#jt writes fic

[jtl07]

There's a story behind each trinket, each wrapper, each pebble and Beatrice learns to always turn out Ava's pockets before putting her clothes in the wash. While the machine rumbles, she'll have Ava explain each one, allow herself to lean into Ava's side as she plucks each item from Beatrice's palm. (When they get to the end, Beatrice leaves her palm open and sometimes, Ava will take her hand. And Beatrice will want - Ava; will want to ask what kind of story Ava thinks they'll have, how many chapters, how many novels will it span. It's the same part of her that wants desperately to hear forever from Ava's lips.)

Art for pocketful commissioned from the ever incredible, the incomparable @princington

(More thoughts - about Prince, about their art - below the cut)

Prince has done so many wonderful works of art for the Warrior Nun fandom, especially their fanart for fanfics - there have been countless times I've discovered a new beloved fic through their art. It's even more special when it's your own fic - it's like looking through someone else's eyes, and when it's an artist like Prince, it's nothing short of awe-inspiring. So when I was thinking of getting art commissioned for pocketful, I knew it had to be Prince.

They were very kind and easy to work with, and they took one of my favorite moments I've written and made me fall in love with it all over again. I mean, look at their expressions! If you've seen Prince's work, you know that they have an extraordinary ability in drawing emotion in such a heartfelt way. I love the fondness, the intimacy, the devotion. I just - [goes off to flail and squee for 10 minutes]

And then there's the physical closeness, how Ava's almost in Bea's lap, how indulgent Bea is as Ava is pointing out the different items in her palm (I love that there's a leaf!). There's so much to love in this - the contrasts and "them"ness in their posture, in their clothes. Also the way Bea has her hand tucked between her thighs makes me think about how she tries so hard to keep her hands to herself, yknow? (That theme was one of the things that made me want to write this particular fic to begin with.) And gosh, how comfortable they both are here, in this humble, gentle space they've carved for themselves. It's incredible, seeing this scene like this.

Prince, we're so lucky to have you - thanks for all you do and for sharing your amazing work with us. I'm going to treasure this for a very long time <3

[ghostbsuter]

It was Halloween, they were in Central City for some candy pickings (if their fathers know, it's too late, they're here and absolutely getting that stomachache in the morning once they're done here.).

Jon— Superboy had Robin in his grip, flying from apartment complex to houses, one ear out for flash, incase the hero accidentally stumbles upon them.

(He's doing some extra patrol, it was Halloween after all.)

It was spooky day and when they finally rest up on a roof, rummaged through their goods, did Robin and Superboy notice the glowing skull at the bottom.

It looked like it could be from gotham, honestly. It was creepy, dirty and Jon has it in his hands, studying and playing with curious spark in his eyes.

"Put that down superboy—! That's clearly cursed!" Robin warns, trying to take the skull, yet the other dances from reach.

"If I rub it 3 times, do you think I get 3 wishes?"

"Those are genies you're talking about, not skulls!"

Not waiting further nor listening, really, superboy rubs the skull 3 times and—

Nothing happens.

"Nothing. Will you pit the damn skull down now?"

Sighing, Superboy does so, until the skull starts glow.

And glowing it is, a bright green, frost growing along the ground and it was beginning to eat the entire apartment if they didn't do anything!

As the cool mist grows, they step and tense as a figure approaches through.

"Congrats, no idea how but you guys found Pariah Darks former skull! So much less work for me now."

[matthewtkachuk]

bad at love

Breaking your brother's only unspoken rule—don't date his teammates—has never been an issue in your adult life. Until now.

pairing: jt compher x reader

warnings: angstttt, smut, a minor car accident with mentions of injury (broken bone/concussion), and the usual (alcohol, swearing, etc. etc.)

word count: 4.9k

a/n: hiiiiii @comphy-and-cozy i'm your super secret fic exchange writer! sorry this is a day late and a dollar short. one of these days @wyattjohnston is going to perma-ban me from participating in exchanges. until that date she remains my ever loyal editor. mad thanks to @thomasschabot for reading it first and telling me they loved it even though they're contractually obligated to do so and for physically being there when the fic idea popped into my head <3

It’s not the first time you’ve shown up at your big brother’s house with a face full of tears and a couple bags full of all your worldly possessions. Despite your best efforts and well intentions—if you had to guess—it likely won’t be the last. 

It is the first time you’ve done so with him being a married man, and so it’s your sister-in-law whose comfort you really seek and are expecting to pop up behind the slowly opening door in front of you. 

Unfortunately for you, and for the poor soul you really don’t know that well, it’s not Kenzy who opens the door but the over-the-summer pick-up from Colorado. 

If it had been any of the other, more tenured of your brother's teammates, you might have been waved inside with nothing more than a sympathetic glance and an unspoken ‘again?’. 

Instead, JT’s look of utter confusion has quickly evolved into something more akin to a quiet rage, and you’re reminded that he is a big brother himself. The look is familiar to you, having inspired a similar one on Dylan’s face more times than you can count. 

It’s been a really fucking long day, and you don’t have the emotional bandwidth to have any sort of reckoning with some guy you barely know in your brothers drive way. 

JT’s in the middle of some sort of sentence that begins and also ends with “What—” as you none too gently push past him in order to finally gain entry to the house. 

The mix of sympathy and feigned disinterest that greets you on the faces of your brothers teammates who occupy the large sitting room has your stomach rolling uncomfortably. It seemed like the entirety of the Detroit Red Wings were always around to witness your spectacular failures. What must they think, watching you disappear with the next great love of your life, only to reappear once again with bags packed in a manner of months?

You could hazard a guess at what your brother thinks, the variants of ‘I told you so’ that live and die on his tongue without ever leaving his lips. He wraps you up in an infamous Larkin hug that serves to fix a tiny crack of your broken heart, and so you revel in it like you used to revel in the comfort when the pain you felt was because of falling off the monkey bars when you were a kid. 

But, he has a house full of hockey players to entertain and Kenzy has a glass of wine with your name on it. Dylan returns to the living room and you slide out to the back porch with your sister-in-law, briefly catching the eye of the one who let you in. You don’t see the telltale signs of judgment reflecting back at you, but maybe something else entirely. 

Outside you pour your soul alongside the Malbec. Curled up on the wicker chair under a blanket you tell Kenzy about Owen and the promises he failed to keep. She oohs and ahs at the appropriate times, commiserating without belittling you. 

By the end of the night your heart—and the bottle of wine—feels a little lighter. There’s a little less shame as you make yourself at home in the spare bedroom that might as well permanently be yours. 

Owen visits you in your sleep, breaking your heart again and again until his face morphs into one with a ginger beard and kind eyes. 

-

Those kind eyes become a fixture in your post breakup life. If he’s not hanging around your brother's house, he’s bumping into you at the local coffee shop you frequent when you’re in Detroit. If he’s at neither, he’s obviously at the games you attend in support of Dylan alongside Kenzy. 

At Dylan’s, you barely speak to his teammates and friends beyond simple pleasantries. At your coffee shop, it starts at small talk but grows to be considerable conversations that dip just below surface level. 

It’s at Little Caesars Arena where he really endears himself to you though. Warm ups are arguably your favorite part of the games you attend. You like to look out at the signs, from the heartwarming to the obscene—picking out your favorites and giggling about the latter with your sister in law. 

Dylan’s always been really good about tossing kids pucks, and his big bleeding heart only grew larger when he got the red C strapped to his chest. Some of the other guys, even some of the so-called vets are less good about it. 

JT’s just like Dylan, maybe even a little kinder hearted. He takes the time to read the signs that are meant for him, never turns down a trade for a puck and even gives a stick to a kid whose sign says he came all the way from Denver to watch him, his favorite player, play in Detroit. 

It warms your heart. 

So much so you don’t even notice you’re staring until Dylan’s slamming himself into the boards in front of you to startle his wife. She rolls her eyes and calls him a name not worth repeating while you try to pretend like you weren’t just fixated on his teammate. 

The thing is Dylan has never outright said his teammates are off limits. Not since you were a teenager making eyes at his USNTDP teammates anyway. 

The memory keeps you from looking JT’s way the rest of the warmups, but once the puck drops your eyes can’t help but wander. 

-

Wandering appears to be your specialty, considering you’ve gotten yourself lost in the underbelly of the arena. 

Your first mistake was leaving Ken’s side—she was your ferryman, guiding you down the River Styx, and without her, you were lost in Hell. 

Were you overdramatic? Maybe. Were you lost with no hope of getting out? Still overdramatic, but definitely a possibility. 

The walls begin to look the same, and you’re half worried you’ve accidentally fallen into a back room or something stupid when you stumble upon the one who caught your eye earlier. 

‘Stumble upon’ is a gracious way of saying you absolutely smack into him and fall on your ass. 

He hauls you up effortlessly with one hand and your skin burns beneath his grasp. 

“What are you doing?” you both say in near unison before he laughs. 

“I was getting my shoulder checked out, what are you doing all the way over here? Are you lost?”

Regardless of what he was doing, JT obviously has more of a reason to be found wandering the halls of the arena. And he’s right, you’re most definitely lost but you play it off like he’s crazy. 

“Me? Lost? No, I know exactly where we are,” you bluff. 

JT’s eyebrows raise and he nods slowly. “Which is…?”

Well, he’s called your bluff but he also gave you a key context clue. “Near the athletic trainer, obviously.” 

He laughs again and it has your cheeks feeling hot. 

“Okay fine, maybe I’m a little bit lost and maybe I was contemplating how I’d be trapped down here forever before you knocked me over.”

“I’m sorry, but you ran into me.” You roll your eyes and begin to argue, but he doesn’t let that happen. “Doesn’t matter, I can help you find your way out.”

You swoon dramatically, only half joking as you reply “My hero.”

Now that you’re no longer focused on navigating your way out of Pan’s Labyrinth, you’re free to focus on your close proximity to JT. Based on the way his eyes dart between meeting your own and staring at your lips, you assume he’s just as aware.

Is this not what you’ve been wanting since you knocked on Dylan’s door? But that’s part of the problem, and you’re sure JT is thinking the same. Not only is your brother his teammate—and you’ve always been off limits to your brother's teammates to your chagrin growing up—but he’s JT’s captain, too. There’s a million ways this thing could go wrong and blow up in both of your faces. 

You could get caught, and be forced to sit with Dyl’s disappointment. You could hurt the one person in your life who consistently showed up for you and loved you and cared for you. 

Not to mention you could risk it all for nothing—could crash and burn spectacularly as you were wont to do. Could fuck it all up with not only your brother, but JT too and be left with nothing. It wouldn’t be the first time you’d gone behind your brother’s back, but you had a sneaking suspicion things would be worse than they were when you were 15 to his 16. 

