#if you see this i already miss you hon and hope you’re well ���

[kaidabakugou]

just found out that pizza hut apparently will not be doing heart-shaped pizzas this year for valentines and now i’m sad

[endlessthxxghts]

Biology

“Uncle”!Joel Miller x afab!reader | w/c: 5.4k

Summary: Joel hurt his back at work, so you've been helping him around the house until he heals.

Content/Warnings: able-bodied, female sex anatomy, and inherently fem!reader. No description of reader, everything is neutral (ex. “your bottoms,” “the curve of you” — nothing is specific in the way “you” are described). Age gap (reader early 20s, Joel in 50s). EXPLICIT MATERIAL PRESENT. HEED THE WARNINGS. WEIRD boundaries are crossed…you're not blood-related to Joel, but you were raised like you were. You call him “uncle.” Pet names (baby, darlin’, sweetheart, etc.). Pussy pronouns (she). Innocent touches until it isn't. Sexual tension galore. Slight dub-con. Icky Joel. Icky reader. Pussy grinding. Dirty talk. Slight degradation (“bitch” is used only once). Multiple orgasms. P in V unprotected. Reader is on top. Lots of teasing about the nature of yours and Joel’s relationship. If there’s anything that should be up here but I missed or I made any improper tags, please let me know!

A/N: Hi, my loves! This is slightly different than what you’re used to coming from me… All I can say is, you’ve read the warnings! Don’t bite if it is not your flavor! But for those who do like, I really hope you enjoy! And to my love @strang3lov3, thank you for prompting this and encouraging this side of my brain to finally stop hiding in the shadows. And thank you for your eyes on this and the mood board as well. I love you.🩶

masterlist | notifs blog

“Hey, hon, when you headin’ over to uncle Joel’s?”

You glance at the timer on the oven. “In about ten minutes after these cookies cool. Need something from me?”

��Can ya grab my toolbox before ya leave? Forgot it there the other day,” he replies. “Figured you could get it since you’re already goin’ there today.”

“Sure thing. It’s not the heavy one, is it? Because I don’t know if that old man’s back is ready for a heavy lift like that yet.” The timer on the oven beeps. You slide on your oven mitts to pull the tray out. “Made two batches by the way. How many you want? I’m taking some to Uncle’s, too.” 

About a week ago, Joel had a contracting accident. Some newbie wasn’t watching the older man’s back as Joel climbed up a wobbly ladder, and the next moment, Joel’s footing slipped. He landed right on his lower back, a piece of wood perched on the ground, sitting at just the right spot on the floor to render him immobile. Tommy, Joel’s younger brother, and your father, his best friend since before you were born, are the only two Joel trusts to get the job done perfectly, so Joel put them two in charge until he heals. 

Bed rest, the doctor had ordered Joel, for at least three weeks. It’s been one so far, but with you offering to be his nurse — one that forces him to stay in bed unless he needs to eat or use the restroom — he thinks he just might be back to work by next week. If you’ll let him, that is. 

“No, it’s the small one, hon, you got it,” your father reassures you. He lovingly slaps his growing belly as the trays hit the kitchen counter. “Y’know, darlin’, ever since you moved back, I’ve been gainin’ some weight. Can’t imagine what you’re doin’ t’ Joel over there.”

Your lip pulls up in a smirk. “Joel is in good hands, y’know. And technically, I don’t have to leave you any,” you say with a challenging brow, pulling the cookie trays out of his reach. 

“No, no, I’m not sayin’ that,” your father’s eyebrows raise in worry. His daily cookie is very important to him. “You can leave me like… five… or six.” 

“I’m just gonna leave you a whole batch. The six are gonna be gone before I even leave the house,” you tell your father as his hand subconsciously reaches for the cookie tray. 

He scoffs, “Ya have no faith in me.”

“So what’s in your hand already?”

“Whatever,” he mumbles, walking away with a mouthful of warm cookie dough and melted milk chocolate chips. 

“Uh huh,” you yell back. “Gonna be leaving in just a sec. I’ll see you later.”

It takes less than ten minutes to get to your uncle’s house. You unlock the door using the spare key he gave you as a teenager, and immediately, nurse mode is activated. 

“Uncle Joel!” You yell, exasperated. He turns around from his place in the kitchen, painfully slow. He’s going to make his back worse. “What do you think you’re doing?” You place the fresh cookies on his dining table along with your keys. You cross your arms angrily for good measure. 

“My coffee’s cold. I was warmin’ it up,” he huffs, annoyed.

“Bed, please.” Your hands find his waist, and you guide him back to his room. “You know I’m here around this time. You didn’t wanna call me first to see where I was?”

You ease him in a sitting position at the edge of his bed. He grunts as his ass meets the mattress. He grumbles his response. “Need to start gettin’ back to everythin’ independently, y’know that, don’tcha?”

“Is your memory going with your back, too, unc?” 

“‘Scuse me?” He looks at you incredulously. 

“Three weeks were the doctor’s orders. Not one,” you tell him, putting your foot down. 

He lays himself down with another wince at the motion, no acknowledgement to your words. God, he’s so stubborn. 

“I’ll go make you a fresh cup,” you tell him, feeling sympathetic for the man. His work is his life, and it’s not going to get any easier with age. 

Making your way back to his kitchen, you wash out the coffee pitcher, replace the grounds and the filter, and do some light cleaning as you wait for the bitter, brown liquid to brew. 

It’s only been five minutes since you returned to the kitchen, and the painful moans and groans from his bedroom have only gotten louder. You search around the place and find the heat pack you bought a few days ago and pop it in the microwave. You grab some pain meds, fill up a glass of water, and just in time, the microwave sings to you, telling you your contents are ready. 

Ignoring the coffee for a moment, you make your way back to Joel’s bedroom. His eyes are closed, but his entire body is tensed up in pain. Poor guy. You knock at his door to catch his attention before entering. “Unc?”

One eye peels open. “Yes, nurse?”

“Funny.” A sarcastic laugh leaves your throat. “Come take these.”

He makes no move to get up. 

You set the painkillers and the water on his bedside table, the heat pack wedged underneath your armpit. You start to reach for Joel to help him up, but he stops you. “I got it,” he grunts. You let him have this win. 

You hand him the glass of water first, then the pills. He swallows the painkillers in one big gulp, swallowing down the rest of the water in another. He eyes the heat pack in your arm. 

“Do you want-”

“Yes,” he says immediately, reaching for the soft warmth. 

“Lay down first, I’ll put it underneath you.”

Without another word, he positions himself. His body jerks when your soft hand slips underneath his back, pushing him to lift a little while you slide the heat underneath. “This okay?”

“Mhm,” he forces out, eyes clamped shut. It’s not okay, you think. 

“How would you feel on your stomach?” you suggest. 

“Dunno. Never tried.”

“Well, then.” You set the heat pack down, and it’s your turn to crawl, uninvited, into his bed. You walk on your knees towards the opposite, unoccupied side, adjusting the pillows in a way you think might be the most comfortable. This isn’t your first rodeo dealing with an old man’s back; you’ve got your dad. This is, however, your first rodeo dealing with an old man more stubborn than a screaming goat not getting his way. “Come on.”

“No.” 

“What do you mean no?” 

“That ain’t gonna be comfortable.”

“How do you know?”

“I jus’ do.”

You pinch the bridge of your nose and take a deep breath. “I swear to God. I will flip your ass over myself if I have to.”

“You’re bossy,” he spits.

“So you’ve said.” 

Not giving him a chance to prepare, you hook your one hand at his side and your other on his hip, and you pull him towards you. It doesn’t fully flip him over, but it does the trick in getting him to finish the rest of the action himself — albeit, with a very strained yelp from the back of his throat. 

He groans for a few minutes more as you adjust some flat pillows underneath his belly and then prop the lukewarm heating back right at the base of his spine. You’ll probably have to heat it up in ten minutes again, but it’ll do for now. You stay in your spot for a minute, and already his pained noises begin to subside. 

“Better?” You know it is. You just want him to admit it. 

And when a single huff with zero protests from the grumpy man reverberates around the room, you know you’ve won this round. 

“I’ll go get your coffee now,” you hum. 

A soft rasp of your name has you spinning back around as you reach the room’s threshold. 

“Hm?”

“Thanks,” he tells you. 

“It’s what I’m here for, unc.”

You put his fresh cup of coffee in a thermos this time. You can’t imagine how often he’ll get up being in this position, but at least the freshness will be there with every sip he does end up taking. 

“How’s it going?” You ask him as you set his coffee nearby. You feel the heat pack on his spine, and it’s as you called it to be by now: room temperature. “Want me to reheat it?” 

“‘M okay,” he replies, voice groggy. He must’ve fallen asleep. 

“Okay.” You stand there for a moment. You can tell the heat helped, but his body isn’t entirely relaxed. He’s still tense, as if a nerve or something is being pinched. 

You recall your memory from a while ago before you moved back with your dad. Your brother, who is a mixed martial arts athlete, had a sparring session that hurt his back, nearly in the same area as Joel. He had you running his massage gun over his muscles nearly every night for a month straight. “It needs to uncoil somehow,” he told you. An idea crosses your mind then. 

You saunter to Joel’s en suite bathroom in search of some type of lubricant. Sitting loud and proud on the center of the bathroom counter is a little bottle of Equate’s Personal Liquid Lubricant. Your brain falters for a second, the bottle of lube throwing you off your original plan. That is absolutely not the kind of lubricant you were looking for. Shaking away the image from your mind, you bend down to look in the cabinets underneath. Bingo, a bottle of Aveeno body lotion. This should do. 

You invite yourself onto his bed for the second time today. “Let me give you a massage.”

“What?” His head turns to you now, utterly confused. He definitely heard you wrong, he thinks. 

“Let me give you a massage,” you repeat. “It’ll help.”

A massage actually does sound nice right now. But you’ve been nothing but bossy this last week while Joel lays here helplessly. He’s bored. And he’s had enough. “It ain’t gonna help.”

“How do you know?”

“I jus’ do.”

Jesus. Haven’t you had this conversation before? You mentally slap your forehead. Again, leaving him no other options, you reach for his flannel atop his shoulders and begin to pull them down. 

“Hey, hey, wait, now what in the hell-” He tries to stifle back a laugh as he wriggles in your hold, trying to playfully push you off without hurting himself more in the process. 

You quickly release his clothes, hands up in surrender where he can see them. You’re just realizing now just how forward your action must’ve been. “How am I gonna massage you-” 

The embarrassment written all over your face has Joel tearing up as he tries to hold his wheezing laugh in. With his eyebrow quirked at you, he responds, “If you wanted me naked, kiddo-”

“Jesus, ew! Really?” An unbearable heat spreads across your cheeks. Your eyes are downcast, looking everywhere else but him. “It- it’ll be better if I can directly touch-”

Only then do you feel the bed shaking with his laughter. He’s fucking with you. And here you were, about to offer something that would relieve a whole lot of pain. “Oh, fuck you,” you scoff, pulling yourself up and making your way off of his bed. 

“No, okay, wait,” he laughs, trying to catch his breath. “Jus’ messin’ with you, who am I to deny a massage?” He raises his eyebrows once, twice. Still messing with you, seeing how far his taunting with you can go. 

“You’re disgusting,” you deadpan. 

“‘M not the one tryin’ t’ massage her uncle,” Joel says as he attempts to shrug his shoulders at you.

“I’m gonna leave now.” One foot makes it to the ground before Joel speaks again. 

“Oh, for Christ’s sake, ya can’t take a joke? I’m only messin’ around. Come back. Gonna leave me hangin’? In pain? C’mon, nurse.” His tone falls softer, sweeter. You can hear the shit-eating grin in his words. And, fuck, why is it making you heat even further, in places beyond your face? In places you shouldn’t be?

“Fine,” you relent. “Stop saying weird shit then.” You still can’t look at him. Not after the way your body decided to react in the shift of energy. An abrupt shift of energy, as far as you can tell. 

He’s your dad’s best friend. Your uncle, for crying out loud. Not by blood, but still. There’s never been a feeling beyond that. Sure, you’ve had your silly little school girl crush on him during your young teenage years, but that was your hormones being your hormones. You grew out of them. Even your own father can’t deny the conventional attractiveness of his best friend. 

Plus, suggestive commentary is bound to make anyone feel hot. It’s basic biology. Your response is nothing. It doesn’t mean anything. At least, that’s what you convince yourself of when you climb back into your uncle’s— no, into Joel’s bed, trying to ignore the way your panties stick dutifully against your throbbing core.

Joel leans onto his side as you get yourself situated, unbuttoning the bottom half of his flannel, so you can flip up the bottom to reach his lower back. After the bottom half of the buttons are undone, he lays back on his front. “Here,” he calls your name. “Jus’ lift it up from the bottom.”

You scoot closer to him, standing on your knees, and you reach over to grab the hem of his flannel, pulling it up as gently as possible, exposing just enough to be able to reach the irritated areas. You frown at what you see. Inflamed skin, purples and yellows dancing all across his lower back, forcing him away from the very thing he lives for. He may have been a stubborn bitch this entire week, but that doesn’t stop the sympathy you feel for the man. 

You put some of the lotion in your hand, rubbing it between your two palms to warm it up a little. You place your hand on the side closest to you first, moving in circular motions and adjusting your pressure ever so often. “Let me know when the pressure is good.”

So far he hasn’t said much, a slight groan here, an exhale there. You feel a knot as you move lower, so you increase your pressure. You’re met with a literal moan, and you swear you have to bite back your own vocal response. “Fuck,” he sucks in a sharp breath. “Yeah, jus’ like that, ‘s perfect, darlin’.” 

“Okay,” you squeak, your thighs clenching together to attempt any kind of relief to the heat between your legs. 

After a few more passes over the area — and a few more indulgent, harder presses of your palm to pull more angelic sounds from him — you switch to the other side. Except, at this angle, you don’t really have as good an angle as you did before. Your leg swings over his ass, bracketing him in between your thighs, before you can even register the move your body just made. A soft gasp falls from your lips as you feel the new angle you’ve just given yourself. 

“Joel?” You call sweetly. Innocently.”I- I’m not hurting you or anything, am I?”

Hurting? No. Putting him through Hell? Close enough. 

Joel has done many questionable things in his lifetime. Getting involved with taken (married or otherwise) women, couples who wanted a third… Joel has lived through it all. Mainly in his younger years, but nevertheless. He has done and seen many things. But none of these things have ever included getting a fucking hard on for a girl — a woman? — he practically had a hand in raising. You call him uncle, for crying out loud. 

His physical response means nothing. It’s basic biology. The tender yet skilled touch of your warm hands directly against his even hotter skin, lighting every single nerve ending on fire, forcing the blood to course through his veins, to make its way down south— 

“Christ-” he snarls as you practically sit on him. His mouth shuts instantly as his eyes shoot open. He didn’t mean for that to come out. “Y-yeah,” he corrects. “‘M alright.” 

“Just- just let me know,” you tell him. He can hear the shake in your voice. He can tell biology is doing a number on you, too, based on your tone alone, if the heat engulfing his rear as you try your best not to make contact with it isn’t enough to go by. 

He focuses on his breathing as best he can as your hands push slightly past his jeans, getting underneath the seam of his boxers, and then immediately softening your touch as you run your fingers up his spine, awaking a chill he never knew was possible until now. You rub beyond the exposed area of his lower back, reaching his shoulder blades and entirely up to his shoulders, forcing the flannel to rise with your hands. He’s so broad and warm, and you would absolutely be drooling all over him by now if you weren’t so shocked at how tight his muscles really feel. How has this man not gotten any injuries sooner? How was he still doing all this heavy lifting? You dig the pads of your finger tips further into the thousands of tiny knots you feel, and his body jerks in actual pain this time. 

“God damn, girl,” he snaps. “What are you doin’?” 

“How the fuck do you even function?” You sound genuinely horrified. 

“What-”

“Your shoulders and neck are fucking covered in knots how do you even-” you cut yourself off with a disappointed click of your tongue. “You need to flip over.” 

Fuck. 

“Why?” He asks defensively. 

“I’m gonna break these knots. I need to start from the front.” 

“Ya ain’t gettin’ anywhere near my neck, I swear to God-”

“Quit being stubborn. What did I say earlier? I’m gonna flip you myself if you don’t-”

“Alright, fine, gimme a sec,” he bites. Joel takes a deep breath, at war with himself for how he’s going to handle his next course of action. 

Whatever happens next, there is no avoiding the fact that you will be made aware of the bulging erection between his legs. You can know about it, that’s fine, but the second you make contact, he doesn’t know if he’ll have the strength to control himself. Which is why he rips off the band aid quick. Flipping himself over with you still hovering over him, he tries his best not to touch you. Though, the second he’s comfortable, his focus is on your waist, grabbing you immediately and missing the way your eyes widen at the tenting fabric of his jeans. He pulls you higher up to sit on his lower tummy. 

You squeak out a little gasp as he adjusts you, and fuck it makes the pulsing between his legs even worse. He releases you, bringing his hands back to his sides. 

“Comfortable?” you whisper. You try so hard not to use your voice, worried that it’ll reveal just how turned on you are by this situation you’ve put yourself in. He gives you a single nod, and with that, you lean to grab more lotion. 

The angle you are at forces you to lean the front of your body onto Joel to be able to reach his shoulders. You can feel his body tense underneath you; you can hear his labored breathing as your hands further push away his flannel, working away at each knot. 

You lean forward further, giving yourself the ability to reach just below Joel’s neck. With this action, your hips shift, pressing down against Joel’s belly in a way that sends a sudden jolt of butterflies through your core. Your hands freeze in their movement, breath and fingertips stuttering as your entire face and neck heat up. You sneak a quick glance to Joel, and his eyes are still relaxed. He didn’t notice. 

It takes you a moment to start your movements back up again, but when you do, you can’t help the way you repeat exactly what you did before — allowing yourself another experimental roll of your hips against his soft abdomen. Only this time, you’re way less sly, for the whimper of pleasure you thought you could hide slips right out, right for his sharp ears to take note of. Shit. 

“Y’ alright there?” His eyes are trained on you now; he knows what you just did. Joel sports a quirked eyebrow as he waits for your response. 

“Mhm,” you rush out, ignoring his piercing gaze. 

It takes every ounce of willpower for you to run over the knots in his shoulder again without driving your hips into him, but even the push and pull of your arms is a full body movement, and you feel it. You feel the growing wetness in your core, the growing heartbeat that his bare tummy no doubt can feel now. 

Your body is splayed across him, the warmth of you leaking through your bottoms and onto his hot skin as you pathetically try to play off the fact that you aren’t grinding your wet cunt across him right now. With a rasp of your name, he takes a sharp breath in. “What are ya doin’?” He grunts, pained. Conflicted. 

This is so wrong. But it feels so good. Your arousal — how utterly desperate you are for the older man underneath you — is shone all over your face, brighter than any other feeling of disgust or wrongness you’re trying to convince yourself of. But the internal battle is still there, though, and it forces your hips to come to a full stop. It forces cries of apologies from your lips. It forces regret. 

“I- I’m sorry,” you choke back a sob. “Please, I- this is so wrong, I’m so stupid, uncle, I-” 

God damn it. Joel is too damn hard to deal with this shit now. “Oh, Jesus Christ, will you cut the fuckin’ uncle bullshit?” He finally snaps. His hands spring to life, finding their way up your thighs, tightening once they reach your hips. He forces you to move again. “Ya think I wanna hear that fuckin’ word while you fuckin’ soak me? Huh? While ya rub on me like a fuckin’ bitch in heat?”

“Shit,” you moan, the strength of his hand making the assault against your mound all the more intense. “Joel, please,” you cry, your fingers shaking as you hold onto his chest. 

Your thighs begin to tremble as he maintains a rough pace to your movements, his bed creaking with every shove of your hips against him. His grip on you is one of steel, the pads of his fingers digging into your flesh, no doubt leaving tiny bruises as a reminder of today’s actions. 

He is fucking covered in you — the slick of your desire pooling through your bottoms and into his skin, making each grind smoother. He licks his lips at this, his eyes dark as he drinks you in from above; your own eyes glossy and a sheen of sweat along your skin. “Look at ya, darlin’,” he murmurs, voice low enough to send a fresh wave of arousal pouring from your hole. “Fuckin’ soakin’ me, baby. Needed me that bad, did ya? Was tryin’ t’ tell ya earlier,” he grunts, “Y’know ya just had to ask.” A lazy smirk pulls across his lip. 

You let out a whimper at his words, your hips finally rolling alongside his own guidance, instinctively searching for more friction. “Atta girl,” he groans, “That’s it, fuck- makin’ a fuckin’ mess a’ me, darlin’.” 

You’re panting now, the rhythm and pressure mixed with the filth of his Southern drawl ignites every single nerve ending throughout your body. He watches you with a dark intensity, the brown of his eyes replaced with pure black lust, his eyes unable to stray away from the pleasurable desperation filling your features. 

“Gonna come like this, sweetheart?” He taunts, driving you into him even harder. 

“Mmm- my God, yeah- yes,” you cry out, eyes rolling back as the coil in your belly finally tightens, your breathing ragged as needy moans escape your lips. 

With a final roll of your hips and the utterance of a that’s my girl, the coil finally snaps, pleasure crashing over you, coursing through your veins as you come all over him, your slick unable to stay within the limits of your clothes, leaking and dripping down the sides of him and onto the mattress below. Your thighs convulse around his waist, his hold on you continuing your thrusts, dragging out your orgasm until your own hands find his and rip him away from you.

“Ya ain’t done yet, sugar,” Joel gruffs, grabbing the globes of your ass cheeks and dragging you down, letting you feel his ignored and now raging erection. 

