#i’m dying for decent conversations

[dum-the-goodboi]

going to use this tumblr as my emotional dump because i’m too broke for therapy

[just-jordie-things]

clean little secret - itadori yuji

word count: 7.4k warnings: none! summary: yuji and (y/n) are keeping a secret from the others... yuji loves to be pampered by her. more info: tooth rotting fluff, crushing, friends to lovers

for stef <3 ___

Itadori Yuji wasn’t one for keeping secrets.  For one, he believed they often caused more harm than good.  So unless it was a surprise party, he had no interest in them.  Even if Nobara swore it was a particularly juicy piece of information, Yuji had no problem covering his ears with his hands and walking in the other direction.  And for two, well, he just wasn’t that great at keeping them, and after a few accidental slips, he’d decided to keep himself secret free.

Of course, the dirty little secret he had of his own didn’t count.  But it wasn’t like any harm could come of it… he was pretty sure… so long as (y/l/n) (y/n) didn’t let it slip either.

“So whaddya say?” Nobara’s unusually chipper voice drew Itadori back to the present conversation with the tell-tale hum of a boy that hadn’t listened to a thing she’d said.

Megumi briefly rolls his eyes, (y/n) lets out a short giggle that she quickly stifles behind her hand, and Nobara places her hands on her hips as she turns towards the pink haired sorcerer with a frown.

“Do you want to go see that movie tonight or not?” She asks him pointedly, as if she hadn’t spent the last few minutes coming up with a whole plan for picking up snacks and sneaking them into the theater.

“Oh!” Realization dawns on Yuji in the form of a bright grin, but Nobara’s hope is quickly deflated when he shakes his head.  “No, I can’t, sorry” 

Before the redhead could strangle him for getting her hopes up with his stupid smile, Megumi’s backing out too, and her attention is quickly swiveled towards (y/n), who had suspiciously kept her expression behind her hand.

“Sorry, Nobara,” She lowers her hand to reveal her frown.  “I can’t tonight either.  But maybe this weekend?” She tries to compromise, but it appears Nobara was already defeated by the sting of a triple rejection.

“Fine, whatever, this weekend,” She mumbles, hoping a pouty lip would be the final straw to convince her friends.  When no one moves, her expression returns to its usual resting bitch face and she turns to leave.  “But if the groupchat is as dead as your energy later, then I’m going with Maki instead!” She hollers.

That was close, Yuji thought to himself as the group dispersed and he hurriedly made his way down the hall.  Luckily this time, Nobara didn’t shake him down to interrogate him into telling her what better things he could have to do for the evening.  God, that could’ve gotten embarrassing.

After a quick stop by his dorm to change out of his uniform, Yuji made sure the halls were clear before he booked it across the building, moving as fast as he could while keeping his steps as quiet as possible, before he slid to a stop in front of her door.

With two quick but rhythmic knocks, her door slid open, and (y/n) peeked out, eyeing both directions of the hall around Yuji to make sure no one was around to see her let him in.

“You’re sure no one followed you?” She whispers, finally meeting his eyes.

Yuji shook his head confidently.  Her lips broke into a grin so wide that the corners of her eyes crinkled.

“Well then get in here already!” She says with hushed excitement, grabbing him by the front of his tee shirt and pulling him inside, closing the door behind him in one swift movement.

Yuji seats himself at the end of her bed while she grabs her phone off her desk, scrolling through an abundance of spotify playlists before settling on just the right one.

“I’m so glad we’re finally doing this” She tells him, effectively turning his cheeks pink.

“Yeah, me too” He agrees, hoping his nerves aren’t too obvious in his voice.

“I’ve been dying to show you what I just got for christmas” She adds, practically skipping into the bathroom to retrieve a decently sized plastic basket full of products Yuji can’t even recognize.  She has to carry it over to him with both hands, and he knows he should probably be intimidated by what they’re about to do, but he doesn’t.

As (y/n) drags him into her tiny bathroom to set up the array of items, she lists off each one as she shows him.  Hydrating mask, lip mask, eyelash serum, somehow it all sounds relaxing and terrifying all at once, but he trusts her, so he nods along to each one.  She seems delighted enough just to show off her little collection of products, so Yuji’s determined to match her excitement.

Truthfully, Yuji had never touched anything like this.  Sometimes he moisturized his hands when they got dry in the colder seasons, but he wouldn’t say he knew a thing about skincare.  And yet, one afternoon while walking with (y/n) from one class to another, he found himself getting carried away telling her how he was trying to take better care of himself and he wanted to establish a proper skincare routine.  Before he knew it he was agreeing to being pampered by her- on the condition that it remained secret.

Now remember, one of Yuji’s very few rules of life included the simple act of not keeping secrets.  But that day he’d agreed to her condition without a moment of hesitation.  He could understand why she didn’t want the others knowing that she was going to give him special treatment, seeing as Nobara had been begging to give everyone makeovers since she’d arrived at Jujutsu Technical College.

While he’s not disappointed in his plan for the afternoon, Yuji does feel incredibly out of place in her bathroom.  The dorms were small enough, and the bathrooms barely had room for one person to move around comfortably.  But (y/n) doesn’t seem crowded at all as she rummages through the couple of drawers next to him.

With a grin she retrieves what she’d been looking for- two fluffy headbands held proudly in her hand.

“I got one for you too,” She tells him, bashfully avoiding his eyes as she extends one out to him.  “You’ll want to keep your hair back, the mask can get really sticky” 

Yuji examines the soft baby pink material as if he’d never seen a headband before.  He’s pretty sure he knows how to use it, but just in case, he watches as (y/n) slides hers on first.  It’s not until he sees the ears on top that he checks his again, delighting in the matching cat ears before he pulls it around his neck and puts it on.

“Thanks!” He beams at both of their reflections in her mirror.  He wishes he could take a picture of them, just to have a picture of the two of them wearing the matching accessory, but he knows he can’t risk the others seeing, so for now he settles on memorizing the image.

“You’re welcome,” (y/n) bites the inside of her cheek to keep her grin from getting too goofy, and quickly redirects their attention to the first item on the agenda.  “You’ve really never done a face mask before?” 

“Nope,” Yuji shakes his head, leaning into the counter as he waits for her direction.  “Is it going to hurt?” 

“No!” (y/n) giggles, before beckoning him to hold his hand out as she uncapped the product.  “It’ll feel nice, here, put a little on,” She instructs, squeezing a dollop of green onto his fingers.  She laughs again at his reaction to the color, but he doesn’t question her as he right away rubs it onto his nose.

He had the right idea, but from the way he messily spread it over the bridge of his nose, she could tell he was going to struggle with the application.

“No no, you’re getting it everywh- oh my god don’t put it in your nose!” She squeals as she smacks his hand away, quickly stepping into his space and taking over.

Honestly, Yuji wasn’t trying to get her to do it for him, but as soon as she gently grabs his jaw in one hand while the other is carefully swiping the excess cream off of the tip of his nose, he decides right then and there to surrender.

“I didn’t know, I’ve never done it” He whines, a bit more dramatically than necessary.

“It shows,” She laughs quietly before reaching for the product again to pump more onto her own fingers.  “I can just do it for you, if you want?” She offers.

Yuji smiles and nods gratefully, his heart doing a victory dance in his chest.

“Only if you don’t mind” He tells her, already sitting himself down on her toilet seat so she didn’t have to reach up to his face.  (y/n) fights the urge to roll her eyes at his swiftness in letting her take over.

“I don’t mind,” She shrugs, getting to work applying a generous amount of lime green mask to his cheeks first.  “It’s relaxing to me, actually” 

“Really?” 

“Mhm,” She nodded along, focused on keeping the application even.  “I would’ve loved having a sibling or a cousin or something to do this stuff with,” She tells him.  “I know Nobara would… but… she’s so intense about it sometimes,” She admits, and Yuji hums in agreement.  Nobara was the most passionate person he’d ever met, and it was her greatest strength, but it did freak him out from time to time.  “Not like us” 

The murmured comment sits on his mind longer than it should have.  Not like us, she’d said, filling his insides with the fuzzy, familiar feeling of having something with her that the others didn’t.  This was all his, and she’d said so herself.  They couldn’t possibly understand them the way they understood each other.  

Not like us.  Not like us.  Not like us.

Yuji closes his eyes when her careful fingers spread the mask up the bridge of his nose before she gets started on covering his forehead.

“You do this stuff all the time though?” He asks when there’s too long of pause since he’d last heard her voice.

Not that he could forget what it sounded like, no never, most of Yuji’s day was spent waiting for her to speak, just so he could listen.  Whether she was arguing with Gojo about a ridiculous lesson plan or going on about a conspiracy theory just to get their lunch table riled up, if (y/n) was talking, Yuji had his mouth shut and his ears wide open.  He liked hearing the things she had to say, he liked the way she said them.

And he was learning now that he especially liked when he was the only one she was speaking to, and that if she was standing close, her voice came out in soft murmurs, cautious of the short space between them, and gentle on his ears as it barely echoed off the ceramic tiled walls.

“Maybe not all the time,” She hums thoughtfully.  “But I do it when I can, I try to keep up with it anyways” 

“Well it feels really nice” Yuji mumbled, almost getting sleepy as he grew used to the feeling of her warm fingers spreading the cooling cream on his skin.  (y/n) giggles again, breathy and amused as she watches his shoulders droop downwards.

“Don’t fall asleep on the toilet, Yuji,” She scolds him, but it’s hardly threatening when it’s between strings of giggles as he lazily opens his eyes to look at her.  “You’ll make a mess if you fall and hit your head on the counter” 

“I’d clean it up” He mumbles back in defeat.

“What if you were concussed?” 

“... I’d clean it up later” 

She laughs at his antics just as she’s making her final touches near his temple, spreading the green cream just so, making sure none of it would get stuck to his eyebrow.  With an affirmative nod of her head she steps back to assess her work.  

As sticky, creamy, and unfamiliar as the mask feels, Yuji’s currently grateful that it’s there to cover the way his face heats up under her direct gaze.  He’s always thought that she’s had the softest eyes- doe-like, and sweet, and easy to gaze into- but with every ounce of her attention directly on his face, Yuji starts to sweat a little bit.

His intentions of becoming closer friends through a night of pampering was starting to backfire, and instead the little crush he’d been hiding was now festering.  Bubbling and smoking just under the thinly veiled surface of his restraint.

“You’re all set,” She beams at him, which he easily returns.  “Try not to touch it while I do mine, okay? It’s gotta sit for a while” 

Yuji drops his hand just as he’s about to swipe off a generous streak of cream from his cheek, smiling innocently as (y/n) gives him a warning look before she turns towards her mirror to apply her own mask.

“Serious question, if I eat it, while I throw up?” 

(y/n) pauses mid-smear on her cheek, turning back to Yuji and sweeping her eyes over him to assess if he was actually serious about eating face cream.  He did know it wasn’t guacamole… right? She didn’t need to tell him that… right?

“If you eat it, I’ll be plucking your eyebrows after mine” She settles on a friendly threat.  

Yuji’s lips pinch and she gets back to work on her mask, certain she’d done the trick to keep him sitting still.

“Well that sounds horrifying,” He mumbles.  “But I’m in” 

(y/n) scoffs out of amusement, still focused on her reflection.

“You want me to pluck your eyebrows?” 

“If you’re doing it, then sure,” Yuji shrugs, not thinking twice about agreeing to it.  “It wouldn’t be a complete spa night otherwise” He adds with a grin that she can see from the corner of her eye.

“Well, if you really want…” She mumbles, doubling down her focus on applying her mask.

A part of her had been hoping he wasn’t agreeing to all this pampering just to please her, she hoped he wasn’t dreading the night going forward.  But if he hated it… he wouldn’t be signing himself up for eyebrow plucking… right?

It only takes a few more minutes for her to complete her own mask- she was much faster at applying it to her own face, Yuji noticed.

He also noticed that somehow, she made a face of lime green paste look good.  Which just wasn’t fair.

When Yuji tries to pinpoint when exactly these feelings for her began, his mind becomes a blurry haze of every moment he’s ever shared with her- and honestly, it could have sparked from any one of them.  It tricks him into thinking maybe he’d just… always had feelings for her.

It’s easy being around her, Yuji finds- even though sometimes she leans close enough to show him a video on her phone and it nearly sends him into cardiac arrest- there’s nothing but ease and relaxation in his muscles when she’s around him.  He doesn’t worry about saying the wrong thing- even if she giggles and shakes her head at some of his questions- he basks in her delight until it becomes his own.

Twenty minutes flies by when they’re laughing at memes or talking about the last week of training, and soon they’re scrubbing off the green mask that feels a little crustier than it had when they put it in.

Yuji groans into the bottom of the sink for the ump-teenth time as he scrubs viciously at a part of his jaw where the hardened cream refused to wash off.  (y/n) can’t help but stifle a laugh into the warm washcloth she’s using to pat her face dry, but she can’t leave him hanging, so she politely taps his shoulder to get the boy to give up on washing it off with his hands.

“Let me help” She offers, shoulders still shaking just slightly with her amusement.  

Yuji pouts with frustration when he stands up from the sink, water dripping down his face and all over his shirt, it really is a miracle he didn’t manage to clean up the last of the mask seeing as he got water everywhere in his attempts.

The pout melts away as soon as (y/n’s) stepping closer and gently wiping her washcloth against the resilient speck of green, making it look easy as it glides away under the soft cloth.  She gets it right away, but the tips of her fingers on her free hand still hover over his chin, ready to stabilize his head if he would’ve required another, rougher swipe of the cloth.

“Did ya get it?” Yuji asks hesitantly, unable to read the expression on her face.

But she’s smiling and stepping back in a moment’s notice.

“Yep!” There’s a short, tight sounding laugh that follows.  It’s not like her usual laughter, it sticks out like a sore thumb for someone as attentive as Yuji to pick up on, and he does, but he doesn’t say anything.  “Here, I have a dry washcloth for you” She’s quick to hand him the towel, and even quicker to stop him when he roughly drags the fabric over his face.

Yuji doesn’t catch half the things she’s saying when she snatches the pink cloth from his hands and tells him to sit his ass down before he destroys his pores.  He doesn’t think twice before jokingly asking her what pores are, which sends her on another lecture.  It’s hard to focus on what she’s explaining when she’s so delicately patting his face and neck dry of every last waterdrop.  He’s too busy fighting the urge to close his eyes and melt under the featherlight touch of her palm against his shoulder to give too much of a crap about pores.

Surprisingly, he’s never fallen asleep on the toilet before, but he thinks he could if he sat here and let her pamper him all night.

“... Yuji? Did you hear anything I just said?” 

It takes a few blinks for his vision to focus on her again- her brow is raised and her hands are on her hips now, she’d definitely caught him zoning out.  He hopes playing dumb does the trick.

“Of course,” He nods confidently.  “Pores swell when they’re wet and that’s bad” 

She giggles and rolls her eyes, so he knows his educated guess wasn’t as educated as he thought, but if he got her to laugh he’d take the slight tinge of embarrassment for the greater good of bringing her joy.

God, it was like every minute spent with her only left him craving more.

“Sure,” She drawls out the word in disbelief, but she doesn’t scold him for not paying attention.  It would prove to be too difficult when he’s looking at her with the brightest eyes she’s ever seen.  She would’ve believed he was hanging onto every word had he not opened his mouth.  “So, what next?” 

Yuji peeks at the remaining tubes and bottles on the counter.  He has no clue what he’s looking at of course, and this is obvious when his helpless expression turns back towards her.  To make it easier, (y/n) scoops up two smaller bottles, offering them both for him to choose from.

“Which is which?” He asks, hooking his finger under his chin as he studies each product with skeptical eyes.

“One is for your eyelashes, and the other is for your lips,” (y/n) explains, tilting each towards him as she does.  “We can do both, or neither, up to you” 

“Will it hurt if it gets in my eyes?” He asks, eyes noticeably widened, and she chuckles as she shakes her head.

“Not at all, it’s super easy,” She assures.  “I can show you, if you want?” 

Yuji nods, and that’s how he finds himself standing just a few inches away from her as she leans into the mirror with the small applicator brush in her fingers.  She could remind him that she’s using the mirror for a reason, and he didn’t need to stand so close… but honestly, he smelled nice, and she wasn’t uncomfortable with his close proximity.  In fact, it was actually sort of comforting.

“See?” She hums, brushing the applicator through her lashes over one eye a couple times to make sure all of the serum was evenly spread, before leaning back from the mirror and turning towards him.  “Super easy.  Like mascara” 

“I’ve never told anyone this… but…” Yuji lets out a heavy sigh, and her brows pinch together as she awaits his confession.  “... I’ve never worn mascara” 

“Yuji,” She whines with a roll of her eyes, letting out her own sigh, although hers was filled with humored frustration.  “Shut up,” She finishes weakly when he’s grinning at his own jest.  “Here, do you want to try?” 

“Alright” He takes the tube out of her hand and experimentally pulls the applicator out.  

His curiosity is almost adorable as he holds it close to study it, even though there’s not much to see.  It’s just a little blue bruh with a clear liquid coated over it.  This stuff really makes your lashes grow? He looks back to (y/n), studying her just as closely, until her face starts to turn rosy and she’s looking at him expectantly.  He supposes her eyelashes do look long and pretty… but didn’t they always look like that? Could this stuff really be so good it manages to make an angel like her look prettier?

She has to clear her throat to relieve the nervous tension settling over her the longer he stares at her like this.

“Uh- um, Yuji?” 

“Yeah?” His response seems genuine enough, and (y/n’s) eyes flicker between his and the eyelash serum.  “Oh!” And just as genuine as before, he realizes that her prompts are because he’s been standing and staring for too long.  “My bad,” He apologizes sheepishly, before scooting close to her, the brush extended towards the eye that she hadn’t applied the magic pretty serum to yet.

When she realizes what he’s about to do, her eyes widen and she finds herself grabbing his wrist to halt him on instinct.

“Wait, what are you-?” 

“I thought you wanted me to do the other one?” He answers her question before she could even finish asking it, and she blinks wildly at him.  Had she not been clear? “Do you not want me to?” Yuji asks, already lowering his hand.

“No, it’s- I don’t…” Her head is shaking as she tries to find a way to explain that she’d offered him the product for himself, but she’s backtracking rather quickly as she slowly loosens her hold before pulling her hand away altogether.  “You… you can, if you want” 

She tells him quietly.  It feels like a silly thing to ask him to do, especially when she’s just demonstrated how to use the product moments prior, but now that the offer was on the table, she also wasn’t interested in turning it down.

“Okay,” His smile softens as he tilts the brush towards her face again.  “I promise not to poke your eye out” 

With a giggle she has to focus to keep her gaze tilted up at the ceiling so he can follow through on his promise.  It’s more difficult than she’s ever thought before, keeping her eyes wide open and focused on anything but the boy in front of her.  Yuji takes great care in steadily swiping the brush up through her lashes, working slowly from the outside in.  With how long it takes him, her eye should be watering, but somehow it stays dry, and she doesn’t blink over the applicator.

“You do this every day?” Yuji mumbled, re-steadying the small brush in his fingers as he got closer to the inner part of her eye.  

(y/n) hardly manages a soft hum of affirmation.  She can feel his free hand ghosting under her jaw, as though to keep her in position, however her head is perfectly still and his hold is unnecessary.  Still, his palm waits there.  She’s never felt such a buzz of nervous energy from a lack of a touch.

Yuji finishes up with a smile before popping the brush back into the tube.  He looks like he wants to say something, so she finds herself waiting in silence while she blinks until her eyes feel normal again, but that winds them both up in a minute of no words being exchanged.

This time, it’s not uncomfortable.

“Your turn?” (y/n) offers softly, reaching for the serum in his hand.  Yuji nods, lets her take it, and blinks his eyes excessively to make sure he wouldn’t feel the need to while she was doing her thing.  “You should sit again” She prompts with a gentle push to his shoulder.  It was too awkward of a reach, and would be much easier if he lowered as much of his height as possible.

“Right” He mumbles, backing up to sit down on the toilet seat once more.  He does his best to keep his eyes focused upwards, and wide open, to make it as easy as possible for her.  But what he isn’t expecting is to feel her knees pressing against his as she gets closer, and on instinct he spreads his legs a little wider so she could easily slide into the space.  

He has to keep his grip on his own knees, pressing his fingers into the material of his pants to keep from reaching out to her.  The urge to hold onto her waist- the back of her thighs- pull her closer- is so strong that he gulps.

“Are you nervous having someone get this close to your eyes?” (y/n) mumbles, noticing the shift in his energy.  Yuji swallows again before speaking.

