#it took me three hours from start to finish to actually get this posted sigh

[loulovingho]

I made a little bucktommy fic based off of this post from yesterday (read here or on ao3)

Husbands

There had been a big fire, taking out the top eight floors of a high rise. There were multiple stations involved, including the 118 and Harbor, ground and air support, to get the fire under control and everyone out safely.

It took more than a few hours, but eventually the fire was out and everyone was getting their gear in order to head back to their respective stations.

As Buck organized the tools in the truck, a small group of friends, two guys and two girls, in their mid-twenties Buck assumed, gathered around him.

It had started with little comments; a guy asked what the axe was used for, a girl batted her eyelashes as she touched his turnouts because she “always wondered what the material felt like”, another girl asked how much water could be stored in the truck.

Buck liked talking. He liked answering questions and telling people what he did. He leaned against the firetruck as they chatted, until about five minutes in one of the guys sighed and got to the point. “We're honestly just wondering if one of us could get your number? Or all of us. Doesn't really matter.”

Buck paused. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy getting hit on. He enjoyed it quite a bit, actually. It was always nice to know when someone found you attractive.

Getting hit on was fun. Getting people's numbers was fun. But, there was something else that was even funner now. He'd been able to do it for exactly three months, to the day. Not that he wasn't flashing his ring beforehand, but something about being married sounded even better than being engaged.

“Sorry, guys,” Buck said, smiling as he lifted his left hand into view, “Im flattered, but I'm married.”

As some disappointed, and some still interested, looks broke out over the group, a familiar voice sounded behind Buck. “Damn, I was just about to shoot my shot.”

A blush rose on Buck's face as Tommy passed by. He was working ground ops today, and Buck knew he was around, but this was the first he'd seen of him. “Yeah, you wish, Kinard,” he called back, causing Tommy to turn back around to him.

He shrugged, smirking. “A guy can dream, can't he?” he asked with a wink, continuing backwards toward his truck.

It was only once Tommy was out of view that Buck realized the group was still there, staring between Buck and the direction Tommy went with confusion on their faces.

“Oh, uh, that- that's my husband.”

His smile grew as he watched the realization hit the group. They didn't stand a chance.

“Forget it,” one girl mumbled as they all started to disperse.

“They're both so hot, what the hell?” one guy whispered, albeit loudly, to his friend.

“And unbelievably corny,” the friend said back, not even trying to be quiet. “Makes me wanna gag.”

Buck rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he pushed himself up from where he was leaning on the firetruck. He began walking in the direction Tommy had gone, needing to see him before his station left.

“Get any numbers, hot stuff?” Tommy's voice made Buck jump. He was situated between two trucks and, from the looks of it, had just finished pouring a bottle of water over his head to clean himself off.

Buck's shoulders relaxed as he walked over to Tommy. “No, I did not,” he said cheekily. “You wanna know why?”

“Hmm?”

“Because my husband interrupted. He didn't say it, but I got the feeling he wants to keep me to himself.”

“The nerve of that guy.” Tommy moved closer to Buck, his hands coming up to grip onto the sides of Buck's turnouts. “Can't say I blame him though.” He spoke quietly, staring between Buck's eyes and lips, “He does have a really hot husband.”

Buck put his hand at the nape of Tommy's neck, closing the space between them as he pulled him in for a kiss. He had no concern for the fact he was getting soot right back on Tommy's clean face. Payback.

“Can you bring your turnouts home?” Buck asked, leaning back just enough to speak.

Tommy laughed, his face scrunching up into that deep smile that made Buck melt. “This really does something for you, doesn't it?”

“Every damn time.”

Another kiss, this one slower and softer. A promise of what's to come when they're both off shift in a few hours. “I'll figure out a way.”

[aebinspa]

tell me somethin' i don't know

PAIRING: gunwook x y/n reader

GENRES: fluff, gunwook is your brother's best friend (of course gyuvin is your brother), reader is a bit shy, they are the same age, reader is bad at math and gunwook is actually the solution to her problems!

WORD COUNT: 0.6k

AUTHOR'S NOTE: english is not my first language! i wrote this very short part about gunwook on the train and it will be the last thing i post for a while! i have already started to use my time to write a medium-length fic about karina that i hope will be better than the others i have written :) have a nice day!

The room of Gunwook, your brother's best friend, was strangely clean. Even after looking for several minutes in every corner, to then accuse him of something, you couldn’t find anything. The room was small but welcoming and on one side there was the enormous desk, with the books you would need for revision.

Sure, you didn’t hate Gunwook, but finding yourself suddenly, from one day to the next, at the house of one of Gyuvin’s most popular friends wasn’t exactly relaxing. Your brother Gyuvin certainly had everything a woman or a man could be interested in, but once you got to know him you couldn’t help but notice that he was missing something: a bit of tact.

“Y/n, you’re already here, ah” Gunwook, surprised, entered the room and closed the door behind him. Gunwook was popular, too popular for your tastes. You were the same age, you attended the same school but not the same section. The desperate sighs and screams you heard when you passed in front of his classroom, always surrounded by fans, made you turn on your heels every time.

If you had to describe your relationship with him, perhaps you would have reduced it to those greetings you sometimes exchanged when your eyes met. Nothing more. Except for one small detail: you too, like many others, found him extremely attractive and, on several occasions, he had shown you that he was kinder than Gyuvin’s other friends.

“Mathematics doesn't really get into your head, does it?” a bright smile almost made you regret not being very good with numbers. “Yeah. And Gyuvin decided to make my problem your problem, too,” you said, emphasizing the “your,” and the young man laughed. “We’ll show Gyuvin that the two of us are better than two Gyuvins.” This time it was you who laughed. “We are, without a doubt.”

Gunwook spent the next three hours explaining to you in detail everything you didn’t understand and, when necessary, he stopped to let you take a break. Sometimes your hands would touch and your breathing would synchronize; you tried desperately not to make it obvious that you weren’t indifferent to that closeness. Once you finished reviewing all the notes you had brought with you, you thanked Gunwook with a weak “thank you” to which he responded with a huge smile full of warmth.

“Well, Gyuvin didn't do anything wrong in calling me to help you.” “Sometimes he knows how to make himself useful!” you replied a little too enthusiastically, immediately ending up embarrassed by your own words. “Y/n, whenever you want, I’m always willing to give you a hand” “You don’t have to” You accidentally met your gaze in the nearby mirror and noticed the redness on your cheeks. What an idiot I am.

“Let me put it this way.” Gunwook settled back in his chair and took your hands in his, causing you to yelp a little, to which the boy responded by tilting his head and laughing, whispering “How stupid you are.” “Um, tell me.” “Next time, let’s go to a nice coffee shop to study or the library. Anywhere you like. I have an overwhelming urge to take you out on a date.” Your head was spinning a little, so you held his hands tighter as if seeking support.

“Maybe you got the wrong girl” That toothy smile didn't seem to leave Gunwook's face. “I don’t think that’s possible. I, well,” Gunwook ran his hand through his hair, “I need to get to know you better. Every time I talk to you or simply look at you my heart does flips. I don't know how I got through today's lesson without kissing or touching you."

"Oh, okay" “Is it a yes, Y/n?” Gunwook was now closer than expected. “Yes, I feel the same so how could I say no to you?” You were the same color as a tomato. Gunwook came closer and closed the distance between you by giving you a chaste and sweet kiss. You responded with a huff.

“You’re good with women” “Tell me something I don’t know, Y/n”

[highlynerdy]

"Aithusa has seen her father's mate in his memories and smelled him on her father's skin when he comes to visit, but this is the first time she gets to meet him for herself."

Nepenthe and Lavender by @0hheytherebigbadwolf

My latest fanARTifact is an entirely handlettered, handbound, and illustrated book of this beautifully fluffy fic (and it has actually been in various states of progress since March 1, 2021.) More below the cut!

So as I said above, I actually started planning this fic over two years ago. Which, yeah, I don't really want to talk about because adhd is a hell of a thing. I love love love this fic (and this entire series) and I was inspired by The Black Hours and other gorgeous manuscripts with metallic on black paper.

I ordered some black paper from Canson for the text block, used Arabic gold finetec paint mixed with water and gum arabic as my ink (I used three pans of the gold paint...), and a Nikko G nib with a straight pen holder for the calligraphy. I really wanted to use one of my broad tip nibs, but I just couldn't my Uncial letters small enough with it. I used Uncial since that was technically the alphabet/font they used in the Arthurian time period.

The paper was cut down and folded into signatures of three and then I drew out light pencil lines for the text and for the margins. Every single letter was done sooooo slooowwllly because if I messed up on one page there was no way to erase it, which meant I would have to do basically four pages worth of lettering again since they were all connected.

And I did mess up.

More than once.

I think the most heartbreaking mistake was at the very end when I was trying to erase my pencil lines and I just ripped a page completely in half. The tears were real, folks.

Once I finished lettering - which took hours and hours and hours over many weeks - it was time to assemble the text block and sew it. I used gold silk thread I had leftover from Arthur's scarf (which is also used as the backdrop for the photo shoot) to sew the block together and I love how it gives just another little peek of gold to the book.

I painted the end papers in a vaguely floral pattern with the same gold and also some silver finetec paint, glued them all together and put them in my book press and then promptly didn't work on it again from October 2022 to July 2023. Sigh.

But once I committed to getting it done, I asked @swanfloatieknight to help be my accountabilibuddy and make sure I finished it this week. I tested out so many different cover designs, from fabric and thread, to paper, to finally settling on this all over design done by my cricut. Historically accurate?? Nah. I'm about as historically accurate as BBC Merlin.

I tried my hand at gold foiling and that was a disaster so I just used a gold silk ribbon to give the color a little bit more color. Once it was bound, I painted in a triskelion and Aithusa on a double page spread I left intentionally blank.

And it was finally done!

All in all, I'm pleased with how it turned out. Was it an exercise in patience? Yes. Did I learn a lot? Also yes. Mostly that handlettering an entire fic is madness and also this is far too small to case bind, but I'm a stubborn ass and it was happening regardless.

All total, I probably worked on this for about 50+ hours. It was most definitely a labor of love and I'm so happy that it's finally done.

Thank you for inspiring me to take on such a project by writing such wonderful fics, @0hheytherebigbadwolf! And thank you for everyone who reads these long fanARTifact posts. 💛

[wolfjackle-creates]

Bring Me Home Arc 2 Part 20: FINAL

So guess what I realized this morning. Today, November 13, 2023 is the one year anniversary of me posting my first DPxDC fic to tumblr. It was the original fill for this very fic. (Which you can find here.)

So I decided I just had to finish this arc and get it posted. This year has been amazing and so much fun. I've become a much better writer and joined a community that has brought me so much joy. I'm glad to be here and I'm glad so many of you like to read what I'm sharing.

I noticed I got a few new readers over the past week or so, so welcome to all of you! Hope you enjoy this early update!

In personal news, my nephew was born and he's adorable and I'll be meeting him tomorrow! (As soon as I'm done posting this, I'm off to make food for his mom.)

Story Summary: Tim and Danny are both neglected by parents who care more about their work than their families. They deal with this by spending too much time online and find each other playing MMORPGs. They keep up their friendship as Tim becomes Robin and Danny becomes Phantom and don't bother keeping secrets from each other.

Arc 1

Arc 2: Part 1, Previous

Word Count: 1.2k

-----

In the end, it ended up taking several hours for Danny, Sam, and Tucker to escape their families and converge on the park. In that time, Tim had called Bruce to let him know he’d be back in Gotham by tomorrow and finished most of his homework.

While he worked, Wulf and Bart were having an animated conversation in Esperanto.

Tim was pretty sure Wulf would be bringing Bart to the Ghost Zone for a tour sometime and started making plans to learn Esperanto himself and bribe Bart to get in on them.

Cassie was helping Conner sort through some of the music Sam had given him. Tim was jealous as he solved more banal trig questions. Why did school have to be so boring? He tapped his pencil on the paper in time to the beat of whatever music Conner had playing.

Tucker was the first to arrive. “Danny and Sam not here yet?” he asked as he plopped down next to Bart and Wulf.

“Nope. Haven’t heard from them, either,” said Tim. He opened his phone notifications again just to be sure, but there was nothing new.

Tucker shrugged and pulled out a stick of jerkey to munch on. “Not surprising. The Fentons will be all overprotective after the mayor was kidnapped by a ghost on live TV. And Sam’s parents are just as bad. Only they smother rather than check the weaponry.” He turned to greet Wulf in Esperanto.

An email came through on Tim’s phone and he groaned. “Our evening interview was canceled. No one wants to hear us try to defend Phantom anymore.”

Cassie cursed. “Course not. Bet the paper won’t publish our editorials either.”

Conner looked over, confused. “Won’t they? Clark works for the Daily Planet. They publish stuff like that all the time.”

Tim didn’t look up from his math as he answered, “That’s the difference between a big, Pulitzer winning publication and a small-town op-ed.”

Tucker sighed. “Well maybe someone will remember your interviews from this morning in a positive light.”

Bart rolled his eyes. “Come on, we can’t change it. So let’s move forward. Next step, make friends with more ghosts! Wulf says there’s a bunch of cool people in the Realms.”

“Realms?” asked Tim.

“It’s what he says the Ghost Zone is actually called. The Infinite Realms.”

“Huh. I’ll have to check JL databases, see if they have any information on them.”

Tucker asked something in Esperanto and Bart burst out laughing as Wulf looked on in confusion.

With Bart’s help, though, he rephrased until Wulf was able to reply. And then the three kept to Esperanto. Tim really had to find time to learn it.

Sam was the next to arrive. She grinned and sat down next to Conner. “How you liking the music?”

Conner grinned and showed her the sheets where he ranked the bands so far based on which songs he’d listened to. She then took over the speakers and searched for specific tracks to try and change his mind about some of the bands he liked the least.

Tim let his eyes close as his friends’ voices washed over him.

After some indeterminate time where he dozed between sleeping and awareness, a foot nudged his hip. Tim grumbled out what was supposed to be a, “What?” but was too mumbled to really be understood.

“Come on, Secrets. You can do better than that.”

Tim cracked an eye open to see Danny grinning down at him. He pushed himself up slightly and blinked heavily in the sunlight.

“Finally got away from your parents?” asked Tim.

Danny collapsed on the ground next to him. “Ugh, don’t remind me. They’re freaking out over everything that’s happened the last few days. Jazz and I are basically going to be on lock down until they feel confident the ghosts are gone.”

“Did you have to sneak out to get here?” asked Cassie.

Danny shook his head. “No, I told them I was going to find you guys to make sure you were all safe. You’re welcome to come back to ours tonight, by the way. Mom and Dad basically insisted on it.”

“What do you guys think?” asked Tim. “Spend one more night here at Danny’s and head out in the morning?”

Cassie sighed. “My mom’s already freaking out that I’ve been gone longer than planned. I should get back tonight.”

“I’ll stay,” offered Conner. “I’m your ride home, anyway.”

“Why don’t you come to my place, Conner,” offered Sam. “Your nails need a fresh coat after fighting today. And I need teach you about the different brands of makeup and what to look for in terms of cost, quality, and ethicality. Plus I can get you more music.”

Tim laughed when Conner looked to him. “Go for it. Have fun.”

Conner grinned. “Then yeah, let’s do it!”

Bart shrugged. “Wulf is going to go back to the Realms soon. I’ll head out after. Wally and Linda want me over for a family dinner tonight.”

“Well, looks like that’s it, then,” sighed Danny. “Been fun having other heroes around.”

Tim nudged his shoulder. “Join the Young Justice. You could join us and we'd help out whenever you wanted. Get you around people who actually appreciate what you do for them.”

But Danny was already shaking his head. “I have to stay here. And now Amity trusts heroes even less. I want to improve that, not make it worse.”

“Even if you don’t join,” declared Conner. “You’re not getting rid of us now.”

Bart nodded his agreement. “Yep. We’re gonna be stopping by all the time. You’re in the group chat.”

“Exactly,” agreed Tim. “And we’ll figure out ways to help you. Starting with how to minimize property damage. That seems to be the big thing people focus on. You can make shields, right? How big can you make them and how much power do they take?”

Danny smiled wryly. “Can’t say I’ve really tested it.”

Tim laughed. “Well, I know one thing we’re doing tonight. We’re going to go back to Nasty Burger—” Tim looked around at the whole group “—all of us. Then Cassie and Bart are going to go home. Danny and I, at least, are going to take a nap. Then we’re gonna test the current limits to Danny’s powers.”

Danny bumped their shoulders together. “You know, this is just like gaming with you all those years.”

“Yeah, well, it’s best to be thorough.”

“We’ve measured, like, his top speed and stuff,” said Tucker, pulling out a PDA. “Want to see what we’ve got so far?”

“Absolutely.” Tim took the device and looked through it. “You’ve a decent amount of information here. Maybe instead of taking a nap, I’ll help you organize it and come up with a testing plan.”

Conner flew over to him and pulled the PDA out of his hand. “Not after pulling an all-nighter you won’t. We’re going to get some food, then the two of you are going to sleep for at least four hours.”

“I’ll set Jazz on you, too,” threatened Sam. “Don’t think I won’t.”

Tim pouted as the device was given back to Tucker. And grumbled more when Conner picked him up and threw him over his shoulder.

“Come on, food time.”

“I am going to put kryptonite in your phone,” threatened Tim.

“Bingo!” shouted Cassie.

Danny laughed as he stood. “Does this mean I can join the next round?”

Tim scowled. “Traitors, all of you.”

-----

Next

And that's the end of this Arc! Arc 3 will pick up where the original fill did. (Only this time, Tim won't be the only DC character there to help Danny.)

I'd say something like I can't believe it's only been a year, but so much has happened to me in the last twelve months that it feels like a lifetime ago, to be honest. But it's been a good year and I'm glad this community has been part of it.

Please follow the subscription post if you want updates for when I start transferring this arc to AO3 or begin posting Arc 3.

