick out from the rest, keep people guessing. and most of all, you loved being seen, admired. you were never one to be tame, coriolanus knew it. you always tested his patience and temper.

but this?

you’d worn a burgundy gown, off the shoulder, floor length and a v-cut too low for his likes. the one dress out of five he’d disapproved of. you’d disobeyed him purposefully, coriolanus hoped you’d grow out of old habits, but again they die hard.

the eyes were on you like vultures, his wife.

he’d deal with you later, just get through the night.

“and that dress! it’s certainly, something.” you didn’t know the girls name, but her face seemed familiar. “why thank you! coriolanus had picked out some others but then again what do men know about women’s fashion?” the woman’s slack jaw caused you to giggle, “well aren’t you fiery! the president has a lot on his hands with you.”

you tossed your hair behind as you took a sip from your glass, “well i’m sure if he can handle a whole country,” you leaned in before whispering, “he can try his best to handle me.” coriolanus saw red. one night, without your antics was all he’d wished for. the dress and your behaviour had sent him over the edge.

“miss.” coriolanus acknowledged the woman as he grabbed a hold of your hand, “president snow! how nice it is to see you here, and your donation! how splendid.” coriolanus’s charm seemed to switch on instantaneously, “anything for the, good cause.” coriolanus couldn’t give a flying fuck about the cause let alone remember what it was. “it’s time for us to go.”

you had an image, pristine and clear. a lovely woman, kind and respectful. at times naive but overall a caring wife. your slick words, which charmed any man or woman, your striking beauty and sweet personality.

but at your core you, like your husband. couldn’t care less, it was one of the reasons you got along so well. it was all a facade and coriolanus was the only person who knew the real you. much to his chagrin, the real you was a total bitch. a smooth talker with a pretty face who got everything she wanted. you’d never wanted to marry him in the first place, so it seemed to be your personal mission to embarrass the poor man.

“if you’re tired then head on home love. i know you need your hours of sleep, cranky without them!” you made him sound like child without his favourite toy, unable to go on until he had it again. “sweetheart, you know we go home together. now come along.” his tone was nothing like the fake warmth it mimicked, you were on thin ice. “yes i know, honey, but you’re not incapable of returning home without me now are you? i’m sure the driver remembered the directions for you.” you pinched his cheek. pinched. his. cheek.

you may as well have started praying for your soul.

so he left, alone.

you had no clue as to why you wanted to stay. it’s not as if there was someone actually worthwhile to engage in conversation with, but you just wanted to be out of the house. you had to soak up your time outside while it lasted you assumed. coriolanus wouldn’t be letting you out anytime soon, especially after what you’d said that night.

the door slammed shut as you hung up your coat next to corio’s. you took a deep breath in before exhaling. it was going to be a long night.

“did you have fun?” corio was sat in a large, plush, arm chair, swirling a drink in his hand. you could only wonder how many he’d had in the hours by himself. “i did.” your voice was gentle, the house quiet in the dead of night. but the large mansion echoed, he would’ve heard you anyways.

“hm.” he feigned interest in your response. all he wanted was to put you in your place. “corio?” he turned to view you, whilst you walked over before situating yourself on his arm chair. but as soon as you did his glass clattered onto the side table as he rose up. “we’re going to bed.” you weren’t sure if he’d snap if you protested, your feet were aching and you found it best not to argue.

you should’ve known it wouldn’t be that easy, which is how you ended up fully exposed whilst coriolanus was fully dressed. “please.” you’d been on your back for the last, ten? twenty? “please what?” coriolanus liked to put you in your place, it was one of his favourite things to do since you forgot it so often. “touch me.” his hand slipped into your panties, fingers sliding into your already soaking hole as you clutched onto his shoulders.

he’d been teasing you for what felt like forever and you felt you were finally done with it. “close your eyes.” he whispered as his fingers slid out, eliciting a whine from your throat, but you listened, closing your eyes, wondering what he’d do.

it’d been a minute since corio spoke and you were feeling restless. on one hand you could wait for him to speak up, allow you to open your eyes. on the other, you opened them to peek at what he was doing and he dragged out your punishment.

and to your right lay your husband, asleep. “corio!” you groaned out before shoving his shoulder, “you didn’t think i was going to fuck you tonight? after the shit you pulled? you have fingers, use them.” and coriolanus fell asleep soundly to your attempts to finish off without him.

now that, would teach you a lesson.

[violentdelightsandviolentends]

Honey Girl. Chapter Six.

Chapter One. Chapter Two. Chapter Three. Chapter Four. Chapter Five. Chapter Seven. Chapter Eight. Chapter Nine. Chapter Ten. Series Masterlist. The Playlist.

Chapter Synopsis - You finally start to appreciate the happiness that having a soulmate brings.

Pairing - Dad'sBestFriend!Bucky Barnes x Female Reader - soulmate au

Warnings - smut. cursing. alcohol consumption. so much fluff.

Age Rating - 18+

Word Count - 5k

Author's Note - the sixth installment!! thank you to everyone who voted in my poll - I listened, and decided to make this chapter as sweet as pie, because I think we all need it. it's nice to have a little break from the angst. just a liiiiittle break though. a tiny one. as always, thank you for all of your love and support and enthusiasm and patience and kindness towards this story. so much love for every one of you. <3

as always, reblogs, comments and feedback (even anonymous feedback) are immensely appreciated!! your reblogs are the only way to circulate my fics, which keeps me going <3

Masterlist. Inbox.

"Are you happy?"

You stretch your feet further into the sand and sit up, wiggling to get comfortable on the picnic blanket.

"That's a big question to start with."

Stella laughs and closes her notebook, deciding to take a different route than originally planned.

"I just mean... be honest with me. I'm not gonna be offended if you say no."

"Do you think I'm gonna say no?"

"Do you always have to answer my questions with questions?"

You tilt your head and watch her, smiling softly.

"I thought this was supposed to be an employee performance review."

"You're not my employee and you know it."

Both of you laugh, the sound whipped away by the sea breeze.

"Then what am I, Stella?" you chuckle.

"You're basically my partner. Come on, we've done all of this together. You helped me build this business from the ground up - I couldn't have done it without you."

You go to protest, so she continues.

"I think you should be. My partner, that is. Obviously there's logistics to work out, but it'd be fifty fifty. You and I, co-owners. It doesn't feel right to me that you're my 'employee'. I'm not your boss. We're equals."

Your mind is running a mile a minute, trying to process what Stella's asking of you. Being her business partner is an opportunity you know is rare and incredibly special - and it could potentially set you up for life - but you can't help but think about the fact it's a big commitment. About home. About Bucky.

"You don't have to answer me right now - I just want you to think about it. We always talked about opening up businesses of our own. I should have asked you to be my partner at the beginning, but honestly... I didn't know if you were gonna stick around. It kinda felt like you had one foot out the door when we started."

You take a deep breath, nodding.

"Yeah. I, uh - I think I did. Don't get me wrong, I was super excited, but the idea of moving away when I felt like I'd just got home was a lot to process. I'd just settled back there, and then I was gonna be packing up all of my stuff again and shipping myself across the country. "

"I didn't realise it was so tough for you, you know. I just assumed you wouldn't mind moving. I mean, you were always up for it, back at school."

"Things changed, after I graduated. I got home, and a couple of things happened and I guess it just... turned everything upside down. Home is different now. In a good way, I think."

"You're different now, too."

You look at her carefully, half attempting to read her mind.

"How do you mean?"

"You're... more grounded. More careful. You think through everything way more than you ever did. Almost like you've realised you're not invincible anymore."

There's a feeling, when you're young, that you're indestructible. Unharmable. Broken bones mend, cuts and bruises heal, hearts and minds forget about their aches if you give them long enough.

Then one day, that feeling is gone. And you realise that you're mortal - made of flesh and blood and bones that will one day be returned to the Earth, whether you like it or not.

Meeting your soulmate is like having that realisation again, but bigger. Again, and again, and again. You don't live for yourself, anymore. You live for them. The pain they'd feel if they lost you is unfathomable, completely unimaginable.

So you become more careful. Less reckless. You drive a little slower, take things a little easier, quit your dangerous hobbies and unhealthy habits. You need to be alive for as long as possible. And you know your soulmate will do the same.

That's how you can tell a Tethered person from an Untethered one. Ask two people to go skydiving with you, and the Tethered one will tell you no. They can't risk it. It's not worth it.

Stella's right. You have realised you're not invincible anymore. You're a little more cautious when you climb ladders, you don't balance precariously on the kitchen counters anymore. You look twice when you cross the street, and don't risk it if there's a car coming and you could maybe get across.

You're also painfully aware that Bucky's older than you. He'll be turning forty in less than two years. Sure, he's not ancient, but it does mean you'll have less time together than Lacie will with Cameron, for example. And that hard truth makes you live a little less recklessly, every single day.

"I guess I just... grew up."

You're honestly not sure why you don't just tell Stella about Bucky. You know she'd understand. But there's a part of you that feels protective over what you have - territorial, even. Your Tethering is sacred, almost, and you feel the primal urge to guard it with your life. To lock it in a box and keep it away from anything that could harm it. The less people that know, the less damage that can be done. Maybe.

"I did too. The world is kinda scary now we're not in that little culinary school bubble, huh?"

"Yeah," you laugh. "We thought that was hard. Little did we know."

"Take your time, thinking about my offer. But just know that I really, really appreciate the fact that you're here. That you believed in me enough to move across the country. It means a lot."

"Of course," you say, reaching across to grab her hand. "I always believed in you, Stella. I always knew you'd do something great."

"We'd."

"Hmm?"

"We'd do something great. The two of us. Together."

"I always knew that we'd do something great," you correct.

You're starting to believe that, as time goes on. You were born to do this. You deserve to live your dreams.

Let the happiness seep through, you'd told yourself.

It finally feels like it is.

✵  ✵    ·　 ✵ 　　 *  · ✵

"There's a guy here to see you."

Isabel pops her head around the door, grinning at you like she knows something you don't.

"Again?"

She nods, giggling.

"Let me guess... he's hot, tall, brown hair?"

"Bingo."

"Thanks, Isa. I'll be right out. Is it busy out there?"

"It's quieter than it was. There was a pastry rush this morning, but we're good now."

You laugh and hang up your apron, washing your hands quickly before making your way to the café.

You feel like you're having déjà vu, this situation oddly familiar.

Just like Isa said, he's stood waiting with his back to you, broad shoulders filling out his powder blue short sleeve button up.

You're excited to see Rafael again. You've been trying a new cookie recipe for his sister, and you're eager to get him to try it. You're mentally making a note to buy a nice box to put them in when you feel it.

The lights get a little brighter, the colours a little more vibrant. The tightness in your chest eases, allowing you to take a full, deep breath. You can suddenly hear the birds outside singing, melodies drifting through the open doors like a summer breeze.

The man turns around, and it's not Rafael.

It's Bucky.

You're moving before you can even process it, running and jumping into his arms. You inhale, revelling in his familiar scent. He's here. Your happiness has arrived.

"Surprise," he laughs quietly into your ear. "Miss me, honey girl?"

You beam a grin at him, pulling away to look at his handsome face.

"More than you'll ever know."

"Oh, I know. I feel it."

He places a hand over his heart gently, looking at you with pure adoration.

"What are you doing here?"

"It's been a month since your Mom's birthday. A month since I've seen your pretty face. A month too long."

You roll your eyes jokingly, so he continues.

"You don't mind that I'm here, do you? Because I'll go, if it's too much for you. I know me showing up unannounced is a lot to process."

"Don't go," you reply quickly, grabbing his hand. "I want you here, Buck. More than anything."

He leans in and presses his lips to yours, cradling your face in his warm hands. The background of the café melts away, the man in front of you the only thing that matters.

You pull away and smile at him, pressing your forehead into his gently.

"Come back to the kitchen with me. Let's get away from all the noise."

You grab his hand and pull him with you, ignoring the excited giggling from Isabel behind the counter.

Bucky perches against a counter, leaning back to allow you to stand in between his legs. You wrap your arms around his neck and peck his lips, stealing kisses in between giddy smiles.

"I hope you weren't expecting a day full of super exciting adventures. I've got a list full of stuff I've got to get finished by closing."

"Honey, I'm more than content to stay here and watch you work. There's nothing I love more than watching you bake."

You run your fingertips over his face carefully, gently tracing his features as you look at him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I don't care what we do, as long as we're together."

You wrap your arms around his middle, holding him as tightly as you can.

"I feel like I hit the soulmate jackpot," you whisper.

"No one's as lucky as I am," he whispers back. "Now, come on. Let me see you work your magic."

✵  ✵    ·　 ✵ 　　 *  · ✵

Bucky, it turns out, makes a damn good assistant.

Instead of just watching, he volunteers to help in whatever way he can. You set him onto weighing your ingredients, so you can focus on making and decorating. He takes his job very seriously, measuring down to the precise gram each time. You can't help but grin as you watch him concentrate, determined to get it right.

At lunch time, Isabel brings you both coffee and sandwiches, entering just as you're teaching Bucky how to properly fold in ingredients.

"Sorry, I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"You could never. Isa, this is Bucky. Buck, this is Isabel. Our best waitress."

He holds out his floury hand for her to shake.

"It's nice to meet you, Isabel. I've heard a lot about you."

"You have?"

Her eyes light up as she looks at you, fighting the smile off her face.

"My honey talks about you all the time."

Isabel glances between the two of you, clearly trying to figure things out.

"And you two are..."

"Soulmates," you say at the same time as Bucky does.

Her jaw drops for a moment, before she laughs.

"Yeah. That makes a lot of sense, actually."

You roll your eyes at her lovingly before Stella's voice calls her name from out front.

"I better go. But me and you are gonna talk about this later."

"Fine," you laugh.

"Nice to meet you!" Bucky shouts after her, pressing a kiss to your temple. "I like that we're just telling people now."

"Yeah, me too, actually. I thought it'd be scary, but... it feels right."

He slings an arm around your middle, pulling you into his side.

"We've still got the two most important people left to tell."

Your muscles tense and Bucky feels it instantly, running his thumb in patterns over your hip gently.

"I've been thinking about it a lot. I'm almost ready, Buck. We can't avoid it forever. Next time I'm home, I think we should do it. We should tell them."

Bucky hooks two fingers under your chin, forcing you to look at him.

"Are you sure? Once we tell them, we can't undo it. We'll only do it if you're one hundred percent sure."

"I'll be ready when the time comes. It'll be a huge weight off of both of our shoulders, which I think we both need."

"Okay then," he says, kissing your forehead. "Next time you're home."

Isabel clears her throat from the doorway, smiling sheepishly.

"I can't believe I'm saying this again, but... there's a guy here to see you."

You laugh, untangling yourself from Bucky with a kiss to his cheek.

"Send him through. Thanks, Isa."

The man you were originally expecting to see this morning walks into the kitchen, envelopes in his hand.

"Hey!"

"Hey, Rafael."

He gives you a quick hug, before waving at Bucky.

"Hey, man. You've gotta be the soulmate, right?"

Bucky chuckles, coming over to shake Raf's hand.

"Yeah, that's me. How'd you know?"

"Are you kidding? You can feel it the minute you walk into the room. There's like, electricity in here."

You laugh, hiking yourself up to sit on the counter. Bucky stands next to you, arms crossed over his broad chest.

"Here," Rafael says, handing you an envelope. "We're having a gala next month, for the charity that has supported my sister. We'd love it if you could come - and bring your date too, of course."

"I'd love to," you say as you read the invitation. "Do you need me to bring anything? You know I'll happily make something, if you guys need it."

"You would?"

"Absolutely! I could bring a cake, if you like? I haven't done a proper, three tiered cake in forever. I'd love to."

"That'd be... amazing. Seriously. We just want to raise as much money as possible."

"Of course. Thanks for these, Raf. How is she?"

"She's okay. She's getting a tiny bit stronger every day, and that's all we can really ask for."

You reach a hand out to squeeze his in support.

"You know where I am if you need anything."

"Of course. Thank you, so much. I've gotta run - I've got like a hundred of these invites to deliver. But I'll see you at the weekend?"

"For sure. See you, Raf!"

"Nice to meet you, Bucky."

"You too, man. Take care."

Isa shows Rafael out of the door, winking at you on her way out.

"Damn, he's handsome," Bucky laughs.

"Isn't he?" you giggle. "Nothing on my soulmate though, I'm afraid."

"Shut up," he blushes, leaning in to capture your lips. "You wanna get dinner when you're done here?"

"Yes, please. I'll show you around my new apartment too."

"Can't wait."

There's not an ounce of tension in your muscles as you finish up your bakes for the day, gliding around the kitchen while Bucky stands and watches your every move.

If you could pause time, this would be when you'd do it. You'd be content to live in this moment forever.

✵  ✵    ·　 ✵ 　　 *  · ✵

The minute Bucky walks through your front door, he inhales deeply. The entire place smells like you, cosy and golden.

"You like it?"

"It's gorgeous, baby. I love the windows."

He makes his way over to your kitchen, where the glass panes run from floor to ceiling. Sitting on the bench pressed against it, he takes in the view, savouring the feeling of the sun on his face.

You sit down on his lap, draping your legs over him and wrapping your arms around his neck. Nuzzling your face into his jaw, you press a kiss to the stubble, resisting the urge to lick the salt off of his skin.

"Come on," you murmur. "Let me show you my bedroom. The sun sets in that direction, so it's always beautiful in there."

You grab his hand and walk him across the apartment, swinging open the door to your room and pushing him inside.

He takes in the space for a moment before turning in your direction, striding over to smash his lips to yours. You tangle your fingers into his shirt and pull him closer, letting him slip his tongue into your mouth with ease.

Bucky leans in to trail kisses down your neck as he slips your shirt over your head, making quick work of unclasping your bra with skilled fingers. He grasps your chest in both hands, massaging gently as he nips at your throat.

"So fucking pretty," he murmurs. "Haven't stopped thinking about you since you left me."

You whine and unbutton his shirt, shrugging it off his shoulders. You're desperate to see more, desperate to feel his skin on yours, desperate to bare every inch of him.

Your fingers make deft work of his belt, sliding it from its loops and throwing it to the ground. You unpop his button and slide down the zipper, pulling his jeans off his legs in no time. You shimmy out of your skirt, leaving you both in your underwear.

The evening sun seeps through the window panes, illuminating the room in hues of orange and gold. The light hits Bucky's skin, making him glow in a halo of love and adoration.

He walks you backwards, wrapping an arm around your back to throw you onto the white sheets of your bed. Crawling over you, he settles in between your legs, pressing gentle kisses from your ankles to your inner thighs.

"The way you look when you come has been burned in my mind," he whispers. "Need to see it again. It's been too long."

He slides your underwear down your legs and wastes no time, diving into you like a man starved. He devours you, tongue never ceasing it's movements. His hands pry your thighs apart, one arm thrown over your stomach to keep you still. When your muscles start to shake, Bucky doubles down on his efforts, lapping and sucking at you like you're his lifesource.

"Oh, Buck, I'm-"

You see stars as you come, white and silver shapes flying through your vision. Bucky never stops, prolonging your release for as long as he can. When you go boneless, he ceases, pressing kisses to the inside of your knee.

"You okay?" he murmurs, moving so his body smothers yours.

"I'm good," you smile, leaning up to kiss him. You groan when you taste yourself, wrapping your legs around his waist.

"Need you, baby. Please, Buck."

"You sure?"

You smile at him, cradling his face in your hands.

"Couldn't be surer."

He dips down to lick into your mouth once more, shucking his boxers off and throwing them across the room. Slipping a condom on, he lines himself up, eyes meeting yours.

"I need you more than I need air to breathe," he murmurs. "You know that, don't you?"

"Buck," you breathe. "I've been going crazy here without you."

He goes to speak, but stops himself, instead leaning down to kiss your forehead.

"I know," you whisper. "I know."

Bucky slides home in one smooth thrust, both of you gasping. One of his hands finds your hip, the other resting against your throat as an anchor. You wrap your legs around his waist, arms snaking around his shoulders.

"Fuck me, please."

"Fuck," he groans. "I'll be replaying that in my head forever."

You chuckle breathlessly, gasping when he draws his hips back and forward again. He sets an even pace - not too fast, not too slow. He has you right where he wants you, both of your bodies in perfect synchronisity. It feels like the stars have aligned. Everything's fallen into place.

Bucky dances his fingers from your hip to your clit, rubbing firm circles. He plays you like a violin, your muscles tensing as you get closer.

"That's it, pretty girl. Fuck, you're so good for me. You close, honey? Gonna come for me again?"

You nod frantically as he picks up his pace, hips colliding with yours. He groans as you tighten around him, head dropping to rest against yours.

"Come for me, honey girl," he whispers. "Please."

Your back arches as you find your release, nails scratching at the skin of Bucky's back. The pain tips him over the edge, spilling inside of you with a deep groan. He collapses on top of you, both of your chests heaving.

"I think we're naturals at that," you chuckle hoarsely.

"You think it's the soulmate thing, or are we just that good?"

"I think we're just that good," you laugh, pushing him off your body so he lands next to you. You link your fingers with his, resting your head on his chest.

"I need a drink."

"I was just thinking that, actually. You wanna go out? Know anywhere?"

"There's a cute little bar that looks out over the cove - it has good food and good cocktails. You wanna go there?"

"I'd go anywhere with you," he affirms, pressing a kiss into your hair.

"I'd kill for a pineapple margarita right now."

Bucky sits up suddenly, bringing you with him, arms wrapped around you.

"Then let's go get my girl a pineapple margarita."

✵  ✵    ·　 ✵ 　　 *  · ✵

The golden lights adorn the beams of wood above your head, the deck illuminated in the gentle glow. The ocean waves break the shore in a comfortingly repetitive motion, a calming soundtrack to the evening. You sit across from Bucky at your table for two, the sunset casting orange hues across the horizon.

"It's beautiful out here."

"Yeah," you agree, smiling. "The view is pretty good."

Your eyes haven't left his, lost in the sea blue of his irises. He chuckles, running his thumb over the back of your hand where it rests atop the table.

"This is our first date, you know."

"Really?"

"I mean, we've been 'dating' this whole time - but we've never gone out and had dinner like this. Held hands and all."

"You're right. Our first date of many, huh?"

"Our first of countless," he grins, brushing his lips over your knuckles in a gentle kiss.

"Where do my parents think you are?"

"Visiting a cousin in Nevada."

You laugh, and the sound makes Bucky light up, electricity running through his veins.

"You're a scarily good liar."

"To everyone but you."

"I used to think I was a good liar. Until I met you, that is."

Just as he's about to respond, your waitress appears, two pineapple margaritas in hand. She takes your orders and leaves, smiling at you.

"Oh, shit. She forgot to give us straws. I'm gonna grab some - be right back."

You chase her inside, tapping her shoulder gently.

"Excuse me - could I get a couple of straws, please?"

"Of course. Sorry!" she apologises, handing them to you.

"Thank you! Your shirt is so cute, by the way."

"Thanks - it's thrifted! You're gorgeous, girl. And your boyfriend is stupidly hot too. You're a pretty couple."

You thank her and laugh, returning to Bucky with a grin on your face.

"What's got you smiling?"

"The waitress called you my boyfriend."

"Huh. As much as I love the commitment... boyfriend kinda sounds like we're in ninth grade, doesn't it?"

You throw your head back, laughing with your entire being.

"That's what I thought. There's gotta be a better word. Partner? No, that makes us sound forty."

"I am almost forty."

"Oops."

Bucky rolls his eyes, but he can't wipe the blinding grin from his face. He takes out his phone and snaps a quick picture of you, admiring the way the breeze caresses your face as the setting sun beats down.

"Sneaky," you tease. "Let me see?"

He hands you the phone, letting you look through. You swipe right one too many times, and accidentally land on a picture of a blueprint laid out across a kitchen counter. His kitchen counter.

"Babe... what's this?"

You don't miss the way Bucky's cheeks heat up, blush creeping across his chest that's exposed by the V neckline of his blue button up. He stutters for a moment, before finding his footing.

"They're blueprints. Plans for a house."

"A house?"

"I want to build a house."

When you keep looking at him softly, he doubles down.

"I want to build a house for us."

Your breath hitches in your chest, the world going silent momentarily.

"You... you do?"

"My Dad worked in construction my entire childhood. I watched him build houses, apartment buildings, bungalows... everything. I've always wanted to do it, but never had reason to. Until now."

You squeeze his hand, urging him to continue.

"I've been planning it for upwards of ten years. But I'm taking it more seriously, now. Those blueprints are the final ones. It's all mapped out, down to the square inch. I've made some modifications for you, obviously."

He zooms in on the picture, pointing out areas on the plans.

"I've added a big island in the kitchen with a tonne of storage in it, for all of your supplies. I know you have that huge mixer, so I've made sure there's enough space for it to fit underneath with the doors closed."

You take a deep breath, lump in your throat forming unwillingly.

"Up here, there's a window at the top of the stairs. I've added a sketch of a bench which I'll upholster, so you can sit and read in the sunlight."

Tangling your legs with his under the table, you urge him to continue.

"I've also made sure there's a balcony off the master bedroom that overlooks the garden. I know how much you love sitting on yours in your apartment at home. There's probably like a hundred more little modifications for you, but those are just a few."

Tears are running down your cheeks freely, emotion escaping you like a flash flood.

"Bucky..."