Ultimately you decide fuck it, because what’s life without a little risk?

Tentatively, you slide your hand over the rough beard covering his jaw. When he doesn’t flinch or move away from you, you lean in closer. 

He’s not pulling away, but he’s also not moving closer, letting you make the first move. 

It’s probably a terrible fucking idea, but you’ve never been accused of being someone who makes good decisions when it comes to romantic partners. 

The first press of your lips to his is cautious, barely a brushing of your mouths, just to get a taste. Quickly you become a woman obsessed. Unable to get enough, the kisses turn frenetic, bordering on sloppy. 

He reciprocates in kind, his mouth hot and heavy on yours while his hands grasp and pull and hold. His very essence consumes you, taking over all of your five senses and pulling noises from you that you didn’t know existed. 

If your arm burned from his grasp earlier, your entire body has caught fire. 

You’re unaware or probably more accurately uncaring of your public nature, despite your earlier hesitance. Now you just want more and more and more of JT, as much as he is willing to give and maybe even a little more. 

He seems to be on the same page, entire body wrapping around you and pulling you deeper and deeper. 

Unconsciously your hands begin to pull at the waistband of his pants and it’s then that the two of you finally separate. 

You’re worried you’re going to find regret in his eyes and excuses on his tongue, but he’s just looking at you intently. 

“Not like this,” he says. “Not here.”

“I don’t want to wait,” you protest, but he shushes you with his mouth. 

“It’ll be worth the wait.” 

And worth the wait it is. 

-

It's sexy at first. Clandestine meetings in dark hallways, sneaking in and out of JT’s apartment that’s on the same floor as Jake Walman’s, covert texts and quiet phone calls where you get off on the sound of each other's voices. 

It doesn’t take long for you to want more, though. To fantasize about not just what his calloused hands can do to your body, but what it would be like to hold one in your own while walking down the street. To show up at a home game and have everyone know you were there to support not only your brother, but JT too. 

It’s a fantasy that is only stoked by the comfort you feel walking around JT’s apartment in just his t-shirt with his number on the shoulder. By nights spent together at his dinner table, on his couch, in his bed. By sweet texts and stupid memes and random photos of things that made him think of you. 

You don’t dare speak your desires out loud though. For fear of JT not wanting the same thing or for fear that he would, you’re not quite sure. 

It’s a tough situation to be in. One where you’re worried you're heading to a fork in the road that has JT on one side and your brother on the other. 

You have no delusions about the two paths eventually forging back together again, know that you’ve come dangerously close to that intersection marked with a big fat caution sign. 

Probably you should speak to JT, get on the same page about where you’ve been and where you’re going. Following that, assuming he secretly yearns for the same thing you do, you should probably then come clean to Dylan. 

Probably you should do a lot of things, but unfortunately what is done in the dark always comes to the light and sometimes it happens quicker than you can make your mind up. 

-

A road win presumably has JT in a good mood. He’s texted you letting you know he’ll be home before midnight, requesting your presence in his bed. 

It’s an easy yes, considering you’re already in the aforementioned bed. It’s nice to get out of Dylan’s house, of the suffocating feeling that you’re intruding in someone else’s home, on someone else’s life. 

There’s really nothing particularly sexy about the way he finds you, but his eyes darken upon finding you curled up in his bed just the same. You’re not attempting to recreate a sexy pose from a boudoir photo shoot, and one of JT’s shirts and a pair of boy shorts aren’t exactly fancy lingerie. 

That doesn’t stop him from dropping his bag dramatically and stripping from his dress shirt and pants. 

“Awfully presumptuous,” you say as if the very fact that you’re in his bed in not much more clothing than he is. 

He shrugs, “Not presuming anything. I’m fine if you just want to sleep, but I’m sure as shit not going to sleep in those dress pants. Bad enough I had to sit through a plane ride like that.”

His tone is teasing, but the implication that he would be just as fine falling asleep beside you as anything else pretty well takes all the fight out of you. 

“C’mere,” you say instead of a catchy comeback, lifting the covers and inviting him into his own bed. 

He wastes no time sliding in beside you and curling up around your body. “Hi.”

You snort and hide your face in his neck. “Corny.”

“I’ll show you corny,” he says, but you shush him by pulling his face closer to yours until your lips brush. 

“Thought I was presumptuous,” he says upon breaking the kiss. 

You roll your eyes—“Shut up.”—and kiss him again. 

He doesn’t manage to keep his mouth shut, but at least this time it’s to slip his tongue into your mouth. 

The temperature of the room rapidly increases—between the weight of his body covering your own and your body’s reaction to his fervid kiss, you feel the need to lose at least one item of clothing. 

“I need—“

Luckily he quickly understands what you’re trying to accomplish by pulling at the hem of your shirt, lifting off of you long enough to assist in removing it from your body. 

He makes a noise of appreciation at the bare skin revealed to him before diving back into your lips, this time with one hand cupping your right breast. 

Appreciative noises of your own build in your throat when that hand slides down your body to dip into your underwear. It’s teasing touches at first, until you reciprocate by cupping him through his boxer-briefs. 

Finally you both shed that last remaining layer, uncaring of where they end up in the bedroom. There’s a brief pause while he rolls on a condom and then he’s entering your body like it was made for him and him alone. 

There’s no rush about his pace, just gentle thrusts and soft moans and sweet praises. 

Sex with JT is so good, better than with anyone else you’ve ever been with. He’s the very opposite of a lazy, selfish lover. It’s like your needs and your pleasure come first, and you certainly do too. 

The positioning of your bodies is so intimate, bodies close, mouths slotted over each other with intermingling breaths. 

You worry you’re getting too caught up in that intimacy, possibly running in a direction not quite warranted and so you seek to depersonalize it a touch. 

“Let me,” you say softly while gently pressing a hand against his shoulder, indicating you want him to lay on his back. He moves willingly, even helping you climb atop him. 

It feels just as good with you on top, and the bit of distance between your upper halves means you can breathe a bit better. 

It’s easy to get lost in the feeling, to tilt your head back and focus on your movements and the feel of his bruising grip on your hips. 

Feeling the pressure build in your stomach, you slide a hand down your abdomen to where your bodies meet while the other grasps your breast just for something to hold on to. The added friction to your clit is pulling you closer and closer as you move on top of him. 

He’s staring up at you with lust filled eyes, mouth open in a mix of awe and pleasure. A look of almost disbelief on his face. His hands are still on your hips, now helping the movement of your body on his when your body lights up like the fourth of July with your orgasm. 

It’s hard to keep moving while in the throes of pleasure, but it’s like JT can read your mind, gripping your hips and thrusting up into you until he finishes too. 

Your whole body tingles as you collapse on top of him, relishing in the feel of his arms wrapping around your body. Leisurely you kiss for a minute, until your heart rate returns to normal and you feel like you’re not likely to fall over when going to the bathroom to clean up. 

When you return, you’ve slipped on one of his shirts once again. There's a soft look on his face as you crawl into bed beside him. It only cracks when you quietly whisper, “should we order pizza?”

“I think you’re the girl of my dreams,” he laughs. 

The room is quiet, filled with only the sounds of your breathing and occasional kissing as you wait for the delivery. 

Finally the doorbell rings. “I got it,” you tell JT and pull on a pair of discarded sweatpants before pulling the drawstring so they don’t fall. 

You don’t bother to check the peephole, certain it’s your food which turns out to be a giant mistake. 

Not only is it not your pizza, it’s also the last person you want to catch you with sex hair in oversized clothing that obviously belongs to the guy you’ve just had sex with. 

Dylan’s mouth has dropped so far down it would be comical if it wasn’t also horrifying. 

“Dylan I–” you start to explain yourself but pause midway through. How could you even begin to explain?

“I can’t believe this.” He shakes his head, hands curling at his side. “Actually no, I can’t believe this from JT, I can definitely believe this from you.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” you snap. 

Your brother laughs sardonically, “Well you’re not exactly known for making the right decisions when it comes to relationships.”

JT exits his room, no doubt lured by the loud voices and the lack of food. “Hey man, come on, let's talk about this like adults.”

“Like adults?” Dylan is incensed in a way you’ve never seen before. “Now you want to talk about things like adults? The time to talk was before you started sleeping with my sister behind my back.”

“I’m sorry you found out like this–” JT continues to try to defend himself, defend you while you stand there speechless. 

Dylan interrupts, “Sorry I found out or sorry you got caught?”

JT goes to respond but Dylan cuts him off again. “I trusted you dude. I told you she was off limits, and not only did you ignore me, you went behind my back.” He then turns to you. “And you? My teammate? Seriously? You couldn’t have chosen literally any other douchebag to treat you wrong?”

That snaps you out of your stupor. “JT doesn’t treat me bad!”

A different kind of look crosses your older brother's face then. “Well when he does, don’t come running back to my house and crying to me.” 

Dylan slams the door and you sit in the quiet of the room for a minute with your ears ringing. 

The reality of the situation hits you. 

“I can’t stay there, God not only am I a fuck up but I’m homeless too.”

“You can always stay here,” JT offers and it really bothers you that you can’t tell if he wants you to, or if he’s just offering because of his hand in the most recent blow up of your life. 

“I’m pretty sure his baby sister shacking up with his teammate he doesn’t want her with isn’t exactly going to win me any favors with Dyl,” you reply. 

“Well I’m pretty sure he’d rather you be here than living on the street.”

Ordinarily you think that would probably be true but the look on his face when you opened JT’s door is seared into your mind. “I wouldn’t be so sure.”

-

In the end you do move your things into JT’s apartment. Kenzy is the accomplice to your crime, helping you pack your things while the team has practice, wrapping you in her arms and telling you that he just needs some time. 

“He loves you,” she says. 

You’re not so sure. 

That’s probably overdramatic. You’re sure he loves you, and you sure hope he forgives you. You’re just worried that this time you’ve both done and said things you can’t take back and you’re not sure how things will move forward from here. 

It’s not all bad though. 

Living with JT is surprisingly easy, even right one might say. You fit directly into each other's lives like perfect puzzle pieces. His strict routines of practices and morning skates and games—both home and away—allow you the space to complete your own work on your own time. Cooking pregame meals together and curling up beside him when he takes his pregame naps quickly become some of your favorite activities. 

You dance around the feelings talk, never quite broaching the subject. But it can’t feel this right if it’s all one sided, all in your head, right?

He’s even kind enough to let you drive his SUV even though the price tag makes you nervous every time you’re behind the wheel. You’re not a bad driver, as evidenced by the fact JT lets you drive the Audi, but you are possibly on this side of over cautious as a result of a bad car accident in high school. 

Three home games after your fight with Dylan and approximately zero words or text messages exchanged between the two of you, you find yourself in the passenger seat. 

