#is so fucking annoying like really? thanks that was such necessary information that you really needed to tell me right this second.

[sprinklethetangerine]

Watching Saw for the first time, I'm being so incredibly mean to these characters right now.

[idontcare4urmom]

wrong || matt sturniolo

stepbrother!matt x fem!reader

summary: where your dad found a new woman on his life after one year of your mom's death,so you are forced to live all together after a lot of pressure,but what you didn't know yet is that her son is a total temping being that will send you over the edge..in many ways.

warnings: smuttt,unprotected sex,not proofread,porn with plot,dirty talk,eating out,pet-names,suggestive,scratching,tits sucking,etc.

a/n: my first language is not English,this sure has some grammar or other errors so i am sorry<3

."🎀".

"what the fuck you mean we have to move in with her?" you were basically shouting on your dad,and you weren't sure if you were more annoyed at the fact that he had moved on so far already or cause he didn't even cared to ask you if you acknowledge with it.

"i told you too many times that this is a very big and important step to me honey,besides her place is absolutely flawless,you will love it" his words only made you angrier,but you decided not to push it anymore since you knew deep down it would be waste of time,he had made his decision.

--------------------------------------

the days passed quickly,and you found yourself holding your suitcase in front of a captivating building that would change a part of your life for many years,at least your dad did not lie,it was trully more than luxurious,so with a deep sigh you walked until the doorway with him,your anxious levels on high.

after a few knocks the door opened to reveal a surprisingly tall,appealing woman standing there,with brunette silky highlights and a pretty good enough shaped body,the sight made you furrow although you could tell why your father had fallen for her.you were caught off guard when you were the one she even pulled into an embrace first and seemed in general eager to meet you.

"oh sweetie your dad has told me many things about you,i am Lana,come in,come in" you didn't had much time to process because she was pushing your hand gently inside,your eyes widening as you took in the house with your eyes,it was for sure bringing vibes of a cozy,modern place.

you didn't want to be in your normal pissy mood for the reason that she was treating you politely for now,so you made a small comment "wow,the decoration is really nice"

"oh thank you,i want you to be comfortable and feel welcomed here,you can go check the guest room that will be your own,is down the hall,if you need any help just call out my name" you nodded a little and began making your way towards the apparently new space you will probably spend most of the day at.

but,without realizing a sudden unrecognized human figure appeared in front of you while making it's way to another room,making you leave a small yelp from your lips "who are you?"

the blye eyed boy raised an eyebrow once he heard the question,letting a sarcastic laugh as he spoke "very ironic for someone to ask when they are the one in my house" oh? well he had sure attitude for the few seconds you had met him. you were about to say something in response even so he continued, a sheepish grin forming on his lips when he examined your presence through his dark eyelashes "wait..you must be my stepsister"

"huh?" was the only word you could express,you were incredibly confused--who was he? "i am Lana's son, Matt,no one informed you about me?" it was like he was able to read your thoughts,it only creeped you out more.

"no..my father must forgot to announce your existence to me" the words snarked out of your tongue as you were trying hard to act sassy,but for a disguise,cause shit the more you were observeting him the more perfect he got.

he had the necessary amount of beard to sense in case he ever trailed kisses down your body,his blue orbs seemed like they could stare deep into your soul yet in a enjoyable way,and hell those fingers were too distracting for no reason,especially with those silver rings that were practically begging for attention.just any of his facial features were ideal--however you weren't supposed to fall for him,it would be wrong.

you snapped out of your thoughts when there was a sound of a familiar voice snapping across the end of the hall,approaching the both of you excitedly,even though she was addresing specifically to you "i see you guys met,sorry darlin' i forgot to have a quick chat with you about that i have a kid..anyway he may be a pain sometimes but i am sure you will get along well with him"

--------------------------------

two weeks have passed,and she was completely wrong.every day the urge of smashing a bottle on top of his head is only increasing,he would suddenly barg into your bedroom searching for his own belongings,asserting that he often lost things by accident since he is being here from time to time--why? his set-up pc is on your area for years now.

despite that,his own bedroom is just a few steps away from yours,you have been struggling with sleeping peacefully cause he would blast music on his speaker at 2-3 am,you are almost confirmed that he must be doing it on purpose--and it doesn't end here,there is worse.

you are aware of a guy having 'needs' so the occasional echo of moaning could be heard to you from the thin paper walls,you swear that it's music to your ears and you feel like your mind is sabotaging you.he is annoying,that though didn't stopped you from having a weird desire rising in you for him,a pang on your chest with guilt for possessing the most unholy fantasizes whenever he would roam around in just a pair of sweatpants.

with all this being said,you produced a baffling bond with Matt,signs showing that he is on the same page as you,which leads you to today.laying down on your bed with your phone on your hands,stressfully ignoring his presence a few meters away.him entirely concentrated on his screen computer playing--God knows what--video games,with the controller on his hands.the silense more than unbearable.

you were determined to prove to yourself that maybe you can spend some time with him,you took advantage of him not wearing any headphones and lightly tapped his shoulder,pointing towards the black console afterwards "can i try?" you anticipated for his response,silently hoping that he doesn't mind.

Matt was kind of surpised by your request,nevertheless he had finished the round so he nodded "umh..sure" he slid off from the gaming chair while handing you the controller,your fingers barely brushing with his yet enough to make your head spinning.

you rested your body on the mesh fabric as he sat on the bed,and with a glance of the buttons you were clueless of the task in hand,not having any idea on how to participate in the online game.luckily,he noticed the confused look written on your face so he came next to you and started to make a fast learning lesson,

he taught you how to jump,how to run,how to kill,and other features you require to have in case of a proper match.as he did so,you caught him taking a few glimpses of your chest--it's not like he could help it,your crop top was exposing a certain amount of your cleavage,making it hard for him to focus.

a devilish smile curled to your face when you noticed,feeling bold enough to adjust down the shirt such as leaving only your breasts covered--matt could feel his heart beat raising,the temperature of the room turning thick once he stopped talking.

"can you show me how to jump again? i don't think i get it" you spoke,a hint of suggestiveness leaking from your tone--and he didn't want more than just to devour you right there, your father and his mother had left for shopping,so you were both totally alone which sent shivers down your back,

the tension bloomed into a insufferable feeling between the two of you,causing your breath to hitch around your throat,especially when you felt his fingers starting to touch yours fully in attempt to answer your previous 'request'.a hushed gasp breaking out from you when there was a unexpected hand gesture tracing your thigh in a agonizingly pace--screw this.

with a smooth shift of your face and waist you palmed his cheeks,bringing his lips to yours into a fiery dance.he didn't hesitate to shove his tongue in your mouth,impatiently exploring your taste before nipping down your bottom lip,eliciting a moan from you that get's shallowed against him,

the sound you made vibrated through matt's whole body,landing directly straight to his core and he could feel his jeans growing tight around his crotch,he didn't ever remembered himself getting hard from just a making out session--he craved more,he needed more,and so did you.

his hands started travelling their way to your stomach,crawling upwards until he squeezed your nipples over the fabric of your top and reaching to lift it up, "is this okay?" you nodded desperately at the question,he didn't wasted time by taking it off over your head,unclasping with one motion your bra afterwards to shower your bare chest with open-mouthed kisses,

your hums of approval soon turned into whimpers when he wrapped his mouth on the flesh of your left breast,swirling his tongue around it while his hand pinched the other between his free fingers,he repeated his actions by giving the same treatment to your right one after.

with a loud pop he pulled away,slowly reaching under the gaming chair so he is on his knees,his eye pupils half-lidded and fluttering over your face before he yanks off your shorts with panties,exposing your already wet dripping pussy to his hungry gaze,

"fuck you are soaked,how long have you been dreaming this? have you been waiting for me to finally pleasure you sweetheart?" you could him mutter cooing through gritted teeth,licking at your thighs in a intractable speed as he itches towards the arching spot in between your legs,lavishing his attention there as he made a long stripe up on your clit,making you buck your hips against his face shamelessly,

your nails found his hair,gripping and tugging on it for support,dragging a hiss from his mouth as he began to lap on your juices like you were his last meal,you started riding his face while whining pathetically,the obsence resounds filling the room as he continued to satisfy you.

his index finger rubbed your entrance,letting you shaking for more and barely hearing his gagged whispers "you taste so fucking amazing,such an intoxicating cunt",your lower abdomen started quivering into the familiar knot,reminding you of your approaching release,making you clench uncontrollably around his mouth,

"come on,finish all over face baby" matt sneered out when he sucked on robs of your pre-cum, your lips forming a perfect 'o' shape in the same time you swirled your digits on his roots so his head is forced to be still there,with a long pornographic moan you erupted,spurting thick,white jets that made your legs glistening.

after pulling away he swooped you into his arms,carrying you bridal-style on the mattress of the bed,him laying down firstly before grasping your sides stronly,helping you to be on top of him as he guided your hips so you can push against his clothed erection,the sensation maddening for the both of you.

your still sensitive heat grinded back and forth,feeling his cock poking under you so your hands progress to tug the zipper of his jeans down,sliding them down along with his boxers to his ankles in a way of exposing his throbbing tip,you usually didn't liked how dicks looked but matt's was different; a needy tenderness to have it deep inside you,he adjusted with ease the head down your folds,and with no doubt you sinked down on his length.

a unbidden squeal slipped from you as he grunted repeatedly,his grunts turned into loud groans of pure filthiness as soon as you started bouncing yourself,your tight walls squelching him, sending him closer to the edge even though it hadn't passed a minute of you riding him,his back arching forward which gave you the opportunity of scratching down the skin of his behind shoulders,

"such a good girl,fucking yourself on your stepbrother's cock, such a whore f'me" his words actually made you feel pitiful yet encouraging your movements to speed up their pace,his hips thrusting up to meet yours so he can pound into your hole frequently, "c-close" you panted out,your second orgasm increasing through you as your walls clinged around him,the actions driving matt insane "going to fill you up,do you want that? do you want me to cum inside you?"

you miserably sobbed in bliss and let a ''hphm'' of approval,before you knew it matt had busted,his climax exploding extremely hard into your pussy,following suit after him with your head throwed back and stopping after a minute so you can pull yourself out of him,both of you being a panting mess,

"that was incredible" "i am never letting you to even enter my room again"

------------------------------------

evelyn speaks!! thank you so much for 250 followers jixijcmjg,my last post with Matt got more than 800 notes likeee insane,thank you ALL for the support it means everything xoxo🤍🤍

tags! @writtensturn @pixiespax @verywonderlandpolice @itsnotmariahh @user9383738392 @monroesturnns @badussybumper @nwlluvsturnsstars17 @shadowthesim

[bucky-barnes-diaries]

AJSHASGSH I loved your works!

Could you maybe do a Bucky fic where he fucks y/n over his desk like 15mins before a meeting😵‍💫

I Only Need 5

Pairing || CEO!Bucky x Wife!Reader

Summary || Bucky: “15 minutes? Oh, baby, I can make you come and scream on my cock in 5….”

Word Count || 1281

Contents & Warnings || Smut — NSFW, 18+ Only, Minors DNI, explicit content/language, pet names, unprotected vaginal sex, creampie, mention of bodily fluids.

Authors Note || I’m really sorry if it’s not the best and sorry for responding so late. I got a sudden inspiration to write this during a 4 hour boring lecture. I hope you still like it! It is hot :P And thank you for the kind words <3

Disclaimer || English is not my first language so I apologise for any mistakes or misunderstandings!

CEO!Bucky Masterlist

After a long workday at the office, your husband had come home—kissing your cheek and wrapping his arms around you from behind—finding his place where he belonged.

You felt him instantly relax with his grasp around you and his face nuzzled in your neck—finding his comfort there. The stress of the day washed away slowly as he basked in the lovely presence of his wife.

“God, I’ve missed you so much,” he mumbled against your skin, sending shivers down your spine.

You hummed lovingly as you placed your arms on top of his. “I missed you too. I’m glad you’re home, baby. I was about to make some dinner,” a display of ingredients laid out on the kitchen counter as you were deciding what to make, “is there anything particular you fancy?”

“How did I get so lucky?” He mumbled as he peppered loving kisses across your tender skin, making you purr in approval. His arms tightened around you in an affectionate grip. “How did I get so lucky in coming home to the most beautiful wife in the prettiest dress? And the promise of a warm and delicious meal?”

Your peaceful and quiet moment was interrupted by his phone ringing. Bucky groaned in annoyance as he released his hold on you, while you whined in protest.

“I’m sorry, honey, I need to take this,” he sighed as he walked away, leaving you alone and with no answer on what he wanted to eat.

About 5 minutes later, he had not returned, so you went on a search to find him.

He was in his office, of course, and you peeked into the room to see him pacing back and forth while still talking on the phone. He looked a bit frustrated, annoyed, as he ran his hands through his short hair. His face appeared cold and harsh as he spoke.

You hated seeing him like this. But you knew of a perfect way to possibly cheer him up. Make him feel better. Dinner could wait.

Softly, you knocked on the door in case he didn’t want interruptions. Once he saw it was you, a smile displayed on his face as he waved you in.

“… yeah… yeah… Ok, let’s have a meeting then if that’s necessary… alright, we’ll talk soon… bye.”

Once he was done, you wrapped your arms around his neck and brushed his skin with your thumbs. He sighed in relief as he placed his hands on your hips and leaned his forehead on yours, closing his eyes.

“What’s wrong?” You murmured.

“An emergency meeting. We need to review some last-minute information for our newest contract.”

“When?”

“In 15 minutes. Over the phone.”

You frowned at hearing the defeat in his tone. He was tired. He had a long day. All he wanted was a warm meal and then to spend the rest of the evening cuddling with you.

“I may have an idea to cheer you up. If you’re up for it?”

“What do you have in mind?” He raised his eyebrow while a smirk tugged on his lips.

You brushed his ear with your lips as you spoke filthy and tempting words and promises.

He groaned in approval and gripped your hips tighter as you reached the pinnacle of your seduction.

“15 minutes? Oh, baby, I can make you come and scream on my cock in 5.”

You squealed in excitement as he turned you around and bent you over the desk. He leaned over as he left open-mouth kisses on your neck and shoulders, making a flow of shivers run down your entire body. His clothed cock pressed up against your ass as he grinded his hips into yours, making you whine at feeling his hardness.

A soft moan was muffled against your mouth as you gripped the back of his neck and turned your face to kiss him passionately. Your tongues brushed and caressed through the messy kiss.

“Fuck,” you mewled against him as his fingers found your covered folds, stroking and playing with your aching clit through the damp material.

“So wet for me, baby.” He groaned as he nipped your bottom lip. “Good girl. Fuck, I can’t wait to bury myself in your tight and warm pussy.”

He hiked your dress up and pulled your panties down to your knees. He fumbled with his belt to get his pants off, pulling them down just enough for his cock to spring free.

You moaned as his bulbous head nudged your opening, covering himself in your slickness as he teased.

“Put it in, baby,” you pleaded in an exhale against his parted lips as you dug your nails into the skin of his neck.

With a rumbling groan, he pushed through the barrier of your tightness with his thick girth, making you shut your eyes and gasp at the stretch.

“God, you're so tight,” he moaned as he rested his forehead on your shoulder. “Fuck.” He cupped your neck and turned your face to his again. Making you gaze into his lust-filled eyes.

Once he was nestled deep, making you feel the entity of him against your velvet walls, you both let out a sigh of satisfaction at being connected in the most explicit way.

He pulled out slowly and then rammed inside of you again, making you jerk forward on the desk with a gasp of surprise.

He was quick to fuck you in long and deep strokes, not holding back, brushing his swollen head against your sweet spot with each thrust, making electricity flow through your nerve endings. The sound of his hips slapping against your backside and your ragged breaths was the only music playing in the room.

You pulled him down to your lips and kissed him hurriedly—messy and erotic, spit and tongue, as you kissed till you were breathless. The sounds of pleasure were muffled against each other.

Your eyes rolled back, and you gasped against his open mouth as his fingers found your clit again, stimulating the deprived nerve in tantalizing circles.

With the way his cock penetrated your tight walls to perfection, the tip of him plunging against your sweet spot, and now his fingers on your needy nub, you were about to fall over the edge any second due to the overstimulated pleasure.

Bucky’s promise was not far off. He would indeed have you coming and screaming on his cock in record time.

“Come for me, baby. Let go. Let me feel you.”

You dug your nails into the back of his neck as the tightness in the pit of your stomach reached its pinnacle. You cried his name and a series of curses as you came hard. Convulsing against the desk as you released all of the pleasure throughout your body.

As your fluttering walls squeezed his twitching length, he buried himself deep inside and snapped quick strokes into your quivering pussy. His balls tightened, and he emptied himself into you with guttural moans and groans.

With messy thrusts, he moved against you till you both were thoroughly satisfied.

You collapsed into the desk. The cool wood was soothing against your warm cheek. Bucky left a series of kisses on your clammy neck as you both calmed down.

“Fuck, that was so good, babydoll. Thank you.”

You hummed a giggle. “You never told me what you wanted for dinner, honey.”

“Dinner? How about you display that pretty pussy on the table and let me eat you instead after the meeting? You are the only meal I ever need to taste,” he groaned in your ear, making your walls flutter around him again in anticipation of having his tongue on you soon.

“Dinner coming right up.”

Thank you for reading 🖤 Feedback through a comment is highly appreciated! Or let me know through an anonymous ask if that feels more comfortable. As well as a reblog to share my work with other people!

Follow @bucky-barnes-diaries-library and turn on notifications to never miss out on my writing!

Follow @bucky-barnes-diaries-library and turn on notifications to never miss out on my writing!

[katyaromanoffpetrova]

Our goddess and savior: Natasha Romanoff

Katya is good at ending up in bad situations. Natasha is good at getting her out of them.

• Natasha Romanoff x Fem!OC • Wordcount: 1.7k • Warnings: descriptions of gore and an execution This is part of my series where I post small scenes I've written over the years that have never seen the light of day because they didn't fit into the story the way I wanted them to Masterlist

Do not repost my work as your own or translate my work!!

A/N: this one is for you @milfs69420

2010

Katya's wrists ached where the rope cut into them, a wooden pole digging into the valley between her shoulder blades. She tried to feel for the small knife hidden in the sleeve of her mission suit, but they'd successfully managed to strip her of all her weapons. There was nowhere to go, and her muscles were aching as she used the pole to keep herself up.

Fuck this mission. And fuck herself for messing it up once more. 

Maybe Natasha was right and she really was the worst best spy ever. Somehow, she always walked out with the correct information or the right person's heart pierced by her knife. But it was always after almost dying or getting hurt.

Right now, Katya found herself on the other side of a firing squad. About ten men patiently awaited orders to empty the magazines of their automatic weapons into her body. Behind them, a hundred more from their shitty organization gathered to watch the whole thing happen, like pathetic little sheep.

They were using her for propaganda and a demonstration of power. How nice. 

''Look,'' Katya sighed exasperatedly, using her last bit of energy to cover up her dread. If she was going out, she was going out with sass. ''I know I'm pretty, my girlfriend says so, but is the display really necessary?'' 

God, she could really use Natasha right about now, mere moments away from a possibly very shitty death. Imagine getting delivered back to SHIELD with hundreds of bullet holes in her body. 

A wave of guilt nearly brought her to her knees. That would leave her gorgeous girlfriend traumatized for sure.

''Yes.'' A short man in front of her answered. He barked orders at the firing squad earlier. Now he was slowly pacing back and forth, waiting for something. Katya wasn't sure what. His French accent annoyed her. ''You're an example.''

''Of beauty?'' She feigned an exaggerated smile. ''Thanks.''

''No. Of idiocy.'' He scoffed, stepping up to her. His creepy little eyes traveled up and down her body in disdain, as if he was bitter he didn't get to shoot her himself. ''Thought you were one of the best. The Ghost.'' 

Katya wasn't backing off—not that she could. She squinted at him when she spat out her code name. ''Yeah, well, I have a reputation of messing up.''

''Clearly.'' He smirked when he heard someone coming up to him, stretching out his arm to receive something. ''So, this is you paying the price for it.''