"If it's too much too soon, please tell me. I won't be offended, baby. I know it's a lot."

"It's perfect."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

You jump up from your seat and around the table, throwing yourself into his lap to kiss him happily.

"I can't wait to build a house with you, Buck."

He grins at you, joy radiating off him in waves.

"Buck?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

He blinks back tears for a second, processing the words he's been waiting to hear for what feels like an eternity.

"I love you too, honey girl. My pretty baby."

He leans in to kiss you tenderly, the rest of the world melting away. It feels like it's just the two of you, floating on cloud nine.

Suddenly, you get it. You understand why people say this is the greatest thing that'll ever happen.

It is. They were right all along.

✵  ✵    ·　 ✵ 　　 *  · ✵

After several pineapple flavoured cocktails and a taco or four, you and Bucky take a slow stroll home, hand in hand along the sidewalk.

"You wanna have a sleepover tonight?" you ask, digging your heels into the ground to stop yourself from skipping with glee.

"Can't think of anything I want more," he chuckles.

You walk a little while longer, content to bask in the comfortable silence.

"Guess what happened a few days ago."

"What, honey?"

"Stella asked me to be her business partner."

He stops where he is, turning to face you but never letting go of your hand.

"Wait, really?"

"Mhmmm."

"And how do you feel about that?"

"I was unsure, at first. But I'm going to do it. I've been thinking about this for a while, actually. We had to take a business class in culinary school, and I actually learned a lot. I've had a business plan for the future of the café drafted up for months. Numbers, locations, investors, everything. I'm really serious about this, you know."

He's gazing at you like you hung the moon, eyes bright and adoring.

You sit down on a bench, looking out over the coastal path. Bucky joins you, arm heavy over your shoulders.

"I can't stay here."

His head whips around.

"Baby..."

"I mean it, Buck. I like this city, I do, but I just can't settle. It feels like a placeholder until I can go home. And it's not fair to Stella, if it feels like I'm half in half out."

He goes to speak, but you're on a roll.

"I'm suggesting that we franchise the business. It's the logical next step anyway, it was just a matter of choosing the right location. I'm proposing somewhere a hell of a lot closer to home. To you. To my parents. And that means we'll have one branch on the east coast, and one on the west. We can start filling the middle, in the future."

"Are you... are you sure?"

"I've never been surer of anything, James Buchanan Barnes. I wanna start my life with you. Telling my parents, building a house, furthering my career. I'm ready, now."

Bucky grabs your face in his warm hands, kissing you with more passion than you ever thought possible. It's all the answer you need.

"I want you to read over my plan, when we get back to my place. But it's tight, Buck. I've been perfecting it for months. There's no way Stella can say no - I've made it so she won't want to. Besides, she just wants me to be happy. And this... this will make me happy. Happy beyond words."

Bucky stands up, wrapping his arms around your middle to bring you with him. He spins you around, laughing when you squeal in surprise.

"I'm so proud of you, honey baby. I love you so much."

"I love you," you grin. "More than I ever thought possible."

Bucky practically carries you home, both of you giddy on excitement and hope.

You wake up tangled in his arms, sunlight beaming down onto your skin through the open window. Happiness, you think. It's finally here.

Happiness. It's finally here.

tag list part one -

@lillytracy6996 @securegorgon @roostersforevergirl @povlvr @val-writesstuff  @dreadfulxives18 @1deadpool26 @abbygraceasd @nyutasgirl @mavrellover91 @winterslove1917 @f-this42 @skewedcherries @noisesinthedark @kandis-mom @black-cat-2 @harrystylesandthegoobs @vladsgirlxx @h0nestly-though @arienotari @nash-dara   @wandaneedstherapy @galaxy-dusk @justherefortheficandsmut @cremebruleequeen   @cjand10 @buggy14 @avengers-fixation @blueberrybambi @beautiful-loserr @sarah1barnes @miss-rebel-without-applause @ragingrainbowshipl @shamrockqueen @savemeroman @jenn-f @8crazy-freak8 @daddyjackfrost @openup-yourmind @adangerousbalance  @mandijo17 @daddylorianisastateofmind @rcarbo1 @casa-boiardi @spideegwen @navs-bhat @mssbridgerton @asuni921 @middle-of-the-earth @mfrnchsk

[unholyhelbig]

Your Oversight story is so amazing, I’m obsessed truly. I need some domestic fluff with Nat, reader, and Ronnie. Like making cookies for Ronnie’s class or something!!! Thank you for feeding my mafia boss obsession!

Title: Little Marksman [An Oversight Oneshot]

Ship: Female!Reader x Natasha Romanoff

Summary: Natasha's mother makes an impromtu visit to the United States, sending Natasha and Yelena into a sprial about how their mother will react to their partners.

Warnings(PLEASE READ): None, I think, just fluff!, and horrible grammar

[a/n: This isn't exactly the fluff you requested, but I think it's pretty fluffy! Thank you all for the oversight requests, I promise, I'll get to them soon!]

Check out the full Oversight universe

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven

Natasha Romanoff did not often allow herself to indulge in the simple things. Sleeping in had long been a thing of the past, she’d spring up at the first chirp of an alarm and spend her mornings in a ritual of freshly pressed coffee, a long run that would coat her in a sheen of sweat, and then finally sitting down to attend to the boring side of business.

That, of course, had changed when she welcomed you into her life. You were decidedly not a morning person and would grumble until you found her alarm clock in the dark, shutting it off and pinning Natasha down with your dead weight as you fell back into a deep slumber. She hadn’t the heart to move you.

Then, when Veronica had gotten her own room there were some nights when Natasha would stir from her vigilant sleep. She’d startle, really. Your daughter was mostly silent during the day and happened to be worse at night. She would stand at the bottom of the bed, contemplating waking you.

It only ever bothered you after you watched the ring for the first time. After that, you would sense her presence and it seemed like Natasha was the same. She sat up and blinked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

“Hi baby,” Natasha croaked, “are you alright?”

Natasha saw the silhouette of Ronnie shake her head and the woman looked sparingly at you. Light breathes escaped you, dead to the world. She heard the little word, barely a whisper. “Nightmare.”

It tugged at Natasha’s heart to the point where it was almost painful. She wanted to wrap her up that first night, pull her close until she wasn’t afraid of whatever had plagued her in her dreams. Tentatively, she scooted to the far side of the mattress and patted the space she’d created between the both of you.

Veronica snuggled under the blankets, shivering as her cold began to ebb away. Natasha felt stiff for a moment, lying on her back. She could feel your daughter’s body heat against her, and made the conscious choice not to move closer.

“You can talk about it, if you want.” She eventually whispered. “I’m here to listen, Ronnie, malen'kiy strelok.”

Little Marksman. Her father used to call Natasha the same, despite her not being the greatest shot. But, she was better than Yelena and that’s all the mattered at the moment. The term of endearment rolled off her tongue like honey and shocked her in the process.

Veronica didn’t say anything, she often didn’t, but she wrapped her tiny, strong arms around Natasha’s arm and buried her cheek into her, reveling in the close contact. She softened instantly and found herself staying awake until Ronnie’s breath evened out.

Neither her alarm, nor Ronnie stirred her this particular morning. Instead, it was a frantic knocking at her door. The sun streaming through the blinds indicated that she had been given the chance to sleep in, and if that wasn’t enough, you had left a little note on her side table: Get some sleep, I’ll handle the morning meetings. Love you!

It was close to noon, from her estimate, so you had kept up your end of the bargain. Natasha groaned into the silk pillow and pulled her way to the door. She glowered at the woman that stood on the other side.

“Did someone die?” Natasha grumbled, “Because you’re about to.”

“You are incredibly grumpy in the morning, has anyone ever told you that?”

Yelena shoved her way into the room. She was holding an envelope that had yet to be opened. There was a specific floral scent, almost like roses. Natasha crinkled her nose; she knew that smell. It had been a constant soothing presence throughout her childhood and beyond. Sometimes, she would walk into random rooms and catch a whisp of the spectral scent.

She snatched the envelope from her sister. It had already been crudely ripped, despite Natasha’s name being on it. This was a federal offense- but most of the stuff that this family did was, so it bothered her surprisingly little.

“Mama is coming for a visit.”

Yelena spilled the words out before Natasha could process the neat Russian writing. Her stomach dropped. Melina and Alexi had moved to a small far just outside of Moscow years ago. They stated that they wanted to get out of the city, but really, Alexi couldn’t keep his hands out of the business if they stayed in the city.

They would call every once and awhile, but were mostly solitary. She’d get a call on Christmas, and her birthday and sometimes the anniversary of her first kill. That one was hit or miss. Rarely- never- had Melina decided to drop by.

“I may have let it slip that you have a girlfriend.”

“Yelena!” Natasha shoved her roughly “Why would you do that?”

“It just came out! She was grilling me about Kate, and I panicked. You know yours is more put together than mine.”  

“You threw me under the bus.”

Yelena had a genuinely sad look on her face, one that was borderline pouty. Natasha growled through clenched teeth and finally got a chance to read her mother’s writing. She’d be here tomorrow, and there was too much to do. Natasha’s head started to spin.

In fact, you weren’t more put together than Kate. The two of you seemed to feed off of each other’s chaos. It was fine to deal with on a regular basis, but Melina was like a bloodhound. She would smell fear, and she would play into it until you both were reduced to a crushable size.

Oh, this was not good.

Natasha must have paled noticeably because Yelena took a tepid step closer, creasing her fingers against the empty pink envelope. Melina would be flying alone. She’d be here in two days and that didn’t give either girls much time to process the invasion at all.

Though her father was a stern man in practice, he was much easier to impress than her mother. They balanced one another out, and that was something that would be sorely missed during this visit.

She took a steadying breath, running her fingers over the dented familiarity of her mothers perfect script. There was nothing to worry about, right?

Despite Natasha’s multiple text messages to her mother, insisting that she would send a car to pick her up, Melina took a cab from the airport, not bothering to let either of her daughters in on the fact. She knew the address of her pervious home like the back of her hand, knew the deep green grass of the landscaping and the stretching view of the harbor.

Natasha had been pacing the length of the family room for most of the day. Yelena was draped over the loveseat, her limbs hanging over the sides, making her look nearly lanky compared to the furniture.

“Natasha, please, you are going to wear a hole in the carpet.”

“How can you be so calm?” She halted her pacing, cutting her sister a deadly look.

“I am not calm. I simply mask it better than you.”

The muffled sound of a car door closing made Yelena shoot up from her lounging position, she was standing next to Natasha now, both of them staring wildly at the large oak doors. You and Kate had been sent out with a massive grocery list and it was much too early for the two of you to return with Ronnie. In fact, you usually stopped for some ice cream, or a small lunch as a reward for the tiny girl.

Natasha deemed it better not to inform you, nor Kate, about her mother’s visit. It could be considered cruel, sure, but knowing you the warning would do nothing but send you into an immense panic and that would simply spur her mother on.

Melina had arrived with nothing more than a half-packed duffel bag. She always packed light, using the key on her ring to open the door to the place that was once her home. Natasha and Yelena lingered by the curved entryway, watching as the woman, perfectly sculpted and entirely unchanged, smiled softly at the décor.

“Do not just stand there, girls, come give mama a hug.”

It was an order that Yelena folded in on first. She was stiff at first but at the floral scent that her mother carried like a vice, she melted into the embrace. There was nothing like a  mothers hug, and that was evident by her body language.

“Aw, sweet girl” Melina pulled back and squished Yelena’s face between her hands “you are much too lean. Is this Kate girl not feeding you?”

“Mama, prekrati eto” She grumbled, batting the woman away.

Melina narrowed her eyes but focused her attention on her oldest daughter. She grasped both of her hands first, giving them a small squeeze before pulling her into her embrace. Natasha melted, pressed her nose against the side of her mother’s neck. It had been much too long, and despite being reduced to a little girl in this moment, she didn’t seem to mind.

“You’ve healed nicely,” Melina said.

Of course, her mother had heard about the two shots that Natasha took to the back. She had been lucky and avoided any major injury. They were simply superficial, but she could understand how it would sound brutal all the same.

“Now,” she clapped her hands together, getting a devilish look in her eye “where is my granddaughter?”

Natasha choked on air before she glared at Yelena with a look that could kill. Her mother’s hand was patting her back. She’d become tender with age, it seemed. Still, a force to be reckon with, Natasha wouldn’t dare try anything.

“Your granddaughter?”

“Please, Natalia, she sleeps in your bed. Marriage or not, she’s your child. That’s how we got Clint, isn’t it?”

She was at a loss for words. Melina had a point. Clint was a mere stranger to Natasha until her parents took both her and Yelena to the circus that traveled through town. Her younger sister was nothing more than a baby, but Natasha was mystified. More than the clowns, and the acrobats, she had interest in the knife thrower and his charge.

A little boy that was around the same age as Natasha. When the show was over, Natasha refused to move until the young boy, covered in dirt and with dark purple bags under his eyes, started to sweep piles of popcorn and empty paper cups to the sidelines.

She’d introduced herself, and though he was quiet, she took an instant liking to him. Alexi had a few choice words with the boys guardian, who turned out, didn’t want to keep the kid and regarded him as nothing more than an employee- a runaway that had latched onto the circus. He had no idea who the boy belonged to, and Alexi decided that Clint belonged to them, now.

Instead of Clint being like family, he was family.

“Oh Mama, she will marry this girl.” Yelena beamed, “titles be damned.”

Natasha groaned into her hands. Had she thought about marriage? Yes, absolutely. She wanted nothing more than to make you officially hers. But she wanted to wait until the perfect moment; she wanted to not only include Ronnie, but get her input as well.

Melina gave a beautiful smile, patting Natasha’s cheek “I know, moya milaya. Are you not going to show me to my room?”

It was apparent that you and Kate had been sent on a fools errand when you finally got to the store and got a better look at the handwritten list that you were given: Milk, eggs, bread, A single MTS-I Mortorq screw, VW Mk4 Golf R32 duel clutch plate- and seriously, what the hell was that?

Darcy would know, and would have caught on a lot faster than you or Kate did. The more you thought about it, the more you realized that there was no reason to go to the store at all. You’d gone two days prior and knew for a fact that you’d gotten everything recognizable on the list.

“Kid,” Kate gave Ronnie’s had a squeeze “we’ve been played, bamboozled, tricked.”

Your daughter lifted an eyebrow at the woman’s antics. In a few years, she’d move on to eye rolling, and while you weren’t prepared for it, you would be glad for the indication. You’d done it yourself, crumpling up the list and shoving it into your pocket. There was no need to brave the crowds in the grocery store.

Instead, you aimed your sights on the small frozen yogurt place that was nestled in between a shoe store and a Gamestop. You might as well get a treat while you were out, considering Natasha requested you go further than the closest store because she liked the bread at this one better.

“They clearly wanted us out of the house. But why?”

“Yelena usually tells me everything.”

“Huh,”

“What? She does!”

“Doesn’t seem like the type.”

A sweet frozen scent hit your lungs and the little bell above the door sounded. There was a less than enthusiastic employee behind the counter, moving like molasses. You did have to kill time…apparently.

Veronica spoke up when dessert was involved. She didn’t carry a conversation with the teenager, but she did give little indicating sounds. Your arms were crossed over your chest to stave off the cold, and you settled for a simple chocolate. Ronnie loaded hers with a bunch of toppings, and Kate got vanilla with extra (extra) rainbow sprinkles. Each bite she took crunched like gravel.  

“The point is, she didn’t say anything about something going down, and if it was, wouldn’t they want us there? Clint’s out of town so we’re the only muscle they’ve got.”

The employee behind the counter lifted an eyebrow at you both and you made sure to stick an extra couple of bills in the tip jar with a sheepish smile. You ushered them both to one of the benches outside, basking in the highpoint of the sun and cursing Kate’s tact, or lack thereof.

“You’ve got a point. Maybe it’s something personal?” You suggested, reaching your pink plastic spoon over and stealing a bite of Ronnie’s candy-coated yogurt. She batted you away, a little too slow and you claimed your prize.

“Yelena tells me-“

“Everything, I know.”

Kate took her own scoop of frozen yogurt and crunched on it thoughtfully. “They’re nervous. If they’re being this secretive. They sent us out for car parts for a car that none of us own.”

“Lena said that Mama is coming for a visit.”

Ronnie’s feet didn’t’ touch the ground and she was working at dislodging a frozen gummy bear that became mostly inedible. She kicked back and forth and only looked up from her task when she was met with silence.

Kate’s mouth was propped open, and your eyes were wide. She frantically glanced between the both of you and shrugged her little shoulders. “This is one of those things I’m supposed to tell you, right?”

Kate nodded, suddenly losing her appetite “Uh-huh,”

You’d heard about Melina before, in passing, but Natasha seemed to bristle about the woman. She did the same for her father, but you knew the legends of Alexi and his kind hand when it came to running the city. Her mother was entirely different; entirely horrifying.

You’d seen a picture of her in a small and dusty shoe-box while helping Natasha clean out the attic one day last summer. It was stiflingly hot, and you were shocked to find it framed, but shoved away all the same.

Natasha was young, maybe around eleven, and Clint was next to her, smiling with missing front teeth. Yelena was smaller, the large hands of Alexi engulfing her shoulders. And then there was Melina, even in casual cargo shorts and striped tank-top, she looked regal and oh-so intimidating.

Your girlfriends’ arms wrapped around her midsection, her chin resting on your shoulder. She gave you a squeeze and stared down at the photo you were holding.

“You were cute as a kid.”

“were?”

“Still are!” you corrected, smiling lazily down at the family photo.

There was something longing behind your gaze that Natasha admired. Not that she would tell you that. Instead, she told you about the trip to Busche Gardens that ended in Clint nearly drowning and Yelena throwing up after she scarfed down three corndogs and a funnel cake.

Now you felt like you would vomit yourself, sliding your frozen yogurt away with a frown. You were far from prepared to meet Melina Romanoff, and by the green look on Kate’s face, so was she.

“Oh, we are so fuc… screwed. We’re screwed.”

“I know the word fuck, mommy says it all the time.”

“Just because I say it doesn’t mean you can. Eat your yogurt.”

You were clearly having a crisis and Veronica was clearly enjoying the fact that you’d given up on your frozen yogurt. She took alternating bites and would most definitely lose her appetite if she kept going, but you couldn’t’ bring yourself to push it away.

“Why wouldn’t they tell us?” you asked.

“Probably because of this” Kate made a vague gesture “this who panicking thing? Melina is going to kill us both and then it won’t matter but they decided to spare us the torture of waiting for this day.”

It felt like slowly working a mouse away from a glue trap by the time your frozen yogurt had turned to nothing but a brown soup. There was nothing to hold you and Kate from home now, and Ronnie was growing restless under the hand of the sun. You swore you heard her mutter something about Grandma, but chose to ignore it entirely in favor for pure fear.

Natasha seemed to be waiting at the door to intercept both you before you went any further. Not that you minded her soothing hand on your chest, and an apologetic look in her eyes. She smoothed your shirt down once, and then nervously, twice.

“Sweetie, I don’t think it’ll un-wrinkle, no matter how hot your hands are.”

“See that,” She whispered harshly, “Is something we’re not going to do. Both of you need to be on your best behavior. Understood? Better than best. Kate maybe don’t… talk.”

“Aye, captain.”

The younger woman frowned at her own words and instead settled for miming zipping her lips shut. Maybe it would better for you not to talk either. From your spot in the foyer, with Ronnie clinging to the fabric of your jeans, you could hear the muffled Russian. Yelena was responding to something, a bit of a whining tone to her voice.

Natasha’s hands had made their way to yours. She knit them together, a sort of an anchor. The other hand reached down to Ronnie, who was suddenly shy despite her earlier indifference. You could throw up right here and now but figured that would only serve to embarrass you further.

There was a clear similarity between Melina and Natasha; the high cheek bones, the striking green gaze, the flawless skin. She held the same cold stare that her daughter did but could hide her emotions better than your girlfriend. A stone dropped in your stomach under her gaze.

Natasha squeezed your hand tighter, her thumb on your pulse point. The pad of her finger ran over it gently, assuredly. She knew you were horrified. Kate gulped (which to her credit, was technically not talking, but was still painfully audible.)

Melina had a knife in her hand, a half-carved apple resting between she and Yelena like a peace offering. There were differences in the cuts, one smoother, the other more practiced. This family found leisure activity in carving techniques.

Natasha warned in a breath “Bud' milym, mama.”

Her mother didn’t heed the warning. Instead, she closed the difference between you. Yelena instinctively tightened her grip on the kitchen knife, not that she’d ever use it. Melina scrutinized you for what seemed like years, but was only a few ticking seconds.

“Ona khoroshen'kaya”

“spasibo, Miss Romanoff”

“ah, you know Russian?”

“Yelena has been teaching me.” You swallowed the dryness in your throat as her raised eyebrow lowered to something less intimidating. “Ma’am.”

“Manners too. Maybe you can teach my Natalia something or two about that.”

You felt you cheeks heat up and you diverted your eyes to the floor. It had directed the attention in the room to the small girl clinging to your leg as if it were a piece of beached driftwood and she were fighting against the raging currents.

Melina knelt down in front of your daughter, her rigid stance loosening until she looked more like a mother than yourself. She was soft in this moment, the sun hitting her eyes in a way that made them glow supernaturally.

“Hi, Malen'kiy strelok”

Natasha parted her lips, as if to inform her mother that Veronica didn’t speak much, if at all. She’d gotten better, sure, but it was nearly stagnant with new people. Ronnie studied Melina as the woman had studied you.

“What does that mean?” Ronnie asked, her grip lessening.

Melina smiled “Little marksman. From what I hear, your mother has a very good aim. Do you?”

“I don’t know yet. Kate says I do.”

“Well, I’m sure we will find out in due time, milaya devushka.” She tentatively tucked a strand of hair behind Ronnie’s ear before standing again and focusing her attention on Kate. Kate who had paled at least ten shades and was sweating despite the air conditioning in the house.

Yelena straightened up herself, giving a silent warning with her stare. Of course, Kate didn’t’ see it like you and Natasha did, her arm having moved from your hand to your hip bone in the quiet approval from her mother. She’d relaxed significantly.

“Hi,” Kate squeaked out and Yelena stifled a groan put massaged her temple.

Melina seemed to look to Natasha for confirmation: This is the one she chooses?

With you, there was merit. There were callouses on your hands and scars that hardened under the fabric of your shirt. Kate was much of the same, though, she showed it in a nervous, fluttering type of way that presented outwardly as fumbling and awkward.

“Krasivo, no... puglivo. Like deer.” Melina offered a small smile to the girl and her breath seemed to release.

Skittish. Kate was certainly that, but she seemed to balance out Yelena with the perfect amount of caring and heart. Melina was nothing, if not vigilant. She clapped her hands together, that small smile turning into a large grin. “You all must eat something, you look starving. And Natasha, you are slouching, don’t’ slouch in front of your daughter. Those bad manners.”

“Mama, I am not slouching.”

Natasha groaned as the tension in the room broke. Her forehead pushed against your cheek. Veronica dragged Kate over to the kitchen island by the hand and instruction on the proper way to carve pieces from an apple began, much to Yelena’s huffing dismay.

Hands shifted from your hips, finding the two back pockets of your jeans. “She likes you,”

“I would be dead by now if she didn’t.”

“Yeah, right when you walked through the door.”

The two of you chuckled, her nose nudging against yours. “She called Ronnie your daughter.”

“I’m sorry, dorogoy, she pushes. She means well.”

You pressed a small kiss to the corner of her mouth, words a light whisper “don’t apologize. I like the sound of it.”

Before Natasha could collect her thoughts, her rush of pure emotion, you had pulled away from her and joined the rest of the family around the kitchen island. Though she couldn’t hear exactly what was being said, Natasha was more than content standing in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest.

Her heart pounded fondly.  

[Taglist🕷♡: @dumbasslesbi, @lostremind, @toouncreativeforausername @autorasexy @eringranola @mikookaaaaaao @marvelwoman-simp @pacmanmiles @mostlymarvelsstuff, @mrsrushman, @milfsandtittyenthusiast, @random-raccoon4, @ravenromanova, @mysticalmoonlight7, @ahintofchaos@cowboyboots236 @lissaaaa145, @natsxwife@a-spes, @kyleeservopoulos]

[chaoticharrington]

Chapter Two: The Ticket and Your Shitty Car

***THERE WILL BE LOTS SMUT 18+ CONTENT EVENTUALLY SO MINORS THIS IS NOT A SPACE FOR YOU, MINORS WILL BE BLOCKED,IF YOU DONT HAVE AN AGE IN YOUR BIO I WILL LIKELY ASSUME YOU'RE A MINOR AND BLOCK. DM/ASK FOR ANY QUESTIONS THANKS!<3***

Pairing: Professor! Steve Harrington x Best Friends Dad! Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Lots of angst (sorry folks), mentions of anxiety and bullying, cigarette smoking, Eddie and Steve being sexy, kissing 👀, Reader is in their mid 20s and Steve and Eddie are in their early to mid 40s. Lemme know if i've missed anything.