“No- no, it’s alright, go ahead” His voice is as gentle as it is sure, so (y/n) nods back at him, and makes sure the brush is coated with a decent amount of serum before she gets to work.

He knows he’s supposed to keep his gaze upwards, but with her standing so close, leaning in so close, it was hard to keep his eyes from shifting away from the boring tiled ceiling to the much more intriguing sight before him.

“Stay still,” (y/n) murmurs under her breath.  She’s so damn close to him he can feel her cool breath against his cheek.  He manages to follow the instruction for a few more seconds, but soon enough the tips of her fingers are pressed under his chin and she’s clicking her tongue in reprimand.

His own fingers flex against his knees, his grip tightening, much like the invisible force around his heart.

Yuji wishes he could close his eyes until it was over, but that would be counterproductive.  That said, (y/n) finishes one eye quicker than he had done for her, and she’s sliding a little to the right in order to do the other one.

“You think Sukuna would like a little special treatment, too?” She teases quietly, her thumb affectionately swiping over the marking under his eye.  Yuji barely gets to revel in the feeling before the mark is opening up and a vermillion eye is glaring up at her.

“Try it brat and you won’t have hands to do your silly little makeovers” 

She giggles at the threat.  Sukuna may have intimidated her in the past, but it’s hard to feel fear while doing some self care.  Yuji still rolls his eyes and smacks his hand against his own face as punishment.  Unfortunately it’s not only a punishment for the curse living inside of him, and he winces a bit from the harsh smack.

“I’ll take that as a no thank you” (y/n) hums as she finishes up with his other eye, smiling faintly at her work before stepping back.  Yuji gives her a sheepish smile, before batting his eyelashes theatrically.  It does the trick in getting her to laugh.

“Well he’s missing out,” He says, the implication behind the surface level of his words making him bashful, and he finds himself averting his gaze.  “I feel prettier already” 

It draws another laugh out of her, sharp and surprised, and she continues to giggle behind smiling, sealed lips as she carefully slides the lash serum back into it’s perfect spot in her organizer.

If she were braver, it would’ve been easy to tell him that he didn’t need any sort of serums or masks to be pretty.  But just the thought makes her face feel warm, and she has a feeling that even if she tried to say such a thing, she’d butcher the words with a stutter.

So instead, she uncaps the small set of tweezers in her organizer, and turns her focus to the bathroom mirror in order to get to work on her eyebrows.  Yuji watches curiously as she begins to pluck tiny, near invisible hairs off of her face, all without a twitch or flinch.

She’s so focused on working with her reflection that he’s able to stare at her as freely as he wants, and it only takes a minute or two for him to get lost in a sea of mushy thoughts that get his heartbeat going.  Before he knows it he’s practically melting.

“You still want me to do yours?” 

“Hm?” His eyes shift around a bit before they land on hers, already watching him, waiting for a proper answer.  

“Your eyebrows,” (y/n) clarifies, raising the tweezers and pinching them for emphasis.  “I’m done.  So, if you still wanted, I can do yours” 

“Oh, right, yeah,” He breaks into a smile that’s so characteristically him it’s hard not to smile back.  “Is it going to hurt?” 

“It really shouldn’t,” She chuckles, considering he’s gone through worse pain than a little tweezing would provide.  Losing a hand comes to mind, but she doesn’t voice it.  “But I can stop if it becomes too uncomfortable” 

Yuji nods in understanding, and straightens up his posture, ready to brave through whatever this eyebrow plucking would bring.  He squares his jaw, clenches his fists, and prepares himself for the worst.  (y/n) presses her lips together tightly to keep her laughter from spilling out, but the stifled giggle is still audible.

“C’mon, this is a bad angle for me to do this,” She beckons him to follow her out of the small bathroom, trying to ignore how cutely he wore the expression of confusion.

Maybe it was the forced proximity getting to her head, but it was starting to feel like the little crush she’d been harboring for her friend was becoming too much to bear.  She was a jujutsu sorcerer damnit, she shouldn’t be reduced to fits of blushing and giggling she was stronger than that, wasn’t she? 

“Alrighty” Yuji follows her into the larger space of her bedroom without a second thought.

Maybe it wasn’t a question of her strength, but his.  (y/n) wondered to herself what it was about the sheer delight that overcame her whenever he was around that seemed unavoidable.  Was it her feelings for him that made her insides feel weak, or was it simply Itadori Yuji himself that was so delightful she couldn’t help the way she felt and behaved?

Or maybe she was trying too hard to find a way to excuse the butterflies only he could release in her tummy.

She’s careful with the tweezers in her hand as she climbs onto her bed, sliding into the very middle of it before patting the space in front of her to invite Yuji to do the same.

Now, Yuji wasn’t some kind of private, conservative guy.  He’d been in beds other than his own.  Megumi’s and Nobara’s had been made available to him countless times.  Whether it was a study session or a movie night, he never felt uncomfortable when being allowed into someone else’s bed.  Hell, he often made himself right at home in their sheets.  He even got a smack on the head from Nobara once for getting too cuddly with one of her plushies! 

So why now did he feel some reluctance in following (y/n’s) silent command?

“You’re allowed in the bed, Yuji,” As if reading her thoughts, she provides some comfort with the offer.  There’s even a little smile on her face, as if she wanted to tease him for hesitating.  “Trust me, it’ll be way more comfortable to do this here than keeping you sat on the toilet” 

It seems to do the trick, because he sets his knee on the mattress as he crawls on, and sits criss-cross directly in front of her.  It’s the first time he’s been in her bed, he realizes, so maybe that would explain his nerves.

(y/n’s) got a skeptical look on her face, her eyes wandering over his face as she maneuvers around, trying to find the right way to bend her legs, until eventually she huffs and turns to grab one of her pillows from the headboard.

“Just lay down, I’ll do ‘em that way,” She decides, placing the pillow just in front of her criss-crossed legs.  She gives it a pat the same way she’d patted the bed, prompting him to rest his head.  “It’d be easier than destroying my posture” She explains.

Yuji nodded his head, and started to turn around so he could lay back, but his movements are agonizingly slow.  He’s still unsure about being in her space, it seems, but she’s not sure how else to make him feel comfortable.  So when he finally lays his head down on her pillow and looks up at her, awaiting further instruction, she smiles comfortingly.

“Alright, just relax your face, I’ll try not to take too long,”

Yuji shuts his eyes and lets out a small breath, trying to do his best to relax as she’d asked him.  But it’s hard when she leans in closer and the sweet smell of her shampoo invaded his nose.  The tip of her finger merely grazes over his left eyebrow, but the sensation is electric.  He has to fight the shiver that nearly shoots down his spine.

“And just tell me if it stings too much” She adds in a murmur, before he feels the first pluck of the tweezers.

“I think I can thug it out, (y/n),” He teases, once he’s actually felt the sensation of the plucking and realizes it’s not that bad at all.  “I’m tough, you know”

(y/n) giggles, quiet and sweet, as she continues on with her work.  She shapes the top of his brow with no complaint or lag.  He figures she must be pretty used to doing this, if she’s able to speed right through the process.

“Oh yeah,” She hums, cautious of her volume when her face is hovering right over his.  She’s appreciative that Yuji’s kept his eyes closed for this process, because she doesn’t think she could bear having him staring up at her when she’s this close.  “The toughest” She finishes in a whisper.

Yuji’s shoulders shake when he chuckles, and she pauses with the tweezer for a moment when his brows move along with his smile.

“Are you patronizing me?” He asks, peeking an eye open, only to be met with her free palm covering his eyes as she leans back in to continue working on his eyebrows.

“I would never,” She assures in the same tone, laughing quietly to herself when Yuji’s mouth drops into an offended gape.  “Now hush, you’re making it hard to focus” 

Her tone was playfully scolding, but it’s an empty threat.

“Am I that distracting?”

“Incredibly,” (y/n) huffs, and it’s meant to be teasing, but there’s just a little too much truth to her tone.  “You talk too much” She throws the excuse out there quickly, hoping he wouldn’t pick up on the shift in her tone.

Yuji shrugs his shoulders, and with how close she is to him, she’s able to watch his lips curl into a cute smile.  She can’t help but mirror it, even if he can’t see.

“Can’t help it.  I like talkin’ to you” 

Now she’s certain that she’ll keep her hand over his eyes, because there’s no way she’s going to risk him seeing the way her face heats up with color.  If she put a thermometer in her mouth, it’d malfunction, she’s sure.

Yuji’s heart may have been going haywire, but there’s not an ounce of uncertainty in his words.  He means it, and she knows it.

There’s a pause, the both of them remaining silent while she freezes in her ministrations.  She squeezes the tweezers together a few times as she lets the comment really settle in her mind.

“I like talking to you too,” 

It really shouldn’t be a difficult thing to say.  For one, because it’s the truth.  And for a second thing, because there’s nothing strange about friends getting along with one another.  But for some reason, she holds her breath after she says it, and her heart is pounding in her ears.

“Today’s been a lot of fun, actually” It takes some effort to talk through the lump in her throat, but she feels the need to tell him anyway.

His smile turns into a grin, and (y/n) has to go back to working on his eyebrows in order to distract herself from it.

“It has,” Yuji agrees.  “It’s very relaxing.  I want to do this all the time now” 

“I’m not sure you’re ready for that,” (y/n) muses.  “You did try to eat the mask” She reminds.

“Guess I’ll just have to keep on getting your help then,” Yuji replies, his tone lighting with hope.  (y/n) scoffs to herself.  “What?” He asks innocently.  “I thought you liked pampering me?” 

“I thought I told you you were talking too much” She chides, moving onto the space between his brows.  Without thinking, she brought her other hand upwards so she could use her thumb to gently brush away the stray hairs from his face.

His eyes are on hers in a moment’s notice, his grin returning.

“I thought you liked talking to me” He said. She has half a mind to smack her hand over his face again- because as predicted, she’s rendered speechless when she’s leaning so close and he’s looking right at her.  But the larger problem now is that she’s completely frozen, staring back at him with wide eyes, like he’d just caught her doing something she wasn’t supposed to be.

“I do,” She mumbles, barely conscious of her own voice.  She was too distracted, her eyes shifting between his brown ones.  “You have a little hazel in your eyes” Again, she finds herself speaking without caution, or much awareness at all.

His eyes crinkle at the corners as he smiles up at her, amused by her quiet commentary.  He longs to hear more, to tell her to keep talking, but he worries that he’ll ruin the atmosphere, and startle her into covering his face again.

“I always thought you had the prettiest eyes” He said it as quietly as he could.  As he thought she might, she did startle.  Her eyes go wide and her- now perfectly shaped- brows draw together in a slight knot.

A beat passes before she’s able to reply.

And even then, it's only a barely there, “...really?” 

“Yeah, really,” Yuji answers without missing another beat.  “Sometimes I look at ‘em too long and forget where I am” 

A surprised, breathless little laugh escapes her.  If she wasn’t a blushing wreck before, she certainly was now.  She tries to continue tweezing away at his eyebrows… but it seems like his eyes insist on holding contact with hers, and she can’t exactly pluck eyebrows without looking.

And again, she’s reduced to a mumbled, “R-really?” 

“Mhm” Yuji hums, his point proven as he gets lost staring up at her.  He looks like he has something more to say, but soon enough his eyes are glazed over and he’s got a dopey smile on his face.

That smile is quickly reflected back at him as her insides start to melt to a point of no return.

“I didn’t… uh- I- I didn’t know that” She stammered, and normally she’d feel embarrassed for stuttering over her words too much, but with the bigger picture forming, stuttering was at the bottom of her list for reasons why she was growing bashful.

“Mhm,” Yuji hums again, this one a little more dazed than the last.  He blinks a few times to cure his tunnel vision.  “Sometimes I had to bite my tongue so I wouldn’t tell you that” 

She chuckles, similarly biting down on her bottom lip until she found her voice again.

“Why wouldn’t you want to tell me that?” She asks softly, brows pinching again with curiosity.

“Well, uh, y’know…” Yuji trails off, barely shrugging his shoulders.  “Didn’t want to say something weird and mess up our friendship” 

At this point, her curiosity was getting the best of her, so with a tilt of her head and a bolder disposition, she gave him a knowing smile.

“So why say something now?” 

“Couldn’t help it” He replies right away, and (y/n) has to purse her lips from grinning too much.

Her eyes flicker away from his, only to glance up at his lips.  She’s looking at him upside down, so for a brief moment Yuji thinks she’s staring at his chin, and he wonders if some of that green mask is still stuck there.  But then he catches the way her lips part and it dawns on him- oh.

It happens all at once and agonizingly slow.  She leans further over him, bringing her face down closer to his.  One of her hands firmly clutches the small set of tweezers, while the other relaxes, fingertips gently brushing over his cheekbone, thumb resting against his temple.  Yuji can’t decide whether he wants to watch it happen with wide eyes, or close them and give into the moment.  They end up falling shut on their own accord as soon as her lips brush over his- before she’s even actually kissed him.

She hovers there for a brief moment, her lips ghosting his, the tip of her nose grazing his chin, and her mind running wild.  Should she have asked him if this was okay first? Was she making this huge leap of faith over one compliment? Sure, it was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her but if she kissed him right now, like this, would she come to regret it-? 

Her thoughts are calmed when Yuji tilts his head back, bringing his lips to meet hers in a kiss that pushes every last doubt out of her mind, until it’s gone blank.  Every thought that doesn’t surround him is completely lost.

Needless to say there’s no second thought when she kisses him back.  Her fingers press softly into the skin of his cheek as though to keep him still- just as she had before when applying the eyelash serum.  Yuji never could have imagined his silly daydreams from that moment would play out in reality just twenty minutes later.

When they part, and Yuji drops his head properly back into her pillow, (y/n) doesn’t go far.  With her eyes still shut and her touch unmoving, she leans down one more time to steal another, quicker kiss, before she finally sits up and glances down at him again.

He’s already looking at her, his lips stretching so wide that his grin nearly split his face.  It was a grin she was familiar with, but it still made her light up with a shared joy.

She giggles at him, before steadying her tweezers in her fingers and going right back to the previous task at hand.

“Couldn’t help it” She mumbles his words back to him, and Yuji laughs as he shuts his eyes, relaxing once more as she evened out his eyebrows.

He reaches his hand back, gently laying it against her bent knee and giving it an affectionate squeeze.  He didn’t say anything, and neither did she, but they didn’t have to.  Not until they finished their night of pampering and made plans for a proper date later in the week.

___

xoxo ~ jordie

[bloatedandalone04]

French Kisses

➪the one where jake gets a day off while on deployment, and he meets a cute girl in a french café who refuses to start anything with him because of the distance, but little do you know, in a couple months, you and jake would be a lot closer than you thought.

Warnings: fluff, swearing, more fluff.

Word Count: 4.3k

Do not repost this anywhere, reblogs are fine ♡

When Jake and the rest of his squadron were allowed to leave the aircraft carrier for the day, he was beyond thrilled to get out of the small bunk he shared with the one of the most boring people he’s ever met. 

Derrick Howard, aka Mustang, was the least charismatic person Jake had ever talked to in his life, and the guy couldn’t hold a conversion to save his life. Two weeks of bunking with that guy, and Jake was nearly desperate for actual real human interaction, instead of the robotic nature of his talks with Mustang. 

When the carrier docked in France, Jake slipped on the nicest outfit he brought, which wasn’t that nice, but he didn’t think he’d get to be anywhere but that carrier for the next two months, so he worked with what he had. Jeans and a grey Henley.

He pulled on his jacket to really pull together the bland look, then he was following after the rest of the aviators as they flooded the dock. One by one, each pilot wandered off either on their own or with someone else, and soon enough it was just Jake and Derrick. “Hey,” he said, looking at Jake with a bored expression. “Wanna see if we can find a bakery? I’m dying for some actual food and decent coffee.”

Jake held back a cringe as he debated on whether or not he wanted to spend his day off with boring fucking Derrick, or if he wanted to brave France on his own. 

Before he could decide that though, a girl walked by both of them, and fuck were you stunning. The sundress you wore fell to your mid-thigh, and the baby blue fabric was probably the prettiest thing he had ever seen, other than the girl wearing it. 

Jake watched as you smiled at both him and Derrick before turning and walking into a small coffee shop near the dock. Instead of rejecting his bunkmate, Jake quickly nodded and slapped Mustang on the shoulder as he followed after you. “Yeah, man, let’s go into this one,” 

Inside the shop, you were standing by the display case, your lip caught between your teeth as you looked over the various options. You were leaning over a bit, giving Jake the perfect view of your thighs as you stepped closer to the glass enclosure that held all sorts of pastries and treats. 

You clearly hadn’t noticed that Jake had come in after you, and he had no idea if Derrick followed after him, but he didn’t care as he watched you stand up straight. Just as you turned towards the barista, he stepped forward, and that’s when you bumped into each other.��

“Shoot, sorry,” you laughed quietly, bracing yourself by grabbing onto his arms as he reached out to steady you. Your face flushed with what Jake guessed was embarrassment as you looked up at him, then your expression softened and a brief flicker of realization crossed your features. Yeah, he was the guy you smiled at thirty seconds ago, the same one who followed you in here after one look because you were far too captivating to him. “Hi.”

Even your voice was pretty, though it definitely didn’t sound like French was your first language. Maybe you were visiting or on a vacation here, either way, Jake already found himself liking France a whole lot more than that fucking carrier. 

Jake’s grip on your elbows loosened once he made sure you were stable, then he dropped his arms back to his sides, though a bit hesitantly. “Hi,” he said back, smiling down at you, “Don’t worry about it. I’m Jake.”

He held out his hand to you as you returned his smile, holding eye contact with him before he began to feel a bit awkward that you had not taken his hand yet. Before he could pull it away, you quickly looked down at it with an embarrassed laugh. “Oh, sorry,” you apologize a second time as you take his hand and give it a soft shake. “I’m Y/n.”

Jake laughs and lets go of you before leaning against the counter beside the case. “It’s nice to meet you,” 

Your smile grows a bit as you look over at him. “You too,” you say back, stepping more to the side so you weren’t blocking the line. “You’re not from here, are you?”

Jake furrows his brows as he nods with a grin. “What gave it away?”

“Well, you don’t sound like you’re from around here,” you say with a teasing grin, and Jake really fucking hoped that Mustang wasn’t somewhere nearby waiting for him. Only a few sentences in, and already you held a conversation better than that guy. “But then again, some just don’t.” 

Jake smiles and nods. “Yeah, no, you’re right. I’m definitely not from here. I’m on deployment right now and was given a day off. Figured there were worse places to explore than France,” he joked and you laughed quietly. 

“That’s true,” you confirm before your expression turns curious. “Deployment? You’re in the military?”

Jake glanced around at the small shop for a few seconds before he answered, “Yes,”

“You fly planes?” You ask a follow up question, “Sorry, my bad. Jets?”

He let out a quiet laugh before nodding once. “Yes, ma’am,” he said again and grinned at the faint blush that took over your face. He did a quick look at your left ring finger and found it bare of any jewelry, and his grin grew as he decided to change the subject. “Are you here alone or meeting someone?”

“I’m here by myself. I try to switch up my palate from time to time and try the coffee from other places,” you replied and he hummed before he began looking over the menu of drinks he couldn’t read.

“Tell me, Y/n, what do you do for fun when you’re not trying all the coffee shops in France?” 

You shrug as you look back at the case of pastries. “Oh, you know…this and that,” you start before looking back at him. “I’ve been trying to get as much exploring in as I can. I’m moving in a few weeks since I got a new job. You’d never guess, but I’m really good behind a bar.” You gestured down to your dress and Jake laughed as his brows lifted in surprise. 

“Well, looks like there’s more to you than meets the eye,” he hums. “A bartender, huh? I can see it, actually. Good at holding a conversation, easy on the eyes, a damn pretty smile. You seem to meet all the requirements. I have no choice but to believe you can make pretty good drinks.”

The smile you gave him at that proved his words right, and you quickly looked away as your face flushed once again. 

After a few seconds of a comfortable silence, Jake clears his throat and inches slightly closer to you, hoping that his next words aren’t too forward or too soon, but he also didn’t really care. “You know, I’m here for the whole day. I don’t have to be back until late,” he began, waiting until you looked back at him and met his eye again before continuing, “You’d be saving me a really boring night with my bunkmate if you were to let me take you out to dinner later.”

Your smile falters a bit as you reach up to play with the strap of your purse. “Something tells me that you’re not used to hearing the word ‘no’,” you say with a quiet laugh before giving him a guilty look. “I really hope you don’t take this the wrong way…you’re one of the nicest looking men I’ve ever seen, and you seem sweet enough, but you won’t be here tomorrow. I mean, I won’t even be here soon, I’ll be on my own in San Diego. I’ll probably never see you again after today.”