“Never said I was,” you purr, a soft moan blessing his ears at the feel of his bulge against your ass. He can feel your smirk against his chest. 

Body still trembling, Joel lifts your ass in the air, sliding your bottoms down over the curve of your body. The stickiness of your panties pulls off with a wet squelch, the cool air of the room mingling with the wet warmth of your bare pussy, the stark contrast forcing chills to run through your veins. 

“God,” he murmurs as you give a little wiggle of your ass in the air. “Pretty as a peach, huh, darlin’?” He guides you lower, pushing you down onto his bulge. The hardness of him beneath you immediately sends a fiery need to your core. Your hands move on their own as you pull your body up, reaching for the buttons and zipper of his jeans, undoing them with ease despite the eager shake of your hand. You pull the jeans down just enough to let his cock spring free, thick and angry and leaking. 

“Oh, fuck,” you swallow your gasp. “God, I need you so bad,” you whine, already lifting up to line the tip of him to your swollen cunt. 

You sink down with a breathless moan, your head flying back as your hands grip onto his tummy to keep you from buckling. 

Joel’s breathing stutters, his moans filling the air as you practically choke his cock. “Shit- so fuckin- fuckin’ tight.” His hands find their home on the meat of your ass, holding you tight, grounding himself from coming like a damn teenager.

You move slowly at first, savoring the way he feels inside of you, how big he is. God, you don’t think you’ve ever taken anything quite as long and as thick as him. Your heart skips a beat at that, knowing that he’s ruined you for anyone else. 

It isn’t long before the raw need takes over, and you move faster, hips rolling back and forth as you ride him, the wet sound of skin against skin as you alternate to a bounce ever so often. 

Despite the risk of hurting his back even more, he can’t stop himself from gripping you tighter, his nails digging into your flesh as his hips buck up into you, starting their own rhythm, meeting every one of your thrusts. The sensation is overwhelming with the size of him; it’s a perfect mix of pleasure and pain, mixing sweet whines of ecstasy with whines of overstimulation, and it’s the best music to have ever graced his ears. 

“Look at ya,” he grunts. “Fuckin’ made for this, weren’t ya? Fuckin’ made for takin’ this cock, huh, sweetheart?” 

You nod weakly at his words. They send a flutter down your belly to your pussy, and his mouth is all it takes to send you to your second brink of collapse — your heart beating rapidly in your chest as you move, as he drives himself into you without abandon. 

Every thrust pushes you further to the edge, the sting of the stretch, the sensation of being so full — it’s almost too much to bear. He can hear it in the way your cries change. It’s becoming too much. 

“Y’ can take it, sweetheart, almost there,” he grunts. His hands take over in guiding your movements, urging you faster, harder, bringing you both to the cliff’s edge. 

“C’mon, baby, can feel her squeezin’ me, know she wanna come, baby. Breathe, doll, jus’ let go,” he rasps, his words coming in staggered.

The wet tightness of your walls, both the feel and the sound, causes Joel to fall first — a low, guttural groan filling the room as he fills you with his hot, thick spend.

The sensation of him pulsing inside you, unloading everything he’s worth, sends you over your edge, your pussy clenching around his cock as you come, the sensation rippling through you, shredding your vocal cords as you scream out in pleasure. 

Everything goes dark for you, nothing but the fuzzy sound of Joel’s sweet praises at the top of your head as he guides you through your come down. 

“Did so fuckin’ good f’ me, darlin’,” he murmurs. “Sweet girl.”

For an asshole, who knew he could be so sweet? 

You roll off of Joel as soon as your heart steadies, your entire body on fire from all the exertion. You can feel Joel’s body stiffen as you use him for support. His back is killing him right now.

A few moments pass as your eyes slowly start to close, but the deep gruff of your name stops you from dozing. 

You turn your head to the man beside you. “Yes?” 

For the first time today, it’s Joel who can’t make eye contact with you. “Can you, uh… can you-” he clears his throat, trying to rid himself of his awkwardness. “Can you warm up the heat pack again?” 

Your smirk lifts your cheek before you can even try to stop it. “Come again?” 

He lets out a frustrated huff. And he can’t turn away from you. His back is killing him right now. “My back-”

“Yeah, what about your back?” 

“You fuckin’ little shit-”

You giggle as you flip onto your side, your hand holding your head up to get a better look at him. “Your back is hurting, baby? Need me to get the heat pack for you, hm?” 

He doesn’t respond. He just has the deepest, most grumpiest scowl known to man on display. 

“Oh, come on. You need my help, is that it? Need to hear you say it, unc.” You emphasize the last syllable of your sentence, a belly laugh threatening to escape you. 

Oh, two can play at that game. “Yeah, baby, I need your help. I need the help from my beautiful, beautiful niece, hm? My beautiful, needy niece whose pussy gets all soaked jus’ thinkin’ ‘bout me, huh? Gets all wet and needy thinkin’ ‘bout her uncle-”

Your resolve finally snaps, your eyes clamping shut as you cover your ears, loud la la la’s coming from your mouth as you ungraciously roll yourself off of his bed. “Enough, fine! Fine! Fuckin’ nasty,” you groan as you make your way to the kitchen. 

“‘M not the one who started it, sweetheart,” Joel says, a triumphant smile plastered across his cocky face. 

“I made you cookies by the way,” you yell after a beat. “Want one?” 

Joel’s hand reaches for his belly. He doesn’t need one, that’s for sure. “Yeah,” he responds not a second later. 

You come back to his bedroom, heat pack in one hand, no cookie in the other. You hand him the heat pack. You make him adjust it himself. 

“Where’s the cookie?” He asks, a tinge of impatience on his tongue. 

“Oh, I thought you were gonna come down and get it.” 

He looks at you incredulously. 

“I just figured you wanted to start being more independent and all. Given how strenuous you were being a few moments ago,” you offer with a faux innocence.  

“I swear to fuckin’ God, when I get my hands on you-”

“Your hands on me? Yeah? When?” You start making your way out of his bedroom. “Come get me if you wanna show me a lesson. Know you been dying to all week.” 

If he can fuck you the way he did, maybe full-time bed rest isn’t what Joel needs. He needs to stretch and move around; he needs to activate his muscles, especially being on the older side. It really is basic biology.

I would absolutely love to hear what you guys thought of this! Any and all your love and commentary truly keeps me going and motivated even when the writer’s block is at its strongest. Wouldn’t be here without you all. I have so much love in my heart for you! Talk to y’all soon🩶

I cannot get myself to write for Joel or for TLOU without mentioning the horrors occurring in Palestine. Please check out the links in my navigation + bio to learn about the situation in Palestine and also learn about some ways in which you can help🇵🇸. Reading and interacting with those links takes 5 minutes of your time at the bare minimum.

Leaf divider by @saradika-graphics

[goldfades]

hi lovely! i hope you’re doing well. may i request a little something of luke taking care of reader after surgery? i’m having another oral surgery this week and am in search of some comfort 🩷no worries if not

hiii hon, i hope you're feeling better! here is some comfort for you<3 feel better soon!!

you’re not sure what hurts more—the dull ache radiating through your jaw or the thick fog of exhaustion clinging to your body. the world feels hazy, like it’s been dipped in soft focus, and even the blanket draped over you feels too heavy to move. the quiet hum of the tv is the only sound in the room, though you’re not really paying attention to whatever’s playing.

luke is beside you, perched on the edge of the couch with a concentration so sharp you can practically feel it. he’s carefully measuring out the next dose of your medication, glancing at the instructions like it’s a playbook and he’s got one shot to get it right. his brows furrow, the slightest crease forming between them, and you’d find it adorable if you weren’t so out of it.

“here,” he says softly, holding out the little plastic cup with the pills. he’s already got a glass of water in his other hand, and the way he’s balancing them makes you think of how he handles the puck on the ice—steady, sure.

you take the meds without much of a fight, though the effort of swallowing leaves you wincing. luke doesn’t miss a thing.

“hurts, huh?” he murmurs, setting the glass down on the coffee table before turning back to you. his voice is softer than you’re used to, like he’s afraid being too loud will somehow make it worse.

you manage a small nod, blinking up at him as if to say, what else is new?

“okay, just stay put,” he says, already standing up. like you’re going anywhere. he disappears into the kitchen for a moment, and you hear the faint clatter of dishes before he’s back, holding a small ice pack wrapped in a towel.

“here,” he says again, crouching down to press it gently against your cheek. the coolness is a relief, and you let out a quiet sigh.

“better?” he asks, his blue eyes searching yours. there’s something raw in his gaze, a kind of vulnerability you don’t see often. he’s worried, even if he’s trying to play it cool.

you nod again, and his shoulders relax slightly. “good. just keep that there for a bit, okay? and let me know if you need anything else.”

he doesn’t move far, sitting back down beside you with his arm resting on the back of the couch. you can feel his presence even though he’s not touching you, a quiet kind of reassurance that keeps the anxiety at bay.

“you want to watch something?” he asks after a moment, gesturing toward the tv remote. “or we can just sit. whatever you want.”

you shrug, too tired to care, and he seems to take that as permission to find something. a few clicks later, a familiar sitcom fills the room, the canned laughter oddly comforting.

as the episode plays, you feel yourself starting to drift, your eyelids growing heavier with each passing second. luke notices, of course. he always does.

“hey,” he murmurs, shifting closer. “you can lie down if you want. i’ll stay right here.”

you don’t argue, letting him guide you so your head rests on his lap. the ice pack is still pressed to your face, his hand holding it steady while his other brushes lightly through your hair.

“you’re doing good,” he says quietly, almost to himself. “just rest. i’ve got you.”

and with the warmth of him so close, the sound of his heartbeat steady beneath you, you think you might actually believe him.

↳ make sure to check out my navigation or masterlist if you enjoyed! any interaction is greatly appreciated !

↳ thank you for reading all the way through, as always ♡

[iamnotoriginalphil]

Your New Girl (Melissa Schemmenti x f!Reader)

Synopsis: You ask Melissa to help you get back at your ex when you lie and say you have a new girlfriend

Words: 4.6k

Warnings: low self esteem, asshole ex girlfriends, alcohol

“I need to ask you a massive favour.”

You closed the classroom door, pressing your back to it. Looking up from over the top of her glasses, Melissa considered you for a long moment. Her lips pursed and in one horrifying moment it came crashing down what a bad idea this had been.

“You know what? Never mind.”

You spun, hand already on the doorknob.

“Whaddaya want?” she asked before you could flee.

You sighed, turning back around. The expression on her face was not helping with the nerves in your body, nor the belief she was about to tear you a new one.

“Look, uh… you know how Ava tricked me into going to the club with her tonight?”

“Uh huh,” you said, the expression on her face darkening.

“Well, through a horrible set of circumstances my ex girlfriend was here, talking to Ava who invited her tonight and I might have mentioned that I have a super hot girlfriend as she was leaving and she said she couldn’t wait to meet her tonight,” you rushed out, watching her incredulity deepen, “and I don’t have a super hot girlfriend and I can’t just not show up because then she’ll know I lied.”

“Why do you care what she thinks?” she asked.

You took a deep breath, not wanting to admit the reason. But the way she was looking at you said you had to or she’d never give you what you wanted.

“She broke my heart. Like shattered into a million pieces on the floor broken. And when she left, she told me it was because I wasn’t good enough for her, and that she’d already found someone better. Salt in the wounds and all that,” you said, “so I guess I just wanted her to know that I’d moved on and she didn’t destroy me.”

The look of pity that crossed her face was the opposite of what you’d wanted to see. You sighed.

“Hon…” Her voice had softened.

“Don’t. Don’t with that voice. I didn’t come here for that.” You pointed at her, advancing on her desk.

“Then what did you come here for?” she asked.

“Right.” You couldn’t forget to actually ask, “I need a super hot fake girlfriend. Janine is annoying, Barbra is Barbra, and she’s already met Ava. And I know it’s a big ask, but would you be willing to pretend with me? Just for one night? I’ll buy you an entire dozen donuts from that place you love.”

“You want me to go to a club with Ava?” She raised one eyebrow.

“Two dozen,” you said.

She considered you for another long moment. You fidgeted in front of her, knowing you were asking too much of her. Of course she’d say no. No one wants to go out with Ava. Least of all Melissa. And it didn’t matter that you were kind of friends with her, not when you were asking her for so much.

“Deal.”

“What?” You must have missed something, “seriously?”

“Sure, hon. As long as you’re good for those donuts,” she replied, turning her eyes back to the work she’d been grading, “text me what time to pick you up.”

Returning home to your sad, depressing apartment, you could feel yourself freaking out. You were going to spend the night with your ex while pretending Melissa was your new super hot girlfriend. Melissa was going to be touching you. Melissa was maybe going to be flirting with you. Melissa, the most intimidating woman you’d met who you’d been half in love with for the last year, was going to be your fake girlfriend for the night. You were so fucked.

You’d shot yourself in the foot by asking her to be the one to help you with the situation you’d created. It must be self sabotage to ask the only woman who could destroy you to do this for you. The only woman you knew who could ruin you inside and out with barely more than a smile.

And yet as you got ready you did it with the hope of her finding you sexy enough to maybe see you more as than just a teacher she worked with.

The buzzer sounded just as you zipped your boots up. Were thigh high boots a smart choice? Probably not, but with your dress they made you look hot. Hopefully.

“Come on up,” you said into the intercom.

The pounding on your door had a tinge of annoyance in it already. You pulled it open, almost reeling back when you saw Melissa standing on the other side. Your eyes scanned her body, lingering in places that weren’t appropriate for a work colleague. Pants practically painted on, tight top with cleavage pushed up, she was the exact kind of vision you imagined late at night when your hand wandered.

“Well shit, hon, don’t you look like a heartbreaker,” she said.

Your cheeks heated and you felt jittery.

“Come on in,” you said, stepping back, “I need to grab my purse.”

“Why do you live in a shoebox?” she asked, looking over the apartment that was made up of four rooms at most if you were being generous.

“Unless you can tell me how to find somewhere better on our salary, this is the best I can get on my own,” you called from the bedroom.

“You could always live with someone else,” she suggested, sounding much closer than you were expecting.

She was leaning on the doorframe of your bedroom, hip cocked, arms crossed pushing up her cleavage even more. Those green eyes were watching you, so intense, making you shiver. Lips curled up in a smirk and you knew tonight was going to ruin you.

“I guess because I don’t have anyone to live with,” you replied.

“That your purse?” She glanced down at the purse in your hands.

“Yup,” you replied, “so we can go now or… never.”

“If you’re having second thoughts now’s the time to tell me,” she said.

“Not unless you are,” you said, hoping you sounded calm.

“C’mon hon.”

She grabbed your arm, pulling you out of your apartment without another word. She held the car door open for you, like you were going on a proper date. Your heart fluttered.

The car ride to the club was surprisingly quiet. You kept sneaking glances over at her, not sure if you should fill the silence or not. Janine would, which made you think Melissa wouldn’t appreciate it. So that left you listening to the radio quietly as you did your best not to stare too long at her.

“Relax,” she said, pulling up a street or two from the club, “we can still leave if you want.”

“I’m crazy for doing this right?” You sought out her eyes, needing the reassurance that you hadn’t totally lost your mind.

“Sure, maybe a little. But who doesn’t get a bit crazy around an asshole ex?” she said, “look, hon, I’m not gonna judge you for doing this but if you don’t want to go in there I can take you home. Or I could buy you a drink and we can ignore her altogether. Since we’re already here.”

You bit down on your lip as you thought about it. The interior of the car was so dark you must have misread the way her eyes flicked down then away from you.

“Okay,” you said, “yeah, a drink. And thanks. For doing this and indulging in my crazy.”

“The donuts are worth it,” she said, opening her door.

You laughed as you followed her, reminding yourself this was an exchange and she wasn’t helping you out of the kindness of her heart. There was no way she liked you enough for that. You weren’t Barbra.

She placed her hand on the small of your back. You could feel her warmth through the thin material of your dress, burning into your skin as you walked to the line of the club. The line stretched far down the block, thumping music spilling out whenever the door was opened to let someone in. You went to join the end of the line but Melissa guided you to the man at the door.

She lent forward, whispering something in his ear. He nodded, holding the door open for them.

“C’mon, hon,” she said, hand sliding around to grasp your hip, “only the best for my girl.”

A high pitched giggle was the only response you gave.

Inside the bass was thumping and the lights were flashing and bodies were pressing in from every angle. Melissa kept her arm around you, holding you close as she wound through people, directing you towards the bar. There were people on tables dancing and you were already regretting letting Ava trick you into coming with her.

“Gimme a beer and one of those green drinks,” Melissa shouted across the bar at one of the bartenders.

She lent back against it, pulling you closer until her body was brushing against yours.

“Are you going to be driving home?” you asked, raising your voice to be heard above the music.

“I’m only gonna have one. Don’t worry, hon. I’ll make sure you get home okay,” she said, leaning forward to say it into your ear. Her lips brushed against your earlobe, making you shiver.

“Hey.”

A hand landed on your shoulder. Melissa’s gaze hardened. You turned, finding your ex standing there, looking as hot as the first day you’d met her. She was grinning at you, eyes slowly taking in your appearance.

“I wasn’t sure you’d show up,” she shouted to you.

“I promised Ava,” you shouted back.

A hand curled around your waist again, hand grazing over your stomach. You were pulled back against a supple body, a chin coming to rest on your shoulder. Your ex turned her gaze to Melissa, smile hardening.

“This is Melissa, the woman I was telling you about,” you said, “Mel, this is Carrie.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Melissa said, not bothering to offer her hand to your ex.

You felt the challenge in the air.

“All good I hope,” Carrie said.

“Keep hoping,” Mel replied.

You had to stifle your laughter. Carrie’s face hardened as Melissa tightened her arm around you.

“Here you go, sweetheart,” she murmured, passing the electric green drink to you.

“Thanks,” you replied, turning your head to look at her, nose brushing against hers.

You paused a moment, breathless from how close she was. Her eyes were lingering on your lips, breath ghosting over your skin. You couldn’t move, drawn into the well of her gravity, leaning closer.

“Aw, aren’t you guys cute?”

You blinked, drawing back from Melissa just enough to be able to breath again. Her hand was still pressing against her stomach, holding you close. Carrie was watching you two, a straw between her lips, sucking slow on the liquid in her glass. Her eyes kept darting between the two of you, something mean curling her lip.

“I didn’t realise you were into older woman,” she said, “I mean she must be old enough to be your mother.”

You felt Melissa stiffen behind you. You rolled your eyes at Carrie, snorting at the implication. It was such a weak argument.

“Sorry, turns out I like someone mature enough to hold a meaningful conversation,” you replied, “and with the experience to be more than an unsatisfying fumble under the covers.”

Soft lips pressed to your cheek. You inhaled sharply, trying to remain relaxed in her hold as eyes narrowed. You took a drink from the glass, covering the warmth in your cheeks and the shaky hand. If just the brush of her lips against the apple of your cheek could do this to you, you would never survive more from her.

“Ava is waiting for you in the VIP area,” Carrie said.

“Oh goodie,” you muttered.

Melissa snorted, tangling her fingers with yours to tug you after Carrie’s retreating back. The brush of her palm against yours, the feel of her warmth so close, the scent of her perfume wrapping around you. It was all too much.

“You’re right,” she murmured against your ear, “she’s a bitch.”

“Really?” you asked.

“Fuck her,” she grumbled but you weren’t sure you were meant to have heard.

You moved into the roped off section of the club, upstairs and exclusive, the kind of place you’d never been before. Melissa slipped her arm around your waist again, the brush of her body making you feel lightheaded. The people surrounded you weren’t so packed in and their clothing was way nicer than those downstairs. Expensive drinks were flowing like water. You felt so out of place.

Carrie sat at a small collection of sofas and chairs in the middle of the room. Ava was holding court, drink in one hand, bottle of champagne in the other. The others around were listening and laughing along. You hovered, feeling so out of place, sliding your arm around Melissa’s waist just to feel grounded to something real.

Melissa?” Ava said, catching sight of you standing just outside their circle, “what are you doing here?”

“She’s with me,” you replied, tightening your hold on her until she was pressed against your side.

Yeah, you were so fucked.

“Wait, you two are together? Since when?” she asked.

“Yeah, since when?” Carrie asked, leaning forward until her cleavage was practically spilling out of her dress.

“A while now,” you replied.

“Why didn’t you tell me? You know I love gossip,” Ava complained.

“Didn’t want you in my business,” Melissa said, “still don’t if I’m being honest.”

“You didn’t have any issue telling me,” Carrie said, looking up from under her eyelashes at her.

“It’s a little different telling you than it is telling my boss,” she replied.

“You trying to make me jealous, cookie?” she asked, smirking up at you.

You’d forgotten she’d used to call you that.

“Since you told me you could do better I didn’t think I was able to,” you replied.

Melissa’s arm tightened around you, fingers pressing into your hip.

“But then you showed up looking like that so I might have to reevaluate that,” she replied.

You couldn’t miss the growl that came from Melissa. She pressed closer to you and when you turned to look at her, she was clenching her jaw and glaring at Carrie.

“Too bad she already has someone then,” she snapped.

Carrie’s eyes were almost lazy as they moved over to Melissa.

“We’ll see,” she hummed, tongue pulling the straw in her glass back into her mouth.

You could feel how tense Melissa was, body stiff, almost vibrating. You turned your head, lips brushing her cheek. Those green eyes flashed down to you, softening for a moment. You sighed, gently brushing a bit of her hair away from her face, fingers lingering on her skin.

“Do you want to dance?” she asked.

“You dance?” You smiled up at her.

“Course I dance,” she said, sounding offended.

“You better show me your moves then, Schemmenti,” you murmured.