Summary: After a few weeks of getting closer to Eddie and Steve feelings bubble to the surface

Authors Note: I'm so excited for this chapter and the rest of the series i've been having so much fun writing this! I've never written angst before so i'm interested in the response it'll get! And I pinky promise ya'll are getting smut in the next chapter 😈 7k words

**Chapter One Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five**

(banners and headers by @cafekitsune)

A couple days had gone by since your first interactions with the two men that have been plaguing both your waking thoughts and your dreams. You’ve woken up more than once this week from your body buzzing and your panties soaked through. Lips on skin, rough hands on your hips, deep voices whispering in your ear. Groaning yourself fully awake and grabbing your vibrator to finish the job, that isn’t nearly as good as whatever was happening in your dreams.

Because of these dreams it made it impossible to look at Steve during class, only looking when you absolutely had to. Avoiding Mr. Munson was a bit easier, he either wasn’t home much when you were with Violet, or he was in the garage. You convinced yourself that you would just eventually get over your little crushes, and if you just avoided them long enough then things would go back to normal, and you’d have your sanity back.

But things didn’t quite work out that way. After you had gotten your ticket on the first day, you decided you would just pay it off yourself, to avoid another possibly embarrassing interaction with Steve. You had your parking pass now so you wouldn’t get another ticket. But you had a busy week with assignments and kept forgetting to take care of it. By the end of the week, you had completely forgotten about it, until Fridays sociology class. It was a normal class; Steve was talking about the theoretical approach to sociology. At the end of class, you were supposed to hand in your paper on Social Darwinism, you had spent many late nights making sure that this paper specifically was perfect. The problem was that when you were meant to hand it in at the end of class, you couldn’t find it, and you were starting to panic. Almost all the other students had left or were in the process of handing in their papers and you were left anxiously digging through your bookbag.

“Oh, how the tables turn, need some help there?”

You freeze, looking up from the familiar black converse that you could see next to your bookbag. Your anxious eyes are met with playful honey brown ones, that make you relax slightly.

“Sorry no I’m good I know it’s in here somewhere,” you reply a little anxious. You didn’t want your professor to think that this was any reflection of you as a student or your work ethic.

Steve watches you dig through your bag for another few seconds when you finally find it, in a folder you don’t remember putting it in. When you get the folder out of your bookbag, the ticket sitting at the bottom of your bag falls out onto the floor right at Steves feet. You’re too busy to notice, trying to make sure all of the pages of your paper are in order, and you have all your sources. When you finally look up from the papers in front of you, you see Steve holding the ticket that you got on the first day of school.

You panic and look up and into his eyes, he doesn’t look mad, but he looks confused. “I thought I told you I’d fix this for you if you ever got a ticket. Why didn’t you tell me?” he said.

“I- I didn’t want to bother with you something so silly, I was going to pay it, but with a bunch of papers due, I just forgot I’m sorry,” you blurt out.

Steve raises his hand to silence your apologies casually, and you’re ready for him to yell at you or at the very least be disappointed in you.

Shit, why did you not just pay it the day you got it?

“It’s not your fault honey, there’s no need for you to apologize, okay?” he says warmly. Your shoulders relax a bit more, his voice giving you reassurance.

“I swear I really did mean to pay it, I just didn’t want to bother you,” you confess.

Steves eyes soften. “Y/N you are never a bother, plus it's my fault for being the worst teacher in history and not giving you a parking pass.” He jokes.

“Steve you’re one of my favorite teachers, nowhere near my list of worst teachers.” You reveal.

He smiles widely and raises his eyebrow; you swear you can feel your insides thaw. With the playful look on his face, he almost seems younger, you could only imagine how attractive he was when he was younger, even just a glimpse is enough to make your stomach do flips.

“Oh so there IS list? Well, I demand to know where I am on your favorite teachers list, maybe it’ll give me motivation to try harder in class.” He winks at you in retort. You swear you could cum in your pants right now, how dare he be so beautiful and perfect, and funny.

You think hard for a second, you can’t put him first you think his ego probably couldn’t handle it, also it would just bring you more embarrassment. But he very easily is your favorite teacher, he makes jokes during class, makes sure his lectures are easy to understand and enjoyable, and seems to genuinely care about all his students, it’s very hard to rank any teacher above him.

“I hope your ego can handle it Steve, but you’re second.” you gush.

“You wound me, SECOND? That’s basically failure I demand to know who could possibly rank higher than me?” he jokingly stands up straighter, adjusts his tie, and holds his hand to his heart.

Damn, you hadn’t thought that far ahead.

“Uh, Professor Buckley, my Gender Studies Professor, I love her class,” you confess.

Steves eyes couldn’t roll farther back into his head even if he tried, you almost worried that they’d get stuck.

“You’re telling me, my best friend has already won you over? I’ve sat in on some of her classes and there is no way that Robin is funnier than I am!” he exclaimed as he puts his hands on his hips.

“You know Professor Buckley.. er Robin? Also, you definitely top her in the funny department, how did I know you wouldn’t be satisfied with second.” you retort easily. You could get used to this, the casual flirting, smiling with your professor, it felt easier than breathing. Once you got over the fact that he was one of the most handsome men that you’ve ever seen in your whole life.

“Know her? She’s been my best friend since high school, and a major pain in my ass. Second place is basically losing, everyone knows that babe.” The pet name slipped off his tongue so effortlessly.

Your eyes must have gone wide because Steve looks slightly embarrassed and rubs the back of his neck.

Babe babe babe babe babe babe babe HE CALLED YOU BABE

“Well then I guess you gotta step it up Professor.” you reply, trying to ease the tension in the room.

He smiles at you gratefully, “yeah I guess so,” he chuckles.

“Anyways I don’t want to keep you again for the second time this week, I’ll see you in class on Monday Steve.” you say as you go to stand up and walk past him. You’re about halfway to the door before you hear him call out.

“Hey, wait up, uh why don’t you come with me to my office so I can get that parking ticket taken care of for you,” he explains.

“You sure? I don’t want to make you late for your next class.”

“I’m the one who got you into this mess, please let me help you fix it?” he asks gently.

“Lead the way professor,”you answer playfully.

He smiles that flashy Steve Harrington smile and shows you the way towards his office.

“It’s just down this hallway,” he shares.

Then you feel him put his hand at the small of your back guiding you into a room on the righthand side, his touch lights your body on fire. It takes everything in you not to lean into his touch. You can smell his cologne, now that you’re so close to him. It’s a fairly clean scent with hints of musk and spice at the end, a more modern scent then you expected from a man his age. It only makes you want him more, to lean in closer and smell his scent mixed with the cologne.

You’re snapped out of your daze when Steve picks up the phone receiver and punches in a phone number. His fingers almost covered the buttons on the phone, and it made your legs squeeze together, thinking back to the multiple dreams you had about those specific fingers all over you. Steve looks up at you smiling lightly, surely just trying to fill the silence that filled the room. You hoped he hadn’t magically learned how to read minds in the short walk from his classroom to his office or you’d be toast.

His office wasn’t anything glamorous, it was an average size, with a nice desk and comfy looking chair, and big window with a view that overlooked the campus. The only thing making it uniquely his are the loads of pictures of him and Professor Buckley, and a few other guys and girls that looked around his age or maybe a bit younger. Documenting various birthdays, weddings, and get togethers.

While Steve is on the phone you take a moment to look at them, you see a picture of Steve being Professor Buckleys best man in her wedding to a pretty woman with dark brown hair and blue eyes. They all looked so happy, it made you smile, it looked like a really special day. Also noting that there are no wedding photos of him or pictures of him with a girlfriend, making your heart internally soar.

When you finally tear your eyes away from the photos, you hear the end of a conversation Steve is having with someone on the phone.

“Thanks again Reg, I promise it won’t happen again. Yeah, you too, take care. Say hi to the wife and kids for me," he said.

He puts down the receiver and looks at where you’re standing, and gestures to the photo you’re looking at.

“Yeah, Robins wedding! It was a really great day,” he reminisces. He goes onto explain that Robin ended up marrying his ex from High School, Nancy Wheeler. You smile and nod along to the anecdotes he talks about that day, trying to absorb everything he tells you about his life like a sponge.

“And by the end of the night Lucas and Max lead everyone in a impromptu sing-a-long to Never Ending Story, It was hilarious,” He says. You could combust, you can see just how clearly he loves his friends and how much they mean to him. He shakes his head and smiles wide at the memory, his smile being infectious, you smile back at him.

“Sounds like really good time Steve,” you reply.

“Yeah, it was, it really was.” he shares, he seems a little lost in thought for a moment before smiling up at you. “Sorry I don’t mean to bore you with my stories of the old days, I don’t get to gush about the people I love very often, so its nice to have someone listen," He confessed.

Your heart melts, he’s such a sweetheart. “No no please, I enjoy hearing them, makes you more a person than just my teacher. Plus, maybe at some point you’ll slip up and tell me something embarrassing about yourself. Then you’re done for Harrington,” you jab.

     He raises his eyebrows at you and looks impressed. “That’ll never happen, I’ve never done anything embarrassing in my life ever,” he states sarcastically.

     “Well, I’ll just have to ask Professor Buckley, my favorite teacher, about it won’t I?” you interject.

     His face goes from his handsome boyish grin to fake terror in a split second, “I will give you whatever grade you want in my class if you don’t do that, she’d go on for hours, might even keep you after class just to rub it in my face.”  

     You could tell that there was some truth to his words, and you know your gender studies professor well enough to know that she really would just rip him a new one. You giggle back at him, unable to keep it in.

“She really would tear you to shreds, wouldn’t she?” you cackle. His face softens, “Yes she’s evil, just awaiting my downfall I swear!” he smiles softly at you.

You both look at each other a bit longer before Steve clears his throat. “Anyways um, I talked to the guy in campus security and you’re good to go, you don’t have to pay the ticket,” He spoke.

You had honestly completely forgotten that was the reason you were even in his office; his demeanor makes you feel at home in your own skin and were just happy to not have anxious thoughts rolling around inside of your head.

“Oh, right yeah, thank you so much, you really didn’t need to go through all this trouble for me,” you said.

“No trouble at all, really. I should probably get going though, my next class starts soon.” he explained looking at the very expensive looking watch on his wrist.

You try your best not to show your disappointment, wishing to stay in this little bubble with him a bit longer.

“Of course, yeah. Thank you again Steve,” you respond.

He leads you back out the door with his hand on your back again, maybe this time a bit firmer than the last, and you weren’t complaining. You both wave your goodbyes for the weekend before you head out to the parking lot, and he heads towards his next class.

You were relieved to be going home, this first week of school has tested you mentally and emotionally and you were ready for a little break. You hop in your car, and twist your key in the ignition, but to your surprise, instead of your car roaring to life like it usually does. It just stalled, unable to start. You try the ignition a few more times before you rest your head on your steering wheel.

Just your fucking luck

You take your phone out of your jean pocket and call Violet to see if she knows any good mechanics in the area. But you only get her voicemail. “Come on Vi,”you mutter to yourself, trying her cell again and again. Only to get her voicemail each and every time. You couldn’t very well leave your car in the parking lot overnight, then you’d surely get another ticket. But what other option did you have?

You make the decision to call Violet’s home phone, thinking maybe she’s too engrossed in a TV show or something to see her phone going off. It rings a few times before someone picks up.

“Munson residence.” a deep familiar voice answers the phone.

Shit

“Hi Mr. Munson, is Vi there?” you reply.

“Nah she left about an hour or two ago to head to work, everything okay?” he asks a slight concern in his voice.

“Oh uh yeah, my- my car just isn’t starting and I don’t know any mechanics in the area who could come and take a look at it,” you respond anxiously

You hear what you assume is him blowing out some smoke from his mouth, you shake your head trying to stay on track.

“Any mechanic out here is gonna charge you an arm an a leg to come look at your car right before the weekend, let me come and take a look at it myself,” he suggests.

Your body runs cold, you couldn’t deal with another interaction with BOTH of them in the same day again, you’d burst into flames.

“Oh gods no that’s really okay Mr. Munson. I’ll just leave my car here overnight its no big deal, I’ll just walk home its not that far,” You babble anxiously.

You hear him scoff on the other end of the phone, “What do you mean walk home? Where are you Y/N?” his tone getting a bit more serious than the lighthearted goofy tone you usually get from him.

“I’m at school, it’s fine really, my apartment isn’t that far from-,” you squeak.

“Let me just grab my tools and I’ll meet you in the parking lot, which building are you in front of?” he interjects, you can hear some rustling on the other end of the phone.

“I-,“ you think about arguing with him but you know that in the end Mr. Munson is a stubborn man and you will lose. “I’m in front of the Humanities and Social Sciences building, its right by-,“ you confess.

He chuckles “Oh yeah I know the one, be there in a sec, hang tight.” he says before hanging up the phone.

You bring your phone down onto your lap in defeat. You hide in your car until you see his car pull up, you don’t need anyone seeing you, especially a certain sociology professor. His big black truck pulls into the space next to you, and you get out of your car to greet him.

“Hey thanks for coming all the way out here, I hope I didn’t take you away from anything or anyone,” you look up at him innocently. He stands about a foot away from you, but even then, you could see just how much taller he is than you. He could probably use you as an arm rest.

He gives you an easy-going smile, “No problem at all sweetheart, I’m happy to help!” You give him the keys and he goes to try and start the car and it stalls again and he clicks his tongue.

Your mind going back to the dreams you’ve had of his tongue on you, on your skin. You shiver at the thought, and you squeeze your arms around you willing yourself not to fall apart.

Luckily, he didn’t seem to notice, too preoccupied with opening the hood and looking inside. He takes off his leather jacket and lays it on top of the hood and rolls up his sleeves. He fiddles around inside of the hood for a few seconds before popping his head around the corner.

“Looks like your spark plug is shot, I have an extra on me in case of emergencies, it’s your lucky day pretty lady,” He announces cheerily.

Pretty lady

“Oh, thank you Mr. Munson, you’re a life saver!” you beam.

He looks at you again one more time, studying you for the second time this week, he looks like he’s contemplating something in his head. His eyes are like lasers on your skin, heating you up from the inside.

“It’s Eddie, you can call me Eddie honey, you’ve known me long enough.” he says as he smiles at you, the edges of his eyes crinkling.

You can’t help but smile back, “Okay, thanks, E-eddie,” you stammer out. His name feeling so odd on your tongue, he’s your best friend’s dad, would Violet think its weird that you call him by his first name now?

He smiles contently like he made the right decision and goes back to working on your car. You lean against his car just watching him work, seeing how his hands knowingly move on all the parts of your car that you don’t even know the names of, only being able to identify the windshield wiper fluid cap and oil fill cap. You look at his now uncovered arms that you didn’t see the last time you got a good look at him, you could see right near his left wrist Violets name tattooed in beautiful cursive, and D20 right above his left elbow. You see how veiny his hands and arms are, probably due to years of playing the guitar and working on various motorcycles and cars.

“So, what are you going to school for?” he says, looking at you through the corner of his eye while he works.

“Psychology mostly,” you reply easily.

“What do you want to do with it? Your degree?” he responds.

“I’d love to work with kids, I felt like no one ever listened to me as a kid, so I’d love to be able to be a safe space for kids to express themselves.” You shared, this was something you’ve been passionate for a while, wanting to work with kids. Giving them something that you never got when you were a kid, a place where they felt understood even if they didn’t feel like that at home.

He looks up at you from his work with an impressed look on his face, “That’s really fucking cool Y/N, I wish stuff like that had been around when I was a kid. Woulda made Middle School and High School a lot more bearable for me, trust me.”

Your heartbreaks at his confession, you figured that he probably wasn’t always the suave sexy metal head that he is now, and he probably got teased a lot when he was a kid. It reminded you of your own experiences in school, teased and never really fitting in anywhere. Violet went through something similar except it never really seemed to bother her, she was always the type of kid that always knew who she was and didn’t let anyone get in her way. You always admired that about her.

“Honestly me too,” you confess.

Eddie raises an eyebrow at you, “No way, You and Vi had loads of friends in Middle School,” he says.

“Yeah, in Middle School sure, but high school was brutal without her there, kids are mean.” You say sadly, rubbing your boot into the asphalt trying to wash away depressing memories of eating in the bathroom and crying yourself to sleep at night.

Eddie scrunches his eyebrows together and nods knowingly, sharing that feeling. “Yeah, teenagers are fucking assholes.”

You nod knowingly, as Eddie steps around the front of your car to get into the driver’s seat, scootching closing to you, grabbing the side of your waist as he passes you. You take a shallow breath, and your mouth runs dry. His hand felt so perfect on your waist, like it belonged there… and then your mind wanders to Steve, his touch felt the same way.

Eddie got into the front seat and turned your key in the ignition, and sure enough your car roared to life.

“Huzzahh!” Eddie cheered, getting out of the driver’s seat and bowing to you. A smile plastered across his face in triumph.

“There ya go honey good as new, although you should stop by the house sometime, so I can put a new battery in your car, it looks like it’s about to take a shit on you, and I want you to be safe during the Winter.” He says casually wiping the oil and grease off his fingers with the rag in his tool kit.

He wants you to be safe

“That would be great, thank you again, honestly I don’t know what I would have done without you. What do I owe you Eddie?” you ask. Surely, he’d want some compensation for driving all the way out here on a Friday, probably ruining his plans to come help his daughters best friend with her car.

“On the house, and don’t fight me on this I’m not accepting any money from you.” He says slightly stern but in a way that makes you smile lightly.

“I’ll figure out a way to make it up to you or something, do you like cookies? I’ll bake you some cookies for all your help,” you insist.

“IF you happen to make double chocolate chip cookies and bring them over to the house, for Violet of course, I wouldn’t say no to one or two,” he says slyly.

“I’ll bring them over this weekend.” you say determined to not be in debt to him.

He packs his tools back into the trunk of his truck and shrugs his leather jacket back on, “I’ll hold you to that sweetheart.” he winks at you before getting back into his truck and waving to you as he drives off the lot.

You get back into your newly fixed car and drive home to your apartment, first thing on the agenda, a very cold shower.

The next few weeks had been an absolute whirlwind of epic proportions. Steve came back with your grades for your latest paper, and when yours got passed to you, at the top of your paper, “SEE ME AFTER CLASS” was written in blue pen. After class he explained that he was “very impressed” with your work and effort you spent on your paper and asked you to be his TA and help him a couple of days a week. Help him with grading papers, answering any questions your classmates had on assignments or class subjects, and help with lectures for upcoming classes. You couldn’t have said yes faster, not only did you have a huge massive crush on him. But you genuinely enjoyed his class and were excited to prove yourself. On those days you spent most of the time after your classes, spent huddled in his office with him grading papers or talking about different upcoming subjects you were going to learn in class. It was becoming one of your favorite parts of your day, you always left his office in the best mood. Plus, the flirting and your attraction to him only grew during this time, you noticed he started going more and more out of his way to touch you, or holding eye contact with you longer than was probably appropriate. You welcomed it, Steve made you feel like you were on cloud nine, some nights the two of you were left in his office until after dark, after all the work was done, just flirting and talking about life. Eating shitty takeout food that he’d grab from the cafeteria or the two of you would order in.

He always treated you with respect letting you talk about your feelings or whatever was on your mind, you eventually opening up to him about why you wanted to go into psychology, and he opened up to you about how he hadn’t always been the way he is now, and how there are parts of his past he’s ashamed of. The two of you bonded over your lack of family you had in your life, you told him about your parents basically ditching you after graduation and he told you about how his parents cut him off when he told them what decided what he wanted to do with his life and hadn’t heard much from him since. He reassured you that the only family that actually mattered was your chosen family and the people who love you that you let into your little corner of the world. You talked about your views on the world and your dreams. You liked that about him, that he listened to you and how modest and genuine he is, you assumed at first glance that someone with good looks like him and his upbringing he’d have an large ego. Which wasn’t entirely wrong, but not in a bad way. You’d come to really like Steve Harrington, he had an ego the size of a lake but a heart to match.

Which made it even more confusing on the days that you didn’t spend in his office. See you had saved up enough money for school and your expenses for the first couple of weeks, but that money only stretched so far. So, you looked for a job, and you became desperate. Being in a college town, good jobs that weren’t already taken by other college students were far and few between and being a TA wasn’t enough. So, one night after school when you were at Violets, Eddie overheard you talking about your dilemma, and offered you a job working for him. Eddie worked as a record producer and worked closely with a few music managers who were looking for social media manager. Which you happily accepted, there were no set hours and you could do a majority of your work in your pjs at home unless you needed to get Eddies opinion on something then you’d spend time out in the garage with him while he gave you advice or things the label is looking for in terms of the clients image or engagement numbers you needed to hit.

Sometimes you’d even make up excuses just to go over and spend time with him in the garage. He was patient with you while you slowly opened up to him about things that had happened over the past few years that you never wanted to worry Violet with, cheating boyfriends, bad friends, financial problems, and he took it all with stride, listening to and giving advice where he could. He’d spend time reminiscing about the “glory days” when his band, Corroded Coffin, used to play gigs every weekend at the hideout, a small bar on the outside of town. Or when he was in high school, he ran a club in school called the Hellfire Club where all his friends would play DnD, he even showed you that he got Hell Fire tattooed across his knuckles. You’d spend hours over there just tucked away in Eddies little corner of the house, sometimes he’d play songs for you on his guitar, or when he found out you had never played DnD he spent a few nights teaching you all the basics in case you ever wanted to play. You liked the way you felt when you were around Eddie, in a similar way that Steve did, Eddie quieted your thoughts of self-doubt and anxiety that usually swirled around in your head. You really liked Eddie, and it made your feelings even more confused because you felt guilty keeping all of this from Violet. You didn’t know how she would react to you having a crush on her dad, and you never wanted to put your friendship with her in danger. She was basically the only family you had, and you intended to keep it that way, even if it meant keeping your crush on her father a secret.

It all came to a head about a month later. You were staying late in Steve’s office grading papers while he was reading over some scientific studies that he was going to go over in class that following week. You were reading over a specific paper, a girl who sat behind you in class, who giggled at Steve during the first day of class. She had a lot of typos in her paper, and you had a hard time following her methods and asked for Steves opinion. He got up from his desk and went over to the other side of his desk where you were sitting, hovering over you so his face was close to yours. You loved when he did this, being able to see the honey bits in his eyes or the way his eyebrows scrunch together when he was thinking really hard, or how he ran his tongue along his lips to wet them.

 For some reason the air in the room seems extra electrified, the tension being so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Your breath hitched as he got extra close to read a specific part in the paper, you could smell his cologne so clearly it was intoxicating. Steve turned to you to tell you what points to dock from her paper, but you didn’t hear a single word he was saying, it was all drowned out by the lust you felt for him. You think he could sense it too, his eyes kept flickering between your eyes and your lips.

Oh gods was this really happening?

You could see his face getting closer and closer to yours, you closed your eyes, bracing for impact. Your heart was beating faster than you ever thought humanly possible. And then, he kissed you. More intensely than you’d ever been kissed before, he started out soft, testing the waters. Slowly brushing his lips against yours, working up intensity until his tongue prodded your lips asking for an invitation in. The invitation happily accepted by you, you welcomed him in with your lips and sighed into the kiss, allowing your hand to grasp at the hairs at the nape of his neck. He held onto the side of your face like if he let go, you’d vanish. You kissed like this for a minute or two, lips melding together and tongues intertwining. He tasted like his spearmint gum that he chews sometimes, and his lips were softer than you ever thought humanly possible.

But as quickly as it started, it stopped. Steve de-tangled himself from your grip and stood back.

“Fuck, holy shit, I- Y/N I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry I shouldn’t have done that. I’m your teacher for Christ’s sake… FUCK!” he shouted.

You jump at the volume of his voice, you were not used to this Steve, or the tone he was using. He paced around the room for a few minutes, and you looked at your shoes embarrassed. Embarrassed because you weren’t sorry it happened. You had been dreaming for weeks about what his lips would feel like or what he'd taste like.

“I’m not Steve, you don’t need to be sorry because.. because I wanted it to happen, I’ll only be your student for a few more months and then after that we can do whatever we want,” you blurt out in desperation. Allowing the thoughts and dreams that hide in your head to spill out of your mouth. Steve sighs and sits back down in his chair, taking his glasses off his face and pinching the bridge of his nose with his middle finger and thumb.

“I- I think you should just go Y/N, I need to figure out what to do. This shouldn’t have happened and I’m sorry it did,” he murmurs.

His words act like daggers in your heart, stealing all the breath from your lungs. All the worst-case scenarios that played out in your head when you felt insecure, now playing out right in front of you. You were angry, you know he feels the same way but he’s too much of a coward to do anything about it.

“Fuck you Steve, fuck you!” you bite out through your teeth, not allowing the tears to flow from your eyes, just yet. He just rejected you, the last thing you wanted was for him to see you cry. You pack up all the things that had been splayed-out all over Steve’s desk, shoving them into your bookbag, and storming out of the room.

Before you’re even out of the building the tears start streaming down your face, you choke back sobs as you get into your car. You bury your head in your hands, your shoulders shaking from how hard you were crying. You can’t go home, you thought. Not to an empty apartment where it’s even more apparent just how alone you are.

You put the key into the ignition and go to the only other place in town that you can think of going to, Violet’s house. You prayed to any god that could hear you, that Violet was home, but Eddie was not. You did not want him to see you like this, especially over a guy. He’d heard all the pathetic stories of love that hadn’t worked out you didn’t need to add another to the list.

Somehow luck was on your side with this, Eddie’s car was not in the driveway, only Violets. You get out of the car, not even bothering to lock it and run up to the door and let yourself inside with the key Violet had given you after your first week in Hawkins. Tears still streaming down your face, you take in your new surroundings; Violet was sitting on the couch watching some dumb rom com and eating popcorn. She looks startled by the sudden intrusion and the state you were in. Your mascara all smudged, and you had tears streaming down your face.

