#it’s almost an even split for what I’ve seen and what I haven’t so I can’t speak to the mood of all the scenes

[strangeconnoisseurhologram]

Make the sweeping edits you want to see in the world

[astroismypassion]

Astrology observations 🌊🐟🌊

Credit: @astroismypassion

🌊 Cancer Sun men (some other Cancer placement can be that as well like Cancer Venus, Cancer Mercury) are I noticed veryy indecisive. But they are masking that indeciveness behind “oh I just haven’t met the right person for me yet”. As partners they tend to get lazy, more controlling with time, but paint a very very almost this ideal picture in the beginning. You might not be able to find anything bad, because they seems so ideal on paper. They could be cheap too. They also dislike paying, prefer to split 50/50, but make sure that they are spending LESS than you, so they still feel taken care of. They pay only what is theirs and if something is shared between both of you, they expect you to take care of it.

🐟 A lot of Taurus Sun people are gym/workout freaks secretly, but can be inconsistent with it, so you might never openly know this about them.

🌊 I find it’s a slight, small and funny difference between Scorpio Moon and Scorpio over the 4th house native. Scorpio Moon is so secretive, private and doesn’t disclose information easily. You might be their best friend, but still don’t know their family situation to the full extent. But with Scorpio over the 4th house I noticed can kind of be oversharers?? It’s harder for them to keep a secret and when they vibe with someone in a nice conversation, they end up overspilling information.

🐟 Your partner can be a mix of your Juno, Jupiter and sign over 1st, 4th and 7th house. 1st house because there could be found people that are so “in your face”, because you were literally meant to meet them in this lifetime, 4th house is people you introduce to your parents, take home and 7th house are people that are similar to you, yet different enough that you feel they complete you and that you can learn from them.

🌊 Your IC sign shows some of the deepest parts of you that have been instilled in you and have been in your family for generations and generations. It is also what you know best, what already comes to you naturally. For example: Aries IC you are unafraid of conflict, you are not scared to be confrontational.

🐟 I noticed Taurus over the 12th house or Taurus Lilith are more prone of wanting to steal something material from you, like a material item, if they feel you hurt them emotionally. Watch out for Taurus Lilith especially, because they feel like they are never abundant enough, I noticed there is something missing when they are around you, like you might start missing your umbrella or something little and mundane.

🌊 I still think about 8th house Synastry that usually both people need to change. So it’s not about pointing fingers that planet person or house person. It’s usually not enough just one doing the changes and the other not, for the connection to run more smoothly.

🐟 I noticed Composite Libra Rising couples really struggle with other people. Usually the only conflict these two have is about other people. You might not even complain about each other, but when there is tension, it is about other people. Like your/their friends, how much time they are spending with certain other people.

🌊 Composite 1st house shows the things you liked about each other in the beginning, but these are the very same things that you resent with time or dislike later on and complain about. For example: Composite Aquarius Rising: you will like that you are still able to be with them and chase your dream goals, you like that you still are able to have your independent life besides them, that they give you enough freedom and personal space. But later you will start noticing that you “drifted apart/didn’t take enough time for each other”.

🐟 Taurus Venus natives really crave a partner that pays for them. But I noticed once they get older, it reverses from what I’ve seen? They are usually the one getting taken advantage of and paying eveything or a lot of the things for their partner.

🌊 Venus in the 8th house in Synastry chart gives energy of “We are not in a partnership, but I also don’t like you trying to date other people”. 😅

🐟 Composite Pisces Mars, Mars at 12 degrees or Composite Mars in the 12th house will really hold you accountable, even when you will be trying sweep thoughts, feelings, conversations, under the rug.😩 Like yes, it is known for sweeping topics under the rug, giving too many chances, forgiving. But you will notice things go wrong or poorly/bad in the connection when you just let it slide. Like the universe won’t allow you to do that, if it’s not genuine. You might not vocalize certain of your genuine thoughts, ideas, feelings for the sake of keeping peace in the connection that one time, but it will blow up in your face later all at once, because the universe won’t let it slide. 😬

🌊 Often when people say “Oh my partner did that for me in the beginning, but they don’t do it anymore now”, I suggest look at your partner’s Venus sign. This is how they behave towards you to attract you. This is “the attractive you” you are usually in the beginning, early stages of getting to know someone or when you are going in for y job interview. For example:

Aries Venus: they will asking YOU firstly jokingly “Are you trying to flirt me?😂”, they can slide this one casually in the conversation.

Taurus Venus: buy you a little gift (but usually great great quality), treat you to a meal out or sharing snacks with you. might also gift you clothing for the very first birthday you have, which is their way of telling you they like you.

Gemini Venus: helps you out a lot (sometimes forces their help onto you😅), pays for drinks, seems like they will help you or be there for you if anything happens every day out of the week.

Cancer Venus: they usually potray themselves as the emotional one and describe people around them are all “so stone cold”, they are more emotionally open in the beginning to lure you in, but later you realize they are quite stoic actually or even nonchalant.

Leo Venus: gives a lot of attention mostly in the beginning. because later they wanna experience being the one that is the center of attention in the relationship.

Virgo Venus: will text you consistently and always make sure that they are there for you, also the one to likely help you out, but with ulterior motives😅

Libra Venus: another one that pays for your meals, they will take you out, wine and dine you, you will feel like they know all the good restaurants.

Scorpio Venus: now, this one is hard. it’s usually in their stares. If it’s there, it’s already in the EYE CONTACT. If you don’t know what I mean by eye contact, then the sparkle is not there. but quite soon, they will have a a little, but manageble jealous episode, when you mention your female/male friends and that is how they reveal themselves that they care about you.

Sagittarius Venus: oh this one will take you places, organize that bike trip, show you a city they know really well and take you around, feed you with their stories and impress you with their many life experiences.

Capricorn Venus: acting too busy, burdened with duties, but actually hanging with their parents in the free time or playing video games. oh gosh, they give such air of being on their own constant strict schedule, that you will feel like they don’t have time for you, so that when they give you their time, you will think it is special.

Aquarius Venus: this one is unique, will likely organize a set up, group situation with a few of their trusted friends with you going for a drink/meal, but it’s a test try, to see how well you would merge in, another type is acting super busy and productive with you, but actually hanging with friends, partying.

Pisces Venus: lure you in by giving you things, items for free or impressing you with their musical talent, sing you a song, make you homemade art, treating you to a nice sweet homebaked treat, they will give the impression of being naive, but that’s quite far for it.

🐟 You might argue less with people how have Saturn on your Ascendant, because you will feel like you need to level up mentally and act more mature when you are around them, so you are likely to avoid petty fights, but only when you are with this person.

🌊 We often watch TV series, films with actors who share the same Moon sign as us. For example: I noticed Sex and the City TV series is very popular among Aquarius and Capricorn Moon people (also Sagittarius Moon to certain extent) and main actresses have these Moon signs too.

🐟 Aquarius Mars people are few of the actors who actually don’t mind being known for THAT one movie/TV series role and don’t try to run away from that image, they instead embrace it. For example: actress Eva Longoria (Aquarius Mars) who still to this day doesn’t mind being asked about her well-known and iconic role as Gaby Solis in TV series Desperate Housewives.

Credit: @astroismypassion

[goldfades]

joe seems like the kind of dad who would absolutely lose it the first time the baby says ‘dada’ instead of ‘mama.’ like he’d be trying to act cool, but he’d immediately whip out his phone to record it and text everyone he knows. meanwhile, reader’s just rolling her eyes like ‘okay, joe, don’t act like you haven’t been secretly bribing them to say it first.’

this is the cutest concept ever i can’t 🥹🥹

you were folding laundry on the couch when you heard it for the first time—clear as day, that tiny, sweet little voice saying the word that would change joe’s life forever.

“dada.”

you looked up, laundry forgotten, to see hayes sitting on the floor with joe, one of his soft, crinkly toys clutched in his chubby hands. joe froze mid-reach for the toy, his eyes going wide like he couldn’t quite believe what he’d just heard.

“did he—” he started, looking at you with so much excitement it was almost comical.

you nodded, already smiling. “yep.”

“say it again, buddy,” joe said, his voice a little higher, a little more eager. “say ‘dada.’”

hayes giggled, clearly pleased with the reaction he was getting. “dada!”

joe practically launched himself backward, his hand flying to his chest like the word had physically hit him. “oh my god,” he said, his voice full of wonder. “he said it. he said it!”

you were still grinning, watching as joe scrambled for his phone, nearly dropping it twice in his haste to open the camera. “say it one more time, hayes,” he coaxed, holding the phone up. “come on, buddy. one more ‘dada.’”

and, of course, hayes delivered.

“dada!”

joe’s reaction was immediate and completely over the top. he let out a whoop, fist-pumping the air before scooping hayes into his arms and twirling him around like he’d just scored the game-winning touchdown. “that’s my boy!” he said, grinning from ear to ear. “you’re a genius, kid. an absolute prodigy.”

you couldn’t help but laugh, shaking your head as joe plopped back down on the floor, still recording hayes. “you’re unbelievable,” you teased, tossing a balled-up sock at him. “don’t act like you haven’t been secretly bribing him to say it first.”

joe looked up at you, mock-offended. “i have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said, even as hayes reached for the half-eaten cracker that had mysteriously appeared in joe’s hand.

“oh, please,” you said, crossing your arms. “i’ve seen you slipping him extra snacks when you think i’m not looking.”

“that’s called positive reinforcement,” joe shot back, his grin still so big it threatened to split his face.

“you’re ridiculous,” you said, but there was no heat in your words, just affection.

joe shrugged, looking back down at hayes, who was still babbling happily. “ridiculous or not,” he said, pressing a kiss to the top of hayes’ head, “i’m officially the favorite now.”

you rolled your eyes, but you couldn’t stop smiling as you watched them. joe might’ve been a little ridiculous, but moments like this? they were everything.

[soleilapproves]

ex-convict!sukuna gets into a bar fight for burnt out reader but she’s embarrassed of being seen with him. For more context, read this prompt.

main masterlist

There’s a fine line between procrastination and being burnt out, and you weren’t sure which part of the spectrum you belonged to. However, you could blame part of your confusion to the toasty bitter liquid in front of you. Condensation collecting around the large jar. College bars weren’t exactly crowded during finals week, but the bartenders were glad to have you there as you single-handedly kept them in business after downing drink after drink.

Your friends had long ditched you to catch some sleep before their study session the next the day—an event you weren’t invited to because you simply slept the entire time, not being much help with memorizing naming reactions in organic chemistry.

Your notes from the first half of the semester were still incomplete. Forget revising for the final. You were fucked, winging your past quizzes and exams by getting Cs.

Life felt stationary. No internships, no friends you could actually rely on, car broken down, and no boyfriend.

Boyfriend. Funny word. The closest thing you had to one was the older man you were messing around with. To make matters worse, he was an ex-convict without a job.

His truck, however, said that he had enough money to spare. His apartment? Not so much. Heat pooled between your legs as you thought about his room. His bed. A Pavlovian response. You only went there to momentarily forget about your struggles after all.

“You’re looking worse for wear,” a smooth, rich voice calls out from beside you. Geto Suguru—English Literature major. Honors student. Persistent ex-hookup from your second year. You were surprised that you were even able to recognize the midnight-haired man. He eyed your figure—slouched and red (courtesy of the alcohol).

“Need me to drop you home? I live nearby.” You knew he meant well. But a small voice deep in the corners of your consciousness told you that you were most likely going to invite him in. Finding solace in one man’s arms were enough. You were not going to split your loyalties. At least for the time being. You were too mentally exhausted.

Also, you weren’t sure how Sukuna would react knowing that you were sleeping around with other people.

His angry grunt after you asked if he had been hooking up with other girls was enough to tell you that your arrangement was exclusive. It was a good thing that you asked him while he had you sheathed around his dick. Who knew what he would’ve said if he was in his right mind?

“I’m alright, Suguru. Thanks for offering,” you slurred out. He wrapped an arm around you, probably to shield you from the leering eyes of the other drunk patrons at the bar. “It’s just colder than usual here. And you don’t have a jacket.” You simply nod at his reasoning. Relishing in his warmth and the smell of his subtle cologne. Much tamer than Sukuna’s and even then you’re able to sense his heavy natural musk.

Maybe it was because you’d been intimately entwined with him more times than you could count. You couldn’t even remember what Suguru’s scent reminded you of. All that clouded your mind was that darned tattooed ex-convict.

“You know, I’ve been watching you around campus for a while. I can tell you haven’t been feeling well for a while and—“ Suguru sighs before tightening his hold on you “—if you ever feel like you need to talk to someone, please know that I’m always there for you.” His warm smile almost feels fake. You couldn’t remember the last time someone showed you genuine kindness. Save for Sukuna immediately replying to your text where you’d told him you needed to let out some steam.

“Thanks,” you choke out, a singular tear falls down and for the first time in a while you see something other than pity in a peer’s eyes—concern. True and genuine concern. You felt cared for. Your tears began to flow out your eyes yes and you sobbed uncontrollably, unsure if it was the alcohol or the shred of kindness you were just shown.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” he said as he rubbed his arms up and down your shoulders. “It happens to the best of us. You’ll be ok-“ You’re suddenly left cold without Suguru’s warm hold. You turn to see his hand in the grasp of another man’s.

Sukuna. He was in front of you.

“Get the fuck away from her,” he spat at Suguru. “If you know what’s good for you.”

Suguru ignored the older man’s imposition and turned to look at you. Eyes softening again. “You know this guy?” Your tongue was too thick for your mouth to answer him.

What could you say? If you agreed then all the people in this bar (who were in your university) would know that you liked to mess around with strange men. If you said no then you’d have Sukuna’s supposed wrath to deal with.

You didn’t even know what he went to jail for.

Too overstimulated and confused to answer, you simply glanced around the bar. All eyes were on you three. An unwanted spotlight.

“Tell him you know me,” Sukuna’s red eyes bore into your delirious state through a frown. “At least I know where you live.”

You felt conflicted. On one hand, you had a man who was genuinely concerned for you and was explicit with providing you with support. On the other, was a man who knew about your emotional state and didn’t let you feel afraid to put your guard down despite never asking you about your troubles.

“That doesn’t matter. She didn’t say anything about knowing who you are. Hell, I haven’t even seen you around campus. Are you even a student at our school?” Suguru snapped. You were grateful that a mere acquaintance was so protective of you, but at this moment, everything felt uncomfortable.

Cold sweat prickled the back of your neck as you watched both the men raise their voices with each insult thrown at one another.

And to your horror, both the men started fighting one another. You looked away, shielding yourself and cringing. You heard a distressing crunch and didn’t want to guess whose nose had gone bust. It was all so embarrassing. Your friends always joked that you had the worst taste in men and they were right.

Humiliated, you ran out the bar, too frantic to pay your tab. The fight had gotten so bad that you could hear the faint sirens of the local police patrol cars driving towards the bar.

The bus ride back home was as excruciating as ever. Its rockiness and constant bumps on the mussed streets made it a nightmare to hold your bile in. The acidity of it had travelled up to your mouth, and you were grateful for the bathroom being in close proximity to your front door.

A few uncomfortable belches and spurts of vomit later, you dragged your dehydrated and exhausted body to your couch, scrolling through your phone to order hangover soup for the next day.

But your finger stopped before you could tap anything because a text had popped up.

11:27 pm | Sukuna Ryomen: are you okay

—

No part two for this. The “storyline” (?) is more focused on reader’s unhealthy coping mechanisms, and how sukuna affects her life 🥸

[realityinsuspense]

one step closer | chapter 3: a broken bowl

--summary: "me and him? in one apartment? yeah, right. nothing is going to happen." ~~ two strangers living together. not talking and just going about each other’s lives. that was your plan. that’s how you’ve always done things, and you’ve gone far doing so. so when you have to suddenly move into a new apartment with your new roommate, you expect almost nothing. almost.

--pairing: mingi x fem!reader

--genre: strangers to lovers, fluff, a little angst, #mingi is cold and standoffish, #eventual mutual pining

--a/n: hey all!! sorry for the slowest update in the world ahfdkafkdj but here is chapter 3! enjoy, and if u would like to be part of the tag list pls let me know :) i just started one hehe

words: 5.2k

~

chapter 3: a broken bowl

Life at the apartment continued on as usual. With the now split chores and clear communication between one another, you and Mingi settled back into that routine. And it was great! Peaceful—just how you liked it. And you’re sure Mingi liked too.

It was Wednesday evening. You were back at the apartment after another busy day of work and you were absolutely exhausted. You were also starving as well, so you headed to the kitchen to prepare an easy meal for dinner: instant ramen—the spicy kind. The thought immediately made you salivate. As you gathered two packs of Indomie from the pantry, you felt your phone vibrating in your pocket: an incoming call from Hongjoong.

It’s been a while since he’s last called you, and you missed him, mentally noting that you had to get lunch with him soon. It was an easy decision—you wanted to talk with your best friend. But before pressing the green answer button, you glanced at Mingi’s door from the kitchen. He’s home early today surprisingly. Knowing he’s behind that door and could possibly enter the kitchen at any moment, you quickly run to your room and grab your headphones; you wanted your conversation to only be heard by you of course.

You pressed the button, and you were greeted excitedly by your best friend.

“Did you get San’s invite to his birthday party?” Hongjoong asked immediately. You grabbed a big pot and filled it with water.

“Yes. Trust me, the amount of times I’ve heard about this party already,” You smile to yourself and adjusted your headphones.

“Ah, this guy…I am looking forward to his birthday nonetheless,” You could tell Hongjoong is also smiling on the other end. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen him too.”

Funnily enough, Hongjoong was also friends with San and Yeosang. He happened to attend the same University as the best friend duo, where they were all classmates for four years. It was only a coincidence that you all so happened to become friends. What a small world, you remind yourself.

“Oh you know San, he’s doing great! Yeosang too…And what about you? How’s your friend?” You teased. The last time you spoke with your best friend, he admitted he was slowly developing a crush on his long time neighbor. It excited you—romance gossip was always the best. You couldn’t help it, as a hopeless romantic yourself.

“Oh stop! Nothing much has been happening,” He laughed . “But I would say, we’ve been talking more and more.”

“What if you invite him to San’s?” You suggested. “I would love to meet him.”

“Ahh, yeah, but I think it’s maybe too soon for that,” Hongjoong said. “But I do want you to meet him one day. He’s great…”

“I can’t wait!” You exclaim. The water on the stove is boiling now, so you dump your noodles in and start separating the packets of seasoning.

“Well, what about you? How’s your life these days?” Hongjoong’s voice rings through your headphones as you carefully stir in the noodles.

“It’s been going good,” You chirp. “Nothing much going on either.”

“Hmmm…how is your roommate by the way? You haven’t told me much, except that he’s a mess.” He chuckles.

“Well that situation has been fixed, but honestly…” You ponder this. How is Mingi?

Ever since the chores incident, life at the apartment has been sailing smoothly again. In fact, you might even think the conversation even improved the atmosphere of the apartment. It felt a little bit more comfortable living there. Moving pasts the silence and nods, you guys now greet each other with a “hello” or “good night” here and there. The air feels less awkward and less tense. Both your schedules still work out, except you notice that recently, he’s been coming and staying home earlier than his previous hours…But you don’t think about it too much. You guys still manage to work it out! Again, you guys still keep to yourselves. Everything is still separate and unknown. Strangers, but not really strangers. Unraveled mysteries. Roommates. That’s what it feels like.

“He’s okay. We really don’t talk much though. We kinda just focus on our own things, you know?”

“Mmm…” You hear Hongjoong’s tone shift slightly. You could tell that it’s his turn to do the teasing now. “That sounds so boring!”

“Hey!” You chuckle. You turn the stove off to the perfectly cooked noodles. “It’s fine by me. I’m just here to live okay.”

Now, where is that strainer?

“Interesting,” Hongjoong says. “So… is he cute?”

“What?!” You exclaim a little too loudly after opening up the cupboard above you. You spot the large silver straining bowl, all the way on the top shelf stacked on top of your other large bowls. Did I really put these here? “What’s up with that? San asked the same thing.”

Hongjoong laughs in response. “Well, you are a single woman living alone with a man. That’s like a couple living together, no? And God knows how long you’ve been single for. I mean-wait, is he single too?”

“I don’t know about all that!” You quietly “yell” into your phone, your voice a low murmur. This is the last type of conversation to have especially since Mingi is just a room away. You glance at his bedroom door again, happily still shut.