“I could have taken the bus,” you protest weakly, almost knowing exactly what JT’s response will be. 

“Over my dead body,” he laughs, eyes flickering over to you before focusing on the traffic in front of him. “Just pick me up after practice or text me if you’re still out and I’ll find a ride.” 

“I’m not gonna leave you stranded at the arena, of course I’ll be there after you’re done.” 

It’s oddly domestic, kissing JT across the console and then sliding into the driver’s seat that he vacates. You wait as he grabs his gear and walks away, you do really love watching him walk away. 

The moment is cut short by catching a glimpse of your brother's vehicle. He’s not in it, obviously already inside the arena, but the sight of it makes your stomach clench all the same. 

Thoughts of Dylan and his disappointment and worry that he’ll never forgive you flood your mind the entire drive. So much so that when the next light turns green, you let off the gas without realizing that there is a larger SUV running the red. 

It all happens so fast. The screeching of tires, the crunching of metal, the pop of airbags going off and then a blinding pain in your wrist. 

In the end, you’re pushed into the wrong lane of traffic, the other vehicle damn near in the passenger seat you occupied only fifteen minutes ago. There’s a distinct ringing in your ears and you offhandedly wonder if this is what it feels like to get boarded. 

“Are you okay? I’m calling 911.” The words sound like they’re underwater, and it takes you several seconds to realize they’re being spoken to you. Turning your head to the side, you try to get the words out to say you’re fine, but you’re blocked by the airbag that has gone off near your head. 

Emergency services come quickly, a perk of living in Detroit you suppose. Embarrassingly, it takes the jaws of life to peel off the driver's side door to get you out. A cop takes your statement and then you end up in the back of an ambulance. Despite your assurances that you’re fine, one raised eyebrow from the female paramedic and the idea that you’ve probably broken your wrist has you agreeing to the ER visit. 

It’s then that someone asks you if there’s anyone you want to call. Heartbreakingly, your first thought is Dylan and your second thought is you’re not sure he’ll pick up. 

Your third thought is JT and his SUV that you’ve probably totaled. 

One of the paramedics helps you dial the equipment manager’s number, the one you were instructed to only ever use in case of emergencies. If ever there was a reason…

When he picks up the phone, you have to explain that you’ve gotten into a tiny fender bender and if you could please speak with JT and yes I mean JT not Dylan. 

“Are you okay?” JT all but demands when he picks up the phone. 

“I’m totally fine,” you fib, and then concede based on that same female paramedic once again raising an eyebrow. “Okay so I might have broken my wrist but–”

“Which hospital are you going to?” he interrupts. 

You tell him, but try to say, “It’s okay you don’t have to–”

He interrupts again, “I’ll be right there.”

He hangs up quicker than you can ask how he’s going to get there without the car that you’ve wrecked. 

True to his word, he’s sitting on a chair in your hospital room when you return from getting an x-ray. He stands abruptly upon your entrance and takes the three strides to stand in front of you before hesitating, like you’re made of glass. 

You take matters into your own hands and slide your good arm around his back, careful to not jostle your injured wrist. There's a slight tremor to his body that you feel run through yours. 

“I’m okay,” you say comfortingly, rubbing your good hand along his back before pausing. “Your car though….”

The tears are already starting to pool in your waterline as he pulls back. 

His hands slide to cup your jaw as he speaks seriously, “I don’t give a damn about the car. It can be replaced, you can’t.” A tear slips out before you can stop it and he brushes it away with his thumb before kissing you softly. “I care about you. So much. And that phone call scared the shit out of me.”

Despite the less than stellar background and circumstances, his words have your heart leaping in your chest. “I really care about you too,” you whisper and kiss him again. 

“Where is she?” you hear coming down the hall and it occurs to you that your brother is still your emergency contact. 

“Did you tell him?” you ask JT who promptly shakes his head. 

You don’t even have time to step back from JT’s embrace before Dylan comes crashing into the room. JT wisely pulls away and gives Dylan the space to place his hands on your shoulders and scan for any signs of injury. 

“I’m okay,” you reassure him but the words feel hollow considering they’re the first you’ve said to him in more than a week. “Broken wrist they’re gonna cast and probably a concussion. Can’t say the same for the car.”

Eerily similar to JT, Dylan replies, “Cars can be replaced–”

“But I can’t,” you say in unison with him. “I know, JT said the same thing.” 

It’s like Dylan remembers his teammate then, eyes sliding over to where JT stands and then back down to your slowly purpling wrist. 

The room is silent except for the sounds of medical equipment and the faint sounds occurring outside the door. 

“I’m sorry,” you say in unison with your brother again. 

“No, I'm sorry,” he says first. “I’m your big brother and I’ve seen you get your heart broken too many times. I’m always going to worry about you but I was out of line.”

“I’m sorry we went behind your backs and I’m sorry you found out that way. We should have just talked to you, I should have just talked to you.” 

“Truce?” he asks, like you’re 10 and 11 again, fighting over something silly and trivial. 

“Truce,” you confirm, hissing when you knock your broken wrist as you pull him in for a hug. 

Later, when you’ve gotten over the guilt of totaling JT’s barely used Audi and the cast on your wrist is long gone,  it’ll be a fun story to tell at parties. About how it took an idiot running a red light for you to define your relationship with JT and to reconcile with your brother. 

[ambient-arena]

what if the narrative wasn't so horrifically fond of gideon. what if instead of the lobotomy harrow just straight up tore herself apart trying to pry gideons soul away from hers. what if she resorted to the same violent, animal desperation john did when trying to consume the earth but instead of trying to destroy she was trying to recover. what if harrow in an unimaginable fit of despair forced her entire soul and necromantic capabilities to their intense limits but it doing so inadvertently rendered the task she was trying to complete impossible. like trying so so hard to use necromancy to give gideon's soul back that she accidentally ended up cementing its place inside her as an eternal furnace even more. and then what if she just lived like that with gideons soul and memory inside her and it was terrible and everlasting. yeah what if also my brain is rotting out of my skull

[its-alittleobsessed]

Hobbies include: drawing a scale accurate floor plan of the house Dean winchester will move into in my new fanfic

[bluewatersfairy]

daydreamin' - j.t.

a/n: I started writing this at the beginning of the '22-'23 season and have been meaning to do something with it for literally 2 years. Hope you enjoy lmao!

synopsis: reader gets a little too lost in her head whilst on set with Jayson

warnings: mature content, MINORS DNI! small mentions of oral sex (female receiving), unprotected sex, exhibitionist kink mentioned/depicted, slight degrading/name calling (literally once if you squint), filth but like in a fun way.

word count: 5.3k (imagine if i could just shut the fuck up)

•••

Time felt slowed and your eyelids were droopy, despite the clock behind you reading 11am.  An early call time mixed with a red-eye meant that there wasn’t much time to rest horizontally, or at all.  Some things were worth the sacrifice for though.  He was most definitely one of those things.

When the story first landed on your desk, you almost couldn’t believe it.  The Celtics had been playing on your television for as long as you could remember.  You’d grown up watching every draft and noting down each new player that joined the roster.  You were always in to support the new up-and-comers as a child and in your professional life.  

You’d written and pitched a few stories about the young core over recent years but nothing had ever been picked up for a full length piece.  The best you got was a short piece for one special edition that highlighted the great women that stood behind the biggest sportsmen in sports today.  The NBA section was one of the smallest word counts you’d been given, but you did the best you could.

A full length piece like this being handed to you, a cover story no less, made little sense to you.  You weren’t going to turn it down, but it took you a few minutes to process what was being asked of you.  Truthfully, it hadn’t properly sunk in until you were on the plane, flying cross-country for a 48-hour stay.  A full cover story on someone with all eyes on him meant that it was going to be the biggest opportunity of your career.  Not only was it a big deal for him, it was for you too.  You were not going to let yourself waste it by getting lost in him. 

Even as the sirens wailed, trying to pull you back to reality, your eyes couldn’t pull away from Jayson.  Like magnets, his hands forced you to scan over his chest with his next pose.  The fake sweat that had been sprayed over him caught the light as the photographer wanted and your heart almost stopped.  You didn’t understand why this story meant he had to pose for thirst-trap-like pictures in his Celtic uniform.  Did the universe have something against you?

Someone called your name from behind you and snapped you out of your daydream.  They were clearly impatient, the sound of a clicking pen matching with the click of dress shoes on concrete floors.  With your attention turned back to the little prep work you had left to complete, you did a final once over of the questions you’d prepared for Jayson.  His agent was watching every move you made and when you finally handed them the sheet, they marched off calling a hurried ‘thank you’ to you.  

You took a deep breath for the 100th time and looked over your recorder again.  Full battery?  Yes.  Storage status?  Completely empty.  Vocal tests?  All three completed.  It was fine, perfect even; ready to go whenever Jayson was.  Your anxiety, however, was making it difficult for you to be ready.  In a quiet tone, you started to count to ten, reaching for a cracker as you did.  You needed to nibble on something that wouldn’t come straight back up.  Looking at your hand holding the cracker, you noticed just how obviously your now jumpy nature was.  Your nerves were starting to present to others; this is not good, you thought to yourself, just fake it, smile and push through.  You needed water, a lot of it.  Was your throat always this dry?

“They want me to wear a tie,” Jayson’s voice cut through your thoughts, forcing you to turn around a little too quickly.  His deep and raspy tone had caught you off guard.  Your body’s immediate response was to send spirals to the pit of your stomach and float to your chest with impeccable speed.

“If you’d rather not, I don’t think it’s necessary?”  you replied, your uncertainty and want to please him clear as day. 

“Nah,” he shook his head and flashed his charming smile at you, “they’ve got a vision, I’ll stick to it.”

He had changed into his formal look for the shoot.  It was a classic black Dior suit with a white button up.  It was tailored to his figure beautifully and gave him a really classically handsome look.  It was the lining of the suit jacket that made it special as well as the socks he wore.  Custom-made with embellishments of his home city and his mother and sons’ names stitched over his heart.  He looked incredibly dapper and handsome, clean and perfect.  

You swallowed and let your eyes fall to his hands as he showed you the three ties he’d been given.  They were all quite simple and classic, but you were immediately drawn to the Dior silk black ribbon tie with a bee embellishment

“Which one do you think?” Jayson held all three of them up to his chest and posed for you.  He let out something of a chuckle, his eyes focusing on you as he scrunched his nose.  He was absolutely adorable, and he was starting to make you melt.

You gently tapped on the tie you thought was best and expected him to step away and give you a second to breathe.  Instead, he reached behind you to put the unchosen ties down before putting the one you had selected over his shoulder. 

“Here,” Jayson said, starting to tweak his collar, “could you, y’know?”