[theidiotwhowritesthings]

I am IN LOVE with your writing!  I’m a dedicated reader! 💓💓 thanks for taking the time to do it!

Hear me out. Reader pulls a 24 hour shift in the local clinic on a busy day and we get a protective worried din?

He would also be busy but he would definitely pull reader out and make her take a nap AT LEAST. 😂 anyway, I just thought that would be cute to think about.

I hope you have a wonderful day and keep up the good work! 

[a/n: anybody wanna guess how many times it took me to try and post this b/c tumblr wanted to keep glitching and destroying it?? FUCKING FOUR. lord, im gonna go scream in a pillow. anyways, thanks anon for the great idea! also pls consider this my apology for the cliffhanger that i am so sorry (but not really) for.]

'A FRESH START' DELETED SCENE

Din Djarin x Female!Reader

Warnings: reader overworks herself, mentions of injuries (burns specifically) but not in great detail

Word Count: 1,934

Summary: Everyone needs a break, and Din is hell bent on ensuring you don't skip yours.

#MID 17: TAKE A BREAK, DOC

[so not between chapters, but a scene within one of the time breaks in chapter 17.]

.

"be with someone who will take care of you. not materialistically but take care of your soul, your well being, your heart, and everything that's you." -unknown

.

Trying to get the emergency clinic established was not easy. You agreed to the job, and Karga had given you free reign. The High Magistrate was essentially allowing you to run the clinic as you saw fit. Which in part was fantastic because it gave you incredible freedom, but it was also your worst nightmare. All your training had taught you was how to handle the medical aspect of an office. The business and organization side was a whole other issue. Especially because the people of Nevarro were not understanding that this was for emergencies only. 

“My ankle hurts.”

“Alright, when did this start? When did you get hurt?”

“I twisted it while jogging three years ago.”

“You⏤ Wait, what?”

In order for this to work the way it needed to, you’d have to focus on actual emergencies only. Alone you would never be able to handle the patient load that would come with servicing an entire city. Plus, you really didn’t want to. The amount of time it would take to even attempt that was insane, and Din needed your help with Grogu.

So, the plan would be to establish that this clinic was emergencies only, emphasize it to everyone who walked in the door, but for today you’d manage all the small, routine problems.

Just for today.

By lunch time, you had already seen 47 patients. None of which were emergent. In fact, the biggest injury was a young man who had dropped a glass plate at home and accidentally cut his hand. He needed four stitches. 

“Aayla?”

“Four more in the waiting room, doctor!” Aayla called out without even having to be asked the question. She was a gift from the Maker today. Already, you had decided to try training her more in depth medically and hire someone else to work the front desk. “You also have a guest.

“What?” You breathed, barely able to catch her words.

Aayla didn’t need to repeat herself because that was the moment Din swept into the room with the same confident strut he naturally seemed to have. At the sight of him, you couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief as your lips curled up into a smile.

“What is going on?” Din asked as he drifted closer to you. There were still two patients sitting on cots waiting for you to finish with them, but Din commandeered your attention by settling his hand on your lower back and staring down at you. Even through the helmet you could feel his concerned gaze. “Why are you so busy? I thought you were hired for emergencies only.”

“I was, but apparently nobody told all of Nevarro that.”

Din stiffened. “Did Karga⏤”

“No. I don’t think he tricked me into this or that this was on purpose.” You said quickly. “And everyone who comes in, I’m telling them that from now on it’s emergencies only.”

“But today?”

“Today, I am seeing every Nevarro citizen.” You chuckled. “You want a check up, Mando?”

“Ner kar’ta,” Din shook his head, “Have you taken any breaks at all?” You shot him a sheepish smile. “Come. Let’s get lunch.”

“I can’t. I’ll just get further behind.” You mumbled. Din looked like he was ready to argue with you. In fact, his hands even drifted to his hips as his head tilted. You had seen him take on the same stance before lecturing Grogu. You wrapped your hands around his forearm and gave him the most reassuring smile you could muster. “It’s fine. I’m just sorry I’m bailing on you for lunch.” He sighed. “You poor thing, now you’ll have to spend more time with Mayfeld.”

Din huffed and you chuckled. Aayla called out that more people were filling the space, and for a second you thought the Mandalorian Marshal was considering sending everybody home just so you could have a moment for lunch. You squeezed his forearm. 

“Fine.” Din grumbled.

“Also, I know this won’t help my argument or convince you of anything, but,” You scrunched your nose with a small wince, “Do you think you can pick up Grogu today?”

Din seemed taken aback based on his voice alone, “How long do you plan on staying?”

You knew his question was one more focused on the concern of you staying here for too long versus him being upset that you couldn’t get Grogu. When you shot him another sheepish smile he just grumbled under his breath in Mando’a. Din caught you off guard by leaning forward to lightly rest his forehead against yours for a second. 

“This conversation isn’t over.” Din said simply and you just chuckled in response.

He squeezed your hand once before leaving and you were forced to return to the patients you had. Ten minutes passed at the most, you got two patients out with Aayla’s help, when Din’s heavy footfalls returned. You glanced over your shoulder to see he was holding a bag of food. He crossed the space to set the bag in your hands and you peered in to see it was your favorite sandwich from the local shop. Your eyes glanced back up at him with a grin. The warmth of being seen and known settling in your chest.

“Eat.” Din said firmly.

“Thank you.” You replied. “I’ll eat it as soon as⏤”

“No.” He interrupted. A tilt to his head and a challenge in his voice. “I’m not leaving until I watch you take a few bites. At the least.”

You rolled your eyes, in good nature, and handed him the bag so you could wash your hands in the sink off to the side. On your way back to Din, you asked Aayla to bandage one patient’s knee and get imaging of another patient’s hand. Din had already pulled out your sandwich to set on the desk you had brought into the corner. Before you could reach for it, Din pointed to the desk chair. With a chuckle you dropped down into the seat, the first time you were off your feet all morning, and only then did Din push the sandwich toward you. 

“Thanks.” You said after your first bite. More sincere than your last. Din was leaning against the desk beside you. Close enough that your arm could press against his thigh if you moved it over even an inch. “You didn’t have to do this.”

“Apparently, I did.” Din chuckled. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t have eaten at all.”

You couldn't argue. Instead, you just shook your head, “Not gonna lie, I always did have a bad habit of getting caught up in my work.”

“Why does that not surprise me?”

“Doctor, can you take a look at this?” Aayla called out.

You quickly took one last, large bite of your sandwich before standing. Din pushed off the desk to tower over you again. He nodded. “I’ll pick up Grogu, but if you’re not home by 5 I’m coming back to drag you home.”

“Is that a threat or a promise?” You teased.

Din leaned over to lightly tap his forehead against yours and you chuckled. He reached over to pick up your sandwich and held it up towards you. You raised an eyebrow at him, but he didn’t budge. Rolling your eyes, you leaned over and took another bite. Holding a hand over your mouth, tucking the food into your cheek, you spoke. “Happy?”

“Yes. Be careful. Message me if you need anything.”

You watched him leave with a bemused smile.

Never before had you been so acutely aware of the saying ‘when it rains, it pours’. Today had already been stressful and busy so it would make sense that at 4:25 in the afternoon an actual emergency rolled in. Nothing to test and stretch your skills like having to handle a trauma case after a full day of working. There had been an incident, on the other side of this world deep in the lava plains, where a group of smugglers got a bit too close to a river of lava with their weapons and nearly blew one another sky high. 

The least injured of the three had flown them in. She had some superficial burns all along her left side. Then the other two had third degree burns that required some serious fluid replacement. You didn’t stop working, barely paused to take a breath, until all three were stable and resting comfortably. Only then did you drop down into your desk’s chair and rest your head on your arms with a sigh. 

About twenty minutes later, a pair of hands settled on your shoulders, squeezing in comfort, and you would’ve been startled if you didn’t recognize the creak of Din’s leather with the comforting smell of his flight suit’s detergent and the polish used on his beskar. 

“What time is it?” You groaned.

“8:42.”

“You’re nearly four hours late.”

Din squeezed your shoulders once more before letting a hand settle on the back of your neck. You found the weight of it grounded you. “I got here at 4:50. Saw you were busy with something important. Left then came back.” His thumb caressed your skin, and you pushed your head up to glance at him. Din had the hand not on your neck resting on the desk. “You alright?”

“Just tired.” You mumbled and rubbed your face with one hand. “Grogu?”

“He’s with Peli. Missed you at dinner though.” Din replied. “He acts up when you’re not around.”

“No, no. He’s a perfect angel, always.”

Din snorted at that, and the sound made you chuckle. You glanced over at the cots that held the three smugglers who slept soundly. All their vitals still stable. Din’s hand slipped down to rub your upper back soothingly. “You coming home?”

“I can’t. Not until the emergency shuttle gets here to pick those three up.” You sighed. “They have to be at a facility with a higher level of care than just me.”

“‘Just you’ saved their lives.”

“You know what I mean.” You shrugged. “You should go though.” Din tilted his head. “There’s no telling how long it’ll take for the ship to get here. I already sent Aayla home. I’m just babysitting right now. You should pick up Grogu and head home. Get some sleep.”

Din shook his head as if it were the stupidest thing you had ever said. He gently wrapped his hand around your upper arm and pulled you up from your seat. You let him drag you along to the fourth cot in the room which was currently empty. “You sleep. I’ll babysit.” 

“Din…”

He lightly pushed down on your shoulders until you were seated on the cot. You stared up at him in question, but he just shook his head. “If something changes with their status I’ll wake you.” Din pushed you down a little further so you were laying down. The moment your body hit the relatively soft bed you felt yourself sink into it with exhaustion. Din went to walk, but you grabbed his hand and tugged him toward the cot as well.

“You can babysit while laying down, can’t you?”

“My armor isn’t gonna be much of a pillow.”

“Neither is this cot.”

Din chuckled and dropped down to lay beside you. You rested your head on his chest, the cool metal of the beskar biting into your warm cheek, and just sighed. It hadn’t occurred to you how tired you truly were until now. Din had an arm wrapped around you so he could grasp your shoulder with his hand and use his thumb to trace patterns there.

“Take a break, doc.” Din hummed. “I got you.”

taglist:

@aheadfullofsteverogers @yyiikes @kneelforloki @c-ms1ut @sgt-morgan @luthienaliceisilra @fawn-kitten @missbabyjay @coldlamaspersonspy @dilfsaremyfavourite @jamesbuckybarnes @yorkeylover @teawrites01 @emily-roberts @djarinxore @impala1967666 @shelbyteller @faithrenner @dindjarindude @dankfarrick29 @rh1nestonecowg1rl @garbo-lesbo @anythingforattention @tearfulsolace @onceinamando @catharinaroxastova @uwu-i-purple-you @modiddys-blog @stagerightlauren @mini-bees @xxinvisblexx @adoringanakin @sagegreensensei @spidey-3 @sydney-1209 @thepascalofus @hrtsforpascal @banana-lol @daybleedsintonightfall11 @lil-dragon-draws @guccistardust @ideajpeg @harriedandharassed @leithatnight @elfamosotoga @damnzelsoul @the-anchored-sailor-girl @morks-watermelon @katelynmarieyt @taylorann2013 @chonkercatto @dheet @liadamerondjarin @fallinallinmendes @missdicaprio @jennaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa @alphaash99 @djarinsmixtape @pcrushinnerd @closedaddition @thelovelyhann @harrys-sunflower-bakery @mayaaaaah @theway-thisis

[valkyyriia]

Day 27 - The Gift That Just Keeps On Giving

Kinktober 2024 Prompt List | Kinktober 2024 Masterlist

Words: 3765 CW: Possessive Comte, Sexual Teasing, Unprotected Sex, Loving Intimacy Pairing: Comte de Saint-Germain x Reader Prompt(s): Lingerie | Teasing

Notes: I discovered writing this one (this was the third entry I finished) that PWP is difficult for me. Thus, this one ended up being just shy of 3800 words total. Whoops.

I actually had this one finished on the 27th.. I don't know why I didn't post it then. Whoops.

I'll eventually catch up on the rest of the days! I just don't have the writing spoons at the moment, unfortunately.

You were walking through town with your friend Claudine on a rare day off from work when something caught your eye in a window display. You stopped to get a better look.

Apparently, the town’s corsetier had gotten a new fabric in. In the window was a lacy, golden corset with gilded paisley designs all around the panels. Upon seeing it, the first thing that came to mind was that the fabric’s deep yellow reminded you distinctly of your partner’s golden eyes and the rest of his matching ensemble.

The second thing was that a clothing item of that high of quality was bound to be terribly expensive.

Claudine stopped beside you, looking to see what had gotten your attention. When she saw the corset, she elbowed you with a cheeky grin.

“Are you looking to buy a present for Monsieur le Comte?” She teased. “It does look rather like his coat, now that I think about it. That, and your wedding is coming up soon, isn’t it? Maybe a little something for your wedding night?”

You blushed at Claudine’s teasing. “Well…”

Before you could say anything else, Claudine took your arm. “Come on! You should at least try it on!”

Claudine then all but dragged you into the store. You briefly considered if Claudine was somehow related to your vampiric lover as she proceeded to pull more and more things off of the corsetier’s shelves. The shop owner had even started to help, grabbing things she had stored in the back as well.

Three hours later, you and Claudine were leaving the corsetier’s with your arms full of wrapped clothing.

How on Earth does this happen with everyone you know?! Do you just attract people with bottomless pockets and a proclivity for fashion?!

“See, I told you it would look great on you! I bet Monsieur le Comte will agree once he sees it, too,” she whispered conspiratorially. “Though, with how you’ve described him in private, he’d be more apt to tell you he prefers to see it on the floor.”

You swatted at her arm and hissed at her. “Claudine!”

She just laughed as you both headed to call for a carriage home.

This seemed like a great idea when discussing the prospect with Claudine. Even though she had teased you about it, the girl really did have fantastic advice.

Usually.

Right now, you were wondering why you had even agreed to it? Maybe it was just her hyping you up, for lack of a better term?

You were in Comte’s room, looking at your reflection in his large standing mirror, wearing the new golden corset you had brought home alongside a pair of white silk stockings and a matching golden garter belt.

You didn’t even know they made those in this era.

Well, the history of lingerie had to start somewhere, you supposed.

You eyed your reflection with a frown, turning this way and that to see all of the other angles. You felt like it looked better in the store than it did on your body.

Well, at least Comte wasn’t home yet. He had gone out earlier, stating he had a meeting with a florist regarding your wedding. You had petulantly asked why he was going without you, and he had just kissed your nose affectionately and replied, “It’s a surprise for ma fiancée.”

You sighed, sitting down on his bed. Well, you supposed you should take it off before he gets home, and tuck it away so deep in the closet that he’d never even realize you had brought it home.

Before you could get too far down that line of thought, however, you heard familiar footsteps coming down the hall. You looked at one of the many clocks around the room in panic, realizing it was far later than you had thought. Quickly improvising, you grabbed for the nearest article of clothing you could find - one of Comte’s button down shirts - and tossed it on, slipping under the sheets of his bed and pretending to be asleep.

As soon as your head hit the pillow, the door had creaked open. You fought the urge to open your eyelids, instead listening to Comte’s shoes tap against the wooden floors of his bedroom. You heard the sound of his coat shuffling and the telltale click of his tie’s latch.

His footsteps quietened, likely as soon as he noticed you in his bed, and he carefully toed to the side of it.

“Oh, mon amour,” he murmured. “I wasn’t gone for that long.” His hand lightly brushed against your shoulder. Rather than continue to pretend to be asleep like you had for the fourth birthday you had spent with him - you unconsciously squeezed your thighs together at the memory - you rolled over onto your side and looked up at him.

“I wasn’t asleep yet,” you replied quietly.

“Good. I’m glad I didn’t wake you.” He smiled, but then his brow furrowed and he ran a thumb along your cheekbone. “But what’s wrong, ma chérie? Did me going to the florist without you upset you that terribly?” The pad of his thumb traced under your eye. “I’m sorry, mon amour. I’ll take you with me next time, if it pleases you.”

Oh.

He thought you were upset because of him, even though that couldn’t be further from the truth.

You sighed self-deprecatingly. “Abel, it’s nothing you did,” you murmured. “I’m sorry if it seemed that way. It’s just,” you trailed off. He looked relieved that he hadn’t been the one to cause your upset, but also worried as to what it could have been. “Claudine and I went shopping today, and well..”

“Well?” He prompted, thumb still gently massaging under your eye. Your heart melted. You did not deserve this man.

“It sounded like a good idea, when I was with her, and she said it looked great, but… I got home and tried it on again and I didn’t like it as much when I was by myself.”

Comte’s hand moved to your neck, caressing the flesh there with the back of his hand in an attempt to provide comfort. “If Claudine told you it looked good on you, I’m sure it did,” Comte reassured you. “She’s got wonderful taste in fashion.”

“Are you sure you’re not related to her?” You asked with a huff. “I swear you’re both the same.”

“If we’re the same, and she liked it, then I’m sure I will too,” Comte pointed out with an amused smile. “Can I see whatever it is?” He took your hand in his and brought it to his lips, pressing a kiss to your knuckles.

You hesitated. It would be a waste not to, but… “Promise me you won’t laugh?”

“I promise,” he replied instantly, without an ounce of hesitation. You sighed and started to get up, Comte moving from the side of the bed to give you room. When the sheets fell away from your body you heard his sharp intake of breath.

He hadn’t noticed you were wearing one of his shirts.

You bit your lip, hesitating again. Your eyes drifted up to his face and you saw him swallow thickly.

He likes seeing you in his shirts. You mentally filed that note away for later. Maybe you should invest in a notebook like Sebas’, but for the things Comte liked?

Shaking your head to clear it and taking a deep breath, you turned to face him and slowly started to unbutton the shirt. As the golden fabric of the corset started to peek through you saw the look on Comte’s face change dramatically.