She plucked the empty glass from your hand, placing it down on a passing waiter’s tray before threading her fingers through yours and tugging you towards the dance floor. Once you were there, you weren’t sure what to do. Not that you didn’t know how to dance. You just didn’t know how to dance with Melissa. You paused, too far from her to even touch.

“What are you doing, hon?” she asked, reaching out to pull you closer.

“Sorry.” You shook your head, “aren’t you finding this all a bit… weird?”

She pulled your arms around your neck, her own sliding around your waist. Your whole body flooded with heat as her hips began to move in time with the music. She was slow, guiding you against her, bodies pressing closer, one of her legs slotting between yours. Your breath caught, a low throbbing beginning as she brushed against you.

“Does this feel weird to you, hon?” she asked.

You couldn’t answer that question honestly.

“I don’t know if you’re a good actress or just a good liar but you’re weirdly good at this,” you said.

“And you need to loosen up,” she said.

Her hands drifted to your hips. With practiced ease, she guided your hips to sway, practically grinding down on the thigh she’s slotted between yours. You pressed your lips together, doing your best not to let the small whimper fall from your lips. Leaning forward, her hair brushed against your cheek, lips brushing your earlobe again.

“You’re doing fine,” she whispered.

“Do you think I’m making my point?” you asked.

Her hands were guiding you to grind down on her harder. Your eyes caught on hers, not able to look away as the music beat in time with the thud of your heart. Breath caught in your chest, not sure what the expression on her face was. If you had hope, it would be something close to lust.

“She’s watching us,” Melissa said, “and she looks mad. She knows she has no chance with you.”

She hauled you closer, hands sliding from your hips to your ass. Another flash of heat swarmed through your veins. She was close enough that if you just tilted your face up just right your lips would be brushing against hers. The warmth of her body was everywhere and you couldn’t control the way a moan rumbled in your chest. Her lips quirked up into a crooked smile.

A warm body pressed to your back, startling you out of your thoughts. Melissa’s eyes flicked to whoever was at your back, hardening. Her hands, still on your ass, pulled you close enough there was no space between, bodies pressed together as tight as possible. You turned your head, finding Carrie behind you. She gave you a smile you’d seen before, the one she would shoot you as she was trying to turn you on. The one that always inevitably ended with your fingers buried inside her.

You narrowed your eyes, pointedly turning away from her. Melissa was right there and an awful idea entered your head. An idea so bad you knew it was terrible even before your impulse control left your body and you knew you’d be paying for it for years to come. You tightened your arms around her next, pulling her down until she was a hairbreadths away from you.

“Please don’t kill me,” you whispered.

You didn’t give her a chance to respond before your lips were pressed to hers. She was frozen beneath yours for a long drawn out moment. When she began to kiss you back you had to do your best not to read too much into it or enjoy it too much. Her tongue swept over your bottom lip. You gasped into her mouth, her tongue licking in. Your head was growing dizzy and she was everywhere and everything. Her hands on your body, that leg still between yours, the thrumming of heat in your veins making your thoughts scatter until there was nothing but her.

You could taste her, the beer she’d been drinking lingering. You moaned into her mouth, the entire attempt to not enjoy the kiss fleeing. She kissed you harder, hands squeezing. Your hips were pressing down on her thigh, grinding in time with the music again as she turned your body to jelly. You wanted to melt against her and to writhe beneath her and scream her name as you came over and over again.

“Get a room.”

You jumped, lips pulling away from hers. Carrie was glaring at the two of you, bright spots on her cheeks. It was like a bucket of cold water was dumped over you, reminding you of exactly what was going on. You looked back to Melissa, feeling stricken. The way she was looking at you was something you never wanted to see.

“I’m so sorry.”

You pulled out of her hold, darting away through the crowd. You couldn’t face her, not after that. She had not signed up for you mauling her on the dance floor. She’d never speak to you again. You’d ruined any chance of anything ever happening. Just remembering the look on her face, the way she looked at you, made you want to throw up.

Pushing out of the door onto the street, cold air hit your body. You gasped for breath, stumbling down the street, doing your best not to cry. You had to get home. You had to never show your face again. You had to figure out a way to avoid Melissa for the rest of your life.

There was no plan, your feet just carrying you as far from the club as you could get. You heard someone shout your name. You quickened your pace, curling your arms around your body, trying to keep your ribs from exploding.

A warm hand grasped your shoulder as you were passing a familiar car. It spun you, forcing you stare into thunderous green eyes. You tried to pull away but Melissa’s hold on you only tightened. Tears sprung up into your eyes and you looked away from her.

“What the fuck?” she demanded.

“I’m so sorry,” you said, “really. I… I don’t even know what came over me. I just… I’m really sorry.”

“Yeah, so you keep saying.” She still wasn’t letting go of you, “why’d ya run?”

“Because…” You couldn’t even look at her.

“Because what? Was I that bad at kissing? I know I’m not your first choice but you didn’t have to run outta there like I was something you found living in your drain,” she said.

“What?” She wasn’t making any sense.

“If you were that disgusted by me you coulda asked someone else to help you,” she said and for the first time you could hear the hurt in her voice.

Maybe that expression hadn’t been disgust like you’d thought.

“I ran because I thought you didn’t like it. Or were mad at me. Or were going to hate me,” you said, “I thought… fuck Mel, I thought you hated kissing me.”

She was looking at you like you’d lost your damned mind.

“Why would you think that?” she asked.

“Because of the way you were looking at me. And I know you don’t like me like that and you’re you so I know that you want to keep people you work with at a certain distance. And you wouldn’t want me kissing you since I didn’t even ask and you don’t want me kissing you,” you blurted out.

“Whaddaya talking about?”

You sighed, knowing you were going to have to admit to things you hadn’t wanted to if only to make her think you didn’t hate her. She might hate you even more once you did though.

“Melissa…” She was so going to hate you, “I like you. I really like you. So much that some days you’re all I can think about. And I’ve thought about kissing you so many times before and whenever I imagined it, you always wanted it too. Tonight’s just been kind of a lot, knowing you were doing everything just as a favour and not because…. Not because you wanted to.”

“Hon,” she began to say.

“It’s fine,” you cut her off, “it’s fine, Mel. You don’t feel the same. It’s okay.”

“You gonna let me talk?” she demanded, finally letting you go.

You gestured for her to continue, heart constricting, not wanting to hear the rejection you knew was coming. But, like a love sick fool, you couldn’t say no to her.

“I wouldn’t have said yes to this if I didn’t like you,” she said and then stopped. You waited but it seemed as if that was the end of what she wanted to say.

“I don’t understand,” you said, shaking your head.

Her hands landed on your hips, pushing you until your back hit her car. Your eyes widened, mouth falling open. Her eyes turned down to them, before looking into yours.

“I like you, hon. I’ve thought about kissing you. I’ve thought about doing a whole lot more than kissing too. I thought you were the one who didn’t want me,” she said.

“Why would you think that?” You didn’t know what to think.

“You heard what that… what she said. I’m old enough to be your mom. Why would you want me,” she said.

“Because you’re hot as fuck,” you said like it was the most obvious thing in the world, “and my favourite person. I’d take you over everyone.”

She never gave you the chance to say more, lips claiming yours in a searing kiss. She pressed you back against the car, your own hands coming up to cup her cheeks, wanting her closer. She moaned into your mouth, tongue finding yours until you were melting against her. You whimpered and she groaned, drawing back from you.

“Time I took you home, sweetheart,” she said, lips trailing down your neck.

“Don’t wanna go home,” you sighed, fingers sliding into her hair.

“Not your home,” she all but growled, “mine.”

Someone wolf-whistled from across the street. You startled, jerking away from her. She shouted something back at the man, words lost in your haze as you stared up at her unable to believe what was happening. She turned back to you.

“Get in the car,” she said.

You opened the door, feeling her hand smack your ass before you could climb in. You glanced over your shoulder at her, finding her eyes travelling over your body, the exact way they had when you’d opened the door to her. A flush of heat went through you, understanding making the whole thing so much more heightened.

You tugged her into another kiss, short and intense, watching the way she seemed to become dazed when you pulled back.

“You better get me home,” you told her, “because I plan on showing you exactly how hot I find you. And showing you how thankful I am for you helping me.”

“She was wrong you know,” she said, hand coming up to cup your cheek, thumb running along your bottom lip.

“What?” you asked.

“There is no one better than you. And you’re worth about a million of her,” she said, “way too good for her.”

You felt your heart melting. She tucked some of your hair behind your ear, fingertips lingering on your jaw.

“She doesn’t even compare.”

The next kiss you pressed to her lips was soft, the kind that was heartfelt and sweet, almost sickeningly so.

“Okay, get in. I’m taking you home now or I’m gonna have to fuck you against my car and that guy over there is still watching us like we’re free porn,” she whispered in your ear, making you press your thighs together, “and I’m want you all to myself.”

You slid into her car, smiling sweetly at her. The heated look you got in return only made you sure you had made the right decision by asking her to help you.

The next morning, waking to her lips trailing down your body, you thought you should send a thank you note to your ex. Without her, you might never have ended up telling Melissa how you felt. And then you might never have won the most amazing woman you’d ever met. She deserved at least a thank you note for making you the happiest person alive.

[daisies-daydreams]

….listen. Simon gets home after being MONTHS away from chubby reader. He comes home and the reader is excited to see him. Hugs him and all that stuff…then when Simon wants to get raunchy, reader shrugs away teasingly. Simon gets very needy and whiney. Out of character for him really. Reader then teases him/nicely degrades him for being so needy. Reader then worships the hell out of his cock and even rubs Simons stomach softly to soothe him. Then Simon manhandles reader to ride his face 🤭🤭 then Simon just takes over and pins reader down, ‘punishing’ them for being so bratty (in his terms cause he’s an impatient man), fucking reader into the bed..and just for comedic relief…it breaks.

C’mere (Simon Riley x Plus-Sized!Wife!Reader)

Pairing: Simon Riley x F!Plus-Sized!Reader Category: Smut (18+) Warnings: Choking, Oral Sex (M!/F!Receiving), Vaginal Fingering, Unprotected P in V Sex (Wrap Before You Tap), Dirty Talk, Pet Names (Sweet Pea, Sweetheart, Love/Lovie, Hon, Baby), Swearing, Reader Being a Tease 🤭 Bed Breaking Word Count: 3.9k+

A/N: Hello my dear! I love how descriptive your request is (especially whiny Simon, hehe). Also the bed breaking suggestion is hilarious (and 100% Simon's fault). I hope you enjoy!

You perked your head up when you heard keys jangle outside of your front door. You immediately closed the book in your lap before scrambling to your feet. Your eyes widened when you swung the door open, revealing your husband. Tears welled in your eyes.

“Simon!” you cried as you pulled him into an impossibly tight hug. Your love cracked an exhausted smile before wrapping his arms around you. You sniffed, hot tears falling down your cheeks as he returned your embrace. Simon's warm breath fell over your hair as he rubbed your lower back.

“Missed you so much, sweet pea,” he murmured, his voice deep and husky. A voice you haven't heard for months. You swallowed thickly as you buried his face in his chest. 

“I missed you, too, Si,” you sighed. Simon chuckled as he kissed the crown of your head. You smiled brightly when he trailed his lips down your forehead and over the bridge of your nose. Your heart stopped as his lips collided with yours, the warmth of his mouth sending tingles down your spine.

You gasped as his hands snaked down your sides before cupping your round ass.

"Simon, the door's still open!" you squealed as your cheeks burned. You watched his lips curve into a wry smirk as he squeezed your supple flesh. 

"Sorry, got a bit distracted," Simon winked. You giggled and stepped inside, your hand still wrapped around his as he closed the door with his boot. You had no time to react when he suddenly pinned you to the wall, his lips dancing over yours once more. He groaned softly before grabbing your love handles.

“Why don’t you join me for a shower, hm?” he suggested as he played with the waistband of your pants. You bit your lip just the way he liked before slipping away. Simon shot you a puzzled look.

“I already took one today,” you said with a low, sultry tone. He raised his dirty blonde brows as you swished your hips a little. Simon bit the inside of his cheek as he followed you back to the living room.

“Baby…I’ve been gone for four months. Could you please at least spare a ten minute shower?” he asked. You hummed and tapped your finger against your chin. Simon’s frown deepened as you shook your head.

“Nope!” you giggled before sinking down onto the couch. "I actually need to catch up on my book," you added as you reached over for your novel. You flinched when he placed his hand over yours, his wedding band shining beneath the lamp.

“Honey…you’re not gonna make me say it, are you?” he rumbled as he avoided eye contact.

“Hm? Say what?” you asked as you tilted your head. Your lover narrowed his eyes as he took a step forward, his knees brushing against the couch cushions.

“You know what I mean,” Simon said as he rubbed his palm across your knuckles. You shrugged, the corners of your lips curving up a little more.

“I’m afraid I don’t, Si,” you mused. Simon huffed before pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Please?” he muttered. You smirked as you held your hand up to your ear. 

“Sorry, I didn’t catch that,” you said with a wide, Cheshire grin. You adored the way his bottom lip poked out a little more as he squeezed your hand.

“Sweetheart, please…I need you so fucking bad,” he swallowed. 

Your legs instantly turned to jelly at the sound of his low, raspy voice. You dared to glance into his dark eyes. Heat swelled inside your core as you lost yourself in his lustful gaze. You shivered as he rubbed his other palm over your waist, a prominent bulge twitching beneath his slacks as his chest heaved. You gave him a sultry, half-lidded gaze.

“Poor thing. You're probably so touch-starved after being away for so long, huh?” you cooed as you rubbed his shoulders. Simon groaned as his hips bucked forward a little, his hand gripping your waist. 

“You have no fuckin’ idea,” he growled. You flashed him a wry grin as you moved a hand down to cup his covered length. Simon released a shaky breath as you rubbed your palm against his strained erection. He bucked into your hand, his Adam's apple bobbing as you teased his cock.

“You’re such a needy thing, Simon,” you whispered. He grunted when you pulled away, his brows knitted together in pure annoyance.

“(Y/N),” he breathed, a half-warning, half-plea. You chuckled as you snatched his zipper. Simon sputtered as you unzipped his pants, his happy trail a bit thicker than usual and briefs barely containing his engorged length. Your love whined as you played with the band of his underwear. 

“Fuck, (Y/N), please,” Simon choked. You smiled before dipping your hand into his briefs. He sputtered as you wrapped your hand around his veiny shaft, giving it a gentle squeeze. Before you knew it, Simon crashed his lips against yours, his hands hastily plucking at the sides of your sweatpants. 

“You're such a tease,” he snarled. You made sure to slowly swipe your tongue across your lips as you slid down to the rug. You shuffled on your knees before playfully patting the cushion you were just sitting on.

"Are you sure about that?" you drawled before tugging down your tank top. Your husband groaned as your breasts spilled out. You hummed as he sat down, his eyes locked on the way your tits swayed as you shuffled forward. A deep rumble rose from his chest as you rubbed up and down his thighs.

“When are you-” 

His breath hitched as you quickly pulled down his pants and boxers, his bulky cock springing free from its confines. You smirked as you gently rubbed your thumb across his leaking tip. 

“Miss me much, Si?” you purred before gently lapping up his dribbling slit. Your husband audibly choked as you just barely wrapped your lips around the head of his cock, sucking on it tenderly before pulling back. You giggled as you pumped his shaft, squeezing and rubbing it as you littered the top of his burning sex with wet, sloppy kisses. 

“Fuck, sweetheart,” Simon shuddered as he slipped his fingers through your hair, his legs spreading a little wider. You pursed your lips over his flush tip before licking a bold stripe along the bottom of his shaft. You smiled as you planted your mouth over his balls, sucking on them tenderly as you let his throbbing cock rest over your face. You exhaled loudly as you let his testicles fall from your swollen lips. 

“You taste as good as I remember,” you grinned as a trail of spit dripped down your chin. Simon gripped your hair as you squeezed his shaft, your tongue swirling around his tip. He growled lowly as you shallowly bobbed your head up and down, hollowing your cheeks all the while.

You moaned around his length, the feeling of every vein and ridge making your pussy gush with arousal. Your eyes rolled back as you felt his cock twitch inside your mouth, a rush of precum slathering your tongue. He grunted when you pulled back, his cock completely red and begging for attention. 

“I forgot just how big you are, Si,” you cooed as you gently slid your hand beneath his shirt. He arched his back a little as you rubbed your warm hand over the divots of his taut stomach. His breath hitched when you quickly kissed the side of his cock before gazing into his dark, misty eyes.

“I missed how you stretched me, my dildos never do your cock justice,” you lilted. 

Simon’s eyes widened as he parted his lips. His jaw suddenly went slack as you sank down on his cock, your mouth pulling him in with a sweet suction before you pulled your head up again. Simon threw his head back as his hips began to thrust forward. Your eyes watered as you gagged, his cock nearly choking you as you bobbed your head even faster. Your breasts swayed with every harsh movement, your nipples grazing over the edge of the couch.

You slathered your spit across his meaty shaft as you gripped the inside of his thighs, nails digging into his pale flesh. Your pussy fluttered as he sank deeper and deeper with every piston of his hips. The wet squelches and pops that echoed through the room made your head spin.

“C’mon, be a good girl and make me cum,” he snarled. You gasped as he slammed your head down on his dick, his cock completely lodged down your warm, tight throat. You gurgled and choked as he spilled inside you, his hot, thick cum coating every inch of your esophagus.

You blinked away the tears that spilled down your face, your nostrils flaring as your lungs begged for air. His hips stuttered a few more times before he went limp. He breathed heavily as he swiped his thumb over your cheeks. Simon hummed as you pulled yourself off of his dick. You coughed and sputtered, your throat burning a little as you balanced your hand on his inner thigh.

“I wasn’t too rough, was I?” your love asked. You panted as you wiped a string of spit from the corner of your mouth.  

“A little,” you replied with a hoarse laugh. You squeaked when Simon suddenly pulled you onto his lap, his hands squeezing your hips. 

“Good, ‘cause that’s nothing compared to what I’m gonna do next,” he growled. You shivered, your clit aching against your panties as you bit your lip. You leaned in for a kiss, only for Simon to turn away and squeeze your ass.

“Simon!” you squealed as he kneaded your supple flesh. Your husband groaned as he turned back to you and dipped his head against your neck. You moaned as his lips lingered over your pulse. You felt your brain short-circuit as Simon didn't move, just remaining still holding you close. You whined as you rocked your hips forward, desperate for any kind of friction. 

“What do you want, sweetheart?” Simon hummed as he tenderly squeezed your thick, round bum. You moaned as he swiftly licked over your pulse. You gripped his shirt. 

“I-I want you to cum inside me, Si,” you whined as you ground your clothed cunt over his soft cock. Your husband chuckled. 

“Wrap your legs around my waist, hon,” he whispered. You dipped your face into the crook of his shoulder as you slid your legs around his body. Simon grunted as he picked you up, his fingers digging into your asscheeks as he carried you to the bedroom. The two of you burst through the door, his heavy boots stomping against the hardwood floor before he let you fall onto the bed. 

You gulped as he pressed his body against yours, his cock already growing hard again. You moaned as he rubbed his dick against your covered sex, your puffy folds soaked in your arousal as he crashed his lips against yours. 

“Mmm!” you keened as Simon grabbed one of your breasts and jiggled your mound in his large, rough palm. You panted for air before he dove back in, his teeth nearly against yours as he snaked his hand down to the hem of your pants. Both of your chests rose and fell rapidly as he pulled back, his pupils blown and wet lips parted hungrily. 

“Get on my face,” he bluntly groaned. You gaped. 

“Wh-What?” you stammered. You gasped when Simon suddenly pulled your pants and panties down in one swift motion. You shivered as the air hit your slick lower lips, your walls fluttering around nothing. You pouted as Simon leaned back and stripped off the rest of his clothes, tossing them aside. 

“I want you to ride my face,” he rumbled as he began to pump his heavy cock. You whined as you sat up on your forearms. You gasped as Simon quickly pulled off your shirt, his eyes raking down your naked form as he sucked in a sharp breath. 

“Look at you,” he murmured as his hands slid down your sides, his fingers tracing over every stretch mark and roll he could find. 

“Si,” you blushed as you glanced away. You gasped when he slipped his thumb over your swollen clit, capturing it in a dance of pleasure as he circled it slowly. Simon grinned as he pressed his lips to yours again, your eyes growing wide as he massaged your bundle of nerves. He parted for a moment before looking deeply in your eyes, his own holding an eager glint in them. 

“Want me to suck on that cute little clit of yours, hm?” he murmured as he flicked your nub. Your thighs shook as you arched your back. 

“Y-Yes!” you moaned, desperately rubbing your hips against his digit. Simon hummed before suddenly grabbing both of your hips. You yelped as he pulled you against his body, his back becoming flush with the mattress as you sat on top of him. Your cheeks burned as you looked down, your arousal dripping into the divots of his abs. A large lump swelled in your throat as a roaring heat burned through your core. 

"Been forever since I tasted this sweet cunt,” Simon murmured, his voice muffled by the fluff of your thighs. You grasped at the headboard of the bed as you inched forward, a bolt of electricity flying down your spine as you hovered your sex above his lips. You keened when he lashed his tongue against your clit, his hands grabbing hold of your tender love handles.

“C'mon, baby: fuck my face,” your husband growled. You gulped before you sank down. You moaned the instant his mouth met with your folds. Your legs tightened as you felt him lick a long, wet stripe up your juicy slit, parting your labia with a low growl. Pleasure shot through your body as you rolled your hips forward, his chin collecting your sweet nectar.