Dread swirled in Katya's gut as she watched him fiddle with the mysterious thing in his hand. He'd turned around and walked back to his men, so it wasn't clear what it was, but she had a bad, bad feeling about it. Worse than her upcoming death. ''What's that?''

Smugly, the man turned around, lifting and pointing the object at her. It was a video camera. ''I am going to film this, if that's alright with you? Give your friends something to remember you by.''

All the blood drained from Katya's face at once. Gone was her attitude.

She could handle dying. And she was pretty sure Fury would shield Natasha from ever seeing her destroyed body. But if this shitty little man got her death on video, he would dangle the footage over Natasha's head and use it to absolutely destroy her soul. 

Katya could handle dying, but she would not drag her girlfriend along with her.

''No. Don't,'' she said firmly, her whole body on edge. She wanted to snatch that recorder from his hand and throw it so hard against a wall that it shattered in a million pieces. But she was helpless, tied to this godforsaken wooden pole like a witch in the seventeenth century.

The man's smirk widened. ''Oh, someone's getting queasy.''

Katya's fingers curled into fists to keep her fearless composure. ''You can kill me all you want, but don't put it on tape. That's really not necessary.''

''Too bad.'' Slowly, he backed up, until he stood between the row of shooters. He was enjoying it, this asshole. He knew he had her on the edge of desperation. ''Any last words?'' When the red light on his recorder started to flicker, Katya knew it was too late.

''None meant for you.'' 

Defeated, accepting of her upcoming fate, she closed her teary eyes, leaning her head back against the pole. 

Death was fine by her. That wasn't the part she feared. But all Katya could think about was the people she'd leave behind. People who would actually care if she was gone now. 

Well, just one person, actually. Natasha. How heartbroken she'd be. She would never let another person get close again, give up on love forever. Maybe she'd run from the pain, give up on everything good she was achieving with SHIELD. All that growth, everything that made her into a human being again, gone. 

In this moment, though, there was nothing else to do but accept the situation. Dozens of soldiers, tightly tied to a pole, defenseless; Katya was stuck and utterly hopeless. 

''Guns ready!''

Nat, I love you. It's the only thing she could think of. I love you, I love you, and I'm so sorry I'm leaving you again. Please, forgive me. 

''And—''

His voice got cut off by a choking sound.

Katya's eyes flew open, disoriented and confused. Her heart raced in her chest as she followed the noise of the video recorder shattering on the floor to the man from before. 

A knife sat deeply lodged in his throat. Blood sprayed out of his artery, his mouth wide open as he fruitlessly clawed at his neck. But there was absolutely no fixing this. His knees instantly gave out, and in a mere five seconds, he was as dead as they could be.

Frantically, Katya looked around for the thrower, her savior. Although from the precision with which that knife was thrown, it could only be one person. The only one almost as good as her. 

The realization made her laugh, and she dropped her head back against the pole once more. This time with a wide smile on her lips. 

''Always the dramatic entrance, darling!''

Like she was in the walls, Natasha's chuckle echoed all around. The dozens of aimless men in front of Katya were spinning hopelessly in their spot, raising their guns, trying to find her, but Natasha was nowhere to be found. The shadows loved her as much as the setting sun loved her orange hair. 

A horrifying humming filled the space, a slow tune which made neckhairs rise and skin crawl. Something straight out of a horror movie. ''You look so pretty tied up, baby.''

Despite the situation, Katya felt her smile morph into a sly smirk. She shifted restlessly, eager to get out of these ties now that rescue was near. ''Then why don't you come down here and help yourself?''

''I am here, baby.''

She jumped six figurative feet in the air, her wrists painfully sliding across the rough wood from the pole. Natasha's voice sounded from right behind her, where she had never expected it. ''Jesus!''

''Close your eyes,'' Natasha muttered, her mouth close to Katya's ear.

''Why—'' A loud shriek left her lips. The sound of a million gunshots bounced off the walls of the warehouse, amplified by the bare concrete and metal support beams holding the place up. It was deafening. If it weren't for the hands covering her ears, Katya feared she may have had a ringing in her ears for a week. 

Her eyes closed all on their own as—what must be—SHIELD STRIKE teams laid down fire upon everyone in the room. Natasha must have brought them with her when she realized what the situation was like. Katya recognized an execution when she heard one. She couldn't say she hated this one. Something about karma. 

The noise abruptly died out. Safe for some rattling of empty bullet shells, the warehouse was completely silent after Natasha took her hands away. The dozen, quick-moving, heavy footsteps that moved in on the very dead crowd were mere whispers compared to the thunderstorm from before.

Natasha sighed, stepping in front of Katya with a disappointed yet amused shake of her head. It was probably the near-death experience, but Katya had never seen anything more beautiful than this. Was this what religious people saw when Jesus came to them in a dream? ''You really did it this time. A firing squad.''

Katya grinned, trying not to focus on all the dead bodies behind her girlfriend. The relief she felt was indescribable. Natasha saved her life once again. ''Impeccable timing, honey.''

''I let you sweat a bit. Was here, like, fifteen minutes ago.'' Natasha shrugged, pulling another knife from her thigh to cut the rope with. 

She pretended not to see the murderous glare Katya sent her as she disappeared behind her again, because that was such a dick move, to try and teach her a lesson by almost letting her get murdered. It wouldn't even work, because Katya just kept ending up in these situations, even if she tried to be more careful. Especially then.

''Hey, what were you thinking about right before I treated that guy to my knife?'' Natasha knowingly asked as she cut away at the rope around Katya's wrists. ''You had that frown on your face.''

They both knew she did that dramatic mental goodbye, but Katya refused to give in to the teasing. Relieved, she brought her hands to her chest when they were freed, rubbing her raw wrists. ''Thinking about the chicken I had for dinner. It was very good.''

''Mhm,'' the redhead hummed skeptically. She returned to Katya's front to cut away the rope around her ankles, tossing her hair over her shoulder before she crouched down.

''And about how sexy you look in your mission suit.'' Katya's eyes lit up, risking everything by staring at Natasha's cleavage while the woman had a very sharp knife very close to her Achilles heel. This top view just did wonders for her chest. ''By the way, that knife and the psycho tint after? Incredibly hot.''

Natasha smirked, her gaze flickering up to Katya's. ''I thought you'd like it.''

Like? Katya had nearly crumbled on the spot. ''Baby, I think once you cut me loose, my knees might give in on me.'' She chuckled humorlessly.

Somehow, Natasha looked excited by that fact. ''I'll have to carry you then.''

[aziraphale-is-a-cat]

Big thanks to @halfagone for teaching me the html wizardry, that was kind of a nightmare.

Using his greasy, ectoplasm stained hand, Danny gently moved the hair out of his face and back up to his small ponytail.

He was in the Keep working on the secondary portal, the ominous red furnishings clashing horribly with the passive green glow of the metal ring. The mechanism was nearly finished, the final touch to push the hole in dimensions out past the Infinite Realms.

All Danny needed to do now was run through the code and hook up the power supply. He may be able to fully power the mortal end of the portal, but trying to take on both of them was pushing it. It's really wasn't like the Justice League would ever be able to access this end of it so the precautions he took on the initial machine weren't really necessary with the secondary.

The halfa was just about to start on the final stretch when his phone rang. Mildly annoyed, he picked it up and answered. "Daniel J Fenton, who is this?"

"This is Nightwing, we need you at the watch tower immediately."

Danny bristled, "I'm sorry, am I some kind of on call nurse?"

"No, but we need to talk as soon as possible."

"I will be there in an hour." His hand tightened around the phone until he heard a creak. In Earth time it was six in the goddamn morning. If it had been anyone else, Danny would've had some empathy for the urgency of his tone, but instead it was some government hero asking the impossible so he was willing to be petty.

-

The atmosphere in the watchtower was tense, Dr. Fenton's antagonism had really gotten to Nightwing, leaving the vigilante pacing across the main room fuming and obsessively checking his devices.

When the Zeta lit up, announcing an arrival in its monotone voice. "G-09 Daniel Fenton."

"Was the extra hour worth it?" Dick asked, turning to look over his shoulder at Dr. Fenton, who returned his exasperation with a withering glare as he set down his heavy looking tote bag.

"Absolutely, so what's so important that you need me in outer space at seven AM?"

In a flash of red, the flash had stepped between the two, appearing instantaneously from whatever he'd been.

"Change of plans Dan Man, we are now on a time crunch!" Danny cringed away, looking physically pained.

"Don't call me that."

Nightwing sighed and ran a hand down his face, trying his best to pull himself together.

"Flash is right, we've received correspondence indicating that our window of opportunity may be shorter than we initially thought."

The engineer's eyes narrowed, seeming to mull the new information over. "How exactly were your colleagues able to contact you?"

Dick glanced over to the desk he'd set up, eyeing the note that had appeared there an hour earlier. After a moment's concideration he picked it up and handed it to Dr. Fenton.

The note read simply, "Our time is waning, I will not be able to hold out for much longer.", And though it carried no signature, it was undeniably Raven's handiwork.

Danny read the note, seeming distracted running his fingers along the edge of it. "I'll see what I can do." Setting the message down, he picked up his bag and walked to the area leading to his lab.

Flash and Nightwing watched as he left, sharing a look.

"His eyes were glowing." Victor cut in, causing the both of them to jump.

"Fuck, man! You're like 50% metal, how the hell do you sneak up on us like that?!"

Cyborg shot Wally a look, "I've been here the whole time."

"Liar."

Victor groaned, disappointed in the subject change. "Wally, his eyes were glowing when he read the note."

Dick stood straight, alarmed. "Do you think it's magical?"

He hummed, considering it. "I think it may have something more to do with his parents' research. They were notoriously lax about safety measures in their home."

"Were his eyes bright green? That seems to be the color described in their work." Wally asked, scrolling through something on his phone.

"Yes, maybe he experienced overexposure as a kid?"

"I don't know," Dick replied, "If anything I think it'll have more to do with the major medical event he suffered in highschool." He leaned against the desk with a confused look. "But why would a scientific phenomena react to magic? It was definitely the note that triggered it."

"Well," Wally leaned over him with a smirk, "There's a blurry line between magic and science."

Both Victor and Dick groaned.

"Not this speil again."

"I'm serious, the more and more we learn about it, magic seems to follow the same kinds of rules as science! It's not some mystic impossibility, it's just like the laws of physics!"

"Sure Walls, keep on trying to justify your stubbornness. Magic is magic, and science is science."

-

The note put some things into perspective. The magic Danny had felt seeping from it wasn't dissimilar to the ectosignatures ghosts left around after going all out. A sort of filmy, cosmic timestamp that let anyone with the capacity to sense it know who was responsible.

It wasn't an ectosignature though, it wasn't even related to the Infinite Realms. If he had to guess based on his limited interactions with the extended multiverse, the oily slick feel was the fingerprint of Trigon and his spawn. The evil of Azarath condensed, which was bad fucking news.

Danny had known for a while that one of Trigon's brood had taken up a home in this dimension- the embodiment of Pride, Racheal Roth.

If 'Raven' had been somehow trapped in Azarath it would have to have been by something both motivated and powerful- and most powerful cosmic entities were chronic porch-sitters. So it was probably her dad, bitch-demon-supreme himself, Trigon.

This new job really did just keep getting better.

He sighed, pulling a breaker panel from his tote bag. He'd been manufacturing custom components in his lab at S.T.A.R., working around the fact that commercial distributers were federally regulated to sell parts only within reasonable amplitude. For the portal though, he'd need far more that 15 or 20 amps, the amount of power required to split the seams of reality far exceeds the amount considered safe by any regulating body.

That being said, the breaker panel wasn't actually rated to the amplitude it would need to power the portal. The circuitry he had created would heat up and trip at a far lower power levels than the portal would actually require, but ectoplasm was an excellent coolant. If Danny were there when the machine was fired up to feed fresh ectoplasm into the breaker panel the machine would run smoothly without tripping.

It was one of his fail-safes, in the case that the Justice League managed to shuffle together an adequate power source for his creation without his input, the breakers would trip every time with no explanation. This would make it look like their power source was too strong and hopefully buy him a little time.

Screwing the breaker panel into his creation, Danny considered the new timeline. Now that he'd finished the secondary he'd be able to dedicate that time to pulling weird overtime hours on the primary portal. He'd originally planned to go back to a healthy sleep schedule after finishing it, the idea that people's lives depended on how fast he could finish the portal had dug its bitter claws into his protective instinct.

It was almost funny, how even after retiring as a hero his innate need to take responsibility for the health and well being of others was still leaving him cranky and sleep-deprived.

[happyandticklish]

HAPPYYYYYYYY!!!!

since you sent me such a CRUELLY EXPOSING ask (<3 /j) I figured it only fair to return the favour ^^

If you could only pick ONE fictional character to absolutely wreck you, who would it be and why?

...

...

And what do you think that says about you 👀👀

hehe love ya happy <333333

(and omfg thank u so much for liking the fic you have no idea how happy I am that you enjoyed it take your time to scream I'm just glad I did your post proud !!! ^^)

CROWWW!!!

How fucking dare you (affectionate) the audacity of this. I will answer, because I honor my promises, and also because yours was far more exposing than this and I got a lot of insider deets out of that 😌

Also, again with the goddamn choices man, you gotta cut that shit out, a girl can only choose things so many times

Okay, so this took me a thousand hours to decide because there's a couple that I have in my head

And I know you said one, and I will provide my top one, but I have to list the top three because they're all pretty much tied. I also think it's incredibly ironic that my top three lers are also my favorite lees. I don't know if you know any of these characters so I provided a bit of background information for reference

1. At the top of the list.... Chishiya!

I've only known about him for a couple of weeks but that was enough~ I would also like to preface all of these by saying, do I think any of these characters actually would tickle me? No, because most of them are either assholes or would think it's weird. But I am choosing to ignore that for the sake of this question~

So he's a character in Alice in Borderland, which is a show about people who participate in death games and shit. But Chishiya was the Cheshire Cat-esque character, hence the name, so just imagine that vibe for his character. He makes me go absolutely feral, and the idea of him doing it is,,,,,, yeah. I feel like there would be one of his classic slight smiles and a head cock somewhere in there as he watched your reactions, and that would perish me on the spot.

2. Mostly tying out is.... Damien!

So Damien is from The Bright Sessions, and is essentially this guy who can make people do whatever he wants through projecting his own desires via superpowers. He's also half smug asshole/pathetic wet cat of a man. It is the latter half that makes him so tickly-able, but the first half that has him on this list. If you heard his voice, you'd get it. He does this kind of deep drawl thing with it, and his voice is so fucking smug and teasy for literally no reason, it's absolutely not necessary for anything that he says. But whenever he "wins" against someone, he's consistently rubbing it in their face and it's annoying but also,,,, yeah, just but also.

3. Returning as one of my og faves.... Connor from DBH!

He's an android from the game Detroit Become Human, which is essentially about these AI androids that gain life and learn what it means to be human while overcoming bigotry and a bunch of other shit. But Connor was an android cop that was sent to investigate the case, and eventually starts to become deviant, or human, himself. But he's such an attentive, perceptive character because he has to be. His whole job is about analyzing other people. So he can pick up when others are embarrassed and why, and he'll just fucking point it out because he doesn't know you don't talk about those things. So the idea of him noticing that you're ticklish and that you like it, because he would absolutely pick up on that, and pointing it out is beyond flustering for no reason.

As for what they say about me, I think one safe conclusion is that I like assholes lol. But in reality, I think it's mostly reaction based. Having somebody really, truly see me, notice things about me, and discover what things get to me, is such a flustering but nice concept. Just having someone work to get a certain reaction out of you, or tease you when they notice the effect something is having on you, especially if you're trying to hide it. I just like being teased guys. Tk or otherwise, it's such a giddy, happy feeling and I'm obsessed with it.

[eyes-onthehorizon]

The Old Guard Provide... Leverage

chapter 1

Four

defective [dɪfektɪv]

Word forms: adjective

If something is defective, there is something wrong with it and it does not work properly.

(“Y’know Tig, there’s just summat wrong wiv ya.”

“That’s not true! You can’t say that!”

“Oh yeah? Says who?”)

Andromache was quickly approaching the point of disliking all people, her younger brothers included. The two of them had been at it for hours, and the banging had reached an unbearable volume.

After another minute of mentally disembowelling them, she hauled herself out of bed and stalked through to the main room.

“If you two don’t cut that out right this very fucking instant I swear to every God I’ve ever known I will pluck your bastard eyeballs out with a shitting cleaver-ended spoon and THEN—”

She stopped dead in her tracks as she caught sight of their guest.

As a rule, Andy tried not to swear in front of children. She achieved this mostly by avoiding them. Unless they were in danger. The mop of red hair toothily grinning at her from atop the mantelpiece was not in danger, but was very much enjoying Andy’s little hangover-fueled tirade. Andy decided she didn’t care. Thoroughly distracted, she missed the amused look that passed between her unnecessarily loud brothers.

“Good evening, Lady A. I got you some lemon-honey tea which is what Bean always has after he’s been out on the lash – I mean, silence is better but these two,” she cocked her head towards Yusuf and Nico, “Got it into their heads that if I’m gonna sleep here then I should have a bed. I told them that really wasn’t necessary, Bean’s got more than enough floorspace to put up the whole of Cheapside should he want to, he’s always off acquiring and gathering spaces, y’know? Anyways Mr Kayson says that if I’m gonna fall asleep here anyways then I should have a bed and I said I don’t need his charity but then he offered me a job, see, so then I guess I should probably be here given I don’t always wake up in the same place when I’m with Bean’s lot and that’s very unreliable for a shop girl, innit? I know lemon-honey is more for sore throat, really you’d want mint or chamomile for the head but that was all I could find. Is that okay?”

The girl paused expectantly. The silence rang in Andy’s ears a little, but at least the hammer and saw were finally resting.

Andy, taken aback and more than a little annoyed at Yusuf’s shit-stirring grin, simply thanked her for the tea.

Tig was small for her age and faster than any child had the right to be. She’d deftly pocketed quite a bit of the coinage they all carried, and savoured the adult’s reactions when she handed it back to them. Mr Kayson had put her to work watching the shop floor and had promised her reading lessons along with her wages.

“I can read just fine,” she’d protested at his first offer, until he handed her an enormous ledger and began talking her through the stock maintenance. He’d rifled through the information and Tig could feel her brain developing holes instead of thoughts. She’d been so disgusted with herself that she’d found her way into the attic, hanging upside down in the rafters until Mr Guvnor had come to join her.

Tig was used to people finding her strange. She didn’t mind too often but being left to your own devices all the time was boring. It wasn’t her fault she could climb and pick and run better than most boys, but the faster she got, the less they liked her. It didn’t matter if she toned it down or shared her loot, they never actually wanted to be friends. It’d taken Bean explaining that she wasn’t likeable for her to understand – there was nothing she could do. It wasn’t her fault; she was just made broken. Like a train line with a faulty track.

Adults, though, they were something else. They never said what they meant, calling her “sweet” or “poor thing” but never actually helping. They never actually talked to her unless she was in trouble, or they wanted something. Even then, they usually talked to Bean or Mac. She’d just nod in the corner.

Mr Kayson was… nice was not the right word. Maybe kind would be better, but who would be kind to an urchin? A thieving urchin, one who had been trespassing for months. And then he’d offered her a job and built her a bed. Not normal behaviour at all, but Tig wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Yet.

Mr Guvnor was more straightforward, she’d thought, except he also turned out different. He was quiet, like she tried to be, and watchful, which she admired. He was also strange like her, which she figured out only when he was hanging upside down beside her.

“What are you doing?” Tig demanded, sounding an awful lot like those stuffy nannies she heard from the stories. “You can’t do that!”

“Come, sole, if you can then so can I, hmm?” He didn’t even look at her. They stayed there for a while, he enjoying her company, she working out how exactly she was going to get down.

“The plan has four phases,” Nico announced over dinner. “Sorella, you will go first and set the scene. I will go after, offering my business services to the estate. Tesoro, you’ll need to coordinate with Bas from here. I have the rest of the strategy, but I need to speak with Miss Jones first.”