You nodded your head quickly and took the tie from him, your fingertips lingering against his warm skin for a second too long.

“They’ve got a stool here somewhere,” you said more to yourself than him as your eyes scanned the room.  You spotted it and brought it over to him, hoping it would help close the height difference.

Jayson’s gaze stayed on your face from the moment you lifted the tie from his hand until the moment you stepped off of the stool.  It was intense.  It didn’t help the way he smirked when you fiddled with the tie.  Or the way he tugged on his bottom lip to stop himself from laughing.  You almost told him to stop, not that you were actually sure what it was that you wanted him to stop doing.  If anything, you were the one that needed to stop. 

It took almost every part of you to stop the image of you wrapping the tie around his wrists instead of the collar of his dress shirt.  Like dominos, the scene that unfolded couldn’t be stopped, so you’d just have to push it down and ignore it.

Ignore the way he’d look, completely naked with his wingspan stretched out to either side of your bed.  The cool black silk ties secured his big hands against the wooden headboard.  He didn’t struggle against the ties, all he did was wriggle his wrists to see how much he could do.  It wasn’t a lot, he could tell this wasn’t your first time. 

His head turned away from his wrists to find you standing at the foot of the bed, only in an emerald green two-piece lingerie set.  It complimented your deep brown skin devilishly well, Jayson couldn’t look away.  He let out a deep, throaty groan as he watched you slip your thumbs under the hem of your panties and began to pull them down your hips.

“You’re so good to me,” he part moaned, “look at you baby, I can’t say nothin’.”

His entire body flexed as you knelt on the bed only in your bra.  You licked your lips and watched his girthy cock move with the rest of his muscles.  You were so tempted to crawl up his body, and stop with your mouth hovering dangerously close to his dick.  Teasingly, you’d kiss the tip and gently caress the shaft.  Your mouth watered at the thought.  You knew yourself well enough that you wouldn’t stop with a little teasing.  You’d end up taking the whole thing in your mouth, making a mess of your lipstick and your mascara as your eyes watered.  

To compromise, when your mouth hovered over his cock, you gripped the shaft with your left hand.  Jayson’s response was similar to one of pain or a burn – a gasp of surprise that expressed both pleasure and discomfort.  It made you giggle and you wondered if he had ever been like this with anyone else.  

“Fuck,” he dragged out as he watched your spit fall from your plump lips to his tip.  

You rubbed your thumb over the head and dragged the saliva down his shaft, pumping him so you could hear him sing out in pleasure.  He threw his head back and looked up for the first time that night.  He was met with the surprise of a lifetime.  You had had a mirror on the ceiling installed, and he now had two of the best views possible. 

“You could be a professional,” Jayson said as he looked over himself in the mirror.  “I’ve never been able to get my ties just right.”

“I’ll add that to my resume,” you smiled at him and carefully stepped down from the stool.  “Great sports journalist, even better tie-tyer.”

“You could pimp yourself out to fashion houses and modelling agencies,” he laughed, “you’d get an inside scope of what goes on behind the scenes as well.”

“That’s not half bad, actually.”  You shared a moment of laughter, and another of silence and gazing at each other before you were brought back to the real world by the photographer.  

Jayson went back to posing, though now it was less structured.  They were getting shots of him smiling and showing off the inside lining of his jacket, as well as a few of him holding his shoes.  You took a seat and let yourself go over your notes, though you were still distracted by him.  You weren’t sure if it was that he was a natural in front of the camera or simply that he was very handsome, but every time you looked up, he looked beyond good.  You were constantly reminded of just how fine he was and it was so overwhelming.  

He oozed that type of physical attraction that you felt deep in your uterus.  Your whole body just wanted him everywhere and there wasn’t much to stop it.  His quiet manner was no help either.  As a journalist, you were always digging for a bigger story and you wanted to just get into his mind and learn as much about him as possible.  He was easy to talk to, and you found that a connection between the interviewer and interviewee was what made a great piece.  

You needed this to be the best story of your career, an opportunity like this had the possibility of elevating your life and opening countless doors.  Hopefully, you’d finally get that job offer that would bring you to the east coast, the one you’d been looking for for close to a year.  

Your name being called from across the room pulls your gaze away from Jayson and you began to make your way over to what looked to be a team meeting.  There wasn’t much for you to say or do, except listen and nod when appropriate.  Jayson’s team was taking the lead of a majority of this shoot as he had a few other things he had to fit into his day.  You knew going in that the interview portion would come at the end, that you were really only there to get a feel of the vibe and find your footing with him.  

“I’ve gone over your questions,” Jayson’s agent turned to face you, “they’re good, nothing I can tell he won’t answer.  He seems to like you as well so he should give you more than you need for this to be an excellent cover story.” 

You nodded your head, agreeing, to show you were listening and noticed their gaze had gone back to Jayson.  When you turned to follow it, you found Jayson was looking directly at you.  He wasn’t being subtle about it either.  When your eyes found his, he smiled his stunning smile and the camera flashed.

“I might need you to cover him more often if you can get him to smile like that,” his agent commented, “he’s like a child sometimes when he smiles for the camera.”  Without another word, they’d walked away and you were standing alone again.  

You could sense that things were starting to move a bit quicker.  His team seemed to be prepping more and you caught bits and pieces of the requests and questions being thrown around amongst them.  Someone was sent off to get coffee, someone else was sent outside to make sure the balcony was accessible, comfortable and private.  You had assumed you would interview Jayson inside but it seemed everyone else had a different idea in mind.  

It was Jayson who approached you first to invite you out there to get started.  In your past experiences of interviewing professional and famous athletes, this wasn’t a norm.  Usually you were sent to the preferred interview spot to wait for the interviewee and they certainly weren’t the people to direct you there either.  But this was Jayson.  This is the narrative he’d created for himself, a polite, respectable young man.  

He walked two steps behind you, now in a pair of grey sweats and a black Jaylen Brown graphic tee.  He was more relaxed now and in turn, you felt a little more at ease.  If he was still in his Dior suit, it would’ve been a different story, you would’ve felt under-dressed in your business-casual outfit.  

“It’s beautiful out here,” Jayson said as you both stepped out, his hand reaching to the small of your back to guide you around the table and chairs to see the view properly.

“It is,” you breathed out as you placed your hands on the balcony rail.  You felt like you could see forever from right there, like you were at the top of the world.

“It’s so much better at night, when all the city lights are on.  You really feel like you’re on top of the world,” he paused as he placed his hand next to yours, “it’s romantic too.  All the lights in the dark, you’re just a world away from everyone else.  No one can see or hear you up here, it’s comfortable.”  you watched closely as his hand moved to rest on top of yours. 

You tried to imagine it, what it would feel like to be this far removed from everyone, just you and him.  The small of your back seemed to burn as you tried to remember what it felt like to have his hand there.  What would it feel like if there was no material in the way, and he was pushing you forward, making your back arch?

Pitch black surrounding you and just the sparkling lights of the city far below you.  You can barely hear the cars driving by, just the soft breeze brushing past your ears and the melodic rhythm and harmonious sounds of your grunts and moans mixing together.  You’d felt far too exposed when Jayson had first started to undress you but his mouth had quickly erased all your worries and insecurities from your mind.  He covered you in kisses before he reached your core.  He’d turned you around so fast, you’d barely had a moment to catch yourself on the balcony before he’d buried his face in your pussy, his tongue lapping at your folds and only breaking to nip at your inner thighs and round ass. 

The second you’d got him naked after he’d chivalrously made you cum twice, his body was immediately pushed up against yours.  Your hands were hot on his body, grabbing at his waist and hips while your lips fought against his own.

“You’re eager,” he teased as he broke away from your lips, grinning as he dropped his head to your clavicle, “‘bit of a change from before.”

“I think it’s more than you’re an exhibitionist and I think logically about how sex with us works.”  Jayson stood up straight at your rebuttal so he could look down at you properly. 

“Exhibitionists like to be seen and heard, look around princess,” he smirked as he spun you back so your ass was pressed to his front again, “no one can see or hear us up here.”

Jayson, truthfully, was exhilarated by the freedom that came with fucking outside and it became very obvious to you, very quickly.  He was louder than usual, but he was making you that much louder too.  His voice was rough as he told you to let him hear you, telling you to say his name louder and louder.  He wanted you to praise him unashamed and let everyone know exactly who was making you cum at that very moment.  

He also wanted someone to see how good you were for him, he was basically begging to see a flash in a window somewhere.  Jayson Tatum and his beautiful mystery whore, oh he could see it in white writing as he pulled out and sprayed his load on your back.  

“Do you want a napkin?”  Jayson asked as he got comfortable in the chair across from you.  

One of the people from his team had brought out their coffees and had given Jayson a handful of napkins.  You made a note in your mind that it was likely because he asks for extra when he had his son with him and it was just what his team did without thinking.  

You smiled and took one from him before crossing your legs and letting yourself relax into the chair a bit.  You mumbled a thanks as you slipped it under your tablet that was resting on your lap.  

You pressed the green button on your voice recorder and placed it on the table in front of you before asking Jayson if he was ready.  He nodded his head eagerly and rubbed his hands together.

“Where would you like to start?”  you smiled across at him and he returned the smile.

“In the middle, like all the good stories.” 

That was what you wanted to hear and you glanced at your notes, not that you needed to.  You knew exactly where you were going to start.

“In your relatively short career thus far, you’ve managed to accomplish many things other players spend their entire lives trying to reach, and many retire without touching the surface.  You’ve got gold medals, a signature shoe, multiple all-NBA placings and now a world championship, and that’s within the world of basketball.  If we stepped out, we could list so many more business endeavours.  We know you idolised Kobe and his own off-season adventures and his life outside the league went far beyond basketball.  What I want to know is what you want your future off-seasons to look like?  Do you have a desire to pursue something creative?”  

It was a long-winded question, but asking it made Jayson light up, this seemed to spark something that he was eager to share.  Starting in the middle was always the best when you had a good vibe with an interviewee.  You’d managed to create an emotional bond of sorts with Jayson already so you didn’t have to do the relationship-building-questions.  You could just ask something incredibly personal and trust that you would be given something you can easily build off of.  And that was exactly what Jayson gave you.

He begun by explaining that in the last two-years or so, he’d grown an interest in art and had started something of a collection.  “It’s not necessarily something to brag about compared to some of the collections I’ve been exposed to in the art-world, but it’s a start and I’m really proud of it.”

He was inspired too, he continued to explain.  He loved the portraits and landscapes he’d been exposed to and the realism of it all, but he was a story-lover above all things and it’s those type of paintings that draw him in.  

“You don’t always know straight away what you’re looking at, but when you read or hear the title of the painting, or a brief explanation about it, you start to see the painting as the story it is.”

