#i’m fond of em all

[yameoto]

do.you fw faberry

before any blondebrunette pinkblue meangirlloser repressedlesbianannoyingbisexual there was faberry first

[sieglinde-freud]

realizing that even though i think about the awakening second gen all the time i really dont have many pairings im like “oh yeah i GOTTA do that one” like i do not pair these guys 😭 i do lucisev and MAYBE gerolau depending how im doing and then the rest of them im just like. oh yeah i’ll look through your romantic supports later and then i dont do that. who has chemistry with owain

[wishingprince]

The problem with The Thing is that it starts out as a dog so by the time it’s a disgusting messy morphing freak I love it, it’s a precious pubby. It turns into a head with spider arms and I’m like yes that’s my favorite dog, it splits a man in half and I’m like fuck yeah good boy. I already love horror monsters but The Thing is baby.

[hopecomesbacktolife]

I probably should’ve done this long ago, but I just finished adding all of my fanfic works (*anakin voice* not just the completed and published fics, but the WIPs, and the next chapter notes) to my google docs in a private folder

previously I’d been using we-have-word-at-home (aka openoffice) which has worked great! but after several stories of losing fics, tech malfunctions, etc., I wanted to be sure I had these saved in a way I can access from any device

and in the process of working through both my laptop’s fic folder documents and my posted works on ao3, I did a lot of skimming to be sure all the content and formatting pasted correctly to the new document type and location

and man I gotta say, speedreading/skimming through your entire library of written fanfics makes me feel so proud & happy that these stories exist ♡

like, on all levels but physical, I am clutching these dear little works to my heart like cherished storybooks. I’m so glad these exist. I really do love them ♡

[throes-of-warm-tornadoes]

life hack: when u start feeling like u wanna move out, just decorate ur room some more!

[szasfuckingwife]

basketballer!Gojo who knew you from college. You often showed up to his games with your friend (who liked Suguru) and just, in the most uncreepy way possible , stare at him.

basketballer!Gojo who stayed in contact with you even when he went pro. The blinding lights of fame didn’t blur his deep attraction and fondness of you. Even on his least busiest day, which was still pretty busy, he made time for you.

‘Morning, my love…your smile lightens the world and my heart, love G.S’

You smile at the note that was amongst the several bouquets of red roses, your fave.

basketballer!Gojo who made sure he returned to you every night. Unlike his teammates, he wasn’t the type to go clubbing or anything similar. He was just a guy, obsessed with playing basketball and his girlfriend.

“Fuckin’ love you, Y/N…” He breathes into your ear. After a very deserved win, he made sure to let you know how much he appreciated your support. A string of whimpers left your mouth as his dick slid in and out of you. “Always so good for me, baby..”

basketballer!Gojo who, for some reason, gets a little jealous when you steal some of his spotlight. Maybe it was just an ego thing. He was fine at first when it came to you being called ‘WAG of the season’ after sporting some cute outfits. But then when magazines and publishers hit you up, something shifted.

It was no longer Satoru Gojo and his girlfriend. But now Y/N L/N and…what’s-his-face..?

basketballer!Gojo who you no longer recognised after a heated argument.

“You know, this is so predictable. I supported you since we were in college and the one time something good goes for me, you bitch and complain!”, you yell him, your index finger was firm against his chest. “It pisses me off, Gojo. I’m done.”

He scoffs, “I just think it’s too much. The red carpets and shit, I don’t get it.”

“You don’t get it because you’re used to me being just your stay at home girlfriend. Things change!” You release your own scoff to his response.

“Maybe I liked it that way because you had time for me-”

“But you never had time for me!”

basketballer!Gojo who has no comment to reporters when asked about the ‘break up rumours ‘with long term girlfriend, Y/N. But behind the scenes, he’s yearning for your forgiveness. He’s constantly at Suguru and your best friend’s house, hoping he’ll bump into you but you were never there.

it wasn’t until the season’s final where Satoru’s team were up against the undefeated (3 years in a row) champions. He was definitely shitting himself. As team captain, he was physically present, but not mentally.

But when he walked out and saw you in the crowd wearing his jersey, he suddenly felt calm. Were you attracting all the cameras? Yes. Were you dragging attention away from the game? At times, yes. But did he mind? No. For you were there for him. Even when you hated his guts.

basketballer!Gojo who fucks you like it’s his last night with you after his team won the finals. You can’t even remember how many times you’ve came but Satoru wasn’t gonna let you go.

“Toru-hnnnggghhh..! It’s too much!” You cry out real tears as he fucks up into you. He bites your shoulder, he wanted to be so close to you after so many separated nights.

“I’ve missed this body, I’ve missed you so much, baby. You have no clue…” He growls.

basketballer!Gojo who has the biggest grin on his face when paparazzi swarm him, asking about his engagement with Y/N. Truth be told, he hasn’t stopped smiling since he popped the question.

“Satoru, what’s next for you and Y/N?” A reporter asked.

“Babies. Lot’s of ‘em.” He smugly replies.

You’ll defo punish him for that comment.

[animamii]

lockedup!Toji loves his Honeybuns

The phone rang just as you were settling onto the couch, a mug of tea in your hands and a show playing faintly in the background. You glanced at the caller ID, already knowing who it was. With a small smile, you picked up, bracing yourself for whatever Toji had cooked up this time. After accepting the call, hearing that way too long trill, you finally get to speak.

"Hello?" you greeted, feigning nonchalance. Although every phone call from Toji has you giggling and kicking your feet, let's be reallll.

"Hey, princess," Toji's deep voice rumbled through the line, warm and familiar despite the scratchy sound of the prison phone. "Whatcha doin’?"

You rolled your eyes, though the grin tugging at your lips betrayed your fondness. "Just relaxing. What about you? Playing king of the yard or something?"

Toji chuckled lowly. "Nah, nah. Somethin’ like that, though. Listen, baby girl, I gotta ask you for somethin’ real important."

You tilted your head, immediately curious. "Important, huh? What is it this time? A file baked into a cake? Need me to smuggle something in my mouth then tongue kiss it into yours?"

"Close," he quipped. "But nah, just a few more honeybuns."

"Honeybuns?" You couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled out of you. "Are you serious? Didn’t I just send you a whole box last week?"

"Yeah, and they’re gone," Toji said, completely unapologetic. "Ate most of 'em the minute they cleared it and gave it to me. Besides, those things are gold in here."

You raised an eyebrow, leaning back against the couch. "Gold? What, are you trading them for favors or something?"

"Don’t worry ‘bout that," he replied, his tone light but teasing. "Just know your man’s gotta keep his stash stocked. You wouldn’t wanna see me suffer without my sugar fix, would you?"

"You're unbelievable," you teased, shaking your head even though he couldn’t see it. "But fine. I’ll send more. Anything else while I’m at it? Chips? Cookies? A five-course meal?"

"Nah, just the honeybuns," Toji said, and you could practically hear the grin in his voice. "You’re the best, princess. Knew I could count on you."

"Yeah, yeah," you said with mock exasperation. "You’re lucky I like you so much."

"Damn right, I’m lucky," he replied smoothly. "I’ll make it up to you when I get out, I swear. Dinner, a movie—whatever you want. Just me and you, baby."

Your heart softened at his words, a small smile creeping onto your face. "I’m holding you to that, Toji. No excuses."

"Deal," he said without hesitation. "But for now, just keep those honeybuns comin’, alright? They’re the only thing sweeter than you in here."

You rolled your eyes again, though your cheeks warmed at the cheesy line. "Alright, alright. I’ll send them out tomorrow. But you owe me, big time."

"I always owe you, princess," he said, his tone softening. "You’re the reason I get through this mess."

Your chest tightened at the sincerity in his voice. No matter how much trouble he got into, no matter how ridiculous his requests, you couldn’t help but love him for moments like this.

"Stay out of trouble, okay?" you said gently.

"Can’t make any promises," he replied with a chuckle. "But I’ll try. Love you, baby girl."

"Love you too, Toji. I’ll talk to you soon."

As the call ended, you found yourself smiling down at your phone, already mentally adding honeybuns to your shopping list. For all his tough exterior and troublemaking ways, Toji had a soft spot that only you got to see.

Later that evening, as you wandered the aisles of the grocery store, you couldn’t help but laugh to yourself, remembering his unapologetic confession about devouring the last box. You grabbed not one but two boxes of honeybuns this time, thinking about how his face would light up—well, as much as it could under the circumstances—when he got them.

The cashier gave you a curious look as they scanned your purchases. "Big fan of honeybuns?" they asked with a smile.

You chuckled, shaking your head. "Not me. Someone special."

And special he was, even if he had a knack for driving you crazy with his antics. As you packed up your bags and headed home, you realized that, despite the distance and the challenges, you’d do just about anything to keep Toji smiling—even if it meant being his personal honeybun supplier.

��� ˚｡ ⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡ ⋆⋆ ˚｡ ⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡ ⋆⋆ ˚｡ ⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡ ⋆⋆ ˚｡ ⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡ ⋆⋆ ˚｡ ⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡ ⋆⋆

I'm literally addicted to locked up Toji rn what can I say I love a hot felon ughhh

[capquinn]

The clip of Quinn walking in on the phone then stepping off to the side for privacy is giving dad!Quinn vibes. Buggy telling him all about her day and reader giving him a little “you’ve got this! but don’t push yourself too much” pep talk for his return.

PLEASEEEE I thought the same thing. p.s i have no restraint so this stretched into something about a post-game call too <3

Like, Bug is chatting his ear off, talking a mile a minute, barely pausing for breath as she gives Quinn the most detailed breakdown of her day. Every tiny moment, every snack she ate, every little thing Cub did that made her laugh — like how he tried to grab the dog's tail and then toppled right over, and how at lunch he banged his spoon on his high chair and food went flying everywhere.

"And then I helped clean," she insists.

"Yeah?" Quinn hums, tucking a hand inside his pants pocket.

"Uh-huh. I moved all the toys off the floor."

Quinn smiles, already knowing where this is going. "And where’d you put ‘em, Bug?"

"On the couch," she says proudly.

He’s listening so intently, even though he’s walking into the arena, even though he’s got a game in a few hours. He keeps nodding, keeps making soft little “yeah?” and “no way” noises like she’s telling him the most fascinating story in the world.

He barely glances up at the cameras, barely acknowledges anything else around him, because Bug is still talking, voice bright and animated as she tells him every little thing about her day. And he just lets her go, smiling a little, tossing in the occasional “that’s so funny, Bugs” and “oh yeah? What happened next?” to keep her going.

And then there’s you, voice coming in all soft and steady toward the end, grounding him before he heads inside, before he disappears into game mode.

"Don’t push yourself too much, okay?"

And he knows what you mean. Knows you’ve been watching, that you can tell when he’s running himself into the ground — when the weight of the team is pressing a little heavier on his shoulders, when his body still isn’t at 100%, when he’s playing through something he won’t fully admit to. That you’re reminding him, gently, to breathe.

Quinn glances toward the entrance, toward the cameras waiting, then shifts his back to the doors, stepping further into the quiet, lowering his voice slightly. Rubbing at his jaw, he lets himself soften for just a second.

"I won’t," he murmurs.

"Promise?" you ask, and he can hear the knowing smile in your voice.

He huffs, shaking his head. "Yeah, baby. Promise."

There’s a pause, just the faint sound of Bug still chatting away behind you, something clattering in the background — probably Cub getting into something he shouldn’t — before he smirks, voice turning lighter.

"Miss me yet?"

You snort. "It’s been two days."

"Didn’t answer the question."

"Yeah, yeah, you’re real hard to live without," you tease, and he can picture the exact look on your face — fond, amused, shaking your head like he’s ridiculous.

"That’s what I thought," he grins, shifting his weight, leaning back against the wall, keeping out of the way of the other guys filtering into the arena. "Guess I’ll just have to win one for you, then."

"Oh, so now you’re playing for me?"

"Obviously."

"That’s a lot of pressure."

"Nah," Quinn says easily. "I play better when I’ve got something to prove."

You let out a quiet laugh. "And what exactly are you trying to prove?"

"That you miss me."

There’s a pause. Just for a second. Just long enough for Quinn to know you’re debating giving him the satisfaction.

"Wow," you deadpan. "That’s crazy. Must’ve slipped my mind between keeping the kids alive and running the house."

Quinn chuckles, rubbing his jaw. "And doing an amazing job, obviously."

"That’s what I thought."

He smiles at the way you say it, the same smug lilt he had just moments ago.

"Maybe you should remind me what I’m missing," he muses, voice dipping just enough to make you laugh, a proper one this time. Light, full and a little exasperated.

"Go play hockey, Hughes," you say through your laughter.

"Yeah, yeah," he exhales, still grinning, glancing toward the entrance, rolling his shoulders a little looser now. "Alright, gotta go now anyway."

There’s a beat, just the sound of your breath on the line, and then, "go win. Love you lots."

"Love you more."

Just as he’s about to pull the phone from his ear, Bug’s voice pipes up in the background, bright and full of energy.

"Bye, daddy!"

Quinn smiles. "Bye, Bugs. Be good, okay?"

"Okay!" she calls back, and he can practically hear the way she’s already moving on to the next thing, Cub likely babbling right beside her.

And that’s all he needs. Just that little moment with you, with Bug’s chatter still ringing in his ears, with Cub’s happy little babbling in the background, before he squares his shoulders again, tucks his phone away, and steps through the doors — back to business.

But the second he’s back in the hotel after the game? He’s calling again.

Because Bug needs to tell him goodnight, and Cub needs to hear his voice, and, truthfully, he needs it just as much as they do. Needs the sound of Bug’s little voice sleepily rambling about whatever’s on her mind, half nonsense, half comedy gold. Needs to hear Cub’s tiny giggles through the receiver, the way he babbles and coos like he’s really talking back. Needs the quiet hum of your voice in the background, settling them in for the night. Needs that little piece of home before he can even think about sleeping.

Because the adrenaline hasn’t worn off yet. His body is still buzzing, muscles aching in that familiar way, his mind still half-stuck in the game, in the post-game breakdown, in everything he has to focus on tomorrow. But when he hears Bug’s tired little "g'night, daddy," when he hears Cub’s breathing even out into tiny snores, something in him finally starts to settle.

"Sleep good, Bugs," he murmurs, voice soft. "Love you lots."

"Love you lots and lots," she mumbles back, her words slurring together, already half asleep.

Quinn smiles, shifting against the pillows, feeling the last of the tension drain from his body. "Sweet dreams."

And then there’s you, so soft and steady, like always, asking if he’s eaten, if he’s feeling okay, if he’s icing whatever’s sore. Taking care of him even when you're thousands of miles apart.

"So," you murmur, voice dipped in something fond, "was that win for me?"

Quinn huffs a tired laugh, voice soft. "Always is."

"Mm. Lucky me," you tease, the words slow, lazy, like you’re already half-drifting. "Guess that means I should start taking credit for all your wins."

"Go for it," he murmurs, shifting deeper into the pillows, pressing the phone closer to his ear like it’ll bring you closer too. "Might even get you your own trophy."

You let out a soft, sleepy hum, and for a moment, there’s nothing but the quiet between you, the steady sound of your breaths.

And then, gently, "get some sleep, Quinny."

He exhales, slow and easy, finally letting his eyes slip shut.

[pbaz7]

ONE SHOT: SENIOR NIGNT

paige x azzi

warning: sexual content

word count: 9.6k

A/N: This is a prompt I got from someone about the aftermath of senior night! You might be on a little emotional roller coaster and i’m sorry in advance for that lol. Let me know what you think if you can :)

—————————————————————————

After senior day Ted’s was packed, the air humid as laughter and music filled the space. Paige was on drink—who even knew what number at this point—but she was definitely feeling it. She claimed she needed to go big before playoffs started. Her cheeks were flushed, her grin was lazy, and everything around her was just a little bit funnier than it probably should’ve been.

Ice was practically draped over Paige, her head resting against Paige’s shoulder as she whined dramatically. “No bro— I just can’t believe you’re leaving me,” she slurred, clutching at Paige’s arm like the blonde was about to be ripped away forever. “What am I supposed to do without you? Who’s gonna hype me up? Who’s gonna throw me those stupid ass behind-the-back passes at practice and get mad if I don’t catch em?”

Paige snorted, wrapping an arm around Ice. “Alright bro, you over here acting like I’m dying. You’ll be ight.”

Ice groaned, tightening her grip. “Nooo, you don’t get it, Paige. You’re my favorite.”

“Girl boo,” a new voice cut in, and suddenly KK was there, shoving at Ice’s shoulder. “Move over, it’s my turn for P Boogers attention.”

Ice clutched onto Paige tighter. “Oh my god move KK. She’s mine.”

KK scoffed. “I’ve been crying all night about her leaving. Where were you?”

“Bro, literally right here,” Ice yelled. “Crying all over her.”

KK rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, I need more time.”

“Oh, that’s funny, because I’ve known her longer,” Ice argued, crossing her arms like she knew she won.

KK gasped. “Oh, you’re pulling the super senior card now? That’s low.”

“You’re low…to the ground.”

Paige just leaned back, watching the two of them bicker over her with an amused smile. “Y’all know I’m still here, right?”

Neither of them acknowledged her, too caught up in their argument. Ice was still latched onto Paige, while KK was trying to push her off, the two of them acting like kids fighting over a toy.

Aubrey walked by, shaking her head. “They do realize there’s two of them and only one of you, right?”

Paige shrugged, taking another sip of her drink. “Not my problem. At least they aren’t yelling.”

For what felt like ten minutes, KK and Ice kept tugging Paige in different directions, each trying to claim her as theirs for the night. Paige was thoroughly entertained in her drunken state so she let them go at it for a while. But eventually she got a little nauseous so she groaned, yanking her arms free. “Alright, alright—I’m not a toy.”

KK huffed mumbling, “Could’ve fooled me.”

Ice crossed her arms. “Yeah, you was sitting there smiling and laughing for like 10 minutes.”

Paige gave them both a pointed look. “Okay, well, maybe y’all need to lock in.”

Immediately, they both pouted at her, big, glossy eyes making them look like sad puppies.

Paige sighed dramatically, rolling her eyes before pulling them both into a hug. “Y’all are a mess,” she mumbled, but there was fondness in her voice for her younger teammates.

They melted into the hug, grabbing onto tightly.

Then, just as Paige started to relax, Ice turned her head slightly toward KK and mumbled, “I’m her and Azzi’s favorite kid.”

KK’s head snapped up. “Excuse me?”

Paige groaned. “Oh my god.”

Ice smiled hugely, clearly enjoying herself.

KK scowled. “Girl boo you are definitely not her favorite.”

“I definitely am, Azzi told me.”

And just like that, they were arguing again.

Paige rolled her eyes before slipping out of their grasp, shaking her head as she grabbed her drink and wandered off. “Y’all have fun with that.”

As she moved through the bar, the warm, hazy buzz in her chest was in full effect. She took another long sip of her drink, scanning the room for a familiar face—the familiar face. Eyebrows furrowing slightly when she didn’t immediately see her.

She knew Azzi had been there earlier because they had come together and had been attracted to one another’s side for the most part. But she hasn’t seen her in about an hour an now, no matter where she looked, she couldn’t seem to find her.

For anyone else, Paige would blame it on her drunken haze, the dim lighting, or the fact that it was harder to isolate faces in the crowded bar. But Azzi wasn’t just anyone else. Paige could usually spot her instantly, hear her voice or her laugh no matter where she was or how loud a room was . And right now? She wasn’t anywhere.

Feeling too tipsy to be subtle, Paige turned toward the table where most of her teammates were sitting. Without hesitation, she raised her voice over the music.

“Yo, anybody know where my girl went?”

A few heads turned, some of her teammates exchanging shrugs and mumbling, “I don’t know.”

Nika spoke up, casually tipping her drink toward the door. “Last I heard, she said she needed some air.”

Paige nodded at that. Without another word, she tilted her head back, downing the rest of her drink in one go before setting the empty glass down on the nearest table.

She stepped outside into the chilly air, the sounds of Ted’s fading as the door shut behind her. Her eyes scanned the area, but Azzi wasn’t in her usual spot, leaning against the wall like she sometimes did when she needed a moment away from the chaos inside.

Frustration bubbled under the buzz of alcohol because all she wanted was a hug from her girl. Paige pulled out her phone, dialing Azzi’s number. The phone rang a few times before going to voicemail.

“What the hell…” Paige mumbled to herself, frowning at the screen. She swiped over to Find My and pulled up Azzi’s location. Azzi was back on campus, in her room.

Paige’s frown deepened, and she tried calling her again, but once again, there was no answer. Paige grumbled under her breath, feeling a wave of impatience.

She pulled up her messages and scrolled down until she found the last teammate she sent a message to. She saw Aubrey’s name first and sent over a quick Imma dip Azzi already left.

After Paige sent the message to Aubrey, she started a jog back to campus. Her drunkenness made it a lot more fun than walking—her steps a little wobbly, but the night air and the thought of reaching Azzi made it more exciting.

When she finally got to Azzi’s suite, Paige paused in front of the door, groaning slightly when she was able to just walk in.

“Azzi… bro, you need to lock your damn door,” Paige muttered to herself.

She shook her head, slipped off her shoes, and stepped inside quietly, trying not to make too much noise just in case Azzi was asleep. Her eyes searched the living room, but Azzi wasn’t in sight. Paige moved through the dark suite with ease, knowing the layout so well it was almost second nature.

As she got closer to Azzi’s room, the door was slightly opened but when she peeked inside, Azzi wasn’t there either.

A soft sound from the bathroom caught her attention. The sound of the shower running. Paige’s lips curled into a small grin as she drunkenly padded softly toward the bathroom.

She knocked lightly on the door, her voice low. “You in there, mama?”

The response came, but it was muffled, almost too quiet to yeah. “Yeah.”

Paige’s eyebrows immediately furrowed as she heard a sniffle follow Azzi’s response. Her grin faded, replaced by concern. Opening the door gently, she stepped inside and froze for a moment when she saw Azzi, the drunken haze disappearing immediately.

Azzi was sitting on the shower floor with her knees pulled to her chest, her head resting in between them. The water was running, but Paige could tell it was colder than it should’ve been when she didn’t see any fog on the mirror. Azzi’s face wasn’t visible, but Paige could see the tension in her posture and the way her shoulders trembled, even under the cascading water.

Not caring about the expensive jeans or anything else she was wearing, Paige stepped into the shower, ignoring the immediate chill of the water against her back. She positioned herself between Azzi and the cold stream, blocking it from hitting her, and knelt down in front of her.