“Y/N? What happened?” she coos. She gets off the couch and walks over to you, her face softens when she gets closer to you, her face now shrouded in worry. She pulls you fiercely into a hug and just lets you cry on her shoulder. Eventually she brings you over to the couch and she gets you to tell her the events that have unfolded. She listened intently while you told her about your professor and how you felt about him, and then about how he rejected you after a mind-blowing kiss. She held your hand the entire time, rubbing soothing circles into your hand.

Just as you had finished telling her what happened you heard the familiar jingle of the doorknob and the heavy boots that followed. You couldn’t look at him right now, not when you looked like this.

“Hey, hey party people, I didn’t know you were coming over tonight I shoulda got more beer from the store!” Eddie sang. The closer Eddie got to you he realized something was off and stopped in his tracks.

“Now’s not a good time dad,” Violet said, still focusing her attention on you.

“What happened? Y/N are you okay? Are you hurt? Did something happen with your car?” his questions flying by you a million miles a minute. Too exhausted to say anything you let Violet speak for you.

“She kissed a guy at school, and he rejected her,” Violet says as softly as she can.

“Y/N kissed a guy at school?” he said, you could hear an edge in his voice that made you flinch slightly.

“Yes, dad god did you have to repeat it? She’s been through enough tonight. Come Y/N lets go upstairs.” She says clearly annoyed with her dad’s lack of empathy.

You couldn’t bear to look at Eddie, so you allow Violet to usher you upstairs into her room. You two cuddle up in her bed, she lets you borrow some clothes to spend the night in and gives you a makeup wipe to wash the mascara and mostly cried off eyeliner off your face. You felt so taken care of by her, you remember you used to do this for her in Middle School when boys would be shitheads to her, it took a lot to break Violet, but boys are the worst.

At some point Violet fell asleep when you guys were listening to a true crime podcast, you felt your tummy grumble and slowly slipped out of her room to find a snack in the kitchen. You were so worked up after the incident with Steve you had forgotten to eat something more than a few handfuls of popcorn. Downstairs was more quiet than usual, you couldn’t hear soft metal music coming from the garage or Eddies light humming. You assumed maybe he had gone out for the night.

     Until he scared the shit out of you sitting at the kitchen table, silently. He looked upset, nursing a glass of amber liquid in his hand.

“Holy fuck you scared me, warn a woman, jeez!” you say, sounding a little more like your normal self when your alone with him. Usually, Eddie would retort with a smart-ass remark, but instead you got silence and a slight sad smile on his face. You sense he’s not in the mood, so you move farther into the kitchen to grab yourself an iced tea from the fridge and make yourself a sandwich.

It was usually never this awkward between the two of you, it broke your heart a bit. You just lost Steve and now it felt like you were losing Eddie too.

“Did he kiss you or did you kiss him?” he asked quietly.

You jumped a little not expecting him to speak. Trying to word things very carefully so there was no confusion.

“He kissed me and then I kissed him back, and then he broke off the kiss and told me to leave.” You sigh sadly and take a big gulp of your iced tea.

“Idiot.” he muttered under his breath.

You thought that’s what you heard but you didn’t know for certain.

“What?” you question.

“I said he’s an idiot.” he said a bit louder for you to hear clearly.

That made your aching heart flutter inside your chest. Men are impossible to read.

“Oh.” you murmur, not really sure what to say.

“He’s an idiot because I’d never let a girl like you go,” he says calmly.

You heart could beat outside of your chest right now, his words set your skin on fire. But you were simultaneously hit with overwhelming guilt. Violet. Your best friend. The one sleeping soundly upstairs who would never do anything to hurt you.

“Yeah, but there’s a lot more at stake here,” You say trying to tread lightly.

He abruptly pushes out of his chair and heads to the garage door. “Yeah I know.” he says, sounding a mix between disappointed and angry.

You could feel a new rush of tears welling in your eyes, not only did you lose Steve today, but you were going to lose Eddie too. Two out of your three safe spaces, gone in one day. You felt so small, like you were free falling and you couldn’t grab anything to save yourself.

“What do you want from me Eddie?” you say defeated, barely above a whisper.

Eddie stops at your words, opening up the door to the garage, so close to freedom. His eyes now soft, seeing the state of you. “Nothing sweetheart, I want nothing from you.”

You just nod at his words, slouching your shoulders trying to protect your broken heart. Willing yourself to accept the fact that you lost both of them today, and there’s nothing that you can do to change it. You look at the floor, watching your tears slowly cloud your vision. You just hoped he left the room before you start actually crying.

Then you hear the garage door shut and feel the last of your heart shatter with it. You look up to confirm what your heart already knew, that Eddie was gone.

But where a closed door should be, showed the outline of Eddie standing in front of a closed door. You tried to blink away the tears, to try and figure out if you were seeing things correctly. The look on Eddies face was between a mixture of pain and confliction, his fists squeezed at his sides.

“Fuck it.” is the last thing you hear him say before he takes long strides over to you in the kitchen. Now right in front of you he cradles your face in his hands and kisses you firmly. You wrap your arms around his neck, forcing him to stay. His calloused hands wiping away your tears. You moan into his touch, opening your mouth and allowing his tongue to dance with yours. He kisses you with such passion, showing you with actions he what couldn’t say with his words. You push him impossibly closer to you, willing the two of you to meld into one if that what it took, not letting him have the chance to leave you. He takes that as an invitation to lift you up and put you on the ledge of the kitchen counter. Your legs caging him in on either side of his body.

“Please don’t go.” you mutter wetly between kisses. Eddie moves from your mouth and leaves kisses from the edges of your wet eyes to a part on your neck that made your skin irrupt in goosebumps.

“Never baby, m not goin anywhere I promise.” he reassures nuzzling his nose against a sweet spot on your neck. You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. Feeling a little better than you did a minute ago. Kissing Eddie made every other rational thought cease to exist in your brain. Just you, and Eddie, your bodies moving in tandem with each other. Harmony.

No Pressure Tags: **Let me know if you wanna be added to the tag list!**

@untitled74745 @eddiemunsons-missingnipple @lesservillain

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[user211201]

Be of Service

--- Originally posted on 2024-04-06 by dumb-and-jocked.---

Round of applause to @mrrharper

I dumped my uniform and bag into the locker, my partner John doing likewise beside me. After a graveyard shift, the two of us had decided to hit the gym bright and early in the morning before sleeping through our day off. John and I had been partners since we had first joined the police force. As officers, we had done a lot together; rode together, drank together, laughed together. One time we were even in a foursome together with two chicks we had picked up at a bar.

Now in our early thirties though, we had begun to take life a little more seriously. Start choosing wisely, acting responsibly. Working out had been my idea, and after six months it had already shown some results. Both of us were average height and had gained some pudge over the years, but now we both had notable definition. I could not help but flex a little in the mirror, impressed by the beginnings of my triceps.

“Looking fire, broski!”

My eyes shifted over to one of the three football jocks who sauntered into the locker room. I was immediately annoyed by the trio of obnoxious meatheads, and I could tell John was as well.

“Have you been coming here for long?” the first asked. “We haven’t seen you around.”

“We come when we can,” I replied. “Working for the law gives us busy schedules.”

“Woah…so are you guys like, officers or something?” the second guffawed.

“Officers, yeah.” John was irked.

“Huhuhuh…cool bruh!” the third jock inserted. “You two should totally join us!”

Before we could respond, the first jock piped back in, “Yeah dudes! We could have a great sesh between the five of us. Brock here is stellar at arms, and Duke is the best at working those legs and glutes.”

“Jalen’s a pro with chest,” the second jock, Brock, finished. “And you two officer bros, what are you good at?”

I grunted, “Knowing how to refuse an offer.”

It took Brock and Duke, the third jock, a second to process what I had implied, their mental capacities obviously slower than the average male. Jalen was a little faster however, putting on a dumb smile. 

“Your loss bros, but totally understandable,” he shrugged. “In case it wasn’t obvious, we’re on the football team at the local college, so let us know if you need any workout tips or exercises.”

I barely nodded my head, offering a blunt, “Ok, thanks.” John and I then made our way past the bulky jocks, the three of them each larger than either of us. I took a breath as soon as we exited their collective earshot.

“Three cocky dicks,” I snorted. “No better way to start the morning.”

John mockingly agreed. Our workout was brutal, our bodies already tired due to our unusual sleep schedule. This, along with the occasional stare from one of the jocks, only encouraged us to work harder. Nothing was spared from our exercises, we utilized machines that hit multiple areas at once. Arms and chest, legs and back, abs and quads. At the end, we hit the treadmills for a thirty minute run, sneering back at the trio while they stood in front of one of the many mirrors and flexed their pumped arms, taking pictures for social media.

Eventually, we were back in the locker room cleaning up, both expecting the jocks to ambush us again. Fortunately, the lumbering footballers never arrived. John had joked they were probably still drooling over their own muscles in the mirror, and I had replied better they were drooling on themselves then us. I did not want their narcissistic, dim-witted reek all over me, and neither did my partner. We both opted to skip showers; we could take them back at our respective apartments before crashing into our own, cool beds.

As we left the locker rooms and headed towards the exit, we were immediately swarmed by our unwanted acquaintances. 

“You know, bros,” Jalen swung a beefy, sweaty arm around both of us. Brock paced behind me, and Duke followed suit with John. “We never caught your names? We’d like to thank you for your service, officers, whatever it is you do."

His tone was a little menacing, but I knew he would not try to pull something in broad daylight. “Darren,” I responded. “and John.”

Jalen grinned, moving his arms to pat the back of our necks. I felt a little sting at his touch, almost like an electric shock.

“Now c’mon bros, how about you come join us at the frat house where we can properly use your services.”

John frowned, and I retorted with, “I think you boys have had your fun.”

Brock chuckled, “Fun’s not even started broski.”

Duke’s response was even deeper and dumber, “Huhuhuh...dudes aren’t even ready.”

We had finally made it outside, the sun just beginning to rise over the horizon. I noticed our squad cars parked up front, we would be out of this mess in just a moment.

“Alright, this is our stop,” I exclaimed, making sure the three got my message. Suddenly, a piercing jolt was sent across my spine, traveling all the way from my brain to my toes.

“Our stop is actually over there, officers.” Jalen pointed to the two trucks past their cruisers. “Darren, you can come with me and Brock, Duke here is gonna take John.”

Robotically, my body followed Jalen’s command, tracing behind the first two jocks to their obnoxiously big vehicle. Although I could not turn my head, I could tell John’s body was following the orders as well.

“Disengage Operation Mode, security bypass JALEN, sleep.”

— —

“Engage 25% Operation Mode, security bypass JALEN, wake.”

My eyes fluttered open. I was standing in an empty room, not rigid but not slouching either. To my right, I could sense my partner’s presence, familiar with John’s aura. We were still in our dirty gym gear, although our body odor was nothing compared to the three jocks standing proudly before us. Through the windows behind them, I assumed it to still be some time in the morning, but that was the only piece of the situation that I could try to fathom.

“Bet you’ve never had a mind control chip implanted, have you, officers?”

I tried to respond with something snarky, but my mouth wouldn’t let me.

“We were just trying to be friendly, help some bros out, but you two insulted our kindness.” Jalen stepped a little closer, even from a distance I could feel his large, masculine presence. “Maybe next time you won’t mess with the son of a government-funded millionaire.”

Jalen pointed his fingers at his two goons. Brock and Duke each stepped forward, crossing the distance between them and John and I. They removed our shirts, and although I could see or move my feet, I realized my shoes had already been taken too.

“My dad gifted me some leftover mind-control chips he had built for the military, said I could use them if I ever needed them. Something along the lines of "accessing the nervous system" and "reprogramming capabilities". Didn't matter to me bros, it was all nerd-speak. I just needed the commands.”

If I could have, I would have gulped. Jalen stepped closer as the other jocks discarded our clothes.

“MC 1001, 50% Operation Mode.”

Suddenly, the feeling was restored throughout my body. I did not bother with attempting an escape, recognizing my body was still glued to the floor. When I turned to my partner, I realized John had not been released.

“What’s the plan, Jalen?” I spat.

“You were so rude to us back at our gym when you are employed to be of service” Jalen smirked. "The bros and I thought we should remind you of your duty, and what better way then by dispatching you as our new security guards who obey our every wish and command?”

“So what, you’re going to 'reprogram' us?”

“How about you see for yourself?” Jalen then turned to John. “MC 1002, engage Modification Mode, security bypass JALEN.”

“MC 1002, Modification Mode engaged, security bypass confirmed." It may have been John’s mouth that had opened, but I knew it was not him who was speaking.

“Brock,” Jalen invited. “How about you take the first swing?”

Brock laughed and scratched at his crotch, “Get him jacked bro.”

Jalen turned to Duke, “Anything specific you’d like to add?”

To my surprise, Duke did have something to add–a lot to add: “Make them former rugby players bro, cause rugby is for idiots and rugby players should serve football jocks, the real alphas.”

Jalen raised his eyebrows, a bit surprised too. “Works for me. MC 1002, enter in keywords ‘Rugby’ and ‘Jock’ to the personality frame and set both at 88. Raise ‘Muscle’ by 40 base points and remove any post-secondary education from the mainframe.”

Watching the football neanderthal list off a series of programming commands put our situation into a new perspective. My eyes grew with fear as the changes installed into John’s body. It was like watching a horrible balloon inflation, his body contorting as it expanded. John’s once meager chest bloated into two massive pecs supported by two trunks of legs. His arms cartoonishly bulged until they were practically circular, his pits filling with hair as a tattoo wrapped itself around his right bicep. His face thickened too, adopting a square shape along with a wider nose and thicker stubble.

“Keywords ‘Rugby’ and ‘Jock’ successfully installed.” John’s voice was now deeper, gruffer. “‘Muscle’ upgraded, post-secondary education deleted.”

Jalen nodded, “MC 1002, add 10 base points to his age as well.”

“Adding 10 base points to ‘Age’.” To my shock, I helplessly observed my partner grow older beside me. The skin around his body tightened, pulling in to reveal the more delicate details of his veins and tendons. Wrinkles began to develop across his body along with other age marks. It was painful to watch his hairline slowly pull back, his scalp thinning out into a well-maintained crew cut.

“Here’s the fun part,” Jalen mocked, noting my face of terror. "Lower cognitive abilities by 20 base points and independent identity by 30 base points. Install the ‘Security’ package to the mainframe and boost the ‘Obedience’ category to max potential."

Although there were no visible alterations, I could have sworn the light went out behind my partner’s eyes. “All actions executed, please confirm modifications to MC 1002.”

Jalen smirked, making direct eye contact with me. “Confirm MC 1002, disengage Modification Mode, reengage total Operation Mode.”

To my delight, I watched as John’s body reanimated completely, indicating he now had full control over his body. But any hope I had was immediately crushed as soon as he stood at command, dumbly  grinning with his arms crossed over his chest.

“How can I be of service, sir?” John asked Jalen.

“Go do a full sweep of the yard of something, bro.” Jalen tossed John a pair of sunglasses, not even bothering to hand him any other clothes. Apparently his now too-tight joggers were enough. “Oh, and by the way, you go by Hammer now.”

“Hammer…” John processed. “Yes sir, thank you sir.”

I watched as my former partner stomped out of the room, out of our reality.

“Why ‘Hammer’, bro?” Brock piped in from behind me.

“‘Cause he’ll be laying down the law of the land.” Jalen then shifted back to me. “Our other friend here will be ‘Brute’.”

I heard two empty-headed laughs from the two empty-headed jocks behind me.

“He’ll be nothing more than a wall of meat,” Jalen taunted. Before I could insult him back, he instantly shut me up. “MC 1001, engage Modification Mode, security bypass JALEN.”

“MC 1001, Modification Mode engaged, security bypass confirmed." My mouth was out of my control. I tried to fight back, reanimate myself by any means possible.

“Alright Duke, it’s your turn.”

“Same thing as last time, bruh.”

Disappointed, Jalen shifted back to Brock, “Got something else?”

I prayed Brock would not say anything too damaging “Make him huge dude,” he requested, putting me at ease before following up with: “And make him like a butler too.”

Jalen laughed, and if I could have I would have cried.

“Oh MC 1001,” Jalen merrily instructed. “Copy MC 1002’s personality frame and mainframe, and enhance body and clothes proportions to 1.5. ”

“Modifications downloading,” I stated, a sudden sinking emerging in my stomach. In moments, I sprung upwards towards the ceiling, my height soaring above the jocks to an astonishing six and a half feet. Muscles exploded out of my body, bloating me thick with bulk. My arms were plump and my hands meaty. Two juicy pecs larger than my head were now carried by my absolute barrel of a chest, stretched out and taut. My legs were colossal, so dense that I would permanently be forced to take wide, swaggering steps. Even my neck thickened, supporting my newly masculinized skull.

“Copy and paste procedure successful.” My voice was husky, low, deep and booming. “Body and clothes proportions at 1.5.”

“Look at his socks, bro,” I heard Brock snigger behind me. “Whattya think those stompers are?”

“Huhuhuh…I don’t know dude…maybe Size 15?”

“Looks like I missed something,” Jalen appeared disappointed. “MC 1001, reduce reproductive size to 3.”

“Redacting 4 base points from ‘Reproduction’.” I screamed, pleading for this to stop. But no words exited my mouth. Instead, I remained painfully silent as I felt my cock and balls shrivel down within my shorts. 

“Helps with the obedience factor” Jalen stated. “Now, let's lower cognitive abilities by 40 base points and independent identity to 15 base points. Install the ‘Security’ package to the mainframe, boost the ‘Obedience’ category to max potential, and add in keywords ‘Respect’, ‘Humility’, and ‘Subservience’."

I would not give up, I would not cave in. “Please confirm modifications to MC 1002?”

Jalen was finished with his game. “Confirm modifications, disengage Modification Mode, reengage total Operation Mode.”

After a moment, I blinked. My head felt fuzzy, empty, as if some great weight of responsibility had been removed. I dumbly chuckled to myself.

"Feeling good there, bro?” Jalen smiled. “Excited to serve us jocks?"

"Uhhhh, yeah bruh…be of service."

"Well said, Brute."

"Brute?" I smiled lazily. “What can I uh…do bro?”

"First, let’s get you in uniform.” Jalen signaled to Duke, who then tossed a black cap to me. I secured it backwards onto my head proudly.

“Now, clean the frat house from top to bottom. I’m talking dirty laundry in the machine, trash taken out, floors scrubbed–the whole deal. I want this place looking slick before the party starts tonight. Once you’re done with that, you can go patrol the lawn for any feds. Got all that?”

It took a while for me to process everything, but eventually the dumb grin came back to my face.

“Yeah bruh…whatever you need.”

[green-tea-in-absinthe-bottle]

NEVER GONNA DANCE AGAIN (oneshot)

Aventurine x ex girlfriend!reader

He would gamble his own life before ever risking your relationship but his dangerous job forced him to give you up, shattering both of your hearts in the process. Months later Sigonian notices you on one of the boujee parties he got invited to as an IPC representative. Motivated by yearning and alcohol in his veins Aventurine tries his luck in love again. ANGST,SUGGESTIVE

general masterlist

Aventurine was always a little bit fed up with those expensive parties thrown by his business partners, lavish ballroom filled with pathetic people living with no purpose besides endless consumption, each of them raised in conditions he could only dream of as a child, staring at him with curiosity. Hoping that he will make a mistake, prove them he is still a lowlife they take him for despite all those privileges he now enjoyed as a high ranking IPC member. But tonight he sincerely did not care about any of this, barely acknowledging the noise around him. 

He sipped on a drink more pricey than lifetime supply of food for his whole clan would be, giving out charming smiles that never reached his devoid of emotions, outstanding eyes to greedy leaches sitting alongside him at the poker table. Seemingly interested in shallow exchange of blows disguised as jokes and witty remarks young man looked around not expecting anything positive out of this meeting, maybe except meaningless material gains he forced himself to care about for the sake of keeping up his Aventurine persona.  

Then he noticed elegant woman standing alone near the entrance. Fingers adorned with precious rings clenched around the glass, almost shattering it in desperate attempt to conceal how much his hands started to shake at the sight of familiar face. He thought he imagined it at first, but his broken heart wasn't playing tricks on him. Aventurine would recognize your face even after centuries, every detail of it carved into his mind, into his soul. Long, green dress tightly hugged your figure, enhancing every curve he loved to caress so much. It was really you. Just as beautiful as the day he broke your heart, five months ago. The day he saw you for the last time. 

*** 

- Why are you doing this to me? To us? After all this time? - tears dripped down your cheeks, you were choking on your sobs. Aventurine wanted to hold you, make you feel like everything will be alright, but he knew what he needed to do to keep you safe. 

- Y/n, there is nothing to talk about, stop making this so hard. I never loved you in the first place, I just needed some distraction from my work. - he was always a great liar. You seemed to believe him and he thanked Aeons for it, despite how much it hurt him to see you in pain. It's the only way to make sure they won't touch you. - It was funny to play house with you for two years but that joke got old. You no longer entertain me.  

You looked into his eyes, begging for this to be a cruel prank, searching for any crumbs of love in his eyes, but they were cool and calculated. Speaking to him when he put on his poker face felt like talking to a wall. Despair slowly turned into hatred in you heart, it's fire kept you warm in spite of your ex boyfriend's cold attitude.  

- I hate you. I hate you so fucking much. I can't blame you for being a shameless liar, you told me that's who you are at the beginning. I should've trusted you when you showed me your true colors. I don't even want you to apologize, I played myself investing my love in you. Now get lost Vasha. - nickname once spoken tenderly now felt like a slap to Aventurine. How do you tell somebody in front of whom you bared your soul that they were only a toy to you?  

He spared you the rest of monologue he prepared and went outside with all his belongings packed in three suitcases. He glanced at the door of your shared place for the last time and whispered to himself. 

- In another universe I can be just your Kakavasha, kiss your face every morning after I wake up by your side and hold you every night, love you the way you deserve to be loved, make you proud of me. Protect you with my own strong arms and build our future with them. But Aventurine can't afford such luxury, not at your expense. Not if it can cost your life. 

***  

Just thinking about how he treated you made him want to punch himself in the face. He tried to reason with himself. Back then his position in Stonehearts was endangered after he risked his Cornerstone during the mission in Penacony.  If he lost all his power opponents he got during his work in IPC would go straight after you and he wouldn't be able to fight them off. Aventurine secured his rank and influences by now, as soon as he did that he got rid of enemies to make sure he will never feel this incapable of protecting those dear to him. Such as you. 

Aventurine knew he should not hope for rekindling of your love, not after all those terrible things he has said and done, but could you blame him? All his life nothing really belonged to him, nothing but your heart you so willingly gave to him. Even money he bargained with were only borrowed from IPC, just like his new name, dignity and life. Not to mention his whole new personality, attitude worn as a mask grew so deep into him it felt like a second face. Kakavasha was a different man, the kind that knew what was really important and what was not.  

One not impressed by money or political circus, instead wanting to protect and provide for those close to him, more down to earth and proud than Aventurine could ever be with all his wealth and victories. The one who stood in silence when the lights were gone, the one who observed emotionless when his fate was debated by the rest of the Stonehearts, the one who put his own body as a shield between his friends and dangers of battle.  

There was not much those two men caged together in one body had in common, with few exceptions. Both had iron will and ambition forged in hellfire they went through in this lifetime, both were aware that even with all the luck in the universe their destiny was inherently unjust and both knew they will love you till death returns Kakavasha's tired soul to his family and Gaiathra Triclops in afterlife.  

Alcohol circulated in his veins, clouding his mind and soothing his fears. He excused himself not caring about worried glances his coworkers sent him and rushed towards you on slightly wobbling legs, passing self-important gentlemen and overdressed ladies. Concentrated on getting to you as fast as possible he didn't plan on what to say so once your eyes crossed he just froze in place. At first your eyes widened in pure shock but right away hatred took over. Aventurine inhaled sharply when your brows furrowed and jaw clenched. He wasn't used to irritated glances from you, you were always so gentle with him. His mouth got dry. 

- Long time no see, dear. - your voice was more collected than you expected it to be. Sometimes you imagined meeting him again but even in your dreams you were never this calm and over him. So time truly does heal wounds. - I have no idea why do you think you can just approach me out of nowhere after what you did to me, but I won't let you waste any more of my time after you stole years of my life with your empty promises. So please, hurry up.  

- So cold, huh? - Aventurine awkwardly attempted to laugh his anxiety off. - I know I must come off as a complete jerk but please, listen to me. Back then... I... I don't know how to explain that. 

- Maybe for once just say the truth if you even know how to be sincere. - you scoffed. - Simply say it like it is.  

- I was one bad day away from losing my job and I needed to make sure you won't get hurt in the process.  

You raised one of your eyebrows.  

- So you can only love me when you are on the top of the world but as soon as problems emerge I am a burden to discard? - you rolled your eyes.  

- Don't say that... It's not like that. - he hid his left hand behind his back, toying with one of the poker chips he always carried around. - If they kicked me out all kinds of sick people who prayed for my downfall would go after me. None of them would miss the opportunity to hurt me even more by harming you.  

- If that's what you say... - you seemed unbothered.  

- What do you mean by that? - Avgin curved his lips in confusion. 