For some reason, you feel your face flush. You felt a little embarrassed at the mention of your almost nonexistent love life once again, this time a bit more direct. And to have this thought about Mingi? Of all people! It was absurd. While you loved romance gossip, it wasn’t an exception when it came to you. Now you were finding yourself giving this little speech of justification once more. “Co-ed roommates exist you know? Besides, maybe he does have a girlfriend. But anyway, me and him? Nothing. Nothing is going to happen. And even if there was ‘something’—which there won’t—that would compromise our contract. I’m just here as his roommate to live in.”

You gently push yourself up onto the kitchen counter, your eyes locked on the stack of bowls.

“Relax, I’m just joking,” Hongjoong defends, but you could hear him grinning like crazy. “But, I don’t know…shouldn’t roommates at least bond?”

“Bond over what?” You were leaning over the cupboard, with your arm almost reaching the bowl. If you knew any better, you probably would’ve gotten a chair to help you instead. But you were too distracted, and for some reason, willingly determined, as if you knew that it was entirely possible for you to reach such height. Your fingers just barely brushed over the cool bowl holding the strainer. What you should know, was that willingness did not always equal logic.

And your desperation for reaching for the bowl at the top shelf backfired. Your fingers tried to grab hold of the bowls, but the weight made you feel unsteady, slipping out of your grasp.

CRASH

“Fuck!” You ducked just in time. But the stack of bowls toppled over and shattered on the floor, a big pile of broken ceramic pieces scattered everywhere. And of course, the strainer lying on the floor as well, perfectly unharmed.

“What happened?!” Hongjoong’s voice rang through your headphones. You carefully landed both your feet on the floor, worried of stepping on any broken glass despite the house slippers.

“Oh shit,” Your eyes went wide after scanning the broken pieces—intricate designs of blue were shown throughout. “Ugh…this isn’t good. Hongjoong, I’ll call you later, okay?” He obliged, and you promised to update him. You stood in shock at the mess in front of you.

These bowls weren’t yours.

They were Mingi’s.

And you broke them.

A million thoughts were bursting and running through your mind. Why did I think these were mine*? Why was I so distracted? I should’ve known better. Maybe I’m just really exhausted? Ugh. No excuses. Oh he’s gonna kill me. These looked really expensive. What do I say to him?*

Hurriedly, you begin to sweep the damage that had been done. But barely just starting to clean up, you hear the sound of his bedroom door opening. Fuck. At that moment, you so badly wished his life schedule didn’t change all of a sudden and that he wasn’t home. But there’s no point in hiding. He was going to find out eventually; it’s time to face it.

Your heart rate picks up as you hear the shuffle of footsteps get closer to the kitchen; you painfully continue sweeping the broken mess.

“What was-” Mingi begins as he enters the kitchen. His relaxed face turns tense at the sight of the scene before him, looking down at the broken bowls. “What the hell happened?”

You jolt up and duck your head down in apology. You suddenly feel his eyes glaring into you.

“I’m so sorry, it was an accident! I-I thought that the bowls were mine and I stupidly tried reaching for them and then I..dropped them.” Your words felt pathetic, your body feeling hot with embarrassment. You gingerly lifted your head to make eye contact with him.

You were scared out of your mind for some reason, that same intimidating feeling returning.

Silence. You scan his face for something. But his expression remains tense and indifferent, his dark hair falling just above his dark eyes. It’s hard to know what he’s thinking. But there’s no doubt in your mind—he has to be pissed.

“I can buy you a new set, I-” You blurt out at an attempt to break the painful silence.

“Don’t bother,” He says coldly, his tone full of anger and disappointment. “This further proves my point. I know we live together, but we really can’t bother with each other. Otherwise shit like this happens. The chores was already enough, and now you’re breaking my stuff.”

The words slap you in the face, and you can’t help but feel silenced. It was an accident! You wanted to yell, but you couldn’t find the courage to. You would never break those things on purpose. He must be upset; they must’ve been important to him. But even so…

Even if he was speaking the truth, it still felt mean.

It still hurt.

Mingi picks up some remaining scattered pieces where he stands and throws them in the trash bin. You continue to clean up as well; it feels like you’re holding your breath the entire time until both of you finish cleaning the mess. You were ashamed.

After you hear his bedroom door shut, you let out a heavy sigh, feeling a mix of disappointment and anxiety. Your noodles have gone cold.

—

That entire night, you were fueled with guilt. It makes sense to be upset about broken dishware, but it’s not like you were completely ignoring the problem. Nor were you were trying to break them on purpose. You took responsibility, apologized, and offered to purchase a replacement. Yet, Mingi refused. You began to feel worse after realizing how well you two were finally cooperating, and that living together became easier and more comfortable. He even made stronger efforts in keeping the apartment clean.

The next morning before you left for work, because you couldn’t go on without action, you slipped a small envelope of money underneath his door. It was for the bowls.

Mingi’s being upset with you bothered you to the core.

Well rightfully so, you did just destroy a very nice ceramic set of dish ware. And it didn’t look cheap, so it must’ve costed a fortune. Maybe that’s why he seemed to mad.

It only makes sense to replace it then. Besides, it would be rude of you not to. It was a gesture in your nature and out of courtesy. It was something you could do to fix the problem. But you were unclear of what Mingi wanted. What could he possibly want? What could I possibly do to fix this?

And as you were on your way to work, you felt your phone vibrate. While you were expecting a text from Hongjoong (who you updated on the situation afterwards by the way), you were surprised to find a new message from your roommate. What great timing, you thought to yourself.

song mingi (roommate): don’t need the money.

Well that was fast. But the text made your stomach churn. Seriously, this guy is so blunt. You chose to ignore the message, guilt creeping into you once again. Your thoughts followed you to work, clouding your upcoming busy day.

“That’s weird,” Yeosang scrunches his eyebrows together. “Who gets that upset over a set of bowls?”

Once again, you confided in your work friends. It was lunch time at your guys’ usual table, and you were stirring the spoon in your bowl of soup mindlessly. You were relieved it was finally lunch time, because the whole incident and text message was bothering you all morning.

“Agreed, that was totally unnecessary,” San says, eyes glued to his phone.

“Just forget about it y/n. It was clearly an accident! You’re too nice for your own good.” Yeosang presses.

“Yeah y/n, don’t stress about it too much.” San added.

“But I can’t!” You groan and throw your head into your hands. Yeosang sighs seemingly in defeat and takes a bite of his burger. “I feel guilty out of my mind.”

Just when things were starting to feel okay. Just when Mingi showed some kind decency towards you, it had to go south immediately. Things were just starting to feel comfortable and at ease. You two were finally cooperating as roommates, greeting one another, and being accommodating to one another. It was a peaceful coexistence that has once again been jeopardized—this time by you. Who would’ve thought living would become even more difficult.

“Well, if you feel that bad. I think you should just get him the new set.” San says, finally looking up from his phone, his expression bright and gentle as always.

“Should I really?” You ask weakly. It was just the push you needed.

“You really don’t have to y/n…” Yeosang smiles his comforting little smile. “But we know you, and you probably will anyway.”

My friends know me well.

—

You head back home after stopping by the market after work. Luckily, it was still open, and you picked out a similar looking set—a porcelain white set, except with tiny green floral detailing this time. It was cute, but not as beautiful as the original. The reminder made your stomach sink.

You’re sure this wasn’t as expensive as the original either, despite the sales lady claiming its value. But, you hope that it’s the thought that counts—this was your apology gift. Whether he’ll accept it or not. You only feel right doing this. And it was your fault, so you wanted to take responsibility.

Despite your fears to face Mingi once again, you knew you had to muster up the courage to properly apologize to him. Otherwise, you both couldn’t go on living this way—all tense all over again. Disrupted peace. Awkwardness, discomfort. A step backwards.

You wanted to resolve this as smoothly and quickly as possible. And enough with the overthinking!

We’re roommates for crying out loud, you thought, trying to hype yourself up as you head up your apartment building. Again, you feel your heart beating loudly in your chest. Be more confident, y/n. You’re gonna apologize properly, and then he’s going to take this damn set of bowls whether he likes it or not! You’ve been agonizing in guilt for the past few days, so he better accept this apology!

We WILL be peaceful roommates again!

After opening the apartment door, you hear sounds in the kitchen and make your way there immediately. He’s home.

“Mingi!” You bravely announce, entering the kitchen. You felt a little stupid, but you couldn’t stand the tension. “I-”

But before you could even continue, your eyes land on your roommate leaning against the kitchen counter, and you suddenly feel your face grow hot.

Shirtless?!

Mingi looks up at you with a questioning look, his pink lips pouted. “Hm?”

Standing before you, was an even more revealing Mingi. Only wearing his signature pair of sweatpants, his lean and toned physique stood out—defined abs and muscles, and.. you tried not to stare for too long, but it’s so hard not to take in. The sight was…something else.

You feel embarrassed seeing him like this, but he clearly didn’t. You could barely make out your words, the courage and hype you built up all of sudden gone.

“I- uh,” You awkwardly say. “I bought you this for you.” You place the shopping bag on the dining table. Mingi approaches slowly, and you feel your heart beating faster as he walks closer to you. He peers into the bag and sighs.

“I told you, I don’t need-” He starts. ”I’m sorry!” You interject abruptly, finally making eye contact with him. “I’m sorry! I messed up. I broke the dishes. I broke our deal. As your roommate, it only makes sense for me to do this. I’ve been feeling horribly guilty, and I am really truly sorry.”

Mingi remains silent as he glares at you, his eyes unreadable. His dark eyes scan your face, and you hope to god your face doesn’t look as red as it feels. It would be even more embarrassing.

“I-I know it won’t replace the old one, and I know ceramics can be kind of expensive,” You continue on after he says nothing, spilling your jumbled words incessantly. “Especially the ones you had, which I’m sure were so beautiful by the way. So it must’ve been frustrating. I know it’s a hassle to get new pieces like those. And…and this new set isn’t the same, but it still has some little details on it! They’re green though—but still, very pretty! The lady at the market agreed with me. So maybe it can-”

“y/n,” He says sighing, stopping you. “It’s fine.”

“No! It’s not fine,” You grab the shopping bag from the table and try to shove it into his hands, taking a step closer to him. You look up at him now, his eyes wide—probably shocked by your sudden actions. Gosh, you think, unbelievably close to a shirtless man like this. “From now on, this won’t happen again. It was just a stupid mistake, I swear. So please, just take this as my apology.” You bow your head in shame and at an attempt to stop looking at him.

After a beat of silence, you feel him gently take the bag from your hands.

“My mom made them for me,” Mingi says quietly. “Those bowls.”

You slowly look up at him once more, suddenly taken aback by the comment. And most importantly his tone—a tinge of sentiment.

“You’re right. These won’t replace the old ones,” He says before you could even respond. “But they’ll do for now. I accept your apology, thanks..”

Mingi places the bag on the dining table once again, and returns to the kitchen counter to continue preparing whatever he was making.

“O-okay, yes,” You manage to say finally. “Thank you, good night.” ”Night.” He says without looking up.

A wave of relief washes over you, and you silently head to your bedroom. You were glad that he’s forgiven you, but also feel bad to know that you destroyed his mother’s gift to him. Now that you know that fact, it felt strange. Isn’t that even worse? At the same time though, Mingi didn’t seem too angry or upset like he was previously. And talking to him this time felt a little different.

Maybe your apology was so great, he felt compelled to do so. Anyhow, you were sure that things would get back to normal again. But your mind lingered about what he said. His mom?

We don’t usually bring up things like that, yet tonight…

You shook your head, deciding not to read too much into it. As they say, curiosity killed the cat.

In your room, you glance at yourself in the mirror.

Your cheeks were bright red.

Great.

~

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tags: @hwaskookies @chicksmoothie

[clarisse0o]

Camp Wiegman-Part 24

Lucy Bronze x Ona Batlle

Alternative Universe : Military School

Words : 5k

Masterlist

———————————————————————

Thursday, December 17th; 7:00 PM - Ona and Alexia's Room.

I collapse face down on my bed as soon as I step into my room. All I can think about is being on vacation. It’s about to become reality. To be honest, I’m struggling to grasp that starting tomorrow, I’ll be home for two whole weeks. It feels strange, but it’s definitely going to do me good. These last few weeks have been intense, and I really need a break. I have a splitting headache from all the constant studying. It feels like a hammer pounding in my head without rest. I just got back from Bronze after studying for my last exam, which is tomorrow. I’m relieved to see the end in sight because it was turning into a real disaster. The pressure and anxiety of not succeeding took over, and I started working more than I should have. I felt like the study sessions at Bronze weren’t enough anymore. I became obsessed, to the point of breaking curfew multiple times to study late into the night. The lack of sleep started affecting my behavior. I became unintentionally aggressive, which caught the attention of my supervisor. She noticed the bags under my eyes and figured out what was going on. Let’s just say she gave me a good scolding. Her decision was final, no matter what I said. She took all my study materials out of my room to control my workload. She almost punished me, but she held back when she saw my state. Our relationship has taken another step forward. I think she’s changed since she asked me to call her by her first name outside of school. She’s more open than before. Sometimes, I even call her Lucy when our study sessions run late, and she doesn’t mind. It’s become much more pleasant to spend time with her. She’s reached the point where she can tell what I’m thinking or feeling just by observing me. It’s very unsettling to be read like that. When she realized my problem with studying, she immediately found the right words to reassure me. Ever since she took my things on Friday night, she’s been coming by my room every evening to make sure I get back into a good sleep routine. Still, I’m mentally exhausted. All these exams were too much, and I’m starting to miss my family. I haven’t seen them in a month, hence my eagerness for the holidays.

“Are you done with your revisions at Bronze?”

Alexia snaps me out of my drowsiness. I must have dozed off without realizing it because I didn’t even hear her come in. I groan when she flops down on my back without any consideration. She kisses my cheek before resting her head on mine. Without knowing it, Alexia has started to break down my boundaries around physical contact.

“I came to get you for dinner. You’re coming, right? The others are already there.”

“Yeah,” I mumble into my pillow. “I’m starving. But I’m coming back here afterward.”

“Don’t worry, I was planning on coming back here too.”

“Come on, get off me!” I say, wriggling. “I’m starving!”

I laugh as she teases me by pressing down on me even harder. She finally gets up, but not before giving my butt a playful slap.

“Hey!” I exclaim, feigning indignation.

“Oops,” she says with an innocent look.

I smile and roll my eyes. Without her, I would have probably sunk into a deep depression. I was so angry with Lucy that first night she took my stuff that I was mad at the whole world. Alexia was there that night, and since then, she hasn’t let a single evening pass without making me laugh. She helped me think about other things, and that’s how I came to understand Lucy’s actions. To succeed, I also needed to learn to let go and have some fun. And that’s what I’ve been doing with Alexia. We’ve relaxed a lot, and she even took the opportunity to share new stories from her childhood. I took the chance to tell her about my relationship with Mapi as well. I had promised her a while ago that I would talk about it, so I did. Alexia is someone I really appreciate. She’s strong, and she has such a contagious joy. With those thoughts in mind, we head to the cafeteria in good spirits.

“Have you heard from Mapi these last few days?”

“Not really. She’s also busy studying. Why?”

“Just wondering.”

I don’t press further as we enter the cafeteria. We grab our trays and join our friends who are already seated. I greet the people I haven’t seen yet today. Since our day in the snow, our group sometimes expands at meals with the addition of girls who joined the snowball fight the other day. That’s the case tonight with Ella and Alessia joining us. They’ve taken the usual spots where Ale and I sit, but we don’t mind and take the seats opposite them. Over time, I’ve learned that Alessia is actually Leah’s sister. I figured it wasn’t a coincidence that I get along so well with her. Looking back, I realize they have quite similar personalities. They’re both very calm and thoughtful. Alessia once confided that she thought I had a crush on her sister. I quickly reassured her that we’re just good friends and that it would never go beyond that. I focus on the conversation going around the table. It’s about our upcoming vacation. Everyone is really excited. I get it; I feel the same way. I’m starting to get impatient for tomorrow. I can finally breathe and see my loved ones again.

“Do you already have plans for New Year’s, Ona?” Alba asks me.

“Not really. I guess I’ll spend it with Mapi, but we haven’t talked about it yet.”

“See, I told you she’d already have something planned,” his sister comments.

“Well, technically, nothing’s set yet. Why?”

They exchange a knowing look before Leah decides to speak up.

“To be honest, we usually spend it together here in Manchester. We were hoping you’d join us if you didn’t have any plans.”

“Really? Where do you do it?”

“It’s at our place,” Alessia explains. “We live here, and our parents usually go celebrate New Year’s with their friends.”

“I see. Is this the first time you’ve done this?” I ask curiously.

“No, this will be the third year we’ve done it together,” Ale responds. “It’s the only holiday we can all spend together, so we make the most of it.”

I nod, understanding perfectly. This idea excites me a lot. It would be so cool to finally be able to spend an evening with them outside of school. It’s definitely better than spending a drunken night at Mapi’s friend’s place. Still, I don’t want to leave Mapi behind. We’ve barely spent any time together since I’ve been here. Besides, we’ve always celebrated New Year’s together ever since we met. I know she’s expecting us to spend this one together too. We don’t even need to talk about it to know that.

“I would love to come, but I can’t leave Mapi alone,” I share.

“Why don’t you bring her along?” Alba suggests.

“That’s true, it’s a good idea,” Ale adds. “I really want to meet her after everything you’ve told me about her. Do you think she’d agree?”

“I see why you suddenly asked if I’d heard from her,” I say with an amused smile.

“Yes, well,” she rolls her eyes with a knowing smile. “I wanted to know if you’d already talked about it. Seriously, would it be possible? It’s a bit of a crazy plan, but doable, right?”

“I don’t know. It’s going to be complicated. She has a girlfriend, and I doubt she’d want to celebrate without her,” I grimace. “I’ll ask her and see what she says. Anyway, I want to come, but not without her.”

“She seems important to you,” Lotte comments.

“Well… yeah. She’s my best friend, you know. She’ll always come first.”

“See, I told you she’d say yes,” Patri laughs. “It’ll be awesome if you come. You’re part of the group now.”

I smile sincerely at her. It’s true that I’ve really integrated into their group by now. They’ve been very welcoming from the start, unlike me, who only did things my way. Now, it’s very different. A real friendship has formed between them and me. I was about to respond when someone taps me on the head with an object that echoes above me. I instinctively duck my head to avoid the attack, even though it doesn’t really help. When I try to turn around to see who it is, two large hands on my shoulders stop me.

“What has Mapi done now?”

I relax and lean back against Lucy, recognizing her voice. I expected to see her tonight before curfew.

“Nothing,” I giggle. “We were talking about New Year’s.”

“Oh. I thought you’d heard from her.”

“Briefly this morning, to talk about tomorrow. By the way, she sends her regards,” I say, lifting my head to finally see her.

“That’s nice of her.”

“Yeah. Did you want something specific?”

“I wanted to return the pen you left on my desk. It would be a shame to take your last exams without it, right?”

I smile as I take it back when she dangles it in front of my nose. What would I do without her? Probably not much. I can’t say it’s my lucky pen because I don’t believe in that sort of thing. However, I’m the kind of person who doesn’t like to change their habits once I’ve found something that works for me. That’s exactly how it is with this pen. I would have been frustrated to have to use another one for my last exam.

“Oh, thanks! You didn’t have to. Are you also returning my notes?”

“You need to stop taking advantage of my kindness. I’ll give them back tomorrow.”

“What kindness?” I laugh. “I’m old enough to manage my own sleep schedule.”

“No, you’re not. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have taken your notes.”

I sigh, crossing my arms. Well, I can’t complain too much. It’s true that she’s become nicer than before, even though she still treats me like a kid in some ways. It’s really frustrating, but I guess I’m partly to blame. She knows why she’s keeping my stuff. I would have been tempted to study tonight otherwise.

“Fine, I’ve recovered,” I protest.

“Ona,” she scolds. “I should make you run laps to tire you out tonight.”

“Actually, I think I’ll be fine,” I grimace.

“That’s what I thought. Everything will be fine, anyway. You’re ready.”

“Yeah,” I sigh. “If you say so.”

“I do say so,” she confirms. “Alright, I’ll come by your room before curfew.”

“Wait,” I quickly try to stop her.

“What? Hurry up, Engen is waiting for me.”

I turn to see that, indeed, she’s waiting at their table. I’m not used to sitting with my back to them. I like being able to see Lucy when we’re eating at the same time.

“Ona?” she calls out.

“Sorry… Um… Actually, I have a headache. I was wondering if you could bring me an aspirin or something?”

“Is it just a headache?” she frowns.

I smile when she instinctively places her hand on my forehead. Since my withdrawal and the flu, she worries about every little thing I might have. Well, it’s true that I’m still a bit fragile, but not to that extent.

“I just have a migraine. It’s probably from the studying.”

“And you dare ask me to give back your notes?”