“Who’s Miss Jones?” yawned Tig, mopping up the last of her gravy.

“Someone we’re helping.”

Children really shouldn’t look adorable when they’re suspicious, Andy decided.

“Like you’re helping me?” She directed the question at Yusuf, her tone accusatory.

Yusuf sighed, propping his face up with his palm. “Sagir, You are helping me. You are running the shop. I pay you for your work. I don’t see what this has to—”

“And building me a bed from scratch?”

“I like building things.” Yusuf shrugged good-naturedly.

“And the free reading lessons? What about them?”

“Ahh,” he wagged his finger knowingly, “Those are not free.”

She waited for him to elaborate, but he crossed his arms and leaned contentedly back in his chair. Well. She’d find out the debt she owed him, and make damn sure she repaid it. At least he wasn’t perfect like she’d feared.

Tig wasn’t disappointed. Not at all.

Phase One was simple enough.

Andy would pose as a Botreaux sister, visiting the Scottish countryside in search of a Northern property and on behalf of the Emporium.

“Patronising a shop in London is exactly the quirky, eccentric, ill-advised thing someone with too much money would do,” Yusuf had argued as they’d put together her story. “It fits perfectly.”

Andy thought it was ridiculous, but she could see his point. Some had spent more on less.

The Botreaux sisters were reclusive even amongst the upper set. While such social reluctance typically bred mystery, they had somehow achieved the impossible: invisibility. At least, until their remaining male relative passed without an heir and the barony fell into abeyance, at which point their story had travelled throughout the country quicker than anyone expected.

None of the sisters had come forward in some time, and no one even knew how many still lived, which suited their job down to the ground.

Bas and Yusuf spent the next month creating a viable replica of Giotto’s bell tower sketch for Florence Cathedral. It auctioned for a very healthy sum, and within the blink of an eye, Andy was kitted out with the fancies and fineries befitting a newly wealthy woman.

It was a cold winter’s morning when Andromeda Botreaux, enigmatic beauty, began her first foray into society. They’d interviewed for and hired a real footman and coachman, but had struggled for a lady’s maid. It wasn’t until Martha had offered to go herself that everything fell into place. All being well, they’d send for Nico within a day, but the journey time meant they’d be stuck outside Aberdeen for at least three more before he arrived.

Andy had packed a spare set of knives for the journey. She flicked open the leather roll, intent on inspecting the condition of each. Martha flinched at the sight of them, recoiling into the corner of the carriage.

“Breathe,” Andy murmured.

The carriage jostled, the movement pulling a shriek from her.

“Martha. I am not going to hurt you. This,” Andy gestured towards the knife, “Is for you. Just in case.” She leaned forward, ever so slowly, tracking the younger woman’s breathing; taking her hand, she could feel her pulse racing. Andy fought the impulse to press a kiss to her wrist. It had been second nature with her—void. Instead, Andy opened Martha’s palm, met her eyes, and pressed the handle of the dagger into her hand.

“Do you know how to use this?”

Martha hesitated, then nodded reluctantly.

“Show me.”

Martha’s knifework was sloppy, but they had three days to work on that. In the meantime, they discussed the least treacherous part of their lives: the future. Martha had big plans for a girl from Cheapside; she was planning to create fashionable waterproofs, scarves in particular. She’d even scouted out the factories she was going to buy from.

“I’m dead handy with a needle,” she said warmly. “Mam said I could make magic from scraps.” Andy did not miss the moment of grief that passed over her face, freshly worn out like an ancestor’s favourite blanket. “But my father couldn’t put food on the table by himself, so I got to work like everyone else. And I was proud of it.”

The silence was full of things unsaid.

“But this shop is going to be your way forward?” Andy prompted. No need to ruminate on the past, on what was lost. That way lies madness, Bas had said in a moment of hashish-inspired clarity. Better to look forward. Forward, forward. The only direction she knew anymore.

Besides, there wasn’t nearly enough whiskey in this carriage to begin to numb the pain.

Martha was looking at her expectantly, so she must have missed whatever was said. Andy rubbed a hand over her face. “Once more, please?”

[intern-seraph]

yoinking this from my twitter and polishing it a little but anyways have some uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

TWST BOYS + WALKING IN ON YOU SINGING AND DANCING TO A SONG FROM OUR WORLD

- Ace tries to pretend to be above dancing and singing in the kitchen but he doesn't actually put up much of a fight if you grab him to dance together.

- Deuce is embarrassed but... it's a LITTLE cute, and he doesn't really. dance. but like.... I mean....... if you ASK...

- Cater is all-in on this. No clue what song this is, but he’s DEFINITELY pulling out his phone and filming the both of you dancing on Magicam.

- Trey has probably seen his fair share of impromptu singing and dancing from his siblings, but that doesn’t make this little show any less cute! You won’t mind if he takes a little photo, right?

- Is there a rule against this? Riddle is silently going through all 800+ of the Queen’s laws to make sure it’s not Off with your head! He’d hate to interrupt you... but maybe the rules can be bent this one time if necessary.

- Oh, Jack is frozen stiff as he watches you. It’s not like he has a soft spot for you or anything! It’s just... really charming! And if his tail starts wagging when you drag him over to dance with you, that doesn’t mean anything, he swears!

- Aww! This kinda reminds Ruggie of some of the kids back home. You’re just as cute, and he’d love to hear more of these songs you’ve got. Buuut, he‘s not above teasing you for being caught in the act. Maybe he’ll join you sometime, if you give him some snacks in return, of course.

- Leona sees you and immediately goes “Fucking herbivores...” But you’re not letting him go that easily! Grab him under the arms and drag him over to dance with you! “HEY HEY I DON'T DANCE —!” He might make himself dead weight but it’s worth every ridiculous second.

- Floyd also joins in instantly. He looooves dancing, and Shrimpy looks SOOOO cute, how could he not join you?!

- Jade is content to watch you with that unsettling, way-too-toothy grin of his. He might have snapped a few photos. Perhaps got a short video. He’ll never tell. It’s all for his eyes, and his alone.

- The moment Azul catches you, it’s a toss-up. If you’re a decent singer/dancer, he’s probably already cooking up some sort of scheme for special dinner shows at the Mostro Lounge. If you’re... not great... he just watches, cringing sometimes but otherwise thoroughly amused. No, he won’t join you, he’s perfectly happy just watching, thank you very much.

- If you’re taking up space in the kitchen, expect Jamil to shoo you out so he can start prepping food. He’s probably a little annoyed, but he does enjoy dancing. Sooo... he might just join in if you’re not being too much of a bother. Don’t comment on his blush or grin, no matter how cute he looks!

- Kalim absolutely positively cannot resist joining you! You’re having so much fun! He LOVES fun! Do you want to dance more together?! YOU SHOULD HAVE A DANCE PARTY —

- Epel has been to his fair share of informal dances in his hometown, but nothing with people his age. Vil’s compulsory dance lessons don’t count, either. He’s just rooted in place, watching your unfamiliar dancing and singing, trying to commit everything to memory. Pull him in, tell him to just do what feels right. He’ll figure it out.

- Rook is HERE FOR THIS. YOU LOOK PERFECT. FULL MARKS. “Quelle beauté !” How could he resist your undeniable charms?! Your ZEST? YOUR PASSION?!

- Depending on how good you are at singing and/or dancing, Vil is either pleasantly surprised by the impromptu show... or horribly embarrassed to be in the same room as you. You will be getting further lessons either way, like it or not. He sees some potential in you.

- Oh god. Oh fuck. Idia is not prepared for this. Full deer-in-headlights panic mode. This is, like, the exact kinda thing he sees in all his shows and comics and dating sims. But that’s fictional. This is real. Maybe if he doesn’t make eye contact you won’t notice him, and he can pretend this is all fake? How the hell is he supposed to react to this?!

- Ortho is a sweet and wonderful baby and he is zooming in to dance with you the second he sees you because he LOVES it and he’s already plotting ways to get Idia in on the next dance sesh.

- Sebek is torn. He can’t stop staring. Don’t you have anything better to do?! You’re distracting him from his VERY important duties as Malleus’ retainer! Well... no, he’s not working right now. And you’ve done all your classwork... and dancing... is good exercise... he supposes... Fine, human. He’ll indulge you. Just this once!

- Silver is pleasantly surprised. He doesn’t have a very strong reaction either way, although his cheeks might be a little pink, and he’ll let you pull him around in a dance if you want, but if he falls asleep on you... well! You should have expected that!

- Ohhh, Lilia loves this! Humans are so charming, aren’t they? He loves this kind of spontaneity! He’ll dance with you, maybe add a few of his disconcerting metal screams. Be ready to tell him everything about that song when you’re done!

- Malleus is utterly charmed by your little performance. His Child of Man is so cute... it makes his heart race. He’d like to keep you like this, suspended in this moment in time so he can watch you skip and hum and dance over and over again. One day, maybe. For now, he’ll covet this memory like any other treasure in his hoard.

[divinegrey]

𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 / 𝐯𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐱 𝐟!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

this is spicy but not the kind of spicy you're thinking. hope you enjoy!

prompt: if it's alright, may i please ask for a spicy viper x femreader prompt wherein viper tries to seduce her but reader is very oblivious about it to the point viper gets frustrated. Thank uuu!!

words: 1400

warnings: fade being a wingwoman, viper being dommy mommy, reader being a bottom, implied nsfw content

“Is it just me, or does Viper seem more annoyed than usual?” You ask, dipping a carrot into some hummus before biting into it with a loud SNAP! Fade, laying across your lap with a book in her hand, reaches for a carrot and some hummus of her own. 

“I wonder why,” Fade says airily, absorbed in the contents of whatever the book is. You give a curious glance down at her; Fade is a person who knows a lot of things. With a roll of your eyes, you yank the book out of her hands. She blinks once. “Was that necessary?” 

“Yes, because I need you, my dear informant of the shadows, to tell me why Viper is mad at me.” 

Fade sits up, a carrot hanging halfway out of her mouth. “Because you have been extraordinarily oblivious to Viper’s fairly obvious attempts to seduce you.” 

The words cause you to choke on air. “W— what?!” 

The Turkish bounty hunter is exasperated, falling onto the cushions with an overly loud groan. “Aye, inanılmazsın. Y/N, you can’t be serious. Did you really think that Viper purchasing flowers for you was a matter of friendliness? Or her putting her hand on your waist while you were cooking? Or her leaning down to whisper in your ear despite not needing to?” 

Fade’s words, one after the other, jog the memories of these very specific situations, some of which Fade wasn’t even present for. How she knows about them is beyond you, but you’re left examining the subtext of all these prior moments and realizing that no, Viper was not just being friendly, and that you’re a huge fucking idiot. 

You put your face into your hands, turning red at Fade’s laughter. 

“And she finally realizes it! Huzzah! We’re all saved, fucking finally,” Fade remarks, clapping her hands onto her thighs. “I’m going to choke if I have to see Viper stare at you like she wants to tear you apart again.” 

Your head shoots upward. “Like she what?!” 

— — —

After the revelation, you make no move. Instead, you find yourself in Viper’s lab, humming as you work on a mission report that Brimstone needs to send to the execs. Viper is hard at work, leaning over some complicated machines. You’re scared to ask what she’s doing, not out of fear that she’ll be mad with you, but that you’ll understand nothing about it. Science was never one of your strong suits. 

But… it might lend well for you to test your theory.

“Hey, Viper?” You say softly, turning away from the laptop. 

“Yes?” Viper doesn’t look away, clicking some buttons on a piece of machinery with latex gloves over her hands. 

“Whatcha working on?” You stand up from the stool, walking over with your arms folded behind your back. At the sound of footsteps, Viper glances up and over her shoulder. Her emerald eyes fall onto you, and you don’t miss the way her eyes flick down, then back up. 

“DNA sequencing. I’m cross-breeding strains of flowers to concoct a new type of venom and I need to ensure I get the correct sequences into the gametes for the best results,” Viper readily explains, and it confirms your earlier thoughts that you don’t understand science, not one bit. 

“So this thing,” you say, gesturing to the machine. “It’s reading DNA?” 

“Scanning it and determining the order of nucleotide bases, I’ve already figured out which ones do what I want,” Viper says, placing her hands on the black countertop. You lean your hip against it, folding your arms over your chest and giving her an encouraging smile to continue. Viper’s face remains impassive. “I merely need to cross the chromosomes at the correct sites, and then fuse the offspring together once they’re ready for pollination. Once that’s complete, I have to mature the flower until it’s ready for harvest.” 

With a click of your tongue, you say, “Sounds like it’s going to take a while. Hopefully you have some… thing to keep you busy, while you’re waiting.” 

Hook, line, and sinker. Viper sees the bait, you know she does, judging by the way she tilts her head just a centimeter down and her eyes narrow. Your heart pounds inside of your chest as you lean back on the countertop. 

Viper shifts to the side, her height dwarfing you easily. She stands in front of you, placing her palms on either side of your own and caging you in against the counter. 

“Do correct me if I’m wrong—” Viper’s voice is low, throaty in the way that it sounds when she first wakes up. You have to suppress the chill that runs down your spine. “But I can’t help but think you’re insinuating something. Is that right?” 

“You’re correct,” you whisper, swallowing the nerves in your throat. “Figured I should— uh—” 

Viper steps closer, her legs brushing against yours. 

“Return the favor,” you finish your sentence, albeit rushed. You take a deep breath, then repeat, “Figured I should return the favor. If you’re… still interested.” 

You feel like a mere mouse being sized up by the biggest apex predator you’ve ever seen. Viper is not just a snake— she’s a goddamn King Cobra, black-scaled and green eyes that could kill any man on sight. You know that if Viper wanted to, she could easily reduce you down to nothingness, and it sends a thrill down your spine. 

Viper tilts her head an inch to the side. “Didn’t think you’d be so bold, little mouse. Didn’t think you were interested, either.” 

“Sabine,” you whisper, your voice a drawl. Something in Viper’s eyes lights up at the usage of her name, said so reverently. “You should know that I’m very oblivious. Things need to be spelled out for little ol’ me.” 

“Spelled out?” Viper echoes your words. She leans back just enough to snap off the gloves on her hands, balling them up. She tosses them to the side and you get whiplash at how fast her hand moves after, sliding around your throat. Her mouth drifts close to yours and you find yourself tilting upward for a kiss that never comes. Instead, Viper merely ducks her head to your ear, then lets out the softest sigh, one that sends heat straight down your body, one that makes you think of other ways you could hear that very sound. 

“Fuck.” The curse from your mouth comes out strangled. You grab onto her coat, fisting the white fabric tightly. 

“I’ve been watching,” Viper murmurs into the shell of your ear, her breath warm. “I’ve been watching, little mouse, and I want. I want to make you scream, I want to make you moan, I want to make you cry, and I want to make you fall apart in my hands. Is that spelled out enough for you, mouse?” 

Oh, god. 

“Please kiss me,” you ask. Viper’s eyes shine. 

“No,” Viper replies, and your heart sinks into your stomach. “I don’t think I will. How unfair of you to make me wait yet demand a kiss of me once you finally come to your senses. No, you’re going to wait your turn like a good little girl, and let me finish my work. Do you understand?” 

You’ve never felt a heat like this burn inside of you before. It’s all encompassing, threatening to swallow you whole. Nodding shakily, you say, “Yes, ma’am. I understand.” 

“So obedient,” Viper says, tracing her finger along your jaw. “Go back to your seat, finish your report. Do what I ask, and I’ll give you the world.” 

“Thank you, ma’am.” 

She grins, and you swear you see rows of sharp teeth in her mouth before shaking yourself out of your delirium. Viper purrs, “Good girl.” 

Stepping to the side, she releases you from her hold and you feel like you’ve just been choked by a boa constrictor as you amble back to your seat. 

Holy fucking shit. 