“Would you ever consider picking up a brush and trying something yourself?”

“I think about it all the time,” he admitted with a tilt of his head, “but I wouldn’t want it to be for anyone but me, y’know?  Like them sex portraits and intimate art pieces that are created out of lust and love.  

“I’m lucky ‘cause my job is my passion, right?  I go to work and I train really hard and play even harder and while basketball is a creative process, it’s set in its ways.  I’m so attracted to the idea of doing something that’s physically and mentally freeing and I think that’s why I’m kinda obsessed with those types of paintings and why I wanna make them myself.”

He paused for a second, his eyes pulling away from yours for the first time since he’d started talking about it.  “Maybe,” he adds quickly, “I maybe want to make them myself.”  He laughed lightly and shook his head a little, definitely questioning a little bit why he’d said so much.

But it was good, it was what you wanted to hear from him.  It humanised him, showed more of his personality that he was so protective of.  It was an easy spot for you to jump from as well, you had a million things that you could ask from here and you sure as hell were gonna ask them.  You just had to avoid anything to do with sex and lust, because that was where you’d been stuck for the better half of the last 3 hours since you’d arrived at this shoot.

It was not helping you at all either, that Jayson was manspreading in his seat and you could definitely see his dickprint in his grey sweats.  It was unprofessional, of course, but you could not stop looking at it every few minutes.  And while he was talking about a sex portrait, you could’ve sworn you’d seen it react.  God help your mind and where it was running off to in that moment.

A locked door and a series of paints could be spread all around him and he could be instructing you what to do.  Promising you everything was safe and it was just an idea he had, and a massive canvas he’d found a little too easily.  

Or maybe it would start more innocently.  He’d wanted to try a live-model art class but it felt a little wrong for him, as a well known face and figure around Boston, to show up to a class to draw a naked woman.  So instead, he’d ask you to.  Sketching would turn to painting, or him trying to do something abstract.

“Can I see it?” you’d crossed your arm over your chest, holding your large breasts from spilling out as you walked to stand beside him.  He had this look of amusement on his face that you quickly shared.

What he’d painted and sketched maybe looked somewhat like you, if you focused on your body shape, but everything else was unclear.  You bit back a laugh and tried to wait for Jayson to say something regarding what he’d done.  

“I don’t think painting is my God given talent,” he mumbled quietly and before you could stop yourself, you started laughing.  Jayson turned to look at you and watched for a moment, before he very smoothly flicked paint over your arms and chest.  

“I didn’t say anything!” You squealed as he managed to throw a small amount of paint on you again.  There was this look on his face now that seemed so joyous yet dangerous, like he was plotting something that was no good.  

Your suspicious were confirmed when he started to pull off his own clothes and you realised that he was evening the playing field – this was now war.  Like teenagers, the two of you started running around the room throwing paint at one another and laughing with the highest amounts of joy you’d experienced in so long.  It was freeing and peaceful.  The type of thing, you realised, love songs and stories were made of.  

“God, I love you,” Jayson confessed as he grabbed you around the waist, his chest covered in the red and yellow paint that covered your hands, and you covered in the blue and green that covered his.  

“I love you,” you replied with a massive grin, your arms wrapping around him and you pressed your lips to his.  

“I have an idea,” Jayson smiled as rubbed your core over his dick.

“Are you ever not horny?” you asked, feeling just how much he’d started to feel in a very short amount of time.

“‘Could ask you the same thing?” he smirked before raising his eyebrows at you.  

It was the easiest transition from him holding you to the two of you on the floor, on top of a massive canvas he’d had laying there for the past few days.  You’re on top of him, hands pressed against the canvas as he switched between gripping your hips and your tits, while you rode his cock like a pro.  Your head was thrown back, the lube he’d drenched on his cock before you climbed on made everything feel so much better.  

“Roll your hips just like that baby,” he encouraged you with dark eyes, “you know how to do me right.”

You keep going on top of him until he tells you to stop.  You climbed off him and watched as he hit his cock roughly.  He didn’t want to cum yet, he wanted to do more, you could see it in his face.  You carefully lent forward, your hands leaving prints on the canvas and you gently kissed his lips.

“You okay?” he asked softly as he slipped his hand down your back.

“I’m okay, baby,” you smiled, “I’m just checking if you’re okay.”

“I’m okay,” he echoed and kissed you again, “I have an idea though.”

He sat up as he spoke and moved to be behind you.  He kissed your shoulders and your neck and moved you gently, but with a certain sense of control that made you that much hotter.  You on all fours had given him this idea of your body’s print on the canvas.  Your tits were covered in paint, as was the rest of your torso, it would be a sight to see.  One he needed to see.

He pushed your chest down and guided your ass up leaving your pretty pussy on full display for him.  He let a stream of spit drip onto your throbbing hole and pressed his thumb against it, rubbing and teasing you and making you moan loudly.  You pushed your hips back and wiggled your ass, trying to get him to slip inside you again.

“I want you face down and ass up till I fill that pussy up,” he ordered, his hand pushing you down even more so you were pressed fully into the canvas.

“Whatever you want Jay, just fuck me.”

When he slipped into you again, he filled you to the hilt and did nothing to hold himself back.  He fucked you into the canvas and watched with a devilish grin as you spread your hands out to try and grip on to something.  It left pretty marks over the canvas and made him think more and more about how your tit print is gonna look.

“Your tits are gonna look so good on here baby,” he moaned before smacking your ass, “almost as good as you fucking feel right now, oh fuck.”

You turned your head to the side and let your moans sing along with his.  He was so turned on that it was driving you crazy, you didn’t even know what it was but you needed it to happen more.

“Are you gonna cum?”

“Say that again?” you asked as you lowered your coffee mug from your lips, your cheeks red.

“Are you gonna come?” Jayson asked again, “to the ring ceremony?  I know you’ve covered me and Jaylen before, so it would make sense if they fly you out for it.”

You smiled and nodded your head, “I hope they do.  I’ll let them know you asked, might give them the push to do it.”  

“You can give them my number if you want, they can call and I’ll let them know that I personally want you there.”  He winked at you and made you blush yet again.  

You only had a few more questions left, you’d gotten a lot of content from Jayson in the past 30 minutes, you were really grateful for it.  You knew it would read well too and would most likely give you more opportunities for future cover stories.  You knew you could write this well.  You were determined to as well, not just for yourself but for Jayson too.  

You had one final question to ask and it made you smile, this was all very full circle considering you started with a middle-type question.

“Lastly, how are you?  How does it feel to be doing a cover story?”

He chuckled a little and rubbed his temple, “no matter how many I do, I always love doing them.  I forget how good it feels to be in front of the camera, honestly.  I feel real important and I really enjoy being the centre of attention.”  

You giggled a little at this comment and it makes him smile even more, “I really enjoyed talking to you too, I hope we can do this again sometime.”

“Hopefully when I’m in for the ring ceremony,” you replied and you both share a short laugh before you’re thanking him and officially ending your audio recording.

Wrapping things up is a much quicker process than getting everything set up.  Before you know it, you’ve shaken everyone on his team's hands and thanked them for having you.  The photographers have told you they’ll be in contact within the next few days and just like that you’re standing in the elevator and the doors are almost closed.

Almost closed before someone stuck their hand in and forced the doors open again.

“Sorry,” Jayson said and slid in quickly, and pushed the closed door button.  He moved to stand beside you and together, you watched the doors closed.

“I’ve been waiting to do this all day,” Jayson mumbled as he cupped your face in his hand and kissed you.  You welcomed his embrace and wrapped your arms around his waist.

“Hey baby,” you cooed, looking up at him.

“How long are you here for?” he asked, his hand not so subtly grabbing at your behind, “I’m not leaving your side for the rest of it.”

“30 hours,” you went on your tiptoes quickly and kissed the base of his neck, “I have a couple things I want to do.”

“Mm,” he hummed at the feeling of your lips still on his neck, “I’m so proud of you, this is such a big opportunity and you crushed all that shit.  Everyone was saying they’re so impressed with you.”  

“Do you wanna show me how proud you are?” you asked looking up at him, finally feeling like you can let out everything you’ve been feeling and thinking about.

“Oh,” Jayson said as he realised, “okay then, we gotta go.”

[laurenairay]

Red Sundress - JT Compher

Summary: a little red sundress goes a long way (to making JT admit his feelings).

Words: 1.8k

Warnings: some bad language, self-doubt, JT is a bit of an idiot

A/N: I’ve had this song in my head all afternoon, so now you get to suffer the consequences.

Title from Head over Heels, by Restless Road

~

I’m losin’ my head over heels in a red sundress, and them ruby red lips looking my way.

~

You knew you had his attention the moment you walked in.

It was the height of summer, a typical local barbecue with friends, and you’d been trying for weeks to get JT to make a move. You’d known him for a few years now, and he’d flirted shyly with you on and off in the time he was home from Denver and Detroit, but this summer felt different.

At least you thought it had. The fact that he was still acting shy and not making a move, despite all your blatant signals, was starting to make you doubt his intentions. With everyone else, JT seemed so confident, smiling away, laughing like nothing mattered. But with you, something was holding him back – and it was driving you crazy.

There was no way you were throwing yourself at the feet of an NHL player, no matter how sweet he was. That was level of desperation you were set in your mind not to sink to. If he wanted you, he was going to have to damn well say it to your face. Still, you thought you’d make a move of your own – wearing a new red sundress, floaty and sultry with a deep v-neck – to get some kind of reaction from him. And by the way his eyes had been locked on you since you joined your friends? It seemed to be working. Sort of.

“He still hasn’t made a move? When you’re wearing a dress like that?”

You shrugged at your friend Liz, smiling sadly where you were standing with her and your mutual friend Millie, beers in hand. Sure, JT was looking – but he hadn’t even approached you yet and it was frustrating you to no end. Not even a simple hello?

“Idiot boy, no wonder you’re straight up trying to kill him,” Millie mused.

“I have no idea what you mean,” you said innocently.

“Uh huh, and pigs can fly,” she snorted, “that’s the kind of dress that means trouble and you know it.”

Your innocent smile slid into a small smirk. That was the idea. “I’m tired of dancing around this maybe-maybe not thing JT’s been doing. It’s been weeks. I’m just giving him a little incentive to make up his mind.”

“By the way he’s drooling over you? I’d say it’s working,” Millie snickered.

And yet he’s all the way across the yard, not taking action,” you shrugged.

Liz frowned, glancing over her shoulder to look at him, before turning back to you with a sigh.

“Stupid boy doesn’t deserve you. If he doesn’t make a move today then I’m going to set you up with at least three people who will,” she said seriously.