“Oh, come on,” I say, feeling my cheeks flush slightly. “Can you bring me something then?”

“I’m not a walking pharmacy, but I’ll bring you something later.”

“Cool, thanks! And enjoy your meal.”

"Thanks, same to you."

She ruffles my hair before heading back to her table. I place my pen on the tray and watch it for a moment. My smile widens at the thought that she really knows me well.

"Well, you've got quite the bond," Patri chuckles.

"Hmm, if you say so," I shrug.

"It's true," Ella insists. "You're the only student she treats like that."

"We also spend a lot of time together," I shrug again.

"That's for sure," Ale laughs. "You're with her more often than with me!"

"Yeah, anyway, can we get back to the New Year's topic? If you want, we can call Mapi together later," I suggest.

"Oh yeah! That's a great idea, that way we can ask her directly!"

"That's exactly what I was thinking."

Even from a distance, my best friend manages to be loved. I'll keep to myself the fact that Mapi was jealous of Ale at first. She joked about it, but I know she was genuinely jealous. Still, I have no doubt they would get along. They're both so wild when they want to be, and it could cause some real chaos.

"By the way, how does Bronze know her?" Ale arches an eyebrow.

I freeze at her question. Damn, I hadn’t thought about that. You can’t really say they know each other. They’ve only talked once when I had a rough night. Otherwise, it often happens that Bronze comes to my room when I’m on the phone with her on the weekends. So, they greet each other, and sometimes they even tease each other (usually about me).

"Oh, well, you know, we often talk on the weekends, so Bronze hears me talking to her," I shrug.

"Hmm, hmm," she replies skeptically. "I must be missing out on some interesting stuff on the weekends."

"Not really," I laugh nervously.

Great, Ona. Very convincing. If she knew I often sneak out of school thanks to Bronze, I have no doubt she’d have something to say about it.

"Well, I’m done. I’m going back to the dorm. I can’t stand my headache anymore."

"Yep, I’ll join you soon."

I nod and wish everyone else a good evening before leaving the table. I clear my tray and then head out to face the cold. I hesitate for a moment to take the emergency exit to get there faster, but Bronze would kill me if she found out. So, I force myself to take the main entrance. I regret this choice when I hear the noise coming from the common room. Someone forgot to close the door. It makes me realize how disrespectful students can be. They struggle to understand they’re not alone. I escape the noise by going upstairs to avoid worsening my migraine. When I get to the room, I decide to shower immediately so Ale will have space when she returns. In the meantime, she comes back to tell me that she changed her mind under the influence of the others and is heading back down to the common room for a bit. At least I’ll have some time alone. Or so I thought until I come face to face with Bronze as I’m leaving the bathroom.

"You scared me!"

"Sorry, I was looking for you," she smiles softly.

"No problem..."

"Here, for your migraine."

"Oh, thanks... Wait, let me find a sweater first, I’m cold."

"You’re not getting sick again, are you? You’re trembling like a leaf."

"I don’t think so. I’m just cold," I say as I grab a sweater from the closet.

The shower had warmed me up, but the room is cold compared to the sauna I created in the bathroom. Let’s just say that shorts and a T-shirt aren’t enough in these circumstances.

"Your lack of sleep probably isn’t helping."

"Stop blaming everything on that. Don’t forget I’ve only lived in hot countries."

"Hmm..." she says skeptically.

"Anyway, I’m on vacation starting tomorrow at eleven. I’ll have two long weeks to sleep."

"That’s true."

I first put down my phone and computer before going over to her to take the pillbox and a small bottle of water she thoughtfully brought me. I quickly swallow a pill with a few sips of water.

"Can I keep them?"

"Only the bottle. You know the rules."

She smiles at me sympathetically. It’s clear that it’s not safe to leave a pillbox with a former addict.

"It’s not like I’m going to get high."

"You could be capable of it. Now, give me the box."

I don’t argue and hand it back to her before slipping under my blanket. Without asking her opinion, I turn on my computer. I squint, noticing that Lucy doesn’t seem to want to leave.

"Are you planning to stay here for a while?"

"No."

She grabs my desk chair and places it between the two beds before sitting down. I look at her skeptically.

"I’d like to talk about tomorrow."

I frown, not understanding where she’s going with this. She leans back in the chair and crosses her arms.

"For two things. First, how do you feel about the exam?"

I sigh and shake my head. She’s not going to let this go. I had a moment of panic, and now she’s back on my case.

"I’m not trying to bother you. I can tell you’re stressed, which is why I’m asking."

"Who wouldn’t be stressed in my position? I’m a little bit, I admit. But it’s not because of the exam. Well, the dice are cast since it’s the last one... I’m scared because I don’t know if I’ve passed or not."

She nods understandingly. I bite my lip and look down. I feel ridiculous for being so worried over something so minor.

"Hey. No matter the result, you can’t say you didn’t give it your best shot. Okay?" she asks, placing her hand on my leg to get my attention.

"A little bit, maybe. I should have worked harder from the start."

"You were lost back then, and now you have regrets. That’s completely normal, but don’t forget that since then, you’ve pulled yourself together. You’ve made the necessary effort to catch up, so let me tell you... You have nothing to blame yourself for, understand?"

I sigh, nodding slowly. She always has the right words, it’s incredible.

"I get it... I’ll try not to torture myself over it anymore. What’s the second thing?"

"Your return home."

"Lucy," I groan. "I’ll behave, I promise."

"I’m just asking you to be reasonable, OK? Don’t feel obligated to go to parties if you don’t want to, and if there’s any issue—"

"I’ll come talk to you, I promise," I finish for her.

"Good," she sighs. "It’s time for you to sleep."

"No, please. I’d like to call Mapi first. I have something to sort out."

"Alright," she concedes. "You have half an hour. Then you turn everything off."

"OK."

"And in case you’re wondering, I plan to stay here to make sure of it."

"You can’t be serious," I groan. "I don’t need a babysitter."

"You’ll have to deal with it. I want to make sure you sleep on time tonight."

"Who says I won’t have a private conversation with Mapi?"

"Is that the case?"

"Not particularly... The others suggested spending New Year’s here with Mapi. I wanted to ask her about it. It’s a good idea, right?"

"Hmm," she says unconvincingly.

"At least you won’t be far if there’s a problem," I tease.

"I’ll probably have something better to do than look after you during that evening, you know."

"True... I thought you’d be happy about it," I say, opening the FaceTime app. "I’m at least reassured that you won’t be far."

"If you’re reassured, it means you still don’t trust yourself. Anyway, it’s definitely better than a party full of strangers."

"It’s not the best, that’s for sure. I’ve never really liked those kinds of places anyway," I shrug.

"Then why do you go? To put on a show?" she laughs.

"I don’t know. To have fun, I guess. Isn’t that what everyone does when they go to those kinds of places?"

"I guess. I don’t know. I’ve always found those parties stupid."

"Is it just me, or does this topic seem to annoy you?"

"It doesn’t."

I lift my head from my screen to smile at her. It does annoy her for some reason. I know she won’t elaborate, but she could at least be honest.

"You don’t want me going to those kinds of parties, do you?"

"I’d prefer you didn’t, indeed," she admits.

"Alright, you win," I roll my eyes. "If I stay in Barcelona for New Year’s, it’ll be my last party. Is that okay?"

"Wasn’t that already the plan? You promised me you wouldn’t go to any more parties after what happened last time."

Thinking about it, I realize she’s right. I’m not supposed to go to any more parties. I bite my lip, wondering how she managed to get her way. She has such an influence on me that it’s becoming scary. However, with her recent reaction, I can’t tell if it’s because she wants what’s best for me or because she has particular issues with parties. Maybe it’s both.

"I still get New Year’s, though... right?"

She rolls her eyes with a small smile.

"I told you to just be reasonable. Isn’t that clear enough?"

"Thanks..." I exhale. "You scared me for a moment."

"Use these holidays to clear your head and stop thinking about school."

"That’ll be hard. I’ll miss your orders."

"Be glad to be away from my demands. I must be annoying to you," she says, making me laugh. "What’s so funny?" she frowns.

- "I don’t find you annoying. You're just straightforward, and I was serious when I said I'm going to miss you. No one cares about me like you do. By the way, I hope I can write to you during the holidays..."

- "We'll see if I reply," she teases me.

A ringtone interrupts our conversation. I frown as I see an incoming call from my best friend. I was about to call her, but it's surprising that she's calling since we weren’t supposed to talk tonight.

- "Excuse me. I have to take this."

- "Go ahead, you’ve got fifteen minutes left," she reminds me.

I nod, pressing the green button and bringing the phone to my ear. With my other hand, I close my laptop, which is now useless.

- "Hey Maps, I was just about to call you."

- "Hey bonita," she replies in a small voice.

- "Oh! What’s wrong?"

- "Nothing, I just wanted to hear your voice. I miss you."

- "Don’t lie to me. I know you."

- "There’s nothing wrong."

- "Okay... if you say so..."

I squint as I see Lucy smiling. I nod to silently ask her what’s going on. In response, she just smiles wider.

- "What?" I say at the same time Mapi sighs.

- "Huh?"

- "Sorry, I wasn’t talking to you," I say, which makes Lucy laugh.

- "Are you with someone?"

- "Yeah... with Bronze. She’s playing babysitter."

- "Oh, I’ll let you go then."

- "No!" I quickly respond. "It’s not like she can hear you. Tell me what’s wrong. I know something’s up. I can feel it."

There’s a moment of hesitation where she stays silent. She takes a long breath. This is starting to worry me. Lucy seems to understand the situation from the way she looks at me. I suddenly sit up straight when Mapi bursts into uncontrollable sobs. If she’s crying, then something is really wrong. The only other time I’ve seen her cry was when I told her it was over between us.

- "Hey, Maps... What’s going on?" I say softly, not wanting to upset her.

- "Ana," she says. "She dumped me, Ona... Ana dumped me," she repeats desperately.

I part my lips in surprise. I didn’t see that coming... I regret not being by her side right now. Her sobs get louder, and there’s nothing I can do to calm her down. I can’t believe they’re no longer together. I really thought their relationship would last based on how she talked about her. I never really knew how she felt after I left, but hearing her now, I don’t even want to know. I run my hand over my face, trying to keep my composure.

- "Maps, I- It’s going to be okay, alright? I’m coming home tomorrow. I’ll be in Barcelona around eleven PM. You can come with Hector, or you can wait for me at home, okay?"

- "I really thought she was the one, Ona. I finally managed to have a serious relationship again, and she dumped me like trash. Damn it!"

I close my eyes, hearing the loud noise she’s making on the other end. I don’t know what she’s doing, but it doesn’t sound good.

- "Mapi..."

- "What’s going on?" Lucy asks me.

I sigh, covering the phone’s microphone to explain the situation to her. Lucy asks for my phone. I hesitate for a moment before giving it to her.

- "Hey Mapi, it’s Bronze."

I hate myself for doing this, but Lucy is definitely better at handling these situations than I am. I tend to be clumsy with my words and never know what to say. Unlike me, Lucy knows how to handle things. She does it with me, and now she’s doing it with Mapi. She’s calming her anger and reassuring her. It feels like I’m listening to her talk to me when I need her support. Lucy’s words seem to have the desired effect because I can’t hear Mapi yelling from where I’m sitting anymore. She continues talking to her before handing the phone back to me.

- "She wants to talk to you."

I quickly take the phone where I can already hear my best friend calling me.

- "Yeah, it’s me," I reply.

It seems like her crisis has passed. She’s still sniffling a bit, but she’s not crying anymore.

- "I understand why you think she’s so great."

- "I never used those words," I chuckle lightly to ease the situation. "But you’re right."

- "You don’t have to say it. It’s obvious when you talk about her."

- "Let’s not talk about that now. Are you going to be okay?"

- "Hmm," she sighs. "I have to be. I have one of my most important exams tomorrow. I just needed to hear your voice... I’ll come to the airport tomorrow. I want to see you as soon as possible."

- "Alright. I’ll tell Hector to pick you up then."

I see Lucy tapping her watch. She gave me thirty minutes, and I guess they’ve passed.

- "Are you going to stay over?"

- "Of course, if you don’t mind. I think I’ll need your arms, if it’s not too much to ask."

- "Of course not. Go rest now. Bronze wants me to hang up."

- "Bossy, huh?" she giggles slightly, which reassures me about her state. "I thought curfew was at ten PM? It’s only quarter past nine where you are, right?"

- "It’s complicated. I’ll explain when I get back."

- "Don’t tell me you’re having insomnia again?" she questions. "I thought it was over since you hadn’t mentioned it."

- "I was, but not for the reasons you think."

- "Hmm..." she replies skeptically.

Now’s not the time to talk about my problems, especially not in front of Lucy. For now, she’s the one who needs reassurance. I don’t want her to start feeling sorry for herself like I did.

- "I’ll see you tomorrow. Sleep well, Maps."

- "Goodnight, Onita. Thank you, and thank your supervisor too."

- "I was planning to. Kiss."

I hang up and place my phone on the nightstand. As for my laptop, I put it on the floor, too lazy to get up and put it in the cupboard.

- "Thanks... I didn’t know how to handle that."

- "It’s no big deal."

I don’t have time to reply as the door opens, revealing Alexia. She’s no longer surprised by Lucy’s regular presence.

- "I’m back," she says before grabbing pajamas from her closet. "Are we calling Mapi again?"

- "I just talked to her on the phone. I didn’t have time to ask her about New Year’s."

- "You can chat tomorrow morning. It’s time to sleep now, Ona," Lucy announces to me.

- "I’ll go take my shower then," Ale says. "Goodnight."

- "Goodnight," I reply.

I lie down in bed, looking at Lucy. I think I’m hallucinating when she takes my laptop and phone.

- "Don’t tell me you’re taking those with you?"

- "Yes. I should have thought of this earlier. Have you used them this week?"

- "Of course not," I groan. "You’ve checked on me every day!"

- "Hmm. Come on, I was serious. It’s time to sleep."

- "Are you planning to stay?" I’m surprised.

- "Yes. I want to make sure you sleep."

- "That’s ridiculous," I mutter. "You’re getting too serious about this."

- "Go to sleep."

I roll my eyes and eventually turn my back to her, wrapping myself in the blanket. The good thing is that my headache has finally gone. The bad thing is that Lucy’s presence is unsettling, even when I close my eyes. Sleeping is impossible. Especially with all the noise I hear when Alexia comes back into the room. She seems to be trying not to make any noise, but it’s not enough. I want to complain, but Lucy beats me to it by asking Ale to go to bed. A few minutes later, the light goes out, plunging us all into darkness. I roll over to the other side now that it’s dark and I can’t see Lucy watching me. I know she’s still there; otherwise, I would have heard the sound of the chair. Time passes, and I can make out Alexia’s steady breathing. My mind is too agitated, and it’s starting to annoy me. I sigh heavily, admitting defeat.

- "I can’t sleep," I mutter, rubbing my eye.

- "And then you wonder why I’m still here," she jokes.

- "It’s not funny," I sigh, sitting up.

- "Stay in bed. Curfew has passed."

- "Am I allowed to go to the bathroom?"

She sighs but lets me go. I make sure not to take too long so she doesn’t get impatient. I wash my hands before returning to bed under her watchful eyes.

- "What are you going to do during your vacation?" I murmur.

- "Talking won’t help you fall asleep," she says, annoyed.

- "It might help."

- "No, it just distracts you. We’ll have plenty of time to talk when I take you home tomorrow."

- "You’re taking me to the airport?"

- "Yes, Ona."

- "Cool. I prefer it when it’s you."

- "Don’t get any ideas. It’s just because I’m leaving at the same time as you."

- "Hmm."

I smile even though she can’t see it. Even if it’s the truth, I don’t care about the reasons. I just focus on the fact that she’s the one taking me home, even though she doesn’t have to. I understand now why she wanted to handle my departure reservations. I thought it was to take the burden off me.

- "Thanks," I say.

- "Okay, that’s enough. You’re starting to annoy me by being so awake. If you talk again, I’m really going to make you run laps. Am I clear!?"

- "Oh, come on, calm down," I grumble. "I’ll sleep."

- "I hope so. Goodnight."

- "Goodnight..."

I smile as I finally turn my back to her. I try now to clear my head and pretend she’s not there. This last solution seems to work this time because I finally feel myself drifting off.

[headingalaxys-spicy]

Heyyyy I love ur work so much!!! Can I request an allies x reader in which they go out on shopping and reader has the urge to buy something so ridiculous and maybe childish lmaooo like a figurine or plushie and is kinda embarrassed to admit it lmao I just wonder how the allies would react to their partner ❤️❤️

⭐️✨❤️💗 Fluff 💗❤️✨⭐️

Suitable for all so like yeah.

🇺🇸 America 🇺🇸

“Hey Y/N! Which pizza are you trying to-” 

The sandy blonde looked up from his grocery list to see that you were several paces in front of him, trying to rush off to the other side of the store. You were itching to get past a cluster of people blocking your path. This allowed Alfred some time to catch up. 

“Yo! Y/N! What’s the rush? The freezer section is to the left not all the way in the back!” 

“Yeah, I know…I uh…” Your eyes were estimating how much closer you were to the aisle you were trying to get to. “I just want to grab something real quick. You don’t have to-” 

“Well, I want to come, darlin’; show me what you’re so eager to get to.” 

You bite down on your lip, and your pace begins to slow. Alfred notes this and moves to your side, with the cart still in front of him. 

“Why’d you slow down? You were moving at breakneck speed earlier.” He playfully pokes at your cheek.

“I���..” You still had a little ways to go before you were where you wanted to be. “There this series of plushies I’ve adored since I was a kid & there is this re-release…” Your hands nervously rubbed the fabric of your hoodie. “And I really want one of them that I haven’t been able to find for the past couple of years so I can finally add it to my collection.” 

“Aw, babe.” Alfred pulls you into a bear hug and tousles your hair. “Hop in the shopping cart! Let’s get to the toy aisle ASAP!” It will feel like you’re playing a live-action game of Mario Kart with how he runs and steers the basket. 

🇨🇦 Canada 🇨🇦

As Matthew crossed out another errand that needed to be completed, he noticed that you’d been distracted by the directory. As he caught up with you, he couldn’t help but notice the excitement that began to blossom in your (eye color) eyes. His violet eyes trailed behind where yours were concentrating on. They landed on the specialty toy store that imported figurines from all across East Asia. 

“Y/N? Is that where you want to go next, maple?” 

You flinched a little when you realized that he was behind you. 

“Heh. Yeah…..” 

“Is everything alright Y/N?” 

“Yeah. I’m just worried about you judging me…. A little.” 

“Why would I do that, my sweet maple?” 

“Well, there is this one anime/manga series, and I have this collection of figurines that I’ve been trying to complete for almost ten years.” You turn your head to him so you can make eye contact with him. “And I’m just a little afraid you’ll like me less because of it. Or think I’m weird or something.” 

Matthew cocked his head to the side before he let out a polite giggle. 

“Oh, Y/N. I could never dislike you for something that makes you. YOU. Eh! Come on.” He grabbed your hand while he began to lead the way. “ I frequent this import shop. I know for a fact they just got in a new shipment this morning.” 

From there, Matthew will be comfortable enough to tell you that he comes here for all his oversized kawaii plushie needs for his secret room in his house. (He stays there when Alfred is visiting and needs to go MIA due to his social battery being dead.) 

🇨🇳 China 🇨🇳

“Come now! We have to hurry, or we’ll miss the shop before it closes for the evening!” 

Yao’s grip on your hand tightened as you made your way through the congested pedestrian traffic. Your attention was split between trying to concentrate on keeping up with him and seeing if you could spot that street vendor you’d seen before. 

So far, there has been no such luck until you saw it. The unmistakable pastel blues, pinks, and yellows that decorated the cart. 

“There!” You said absent-mindedly as your eyes lit up like a lantern. 

“Hm? Y/N the shop is at least two more blocks upwards.” Yao began to notice that walking with you while holding hands was like trying to drag a boulder. 

“Y/N! If we don’t hurry then-” When he turned around to see what had halted you in your tracks, his amber eyes immediately took note of the iconic pastel sign which read: “Chen Family Fluffy Handmade Companions.” Yao realized the look in your eyes demanded you to go over. He was about to complain about missing the chance to buy the remaining ingredients he needed to make tonight's dinner. He stopped himself when he felt his stomach rumble. 

‘Yeah, maybe it would be better to eat out tonight. I haven’t eaten since breakfast & I don’t have the patience to cook anymore.’

“Come on Y/N. Let’s go see if they have that one sparkly light-up bunny plushie I’ve seen you be mesmerized by a couple of times.” 

“REALLY?!” 