Comte did a double take. His eyes nearly bulged out of his head. He looked positively stunned. “I’m sorry, is it too much? I was going to take it off before you got home, but-” You started to say, moving to button the shirt back up, but you were quickly cut off by le Comte taking two long strides forward, gathering you in his arms, and kissing you deeply.

“It looks beautiful on you, chérie. Everything does, but,” he caressed your cheek. “Tu es belle in my colors, mon amour. It makes me want to ravish you wholly.” He leaned in for another hungry kiss. You couldn’t help but push yourself even closer to him, kissing him back with just as much fervor.

His hands slid down your sides and settled on your hips, pulling you towards him. He ground against you harshly, his clothed erection rubbing against your stomach.

Comte pulled away from you slightly, just enough to speak. “Can you feel how turned on you make me, mon amour? Just by existing?” He leaned in for another kiss, his tongue pushing into your mouth possessively. His hands drifted further down, cupping your ass and squeezing appreciatively. He made to lift you and you hopped up, your legs wrapping around his waist. He carried you over to the bed you had just vacated and set you down, never breaking the kiss. Comte leaned in over you, caging you between him and the bed.

“Tell me, Princesse, why did you not like it?” He asked, tearing himself away from you just long enough to start to unbutton his own shirt.

You swallowed hard. “Well, I just… I haven’t worn anything like this before.”

Comte gave you a devilish smirk, his fangs peeking over his bottom lip, the sight shooting straight to your core. “I want to see more of it. You know how I so love dressing you up, ma chérie. And undressing you after.” His voice was a deep, seductive purr. “It’s like unwrapping a present specifically made for me.”

How was this man so ridiculously sexy in everything he did? It was unfair!

“But next time,” he continued, “Because there will be a next time; I want to be the only one to see you in it. Not even Claudine or the corsetier,” he whispered, tossing his shirt off and returning his hands to your thighs, his fingers digging into the plush flesh there. He leaned in and kissed you again, just as hungrily as the last few times. You moaned into his mouth and he eagerly swallowed every sound you made.

Comte’s fingers slid between your thighs, gently teasing your folds. You gasped into his mouth and he pulled away, a thin trail of saliva connecting your mouths.

“No panties? Such a naughty girl, ma chérie,” he chuckled lowly. The sound sent a shiver down your spine. Right now the look on Comte’s face was positively predatory. It turned you on more than you’d care to admit.

The vampire leaned back in for another greedy kiss, his hands continuing to fondle and swipe along the delicate skin between your thighs, spreading the moisture around. His lips trailed to the side of your neck, mouthing over the skin there.

Comte could smell the sweet scent of your blood pulsing through your veins, the aroma intoxicating. His mouth watered and his fangs began to ache. You were so eager, so trusting; it would be so easy to -

No, not yet. That would be another, far more special occasion.

Instead, Comte sucked hard on your neck. Your back arched like a taut bowstring, crying out at the feeling. He left behind a bright red mark, the color a startling contrast against your skin.

“You’re beautiful,” Comte mouthed against your skin. “In everything you wear. In everything you do.” His lips moved to the center of your throat and he nipped lightly at the skin there too. His fingers were still between your legs, toying with your labia. He kept his fingers from dipping too closely to where you wanted, though; instead choosing to tease you. A punishment, perhaps.

Comte pulled away from the column of your throat, looking you directly in the eyes. His golden irises were smoldering with a deep, intense heat. “But I don’t like the idea that someone else picked out the things you wear for me. The only one that should see you like this is me.” You inhaled sharply at the possessive bite of his words.

He leaned in towards the laces on the front of the corset. You watched as he took the laces between his teeth and bit sharply at them, his fangs easily snipping through the cording. He slipped his fingers from between your legs and ripped the remainder of the corset off your body, tossing it haphazardly onto the wooden flooring. At the same time, his lips made contact with the flesh of your side and you whined at the teasing.

“Abel, this was expensive!”

“I’ll get you a new one,” he murmured against your flesh. “I’ll buy out the whole store. I’ll have the corsetier make you a custom one in every single color you desire. You know price isn’t an issue for me.” He lightly nipped at the skin of your side, his lips trailing up to your breast. He dragged the tip of his fang across the beaded peak of your nipple, causing you to gasp and your hips to buck involuntarily. “But I’ll be the only one to ever see you in them.”

Comte kissed down your abdomen, your stomach tensing at the feeling. He dragged his tongue across the skin of your hips, pressing a kiss there, and then he took ahold of one of your golden silk garters with his teeth and sharply jerked his head, tearing the fabric clean from your skin. He kissed the top of your thigh and slid the accompanying stocking off your leg before doing the same to the other side.

Comte’s fingers trailed back between your thighs, gliding through your wetness and across the sensitive flesh. His lips kissed back up to your breasts and he returned his attention to your hardened nipple. You whimpered as he ghosted a finger over your sensitive clit, still avoiding giving you the pressure you sought.

“Abel, stop teasing me,” you breathed, your breath hitching as his finger just barely touched against your clit. He dragged his finger towards your aching opening, lightly circling it, just shy of penetrating you.

“Teasing you?” He asked with mock innocence, his tongue flicking against your nipple. “I’m not teasing you. I’m punishing you, chérie.” Comte bit harshly at the rosy bud and you cried out, a mix of pain, pleasure, and surprise catching you off guard. He slipped a single knuckle’s length inside of you. “You’re so wet for me. You like being punished like this? Naughty girl.”

He turned his attention onto your other breast, taking the peak of that one into his mouth and sucking harshly. Your back arched, your hand threading through his golden hair and tugging lightly. “Please, Abel,” you whined. “I need you.”

He released your nipple with a soft pop and leaned back. He hummed in thought, slipping his fingers from between your legs. You whimpered in protest. “I’m not sure. Have you learned your lesson, ma chérie?”

“Yes,” you breathed out. Your other hand grasped ahold of your abused breast, squeezing it in desperation for some stimulation.

Comte exhaled harshly at the sight, his tongue trailing along the tip of a fang. His golden eyes were completely focused on you.

“Tell me what you learned,” he commanded, voice deep with want. His hands fell to the waist of his pants and he started to unfasten them, waiting for your response.

Your eyes drifted down his form and settled on his hands, biting your lip and watching his movements.

“Answer me, chérie, or this ends here,” he warned, but he didn’t stop. He palmed himself through his trousers, groaning at the contact.

You were half tempted to call his bluff, but you wanted him to touch you far too much to take a chance on him being serious. You were still wanting to tease him, though, as payback for what he had been doing to you. “I learned that I’m yours,” you started, your free hand slowly moving down your stomach.

“You should have already known that,” Comte said. His gaze was fixed on your hand. “Continue.”

“I learned that you can be a complete and utter tease,” you breathed, your fingers dipping into your own wetness. You sighed at the contact, even if it wasn’t what you wanted.

In an instant, Comte had shed his pants and was back on top of you, pinning your wrists beside you, the tip of his hard cock pressing lightly against your folds. You gasped in surprise.

“You’re calling me a tease, while you do something like that, and you smell as delicious as you do,” He purred dangerously. “Answer me seriously, chérie. What have you learned?” He rolled his hips just enough to part your wet labia, the head of his cock dragging against your clit. You moaned.

“I learned that you’re possessive,” you managed to bite out. “And you don’t like others seeing me in lingerie.”

Comte leaned forward and kissed you, angling his hips to where the head of his cock slipped just barely inside your entrance. You gasped in to the kiss and he took the opportunity to slide his tongue in your mouth. He broke away slightly, panting. “Good girl. I’ve got one more lesson to teach you,” Comte murmured. He released your wrists, grabbing ahold of your thighs instead as he pushed inside of you the rest of the way.

You couldn’t help but moan as he filled you, his cock dragging deliciously against the neglected walls of your pussy. “Abel,” you whimpered as he started to slowly rock his hips against yours, giving you time to adjust to the intrusion. The time was hardly necessary; you were dripping wet the moment he started to touch you. Your hands roamed the smooth skin of his chest, brushing against the hard ridges of his pectorals.

Comte picked up the pace, thrusting into your heat insistently. “The last lesson,” the vampire said, “Is that I am the only one that will ever make you feel like this.” He punctuated his sentence with a particularly harsh thrust, making you cry out. “You are mine, chérie, in every way; and I need you to know that.”

Comte grabbed your hips and pulled you closer to him, your lower legs resting over his forearms as he bent over top of you. He crashed his lips against yours in a searing kiss, rutting into your depths like a man possessed. His pubic bone rhythmically brushed against your clit, sending jolts of pleasure through your body. You whimpered into his mouth and he swallowed every sound you made.

Comte adjusted one of your legs, wrapping it around his hip. With his now free-hand he rubbed his fingers against your clit in small, concise circles. He broke the kiss and whispered against your lips, “Come for me, pretty girl. My beautiful girl.”

The combined stimulation of his cock, nestled deep inside of you, and his fingers swirling around the sensitive apex of your thighs, sent you tumbling off the edge with a cry. Your inner walls clenched harshly around Comte’s length and he swore, burying his face in your neck, his hips stuttering as he came. You could feel his cock twitch inside of you, a new warmth filling your core as he thrust inside of you four more times before stilling.

Comte’s fangs brushed against the skin of your neck as he panted. One of your hands found its way into his hair and you combed through the strands as you both tried to catch your breath. After a few minutes, he pressed a kiss to your collarbone and sat up. He pulled his half-hard cock from your warmth with a hiss, the sensitivity causing both of you to jerk.

Comte leaned back in for another kiss, more gentle this time. “Un moment, mon amour,” he whispered against your lips. He stepped away and returned momentarily with a towel. Comte parted your legs and gently brushed against your folds, cleaning away your mixed fluids. After wiping himself down as well Comte slid into bed next to you, draping an arm around your waist. You snuggled into him and he pressed a kiss to your forehead.

“Are you okay?” He asked. “Was that okay?”

You hummed in response, a yawn escaping your mouth. Comte chuckled and pulled you closer to him, pressing another kiss to your forehead. “Go to sleep, chérie. I’ll tell Sebastian not to expect you at work in the morning. Je t’aime.” He rolled over onto his back so you could settle half on top of him like you preferred to.

You made yourself comfortable, one hand resting on his chest. His arms automatically wrapped around you, holding you close to him. You yawned again. “Abel?” you asked sleepily. “I learned something else today.”

Comte blinked in surprise, but smiled gently. “What was it?”

“I also learned that you love me,” you murmured, trailing your fingers down his arm affectionately.

He raised an eyebrow. “Was that ever truly in question, mon amour?”

You shook your head. “No, not really; but you were so sweet when you thought I was upset with you. And when you realized it was my insecurities, you were even sweeter.” You cuddled closer to him, your nose against his neck. “Thank you. For loving me.”

Comte sighed, tightening his arms around you and pulling you even closer to him.

“I will always love you, chérie; for all of eternity, in every way shape and form.” His fingers brushed up and down your arm. “I should be thanking you for loving me.”

The only response he got was your soft breaths. He huffed out a laugh, careful not to wake you. He was used to you falling asleep on him after he made love to you.

That’s okay.

He’d tell you how much he loved you when you woke up.

And he’d tell you every day for the rest of eternity, and every day beyond.

You saw Claudine again three days after.

“So, did le Comte like the corset?” Claudine asked cheekily.

You just blushed.

Dividers by @/natimiles

Taglist: @natimiles @queengiuliettafirstlady @candiedcoffeedrops @goddesswitchmother @candied-boys

@fang-and-feather @faustianfascination

[munsons-melody]

the russian starlette (prelude)

summary: after taking a job at starcourt, you accidentally get entangled with russians underneath the mall who decided to experiment on you, causing you to gain telekinetic powers

pairing: female!henderson!reader x eddie munson x steve harrington?

cw: none

word count:  1.0k

a/n: this part of the fic takes place in s3/the summer of 1985 and follows the storyline of s3 closely

✰ part one: the prelude

✰ part two: the experiment

✰ part three: the return (coming soon)

masterlist

i do not consent to having any of my works republished, translated, or posted to any other site except here. if you see my works anywhere but tumblr, it has been republished without my knowledge, consent, or permission

。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

god you wish you never took that stupid job at starcourt mall, but steve was a little too convincing...

"c'mon y/n, we'll go in, apply to a couple of places and if we hear back that's great and then you can save up for a car and i'll save up for college or whatever" steve explained as you sat in his car outside the mall

the engine was turned off, leaving you to contemplate in the silence, your head leaning against the window and your body facing him in the drivers seat

"i don't know steve... a job at the mall?" you questioned and he looked at you with eyes sweeter than honey

"look, you've been saying yourself you feel bad i'm driving you everywhere and that your mom would meet you halfway on the price of a car" he said, using your own words against you

"yeah and eddie's not around to drive me too" you said sadly

you sighed

okay fine, part of the reason you didn't want to get a job at starcourt was because your boyfriend eddie was touring around america with some new band called guns n' roses and it made you feel like the biggest loser that you're stuck in the the middle of nowhere indiana working at a mall

but you knew steve was right, and that you couldn't depend on eddie to drive you to school anymore, and that you felt bad that steve had been driving the two of you around the past few months

you knew you needed the independence so you sighed, and got up, your back cracking a little in the process

"fine, let's go get a job but i'm not dealing with anything with food" you said as the two of you got out of the car and shut the doors

"yeah i'm sorry but you really just can't cook for shit" steve laughed and the two of you started walking inside

。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

after a month at working at the gap, and seeing your paycheck, things weren't too bad working at the mall

steve got his job at scoops ahoy and luckily, his schedule somehow coincided with yours so he would drive the two of you

you had talked to eddie a few times over the past week, last time you guys spoke he said he was somewhere on the east coast and he was very happy for you and your new job

of course, you still felt like a loser working at the gap in hawkins while your boyfriend is an actual rockstar but steve made the mall bareable

plus, you finally became friends with robin, a girl you would always see around school but never talked to

the three of you would hang out constantly, and you were just happy in your little life of sneaking into the movies with them, or when steve would finish up before you and bother you in the store by trying on random clothes to keep you entertained till you left an hour later

that was until dustin came home from summer camp

you had finished up early at your shift at the gap, and walked over to scoops ahoy to bother steve and robin for the remainder of their shifts

it was nearing dinner time, meaning, most people weren't getting ice cream to eat, leaving the shop empty but you heard the three of them bustling around in the back

you rang the bell, and steve opened up the small window that separated the back room from the front counter

"oh hey y/n, we're just uh- doing stuff back here..." steve said, glancing behind him and then back to you

"wait it's y/n?" you heard dustin say and suddenly his face appeared next to steve's

"come back here, quickly and calmly, i need to tell you something huge" dustin said and you did as you were told

a few minutes later, dustin had explained how he picked up a russian transmission, and that they were trying to crack a secret russian code

hours after hours, you continued to listen to the same message over and over again till eventually you all figured out they were talking about the mall

which led you to the next problem, getting past the big scary russian with a big gun guarding the door

"or i could take him out" steve said nonchalantly

"take who out?" robin questioned

"the guard?" steve replied

"did you forget the part about the big gun?" dustin asked with an annoyed tone

but that guy was the least of your worries

after the secret elevator plummeted down to a crash on the bottom floor, and all five of you slipped through the elevator doors, you were on to finding more of the russians underneath starcourt

after walking for what seemed like miles, you all stumbled upon the hub full of russian guards, scientists, doctors, along with the comms room

and of course chaos ensued again

once in the comms room, you were taken aback by seeing someone in the room with you

robin tried to say the code to the russian man before steve started screaming and charged at the man, knocking him out

"you did it! you won a fight!" dustin exclaimed before a bigger issue caught your eye, the russian's were attempting to open the gate with a large machine which instantly made your stomach drop

alarms started blaring when the guards noticed the five of you, causing panic to ensue and everyone started running

your heart was pounding as everyone scrambled to outrun the guards, steve knocking over giant steel barrels in attempts to slow them down when you all ran into a room, slamming the door behind you

steve pressed his body against the door to keep it shut

"help me!" he yelled as the you and robin ran to him, pressing against the door with all your might

you watched as dustin and erica climbed up stairs and started descending into a hole in the floor

the weight of the guards pushing back seemed to be getting greater and greater

"i'll never forget you!" dustin screamed

"go!" you all screamed in unison as dustin shut the hatch

the guards eventually pushed open the door, causing everyone to go flying

it all went in slow motion as they opened the door, the weight of the push had sent your body flying to the wall, knocking you into complete darkness

to be continued…

[cyncerity]

Holy fucking shit the Dad’s Troubles AU story?? That i’ve been teasing since January??? It’s finally done??????

this took so fucking long that i’m debating posting an alternate and an extended unedited version that’s how many times i’ve written and re-written this thing.

anyway without further ado, the posts you’ll need for the context of this story are here and here, and the art teaser is here (if you’ve been keeping up with the Dad’s Troubles AU since 2022 you probably don’t need the context lol, but it has been a while so they’re there for whoever needs a refresher)

@quotethemenevervore (sorry if that’s the wrong account to tag btw) you seemed very excited for this story so i figured i’d tag you lol

tw: soft, safe vore, panic attack ig???

“I still don’t think it’s a good idea.” “I know, but, c’mon…we have to tell him eventually.”

Charlie sat on Schlatt’s living room table, the human leaning his head on his palm to be at a closer level to the borrower he was talking to. This was the same conversation they’d been having on and off for months now: should Ted be let in on the secret that Charlie wasn’t human. Obviously, there was a clear answer for them: eventually. Now, when ‘eventually’ actually was…that was a different problem.