As much as you hated the idea of giving up on JT, maybe Liz had a point. You looked damn good, and if JT wasn’t going to appreciate it, wasn’t going to do anything about it, then it was his loss. Right?

“Alright, deal,” you nodded.

Millie just whooped, giving you a high five, earning a fond eye roll from Liz. The thing about Millie was that she wasn’t quiet in the slightest, so her whoop gained a lot of heads turning your way – including JT’s. He smiled inquisitively, tilting his head slightly, but you just raised an eyebrow. Come and find out for yourself. He looked a little surprised at your response, but still didn’t move from the group he was standing with, making you huff and turn back to your friends. Maybe Liz was right – maybe you deserved better than this, doubting yourself over someone that made you question your self-worth. Maybe.

But damn it you weren’t still holding out hope.

~

JT watched you from across the backyard, feeling a pang in his chest as you turned away from him with a slight frown on your face. He knew he was being a coward right now – everyone knew, it wasn’t like he was being subtle – but there was just something about you in that red dress and wedge heels that had his mind whirling. The moment he’d met you all those years ago he’d been overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by your confidence, your mind, your beauty, your smile. His sisters, his friends, your friends had all told him to make a move before you moved on, but it just wasn’t that easy.

It was like the whole world stopped whenever you appeared. So casual, so cool, so unattainable. So unbelievably out of his league that it wasn’t even funny. And yet there you were, giving him the time of day that other guys could only dream of. JT always felt like an idiot trying to impress you, desperate to earn one of your sweet friendly smiles, to make you genuinely laugh, to keep your attention on him. He honestly didn’t know why you kept flirting back with him after all this time, didn’t know why you hadn’t moved your attention onto someone who wasn’t such a coward. Every gathering, every party, every hangout he told himself that this was the time, this was the day he was finally going to say how he felt – but every time he backed out at the last moment.

He knew what a good thing he could have with you – so why couldn’t he just take that chance?

It wasn’t until your friend Liz caught his eyes and tapped her watch that he felt a wash of dread run over him. Tick tock time is running out. He knew Liz well enough to know that she wasn’t messing around. This was his last chance. He had to stop chickening out.

But how?

~

The slowly growing disappointment that filled your body was slowly dampening your mood. Your plan hadn’t worked. You’d bought this dress specifically for him. You’d worn the high heels, matched the lipstick, curled your hair, all for him and yet JT hadn’t done anything. He hadn’t even come over to say hello. Was this it? After all the flirting, was this the end of it? If it was, what a hell of a way to go. Fuck.

“Anyone want a drink?” you asked to your small group, wiggling your empty bottle in the air.

After a chorus of no’s you headed inside to the kitchen, pulling a fresh beer out of a cooler with a sigh. One more drink and you were going to switch to water. One more. If only you could find a bottle opener.

“Need some help with that?”

You flinched in surprise, not realising you weren’t alone, but turned to face the familiar voice anyway. JT looked good. He always looked so good.

“Nice of you to finally speak to me. I was beginning to think I had cooties,” you said curtly, sarcasm harsher than you intended as you took the offered bottle opener from him.

He blushed heavily, rubbing the back of his neck like the awkward goose he was, giving you a slight flush of satisfaction. Good. He should feel bad for making you feel bad.

“You look good,” he eventually choked out.

“I know I do,” you said, raising an eyebrow as you passed the bottle opener back.

JT huffed out a laugh. “I’m sorry, okay? I should’ve said hi the moment you walked in, but my head’s been whirling with everything else I wanted to say.”

What?

Your face must’ve said everything your thoughts were echoing, because JT just laughed softly again.

“You mesmerise me. And I’ve been too much of a coward to tell you.”

Oh fuck.

“JT…” you breathed.

You mesmerised him? What the hell?

“I should’ve said something sooner. Should’ve stopped wasting so much time. But your red dress is killing me, babe. Am I too late?”

Babe?

Two could play at that game.

“Too late for what?” you challenged.

Because you needed to know what he really wanted. If it was just a quick fling because of this admittedly spectacular dress? Well, then you weren’t interested. By this point, you could admit to yourself, you’d fallen head over heels for JT Compher – so it was all or nothing.

JT smiled at your words, a look into his eyes that you hadn’t seen before ��� one that made you shiver. “Too late for you to take a chance on me. I want to take you out to dinner, sweep you off your feet. You like dahlias, right? I want to buy you bouquet after bouquet, each flower as perfect and beautiful as you. I want to hold your hand while we walk down the street, to kiss you good morning in my bed, to argue with you about your ridiculous reality tv opinions, to have you sitting in my lap making everyone jealous. I want to fly you out to Detroit every chance I get, have you cheering in the crowd at every home game. I want you, exactly as you are.”

Oh fuck.

JT bit his bottom lip to hide his smile, clearly pleased with whatever was showing on your face. But then his expression sobered a little, losing its flirting edge. “I understand if I’ve waited too long. You deserved better, everyone knows that. You deserved someone who was open and honest with you from the start, not someone who was too scared to take a chance on a beautiful girl. Because you are beautiful, babe, inside and out. I lose my mind every time I see you, and I know that I’m rambling like an idiot right now but I’m just sorry I haven’t had the courage before now. Give me a chance to make it up to you? I promise you I’ll be worth it.”

You felt your heart racing as his words sunk in. This was everything you’d been holding out for, the declarations like music to your ears. As much as your wanted to stay mad at him – not just for stringing you along but for making you doubt yourself – there was no way you could. No way in hell. The way he was being so sincere and vulnerable with your right now was giving you everything. He really wanted you. Why couldn’t he have said all of this weeks ago? Why had he drawn this out for years if he felt like this? Why had it taken him so long to admit how he felt?

“About time,” you breathed.

JT grinned sharply, your breath catching in your throat at the promise in his eyes. He looked hungry. “So what do you think?”

“I think you should kiss me,” was all you could murmur.

JT wasted no time in pressing you up against the kitchen counter and capturing your lips with his. With a soft moan you eagerly kissed him back, sliding your arms around his neck as his hands clutched desperately at your waist. So worth the wait.

~

Tagging a few people who might be interested: @typical-simplelove @fallinallincurls @callsign-denmark @wyattjohnston @comphy-and-cozy

@2manytabsopen @senditcolton @starshine-hockey-girl

[lennjamin-o7]

Scrolling through Mafia fics and seeing Mandatory Family Reunion and just...its a fucking fantastic fic! But it's 12am and I got work in the morning. That canNOT be my bedtime story.

[jtl07]

a college theater au that's been in the back of my mind and just gonna let free for shenanigans because why not

"Bea can do it!"

silence drops suddenly, swiftly, completely throughout the black box. Beatrice doesn't know if she's ever felt the theater be this still as she herself freezes, half-kneeling in the midst of the cables she was arranging, carefully not looking at neither Shannon -one of her oldest friends and the director and the one who can and will see everything on her face- nor at Ava -her best friend, her (supposedly not so, according to Shannon) secret crush- who plows forward with her trademark fervor and lack of grace.

"she’s been helping me with all my lines -"

"helping is a strong word," Bea mutters to herself.

"- and she already knows all the blocking-"

"because that's my job"

"and the audience is gonna love her even more than they love me. Shannon, think of how good it could be!"

Beatrice can feel Shannon wavering but final project or not, Beatrice has to protest. "Ava, i can’t possibly stage manage and act at the same time.”

"it's not impossible," Shannon says thoughtfully, "and it's just for one of the plays."

"we can all help out," Mary chimes in, not even looking up from her screen as she continues programming the lighting. the others are already nodding and smiling encouragingly and for once in her life, Beatrice wants to curse: this production for bringing together her most favorite and the most supportive of people; JC for being a kind-hearted son who'd dropped everything -including this production- to take care of his suddenly ill mother; and Ava for her logic and that pout and that look in her eyes -

breathe, her mind commands, and she does, sharply, deeply. goes over the facts: opening night is 2 weeks away; it's one play in a half-dozen collection of 1-act plays; the production is worth 40% of Shannon's final grade; no one else can help. in her mind, Beatrice tries to argue the last point - tries to suggest one of the other actors but she knows that both Camila and Lilith have their hands full with their roles for the other short plays; tries to suggest finding someone else but how could they possibly audition and rehearse with someone completely new in the time they have left?

then she makes a mistake, a classic one: she catches Ava's eye. finds in Ava's gaze hope and encouragement wrapped up in that warm regard that makes Beatrice do stupid things - like trying every ice cream store within a 10 mile radius of campus and having to deal with Ava's inevitable stomachache; like staying up until 2am watching Beatrice's favorite documentaries because had Ava insisted, because Ava'd said she was interested; like letting herself start to believe - that maybe, just maybe Ava could feel the same way too.

like saying: "fine." sighs for good measure "fine."

Ava cheers and Beatrice doesn't miss the relief that moves through everyone else -she ignores Shannon's swiftly hidden grin- then stands still when Ava bounds towards her and kisses her on the cheek.

"there's more where that came from," Ava giggles, waggling her eyebrows as she shimmies away and Beatrice freezes for a second time that day.

because she forgot.

the kiss.

fuck, Beatrice thinks - knows the only one she curse for this is herself.

[sharkneto]

hi!!!! I was rereading the shifting mirrors and holding it together since you finished joining together recently (it’s SO good, it’s so so SO good, your writing is always so well done and flows so well) and I had a couple questions. Sorry if this is weird - if you don’t want to answer them feel free to ignore this ask, I’m just curious!

1.) did you start writing joining together while you were still posting holding it together? a lot of the details I noticed in HIT were referenced in JT, and I was just kind of like ‘that’s a LOT of details to remember’ so I was wondering if you were working backwards !!

2.) have you ever thought about what happens at the end of HIT? do you think they would actually end up stopping the apocalypse, or would the commission try to come and correct them? I thought that was interesting - that the commission said they were done with five, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re done with the offshoot timeline ; if they hadn’t interfered prior, that would mean they were still on track for an apocalypse, right ? I like to speculate about this. with sheer strength of will I think that five would probably end up stopping it, mostly because he knows how to work through his rage rather than act on impulse again - and now he has the knowledge to try and connect the others so that viktor doesn’t feel so isolated.

3.) what was your favorite part of writing the story / what kept you motivated to keep it going ? I’ve started a couple chaptered fics, and then I get three or four chapters in and lose it completely.

I love, love, love the world youve created - I love the characters youve built and the personalities behind them. the dedication youve held on to to keep the series going is admirable; I can barely write 20k, much less hundreds of thousands of words. I was actually thinking of asking your permission to maybe write an offshoot of your offshoot (it might be the thing that gets me back into writing for tua) but idk if I’d have the imagination or creativity to make it nearly as compelling and fun as yours. Congratulations and great work on finishing it !! <333

this got long - feel free to ignore it if it’s overstepping or weird, lol !! I hope you’re doing well - have a great night, shark :)

Hey Toby! Glad you enjoyed it all so much and thanks for the kind words! It's a little surreal to have it done, JT has been a WIP almost as long as I've been into TUA.