“Yes, Y/N. The last five times we’ve been to the night market together, your eyes have been glued to it.” 

“Is it that obvious?” You blush while evading his gaze to look at other illuminated signs. 

“Yes, but I find it cute. Why not just ask me to get it for you?” 

“I….I dunno….” Red consumed not only your face but your neck too.

“You’re so adorable, Y/N.” Yao removed some of the hair that had fallen in your face and tucked it behind your ear. 

“Let’s go get you that plush, then grab some dinner.” 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The calm early evening atmosphere of the small tea shop temporarily put your nerves at ease. However, the closer it got to 18:00, the more your eyes wandered from your phone to the cobblestone, back to your high tea. Every few minutes, you’d see someone roaming in Brilliant Bright Bee merch. It was a small, internationally known brand of accessories and plushies that you had admired for a long time. 

Your eyes bounced back once more to the grandfather clock that was stationed near the entrance. 

“Y/N love? Is everything alright? You keep spacing out & seem antsy.” Arthur looks up at you from his Earl Grey tea. 

“Yes, I’m fine, Arthur really. It’s just…” Your eyes bound once again to the cobblestone path outside only to spot a cluster of 25-30 people all wearing similar BBB merch, outfits, and plushies. They were all headed in the same direction of one of the three BBB shops in all of the U.K.

‘With that group alone, they may clean out the entire shop….AND take all the Polar Bear n’ Bee  limited edition holiday plush I’ve been pining for since July!’ A frown had anchored itself to your face. 

Arthur’s eyes followed yours to look at the crowd that was beginning to head towards the Brilliant Bright Bee shop. 

“Looking at all those blokes preparing to battle it out over that new holiday collection from that popular indie brand.” As he spoke he noticed how your eyes had widened into cavernous pools of (eye color). They looked eager to join the battle. 

“Alright, love. Alright. But we get to redo high tea at midnight.” Arthur gives you a mischievous grin as he reaches for your right hand and places a scintillating kiss on it. 

“Pardon me, waitress! I need a shot of Expresso. I need to prepare myself for a retail bloodbath! Cheers!” 

[Arthur, my man Alfred’s energy be rubbing off on you. That or you are thinking bout yo pirate days ahahahah] 

🇫🇷 France 🇫🇷

Walking hand in hand with your flamboyant Frenchman through the Parisian streets felt like a romance novel coming to life. 

“So where shall we end the night? By the river? In a late-night wine shop? On the balcony at home?” Francis was shooting off ideas since, thankfully, he didn’t have work tomorrow. 

[A certain British man drank too much booze & needed to get his stomach pumped. JK headcannoning the reason he doesn’t drink caffeine is that while he benefits for the first five hours after having expresso of any kind later on he will be praying to the porcelain god for the next day.] 

You weren’t really concentrating on much of what Francis was chattering about. You’d gotten distracted by an ad that was for these handmade bears that would have a special charm sewn into them said to bring good luck. 

“Y/N, what could possibly be taking your attention away from Moi?” Francis says while playfully snatching your phone. When his blues land on the familiar stitching logo of the toymaker a Cheshire cat-like grin adorns his place. 

“Y/N, you didn’t tell me that you liked patches d’amour (loving patches)! I know some of the people who design and craft the bears….” Francis watched your face transition from shock to pleasantly surprised he knew being flashy in this instance was better. 

“I can pull some strings & get you one mi’amour.” He pulled you in close so he could plant a kiss on your forehead. Brimming over with happiness, you almost knocked Francis over when you thanked him with a big bear hug. 

🇷🇺 Russia 🇷🇺

“Which coat do you think looks better with my scarf Y/N?” Ivan placed one coat over the other as he looked at the floor-length mirror. Originally your attention was completely on him as you helped him find a new Winter coat. 

However, you gradually became more distracted. You continued to roam toward the front of the store & stay there for extended periods of time. Ivan heard your familiar footsteps rush back towards him near the dressing rooms. 

“Sorry about that, Ivan! I was just browning some other stuff that caught my eye!” When you turned the corner, Ivan’s violet orbs landed on your smaller figure. He could see that sweat beads were forming at the top of your forehead due to running back and forth so much. 

“Eye, see what you mean. It must be a ball because you run like dog to catch it.” Ivan says through a bright smile. 

“That's a very fetching joke.” You walk closer behind him. You get onto your tip toes so you can pinch his big nose. “But also, the coat in your left hand is very fetching too.” You rubbed your nose against his, before giving it a quick peck. 

“Thanks Y/N. But, seriously, what are you looking at, sunflower?” 

“Promise you won’t laugh?” Looking at him with a slight pout which Ivan always found amusing. 

“Da. Now tell me.” 

“Sooooo. You know that build-a-bear across the way?” 

“Da.” Immediately knows where you’re going with this. 

“They just dropped the seasonal sing-a-long Holiday Bear & I really want it!” 

Ivan giggles. 

“Hey! You promised not to laugh!” 

“Not at you or in a mocking way Y/N. You are the cuteness just like the things you want. Come.” 

Ivan tossed you over his shoulder. 

“Let me buy my coat & we can go get your bear.” 

[lunaroserites]

Art and Ice - New Perceptions

Pairing: Eventual Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Characters: Natasha, Wanda, Pietro, Loki, Bucky, Sam Wilson, Clint Barton, a lot of the avengers cast is mentioned.

Summery: This kinda a filler chapter, some cute fluffy moments between Bucky and Doodle happen.

This might a 2 or 3 parter (it's gonna be more because cannot help myself). College AU, our boy Bucky is on the hockey team, and reader is an art major (because I love that trope and couldn't help myself)

Warnings: Not beta'd! All mistakes are my own. Friends fluff, swearing, mentions of college students being college students. Bit of friendly harmless flirting between friends. Bucky is a playboy. Flirting. Mentions of not eating or drinking for a hours (ADHD Brain)

Word Court: 3539

Likes, reblogs, and comments are appreciated! ❤️

Please do not repost, translate or otherwise copy my work elsewhere, without my express permission, thank you! Lunaroserites on tumblr and ao3

Catch up here: Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5

It wasn’t a surprise that your college finished out the regular season on top. Your college was known across the country for its sports programs. 

It didn’t surprise you when Bucky showed up with a bright cocky smile the day after the last away game. “Ooooh Doodle!” He said in a sing-song voice. 

You looked over your shoulder setting the paint brush down, raising an eyebrow at him, “yeeees Bucky?” You matched his tone perfectly. With all the away games you haven’t seen him since the weekend, you have made some decent progress on the painting of him. You were giddy to show him what you completed in his absence. 

“Guess who scored a date with Mandy, the head cheerleader?” He was beaming. Your heart sank momentarily, your facial expression dropping slightly before you composed yourself and gave him your best dazzling smile. 

“I’m not sure Buck, I’ve always been terrible at guessing games,” you murmured, trying to hide the discontent in your voice as you looked back at the canvas to compose yourself. He didn’t seem to pick up on your change in mood. 

“Ah come on Doodle, I’ll give you a hint. He’s charming, on the hockey team and incredibly sexy,” he sounded so cock sure. 

You turned to face him and tapped the end of the brush on your lip, feigning that you were deep in thought and then a bright smile split across your face. 

“Oh! I know who it is,” you said excitedly. “Sam!” You faked enthusiasm before turning back to the painting but not before catching his face drop for a moment. 

“Pfft, he’s about as charming as an out of tune piano,” Bucky deflected. “Come on Doodle, it’s easy.” 

“They’re easy huh?” You mused. “So must be you then,” you said flatly without missing a beat. He laughed awkwardly behind you. 

“Uh, yeah it’s me,” his cocksure attitude was gone and he sounded a little deflated. 

“That’s nice Buck, have fun,” you said quietly. 

“It’s not until tomorrow night,” he said, “I wanted to come hang out with you tonight,” your heart clenched and you bit your knuckle to stop the pang of hurt that threatened to crush you, you didn’t trust your voice at the moment so you just nodded. 

“How much of the painting have you done?” He asked quickly, changing the topic. You were grateful. “Last time I saw it you just had some base colours on.” 

You had the puck almost done, you were painting as if the puck was being shot at the person viewing it. Slightly different from your original idea, but you liked how it was turning out. Bucky was now standing next to you and you could smell the deep woody and amber tones of his cologne. He always smelled good, even after playing a game or practice. It was something you appreciated about him, Thor would smell like a locker room after practice. It was awful. 

You quickly focused back on the canvas and not how much you wanted to stick your nose into the crook of Bucky’s throat and inhale the heady scent he wore. This little crush was getting out of hand, you needed to squash it quickly. 

“That looks amazing, Doodle,” Bucky said in awe as he looked at the painting. “How do you make it seem so real?” 

“Practice, and a little luck,” you said with a shrug. Bucky moved out of the way when you picked the brush up and started to work on it again. “The inspiration was also a big help,” you looked over your shoulder at him and winked. He gave you a dazzling smile back. “What are you doing today?” He had pulled some books and notes out on the table and was staring down at them. 

“I’m studying for my astronomy final,” he said, his tongue caught between his teeth. His arm crossed over his chest and the other hand held his chin as he looked down at his notes. 

“Mind if I put some music on?” He hummed and you clicked the play button and let the music wash over you. You got to work, getting lost in the music and the brush strokes. 

The soft notes of Work Song by Hozier played soothingly over the speaker and you hummed softly along to the song and swayed gently back and forth. You jumped when you felt Bucky’s hand cup your shoulder and slide down your arm clasping your hand in his. 

“Can’t have a pretty thing like you dancing by herself,” he said softly. He pulled you to him and started to sway you two gently to the beat. Your heart was racing a million miles a minute, your cheeks were a bright shade of red as you hid your face against his firm chest. 

He moved you two effortlessly, he guided you in a small sway. He was smiling down at the top of your head as you leaned your cheek to his chest. His hand held the small of your back gently to him. 

You couldn’t believe this was happening, he was dancing with you randomly. It was completely out of the blue, but you couldn’t bring yourself to complain. He was firm and warm under your touch. He held like you were as fragile as blown glass, his touch feather light and respectful. You usually hated dancing but something about this moment felt right. 

As the song came to close and Bucky took a step back from you, you started to miss the contact as quickly as you lost it. He was smiling down at you and kissed you knuckles of the hand he had been holding at the time. “Thank you for the dance m’lady,” he tipped his chin and gave you a devilish smile. You couldn’t find words to express who you felt at the moment. 

“Thank you kind sir,” you stuttered back. He laughed his beautiful rich as chocolate laugh and made his way back to his studying and you went back to your painting feeling lighter than before. The pit in your stomach growing deeper, you could still feel his warm hand on your waist and the way he held you so carefully.

“Loki I don’t know what I’m going to do,” you whined as you draped over his lap dramatically. You had texted him “code red” before you left the art studio, Bucky had offered to drop you off at your apartment but you declined like you usually did. Code red meaning ‘I need you please come get me.’ Which he did without hesitation. 

“Darling you’re being a little dramatic,” he ran his fingers through your hair trying to sooth your nerves. 

“Loki, I’m not being dramatic. We had this whole conversation about just being friends and spending time together without him waiting to get me in bed,” you exclaimed. 

“Which he probably still does,” Loki added, you glared at him. 

“Not the point, how can that conversation mean anything if I can’t even hold myself to it,” you said in an exasperated tone. “Loki, he danced with me, out of the blue. Just took my hand and danced with me,” you peaked up at Loki who was running his long fingers through your hair, he had an unreadable expression. “Who does that nowadays, it’s something my grandpa would do with nana.” 

“Little brother,” Hela’s sing-song voice called as she poked her head into the room. “Oh hello sweetling! I didn’t know you were visiting,” she smiled at you. You had always liked Helena, she was always nice to you. She gave Loki and Thor shit when we were teens and they were acting like typical teenage boys, insensitive and immature. She looked you over, draped over Loki’s lap, your arm thrown over your eyes. You looked miserable, she entered the room further and sat down on the edge of Loki’s bed and gently touched your shoulder. 

“What’s the matter sweetling,” she asked soothingly. 

“Nothing Hela, stupid feelings and a crush a stupid boy,” you whined. She laughed at that. 

“Men tend to be like that, this is why I like women,” she chuckled. “Seriously sweetling, it can’t be that bad, who is it?” She asked softly. Her eyes drifted to Loki for a moment and he made a face. 

“Bucky Barnes,” you groaned. Hela’s eyes widened and she groaned. 

“You’re telling me you’re upset over that overgrown toddler on skates?” She asked with a raised eyebrow, you looked at her, god she was so pretty. You nodded and sighed heavily. 

“I know, I know. He’s just so.... Ugh.” Loki chuckled and Hela glared at him. She grabbed your hand and rubbed her thumb over your knuckles soothingly. 

“You know a couple years back he tried asking me out. I rejected him. He called me a stuck up bitch,” she said, you raised your arm off your eyes and looked at her. “He wouldn’t even let me tell him I had no interest in men, especially younger men.” You nodded and that was what Loki meant when he was rude to Hela. “He later saw me with Val on a date. He felt like an idiot and apologised for how he acted.” 

“He did?” Loki asked, he sounded surprised. Hela nodded. 

“He learned his lesson. Learned a few things too. From my understanding he’s not as pushy as he used to be,” Hela added. “Shame what happened with his girlfriend and her sudden departure to Alaska. He was apparently a lot different when she was here. She broke his heart. It doesn’t excuse his behaviour but it definitely gives perspective.” 

“You know Nat mentioned that he had a long term relationship that suddenly ended,” you said back, thinking back. 

“Val knew her better than I ever did, she apparently just packed up and left. No explanation, not warning. She was just gone. Barnes was devastated,” Hela said thoughtfully. 

“Huh, well that definitely adds perspective,” you agreed. 

“It doesn’t excuse his behaviour though,” Loki reiterated. You and Hela nodded in agreement. 

“What should I do?” You asked Loki after Hela left. He sighed and looked down at you, eyes swimming with uncertainty. 

“I’m not sure darling, if you told him what do you think would happen?” Loki asked softly. 

“He would probably pick up on trying to sleep with me again,” you groaned. 

You ended up spending the night at Loki’s house with him, falling asleep on his bed. 

“You know, it's a good thing you don’t share a bed with anyone,” Loki shoved you away from the centre of the bed. “You’re a fucking bed hog,” you couldn’t help but laugh at his groggy disgruntled voice. 

“Apologies Loki,” you laughed as he huffed. 

“Bull shit,” he exclaimed while standing up and going into his ensuite bathroom. You stood and leaned against the door frame while Loki pulled a brush through his hair and did his skin care routine. “Do you want me to bring you home so you can change and stuff? 

“I would appreciate it,” you smiled at him. 

“Morning Wands,” you called as you came through the front door, Loki right behind you, he grabbed your coat and hung it up as you pulled it off. 

“In here,” she called out as the toaster popped. You and Loki walked into the kitchen together. “Morning Loki,” she gave him a dazzling smile, which he returned. 

“I’m making cinnamon toast and eggs, hungry?” She asked. 

“I’d love some, I’m going to grab a quick shower and change.” 

“Princessa!” Peitro wrapped you in a hug tightly as he walked behind you and snagged a piece of toast off your plate. 

“Get your own,” you batted his hand away. 

“But I want yours,” he teased. You heard Wanda and Loki chuckle at you both. 

“I have a plate for you too, stop stealing hers,” Wanda ushered him over. 

“What plans do you have today?” Wanda asked as she sat down next to you. You looked to Loki, it was his turn to plan the Saturday plans. 

“The new book I’ve been waiting on is finally here so we have to stop by the bookstore in town,” Loki said, “then I think we’ll drive up the coast, we need pictures for our photography class.” You smiled at him, so thoughtful. “Then maybe some dinner and a stroll through the park,” he finished. 

“God Loki you’re making me look like a terrible boyfriend,” Pietro whined, you snorted into your juice and leaned back laughing loudly. 

“Maybe you should take notes,” Loki teased. You and Wanda were laughing together. Loki was an incredibly thoughtful friend. That’s why you adored him so much. But that’s where it ended. You two were the best of friends and that was where the line was drawn  and there was never a need to cross it. It took time for people to understand your friendship and the boundaries you two had in place. 

“Sounds like a fun day,” Wanda said thoughtfully. 

“What about you Wands? Vis is still abroad isn’t he?” She nodded at your question. 

“I’m going to practise with Pietro, it’s a nice day to be out in the sun,” she answered. “Vis gets back next week.” 

“I had fun today,” you said softly as you and Loki walked through the park after having supper at a sweet little Mexican restaurant. Loki had his hand on the small of your back guiding you and keeping you close. 

“I did too,” he hummed. You two walked around a little more, taking a seat on a bench to watch the setting sun. You looked out over the green space and saw some couples sitting in the grass relaxing. One couple caught your attention. 

“Is that bucky?” You said quietly, tipping your head in his direction. Loki squinted and nodded. 

Bucky was sitting a little ways away leaning back on his hands. Mandy sat next to him completely ignoring him. Something twisted in your heart as you looked at him looking up at the sky and she was scrolling her phone. Loki rubbed your shoulder soothingly. Drawn back to him you gave Loki a sad smile. 

“She probably just wants to sleep with him,” Loki whispered. You nodded in agreement. 

“He likes space a lot. He’s talking to her and she is not even pretending to listen,” it broke your heart. Soon his date leaned over and they got up from their spot. He trailed behind her as they waltzed across the green space toward Bucky’s truck. You watched him follow after her like some love sick puppy. 

But then for a brief moment his eyes connected with yours. His eyes narrowed in on you and he paused for the briefest moment as he looked at you across the field. You couldn’t place the look in his eyes, but it was something akin to longing, maybe you couldn’t be sure. As soon as it started it ended and Bucky was gone with Mandy into his truck. 

“Darling,” Loki’s smooth voice filled your ears and you looked at him. “You okay?” You nodded and sighed. 

“I think so,” you mumbled while shaking your head to clear it. 

You didn’t see much of Bucky over the next few days, practice and studying seemed to completely take over his days. He would text you little updates, ask how your day was going, remind you to drink and eat snacks. Your phone going off startled you out of the trance you were in. 

It was a FaceTime request from Bucky. You slide the answer button and gaze at him with a quizzical look. “Hello,” you chuckled, propping the phone on the easel. 

“Hey doodle,” his hair was wet and he was shirtless, you tried to not look at his shoulders. “Miss me?” He wiggled his eyebrows at you. 

“Like a toothache Bucky,” you mused. Your shirt rode up as you stretched your arm to reach up on the canvas. Your phone left you a perfect anglee for Bucky’s eyes to follow the now revealed skin. You didn’t catch him licking his lips at you. 

“I’m hurt doodle,” he feigned hurt and clutched his hand over his heart being dramatic which made you laugh. There was a sudden knock on the art studio door, you looked over your shoulder and then back at the phone. Bucky was trying really hard to not look suspicious. 

“What did you do?” You asked as you grabbed the phone and opened the door, you looked down and he shrugged. Opening the door you were greeted by a delivery driver. You raised an eyebrow and squinted at him. 

“Delivery for Doodle?” The driver said, he looked completely over the day and didn’t bat an eye at the nickname. 

“I didn’t order,” you looked down at your phone and were met with Bucky’s shit eating grin. “You cheeky bastard,” you accused him. “Thank you,” you took the food and sat down at the table in the art room. 

“Thanks Bucky,” you were touched. He had ordered your favourite, everything completely how you liked it. You had only ever ordered this once in his presence, weeks ago. He remembered. “You even remember the extra sauce,” you could feel tears well up in your eyes from how sweet of a gesture it was. You quickly rubbed the tears away and smiled at him. 

Everyone in your life had been so busy you barely spoke to them, Bucky had been the most consistent person by far. You didn’t blame the others, you had barely kept in touch being swapped with final projects and finals. Everyone was just busy. The fact he took the time to send you food, made your heart soar. 

“I figured we could eat together,” Bucky said as he sat up and positioned the phone so his hands were free and you could see his full torso and face. You almost choked on air seeing him. He was fucking hot, you stoped the that train of thought immediately and looked at his face and not his peaks or squishy tummy. He was a big dude, firm but soft looking. You wanted to run your fingers over his torso. 

“I’d like that,” you were impressed with how composed you sounded in that moment. 

“How’s the projects going?” He asked. You shrugged and sighed. 

“They're going. I’m almost done with three of them and I finished the last one this afternoon,” he nodded. Silence fell over you two again but it wasn’t uncomfortable. That was something you noticed shortly after his visits to art studios became more frequent, silence with him was comfortable and you never felt the innate urge to fill it. “How’s studying?” 