Even though this sounded close to a rejection, Jake was too focused on the fact that you just told him that you’re moving to San Diego. Where he lived. Still, he didn’t want to mention that yet. “Oh, I get it,” he nodded before trying his best to hold back a smirk as he added, “You’re seeing someone.”

You huff out a laugh of surprise before shaking your head. “I’m not, I swear,” you quickly clarify before he could tell you that he was just joking. “I really want to go out to dinner with you, but I’m going to try and save myself the heartbreak of falling for a guy in the military. Especially since we don’t live anywhere near each other.”

Not yet, he wanted to say, but instead he murmured, “Fair point,” 

You gave him a small smile, and you looked so guilty, but then he further processed your words. 

“San Diego?” He questioned, briefly remembering the time where he overheard Penny mentioning to Maverick that she was hiring someone to help her manage the bar, and he didn’t want to believe that his luck was that good, but he still added, “I’ve been there a few times. What bar are you gonna work at?”

You moved around him and placed your coffee order, and Jake also placed his and quickly paid both yours and his drinks. “Thanks,” you laughed, and that pretty pink tint was back on your face. “Um, well, you might’ve been there since you’re in the military. It’s a place called The Hard Deck. Apparently it’s a hotspot for every military personnel or something.”

Jake’s mouth turned upwards as he stepped off to the side with you as the barista got started on his and your order. “The Hard Deck?” He echoed, “Never heard of it.”

“Oh,” you hummed, leaning back against the wall as you looked up at him, “Well, there you go.”

His smirk grew a bit as he looked back around the shop, his eyes latching onto Mustang, who was still standing outside and looking as lost as ever. Jake almost wanted to laugh at the poor guy. “Listen, I really want to go out to dinner with you too, and though I’m not going to pressure you or anything, I also want to learn more about you,” he says and looks back down at you. “So, if you’re willing to have dinner with me, I think we could have a fun and carefree time together. No expectations, no pressure, just two people sitting at a table together before we’re forced to go our separate ways and get back to reality.”

Your brows furrowed as you squint your eyes, and Jake knew he got you. “Okay,” you gave in just as your order was called. Jake reached over and grabbed both cups, holding yours out to you as he lifted a brow. 

“Okay?”

You took your coffee from him and nodded. “Okay,” you said again before sipping on the hot drink. “We can go out to dinner. I know a good place, it’s not far from here, actually. It’s called Fran’s.”

“Great,” Jake grinned, following after you as you walked towards the exit. “Wanna meet there for seven?”

You turned to him and nodded again, “Sure. Thanks for the coffee,” you murmured, giving him one last smile before walking past him. “See you later, fly guy.”

Jake watched as you walked down the busy street and disappeared in the swarm of people, and he really hoped you were actually planning on showing up tonight. Fuck, what if you didn’t? Should he have asked for your number?

Before he could get too lost in his head, Mustang came up next to him. “Dude, what the hell? You completely ditched me,”

“I said we should go in there,” Jake scoffed and nodded towards the small shop he was just in with you as he sipped on his coffee. “It’s not my fault you didn’t follow me. You should go check it out, the coffee’s more than decent.” He lightly slapped Derrick’s shoulder before turning away from him and wandering into the crowd as well. 

-

At six forty five, Jake was already at the restaurant you chose, and then he realized that he doesn’t speak French, and he had no idea how to ask for a table. 

So he just leaned against the bricked exterior of the restaurant and waited for you. He didn’t have anything formal to wear other than his dress whites, so he was currently wearing dark jeans, the jacket he had on earlier and a dress shirt he stole from Mustang. If there was one thing that guy was good for, it was the fact that he brought an outfit for every occasion for some reason. And thankfully he was the same size as Jake. 

Not long after, his eyes met yours as quickly walked towards him on the sidewalk, a smile painted on your red lips. “You’re early,” you observe as soon as you’re standing next to him.

“So are you,” he said back as he looked down at your black dress. It was pretty and you looked stunning in it, and suddenly he was feeling underdressed. “You look gorgeous.”

You grinned up at him as he guided you towards the doors of the restaurant. “Thanks. You look great, too,” you said as he held the door open for you. 

He watched as you effortlessly spoke French to the hostess, and he shouldn’t have found that so attractive, but here he is, then he was being led through the restaurant. 

Once you were sitting at a table, Jake was having a hard time reading any of the options on the menu, and he glanced over at you. “So, you’re fluent in French?” He asked as you looked over your own menu. 

“Kind of,” you laughed, setting it down after a few more seconds. “I moved here when I was a kid, and I picked up the language pretty fast. I’m from Virginia, originally.” 

“Oh, yeah,” he nodded, giving up on the menu completely. Thank fuck it had pictures, because Jake was fully prepared to just point at what he wanted instead of trying to pronounce it. “I know a guy who spent some time there.”

“Yeah, it’s great,” you hummed, sipping on the wine you ordered for both you and Jake. “I miss it.” 

Jake leans back in his chair, his eyes never leaving yours as he asks, “Are you excited about moving to good old San Diego?” 

You nodded with a grin, resting your chin on your hand. “Yeah, I think the change will be good for me. I’ve been here most of my life, but twenty three years in the same place can get kind of bland, you know?”

“Yeah, I get it,” he agreed, reaching for his wine glass. “I have a good friend in San Diego. I’m sure he’d be happy to show you around and help you out if you ever need it. His name’s Bradley Bradshaw, it’s fucking dumb, I know.”

You laughed and covered your mouth as the waitress came over again. “Yeah, that’d be great,” you said before placing your order. Jake ended up doing exactly what he knew he would and embarrassingly pointed at a picture on the menu, but you laughed again, so it was worth it. 

“Hey, maybe I’ll see you in San Diego sometime,” he said once the waitress walked away. 

“Yeah?” You beamed, “You visit your friend a lot?”

“Something like that,” he smirked. 

“Sorry, I’m sorry. Where are you from?” You asked, and you sounded a bit embarrassed, as if you couldn’t believe you hadn’t asked him that yet. 

Jake waved you off and sat up again. “Texas,” he answered simply then immediately changed the subject, because all he really wanted to do was learn more about you. And maybe he wanted to keep it a secret that he didn’t spend too much money visiting Bradley since he lived a few blocks down from the guy. “So, have you always wanted to be a bartender? Or is that just like a hobby?”

You thankfully didn’t bring the conversation back to where he lived after that, and after an hour of sitting at that table with you, Jake felt like he could spend another five in that exact spot. You were so easy to talk to, and you were beautiful and so his type. And you were single. And so was he. And you were moving to San Diego, the same place he’d return to in a couple months. It was almost too perfect. 

Outside the restaurant, Jake was about to come up with a way to spend a little bit longer with you when you turned to face him. “Do you want to sit by the water with me?” You asked, “I don’t really want this to end yet.”

Jake smiled before clearing his throat and nodding. “Yeah, I do,” he answered, then looked down at your bare arms. “It might be a little cold, though. You sure you don’t want to sit somewhere warmer?”

You waved him off with a scoff. “Please, this is nothing,”

Soon after that, you and Jake were sitting side by side on a bench by the dock, and you were failing to hide the way your body shivered in the cool night air. “See,” he laughed, shrugging off his jacket. “I told you that you’d be cold.”

You rolled your eyes as he draped the jacket on your shoulders. “Yeah, yeah,” you mumbled, giving him a grateful look before glancing over at the water. “Maybe I just wanted to wait here with you and send you off when the time comes.”

Jake felt a warmth take over his body at that, and he looked over at the massive aircraft carrier too. 

“You have to live in that for, what, two more months?” You questioned as you pulled his jacket tighter around your body, and Jake felt a sudden need to protect you as he took in the way the fabric covered your entire top half. 

“Yeah,” he answered, sighing at the thought of going back to his bunk tonight. “It’s not so bad. Gets me out of my house.” 

You nod and bite down on your lip as you look back at him. “Thank you for tonight,” you said quietly, “It was…fun, and I really liked talking to you.”

Jake smiled down at you, letting you inch a bit closer to him. “I really liked talking to you too,” he mumbled, forgetting about everything else around him as you captured his full attention. 

A few minutes passed before you spoke again, and this time your voice was even quieter. “You’ll be careful, right? When you go back and…do whatever it is that you do,”

“Yeah,” Jake rasped, and you were now nearly pressed against his body. “I’ll be careful. I always am.” 

You nodded and looked up at him with your pretty eyes, and Jake couldn’t stop the way his head dipped down a bit. Your gaze drifted lower to his lips, and then you were leaning up and pressing a soft kiss to his mouth. It was definitely the most gentle kiss Jake had ever participated in, but it felt right. You weren’t some girl he was chatting up at The Hard Deck, nor were you one of the tag chaser’s he’d indulged with in the past. 

You were the sweet and beautiful girl he happened to meet on the one and only day off he had on deployment, and that made you special. 

After a few seconds, you pulled away with a sheepish smile on your face. “Thought you wanted to save yourself a heartbreak by not falling for a guy in the military,” he whispered, and your smile grew. 

“It’s okay,” you mumbled, “Just be gentle about it.”

Jake wanted nothing more than to kiss you again, but he saw a few of the other aviators beginning to make their way back to the ramp that led onto the carrier, and he sighed. “I’ll be gentle about it,” he promised, reaching up to gently stroke your jaw. “I have to go.”

Your smile faded a bit as you nodded and began taking off his jacket, but he stopped you,

“Keep it,” he said, stepping away from you. “Give it back to me the next time you see me.”

Your brows furrowed and you watched as he began walking towards the ramp as well. “What if we never see each other again?” You called out after him. 

Jake turned to face you, still walking towards the edge of the dock. “Then at least you have something to remember me by,” he grinned and you returned it, and that was the last thing he saw before he got back on the carrier.

-

Two months later, Jake was back in San Diego, and he tossed his bag into the back of Bradley’s Bronco before hopping in the passenger seat. “Thanks for picking me up,” he said as the dock began fading into the distance. 

“No problem,” Bradley mumbled as he began driving the familiar route to the best bar in town. “You sure you don’t want me to stop by your place first? I think Y/n will appreciate you more once you’re freshly showered.”

Jake smiled and shook his head. “Fuck off, I showered this morning,” he grunted before his expression softened. “How’s she doing?”

Bradley glanced over at him with a smirk. “She’s fine,” he answered. “She received quite a warm welcome on her first night at work by all the guys.”

A pang of jealousy shot through Jake’s body at that, and he sat up a bit straighter. “I believe it,”

Bradley laughed as the bar came into view. “Don’t worry, she hasn’t looked at most of them twice since then. You’re the only one on her mind for some reason,” he muttered and Jake rolled his eyes. “And before you ask, yes, she still has no clue that you live here. And that you go to The Hard Deck nearly every fucking night.”

Jake’s smile was back as he reached over and bumped Bradley’s shoulder with his hand. “Thanks, man,”

And thank fuck for email, because the night Jake met you, he emailed Bradley and told him that you were moving there in a few weeks and would be working at The Hard Deck. He mentioned that he may or may not already be falling in love with you, and asked the Bird Man to look out for you and help you adjust to the new change. He also said to not mention the fact that Jake would be back there soon enough so that he could keep this whole secret going, and thankfully Bradley was more than willing to do all of that since Jake literally saved both him and Maverick during the last mission. 

“Yeah, but since I helped out you and your little French girlfriend, we’re even now, okay?” The brunet grunted as he pulled up in front of the popular bar. 

“Yeah, we’re even,” Jake agreed, nodding for Bradley to go in first so Jake could hide behind him. Bradley was a bit broader than Jake, not by much, but enough for the blond to be hidden for a good few seconds if he trailed close enough behind him. 

Once the two men walked through the doors, Bradley made a beeline to the bar, and Jake quickly followed after him. When the slightly bigger man ordered his beer, Jake was finally allowed to hear your sweet voice again after two months, and you sounded exactly like how he remembered. 

“Anything else?” You asked as you reached for the drink, and Bradley nodded. 

“Yeah, actually,” he answered, stepping aside and slapping Jake rather harshly on the shoulder to help get him out of the daze he was starting to feel stuck in. 

Jake cleared his throat, refusing to embarrass himself in front of the girl he hadn’t stopped thinking about since the day he met her. “Make it two,” he said once he found his voice, and he gave you a small smirk when you quickly turned to look at him with wide eyes. 

Your brows lifted as a big, beautiful smile took over your face. “What are you doing here?” You breathed, nearly dropping Bradley’s beer as you quickly set it down on the surface of the bar. 

Jake’s smirk turned into a genuine smile as he saw his jacket draped over a stool behind the bar, then he was looking back at you. “I live here,” he answered as if it was the easiest question he’d ever been asked. 

Your brows furrowed and you let out a quiet laugh. “You said you lived in-”

“No,  I said I was from Texas,” he corrected and was rewarded with another pretty smile from you. 

He was grateful when Bradley read the room and reached for his beer, mumbling, “Just put this on his tab,” before giving Jake another encouraging slap as he walked over to Nat. 

Once Jake was alone with you at the bar, he placed his hands on the surface and leaned over, and thankfully you leaned in as well. His eyes searched yours for a few seconds, seeing a mix of emotions in your pretty irises; surprise, happiness, relief. “Thanks for taking care of my jacket,” he teased quietly and you laughed before a look of realization crossed over your face. 

“Have you been planning this for the last two months?” 

Jake shrugged. “I told you I’d be gentle about it,” he murmured, then you were leaning all the way in and grabbing onto his shoulders. He met you halfway, and then you were sharing your second kiss that felt just as right as the first one.

[touchme-teezme]

Last Pick.

PAIRING | ateez mingi x female bodied!reader

TAGS | angst, smut, friends to lovers(?), p0rn with a plot with a cliffhanger (oopsie), lots of kissing, oral, reader was angry then h0rny…and then sad :( oh! and mingi’s lowkey a hoe

RATINGS | NSFW 18+ (minors DNI!)

SONGS | Cherry Hill - Russ, That's why I love you - SiR & Sabrina Claudio & Do you like me? - Daniel Cesar

SUMMARY | you and mingi are best friends. he likes you, but you love him. one fight changes the trajectory of your friendship forever.

AUTHOR’S NOTE ▸ i didn't know if i wanted to write angst or smut... so here's both? a bonus fic to celebrate the hard (pun intended) launch of my blog! it’s a bit more dramatic than i’m used to but that’s what creative writing is for. i have a few other members in my drafts. i plan to update sometime this week. might just spam them idk. i've been in such a writing mojo lately; i think i just miss ateez haha. also if you’re new, english is not my first language so if i get some terminologies mixed up, sorry!! that's all, enjoy ya freaks.

inspired by a quote from ‘save me an orange’ by hayley grace. “Stop looking at me like that.” “Like what?” “Like I’m someone you could actually love.”

It was getting late, and you were growing tired.

Mentally tired. You were tired of hearing the same stories, the same kind of complaining, and most of all, tired of pathetically waiting on the sidelines. You’ve been avoiding the truth for so long that you didn’t notice it consumed you.

You weren’t Mingi’s type. He liked their personalities, bright, funny, and effortlessly interesting. Feminine, sexy and confident. Girls that could lead and had interesting hobbies. Compared to his colourful dating history, you felt like you weren’t anything particularly special.

You finally accepted that tonight, while drinking on your balcony as you listened to how his tinder dates this month went. At the mention of the second girl (whose name you already forgot), you were already dying inside.

Before you thought it wouldn’t get any worse, he went off topic and started talking about his future and what he actually wanted.

He blurted out that he should just marry you if he was still single at 35, declaring he had officially given up on the shrinking dating pool.

He looked at you with a mix of admiration and bliss in his eyes. That stupid, goddamn part of your brain convinced you it could happen. He acknowledged that small 0.0001% possibility of you and him ending up together, so there was actually a chance you could actually be with him.

But reality sunk in and drowned you.

Song Mingi would never love you.

That’s when the little glimmer of hope you’d carried throughout your friendship shattered. The shards had cut you and hurt bled out.

“Stop looking at me like that.” You sighed.

“Like what?”

“Like I’m someone you could actually love.”

Mingi didn’t know what to say at first, but at least a hundred responses came to his mind.

His face (which usually said whatever he was thinking for him) settled into a look that screamed Where did THAT come from? for him.

That was enough to discourage you altogether. You let silence grow between you two, quietly finishing your last sip with nothing but the sounds of midnight Seoul traffic beneath you.

You set the glass bottle on the table and rose from your chair. “I’m going to bed. You can hang out here or just leave or whatever.”

Mingi took a few seconds to process the shift in mood before he ran after you inside. He thought you two were having some decent conversations, but he got ahead of himself like he usually does.

“Hey, hey, what’s going on?”

You paused and turned around slowly. You were trying to carefully pick out the right words from what you were feeling.

“Nothing. I’m just tired.”

“I know, that’s why I came. You weren’t really replying to me and San said he hasn’t heard from you. I…I just wanted to see you.”

“Well, you saw me. You can go.” You shrugged.

Mingi furrowed his eyebrows. “If this is about what I said about marrying you, I wasn’t serious. I know you don’t believe in marriage and—“

You let out a wry scoff, cutting his weak explanation short. You could’ve been mean, throw him out, laugh it off and say you were kidding. But you couldn’t ignore that feeling in your chest anymore.

With eyes shut, you murmured, “I hate how you make me feel sometimes.” and when you opened your eyes, they were already watery.

Mingi's face fell. "Hey, c’mon, I didn't mean to upset you."

He approached you delicately, his large hands encasing yours with a gentle touch. If he were to pull you in for one of his bear hugs, you might explode.

You quickly stepped back, creating distance between as you refused his hands. “That’s all you do lately. You don’t even realise half of the shit you say and how much it hurts to hear.”

His eyebrows furrowed, he was now growing very concerned. “I thought we were friends.”

“Do friends make each other feel like they’re the last pick of the litter?”

Mingi's eyes widened. "Last pick? Hey, what is going on with you?"

You laughed, but it was devoid of humour. "Let me break this down for you. All I have been hearing about these days are your dates, your perfect girls, how you have no connection with them so you’re going to die alone and yet you’re still choosing to sleep with the entire city. Then you throw out this ridiculous idea of how you want to settle down eventually, and when you’ve had your fun, you would marry me. Do you have any idea how that feels?"

He looked taken aback. “But… what I said, that was a joke and—“

"A joke?!” Your voice rose. "My feelings are a joke to you? Do you have any idea how long I've been…”

You stopped yourself, your mouth hanging slightly open as you realised there was no point. You had no business convincing a man to want you.

Still, the volume and hurt in your voice stunned him into silence despite you not finishing your sentence.

"You know what? Just get out." You seemed firm and dismissive, yet your heart was breaking. "I can't do this anymore. I can't keep pretending that I'm okay with just being your friend if this is how it’s going to be until you… decide to settle. You have to go."

Mingi stood there, shock and confusion written all over his face. "You don't mean that. Please, we can talk about this.”

"No, Mingi. Just leave," you insisted, your voice cracking as you further widened the space between you, your hands held up in surrender as you walked away. "I'm done."

Yet another awkward silence grew between you. For a moment, Mingi didn’t move. He just watched you slowly walk towards your closed bedroom door disappointed.

Then, as if something snapped inside him. He finally realized what this was about.

You had feelings for him.

You didn’t say it out loud, but it made sense and Mingi felt like the biggest asshole in the world. He crossed the distance between you in two quick strides, desperate to reach you. His hand grabbed your shoulder first, turning you around.

“No, we’re talking about this.”

“I have nothing else to say to you. Go fuck someone new on tinder and just leave me out of it.”

“Dude, come on this is not how we talk to each other.” He was getting way too close to you.

“I couldn’t give two shits about how we talk to each other when you’ve pissed me off. So now, you have to go.”

“You almost said it a minute ago. Tell me why the girls bother you, why what I said bother you. I need to hear it.” He demanded.

Okay, that pissed you off more than you already were. Your chest heaved with the intensity of your emotions, the words bubbling up from a place you had kept buried for too long.

“This is stupid,” You whispered, shaking your head as your eyes continued watering as your gaze pierced into his. “You’re stupid, and you make me feel stupid.”

“Say what you wanted to, and I’ll go, and we never have to speak again.”

“So that’s it? You want an ego boost? You wanna feel on top?!” You practically yelled in his face.

“If that’ll make you be fucking honest for once, it might be worth it!”

“You’re so pretentious. I can’t believe I ever stuck around this long!”

“Why did you then, huh? Tell me exactly why you did!”