You’re not going to survive once she’s through with you. 

~~~~~ A/N: WHEW goddaMN i love viper when she's mean 

[goldenboywrites]

Inside, Quin’s body raged. He could feel the heat and anger coming off of him in waves. He wanted to reach out to strangle Renly. He wanted to make him shut up about everything he was saying. It was hard enough he felt it necessary to target Cesare and Quin but to bring Max into this? And Quin knew the man was looking for a reaction. He was trying, very hard, to infuriate Quin to cause a scene. He just couldn’t pinpoint why. Because he didn’t want Cesare to be happy? Because he was bored?

Quin sighed a small, sad sound and turned to Renly. He took a step forward, bringing his hand up to the man’s shoulder, and straightening the pin of his tunic. “It must be so humiliating,” He said even-toned, a smirk on his face. “Being you.” He turned his head to the side, studying Cesare’s cousin. “Being part of the royal family but you’re not really. I mean, you’re so far from the line of succession it’s almost comical that you’re even considered. You poor, sad thing. You’ll never understand what it’s like to be a royal. To lead people, countries, and armies. Even if you somehow manage to fumble your way onto the throne, you wouldn’t command them like Cesare can. He was born for this and you were born to watch on the sidelines, lurking in your own disgusted jealousy.” 

“Whatever you’re trying to accomplish here,” Quin said in the same breath, wagging his finger between the two of them. “Is not going to work. You cannot play this game with me and come out at the end of it winning. But continue to try.” Quin smiled, showing all teeth. “It keeps me entertained and I could use some of that here. Going head to head with you is the equivalent of fighting a toddler but I’ll take what I can get here.” 

Quin turned around promptly, grabbing a plate and loading it with various items from the table. He didn’t know what he was grabbing just that he needed to get the fuck away from Renly before all of his hard work was wasted. He needed to talk to the King and see if there was any truth to this information regarding Max. He needed to get to Cesare and tell him his cousin is fucking annoying. He needed… 

“A title means nothing,” He snapped, talking to Renly like he was a child because that was not far from their reality. “The fact that you think our power lies within our title means you know nothing about having one. Call me the ex-prince of Vivec. Yet I’ll still always hold more power as an ex-prince than you ever would. Do you want to see a real power move? Watch what I can do even as the ex-prince of Vivec.” 

Quin set off through the crowd, Cesare’s people parting the way for him. He made his way to the throne and handed his full plate of food off to a stranger before standing up on the platform. “Excuse me,” He said as a quietness fell over the crowd. The people all turned to face him at once, looking at him, waiting. He found Cesare’s face in the crowd and smiled softly at him. “I wanted to take just a moment of your time so thank you for welcoming me into your court. I’ve known Cesare for what feels like my entire life and while I never had the opportunity to travel here before, I know many of you have met my brother, King Maximus. While I am saddened by the recent events in Vivec, I am beyond grateful that you all have accepted my presence here with warmth and security. I only wish that my brother were here with me. He would want to be. This is something he’s been waiting to happen for years.” 

“Prince Cesare?” Quin called out, his eyes finding his prince and he beckoned him forward. When Cesare came to stop at the platform, Quin extended a hand out, brushing his fingers against the back of Cesare’s. “Your prince came to Vivec a few weeks ago to ask for my hand in marriage. Something that has been a long time coming.” A murmur of laughter from the crowd erupted and Quin felt his cheeks redden. “I’ve been chasing after him for years,” He admitted, flashing a pointed look at Renly. “I’d chase after him forever if I had to.” Quin turned back to Cesare, slipping his hand against his and squeezing it lightly. “The answer is yes,” He said softer this time. “If you still want me.”

All of these people were just cogs. Cogs in a machine and they didn't eve know it. Freewill was a delusion thought up to keep people from truly seeing the innerworkings of the way things were. They weren't like them. They weren't like him. Not anymore. Renly watched over the rest of the court. Sickened by how in awe all of these people seemed to be over his cousin and his obnoxious and, very clearly, biased opinion. He could barely stomach it at all. And the cheers and good wishes just iced on that point so thick he could barely breath. Barely stomach the lot of it all. But there were bigger and better things ahead. With planning, and patience, all would be righted. And as the prince of this territory's soon to be enemy stared him down, Renly felt everything falling into place.

"Cesare didn't think to have you eat before drinking at all." He merely replied as if it were painfully obvious of his abandonment of the prince in favor of his subjects and overflowing goblets of drink. "Could barely wait to get out from your embrace. Cute as it was." His face scrunched as if to add some sort of insult. Not that he much cared either way. No, Quintus was merely a means to an end for him. And a hand delivered one at that. It was quite amusing to see all of those pieces fall into place as their uncle had foretold. "You'd better eat before all of that was for naught and you make an idiot out of all of us." It was almost as if he had a crystal ball of some kind. This was all too perfect. The young man smiled softly to himself, reveling in the truth he know saw coming to fruition.

"And who says I want anything?" He asked, striding around to the other side of the table. He could feel his aunt keeping a close eye on the pair of them. And with Cesare not far off, making a stupid move now would only ruin his chances of staying at court as long as he'd intended to. He had to play this smartly, play it as a King would. One with a lot more bite than the soft minded and tender hearted one he called family. Idiots, all of them. For not seeing what a threat this was to all of them. "It's hard to be the one always left standing behind. Waiting for whatever attention comes after the main event." His shoulders shrugged as he took a small plate and began to put a few of each of his favorites onto it. "Eat." He told the prince again after seeing him sway a bit more.

Renly popped a few dried fruits into his mouth, watching for his cousin as he chewed. Thankfully he was still too preoccupied with whoever that was now. It wouldn't be like this for him when the time came. He wouldn't have to entertain people as his cousin or the rest of his family did. No. He'd be better than that, above it even. He'd have people for that and people for whatever else he could dream up. Just be patient. "Why isn't your brother here anyway?" He asked without looking at the prince, his gaze fixed on his cousin. So much so that his jaw tightened and he felt the food digging into his gums. "Thought it was always those two trapsing around the country side. And now your uncle is asking for you with a price on your head." He tutted his tongue and leaned over the table so that only Quintus could hear him.

"You think he's capable of saving you?"

Renly pulled back from Quintus but held his gaze. The question no doubt swimming around in his head and the answer on his lips before he'd even finished it. Cesare was walking nearer to them, his eyes lingering on the pair but Renly moved his gaze back to prince and continued. "From your uncle. From whatever happened with your brother. From all these bad men and bad luck on your tail." He paused, popping another piece of fruit into his mouth and chewed a few chews before that smiled clung to his features. "Do you think my cousin can save you from yourself?" His uncle hadn't been wrong about how easy it would be to pick him apart. And perhaps it had a little to do with the alcohol he'd had just a little while before. But he felt on fire. Felt as though he had been tasked with this for a reason. He couldn't fail. He wouldn't fail.

"Oh, come now." He smiled again, pulling back just enough to scope out the rest of the spread between them. He picked up something he thought to be a sweet. Hoped it was anyway. "We both know I'm not the only one that wants or needs something from this court. Tell me. Maybe I can help too."

[workofheart]

I love ur Levi's crush headcanons ❤️ it's true that he will keep an eye on his crush but he will never confess tho..

But what do u think IF he happens to confess? Under what circumstances? 👁️👄👁️

hmm levi confessing... a tough one anon! but i may have an idea or two ;) i really liked writing this, so thank you so much!

levi confessing

okay, so as i’ve mentioned previously, i think levi would much rather not verbally confess. in most cases, he would try to make it obvious through his actions and kind of push you to take the hint and make of it what you will, bc at the end of the day he still wants you to know even if you don’t reciprocate just to get it off his chest. there’s a couple ways this can go:

the one where it’s indirect

in this instance, i believe it’s one where you probably picked up on the hint after some time, and call attention to it. probably the most likely way

some night in his office, he maybe does you another favor, and you just kind of say jokingly, “you’re so nice to me, levi. you got a crush on me or something?”

he freezes up, kind of looks around, maybe adjusts his cravat because he doesn’t know what to do with his hands. doesn’t reply and lets it hang in the air.

“wait... you have a crush on me?”

he clears his throat and averts his eyes and mutters a quiet, “yeah, you could say that.”

and he’s so, so relieved when you just brush it off, taking a sip of the tea he brought you and just saying something like, “oh, well you should have said that sooner. i kind of like you, too.”

“really?” he asks with a tad too much excitement spilling off his tone. “i mean, um, that’s good to hear. i’ll...i’ll talk to you tomorrow.” and just takes his leave as quickly as possible. don’t worry though, after he looks that both ends of the hallway are clear, he smiles to himself on the way back to his office.

the one where he’s traditional

in the case that you are utterly oblivious to said hints, he has to find a way to be direct about it. it takes a lot of encouragement, probably some hyper pep talks from hange or some comments from underlings of how he’s been grumpy lately, to convince him that he just has to do it regardless of the outcome

he doesn’t want to make a big deal about it, first and foremost. he wants it to be private, he wants it to be honest, but he doesn’t want it to be some sort of dramatic confession where he’s pouring his heart out. he just wants to talk to you,  person to person, and tell you how he feels. 

he keeps pushing it off until he can’t anymore and just comes to you one day after a meeting and invites you to take a walk with him. you probably take a stroll around the grounds fairly quiet, maybe some small talk here and there, until you’re in the courtyard and just like “okay what’s wrong?”

god, he’s so nervous, the thought makes me so T-T he’s rarely like this, but the moment he has to do it is here and he’s alone with you and he just has to it now because he’s tired of chickening out whenever he has the opportunity

and he comes to a stop in a secluded spot and turns to face you, takes a deep, maybe somewhat annoyed breath, and resigns to say: “i have feelings for you. i don’t mean to make you uncomfortable and i don’t expect anything from you, i just wanted you to know because it’s been bothering me. that’s all. sorry for bringing you all the way out here.” 

by the end of it, his head is hanging because he can’t bear to see your reaction and look you in the face with how he’s acting. prays there aren’t any cadets around to see him like this.

“don’t be sorry,” you say with a shy smile tugging at your lips, and his face just perks in the cutest fucking way. “i feel the same.”

the one where it’s an accident

remember how i said he might be getting a little grumpy? it’s because he’s frustrated with his own feelings, with how you can’t seem to notice them, and just a lot of inner turmoil going on

i can easily see it getting a little overwhelming for him. so when you come to see him and check up on him (one of the reasons he began to like you so much), he might just snap and let it out without meaning to in an angry comment

probably starts with him scolding you after a mission, something like, “you were being careless.”

“i took the risk i thought was necessary. i was doing it for it for the sake of the mission, and you know what? it got us what we needed and i’m fine, so i don’t get what the problem is.”

“and what if you weren’t fine?” he asks, eyebrows furrowed in anger. “why can’t you see that people need you? people love you. i love you. you have to be more careful with shit like this, you can’t afford to be taking those risks because i can’t afford to lose you.”

and you start to argue back but then you’re kind of like... wait, what?

he swallows as he realizes what he’s just said, how he’s yelling at you but confessing his feelings, and he just wants to smack himself for it

“you love me?”

he scoffs, crossing his arms over his chest, because there’s no point in trying to defend it or hide it after he blatantly admitted it like that. “i thought that it was kind of obvious.”

“oh... well in that case, i thought it was kind of obvious that i love you, too.”

it’s not like a typical confession at all - you’re just kind of staring at each other with this mixture of confusion and disbelief and you’re not sure where to take it next or what to make of this new information

“...sorry for yelling at you.”

[softsergeantbarns]

Okay so the theme for this request is * Needle poisoning *

So Sam, Bucky and Y/N (Steve’s younger sister, also a super soldier from 1940s) are on a mission and things go bad when Y/N is injected in the back of her right shoulder. She doesn’t think much of it and they go home and it’s all good. When she goes to the bathroom to check on her shoulder, she sees her veins colour become noticeable on her skin but she doesn’t tell Bucky. When she’s sleeping, Bucky notices her veins have became visible on her skin. The next day he tries to talk to her abt it and she keeps brushing him off and they get into this big fight about it and she faints while he’s screaming cz of the poison. He rushes her to the hospital and Sam is there too and happy ending 😁😁

This one wasn’t as thiught out as the rest 😂 the way this was written in my notes was literally “needle poisoning” that’s it lol

I'm fine

pairing: Bucky x supersoldier!reader

summary: something goes wrong on a mission and you don't tell Bucky about it.

warnings: a bit of fighting. maybe a bit of angst? but also fluff.

wordcount: 2100+

I'm sorry it took me soooooo long to finally write this. I just had so many things to do and work and stuff. but now it's done and I hope you like it. thanks for the request. as always not proof read.

The moment Sam called Bucky you knew something was up. As always there was another bad guy Sam needed your help with. Sometimes you thought life would be easier if you guys weren’t super soldiers. No Avenger business, just you and Bucky living your best life. But no. Another mission so you all could put your life on the line.

Bucky sighed and looked at you. „Sam needs our help!“ He told you almost looking annoyed. You felt the same annoyance as him. You had planned a trip, just the two of you, to get away just for a few days. But here you where, another mission to save the world from some bad guy.

„I heard.“ You said trying to hide the annoyance in your voice. „Ive got super senses too, remember?“ You teased with a small grin to lighten up the mood.

Bucky chuckled and nodded. „Yes doll, I remember.“ He walked up to you and pulled you into a hug, holding you close to his board chest. „After this is over, we’ll go on our trip. Just you and me, promise!“

All ready and geared up you waited for Sam and all the details you needed to get this thing done. It wasn’t like you didn’t want to help Sam. Just sometimes you wished you could have some down time. But helping Sam would always be your und Bucky first priority. He was your brothers best friend after all. Bucky and Sam were the only people who made you feel like Steve was still there and hadn’t just left you like he did. You weren’t mad at him, you just wished sometimes that he was still here.

After what felt like hours Sam finally picked you and Bucky up. With an apologetic look on his face he looked at you sighed as the two of you got on the quinjet. „I’m really sorry to do this!“ He said. „I know you guys had plans!“

You smiled at him and shrugged. „Oh well, fuck our plans.“ You said and grinned at him to make him feel better. „The government needs us. So of course we’re here to help Captain America!“

Sam smiled at you before he started the quinjet. You sat down next to Bucky and put your head down on his shoulder.

„The senator got some informations about a group who’s producing some weird poison.“ He started to tell you about the mission. „We don’t really know what it does just that they threatened the government to let into the groundwater. I already figured out where their lab is. They want us to stop them. By any means necessary!“

„So what’s the plan?“ Bucky asked Sam with a weird feeling, that Sam didn’t has a plan, as always Bucky would say.

„Well, we go in there, destroy everything, take those people in custody and then we’re basically done.“ Sam grinned proudly at Bucky. „It’ll be easy, I promise!“

You couldn’t help but laugh at Sam and shook your head. „Easy? If it would be that easy, Captain America wouldn’t need us!“ You said and looked at him while you rose an eyebrow at him. „Cut the crap Captain Birdman and be real with us!“

Bucky looked at you impressed the way you stood up to Sam and nodded. „What she said, Captain Birdman!“

Sam sighed. „Fine, I know it won’t be that easy, okay?“ He said and pinched the bridge of his nose. „They’re highly dangerous because we don’t know anything about the substance they’re brewing over there. And so I thought I could use some help from my best friends. Tinman and little Rodgers!“

Bucky stared at him thinking about punching Sam in the face for a moment.

You just rolled your eyes at Sam and sighed. „I really hope that this goes fast. Because if not, Captain Birdman, I’m coming for you!“

The quinjet finally landed and you all got out. You looked around but you where in the middle of nowhere in a forest. Perfect, you thought. But in the end it didn’t take you guys long to find the lab. It also didn’t take you long to find a way in. Sam messed with their security system so you could get in there without being noticed.

Of course they had security guys you had to fight. While Sam and Bucky thought those guys you made your way through the white halls looking for the scientists that were responsible for the poison you guys knew nothing about.

Finally you found the main part of the lab, people with white coats everywhere. They were on high alert since they heard the fighting and the alarm. On the other hand, they were scientists. Fighting wasn’t their thing, right?

Oh boy, you were so wrong. As soon as they got out of their chairs the fight started. And they were good, almost too good. But you were better in hand to hand combat. It didn’t take you long to take them down. One after another came for you but you were stronger. At least you thought that this was the case. You didn’t see the one that came creeping up behind you.

Suddenly you felt a small pain at the back of your right shoulder. You turned your head around looking over your shoulder just to see a little syringe popping out of your shoulder. With a deep breath you pulled it out, knowing damn well what is was. But right now you didn’t had the time to think about it. The dude in the white coat was still standing behind you with an evil grin on his face. You whipped your leg around and kicked him hard into the stomach, wiping away that grin on his face. When he stood there, bending over and holding his stomach you rammed your knee into his face knocking him out immediately.

„I’m done here!“ You said over the com, looking around and feeling a bit proud of your solo work you did, totally forgetting, that you got injected with the poison.

Sam and Bucky came to help you take all of them into custody before you all got out of the lab. Just like you were supposed to do you destroyed the lab.

When you finally arrived to your flat both you and Bucky were exhausted. Neither one of you was in the mood to do anything at all. You hated the exhaustion after a mission. Sometimes it felt like wasted time.

After a quick shower to clean yourself, you changed into a tanktop and some shorts before you fell into you shared bad. It didn’t take Bucky long to follow you. Every muscle in your body was hurting and you closed your eyes for a moment, trying to relax.

Next to you Bucky sighed softly. „I’m too old for this shit.“ He said and looked over at you, softly pulling you closer to him.

You hummed in agreement and snuggled up to him, softly yawing. „The next two weeks we should turn off our phones and just leave!“ You mumbled almost half asleep already.

Bucky next to you chuckled and nodded. „Sounds like a perfect plan.“ He softly leaned in and kissed you on top of your head. „Sleep well, doll.“

Bucky woke up before, as always. He looked over at your sleeping frame and smiled to himself. You always looked so peaceful when you were sleeping. Like nothing was bothering you. His brows frowned lightly as he took a closer look at you. Even it was still somewhat dark in your bedroom he could clearly see the veins on your body. Black veins were running down you right arm and your back. Something wasn’t right. Something you didn’t tell him.

He softly shook you until you were awake. Well, barley awake. With half opened eyes you looked over at him, confused why he would wake you up. He never woke you up after a mission.

„What’s wrong?“ You asked, sleep still thick in your voice.

„What happened in that lab?“ He asked you and sat up, looking sternly at you.

Confused you looked up at him before slowly sitting up. Only then you noticed the visible veins on your skin. You rolled your eyes and got up. „Nothing to worry about!“ You told him and hoped he would drop it.

But Bucky wouldn’t be Bucky if he just dropped it. He was worried about you and hated it when you didn’t take things as serious as they should be taken. „Oh cut the crap!“ He said as he got up to get a closer look. „Just tell me!“

You crossed your arms over your chest and shook your head. „It’s nothing, Bucky, I promise.“ You told him again, not in the mood to argue. „It’ll be back to normal tonight probably. Nothing happened, alright?“

Annoyed Bucky sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. „Why can’t you just talk to me for once?“

„Talk to you for once?“ You asked him in disbelief. „I always talk to you, this isn’t just worth talking about so just drop it, alright?“

It went back in forth like this. Both of you being stubborn and getting angry at each other.

„Fine, if you stop pushing, I’ll tell you!“ You tried to sound as calm as possible. „I got injected, okay? But I’m fine. Like I said, nothing to worry!“

Bucky couldn’t believe what he just heard. Why wouldn’t you tell him something like that? „And you didn’t think for one minute to tell me this?“ He asked you disappointed as he sighed. „We don’t even know what this is and you didn’t tell me? Why?“

Again you rolled your eyes at him. „Because you always make such a deal out of it!“ You said and sighed as well, still feeling exhausted from the mission. At least that’s what you thought. „I’m fine, okay? So no big deal!“

„No big deal? Are you kidding me? Look at your veins, like thats normal!“ He said loudly and shook his head. „How could you be so stubborn and won’t tell me? That is a big deal. Probably a way bigger deal than you think it is.“ He wanted to say more but he didn’t had the time.

Suddenly everything went black and you fainted. Bucky caught you before you could hit the floor. He wanted to panic but he knew that there was no time to panic. He needed to get you to a hospital as soon as possible.

Your whole body hurt. Your limbs were heavy and you couldn’t really move. You heard muffled voices and beeping machines. Slowly you tried to open your eyes but as soon as the bright light hit your eyes you closed them again. You groaned as you tried to open your eyes again. When they were open you slowly looked around, trying to figure out where you were.

„Bucky?“ You asked with a hoarse voice, looking for your partner in crime and in love.

He smiled in relief when your eyes met his. „You scared me there for a minute, doll!“ He said softly as he looked at you.

„What happened?“

„Remember how you got injected with that poison you didn’t tell me about?“ Bucky asked you, slowly brushing some hair out of your face. „Turned out it poisoned your blood and was about to make it boil inside of your body, burning you from the inside. Thank god we got here in time!“

You groaned and closed your eyes again, trying to process everything he just told you. „Like I said, no big deal!“

„Yeah, no!“ He said and shook his head. „I swear to god, if you don’t tell me something like this again I’ll probably kill you!“

You laughed weakly which turned into a cough. „You won’t kill me, you love me too much!“

Bucky already wanted to answer when the door opened and Sam walked sheepishly in.

„You really told Captain Birdman about this?“ You groaned at Bucky and sighed. „No need to tell me how irresponsible this was. I know, okay?“

„Well, it was pretty irresponsible and if you pull shit like that again I won’t take you on any mission I got!“ Sam said and smiled at you. „I’m just glad you’re alright. Please, next time just say something. Can’t lose my best friend.“ Sam took your hand and squeezed it lightly.

„I promise, Captain Birdman, I’ll never do something like that again!“ You joked and grinned at his annoyed look. You loved how he already hated his new nickname.

Bucky kissed the top of your head and smiled softly at you. „I’m glad you’re fine now!“

[ignitedbynatsu]

He Makes You Feel Insecure ~ Jellal

A/N: I did Jellal as requested! Freed will be up next 🤩 Once again thank you all so much for the support. I love seeing people binge read the series it makes my heart swoon 🥺 ANyWaz if you have a request don’t hesitate to ask 🥰

warnings: insecurities (he makes you feel like you are stubborn and a know-it-all), cursing

genre: angst to fluff

Other versions:

Gray ~ Laxus ~ Cobra/Erik ~ Bickslow ~ Gajeel ~ Natsu ~ Freed ~ Sting ~ Rogue

💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫

"You shouldn't have gone" Jellal frowned as he saw you disinfecting the wound on your upper arm. It was nothing too serious, but you'd rather be safe than sorry later.

You jumped lightly by his sudden presence, making you press harder on the wound than necessary, a groan leaving your mouth soon after.

"I wanted too" you shrugged as you spared him a glance over your shoulder before tending back to the cut.

"I told you it wasn't safe" he crossed his arms, patience slowly running out.

"And I told you I could handle it" you bit back, wrapping the wound up, shielding it from the outside world in the progress.

"Look where that got you" he deadpanned at your carelessness.

"I'm fine, Jellal. It's only a small cut. You don't have to make a big deal out of it" you rolled your eyes as you stood up, finally facing him.

Frustration had clearly taken over his posture as his eyes narrowed at you "you always do this. You always go against my commands. You walk around all high and mighty like nothing can touch you, but guess what, love, I'm in charge here. You follow my rules. You obey my orders. If you can't do that then go somewhere else."

Normally your heart would have stopped at the sound of him using a pet name for you, but not this time. Not when it was used with that much coldness, it nearly sends shivers down your spine.

"If you wanted someone to blindly obey you, you should've gotten a dog" you replied with the same coldness he just used as you walked away from him and towards where Meredy was seated.

"Are you okay?" she gave you a soft smile as you let out a frustrated sigh while sitting next to her on the ground.

"Sometimes I really wonder why he hired me as a spy. It's like he didn't like me from the moment we first meet." You mumbled as you rubbed your hands over your face "he never gives anyone of you any shit for the things you do, so why does he always have to scold me?"

Meredy stayed quiet at your rant, knowing damn well why he chose you as his spy and not anyone else, but she knew that if she told you the truth right now, you'd just laugh at it. "Maybe you should talk with him about it"

"No he always says I'm stubborn when I talk back..." you trailed off, realization dawning on you.

Is that why he didn't like you? You were always more vocal about your opinion than others, but you never really saw it as an issue. The more you thought about it, the more you realized he was right. You always fought him on his opinion, never giving in, not even when you knew you were in the wrong.

You always thought of yourself as a strong independent individual, but now you realized how annoying you must've come across for some people.

You frowned at your newfound information. Everyone probably thought of you as a know-it-all, and you hated it.

"Listen up everyone. Thanks to (Y/N) information, we found our next location. Get ready, we're leaving as soon as possible" Jellal announced. He was waiting for you to object by saying something like you should be waiting 'till morning, so everyone was well-rested, but it never came.

Everyone's head turned to look at you in confusion by your lack of vocalizing your opinion.

You were just silently staring at the ground, not even noticing everyone's eyes were facing you, as you recollect all of your memories of the time you were being stubborn. You cringed at the flashback, wishing you would have shut your mouth from time to time.

Everyone started to get ready to leave once they realized you weren't gonna say anything. Meredy softly hit you in the ribs to snap you out of your mental prison.

You smiled softly at her, before getting ready as well.

Jellal's eyes never left your body. Sure he just scolded you for always going in against his commands, but he didn't think you'd listen. You never listened, so what changed?

You ventured in the direction of the next rogue dark guild and set camp again at a safe distance.

"So what's the plan?" Meredy asked as she just finished setting up her tent.

"We need to find out with how many they are and the entrance to the guild" Jellal replied as he looked at a map. He had marked the place of the guild with a red circle and was now observing the surroundings to see if they were in your favor.

"I could always go scout" you suggested.

"No, it's too dangerous. They're already on high alert after they caught you spying on them yesterday" he shot your request down.

You bit your tongue in an attempt to stop you from protesting and just nodded instead.

Jellal looked up at you and frowned when he didn't hear anything from you. By now you'd usually come up with a clever way to get around the obstacle, but this time no words left your mouth. Not even a dissatisfied noise. It was pure radio silence.

The blue-haired mage did not know how to react. On one side he was relieved because he wouldn't have to worry you getting hurt again, but on the other side, he missed the little quarrel you two had when you went against him.

He didn't actually mind that you always had such a strong opinion. It challenged him to make his plans more thorough.

By nightfall, you had hardly said a word to anyone. You did not speak unless spoken to. You didn't even react to certain things everyone knew you had an opinion on.

Everyone had gone to sleep except you. It was common for you to be the last one awake, you liked the silence the night gave you. However, this time you cursed yourself for having such a messed up sleeping schedule as the silence was deafening. You were once again trapped in your mental prison, only this time there was no one to help you escape, or so you thought.

"It's a beautiful night tonight," Jellal said softly as he took a seat next to you in front of the crackling fire.

Your head snapped up at him, not expecting he was still awake, but his eyes were cast upwards, looking at the clear sky that held so many stars and secrets.

"Yeah" you mumbled as you shifted your eyes from his face to look up as well.

It wasn't the first time you had stargazed together. You loved doing it when you were welcomed by the silence of the night. Jellal joined you from time to time when he knew you all had an off day the next day.

His gaze landed on you as you looked at the distance lights that resembled stars. An idea popped up in his head "look it's the Ursa Major"

He pointed at somewhere completely different, making you frown. You quickly covered it up with a smile "yeah"

"Okay, stop it," Jellal said, his eyes already trained on you when you snapped your attention towards him at his sudden outburst.

"What do you mean?" You asked.

"You know damn well what I mean" He replied "you knew that constellation was not the Ursa Major, we've been stargazing for months"

"Must have mistaken the one you were pointing at" you mumbled in response as you broke eye contact to look at the campfire instead.

"No you didn't" he sighed, his eyes also shifting from you to the fire "why aren't you voicing your opinion."

"I thought you didn't like it when I went against you?" You frowned. "Isn't that why you don't like me in the first place"

This time it was his turn to frown as the words left your lips. Did you really think he didn't like you? "Of course I like you"

You scoffed at his response "Really? Cause no matter what I do, I always seem to disappoint you. You never complain when the others do something wrong so why do you only give me crap?"

"It's because I like you," he said as his gaze shifted once again to look at you.

You laughed dryly at that, but he wasn't having it "(Y/N), look at me" you obeyed and locked eye contact with him "I really like you"

"No, you don't" you whispered as he slowly inched closer, his eyes flickering to your lips for a mere second before looking back at your eyes.

"But I do" he whispered back "tell me when to stop"

You didn't say anything as his lips grazed yours. You closed the gap in anticipation as your hands immediately found your way to his hair.

His hand softly cupped your cheek, while the other one was on your lower back.

Your lips moved perfectly in sink as his tongue softly grazing against your bottom lip, asking permission to enter which you granted.

You gasped as he explored your mouth and pulled you closer, so you were now in his lap, both legs on either side of his.

If he hadn't pulled apart, you for sure would've forgotten to breathe, already addicted to the sweet taste of his lips.

Your foreheads were pressed together as you both breathed heavily. His eyes were closed while you admired the man in front of you.

"I really really like you. I'm sorry if I made you feel like your opinion wasn't validated. I only scold you because I couldn't bear the thought of something happening to you" he whispered as he slowly lifted his eyelids to look at you. "I really am sorry for making you feel like I didn't like you"

"I forgive you" you whispered back as you pecked him softly on the lips.

"Great now that's cleared, can you guys go fuck somewhere else? People are trying to sleep over here" Cobra spoke up, startling you both. A pink tone crossed your cheeks as Jellal chuckled softly, careful not to wake the others up.

You hid your face in the crook of his neck "I hate you"

He pulled you closer as he laid a hand on the back of your head "no you don't"

"Yeah, you're right"

[taestefully-in-luv]

The Island | KTH (Three)

Summary: You’re just two strangers waking up in a room on a lonely island where a company in the business of love has placed you. They believe that thanks to their in depth research you two are destined soulmates. What happens when your ‘soulmate’ and you want nothing to do with each other but falling in love is the only way to leave?

Pairing: Taehyung x Female reader

Genre: strangers to lovers, very slight enemies to lovers, soulmates au, roommate au, slow burn, fluff, smut, angst, slight crack, and drama.

Word Count: 10.5k

Warnings: swearing, sexual tension (?)

Notes: Hi everyone! Here’s ch3 of the island, hope you guys like it. let me know if you want to be added to the taglist, or send an ask if just want to chat about the stories!:)

taglist: @ggukkieland @monvieesdaebak @707sblog @peacedreamer14 @dopedreamfireparty @everythingnamjoon @taebae19 @typicalgenzworld @mooniyooni @getmemyfries

© taestefully-in-luv

Previous --- Next

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

“Okay here goes…” Taehyung preps himself to read the ‘Request’. “The two subjects,” He pauses, rubbing his hands dry on his sweats. “Are required to experience a first date with at least 3 romantic gestures.” He pauses again, blinks at the screen then turns to face you. “A first date? These people want us to what? Have a romantic dinner?”

“So we just have to like, have dinner together…” you begin, turning away from him to face the screen yourself, “That’s not that bad.” You admit.

“What the hell counts as a romantic gesture though?” Taehyung runs a hand through his hair as he continues to look at you. “Like, maybe I cook for you?”

“That’s not a bad idea for a romantic gesture…but that’s if you’re wanting to go through with the request…we could always check out what the penalty is…” you look at him with tired eyes and he frowns at you.

“Remember you talked about how if a request is ‘pure’ enough…” he begins, “That we could just do it. This request isn’t so bad. Let’s just do it.”

“Hm…” you look down at your feet. “But how do we split up the gestures?”

“I’ll do two and you can do one.” He offers with a strained smile, he takes a step back from you and looks all around the room, “It’ll be fine.” He assures you.

“This is so awkward.” You breathe out, then you notice more words showing up on the T.V screen.

“What’s that?” you ask, squinting your eyes. “There’s more?”

“I’ll read it…” Taehyung inches closer to the TV. “Tip:” he says, “Studies show that women are attracted to men wearing blue.” Taehyung scoffs then starts laughing.

“Well, I know what not to wear.” His eyes slide to the side to look at you and he sighs out. “Do you like blue?”

“I don’t really care.” You pinch your nose in annoyance. “We have 24 hours to do this—”

“Tonight, we can do it tonight.” He gets out in a rush, “It’s really our only opportunity for dinner, don’t you think?”

“Oh that’s true.” You huff “Fine.”

“Why are you in such a bad mood?” Taehyung eyes you, “It’s just dinner…”

“No, it’s not that…I just have no idea what to do for a romantic gesture.” You admit, feeling annoyed.

“Oh.” He starts to chuckle, “I can do all three?” he offers with a smile and you shake your head.

“No, that’s not fair.” You say. “Plus, wow…do you really have that many romantic gestures up your sleeve?”

“Something like that.” His cocky grin tells you everything you need to know. Perhaps Taehyung is quite the player in his real life?

“Let’s just meet tonight…”

“I’ll pick you up at your bedroom door once the sun starts setting.” He says and you nod your head in agreeance.

What even makes something romantic? This will probably just be like any other dinner…and for that you’re thankful. You don’t think you can handle the pressures of a real date. But you suppose you will still put some effort. How fancy does this have to be? Should you ask Taehyung?

“Um…” you bite on your lips and Taehyung looks you over, his eyes falling to your mouth as you chew on it.

“What?” he finally asks.

“How should I dress?” you gesture towards your body and Taehyung’s mouth opens to say ‘Ah’ and he nods.

“Something really nice. Maybe a dress, if you want?” he tilts his head, “I mean, I’m not trying to tell you what to wear.”

“That would be easier for me.” You laugh. “Have someone pick my outfits for me.”

“I could look in your closet—”

“I was kidding, Taehyung.”