“Good, the practicals will be easy. I hate written exams,” Bucky was a kinesiology major, doing astrology classes for electives. What surprised you early on was that he was actually doing well in classes. It made you question those Reddit comments you read saying he cared little for academics. He wasn’t a valedictorian or anything but he was passing with 3.1 GPA overall. You weren’t surprised when he mentioned he wasn't interested in the arts, and that he only did the two mandatory English classes. 

“You got this,” you said to him with a smile. 

“So do you,” he gave you a dazzling smile back. “I'm sorry I haven’t been coming to visit,” he said quietly. 

“It’s okay, we’re all busy right now. I haven’t seen Nat in 4 days, she was hauled up in the dance studio getting ready for her practicals and the final performance,” you shrugged, the performance arts program did a big show at the end of exams the whole campus was invited to purchase tickets for. The funds raised went toward funding future projects. You had your ticket, and an extra because Loki had bought his and forgot to tell you. 

“She hasn’t been at practice either, Barton has been insufferable,” Bucky said with a mock exasperated sigh. 

“I’m not surprised,” you chuckled and smiled at Bucky, he admired the way the corner of your eyes crinkle when you smile like that. 

“You’re still coming Friday?” Bucky asked. 

“Of course,” you nodded. “Actually I have a question to ask you,” he looked at you attentively and waited. “I have an extra ticket to the performing arts final show after exams, did you want to come with me?” You didn’t build your hopes so high that he would say yes. “If you don…”

“Yeah, love too Doodle,” he cut you off. Your face lights up with a bright smile. 

“Awesome,” you cheered excitedly, you wouldn’t soon forget the beautiful smile that graced his face, you both looked into each other for a moment, smiles morning one another. You didn’t want to look away from him, his eyes snapped from yours at the sound of a crash from another room and some yelling. 

“Dammit Scott,” Bucky groaned and looked at you apologetically. “Gotta go Doodle, I’m going to try and swing by the art room tomorrow.” 

“Bye Bucky,” you waved at him as he waved the call ended. You saT back in the chair for a moment before giving up for the night and packing up to go home.

AN: Thank you all so much for reading! I've have been really enjoying writing this series!

Taglist: @vicmc624, @calwitch, @learisa, @aaqua-tofana, @charmedbysarge, @blackbirdwitch22

Feel free to send me a message if you have a request or would like more, or would like to be added to the tag list!

[lovelyjasmari]

Twisted Wonderland Reaction Part 17 ~ Special Edition

Hello everyone! 

So…it’s been a while since I’ve made one of these. Almost 2 years to be exact. But after book 5 forever changed how I engage with twst (for better and worse), I haven’t really been up to doing reaction posts anymore. Also after book 5 I actually began focusing more on the jp server since there were many things in the official translation that I found…lacking to say the least. 

But when twst jp released this mv on April fools day, I just knew I HAD to talk about it! I’m actually surprised more people aren’t. Probably the biggest thing about this mv is that in a lot of ways the narrative of book 5’s ending has changed now we have context to how NRC Tribe performed. I’ve seen a lot of posts on the bird app saying things like it makes sense now why they lost the VDC. 

I will say, this is definitely NOT a perfect performance. But as a former dancer with WAY too much time on their hands, I decided to analyze this.

So for context, Ive done a mix of ballet and jazz for eleven years, from age 4 to 15. Even though I gave up going to classes, I still did para para and anime dances with my friends. And in 2017, I decided to return to dance and have been dancing consistently ever since. I’m mostly versed in ballet but I still do some jazz, hip hop and took up kpop last year. To judge this fairly, I watched the MV several times, four times per member, (do the math and feel free to judge me). And with that, here are the things that stuck out to me the most. 

He is beauty, he is grace, HOW HE HELL DID HE NOT KICK EPEL IN THE FACE?!

Synchronization/symmetry 

The lack of synchronization was the first thing I noticed, ESPECIALLY in the first 30 seconds. The footwork is sloppy and Deuce and Ace in particular aren't as sharp with their moves as the other five. Rook seems to be the only one doing the choreography correctly because one point at 0:25 (and again at 3:31) where he bends his knee higher than the others and thanks to those fuckass uggs standing out so much, I couldn’t unsee it. At 1:03, 1:07, 2:07, and 3:00 Ace’s form is noticeably off as well.

And this may just be a personal hangup of mine but I found lack of symmetry between the boys at 1:14 very odd. Like, I don’t know how I can describe it but the way Epel tried to take center stage during his and Vil’s duet gave me the impression that wasn’t originally in the routine. At 1:13 there’s a split second where you can actually see Vil looking down at Epel like “...wut?” I immediately thought about that moment right before they go on stage where Epel offers to take on Vil’s solo’s because he looks so weak but Vil refuses. I wonder if Epel trying to take center like that is a callback to that exchange. Unfortunately, since the boys were perfectly symmetrical for the rest of the song, it stands out as awkward all the more. 

Kalim and Jamil

Lowkey, Kalim and Jamil both carried this performance after Vil. The little magic with the mic was a super nice touch and Kalim shines the most during the dance break. He seems to be having fun with it despite being in agony. What’s interesting is that after Ace and Deuce, Kalim is the most out of sync but he pulls it off well since I can tell he’s been on the stage before. Both he and Jamil are natural performers. 

Vil’s movements

So, this has been something of a headcanon of mine but it seems to have been proven correct with this mv. Vil has always struck me as someone who probably has a lot of classical dance training but little training in other styles like hip-hop or jazz. His movements are very graceful and elegant but almost…too elegant? I don’t know if that makes sense but they seem very smooth for this style of choreography. And because he’s in the center the most, it stands out the most.

AND THAT FUCKING GRAND JETE!!! Absolutely flawless but it feels SO out of place here! I will give him credit though, that is one of the most difficult jumps to pull off in ballet, and the fact he did that in fucking 5-inch heels right after the most mentally and physically traumatic episode of his life, it’s beyond impressive. And the fact he landed perfectly and so seamlessly moved into his final solo is even more remarkable. Still, that was the most jarring element of this choreography and I think it would still be out of place even if this was a “perfect” performance. 

Now here’s where I potentially piss people off

All in all this is a perfectly imperfect performance. Being completely objective and not taking my love for these characters into account, I honestly still don’t see how they lost. Well, I understand why but it still is fucked to me. I can understand Vil feeling like NRC Tribe didn’t perform their best since they were exhausted and hurting from dealing with his overblot. I can also understand that they were probably a lot more polished in rehearsal. But here’s the thing,  for a group of amateurs, I would probably expect this quality of performance even if they hadn’t had to deal with Vil’s overblot.

First off, while the choreography is rather simple from a dancers perspective, it can be pretty complex for beginners. For one, it requires a lot of synchronization to look correct. But as a beginner, perfecting synchronization alone can take months and, in larger groups, sometimes even longer. If NRC Tribe can look like this after only ONE MONTH of training, taking into account only three out of seven of them have dance experience, that’s extremely impressive.

To give an example, last year at my dance school for our end of the year showcase, the K-pop class did a cover of TWICE's Can't Stop Me. Because our class is made up of students with varying levels of experience (some none at all), it took us the better part of eight months to learn. We had to learn everything in groups of three before we could learn and practice together. And even then, we still fucked up a lot because none of us are professionals and some of us were dancing for the first time. Look at this video and tell me if you could learn this in only ONE month. Vil, can you train me please?? XD

And that brings me to the next point, the experience of all the members. Now, in Rook’s most recent birthday vignette, he mentions learning ballet and in book 5 we see Epel and Deuce taking ballet lessons. But in ballet, as a beginner, your earliest lessons are going to be almost exclusively barre work and depending on age, you might not do center work/combinations for weeks. I’m going to assume Vil is really the only one with solid dance training with Jamil and Kalim also having the most experience just dancing in general. As for the others, they were going to need a lot more training if this was going to look more polished. ESPECIALLY Ace and Deuce.

As for having to perform right after beating OB Vil’s ass, again I was expecting to see A LOT more noticeable errors. And knowing what they all just went through honestly makes me admire this all the more. The thing is, it’s easy to be beautiful when everything is right and perfect in your world. But being able to smile even when you’re struggling and your heart is breaking is even more beautiful still. Personally, I don’t think I could perform even half as well if it were me. 

It’s unfortunate that we don’t have a MV of Neige’s performance so I could do a fully fair analysis. But if we look at all the evidence, it seems to me that NRC Tribe still gave a better performance. And I think the true tragedy here isn’t even that NRC Tribe lost since I think that was always a given considering the dynamic NRC and RSA has.

The true tragedy, I think, is that Vil could be convinced that this perfectly imperfect performance was still inferior to Neige’s. But I’ll leave that for another time. 

[valhallaas]

A Love Like Religion

Coming Down by Halsey

Pairing: Jake Hangman Seresin x Joker!reader

Word Count: 4.7k

warnings: SMUT: (18+ minors, dni) dom!jake, brattysub!reader, degradation kink, light orgasm denial, overstimulation, spanking, daddy kink, choking, oral (female receiving), p in v, creampie (wrap it up pals)

Summary: jake likes when you’re mean, but god, you love when he’s meaner.

A/N: it’s me, hi, i’m the problem. i am so in love with this. it is by far the dirtiest thing i’ve ever written and jake absolutely deserves it. i think i might make a part 2, but we’ll see--play it by ear. as always, feedback is so so so appreciated. i hope you guys enjoy it!

While not a lot of people would agree, there’s something about being in Lemoore. You go one way and there’s the mountains, you go the other and you know you’ll hit ocean water. On top of the Central Valley being one of the top agricultural producers of the country. That being said, there isn’t a whole lot to do.

Well, that isn’t exactly true. There is something. Someone.

Hangman’s grin splits his face when he sees you enter the common room. His eyes light up like the fourth of July. It sends a heat through you, makes the muscles in your lower stomach clench tight. You haven’t seen him in months, almost a year. Seeing him here when you didn’t even know he’d be has your mind spinning. You feel dizzy, slightly sick. Your face must show it because his smile loses some of its luster, but the cockiness remains. Of course it does. It’s Jake fucking Seresin we’re talking about.

“Well well well, as I live and breathe. Nice to see you, Joker.”

But is it really? A lick of betrayal runs up your spine. If you could even call it that. Really what you feel is jealousy. You feel scorned. You feel like you’ve been fucking cheated on and it’s eating you alive. You can’t bring yourself to play his games. Maybe when you pull yourself together. When you can face him and there isn’t a stinging sensation at the back of your eyes. You’re a big girl, you’ll figure it out.

Your gaze lingers, burns into him, your eyebrow twitches when he shifts under your unyielding gaze. He does it because it’s not like you. Or it is, just not in public. Your lips shift, and you can feel it. The tension pouring out of you, you bask in it. Turning from him, without acknowledging him is going to light a fire you’re sure would scorch you later. A group of familiar faces greet you on the other side of the room. Time passes slowly. You’re keeping yourself here, but you’re not sure why. It isn’t like he won’t find you wherever you are.

Everyone at the table is bursting with laughter. It’s friday night and everyone is gearing up to head out for drinks. You cringe at the idea. Someone had mentioned Fresno and you’d rather die. It’s time to head in. A bottle of wine. A trashy romcom. You’ll be fine. You always are.

“Joker, are you coming?”

Uh, what? You weren’t really expecting them to want you to come. Digging your teeth into your bottom lip, you go to respond before someone else does for you.

“Nah, she ain’t going.” You glare at the side of Hangman’s head.

“What do you mean?” Hyena asks, looking between the two of you.

“Do you know why Joker got her name?”

You cannot stop the eyeroll that overcomes you. You want to stab him in his perfect fucking face with a pencil, snap it off in his eye.

“Uh, because she’s a fucking hoot?” Malibu says from behind you.

“No. Because she doesn’t know how to take a joke. She’s got a permanent stick up her ass.”

Your hands clench and unclench at your sides. Yep. That’s what they say. You follow the rules. You don’t cave under peer pressure. If someone says something that’s not funny, you’re not laughing just to make them feel better. People called you abrasive, stuck up, a bitch. Or in the words of Jake Seresin, a fucking brat.

You nod your head, not disagreeing. Hangman’s eyebrows shoot upwards, clearly surprised. Shifting, you rest your elbow on the arm of the couch, hand in palm as you level a searing gaze at him. A gaze that tells him you know something that he never thought you’d find out. With a small tilt of your head, your lips pull up in a shy smirk.

“Don’t talk about my ass, bagman. But, speaking of call signs, I heard you went on a date recently.” His eyes widen, grip tightening on the back of the couch. “Heard it didn’t go too well. Heard you couldn’t make Banshee live up to her name.”

You can’t hide the fire in your eyes, the anger in your voice. You’re dripping with accusations. The tone you're taking on is a warning. A demand. You’re begging. The girls around you burst into giggles. Checkmate. They add on to your taunt. Talking about how he can’t get it up. Big talk for such a little man. The both of you know that it’s not true, but they didn’t need to know that. You aren’t an ‘established relationship’ it’s more of when you happen to be together you’re together. It’s been that way for years—since you graduated from top gun. The stinging sensation is back. You blink, swallowing before standing to your feet. You don’t meet anybody’s gaze, keeping your head down, wiping your hands against your pants, dying to get rid of the sudden clamminess.

“Anyway,” you say lightly, pulling the girls’ attention back to you. “I’m heading home.”

“Jo, you need to come out with us,” Malibu begs, her hand catching your wrist before you could pull away. “We need to get you laid.”

A  snort leaves you, eyes widening at the idea of a stranger touching you. Instantly you yank yourself away from her. “Yeah, no. Thanks, but no thanks.”

Hyena and Malibu grumble, but leave it. They’re suspicious. Never have you gone home with someone from a bar. Never have you woken up to a stranger sleeping next to you. Your shoes were not made for the walk of shame. Giving them a warm smile, you meet Hangman’s gaze when you turn and your smile brightens. His expression is stern, eyes hard, teeth clenched. With a wink you say your goodbyes and head home.

You like California. Wish the coast was closer, but this is fine. You live an hour off base. Separation from work and home, even if it means there's a commute. The sun is just setting when you finally get to the small little house with the white picket fence. It’s a cliche, but you don’t mind. Going about your routine, you light your candles, turn on the two lamps in your living room. You’ve got music playing on low, you’re walking around your kitchen to prepare dinner with a glass of wine in hand. It’s the first time you've been home in months. It’s the first time you’ve let yourself relax, but there was no release. The tension was still there. It had nothing to do with the mission. The sound of the knife hitting the cutting board echoes through your mind, a reminder of what you’re doing. Setting the knife down you realize your hands are shaking.

It’s Jake. Of course it is. He’s the only person who has ever been able to put you on edge like this. He only spoke two sentences to you. But it’s his presence. It’s domineering, it’s controlling, it’s cocky and you love every second he’s around you. Even if sometimes you wish you could smack him upside the head. Like right now. You’re angry and you’re hurt. It’s eating you up inside because you’ve given yourself up. Given everything to him and–god, you’re such a fool to pay that price. You want more, always want more of him. That doesn’t mean he wants or needs you.

** You’re ringing out your hair when you hear the front door open. Heavy footsteps move throughout the house, creaking on loose floorboards. Did you have the energy for this right now? You may have had one too many glasses of wine. Meaning, you drank the whole damn bottle. Pulling a shirt from one of the drawers, you glance at yourself in the mirror. Your eyes are red rimmed, cheeks blotchy. Sighing, you go to pull the worn shirt over your head.

“Don’t even think about it.” You lift your gaze to meet Jake’s in the mirror. Your eyebrow twitches as his teeth clench, not missing his wandering eyes. “I have plans for you, you fucking brat.”

You snort. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You like to talk don’t you, Jo?”

“Talk is cheap, and word travels fast. Faster than you thought it would, apparently.”

“You jealous Joker?” Jake says with a growing smirk.

Rage burned hot and heavy in your chest. Your hands shake and your lip snarls. If he wants to fucking fight, you’ll bring a goddamn war.

“No, not jealous.” A fucking lie. It tastes bitter on your tongue. “Wouldn’t want to feed your ego.”

Your body relaxes when you feel the brush of him against your back. The bedroom isn’t all that big. Jake stands behind you, invading your space, warming you up, and swallowing you whole. There is nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. You're at his mercy, one hand clenching the shirt–his shirt from a long past concert, and your other hand on the dresser. Your knees wobble, threatening to buckle at any given moment.

“I missed you, sweetheart.”

You smile at the nickname. “I bet you did.”

His hand comes down on your naked ass cheek with sudden force. “Brat.”

You grin at him through the mirror. If you weren’t as close as you were, you’d have missed the way his breath hitched. You swallow, tongue darting out to wet your lips. You’re exhausted. When he grabs at your hips, you know you’re done for. Your eyes shut when his hand pulls your hair to rest over one shoulder. Another smack to your ass has them snapping open. You meet his eyes in the mirror. A warning.

Only you were without clothes. It makes you feel a little vulnerable. But then Jake pushes himself even closer. He’s no longer in his khakis. He’s in sweats and a t-shirt. You can feel him breathing, his chest warming your back. It’s when he pushes his hips against you—you can feel him. All of him. It makes your head fall back against his chest.

A hand trails down your side while the other moves to your chest. You slip out a whine when a nipple is taken between his expert fingers. His hands on you is the best feeling in the world. The heat coming from him is intoxicating. A hum rumbles from him when his fingers finally find your core, slipping between your folds. You’re completely soaked. You’ve been this way since you saw him in the common room. You were really that weak. Your breath locks in your throat when he slips a digit in.

“Fuck,” he mutters, his accent tainting his words. “Fuck, sweetheart.”

You whine again, you can’t help it. You push your hips back into him, arching your back. It’s truly amazing how desperate and needy he can make you. One of these days you’ll have to time it. He pulls his finger out only to push it back in with another. He does this, warming up your body, until you’re moaning, your own hand wrapping around his wrist. You can feel his grin against the back of your neck. You can’t stop your hips from grounding down on his hand. Desire has taken over. Jake has left your nipple, hand now wrapped around your throat, holding you hostage to watch yourself in the mirror. He grunts when you clench around his fingers. You’re close, too close.

“Daddy,” you breathe, fingers digging into his arm.

“There she is. There’s my sweet girl. Not the fucking brat I’ve been dealing with today. Do you want to come, baby? Hmm? Should I let you? Let you gush all over my fucking hand, and then maybe I’ll think about lettin’ my cock sink into you? Does that sound good?”

If you have him whisper dirty things in your ear all hours of the day, you’d die happy. It’s only moments later when the band is about to snap that he pulls his hand completely away from you. Your core throbs with the sudden emptiness. Meeting Jake’s stare in the mirror you see just how blown out his eyes are. His grip tightens around your throat before he lets go. Really, you should have seen it coming. It annoys you because you only want more.

You can feel him moving behind you. The soft sounds of his clothes hitting the floor. Your whole body shivers in anticipation. Heat pulses between your legs. You love the idea of him breaking you open. It’s fucked up, and dangerous, but it warms your belly all the same. His lips pink and full, he bends down and kisses right between your shoulder blades. Traveling up your spine, over your shoulder, he digs his teeth in where it meets your neck. You don’t miss his smirk when you moan.

“Are you ready to start being nice, sweetheart?”

“I’ve been nice.”

His hand cracks hard across your ass. “Wrong answer.”

“Fuck, Jake, you be nice.”

Roughly, he spins you around and pins you against the dresser. His chest is heaving, breathing ragged enough to match your own. He’s got a slight crazed look in his eye. One you only see when it’s just the two of you. Slowly a smile creeps on your lips. Your nose wrinkles as you stare up at him.

“This is me being nice.” You tilt your head, shaking it at him. Jake was a lot of things, but nice wasn’t one of them.  “Are you sure you want this?”

“Yes.”

“Yes what?” He raises a brow.

“Yes daddy.”

Jake kisses your forehead before pushing you towards the bed. You go without argument. Following back into your soft sheets, elbows holding you up.

“C’mon pretty baby. Open your legs.”

You do, slowly, testing his patience. Jake doesn’t say anything, only watches. His eyes never move from your pussy. Open, vulnerable, exposed. He takes a few steps forward, his hard length bobbing with each step. You eye it for a moment, a small one. Not sure what hell you’d pay if he caught you staring. You gasp, body slightly jumping when there’s a sudden slap against your center. Glancing up at Jake to see him with a malicious grin. Fuck. You mewl and writhe at the sting of the slap. He just chuckles darkly, relishing in the sounds you make as you squirm beneath him. Jake moves up the bed, his lips finding their way to your skin. Biting, licking, sucking a trail up your tender thighs, teasing you.

“Such a pretty pussy, sweetheart.”