His yelling echoed in your apartment. You felt your heart beating in your throat as you stared at his lips.

Fuck it.

You closed the final few inches of distance between you in a swift motion. Gripping onto his shirt, you pulled him towards you forcefully, crashing your lips onto his with all the built-up anger and frustration pouring out.

Mingi was completely caught off guard by the intensity of the kiss. But the second you tried to pull away, he grabbed you back in. His hand gripped your waist tightly, pulling you against him as the kiss deepened.

He lifted one of your legs up to the sides of his hip as he pushed you up against the bedroom door, cushioning the impact with his palm on the back of your head. The heat between your legs was growing and rubbing against his crotch was making it worse.

Your hands were exploring his chest, his shoulders, his face and his hair. You finally gasped for air, tilting your head up which invited him to kiss down your chin to your neck.

“I hate you, I fucking hate you.” I whispered out, shaking your head. Baffled at how good of a kisser he was, but with how he was spending his weekends, it wasn’t exactly a mystery.

He bent down to hoist you up by your thighs, effortlessly wrapping them around his waist. With one of your arms snaked around his neck for support, the other reached behind to open the door.

“Hate me later.” He muttered, kissing you again as he carried you into your dark bedroom.

He laid you down, sandwiching you between his chest and your mattress. You could feel him getting hard through the tin fabric of his Adidas shorts.

He smelled so fucking good. His natural scent mixed with a hint of the cologne you got for him for his birthday made your imagination go wild. Your hands reached the hem of his shirt like an animal instinct, tempted to rip it off him if he didn’t take it off in the next few seconds.

He pulled up and tugged his shirt over his head when he noticed your neediness. In the faint light of the opened door behind him, you could see the outline of his toned body.

Soft streetlights from outside the window above the bed frame gently illuminated his face that looked down at you like you were a full course meal and he was starving.

You have found Mingi handsome since the first day you met. Hell, even he knew he was handsome but something about how he looked at that moment sent chills all throughout your body.

When he leaned back down over you, you couldn’t resist reaching out to his face to caress his cheek, your thumb brushing back and forth near the beauty mark on his face.

He took your hand gently, kissing the back of it. Guiding your hand to his chest, he let you trace your fingertips down his body.

You almost forgot why you were angry.

“Do you want to do this?” He asked, still sounding a little breathless from the escalation.

You looked up from your hand on his lower abdomen, “If you leave now I might actually kill you.”

almost.

He took in bottom lip with his teeth to hide an excited smile, before leaning down to capture your lips in another kiss. This time, he moved slower, savouring whatever was left of that cherry lip balm you had on. “I wasn’t planning to.”

You smiled into the next kiss. Typically you’re not supposed to enjoy having the tongue of the person you were just screaming at in your mouth, but you wanted it there for as long as possible. In fact, you wanted that tongue everywhere on you.

Mingi on the other hand was trying really hard to focus but he could literally feel your nipples through the t-shirt you still had on.

Why the fuck was it even still on, he had no idea.

He was now thinking about how you did not have a bra on the entire time he was hanging out at your house, wondering how often it had been happening without him realising.

You grabbed onto the sides of his hips, and groaned in his mouth. He flipped over, positioning you so you were centred on his hard cock. You readjusted your legs to straddle him comfortably, your arms crossing behind his neck for support as he was sitting up.

His hands found their way to your ass, squeezing it in encouragement as you started bucking your hips against him. Your nails scratching up his shoulders as you started to wonder if the rumours about his dick size were true — all while the friction was driving him insane with arousal.

He helped you take your baggy t-shirt over your head. Delighted that you weren’t wearing a bra, he even fixed your hair once it was off, carefully flipping it behind your shoulders. He slid a hand to the small of your bare back, stealing a quick glance at your face.

You were the prettiest girl he knew. He had told you that a few times, but stopped once he realised you were never going to believe him. He’d be lying if he said he was never attracted to you, he just could never find the courage to cross that line. He was afraid of losing you more than anyone else he’d ever met.

“What?” You simply asked.

Doe eyed, topless, in his arms. Mingi could’ve sworn he had a wet dream about this once. His eyes dipped to your chest without saying a word, and he buried his face there. You rolled your eyes, but inside you were screaming with joy.

He caught your left nipple between his swollen lips while he massaged the other in his free hand. You squirmed when you felt him nibble, and twist you like a personal bop it. You even felt the fucker smirk against your skin at your reaction.

Your hand moved to roughly grip on the hair on the back of his head and your back arched towards him, feeling his tongue licking on your chest in a circular motion.

His eyes looked up at you, as he sucked on your breasts sloppily and kneading them with his hand, admiring his view and the feeling it came with.

You felt the tip of his nose brush up across your collarbone to return to your neck. You were getting so wet, it’s a miracle you managed to restrain yourself from taking those eager hands of his and shoving them in your shorts.

“I-I’m still mad…a-at you.” You managed to choke out, shuddering from the tingling feeling of him sucking on a sweet spot you didn’t know you had.

“I know.” He groaned.

Your hand reached down to the rock solid boner you had been grinding up against. He took a sharp hiss of breath at your touch.

He flipped you over again before you could’ve tried to slip off his pants. He guided you a little higher on the bed and then sat up to pull your shorts and your underwear down in one firm swift motion.

With his hands gently on your knees, he parted your legs. “Fuck…” He whispered.

As you lay on the bed, propped up on your elbows, you were a little embarrassed that he was seeing that part of you at first, but the way his eyes looked into yours and raked down your body made you grow a little more confident in your skin.

“Are you gonna just stare?” You nodded your head at him.

“I’m taking my time because you have no idea how often I’ve thought of doing this to you.”

“Slut.”

Mingi cracked into a grin, his tongue cheekily running across his top teeth as he shook his head and took your leg over his shoulder. He pushed your other knee further out when he started to lean down, coming closer to your dripping cunt.

Took his time, he did.

He cherished every kiss, and the way his nose slid up and down against you made your breathing shaky. Your hands fondled your own tits that were still a little damp from his licks from earlier.

When he started basically making out with your clit, your head threw back and you couldn’t hold back your breathy moans. Your hips started to rock into his tongue.

“Who’s the slut now?” You heard him coo from under you. He watched you with fox-like eyes, keeping a vigilant gaze while you stimulated yourself and something about it made it ten times hotter.

“S-still you—Ah, Mingi!” Your head dropped onto the bed.

Your clit was swollen, and his fingers invited themselves between your folds before entering. There’s no way you could’ve held in that loud moan, or mask the look of absolute pure pleasure that contorted your face.

Something about how you were unravelling at the curl of his finger inside you, with your heel dug in lot his back and the sound of you moaning his name over and over had him excited for what’s to come.

Figuratively and literally.

Mingi’s dick had never been harder.

You reached for his hand that was gripping on your thigh to keep your legs parted. Your mouth dropped open as your eyes squeezed shut to feel the electrifying sensation throughout your entire body. His fingers and the upper inner part of your thighs were coated in your release.

Holy shit, Mingi actually made you cum. And he sucked and licked every last of it as you were riding it out.

He sucked on your clit one last time, giving a quick kiss goodbye before crawling up your body to meet your face.

His hand was beside your face as he tilted his head to the side. Mingi hovered over you and though you felt a bit dizzy, you managed to mirror the grin on his face.

“Are you still mad at me?”

“Furious.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

As you sat up slowly, he started to retreat to reel you in with your faces mere inches apart. Placing a hand on his chest, you pushed him down to get onto his back.

Who knows when’s the next time you would ever to be able to do this? In the back of your head, you knew this was a heat of a moment kind of thing, eventhough it made you a little sad, you wanted to kiss him again and again.

And he was more than willing to entertain it.

You could taste yourself off his lips. The dirtiness of it all made it hotter. His nails running up and down the side of your thigh as your chest pressed against his.

You moved down, planting little kisses down his gorgeous physique, you hands gripping on his sides as he watched. His hand reached out stroking the top of your head.

This had to be a dream.

You looked up when you reached the drawstring of the shorts he had on.

“Okay, okay, just be gentle,” He asked softly. “I’m a little… uh…”

With your teeth, you undid the little bow and tug his shorts down. Rumour confirmed: he was huge. Girthy, long, with cum already dripping down its sides from tip.

You thought you were seeing things wrongly so your hand reached out to hold it by the base and stroked up.

“Needy?” You teased.

Mingi’s brain electrocuted for a second, unsure if it was the tone or your hands. He flinched, “S-shit, baby, I’m really��� hold on—“

You leaned forward, wrapping your hand comfortably around the base as you started to return the treatment he just gave you — tenfold. Mingi’s flustered face transformed into a look of pure satisfaction.

The way you licked, kissed, and sucked all over his shaft, he’d float if he could. The lewd noises you were making made him hiss, bitting in his lower lip as he watched from above.

“S-shit you’re doing so good.” He managed to say, leaning over to comb back your hair in his hands as you steadied your pace.

When his tip scratched the back of your throat, he was done for. You almost ended up choking on the cum that bursted out of his wet hard cock that pooled warm in your mouth, and swallowed.

The noise he made was unlike anything you’d ever heard in your decade long friendship, and it was the best he’d ever felt out of all his past experiences.

But that wasn’t why he had to take a breather. He realised how wrong he’d been doing you. Knowing how you felt about him, and how he’s been treating you made him wonder if he even deserved to see you this way.

He moved in behind you, gently guiding your face toward his for a soft, sweet kiss that made you smile. He trailed playful kisses along the side of your face as your hand caressed his. His large hands traced lightly over your waist.

If foreplay was this good already, he could only imagine how mind boggling actually fucking you would be. But he seemed to enjoy finally being able to shamelessly kiss you and touch you wherever he wanted more though.

You, however, had a different thought. The lines of your friendship were already blurred. Being with him like this had been a fantasy, but now you were stepping into uncharted territory, where everything about your relationship with him might change — if it hadn’t already.

That’s when reality hit, your smile fading. You needed a moment to pull back.

He started slowing down when he noticed you or your body weren’t really responding to him anymore.

It hit you like a cold splash of reality—his stories of conquests, the way he casually shared tales of his past flings, and how effortlessly he moved on from each one.

“Hey, look at me. What’s wrong?”

In that moment, you realized you were just another number on his hit list, a fleeting moment in his game, and the weight of that truth settled heavily in your chest, leaving you feeling small and insignificant.

Even with his own doubts, Mingi was still ready to take things further right then and there, but seeing that look — the one you make when you have a lot on your mind — he couldn’t bring himself to continue.

His hand reached out, caressing the other side of your face, tucking your hair behind your ear in comfort, “We don’t have to, you know.”

You nodded, “I know. I’m sorry, I just… I’m thinking a lot right now.”

“Hey, it’s okay.” He smiled at you, shaking his head in reassurance before closing in to kiss the side of your head.

He shifted on the bed, pulling you into an embrace and brought you close to him under the sheets.

You’ve shared this bed several times over the years, but never this intimately, without a pillow barrier or clothes on. This easily felt very new to both of you, yet still comfortable enough.

As you cuddled facing eachother, you turned to the ceiling as your thoughts began to swirl. You had settled the argument from earlier with your bodies, but the confusion in your heart still remained.

“Are you okay?” Mingi finally asked, concern in his eyes as you took your time to answer.

“Yeah, just…” The room felt colder, smaller, and you could feel tears pricking at your eyes as you turned to look at him. “I don’t want to be like the others. I don’t want us to end up being… nothing.”

“You’re not like the others,” Mingi said softly, turning to face you, his eyes searching yours. “I’m serious. I’m sorry for the stupid things I said. You are… you’re everything to me. You’re it, and—”

You’d heard it all before. You knew his usual pretty words for his pretty girls thanks to his stories but what you didn’t know was how he actually meant what he said this time.

“Look, Mingi…I just can’t do the whole friends-with-benefits thing. I can’t just stay friends after this. I need you all in if you’re going to be in my life.” Your voice trembled, and each word felt like a struggle. This boy had a grip on your heart that made the thought of losing him hurt. “If you can’t do that, you really need to go tomorrow morning, okay?”

He took a moment to let your words sink in, the silence stretching between you. Then, quietly, he leaned in and kissed you—a soft, gentle kiss. He wrapped his arms around you, pulling you close. The warmth of his skin soothed you in the cool air as he pressed a light kiss to your forehead.

[minty364]

DPXDC Prompt #61 Part 4

Danny woke up to a stream of sunlight on his face. The room was just as rich as he remembered, he stood up and stretched a bit before he heard a knock at the door.

It was Alfred bringing him a change of clothes, “Breakfast is ready, Master Danny. You can find the dining room down the hall to the left.” the old butler smiled at him. 

“You don’t have to call me Master, Alfred, I’m not your Damian.” Danny said, turning around to address him.

“Ah, yes, however you are still Master Bruce’s son, even from another world.” The butler gave him a cheeky smile.

Danny shrugged and headed to the bathroom to get changed. Once he was decent again, he headed down to the dining room. 

The room was just as fancy as the rest of the house with a chandelier and ornate vases. 

Danny noticed Damian and a few others already seated at the table. Damian wore what Danny could only assume was his rich kid school uniform. He sat across from Damian who made a small ‘Tt’ and turned away from him. 

Next to Damian was Tim who put away his laptop once Danny sat down. Tim was wearing a business suit, a dark red colored one. “Ah, you sleep much longer than Damian does, you must have been tired.” Tim smiled at him.

Also seated at the table and wearing a navy blue suit, was Bruce himself. He was drinking coffee and reading a newspaper.

“Stop comparing me to him, Drake, I’m nothing like this imposter.” Looks like Damian still thought he was a clone. 

Whatever, he shrugged it off and filled his plate. 

“I don’t really have a lot of free time,” was all Danny said before he started eating.

Tim kind of watched him for a minute, he looked kind of shocked for a second, “You’re eating meat??” 

Ah so that was another difference between them, “again, I’m Danny, I’m not Damian.”

Damian scoffed, “So that’s what you call yourself, imposter.”

Danny gave Damian a tired sigh, looks like the him of this universe was a lot more prideful than he was. Danny went through way too much to carry the same, dying and being crown prince of the infinite realms wasn’t exactly something he was born into. Danny was a bit jealous if he was being honest with himself. 

“Damian, please at least attempt to be friendly. Danny is our guest for the meantime.” Bruce said, putting his newspaper down. He then turned his attention to Danny, “I know it isn’t ideal but I think it’ll be best for you to stay here until we can get you to your own world. I’m planning a trip to the Watchtower tomorrow so I can speak with some of my colleagues about the situation.” 

Danny sighed but nodded his head, “I get it, you can’t have two of us running around.”

“Quite, you’re more than welcome to go around the mansion and the grounds, I’d also like to invite you along to the Watchtower but we’d need to come up with a disguise for you, secret identity and everything.” Bruce continued after taking another sip from his mug, “Alfred will still take you out today to get some basic necessities for you. We’ll get you a proper disguise so you're able to go with him.”

Danny nodded again and continued eating. He thought things over as he ate, he technically had a disguise they could use for the Watchtower but Danny was still on the fence on what exactly he’d tell everyone here.

It wasn’t exactly an easy conversation to have, thankfully some more people arrived for breakfast.

Master Post:

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[velocesainz]

Hey lovely, F1 idea with either Lando or Charles for you. Them coming home after being away a while and going to the fridge for a snack, only to find things you normally hate in there. Because you’re pregnant but you haven’t told anyone yet 🫠

A/n: Hope you enjoy, I’m sorry if this was a little short for your liking

Cravings

F1 masterlist | Main masterlist |

Summary: Lando doesn’t know you’re pregnant and comes home from f1 to find the most random foods in the fridge. What is his reaction? This is kinda short don’t mind

Warnings: none, super fluffy, very slight angst

Pairing: Lando x pregnant!fem!reader

Y/n pov:

I came home with a bunch of groceries, most of them my pregnancy cravings and started putting the foods away.

Lando doesn’t know that I’m pregnant and I’m kinda scared to tell him. How will he react?

We never had a conversation about having kids before so I don’t even know if he wants kids or not.

Lando should be home in another few days so I better make a plan fast.

I put a hand on my barely visible baby bump. “It’ll all be ok baby, don’t worry”

A few days later:

Lando pov:

Finally I’m home! This season was fun but the break is going to be even better!

I can spend my time with y/n and maybe I can tell her about wanting to have kids

I’m at a decent level in my career and we are old enough to have kids, also I had baby fever from looking at Carlos’s niece and can’t stop imagining how y/n would look pregnant.

She would look really hot.

I came home and dropped my bag on the table walking into the house.

I called out to y/n but didn’t hear a response, she’s probably not home.

I felt really hungry so I opened the fudge but the contents inside really surprised me.

Pickles, peanut butter, cheesecake…

These are all foods that y/n hates with an absolute passion. Why is it in the fridge then? Was somebody over when I wasn’t around?

That can’t be possible! Y/n would tell me if someone came over, plus with how much she works there is no way she would even allow a visitor because she would fear that she wouldn’t be a good host.

Just then I heard the front door open and heard y/ns sweet voice that I’ve been dying to hear for the past 2 weeks. “Lando are you home? I’m back!”

I closed the fridge and ran to hug her tight.

“I missed you so much baby. I’m sorry I couldn’t come to the last few races.” She told me.

“I missed you more than you can imagine love. Also don’t worry about not coming to my races, just knowing you are watching me is enough motivation to do well in my races” I said to her causing her to blush, why is she so goddamn cute?

“I have one question, why are there pickles and cheesecake in the fridge? Me and you both don’t like them” I asked her. Her eyes widened in fear.

“Uh I uh…” she stuttered.

“It’s ok love, you can tell me no matter what it is” I said to try and ease her nerves.

“Ok…but just know that I understand if you want to leave me after what I tell you” she said with her down.

What? Did she cheat on me or something?

“I uhm..I’m pregnant” she said and backed away.

I was going to be a father. WAIT WHAT? IM GOING TO BE A FATHER!!

I immediately hugged her right and I felt a wet patch on my hoodie.

“You’re not mad?” She asked me with her big doe eyes staring straight into mine.

“Of course not love! I’ve always wanted to be a father, I’m sorry if I never told you before” I told her and watched as she breathed a huge sigh of relief and hugged me tighter.

“I’ll make sure that this baby has the best and most safe love with my favourite lady in the world” I said as we hugged each other tightly and stayed there for a while.

The next few months are sure going to be eventful.

[lynzishell]

The Past 💛 Atlas

There's a slight chill in the air today. One of those days where the heat of the sun is beating down, but every now and then, a breeze kicks up causing goosebumps to raise on my arms as it flutters through leaves that are starting to turn to various shades of gold but have not yet fallen. Still holding on along with the last remnants of summer.

As promised, I’m walking with Asher to the bakery for a decent cup of coffee. He invited Lex to come along, which I’m glad about. I always enjoy hanging out with her. She keeps things light and easy.

She’s ahead of us now, alternating between skipping forward and hopping backward so she can gesture to us as she tells her story. She reminds me of a child in a bouncy house recounting a grand adventure. Exaggerated, out of breath, and constantly trying not to laugh as she stumbles about. It’s infectious.

Just being in her presence, I feel lighter, like the weight of the world has taken a break from my shoulders, allowing me to relax and breathe a little easier.

It’s easy to see that her and Ash have been friends for years. They act more like siblings with their constant inside jokes and play-fighting. I’ve already given up on trying to follow their conversation about people I’ve never met and places I’ve never been, but enjoy the sounds of their banter all the same.

“Hey, Atlas!” Lex jumps over and smacks my arm with the back of her hand, snapping me out of my thoughts. She’s affectionate in an almost violent way: slapping, poking, wrestling. Her hugs are the kind that leave you gasping for air. Affection is not something I’m used to, nor does it come easily to me, so Lex’s heavy jostling is somehow more palatable than softer, more intimate forms of contact, even if I still rarely reciprocate.

“Have you caught up on Somnium yet?” She asks me this every week, but at least today I won’t have to disappoint her again.

“Yeah, Dawn and I caught up the other night.”

She squeals and claps her hands together, excited to finally be able to talk without spoiling, “So, what do you think of your precious coffee shop boy now?”

I roll my eyes at her, “Jesus, Lex, I said he was cute once, and now you’re always up my ass about it.”

Asher perks up and asks with a grin, “Ah, so that’s your type huh? Pale boys with black hair?”

I look over, surprised by his sudden interest, and noting the way he pointed out literally the only thing he has in common with the character. The truth is, Wyatt isn’t really my type. But Asher, with his relaxed confidence and playful smile, very much is, so I decide to play along, shrugging casually, “I mean, it’d be better if he dyed his hair a bright color like blue, or green, or something, but close enough.”