She leaned in close, her voice gentle but filled with concern. “What’s going on, baby?” She waited for a second, hoping for any response, but when Azzi didn’t look up, Paige’s hand instinctively moved to gently run through Azzi’s wet hair, trying to soothe her.

"Talk to me, baby," Paige whispered, her voice pleading now. "What do you need?" Paige hated feeling this helpless. It was one of the worst feelings in the world—when something was wrong with Azzi, and she couldn’t immediately fix it, couldn’t make it better. It always gnawed at her.

But Azzi didn’t respond. Instead, Paige felt Azzi's shoulders shake slightly, and then the soft, heartbreaking sound of Azzi crying. Paige's heart broke all over again, her own breath hitching in her chest.

"No no, I'm sorry beautiful," Paige muttered, even though she wasn’t sure what exactly she was apologizing for—she just knew she made her cry more. She hated seeing Azzi like this, feeling like she’d failed her somehow.

Standing up, Paige reached for the towel that sat next to the shower. She turned to shut off the water, the room falling silent except for the sound of Azzi’s sniffles.

When Paige turned back around she crouched down in front of Azzi again, the towel still in her arms. She leaned in, resting her forehead against the top of Azzi’s head for a brief moment, as if she was trying to absorb some of the pain Azzi was feeling.

“Lemme get you up, beautiful,” Paige whispered.

Azzi finally looked up, and Paige’s heart sank when she saw her—her puffy eyes, mascara smeared a little on her cheeks, looking exhausted and vulnerable. Paige’s chest tightened as she fought the urge to pull her close, to do anything she could to make it better.

Gently, Paige leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to Azzi’s forehead, the gesture an attempt to remind Azzi that she wasn’t alone.

“Can you stand up for me baby?” Paige asked.

Azzi nodded, her movements slow. Paige gently helped her to her feet, her hands steady as she wrapped the towel around Azzi’s body, providing her the warmth she needed.

Once Azzi was standing, Paige stepped out of the shower first, her clothes and hair wet but ignored as she focused solely on helping Azzi. She reached out a hand, guiding Azzi carefully as she stepped out of the shower, making sure she was steady on her feet.

“Alright, lemme get you somewhere warm,” Paige whispered, offering Azzi a soft smile as she pulled her into her side, ignoring the discomfort of her wet clothes.

Once they got to Azzi’s room, Paige gently led her to the bed, guiding her with a steady hand as Azzi’s bare feet shuffled across the floor. She sat Azzi down, making sure she was comfortable before turning to the heater. Paige adjusted the settings and pulled it closer to Azzi’s bed, the warm air filling the room almost instantly.

“Stay right there,” Paige whispered as she turned to walk back to the bathroom.

A few moments later, Paige returned with a warm face towel in her hands. She walked over to the bed and knelt in front of Azzi, carefully wiping her face. The towel was gentle against Azzi’s skin as Paige worked to remove the mascara that had smeared from her tears. She focused on her movements, making sure to be gentle, to care for Azzi the way she always wanted to—quietly, without words, just through actions.

When she was done, Paige leaned back slightly, looking at Azzi with a soft smile. “Perfect,” she whispered, before leaning down to press a warm, wet kiss to Azzi’s forehead.

Azzi’s lips twitched up just a little, her eyes still tired, but there was a flicker of something in them—a glimpse of appreciation. Her voice was soft, muffled by her exhaustion as she mumbled, “You’re getting water everywhere big head.”

Paige looked down at her wet clothes and grinned sheepishly. “Oops,” she said, her voice light, trying to ease the mood.

Azzi couldn’t help but chuckle quietly at Paige’s grin, the sound of it just a little more like herself again. Paige’s heart warmed at the sound of her soft laugh, even if it was just a small one—it meant they were making progress.

After Paige took the towel back to the bathroom, she returned to the room, ready to take care of her in any way she could. She started to reach for the shea butter, her hands hovering over the container, when Azzi’s soft voice interrupted her.

“You need to take off your wet clothes first,” Azzi whispered, her eyes barely lifting to meet Paige’s.

Paige huffed, already irritated at the thought of undressing herself when she just wanted to focus on Azzi.

Still, Paige listened. She took a deep breath and stepped back, pulling her wet shirt over her head in one fluid motion. She was about to toss it in the corner but caught Azzi’s gaze. Azzi gave her a pointed look, as if silently saying really? Paige sighed, rolling her eyes, and laid the shirt across the chair instead, allowing it to dry properly.

Next, she pulled off her wet jeans, mirroring the same motion. She sighed again, throwing them carefully on the chair, before removing her socks, sports bra and boxers.

Now fully in just her damp skin, Paige reached into Azzi’s drawer and pulled out a shirt and a pair of her boxers, slipping them on without a second thought.

Once dressed, she turned back toward Azzi.

Paige moved towards her, cupping her face gently with both hands, her warm fingers soft against her skin. “You gonna let me take care of my wife now?” she whispered, a smile on her lips.

Azzi bit her lip slightly, her eyes flicking to Paige’s before she nodded softly.

Paige’s smile grew as she reached for the shea butter. She knelt in front of Azzi, her hands warm as she started with her feet. Gently, she massaged the cream into Azzi’s skin, taking extra time with every touch. The warmth of her hands and the smell of the shea butter filled Azzi’s senses, mixing with the quiet rhythm of the suite.

She kissed Azzi’s feet softly once she was done, a little smile tugging at her lips when Azzi’s eyes fluttered shut, the small gesture making Azzi’s heart flutter too. Paige continued up to her legs, making sure to soothe every inch of skin as she worked. She kissed Azzi’s skin here and there, lingering just long enough to make Azzi’s smile grow.

When Paige moved to the rest of Azzi’s body, she took her time, kneading the shea butter into Azzi’s shoulders, arms, and stomach, occasionally pausing to kiss her skin. Each kiss was a soft, intimate reminder of the care she wanted to give, of the love that always felt so quiet but so deep between them.

Paige finished by gently massaging Azzi’s neck for a while, working out some of the tension in her shoulders. Each stroke of her hands seemed to ease the tightness, and Azzi’s eyes fluttered shut, a soft sigh escaping her lips. Paige’s touch was soothing, her hands firm yet gentle as she worked the knots out of Azzi’s muscles, knowing how much it meant for her to relax after games.

Once she was satisfied with Azzi’s shoulders and neck, Paige stood up and walked to Azzi’s dresser. She pulled out a set of fresh underwear, pajama shorts, and a loose t-shirt—her usual care package when Azzi needed comfort before bed. She walked back to the bed and gently helped Azzi slip them on.

Azzi finally thought Paige would crawl into bed with her, but instead, Paige walked toward the dresser again, reaching for Azzi's paddle brush making her groan.

Paige laughed at her, but her voice was still gentle, “Your hair’s gonna get tangled if I don’t comb it out.”

Azzi muttered a quiet, “Fine,” before she shifted, making room for Paige on the bed. Paige climbed in next to her, settling so that Azzi could lay slightly on top of her. It was a comfortable position, with Azzi resting her head against Paige’s chest, her body half on top of her, allowing Paige to carefully work the brush through her hair.

Paige worked the brush through Azzi’s damp strands, taking her time to detangle the hair gently. Despite the earlier protest she knew Azzi liked it when she took her time with this–it was something Paige had done since they were young. Every so often she would stop combing and press a soft kiss to the top of her head before going back to working the brush through Azzi’s curls.

The room was filled with the soft sound of their steady breathing and the gentle swish of the brush through Azzi’s hair. It was a peaceful moment—one that made Paige feel more grounded, more connected to the woman she loved. She continued brushing, all the while savoring the stillness, the intimacy of caring for Azzi in this simple, quiet way knowing things might be different in just a month.

Once she finished, she set the brush down and softly ran her fingers through Azzi’s hair, letting the curly strands fall loosely around her shoulders. She kissed Azzi’s forehead, whispering, “All done, beautiful.”

Azzi smiled up at her, her eyes still a little red from earlier, but calmer now, soothed by Paige's presence and her care. She whispered, "Thank you, baby."

Paige smiled warmly, shifting to sink deeper into the bed, pulling Azzi closer to her chest, letting her head rest against her.

Paige’s voice softened as she spoke, “Now, how about you tell me what’s going on?”

Azzi sighed, her voice small and tired, reflecting how much thought she had been putting into whatever was on her mind. “I don’t know what to do.”

Off those words alone, Paige knew exactly what she was talking about. This had been weighing on Azzi for months—the decision looming over her since the start of the season. Paige exhaled softly, running her hand up and down Azzi’s back.

“You wanna talk about it?” Paige asked gently.

Azzi hesitated before nodding against Paige’s chest. “Everyone just wants something different from me.”

Paige frowned slightly. “It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks but you, Az. It’s your decision and your decision only baby I keep telling you that.”

Azzi let out a frustrated breath. “But Carol—”

Paige cut her off before she could finish. “It doesn’t matter what Caroline wants. Or your parents. Or your family. Or Geno. Or the fans.” Paige’s hand moved up to cup Azzi’s cheek, guiding her to look up at her. “It affects them, sure. But it’s about what you think you need, baby. Not them.”

Azzi sighed, her fingers absentmindedly tracing little patterns against Paige’s arm. “What do you think I should do?”

Paige chuckled, shaking her head as she saw right through Azzi’s attempt to trick her into answering. “Nice try.”

Azzi groaned, burying her face against Paige’s collarbone. “Why won’t you just tell me?”

Paige smirked, her fingers still running soothingly through Azzi’s hair. “Because,” she said simply, “I know if I did, it’d play too big of a role in your decision.” She tilted her head, looking down at Azzi with a soft gaze. “Everybody else has been in your ear about this, telling you what they think is best. But I don’t wanna do that. I just wanna support you, whatever you decide.”

Azzi exhaled, her voice barely above a whisper. “I wish you were selfish sometimes and just told me what you want me to do.”

Paige laughed, shaking her head. “No, you don’t.”

Azzi pouted, shifting slightly against Paige. “Maybe I do.”

Paige grinned, tightening her arms around Azzi and pressing a kiss to her head. “Nah, because if I was selfish, I’d never let you leave me.” She smirked, nuzzling into Azzi’s neck before adding playfully, “You’d be a stay-at-home mom with our kids.”

Azzi rolled her eyes, though the corners of her lips twitched. “I’m serious, Paige.”

“I know,” Paige said, pulling back to meet Azzi’s gaze. “But I’m still not saying anything.”

Azzi let out a small, frustrated sigh before shifting, sitting up so she was now straddling Paige’s lap. Paige raised her eyebrows at the sudden movement, but all she did was rest her hands on Azzi’s waist as Azzi reached down, taking Paige’s hands in her own and beginning to play with her fingers.

“I care about what you think,” Azzi admitted, her voice genuine. “After me, my decision will affect you the most out of anyone.”

“I know, beautiful.”

Azzi held her gaze, and the way Paige was looking at her made her chest tighten. Paige always looked at her with so much love, so much trust, appreciation—so much everything. It used to be overwhelming but now all it did was make Azzi’s stomach flutter. She inhaled, squeezing Paige’s hands. “If I stay, our schedules will line up. I’ll be able to spend April, May, June and part of July with you. I’ll be able to come to a lot of your games, be there when you need me. You’ll be able to come to my games once your season ends.”

Paige remained silent, listening.

“But if I declare…” Azzi hesitated, her voice quieter now. “We’ll be in different cities for like half a year.” She bit her lip, her fingers tightening slightly around Paige’s. “But our contracts will be up at the same time and it’ll probably be easier for us to figure out where we want to settle. I feel ready now, I’m confident and I know I can do well in the league. But at the same time I feel like I haven’t put on the UConn jersey enough.”

Paige exhaled softly, searching Azzi’s eyes. “This is all true.”

“So, what do you think?”

Paige smiled and squeezed her hands gently. “I think no matter what you decide, we’re going to be perfect. We’re us. So I think you should focus on how you feel rather than what it means for us.”

Azzi groaned dramatically before throwing herself against Paige’s chest, making Paige chuckle as she wrapped her arms around her. She pressed a lingering kiss to the top of Azzi’s head, her fingers tracing small circles on her back.

“You’re so annoying,” Azzi mumbled into her shirt.

Paige grinned. “And you’re my perfect, amazing, insanely talented girlfriend who’s going to do incredible things no matter what she picks.”

Azzi huffed, but Paige felt the way her body relaxed just a little more against her.

Paige knew that wasn’t going to fully ease Azzi’s mind, so she softly offered, “We can start the pros and cons list.”

Azzi sighed, her fingers still lightly tracing patterns on Paige’s arm. “Can we do it tomorrow?”

“Of course, baby.”

Azzi smiled at this and after a beat she reached over, grabbing both of their phones and putting them on Do Not Disturb before setting them aside and settling back against Paige’s chest.

For a moment, they just lay there, wrapped up in each other, the room filled with nothing but the quiet sound of their breathing. Then, just as Paige was beginning to think Azzi might be drifting off, she felt the softest press of lips against her neck.

A smile tugged at Paige’s lips. She didn’t say anything, just tilted her head to the side slightly, giving Azzi more access.

Another kiss. This one lingering longer.

Paige’s grip on Azzi’s waist tightened slightly. “Thought you wanted to sleep, mama.”

Azzi hummed. “Changed my mind.”

Paige chuckled, her fingers tracing patterns along Azzi’s back. “That why you put our phones on DND?”

Azzi didn’t answer, just pressed another slow open mouth kiss to Paige’s neck.

Paige exhaled, amusement laced in her tone. “You always this sneaky?”

Azzi pulled back just enough to meet Paige’s gaze, her lips curving into a small smile. “Only when I really want something.”

Paige raised an eyebrow, pretending to think. “Oh yeah? And what is it you want, baby?”

Azzi’s fingers lightly traced the collar of Paige’s shirt. “You.”

Paige licked her lips, her gaze never leaving Azzi’s as she whispered, “Do whatever you want then, baby.”

Azzi paused for a moment, her eyes twinkling with surprise—not from uncertainty, but from the way Paige had given her full control so easily. Azzi was used to being the one who had to talk Paige into submission, coax it out of her.

“Really?”

Paige grinned, her fingers slipping through Azzi’s hair, “Mhmm.”

Not wanting Paige to change her mind, Azzi lowered herself back down to Paige’s neck, placing soft, open-mouthed kisses along the sensitive skin, her lips lingering in just the right spots to make Paige’s breath hitch. The kisses were slow as if she was savoring every moment, every reaction she was drawing from Paige even though she just started.

Paige swallowed a little harshly, her chest rising and falling in tandem with each kiss that Azzi pressed against her neck. She couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh when Azzi started to suck and nip softly at certain spots.

Azzi paused for a moment, her fingers still lightly trailing down Paige's arm, before she softly spoke, "I'm proud of you, you know?"

Paige opened her eyes, still slightly breathless and glanced at Azzi, her brows furrowing. "For what? I didn’t do anything."

Azzi smiled softly. "You got put on the wall today," she said, her voice filled with pride.

Paige shrugged, a casual nonchalance in her movements “I guess.”.

Azzi's smile only widened, but she didn’t argue. Instead, she tugged at Paige’s shirt, silently asking for it to come off. Paige sat up, allowing Azzi to help her remove the shirt, the movement natural between them, as if they'd done this a thousand times.

Once the shirt was off, Azzi leaned in, her lips lightly grazing Paige's bare skin as she began listing off her accomplishments, her voice smooth as it flowed from one achievement to the next.

"National Player of the Year as a freshman… Naismith award…" Her kisses lingered between words, pressing soft kisses against Paige’s neck.

Paige, though clearly enjoying the attention, was already starting to get a little impatient. Her hand slid into Azzi’s hair, gently tugging her lower as she whispered, “Yeah, yeah, I’m great, I know. Can we speed this up a bit?”

Azzi smirked, not rushing. “You don’t just get to be amazing without a little recognition,” she whispered, continuing her trail of kisses down Paige’s neck, lingering with every word. “Big East Player of the year...twice…First Team all American... lost track of all the Most Outstanding Players…”

Paige shifted underneath her, trying to push Azzi lower. "I’m starting to feel like I need to hear all of this in one breath baby."

Azzi chuckled softly, completely ignoring Paige’s attempts to rush her. She shifted slightly, brushing her lips across Paige’s collarbone as she finished the list. “I’m just making sure you get the credit you deserve, P,” she teased, her lips now just above Paige’s chest.

Paige rolled her eyes but couldn’t suppress the grin tugging at her lips. “I’m pretty sure I’ve heard enough praise to last a lifetime, Az,” she murmured, now fully impatient. “Can we just… skip to the part where you stop talking about how amazing I am and focus on making me feel amazing maybe?”

Azzi laughed softly, pulling back to look at Paige’s face. “You really are amazing,” she whispered. “I’m just here to remind you.”

Paige sighed, but her arms pulled Azzi closer, her breath a little uneven, even as she tried to play it cool. “I appreciate it… but really, I wouldn’t complain if you hurried it up a little.”

Azzi’s lips found a spot just below Paige’s collarbone, her teeth grazing the skin before she bit down a little harder than she had previously. The sharpness of it made Paige flinch, a quick whimper escaping her as she clenched her jaw, eyes fluttering shut.

Azzi pulled back just enough to whisper in her ear, “Stop rushing me.”

Paige’s chest heaved slightly as she exhaled, trying to calm herself. Her fingers found Azzi’s shoulders, gripping them gently as she looked up at her with an almost apologetic gaze. “I’m sorry, pretty,” she murmured, her voice a little breathier than before. “I can’t help it... I just want you. Haven’t had you in like a week.”

Azzi smiled at this as she began to trail lower, her kisses growing a little sloppier. She paused at Paige’s chest before pressing her lips against the soft flesh. She sucked lightly, just enough to leave a few marks, ensuring that they would be hidden from view—just for Paige.

Paige’s breath caught in her throat at the sensation, her fingers curling into Azzi’s hair, drawing her closer. “You already feel so good,” she breathed, her voice filled with desire as she stroked Azzi’s hair, urging her to keep going.

Azzi hummed softly, the sound vibrating in a way that only made Paige crave more. She kissed her way across Paige’s chest, making sure she gave each sensitive nub attention as she swirled her tongue.

Paige’s breath grew more uneven as Azzi’s lips worked their way further down her torso. “Feels so good, Az,” Paige breathed out. “So good at this baby.”

Azzi paused just for a second, her lips still hovering over Paige’s stomach as she glanced up with a playful smile. “Yeah?” she asked softly. She leaned back down, tracing her tongue over Paige’s stomach before adding, “Tell me, baby, how does it feel?”

Paige inhaled slowly, her body responding to Azzi’s touch. “Perfect. Every time,” she whispered, her hands sliding to Azzi’s shoulders, her fingers tracing the muscles there.

When Azzi’s lips finally reached Paige’s waist, she took her sweet time, pausing with every kiss, savoring the way Paige’s body reacted—the way it twitched under her. She could feel the tension building in Paige, could hear the shallow breaths escaping her, and it made her smile inwardly. She loved how much patience she had to remind Paige to have each time.

Paige shifted slightly, her fingers digging into Azzi’s shoulders slightly, trying to keep her cool. She let out a frustrated breath. “Baby, please,” she whispered, her voice already a little horse with desire. “You’re killing me here.”

Azzi’s lips lingered on Paige’s waist, and she pulled back to look up at her, a glint in her eyes. “What did I tell you about rushing me?”

Paige let out a breathless laugh. “Not rush. But you know what you’re doing to me,” she said, her voice shaky. She swallowed, her hands instinctively moving to Azzi’s hair, tugging her closer. “Just... don’t make me wait no more.”

Azzi hummed softly, her lips brushing against Paige’s waist again, this time suck softly right above her waistband which seemed to drive Paige crazy. “You think I don’t know?” Azzi teased, her fingers pressing into Paige’s sides as if to remind her just how in control she was. “You get so impatient right here, don’t you? Sensitive?”

Paige let out a small, shaky laugh, her body stiffening as she tried to keep herself in check. “I can’t help it. You know what you do to me,” she admitted. “I just... want you, Azzi.”

Azzi smiled, leaning in and brushing her lips along Paige’s skin again before teasingly biting the spot just above her waist. Paige inhaled sharply, her hands tightening in Azzi’s hair, a soft gasp escaping her lips. “You’re not making it any easier,” Paige murmured, half laughing, half groaning.

“You really want me to hurry up, baby?”

Paige let out a frustrated, yet satisfied sigh, biting her lip. “Yes, please,” she whispered, her fingers now lightly massaging Azzi’s scalp as she attempted to push her head closer, needing more, aching for more. “You know I can’t stand being teased like this.”

Azzi’s smile widened against her skin. “I think you can handle it,” she teased. “Just a little more patience, I’m almost there,”

Paige closed her eyes for a moment, trying to gather her composure, but the way Azzi was taking her time, deliberately testing her patience, made everything seem much more intense. “I don’t think I can gorgeous,” she breathed, almost pleading. “Please baby...”

“You’re beautiful when you beg,” Azzi murmured with a smile. She reaches for the waistband of Paige’s boxers and Paige immediately lifts her hips to make it easier for her girlfriend to discard them.

Paige let out a frustrated whine, her fingers gripping the sheets when Azzi blew slightly on her center. “Azzi,” she breathed. “You’re—” She cut herself off with a shaky exhale as Azzi’s lips brushed against her folds, barely there, but enough to make her squirm.

Azzi smirked, feeling Paige’s body tense beneath her. “What was that?” she teased, pressing another soft kiss to the same spot.

Paige groaned, dropping her head back against the pillows. “You know what,” she mumbled, her hands flexing. “You’re teasing me on purpose.”

Azzi hummed in consideration, her fingers pressing lightly into Paige’s thighs, just enough to make her want more. “Maybe,” she admitted. She placed another featherlight kiss, her breath warm. “But can you blame me? You’re just so pretty like this.”

Paige inhaled sharply, her back arching slightly off the bed. “Azzi,” she warned, but it came out more like a plea.

Azzi chuckled, her hands moving up to grip Paige’s hips firmly as she felt her shifting beneath her. “You’re so needy,” she murmured.

Just the feeling of Azzi’s breath against her core had Paige’s body reacting, her legs twitching slightly, her stomach tensing under the sensation. She tried to push herself toward Azzi’s mouth, desperate for more, but Azzi’s grip tightened, steadying her.