“Do I need to remind you what happened the first and only time you met him in person?” Schlatt asked, to which Charlie just groaned. “You have to bring up the fish thing every time, don’t you? Cause yeah, I remember almost drowning, thank you very much.” “It’s more so the principle that he would throw you out a fuckin window, but you get my point. He clearly doesn’t see you as a person.” As much as Schlatt always hated to think about that, it was something him and Ted could never agree on. Ted was of the opinion that borrowers were basically just bipedal rats, and nothing Schlatt had done to convince him otherwise had worked. “But what if I changed that?” Charlie challenged, standing to pace the space in front of Schlatt. “He knows me, he’s known me for years. We’re friends, fuck, I’d say the three of us are best friends! There’s no way he’d just forget all of that the second he sees what height I am, right?” He finished, looking up at Schlatt with something akin to fear. Like he wanted Schlatt to tell him he was right, that it would all work out. But he couldn’t, because didn’t have an answer to what Ted would do. Schlatt sighed. “Honestly, I don’t kn-“

The doorknob to the apartment shook. It was locked, Schlatt always locked it when it was just him in the apartment. Schlatt and Charlie froze. Was Quackity trying to get in? Cause he wasn’t supposed to be home for a good few more hours, hence the door being locked. They were both absolutely silent, waiting for any confirmation that it was their mutual friend, until they heard a few utterances of cursing from behind the locked door.

“God fucking damnit, where are the keys Schlatt gave me-“

Ted.

~~~

Shit, shit. Schlatt had totally forgotten he gave Ted a space pair of keys for when he was visiting. Fuck, fuck, what the fuck should he do with Charlie?

He heard the key turn in the lock.

All of the borrower tunnels were too far away for the remaining few seconds he had till Ted walked in. There’d be no disguising that he was talking to Charlie. Charlie, who was part of a species that Ted believed couldn’t talk. He wouldn’t be able to explain himself.

He heard a creak as the door started to open.

Did he have a pocket? Shit, no, he had a crew neck and the pockets on his jeans were too tight and small for Charlie to fit in. There was only one other option he could think of. Fuck. Charlie, like him, had been frozen from shock this whole time. That would probably make this easier. He quickly lowered himself down and tried to grab Charlie to shove him in his mouth.

“Schlatt!” He heard Ted shout, and suddenly, without warning, Charlie moved.

Frantically, almost blindly running at him with no warning and accidentally falling past his hand and into his mouth, and everything went to shit.

~~~

Oh no. Speak of the devil. Ted. God dammit, why did he have to show up right when he and Schlatt were talking about him. And why did Schlatt even give him a spare key?

He heard the key turn in the lock.

Ok, fuck, how the fuck was he supposed to get out of this one? He didn’t have time to run, he wasn’t naïve enough to believe that. And contrary to how often he joked about the window and the almost-getting-eaten-by-a-fish thing, it was actually a pretty horrifying experience that he would not like to relive, thank you very much.

He heard a creak as the door started to open.

Shit, what should he do? What could he do?! He was out in the open, nowhere to run and nowhere to hide unless Schlatt had pockets or- wait. Schlatt. Schlatt…himself could be a place to hide. He’d seen Tubbo do it, that had been a long fuckin conversation after walking in on that, but it was safe. Probably a hell of a lot safer than being anywhere near Ted. But was he really willing to end up down his best friends throat?

“Schlatt!” He heard Ted shout and, apparently, he was.

He broke free from his panicked state and immediately sprinted towards Schlatt, planning to climb his shirt to his mouth and just hoping to god Schlatt would get the hint. However, he apparently hadn’t noticed that Schlatt had the same idea as him.

“Schlatt?” Ted asked.

Charlie ran full speed into something jarringly warm and wet. The change in…well, everything environmentally made him yell, as any and all light was suddenly stripped from him.

The door clicked closed, Ted was in the room with them. Thank god they’d been facing away from the door.

Charlie felt himself be thrown backward in the dark space, losing his balance as one of his legs caught in something that started to pull him down.

Oh fuck, that was weird, but it was fine. He wanted this, he decided to do this, he…he was getting eaten. It’s fine. This is fine, it’s Schlatt for fucks sake. And yet, the part of his brain that hadn’t quite registered that the “getting eaten” thing was actually his plan, told him to fight, to try and free his leg from the throat that threatened to drag him deeper into the giant.

“Are you ok, man?” Charlie heard Ted ask from beyond the closed teeth around him. He was getting closer.

The darkest split a bit, and something else entered the mouth with him for a moment. He couldn’t see well enough through his spit covered glasses and small amount of light what they were, but he guessed pretty immediately when they got a grip of his arms and started to shove him down the esophagus. Fingers. Schlatt pinned Charlie’s arms at his sides and shoved more of him down.

The fingers retracted from the mouth when only his legs remained out of the throat. He felt the environment around him change and realized what was happening. His struggling increased tenfold, kicking desperately at the teeth and gums around him to no avail, as the giant swallowed one last time and sent him fully into the throat.

~~~~~

“Schlatt!” Ted yelled, running over to see Schlatt holding his throat, unable to breathe. Ted went to wrap his arms around him to perform the heimlich, but Schlatt was thankfully aware enough to push him away at the last second. Unfortunately, that move made him send himself crashing onto the floor. Ted rushed over again, worry plastered on his face as Schlatt held up a hand, signaling to stop. So, Ted did just that, running off to do god knows what. Schlatt, meanwhile, could feel Charlie get stuck just a short way before he stopped blocking his windpipe. Schlatt pushed at his throat, swallowing frantically, pounding at his chest, anything to get Charlie down faster. He didn’t realize just how much…bigger Charlie was than his son. Charlie was a grown man, and tall by borrower standards, too. Compare that to Tubbo who was short by all standards and Schlatt realized he may have bitten off more than he could chew. Charlie seemed to be helping it go faster somewhat by squirming his way down, though he doubted it was on purpose. Though maybe this was a thought he could have later since at the moment he was very focused on not choking and dying on his best friend.

It was when Schlatt was starting to black out that Ted came back with a glass of water, not even giving Schlatt time to process it before forcefully opening his mouth and pouring it down his throat, giving Schlatt the ability to swallow Charlie down farther and finally unblock him from his windpipe. Schlatt fell to the ground again with a gasp, trying to drag as much air into his lungs as humanely possible. He placed a hand on his chest as he finally, fucking finally, felt Charlie make his way closer towards the stomach. He dissolved into a coughing fit on the floor, Ted slowly lowering himself to sit next to him. Schlatt wasn’t even gonna try to explain anything to Ted yet, though. Not until Charlie ended up where he needed to be and he could stop worrying.

He did his best to keep a poker face while he felt a much heavier weight than usual drop into his stomach. He really hadn’t thought about how much bigger Charlie was than Tubbo, but it was more noticeable now than ever.

Immediately he felt a flurry of movement from his stomach, limbs flailing and Charlie trying to get accustomed to whatever it was like in there. Schlatt squeezed his stomach in so Charlie wouldn’t trigger something audible that he’d have to make an excuse over, but quickly found that the borrower’s whole frame was shaking.

Schlatt only had time to worry for a second before he was snapped out of his shock with a hand clap onto his shoulder, snapping his attention back to what was happening on the outside. “Schlatt, you with me, man?” “..Yeah! Yeah, I’m, uh, I’m fine.” Right, he had an act to put on for Ted. “What the fuck were you choking on?” “Oh nothing, so, what brings you here?” Schlatt asked, trying to redirect the conversation. He didn’t know what excuse he would use for that shit show if he needed one, but he doubted he’d be able to convincingly lie to Ted about it with Charlie right there listening. But it wasn’t like he could say the truth. ‘Sorry about that Ted, I was choking on our third podcast member because he’s scared you’ll hurt him but don’t worry, he’s in my stomach now so he’s safe from, again, exclusively you.’

Yeah, no.

“Well, I came over to surprise you. Didn’t think you’d almost die or something.” Ted said, and Schlatt chuckled a bit in response. “Yeah, well, I didn’t expect anyone to break into my apartment.” Schlatt stood, silently thankful for Ted helping him up as he adjusted to the added weight in his middle. He felt Charlie sway a bit as he stood, though there was significantly less fighting back on Charlie’s end at the movement. Thank fuck. “You down here for any reason other than to scare me half to death?” Schlatt said, pacing over to his fridge under the guise of grabbing food while he silently felt for any signal from Charlie now that his back was turned to Ted. “Yeah, actually.” Ted said, leaning against the counter that separated the living room from the kitchen.

Schlatt hummed to pretend he was paying attention while pressing into his stomach a few quick times. Short short long. Long long long, long short long. ‘U-O-K-?’ He knew Charlie could translate it, he was the one that taught Schlatt Morse code. He was waiting for two taps back; their signal for yes. Hell, he’d even take one tap for no, something. Hopefully, Charlie would get the hint that he was ok.

“…Schlatt?” Ted questioned, again snapping Schlatt out of his worries again. Right. The act. “Sorry, must’ve zoned out, what were you saying?” “I was saying I’m here for a reason. You’re not the only one of my friends in the area, but surprise! I’m staying down here for a few months to do content!” Ted looked to Schlatt expectantly, and Schlatt did his best to be happy for Ted, but he was sure his smile looked forced. He didn’t know if it was his worry for Charlie or just the direction the conversation was headed in, but he had a sinking feeling in his gut that he knew wasn’t Charlie’s fault. He did his best to ignore it. “That’s great, man! Sounds like it’ll be fun.” “That’s the goal.” Ted answered. “Do a couple collab videos, some vlogs, it’ll be sick-” “Mhm.” Schlatt responded while Ted continued talking, tapping out the morse again. And again. And again for good measure. If this wouldn’t get Charlie to do something, anything, then something was wrong. He waited a few seconds before beginning the pattern again with more force, starting to wonder if Charlie had just passed out at that point, until-

Something. An arm or leg or something kicking out where he’d been pressing in, hard, and he recoiled his hand away immediately with a wince of pain. Charlie packed way more of a punch than Tubbo or Tommy did, that’s for damn sure. He wanted to try communication again, though he was smart enough to realize that his physical gestures were not appreciated in the slightest. So he did nothing and waited. He waited a few seconds, maybe even a few minutes, until, finally…he felt two weak taps back.

~~~

Falling headfirst into the pitch black stomach of his best friend was about as pleasant as Charlie expected it would be.

Immediately almost all of his senses were absolutely fucked, the wetness and humidity of the air around him clinging to his skin and fogging his glasses. The spongey walls around him gave way far too easily for him to properly get his balance, and he kept face planting into the bottom of the organ every time he tried to right himself. There was also liquid up to his waist (water, spit, he didn’t know, nor did he care to at the moment) which he kept almost fucking drowning himself in since he couldn’t stay upright long enough or see enough to figure out which way was up, down, forwards, backwards-

The walls suddenly pressed in on him, making Charlie squeak in fear almost inaudibly, pinning him in place thankfully right side up and out of the water, and he realized he was shaking. Why was he shaking? He was fine, he knew that, he knew that, why was he scared? He trusted Schlatt, this wasn’t even the human’s idea, it was his, he chose this.

The walls slowly began to release their hold on him as his thoughts started to suffocate him more than the stomach could ever.

Why, why the fuck was this so awful for him? He was safe, safe, he knew it was safe, he’d seen this happen a hundred times.

The walls began to press in periodically.

He’d willingly hung out with Schlatt and Quackity both when he knew that they had Tubbo inside. Tubbo was fine then, so he’s fine now. Science. Logic. He was safe. He wasn’t food. He wasn’t food.

short short long

Schlatt cared, cared enough about his safety to let him use his body as a barrier between him and someone who could hurt him. Would hurt him. His body. His giant, dangerous body that had been able to swallow him. His body that could kill him at any moment.

long long long

But he wouldn’t. Schlatt cared. He wasn’t food. He was safe. He was safe. Safe within his human friend. Safe from his human friend. Guarded inside a creature that could kill him from a creature that could kill him.

long short long

But his human friend wouldn’t kill him. But his human friend would, almost did, kill him.

The walls were still closing in on him.

Fuck. No, wrong human, Schlatt wants to protect him. Schlatt is his friend. Ted is his friend, their friend.

The walls are closing in periodically. Again and again.

He’s suffocating.

Ted would, almost did, kill him. He almost drowned, was almost swallowed, if it hadn’t been for Schlatt. He was almost swallowed. He was almost swallowed. He was swallowed. He was swallowed, he had been swallowed-

Something pressed in on the stomach again hard enough to force the wall to make contact with him, and in his hysterics Charlie kicked it as hard as he could manage, hearing a sharp hiss of pain be sucked into the lungs above him. Fuck. No, fuck, what is he doing? This is Schlatt. Schlatt. Schlatt, who’s never been anything but good to him, who’s treated him with nothing but respect despite what he was, who raised a borrower child and did a damn good job of it, too. Why…why was he acting like this? He trusts Schlatt, he’s literally thrown his life into Schlatt’s hands more times than he can count, why…why was this so much more difficult?

Fuck, focus on the task at hand. Deep breaths. 4, 7, 8. Again, 4, 7, 8. Charlie forced himself to think of the things around him. Liquid, heat, the weird spongey walls that had been caving in. There’s a good place to start. With the fog of his hysteria clearing, Charlie tried to remember what the pattern of the walls pressing in was. Short short long…long long long…long short long. Charlie let out a breathy, humorless laugh. “You ok?” Schlatt had been asking. He suddenly felt a little bit dumb for his panicked state earlier.

Struggling to push himself to what he was now sure was the front of the stomach with his legs still weak from fear, he settled himself against the wall to better hear exactly what was going on outside. Finally, he answered Schlatt’s question by tapping back twice, letting the human know he was ok, even if the shaking hadn’t quite let up yet. He laughed to himself again, this time more genuinely, as he heard the immediate sigh of relief from above him.