He laughs and then squints up at me, “See, now, I can’t tell if you’re making fun of me or flirting with me.”

“Pourquoi pas le deux, hm?” He is cute, isn’t he? Especially the way he’s looking at me now, chewing on his bottom lip, his gray eyes searching mine as he tries to determine how serious I am. As we look at each other, the air suddenly feels electric between us, and I have to avert my gaze before my face gives me away. I’m relieved to see we’re approaching the bakery, and I jump ahead to open the door before he can respond.

As I hold it open, Lex walks through giving me a sideways glance and an amused smile. Asher follows close behind, saying, “Thank you,” and flashing me a quick wink that catches me off guard. My stomach flips as I fall in line behind them, dropping my head to hide my face as I smile to myself.

Prev // Next

🧡Somnium

[tgmsunmontue]

To wake, perchance to dream WIP 5/?

Hangster - Jake wakes up ~13 years in the future and thinks he has amnesia. Instead it's a glimpse of what his life could be. When he wakes up right before being called back to Top Gun for the special detachment he's going to try his damndest to make that future come true...

ONE TWO THREE FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

                He bangs on the door, keeps up a constant steady bang which is impossible to ignore for all that it’s really fucking irritating and also making his knuckles ache.

                “What do you want Hangman?” Bradley snaps, door being pulled open beneath his raised hand. He looks like shit, bags under his eyes, angry and tired and also like the best thing Jake’s ever seen.

                Alive.

                “I’m here to sleep with you.”

                Bradley immediately tries to shut the door but Jake’s faster, foot shooting out to jam the door open and he ignores Bradley scowling at him.

                “Fuck off. I’m not in the mood for sex Hangman, move your foot.”

                “No. I didn’t say sex. I said sleep. Our nightmares can keep each other company. Come on, I bought us some tea.”

                “You – what?” Bradley blinks at him. “I don’t like tea.”

                “Yeah well, suck it up buttercup, we’re drinking tea and holding each other because I’m betting you’re dreaming of dying, and I’m dreaming of you dying, and neither of us are getting any fucking sleep. So. Let’s just give it a shot.”

                “Do we have to?” Bradley grouches and Jake pushes a little and the door opens a fraction more.

                “Yes. We do.”

                “You’re not going to leave are you?”

                “Nope.”

                “Ugh. Fine.”

                He’s a little surprised at how easily Bradley has given in, had expected more of a fight given the last few days between them, but maybe he’s just as tired as Jake is feeling and quite frankly desperate to try anything for a decent night’s sleep and also doesn’t have the energy to fight. Whatever it is, Jake is going to take advantage and he pushes past, grocery bag clutched in his other hand. After sending a quick message to Javy he turns his phone off and then holds out his hand for Bradley’s phone.

                “What?”

                “No screens. Give me your phone. We’re going to try and actually fucking sleep so we don’t get mistaken for the walking dead next time we’re out in public. Come on. You wake up and need a distraction you wake me up.”

                “I thought you said you were here to sleep.”

                “Wake me up to talk asshole, you keep bringing up sex I’m going to get the wrong idea. Now do you have a kettle or am I doing this old-school?”                 Bradley blinks at hum dumbly but pulls out a kettle that’s covered in dust. He gives it a quick wipe down and then rinses it out a couple of times before deciding that boiling water should kill anything else that might still be there. Bradley just watches him in silence, either too tired to make conversation or unable to figure out what to say.

                He makes the tea and is glad he also bought some honey at the same time, spoons a little into each mug and then slides it across the bench. Bradley is of course looking at it with a combination of distrust and distaste. But Jake’s thinking of when Bradley made it for him the first time, his surprise at liking the taste. It’s a little loop closing; Bradley being the first one to make it for him, and now he’s the first one making it for Bradley; it feels significant somehow. The scent now throws him back to feeling scared shitless and confused and yet not unmoored, somehow tethered to the man who is sniffing at the mug like he half-expects Jake to have poisoned it.

                “What is this?”

                “Vanilla, honey and –”

                “That’s not tea…”

                “Chamomile,” Jake finishes. “It’s an herbal tea.”

                Bradley takes a sip and Jake has to force himself not to react at the look of pleasant surprise that appears on Bradley’s face.

                “It’s not bad.”

                “Mmm. Don’t sound so surprised. I’m full of good ideas.”

                That earns him a derisive snort and eyeroll, so unfortunately the tea doesn’t seem to have improved Bradley’s attitude at all, he really doesn’t seem to want Jake there. The silence between them is awkward rather than comfortable, but he ignores it, forces himself to just breathe and relax. Closes his eyes so he can pretend Bradley isn’t staring at him in confusion. It’s weirdly peaceful, just the sound of their breathing, quiet sips of their drinks, hum of the refrigerator. He’s tired enough that he finds himself almost dozing off, drifting and he stands, leaves his tea not quite finished.

                “Come on. Bed.”

                Bradley doesn’t argue, simply follows him despite it being his own house, but Jake is pleased to note that he finished his tea. For some reason though Bradley has gotten wound up again, tight and combative, angry again at Jake’s mere presence and he takes a quiet deep breath and reminds himself. Patience.

                “You got a spare toothbrush or something I can use?”

                Whatever good manners Bradley was raised with kick in because he grudgingly finds a spare brush still in a packet and shoves it toward him and Jake takes it with a saccharine sweet smile, refusing to rise to the bait or match Bradley’s attitude. Bradley stands beside him and brushes his own teeth and washes his face, and the bathroom lighting do the dark circle under either of their eyes any favors. Then Bradley is stripping off his clothes, fast and angry and Jake knows that the anger is directed at him. Probably. Maybe. Seems a safe bet.

                Of course, Bradley naked is still a gorgeous sight to behold, although he’s got bruises in varying stages of discoloration from the mission and he winces. Waits for him to grab something to pull on but instead he’s pulling back the duvet of his bed and –

                “You really sleep naked Rooster?”

                “When I’m on leave? Yes,” Bradley says, almost spitting the words like a challenge and Jake bites his lip, nods his head once and then promptly pulls his own t-shirt over his head.

                “Okay then. Nothing I ain’t seen already.”

                “What are you doing!”

                “When in Rome…”

                That leaves Bradley gaping a bit like a fish, but Jake has no shame in his nakedness, and like he’d just said, they have seen each other naked and have even been naked with each other in this very bed, so he’s not quite sure what Bradley’s all worried about now. Even if there was sex on the cards it would be a solo fucking flight because he’s too tired and he really hopes that he gets a decent night’s sleep as much as Bradley. He was only half-joking about them being mistaken for the walking dead. Bradley has busied himself with sliding into the bed, turning off the light and leaving Jake to fumble the last little bit as his eyes adjust to the dark room.

                He slides into the bed and presses himself against Bradley’s body, rolls his eyes when he feels how tense he is, shimmies and pushes him until they’re in the same position where he’s once again holding him, which he thinks is what he needs right now. To wake up with Bradley very much alive and breathing and in his arms. The memories of the mission and his future making his nightmares feel far too painful at what he almost lost. He has to fight every instinct to just slide a hand along Bradley’s jaw and kiss him.

                “Rooster. Brad- shaw,” he says, almost calling him Bradley. He desperately wants to call him Bradley again. One day he hopes to also be Bradshaw. “Seriously. Just… it’ll be good to be near someone right? Fucking relax already.”

                Just like that the fight seems to just dissipate and Bradley slumps with a sigh.

                “Yeah. Probably. Night.”

                “Night.”

…            …            …

                It was too much to hope for that being that tired would mean a dreamless sleep. He wakes with a gasp, stomach muscles and throat clenched tight. He immediately goes to apologize for waking Bradley, only to find the bed empty. The light under the bathroom door is on though and he pads over and taps at it quietly, strains his ears.

                “Yeah…”

                “You okay?”

                “Yeah. Sorry. Didn’t mean to wake you…”

                Jake bites his lip and sucks in a deep breath, tries the door handle and isn’t sure whether he’s surprised or not to find it turning under his hand, not locking him out.

                “You didn’t wake me. I just had a nightmare myself…”

                “In the couple of minutes I was gone?”

                “Apparently…” Jake says, taking in just how pale Bradley is in the harsh light of the bathroom, the faint scent of vomit lingering in the air. “Rinse your mouth and come back to bed.”

                “Bossy.”

                Jake smirks but doesn’t bother offering any form of counter-argument, not when there isn’t any point and the Bradley he loves would do anything for him anyway.

…            …            …

                He makes Bradley spoon up behind him this time, needs to feel his arms around him after the grasping emptiness that featured in his most recent nightmare. He can tell Bradley isn’t sleepy, wonders whether they should get up and have another cup of tea but it’s dark and he’s warm, doesn’t particularly want to move. Although…

                “You want to make out for a bit?”

                “Thought you didn’t come here for sex.”

                “I didn’t. But if it’ll help…”

                Bradley snorts at that, but Jake doesn’t miss his fingers stroking over his hip and he smiles into the darkness and presses his ass back against Bradley’s bare cock, feels Bradley’s hips and cock jerk a little. At least they’ll save time already being naked.

…            …            …

                They sleep well past midday and Jake counts that as a win, although they’re both groggy like they’ve somehow got terrible hangovers. Bradley pours him coffee and Jake blinks at it, then goes looking for the sugar and creamer, doctoring his mug until it’s more to his tastes before realizing that this Bradley has only ever seen him drink black coffee. But he wants to make this Bradley that Bradley, so he’s going to have to let him know these things about him.

                Patience.

                They move around each other cautiously and Jake’s fingers itch with the desire to simply reach out and touch, because he wants. The first time he tries though Bradley flinches and it makes him pull back his hand like he’s burnt, not sure whether he should apologize or not. Touching when they’re in bed, or heading toward bed is okay, but otherwise… not okay. He grits his teeth and wonders if, or rather, when, that will change.

                Patience.

                They hand out with the other Daggers and Bradley acts like nothing has changed between them, that nothing is changing. He sneers at Jake’s flirtations like he doesn’t know Jake will be following him home. Looks lost and guilty in equal parts and the only thing that is holding Jake together some days is vague memories.

                Patience.

                The tea drinking becomes a nightly ritual, because while they both agree that black tea is disgusting, the combination of chamomile, vanilla and honey is soothing enough that they both start enjoying making it.

                “Where did you get the tea from anyway?”

                “The grocery store. Nothing magical or mystical about it...”

                Bradley gives him a look.

                “Sorry. Private joke. I'll tell you one day.”

                Patience.

                Bradley spends time with Maverick, comes back sometimes with red-rimmed eyes and Jake wonders if Bradley and Maverick cry together or if Bradley just drives somewhere and cries by himself. He doesn’t ask. Instead he helps with the demolition and restoration of his house. It gives him something to do and he likes it. Likes it more when Bradley works beside him, and it makes him think of the photos of them covered in paint. He knows he’s not crazy.

                Patience.

                Fuck he hopes he’s not crazy.

                Patience.

…            …            …

                He’s almost asleep when he hears it.

                “I’m sorry,” Bradley says, voice so quiet Jake can tell he’s whispering just in case Jake is somehow miraculously already asleep. He probably hopes that Jake is asleep.

                “What for this time?”

                “Fuck off, I’m trying to apologize.”

                “And I am legitimately asking what it is you think you need to apologize for,” Jake says, gritting his teeth to keep his voice calm.

                “Oh.”

                “Oh he says… maybe stop assuming I’m making a dig with every word out of my mouth.”

                “Sorry for that too I guess…” Bradley says and Jake lets out a quiet sigh, decides to just give in to the urge and presses a gentle kiss to the bicep muscle his head is currently partially cushioned on.

                “I wanted to say sorry for… using you. I feel like I’ve been using you. It’s been making me feel like shit.”

                Oh. He’s talking about the sex they’ve been having. It puts a different view on their interactions, the guilt-ridden looks Bradley keeps shooting his way, his whole hot-cold attitude and Jake shakes his head slightly.

                “Roo… Bradley. Do I come across to you as someone who lets himself be somewhere he doesn’t want to be?”

                “No.”

                “Did I ever seem like I wasn’t enjoying myself?”

                “No.”

                “Do you think if I hadn’t wanted… any of what’s happened between us in the last couple of weeks I would have said something.”

                “You have said something.”

                “I have. So. You can put those little worries away and ignore them. People might call me blunt and tactless but my partners have always known where they stood with me.”

                “Am I your partner now?”

                Jake freezes.

                “Well, position is vacant and I am taking applications.”

                “There an interview process?”

                “Well, yes. And you already passed that with flying colors. Was a practical demonstration after all…”

                “You’re a bit of a dork.”

                “Lies and slander…”

                “Oh my god, you are…”

                “No one’ll believe you…”

                “Coyote would.”

                “He already knows.”

                “Yeah, I guess he would.”

                “Go to sleep Bradshaw.”

                To his surprise, he does.

…            …            …

                The next time Bradley goes to visit Maverick he takes Jake with him, he hadn’t asked before exactly where Bradley went to do this, trusts Bradley enough to just sit beside him as he drives further out into the desert and then he sees the hangars and he’s not even surprised.

                “Does he live out here?”

                “Well, when he’s not staying at Penny’s…”

                “They together?” Jake asks, his memory of them, the one family dinner he’d gotten to be part of, settling around him.

                “Yeah. On again, and probably for good. Think Mav is scared of Amelia.”

                “Amelia…” Jake breathes. Another piece slots into place. Best person ever.

                “Yeah. Penny’s daughter. She gave Mav the shovel talk. Teenage girls are terrifying man.”

                Jake reaches his hand out, tentative and trying to broadcast his movements because Bradley is driving and this is maybe a really fucking bad idea, but he thinks something has changed. Fortunately something has changed, because Bradley shoots him a small sincere smile, turns his hand where it’s resting on the gear shift and lets Jake lace their fingers together before he has to let go a few moments later to change down gear and catches the fact that he’s still smiling.

…            …            …

                The sound of crying wakes him and he lies there silently for a few moments, wonders whether he should ignore it, or get up and go and comfort him. It takes him not even a second to decide and he takes the duvet from the bed to wrap them both in, settles behind him and rests his head against the broad expanse of Bradley’s back as he hunches over his clasped legs, breath coming in wracking sobs. Jake doesn’t say anything, just sits there and hopes like hell it’s enough.

…            …            …

                “I think I’m going to propose.”

                “That’s great man, congratulations. When you know, you know huh?”

                “Yeah. She’s just… she’s amazing.”

                “Yeah. She is. Don’t sell yourself short though. You’re pretty amazing too. I expect to be best man.”

                “Of course. Who else would I ask?”

…            …            …

                “I want to break up.”

                “Do you now? Well. Tough shit. We’re not breaking up.”

                “Bit hard for you to have a relationship with someone who isn’t around Hangman.”

                “You planning on going somewhere Rooster? I never thought you were a quitter, and yet here you are. Quitting us before we’ve even reached the start line!”

                “What us?! What start line!”

                “An actual proper relationship, not this semi-limbo phase while we’re both on leave. Playing house with no actual conversation about what we’re doing!”

                “I don’t want to talk about it!”

                “Yeah, no shit Rooster. Color me shocked. You don’t want to talk about anything! What are you so afraid of?”

                “You!” Bradley snaps, and Jake pulls back like he’s been slapped, the hurt and anguish in Bradley’s voice hurting like he has actually been hit. “I’m afraid of you!”

                “What?”

                “You… you could hurt me so badly. I can’t…”

                “Can’t what?” Jake asks, voice quiet and throat tight, tears threatening to spill over, because if it’s really what Bradley needs, or wants, then he will let him go…

                “I can’t lose you too. You’ll leave too…”

                “Jesus Bradley… so you think trying to run me off is a better option?”

                Bradley is crying, shrugging and sniffing through his tears and Jake lets his own tears spill over.

                “You are the biggest fucking idiot, I swear to god. I am in love with you Bradley Bradshaw. I will put up with a lot of your shit. And I mean a lot. You are not getting rid of me as easily as all that.”

                “You’re in love with me?”

                “Yeah. I also called you a fucking idiot.”

                “I love you too. I’m sorry.”

                “For being an idiot? It’s okay. I love that part of you too.”

…            …            …

                The first time Bradley kisses him in front of the other Daggers he hears two bottles of beer smash to the ground and all conversation around them ceases.

                “Since when was that a thing?” Omaha asks, hand waving between him and Bradley.

                He raises an eyebrow at Bradley, leaving it to him to lead the answers, because he will follow his lead. He’s not going to admit to anyone that he’s already started practicing writing Jake Bradshaw as his new signature. Yale and Harvard are exchanging money, while Coyote and Phoenix are both muttering fucking finally under their breath and Jake guesses they’ve both heard all about it from either him or Bradley. Payback, Fanboy and Bob are just nodding and smiling, like they’re genuinely happy for them, which is sort of nice. Halo is looking genuinely shocked, as is Fritz, and it’s their bottles of beer that both slipped from their hands, and he’s going to give them shit about that later.

…            …            …

                Family dinner.

                Holy shit.

                Even though he’s done this before, he knew they already liked him then. So. He guesses they’ll like him eventually even if he completely fucks it up tonight. He still wants to make a good impression though. Maverick already likes him. Well, he’s pretty sure Maverick likes him. Saving someone’s life generally helps in that regard, which may also help put him in Penny’s good books when it comes down to it.

                So.

                It’s just Amelia he has to somehow impress. And as Bradley had said, teenage girls are scary. It’s not like he can take her a bottle of wine or flowers… He’s still stressing about it when Bradley knocks on Penny’s front door, flowers and wine both in hand. He hands them over to Penny who accepts them graciously while Maverick makes a comment about the fact she owns a bar. Then he’s being introduced formerly to Amelia Benjamin and she’s so very clearly the person who fits into their family in the future that Jake can’t help the easy grin he gives her. She looks him up and down, a slender eyebrow raised and Jake just keeps grinning.

                “Wow. What does he see in you?”

                “Hey!” Bradley protests and Jake squeezes Bradley to him, gives him a wink.

                “Wouldn’t you like to know…” Jake quips, and then immediately regrets it, realizes this isn’t the Amelia of ten plus years in the future and that was wildly inappropriate. But Maverick is laughing, Penny huffing in amusement, and Amelia’s nose is scrunched up, eyes rolling like they’re all being gross and Jake knows now why she’s in his phone as best person ever. “Think I’ve just found a partner in crime Bradshaw, someone else to give you shit when I’m not around.”

                “Like you need help with that…”

                “I need all the help I can get.”

…            …            …

                He isn’t oblivious to it. He notices the return of the nightmares as soon as they get new assignments, even if the assignment is currently to stay as one specialized squadron. He doesn’t know when Bradley retires from the Navy, but he knows he does. He also knows Bradley hasn’t yet been cleared for flying, and he knows it could be any combination of factors, but the nightmares are a definite clue pointing to something not physical.

                Patience.

                “Why did you become an aviator?”

                “Always wanted to fly…”

                “Like you dad?”

                “Yeah. And Mav.”

                “So… it was your dream?”

                “Yeah. I guess so.”

                “Is it still your dream?” Jake asks, words soft against the skin of Bradley’s neck, lips placing a gentle kiss.

                “What do you mean?”

                “Just… it’s okay to have new dreams and follow them instead. If there is something you think you might want more.”

                “I love flying.”

                “You don’t have to stop flying. But maybe it doesn’t need to be your job anymore…”

                “What the fuck Jake? Are you trying to get me to quit?”

                “No. I’m not trying to get you to do anything. You know what I want more than anything?”

                “What?”

                “For you to be happy. To sleep through the night again once in a while…”

                “So this is about my nightmares?”

                “No. Well. Yes, a little I guess. But only because I’m worried about you,” Jake says, and he knows Bradley’s getting agitated, so he shifts to sit in his lap, throwing his full body weight onto Bradley’s thighs and pressing him into the sofa. Bradley could throw him off if he really wanted to, but Jake loops his hands behind his head and lets his fingers run through the shorter strands of hair at his nape.

                “Bradley. I love you. I love you as a kick ass naval aviator. I love you as Maverick’s godson, as my boyfriend, and Nix’s best friend. I’ll love you no matter what. Okay?”

                “Yeah. Okay.”

                “You want to share anything with the class?”

                “I’ve not passed my psych evaluation.”

                He bites back the immediate yeah, no shit that jumps to the tip of his tongue.

                “Do you want to?”

                “What?”

                “Do you want to fly with the Navy again?”

                “Yes! Of course I do.”

                “Then you put in the work. We know how to work hard.”

                “That’s what my therapist said. Well. That and it can take time and everyone’s journey is their own…” he groans, like he’s exasperated and Jake smiles down at him.