I started writing JT before HIT. This whole series was supposed to be a Just For Me Fun Project while I rotted alone during the pandemic that I ended up sharing with permission from orsumfenix and encouragement from friends. I was a bit into JT, I think, when I started thinking about how fun it would be to get more siblings in here, and those musing became HIT. HIT got posted first because it had a lower barrier for entry, with more focus on the Hargreeves we know instead of OCs. So, because the stories were written more-or-less simultaneously, it was easy to reference one or set up something for the other. Working forwards and backwards, with the end of JT already written (in a rough draft) when I was writing HIT, so I knew where Rob, Sarah, and Number were coming off of at that point. (The tiny detail I'm most fond of is Allison in HIT noting that Number broke his nose at some point, and then in JT we get to see the stupid scenario in which he broke his nose.)

(rest under a readmore because I ramble)

I do have thoughts on what happens after HIT! More of a time jump, to Number's Apocalypse Week, and I've got words in a WIP started about that (and a few snips shared in my snip tag, although some I think I've changed some of the details, now). It goes... less smoothly than it should, for a guy who has (almost) all the details he needs. If motivation continues, I'll share that eventually. If it doesn't, I'll word-vomit an outline so at least people who are interested can know how it goes down. I don't see the Commission coming back - the people obsessed with Five are dead, and the organization is done with him. They don't have the resources to spare to keep going after him, so at least in Five and Number's timelines, they're out of the Commission's scope.

What kept me going was a combo of things. 2020-2022ish, I had a fuckton of time. I only worked three days a week because of covid protocols, I couldn't go anywhere because of covid, and I couldn't see anyone because of covid. I had four days a week to fill, and a lot of that time got filled with writing - all of HIT and the first draft of JT happened during this time, plus all the other fics I published throughout that time. What kept me going is that I was having a ton of fun writing and fun interacting with other people about my fics. Love, love, love talking about them (so never apologize for an ask like this, every fic writer is begging for an excuse to ramble like this). I liked thinking about the characters, thinking about Number doing mundane things I was doing made them more interesting, I liked thinking about Rob and Sarah's little romcom life, and I'm fascinated by Five's whole deal. My favorite part of writing these is Five (both versions of him) - thinking about him and how he'd react to x or y, how others react to him. I love that, at his core, he's kind of a loser. I love what an incredible vehicle for grief he is. He's a character of all time for me.

How to keep going, I don't have an easy answer for it. Some people outline, so they have the skeleton of what they're doing and where they're going. I'm not one of those people, I have an idea of the general shape and trajectory of the story and go from there, splitting up chapters as needed. I think it's important to not force it, or the writer's block gets worse and then you're stressed about writing instead of having fun with it, and that's no good - the point is to have fun. If you run out of steam, you run out of steam and you have to take a six-month hiatus until life calms down and you have words again (as a hypothetical example). Don't be afraid to poke at other ideas even if you have a giant fic unfinished. For having 25 fics on AO3, I have 35 other WIP files on my computer. Some of them have a couple hundred words, some have tens of thousands of words, some of them I'll come back to finish, some of them I won't. Such is life - some ideas have legs, others don't. I don't set out thinking "Oh this fic is going to be 50k words with 10 chapters". I just write until it feels done; sometimes that's 2k words, sometimes it's almost 200k words. The point I'm trying to make, here, is that we're all just fucking around having fun, and words flow easier when I'm remembering that and not stressing about being done or trying to finish for a self-imposed deadline. You've got it :)

Feel free to write in my little world! Would love to see what others are thinking about, what stuck with them. Just give me (and orsumfenix, if you use Number) a shoutout if you share it! And don't sell yourself short - I'm sure you've got great ideas and the chops to write them out. Don't compare yourself to me; you might write in a world I helped shape, but you've got your own voice and style to give it. I, for one (if you end up writing and sharing it), would love to hear your version of it all :)

[catboylister]

my favourite thing to do rn is add references to minecraft roleplay in fanfic for fandoms that are no way connected to minecraft at all. like what would you guys do if i jusy fucking—

'rowan you forget yourself' lister you forget where you stand next to me. you are in my shadow. act like it. perhaps its not a coincidence that every plan has failed under your guidance. you are nothing but a walking second place medal.

[oh-no-its-bird]

Staring in a mirror swinging a pendelumn back and forth in an attempt to hypnotize myself: "ooooo you wanna finish your WIP sooo badddd"

[bittersweet-skylines]

Steve has been dragged to another themed dance night at a random club in Indianapolis. It’s a long drive for one night of partying, but Robin loves going to them, regardless of the theme, and Steve doesn’t mind it if it means getting to drink and party with his best friend for a bit.

Tonight is themed around emo music, and it’s a lot of music he doesn’t know with the occasional one he does sprinkled in (who doesn’t know Sugar, We’re Going Down?), but with his minimal music taste that’s not a surprise.

Neither of them are dressed the part for the music, both taking emo to mean “all black” which seems to be the theme for everyone else as well.

Robin is somewhere on the dance floor and Steve is lingering by the bar with a drink in his hand. From the back of the room, he can take everything in.

The DJ stands on her platform at the front, hyping up the crowd as the guitar starts up for a song that gets everyone excited and then he’s greeted with the lead singer screaming something he can’t understand.

The crowd looks relatively tame, dancing in their small clusters of friends. He doesn’t know why he was expecting mosh pits or fist fights, but he isn’t complaining about it. Maybe it’s just because the music wasn’t live, or maybe it’s because half the crowd looks just as confused about the music as he is.

The point is, the crowd looks normal, which makes the small group of people hanging out by the wall all the more noticeable.

Four guys stand up against the wall of the dance floor, each with more wild hair than the last. All of them were cladded in leather with battle jackets and heavy jewelry. All of their silhouettes are sharp and heavy. Ironically, they seemed the most out of place.

They bob along with the music happily enough, and Steve of all people couldn’t judge, but they seemed just as lost as he is with the music.

Steve finds himself staring at one of them. He has long, curly hair and stands the tallest of them all. Somehow, his gaze finds Steve’s from across the room and suddenly he’s very grateful for the dim lighting to hide his flush of embarrassment.

Steve sneaks a second glance. The guy returns his attention to his friends and he gets to watch him for a few seconds this time.

He knows he shouldn’t be staring, but it’s impossible not to. He can’t explain it, but he’s just transfixed on this beautiful man across the room.

He looks away to try and find Robin in the crowd, but when he looks back, he’s gone.

Steve turns to head towards the dance floor again, ready to just shrug it off, when his gaze meets the mysterious person again. This time, he’s right in front of Steve, and he’s talking to him.

He can’t hear what comes out of his mouth, but he manages to read his lips in the dark.

“A little underdressed to be judging the crowd, don’t you think?”

Steve laughs awkwardly. He’s not wrong. Steve’s only wearing a black t shirt and a pair of jeans. Light washed jeans, at that, but at least Robin smudged some eyeliner around his eyes before they left.

“I was admiring, actually,” he replies. The other gives him a curious look and Steve just shrugs, a small smile on his face.

He must have said something to him, because the other is watching Steve expectantly, and instinctually he taps his ear and gives the disclaimer; “I can’t hear you.”

The other doesn’t repeat whatever he said. Instead he makes a gesture that implies going outside for a smoke, and after a beat, Steve decides to follow him.

Outside, the air is chilled and there’s nothing that remains of the music except the intense bass. They walk together a few feet down, and then the stranger leans against the wall and lights a cigarette before he hands the pack to Steve.

“So, admiring, huh?”

“I mean, when you look the way you do, it’s hard not to,” Steve says. It’s easier outside. He can hear him properly, as long as he keeps slightly to the right of the stranger. He lights his own cigarette and exhales the smoke away from the other.

“Sure you weren’t just staring at the one group that actually stood out?” he teases. Steve shakes his head.

“That would just be hypocritical.”

The conversation sky rockets from there. He learns that the other is in a band, and they ended up here because their drummer knows the DJ and had promised that it was “definitely their scene”. He assures Steve that he doesn’t mind the music, but it’s definitely not his scene. Steve mentions Robin and how she loves this specific club, and how he never knows the music but he doesn’t care that much anyways. The stranger is skeptical at Steve’s proclamation that music isn’t a very big deal, and they both laugh it off after he cracks another joke about it.

“Your gaze drifts a lot, you know. Maybe we should cut you off?” he teases. Steve flicks his gaze up from the other’s lips and smiles softly.

“Maybe I just like what I see,” he replies.

“Right. Yeah, just admiring my lips. No ulterior motives, huh?” For a second, Steve thinks that maybe he got it all wrong, but then the other steps in until there’s just a books length between them.

“What if there was?”

“You’d win,” the other says honestly. Steve smiles, the butterflies giddy in his stomach. He hesitates only for a moment before he leans in and kisses the stranger, soft but letting it linger until he pulls away.

“I should go find my friends,” he says as he pulls away. “And you should get inside. You’re going to freeze.”

Steve doesn’t want to. He could talk to this stranger for hours and it would still be intoxicating, but he’s already walking back towards the entrance, so Steve follows.

“I’ll come find you before the nights over, if you want. We’ll make plans to take you to a real party sometime,” he offers right before they part at the doors. Steve nods, because of course he wants to find him again, and then he’s off.

Only, he doesn’t find him again. Steve finds Robin and dances with her, and enjoys the night with his friend. For a while he can spot his stranger in the crowd with ease, but then it gets harder until Steve can only assume he’s just gone.

It’s not the first time this has happened, but for some reason, this time leaves him with a pang of regret.

He didn’t even get his name.

[bluewatersfairy]

nba masterlist

r = requested, f = fluff, a = angst, s = smut, * = newest

more than enough - jayson tatum (s)

daydreamin' - jayson tatum (s) *

could've been - jordan poole (s)

distraction - jordan poole (s)

homebody - lamelo ball (r, s)

more coming soon <3

[senditcolton]

I Want to be The Difference

Random “I love you’s” just in case they forgot. Before you leave for work. Every time they come home. While cooking. While sitting on the couch watching TV. Anytime.

part of my Valentine's Day prompts requested by @comphy-and-cozy | word count: 0.8k | warnings: none! could be read as a sequel to this blurb

It shouldn’t be shocking but if you were speaking honestly, it took you by complete surprise how seamlessly you and JT had managed to make the transition from best friends to something more. It was amazing how easy it was to be with him; your days felt the same but they were filled with more. More romantic gestures, more loving words, more sensual touches, more actions that made it clear you both cared for each other as more than just friends.