"Ugh, s-so good," you whined as you ground your slick sex against his mouth. Your trembled at every swipe and stroke of his wet muscle, the tip of his nose bumping against your bundle of nerves each time you thrusted forward. You didn’t mind the slight sting of his stubble as bliss overwhelmed every nerve in your body. You nearly fell forward as he suddenly puckered his lips around your puffy clit and moaned.

“Oh, God,” you keened. Simon suckled on your bundle of nerves, his lips expanding and contracting around your sensitive bud as you gulped.

“Ah, Simon!” you mewled as you rocked your hips a little faster. You threw your head back as you felt him suddenly flatten his tongue against your slit and lapped in broad, sloppy strokes. You gurgled incoherently as your heart pounded in your ears.

Your eyes rolled back as you felt him lazily write his name against your sex. S-I-M-O-N. You puffed as he marked you with his muscle. You glanced over your shoulder when you heard a different slick sound come from behind you. You whined as you watched Simon stroke his now erect cock at a furious pace. The thought of him getting off to eating you out only pushed you closer to the edge. Lighting shot down your spine as he swirled his tongue around your clit.

"Y-Yes! Right there!" you screamed as Simon licked around your sensitive bud. Your head pounded as you rubbed your pussy against his face even faster, your body bouncing over his as you gripped the headboard for dear life. Your head grew dizzier and dizzier as he swiped his tongue back and forth before puckering his mouth around your clit again. Your eyes widened.

“Fuck!” you sobbed as your thick thighs clenched around his head, your orgasm quickly rolling over you like a tidal wave. Simon guzzled down your sweet nectar, his head moving back and forth as he moaned beneath you. You shivered as you heard him smack his lips, your high fading away like clouds in the wind.

"That...that was-" you moaned when Simon suddenly grabbed your hips and shoved you down even closer so you were fully sitting on his face.

“S-Simon!” you screamed as he lapped at your weeping hole, quickly flicking his tongue up and down. You gasped as his chuckle reverberated against your core, ripples of pleasure trickling down your spine. He kissed your folds before pulling your hips up. 

“Sorry, lovie. Had to get one final taste before I fill you up,” he muttered, eyes lit up with pure desire as he gently pecked your clit. Your heart flipped as he suddenly pinned you to the end of the bed, his thick, heavy cock sliding against your drenched sex. “You still want that? Want me to stuff you with my cum?” Simon teased as he rubbed his head against your slick entrance. You whined and nodded.

“Yes!” you sniffed as you gripped the bedsheets. Your jaw went slack when he pushed his cock deep inside your walls in one fluid motion. You released a scream of ecstasy as his meaty shaft stretched your aching pussy. 

“Fuck, I forgot how tight you are,” Simon hissed as he spread your legs a little wider. You choked as his cock sank further inside, the tip kissing your cervix as your walls deliciously pulsed. “Where’d that cocky girl from earlier go, hm?” your husband drawled as he rolled his hips back before snapping forward. Your throat felt sore as you screamed and dug your nails into his shoulders. Simon grunted above you as he pistoned his dick at a hungry pace. You wailed as you felt his cock stretch you wide open, the pleasure nearly divine as you babbled. The bed creaked and groaned as he plowed into you, the headboard slapping against the wall so hard you were sure your neighbors could hear you. 

“I shouldn’t have let you cum before since you were bein’ such a brat…but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to taste you after being gone for too damn long,” he huffed before sucking on one of your fresh hickeys. 

You swore you saw stars as you felt him everywhere: his cock plunged deep inside your cunt, his hot breath against your neck, the heady smell of his sweat wafting up your nose. You tilted your head back as he rubbed his abs against your puffy belly, your thick legs lazily hooking around his waist as you quickly neared your second release. 

“C’mon angel, wanna see you slather my cock with your cum before I fill you up,” Simon panted. You swallowed thickly as you arched your back, your walls fluttering and gripping his dick with such fervor you were sure it was purple by now. 

“Simon, baby,” you slurred as your head fell back. The muscles in your lower belly twisted into a tight knot as your legs shivered. 

“Go on, sweet pea. Tell me who-“ 

A loud “crack!” echoed through the room as you felt yourself suddenly sink. You shrieked as you felt yourself nearly fold in half, Simon’s cock still lodged deep inside your slick walls. Both of you gasped and panted for air before you started snickering. Simon tilted his head as you burst into laughter. He chuckled quietly before joining in your laughter. Your sides began to hurt as your eyes watered. 

“I-I can’t believe we broke the bed!” you howled as you wiped at your eyes. Simon shook his head as his breathing steadied.

“Think I was thrusting a little too hard?” he sighed. You turned your head to the side as you coughed a little and giggled. 

“Just a tad,” you said as you pinched your fingers together. Your husband’s shoulders raised as he huffed a little, the corner’s of his lips tugging upwards as he thrusted his hips forward. You gasped and clutched his shoulders. 

“Simon!” you gaped. He grunted in response as he shallowly pumped his cock inside you. 

“Yeah, love?” he hummed as he dragged his dick against your gummy walls. You furrowed your brows. 

“Could you maybe not fuck me while I’m nearly bent in half over our broken bedframe?!” you asked. Your throat tightened when the head of his cock pulled against your sensitive, plush g-spot. 

“I thought you liked being bent in half?” he murmured teasingly. Your eyes rolled back when he shoved his cock all the way against your cervix, feeling every ridge and curve of his thick shaft massage your canal. Simon bared his teeth against your neck as he drove his cock inside you even faster. Your pussy squelched as you moaned. 

“S-Simon!” you yelled as your walls suddenly clamped down on his dick, beautiful cries spilling from your mouth as you rocked your hips forward. 

“Mmm that’s right. Good…girl…” he grunted before shoving his cock deep inside you. You cried out as you felt his hot, thick cum coat every inch of your needy cunt. You sputtered and shook beneath him, pleasure filling your body from head to toe. Simon took a deep breath above you as his cock twitched one final time. Both of you gazed into each other’s eyes, your bodies worn and shivering. 

“You alright?” Simon finally asked. You nodded as your breasts rose and fell against his chest. He hummed before kissing you deeply, his warm lips gently caressing yours. You groaned as a dull pain shot through your lower back. Simon quickly pulled away. 

“Could we maybe change to a position where my spine isn’t almost at a ninety degree angle?” you wheezed. Your husband rolled off of you before taking your hand and pulling you up. You stumbled forward and placed your hands on his broad pecs. Simon smirked. 

“Already feelin’ me up again?” he piqued. You rolled your eyes and let your hands fall back to your sides, drawing a deep chuckle from your love. Simon rubbed your lower back as his eyes softened. "So...think you want to take that shower with me now?" he asked. You blinked before snorting.

"Considering I'm now covered in sweat and cum, sure," you shrugged with a teasing smile. Simon chuckled as he planted a kiss on your forehead.

----

Thank you for reading! 💖

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[imaginespazzi]

Part 6: Leaps of Faith

Masterlist - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 7

I hope that you catch me, cause I'm already falling (you put your arms around me and I'm home)

(In which a writer who can see the end approaching starts building towards that ending)

Pairing: Paige Bueckers X Azzi Fudd

Themes: Angst and Fluff

Words: 8.0K

TW: Swearing, Alludes to Sexual Content

A/N: Good evening my lovelies <3. Happy Sunday and Happy Mothers day! First of all, I wanna thank y'all for being ever so patient with me. I know I've been pretty bad about updating lately and y'all have been so sweet with your asks and I really appreciate it. This fic is very close to its end. I probably could have ended it with this chapter but there's a very specific ending I want to write so this one is more of a self-indulgent filler but I think y'all will like this one. There will be one more chapter and then an epilogue of sorts. Once again, there are most likely logistical inaccuracies. I'm not even gonna lie, the editing on this one is shoddy so there are definitely grammar errors/typos. For now, ignore them and I'll go fix them later. As always, even if we're near the end, feel free let me know what you liked, what you didn't and anything you'd like to see before we get to the end. Have a wonderful week my angels <3

April 2024 

“It’s a little early for ice cream hon,” Azzi jumps at the sound of her mother’s voice, startled eyes following the direction of the noise to find Katie leaning against the kitchen door, with a raised eyebrow. 

“It’s a little early to scare the living bejesus out of me mom,” she says with a hand to her chest. 

If possible, Katie’s eyes roll even further at her daughter’s sarcastic tone as she makes her way over to the kitchen counter. She’s gotten herself a spoon and everything, ready to steal some ice cream for herself, when she notices the flavour. Next to her, Azzi stiffens. 

“You hate mint chocolate chip Az,” Katie says quietly. 

“I couldn’t find the strawberry ice cream,” Azzi defends stubbornly, her face taking on a guarded expression. 

Katie walks over to the freezer, opening it and pointing at the strawberry ice cream, Azzi’s favourite, that’s sitting in plain sight, “it’s right there.”

“Well,” Azzi splutters, “I’m trying something new,”. 

“You hate trying new things.”

“I’ve grown up I guess.”

“Azzi.”

“Mom.”

“Azzi, why are you eating ice cream you hate at 4 in the morning?” Katie finally asks in her best mom voice, sighing when she gets a mumbled response from her daughter, “in words Az, please.”

“Paige likes it,” Azzi admits slowly, and before Katie can say anything, before Azzi can dwell on what she’s said, she launches into a rant, “god knows why. Actually I know why because she’s stupid and weird and likes the dumbest shit. Who the fuck likes mint? Who the fuck likes mint and chocolate together? Gross. This shit is disgusting. It tastes all wrong. Paige is just-,” Azzi throws her hands up in the air, “she just doesn’t understand that some things don’t belong together. They can’t. They’re too different and it just- there’s a fucking balance to things you know? And she just- she doesn’t get that. It’s just- it’s not meant to be.”

“That doesn’t explain why you’re eating it right now,” Katie says carefully. 

“Because I miss her,” the truth bursts out of Azzi like an erupting volcano, burning itself into every crevice of her skin, “because for some fucking reason I don’t hate the taste of mint chocolate chip. Because maybe they do go together and maybe I’ve been the stupid one this whole time.”

Since she’d stepped out of the hotel in Cleveland, all Azzi could think about was going back, saying fuck it to all the useless logic she’d come up with and going back to the only thing in her life that had ever made sense her Paige. But as it often did in that clichéd battle between head and heart, her head had won out. And she’s never questioned why her head wins so much, why she’s always chosen to listen to the practical side of her brain, until now. Until now when the urge to turn back time, to make herself stay in that hotel room, is all that’s consumed her for the last week. 

“Azzi,” Katie wraps her arms around the younger girl, “what happened with you and Paige?”

Azzi hesitates for a second and then everything’s spilling out of her lips, the good, the bad, the inbetween, all of it tumbles out like an uncontrollable waterfall. There’s something freeing about being able to say it all out loud, something freeing about the tears Azzi finally lets roll down her cheeks. She grips the edge of the counter to keep herself from keeling over, starting to feel herself crumble under the heaviness of all these stupid feelings. 

“It shouldn’t be this hard,” Azzi whispers, “we used to be so easy.”

“Oh Az,” Katie rubs a thumb against her daughter’s cheek, “you used to be kids. You’re all grown up now. It’s always harder when you’re older.”

“Well, I don’t like it. I just want to be the way we were again.”

“So why don’t you?” Katie asks like it’s the most simple solution in the world and Azzi shoots her mother an exasperated look. 

“What do you mean? How do we even do that? We can’t be just friends again. We tried. Were you not listening at all?”

“Azzi, sweetheart, you’ve never been just friends.”

“That’s not true,” it’s a futile attempt at arguing against what’s become more of a fact than an opinion in Azzi’s life. It’s a truth she’d let herself acknowledge once and then buried deep within her, scared that once unleashed, it would ruin everything. Except, it turns out, even without it, things had still turned to dust.  

“Do you remember when you came home from Minnesota that first summer with Paige? You were either moping around or you were on call with her. There was no in between. It got better eventually, the moping stopped but the calls? I think you fell asleep on facetime with her almost every night. And you were tired every morning after, you barely had time to eat before school but every time I suggested that maybe you cut back, that was never an option,” Katie smiles fondly, “it’s when I knew.”

Azzi does remember, remembers talking about everything and nothing, remembers laughing and crying, remembers when Paige’s breathing was the only lullaby that could relax her into sleeping. And she remembers battling with that voice in her head, the one convinced there’s something more, silencing it with I’d do this with anyone. But that wasn’t true then and it’s not true now because Paige has never been just anyone, never been just a friend. Because even if Azzi’s never been brave enough to say it out loud, Paige is and has always been everything.

Despite knowing the answer and maybe dreading it just a little bit, Azzi asks it to her mom anyway, “what did you know?”

“That she was your person. You were too young, I couldn’t call it love just yet but I knew Paige was different then, she was yours in a way none of your other friends were. You were different around her,” Katie nudges her daughter, “Azzi you’ve always been just a little bit in love with her and she’s always been just a little bit in love with you too. The two of you have just been a matter of time.”

Azzi closes her eyes, and unlike other people, she doesn’t see darkness or little spots of light, she just sees Paige. Her mother’s words wash over her, like acid in her self-inflicted fight the feelings wounds and yet, the idea of she’s loved me too feels like a band-aid being delicately placed on the scars of her heart. 

“And place,” she whispers, eyes still closed, “we never seem to get time and place right.”

“Why do you need to?”

Another exasperated look is sent Katie’s way at that question, “we live on different sides of the country mom, what do you mean why do we need to?”

“I mean the two of you have barely ever been in the same place. But you made it work, when you had even less, when you felt even less. But you’re adults now. You have other resources now. And I know timing is difficult but- it’s you and Paige. What are you so scared of Azzi?”

Azzi sucks in a deep breath, “what if Paige runs away again?”

“What if you run away again?”

“Excuse me?” 

“Who was the last person to walk away, Azzi?,” Katie sighs when Azzi is adamantly silent, “I know she hurt you by leaving. I know she hurt you by pushing you away. But you did the same thing. You chose UCLA,” Katie holds up a hand when a frustrated Azzi tries to interrupt, “and it was the right decision for you Azzi and she should have supported it. But that doesn’t meant you didn’t hurt her and then you chose Zoe-”

“I didn’t choose Zoe-”

“Yes you did Azzi. Sweetheart you’re my daughter and I will always tell you the complete truth even if it’s not what you wanna hear. And the truth Azzi is that Paige might have hurt you in 101 different ways but that doesn’t mean you didn’t hurt her back in 99 different ways too.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Azzi whispers, “that’s the problem mom. It hurts when she hurts me but it hurts even more when I hurt her. I don’t want that for us but I just- I just don’t know how to stop it without stopping us.”

“You haven’t even tried, baby. Paige held out a hand and you ran away.”

“She left first. How am I supposed to trust that she won’t just do that again," all that’s missing from Azzi’s stubborn whine is a foot stomp.

“Because she came back. It took her a little bit, I know, but she came back and she’s ready to fight, the question is, are you?”

“Why are you defending her?” Azzi splutters, “who’s side are you even on?”

“There are no sides to this sweetheart. The two of you are on the same side. So maybe instead of fighting against her, take that hand, fight with her.”

***

The WNBA draft is a momentous occasion this year. With a hyped draft class like no other, and the promise of even greater ones in the future, there’s a sense of celebratory hope dangling in the air. When the invite had first come in, Azzi had known the same one would be sent to a certain blonde in Connecticut as well. And a part of her had wanted to hide herself away from that possible collision, but every other part of her wanted nothing more than to get just a glimpse of the blonde.

One moment Azzi is surrounded by flashing cameras and the echo of her name on everyone’s lips, the next everything around her is fading away her eyes meet Paige’s on the other end of the WNBA draft orange carpet. It’s nothing new really. Since she’s met her, the blonde has commandeered all of Azzi’s attention whenever she’s nearby. Sometimes it feels like all of her other five senses fade away to give birth to a secret sixth one, one that’s solely dedicated to Paige, one that’s terrifyingly all-consuming. And yet, despite the heaviness of we’ve said too many goodbyes, for the first time in what feels like eternity, Azzi feels like she can finally breathe. 

And then Paige looks away. 

And Azzi’s back to struggling for air. 

It’s selfish of her, she knows, to expect something, not when she’d been the one to leave them stranded on different islands. But Azzi doesn’t seem to think logically when it comes to Paige and even as she tries to turn her focus back to posing for the camera, every inch of her body is dangerously aware of the blonde’s every move, just a mere few feet away from her. Her conversation with her mother is echoing in her head, giving rise to dangerous desires of what if i grabbed your hand and we ran away together. 

Paige is a natural on the orange carpet, all dazzling smiles and twinkling eyes. She glides through it, inching closer and closer to Azzi, but never giving away any sense of discomfort. And if it was anybody else, maybe they’d never catch onto the nerves hidden beneath Paige’s facade of calm, cool and collected. But once upon a time Paige used to be Azzi’s favourite puzzle and she has every part of the blonde committed to memory. It’s in the way Paige’s teeth gnaw at her lips for the briefest of seconds, in the way her right index finger is begging to tap a beat against where her hands rests on hips, in the way she’s blinking just one too many times. 

And then with one more heavy footed step from Paige, the distance between them is barely a couple inches and they let out identical breaths of air, both of them keeping their focus on the cameras in front of them. It’s loud, too loud, and still all Azzi can focus on is the sound of Paige breathing. The air around them is thick with tension. It feels a bit like they’re silhouetted against a sky made of words they’ve left unsaid and clouds of all the bitter mistakes they’ve made are hanging over their heads. And when their pinkies brush together, and a jolt of electricity sends shivers of I miss you more every day again her skin, Azzi questions if she’s ever made the right decision when it comes to Paige. 

“Wait wait wait,” Ari cuts in, as she squeezes herself in between the two of them, “I wanna get in between the two of you.”

A harsh cry of no sits heavily on the top of Azzi’s tongue as the older woman forces a break in whatever little bit of contact she’d had with Paige. She feels a little pathetic, the way every little inch of her skin is craving for that touch back. It had been nothing, a barely there moment and still Azzi thinks, when she goes to bed tonight, if that was all she’d get of Paige, then it’ll be the only thing that’ll feature in her dreams. 

“Alright one with just Paige and Azzi,” Ari directs the media, stepping out of the way and pushing the two younger girls together. And it’s laughable that a little brush of their pinkies had Azzi feeling any type of way because when they’re suddenly pressed together, every inch of Paige’s side fitting into Azzi’s like it belongs, the way the world suddenly bursts with light and colours makes Azzi wonder if every moment without Paige has simply been monochrome. 

It comes to them naturally how to pose together, arms winding around each other’s waist, heads involuntarily leaning against the other’s. And the smiles might be for the cameras but Azzi knows hers is the most real it’s been all night. It might be temporary, she might lose Paige in the chaos, but for now Paige is here and Azzi has learned how to be content with whatever little she can get. 

As the media moves to capture other people, the logical thing to do would be to separate, to let go of each other. But instead they stand there, still completely wrapped around each other, heart rates in sync as they breathe in each other’s presence. And then Paige’s hand falls from the small of Azzi’s back to tangle their fingers together and they let out identical sighs of relief, something so cathartic in the purposefulness of that touch. Everyone is too busy to notice that the two of them have fallen into a whole other world, one where there’s only two of them and every emotion that they’ve only reserved for the other. There’s no words exchanged as Paige guides the two of them out of the spotlight, somehow keeping their hands clasped together in secret, despite the ever growing crowd. And Azzi doesn’t know this building at all, doesn’t have the faintest clue where she’s being led to, but as long as it’s Paige pulling her along, she doesn’t care where, she thinks she’d go anywhere. 

Paige stops abruptly in a secluded corridor, turning to fully face Azzi. And the sincerity in the blonde’s crystalline blue eyes, as they roam every inch of Azzi’s body before coming to fixate on her face, steals the air away from Azzi’s lungs. Paige has gotten better over the years at building walls, but with every new lock she places on her emotions, there’s a key to open them that seems to always find its way to Azzi. In the delicate golden hue, Paige shines brighter than any star ever could and in the dim light Azzi can make out every bit of hurt and love and please can we just have this moment that Paige can’t put into words. 

“Hi,” Azzi whispers softly, hands itching to reach out and caress Paige’s skin. 

“Hi,” Paige says back, even quieter. She stares at Azzi as if she’s memorising every little detail and then her face crumbles. Azzi feels her heart drop at the single tear that trickles down Paige’s cheek as she lets out a broken whimper. And this, this unspoken power they seem to have over each other, the uncanny ability to just hurt each other without any bit of effort, is what scares Azzi the most. It’s too much. They shouldn’t be able to do this. 

“Paige,” Azzi’s fingers twitch but she hesitates, not knowing if it’s the right thing, “fuck- P what’s wrong?”

Paige doesn’t reply, eyes wandering down to where Azzi’s trying to keep her hands still against her sides and when she looks back up, her eyes are bloodshot, “what’s wrong? What’s not wrong Azzi? You won’t even fucking touch me.”

“I didn’t-” Azzi struggles to speak, “I didn’t think you’d want me to.”

“Can you just- fuck- can you just stop overthinking things for once in your life. Of course I want you to touch- you know what nevermind. This was a bad idea. You made yourself clear and I’m just- fuck- I should- I should just go.”

She sounds adamant enough but all it takes, when Paige moves to leave, is the strangled cry that leaves Azzi’s lips. The sound is enough to pull Paige right back in. She takes one look at the tears brimming in Azzi’s eyes. And then she’s pushing Azzi against a wall, hands on either side caging the younger girl between her body and the hard surface behind. She presses their foreheads together and Azzi feels like every part of her might just be a part of Paige too. 

“I miss you. I miss you so fucking much. It’s barely been two weeks and I- fuck- Azzi- I’ve missed you every single second and now you’re here and I still miss you. And it really fucking hurts.”