                “Your therapist sounds like a very smart person…”

                “Since when do you think so highly of therapists?”

                “I know a therapist who is the smartest person I know,” Jake says, and refuses to say any more despite Bradley’s best efforts.

[talas-first-lady]

Additional Wynonna Earp Vengeance thoughts

This is going to be all the spoilers. You have been warned.

First of all, things that brought me a lot of joy:

The first scene up until things went bad. Nedley. Mercedes. Being buddies. Everything Mercedes was wearing including her monogrammed fanny pack of fishing lures.

Mercedes being like “the face. Kill me if you must but do not harm the face.” And hey, props to Mina for listening?

Bunny Loblaw cameo. The woman just gets better every time.

Any and all Wayhaught physical activity.

The entire Wynonna and Doc intro in Tombstone. That was just pure 100% Wynonna perfection.

“No we will NOT be redoing those stairs. They are very important to me for reasons.” - Nicole Haught

Every comment from Wynonna about how drunken brawling is actually precisely what Mercedes would have wanted at her wake (although I think Mercedes would have wanted more male strippers tbh).

I am typing this as I walk my dogs and we just passed a gold penis-shaped piece of confetti on the sidewalk outside a bar. Mercedes Gardner: never truly gone.

There was some quality Earp sister time that I did enjoy although it was slightly off (see Waverly discussion).

I am very much not up on current music so I didn’t get 100% of the references but Doc talking to Waverly about Megan Thee Stallion is what I came for.

Wistful comment about friend from Arizona. Thank you, Doc. Sorry your new bf was a tool.

The conversation between Wynonna and Nedley at the cemetery was perfect and should have happened years ago.

The fact that no one for a moment doubted that the three people Wynonna loves most are Waverly, Alice… and Nicole. I will be a Wynnaught shipper till the day I die.

Wynonna going to hell was pretty badass.

Nedley hitting hellhounds with his truck.

No pyramid schemes!

Now for the complaints.

At no point did they convince me that Mina was actually worse than all the demons they’ve faced before. Really? Sure, she doesn’t follow Revenant rules, but they’ve dealt with Bulshar. She does not remotely compare.

I also didn’t really buy the backstory stuff: Wynonna trying to impress a bunch of mean girls by summoning a demon for them? Taking them to the homestead at all? None of that felt true to her. I also don’t know why the group home girls were just suddenly back in Purgatory. (Also Dawson’s Freaks is the STUPIDEST.)

I think maybe Mina would have worked with a full season of build-up, but this was just not enough time.

I’m really pissed off about Mercedes surviving everything just to be murdered as a plot device. I love her, ok? She deserves better.

I am less pissed about Doc because I think they handled it decently - one last epic shootout, burying him in the spot where he wanted to raise Alice, the symmetry with burying Dolls (on the same hill, I think?), letting him come to terms with aging and dying. But it was so unnecessary. And so rushed: we never got to see anyone’s reaction but Wynonna’s (and Jeremy’s wildly out of character non-reaction). He was such an important character and we never got to say goodbye properly.

Not enough Jeremy.

Nicole’s attitude towards Wynonna up until that big don’t tell Waverly moment just made me so sad. I love their dynamic. I don’t know what happened.

In general, it felt like Nicole majorly backslid.

Biggest problem, though: Waverly. And I’m going to be upfront here and say that I was never as enamored with Waverly as a lot of people are. But I did like her and this didn’t feel like Waverly.

I think it’s fantastic that Dom has come out and become more comfortable in their skin and that they didn’t force them back in the girly Waverly box for this.

But I think they changed too much. Physically, the hair, the nose ring, the tattoos, the wardrobe choices (the wifebeater? The bolo tie?). But there was also her behavior. Jumping into a bar fight aggressively after relatively minor provocation was a lot. There was nothing of the light, bubbly Waverly left aside from a craft room. It just felt like part of her died. Like something happened over those 5 years that traumatized her worse than the stuff we actually witnessed. And Nicole being so unconcerned about it.

Anyway, that’s most of it?

[shyvioletcat]

I love this au, you love this au. Let's just get to it.

~ Masterlist ~

~~~~~

Today Aelin was only booked in for a half day at the aquarium. It was off-peak, middle of the school term and the usual slow Wednesday crowd. There weren’t many visitors to the aquarium besides the odd school group and to keep it fair the mermaid shifts were split. Aelin had the morning and Lysandra would do the afternoon. 

There was about an hour between performances and Aelin had just finished shedding her tail along with all her other mermaid accessories. She was only dressed in her swimmers and was on her way to the showers when Lysandra walked into the dressing room. 

“Hello, hello,” she greeted brightly. 

“Hey,” Aelin replied, pulling out her clothes to make sure she had everything she needed. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d accidentally left her underwear on the bed.

“Isn’t that the sweatshirt Mr Hot ‘n Loaded lent you?” Lysandra said, sighting the jumper that had just been unloaded from the bag and flicking the cuff.

”Maybe.” It was all Aelin was willing to admit, and quickly stuffed it out of sight, diverting the conversation away from it. “Speaking of, I could have died.”

Despite the seriousness of the words, Lysandra laughed. “You were not dying. We’ve been over this. And you had a far better saviour than me, let it go.”

“Not the point,” Aelin deflected, “and you know I know how to hold a grudge.”

“You’re just jealous,” Lysandra said with a casual shrug and a self satisfied smile. 

Aelin huffed, putting her hands on her hips. “I’m very proud of you for taking the opportunity of casual sex in a bathroom.”

“It was a bedroom, actually,” Lysandra corrected. “Apparently there’s at least three guest rooms.”

“Semantics. What I’m saying is that there is a time and a place, and that was neither.”

Lysandra dropped her bag onto the chair in front of the vanity mirror. “The way I see it, thanks to my little escapade with that very handsome blond you were able to get your own dose of flirting in, you just aren’t game enough to do anything about it.”

Right, because when Rowan had undressed Aelin in that pool room, desperately trying not to look, and really except for one teasing line she had missed her opportunity. She had been too cold and frazzled to take advantage of the situation. Aelin could feel herself blushing even though she hadn’t been shy in the moment. Maybe it had been because of the onset of hypothermia or maybe it was because she had found Rowan’s own embarrassment so entertaining, either way the pink in her cheeks was damning right now.

”I have no idea what you're talking about,” Aelin tried to bluff, even though on the drive home while yelling I could have died every five minutes, she had gone into heavy detail about what had occurred. Right down to how soft Rowan’s fingers had felt as they brushed over her skin. 

“Yeah, huh. You still have his number, right? Call him, text him,” Lysandra pulled her tail from the wardrobe. “Do something about it.”

For good measure Lysandra flicked the centre of Aelin’s forehead, like that would banish the remains of the hesitancy swirling around in her brain. Swatting the hand away and hissing, Aelin scowled after her friend disappeared into one of the cubicles to start getting ready. 

What Aelin couldn’t figure out was why she was hesitating. It was clear there was mutual attraction ignoring the lack of tact Rowan seemed to have when interacting with her. She had busted him checking her out more than once. And it seemed like he was a decent guy when he wasn’t accidentally propositioning her for shifty sounding private events.

On the other hand, there was a vibe that Aelin had got from the woman she assumed was Ivy’s mother. She had never addressed Aelin directly but there was a definite feeling that she wasn’t happy with a mermaid being in attendance. Rowan had been very clear that he was divorced, so that came with the implications that his ex-wife wasn’t entirely in his life. There was obviously some kind of coparenting situation going on but Aelin didn’t know much more than that. There was so much falling into the unknown category, and there was only one way to fix that and find out. 

Aelin grabbed her bag and left the dressing room. She didn’t need Lysandra hovering and goading her into action. When she got to her car Aelin dug out her phone from where she’d thrown it into her bag and scrolled to the message thread with Rowan. She just needed some kind of opening, something casual to test the waters. The cuff of the borrowed jumper slid over her hand, almost swallowing the phone. Since the party it had lived in her car and she had worn it more than once. It was insanely comfortable and had that nice male kind of smell about it. And it was her ticket. 

Going off their previous conversations, Rowan didn’t seem like much of a texter, so Aelin took the plunge and hit the call button instead. It rang for longer than she expected, and then she realised he was most likely at work, working a real job with real hours. Aelin blushed again and was about to hang up when it connected.

”Rowan Whitethorn speaking,” his tone professional.

”Hi, this is Aelin Galathynius, mermaid extraordinaire,” Aelin said, hoping her quickly summoned bravado covered her nerves. 

“Aelin, hi,” his tone immediately dropped into something more casual. “What can I do for you? Did the money not go through?”

”No, no that’s all fine,” Aelin replied. “You were more than generous.”

”You went above and beyond. Ivy had the time of her life.” She could swear there was a smile in his voice.

”I’m glad.”

Aelin was leaning on the car, fiddling with the too long sleeve on her free hand. She was grinning as well, pleased with herself for doing such a good job.

“I don’t mean to be rude or rush you, but I’m in between meetings,” Rowan said, breaking into her thoughts.

”Oh, yes!” Aelin blurted. “I wanted to return your jumper and maybe say thank you for helping me not freeze to death after I was left for dead by my friend.”

Rowan chuckled and Aelin ignored how it skittered over her skin. 

“What did you have in mind?” He asked.

Aelin’s confidence had returned and she went for it. ”Dinner, Saturday,”

“Just give me one second,” Rowan said and there was some clicking in the background. “I don’t have Ivy, this weekend. She’ll be sad to miss you.”

And he’d gone and missed the point by a mile. “I meant just you and me, Rowan. Like a date.”

There was a heavy beat of silence, then Rowan laughed again, this one astounding significantly more self deprecating. “You should see how red my face is right now.”

”I’m sure I can imagine.” Aelin had already had the privilege of seeing it before and could picture it perfectly. 

“That sounds wonderful, Aelin. We’ll text and work out a time?” 

”Sounds great,” Aelin said, nodding even though Rowan couldn’t see.

“Bye, then.”

”See ya, Rowan,” Aelin replied and hung up the phone. 

For a moment she stood there, smiling, proud of herself for getting a date so smoothly. The whole misunderstanding of Ivy being there would be forgotten and never spoken of again. This was a triumph and Aelin was ready to celebrate, which would start with some polite bragging. 

>> I got that date you were bugging me about. Now you have to help me figure out what to wear.

When Lysandra sent back an emoji of a smiling devil Aelin knew they were about to cause some havoc and Rowan would be their target. 

~~~~~

I already have Aelin's outfit planned and she'd gonna wreck him

[stormy427]

Need Someone Older

This is just pure smut. There is no actual sex in this but dear god. Don't look if you are a minor, please save yourself.

WC: ~3k

Nightfall set upon Lycina and her companions quicker than expected, already weary from a long day of travel the group decided to find the nearest tavern and spend the night there rather than spend valuable sleeping time setting up camp. The tavern was nicer than the group expected, with several other patrons sitting at the tables and a soothing rumble of conversation that filled the air. The companions got rooms for the night and headed off for some well needed sleep, all of them except you.

Being surrounded by lively conversation and finally having a nice warm meal helped to dramatically raise your mood from what it had been on the road. You and a certain self absorbed vampire had been bickering constantly lately and honestly you could use a break from him. You haven’t been able to figure out why Astarion has been so cold to you recently, but for tonight you plan on pushing those thoughts out of your mind and what better way to distract yourself than finding a decent looking person and having some fun?

So that’s exactly what you did, you had a few glasses of wine and found your target. He seemed to be around the same age as you, he wasn’t horrible looking or smelling and was able to keep a semi-intelligent conversation. ‘Good enough’ you thought and asked if he wanted to go back to your room and continue ‘talking’ there. He excitedly agreed and you two walked up the wooden steps of the tavern stairs into your room which was unfortunately right across the hall from Astarion. You made a mental note to try and be semi-quiet tonight so as to not alert your companions, but especially Astarion, of your late night adventures.

You and the guy quickly got to work disrobing yourselves and moved to the bed before he leaned in to kiss you. The kiss wasn’t terrible, maybe too much teeth, but nothing that would stop you from wanting to fuck him. It had been several months since you had last been touched by someone other than yourself and you were eager to orgasm from someone else's fingers for a change. You obviously weren’t expecting any mind blowing sex from this random guy you found in a tavern and yet you were somehow still disappointed when it was done. The guy rolled off you and asked if you came to which you replied dryly “Yeah of course, it was great.” the guy didn’t pick up on your tone and replied proudly “I could tell you were enjoying it from how much you were moaning, glad you came so many times.” You were a bit confused if this man thought a moan was equivalent to an orgasm but you decided not to ask. The guy put back on his clothes and quickly exited your room after that little chat, you were grateful that he left quickly and didn’t try to continue talking to you.

You put on your night clothes before laying back down on the bed and spreading your thighs hoping to actually orgasm tonight. Your finger had just made contact with your desperate clit when you heard a loud knock on your door, you audibly sighed before standing up to get the door. When you opened it you didn’t expect to be face to face with an annoyed Astarion who quickly brushed past you into the room. “No please, come on in Astarion.” you mumbled under your breath, obviously irritated at his intrusion.

You weren’t entirely sure why he was in your room and didn’t really want to accidentally initiate a lecture by talking first, so you stood silent for a moment. It took Astarion a second to start speaking to you but when he did he spoke with a dangerous edge to his voice, “So darling, did you and your mystery man have fun tonight? I’m dying to know all the debauchery our little Lycina got into.” You felt the tips of your ears and cheeks flush when you realized that even your fake moans had been heard by Astarion, you began to apologize but Astarion stopped you with a finger across your lips in a shushing action.

The air suddenly felt charged with how close he was standing to you, you could feel his cold finger on your warm lips and for the first time you wondered how his finger might feel elsewhere. “Pray tell my love, how was he? Did he take proper care of you? Hmmm…” he asked, you were shocked by his question but didn’t back down from this conversation. “Actually, he did take very, very good care of me. Thank you for your concern.” You replied indignantly, praying Astarion didn’t somehow know you faked every noise with that guy. Astarions ruby red eyes took on a predatory glint as he locked eyes with you and smirked slightly, effectively staring you down due to his height advantage. The intensity in his gaze sent a shiver down your spine that you tried to conceal from Astarion. “Oh really, well it seems that you my love are a liar. It’s a shame really, it would have been entertaining to hear the real thing.” 

You weren’t sure if this was Astarion leading you into some sort of a trap so you decided to continue with your confident facade and said “You’d be so lucky to hear how I really sound, it's a shame you probably wouldn’t even compare to that guy.” that sentence was most definitely a mistake, immediately after you said it Astarion’s eyes darkened and he began moving towards you. “You think any of these boys you sleep with would compare to me?” he asked incredulously, all the while continuing to walk towards you, forcing you to step back.

 “You may be older but that does not mean you're better, a-after all the skills you- uh don’t use tend to fade away” your voice faltered halfway through the sentence, betraying the anxiety that was building in you. At this point Astarion had effectively bracketed you against the wall with his hands on either side of your head while his body blocked any hope of exiting the situation. He chuckled darkly before leaning down and saying “Darling, I think you will find that every part of me has aged well. You obviously need someone more experienced. Someone who knows how to drive you mad with pleasure until you’re begging for more. You need to be feasted upon until you can’t handle it anymore.” Your breath hitched at his words, the feeling of his breath against your ear only added to your inner turmoil of being extremely horny and extremely confused as to what was happening. 

Astarion grazed the shell of your ear with his lips before leaving feather light kisses down your neck and jaw. Your pulse was erratic and you were sure he knew the effect his words were having on your body, his lips made their way to yours leaning in for a surprisingly gentle kiss. He moved back slightly and eyed your blown pupils and flushed face before moving his hands from the wall and cupping your face in both hands before kissing you harder and pulling you flush against him.

One arm dropped down to your waist while his other was holding the back of your head. Once in his arms you leaned up and kissed him again while threading your fingers into his curls and tugged slightly which earned you a soft groan. Astarion’s hands moved under your ass to pick you up, causing you to yelp at the sudden change, he pushed you up against the wall and began leaving wet kisses on your neck, sucking love marks where everyone would see.

You tried to fight the whimper that left you by clapping your hand over your mouth, Astarion moved up to bite your earlobe hard before whispering “My love, I think it would be a bad idea for you to hide those delectable noises from me.” your hand dropped immediately, “Ah, see I knew you were my good girl.” 

You responded with a soft moan as you felt yourself getting impossibly wet from his words. Astarion’s assault on your neck stopped and you whined at the loss of his mouth from your skin, “Relax lover, I just want to ravage you properly. I will gladly fuck you against a wall later. Would you like that darling? Hmm?”. You nod desperately, unable to form intelligent thoughts anymore. 

He lays you down gently on the bed before standing up to remove his shirt. “Gods, I want you so bad.” you breathe out, sitting up in an attempt to reach him, desperate for more contact. “Tsk, where are your manners pet. What do we say when we want something?” he clicks his tongue at you in mocking disapproval. 

You’ve never begged anyone for anything in your entire life but you can’t seem to find the self-control needed to resist his request. “Please touch me, I’ll let you do anything you want to me just touch me please”, you pray that Astarion will take pity on you and your dripping pussy. He is standing at the foot of the bed, eyeing you up and down his eyes almost black with lust. You can’t wait any longer for him to touch you, your fingers find the hem of your night shirt and begin to pull it off before you notice that Astarion has begun crawling up the bed towards you. He catches your stalled wrists and you immediately let go of the fabric, his fingers replace yours as he slowly pulls your shirt off and tosses it on the floor. 

With his hands on your bare shoulders he pushes you back onto the bed before kissing you passionately, he hitches his leg under yours to slot himself between your thighs. You groan with relief when you feel him roll your hardened nipple between his thumb and index finger, Astarion grins against your mouth at the sound. He dips his head lower where he leaves open mouth kisses between the valley of your breasts and down your stomach before reaching the waistband of your trousers. “May I?” he asks, his voice deeper and more gravelly than normal. You respond by slowly pushing your trousers down before Astarion helps fully take them off before taking in the sight of your naked body. “Oh my little treat, we are going to have so much fun together.” he cooed while his fingers began tracing up and down your now naked thigh, each movement leaving goosebumps behind them.

 You grabbed Astarions hands and placed them on your breasts, “Astarion, I’m going to make myself cum if you don’t touch me. I don’t think either of us want that. Right?” He practically whimpered when you spoke and shook his head before composing himself and saying “That would be an incredible sight to see but I would much rather have a taste instead.” You moaned when his mouth finally surrounded your nipple and his fangs grazed the soft flesh, your fingers laced themselves in his hair and tugged slightly, earning a soft moan. 

He moved down your body, leaving feather light kisses everywhere he could, you could have cum at just the sight of him between your thighs. His kisses turned into love bites on your hip bones, making you pant and gasp with desire, “Astarion please touch me-e-ahhh” your whining turning into a strangled moan as his mouth engulfed your aching clit, he swirled his tongue around it for a moment before pulling off to start licking the arousal that had accumulated on your inner thighs. “You taste even more delicious than I could have ever imagined. Gods I can’t wait for you to come all over my face” his voice was thick with desire, he reconnected with your pussy and began to devour you. 

His tongue started making slow circles around your clit before speeding up, he switched between circling your clit and licking broad strokes through your folds, every movement bringing you closer and closer to an orgasm. “Fuck, you’re gonna make me cum if you don’t stop.” you said breathlessly trying to squirm away from his devilish tongue, “Darling, I am going to make you cum until you cry. I’m begging you, give me as many as you can and I will lick up every single one.” his voice muffled against your thighs. 

He continued the same relentless pattern of circling your clit and licking, drawing out high pitched whines, gasps, and moans until you feel a familiar heat burning across your skin. Your orgasm hit you harder than you’ve ever felt before, you tried to tell Astarion but all that came out were broken gasps and cries before you hit your peak. True to his word, Astarion licked up every bit of your arousal before pressing soft kisses to your inner thighs as you attempted to regain the ability to breathe. 

“My love, are you alright?” he asked in a surprisingly caring manner, once he saw you nod he added slyly, “Can my delectable little pet handle more of me?” You were completely wrecked, your eyes were blown wide with lust and your cheeks hot with blush. You wanted more, you wanted so much more of him that it was concerning to you. 

You choked out a response after a moment, “Astarion, I will take whatever you give me. Please, I promise I can handle it and be good.” You couldn’t believe the words coming out of your mouth, but they were more true than anything you’d ever said. Astarion groaned at your response, obviously delighted to continue “Oh thank you darling.” He continued muttering soft ‘thank you’s’ and terms of endearment as he kissed your inner thighs, hips, and lower abdomen. 