A squeal escapes you when he drags his teeth over your clit. You haven’t even orgasmed yet but he’s pushing you towards overstimulation. He’s purposely driving you crazy, but god, do you like when he’s mean. You wiggle your hips as his head dips lower, feeling the warmth of his breath ghosting over your core. You instinctively lift your hips up, exposing your dripping cunt to him. You hear him hum in satisfaction as you moan and buck in desperation for his touch.

“Such a needy little thing” he taunts, placing hot kisses to the back of your thighs, just below the curve of your ass. “You want the me to fuck you with my tongue hmm? Is that what you want?”

“God, yes.”

He laughs. “Heaven can’t help you now, sweetheart. It’s just you and me here.”

You groan as he licks from your throbbing core up to your clit, not lingering for you to get any kind of satisfaction. “Come on baby, you can do better than that.”

“Your mouth, your fucking fingers, I don’t care.”

He sits up suddenly, placing another sharp slap to your ass, making your skin sting. You were sure you’d have welts the shape of his hand tomorrow.

“Then beg for it” Jake commands, his hands running up and down your thighs, his fingers getting tantalizingly close to your cunt before he starts moving away again.  

“Please” you whine, hands tightening in the sheets. You want to touch him. Knowing him though, he’d pull back and away from your reach. Making this a lot more torturous than it was already.  “Please, touch me. Use your tongue, your hands, anything. Please, daddy, please just touch me”.

He sighs, moving back to hover over you. “So needy, sweetheart. What do you want? Do you even know?”

“I know that I want you.”

 That’s the truth. You say a lot of shit when he’s got you under him. You’d still say it if he bothered to ask you in broad daylight while up in the clouds. But he hasn’t, so you keep it to yourself. A well kept secret that makes your chest ache.

“Joker,” you look at him, fixating on how his normal green was just a thin ring around black. “Are you going to let me have it? Or am I going to have to fucking take it?”

You smile. “You can have whatever you want. All you gotta do is ask.”

Jake gives you a breathtaking smile, his hand lifting to your face, thumb running along your cheekbone. Your breath catches. It’s a tender touch, a gentle moment. “My good girl,” he says softly. He’s reminding you. This is not punishment, this is worship. “I think I'd like to pray.”

“Wha—”

Seeing Jake on his belly, face level with your cunt has you whimpering. You can see him smirking, his hot breath fanning over you with every exhale.

“I haven’t even touched you yet, baby.” The pet name has your head falling back against the pillows.

“So fucking needy, huh baby?” He questions, hands moving up over your thighs, thick fingers digging into them so tight you’ll have bruises to show for it. “Can’t help but be a bratty little whore, huh? I know why you do it sweetheart. Whatever gets my attention.”

He runs his nose over your center, taking in a deep breath. His hands tighten on your thighs, as if he’s stopping himself from diving right in. You shudder, squeezing your thighs together only for him to pry them apart. You swallow, breathing shallow, taking him in as his large hand lifts one of your legs to rest on his shoulder. You’re a pathetic pile of putty in his hands. You can’t help but wonder if he knew he could mold you into anything he wanted. He could straight out ruin you and you’d thank him. But that’s the point, isn’t it? Your whole relationship. You give and he takes. Jake is good, great even, at what he does. He’ll never take what he can’t give in return.

His hand trails up your leg, rough calluses catching on your skin. There is no buildup, his finger running through your folds, a hum as he collects it before sticking the digit in his mouth.

“Look at all that. So fucking sweet, baby. Your cunt tastes so much better, though, isn’t that right?”

“Yes.” It comes out in a sigh.

“Yes what?”

You clench around nothing. The forcefulness of his voice. You moan at his words. He gave nothing else before diving in. You moan, your head falling back against the pillows again. Only to lift it when he smacks your thigh.

“Joker,” he warns.

You simply nod, biting back your whimper. His tongue is flat as it makes its way through your folds. He’s done this hundreds of times, pushed you over the edge so many times. Every time feels like the first time. A whimper escapes you.

“Daddy,” you murmur, hips lifting to roll against his face.

“Sweetheart.” He replies voice thick with amusement. You squirm at the feel of his breath against you. His thumb rolls your clit in circles as his tongue parts your folds. He slips a digit in before replacing it with his tongue.

You grind yourself on his face, his nose catching against your clit. You whisper his name, it falls from your lips like a hymn. He holds you open and licks up the seam of your sex, you jerk, knee barely grazing his cheek.

“Easy, Jo.”

He strokes and teases your pussy. Switching off between his thick fingers and his tongue. He has you quivering, moans spilling out of you. The sounds of you clenching around his fingers, his tongue are obscene and he fucking loves it.  You feel like you’re in the sky. Head in the clouds and you aren’t sure you’re ever coming back down. You move with every flick of his tongue. Heel digging into his shoulder when he sucks your clit into his warm mouth. It almost sends you over.

“It’s been months, baby. Months since I’ve tasted you. Months since I’ve had you spread out like this. I’ll tell you a secret: I thought about it every night. Didn’t fall asleep once without thinking of you.”

You’re on the edge. Just a push. A simple push and—his words hit you and it’s like being doused with water. He has no idea about you. It’s a crack in your armor, a splinter in your chest. Fuck, when did your feelings for him get so deep? How did things get so messed up? A sob escapes you, tears falling down your cheeks in burning trails. Jake slows down, noticing you’re in your head, but not really there with him. Not how you should be. He goes to ask you what’s wrong when he realizes you’re crying. Instantly he’s on high alert. Jake will fuck you through a lot of things, but he will not do this while you’re crying. You’ve never cried during sex.

Rough fingers catch your tears as they fall. You shake your head, not wanting him to touch you. He wants to understand, you know he does. How can you tell him like this, in the middle of all this? You’re a fucking mess and it only proves what you already knew. You cannot function without him. He calls your name, soft but stern. Green eyes take you in, nothing but concern coloring his face.

“Talk to me, sweetheart.”

You sigh, looking away from him. “I lied.”

“About what.”

“About being jealous.”

Jake’s lips twitch. “I know.”

“I shouldn’t be,” you whisper, “that’s our deal, right?”

“Our deal…” He sighs, coming face to face with you. “Sweetheart. All I did was take her out to dinner. I think she expected more, but I couldn’t because all I could think about was you.”

Biting your lip you look at him again. “But why, Jake? Why would–”

“Fitz. I heard Fitz took you out.”

Oh for the love of god. The fucking Navy were a bunch of high school girls. Gossiping like no one’s business. Finally, you lifted a hand and ran it through his blonde locks, something you’d been dying to do all night. “Oh, Jake. We are both so stupid.”

“Excuse me?”

“Fitz took me out for my birthday. A whole group of people were there, including Rooster and Phoenix.”

If you could take a picture of his face, you would have. Slowly a smile spreads over his face, and it’s becoming one of your favorite things. You love the way he looks at you. You’re pretty sure you love him, but you’re not going to be admitting that tonight.

Jake bumps his nose with yours. “You’re my girl, sweetheart. Only you. It’s been that way for a long time.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Do you want to continue?”

You lean forward and bite right where his shoulder meets his neck, making him hiss in pain. “Yes daddy.”

“Fucking brat.”

You can’t help but laugh. You’re lighter than you have been in a long time. You feel free. You feel like an idiot because it came to a head while you were getting eaten out, but beggars can’t be choosers. Your laughter gets cut off with Jake’s tongue. He’s returned back to your cunt and is going at full force. Saliva is pooling on the sheets below you along with your arousal. Three fingers pump into you, curling into that spongy part over and over. There is no stopping. Jake’s brought you right to the edge and he’s sending you over without a care in the world.

“Oh my god,”

Jake groans against you, feeling your release. You clench tightly on his fingers as he fucks them into you, wanting to take everything you’ve got to give. He keeps up his pace, helping you ride it out. As your hips slow down he replaces his fingers with his tongue, his mouth lapping at all that you’ve spent while his thumb flicks at your clit.  

“No, no. It’s too much.”

“Come on, be a good girl. I know you’ve got another one for me.”

It should embarrass you that he’s picked up on it. A chronic people pleaser, you bask in praise. His praise is far and between. Between the nit picking and the brat calling. Jake hardly gives praise to anyone and it shoots straight to your core. You’re desperate, small whimpers falling from your lips, your cunt pulsing and aching. It’s all burning heat before it melts into pleasure.

You're dripping down your thighs. You know it’s all over his face. He catches your eye when he pulls away, a grin tilting his full lips. A gift just for you. He’s shining with your release. Leaning forward he catches you by surprise and kisses you. Thrusting his tongue into your mouth, you moan at the taste of you. As quickly as it started it was over.

He swiftly moves to his knees, a hand slides across your ass, slapping you just hard enough to leave a red handprint behind as he thrust deep, bottoming out. It’s a silent scream, no sound leaving you. He’s big, too big, and he’s filling you up to the brim. It hurts, a pain that you will never get enough of. Your knuckles turn white with each rough, hard thrust. Jake slides a hand up your stomach, between your breasts so his hand can wrap itself around your throat. He loves to watch you come undone around him, and he’ll never let you forget it either. Your cheeks are flushed, pupils blown with lust, and lips parted as each of your clipped breaths turn into whimpers.

“Fuck,” he grits, hand tightening, cutting off a little more air, “feel good.”

You stare back at him, feel as he moves to kneel on one knee, the angle shifting somewhere deeper inside of you. His teeth dig into your skin again, this time leaving bruises behind. It makes you whine. Little secrets that litter your skin. He thrusts harder, rougher until your hand is wrapped around his wrist trying to hold you steady. He’s fully claiming you. Cock punching into the deepest part of you. Your head is empty, full of nothing but Jake. Words are pouring out of you, but you couldn’t understand what you were trying to say even if you wanted to. Whatever it is he wants to hear. Whatever keeps him close, keeps him inside of you. It’s been so long, too long and you honestly believe you’ll die if he were to leave.

“Daddy, I–” you're cut off by a whimper when he reaches that hard to reach spot deep inside you. Over and over again, you feel it coming, your orgasm is going to come crashing down and you’re ready to bask in it.

“You going to come on my cock, baby?”

“Yes! Yes daddy. Please, please, daddy. Don’t stop. More, more, Holy fuck,”

You come on his cock like clockwork, and when you fall back into your bed sheets, your body trembles, heaving desperately for air. Jake groans, pulling you up until you’re flush against him. His lips meet yours in a messy kiss, bucking his hips harder until he’s chasing his high right over the ledge with you.

“Good girl,” he praises, letting go of your throat. “Good fuckin’ girl.”

Your breath is a little ragged. You're sweaty, exhausted, and in need of another shower. You smile when Jake pulls out and lays down next to you, pushing your hair out of your face. There was never a sacrifice when it came to Jake. Hangman. It's as easy as breathing, you just need to know how to let go.

“You good, sweetheart?”

“I’m good.” You look over at him, trace a finger over his bottom lip. “I did miss you, you know.”

He smiles, kissing the pad of your thumb. “Yeah, I know.”

[judysxnd]

Hiiii!! I have a Pedro request - f & plus size reader if that is okay!

So reader has some friends visiting/staying at Pedro’s place for holiday whilst he’s on a break from projects and they all decide to go out for casual brunch one day. They think they have slipped out incognito however haven’t realised that someone caught wind and alerted the paparazzi (who are outside restaurant waiting to pounce). When they leave Pedro and reader get mobbed by paps (reader is shoved/pushed an gets hurt - grazes, split lip, possible black eye i’ll let you choose). Pedro becomes protective and quickly tries to get them back home. He then tends to the wounds etc and consoles them.

Make it as angsty/fluffy as you like, thankyouuu!! <3

Not going to lie, I delayed this one a little because I wasn’t in a bad mood, like, sometimes I write the ideas when it matches my mood, not sure if it’s good or not but here I am today trying to write this one as I don’t really feel good. I don’t really know how to explain it, and it doesn’t really matter, so there it is!

Also I noticed I’ve never written any story set up during winter, probably because I don’t like it 😂 I’m going to try here. It’s a small detail that will help.

I hope you like it!!!

———————————————————————————

You were the first one to arrive at Pedro’s house. He invented a few friends to his house for the weekend as he finally came back from filming. He was on a break as it was a week before new year’s. Of course he came back for Christmas, but he didn’t get to see you before leaving to spend the holidays with his family and you with yours.

So, he decided to make a new year’s weekend. It was on a Sunday, so it was perfect. He wanted to do a party on Saturday night and a nice brunch the next day to like sober up and start the year with his closest friends. It would be later in the afternoon probably as no one would be up for 12 or even 1pm. So you arrived there first like you wanted, hoping to have a few moments alone with him. You haven’t seen him un months. FaceTime and texts don’t count as real physical interactions. After some time everyone started to arrive, so the party could start.

The party went great. Music blasting very loud, drinking, dancing, talking, playing games, everything that could be done was done. You all counted down till midnight. Not to forget the tradition, Pedro kissed you went the clock rang. You were blushing as you didn’t expect him to kiss you. You hoped for it, but you’re so used to be private and never do anything in public that it surprised you.

Yes. You’re dating, but you’ve not made anything official. You want to see where it goes before making big commitments, plus you don’t want to deal with all the haters and such. You have other stuff to be focused on. But, your closest a friends know about it, so you don’t have to hide in your own home surrounded by people you can trust.

The party went on until 3/4am. That’s why you only woke up in the afternoon. It was around 12pm, and you were the last to wake up. You were surprised as you thought no one would be up so early, but it was good, because it meant you could go eat at the restaurant.

Going out after that party was risky, but Pedro made reservations in a secluded spot, so you wouldn’t see anyone. He wanted to have a fancy lunch, but didn’t want to have it at home. You tried to come as secretly as possible, in a regular car, almost entering the place one by one. And you did, well at least that’s what you thought.

When you were at the end of the lunch, trying to enjoy your desserts, you all heard voices outside. Not paying attention to it at first, thinking it was maybe a big group at a table in the restaurant, you tried to get back to your lunch. But Pedro had a feeling. He got up and went to the bathroom, making him go through the restaurant. As he did, he caught a glance outside and saw what he feared: a large group of paparazzi trying to get in.

“We have a problem” he said as he came back, looking worried.

“What’s wrong?” You asked him as he sat back next to you, avoiding any eye contact. You put your hand on his thigh. “Pedro”

“Paparazzi” everyone looked at him. “I don’t know how they know, but they’re outside waiting for us”

“seriously” one of his friends sighed

“How?” Another one asked, upset

“I don’t know” Pedro said, starting to get angry too

“Let’s finish our desserts then we will improvise” you said trying to calm him down

“I can’t believe it” he said shaking his head, grabbing his spoon and picking a piece of his cake. “I made a reservation, we arrived in small groups, no one saw us”

“It’s okay” you said “we’ll go out by the back door”

“No it’s not okay. We should be able to leave outside, in peace”

“I know”

You all tried to finish your desserts as relaxed and happy as you could, but it was a lost cause. No one talked, too focused on what could happen next. You all had a reason to fear this moment, making you angrier at each second. At some point you had to leave, so Pedro got up and left the room first. You decided to join him, not wanting him to make some mistake because of his anger.

“Excuse me, I would like to speak to the manager” Pedro said at the first server he saw once he got out. The young man pointed to an older one behind a bar, talking to a lady. You both walked to him, which made him stop his conversation.

“Hello” he said nervously

“Hi, I was wondering if there was another exit to leave because as you can see it’s a little complicated for us to just go through the front door” he said in a dry tone

“I’m sorry but there isn’t”

“What?” You said surprised

“What do you mean there isn’t an other exit?” Pedro was getting angrier

“Don’t you have an emergency exit?”

“We do but it just leads to a backyard, completely closed by walls”

“Shit” Pedro said looking around. “So what if there’s a fire you’re just stuck in there? What kind of restaurant is this?” He started to raise his voice

“Calm down P, it’s not his fault” you said putting your hand in his stomach.

“Yeah by the way, how did they know we were here?” He asked “When I made my reservation, which was made with you precisely, how did it get out?”

“I-I don’t know” he said anxiously. “Only the two servers and I knew about your reservation”

“So it’s the two servers. I would like to see them”

“I’m not sure if it is a good idea” you said, looking at Pedro who was staring at the manager. “Pedro” he finally looked at you, his eyes filled with anger. “I think we should focus on leaving and get home safe, that’s all that matters” he took a deep breath

“Okay. Let’s get out of here” you took his hand and you both went back to the room where you had your lunch. “So, there’s no back door, we’ll just have to confront the paparazzi” he said to everyone. They all started to mumble and swear.

“Let’s go” you said

You took a deep breath as you followed Pedro outside, holding his hand tightly. You barely stepped outside that all you could see were flashes from their cameras. You didn’t realize there were so many people. It was the worst minute of your life and it was going insanely slow. Pedro struggled so much to get through them that you felt like you weren’t even walking.

You couldn’t even hear what they were saying. You just heard words here and there. “Pedro! Pedro! How do you feel being seen with Y/n?” You first heard. “What… think.. her size?” You then heard. They were trying to get any type of reaction. If they couldn’t get a good one, they would search on the negative ones. Sadness, anger, anything that would make a perfect picture. “Defenseless”, “.. heard fat jokes?”, “weird relationship”, “Pedro what do you see in Y/n?” And laughing.

As you thought it couldn’t get worse, they thought it would be funny to start pushing around. As if being verbally mean wasn’t enough, they started to get physical. Pedro always told you to never respond to anyone if they were too many people, to keep your head down and leave as fast as possible. But they were really too many. You’ve ever seen so much people. They probably had no one else to harass. Business was hard for them.

That’s what made them touch you. You felt hands trying to grab your arms. You even felt some touching your stomach. You felt tears forming in your eyes, but you had to hide them, it wasn’t the right time. Pedro stayed very close to you, holding you close to him. He was begging them to stop. The weather didn’t help. The snow on the ground, it was freezing and slippery. As you were being pushed around, you found it hard to walk properly.

You had to look up to see where you were going. But when you did, something unexpected happen. You’ll remember that moment for the rest of your life. You were almost out of the group, you looked up, a little on your right. You randomly looked at a camera, but it was the bad one.

Because the camera went down, not taking you in pictures anymore. You then looked at the person behind. A young lady, she looked younger than you. She was wearing a red beanie and she had curly blond hair. You saw the expression in her eyes: jealousy. She was filled with anger, not sure why at first. But then, you saw that she raised her hand, formed a fist that ended on your face. More specifically in your left eye.

Her action made you fall on the ground, slipping off Pedro’s embrace that was trying to protect you. Once on the ground, it was difficult to focus. Too many flashes, Pedro yelling, his friends trying to gather around you to hide and protect you. Next thing you knew, Pedro grabbed you and helped you run as far away as he could.

Once you finally got to his car, you couldn’t hold the tears anymore. Neither of you said anything. You still in the rush and too scared. Pedro wanted to drive you to the emergency room, just to make sure you didn’t get a concussion or anything. But he knew it would be a bad idea. The paparazzi would know you would do that, and the same scene would happen again.

He could still call a doctor to come home if needed. So he drove home. Once there, he helped you get out, and you both walked to his bathroom. Once you were laying against the sink, seeing you were stable, that’s when he broke the silence.

“Are you okay?” He looked at you, but you couldn’t look at him. You were staring at the floor. “I’m so sorry, I should have protected you more, I-” he stopped talking when you hold his hand. He get you were still shaking. You were in shock. You finally made eye contact

“It’s.. it’s not your fault” you said softly. Your voice was so low that you didn’t even know if you actually said it out loud

“I know but still, I could have done better”

“Don’t feel guilty” you said turning around, looking at yourself in the mirror. Your skin was turning purple around your eye. You barely touched it that it hurt. “Ouch”

“Let me take care of you” he said breaking the space between you two, putting his hands on your shoulders. He then grabbed your hand and brought you to his bedroom and made you sit on the edge.

He held your feet, carefully removing your shoes covered in snow. Your pants were wet because of your fall, and you had snow on your coat. Pedro helped you get out of your clothes and left you in your underwear.

“Don’t move” he said before rushing to the bathroom again. You heard him open the water. Ten minutes later he came out, walked to you, offering his hand. Grabbing it, you both went back in the bathroom. “Get in the bath, I’ll get ice for your eye” you smiled. “We’ll clean those little wounds after okay?” He said looking at the small red wounds you had in your arms and legs. You would definitely bruise there too.

He helped you get in, and left you alone for a moment. You surprisingly felt a little better. The pain started to get away, probably thanks to the hot water that made you forget your own body. You closed your eyes and started to breath deeply, trying to calm down. But it only made you relive that scene again. Your eyes shuttered open when you saw the punch again.