~~~~~~~~

You stand in your closet and look at all your options—you have a lot. This place was not messing around…they must have known dates were coming because there is a variety of dresses that are quite fancy to choose from. Your fingers drag over the material of a few dresses when your hand stops on a cute black number. You take it off the hanger and push it up against your frame and eye yourself in the mirror…this is cute, really cute. You decide to try it on when your eyes widen in pleasant surprise. The dress fits perfectly—it’s smooth over your curves and has an open back. You approve.

You have been thinking all day what your romantic gesture is going to be but come up empty handed. You have absolutely no idea…you were never the romantic type exactly. Your ex wasn’t that romantic…and neither were you so it’s okay. But you don’t have too much experience in this field and you’re starting to stress out. Taehyung asked that you stay out of the kitchen while he cooks you two dinner…he wants it to be a surprise. The biggest surprise is that Taehyung is okay with all of this, that he agreed to do the request in the first place. You were sure he was going to want to check out the penalty and avoid spending any more time with you than necessary.

For the first time since being on the island you decide on wearing some makeup. Just some light foundation, mascara, and some lip stick. The look is simple yet kind of sexy—if you do say so yourself. It’s been several hours now…you walk to your window and pull back the drapes, the sun is starting to set. Taehyung should be here at any moment and you have to admit your nerves are starting to spike. But you have to remind yourself this isn’t a real date, this is just a show for the cameras. You’re basically being forced into this. Taehyung is being forced into this…you can’t help but frown. You walk back into the bathroom and look into the mirror…did you try too hard? Is this look too much? You’re about to wipe off the lipstick when you hear light knocking on your bedroom door. Welp, here goes nothing.

You stand in front of your door with the knowledge that Taehyung is just on the other side waiting for you and you feel you stomach feel all weird. You hate this. Is this just anxiety? Then there is more knocking on the door, breaking you out of your daze. You reach for the knob and turn it and begin to slowly open the door. And then you see him. Taehyung is wearing a dark long sleeve button up shirt that is tucked into his black pants…you notice how his hair is slightly parted and not as messy as usual and you internally chuckle. He looks at you with an awkward smile before he’s bringing a small “bouquet” of flowers between your bodies.

“For you.” He says.

You tilt your head to the side with a small smile and reach for the flowers and he sighs out in relief.

“Gesture number 1, complete.” He grins and you laugh.

“Where did you even get these?”

“I picked them around the island.” He admits sheepishly, “Sorry they’re all different sizes.”

Taehyung scratches the back of his neck for a few moments before motioning towards the downstairs.

“Should we go have dinner now?”

“Sure.”

You can smell food immediately as you two make your way into the kitchen, it smells delicious and is that…garlic bread you smell? God, you would kill for some garlic bread.

“What did you make?” you ask as you begin to take a seat at the dining room table.

“Actually,” Taehyung grabs you gently by the arm, “I was thinking we could eat on the patio?”

“Oh?” you rise from the seat as he guides you by the arm, “That sounds nice.”

“Wait for me here, I’ll grab the wine and glasses.” He lets go of your arm and heads to the kitchen island. He grabs the two wine glasses and the bottle and nods towards the entry way where the back door is.

You make your way out to the back when you notice the table is set up with two plates and a lit candle.

“Is this gesture number 2?” you ask, gesturing towards the table when Taehyung scoffs.

“This is hardly a romantic gesture. How low are your standards? This is just a part of the date.” He chuckles and you can’t help but feel slightly embarrassed. Are your standards low? Because this is crazy to you…this feels over the top.

“Then what’s your second gesture?”

“Always so greedy for information.” He says under his breath, “You have to wait and see.” He sets the glasses down and pours a generous amount of wine into each. Then he is pulling out your chair for you to sit, “Here.” He says. You follow his lead and sit in the chair, feeling overwhelmed with the kindness. Is this how he dates? Is this how he usually is?

“Thanks…” you mumble.

“I’ll be back with dinner.”

You watch as Taehyung heads back inside and you sigh out heavily…this is all so weird. So awkward. Why is Taehyung being so fucking civil? He hasn’t complained even once? You stare out at the pool, the water looks so fresh and cool. The sky is lit up in pinks and purples and everything feels so lovely…and nothing makes you feel more nauseous.

Finally, Taehyung makes his way back outside with a bowl of…pasta? Noodles and what seems to be chicken.

“Chicken Piccata” he states, his voice low and hesitant. “I know Italian food is very popular for dates.” He admits shyly.

“You cooked this?”

“I don’t know if it even tastes good but lets try it.” He shovels some of the pasta on to your plate and then on to his.

“It smells really good.” You notice he also brought a bowl of bread. “But I really want this.” You reach for the garlic bread with grabby hands.

“Greedy.” He mutters under his breath with a half smile. “So god damn greedy.”

Taehyung takes a seat across from you and watches you with careful eyes as you cut into the chicken and take a bite.

“Well?”

“Jesus Taehyung, maybe you really should listen to your ancestors. This is delicious,” you moan into the food and he grins excitedly.

“Really? Really?” he starts digging into his own food and groans out when he takes his first bite, “Wow, it really is good.”

“You’re surprised? You didn’t test try it?”

“You were my test subject.”

“Oh thanks.” You deadpan.

Taehyung chuckles as he takes another bite of his food, he reaches for the wine and you do the same.

“Cheers.” He says and you roll your eyes.

“What exactly are we saying cheers to?”

“…Don’t be a brat.” He warns. “Let’s just get through this.”

“Why are you taking it so seriously?” you finally ask and he releases a long breath, his eyes looking all around the backyard.

“Because we need to pass it. What if we half ass it and fail, still get hit with the penalty then the half we did try for was for nothing? Better to just go for it and make sure we pass.”

“Oh…that makes sense. I was wondering why you were being so…”

“So what?” he leans his head forward.

“Decent.” You admit. Taehyung looks at you with wide eyes then he closes them slowly.

“y/n…” he opens them and stares at you with such a serious expression. “I was going to talk about this later…but I guess I can bring it up now.”

“Bring what up?”

“I really have been wanting to talk to you but just didn’t really know how…” he admits softly, “I wanted to…I wanted to apologize. I wanted to say sorry for…”

“For?” you ask with a raised brow, waiting expectantly.

“My strategy was stupid and obviously did not work.” He continues, “We have been here a little over two months, right? I don’t think they’re giving up on us.” he says awkwardly.

“But,” he looks at you seriously again, “I’m still not going to like, fall in love with you or anything but I can see us…getting along.” He says between soft breaths. “I won’t be avoiding you anymore is basically what I am saying.”

“You don’t have to constantly remind me of that, I get it. And same goes for you.”

“I’m tired of forcing myself…I just want to be normal.”

“Normal?”

“I’ve been such an ass to you…” his lips curve downwards and you feel your heart pinch in your chest.

“Yeah, you have.”

“You haven’t been the nicest all the time either though.” He reminds you and you feel yourself grow red.

“Fine, maybe not.”

“But I know that’s my fault.” He takes a sip of his wine, the drink leaving a purple tint to his lips. “I’m not usually like that…it’s just…it’s just—”

“I know.” You bring your own wine to your mouth and gulp down the glass. “We are in a tense situation, everyone reacts differently. I wasn’t the most mature either…”

“I wasn’t the most mature either,” Taehyung mocks, “Yeah, no shit.” He says and you rolls your eyes to the back of your head.

“I get it, you think I am a brat.”

“Because you are.” He deadpans. You two stare at one another before you are both breaking into a grin, laughter leaving your lips.

“I think we could get along.” Taehyung admits. “In a totally platonic way, of course.”

“Of course.” You assure him, going in for more of your pasta. “But what makes you think we can get along?”

“y/n…” he rolls his eyes, “Don’t act like you don’t think you could get along with me.” He smirks. “I know you want to get to know me more for starters.”

You blush at his statement, you twirl your fork in the noodles and take a bite.

“That’s normal.” You say. “We live together, of course I want to know you more.”

“Little bit little.” Taehyung promises. “Let’s eat.”

You two make small talk while eating your dinner and drinking your wine. You observe Taehyung as you two sit at this table, he smiles a lot more and laughs a lot more. The way he speaks…you realize he is a lot more innocent than you first imagined.

“And when I got the flowers I low key felt bad because what if they die so soon? I should have left them, shouldn’t I have?” he pouts and you laugh at his dramatics and he continues, “But I thought it would be considered romantic.” His light blush doesn’t go unnoticed by you.

“We can try to keep them alive as long as possible.” You promise with a slur. Taehyung quirks a brow at you, a face full of amusement as he eyes you over.

“Tipsy already?” he asks, a dark chuckle escaping his lips. “Let’s do the second gesture before you’re drunk.”

“What’s the second gesture?” you question and he stands up from his chair and extends his hand out for you to grab.

“Come with me.”

“What about our dishes?”

“I’ll come back for them later.”

You grab onto his large hand and he holds on to yours tightly as he helps you stand up, then you are quickly letting go. He leads you back inside into the living room and you stand here awkwardly as he messes with the vinyl.

“We’re going to listen to some music?” you ask and Taehyung glances your way and offers you a soft smile.

“Sort of.”

“Sort of?”

Then he’s got some slow, jazzy song playing in the background. He walks towards you and offers you his hand again.

“We’re going to dance.” He says, his voice soft and low like a hum. “Take my hand,”

“What? No way!” you shake your head and he chuckles, “I don’t like to dance!” you take a step back from him.

“You barely have to do anything, just move side to side.” He looks at you, clearly amused once again.

“This is so embarrassing.”

“Pretend they aren’t watching.”

“Even if no one else was watching I would still be embarrassed.” You set your lips into a straight line, “This is so awkward.”

“Just take my hand and follow my lead.”

You give Taehyung a look of defeat before you’re taking his hand…you grab onto it and Taehyung closes his hand around yours firmly as he guides you to the center of the living room. He hesitantly pulls you in closer, your feet clumsily moving towards him.

“You can come closer you know?” Taehyung smirks. You look up at him with doe eyes and he softens just the slightest. “Come closer.” He softly commands, pulling your body even closer to his.

His other hand travels to your bare back, his fingers sliding delicately over your skin and you close your eyes at the contact.

“By the way…Uh, never mind.” Taehyung shakes his head with an awkward smile.

“What?”

“No, nothing.”

“Just tell me, would you?”