His words and kisses made you shiver with desire, your body already eager for another mind shattering orgasm. Astarion moved back to your pussy and placed a few feather light kisses on your sensitive clit before teasing your entrance with his finger, you gasped at the feeling and began to beg for him to be inside you. His finger plunged deep inside your tight, warm walls as you moaned at the feeling of finally having, at least part of him, inside of you. He moved out from between your thighs to lay beside you as he lazily fingered you, never looking away from you. Astarion moved his finger in and out of you slowly, teasing you again, wanting to hear you pleading with him to go faster. Of course that didn’t take too long before you started whining with frustration and trying to move your hips to get more friction. He added a second finger and you squealed with joy before realizing that he wasn't going any faster despite your pleas. Nothing was working, he wouldn’t go any faster or deeper no matter what you said or did, you were getting so worked up that tears began to form in your eyes. When he saw this Astarion sped up, just enough to hear you moan in delight and for you to call his name out like a prayer, just enough to bring you right to the edge of bliss. And then he would slow down again, he only needed to do this one more time until you were so frustrated and wrecked that you truly began crying, Astarion smiled darkly at the sight of tears running down your flushed cheeks before leaning closer to your face and licking them away. He left kisses on your cheeks and forehead while muttering words of encouragement for you, ‘you look so beautiful like this’, ‘I got you darling, trust me’, ‘you’re doing very very good for me’, ‘my gorgeous little Lycina’. 

He added his thumb into the mix and began rubbing your clit much to your delight, there were still tears slipping out of your eyes but Astarion was there to wipe, or lick, them away. You were brought right to the edge of an incredible orgasm before he removed his fingers completely, you let out a scream of frustration before the tears began again. “I’ll let you come again if you answer a question for me. Can you do that little pet?” he asked teasingly, through your tears you promised to answer anything so long as you could come. 

“Good girl, has anyone made you feel this good before?” he asked with a quirked eyebrow, “No!” you cried out in earnest. “Very good, you’re doing so very good for me. One last question…” you interrupted him quickly saying “No, no, no, no, you said one question then I coud come. Please, please, please, ple- ah-” Your word was cut off by a particularly rough thrust of his fingers, “Hmm..yes, well too bad. My last question is- do you agree that having someone older and more experienced is much, much better than having someone your age?” 

You look at him through watery eyes, hot tears threatening to fall once again, “Yes! Okay! I’m sorry for saying that you’re old and bad at sex!” you sobbed out. That’s what he wanted to hear, that he was right and you were wrong. You would plan your revenge after he made you come again. His fingers and thumb started moving faster than they had before, curving upwards towards your most sensitive spot. You could feel the knot building more and more with each skilled thrust of his fingers, you were quickly approaching a devastating orgasm, you were a blubbering mess and Astarion couldn’t be more pleased. Your orgasm crashed into you as he leant down to your neck and began to lick and nibble on the sensitive spot below your jaw. You came hard with a high pitched wail and clutched onto Astarions free arm, digging your nails into the skin hard enough to break the surface. 

It took a minute to come down from your high, during which Astarion kissed your cheeks, forehead, and lips softly helping to keep you grounded. He moved your hair off your face and began stroking it tenderly while whispering “you did so good darling” “I got you my love, you’re okay”. You looked completely destroyed and yet positively beautiful to Astarion, you finally looked him in his eyes and gave him a breathtaking sleepy smile. You raised your hand to cup Astarion’s cheek which he leaned into lightly, closed his eyes and smiled softly, you two stayed like this for a moment in total silence completely at peace in the moment.

When you finally spoke all you could think was “Wow. Woah.” you might not have been fully there yet but Astarion chuckled deeply and brought you close against his chest as you both laid down. "That was amazing darling, you did very good. Was I too rough with you? Are you okay?" he asked with genuine concern in his voice, "No, I feel incredible. It was amazing, unexpected but amazing." you assured him. "All I want to know is when can I return the favor?" you asked flirtingly. He looked down at you adoringly and whispered “You may be the next cause of my death my love. You need sleep darling, we have to think of how to explain your appearance when our companions see you in the morning.” 

Oh. Fuck.

[hiskillingjar]

Glory Hole (Strade/MC)

*into a megaphone* my fetish for german men strikes again

i’m going to berlin in like three weeks and if i don’t get my dick sucked in a gay club, i’m gonna be mad as HELL.

day 21: glory hole second person. gay male reader. early 20s strade and takes place in the early 2000s.

"I'll only be gone for an hour!"

You had told your friends back at the hostel, while they were all relaxing after a heavy meal and too many glasses of beer, all getting ready for the guided tour tomorrow morning. 

It was probably the sensible choice, you knew that much, but it didn't feel right to have an early night on a Friday, especially not when you were in Berlin, one of the most famous "nightlife" cities in the world. You almost couldn’t believe that they were all passing that up to get an early night for a walk amongst the gravestones, or something equally boring like that.

You might have been a lame faggot who enjoyed all that historical shit too, but you weren't lame enough to let it completely derail your capacity to have a good time.

Just for an hour, you kept in your mind, as you left the hostel with the "Best Gay Clubs in Berlin" street map you had printed out back at home, several big ones close by circled in red - a 'must-attend’ sort of place, the blog post had stressed in bold typeface.

"Lachmannstraße," You murmured to yourself, a hand in your (freshly dyed, thank you very much) hair, peering from the map to the street signs you approached and doing your best not to be distracted by the students and rowdy tourists pouring out of theatres and bars to chase a similar high as you. "And then...mm, Urbanstraße. Yep, that's right."

'Keep your eyes out for the rainbow flag over the door', you had written on the map, and you squinted your eyes in the darkness to assess the row of doors and shops, lighting up when you spotted the rainbow flag in question.

You probably could have guessed that it was a gay bar, though, even without the pride paraphernalia. 

Pounding techno could be heard from where you were standing across the street, thumping loudly as a line stagnated outside to get in. One bouncer, a tall guy with a beard and gauges, was chatting and joking around with the more attractive types that tried to get into the club, most pretty bachelorettes that could charm their way in, while the other seemed a little less chill, keeping the… less appealing away with a firm hand.

That was fine, though.

You were good at chatting up bouncers back home (though your friends blamed your luck on your ‘twinkish good looks’ as opposed to being especially charming or good at conversation), and you had studied enough German in the previous semester to schmooze yourself through most conversations.

“Hello!” You greeted, a little too eager this late at night. “Price for…um, ticket, please!”

The stricter looking bouncer had spotted you approaching, crossing his arms and looking terse as he looked you up and down, seemingly ready to turn you away...until, he noticed the slight struggle you were having to speak German.

Shit. Maybe you weren’t as good at this as you expected.

"English, ja?" He asked, his tone and demeanour completely changed as he switched to a different language, smiling politely and seeming almost friendly now.

"Is it obvious?" You asked with a self-concious chuckle, in...okay, decent-ish German. Your accent could have used some work. "Busy tonight?"

He just chuckled and shook his head, waving you down to join him away from the long line.

"I could tell. I've become quite the expert at spotting tourists." He swapped back over to German, perhaps just to humour you (you had done all that practice, after all). "But...yes, busy tonight, as always. Though,” He gave you a quick once over with another smile. “I could possibly spare a spot inside for you, if you want. Skip the line, as it were. You here alone?"

"Alone," You nodded, beaming at his offer. "Nobody wanted to come out with me, hah. I’m in the hostel back on, mm, Lachmannstraße, so-"

"Hah! Well, their loss, I say." He laughed and shrugged, before putting a hand on your back and escorting you past the long line. "Sometimes it is better to go out alone. No limits that way, no?"

You barely suppressed a slight shiver at the hand on your back as he guided you into the club, into the cave of red light and pounding music that always made your head pulse. You couldn’t help it though, that’s what you told yourself, you were in a different country, experiencing new things, speaking a new language, and…well, the bouncer was a really good-looking guy. 

Built and an inch or two taller than you, dark features, hair past his shoulders, and a piercing through his nose. 

The kind of guy you always went crazy for.

"Thank you," You kept smiling, speaking over the music. "Um, ah...have an hour?” You said, your German becoming much worse all of a sudden. "Dance with me?"

He turned to look at you, his hand still on your back (drifting down the crease of it, where your shirt was slightly riding up) as he leaned in to speak directly in your ear.

"I have a better idea. Come with me," He murmured, his low voice sending another lovely shiver through your body and his hand moving to your hip, as he led you past the dance floor, through the throngs of people there. “I’ll show you a good time.”

You were almost starstruck as he pushed you ahead through the mass of grinding, dancing bodies, silently ecstatic that you were really hooking up with someone on a college vacation (like all the movies and books had spoken about, a real vacation romance!), before noticing that he was pushing you towards an LED 'WC' sign.

Okay, not exactly romantic. But still, pretty exciting.

He idly led you through to one of the stalls at the very end of the heavily graffitied bathroom (the only other attendees pissing in a urinal and making out against the sinks), nudging the door open with a kick of his boot and pushing you inside roughly, quickly shutting the door behind him, and locking it.

"Nhh!" You grunted as you stumbled back against the toilet, your body forced to straddle as your back hit the tile and piping roughly, painfully. “H-Hold on, can we just-”

"Relax, relax, don’t make so much noise, hm?" He murmured in a raspy whisper, a darker look crossing his eyes as he moved to pin you against the wall by your wrists, his larger body pressing against yours. "I'm sure there's better things you could be doing with that mouth, ja?"

"O-Oh," You stammered, eyes widening as you struggled against him. "N-No, I, uh...I'm sorry, I wasn't, um," You swallowed hard. "Ah, 'arbitten'? Soliciting?"

He just laughed at your attempts to struggle, his grip on your wrists tightening.

"Nein, you were not. You’re not wetlos enough to be doing that," He leaned down to speak in your ear again, his breath hot on your neck, making goose bumps rise on your skin as he said words you didn’t understand. "But you were certainly…mm, flirting, just a moment ago, outside, hm?"

"I wasn't...hah," You breathed out as his hips pressed against yours, trembling even more.

"No? So I must have...misheard you, then, ja?" He shrugged with an easy smile, before he forcefully moved your wrists above your head, holding them still with one hand as the other curled into the back of your hair, pulling it tightly as he pushed your body down onto your knees, expensive denim colliding with the wet ground. “Easy mistake to make. Don’t worry, I forgive you~”

God, you hoped that was just water.

"Ngh!" You grunted as he kept your head raised upwards and your wrists aloft. "E-Easy!"

He may have been about to speak, but you were both interrupted, however, by an idle knock on the (only) other side of the bathroom cubicle and your head strained against his firm grip to peer towards...a hole in the wall.

Well. This was a gay club, after all.

"Well…”

His attention turned, too, as he looked towards the knock and the telltale hole in the wall, before looking back down at you, a filthy chuckle escaping his smirking lips.

“It looks like we have some...company, don’t we?"

Your eyes widened slightly as he forced your head against the wall, the knock hard enough to rattle your brains in your skull, watching helplessly, through the hole, as the stanger on the other side started to unbutton his jeans.

"Couple?" The guy in the other cubicle asked, his accent thick but neither English or German.

"Yeah," The bouncer responded with an unseen nod, tightening his grip on your hair as he spoke, forcing your head to stay straight and his gaze remaining fixed on you. "Care to...ah, join us, ja?"

"He clean?" The guy asked gruffly.

"Mm, he looks it," He responded with an idle shrug, looking you over for a moment with a wry smirk, before looking back at the hole in the wall, like he was talking to the guy’s face. "Want to see for yourself, though?" He then asked as he pushed your still-pinned body closer to it.

His hand curled tighter in the back of your hair, forcing you closer towards the glory hole as the guy shoved his half flacid cock through it, dripping with coagulated pre-cum and grime.

This guy was a real fucking hypocrite, asking if you were clean.

"Go on...show him what that mouth can really do~"

Stuck between a rock and a hard place (figuratively and, somewhat, literally), you swallowed down your complaints and pride with a silent grimace and opened your mouth obediently, sticking your tongue out and idly smoothing it down the wrinkled head of the guy’s cock and foreskin.

"Upff," You groaned at the taste, eyes watering as you struggled not to gag, all while the guy moaned and groaned himself, and braced himself against the cubicle wall, pushing himself further into your mouth and down your throat.

"Take well at both ends?” The guy murmured through a groan. “Might need to test...make sure..."

You squeezed your eyes shut at the lewd suggestion (and the grody taste of aged semen rubbing into your tongue, there was no way in hell you would ever let this guy fuck you, not in a million years), your thighs tensing together as the bouncer held your head still, snickering to himself.

“You know Americans,” He murmured, letting go of your wrists (he didn’t need to hold you still when he was standing in front of the only exit) to rub at his own growing bulge, idly squeezing himself as you bobbed your head up and down, your forehead and nose bumping against the cubicle wall. “They act like prudes but they’re desperate for it, ja?”

You moaned your complaints against the soft flesh between your lips, but you could feel a worrying heat begin to pool at your core and your own cock twitch in your jeans.

Fuck. How were you getting turned on by this?

The older man’s eyes flickered from your gagging lips and down to your thighs, tensing and squirming as you planted your hands against the cubicle wall and started to work your mouth up and down the other guy’s cock…barely with any help at all. “Mm, I knew you’d be the deseprate sort,” He murmured, his voice giving away a deep amount of praise as he unbuttoned his trousers and pulled out his own cock, dark and thick and fuck, you would have much prefered going down on him than some grimy stranger. “You liiike iiiit~ How cute!”

You moaned again, your eyes locked on his hand, idly jerking up and down his length, as you forced yourself to move quicker against the glory hole, just wanting this all to be over with.

“Ah ah, not too fast, mein herr…let yourself savour it, hm?”

[snarky-art]

Daphne coronation day fit idea

Not sure if I’m totally happy with it but it’s a start at the very least

She went through this ceremony before she died when she was 4 and started working with The Flame, but she wasn’t wearing the front headpiece with the cyan gem in it that time. She was wearing the other one with the additional flares on the outside of it and the purple gem, the one used for the heir that’s using the flame. The cyan one is simply for an heir for the royal family. She wears it this time since she is no longer the holder of The Dragon Flame.

This ceremony is done this time after Marion, Oritel, Bloom, and Daphne have a long and serious conversation after Daphne is healed and in a much better place mentally and physically about what Bloom and Daphne would like going forward for their positions. It’s decided Daphne shall remain heir and next in line for the throne and Bloom shall remain holder of The Dragon Flame and second in line, allowing her more flexibility to visit between Earth, Domino, and wherever else in The Magical Realm she’d like to go.

Ceremony details below the cut!

Before the ceremony starts she steps into a fire at the beginning of the hall to mark her feet.

She'll have her eyes painted with soot and her forehead and the center of her lip will be marked with it too during the ceremony by an elder who has worked and trained with The Flame.

She will then dip her fingers into flame and bury them into the soot at the bottom of it (Dominions have decent fire resistance don't worry, and Daphne is especially resistant, virtually immune. The reason she got burns before dying is a mix of her body struggling to function without The Flame by focusing on the most basic functions needed to survive and because that fire wasn’t regular fire. It was imbued and caused by such potent magic with a great ill intent and want for destruction)

The ceremony is then completed and she is given a staff made from The Great Tree's wood with foliage wrapped over it and a gold egg with imagery of The Great Tree (pictured in the second image in this post) and is declared the heir proper.

Soot in different places mean different things

For the eyes, the visions of The Dragon, showing It’s will

The mouth, to speak It’s will

The forehead, to give the being It’s ideas and wisdom

The hands, to enact It’s will

And the feet, to follow It and go where It wills There's other options too for people with different disabilities, but those are the basics and the ones Daphne is doing.

For the order the 3 circles symbolizing birth, life, and death, are meant to be read in that are shown in repetition throughout the imagery, they can technically be read either way, but typically the cycles of birth, life, and death are read from bottom to top

For The Tree, it shows how life begins at the roots, where The Dragon is said to be sleeping under it, then the trunk, life as it grows, and the leaves, death, since they are the thing that wither and fall

Same on the face paint. When people die, their last breath is said to return to the dragon. So for it to be on the lips, as that's where the last breath is taken, it's typical for that. Life continues so long as breath passes through the neck, and the base of the neck is where that breath is shown to start, or at least that is what older customs believed and dictated when these ceremonies first started as remembered in Dominion history, and it has stuck ever since.

And then for it to be on the top of the old Flame symbol, it starts in the tinder, lives with the body of the fire, and then death at the top where it withers and flickers faintly.

I explain more in depth some stuff and other bits of symbolism found in Dominion culture in this post about Bloom’s Mythix also if you want to check it out!:)

[scekrex]

Hi, so this would start with Adam being a fallen angel or demon(up to you) and a months had pass and Adam is getting the hang of redemption, he's still a bitch though(a badass bitch tho). Lucifer and Adam had gotten closer like apologizing to each other like( Lucifer for stealing both of Adam's wives and Adam for trying kill Charlie and all that)So, Lucifer being Lucifer he falls, falls hard and fast, while Adam is being his sassy, bitchy, and oblivious self in the face of Lucifer's feelings. Adam also has feelings for Lucifer, but he's cautious not wanting to ruin what he has right now. So Adam and Lucifer hang out and some demon or even better(worse in my opinion) Valentino takes interest in Adam. Lucifer, self proclaimed, Big Boss of Hell, threatens Valentino, while being a possessive bastard in the process(I find that hot for some reason🤷🏽‍♀️). As Lucifer is threatening Valentino, he accidentally reveals his feelings toward Adam, and slipped up with calling Adam, Hell's Queen, most importantly Lucifer's Queen.

Nah but possessive men are fucking hot and I love them (key to my heard, I swear) also I wasn't feeling comfortable calling Adam the queen of hell, so I switched it up to king, hope that's fine!

Fallen

pairing: adamsapple

warnings: language & Val

note: not beta read bc fuck you I don't have beta readers

Adam had fallen deep, deeper than he had ever imagined.

Not only had he been killed by the smallest one, no he had also been locked out of heaven for good. Heaven had closed its gates for him, that was what Lucifer had told him when the now newborn sinner had asked for a meeting with Sera. Lucifer had also said that they would not speak to Adam, nor would they discuss the option of his redemption in the future, according to them Adam had dug his own grave.

The only reason that there weren't sinners chasing the former angel through all seven circles of hell was Lucifer's daughter Charlie.

Once Adam had been reborn, he had found himself in front of the Hotel’s entrance. And to be honest? Living somewhere rent free without the fear of dying at any given time just because some fuck-ups wanted to see him dead sounded pretty good to Adam. He was often found around Lucifer, not because the brunette liked the devil, but because he was the most tolerable out of the group. Lucifer and Adam had been constantly picking fights, sometimes they even threw hands at each other and yet they continued to surround themselves with each other.

It had taken Adam a good while to come to terms with the fact that hell wasn't forever and that redemption might actually be a thing. So he started to change some things. Instead of calling Angel a ‘stupid whore' he actually used his name, he tried to act somewhat decent towards Vaggie, he even enjoyed Charlie's weird bonding exercises sometimes. Alastor was another deal though, the former angel never really let the radio demon live down the fact that Adam himself would've been able to very easily kill him. Niffty was someone Adam strategically dodged whenever he could, that quirky little beast scared him more than death itself did.

“Y’know,” Lucifer started the conversation, a bottle of cheap booze in his hand as he and Adam were hanging out at the bar in the hotel lobby. “I don’t think I ever apologized for stealing your wives - well ex wives,” the devil continued as he carefully watched Adam out of the corner of his eye. He had meant to get that off his chest for a while now. Adam blinked, once, twice, then he shrugged, “I mean, they probably would've fucking cheated on me with someone else sooner or later, I’m actually kinda glad it was so soon.” Lucifer simply hummed at that, knowing Adam was probably right. A sigh came from the brunette and the devil turned his head to face the former angel as he spoke, “I’m glad I didn't kill your little brat,” he nodded towards the girl, she was sitting on the couch with Angel, they were talking about only God knew what, “She’s pretty fucking hard core, takes that redemption shit serious ‘n’ is willing to risk a fucking lot for it, gotta respect that amount of determination.” That was probably the closest thing to an apology Lucifer would ever get from Adam, but that was okay. He took it, “Yeah, she surely knows what she wants,” the blonde agreed.

And so it continued to go, Adam's behavior towards the other residents and the so called staff increased a lot over time and the bond between him and Lucifer only grew. Hell be damned, they even managed to talk a little bit about how things were back in Eden, and shared their thoughts about certain decisions that were made back then. It was actually kinda nice for Adam to have someone he was able to talk about the time in Eden.