Pedro came back with ice for your eye. He even helped you wash yourself as your body was starting to hurt. After the bath, he cleaned your wounds and put cream on it. He brought your pyjamas and helped you get dressed. The pain was coming back, you could barely move. Your body was stiff.

“How do you feel?” He said holding your face

“Everything hurts”

“What about your eye?” He said looking carefully at the bruise

“Only when I touch it”

“And your head? Do you feel dizzy or anything? Nausea?”

“I’m good”

“I just want to make sure you don’t have a concussion or anything”

“She didn’t hit me that hard” you sighed

“Still”

“I’m fine” you looked at each other

“We don’t have to talk about it now, or tomorrow, but I don’t want you to withdraw into yourself. I’m here okay?”

“Thank you” you said hugging him. You pulled back, looking at him when you realized. “Wait, are you okay? Did you get hurt or something? I didn’t even ask, d-”

“I’m okay, they didn’t get me” you felt better “I wished they hit me instead of you”

“Don’t say that”

“I would rather they hurt me than you”

“Look I’m okay, it’s just a few bruises”

“Are you sure? They said some pretty bad things back there” you didn’t answer right away as you started to remember it. “Shit I made you remember it” Pedro said, realizing what he just did. “But let me make it clear, what they said isn’t true okay? It’s not important what they said, they were just trying to get us to snap. Cariño you’re the sweetest, most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid my eyes on” he said, his hands on your face. You felt butterflies in your stomach. You smiled and probably blushed too as you felt your cheeks heating.

“No no yeah I know it’s not true, I know how they are..” you tried to reassure him “let’s just go to bed okay? I just want this day to be over”

“What a way to start this new year” he joked. He was unsure if he should have said that so he was paying attention to your reaction. But when you chuckled he felt better. He saw a small smile on your face. It reassured him.

After talking a little to his friends and saying good night, you both went to bed together, cuddled up. None of you letting go of each other. You spent the night glued together.

[getosugurusbangs]

as snow falls.

tags: some comedy, suguru being angsty, and a fluffy hurt/comfort (if you squint) ending. 2,757 words.

synopsis: satoru has been out on his first more serious solo mission, but as the days pass by, with no sign of him coming back home, suguru starts to get a little concerned. suguru decides to go to shoko, to find solace in her in these trying times.

a/n: so here’s my first genuine fanfic, and yes ofc it’s satosugu. suguru is anxious in this because i love projecting. also despite this being a stsg fic, there’s not a lot of satoru, mostly just suguru and shoko so… do with that what you will! also, this fic is implied to have taken place the christmas eve before hidden inventory arc.

                                                             ☆

satoru had been gone for over a week at this point. everyone was told that it would be a slightly longer mission, but suguru hadn’t expected it to be this long. he really hadn’t noticed how dependent he’s been on satoru, until he left. they haven’t even been friends for that long, yet they were already attached at the hip. of course, shoko was still back at home with suguru, they were still good friends after all, but there wasn’t that same level of understanding there that the boys had with each other.

suguru had been busy studying all day. he felt the need to get work done, despite this being the one time of year he could comfortably take a break. early winter was never a particularly stressful time of year for him, but this time he’s ended up with other problems. he had gone ahead and made sure his parents were asleep before layering on a nice coat he had bought recently, going ahead and putting his boots on too. before he left the house, he made sure to grab a scarf to put on. it faintly smelled like satoru. that bothered him.

walking along the barely illuminated streets, a thin layer of snow and ice crunched under suguru’s feet. he’d never disliked winter necessarily, but snow had never been his thing. he always preferred staying in the warm indoors until someone dragged him out to either play in the snow, or shovel it. 

he turned the corner, and finally saw his destination. suguru walked up to a particularly dull house. almost standing on the doorstep, he debated whether he should actually knock on the door or not. suguru thought to himself— “her family members are probably asleep at this point.. it’s pretty late, so… “ he decided to knock on shoko’s window, giving a smile and wave at her as she peeled the curtain from the glass. 

she opened the window. “who died?” shoko remarked, with a chuckle. but suguru just rolled his eyes at her. “looks like someone can’t take a joke..” she scoffed. “but why are you here, geto?” “just wanted to talk. get some fresh air.” he craned his head a little, trying to peer into shoko’s room. but all suguru got from it was some curtains getting shoved into his face. “i’ll go on a walk, i just need warmer clothes.” she confirmed, scampering off to somewhere in her house.

shoko climbed out of her bedroom window, now wearing some shoes, leggings layered under her nightgown, and an oversized coat. suguru stood up from the bench in front of her house, looking shoko up and down. “did you steal that from your dad or something? i’ve never seen you wear that.” all she did in response was shush him, and shut the window. “it was the first genuine coat i could find, okay?” she said, amidst both her, and suguru’s laughter. 

“so where are we heading to?” shoko asked, zipping her coat up all the way, so it would cover the lower portion of her face. “i didn’t really have any place in particular i wanted to go. probably just walk through the city for a little bit, then we split up and go back home.” suguru responded as they started to walk down the street, going back in the direction he came from. 

“how’s your family doing, shoko?” “same old, you know how they are.” she said, with a solemn tone. “i get it, mine are a similar way. it’s why i don’t talk about them much. they try to be supportive and all, but just get in my way.” while talking, he was looking around at the unfamiliar neighborhood. “was there a specific reason you wanted to talk to me, geto?” she looked over at him, to make eye contact. suguru fidgeted with something in his pocket, uncomfortably. he, for some reason, wasn’t expecting to be asked this question. it felt like a million thoughts rang through his head at once.

“should i be honest?” was at the top of his mind. he figured shoko would end up seeing through him eventually, one way or another.

“…i miss satoru. a lot.”

“…that’s it?” she inquired, with a blank tone. “what do you mean that’s it?!?” suguru was being sent into a state of shock. “everyone can tell. it’s kinda uncomfortable to watch.” shoko continued— “any time gojo gets brought up nowadays, you end up being visibly upset.” “but what if-“ suguru tried to chime in, but she just shut him down. “he’s fine. you, of all of us, should know that best. don’t get me wrong, i find him having been gone for so long a little troublesome too, but you seriously need to relax about it.” suguru was calming down a little bit upon hearing her words. “…i just don’t think he should’ve been sent alone on a mission like that.” 

“listen, i feel the same. but yaga did say how he’s perfectly well equipped for it. it’s not like it’s a super dangerous mission. otherwise you, or one of our seniors would’ve been sent too. i think we should just be patient, and trust in yaga’s judgement.” when she finished, suguru sighed. he couldn’t argue with her over this, suguru knew she was right, despite how he may feel about things, and about satoru. 

“speaking of you and gojo,” shoko started. suguru felt his heart sink into his stomach, waiting for what she was about to say next. “you two have formed quite the bond, huh?” she asked smugly, playfully elbowing him in the side. suguru’s cheeks were already flushed from the frigid, late december air, but upon hearing her teasing, his entire face had turned bright red. he tried to turn away from shoko, to hide his embarrassment. wait, why did suguru find this so embarrassing? 

“do you have a thing for gojo or something?” shoko asked, through some laughter. ‘twas no laughing matter for suguru, though. “don’t you fucking dare tell anyone.” he said, through gritted teeth. “are you serious?!” she was already chuckling, but at this point she was crying laughing. “i didn’t haah think you’d actually admit it…”  suguru was shaking. the best way to describe him in this moment was: mortified. “just… don’t tell anyone. i don’t want that idiot to find out, and have everything we’ve already got get ruined.”

shoko’s laughter had finally settled down. “i mean, i won’t, for your sake, but you really think him learning that would ruin everything? i think he would just laugh it off and keep borderline acting like your boyfriend.” suguru listened intently, but didn’t say anything. his gaze was fixed on the ground in front of him. he kicked a rock that he was about to step on. they were headed into an empty park, where most of the trees were adorned with sparkling white lights. treading along a paved pathway, suguru finally said something again. “you doing anything for christmas? it’s only… tomorrow now, i guess.” he continued— “i left the house at about 11pm, it’s probably about midnight now.” 

“i don’t know, i’ll probably just be at home, doing whatever. you?” shoko was occupied by looking at the christmas lights illuminating the park around them. suguru sighed, speaking in a reluctant voice. “i wanted to do something with satoru, but…” he trailed off. shoko noted how she shouldn’t ask him about his affection any more than she already had. 

“you got a light?” shoko asked, shifting her focus back onto the miserable boy next to her. “should we really be smoking here?” suguru asked, as he reached his hand into his pocket, pulling out cigarettes and a lighter regardless. shoko snickered, “there’s no one around us anyways. maybe a smoke will help you relax.” she teased him. “whatever…” he mumbled before taking a long drag. they both knew they shouldn’t be smoking, both for their health and because they weren’t really supposed to in general. but being a jujutsu sorcerer is a dangerous feat. they were smart enough to know cigarettes wouldn’t be the death of them.

“we need to go shopping together sometime soon,” shoko chimed in. “i still need to get some new winter clothes before the weather gets too bad.” he stared at her, sort of dumbfounded. “…is this not already bad enough for you?” suguru was still shaking, though now it was just the cold, not his nerves. “eh, it could always be worse.” she shrugged. it had been snowing off and on all day, but had started to pick up more after dark.

suguru only left his house once the snow had died down again. he wanted to avoid getting snowed on the best he could. they decided to go ahead and sit on a park bench for a moment, though, only after brushing the layer of snow off the seat. “did you hear there’s gonna be some new students transferring in soon?” suguru asked, taking in their surroundings. “yeah, mei mei told me about that. i guess they probably won’t be showing up over the holidays, though..” 

“i wonder if gojo might be bringing back some souvenirs… since he was traveling a decent ways out for this mission.” when either of them spoke, they kept their voices down a lot more than they normally would’ve. it felt wrong to mess with the state of the night’s comfortable silence, no matter how many things either of them might have wanted to bring up. they just quietly sat in each other’s presence for a couple minutes.

shoko finally broke the silence that had developed. “i think i’m probably gonna be hanging out with utahime later.” she took a drag from her cigarette. “she was pretty adamant about hanging out sometime this week.” “doesn’t she want you to quit smoking?” suguru asked, swearing he heard utahime bring that up recently. shoko got quiet for a moment, looking up at the deep, cloudy midnight sky. “i’ll think about it.” was all she could say.

after a couple more moments, they decided to go ahead and resume their walk. suguru was trying to think of something else to talk about. “oh, i got this new cd the other day, it’s one of my favorite bands’ new album. i need to show it to you soon.” shoko took her cigarette out of her mouth. “oh yeah? was it that band you talk about that has those, like.. deep, poetic, introspective lyrics?” suguru had to fight back the urge to explain the band and their lyrics more than he already had. “at least she remembered them.” he thought to himself, just nodding at her politely.

they had walked into a more open, urban area. “you should probably go ahead and make the trip back home now, huh?” suguru had stopped walking, turning to properly face shoko now. he put out his cigarette, going ahead and tossing it. “yeah, i was thinking the same.” she turned back to the direction they came. hesitating for a moment, she spoke up one last time. “geto. he’ll be back soon, okay? he’s strong, you know… “

“see you later.” shoko waved him goodbye, before heading on her way. 

suguru felt tears well up in his eyes. as they streamed down his face, he didn’t even really know why he was crying. he felt stupid crying about satoru, especially out in the open like this. “god, this is embarrassing.. at least barely anyone is around at this point…” suguru thought to himself. it wasn’t a particularly lively night. he was sort of lucky, in this regard. 

he started to walk back home. it felt ironic to him, how this was such a beautiful night, considering the snow and scenery, and yet it was wasted because of his overbearing emotions. suguru couldn’t even remember when the last time he cried was. “why did this have to happen now?” he pulled his scarf up to cover most of his face, both to break the wind, and to hide his current state.

navigating the icy, desolate streets, suguru finally had stumbled upon some more familiar sights. it’s not like he had gotten lost or anything, he just was heading back home on an unfamiliar route. passing by a cafe he likes, he wondered what he might end up ordering next time. suguru might’ve considered going in and getting something, but he wanted to get back home as soon as possible. and besides, they had been closed for hours at that point.

as he continued walking, snow had begun to gently fall onto the landscape surrounding him. because of that, suguru felt the urge to get home grow stronger. he started finally closing in upon his neighborhood. despite having lived in this area for years now, he still didn’t really know his neighbors that well. he just judged his neighbors from their houses, and the very brief interactions he might’ve had with them. there were people in the area he was more interested in chatting with, as opposed to the old couple next door.

once suguru finally got to his street, he walked with his head down, trying not to get any snow in his face, more specifically in his eyes. he just wanted to get back inside, and not be borderline freezing to death anymore. “maybe i should take a hot bath when i get back… or should i just get straight in bed?” the harder he thought about it, the worse the snow falling onto him felt.

as suguru walked up to his house, a wave of relief washed over him. he was about to reach into his pocket to grab his key, when he looked up at satoru sitting on his doorstep, and was stunned. satoru stood up, with open arms. suguru ran towards him, tackling him into a hug. he could already feel tears streaming down his face again, despite how he had just cried a couple moments ago.

suguru had planted his face into the crook of satoru’s neck. everything rude and brash he had wanted to yell at satoru when he got back, just melted away in his arms. “you’re back…” was all suguru said as he cried onto satoru’s shoulder. “of course i’m back. i’m sorry for making you wait so long..” he ran his fingers gently through suguru’s hair, his other arm wrapped around him.

suguru pulled away from him, looking at satoru with his glossy eyes. “i missed you… you don’t know how worried i was for you.” suguru admitted, playfully shoving satoru’s shoulder. they just laughed. “why would you have to be worried for me? i mean, you know how strong i am!” “that’s what shoko said…” “oh? you talked to shoko about me? what did you talk about??” satoru prodded at him, with a giddy tone. suguru didn’t respond. he just looked away in embarrassment.

“but, in all seriousness…” he guided suguru to face him. “i missed you too.” satoru whispered into his ear, giving him a tender kiss on the cheek. if suguru wasn’t warmed up by being held in satoru’s arms, he was definitely heated up now. he stared back at the smiley boy in shock, due to the expressing of his newfound affection. i mean, satoru had always been clingy and affectionate in the past, but this was very different. he welcomed the gesture with open arms, he was just a little taken aback. 

“hey, isn’t that my scarf? i was looking for that!” satoru gently tugged on the scarf suguru was wearing. “what? i thought it was mine.” “no, i bought it for myself.” “well, it was right there with my coat. if i thought it was yours, i would’ve gotten my own.” “yeah… you’re gonna have to get your own.” satoru settled things, bluntly. “i don’t know why i thought you might be a gentleman about things this time.” suguru rolled his eyes.

“oh, and suguru, do you mind if i stay at your place for the night? i had to take the train back home, and… well, it’s cold and snowy and your house is closer to the station…” suguru just stared at him, dumbfounded at the switch-up in satoru’s behavior during this reunion. “…yeah, i guess you can stay here for the night. if you’re sooo delicate, to the point where you can’t make the loooong trek back home.” “hey! i’m tired, okay?!” 

suguru started to love the snow. even if he only did for that one night.

[xmalfoyweasleyx]

The more that you say, the less I know

Steve x (Henderson!)Reader, based on the song Willow -Taylor Swift --> my Taylor songs masterlist

Summary: Y/N is Dustin's older sister, she comes to town and meets Steve. But it seems the boy has some commitment issues...

Angsty but fluff ending <3 , between 1.5-2k words

I'm like the water when your ship rolled in that night.

Rough on the surface but you cut through like a knife

“My sister is coming to town! I’m gonna meet her here” Dustin said excitedly, hanging on the Family Video counter while Steve was focussing on organizing some tapes. “Wow, wow, wait. I didn’t know you had a sister?” he questioned, looking up from his work for a split second. “Duh, didn’t I mention that?” Dustin answered confused. “No? why didn't you mention such an important family thing but litterally tell me all kinds of other annoying and boring stuff?” the boy complained. “Well, she’s my half-sister and lived with her dad for 4 years now. So I haven’t seen her in ages. But she’s really great and smart.” Dustin talked admiringly with a big smile on his face. “Actually, she would be a pretty great match for you, weren’t you like.. searching for the one or something like that” Dustin suggested. Steve chuckled. “Dude, I appreciate the matchmaking but I don’t think your sister is going to be something for me, no offense” he waved off uninterested while walking away from the counter to stack some shelves.

“Hey dude! She’s kind and like... pretty funny actually, but okay” Dustin said disappointed, following Steve through the store like a puppy. “And by the way, I’ve given up on finding the one, it’s bullshit” Steve sighed. 

That’s when the bell rang, a beautiful girl that looked around 20 years old entered the shop. “Y/N!!” Dustin screamed running to the girl. “My god Dusty you’re all grown up I can’t believe this” she giggled while hugging him tight. Steve looked at her with wide eyes when they approached hem. Never in his life did he expect that Dustin Herderson’s sister would look like that, sound so sweet and cause a weird tingling feeling in his stomach. He was shocked, to say the least. 

“You never told me your sister was going to be so goddamn hot” he whispered in Dustin’s ear. “Ew dude, calm down with those words” he answered. “You must be the guy who’s been babysitting my little brother,” Y/N smiled. “Um - I-well… you could call it babysitting.. but..” Steve stuttered, making Dustin giggle. “I’m Y/N” you interrupted, reaching out your hand. “I’m Steve, nice to meet you” he smiled back.

***

The more that you say, the less I know.

Wherever you stray, I follow

It became a habit, visiting Steve when he had his break. It almost felt like a dream. The autumn sunshine in the afternoon. You and him picnicking under the tree in the beautiful field hidden behind Family Video. Laughing, touching, teasing. In the last 3 weeks, you two became closer and closer. Other people might say it was easy, Steve liked you and you liked him. Why wouldn’t you start dating? At first sight it all seemed obvious. You saw each other almost every day and it had been a while, since Nancy actually, that Steve had been showing interest in a girl for that long. But it wasn’t that easy. And you didn’t understand it at all. It was like you knew two different boys. Every time you got closer, Steve shut down.

It was a wednesday afternoon when you leaned on the counter, nibbling on some sandwich, staring at the boy you developed the biggest crush on. You both sat in silence. “Steve” you sighed. He didn’t look up. “We need to talk about our conversation from yesterday”. You had asked him on a date the other day, finally finding the courage. You didn’t even need that much confidence since you two already acted like a couple sometimes. He changed the subject immediately after you asked. As if you didn’t already go on some kind of dates when you picnick or pick up Dustin together after school. It left you confused and sad.

“What is there to talk about” he snapped. Your heart sank, surprised by the angry tone in his voice. His eyes filled with guilt immediately after he saw the hurt in his eyes. “If I’m that horrible or just some toy to fix your boredom with, you could just tell me” you responded, turning around to leave and go home to be alone. “No, I’m sorry Y/N, I…” he sighed from behind you. “You what? Tell me” you turned around angrily. Steve didn’t seem to know what to say. A doubtful look plastered his silent face. “That’s what I thought” you said disappointed and he watched you walk away.

***

Wait for the signal and I'll meet you after dark

Show me the places where the others gave you scars

Your bedroom was silent, you laying there in your bed, thinking, crying, an ache in your heart. It seemed all very dramatic, you laying there in the dark, not able to fall asleep while the rain splattered on your window. It was almost midnight when you got startled by a silent knock on the glass. Steve stood there. Drenched. You rushed out of your bed to open the window before the boy could fall off the roof or something.

“Steve what are you doing here?! You’re soaked” you were worried, but still angry. “I’m so sorry, it’s just… it’s just so confusing” he said shivering. He looked sad, almost like he’d been crying too but it was hard to see with all the rain on his face. You didn’t answer and grabbed a warm towel from your closet first. “Here” you whispered, putting the soft towel around him, feeling his broad shoulders underneath the material. His features softened when you touched him and he looked comfortable. It was silent, your bodies close. “Why are you here?” You asked softly, trying not to drown in the hazel eyes staring lovingly into yours. You didn’t understand, one moment he snaps at you and acts like there’s nothing between you two. The other moment he looks at you like he’s never been more in love.

“I’m sorry for playing with your feelings.”  He sighed. “I really am”. 

“Then explain it to me, why?” you whispered while he was toying softly with a lock of hair on your shoulder. Your foreheads almost touched. “I’m scared,” he said with a crack in his voice.

He seemed so vulnerable, you had never seen him like this. Little shivers from the cold, his eyes teary and filled with guilt. You stroked his wet brown locks softly and he leaned into your touch, closing his eyes. “Come sit on the bed with me” you suggested.