“I’m sorry,” Azzi whispers, finally letting her hands cup Paige’s cheeks, and it’s worth it for the way Paige seems to completely melt into her touch, “I’m sorry I keep hurting you. I keep thinking I’m doing the right thing but- I don’t know- I feel like I’m always doing the wrong thing when it comes to you. I don’t- I don’t know what to do.”

“Just let me be with you,” Paige’s voice is wrecked with desperation as she presses herself as close to Azzi as possible, “I’ll be your whatever- whatever you give me- whatever you want- I just- I just want you Az- whatever little bit you’re willing to give me- I’ll take it- and if you want me to wait- fuck Azzi- I’d wait forever- you know that right? However long it takes, baby. Just want you- just want us.”

Leaps of faith are scary. Azzi’s never been great at taking them, too cautious, too much of a worrier. She’s more of a step back from the cliff kind of person. If she doesn’t jump, she can’t fall. But here’s the thing, when she was fourteen, Azzi jumped off of her first hypothetical cliff. It had been on a plane, when after avoiding one too many deep questions, Azzi had admitted to a girl she barely knew,that maybe she could like girls. It was the first time she’d ever let herself acknowledge that truth about herself and the girl next to her was a stranger but there was something about her, something that screamed i’ll hold your hand and if you jump it’ll never be alone. And ever since then, that girl, Paige, has always been there. Hands outstretched, ready to jump off any ledge. Because if there’s hard ground underneath, then they’ll learn how to fly together and if there’s water, they’ll figure out how to swim. With Paige there has always been the promise that, whatever it is, they’ll figure it out together. And it’s with that promise in mind, that Azzi takes the leap of faith. 

“Me too,” Azzi whispers, heart beating erratically. 

“What?” Paige searches Azzi’s face, as if waiting for her to take it back. 

“Us. You. You and me. I want that too,” a ghost of a smile begins to creep onto Azzi’s face, and for the first time in god knows how long, she feels feather light, a little bit like she’s floating on a rainbow. 

“You mean it?” Paige asks earnestly, hands moving from the wall to clutch at Azzi’s waist, “don’t play-Azzi- okay- you mean it for real?”

“I do. I want this- I want this so much and I’m still- I’m still really scared and maybe it’ll be a disaster but I- I want to try. With you.”

Azzi used to think she knew all of Paige’s smiles. Her small, not quite fake, but only for cameras and people she didn’t quite know, smiles. Her just for my friends smile that was filled with mirth and childlike joy. Her basketball smile that transformed into a smirk when she got too cocky. Her only for Drew smile, soft and filled with so much adoration and pride. Her Azzi smile, the one only the brown-skinned girl gets to experience, a smile that made Azzi’s her heart swell with love. But the smile that stretches across Paige’s face now, is one Azzi’s never seen before. This one throws Azzi’s entire world of balance, so bright, so big, so full of emotions. If she could, she’d tattoo that smile onto her skin forever. 

“We’re really doing this?” Paige asks, still a little stunned. It wasn’t what Azzi had planned for tonight. She hadn’t really had any plans for what would really happen. But then Paige had walked in and all Azzi could see was forever she was tired of fighting against. 

“We should take it slow okay-” Azzi wraps her arms around the older girl’s neck, keeping their foreheads still against each other’s, “I don’t- I don’t wanna rush into things and fuck it up. I can’t- fuck- I can’t lose y-”

“You won’t,” Paige swears, squeezing at Azzi’s wait, “I won’t let you. We can take it slow. We can take it however you want- I just- we’re doing this?”

“Yeah,” Azzi can’t help the grin that fills up her entire face, “yeah we’re doing this.”

And as they surge forward to claim each other’s lips, and as they meld every inch of themselves into each other, and as they smile and cry into the kiss simultaneously, and as they etch promises into each other skin, and as they let themselves finally fall into each other, for each other, it feels a lot like coming home. 

***

July 2024 

The early morning sunlight casts a dark shadow across Paige’s face, causing the still asleep blonde to scrunch up her face in irritation. Azzi, who’s been awake for nearly half an hour now, can’t help the fond smile that creeps onto her own lips. She shifts herself to block the sun and Paige lets out a content sigh, burrowing herself further into her pillows. And the thing is every moment with Paige is special but there’s something about waking up to her in the morning. Azzi’s always awake first and it gives her ample time to just admire the girl in her arms, blond hair tousled all over her pillow, lips parted slightly open, and one arm always, always, splayed across Azzi’s torso, holding her close. Over the course of time, Azzi’s found out that the second she moves, Paige seems to feel her leave, waking up instantly. 

There had been an adjustment period if Azzi's honest. It had taken her a while to shake that fear of Paige not being there in the morning. The first morning, she’d been scared to open her eyes, even if she could feel Paige’s presence right next to her. That had been one of the few mornings that Paige was fully awake first, hovering above Azzi to wake her up. And when she finally did get the courage to open her eyes, the first thing Azzi had seen was Paige, blue eyes sparkling with unfiltered adoration, a smile filled with promises of every morning just like this. And that had been enough. 

Azzi reaches out to brush a hand through Paige’s soft blond hair, mesmerised by how pretty Paige looks in the morning glow. A lot of Paige belongs to the world now and Azzi’s not opposed to sharing really, because someone so fucking perfect, deserves to be celebrated like that. But there are some parts of Paige that belong to Azzi and Azzi only, some parts Azzi cherishes as being only hers. This is one of them and Azzi takes a snapshot of it, knowing she’ll need it to function in a few months, when she won’t get the real thing. 

“Are you watching Paige sleep?” Azzi almost jumps at the sound of Drew’s voice at the doorway, having been too immersed in Paige to have even heard the door open, “that’s kinda creepy Azzi.”

“Jesus Drew, whatever happened to knocking?”

“I forgot?” Drew grins, before he plops on the bed, the force of it making the whole frame shake a little bit. 

“Drew!” Azzi chides, “you’re gonna wake her up.”

Drew cocks his eyebrows, sparing his sister, who seems unphased by the sudden little bit of chaos around her, still fast asleep, an unimpressive look, “please she can sleep through anything. Besides, it’s already 9. I thought we were gonna do things. I been up for aaaages.”

“She’ll be awake soon,” Azzi smiles, ruffling the younger boy's hair. Drew rolls his eyes and it’s remarkable how much he resembles Paige, not just by face, but the mannerisms too. 

He huffs for a second before his eyes sparkle with an idea, “what if we pour water on her!”

“Drew!” Azzi chastises again, trying not to giggle. 

“Boo,” Drew crosses his arms across his chest, “you used to be so cool Azzi.”

Azzi laughs as she’s reminded of a younger version of herself, scheming with Drew on how to wake Paige up. And it’s not that she’s beyond that really, tucking the water idea for a rainy day, but Paige looks too peaceful this morning and she wants to preserve that look of serenity on the older girl’s face for just a little bit longer. 

“Hey Azzi,” Drew says after a while and Azzi hums in response, “when you and Paige get married, I can still be a groomsman right? Even if there’s no grooms?”

“Wha- where did that come from?” the brunette’s eyes widened at the question, sitting up a little straighter. 

Drew peers up at her with all the innocence of a pre-teen, “you are gonna get married right?”

“I don’t-”

“It’s too early for your yapping Drew,” Azzi’s saved from answering by Paige’s tired voice entering the conversation. She looks over to find Paige’s eyes already on her, a soft smile playing on her lips as she looks up at Azzi. If Drew wasn’t sitting right there, Azzi would lean over and kiss her and let Paige deepen it until they were both satisfied. 

“Oh thank god,” Drew cheers dramatically, “I thought you were gonna sleep forever.”

Paige scoffs, the arm that’s still wrapped around Azzi’s torso tightening its hold, “I wish.”

“Well you’re awake now so get up,” Drew whines, moving from his spot on the end of the bed, to flop on top of Paige’s body instead, “get up, get up, GET UP.”

“Get off,” Paige groans but there’s no real force behind it. Azzi watches with a fond smile, as Paige flips Drew over so that she can tickle him, eliciting rounds of laughter from the younger boy. Something in her heart flutters, her mind going back to Drew’s question. She’s never really been one to think too hard about marriage and children and that domestic suburban life, leaving it up to fate, but now- well, maybe. 

“Okay aight aight enough. Go get ready for breakfast and we’ll be down in a second,” Paige says, ushering Drew off of the bed. 

“You can just tell me you want me to leave so you can kiss Azzi you know?” Drew scrunches up his nose, “you two are gross.”

Paige sends him a stern look and gets a dramatic eye roll in return but as he always does, Drew does as he’s told, mock saluting the two of them and skipping out of the room. 

“He’s right by the way,” Paige says softly, turning back to where Azzi’s leaning against the backboard, “I do want to kiss you.”

Azzi smirks lopsidedly, “what’s stopping you?”

She squeals in surprise when Paige pulls her, the force of it causing both of them to tumble onto the front-end of the bed. Azzi ends up on top of Paige, hands resting around her neck, the blonde’s hands holding her waist in place. 

“Good morning,” Paige grins, clearly proud of herself as she chases Azzi’s lips to pull her into a searing kiss.

“Good morning,” Azzi whispers back, thumb caressing Paige’s left cheek.  

“Just so you know,” Paige pulls away, a determined glint in her eyes, “we’re so getting married one day.”

***

October 2024

Azzi’s mood has been rancid for the last couple of weeks. It’s terrible she knows; it makes her irritating to play with and a nightmare to live with. But even if this had been expected, that she would be on one end of the country and her heart would be on the other side, it doesn’t stop her from constantly being in a state of missing Paige. And it’s different from before, now that there’s a certain surety of of course i’ll see you soon but soon never really feels soon enough. 

“Azzi can you please get the door,” Kiki calls from her room when the doorbell rings. 

“I’m busy,” Azzi grunts back, snuggling further into her pillow with a book she isn’t actually reading, “you go get it.”

“Azzi please, I’m literally in the middle of getting dressed,” Kiki yells exasperatedly. 

If it wasn’t for the fact that she’s pretty sure her teammates are about this close to plotting her murder, and deservedly so, Azzi would sink back onto her bed and let the incessant doorbell noise continue. But she does love her teammates, thinks Kiki probably deserves to change in peace, and it forces her out of bed, grumbling away about annoying visitors. Until she actually gets a look at the visitor. Paige stands on the doorstep, confident as ever, a bouquet of roses and peonies and lilies in her hand. 

“You’re here,” Azzi breathes out, staring in awe. 

“And thank fucking god she is,” Kiki quips from behind her, “maybe we can finally get our old happy Azzi back and not this bitch.”

Paige laughs, “watch how you talk about my girl Rice.”

“You’re here. You’re really here,” Azzi whispers again. 

“I heard you missed me baby,” Paige says, her cocky smirk betrayed by the softness in her voice. And then Azzi is flying into her arms, throwing Paige off balance. 

“So fucking much,” Azzi admits into Paige’s neck, eliciting a giggle from the blonde, “Kiki’s right. I have been a bitch.”

“Just a little bit,” Kiki calls out again but there’s a new fondness in her voice. It’s funny how her team, even the haters, have slowly become Paige fans. They’d been hesitant at first, just like the UConn girls, but now well, it seems the basketball world’s Montagues and Capulets have learned to accept their star players’ relationship. 

“Missed you too Az,” Paige’s tone is vulnerable as they break away, “alright, go get changed, I wanna take you somewhere.”

“Or…,” Azzi presses her lips to Paige’s neck, leaving a trail of open-mouthed kisses, “we could stay here and do something else.”

Paige shivers under her touch, stepping away to keep some semblance of control “n-no I have plans,” but she can’t help but kiss Azzi’s pout away, “it’ll be worth it, I promise. Besides,” she bites at Azzi’s ear, “there’s always later.”

***

“Your big plans are to bring me to the supermarket,” Azzi cocks an eyebrow as they walk down one of the many aisles, “you turned down sex for this? Should I be offended?”

Paige doesn’t say anything, concentratedly looking at signs, trying to figure out a specific section, before an aha! moment dances over her face, and she pulls Azzi with her, the younger girl going willingly, despite the eye roll. She stops triumphantly in front of the sushi section and Azzi looks at her quizzically. 

“I’m getting you supermarket sushi,” Paige says pointedly, “and then you can get me mac and cheese.”

And if you brought me sushi I’d have brought you your favourite mac and cheese. Oh. The realisation of what Paige is doing trickles around Azzi a little bit like rain after a long summer drought. She thinks back to the bouquet, everything suddenly making sense.

“You’re such a dork Paige Bueckers,” Azzi says softly, tapping the older girl’s nose. 

“Your dork,” Paige grins cheesily, “now hurry up and pick one. I don’t wanna miss the sunset.”

***

Once she catches on it, it doesn’t surprise Azzi to find that Paige has everything planned out perfectly, down to the exact spot in the park- the one by Paige’s recovery airBnB, the one they’d taken countless walks in trying to repair their friendship- where the two of them can be away from everybody else, in their own little bubble. And she has a picnic blanket, that’s a little small but they don’t really want space from each other anyways. They lean against a tree, food set up in front of them, Paige’s laptop, carefully piled on top of a couple of books to be the perfect height, set a little bit further away. 

“So what NBA game are we watching?” Azzi asks with a smile and Paige groans, “what? Was that not part of the plan?”

“Dude come on. It’s the beginning of October. Please tell me you know the NBA season isn’t happening yet,” Paige rubs her temple, only a little endeared by the comment, “are you sure you’re a basketball player?” 

“There are games in October. I swear I’ve seen them before,” Azzi says sceptically. 

“Yeah at the very end of the month, not right now.”

“Well then close enough,” Azzi says indignantly, “I don’t need to know the exact day.”

“Whatever you say baby,” Paige acquiesces with a smirk and it earns her an elbow to the stomach, “what the fuck? That shit’s domestic violence you know?”

“Big words Bueckers, didn’t think you knew them,” Azzi teases, placing a kiss against Paige’s offended expression, before settling herself against the blonde’s side, sighing contentedly when she gets a kiss on her temple in return. They’re cliché enough to put on Love and Basketball, but Azzi doesn’t really end up watching much at all. In between slow kisses, she almost falls asleep a couple of times, the comfort of Paige’s arms like a blanket wrapping her in the warmth of this is my fairytale. 

“THE POLAROID,” Paige’s shout breaks Azzi out of her haze as she feels her body being shaken off, the blonde rummaging through her bag for the camera, “we have to take the polaroid. My wall needs it.”

“Oh yeah a tiny polaroid picture of us inbetween all your Lebron posters, a perfect fit,” Azzi drawls only to be met with a scathing look from Paige. 

“It’s for important things and Lebron is the most important of them all,” Paige explains with complete seriousness, as she finally finds the polaroid camera and shimmies back to Azzi with it in hand. 

The sunset is beautiful. Pink, purple, orange and blue, all blending together to create the perfect picture. But Azzi thinks it’s not nearly as beautiful as the girl in front of her, not nearly as beautiful as the date Paige had planned, not nearly as beautiful as the future she can so clearly see now. Her mind drifts back to the night of the phone call, and she can almost hear Paige’s sobs again, can still hear her own voice breaking. Back then, they had seemed impossible, a butterfly like dream that danced out of their grasp. 

“Hey,” Paige captures her chin with two fingers, “where’d you go?”

Azzi shakes her head, “nowhere. I’m right here. With you. Where I should be.”

“Sappy goof,” Paige snorts but she kisses Azzi like she’ll take those words and hide them in the labyrinth of her mind, protect them there forever. 

Taking the picture is a task, both of them bickering about angles and lights. It’s unnecessary arguing, in true Paige and Azzi fashion really but there’s something so mundanely domestic about it that Azzi finds herself wanting to memorise this moment too. They finally get the frame just right, somewhere in between what they both wanted. Azzi smiles at the camera, her Paige smile, as the blonde in question presses her lips against her cheeks. 

Click. 

And Azzi hopes, that however many years later, when they have a home of their own, amidst all the photos that they’ll take over the next years, this one will be hung somewhere on their wall, a testament to finally realising every dream they’d dared to dream together. 

***

December 2024 

There are pebbles being thrown at her window and Azzi has to stop herself from laughing when she peers down to see Paige, freezing cold in the Virginia December air, staring up at her with a goofy smile. She shakes her head when her phone rings, knowing it’s Paige and answers it with her own foolish grin. 

“What exactly are you doing?” Azzi asks, “come back to bed.”

“You said I was unromantic. I’m trying to be romantic,” Paige’s teeth chatter in the cold, as she balances her phone in one hand, still throwing rocks with the other. 

“I didn’t say that and throwing rocks at my window is supposed to be romantic? You’re going to wake the whole house up.”

“That’s what they do in all the good rom coms. And you said and I quote ‘we’re kind of boring’. You might be boring Azzi Fudd but I most definitely am not.”

It had been a throwaway comment Azzi had made at dinner with some friends from high school. One of her friends had been going on and on about some adventurous trip that she and her boyfriend were going on, and then asked Paige and Azzi if they had any of that planned. To which Azzi had replied that they were a little too busy, considering they were college basketball players still in season, and besides they were “kind of boring” people. She hadn’t meant it in any type of way. Personally, Azzi likes boring. Paige however, seemed to have taken the comment to heart and Azzi had woken up at 2 a.m. to an empty bed and the sound of something being thrown at her window. 

“Okay I’m sorry. I’m sorry. You're really interesting baby and the most romantic person in the world. Now will you please come back to bed,” Azzi concedes, already missing the feeling of being cuddled up in her blankets with Paige’s body heat keeping her nice and toasty. 

“No,” Paige says indignantly, “come down here.”

“Paige, it's freezing. It’s gonna start snowing any minute.”

“Exactly. That’s exciting.”

“Sleep is exciting,” Azzi whines, but she’s already padding around her room looking for a warm sweater, grumbling under her breath about the warm California sun she’s missing. She tiptoes down the staircase, wincing at the one step that creaks just a little too much, before pushing herself out the door. And it’s freezing cold, there’s sleep in her eyes, but it’s all worth it Azzi thinks, it’ll always be worth it, just to experience Paige’s smile. 

“Knew you’d come,” Paige grins cockily, mittened hands pulling Azzi into her.

“Yeah yeah. What are we even doing?”

“Azzi Fudd,” Paige bellows dramatically, “may I have this dance.”

Azzi stares at Paige’s outstretched hand wondering if this is some sort of cry for help, but one look at Paige’s face tells her that the girl in front of her is being absolutely serious. 

“This is your idea of exciting? Dancing in the street while it’s freezing with no music?” Azzi raises an eyebrow, but she takes Paige’s hand. 

“It’s spontaneous,” Paige says the last word with a flourish, as she spins Azzi, “why not dance in the street when it’s freezing with no music?”

And well, that’s a fair point. If anyone were to look out their window that night, they’d probably think the two girls were somewhat crazy. Laughing and giggling and tripping over each other as Paige hums a melody and Azzi occasionally joins in. It’s ridiculous and corny and cliché and perfect. And then the first little bit of snow falls, white drops circling around the two dancing girls, snowflakes catching on their eyelashes. The dim glow of the streetlight is enough to catch identical smiles on the two girl’s faces as they revel in each other. 

“You know some people say if you make a wish during the first snowfall, it’ll come true,” Paige whispers, still waltzing the two of them around, cheek pressed to Azzi’s, “you wanna try?”

And the thing is Azzi doesn’t really believe in all of that, in magic but something about Paige, something about this moment feels magical. It makes a believer out of Azzi. 

“Yeah,” Azzi smiles, “let’s make a wish.”

They stand still, holding hands, eyes closed, both a little breathless, as they make their wishes. And when they open them, if it feels a little bit like maybe their wishes have already been granted, well they’ll share it in a secret smile but never out loud. After all, wishes don’t come true if you speak of them. 

***

April 2025

7 seconds to go in the National Championship and Azzi’s UCLA Bruins are down by two points. It’s her last chance, having already declared for the 2025 WNBA draft, to win a national championship, to bring home their first basketball national championship since the 1978 team that had won the AIAW championship, to win their first NCAA championship ever. It had taken some sheer luck to get to this point if Azzi’s honest. As a two-seed in the Spokane region, they’d benefitted from their one-seed having been eliminated early and then getting to face a Cinderella six-seed in the final four. On the other side of the bracket, UConn, the favourites coming for a repeat, had been stunned by another team, the team that UCLA was now facing. That had caused a bit of a second-hand sting and Azzi’s not really trying to take revenge for Paige, but it'd be a lie to say the get back at them for me babe from earlier this morning isn’t ringing in her head. 

The play is simple, set screens for Azzi, get her open, get her the ball. A two would get them to a tie and three would win it outright. Either will do. It’s a little too reminiscent of last year when Azzi had failed at tying the final 4 game and she can still feel that loss on the tips of her fingers. They break out from their last timeout, breathlessly running to their spots on the floor. The whistle blows, Kiki inbounds the ball and everything is a blur. All Azzi knows is the shot clock is winding down. She runs off of what feels like a million screens. And then she’s open on the wing, for a millisecond. A perfect pass from Kiki makes sure the ball lands straight in Azzi’s hand. And she doesn’t think, doesn’t breathe, doesn’t even notice the defender put up a hand, she shoots the ball. There’s two people on the court that know for sure that ball is going in the minute it leaves Azzi’s fingers, the shooter herself and her biggest fan in the stands, who’s been just a little bit in love with that shooting stroke, since before anything else had even begun. 

With a delicate swish, the ball falls through the net, the buzzer sounds around the arena, the crowd explodes in blue and gold, as the UCLA Bruins win the 2025 national championship. 