“Stay still, baby,” Azzi whispered.

Paige exhaled shakily, biting her lip. Azzi let the moment linger, watching her with that smile before finally relenting.

She swipes her tongue across Paige’s center feeling her legs twitch slightly at the feeling making her chuckle. Deciding to fully put Paige out of her misery she starts working her tongue across her girlfriend’s core. She starts slowly using her lips and tongue perfectly knowing exactly how Paige likes it.

She looks up to find Paige looking down at her in complete awe, her blue eyes glazed over, her jaw slightly parted. This causes Azzi to smirk as she sucks Paige’s clit into her mouth gently, deliberately holding eye contact.

Paige immediately throws her head back against the pillow mumbling out, “Oh my fucking God.”

Azzi's eyes flickered up again, a small smile tugging at her lips as she mumbled out, “You like it?"

Paige nodded, her chest rising and falling faster as Azzi builds her up. "I fucking love it," she whispers as she pushes closer to Azzi’s mouth.

Azzi let out a satisfied hum—she always loved how vocal Paige was during sex. How worked up she could get her. “I love hearing you baby.” When she doesn’t get anything in response besides a few breathy whimpers Azzi starts slowly but deliberately tracing the letters of her name as she eats Paige.

Paige couldn't hold back the quiet gasp that escaped her throat when she realized what Azzi was doing. She opened her eyes looking down at Azzi. Her breath was shaky as she whispered, "Why you doing that?"

Azzi looked up her lips wet as she smirked. "It's mine, right?"

Paige's body responded immediately, a groan escaping her lips as her head fell back against the pillows again. She loved when Azzi talked like that. When Azzi made it clear that she knew Paige belonged to her and only her.

Azzi sucked a little harshly on Paige's clit, the slight sting mixing with the pleasure, as Paige moaned softly.

"You didn't answer me."

Paige's heart raced, as she tried to control the rise and fall of her chest. She reached down, her hands pushing Azzi closer to her. "Yes yes, it's yours," she whispered urgently, pressing herself into Azzi. "I'm sorry... just don't stop..feels too good."

Azzi does exactly as she’s told, working her tongue expertly across the entirety of Paige’s center. Occasionally dipping her tongue into Paige’s entrance and lapping at it before repeating the process.

Paige melts further into the mattress, her eyes naturally rolling back as she drops her jaw. “Oh shit mama…there you go baby just like that.”

It had been a while, in their terms, so Azzi wasn’t surprised when she felt Paige’s legs start to shake under her. She murmured a soft compliment against her skin, her voice hushed as she worked her girlfriend up. "You're so beautiful... can't get enough of you P. You always taste so good for me.”

Paige choked on her breath as she let out a soft whine, nodding her head against the pillows, not even bothering with words.

Azzi pulled back slightly, her chin dripping with Paige’s wetness. "You good?" she whispered.

Paige once again didn't bother with a response, the feeling in her stomach too intense to form words. Instead she just pushed Azzi's head back down, letting out a whimper when Azzi attached her mouth to her again.

Paige let out breathy moans, her head pressing deeper into the pillows as her hands stayed firmly on Azzi’s head. She tried to push herself further into Azzi’s mouth, desperate to feel her girlfriend more than she already was, but Azzi held her hips down, resisting with an amused hum as she lapped at Paige like she had all the time in the world.

“Mmm, Azzi, come on,” Paige murmured, her words already slurring slightly. “Need you inside, baby…don’t be mean.”

“I’m not being mean,” she murmured against her skin.

Paige groaned when she felt Azzi’s tongue dip inside her again, her hands tightening their grip. Her words tumbling out in a dazed rush, “You're—fuck, so—just please.”

Azzi grinned, feeling Paige’s muscles tense beneath her mouth. “Baby, what are you even saying?” She whispered.

Paige whined in response, frustrated with how composed Azzi sounded while she was barely holding it together. “I don’t know,” she admitted, her fingers flexing in desperation. “I can’t think, I just—” She exhaled sharply, her words dissolving into a quiet moan as Azzi pressed her tongue deeper

Azzi smirked, loving how easily Paige came undone for her. She slowly ran her hands up and down Paige’s thighs, keeping her firmly in place as she murmured, “I love when you get like this.”

Paige whimpered, her entire body feeling like it’s on fire.

Azzi’s smile deepened as she tightened her grip on Paige’s hips, steadying her. “Look at me, P,” she mumbled, her voice commanding.

Paige let out a shaky breath, forcing her eyes open to meet Azzi’s gaze. The moment their eyes locked, Azzi swore she felt her chest tighten. Paige’s hair was a mess, her blue eyes dark and hooded, her cheeks flushed that beautiful shade of pink that drove Azzi absolutely insane.

Azzi exhaled, her fingers flexing against Paige’s skin. “You look so fucked out baby,” she murmured, almost in awe.

Paige, still lost in the haze of sensation, barely processed the words before whispering back, “I am baby—fuck…I am.”

Azzi let out a soft, breathless laugh before dipping her head down again. Paige squeezed her eyes shut, throwing an arm over her face. A second later, she mumbled something completely incoherent, her words slurring together into a mess/

Azzi grinned, leaning in closer as she moved her tongue quicker, the sound filling the room as she finally worked to give Paige the release she wanted.

“Oh shit…Fuck mama just like that…keep going just like that Azzi baby.” Paige's grip on Azzi’s head tightened as she pushed herself into Azzi’s face.

The heat in Paige’s stomach became too much and before she knew it her thighs were squeezing around Azzi’s head as she whimpered out, “Imma cum... Fuck imma cum baby don’t stop."

Within a few seconds Azzi could taste Paige filling her mouth as she let out a series of quiet moans grinding against Azzi’s face to ride out her orgasm.

Azzi hums as she cleans Paige up whispering, “You always feel so good in my mouth baby.”

These words only cause Paige to let out another whimper as she pulls Azzi up toward her by her shoulders crashing their lips together in a deep kiss. Azzi hummed into it, melting against Paige as she rested against her legs.

Paige’s hands moved instinctively, tracing along Azzi’s waist as she seamlessly flipped their positions. Just as she started to lower herself, intent on returning the favor, Azzi’s hands gripped her shoulders.

“Wait,” Azzi whispered.

Paige froze, her lips hovering just above Azzi’s skin as she looked up, eyes dark. “Wassup?”

Azzi bit her lip, glancing toward the closet before meeting Paige’s gaze again. “Can you go get it?”

Paige furrowed her brows, still slightly dazed, as she hovered over Azzi. “Get what?” she whispered, her voice still a little breathy.

Azzi nodded toward the closet again. Paige followed her gaze, and realization hit her. A smirk grew on her face as she asked, "Which one?"

"The big one."

Paige raised an eyebrow. "You sure?" she asked, her voice a little lower now. "It's been a while since we’ve used one.”

Instead of answering right away, Azzi reached for Paige’s hand, guiding it into her shorts. She ran Paige’s fingers through her folds, silently showing her girlfriend how worked up she already was.

Paige swallowed at the feeling, her jaw tightening. She let out a slow breath through her nose, nodding. “Okay,” she murmured, her voice hoarse. “Yeah.”

She pulled away, stepping off the bed and made her way toward the closet. Azzi watched her go, her pulse already racing in anticipation.

Paige strode back over to the bed, a smile tugging at her lips as she held Azzi’s gaze. She ran a hand down Azzi’s side.

"You gonna put it on for me?" Paige murmured, tilting her head.

Azzi bit her lip, her eyes flickering between Paige and the strap in her hands. After a beat, she nodded, reaching up to take it from her. She shifted closer, her fingers brushing over Paige’s skin as she helped adjust everything, her movements familiar.

Just before she pulled it up to tighten it, Azzi paused racing over into the nightstand, feeling around for something. When she finally grabbed what she was looking for, Paige’s eyes flickered down, and she let out a low chuckle, shaking her head.

“You’re crazy,” Paige whispered.

Azzi just grinned up at her, biting her lip as she looked Paige over. “You love it.”

Paige exhaled through her nose as Azzi ran her fingers down her stomach before sliding the vibrator in and pulling everything into place.

Paige got back on the bed hovering over Azzi as she placed gentle, lingering kisses along Azzi’s collarbone. Azzi’s hands found their way into Paige’s hair, her fingers gently massaging her scalp, guiding Paige closer. The heat between them growing again almost immediately.

Paige pulled back slightly, her lips brushing over Azzi’s neck as she muttered, “Too many clothes.”

Azzi smiled. “Help me then.”

With a grin, Paige sat up, her hands already working at the hem of Azzi’s shirt. She pushed it up over Azzi’s stomach exposing her piercing, before Azzi lifted slightly to help. Paige tossed the shirt aside, her mouth immediately falling to the soft skin of Azzi’s breast.

Azzi let out a quiet sigh as Paige rested her head there for a moment, her fingers trailing gently over Azzi’s sides. “So perfect,” Paige murmured.

Azzi chuckled softly, her hand caressing Paige’s back. “You always say that.”

Paige smiled against Azzi’s chest, pulling back just enough to meet her gaze. “Because it’s true baby.”

Paige let her hands drift over Azzi’s sides as she pressed another kiss to Azzi’s collarbone, then lower, her lips barely grazing over her skin as she made her way down.

Azzi shivered beneath her, fingers threading through Paige’s hair before slipping down to her shoulder, squeezing lightly. “Look who's taking their time now, huh?” she murmured, her voice already breathy.

Paige smirked, shifting slightly so their hands could find each other, fingers interlacing. “Mhm,” she hummed, bringing Azzi’s knuckles to her lips, pressing a soft kiss there before returning to her slow descent. “Thought you liked it when I take my time.”

Azzi exhaled her grip tightening around Paige’s hand. “I do,” she admitted, her other hand trailing up the back of Paige’s neck, her nails scratching lightly.

Paige glanced up. “Then relax, pretty girl,” she whispered, squeezing Azzi’s hand before letting their fingers untangle so she could map out more of Azzi’s skin. “Let me enjoy you.”

Azzi swallowed, her breathing uneven as she let Paige explore her body for what was probably the thousandth time. Eventually Paige dipped her head lower, her mouth lingering over the spot just above Azzi’s hip.

Azzi’s body betrayed her, arching slightly, a quiet curse slipping off her tongue as she tangled her fingers with Paige’s again. “Paige,” she breathed, a plea wrapped in warning.

Paige grinned, biting down gently at Azzi’s hip before soothing it with a kiss. “You’re already squirming,” she teased.

Azzi bit her lip, eyes fluttering shut as she exhaled. “Because it’s you baby.”

“I got you,” she murmured.

Paige's hands moved down to Azzi’s shorts pulling them down and her underwear down, her eyes following the string of wetness that follows as she tugs them down.

Paige licked her lips as she murmured, “Damn, baby… it’s like that?”

Azzi sighed, her grip on Paige’s shoulders tightening as she nodded. “Yeah,” she whispered, eyes locked on Paige’s. “It’s like that.”

Paige’s fingers traced slow patterns along Azzi’s thighs, her touch barely there. “So pretty,” she mumbled, gaze flickering downward before she paused. Her voice dropped even lower, almost a request, almost a demand. “Open up baby. Lemme see.”

Azzi swallowed, her pulse quickening at the weight behind Paige’s words. Slowly, she nods, spreading her legs further for Paige to see.

Paige shakes her head in awe before sinking down to be eye level with Azzi’s core. She mumbles out, “Swear I could die in this shit mama,” before immediately swiping her tongue across Azzi’s center.

Azzi sighs at the feeling and she can’t help but smile, rubbing Paige’s head when she hears her mumble, “Taste like heaven.”

Azzi whispers, “Feels like heaven too baby.”

Paige hums as she begins to drag her tongue across every portion of Azzi she can reach. Like it’s the last time she’ll ever have her.

“Jesus Christ,” Azzi gasps, tightening her hands in Paige’s hair trying to find some resemblance of control as her nerves immediately start firing in every direction. The only thing she can feel is Paige’s mouth and tongue working perfectly together in tandem—the only thing she can hear is Paige’s low hums and her wetness filling the room.

Paige is completely focused on drawing sounds out of her girlfriend. Her hands wrapped around her thighs to pull her closer. Her tongue hitting every spot she knows Azzi loves with ease.

After not even a minute Azzi’s fingers tangled in Paige’s hair are tugging just enough to make Paige look up at her. The dazed look in Paige’s eyes, her lips slightly swollen and wet, sent a wave of heat through Azzi’s body.

Paige blinked, her voice soft. “What’s wrong, baby?”

Azzi swallowed hard, her grip tightening. “I need you,” she admitted, her voice nearly a plea. “I can’t wait baby.”

Paige smirked, her hands still resting on Azzi’s waist. “I just started.”

Azzi exhaled, shaking her head. “I promise you can do whatever you want later,” she whispered, her thumb brushing against Paige’s cheek. “I just need you.”

Paige’s smirk softened, she nodded. “Okay,” she murmured, placing one last lingering kiss against Azzi’s clit before trailing back up her body.

Paige came back up to be eye level with Azzi, her breath warm against her lips as she leaned down, capturing her kiss. Azzi sighed into it, her fingers threading through Paige’s hair, keeping her close.

Paige trailed her lips down Azzi’s jaw, then lower, pressing a kiss to her neck before murmuring, “Wassup? How you want it?”

Azzi hummed, tilting her head to give Paige more access as she slid her hands down Paige’s back. “I’m in charge today.”

Paige chuckled against her neck. “Word?”

Azzi smirked, pulling Paige even closer. “Mhmm. Just for a little bit.”

Paige let out a low laugh, her hands settling on Azzi’s waist. “Alright, baby—”

Before she could finish, Azzi flipped them over, straddling Paige as she settled above her. Paige’s hands instinctively found Azzi’s hips as she looked up at her with an amused expression. “You need help?”

Azzi shook her head no as she slowly eased on to the strap almost effortlessly, her hands resting on Paige’s stomach for leverage. Her fingers flexed slightly at the feeling, pressing into Paige’s skin as her eyes fluttered closed.

Paige swallowed, her own hands gripping Azzi’s waist as she took in the sight of her. Completely in awe of how easily she sunk herself onto the full length, the way she was already dripping on Paige’s thighs. “That’s crazy,” she mumbled.

Azzi still hadn’t said anything, her chest rising and falling in a slightly labored rhythm. Her eyes remained closed, as if she was feeling everything, soaking in the feeling. When she finally opened her eyes, they were completely dilated.

Azzi tilted her head to the side, her curly hair flipped in one direction and a smirk playing on her lips as she locked eyes with Paige. Her hands flexed slightly against Paige’s stomach, nails scratching lightly over her skin in a way that made Paige’s breath hitch.

“You good down there?”

Paige just shook her head, a smile tugging at her lips. “I fall more in love with you every day,” she whispered, her hands sliding up to grip Azzi’s waist.

Azzi knew it was true—she could see it in Paige’s eyes, feel it in the way she held her—but she still let out a breathy, playful laugh. “You’re only saying that because of what I’m about to do.”

Paige huffed out a laugh. “Definitely makes it easier.”

Azzi hummed at this and with slow movements she starts to roll her hips as she moves up and down the strap. Feeling it hit somewhere deep in her stomach she can’t help but whimper out, “Oh fuck,” as her eyes flutter closed at the feeling.

Paige whispers out, “You’re already taking it like such a good girl mama.”

Azzi let out a breathy sigh, her voice coming out in a soft, bratty whisper. “Help me, P.”

Paige licked her lips before she nodded, hands sliding to Azzi’s ass, gripping her firmly as she helped her move. Her touch was steady, guiding, making sure Azzi was taking it exactly how she wanted.

Azzi exhaled sharply, her fingers pressing into Paige’s stomach for stability. “That’s it,” she murmured, biting her lip as she looked down at Paige.

Paige smirked up at her. “Thought you said you didn’t need help.”

Azzi huffed, rolling her eyes but leaning down, brushing her lips against Paige’s jaw. “Shut up,” she mumbled before pressing a soft kiss there.

Paige chuckled, her grip on Azzi tightening. “Mmm, make me.”

Azzi pulled back just enough to meet Paige’s gaze before smiling. She reaches over to the nightstand and clicks on the vibrator.

Azzi expects Paige to gasp at the feeling but she just licks her lips as she starts rolling her hips to meet Azzi’s movements. So instead Azzi grabs Paige’s hands from her ass moving them up and pressing them down on either side of her head.

Paige exhaled, her smirk faltering for just a second as she felt the warmth of Azzi’s hands pinning her down and the extra pressure of Azzi leaning forward. “Mmm, it’s like that?”

Azzi nodded, leaning in until their lips were barely touching. “It’s like that.”

Their lips met, slow at first, a teasing push and pull as Azzi intertwined their fingers over Paige’s head, pressing their hands into the mattress. Paige let out a soft sigh into the kiss, tilting her chin up to deepen it. Azzi took her time, savoring the moment, her lips moving with control, making sure Paige only felt what she wanted her to feel.

But as the seconds stretched, patience started to run thin. Azzi pushed herself closer, her body molding against Paige’s, and the kiss shifted—no longer controlled. It turned hungry and a little desperate, the sound of their breathing filling the space between them as they lost themselves in each other. Paige squeezed Azzi’s hands in her own, tilting her head to chase Azzi’s lips every time she pulled back for air.

Azzi let out a small, needy sound against her mouth, and Paige groaned in response, “Oh shit baby..feels too good.”

"I know," Azzi whimpers out. The feeling of Paige’s hips meeting hers becoming overwhelming as heat pools in her stomach.

It doesn’t take long for both of their movements to become erratic as the heat between them threatens to spill over.

"I’m close baby.” Azzi whispers near Paige’s ear, her fingers tightening around Paige’s hand.

"It’s ok mama..been such a good girl for me. You can let go baby," Paige rambles, her own voice getting breathless.

Hearing Paige’s words is all it takes for Azzi to let the pleasure take over, desperate moans and her girlfriend’s name rolling off her tongue in succession as she rolls her hips to extend the pleasure for as long as she can.

Paige takes Azzi’s movements as her wanting more so she flips them over before sliding back into Azzi with ease.

"Ohh shit baby.” Azzi whimpers out as Paige starts working her hips at the perfect pace.

“Fuck baby, you so perfect I swear," Paige mumbles out, as she speeds up her pace resting her forehead on Azzi’s shoulder.

Azzi pushes at Paige’s waist trying to ease the way she’s pushing into her as she cries out, “P…I can’t—it’s too— too much baby.”

Paige immediately stills despite how close she feels and looks down at Azzi through hooded eyes, “I’m hurting you beautiful?”

Azzi shook her head quickly, eyes fluttering shut for a brief second before meeting Paige’s gaze again. “No,” she whimpered, overwhelmed but not wanting her to stop.

Paige studied her for a moment, searching her face before nodding and starting moving her hips again, this time a little slower.

It doesn’t take long for her to speed up again, hitting a spot deep in Azzi’s abdomen.

Azzi managed to choke out Paige’s name but no other words escaped her lips as she felt herself being consumed by what the blonde was doing to her.

Paige’s fingers tangled in Azzi’s hair, as she started to thrust deeper, pulling out completely before easing back in. "Swear you were made for me," Paige whispered, her voice a clear indication of how close she was.

"Mhmm..yes baby right there—shit baby,” Azzi whimpers scratching at Paige’s shoulders as her stomach tightens.

"You wanna cum for me pretty girl?" Paige whispers.

"Yes baby…please—keep fucking me just like that.” The feeling has Azzi’s eyes rolling back in pleasure.

"Fuck you sound so pretty—gonna make me cum baby..Im–" Paige can’t even finish her sentence as she comes undone on top of Azzi letting out a string of whispers of how good she feels.

The sound of her girlfriend is enough to send Azzi off the edge as she lets out a string of high pitched moans, her legs shaking from the sensitivity of coming undone in such quick succession.

Paige helps Azzi ride out her high, praising her as she sloppily kisses her chest before she’s pulling the strap out and collapsing on Azzi like dead weight.

Azzi huffed out a soft laugh, running her fingers lazily through Paige’s hair as she felt her girlfriend fully relax against her.

“Turn it off”

Azzi chuckles tiredly, reaching over to the nightstand without even opening her eyes. She clicked the remote, and the soft hum filling the room instantly stopped.

Their heavy breathing lingered in the silence, and Paige shifted slightly, pressing a lazy kiss to Azzi’s collarbone. Azzi hummed, running her fingers through Paige’s messy hair, nails scratching lightly against her scalp.

Paige smiled against her skin, mumbling, “You feel better?” Her tone was playful.

Azzi exhaled a laugh, still catching her breath, before mumbling, “Fuck you.”

Paige grinned, tilting her head up as she whispered, “Already did.”

Without moving from where she was laying Paige tugs off the harness, dropping it at the end of the bed.

“We getting dressed?” Azzi asked, her voice still raspy.

Paige didn’t even bother lifting her head. Instead, she pulled Azzi closer, nuzzling into her chest with a sleepy sigh. “Nope. M’sleepy.”

Azzi smiled, wrapping her arms around Paige’s shoulders as she traced absent patterns on her bare back.

Paige mumbled sleepily against Azzi’s skin, her words slurred with exhaustion from their long day. “Can’t wait to marry you, baby momma…”

Azzi’s fingers, which had been lazily tracing over Paige’s back, paused for a second before she sighed. “Paige Madison.”

Paige laughed, her breath warm against Azzi’s chest. “I love you, wifey.”

Azzi shook her head fondly, tightening her hold around Paige as she whispered back, “I love you too, baby.”

With that, they both drifted off within a few minutes. Ending their night tangled together like they had done for years.

[joelsbunnyboy]

𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐒 ⟡ ݁₊ .

Joel will do anything to keep you in bed for just a little bit longer. . .

tags: MDNI, pre-breakout, afab!reader, gn!reader, smut & fluff, soft dom!Joel, age gap (26, 32), sleepy sex, handjob, cowgirl, Joel's just a man, praise, p in v, creampie

wordcount: 1.4k

if there was a Heaven above, then why did Joel’s arms feel as if you were already there? 

you hadn’t expected to grow so fond of this old man. his scruff, the way he’d press kisses into your skin, nuzzle you, cook for you... it was enough to make your heart melt.  you enjoyed taking care of Sarah as well. even though she wasn’t your flesh nor blood, she loved you enough for it to be bypassed easily. seeing her face light up every time you entered the room was rewarding enough as it was. she loved seeing her daddy happy again, and it made you grow warm inside. 