Yeah, he was sure he was safe.

~~~

Charlie was ok. Holy fuck, Schlatt could have cried with relief. He didn’t hurt his best friend, that was a weight off his shoulders. “I did want to talk with you about something though, just to get your opinion on it.” “Sure, what’s up man?” Schlatt said, attention fully on Ted for the first time in this whole conversation. “It’s about Charlie.”

Schlatt froze, and he could feel Charlie tense up. “Uh…what about him?” “I just, i don’t know…it’s hard to explain.” Ted frustratedly motioned with his hands and tried to explain more before sighing. “Did i do something wrong?” Ted said, a genuine look of confusion and hurt in his eyes. “Everytime we talk, it’s fine. We’re friends, and we have been for a while, and I know he’s on the same page as me. But any time I ask him anything vaguely personal, even if it’s just shit like his hair color or mcdonald’s order or fucking anything, it’s like we’re back to being strangers. Like I don’t have the right as his friend to know shit like that. The only thing I know about him is his first name and honestly? It wouldn’t even bother me if he wasn’t so close with you.” Schlatt hadn’t expected that, and from what he could tell of Charlie relaxing and pressing closer into the front wall of his stomach to hear more, he hadn’t expected it either. “Ted, you didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just…well, for one, Charlie has known me for a lot longer than he’s known you. Of course he’s more comfortable with me. But it’s not that he doesn’t trust you or anything. I promise he considers you one of his best friends. Even when it’s just us talking, he’s never said anything about you that would imply anything else.” “It’s not that I don’t believe that, but I just…sorry, maybe I’m being selfish here. If he doesn’t want to meet me it’s not my business to pry, it’s just something I’ve been thinking about a lot recently.” Ted finished, staring down at his hands. Schlatt…wasn’t sure where to go from there. He felt horrible for keeping such a massive secret from one of his oldest friends, especially about something that’d clearly been causing so much inner turmoil, but he couldn’t betray Charlie like that.

“Schlatt, can you hear me?” Charlie suddenly interjected. Schlatt discreetly tapped his stomach twice for confirmation and Charlie continued. “Ok, then i’m gonna need you to repeat after me, got it?” Schlatt tried not to let the confusion he felt read on his face for Ted to see, but he tapped twice again anyway. He sat in silence for a few seconds before Charlie took a deep breath and started talking.

“But, y’know, Charlie and I were talking about doing something with the podcast soon. We were gonna bring it up to you later, but since you’re in town we could move it up.” Schlatt repeated, and Ted looked up, puzzled. “What were you thinking?” Charlie paused again breathing deeply, though Schlatt could feel his tail swaying in anxiety. However, when he finally spoke up, his voice read nothing but confidence. “We were thinking we could do a few in person recordings.”

Schlatt froze. Had Charlie said what he thought he said? No way in hell was he serious. “Repeat it, Schlatt. I’ve thought it through, i mean it.” Holy shit he was serious. And so, he repeated. God, he wished that Charlie had been able to see the look of utter shock on Ted’s face. “You’re joking.” He said, and Schlatt shook his head while waiting for the next prompt. “Charlie wants to meet you, he’s just…afraid he won’t live up to your expectations.” Schlatt repeated, and Ted scoffed. “Please, that’s the least he should be concerned about. At this point the guy could be a serial killer and I’d still be thrilled to meet him.” Schlatt could tell when the truth hit him fully, because Ted’s expression brightened tenfold. He looked like he’d just won the lottery. “I just, I can’t believe it! Holy shit, I’m gonna meet the Charlie Slimecicle!” “Yeah, me either.” Charlie sighed and Schlatt repeated, though he said it for both of them.

After some more casual conversation about Ted’s plans and ideas for the newly decided live podcast recording, Ted finally said goodbye, promising to let Charlie know how excited he was. Schlatt let out a breath of relief he didn’t even know he was holding when Ted shut the door behind him. He locked it immediately and turned to lean back against the door. “Holy shit that was stressful.” “You’re telling me.”

Schlatt facepalmed as the weight of what he’d just signed on to doing hit him, sliding his way down the door into a sitting position. Charlie felt his stomach drop at the action as well. “Sooo…” Charlie started, lightly kicking at the wall in front of him. “This is weird.” “Very.”

Silence.

“Are you ok?” “Huh?” “Are you ok.” Schlatt repeated. “…yes.” Charlie answered,not exactly confidently, but surely. “I am now, at least. I just…panicked. It’s fucking weird in here and I just- it just took me a bit to handle it, I think. To get over myself cause I know it’s safe and I trust you. It’s just that the idea of getting eaten has been drilled into my head as ‘horrifying and deadly’ for so long that I just lost it for a bit. Fun part of being raised by a traditional colony, am I right? Sorry for kicking you, by the way.” “Don’t worry about that, man.” Schlatt responded, lightly pressing in on his stomach as if asking Charlie if he was ok with contact now. When he didn’t get a negative response from Charlie, he pressed a bit harder and began rubbing where he felt his friend. “I can’t even imagine what you’re feeling like right now. I mean, getting swallowed whole? By a creature over ten times bigger than you? That sounds downright fuckin terrifying. That’s some hollywood horror movie bullshit. I don’t even want to imagine what me choking on you felt like from your point of view. I have the easy job, you got eaten alive, you have every right to have panicked. But…I am glad you trust me that much.” “Thanks, cause I do. And for the record; i’m feeling wet. Very wet and sticky and I can just tell that my fucking glasses are fogged up even though it’s dark enough that i shouldn’t care, but i do.” Charlie complained, making Schlatt laugh.

More awkward silence.

“Why the fuck did you do that??” Schlatt asked suddenly, and Charlie groaned, pushing his glasses into his face with the heels of his palms. Despite the lack of clarification, he knew exactly what Schlatt was asking about. “I don’t know, dude, I panicked! I just…” Charlie sighed, dropping his hands. “He deserves to know. And no better time than the present, I guess. Besides, I have actually been thinking about it. Maybe if he takes it well, we can make it public and some fans will be able to see that we borrowers aren’t what they think we are.” “And if he doesn’t?” “I…I don’t know.” Charlie admitted. “I want to think that he’ll try to change how he thinks of me for the sake of our friendship, but I truly just don’t know.”

“Well, I’m behind you, whatever happens.” Schlatt said. Charlie smiled. “I know.” he answered, confident and happy in knowing that he truly did believe that.

[seigephoenix]

Kinktober 2024: Cock Warming

Here we go with Kinktober!! Remember if you don't want to see any Kinktober content to block the tags at the bottom of this post. Otherwise don't bitch if you see a bunch of porn from me this month.

This Kinktober prompt features my Celeste Ryder and Reyes Vidal. In a followup to Fool Me Once. Heed any tags from the fic linked and for the fic below.

Content Warning: trauma mentioned, torture, scars, masturbation, p in v, cock warming, restraints Length: 3.5k

This man was in for a world of trouble if he didn’t reply to her email in the next three hours.  Celeste was many things but patience was not one of them.  All she asked of him was to reply within three hours or she’d worry something happened to him, even if it was a quick reply telling her he was busy.  She just needed something to keep her mind from spiraling with worst case scenarios.  She tapped her fingers against her desk as the clock ticked over into the four hour mark, and she gave up waiting.  Celeste had faith that at least one of his “business” partners would give her a message if something actually happened, so she pushed herself out of the chair and pulled up her omni-tool with all the damned clean up missions the Nexus sent her.  Celeste tightened her grip on the arms of the chair before she lifted her hands.  The anxiety was killing her but she wasn’t about to go looking for him again, not after what happened last time.

“Dealt with the big shit and now it’s time for the little stuff.  At least Ryan’s out here helping me,” she grumbled as she scrolled through the lengthy list of busy work the Initiative leadership sent her.  She was still technically on “light” duty because of the trauma she suffered after Kaetus.  Celeste ran her fingers over the scars along her neck, a stark reminder of what happened to her at the turian’s hands.  The anxiety of not knowing where someone was, what started the whole thing…  It ate at her subconscious.  She and Reyes worked through the trauma and it took a lot to get her to even begin forgiving him.

Taking down the bastard that was behind her kidnapping and torture had been one big step, it meant Reyes betrayed his contact and that was something Celeste knew showed Reyes was serious about earning her forgiveness.  If only the nightmares didn’t still plague her.  She sighed and let her arm drop back to her side and she pivoted on her heel towards the door.  SAM was thankfully silent in her head for once, almost sensing she didn’t need any advice.  Celeste passed the galley and saw Vetra sitting there with Drack as they discussed some modification on a gun.

“Ryder?  You good?” Vetra called out but Celeste waved and headed towards the bay where the Nomad was being repaired.  Vetra and Drack shared a look and the turian sighed.  “Vidal hasn’t sent a reply to that email asking how Kadara’s clean-up was going.”

“He’ll be in for a world of pain when Ryder decides she needs to kick his ass,” Drack replied with a belly laugh.  Vetra agreed but she also knew how much this was hurting her friend.  Celeste had come a long way in her recovery after the entire incident, as Celeste pushed for it to be called, and this would likely set her back in her path.

“He’ll deserve it after this.” Vetra sighed and they turned back to their discussion from earlier.

Bay

“Gil, is the Nomad going to be ready to go soon?”  The mechanic popped out from underneath the Nomad with a lightness Celeste recognized.  “First, how’s the baby?”  She saw his face light up as he began talking rapidly about all the baby’s milestones.  “I can’t wait to see him when we go back to the Nexus.”  Gil nodded and wanted to show him off to the crew for sure.

“As to answer your first question, yeah.  The Nomad is ready to go.  I just finished the repairs before you walked in.  We heading somewhere?”  Celeste nodded.  “Well, it’s good to tackle any environment you need it to.”

“Thanks Gil.  We’ll be heading to Elaaden.  The mayor of the outpost wants to see me about something to do with the water supply messing up again.”

“But you hate Elaaden.”  Celeste just turned and he almost burst out laughing at the deadpan expression on her face.  The one that told him everything he needed to know about her opinion of Elaaden without uttering a single syllable.  Celeste was always someone who looked for the positives in every situation, but Elaaden and Voeld were the two places she had to dig deep for positivity with.  “Got it.  The Nomad did just get some new air conditioning that’ll make traveling through Elaaden more comfortable.”

“Small favors,” Celeste grumbled before the ping interrupted.  She glanced down and saw the email.  Gil watched as her entire face changed, and it honestly scared him a little.  Celeste was never angry; he’d never seen her lose her temper even once during the time they spent together on the Tempest.  She’d get mad, sure, but he’d never seen full on rage.  He’d describe her expression later as a woman hellbent on revenge and not even God would stop her.

“You gonna answer that?” Celeste gave a short shake of her head.  “Right.  So off to Elaaden?”

“Kallo, get us to Elaaden would you?”  Kallo agreed and the Tempest was soon in the air.  Celeste nodded to Gil and headed back to her quarters to read the email.  The doors slid shut behind her with a quiet hiss and her brow furrowed at the reply.  Call me.

“Would you like me to contact Mr. Vidal for you Pathfinder?” Sam asked as Celeste clenched her jaw.

“Yeah, go ahead and ring him up SAM.  I have a few words for the man.” Celeste collapsed back into her chair with the beginnings of a new headache throbbing behind her eyes.  She got them more frequently after using that stupid program her father invented.  SAM warned her the consequences had not been calculated but Celeste just acknowledged she was putting herself in danger.  It had been better than staying where she’d been.  Celeste looked over at SAM’s nodule as Reyes’s face popped up there.  “Reyes.”

“Ryder.”  Her eyes narrowed and her shoulders tensed at the tone he took with her.  It was just a shade past cool and she did not appreciate it.  He wasn’t the one left wallowing in worry.

“About time you got back to me,” she snapped icily.  She saw the surprise on his face as if just realizing how long it had been and the wince as he realized what it would do to her.  “We’re going to Elaaden, what do you want?”

“We need you on Kadara.”  Celeste grimaced as the throbbing grew more intense.  “Some of his associates have been flushed out into the port, but there are a few loyalists to Kaetus that are hiding them.”

“I seem to recall that Kadara is no longer the Initiative’s problem,” Celeste replied and she saw the shock on his face.  “Will this spill over to the Initiative?”

“They want your blood Ryder,” he said and she could almost believe he was being honest about it.  There was emotion in his voice, honest emotion.  Celeste just wished she could accept it at face value, but there was always an angle when dealing with Reyes.

“Fine.  Once we get done on Elaaden, I’ll head to Kadara to deal with it.  Good-bye Reyes.” Celeste shut the comm link down before he could reply and she leaned back in the chair.

“Ryder, would you like me to ease the headache you are experiencing?”  Celeste shook her head.

“It’s fine SAM.  I’ll take some medicine for it,” Celeste told him.  She had been trying to not be so reliant on SAM as much since her torture.  Being without SAM like that, cut off from the bulk of his abilities, had shown her how weak she’d grown.  Celeste couldn’t constantly rely on SAM for every little thing.  “Let’s go to Elaaden.”

After the events of Elaaden

Celeste had never been happier to see the inside of the Tempest after that disaster.  Liam and Jaal were still discussing what happened and she just wanted to shower.  There was sand everywhere.  She wrapped the towel around her and headed back to her room.  She was growing more used to the scars being exposed.  Before she would never wear even shorts because of the scars on her body.  A physical reminder of what happened, but Lexi was helping her change her view on them.  Instead of a stark reminder of almost dying, they were a testament to her resilience and that she survived.

She stepped over the threshold of her room and instantly every sense went on alert.  She was being watched.  Her heart kicked into overdrive while her eyes scanned the entire room before landing on the couch.  “Reyes.”  He was lounging on the furniture, going over something on his data pad.  His dark eyes cut over to hers over the device but she couldn’t place the emotion in them.

“Hello Ryder.”  Celeste squeezed her thighs together at that sultry voice.  Even after all that happened between them, his voice could send her body longing for him.  She forced her body to turn to her small wardrobe and she pulled out her clothes.

She heard him approaching from behind and her entire body went rigid as the memory of another’s footsteps rang through her head.  She bit off a curse and looked over her shoulder.  “You know better than that.”  He froze as if realizing what this was doing to her and he crossed his arms.  “What do you want Reyes?  I promised to deal with Kadara when I got done here.”  Celeste dropped the towel smiling when she heard the swift inhale behind her.  Though she knew it was because of what he saw on her back.  Lexi hadn’t wanted to show Celeste, but she’d persisted.  Claw marks going diagonally down her back, jagged and still a very angry pink stood out against her skin.  Kaetus had taken glee when he’d done it, Celeste would never get his voice out of her head.

“These people are more of a danger to you than to me.  I want you to take it seriously,” he said as she pulled the shirt on over her head.  She half turned to look at him with her shorts in her hand.

“If they want to get to me, then they’ll find a way no matter what I do.  Perhaps luring me to Kadara is their plan all along.  I have no allies there, except maybe Umi because I paid Drack’s bar tab.”  Celeste joked but there was a hint of seriousness in her voice.

“No allies?”

“No.  I don’t.” Celeste’s voice was firm and was a dig at his loyalty after what happened to her.

“You’ll never forgive me, will you?  No matter what I’ve done, no matter what I’ve said.”  Reyes demanded and Celeste whirled to face him fully, her deep brown hair swinging with her.

“You betrayed me, Reyes!  Of course I find it hard to forgive you!  I see you regret it; I saw the emotion in your face when you found me.  That was too genuine to fake.  I know you regret it, but you don’t seem to look at what that did to me!” Celeste yelled.

“You good Ryder?” Vetra’s voice at the door startled her from the red hazed anger in her head.  Celeste looked at the door and back at Reyes quickly.

“I’m fine Vetra.  Let everyone know I’ll be fine.  Have Kallo set coordinates to Kadara.”  Celeste breathed in deep to center herself before exhaling.  She’d almost lost her temper.  That was never a pretty thing.

“Sure.  You know we’re here for you if you need us.”  Celeste thanked her and they both heard the turian stride down the hallway.  Celeste turned back to Reyes and she ran a hand over her hair at the bleakness in his eyes.

“I’m trying Reyes.  I am trying to see things from your perspective, but it’s hard because of the trauma I went through,” she said quietly.  “Once upon a time, I’d have done anything you asked of me.  I was blindly in love and ignored all your faults because of the rose colored glasses on my face.”  She tossed the shorts back into the wardrobe and decided to just forget the damn things.  He could see the souvenirs from what happened to her.

“And I can never apologize enough for my part in that.  I told you; I was promised you would be unharmed by that man.”  Celeste paused as Reyes brushed against her side.  His hand rested on her stomach and she felt his body heat.  She shivered as her body responded to him.  She absolutely hated how weak her body was for him.  “Ryder.”  He leaned over and brushed his lips against her temple.  “I want to show you I mean to earn your forgiveness.  What can I do?”

An old memory tugged at Celeste’s mind, back before her kidnapping and his betrayal.  The one where he promised she could do whatever she wanted to him and he’d be powerless to stop her.  The man loved taking his time with lovemaking, she’d always felt cherished when his lips were on her skin.  Yet there was always the underlying impatience in him that fed her own, making sex fast, messy, and blazingly hot.  This time…  This time she’d be the one in charge.  And she planned to make him beg before the end.

“Sit down on the chair.”  Celeste placed her hand on his chest and pushed him.  He willingly took a step back, letting her guide him to the chair where he promptly sat down.  “SAM.”  Reyes jumped when the restraints latched onto his wrists.

“Ryder?”  Celeste leaned down until their noses brushed and her lips were a hairs breadth from his.

“You won’t be hurt.”  His shoulders relaxed at her words and the gentle touch of her lips to his, gone much too soon for his liking.  “I will promise you that.”

“Alright.  Do your worst then mi sirena.”  She bit down on her cheek at his nickname for her.  Her hands reached up cradling his cheeks before tilting his head so her lips could nibble at the corner of his mouth.  Celeste smiled as her thumb stroked over his bottom lip, teasing a shudder out of him.  He tried turning his head but her hands stopped him.  She grinned at the groan from him.  Celeste ran her hands down over his chest, resting at the hem of his shirt.  He’d taken off his armor when he’d gotten to her room, and she was oh so thankful for that.  The backs of her fingers brushed against him, already straining in his pants for her.  She kept the chuckle to herself when he leaned towards her, resting his forehead against her shoulder. 

Heat throbbed between her legs; she felt the pulse beating in a frustrated rhythm.  Her body wanted more and she wasn’t going to deny it.  It had been too long since she’d felt him.  Celeste’s fingers tugged until his cock was freed.  Her fingers wrapped around the base, slowly stroking him.  Her thumb teased him and spread the precum over the head of his cock.  Celeste wanted to moan as she felt how hot and hard he was already.  Reyes sucked in a breath when her hand stroked him slowly, agonizingly slow, until his hips rocked against her hand silently begging for more.

“Let me.” Reyes started to speak but her other hand covered his lips.

“I’m in charge Reyes.  Remember?” She smiled at the anger that sparked in his eyes.  She knew he’d hate not being able to touch or taste her.  He’d always said bringing her up and over that climax was the ultimate pleasure for him, hearing her sing his name as she fell over was a drug to him.  Well, she was going to be denying him that high.  He could watch as she did it to herself.  Celeste straightened when he muttered a curse in his native tongue.  She pulled her tank top off, letting her breasts bounce in his face with each move she made.  Celeste took a step back against the desk when he leaned forward.  “No touching.”

“I knew you had a cruel streak in you, mi sirena.  Never thought you’d direct it at me,” he said with a dark chuckle.  His eyes watched her hands as they slid up her own body, cupping the warm weight of her breasts and fingers pinching her nipples.  Reyes cursed and strained against the restraints but they held fast.  “Celeste…”