Everything stills in Azzi’s brain for a second, her thoughts taking a second to catch up to reality. She’s never really been one to emotion on the court, keeping herself steely guarded through most games, even at the very end. But now, triumph and pride and just utter happiness at finally achieving one of her biggest dreams, comes roaring to the surface, manifesting itself throughout her entire body, as she lets out a scream of joy. Her teammates engulf her and she gets lost in a sea of hugs and tears and bright, decadent smiles. 

As thing start to calm down, there’s really only one thing on Azzi’s mind and Paige’s words echo in her ears, because if I’m gonna end up fucking crying, then I want it to be on your shoulder. And if I’m gonna end up celebrating, I want it to be in your arms. And Azzi thinks maybe Paige had discovered one of the biggest truths of their life with that, the truth that at the end of day, in any moment, big or small, happy or sad, the one person Azzi wants next to her, is her Paige. It’s been that way since she was fourteen, and too young to really understand the meaning of wanting someone forever, and she thinks if she has her way, it’ll be like that for the rest of her life, the rest of their life. 

Paige is beaming in the crowd, standing next to Jon and José, a #35 jersey proudly adorning her torso. She waves when she catches Azzi’s eyes, always her biggest cheerleader. And Azzi throws caution to the wind, fuck it, not caring that there’s still a large crowd or that cameras are likely to follow her every move. She pushes her way into the stands, stopping right in front of the blonde. 

“On a scale of one to ten, how bad would kissing you right now be?” Azzi asks, still a little breathless. 

A myriad of emotions flicker through Paige’s face before settling on a mischievous smirk, “probably pretty bad but you should do it anyways.”

Azzi grins before merging their lips together and everything else fades to the background, until she’s consumed by nothing but Paige. They break apart far quicker than either of them would like and Azzi expects to feel just a little bit of fear at what she’s just done, likely given the media a spectacle they could run a million and one stories about but instead, with her forehead still pressed against Paige’s, she feels nothing but calm. 

“I’m so in love with you,” Azzi whispers and Paige’s eyes widen. They’ve known it for a while now but it’s the first time either of them have said it. 

“Say it again,” Paige demands. 

“I’m so in love with you,” Azzi says again, grinning so hard, she thinks it might become her permanent expression, “like really fucking in love with you.”

“I’m so in love with you,” Paige whispers, pulling Azzi into a bone-crushing hug. 

And this might not be the moment where everything finally comes together. There’s still so much life left to live, so much that they still need to work through, so much they’ve yet to deal with. But for now, Azzi has a national championship and she has the love of her life, the rest will work itself out, or so she hopes.

[janeyseymour]

Potential part 2 to Bridge Over Troubled Water. Maybe something about them finally confessing their feelings, or the reader finishing their degree and Mel is worried about seeing them less thinking they're going back to working in the suburbs but maybe they get transferred to Abbott. That's if you're feeling up to it of course

So... this took way longer than anticipated, but it's here, and she's done (and as always unedited). I hope you enjoy!

Bridge Over Troubled Water Pt 2

Part 1.

WC: 5.5k (exactly!)

Since the two of you finally confessed your feelings for each other, you’ve found the balance between work and home life as well as the dynamic between the two of you as teacher and aide. Really, not much has changed- you can’t blame Ava for having figured the two of you out before even you two knew what there was with the two of you. 

That was two semesters ago, and you’re quickly approaching the end of your masters degree. You’ve been seeing Melissa for a little over a year, and it’s been great. She’s your best friend, the best mentor, and the biggest supporter for you when you need to be told it’s going to be okay in terms of your graduate degree. But now that’s almost finished. You have three more final papers to write, one group presentation, and a speech to finish, and then you’ll have your masters in reading.

“You’re doing great, hon,” your girlfriend tells you as you type away furiously at your laptop at her kitchen island.

You jump nearly a foot in the air. You had been so focused on your paper that you didn’t even realize she had moved from her station at the stove to right behind you. 

“Jesus, Mel,” you chuckle once your shock wears off. “Give a girl some warning first.”

She wraps her arms around your shoulders and kisses the top of your head. “I thought you saw me move from the stove. Sorry, babe.”

You turn red. “My bad.”

“It’s alright, amore. You were focused on your paper, and I’m so proud of you.”

“I can’t wait to be done with it all,” you sigh. 

“You’re almost there,” she tells you. “And then you can just relax through the end of the school year with me and figure everything else out during the summer.”

You worry your lip through your teeth. “I think I’ve figured out what I’m doing already though.”

“Oh?” She raises an eyebrow. “And what would that be?”

You close your laptop and turn around in her arms. “I think I’m going to go back to the school I was at before- at least for a little bit. I know I have job security there, and the principal already asked me about returning to finish out the school year for one of the old second grade teachers who has to go out on maternity leave- at least to finish up the school year.”

“What?” she sounds shocked. “And you’re going to-“

“I think I have to if I want any sort of job security for next year,” you tell her. “But I’ll still do everything I can to-“

“You’re just going to leave the kids like that? Leave me like that?”

“Baby, it isn’t like that,” you whisper and pull her in closer. “You know how the teaching career paths are. And I know that my old school finishes before Abbott, so I can come in for the last week with you, and-“

Melissa takes a shaky breath. “You have to do what’s best for you, as much as it kills me… have you told anyone else?”

“Just Ava,” you mumble. “I was going to tell you tomorrow when we went out for dinner.”

“Okay.” She bites her lip. She knows you have to do what’s best for you, and she knows you’re right. You need job security. And she’ll be fine with the two classes together again; the two of you have pretty much figured out how to teach both classes seamlessly. But now she’s worried about how this is going to affect the relationship between the two of you- she won’t see you nearly as much.

“Please tell me you’re not mad,” you practically beg her.

“I’m not,” she tells you truthfully. “Just thinking about how the kids are going to miss you… how I’ll miss you.”

“You’ll see me,” you promise her. “We’re dating.”

“I know,” she sighs. “But it’ll be different. I’ll have my classes, you’ll have your class, and when we’re together, we’ll both be swamped with grading and planning.”

“I’m sure we can figure it out, hon. We’ll set aside time to grade together, we’ll see if at least our second grades line up to plan together for, and I’ll make sure that we have our time together to focus on things other than schoolwork.”

“You better,” she chuckles nervously, reaching down to palm your ass. 

“I love you,” you whisper as you set your forehead against hers.

“I love you too,” she tells you, but she’s still nervous.

When you get your degree, Melissa is the first one to wrap you up in a hug, peck your lips, and tell you how proud of you she is. Your parents are second, and they grin when they see how happy you are with your girlfriend. They had been wary in the beginning of your relationship, but now they fully embrace the fiery redhead in your life as family.

The four of you have a wonderful meal provided by Melissa at her house, and your parents sing her praises.

“My god,” your dad chuckles. “What you do with food woman… you should’ve been a chef instead.”

“I thought about it,” your girlfriend laughs. “But I’d say being a teacher worked out just fine.” She gives you a nudge and squeezes your thigh just slightly.

Dinner is wonderful, your parents head out with warm hugs and kisses to both yours and Melissa’s cheeks, and then it’s just the two of you.

“I’m so proud of you,” she tells you as you curl up on the couch together. “So proud.”

“I know you are,” you chuckles softly. “You’ve only told me a million times today.”

“Because I am,” she grins brightly and kisses you again. “My girl’s got her masters, and she’s going to do great… wherever she might end up.”

That night ends with the two of you in bed, sweaty and grinning as she pulls you into her arms. You both get good rest that night.

On your official last day at Abbott as Melissa’s aide, the kids shower you in presents, cards, poems, drawings… anything and everything you could think of- one of the kids brought it in for you- even a jar of pickles. You chuckle at that one.

“I’m assuming this is your doing?”

“I had it put on the list,” she laughs. “And I had to specifically ask for the dill, because I know you refuse to eat gherkins.”

“You’re the best,” you hip check her. 

“I do my best, babe,” she whispers back. “I am going to miss working with you.”

She hands you a note to go along with all of the kids’ stuff.

“Can I read it now, or should I read it later?”

“Maybe later,” Melissa tells you. “For now, enjoy your party, and then we do have dinner with the crew after school today.”

“We do?”

“You think we’d send you off without a true Abbott celebration?” she laughs. “Of course we have a special outing for you- down at Oscar’s- your favorite skanky dive bar.”

“You’re getting the Barbara Howard to my favorite skanky dive bar?”

“I am,” the redhead chuckles. “She loves you a lot, and I promised her it wouldn’t be too much since it’s a Wednesday at four in the afternoon.”

After many tearful goodbyes (even though you promise the kids they’ll see you for the last week of school), you walk out of the school hand in hand with your girlfriend.

“Can I open it now?” You clutch the envelope Melissa had handed you earlier in the day.

“If you really want to,” she rolls her eyes playfully as she opens the door for you. “But you can’t get all weepy. We have our friends to meet, and they don’t need to know I’m soft for you.”

“Everyone knows you’re soft for me,” you tease her. “Janine fully walked in on you massaging my back the one day in the teachers’ lounge because I had terrible cramps.”

“And I told the kid that if she told anyone, she’d regret it,” Melissa tells you.

“And then she told everyone, and you still haven’t made her regret it because you love me too much to harass our friend.”

“Shut up. Are you going to read it or not?”

“Maybe later if it’s going to make me cry.”

“I really am dating a softy, aren’t I?”

“You really are,” you grin innocently. “And you love me for it.”

When the two of you walk inside, everyone else is already there with drinks in hand.

“Aye, there’s our girl!” Jacob grins and wraps you up in a hug. “You did it!”

“I did,” you chuckle as you awkwardly pat his back before pulling away and being passed around to your friends. 

You make eye contact with your usual bartender, who just smirks and starts pouring your drink for you. He slides it over to you with a wink and a nod of the head. “Congrats, kid. We’re gonna miss having you come around here.”

“I think everybody forgets that I’m not really going anywhere,” you laugh as you take a sip of your beer and find your way into Melissa’s side again. “This one’s keeping me around for a long time, so I’ll be around.”

“But it’ll be different,” Janine argues. “You won’t be at Abbott with us anymore, and you won’t get to see half the stuff we talk about!”

“I wish I didn’t have to see half the stuff we talk about,” you joke. “And I will be back for the last week of school. It’s really just these three weeks that I’m filling in at my old school.”

There’s a nagging thought in the back of your girlfriend’s mind that tells her that might be your actual last day at Abbott if you decide to go back to your school in the suburbs.

“I, for one,” Ava cuts in. “Am glad that I will no longer have competition over who is the hottest in the school.”

“Ava!” Melissa rolls her eyes. 

Everybody raises their glasses towards you and cheers to you and your accomplishment.

After quite of few hours of drinking, exchanging silly Abbott stories, recounting how you and your girlfriend tiptoed around each other’s feelings for quite a bit before finally just biting the bullet and dating and how Ava won a shitload of money off of Mr. Johnson over their bet, and some good bar food, your crew starts to head out.

“You did good, sweetheart,” Barb hugs you gently. “Gerald is here to pick me up now, but I assume I’ll see you on Saturday for shopping?”

“You will,” you mumble into her shoulder.

“I’m just going to miss you so much!” Janine wipes a tear as she lunges forward to hug you.

“I think she had a little too much to drink,” Gregory takes his girlfriend by the hand to pry her off of you. “Congrats, Y/N. Hopefully, you’ll rejoin us at Abbott soon.”

“I’m with them, but it was really great getting to work with you!” Jacob grins. “And getting to see our favorite toughie soften up for you has been-“ he cuts himself off at the glare from your girlfriend. “I’ll see you around, Y/N.” The three of them exit quickly, Jacob and Gregory half carrying Janine.

That leaves you with Melissa, Ava, and Mr. Johnson.

“I’m actually going to have to do my job in that room now that you’re leaving,” Mr. Johnson sighs. “It was nice having you around, kid.”

“Thanks, Mr. J,” you chuckle. He gives you a gentle pat on the back, downs his beer and heads out.

“I know you’re going back to your old school, but…” Ava tells you. “Know Abbott will always welcome you back with open arms- even if that means I’ll have competition for who is the hottest.”

Your girlfriend rolls her eyes as she pulls you closer by the hip. “It isn’t a contest, Ava. It’s Y/N, and then me… The Philly twelve and Philly eleven.”

“Yeah, whatever,” the principal laughs. “My mans is here, but I’ll catch you later.” She heads out.

“I’ll take the tab now,” you tell your bartender. 

“It’s all covered,” he waves you off. You glance to your girlfriend, who shrugs. “It’s on us… for our favorite teacher crew, celebrating one of our favorite teachers from the crew.”

You leave a generous tip before you and the redhead head out of the bar.

“Did you have a good day?” Melissa asks you gently as you get into the car.

“I did,” you smile softly. “It was a bit over the top, considering I’ll continue to see everyone, but… it was all very sweet.”

“You know we all love you,” your girlfriend tells you as she pulls her car out of the parking spot. 

“I know,” you say softly, resting your hand on her thigh. “And don’t think I’ve forgotten about your note. I’m waiting to read it when we’re inside.”

“I do need to get ready for work tomorrow… my first day without my gorgeous girl next to me. So I have to shower when we get home.”

“That’s fine. I’ll read it then.”

Your girlfriend tries to tempt you with a dual shower, but you politely decline.

“I actually need to shower, you actually need to shower, and we both know nothing gets done when we shower together,” you tell her pointedly.

“Actually,” she smirks. “We both get done.”

“Melissa!” you groan.

“I’m not wrong,” she grins as she strips her clothes, hoping to entice you. It doesn’t work, but she knows you’re watching as she heads into the bathroom.

With a shaky breath, you take the card out of the envelope that she had given you at school today. It’s a beautifully decorated card- one that she clearly put a lot of effort into making special just for you. You open it to see her beautiful penmanship.

Y/N, it reads. Congratulations, amore. I’m so unbelievably proud of you- you did it! I never had a doubt in my mind that you could do it, and I truly consider you to be one of the brightest lights there is in this odd profession we’ve found ourselves in. 

I want to take this time to tell you how eternally grateful I am to have found you. I know we got off to a rocky start- I was angry at Ava and my last aide, and I was about to admit defeat when I stormed into her office. When I looked at you though, all that stress melted away. I would realize later that any time I looked at you, I would feel more at peace. 

I expected you to waltz into my room and add to the mayhem, much like Ashley did, but you proved me wrong from the start. You immediately proved that you were a pro- that you were worth keeping around. From your organization to the way that teaching and classroom management just comes so naturally to you… you’re the real deal, babe. 

And somehow, in the middle of the absolute chaos that we call our classroom, I fell for you. I was able to see every side of you- the professional and the personal. I was able to see the way that you worked seamlessly between organizing papers and handling the students in a matter of minutes of you being there. I saw the woman who is tough on the kids when they need it, but also knows how to soften up for a student who needs some extra love. I saw the goofball who isn’t afraid to be the butt of a joke because you create the joke and embrace it. I’ve loved watching you maneuver all of the staff- who even I haven’t figured out quite yet. I watched you grow professionally, but I also watched you grow personally. I’ve loved being able to be here for you through it all- all of the highs of celebrating when you got a 100% on an essay you worked your ass off to write by a deadline, to loving you through when your professor gave you a wrongful failing grade and we worked our asses off to write a better paper. I’ve loved watching you come into your own and figure out who you are. But mostly, I’ve loved loving you. I’ve loved being able to hold you on a good or a bad day, being able to cherish our time together and make memories that I never thought I would have. I’ve loved being your person, and you being mine. Thank you for being my person, thank you for letting me be your person, and here’s to you, my love. Congratulations.

She signed her name at the bottom with a heart scrawled next to it, and you can’t help but wipe a few tears away. You look towards her bathroom and smile when you hear her voice singing softly. You strip down before heading into the bathroom.

“Hon?” she calls.

You step into the shower with her, and her eyes are immediately all over you. You crash your lips into hers.

“I read your note,” you mumble against her lips. “I love you, I love you, I love you.”

That night, the two of you hardly get any sleep.

You take the next few days off to ensure that you’re prepared for your new second graders, and then that weekend, you and Melissa find yourselves diving into your work to make sure that everything is just as it should be. You know you’re in good standing with your school, but you want to make sure that you still impress.

You end up staying at your apartment out in the suburbs (you aren’t even really sure why you have it anymore- you almost stay exclusively at your girlfriend’s in Philly) on Sunday night so that you’re closer to work.

“I’ll be fine, Mel,” you promise her over the phone as you’re driving.

“I just know that you’re nervous, and sometimes your anxiety gets the best of you,” she sighs into the phone. “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay over with you?”

“I mean… you know you’re more than welcome to, but that commute for you is going to be a bitch tomorrow,” you chuckle. 

“It’s a worthwhile sacrifice for you, my dear,” she tells you. “Let me pack a bag, and I’ll be there not long after you.”

After a night of Melissa assuring you that you were going to be just fine- it’s just first day jitters, you wake up to an empty bed. You can smell breakfast being cooked. You yawn, get yourself dressed for work, and stumble into the kitchen. Melissa is already ready for school, and she’s just plating breakfast when you walk in. She smiles gently at you, pouring a cup of coffee for you as you slowly make your way into her arms.

“Good morning, my love,” she whispers, kissing your head. “Are you ready?”

“I’m gonna have to be,” you mumble into her shoulder.

“Well, I have to head out if I’m going to make it in time for the news, but I’ll drive back here to hear all about your first day? We’ll cook up somethin’ nice?”

You nod. “I love you. Thank you for staying over with me to help calm my nerves.”

“Anything for you,” she kisses you softly before slinging her bags around her. “Keep me updated throughout the day.”

Your first day is great. The kids are so excited to see you, your old coworkers are thrilled to have you back, and you don’t necessarily miss the piss stench that would waft itself in from the streets at Abbott.

But you find yourself comparing this school to Abbott- the odd little school in center city that has your heart. You find yourself missing sitting in the teacher’s lounge with your girlfriend and your friends, joking over whatever happened that day. You find yourself missing the knowing glances from Melissa when one of your kids says something funny. You catch yourself looking for someone to share a look with, even if it’s just one of the camera men you’ve grown fond of. 

After your first day, you drive yourself back to your apartment, fully ready to pour over quite a few notes and start planning for the next few weeks. Melissa strolls in not too much later, a grocery bag in hand.

“There’s my girl,” she smiles and makes her way over to you. She kisses you deeply. “How was your first day, amore?”

You shrug. “It was nice being back.”

You don’t fail to see the way her shoulders shrink slightly. 

“But I missed you today.”

“Well, you have me now, before I have to head back to my house,” she tells you. “I’ll cook us up some dinner?”

“That sounds wonderful,” you smile as you wrap your arms around her.

“I can’t really cook if you don’t let me go,” she quips. Begrudgingly, you let her go. “So tell me about your day.”

You do. She cooks dinner. The two of you find your way into your bedroom. After quite a few rounds, she sighs and cleans you up.

“So…” she sighs softly. “When will I get to see you again?”

You bite your lip. “Maybe this weekend?”

“Baby, that’s… four days away.”

“I know, but I’m already drowning in planning, and the kids are working on some of their projects from their teacher that I’ll have to grade, and I-“

“It’s okay, love,” she promises you, knowing you’ll get worked up. “I’ll see you on Friday?”

“I’ll come down for the weekend,” you tell her. “I promise. I might have to do some work, but we can spend the weekend together.”

She nods, kisses your nose, then your cheek, then your lips before slipping out of bed. 

You don’t end up seeing Melissa on Friday, or Saturday, or Sunday. You actually don’t see her until the following weekend until she comes over to your place after you hadn’t texted her all day on Friday. She’s worried about you.

“Y/N?” Melissa calls as she uses her key to let herself in. You’re asleep on some papers that you’re attempting to grade. “Oh, hon,” she sighs.

She shakes your shoulder gently, and you immediately sit up straight in a panic. Who was in your-

“It’s just me, amore,” she whispers and kisses your head. “It’s just me. You’re alright.”

You bring your hand to your chest as you continue to try to steady your breathing. “You had me so scared.”

“I’m sorry to just drop in on you,” your girlfriend apologizes. “I got worried when I didn’t get a text this morning or at all today.”

“I’m sorry,” you immediately say. “I’ve been up to my eyeballs in grading… and I may have taken a cat nap.”

“I think the cat nap took you, love,” she chuckles. “Have you slept at all?”

“I slept for like forty-five minutes last night?” you blush. “I was up making sure that all of the things for the last week of school were ready.”

“Babe,” the redhead says sternly as she lifts you into her arms. “We’ve talked about how that’s not healthy.”

“I know, I know,” you sigh as you cuddle closer to her. “I just-“ you yawn. “I want to make sure everything is perfect for them next week.”

“You need sleep. And you always could’ve called me to ask for help.”

“You have both classes though,” you mumble, sleep already threatening to take you. That’s really the last thing you remember until you wake up again. Your girlfriend’s warm body is pressed up against yours, and you roll over to look at her.

“Sleep,” Melissa grumbles against your head. You feel her press a delicate kiss to your temple.

“I have to finish everything up,” you sigh as you try to pull away.

“I graded everything, and I made sure their bags were all made up, and I made sure the stuff for their party is in order… you really need to utilize your classroom parents more; how much did you spend out of your own pocket?”

“More than I’m willing to admit,” you mutter. You pull away from her slightly as you realize everything she did for you. “Mel. You didn’t have to-”

“I didn’t have to, but I wanted to while you got some much deserved sleep. Now, did you eat before you fell asleep grading?”

You shake your head sheepishly against her chest.

“So if I order Korean, you’ll be happy?”

“You know how to treat a girl right,” you sigh in content. Your eyes flutter shut again.

“I’ll call it in and wake you the food gets here,” she chuckles as she kisses your head again.

Your final week with your second grade class passes quickly, and while you grew to love those kids, you find yourself thrilled to be able to set foot back in Abbott with your girlfriend. Ava had graciously added you back on as an aide, even if just for the last week of school- the lord knows Melissa needs help calming down over thirty children during the final few days of school.