Joel was not a morning person though. 

even though being a contractor required him to work as an early bird, he didn’t enjoy it at all. Joel was the worst person in the morning. he was often quiet for the first thirty minutes, because he knew he had nothing to say from that trap of his. 

of course, waking him up with kisses made him kind of tolerate the morning sun. 

“’s too damn bright..”  Joel grunted, waking you up. you smiled in your sleep, eyes fluttering open gently.  “hmm. let me close em,”  “and have you leave me in this cold, lonely bed? absolutely not.”  Joel said, pulling you impossibly closer. he began gently kissing over your shoulders, his nose nuzzling your ear sweetly. it tickled; not enough to make you shriek, but enough to feel that he was there.   “Joeeellllll... the sun isn’t just bothering you, y’know?”  you laughed, squirming a little. you knew you couldn’t escape Joel’s grasp, even if you really tried.  Joel let you get up. you swung your legs from the bed and stretched. you had fallen asleep wearing one of his red and black checker striped flannels, but no bottoms on. 

he whistled when he saw you close the blinds and curtains, your butt peeking out from the garment.  “damn. i’ll never get sick of your body,”  Joel whispered loud enough for you to hear. turning to face him, you smiled and blushed.  “i know you say that a lot... but you really mean it?”  you asked bashfully. you climbed back into bed, only for Joel to pull you close, your nose in his left pectoral, tickled by his hairy chest with tufts of gray mixing with the dark brown.  “’course i mean it, sweet pea. i've been alive for thirty-two goddamn years, and i can confidently say that they can’t make another you.”  you blushed at his words. Joel began gently rubbing his hands up and down your back, breathing in the scent of your hair. one of his hands came up to run through the strands. whenever it got caught on a knot, he’d gently rub and detangle, wanting you at complete ease. 

“remember when we were at Cosco and someone thought you were my dad?”  “’course i do, baby. i was mortified.”  “nah, you had a boner when we were walking away.”  “watch it, sweet pea. i ain’t a good man at the crack of dawn by any means.”  Joel said warningly. you got an idea, and it made you smirk. 

“oh yeah? you wanna go there, ‘ol man?”  you challenged, smirking.  Joel gave you the tiniest bit of warning in his look; those squinted eyes, slightly wrinkled nose, lips pursed.  “sweetheart, i’m warnin’ you.”  he whispered. but you didn’t listen. no, listening would be too easy with Joel. you knew he wouldn’t do anything to truly hurt you, right? 

“hmm... i don’t know...”  you began. your hand gently trailed down his happy trail, and goosebumps visibly rose on his arms.  “baby, i can’t.. ‘s too early,”  he began, grunting when you took his half-hard cock into your hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.  “sure, you can, Joel. i’ll just get a quick ride in.”  you said, snickering. you reached over the bedside table and dripped some lube into your hand, leaning over to start stroking him to full hardness.  Joel keened, eyes slipping shut, his bottom lip caught in his teeth.  “fuck, baby... your hand feels so good. jus’ like always,”  he whispered. you hummed in response, snuggling into Joel as you continued touching him. 

masturbation was quite rare for Joel. he knew he could always ask you to get him off, and you always did the same as well. it was harder to have intimacy when Sarah was around, but in the early mornings like this, it was rare to be disturbed.   Joel gently bucked into the touch, his head leaning to the side. you caught the que and gently kissed him, your eyes shutting in bliss. there was nothing more intimate than this, you thought. touching your boyfriend, making him feel good. Joel being your boyfriend. it was a silly thought; this old man that was grumpy and only truly loved his daughter, his brother (on a good day), and you. he was your boyfriend.   Joel stopped your train of thought when he stopped the kiss, pulling your hand away. he pulled the blanket all the way down and dribbled more lubricant along his length. 

“c’mere,”  Joel said. you complied and hoisted yourself up, nearly bounding into his lap like a golden retriever.  “easy, sweetheart, easy. i ain’t the same man I was a decade ago.”  Joe said in a breathy chuckle, but was immediately silenced when you lifted the flannel, rubbing your sopping wet folds over his tip. you gently rubbed his tip over your clit as well, your back arching as you moaned wantonly.  “fuck, baby, look at you.”  Joel breathed. his hands gently cradled your hips, his thumbs rubbing tender circles into them.  “go on. take a ride, darlin’.”  he said, smirking. 

the initial feeling of Joel penetrating you would never get boring. you had decided on that months ago. and you were reminded exactly why it was so great every time you both made love. 

warm rays of orange mixing with yellow began burning through the curtains and blinds, making Joel grit his teeth.  “damnit. Sarah’s gonna be up in a bit. we don’t have ti-”  you cut off Joel by sitting on him, his cock throbbing inside of you. the feeling made you both choke in unison. you smiled down at him.  “well then i guess you’re gonna have to be quiet.”  you laughed. you knew being quiet was easier for Joel than you. after all, he wasn’t the one taking a fat cock inside of him. 

you began rocking back and forth, settling him even deeper. Joel kept whimpering and groaning; his head thrown back. being sleepy made him especially sensitive. you definitely needed to fuck him like this more often. he looked so pretty under the lights, his beard soft against his rugged skin.. you wanted to keep him for forever. 

kissing him, your rocking became gentle like a basket of ostrich feathers. pulling away, you whispered sweetly,  “you’re so fuckin’ handsome, Joel.. i can’t believe you’re my man. my man.”  you said, smiling against his lips. just when Joel thought you were being merciful, you reached down to rub your clit in time with your bouncing. you shuddered and moaned against his lips, your coupling gentle and romantic. 

“Joel.. babe, fuck, i’m gonna cum.”  you warned, choked up.  “go ahead, sweetheart. i got you,”  Joel panted. his hands cupped your ass, and he spread his legs, starting to thrust up into you. you cried out, which Joel immediately slapped a hand over your lips to silence you.  “shut it. you wanna wake Sarah, huh?”  Joel asked harshly. you shook your head, eyes rolling back in bliss. 

you came hard on Joel’s cock. you were nearly shrieking and convulsing, your pussy milking the life out of Joel. he groaned, capturing your lips in a messy kiss. he kept his thrusts up, his cock pumping fat spurts of cum against your silky cervix. you mewled at the feeling, now content and warm.  

Joel kept himself inside of you, his legs relaxing. he hissed when you shifted on top of him.  “you okay?”  you asked, voice soft. all Joel could bite out in response was,  “.. yeah.. jus’ got a cramp in my leg,”  “fuck, you’re old.” 

[uzurakis]

hi kiara! can you please make a continuation of “their act of intimacy” but with gojo, toji, and sukuna? i melted the first time i read them with the other characters 😭 hope you have a good day ahead of you ❤️

THEIR ACT OF INTIMACY?

featuring: gojo satoru. ryomen sukuna. toji fushiguro.

n. aaa thanku for liking the previous one! this is for you nonnie <3 didn’t really proofread cause i’m running late on sleep lol. PART ONE HERE :0

GOJO SATORU. gojo finds it calming when you both take a shower together. however, his notion of "calming" may differ from the ordinary. instead of drowsing in warm water and doing all those private things such as soaping his back and shampooing his hair, you and him sometimes have other spontaneous ideas in mind.

as the warm water cascaded down, you couldn’t help but feel a sense of closeness that's as comforting as it is exhilarating. satoru, with his irrepressible charm and mischievous grin, stood beside you, his presence filled the space with a playful energy.

"ah, feels like heaven," he sighed, whilst eyes gleaming with shenanigans. you chuckled, reaching for the shampoo. “don’t start a water fight again, satoru. let us enjoy a nice and relaxing—“

but before you could react, a splash of water hit you square in the face, causing you to sputter and laugh. “gotcha!" the man exclaimed, his laughter echoed through the tiled walls.

"it’s sooo on now!" you declared, retaliating with a splash of your own.

and just like that, the bathroom transformed into a battleground, with water flying in every direction as you both engaged in your playful antics. amidst the laughter and the splashing, there's an undeniable sense of joy that filled the room.

"careful, satoru," you warned, dodging his playful advances, "you're going to get soap in your eyes."

but he just grinned. "not before you get ‘em first, babe.”

and so, you guys continued your playful banter. soaked to the bone and grinning from ear to ear, gojo satoru defines his own calming moments with you.

RYOMEN SUKUNA. your boyfriend is a big guy, or so he believes before you swoop in and baby him. does he resist? yes. but will he eventually agree? absolutely.

the aroma of freshly cooked pasta filled the air as you stood in the kitchen. across the room, your boyfriend, sukuna, leaned against the counter, watching you with a bemused expression. you took a small portion with a spoon in hand, "say 'a' for me, sukuna.”

"hell nah.” his face was holding back the disgust. “you know, i can feed myself, right?"

"come on, baby, just one bite," you urged, eyes pleading. he hesitated for a moment, then sighed, giving in to you. “no—tsk, fine.”

“just this once.”

as he reluctantly opened his mouth, you couldn't help but suppress a giggle at the sight of him being spoon-fed like a child. your boyfriend’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and he quickly swallowed the pasta, avoiding your gaze.

"see, that wasn't so bad, was it?" you teased, unable to contain your amusement.

he grumbled something unintelligible in response, but as you proceeded to feed him, he took every piece and never turned it down until the last bite.

TOJI FUSHIGURO. toji never declines your offer to groom him. he rarely takes attention to his appearance, whereas you insist on cleaning up him up and do it with your own hands. at first, he doesn't think of it as intimate thing because isn’t it just about cutting and shaving? but as time goes on, he understands how much you value him and treasures the time you spent solely on him.

the soft glow of evening light filtered through the curtains, casting a warm hue over the cozy living room. toji sat on the couch, his unkempt hair falling into his eyes. you watched him from afar with a fond smile tugging at your lips.

“toji,” you called out. “your hair has gotten longer than the last time i remember.” he chuckled softly, already accustomed to this routine. "is it that time again?"

with scissors and a comb in hand, you approached him with a smile. “c’mere, sit down, baby.”

letting a shrug plus a grin, the man complied, settling onto the stool you'd placed in the middle of the room. as you draped a towel around his shoulders, his eyes met yours in the mirror.

"you know, i understand why you enjoy doing this so much.” he admitted, leaning back as you began to comb through his hair.

"you know why?” you replied, your voice soft as you worked. "it's about taking care of each other, babe. showing love in the little things."

he fell silent at your words, mulling them over as you continued to trim away stray strands. gradually, the tension seemed to melt from his shoulders, replaced by a sense of ease and contentment.

@uzurakis — requests are open! <3

[keferon]

So if you look to your left you’ll— *gets run over by train*

————————

“What is this,” Prowl asked softly, shifting uncomfortably as he felt a pulse of fond amusement crawl through him.

“You really didn’t think it all the way through when you changed your form for me, huh,” Jazz laughed inside him chassis, his soothing voice coming through his comm system and directly into his audio receptors.

Prowl frowned as his TacNet started picking apart the words, trying to discern their meaning. That fond amusement brightened, causing his system to stutter just a bit. His optics widened just a bit as something foreign guided his TacNet to a new system he didn’t notice he had.

NCS.

Neurological Connection System.

What???

“For a pilot to work with a mech, there has to be a DRIFT system, the NCS was the one that ran in my mech. And because you scanned my mech, you got all its systems, on top of your own,” Jazz explained with a grin.

Something giddy flowed in, chasing around that fond amusement that Prowl could still feel. His optics shuddered as his processor skipped a beat or two, TacNet settling on an answer to what the foreign feelings were.

“That is you. That feeling… it’s you,” Prowl whispered, lifting a servo to place it over his chassis, where Jazz was nestled near his spark.

“Yeah, that’s me, Prowler. You said you wanted to feel my EM field a while ago. I… I don’t gotta field to share, but I have this,” Jazz replied just as soft, and Prowl wrapped his EM field in tight, cradling this new and foreign feeling of his human counterpart.

This was Jazz. Jazz’s human equivalent to an EM field. It… it was beautiful. Jazz’s little field bursted in joy and relief, and Prowl could have cried at how soft it was. This felt intimate, deeper than just sharing an EM field. Not quite like spark-bonding, but oh so close.

“It’s wonderful, Jazz,” Prowl finally whispered, smiling fondly, doorwings flaring wide as if he could sense more of the field if he spread his sensors out as wide as he could.

Jazz preened happily in his little cockpit, and Prowl couldn’t help but laugh softly. His little human was full of surprises it seems.

—————————-

Firstly, idk where I was going with this.

Secondly, it made sense to me that Pilots would have some kind of neural link with their mech to assist in fighting cause reaction times with just controls wouldn’t be as perfect. It would also make sense as to why the idea of FirstAid becoming a pilot out of nowhere would be terrifying because “how the fuck did you survive the neural link”. Vortex could be killing his pilots by literally overloading their brains with the neural link. *head explosion style idk*

In other words, human EM field! But pacific rim drift style! With body horror Halo Spartan experimentation! Yay!

Idk!

I’m running on 2hrs of sleep! I just had another coffee! Don’t try this at home kids!

O U G H I CAN'T BELIEVE I ALMOST MISSED THIS ASK THIS IS BEAUTIFUL KHKGKHL

[lvnleah]

the boss | bug’s adventures.

The tactical analysis room was your favourite place to be before training. It was warm, full of voices you knew, and best of all, you got to run around and say hello to everyone before settling into Lotte’s lap with your daily smoothie.

You were only three, but as far as you were concerned, you were just as important as anyone else in the room. Maybe even more.

“Alright, who let the little troublemaker in?” Beth teased as you ran past her chair, your little trainers squeaking against the floor.

You stopped in your tracks and gave her the best glare you could manage. “I not trouble!”

Beth smirked, leaning back in her chair. “Oh, really?”

You pointed at her accusingly. “You is.”

The room erupted in laughter, and Renee, standing by the screen at the front, just shook her head fondly. “I don’t know she any of you even try arguing. You know She always wins.”

You grinned and took a dramatic sip from your smoothie which was just like Lotte’s, but without the weird protein stuff. Just fruit. Because you were very clear that the other stuff was, in your words, yucky.

“Careful, bug,” Renee added, watching as you took off running again. “We don’t need any injuries before training!”

“I’m fast,” you declared proudly. “Faster than all of ‘ou.”

That earned some amused scoffs from around the room.

“Oh yeah?” Alessia grinned, reaching out to tickle your side as you ran past her. “Faster than me?”

You giggled, swatting at her hand. “Yep.”

Alessia gasped, clutching her chest dramatically. “Wow, just like that? No hesitation?”

“Nope.”

Emily, sitting next to her, snickered. “She’s got no mercy, Less.”

“None at all,” Alessia agreed. “I might cry.”

“You big,” you pointed out matter-of-factly, tilting your head at her. “You can’t cry.”

“Hey bug, be nice yeah?” Lotte reminded you, “It’s okay for anyone to cry, we need to be nice to everyone, okay?”

“I always nice, Mummy!” You huffed, arms crossed over your chest, “It’ okay to cry, Lessi!” You said, patting her knee. 

“Thank you for your permission, bug,” Alessia laughed, shaking her head. 

Lotte, watching from her chair with an amused smile, patted her lap. “Alright, Bug, come here before you actually take someone out.”

You made one more dramatic sprint across the room before clambering onto Katie’s lap first, because she always let you get away with things like stealing her hat. You plopped it onto your head, adjusting it until it sat just right.

“Oi, that’s mine,” Katie pointed out. “Yer’ a little devil!”

You crossed your arms. “Mine now.”

Katie smirked. “Oh yeah? And what if I take it back?”

You narrowed your eyes, gripping the hat tighter. “I’ll tell Mummy.”

The room erupted in laughter again, and Lotte raised an eyebrow. “What am I supposed to do about it, Bug?”

You thought about it for a second before shrugging. “Dunno but you fix stuff.”

With that, you wiggled off Katie’s lap and made your way over to Leah, who lifted you easily onto her knee. “Oi, what about me little miss? No hello?”

You grinned. “Hi, Le.” Then, very seriously, you added, “Mummy’s smoothie is still yucky.”

Kyra burst out laughing. “Tell her again, I don’t think she heard you.”

You turned in your seat, looking right at Lotte. “Yucky smoothie!”

Lotte sighed dramatically. “You’re never gonna let that go, are you?”

You shook your head. “Nope.”

Emily leaned over, grinning. “What’s wrong with it, Bug?”

You wrinkled your nose. “It’ got bits and it’ green.”

Alessia laughed. “The spinach?”

You nodded furiously. “Yucky.”

Beth leaned in with a teasing grin as she tickled your stomach. “But what if that’s what makes Mummy strong, huh? Maybe you need some ‘yucky bits’ to get as fast as you say you are.”

You squealed. “No! I don’ need bits to be fast! I’m already fast!” You turned to Renee, who was still standing at the front, arms crossed and watching the chaos with a fond smile. “Tell ‘em, you the boss!”

Renee chuckled, shaking her head. “Oh, I believe you, Bug. But maybe you should prove it, yeah?”

Your eyes lit up, and before anyone could stop you, you wiggled off Leah’s lap and bolted across the room, dodging between chairs and weaving past legs like a little whirlwind. “See? Fast!”

Lotte just sighed, watching you bounce on your toes, clearly ready to take off again. “Bug, come here before you knock someone over.”

You sighed dramatically, because everything you did had to be dramatic, but made your way back over to Lotte, climbing onto her lap with a huff. She adjusted you easily, one arm wrapped around you as she took a sip of her smoothie.

You wrinkled your nose again. “Still yucky, stinky too!”

Katie reached over, tapping your nose lightly. “You know, for someone who says they’re nice, you’re very passionate about Mummy’s smoothie.”

“I am nice!” you insisted. “I just tell the truth.”

Beth laughed. “Can’t argue with that.”

Renee clapped her hands once, bringing the room’s attention back to her. “Alright, enough distractions. You lot have training, and I’ve got things to go over.”

You sighed again, clearly unimpressed by the change in focus. “Boring.”

“Hey,” Renee scolded lightly, though her smile gave her away. “You like it in here, don’t you?”

You nodded, taking another sip of your smoothie. “Yeah. ‘Cause I get cuddles. I be the boss today?”

The whole room laughed, and Lotte pressed a kiss to the top of your head. “Alright, little miss Sassypants, time to behave while Renee talks.”

You huffed but snuggled closer, resting your head against Lotte’s shoulder. “Okay… but after, I wanna race.”

Renee raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And who are you challenging?”

You grinned, eyes scanning the room before pointing directly at Alessia. “Lessi!”

The room exploded with laughter. “Oh, so first I’m not allowed to cry, and now you wanna embarrass me in a race?” Alessia laughed. 

You nodded. “Yep.”

Emily leaned in, grinning. “Better warm up, Less.”

You beamed, wiggling excitedly in Lotte’s lap. “I gonna win.”

“Oh, we’ll see about that,” Alessia teased. “I might have to drink a special yucky smoothie to make sure I’m fast enough.”

You scrunched your nose in horror. “No, Lessi, don’t do it!”

The room erupted in laughter again, and Lotte chuckled, squeezing you tighter. “Alright, that’s enough troublemaking for now.”

You giggled, leaning back against Lotte’s chest, content as the chatter settled and Renee started talking again. You were a little whirlwind and no one minded your little personality. 

[quitesins]

Deku’s Type!

Masterlist

Tags: 18+, Sfw-ish, short drabble, fem!reader, aged up! characters, teacher! Deku, kinda vulgar and fucky, im gonna tag misogyny, reader is said to be “fucked in the head” whatever you want that to mean ^0^!

The boys gather round for drinks and discuss the type of women Deku seems to be fond of, much to his dismay…

“Sounds like Deku’s type,” Katsuki says, smirk in his voice.

Izuku frowns. “I do not have a type.”

Now that makes the table still for a second, not long enough for Izuku to predict the thoughts of his friends, but enough for the rest of the guys to come to the same conclusion.

Katsuki, Denki and Sero are the first to burst out in laughter. Katsuki’s cackle the loudest of them all.

“Are you fuckin’ serious?” Katsuki laughs so hard he doesn’t even care that Denki is half laid over him, “You don’t see that shit?”

“Come on…” Denki says, still slapping Katsuki’s thigh as he laughs, “you have such a type!”

Izuku frowns, sterner, deciding to ignore the immature three and turning to his other friends for support. Both Iida and Shouto look away, their expressions telling.

“I do not have a type,” Izuku reiterates, firmly.

Katsuki shakes his head, finally shoving Denki off him. “All those girls you’ve dated? Exact fuckin’ same.”

Even Tokoyami turns his head, eyes never leaving his drink but twinkling with an unfamiliar mirth.

“What does that even mean?!” Izuku exasperates, looking around for a single ally.

“It means,” Mineta chimes in, and although Izuku enjoys his company, he already knows he’s about to hear something deplorable, “you like them sick in the head!”

Shouto can’t hold in his sputter, finally contributing to the conversation— with a laugh. The rest of the table is hooting, a few groans at the wording but nothing at the sentiment. All while Izuku looks absolutely scandalised, clutching his chest, eyes wide open.

“That’s horrible!” Izuku cries, so stunned he can’t even trail off into one of his signature rambles in defence, “that’s- that’s. What?!”

“All the girls you’ve liked man…” Sero starts, “they’re not exactly little miss sunshines are they.” He stops, which Izuku almost takes reprieve in until he continues, “you seem to like them a little off putting.”

“Yeah so he can fucking fix them,” Katsuki snorts.

“It’s your saviour complex,” Denki adds, chin tilted up, trying to look profound.

Izuku is quick to interject, waving his hands around. “You’re the pro heroes.” The poor boy tries his best to convince. “We all have saviour complexes!”

“Not like you do, mon chéri,” Aoyama tuts, then winks before saying, “Hero of Japan.”

“Izuku, They do still call you an honorary pro.” Shouto is trying to be nice, Izuku thinks. “And I’m sure your students think the same.”

Izuku grimaces, he knows he’s always had a complex that encompassed so much more than just his dreams to be a hero, but he doesn’t need it sullied by… that.

“Don’t ruminate.” Katsuki presses a drink into Izuku’s hands. “You like women a little fucked up, so what.”

Katsuki’s words do nothing to comfort Izuku, instead it has Denki and Mineta laughing all over again while Kirishima attempts to calm them down. Iida scolds Katsuki a little, doing a half bow in apology to the passing waiter clearly peeved by all the noise. Deku pays no attention, beginning to spiral in his head.