“The thing is.. I-I’m acting so weird because it’s the first time in a long time I felt this way” Steve confessed. “What do you mean?  Why is that bad?” You asked. “It makes me scared, I have this terrible feeling, that this will fail, that you will get bored of me eventually and.. it’s not going great at home, I know that’s not an excuse but, I’m.. I..” he stuttered, nervously toying with his fingers. You touched his hands delicately, trying to give him some comfort. “I won’t hurt your feelings like others might have done, if that’s your concern, I promise.” You whispered, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. “This is what scares me too, the goddamn tingles I get when you do that” he chuckles, being a little more comfortable. “That’s not a bad thing Stevie. I don’t know the details of what happened with you before, but I can tell you, love is not a bad thing” you said. “Love?” he asked. You nod. “Can I kiss you?” he said, moving closer. “Please”

Wreck my plans

That's my man

Kissing Steve Harrington was one of the best things ever. He was tender, yet passionate. You were laying on your bed now, making out with your legs tangled and your hands in his soft hair.  “I could kiss you forever” he sighed while placing soft kisses on your cheek and neck. “So, don’t stop then” you teased. Steve giggled, grabbing your hips and pulling you even closer to him with a soft groan of satisfaction. “Don’t challenge me, baby”.

You fell asleep in his arms that night. Your head on his chest, his chin resting in your hair. His arms were wrapped tightly around you and your one leg was placed on top of his. His warmth and smell made you fall in a deep sleep. Listening to his soft breath. In the arms of your man.

[catlover34]

Aether x Male!Reader

not a request

★⌒ヽinnocent love confessions..

★⌒ヽ word count : 2,836

i procrastinated this shit sm it took so fucking long to finish.

-——-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-

“Alright, I’ve booked the rooms.” Kazuha announces to the group. “We have to leave by 11:30 in the morning so be prepared to wake up early.” 

“Finally!” Amber cheers, relieved to finally be able to lie down in a bed after sitting in a cramped car for hours. Her cheerful expression dissipates when she hears she has to be up early. “Come on..couldn’t you have made it later!” She whines loudly shaking Kazuha by his shoulders. The group knew amber absolutely despised waking up early, her being late to her college classes daily proving it. 

“If you didn’t stay up late everyday playing video games, you’d actually come to enjoy being up early.”(M/n) teased finding Ambers despair amusing.

Ambers puffed her cheeks as she crossed her arms  glaring at (M/n). “Unlike you, I have things that need to be done!” 

“Oh yeah? Like what, gambling all your money away on gacha games?” (M/n) shot back, a smirk planted on his face. 

“I—Well!-“ Amber’s face bloomed as embarrassment filled her body. She knew (M/n) had a point there so she was unable to come up with anything say. Just like how their squabbles usually ended, with Amber left red faced and speechless. 

“He got you there Amber.” Aether chuckled at their bickering. He was already used to their harmless fights. They were entertaining, and he couldn’t help but want to tease the loosing side of their little argument. 

“Alright, Alright.” Tomo interrupted before Amber got a chance to make another comment. “Enough bickering, we have to get to the hotel before we have less time to rest.” 

They all agreed, beginning to finish the last of their food and ask for the bill. Amber still muttering curses under her breath at (M/n). Tomo took the bill graciously, as he always did. Despite the group always offering to split the bill he never allowed them to. Being the oldest of the group he didn’t want to make them worry about the payments. He really sounded like a middle aged man in times like these,  despite only being 26 years old. They considered him the father of the group, him being the one to make sure they got home safe after a party, or reminding them to eat if they haven’t. 

Immediately when they arrived to the hotel Amber knocked herself out in her and fischls shared room. Not even checking to make sure their room was safe enough to spend the night in. One of her careless habits was that she was too carefree, which meant she would often overlook some pretty serious stuff. Fischl despite being the younger of the pair was considered the more mature one. She never hesitated to check every nook and cranny when she stayed in unknown places. The germaphobe in her never failing to send her nerves to the moon. After checking the room making sure to confirm it was safe to sleep peacefully in she comfortably lay in her bed as her tiredness finally set in and she drifted to sleep. 

Kazuha and Tomo took turns showering before they went to bed. In the group the two were considered the parents. The fact that they were a couple played a huge part in their harmless nickname, but it wasn’t the only factor in it. They took no short amount of effort in taking care of their group. Tomo was the older one, but they made it seem as if him and Kazuha were around the same age. You should’ve seen the look on Amber’s face when she found out Tomo was 26—three years older than kazuha. She still refuses to believe his age despite all of the evidence leading to it.  

After taking turns with their showers, the two changed into their most comfortable clothes and headed to sleep. Of course not before their daily kiss and words of affirmations. This was the part about them the group despised, their clear displays of pda sending bile to their throat. It almost made it seem as if they were a newly wedded couple.

Aether and (M/n) weren’t too far from Fischl and Amber in terms of playfulness, but amber could never compare to the two. They seemed like a match made in heaven the way their personalities aligned almost too perfectly. The two were closer to each other than they were to anyone else in the group. Knowing each other in high school probably played a big role in that but even then, it was hard to believe they only knew each other for a few years. They seemed absolutely enamored with one and other but its not like they would ever admit it. 

“(M/n)? You wanna shower first?” Aether inquired, staring up at (M/n) from his sitting position on the bed. 

“Nah, I’m too tired. I’ll wake up early and shower in the morning.” 

“Mm..Alright.” Aether hummed as silence filled the room once again. 

(M/n) made his way over to their shared bed sluggishly. After finally getting a moment to rest it seemed his tiredness dropped onto him in an instant as he yawned quietly. 

“Alright I’m heading in.” Aether announced softly not really expecting a reply. 

(M/n) hummed in response turning over on his back and looking up to the ceiling. He thought back to everything they did today, as he usually did before going to sleep. His mind drifted to many different things, glossing over interactions he had with people, or how good the food tasted when he ate. After his brain ran out of uninteresting topics to babble about in his head he finally drifted over to a certain topic. His longterm crush as well as his current roommate, Aether.  

Immediately his face bloomed once Aether’s face appeared in his mind. He thought back to when he first began liking all his tiredness immediately washing away. He couldn’t help but fall for him over the few years they knew eachother. During his freshman year he had to be transferred in the middle of the semester which set him back a bit in terms of making friends. No one wanted to be friends with him simply because they didn’t want to go through the trouble of having to get to know someone who they hadn’t already built a bond with. Aether was different, he didn’t care whether or not he transferred when there was only 4 months of the semester left. He just wanted to be friends with him, and that simple action sent his pulse skyrocketing. 

Just the idea of Aether gave him a giddy feeling in his chest as a smile quickly spread across his face. He brought his hands to his face as he rolled over in the bed unable to contain his excitement. He knew he probably seemed like a lovestruck highschooler to others who knew about his crush, but he couldn’t help the way his heart felt. 

“What’s got you smiling like that?” A voice inquired interrupting his train of thought. 

His heart seemed to stop beating as the very subject of his smile caught him acting like a teenage girl. He almost snapped his neck looking over to aether who stood at the shower door, hair which was usually tied into a high ponytail laying neatly onto his shoulder as a towel lay loosely in his hands. 

“Aether! Jesus—you scared the hell out of me.” (M/n) sucked in a breath. His face was still visibly red and he hoped the dimmed lights of the room covered it at least a little. 

“Mmm..” He hummed, brushing off his words. “So? What you cheesin over there for?” He teased walking over to sit down next to (M/n). 

(M/n) chuckled nervously doing his best to get Aether to drop the subject. “Just—Nothing really. I’m just happy to be on this trip with you all.” He smiled at Aether. That sentence wasn’t exactly a lie, he was extremely happy to be going on the trip but that definitely wasn’t the topic of his thoughts.

“Ah really? I was thinking the exact same thing.” Aether replied as it seemed a burst of energy spread through his body. “I was thinking how I really appreciate you all, I don’t know where I would be if I didn’t meet you.” He smiled warmly at (M/n) adoration filling his eyes. 

(M/n)’s face burned red as he went mush. Aether was too cute, and the fact he was the object of his appreciation sent his pulse skyrocketing once again. The loud beat of his heart in his chest was definitely getting harder to ignore. He didn’t know if he was overanalyzing things or if his feelings were blinding his judgment but it really seemed as if Aether reciprocated his feelings in that moment. He almost wanted to confess his feelings right then and there, but he knew it would be too sudden to just confess his feelings with no explanation. 

“Yeah..me too.” (M/n) managed to force out, his brain still trying to wrap his head around Aethers words.

“On the topic of the group, I’m so jealous of Tomo and Kazuha.” Aether sighed laying down on the bed next to (M/n) with his face towards the ceiling.

Still thinking about Aethers previous words the only words that registered in his mind were “Jealous” and “Tomo.” The moment he registered those words his heart sunk into his stomach as disappointment immediately began filling his body. He stayed silent as he listened to Aether’s complains still trying to work out the fact Aether may have had a crush in Kazuha. 

“I’m happy for them definitely,” He paused turning to face (M/n). “But no matter how hard I try, I don’t think anyone could love me like they love each other.” 

“I don’t think that’s true.” (M/n) blurted out sitting up to look at Aether. His heart hammered in his chest knowing there was no way to back out now. “Aether, you’re a great person. You’ve helped me so much throughout the years we’ve known eachother and I don’t know where I would be or what I would be doing without you.” 

“You’re beautiful Aether, inside and out.” (M/n) paused trying to get his words organized and not screw up. “And I don’t know how to express to you how much you mean to me.”

Aether was speechless as red quickly began making his way up to his face. He wasn’t expecting such a heartfelt confession from (M/n) and he sure as hell wasn’t expecting to be this flustered. His heartbeat quickly sped up as he met (M/n)’s eyes. Seeing no trace of dishonesty in his eyes,  made him even more flustered. The moment he began sweating excessively was when he knew it was over for him. You would think someone with hyperhidrosis would sweat profusely in every part of their body, except that wasn’t the case for Aether. When he begin sweating all of the sweat pools in his hands making his hands overtly moist.

”I love you Aether—More than you could ever think.” (M/n) exhaled quickly wanting nothing other than to run away and show his face again. He pushed down those feelings knowing he would never get a chance like this ever again and he couldn’t just give it up all because he was scared. He felt his heartbeat in his chest as his nerves shot to the moon. He tried as best he could to seem stable in Aether’s eyes but he was seconds away from crumbling from the inside out. 

There was silence for awhile, the two of them both trying to process what just happened. Aether was  red as a beet millions of thoughts racing through his mind. He looked up at (M/n) who he couldn’t really see well because he had his head faced downwards and away from him. He swore his heart stopped beating when he noticed the redness in (M/n)’s face. I mean who would have thought? His crush from the moment he began highschool suddenly dropping down a confession on his head? It was unexpected, and he didn’t even have any time to prepare. Still that doesn’t change how happy Aether felt in that moment. He almost burst into tears when he heard (M/n)’s words. 

(M/n) on the other hand was a hot mess. He was full on shaking now the anxiety and worry was hitting him harder than ever and Aether staying silent was not helping his case. He could feel his heart sinking to his stomach as tears brimmed his eyes. Now he thought back to their friendship sure that he ruined everything. So it came as a shock to him when he felt Aether wrap his arms around his torso whispering in his ear how much he likes—no—loves him. 

“(M/n) I love you too..” Aether sighed into the nook of (M/n)’s neck. His face was still burning and he felt mushy inside but there was no way he was gonna ruin this chance with (M/n). He hugged (M/n) tightly as if he would wake up and this would all be a dream. Now the two were sitting facing eachother with Aether cuddling against (M/n) closing any sort of space they had. 

Now it was (M/n)’s turn to be speechless. Sure he had received many hugs from Aether the few years they’ve know eachother but this was different. This time it was filled with love and admiration as well as the confirmation that his confession had been reciprocated. He almost jumped out of his skin when the complete opposite of what he thought was going to happen didn’t even happen at all. He couldn’t help it now, the tears he tried so desperately to hide spilling out from his eyes like a fountain. They were happy tear’s definitely, but all of the emotions (M/n) was feeling all at once needed someway to release. 

The moment Aether heard (M/n) sniffing he snapped his head up to look at him. He almost lost all moral reasoning when he saw how (M/n) face. Somehow even with tears flowing out of his eyes he still managed to look gorgeous. It really seemed as if God himself blessed (M/n). He snapped out of his trance as (M/n) looked at him trying to speak but no words coming out. 

“(M/n)..You look so beautiful right now.” 

(M/n) paused if his face could get any redder it was, he almost felt lightheaded now. “Shut up..No I’m not.” He spoke between sniffles the intensity of his tears pouring out lessening. “..Does this mean we’re official?” He whispers even though he already got Aethers words of confirmation he still had to hear it one more time just to be sure he wasn’t hallucinating. 

Aether smiled nodding his head as he snuggled into (M/n) once again. They sat in silence for a moment as they enjoyed eachothers company. The two cuddled together for about 20 minutes before (M/n) asked the question he had wanted to for so long. He took a deep breath and looked into Aether’s eyes his nerves finally calming down.

”Aether..Can—Can I kiss you?” (M/n) intertwined him and Aether’s hands looking up at his face for any sign of disgust or discomfort. 

“Are you sure? You don’t have to kiss me just because we’re dating now. If you’re uncomfortable please don’t try to force yourself.” Aether looked at (M/n) with sincerity in his eyes a look that never failed to make (M/n) mushy inside. 

 “No..I—I want to.” He mentally cursed at himself for stumbling over his words, red seeping onto his face once again. 

Aether said nothing and nodded his head moving closer to close the space between the two. Once again he looked at (M/n) for confirmation resuming once he earned a small nod from him. Softly, his lips met (M/n) and it was all he’d ever wish for in his life. It felt like heaven he was almost sure he’d never he able to kiss anyone ever again if it wasn’t (M/n). It lasted for ages (M/n) softly biting Aether’s bottom lip as to ask for an entry. Aether gave that entry happily he almost felt drunk on (M/n)’s taste. 

He brought his hands to (M/n)’s waist pulling him closer, wanting to taste more of him. It wasn’t until (M/n) pulled away for a breath of air did Aether realize how lightheaded he was. His brain was mushy as the kiss lingered on his tongue. He didn’t know what (M/n) was doing to him, but he wasn’t protesting. The two were both panting for a breath of air, a new atmosphere lingering around them. 

“I love you so much..” 

[ariqxwz]

Potion class

Sypnosis: You were struggling to make a potion but Sebastian helps you

Author’s note: I haven’t seen enough one-shots with Sebastian so i chose to make one myself. Also, “y/h” is “your house” from Hogwarts.

Word count: 600

Warning: nothing, just fluff

Sebastian Sallow x fem!oc

I sighed as I looked at the potions book. Making the Thunderbrew potion felt impossible. Garreth had offered to help me, but knowing him, he’d probably blow up the cauldron. I decided to lie, saying I was managing just fine.

I glanced around, watching the others work on their potions while I only had water in my cauldron. My gaze returned to the book. I needed stench of the death, a shrivelfig fruit , and leech juice.

At least I had everything.

I grabbed the fruit and placed it on the wooden board to cut it into pieces. Before the knife could touch the fruit a male voice interrupted me.

“You should peel it first.” I looked up, and Sebastian was watching me. “It’ll make the potion stronger.”

I nodded and began peeling it.

“I think I’ve finally found something you’re bad at,” he said, a smug grin on his face. “Need some help?”

I stayed silent for a moment, reconsidering. Finally, I nodded.

“Please.”

He took a few steps closer until he was standing beside me. He glanced at the book and raised an eyebrow.

“Thunderbrew?” He looked up at me. “You’re lucky—it’s one of my favorite potions.”

A few minutes later, I had the fruit chopped and the leech juice ready. Now came the worst part: the Stench of the death. This was the step I couldn’t master. I had to break the skull into precise pieces for it to work.

I always ended up shattering it.

I grabbed a sharpened stone and started tapping gently on the jaw.

“If you hit it there, it’ll break,” Sebastian said behind me.

I set the stone down with a frustrated sigh. I could almost see the smirk on his face. He moved closer, took the stone from me, and delivered a firm strike to the chin and the forehead. The skull split perfectly in half.

I stared at him in amazement.

“How did you do that?”

Sebastian smiled.

“Practice. And talent, of course.” He handed the stone back to me.

I picked up one half of the skull and looked at him, waiting for instructions. He licked his lips and looked at my face for a moment before speaking.

“Hold the jaw with your hand and strike just next to the eye socket.”

I did as he said, but it didn’t break. Sebastian shook his head and moved behind me. He took hold of my hand, and my body tensed immediately. I could almost feel his chest brushing against my back. Swallowing hard, I tried to focus on listening to him.

“You’re hitting too softly. Don’t be afraid to strike harder.” He guided my hand upward before delivering the blow himself. The skull cracked. “See? It’s easy.”

When he stepped away, my shoulders relaxed slightly.

“You’ve spent nearly the entire class helping me. What about your potion?” I asked, adding the Dead Man’s Stench to the cauldron.

“I finished it before you even started,” he replied confidently.

I fell silent as I added the rest of the ingredients. Once done, I poured some of the potion into its designated bottle just as Professor Sharp approached us. I handed him the vial, and he inspected it, humming in approval.

“Well done. Ten points to Y/H.”

At the end of class, Sebastian approached me agai𝐯n.

“If you want, I can help you after class anytime,” he offered.

I smiled faintly and nodded.

“That would be nice. Thank you, Sebastian.”

In truth, I didn’t have much trouble with potions, aside from this one. But anything to spend more time with him.

© ariqxwz

[sirianasims]

Chapter 36

Out Of The Woods

“Daddy, did you see how fast I was? Did you see me?”

“I saw you, you did so well! Ivy and I were cheering for you all the time.”

Hailey had placed second in her first track run. I worked as a coach for the track & field teams now, so Samuel had been sitting with Ivy as they watched Hailey run.

We went to the pier, all four of us together for once, and got ice cream. Hailey was excitedly telling Samuel all about her track times.

It made my heart swell, not so much because she seemed to have a talent for running, but because I hadn’t seen her so proud of herself before, and I was happy that Samuel was here to experience it too. I didn’t want him to miss too many of the girls’ milestones just because we were no longer together.

The girls ran off to try the ferris wheel and we were alone. Samuel awkwardly scooted over to where Hailey had been sitting. We never spent any time together these days. Ever since that uncomfortable Winterfest a year and a half ago, we had mostly kept it to administrative texts and taking turns picking up the girls from kindergarten.

Finally, Samuel cleared his throat.

“So, uh. You look… well.”

I couldn’t help but smile. I was sweaty and Ivy had wiped some ice cream on my sleeve, but I did feel better than I had in a long time.

“Thanks. You too. The beard suits you.”

We talked for a while, carefully sticking to safe subjects. I told him about Jessica getting into fashion design, how she was planning to move to Del Sol Valley with her boyfriend. Samuel updated me on Daria and Griffin who just found out they were expecting a baby.

Then, his expression turned serious.

“Do you ever… have you talked to Charlie?”

I realised that it was the first time either of us had spoken his name for almost two years.

“No. I wouldn’t pick up if he called, but he hasn’t tried.”

“He actually called me when he heard about the divorce. But we didn’t speak for long. I may have said that I would personally castrate him without anaesthesia if he ever contacted you again.”

“Samuel -”

“With a dull scalpel. I was pretty angry at the time, and he said some really cruel things, and… I just don’t know who he is anymore. I haven’t heard from him since.”

I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to give him a hug, but I couldn’t imagine Samuel would ever want me to touch him again.

“Samuel, I’m really sorry that I screwed things up for everyone. Not just us, but you and Charlie too.”

Samuel sighed and attempted to smile.

“Hey, he wasn’t exactly blameless. He was supposed to be my brother. He should never have... anyways, you said you wanted to discuss the girls’ living arrangement? Are you not happy with the split?”

I was grateful for the change of subject.

“I am, but I’ve been asked to coach the track & field team for seniors as well. And I would like to accept, but it’s in the evenings and I’d need you to have the girls a bit more often. I know your schedule can be difficult, so I only want to do it if you can find the time.”

He looked relieved.

“Sure, we can figure something out. For a moment I wondered if you, you know… Found someone.”

“Oh, no. It’s nothing like that. I just figured I should be doing something worthwhile with my time now that the girls are getting older, instead of being stuck in the house all the time.”

“You do know that was always an option, right?”

“Sorry, Samuel, I don’t mean to sound like I was a prisoner. It was my own choice to stay at home, I know. And you did try to talk me out of it.”

“Maybe I should have tried harder.”

“Samuel, don’t. I doubt you could have convinced me back then. I was pretty out of reach, I think. You were right, there was nothing you could have said that would have made me listen.”

We were both quiet.

I wanted to ask him if he was seeing someone, ask why he cared if I was. But suddenly the girls were back and begged for more ice cream and the moment had passed.

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