- How can I be sure you aren't lying? That wouldn't be the first time it seems. - you chuckled sadly.  

- Please don't use that against me, I had no choice... - before he had a chance to explain further you interrupted. 

- Why should I believe you? Not to mention at this point it wouldn't change anything. - you looked away. - Not after all this time. 

- How could I let you know it was a bluff if you cut me off completely? I couldn't find you anywhere, I tried for weeks. You moved out and blocked me. - Sigonian's voice broke when he choked on repressed emotions, wondering if you even listened to him, your expression not showing any sign of interest. 

- I don't care anymore. If you really wanted to you would find a way. - you shrugged. 

Before he could mention how he overused his political influence and still could not find a single trace of you black haired male approached you both with glass of wine. Aventurine sized him up, tall and well build man had a reserved and cool aura, Avgin could feel hidden power radiate from that guy, as if he had a beast under his skin. Something about the way dark-haired male looked at you made his stomach turn. 

- I brought the drink you wanted. Are you ok? Who's that man? - mysterious guy asked you, concerned by your uncomfortable body language. He had a deep, melodic voice but spoke in monotone way. 

- I should ask the same thing. - Aventurine did his best to sound intimidating. - You guys know each other? - he turned his gaze back to you. 

- Yes, it's my coworker, Dan Heng. We grew really close lately. - you smiled at that strange, tall man. Sigonian stopped himself from asking just how close the two of you were. - Thank you for a chance to catch up Aventurine, but you see, I'm very busy right now. I promised to introduce my... friend to a few people. 

You gave him venomous smile when Dan Heng put his arm around your waist protectively and pulled you away from your ex. Aventurine hated the way you let that guy touch you. Did you allow him even more in private? Did you let him do things Avgin used to do? Does that other man know how beautiful you look with messy hair and no make up, with flushed cheeks and tears of pleasure in your eyes? Do you sing for him the way you did for Aventurine every night? Does he wear your marks on his back? Gambler preferred not to know, but whether Dan Heng already took his place by your side or was yet working on it, he was sure of one thing.  

- It's not over yet. - Aventurine muttered, clenching his left fist till he heard a poker chip breaking in half. 

[moralesmilesanhour]

mad props! 03

summary: you're now officially part of the theater club's latest production! just one small problem... wc: 1282 a/n: Can't believe I was able to type this out within the same week. But I diiiid! The songs being performed are: 'Popular' - Wicked 'Ohmigod You guys' - Legally Blonde: The Musical (Original Cast Recording) | Have fun reading ! Feel free to tell me what you thought in the comments <3 (only warning is that the process of putting a theatre production together is probably not super realistic here lmao) 02 03 04

“One five, four five, three five, two five, one five, four five, three-two-one,”

You clutched the white binder containing your sheet music to your chest as you went through every vocal exercise from middle school that you could remember.

From the diaphragm, you reminded yourself, taking another deep breath.

“One five,

Four five,

Three five,

Two five,

One five,

Four five,

Three-two-one–”

“Y/N L/N?” the casting director’s voice called out to you.

Your stomach lurched as you rose from your seat and approached the stage. You handed the sheet music over to the pianist. The blinding stage lights made you sweat beneath your uniform, but part of you was grateful that it hid the faces of your four-person audience. 

The first chord was your cue.

“Whenever I see someone less fortunate than I…”

You sang the lines through your nose, making your delivery as cartoonish as possible. It even earned a few laughs from the dark void in front of you that bolstered your confidence. 

Now, when playing a character such as Galinda, one may be tempted to keep the squeaky ‘princess voice’ the whole way through. But you knew better. 

You added depth to your voice for some lines, maybe a growl here, a cry there; your performance needed to show that you could do more than just play the pretty soprano lead.

You belted the final note, arms spread wide as if you weren’t just about to vomit from nerves, and curtsied.

There was disembodied applause, and then: “Thank you, we’ll be sure to send out an email on Friday to let you know if you got the part.”

“Thanks,” you exhaled as you stepped down from the stage. 

All that there was left to do was wait.

You were jumpy all Friday afternoon. Even Miles noticed your knee making your desks tremble with the way it bounced up and down in the middle of English class.

“Yo, you good?” he whispered.

You shot him a glare while tapping your pencil frantically. “None of your business.”

“It actually is my business,” he shot back, teeth clenched, “ ‘cuz you’re shaking the damn desk.”

“Is there a problem back there?” the English professor peered over his glasses at the two of you.

“Nope,” Miles sighed. “Not at all.”

Your leg stopped bouncing, and you rested your chin on top of folded hands.

“If you must know,” you muttered, “I had an audition the other day, and callbacks are supposed to be this evening.”

He furrowed his brows. “Oh…kay…?”

“What do you mean ‘okay’? I’m super nervous about it–”

“I mean, why are you telling me this?”

Your eyes widened. Why were you telling him this?

“I…well, you’re sitting next to me, and you asked–” 

“I didn’t ask for allat.”

You kissed your teeth, and went back to taking notes in silence.

-

“Oh, the principal’s gonna love that.”

Joshua Baptiste–current president of Visions’ art club–grinned as he watched Miles add his signature to the wide sheet of paper.

Miles replaced the cap on one of his paint markers with a click, assessing his work.

It was a poster for an upcoming pep rally, advertised in bold, sleek letters that curled in and around each other and ended in sharp arrows. Satisfied, he rose to his feet.

“You think?”

“Hell yeah. Better than anything I could’ve put together,” Joshua ran a hand through loose, sandy curls. “I’m more of a portraits kinda guy.”

The boy’s smile was contagious, showing off two rows of light blue braces. Miles remembered how he used to circle back around to his lunch table just to see them when he laughed with his friends, silver earrings tinkling as he threw his head back. 

He’d done crazier things just to see a crush.

Miles returned the compliment, “Your paintings go crazy, though. You could get into art school if you put a portfolio together.”

Joshua shrugged. “Doubt my parents would ever let me go.”

The other hummed in agreement.

“Anywho, I came over here to ask you a favor. Theater club needs an extra pair of hands working on the set, and I already said one of our guys would help out. You in?”

Miles raised an eyebrow at the sudden new project being dumped on him, but he relented. Not like he had anything better to do today.

“Sure. Where to?”

Joshua’s face lit up, and he gestured for Miles to follow him.

“They’re down in the auditorium. You’re a life-saver, man.”

The auditorium was already bustling with students when the two boys entered. There was one group on the far right busy customizing piles of hot-pink costumes with bows and sequins. On the left side, a bunch of kids clutched wrinkled scripts in their hands, practicing until it was time to run through the first few songs. Miles looked up, and taking center stage was a group of no more than ten girls practicing what looked like stage choreography. 

Regardless of what each group was working on, there was an urgency bordering on panic to their movements and voices. Miles thanked his past self for not signing up to be a part of it.

“Oh, thank god!”

A tall, stocky-looking girl wearing pink glasses scurried up to them, carrying a clipboard.

Joshua gestured towards Miles. “Here’s your guy! He’s got an eye for color, you’re in good hands.”

He gave a quick salute before turning to exit through the double doors.

The girl stuck out her hand. “I’m Sarah Park, junior, and student production manager for, uh, all of this!”

Miles accepted the handshake and nodded. “Cool. What’s your vision for the set?”

“Well, it’s…”

Before Sarah could finish, the lights dimmed, and a voice announced: “We’re gonna rehearse the opening, everyone in ‘Ohmigod You Guys’, please take your places!”

She grabbed Miles’ wrist and led him to a seat in the front row and whispered, “You should probably just see it.”

Suddenly, music boomed from the speakers as the stage lights illuminated the same girls from before, now all standing in a straight line across the stage with wide smiles.

They sang a number he didn’t recognize, but there was plenty of squealing as they passed down a blank sheet of paper as a prop. He deduced from the few lyrics he caught that they were playing sorority girls, but that was about it.

As the “Ohmigods” crescendoed, Miles noticed that there was someone entering from backstage that then stood behind the girls. He wondered what for, until the group parted and stepped to the side.

Nothing could’ve prepared him for who stood in the middle of the stage. In a blonde wig.

“It’s almost there, but…”

Miles’ jaw dropped as you recited your lines fully in-character. 

It hadn’t occurred to him that you could smile without malice, but people were full of surprises: Here was the girl who rarely spoke more than a sentence in class until last week, belting her heart out while twirling across the stage. He would have pinned you as more of the debater type.

The song ended on one final “Oh my god!” in unison before the lights were turned back up.

“Great job, everyone, especially for a first run-through. Everybody take five!”

You sighed in relief, wiping away the sweat collecting around your hairline from being beneath a hot wig and an even hotter spotlight. Wig in hand, you carefully descended down the steps with the rest of the cast and made your way back to your seats.

Sarah brushed past you in between aisles, along with a familiar red hoodie.

You paused and spun around on your heel, confirming your fears. 

You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.

[ejzah]

A/N: Well, the time has finally come. Thank you to each and every one of you who has read and followed this story that originally started out as a silly tumblr post. See you for the next one!

***

In Miss Blye’s Class, Epilogue

Deeks popped his head into the bathroom, frowning at Caleb, who stood in front of the mirror, toothbrush still in his mouth.

“Hey, what’s taking so long? Usually I have to beg you to make it to two minutes and you’ve been in here for ten.”

“I think I’m getting sick,” Caleb mumbled around his toothbrush.

Deeks reached out, feeling his forehead. “Hm, are you really?” he asked, not surprised when Caleb’s eyes danced to the side, looking extremely guilty. “Ok, what’s going on?”

“Why can’t Kensi be my teacher again? If she can teach people in college, then she should know enough to teach first grade,” Caleb sighed finally.

“Caleb, we’ve gone over this all summer. You know why,” Deeks answered, starting to lose his patience just a tiny bit. He bumped Caleb’s butt with his knee. “C’mon, scoot.”

“Daaaad.” Hunching his shoulders, Caleb gave him a pleading look. “I just want to stay with you or Kensi.” There was a slight tremble in his voice underneath the whine, and Deeks sighed.

Putting aside his irritation and the need to leave, Deeks squatted in front of him. He gestured at Caleb until he came closer, leaning into his chest. Sometimes it was easy to forget that even though he’d grown in so many ways, both physically and maturity-wise, Caleb was still a little boy.

“Hey, I know that it’s scary to start new things sometimes. It’s true you probably won’t have all the same classmates and Kensi won’t be your teacher, and that’s going to be hard for a little bit. Soon, you’ll be too busy learning all kinds of amazing things and playing with all your friends, that you won’t have time to think about everything that’s changed.”

“I guess,” Caleb mumbled.

“You met Mrs. Craig and she was nice, right?” Deeks asked, and Caleb gave a one-shouldered shrug.

“She gave you a new book, which you’ve read no less that ten times since then, and you liked the classroom pet.”

“The lizard was pretty cool,” he admitted. Deeks could tell his protests were starting to peter out, so he hugged him a little closer, and reminded him,

“If you are having a really tough time, Kensi said you can come see her during lunch, but I bet you won’t have to.”

“And you’ll pick me up?” he checked.

“Absolutely. As soon as they let you out.” He paused, giving Caleb a minute to process everything. “You good now?”

“Yeah.”

“Awesome. Now we gotta leave before all three of us are late. Go get your shoes and backpack,” he said, kissing the top of his head, and nudging him towards the door. “Love you, kiddo.”

“Love you, dad.”

He walked into the master bedroom checkin his watch; they had approximately five minutes before they needed to leave. Kensi stood in front of the floor length mirror in one of her sundresses, and he momentarily forgot about the time.

“You look amazing,” he told her, coming up behind her and kissing her neck.

“Thank you.” Kensi eyed his reflection. “You better not change out of that suit before I get home.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Caleb was acting a little odd at breakfast. Is everything ok? Kensi asked as she reached back to put on a necklace.

“Just first day jitters,” he assured her, automatically closing the necklace clasp for her. “He’s worried the new teacher won’t measure up to his last one.”

“Oh, well, I heard she was pretty good.”

“Mm, extremely good. She’s taught me all kinds of things.” Deeks lowered his eyes suggestively, and Kensi leaned back slightly so she brushed again his chest, and he settled his hands on her hips. They stayed there for half a minute until he sighed in regret.

“School sucks,” he said in a fair approximation of Caleb. Kensi snorted, turning to kiss him before she wandered off to get shoes.

When they reached the living room, Caleb balanced on the back of the couch, Captain America backpack on, a Lego figure in one hand, and a book tucked under his other arm.

“You ready to go?” Deeks asked, holding out his hand.

“Yeah.” Hopping off the couch, Caleb ran to them, slipping between Kensi and Deeks to take each other their hands in his.

“I think I’m gonna give Matthew my Star Wars Lego,” Caleb said, looking up at Kensi. “Do you think I’ll see him at recess?”

“I’m sure you will. And after school, you get to hang out with me until it’s time to leave,” Kensi informed him.

“Yes!” Caleb pumped released Deeks’ hand to pump his hand in the air.

As Caleb chattered away, his fears forgotten for the moment, Deeks shared a look with Kensi.

Yeah, this was going to be a good year.

[rainyweeds]

Always have

Pairing: Lo'ak x Reader

Summary: You find yourself falling for a boy who doesn't quite feel the same way. Not until you spill your feelings during an argument with him.

Warnings: Angst, Unrequited Love, Arguments, Hurt/Comfort, Probably Some Swears, Eventually Requited Love, Fluff

A/N: I felt like Lo'ak needed some love (And a couple comments) so here it is! I really tried I promise. So enjoy! (Update about Home is where the heart is at the end)

@yawntutsyip who wanted to be tagged 🤭

The moment he and his family arrived. You felt something. Something that could only be described as weird. But not in a bad way, no. Your heartbeat quickened and your palms felt sweaty. Even when your mother walked up to him and displayed his five-fingered hand, you couldn't keep your eyes off of him.

"My children will teach yours." Your father spoke. Ao'nung only scoffed while Tsireya smiled. You remain silent, helping the family take their belongings to their marui. After they settled down, you and your siblings pull the kids out and towards the ocean.

The three of you jumped in, assuming the newcomers would follow right after. As you swam deeper, you turned to wave them over. But they don't seem to understand because they immediately point to the surface, swimming up for air.

'What's wrong with them?' You sign to your siblings.

'I don't know' Ao'nung signs back.

Tsireya starts swimming back up towards the others, signalling for the two of you to follow. You break the surface, inhaling a short puff of air. When you see three siblings gasping for air, you can't help but let out a small laugh. They really are like babies.

"We can't understand your... finger talk." One of the boys wiggled his fingers.

"We will teach you." Tsireya led everyone to a rock.

And so you did. Meeting up with the family everyday to teach them the basics of living in Awa'atlu. Although the process was long and tedious at times, you watched them all grow into fine young divers. You even formed some sort of friendship with each of them. A few more than others.

Kiri was a natural when it came to bonding with her surroundings. So you didn't really feel the need to watch her as closely as the others. Instead, you'd show her some of your favorite places underwater.

You would always take time out of your day to play with Tuk whenever you had the chance. The young girl absolutely adored the water and always sat with Kiri when you'd go out on your ilus.

Neteyam wasn't much of a talker which you were grateful for. It made talking with him so much easier. Being on the more quiet side yourself, you found his presence calming. Exactly how you imagined an older brother would be.

And Lo'ak. Eywa everything about him was mesmerizing. His eyes, his laugh, the way he would face everything head on. It felt like the two of you had much more in common than with any of the other siblings. With both of you being the middle child, you were often overlooked by your parents.

"Thanks for watching Tuk for a little while. Everyone was kinda busy." Neteyam smiles as he bends down to pick up his younger sister.

"No worries! I love playing with her." You smile back.

As the two of you begin walking back to your maruis, you hear arguing in the distance. Neteyam quickly sets Tuk down and makes his way to the noise.

"How about we get you home?" You offer the younger girl your hand. She happily accepts it as she skips the rest of the way home.

When you drop her off, you quickly sprint over to where Neteyam had previously walked off to. Only to see him and Lo’ak fist fighting with your brother and his friends.

“What happened here?!” You run over to Kiri.

“These knuckleheads decided to get into a fight.” The girl sighed. You look back at the group to see Lo'ak getting dragged back by his tail, hissing in pain. That had to have hurt.

"How could you get into a fight with them?" You watched as your father scolded Ao'nung. Despite not being involved in the fight at all, you and Tsireya were forced to sit off to the side and listen. "And why didn't you do anything?" He finally finished scolding the boy, but instead projecting the frustration onto you.

"Me? What could I have done? They're all taller than me!" You snap back defensively. Normally, you would bow your head in shame and apologize. But this time, you genuinely had no idea what you could have possibly done wrong.

"You should have at least tried to break them up instead of standing there!" He raised his voice. You physically recoiled at the sudden shout, ears lowering. Your father wasn't one to yell but when he did, it scared everyone.

"Yes father. I'm sorry." You can't look him in the eyes as tears begin to well up.

"Dismissed." He waves the three of you off. You immediately rush out of the marui. With no particular destination in mind, you find yourself sitting in the large forest behind the village.

You silently sit on a tree branch far away from the clan. Hoping to avoid any interaction with anyone. But of course, Eywa seemed to be out of your favor when you heard a twig snap at the base of the tree.

"Hello?" You peer down.

"Oh. Sorry I didn't realize someone was already here." You heard a familiar voice below you.

"Lo'ak?" You spot the dark blue na'vi. "What are you doing here?"

"I could be asking you the same thing." He hoisted himself onto the branch next to you.

"Just getting away from my father." You mumble. "I got scolded for not stopping the fight earlier."

Lo'ak let out a chuckle. "Same here. Except I actually got into the fight."

You laugh. Ao'nung would always get home grumbling about how the entire family was 'just a bunch of freaks' in his words. But ever since you were given the chance to get to know all of them, you were able to make your own opinions on them. And you could practically feel that you and Lo'ak would get along.

And your feeling was right. The two of you spent the next hour talking. You learned about the forest where the boy grew up. How the plants and animals varied. It sounded fascinating.

It wasn't until you remembered you still had duties to complete that the both of you made your way back to the village.

"I'm supposed to apologize to your brother now. I'll see you later?"

"Definitely." You smile.

Lo'ak begins walking towards the shore, spotting Ao'nung in the distance. You watch contently as he swam off before returning to your duties.

Eclipse was near as you sat in your family marui for dinner. Everyone sat around the table as your mother helped plate the food. You quietly ate your food as Ao'nung walked in, a mischievous smirk on his face.

"What's with the look." You playfully elbow him as he takes the spot next to you.

"Nothing." He began eating.

As soon as you and your sibling finished, you excused yourselves to have some free time around the village. The three of you wandered around the shore, enjoying the time you had off. Soon enough, you heard footsteps approach you. It was Neteyam.

"Hello Neteyam." You greet the boy. He gives you a curt nod and turns his attention to your siblings.

"Have any of you guys seen Lo'ak? Nobody knows where he is."

“I haven't seen him since he went to apologize.” You trail off. It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together. “Ao’nung… When was the last time you saw Lo’ak?”

“I just took him out.”

Before you could say anything else, Neteyam grabbed your brother by his queue and dragged him towards his marui. “Tell them what you told me!” He shoved the boy in front of his parents.

A search party was sent out after Jake and Neytiri went to your father, Tonowari, to relay what they heard from Neteyam and Ao’nung. All of you waited anxiously for the party to return and when they did, you saw Lo’ak being carried to shore.

You immediately rush over to the scene where Lo’ak was being tended to.

“I pray for the strength to not pluck the eyeballs out of my youngest son.” Neytiri hissed towards her son. 

“Ao’nung knew better than to take him beyond the reef.” Tonowari forced Ao’nung to kneel in front of the family. “The fault lies with him.”

“No.” Lo’ak interjected. “It was not Ao’nung’s fault.”

You watched as Lo’ak covered for your brother, claiming the whole ordeal was his idea and that Ao’nung was really trying to stop him. An obvious lie. After Jake dragged his family away, you decided to follow them. It seemed like your brother had the same idea.

“Why did you cover for me?” Ao’nung made his way over to Lo’ak’s side.

“Because.” The Sully boy looked up at him with sad eyes. “I know what it’s like to always be the disappointment.” 

The statement tugged at your heartstrings. You knew the feeling of disappointing your family all too well. The way you seemingly always got some sort of blame for whatever happened. How you couldn’t do anything right.

You walked with your siblings and Lo’ak back to his marui, wishing his a good night before heading back to your own. 

“You better start acting nicer towards them.” Tsireya punched Ao’nung on the shoulder. 

“Yeah yeah.” He simply rolls his eyes.

“She’s right, you skxawng!” You side with your sister. “They’re good kids.” 

From that point on, Ao’nung did indeed start acting nicer towards the Sully children. Helping them ride their ilus properly and how to hold their breath for longer periods of time. The three of you even brought them to the Cove of Ancestors. You and Lo’ak grew closer as well. You felt the need to keep an eye on him in case something were to happen. 

The two of you were sitting on the sand, listening to the waves roll in from the ocean. You were digging around for shells while Lo’ak was just sitting under the sun. 

“Oi.” You nudge him with your foot. “Help me find pretty shells.”

Lo’ak only groaned and rolled onto his side, facing away from you. You let out an annoyed huff before pushing the boy over onto his face. “What was that for.” He grumbles as he wipes the sand off of his face.

“Help me.” You gesture to the small basket of shells you brought along with you. “Just for a little.”

“Fine.” He reluctantly sat up.

You pulled him towards the water, searching for the best possible materials. Gathering a few and placing them in the basket, you feel a tap on your shoulder. Lo’ak holds out a shell for you. A beautiful black shell with a light blue tint on the inside. He places it in your hand, smiling. “It reminded me of you.”

“It’s beautiful… I love it. Thank you Lo'ak.” You feel a heat creep onto your cheeks.

Once you were content with the amount of shells you collected, you happily skip towards your marui. You hum to yourself as the idea of weaving jewelry for your family comes to your mind. Lo’ak silently watches your energetic figure with a smile. You were just in your own world.

Soon enough, the two of you reach your marui. You turn to face Lo’ak who had willingly walked you all the way back from the beach. “Thank you forest boy.” You grin. But the boy didn’t seem to hear you. He was looking off into the distance. “Lo’ak?” Your hand finds his forearm.

“Huh? Sorry I didn’t catch that.” He tears his gaze from the distance to meet your eyes once again. Confused, you look over to where his attention was a mere seconds ago. But all you could see was Kiri, Tuk and Tsireya all building a castle in the sand.

“I was just saying thank you…” You try to figure out what he was looking at. Was he just watching his siblings? No. He wouldn’t stare that long at them. But the only other person there is Tsireya.

Oh. Oh. It finally clicked in your head. It all made sense now. Whenever his sisters and yours were together, he was never watching Kiri or Tuk. He was watching Tsireya.

“Yeah. You're welcome.” He doesn’t even bother looking at you this time. You silently slip into your marui, thoughts weighing heavily in your mind.

Learning that Lo’ak liked Tsireya was the worst possible piece of information you could have ever come across. You found yourself constantly watching the two of them to the point where everyone around you began noticing. Everyone minus the two in question.

“You’re staring an awful lot.” Kiri walks up behind you. 

“I have no idea what you're talking about.” You quickly dust yourself off, standing up to face the girl. 

“You should at least try not to make it obvious.” She rolls her eyes.

Kiri was the first to find out about your crush on Lo’ak way before you would even admit to it. So when you finally caved and felt the need to spill your feelings to someone, she was right there. And although she did tease you, she still fully supported your–in her words– horrible choice in boys.

There was no denying that the both of you saw how close Tsireya and Lo’ak had become. Yet your heart couldn’t bare the thought of Lo’ak smiling so brightly with someone other than you. Call it possessiveness. Or jealousy. But you just couldn’t help it. The boy was perfect.

“He said he was going to take her to the Cove of Ancestors tonight.” Kiri nodded towards the pair.

The Cove of the Ancestors? 

“No way. That- He can’t.” You inhale a sharp breath. Maybe she’s just showing him your clan's spirit tree again. Yeah right. You knew exactly why he was taking her.

“He’s going to. So you better tell him before it’s too late or you can suffer in silence.” Kiri stated. You knew she meant well, but her words sent a pang to your chest.

“I’ll try…” You sigh.

You sat in your marui, contemplating whether you should actually try and pursue Lo’ak. Or just back away and accept the loss. Yeah right. You were at least going to try.

As the sky darkened, Tsireya quickly excused herself after finishing her dinner. You do the same shortly after, quietly sneaking out to find your sister. She patiently waits by the docs, placing the saddle onto her ilu. Lo’ak shows up shortly after, calling for his ilu.

The two of them quickly mount their ilus, slowly emerging themselves into the water. Once they’re a good distance away, you call for your ilu to follow them. 

You break the surface just before reaching the cove. Taking one last breath before guiding your ilu underwater. The spirit tree illuminates the way for you as you spot the two teenagers. 

They’re both connected to one of the tree’s many branches, calmly floating as they connect with the great mother. You watch as they remain still for a long period of time, not moving a muscle. If they weren’t going to move any time soon, you would need to swim back up for air.

To your luck, Lo’ak disconnects his queue from the tree, signing to Tsireya with his hands. You’re too far away to see exactly what he said but the two of them began swimming to the surface. Watching as they tread water to stay above the surface, you feel your lungs begin to constrict and your throat begin to burn. You needed air.