It feels wrong to view the women of his past that way. To view you that way. But he’s not an idiot, maybe a little blind at times but now that the proof is there— oh god—

“Listen, Midoriya, I am sure there are many reasons you have loved the women you have.” Iida notices the growing dread upon Izuku’s face. “You also like to save people. There is nothing wrong with that.”

Tokoyami and Shouji nod in agreement, Ojiro giving his own sympathetic smile.

“Yeah bro.” Kirishima raises a fist in camaraderie, though it’s definitely out of pity. “It’s manly to take care of others!”

“Think he does more than care for ‘em,” Katsuki slickly adds, in an artful voice that Izuku is more than familiar with, “the fucker gets off on that shit.”

This time, it’s Shouto who scolds him, Katsuki’s implications clear enough for even him to catch on. They rest of the guys begin to bicker in the background, one half in defence of Izuku’s less than innocent tastes in women, the other intent on making fun of the golden boy for once.

Though the attention is finally off him, it does not help Izuku feel any better.

Because there’s a thought that lingers… it’s a sick thought, a terrible, horrible, awfully honest thought.

Shit, he does like them a bit fucked up.

My truth is i still don’t know how to punctuate dialogue… pleek don’t look and none of dat…

Anyways I kind of wanna elaborate on Deku’s hero complex coming out in other ways in the 8 years of studying and becoming a teacher, like someone has to deal with it…

[hitlikehammers]

The One Where Wayne Munson KNOWS BETTER Than to Lend Air to IDLE GOSSIP

(and does it anyway on accident and ends up thinking his 💕boy's boy💕 might be ✖️stepping out) ——(1/3)

Wayne Munson’s lived his life mostly free from the hubbub of small town gossip. Some was unavoidable in his tiny holler as a boy; more was part and parcel to the service, and plain keeping half-sane in war—anything for a distraction. After all that though, Wayne’d had more’n his fill of even a teaspoon of hearsay, and compared to where he came from? Hawkins, Indiana was small potatoes for keepin’ his nose clear out of it.

Which is all to say he don’t mean to collect any of the latest scuttlebutt on his way just to town after he gets off his shift with the sun barely a glimmer, just past 5 for Leah’s to be open for a better cup-o-joe than the sludge he gets on the floor. All he wants is a hot nightcap because he knows damn well his boy didn’t pick up more grounds before Melvald’s closed last night, and Wayne doesn’t want to see his bed until he’s had a full mug of fair-to-middling coffee.

And honest: he don’t think that’s more than he’s earned to ask.

But it is more than he bargained for signing’ up to, when he sees the only other people in the diner at this hour on a Saturday.

Because the only other people are a girl he don’t know, though he can’t see her real well from the back, which only really means he sees her coffee date full-on and much too well in exchange because they’re leaned in and they’re being all touchy across the table, voices low but not too low—he don’t think they even noticed him come in, let alone come to wait close enough to hear ‘em while he insists on saving the lovely Leah herself the trip to a table when he can damn well carry his own drink, thanks kindly.

“You’re gonna have a coronary if you keep hiding this.”

The girl sounds…she sounds the way Wayne remembers his Mamaw sounding when she was about to hit his Grampy up the head over some harebrained such-and-such. Exasperated, but all from a deep well of unshakable loving.

Which is what perks up Wayne’s attention, and then churns his insides quick right-next, because—

Well. The boy this young lady’s being all over-fond at for his antics is Steve Harrington.

Who, for all that Wayne understands, is meant to be his boy’s boy.

“No, no,” Steve’s shaking his head, tone bowstring-taut; “I’m gonna tell him.” Kid sounds resolved for all of half-a-second before he’s groaning, running hands over his face: “Or, I mean—”

The thunk of the boy’s head to the tabletop clatters the cutlery, and if Wayne weren’t already clued into their conversation, he’d be wholly absolved for dropping eaves given how the noise echoes through the mostly-empty establishment bar-to-door.

“Dingus,” the girl says, and it drips with concern, with affection, with a deep choler that, again, sings loud of married-couple.

Which twists Wayne’s guts all the more to hear.

Because she’s talking to Wayne’s boy’s boy.

“I’m gonna, I promise,” Steve sounds not unlike a man on his way to the gallows, even more when he sighs deep as anything and traces out his lips with his fingers, hands shaky even out the corner of Wayne’s eye for a distance as he hisses low:

“Fuck.”

And Wayne, see, he don’t like borrowing trouble. He meant it about keeping his nose clean of the gossip and the hearsay. So he makes sure he reminds himself good in his own head that he don’t know the facts here, and jumpin’ to conclusions don’t do no favors to nobody.

It don’t do nothing for the way that what he does know, what he sees and hears with his own god-given senses in the now, don’t add up too kindly for the Harrington boy.

Not least because it seems to be adding up poor indeed for Wayne’s boy.

“Do you think he’ll—”

“Steve,” the girl’s voice goes softer, but also frantic almost, as Wayne sees her reach across the way and gather Steve’s hands with a familiarity to the motion that wouldn’t make sense unless…

Unless they’re something special to each other.

Wayne’s watched Eddie reach out for Steve that way. He’s watch Steve do the same. So it…it just don’t make sense—

“You’re shaking,” the girl says, all kinda pitiful, and Wayne’d seen it before, but now he chances a look again and: oh.

Boy’s a leaf in a cyclone.

“It’s a big deal,” Steve rasps out near under Wayne’s ability to hear it.

But he does hear it.

“You need to just lay it out,” the girl tells him, earnest now and more of that than any irritation, any frustration put-upon or otherwise; “be up front with him.”

And it ain’t fair, yet, even if all the signs are pointing that direction; but Wayne likes Steve. He doesn’t want to think the worst of him. And he doesn’t, really, in his heart, think Steve could do or be the worst, from all he’s learned and seen—Wayne’d had uncharitable thoughts about it he kid, before he knew better, based on hearsay which one more time, he don’t countenance as a rule, and he’d been taught better and quick from the second he saw Steve at his nephew’s bedside, and heard the only thing he’s proud and happy to have dropped in upon uninvited:

You nearly fucking died yourself dragging him out, Steve, what the hell—

That Henderson squirt, scolding Steve something fierce.

So Wayne reminds himself this boy loved his boy enough to risk himself to bring Eddie home. Before they were anything to one another. And Wayne knows damn well they’re both something to each other, now. It don’t make sense that Steve wants to…be up front about a notion with Eddie that could hurt.

But then: care can look a lot of different ways, and can change over time. Ain’t nobody to fault for that. And much as Wayne can’t quite believe the Steve he’s gotten to know these past many-months could swallow hurting his Eddie…

Wayne’s been proven incorrect about people more than enough in his life to know better than to think it’s impossible to be wrong about a man’s heart.

“Oh, I’m sure that’ll go over fucking fantastic,” Steve’s huffing, rolling his eyes—apparently he don’t want to be up front with the person they’re talking about. Wayne tries to remind himself that they’ve not flat out said it’s Eddie yet. Wayne shouldn’t go making assumptions.

“Why not?” the girl’s pressing him. “Be honest, with him,” then her tone does go a little judgemental; “you can’t honestly think he doesn’t suspect—”

“I really don’t think he does,” and it’s a strange thing, because no matter the words themselves, it don’t sound like Steve’s meaning to be deceitful about a thing. Kinda sounds a little like he’s mourning, like he’s just in a kind of pain. “If he did, then at least maybe I’d have some kind of,” he waves his hand in the air, looks frantic, at loose ends all around; “heads-up for where his head’s at.”

And they’re both quiet for a spell, and Wayne looks for Leah in the back, knew she was getting food ready and was happy to wait—for better or worse with the conversation he’s been privy to without permission unspooling at his side—but he’s starting to feel antsy for all that he’s hearing, and the way he can’t quite tamp down associating it all with Eddie, with touchy things Steve might have to tell Eddie—

“Tell him by the end of the weekend.”

And now: think he might have to tell, encouraged so damn strong and single-minded by his lady friend with her hand on his arm.

“That’s fucking tomorrow!”

“End,” she’s narrowing her eyes sharp enough Wayne notices more in the shift of the room than to see it head-on; “of,” and then she’s smacking Steve’s arm to emphasize hard enough it rings out; “the weekend.”

Then Wayne notices how her posture shifts, and she leans closer again, so much affection, and easy with it, and welcome for it, no doubt about it:

“I don’t like seeing you like this,” she says low and earnest; “especially not when the thing you’re like this about is,” and then her tone shifts to something bright, near-on hopeful, even:

“It’s such a good thing, Steve.”

“I mean,” Steve mumbles, kind of miserable really; “of course you think so.”

And Wayne don’t like where his head goes for things the girl who’s watching Steve with such soft eyes might think to be good, might think while she’s touching him so close and —

“He’ll,” and she huffs a touch before going all heartfelt again: “Eddie is going to—”

And the moment his plausible deniability about the subject of the discussion is gone, Wayne gives up waiting for his coffee at the counter and…retreats to the corner by the door, far as he can get from whatever’s said next. He’d leave, honest, but the truth of the matter’s this:

He can’t be expected in good faith to figure out how to bring any of this up with Ed if he don’t have no caffeine in him.

☕ 👀 ☕

✨ part ii >>>

For @thefreakandthehair, who requested 'Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.' at my HOBBIT-STYLE BIRTHDAY MONTH PROMPT FEST—and since this is almost a YEAR LATE, could I possibly offer it as a normal-amounts-of-late birthday gift, more than as an egregiously-and-unforgivably-late prompt fill for you?

✨permanent tag list: OPEN (lmk if you want to be added/removed): @askitwithflours @awkwardgravity1 @bookworm0690 @bumblebeecuttlefishes @captain--low @depressed-freak13 @dragoon-ze-great @dreamercec @dreamwatch @estrellami-1 @finntheehumaneater @goodolefashionedloverboi @grtwdsmwhr @hiei-harringtonmunson @hbyrde36 @imhereforthelolzdontyellatme @live-laugh-love-dietrich @mensch-anthropos-human @nerdyglassescheeseychick @notaqueenakhaleesi @pearynice @perseus-notjackson @pretend-theres-a-name-here @pukner @ravenfrog @sadisticaltarts @samsoble @sanctumdemunson @shrimply-a-menace @slashify @stealthysteveharrington @swimmingbirdrunningrock @theheadlessphilosopher @theintrovertedintrovert @themoonagainstmers @theohohmoment @tillystealeaves @tinyloonyteacups @tinyplanet95 @warlordess @wheneverfeasible @wordynerdygurl @wxrmland @yourmom-isgay @1-tehe-1

NOTE: it's important to me that you know that Wayne's accept belongs to nowhere, and is just the voice of someone I knew as a kid, who also sounded like a little of everywhere and then again nowhere. so if you think some turn of phrase doesn't fit what you think you're reading in terms of dialect? it's just that this way of stringing words together is—with intention—its own amalgam of places and times

divider credit here and here

[stellewriites]

PART TWO

summary: by chance you and your emotionally unavailable husband meet a friendly couple that invite you stay at their farmhouse in scotland. however the time spent there with johnny & kyle has you questioning if there’s a dark side to them you didn’t see before.

a speak no evil au - series masterlist

notes: manipulative johnny & kyle, piv, noncon, somno, never explicitly acknowledged abusive relationship between reader and her husband (financial, physical, emotional, coercive control), drinking, murder, it’s dead dove horror people!! heed the warnings

despite your best efforts, elliot’s words had gotten to you the night before and it had made you cautious to sit downstairs for breakfast; hyperaware of yourself and what kyle and johnny must have thought of you.

you decided to nip down to say good morning - it was only polite - and while you were there you could grab two coffees for yourself and elliot.

you ran into gaz as soon as you got down the stairs.

“morning, sleep ok? johnny said you weren’t hungry last night,” kyle said as soon as he saw you walk into the kitchen, a little concerned frown and pout pulling at his pretty face. “can i make you an omelette? pancakes?”

“pancakes?” you couldn’t help but ask with a smirk.

“johnny likes ‘em.” you snorted.

“an omelette would be good, thanks.”

kyle immediately got up and got to work in the kitchen, letting you take his seat so you were sat closest to the kitchen counter he stood at.

“where is johnny this morning?”

“out with the donkey, loves the early mornings. don’t think his body can get out of the habit of them,” kyle said with a fond roll of his eyes. “means i get to stay in bed and extra thirty though, so i don’t complain.”

he grabbed a mug from the cupboard when the electric kettle clicked off and made a quick drink.

“coffee?” he slid it onto the table next to you. “husband can’t knick this one, eh?”

“oh, thanks.” you took a long sip despite the heat.

“how’d you sleep?” kyle asked again, watching you.

“yeah, good, slept right through,” you lied. you’d tossed and turned all night with elliot groaning in his sleep and you knew you had bags under your eyes to prove it.

kyle nodded and turned back to the eggs he was scrambling in the pan alongside the grated cheese and chopped vegetables he’d chucked in.

“johnny had a great idea last night, and i don’t say that often,” kyle joked. “we thought we could take you out to this little restaurant, up near ballo reservoir and the ruins. it’s ran by an old mate of ours.”

“that sounds fun, yeah,” you agree. you smile a little wider when he turns around with your omelette and sits next to you. you look down at the plate and gawp. “bloody hell, that’s a big omelette.”

kyle laughed. “yeah i figured why make more pots to wash when we could just share,” he said and revealed two forks.

“oh.” you blinked. “…ok.”

kyle didn’t wait for you to change your mind before he was using the side of his fork to cut a mouthful of the omelette off.

“second day in the highlands, what were you thinking of doing?”

you finished chewing your own bite before answering. “elliot will need help during the day i think. hopefully he’ll be able to get a stable enough wifi connection to check his work emails.”

“fuck that,” gaz scoffed. “you should help me in the garden. johnny will sort out your husband if he needs a hand; soap’s got odd jobs around the house he’s doing to keep his hands busy anyways, so it’s no trouble for him to keep an eye on elliot.”

you hesitated, knowing elliot wouldn’t appreciate johnny’s rough handling, but you found it nigh impossible to say no to kyle’s big kind eyes. especially when he was leant in so close.

“then i guess i’m gardening today,” you said bashfully.

---

he showed you around the chicken coop first, let you throw a bit of grain down so the hens would swarm closer as you squatted down among them to pet lightly at their feathers.

“made the henhouse myself,” kyle told you smugly, his chest puffing out further when your head snapped towards him.

“no you fucking didn’t,” you said, your eyes raked over it as if seeing it fresh.

“alright, maybe i had a bit of help from a friend, john - not my johnny - was always handy in his time off during the service. gave him a call an’ he helped me figure it out when my first attempt didn’t go so well,” kyle admitted sheepishly.

you snickered and walked up to the small shed-like structure. you could see it was lovingly made, each decision during its creation had a practical use.

“you and johnny ran into any hobbies or skills you’re not good at?” you joked.

kyle huffed a laugh and tugged you out towards the vegetable plot across the garden. “can’t say we have, love.”

“oh, fuck you,” you laughed and shoved him as you came up to the first raised bed, knocking him of kilter.

“hey, hey watch for the onions,” he laughed as his knee bumped into the wooden side holding the budding vegetables.

“god, this place is huge,” you said wistfully as you rounded to the next bed and noticed the handmade markers.

carrots

tomms

tatties

gaz’s awful radishes

you grinned before running your hands gently along the beans growing high intertwined with the arches joining the raised beds to create a path down the centre towards the greenhouse.

“have some if you’d like,” kyle said and gestured to the pea pod resting on your fingers.

your gripped it tighter and tugged, pressing at the seam gently until it popped. the peas inside were huge, but it was always the crunchy casing that you enjoyed. you took a bite as gaz led you to the greenhouse and let out a deep hum at the refreshing taste.

“just wait until you try the strawberries,” he said teasingly, sliding open the the glass door.

he grabbed a clean empty bowl from the side and handed you it as you crouched to look at the strawberry plants lined up to the right of the spacious greenhouse.

“go ahead.”

you grinned and started picking the ripe ones, sneaking one or two to eat when kyle leant over your shoulder to steal his own.

you dropped the bowl off in the kitchen to rinse later on your way down to the barn.

“weren’t we gardening? why are we going to the barn?” you asked as he led you across the gravel and around the back of the garage.

he pulled open the barn doors with a grunt.

“to grab an extra pair of gardening gloves, but also to check up on marmite. she’s been a bit ill recently, caught her foot on something sharp in her paddock the other day so we’ve been trying to keep her still while she recovers,” kyle said and led you to the stable on the right.

you frowned before you saw the sweet little donkey stood, chomping at its bucket of hay.

“oh my god,” you whispered. “you actually have a donkey.”

kyle frowned at you, confused. “said so earlier didn’t i?”

“i couldn’t tell if you were pulling my leg or not.” you reached out and she slowly lumbered over to you, an obvious limp in one front leg. “will she be ok?”

“oh yeah, vet said she just needed to rest it, nothing major,” he reassured you. “plus she’s been through worse, she’s tough.”

you made an inquisitive noise as you gently petted between her ears and down to her nose.

“when we first found her she was pretty sick, left to rot in a field nearby, so we took her in. took a while for her to get back to full health, but now marmite gets to relax in her own paddock with the few sheep the neighbours let roam. sometimes we take her to the farmer’s market on the weekend when it’s good weather. she likes the work and the kids like to pet her, increases sales when people realise we’re authentic.” he scruffed roughly, but lovingly, under her ear before patting her neck. “give her another month and she’ll be back pulling her cart.”

you cooed, heart melting at the thought of her pulling her own cart with kids petting at her sides. “wait you called her marmite?” the donkey lifted her head at her name.

you bit your lip trying not to laugh as kyle turned an offended look towards you. “it’s a good name,” he defended.

you shook your head.

“this place is so fucking wonderful, kyle,” you said. “i think i could stay here forever,” you whispered.

he pulled you into his side and kissed your temple. “could if you wanted.”

you laughed at his joke and rolled your eyes. “oh yeah the commute to elliot’s work would be fine,” you teased.

kyle shrugged. “i’m sure we could find a solution to that.” you grabbed the gloves and a trowel and headed back towards the garden on a slow walk, waving to johnny through the kitchen window as you passed. “let’s get started on the garden, johnny’s wanting the rhubarb up.”

“making pie?”

“we were planning on going to the market in a couple of days time, if you wanted to come with us,” kyle offered casually. “it’s not like the overpriced shit they do in the city.”

you grinned and nodded. “do they always run it mid-week?”

“mid week every other week and the first weekend of every month,” he said. “you’ve missed the weekend one, which is a shame because it’s always busy and more vendors come.”

“i’m sure i’ll have a blast either way,” you reassured him. “will i be given free cheese like at the place des lices?”

kyle grinned, sharp and teasing. “i’ll bring a block with us if it keeps you hovering by me and johnny’s stall.”

you snorted and elbowed him as you reached the garden again. “behave.”

you dropped to a squat and started rustling through the large green leaves of the rhubarb until you found the base, twisting and pulling until it popped loose.

you chucked it into the bucket between you and gaz and grinned as he started to work beside you.

---

you spent the rest of the afternoon with him in the garden, only stopping to have lunch on the outside table - sandwiches johnny brought out with a teapot and two mugs on a tray - and gathered all of the vegetables and fruit that needed picking, whether to cook for themselves or for the market.

“do you go every week then?” you asked as you finally headed back to the house with your hands full and mucky from the soil.

your forehead was sweaty from the hard work but you didn’t feel uncomfortable, it felt good to have been useful and busy again.

“the market?” you nodded. “nah, we don’t have a big enough plot for growing. and it doesn’t bring enough in to make it worth it to expand. we just find it fun, enjoy getting out and seeing the locals every so often.”

“yeah you could probably go crazy staying out here alone for too long,” you laughed as you walked ahead of him into the house. “with sheep as your closest neighbours.”

kyle bit the inside of his cheek but you didn’t notice his silence.

“hey, good day?” you called out to your husband sat in the next room as you placed the vegetables on the table. when he didn’t reply you went through, careful to take your shoes off first so not to track mud inside. you leant over the back of the sofa and kissed his cheek, frowning when he sharply pulled away, glaring forward at the tv. “elliot?”

he stayed silent.

you slowly stood back up straight and waited for any sort of reaction for him before heading back to the kitchen. you knew how he got when he was in a foul mood, and you could see this one a mile off, there was no reason to push your luck.

stuck in your own head you were taken by surprise when johnny suddenly grabbed you by the hips, his bright eyes and toothy smile an inch too close to be casual as you looked up at him.

“fuckin’ hell, yer glowing, lass,” he boasted. “farm work looks good on ye.”

he patted one hip and winked before letting you go to clung to his husband. leant over kyle’s shoulder at the sink where he was rinsing the soil away from his hands and the root veg you’d picked, johnny pulled his husband’s chin towards him and kissed him.

you felt rooted to the spot as the pair opened their mouths wide enough to slip their tongues against the other’s, spit slicking lips and connecting what little space was given in thin strings as they swapped soft moans and heavy breaths. it was a private moment, intimate, but you couldn’t pull yourself away even as your stomach tightened and your throat became dry.

they pulled away, barely an inch, but enough for gaz to speak.

“don’t forget about that restaurant tonight, love,” he directed at you. “dress up a little, it’s like a chef’s table.”

your husband perked up from the other room at the mention of a chef’s table - never one to pass on an opportunity that made him look rich and important like the man he worked for, always searching for another story to brag about to his mates.

“what time? is the chef anyone i’d have heard of?”

johnny stifled a mocking laugh into kyle’s shoulder, one hand wandering beneath gaz’s jumper.

“nah, mate, he’s a bit lowkey this guy. doesn’t do social media or the like. invite only to his place.”

elliot’s eyebrows raised and he leant further over the sofa arm to talk. “and we’ve been invited then?”

“aye. we have.”

“do you want help changing, elliot?” you asked, but before your husband could find fault in your offer, johnny interrupted.

“i’ll help the wee injured lad, hen. you go get all bonnie for the meal, take your time getting all fancy f’r it,” he said, finally detaching himself from kyle.

“oh, ok.” you nodded when elliot didn’t immediately complain and headed upstairs, grimacing at the soil beneath your fingernails that you still hadn’t washed off. you sniffed yourself and grimaced at the thin layer of sweat clinging to you. you grabbed your towel and headed to the bathroom.