She only smiled in answer before massaging her breasts, moaning with each heated throb between her legs.  Celeste looked at him and saw the impatience simmering but the anger as well.  It only fueled her desire more.  Instead of answering the silent plea in his eyes, she stretched out her leg resting her foot on the arm of the chair.  This gave him a view of her wet and slick pussy.  He swallowed at the sight and she reached between her legs, letting her fingers tease and toy with her clit.

Moans and gasps fell from her lips like water as she brought herself up to the edge, only to deny herself the pleasure.  She knew this would drive him insane.  Two fingers slid inside her body, curling to reach that spot that had stars bursting behind her eyes.

“God damn it Ryder.”  She lifted her head to look at him and she saw the anger there, the impatience and lust warring with each other in his face.  “Let me fucking touch you.”

“No.”  Celeste’s answer startled him and he struggled against his restraints for real.  “You’re going to sit there and take this like a good boy.”  She lowered her leg and in a sudden move, straddled his lap.  Reyes groaned when her slick center brushed his cock.  “You said you’d make it up to me any way that I wanted.”  Her fingers dove into his hair, tangling in the thick dark locks and tilting his head towards her.

“I did.  I did not think you could be this much of a tease.”  Celeste smiled down at him watching his face change as she sank down on his cock.  “Fuck.  Ryder.  Celeste.”  She groaned at the stretch of him.  Burning, borderline painful, but addicting.  Celeste breathed out when he was fully seated in her body, but she did not move.

“You’re going to know just how much of a tease I can be Reyes.”  She smiled at him before reaching between their bodies to tease her own clit.

“Ryder.  What are you?” His question was cut off on a groan as her body tightened around his cock.  He tried to rock his hips against hers but the way she sat made that impossible for him.  Celeste saw the frustration and growing realization on his face.  “You minx.”

“Hmm?  What are you talking about Reyes?” Celeste grinned at him as she clenched down on his cock, but not giving him the friction he needed to get off.  “We’ve got plenty of time before we get to Kadara.”  Celeste wanted to yell in victory as she saw the horror in his eyes, realizing she was cock warming him.

“I’ll pay you back for this,” he promised with a quiet whisper against her ear.  Celeste wrapped her arms around his neck, shifting until her knees were firmly planted on both sides of his hips.

“Perhaps I’ll let you.”  She smiled as she felt his hands flexing against the cuffs but he couldn’t break free from them.  Celeste hummed in pleasure as she twisted just a bit, earning a moan from him.  “For now though, you’re at my mercy.”  Her lips grazed the side of his, deftly avoiding him when he turned his head.  Reyes groaned when she stopped squirming.

She kept up the torture for a good part of their journey to Kadara.  Celeste would give him just enough friction to keep him hard inside her body, but never enough to truly bring him closer to that edge he so desperately wanted to throw himself from.  That she denied herself was something she didn’t worry about.  Seeing him so frustrated was more of a high for her than orgasming.

“Ryder, we are approaching Kadara.  Should we dock at the port?”  Celeste looked up at the intercom as Kallo’s voice jolted them from the lust hazed bubble they were cocooned in.

“We have clearance from the Charlatan to dock there.  Go ahead Kallo,” she answered and turned back to Reyes when silence descended on them again.  “Time to go to work.”  She pressed her lips against his cheek.  She slowly slid off him, smirking when she felt how tense he was.  Celeste strode across her room, without a stitch of clothing on, and grabbed the underarmor suit from her wardrobe.

“Ryder.”  She shuddered at the frustrated growl coming from him.

“Hmm?  Oh.  Don’t worry.  SAM will release you.”  Celeste waved away the frustrated cursing coming from him when she pulled on her underarmor suit.  She turned once she zipped in and leaned over the chair.  “Enjoy the fight, Reyes.”  She patted his cheek before turning again back to the door and walked out before she had second thoughts.  Once the door slid closed behind her she told SAM to go ahead and release the restraints.

“Mr. Vidal will be angry with you.  Is this most wise?”

“Oh I’m banking on him being angry with me.  Don’t worry about it SAM, I can handle anything that man throws at me.”

[fittish]

distractions

@softblesses inspired me to actually finish and post a w/hite co/llar fic

this is part 1, there will be 1 or 2 more, we shall see

enjoy!

“So now we think Gray is… Boss? You there?” Diana waved the file she was holding in front of Peter’s face, snapping his attention back to her.

“Huh? Sorry.” He tried to focus on her but his eyes flitted away again.

Diana sighed. “What’s on your mind?”

“It’s Neal.”

She sighed even harder. “Of course. You think he’s up to something?”

“Not sure, he’s definitely hiding something. But it’s strange, he doesn’t usually make it so obvious.”

“Obvious how?”

“He didn’t say anything during the meeting, kept his eyes down the whole time, and his posture was tense. And he keeps touching his temples.”

“So he has a headache. Maybe he’s hungover,” Diana offered, eager to get the conversation back on track.

“Maybe…” He dropped it, opening the file Diana handed him and giving his thoughts.

***

Over the next hour Peter’s brow furrowed more and more as he watched Neal disappear into the bathroom once, twice, three times. The third time he couldn’t take it anymore, he capped his pen and strode after his CI.

He stopped right outside the door, realizing he hadn’t really thought this plan through. He stood awkwardly for a moment, thinking about just leaving, but then an odd sound caught his attention.

“hkt! hmpt!”

It sounded almost like-

“hpTSschh!”

-sneezing. Ah. Suddenly everything started to make sense. Peter pushed the door open to find Neal in front of the sinks, crunching forward into a bundle of toilet paper with another mostly held in sneeze.

“huh’tSschh!”

His eyes cracked open then widened when he saw Peter in the mirror, and he whirled around to face the older man.

“I was just-“ He broke off into a couple of rough coughs.

“Oh,” Peter balked, “You’re just sick.”

Neal squinted. “…as opposed to what?”

“Scheming, sneaking, plotting.”

“Oh. Uh, no.”

That answer had Peter frowning. It was far from the snappy repartee he had come to expect from Neal Caffrey, and that unnerved him. He tried to move past it.

“You shouldn’t be here if you’re not well. I know you’re not exactly a traditional employee, but you can still call in sick.”

Neal looked off to the side, his expression cryptic.

“I’d rather work, keep busy.”

“Well I’d rather you didn’t make yourself worse and have us lose you for weeks instead of days,” Peter retorted. “Go home and get better.”

“But I don’t-“ He stopped abruptly and sighed. “Fine.”

He stalked past Peter and out the door.

For the rest of the day Peter was even more distracted than he had been when Neal was there. He couldn’t think of a time before now that he’d ever seen Neal sick. Was it that rare, or was he that good at hiding it? Either way, the fact that Peter had found him out this time concerned him. How bad was it? Did Neal even know how to take care of himself?

The questions kept swirling around his mind until ultimately he decided to leave the office early to check up on his CI. He gathered up a few files as a pretense and took off.

***

Peter knocked but didn’t bother waiting for a response, quietly letting himself in to the apartment. He sighed at the sight before him.

Neal was sat in front of his easel, clad in a white tank top and silky blue pajama pants. He held a paintbrush in one hand and a balled up tissue in the other. More tissues filled a waste bin at his feet, fitting well with the angry redness of his nose. He looked much worse for wear than when Peter had sent him home, which only made Peter feel more justified in his decision.

“You’re supposed to be resting,” Peter said calmly.

Neal’s dulled eyes blinked slowly. He sniffled, pinching the tissue he held over his nose then tossing it and pulling out a fresh one. His eyelids fluttered as his head tilted back then snapped forward into the tissue.

“huh’htzshooh!”

When his head rose back up, he found Peter still looking expectantly.

“I couldn’t sleep. Sometimes painting helps.” His voice came out strained and gravelly. He tried to clear his throat but it just made him cough.

Peter came around the other side of the easel and raised a brow at the small canvas covered in a flow of wobbly lines.

“It’s not your typical style,” he said, half-amused. Neal put on a sour face.

“Yeah, well, precision and detail aren’t exactly in the cards right now,” he grumbled, jerking a thumb at a canvas propped against the wall. It was the beginnings of a cityscape, but the straight clean outline of the tallest building suddenly swerved into a messy splotch halfway down.

“Let me guess, you sneezed?” Peter chuckled at the grumpy nod he got in response, picturing Neal dragging the brush down as the sneeze built, fighting to finish the paint stroke in time only to fail miserably. He’d have liked to have seen that.

“I get it. If it’s abstract, no one can tell if you mess it up.”

“Exactly.” Neal stared at him for a moment, looking somewhat dazed.

“Why are you here, Peter?”

“Oh! Well you said you wanted to work so-“

“huh’Tsschoo! *snf!* Sorry…”

“Gesundheit. If you were feeling better I brought some files that-“

“huh’pstchh! huH’TSSCHh!” He looked up from the tissue, expression meek.

Peter smirked. “Are you done?”

Neal nodded eagerly, then just as quickly shook his head, his eyes slamming shut as he bent forward again.

“huh’TSSCHT! huh’schooh! Ugh…” He groaned and remained slumped over, a few wet coughs joining the mess he’d made of the tissue and his hand.

When he finally raised his head back up, he looked so sick and miserable it hurt Peter’s heart. He closed the distance between them and clasped a hand over Neal’s shoulder, taking note of the unnatural heat he found there.

“Come on, you need to sleep.”

“I tried already,” Neal protested weakly even as he allowed Peter to tug him to standing and guide him to his bed. He obediently got under the covers and peered up at Peter hovering by his side.

“It’s kinda weird, you looming over me like that.”

“Scooch over.”

Neal’s brow furrowed but he obliged, brain too fuzzy to even guess at what Peter was doing.

The agent sat down on the edge of the bed, and Neal watched curiously as he toed off his dress shoes and swung a leg onto the mattress. There was a long beat of silence accented by Neal’s wet sniffles before Peter spoke.

“When El’s not feeling well…she likes when…when I…” He could feel himself blushing as he fought to find the words. “Just, tell me to stop if you don’t like it, okay?”

Before Neal could react, Peter’s fingers began dragging gently against his scalp, combing through his slightly greasy hair. Immediately a soft moan escaped him and his whole body relaxed by a degree. He turned his head so Peter could get to the other side, in the process smooshing his nose into the pillow. After a second his chest jumped, and he barely got a hand cupped over his nose in time to

“huh’ztsSH!”

The sneeze was small but messy, which Peter seemed to pick up on, his hand leaving Neal’s hair and returning with a tissue box. Neal plucked a few out, cleaning his hand and blowing his nose.

“Keep doing that…please,” Neal rasped, inching closer to Peter’s broad, warm body.

Peter obliged, tracing around his ear to the back of his head in long, slow strokes. He felt the moment Neal fully fell asleep, his body going totally limp and his breathing slow with a drag of congestion.

Peter smiled softly and eased his phone from his pocket, shooting a text to Elizabeth that he would be late coming home.

[xoxoavenger]

Hi, how r u?

I had a fluffy idea for the Christmas writing challenge.

How about a Luke Skywalker (or whatever sw character you like) x fem reader where they are having to share a bed on a cold night winter day. And she’s just so gentle and soft to him, always respecting boundaries and making sure he knows that he’s loved? Like Imagine softly caressing his cheek and he just confesses right then and there because hes so touch starved and melts under her touch

I think this is too confusing and sappy. And too late lol

Thank you for reading this 🤍

I used poe bc I love him and he deserves to know this

Need Your Warmth

pairing: Poe Dameron x Fem!Reader

word count: 1461

warnings: i didn’t proofread at first and literally posted this with (insert creature) in it so that’s lovely

12 Days of Christmas Masterlist

main masterlist

Poe was three minutes away from shooting his own foot just to warm it up.

That's how cold it was. And he was about to do it, too. He was thinking about pulling out his blaster and doing it in the middle of the cafeteria when Y/N wrapped her warm arms around him from behind. 

"Hey there, flyboy." She said softly, and Poe felt his whole body warm with her touch, even through all the layers.

"It's a good thing you're here. I was about to shoot my own foot." He told her, trying not to frown as she took her arms away and sat down right next to him, close enough to feel his body heat. 

"Why exactly were you going to shoot your own foot?" Y/N asked, digging into her soup before it got cold. Poe had finished his soup awhile ago, but he still had a good chunk of his break left. 

"It's freezing!" Poe exclaimed, letting himself chuckle a bit when she laughed. 

"Have some of my soup." She pushed the bowl to him, and he had no time to tell her 'no' before she was talking again. "You're just a warm Yavin boy, aren't you." She teased, and Poe felt his cheeks heat at that. 

Why was he like this?

"You got me." He said, pushing the bowl back over to her. She smiled as she took another spoonful. 

"Have I?" She smirked, and Poe just scoffed and looked away. 

"How long is your break?" He asked, heart skipping when she raised her eyebrows at him. 

"Poe, we have a mission in, like, an hour." She told him when she swallowed the last of her soup, and his eyes widened. 

How could he have forgotten?

"Right!" He chuckled, looking down to BB-8, who was miraculously quiet and just staring. 

"Are you alright?" Y/N asked, so genuinely Poe wanted to take the emotion and shove it straight into his heart.

"Yeah! I just - I have to do a couple things." He got up, letting out a quick breath when he almost tripped but gracefully caught himself and was able to play it off.

"Okay," She smiled, taking a bite of her bread and waving. He waved back, trying just a little too hard not to act awkward. He turned and practically ran out, hitting his head on his hand as soon as he turned the corner.

"That was a disaster, wasn't it?" Poe asked his droid as they made their way to the hanger. BB-8 let out a couple encouraging beeps, and Poe sighed.

"Thanks, buddy."

~

"How is it even colder on this side? I didn't know it could get any colder." Poe said between his chattering teeth. He and Y/N's mission was simply figuring out where the people inhabiting the other side of the planet stood - were they with the Resistance, or the First Order?

"Well yeah, our side is in summer." Y/N said with a small smile, pulling a scarf out of her X-Wing and wrapping it around Poe before closing the hatch.

"You're kidding, right?" Poe's face was too serious for Y/N to not laugh at, and she walked ahead of him and out of the small hanger they had clearance to land at.

After a couple hours, the sun was low in the sky and it had gotten somehow colder. By now, even Y/N was starting to get a little chilly, so she knew Poe had to be absolutely freezing. 

"We should head back." She told him, turning to see him actually shaking. "Maker, Poe, are you okay?" She was in front of him in half a second, pulling his hat over his ears and pulling her gloves off to place her warmer hands against his cheeks.

"Yeah," He chattered, and Y/N just shook her head, already feeling his cheeks like ice. "Let's just make our way back to the ships." He began to turn, but she grabbed his arm.

"We can't go back with you like this!" She pulled her gloves back on, then looked around.

"What?" Poe sounded absolutely floored by this idea. "What do you mean?"

"What, you think you'll be able to pilot like this?" She asked, grabbing his hand and holding it up. It was shaking, and he knew his bones had been so frozen that he wouldn't be able to make quick maneuvers if he needed to.

"What about BB-8?" He tried to ignore the look Y/N was giving him.

"Poe," She said carefully. "BB-8 is a droid. He'll be fine."

"What are we going to do then?" He asked, but instead of answering Y/N just grabbed his hand and marched over to the closest house that had smoke rising, meaning a working heating system.

"We're going to stay here, obviously." She answered, knocking on the door before Poe could protest.

"Hello," A Togruta answered the door, smiling nicely at them both. Y/N smiled back while Poe just stared. He was pretty sure his mouth was frozen.

"Hi! Me and my friend, we're not from here, and we really need a place to stay tonight. We can't make it back to our home." Y/N explained, then leaned in to the Togruta. "He doesn't do well with the cold." She whispered. Poe had no chance to respond, instead being pulled into the small home.

"We only have one extra bed. I hope that's alright." The Togruta walked around, finding extra blankets before leading them to a small room, the only thing in there a bed. She set the blankets down on the bed and then smiled at them both. She smiled and then left the room.

"I don't have to sleep on the bed. There are a lot of blankets anyway," Y/N shook her head at Poe’s words, grabbing his hand before he could take the blankets.

"If you don't want to share the bed, I'll sleep on the floor." She told him, giving him a soft smile. As much as she wanted to cuddle up with Poe, she would never force it on him. She never saw Poe interact physically with anyone else unless he came back from a close mission, so she wasn't sure what he was comfortable with.

"No, it's not that I don't want to, it's just, I didn't know if you would be okay with that." He said, his voice light as he tried to convey his feelings without actually saying them.

"I'm fine with that." She smiled, letting go of his hand and beginning to spread the blankets out on the bed. "Besides, if we share the bed, we can share body heat. It will make you warmer." She said it like she didn't care, like the thought didn't make her heart race.

It made Poe's heart bruise his ribs.

"Right," He nodded, finally feeling the heat of the room in his face. It was still freezing, but it was much warmer than it was outside. 

"Alright," She sat on the bed to remove her boots, and Poe sat next to her to do the same. "I'm gonna take off my outer layers." She told him, smiling and making sure he wouldn't feel uncomfortable. He just gave a tight smile and stood to do the same. 

Once the two were in their under layers, Y/N turned the light off and the two awkwardly got into bed across from each other. 

"Are you okay with this?" Y/N asked, and Poe felt so loved because Y/N was always checking in on him, wether it be something small or something big. 

"Yeah," He shivered, waiting for the moment that their body heat did it's job and finally warmed him. 

"You're still shivering!" Y/N put a warm hand to his cheek, which wasn't icy anymore but was still cold. She scooted forward, making eye contact the whole time to make sure he wasn't uncomfortable at any point. "We can share body heat," She suggested, as if she were asking what he wanted for breakfast. 

"That sounds nice." He admitted, letting himself reach out for her. She was so warm, Poe was confused at how someone could be this warm on a planet like this. "How are you always so warm?" He asked, feeling bad when she squirmed at his cold hands. 

"I don't know. I'm glad I am, though." She told him, trying to relax. She put a hand on his face, warming him again. 

"I'm so glad you're here." He whispered, eyes closing as his body began to warm for the first time in what felt like forever. 

"Me too." She whispered back, blushing when he tangled his legs with her's. 

"I love you," He said softly, not even noticing until a couple seconds later. Her breath caught as his eyes widened.

"I love you too." She told him, smiling as he relaxed once more. 

"Good, that's good." He closed his eyes and pulled her close. "Because I'm gonna need you to be my heater."

//

tags: @avada-kedavra-bitch-187 @roxaya 

[calamity-unlocked]

Sigh. I accidentally posted my half-finished answer to a really kind ask and then in a panic deleted all of it.

So! Rewriting it all. (Hope you'll see this, anon <3) I unfortunately don't have a copy of the ask, but what anon basically asked for were my reasons why I stopped listening to dndads.

There are a couple, mostly boiling down to that I felt increasingly frustrated with Anthony and the waste of potential in season 2. I'll elaborate on this - really happy someone asked me about this actually, I've been looking for an excuse to write out my thoughts on the matter.

Dndads negativity under the cut (aka hater hours)

First of all prefacing this with saying that the most important factor was probably my personal mental health. But we're not here to talk about that, we're here to rant!! So, here is my little wordspew which I've been wanting to write for literal months:

Rejecting the Storytelling Medium You Use and Ignoring the Consequences

Let's start on a positive note; I love the comedy of this show and the cast's chemistry. Every time I listened to an episode, I laughed so hard my jaw hurt. They are incredibly funny people.

However, every time as the credits rolled after "On My Way," a sense of nervous disappointment lingered. The problem sat in season 2's story. Every episode is funny, but the narrative steps that were taken were just frustrating, going in a direction that lead either to meaningless conflict or another fetch quest with minimal results.

Dungeons and Daddies should not be a Dungeons and Dragons podcast.

People struggling with the rules and deciding to do their own thing with it can have its charm - it never annoyed me in the first season of the Adventure Zone. But with dndads it actively hinders the show and the storytelling.