You’re greeted with whoops and hollers as you enter the break room. It’s like nothing changed. Melissa makes your coffee in the mug you usually drank, you sit in between the two veteran teachers while you watch the news, and then the two of you walk hand in hand down the hall to your classroom.

“Do they still remember me?” you ask her quietly as you perch yourself on her desk.

“They’ve been chattering about you nonstop,” your girlfriend tells you. “They’re so excited to see you ag-”

“Miss Y/N!” one of your kids comes running in. She immediately tackles you in a hug, and you have to place a hand on Melissa in order to steady yourself before you wrap her up in your arms.

“Hey, baby,” you grin. “I missed you!”

“We missed you!” the little girl grins.

As the rest of the kiddos come trickling in, they greet you with bear hugs and lots of chatter about all of the things the redhead has been teaching them. 

Before you know it, you’re saying goodbye to the Abbott crew for the summer, and probably for the foreseeable future. You had been offered your position back at your school in the suburbs, and you hadn’t been offered a position at Abbott- as much as you would love to come back. You leave the school helping your girlfriend carry a few things out of the classroom with a sigh.

“It’s been a good run,” you sigh softly. “I’m going to miss this place.”

“Abbott’s gonna miss you,” Melissa mumbles quietly.

You spend the summer with the fiery redhead, often times at the beach. Occasionally, Barbara would join you, but for the most part it’s just you and your girl.

The beginning of the school year starts to creep up on you quickly though. You’re actually in the middle of decorating your new classroom, Melissa holding the push pins for you when your phone starts to ring.

Your girlfriend glances over at your phone. “Ava’s callin’.”

“Hand it here,” you request, a confused look on your face.

“Hey,” you say into the phone, as you cradle it between your ear and your shoulder. You continue to try to pin up the bulletin board. “Trying to get ahold of Melissa?”

“If I wanted Schemmenti, I would’ve called Schemmenti,” she tells you bluntly. “No, girl, I’m trying to get ahold of you!”

“Oh?” You pause your actions.

“Girl, Latisha just quit ‘cause she got a new job. Suburban white girl couldn’t handle it,” the principal of Abbott says. “So, naturally- as owner of the school: I thought I would bring you back! As a third grade teacher!”

Your eyes grow wide. Melissa’s do too; she can hear the loud woman through the speaker. 

You stammer out a “W-what? R-really?”

“Of course!” she grins into the phone. “So, what do you say?”

“I- I have a contract at Old Eagle,” you say softly, a frown on your face.

“So break that bitch!”

“I-“ you pause. You glance at your girlfriend looking at you hopefully. “I can try. When do you need an answer by?”

“Today,” she sighs dramatically. “If you can’t take it, I gotta hire someone else, and it’s gonna be a bitch trying to find someone two weeks before school starts.”

“Let me- uh, I have to go talk to my principal, but I- okay,” you start to think out loud as you climb down from the desk you’re currently standing on.

“Get back to me soon. I can’t hold this job for you forever,” she tells you before hanging up. 

Melissa is looking at you with curiosity. “So, what’re you gonna do, hon?”

“I’ll be back,” you tell her as you give her a quick peck on the cheek. “I have to try to quit.”

You practically sprint down to the principal’s office. You speak with the principal about your situation, and despite his efforts to keep you at Old Eagle, you tell him your heart belongs to Abbott. 

Two hours later, after far too much paperwork, you return to your classroom- your almost classroom. Melissa had finished your bulletin board for you, and now she’s scrolling through her phone with her cat-eyed glasses on.

“Sorry, hon,” you apologize. “I didn’t think it would take that long.”

“Well?” She looks at you imploringly.

“I have to call Ava and tell her I will be accepting the second grade position at Abbott,” you grin brightly. “And then I have to take all of this down to set it up in my own classroom- right next to yours.”

Ava is delighted with your news, telling you she’s thankful that she won’t have to interview “any boring ass people who will leave in three weeks anyway”. Then she tells you to get your tasty ass into Abbott today if possible to sign your contract and start decorating for your class.

“I know we were supposed to have a nice dinner tonight, but-”

“You signing the papers to get your contract at Abbott is way more important than our dinner, amore,” Melissa says as she starts taking down the things you’ve place around. “And besides, we can always have a nice dinner afterwards.”

The two of you head down to the school in Philly, you sign your papers, and start to set up your room before heading back to her house. You pull your laptop up, eager to sign back in to your Abbott email and check your roster for this upcoming school year. She cooks, and by the time dinner is ready, you’re looking for apartments to move into in Philadelphia.

“Whatcha lookin’ at, hon?” she asks as she slides your plate over to you. “I know you ain’t still looking at your roster.”

“Apartments,” you sigh. “I figure now that I don’t have any ties to my suburban school and my lease is up in October, I might as well make the move out here.”

Your girlfriend bites her lip nervously before blurting out, “What if you just moved in with me?”

You have to stop yourself from dropping your jaw. “What?”

“I mean… you’re always here and spending the night anyway. You have a drawer at my house. Why not just- move in?”

“Are you being serious right now?” You ask her as you stand and make your way to her side of the table. 

She gives a noncommittal hum. “It’d make sense. If you-”

“I would love to,” you tell her as you crash your lips together.

The next few weeks are hectic for the both of you. In between preparing for the school year, packing up your apartment, and then development week, you both are up to your eyeballs in work. But you’re always together, and that’s what matters.

There really isn’t even a big shift in moving in with your girlfriend. She was right. Half of your things were there anyway; now it’s just official that the two of you share a home. And it truly feels like a home- much more of a home than the dingy apartment you had out in the suburbs ever was. 

On the first day of school, the two of you walk in hand in hand, having taken only one car. You watch the news together with your crew, and then you head off to your own classroom. She heads to hers. And when you go to stand outside of your room to greet your new students, you catch a glimpse of Melissa. In that moment, you know you made the right choice. Abbott is home. Melissa is home. 

[afyrian]

epilogue - yeah this is it m.list

    standing in front of earthen kiln, you stare at the large sign above the window. the newly painted green color complimenting the light brown bricks, the grout being a beautiful beige that ties it all in. resting your wrists on your hips, you hope not to get any more paint on your overalls than it already harbors. taking in a deep breath, you can still smell the fresh paint. 

  inside, you can just barely see the new decorations you set up recently. potted plants hanging from the ceiling, the ceramics resting on wooden shelves. no longer are the old wire racks bulking up the shop and ruining the aesthetic you’ve worked so hard to build. even a mural is painted on the side, soft colors that bring a smile to every customer’s face. 

  you close your eyes for a second and let every little thing echo through your mind. letting it all marinate, you wonder if this is it. not necessarily in a bad way. but rather, you wonder if this is how you’ll get to live for the rest of your life. to take a leisure day, painting something new, enjoying having someone else to cover the classes. and most importantly, be able to work next to him. 

  it’s easy to commute for lunch, ending up at the back of the onigiri miya kitchen. familiar to the cooks and cashiers, all you have to do is enter through the front doors. your apron off, clay somehow still on your pair of shorts. and they’ll start making your favorite dish, guaranteed to stay on the menu til the day it closes. 

  ‘no, you can’t come to another couple’s class! they’re paying customers and all we end up doing is talking’ you’d mention, crinkling your nose as he talks about joining for another session. however, you’d obviously recommend the private lessons that you’re so famous for. in which he makes some joke about having all the private lessons he could dream of. whispering that the ones at home are the most enjoyable. 

  ignoring his little comments, you’d make your way back to the pottery shop. inside will always sit yachi who is teaching a children’s class. her bright disposition working well with the kids coming in while their parents are at work. with the pottery parties that you’d rather not host because of the influx of people, giving you a little more freedom. 

  finally, you can open your eyes and feel a sense of peace wash over you. you can look out at your shop and think, this, this very thing is it. especially when onigiri miya’s door opens, osamu exiting with a bag of food in his hand, “it’s nearly one, you’ve missed lunch.”

  “aw, thanks, guess i got a little too invested,” you grab the bag from him, the compression sleeves he wears wrapping around your shoulders. 

  looking up, just barely resting his chin on your head, he can see the green under the sunlight. it’s a mellow green, reminiscent of his favorite piece by you. the glaze a little lighter than you had hoped for, yet still one of the most beautiful pieces he’s ever seen (which he’s said about all of them). “well it looks wonderful, and i just know these renovations are going to bring the place to life,” he moves his head to the side, looking at you.

  looking back, you roll your eyes, bringing your free hand up and grabbing ahold of his forearm, “what would i do without you?”

  “live another long and fulfilling life.. without the handsome cook for a husband, which would be oh so devastating,” osamu leans his head forward and kisses you on the temple, trying to ignore the faint smell of paint on your forehead. 

  holding back a smile, you push your tongue against the roof of your mouth. “oh would it now?” you lean back, raising your eyebrows in a mocking manner.

  “i sure hope it would be, you know, i make your lunch for you. if that isn’t the most fundamental part of your life, then i don’t know what is,” he shakes his head, removing his arms from you, backing up in a playful manner.

  “you are so insufferable, hon,” you reach your hand out, grabbing his, only to pull him in a for a kiss.

  just like every lunch break, you can taste the quintessential flavors of onigiri miya. sometimes even down to the last spice that was added to the dish. his lips are soft against yours, even hints of a subtle chapstick that he applies every few hours. his hand reaches up towards your neck, thumb dancing along your jawbone. 

  his other hand rests on your cheek, the feeling of his wedding ring chilling your cheekbone. a slight stubble on his face just barely grazing your lower face. some scratching just below your nose. ignoring it all you kiss him deeply, soaking it in like your own form of photosynthesis. osamu becoming your sun and the water you receive. 

  “mmh.. i love you,” you whisper, moaning ever so softly into the kiss. 

  “i love you enough to let you know your food is gonna get cold,” osamu whispers back, smiling into your lips, something he tends to do after your lunch goodbyes. 

  leaning back, you rest your forehead against his, hand white-knuckle holding the bag, “you’re ruining the moment hon.”

  “no moment could be ruined when it’s with you,” he whispers, moving forward just enough to kiss the corner of your mouth.

a/n: so crazy that it’s ending :(( but do not fret!! the mbb story will continue as a set of oneshots in ‘a kneading kiss’

taglist: @causenessus @osakis-gf @eggyrocks @brkfclub @marisabel14

@bbybibi @etoiile @miyamoratsumuu @girlokarina @gsyche

@cherrypieyourface @zephestia @acowboykisser @whosmarjj @gumiiiiezzzz

@guitarstringed-scars @19calicos @savemebrazilhinata @phoenix-eclipses @theycallmenanamisgirl

@softpia @certaindreampost @miiyas

[noforkingclue]

Hi hon, I love your work. Can I request a LokixYn fic pls. Can yn be like super clingy but hide it from Loki cause he isn’t used to it. Like it’s not a thing on Asgard. So she has never been overly affectionate/clingy with him but then something changes that maybe she gets ill or tired and Loki has to adjust.

If not no worries.

I hope you’re well and I hope spring brings you joy and happiness.

Note: requests are currently closed

The weather is being a bit strange at the moment. Last week it was almost 30oC and now it's colder and raining. Oh well, that's the UK for you!

Anyway, hope you like the fic :)

Title: Sickness

Being on Asgard was a lot different to being on Earth. Of course you were expecting that, two completely different cultures there were always bound to be differences. However, you weren’t used to things being so… stiff.

You were a naturally openly affectionate person. With your friends, family and even past partners. However, Loki wasn’t like that. He was a lot more reserved in that aspect when compared to you. You always respected this, keeping your true affectionate to yourself. Loki didn’t mind small bits of PDA in public but mainly kept it to holding hands.

When you permanently moved to Asgard even that seemed too much. You missed being as close to him as you were on Earth but still, you respected it. It made the private moments between you all the more precious even though you could see that Loki still wasn’t used to it.

“Loki,” you let out a cough and winced at the pain in your throat, “Loki?”

“I’m here.”

A cool hand pressed against your forehead and you leant into the touch. You smiled faintly and let out a pained groan. Loki gently stroked your hair and said,

“I’ll go and-”

“No,” you said quickly, “no I want you to stay.”

“Stay?”

“Yeah. I feel better near you.”

It must be your fever doing the talking for you, Loki decided. You gave him such a pitiful look that Loki sighed and sat down on the mattress. It was lucky that he couldn’t get these human illnesses. He knew that you shouldn’t have gone back for that visit. He just had a feeling that something bad was going to happen to you. You should’ve stayed up here with him where it was safe and he could properly look after you. However, what you did next surprised even him.

You tugged lightly on his sleeve and Loki sighed and rested his feet on top of the covers. Yes, he should’ve taken his shoes off but he wasn’t planning on staying for long. You needed your rest and you wouldn’t get any if you kept talking to him and insisting on staying awake.

Once Loki was in a position you were satisfied with, you rested your head on his stomach. Loki stiffened under you, unsure about how he should be acting. You smiled sleepily and wrapped your arms around him and snuggled up against him.

“Love-”

“Just let me rest,” you said, “I’m sick.”

“I can tell.”

You opened your eyes and glared up at him. He looked down at you coolly, knowing that your heart wasn’t truly in it. Eventually you smiled and rested your head on his chest. You swung one of your legs over his and pressed yourself even closer against him.

“I missed this.” you said

“Missed what?”

“Being so close to you,” you sighed and buried your head against his chest, “I enjoy being close to you.”

Yes, Loki knew that already. Part of him enjoyed having you so close. To feel you pressed up against him. A reminder that you loved him and you were his and he was yours. But on the other hand he wasn’t used to this. It was all so human of you.

Then again, in the quiet corners of his mind, he was able to admit to himself that was just one of the reasons why he loved you.

[inthe-dark-tonight]

Falling Into My Sins

chapter three: balled up fists

dbf!joel x fem!reader series - loosely inspired by the song skin by soccer mommy

chapter 1 chapter 2 chapter 4 chapter 5 chapter 6 chapter 7

summary: tommy and joel walk into your new job and you decide to confront joel about the events that took place at sunday night dinner. the only thing is, joel isn't alone.

word count: 2.5k

series rating: E (18+ mdni)

warnings: no outbreak AU, age gap (reader is in their 20s, Joel is in his 40s) no use of y/n, no physical description of reader, tommy and reader flirt a little, player!joel, joel being a gaslighter sorry, ANGST, theres one part where joel grabs readers wrist kinda roughly bc she’s… doing something so be aware of that, if i’m missing anything let me know!!

notes: okayyyyy here we go, i don’t want to spoil anything so… let me know what you guys think of this chapter :) thank you again to my love @shatteredbaby for proofreading for me again, i owe you my life mwah. can't forget my literal mother @pr0ximamidnight for letting me ramble for hours <3

It’s Friday morning now and Joel never got back to you. You didn’t send another text after your last one, afraid that you would seem desperate or annoying. You’ve been busy this week anyway so you try not to let it bother you.

One of the jobs you applied for finally called back, so you went in for an interview on Tuesday morning and they already have you working your first shift tonight. It’s a waitressing job, which isn’t exactly what you were hoping for, but you applied for anything and everything, just happy to be working again. It will also be good to get your mind off of everything that’s happened last weekend. 

You finish getting ready for work. Your shift starts in about an hour but you want to be early for your first day. As you leave your room, you grab your purse and your apron before running down the stairs. Your dad’s in the living room and you shout out to him. 

“I’m leaving! I’m not off until midnight so see you tomorrow!” 

“See ya bud, have fun!” He shouts back. 

You shut the door behind you and walk down your front steps to your car. As you walk to your car, you glance across the street towards Joel’s house. His truck isn’t in the driveway. You haven’t seen him at all this week, not even a quick glimpse as he was leaving for work or coming home. You saw Sarah come home from school a few times, but no Joel. 

You get into your car and turn the radio on, trying to shake the memory of the other night from your mind. You pull away, past Joel’s house and out of the neighborhood. The job you got is at a local diner near your house. Unfortunately though, it’s a 24hr diner which means you’ll probably be working nights most of the time but you’re just happy to be working again.

You pull up to the diner and step out of your car, grabbing your purse and tying your black apron around your waist. The one good thing about this job is that the dress code is simple, all black. You walk in and one of the other waitresses, Betty, greets you as you walk up to the counter. 

“Hi hon, welcome to work!” She smiles at you. 

She's an older woman, probably in her late fifties, and she’s very friendly. She was here the day of your interview and she chatted with you as you sat waiting for the manager to be ready for you. 

“Hi” you smile shyly at her.

“I’m gonna be training you tonight,” she starts. “There isn’t a lot to learn, I think you’ll get the hang of it easily so I’m just kinda here if you need any help.” 

You nod your head and follow her behind the counter. She takes about fifteen minutes to show you the ropes, how to use the register and things of that sort.

“Okay well,” she starts taking a deep breath. “I think you got this, I trust ya.” She winks at you. “It’s gonna be pretty slow for the next few hours, just watch the counter for now, I’ll handle any tables that come in.” 

You nod, acknowledging that you understand and then she walks into the back. You look around the diner noticing that there’s practically nobody in there. One booth in the back corner is occupied by an older man reading the paper and sipping on a black coffee, but that’s it. 

About an hour later you hear the bell on the door jingle as someone enters the diner. Your head whips towards the door and you see a familiar face, Tommy Miller. His face lights up as his eyes meet with yours and he walks towards the counter.

“Hey,” he glances around the empty diner, then his eyes land back on you. “Guess you heard back from some of the application’s you sent out huh?”

“Hi,” you laugh a little at his comment. “Yeah uh, I did. Today’s my first day actually.” 

He takes a seat at the counter and you hand him a menu. “Does that make me your first customer?” he raises his brow and smiles at you. 

“Yeah actually.”

“Hmmm, I’ll have to test ya then.” He opens the menu. 

You let out a small laugh “Can I get you anything? Coffee?” You watch as Tommy glances over the menu. 

He doesn’t look up at you. “Yeah actually, I’ll take a coffee while I wait.” 

Wait for what? You don’t ask. You walk to grab the coffee pot and a mug, setting it down to fill it in front of him. 

“Thanks darlin’,” he looks up at you and your cheeks heat up. 

“No problem, let me know when you’re ready.” You turn around to replace the coffee pot. 

Suddenly the doors open again, you hear the bell but you don’t turn around to look until you hear a woman laughing. You look up and your face immediately drops. 

It’s Joel Miller, and his arm is wrapped around some woman as they walk towards a booth. He doesn’t see you yet as he slides into a booth by the window, sitting on the side that faces you. Tommy turns his head glancing at him, then turns back to you. 

“Christ, when I told him to meet me after his date I didn’t think he’d bring the woman along.” Tommy rolls his eyes. 

Joel was on a date? You just hum in response, not sure what to say. You look back towards Joel, he’s smiling as he leans on the table. Once his eyes meet with yours his smile disappears. You immediately snap your eyes away from him and focus back on Tommy. 

“Ready?” You smile at him. 

He looks up at you giving you a cheeky grin “Yeah,” he rubs the back of his neck as he talks. “Gonna keep it simple I think, just a burger and fries.” 

You jot it down on your pad and then quickly rip the paper off. “You got it.” You wink at him, eyes meeting with Joel’s for a quick second before you turn around to place the order with the line cooks. 

When you turn around, Tommy’s cheeks are slightly flushed. Then you see Betty come out from the back and walk towards Joel’s table to take their order. You try not to stare as you try to catch a better glimpse at the woman he’s here with. She has long blonde wavy hair, and as she turns her head to say something to Betty you catch a glimpse of her side profile and blinding smile. You have to admit she’s quite gorgeous. Then Joel’s saying something to Betty before she walks back and gives her order to the line cooks. His eyes flicker to yours again, and then to the woman he’s sitting with. 

Your blood is boiling but you’re trying not to show it. How was he fucking you the other night and now he’s here with someone else? 

“So, what’ve you been up to this week?” Tommy says, snapping you out of your thoughts. 

“Oh nothing much,” You smile, a bit distracted.

He hesitates for a moment. “Got anything going on tomorrow?” He’s looking at you with his large brown eyes. 

You notice Joel is watching you like a hawk, dark eyes burning straight through you as you’re talking to Tommy. You peel your eyes away from Joel and look back to Tommy.

“Not sure, I don’t think so.” 

“If you’re free, maybe we could go to this bar downtown?” He stops for a second. “I mean, if not, that’s fine just-“ 

“I’ll let you know.” You smile at him before turning to grab his food and placing it in front of him. 

“Thanks.” he glances up at you quickly. 

You nod and then look back towards Joel. He gets out of the booth and the woman follows. As she stands up, he pulls her into an embrace before waving bye to her and sitting back down. As the woman walks out, you finally get a look at her. She’s gorgeous, luscious hair bouncing as he walks towards the door. She glances over at you and smiles before pushing on the door and leaving. You’re frozen there for a moment, before looking back towards Joel. You need to talk to him. 

“I’ll be right back.” Tommy looks up at you with wide eyes, nodding his head. 

You storm over to Joel, blood boiling. His eyes are locked on you the whole way over. When you get to his booth, you slide into the spot where the blonde woman was just sitting a moment ago and stare directly into his eyes. He shifts in his seat as your eyes stay glued to his. 

“We need to talk. Now.” The last part comes out low through gritted teeth and filled with anger as you try to keep it together. 

“What about, sweetheart?” He leans back, throwing his arm over the back of the booth. 

What about? He's got to be joking. You feel like you could snap any second, and you think he can tell by the look in your eyes. 

“Joel.” It comes out as a warning. 

“Okay, okay,” he glances around the diner. “Not in here.” He gets up from the booth and you follow him as he walks towards the door. 