“fancy,” you’d scoffed to yourself in your bedroom after a quick shower.

you weren’t sure you could count anything you’d packed for the week as fancy or pretty enough for an invite-only restaurant.

you pulled out a black dress you’d packed in case you and elliot got some time alone. now that you were here you knew how unlikely that was but you were appreciating the foresight now.

the dress wasn’t anything special, not something you’d have chosen to eat out in if you had access to your other clothes at home; it went below your knees but the plunge of the neckline would have elliot grinding his teeth if you wore it around gaz and soap.

you bit your lip before making the split second decision to wear it anyway. a voice at the back of your head whispering insistently and repeatedly that kyle and johnny would love it.

you finished getting ready before considering the shoes you’d brought with you.

your hiking boots, trainers, and a pair of floral patterned wellies. “fuck.”

hadn’t thought that far ahead when you’d packed the dress, clearly. you sighed and headed down the stairs anyway. smiling when you caught johnny and kyle’s eyes.

“trying to kill us, hen? where have ye been hiding this little number?”

“give us a spin,” kyle ordered, and you followed suit without a second thought.

“yer a lucky man, elliot. very lucky indeed.” johnny patted your husband’s shoulder. “go get yer shoes on, hen, and we’ll set off.”

you felt your cheeks heat. you pointed down to your trainers next to the door. “i don’t have anything i can wear with them except my trainers,” you winced.

“oh that won’t do, what size are ye?” johnny asked, waiting by the door until you answered. “same size as my sister then. she’s left a few bits here when she’s visited before, i’ll see if i can find anythin’ in storage. she’d nae mind.”

he was gone and back again in a flash and you were handed a pair of black heels to step into. you thanked him and shakily stood, the heel far taller than what you were used to and the strap thin and barely providing support.

“oh god,” you huffed as you wobbled in place.

“need a hand?” johnny offered his arm and you clung on as you headed towards the door.

“christ, it’ll take all night to get to the car with her like this,” elliot complained behind you, kyle supporting him under his arm.

“i don’t think you’re one to talk right now since she’s still looking steadier on her feet than you,” kyle said bluntly. elliot’s ankle had lost the swelling and was simply wrapped beneath his socks and shoes for support, but he’d never been good with pain and you knew he’d take an extra few days to make sure his suffering was known.

you were inclined to agree with kyle that the injury was small, just needed a bit of rest to heal, but the bruising around the bone had you worrying about elliot driving at the end of the week and wondering if it had been worse than gaz had figured, and whether a sprain - or god forbid, a break - would need seeing to sooner rather than later.

johnny’s arm had gravitated to hold you around the waist as you drifted in your thoughts, leaving you to grip his wrist and his other hand for stability as he led you towards the car over the gravel. you felt your life flash before your eyes a handful of times as your ankles struggled not to cockle and keep you upright on the short walk, and you sighed in relief when you finally got in the car.

next time you’d wear the bloody wellies if it meant not having to wear shoes like this. god knows how johnny’s sister managed it.

---

kyle and johnny took the time during the drive to boast about simon - the chef and an old friend of theirs - and his restaurant; focusing on his cooking skills and mentioning only that he was a take-no-shit type of bloke, so not to be offended when he wasn’t particularly chatty.

“think the most i’ve ever heard him talk was when i asked what was in that soup he made last time,” soap snorted.

kyle parked up next to the single car parked by the side of the road, his headlights shining on the ruins a few hundred yards ahead of them.

to the right along a small cobbled path was a two story building that looked more like a house from the outside than a restaurant.

behind it sat the reservoir, black and still in the low moonlight.

the location was gorgeous but solitary and you wondered how he kept his lights on without foot traffic before laughing at your thoughts. it’s invite-only, this guy - simon, you reminded yourself - obviously didn’t need foot traffic to get by.

you held on to johnny tightly once more as you walked towards the building and found that its outside looks deceived you when you stepped inside and found the front room had been renovated into the dining area. it sat only one table in the centre but it was cosy, welcoming, professional. you assumed the back section of the old house’s ground floor had been adapted into a professional kitchen and storage space.

johnny led the group towards the lone table, big enough to seat four, and pulled out your chair, taking his seat opposite you after.

you’d been sat barely a minute before the door to the back swung open and a large, hulking man wearing a surgery mask and an apron walked over. he untied his apron once gaz stood up, holding it in one hand when the shorter man leant in for a hug, slinging his trunk of an arm over kyle’s shoulders.

“good to see you again, simon,” gaz said as he pulled back. “how you been doing?”

“good,” simon grunted, with a nod. he waved johnny forward with a weary flick of his wrist, but you could see the fondness in his eyes when johnny clapped his back and clung on.

“cannae wait ta see what you’ve got planned fer us t’night, si,” johnny said as he pulled back.

“wait ten minutes an’ you’ll find out, won’ ya?” simon said.

johnny huffed.

“simon, this is the couple we were telling you about that we’d met last month,” kyle said.

“french riviera.” simon nodded.

“nice to meet you,” you said. “these two were singing your praise on the way over so i’m excited to be here.”

simon smiled at you before flicking his towards kyle and johnny with a raised eyebrow.

you felt like you were being made fun of, talked about despite the silence, and you didn’t like it.

“when’s first course then simon?” johnny asked.

simon sighed. “was waiting for you to turn up, wasn’t i?” he said before slinking off to the back, barely sparing a glance for your husband during the entire exchange.

you’d quickly forgotten the uneasy feeling when the food came out; stuffed mushrooms for the starter and lamb served with smoked aubergine and caramelised onions and a robuchon-style mash that you’d practically inhaled after the first bite for the main. now you were just eagerly awaiting dessert.

it was overall one of the best meals you’d ever had, only highlighted by the fruity cocktails simon had impressed you all with and the silly jokes he’d told when he poured them. you didn’t know how he managed it all alone; or you assumed he was alone, with no conversations bleeding out from the kitchen when the doors opened and no face other than simon’s seen.

you slouched in your chair, wholly satisfied with the evening, and reached to hold elliot’s hand on the table at the same time that gaz looked to johnny lovingly.

he leant in and gently kissed his cheek, pulling back to stare in one another’s eyes and share the moment just between the two.

elliot sniffed at the display, looking down at his plate. “so you two, how’d you meet again?”

“met officially when we were put on a mission together, but i’d see johnny around base and at the nearest pub on our days off before that,” kyle said.

“he didnae have the time of day fer me at first,” johnny laughed, his arm moving under the table as he rubbed at kyle’s thigh.

“saw him strike out with half the men and women in the bar, gave me the ick,” gaz joked. “asked me out more than a dozen times.”

“an’ yet he was the one that got down on one knee all teary eyed in the end,” johnny disclosed.

“realised thick-headed scot’s were my type after all, came to my senses,” kyle cooed.

“sorry, you said men and women?” elliot asked, suddenly visibly invested in the conversation.

his eyes were sharp and you new he was thinking back to your conversation in france when you’d reassured him neither man would be interested in flirting with you. you were still convinced they were just tactile people, especially given how they had greeted simon, but you had to admit that the last few days had been filled with odd moments that had you questioning your own feelings. either way you knew elliot would be like a dog with a bone after this, would try and use it to cause an argument after such a great evening.

“aye. he did.” johnny nodded.

“so you’re not… gay then,” elliot hedged.

you kicked his leg beneath the table and gaz snorted.

“nah mate. we’re not,” gaz said.

“so then…”

“elliot,” you hissed. “stop prying.”

“i’m bi,” kyle said with an easy shrug before elliot could react to your reprimand.

your eyes flickered to johnny, meeting the bright blue head on as he was already watching you before he looked at your husband.

“i don’t put labels on things, limits me,” johnny sniffed. he looked back to you as he spoke next. “i like pretty people with bonnie accents and big doe eyes. like gaz here.” he turned to his husband with a cheeky grin.

gaz snorted again, mirthfully this time.

“cannae say no to him ever, jus’ ask him,” johnny said and you silently agreed.

“like you ever want to, i’m full of good ideas.” gaz pouted.

“why ye asking anyway, elliot? feeling the urge to join us?” johnny licked at his teeth, predatory as he stared down your husband.

elliot choked out a startled ‘no’ and shook his head, making the couple laugh at his urgent insistence.

“for the best i think. i dunno if you’d be able to keep up, no offence,” gaz said condescendingly. “we don’t tend to play vanilla.”

your eyes widened as a sudden slew of scenarios involving the two handsome men in front of you flashed before your eyes. you did your best to keep your face straight even as elliot frowned and scoffed.

“what, you like to tie each other up?” he rolled his eyes with a huff of a laugh.

kyle didn’t rise to the bait. “we do all sorts. don’t think there’s much we haven’t tried at this point.”

johnny grinned at him.

“even like… gags and spanking?” you asked, sudden and unbidden, the words needing to be answered even as you felt your entire body heat in embarrassment.

“yeah, hen, we’ve tried those a few times,” johnny said gently but eagerly. his foot knocked against yours beneath the table and you fought not to jump or flinch. “what we’re into at the moment though is roleplay.”

“can have a lot of fun with it,” kyle agreed.

“you’re kidding me,” elliot said, disbelief colouring his voice.

“not at all, watch,” johnny said before standing, hooking his napkin over his arm and holding it in front of him like a waiter. he cleared his throat before lilting his voice slightly higher, like he was using his ‘phone voice’. “was everything to your satisfaction tonight?”

“it was fantastic,” kyle said, immediately playing along. he slouched into his chair. “the dessert though, was a little lackluster. i wanted something with a bit of a bite.”

johnny raised his eyebrow. “i might be able to help with that, sir.” he leant forward as though to grab his plate, but instead knocked his fork to the floor. “oh no, silly me.”

“you better grab that, hm?” kyle asked, spreading his legs as johnny immediately fell to his knees, crowding close.

kyle looked over at you and elliot and grinned at your shocked, engrossed faces. he lifted the table cloth and covered johnny’s head and curved back. he hid one hand beneath, resting it on the back of his husband’s head, scratching through his mohawk.

your breath started to come short as you heard the fly of kyle’s trousers go and then suddenly it was all you could do not to squirm and add to the noises coming from the other side of the table. the room was silent, not a word from your husband for the first time in years, and the kitchen seemed to have stilled while johnny hummed and gagged.

kyle groaned and huffed, his smiles tilting the breathless noises into half laughs as johnny seemingly sucked the life out of him.

you’d never held yourself so still, not daring to check what elliot’s reaction was as you stared between kyle’s pleasured face and johnny’s bobbing head beneath the cloth.

suddenly the pair stopped, and johnny threw the table cloth up with a grin, laughing alongside kyle as you and you and your husband tried to catch your bearings at the reveal of the unconventional joke.

“just fuckin’ with ye,” johnny said as he sat back in his chair.

you shakily laughed along, avoiding eye contact as you pressed a hand to one cheek, hoping to ease the heat you could feel emanating, knowing that between your legs was no better.

“don’t worry we’d ask before including you in anything,” kyle said. “even if we just wanted you to watch.”

“though when we open up the relationship it’s usually to get the third person involved. cannae help but touch, watching’s nae enough,” johnny added, heated as he glanced at you.

“i’ve never done that before,” you said softly, too brusk to be a whisper. “be with two people at once that is.”

you hadn’t realised elliot had spoken at the same time, his words only just registering as you watched johnny’s gaze simmer.

“we’re not interested.”

we.

there he went answering for the both of you again.

“right?” he pushed.

you looked at him out of the corner of your eye, fearful of what his reaction would be until johnny’s foot knocked yours again. you felt a sudden surge of confidence.

“i think this might be the first time you’ve ever said no to having sex with someone that wasn’t me, elliot.”

your husband sputtered, only embarrassed further when gaz whistled low and soap shook his head, privy already to the failings of your relationship and at a loss as to why your husband could have ever made the choices he had.

“well, if yer not up to it, elliot, we wouldnae push,” johnny said. “in fact it’d mean you’d have the entire bed to ye’self while we kept bonnie company for the night. more room fer you to spread out as ye sleep.”

you felt your body run cold as you thought back to your first night; you’d thought perhaps one of them had overheard elliot’s thoughtless comments but you hadn’t realised they’d heard the entire conversation.

you laughed awkwardly at johnny’s suggestion as elliot insisted a little too seriously that nothing of the like would be happening.

simon thankfully interrupted the stand off between the three men at the table as he brought through dessert; a light chocolate sorbet with fresh raspberries.

you thanked him and took the opportunity to share the joke you’d been trying to remember since simon had shared his first pun when he’d brought out the starters.

“how does a french chef respond to bad egg jokes?” you asked and waited for simon’s shrug. “oeuf..."

you saw his eyes crinkle and assumed that was as close to a laugh that you’d get, feeling quite pleased with yourself.

“that’s a shit joke,” he said, but the amusement was clear in his voice. “enjoy your dessert.”

“thank you.” you took a big bite, groaning deep at the rich taste and tartness of the fruit. the prospect of brain-freeze unable to slow you down.

“fucking hell, would you behave?” elliot hissed in your ear.

gaz dropped his spoon with a clatter, and sniffed harshly, looking across at elliot with clear disdain.

“you need to stop disrespecting her, mate. she’s an adult, she’s enjoying a meal; leave her alone.”

“was i talking to you?” elliot said back, eager for the fight. “you don’t see me interfering with your relationship.”

“yeah, exactly. your lips were sealed when you thought johnny had my dick in his mouth at the table, but now you think you can get snappy?”

“she’ll learn her manners even if she does insist on being friends with you two,” elliot said.

you felt anger bubble at being ignored, talked about as though you weren’t there by both men.

johnny noticed your discomfort and nudged gaz, his posture loosening when he saw your lowered head, jutted jaw and the embarrassed purse of your lips.

“maybe we’ve all had too much to drink,” johnny said appeasingly. “more than we’d realised. simon’s always been a strong pour.”

“i agree. not that the cocktails weren’t lovely, but they must’ve gone to everyone’s heads quicker than expected. they were moorish,” you laughed, though it sounded thin and fake to your own ears.

gaz huffed through his nose heavily. he nodded and looked at you as he spoke. “i’ll go settle up with simon. if you need a hand walking back to the car you could wait with me?”

you nodded when elliot didn’t protest and johnny got up to help him.

you waited with gaz near the back of the room where simon had set up a little till station, a bowl of mints to the side that you felt swell of fondness for as you looked at them.

simon picked up on the awkward air immediately when he came out from the back, watched with keen eyes as you shuffled from foot to foot and sent anxious glances out the window in between compliments to the food.

“‘m making a cake soon,” he said out of the blue as gaz tapped his card, and you turned back to him, interest piqued. “any recommendations on flavour? bit tied at the minute.”

“oh.” you blinked. “i had a lemon poppyseed cake a few years ago that was to die for.”

simon watched you steadily for a moment before humming. he handed kyle his receipt. “tell johnny it was good t’see ’im.”

“you too, si.”

kyle offered you his arm to walk back to the car and you took it gladly, letting him help you to keep your footing until you were situated in the back with elliot.

the drive back felt exponentially longer in the silence. the lack of music, johnny’s chatter, or even your own ramblings had you on edge.

the silence from elliot continued into the house as he winced and hobbled up the stairs alone, refusing any more help than he’d already been forced to rely upon.

you followed behind him dutifully, mouthing a soft ‘thank you’ to gaz and soap at the stairs before disappearing into your room.

elliot waited for the door to close before he rounded on you.

“‘i’ve never done that before’,” he simpered, pitching his voice higher to mock you.

“elliot, i—“

“go ahead try and explain your way out of that one, hm? practically threw yourself at them,” he spat.

you scoffed.

“its not like i said yes to fucking them,” you reminded him, not mentioning the urge you’d felt at the time to do just that.

“didn’t say no either, did you?” elliot asked, his voice raising. “i think they were planning on bloody bedding you tonight in fact.”

“fucking hell. you’re being dramatic and- and silly,” you said in disbelief. “they were playing around. christ knows if i can get over what you did, then you can deal with them flirting a little.”

he moved swiftly despite his ankle and grabbed your arm tightly, ignoring your sharp gasp as he glared at you. “you need to start listening to me. we’re married, if you remember? so start behaving like it.”

“you’re hurting me, elliot.” when he didn’t let go you nodded quickly and spoke again. “i understand.”

“good.” he nodded and bent down to kiss your lips chastley. “then let’s go to bed.”

he let you go and limped over to the bed. you joined him a moment later, shaken as you tried to calm yourself enough to lay next to him and pretend to sleep.

---

johnny had set up breakfast outside the next morning while kyle had sorted out their few animals and checked for any stray sheep that needed to be shepherded closer to their neighbour’s land; taking their truck around the edge of the property.

“hey, got some brekkie outside if ye want to join? kyle’ll be back any minute now.”

you nodded and helped elliot across the garden as johnny brought the fresh orange juice with him for the table.

you thanked johnny for the broad spread and plated yourself some of the mixed fruit. when you heard a door slam, you turned to the driveway and saw kyle making his way down the side of the house to reach the garden. he waved when he caught you looking, readjusting his cap so his face wasn’t hidden by the brim as he came closer.

he bent to kiss johnny’s scarred temple before taking his seat and stealing a sip of his coffee, wincing at the bitterness.

“you tell ‘em yet?” kyle asked johnny in a low tone, putting the mug back and pouring himself a juice.

“not yet,” johnny replied. he cleared his throat when elliot lifted an eyebrow in question, having stayed stubbornly silent with johnny and now kyle. still moody from the evening before.

johnny sighed, almost awkwardly. “look, we didn’t mean to overhear, but conversations echo in an old home like ours,” he started. you immediately went cold. “there’s been a few things we’ve both heard over the last few days—“

elliot jumped in, finding his voice suddenly in the face of his reputation being squandered, even if it was just johnny and kyle. “whatever you heard was between myself and my wife. it’s an old mistake and we’ve worked through it to heal any wounds caused. we’re happier than ever now, aren’t we?” he threw his arm behind you to rest in the back of your chair, the picture of a perfect couple. you nodded placidly. he turned back to them. “our therapist is fantastic.”

“therapist?” kyle asked.

“yes, a couple’s therapist, but you see her a couple times a month alone too, don’t you, darling?” elliot said.

“we needed someone impartial to help us see through the fog,” you said, repeating the words elliot had used over a year ago to convince you to stay. “we were just running in circles about it.”

kyle nodded. “how’d you find this therapist then?”

“elliot found her,” you said.

“lucky she was such a good fit if she was the first one you tried,” kyle said mirthfully.

“well she’d helped me before so i knew she was good at her job,” elliot let slip.

you stiffened and slowly turned to face him. “what?”

“she just gave me some advice, helped me out of a few toxic relationships when i was younger, darling. nothing serious like us. i haven’t been married before if that’s what you’re thinking,” elliot tried to joke.

it was not what you were thinking. it was not what you were worrying about.

“when you were ‘younger’? you’ve known her for years?” you questioned. “she was meant to be fucking unbiased and you’re telling me you’ve used her to get you out of relationships before? what the fuck, elliot?” you seethed, your voice raising.

“darling—“

“you told me she was trustworthy!” you laughed mirthlessly as you thought back to your first session. “you said you’d never met her before, just another fucking lie for the tally is it? it’s feeling pretty endless at this point,” you scoffed.

elliot’s lips thinned as he pulled his arm back and looked at you, debating his next move.

“we went to university together,” he admitted. “we’re just friends.”

“oh christ, ‘friends’. good to know the woman i’ve been telling my deepest, darkest thoughts to has more personal loyalty to you and whether or not she’d keep my secrets is one too many drinks away,” you spat.

“she takes her work very seriously, she wouldn’t break confidentiality like that. she’s never told me anything you’ve said in a session that i wasn’t there for,” elliot pressed, reaching to hold your hand.

“and why should i believe you?” you yanked your hand back and stood, storming off towards the woodland at the back of the garden.

“always with the dramatics.” elliot shook his head. he stood and took a step to follow you but winced when the pressure on his ankle spiked a sharp ache up his shin.

soap and gaz stayed seated, watching him struggle silently.

when he slumped back into his seat johnny spoke up. “why don’t we take ye back inside? give her some space.”

elliot bit the inside of his cheek but knew disagreeing wasn’t an option. he jerkily nodded once.

kyle kept an eye on you as you stopped near the tree line, smiled, amused, when he saw you kick at a nearby tree trunk. you weren’t going any deeper into the start of the trail so there was no need for them to bother you, you needed time to process and work through your initial anger.

he grabbed a plate for himself and started to eat, grabbing bits he knew johnny would want when he got back. there was no point in wasting a dewy fresh morning and good food just because elliot was a moron.

they’d finished majority of their share of the food when they heard your footsteps heading back. you hadn’t lingered at the end of the grass for long, deciding to join them once more with a ducked head and an embarrassed hunch to your shoulders.

“are ye ok?” johnny asked carefully.

“yeah, yeah. fine. just annoyed, more than anything. embarrassed i made such a scene.”

“don’t be, if it were me ah’d ‘ve gone bananas hearing all’a that.” johnny waved you off.

“there’s only so much someone can take,” kyle added.

you nodded and felt a stray tear slip and in a flash the pair of them were tugging you out of your seat to wrap you in a warm hug.

“thank you, guys,” you said as you squeezed them back. you sent a weary look towards the house as the one thought that had been going around your head for the last half hour - the last year if you were being honest.

you were going to divorce elliot.

“you’ve done so much for us, for me, these last couple of days. how about i cook for you guys tonight? i make a pretty mean lasagne if you’ve got the stuff?”

the couple grinned. “i think we could find what you need.”

you finished your breakfast and headed back inside after the couple waved of your offer to help clear the table.

“we’ve got a bit to catch up on around the farm that we’ve put off since you arrived,” kyle said. “we’ll be back later on, but feel free to go where you like on the property, do what you like.”

“make ye’sen anything from the fridge if ye get hungry,” johnny added.

which left you with a slow day to entertain yourself. with kyle’s. words echoing in your mind you headed to the large bookcase on the living room and grabbed the first book that caught your eye. sitting in the armchair diagonal to the sofa where elliot was watching their tv from, you curled up and silently began to read. you weren’t ready to talk to elliot yet, but you knew he’d need a hand throughout the day and you didn’t want to add onto johnny and kyle’s already long list of things to do.

you caught gaz and soap nipping in and out throughout the day and when it timed right, you refilled their flasks with steaming tea before they were off out again.

the book lasted you the day, thoroughly engrossing you in the story, and elliot played nice for once, giving his p’s and q’s when you handed him a fresh cuppa and even cautiously squeezing your hip in appreciation when you passed by towards the end of the day.