It's just... Anthony isn't that good of a DM.

He knows the rules of d&d 5e. He just doesn't want to use them. He gets frustrated when his players take creative actions that undermine the story he planned out. An example is the confrontation between the teens and Willy. Lots of really creative actions and high-level spells were used, but Anthony consistently shut those down and in the end it all went according to how he wanted it to go.

They frequently rerecord scenes when they feel it didn't work out. That's not exactly letting the dice decide, which is what the whole genre is based on!

My sister and I used to speculate on where the story could go, and we often jokes 'this is good stuff, Anthony Buch take notes', and those jokes turned from (affectionate) to (derogatory) once it became clear to us that the direction Anthony was taking really didn't sit right with us.

Season 2 truly had so much potential. We have a set of really interesting PCs who have a strong relationship with a set of equally (if not more) interesting NPCs. The setup of the Doodler as a bbeg was great - and so was the reveal of the Doodler's true feelings.

But the story dragged out, didn't grow, the jokes detracted and distracted from the narrative, emotional beats were unearned, etc. I was bored with the characterization of the kiddads and their actions. The return of the og dads was messy and took away from the story. The three month time skips during a period in which there were supposed to be stakes made me want to rip my hair out.

There's a whole other essay I can make about how d&dads undermines it own stakes, but this is already getting too long so that's for another time.

Also, and I'm so sorry to use Anthony as a punching bag this much, but the man verbally undermines himself so much. He constantly says he doesn't like the second season, negatively compares both PCs and storybeats with the first season, and disses his own capabilities. I understand anxiety well, believe me I do, but continuously saying that you don't think this thing you've created is any good to your fans on your own podcast gets frustrating. This seems to me something you share your personal circle or your therapist, not to your thousands of fans who probably listen to the podcast because it brings them joy!

I have so much more to say, talking about this truly sparks joy in me. But all that matters I suppose is that I've happily divorced. Sadly writing about Lark Oak genuinely helps me cope with all the stuff that's going on, so I'll be tied to this podcast for a while longer.

[maniacalgenius]

hey!!!

so a lot has gone down, i did allergy testing yesterday morning which wasn’t as bad as i thought it would be, it turns out that now i’m only allergic to dust mites. which isn't great cause they're EVERYWHERE. but oh well, i’m going to start shots again next week (i did for five years as a child) so hopefully they will bother me less in the future.

after the testing i needed a break so i skipped class (gasp!) and went to my friend’s to finish the baby blanket i was making for her to give to her friend. this was kind of necessary since i went to office hours later and she was leaving town around the time they ended. all i had left to do was stitch down the tail ends, which is easy enough but still not a part i relish because it requires so much more intention than just the regular knit knit knit.

after office hours i went home and took a huge nap, showered, watched tv for a little bit and then went to bed by like 11:30 which is good progress.

today, i did part of my usual morning routine and then spent the rest of the time getting into yet another debate with my mom about the electoral college. (sigh. mathematically, i just don’t get it. must be a NT thing.) then i went to class, studied at a coffee shop, went back home, had a break and a snack, and studied some more. and naturally in the middle of my evening studying, i took another break to get a snowball.

things i’ve gotten done:

✅ objectives notes and quizlets for parts 8, 9, 10, and 11

✅ finished the baby blanket (she came out so nicely considering i hadn't knit anything in almost two years!!)

✅ problem set 4 in office hours

✅ personal Bible study - this morning i finished mark 6 and read mark 7! i felt so much better reading more than my self-prescribed one chapter a day, like i was actually prioritising God’s word rather than viewing it as a chore! also felt great doing it in the morning as i strive rather than waking up late, not having enough time, and leaving it for the afternoon or evening or worse forgetting entirely!!

tomorrow morning i will be cramming the most important terms/examples. oh well. i will be reading all the terms out loud, starring the important terms/examples that i need to learn, and going back and studying those more. a lot of the material is basic stuff that i already know from intro bio courses and just need a little refresher, it's not all internalizing entirely new concepts, so i have faith that it will go alright!

☙ song(s) on loop: “figure me out” by the summer set. this was on repeat during my study session at the coffee shop after class today :)) ALSO! "burning up" by marianas trench was on repeat during my study session at home in the evening

☙ hours studied today: 4hrs 30m (this is a new thing i’m adding to my posts! it will be from an app i have had for over three years called forest. you set timers to focus and at the end, you have a digital tree. they also plant real trees to benefit the environment!! i haven't been using it consistently lately but would like to get back into it because it is sooooo satisfying and helpful to see the graphs of my study time and my little digital arboretum)

i was going to attach pictures of various things mentioned today but eh. i'm too sleepy. maybe next time

after my exam tomorrow i get to study with my best friend (what will i work on lol) and then make/work on/hunt down lots of birthday presents for three different people. yippee!

xx

[saferincages]

a couple of weeks ago, a friend showed me this amazing post (where the photos are far better than mine, which just didn’t want to turn out at all) of @the-far-bright-center‘s beautiful, sparkly Force Ghost Anakin, and it brought me such joy (I was maybe giggling excessively...), and today he arrived in the mail as a surprise gift! 💖

I want to take a moment to appreciate this bio, and the “weapon of choice” being loyalty and love, because it is. a lot.

this could be a very silly post (okay, it already is), but it actually gives me an opportunity to talk about something that I’ve never had a chance or reason to discuss before without some frame of context, so here is an unbelievably overemotional story (one of many regarding Star Wars’ history and special place in my life, I could write a series of these focused of specific themes and characters in all honesty) that no one really needs, but that I feel compelled to write anyway.

I’ve written before about my first experience seeing Revenge of the Sith (most recently here), so I apologize for retreading a certain amount of ground, but it’s important to know what the state of my life was at that time, which was a frightening, burned out shambles. ROTS premiered in May 2005, I believe I had just completed the physical therapy I’d been undergoing since the car accident we had that February. I was extraordinarily ill, and no one knew why (diagnoses were forthcoming), I was rapidly losing weight, and at the time, the scariest thing for me, was that I had no choice but to withdraw from school. Academia, which was such a constant for me, wasn’t even going to be on the horizon. I was, in short, not okay. I felt almost hollow in that uncertainty.

That midnight premiere was incredible, exciting, emotionally fraught, and I remember the weight and the sorrow of it hitting me in a very profound way when we got home, at which point I crawled into my bed and sobbed. I saw it several times that summer, but the final time (which is also a story a couple of my friends know, but I don’t think I’ve posted about it publicly?) was on my birthday that September. It is a crystalline memory. I can recall everything about that day, even what we ate (the cinnamon rolls my mom made for breakfast, the vanilla chai tea I had at Borders that afternoon), because it was the last birthday I had when certain things were not yet permanent, when I was still in the misty place between before and after. By then, the film had moved to our local little budget theatre, and seeing it that way, with a handful of other people rather than with a big, enthusiastic crowd, lent it an intimacy and poignancy which struck me on a wholly different level. (That was also the night Supernatural premiered, which is an aside, but don’t doubt for a moment that the events are inextricably emotionally connected for me.) September, and I should have been in school, but I wasn’t. I had no idea at that point that I never would be again, but I was frightened, and sad, and deeply angry. Anger isn’t a feeling I’d had a lot of experience with, I was a sweet, shy, overly sensitive, naive child (and teenager), but I didn’t often deal with anger, and then I usually sublimated anger with grief and guilt instead (and those things were warring in me, too, and of course I still carry them), but the anger at the unfairness of it all, at how cruel it was that this had happened to me, at how much I hated my own body for turning against me, how I irrationally hated myself for not being better or stronger or able to fight it, was consuming and yet almost childish, as though being ill was causing a perpetual temper tantrum in my mind.

My touchstone in the prequels was always Padmé, and she deserves her own post, but she was so inspiring to me, her compassion and her goodness and her belief in justice, her loving nature and her femininity and her tender heart being strengths, and never undermining her bright spirit, her keen mind, her ability to lead, her powers being her forgiveness and empathy and kindness. I love her so much and she had (and continues to have) such meaning for me. 

It took me by surprise when the aching heart of my identification in ROTS plunged more towards Anakin. I loved him too, and I had a lot of varied, complicated feelings about him already, about his gentleness and his trauma, about the immensity of his capacities and his contrasts, but this was the fall, the dark hour of the story, the nadir of everyone’s suffering, and so much happens at his hand, because of his tragic choices. When I was reading the novelization, I didn’t know what to do with the fact that I understood certain aspects of his struggling in such a harrowing way, and seeing it playing out made that even more acute. Those choices he makes out of desperate fear aren’t rooted in evil, they’re driven by the chasm of grief and terror of loss, and they’re mixed with disillusionment and disappointment and frustration. Up until the moment when he walks into the Jedi Temple, when we really see him cross a line he cannot return from, hope for a course correction seems possible. Even knowing what’s coming, it’s like...just turn back. You can still fix this. It ripped my heart out because of course he wouldn’t, he couldn’t. There’s the scene where he’s denied the title of Master, and his outburst at the council (“this is outrageous! it’s unfair!”) is tinged with an adolescent level of upset, but...of course it is. He’s still so young and he wants to trust them, it’s not ambition causing that fury, it’s desperation for inclusion, for some measure of respect, and he keeps being refused. It’s a strange analogy because the things holding me back had nothing to do with a council of old men deciding my fate, all my hindrances were physically trapping me in my own body, the jury denying me the ability to move ahead was my own failing immune system, but I understood his rage, because I wanted someone I could yell at. The person I was so terrified of not being able to save, of having to watch die, wasn’t my beloved, it was...me, the girl I was, the girl I dreamed of becoming. I’ve talked so many times about feeling like I let her down, like I’m the ghost of her, the revenant walking around in a shape that vaguely resembles her, but at that point, she wasn’t gone yet, she was just rapidly slipping away. I didn’t know what to do to save myself. People would say it wasn’t my fault, to let it go (which felt a lot like being told the useless “mourn them do not, miss them do not”), that I was still here, I didn’t ask to get sick, and I knew, logically, that was true, but emotionally all I felt was that crushing guilt and despair (all of this remains a lingering struggle). I didn’t want to be powerless. I would have clung to something that offered me a way out. I knew where Anakin, conflicted and misguided as he was, was coming from, and it eroded everything that made him good and heroic and kind, so the only power I had left was to fight against it and keep the anger at bay.

This is such a specifically personal thing that I won’t get into the analysis of what happens in regards to his descent (which I also expounded upon in that other post anyway), but every time it happened, the same muscle memory seemed to take hold of me, my hands would shake and I’d press them together, my chest would pound, I’d bite my lip to try not to cry. I have this overwhelming fear of fire, so Mustafar was its own nightmare, and I’ve literally only watched the immolation scene once (that first time, at the midnight showing), otherwise I close my eyes tightly shut. I don’t even like seeing gifs of it. But because of what I was going through at the time, what I’ve gone through since, the physical aspects of him so painfully and horrifically losing himself, being so stripped of his humanity that hardly anyone ever looks at or acknowledges him as a person again (until Luke) held its own terror (it’s such an awful metaphor when it’s examined, and it’s that re-enslavement, he did not choose that reconstruction) because I didn’t understand what was happening to me physically, and because so many people were questioning the veracity of my pain and my incapacitating illness, were treating me as somehow less (ableism wasn’t even a word in my vocabulary yet, I just thought maybe everyone had a point and I didn’t deserve the space to be heard or understood, since so much of what I was going through was invisible). I genuinely felt like my personhood and my agency was being taken away. I didn’t have school, I was quickly isolated from everyone else and kept in the (comforting yet confining) cage of my room, I didn’t know who I was supposed to be anymore, and I didn’t know what to do if no one would listen or believe me (my mom aside). The torture Anakin is put through in that conversion to Darth Vader is unimaginable and I don’t want to dwell on it, but there’s a passage from the novelization that goes in part: “The first dawn of light in your universe brings pain. The light burns you. It will always burn you...You can hear yourself breathing. It comes hard, and harsh, and it scrapes nerves already raw, but you cannot stop it. You can never stop it. You cannot even slow it down...now your self is all you will ever have...and within your furnace heart, you burn in your own flame.” It’s such a wrenching description that some part of me separated it out from the villainous aspect, because the rest of it felt true. My nerves were raw and burned with sensation, touch and too much strain hurt, but my heart persistently, stubbornly kept beating, and I was left sifting through the alternating aspects of its passions (both the transcendent and the desolate).

This isn’t at all “excuse or justify the things Vader did” (since, again, this isn’t actual analysis, it’s sentimental personal nonsense), because of course I do not and never would, but the depth of empathy I had for Anakin, as a person and as a lost soul (and a lost future), and the way that left an imprint on me right at the onset of my illness became indelible.

There’s a point to this, I promise.

George Lucas did re-editing and reworkings of the original trilogy and I’ve never minded any of it, because they were his to edit and fix up if he wanted to do so, and little extra CG snippets of planets and creatures only expands the universe in my mind. That said, I realize adding Hayden’s Anakin at the end of Return of the Jedi was divisive, even upsetting for some, but for me it was everything. I’ve hesitated to ever reblog gifs of the scene because I felt like I had to justify or explain why I hold it so dear before I did, so this is my chance to do that. 

As a child, I never felt really connected to the fleeting glimpse of Sebastian Shaw (my mom actually remembers me asking why he was so “old,” apparently I reasoned at the time that Anakin should have been younger, I think because I imagined him then as more of a dashing hero, based on Obi-Wan’s description in A New Hope). Anakin never lived as that image of a more middle aged man, that was never who he was within Vader’s suit, and there was always an evincive resonance that I was seeking. Once Attack of the Clones came along, Hayden was my Anakin, he was the embodiment of that character, and I loved him, and I loved his performance (and saw so much nuance and layering in it despite what was often said). Yet one of the last images we witness of him is burning on that scorched lava shore. It’s devastating. 

Luke’s unwavering faith that some glimmer of his father still exists, that goodness can’t ever be entirely erased, that love will overcome, that throwing aside his weapon is an act of bravery and grace, is the moment when Anakin is finally released from that. “He takes the ounce of good still left in him and destroys the Emperor out of compassion for his son.” Balance is restored, and redemption is very small and quiet, not a washing away of violence, but a ceasing of it. It’s the hope that we can always find salvation, that we can still choose to act in love.

When Luke turns around and sees those spirits watching over him, benevolent and glowing and one with the Force, Anakin is his beautiful self again, as the description on this little package says, restored to the “hopeful young Jedi he once was.” The first time I saw that edit of the film, I wept. That was the connection I’d been looking for, the understanding that we’re never wasted, that our souls endure and are mended, that we can choose light, no matter how lost we feel we are, that love can persevere and illuminate even the longest night. It reminded me that I wasn’t only my body, no matter how much it hurt, no matter how it felt like it was collapsing on me, no matter how often I felt like I was failing to be the person I thought I would be, my body could never capture the entirety of who I was, or am. My spirit could still shine, my heart could still be soft.

Anakin says to Padmé in AOTC, “Compassion, which I would define as unconditional love, is essential to a Jedi's life, so you might say we are encouraged to love.” It’s one of my favorite scenes because it’s so sincere, and yet so richly layered in its meaning. And in the end, this is fulfilled, this belief is proven right.

People may think the idea of the Force is hokey, but because of the way I was brought up, and the intense theological discussions that used to be framed around it (particularly by my dad, we used to do this over e-mail back in the olden days of dial-up, I wish I had those conversations saved), it was a really important, formative concept for me. The Force is connectivity, it’s like a variant of the belief in Tikkun olam that parts of the vessels of the divine used to shape the world shattered, and their shards became sparks of light trapped within the material of creation, and thus exist and persist in all of us, in all the diverse and breathtaking life around us, and that we should respect and cherish that life. “The best expression of the Force is not a lightsaber fight or other combat techniques. It’s really about your connection to life, to everything around you, and your ability or willingness to let go, to find peace, and ultimately become a selfless part of existence...in the end there is no power that aids [Luke], except the power of compassion and love; the act of forgiveness and apparent self-sacrifice is what saves his father from the dark side.” 

It’s the idea that there’s something eternal within all living things, something powerful and connected that binds us together, that means we affect one another, and that we make choices as to whether those influences are for the better (or not). That we can decide to increase the power of light and warm energy in the universe. The idea that we’re not limited to our physical selves, that we’re luminous, radiant, possible beings. That we can reach out in love and compassion to heal the world, even if it’s only in small ways, even if we’re the only ones who see it exist, who know it happens, and still the summation of that additional light can radiate everywhere.

[cjsinkythoughts]

Not Your Captain

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Reader

Word Count: 1695

Warnings: Falcon and the Winter Soldier Spoilers!!!!! Lots of Angst in this one, guys, lotta feels, some Fluff to counterbalance it, but mostly Angst, Cursing

A/N: This is Part Two to my previous FATWS writing, His Only Contact. FATWS SERIES STERLIST HERE! This one is from Reader’s perspective and gives you a bit more about Reader’s backstory. There will be multiple parts coming out in the next day or two based just on this new episode because damn. It was loaded!  Due to this and my workload this past week, I haven’t been able to post the first chapter of my College!AU, Erased From the Stars, but I promise it’s coming! This’ll be my main focus for the weekend though! Expect more parts in the next 24 hours! I’ll be making a masterlist for this particular project in that time, too! Taglists are open! Please contact me if you want to be tagged! Thank you and please enjoy, loves! (Not beta’d, so sorry for mistakes!)

AGAIN: SPOILERS UNDER CUT!

The moment you saw it on TV, you knew you had to get to Bucky. You weren’t planning on leaving until the next day, but there was no way you weren’t going. So you caught the first plane you could from the base you were staying at.