Without thinking, you rush up to the surface a few meters away from Lo’ak and Tsireya, gasping for breath. The teens immediately turn their attention to the sudden disturbance. You meet their gazes, smiling sheepishly. “Hey guys… What are you doing here.”

“Why are you here?” Lo’ak pulls Tsireya closer to him.

“Oh- I was just uh…” You couldn’t think of an excuse. 

“Were you… following us?” Tsireya narrows her eyes at you.

“No..?” You awkwardly deny the statement. Both of them could tell it was a lie. You were never good at lying anyways.

The two teens called for their ilus, deciding that it was best to head back to the village. As they left, you anxiously followed them, neither of them saying anything to you. But you could feel Lo’ak glaring daggers at you as you swam beside Tsireya. 

When you finally reached the docs, you immediately started walking back home. Tsireya quickly caught up to you with Lo’ak right behind her. The three of you reached your family marui and Lo’ak bid Tsireya a good night. You were about to walk into the pod when you felt a hand grab your wrist and pull you away.

You found yourself sitting on a fallen log, Lo’ak pacing back and forth in front of you. He hadn’t said a word to you since you got caught in the Cove of Ancestors. “Look. I didn’t-” You break the silence.

“Why the hell did you follow us.” The boy cut you off. “How did you even know we were going?”

“Kiri told me…” You lower your head. “I was just-”

“I don’t care what you were trying to do! Fuck. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.” He let out a string of foreign curses.

“Why were you even there?”

Lo’ak finally stopped cursing to look at you. Like the answer wasn’t obvious but you just wanted the verbal confirmation.

“I was going to tell her my feelings for her but obviously that didn’t work out.” He referred to the moment you interrupted them.

You sat silently as Lo’ak went on about how you screwed up his plans to confess to your sister. Emotions begin bubbling up as you feel something in you snap.

“It’s always ‘Tsireya this’ or ‘Tsireya that’! What does she have that I don’t?!” You shout. All the anger you’ve kept inside finally spills out like a flood. 

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?! She’s there for me! She sees me!” He returns your shouting.

“I see you! I always have! From the moment I saw you and the moment we met in the forest! And when you get scolded by your father? I understand how you feel!” You stand up to meet his eyes. 

Where did it all go wrong?

“No. You don’t. Not like Tsireya does.” Lo’ak clenches his teeth, a cold glare plastered on his features. “She’s always there for me.” He has nothing more to say to you. Turning on his heels and walks back towards the village.

It’s over. You messed everything up.

Once you’re sure the boy is out of sight, you collapse onto the mossy ground beneath you. Tears now flowing freely down your cheeks. 

You were done with everything. Every time you saw Lo’ak, you immediately turn the other way and run. And it’s not like he tried reaching out either so you didn’t bother. So when Kiri picked up on your behavior, she asked you about it. What she wasn’t expecting however, was for you to tear up at the mention of her brother's name.

The two of you sat in her marui, everyone else was out so you had the place to yourselves. You told Kiri the whole thing. She comforted you and helped you get your mind off of her skxawng brother.

It went on like that for weeks. You and Kiri became inseparable, always around each other. You liked her company. She wasn’t loud and mischievous like Ao’nung, but she still enjoyed shit talking about others –usually her brothers– unlike Tsireya. 

Kiri walked you to your marui after calling it a day from swimming for medicinal materials all afternoon. You enter your marui to see both of your parents waiting for you silently.

“We asked you to help Tsireya with collecting fruit today.” Tonowari waited for you to sit down. You froze. You completely forgot about that. Too busy helping Kiri.

“I apologize. It must’ve slipped my mind when I finished my other duties this morning.” You bow your head down.

“Enough with the excuses!” Your father boomed. “I do not need to hear about you being lazy. Tsireya had to collect them all by herself because you ‘forgot’.” 

You feel your ear slowly fold against your head as you continue to stare at the floor. The look of disappointment from your parents was too much to bear. You continue to listen to your fathers lecture before he finally dismisses you, waving you out of the marui. 

What you didn’t notice, was someone had heard the entire thing.

Lo’ak left the scene before anyone noticed his presence. He heard your father scold you with harsh words and disappointed looks. When you ran out of the marui, he almost followed you into the forest. 

Almost. 

He couldn’t get the argument out of his head. How you poured out your feelings to him and he just waved them off like they were nothing. You did nothing to deserve that from him. How could he do that to you?

‘I see you! I always have.’

You truly did see him. He was just too blind to realize it.

‘I understand how you feel!’

You did understand him. What it’s like to disappoint your parents.

How could he be so stupid? He was so busy chasing after Tsireya when you were right in front of him the whole time. And despite how foolish he was at times, you were there to help him. Lo’ak quickly snapped out of his thoughts. He had to make it right with you.

“What do you want bro.” Kiri stood in front of Lo’ak, arms crossed. A few minutes ago, she was peacefully helping Neytiri make dinner when they were suddenly interrupted by Lo’ak dragging her away. “Mom still needs my help.” She sighs.

She begins to walk away when Lo’ak holds her back. “I need to make things right.” He mumbles. 

“Then why are you coming to me? I’m not the one you should apologise to.” He knew she was right. But he was really hoping Kiri would help him. Lo’ak stared at his sister with pleading eyes. All she could do was sigh. “All you need to do is talk it out.”

And so that’s what he did. The next day, the first thing he did when he left his marui was go looking for you. When he found you, you were wandering along the beach looking for shells. You were so busy looking for brightly coloured shells that you didn’t notice the boy walking up to you.

“I found a shell you might like.” He held out a pale green shell he found the day prior to give to you as a peace offering.

“It's wonderful. Thank you.” You take the shell, not looking up at who just gave it to you.

“Can we talk?”

You finally look up from the sand at the boy who stood before you. Lo’ak silently waited for your answer as you grabbed your basket of shells. “Come.” You took him back to your marui.

He watched as you set the basket down and took a seat on the floor. Gesturing for him to sit in front of you. “What is it? Tsireya is busy right now.”

“I’m not here for Tsireya.” Lo’ak responded, fidgeting with his fingers. All of a sudden, he found it impossible to look you in the eye. “I came to apologise.” He continued.

When you don’t say anything, he takes it as a sign to keep going. “I was stupid. I failed to notice your feelings and ended up hurting you. You don’t have to forgive me but I just wanted to say I’m sorry.”

You listened contently as he spouted apologies. Taking note of how he never met your gaze. “I forgive you skxawng.” You smile, lifting his head up to look at you. A blush made its way onto his face as you gave him a kiss on his forehead. 

“I see you.” He leaned his forehead against yours. Finally reciprocating the phrase you told him weeks ago.

“I see you, skxawng.”

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed reading this! It was much longer than I thought it would be but it's done!

I currently have a massive writers block for the series right now so I will post a few fics like this until I get my groove going.

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you have a great day/night!

[shyvioletcat]

ROWAELIN MONTH: DAY 12

~ Meet Ugly / Meet Cute ~

Thank you so much for your patience with this one. I know it was eagerly awaited so I won’t keep you any longer.

The Sweetest Promise Masterlist

~~~~~

Aelin’s stomach grumbled, a reminder she should have eaten dinner at least an hour ago. But she was on a roll and she didn’t want to lose this flow, her empty stomach be damned. She had found a journal article on ‘hidden composers throughout history’ and she was busy dissecting it for her thesis. Four years ago at the age of twenty she had moved to Doranelle so she could study music at the city’s top university with a world renown music program. Aelin had loved just about every minute of it.

She was in her final year and was working hard on her thesis that would round out her entire course of study. The title of her thesis was The Female Impact on Classical Music. It was all that Aelin could think about, either awake or asleep. Researching, drafting and just trying to figure out how to use words took up most of her time these days. Then at night she woke up from dreams in a panic as she edited in her sleep. For the first three years of her course she had managed to work at a diner just outside campus in between and after classes, but it quickly became apparent that it wouldn’t last. Aelin didn’t know if she was in burnout or if the shift in brain function was just too much for her, either way once the new semester started it had only been weeks before she was handing in her notice. After that she had lived off her meagre savings until she figured out what she would do next.

Her savings were almost depleted and although she could go to her parents for help, she was determined to do this whole move to another continent for college and be self-sufficient thing by herself. Running back to mum and dad was too much for her pride to bear. They would give her whatever she needed and do it gladly. Aelin just didn’t want to feel like she had failed.

That was where Kaltain came in, a woman about Aelin’s age who lived across the hall. They had been passing pleasantries for months and weren’t quite friends but definitely more than acquaintances. One evening Aelin had been coming and Kaltain had been going, both stopping as they saw to the locks on their doors for different reasons.

“Date night?” Aelin had asked, noting the dress and the makeup and the heels. Aelin was a little jealous, she hadn’t been out in ages. She always loved an excuse to dress up.

Kaltain nodded. “Noodles? Again?”

Aelin sighed, looking down to where the five pack bundle of instant noodles could be seen poking out of her shopping bag. “I’m a girl on a budget, what can I say?”

Then Kaltain stopped, giving Aelin a curious look. “Did you know I’m being paid to go on this date?”

“Okay?” Aelin had no idea what she meant or why she was handing over this information.

“The amount of money I get from a single date is enough to feed me for a week and I don’t mean on shitty noodles.”

Kaltain went on to explain her situation. She’d set herself up with a reputable sugar baby website and app. People paid her for her time a few nights a week and all she had to do was turn up, smile and make conversation. If anything beyond that was requested she had the power to decline or approve, and there were various kinds of contracts supplied by the admin. It all sounded intriguing, but Aelin still held her reservations.

“And you don’t have to sleep with them?”

Kaltain shrugged a delicate shoulder. “That is entirely up to you. When I first started I just did a string of first dates until I got used to the whole process. And then when I got the hang of things or I liked a particular client, I changed things up.”

“Hmm,” Aelin hummed, considering everything she had just learned. As she crossed her arms the plastic rustled like a little reminder of what her alternative might be.

“If you want any help with your profile,” Kaltain sang over her shoulder leaving Aelin to decide on her own.

So, Aelin eventually deferred to Kaltain’s advice and taken the plunge. She spent days working on her profile and then it was a few more on top of that to publish it. What had held her back were all the assumptions that went with gaining the title of a ‘sugar baby’. If it got out, what would people think of her? What were the men coming into that situation expecting? Kaltain had assured her more than once that she didn’t actually have to sleep with the men and that she was in total control of what happened. Aelin could just take on the suggestion of going on a continuous string of first dates. That was what kept her resolve up and Aelin had hit post, connotations be damned.

That had been more than a week ago and she was still caught in a gut twisting anxiety of the unknown. Honestly, she found it a little insulting that it had taken her this long to get a hit. Humility had never been her strong suit, she knew she was beautiful and that alone should be a massive draw card. Maybe she’d have to ask for a very small loan from her parents with how things were going, one week for rent and groceries, that was all she would need.

Her stomach grumbled again, and Aelin was more than a little sad that this might just be her second helping of noodles for the day. Lunch and dinner, lucky her. She straightened, stretching her arms above her head to decompress her back. Her tiny kitchen was waiting for her when the phone beside her knee lit up. Aelin assumed that it was just some social media notification—but it wasn’t.

You’ve got a request, Sugar

“Oh, holy gods,” Aelin whispered, lifting her phone to her face. This was it, this meant someone wanted her company. For money.

Aelin unlocked her phone and opened the app just to see who this person might be. The first piece of information she was given was a name, Rowan Whitethorn. Not a bad start. She tapped through to his profile, he was a lawyer, lived in the city, his age was left blank—a little odd but apparently that was a subject some of the clients could get a bit touchy about. The final piece to the puzzle was his photo. Aelin touched the icon to make it bigger and—

“Oh.”

It was terrible quality. Like whoever this Rowan Whitethorn was had cropped his photo from a much smaller one. All she could distinguish was silver hair and his general facial features if she squinted. She grimaced and not at all pleased with her prospects. This looked likely to be some old guy wanting a pretty face to keep him company. It was only the hollow feeling in her stomach that prompted her to open the chat.

>> Hi, Rowan. How are you?

<< Great. How are you, Celaena?

>> Not too bad

<< Good to hear

Aelin was filing through small talk topics when the ellipses appeared, showing that this Rowan was typing away. She watched the tiny animation stop and start at least three times before a message finally appeared.

>> I’m just going to be direct. I need a date for a charity gala tomorrow night. I expect you saw that I’m a lawyer, I’m trying to land a client and a date is essential for that. It won’t be much more than following me around and smiling, and I’m willing to increase your proposed fee due to the last minute nature.

More dots and Aelin waited.

>> I understand if you decline. This was a last ditch effort for me.

<< Procrastinate, did you?

>> Seems that way.

For a moment Aelin sat on her bed and contemplated her options. This didn’t seem too bad. If she said yes she would be arm candy for some desperate old guy who couldn’t get a date on his own. It could be worse, so much worse. As far as a first round as a sugar baby went, this might just be a very easy introduction.

<< A charity gala? You said you’d let me charge for last minute inconvenience, what about wardrobe? I’m sorry but I’ve left all my ballgowns on another continent.

The reply was almost instantaneous.

>> Whatever you need. Say yes and I’ll transfer the funds right away.

Because now it was up to Aelin, she was the one with the power. She could ghost him or even go as far as blocking him, and never have to hear from Rowan Whitethorn again. Or, she could help an old codger out and get paid for it. It might be painfully boring, but at least she could get decent groceries and a pretty dress.

<< I suppose it’s a date, Mr Whitethorn

Aelin went back to her profile and confirmed the request. Her starting rate only sat at $350 because she had no reviews or anything yet, so she was hoping for maybe another hundred dollars or so for the “last minute fee” and for the dress. She waited, impatiently, for whatever notification was supposed to come next. Maybe he’d chicken out, or find someone better. Aelin doubted it, she was an absolute steal, she was beautiful and cheap.

The heralding ping echoed around the room and Aelin saw a tiny red bubble up in the menu corner. She followed the notification and it took her to the money page.

Please check your bank account for receiving of money transfer.

Heart pounding, Aelin did just that. She opened her banking app and there it was. $500

“Desperation did have a price,” Aelin said to herself with a smile.

Feeling accomplished and positively loaded, she decided that she could treat herself and order in tonight. And considering she had classes tomorrow she didn’t really have time to buy a dress for herself. There was another option, right across the hall. It might be wrong of her to pocket the dress money, but she assumed in the line of sugar baby work there were some blurred lines with minor ethics in this kind of trade. What the mysterious Mr Rowan Whitethorn didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

Nearly 24 hours later was waiting outside her building in a dress she had borrowed from Kaltain, made up to the nines. She’d chosen a deep green velvet number. It hugged her curves, but not in an indecent way, and the draping cowl neckline showed just enough cleavage to spark the imagination. Aelin had swept her hair to the side in an old Hollywood style with red lips to match. She looked stunning and she’d made sure to take a few photos to add to her profile.

It wasn’t long before her Uber turned up, courtesy of her benefactor and it was just a short ride from her university recommended apartment building to the hotel the gala was being held at. Aelin got out of the car, the bright lights of the hotel brightening the street in the dark. Rowan had said he would meet her inside so she didn’t bother searching for her grey headed date out here. There were more people milling around inside and she caught glimpses of the room decked out for the gala. From what she could see, it looked amazing, and she was very interested to see what kind of desserts she’d be able to find.

Aelin sighed and waited, she couldn’t get in without an invitation. All the other guests showed either a fancy paper one or something on their phones. The large foyer started to empty and there was a fleeting sinking feeling in her gut that she might be getting stood up. At least Aelin was already paid for her troubles.

She watched the front doors, ignoring anyone who didn’t fit Rowan’s very blurry description. Plenty of handsome men and pretty women walked through the foyer and into the gala, as time dragged on Aelin got impatient enough that she checked her phone for any updates five times. She was about to send a message politely demanding to know where he was when movement at the doors caught her eye.

The man had his head down as he fixed his jacket cuff, his silver hair keeping her attention. When he looked up he damn near took her breath away. He was devastatingly handsome, his face on the rugged side of classically handsome with those sharp cheekbones. Like her, he was dressed for a party so it was easy to assume he was a fellow guest. The way his broad shoulders filled out his jacket was downright criminal, because holy gods this was a fine specimen of a man. The stranger paused to look around the room and then pine green eyes landed on her.

Aelin straightened as his gaze dipped over her and she was now damning the situation she found herself in. How was she supposed to flirt with this man when she was meant to be escorting a lonely lawyer around?

Unknowing about her internal crisis this god amongst men started walking over towards her, and Aelin tried not to cry over the fact that she would have to turn him down. Because despite his silver hair, he wasn’t old. In fact if Aelin had to hazard a guess he’d be 30—if that. His silver hair…

What if… no.

Aelin warred with herself, could this be him? Could this incredibly hot and not old man be her desperate lawyer? Was this the right guy?

He got closer and closer, not deterred by anything and he stopped right in front of her. “Celaena?”

Blinking twice, Aelin had to force her mind to jump start. “Rowan Whitethorn?”

When he nodded, the relief that went through her almost had her swaying in her heels. He wasn’t old. “I thought you might have stood me up.”

A boyish kind of embarrassment lit up his face. “I got distracted by work. That’s not unusual.”

“I see,” Aelin said. A desperate workaholic it was then.

Then just like that, he tugged at the hem of his jacket becoming a polished business man. Rowan extended his arm, the music and the lights of the gala beckoning. “Shall we?”

Aelin slipped her phone back into her sleek, black clutch and took up Rowan’s offer. “Lead the way.”

If this man and this party were to be her introduction into the world of being a sugar baby, Aelin wasn’t at all disappointed.

~~~~~

The evening was a complete success and full of surprises. Rowan didn’t know what to expect when it came to his date, but she was utterly charming and stunningly beautiful, and she managed to play the part perfectly. She smiled and chatted away, making up for Rowan’s lack of social finesse. What she was very good at was managing to steer conversations away from getting too personal. They knew next to nothing about each other, things could have gotten awkward very rapidly if not for her quick and distracting wit.

It was hard not to be drawn to her, to be enchanted by her. The dress she wore… it had nearly stunned him into silence. It was sexy, but also reserved enough that it wasn’t the wrong side of indecent. If that exact shade of green wasn’t already his favourite colour, after tonight it sure as hell would be. Celaena had a classic beauty, and she moved and spoke with admirable confidence. The unique hue of her eyes was startling and it was hard to look away.

On top of all that Celeana also had a wicked sense of humour and he was at risk losing his hard bastard reputation just from the sheer amount of times he’d found himself laughing at something she had said. She was a life saver. Having her there not only allowed him entry to the event, but also let him do all the elbow rubbing he possibly could with the directing manager of Forest Fae Toys and Games with the added bonus of some harmless flirting. She knew how to play the game and it was a relief that Rowan didn’t have to do all the work. He was in with a shot now thanks to his contracted help. This woman was well worth the money.

That thought was jarring and highlighted the ridiculous fact that Rowan had to resort to such lengths. But at the same time it had been so easy and Celaena had been more than lovely company. If he was being honest with himself, he’d like to see her again, and not necessarily in a paid for capacity. It was unfortunate that they had to meet under these circumstances, it just made things awkward for him going forward.

The uncomfortable truth of it was that Rowan was lonely. He’d forgotten how nice it was to spend time with a pretty woman outside the capacity of work. And it was almost like they had skipped a step here. Because of the pretence and expectations they had glossed over all the tension that came with being strangers. There were just less expectations and that made Rowan feel like he could relax. Socialising had never been something he’d been good at,, and it seemed Aelin had more than enough to make up for the skills he was lacking. He would very much like to see her again, but from what he understood, that decision was entirely up to her.

“I have one question before I go,” Aelin said when they were out on the street and waiting for the car he had ordered for her. Once they had left the gala they’d moved a healthy distance apart and even though it was silly for Rowan to miss her closeness, he did.

“What is it?” Rowan asked, curious as to what mischief that she was up to.

She raised a hand gesturing at his hair. “Is this a fashion choice?”

That was not what he was expecting, Celaena had surprised him again and it made him let out a soft chuckle. “Genetic. Runs in the family.”

She laughed, and shook her head. “Your profile picture was so bad that I thought you were some old guy who couldn’t get a date.”

“Well,” Rowan said, resisting the urge to rub the back of his neck, “that’s only half true.”

She laughed again and the sound of it went straight to his gut. Her bright eyes stayed on the top of his head while she said. “Well, Rowan Whitethorn. My bank account thanks you.”

“You’ve saved me in more ways than one,” Rowan admitted.

The car pulled up and Celaena and the driver swapped confirmations before she turned back to him. “Goodnight then, Mr Whitethorn.”

He didn’t know why she called him that, but he didn’t exactly hate it. “You have a good night as well.”

Celaena flashed him one last smile before she ducked into the car. Seated inside, she leant forward and gave him a final wave and then she was gone. Rowan went back into the hotel foyer to use the elevator to get to the underground parking lot. His silver sedan was waiting for him, the colour now making him smirk. Climbing into the driver’s seat he was more than ready to call it a night.

Not bothering to plug his phone in, Rowan turned on the radio and then immediately tuned it out to fuzzy background noise. He was too busy thinking about Celaena to listen to the music or the words. It was unfair that they had to meet like this, it really didn’t give them a chance for anything more. And Rowan had specified he was only after a one time thing. He’d damned himself from the start.

Rowan was home before he knew, the streets of the city not all that busy this late at night. Tapping the dongle on his keys he pushed the button for his penthouse apartment. He had never bought it for pretentious reasons, he had loved the view if provided over the rest of the city—all the way out to the ruins that skirted the northern edges of it. His tie was the first thing to go, and then his jacket, next he was fishing his phone out of his trouser pocket and froze.

There was a notification on his screen, and if he had connected his phone like he usually did he might have pulled over wherever he was to tend to it. It had some from Sweet as Sugar and it kept up with the habit of being direct and succinct.

Celaena would like to spend more time with you. Yes or no?

Rowan unlocked his phone and he didn’t know if he’d ever replied to message that fast in his life. He even managed to accidentally scroll up in his efforts to send it a reply because his thumb had slipped in his eagerness. Because he very much had his one resounding answer.