“i’m making lasagne,” you said as he waited for your response.

“sounds lovely, darling.”

you were still angry at him, but it turned to despondency when you saw that johnny had taken the time to set the ingredients aside for you on the counter and in the fridge. elliot had never done that for you.

such small things were missing, it wasn’t just his cheating, but that had been the linchpin for this longwinded realisation that you just weren’t happy together.

you lost yourself in the preparation of the meal, not noticing your company as you started layering the sauces and pasta sheets. johnny and gaz came lumbering in, clearly tired but obviously satisfied with the work they’d completed in the day and hovered by your side.

“ah hen, that looks good. think i could eat the lot t’ ma’sael,” johnny groaned.

“you bloody dare,” kyle threatened, leaning ober his shoulder to see what you were doing. “we’ll clean up upstairs and leave you to it.”

“it should be cooked in the next 40 minutes, so take your time,” you said, gently elbowing them away so you could put the tray in the oven.

they nodded, and you got to cleaning up after yourself.

a nudge at your hip what felt like only a few minutes later had you looking up in surprise and smiling at kyle as he dried the dishes you’d washed. it was painfully domestic and you looked over your shoulder to see johnny wiping down the countertops.

“has kyle told ye ‘bout the market?”

“yeah, in two days’ time right?”

“aye, you should come with us when we go. will be a right laugh,” johnny offered.

“i’d love to,” you agreed, not sparing a thought for how elliot would deal with the journey or get around the market once he was there with you. you wanted to be selfish about this. “what are you thinking of taking?”

“got a fair bit of fruit and veg lined up, some pickles stuff i’ve been working on, a few woodwork projects gaz brings along,” johnny listed.

“you sell your work?”

“just small stuff like fence signs, ‘welcome home’ plaques, small coffee tables,” kyle said bashfully.

“you should bring your charcoal drawings too, johnny, i bet people would love to see their countryside lovingly captured,” you suggested.

“ah, maybe,” he hedged. you huffed, surprised that this was what got the pair shy. “should’ve brought some’a yer own paintings to sell, bon.”

“oh fuck, i forgot my paint set at home,” you said, deflated. “i was really looking forward to painting sometime. in fact today would’ve been perfect for it.” you pouted, annoyed at yourself doubly.

“ye can just borrow some of my stuff,” johnny said easily. “what’s mine is yours, yeah?”

you blinked. “uhm, sure.” you cleared your throat. “thank you, johnny,” you said a little more gratefully.

“think that lasagne might be finished,” kyle said as he stood. “i’ll set the table.”

you nodded and went to help elliot while johnny pulled out the dish and scooped it onto four plates.

“looks delicious, you’ve outdone ye’self here,” johnny cooed. you grinned and felt pride bloom when all three of the men sat at the table groaned at the taste.

“can i make a toast before you all finish in one bite?” you asked playfully. kyle was quick to nod and put down his fork, swapping it for his glass of water. “to lasting friendships and new starts.”

elliot frowned but lifted his glass.

“cheers tae tha’,” johnny said, taking a quick swig before shovelling another spoonful off his plate.

---

with dinner a certified success and your mind made up about your marriage, you found it easier to forgive your husband for what he’d let slip at breakfast.

you headed to bed, peaceful in your decision, and smiled at elliot as you changed into your pyjamas.

“darling…” he started, hesitant for one of the first times in your relationship. you sat next to him on the bed, ignoring the way it squeaked beneath your weight. “i truly am sorry for not telling you— for lying to you about sarah. she’s the most qualified person i know in the field, i just wanted the best for you, for us. i didn’t think about how it would look in the long run.”

of course he didn't, because he never thought about how you felt. you took his hand and rubbed your thumb over his knuckles.

“i forgive you, elliot. mistakes happen,” you said simply.

“yeah?” he asked, his grin and confidence growing. he slipped his hand free to cup your face and pulled you in for an eager kiss. “thank you, darling. i knew you’d understand.”

his eyes darkened as he looked at you, his hand dropped from your cheek to your shoulder and trailed down the long sleeved shirt you slept in.

“you know, you were right at dinner the other night,” he said, and plucked at the bottom of the shirt. “we haven’t had much time for each other recently. maybe we should rectify that.”

of everything you could've guessed elliot would have said to you after everything, that wouldn't have been one of them.

“your ankle,” you reminded him stiltedly. “you’re meant to rest .”

“i’ve been resting,” he said impatiently. “but either way, i’m sure we can work around that.”

“the walls are thin,” you said, hoping it came across as shy instead of reluctant. you were disinclined to fuck your husband now that you’d accepted you wanted better, more.

but you supposed you could give him a quick handjob and call it a night, his complaints be damned. you saw the frustration bleed clearer in his expression with each excuse.

you pushed him back into the pillows and climbed over him to settle in close at his side. guiding his chin up you kissed him in soft little pecks that led across his cheek until you could nuzzle along his jaw and gently nip and lick at his neck. you lifted your palm up and licked a broad stripe across before slipping it beneath his boxers, soaking up his groan as your slick palm wrapped around his base.

you always were a sucker for knowing you were doing a good job, even now when you weren't too invested.

you pulled him free from his boxers and tightened your grip as you moved in deliberate, slow pumps. keeping your eyes low, you watched the first spurt of pre dribble down before it was quickly gathered by your fingers and spread laxly over his head and back down the shaft.

“oh fuck, that’s it, darling. just a bit quicker and tighter for me, go on,” he encouraged.

you did as he asked, twisting your wrist and pressing your thumb to his slit. you felt him shudder and the arm he’d wrapped around you tightened incrementally.

“feel good?” you asked and squeezed tighter on your next pump. he was leaking enough that the glide was slick and easy, the friction causing him to groan.

“fuck, i think im gonna- gonna cum,” he whined and you took that as a hint to focus on his head, swirling your palm in tight motions until his hips were lifting off of the bed to push into your sticky grip. he came with a low gasp, his breath hot and damp across your forehead.

you waited for him to hiss in sensitivity before you let him go and sat up, keeping your palm away from your clean pjs.

“just let me wash up then we can go to sleep,” you said.

elliot sleepily nodded, his eyes already half closed. you sighed.

---

with a jolt, you suddenly woke with elliot hovering over you; he was already dressed, though the lack of light itching to burst past the curtains let you know it wasn’t yet morning. you were disoriented and confused as he whispered rushed mutterings.

“elliot?”

“shh,” he held his finger to his lips, eyes flickering to the bedroom door. “you need to pack, we have to go.”

“what? no, what time is it?” you sat up and brushed his hands away from you. he stopped tugging at your arm and instead pulled away the duvet.

“there was an emergency, we have to go. now.” elliot repeated. “please darling, quickly.”

“an emergency?” your ears pricked even as you read the time, 5am, on your phone. “what emergency?”

“i’ll explain on the way,” he said vaguely, finally pulling you out of the bed and hissing when he pressed too much weight on his ankle.

“elliot, slow down. just tell me what’s happened, im not leaving here without saying goodbye to—“

“shut up. for once just do as i say,” elliot rounded on you suddenly and gripped your neck tightly. you reflexively pulled at his wrist to ease up the pressure and nodded as best you could with his broad palm pressed snugly against your throat, his thumb and fingers hooked at the edges of your jaw. “we’re leaving. we have to go, and i mean now.”

he let you go and you stayed quiet, muffling your coughs into your elbow. he was hasty in his own packing, rushing you along all the while and stumbled with his bag on the stairs, irritating his injury enough to let out a sharp gasp.

you ducked under his arm and helped him hop to the car, sending pensive looks behind you the whole time, guilt churning in your gut.

“are you sure you can drive, elliot?” you asked finally, hesitating to put on your seatbelt once you were sat in the passenger seat.

he shushed you rudely and gritted his teeth as he pressed on the clutch.

the drive back down the winding lanes towards the main road was rough, the car stuttering every time elliot’s ankle succumbed to and crumbled under the pressure he needed for the clutch, his leg flinching up and the seatbelt catching you before you jerked too far forward.

“where’s my phone? i need to call work, i need— where is it?” he hissed, patting his pockets and checking the holders in the car, hardly watching the road.

“you don’t have it?” you asked, confused.

“it was charging on your side of the bed,” he reminded you impatiently.

“then how did you know about the emergen—“ you realised with a sudden sick roll of your stomach, that he’d lied. again.

he was pissy you had a few days left of the holiday, that he wasn’t enjoying himself but you were. you had two days left but he he didn’t want to be around them anymore so he faked an emergency, because surely he’d have had his phone if that were true. fuck, no wonder he was being vague about it all, he wanted time to make up something detrimental at work or perhaps even to do with a friend that would be fine with lying to you. he certainly had his pick of them.

he span the car around angrily and you held on to the door handle as the tyres squealed. “you’ll need to go in and get it as quickly as possible.”

“sure,” you said blandly. you were sick of trusting him and getting fucked over for it every time. would you ever learn?

yes. the divorce would make this the last time you let him walk all over you.

you didn’t bother trying to quieten your steps along the gravel back up to the house. part of you hoped johnny or kyle heard your steps and came down to stop you leaving while the other half worried what elliot would do if you dawdled.

you mumbled to yourself, pissed off and chuntering, as you walked into the kitchen, expecting it to be empty and to be able to nip upstairs and grab elliot’s mobile and be gone again, an apologetic text already drafted in your mind for johnny and kyle.

however the pair of them were already in the kitchen, a third man stood with them. johnny jumped from his chair and wrapped you in his arms immediately, causing you to squeak when he squeezed tight.

“we were worried you’d left,” gaz said from where he leant against the kitchen counter, the mysterious man stood silent opposite him. “fretting we’d done something wrong.”

johnny let you go finally so you could reply, his big blue eyes staring down at you intensely.

“oh, uhm, i’m sorry,” you started, stuttering through an explanation. an excuse. “we uhm, we did go but it’s because i woke with bad stomach pains.” you felt yourself retreat into your shoulders, hunched and embarrassed with such focused attention on you. “elliot was worried, said we should go to the hospital maybe, uhm, so we left without saying goodbye. in a hurry. sorry.”

you noticed the third man staring at your neck and reflexively lifted a hand to cover the area, hoping to feel whatever he was staring at, thinking your shirt might've had the tag stuck out at the front given how dazedly you'd dressed earlier. instead you sucked in a thin breath when your hand pressed against sensitive bruising.

you broke eye contact immediately and dropped your hand to your collar bone, felt your cheeks heat in a putrid mix of anger and humiliation.

“we found his phone in yer room still,” johnny said and pulled elliot’s mobile from his back pocket. “glad ye came back fer it, but if yer ill was it really so important?”

you floundered for a moment, eyes glued to his hand, before gaz spoke up.

“might’ve just been the booze from last night, yeah? sometimes it doesn’t settle well, simon forgets what the average person can stomach,” kyle said. he winked. “it’d be especially rough for lightweights.”

you rolled your eyes playfully but didn’t deny it.

“it still hurting?” johnny asked, his free hand drifting close so his fingertips could trace your stomach lightly in the opening of your jacket.

you clamped your own hand over your soft tummy and nodded, feigning a stomach ache.

“let me make ye some chucky eggs and a chamomile tea to ease it off,” johnny offered and dropped elliot’s phone on the table roughly. “a light hangover cure coming right up, don’t figure you’d want a hearty, greasy brekkie like what i do fer me an’ gaz when we’re hangin'.”

gaz pushed off the side and gently corralled you into a seat, pushing it in for you afterwards and letting his hands linger on you shoulders. you couldn’t help but nod and go along with their sweet touches, even as you thought of elliot sat waiting in his car. they were being nicer than anyone had been in a long time when you’d been ‘ill’.

it felt like they were being careful with you. it almost made you feel even guiltier for lying to them.

the third man coughed and looked at kyle with raised eyebrows, his heavy facial hair hiding any mirth that might have hidden around his mouth.

“ah, where are my manners? love, this is price, our pest control guy,” kyle said as he hovered by your chair. “sometimes when we’re too busy to handle it, we get price in to shoot the foxes that are eating the hens. we’d called him last week since we’ve been having a few issues, completely forgot after you arrived.”

you nodded along, though you couldn’t remember seeing or hearing any foxes over the last few days, even on the late evenings.

“he’s a good man, won’t be a bother,” johnny added. “in fact it was good that he arrived when he did or we’d have had no clue ye were gone.”

“it’s nice to meet you,” you said, and took his meaty hand when he offered it. as you looked into his pale eyes you saw something mean to him. hidden behind his soft, placid smile and easy nod there was a sharp glint in his eyes he couldn’t hide.

you knew without asking that he enjoyed his job, enjoyed hunting, and you were suddenly glad you wouldn’t have to witness it going by johnny’s promise that he'd be out of the way.

johnny handed you a earthy smelling cup and you slowly sipped and watched him hover by the toaster as the eggs boiled in their pan, waiting to butter then slice the toast into dippable pieces.

he’d just scooped the eggs into their little cups and played them beside the toast when your husband limped in, stumbling at the unexpected sight of gaz and johnny. he sent you a baleful look as he took in the scene before him and you ducked your head back towards your boiled eggs.

“we were wondering when you might turn up, mate,” kyle said, finally taking his seat next to yours. “was just introducing the missus to price.”

“poor girl said she was ill?” price said and elliot clung on to the excuse.

“ah yeah, she’s always been a drama queen this one. wanted to head home as soon as she started feeling a little under the weather,” he said. he looked down to your plate. “feeling better now, though, i see.”

price’s gaze turned frigid as he stared at your husband. he looked to johnny for a moment, who nodded once, before turning back to your husband.

“you ever gone hunting before?” he asked. “do a bit for the lads here when they’re tied up in more important things, could take you out when i go looking for foxes today.”

elliot jumped at the chance, even with his ankle.

watching price, you felt rude for the voice in the back of your head that was telling you this man was not to be trusted. he was nice from what you could tell, charming even, if not commanding. you assumed he perhaps had a similar background to johnny and kyle with how he held himself, that his gruff exterior was likely earned from years in the service, but despite that something in you bristled all the same in a way it hadn’t so far. looking at elliot however, you realised he felt far differently; price’s casual dominance had managed to bring your husband to heel.

“great, we’ll keep bonnie company for the morning and if she starts to feel faint again, we’ll look after her,” johnny said and clapped elliot on the shoulder.

---

the couple hardly gave you time to let your breakfast settle before they whisked you off onto a trail behind their house again and after a short walk you got to see the view kyle had shown you on his phone originally in france.

“said you wanted to try painting it, so here we are,” kyle said.

“i don’t have my stuff with me.” you frowned, remembering speaking about it before.

“ahh, we came prepared.” johnny took off his bag and rooted through it, pulling out three small drawing pads and a water colour set. “no wine this time,” johnny teased. “an’ we’ll have tae share the paints.”

“then what’re we waiting for?” you asked excitedly.

barely twenty minutes in you quickly found that this was the one thing the pair of them couldn’t do.

gaz struggled the most, claiming after barely ten minutes that he was going down an abstract route with his, and despite his teasing, it didn’t take johnny much longer after that to admit that his skill lay in charcoal.

you had spent the better part of the morning on your painting, but at the last minute painted over the same branch until the colour was too dark, overworked and leaking a little into the leaves.

“fuck,” you huffed and dabbed it with your sleeve. elliot would scowl at the mess but you were distracted, worried about what johnny and kyle thought of your lie earlier that morning and your rude almost-exit. “i’m sorry about this morning,” you said finally.

“there’s nothing to apologise for,” kyle said immediately. “you’re still here, right?”

“still, i just—“

“hen, please. you’re fine, you’re forgiven if that’s what ye need t’hear.” johnny smiled. “maybe we should head back, ahm craving a hot choccy like nobodies business sat out here in the cold.”

"we can get lunch started," gaz suggested before turning to you. "What are you craving, love?"

---

you had reached the garden when you heard a shot echo from the woods.

“must’ve found the den,” kyle said in response to your tense shoulders, but your husband's scream following a moment later had your head whipping across the lawn.

with wide eyes you watched the tree line, stubbornly still even as kyle and johnny tried to encourage you further down towards the farmhouse. you felt your hands twitch as your husband burst from the overgrown bushes, pushing out of a trail you’d have never known was there otherwise.

at his desperate, fearful face you turned to kyle for support automatically, johnny nowhere to be seen, but found his eyes were dark and hooded where he watched elliot struggle to hobble over to you. his stance was lazy; you’d almost think he was uninterested if you hadn’t noticed the way he’d not blinked since your husband’s running figure had breached the bushes, but you could tell he was entirely focused on elliot.

as he got closer you noticed the blood streaking down his face from a large cut across his forehead and his broken nose; evident from it's quick bruising.

he looked like he’d been hit with the solid flat side of something head on. at the sight of tears in his eyes you suddenly jumped into action and met him halfway, helping hold him up as he tried to move quickly away from the forest behind.

“he’s trying to kill me, he’s going to— he attacked me, he wants to kill me, we need to leave,” he babbled, nasally. “we have to go, please.”

“let’s take a second to breathe, mate, yeah? come on, sit down inside and tell us what’s happened,” kyle said reasonably.

“no! i’m not fucking staying here, you’re all crazy,” elliot said and tried to pull you along passed the kitchen door. “he’s a fucking psycho, he attacked me with the fucking— the thing, the gun!”

“i’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding,” kyle insisted, but you recognised a hint of impatience to his tone and it had you continuing to walk with elliot to your car. “if you slow down, we can figure this out.”

“kyle… even if this was an accident, i think someone should look at the cut,” you said. the blood had dripped far enough to begin to soak into elliot’s collar and stain the material.

“no, no, no,” elliot suddenly mumbled and you turned forward to look at the car. your eyes locked onto the flat wheel and you felt your stomach drop.

“elliot…” you whispered.

“get in the fucking car,” he ordered and pushed away from you to round to the passenger side.

dread spread like ice to your fingertips and toes and you flinched out of kyle’s hold when he reached for your arm from behind. you span around to face him and stumbled back a step towards the car, only breaking eye contact with kyle when you saw movement from the garage.

johnny. he was dusting off his hands as he walked and you felt your panic rise and thrash. you’d not lent a thought as to where he’d gone when elliot had appeared bloody and frantic, but in the back of your mind you supposed you’d thought he’d continued on to the house; whether for a first aid kit or to start those hot chocolates you didn’t know.

looking at him then, trousers freshly scuffed on one knee with mud where you supposed he must’ve knelt to slash your tyre, your head suddenly felt heavy and your breath came short.

you were just confused. they were so kind to you, understanding, and now elliot was hurt and something in your gut told you they were involved, too casual in the face of such a graphic injury and accusation.

kyle was eerily quiet as you slowly started to piece it together. you swallowed nervously.

“what— what’s going on, kyle?”

“it’s nothing you need to worry about, love,” he said softly. “come on, come inside with me and johnny’ll sort out elliot.”

it felt weird hearing him say your husband’s name for the first time, especially in this situation. it raised your hackles when you’d have thought it would ease your worry.

“aye, just a spot of bad luck, nothing we can’t fix,” johnny said as he edged closer.

“get in the fucking car, what are you waiting for?” elliot yelled.

“don’t do it, love,” kyle warned.

you shook your head and scrambled for the front seat, locking the door behind you. it had been years since you last drove; moving to london meant it wasn’t necessary and on the odd trips you took with elliot he’d always insisted on driving. pushing on the pedals now felt like learning anew, especially with the flat.

kyle and johnny watched you reverse with frowns on their faces, arms crossed and stood tall.

“speed up, fucking hell, get on the main road already before they catch up,” elliot hissed, eyes wild.

the gears grinded as you tried to speed up down the short road that led to their house, the steering wheel fighting against you on the uneven road and flat tyre. you glanced in the rear view mirror at elliot’s words, worried they were already on your tail but they were still stood still.

you wondered briefly if they really were just trying to help when you suddenly spun out on the gravel leading up to the barn.

your head smacked into the wheel as the car slammed to a stop against the fence and you groaned as you sat up, panting and clinging uncomfortably tight to the steering wheel as you tried to blink the stars from your eyes and gather your bearings. everything was going too fast, the afternoon turned upside down so quick.

elliot clambered out of the car, limping towards the barn without giving a second look back towards you. with weak hands you pushed open the door and followed him, shaken but uninjured.

you followed him into the barn and he slammed the door behind you, slotting the latch down as though that would do much good to keep anyone out for long.

“that man, price, he tried to shoot me,” elliot whispered, fresh tears mixing with the blood on his cheek. “when i fought him he punched me and then hit me with the gun. i had to run for my life, i think ive bloody broken this ankle, if it wasn’t already.”

“what do we do?” you asked, voice wobbly and quiet. “where can we go? they’re— they’ll be outside already.”

“we need to hide,” he said. you clenched your eyes shut. that didn’t sound like much of a plan.

“what if kyle and johnny aren’t in on it?” you asked hopefully. if they weren’t that gave you more options to escape price at least.

elliot went to speak but the sound of another door opening had you freezing in place like deer. you’d not thought about other entrances, not thought about how you’d come in a completely different door when you’d visited marmite.

hide, elliot mouthed before diving behind a pile of boxes, covering himself with the loose corner of tarpaulin.

you moved further back into the barn and watched as johnny came in to view. he whistled as he let his eyes wander around the large barn, winking across to marmite.

“where could he be, marm? eh?” he asked rhetorically, stopping beside elliot’s hiding spot. you noticed belatedly that the awkward way your husband held his ankle to ease the pain meant it stuck out glaringly, his expensive trainers clear as day.

you wanted to call out, give him a chance to make a break for it, but your voice failed you and you watched as johnny stomped his heavy boot onto elliot’s ankle.

you sobbed at the scream he let out as it echoed in the barn. shivering at the pain in his voice as you muffled your own cried behind your palm.

johnny yanked him out of his hiding spot and dragged him back outside through the open door, laughing at elliot’s gasps and whines of pain.

you spotted a shovel opposite you and grabbed it following close behind, careful not to make any noise. you raised the shovel high with gritted teeth, ready to swing, when kyle’s arms wrapped around you, tight and restricting.

he stole the makeshift weapon from your hands too easily and threw it out of reach as johnny watched with wide, impressed eyes focused on you, elliot whimpering at his feet.

one second you were struggling in kyle’s grip and the next you were winded, wrestled to the ground at johnny’s feet with kyle pressed to your back.