Joel walks outside and you call out to Betty saying that you’re taking a quick break, she just waves you off. You walk out the door and look both ways before spotting Joel leaning against his truck. You walk towards him slowly, thinking about what you want to say. You stand in from of him, practically fuming at the way he’s acting so nonchalant, like he didn’t fuck you up against the side of your father’s home five nights ago and then ghost you. 

“So,” You say, finally breaking the silence. 

“So.” He says back. 

You’re silent for a moment, trying to collect your thoughts. “What exactly is going on, Joel,” your eyes meet his and your stomach flips. 

“Not sure what you’re talkin’ about.” He clears his throat and breaks eye contact with you, looking down at his boots. 

So he’s going to play dumb, you see how it is. “Seriously?” You shake your head still looking at him. 

He looks up at you apprehensively, like he’s afraid to meet your gaze. “Seriously, what are you on about.” His brows knit together as he looks at you.

You take a step closer to him. “You’re going to act like you didn’t fuck me behind my dad’s house less than a week ago?” Your voice starts to raise and he’s just staring back at you now.

“I-“ you cut him off. 

“No, let me finish.” You’re ready to let it all out. “You left abruptly Sunday night, practically ghosted me when we had plans Tuesday, and then showed up here… on a date?” He doesn’t say anything. “And then you have the nerve to ask me what we need to talk about.” 

He shoves one hand into his pocket and the other rubs at the scruff on his cheek. 

“Just tell me, were you lying when you said you didn’t want to forget about the night we met? That you wanted me,” You swallow thickly, afraid that you might not like his answer. “Was I just another girl to add to your list?” 

His jaw ticks as he stands there silently. “Yeah.” He’s still not looking at you. “It was just a fuck, that’s all.” 

You scoff. “You’re sick.” His eyes snap up to you. “Even after you found out that my dad is your best friend, who does that?” You shake your head, he has a smug look on his face that makes you just wanna- 

Your hand reaches up to slap him, but he catches your wrist before your hand even gets close to his cheek. He’s breathing heavily, anger burning behind his eyes.

“The hell are you doing?” He says it through gritted teeth. “Tryin’ to hit me?” 

You just stare at him. “You deserve it, don’t you think?” Your voice slightly breaks as the words come out. 

He grabs your other wrist and spins you around pressing you up against his truck. You try to wriggle away but he’s too strong. You’re speechless as you stand there in his grasp, a shocked look on your face. 

He’s breathing heavy as he towers over you, dark eyes staring at your parted lips now. His eyes meet yours, you have no idea what his next move will be. 

“Do I?” He’s close enough now that you can feel his breath fanning over your face. 

Your heart is racing. “Joel…” you breathe out.

Then he’s slamming his lips against yours, the kiss is needy and rough as he presses himself against you. You start to melt into him and then snap out of it, breaking the kiss. You push his solid chest as hard as you can, shoving him away from you. He slightly stumbles back releasing his grip on your wrists. 

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” He looks like a deer in headlights right now, stunned by your reaction. 

His mouth falls open but nothing comes out. You turn away from him and start walking back towards the door, taking a deep breath trying to hold back tears, not from sadness but from anger. Who does he think he is? 

When you open the door to the diner, Tommy’s head whips towards you. “Hey, were you on break?” He asks as you walk back behind the counter. 

“Yeah,” Your voice cracks a bit as you answer him. “So, about tomorrow,” you clear your throat.

Tommy’s eyes light up. “Yeah?”

Joel walks through the door making his way to Tommy, you glance at him before your eyes meet his brother’s again. 

“I’d love to go with you.” He smiles at your words. 

“Great, I’ll get you around 8?” He says, his dark chocolate eyes gleaming as you nod positively.

Joel’s standing behind Tommy, now staring you down. You’re unsure about how much he’s heard, but honestly, you could care less at this moment. 

“C’mon Tommy, we gotta go.” Joel says as he lightly pulls at Tommy’s sleeve. 

Tommy pulls out his wallet, setting some cash on the table for his meal then stands up. “See ya.” he’s holding back a smile.

You bite your cheek. “Yeah, see ya.” 

Joel’s standing by the door waiting for Tommy as you give him a deadly glare before clearing the counter and you hear the door to the diner close. You’re not sure what you’ve gotten yourself into, but you feel sort of excited for tomorrow night.

thank you for reading! feel free to comment or leave asks, i love to talk about this fic so I will almost always answer/chat :)

tag list and some moots: @ilovepedro @isitmeulookin4 @joelsversion @nostalxgic @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin @gracieheartspedro @jenispunk @beskarandblasters @javiscigarette @pedropascalfan221 @mellymbee @kaybee181520 @joeldjarin @akah565 @laurifern @chefchy4 @untamedheart81 @eliza-8 @fellinfromthetop @sofiparallel @znerac

[cuttergauthier]

Stay With Me

Female reader x Cutter Gauthier

Warning: against, Abusive Ex-boyfriend, Toxic ex-boyfriend, fluff Cutter

word count: 1.0k

let me know what you guys think🤍

Today was a long day, I had an exam to do that I’m pretty sure I failed, I had to study for another one next week, so when my best friend asked me if I wanted to go to a party tonight that the hockey team was throwing, I agreed immediately.

I live alone in an apartment that’s five minutes from campus, my best friend Julia came over so we could get ready together.

“What are you going to wear?” she asked me as she was looking in my closet for something she could borrow.

“Probably my light mom jeans and a long sleeve satin white top” I said as I was curling my hair in loose waves.

“Oh that’s going to look good.” She said smirking

“what’s that look for?”

“oh nothing, I just think it’s time for you to get back out there”

“seriously Julia”

“Hon it’s been 2 months, it’s time, not every guy you meet is going to be like him. I mean there’s a bunch of single guys on the hockey team, plus you’re already friends with them” she said encouraging me

“we’ll see”

She let the conversation go and we finished getting ready before going to the senior’s house where the party was held.

When we got there, we went our separate ways. Julia went to find her boyfriend, he was supposed to meet her here. I went to see if I could find one of the boys.

I saw Will and Ryan talking, so I made my way over to them.

“Hey boys” I said smiling at them

“Y/n” Ryan exclaimed giving me a hug, making me laugh

Will hugged me next.

“We missed you, haven’t see you around this week” Will said

“I know sorry, been busy with exams”

“Well you’re here now, that’s all that matters” Ryan said making me smile

“come on let’s go get you something to drink” Will said as him and Ryan dragged me into the kitchen.

“you guys just want to get me drunk”

“What no” Will said

“Maybe” Ryan said with no shame, making me laugh at him while Will shook his head at his teammate.

We made our way in the kitchen, Ryan grabbed a cherry white claw and give it to me.

“Here you go, drink up”

“Thank you”

“So how have you been?” Will asked

“Pretty good, haven’t done much except for studying lately but I only have one exam left before the semester ends which is good, what about you guys how’s classes and hockey been”

“pretty good” Will said, Ryan agreeing with him.

I stayed talking with them until I finished my drink, once I was done, I got myself another one saying bye to the boys in going to the living room hoping I’ll find some of the others.

I was walking around when someone grabbed my wrist tightly making me turn around and look who it was. I saw it was my abusive ex-boyfriend Mason. My eyes widened. I looked around hoping to see one of the guys, but I didn’t.

“The boys aren’t going to protect you this time y/n, I think it’s time we have a little chat” he slurred trying to drag me away, I was fighting back frightened. I could tell he was drunk. The boys knew what happened between us, I just hope one of them saw, because I didn’t want to go anywhere with him. I was surprised he even got into the house since it belonged to the seniors on the hockey team.

He dragged me up the stairs when Cutter saw what was happening. Cutter and I don’t get along one bit, he always gets snarky with me and makes fun of me.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing” he said to my ex-boyfriend

“Nothing you have to worry about” my ex responded and went to walk across Cutter, but Cutter looked at me and saw I was scared. He put his hand on my ex’s chest.

“Let her go”

“No, leave us alone” Mason said, he went to push Cutter away

“Dude I swear to god you better let her or you won’t like what happens to you.” Cutter said angrily

“You know what fine, she’s not worth it” mason said pushing me into Cutter and walking away.

Cutter caught me before I fell. I was crying by now and my wrist hurt a lot.

“are you okay” he ask as he look at me up and down to make sure I wasn’t hurt, then he saw my wrist taking it in his hand making me hiss.

“Does it hurt” he asked looking at it.

“yeah…”

“Come on, I’ll take you home” he said leading me downstairs and to his car.

The car ride went by fast since I only live 10 minutes away. In the corner of my eyes I saw Cutter looking at me a few times.

Once we got to my apartment, he walked me inside to make sure my ex didn’t show up.

I unlocked my door and Cutter went to walk away but I grabbed his wrist making him look at me.

“Please stay with me” I said softly

He turns to spit out a snide remark, but he bites his tongue when he sees my eyes glistening with tears.

“…please, I know we hate each other but,” repeated softly “I’m scared”

He nodded coming into the apartment closing and locking the door.

He turned and looked at me.

He brought me into a hug. I starting sobbing.

“You don’t deserve any of the things he did to you” he said

“You don’t know that”

“Yes I do, no one deserves what he did to you”

“Thank you for helping me tonight” I said when we release the hug.

“Anytime Y/n, you might not believe me but I care about you”

I smiled and looked at his lips before looking back at his eyes.

I knew he caught me. He started to smirk.

“do you want me to kiss you y/n” he said in a cocky tone

“no chance” I said

He smiled and leaned in and kissed me.

I kissed him back.

We broke apart breathing heavy.

“I should have done that sooner, you’re a pretty good kisser y/n” he said smirking making me laugh.

I slapped his chest.

“can I take you out tomorrow?” He asked

“Like on a date?”

“Yeah”

“I’d love to” I replied smiling making him kissing me again.

[sunshinegirl29]

Prologue - Spencer Reid X O/C

Hi! So, this is my first attempt at writing any fanfic. I'm nervous but I've ran out of things to read, so I thought I'd start writing. I know people usually like reader inserts, and I'll do those in drabbles as I get used to second person. Any tips and such are welcome.

To sum it up, this is the Prologue of my fic. I'm going to play about with time a little. What if Spencer was married to Maeve already, I'm picturing them younger - like fresh, young season 1-3 Spencer.

Prologue - Parking Lot Lights.

January 2007. 8:30pm

Death, more often than not, was a slow striptease of a show.  There were ways it could be done fast, sure – gunshot or massive head trauma. But Kat preferred something a little more, hands on.

Yeah, being just shy of twenty with a kill count hitting double digits, wasn’t ideal, but that was the least of her worries as she tapped jovially on the tinted glass of the unsuspecting car.  She was grateful of the pitch-black winter night, it meant that she could not see the mess of blood and bone that was about to make a Jackson Pollock of the passenger seat.

“Hey Darlin’, wanna pass me that?”  She croons around the pink stolen gum, watching the woman reach shakily into the open glove compartment. When their gazes lock for the first time, through the misty haze of the parking lot light, Kat laughs, basking in the exquisite moment her features slip.

“Thanks hon. Now, any last words?”  She stops, slapping a palm over her face. “Too cliché? Yeah, you’re right.” She sighs, waving the Glock with disinterest.  It’s quick and dirty and loud but makes a pretty picture against the tan interior.  She pushes her fringe out of her face and almost laughs, hearing the sirens grow closer.

“Couldn’t let me have a minute of fun, could they?” She pauses, scrolling through the crumpled list shoved into her back pocket and remembers the rules – no phones, too trackable.

“Maeve huh?” She hums, stroking the corpses pale cheek gently, trying not to think about the way her stomach clenches.

Sliding the body out, she catches her breath, clocking the rock wrapping its slender finger. Shit. She didn’t bank on this; someone would be bound to miss this bitch soon and she couldn’t have that.

Kat leaned her forehead against the window, the cold solidity of the glass reflecting her exhaustion back at her.  Without make-up, the bruises and all the sleepless night of recent months were etched on her face like a confession.

“Why did you have to be married?”

She did not come here to feel bad, if she was wise, she wouldn’t have come here at all.  “One more, he urged, one more and you can leave – no more killing, your debt is paid.”

Kat twists her hand around the barrel of the gun, chewing mindlessly on the flavourless gum for a few more seconds before discarding it on the blacktop and getting in the car, mindful to wipe the copious amount of blood from her face with a dirty sleeve.

“For my father, who is not evil. Well, maybe a little bit.” Her joyful cackles are drowned out by encroaching sirens.

A vicious screech echoes through the hospital parking lot, the last traces of Katy Carson speed away in an expensive car.

Well, hope you enjoyed this little snipped, just ask if you wanna be tagged! xo

[threehuskiesinatrenchcoat]

Hello there! At this point your inbox feels like home, I should start decorating it Imao. Any suggestions? Btw did you see the transformer au meme just asking for a friend.. talking about friends, mine are trying to get me to expose myself, those traitors

When I posted all those drabbles (3, how can there be 3 already?! over on a03. (haha 3), I noticed I haven't written Ale and Phil fluff yet. How did I miss that? I decided to rectify this grave(s) mistake and ended up with this little bird, enjoy! And yes, I've apparently eaten a clown for breakfast the way I crack jokes like it's the end of the world (more evidence being the previously mentioned transformers au, I‘m glad you think it’s as amusing as I do lmao)

The sheets were warm and cozy, the sun barely peaking through the curtains. Phillip groaned in annoyance as he felt the bed shift next to him and struggled to lift his arm towards his partner, trying to get him to settle again. It was way too early to wake up on one of their rare free days; he didn’t even have to look at the clock to know that. Ale gently took his hand and brought it up to his face, kissing it and sounding so soothing when he whispered softly for Phil to go back to sleep.

It took all of the American‘s willpower to crack his eyes open and squint up at his partner. Even in the dim lighting of their bedroom, Phillip was able to make out Alejandro‘s perfectly fluffy hair and reassuring smile as he sat at the edge of the bed, clearly intent on leaving it, leaving Phillip. He frowned and gripped the Mexican‘s hand in return. He couldn’t leave that way, obviously; at least that’s what his still half asleep mind was convinced of. His thoughts got derailed when Ale softly laughed at his antics. "You’re so cute when you’re grumpy. C‘mon, I want to go make breakfast. Can you please let me go?" Phillip hummed a negative. If Alejandro left the bed, it would get cold… but breakfast sounded amazing right now, he could admit that.

His partner ran a hand through his messy bedhead, making Phil‘s head go hazy again, barely staying conscious with how comfortable he was and how good it felt to have Ale petting his hair. Said man took the opportunity to gently extract the other, previously in captivity held hand and placed a soft peck on his cheek before standing up.

"I will be back soon, mi armor, go back to sleep", he whispered to him while righting the blanket so no warmth could escape from under it and Phillip did just that, returning to his well deserved rest.

About half an hour later, Alejandro would walk in with breakfast balancing precariously on a tray and softly wake up Phillip. They‘d eat it together in bed, planning their day to themselves, Ale making fun of Phil‘s hair, causing him to get kissed simply to make him shut up.

idk hon it is your home so any decorations are welcome. if my opinion is of any value you're already the best thing this place has but by all means go wild

yes i saw the meme had a good chuckle thank you. hope you saw the follow-up drawing i made. tell your friends i said hi

i live for your drabbles at this point honestly. and omg they're so soft here 😭😭😭 like i love some good angst and they're perfect for it because drama but i just NEED them to be soft and happy and caring sometimes. sleepy graves being clingy 😭 yes sir keep your human heater close how dare he try to leave

[gurugirl]

Guru I miss you! Take your time and no pressure but what are you posting here on tumblr next? I feel I’m going dying without your amazing writing and re reading your masterlist 100 times is awesome but need something fresh 😢😢 I wishd I could afford patreon but it is not possible atm. 🙏🏽

Awww I miss you!!! And you’re so kind hon 🥰 You won’t die, I promise 😂 But I love the enthusiasm 💕

I’ve got a few things in the works 👀 You just need to be patient a little longer, sorry my love!!

So coming next… I’m not sure which you’ll see first but I’m working on A good boy update based on this ask, a little something based on this short video, as well as I’ll be posting a one shot based on this daddy dom request (posted on patreon already) and a one shot where Harry & Yn are friends and he knocks her up during a one night stand based on this ask (also already posted on patreon).

Thank you for this hon! I hope you find something amazing to read in the mean time 🥰🥰💕

Xoxo

[mjammies]

your man is no longer your man (the elite)

ch 18-20

CH18

-i wonder if maxon would still end the comp if america confessed to him or is it a real race now with miss kriss.

-”i wasnt ready to give up completely” no, actually give up cause you not really serious we know.

-im not reading all what sir gregory had to put in that diary

-”since gregory had failed me, there was only one other man i could count on” i swear to you if she was talm bout aspen i woulda thrown this laptop buttttt in a weird turn of events she is actually talking about her father which is kinda sweet ngl.

Ch19 

-wow they just breezed by the reception with the germans but lets see what miss kriss and miss maam come up with 

-is america gonna play something i dont remember, $50 bucks and my first born that she does 

-not kriss asking america if shes serious about maxon..the gurls finna start tussling in a minute

-theres no way that these two did better than three upper class girls, cause i know if theres anything a stuck up, well off girl can do its throw some shit together

-one of the italian princesses name is Noemi, i like that name, kiera you ate that one thing

-not they both tryna get them a sip of some maxon

-”after i got some water and food in me, i played some of the folk songs i’d learned on my violin” YAYY i get to keep my firstborn, also why she picked folk songs? They aint got pop hits in italy

-not natalie dancing on the table. Gon head girlllll

-”ill tell maxon myself what a good job you did” america do you know you have 30 minutesss. Girl maxon do not fuck withchu like he used to hon. 

-”she squinted her already thin eyes” keira cass you're dirty for this. This gotta be some kinda microaggression.

-”this isnt just some prize. This is a HUSBAND,a CROWN, a FUTURE,” snaps snaps snaps see elise gets it. Its big goofys like miss land of the free thats just here for the sneaky links, she aint no diva fr.

-like these girls are really here fighting and you acting like this just a lil vacay. STEP YO PUSSY UP and expeditiously 

-here they go bringing up marlee again, please let her rest in peace. I would hate if she actually died yall going this crazy and she still alive she just went through a little physical change thats all (well maybe more than physical lol but at least she got mr wood).

-”if there is anything we can do to help you acquire the crown, let us know” ooo purr, if a whole country told me they had my back i would walk like a whole new b****. 

-okay hold the f****** phone her father responds and he is speaking straight FACTTSS 

-”part of me thinks the slowness is on your side” HANG IT ALL UP, TURN OFF THE LIGHTS AND LOCK THE DOORS, SHOP IS OFFICIALLY CLOSED Hopefully her father can penetrate her thick ass noggin lets see

-”i thought of aspens certainty that i couldnt be a princess” neowww why do you think he would say that. What possibly would it mean if you became one, oh idk… maybe that you could never be with him

CH 20 

-oop is this the time for maxon to really show her its all worth it

-not him showing her the princess suite oh alrighhtttt now

-not this door goes to my room, im dead

-broooo not marlee being behind the doorrrrr, the way i woulda told maxon to drop them drawls, and marlee think she know something about working some wood, watch this.

-bruh all she got is welts on her hand i thought them things woulda been demolished

-not they been there the whole time in the kitchen i hope it was worth it i guess it kinda sweet idk

-they even got a little apartment?!

-not “ we got married two days ago” they moving quick asl

-”maxon gave me away. Im not sure ill ever see my parents again” bruuuhhh thats kinda sad but at the same time maxon a realll one lemme join the selection atp i think i want maxon.

-they cant even get a real ring

-idk why america acting like she aint know marlee and carter was getting busyyyyyyy

-brother in christ even marlee is standing up for maxon 

-”the reason you’re still here is because he refuses to lose hope” welp hes losing it as we speak

-”why didn’t you tell me sooner” idk maybe because you have no self-control

-”i just need to know if you want to be here at all” JUST TELLEM THE TRUTH 

-”if youll still have me, i want to stay” honestly her asking this in any other instance woulda had me heated but honestly its kinda good she phrased it this way causeee homebodys eyes is definitely wandering

[imaginespazzi]

four

“Azzi forcing herself to wake-up from a nightmare that used to be her favourite dream.” starting off messy again i see

“I don’t- I don’t want to hate you Azzi.” my girl zoe noo

“please do not insult my intelligence by finishing that sentence. I deserve that much at least.” what a queen we love you girl 

“I hope it works out for the two of you. You and Paige always did just seem inevitable.” MY BADDIE

“Uh yeah- I told her Azzi called and she seemed pretty sure she wanted me to pick up.” paige you cunt

“For one moment, as she loses complete control of her car, Azzi thinks maybe this is it. And the most terrifying part of it, is that for a second, she’s not all that opposed to the idea of this being the end. It’s a singular image of her parents in her brain that has her regaining her senses and hitting the brakes as hard as she can.” i needed that whole bit in here so you can fully understand my WHAT THE FUCK BITCH(i’m speaking to the author)

“Good girl, you’re doing so well for me Azzi, just keep breathing okay,” alright

“74 missed calls from Paige” azzi hon i love you girl but please

 “Had.” CLOCKED IT

“idk if u even read these” this is upsetting me

“i cant fucking wait to see you az” im very excited to read this part even though i already have(i don’t remember what happened)

 “Believe in me- believe in us just one more time, please.” oh god

quite the chapter here can you tell i think zoe was wronged

onto five

Yeah so now I'm fully convinced you might want Zoe more than Azzi so like should I draw up the divorce papers? No longer sisterwives?

WHAT THE FUCK BITCH(i’m speaking to the author) - tee hee? I'd watch what you call me cause golden hour isn't over yet...