You’re feelings were all over the place. Steve had been your best friend for more than the past decade. You were the one there when he first woke up. You were the one to help him get situated. You were the one to help him whenever he needed, to go over to his little place in DC when he was having problems, like the time he thought he was having an asthma attack when it was an anxiety attack or when you had to help him find a new phone after he accidentally broke his.

You were that close to falling in love with him. But life went the other way and, in a weird twist of fate, almost as if the universe wanted to spare you of the heartbreak it knew would come if you gave your heart to the dashing captain, you ended up tripping over your own feet for someone else.

Someone you would never tell.

He was the last thing you had left of Steve and you couldn’t ruin that because of your stupid feelings. And you couldn’t ruin the relationship you had now because it was working. He trusted you, more than anyone else. He trusted you because Steve trusted you and you wouldn’t dare break that trust.

You just hoped, with everything going down in relation to the shield - to his legacy - that you’d be able to keep that promise you made to yourself.

You were in front of his door early in the morning - around four - hesitating to knock. It didn’t take long for him to respond the moment your fist did meet the door.

He looked…tired. You wished, oh how you wished, that you could do more. Anything more. He insisted you helped him plenty already; he claimed he never had nightmares when you were by his side. But it wasn’t enough. Not for what he’d been through. You felt as though you were merely putting a bandaid over a bullet wound.

His chocolate locks were short, above his ears. You could remember how hesitant yet eager he was about doing it. It was difficult to not cut his ear off because he kept moving in anticipation. You would know: you cut it. Those blue eyes that made you trip in the first place were outlined by thick lashes, dark ebony bags beneath them, making the azure pop. He was shirtless, as he usually was when sleeping (or at least trying to sleep), his dog tags resting against his sternum. 

You could tell he hadn’t been sleeping. His eyes were bloodshot as if he was watching TV for too long and his hair was less messy than it would be if he actually slept.

The moment his eyes found yours, his plump, chapped lips turned up into the grin he reserved for you and he was pulling you in. Your reaction was instantaneous, your arms slipping around his waist, your chin resting on his shoulder as he found home in the crook of your neck.

He was touch deprived. You knew this, but you never brought it up. Especially considering you were one of the only people he touched willingly. You didn’t want him thinking he was broken, more so than he thought he was already. And you definitely didn’t want to push him into fixing himself. So you didn’t tell him, even though you were pretty sure he knew, and you just let him take the lead. 

Sometimes it meant he grabbed your hand in large crowds, or tucked you under his arm when he was threatened. Other times it meant laying his head in your lap when he was tired late at night, or a soft hug in greeting.

Hands slowly tracing his spine, fingers dancing up and down his back, you gave a small smile when you felt him practically purring in your embrace. You could never decide if he was more puppy or kitten. You used to make jokes about the three of them, Steve, Bucky, and Sam, being like a puppy, kitten, and bird that you had to reluctantly pet sit for a friend. You would give almost anything to be joking around like that with them when you went to visit Bucky in Wakanda with Steve.

“Buck?”

He hummed. You didn’t want to pull back, you wanted to stay connected with him for as long as possible, but you had to talk. You didn’t want to talk about it, because that would make it more real, but you had to. You had to.

“Have you seen the news recently?”

His eyebrows furrowed, his lips pulling down. “What happened? Is it Wanda?”

You looked down the hall, your lips pressed together tightly, before nodding inside. “We have to talk.”

He nodded, stepping back and pulling you inside. Seeing the makeshift bed on the floor against the far edge of the sofa made you inwardly sigh, but you didn’t say anything about it. Steve was the same way at first.

“Is she okay? Did you find her? Where-”

“It’s not Wanda.” Turning, you faced him, trying to control your own anger at the situation, knowing it wouldn’t help him any. “It’s…it’s about Steve.”

Those spectacularly blue eyes narrowed, bottom lip being sucked in between his teeth. “What about Steve?”

You gestured for him to come closer, holding out your hand in offering. He took it and followed you as you led him to the couch. A cleared throat and a deep breath later found you gently explaining what happened to him. That the government had taken back the shield and had given it to someone else. A ‘hero just for America’. A ‘new Captain America’.

You could see his features harden with every word, his jaw ticking dangerously, his chest heaving and his nostrils flaring. You squeezed his hand as you finished. “He’s got meetings and stuff with senators and governors. They’re taking him on a tour this week. They-they want me to meet him, considering I’m the last of the original seven. Active on Earth, at least.”

The tears that started forming in his eyes made you swallow your own emotions down thickly. He didn’t need your hatred of this wannabe to fuel his own. He needed your support and comfort. He needed to know you’d be by his side through this.

“Are you?”

You blinked, not expecting his first words to be that question. “Am I what?”

“Going to meet with him?”

“I-I…” You stopped talking, knowing that if you continued you’d end up ranting about how he wasn’t your captain. How he could never be your captain. Debating answers, you decided on a simple, blunt reply. “No.”

“Why…” 

Running your thumb over his knuckles, you leaned over slowly to press a chaste kiss to his bare skin and blood shoulder. “Take your time. Collect your thoughts.”

He responded to your words by taking a deep breath, clenching his eyes shut, his jaw so tight you feared he might chip his teeth. It was a tense minute before he said anything, the room being filled with his harsh breathing. “You said he gave them the shield.”

“What?”

“Yesterday. You told me he gave up the shield. They put it in the Smithsonian. But you just said they took it from him.”

“He did give it to them, but-”

“Why?” His eyes snapped open, his features twisting into ones of frustration and resentment. “Why’d he give it to them?”

You shook your head, knowing Sam didn’t mean for any of that to happen. He had called you a few weeks ago to ask about your opinion on the matter. You told him that Steve trusted him, and you trusted Steve, so if Sam thought that was the right thing to do…you trusted him. “It’s not Sam’s fault. Don’t be mad-”

“Don’t be mad?! Don’t be mad?!” Bucky shot up, ripping his hand away from yours, making you bite your lip and hang your head as he paced in front of you. “Steve gave it to him! And he just gives it away like he’s regifting a shitty frisbee as a Christmas present! And you don’t want me to be mad?! Are you fucking kidding me, Y/N?!”

Cringing at the use of your name, which you rarely hear fall from his lips, especially in vexation like just then, you looked up at him, eyes pleading. “Bucky, I get it. I do. I’m mad, too. I’m-I’m furious. But you can’t blame Sam. Please. He just - he’s trying, Buck. Just like me. Just like you. We’re all trying.”

Bucky’s shoulders fell as he stared at you, eyes darting from feature to feature as he studied your face. Before you could say anything else, he was on the floor in front of you, in between your legs, arms wrapped around your waist and face pressed into your stomach.

You could tell he was holding something back - something big - but you wouldn’t push him. You never did. Displaying feelings was always hard for him, even in the early 1900’s; Steve used to tell you stories when you were looking for him after the fiasco in DC. Bucky grew up being the oldest of four and the only boy. On top of that, his best friend was a scrawny, stubborn, punching bag of a boy. According to Stevie, neither of them really learned how to cope or how to deal with feelings. And it showed. Boy, did it show.

Instead of getting on him and asking what was wrong and begging for him to talk to you, your fingers tangled in his hair, nails scratching his scalp, as you sat back to make the position more comfortable for him.

“Stay with me. I need you.”

You leaned down to press a soft kiss to his head, nodding into his hair. “I’ll stay. For as long as you need me, Buckaroo.”

Taglist (OPEN):

@happygoreading​, @thatsdarwinism​, @satellitespidey​

[iwadori]

When they neglect you for another girl Part 4 (Sakusa)

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five

Word Count: 2.6K

Genre: Angst to Fluff

masterlist

AN: YES I DID PUT MYSELF IN THIS STORY! SUE ME. This is basically inspired by a random conversation i had w the great @teesumu, so this is basically for you doll <3

Sakusa:

You and Sakusa have been together for a around 10 years and love eachother immensly.    

However recently Sakusa has been busy and you havent really had much time together lately as he claims been busy doing loads of visits with his new agent.

But of course, being the loving partner you are you wanted to revive the spark in your relationship.

You have been seeing a lot of people on social media posting their aesthetic ‘picnic dates,’ and you knew that this was something that appealed to you before it was ‘on trend.’ Kiyoomi immediately came to your mind once you had the idea of going on a date. You knew that you haven’t be around each other lately, as Kiyoomi always had either a ‘meeting’ or some sort of ‘interview’ that his new agent “Empress” has set up for him.

You didn’t really know Empress that well, just that she was ‘good at her job,’ a ‘hard and dilligent worker,’ and a ‘raging hottie’ with Atsumu’s opinion being the last one. You weren’t suspecting her to have any malicious intent towards you or Kiyoomi, since you knew that he had a great judge of character. But it was just odd, that every time Kiyoomi was running late or having ‘super-secret’ conversations on the phone it was always because ‘my agent set up this,’ ‘my agent set up that,’ and that’s what left you a bit wary.

As you were scrolling through your phone you see a calendar updating saying : Next Week‘ A DECADE AGO WE FELL IN LOVE.’  

10 years. How could you forget? You and Omi have literally been together for a decade. You think back to the decade of madness and love you’ve been through together, smiling fondly to yourself but then you think about where you are now... barely even talking to each other, only mainly seeing him when he comes home from work.

You need to fix this. Or at least make an attempt to get you and Kiyoomi talking again. So, the only thing you can do, is plan that picnic.

You spent the rest of the day planning your anniversary picnic. ’It’s going to be great,’ you think to yourself, you have a list of all Omi’s favorite foods you're going to make him and bring and you are probably going to pick up a few board games and maybe even get some paint supplies. You and Kiyoomi used to paint a lot together, with the two of you not being the best of painters, but you enjoyed eachothers company non the less.  

Everything was sorted...for the most part. All you needed to do was get Omi there, and it’ll all be okay. Right? As you were bubbling and looking for more picnic inspo, you hear your front door open which made you even more excited to tell your boyfriend your plans.  

As you rush to go greet him, you see he’s on the phone making you roll your eyes. “No Empress it won’t work, we need this sorted by next week. Okay? Next week.” he says in an agitated way. He hangs up the phone and sighs, shoving off his duffel bag.

“Hey Omi, how was your day?” you say a bit hesitant, noticing his annoyed mood.  

“Fine” He said dismissively, aiming to walk past you aiming for your bedroom.

“Oh well I have something amazing planned for ne-” you try to say following after him.

“Can we not do this right now Y/N,” he says again turning too look at you making you frown a bit, all you wanted to do is surprise him with your plans and have a day out with him. After noticing your sad look he finishes with “it’s just that Empress she’s bee-”

“I don’t want to hear about her.” you say bitterly folding your arms, Empress is the last person you want to hear about right now “God Omi can’t you just care about me? For once.”

“I do I-”

“You don’t anymore,” you say, with all the emotions and feelings you’ve been just supressing from a while coming up. You don’t even know how you got from point A to B with this conversation, but there's no stopping now. “I feel that, for a while now we haven’t been how we were before when we were just Y/N and Kiyoomi. Instead of how we are now. Just Y/N. Then Kiyoomi and Empress.”

After hearing his agents name, Kiyoomi’s name contorts to confusion “Empress? What does she have to do with anything?”

“How can you not see? For the past month all it’s been is ‘Empress this’ ‘Empress that,’” you complain “Having your super secret conversations with her, like god Kiyoomi can’t you see a problem with this?”  

“It’s not like that Y/N, we’re just work partners” he says looking a bit annoyed “Just business.”

 “Just business? So Kiyoomi, what were you talking about on the phone earlier” you say with your voice slight accusingly.

“Umm I, I can’t really say?” he says more of a question then a fully assured statement. You squint your eyes at him and scoff.

“What is going on with you Omi?” you say “are you cheating on me with her is that it?”

“No, no of course not Y/N! How could you even ask that?” he frowned at your question making your chest hurt, since deep down you knew he could never do that to you. Could he?

“Well tell me then, what were you talking about?” you ask again.

“I can’t say..” he finishes  

“Well I can’t stay.” you say and his face goes back to confusion “Here. With you.”

“What do you mean Y/-”

“I need a break or something. I just can’t be here right now.” You start to rush and pack a big of things whilst Kiyoomi just stands there.

After you pack up your stuff, you look back and see Kiyoomi just there. Standing. You were upset, you kind of wanted him to rush after you and beg you not to leave, but he was just there. Standing. So you put the hand on the door and just before you leave you turn back and say “bye Sakusa, see you later?” to which you see him slightly nod at.

When the door shut, Kiyoomi starts to cry. After hearing you call him by his last name really twisted the knife that was already in his heart. You haven’t called him that since you were like 15. He knew what you wanted; he knew you wanted him to rush towards you and beg you not to leave, but he didn’t. He couldn’t. But what he could do is call the one person he only could call.

After a few rings, he hears “What do you need Saku?”  

“She’s gone, she left.”

“What do you mean she’s gone, did you tell her?”  

“No I didn’t tell her. And that’s the problem, Empress she think-”

“Saku, don’t worry about it. I’ll handle it.”

“You’ll handle it?”

“Don’t I always?”

He couldn’t argue with that, he just had to trust that Empress could sort it. “And also, don’t spend the week with your head up your ass crying, you’ve got a lot of grovelling to do kiddo.”

He nodded even though she couldn’t see him, as he knew that what just went down needed to be resolved, fast.

Meanwhile, on your end. You’re a mess. Sobbing all the time, tissues are your best friend, you’ve been waiting just waiting for a message or a call, or some form of communication. You just wanted to feel wanted by your boyfriend (can you even call him that now.)  

You spent the rest of the week at your parents, immersing yourself in your work and doing ‘self care’ things, trying to forget all about the argument you and Kiyoomi had.  

One day, you receive a letter, it wasn’t delivered by a mail man though. It was slid under your door, in a golden envelope sealed with a red hot wax seal. It read:

‘Dear Y/N,

My sweetheart, im sorry for how the week has been and I know a letter with only a fraction of how I feel won’t make up for how I acted that day. But im inviting you to join me at the Gardenia Botanical Gardens at 2 pm tommorow, to celebrate our 10 year anniversary.  

I know there is a big chance, you may not want to see me and I understand but please. I love you, so so much, that words can’t even describe. But I need you to see me apologise and I need to make it up to you.  

I hope to see you there, I’d wait the whole day for you. If you don’t show, I understand.

Sincerely, Sakusa Kiyoomi

P.S The theme is ‘summer hot day, tea with the queen’ - Atsumu’

You smile at the letter, but wonder if you should actually go or not. You did want to see him of course and get this all resolved, but you had your own plans for your anniversary which wouldn’t of been spoiled if he didn’t withhold his super-secret phone calls.

It took you hours to contemplate on what to do, but you decided to just sleep on it and see how you feel tomorrow. In the morning, you knew what you wanted to do. Of course, you had to go, at least to hear him out and see if he really did cheat on you or not. For all you know he’s inviting you to tell you that he’s going to run away with his agent and his secret kids they had together. You shook the negative thoughts from your head and just repeated your mantra ‘hope for the best and prepare for the worst.’

When you got there, you didn’t exactly know where he would be but he said ‘botanical gardens’ so of course you decided to just wander around there. It was nice walking around and just smelling the roses, and seeing the pretty scenery.  

“Excuse me ma’am,” you hear someone say tugging on your leg “um that mister over there told me to give you these.” Looking down, you see a small boy who looked about the age of four with a crumpled up bunch of roses handing them to you.

“Oh thank you,” you say giving the kid a head pat “where is this ‘mister’ might I ask?”

“He’s over there!” The kid pointed behind him and you look to see Kiyoomi sitting under a white gazebo which is surrounded in your favorite flowers and the table is filled with food.

You walk over to your ‘boyfriend,’ with him not noticing your present yet. When you reach him you say “I think she stood you up buddy,” you joke making him jump abit startled.

“Y/N!” he exclaimed, instantly beaming “You came you made it!” he stood up and pulled you into a hug, which you return before you remember why you came here in the first place.

“Oh I-” he says awkwardly

You decide to sit down pulling him down with you. You kind of sit there in uncomfortable silence, for a while until you both say.

“So I-”

“What are yo-”

You both laughed at your simultaneous comments, before Kiyoomi looks at you letting you speak. “What did you want to bring me here for?”

“I didn’t want, what happened last week to happen Y/N I-” he says looking a bit panicked “It wasn’t supposed to go this way.”

“Then how was it meant to go Sakusa.”

“Y/N, please don’t call me that, I know I made you upset but pleas-” he starts before getting distracted again “Y/N, I called you here to say a few things..”

“Them being.?” you ask a bit impatiently.

“I love you. I love you so much, you don’t even understand. Ever since I saw you at my volleyball game in our first year, in the stands just cheering us on. I knew that from that day, after I scored the winning point and our eyes met, that we were destined to be together. I just love you so much Y/N”

“Omi I don’t understand I-”

“Just let me finish please, It’s taken a while for me to say this. And trust me, there’s been so many times when I wanted to just say ‘hey Y/N let’s get married,’ but I couldn’t I was scared, and I wanted it to be perfect, so perfect. Because you deserve the world Y/N. That’s why I got Empress to help, I know that our conversations may seem odd, but I love you and she knows that she just wanted to help trust me. And she did, all this wouldn’t of been done if it wasn’t for her. But anyways Y/N what I waned to say was I love you and I love you and I-” he rambles on loosing track of his words.  

But in the midst of his speech, you hear all that you needed and responded with the only way you can.

“Yes.” you say simply, with a growing smile on your face.

“Yes?” he repeats confused “What do you meann ye- ohhh" Kiyoomi blushes embarrased that after all that he ended up ruining the thought out proposal he wanted to give you with his ramble.

“Im sorry Y/N, I didn’t mean to say it like that I wanted it to be perfect and I-”

You shut him up with a kiss making his eyes widen as he reciprocates it anyways.  

“What did she say?” you hear someone shout from a far, and you look over to see the MSBY Jackals all standing there with shit eating grins on their faces.

“I said yes!” you yell back, to which they all cheer and rush towards you guys giving you both hugs and slapping Kiyoomi on the back.  

As the boys celebrate Omi finnally do what he’s been planning for ages, you get approached by Empress who awkwardly walks up to you. “ I didn’t want to leave the impression that me and Saku were any sort of thing?” she says

“Yeah I think it was definitely a big misunderstanding, it’s just that Omi was never around and whenever he was he was just talking to you and you know how it is.”

“I definitely know, I’d feel the same way if my boyfriend did that to me.”

“Oooh boyfriend?” you ask her feeling nosey on her romantic life.  

“Yeah boyfriend. You know iwaizumi hajime... the trainer?” she says smiling a bit when she said his name.

“The trainer! Nice.”

The rest of the night was fun and was basically an engagement party for you and Omi all you and friends just partying and celebrating yours and Omi’s love for each other. “Omi” you say getting his attention “Happy ten year anniversary babe”

“Happy anniversary, I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”

After the party you spend your months now planning for a big fat wedding, with the help of your new found bestie, Empress (who you obviously misjudged from the start.) You and Omi could never be happier, every thing was back to how it was before, maybe even better. And you definitely spent at least two Saturdays a month going out for picnics and it was now a tradition in your relationship, so in the end you did get your ‘aesthetic picnic date.’

AN: WHAT DID U GUYS THINK??