“This dress is really nice.” He breathes out, his hand finally settling on the small of your back.

“I thought so too.” You look up at him and he narrows his eyes at you.

“Say thank you.” He pulls you in a little closer, swaying you to the lovely music.

“Fine, thank you.” You tilt your head up more to get a better look at him, “Your outfit is nice too?”

“That’s a question?” he laughs, “You are the worst on dates.”

“It’s not like this is a real date.” You whisper and he rolls his eyes.

“So you’re saying you’re usually better at this?”

“No comment.” You playfully remark, “Is dating like your specialty?”

“Not really, but I try.” He leans his head down. “Do you think I’m good at it?” “No comment.” You say and Taehyung chuckles into your neck, his breaths hitting your sensitive skin. He lifts his head back up and stares into your eyes for a few moments, his gaze lingering for far too long.

“What?” you break contact, looking to the side.

“You’re wearing makeup.”

“Should I not have?”

“No, it looks nice. Different.” He admits, “It’s the first time, right?”

“Yeah.”

Taehyung’s fingers glide up your back, he feels how soft your skin is as he stares down at you with his intense gaze.

“Do you like backless clothing?” you blurt out and Taehyung’s eyes expand in surprise, he’s immediately bringing his hand back down to your waist and clears his throat awkwardly.

“Why? Why do you ask that?”

“You keep feeling my skin.” You tell him shamelessly. “Not that it isn’t nice but it’s a little weird don’t you think?” you chuckle and he starts to turn a lovely shade of pink.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to. I did it mindlessly.” He chokes out and you laugh.

“It’s okay.” You lean up, surprising Taehyung…he starts to panic as he feels you get closer and closer. You peck his cheek, leaving such warmth behind as you lean away from him again.

“What—what was that for?”

“My romantic gesture.” A sly smile plays at your lips, “I couldn’t think of anything else, sorry.”

Taehyung lets go of your hand and takes a step away from you, he hates the blush that creeps on his cheeks, turning him into a tomato.

“So we did all three gestures then?” he asks shyly.

“I guess that means the date can end…” you look at him with a smile. “Goodnight Tae—”

“I won’t be avoiding you anymore.” He cuts you off, “We can hang out whenever.”

“Oh?”

“I’m serious about what I said earlier, I really am sorry.”

“I believe you Taehyung.” You say softly and he can’t help the smile that adorns his face.

“It’s still early…we can play a game or something?”

“How about we start with cleaning up?” you offer, gesturing towards the back. “Our dishes are still out there.”

“Right.”

~~~~~~

You and Taehyung sit on the living room sofa, he on one end and you on the other. You’re still wearing your fancy clothes and makeup, not wanting to completely waste the look. Taehyung is playing some game while you have your book in your hands, you’re barely paying attention to your book as Taehyung yells at the screen. There’s been no sign that you two passed the request or not. Do they not consider the date over? Your mind races…what if you two failed? You admit your gesture was kind of lame…but you truly could not think of anything else. What if it doesn’t count? But man, many things Taehyung did could count as gestures…the meal he cooked, the lit up candle, pulling out your chair…

You watch Taehyung as he plays his game, he’s concentrating so hard it makes you a little soft. He’s like an excited kid…a good look on him, you admit. Is this how he normally is? The bits and pieces you’ve seen of him where he’s kind and playful. Is that the real Taehyung? But you’ve learned first dates don’t reveal how a person really is.

“Come on, let me take you out.” He keeps coming to your desk to pester you as you grin down at the work in front of you.

“I told you no though.” You keep your eyes on your computer screen. “Like, 5 times already.”

“y/n.” he whines, “I know you want to.”

He’s not wrong…you’ve definitely thought about it the last few weeks…but you know, you really know it is not the wisest thing.

“I won’t tell anyone if you won’t.” he lightly teases, “Just one date. If you decide it’s not for you then I promise to leave you alone about it—”

“Good morning sir! I’ll have the report for you by noon.” Layla comes up to him with a smile on her face, she looks between you two and nods.

“Sounds good, thanks Layla.” He stiffens as he speaks.

You know getting involved with someone from work is probably a mistake…but your boss?

Layla nods again and walks off towards her own desk and he relaxes just a bit.

“One date, y/n.” he whispers.

“Fine, just one.” You finally give in, you can’t help the smile that graces your features.

“Great.” He breathes out, “I’ll contact you later.” He leans away from your desk and walks back to his office.

You feel the giddiness in your body rise…it’s been a while since you’ve gone on a date and he’s always been so sweet to you. Hopefully it goes well.

You sit on the sofa, anxiety starting to fill you up. Your breaths become a bit heavier as you stare down at your book and you feel your eyes gloss over. You hate this. You hate thinking about him—remembering him. It brings you down so much that it just hurts.

“Hey…” You hear Taehyung’s voice cut through your thoughts, “You okay?”

You were so lost in your own world you forgot about Taehyung and how he is sitting two feet away from you.

“Yeah,” you sigh out, “fine.”

“You sound…” he bites on his bottom lip, contemplating what to say. “Okay, if you say so. Want to play a game with me?”

“Honestly, I think I’ll get ready for bed.”

“I was thinking we can finally watch that movie…” Taehyung offers, “Or we can watch a different movie.”

“Sorry Taehyung, but I think I’ll go to bed.” You close your book and stand to your feet, the blanket falling off your body. You turn to face him and offer him an apologetic smile and begin to head upstairs. Taehyung hears your light footsteps travel up the stairs and then he’s hearing the soft click of your bedroom door closing. He sighs out heavily. Maybe this was too much for you? Are you overwhelmed?

Taehyung pauses his game, his grip tightening on the controller. Maybe he was previously too much of an asshole to you that you can’t see him any other way now. He would really hate that…he wants to not just be civil with you, but he wants to get along. You two are stuck together, might as well become something like friends.

He leans back on the sofa and groans out in subtle frustration. He doesn’t want to be frustrated…it’s not like he’s frustrated at you but more like this whole day. Did he do too much? He’s starting to feel bad…you don’t seem to use to romance. You must be overwhelmed and it’s most definitely his fault. Maybe he should talk to you? Apologize? Yes, that’s what he’s going to do.

Taehyung sits up from leaning on the couch and decides that’s exactly what he’s going to do. He’s going to go upstairs and tell you he’s sorry, he didn’t mean to freak you out, so on and so forth. He stands from the couch and makes his way upstairs until he’s knocking on your door. He knocks a few times waiting patiently but you don’t come to the door. He decides to knock again and again and again. He’s starting to wonder if you’re okay? Is it alright if he just walks in? He wants to know if you’re fine. You could be crying? You looked pretty choked up on the couch and he felt his heart drop at the sight. Last thing he wants is to make a girl cry.

So, Taehyung does what any normal human being would do—he barges in the room. There’s no sign of you in the bedroom but he does notice the bathroom door mostly closed, only left open a crack. He hears you humming one of his made up tunes and he can’t help but smile. He walks towards the bathroom door and begins to creep it open when he sees you through the crack…his pupils blow out at the sight. You’re wearing nothing but some lacey light pinky panties with a bra to match as you stare at yourself in the mirror, removing your make up. His eyes drag down the curves of your body, stopping every few moments to soak you in. He’s seen you in a bikini so this isn’t any different—so he keeps trying to tell himself. But the lace is almost see through and it has been a while since Taehyung has seen a sight like this.

He blinks at you, gulping down his spit and about to make his presence known when he realizes he looks like a peeping tom. Fuck. He doesn’t know what to do, he’s frozen here just staring at you. His eyes travel up your body until he’s staring at your face and unfortunately, very, very unfortunately, your eyes meet his in the mirror.

“Taehyung?” you whisper then your eyes turn into saucers. “What the hell!” you grab a t shirt from the counter and slip it over your body and walk towards the bathroom door. You swing it open and look at him expectantly.

“Want to tell me why the hell you’re watching me when I’m not wearing any clothes?”

Taehyung gulps again, feeling caught red handed. His blush is unimaginably rosy right now, he begins to stutter out a few words but ultimately can’t find the right ones to speak. He shamelessly skims your body again… the t shirt doing very little to hide your pink lacey panties and Taehyung feels himself grow warmer at the sight.

“I was just…” he clears his throat, calming himself down. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.” He states firmly while still growing redder and redder.

“You couldn’t have knocked? Or like announced your presence?”

“I tried.” He defends weakly. “You didn’t answer.”

“Oh.” You sigh out, “Sorry, I’ve just been in my head I guess.”

“I wanted to say sorry…”

“You’ve already apologized plenty of times, Taehyung.”

“No, for tonight. Was it too much?”

“No…” you walk a bit closer to him, “It was nice actually.” You admit. “I’m sorry you were forced to do something like that for me.” The guilt in your voice doesn’t go unnoticed by Taehyung and his lips curve downwards.

“No one forced me to do anything.”

“You wouldn’t have done it if it weren’t for that request.” You bite, “So yeah you were forced.”

Taehyung glances down at your exposed thighs, his eyes lingering on your skin and you start to feel a bit insecure under his gaze.

“I should find some shorts.” You awkwardly chuckle. “hold on.” You turn around and start to walk towards the closet. Taehyung’s eyes slide down to your ass as you walk quite slowly. He watches how your panties ride up between your cheeks and his blush deepens. Fuck, he needs to be careful where his eyes end up.

You walk back out wearing yoga pants and Taehyung sighs in relief. But he also feels disappointed because—no, he will not have these types of thoughts.

“So, are you okay?” Taehyung awkwardly swings his arms back and forth as he waits for an answer.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Great. I’ll leave you alone now.” Taehyung says, he begins to walk backwards until his legs hit the bed. You walk forward until you’re standing in front of him and he swallows down the lump in his throat.

“Try to wear clothes from now on.” He gestures towards your body with a soft smirk, he’s trying his hardest to play it cool.

“Why?” you take a step forward, “Does it cause you trouble?”

“Nah” he says cooly, “But you want these cameras zooming in on your ass?”

“There’s no cameras in here, remember?”

“As far as we know.” Taehyung rolls his eyes. “Still, you should be careful.”

“Yes sir.” You reply and he quirks a brow in amusement. “Oh?” you take another step towards him. “Please tell me that isn’t a kink of yours.”

“And if it is?”

“Good thing I’ll never find out.” You motion your hand towards your bedroom door, signaling for him to leave.

“Right.” He smirks at you, leaving you feeling strange. “Well, goodnight y/n.” he steps closer to you, his eyes boring into yours. You breathe in and out, waiting for him to turn and leave but he continues to stare into your eyes making you feel breathless.

“What?” you finally ask, your tone soft and shy.

“Pink looks good on you.” He whispers and you freeze. He smirks down at you and turns to face the bedroom door.

Taehyung makes his way out of the room and heads back downstairs. He finds himself sitting on the sofa with his head in his hands…the memory of your ass imprinted in his mind. Suddenly, the TV turns white causing Taehyung to look up.

“PASS” written on the screen and Taehyung darkly chuckles.

“Of course.”

~~~~~~~

The switch in Taehyung’s demeanor is strange to you at first. He’s still a smart ass though and loves to annoy you. But he’s mostly kind and playful. You’re the only one who is still awkward and defensive, you hate to admit it.

“My god, woman.” Taehyung groans, “Just open the door and let me see.”

“No, I look horrible!” you yell out, “I’m wearing a hat until it grows back!”

“Just let me see.” He says with a strict voice, and you hesitantly begin to open the door and he’s facing you. You see his lips twist into a troubled smile.

“Oh my god. So it does look that bad.”

Taehyung starts busting out laughing, his laughter rumbles throughout the whole house.

“No!” he rushes to get out, “Okay, maybe a little.” He continues to laugh.

“Fuck my life.” You throw your head back and Taehyung pushes his way through the bathroom.

“I’ll fix it for you.” He offers.

“You’d probably fuck it up more.”

“Notice my hair? It looks decent right? I do it myself.” He gushes over his own abilities.

“I guess that’s true…”

“Let me do it for you.” He says more softly. “Don’t be a fucking brat.”

“Stop calling me a brat.” You pout and he pats the top of your head.

“No.” he says with a grin and you roll your eyes.

“Fine, fix it.”

Taehyung beams at you and grabs the scissors.

“This is basically a trust exercise.” Taehyung points out, “Bonding.”

“This isn’t how I want to bond. Can’t we bond like normal people?”

“Nothing about our situation is normal.” He deadpans, “Plus, this is fun.”

“For you.” You grumble.

“Yeah. Maybe. Don’t be a baby.”

“I’d rather be a baby than a brat.”

“Baby y/n.” he coos, and you swat his arm. “Hey!” he laughs out. “Be nice to your hairdresser.”

“Too bad the company can’t see us in here.” Taehyung comments.

“Why?”

“They don’t see us bonding or ‘undoubtedly falling in love’ as they would say. You know just two soulmates cutting hair”

“How can you joke so easily now?” you frown.

“Coping mechanism.” Taehyung shoots you some finger guns. “does it make you uncomfortable?”

“Not really.”

“Sweet.”

“Hey Taehyung?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for being yourself. I feel more at ease now.” You admit, you look up into his eyes and inch a little closer to him. Taehyung nods his head, taking a deep breath as he inches closer to you as well.

“You just thanked me for being…me?” he whispers.

“Yeah.” You clear your throat. “You know, unlike that asshole persona you had going.”

“I don’t think it was a total persona…I think I really was being an asshole.” He admits, closing his eyes. “I’m really sorry.” He opens his eyes again and looks at you.

“We’re in this together, you know?”

“Yeah, I know.”

“What if we faked it?” you whisper so fucking quietly he almost doesn’t hear you.

“Faked it?” he whispers back.

“Fake fall in love with me…in front of the cameras.” You say in a hushed tone, stepping closer to him. “I’ll fake fall in love with you in return. We get sent home. Bam.”

Taehyung narrows his eyes at you then scoffs,

“You think they would really buy that? Plus no offense, something tells me you’re a horrible actress.”

“I’ll have you know I am great at pretend.” You stick your nose in the air. “What do we have to lose?”

“Our dignity.” He says with a straight face. “I don’t know, y/n…”

“Give it a chance, would ya?” you frown, “it might get the requests off our backs for a while…it might not be good enough to get sent home…but I’m trying Taehyung.”

Taehyung sighs out, he can tell you really are trying. More than he currently is…you are right. You guys need a plan, sitting around all day is getting you two nowhere.

“How do we convince them?” he finally asks, his voice low.

“You’re considering it?” you ask, surprised.

“Yes.”

“Okay, I don’t know.” You admit. “We can start with some innocent flirting. Then eventually move on to sweet gestures…then pet names…then…I don’t know,” you slide your eyes to the side.

“You do know. Continue.”

“We could try being affectionate. You know, eventually. I’m not saying we do anything crazy!” you throw your hands up. “But god, this is awkward.”

“Okay…I’m listening.” Taehyung whispers, “Let’s just start easy. I can flirt. But can you?”

“I’ll have you know I am quite good at acting.” You groan.

“Prove it to me. Right now.” He steps closer to you and you feel yourself blush at the close contact.

“What’s the point? Just wait…”

“No, I’m testing you.” He admits, “I want to know you can really do this.”

You take a deep breath, your big, doe eyes narrowing at him as you step closer, your face tilting up in his space. Your fingers crawl up his chest until they’re gripping the collar of his shirt. Taehyung doesn’t seem too bothered though, he just stares into your eyes.

“How badly do you want to test me?” you ask.

He gazes into your dark eyes, he allows the moments tension to build.

“Pretty badly.” He admits, licking his drying lips.

You lean up until your lips graze the shell of his ear and he gulps, “Come test me in there.” You nod towards your bedroom and Taehyung starts to feel the heat creep up on his cheeks. There’s no way you’re making him feel flustered. Maybe your ass, but not you.

“No?” You lean away from him, loosening your grip on his shirt. “Didn’t thinks so. Don’t test me Taehyung.” You take a few steps backward and grin at him.

“How was I?” you ask, folding your arms across your chest.