Yes.

~~~~~

Posting from my phone so it might get another edit. @rowaelinscourt

[builtbybrokenbells]

Spitfire | iv

After a month long battle with your first long distance relationship, you start to wonder if the turmoil of missing a rockstar is even worth it. In true Jake fashion, he makes you forget you ever felt that way to begin with.

Read part three here

Read part five here

Pairing: jake kiszka x f!reader

Word Count: 7.7k

Warnings: drinking, swearing, super sweet fluff, slight ldr angst, play fighting, annoying brothers, sorry if i miss any!

hi! i wrote this one super fast because im excited to get to the climax of this story. plus i just love jake and need to write about it to process my feelings. this chapter is pretty light and fluffy. no 18+ yet, but it is coming ;) as always, enjoy, be kind, and don’t mind any grammar mistakes!!

~

You walked off the stage, grad cap and diploma secured tightly in your hand. The main floor was a mess of bodies, making it impossible to find anybody you were looking for. You pushed through the mass of black gowns and proud parents, eyes desperately trying to locate someone with familiarity. After fighting your way to the back of the arena, you noticed a group of tall, slender figures who could be mistaken for the same people if caught in the right situation. You let out a sigh of relief, practically running towards them. When you reached them, you grabbed on to the closest arm. The boy spun around, confused at first, but his eyes lit up at the sight of you once he realized who you were.

“Hey, squirt!” Alex picked you up, spinning you around in a hug. You laughed, begging to be put back down almost instantaneously. “I’m so proud of you.” He said when your feet touched the ground again, his arms still holding you tightly. The rest of the group had begun to catch on to the situation. Within a moment, Sam had joined in on the hug, ushering your other two brothers to join, too. Your parents were laughing, tears threatening to spill from your mothers eyes. Eventually, your parents joined, too.

The group was full of laughter, arms all tangled together, making it hard to differentiate who’s belonged to who. Ally had taken it upon herself to snap a few quick pictures, finding the sight of the situation to precious to pass up. When you all broke apart, the air filled with notes of congratulations and your family telling you how proud they were of you. You breathed a thank you, barely being able to process the situation yet. You had your college degree in your hand; the last three years of torment and despair had ultimately paid off. Your eyes scanned the people around you, finally landing on your best friend. She had her phone propped up, pointing it outward towards the group as if she were on the phone with someone.

A smile began to eat away on your cheeks. You caught her gaze, silently asking her if she was chatting with who you thought she was. She gave a nod, motioning for you to come see for yourself. You pushed past your youngest brother, earning an annoyed look from him. You were too busy to care, only concerned with who she was talking to. When you reached her, sure turned her phone so you could see the screen. Jake, alongside his three band mates, were all crowded into the frame, watching the screen intently. When they saw your face, they exploded into cheers. You couldn’t stop the laughter flowing from you, amazed at how much love was coming your way that day. She smiled, handing you the phone. You took it, whispering a small thank you.

“We’re so proud of you!” Josh’s chipper tone filled the speaker. The background noise in the air would have made it hard to hear them, but they were always loud enough that it wasn’t even a concern in your mind.

“The witchy woman strikes again!” Sam belted, a grin plastered across his face.

“Your speech was fantastic.” Danny complimented.

“Thanks, guys.” You chuckled. “So glad you could join the celebration, even if it was virtual.”

“Well, actually-“ Josh began to speak, but Jake gave him a quick shove, silencing him. He pulled the phone away so only his face was in view. You gave him a strange look, but Jake quickly switched topics, not letting the conversation linger on Josh’s words.

“Let me see it, baby.” Your heart fluttered at his words, a blush involuntarily pushing onto your cheeks. You pulled your diploma up, opening the cover to show him the inside. His eyes squinted, trying to make it out as best as he could. After a moment, a smile crossed his face, too. “That’s my girl.” You were certain you could have died on the spot. He said it with so much sincerity that there was no room for a hint of doubt that he meant it. “I’m so proud of you, y/n.”

“Thanks, Jake.” You responded. “I wish you were here.”

“Me too,” he told you, but his eyes were following something beyond the phone screen. “Soon, okay? I promise.” There was some kind of emotion in his expression that you couldn’t decipher. Excitement, maybe? You couldn’t place it.

“Whatever you say, rockstar.” You teased. Deep down, even if you’d never admit it, you were sad he wasn’t there. You were more upset at the fact you didn’t know when you’d see him again. It was pushing a month since you’d met him, now. The time you’d spent with him at his hotel all those weeks ago was slowly dwindling into just a memory rather than a feeling. As much as you talked to him on the phone, it couldn’t equate to him being there in person. You felt a little ridiculous, missing someone so much when he wasn’t even your boyfriend. But, he was special, and there was no denying it. You didn’t have to be ‘in a relationship’ with him to miss him, or to love him. He was just that type of person.

“I mean it,” he said, looking more serious now. “I want to see you, too.” You were pulled away from his words by your brothers ushering you out the door. When you emerged into the bustling parking lot, you focused back on Jake, trying to ignore the violent glare of the sun.

“I know, I’m sorry. I guess this is harder than I thought it would be.” You chuckled. “I just miss you, and I can’t wait to see you again.” You admitted. A sad smile crossed his face.

“I know, but I promise things are going to get better.” His tone held a note of finality. You gave a nod. “Listen, I have to go. I don’t want to, but I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”

“Okay, thank you for watching the ceremony.” You tried not to let your disappointment show. “Talk to you later, rockstar.” He looked like he was walking, now. You could hear lots of chatter in the background of the call. You couldn’t quite place where he was, though.

“I’m so proud of you, y/n.” He reminded. He pulled the phone away from him slightly so the rest of his brothers could crowd into the frame again.

“Bye!” The other three chorused. You let out a giggle, giving a wave.

“Bye, guys! Thanks for calling!”

“We love you!” Josh’s voice rang through the phone again, warming your heart. You pulled your camera back, allowing your brothers and two roommates to see them, too. They all waved at the camera. Jake caught your eye one last time, giving you a look full of emotion. It was his way of saying ‘I love you’ without actually having to say it aloud. You didn’t break his eye contact until the phone disconnected. You stared at the black screen for a moment, heart heavy but full at the same time. You knew he was busy, but some days it just hit harder than others. That day in particular seemed to be one of them.

You found it funny, how you were surrounded by people who loved you and wanted to celebrate you, but even so, the only one who you wanted to celebrate with was Jake. You handed Eve’s phone back to her, attempting to break out of your solemn state by quickly covering it with a smile. Eve gave you a knowing look, reassuring you that she knew how you felt, and it was okay to feel that way. You let out a deep breath, shaking the emotion off.

“Does everyone want to go for dinner?” Your mom asked, looking around to the group. You looked between your brothers, who were more than okay with the idea. They were always willing to eat, no matter the circumstance. You turned to Ally and Eve, who gave a nod of agreement.

“Yeah, I know a good place.” You said, giving a restaurant name for everyone to type into their GPS.

You all piled into separate cars. Your parents and Alex got in your car, Eve and Sam went with your other two brothers in her car, and Ally went with Ben in his car.

You all went to a small family diner, crowding into a few tables they had pushed together for your group. The meal was fantastic, filled with laughter and old memories, and even some tears from your parents. Many pictures were taken, some sent directly to Jake and some posted on social media stories. A complimentary dessert was served from the staff as a congratulations for graduating. You loved the small businesses; that’s why you took the last three years to get to know the workers and the owners of as many spots as you could. They were always kind and appreciative of any business they got. You loved the relationships you got to form with the staff, and they always seemed quick to thank you for your loyalty and support over the years.

As you were finishing up and the group was getting ready to leave, you looked to your left to see Eve holding hands with Sam under the table, seemingly undetected to everyone else. Your eyes softened at the sight. For a moment, a twinge of jealousy ran through you, mad that you couldn’t have Jake there to hold his hand. Then, you shook it away, realizing that Eve was so supportive of how you were feeling because she’d been feeling that way for years. Her and Sam fell in love practically the minute they’d met each other, but always lived so far away that they thought it was best to leave things as they were instead of fighting for a long distance relationship.

You thought about it for a moment, uncertainty bubbling in your stomach, knowing you had done the complete opposite. They waited, and still seemed to be waiting for each other, or for the time to be right. They didn’t tell anyone, they barely ever let on about how they felt about each other or how much they talked. You knew about it only because you knew both of them better than anyone in the world. When you eventually asked her about it, she was honest with you. On the other hand, you met Jake, and denied completely that you felt any connection, only to run into him again and start to talk to him so often that your day felt empty when he wasn’t on the other side of the phone.

You pushed the thoughts aside, realizing that you were in way too deep to worry about it now. Even if you put a pause on whatever you and Jake were doing, you were certain it would cause more turmoil than good by that point. You figured it was best to let it run its course; either you would end up really happy, or swear off dating for the rest of your life. Still, as you pushed the thought away, an uneasiness settled in the pit of your stomach. You wondered if getting so close to someone you barely knew was the best idea.

“Ready to head home?” Eve asked, noticing your blank stare. You looked up to her, nodding.

“Yeah, I’m ready to drink.” You said, a smile breaking through your anxious thoughts. You gathered your things from the table, turning to your parents for a goodbye. They walked towards you, past all of your brothers, and pulled you into a hug. “Thanks for everything.” You mumbled, head pressed into your fathers chest. He was holding you tightly, scared to let you go. He couldn’t believe his little girl was grown up and ready to start her life.

“We’re so proud of you, honey.” Your mom said, fixing the strap on your dress. You laughed to yourself, knowing your mom wouldn’t be your mom without her worrying that everything was proper and in place. She was so caring and attentive, wanting to ensure that all of her children were happy and ready to take on the world.

“We’re going to head to the hotel and leave you guys to your partying.” Your dad chuckled, knowing you would all be up to no good. He remembered back to when you were all living at home with them, certain that nothing had changed. “Meet us for breakfast tomorrow before we fly out?” He asked.

“Yeah, what time?” You questioned.

“I think our flight is at three?” He looked to your mother, silently begging for confirmation.

“Three-thirty.” She corrected, causing another laugh from you. “We’d love to see you again before we go.” She pointed the second part of her statement at you.

“Yeah, I’m sure I could manage that.” You assured them. “Give me a call in the morning.”

“Okay,” a soft smile crossed your mothers lips.

“Did you guys need a drive back to the hotel?” You asked. Your mom shook her head.

“We already called a cab.” You had to stop yourself from rolling your eyes.

“I could have driven you! It’s not that far away.” You scolded. Your dad let out a small laugh, shaking his head at you.

“Go home, have fun, but be safe.” He said, pulling you into another hug, landing a kiss on the top of your head. Your mom did the same, holding on to you a bit longer than usual.

“I love you guys.” You said, not wanting them to go. You loved the life you were building, but it was extremely hard living so far away from your family.

“We love you.” Your mom said, finally pulling back. “See you in the morning.” You bid a small goodbye as they turned away, watching them as they walked outside. Alex slung his arm around your shoulder, pulling you into his side. He was always there to pick you back up when you were sad. He was mind-numbingly annoying by times, in true big brother fashion, but he was always your biggest supporter and the first ear willing to listen when you were upset.

“Let’s head home, squirt.” He squeezed your arm. You gave him a grin, gathering the rest of the group and heading outside, too.

When you arrived back at your house, you and Alex were out of breath from belting along to songs on the stereo and laughing about old childhood stories. You drove a bit slower, wanting to spend a little more time alone with your brother. You locked your car, leading him into the front door. When you stepped inside, your eyes soaked up the unusual decor that was littering the house. You couldn’t help but laugh, looking at the banners that were hung haphazardly on the walls, miscellaneous balloons littering the floors, and streamers dangling from the ceiling. You realized the group must have decorated earlier. You left before everyone else, needing to get to the ceremony for instructions on how the event was going to happen.

“Surprise!” Eve shouted, barely being able to contain her excitement. You picked up a balloon from the ground, looking at the writing on it.

“Happy 7th birthday?” You questioned.

“We were on a time crunch.” She laughed, running over to give you a hug. “But, we have lots of alcohol and food. The balloons were the least of my worry.”

“Thank you.” You meant it. Even when life was terrible, or you never thought things would get better, your friends never failed to show you how great the world could be even when it doesn’t seem like it. They were the best people you’d ever met, and they would do anything for you. You would for them, too, no questions asked. They were beyond friends; more like family, at that point. “I’m gonna go get changed.” You told her. She nodded, letting you go so you could go to your room.

You closed your bedroom door behind you, dropping your purse on your bed. You placed your diploma on your desk, eyes lingering over it with a feeling of satisfaction growing larger by the second. Before anything, you reached over to the wall and ran your fingers over the signed record from Jake, wanting to feel close to him just for a moment. Eventually, you went to your closet and pulled out your favourite pair of blue mom jeans. They had embroidered flowers on the back pockets from a girls night you’d had with your roommates the year prior. They weren’t perfectly done, but the three of you definitely had fun learning how to do it. Eve and Ally both had jeans that matched yours, and they frequently wore them, loving the memory just as much as you did.

You pulled out a black lace bodysuit, deciding to dress up a little bit. You had no idea how many people the girls had invited, so you thought it best to be prepared. You changed quickly, throwing on some more perfume and deodorant. You made a pit stop at the bathroom, tidying your makeup and reapplying your lipstick that had worn off from dinner. As you were finishing, you noticed the golden glow through the window, signifying the sun setting. With a quick brush through your hair, you were ready to rejoin everyone. The kitchen was noisy, filled with all of your brothers and closest friends. When they saw you enter, they let out a collective cheer. Sam went right to the table, pouring a round of shots for everyone. He handed you one first, watching expectingly. You rolled your eyes, but swallowed it down like he wanted. Once you finished, he took his own.

“That was for you, graduate.” He jokingly bowed to you. “I never thought you’d make it.” You lightly punched his arm, laughing off his pass.

“Shut up, Sam.”

“You love me!” He retorted, returning to the bottles of liquor to continue drinking. You followed, grabbing your own cup and mixing yourself a drink. You took a seat at the table, seeing a deck of playing cards messily strewn across the wood. You picked it up, giving it a quick shuffle. You set it back down, in front of Sam, who’d taken the chair next to you. He gave you a look of questioning. You nodded your head towards the cards.

“Cut it.” You stated. “Low card takes a shot.” He straightened up, hovering his fingers over the sides of the cards, as if he was channelling some sort of lucky energy. “Aces are high.” You reminded. He gave a nod, settling on a spot in the deck before he cut it in half. He slumped slightly as he looked at the number, flipping it to show you. You smirked, eyes looking over his choice. “Three’s the best you could do?”

“Fuck you.” He placed the cards back down, looking to you expectantly. You took to the deck, cutting it closer to the bottom. You took a deep breath in before flipping it over.

“Drink up.” You threw the cards down gently, letting him see the queen for himself.

“Whatever. You always cheat.” He picked a bottle from the collection, barely looking at the label before he poured a shot into his glass.

“What are you, four?” You retorted. “Grow up.” You both dissolved into a small fit of laughter at the fake argument. He drank the liquid with a small shudder, placing the shot glass back on the table.

“You’re trying to kill me, woman.”

“You picked the bottle, not me.” You chuckled. “You did that to yourself, Sammy boy.”

“We’re playing king’s cup, later. You’ll pay for it, then.” He warned, standing now. Eve was hovering behind him, giggling at your antics.

“Whatever you say, brother.” You waved him off. Eve gave you a smile, but ultimately followed him as he walked away. You understood, but it irritated you slightly. Not because she wanted to be with him, but because Jake wasn’t there for you to follow after him like that. You hated that you were bothered by it so much, but it seemed as though that feeling was permanent. You even found yourself feeling that way around Ben and Ally by times, and it never bothered you before. They’d been dating as long as you knew them, and you were well acquainted with their PDA. Only recently had it started to irk you. Your other three brothers broke you away from your internal brooding. When you looked up, Alex was holding out a can for you. You reached out, hesitantly taking it from him. You noticed they all had one of their own, watching you intensely. “You guys are freaking me out.” You warned.

They broke character for a moment, letting out a few childish laughs. “Shotgun with us.” Alex said. Relief washed over you as you stood.

“You guys should have just said that.” You rolled your eyes.

“Then it wouldn’t have been any fun.” Austin reminded. You grabbed a knife from the cutlery drawer, poking a hole in the side of your can. You handed it around to the other three, who all followed suit.

“If she wins, she can get her graduation present!” Eve called out, catching your attention. You cocked your head to the side in confusion.

“I thought I said no gifts?” You called back.

“Trust me, you’ll want this one.” She said before looking down at her phone. “So you better beat them.” You gave a shrug, understanding it was best not to argue. When Will put the knife down on the counter, he nodded to the rest of you, silently saying he was ready. “Go on three, okay?” Eve said. You all hummed in agreement, preparing for the competition. “Three, two…..” she let out a long, dramatic pause before letting you all start. “One!” She shouted. Instantly, you all cracked the tabs of your cans open tipped your heads back, side of the cans to your mouth.

You drank it as fast as you could, throwing the can in the sink as soon as all of the liquid was gone. You looked to your brothers, catching your breath, only to see you had finished first. Will was next, followed neck and neck by Alex and Austin. They ooked around, noticing that you’d won. The three all let out a stagger of belches, making you turn your nose up at them. When they caught their own breath, they let out a collective dramatic groan, clearly faking them. You watched them carefully, not sure why their reaction was so docile. Usually they’d be floored if you beat them at any competition. You were astonished. “You guys let me win.” You deducted.

“What?” Alex dragged out his words, faking disbelief. “We would never do such a thing!”

“Yeah, y/n, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Austin shook his head.

“You’re losing it, squirt.” Will said, tossing his can in the sink, too.

“Okay, what the hell is going on?” You laughed, but you were genuinely nervous. A knock sounded on the main door, making the tension even worse.

“Well, you won, right?” Eve cackled, finding your confusion hilarious.

“I mean, yeah, but-“

“Didn’t I say you’d get your gift if you won?” You gave a slow nod, still not catching on to what she was saying.

“And that is… a person?” You questioned. She didn’t answer, only watched you, eager for you to understand the situation. You looked between her and your brothers, waiting for somebody to tell you what was happening. “Can somebody tell me what the fuck-“

“Go answer the door!” They all yelled in unison. You cowered slightly at all of the loud voices at once, but did as you were told. All of your brothers pulled out their phones, wanting to capture your reaction on video. When you got to the door, you couldn’t really see outside. It was dark, and your roommates hadn’t turned the porch light on. You unlocked the knob, twisting it and pulling it open slowly. You stepped back, allowing yourself to open it completely.

You stood, frozen, dumbfounded at the bodies waiting on the porch. You blinked once, hard. When you opened your eyes, the sight before you was the same. You blinked again, just to be sure. When you looked for the third time and they still stood before you, you were certain your heart was going to explode out of your chest. You took a step forward, hesitant at first. “You really think we’d miss your graduation party, witchy woman?” Jake let out a nearly silent tsk. When he spoke, it solidified the fact that him and his brothers were really standing in front of you. You sprung to action, nearly knocking him over with the force of your hug. He wasted no time wrapping his arms around you, holding you with just as much enthusiasm.

When you pulled away, without another thought, you leaned up and pressed your lips to his. His hand found your face, thumb running gently over the skin of your cheek. Your own hand found the back of his neck, pulling him impossibly closer, completely lost in the feeling of him being in front of you again. The warmth of his mouth on yours gave you a feeling you were certain you’d never be able to replicate. You barely knew him, but somehow he felt like home, more than anywhere or anyone else ever had. When you broke apart, you were both blissfully breathless, foreheads resting against each others as if you needed the support to remain upright.

“As sweet, and as gross, as that was, we’re here too.” Josh chimed from beside you, giving you a gentle reminder that he wanted a hug, too. Jake sent him a look of warning, to which his twin remained happily ignorant to. You laughed, breaking from Jake to pull him into a hug. You did the same with Sam and Danny.

“Come in, please.” You ushered them all inside, noticing that they were carrying bags. “I don’t even know where to start.” You chuckled. “Are you guys staying here?”

“I mean, Eve said we could, but if you don’t want us to, we don’t have to.” Jake explained.

“No, I’m more than okay with it.” You promised. “Just trying to make sense of the whole thing.”

“I figured that Jake would stay with you. Austin and Will have the guest bedroom, Alex has the upstairs couch. There’s still two couches in the basement, and I’m pretty sure I have an air mattress in the closet.” Eve told you. You decided not to bring up that she didn’t mention your youngest brothers name. You figured he’d end up in her room, anyway.

“So you’ve been planning this for a while?” You questioned, giving her a narrow stare. She nodded. “And everyone knew but me?” She nodded again.

“That’s kind of the whole point of a surprise, y/n.” Sam said, as if it was obvious. You broke from the boys, leaning over to punch your brother in the shoulder. He hissed in pain, rubbing the spot where your fist connected with him.

“Wait!” The tallest of the three Kiszka brothers broke the tension. You all turned to look at him, confused at the sudden outburst. “If he’s Sam, and I’m Sam, how are we going to know which Sam is which?” You looked between the two, thinking about it for a moment.

“Okay, well, you can be Sammy.” You pointed at Jake’s brother. “And you can be Sam.” You then pointed at your own sibling.

“That works.” Sam nodded. Sammy agreed.

“I figured calling you Kiszka may be a little impersonal. And if I called you ‘Tall Sam’, it might bruise his ego.” You explained with a hint of fake sympathy.

“You know what?” You brother said, making a move at you. “Fuck you,” He grumbled before he caught you off guard, tackling you to the ground. The both of you wrestled each other, fighting for dominance, while the rest of the crowd watched.

“Did I cause that?” Sammy asked, looking to your roommate. She shook her head. “Should we stop them?” She repeated her earlier action.

“That’s what they’re like,” she explained, gaze falling to the dispute on the floor.

“And she’ll win, too. She always does.” Alex added. Eve gave a shrug.

“I didn’t want to say it, but yeah, she does.” Eve admitted. The entire group let out a laugh. “Did you guys want a drink? I’m sure this will go on for a while.”

Eventually, you had Sam pinned to the ground. You were both breathless and in disarray, but you weren’t willing to give up without him admitting defeat. After a few moments of him struggling, you felt him give up, tapping the floor twice. You jumped up, giving a quick a-ha, just to piss him off. You straightened yourself out, fixing your clothes and your hair as best you could. You held a hand out, helping your brother to his feet. It was like routine with you both; as soon as the fight stopped, you went back to normal. No hard feelings until the next one rolled around. You and Sam joined the rest of the company around the table, all with a drink in their hand, now.

“You guys can go throw your bags downstairs, if you want.” You told them. “I can show you where to go.”

“No, I can. It’s okay.” Eve assured you. You nodded, eyes falling on Jake. He gave you a soft smile. You nodded your head towards the hallway, a silent plea for a minute alone. He didn’t hesitate in joining you as you walked away. You led him down to your room, prompting him to enter first. He did, but in a borderline cautious manor. You followed, gently closing the door behind you.

He sat his bag down by the end of your bed, turning to look at you. You approached him slowly, reaching for his hand before you said anything. He took yours, locking your fingers together. He gave a gentle pull, bringing you closer to him. A smile ghosted your lips, realizing that the memory of being with Jake was nothing compared to the reality. You wrapped your free arm around him, resting your head on his chest. He placed his lips to the top of your head, lingering for a second more than he intended. He’d been anticipating this moment for days, but now that you were in front of him, he was drunk off your presence. You closed your eyes, listening to his heartbeat, thinking that it was one of the most peaceful sounds you’d ever heard. You wanted to talk, to hear every word he was willing to say, or to ask all of the questions that had been bubbling in your head since he showed up, but you couldn’t. The serenity of the shared silence between you was too comforting to break.

He sat down on the edge of your bed, guiding you down beside him. At first, you just rested your head on his shoulder, never letting your hand fall from his. After a moment, he used his hand to pull your chin up, wanting nothing more than to see your face. You watched his eyes, losing yourself in the brown hue that was threatening black in the dim lighting. You opened your mouth, wanting to speak so badly, but not knowing what to say. He gave a small chuckle, mostly because he felt the same way. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear, running his thumb over your cheek, and eventually down over your jawline. His thumb brushed over the bottom of your lip, eliciting a smile from you. You kissed the pad of his finger, remembering back to when he did it to you the night you met him.

“I missed you.” He said, finally breaking the silence.

“I missed you, too.” You almost laughed, knowing that your words couldn’t come close to explaining how you really felt. “I thought you had a show today?”

“Yeah, it turns out that I didn’t, actually.” He shrugged, a small hint of humour in his statement.

“So you lied to me, Jacob?” You teased.

“Maybe a little, but it was for the best, and it’ll never happen again.” He promised, a grin eating away at his cheeks.

“Uh-huh,” you mumbled, your own hand finding its way to his face, now. You tangled your fingers in the hair behind his ear, pushing it away from his face. You’d never dated a boy with long hair, but the more time you spent with Jake, the more you realized what you were missing out on. Then again, you thought it may just be a Jake thing. A lot of things seemed to be. ‘If I had to label myself, I would probably be Jake-sexual,’ you thought to yourself, having to hold back a giggle. You brushed your own thoughts away, shutting down your own stupidity. “And you’ve been keeping it a secret from me for how long?”

“I know, I’m sorry. I almost gave in a few times, but I thought that a surprise would be way better.” He explained. “Then Josh almost ruined it when we were at the fucking airport earlier.” He rolled his eyes. You thought back to the FaceTime call, laughing at the memory. The interaction made a bit more sense now. “I really wanted to be here for the ceremony, but the schedule just didn’t line up. I’m really sorry I missed it.”

“You don’t have to apologize for anything. You saw it on FaceTime, anyway.”

“I know, I know, but it wasn’t the same. I was hoping to be the first one to hug you when you got off stage.” He chuckled to himself. “It may be stupid, but I really wish I could have.”

“There’s one more ceremony after this, you know.” You reminded him. He smiled, nodding at your words.

“So you think you’re gonna keep me around for that long?” He raised an eyebrow at you.

“I’ll keep you around forever, if that’s what you want, too.” You admitted.

“I wouldn’t mind that.” He breathed. “So you were surprised? Nobody let it slip?” You shook your head.

“No, I had no idea.”

“But pleasantly surprised, right?” You laughed at his question.

“Of course, Jake. I’ve been wishing you were here every night since you left. I’m more than happy that you came.” You leaned in a bit closer, a bit too nervous to kiss him, for some reason.