The only major difficulty that the two of had left to conquer was a traditionally nerve wracking milestone in any romantic relationship: saying “I love you.”

The two of you were obviously in love – it was shown through actions and other words – but those three words had yet to be spoken by either of you.

Well… JT hadn’t said it yet. And technically, you hadn’t either. But you told him you loved him. Many, many times.

When you text him before you start work; “love you.”

When you wish him luck before a game; “love you.”

When you say goodnight over Facetime; “love you.”

When he drops you off at the Detroit airport; “love you.”

When you hug him before security at DIA; “love you.”

You had even said it when the two of you were just friends. That phrase was simply a part of your vocabulary. It was always casual, spoken to friends and family alike. And JT used to say it too. But when your relationship veered into the romantic territory, he stopped saying it back to you – with a laugh and a sparkle in his deep brown eyes.

And you slowly realized that there was a hell of a difference between two words and three.

You sigh and move closer to JT, pressing your body against his as the two of you cuddle on the couch. Those three little words – words that should be so easy to say all things considered – hang over you. You try to ignore the anxiety they bring, try to enjoy the feeling of being in his arms right now.

Because it was easy. This was easy; laying on the couch, takeout containers on the table, wine glasses half-full, his arms around you. Everything that lead you here was easy.

Why was it so hard to attach that one-letter pronoun to a phrase you said to him constantly?

“What are you thinking about?”

JT’s voice pulls your attention back to the present. You glance up at him, your chin coming to rest on his chest as you take in the sight of him; his ginger hair, his full lips, his dark eyes.

“Nothing,” you start, the lingering pause on the end of the word making it clear that there was more you wanted to say. JT hears it, his patient eyes stare into yours, waiting for your concluding statement.

Say it, your mind whispers. Say it now. Say those three words.

“I just missed you.”

JT smiles and your heart aches at the sight of what you thought was a flash of disappointment pass across his face. Or perhaps that was your own guilt playing tricks on you – you weren’t entirely sure.

“I missed you too,” he replies, his hold tightening around you. You offer a small smile in return before returning your head to its original position against his chest. The steady beat of his heart hits your eardrum and you desperately try to match your own heart to the rhythm.

“I love you,” JT’s voice echoes around the living room.

“Love you too,” you instinctually reply, his words not quite sinking in. A brief pause, a small nudge to your side and a quiet call of your name brings your eyes to his again. The beating of your heart flips into overdrive at the conviction you see shining in his irises; a determination that had only been directed at you once before. The same look he had that afternoon in the Garden of the Gods, when he asked if you wanted to try to be something more than friends.

“I love you,” he repeats, gently emphasizing the words. It is only then do you realize the gravity of his words.

The smile that breaks out across your face is unstoppable and a matching grin appears on his.

“Really?” you ask.

“Really.”

A small huff of laughter escapes your chest and you can’t stop yourself from lifting your body up in order to press your lips against his. The feeling of his smile against yours – specifically a smile that was caused by such joy and happiness and love – was indescribable. You slowly pull away, but only far enough to be able to whisper those three words that no longer felt difficult to say.

“I love you.”

[fansformentalydistroyedmen]

Last Names

A Malcolm Bright x Reader Fan fic

Your last name is a secret his is hidden can this love start and survive with two traumatized people. Dumb parents

Chapter 1- The Meeting

“Hold on Sam! Don’t let go! I’m trying, the rope just won’t cut. No Sam! Sam! Mom! Dad!” I sit up fast panting and hot tears running. My heart feels like it’s going to burst out of my chest. I rub my eyes and look at the clock. It was about 5 in the morning. An hour of sleep is not too bad. I roll out of bed and straight into the shower. Trying to be as fast as possible I don’t even bother trying to warm up the shower. It’s not the day to try and get over my fear of water. As I watch my hands shake as I try to scrub my hair I close my eyes and as always, there they are just like always, haunting me. “Go away.” I whisper desperately. Opening my eyes and being blinded by sunlight as it floods my bathroom. I finish up and get out, quickly getting ready for work. I grab my phone and walk out of my apartment. As soon as the door opens I can hear the busy city of New York. The loud car horns, the screaming people, and of course the sound of construction. I wave down a taxi and get in thanking the driver. As he drives away I stare out the window letting my leg bounce up and down. It’s a bright day, the sun is way too bright, not a cloud in sight. This city is terrible to live in with constant migraine but you learn to deal with the pounding in your head. I rummage through my purse and pop a couple of my daily meds, an anti anxiety, some to help with the migrain, then a few for panic attacks, and so on and so just anything they claim will help, they never really do. The rest of the taxi ride is quiet as I let my head fall back. Once my ride comes to a stop I pay and get out. I walk into the police precinct. Immediately I am flooded with familiar sounds and faces making me relax. I walk over to my desk throwing my stuff on the table. I slump into my chair and rub my face. Soon someone taps me on my shoulder, my friend Dani.

“You look tired.” She hands me a cup of coffee. I am immediately overwhelmed with the smell of terrible coffee. I smile and take a sip, is it disgusting, yes, will it only be one of thirteen, again yes.

“Thanks.” I take another sip

“You look tired, late night?” She smirks.

“Yep you know the fun stuff, insomnia, nightmares, and the occasional attack from my cat, Penny.”

“Boring you really got me excited in the beginning.” She says with a slight frown. I raise my eyebrow.

“Really you had even the slightest of hopes my night went different. Do you even know me.” I laugh. She rolls her eyes at me and walks to her desk. I start to fill out some boring paperwork and continue with my coffee. Until my Boss and Mentor Gill walks out.

“We’ve got a case!” He yells out as he throws a coat over his shoulders. With that everyone on my team gets up and leaves. I jump into Gill's car and he starts driving while Dani and my other team member JT follow behind us.

“So how are you doing?” Gill starts with his usual questions.

“You know, fine nothing exciting.” I shrug.

“How's the nightmares?” Again with the questions.

“Preventing me from sleeping but I got a whole hour last night.” With that Gills chuckles.

“So what about the migraine?” Listen, all these questions are sweet but my answers never change.

“Painful but bearable.” Once again I reply now for the lecture.

“You know if you drank more water instead of the, what is that your fifth cup of coffee this morning?”

“6th thanks for underestimating me.” I can see his eye roll. The rest of the car ride is quiet besides the tap of my foot on the floor. Once we arrive I get out but Gill stays.

“I’ll be back, just head upstairs.” I look at him weirdly but follow his instructions. I walk up the stairs and show my I.D. I see Dani and JT so I walk up to them.

“So what do we have?”

A single homicide looks pretty straight forward.” JT claims.

“Boring.” I groan realizing that was said out loud and not just in my head.”

“Sorry I didn’t mean that I just mean it shouldn't be too bad. No no of course her murder was bad I...never mind.” I bite my lip trying to shut up as JT shakes his head. We all start examining her body. Something felt wrong with this case. It was just a feeling but something was off. A couple minutes later I hear Gill talking to Dani and JT and they do not seem happy. I must of zoned out and missed something. I look straight forward only to be met with bright blue eyes.

“Holy!” My hand goes for my heart.

“Sorry you scared me.’ I shake my head.

“Oh sorry ma’am.” The strange man says. My head tilts in curiosity. Who was he and why was he so comfortable in a crime scene. I watch the wheels in his head turn as he stares at the lady.

“Can I help you?” His eyes shoot up to look me dead in the eye.

“Oh sorry, I just haven’t seen you around here before. Normally it's all the same people. I’m Y/N by the way, not that it matters.’ I smile

“Hi Y/N, I'm Malcolm Bright, a Consultant.” He smiles softly but as soon as he said his last name something went off in my head.

“Not to be blunt but why did you just lie to me about your last name?” I ask as curiosity takes over.

“Excuse me?”

“Sorry when you said your last name you blinked a few extra times, that's a tell for when people lie.”

“I’m not lying.”

“You just did it again, the whole blinking thing.”

“I’m not lying, you must be mistaken.” He looks down at the body again.

“Why do you keep lying, you must be a terrible liar.”

“Listen, ignore the blinking thing, why did you introduce yourself with just your first name is the question? People normally use their last name.” I bite my lip at that.

“I don’t like being called by my last name, that’s my parents name not mine.”

“If you won’t tell me the truth I won’t tell you either.” He looks back at the body, I narrow my eyes at the strange man in front of me. Who was he? Why was he here? Questions flooded my head. I was caught off guard when he stood up quickly. He looked angry, I hope I didn’t upset him. Just then he starts going off about how this was a copycat of the surgeon. He went into the surgeon with a fine tooth comb. It was crazy the amount of details he knew about this case. He later stormed out of the apartment and Gill followed. I closely trailed him. He was my ride back and if he was leaving I was too. I could see them arguing. Soon Gill caught a glimpse of me so I walked out.

“Time to go back to the precinct?” Gill rubbed his face.

“Yeah, Bright gets to sit up front he’s older.” My eyes widened but I did not have the energy to argue as my head started to pound even harder.

“Fine whatever.” I exclaim as I rub my eyes and get into the back of the car. Malcolm stares at me weirdly as he gets into his seat. The car ride is quiet which I accept gratefully as it now felt like my head was going to burst open all over the backseats. Once we arrive at the precinct everyone trails into the conference room and starts talking over the case. I sit in my chair with my knees pulled up to my chest as Malcolm goes over a Profile of the killer. Once he is finished people start to trail out of the room as I stare at the board soaking in everything. Malcolm shows up behind me.

“So see anything?’ I gasp at the sudden person and noise behind me.

“Sorry, no, geez what do you have with scaring me.” I rub my eyes viciously.

“I don’t do it on purpose, just Y/N.” He says snarkily.

“Oh so that's how it's going to be Malcolm. So you're a profiler?”

“Yep and I can profile you and anyone else.”

“Ah really.” I laugh

“Yep like I can tell that either you're high on anxiety or that’s your 9th cup of coffee. Which is because you haven’t slept because of something that obviously haunts you. Family issues, financial struggle no your to put together for that, medical issues would explain the migraine you have. So what is it?” My eyes widen and my anxiety picks up as my legs shakes more viscously.

“None.” I say as I stand up way too quickly. The world starts to spin and I feel my legs start to give out. I grab onto the table as he reaches for me. I grab my head as he hesitantly places a hand on my shoulder.

“You good?” He stares with scared eyes. I blink a couple of times.

“I’m fine, sorry I stood up too quickly.”

“Maybe you should sit down or drink something other than coffee.”

“I’m fine but thank you.” I walk out of the room quickly and go to the bathroom knowing its the only place he can’t follow me. I quickly lock the door and slide down it covering my face.