“Fine.” He mumbles.

~~~~~~

Month: 3

Today is a beautiful day like many of the days you’ve seen here, but you rarely go out and enjoy them. That should change. So yes, it’s a warm and sunny day, the crash of waves sounds so inviting. And you want to experience it.

“Wanna lay on the beach today?” you are laying across the sofa with your feet put up over the top.

“Why do that when we can,” Taehyung pauses, focusing on his game. You watch as he desperately pushes against the same few buttons. “Shit!”

You roll your eyes, “Come on! We need some vitamin D!”

Taehyung’s hand freezes, he turns to face you with a smirk playing at his lips. God, you know where this is going. He’s so predictable.

“You need some D?” There it is. “y/n…I told you we aren’t like th—” you kick his shoulder with your foot. Taehyung chuckles to himself, “Okay okay fine. We can get some sun, enjoy the scenery blah blah blah”

Feeling pleased, you stand from your spot on the couch. “Great! I’ll go get dressed, you do the same okay?”

“Kay” he replies back lazily, still working his fingers on the controller. You roll your eyes again as you head upstairs.

You make your way to the kitchen when you spot Taehyung standing by the back door. He’s wearing a pair of dark blue swim trunks and a towel draped over his right arm. He’s already so tan, and his body is so…Fuck, it’s annoying how hot he is. Being friends—can you say that? Friends? Well, being friends with him is easy, but the easiest thing to do when it comes to Taehyung is looking at him. Def easy on the eyes. He’s swaying back and forth out of boredom you assume, whistling some made up tune. He’s really getting into it before you interrupt him with the clearing of your throat.

You stand here awkwardly, dressed in a simple black bikini. You have your towel held over your stomach. You notice Taehyung’s eyes widen just the slightest once he spots you. He has one of the most intimidating gazes you’ve ever seen so him staring at you makes you feel even more self-conscious than you already are. He shamelessly eyes you over. God damn it, why does he have to be so obvious? You know it’s to show the cameras he has a growing interest in you. But still, it makes you feel flustered.

“W-Well, let’s go.” you whisper. Why the fuck did you have to sound so breathless, oh my god you are so pathetic.

He smiles and nods his head towards the door, “Yeah, let’s go!”

The last month you and Taehyung have spent every day together…from gaming, to watching shows and movies to watching him paint…god, you even work out together. You two have no doubt crossed over to the friendship realm but things are still a bit awkward every now and then. Like, your god damn hormones wont chill out sometimes. It’s not like you view Taehyung that way but you do have eyes.

Wow, when you say the weather is something else. The sky is a dreamy shade of blue with a few marshmallow clouds painted on. The breeze that escapes the sea rushes through you, reminding you that you are alive. The sand beneath you is warm, the water that greets you is cool. It’s as perfect as perfect gets.

Taehyung and you lay out your towels over the grainy sandy, feeling satisfied with how soft the ground feels beneath you. You two lay out for about an hour in comfortable silence, just enjoying the weather and you know, one another’s company. Or whatever.

“Totally worth coming out, right?” You are rested on your tummy, your arms crossed underneath your head.

“It feels amaaaazing.” Taehyung mirrors your position, his head facing yours.

You decide to finally do it. You are going to ask the question. Just do it y/n. Say it now bitch…’Where are you from?’ it’s that easy, come on.

“Do you live by a beach?” Okay. Close enough.

“There’s some nearby.” Taehyung replies nonchalantly. Oh, you guess it wasn’t a big deal after all.

“I see…” You squint and raise your brows urging him to tell you more. He doesn’t.

“What about you?”

“I don’t live anywhere near a beach…it’s a far drive at least.”

A few moments of silence pass between you two. You watch as Taehyung chews on the inside of his mouth watching you. Then you close your eyes, feeling the breeze.

“Korea”

“Huh?”

“That’s where I’m from.” Taehyung says carefully.

“Cool,” I open my eyes. Then you open them a little wider.

“Well, I kind of figured…” you admit, “Your name.”

“Yeah. What about you? Where are you from?”

“(Where you’re from)”

“Nice…I wonder how they found us and matched us…”

“Yeah…” you open your eyes and take a look at him, “What do you do in Korea?”

“I was going to school.” Taehyung blinks slowly at you.

“Was?…What did you go to school for?” You ask, your curiosity obvious.

Taehyung tenses a bit before letting out a long sigh.

“Haaaa, business.”

Taehyung? In business? That seems hard to believe. Aren’t the business type more stiff and uptight? Or do you watch too many dramas?

“You don’t really strike me as the business type,” you finally say before he’s cutting you off.

“That’s because I’m not. I…”

“What?”

Taehyung looks at you cautiously then rolls his eyes. “Ah, fuck it, I have no shame. I dropped out.” He states matter of fact.

“You dropped—”

“Yup, I wanted to prioritize myself and my happiness, you know?” His eyes find yours. “My dad wanted me to go for business and eventually take over his company,” Taehyung breathes out, defeated.

“Tae…” you reach over to squeeze his forearm. Wait, is that weird? Your hand lingers on his skin. “So then, what do you do?” you rush to bring your hand back to your own body.

Taehyung’s face lights up just a bit at your question. He looks happier, his cheeks turning a nice shade of pink.

“I quit school to pursue making music.” He admits softly. Ah, that’s why. His answer warms your insides. You love seeing him so passionate about his music, he has every right to be. He spends a lot of time in his little music studio, he hasn’t shown you any of his songs yet but you know they mean a lot to him.

“I have a few friends where I live that are in the scene and they helped me a lot…I’ve sold some songs actually,” his smile begins growing as he talks. He speaks fondly over his friends and his music but then his face falls.

“I know what you’re thinking though,” his dark eyes look into yours, “That like, how could I make a living this way…its unstable...and—”

You push your head back in disbelief. “Taehyung, that’s not at all what I’m thinking?” you pinch your brows together, “I know you’ve only known me for a little while but do I really seem like that type of person who would think that?” you laugh bitterly, “I wish you would show me a song but I’ll just have to trust you that it’s good.” Taehyung can’t help but smile at that.

“How can I trust you? I just met you?” Taehyung mocks you from the time you first met and you turn pink.

“Well, I know you a little better now…” you continue to blush.

Taehyung looks at you for a moment, his smile growing wider and wider.

“Just a little?” He finally asks, his tone softer than the clouds in the sky. You only nod, a smile shining his way.

“What about you?” he asks excited. “What do you do?” He’s scooting closer to you, thrilled like an adorable child.

The smile you are wearing begins to fade, never leaving a trace of joy.

“Umm.” you flip to your back, fingers playing at your tummy.

Taehyung senses your shift in mood and turns to lay on his back as well, “Oh…we don’t have to talk about it, I guess.” He offers.

“No, no. You opened up to me so I—"

“So you don’t have to do anything.” He states firmly.

“And if I want to?”

“Then I am all ears.” He smiles cheekily.

You reach over for your bottle of water, taking a few generous sips. Opening up is a bit hard for you, you mean damn, you can’t do it all! Sue you, you got issues. It’s not that you don’t want to open up to Taehyung—you do, you really do. You want to know the person you are living with, and vise versa. But it’s more like…you are embarrassed.

“I live with my parents.” you finally admit.

“Wait…is that what you’re ashamed of?” Taehyung asks with a puzzled look on his face.

“No, not exactly. It’s the reason why and how.

“So, then tell me why and how—if you want, of course.”

You look up at the clouds in the sky, they truly are the perfect shaped clouds, the type a child draws on a piece of paper. You squint at the sun, letting its warmth wash over you. Your eyes begin to gloss over…just a little bit. You’re not that big of a baby. Or maybe you are.

You move to lay on your side, staring directly at Taehyung. Still squinting, as if he is the sun trying to blind you.

“At my old job,” you begin, your voice small. “I got involved with someone. My last boyfriend.” You pause, recalling the memories. “Ugh, I am going to seem so pathetic.” you laugh, ashamed of yourself.

“Only pathetic thing about you is your Mario Kart places.” He teases. “But other than that you’re not pathetic, whatever it is.” He assures you. He turns to lay on his side as well, one hand holding up his head.

“Ha-ha. But no, I really am…or was. He was my boss. He started pursuing me out of nowhere and I knew, I promise I knew that it was unprofessional. But I guess somehow get won me over.” Your eyes dart all around the beach. “He got me.”

Taehyung is listening to you intently, waiting for you to continue.

“Well, I fell in love. Like an idiot. And I wanted to go public with our relationship, so I told a few coworkers. Like an idiot.”

“And then?”

“And then…he got so angry at me. Told everyone I was delusional. Called me a liar, told everyone that I came on to him. And—”

“What a fucking dick.” Taehyung looks at you incredulously, “You’re telling me, he came on to you then totally twisted it and betrayed you?”

“He…he filed an official complaint against me. Got me fired.” you try your hardest to blink back tears that threaten to bubble over and fall.

Taehyung quickly sits up, sitting with his legs crossed. “I’m sorry he—he got you… he got you fired?” Taehyung looks peeved to say the least.

“Ah,” you sniffle, using the back of your hand to clear away any stray tears that may or may not have fallen. “It’s in the past now. I had to move back home and basically start fresh, you know?”

Taehyung’s face is stoic. His lips set in a firm line and his brows set in an angry V.

“How long ago?” he finally speaks after a long moment of just staring at you.

“Just a few months.” To some that may seem like a long time, but the wound is still very fresh.

“Do you…” Taehyung bites at his bottom lip, “Do you still love him? I mean, did you love him?”

Your mouth falls open, then closes, then opens again.

“So you do?” he looks disappointed.

“No! Of course not! I mean, I did. I think I did.” You sit up too, crossing your legs out in front of you. “Maybe I didn’t.” you say quietly. “I think I don’t know what love is. But it hurt like I was in love.” Well shit, this just turned a whole lot deeper than you planned on.

Taehyung just nods in agreement not knowing what to say, you guess, you don’t blame him. Taehyung continues to just look at you, like he feels something for you. And you know what that something is—pity.

“It’s not pity, you know.” Shit, did you say that thought out loud?

“What?” you respond.

“It’s just…I wish that didn’t happen to you. This world is full of assholes y/n, no one’s safe from them. Especially not good people like you.”

“Thanks Taehyung…”

“And as far as not knowing what love is…I think you’ll know when you know. That’s what they say right?” he chuckles darkly. “You’ll have some awesome, epic love story I bet.” He finally smiles. “Because you deserve it.”

“How do you know, you barely know me?” you tease.

“I’ve been stuck with the same one person every day for like 3 months, I know you enough to know if you’re a good person. And you are.”

Your heart soars at his observation of you.

“You’re kind of a baby sometimes and you are the world’s biggest brat but still, I approve.” Taehyung leans forward with his head in his hands. “y/n’s a good person.”

Your breathing picks up a little at his words, they rush through your veins. Each and every word becomes one with your body and you ache for more. You smile for him, but it’s an awkward one and you hope to God he doesn’t notice.

“Coolio.” Why the fuck did you say ‘Coolio’? What is wrong with you for Christs sake. “Uh, anyway…” you rise to your feet, gathering your towel and bottled water. “That’s enough Vitamin D for one day!

Taehyung is still seated in his spot, just staring up at you with his gaze that drives you nuts.

“Taehyung?”

“Huh? Yeah?” He snaps out of his weird daze.

“Wanna head home?”

Taehyung rolls his eyes at you, “We’re calling it ‘home’ now?” he raises a single brow.

“Don’t be annoying.” You extend your hand for him to take, which he does. He’s standing to his feet, he has a few inches over you. You decide they’re a little intimidating after all.

~~~~~~

“What the hell did we do to deserve this?” Taehyung screams out, his loud voice booming throughout the house.

“Didn’t we just have a request not that long ago?” you question with a frown.

“It’s because you suck at flirting.” He whispers in your ear. “They aren’t buying it.”

“Maybe it’s you who sucks.” You whisper back.

“Oh baby, it’s not me. I’m not the problem.”

“Whatever, what does it say?”

“Must snuggle on the couch while holding hands while watching a romantic movie.” He scoffs, “What a childish request.” He says.

“We should be thankful it’s as childish as this.” You point out.

“What? Did you think it was going to say ‘The two subjects gotta fuck on the couch.’ Hm?” Taehyung laughs bitterly, and you roll your eyes.

“What’s the penalty?” you ask, curious.

“Does it matter? We got this.” He runs a hand through his messy hair.

You look at Taehyung, worry written all over your face.

“Wait what does the text say at the bottom of the screen?” you point towards the Tv where small letters grace the bright screen.

“Fact:” Taehyung begins reading, “Oxytocin is sometimes called the ‘love hormone’—you often have more of it in your blood if you cuddle with your partner a lot.” He gulps, “They really want to move this along, huh?”

“They said we have 24 hours to complete a ‘Request’ right? Should we do it—”