The king of hell and the first man also both seemed incredibly touch starved, as Angel had said it once. They were almost constantly touching each other, even if it was just a hand on the other man's shoulder during a conversion. Not that Adam would ever admit it out loud but they even shared a bed more than once, usually when Lucifer’s depression got so bad that insomnia started to haunt the devil. Lucifer had once explained that Adam just grounded him, that he was feeling safe around the reborn sinner and that it helped having him around when sleep wouldn't catch him.

None of them addressed the feelings they were oh so clearly both feeling properly though. The men were always tiptoeing around each other, giving the other hints that there were feelings involved, but neither of them said it how it was.

Adam wanted to talk, he wanted to tell Lucifer, the tiptoeing around each other was getting on his nerves and he wanted nothing more than to just grab Lucifer's hips and pull the smaller one in a bruising kiss, he wanted to hold him during nights, wanted to wake up next to him. Adam wanted Lucifer. But everything they had was fragile and how far was too far? Would Lucifer abandon him if the devil would know about his feelings? He surely would, at least that was what Adam told himself.

It had happened more than once that Lucifer had been flirting with him, not in a joking way friends sometimes did, but in a way that made Adam feel like what they had going on was too real, too much, too obvious. It wasn't though. So whenever Lucifer flirted with him, Adam made sure to have a bitchy reply on the tip of his tongue, ready to hit and possibly hurt Lucifer with it. And while hurting the devil wasn't his intention, it was his only protection from the feelings he was feeling.

So the tiptoeing continued.

Well, it did until Valentino busted through the hotel doors, he seemed furious and was obviously looking for Angel. All that Val found was Adam. Adam, who was sitting on the couch, his feet up and busy scrolling through his phone. “Can I help ya?” he asked, not really paying attention to who was standing in front of him as he gave Valentino a quick glance before his eyes were back on his phone screen.

“What do we have here?~” Val hummed, excited over his newest discovery, “That pretty body of yours could satisfy so many demons.~” Adam sighed and turned his phone off, that was the first proper look he gave Valentino. “Yeah, well, hate to break it to you, whore, I’m not fucking demons. Don't wanna catch a disease, these fuckers out there are nasty,” he mumbled the last part as disgust appeared in his eyes. Val chuckled at that, and walked over to Adam, grabbing his hand tighter than the former angel had expected him to. “The fuck,” the brunette yelped as he was pulled to his feet and pressed flush against Val, who toyed with Adam's hair.

Lucifer was there to interrupt them in an instant, he grabbed Adam's shoulder, firm but careful not to hurt him, and pulled the reborn sinner away from Valentino, only to put himself in-between them. “Don’t you dare to touch him with your dirty fucking hands, Valentino,” Lucifer growled, which resulted in Val taking two steps backwards, he lifted his hands in defense as the grin vanished from his face. “Hey Lucifer, didn't know you're in town,” the moth demon tried to play the situation down, needless to say that he was unsuccessful. “Don’t fucking act like you didn't do shit, he,” Lucifer pointed to Adam, who was a little confused but definitely interested in how this would play out, ”is off limits for your shady shit.”

Val crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow, “Why? Is he your personal bitch? Hey, I totally respect that the king of hell doesn't want to share his toy with the public.” That's when Adam raised his voice against the demon, “Fuck you, I'm not his fucking toy!” That caused Val to chuckle again.

The moth demon took a drag from his cig and exhaled the smoke in Lucifer’s face as he bowed down a little to be on eye level with the devil, “Listen Lucifer, we both know that if I want something, I'll get it eventually and your personal toy is no exception.”

And that made Lucifer snap.

His eyes turned red as he made himself taller, just enough to be slightly taller than Valentino himself. The horns that grew on his head only made him appear even taller and his tail was flickering in annoyance. “No Val, you will listen. He's not my toy, but he's not gonna be one of your sluts either. He’s mine,” the devil growled in a deep voice, “Not my toy, but hell's king, my king. And you better show him some fucking respect.”

Adam could only stare at what was happening, he wasn't able to say something, too overwhelmed by the feelings that were rushing through his body and the words Lucifer had just said.

“Now get the fuck out,” the devil yelled, pointing towards the door. “And if you ever take another step inside this building, then you should better start praying because I won't be as nice a second time.”

Valentino was quick to hurry out of the building, he was a man with pride, yes, but he also knew that fighting with the devil was a stupid idea.

Once the door fell shut behind the moth demon, Lucifer shrinked back to his normal height again, the horns and his tail disappeared and his eyes switched back to their original color. Adam came up beside him, the taller man rested his arm on Lucifer's head, grinning at the devil, “So I’m not only yours but also king of hell? Fuck, shawty, why didn't you tell me ‘bout that?” Lucifer flushed at Adam's comment and couldn't help the soft chuckle that escaped him.

[catiuskaa]

new task: valentine's day |ACTS|

A/N: reposting by acts! [see full version here]. wanted to see if this format works better (and yes i will squeeze everything in this one right here cause its amazing and i 100% worked my ass off on it)

PAIRING! seungmin x reader ; enemies/rivals2lovers!

SUMMARY: boring classes, boring classmates, boring assignments…to seungmin, everyone is boring even if he’s used to pretend otherwise, but you seem to get on his nerves. you, your stupid poem, and his stupid letter.

WC: 2.350k

CW: fluffy comfort, use of spanglish (not relevant to the plot, dw), use of text format, the reader is stupidly short (which i know all about), academic rivals, bad student reader x good student seungmin, mentions of the unability to deal with complicated feelings, mentions of masking feelings, slight hint of bullying, mentions of being followed, (pet)names: little one, shortie, shortcake, smallable, pretty, hyunjin as a walking therapist, and the ending is kind of a reference to a show i'm obsessed with (not gonna say it so i don't spoil it for you guys hehehe)

|PROLOGUE| |ACT 1| |ACT 2| |ACT 3|

[☆★🌷★☆]

{ACT 3: WINDOWS, LETTERS AND POEMS}

Wednesday. 9:56 am. 14th February.

Most of your classmates were still arriving from their next class as you stared at two papers in your hands slightly from afar, pencil in your lips.

You had discarded most of your creations all Monday and Tuesday when you finally ended with a draft you liked for the stupid english homework. It was nothing out of the ordinary.

But the letter in your other hand, however, was something you had never done before.

“What’s that you got there?”

Any kind of bubbly and nervous emption you had vanished at the sound of that low voice.

“Fuck off, Li.” You grunted in a husky tone, frowning at him and grabbing back the letter from his hands.

“Is it a love letter for me?” He chuckled, ignoring your behaviour.

“Why the fuck would I write that, huh?” You laughed, a chuckle full of acid, one that had much more hatred that you had ever said before.

Henry brushed a hand through his hair, and you couldn’t help but think he looked stupid. You had liked this guy? Ugh.

“Because today is valentine’s day, shortcake.”

You squinted and frowned at him.

“Swishing those dyed and damaged locks like a Loreal advert won’t make anyone fall in love with you.” You snorted, and realized the people in the hallway had fallen into silence, listening to your conversation. “Or maybe it worked with that blond girl in the club?” You pretended to ponder out loud, leaning against the locker behind you, facing him with confidence.

“Wait, what?” He mumbled.

You snickered, taking him by surprise. “Oh, silly. I was never going to date you. I kept hearing that you were an ass and figured that was right, because aside from me, little to no people talked to you. I guess I just felt pityful.” You faked a pout.

He clenched his fists, his shoulders tense.

“You’re lying.” He grunted.

You chuckled. “You wish I was. That blond girl didn’t steal my man. She stole my problem.” You heard some gasps from the people in the corridor, as they had formed some kind of circle around you two.

But then, Henry snorted, and cleared his throat, talking with a much louder voice. “So you’re not going to let everyone know about you and Seungmin?” He smirked. “I feel like that’s a bit unfair. Making it seem like I’m the bad guy and all.”

You tried hard to make it seem like that hadn’t surprised you. You were so surprised by it that you didn’t have time to react when he yanked your letter from your hand.

“Such sweet words, all dedicated to him,” he mocked. “I think these people want to know.”

“Give it back!” You clenched your jaw, your eyes dull with embarassment.

Even if he wasn’t as tall as Seungmin, there was still a decent difference between you and him. And with a sly grin, he raised the paper above your head.

You licked your lips, anger filling your body.

“Give. It. Back.”

But then he started reading.

“I looked at him as if he were the Sun, in that I never looked at him except in frustration.” He read out loud, moving the paper from your reach everytime you tried to reach. “I seeked his warmth, I complained when he was gone, but I never looked, not until I noticed he was leaving, and in the beauty of the sunset, I wondered how I had never seen him before.”

You stared at the floor, a blush spreading through your cheeks, coming from your neck.

“And that’s basically what happened.” You mumbled to Abril and Lucas over at a bench in the school grounds, hours after that whole thing had happened.

“What?!” You flinched at Abril’s loud voice. “I’m going to kill him. I am so going to murder that nasty ass bitch.” She threatened to stand up, but Lucas grabbed her forearm.

“And what about Seungmin?” He questioned softly, a lot more gentle that what you usually would expect.

You felt heat rush to your cheeks.

“I haven’t spoken to him since Friday” You stared at him with a weakness you had never felt before. “It’s like he doesn’t want to talk to me, I…” you sighed. “I don’t know what to think anymore.” You sniffed.

You had to stay in the study room for the afternoon, waiting for Atenea to get out of the club she was in so you could head to the library together like you had promised, but as you studied in silence, someone sat in the chair in front of you, frowning at you.

You took your headphones off and scratched your eyes. “Eh… Hyunjin?”

“Abril told Lara and she told me,” he mentioned in a huff. “And I’ve known Seungmin for many years. He’s not an impulsive guy. He hasn’t treated anyone like how he treats you.”

You blinked, puzzled, but frowned at him. “Are you going to scold me?”

“You better believe I am!” He scoffed. “Would you like me to politely tell you that you’ve behaved like a total idiot around him?”

“What are you—?!”

“You simply never bothered to talk to Seungmin about any of what Lara told me!” He stated with force, and you didn’t think to tell him to shut up, considering that the study room was empty that time.

“Do you really expect me to understand whatever was happening and tell him right away?” You blurted out with anger, a bit shocked at his rough approach. “Had I had the opportunity I would have!

He rolled his eyes, passing a hand over his face in a sign of desperation.

“You had every opportunity! For months!” He left his hand on the table, and started tapping at it with force, trying to make a point. “Admit it. Seungmin has been in your head ever since we both changed from the other class and you two started bickering.” Hyunjin’s eyes stared at you with a fierce glare that almost threatened to pierce holes through your skull.

“That’s bullshit!” You spitted out defensively.

“Oh, spare me!” He brushed it off. “There have been countless clues! Your stupid need to make everything a competition when it comes to him is infuriating. He talks to me about these things, you know?” He swallowed, and you leaned back in surprise, but he kept on going. “How you look at him when you’re angry, or how you mock and tease him back. It’s stupid!” He cursed out loud. “And these last two weeks have only made it so much worse.”

“What do you mean, worse?” You pondered softly, slowly taking in Hyunjin’s dramatic act.

“I mean, you were totally smitten by how he ridiculously kissed you at the back of the bus last week, considering that you kissed him back.” He stated clearly. “And he wouldn’t shut up about it and how you were ignoring him after, which, great fucking work, by the way, the dude wouldn’t shut up about you.” Hyunjin blinked slowly, trying to recall and voice what he was thinking. “And then he lends you his jacket when a mystery debutant shows up.”

“A—a what?”

“Motherfucker, eh, that Henry asshole.” Hyunjin rubbed his eyes. “I had to endure him talking shit about him for an hour because he saw him texting you some weird shit with cringe emojis.” The exasperation on his tone rendered you almost speechless. “And even then he struggled to admit how fucking jealous he was about that guy. He had your attention. He had your smile. You looked at Henry, not at Seungmin, and ah, for fuck’s sake.” Hyunjin covered his face with his hands. “He felt so ridiculously powerless that he talked to me about it. He’s never done that before!”

You were only able to blink, struggling to grasp everything he was saying.

“And then, with no word of warning, you called him, at, what, like, one in the morning?” Hyunjin said in a huff, the thought of that bringing back his anger, making him stare at you with a frown again. “He, jesus, he talked for AGES about how you hugged him, and the fact that you were wearing his jacket, like— like you’re doing now, what the fuck.” He stopped mid-scolding, staring at you with confusion.

“It’s… it’s his?”

Hyunjin’s eyes widened slightly as he nodded. “What, you didn’t know? You helped him with tecnical drawing, he gave you his jacket, bla bla bla. That whole thing?”

You blushed, shaking your head sideways. You had done what?

“Nevermind. You can talk to him about that later.”

It was your turn to scoff now. “Judging by the fact that he sent you, I don’t think he would like to see me anytime soon.”

Hyunjin chuckled dryly.

“Don’t you even dare keep ignoring him. This stupid game has lasted for too long. Besides, he doesn’t know I’m here. He thinks I’m in dance practice, but whatever. You needed to know, because he’s a mess.” Hyunjin stated, passing a hand through his hair. “He can’t sleep well, he can’t concentrate, he can’t do anything.”

It looked like the scolding was over, but there was a remaining anger that came back to him as a memory struck.

“And, moreover, you callously ignored the letter Seungmin wrote you, even though he told you he loved you!”

You were looking at your notebook on the table, halfly staring at your nails and fidgeting with them, but your head almost snapped when you stared at him.

“What letter?” You muttered, your eyes locked on his. He frowned, his eyes slightly widening.

Your heart started beating faster, almost so loud you could hear it in your head.

“Hyunjin, what letter?!”

[☆★🌷★☆]

Seungmin felt his lungs on fire.

Run, run, run.

His feet were hurting, because his old ass shoes were busted enough that their insides were almost destroyed from everyday use.

But he needed to find you.

Maybe it was because it was Valentine’s day, despite the obvious influence that a certain friend of yours had done.

“Wait, you— you missed school this morning?” Lucas had muttered with a puzzled look, eyes wide.

“I had to go to the dentist to take my braces off. Yeah.” Seungmin stated again. “So whatever you meant by ‘being an ignoring bitch this morning’, I know nothing about it.”

And then someone next to them had chimed in. “You’re talking about Henry and what happened this morning with—“

“Yeah. Why?” Seungmin had interrupted, frowning slightly.

“There’s a video of it.”

Run, run, run.

The look in your eyes when you spoke with Henry. Your smug smile when you caught him by surprise.

Your poem.

His eyes had widened when Henry started reading it in the video.

Was it…?

Could it…?

Could it really be for him?

He wanted needed to find out.

He needed to find you.

“Watch where you’re going!” A man grunted at him, and Seungmin quickly apologized, running off.

Run, run, run.

He knew where you lived just because of Friday, when you had asked him if he could head towards your house with you, still a bit scared from what had happened. He accepted in a heartbeat, reassuring you that it was fine with a million smiles.

His hand had never left yours. Your touch, colder than his, had something so adicting to it that he didn’t want to let go.

Time seemed to pass slowlier when he recognized your neighbourhood. He was about to ring on your floor, but then, your silhouette got out of the elevators, and you both blinked at each other, staring through the glass door.

You opened it slowly, approaching him.

The look in your eyes was different than what Seungmin was used to.

It wasn’t similar to how you had looked at him ever since the school year started, with a shimmer of anger that turned your cheeks pink. Or how you had looked at him that afternoon in the back of the school bus, pupils dark and lips red and slightly swollen from kissing. Or how your eyes glowed in hope and comfort that Friday night.

It was different. He wanted to savour it. He wanted to see every detail of it.

He walked towards you and cradled your face in his hands.

“Wait.” He muttered in a whisper, taking off his glasses in a movement that to you felt almost enticing.

“What is it?” You whispered back.

He blinked at you as he cleaned his glasses with the hem of his shirt.

“You’re fucking blurry.” He snickered softly, with a sheepish smile that tinted his cheeks pink.

You giggled.

He settled his glasses back in place, and smiled when your image made sense before him.

“Better.” He muttered.

“Seungmin, I—“

But you stopped speaking when his lips crashed against yours.

There it was. He tasted sweet like how hot chocolate tastes in a rainy day. You smiled at your discovery, wanting to taste it for hours.

He wanted to kiss you for days to come, even if there was a million things left for both of you to say.

“I’m sorry.” Kiss. “I wasn’t in school this morning.” Kiss. “But I saw a video of it.” Kiss. “And I needed to—“

You giggled, taking his glasses and settling them on the top of his head.

“We can do the talking later.” You smiled, your cheeks red as your hands grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

“Are you sure?” He gulped, blushing too as he mumbled.

“Yeah.” You smiled even more. “I’d rather do the kissing now.”

You'd never know what happened with his letter. But considering where that had lead you, maybe it wasn't totally bad that the wind had carried it out the window.

[☆★🌷★☆]

[lemon-natalia]

Nona the Ninth Reaction - John 5:4

Harrow!!! ❤️❤️ my girl is back!! i know she’s technically been here all the time in John’s chapters, but like. it’s nice to have actual confirmation 

i’m pretty sure i have a grasp on the soul-swapping shenanigans here: Alecto’s consciousness/soul as Nona has been in Harrow’s body, and vice versa. meanwhile Gid’s soul is back with her original (but still dead) body. okay, it was hard to figure out throughout the book but doesn't actually seem too complicated i don’t think 

‘“What does it mean to love God” “Decent dinner and a bottle of rose” why is John quite literally the worst person to discuss theology with

that being said, his description here about the love of God being essentially trusting that you won't be alone is interesting. i’m mildly sleep deprived right now and not really capable of thinking about the significance of it too much honestly, but this description really reminds me to some extent of how the bond between a necromancer and a cavalier is kind of shown to be in GtN - trusting someone absolutely, having someone that you can rely on 

‘Even G—. In fact G— will be the easiest - he won’t remember the compound’ ohhhh is THAT why he needed G—'s arm??? so that he could still resurrect him even though he got nuked. i wonder if the fact that John didn’t have to wipe his memories has anything to do with how Pyrrha can apparently remember something about the past, given she’s in G1deon’s body rn 

and the slight contradiction Harrow calls him out on here seems like a nice hint about how John might not be the most reliable narrator. i don’t know if he’s outright lied about anything, or he’s at least telling what he believes to be the truth, but i don’t trust that what we’ve heard is the full story or exactly how things went down 

the contrast between Alecto only being afraid of dying vs Nona who has her own complicated feelings, but has largely accepted it, is really striking

‘There can be no forgiveness for those who walked away’ buddy the people that you want revenge on are dead and gone. also to add to the parallels of the Lyctors being his ‘fingers’ while the Heralds are the extensions of the RB’s and their ‘Hand [and] thumb’, John’s whole ceaseless and unsatisfying quest for revenge sounds a whole lot like the Resurrection Beasts themselves. which i do have to wonder, obviously John wanted revenge prior to absorbing Alecto’s soul, but how much of that now is due to him and how much is due to having literally partially eaten the soul of a Resurrection Beast 

it is a dream sequence, so i can get that its going to be hazy and make no sense, but i’m curious about what John’s perspective is here, and his motivations for talking about this to Harrow. at certain points throughout these chapters he sounds like he’s talking pre-Resurrection, but then here he’s having a full on conversation with Harrow and knows it’s her

wooooh time for Harrow to go on the necromantic equivalent of a yoga trip of self-discovery

i also like that it’s Harrow’s own decision to walk away from John here. she’s a character who has had this very rigid belief system in large part due to her upbringing, and its nice that she’s deciding to find out what God means for herself

and yep, the final message from the chapter title numbers is ‘THE TOWER HAS REACTIVATED’. and now Harrow’s walking away from John towards some kind of mysterious grey tower. i’m assuming there’s going to be something significant at the top, but i can't for the life of me guess what

and there’s an awful lot of questions surrounding it’s existence even. here Harrow is turning away from John to walk towards it, but him naming Ianthe and Kiriona the Tower Princes suggests that he already knew about it, or even had some kind of hand in creating it? or maybe it’s something to do with what went down at Canaan House with the og Lyctors, which is still a remarkably vague/mysterious period of time. and if it’s reactivated, why now of all times - something to do with Alecto’s soul being moved to Nona? and of course on top of all that there’s Judith’s extremely ominous comment about things coming out of it 

despite being nearly another full book into the series, things Harrowhark Nonagesimus presumably still does not know after the events of HtN:

that John is Gideon’s dad

presumably, that the weird ghost that was haunting her via Cytherea was Gideon’s mum

both Mercy and Augustine are dead

that Pyrrha, yknow, still exists

that Gideon is still around in the form of Kiriona Gaia, and has fully joined the Cohort and John