“That’s good, because I’m happy I’m here.” He told you, inching closer as well. You stayed in limbo for a moment, both scared to make a move. “I’d like to kiss you again, if that’s okay.” He finally said, not being able to resist the urge any longer.

“It’s more than okay, rockstar.” You said. Within a second, his mouth was on yours, a bit more desperate than the kiss you’d shared outside. His hand released his hold on yours, quickly finding your hip and pulling you closer to him. Your fingers grabbed the fabric of his shirt, holding on to him like you were scared he’d get away. When he pulled back, his nose brushed over yours, causing a giggle from you.

“I have something for you.” He said, moving back a bit. You tried not to show your disappointment at the sudden withdrawal. He reached down to his bag, opening it and rummaging for a moment before pulling a small gift bag out. He handed it to you, his smile never faltering.

“You didn’t have to get me-“

“I wanted to.” He cut you off, knowing exactly where you were going with your statement. One thing you loved about him was how sweet he was, but every now and then he let a dominant side slip out. It made you excited to reveal a whole other side of him when the time came. You took it from him, looking over the simple black gift bag. You pulled up the single piece of tape holding it closed, taking a peek inside. You pulled out a small bottle. Upon first inspection, you realized it was a bottle of cologne. You gave him a questioning look. “It may be stupid, or whatever, but, uh, you said one night on the phone that your bed didn’t smell like me and it made you sad?” He was unsure of himself as he spoke. A blush dusted your cheeks, remembering that statement very clearly.

“Yeah, you… you smell… nice.” You managed to get the words out, feeling like an idiot. “I think that the night we stayed together at the hotel was the best sleep I’ve ever had. It sucks sometimes, because I don’t have anything that really reminds me of you. When I think of that night, I usually remember the smell of your cologne. I think it helped me fall asleep.” You explained, looking over the small bottle, too embarrassed to look up at him.

“Well, that’s the one.” He chuckled, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. “Josh thought of that, actually. If you don’t want it, it’s okay. I just thought that maybe… that would solve that problem.” You felt the anxiety slip away.

“That’s really sweet, Jake.” You pulled the cap off, putting the bottle to your nose and inhaling. Your eyes involuntarily fluttered closed, revelling in the scent. It smelled exactly like him. “I’m sorry if me saying that was weird.” You said when you came back to reality.

“No, I thought it was cute.” He laughed. “I was more worried that you would think I was weird for getting you that.” You shook your head, shutting that idea down as fast as he said it.

“I think this will definitely help me sleep better.” You admitted, all notes of embarrassment long gone, now.

“That’s what I was hoping for.” You admired his smile, how beautiful it looked on his lips, and you wished it could stay there forever. “Keep going,” he encouraged. You reached in the bag, pulling out a small box. You eyed it wearily, slowly opening it. Inside held a ring with a small ruby gemstone. “It’s not anything serious.” He said, quickly. “I just saw it when we were shopping around, it reminded me of you.”

“Nothing serious, eh?” You teased. “Looks pretty serious to me.” You pulled it out, inspecting it closer. It was dainty, but beautiful beyond its simplicity. “This looks expensive, Jake.” You scolded, the humour disappearing from your voice.

“I don’t care about that. I care if you like it, though, or if it’s too much.”

“No, I do like it. It’s beautiful,” you sighed. “I just feel bad.”

“Don’t feel bad.” He dismissed you. “I wanted to get it for you. It’s not even close to what you deserve.” Your stomach fluttered with adoration for him. “And this isn’t a proposal, or anything, obviously.” He explained. “Although, hopefully someday.” He muttered, but you caught it. You smiled to yourself, still coming to terms with the fact that he was really serious about you. “It’s just something pretty for someone even prettier.” His boyish charm always made you swoon, mostly because you’d never been with someone who courted you like he did. “I don’t know if you like ruby, but it reminded me of the lipstick you wore that night at the bar. Also, in the song you were singing…” he trailed off, but you knew the lyric he was referring to. “Seriously, you can pawn it and kick me out if I overstepped. I just thought you deserved something nice for such a big accomplishment.”

“You’re trying to get me to fall in love with you, aren’t you?” The humorous accusatory statement lightened the mood.

“Yeah, kind of. You’re way behind if you’re just realizing that, now.” He laughed. “There’s something else in there, too.”

“Jake,” you sighed, feeling terrible about the cost of his gift.

“Hey,” he warned “this one is for both of us, so don’t feel bad.” You gave a small nod, pulling out the last thing in the bag. It was a small envelope with your nickname written on the front. You gently lifted the paper flap from the glue, careful not to damage the card inside. You pulled it out, smiling at the design on the front of it. “It was hard to find a card that says for my ‘not-quite my girlfriend, even though I really want her to be, but I’m too scared to ask.’ I figured that one was suitable.” He used his fingers to quote some of his words. You got a laugh out of it, but the nervousness was creeping back in.

“Is that your way of asking me?” Your voice was soft, genuinely inquiring about it. He didn’t respond right away, but he did study your face for a moment, trying to see if that’s what you wanted.

“Depends on your answer.” He replied, voice so quiet you could barely hear him. You didn’t respond right away, thinking heavily about the situation, wondering how you’d gotten here. You swore off dating, promising yourself that school would come first and that you didn’t have time for any drama or heartbreak. But he was different. He was unlike anyone you’d ever fallen for, and he always put you first. Even in the stress of the last few weeks, his main priority was you getting your schoolwork done. You felt like he’d been cheering you on more than you did yourself. You were scared beyond measure, but the more you thought about it, the idea of being his girlfriend was more of a comfort rather than a fear.

“Yeah,” you whispered. “I think that would be okay. I mean, we’re pretty much dating, anyway. Just without a label.” His eyes lit up like a little kid on Christmas morning, wasting no time before leaning in to kiss you again. This one was short, but filled with sweetness and let you know that he was over the moon that you said yes. When he pulled back, he eyes the card as if to tell you to open it. You did so, immediately noticing a paper inside of it. You pushed it to the side without looking, wanting more than anything to see what he wrote.

Meet me in Atlanta and let me take you across the world with me xx - your rockstar

You grabbed the paper that was resting in the card, picking it up to take a look at it. Your stomach dropped at the sight. It was a plane ticket to Atlanta, the date plastered on it was for three weeks in the future. You looked up at him, seeing a hopeful look in his eye. “You don’t have to stay with us all summer, maybe just for a little while. I want you to be in my life, and this is a huge part of it. I want you to be a part of it, too.” You weren’t sure how to respond. It was a huge commitment, leaving home to be with him. There was no doubt you wanted to, but that same fear from before was creeping back in. For something so new, it just seemed to be happing very fast. “You don’t have to answer me yet, you can think about it, first. It’s an invitation, more than anything. Not a demand.”

“Wow,” Was all you could muster out. He was fidgeting with his hands, nervous about what you would say. “I would love to, Jake. It’s just… money, and time, and I’m scared, I think.” You explained.

“Don’t worry about money.” He said. You rolled your eyes, unable to hold the expression back.

“Obviously I’m going to worry about it, Jake. You’re my boyfriend, my very new boyfriend, at that. I don’t want you to have to pay my way for anything.” You sighed.

“I want you there, okay? Even if it’s just for a day. I promised you I’d take you around the world with me, didn’t I?” He cracked a small smile, which you couldn’t help but return.

“I still have to work, though. I have an internship this summer.”

“It’s virtual, isn’t it?” He asked. You were surprised he remembered.

“Yeah,” you nodded. “All that aside, what if you decide you don’t want me there anymore?” A humourless laugh fell from your mouth.

“That will never happen.” He guaranteed you. “I know you’re nervous, and it’s okay, but I want you. I’ve been certain about that since the day I met you.” He said, index finger lifting your chin so you would look up at him. “Even if you just come to our show, then you can decide from there. If you don’t want to, no hard feelings. I’ll still call you every night and tell you how much I miss you.” You smiled at his words, finally giving a nod. “I don’t want to go this long without seeing you again.” He admitted.

“Me either.” You said, placing the ticket back in the card. You placed all of the items back in the bag, with the exception of the ring, which you slipped on your middle finger. It fit perfectly. “If you’re sure about this, I’ll come with you, rockstar. At least for a few days.” His heart leapt with excitement, a grin appearing on his lips.

“Never been more sure of anything in my life.” He promised. You met his eyes again, curious as to why every time you looked at him all of the anxiety seemed to melt away.

“Thank you, Jake. For everything. For the gifts, for showing up… for caring about me.” You mumbled the last part, feeling stupid for saying it.

“You don’t have to thank me for anything.” He whispered.

“How long do have you for, rockstar?” You asked, a mischievous smile creeping up on you.

“Three days.” He said, taking the bag from you and placing it on the floor. He pulled you closer to him, noses practically touching, now.

“I guess we’ll have to make them count, then.” You told him. He let out a small chuckle.

“I guess so, witchy woman.”

TAGLIST: @gvfpal @jakesgrapejuice @hellowgoodbye

[b0amagination]

Tastes of Whumptober: Day 4

Content Warnings: Mild gore (descriptions of blood), Needles (into a port, not hypodermic), IV port, Lab whump. All under the cut out of caution!

Sensory Deprivation

The sedative wore off at the same time it always did and they groaned, wishing just for once to curl up and go back to sleep. They had five minutes, or ten if they were lucky… but being found still asleep was never worth it. Old and new wounds complained against the arduous process of standing up and feeling for the door.

Sure enough, the fluorescent lights buzzed to life overhead just as they exited the attached bathroom. 

“Good morning, dear.” Their captor greeted, gesturing to the chair. Of course, always straight to business with him. But they wavered.

The chair wouldn’t have stood out to an outsider as anything other than a black leather armchair. Sure, it was the only dark item in the starkly clinical room, but that only made it all the more inviting if you didn’t know its use.

“You should take a day off. You’re practically married to your work,” they tried.

“You’re my work, and I don’t think either of us want that,” he shot back, removing four vials from his shoulder bag and setting each neatly on the tray. 

The chair. The tray. They were all laughably foreboding. Laughter never eased the fear.

“That’s new.” They knew the first three. Nutrition supplement, immune support, and hydration supplement. Administered every day like clockwork. Days with any more were days to be feared, but they’d started to recognize which drug was which. This was definitely new.

“Yes. Take your seat.” 

Always the same goddamn phrase to warn them they were going too far. 

“Ring a bell and I’ll probably start slobbering,” they muttered, perching on the edge of the chair. He hummed, unwrapping a needle and drawing out the nutrition supplement.

“Thank Pavlov for lessening that network of scars on your body.” His smile was pleasant as always. In another life where he wasn’t so sick and twisted he was probably a medical provider. 

He moved the neck of their shirt aside to access their IV port and inject the liquid, doing the same practiced motions two more times before their hand shot up to cover the port. Disappointed eyes fell upon them.

“Never without some kind of struggle, are you?” 

“I just want to know what it is before you do it.”

“You’ll like it. Now move.”

He pried their fingers apart wide enough to push the needle in and depress the plunger. Then he stood back and grabbed his clipboard, probably noting some bullshit about volumes and concentrations, and clicked a stopwatch.

“Tell me when your back stops hurting,” he instructed, and their eyes widened.

“You gave me painkillers? Seriously?” Somehow, they were more nervous than before.

“Something like that.”

When he wanted serious data he didn’t speak much. So silence filled the room until their pain actually reacted as he said. Not only did the sharp pain on their back fade, but so did the aches of months past.

“Holy shit. What did you give me?” They felt like a brand new person. It was… terrifying.

“Your new favorite thing,” he said, and they couldn’t exactly deny it. He finished writing and made his way back over. “Alright. Now for the real test.”

They couldn’t help the way their body clenched up when he stood over them. Or the way they trembled when he opened the zipper pocket and pulled out his knife. 

“I thought this was a scientific procedure. Where’s your scalpel?” A risky quip. They didn’t want to see that goddamn scalpel ever again.

“Scientific, not surgical. Calm down or I’ll need to start you on high blood pressure medication too.”

He tapped the arm of the chair and they obediently set their arm there, wary of his every movement as he flipped the underside up.

“If you struggle, I’ll strap you to the table instead.”

That was checkmate and he knew it. A timid nod accepted defeat.

The knife started just below their elbow, pressed in, and pulled ever so slowly down to their wrist. Eyes squeezed shut and teeth grit, preparing for the familiar sting, but…

They looked down. The cut was already bleeding, dripping down their arm, wetting slick leather. But all they’d felt was a mild pressure.

Their captor was looking on just as intensely, studying their reaction.

“Nothing?”

“Nothing,” they breathed. No pain. “Nothing whatsoever.”

He drew another line, parallel, and even as more blood wept, their eyes were strangely dry.

“Good. Let’s kick this up a notch.”

They opened their mouth to protest but a hand already fisted in their collar, pulling them up and pushing them against the wall. Their vision blurred when their head knocked off the wall, but the explosion of hurt didn’t precede it. 

“H-how do you know you didn’t just concuss me?” The longer this went on, the worse it felt. 

“I suppose I don’t. Not until I check you.”

“You can’t do that! You need to know how hurt I am, you need to know when to stop-!” A backhand flew across their face, snapping it to the side, and they whimpered. The hit had hardly felt like a brief touch, but its humiliation stung nonetheless.

“I know your limits. Do you think you’d feel a stab wound?” His question made them freeze, tears preemptively flooding their eyes.

“No- please don’t. Please. I’ll lose too much blood, you could hit something vital, please!” 

"Do you think my anatomical studies were for nothing?"

Pressure. Pressing harder and harder against their shirt, their abdomen, and then a horrific, slick coolness. It fell back and exposed a rushing warmth, blood staining white fabric, broken skin peeking through the new hole. God. They felt faint.

They fell to their knees and heard footsteps, probably wanting to test whether or not they were faking it.

“It doesn’t hurt,” they cried. “I just- the blood- I need to stem the bleeding.” That was true. Their hands clamped over the stab wound, trying to stop it. The shoes paused next to them in thought, then continued back toward the chair. Just moments later they heard his bag rustling and each vial clinking as it was set inside.

At least he was done for the day. Probably sad he didn’t get to make them scream.

He picked up the bag and his steps resumed, kicking something that skittered to a stop at their feet.

“Page me once it starts to wear off.”

Fuck.

[cranberrymoons]

backseat love affair

prompt: high school or college au (@steddieholidaydrabbles) word count: 1,000 exactly, according to wordcounter.net 😭 (one thing about me, you give me an upper limit of a thousand words, i will make sure i get there) rating: e (18+) cw: good old fashioned fuckin' in the backseat (semi-public sex) tags: flirting, car sex, riding

[read on ao3 or below]

They share an American Lit class. That’s how they meet.

They probably never would have met otherwise: it’s a big campus, and they run in different circles, but they do meet, sort of, in the sense that Steve gets distracted during discussion rounds from day one, watching the anxious fidget of the guy’s hands as he makes some point that Steve’s brain doesn’t even have space to process because his thoughts are just one big haze of clunky rings, tight jeans, doe eyes, sharp tongue, long fingers and –

And anyway.

It’s late one night a couple weeks into the semester before Steve sees him outside of class for the first time. It’s a Thursday, and the little corner bar where he bartends three nights a week is packed – like really fucking packed, he’s making money hand over fist even with the shitty single dollar tips people are coughing up – and he turns around after pouring a row of vodka cranberries, and there he is, shouldered in at the end of the bar.

It takes him a second to realize who he is out of context, without the frayed edges of a composition book or a bent paperback in his hands, without the travel mug of sugar-sweet coffee at his elbow. But it’s him, sure as anything: hair pulled on top of his head in the heat of the bar, incomprehensible band tee and a grin of his own overtaking his face as he stares at Steve, eyes traveling up his legs and over his chest.

“I got that one,” he says to Robin, whose turn it technically is. 

She casts a look in the direction of his eyeline as she pulls a beer, then rolls her eyes at him.

“You better not disappear just to suck dick again,” she says, loud enough to be heard over the thump of the bass, which means she’s also loud enough that all the people in their immediate vicinity hear, too. “We’re too busy for that shit tonight.”

“I won’t,” he says, dropping a dish towel over his shoulder. “As if I’d let you take all the tips.”

She gives him a sarcastic smile as she turns away in search of the next person who needs a drink, and Steve moves to the end where the guy is waiting. He bends forward from his side of the bar, leaning toward him with his elbows pressed against the sticky surface of it. He’s technically supposed to just lipread when it’s this loud in here, but –

“Hey,” he says, close to his ear. “Carson’s class, right? I’m Steve.”

“Eddie,” Eddie says. His eyes trail over Steve again, one corner of his mouth lifting. “Cute shorts.”

“Thanks,” Steve laughs. They were a pair of jeans that already made his ass look good even before he turned them into cutoffs. “They help with the tips.” He pops his hip out a little more, leaning into it. “What’ll it be?”

Eddie’s eyes draw back to his face slowly, teeth dragging over his bottom lip. “To drink, or…?”

Steve raises an eyebrow. “For now.”

—

An hour later, he’s on top of Eddie in the backseat of his car, bouncing on his cock with Eddie’s hands digging matching five-point bruises into his hips. His breath comes in a series of short, sharp gasps as Eddie’s hips thrust up to meet his, knocking him forward where he balances himself with a hand braced against the window, slipping down the glass to grip at the armrest on the door.

Eddie tilts his head up and licks into his mouth, hot breath panting out over his lips as he fucks up into him, hard and fast and –

Steve comes on a shout, knuckles clenching as it rolls down his spine, hands shaking as he threads his fingers through the wispy hair at the back of Eddie’s neck and kisses him, drawing his tongue into his mouth as Eddie holds him in place on top of his cock and thrusts up into him, chasing his own release.

The noise he makes as he stiffens and comes almost makes Steve want to go again.

He laughs, loose and boneless in Eddie’s lap, heart still beating wildly in his chest, and then he kisses him again, just because, slow and deep and licking at the backs of his teeth. Eddie chases after his mouth when he draws back, sitting up with him and slipping a hand down his back to press against the base of his spine, holding him close. The change in position shifts Eddie’s cock where it’s still buried inside him, and Steve inhales sharply, smiling against his mouth.

“Fuck,” Eddie gasps when it’s over. “Jesus Christ.”

“I know,” he says, ears ringing from the lingering noise of the bar and also the – “That was…”

“Yeah.” Eddie laughs too, wiping a hand over his face. “Yeah.”

Steve exhales heavily, shifting in his lap to pull off his cock, then he slumps back against the door on the opposite side, their legs overlapping, and they stay there for a long moment as they catch their breath in comfortable silence. At last, reluctantly, Steve takes a breath and says,

“I should get back.”

Eddie smiles, slow and sweet as he watches him fish around for his clothes. “Can I have your number before you go?”

Steve lifts his hips off the seat as he pulls his shorts back on, then tugs his shirt back over his head. He leans forward for another kiss, which draws out, Eddie’s tongue as distracting as all his other little fidgety movements. 

“Tomorrow,” Steve says, finally pulling himself away. “In class.”

—

When he gets back inside, clothes rumpled, red mark high on his throat, Robin glares at him. He laughs, still flushed, still buzzing, and rakes a hand back through his hair.

“I was on my break,” he says. “You can do whatever you want when you're on yours.”

“Whoever I want, more like.”

[hyacinths-bridgerton]

I've been feeling a little... well, awful, and to fix what I can of my mood, I've been writing something very atypical--for me, at least. mostly because my typical is working on whatever I already have going on and I have some thing on my plate already. It's outlined and advanced on writing, but I wanted to take a time before actually publishing it. However, it doesn't hurt to share a little something, right? So here you can see, the opening scene of A LADY'S TRADE, a regency gendrya fic:

⊱―⊰

A LADY'S TRADE

Jon didn’t know quite well what to expect when he received a message from Arya calling him to talk business.

In all honesty, he simply could not predict much from his cousin—more like sister—of late. They had spent so long apart that now he could hardly recognize her. When they parted, she was a small girl and now she was a grown woman.

It was disturbing, to say the very least.

Admittedly, their whole lives had been disturbing thus far.

After all, they had all been split up from a young age, when it was too dangerous to be named Stark, after the Lannisters managed to usurp the Throne and persecuted all of them, and sent to each end of Westeros, disguised and, hopefully, safe.

It was only recently, when Daenerys Targaryen had taken her rightful crown, that the remaining Starks had been reunited again.

There were only five of them now. Jon, Sansa, Arya, Bran and Rickon, trying to get acquainted to each other once more after years apart with not one word of one another.

Bran and Rickon were off at school while Jon tried his best to manage everything that was left for them.

That’s why when Arya called him to talk business, he knew at least that she meant something related to inheritance.

What he did not expect was for her to say, “I want to get married”

Jon stares at her, waiting for the moment she’ll beam and say it’s all a jest with him, but she keeps solemn.

In a business expression.

Seven hells.

“I’m sorry?”

“I said I want to get married,” she repeats, unfazed. “I figured I’m already of marrying age and should take action on it”

“You’re younger than Sansa and she’s not wed yet,” Jon points without thinking. “And you might want to take one year or two to enjoy the comforts of our recent safety without feeling like you need to chase after a betrothal”

“There is no comfort I want and can enjoy as an eligible lady that I couldn’t take pleasure as a married one,” she says and Jon looks at her, really looks at her.

She’s still a small thing if compared to the rest of them, short and skinny, although now her presence fills the entire drawing room, commanding and determined. She’s all conviction, and he can see that she has really thought that through. It’s not an impulse, it’s not something she feels obliged to do.

Arya really and simply just wants to marry.

He never thought he’d live to see this day.

“Very well,” he concedes, sinking into an armchair, not knowing how to deal with the news standing. “So, you want to get married”

She sighs in exasperation, “Yes, Jon, for goodness’s sake, that is what I said”

“Forgive me if I wasn’t prepared!”

Arya sits in a three-placed sofa next to him and keeps silent for a moment, to which Jon is grateful, because his brain is trying to process what exactly this means.

It takes a while, but he revisits the whole process in his brain. When a young eligible lady wishes to be wed, she needs a dowry, which isn’t a problem, thanks to Arya’s parents, who organized the heritage of each of their children before passing.

She also needs permission from her family and from her legal tutor. For Arya, that meant him. Not that he was the heir of all the Stark estate, but he was the only member of the family alive, legal, and available to deal with such matters. He had spent the last months learning the letters and numbers required for such a job while Bran—the official heir to the House Stark, still too young to take his task in his hands— was still at university.

Having all of that already prepared, there was only one thing to be taken care of, and Jon realized that was probably the lead subject when the theme was planning to get married.

“I suppose we’ll have to discuss the best available suitors for you,” he suggests hesitantly, feeling the uncomfortableness of discussing such matters with someone he had thought a little child for so long. He never thought he would have such a conversation with Arya Stark of all ladies.

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that,” the girl smiles wolfishly and sinks into the sofa, completely relaxed, her crossed arms in not a very ladylike posture. “I already know who I want as my husband”

There should be no room for doubt in the way she speaks, and yet Jon thinks he never doubted so much his own beliefs until this moment.

It wasn’t even just because Arya was his little cousin anymore—but it was still a factor that would most probably plague him for a very long time yet—because he could put that aside for a moment to try and evaluate the subject.

It was that Arya Stark was a young woman who barely ever engaged in social events ever since they had been reunited. As a wealthy and infamous family that was recently involved in such an altercation, House Stark was in no short demand of invitations for social gatherings, and yet Arya avoided most of them, allegedly to avoid the whispers that followed them wherever they went. She did join Sansa once or twice, but the occasions were rare.

Jon never knew her to fed the attention of any men who might have courted her. And yet, she had already a suitor in mind.

“And who might he be, dare I ask?”

“Do you, by any chance, know the Heddle family?”

“I do,” he answers, thinking of the Crossroads Inn, known throughout Westeros and kept by the Heddles.

“And do you know that their eldest daughter, Jeyne, is engaged?”

Jon frowns, unsure where this is going, “Yes, I’ve seen the lady with her fiancé. I even met Mr. Waters on occasion.”

Arya smiles.

“He’s the man I want as my husband”

Jon blinks.

Now this for sure was the jest he thought was coming before because there’s no way in the Seven Hells this is really happening to him…

“I beg your pardon?”

Her smile doesn’t faulters for a second, “I have the entire ordeal already planned, Jon, so listen carefully and assist me, because my mind is made and will not waver”

When she explains, all Jon can think is how there was no letters or numbers who could have prepared him to deal with Arya Stark.

[mychlapci]

Hotbox guy here! I def meant his apartment, but now the thought of hotboxing an alt-mode is killing me. Thank you for that lol ^^

Anyways, you're so right about Prowl being the type to get super anxious/paranoid on weed. Now all I can think about is him coming home one day to his entire apartment completely fucking hotboxed.

As soon as he steps through the door, he's too busy coughing to yell at the five bigger bots currently smoking, drinking all his energon, and lounging around his hab.

Once he's inside, the door is immediately shut and locked behind him by Bonecrusher, who swiftly whisks him away to the couch with a servo on the small of his back. All the while, Bonecrusher happily prattles on about some drivel to keep Prowl's processor too occupied to argue.

He's promptly sat down between Bonecrusher and Long Haul, the latter of which is at least more mellow than the former, calmly asking about his day and giving him his space. It doesn't take long for Prowl to feel lightheaded, his processor swimming as it struggles to absorb the continuous influx of information from Bonecrusher. As he talks, Bonecrusher gradually scoots even closer to Prowl, resting a warm servo on his thigh as he briefly stops rambling to ask how he's holding up.

Prowl barely gets out an absentminded, "I'm Fine" before a pair of big strong servos land on his shoulders. He jolts and whips his head around to see Scavenger behind him, looking immediately apologetic as he begins gingerly rubbing Prowl's shoulders and back. Prowl seems uncomfortable and tense at first, but slowly melts as Scavenger works his sore frame. His smoke-addled processor soon becomes solely focused on all of the sensory input; Three strong warm bodies around him, a grounding servo on his thigh, and two more on his shoulders working the knots out of his cabling.

He's taking deep slow breaths now, feeling light and floaty, and forgetting he was ever upset. He almost doesn't notice Hook pushing the coffee table closer and propping up his pedes for him, gruffly grumbling something at Bonecrusher, who begrudgingly scoots away to give Prowl some space.

Prowl barely registers the pitiful whine that escapes him as Bonecrusher tries to move, nor the smug smirk Bonecrusher shoots Hook before switching gears and carefully pulling Prowl into his lap.

By the time Mixmaster sits down beside them with a plate of jellies, Prowl's completely out of it. His smaller, less experienced frame doesn't process robo-weed nearly as efficiently as the Constructicons'.

By now, all of the Constructicons are doting on Prowl. Bonecrusher holds the smaller mech's hips as he straddles his lap, boneless in his arms. Scavenger's servos wander from his shoulders to his doorwings, gently stroking the sensitive edges hinges until Prowl's quivering and softly panting against Bonrcrusher's shoulder. Mixmaster happily presses homemade jellies to Prowl's lips, cooing and praising him as he obediently and absentmindedly swallows each sweet treat. Long Haul and Hook keep a close optic on Prowl, making sure he's too distracted to think or worry, but not too overwhelmed by all of the attention.

Prowl's putty in their hands in no time, softly giggling against the crook Bonrcrusher's neck as so many servos ghost over his frame. His processor feels both completely full and blissfully empty. There's a rare, soft, sweet smile on his face as he finds himself completely relaxed for once. ^^

-still thinking on an anon name :3

oughhh Prowl needs to get taken care of...