“—Tonight. Let’s just do it later tonight. I’ll leave choosing the movie to you.”

~~~~~~~

There was a storm earlier today, but it has relaxed a bit. Soft rain glides down the windows, every now and then flashes of lightning paints bright bolts against the black canvas sky. It’s calm enough to give you a sense of peace…despite your current position. You’re not one to get nervous…at least you don’t think you are. Shit, do you even know yourself? Anyway, back to your nerves. You are currently sitting shoulder to shoulder with Taehyung on the sofa, you are facing the TV with your fingers interlocked resting on top of his thighs. His thick, meaty thighs. Neither of you say a word while the movie plays—the Titanic. An honestly horrible choice. Your choice. See, this is why you don’t like to make decisions, because when you do they usually suck.

“Do you think this counts as snuggling? We are just sitting shoulder to shoulder…” you speak up, hating how your voice comes out a tad bit shaky.

“I told you this wouldn’t count as snuggling.” He huffs out, “You need to get closer to me, touch me more.”

“All the sudden I don’t remember how to cuddle with another person.” You say quickly and Taehyung looks at you with a mischievous glint in his eye.

“When’s the last time you cuddled with someone?”

“Somehow I don’t think that’s any of your business.” You say with a sharp tone. “Okay, would if I like, lay my head on your shoulder?”

“You’re so awkward. Here,” Taehyung detangles his fingers from yours and wraps his arm around your waist, pulling you closer to his body, your legs almost overlapping his. In fact, he takes one of your legs and drapes it over his thigh, then he’s bringing his arm back to his front and grabbing your hand again. He places your hands on top of your thigh, and interlocks his fingers with yours once again.

“Now we look closer.” He says nonchalantly. “And yeah, put your head on my shoulder…get comfortable. Might as well, because you chose the longest fucking movie.”

“Sorry.” You say, you look up at him and eye him carefully. He’s wearing a plain t shirt and some dark sweat pants…his hair is still kind of wet from his shower and the closer you lean into him the more you can smell him. He smells so good. Like, his soap and something else, something deep and natural. It’s filling your senses, causing you to feel slightly lightheaded.

You catch Taehyung looking at you from the corner of his eye and you quickly jerk your head back towards the direction of the TV. Shit. When will this movie end?

“I said you can lay on me…” Taehyung whispers. “We want to make sure we pass this ‘Request.’”

“Right…” you lay your head down on his shoulder, sinking a little lower into the sofa as you get comfortable. Snuggling and holding hands is hardly an issue…you’re an adult. But being watched in this situation feels odd as hell.

“What’s his face is such a dick.” Taehyung lazily comments, pulling you out of your thoughts. He seems somewhat invested in the movie, unlike yourself. God, it’s just you right? You’re the only one feeling nervous. You’re pathetic. It’s like he doesn’t even feel your hand in his, as he is so easily distracted by the damn characters in the movie.

Taehyung then begins to you are assuming, mindlessly, stroke his thumb over yours, still commenting on how Rose should kick Cal’s ass. You go rigid in his grasp but Taehyung doesn’t seem to notice. In fact, this dude just continues to play with your fingers like it’s the most natural thing to do! But then you realize maybe he’s doing it for the cameras? Yes, your nerves are fucking spiking. Your heart is literally on the brink of exploding out of your chest. Yet, you remain calm. And things proceed smoothly. But then the dreaded, yes dreaded, car sex scene comes rolling on screen and you want to die. It’s not even a particularly sexy scene but still, it’s enough to fill the room with tension. But maybe you are imagining it.

“This is so awkward.” Taehyung quietly cries, “I hate this.”

Are you imagining the sweat that’s pooling in Taehyung’s hand, or maybe it’s your own palm that’s suddenly drenched. You can admit, it’s…been a while since, you know. Rose and Jack begin to kiss passionately and you groan, you want this to end. Taehyung stares at the screen, licking his dry lips as he watches the movie.

“Tell me when it’s over.” You bury your face in Taehyung’s shoulder and he laughs.

“What are you 5? Can’t handle a little movie sex?” he chuckles, “Are you not a fan of car sex or what?” he asks and you lift your head up in shock. He did not just ask that.

“What?” he feigns innocence, “You’re the one always trying to get to know each other.” He points out with a sly grin.

“I don’t ask you about your sex life! Just stuff like what you like to do for fun!”

“What if that answer is ‘sex’?” he smirks down at you and you feel yourself grow warm.

“Oh my god, Taehyung.” You hit his leg, “Three months with you and you’re finally starting to show your true colors. Typical man.” You scoff and Taehyung bursts out into his deep laughter.

“Typical man? You mean typical human being? Women like sex just as much. I mean, take Rose here for example. She really seems to be enjoying herself.”

“When will this movie end?” you whine, “I’m tired of holding your sweaty hand.”

Taehyung blushes, feeling a little embarrassed by your statement.

“I thought it was your hand that’s sweaty…” he admits, “Sorry, if it’s me.”

“This position isn’t very comfortable.” You say, struggling to find a nice spot. “Maybe we can try something else?”

“Like what? There’s not much we can do sitting down.”

“Maybe we can lay?” you suggest shyly. “But how do we lay comfortably while holding hands.” you realize. “Ugh.”

“Here.” Taehyung detangles your fingers and moves your leg off of him, “Lay on my lap, like lay your head down. And then this arm can hang over your waist while this hand holds your hand.”

You listen to what he says, following his instructions. You lift your legs up on the couch and lay you head down in his lap…careful of where you lay it. You get comfortable and nod your head, waiting for him to interlock his fingers with yours once again.

“Umm, my other hand will be at your waist, is that okay?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

Taehyung hesitantly drapes his arm over your waist, his fingers brushing against your skin where your shirt his ridden up. You tense when you feel his fingers accidently touch your bare skin.

“Sorry.” Taehyung gulps. You use your other arm to bring the shirt back down, his eyes following your movements.

“I wish this wasn’t so awkward.” You admit.

You hear Taehyung release a long breath.

“Awkward because it’s with me or because we’re being watched?” he asks quietly.

“Can I say both?” you breathe out.

“Yeah…” Taehyung gives your hand a light squeeze.

Finally, the movie starts coming to an end. You sigh out in relief, you can finally move on with your lame life. The screen goes white again and after a moment the word ‘PASS’ is shown across. You both relax at the sight.

You continue to sit here, his hand loosening in your grip. You get the hint and let go of his hand altogether, trying not to get all awkward. But fuck, you are awkward as hell. Jesus Christ, help you. Taehyung just stares down at you and then suddenly breaks into a grin,

“We did it!” He reaches for your hand, holds it up and high fives himself with it. You look up into his crescent eyes and shyly smile at him.

“Yeah…” You breathe out, you both stand up.

“Don’t act like you didn’t love being snuggled up with me.” He winks and you scoff.

“You wish.”

“Maybe a little.” He admits, he reaches down and grabs a hold of your hand again. “You can hold my hand whenever you want.” He says and you go red.

“Chill.” You awkwardly chuckle.

Taehyung laughs too, but he doesn’t let go of you.

“Can I hug you y/n?” he suddenly blurts out. “You know, for the sake of human contact?” he saves.

“W-What? Why?”

“I just told you why.” He says with his lips in a firm line. “Please.”

“Fine, get it over with.”

Taehyung grins down at you with an evil glint in his eye as his hands travel to your back. He pulls you in to his chest, your body awkwardly stumbling forward.

“Relax.” Taehyung whispers.

His arms wrap around your waist and you finally return the hug. He somehow pulls you in even closer, your boobs smooshing up against his chest. He groans when he feels your soft breasts against his hard chest and you wish you didn’t hear it.

“I said relax.” He commands in his deep voice.

You release a shaky breath and try to relax in his arms but you’re still tense.

“I’m trying.” You whisper and he chuckles.

He pulls back from you, just until his face is only inches from yours and he gazes into your eyes, his stare dark and intense that you visibly shudder and he chuckles.

“I can think of a few ways to relax you.” He licks his lips with a smirk.

“H-How?” you ask breathlessly.

“Mm,” he looks up and then his eyes are meeting your again. “What comes to mind first?” his whisper hits your parted lips. “Anything you need from me?”

You feel you heart start racing, his words going straight to places you would rather not say.

“I know what you need, baby.” He groans out. He leans in closer until you can feel his breath hit your skin, “A fucking….......drink.” He grins, leaning away from you.

You choke on your spit, you begin awkwardly coughing and he laughs at you. He lets go of your body and starts walking towards the kitchen.

Holy hell, you think. Can you survive Taehyung’s flirting? Your ass thought he was saying you needed a fucking! He is the ultimate tease, you’re gathering that much.

“Yeah,” you clear your throat. “I could use a fucking drink.”

[eyes-onthehorizon]

The Old Guard Provide... Leverage

It's the 1800s, and Martha recently left the employ of Sir Archibald Graham for reasons she can't discuss. The Old Guard help her get revenge and closure with a healthy dose of found family on the side. A reworking of February is a Month Like Any Other because it desperately needed editing. An Old GuardxLeverage mashup. Rape is implied and the circumstances around it are discussed in detail; the violence itself is only alluded to.

chapter one (ao3)

chapter two

chapter three

Four

We get to know Tig a little better, Nicky devises a plan, and Andy and Martha set off to Scotland.

defective [dɪfektɪv]

Word forms: adjective

If something is defective, there is something wrong with it and it does not work properly.

(“Y’know Tig, there’s just summat wrong wiv ya.”

“That’s not true! You can’t say that!”

“Oh yeah? Says who?”)

Andromache was quickly approaching the point of disliking all people, her younger brothers included. The two of them had been at it for hours, and the banging had reached an unbearable volume.

After another minute of mentally disembowelling them, she hauled herself out of bed and stalked through to the main room.

“If you two don’t cut that out right this very fucking instant I swear to every God I’ve ever known I will pluck your bastard eyeballs out with a shitting cleaver-ended spoon and THEN—”

She stopped dead in her tracks as she caught sight of their guest.

As a rule, Andy tried not to swear in front of children. She achieved this mostly by avoiding them. Unless they were in danger. The mop of red hair toothily grinning at her from atop the mantelpiece was not in danger, but was very much enjoying Andy’s little hangover-fueled tirade. Andy decided she didn’t care. Thoroughly distracted, she missed the amused look that passed between her unnecessarily loud brothers.

“Good evening, Lady A. I got you some lemon-honey tea which is what Bean always has after he’s been out on the lash – I mean, silence is better but these two,” she cocked her head towards Yusuf and Nico, “Got it into their heads that if I’m gonna sleep here then I should have a bed. I told them that really wasn’t necessary, Bean’s got more than enough floorspace to put up the whole of Cheapside should he want to, he’s always off acquiring and gathering spaces, y’know? Anyways Mr Kayson says that if I’m gonna fall asleep here anyways then I should have a bed and I said I don’t need his charity but then he offered me a job, see, so then I guess I should probably be here given I don’t always wake up in the same place when I’m with Bean’s lot and that’s very unreliable for a shop girl, innit? I know lemon-honey is more for sore throat, really you’d want mint or chamomile for the head but that was all I could find. Is that okay?”

The girl paused expectantly. The silence rang in Andy’s ears a little, but at least the hammer and saw were finally resting.

Andy, taken aback and more than a little annoyed at Yusuf’s shit-stirring grin, simply thanked her for the tea.

Tig was small for her age and faster than any child had the right to be. She’d deftly pocketed quite a bit of the coinage they all carried, and savoured the adult’s reactions when she handed it back to them. Mr Kayson had put her to work watching the shop floor and had promised her reading lessons along with her wages.

“I can read just fine,” she’d protested at his first offer, until he handed her an enormous ledger and began talking her through the stock maintenance. He’d rifled through the information and Tig could feel her brain developing holes instead of thoughts. She’d been so disgusted with herself that she’d found her way into the attic, hanging upside down in the rafters until Mr Guvnor had come to join her.

Tig was used to people finding her strange. She didn’t mind too often but being left to your own devices all the time was boring. It wasn’t her fault she could climb and pick and run better than most boys, but the faster she got, the less they liked her. It didn’t matter if she toned it down or shared her loot, they never actually wanted to be friends. It’d taken Bean explaining that she wasn’t likeable for her to understand – there was nothing she could do. It wasn’t her fault; she was just made broken. Like a train line with a faulty track.

Adults, though, they were something else. They never said what they meant, calling her “sweet” or “poor thing” but never actually helping. They never actually talked to her unless she was in trouble, or they wanted something. Even then, they usually talked to Bean or Mac. She’d just nod in the corner.

Mr Kayson was… nice was not the right word. Maybe kind would be better, but who would be kind to an urchin? A thieving urchin, one who had been trespassing for months. And then he’d offered her a job and built her a bed. Not normal behaviour at all, but Tig wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Yet.

Mr Guvnor was more straightforward, she’d thought, except he also turned out different. He was quiet, like she tried to be, and watchful, which she admired. He was also strange like her, which she figured out only when he was hanging upside down beside her.

“What are you doing?” Tig demanded, sounding an awful lot like those stuffy nannies she heard from the stories. “You can’t do that!”

“Come, sole, if you can then so can I, hmm?” He didn’t even look at her. They stayed there for a while, he enjoying her company, she working out how exactly she was going to get down.

“The plan has four phases,” Nico announced over dinner. “Sorella, you will go first and set the scene. I will go after, offering my business services to the estate. Tesoro, you’ll need to coordinate with Bas from here. I have the rest of the strategy, but I need to speak with Miss Jones first.”

“Who’s Miss Jones?” yawned Tig, mopping up the last of her gravy.

“Someone we’re helping.”

Children really shouldn’t look adorable when they’re suspicious, Andy decided.

“Like you’re helping me?” She directed the question at Yusuf, her tone accusatory.

Yusuf sighed, propping his face up with his palm. “Sagir, You are helping me. You are running the shop. I pay you for your work. I don’t see what this has to—”

“And building me a bed from scratch?”

“I like building things.” Yusuf shrugged good-naturedly.

“And the free reading lessons? What about them?”

“Ahh,” he wagged his finger knowingly, “Those are not free.”

She waited for him to elaborate, but he crossed his arms and leaned contentedly back in his chair. Well. She’d find out the debt she owed him, and make damn sure she repaid it. At least he wasn’t perfect like she’d feared.

Tig wasn’t disappointed. Not at all.

Phase One was simple enough.

Andy would pose as a Botreaux sister, visiting the Scottish countryside in search of a Northern property and on behalf of the Emporium.

“Patronising a shop in London is exactly the quirky, eccentric, ill-advised thing someone with too much money would do,” Yusuf had argued as they’d put together her story. “It fits perfectly.”

Andy thought it was ridiculous, but she could see his point. Some had spent more on less.

The Botreaux sisters were reclusive even amongst the upper set. While such social reluctance typically bred mystery, they had somehow achieved the impossible: invisibility. At least, until their remaining male relative passed without an heir and the barony fell into abeyance, at which point their story had travelled throughout the country quicker than anyone expected.

None of the sisters had come forward in some time, and no one even knew how many still lived, which suited their job down to the ground.

Bas and Yusuf spent the next month creating a viable replica of Giotto’s bell tower sketch for Florence Cathedral. It auctioned for a very healthy sum, and within the blink of an eye, Andy was kitted out with the fancies and fineries befitting a newly wealthy woman.

It was a cold winter’s morning when Andromeda Botreaux, enigmatic beauty, began her first foray into society. They’d interviewed for and hired a real footman and coachman, but had struggled for a lady’s maid. It wasn’t until Martha had offered to go herself that everything fell into place. All being well, they’d send for Nico within a day, but the journey time meant they’d be stuck outside Aberdeen for at least three more before he arrived.

Andy had packed a spare set of knives for the journey. She flicked open the leather roll, intent on inspecting the condition of each. Martha flinched at the sight of them, recoiling into the corner of the carriage.

“Breathe,” Andy murmured.

The carriage jostled, the movement pulling a shriek from her.

“Martha. I am not going to hurt you. This,” Andy gestured towards the knife, “Is for you. Just in case.” She leaned forward, ever so slowly, tracking the younger woman’s breathing; taking her hand, she could feel her pulse racing. Andy fought the impulse to press a kiss to her wrist. It had been second nature with her—void. Instead, Andy opened Martha’s palm, met her eyes, and pressed the handle of the dagger into her hand.

“Do you know how to use this?”

Martha hesitated, then nodded reluctantly.

“Show me.”

Martha’s knifework was sloppy, but they had three days to work on that. In the meantime, they discussed the least treacherous part of their lives: the future. Martha had big plans for a girl from Cheapside; she was planning to create fashionable waterproofs, scarves in particular. She’d even scouted out the factories she was going to buy from.

“I’m dead handy with a needle,” she said warmly. “Mam said I could make magic from scraps.” Andy did not miss the moment of grief that passed over her face, freshly worn out like an ancestor’s favourite blanket. “But my father couldn’t put food on the table by himself, so I got to work like everyone else. And I was proud of it.”

The silence was full of things unsaid.

“But this shop is going to be your way forward?” Andy prompted. No need to ruminate on the past, on what was lost. That way lies madness, Bas had said in a moment of hashish-inspired clarity. Better to look forward. Forward, forward. The only direction she knew anymore.

Besides, there wasn’t nearly enough whiskey in this carriage to begin to numb the pain.

Martha was looking at her expectantly, so she must have missed whatever was said. Andy rubbed a hand over her face. “Once more, please?”

[young-dumb-and-vaccinated]

With Sweet Understanding (Handsome Jack x Female!Reader) pt. 2

So I got really sucked in to this story and accidentally wrote like 25 pages of just these two idiots being cute. Hope you enjoy.

[F/N] blows off a party to hang out with her new friend.

Trigger warnings: emotional manipulation, alcohol

"Talk to me, [F/N]." Mr. Tassiter ordered, pushing through a crowded hallway into his office. You walked right at his side, heels clicking rhythmically against the ground with every step. 

"You have a meeting with the general from Alphard. Peasant uprising, it's a whole thing. They need guns. Should be an easy sell." You began. "Then marketing needs your approval for a new ad campaign."

"And what of Blake's retirement party?" He asked. 

"The large conference hall you asked for has been booked, and the caterer has been paid." You nodded. "I forwarded all the receipts to accounting."

"Wonderful." He nodded, sitting down at his ornate desk. "One more thing before you go." 

You stood up a little straighter when you noticed his slightly more severe tone. "Yeah?" 

"Why did your boyfriend feel it necessary to inform me that a programmer insulted him?" He asked, voice strung tight. 

"Did he really?" You countered, hoping he would buy your ignorance. 

"Yes." Mr. Tassiter answered, booting up his computer. You figured by his silence, he was still expecting an answer. 

"I think it's because he had an incredibly sheltered upbringing. Everything he got was just handed to him, so he's entitled." You explained. You'd been holding that back a long time, so it just spilled out of you. 

"Right." Mr. Tassiter said, somewhat surprised you had it in you and pleased it came out. You hoped you would come across as someone loyal to the company, instead of someone in the throws of a lover’s quarrel. "[F/N], you know my time is too valuable for petty interpersonal drama."

You lowered your head. You knew where this was going and you didn't like it. "I understand, sir." 

"I hired him on your recommendation, [F/N]." He said, flatly. "His performance reflects back on you. Are we clear?" 

You nodded. "Crystal clear, sir." 

"Good." He fixed his gaze back to his computer. "Off you fuck, now." 

Before you turned around to leave, you had one question. "Mr. Tassiter?" 

"Hm?" He looked quite annoyed. "What is it?"

"That programmer." You said. "Did you fire him?" 

"John?" He raised his eyebrows. "Regrettably, no. That little bug's unfortunately one of the best we've got. Like a common stone among shit, I'm afraid. I’m making him work overtime to fix his code. Unpaid, of course. That seemed to shut Rhodes up and saved me the trouble of finding a new code monkey." 

You were relieved that John still had his job. You couldn't live with yourself if you had gotten someone fired. Especially someone as kind and harmless as John. 

But still, why should you have to be responsible for your boyfriend's fragile ego? You considered it while mindlessly running through the motions of dreary clerical work. 

"Hyperion Munitions, how may I direct your call?" You said, over and over and over again in your too-high customer service voice. This time, the caller demanded your attention.

"Hey, [F/N]." The hushed voice said from the other end. 

You held your hand over the receiver, hiding your lip movements and muffling your voice. "John?" 

"There's my little salted caramel blondie." John greeted, probably lifting the nickname from whatever snack food was within eyeshot. "How'ya doin, [F/N]?" 

You smiled. The sound of his voice made all the frustration from that conversation with Tassiter dissolve into nothing. It was just drama, now. And he was too busy and important for drama.

You coiled the phone cord between your fingers. "You're not mad at me for getting you in trouble?" 

"Mad?" He said through a mouthful of whatever it was he was now eating. A salted caramel blondie, probably. "[F/N], I'm calling to thank you. Finally clapping back at Rhodes was fucking orgasmic. And now I hear Tassiter thinks he's a bitch, too? That is divine justice." 

Again, you checked over your shoulder to confirm nobody was listening in. "Glad I could help. He definitely needs to be taken down a peg. And if it isn't coming from me, all the better." 

"Oooh..!" You heard the creak of his chair from beyond the phone. "[F/N], you know, if you ever need anyone to talk to-" 

"Yeah." You interrupted. "I do, actually." 

You could almost hear his grin. "Awesome. I'm working late tonight, so come meet me in the basement. The rest of the rats will be gone. I'm all ears, dollface." 

"Tonight?" You repeated, suddenly remembering Blake's retirement party.

"Oh, shoot and darn it." He snapped his fingers, loudly. "You have that party tonight, don't you? Wow, what a shame. Poor me, all alone in a basement, patching up code all night long with nobody to talk to.

"Screw it." You said. "I'll make an appearance then meet you down in the basement."

His voice dropped to a whisper. "Alright, now we've got to speak in code. When I say 'you bring the wine', you respond 'I will'. That means you're going to bring the wine."

“[F/N]?” Amos’s voice interrupted your conversation. 

“Yes, Mr. Burke, I will see to it you have an audience with the shareholders.” You said into the phone. “Their next meeting is a week from Tuesday.” 

“Oh, shit, did someone just walk in?” John whispered. “Is it Amos?” 

“That’s right.” You said, smiling at Amos and holding up a finger to signal for him to wait just a moment. “Is there anything else I can do for you, sir?” 

"Um, the wine?" He repeated. 

You smothered a chuckle under a practiced customer-service laugh. “Yes, sir. I'll make sure of it.”

“Eeugh, that customer service laugh is creepy.” John said. “Alright, I’ll see you then.” 

You put the phone down, and looked up at your boyfriend. “Hey, babe.” 

“Hiya, princess.” He greeted, pulling something from his pocket. "I bought you something. To say sorry." 

He placed the box flat on your desk. You tented your hands, looked at the box and then back at him. "You think jewelry is going to magically make this all go away?"

"It's worth a shot." He tried to disarm you with a shrug and a chuckle. 

You frowned. "I'm not laughing, Amos."

He took the box and opened it. "Look, babe. It's a pair of skag pearl earrings. I know how much you like the necklace your mom got you when you graduated college, so-" 

"Amos." You interrupted. You had to admit, it was refreshing to know he'd actually considered what you liked when selecting a hush present. You had a collection of crystalisk shards and pieces of refined eridium that had only been seen on your person once or twice before spending years in the jewelry box. "This isn't something you can fix with a present." 

"[F/N], please." He begged. "Just tell me what you need me to do to forget this." 

"We can talk about this later." You turned back to the phone, which was ringing again. "I have a ton of work to do.” 

You picked up the phone. Before you could say your greeting, Amos ripped the plug from the wall and you got an earful of dial tone. 

You shot up from your seat. “What the fuck?!”

“I want to talk about this now.” He insisted, holding the cord just out of your reach.

“Amos.” You said through gritted teeth. You yanked the cord from his hand and plugged it back in. “Tassiter made it abundantly clear that he's holding me responsible for all your petulant bullshit. You want to know how to fix this? Act like an adult for ten fucking minutes and stop making more problems for me." 

Come that night, you would find yourself behind the bar, snatching one of the plentiful bottles of champagne. Dressed to the nines in a simple green dress, you approached your boss with a smile.

"More champagne, Mr. Tassiter?" You said, using your customer service voice.

"Well aren't you a darling?" He held up his still quite full champagne flute. "I'm alright for now, [F/N]. But don't go far."

With your appearance made, you tucked away the bottle of champagne and absconded to the basement.

The basement was dark, save for one desk light where your date was waiting. Your prince charming of bitching about your relationship. He was hunched over his computer, typing furiously and taking the final drags from the last remnants of a cigarette.

"I have arrived." You declared, catching his attention.

"And you brought the wine, I see." He answered. 

"As soon as I get this gold shit off, we can drink it!" You said, stealing a swivel chair from another cubicle and sitting down. You fidgeted with the foil, finally ripping it off and revealing the cork.

"You didn't happen to bring champagne flutes, did you?" John asked, as he looked around the cubicle. 

"All you said was bring wine." You rationalized, tossing out the crumpled foil. "You never asked for something to drink it out of." 

"Alright, well," He grabbed a mug from the desk and dumped whatever room temperature coffee was left into the waste bin. "I can use this, and I guess you can just drink out of the bottle."

You gripped the cork and started to tug. "Charming." 

"Need a hand there?" He said, raising an eyebrow at the somewhat sexual way you were working the neck of the bottle. 

"If it will get you to stop making that face." You laughed, handing over the bottle. 

He gripped the neck, gently but firmly. His thumb ran up the edge, and angled itself under the cork. He teased it out, gently pushing from all directions around the rim. All the while, he kept an eye on it. He was a precise man. His hands were finely tuned to locate small, insignificant deviations. His eyes briefly met yours before the cork flew out with a satisfying pop. The bottle began to overflow with foam. 

He tipped the bottle over his coffee mug, filling it all the way to the top. Then, he handed the bottle to you.

He held his mug above his head. "A toast." 

"Raise a glass." You said, flatly, hoisting the entire bottle into the air. "To the laws of polite society that keep me from wrapping my hands around Amos's neck and choking him out." 

"Mmm." He muttered over a large swallow of wine. "I think you mean 'strangle'."

"Is that right?" You asked. "I didn't realize there was a difference."

"Choking is what happens when you have something lodged in your windpipe." He explained. "Strangling is what I'm going to do to Amos if he rats me out to Tassiter again."

"Oh, no you won't." You didn't even bother to pretend to object to that. You poured a sizeable slug of wine down your throat. "Not until I take out a massive life insurance policy on him." 

John nodded. "Good thinking." 

"But let's be real." You dropped your shoulders. "All that's gonna do is pay off all the money I spent taking care of him after college." 

"Pour one out for your twenties." He said, tipping some champagne onto the ground. 

"Maybe don't." You brought the bottle to your lips again. "This is, like, $500 champagne." 

"For real?" He objected, setting his mug upright again. "Shit, now I feel bad."

"Don't." You said, topping him off. "It's the company's treat, remember?" 

"In that case." He smirked and downed his entire mug in one swallow. "Hit me again, oh goddess of wine." 

"Now we're talking." You grinned, filling his mug up again. 

He swiveled dramatically back towards his computer and punched out some seemingly random digits. 

You brought your swivel chair a little closer to his. "What are you working on?" 

"I am programming." He said with a cheeky smile.

You narrowed your eyes at him. "Okay, but what is it that you're programming?" 

He scrolled through lines upon lines of complicated nonsense. "See, coding is like building your own universe. You get to write the rules, but conversely, you have to follow them." 

You nodded. "Huh." 

"This is called a boolean operator." He said, highlighting a line of letters. "They can assess whether something is true or false. And I can make the variable say whatever I want." 

He wrote a couple of lines that sort of resembled an English sentence. 

"See, I can set this variable to 'true'," He explained, fingers flying deftly across the keyboard. "And then I can make the variable mean, let's say, 'John is handsome'." 

You giggled, noticing he hadn't run it yet. "Go on. I want to see what this universe thinks of its god." 

"Give me a second." He said, eyes running back and forth across the screen. "I just want to confirm… and, there." 

He pressed the enter key. Sure enough, there it was. 

'JohnIsHandsome' = true

"Wow." You snickered. "I think she likes you." 

"You think?" He gasped, resetting the variables without even looking at the screen. "You think I should pass her a note in study hall?" 

You bursted out laughing. "Is John handsome, true or false?" 

"So that's one of your basic data types." He explained, scrolling back down through the jungle of multicolored text. "When you learn the language, you can do pretty much anything you want with it." 

"And what are you doing here?" You gestured to the screen. 

"I'm so glad you asked." He smiled, excited that someone was taking interest in his work. "Can you go in the middle drawer and hand me that thing?" 

You were suspicious until you saw exactly what 'thing' he was talking about. It was cylindrical, and looked a bit like a microphone, but smaller. You held it out in your hand. "This thing?" 

"Exactly." He nodded and swiped it from you. 

"What is it?" You asked. 

He scrolled through the code one final time, really just giving a cursory glance. You noticed how he gnawed at the inside of his cheek as he did so. "Now, if my code is up to snuff…" 

He ejected a tiny drive from the side of his computer. Biting down on his lip, he carefully inserted the chip onto a slot on whatever it was you handed him. "...which I know it to be…" 

His thumb found a switch on the side of the device and it flickered to life. He leaned over and held it beneath your chin. "I can make magic happen."

"What's hap--" 

You clapped your hands over your mouth when the voice that came from it was John's. 

"Cool, right?" He beamed with pride. "Come on, say something else. Please?" 

"Holy shit." You said, your giggles sounding even funnier in John's voice. "This is amazing. How did you even make something like this?" 

"Oh, hell," he scratched the back of his head. "Like, months upon months of staring at the screen playing find-the-bug, resulting in so much retinal damage I'll be blind by forty."

"I mean, just the phonetics alone must have taken forever!" You exclaimed, purposefully making your tone go up and down to test the flexibility of the device. 

His face lit up even more. "That's just it! It hardly took any time at all! It was just a couple of samples, really, if you could believe it." 

"This is just incredible, John." You said, looking at him with pure amazement on your face. "You're a genius." 

"Oh, come on." He laughed. "It's nothing, really." 

You pushed his hand away so he could hear it in your voice. "I really do mean it." 

His cheeks flared up. "Thanks, [F/N]. That's really nice to hear from someone like you." 

“Someone like me?” You repeated. “Who the hell am I?” 

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “You’re… sophisticated." 

You snorted. "You could be too if you put on a dress this expensive." 

He looked to be genuinely considering it for a moment. "Hm. Maybe I will." 

"So what are you going to do with it?" You asked, folding your hands in your lap.

He spun it between his fingers as he leaned back in his chair. "I don’t know, yet. Chances are, Tassiter is going to steal it, take credit for creating it and, if I’m lucky, a hundred something years down the line somebody will find out it was made by a lowly programmer.” 

“That…” You folded your arms and looked down. “Yeah, it’s kind of sad how likely that is.” 

“I think I’m just going to keep it to myself until I know I have a shot at getting the recognition I deserve.” He gripped it in his palm and tossed it back into the drawer. “You won’t tell anybody, will you?” 

You drew an x over your heart. “I’ll take it to the grave.”

He hoisted his coffee cup into the air. “I’ll drink to that.”