“ready t’watch, hen?” johnny asked gleefully, kicking elliot out of his feral position before kneeling over him. he glanced at you to make sure you were watching and kyle’s broad palm came up to cup your chin, his fingers digging into your cheeks to make sure you were facing towards them.

“doin’ this f’r you,” johnny said earnestly before bringing his fist down in a heavy punch, hitting elliot’s cheek hard enough it recoiled into the solid ground below him.

you watched with bleary eyes as johnny beat your husband until his face was sunken, didn’t blink as he grabbed a nearby rock to continue until elliot’s arms stopped prying at johnny’s chest and face and his breaths eventually stilled.

“please stop, please, you’re hurting him, please stop.” you hadn’t realised you’d been mumbling, begging and pleading, while johnny’s hands dripped red.

“you’re ok, pretty,” kyle cooed against your temple, his lips brushing softly against your skin like light kisses.

he nuzzled your cheek where his thumb dug into the squishy flesh as you heard footsteps.

“need help cleaning up?” price asked.

“only this one as planned, sir,” johnny said as he pushed himself back onto his feet, groaning at the pressure on his knee.

“could’ve been a bit cleaner about it,” kyle complained.

“you saw how he was treating her?” price confirmed. “right then. and you’ve both spent time with him alone, know he’s fucking insufferable.”

gaz huffed a short breath through his nose. “being polite with that one, cap.”

“i think i did well lasting the full mornin’ with him,” price said haughtily, grabbing your husband by the collar and hefting him up halfway off the ground while johnny grabbed one of his arms to help. “let him run this far, did ya?”

“was fun watching him tire himself out,” kyle said and you clenched your hand trapped beneath your body.

“doesnae matter now, the jobs done,” johnny said. “we can fix this.” he waved to you and kyle and you shivered.

kyle eased up on your back and let go of your face as you watched them drag elliot’s body towards the back garden and the woods, presumably where the shallow grave they'd prepared for him was.

“right, love,” he started, and you took advantage of his slip in concentration and the looser hold to swing your elbow up and back into his face. he reared back and you rolled him off of your hips the rest of the way, scrambling up onto your feet and sprinting away as soon as you were free.

“fucking hell,” he swore loudly.

you didn’t dare look back, already feeling like your steps were too slow already as you aimed for their car instead of your own.

you imagined finding their keys magically in the ignition or in the drivers seat visor and being able to drive off without a bump, find help and—

you were suddenly hit from the side, johnny's full weight heaved into yours as he shoulder barged you against their car door so roughly your head bounced off of the truck’s window with a crack.

your knees crumbled on impact, all strength leaving your body and replaced with pain as you slumped to the floor.

your vision swam as he laughed excitedly and crouched before you. “fucking’ wily one, you, hen,” he crowed and reached out to pat your face. “c’mon, up ye get.”

he hefted you up, gripping you under your arms even as you tried to wiggle away, pain flashing across your eyes when you moved your head too quick.

“christ almighty, yer stunning,” he gushed. he opened the door with one hand and slipped in backwards, leaving his feet planted on the edge of the door as he dragged you to lean over the seat and his lap until your toes were just scraping the ground. “such a beautiful wife.”

you whined at the uncomfortable position, the pressure the edge of the seat put on your tummy, but you couldn’t move due to how harsh his grip on your arms was as he rested your head in his lap. “lemme go,” you groaned.

he scratched lightly at the back of your neck and grinned at the goosebumps that flared up.

he’d only just gotten you settled fully into position when you felt a second pair of hands at your arse. you jolted in his grip, but the firm body behind you stopped you from moving too far. pressed completely between them like a pinned butterfly.

kyle didn’t hesitate once he saw you were unable to move far, didn’t bother to ease you into it, snaking one hand to your front to release the button on your jeans and then pulling both your jeans and pants over your arse to tangle at your knees. he palmed at the bare skin revealed, nudging a knee between your thick thighs when you tried to kick back at him.

“fuck you,” you seethed. “get the fuck off of me.”

“you don’t have to play pretend anymore, love, elliot’s not here to get mad,” kyle said. he squeezed your hips and groaned. “fucking hell, bet you’re wet already, drooling in johnny’s lap like that.”

you gritted your teeth and tried to gain some firmer footing but the shift of your legs only encouraged the pair and the breeze against your pussy had you tensing.

“oh baby, you’re really desperate for it, yeah?” kyle cooed meanly. he lifted his hand to johnny, sticking two fingers out. “get these wet for me, eh, soap?”

you couldn’t look up from how johnny held you close, but you felt him lean forward, heard the eager, wet noises as he sucked at kyle’s fingers with abandon.

kyle pulled them free with a slick pop and trailed them between your legs, slipping one inside your pussy even as you winced at the too-dry stretch, johnny's spit not lending enough give to kyle’s long finger.

“gonna thank us for getting rid a’him?” johnny asked, squeezing your neck.

you felt your lips wobble and hid further into his lap. feeling humiliated as they laughed. endeared by your cowed behaviour.

gaz was quick to get with the program, knowing he wouldn't get much further and slipped his finger free with a gentle shush in your ear. he tilted your hips up and wedged his arm between you and the car seat, planted his spit-slick fingers over your clit instead and rubbed in sharp circles until you were squirming.

“there ya go,” johnny said. “that’ll do ‘er.”

“shh, be a good girl for us,” kyle grunted. “c’mon, don’t fight it, love, make it easy on yourself.”

you felt your hips twitch against his hand as he focused meanly on your clit until your pussy was clenching and creaming around nothing.

you let out a ragged gasp, your voice breaking as kyle continued to pinch and play with your throbbing clit for a moment longer until you felt a whine build in the back of your throat. you clenched your teeth to hold it back and pushed your face into johnny's solid thigh.

when kyle saw your resistance he ran his fingers lower until they met the hot slick leaking from your cunt and grinned with accomplishment up at his husband.

“don’t worry love, it’ll feel good. i’ll make sure of it,” kyle promised against the sensitive skin of your neck.

he slipped his finger in again, easier this time, and followed it too quickly after with a second. you groaned at the stretch, your hot panting breaths damp against johnny’s tented trousers. the instinct to bite his cock through his jeans and not let go like an untrained dog flashed through your mind as the start of an escape plan, but johnny gently stroked the apple of your cheek and it distracted you enough to lose the thought and chicken out last minute.

“no need t’worry, bonnie. ahm no’ gonna make ye take my cock at the same time, not today,” he said soothingly. “ah know how overwhelming two at a time can be.”

you felt sick as you identified the feeling blooming in your chest as relief and gratefulness. felt worse when you thought it could just be pure pleasure as kyle’s fingers learned the shape of you.

“so bloody tight, don’t know how i’ll fit, johnny,” kyle complained good-naturedly, a sly smile plastered across his face.

“she’s made fer it, gaz,” johnny insisted, mumbled a gruff, our good girl as he looked down at you. “test her out already.”

“no,” you whined, knowing he’d barely gotten his third finger in.

kyle took johnny’s encouragement as blanket permission and pulled his fingers free, chuckling at the rhythmic clenching of your pussy.

“christ if you could see this, john,” he said with awe. “look at that pretty pussy, just begging for me. eager to please, aren’t you?”

you tensed at the sound of a zipper, thrashed when you felt the head of his cock push between your glistening lips, slicking it up not nearly enough before he prodded a little more insistently.

your hands gripped at johnny’s leg and the car seat as he pushed the head in, your brows furrowed as he panted behind you.

“there ye go, hen, give it all t’him,” johnny cooed, eyes molten as he watched kyle fuck into you for the first time.

“need to try your arse next time if this is how tight your pussy is,” kyle moaned. he pushed in a little further and you whined, sucking in a sharp breath when he pulled back out again. johnny chuckled, lifting one hand to wrap around kyle’s neck, his thumb petted softly at his adam’s apple as kyle bit his lip and leant into the pressure.

he thrusted in and out slowly, going deeper with each push back in and testing your resolve as you tried to bite back your sounds.

“let us hear ye,” johnny pouted, pulling his hand back to push two fingers into your mouth. he held it hinged open on kyle’s next thrust and you let out a deep gargled noise.

kyle huffed, his cock leaking pre inside you.

“how’s she feel, garrick?”

“like sin,” he sighed. “tightened up as soon as you got your fingers in her mouth.”

“dirty little slut,” johnny said, delighted. “maybe not so much our good girl after all.”

your orgasm crept up on you, focused as you were on staying quiet and still, when kyle’s hand drifted from where he’d been palming your arse it barely took a moment of attention to your clit to have you reeling.

“there we go, fuck. look at that,” kyle groaned as you tightened up, a flood of slick leaking out with every pull of his cock and gathering at his pubes on the thrust back in. “give it to me.”

you gasped and moaned around johnnys fingers, drooling down his palm and into his lap. you saw through hazy eyes how his cock jumped in its confines, eager for attention and the pleasure gaz had described.

kyle moaned, his thrusts getting rougher, uneven. “keep cumming, love, take it.”

“fucking temptation incarnate,” johnny whispered as you pushed back into kyle’s hand and cock trying to prolong your own pleasure.

kyle folded over you and thrust in his cock hard and shallow, hips bruising your butt cheeks as he groaned. he stilled and you felt the flood of his cum settle deep and heavy, a sudden spark of anxiety kicking through your afterglow.

you didn’t acknowledge the part that gleefully thought of the possibility of a baby, finally.

you shivered, slumped in johnny's lap as he held you up when gaz slipped out, whistling in appreciation at the sight of the pair of you. you felt gaz lightly tap his cockhead against your butt cheek with a wet plap before he tucked himself away again.

“don’t let it drip,” johnny reminded gaz before too much of his cum could dribble out of your puffy hole. kyle was gentle as he tugged up your pants, even when he patted the gusset crudely before bending low for your jeans. he pulled you back up against his chest as johnny shuffled forwards and out of the truck cab, plastering himself to your front once he was on the ground.

you ducked your head to avoid his kiss and he chuckled. “still so shy after tha’?”

they shuffled you back to the farmhouse, pressed so close to your sides that it made it impossible for you to lose your footing, both of them keeping you upright even as your legs felt like jelly.

they got you laid down in their bed, the room closer to yours and elliot’s than you’d realised.

it felt like a herculean task keeping your eyes open despite the mid-afternoon sun shining through the window. if you could bring yourself to string more than two thoughts together you’d think it was the shock or the adrenaline crash. but for the moment you could only think about how pretty gaz looked stood at the corner of the bed smiling or how warm johnny felt kneeling between your legs.

at the feeling of your jeans being removed again, you frowned.

“what’re y’doin’?” you slurred, a second away from passing out.

“shh, bonnie,” johnny whispered. “y’r fine.”

you felt his fingers tease at the opening of your cunt, playing with the cum trickling out, tacky and sticky where some had dribbled down your thighs.

he groaned and stuck his fingers in his mouth as kyle laughed.

you drifted in and out, barely registering the feeling of his cock rubbing through the mess and nudging at your clit, his own leaking pre only adding to the smooth glide.

you passed out finally to the feeling of his teeth at your neck, his groans in your ear and kyle’s eyes watching over you both fondly.

---

you woke up slowly, your head thumping and it took you a moment to recall where you were and what had happened. you sat up slowly and saw you were alone in their room.

you cringed at the dried cum between your legs and the way your skin stuck to itself and the sheets. if it wasn’t for the physical proof crusting on your skin and the smell of their aftershaves on the duvet, you think you might’ve been able to convince yourself none of it had happened.

your threw back the duvet when you were sure they weren’t about to jump out at you and grabbed your trousers from the floor.

you hesitantly pushed open the door to the left of the room and found an en suite bathroom.

with a sigh of relief you closed and locked it behind you and started cleaning yourself up in the sink with hurried movements. a shower would've been preferable but you weren’t willing to risk the noise or the time, so scrubbing away the cum, sweat and tears with your hands and some soap would have to do.

it took all of your energy to keep yourself calm as you felt sticky globs of cum drip from inside you and replace what you’d just cleaned on the inside of your thighs.

you got dressed hastily and peeked out of the window to try and spot johnny or kyle prowling outside. when you saw no sign of either, you held your breath and cracked open the bedroom door. when they didn’t appear from nowhere waiting to catch you trying to leave, you crept down the creaky stairs, sucking in a tight breath as if it could make you lighter and the stairs any quieter.

you cringed as you made it down and breathed a sigh of relief when you saw the kitchen empty.

your eyes zeroed in on the knife block and you scampered over to it and grabbed the biggest one, sufficiently sharp.

you snuck out the back way to avoid the sound of your trainers on the gravel out front; given your last escape attempt you figured they’d have their car locked and keys kept safe so there was no point attempting the cars again at the front and you weren’t sure you’d be able to outrun them all the way to the main road out in the open. whereas the forest out back would provide enough cover for you to make your way to… well, you didn’t really know where, part of you thought you could maybe find their elusive neighbour while another thought you’d more likely get lost in there trying.

better the devil you know, the traitorous voice whispered.

you shook your head and looked around frantically, your head on a constant swivel as you jogged across the garden, eyes peeled for a hint of any of the three of them. you slowed as you neared the veg plot to the right and the open grass and shed to the left.

you headed left, despite the lack of cover it proved, it was closer to the woods trail you knew and although there was nowhere for you to hide it meant there was also nowhere for them to be lying in wait, unlike all the tall climbing veg you’d originally been impressed by on your first day.

“think we should probably ring him later to see—“

you span around at the sound of their voices drifting on the wind, and saw them making their way from the front of the house. panicking, you jumped towards the nearest hiding spot - the little shed.

it was unlocked, but you were too worked up to wonder were the thick lock you’d seen days prior had gone. despite the sun shining through the little windows, it was dark in the little shed. you cursed not having your phone on you for the light but figured you’d have not wanted to garner the attention either way.

you could tell it was clean from the smell, whatever was stored in there was well looked after. shelves were pushed against the back and right side of the shed, full of boxed items.

johnny’s sister’s items, you remembered.

you stepped forward quietly, dropping the knife onto a lower shelf when a stack of photo albums caught your eye. you picked one up at random and flicked it open to find a picture of soap and gaz, younger and stood in their fatigues. You flicked further in and saw another of them in their civvies, then a third of them in their wedding suits.

why wouldn’t they keep this in their house?

the next book answered your question as you looked at kyle and johnny wrapped around a woman in a wedding dress. you paused, your breath hitching before you looked at the next few photos quicker, the unknown woman was dressed casual for a few pages, then replaced by a third unknown man in a suit.

there were less photos of him dressed casually before he was replaced by another woman in the same dress as before; then another, a man in a suit. they kept changing, never lasting more than ten pages in the albums as kyle and johnny got older through the photos.

their third never reappeared once they’d disappeared.

you breathed in shakily, understanding that you weren’t their first, likely wouldn’t be their last if they caught you trying to escape again. christ, how many were like you that would be killed before they were forced to put on the wedding dress or suit.

you put the book back with shaking hands and grabbed your knife again. you weren’t going to sit there and wait for them to come looking for you, but you’d foolishly gotten distracted and hadn't heard where they’d gone when you were looking at the photos. you pressed close to the door and held you breath while listening out for them on the other side.

when it had been quiet for long enough for your legs to feel tired, held rigidly still in the cold shed, you pushed opened the door slowly and stepped out. you stopped mid step when you saw kyle and johnny sat patiently at their garden table just opposite, staring at you with wide smiles.

“mornin’,” johnny called across and you reflexively brought up the knife in front of you.

“what’s the knife for?” kyle asked, amused, his lips pulling up at one side as he glanced at it lazily. “got the jitters, love? it’s normal, i still get butterflies and we’ve done this how many times now, johnny?”

“countless. but ah’ve got a good feeling about this one.” johnny’s grin turned salacious as he looked you up and down.

“me too.” kyle let his smile spread.

you stared for a moment, debating running. “what are you going to do to me?”

kyle’s grin stretched and he dipped his head to take a drink of his tea to hide it, laughing a little at your shaking hands.

“it’s our wedding day hen, you forget already?” johnny cooed.

you frowned, gripped the knife tighter.

“price was good enough to agree to officiate today instead of the end of the week, last minute changes cannae be helped though,” he added with an easy shrug. “hopefully simon’ll be able t’make it too.”

“the cake…” you mumbled, feeling betrayed at how many people they had in on it. how long they’d planned this and played pretend with you.

“she caught on quick. smart one this time, think we’ve made a good choice.” gaz stood as he spoke to johnny causing you to stiffen in unease. you lifted the knife up high in front of you again where it’d dropped to your side.

“now now, come on. you think you know what you’re doing with that, love? think you could kill me if you had to? johnny too?”

you stared at johnny behind kyle’s shoulder; the picture of relaxed, but you could see how sharp his eyes were as he watched you threaten his husband.

“sas, remember? even if you did manage to knick me, and that’s a big if, love, johnny would have you laid flat before you had a chance to blink. he’s broad but he’s bloody quick even with the knee.” he pointed to your bruised temple as he took another step. “but you’ve already experienced that. let’s just think about what you want to do here, yeah?”

frustration welled inside you and you blinked as tears ran down your cheeks. “i want to go home,” you whispered.

gaz smiled softly, the mean glint in his eyes gone when he nodded. “we can do that.”

“you just have to put down the knife first, hen.”

you shook your head, working yourself up as you felt your fight or flight turn to freeze as you stared them down another minute longer, desperate to find a way out.

gaz took another step and you swiped desperately to stop him from getting too close, but flinching back yourself when johnny barked out a sharp, “hey!”

gaz ducked out your reach but lifted his arm under yours to control its trajectory, elbowing you in the nose with his other arm. you felt a crunch and stumbled back, the knife falling from your grip and into kyle’s.

“guhh!” your hands flew up to your aching nose as you gasped, the pain sharp and ferocious, pinpointed to your sinuses as you bent forward to instinctively protect your face.

“ah shit.” you heard kyle sigh.

“bit bloody rough, garrick,” johnny chastised as he finally came closer, kneeling before you, keeping one hand tight on your calf to keep you close as the other gently, but insistently wheedled your hands away from your messy face.

“used to manhandling you aren’t i, soap?” kyle groused, but sending you worried looks all the same. he stepped away to drop the knife on the table, grabbing the small tea towel they’d had folded next to their plates and handing it to soap when he got close again.

you hissed as johnny cleaned you up as best he could with the scratchy cloth, sucking in a ragged breath through your mouth and gagging at the rancid taste of your own blood.

they herded you back to the farmhouse and sat you in kyle’s lap in the kitchen.

you took a sick satisfaction when he grunted at your weight on his legs, but the firm squeezing of your hips had you wiggling away. his grip was firm however and he kept you from hovering above him as johnny wiped at your nose with a wet rag.

“this is gon’hurt, cannae lie t’ya,” he said as he cupped either side of your face, his thumbs pressed along your nose. “wee bastard broke it, but i’ll make it good as new.”

kyle grumbled and johnny huffed, corrected himself. “wee bonnie bastard.”

you whimpered and jerked in kyle’s hold when johnny pushed it back into place, wiping it down once more.

“ye play nice and forgive each other, now, yeah?” he ordered. “close contact always helps w'that i've found.”

gaz nuzzled in close at that, hummed against your cold skin. “i’m sorry, baby. been a while since we played with someone so delicate.”

you stayed silent and johnny tilted your head to get a better look at your nose with the bleeding slowed down.

“looks good as new, bonnie,” he confirmed, ducking down to kiss you.

you winced when his nose knocked yours and felt his grin against your pursed lips.

suddenly, deliriously, you thought of the wedding photos they’d want to take. they’d be ruined, you thought with glee.

you told them so and watched as gaz pouted over your shoulder. johnny hummed.

“we have plenty of time to make memories together,” he settled on saying finally.

“you’re better than they were,” gaz agreed. “you’ll be better.” last longer, went unsaid.

you shook your head but they ignored it as they pulled you to stand up between them.

“now, you better start getting ready, price will be here soon and so should simon. we want to get this done quickly so we can get to the good part,” gaz said.

“consummating the marriage,” johnny winked.

you let them guide you back to your room where you saw the wedding dress laid on the bed, matching shoes on the floor set neatly.

sat on the bed next to the dress you ran your hand over the silky material, the intricate sewing and beading.

your head pounded, the injury from what you now knew was the day before and now the nose had your ears ringing. you grabbed the glass of water from the side table and downed it, uncaring if it was from two nights ago, suddenly parched as you thought of the amount of tears you’d shed.

when you could finally bring yourself to put on the dress you marvelled at the fit, the way the material looked draped over your curves.

like the sisterhood of the travelling pants but for two psychos’ fucking wedding, you thought and snorted.

you were truly connected to all their victims before you now.

you slipped on the shoes and let yourself hide your face in your hands as your hope finally crumbled. this was happening and you weren’t sure how to feel about it.

christ, whether it was the bump to the head or maybe elliot’s treatment for the last few years had done a worse number on you than you’d realised, but you couldn’t help but wonder if this would still be better than how you’d be living in london.

you wiped your face and headed for downstairs. it was like a sick repeat of the night you’d all gone out as they cooed and fawned over you when you got to the bottom. and once more you liked it.

liked it the same way you’d liked their attention every time they focused on you, complimented you. a slut just like elliot had spat. like johnny had moaned.

you swallowed thickly and hid your shaking hands behind your back.

they led you outside and you took the time to try and think of elliot’s face as he was beaten to death not twenty-four hours before; hoping to get a wake up call from these tumultuous, traitorous feelings. but you could only think of the lipstick mark on his neck and the photos of his cock on his phone that you knew he’d never sent to you, the texts he’d hide, the video you’d finally found of him fucking another woman.

you thought about how kind and gentle kyle and johnny had been over the last few days and bit your cheek harshly. switched to thinking of johnny using you while you slept, kyle taking you half inside their car, but it didn’t horrify you like you’d expected it to.

the gut clenching panic you’d expected to feel was absent as you remembered the feeling of their hands on you and instead you were ashamed to feel yourself grow wet.

were you so fucked up, so lonely and starved that you were going to willingly ‘marry’ these men and let them treat you like that?

if you took a moment to think about it, were they even a step up from elliot?

you looked up and ahead and saw price get out of his car, a genuine smile puffing up his cheeks as kyle waved. you assumed the ceremony would be starting soon enough.

kyle leant in to kiss your temple and johnny removed his hand from your shoulders and instead took yours in his own with an excited squeeze.

well, you knew the answer to the first question at least.

want to email johnny? click here